Army pushes for higher speeds in future tiltrotor aircraft

HAMPTON, Va. -- The U.S. Army is developing a new wind-tunnel testbed that will help future tiltrotor aircraft attain higher speeds, improved stability and enhanced safety.

At a massive wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center, Army researchers are readying a unique tiltrotor model to support analysis and design of advanced tiltrotor aircraft, a possible key to achieving Army modernization goals for Future Vertical Lift.

"Tiltrotors are like the V-22 Osprey aircraft that the Marines currently use," said Matt Wilbur, a senior aerospace researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory. "Their benefit is they have very high flight speeds. They can transition from a helicopter configuration to a forward flight configuration that looks more like a turboprop aircraft and can go at much higher flight speeds than typical helicopters."

Current state-of-the art tiltrotors provide Army researchers with a baseline of what is possible. In the future, aircraft designers will leverage new materials, advanced propulsion and supercomputer modeling -- validated by physical experiments -- to deliver new combat capabilities to the Army.

"The data we're going after is completely new; it doesn't currently exist," said Dr. Jaret Riddick, director of the lab's Vehicle Technology Directorate. "We want to be able to model whirl-flutter stability, which will help us to overcome a critical limitation for tiltrotor aircraft."

Tiltrotor designs require a compromise between a spinning helicopter rotor for efficient hovering flight and a fixed wing for forward flight in airplane mode, he said. Interactions between this unique combination of rotor and wing can lead to instability at higher speeds.

"ARL researchers are bridging a scientific gap by providing underpinning research that will validate modeling for tiltrotor aircraft of the future," Riddick said.

Using foundational aerodynamics research and computational models, Army engineers will shape Future Vertical Lift with analysis of new tiltrotor designs. Their goal: to increase reach, enhance protection and lethality, and deliver agility and mission flexibility. With an advanced tiltrotor design, the Army can get there, stay there and dominate what officials call "Multi-Domain Battle."

Army researchers are working with an industry partner to fabricate the Tiltrotor Aeroelastic Stability Testbed, or TRAST. The apparatus is a scaled-down tiltrotor engine assembly and partial wing loaded with sensors and designed to be attached to wall of the wind tunnel. The Army hopes to take delivery in September.

"TRAST is focused on accelerating knowledge products that will provide critical information for the Army Modernization Priorities within the Future Vertical Lift program regarding tiltrotor technology for whirl-flutter suppression to enable higher speed forward flight," said Elias Rigas, the lab's Vehicle Applied Research Division chief.

The project has the potential to provide researchers with terabytes of data, which will enable the underpinning research the laboratory can share with the aviation community responsible for the design and fielding of Future Vertical Lift.

"When it comes to a flight vehicle, it all comes down to lift," said Army researcher Dr. Robert Thornburgh. "You still have to produce lift and whether it's through a wing or through a rotor, basically lift is produced by moving air and so those fundamental physics haven't changed since the Wright brothers and so there are some limitations on what you can do with rotorcraft technology as far as performance goes."

Army researchers are working on complex flight problems. They partner with NASA because of shared interest in basic research into future tiltrotor technology.

"We may be looking at different missions for different vehicles, but as we drill down into the technology needs, they become common and so we can work very closely with the Army on some very fundamental basic research areas," said Susan Gorton, NASA's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology lead. "What we're always looking for is how to improve things and how to make things faster, make them quieter and how to make them more economical to operate."

The relationship between the Army and NASA is very special, Gorton said.

"We've had this relationship for over 50 years where we've had co-located laboratories where Army people are assigned and working at NASA centers and they work hand-in-glove with us and day-to-day our research tasks are very intertwined and is a very strong relationship and I think it will remain strong in the future," she said.

As a part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Program, private companies like Bell, created a tiltrotor concept demonstrator aircraft, the V-280 Valor, which successfully achieved first flight in 2017. ARL researchers visited the company in January to see the demonstrator up close and talk with Bell engineers.

Riddick said the JMR-TD Program Office informs the requirements for the Future Vertical Lift program-of-record and has provided significant funding for the fabrication of TRAST.

"They're depending on the laboratory to deliver the foundational research to enable future tiltrotor aircraft to attain higher speeds and greater stability," Riddick said. "This is a truly joint effort between the laboratory's research scientists and its partners to produce knowledge and understanding for future decision making. It also highlights the level of collaboration across the Army science and technology community to deliver on the Army's modernization priorities."

NASA has unique facilities that the Army does not have, but with a cooperative, collaborative relationship they use the facilities and work with NASA researchers to attain Army goals, Wilbur said. The wind tunnel lets researchers push the envelope in dynamic testing by producing winds of Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.

"Obviously a rotorcraft does not fly that fast; however we do have unlimited flight velocity range for a rotorcraft, and the rotorcraft of the future will be flying faster and faster and this is one of the only facilities in the world in which rotorcraft are consistently tested that already meets and exceeds the flight range that rotorcraft are expected to fly," Wilbur said.

In addition to higher speeds, Army researchers said they are confident that advances in tiltrotor design will save lives.

"The faster you can fly, the faster you can get somebody off the battlefield and into a hospital and that could potentially save their life," said Army researcher Andrew Kreshock. "One of the biggest impacts may be on how the Army operates because a lot of bases are staged around the range of aircraft and how fast they can get to the front line and save Soldiers' lives."

The TRAST program will provide critical experimental data to enable the validation of existing engineering analysis tools and the development of new and improved analysis tools. Together, the experimental data and the improved analyses will be used to identify a tiltrotor aircraft's strengths and weaknesses.

"Where that benefits the future warfighter is that allows us to push the technology faster, farther so that they will have a tiltrotor aircraft that is significantly improved," he said. "We're always looking 20 years out into the future in terms of the technologies that we're trying to develop, but it's very rewarding when we can make good things happen and we know we've developed a viable technology for the Army."

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The CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our Nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Courtesy St. Lucia Times(NEW YORK) -- The Church of Scientology cruise ship Freewinds that was quarantined on the island nation of St. Lucia for three days because of a measles case is on its way to its home port, where authorities plan to quarantine it again.

The ship is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curacao, around daybreak Saturday, according to officials on the island and Albert Elens, managing director of Maduro Shipping, the Freewinds' agent in Curacao.

When it arrives, a team of local health officials will assess those on board before consulting with international health agencies on a disembarkation plan, the head of the Epidemiology and Research Unit at Curacaos Ministry of Health, Izzy Gerstenbluth, told ABC News. The vast majority of those aboard the ship were crew members, including the woman who had tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth, said.

The ship is expected to arrive around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the Curacao Ports Authority. There are about 300 crew members and passengers on board, according to Elens.

On Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, chief medical officer in St. Lucia, announced that a cruise ship had docked on the island and was being quarantined as health officials investigated a possible case of measles aboard the vessel. By Wednesday, St. Lucia police had confirmed the ship was the Freewinds and belonged to the Church of Scientology.

The Freewinds website describes the ship as "a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom."

St. Lucia's Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement Thursday that its investigation aboard the ship had confirmed that one person had measles.

Gerstenbluth, who is a public health physician and epidemiologist, said he had been in touch daily with the ship's doctor, who originally thought the woman with measles had a cold. The woman had been in Europe "for a while" before boarding the ship on April 17, he said. The ship's doctor said she exhibited cold symptoms on April 22, developed a fever the next day, and three days later developed a rash, according to Gerstenbluth, who said the ship's doctor isolated the woman from the start.

When the ship stopped in Aruba on Monday, the ship's doctor took a blood sample that, two days later, tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth said. At that point, Gerstenbluth consulted with the ship's doctor about isolating the woman and taking an inventory of those on the ship, as authorities in St. Lucia -- the ship's next destination -- were notified.

"On the ship, you have to be a bit more broad-minded and consider the entire ship to have had contact," Gerstenbluth said.

In St. Lucia, both police and the health ministry said that no one had been allowed on or off the ship until it departed Thursday night over fears that others on the ship may be infected.

"Measles, we know, is a highly infectious disease. So because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark," Fredericks-James said. "The Ministry of Health continues to work with all authorities."

St. Lucian authorities did not disclose any information about the woman and Gerstenbluth said he did not know her nationality.

The woman, as well as other crew and passengers, were "stable" and under surveillance by the ship's doctor, the St. Lucian health ministry said Thursday.

"Continued surveillance is necessary as the incubation period for measles ranges from 10 to 12 days, before symptoms in exposed persons occur," the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it had also provided 100 doses of the measles vaccine, free of charge, at the request of the ship's doctor.

When Curacao authorities investigate Saturday, they will also seek out information about people who had been in contact with the infected woman in the days before she tested positive for measles and who had already left the ship, Gerstenbluth said.

"Thats another group that were trying to make an inventory of," he said. "Who are these people, where do they live, and where do they come from?"

Gerstenbluth said those still aboard who had been previously vaccinated or who had previously had the measles would likely be allowed to disembark after authorities investigate Saturday.

Before the ship's departure from St. Lucia Thursday night, authorities there were in contact with their counterparts in Curacao and shared information with them, St. Lucia's health ministry said. It also said local officers who boarded the ship while it was in St. Lucia would continue to be monitored. St. Lucia confirmed Friday that the ship had departed Thursday night "for its home port in the Dutch Caribbean."

An adviser to Dominica's prime minister told ABC News Thursday that the ship had intended to come to Dominica for an event but that the event had since been canceled and the ship was not coming.

The ship was scheduled to depart to Aruba on Sunday night but Elens said the health-inspection team and Aruban officials would determine whether the ship would stay in Curacao or continue onward as planned.

"[We] will have to wait and see," he said.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

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Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:37:50|Editor: ZX

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ZHENGZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Police in the city of Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, have detained 75 suspects in an alleged telecom and online fraud case concerning a fake stock trading platform.

A total of 88 computers, 110 mobile phones, nine cars and hundreds of bank cards were confiscated, according to the city's public security bureau on Saturday.

According to the police, the suspects, disguised as online stock brokers, added victims on social media platforms, dragged them into group chats entitled "stock investment" and recommended promising stocks regularly in the group.

They would provide a fake stock trading platform through which money of the victims would go to their accounts instead of the stock market.

After manipulating stock prices on the fake platform, the suspects would tell the victims that they have suffered huge losses or just blacklist the victims.

Further investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:01|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:05|Editor: ZX

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SHANGHAI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found that a lack of circular RNAs may spin the immune system out of control and lead to lupus, suggesting new thoughts in lupus treatment.

A research team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and doctors from Renji hospital of the school of medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University found that people with lupus have lower-than-normal levels of circular RNAs, triggering an immune reaction meant to fight viruses.

Lupus is a condition whereby the immune system becomes too active. The pathogenesis of lupus and its radical treatment have so far remained unknown.

Raising levels of circular RNAs in cells taken from lupus patients restored the normal activity of a protein involved in rousing one arm of the immune system, according to Chen Lingling, researcher of the team.

"The findings provide new thoughts in possible therapeutic strategies for lupus treatment," said Shen Nan, researcher of the team.

The results have been published in the world's top journal Cell.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:07|Editor: Li Xia

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MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- One soldier was killed and four other servicemen were injured on Friday after ammunition went off at a shooting range in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, TASS news agency reported Saturday.

The soldiers, acting in violation of safety rules, lighted a campfire that caused the explosion, TASS said, quoting the press service of Russia's Central Military District.

The wounded servicemen were promptly taken to the garrison's hospital.

A criminal case has been initiated for breaching the rules of handling ammunition.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:11|Editor: Li Xia

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CANBERRA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) revealed a billion-dollar plan on Saturday to protect the environment if it wins the general election on May 18.

The ALP released its full plan for the environment, pledging to spend 50 million Australian dollars (35.1 million U.S. dollars) to establish the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) in what would be a first for Australia.

The party will also spend 100 million Australian dollars (70.2 million U.S. dollars) in protecting native species.

The ALP said in a statement that the suite of new measures would cost 1 billion Australian dollars (702 million U.S. dollars) and would "reshape Australia's approach to caring for our unique natural assets."

"Labor will call on all states and territories, business and civil society to join in a national effort to protect our iconic animal and plant species."

The native species fund will be tasked with prioritizing the restoration of plants and animals facing "the most pressing" extinction issues.

A Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis in April warned that Australia's current approach to conservation is "incapable" of stopping the current rate of extinction, calling for a "complete overhaul" of legislation.

"We're the extinction capital of the world," Tony Burke, Labor's environment spokesperson, told Fairfax Media on Saturday.

"This plan would see us start to turn the corner rather than accelerate towards a cliff. When a species is gone, it's lost forever."

Many of the initiatives will be funded by the ALP's pledge to recover a controversial 443.3-million-Australian dollar (311.3-million-U.S. dollar) grant given to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation by the LNP.

The grant has come under scrutiny since it was revealed that the foundation, which had only six full-time staff and annual revenues of 10 million Australian dollars at the time it was awarded, did not ask for the funding and that it was not subject to the usual open tender process for government grants.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, May 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were moderately wounded in the Israeli airstrikes that were waged on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that Israeli Army air forces warplanes struck with missiles more than ten targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians and wounded 51 others on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said on Friday that the Israeli army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and wounded 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli siege.

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday evening was a response to a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen, where two Israeli soldiers, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip, were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians have been taking place while two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:17|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China saw a total of 195 million domestic tourist trips made during the four-day May Day holiday, up 13.7 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Tourism revenue reached 117.67 billion yuan (about 17.48 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday which lasts from Wednesday to Saturday, up 16.1 percent, according to the ministry.

Statistics show that family trips have become the highlights of the tourism sector, boosting cultural, recreation and catering consumption.

Tourists stay an average of 2.25 days at their destinations, according to the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:19|Editor: Li Xia

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TALLINN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A citywide beach action day Clean Beach was held on Saturday in the Estonian capital as part of the program of the Urban Maintenance Month from April 14 to May 15 to raise environmental awareness of citizens.

The event of the communal work day includes cleaning the beach area and the seaside park, various recreational games, prize drawings and environmental discussions.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev told Xinhua that "the event started 11 years ago in 2008. It was a big campaign, not only in Estonia".

Similar beach cleaning events are held in Helsinki and Turku in Finland on the same day, according to the Tallinn city government.

Belobrovtsev expected Tallinn to become the European Green Capital city in the future through such environmental campaign efforts.

The deputy mayor also talked about the importance of China's role in environment protection.

"It's very important for China as well to become one of the environment protective countries. China, as such a big country with the huge number of population, is ready to take care of the green environment, the impact to the whole world will be huge," he said.

Dmitry Krutoy, Head of the Sector for Environmental Projects of the St. Petersburg city government, was present at the Tallinn Clean Beach campaign. He told Xinhua that the traditional international environmental campaign devoted to well-being of the Baltic Sea environment is scheduled to be held on May 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"We cooperate together the Russian Federation, Estonia and Finland. This action takes place in different cities of St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Turku. Since 2014, it is already the sixth such action to join our forces in an environmental way to fight against the problems of waste in the water areas in the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea. Only together can we solve it," said Krutoy.

Krutoy also praised China's efforts in environment protection, saying "I understand that China pays more and more attention to environment these days compared to several, 10, 20 or 30 years ago. There are more and more transports environmentally friendly, more and more environmental technologies are also implemented in China".

Under the slogan "Let's burnish our city!", the 28th Maintenance Month campaign in Tallinn includes cleaning days, communal work and hazardous waste collection campaigns, focusing on raising public environmental awareness. The campaign first started in 1991, said the Tallinn city government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:23:25|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued an alert Saturday for mountain torrents in a vast part of the country.

From Saturday night to Sunday night, areas in the southern provinces of Hunan and Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are likely to receive mountain torrents.

Southwestern China's Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region and the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai were also warned of such a natural disaster occurring.

Northwestern Guangdong and eastern Guangxi have a high possibility of mountain torrents.

To guard against disasters, the agencies told local authorities to step up real-time monitoring and flood warnings and stand ready for evacuation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:29|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement al-Quds Brigades threatened on Saturday that it would expand the range of rickets fired into Israel and will target strategic posts and locations.

The group published a 45-second video, showing its masked militants and members of the group's rockets unit fixing long-range rockets that would reach central and northern Israel.

The video also showed pictures of strategic places and their names in both Arabic and Hebrew, including Dimona nuclear reactor, Ashdod Seaport, Ben-Gurion Airport, and Haifa oil refineries.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamic Hamas movement.

Israeli Radio reported that the Israeli army air forces warplanes struck by missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip was a response to firing more than 150 rockets and projectiles from the coastal enclave into Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:30|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Nighttime consumption in Beijing during the four-day May Day holiday has been on the rise, as the capital continues to drive economic growth with what it calls "nighttime economy."

The nighttime economy refers to business activities between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the service sector. It appeared in Beijing's latest government work report, which urges malls, supermarkets and convenience stores to stay open later at night.

Revenue in 60 key retailers and restaurants monitored by the municipal commerce bureau reached 3.22 billion yuan (478 million U.S. dollars) during the holiday, up by 6.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the bureau.

Restaurant consumption in mall-clustered Wangfujing, Sanlitun and Qingnianlu surged 51.3 percent during the nighttime hours compared with the same period last year.

A total of 24 shopping centers have registered nearly 40 percent more visitors during the holiday, the statistics showed.

Beijing sees a big market for late-night spending. Data released by Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing in 2018 showed Beijing had the largest number of travelers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:33:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SARAJEVO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The 17th international meeting of old-timer cars that have marked the past century opened on Saturday in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo.

The event brought together owners of old cars from Hungary, Germany, Austria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, organizer of the event and president of "Oldtimer" club Nedim Husic told Xinhua.

There are a total of 50 cars presented, and the oldest car is Ford produced back in 1917.

The special attention of visitors was taken by a replica of the car which was used by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty in 1896, who was killed on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo and whose death triggered the First World War.

Edo Kapetanovic, maker of the replica told Xinhua that the replica was finished in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of Ferdinand's assassination. It took exactly 100 days to make the car.

He explained that he traveled worldwide to find parts for the car, and the majority of them he made by himself, and that car is made for driving on any kind of terrain.

Small blue car of "Fico" brand used by police in former Yugoslavia also attracted the attention of visitors and brought memories of nostalgia and of 1970s.

Owner of the car, Radovan Sibanic, said that Fico has a special soul and that there are more and more people who are emotionally connected to Yugoslavia.

"When I was around 20 years old, I drove to Sarajevo with my Fico car, and several decades later, here I am again," Sibanic concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israel decided to close borders and sea coast of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the flaring tension with the Palestinian militants, Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Raed Fattouh, head of the committee to coordinate the entrance of goods into Gaza, told reporters that the Israeli side informed his office that the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom will be closed on Sunday until a further notice.

The Palestinian Authority liaison office also announced in a press statement that Israel informed that Erez crossing on the border between northern Gaza Strip and Israel will also be closed on Sunday.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Fishermen Association in Gaza Nizar Ayyash said in a statement that the Israeli authorities decided to close the sea coast of the Gaza Strip and prevent fishermen from fishing starting from Saturday night.

"The Israeli decision of closing the land and the sea of the Gaza Strip is unfair," said Ayyash.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven others wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement.

Israel Radio reported that the Israeli army Air Forces warplanes struck with missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes were a response to over 150 rockets and projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli airstrikes and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:19:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed "confidence" in an ultimate "deal" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), despite reports that Pyongyang fired projectiles.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that "anything in this very interesting world is possible...Deal will happen!"

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

In a short statement, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "We will continue to monitor as necessary."

For its part, South Korea's presidential Blue House has expressed great concern over the DPRK's firing of projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun "will travel to Tokyo May 7-8 and Seoul May 9-10 to meet with Japanese and R.O.K. officials to discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The second summit between Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in late February failed to reach a deal on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Choe Son Hui, vice minister of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, has said recently that Pyongyang's determination to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged if Washington takes a new stand in future negotiations.

"When the time comes, we will put it into practice. But this is possible only under the condition that the U.S. changes their current method of calculation and formulates a new stand," Choe said.

"We could wait until the end of this year to see whether the U.S. makes a courageous decision," Choe said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:44:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday morning praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for U.S.-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump added.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax.'"

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un last week, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on the DPRK.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:34:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Proficiency Competition "Chinese Bridge" for school and college students was held here in Vilnius on Saturday.

Eleven contestants of five high schools and two universities from Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, second largest city Kaunas and port city Klaipeda participated in the competition staged at the Aula Parva Hall of Vilnius University.

Titled "Learning Chinese, Creating Brighter Future", the first part of the contest for school students gathered eight students, who were required to demonstrate their Chinese language skills by making a free speech in Chinese, going through a quiz on the knowledge about China and Chinese culture and talents show.

Austeja Oboleviciute, a 17-year-old student from Vilnius Jesuits Gymnasium won the competition, and the second place was secured by Auguste Daugelaite from Klaipeda Azuolyno Gymnasium. They will later represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign secondary school students in China.

Under the theme of "One World and One Family," five contestants from two leading Lithuanian universities competed in the second part of the contest for college students featuring also "free speeches," "Q&As" and "Chinese talent show".

The winner was Vaidotas Bacianskas, a fourth year student at Vilnius University. He will represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign college students to be held in China with Kristina Burdryte from the same university, who secured the second place.

Burdryte, who started self learning of Chinese at the age of 15, told Xinhua, that he's satisfied with his performance during the competition. "I am quite satisfied with my performances today. To me winning does not matter so much, I value this event as a platform to improve my knowledge, make friends and express myself," said the second place winner.

The Chinese Bridge competition series includes those for foreign secondary school students and foreign college students. Launched by China's Confucius Institute Headquarters in 2002 aiming to encourage foreign students to learn Chinese, the competition has drawn more than 300,000 contestants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:54:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) plans to hold a major regional economic conference for eastern African countries to foster peace and promote sustainable development in the region, an EU diplomat said Saturday.

Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, the EU charge d'affaires to Somalia, said the conference, organized jointly with the World Bank and the Ethiopian government, will be held in July in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"The focus will be to address regional infrastructure in the energy and transport sectors; trade, including the development of the financing sector, value chains and the regulatory environment; and human capital development through the improvement of education and skills," Ruiz said in Mogadishu during celebrations marking Europe Day.

Ruiz said the planned conference comes amid good progress in relations between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, paving way for even greater cooperation.

The thawing of relations among Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea has seen restoration of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea re-opening embassies in each other's capitals.

Ruiz said the historic agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the tripartite bringing both countries together with Somalia offer unprecedented opportunities and open a pathway to a new era of cooperation.

"Transforming the region will not only require political commitment and leadership, but also sound economic strategies to keep pace with the expectations of the people of the region," he said.
File Photo: U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, visits an exhibition on his invested companies before the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States, on May 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:40:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NICOSIA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Saturday strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades branded Turkey's move as unlawful and added that actions are being taken to counter it. He did not go into details, though, saying that the foreign minister who coordinates this action will make a briefing on the issue.

Anastasiades noted that Turkey's actions came as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

"Turkey's actions can't help this dialogue and it is time for everyone to understand that unfortunately there are obstacles that reasonably can't lead to the resumption of dialogue despite our political will," Anastasiades said.

Shortly after Anastasiades's statement, Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a strongly worded statement deploring Turkish actions as illegal.

In the statement, she called on Turkey to refrain from "illegal actions" and added that there would be EU response "in full solidarity with Cyprus."

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini's statement read.

According to the statement, in March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the statement noted.

Turkey said on Friday it has issued a notice to mariners blocking entry into a sea zone about 60 kilometers off the western city of Paphos, saying it has sent there its drilling ship to carry out offshore exploratory drilling, according to media reports.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:45:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ALGIERS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Security services in Algeria on Saturday arrested a number of former senior intelligence officials, local media reported.

The arrested officials include Mohamed Medien (alias Toufik) and Bachir Tartag, two former intelligence chiefs, and Said Bouteflika, brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, quoting security sources, TSA news website reported.

The three officials were accused publicly by Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah of plotting schemes against the army and the nation to thwart the popular protest movement that erupted across Algeria to demand political change.

Toufik served as Algeria's intelligence boss from 1990 to 2015.

Tartag is considered as close member of the presidential clan. He resigned as chief of intelligence on April 2, the same day of former President Bouteflika's resignation.

Said Bouteflika took advantage of the illness of President Bouteflika to take key decisions that harmed the nation's interests, Salah said.

Algerians have been protesting since Feb 22 across the country to demand the departure of the regime.

The military institution pledged to work for meeting the people's aspirations, as a series of arrests were launched against several prominent state and military officials as well as businessmen, who are prosecuted over corruption charges.
Supporter of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido clash with forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro on April 30, 2019. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza will hold talks here on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.

Lavrov and Arreaza will discuss the pressure exerted by a group of countries on Caracas and Washington's threats to use force against the incumbent government, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

According to the Russian media Sputnik, Ryabkov said it is necessary to curb street chaos that the opposition incited for provocations, and Russia advocates inclusive dialogue, which the Venezuelan government is ready for.

He underlined that Russia and Venezuela are "reliable partners."

The meeting with Arreaza will take place just one day ahead of Lavrov's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Venezuela among other issues in Finland on Monday.

In a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country."

External interference does nothing but undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the current crisis, Putin told Trump.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

The attempted coup was later frustrated by security forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:10:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The intricately-carved orb of a magical pumpkin glows a vibrant green as if suffused with life, a crystalline baby sleeps curled in sweet repose, and a forest of ruby-red flower petals yearn skyward from illuminated stems. Riots of colors swirl and dance - from the pristinely transparent, to luminous white, to electric blues and sunny yellows - all captured in stunning Liuli (colored glaze) sculptures that draw admiring crowds and the whir of press cameras.

It's all happening at an ongoing art exhibition in the U.S. city of Costa Mesa in southern California on Thursday, entitled "Goodbye Movies, Hello Liuli -- The Liuli Art of Loretta H. Yang and Chang Yi."

The show that kicked off on Thursday and will last until May 12 at South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center on the U.S. West Coast, coincided with the plaza's Asian heritage month festivities.

Three blonde ladies who had gone through the exhibit together were enthralled. "It's beautiful!" said one. "So natural and spiritual," said the second. "It's one of the most amazing exhibits South Coast Plaza has ever had. Very Zen. Very special," said the third.

Loretta H. Yang, an award-winning film actress from China's Taiwan, co-founded with her husband Chang Yi, a renowned film director, the first contemporary Liuli art studio in Asia in 1987. Yang is a two-time winner of the Best Leading Actress award at the Golden Horse Awards and winner of the Best Actress prize at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. They were at the height of their film careers in the late 1980s when they gave it all up to answer the siren call of a very different artform: Liuli.

The couple told media at the opening ceremony that they have been committed to the research and revival of the Liuli pate-de-verre technique that dates back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

"It was important to us both to convey the profound essence of the Chinese culture and celebrate their artistic expression through the rich medium of Liuli," Yang told Xinhua.

"Our focus is not just pure artistic creation as modern artists. We want to connect more with the people by integrating traditional elements as well," added Chang.

Chang told Xinhua, "We are happy to have this exhibit in California. We would like to share the love and the wisdom behind Liuli with American audiences too."

The Shanghai and Taipei-based collaborators have exhibited their work in such prestigious institutions as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Bowers Museum in California, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The entire display, including the curved wall enclosures and intricate pedestals and lighting effects were carefully designed by the artists themselves to an environment that does not just showcase the work, but becomes a holistic and integrated part of it.

Carmela Spinelli, a fashion historian visiting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, was astounded by the intricate beauty of the exhibition.

"I got chills walking through it," she told Xinhua. "The sense of tranquility, the exquisite glass sculptures, the videos, the matching Haiku poetry, the lighting, and even the bases the sculptures rest on are all finely conceived and integrated into an astoundingly complex, multi-faceted cohesive whole without a single jarring note. That makes your spirits soar."

One of the centerpieces of the exhibit, "Delivered to Great Love," is a red, 70-inch glass flower resting on a base that weighs over a ton with a Buddha's eye closed in meditation. In a nod to China's deep belief in the power of the collective, they crafted the flower not as one large sculpture, but as 17 distinct, sculpted petals and stems, which, when clustered together, create a single flawless bloom.

"This is a harmonious and mutually-beneficial relationship that does not focus on the self but on the greater good of everyone involved," explained the artists.

The exhibit gives art-lovers a much-needed sense of tranquility and peace. Thomas, an American man whose wife had owned an art gallery near San Francisco for years, said of the work, "We gravitated to Liuli as an artform. It has a strong spiritual element."

Marilyn, an acupuncturist and U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization, said of the work, "It has revived a type of artwork in China that has been lost for many centuries. In Western glass, only Lalique and Baccarat still survive. Liuli is a magnificent style of art that is based on the Chinese culture, which has so many layers to it - philosophically, spiritually, Feng Shui...It's all there."

Peter Keller, President of the Bowers Museum, told Xinhua, "We were the first museum to exhibit Loretta Yang in the United States. Now, you can see how far she's come and how well this work resonates with American audiences."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:20:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Greece condemned on Saturday Turkey's decision to proceed to drilling for oil and gas in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We call on Turkey to immediately stop its illegal activities, to respect the inalienable rights of the sovereign Republic of Cyprus that it exercises for the benefit of all the Cypriot people and to avoid further actions that undermine stability in the region as well as the resumption of talks for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem," said an e-mailed press statement issued from the Greek Foreign Ministry.

Athens is in constant communication and coordination with the Republic of Cyprus and European Union (EU) partners regarding the next steps, said the statement.

Ankara announced lately its intention to conduct exploratory drilling operations in the area in the coming months.

Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement on Saturday, expressing "grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus."

In March 2018, Mogherini's statement read, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," it noted.

Turkey rejected Mogherini's statement later on Saturday, saying "Turkey's hydrocarbon related activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law."

"Having the longest coastal line in the region, we will protect our own rights and interests within our continental shelf, as well as those of the Turkish Cypriots around the Cyprus Island," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It blamed the Greek Cypriot Administration for not having abstained from "irresponsibly jeopardizing the security and stability" of the region, "by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots, who are co-owners of the Cyprus Island, on the natural resources, refusing every proposal of cooperation and insisting on its unilateral activities in the region despite all our warnings."

Turkey asked all other actors outside the region to "acknowledge the fact that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot be excluded from the energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean and they should stop providing unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot Administration."

Earlier on Saturday, Cyprus strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot EEZ, saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:31:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian capital is hosting the International Puppet Theatre Festival, with theatre troupes from 12 countries and regions around the world participating.

Puppet theatre troupes from Russia, Brazil, Belgium, UK, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Albania and Kosovo will showcase for one week their original works.

The Albanian troupe started the festival with the show Three Pigs on Friday evening.

"Our first aim is cultural exchange, to take the world's experiences on how a puppet theater is developed, and to introduce other troupes to Albania," said Erion Isai, director of the Puppet Theater.

Shegushe Bebeti, an actress from the Albanian Puppet Theater, said the program of the festival will include a variety of different puppet shows for kids, families, adults, which will help all the troupes not only to gain experiences, but also to learn from each other.

From May 3 to 9, children and adults alike will have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of puppet shows at the Puppet Theatre of the capital.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkey killed 28 Kurdish militants on Saturday in retaliation to an attack which left three Turkish soldiers dead, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, three Turkish soldiers were killed and one was injured in a mortar attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey southeastern Hakkari province.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat.

Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire both in Turkey's Hakkari and Syria's Tel Rifaat, the ministry said.

The PKK, regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday that Lebanon has around 136 illegal borders on its territories which should be shut down to protect the Lebanese market from the smuggling of foreign products.

"These illegal borders are killing our economy and industry and we need a political and security decision to shut them down and to stop protecting those who smuggle products from nearby countries," Bassil was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

The minister's remarks came during his meeting with industrialists in Jbeil, Mount of Lebanon.

Bassil assured that there is a need to protect certain kinds of industries which will generate revenues for the government.

"But this subject was never tackled in the council of ministers because there is a political decision not to protect local industries. We should stop these policies and commit to protecting our industries," he said.

Over a month ago, Lebanese industrialists announced a state of industrial emergency in Lebanon, calling upon officials to take quick measures to save the sector from further deterioration.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:26:18|Editor: ZX

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Smokes and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, May 4, 2019. Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

GAZA/RAMALLAH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll on Saturday increased to four and more than 20 others were wounded during the ongoing Israeli army airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the attacks targeted military posts and facilities that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He said that a 25-year-old Palestinian young man was killed by the shrapnel of an Israeli airstrike as he was driving a three-wheel motorcycle in northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

A pregnant mother and her 14-month-old female toddler were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military post which is close to their house in eastern Gaza city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the escalating Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).

According to the report, President Abbas called on the international community "to ensure an international protection of the Palestinian people."

"The current silence toward the crimes of Israel and toward its violations of the international law is encouraging Israel to carry on committing more crimes against the children of the Palestinian people," said Abbas.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, called on Egypt and the United Nations to stop the assaults on the Gaza Strip and restore calm.

He called on the international community to intervene immediately and halt the Israeli attacks, adding "the authority of the occupation should be accountable for committing crimes against our people."

Gaza militant groups fired more rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday night, while Israeli warplanes continued striking on military facilities and posts that belong to militant groups.

The Gaza Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises various Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement, warned Israel on Saturday of escalating its aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The chamber of military operations said in a press statement that "the response of the factions will be bigger, larger and tougher in case the occupation (Israel) expands its assaults and aggression."

"The armed wings of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip will be the defensive shield for our people and our lands," said the statement, adding "the joint chamber of operations will keep an eye on the Zionist enemy's behavior on the ground."

It claimed responsibility for launching dozens of projectiles and rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, adding "launching rockets was made in the frame of responding to the Zionist enemy's violations and shedding our people's blood."

Tension between Israel and the Palestinian factions' militant groups has been flaring since Friday.

More rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli warplanes and Israeli army artillery continued launching strikes on militants' facilities and posts all over the coastal enclave.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli army spokesman announced that its warplanes destroyed an underground tunnel that belongs to the Islamic Jihad and goes from the town of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip into Israel.

More than 30 military posts and training facilities that belong to various factions' armed wing were hit by Israeli warplanes missiles all over the Gaza Strip, while militants fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The Israeli cabinet decided on Saturday night to expand its strikes on militant groups in the Gaza Strip, while Gaza militants fired more rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel.

Leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad are currently in Cairo holding talks with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on defusing the growing tension in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday held the east-based army responsible for the return of Islamic State (IS) to southern Libya, following a deadly attack carried out by the terrorists in the southern city of Sabha against an army training center.

"The (government's) Presidential Council holds Haftar (army commander) directly responsible for the return of IS to its activity, after the services of government of national accord managed to eliminate the organization and pursue its remnants and sleeper cells," the government said in a statement.

"Haftar left his forces in chaos in the south, after he claimed that his war there aimed to eliminate terrorism," the statement added.

The government also condemned the attack, offering condolences to the families of the victims.

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, since January.

The army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thanassis Theocharopoulos, leader of the Democratic Left (DIMAR) party in Greece, was sworn in on Saturday as the country's new tourism minister in a ceremony here at the Presidential Mansion, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Theocharopoulos was appointed to the post after his predecessor Elena Kountoura resigned earlier this week in order to focus on her campaign for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Several MPs and mayors have resigned in recent weeks from their posts to concentrate on the campaign for the European ballot slated for May 26 in Greece.

Theocharopoulos, 40, holds a MSc in Agricultural Engineering and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics.

Tourism, a traditionally strong pillar of the Greek economy, has been a key driver in Greece's efforts to deal with the debt crisis in the past decade.

Greece welcomed more than 30 million visitors last year, setting a new all-time record, and the trend is positive also this year, according to experts from the tourism industry.

"We are working together to promote realistic Left solutions for society's problems. We are moving forward with decisiveness and boldness," Theocharopoulos told Greek national broadcaster ERT outside the Presidential Mansion, commenting on his party's decision to cooperate with the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA ahead of the European elections.

Currently DIMAR, a small social democratic party, holds one seat in the 300-member strong Greek parliament. Theocharopoulos is the party's only MP. The next general elections in Greece will be held in October 2019, as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:01:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Amid a global slowdown in auto sales, General Motors (GM), Ford, and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) have accelerated model changeover and restructured their joint ventures in China, the world's biggest auto market.

In their recently released first quarter results, all the "Big Three" from U.S. auto industry hub Detroit reported decreased worldwide deliveries. Their volumes in China slid as well at a time when China's auto sales in the first quarter of 2019 were down 11.3 percent year over year.

As the three leading U.S. automakers strive hard in their home market, they are wasting no time in rolling out new models in China, in a bid to revitalize their performance there.

GM and its joint ventures in China delivered nearly 814,000 vehicles in China in Q1, down 17.45 percent from the same period of 2018.

Under increasing pressure from fierce competition, GM has planned a major model changeover in China this year, with a pledge to continuously improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles and broadly apply its global technologies on models built and sold locally.

In the first quarter, GM's Chevrolet brand launched new Monza and Onix sedans in China.

In April, 15 new or refreshed Chevrolet vehicles were shown at Auto Shanghai 2019, this year's leading automotive event in China.

During the auto show, GM unveiled the all-new Chevrolet Trailblazer compact SUV and Tracker small SUV, as part of its effort to further strengthen the brand's presence in China.

"Chevrolet is bringing to China world-class vehicles that leverage GM's global resources and target our customers' specific needs," said Scott Lawson, general director of Chevrolet for SAIC-GM, a joint venture between the U.S. automaker and its Shanghai-based partner.

Cadillac, the luxury brand of GM, brought its six-seat SUV XT6 to the Shanghai auto show, the first time in Asia. It will also be the first localized global large luxury SUV in the market, said GM, and will be available later this year.

Buick, another GM brand, debuted its all-new Encore and Encore GX, two small/compact SUVs at the Shanghai auto show.

Buick also unveiled Velite 6, the brand's first all-electric vehicle, joining other global competitors in China's rapidly expanding new-energy vehicle market. Buick plans to introduce eight new and refreshed products this year and more than 20 new and refreshed models between 2019 and 2023 in China.

Another leading U.S. automaker Ford has also announced that it will launch more than 30 new vehicles tailored to Chinese consumers in the next three years, in order to make a quick turnaround in China.

During an April event in Shanghai, Ford said that among the new Ford and Lincoln vehicles to be introduced in China, at least 10 will be electric cars.

More importantly, as part of "Ford China 2.0" strategy, Ford will set up four centers in China, focused on innovation, design, products and new energy vehicles respectively.

"China is leading the world with smart vehicles, and is a key part of Ford's global vision for the future. We are excited about seeing more products developed in China, for China and from China," Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett was quoted as saying.

"Ford is deeply committed to China, and with our new China leadership team and vision, we're investing in the future -- a future that starts today," he added.

At the "Ford China 2.0" conference recently held in Shanghai, Ford launched SYNC+, a new in-vehicle infotainment system co-developed with China's IT giant Baidu for Chinese consumers.

Since July, Ford has taken urgent measures to address underperformance in China after it suffered a sharp decline in overall profits in the second quarter of 2018.

The sale of Ford-branded -- import and domestic -- vehicles totaled 74,651 in Q1 2019, down 48.4 percent year over year, a harsher reality Ford has to face in China than its Detroit peer GM.

The blue oval now tries to improve cost competitiveness with aggressive fitness actions, localize more products in China, as well as recruit more local talent to key management positions.

Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American automaker, suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally. Its combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said on Friday that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, and underlined the progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

The streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," FCA said in a statement.

Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said that with such a deeper integration of the business between FCA and GAC, and the next steps in improving competitiveness in China, they will be able to "better react to the demands of the Chinese market."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:06:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday condemned the deadly attack carried out by Islamic State (IS) militants on an army training center in the south Libya's Sabha city.

"The UNSMIL strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sabha, which was claimed by the IS in the Levant and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties. Perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," the mission said in a statement.

"This attack serves as a strong reminder to all Libyans, as well as to the international community, that terrorist groups will exploit every opportunity, including the ongoing fighting in Tripoli, to expand their presence in Libya," the statement added.

The mission called on Libyan parties to "to refrain from further military escalation and focus their efforts instead on combating this common enemy."

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the eastern-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar.

The army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting has so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
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- The Government adopted, on Friday, the emergency ordinance that provides for granting a single time, in January, a financial aid to pensioners with a pension less than or equal to 1,600 lei per month, Labour Minister Marius Budai announced. "We inform you that the social package assumed by

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- Trupa rock Red Hot Chili Peppers a anuntat o serie de concerte pe stadioane din Europa si America pentru 2022, informeaza News.ro. Turneul va incepe in luna iunie, in Spania, iar dupa 13 concerte in Europa, va continua in America de Nord cu 19 show-uri. Va fi pentru prima data cand RHCP va

- Former national leader of the National Liberal Party (PN), major at rule, Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday that settling the ongoing political and governmental crisis is a national emergency that has to happen immediately, with the option of rebuilding the coalition around PNL ointly with the Save

- Prime Minister Florin Citu considers that, during this period, political leaders should "totally dissociate" themselves from those who conduct anti-vaccination campaigns and considers that the protest that took place on Saturday was a "cynical one" ". "We also looked at yesterday's protest,

- Prime Minister Florin Citu stated that the allotted budget for this year for Healthcare, up to this time, was by 5.7 billion RON bigger than last year and mentioned that the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta benefited from European funds worth 22.6 million RON, allotted for the management
From the beginning of the day, May 4th, the pro-Russian militants violated the ceasefire nine times and used weapons of prohibited calibers in Donbas conflict zone. This is reported by the JFO headquarters.



In the Luhansk sector, the militants fired at Ukrainian positions six times.



Mariinka, Novomykhailivka, Pisky, Talakivka and Lebedynske got under fire from grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms.



In the Donetsk sector, the occupants fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine three times.

Zaitseve came under fire from 120 caliber mortars, Luhanske - from 82 caliber, and Zolote-4 was shelled from automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.



No casualties among the Joint Forces were reported.



Losses of the enemy are being specified.

Earlier Ihor Kolomoysky, the Ukrainian businessman and oligarch said there's a civilian conflict going on in Donbas, and Russia has been supporting one of the sides in it.

When asked about the belligerents in this war, Kolomoysky replied that 'Ukrainians fight against Ukrainians'.

The Ukrainian oligarch believes if it was not for Russia's support, the conflict would have been settled a long time ago. The businessman is convinced that Russia provoked and organized these hostilities in Ukraine.

Kolomoysky is known for his close business ties with Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.
A portable ground control complex Kredo-M1, which is arms of the Russian Army, was spotted on the occupied territories of Donbas near Pervomaisk village. The Special Monitoring Mission OSCE in Ukraine reported this on May 3.

On May 2, 2019, the drone of small radius of action recorded the portable ground control observation station PSNR-8 Kredo-M1 - in the western outskirts of Pervomaysk settlement (58 km west of Lugansk), the report said.

This week, the sappers examined the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and destroyed 18 explosive devices in the Donbas conflict zone.



State Emergency Service specialists examined 73.6 hectares. In this area, 18 explosive devices were discovered, which were subsequently destroyed. The survey was conducted at the Donetsk filtering station, in the area of the underground high-pressure gas pipeline in Mariupol, on the territory near the water supply network in the settlement of Nyzhnya Olkhova, in Toretsk and Novhorodske. Rescuers also worked at the cemeteries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
PrivatBank has increased the net commission income almost twice, up to 571 billion 257 million dollars, which made the highest record. The annual report of the company E&Y outlined this, as the press service of PrivatBank reported.

The increase of active users of the bank up to 10% and the number of transactions both in offices and online allowed net commission income to increase up to 49% in comparison to 2017, the report said.

According to the report, the increase of the net commission income in 2018 made 14.7 percent in comparison with 2017.

Commissions form a great part of the income of the bank is the important factor of the stability of the business model: the net commission income covers the administrative expenses over 109%, the report said.

Thus, PrivatBank appeared to be one of the best banks in Ukraine, the revenues of which exceeded over expenses in 2018.

In addition, according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, PrivatBank is the leader at the market of retail cashless transactions and it provides 42% of the commission income of the entire banking sector.

Earlier, on April 18, Kyiv-based court ruled that the nationalization of Privatbank in late 2017 was 'conducted with multiple law breaches.' The court, thus, granted the motion by Ihor Kolomoysky, the oligarch who appealed against the nationalization of the bank he had owned. District Administrative Court of Kyiv granted the claim of Kolomoysky, as he appealed against the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukraines Government on nationalization of PrivatBank.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, Zelenskys Advisor, former Finance Minister of Ukraine Dzerkalo Tyzhnia

Advisor to the president-elect of Ukraine, former Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk discussed the diversification of energy supplies to Ukraine on a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in Brussels. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky's team on Facebook.



During the meeting, we talked about attracting investments to increase natural gas production in Ukraine, possible ways of supplying American liquefied natural gas, as well as reforming the gas market in Ukraine, including Naftogaz Company, the message said.



Danyliuk noted that the role of the United States in diversifying energy supplies is important for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.



According to him, this reduces political risks and the cost of energy for consumers.

As we reported, uring a visit to Brussels, advisers to the president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of meetings with European officials and agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. Zelensky's press service reported this.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Oleksandr Danyliuk, Zelensky's adviser. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.
Open source

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has resumed sanctions threats against German companies that are participating in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline across the bottom of the Baltic Sea. FOCUS reported that.



From the American point of view, the gas pipeline will provide not only gas, but also an increased risk of sanctions, Grenell said.



He warned that European countries would become dependent on Russia because of the pipeline.



Among the German companies participating in the Nord Stream-2 project are the Uniper energy group and the oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea.



It is not the first time that Grenell has publicly demonstrated the position of the United States regarding the Nord Stream-2. In January, he even sent a letter to a number of German companies, in which he declared "a significant risk of sanctions" in connection with the implementation of the gas pipeline project.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the final defeat of the Islamic State militants in Syria, reports Reuters. "Trump has said Islamic State no longer holds territory several times over the past few weeks. But U.S. officials told Reuters that fighting still continued late into Thursday between U.S.-backed forces and Islamic State militants in the last remaining territory it holds," the report said.As reported, Acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said to President Donald Trump that the territory of Syria was freed from the control of the Islamic State militants.Earlier it was reported about the storming of the settlement of Baguz on the border with Iraq, which was the last point, control of which was maintained by ISIS in Syria. The success of the assault should be a signal for the withdrawal of American troops from this country, as announced by Donald Trump. Now there are about 2,000 U.S. servicemen there, about 400 will remain to secure the local security forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president elect Open source

Advisors to president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky came to Brussels and held a series of meetings with European officials. The latter agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Olexander Danyliuk, Zelensky's advisor. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka, during their visit to Brussels, held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament registered the bill on holding the solemn session of the parliament devoted to the making an oath to the Ukrainian people by President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk, Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBK, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Five trucks deliver products and hygiene kits to citizens of Donbas

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 95 tons of humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas, as Ukraines State Border Guard Service reported.

According to the report, five trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

Their baggage is 95 tons of products and hygiene kits. The humanitarian aid is sent for the residents of Donetsk occupied territories.

As we reported earlier, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

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 representatives of the illegal armed formations did not let three trucks carrying humanitarian aid onto the occupied territory of Donbas.
The press service of the Presidential Administration published the order of the President

Yuriy Fedorov, Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine State Security Service

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, as is written in the order  179/2019.

Yuriy Fedorov is Major General, born in Boyarka, Kyiv region on March 12, 1975. He has been serving in the State Guard of Ukraine since 1995. He was appointed as the Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine in 2014, replacing dismissed acting head Konstantin Kobzar by the order of Olexandr Turchynov.

Earlier, Oleg Gladkovsky was dismissed from his post of First Deputy Chairman of the National Security and Defence Council.

He added that his goal is to create conditions which could make people believe in the impartiality of the investigation.
uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations

In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the controller cannot provide any meaningful ADS-B performance information.

The best way to verify the correct functioning of ADS-B equipment is by requesting a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR)  which Larry also mentioned. This is what the FAA and ATC prefer.

I really enjoyed the article, by the way.

Paul Von Hoene

Folks, really not happy with your article yesterday regarding the uAvionix ADS-B wing-tip beacon. Your articles are usually very accurate and un-biased, but this one was the worst-case scenario!

I have helped or done 20+ installations using this device and the comments about it taking 4 hours are simply not normal or accurate. The vast majority that I have done or assisted with are installed in 15-20 minutes, and the setup or configuration using a phone or iPad rarely takes more than 20-30 minutes.

Then the comments about the 337 paperwork and such extending the time needed to 4 hours is sad to see as well. uAvionix have a long list of air-frames that are on their STC list and one of those requires a simple logbook entry then the validation flight.

I have no association with uAvionix other than I am one of their Qualified Installers and an A&P/IA. Hope that in the future you can re-address this and tell aircraft owners the truth and not the worst-case scenario as was done in this case.

Joe Abrahamson

The (Im)possible Turn

Finally, this argument is getting addressed with logic. For example, sailplane training includes tow rope break response. At 200 AGL in most trainers, options were 30 degrees or so left or right. Above 200 a return to the airport was not only possible, but sometimes required full air brakes and slips. To cement the idea, students call out 200 during the tow, they practice returns from this elevation, and the turn-around callout and a surprise release is part of the practical exam. Why not make it a part of normal takeoff chatter along with airspeed alive? Of course sailplanes have glide ratios that can approach 60:1 and your mileage in a C152 may vary, but the point is that a decision should be based on plane/pilot combinations that have been practiced and proven (at altitude) so that at some callout altitude a return to the runway becomes not just possible, but the best option.

As my CFI said, the best response to a lot of flying questions is: It depends.

John Lerchen

Undoing An Upset

All that talk about upsets with definite emphasis on spins, but NOTHING on spiral departures, which evolve rapidly into big descent rates and nose down one hole crashes too.

Bill Simpson

I must take issue with your use of the term deep stall in reference to doing a falling leaf. In a deep stall you lose effectiveness of all or a portion of your rudder and/or elevator. In a falling leaf both remain effective (except at the moment of stall break), otherwise you would not be able to perform the maneuver.

Bill Post

Reporting Fires In The Air

Here in Southern California we have two seasonswet and dry. Our dry season is also called Fire Season. Last year in late fire season I noticed smoke coming from one of our local hills. This is where a fire had developed and extinguished. However, I could see the fire had reignited.

I didnt know how to report the fire so I tried calling Riverside tower (KRAL) and gave them the position of the fire. I was flying from my home airport KAJO to KHMT for a breakfast flight. KHMT is also the base for firefighting tankers. Within ten minutes of my report I could see a flight of three fast moving aircraft at my twelve on my ADSB screen and same altitude. I descended and I could see three fire bombers flying toward the fire.

A week later while flying to Riverside Airport the controller heard my aircraft ID and asked if I was the one who reported the fire. He said the fire fighter wanted to thank me for the early warning. My report was the first they knew of the re-burn.

It is my belief that many pilots may see smoke and either think someone already knows about it or they dont know how to report it. Pilots could help during fire season if we were trained on how to spot fires and how to properly report them. It made me feel that my flying that day was a benefit to our firefighting efforts and not just another breakfast flight.

John Miller
This order was published on the website of the Presidential Administration

Open source

President of Petro Poroshenko dismissed Yuriy Artemenko from the post of the member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. The order was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.

According to the paragraph 13 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I resolve: to dismiss Artemenko Yuriy Anatoliyovych from the post of a member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, the report said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, reads the order  179/2019.
Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25

U.S. leader Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federatiom Vladimir Putin had a long-lasting phone call. They discussed the current crisis in Venezuela, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nuclear treaty with the possible participation of China and settling down the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The White House published this, as Deutsche Welle reported.

The call, which aides said lasted more than an hour, also included topics like a possible three-party arms control pact with China and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It should be noted that the heads of states discussed the current crisis in Venezuela and the nuclear weapons treaty.

The Kremlin said that the U.S. party initiated the call.

The presidents discussed the economic cooperation, in particular, the development of mutually beneficial trade and investment ties, the press service of the Kremlin said.

Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25.

Also, they discussed the report of the Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, who directed the investigation into Russia's possible interference into the US elections in 2016.

In addition, the issue of a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine was raised as well.
Leonid Zalyubovskiy, Oksana Zolotaryova and Andriy Tarasov will join the delegation to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea concerning the capture of Ukrainian sailors

Open source

The head of the delegation from Ukraine in International Tribunal will be Olena Zerkal, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration. The court will hold the hearing in the case against Russia on captured Ukrainian sailors. This is mentioned in the order 182/2019 of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenk, published on May 3.

To form the delegation of Ukraine for participation in the hearings of the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation concerning the immunity of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 members of the crew, the document said.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olena Zerkal is appointed the head of the delegation.

The delegation also included Leonid Zalyubovskiy, the Assistant Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Legal Affairs, Oksana Zolotaryova, the Deputy Director of the Department and the Head of the Department of Temporary Occupied Territories of the Department of International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andriy Tarasov, the Chief of Staff and the First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy.

Earlier, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held public hearings on Russia capturing Ukrainian sailors.

'President of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea defined dates of hearings in the case of temporary measures against the Russian Federation, as it violated the immunity of three Ukrainian Navy vessels and 24 crew members. The public hearings will take place on May 10 and May 11, 2019,' reads the message.
Open source

The Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine registered the bill on holding the solemn session devoted to the President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky making an oath on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk from the Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBC-Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Reading, Screening and Performance. Smith reading from his latest book, Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera (Eyewear Press, UK), based on his award-winning column in the Tucson Weekly; a screening of the festival-winning documentary short, TUCSON SALVAGE, based upon it; and live performance.

The book Tucson Salvage introduces readers/viewers to people and places on the margins of US society with great empathy and lyric, understated prose. While based in the Southwest, these are universal stories of everyday people struggling below the poverty line in Trumps America.

The documentary Tucson Salvage is a meditation on several humans living on the margins and below the poverty line, in Tucson, Arizona. All these individualsman, woman and transhave suffered at the hands of traditional society and have had to escape the mental or physical imprisonment of their bodies, their attitudes and their spirits. Many are literal ex-cons, recovered junkies, but none are passive victims. First-time director Maggie Smith has created an intimate, unflinching look at stories rarely seen on the big screenas much about fighting as suffering, transcending as falling prey to their own pain. Gritty, raw and emotionally challenging, TUCSON SALVAGE brings you close to people not usually seen or valued in society, and in doing so, holds a mirror to us all.
A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS. After the EAEU Intergovernmental Councils meeting in Yerevan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan held a joint press conference. Nikol Pashinyan and Tigran Sargsyan made statements for the press and answered journalists questions, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Below is the full text of the press conference.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan:

Dear mass media representatives,

Dear Tigran Surenovich,

I want to express our satisfaction with the todays session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Commission. We hope that this session, as well as other initiatives held under Armenias presidency within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, will help us further the integration process and record practical results first of all for the citizens of our countries. Armenia is interested in increasing the effectiveness of integration processes within the Union and is ready to make the necessary efforts to reach that goal.

13 issues were on the agenda of todays meeting. Many of them are important in terms of achieving deeper integration. In particular, I mean the implementation of one of the priorities of the Digital Agenda. We have discussed ways of shaping a digital eco-trading system within the EAEU, which is crucial for developing online trading.

The use of electronic digital signatures in contacts between the executive authorities and business entities in Armenia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan was discussed during the meeting. This issue was raised the Armenian side, and we are glad that our partners expressed readiness to support the motion.

We also discussed the Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer Eurasia Network project. Its main purpose is to create an ecosystem of partnership formation, involve small and medium-sized enterprises in major chains of manufacturers, as well as stimulate innovative processes through technology transfer.

Our agenda also comprised the elimination of the conditions impeding the activities of the Eurasian Economic Unions internal market. I would also like to highlight the decision concerning the one-stop-shop mechanism in streamlining foreign economic activities.



EAEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan will probably give more detail on the decisions passed in the Union, and I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of todays session for efficacious proceedings.

I would like to state our readiness to host other EAEU events in Yerevan.

We will be pleased to welcome the Heads of State at the forthcoming regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to be held in Armenia this October.

Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan:

Thank you, Nikol Vovayevich. Dear mass media representatives,

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we usually discuss issues where a consensus and the prime ministers approval are required in order to adopt political decisions. And we can state today that we have agreed on all 13 items. Now, I would like to refer to some of the problematic issues that we had on the agenda.

The first problematic issue consists in the barriers and restrictions on the way to forming common markets. We submit quarterly reports to the prime ministers on the situation that is developing in our common markets in order to create more favorable conditions for business, so that they do not encounter obstacles in cross-border areas. Unfortunately, we reported that this problem has not been solved so far, and political will is needed on the part of the prime ministers in order to remove the barriers, about 65 altogether. We have developed roadmaps to overcome these barriers, but it is necessary that all governments take control of these issues so that we can remove them.

The second aspect, which is important for our business, is the anti-dumping investigation function, which is carried out by the Board. In particular, we conducted such an anti-dumping investigation in order to protect the interests of herbicide producers in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. Several European companies used to apply dumping policies n an effort to take control of our home market. An anti-dumping investigation was carried out, but there was a veto that prevented us from exercising this right. We are pleased to note with satisfaction that today we managed to come to a consensus on the matter at hand, and the Boards relevant decision will soon come into force.

The next problematic issue concerned sugar, which is imported into free economic zones, and then the goods that are produced in these zones enter our common market in breach of competitive regulations. Here, too, we managed to come to a consensus today, and there is an agreement that, starting from January 1, 2020, sugar will be in the list of goods that should not go into free economic zones. That is, we create equal competitive conditions.

Another veto was exercised by our Russian partners on the Boards decision on whether we should close the domestic markets for individual producers if we encounter any problems. The Board made a decision that the Russian milk market could not be closed if there were any entities in breach of our common technical standards. After discussions, a consensus decision was reached, stating that Boards approach was correct: we have no right to close the domestic markets unilaterally, and any decision to ban imports should target specific companies. These examples suggest that the format of the intergovernmental council is effective, because it allows us to handle sensitive issues like that and come to a consensus.

As Nikol Vovayevich mentioned, the second group of questions seek to develop the Union, In particular, the initiative of the Republic of Armenia on electronic documents was supported by the Board and by the Commission of the Eurasian Union, and is being processed by our digital office. That is, Armenias experience is scaled to the entire Eurasian Union.

Today we approved a reference scheme for one-stop-shop services. This is crucial for business. If the five member nations form this single window in accordance with this model, our countries will provide services in a more comfortable and business-friendly manner, and there is also an agreement on this issue. Including, of course, the launch of the first digital project, which solves the problem of cooperation.

First of all, the digital platform being formed will protect the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, because a huge amount of operating expenses for small businesses are removed, and through this digital platform they can sell their services and goods and at the same time find clients for themselves. So this is quite a serious breakthrough.

And concluding my speech, I would like to note that todays decisions on the digital agenda of the intergovernmental council allow us to state that within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union a digital ecosystem is being established for the first time that will allow our countries to exercise their digital sovereignty. We will not only be users of transnational digital platforms, we will have our own digital Eurasian platform.

Thank you.

Armenia TV channel - Mr Prime Minister, what are our priorities within the framework of the EAEU, since we are presiding over the Union? And a question for Tigran Sargsyan: with which countries will the EAEU sign an agreement on establishing free trade zones, and does the sanctions position of Iran affect the implementation of said agreement with this country?

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Thank you for the question. As I said in my speech, one of the Eurasian Economic Union-related priorities is the formation of a common market for natural gas, oil and oil products, as well as a common electricity market  in the near future. Discussions are underway both in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and in the bilateral format, and I hope that this process will achieve its goal because, as I have repeatedly said, this is a very important moment for the Eurasian Economic Union as you may know that gas and energy prices have a very specific impact on the cost of goods, and this is a nuance that is very important for a common economic territory.

Another priority is the digital agenda, and I think that digitization will really bring our economies together and will create real opportunities for direct cooperation between the economic entities of our countries.

There are, of course, many more important issues, but these ones seem to be the most important from the perspective of the Eurasian Economic Unions development and further expansion, and in terms of increasing the Unions attractiveness for its members and third countries. Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan: The situation in the free trade zones is as follows: we have a valid agreement with Vietnam, which has been effective for two years because trade with Vietnam is increasing every year in double digits, and this indicates that free trade zone is a real stimulator of increased trade. Thus, this means that there is at the same time a potential for economic growth as the Vietnamese market is too large and dynamically developing, that is, it is also exciting for Armenian producers.

The second agreement is a temporary arrangement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran. This agreement has already been ratified in almost all member countries. In Kazakhstan for instance, it is pending the Presidents signature. After that, our Iranian partners will ratify it, and the agreement will come into force.

The following agreement is on the creation of a free trade zone with Serbia. This agreement is relevant for Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, because three countries - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan - have free trade zone agreements already signed with Serbia, and now we need to make one for the entire Eurasian Union. We are close to completing this agreement.

The following agreements that we are currently working on are the agreement with Singapore, the formation of a free trade zone with India and Egypt. Negotiations are underway with them and with Israel as well.



I listed seven areas regarding which the Supreme Council has instructed us to work through, negotiate and prepare appropriate documents. So we will gradually submit these agreements for approval.

As for Iran, of course, the situation here is complicated by the fact that when we were negotiating, there was no new sanctions package against Iran. This, of course, will make certain adjustments for economic entities, because we see that this seriously affects the technology of trade and transactions, financial transactions with our Iranian counterparts, but at the same time it is clear that the sanctions that are applied to Iran create additional opportunities, especially for Armenia, because Armenia can use its geographical position and offer a certain set of tools that could contribute to trade turnover with Iran. Thereby, Armenia may exercise its function of a bridge between Iran and the Eurasian Union. I think it should be tapped. Thank you.

Interfax N/A - I have a question for Mr. Sargsyan. There is a lot of talk about a technical dialogue initiated between the European and Eurasian Economic Commissions, which was not there before, but the essence has not been revealed. Please reveal what this dialogue is about and what it is like?

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan - Thank you, this is an important question, because the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Commission, and the Union, in general, is pursuing this policy.

Integration policy means that we have to establish contacts not only with the ASEAN, but with other associations as well, including the European Union, because the European Union was until recently the main partner of the Eurasian Union, but due to some political decisions that are beyond our authority there is a serious advance in the Asian direction. For the first time last year, trade with Asian countries exceeded the volume of trade with the European Union. Nevertheless, the European Union remains our main trading partner, and we are interested in creating normal interaction mechanisms, primarily aimed at creating a comfortable environment for economic entities. And from this point of view, first of all the standards, technical regulations, regulatory documents, anti-dumping investigations are concerned.

We managed to be recognized as a standalone entity, and there was such a political statement by the European Union about the beginning of a technical dialogue with us, which suggests that we have the first step in this direction. This will allow us to work with the European Commission on the aforementioned issues at a technical level, at the level of our ministers and at the level of heads of department.

This is due to the fact that the interests of those European business entities exercising activities on the territory of the Eurasian Union are often ignored for lack of a dialogue. Our European partners have stated their interest in such a dialogue, but as of yet there are no full-scale contacts due to political considerations. Nevertheless, I can say that the dialogue with the European Union will be promoted as far as the Eurasian Economic Union becomes stronger. Thank you.
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. My Step For Ararat Province investment-business forum has kicked off on May 4 in Ararat Group water company of Artashat town.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Governor of Ararat province Garik Sargsyan deliver welcoming remarks.

During the event a film showing the opportunities and attractiveness of the province will be screened. The successful enterprises operating in the province will be presented.

The forum aims at attracting businessmen operating in Armenia and abroad to the development processes of the economy and communities of the province. Investment programs aimed at developing tourism, agriculture, industry and a number of other fields in the province will be introduced.

The event is attended by ministers and other high-ranking officials.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. During the period from April 28 to May 4 the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 250 times by firing more than 3000 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The Defense Army forces of Artsakh continue fully controlling the situation in the frontline and confidently fulfill their military duties.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk assesses the Armenian-Belarussian relations as positive with receiving a new impetus.

I would assess the Armenian-Belarussian relations as receiving a new impetus as every year we record growth of volumes of import of Belarussian products to Armenia and export of Armenian goods to Belarus. An active process is underway, and we will also carry out major works in the future, the Ambassador told ARMENPRESS.

According to him, the next meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will take place in Kazakhstan as the two countries are preparing for the meeting at the moment.

I think that meeting will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming event in Kazakhstan. In any case both the Armenian and Belarussian sides are preparing for this meeting. I think that meeting will take place in a very positive environment, he said.

The session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will take place in Kazakhstan on May 29 which will also be attended by the Armenian PM and the Belarussian President.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. The relations of Armenia and Kazakhstan continue developing steadily like in the previous years, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told ARMENPRESS.

Our relations remain stable as they were for many years. There are no great changes, even after the events that have taken place in Armenia last year. That is the domestic issue of Armenia, which neither affects the trade turnover nor the diplomatic ties between the two states because Armenia and Kazakhstan have very stable political and national interests which are not afraid of the changes taking place in the internal life, the Kazakh Ambassador said.

Speaking about the upcoming presidential election in Kazakhstan scheduled on June 9, the Ambassador said the citizens of Kazakhstan living in Armenia will also have an opportunity to vote in the election.

Presidential election will be held in Kazakhstan on June 9. Our citizens living in Armenia will be able to vote at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yerevan, he said.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on March 19.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Israel have great potential to develop the bilateral relations, Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview to the Jerusalem Post, adding that the two countries have a great history and civilization.

We have an enormous sense of national identity and pride, so we can work together in so many fields of economy, agriculture, hi-tech, tourism, direct flights, health culture, education and so on and so forth, FM Mnatsakanyan said.

The Armenian FM also touched upon Israels selling weapons to Azerbaijan and noted: It has been and remains an issue of great concern for us on several counts. Israels arms trade is a weapon of death for our people. We have been witnessing the use of such weapons against our people. We are a security conscious nation and are highly confident in our capacity to defend ourselves, and you will understand very well what that means. At the same time, we are dedicated to developing peace and security in our region. The arms race in our region does not contribute to building peace and security.

In response to the journalists view that Armenia has good relations with Iran, which is an enemy of Israel, the foreign minister said Armenia is very insistent that building relations with one partner will not be at the expense of another partner. But we also expect that all our partners will do the same. We are also very sensitive to the sensitivities of our partners, he added.

Asked whether he is surprised and disappointed about Israels position refusing to recognize what happened to the Armenian people in 1915 as genocide, the Armenian FM responded: Its not a matter for me to be surprised. I represent a nation that still faces the pressure of justice denied over 105 years. My people are victories because we were supposed to be wiped off the face of the earth. The question of denied justice is about humanity. It is for Israel to decide whether to recognize [the Armenian Genocide] or not. It is not about Armenia, it is about Israel. It is our collective duty nowadays to reduce the risk of genocide and atrocities.
The court rejected legal action brought by the PNG government to try to wrest control of the Singapore-based PNG Sustainable Development Program.

A court ruling in Singapore on 5 April means one of Sir Mekeres more intriguing legacy items has survived the latest attempt on its existence.

Some parts of that legacy have fared well, like the privatisation of the countrys state bank. Others, like political party reform, have fallen over in the face of legal and political challenges.

SYDNEY - In the three years Sir Mekere Morauta was prime minister of Papua New Guinea, from 1999 to 2002, he pursued an ambitious reform agenda.

The company holds an estimated US$1.4 billion that it is charged with distributing to benefit the people of PNG. Its a substantial amount of money: equivalent to around one-fifth of PNGs government debt at current exchange rates.

This latest legal round will not be the end of the battle, but as Sir Mekere described it after the court ruling: This win means PNGSDP is free...to carry out its objectives.

The PNG Sustainable Development Program emerged as the endgame of BHPs ill-starred involvement in the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in PNGs Western Province.

Environmental disaster caused by the mines tailings had BHP wanting to close it down by the early 2000s. But the cash-strapped (and shareholding) PNG government was keen to keep it operating. The SDP was the compromise.

It took on BHPs stake and the big Australian was released from environmental liabilities. The plan was for future earnings of the SDPs shareholding in Ok Tedi to fund community development in PNG for nearly half a century after the mines eventual closure.

And, with an eye to the realities of corruption and political mismanagement in PNG, the new entity was designed to withstand whatever local politics could throw at it  as Sir Mekere says, to protect it from sticky fingers.

The SDP was established as a company domiciled in Singapore. PNGs government couldnt have full control of the new entity, and neither could BHP.

It was designed to keep delivering, using the dividends from Ok Tedi to be invested in short- and long-term funds. But by the early 2010s, the SDP was in political trouble.

First as treasurer and then as prime minister, Peter ONeill fixed the SDP in his sights. After elections in 2012, ONeill stepped up his criticism.

The SDP was accused of poor transparency, failing to meet its goals and letting BHP off the hook for its environmental damage. In short, ONeill wanted the government to have more control over how the SDPs billions would be spent.

SDP chair Ross Garnaut, who also chaired Ok Tedi, refused O'Neill's entreaties; after a standoff he was barred from entering the country, and eventually quit as chair of the mine and head of the SDP.

Then in 2013 PNG controversially expropriated SDPs majority shareholding in Ok Tedi and launched legal action in Singapore to get control of the company.

That action is what Singapores High Court has now ruled on.

It is a humiliating defeat for Mr ONeill, Sir Mekere said after the ruling. And an expensive exercise in futility by him.

It is time he stopped lamenting his defeat and turned his attention to save our struggling country. He should focus on solving the problems he has inflicted on Papua New Guinea.

Sir Mekere took pains to point out he was commenting as an opposition MP and not as the former chair of the SDP, a role he took on after deciding not to contest the 2012 election.

Despite the court defeat, ONeill isnt backing off. In advertisements taken out in the countrys newspapers he vowed to continue the legal fight in Singapore.

The State remains very concerned that the current directors of PNGSDP have ran, and are continuing to run, PNGSDP in a highly unsatisfactory manner, ONeill said.

He said the government would argue for a stay on the fund spending any money until the court action is resolved.

They have clearly failed to provide any level of improvement to the lives of people in Western Province. This is despite purported expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on development projects.

But ONeill isnt winning support from MPs from the province most affected by Ok Tedi.

All four local politicians including governor Taboi Awi Yoto have called on the government to let the company get on with delivering its programs.

The government should accept the decision and stop wasting money on further legal action which will not only be fruitless but will also continue to costmillions of kina in legal fees, they said.

Sir Mekere says more court action  or a Commission of Inquiry that ONeill has also threatened  would be futile. I know the company has nothing to hide and will take whatever Peter ONeill throws at it in its stride.

SDP hasnt been without controversy. From its foundation in 2001 through to 2012 it became the second-largest aid donor in PNG.

Some of its business dealings left it open to criticism, and its corporate structure led to complaints of over-spending on its board and operations.

It did leave some lasting investments, including the establishment of communications towers throughout Western Province, and stakes in microfinance and property concerns.

In 2013, after the expropriation and legal challenge, SDP was mothballed. Staff were retrenched and its development programs ended.

In 2018 it relaunched. Its now positioning itself as an impact investor, looking to partner with others in projects that must be of lasting value to the people of Western Province and must be delivered efficiently.

SDP no longer has an income stream from Ok Tedi dividends. It can use only the income from its long-term fund to spend on development, and says its focus is on education, health, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Sir Mekere, who returned to parliament at the 2017 election, says he hopes the court ruling means SDP can consider its legal options as regards the state taking over its Ok Tedi shareholding.

With ONeills appeal also looming, the courts will be part of the SDPs future for a long time yet.
It became clear yesterday that prime minister Peter ONeill was in serious trouble holding on to his job. The key moment was when health minister Sir Puka Temu told a press conference that he, defence minister Solan Mirisim and forests minister Douglas Tomuries had decided to quit ONeills Peoples National Congress (PNC).

And as for who will be the Alternative Government's contender for prime minister, well, according to camp follower former Manus MP Ron Knight (@pontuna2run) writing on Twitter, that will be determined by secret ballot, and "the door is still open".

This is likely to be tested in a vote of no confidence originally set down for Wednesday 15 May but which may be brought on earlier, as parliament is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

It was a climactic moment, as the combined group numbered a claimed 57 parliamentarians, exceeding the critical number of 56 required to command a majority in PNGs Haus Tambaran.

NOOSA  Yesterday morning Papua New Guineas opposition (which had rebadged itself as the Alternative Government) left camp at Port Moresbys Sanctuary Hotel and arrived at the Laguna Hotel to be greeted by former finance minister James Marape and his supporters.

Sir Puka Temu (left) at the media conference where he Mirisim and Tomuries quit - "We have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles"

Mirisim said Temu had asked ONeill to resign because he had lost the confidence of cabinet. O'Neill's negative response to this statement, said Mirisim, led to further defections and resignations from PNC. Temu told the media conference that there were disagreements in cabinet about how PNG was being managed.

I have made the decision [to resign] as a senior leader and I am very proud that seven other young leaders have also made the decision, he said. We know that PNC still has the numbers, but we have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles.

Gabriel (@GomisRanger) riposted on Twitter, Did someone hit him in the face to make him realise his principles? Did he even have principles? This was a reference to Temus health portfolio being identified as a hotbed of corruption and inefficiency in PNG. Gabriel's comment was reinforced by social media that Temu's move was opportunistic rather than principled.

As this situation was unfolding, Canberra-based political reporter for The Australian newspaper, Ben Packham, reported that Australian officials were closely watching developments in Port Moresby where public movement had been restricted and an extra 1,000 police deployed ahead of the resumption of parliament.

The instability has placed a $16 billion gas deal at risk and could force a reframing of one of Australias most important bilateral relationships, Packham wrote.

Meanwhile, ONeills backers were saying the opposition probably had only 40 votes, not a majority, and that the prime minister will fight hard to hold onto his job. Which I'm sure is true. Despite O'Neill being significantly weakened, he will use his considerable political skills and astute use of the courts to try to weave his way through a strengthened and motivated opposition.

Last night both camps (and the media) had given up waiting for a statement from deputy prime minister Charles Abel, who had been expected to call on ONeill to resign but had not done so.

However, O'Neill's official website was delivering a puzzling error message. Hawk-eyed J Smith (@equanimity500) wrote on Twitter: When I go to the PNG prime minister's website, I get a message saying, Failed to exec. See http://www.pm.gov.pg."

As more government politicians flocked to his 'camp', opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch told journalists that all agreements signed by the ONeill-Abel government will be reviewed if it loses office.

We will put PNGs interest first, Pruaitch said. For any major agreements concluded recently, we want to assure our country that they will be reviewed. In so far as benefits are concerned, I think its time the government took a bold stand.

But Port Moresby based academic, Dr David Ayres (@davidayres71) offered a reality check on what any new government may bring, tweeting, Unfortunately it will be same snouts, just a different trough. Its hardly a recipe for positive transformation.

Back in Canberra, head of the Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings told Ben Packham that ONeill was a mixed blessing for Australia. He has certainly been a tough PM to deal with at times, and there has been a sense of worry that he has allowed himself to get too close to China which clearly is a concern to us, Jennings said.

But dealing with PNG is always going to be complicated for Australia - there is historical baggage there, and they are a country that will make decisions according to their interests, which dont necessarily align with ours.

Lowy Institute research fellow Shane McLeod told Packham that Australia had invested heavily in its relationship with ONeill. There would be uncertainty over what comes next, but Australian officials are "familiar with a lot of the players in this situation, he said.

McLeod said momentum appeared to be with the opposition but ONeill wont be giving up... [He] is in the fight for his political future right now, he said.

On Twitter, Ali Kasokason (@ConfigGuyPom) quipped, Next ground breaking ceremony by ONeill and crew will be at Bomana! Which is the notorious prison just outside Port Moresby.
Martyn Namorong - "This is my small shot for the people I've met and the country I love"

MARTYN NAMORONG | Linked In

PORT MORESBY - On Thursday at 9 am, I got a call to go into camp at the Sanctuary Hotel with Papua New Guineas alternate government.

Its been an eye-opener and a great learning experience about the machinations of PNG politics.

Its an experience I will always treasure.

Beyond the politics, for our members of parliament is the hard work of running a country.

I have been privileged to have been invited into the opposition engine room to help set the agenda and work plan for a new government to save PNG and rescue our great nation from corruption and debt.

I hope my little contribution to public policy leads to the improvement of lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Paddy Power has suspended bets on the royal baby after believing he/she is already here. Photo: Getty Images

Have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex already welcomed the royal baby?

Thats certainly the belief of a bookmaker who has suspended all bets on Meghan Markle already having given birth.

UK bookmaker Paddy Power claimed the flurry of bets placed on the couple already having welcomed a baby girl suggested someone knows something.

The surge of Brits having a flutter has now forced the firm to close the books.

Weve suspended betting on which day Harry and Meghans baby will arrive following a huge increase in wagers this evening which indicate to us that someone knows something  and perhaps the child is already born, a Paddy Power spokesman said.

That, combined with the rumours and speculation has us convinced that the royal arrival has already happened and if the betting is anything to go by, its almost certainly a baby girl.

The betting suspension follows further speculation earlier this week that Prince Harrys diary reveal could have hinted that the royal baby is already here.

The Duke of Sussex has just cancelled a trip to the Netherlands originally set for the 8th  9th of May, sparking rumours that he may already be a father.

And royal fans on Twitter have even suggested that Baby Sussex might have already made an appearance and snuggled up with his parents at Frogmore cottage.

However, Buckingham Palace revealed to Yahoo UK that the Duke is planning on going to the Netherlands, but a decision will be made closer to the time because they dont know when the baby will arrive.

Bump watchers also believe the Queens visit to Forgmore House over the Easter weekend could have been another hint that the baby is here, and was meeting his or her great grandmother for the first time.

Story continues

Meghans make-up artist Daniel Martin also fuelled speculation about the imminent arrival of Baby Sussex with a recent Instagram post.

People think Meghan Markle may already have given birth [Photo: Getty]

He announced that he will be appearing at The Makeup Show in New York on May 5, 2019.

Though it is believed that US-based Daniel paid a visit to the UK, after posting photos of scenes around Windsor on his Instagram Stories.

If he is set to head back to New York before May 5, it could suggest that the baby is either already here or could be any day.

Fans also pointed to Meghans mum Doria Raglands arrival in the UK as a sign the couple may have already welcomed their baby boy or girl.

While Kensington Palace have never revealed a due date, Meghan told well-wishers in Birkenhead in January that the baby was expected to arrive at the end of April or beginning of May.

So news of the birth could be announced any minute now.

Buckingham Palace announced last month that Meghan and Harry have taken the personal decision to keep details around the birth private and would like to spend time with their little one before sharing images with the world.

Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private, the memo read.

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.

Royal reporters have been assured that they will be kept informed of any news and since no confirmation has been given by Harry and Meghans reps that theyre already parents, royal baby watch continues.

Watch this space

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A funeral was held for the three children of Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday. Photo: Mega

Denmark is mourning the loss of three of its citizens, the children of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings last month.

A funeral service was held at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark at the weekend, and was attended by Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Australian-born Mary and her children were moved by the service, and stood with their heads bowed as Anders, his wife Anne, and their only surviving child Astrid, farewelled the three siblings.

At one point, Mary put her hand to her eldest daughter Princess Isabellas face to comfort and console her.

Alfred, Alma and Agnes Povlsen were killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks while their family was holidaying in Sri Lanka. Supported by her parents, Astrid released a bunch of balloons in their honour.

The Danish royals attended the service, with Princess Mary seen comforting her children. Photo: Getty

Anders, Denmarks richest man, CEO of fashion company Bestseller and the largest shareholder of fashion website ASOS, described losing three of their four children as completely incomprehensible in a separate memorial service held last week.

His words were read out by a priest at the memorial held in the town of Brande.

The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred is completely incomprehensible, he said.

With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.
Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women who would have once gotten pap smears. Photo: Getty Images

Women may soon be able to provide urine samples instead of undergoing for a smear test to be screened for cervical cancer.

A trial has found that a urine test is just as accurate at detecting the HPV virus - with the virus presence often seen as one of the main factors associated with cervical cancer.

Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women, with the number of people attending their cervical screenings lower than ever.

Bigger trials are still needed, but this is a big step forward.

Recent figures from the UK have shown attendance is now at just 71 per cent across the country.

Reasons for the lack of uptake vary, with some women feeling embarrassed and nervous and others finding the experience painful and uncomfortable.

Whilst many women may find it uncomfortable, a smear test's early detection of abnormal cells prevents 75 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Women between the ages of 25 and 64 are advised to attend a screening at least once every three years.

Lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described a new test as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening." Photo: Getty Images

The urine test trial was led by researchers at the University of Manchester.

They asked 104 women, who were attending a colonoscopy clinic, to take the urine test as well as a smear test.

The urine test performed equally as well as the smear test in detecting HPV, BMJ Open has reported.

The lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described it as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening."

She continued: "Campaigns to encourage women to attend cervical screening have helped. The brilliant campaign by the late Jade Goody increased numbers attendance by around 400,000 women."

"But sadly, the effects aren't long lasting and participation rates tend to fall back after a while. We clearly need a more sustainable solution."

As larger trials of the urine test will still be needed before it can be recommended to the public and Dr Emma Crosbie recommends: "In the meantime, women must continue to book their screening appointment when they're called. It's a life-saving test."

Story continues

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On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making. Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe. It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises. - Dating back to Napoleon - Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages. A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes. In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation. Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons". The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later. In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build. Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side. But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons. - Bridge or tunnel? - After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus. A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel. Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option. It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986. - Breaking through - Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain. AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres. Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up. An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk. Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British. - Queen and president - "Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel. "We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said. After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent. Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh. During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported. Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey. Philippe Cozette (L) and Graham Fagg dug the last metres of the Channel tunnel 25 years ago French workers greeted their British colleagues in May 1991 at the link-up of the north end of the tunnel Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand made an inaugural crossing in the royal Rolls-Royce
Israel's military carried out waves of retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Palestinian rockets hit Israeli cities as a deadly escalation showed no signs of slowing, raising fears of war. Gazan authorities reported nine Palestinians killed, including at least three militants, by Israeli strikes in the fighting that began Saturday with massive rocket fire from the strip. Israel however disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant woman and a baby, blaming errant Hamas fire. Three people were killed in Gaza rocket strikes on southern Israel on Sunday. One was confirmed as Israeli, but police had not released the nationalities for the other two. The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas's armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military "to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip." He said he had also ordered "tanks, artillery and infantry forces" to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza. The flare-up came as Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire. Israel said its strikes were in response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing more than 450 rockets or mortars across the border since Saturday, with Israeli air defences intercepting more than 150. - 'Immediately de-escalate' - In addition to those killed and injured, the rockets repeatedly set off air raid alarms in southern Israel and sent residents running to shelters while also damaging houses. The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 260 militant targets in Gaza in response. It targeted mainly militant sites and in some cases militants themselves. Targets included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were also destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices. The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby's mother, but the family clarified on Sunday that she was the aunt. Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that based on intelligence "we are now confident" that the deaths of the woman and baby were not due to an Israeli strike. "Their unfortunate death was not a result of (Israeli) weaponry but a Hamas rocket that was fired and exploded not where it was supposed to," he said. Islamic Jihad's armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. On Sunday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their armed wings had targeted an Israeli army vehicle with a Kornet missile. It was unclear if it was hit. Israel closed its crossings with Gaza for people and goods, as well the fishing zone off the enclave's shore, until further notice. Egyptian and UN officials held talks to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza. The UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on "all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months." The United States said it fully supported Israel's "right to self-defence against these abhorrent attacks." Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel, urged it to "end its aggression against the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law." - Visit to Cairo - The escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier. Israel and Gazan militants have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election. But recent days saw a gradual uptick in violence, placing the ceasefire at risk. A Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar visited Cairo Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials. The truce has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, paying salaries and financing fuel purchases to ease severe electricity shortages. Israel has several reasons to seek calm. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following April's election and the country celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday. Israel is also due to host the high-profile Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18, expected to attract thousands of spectators. On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead. A Palestinian girl climbs on the remains of a building destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 5, 2019 An Israeli surveys the damage to a house near the port city of Ashkelon from one of the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza Smoke billows over Gaza City after Israel carries out an air strike in response to a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants Gaza militants fire a barrage of rockets at Israel, drawing retaliatory air strikes and tank fire, as the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas seek more concessions from Israel as part of a fragile ceasefire Friday's protests along the Gaza-Israel border were the most violent in weeks Sawsan Abu Tair mourns her brother Raed who was killed by Israeli fire during one of Friday's protests at the Gaza-Israel border
The Jaguares survived a tense finish to defeat the Western Stormers 30-25 in Buenos Aires Saturday and chalk up a fourth consecutive Super Rugby victory. Success lifted the Argentine outfit two places to sixth in the combined standings, keeping them in contention for a top-eight finish and a play-offs slot. Despite losing, the South Africans also moved up the table, replacing the ACT Brumbies from Australia in eighth position on points difference. It was a close call in the end for the home side after they looked set for a comfortable victory when a penalty try seven minutes from time gave them a 30-18 advantage. The Stormers, who had not looked like scoring a try at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, suddenly clicked and a Justin Phillips break led to a try by fellow substitute Seabelo Senatla. Damian Willemse, who inherited the goal-kicking duties when Jean-Luc du Plessis was substituted, converted to leave only five points between the teams. A couple of penalties after the full-time hooter sounded brought the Stormers within a few metres of the Jaguares tryline and a converted try would have given them victory. But the Cape Town outfit conceded possession at the lineout and the relieved Jaguares booted the ball into the grandstand to end the round 12 match. It was a scrappy, penalty-riddled affair that included two late yellow cards with JJ Engelbrecht of the Stormers and Pablo Matera of the Jaguares watching the climax from the touchline. The Jaguares led from the fourth minute when Matera scored and the hosts were 13-9 ahead by half-time with the rest of the points coming from the boots of Domingo Miotti and Du Plessis. Ramiro Moyano scored a second Argentine try on 51 minutes, but the goal-kicking accuracy of Willemse kept the Stormers in touch. Recent Super Rugby debutant Miotti contributed 13 points from two conversions and three penalties off five shots at the posts. Apart from the Senatla try, Du Plessis slotted four penalties and Willemse a conversion and two penalties for the Stormers. The Jaguares start a four-match Australasia tour next Saturday against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin while the Stormers have a bye. South Africa's Stormers fly half Jean-Luc du Plessis (C) vies for the ball with Jaguares hooker Agustin Creevy (L) and prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro during their Super Rugby match at Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires, on May 4, 2019.
Julian Assange's father has addressed a rally in Sydney, calling for the Australian government to be courageous and fight to bring the WikiLeaks founder home.

John Shipton, Assange's biological father, addressed a small group of protesters at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday, two days after his son was sentenced to almost a year in prison for skipping bail in London.

Mr Shipton said his son was being punished for exposing the "grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century".

Julian Assange's biological father John Shipton spoke at a rally at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday. Source: AAP

"The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge," Mr Shipton told the sodden crowd of less than 50.

Mr Assange was sentenced on Wednesday to 50 weeks prison for breaching bail seven years ago, when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He was carried out of that embassy in April after Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno withdrew his country's asylum offer, describing Assange as a "spoiled brat".

Protesters rally in Sydney on World Press Freedom Day to protest for Julian Assange. Source: AAP

The 47-year-old is formally contesting an American extradition request over a charge of conspiring to commit computer intrusion with former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange told Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday he did not wish to surrender himself to extradition for doing journalism that had "won many, many awards and protected many people".

He also appealed for Australian diplomatic protection.

Mr Shipton described his son's jailing as "an outrage" and said more needed to be done to bring him home.

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A Kiwi man has been shot dead and his family attacked after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Panama.

Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed at close range in the dark on Thursday night while his wife, Derryn, and 11-year-old twin daughter were attacked with a machete, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Ms Culverwell received a wound to her shoulder from a machete blow before the hooded pirates fled the vessel.

Alan Culverwell was shot dead in the attack. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The mother and daughter have since left hospital and it is understood the girls twin brother was uninjured in the attack.

The family had sold their home in New Zealand and had purchased a 65-foot yacht in the US and had just embarked on a trip to sail the vessel back to their home nation.

Local authorities say those responsible, who stole an outboard engine in the attack, remain on the run.

The altercation occurred when the family heard footsteps on the roof of the yacht and Mr Culverwell, a former paua diver, went to check outside, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The man's horrified family watched the attack unfold. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The attack took place off the coast of the Guna Yala region in the Central American nation.

Mr Culverwells sister, Derryn Hughes, released a statement on behalf of the family, confirming Mr Culverwells death.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this family statement on behalf of the Culverwell and Fisher families regarding the death of Alan Culverwell, she wrote.

Alan was a dedicated, loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend to all. His family were his everything!

The family pictured in 2016. Source: Facebook/ Derryn Culverwell

She said Mr Culverwells death had come as a huge shock and that his children were understandably traumatised.

I speak for the whole family when I say that we are devastated with what has happened.

She confirmed a handful of friends and family members are en route to Panama to be with the family.

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Cyclone Fani weakened to a depression as it barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India, although a major human disaster looked to have been averted. Press reports said 12 people had died in India and police in Bangladesh put the death toll there at the same number -- a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones, earning authorities praise from the United Nations. With 1.2 million evacuated in India's Odisha state, more than 1.6 million people were taken to shelters in Bangladesh, officials told AFP, with at least 36 villages flooded by a storm surge and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. "Six people died after they were hit by falling trees or collapsed walls, and six have died from lightning," Bangladeshi disaster official Benazir Ahmed told AFP. In the coastal town of Banishanta, where embankments burst and some 250 families were marooned overnight, most houses were semi-submerged under water while a few straw huts had been washed away. "We are now trying to fix the dam otherwise we will have to pass the night outside," villager Sanjay Mondol told AFP. Ferries on large rivers remained out of action but those on smaller waterways resumed operations, and many people were beginning to return home with the wind still strong and skies overcast. India's Meteorological Department posted to Twitter Saturday that Fani had weakened to a depression over Bangladesh. But the storm was still packing a punch, with winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battering the Indian state of West Bengal, its capital Kolkata and the Sundarbans mangrove forest area overnight and on Saturday morning. "It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister. "Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled." In Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people, 5,000 residents were removed from low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings. "Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place." Kolkata's airport was meanwhile reopened, as was that of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, the Indian state whose 46 million people are among India's poorest and who bore the brunt of Fani. - Flying trees - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to secure a second term in India's ongoing election, tweeted that he would visit the state on Monday. Fani made landfall in Odisha on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications. Twelve people were killed there, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris. "It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident. "The wind is deafening." As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities on Saturday battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services. Aerial pictures showed extensive flooding. Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his family collapsed. "I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP. Eastern India is regularly buffeted by cyclones off the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 people killed in Odisha alone in 1999, mostly from a storm surge bringing flooding and debris many miles inland. This time better forecasting and mass evacuations helped to prepare Odisha, while no major storm surges were reported. "Almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. "Now the technology has improved vastly," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private weather forecaster, told AFP. "The administration got enough time of around eight days to prepare and allocate disaster response teams." The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised India, saying the accuracy of early warnings and "effective evacuation" of people in Odisha "saved many lives". burs-str-stu/rma Aerial photographs showed the extent of the storm damage in Puri in India's eastern Odisha state, after Cyclone Fani hit the region Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall Indian and Bangladeshi officials said at least 36 villages had been flooded by a storm surge Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Odisha were working to remove fallen trees and to restore phone and internet services
North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of the second Trump-Kim summit US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to agree on sanctions relief for Pyongyang during their Hanoi summit
Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand. The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio. Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him. Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions. "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha." For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor. - 'Unbureaucratic' - Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads. But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm? "One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger. "But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said. Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm. Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies. - Investing in tech - On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon. Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today. Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google. "We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up." But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple. On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars. Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp). The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists." Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money. Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater. Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip. He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing. "It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal. Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958. Warren Buffett arriving at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2019 Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world, at the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire The annual shareholder meeting of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire draws tens of thousands to Omaha, a small city in the American heartland Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed a 'Woodstock for Capitalists' Shareholders seen queueing to enter the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 4, 2019
A group of passengers flying to a music festival were arrested as soon as the plane landed after downing bottles of alcohol.

The group of Ryanair passengers flying from Dublin to a music festival in Malta on April 30 were inebriated before the flight even took off, according to journalist Kieran Dineen who was on the same flight.

It wasn't until I was on the plane that I realised that of the 180 passengers, I guess around 150 were all going to this dance festival," he told RTE's News at One.

The intoxicated passengers delayed the flight from taking off for half an hour and, as someone blasted music through their phone speaker, the scene allegedly deteriorated.

"We were late taking off because people kept jumping out of their seats, some would even shout back at the air stewards or give them a hand signal to let them know they didnt care what they had to say," Dineen said.

"Huge groups congregated at both bathrooms mainly because the drinks carts were there and they bought many, many drinks and there was huge bottles from duty-free opened."

The passengers were allegedly downing bottles of alcohol during the flight. Source: Getty/file

One generous man on his way to the Lost and Found music festival even walked the aisle with a bottle of vodka and gave people sips.

"It was terrifying, I have never been more scared in my life. It was like a rave, they had a boom box going full pelt," a female passenger told The Irish Sun.

"There was mayhem up there. One passenger asked for the flight to be diverted. He was as terrified as was the rest of the tiny minority who weren't drunk out of their minds.

The passenger claimed a fight even broke out at the toilets.

"Cops arrived when we landed and around half a dozen of the worst offenders were taken away after being pointed out by airline staff, the passenger said.

"The staff were very slow in dealing with the problem, they seemed to think there was little they could do except tell people to turn down their music.

The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Malta. Source: Getty/file

The passenger also claimed the flight stopped selling alcohol halfway through but the damage was already done.

Story continues

Ryanair said in a statement to Yahoo the crew requested police assistance upon arrival after several passengers became disruptive.

The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals, the statement said.

We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as a limited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces' support. The small turnout for the Saturday marches -- with participants in the hundreds, not the thousands -- is another setback for opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed military uprising earlier in the week. Maduro on Saturday instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth." Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in the presence of more than 5,000 troops. The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although it so far has limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions. Guaido's cause gained renewed support on Saturday from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now." "You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes. But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces. "I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech from the military base. Maduro also mourned the loss of "seven worthy officers of the country" who were killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to the base for military exercises seen as a show of strength against Guaido. - 'No confrontation or provocation' - On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government. In Barquisimeto in the northeast, the National Guard pushed back marchers with tear gas. "The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation," added Guaido. This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. The effort triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured. In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido appeared to admit that he had overplayed his hand with the failed military uprising, saying that "we still need more soldiers to support it, to back the constitution." - 'Something bigger' will happen - "I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising. Small groups of protesters marched on four military bases in Caracas. In Barquisimeto, a group of women unsuccessfully attempted to pass on to National Guard troops a document containing Guaido's proclamation to the military to abandon Maduro. "We're asking the armed forces to help us end the usurpation and join the people," unemployed 53-year-old Dina Alonso told AFP. Jose Aparicio, a 67-year-old lawyer who said he had been to several events organized by Guaido, said that he would "continue to protest in the street until the end." Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president. As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela's, said on Twitter he had spoken to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and "stressed the need for dialogue with President Maduro and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and international rights without threats or outside intervention." While the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (C-R) and military commanders at a training center in El Pao, Cojedes state on May 4, 2019 A woman demonstrates in front of a line of riot police outside the Venezuelan Navy command headquarters in Caracas on May 4, 2019 A man with his body painted in the Venezuelan national flag's colors demonstrates in front of riot police near La Carlota Air Base in Caracas on May 4, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a direct appeal to the Venezuelan people, urging them to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power and telling them "the time for transition is now"
Diplomats and scientists from 132 nations wrapped up six days of negotiations in Paris Saturday over the wording of a landmark report on the dire state of Nature and its impact on humanity, a UN official told AFP. The bombshell executive summary of a 1,800-page tome crafted by more than 400 experts -- the first UN global assessment of the natural world in 15 years -- will be unveiled Monday. Drafts of both documents obtained by AFP leave no doubt that the final Summary for Policymakers will paint a picture of widespread destruction wrought by man, some of it irreparable. The report is likely to reveal that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million species face extinction, many within decades. Many scientists have concluded that the planet has already entered a period of so-called "mass extinction," the first since the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and only the sixth in half-a-billion years. The draft reports also details the ways in which humanity's growing footprint and appetites have deeply compromised Earth's capacity to renew resources upon which civilisation depends, beginning with fresh water, breathable air, productive soil and the natural pollination of food crops. "The evidence is incontestable," Robert Watson, chair of the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told delegates as the meeting got underway. "Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change." The heavily negotiated text does not make explicit policy recommendations, but will serve "as a basis for redefining our objectives" ahead of a key meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in China next Fall, said co-author Yunne Jai Shin, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles. (FILES) In this file illustration made in Paris on November 8, 2015 shows a figurine with a globe next to a miniature shopping cart.Scientists and diplomats from 130 countries are meeting from April 29, 2019 in Paris to adopt the first global assessment of ecosystems for nearly 15 years, a dark inventory of nature vital to humanity
U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi and John Katko want to know what the International Joint Commission is doing to prevent flooding along Lake Ontario.

Brindisi, D-Utica, and Katko, R-Camillus, co-authored a letter to Lana Pollack, U.S. section chair of the commission, requesting information about the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board's plan to address high water levels.

Federal, state and local officials are concerned that rising water levels will cause flooding in communities along Lake Ontario. The congressmen represent Oswego County, which was one of the counties that dealt with flooding in 2017.

Two years ago, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration due to Lake Ontario flooding.

As of Tuesday, Lake Ontario was at 247.38 feet  slightly below the 2017 level of 247.74 feet. The lake is more than a foot above its historical average for this time of year.

In their letter to Pollack, Brindisi and Katko ask the IJC chief to "outline the expected course of action for outflows through the Moses-Saunders Dam, as well as efforts that will be taken to ensure the interests of our coastal communities are reflected in actions taken by the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board."

It's the second letter Brindisi and Katko have sent to the IJC. They wrote a letter in March to urge the commission to prevent flooding.

"As constituents in our districts take necessary steps to prepare for severe flooding, the IJC and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board must take substantive action to address the serious threat that currently faces coastal communities," the congressmen said Wednesday.

Katko has criticized the IJC in the past because of the commission's adoption of Plan 2014, a water level management strategy. Some officials, including Katko, have blamed Plan 2014 for the flooding two years ago and the rising water levels this year.

Record rainfall was the main factor that led to flooding in 2017. The other Great Lakes drain into Lake Ontario, which makes rising water levels more likely when there is heavy precipitation.

Katko and other officials have urged the IJC to maximize outflows. The commission maintained high outflows for two months, but lowered them due to major flooding along portions of the St. Lawrence River.

The commission said Tuesday that outflows are now 215,400 cubic feet per second, down from 307,600 cubic feet per second in mid-April.

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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The Skaneateles Lake Association has hired a new executive director to replace its first director, the group announced in a press release Friday.

Frank Moses, who previously served as director of community engagement and organizational advancement for FOCUS Greater Syracuse, will start in the position on May 15.

Current director Rachael DeWitt, who was hired last year as the association's first executive director, is leaving to study at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California-San Diego.

Moses received an undergraduate degree from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry with an emphasis on environmental policy and management. When Moses went on to Paul Smith's College to study water and lake ecology, his researched focused on the impact of aquatic invasive species on lakes in the Adirondacks.

Moses also previously served as the director of the Montezuma Audubon Center in Wayne and Seneca counties, and helped establish the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

Members of the public will be able to meet Moses on May 26 at the lake association's Legacy Fund kickoff event Memorial Day weekend celebration at the Skaneateles Country Club.

Staff writer Ryan Franklin can be reached at (315) 282-2252 or ryan.franklin@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @RyanNYFranklin

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The supposed anti sex trafficking law FOSTA/SESTA passed by Congress last year staged a direct attack on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, but this week in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Section 230the law that establishes the basis for free online communicationreceived a solid vote of Constitutional confidence, in the courts opinion issued in a lawsuit over guns.

Section 230 established that the operator of an interactive computer service such as an internet provider, social media platform or blogging site, among others, cannot be held legally responsible for content published online by third parties on the service.

Thanks to Section 230, service providers and platforms are not forced into the impossible task of strictly policing all content on their services, allowing users to post whatever they wantand take responsibility for it. Because of Section 230, the internet has no gatekeepers, and information can be shared freely online.

But FOSTA blew a hole in Section 230, creating an exception that makes service providers responsible for any activity deemed to promote sex trafficking, even if posted by third-part users without the site-operators knowledge or input.

The Wisconsin case also appeared poised to blast another hole in the internet freedom law, and in fact, that is exactly what happened when the case of Daniel v. Armslist went to a state court of appeals last year.

In the case, Yasmeen Daniel, the daughter of a woman slain by her estranged husband, sued the site Armslist, a service that connected gun buyers with sellers. Daniel said that because the homicidal ex-husband purchased his gun via Armslist, the site should be held responsible for her mothers death. Because Armslist allows sales by private gun-sellers, who are not required to run federal background checks on purchasers, the ex-husband was able to purchase a firearm even though, due to a domestic violence restraining order, he was legally prohibited from buying a gun.

A Wisconsin appeals court agreed with Daniel in April of 2018, ruling that she could get around Section 230 by suing Armslist not as a publisher, but over the design and operation of its site. Daniel argued that flaws in the sites design allowed what should have been a banned gun purchase.

Lawsuits have frequently attempted to use the design and operation tactic as a way around Section 230, most recently in a case involving the gay dating app Grindr, a case on which AVN.com reported. But in the Grindr case, as in previous cases, a court rejected the attempt to sue a site as a defective product, rather than as a publisher.

The Wisconsin appellate court, however, failed to follow that precedent, and on Tuesday of this week, the states Supreme Court reversed the appellate decision, reaffirming the power of Section 230, as the site TechDirt reported.

There is always more at stake than just the case at hand, wrote TechDirt journalist Cathy Gellis. Whittling away at Section 230's important protection because one plaintiff may be worthy leaves all the other worthy online speech we value vulnerable.

Though FOSTA may have created a Section 2309 exception for sex trafficking, it did not create one for gun trafficking, according to the court, which wrote in its opinion, Because all of Daniel's claims for relief require Armslist to be treated as the publisher or speaker of information posted by third parties on armslist.com, her claims are barred by Section 230.

Photo By Daderot / Wikimedia Commons
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Senate Republicans are again pushing State Treasurer Dale Folwell's request to limit risk in the underfunded state pension plan by narrowing the number of retirement options.The Repeal Risky Retirement Payments Act, as Senate Bill 374 is titled, divides Republicans against Democrats, and pits the N.C. Association of Educators against the State Employees Association of North Carolina.The Senate Pensions, Retirement, and Aging Committee S.B. 374 Thursday, April 11. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take it up Tuesday.The bill would repeal two unpredictable retirement payment methods after July 1, 2020. Bill sponsors say those complicated alternatives make it difficult for the Treasurer's Office and General Assembly to determine how much money to set aside each year to cover the retirement system's future costs. Opponents say courts consider the benefits a property right and the benefits offer an incentive for people to work for the government.North Carolina's $94.2 billion public employees retirement system is one of the best funded in the nation. But it lost $4.1 billion in 2018, and has $17 billion in unfunded liabilities. National bond rating agencies increasingly frown on state pension deficits. Left unresolved, they could lower a state's bond rating, causing higher interests rates when borrowing money for projects.said Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba. He and Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, are primary sponsors of the bill.Wells said.Under the bill, Social Security leveling would be dropped. It provides higher initial pension payouts to those choosing early retirement. Pension payments are reduced when the retiree collects Social Security benefits. The object is to keep the early retiree's income stable before and after receiving Social Security.Sam Watson, Treasurer's Office general counsel, said Social Security leveling has complex administrative challenges. He cited recent audited accounts of 41 retirees who received $6.1 million in collective overpayments due to administrative errors.State Treasurer Dale Folwell said the pension's assumed rate of return is unrealistically high. The rate has failed to hit its target over the past two decades, and won't achieve it in the next 20 years. Repealing two "pop-up" retirement options would help stabilize the pension.Pop-ups allow pensioners to designate a spouse or child to receive some or all of their retirement benefits. If the designee dies before the retiree, the retiree reclaims full benefits. Folwell supported a similar reform last session in Senate Bill 117 , but the measure didn't pass.Folwell said.Committee Democrats said the changes would be unconstitutional. They would lead to court challenges similar to earlier ones which said defined pension benefits were a property right. Democrats also noted Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 1055 last year over concerns about constitutionality and costs. That omnibus bill contained a provision similar to S.B. 374.Sen. Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg, said it would be a mistake to take away the early retirement option from teachers. They aren't paid well, and that option is an incentive for them to enter the profession, she said.Teachers lobbyist Marge Foreman said it is unfair to penalize educators for lawmakers' failure to fund the retirement system, and for treasurers making bad investment decisions.But SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley said the employees association leadership diligently studied S.B. 374, and supports it. Making compromises to keep the pension plan sustainable may be necessary, Beasley said.
Early Friday evening a a two-vehicle crash backed up traffic on a busy Billings West End street and sent three people to a hospital, said Billings Police Department Sgt. Clyde Reid.

The wreck at 24th Street West and King Avenue West occurred after 6 p.m. One vehicle remained on its roof after the crash. Extent of injuries is unknown at this time, Reid said.

Police advised the public traffic near the wreck would be slow while they investigate. Portions of King Avenue were blocked to traffic as of 7 p.m. The public was encouraged to use alternate routes to avoid the intersection.

The Billings Police Department is investigating.

BPD officers also responded to a second rollover accident in the Heights Friday night.

Just before 9:30 p.m. a vehicle crashed with a U-haul truck on the 2200 block of Main Street. The car was left resting on its hood. It's unknown if there were injuries at this time.

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RED LODGE  The Red Lodge Carnegie Library recently announced the third program in its weekly Lunch and Learn public-speaker series, which takes place at the library on the third Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, May 21, Caroline Patterson, author and teacher at the University of Montana, will present Montana Women Writers, according to an email from the library.

The community is invited to join Patterson as she provides a survey of Montana women writers, from early Native American writers through homesteaders and settlers such as Mary Ronan and Nannie Alderson. Patterson will also discuss Mary MacLane of Butte, a writer in the mining days, and writers of the progressive era of Montana, Frieda Fliegelman and Grace Stone Coates. Patterson will conclude with contemporary women poets, memoirists and fiction writers who have helped to reinterpret and re-envision the American West, such as Judy Blunt, Sandra Alcosser, Melissa Kwansy, Maile Meloy, Deirdre McNamer and Tami Haaland.

The Lunch and Learn events begin at noon with a homemade lunch of soup, bread and dessert for $5 (payable by cash or check at the door). The free programs start at 12:30 p.m.
Along with the Moss Mansion grant, the foundation last month also awarded grants to two projects in Lavina.

It gave a $5,000 grant to the Golden Valley Community Foundation that will help restore the exterior of the Lavina State Bank Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also awarded a $3,500 grant to the Friends of the Historic Adams Hotel to repaint the exterior siding of the building. The 22-room hotel was built in 1908.

Charlene Porsild, president and CEO of the foundation, explained that the goal was not only to help fund these small projects, but also to spark further development.

"We leverage private dollars," Porsild said. "We raise money and then we go out to these communities and say, 'How can we help you?'"

Along with the grants, the Montana History Foundation offers training on grant writing to the small organizations they help. That training allows these groups to apply for bigger grants that ultimately lead to greater financial support for their projects.
The DEQ has 60 days from April 26 to do one of three things: issue a letter to the company requiring more information; approve the permit; or extend the review period an additional 30 days, after which the DEQ must either issue a deficiency letter or approve the permit.

The public may continue to comment during the review period.

Concerns

The decision follows a packed public meeting held April 17 in Shepherd.

A citizens group called Saving Shepherd has produced a website outlining concerns ranging from water pollution of Crooked Creek  a tributary to the Yellowstone River  water depletion in the areas aquifer, noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution and the threat of decreased property values. It also encourages residents to comment to DEQ.

A lot of our concerns are valid, especially the water table is very high out here, said Kati Grove, who lives about a half-mile from the proposed pit.
A car crashed into a power pole on Hallowell Lane causing a power outage to about 240 customers on Billings South Side late Friday.

A customer service representative from NorthWestern energy confirmed the cause of the outage. A technician was on scene at 12:15 a.m. Power was restored just before 2:15 a.m., according to a NorthWestern energy spokesperson.

The 19-year-old female driver from Billings lost control of the car when she took a corner too fast and overcorrected, Billings Police Department Sgt. Shane Winden said.

Winden did not know how fast she was going. She was not intoxicated, he said.

She was cited for careless driving, driving without insurance and driving while suspended. She did not have a valid driver's license, he said. She had a minor injury, he said.

A Subaru Outback remained on Hallowell Lane after the wreck. American Medical Response and Billings police and firefighters responded to the scene.

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An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline got blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

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The so-called Montana Born Alive Infant Protection Act is nothing more than a political gimmick designed to elevate a nonexistent problem into a wedge to use against supporters of abortion rights.

There is no such thing as legislatively protected infanticide in Montana  or anywhere else in the United States. The myth that doctors are murdering newborns following a failed abortion is a cynical, dishonest and fear-mongering tactic designed to get headlines. This is a junk science bill that wont protect any mothers health or save any infants life.

The bills sponsor, state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, knows this, but he and his colleagues are rushing to make Montana central to the campaign to pass harsh and unconstitutional legislation that would join the numerous legal cases seeking to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade via a Supreme Court ruling.

We dont need this kind of spotlight. Women in Montana have other, more pressing needs. Despite ranking fourth in the nation in publicly funded womens health services needs met, Montana, ranks 41st in uninsured women.
In North Dakota, travel matters. From families that frequent local ice cream parlors to tour groups immersing themselves at vibrant art venues, to new residents calling North Dakota their forever home, to the brewery down the street, travel and tourism are vital elements of our states legendary story.

More than 2,900 businesses classified as tourism make up the third-largest industry in the state, contributing billions of dollars to our economy. National Travel and Tourism Week is a time to share the stories behind the travel; stories grounded in people who find passion in their work and its impact on the industry.

Gov. Doug Burgum has proclaimed Sunday through May 11 as Travel and Tourism Week in North Dakota. For 36 years, communities nationwide have united around a common theme to laud travels contributions to the economy and American jobs. This year, we celebrate why Travel Matters each day by stimulating economic growth, personal well-being, hometown pride and connecting us all.

To honor travel and tourisms role in developing and sustaining dynamic communities, North Dakota Tourism launched its own Travel Matters series last year to introduce prospective visitors to our states greatest resource -- North Dakotans. By showcasing stories and videos of our remarkable people and destinations, visitors, job seekers and residents alike can discover why we call North Dakota home and why North Dakota allows all to be legendary.

With spring and summer travel on the minds of many, be sure to include the experiences found here in North Dakota. Search "ND Travel Matters" on NDtourism.com to view the growing videos of our neighbors who invite you to come meet my North Dakota. After all, when we are curious, we learn and explore the countless opportunities North Dakota has to offer, which reminds us why travel matters.

Sara Otte Coleman is the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism director.

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"Ultimately, this bill is not in line with interstate commerce law, and it's going to be litigated. We believe that litigation will prevail against the state of Washington."

-- Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, on a likely legal challenge to a Washington state bill that would reduce the volatility of crude oil shipped by rail.

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"We could come to a point where we have $1 billion in earnings, and that's why the conversation and the information is so important because a plan really has to be set in place. I think that the people of North Dakota are expecting a plan."

-- State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt, on the need for a study on how to use the Legacy Fund.

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"People just came and worked hard and did their job."

-- Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, on the legislative session.

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"Certainly at the end, it feels like there is a lot more cooperation and collaboration between the House and Senate this go-around."

-- Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, evaluating the legislative session.

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"It's going to have impact longer than a generation. It's going to have impact that goes beyond a city or a region, and it's going to be a national and international impact."

 Gov. Doug Burgum, on the importance of funding the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

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"It's very, very confusing. It's a very odd loophole. It's putting a criminal proceeding standard into a civil proceeding with no trial."

-- Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, criticizing changes in his civil asset forfeiture reform bill. The bill was passed by the House, 55-37, and the Senate, 43-4.

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"The job of the auditor is to keep people out of trouble, not to go out there looking for trouble."

-- Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, voicing support for a measure that requires the state auditor to receive approval from the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee before conducting performance audits.

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"Our nation mourns with all those who held a special place in their hearts for this sacred place."

-- Chairman Mark Fox of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, after the historical Memorial Congregational Church burned.

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"The problem we're running into in Bismarck and Mandan is ... if we reduce service by very much, we run the risk of losing one or two of those increments of (federal) funding that we've received in 2019. This starts to put us in that quintessential between a rock and a hard place.'"

-- DeNae Kautzmann, on the challenges facing Bis-Man Transit.

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"Motorists were noticing the settlement ... you were starting to get the famous bump at the bridge that nobody really likes and takes out mufflers all the time."

 Ron Farmer, a representative of Short-Elliott-Hendrickson Inc., on the problems with the East Century Avenue Bridge approach embankments.

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Im kind of tired of In re Tam also. But I have been a bit surprised that there has not been a more discussion, or as far as I can... The post 43(a)? It...

19 hours ago
On May 1st, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a Catholic church named after the saintly carpenter and foster father to Jesus, tragically burned to the ground in Phoenix, Arizona.

On the very same May 1st in Europe it was a state holiday. It was International Workers Day, also known as Labor Day, when the workforce traditionally enjoys a day of non-work.

As Europeans picnicked and leisured, in the dark Arizona desert hell broke loose in the form of a fiery blaze to St. Joseph Churchs roof. Though only 50 years old, its demise seemed all too eerily similar to the inferno that devastated Frances Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral only a few weeks ago.

I have always had strange pangs about enjoying any genuine non-work time on Labor Day, as a Catholic American living and working in Rome. I inevitably will find some excuse to get some work done, even if it is sweaty yard work. The Phoenix tragedy reminded me of my own spiritual and worker proclivities.

May 1st is not a day to navel gaze about our glorious work-related personal achievements. Much less is it a day to celebrate the public system nor a day to worship our laborious collective efforts within it. We are not supposed to celebrate ourselves as 9-to-5 heroes laboring Monday to Friday toward a semi-divine societal cause. It is what Marxist propagandists, who originally established the public holiday to commemorate the bloody Haymarket Square Riots of May 4, 1886, wanted their valued workers to think and feel. They wanted them to be honored as precious cogs in the wheels of their centrally planned and utopia-creating machines.

The burning down of St. Josephs Church in Phoenix may not be a symbolic coincidence after all, but rather a purposefully planned crime to desecrate Christianitys supreme patron of work.

It conveniently falls along a sad trajectory of Christian bloodshed set in motion in the 20th century (like never before in human history) when collectivist dictators like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, sent millions to death for having a competing religious belief. They were murdered and worked to death in labor camps primarily for believing in a God who is the independent Author of their inalienable human rights and liberties. They did not fit into in the unbending homogeneous rules created by an Almighty Autocratic State with little respect for their individuality. So they were gotten rid of like rodents.

In brief, on May 1st, or any any other day, Christians are not supposed to celebrate heaven on earth or to worship their own work, but rather pay homage to a great saint in heaven. They are called to venerate the most exemplary human worker, St. Joseph, who dutifully labored for God, His Son, and to maintain His Holy Family. St. Joseph the Worker was the very antithesis of an impersonal State which seeks to replace family love and charity through public doles and welfare.

As Bishop Robert Barron, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reminds us in a recent article Violence against Christians and the Warnings of Reason, we are to never forget  especially on May 1st, that it was State-worshiping communist and socialists leaders of our recent past who systematically executed the greatest number of Christians since the Church was founded.

There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in all of the previous nineteen centuries combined. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and many of their lesser-known totalitarian colleagues put millions of Christians to death for their faith in that terrible hundred-year period, Barron writes.

If the Phoenix church burning is, in fact, result of arson, it will go down in history as part of a series of unstoppable and intensifying global persecutions of Christians, their lives, and their houses of worship over the past few years. As we just witnessed with martyrs slain in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings, crosses painted in excrement on church walls and a murdered elderly priest in France, and just a few days ago in Cesena, Italy, as inebriated vandals entered yet another sanctuary to destroy its precious artifacts.

The question is will it ever cease? One of the saddest features of the still-young twenty-first century, Barron concludes, is that this awful trend is undoubtedly continuing.

The good news is there was hope seen when the flames were finally doused at St. Josephs Church in Phoenix. Just as in the aftermath of the Notre Dame fire, there stood tall and bright through the hot steam and smoldering embers a miraculously well-preserved Cross. It was an auspicious oracle to all those who follow God, the only Author of their rights: He and His Church will never perish at the hands of evil.

(Photo credit for featured image: Screenshot from YouTube)
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
News / National

by newzimbabwe

A pre-election political marriage of convenience, between the Nelson Chamisa led MDC and Transform Zimbabwe fronted by Jacob Ngarivhume has ended.The union was part of a pre-election pact cobbled by opposition parties to form the MDC Alliance in a bid to unseat Zanu-PF but was unsuccessful.While former MDC secretary generals Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti have successfully been integrated back into the MDC, the situation has been different with Ngarivhume confirming he was going solo, at least for now."We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organization and then work with the alliance in 2023," said Ngarivhume.The other members of the coalition were faction of Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP), Ncube's MDC, Zanu Ndonga led by Denford Musiyarira, Multi-Racial Christian Democratic Party and Zimbabwe People First fronted by Agrippa Mutambara.Ncube is now Chamisa's deputy while Biti currently serves as vice national chairperson. The two are angling to be vice presidents at the upcoming congress set for this month.While Ngarivhume was unwilling to be dragged into the reasons for his leaving. Relations between him and Chamisa took a nosedive when he had an MDC candidate fielded in a constituency he had been allocated in the run-up to last year's general elections.The Transform Zimbabwe leader however said his party could still go into another pre-election coalition with the MDC in the next election."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organisation and then work with the alliance in 2023," he said.Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue."I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Special Anti-Corruption Unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's office has opened a fresh probe into Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) senior managers over multi-million dollar vehicle insurance tender fraud, it has emerged.The probe is targeting former Zinara acting chief executive officer Moses Juma, finance director Simon Taranhike and director for human resources and administration Precious Murove.The trio allegedly flouted tender procedures by directing insurance service providers to work with a company known as ICEcash which had not participated in a tendering process to issue electronic vehicle insurance cover notes.The Special Anti-Corruption Unit's chair Thabani Vusa Mpofu, an experienced prosecutor, confirmed the investigation, but declined to give further details, saying pre-empting via the press would "jeopardise investigations".The case has been dragging on since September 2016.Information at hand indicates that the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) called for a tender to recruit and select a provider to develop a third-party electronic cover note issuance system for vehicles.A lot of companies responded to the tender invitation and a shortlist drawn from the applicants had Courteville Solutions from Nigeria, Agilies from India, Westchase from Zimbabwe and Emali from South Africa.Courteville won the tender, prompting the ICZ to sign an agreement with Courteville Solutions.However, sources close to proceedings said the deal was hijacked by ICEcash which is related to Emali."How Zinara comes into the picture is through the fact that for the electronic cover note system to achieve its biggest objective of stopping fake insurance, enforcement had to be computerised. This would be achieved by having a data sharing agreement between the insurance industry and Zinara. This meant both bodies would be able to access the same database for the purposes of issuing the insurance cover and Zinara issuing road licences. So all Zinara agents would do before issuing a licence would be to go into the system and check if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to buy the licence for," a source said."The insurance industry would create a portal that would allow Zinara to access insurance information of the vehicle that wanted to purchase road licence and if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to licence the vehicle for, go ahead and issue it. Because both the insurance and licensing systems are cloud based, the former arrangement was better, given the connectivity issues of Zimbabwe. So whilst the insurance industry was trying to complete the arrangement for the complete process through a data-sharing agreement with Zinara, Serge was busy sabotaging the whole thing through several ways that included writing a letter to Zinara discrediting Courteville."Eventually Zinara issued a directive to the insurance industry asking them to all sign with ICEcash for the purposes of issuing electronic cover notes. ICEcash are one and same company with Emali."According to the sources, the order instructing companies to engage ICEcash came from Juma, who claimed he was acting on behalf of the Transport ministry.ICZ chief executive Oliver Guni declined to comment on the matter."The ICZ is unable to comment on the matter at this stage as it is still under investigation," he said.It also emerged that Courteville Solutions made spirited efforts to save the deal but to no avail.A letter by Courtville Solutions executive director Oye Ogundele, who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, dated September 26, 2016 and addressed to the then Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) chief executive Cletus Chitambira indicates that the company made frantic efforts to have the deal implemented."As you are aware, there is an ongoing mediation by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on the stalled process of deploying the ICZ/Courtville system for electronic cover note after our appeal letter to the minister following our inability to reach an amicable conclusion at the meeting with Zinara. To this effect, a meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 and the following resolution was reached at the meeting; that Zinara shall henceforth deal with ICZ directly for anything that has to do with electronic cover notes and that Zinara shall not in any way form or deal directly with individual insurance companies. With immediate effect, Courtville can activate its system to allow members of ICZ to issue electronic cover notes on the platform but without interaction with Zinara's system until the security clearance for Courtville is done," the letter, which sources say was ignored, reads.ICEcash officials could not be reached for comment as their mobile number was unreachable while Juma is currently serving a prison term for a related offence.
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE have busted a four-man-syndicate that was producing fake national identity cards, drivers' licences and defensive drivers' certificates among other documents countrywide. Police did not release the names of the accused persons but they reside in Harare.The syndicate's activities, police said, had far reaching consequences as companies nationwide may have engaged people to positions of authority and trust on the basis of forged qualifications.Speaking during a ZRP Crime Watch programme on ZBC TV, Officer-in-Charge Harare Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) Inspector James Chimombe said the suspects are being charged with 15 counts of fraud and 48 counts of unlawfully possessing national identification cards."Police from the CPU received information from the public that there were criminals who were going around town supplying citizens with fake driver's licences, national identity cards, defensive driver's certificates and skilled worker certificates."The team managed to arrest the accused person who led them to the office of the perpetrator who was arrested in his office while he was busy producing some certificates. The team conducted a search and managed to arrest four accused persons," he said.Insp Chimombe said police recovered the materials that they were using to make the documents and have since taken the case to the commercial crime unit Harare province for investigations.He said the criminals were also forging certificates of skilled worker qualifications duping many corporates and employees."We have since checked with the manpower planning and development board who confirmed that the certificates are forged documents which poses a risk to our manpower in the country," Insp Chimombe said.Officer-in-Charge of the Harare Crime Control Unit (CCU) Assistant Inspector Blessing Mutumbi said the suspects took original national identity cards and defaced them, leaving only the security features appearing on the actual identity card."They then superimpose them with information printed on paper such that one cannot notice that it's a fake document. These criminals even use the same font used on actual documents," he said.Officer-in-Charge CCU Insp Ngoni Kutadzaushe said police are engaging the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and the Registrar General's office in investigating the case."This case has a national impact and many companies and individuals might have fallen victim to such activities hence we are intensifying investigations," he said.Harare Central and Suburban districts Officer-in-Charge Insp Joshua Kadungu said the arrest was a milestone achievement for the police."We are expecting a decrease in crime as perpetrators have been held accountable. Anyone who knows people producing such documents should report to their nearest police station," he said.Police urged service providers who will be issuing documents to members of the public to educate them on the security features that are found on actual Zimbabwean documents to reduce crimes of this nature."We also urge members of the public to go to relevant offices to access documents because they are duped at unregistered service providers. Do not to consult any agencies in matters concerning identity particulars," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

IT is the battle of the titans in the MDC as party bigwigs vying for the three vice presidency posts defied the National Council to withdraw from the race ahead of the party's congress later this month in Gweru.Eight candidates, namely Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi, Lilian Timvoes, Lynnette Karenyi Kore, Paurina Mpariwa and Tracey Mutinhiri are all vying for the party's three vice presidency slots.Party's spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that none among the bigwigs have withdrawn from the cluttered race to deputise Nelson Chamisa who is now waiting to be anointed when the party congregates from the 24th to the 26th of this month."We are still waiting for people to make withdrawals but so far no one has withdrawn maybe because Wednesday was a holiday. But if there is no consensus then there will be elections," said Mafume.After a national council meeting last weekend, the MDC resolved that candidates who had been nominated were supposed to build consensus among themselves and minimise friction."All nominees had been given up to Tuesday (last week) to accept nominations or to withdraw. Where more than two candidates accept the nomination, they are encouraged to discuss in the spirit of consensus building," read part of the resolutions.However, the die is cast as all the candidates start to campaign for a fight that will either prop them up the political ladder or completely off the radar if they lose.Mafume said as things stand the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has already started the process of producing ballots."Since there are no agreements we are now going for contestations which will be superintended by the ZCTU. The Electoral Commission shall then produce ballots on every position where more than one candidate decide to contest. The positions to be contested include the president, vice president, national chairperson, secretary-general and treasurer-general," said Mafume.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Condolences are pouring in from all corners following the passing of EFF leader Julius Malema's grandmother, Koko Sarah Malema.Malema on Saturday tweeted a tribute to his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday morning."Our pillar of strength has fallen, the great tree that provided cooling shades of comfort, love and stability have been uprooted, forever, from our lives. I love you, my confidant..." Malema said.The ANC sent a message of condolences to Malema and his family."The ANC has learnt with sadness about the passing of Koko Sarah Malema, the grandmother to Mr Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF. The ANC conveys its deepest condolences to the Malema family."Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during their moment of grief. Koko Sarah Malema's life must be celebrated. She was a pillar of strength for her family. May the soul of Koko Sarah Malema rest in eternal peace," said the ANC.President Cyril Ramaphosa has also conveyed his message of support."This bereavement is felt more sorely because of the special relationship Mr Malema enjoyed with his grandmother. I too have fond memories of Koko Malema following an opportunity I had to speak to her when she was in hospital. It is my hope that Mr Malema will draw strength from his beloved grandmother's values and her presence in his life."DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: "To my fellow Brother, Leader of the EFF @ Julius_S_Malema I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the passing of your grandmother. We all know very well how much your grandmother meant to you and as such I pray with you and wish you strength.Other politicians and public figures also paid their respects on social media.
Opinion / Columnist

In his message to workers on the eve of the Workers' Day President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, and I quote "we must no longer merely survive, now is the time for us to blossom, thrive and prosper as a nation, as a people" and indeed as the Zanu PF Youth League we are confident that this will be a reality sooner than later.President ED Mnangagwa has opened up Zimbabwe for investment, removing bottlenecks that impended economic growth and opening himself to public scrutiny and engagement with stakeholders.Every minister, civil servant and business should religiously complement the President's efforts. His leadership style is reflective and a constant reminder to the model of Servant Leadership, it is a style he executes so well and with brilliance that slowly, even the naysayers are now appreciating that there is light at the end of the tunnel.Unfortunately, while our President has been an exemplary leader, traversing the globe and almost abandoning his roles as a father, it is of major concern to us that some in civil service including some businesses are either sleeping on the job or they are pulling in the opposite direction.We would like to call ministers, and other stakeholders in key sectors of the economic, be it service delivery or economic players to open up and appraise the nation on the progress they have made if any, and the challenges they face in executing their roles.It is trite that the party is supreme to government, but, and worryingly so, some civil servants view the party with disdain and a condescending attitude, forgetting that they are in a Zanu PF Government.We challenge ministers to open up, just as "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" and periodically inform the nation through various forms of the media what they will be doing, their failures and success.They are some senior civil servants who are now living in the lap of luxury, smug in their comfort zones they forget the reason why they are in Government, sometimes such officials, declare reckless statements that sadly are not a reflection of the thinking in Zanu-PF or the President.Yes, there are some public officials we are not even proud to associate with as the Zanu-PF Youth League, these people are in the habit of starting fires that they cannot douse, these people, soon, we will name and shame them and ask the party to recall them from whatever posts they are basking in.We want accountability in all sectors and that should start in ministries that remain closed to public scrutiny and engagement even when the President himself is accessible. The following sectors and players should update the nation periodically.Energy in particular fuel sector Food sector industry Monetary Authorities Transport Information Parliament Anti Corruption Justice System Our people deserve better from all public and private institutions as both are designed to serve the people of Zimbabwe not the other way round. Some pronounce policies that are inconsistent with the President's thrust to turn around the economy while others have become saboteurs to the President's vision.That must stop now. All those who receive foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) should be audited and the results must be publicised. Those who abuse the foreign currency allocation scheme should go to jail and banned from future allocations.All those breaking the country's laws should be brought to book. Violent characters and sponsors of anarchy should face the full wrath of law. Non governmental organisations sponsoring regime change should be banned immediately.We cannot continue to be romantic with those interfering with our politics, leaving their mandate. We would like to see all corrupt elements at whatever level going to jail whatever their social standing.Parliament should also play its part and enact laws that protect the general public from economic saboteurs. We do not expect double standards from parliamentarians and any corrupt legislator has no role in the august House, but rather a place in Chikurubi.MPs cannot expect good perks from Government while at the same time supporting sanctions that hurt the general public and Government, it is high time we enact laws that address the issue of sanctions and authors of Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA).While we are appreciative of the liberalisation of the media and enjoyment of civic rights we are appalled by the abuse of the media especially the social media, which is causing unnecessary suffering among the people of Zimbabwe through misinformation.At a major cost to the country's image dangerous information is being spread and hurting national interests. Equally, irresponsible media houses should be dealt in terms of the law. Because their actions or rather distortions are hurting the country especially its image and we cannot afford to stand akimbo while our Great Country is dented by surrogates of imperial powers.Those playing politics of the stomach and also who are into rent-seeking should be stopped forthwith. Licence of such businesses should fall while responsible players should be supported through licences and loans.The time to confront those working against the President's vision is now. We want answers now otherwise these purveyors of doom will destroy the hope created by the New Dispensation.
Person using calculator next to charts and graphs

When it comes to investing like the worlds best, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to have the worlds biggest bank account.

You just have to follow the same simple guidelines: invest for the long haul.

Beyond that, investors should look for stocks that have strong brand power, low cost of production compared to their peers, and can repeat the same sales for years to come.

If youre looking into new stocks to invest in, you dont necessarily have to be looking for high-risk, high-reward options. Instead, even during an economic peak or valley, your investment should continue to do well if youre planning to hold onto it for years to come.

Right now is actually a great time to be doing this, and there are some companies out there that some of the biggest investors in the world are starting to put their money on.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) may not be what it once was, but thats likely a good thing. The company that brought you BBM created a trend, and trends die; as did this company, frankly. But BlackBerry is now back from the dead and investing in an entirely new stream of production.

BlackBerry is now an enterprise software company, with a current focus on cybersecurity, the company acquiring Cylance in early 2019. While acquisitions like this will bring the companys top line down in the short term, over the long term is the start of real a real growth opportunity. The stock may only reach $16 per share by the end of the year, but that leaves plenty of room to grow.

Brookfield

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN)(NYSE:BIP) is on the opposite spectrum, currently at an all-time high at $55.75 per share at the time of writing. But again, if youre looking for a long-term buy, this one provides an excellent opportunity.

The biggest clue for investors should be the companys share split announcement back in 2016, when the company issued new shares to shareholders turning, say, 100 shares to 150 shares overnight. Since then, a share-repurchase plan was also put in place for 13.82 million shares, which management only does when they believe shares are undervalued.

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And frankly, it likely is. This company has been one of the most reliable on the TSX for years, outpacing its market average. That isnt set to change as the company has a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline (pardon the pun) for years to come and cash flow continuing to come in from literally around the world.

Royal Bank

Another company at an all-time high is Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY). Now, as Ive recommended in the past, you could wait for this stock to drop before buying, which its likely to do. A housing crisis will certainly hurt Royal Bank, and an incoming recession will definitely provide a buying opportunity in the near future.

But again, if youre planning on purchasing for the long haul, it shouldnt scare you that youre not buying at drastically low prices. Honestly, any dramatic dips have quickly rebounded within a month or so if you look at this stocks historical performance, so I wouldnt fret all that much.

Instead, look at how this bank has managed to rebound after any catastrophe, and its room to grow. After the Great Recession it fared as one of the best banks in the world coming out of 2008, and its recent focus on growing its wealth and commercial clients in the U.S. should provide the company with some serious growth coming out of next year. In fact, analysts predict the stock could rise to $130 in the next 12 months.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of BlackBerry. BlackBerry and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 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
Two hands holding champagne glasses toasting each other with Paris in the background

Finding the perfect investment mix that can offer growth and income-earning opportunities while still adhering to having a somewhat diversified portfolio can be a daunting task, as many times those great investments are clustered around one particular segment of the market, such as banking or utilities.

For those investors looking to diversify their portfolios with several unique and promising investments, here are three companies worthy of consideration.

Canadian Western (TSX:CWB) is not a bank that we often hear about, but investors wanting to add a bank to their portfolio would be wise to take a look at the Edmonton-based bank. Why should you consider investing in Canadian Western? That would come down to a slew of strong results, a healthy dividend, and strong growth prospects.

First, the bank reported strong results in the most recent quarter, which runs contrary to the weak quarter that many of the big banks recently reported. Specifically, net income registered a 7% uptick, while revenue saw an increase of 10%, coming in at $66.5 million and $212.4 million, respectively. While those amounts may pale in comparison to the big banks, Canadian Western also managed a phenomenal 10% loan growth and 13% term deposit growth during the quarter, which is something that long-term investors should take into consideration.

Finally, theres the dividend. Canadian Westerns quarterly dividend offers a yield of 3.73%, which, while lower than some of the larger banks, continues to see strong growth year after year, with the bank now boasting 27 years of consecutive growth  a feat that beats many of the Big Banks.

Canadian Western trades just shy of $30 with a P/E of 10.42.

Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is one of the big telecoms in Canada, offering subscription-based TV, internet, wired and wireless service to customers across large parts of the country. Across all of those segments, Teluss wildly popular wireless service is what investors should be looking at most.

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In a little over a decade, wireless devices have gone from being seen solely as communication devices to being vital to our daily lives. We are on our cell phones for longer periods of time, consuming more data with each passing year on a greater variety of applications that are steadily eliminating single-purpose devices we no longer have a need for, ranging from alarm clocks and cameras to pens, notepads, music players, and maps.

In terms of results, Telus boasted strong revenue growth of 6.3% in the most recent quarter, while EBITDA growth registered an equally impressive 4.3%. The company also added 112,000 net additions to its wireless network, while improving customer retention to an industry-leading 0.91% churn. Across the company, Telus registered 164,000 new customers across all of its segments, including some of the best quarterly figures in half a decade.

Teluss quarterly dividend is reason enough for many to consider investing. The current 4.41% yield is respectable, but what really makes the stock shine are the long-term growth prospects for that dividend. Telus has maintained a CAGR of over 7% over the past several years, providing investors with annual or better upticks that have kept the company as an attractive pick for dividend investors. Turning back over a decade, the dividend has more than doubled, and theres little reason to doubt further increases will continue.

Telus currently trades just under $50 with a P/E of 18.50.

Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) is a final pick that will power any portfolio to riches  literally. As one of the largest utilities on the continent, Fortis has a massive customer base that includes parts of Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Part of the reason that Fortis is so large today is thanks to the companys incredible appetite for expansion, which has seen the company take on increasingly larger acquisitions over the years, allowing it to expand to new markets.

That growth has helped Fortis continue to provide annual growth to its quarterly dividend, which currently provides a 3.63% yield and boasts nearly four decades of annual, consecutive dividend hikes. Throw in the stable, if not lucrative business model that utilities operates under and Fortis emerges as the must-have investment for nearly any portfolio.

Fortis currently trades near $50 with a P/E of 19.56.

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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
FILE - In this May 7, 2017 file photo, Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was in blatant violation of rules set out by the federal government restricting how the drug can be promoted, according to a leading expert on cannabis policy.

Deepak Anand, CEO and co-founder of the cannabis supply and distribution company Materia Ventures, and a renowned industry consultant, took to Twitter on Thursday with a screenshot of the provinces online cannabis store.

The image, which was also captured by Yahoo Finance Canada, shows the title Leafs By Snoop appearing above cannabis products.

Snoop Dogg promotes cannabis products under the name Leafs By Snoop. Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO), a longtime partner of the famous rapper, introduced the LBS branding a day before recreational legalization in Canada last year.

The title on the page has since been changed from Leafs By Snoop to LBS.

A screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website showing products endorsed by rapper Snoop Dogg on Friday, May 3, 2019.

The Cannabis Act, the federal legislation legalizing recreational use in Canada, states that it is prohibited to promote cannabis or a cannabis accessory or any service related to cannabis . . . by means of a testimonial or endorsement, however displayed or communicated and by means of the depiction of a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional.

This is a blatant violation of the Cannabis Act by a provincial government, Anand told Yahoo Canada Finance. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations that they have developed.

Cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser said the issue at hand is what exactly constitutes a depiction of a person and testimonial or endorsement under s.17(1) of the Cannabis Act.

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OCS spokesperson Amanda Winton said the Leafs By Snoop reference was posted due to a technical error and was corrected as soon as it was noticed.

Health Canada is tasked with monitoring regulated parties to verify compliance with the Cannabis Act.

Health Canada is aware of the issue you have raised and followed up with Ontario Cannabis Store yesterday, Health Canada senior media relations advisor Maryse Durette said in a statement to Yahoo Canada Finance. Ontario Cannabis Store informed Health Canada that they were already aware of the issue and had corrected their website.

Shortly after recreational legalization last October, Health Canada found New Brunswicks province-run online cannabis store ran afoul of the rules by displaying images of a woman doing yoga and a group of people smiling and taking a selfie.

In addition to rules on depictions of people and endorsements, the act forbids brand elements that evoke glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.

Cannabis NB said it made adjustments to its website.

The Wild West

The apparent disconnect between Ottawas rules and the influx of celebrity interest in the cannabis industry is causing confusion for companies looking to establish brands.

Anand, the former vice president of business development and government relations with the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance Inc., said advising clients on how to stay within the bounds of the law has been challenging.

While the rules expressly forbid celebrity promotion, many licensed cannabis producers have recruited star power to their brand.

Canopy works with Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Seth Rogan. The OCS sells a line of bongs, pipes and other accessories named after Bob Marley. OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI.V) has partnered with the Trailer Park Boys to develop a line of cannabis. The list goes on.

We see people every day asking if things are compliant, Anand said. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations, or else we are going to see the wild west.

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A Buffalo Airways aircraft made a forced landing off the runway in Hay River, N.W.T., on Friday.

According to Katherine Defosse, Buffalo Airways communications director, the cause was a mechanical issue. She said the two crew members on board are safe.

The incident happened at about 8 a.m. Friday. Buffalo Airways 169, flying a DC-3, took off from Hay River to Yellowknife at 7:41 a.m., and then turned back toward Hay River. The aircraft headed for the airport but didn't make it.

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information to decide whether it will send investigators.

It confirmed that moments before the landing the pilots told air traffic control they were "unsure" if they could make it back to the airport.

The pilot made a "forced" landing five nautical miles (nine kilometres) from runway 32.

Emergency crews, rangers dispatched

The town of Hay River dispatched emergency crews as close as possible to the crash site, said Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer.

Fire crews were notified of the crash this morning and were on standby roughly three kilometres from the plane, which is not available by road access.

RCMP and Canadian Rangers dispatched all-terrain vehicles to retrieve the two people from the crash site, she said.

Ross Potter, the director of protective services for the Town of Hay River, said he was pleased to see RCMP, rangers and the town's first responders work together.

Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways, which operates World War II-era aircraft, was featured in History Television's Ice Pilots NWT. The airline operates passenger, charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting and fuel services, according to its website.

Buffalo Airways has a history of hard landings and other incidents. The company's licence was suspended by Transport Canada back in 2015; it was reinstated the following year.
Caitlin Brady speaks of socialism as though it's the only rational response to 21st-century America.

"I work full time, I work 40 hours a week, and I qualify for food stamps," the 31-year-old said, explaining why she volunteered for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) campaign in Chicago's municipal elections last month.

To get food stamps in Illinois means Brady makes no more than $1,670 US a month. She pays no income tax on that  but neither did tech behemoth Amazon pay tax on the reported $10.8 billion it made last year.

"The richest country in the history of the world," Brady said, "and I'm not able to put a roof over my head and eat."

Like many toiling in the trenches of the DSA campaign, Brady is a millennial. Born between the early 1980s and 2000, theirs is the biggest generation since the baby boom and the most likely to think the American Dream  success equals prosperity  is dead.

Chicago is a historically big "D" Democratic city, and for years it has operated a bit like a one-party state. Republicans don't figure much in its politics. Political offices are sometimes passed between generations of the same Democratic families.

But in recent years, the socialists have spotted weaknesses on the Democrats' left flank: unaffordable urban housing and unkept promises of rent control. They struck, painting the Democrats as sellouts to big real estate developers.

Caitlin Ochs/Reuters

On election night, the media clucked and fussed over Democrat Lori Lightfoot, the openly gay black woman chosen to replace Chicago's unbeloved Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But underneath that headline was the news that the socialists running for a handful of city council seats had won them all. Granted, that's only four. But it means they now have six spots out of 50 in the government of the third-largest metropolis in the country  socialism's biggest victory in modern American history.

There are varieties of socialism around the world, but in the American context, it is fundamentally about ensuring that the health and welfare of the people does not depend on the incentives of capitalism.

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"People over profits" was a popular rallying cry among Chicago's DSA. But the DSA did not insist that workers should control the means of production and promise to take over Amazon. They ran on affordable housing, universal health care and returning government to the people.

'It's back'

The results in Chicago were preceded by a tsunami of speculation about the resurrection of the American left why and where in the land it might or might not pop up.

In March, New York magazine churned out several thousand words trying to answer its own question: When did everyone become a socialist? On the right, The Weekly Standard (just before it folded in December) took aim at what it called "the illusory dream of democratic socialism" in a piece called "Up from the Grave," which began: "It's back."

In between, countless think pieces have analyzed what's going on, usually making a link to the unexpected successes of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (a.k.a. AOC). But the truth is the warming trend for socialism began before any of that.

CBC

Nearly a decade ago, the Pew Research Center reported that American millennials, a generation with growing political clout, saw the world differently than their forebears. A 2010 Pew study found that, as a whole, Americans strongly favoured capitalism over socialism, but millennials slightly favoured socialism over capitalism.

Perhaps because they had no memory of the Cold War, they didn't see socialism as a bogeyman. They were open to it.

A few years later, the political scientist and writer Peter Beinart took the Pew study and contextualized it in a widely read essay in the Daily Beast. Under the headline "The Rise of the New New Left," he tried to unpack how a promise to make the rich pay for universal childcare turned lefty Democrat Bill de Blasio into the mayor of New York. Priorities were disrupted, thought Beinart.

Response to 'fail decade'

With a hat tip to the sociologist Karl Mannheim, Beinart argued that only certain generations disrupt the status quo, and they do it because something irregular and meaningful happens during their formative years  late teens, early twenties  that forever colours their worldview.

The political coming of age for the first American millennials wasn't at all like the decades that preceded it. The 21st century opened with the catastrophes of what some describe as "the fail decade"  as Beinart wrote, "the decade of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis."

With striking prescience, he warned that both Republicans and Democrats had something to fear from a maturing generation that believes government should play an expanded role in their lives, and that status quo politics had failed.

More than three years ahead of the fateful 2016 election, Beinart predicted that in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton would be "vulnerable to a candidate who can inspire passion and embody fundamental change, especially on the subject of economic inequality and corporate power."

Beinart saw Senator Elizabeth Warren as that candidate. The eventual challenger turned out to be Bernie Sanders, but other than that, it seems Beinart was right.

Both Warren and Sanders are vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination saying corporate power needs stronger guardrails. Sanders describes himself sometimes as a socialist, sometimes as a democratic socialist  probably to avoid persnickety arguments about whether there's a difference between them.

Tiffany Foxcroft/CBC

Warren eschews both labels and claims that ideologically, she's "a capitalist to my bones." But her skepticism about unrestrained markets is as defiant as Sanders'. She's against what she calls "shareholder value maximization ideology."

For instance, she has proposed an "Accountable Capitalism Act" about corporate governance. If it were law, it would force certain big corporations to have federal charters and allow their shareholders to sue company directors if they act contrary to the interests of "all corporate stakeholders"  meaning running afoul of employee rights and environmental impacts.

That sounds like a shout-out to the socialists that, whether they want to or not, Democrats are hosting in their party.

Legacy tied to FDR, LBJ

"We're being the real Democrats, that's how I like to view it," said 30-year-old Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, now in his second term as a DSA city alderman in Chicago.

"We're being truer to the history of the party, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to Lyndon Baines Johnson."

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

There is truth to that. FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society are monumental figures in the history of the Democratic Party. They established unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, financial regulatory reforms and other programs that conservatives still dream of trying to roll back.

But the Democratic Party of FDR and LBJ was not the party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom extolled the virtues of leaner government. Clinton and Obama largely conceded to the economic arguments of the Reagan revolution, which conflated market freedom with personal freedom.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." Obama's autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, has grudging respect for Reagan scattered throughout it.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has wrestled with the ambitious vision of the socialists in her caucus, and she's unequivocal about where she stands. "That is not the view of the Democratic Party," she told CBS's 60 Minutes recently.

Nor, from a strictly utilitarian perspective, could it be. Pelosi became Speaker after the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. Their margin of victory had little to do with democratic socialist AOC winning her seat in the reliably Democratic district of the Bronx. It had everything to do with candidates such as Abby Finkenauer, who overturned a Republican in swing state Iowa's First District.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Put another way, the number of degrees Democrats can safely shift to the left in 2020 is probably less than AOC and some others elected in safe Democratic districts would like.

No one knows that better than President Donald Trump, who used his State of the Union speech in February to kick off his campaign against an imagined red menace.

"We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said, and then went on to define socialism as the monster that ate Venezuela. "America will never be a socialist country," he pledged, implying the nation could bank on that only as long as he was in the White House.

DSA members often say that when they think socialism, they think Denmark, not Venezuela. But Democrats won't get to argue that case in the 2020 election debate when Trump is already winding up his base with wild stories about a socialist dystopia. He recently warned that the Green New Deal means people will have to give up their cows.

There are many reasons that this is a watershed moment for Democrats.

Not only do they want to beat Trump in 2020; many feel it's their moral responsibility. But socialist talk is unnerving to those who fear ideological flirtations are better put on hold  at least until they've dealt with job one.

WATCH | Municipal election results in Chicago could signal a broader turn toward socialism in American politics:
Two cruise ships have sustained "minor damage" after they came into contact on Saturday morning near Vancouver's Canada Place.

The Port of Vancouver said in a written statement that at around 6:30 a.m. the Oosterdam was berthing when they came into contact with the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was at berth.

There were no injuries, and no pollution as a result of the incident, and cruise operations are continuing normally.

In a written statement, Erik Elvejord with the Holland American cruise line said that the incident happened closer to 6:50 a.m.

"Disembarkation on both ships proceeded as usual. Damage to Oosterdam is minimal. Six [...] stateroom verandahs on Nieuw Amsterdam require repairs which are underway," he wrote, adding that guests booked in those rooms will be given other accommodation.

CBC

Elvejord said that all required repairs are above the ships' waterlines, and that the seaworthiness of the ships is not affected.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to depart today on a seven-day roundtrip to Alaska. The Oosterdam is scheduled to sail overnight to Seattle.

Elvejord said he does not anticipate that either itinerary will be affected.

Angela Hagen was packing up after a six-day cruise from San Diego on the Nieuw Amsterdam when she heard "lots of crunching and breaking of things."

At first, she thought the ship had hit the docks.

"My sister went out on the balcony and said 'we hit the other ship!'" she said.

Hagen said she could see the railing was gone from the rooms next to hers. They were briefly asked to leave but were eventually able to return to retrieve their luggage.

Transport Canada will work with the Holland America cruise line to fully assess the damage.
By Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapons into the East Sea in a military drill supervised by leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the North's state media reported on Sunday. The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units," the Korean Central News Agency said, implying that the latest firing was not the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States. Kim gave an order of firing and stressed the need to "increase the combat ability so as to defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance" of North Korea in the face of threats and invasions, the report said. The statement came a day after the latest firing, which analysts interpreted as an attempt to exert pressure on Washington to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure. "Yes, the tests were the most serious since the end of 2017, but this is largely a warning to Trump that he could lose the talks unless Washington takes partial denuclearization steps offered by Kim," said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "A resumption of long-range test could be next unless Kim gets what he wants soon." North Korean had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missiles testing in place since 2017, which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pointed out as an important achievement from his engagement with Pyongyang. The latest firing prompted Seoul to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula" on Saturday, while Trump said in a Twitter post that he was still confident he could have a deal with Kim. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday. The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a vaguer description and said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. North Korea demanded Washington to lift the U.S.-led sanctions in return for a partial dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, while the United States wanted the quick rollback of the Norths entire nuclear weapons programme. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Its official: Thailand has a new king and queen.

A coronation ceremony was held for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, on Saturday.

King Maha, 66, became monarch after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. The exact reason for the delayed formal coronation is unknown, although it was initially said to be due to a mourning period for the kings father.

Saturday marked the first day in a three-day coronation ceremony.

As the day began, Maha entered the Grand Palace and began the first of three major rites, the Royal Purification Ceremony, during which the king was showered with holy waters, according to the Associated Press.

From there, the king changed into ornate golden clothes, and while seated on a throne, underwent the Royal Anointment Ceremony. During the rite, holy water was poured on the kings hands and he was also given a ceremonial nine-tiered white umbrella.

At the conclusion of the rite, the king had assumed full regal power.

Thailand's King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

Thailand's King Maha | THAI TV POOL/AFP/Getty Images

In the last of the three rites, the Presentation of Royal Regalia, the king was crowned while seated on a throne. According to the Associated Press, the crown, which is covered in gold-plated diamonds, is over 200 years old and weighs 16 lbs.

As one of first acts as crowned king, Maha went on to present his wife with traditional regalia.

The coronation will be followed by a procession through Bangkok on Sunday.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Thailand's King Maha | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It was announced Wednesday that the monarch had married his consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, according to the Associated Press.

The announcement was reportedly made in the Royal Gazette, although it did not give a date of the wedding.

Thai television stations broadcast the royal order on Wednesday along with a video of Suthida, wearing a pale pink dress, laying before the king and presenting him with a tray of flowers and joss sticks, AP reports. Suthida, 40, was presented gifts in return.

Story continues

DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The couple also signed a marriage certificate book, also signed by the kings sister, Princess Sirindhorn, and Privy Council head as witnesses. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and other senior officials were also in attendance at the ceremony.

The Thai monarch has had three previous marriages. He divorced his most recent wife in 2014.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Thailand's Queen Suthida and King Maha | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Little is known about Thailands new queen. The couple reportedly met on a flight when she was working as a flight flight attendant for Thai Airways International.

In 2013, Suthida joined the palace guard. King Maha then appointed Suthida as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. He made Suthida a full general in December 2016 after he became king, and the deputy commander of the kings personal guard in 2017. He also made her a Thanpuying, a royal title meaning Lady.
Thousands of Alberta students  carrying signs like "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone: The Gays" and "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?"  walked out of their classes Friday morning to protest the new UCP government's position on gay-straight alliances (GSAs).

The United Conservative Party intends to overturn a law that prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins a GSA. However, Premier Jason Kenney repeated Friday that his party's plan would maintain "the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country."

The student-led protests spanned about 90 schools across the province, with participating teens stepping out of their classrooms at 9:30 a.m. MT for 20 minutes. Many schools saw dozens to hundreds of students walk out  despite snow falling in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and other parts of northern Alberta.

Scroll through the blog below to see tweets, photos and video from the protests around the province:

LGBTQ rights advocates say notifying parents who do not approve of their child's sexuality could lead to suicides and dangerous situations at home. The risk of being outed, they say, would deter kids from joining clubs and finding support.

"We think that this is a problem because in some cases parents might not be very accepting of their child and it could pose a danger to their child. This is not to say that all parents are going to do this but there are definitely some," Grade 10 student Aimee told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"Additionally, we believe that it should be up to the child themselves of when they want to come out and how they want to come out."

Tiphanie Roquette/Radio-Canada/CBC

Many students, like Alyssa Gabriel, echoed that message. Gabriel, who is gay, studies in Edmonton, and although her parents are supportive, she marched for her friends.

"I have a lot of gay friends who think the GSA is very important to them, and it's their little safe space and they have homophobic parents," Gabriel said.

Story continues

"But now with this [proposed] rule, it's not like a safe space anymore. They can't be there anymore 'cause they don't want to tell their parents they're gay because they might get kicked out."

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Protesters held signs with slogans, such as, "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone  The Gays," "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?" and "It's my choice, not yours. #KeepOurSafeSpacesSafe."

Sean Ruhland, one of hundreds of students who marched at William Aberhart High School in northwest Calgary, said his school's GSA was helpful when he came to terms with his identity as a gay transgender man.

CBC

He's graduating this year and said he wanted to protect other students' ability to come out to their parents on their own time.

"[The UCP] do not care. They do not care about youth, they do not care about future generations," Ruhland told Radio-Canada. "And they simply do not care about the quality of education in schools."

Not every school had large turnouts, though.

At Bishop Grandin High School in southwest Calgary, for example, fewer than 10 people took part.

One student told CBC they felt the walkout wasn't well-advertised, or worse, they worried that other students didn't care.

Only a few protested at Wheatland Crossing School but one student, Grant Carson, wrote on social media, "Our voice matters. Even in a small school."

Nelly Alberola/Radio-Canada

Other Albertans honked their car horns while passing protesters or shared their support of the students by posting on social media. Members of MacDougall Church in Edmonton marched to support students at Allendale School, as well.

Grant Carson

Former NDP education minister David Eggen attended the protest at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton, where students chanted, "Save our GSAs," and "Hey, Jason, leave our kids alone."

"Jason Kenney and his caucus seem bound and determined to out gay kids, to remove that safe place, that safe sanctuary," Eggen told reporters. "We're here to stand together to oppose that and to stop him."

MLA Sarah Hoffman, former NDP health minister, attended at Ross Sheppard School in Edmonton, where about 50 students protested.

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Student organizers said they kept it short so students could take a stand without missing much class time and encouraged people to seek parental permission as some schools said they would count it as an unexcused absence.

'They are fearful'

Teacher Kevin McBean, who is the GSA faculty sponsor at M.E. LaZerte School in Edmonton, says his school's club is a social space for kids to discuss social issues, watch movies and make pizza.

"Certainly many of my students aren't necessarily out to their parents, or if they are, it's already a rather contentious issue at home," McBean said in advance of the protests.

Dawson White

"The GSA provides them with a space where they can be themselves and just connect with other people, and so I think they are fearful that these kinds of policies could hurt them."

UCP promises 'strongest legal protection' in country for GSAs

Legislation came into effect under the previous NDP government in 2017 that protects the establishment of gay-straight alliance, or GSA, school groups. The law also prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins the group.

The UCP, which was sworn in on Tuesday after winning the recent provincial election, plans to give Alberta schools the discretion to inform parents of their child's participation in a GSA.

That announcement has been criticized by LGBT advocates, school administrators and teachers across Alberta, and sparked protests in Calgary and Edmonton during the election campaign.

Upon Kenney's victory, the students organized the mass protest.

Ariel Fournier/CBC

Kenney has said he would replace the NDP's Bill 24 with the seven-year-old Education Act  in essence removing some legal protections for Alberta LGBTQ students and school staff.

The Education Act, proposed under the former Progressive Conservative Party, does not have the change the NDP passed, including:

The requirement for school principals to grant student requests for GSAs.

The requirement for private schools to have public policies on protecting LGBTQ students.

Kenney has said that the UCP's proposed Education Act would still protect GSAs,

At an Edmonton event in March, he said that parents would only be notified by school staff of their child's involvement in rare cases  a position he reiterated when reached Friday.

"We're keeping our election commitment, which is to modernize the Education Act in Alberta and to maintain the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country," Kenney said ahead of the rally.

"It's great to see young people taking an active interest in issues. I'd suggest better for them to do rallies or protests after school hours and not during them. We want to make sure young people are actually learning in class instead of doing politics."

University of Calgary political scientist Melanee Thomas said on Twitter that she felt students had to protest during school hours as many take long bus rides to get home at the end of the day.

"Goal is to be inclusive," she Tweeted.

Chris Wattie/Reuters

Schools where students protested

The following schools are among those with students participating:
The city of Whitehorse is ramping up its forest fire preparedness efforts with the summer approaching.

Staff have a booth in the Canada Games Centre at the annual trade show this weekend. On Tuesday, staff are screening the documentary Into the Fire at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

In part the film looks at FireSmarting yards and homes.

Environmental co-ordinator Glenda Koh said embers blowing into yards are the main cause of homes burning during forest fires, not the actual flames.

She said the priority is creating a non-combustible zone around a home.

"So what we want to do is reduce all things that embers could eventually land on and ignite," said Koh. She used her home as an example.

Dave Croft/CBC

It has wood siding, "which is very nice, but wood is probably the worst siding you can have in terms of being resilient to fire," she said.

Better materials are cement board and stucco, she added.

Asphalt shingles on the roof are okay, said Koh, but wood shingles "would be absolutely a no-no."

There should be a 1.5-metre zone around a home completely clear of anything combustible, said Koh.

That includes firewood, bushes and accumulations of dead leaves.

Koh said anywhere dried leaves pile up, like in a carport or under a deck, are important to keep clean.

"Wherever you see leaves, that's probably where the wind has taken those leaves and so that's exactly the same path that an ember is going to take in case of a fire," she said.

Wooden fences that connect directly to the house should be avoided, she said, or least broken up with something like a metal gate.

Dave Croft/CBC

A moist lawn is not going to burn as quickly as dry grass, said Koh.

Wildfire risk reduction strategy started

Koh said preventing fire damage requires action on different scales and levels within the community.

"So it's not just a government issue and it's not a matter of how to evacuate," she said.

"In case of a wildfire there's a lot of preventative stuff that we can do on private property and on public land."

Koh said the city has begun work on a wildfire risk reduction strategy. It's expected to be done by next spring.

The city is also participating in the Nanook military exercise at the end of the month. Two neighbourhoods will be evacuated to test emergency preparedness.
It may not surprise you to learn people are getting hooked on an addictive Wisconsin export. But it might surprise you to learn that export is cheese.

In his book The Cheese Trap, doctor and author Neal Barnard argues that America is addicted to cheese. He says giving up cheese would help Americans lose weight and improve their health. Needless to say, Barnard will be stopped at the border if he attempts to enter Wisconsin.

Barnard grew up in North Dakota, no doubt in a household stocked with colored oleomargarine, a once-banned product Cheeseheads now begrudgingly accept. He says cheese is loaded with calories and sodium, and has more cholesterol than a steak. Apparently we are supposed to think all this is bad. But steak and salt are awesome, and as for calories, well, most of us arent posing for underwear ads anytime soon, so bring em on!

The book delves into the addictive nature of cheese, which contains casein, a protein with opiate molecules built in. This makes cheese dangerous, not unlike Wisconsins other top export, which is of course serial killers. Wait, no, I meant beer.

Brewskis go down like mothers milk for many a Wisconsinite. Barnard says consumers hankering for a hunk of cheese begins with infancy. When babies nurse, opiates in the milk reward them. When we eat cheese, we take in concentrated amounts of those same molecules.

Barnard isnt the only one who has warned against the dangers of cheese. My nine loyal readers may recall that in a 2015 study, University of Michigan researchers found the casein in cheese stimulates cravings by triggering the brains opioid receptors. As much as wed like to disregard any assertion made by Michiganders, who are of course not to be trusted  they stole the Upper Peninsula from us, doncha know  their findings certainly would explain the behavior one witnesses at Lambeau Field. Call it a curd mentality.

Subjects were asked to identify the foods they crave, and scientists quickly found a common ingredient. You guessed it: Asparagus. Just kidding, it was cheese. Researchers noted that while milk contains only a tiny dosage of casein, 10 pounds of it are used to produce a pound of cheese.

You start out with a few nibbles: Just a taste, the grocer says, First ones on me. The next thing you know, youre strung out, loitering outside Sargento and begging for a hit of colby.

The studys authors used their findings to identify a potential cause of addictive eating, and to call for public policy initiatives regarding the marketing of cheese to children. Hey, kids: Cheese is no gouda for you!

Theirs is an uphill battle. Theyre like Sisyphus, pushing a cheddar wheel up a mountainside. After all, the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people. No doubt Wisconsinites, who tend to be above average, consume considerably more than that. I bet 100 pounds are eaten at the Chuck E. Cheese in Green Bay every Tuesday.

Like the Michigan researchers, the author Barnard is going to have a hard time convincing Americans to give up cheese. His message certainly will fall on deaf ears in Americas Dairyland, where we love things that arent good for us. We live for beer and sausage. We swung for Trump. Half of us die ice fishing and snowmobiling. Were about as worried about our cholesterol as we are an alien invasion.

Plus, we might note that the National Dairy Council responded to Barnards claims by saying consuming cheese in moderation can be part of a healthy eating plan. After all, the only way most of us eat vegetables, other than at gunpoint, is to slather them with melted cheese.

Unfortunately, consuming things in moderation tends not to be Wisconsinites strong suit. Weve been known to take a second drink. And when it comes to cheese, we dont just eat it: We wear it.

Call us addicts if you like, we dont care. Besides, we can hardly hear you over the squeak of fresh cheese curds against our teeth.

Ben Bromley writes for the Baraboo News-Republic.

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Michael Hedges May 3, 2019 -

Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. Somber Tones, Little Sunshine, No RestMichael Hedges May 3, 2019 - Follow on Twitter Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here.
Charmaine LeMay Korn passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minn., surrounded by her family. She was born to Donavan LeMay and Ruth Lueck LeMay Nov. 6,1933, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Charmaine, lovingly called Char, graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1951. Following her graduation, she attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. Upon completion of her studies, she was employed by Cargill, in Minneapolis, in their accounting division.

In 1956 Char returned to her home town of Chippewa Falls, working in the accounting field for local businesses. It was at this time, during her first marriage, she had two children, a daughter, Darcy and a son, Bruce. In 1977 she married Gene Korn, and together they raised a blended family, while Char worked at National Presto Industries. In 1982 the Korns relocated to Minneapolis where she worked for FMC Corporation and Target.

Upon retirement from Target, she remained active in her book club, womens groups, bible study and other church functions. She especially enjoyed the womens yearly retreat sponsored by her church.

Char is survived by her daughter, Darcy LaVigne, of Columbia Heights, Minn.; her son, Bruce Lavigne, (Aubrey); and grandchildren, Ashton, Laithan, and Aspen of Trent, South Dakota; stepdaughter, Carla Korn Steinmetz; brothers, Don LeMay, and Karl LeMay, (Connie); sister, DeEtta Bachman; and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Donavan and Ruth LeMay; husband, Gene Korn; stepson, Jeff Korn; sister, Yvonne Kropidlowski; sister-in-law, Patricia LeMay; and brother-in-law, L. Bruce Bachman.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Zion Lutheran Church, 110 E. Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls, followed by lunch, and then a graveside interment.

Char will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor and generous nature. If you would like to honor her, a donation to your favorite charity would be welcomed.
WASHINGTON  Eight-year-old Liam Daly became an internet sensation when he penned a letter to his grandfather, William Barr, while sitting in the front row at Barrs confirmation hearing in January.

Dear Grandpa, he wrote. You are doing great so far. But I know you still will.

Alas for Liam, and for all of us, it was not to be. Now, just weeks on the job as President Trumps attorney general, Grandpa has disgraced himself. The speed with which Barr trashed a reputation built over decades is stunning, even by Trump administration standards.

Before, Barr was known as the attorney general to President George H.W. Bush and an eminence grise of the Washington legal community. Now he is known for betraying a friend, lying to Congress and misrepresenting the Mueller report in a way that excused the presidents misbehavior and let Russia off the hook.

Three weeks ago, Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., asked Barr about reports that special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs team complained that Barrs four-page summary of their work didnt adequately or accurately portray their findings. Do you know what theyre referencing? Crist asked.

No, I dont, Barr replied under oath, speculating that they probably wanted more put out.

Grandpa was fibbing.

Thanks to The Washington Posts reporting, we now know that two weeks before Barr denied knowledge of the Mueller teams displeasure, he received a letter from Mueller complaining that Barrs summary did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions and resulted in public confusion.

Barr, caught in flagrante delicto in his deception, told senators Wednesday that the question was relating to unidentified members of Muellers team, not Mueller himself  a technical answer that might get him off for perjury but doesnt avoid the conclusion that he deliberately misled Congress and the public.

Why didnt Barr disclose the Mueller letter when Crist asked the question? Barr replied that Crist had posed a very different question.

Um, right.

Of equal concern, Barr rejected Muellers requests to release more of the report to clear up the confusion. At that point, it was my baby, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Muellers.

It was his baby, and he smothered it  thus allowing Barrs misrepresentation of Muellers report (characterized by Trump as total exoneration) to harden.

Barrs mistreatment of Mueller is all the more appalling because, during his confirmation hearing, Barr boasted that the two men and their wives were good friends and would remain so. Barr reportedly told a senator privately that he and Mueller were best friends, that their wives attended Bible study together and that Mueller attended the weddings of Barrs children.

If so, Barrs betrayal reminds us: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. In addition to his unilateral clearing of Trump on obstruction of justice (something Mueller did not do), Barr also echoed Trumps claim that there was no collusion (a question Mueller did not address) and that there had been spying against Trumps campaign.

Barr continued undermining Mueller on Wednesday, calling Muellers letter to him a bit snitty and saying Mueller should have ended the investigation if he didnt think it in his purview to say whether Trump committed a crime. And Barr eagerly played Trumps defense lawyer.

Muellers finding that Trump repeatedly leaned on White House counsel Don McGahn to get Mueller fired?

Barr devised the implausible explanation that Trump only wanted Mueller replaced by another special counsel.

And Trump instructing McGahn to say publicly that Trump didnt order Mueller fired? Not a crime, Barr argued.

Barr also defended his assertion that Trump fully cooperated with the investigation, even though he refused to be interviewed and tried to get then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself and shut down the inquiry.

I dont see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation, Barr reasoned.

Even Barrs choice of pronouns  we have not waived the executive privilege, he said  showed he was Trumps lawyer, not Americas attorney general.

Repeatedly, Barr said it didnt matter that Trump had deceived the public. Im not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people, he said. But now Barr, by misrepresenting his dealings with Mueller, has gotten himself into the business of lying to the American people.

Even an 8-year-old knows lying is wrong, whether its legal or not. Surely Grandpa Barr should have. The attorney general owed better to his friend Mueller, and to the rest of us.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for Sri Lanka church and hotel bombings

The Islamic State has claimed that it was behind the horrific suicide bombings of churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend.

The terrorist group made the claim through its official Amaq news agency on Tuesday.

It comes after Sri Lankan intelligence named radical local cleric Moulvi Zahran Hashim as the chief mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks. He reportedly used his social media channels in the past to incite hatred against non-Muslims.

Senior government officials had blamed the little known radical Islamist group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which gained prominence last year after being accused of damaging Buddhist statues.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne previously said that whoever carried out the attacks must have been helped by an international network.

"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," he said.

"There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."

The devastating attacks were carried out on two Catholic churches and one evangelical church that were packed with worshippers celebrating Easter Sunday.

Four luxury hotels were also targeted in the attacks that claimed the lives of 321 people, including eight British citizens.

Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday that he believed the bombings were in retaliation for the recent attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed when a gunman opened fire in the mosques on March 15.

"The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch, but we are continuing investigations," Wijewardene said.
Viaje has announced the return of two Japanese-inspired small batch releases, the Viaje Hamaki and Viaje Hamaki Omakase. Both of these cigars were originally released in 2017 as a part of the Viajes White Label Project. This time the two small batch releases return and receive their own packaging.

Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar. The project was provoked by Viaje founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. It is a 6 x 54 box-pressed torpedo with the blend details not being disclosed. When Hamaki was first released back in 2017, it was a Dominican puro produced at the Quesada factory in the Dominican Republic.

Like Hamaki, the Hamaki Omakase was provoked by Viaje Cigars founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. Omakase is the Japanese tradition of letting a chef choose your order. The word actually means I will leave it to you and it fits in with the theme of the cigar (the name Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar) as the details of the blend have not been released. The cigar itself is a 5 x 52 Robusto produced in Nicaragua. The 2017 release of the Hamaki Omakase also was an undisclosed blend in a 5 x 52 Robusto size.

The Hamaki is packaged in 25-count boxes while the Hamaki Omakase comes in 18-count boxes.

In terms of the new packaging Viaje refers to this as graduating from the White Label Project series. The White Label Project is a series of experimental cigars and in some cases factory errors. Lately, Viaje has been using White Label Project to test the waters with a new line. This has allowed Viaje to see how the market responds to a release before investing in a more detailed packaging.

Photo Credit: Viaje Cigars
If youve been reading the liberal media and Left Twitter the past couple of months, youd be certain of one thing: Joe Biden is hopelessly out of touch  too old, too white, too male, too handsy, too racist, too misogynist, too unwoke, and far too compromised by his past positions to be the Democratic nominee in 2020. Josh Marshall, while liking Biden, regarded him as unsuited to the moment in almost every way imaginable. Jamelle Bouie saw him as a repugnant variant of Trumpism: For decades Biden gave liberal cover to white backlash. My colleague Rebecca Traister recently called him a comforter of patriarchal impulses toward controlling womens bodies. Ben Smith declared : His campaign is stumbling toward launch with all the hallmarks of a Jeb!-level catastrophe  a path that leads straight down  Joe Biden isnt going to emerge from the 2020 campaign as the nominee. You already knew that. Michael Tomasky summarized the elite consensus: Nearly everyone thinks [Biden] cant win the nomination.

Nearly everyone  i.e., all my friends and acquaintances in the journalistic and political elite  also thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in to win the general election. But Biden has had an extremely good start to his third campaign for president. His announcement video was aimed at those on the left who see Trump as the tip of the spear of white nationalism, and to those swingier voters who simply want to return to normalcy, constitutional order, and, well, decency. Thats a message that rallies the base but also appeals to those who may be exhausted by the trauma of Trump. As an opener, perfect. Even, at times, moving.

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The polling is just as impressive. In three separate polls released this week, Bidens support is somewhere in the upper 30s, and his nearest competitor is in the mid-teens (or, in one case, low 20s). In a field of 20 candidates, thats a big share, and in Nate Silvers analysis, Well-known candidates polling in the mid-30s in the early going are about even money to win the nomination, historically. Yes, hes riding an announcement bump right now and his numbers may and almost certainly will fade over time. His name recognition is sky-high compared with some others, who could catch up as the campaign progresses. And he might once again gaffe his way into oblivion. But he has a big enough lead to be able to afford a certain amount of erosion.

And his strength is drawn from two contrasting bases: older, moderate whites, and African-Americans. Although his share is in the 30s overall, he has a whopping 50 percent share among nonwhite Democrats, according to the latest CNN poll. A Morning Consult poll found him with 43 percent of the black vote, including 47 percent support among African-American women. Bidens deep association with Obama gives him a lift in the black vote no other white candidate can achieve. And so it turns out that the base of the Democrats has not been swept into the identity cult of the elite, wealthy, white left. As a brand- new CBS poll finds, Democrats may prefer a hypothetical female nominee over a male (5941 percent), a black nominee over a white one (6040 percent), and someone in their 40s to someone in their 70s. But thats in the abstract. In reality, Biden seems to scramble these preferences.

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Hes also been able to reach non-college-educated white men in ways few other candidates could. Thats a big fucking deal in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin  and if Biden can carry those states, hell be the next president. Hes a union man, and always has been. In what was a brilliant ad-lib, Biden began a speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers by making a joke about the excesses of #MeToo  I had permission to hug Lonnie, the union leader, he quipped. Later, as he brought some kids onstage, he joked again, as he put his hands on the shoulders of a boy: He gave me permission to touch him. The crowds reaction both times was bellows of laughter.

Yes, this might be seen as insensitive, or tone-deaf. It is certainly politically incorrect. But what Bidens joke did is tell the white working class that he has not defected to the woke, white urban elites. This matters. In a recent poll , 80 percent of Americans say that political correctness is a problem in this country. Hostility to new speech codes from elites was one factor that drove support for Trump in 2016. Americans do not want to abolish all differences between men and women, do not support reparations, and view college campuses as strange, alien pockets of madness. Any Democrat in 2020 has to reach that  exhausted majority  who are sick of all that. Biden has already done it.

Would upping the white working-class vote for the Dems alienate minorities, women, and high-income whites? Maybe. Charles Blow recently argued that these voters are fickle, getting smaller and smaller as a segment of the electorate, and are hostile to the interests of women and minorities. That is, theyre deplorables, unworthy of attention. Clinton tried that strategy. And she lost the presidency because of her thinly veiled contempt for the white working classes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The idea that the white working class is incompatible with a multicultural coalition is what two Obama campaigns disproved.

Bidens positive message is a defense of the worker from the excesses of decadent late-capitalism. He can effortlessly channel that and compete with Trump in the Rust Belt. Sanders can do this as well  but Bernie, for all his sincerity and authenticity, does not have the heft of a two-term vice-president who has long been at the center of his party. For those who simply want to defeat Trump at all costs, Biden, for now, seems the safest bet. He can run on a platform deeply informed by the lefts critique of the market, without the baggage of left wokeness or those eager to play into the GOPs hands and explicitly avow socialism.

Thats exactly what the Trump campaign fears. And in the critical head-to-head dynamic against Trump, Biden already seems to have gotten into the presidents head. Despite what we have been told is strong internal advice from his mute dauphin-in-law not to engage Biden, Trump couldnt help himself. When Biden got an endorsement from the firefighters union, Trump unleashed a torrent of 58 retweets before 6:30 a.m., all citing firefighters support for Trump. The president insists that every firefighter, cop, and service member supports him. All of them. And so the president went on to attack the union itself: Ive done more for Firefighters than this dues sucking union will ever do, and I get paid ZERO! After this sad temper tantrum, Biden was ready for a response: Im sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work. Biden 1, Tump 0.

In subsequent remarks, Trump revealed his current strategy for reelection: Hell tout a strong economy, fight mass immigration, and run against the threat of socialism. But hes obviously terrified that Biden wont fit easily into this AOCIlhan Omar rubric. Hes hoping that the left of the party will kneecap him: I think Biden would be easier from the standpoint that you will have so much dissension in the party, because itll make four years ago look like baby stuff  They want the radical left  they want the left movement  and he probably isnt there. And I think youre going to have tremendous dissension [sic] just like Hillary did. So the president just told the country that his most potent opponent is no leftist. A Trump adviser told Politico : We dont think Biden can make it out of the woke Democrat primary. Boy, are they hoping he doesnt.

The reason Trump is so rattled is that Biden is seven points ahead of him in head-to-head polls right now, and, after four years of Trumps assault on this countrys constitutional order, Democrats are likely to turn out in high numbers, and back whoever gets nominated. As it becomes clearer that this president regards himself as above the law, and has an attorney general who shares this view and will also target Trumps opponents if told to, opposition could intensify. New data from 2018 shows how big Democratic turnout was: 36 percent of young people voted, compared with 20 percent in 2014. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians all saw their turnout rates soar  up 11, 13, and 13 points, respectively, compared with 2014. When these voters have a chance to get rid of Trump, whoever the nominee is, I have no doubt theyll show up. If Biden could make some inroads with non-college-educated whites and seniors, it could be another big fucking deal. Adding Kamala Harris as his veep could unify the Democratic base behind the ticket.

Two other points: Biden is a Catholic. Anyone who has ever been saturated in American Catholicism can swiftly recognize the figure: old-school but open, a believer in the innate dignity of every human soul, regularly at Mass, deeply comfortable in the world of white ethnic America, surprisingly liberal. Catholics  shockingly, given the depravity of the Republicans  split their vote last time. Move them a few points, as Obama did in 2008 , and you have a real shift in our politics. And then theres the fact that Trumps uncanny ability to define someone with a brutal but telling nickname seems to have failed him with Biden. Sleepy Joe? I can detect nothing sleepy about this septuagenarian embarking on a third run for president. Biden seems to genuinely flummox Trump. Which is very good news.

There is also, dare I say it, a deeper contrast between the two men. One is decent, kind, generous, funny. The other is indecent, cruel, miserly, and has the callous humor of a bully. There would be a moral gulf between any current Democrat and Trump, of course. But with Biden, were reminded of the America we thought we knew. Yes, this is partly nostalgia, but no one should underestimate nostalgia in a country as turbulent, afraid, and resentful as America right now. Bidens moment, in my mind, was 2016, but he was prevented from competing by Clinton and Obama. But history takes strange turns. This already feels to me like a two-man race. That may change. Its extremely early, but the odds are with Biden. And the tailwinds behind him are intense.
SHELBY - The Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill was the only childhood home Columbus resident Dallas Thelen ever knew.

His parents, George and Cindy Thelen, purchased the building at 240 N. Walnut St. in 1979, less than a year after Dallas was born.

The Thelens operated their business by day before heading up a flight of stairs every evening after the bar closed.

It was definitely unique, Dallas said of the living arrangement with his parents and three siblings. That was the only home I ever knew growing up. But it was fun, there was a long hallway that we would run down playing hide and seek and stuff, and then dad actually took out a few walls and put in a swing set so we had our own playground indoors.

Dallas moved to Columbus with his wife, Denise, in 2007, and his parents continued calling the establishment home before moving just a few blocks away in January 2010.

Although the top portion of the Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill has now been vacant for some time, the bottom floor has remained lively with numerous area residents patronizing the facility on a regular basis. On Wednesday, the business celebrated 40 years of being in business with an all-afternoon gathering that drew in around 100 people.

Throughout the afternoon and night it was pretty busy, Cindy said. The kids are the ones who really did it, got it up on Facebook and told people to come  we werent going to do anything.

The couple is glad they celebrated, though. At the end of October, the establishment is permanently shutting its doors. Although there will be a final party  likely a Halloween-themed bash, this served as a bit of a farewell.

With Cindy turning 65 in June and George creeping up on 72, its finally time to throw in the towel. The couple has served as a two-person crew for multiple years following the departure of longtime employee Carol Funkhouser, who manned the short-order grill during the lunch hour for the better part of three decades.

I think that its a good time for them to retire, Dallas said. I think that they have put in their time for a business like that. Its an extremely long tenure, just because of all the time they have had to spend there. I remember that mom would be there before 7 (a.m.) when they opened, and then dad would be there until past 1 (a.m.) at close. And then they would wake up and do it all over again.

George and Cindy agree, but its still hard stepping away from the establishment that not only provided their livelihood, but also a shelter over their childrens and their own heads for so many years. Its a place where third-generation customers pop in and talk about their familys history and memories at the bar.

Just a whole lot of parties  good memories, George said of what he will remember fondly, with a laugh. Everything that has happened on Main Street we have been part of because we lived on Main Street for such a long time. The homecoming parades, all the Halloween parties and anniversary dances weve had over the years 

In the late 1970s when the Thelens opened shop, there were five watering holes in downtown area. Now, at least for the time being, there will be none beginning in November.

Dallas knows this is a tough pill for his father to swallow.

Hes always been really supportive of the community and just adamant that Main Street needs to have good businesses, Dallas said. He never wanted businesses to leave.

Now that the time has arrived for the Thelens, their focus is on the future. The couple will be able to relax a little bit more and enjoy the company of their seven grandchildren.

Shelby will still be their home, and they will undoubtedly keep seeing a lot of familiar faces. But they will miss the interactions theyve had with customers at the bar for so many years.

We just want to thank everyone for their business and for supporting us for all these years, Cindy said. Without them, we wouldnt be here, they are the ones that made our living and kept us going.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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Diane Thress and her former work partner, Linda Brandenburgh, used to operate the Child Support Enforcement office in a back corner of the Platte County Attorneys office.

While conveniently located directly across from County Attorney Carl Hart Jr.s office, it wasn't the most comfortable setting.

It was pretty small, Thress said. We were on top of each other. A lot of times, when you moved your chair or opened a file drawer, you would back into someone. We also had nowhere to meet with clients. It was time to approach the board for finding us a bigger location where we could serve clients who came in and needed assistance.

Thress and her newly expanded staff no longer need to worry about playing bumper chairs in their office. Three weeks ago, the Child Support Enforcement office moved into an old courtroom just a door down from the county attorneys Office.

The move was necessary due to the expansion of Thress staff following an audit by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. According to Hart Jr., the agency was worried that the two workers had too big of a work load and needed to expand in order to make it a bit more manageable.

They determined we had well over 1,500 cases that were being handled by two experienced workers, Hart Jr. said. They did a comparison with other counties (that had the same workload) and some counties had as many as four workers. They told us You people are doing more than your fair share if youre working 750 cases per employee. Thats twice the workload of child support collection workers in other counties.

With Brandenburgh retiring in June 2018, and with DDHS forcing an expansion of staff, space was incredibly cramped for the already extremely busy unit. Thus began the search for a new place to call home starting in fall 2018.

One of the options included moving the department into the basement of the courthouse that previously housed the Nebraska Extension-Platte County office. The idea was seriously considered, and hearings were held where discussion and debate took place.

Ultimately, it was not a popular recommendation.

The solution, arguably, was to put someone down in the basement, Hart Jr. said. Nobody wanted to go down there. Its not very nice.

The proposal also would have been inconvenient for both the workers and the attorneys appointed to fight these cases. They would have had to go up four flights of stairs just to get to the county attorneys office.

I didnt want to do it, because how could I supervise these three child support employees? Hart Jr. inquired. That means I have to get on an elevator or go down four flights of stairs. One of my lawyers is going down there, as well. We could do those things, but we found a (better) solution.

Eventually, the board settled on the old courtroom. Four months of work followed, in an effort to reconfigure the space from a hall of justice into suitable office quarters.

Tile was replaced with new carpet, and electrical wiring was installed to facilitate a modern office with computers and access to databases. Most importantly, Thress says that the new office has plenty of space for her staff, not to mention plenty of new amenities to help those who need it most.

Clients can come in and talk to us, Thress said. The front desk has a computer that we can all log on to and talk to the clients at the front desk, rather than having them come back and see confidential information that they dont need to see. We can talk to them up front and take care of them right there.

Hart Jr. is also very satisfied with how things transpired. While there may be a need for an additional courtroom sometime in the future, he doesnt think he will have to uproot the staff that just moved.

I dont anticipate that happening, he said. I dont think that in the near future we would expect to get that (Child Support Enforcement) bumped out of here.

Zach Roth is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net

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After the historic blizzards and flooding rolled through Nebraska and devastated our communities, weve heard countless stories of neighbor helping neighbor, and donations and help pouring in from across the country for our hurting communities, farms, and businesses.

I have been working hard in Congress to provide our state with relief  and I am proud to introduce legislation that would give a hand up to individuals and businesses.

Recently, along with Congressman Adrian Smith, I introduced the Disaster Tax Relief Act. This bicameral, bipartisan measure would deliver much-needed tax benefits to communities that were recently designated as disaster areas.

Id like Nebraskans to know some of the specifics of what the Disaster Tax Relief Act would do and what it would mean for our citizens and businesses impacted by the catastrophic weather conditions.

This legislation lifts regulations for the use of retirement funds. Currently, those who make early withdrawals from their retirement accounts are charged with a 10-percent penalty. But as we have seen in the wake of the severe weather, many Nebraskans are forced to dip into their retirement funds to restore their home or rebuild their farm or business. This bill would waive the 10-percent early withdrawal fee for those affected. Plunging into hard-earned retirement savings is disheartening on its own, Nebraskans should not be penalized in the process of putting the pieces back together.

The Disaster Tax Relief Act would also temporarily eliminate the cap on deductions for charitable donations within a disaster area. Charitable deductions are normally capped around 30 to 50 percent of income. Without these limitations in place, this legislation can provide even more incentive for donations to Nebraska communities that need the most assistance.

Usually the IRS offers a limited deduction for destroyed property. This bill would expand the deduction so it can be claimed for damages not covered by other insurance or federal programs.

Targeted changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the bill would help alleviate financial pressures some of our friends and neighbors are facing. EITC recipients generally receive credit based on the amount of money they have earned, but as floods have caused our businesses to halt operations, wages could fall. This bill would allow affected Nebraskans to claim their previous years credit, if their wages decrease.

This legislation would help families keep a steadier stream of income as they recover. A tax credit would be made available for employers in disaster areas who continue to pay their employees. In some cases, this would give businesses the flexibility to continue paying their workers while they recover.

The bottom line is this: the Disaster Tax Relief Act offers more flexibility and frees Nebraskans from regulations, so they can make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones as they recover.

Nebraskans are strong and tough. Day-by-day we are reopening doors and restoring our communities in the Good Life. I believe this common-sense tax relief measure would only help to speed up the process of getting back on our feet.

The passage of the Disaster Tax Relief Act would be an important step in the right direction. I will continue to fight to ensure that Congress quickly enacts this bill into law to lighten the load for our hurting families.

Deb Fischer is a United States senator who represents Nebraska.

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
The patients who inevitably see Hafiza Ferhatovic at UPMC Pinnacle Carlisles medical-surgical unit run the gamut of health issues, from orthopedic problems to adverse events related to chronic diagnoses to substance abuse.

A common element in many cases below her unit in the emergency department, however, is the help some of these patients could have received if they had help from a primary care provider.

The reason why we get people in our emergency department is they cant control their chronic illnesses because they dont have a primary care physician, she said.

That shortage is a nationwide issue, and one Ferhatovic hopes to address by becoming a family care nurse practitioner.

Ferhatovic, who was born in Bosnia but moved to Pennsylvania when she was in kindergarten, only has two years of nursing under her belt, but shes already taking classes to become a nurse practitioner. Though the Carlisle nurse doesnt know if shell end up staying in Pennsylvania, she like other nurses are hopeful Pennsylvania will be the next state to approve more independence for nurse practitioners.

If the Legislature passes a bill that would allow nurse practitioners more freedom to prescribe medication as well as other duties, the state would be more attractive to nurses like Ferhatovic who sees more nurse practitioners as an answer to the primary care provider shortage.

Im hoping it heads in that direction, she said.

Ferhatovic said that while nurse practitioners arent in school for quite as long as physicians, they are definitely beneficial, especially in hospitals and as primary care providers.

And providing care has been a goal for her since she experienced a complicated introduction to the countrys health care system.

My moms health took a turn unexpectedly while I was in high school, Ferhatovic said. English wasnt her first language  its not my first language  so I would go with her to appointments. I missed school to go with her.

What Ferhatovic discovered were nurses who would patiently explain to them everything they wanted to know and would simply try to make them feel better.

I learned a lot from asking them questions, she said. These nurses meant a lot to my mom.

Its the same experience she hopes to bring with her to her adult patients in the medical-surgical unit, and to emergency room patients she hopes to treat in the future as training for an occupation in family care. And she hopes patients, who are often experiencing their worst days while at the hospital, keep that in mind while she admittedly pesters them about keeping their socks on and generally being safe in the unit.

I just want them to get better, she said. Were with them 24/7. Your duty is to improve the health of the patient.

Giving them instructions and even addressing the primary care shortage may not be enough to keep patients out of the emergency room. Ferhatovic said she knows what the other factors are that prevent patients from seeking care or following through on a nurses instructions upon leaving the hospital.

I think one of the biggest challenges I face is that I cant control everything. Youll find that the patients who are least compliant have financial issues, she said, adding that they will give instructions on finding a physical therapist or give a prescription to pills that the patient may not be able to purchase. If a patient cant afford it, I guarantee that they will not do it.

While shes learning to let go of the factors out of her control, shes starting to embrace that her future may not be set in stone, either.

I talked to a lot of the older nurses, and you never know where your career is going to end up, she said. I never want to tell myself Im going to do just this.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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Cumberland Countys child services department is trying to get back on its feet after losing, and subsequently re-gaining, its full social services license from the state amid issues with turnover and heavy caseloads.

Cumberland County Children and Youth Services operated on a provisional license from July 19, 2018, until March 8, 2019, due to lapses in casework reviewed by the state during the renewal process in late 2017, according to state records.

Most, but not all, of those issues had been corrected as of late 2018, with a full license re-issued this spring.

It was a stressful six months but it got us reorganized and reinvigorated, said Necole McElwee, Cumberland Countys CYS director. When we were put on a provisional license, we really sat back and looked and divided apart every one of those citations and looked  at the areas we needed to improve upon.

Inspections

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services routinely inspects county agencies that carry out the state social services programs by spot-checking an agencys records and noting violations.

The inspection report on Cumberland County Children and Youth, issued last summer for inspections conducted in December 2017, logged 44 pages of problems, resulting in the revocation of the agencys full license and the issuing of a provisional status.

Many of these issues involved CYS not making contact with a family or completing the required Safety Assessment Worksheet within the required time frame. In some cases, people who are supposed to be contacted per state investigatory standards were not contacted at all.

In one citation, for instance, a report was received alleging lack of food and improper feeding of an infant with kidney issues. The referral was listed as a 48-hour response time, but should have been assigned 24-hour status, according to the state. Ultimately, no contact was made with the family until six days after the report was received.

Another citation found that, in five of the 14 cases reviewed, a preliminary SAW was not completed within the 72 hours prescribed by the state. One case took 13 days to have a SAW completed, and another had a SAW dated a day before the agency actually made contact with the family, according to the state inspection.

The states December 2018 inspection found significant improvement, with the number of violations cut roughly in half, something McElwee credited to better oversight and organization among her staff.

The department determined that significant and continuous progress has been made in the implementation of your plan of correction, the state wrote in re-issuing Cumberland CYS full license. The department commends the agency for implementation of the plan of correction in a timely manner and demonstrating the agencys commitment to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children served.

But some lapses remained. In one citation, law enforcement was not notified of a relevant case for a month despite the 24-hour notification statute. In another, one of the children in a home under supervision was not listed on the SAW and was not assessed at all, according to the state.

McElwee agreed with the assertion that those issues are likely an indication of rushed or sloppy work by caseworkers who are overloaded.

Staffing is an ongoing issue absolutely, getting qualified applicants, training them, staying ahead of that, McElwee said.

Staffing

Cumberland CYS is down five caseworkers, out of 47 total caseworker positions, McElwee said. Turnover for the 2018-19 fiscal year is already at 23 percent, meaning roughly one in four positions has or will change hands.

But it has been worse, McElwee said. Turnover in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was around 30 percent, before dropping down to just 7 percent in 2017-18. The number of open positions was also 12 at one point.

While this would be rapid by most standards, it doesnt appear to be uncommon for social workers. Casey Family Programs, the nations largest foster care nonprofit, estimates caseworker turnover of 20 to 40 percent in the child services field. York Countys caseworker turnover was 23.8 percent last year, according to county spokesman Mark Walters.

I work really hard with our current staff on morale, McElwee said. These folks deal with a lot of things.  Its a lot of nontraditional hours. When we hire new people I dont think you realize how much time youre going to spend away from your own family.

Cumberland County pays relatively well, with starting salaries around $48,000 for caseworkers, about $10,000 higher than surround areas of central Pennsylvania, McElwee said. The state pays 80 percent of the salary and benefit cost for local social service agencies, with the county responsible for the other 20 percent.

But Cumberland is also one of the few counties in the area to still staff its human services through the states civil service commission, McElwee said. When positions are open, the county relies on a list of qualified applicants from the state, with a hiring process run by the commission.

Cumberland County has submitted its letter to withdraw from the civil service system and set up its own state-qualified recruitment process, but this can take up to two years, McElwee said.

There are a lot of technical rules that dont make hiring easy, McElwee said. The department has just hired six new caseworkers via the civil service system.

This past month we have seen a more positive hiring [outlook], McElwee said.

Caseloads

The department is also planning to double its clerical staff, from the current three employees to six, to allow caseworkers to spend more time out visiting families rather than filling out paperwork. McElwee praised the willingness of the county commissioners to approve new positions, with a total of six  the three clerical staff, two caseworkers, and one manager  in the process of being created.

Cumberland CYSs caseloads include backlogs of cases that are awaiting a final clerical detail or clearance before they can be fully closed. One caseworker who does intake and initial evaluation  the most difficult role in the department to staff, McElwee said  was working 23 cases in March, for instance. But that person also had another 67 cases waiting for clearance from backlog, according to department documents.

Some of the violations cited by the state involved excessive delays, sometimes months, before supervisors were able review and sign off on safety plans. McElwee said she hopes to get the departments caseworker-to-supervisor ratio down to four-to-one, from the usual five-to-one.

Cumberland CYS has 227 children in its custody, McElwee said, of which 189 are in foster care or are placed with a relative under CYS supervision, and the rest in a group home, treatment center or other accommodation. The department also works with between 200 and 250 families in a given month who have experienced issues but whose children are not subject to removal.

High rates of removal often go hand-in-hand with parental drug use, which is often cited by social service agencies across the state and nation who are overburdened with the surge in opioid addiction.

Cumberland Countys opioid crisis is, by some measure, beginning to subside, with overdose deaths dropping last year versus 2017. While still elevated, McElwee said that the caseload appears to be leveling out, along with the rate of drug-related cases.

Last year, 48 percent of new placements were due to parental drug use, McElwee said, down from a peak of 74 percent a few years ago. But these cases are still difficult when it comes to the necessary standards for safety planning.

When youre dealing with a parent with an opioid issue, theyre at a higher risk, McElwee said. It does make safety planning with them harder  and if we cant safety plan, were asking for removal.

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The United States Air Force General Tod D. Wolters was sworn in as top military officer of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), at NATOs military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.

Tod D. Wolters

Service: He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He will succeed U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti to become new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for a term of two to three years.

(SACEUR) for a term of two to three years. He will also be a commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

A SACEUR is commander of NATOs Allied Command Operations (ACO). He is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium.

He also heads Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). SHAPE is ACOs headquarter.

SACEUR is second highest military position within NATO. In terms of precedence It is only after Chairman of NATO Military Committee.

Importance : NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer.

: NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer. A SACEUR position is dual-hatted i.e. one who serves as SACEUR also holds role of Commander of United States European Command.

It is one of most challenging and most important military positions in world.

NATO
Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod...

From my book Child and Domestic abuse vol II There was a very well known kiruv personality. Perhaps you could say that he was a poster ...

Absolute proof that the Vaccines are an intentional Bio weapon foward this to your Doctor Inbox PATTERNS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF TOXIC COVID ...

Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com
With the fifth day of May approaching on Sunday it is time once again to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations came to the United States in the 1960s when Mexican-American citizens of the United States, particularly in southern California, began to bring to holiday to light for their fellow citizens.

Many individuals in the United States mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexicos independence  this is a falsehood as Mexicos Independence Day falls on Sept. 16.

Cinco de Mayo is actually the celebration of Mexican armys victory over the French in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, during which Napoleon III had tried to build an empire in Mexico. In Mexico, May 5 is not a federal holiday, but just a regular day. There are some military parades, some recreations of the battle, and other festive events, however, banks and most businesses remain open on Cinco de Mayo.

While the holiday began in Mexico, some of the largest celebrations of Cinco de Mayo are held each year in the United States. It is an opportunity for people to celebrate Mexican-Americans and their culture by having parades, parties, and other festivals and events.

El Tapatio, at all three local locations (Park Hills, Farmington, and Desloge), will be offering several specials for the big celebration on Sunday. Regular pitchers will be $15, jumbo margaritas and margaronas will be $6.50, Lunch Special #5 will be $6.50 all day, and the Burrito California will be $7 all day. There will also be free T-shirt giveaways.

The Old Mine House Bar and Grill in Park Hills will be having $2 tequila shots and $3 margaritas featuring their new habanero mango whiskey margarita. These specials will run all day on Sunday.

Perhaps one of the biggest St. Francois County Cinco de Mayo celebrations will be at Hubs Pub and Grill in Bonne Terre.

Hubs will be having a Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. and featuring Top Gunz. The party is labeled all '80s, all night! There is a $10 cover for the evening. Top Gunz is an all '80s music group from St. Louis. The group calls themselves a tribute to 80s Hair Band RocknRoll and features Blaze Magnum on vocals and props, Izzy Rocks on guitars, keys, and pees, Razzle Foxx on guitars and more guitars, Hollywood Velvet on bass and fishnets, and Danger Zone on drums and beer fetcher.

On Sunday, Hub's will offer $2 margaritas and $2.50 Coronas all day and will be featuring live Mariachi music from 1 to 3 p.m.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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According to the Leadington Police Department, witnesses said that just before 12:45 p.m. David Taylor, 68, of Leadington, was driving a Chrysler 300 southbound when he swerved over to the left side of the road and then went off the right side of the road. The vehicle traveled up an embankment and overturned, landing on its top.
Four Florida men are in custody following a Walmart theft and a high-speed pursuit on Thursday.

Bernard Rodgers, 22, Carlos Green, 22, Anthony Rhynes, 23, and Reechaey Bush, 25, all of Tampa, Florida, have each been charged with felony resisting arrest. They are currently being held in the St. Francois County Jail on $75,000 bond each.

According to the probable cause statement by the Desloge Police Department, a Desloge officer was dispatched to Walmart for a report of theft. It had been reported by Walmart loss prevention that the suspects had left the store in a silver Chevrolet Tahoe with Florida license plates.

While en route to the store, the officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating his lights and sirens.

The report states that the vehicle initially appeared to be slowing, but abruptly sped up and overtook several vehicles that were in its pathway.

The Tahoe then sped through a red light and also ran through a stop sign at a four-way intersection. The pursuit then continued onto U.S. 67 southbound from Parkway Drive in Park Hills. While on U.S. 67, the Tahoe reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

The vehicle then exited U.S. 67 onto Highway 32/Karsch Boulevard in Farmington at which time the driver lost control and struck a ditch.

All four men continued to attempt to flee on foot even after officers commanded them to stop. The four men were quickly captured by officers, placed under arrest, and transported to the St. Francois County Jail where they remain detained.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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For the second year in a row, rain forced Thursday nights local National Day of Prayer observance inside the St. Francois County Courthouse. Despite the cloudy and wet weather, however, those who attended the observance were not dampened at all in spirit.

About 100 people gathered for fellowship and to pray together to exemplify this years theme, Love One Another. This years scripture, from John 13:34, read, Love one another, just as I have loved you.

After a time of praise and worship led by Kevin Kappler, pastor of Farmingtons New Life Church, the crowd joined together in the Pledge of Allegiance and then local pastors were invited to the podium to lead prayer for specific groups.

Praying for government officials was Elevate Faith Church of God Pastor Dane Corbett; law enforcement and first responders, Bismarck First Assembly of God Pastor Mike Barton; churches and revival, Faith Cowboy Church Pastor Ronnie Rothlisberger; schools and youth, Young Faith in Christ Executive Director Tim Burdin; families, Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church Pastor Daniel Clayton; Americas business and economy, United Assembly of God Pastor Rob Hampton; media, Three Crosses Cowboy Church Pastor Mike McGee; and military, Rev. Ryan Retzer of Eastside Church of God.

This years keynote speaker was Dwight Jones, Harvest Christian Centre pastor, who spoke on this years theme of loving one another.

Many of us in our nation have been delivered from the bondage of hell but we dont realize it, he said. "I want to share something with you that I really dont think most of us understand. How many of you are familiar with the children of Israel? Do you realize that we are knitted together as a nation of the children of Israel. Do you understand that the nation of America at its founding almost chose Hebrew as our national language?

Our first logo, our first emblem, our first sign of America was the sign of Moses with a rod lifted up over the Red Sea leading the children of Israel. Are you aware of that? There are so many things that lock us together with Israel. And something about Israel I dont think many of us realize is when we read about Israel being in bondage to the pharaoh and to the Egyptians, we think they were in bondage for 400 years  but they were not. As a matter of fact, if you read the scriptures, the Israelites were only in bondage around 80 or a little over 80 years. Much of that time they ruled with great authority and great power.

Listen to me, the power in the world is trying to marginalize the body of Christ. Theyre trying to tell us that our opinion does not matter. Theyre trying to tell us that we are the minority, but we are here tonight to declare that with the people around the nation, we speak with one voice and one accord and we are a mighty army because we are united as the body of Christ.

Rev. Jones also noted that he agreed with former Vice President Joe Biden who said recently that the American people are in a battle for the soul of the nation.

Unfortunately, Mr. Biden is fighting for a nation that has excommunicated God, Jones said. He is fighting for a nation where homosexual marriage is the norm. He is fighting for a nation where good is evil and evil is good; where right is wrong and wrong is right. My friend, we gather here tonight as do countless thousands across the nation to pray to a god who alone can heal our land. Listen to me, I told you earlier  hes not a Democratic god, hes not a Republican god. He is God and the only way to please him is to please Christ.

The event was sponsored by the St. Francois County American Family Association.

Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-756-8927 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Greetings Friends of the 144th Legislative District!

As session is on the final countdown, the Capitol is very active with visitors. Arcadia Valley students with the JAG program (Jobs after Graduation) along with Bart and Rhonda Ackley visited the Capitol this week.

Next week, we will have visitors from the District up for a luncheon with the Lt. Governor. The Lieutenant Governor will be selecting individuals for the Senior Service Award. It will be exciting to see if any of our locals are honored with this award. We have so many individuals in our community who put in countless community service hours and would be so deserving of this award.

General Assembly Approves Important Legal Reforms (SB 7)

The members of the House gave their stamp of approval this week to legislation meant to improve Missouris legal climate and bring fairness to courtrooms in the state. The legislation, which was previously approved by the Senate, now heads to the governors desk to be signed into law.

The legislation comes in response to Missouris existing laws on joinder and venue that have made the state a premier destination for out-of-state litigants to file their lawsuits. The reputation that courtrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City have for handing out big judgments have attracted thousands of litigants from across the nation. Only 1,035 out of 13,252 mass tort plaintiffs in cases being heard in St. Louis City were actually Missouri residents.

The changes approved by the legislature reflect a ruling made in February by the Missouri Supreme Court. The states highest court found that a St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge incorrectly allowed a suit by a St. Louis County plaintiff against a New Jersey-based company to move forward in his court. This legislation will reduce cost and increase access for Missouri residents to the court system by reducing the number of cases filed in Missouri courts by plaintiffs with no connection to the state.

Gov. Parson praised the legislature for sending the bill to his desk. The governor released a statement saying, Passing venue and joinder reform is a huge win and will provide long overdue relief to Missouri businesses that have been taken advantage of by rampant abuse of our states legal system. Todays passage of SB 7 will soon deliver a significant economic boost and create a better business environment all across Missouri.

I look forward to the Governor signing these positive reforms to improve our states competitiveness, strengthen our legal climate, and bring fairness to our courtroom.

Members of the Missouri House approved my House Bill 1135 meant to help victims of domestic violence get away from abusers and move on with their lives.

Under my bill, victims of domestic violence, who are engaged with an agency accredited with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence, would receive a one-time fee waiver for obtaining a copy of a birth certificate.

Individuals who leave a home where abuse occurs often leave behind birth certificates, as well as other documents and identification. When they attempt to obtain new forms of identification such as a driver license or attempt to open a bank account, it is difficult to do so without a birth certificate. The fee to get a new copy is often a burden to a survivor faced with numerous other expenses while trying to start down a new path in life.

These vulnerable people need access to birth certificates in order to participate in legitimate activities leading to independence and self-sufficiency. Abusers often take control of a victims vital records since that keeps them unable to leave. This is a bill I filed after a visit with individuals from the SEMO Family Violence Council from Bonne Terre. During their visit they shared with me some of the obstacles they face as they try to help these victims. This piece of legislation is a small step we can take to help these individuals get on their feet and away from their abuser.

The bill also provides a free birth certificate to any homeless or unaccompanied youth, and allows an unaccompanied youth to obtain a birth certificate without consent or signature of a parent or guardian. The bill now is now under consideration in the Missouri Senate.

House Bill Moving to the Senate

HB 1162 requires the Department of Economic Development to maintain a record of all federal grants awarded to entities for the purposes of providing, maintaining, and expanding rural broadband in the state of Missouri. In cases in which funds have been retained, withheld or not distributed due to failure to meet performance standards or other criteria, the department must seek to have the funds awarded to another eligible, qualified Missouri broadband provider. The bill would keep grant funds in Missouri instead of returning the funds to the federal government to reallocate. This would ensure that funds remain in the state to bring broadband to the rural areas.

HB 1002 requires dump trucks to be equipped with mud flaps that have up to 12 inches of ground clearance, instead of the eight inches required for other vehicles. Mud flaps on dump trucks get caught on piles and rip off. Raising mud flaps will help dump trucks maneuver better. This bill will allow mud flaps to be adjusted and prevents wasting mud flaps. Often times these mud flaps rip and then eventually fall off on the highway and cause a safety concern. The purpose of the bill is to save drivers money, to facilitate consistency and help keep our roads safer. There are 13 states that do not require mud flaps and only three states have the eight inch requirement.

HB 585 establishes the "Taxpayer Protection Act." For all tax years beginning January 1, 2020, this bill requires paid tax return preparers to sign any income tax return or claim for refund and provide the preparer's Internal Revenue Service preparer tax identification number. The bill will help prevent fraud and also serve as a consumer protection measure to help prevent taxpayers from being taken advantage of by unqualified tax preparers or criminals.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at 573-751-2112.

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Governor Parson and First Lady Theresa Parson hosted a BBQ at The Peoples House following adjournment on Monday evening. All who were invited were greeted graciously by the Governor and First Lady. They shook everyones hand and personally thanked everyone for coming.

Due to the rain, tents were set up on their lawn and table and chairs throughout the main floor of the Mansion. It was truly an honor to visit with them and to have the chance to mingle with all Representatives in a setting that they provided for us. Missouri is truly blessed to have Governor Parson and Mrs. Parson as the Governor of the State of Missouri.

To access the various events that the Governor Parson has attended or hosted, click on https://www.flickr.com/photos/141271541@N03/albums. Some of the photos on this site are Legislator BBQ, MO National Guard Swearing In, MRTA Teachers at the Capitol, Governors Faith Based and Community Service Partnership for Disaster Recovery.

To access the Governors Home Page, click https://governor.mo.gov/. Our Governor is totally a Governor for the People!

On Tuesday at the Capitol, I had the pleasure of meeting with students and their advisors from our district representing the JAG Program. JAG stands for Jobs for Americas Graduates. Jag is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who have serious barriers to graduation and/or employment. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results  helping over one million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities. A few (okay, many) years ago, when I was in the school system, I wrote and received for our school a grant to start a Jag Program in our district. It was a pleasure for me to see this program thriving and to meet with the JAG students from Farmington, West County and Bismarck. It is a great program for students, for parents and for our communities.

On Wednesday, in keeping with students and our future workforce, a Resolution was presented on the House Floor to the First Robotics group in our state. This will just be the beginning of future Robotics! A hearty Congratulations to these and all future students and a Thank You to the Teachers who are implementing these programs in our schools.

Bills of Interest

HB 942 will be a bill that will benefit small businesses. The House has passed this bill and the Senate committee has now taken up bill to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. Providing quality health insurance is often a fundamental part of efforts to retain good employees. Small companies are struggling with the rising costs of insurance. Current Missouri law prohibits multiple employer welfare arrangements from being publicly marketed, making them nearly impossible for small business to discover. These plans are cheaper than traditional plans as they allow small companies to combine their purchasing power. HB 942 will make these products available and let them be marketed to small business owners to help their employees. I believe that government must get out of the way and allow plans such as this to make it easier for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees

HB 324 dealing with drones over correction facilities has now been rolled into Senate Committee Substitute for HB 113, an omnibus piece of legislation dealing with criminal reform. I am very happy that this bill that protects our correctional facilities, state mental health facilities and open air stadiums such as Busch stadium is now in a bill that contains many non-controversial pieces of legislation that when passed will positively impact the lives of the citizens of Missouri.

HB 604 the school turnaround act has now been through the House and Senate Committees and is waiting to get to the Senate floor. This bill is intended to add support to buildings that are struggling with student achievement. It takes the approach of not punishing a building but offering assistance that will help teachers and staff in these buildings that have been identified. By doing this it is the students that ultimately benefit.

To track the legislation that I have filed, click here. https://house.mo.gov/MemberDetails.aspx?year=2019&code=R&district=117

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It is hard to believe, but we have reached the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session. After approving the budget, my colleagues and I have continued to work on several other important pieces of legislation, including two regarding property rights.

On Monday, April 29, we debated Senate Bill 391. This legislation deals with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Part of this legislation prohibits county commissioners and county health boards from instituting rules or regulations that conflict or are stricter than the rules and regulations put forth by the Department of Health and Senior Services. As long as property owners are in compliance with the departments regulations, they should have the freedom to choose how they manage their land and livestock and not be subject to stricter regulations.

On Wednesday, May 1, House Bill 1062 was heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee. This proposal specifies that no private entity has the power of eminent domain for the purposes of constructing above-ground merchant lines. The original purpose of eminent domain was to use private land in a way that would benefit the entire community. Private companies are using eminent domain to build on an individuals private property for private gain. While the land owners are compensated for the use of their land, sometimes the damage caused by the projects can have lasting effects on the property. Property owners should not be forced to agree to their land being used by a private company to construct these above-ground merchant lines.

Both pieces of legislation have the potential to affect property rights in our state. It is my job as your state legislator to protect your interests, and I certainly support the rights of all property owners in our state. I look forward to further discussing SB 391 and HB 1062 with my colleagues.

I always appreciate hearing your opinions and concerns regarding your state government. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov. For more information, please visit my official Senate webpage at www.senate.mo.gov/romine

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Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

Vote

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Benton Countys newest judge took the oath of office on Friday in a brief, informal ceremony at the county courthouse.

With about two dozen friends, family members and co-workers looking on, Joan Demarest raised her right hand and swore to uphold the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and faithfully discharge the office of a judge in the Benton County Circuit Court.

The oath was administered by Presiding Judge Locke Williams while the courts third jurist, Matthew Donohue, watched from the gallery.

Demarest was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown from among several applicants to succeed David Connell, who retired recently from the Benton County Circuit Court bench and now serves as a senior judge.

Judge Demarest will take up her new duties on Monday, and Williams let her know shell be greeted by a full caseload.

Judge Donohue and I are excited to be working with a new colleague, and were here to give you any help you might need, he said.

Demarest got emotional as she thanked those in attendance for their support.

The joke in my family is Im not going to be a hanging judge, Im going to be the crying judge, she said.

A formal investiture ceremony will be scheduled for a later date.

Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt.

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by Reese Erlich





Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden praise him as a man with extensive foreign policy experience. Hes living proof, however, that extensive doesnt necessarily mean good.





Biden reflects the mindset of the previous generation of mainstream Democratic leaders who are out of touch with the anti-interventionist sentiments of most Americans.





We dont like his experience, says Karen Bernal, the outgoing chair of the California Democratic Partys Progressive Caucus and who supports Senator Bernie Sanders for President. Biden is way too deferential to the military-industrial complex. I dont see him changing.





Biden is a liberal interventionist, at least historically, willing to wage wars of aggression in the name of human rights or national security. He actively drummed up support for US bombing in the Balkans, supported the occupation of Afghanistan, voted for the 2003 war in Iraq, publicly backed the bombing of Libya and supported vastly intensified drone wars in Pakistan and Somalia.





Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is running on an anti-military intervention platform. He offers solid criticism of the U.S. war-making system and calls for a sharp reduction in military spending in order to fund much-needed social spending.





These are hardly abstract points of debate. The U.S. has spent $6 trillion fighting the doomed war on terror. Between 480,000 and 507,000 people have been killed in the US post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including nearly 7,000 U.S. troops.





Bidens pro-war stand is morally and politically wrong, and I am not alone in my opinion. Biden will have a hard time convincing voters that his policies are all that different from Trump's. A recent poll confirms that a majority of Americans oppose Trumps foreign policy. But Biden's baggage could actually help Trump win.





Bloody Hands





In the early 1990s, Biden strongly pushed for war against Serbia and favored Bosnian independence, a war that tore apart former Yugoslavia. Some 25 years later, Bosnia, still plagued by ethnic conflict , is governed by a European-appointed high representative, and 7,000 NATO troops remain on the ground.





Similarly, Biden supported the U.S. invasion of Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, further splintering Yugoslavia and placing power in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army-- a group that U.S. officials had previously described as terrorist . To this day 4,000 NATO troops, including some 700 Americans, remain stationed in Kosovo.





Biden voted to authorize President George Bush Jr. to wage war against Iraq, despite his false claims of weapons of mass destruction. Well after the anti-war movement and even some establishment politicians denounced the war, Biden still defended it, saying in 2005 , We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq [but] I think that would be a gigantic mistake, or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out-- equally a mistake.





Biden later criticized Bushs handling of the Iraq war. But instead of calling for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops, he called for decentralizing Iraq, splitting it into three parts: Kurdistan, a Shia Muslim east and Sunni west. Far from being a peace plan, Biden sought to establish a U.S. sphere of influence in Kurdistan at a time when the US was badly losing the war.

After September 11, 2001, Biden supported the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. He initially called for maintaining U.S. troops there to rebuild the country. Later he favored keeping a smaller number of troops there to fight a counter insurgency war, supposedly to stop terrorism. In practical terms that means keeping U.S. troops and bases permanently in Afghanistan.





During internal White House meetings, Vice President Biden reportedly objected to various military interventions, including the 2011 bombing of Libya. But publicly, Biden supported the attack and even proclaimed it a model for future interventions.





NATO got it right , he said in 2011. In this case, America spent $2 billion and didnt lose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward than it has (been) in the past.





Biden chose to ignore the thousands of Libyan civilians who were killed and injured as the U.S./NATO war turned Libya into a failed state. And a year later insurgents killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in the infamous Benghazi attack. Libya is hardly a prescription for anything.





Sanders Foreign Policy





Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, offers a more systemic criticism of U.S. militarism. He calls for a significant reduction in the $700 billion annual military budget . Do we really need to spend more than the next ten nations combined on the military, he asks, when our infrastructure is collapsing and kids cant afford to go to college?





Progressive Caucus chair Bernal says shes seen a lot of progress in his views since the 2016 campaign, when he tended to deemphasize foreign policy. His base wants him to be much more progressive, she says, and he responded.





In a 2017 speech on foreign policy, Sanders rejected the benevolent global hegemony promoted by some in Washington. I would argue that the events of the past two decades-- particularly the disastrous Iraq war and the instability and destruction it has brought to the region-- have utterly discredited that vision.





Sanders has opposed all the recent U.S. wars of aggression and has said the U.S. should take military intervention off the table in Venezuela and Iran . Instead, Sanders emphasizes diplomacy and the need to root out the underlying causes of international conflict.





For sure, Sanders, as a democratic socialist, is still a captive of some Cold War myths. For example, in his 2017 speech he praises the Marshall Plan as an example of the U.S. unselfishly helping to rebuild Japan and Germany after World War II. In fact, the Marshall Plan was aimed at tying those countries to U.S. corporate interests and isolating the then-USSR. And its not clear how Sanders might react if confronted by liberals calling for military intervention on humanitarian grounds.













Trump And The Presidential Campaign





In 2016, Trump claimed to oppose the Mideast wars. But he kept US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and vetoed a Congressional resolution to end U.S. support for the disastrous war in Yemen. The drone strikes in Somalia that began under Obama have vastly increased under Trump. Hes moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognized Israels illegal annexation of the Golan and virtually eliminated the already remote possibility of a two-state solution with Palestine.





Trump also withdrew from the UN Security Council mandated nuclear accord with Iran and unilaterally re-imposed harsh sanctions. His administration declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist organization. What Democrat will move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv or acknowledge that the Revolutionary Guard is not a terrorist organization? I dont think Biden would.





During the primaries, when Biden will face sharp criticism from the left, he may try to reinvent himself as a progressive on foreign policy. Its true that he voted against the 1991 Gulf War and opposed the Reagan administrations aid to the Nicaraguan contras . And as vice president, Biden established a dovish reputation compared to hawks such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. On May 1 Biden criticized Trump's support for the Yemen War.





But the reality remains that Biden publicly defended each new war initiated by the Obama administration. When Obama and Biden took office, the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they left the White House, the U.S. had initiated, backed or vastly expanded additional wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia.





Sanders doesn't have Bidens baggage and will run an issue-oriented campaign. But even if you're not a fan of Sanders, Biden is a poor choice given the wide range of more winnable progressives. Its time the Democrats nominate someone willing to break with interventionism and reflect the views of the American people.
The same establishment hacks-- think Neera Tanden of the grotesquely corrupted Center for American Progress , for example-- who foisted Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party (bringing us Trump) now want us to get behind another Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden-- and for many of the same shiny reasons. Hillary represented the status quo establishment then; Biden does now. She was the most experienced candidate ever then; he is now. She did have one thing about her that everyone was genuinely excited about: she would have been the first woman president. He has nothing at all. His entire career has been about how bad a politician can be without joining the Republican Party. If you liked Joe Lieberman, you should love Joe Biden. If you think Joe Manchin is the ideal Democratic political leader today, Joe Biden is your man.

And... if you think the doddering, incoherent fool in this clip-- shot earlier this week in Iowa-- is the best man to bring down the Trump regime... good luck to you. Or better yet, please watch it again, and carefully:

The video, up top, of Elizabeth Warren, from David Doel of the, should remind people who don't remember the pre-Obama Biden of why progressives thought he was always such a danger to working families. Yesterday, reporting for, Alex Gangitano wrote about Biden's K Street problems . There have long been two Democratic politicians steeped to the point of drowning in lobbyist corruption-- one in the House (Steny Hoyer) and one in the Senate (Status Quo Joe)-- and to tie the Democratic Party nomination to this taint is a losing strategy. "The influence world," wrote Gangitano, "is stocked with former aides and supporters who have rallied around his previous bids for president. In this cycle, though, those lobbyist ties, past fundraising from corporate interests and perceptions that Biden is more favorable to businesses could hurt his bid for the Democratic nomination."

His campaign has said he will not take money from lobbyists and corporate PACs, but that is unlikely to be enough for progressive groups in the primary who have larger concerns about the candidate.





With Joe Biden, if he wants to say no to corporate lobbyists' money thats great and its a step in a positive direction that acknowledges the times, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told The Hill.





But, with Joe Biden, its not about course correcting any one little thing, its about his big picture brand, which is being cozy with big corporations and cutting back room deals with Republican political insiders.





Biden's allies run deep on K Street, where a number of former aides from his time as a senator now hold high-level positions at powerful lobbying firms.





Christopher Putala, who founded the lobbying firm Putala Strategies, was a lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden, as was Jeffrey Peck, now a lobbyist at Peck Madigan Jones.





Biden also has allies in Tony Russo, a lobbyist at T-Mobile, who served as his legislative counsel in the Senate; Larry Rasky, the chair of Rasky Partners, who worked on Bidens 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns; and Ankit Desai, a political assistant to Biden in the Senate and now a lobbyist at Tellurian.





And Biden's more than three decades in the Senate and previous runs for president will give his critics plenty of fodder.

When Biden ran for president in 2008, he raised money from lobbyists. He reversed course when he joined the ticket with President Obama, who made running against K Street and rejecting corporate money a centerpiece of his first presidential campaign.





In the Senate, Biden also represented Delaware, a state that is home to many large corporations, including a number of credit card giants.





Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, took a shot at Biden last week, accusing him of being on the side of "the biggest financial institutions" over "hardworking families."





This year, Biden also held a fundraiser hosted by David Cohen, telecom giant Comcast's chief lobbyist. And Biden allies led by Democratic fundraiser Matt Tompkins quickly launched the For the People PAC after he officially jumped into the race, a move first reported by The Hill. The PAC aimed to raise millions to boost Biden's bid.





His campaign, though, was quick to distance itself from the super PAC, telling The Hill that "Vice President Biden does not welcome assistance from super PACs."





Republicans, who see Biden as a strong challenger to President Trump, have also called for more scrutiny over the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden and potential conflicts of interest.





As vice president, Biden pressed Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor, who faced accusations he had ignored corruption among officials in the government. The prosecutor was eventually removed.





The New York Times in a story this week reported that Hunter Biden was on the board of an energy company the dismissed prosecutor was investigating. Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday called for an investigation into "Biden conflicts" of interest.





Biden's campaign told The Times that his son's business dealings had no connection to policies Biden carried out as vice president.





The issue of corporate ties has taken newfound importance in the Democratic Party, where liberal groups are pressing candidates to reject special interest cash.





Theres a new benchmark of what Democratic campaigns are now judged by, a new litmus test, and it would be hard for any candidate to not reject [lobbyists money], Zach Friend, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for Obama for America, told The Hill.





Its how you enter into the race. It would be equivalent to any other Democratic policy-- do you support unions? Do you support marriage equality? Do you support choice?





The scrutiny on Democrats is intense.





Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has seen his stock rise in polls of the Democratic primary race, has found strong support on K Street, especially among LGBTQ lobbyists who are rallying behind the openly gay 2020 contender. But that support led Buttigieg last week to say he would no longer accept lobbyist donations and that he would return the $30,000 he received in the first quarter of the year.





Not taking lobbyist money poses its own challenges for Biden, and he will need to show his strength at raising small-donor donations, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has, to stay competitive.





Biden's allies, though, won't be on the sidelines.





Those on K Street noted there are other ways for lobbyists to help without writing a check.





There are plenty of ways to help, Al Mottur, Democratic lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, told The Hill. Often, Mottur said, lobbyists can help a candidate by introducing them to other big donors.
A sandbox would allow experimentation with new approaches and new business models without legal repercussions.

A discussion on new business models and the exercise of creativity by startups drew a lot of interest from entrepreneurs, investors and experts at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

One of the big questions raised at the discussion was how to "behave" with new business models and what are the appropriate policies for models in the domestic market without legal framework or precedent.

"Through lessons learned from some countries, Vietnam can use a sandbox (approach). It enables a safe environment for businesses to test services or products without the risk of being sued for the legally unauthorized actions," said Nguyen Thien Nghia, deputy director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The use of technology in a new business model is highly competitive. There are some businesses that argue that the new business model destroys traditional business, but I personally have a different perspective. The new business model adopts highly competitive technology, for example, Uber or Grab combining e-commerce and transportation," he said.

Agreeing with the opinions of some leading government agencies and experts, Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam, said it was necessary to have a sandbox that would create space and time for new technology platforms and business models to demonstrate their ability to promote socio-economic development. However, businesses participating in the sandbox need to be selected carefully, he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Grab booth at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 on May 2. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The emergence of new technology always creates big changes and there will be some traditional businesses that are not willing to change. However, they also need to apply technology to enhance their capabilities. competitiveness, increasing customer benefits and reducing administrative burdens by themselves," Lim said.

In just seven years, from a small Malaysian startup with just 10 people, Grab is now currently a unicorn in Southeast Asia. It operates in eight countries with 6,000 employees. The emergence of a technology-based sharing economic model that Grab is applying has created jobs for millions of workers and small business partners throughout Southeast Asia.

However, because this economic model is still too new, and there is no legal framework in Vietnam, Grab's operation is currently facing many difficulties, the forum heard.

The Vietnam Private Economic Forum on May 2-3 was co-chaired by the government and the Central Economic Committee. The Research Department for Private Economic Development and event organizer IEC Group were the other co-organizers along with VnExpress.
The Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum was jointly organized by the government and the Central Economic Commission, in collaboration with VnExpress and the IEC Group.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposes policy prescriptions at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

"The private sector is a major job creator in Vietnam, contributing 40 percent to the national GDP," Vu Tien Loc, president of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at the forum on Thursday.

On behalf of enterprises, the VCCIs president offered solutions to promote the private sector's contribution to the national economy.

"Firstly, while state-owned enterprises play a leading role in some areas, the private sector needs to be the backbone of Vietnams economy."

He also stressed the fundamental importance of institutional reforms that are focused on supporting and facilitating private businesses.

Noting that 30 percent of GDP was contributed by individual business households, Loc proposed that the Law on Enterprises is revised to promote further growth in that area.

He said two things that have to happen in tandem are simplification of administrative procedures and establishment of a complete legal framework. "The legislative framework should catch up with the trend of the digital economy."

Vu Tien Loc, president of VCCI, speaks at the forum.

Furthermore, enterprise associations should be allowed to take the initiative to make legislative recommendations, he noted.

Loc also recommended that more be done to promote not just the number of enteprises, but also their quality.

"Socialization of public services and public-private partnerships should be promoted. Enterprises should play a role in projects of national significance."

Legislative reforms should ensure greater fairness and transparency, particularly in resolving business disputes, he said.

He stressed that private sector development cannot be separated from state-enterprises restructuring and policies to attract FDI firms.

Lastly, the VCCI head said that more effective policies were needed to boost startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large-scale enterprises as well as private economic groups, which are crucial elements of value chains, contributing to labor productivity and global integration.
Government inspectors will study the latest power price adjustment that saw electricity bills go up by 8.36 percent from March 20.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Government Inspectorate to work with the ministries of industry and trade, and finance to study the latest electricity price adjustment, including the method used to calculate the price and the collection of electricity bill payments.

The inspectorate and the two ministries should clarify whether the electricity price increase was right or wrong and report to the PM by next month.

A document issued by the Government Office says the prime minister's decision follows many households complaining about sudden and significant increases in their electricity bills for April.

However, the electricity sector has said that the surge in bills is only partially due to the increase in electricity prices. It has said that unusually hot weather conditions and the resultant increase in households' electricity consumption are other contributing factors.

Speaking to VnExpress Thursday, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said his ministry would set up inspection teams at electricity companies to ensure strict compliance with the ministry's decision to increase electricity price by 8.36 percent.

Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing economies, has been struggling to develop its energy industry.

World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said at a recent forum that Vietnam would need to raise up to $150 billion by 2030 to develop its energy sector.

Dione added that electricity demand in the country is set to grow by about 8 percent a year for the next decade.
Over 500 artifacts and documents mark the Memories of Truong Son trail exhibition open this month in Hanois Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum.

The exhibition is being held to mark the 60th anniversary of the opening of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, aka the Truong Son trail, which connected North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The road was used to transport soldiers and supplies from the north to the southern frontier during the Vietnam War.

Regiment 70 uses elephants to transport goods from the central province of Quang Binh.

For 16 years from 1959 to 1975, soldiers and people used the Truong Son Trail that traveled around 20,000 kilometers through 21 Vietnamese provinces, Cambodia and Laos.

It used 600 kilometers of waterways, 1,400 kilometers of petroleum pipelines, 1,500 kilometers of communication lines. More than two million soldiers used this trail to and from the battlefield, and over a million tons of weapons, ammunition and goods were transported on the trail.

Soldiers from regiment 71 proceed to southern Vietnam on Truong Son trail in August 1962.

Regiment 90 makes a temporary bridge on the trail.

Battalion 102 prepares to depart on the trail.

U.S. aircraft spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Anti-aircraft force unit fights to protect the Truong Son trail.

On a part of the trail where there was no forest cover, the Engineer Battalion made a leaf truss to camouflage and spread stones to cover the roads surface, ensuring safety for transportation trucks to run through on March 1971.

A training session for doctors in Laos in March 1972.

The opening ceremony of Reunification Railway held in Thuan Ly station in the central province of Quang Binh in December 1976 after the war was over and country had been reunified.

The exhibition will last from May 3-31 at the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum, Kilometer 15, Highway 6, Yen Nghia Ward, Ha Dong District.
An Australian court sentenced two Vietnamese crop-sitters working for hundreds of cannabis plants on Friday.

Quang Le was sentenced to three years and four months in jail while his accomplice Si Ngo got two years in prison after they pleaded guilty to "crop sitting" hundreds of cannabis plants at homes in the suburbs of Newcastle, ABC News reported.

Crop sitting refers to the act of living in homes and tending to cannabis plants grown there.

The court heard Quang had racked up $30,000 worth of gambling debt and was being pressured by loan sharks, forcing him to guard cannabis crops to service his debt.

It also heard Ngo became a crop-sitter after his student visa expired and his work as a strawberry picker dried up.

Ngo will be deported upon his release in August 2020, the court ruled.

It is a crime to be caught with cannabis in Australia. However, possession of a small amount for personal use is not a criminal offense in several states.

The Australian government estimates more than 2,300 Vietnamese students have overstayed their visas in the country. Many of them have been involved in growing and selling cannabis.

Last month, four Vietnamese men were sentenced to up to three years and four months in jail for playing different roles in a $2.8 million cannabis operation in Australia.
Garbage, including food waste, plastic bags and bottles are left on pedestrian streets around the Hanoi's Sword Lake after the New Years Eve countdown on January 1, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Two fixed cameras and over 30 environment staff are recording footage of those littering pedestrian streets in Hanoi's iconic Sword Lake area.

The Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO) and the central Hoan Kiem District are running a pilot project between April 26  May 19 to record littering offenses.

While the two fixed CTTV cameras operate full time, over 30 staff will use their smartphones or the companys mobile cameras.

"We will report the recorded violations by both locals and tourists case by case to the local police who will decide the follow up and punishment. In the case of businesses, we will build up a collection of videos and photos proving that they pollute the environment and submit the data to local authorities," said a URENCO representative.

The company has currently put up dozens of boards along the walking zone around the lake, telling pedestrians that littering in the area will be recorded. It warns that those caught littering will face fines of up to VND7 million ($300).

After the trial period, the company will assess the project and report the result to Hoan Kiem District authorities, who will decide whether to extend the action on a permanent basis.

The walking zone around the lake is activated from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. It first opened in September 2016 and was expanded two years later.

District authorities say the zone receives 20,000-25,000 visitors each day and the figure goes up to around 200,000 during holidays and festivals.

However, the pedestrian zone is badly trashed by the crowds that gather on the weekends, and it gets much worse on occasions when it is chosen as a venue for outdoor events.

URENCO said it has been collecting 200 tons of garbage each day from the walking zone.

Current laws in Vietnam regulate that a person can be fined between VND5-7 million for littering sidewalks, streets or the water drainage system. But fines are rarely issued.
Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018.

The number of distributed denial-of-service attacks in Vietnam was the second highest in the Asia-Pacific and sixth in the world in Q4 last year.

In the region, it ranked just below China, while globally it was after China, the U.S., France, Russia, and Brazil, according to data gathered by Hong Kong-based Nexusguard, a leading cloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solutions provider.

A DDoS is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet.

Incoming traffic flooding the victim originates from many different sources, effectively making it impossible to stop the attack simply by blocking a single source.

Nexusguard has said Vietnam is now in a precarious position, a meeting heard in Hanoi Friday.

Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018 compared to 9.52 percent for China.

Nguyen Huy Dung, acting head of the Authority of Information Security, told the meeting that these days it has become much easier to carry out DDoS attacks and preventing them, much harder.

His agency has now developed a system to fight cyberattacks by linking with businesses and Internet providers to handle DDoS attacks on significant data bases, he said.

Nexusguard has also warned about DDoS attacks aimed at communication service providers, including telecom suppliers.

Perpetrators are using smaller, bit-and-piece methods to inject junk into legitimate traffic, causing attacks to bypass detection rather than sounding alarms with large, obvious attack spikes, the company said.

Last September Russias Kaspersky Lab named Vietnam among the top 10 countries hit by DDoS attacks in the last quarter of 2017 and also among the top 10 nations affected by botnet-assisted DDoS attacks as more than 637,000 computers were hit.
iStock/welcomia(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) -- A credit card belonging to an American tourist killed six months ago while on vacation in Mexico was recently used in Oklahoma City, police said.

Taylor Meyer, a 27-year-old from California, was found dead last November in Playa del Carmen, near where he was staying with several friends to celebrate one of their 30th birthdays.

On Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department posted images of the man who used the card to its Facebook page, and requested the publics help in identifying him to hopefully help investigators get one step closer to solving this tragic crime.

Through the course of the investigation detectives working the case found out the victims credit card was used here in [Oklahoma City], police wrote in a Facebook post.

The man seen in the photos was driving a silver SUV and he was accompanied by a woman at the time, Oklahoma City police said. They are urging anyone who knows the identity of the man to contact Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or submit a tip online (case #19-0028862).

In an interview with ABC Los Angeles Station KABC following his death, Meyers parents said they were told that his body was found in a park not far from the bar where he had been with friends, and that his wallet, watch, shoes and iPhone had been taken.

Playa del Carmen sits along the Caribbean Sea in eastern Mexico.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Thomas Peter

The United States accused China Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps.

It was some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

"The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps," Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be "closer to 3 million citizens."

Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified "given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million."

"So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description," he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was "reminiscent of the 1930s."

The U.S. government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate "in proportion" against any U.S. sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were "the same as boarding schools."

U.S. officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there.
" " All-uppercase type has come to indicate shouting in internet-speak. But what's the first instance of its use in that way? David Schliepp/HowStuffWorks

WHAT IF I WROTE THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IN ALL CAPS? WOULD YOU READ IT? MAYBE IF IT WERE VERY SHORT, BECAUSE YOU'D OBVIOUSLY BE WONDERING, "WHY IS THIS WRITER/MY GRANDPA SO ANGRY?" BUT I BET YOUR CURIOSITY WOULDN'T LAST LONG.

HOW TIRED OF READING THIS ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED.

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Sorry, I was shouting  but you knew that.

These days, people use the written word to communicate more than we have in any other period in history. You can make a plan with a friend, discuss the grocery list with your spouse, and negotiate your kid's curfew without having to strain your precious, beautiful vocal cords one bit. But the problem with conversing through the written word instead of face-to-face has to do with tone. In order for your reader to get the full meaning of your 246-character text, you have to use all the tools the QWERTY keyboard has to offer. One of those tools is the caps lock key.

In a two-partseries on meh., the daily-deal-retail-site-turned-internet-forum, writer and former typesetter Dave Fleishman explores the evolution of SHOUTY CAPS, and suggests the history of using all capital letters to indicate outrage or very strong, spirited emphasis is much older than our internet forefathers would have us believe.

Capital letters evolved in the Roman Empire where stone cutters made inscriptions on the topmost capitals of monuments and buildings using big, straight letters. The lowercase letters evolved from adaptations of capitals that were written by hand in manuscripts. Eventually there was a crossover where the capital letters wound up being used as big illustrated centerpieces of illuminated manuscripts, and finally the two cases flirted with each other until the deal was sealed around the mid-1400's when the Gutenberg Bible became the first mass-produced book using movable type.

" " Ancient Greek writing used all capital letters (and no spacing between words), but it wasn't to emphasize shouting or anger. Danita Delimont/Getty Images

But throughout history, capital letters were used for emphasis: the use of capitals in NO PARKING and NO SMOKING, for instance, lend the messages a certain gravitas. Newspapers used all caps for their headlines until the 1910's, when it was pointed out that capital letters are just plain exhausting to read.

"But there's a difference between shouting and signifying importance," says Fleishman. "I was trying to figure out, was there a historical basis for the convention of using the uppercase to shout? A lot of things are tacit; everyone alive today who uses an online service appreciates that when you use uppercase, you're shouting. But was that true before?"

If you ask early internet users, they'd say modern use of all caps as tantamount to shouting goes back to at least March of 1984, when a guy named Dave Decot, then a computer science student at Case Western Reserve University, wrote in a forum:

Well, there seem to be some conventions developing in the use of various emphasizers. There are three kinds of emphasis in use, in order of popularity:

1) using CAPITAL LETTERS to make words look 'louder',

2) using *asterisks* to put sparklers around emphasized words, and

3) s p a c i n g words o u t, possibly accompanied by 1) or 2).

This was just after computer terminals switched from all-uppercase to mixed-case keyboards, so when given the option of writing in lowercase or uppercase letters, the early internet decided all caps was great for shouting. However, if you didn't know the implications, using all caps just made you seem old.

"Anybody who persisted in using all upper case even after the switch in computer terminal keyboards seemed fussy and out-of-date because they were still using older terminals or hadn't gotten used to the new system," says Fleishman.

But Fleishman sensed the internet didn't invent uppercase shouting, and after a protracted search, found a reference from an 1856 edition of The Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, that recounts the tale of a Dutchman with small pox:

"'I dells you I've got der small pox. Ton't you vetsteh? der SMALL POX!' This time he shouted it out in capital letters."

"That's the smoking gun right there," says Fleishman.

So, now you know and may go about your business, quietly and with good manners. All-caps-as-shouting predates the American Civil War, toilet paper, the machine gun, pencil erasers and postcards.

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Now That's Interesting A campaign began in Sweden in 2001 to remove the caps lock key from computer keyboards. In the early 1980's, caps lock took over the keyboard real estate where the control key used to be. These days, CAPSoff.org advocates for the removal of "this ludicrous key."
December 3, 1931  January 25, 2019

Joe Richard Williams was born in Cannon City, Colorado on December 3, 1931, to parents Veta Jeanette and Clyde Jackson Williams. Joe grew up in Cannon City and spent most of his time hunting and fishing in the surrounding mountains. This love of the outdoors lasted his entire life, and was a legacy he passed on to his children. Joe joined the Navy at 16 years old, with his parents assistance and consent, and spent four years serving his country during the Korean War.

Joe married his first wife Gloria Kathryn Miller on June 15, 1949 in Elko, Nevada while in the Navy and they had two children, Kathryn Louise and Jack Edward. He spent a brief period in the United States Merchant Marine after his honorable discharge from the Navy, which deepened his love of the ocean. After his service in the Merchant Marine, Joe returned to his family in Elko where he worked mainly in the casinos. Joe and Gloria left Elko after a couple of years to go back to Colorado, where Joe worked as a contract miner in several mines in the Leadville area, trying to make enough money to give his family a better life financially. After several years in the Leadville area, Joe and Gloria ended up back in Elko. During this time Joes love of the outdoors grew and he continued hunting and fishing in the Nevada Rockies with his father Jack, as well as his son, Jack.

Joe and Gloria moved to the Denver area, in 1962 to return to their beloved Colorado and to start new careers. Joe attended Barber College in Denver and worked as a barber for a brief time, but decided that this was not the career he sought. He was successful as a salesman in the office furniture business and ended up starting successful businesses, Desks Inc. and Electro-Coating Co. in Denver.

Joe and Gloria divorced in 1974 and Joe moved back to Elko, where he started Four Seasons Landscaping, Greenhouses and Floral Store.

In 1985 he married Frances Taylor in Elko. Joe and Fran were very happy together for nearly twenty years until Fran was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Joe dutifully cared for Fran in their home in Sunsites, Arizona until she passed away. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn; son, Jack; sisters, Cheryl (Jack) Paul and Janice Marr.

After Fran passed away Joe won one battle with lung cancer while still in Arizona, but at the expense of losing one lung. He moved to the Texas gulf coast town of Port Mansfield where his breathing was much improved and he could continue to enjoy his love of the ocean and fishing. During this period he met Naomi Jorgenson and he lived out the rest of his life abundantly with this very special lady friend. Complications from a second battle with lung cancer claimed his life on January 25, 2019 in Brownsville, Texas.

Joe lived all of his life abundantly and enjoyed all of the best things given by God to us in this life on earth. He passed on this legacy to his children and also to some of the many friends he made during his life. He is now with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Burns Funeral Home on May 31 at 10:00 am followed by a graveside service with Full Military Honors. A luncheon will follow at the VFW Hall.
Five trucks with food and hygiene kits, dispatched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), entered Russia-held territories in Donetsk region.

"Five trucks sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross have passed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint and entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Relief supplies (food and hygiene kits) weighing 95 tonnes are being delivered to residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of Ukraine's State Border Service said.
On the occasion of the UN events to mark the international day of press freedom, Ukrainian diplomats recalled the illegal imprisonment of journalist Roman Sushchenko in Russia and the suppression of freedoms by Russia in the occupied Crimea, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN said on Twitter.

"As the UN community gathers to mark #WorldPressFreedomDay, Ukraine appeals for the release of Roman #Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist @UKRINFORM, who remains behind bars in the Russian Federation under fabricated charges. #PressFreedom #FreeSushchenko," the message reads.

Also, the Ukrainian mission at the UN noted that the state of freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied Crimea is of the greatest concern.

"Areas of utmost concern remain #Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia. Crimean journalists and bloggers critical of the occupation are facing prosecution and prison sentences, while harassment of independent media and activists are intensifying. #WorldPressFreedomDay #FreePress," it says.

In addition, they added that more than 70 citizens of Ukraine were detained in the occupied Crimea for political reasons - "for simply raising the Ukrainian flag over their house, or perusing their cultural or religious rights."

"The case of Oleh #Sentsov, a jailed Ukrainian film maker and writer, is probably the most appalling examples of how the Russian occupation authorities in #Crimea crack down on the freedom of expression. This practice must be resolutely condemned. #WorldPressFreedomDay," the diplomats added.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree on the dismissal of Yuriy Artemenko from the position of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

Corresponding presidential decree No. 186/2019 of May 4, 2019 was made public on the website of the head of state on Saturday.

"In accordance with paragraph 13 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I order: dismiss Yuriy Artemenko from the post of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting," the document says.

Earlier today, a statement by Artemenko appeared on the website of the National Council, in which he announced the decision to resign and to leave his office.

According to him, there are two reasons for this decision. "The first reason is simple human fatigue - to work daily in constant stress for 10-12 hours during five years, sometimes even seven days a week. Secondly, the proposal, which came at that time to take another job," said he.

Yuriy Artemenko was appointed a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting by the presidential decree dated July 7, 2014. Soon he was elected chairman of the National Council.
Ukraine's Embassy to U.S. organizes charity concert, funds of which to be transferred to 'Next Step Ukraine' rehabilitation center

The Ukrainian Embassy to the United States, in cooperation with the "Revived Soldiers Ukraine" Foundation, organized a charity auction and concert of the Ukrainian violinist Oleksandr Bozhyk, and will transfer the proceeds to the rehabilitation center "Next Step Ukraine," the press service of the diplomatic department said.

"With the funds raised from the concert and the auction, prostheses will be purchased for three soldiers, the rest will be transferred to support the paralyzed of "Next Step Ukraine" rehabilitation center, which is located in Ukraine," it said on Facebook.

In addition, before the concert, ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly addressed the assembled guests with gratitude for their attention to the charity events of the embassy and Ukrainian-U.S. volunteer organizations that provide an opportunity to help Ukrainian soldiers and veterans.

Also, Chaly and Iryna Vashchuk, the president of the Foundation "Revived Soldiers Ukraine," congratulated and thanked for participating in the event of the Ukrainian military Maksym Shkabiuk, who is undergoing rehabilitation in the United States after receiving serious injuries during the fighting in Donbas.
Ukraine at the events on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership on May 13-14 should demonstrate the consistency of its foreign policy and convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv, Ukraine's representative to the European Union Ambassador Mykola Tochitskyi has said.

"On May 13, the President of the European Council gathers the heads of state and government of the six participating countries [Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia] for a working dinner. The Eastern Partnership's "fathers" Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt are also invited. A meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs will be held in the afternoon on May 13. The Ukrainian side will be represented by Pavlo Klimkin. And the next day, a high-level conference will take place with the participation of the heads of state and government," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering the question how the EU plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

In addition, according to him, a number of bilateral meetings of the president of Ukraine with the leaders of the institutions of the European Union and some EU member states are scheduled.

"I believe that from our side we need to use this forum in order to demonstrate the consistency of Ukraine's foreign policy, and this is the course towards integration into the European Union," said Tochytskyi.

The diplomat stressed that at the events of May 13-14, Ukraine should convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv when changing the composition of the European Commission and the European Diplomatic Service in November.
Advisors to President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Danyliuk and Ruslan Riaboshapka, continued discussing in Brussels support for the priority steps of the new head of state.

According to the press service of Zelensky, on May 3, they met with the offices of President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

In addition, members of Zelensky's team took part in a working lunch at the Canadian Embassy in Belgium with representatives of the participating countries of the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer.

"The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law. These areas are the top priorities of the newly elected president of Ukraine," the press service of Zelensky noted.

Advisor Danyliuk noted that Western partners are committed to supporting the declared policy of Zelensky and their interest in enhancing cooperation with Ukraine during his presidency.

Advisers of Zelensky also met with EU Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson and the European Defense Agency's Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
Based on the latest official figures released by the European Union, the amount of Iranian exports to the EU in the first two months of 2019 have dropped sixteen folds compared with the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the value of the EU export to Iran also decreased nearly to one-third of what it was in January-February 2018.

The statistics published on the official website of the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, also reveal that the value of products the Islamic Republic exported to the EU was only 136 million euros (approximately $152 million).

The same source also reveals that before the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018, the value of Iranians export to the EU in the first two months of the same year amounted to more than 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.5 billion).

However, the dramatic drop in Iranian exports to EU was in line with expectations, since 90% of it was crude and energy-related products. European countries stopped buying oil from the Islamic Republic in mid-2018.

The United States imposed financial and industrial sanctions on Tehran in August 2018, followed by bans on its oil exports and banking sector in November.

In the meantime, the value of the EU exports to Iran also dropped to 621 million euros ($695 million) in January-February 2019, while in the same period last year it amounted to 1.56 billion euros (roughly $1.75 billion).

According to the European Commission official figures, the 28-member union exported 8.9 billion euros (approximately $9.9 billion) to Iran in 2018, about 17.6 percent less than 2017, while their imports from Iran declined 4 percent year-on-year to 9.72 billion euros (approximately $10.86 billion).

The details of the statistics point to the fact that Iranian exports to the EU started

to plummet in mid-2018, as most European clients stopped buying crude from Iran.

The value of EU's imports from Iran amounted to 9.72 billion euros (roughly $10.855 billion) in 2018, or 4% less than 2017.

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece are the leading European trade partners of the Islamic Republic, respectively.

The latest statistics show that exports and imports between each of these individual countries and Iran have also sharply dropped in the first two months of the current year.

Germany, as the biggest trade partner of Iran, lost almost half of its exports' value to the Islamic Republic in the first two months of 2019.

Nonetheless, the other major European trade partners of Iran lost more exports to the Islamic Republic than Germany.

Based on the EU statistics, France, Italy, Spain, and Greece used to buy Iranian crude up to mid-2018, which accounted for almost all of the imports from the Islamic Republic.

Iran Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) recently reported that the value of Iran's imports from the EU in last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019) reached $9.82 billion, with nearly 22% drop compared with the previous year.

China, the United Arab Emirates, and the EU are now Iran's main trading partners, accounting for 19.5%, 16.8%, and 16.3% of Irans traderespectively. The EU used to be the first trading partner of Iran before the current U.S. sanctions regime was imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

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 on May 4, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.

As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue has featured the second plenary session on Youth for peace: Building a counter-narrative to violent extremism.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the session.

Leyla Aliyeva addressed the session which was moderated by High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

An official meeting under the leadership of Azerbaijans Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov was held at the Central Command Post on May 4, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry.

The meeting held with the participation of the deputies of defense minister, commanders of the branches of troops, chiefs of the main departments, departments and services of the ministry, as well as commanders of the army corps also involved the commanders of formations and other responsible officers via video communication.

The minister of defense brought to the command staff the specific tasks on the increasing military potential of the Azerbaijani army, set by President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, and instructed to focus on increasing the combat capability of all types and branches of troops, especially foremost units.

The minister of defense set the tasks for the officials to increase the intensity of exercises and training conducted according to the combat training plan, especially at night, in conditions and in areas as close as possible to the combat, to increase the agility and combat readiness of the troops, strictly observing the requirements of covert control and field camouflaging, general safety rules, in particular, fire safety, as well as to organize preparations for the transfer of weapons, military and specialized equipment of army corps and formations to the summer mode of operation.

The minister gave specific instructions to better organize combat training, to raise the level of military professionalism, to strengthen ideological work and moral-psychological support in order to increase military patriotism and the fighting spirit of the military personnel, as well as to solve other official issues.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Due to the coming spring-summer season, the number of tourists visiting the national parks of Azerbaijan has noticeably increased in recent days, said Irada Ibrahimova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

According to her, over the four months of this year, the national parks of the country were visited by 11,131 tourists, 9,850 of which were locals and 1,281 were foreign tourists.

"Of course, it will be great if more tourists visit national parks. It is true that it is not always possible during wintertime, but since May we are expecting a significant increase in the number of visitors to the parks, due to the favorable weather and beautiful nature. Ecotourism is a new concept for us and we hope to achieve successes in this area," she said

Ibrahimova added that today there are 110 different tourist routes in the national parks.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

As part of its 25th anniversary campaign, EY Azerbaijan carried out its first tree planting initiative on the Absheron peninsula, just north-east of the capital, Baku. Nearly 50 EY staff members joined the event together with their children. This initiative reflects EY Azerbaijans strive to contribute to the countrys sustainable development.

Ilgar Veliyev, Managing Partner at EY Azerbaijan said: We are a socially responsible organization. For us, corporate social responsibility isnt just a trendy expression. Both as professionals and citizens, we understand the importance of looking after the environment and giving back to the communities around us.

As a global firm, EY has pledged its responsibility to manage its own operations to limit environmental impact. Gunel Farajova, Head of Climate and Sustainability Services at EY said: As a company, we have been advising both public and private sector on how to build and maintain a sustainable and environmentally-friendly business. So we have to lead by example. EY Azerbaijan has therefore joined our global commitment to conduct our operations in such a way that will reduce the environmental footprint. Each and every business should acknowledge the importance of ecosystem services adopted by the UN.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan Aselsan Engineering signed an agreement on export of optoelectronic devises to Turkey, Trend reports via Kazakh media.

Furthermore, company signed a memorandum with Turkish venture on avionics modernization for helicopters within the territory of Kazakhstan.

This agreement was reached on the 14th International Defense Industry Fair in 2019, which took place in Istanbul.

More than 20 meetings with foreign partners took place during the fair. Issues of cooperation, creation of the new joint projects to attract investments and creation of new technology were among key topics during the meetings with Turkish companies MKEK and Aselsan. The discussion on the realization of the new joint project with TAI company also took place.

As a result of the meetings, it was agreed that five Turkish companies are to visit Nur-Sultan (former Astana) to define the technicalities on realization of the joint projects in the defense industry.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

Follow the author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Iran continues its negotiations with the UKs Pergas International Consortium on the Karanj oil field, located in Irans southwestern Khuzestan Province, said Ahmad Mohammadi, CEO of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), Trend reports referring to Mehr News Agency.

According to Mohammadi, hopefully, these discussions will result in an agreement.

Mohammadi added that production is, of course, currently underway in this field, and it is even provided with gas for oil extraction.

"With the participation of the Pergas consortium, the development will accelerate," he said.

Noting that the annual natural gas production in the southern oil fields of Iran have declined by 10 percent, he said that various steps, including repairs and sidetrack drilling, are used to compensate for the decrease.

Commenting on the volume of oil production in the southern oil fields, Mohammadi said that 3.5 million barrels of oil are produced daily without the implementation of development programs.

"Currently, Iran's oil production and exports are under sanctions. The problems faced by this process are undeniable. Iran has proved that it will overcome these problems," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

As part of the upcoming first forum dedicated to the development of social entrepreneurship, the main aspects and possibilities of the business environment in Azerbaijan will be discussed, Sakina Babayeva, the head of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, told Trend May 4.

She said that the agenda of the event includes discussion of the issues of a sustainable model for the development of social entrepreneurship, as well as key aspects of social entrepreneurship defined in the legislation.

During the panel discussions, a wide exchange of views and international experience in the field of social entrepreneurship is expected, she noted. The development of womens entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan and in international practice is a priority direction in the business sphere, so holding such an event is extremely important.

She noted that the forum will be organized by Education HUB, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy, as well as with the support of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan.

The forum is expected to be attended by Azerbaijani MPs, international experts and representatives of international organizations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to share their military airfields, Trend reports citing Kazinform.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Baurzhan Tortaev stated that relevant international treaties were signed on April 15 of this year within the framework of the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan and in accordance with the current plan for concluding international treaties of Kazakhstan for 2019.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of air defense was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It is aimed at addressing issues of operational interaction of duty forces, timely exchange of information on the aerospace situation, assistance to aircraft in distress, joint training of troops, and the exchange of experience in the development and improvement of air defense forces.

In addition, another agreement was signed between the two ministries on the organization of reception, aerodrome-technical maintenance and protection of military aircraft at military aerodromes of the Armed Forces of the two countries.

The agreement defines the mechanism of mutual settlements between the defense ministries of the two countries for refueling military aircraft with fuel, oils, lubricants, special liquids and gases.

During the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan on April 14-15, 2019, talks were held with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which resulted in a joint statement by the two heads of state.

The leaders of the two countries declared their intention to promote further development of cooperation in the defense and military-technical sphere, as well as in the field of space research and development.

The parties also stressed common positions in assessing the current situation in the region and in the world, and agreed on adopting joint measures aimed at anticipating and countering contemporary challenges and threats to security in the region, primarily in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal migration and other problems, both in a bilateral format and in the framework of multilateral structures.

Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova, Aysham Rustamova  Trend:

In order to expand cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of transportation, a relevant aviation agreement should be signed in the nearest future, the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.

"The aviation agreement is an integral part of the regional transport hub project, which is the next major project of Azerbaijan. This project is equally beneficial for both the EU and Azerbaijan," Jankauskas said. He added that a high-level dialogue on transportation with Azerbaijan began this year. We have various infrastructure projects, he noted.

Jankauskas also pointed out that negotiations are underway on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. "We had a series of video conferences after the last round of negotiations on trade issues. The work is underway. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the text is signed as soon as possible," said the EU ambassador.

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.

In November 201, the European Council issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct negotiations regarding a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan on behalf of the EU and its member states.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take into account the objectives shared by the EU and Azerbaijan and the challenges facing them today. It 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 policies with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should facilitate access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan now exports 113 types of products to China, Trend reports referring to kazpravda.kz

The export includes 16 types of livestock products, 16 types of crop products and 81 types of processed products. The obvious leaders among exported goods are wheat, vegetable oil, oil seeds, flour, soy and fish. Last year, Kazakhstan exported mutton and honey for the first time, reads the news report.

The increase in export is due to 13 added types of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates that were agreed on in the last three years. The dynamics of Kazakhstans export continue to increase. In 2015 the volume of export to China totaled 111 million tenge, in 2016 it amounted to 134 million tenge, in 2017 it stood at 180 million tenge and in 2018 it equaled to 250 million tenge, the report says. Total volume of Kazakh export manufacture increased by 12.9 percent in January-February of 2019, compared to the same period of 2018 and amounts to $610.2 million.

Kazakhstan mainly exports products of agribusiness to Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and China.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

In January-February 2019, Azerbaijan supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey compared to 1.1 billion cubic meters (an increase of 24.2 percent) in the same period last year, Trend reports referring to a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority ( EPDK).

The report shows that in January-February this year, Turkey imported 10.1 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 6.1 billion cubic meters were imported through pipelines, and more than 4 billion cubic meters accounted for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Azerbaijan supplied 683.2 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in February 2019, compared to 536.6 million cubic meters during the same period last year. The share of Azerbaijan in the total import of gas by Turkey in February 2019 amounted to about 16 percent.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.

Hossein Fereydoun, brother of the Iranian president, is charged with a series of corruption cases. His name was mentioned in connection with a scandal revolving around the exaggerated salaries of Irans state insurance company.
Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehrans ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with Iran on civil nuclear programs, Trend reports citing Press TV.

The waivers, which were due to expire Saturday, are being extended for 90 days, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Ford told Bloomberg on Friday.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the official added that two other waivers, one that allowed Iran to store surplus heavy water in Oman and the other that allowed Russia to process Iranian uranium, would not be renewed.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Irans eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May is optimistic that she is close to striking a deal to secure the opposition Labour Partys support for a deal to leave the European Union, reports Trend with reference to Reuters

In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU, sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said that its sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European Parliament elections due on May 23.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a glimmer of hope that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labours customs union proposal was a long-term solution, reports Trend citing to Reuters

The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered, he told the Press Association news agency.

If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal).
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, reports Trend citing to Reuters

Hamed al-Khaiyali told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded, the others slaughtered or shot.

A source in Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed Islamic State and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

Sebha  like much of the south and its oilfields  is controlled by the LNA but the force has moved troops north for a month-long offensive on the capital Tripoli, held by the internationally recognized government.

The campaign has not breached the southern defense of the capital.

The LNA faced strong opposition from the Tebu ethnic group during its campaign in the south at the start of the year.

Islamic State militants are also active in southern Libya where is has staged several hit-and-run attacks in recent months. It retreated to the south after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.
Seven hundred and 10 fighters of the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli have been killed since the beginning of the battle for the capital, the government said in a statement, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The offensive launched by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli has entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.
Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algerias de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflikas regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflikas system, a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed Algerias God because many saw him as the countrys real authority.

I send to this person a final warning, Salah said at that time.
Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce, Trend reports citing Press TV.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it, he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatars capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate cross-border attacks by PKK militants on Saturday, the defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases,Trend reports citing Reuters.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

It said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Three other Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after PKK militants shelled the region, the defense ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy the militant targets.

Turkeys military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated his country's opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, saying that Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Shanahan told journalists the government remained steadfast in its opposition to Turkey's adoption of the S-400 anti-aircraft technology.

"If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forward with, then we have to move work out of Turkey," he said.

Shanahan noted that he had met with delegations from US aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss options if Turkey refuses to forego the S-400.

Washington has warned for months that Turkey's adoption of Russian missile technology alongside US fighter jets would pose a threat to the F-35 and endanger Western defense.

As a member of NATO, Turkey is taking part in the production of the fighter jet for use by members of the treaty, and has plans to buy 100 of the jets itself.

Ankara's ties with Washington have been strained over Turkey's decision to buy the Russian-made defense system, and US officials threatened Turkey's removal from the F-35 program, halting the delivery of jets to the country and excluding Turkish manufacturers from joint production. However, Turkey received two more jets two weeks ago after the delivery of the first batch in June 2018, and four Turkish pilots currently continue their training at the Arizona base.

Like other NATO allies of Washington, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in production of the F-35, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays, and entered service in the United States in 2015.

Ankara has proposed a working group with the United States to assess the impact of the S-400s, but says it has not received a response from US officials.

The Ankara-Moscow S-400 deal was inked in December 2017, when the parties signed a $2.5 billion agreement for two batteries of the systems  Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system in use since 2007.
United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes there is a big potential for building good relations with Russia, Trend reports citing Reuters.

"Very good call yesterday with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia", he wrote on his Twitter account commenting on Fridays telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

"Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on "Russia Collusion." The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" he wrote.

According to the Kremlin press service, the two presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, had a lengthy telephone conversation on Friday that was initiated by the US side. The two leaders discussed issues of bilateral relations with a focus on economic cooperation and reiterated their commitment to closer dialogues in various spheres, including on matters of strategic stability.
KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 19:25 | Japan, All

Japanese whaling vessels launched on Saturday the last round of what Japan calls scientific research off the Pacific coast ahead of the country's pullout from the International Whaling Commission next month for commercial hunting.

Japan will resume commercial whaling possibly from July in waters of the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone after the withdrawal from the IWC takes effect at the end of next month.

The four ships organized by the Association for Community-Based Whaling based in Fukuoka left Hachinohe port in Aomori Prefecture Saturday morning and caught eight minke whales. They will operate through late this month.

They plan to catch up to 80 whales including those already caught in April.

"Waters off Hachinohe contain rich prey for whales. It could be a pivotal location for future commercial whaling," said Tatsuya Isoda, senior scientist at the Institute of Cetacean Research who leads the research whaling.

Related coverage:

Japan to leave IWC, resume commercial whaling in July

Quitting whaling commission is risky gambit by Japan

Australia, NZ rap Japan's IWC pullout, commercial whaling restart
By Kazushige Motokura, KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 12:00 | All, World

Japanese Emperor Naruhito is well-prepared and temperamentally suited to the role he assumed Wednesday after his father's abdication, said a friend from his time at the University of Oxford, reflecting on his early impressions of the royal figure then known as Prince Hiro.

"The Japanese people are fortunate they have him as the emperor, that he represents Japan," said Keith George, 57, an American lawyer from Charleston, West Virginia, who studied at Oxford in England for the same two years in the 1980s as Emperor Naruhito.

(Photo taken April 22, 2019, in Charleston, West Virginia, shows American lawyer Keith George holding a framed clipping from The New York Times showing a photograph of him speaking to Japan's Prince Hiro, now Emperor Naruhito, during the 1983 entrance ceremony for the University of Oxford.)

"Monarchies in some countries have scandals and erode moral standards, (but) Hiro doesn't have that at all," George told Kyodo News, describing the new emperor as a "perfect fit" to "maintain tradition but also respect change" in Reiwa, the new Japanese imperial era which began with the new emperor's enthronement.

George and the prince, whose official name in his college days was Hironomiya, first met in 1983 at the university's matriculation ceremony where they were placed alongside each other by name in alphabetical order. A photo of the two sharing a moment of levity later appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

"I was surprised because there were hundreds of photographers in front of us. Hiro said to me, 'You will get used to this,'" George recalled.

The future lawyer then speculated the two could induce a barrage of camera flashes by leaning in and staging a conversation.

"We did it and that worked. We laughed. He has a good sense of humor (and) I thought we would be good friends."

In the New York Times' coverage, a clipping of which George has framed, the two men were photographed smiling during the brief exchange.

While living in adjacent dormitory rooms, the friends enjoyed playing music -- the prince on his viola as George improvised country-style tunes on a guitar -- and going out to a student pub where George remembers the prince delighting in mundane things that his sheltered life had denied him, like, for example, handling money.

("Prince Hiro" at Oxford University in October 1983.)

U.S. media at the time reported that his grandfather Emperor Hirohito only handled money personally once in his life. The young Prince Hiro also treasured the new experience of doing his own laundry during his graduate studies in England.

At Oxford's Merton College, the prince worked on a thesis paper related to 18th-century navigation and traffic on the River Thames and later wrote a memoir about his time in England titled "The Thames and I" in the English translation.

In 1985, a few weeks after his Oxford stint ended, the prince traveled to the United States and spent a night as a guest of George's family in a quiet mountain town about two and a half hours by car outside of Charleston.

"His life would be totally different in Japan," George said. "There was a certain sadness of losing the freedom that he had in the university, but at the same time he said he was gratefully accepting his duties."

"He was prepared to assume his duty to be the crown prince and eventually the emperor -- it was very clear."

The Japanese royal officially became crown prince in 1991 and married rising diplomat Masako Owada, now Empress Masako, in 1993 after her own two-year period of studying international relations at Oxford.

George has been able to visit with the prince a few times in Japan, including at an official wedding celebration for the royal couple. The American has since released a country music album featuring some of the songs he played with the prince, and his eldest daughter is the same age as Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's only child.

"After the enthronement, the Japanese people will (get to) know him better," said George, who has maintained contact with his old friend through occasional letters and phone calls. "He is kind, honorable and caring -- he will never dishonor his people and his country."

The former Emperor Akihito has been lauded for a 30-year reign in which he sought to bolster relations with neighboring countries that suffered as a result of Japan's wartime aggression.

With all eyes on the 59-year-old emperor to see how he will take up his father's legacy, public sentiment seems initially to be in his favor. A Kyodo News survey conducted just after Emperor Naruhito's ascension found that over 82 percent of respondents had a fondness for their new emperor.
BENGALURU: On Friday, the High Grounds police arrested Gangadhar Amalajeri (30), a native of Rabakavi in Bagalakot district, and Ajith Shetty Haranje (40) of Bramhavara in Udupi, for morphing photos of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and actress Radhika and spreading fake news on social media and a news portal claiming they were visiting a resort in Udupi.

also read: Sri Lanka Bomb Blasts: Army chief claims suicide bombers travelled to Kashmir, Kerala for training

According to the police officials, a case was lodged on Wednesday when the morphed photos went viral on social media after the portal uksuddi.in published it. The media secretary in the CMO, who noticed the fake news, approached the police and registered a complaint.

In the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Gangadhar, who works in an MNC and also runs the news portal, had downloaded old photos of the CM and the actress and morphed them to make it seem that they were entering a resort. The duo had also claimed the CM had scolded the scribes who had taken the photos. After a day, Shetty posted the fake news on his Facebook page and tagged his friends, police said.

Amid the investigation, Gangadhar said he posted it to make his portal popular. Shetty, who owns a garment business, wanted to damage the Karnatakas CMs image. He has put up several posts on Facebook against the present government, police said.

also read: Apologized to SC not BJP or Modi: Rahul Gandhi
Firefighters Day was created in 1999 after 5 firefighters died tragically during a wildfire in Australia when the direction of the wind changed suddenly and engulfed them in flames. The first organized professionals whose job it was to combat structural fires lived in Ancient Egypthowever, at the time, firefighters worked for private companies that provided their services only to those who could afford them. It is celebrated on May 4th because that is Saint Florians day, and Saint Florian, who was said to be one of the first commanding firefighters of an actual Roman battalion and saved many lives, is the patron saint of firefighters.

also read Tiger Wood is to receive the US highest civilian honour from President Donald Trump

To be noted that Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighters life. International Firefighters Day (IFFD) is a time where the worlds community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions. By proudly wearing and displaying blue and red ribbons pinned together or by participating in a memorial or recognition event, we can show our gratitude to firefighters everywhere.

Let us share that international Firefighters Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year. The IFFD ribbons are linked to colours symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with  red for fire and blue for water. These colours also are internationally recognised as representing emergency service.

also read The US Spymaster revealed about Pakistan diplomatic state toward India and inborn Terrorism
Istanbul: On Friday, in a tragic incident, seven people including five children lost their lives after a boat carrying 17 people capsized off Turkey's Aegean coast. All the passengers were reportedly refugees. Five have been rescued while five are still missing with the authorities reportedly trying to locate them. Among the 17 on board the boat, one was a human trafficker, as per the coast guard.

also read: Two rickshaw driver arrested for allegedly raped a teenage girl

According to the Turkish coast guard, 7,100 migrants have attempted to cross over so far alone in 2019. In a bid to escape the turmoil in their own country, thousands have attempted to cross to Europe undertaking the dangerous Aegeans sea route. These migrants include people from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and some African nations. Turkey has been among the main routes for migrants trying to cross to Europe in recent years.

The infamous photograph of Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a shore had brought international attention to the migration crisis leading to a global outcry over the issue. The United Nations had launched "WithRefugees campaign to display solidarity with the refugees after the photograph went viral.

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Colombo: The Sri Lankan army chief claimed that some of the suicide bombers who were involved in bomb blasts in Srilanka on Easter Sunday had visited Kashmir, Kerala and Bengaluru in India.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke said, it is being suspected that the attackers travelled to India to establish their links with other terrorist organisations. In an interview to BBC, army commander said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us.

Boeing 737 slides off the runway, falls into river in Florida

On the reason of visit of terroristm he said, Possibly for some sort of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country.

Last Month, On April 21, nine suicide bombers carried out terror attacks in three churches and four high-end hotels of Sri Lanka, claiming lives of 253 people and injuring over 500. The Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group claimed the responsibility of the serial blasts.

Nepal to begin construction of railways linking Kathmandu with India, China

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently carried out raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and nabbed several people for suspected link with the ISIS. On April 27, the agency took a native of Kerala's Kollam, Faizal into its custody on suspicion of having direct contacts with Sohran Hashif, one of the conspirators behind the Colombo blasts. The agency later detained three more persons from Keralas Palakkad and Kasaragode.
" " Destroying an entire planet all at once? It happens in 'Star Wars,' but could it happen in real life? Peopleimages.com/Getty Images

In "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an evil military junta called the First Order has risen from the ruins of the Galactic Empire, and is waging war against with a particularly frightening new weapon. Starkiller Base, as it's called, is an icy planet that's essentially been converted into a giant ray gun, capable of obliterating an entire distant solar system with a single shot.

The bad guys upped their game considerably since the first "Star Wars" movie, in which the Empire's ultimate weapon was the Death Star, a moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy a planet.

As the official Star Wars website explains, Starkiller somehow harvests energy from the star it orbits, and then contains it within magnetic fields inside the base's planetary core. That energy is then harnessed and converted into an "ultra-powerful beam" that can blast through hyperspace  apparently a so-called wormhole in the time-space continuum in which incredible distances can be covered at speeds faster than light.

When the beam comes out at the other end of hyperspace, those in its path are doomed. The Starkiller's beam is "able to sterilize the worlds of a distant star system with a single shot," we're told.

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The Nitty-Gritty Starkiller Mechanics

As often happens in science fiction, the details of how Starkiller would actually work are left to the audience's imagination. And if you've suspended disbelief and immersed yourself in the "Star Wars" fictional universe, the idea of a weapon so immensely powerful probably doesn't seem any harder to buy than lightsabers, talking robots with human-like personalities, and The Force itself. In the actual universe that we live in, though, is a solar system-killing weapon even remotely conceivable? And if so, how would someone build it?

University of Glasgow professor Martin A. Hendry, head of the university's School of Physics and Astronomy and an occasional lecturer on the physics of "Star Wars," says that that though the Starkiller is fantasy, it has at least a little reality mixed in.

"The Sun's magnetic field is very important in funneling hot plasma, an ionized gas, close to its surface," says Hendry in an email. "We see these huge ribbons of hot gas as prominences, and they can be the cause of violent eruptions known as solar flares that send large amounts of hot gas across the solar system  producing displays of northern lights when the plasma hits our atmosphere."

A really powerful flare, he says, could create an electromagnetic pulse with extremely destructive effects. "It basically would send our technology back to the Stone Age," says Hendry, but it wouldn't be enough to wipe out the planet, the way that Starkiller supposedly can.

Hendry says the idea of using magnetic fields to contain and direct beams of plasma  which is pretty close to what Starkiller supposedly does  is based on perfectly sound physics.

"Where it jumps the shark is the way that the plasma is being directed from the star to the planet with the Starkiller base through apparently empty space," he says. "How does the Starkiller base generate a sufficiently intense magnetic field to re-direct so much of the star's plasma towards it? I thought the effects during that sequence looked great, but the physics wasn't very sound I'm afraid."

While the idea of stealing energy from a star to power a weapon seems like the way to go, "it's just not clear how you do it," says Hendry.

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Actual Star Death

When stars are wiped out in the real universe, they often do it to themselves, by blowing up into supernovas when they run out of fuel. Another way that a star can be destroyed is if it collides with a black hole, whose intense gravity creates forces that literally can tear a star apart if it comes too close, according to an article on NASA's website.

When that happens, the event is called a tidal disruption, and most of the resulting debris is sucked toward the black hole by its gravitational force. As that happens, the debris is heated to millions of degrees in temperature, and generates an enormous amount of X-ray radiation until the debris falls beyond the black hole's event horizon, a point from which no light can escape.

Astronomers actually have used NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer in concert to observe a black hole's destruction of a star, in an event called ASASSN-14li, which was first discovered in November 2014. The real-life star killer is a black hole located in the center of PGC 043234, a galaxy about 290 million light years from Earth, which is estimated to weigh several million times the mass of our Sun. Here's a video animation illustrating what it looked like.

Pretty cool, huh?

But in order to use a black hole as a star-killing weapon, you'd need to be able to build and control one. Back in 1989, a British scientist, Martyn J. Fogg, published a paper in which he suggested somehow placing a manmade black hole on Jupiter, and then using it to generate enough energy to warm the temperatures on the giant planet's moon Europa to Earthlike levels.

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Can We Actually Kill a Star?

That's something that, if possible, is way, way beyond anything that engineers can do today. In 2010, though, Chinese researchers did get some attention by building a device called an omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber that they likened to a "mini black hole," in that it could absorb microwave radiation in the manner that an astrophysical black hole could swallow up a star and its energy.

As you might imagine, they'd have to scale up that man-made version of a black hole quite a bit to have a weapon as potent as Starkiller. Until they do, we'll just have to rely upon George Lucas' special effects for stellar annihilation.

Now That's Interesting "When I've done my 'Physics of Star Wars' lectures in the past, based on the old-style Death Star laser that destroyed Alderaan," says Hendry, "I've tried to guesstimate how much energy must have been stored in the Death Star's batteries. It's equivalent to the total energy emitted by the Sun for thousands of years."
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new test that can reliably predict the future course of inflammatory bowel disease in individuals, transforming treatments for patients and paving the way for a personalised approach.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease - collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - are chronic conditions that involve inflammation of the gut. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. There is currently no cure, but there are a growing number of medicines that aim to relieve symptoms and prevent the condition returning; however, the more severe the case of the IBD, the stronger the drugs need to be and the greater the potential side effects.

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust previously showed that a genetic signature found in a certain type of immune cell known as a CD8 T-cell could be used to assign patients to one of two groups depending on whether their condition was likely to be mild or severe (requiring repeated treatment). However, isolating CD8 T- cells and obtaining the genetic signature was not straightforward, making the test unlikely to be scaleable and achieve widespread use.

In the latest study, published in the journal Gut, the researchers worked with a cohort of 69 patients with Crohn's disease to see whether it was possible to develop a useful, scaleable test by looking at whole blood samples in conjunction with CD8 T-cells and using widely-available technology.

The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.

The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London.

"Using simple technology that is available in almost every hospital, our test looks for a biomarker - essentially, a medical signature - to identify which patients are likely to have mild IBD and which ones will have more serious illness," says Dr James Lee, joint first author of the study.

"This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition."

The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments.

"IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine.

The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.

The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."

Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's

Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.

This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."

Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.

This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.

When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.

Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."

Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier.

"I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."

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Reference

Biasci, D and Lee JC, et al. A blood-based prognostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut; April 2019; DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318343
Scientists have shown that a brain imaging technique called fMRI can be beaten by the use of two particular mental countermeasures

People have certain physical 'tells' when they conceal information - and studies show that good liars can prevent these 'tells' being detected by displaying physical red herrings of their own.

But scientists have now shown that even a brain imaging technique called fMRI, which in theory is much harder to trick, can be beaten by people who use two particular mental countermeasures.

The work was led by Drs Chun-Wei Hsu and Giorgio Ganis at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with the University of Padova, Italy, and published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

This research is the first to explore the effects of mental countermeasures on brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - and it showed that when people used the countermeasures, the test proved to be 20% less accurate.

How do concealed information tests work?

Concealed information tests work because a person who is hiding something will 'give away' what they are concealing when faced with it in a list. For example, if a thief has stolen a diamond ring, the ring will be more striking to the thief than similar control items such as necklaces and bracelets - and the thief will show physiological signs (e.g. sweating) that reveal their guilt.

However, these tests based on physiological signs are easy to beat as perpetrators can artificially alter them when seeing a control item, therefore confusing the test. To overcome this problem, researchers moved to methods that look directly at brain activation using fMRI.

An fMRI machine tracks blood flow to activated brain areas. The assumption in concealed information detection is that the brain will show signs of recognition when presented with the concealed items while exerting extra effort to conceal signs of such recognition, and so the brain regions that do more work will get more blood. Such regions light up in scans, and they are primarily involved in directing attention and in decision making.

What did the study show?

In the new study, participants were asked to conceal information about a 'secret' digit they saw inside an envelope.

Researchers taught 20 participants two mental countermeasures. The first was to associate meaningful memories to the control items, making them more significant. The second was to focus on the superficial aspects of the item they were trying to conceal, rather than on the experience of familiarity it evokes, in order to make it less significant.

The results showed that these countermeasures lowered the accuracy of the test by about 20% because it was more difficult for fMRI to find any differences in brain activity. Thus, participants were more likely to be able to hide their concealed information item when using the mental countermeasures.

The research team concluded that in order to improve the robustness of the test, future work needed to identify a way of detecting mental countermeasures, and potentially look at conducting whole-brain analyses, rather than just examining regions of interest.

Lead author Dr Chun-Wei Hsu, a researcher in the CogNovo research programme at the University of Plymouth, said: "fMRI tests are not currently used by law enforcement in the same way as polygraph tests, but they have been considered for scientific and criminal use as a way of detecting when someone is concealing information. This study shows that the process can be manipulated if someone associates meaningful memories to the control items, or focuses on the aesthetics, rather than the memory, of the item they're trying to hide.

"None of our participants were seasoned liars or criminals, they were just everyday people, so before this test can even be considered for forensic use, there must be further studies carried out to help identify when someone is using mental countermeasures.

"Deception is a really challenging area of psychology, and the more we can find out about the techniques used to detect it, the better."

Dr Ganis is one of the lead researchers at the upcoming Brain Research & Imaging Centre, which will open in 2020 as the most advanced multi-modal brain imaging facility in the South West.

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The full study, entitled The effect of mental countermeasures on neuroimaging-based concealed information tests, was carried out by the University of Plymouth and the University of Padova, Italy. It is available to view now in the journal Human Brain Mapping (doi: 10.1002/hbm24567).
The president of the British Pakistani Youth Council who previously hosted David Cameron on a visit to Birmingham once said he would 'salute' Adolf Hitler if he 'killed more Jews than Muslims' in a newly-uncovered Facebook post.

Kamran Ishtiaq, 37, says he set up the group in 2009 to 'focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people' and 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

But in 2014 he posted a picture of the Nazi dictator and when questioned about it said 'I would salute him still if he killed 90 Muslims and 92 Jews.'

His comments have caused outrage in Birmingham with MP Khalid Mahmood calling for authorities to investigate him.

And when questioned about his remarks, Mr Ishtiaq said he stood by the statement.

British Pakistani Youth Council president Kamran Ishtiaq, pictured with David Cameron when the politician visited Birmingham's Muslim community in 2007, once said he would 'salute Hitler if he killed more Jews than Muslims', it has been revealed

Mr Ishtiaq posted a pictured of Hitler on his Facebook in 2014, pictured, and made the comments when challenged by others

On the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, he added: 'Now (sic) why he [Hitler] is my hero cuz, he just killed Jews, didn't get a chance to kill Muslims... lol.'

Asked if he felt the same way about Jews now, Mr Ishtiaq, who welcomed David Cameron to his grocery shop in 2007 during a political visit, said: 'To be honest with you, I feel that about the Jews who are killing the Palestinians now.

'Not the Jews who are leaving Israel - there are Jews who support Palestine. I was reading today in the media that there are Jews leaving Israel because Israel didn't live up to their expectations.

'OK, but Jews, American Jews, yes I feel like that about them. The ones who are murdering the Palestinians. I do feel that about them.

'And what I wrote there, it's about the Jews.'

He also said Hitler was his 'hero' because he 'didn't get a chance to kill Muslims'. The 37-year-old said he stood by his comments this week, but claimed he was not talking about all Jews, but only 'Jews who kill Muslims'

He added: 'When I say Jews, it's not the Jews fighting the Jewish killers of Palestinians, the Jews who are with Muslims, but the Jews which are killing the Palestinians, yes. The murderers.

'I mean if anything happened to any Jewish community here my youths would be there frontline to support them. Jewish people here are not Palestinian-killing like the Jews over there.

'They're peaceful like us Muslims here. They don't want nothing to do with that.

'It's like the terrorists. You can't hate all Muslims because you hate terrorists. You can't hate all Jews because you hate the killing Jews.'

Asked about those killed by the Nazis, Mr Ishtiaq said he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

He said: 'To be honest, I don't believe that. Every attack, anything on Jews is exaggerated. Yeah. I think that was an exaggeration too.

'He killed Jews, yeah. He did kill Jews, there's no doubt in that. He killed Jews. But that figure is a question mark for me.'

Asked why he thought the Nazis killed Jews, he replied: 'We don't know what happened then.

'If they were doing this now, killing Palestinians, we don't know what they done to the Germans at that time.'

Mr Ishtiaq suggested the figure could have been exaggerated and added: 'It [the figure] gives the Jewish people a reason, you know retaliation - "Look what's happened to us? 'We were nearly being ethnic cleansed and have to stick together".

Mr Ishtiaq's (pictured) comments have been condemned in Birmingham and MP Khalid Mahmood called for an investigation

'It gives them a point of unity, it gives them a reason to retaliate, revenge, you know, empathy, whatever, you could say.'

On whether Hitler's actions were wrong, he added: ' I can't think for Hitler. I can't think why Hitler killed them. I just made that statement [on Facebook]. So why and how, I couldn't tell you.

'I stand by the statement I made, yes.'

Mr Ishtiaq said his views about Jews were shared by young people he worked with.

He added: 'They feel ten times worse.

'My job is to get that feeling out of them, but I need positives to erase that feeling out of them.

'The Jews, the Israel (sic), have not given me a positive. Them feelings are getting day by day worse after what the Israelis are doing.'

His group does not appear to have a website but does have a Facebook page that lists him as president and has not been updated since early 2016.

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Barr, said Mr Ishtiaq's remarks had no place in society.

He said: 'Clearly, these are very inflammatory, offensive, anti-Semitic remarks which have no place in society, in Birmingham, in the UK or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.

'Nor should we in any way look to try to justify that in the way he's tried to justify that.

'It is purely wrong. Hideous comments have been made about killing people and killing the Jewish community - and the non-recognition of the Holocaust is absolutely absurd for someone to make comment.'

Mr Mahmood added: 'These sort of people do not represent the views of the Pakistani or the Muslim community in Birmingham, and where these people exist they should be sought out and held to account for their views.'

Mr Mahmood also called for an investigation into Mr Ishtiaq's role.

He said: 'He is holding these views, he has access to young people. I think it is a serious matter for the authorities to look at.

'The authorities need to have a clear look and investigate this issue, because it certainly brings the whole of the community into disrepute and certainly we're not where the community wants to be at all.'

Mr Ishtiaq, pictured with Mr Cameron at his shop in 2007, said he took over the youth council in 2009 and wanted to 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

Kamran Ishtiaq previously worked as a store manager at his family's grocery business, with which he is no longer linked.

He says he took over as President of the British Pakistani Youth Council in 2009 and talks about the group 'building bridges' on his LinkedIn page.

He wrote: 'The BPYC is a national group of young people who, whilst recognising our faith and ethnic heritage, focus on the present and look to the future.

'We focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people. As the President I lead to work proactively with the mainstream media to counter the negative stereotypes associated with British Pakistani young people and highlight the positive contributions we add to British society.

'This work has led me to work across the UK and Pakistan to build bridges.'

David Cameron visited his family's Raja Brothers grocery business in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, in 2007, when Mr Ishtiaq was manager.

Speaking at the time he said the future prime minister appeared to be a 'normal bloke'.

He said: 'He was relaxed, cool and chilled - you couldn't tell he was the opposition leader.

'When he came here he seemed like a down-to-earth guy. His background didn't show, it was like he was just a normal average guy.

'He was easy to communicate with. I would definitely have him back to work in the shop.'
Sure, people love extolling the virtues of the road less traveled. I get it! Trying new things can be a great thing, and often leads to growth.

But taking another route can also occasionally lead to something uncomfortable and life-threatening...like sinking into a swamp. That's what happened to 83-year-old Alfred Cutting, a man in Staten Island whose seemingly harmless idea to take a shortcut required helicopter intervention.

CBS News reports that on Thursday afternoon, Cutting missed his bus on the way to a doctor's appointment, and decided to walk there instead. He then remembered a shortcut he'd taken in the past, and wandered over thereexcept that a lot's changed since he last took that route decades ago, namely the fact that it's now a swamp capable of swallowing people.

Cutting said that he fell backwards whle walking and was "drowning" ears-deep in the marsh, yet was somehow able to call 911 on his flip phone for help. Authorities eventually found Cutting near Seaview and Mason Avenues "unable to free himself from a swampy area," according to the NYPD.

Authorities then used a helicopter to hoist Cutting up from the wetlands, as The New York Post reports. An officer harnessed Cutting to himself, then pulled him up and out of the muck. He was then taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he sustained minor injuries and is probably rethinking all of his life's shortcuts.


By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked billionaire investor Carl Icahn's company for information about trades in crane maker Manitowoc, Icahn Enterprises disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, in its first acknowledgement of such a probe. Icahn Enterprises said it received a subpoena after critics questioned the timing of Manitowoc stock sales Icahn, who briefly served as an unpaid adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, made before his administration announced steep steel tariffs in March 2018. Questions had swirled about whether the sales were prompted by inside information about Trump's plans. The stocks of many U.S. industrial companies, major consumers of steel, fell that day after the announcement, with Manitowoc losing more than 6%. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises in June 2018, the company said in the filing. "We cooperated with the request and provided documents in response to the subpoena." The U.S. Attorney's office and Icahn's office had no immediate comment. Manitowoc did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors in Manhattan have a history of pursuing major cases over insider trading on Wall Street, famously securing the trial conviction of hedge manager Raj Rajaratnam and a guilty plea from the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. Icahn sold roughly one-third of his stake in Manitowoc, which uses steel to make its equipment, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22, 2018. Trump said on March 1 that he would impose 15% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on imported aluminum to make domestic production more attractive. In response to news reports about his stock sales, Icahn said he cut his position in Manitowoc for "legitimate investment reasons" and dismissed any speculation that his sale of shares was prompted by knowledge about Trump's plans. Icahn, who has been friendly with Trump for decades, has been a sounding board for Trump and was instrumental in vetting people for key positions before Trump was inaugurated in 2017. He stepped down as an unpaid special adviser to Trump in August 2017. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond; Editing by Richard Chang)
(Corrects to show all 11 board members are not Waterton nominees in 1st paragraph)

May 3 (Reuters) - Hudbay Minerals Inc said on Friday it had agreed with Waterton Global Resource Management Inc, its second largest shareholder, to elect a slate of 11 board members that includes some of the nominees proposed by both parties.

The agreement settles a long-drawn out proxy contest with the private equity firm, which nominated five directors to the the Canadian miner's board.

Waterton, which owns a 12.1 percent stake in Hudbay Minerals, had recently filed a suit against Hudbay in a bid to stop it from soliciting proxies for its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 7.

Both companies have also agreed to look for a successor as board chairman to Alan Hibben. After he steps down as chair, Hibben will remain on the board until the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

Much of Waterton's ire against Hudbay surrounds alleged talks the company had to acquire Chile's Mantos Copper for about $780 million last year, which Bloomberg reported in October. (Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
The airline industry has historically been a lousy one to invest in. It's sensitive to the economy, capital-intensive, highly regulated, and hypercompetitive. Making matters worse has been poor management decisions by some of the top airlines that have led to numerous bankruptcies over the years.

But with all the bankruptcies, wars, fuel-cost spikes, and recessions, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has stood tall for almost half a century. An early investment in Southwest would make even Walmart millionaires jealous.

I don't expect Southwest to be a home-run investment, but I do think it can outperform the broader market. Here are the main reasons I decided to buy shares of the low-fare giant recently.

An airplane sitting on a runway.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Industry-leading profitability

Since its founding in the 1970s, Southwest has prided itself on delivering best-in-class service and competitive fares. The formula of flying short routes, driving up productivity by flying one type of aircraft, and stripping out extraneous operating costs like in-flight meals has made Southwest the industry's most profitable airline since the late 1970s. Even with smaller airlines like Spirit Airlines trying to copy the low-cost model, Southwest still maintains industry-leading margins and returns on invested capital.

Southwest is the only airline that has turned a profit for 46 consecutive years, and that's while its competitors, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United (now United Continental Holdings, US Airways (now operated by American Airlines), and TWA filed for bankruptcy between 2000 and 2011.

2. Industry-leading financial fortitude

Southwest is the only airline with a credit rating of A- or better from the credit rating firm Moody's. The company has more cash than debt on its balance sheet and generated $2.97 billion in free cash flow over the past year.

The company's financial strength makes it a good dividend stock, too. The dividend yield is currently below average at 1.23%, but that's because Southwest pays out only 14% of its earnings as dividends. The important thing is that Southwest has increased the dividend by 236% over the past five years.

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With a low payout, a history of raising the dividend, and growth initiatives underway (more on this below), Southwest should be a great dividend growth stock for years to come.

3. Valuation

I love looking for fast-growing companies that could become multibaggers, but I equally enjoy looking for industry leaders that are on sale.

Southwest stock is cheap. It trades for a trailing P/E of 12.3 and a forward P/E of 10 based on next year's earnings estimates. That's at the low end of its trading range over the past 10 years. This is for a company that analysts expect to grow earnings by 12% per year over the next five years.

4. Track record of growth

Those growth estimates seem very reasonable, given that adjusted earnings per share climbed about 300% over the past five years. Much of that increase was from a significant improvement in operating margin, as revenue has increased only by 8.8% per year since 2009.

Keep in mind that Southwest's recent growth has come while there has been much skepticism about whether the low-cost pioneer would be able to maintain its lead, given the heightened competition over the past decade. While competitors have emerged from bankruptcy with a renewed focus on profitability, Southwest continues to maintain high returns on capital by modernizing its fleet, investing in facilities, and introducing new technologies, such as a new reservation system on the customer side and a new maintenance system on the company side, all designed to increase profitability.

Of course, staying ahead of the curve with these investments is a lot easier when you generate the best margins among your peers.

5. New growth opportunities

Management has big goals for the future. Its vision is "to become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline." It has already achieved that domestically, so now it is turning its sights on international expansion. However, consistent with its strategy in the early years, Southwest is expanding in baby steps.

First, Southwest is expanding its routing to Hawaii, which is management's highest growth priority for 2019 and 2020. After a delay, Southwest initiated its Hawaii flights in March. The delay in launching the Hawaii service caused some pressure to margins during the first quarter, as the company's fleet was underutilized. But management said during the fourth-quarter conference call in February that they expect the cost pressure to ease up in the second half of the year.

The new reservation system is also adding to the company's top line. Southwest rolled out this new system in 2017, and last year, it generated $200 million in additional pretax profit. Management expects the annual benefit from the new system to reach $500 million in incremental pretax profit by 2020, which is about a quarter of the company's current annual net income.

A well-run company built for sustainable returns

In recent years, Southwest has faced increasing competition, especially from ultralow-cost carriers, but Southwest stock has still outperformed the broader market, delivering a return of 120% over the past five years. Management's relentless focus on keeping costs down while investing in new moneymaking opportunities, such as new routes and technologies, should keep Southwest generating a healthy profit and paying a rising dividend for a long time.

On top of all the under-the-hood initiatives that could improve company performance, what I'm most enthusiastic about is the potential for extra juice to the stock's return stemming from its low valuation. The combination of a well-run business and a cheap valuation is what ultimately persuaded me to pull the trigger.

More From The Motley Fool

John Ballard owns shares of Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Brazilian aviation company Embraer is seen during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair (LABACE) at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil planemaker Embraer SA said on Friday that it delivered 11 commercial planes in the first quarter of 2019, three fewer than in the same period last year, as it works to cede control of that profitable division to Boeing Co .

The company said its overall backlog, a gauge of future revenue, stood at $16 billion, maintaining a recovery from a 5-year low that it had recorded in October of last year. The backlog at that time stood at $13.6 billion.

Embraer also said it had delivered 11 executive jets in the quarter, the same number as in the same period in 2018. Once it completes the separation of its commercial planes segment, Embraer's bottom line will become more reliant on the performance of this division, which has posted losses in recent quarters.

Boeing and Embraer's commercial aviation partnership, which would consolidate a global passenger jet duopoly, has been approved by the Brazilian government and by Embraer's shareholders but still needs regulatory approval from several countries.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic should not initially rule out any Chinese or Russian companies from plans to build up new-generation 5G mobile networks or expand its fleet of nuclear power stations, new Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said in an interview.

After a cabinet shuffle, Havlicek is stepping into the industry post on Tuesday as the state pushes ahead with both projects that face security questions over the possible participation of China's Huawei in 5G, as well as Russian and Chinese involvement in the nuclear expansion.

Havlicek said security would play a key factor in both sectors and warnings would not be ignored. But first, conditions for the expansions have to be outlined and discussion with key players should take place, he said.

"We have to evaluate all of the factors," Havlicek told Reuters on Monday evening, before his official appointment to the government on Tuesday.

"But definitely it is not acceptable from the business point of view, and communication point of view, to in advance reduce the group of potential investors, potential suppliers," he said.

In December, the Czech cyber watchdog NUKIB warned about possible risks from using Huawei equipment. The United States has also urged allies not to use Huawei products, saying they could enable Chinese state espionage - which the company denies.

Similarly, in nuclear power, a Czech government advisory body recommended last year security settings that would indirectly exclude Chinese or Russian suppliers in the multi-billion dollar expansion project.

NEW PLAYER

The state is holding an auction for new 5G frequencies later this year, seeking to draw a fourth operator to the country to boost competition against O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile and Vodafone and push down data prices, among the highest in Europe.

"I think the opportunity exists that a new multinational or Czech player is coming," Havlicek said, adding there had been talks with around 10 interested parties, including American, South Korean, French and Czech.

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The nuclear expansion has six potential bidders: China's CGN, Atmea - a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and EDF Group - Westinghouse, South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP), French state-owned Areva and Russia's Rosatom.

Czech utility CEZ, which runs two nuclear power plants accounting for about half of its traditional production, and the state, its 70 percent shareholder, have been stuck for years over financing the construction of new units.

In February, Prime Minister Andrej Babis outlined a plan under which the state would control construction after signing a contract with CEZ. The state would then have power to halt the project if power prices don't support it.

Havlicek said he hoped to have the contract with CEZ done in the autumn.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Potter)
May 3 (Reuters) - The city of Detroit said on Friday it agreed to pay $107.6 million for nearly 215 acres of land needed to construct a new $1.6 billion Fiat Chrysler Automobiles assembly plant.

The automaker also plans to invest $900 million to retool and modernize its Jefferson North Assembly Plant, enabling the creation of nearly 5,000 new jobs, the Mayor's office said.

The cost of purchasing the land will be split between Detroit and the state of Michigan.

Earlier in the day, FCA said new U.S. pickup truck models would help achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza? Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of

When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza?

Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET

In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of fast-food.

The pizza industry meets blockchain technology once again as #SingularityNET and @Dominos Malaysia and Singapore divisions announce a partnership leveraging SingularityNETs AGI token ecosystem. Read more here: https://t.co/x5hB8EaK2N pic.twitter.com/t9jRkzc3CQ  SingularityNET (@singularity_net) May 1, 2019

Does that mean your pizza will end up being delivered by a robot? Well, not exactly. Not for the time being, at least.

As the examples of predictive text serve to highlight, AI goes way beyond making robots work. SingularityNET is, in fact, a decentralised blockchain-based AI platform that allows developers to build and deploy artificial intelligence services at scale.

That makes it particularly interesting for large companies that suffer from multiple inefficiencies in the supply chain or delivery, such as Dominos Pizza.

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For now, though, the partnership will be limited to the Malaysia & Singapore arm of the fast-food giant, aimed at accelerating the companys growth in this region.

According to the release, this will allow SingularityNETs decentralised AI community to build innovative algorithms and solutions that will enhance Dominos operational capabilities and delight its rapidly growing customer base in Malaysia and Singapore.

What exactly will innovative algorithms do for Dominos Pizza?

The details of the partnership are a little fuzzy at the moment. After all, eluding to innovative algorithms and delighting customers doesnt exactly explain what the two companies are hoping to achieve.

Reading between the lines, however, it seems that AI can be particularly useful when it comes to automation and the supply chain. By using scalable algorithms, Dominos will be able to solve many of its most pressing challenges in logistics.

This means that the company may be able to achieve economies at scale by automating part of its delivery operations and even consolidating its operations centres.

Dominos CEO for the region, Ba U Shan-Ting, enthused SingularityNETs AI algorithms and services will allow us to explore these efficiencies at scale.

SingularityNETs CEO, Ben Goertzel, praised Dominos for its commitment to innovation. He said that we were moving into a new phase of society and economy, and that all businesses would need to embrace AI of some kind in order to survive and flourish in the new climate.

Specific to this partnership, he remarked:

We are proud to embark on a future partnership with Dominos to achieve their ambition of becoming the leader in pizza delivery and customer brand loyalty by 2020.

A pioneering company where emerging technology is concerned

Many large companies have jumped on the blockchain train in some way or another (just think Walmart or Carrefour). However, Dominos is the first to test out a blockchain-based AI solution. This gives the company a certain amount of kudos for being pioneering in the space.

Shan-Ting waxed lyrical about the Dominos constant commitment to innovation (I mean, what other company would combine salted caramel with pizza?). But while using vague words like mission, vision, innovation and excellence may come over as a little vapid, the company is expecting plenty of tangible results. These include greater efficiency for customers through automation and the consolidation of various operations centres.

SingularityNET, as part of the partnership, will be delivering AI-centric workshops, and conducting feasibility studies to see how to best impact Dominos business operations. At the same time, Dominos will widen its ability to access scalable algorithms that can help the company overcome its bottlenecks in the supply chain and logistics.

The partnership marks a key milestone for SingularityNET as part of its quest to bring enterprises to the AI marketplace.

So will you be getting your pizza delivered by a robot?

This is a pilot project starting in Singapore and Malaysia where Dominos Pizza has over 260 stores. The company will be using AI to speed up delivery, improve customer loyalty, and make cost efficiencies.

So, if its successful, this could be one more step toward bringing blockchain adoption to the masses. You can probably even expect that a robot will take your delivery by telephone, or even put your pizza together. Dont hold your breath that youll see Sophia knocking on your door any time soon though.

The post Your Dominos pizza may soon be delivered by a robot appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Gold and silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) had a rough year in 2018, with its stock falling around 40%. There were a number of factors behind that, including weak earnings, soft commodity prices, a strike at a key mine, and a heavy debt load. But Hecla also made some investments in its future, expanding into Nevada via acquisition. It believes that move, including mine-level improvements at the purchased assets, will help strengthen results in 2019 and 2020. When you look to the longer term, though, the company's future is likely to be driven by two investments in Montana. And the news there hasn't been very good lately.

What it means to be a miner

Running a mining business is a complex, expensive, and labor-intensive job. From a big-picture perspective, a miner has to find a location that might have precious metals (or other key materials, like copper). It then has to get permission to start building a mine. Assuming it can get its plans approved, the company will build a mine. And -- not a small issue -- it has to hope that the mine actually lives up to its predevelopment expectations. Lower ore grades or more-difficult-than-expected mining conditions can quickly turn a great plan into a bad investment.

A man standing at the mouth of a mine with the sun behind him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Once built, a mine is operated until it is no longer economically feasible to run, at which point the company must return the land to its pre-mining state. A lot can go wrong here, but there's one thing inherent to the process -- each mine has a life cycle and will eventually close down.

Indeed, mines are depleting assets. Once you pull an ounce of gold, silver, or copper (or whatever is in the mine) out of the ground, it is gone. And once you pull all of the commodity from the mine, you need to find a new mine to replace it, or the business will start to shrink. Running a mining company is like running on a treadmill in some ways: You can never stop to rest because you always have to be on the lookout for the next mine.

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Bad news for Hecla

This is exactly why Hecla investors need to be concerned about the fact that a judge recently blocked a permit for Hecla's Rock Creek mine project in Montana. This is one of two mines in the state that the company is planning to build in close proximity to each other. The other proposed mine is called Montanore. Bad permitting news at one mine is a bad omen for the other mine. Hecla's stock dropped around 10% following news of the adverse judgment at Rock Creek.

There's a couple of reasons for this. First, these two mines are in close proximity to the company's operating Lucky Friday mine in Idaho. The goal is to benefit from economies of scale by running a number of assets in the same general region. That will help lower costs for Hecla, which would be a good thing. Hecla's all-in sustaining costs (AISC, which includes operating costs and investments to maintain operations) for silver in 2018 were $11.44 per ounce, versus a year-end silver spot price of $15.40. Although by this metric it's profitable on the silver side of things, the company's AISC costs for silver rose over $3.50 per ounce last year. As for gold, Hecla's AISC were $1,226 last year compared to a year-end gold price of $1,282 per ounce, which isn't much breathing room. Keeping a lid on costs would be a good thing for the miner.

HL Chart

HL data by YCharts.

However, it's the second reason for the stock decline that should really worry investors. Rock Creek and Montanore are the company's two largest projects. The inferred resources (the amount of a commodity a miner's earliest estimates of the location's potential) at these mines dwarf any of its other long-term projects. Putting some numbers on that, the company hopes to find 148 million ounces of silver at Rock Creek and 183 million ounces of silver at Montanore. Together, these two assets make up 70% of Hecla's inferred silver resources.

In addition to the silver, Hecla hopes to find 658,000 tons of copper at Rock Creek and 759,000 tons of copper at Montanore, together making up virtually all of its inferred copper resources. If these numbers are close to accurate, Rock Creek and Montanore could rank among Hecla's largest operating mines.

There's no near-term worry, because the company still has plenty of silver and gold to mine for now, but every ounce it pulls out of the ground is one less ounce it has to mine in the future. And eventually, it will need to bring on new mines. So the setback at Rock Creek is notable because it will clearly be an important mine...but only if it gets built. The same holds true for nearby Montanore, which will likely experience the same environmental and regulatory headwinds that impact Rock Creek. If these two mines don't pan out, Hecla will have a big problem on its hands.

Far in the future, but still a concern

At this point, Rock Creek and Montanore are nowhere near close to contributing to Hecla's production. And near-term financial results aren't really going to be impacted by the trials and tribulations at these two proposed mines. That said, these are important long-term investments for Hecla. If they don't pan out, the miner will have to go back to the drawing board and find other investments on which to build its future. That, in the end, is why Rock Creek and Montanore should be on your radar, even if they aren't material to today's financial results.

More From The Motley Fool

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Signage is seen at the Huawei offices in Reading, Britain, May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies said it will "vigorously oppose" a motion filed by U.S. prosecutors on Thursday to disqualify its lead defense lawyer from a case accusing the Chinese company of bank fraud and sanctions violations.

According to a filing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. government sought to remove James Cole from the case.

Cole was the No.2 official at the Justice Department between 2011 and 2015, a period when the United States was obtaining information on how Huawei might have been doing business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The filing did not make public why it is seeking to remove Cole from the case. In a letter to the court, prosecutors said they had filed a sealed, classified motion to disqualify Cole and expected to file a public version by May 10.

Cole, the former U.S. deputy attorney general, is now a partner at law firm Sidley Austin in Washington. He declined to comment.

Huawei said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it chose Jim Cole as its lawyer in 2017. "We have seen no facts from the government that would justify disqualifying him and denying Huawei its constitutional rights. Huawei will vigorously oppose the governments motion," it said.

The case against Huawei has ratcheted up tensions between Beijing and Washington as the world's two economic powers try to close a trade deal.

Angering the Chinese, the company's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of U.S. authorities.

Huawei was charged with bank and wire fraud, violating sanctions against Iran and obstructing justice. Meng, who must answer to some of the charges, has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition. She is due in court in Vancouver on May 8.

Cole entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the company and its U.S. subsidiary on March 14 in Brooklyn.

Story continues

The crux of the case is that Meng and Huawei allegedly conspired to defraud HSBC Holdings Plc and other banks by misrepresenting Huaweis relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, a suspected front company that operated in Iran.

Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huaweis Iran business.

U.S. authorities claim Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods, technology and services in Iran, and to move money via the international banking system.

U.S. prosecutors said last month they planned to use information about Huawei obtained through secret surveillance in the case.

In March, Reuters detailed how U.S. authorities secretly tracked Huawei's activities, including by collecting information copied from electronic devices carried by Chinese telecom executives traveling through airports.

In February, Reuters exclusively reported how an internal HSBC probe helped lead to the U.S. charges against Huawei and its CFO.

The indictment references reporting by Reuters from six years ago that Skycom offered to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator. The reporting detailed links between Huawei and Skycom, including that Meng had served on Skycom's board of directors in 2008 and 2009.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The ticker symbol and company logo for InterContinental Hotels Group is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Karina Dsouza and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group Plc said fewer people checked into its hotels in the first quarter due to lower demand in China, South Korea and France.

InterContinental, whose 13 brands include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, reported a 0.3 percent rise in room revenue as strong demand in the Latin America and Caribbean markets was offset by weakness in the Greater China region.

Occupany rates slipped 0.2 percent in the period

The FTSE 100 company's shares fell 3.3 percent to 4,833 pence in the first hour of trading before cutting their losses to 1 percent by 0915 GMT.

IHG reported a 3 percent fall in revenue per available room (RevPaR) in France as it felt the impact of the "yellow vest" protest.

In South Korea, the company reported a 30 percent plunge in RevPar, because of tough comparisons due to the Winter Olympics hosted in the country last year.

The company has been focusing on business customers and expanding its luxury offerings to fight the rising challenges posed by companies such as Airbnb and online travel agents.

Weak demand in China's smaller cities meant the company reported flat room revenue. Accor SA, Europe's biggest hotel group, recently said weakness in Asia held back growth in RevPAR in its first quarter.

InterContinental Chief Executive Officer Keith Barr said on a call that China, where the company operates 400 hotels, would continue to be an important market.

Barr has steered the company towards affluent Chinese customers to lessen dependence on highly mature U.S. markets, while aggressively rebranding to compete against the likes of Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Writing by Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile programme and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

Story continues

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The Latest on North Korea test firing short-range missiles (all times local):

6:50 a.m.

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire drill of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons.

The report by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North launching several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast.

The agency says Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over Saturday's drills and stressed frontline troops to keep a "high alert posture" and enhance combat ability to "defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance of the country."

___

11:10 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he still believes a nuclear deal with North Korea will happen, after the country fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Trump tweeted Saturday that he believes that leader Kim Jong Un "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it."

Added Trump: "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A diplomatic summit between Trump and Kim over the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons broke down earlier this year without a deal. North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

___

4 p.m.

South Korea says it's "very concerned" about North Korea's weapons launches, calling them a violation of last year's inter-Korean agreements to reduce tensions between the countries.

The South Korean government says it urges North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear negotiations.

South Korea says it's working with the United States to find out details of the launches such as what type of projectiles North Korea fired earlier Saturday.

The South Korean statement came after a meeting of the presidential national security adviser, the defense minister, the intelligence chief and other officials following the North Korean launches at the presidential Blue House.

Story continues

___

3:20 p.m.

The United States and South Korea are analyzing North Korea's short-range missile launches while "carefully responding" to Pyongyang's action.

That's according to South Korean Foreign Ministry statement following telephone talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart in Seoul.

Later Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also talked by phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and they agreed to keep coordinating while also "carefully responding" to the launches.

___

2:45 p.m.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have held telephone talks after North Korea launched several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says Kono, who is currently visiting Angola, and Pompeo talked for about 10 minutes Saturday and confirmed the two sides will share information on the development and stay in close contact.

The two ministers also agreed to cooperate with South Korea.

Japan's Defense Ministry says the projectiles weren't a security threat and didn't reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim Jong Un.

___

11:45 a.m.

The White House says it is monitoring North Korean short-range missile launches.

In a terse statement, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says, "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea early Saturday launched several short-range missiles off its eastern coast into the ocean.

If it's confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

___

11:15 a.m.

Japan's Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It says at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

___

10:45 a.m.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has launched "several" short-range missiles off its eastern coast.

The military said in a statement Saturday that the missiles flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before they landed in the water.

The South had previously said the North launched a single missile.

___

10:05 a.m.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says the North's missile was fired from Wonsan on the east coast.

It says South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details of the launch.
wallstreetmarketshutdown.jpg





Wall Street Market, the second-largest darknet market in the world in recent months, has been shut down by international law enforcement agencies, including Europol as well as U.S., German, Dutch and Romanian law enforcement. Three suspected operators of the online marketplace for illegal goods and services have been arrested in Germany, while some of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics were arrested in the United States.

Darknet markets are the digital black markets only accessible through the anonymizing Tor browser; they use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment. Since the pioneering Silk Road was shutdown in 2013, such markets have only grown in popularity. According to research by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published in January 2019, darknet market activity almost doubled throughout 2018, surpassing a yearly volume of $600 million. Back in the days of Silk Road, the record yearly volume never topped $200 million, according to Chainalysis.

One of Silk Roads recent successors, Wall Street Market, offered a platform for selling illegal drugs as well as weapons, hacking software and stolen login credentials. According to Europol, over 1,150,000 user accounts were registered on Wall Street Market, and over 63,000 offers had been placed on the website by more than 5,400 seller accounts. This made Wall Street Market the second-most popular darknet market at the time of closure, Europol noted, presumably behind Dream Market.

The website was ultimately shutdown by German Federal Criminal Police, under the authority of the German Public Prosecutors office, and three suspected operators were arrested. The German police were supported by the Dutch National Police, Europol, Eurojust and various U.S. government agencies including the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice. German authorities also seized 550,000 (approximately $615,500 USD) in cash and six-figure amounts worth of bitcoin and XMR (monero), as well as several vehicles and other evidence.

Story continues

Europols Executive Director Catherine De Bolle commented in a statement published on the Europol website:

These two investigations show the importance of law enforcement cooperation at an international level and demonstrate that illegal activity on the dark web is not as anonymous as criminals may think.

Darknet Disarray

As reported by Bitcoin Magazine last week, Wall Street Market had been in a state of turmoil for several weeks. Following a presumed influx of new users from the also-defunct darknet market Dream Market, Wall Street Market operators started pulling an exit scam, reportedly stealing a total of $14 million to $30 million worth of bitcoin and XMR from user accounts. On top of that, some Wall Street Market users were being blackmailed, as one of the websites moderators threatened to leak identifying information about the users to law enforcement, unless these users paid him 0.05 BTC.

As reported by ZDNet, the same moderator went a step further only days later, as he published the IP address and his login credentials to the darknet market on darknet-focused forum Dread. This not only revealed the location of the Wall Street Market server, which was located in the Netherlands, but also allowed anyone access to the websites administrative section to collect information about users and orders, which reportedly included deanonymizing details like home addresses. Its likely that this is how law enforcement was able to shut down Wall Street Market and arrest suspects, but this has not been confirmed.

The takedown further confirms that the recent darknet market era, with Dream Market and Wall Street Market as market leaders, is coming to and end. Wall Street Market is now officially offline, and Dream Market halted trading weeks ago with its future unclear. While a notice on Dream Market predicted it would shut down on April 30, 2019, the website is still up  though with trading still disabled. The Dream Market replacement website is not online either, as the onion address in the notice is unresponsive.

On top of that, in the same press release, Interpol announced that Finnish authorities shut down yet another darknet market earlier this year. Valhalla, which was previously known under its Finnish name Silkkitie, was one of the oldest darknet markets online, though, according to Finnish customs, the site had been compromised by them since at least 2017. Still, according to Europol, Valhalla had its contents seized by Finnish Customs only this year, in close cooperation with the French National Police.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Monster Beverage Corporation MNST reported solid first-quarter 2019 results, wherein top and bottom lines outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. Notably, this marked the fourth straight positive earnings surprise, with the third consecutive sales beat.



A clear reflection of the companys robust first-quarter performance was visible in a 6.1% increase in its share price during the after-hours trading. Moreover, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock has surged 17.8% year to date, outperforming the industrys growth of 9%. This is mainly attributed to the strong momentum in its energy drinks business.



Q1 Highlights



Monster Beverages earnings of 48 cents per share rose 26.7% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Monster Beverage Corporation Quote

Net sales of $946 million improved 11.2% year over year and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $916.3 million. Moreover, gross sales (net of discounts and returns) rose 10.1% to $1,090.4 million. Robust gross and net sales growth are attributed to strong sales for the Monster Energy brand energy drinks, introduction of new Monster Energy brand energy drink and the launch of Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance energy drinks.



Additionally, net sales to customers outside the United States totaled $274.3 million, up 17.4% year over year. This represented about 30% of total sales in first-quarter 2019 compared with 25.8% in the year-ago quarter. However, top-line growth was partly negated by unfavorable currency that hurt gross and net sales by $25.9 million and $22 million, respectively.



Segmental Performance



Monster Energy Drinks: Net sales at this segment increased 11.5% year over year to $870.4 million. Robust gains from the sale of Monster Energy brand energy drinks and Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance drinks were partly offset by a negative impact of nearly $18.2 million from adverse currency rates.



Strategic Brands: This segment includes a range of energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company KO in addition to its affordable energy brands. Net sales at this segment rose 6.9% to $70.3 million in the first quarter. However, currency headwinds hurt the segments results by $3.8 million.



Other: Net sales at this segment, which includes some products of American Fruits & Flavors sold to independent third parties (AFF Third-Party Products), grew 12.8% year over year to $5.3 million.



Costs & Margins



First-quarter 2019 gross margin remained flat at 60.6%. Gross margin benefited from increased prices for products sold in the United States and Canada along with product sales mix. This was somewhat mitigated by negative geographic sales mix and higher input costs.



Operating expenses increased 11.4% year over year to $262.1 million. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, grew 60 bps to 12.9%. However, selling expenses, as a percentage of net sales, dipped 50 bps to 11%. Meanwhile, distribution costs, as a percentage of sales, declined 10 bps to 3.8%.



Despite higher costs, operating income of $311.5 million increased 11.3% year over year. Meanwhile, the operating margin remained flat at 32.9%.



Other Financials



Monster Beverage ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $618.3 million, and total stockholders' equity of $3,698.8 million.



Moreover, the company bought back 2.6 million shares for about $139 million (excluding broker commissions) in the reported quarter. As of May 2, 2019, it had nearly $20.6 million and $500 million remaining to be bought back under share repurchase plans authorized in August 2018 and February 2019, respectively.



Strategies on Track



Monster Beverage completed its strategic alignment with Coca-Cola system bottlers in the United States, with the allotment of the Kalil Bottling Groups distribution territories in March 2019 and the transition of the Big Geyser Inc. territory in April 2019. Further, the company is on track with the transitioning of the Monster Energy brand to Coca-Cola system bottlers in more countries.



Furthermore, management remains committed toward product launches to boost growth. In the first quarter, it successfully launched the Monster Energy Ultra Paradise, the Monster Dragon Tea line, Reign Total Body Fuel line of high-performance energy drinks and Java Monster Swiss Chocolate in the United States. Additionally, it rolled out many Monster Energy and Strategic Brands energy drinks in existing international geographies.



Moreover, the company is set to launch the new strategically preferred affordable energy brand  Predator  in additional international markets in 2019.



2 Better-Ranked Soft Drink Stocks to Count on



PepsiCo Inc. PEP has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 7.2%. Further, it has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



New Age Beverage Corporation NBEV, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, witnessed positive estimate revisions for the current year in the last 30 days.



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(Adds State Department's decline to comment in paragraph 9)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet.

Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Story continues

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

SECURITY GUARANTEE

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cold temperatures and rain didnt dampen the spirits of volunteers in northeastern Pennsylvania. The community united to demonstrate its support for the Hanover Township Fire Department at the fourth annual Ladders and Laces 5k. The annual race coupled with Team Navient contributions raised $17,000 to help the local fire departments efforts in keeping their firefighters and community members safe.



We cant express our deepest appreciation to Navient for their thoughtfulness and support to our department, said Joseph Temerantz, department chief, Hanover Township Fire Department. Without their support we would not be able to provide the level of service that we currently do to those who live, work and travel through our fire protection district. Last year, we responded to 941 calls for service and we can truly say we delivered a high level of service to those in need because of Navients support.

This years donations will help purchase new safety equipment and technology including two water rescue boats, several sets of fire gear and a smaller and more versatile jaws of life tool. In addition, funds will also help purchase a fire pup costume to support fire prevention awareness among children. The fire department provides activities for more than 400 children each year.

Despite the unfavorable weather, the 3.1 mile race attracted about 140 runners and many supporters and volunteers. This year, the event offered a race registration fee discount to students.

Were grateful for the Hanover Township Fire Department efforts in keeping our community safe, said Lisa Stashik, vice president, Navient. The Ladders and Laces 5k is our way of showing our gratitude.

In addition to the race, employees raised funds to support the fire department through Navient's popular Jeans BeCause program. The program allows participating employees a "pass" to dress casually on certain days.

Story continues

Since 2016, the annual race coupled with employee contributions has raised $68,000. Funds have aided the construction of a firehouse, the purchase of a state-of-the-art fire engine and life-saving equipment.

Connect with @Navient on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Medium .

About Navient

Navient (NAVI) is a leader in education loan management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare and government clients at the federal, state and local levels. The company helps its clients and millions of Americans achieve financial success through services and support. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Navient also employs team members in western New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and other locations. Learn more at navient.com .

Contact:

Media: Brianna Huff, 302-283-2973, brianna.huff@navient.com

NAVICP
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- electroCore, Inc. (ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, today announced that two oral presentations featuring non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) will be presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) to be held on May 4-10, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Abraham Nagy will present findings highlighting real-world evidence of cluster headache patients using nVNS. Dr. Maike Moller will present data demonstrating the effect of nVNS on specific brain regions providing further mechanistic support for the efficacy of nVNS in multiple headache conditions.



The pairing of real-world evidence-based findings and mechanistic rationale further support the use of gammaCoreTM, specifically as an early-line treatment. While the use of traditional pharmacologic options is valuable, the mounting evidence highlights the potential for gammaCore to provide patients with an effective, safe and convenient non-drug option, said Francis Amato, chief executive officer of electroCore.

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) and the Trigeminal Autonomic Reflex: An FMRI Study

Session: S20.002: Headache Imaging and Physiology and Episodic Syndromes Associated with Migraine

Presenter: Dr. Maike Moller of the Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

Time: 3:30  5:30 p.m. EDT

Title: Real-world Use of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Acute Treatment of Pain in Episodic Cluster Headache Attacks: Results From a Patient Registry

Session: S38.006: Headache: Clinical Trials II

Presenter: Dr. Abraham Nagy, Chairman of Neurology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 1:00  3:00 p.m. EDT

gammaCoreTM (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) is intended to provide non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on the side of the neck. gammaCore is indicated for:

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Adjunctive use for the preventive treatment of cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with migraine headache in adult patients.

The safety and effectiveness of gammaCore (nVNS) have not been established in the acute treatment of chronic cluster headache

gammaCore has not been shown to be effective for the preventive treatment of migraine headache

The long-term effects of the chronic use of gammaCore have not been evaluated

Safety and efficacy of gammaCore have not been evaluated in the following patients, and therefore it is NOT indicated for: Patients with an active implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker, hearing aid implant, or any implanted electronic device Patients diagnosed with narrowing of the arteries (carotid atherosclerosis) Patients who have had surgery to cut the vagus nerve in the neck (cervical vagotomy) Pediatric patients Pregnant women Patients with clinically significant hypertension, hypotension, bradycardia, or tachycardia

Patients should not use gammaCore if they: Have a metallic device such as a stent, bone plate, or bone screw implanted at or near their neck Are using another device at the same time (e.g., TENS Unit, muscle stimulator) or any portable electronic device (e.g., mobile phone)



NOTE: This list is not all inclusive. Please refer to the gammaCore Instructions for Use for all of the important warnings and precautions before using or prescribing this product.

About electroCore, Inc.

electroCore, Inc. is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company dedicated to improving patient outcomes through its platform non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy initially focused on the treatment of multiple conditions in neurology and rheumatology. The companys current indications are for the preventative treatment of cluster headache and acute treatment of migraine and episodic cluster headache.

For more information, visit www.electrocore.com .

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about electroCore's business prospects and product development plans, its pipeline or potential markets for its technologies, and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "anticipates," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," other words of similar meaning, derivations of such words and the use of future dates. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to pursue electroCores business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies, the ability to commercialize gammaCore, competition in the industry in which electroCore operates and overall market conditions. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and electroCore assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents electroCore files with the SEC available at www.sec.gov .

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors

617-535-7743

hans@lifesciadvisors.com

or

Media Contact:

Sara Zelkovic

LifeSci Public Relations

646-876-4933

sara@lifescipublicrelations.com




By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Chile's mining minister Baldo Prokurica said royalties for the ultralight battery metal lithium would be set on a "case-by-case" basis from now on, using a negotiation model similar to that used with top producers in Chile's Atacama salt flat.

State development agency Corfo struck deals with top miners SQM and Albemarle in previous years that set a sliding scale for royalties, depending on the price of the metal.

Prokurica, speaking late Monday, did not specify what rates would be used as a starting point for any new negotiations.

"This will be studied on a case by case basis, considering Corfo's experience with its holdings in the Salar de Atacama," Prokurica told Reuters.

Chile is the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, which is used in the batteries that power cell phones, electric vehicles and other consumer goods. Nearly one-third of the world's supply of lithium comes from Atacama, a sprawling salt flat in the country's northern desert.

Several companies, including Wealth Minerals, Lithium Power International, and Bearing Lithium , among others, are advancing projects in Chile to take advantage of surging demand.

Chile's government had been studying various options for royalty payments, from a system that would put lithium royalties on par with those of copper, as well as additional taxes to spur development in the regions where the metal is mined. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Dave Sherwood Editing by James Dalgleish)
Friday, May 3, 2019

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Pfizers shares have underperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry in the past six months (-5.7% vs. -1%). Pfizer beat estimates for earnings and sales in the first quarter. Pfizer expects continued strong growth of key product franchises, including Ibrance, Eliquis, and Xeljanz in 2019.

However, The Zacks analyst thinks loss of exclusivity on key drugs in the United States, mainly Lyrica and currency headwinds will likely significantly hurt 2019 sales. Other top-line headwinds are weak sales in the sterile injectables portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition.

To offset the threat of generic competition, Pfizer is strengthening its pipeline as well as oncology portfolio. Pfizer looks well positioned to deliver several potential new breakthrough innovative medicines in the next five years, which can drive long-term growth. Biosimilars are also expected to contribute to growth in 2019.

(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>> ).

Shares of Intel have outperformed the Zacks General Semiconductor industry in the past year, losing -4.3% vs. a decline of -7.4%. Intel reported stellar first-quarter results. Rising demand witnessed in companys higher performance products, both in data center and client domains acted as a catalyst.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company is benefiting from robust performance of the DCG, IoT Group, NVM Solutions and PSG. The companys strategy of expanding TAM beyond CPU to adjacent product lines like silicon photonics, fabric, network ASICs, and 3D XPoint memory is bearing fruit. However, a declining trend in PC shipments is detrimental to business prospects of Intel, which continues to depend substantially on PC sales.

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Further, the company provided a tepid forthcoming outlook. Weaknesses in demand from China, softness in NAND flash pricing trends, delay in transition to 10-nm process are other concerns. Moreover, intensifying competition remains a headwind.

(You can read the full research report on Intel here >>> ).

Buy-Ranked HCA Healthcares shares have outperformed the Zacks Hospital industry in the past year, gaining +28.7% vs. +13.1%. HCA Healthcares first-quarter 2019 beat expectations and increased year over year on the back of higher admissions and revenues.

The Zacks analyst thinks its top line has been growing over the last several quarters on higher admissions, volume growth, etc. Multiple acquisitions helped the company gain a strong foothold in the industry, fueling its inorganic growth.

A strong balance sheet and free cash flow are other positives for the company. However, high operating expenses are persistently weighing on its margins. The company is expected to witness a rise in costs due to its constant growth-related investments. Its high leverage is another concern.

(You can read the full research report on HCA Healthcare here >>> ).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Activision (ATVI), Xilinx (XLNX) and Cummins (CMI).

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

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Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Pfizer's (PFE) New Drugs to Push Sales Amid Generic Woes

Intel (INTC) Rides on Product Rollouts Amid 10nm Delay

Growing Revenues, Inorganic Growth Aid HCA Healthcare (HCA)

Featured Reports

Xilinx (XLNX) Rides on Solid Growth in Communications Market

Per the Zacks analyst, strength across the wireless communications market, driven by the 5G momentum, is a key catalyst for Xilinx.

Investments, Customer Additions Aid American Water (AWK)

Per the Zacks analyst, American Water's investment of $8-$8.6B in next five years to strengthen infrastructure and customer growth via organic and inorganic ways will boost its operations.

Twilio (TWLO) Banks on Burgeoning Active Customer Accounts

Per the Zacks analyst, Twilio's steady focus on introducing products and pursuing its go-to-market sales strategy is helping strengthen its active customer accounts, which is driving the top line.

Cabot (COG) to Benefit from Marcellus Acreage Holdings

The Zacks analyst believes that Cabot's large acreage holdings in the fast-growing Marcellus Shale would support its 2019 production growth target of 20%.

Dolby (DLB) Rides on Solid Licensing Unit, Liquidity Strength

Per the Zacks analyst, Dolby is well poised to gain from increasing content in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, coupled with growth in Dolby Cinema.

Acquisitions, Loan Growth Aid Raymond James' (RJF) Revenues

Per the Zacks analyst, opportunistic acquisitions, strong balance sheet and rise in loan balances will support Raymond James' revenues.

Maxim (MXIM) Rides on Automotive Strength Amid Soft Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, growing production of electric vehicles is aiding Maxim's growth in automotive space.

New Upgrades

Unit &RevPAR Growth to Drive Hilton's (HLT) Performance

Per the Zacks analyst, Hilton's continues to benefit from robust Unit and RevPAR Growth as well as industry-leading loyalty program. For 2019, Hilton anticipates net unit growth of 6.5%.

Cummins (CMI) Gains From North America's Truck Production

Per the Zacks analyst, augmented medium and heavy-duty truck production in North America owing to robust backlog is driving Cummins' engine and component sales.

Harris (HRS) Buoyed by Strong Order Trends & Merger Deal

Per the Zacks analyst, multiple contract wins from U.S. federal customers augur well for Harris' healthy top-line growth. Also, the approval of shareholders for the L3-Harris merger deal is laudable.

New Downgrades

Lower In-Game Revenues, Higher Costs Hurt Activision (ATVI)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower in-game revenues, higher costs and increase in investments is hurting Activision's profitability amid rising competition.

Input Costs & Divestitures to Dent Kellogg's (K) Bottom-Line

Per the Zacks analyst, high input costs are a drag on Kellogg's bottom-line, as also witnessed in the first quarter. Further, management has cut the view for 2019 due to divestitures.

Soft Sales at Unum International, High Costs Ail Unum (UNM)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower sales at Unum International, persistent soft results at Closed Block and Corporate segment and rise in total benefits and expenses are weighing on margins.



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Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
(Adds comments about Keystone XL oil pipeline)

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 3 (Reuters) - Pipeline company TransCanada Corp said on Friday it has changed its name to TC Energy, to reflect the expansion of its business beyond Canada to the United States and Mexico.

Calgary-based TC Energy has been struggling to make progress in building new oil export pipelines out of western Canada.

The company has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion ($8.9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

"TC Energy better describes our complete business, which ... has grown steadily to become a C$110 billion enterprise with critical assets and dedicated employees across three countries," Chief Executive Russ Girling said at the company's annual general meeting.

Girling said there were no plans to move the company's headquarters out of Calgary.

TC Energy still has extensive operations in Canada, including the Keystone pipeline, which transports 20 percent of western Canadian crude exports to U.S. refineries, and natural gas pipelines, which are part of one of the largest gas transmission systems in North America.

Keystone XL faces hurdles in the United States, including a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

As those matters have dragged on, TC Energy has now "lost the 2019 construction season" for work on Keystone XL's U.S. portion, said executive vice-president Paul Miller. TC has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

"We will not make any major capital commitments until we have a clear path to construction," Miller said.

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TC's shares ended down 1.2 percent in Toronto at C$62.63.

The company reported a first quarter profit on Friday, beating analysts' estimates as it earned more by phasing into service the Columbia Gas pipeline and one of its Columbia Gulf growth projects in the United States, as well as moving more volumes on Keystone.

TC Energy said earnings from its U.S. natural gas pipelines rose 22 percent to C$792 million.

Comparable earnings rose to C$987 million, or C$1.07 per share, from C$864 million, or 98 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to C$3.49 billion from C$3.42 billion. ($1 = 1.3430 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky)
The uncertainty over whether and when the U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement this year is creating a cloudy outlook for grain volumes this fall.

"We expect uncertainty to persist in the grain market due to the foreign tariffs," said Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) executive vice president for marketing and sales, on his company's first quarter earnings call on April 18. Rocker said UNP's grain carloads were down by 7 percent in the first quarter, driven by reduced exports to China.

So far this year, U.S. grain shipments via rail are lower than the same period in 2018. Year-to-date U.S. carloads carrying grain are down 4.5 percent to 370,786 carloads for the week ended April 27, according to the Association of American Railroads. Grain traffic represented 8.8 percent of total U.S. carloads.

Grain producers, especially soybean farmers, have been concerned about the lack of progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S., including the 25 percent tariff that China levied on imported soybeans from the U.S., according to the American Soybean Association.

U.S. soybean exports are expected to fall this year. Projected soybean exports for the 2018-2019 marketing year, which runs from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, total 1.88 million bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In contrast, the U.S. exported an estimated 2.13 million bushels of soybeans in 2017-2018 and 2.17 million bushels in 2016-2017.

For the railroads, this drop in exports translated into diminished traffic to the Pacific Northwest last fall. What stings for soybean farmers is that both the railroads and landlocked soybean farmers in the upper Midwest have invested in equipment to enable greater soybean volumes to the Pacific Northwest, according to Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek. Steenhoek said the U.S. normally exports $14 billion of soybeans to China. At second place is Mexico, at $1.4 billion in U.S. soybean exports.

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According to U.S. Census export data, U.S. soybean exports were worth $18.2 billion in 2018, $22.2 billion in 2017 and $23.6 billion in 2016.

"All of this money has been spent based on this long-term forecast, that has changed. It really hurts industries like agriculture when you don't have the predictability," Steenhoek said.

Despite the uncertainty, some grain producers think a trade resolution is in sight, confirming market observations. Should the U.S. and China reach some trade agreement, the move could benefit grain producers, especially those that export wheat and corn, depending on the agreement's timing.

"We see encouraging signs regarding resolution of the U.S,-China trade dispute and we are optimistic for a resolution by mid-year, importantly, well before the U.S. harvest," said Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) president and chief executive Juan Luciano during his company's first quarter earnings call on April 26. Luciano described those signs as the language used by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping characterizing trade relations between the two countries, as well as ADM's Chinese counterparts preparing to receive grain imports.

"Our team has shown great agility and flexibility to minimize the impact of the dispute to ADM thus far. Nevertheless, a resolution will benefit several of our businesses."

But even though U.S.-China trade uncertainties could affect how much grain gets moved via rail this fall during harvest season, other factors come into play.

While severe flooding in the Midwest damaged some crops in storage, the damage was limited and not expected to have a big impact on the overall grain supply, said agricultural economist Jay O'Neil.

But U.S. exports will still need to compete with other grain-producing regions of the world, including South America and the Black Sea region of Russia.

"We still have grain surpluses and need more export demand," O'Neil said.

Image sourced from Pixabay

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FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Patriot missile system is seen at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $6 billion worth of weapons sales to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in three separate packages, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification.

The United States depends on allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian influence. In April, the U.S. moved ahead with part of a THAAD missile defense system sale to the kingdom.

In one of the notifications sent to Congress on Friday, Bahrain could potentially buy various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.48 billion. That potential Bahraini deal included 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles known as GEM-T, an upgrade that can shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles.

In a separate State Department notification sent to Congress, Bahrain was also given the nod for various weapons to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. That package included 32 AIM-9X missiles, 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles and 100 GBU-39s which are 250-pound small diameter bombs and other munitions.

In a third State Department notification, the United Arab Emirates was given potential approval for $2.73 billion worth of Patriot missiles and related equipment including 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale. The notification process alerts Congress that a sale to a foreign country has been approved, but it does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded.

The principal contractors for the sales were Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Co.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX), a Chattanooga-based truckload (TL) carrier, held a call with analysts and the media to discuss its first quarter 2019 earnings, which were $0.15 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $0.18.

The company said that given the subdued freight market thus far in the quarter it now expects its operating ratio (OR) will be worse year-over-year in the second quarter (second quarter 2018 OR was 93.4 percent). Management said that it will wait for better market visibility before updating its full-year OR guidance. That said, the 93 percent full-year OR target isn't off the table.

Management said that the OR goal could be achieved if the spot market were to produce a little improvement in both volumes and price. Additionally, the company has cost reduction initiatives in place to drive future OR improvement. Part of the 93 percent target will require insurance expenses to move lower.

The company has phased in hair follicle testing for drug use instead of 100 percent adoption of the policy in an attempt to stem any negative impacts in driver turnover. USX believes that all of its drivers will be in the hair follicle testing program by year-end. Also, the company continues to implement measures to achieve an entirely frictionless order system to improve service and lower cost, but this is a long-term project and not likely to impact 2019's OR.

While USX is not seeing robust seasonal volume increases, it is seeing positive results in contractual pricing. So far, the company has re-priced 40 percent of its contractual book and it is seeing 5 percent rate increases. USX expects to achieve mid-single digit price increases in 2019 as the company continues to have constructive conversations with customers regarding future contract renewals. Management believes that an increase in dedicated freight, along with modestly lower spot exposure, will provide tailwinds in achieving improved average revenue per mile. That said, the over-the road division has a bit of a headwind; this division has roughly 20 percent spot exposure (spot market exposure represents only 10 percent of USX's total revenue). Management expects to attain contractual rate increases in its over-the-road offering, but said that it will be tough to get increases in average revenue per mile in the division with spot rates down 20 percent year-over-year.

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DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX reported operating revenue of $415.4 million for the quarter, a 2.4 percent decline year-over-year. Revenue adjusted to exclude fuel surcharges and the company's discontinued operations in Mexico increased $2.9 million in the period. Adjusted operating income was 8 percent higher at $16 million. The adjusted operating ratio improved 40 basis points to 95.7 percent.

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

Average revenue per tractor per week increased 1.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019 to $3,762 in the TL segment as average revenue per mile increased 3.8 percent to $2.13, partially offset by a 2.5 decline in average revenue miles per tractor. The TL division reported a 20 basis point improvement in operating ratio, which was 96 percent. The company said that its spot exposure, 20 percent, in its over-the road division created rate and volume headwinds in the quarter. Additionally, both truck divisions were impacted by adverse winter weather, particularly in the Northeast where the dedicated division has a large concentration of volume.

USX's average tractor count was up 30 trucks to 6,275 units. The over-the-road division's truck count declined five units while the dedicated division increased its count by 35 trucks. Over-the-road average revenue per truck per week declined 6 percent as average revenue per mile increased 0.7 percent year-over-year. Dedicated reported an 11.8 percent increase in average revenue per truck per week with a 7.1 percent increase in average revenue per mile.

The brokerage division reported a 15.2 percent revenue decline year-over-year to $46.2 million as load counts declined 13.8 percent. Gross margins expanded 350 basis points to 17.5 percent. Operating income increased 18.9 percent to $2.8 million in the quarter as higher gross margins were driven by lower transportation costs on a per load basis and improved third-party capacity sourcing.

Management said that 2019 will be the last year for accelerated capital expenditures on equipment as the company lowers its average tractor age to 18 months by year-end (from 27.5 months currently). Total spend will be $170 million in 2019, but should normalize to $115 million beginning in 2020.

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

Image sourced from Pixabay

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SAN ANTONIO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) (Valero) today announced that members of company management will attend the Citi Global Energy and Utilities Conference on May 14, 2019.

About Valero

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products. Valero is a Fortune 50 company based in San Antonio, Texas, and it operates 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day and 14 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.73 billion gallons per year. The petroleum refineries are located in the United States (U.S.), Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the ethanol plants are located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. Valero also is a joint venture partner in Diamond Green Diesel, which operates a renewable diesel plant in Norco, Louisiana. Diamond Green Diesel is North Americas largest biomass-based diesel plant. Valero sells its products in the wholesale rack or bulk markets in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Latin America. Approximately 7,000 outlets carry Valeros brand names. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

Valero Contacts

Investors:

Homer Bhullar, Vice President  Investor Relations, 210-345-1982

Gautam Srivastava, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-3992

Tom Mahrer, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-1953

Media:

Lillian Riojas, Executive Director  Media Relations and Communications, 210-345-5002
GOLDEN, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 30, 2019 / Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (OTC PINK: VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma one of the world's emerging biotechnology companies focused on allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell ("MSC") research and clinical products including AlloRx Stem Cells, Brain Grow Technologies NutraVivo Stem Cell Activator, and the MSC-Gro Brand Stem Cell Culture Media has been awarded Certification to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Quality Standard 13485:2016 for medical devices.

This certification further strengthens Vitro Biopharma's quality management system that is ISO 9001:2015 and CLIA certified. Regulatory certifications encompass our quality system, clinical diagnostics and cGMP manufacturing based on our commitment to attaining customer satisfaction and seeking continual improvement as a primary goal. We use risk assessment guidance, extensive control systems encompassing outside service providers, manufacturing, process & product validation, and new product development in the operation of our quality system. Vitro Biopharma is FDA-registered and operates within a broad regulatory umbrella and platform suitable for FDA-compliant drug/biologics and medical device manufacturing.

Vitro Biopharma is executing its business model based on supporting IRB-approved stem cell therapies in off-shore locations that are now yielding evidence of safety and efficacy. This goal requires compliance to internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 to gain clinical trial approvals in global medical tourism destinations. The recent IRB approval of our clinical trial entitled "Vitro Biopharma Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem CellTherapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions" in the Bahamas was facilitated by our ISO certification. Through our partner, DVC Stem, in Grand Cayman Island we provide AlloRxStem Cells to support an IRB-approved trial determining the effects of MSC transplants on various inflammatory conditions. We provide our MSC-Gro stem cell culture medium to support clinical trials of MSC therapy for osteoarthritis (OA). These trials and several others totaling 2385 patients and pre-clinical studies in 20,000 animals provide evidence of safety and efficacy. In the US alone there are more the 30 million OA patients. The standard of care is joint replacement, but emerging evidence suggests that a single MSC injection into afflicted joints can regenerate cartilage, reduce pain, restore functionality and defer replacement at a fraction of the cost of joint replacement. We have gained preliminary evidence of safety and efficacy of AlloRx Stem Cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases through clinical studies in New Zealand. Our regulatory certifications support further expansion into other medical tourism markets as well as clinical trials leading to US approvals. The FDA is in the process of adopting ISO 13485 as its quality standard for medical devices and full legal implementation is anticipated in 2020.

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Dr. Jim Musick, CEO of Vitro Biopharma said, "We are extremely pleased with this milestone accomplishment as we have recently focused on achieving ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and CLIA certifications. This provides necessary support for our goal of suppling offshore medical tourism destinations with high quality AlloRx Stem Cells for various applications in regenerative medicine. AlloRx Stem Cells are distinctly superior to "stem cell" clinics operating in the US that are restricted to "minimally manipulated" products that contain limited stem cell content at very low purity and do not achieve international standards of stem cell definition. Adipose-derived allogeneic MSCs (Allofisel) have been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for treatment of a type of Crohn's disease. These are expanded and purified stem cells that presently require pre-market FDA approval in the US as drugs. Offshore venues allow studies of expanded and purified MSCs wherein the identity, purity and potency are clearly established. Several clinical studies support the concept that adequate stem cell dosage is critical in determining therapeutic outcomes. There are variations in the known types of adult MSCs and our patent-pending AlloRx Stem Cells are superior to other known adult stem cells."

About Vitro Biopharma

Vitro Biopharma, for over 10 years, has supplied major biopharmaceutical firms, elite university laboratories and clinical trials worldwide with Mesenchymal Stem Cells, MSC-Grow Brand of cell culture media, various stem cell derivatives and stem cell-derived differentiated cells. We also supply primary fibroblast cells and an expanding line of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from various tumors including lung, breast, melanoma, pancreatic and colorectal tissues. Our CAFs are purchased by major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical firms to advance immunotherapy of cancer.

We now support clinical studies of stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis, neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease while pursuing select US markets for stem cell therapies. We support high quality offshore medical tourism with the DaVinci Wellness Centre, our clinical trial partner in the Cayman Islands www.DVCStem.com.

We provide Brain Grow TechnologiesNutraVivo Stem Cell Activator that has been shown to induce proliferation, migration and epigenetic modification of human adult stem cells. NutraVivo improves overall cellular wellness and significantly increases expression of anti-aging genes.

We private label Limitless MD cosmetic products for topical applications in skin beautification.

About the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (www.iso.org) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It is comprised of national standards bodies from 159 countries that promote high quality standards for all company processes. To meet ISO certification requirements for Quality Management Systems, companies must establish a well-tuned system of interacting processes that ensures consistent quality of the company's products; their capacity to optimally meet customer requirements; and their fulfillment of all applicable regulatory requirements.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein regarding financial performance have not yet been reported to the SEC nor reviewed by the Company's auditors. Certain statements contained herein and subsequent statements made by and on behalf of the Company, whether oral or written may contain "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements are identified by words such as "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "expects" and "hopes" and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plan of business operations, product research and development activities, potential contractual arrangements, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues and related expenditures. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, acceptability of the Company's products in the market place, general economic conditions, receipt of additional working capital, the overall state of the biotechnology industry and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulations, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Dr. James Musick

Chief Executive Officer

Vitro BioPharma

(303) 999-2130 Ext. 1

E-mail: jim@vitrobiopharma.com

www.vitrobiopharma.com

SOURCE: Vitro Diagnostics, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/543561/Vitro-Biopharma-Receives-ISO-13485-Certification-Supporting-its-Stem-Cell-Medical-Tourism-Initiative




The worlds two largest economies can be competitors without being enemies.

Thats according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and a bevy of business leaders who gathered at Yahoo Finances U.S.- China Investor Forum on Friday evening on the sidelines of Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholders meeting.

Despite a year-long trade feud between Washington and Beijing and China seeing its lowest GDP growth rate in 28 years, investors are maintaining a positive tone on the East nation.

I think that China and the United States absolutely are destined to be the superpowers, beyond my great-grandchildrens lives, and will always be competitors, Warren Buffett said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper.

Both sides have learned to negotiate

Since the tit-for-tat tariffs that started last June, American businesses have been feeling the pinch of these incremental taxes. Many businesses caught in between the trade war have been trying to move supply chain out of China.

2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting

But thats not easy, according to Helen Ye, vice president of the Global China Practice at Ogilvy Group.

China is the only country to have a full supply chain around the world, Ye said at the forum. There's no next China. It can take years to build a whole region to be the next China.

Ye said clients who have thought about relocating supply chains quickly found it almost impossible.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, , USTR and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad in Beijing, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

This week the U.S. and China continued trade talks in Beijing and sent out positive signals ahead of what both sides hope to be the last round in Washington. Investors are expecting an announcement on a signing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, which will be held later this month or in early June.

The upside of the year-long negotiations, according to Jeffrey Towson, an investment professor at Peking University, is to bring two sides to the negotiation table to deal with an inevitable confrontation.

Story continues

There was not really a great mechanism for the two countries to discuss issues, Towson said at the forum. This past year, I think what we've seen is the two countries learning to talk to each other about meaningful issues for the first time. And I think this is going to go on for the rest of our lives that these two countries are going to learn to deal with their issues.

Ogilvy Groups Ye said she had seen more reflections from the U.S. side on what they can do. Meanwhile, China has a long-term development plan in place and is trying to attract top talent across the world.

I found a lot of people in DC start to talk about, Why don't we look at our homeland, the U.S.? How can we be competitive? Ye said. [The] government can do something to set up a long-term plan, and to forge and to attract more talent into the U.S., and to stay on top of the competition.

China hadn't remotely achieved their potential

The other issue on investors' minds is the slowdown of Chinas domestic economy. In March, the government lowered the growth target to 6%-6.5%, due to ongoing structural reforms among other things. At the same time, Beijing has pushed stimulus measures and tax cuts to make sure the economy doesnt head for a hard landing.

Buffett doesnt seem to be worried by the impact a slowing China could have on the global market.

China's going to grow a lot, over time, When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it, Buffett told Yahoo Finance. And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential.

Born in 1930, the legendary investor has seen Americas real GDP per capita grow six times from what it was. And he believes Chinas growth story has been even more extraordinary.

I don't think there's ever been anything like it. We've done it, too, but it took so much longer, said Buffett. Whats happened there almost is beyond belief. And that game's not over.

Berkshire Hathaway's major investments

Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to her via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter.

Read more:

Apple cuts iPhone XR price for partner sellers in China

Amazon shuffles thousands of workers in its quest to revamp delivery

Amazon eyes closed Sears stores for Whole Foods expansion
(Adds analyst comment, links)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday signaled his commitment to Kraft Heinz Co and defended his actions toward Wells Fargo & Co, two of the largest investments at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, despite mistakes at both that have caused many investors to sour on them.

Buffett, 88, spoke before tens of thousands of people in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Berkshire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 95, fielded more than 50 shareholder and analyst questions for six hours at the centerpiece of a weekend of events.

Kraft Heinz has been a thorn for Berkshire, which in February took a $3 billion writedown on its 26.7 percent stake, because of the packaged food company's inability to keep up with changing consumer tastes and reliance on older brands such as Oscar Mayer and Jell-O.

The company was created from the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz, the latter of which had been owned by Berkshire and Brazil's 3G Capital, which runs Kraft Heinz day-to-day.

Buffett defended 3G's management, saying the combined company is doing well operationally, and that its current problems cannot be blamed on a lack of investment.

But he also maintained that "we paid too much money" for Kraft.

"You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much," he said, while adding it was "not inconceivable" Berkshire could partner with 3G again on a transaction.

He said 3G had more willingness to take on leverage and "pay up," but in many cases also had "way better operators."

'MISTAKES' AT WELLS FARGO

Buffett, who became famous in 1991 for criticizing Salomon Inc's practices and becoming interim chairman to right the mess, also faced a question about his relative silence about Wells Fargo, where Berkshire owns a nearly 10-percent stake.

Wells Fargo has spent more than 2-1/2 years addressing fallout from mistreating its customers, including by creating fake accounts, losing two chief executives in the process, including Tim Sloan in March.

Buffett repeated that Wells Fargo "made some big mistakes" in its sales practices, and that "when you find a problem, you have to do something about it." He also said chief executives who make big mistakes shouldn't walk away with their wealth.

Story continues

But many questionable Wells Fargo practices long predated Sloan's becoming chief executive, and Buffett and Munger have defended him.

"I don't think people ought to go to jail for honest errors of judgment," Munger said, calling Sloan an "accidental casualty."

BIG PROFITS, BIG BUYBACKS

Berkshire also reported on Saturday that operating income, a measure of Berkshire's business performance, rose 5 percent, helped by the Geico auto insurer and BNSF railroad, though it fell just shy of analyst forecasts.

Results excluded Kraft Heinz because that company has not released its own quarterly results, Buffett said.

Berkshire also repurchased $1.7 billion of stock, reflecting Buffett's difficulty in finding better uses for the company's $114.2 billion cash hoard.

Buffett acknowledged he would be willing to repurchase $100 billion of stock if it became cheap enough, and Munger predicted Berkshire would become "more liberal" with buybacks.

"This much cash is certainly a drag" for Buffett, said Trip Miller, managing partner of Gullane Capital Partners LLC in Memphis. "He and Charlie are certainly open that they missed it on several great businesses for many years. The purchases of Apple and Amazon are a good sign."

Berkshire owns more than $50 billion of Apple Inc stock, and Buffett said one of Berkshire's portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, has invested in Amazon.com Inc .

Munger also lamented Berkshire's failure to invest in Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, saying "I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google earlier."

Berkshire's more than 90 businesses and roughly 389,000 employees make the company a barometer for the U.S. economy, and a report card for one of the world's most revered investors.

NOT JUST BUSINESS

The shareholder weekend is not all business.

Buffett on Saturday morning made his usual slow-motion crawl, with a crowd of photographers in tow, through an exhibit hall where shareholders could buy Berkshire-owned products, including 20,000 pounds of See's candies and 28,752 Dairy Queen bars.

"We love you Warren," shareholders shouted as Buffett nibbled a Dairy Queen vanilla orange bar.

People lined up before midnight to get early access to the best seats at the arena, which opened at 7 a.m.

Daphne Kalir-Starr, 9, a fourth-grader from New York City, lined up with her father at 11 p.m. on Friday night, along with her sleeping bag. It's her third time to see Buffett.

"I really like hearing from great investors," she said. "Even though he wasn't really recognized at the beginning, he kept working at it."

Bela Chowdhury, 49, came from Kolkata, India, with other students from a nonprofit group that promotes financial literacy for women. "He is the ultimate guru," she said.

Meanwhile, Luke On, a University of Toronto finance undergraduate, said he lined up at 10 p.m. on Friday.

"I have no place to stay and wanted to save money, but I wanted to see Warren and Charlie," he said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
The federal government is investigating a crypto crime involving the alleged theft off bitcoin mining rigs. | Souce:. Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP

By CCN.com: A New York Bitcoin miner hosting company called Northway Mining stands accused of stealing at least 5100 pieces of mining equipment from two companies. Given the scope of the investigation currently underway by the federal government, the damage might be much more significant than this.

Northway Mining Sued For Violation of RICO Act

At least four Bitcoin companies have been allegedly victimized, though we use the term allegedly in its most legal definition: strictly because the accused have not yet been convicted.

MinedMap, Inc, Serenity Alpha, Inc, both of Nevada, and Quebec, Inc from Canada. The other is BlockAssets, a company based in Perth, Australia.

The former chose Northway Mining to host more 2800 Bitmain S9 miners, over half of its entire fleet, in September 2018. Another 800 miners were sent to the facility by the companies. The latter had the decision made for them by a Canadian company who couldnt handle their 1500 units. Well be following up with a story about BlockAssets at another time.

As to MinedMap, Serenity Alpha, and Quebec Inc, theyre collectively filing lawsuits against Northway Mining, as a start. At the same time, the issue is currently being treated as a criminal investigation by federal authorities. As you can see in the videos below, the US Marshall Service searched the facility leased by Northway in Coxsackie, New York, this past week.

At Least Over 5000 Bitmain Miners Stolen in All

The pending lawsuit alleges that Northway bilked clients out of nearly 3600 pieces of Bitcoin mining equipment (one was recovered with the help of the Marshalls), as well as over $500,000 in deposits. The complaint records this:
Michael McDonough, downtown branch manager for First State Bank & Trust Company, recently completed the 2019 School of Banking Fundamentals. This School was held April 8-12 in Grand Island, Nebraska.

The School of Banking Fundamentals is sponsored by the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Associations and is in partnership with the Colorado, Louisiana and Wyoming Bankers Associations.

The school is designed to instruct students in the core banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank. Completion of this course assists students in developing skills, which allow them to better serve their banking community.

McDonough has been with First State Bank & Trust Co. since 2015. He is a member of the MainStreet of Fremont Board of Directors and the MainStreet Retail and Promotions Committee.

The Schools of Banking, located in Lincoln, is a jointly owned subsidiary of the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Association.

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Miami-Dade Police Department(MIAMI) -- A Miami-Dade police officer was charged this week for forcefully arresting a woman, and then making false statements about what happened, in an incident that sparked outrage after video of the incident went viral.

Police bodycam footage and a cell phone video recorded by the womans friend showed the officer, Alejandro Giraldo, pushing Dyma Loving against a fence before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her to the ground.

Giraldo had been responding to a 911 call made by Lovings friend, Adrianna Green, to report that a neighbor had threatened them with a shotgun. An internal police investigation later found there was no basis for arresting Loving.

Giraldo was arrested on Thursday and charged with official misconduct, a felony, for making false statements in official reports. He was also charged with battery.

After taking the sworn statements...and reviewing all the known video evidence, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to charge a violation of Floridas criminal statutes, the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office said in a statement.

On the morning of March 5, Green called 911 to say that her neighbor had been hurling racist insults at her, and that he had pulled out a shotgun and threatened to shoot her. Four officers reported to the scene and interviewed Green and Loving about the incident before going to the neighbors home to interview him about the allegations.

They told Loving and Green not to go anywhere, the warrant said.

It was at this point that Giraldo and a sixth officer, Juan Calderon, arrived at the scene and arrested Green.

Giraldo said he made the arrest because Loving would not obey commands, was uncooperative, and was screaming at us, causing a scene in a residential neighborhood, according to the police report. None of these statements, however, could be backed by evidence, officials said.

In sworn statements, each of the officers said that Loving did not in fact speak aggressively or act in a way that could have been perceived as a threat to the officers safety, the police report said.

Lovings attorney, Justin Moore, said that Loving had expressed relief over Giraldos arrest, and applauded prosecutors for moving forward with the case. But he said that other officers should also face charges for their role in the incident.

The fact is that the other officers involved in Dymas arrest assisted Officer Giraldo and drafted police reports detailing the incident, Moore said. It is more than reasonable that they meet the same scrutiny that Officer Giraldo has received.

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez called Giraldos arrest disappointing and said it overshadows the hard work of the dedicated men and women of law enforcement, who strive daily to serve and protect our community, according to a statement.



This particular case underscores our commitment to cooperate and work together with the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office in our continued effort to hold ourselves accountable, the statement said.



Andre Rouviere, Giraldos defense attorney, expressed concerns regarding the nature in which the case was brought about in a statement provided to ABC News. "Of the 35 body worn cameras and videos that were available, the media was shown only a small handful in which to present to the public," he said, claiming that the State Attorney's Office succumbed to "the pressure of a signature gathering campaign pushing for the filing of charges against Officer Giraldo."



"As a result of the pressure and rush to judgement, Officer Giraldo has already been convicted by the state attorney's office, his own Police Department, the media and the public," Rouviere said. "One would hope by the time the matter goes to court, Officer Giraldo will, as any accused, be cloaked in a presumption of innocence."

Giraldo has since been released from jail, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Whos going to get the farm? And what are they going to do with it? Will your future plans for your land create harmony or strife for your family? Or have you even started to think that far ahead?

Map of My Kingdom, a play focusing on farmland transfer, will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday at West Point Community Theater, 237 N. Main St., in West Point. A second performance will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cox Activity Center Theater on Northeast Community College campus, 801 E. Benjamin Ave., in Norfolk. Admission is free, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Community College Foundation.

The drama tackling land transition is by Mary Swander, and commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa. In the play, a lawyer and mediator share stories of how farmers and landowners approach land successions.

We hope this play will inspire the hesitant and the fearful to start the conversation that cannot wait, said Sandra Renner, project associate with the Center for Rural Affairs.

In the next 10 to 15 years, a tremendous amount of land transfer will take place as the average age of Nebraska farmers is around 56.4 years old.

The featured actor is Lindsay Bauer, a theatre educator from northwest Iowa. An audience discussion will follow the performance with Dave Goeller, retired deputy director of North Central Risk Management Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

These are the final performances in a series of four in Nebraska and six in Iowa. The Iowa performances were co-hosted by the Practical Farmers of Iowa.

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Looking for inspiration to get caught in the throes of the impending months of wedding fever? We have a list of upcoming romances, complete with a range of diverse authors and fresh character perspectives that won't disappoint.

'A PRINCE ON PAPER' BY ALYSSA COLE

Release date: April 30

Another gorgeous cover and delectable story in the "Reluctant Royals" series. This third installment mixes a fake engagement along with the usual sizzling chemistry Cole always brings to her books.

"A Prince on Paper" (Avon) features wonderfully diverse characters, the author's quick humor and also an exploration of deeper issues underlying the fairytale plot.

'LOVE FROM A TO Z' BY S.K. ALI

Release date: April 30

S.K. Ali's YA contemporary romance follows the crossing paths of two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip in Doha. Both are putting on brave faces despite tremendous personal challenges. Zayneb is trying to cleanse her toxic thoughts about her Islamophobic teacher and Adam is hiding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis from his friends and family.

Discarding their acts of pretend with each other, these two will win your heart through their honest conversations of feeling out of place, or rather cast aside, simply by being who they are. More perspectives like this in future romances please! "Love from A to Z" (Simon & Schuster) will be sure to resonate with many.

'PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND OTHER FLAVORS' BY SONALI DEV

Release date: May 7

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Trisha Raje is royalty, both in her blood and in her illustrious career as San Francisco's reigning neurosurgeon. DJ Caine is a chef with a rough background but promising future. While he is tempted to work for Trisha, he feels that she'll judge him before given a fair chance.

However, when DJ's sister is in medical danger, the two meet and confront their assumptions head-on. "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" (William Morrow) is a delicious multicultural spin on the iconic tale of class and character, you won't be able to put Sonali Dev's latest down.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE UNHONEYMOONERS' BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

Release date: May 14

In this enemies-to-lovers story, you'll find the perfect comedy to raise your spirits. In a freak turn of events, when the bride and groom are too ridden with food poisoning to enjoy their honeymoon, the bride's twin sister Olive and her archnemesis Ethan (brother of the groom) go on the trip instead to avoid the waste of money. In a fiasco of fake dating, the two rivals find real chemistry. You'll find your perfect beach bag read in "The Unhoneymooners" (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'AMERICAN FAIRYTALE' BY ADRIANA HERRERA

Release date: May 20

Another fairytale plot for the true romantics...the latest in Adriana's Herrera's Dreamers series features a modern setup for two men in New York City. In "American Fairytale" (Carina Press) determined billionaire Thomas Hughes courts the down-to-earth social worker Milo in a heartwarming story of personal growth and change.

Pre-order on Amazon, $9

'PASSION ON PARK AVENUE' BY LAUREN LAYNE

Release date: May 28

This story is the first of Lauren Layne's "Central Park Pact" series and full of female empowerment. Naomi Powell, daughter of a housekeeper, has hustled her way from the Bronx to a CEO position among the Upper East Side elite.

As she tries to prove her worth to her peers, this jewelry empress finds herself tangled with an old childhood rival, all grown up and looking for new ways to cause friction. Saucy and fun, this series is off to a promising start (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE SUMMER OF SUNSHINE AND MARGOT' BY SUSAN MALLERY

Release date: June 11

Twin sisters Margot and Sunshine are opposites in many ways but have one thing in common  their poor judgment with men. Both struggle with the emotional baggage of their mother absence to chase one man after another, but have grown closer for support in consequence.

However, when they strike up a friendship with a past Hollywood icon, the sisters learn from this enigmatic woman how to take their differences in stride and approach life with a whole new outlook. Friendship, healing and romance all come together seamlessly in what is sure to be Susan Mallery's latest bestseller (Harlequin).

Pre-order on Amazon, $18

'THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL' BY ABBI WAXMAN

Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19

Leila has always dreamed of finding true love on her own, but she's 26 years old (gasp) and her parents are now giving her a deadline. If she is not able to find a husband on her own terms in three months, then they arrange a match as many have before in their South Asian-Muslim American community.

In her debut "The Marriage Clock" (William Morrow), Raheem contributes thoughtful humor, well-drawn characters and a beautiful portrait of navigating cultural expectations with personal fulfillment.

Pre-order on Amazon, $16

'THE RIGHT SWIPE' BY ALISHA RAI

Release date: Aug. 6

This is a fantastic contemporary romance that captures the modern dating world head-on with a business rivalry between two app creators. While they are fierce competitors at work, Rhiannon and Samson can't help sparks flying in their personal lives.

So many extra points go to "The Right Swipe" (Avon) for a full cast of diverse and developed characters, many of the minor ones deserve books in their own rights.

Pre-order on Amazon, $15

BookTrib.com is the lifestyle destination for book lovers, where articles and books are paired together to create dynamic content that goes beyond traditional book reviews. (c)2019 BookTrib, All Rights Reserved Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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According to Scott Schaller, Fremonts Miller Skate Park gets a lot of use.

Its showing some wear, said Schaller. Theres been some maintenance issues that weve been working on.

For Schaller, the wear and tear at Miller Park is a sign that skating is still a popular activity in Fremont  one which could use some upgraded facilities.

I still think that need is here because if you go down to Miller Skate Park, theres always kids down there, he said. Its getting used, and obviously if its wearing out and things are needing to be repaired as much as they have been, obviously its a need.

Schaller and a group called SK8 Fremont, which had been involved in the formation of the original Miller Skate Park, which opened in 2003, are now beginning the process of exploring a potential new skate park for Fremont  one that will be built with community input.

Theyve been kind of tossing around ideas or thoughts and we decided lets bring the community together and see if this is something that the community really is diving into and seeing what the communitys thoughts and ideas are, he said.

The group is hosting a meeting at the Christensen Field Meeting Roomo on May 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting will be an open discussion, featuring options for new skate park elements that the community can explore and choose what they prefer. At this point, the group hopes to get community input on everything for the new park: from the location to the lighting to the pieces in the park.

Skating has changed since 19, 20 years ago, he said. What the meeting is kind of about is giving people the option to say well this obstacle on this photo looks good or maybe this planter like this or this lighting looks good. And thats what this is kind of about: putting together an idea of what the community wants or would like to see.

Still on the table is the possibility of renovating Miller Park instead of building an entiely new park, but it all depends on what kind of feedback the group gets from the community.

Schaller, a former city councilman in Fremont, added that the goal is for the park to be funded without city dollars and instead, with grants, though its too early to say what the financing plan will be for sure.

At this point, however, everything is in the early stages, and this first meeting is meant to lay the groundwork and get community input.

I just ask that everybody, whether you think youll be interested or not, show up and listen to feedback and listen to the groups and give your opinions, Schaller said.

He added that he believes creating opportunities for outdoor activity is important.

This gives kids another option here in Fremont in getting out and doing something with their bicycle or with their skateboard, Schaller said. t gives them something other to do than sitting on their sofa playing video games.

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Today

HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.

Walk for Clean Water, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church, 1  miles east of Walmart, just south of U.S. Highway 30, Fremont. Check-in is from 9-9:30 a.m. From 9:30-10:30 a.m., walkers, families and friends will walk the perimeter of the church green. Donations given (checks payable to Peace Lutheran) will be forwarded entirely to World Vision International.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Graduation, 5 p.m., Scribner-Snyder High School.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, 7:30 p.m., Fremont High Schools Nell McPherson Theatre.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday60th Annual Fremont Coin Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christensen Field Main Arena, Fremont. The annual event features a collection of coin dealers who can help coin enthusiasts sell, purchase or appraise valuable coins and other currency. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available.

Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Dodge County Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team (REACT), 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross, Dodge County Chapter, 439 N. Main St., Fremont. For more information, call 402-687-2160.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

MondayTOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Friends of the Library Board, 6 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Celebrate Recovery, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.

Fremont Night MOPS group, 6:30-8 p.m., Fremont Alliance Church, 1615 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, contact Fremont Alliance Church at 402-721-5180 or Cindy Slykhuis at 402-708-1561.

American Legion Post 20, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 20 meeting, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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For my birthday the Titter of Wit residents bought me a membership for the British Museum. It's probably the major museum in London that I'm least familiar with. I guess the first summer I spent working in London I must have visited the mummies at least once - I was only here for six weeks and I went to every big, cultural tourist attraction - and occasionally I've taken visitors there but it's always crowded and it can be a bit overwhelming. I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't used my membership card yet, well not until today.

I had nothing planned for today other than a trip to the food market. As Traybake is swanning around Sweden I went by myself so it didn't take long although I still managed to spend a small fortune. I had lunch at home and then set off to go to central London. It was one of those days when the weather can't decide what to do, one moment bright sunshine and then ominous black clouds and heavy downpours. Luckily I managed not to get soaked. It was cold though although not as cold as in other parts of the country where apparently it snowed today.

Before going to the museum I called into the LRB bookshop. This is my favourite bookshop in London and I imagine that it would be possible to meet interesting people in there who might start chatting to you and who knows where it would end (although probably a high percentage of academics so possibly not). I like the way they display books on tables as you nearly always see something interesting which you wouldn't necessarily get in places like Waterstone's. They are very good on non-fiction.

I bought The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson, the most recent Sally Rooney which is now in paperback and another novel by an Irish writer I'd not heard of before, Rebecca O'Conner. I've had a good run of reading books I've really enjoyed recently and I highly recommend the two books that are at the top of my currently reading list.

There was a massive queue to go through security at the British Museum but as a Member I got to go in the priority lane and walked straight through. I suspect all the people in the ordinary queue were looking daggers at me as they shuffled along. I visited the Member's Room which overlooks the central court and while it isn't particularly fancy it was good not to have to stand in line for 15 minutes to buy a cup of coffee and then struggle to find somewhere to sit. Most of the other Members were elderly and doing Sudoku puzzles. On the way up the stairs I passed some beautiful mosaics. I then went to the Munch exhibition which was pretty crowded. I have seen some Munch paintings which I've liked but the BM exhibition is prints and mainly of dying children or people suffering from anxiety attacks so not very cheery.

I have decided though that I shall visit the BM once a month for the remainder of the time that I have the membership and each time I will spend half an hour looking at something specific because otherwise it's just too much. I shall avoid the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles and of course the mummies.

While I was there today I tried not to think about the fact that one of my sisters calls it "the evidence room".






A young female moose was spotted Friday near Colorado 105 and Santa Fe Trail in the Monument/Palmer Lake area, according to a tweet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Wildlife officials received multiple calls about the moose, and asked that people keep their dogs leashed and avoid approaching it.

Moose, the largest big game species in Colorado, are unpredictable and will attack if they feel threatened, wildlife officials cautioned, adding that dogs are especially at risk.

We know you want to see the moose. But we want to keep you and the moose safe. Please stay back. Moose are unpredictable. Dogs are especially at risk. Take photos from a safe distance and move on. pic.twitter.com/j7XME1UzaK  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

ATTN @townofmonument /Palmer Lake, @COParksWildlife responded to calls today of young cow moose near Highway 105 & Santa Fe Trail. DO NOT approach it. Keep dogs leashed. If moose feel threatened, they may attack. Ears back and hackles up? Get back! Keep yourself & the moose safe. pic.twitter.com/9c1ZOIqmjm  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

This time last year, photos and video taken of people harassing, feeding or approaching moose across the state prompted officials to issue a warning to give the wild animals their space.

Last September, a 700-pound cow had to be tranquilized after wandering into the Ivywild neighborhood in west Colorado Springs. At the time, Bill Vogrin, spokesman for Parks and Wildlife, said that moose sightings were becoming more frequent because of population growth along the Front Range and into the wildland-urban interface.

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Religious organizations in the Pikes Peak region are banding together as places of worship worldwide become targets for gunmen and terrorists.

The Pikes Peak InterFaith Coalition began to take shape after an October shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 people dead.

Were trying to stand firmly and positively and together against terrorism, against hatred, against bigotry, against violence, said Jeff Ader, president of Temple Beit Torah and a member of the coalitions steering committee.

Its bad enough to be bigoted to another group. But to resort to the violence that weve seen worldwide  to act on that bigotry  is unconscionable, he said.

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Over the past six months, t.he coalition has grown to include temples, churches and the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, more than 50 people were fatally shot in a pair of terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Bombings targeted churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, killing more than 250 people.

And, on April 27, a 19-year-old man opened fire in a San Diego-area synagogue, killing a woman and wounding the rabbi and two others.

One more precious soul was lost, Rabbi Steven Kaye told dozens of people gathered at Temple Beit Torah on Friday night, where leaders of the newly formed coalition were presented at a special Shabbat service.

Showing up to synagogue tonight, to a church tomorrow, to a mosque, today or earlier today  in doing so, we will say, We will not let discrimination and hatred stop us from worship, Kaye said.

The Colorado Springs area was once home to the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue, an organization founded by Rabbi Howard Hirsch and other faith leaders with a similar mission. But Hirsch retired and moved away in 2013, and the center faded.

Local faith leaders hope that, by allowing people of different religions to learn about one anothers faiths, the new coalition can safeguard against prejudice thats fueled by a lack of understanding.

Theres a fear of the unknown, said Khurshid Qureshi of the Islamic Society. We believe in the same God. We have so many things in common. But a lot of people are so afraid.

In late February, members discussed the roots of anti-Semitism at a workshop that attracted dozens of people. Qureshi, the groups chairman, hopes the coalition can hold similar educational events three times a year.

The coalition also plans to invite organizations of other faiths, such as Buddhism, he said.

Were learning, in a way, how to hold hands, said Ralph Anderson, a retired pastor for First Lutheran Church whos also on the steering committee. That doesnt mean we are giving up those specifics individual to our own tradition. It means were simply learning how to understand each other in the context of those traditions.

It certainly seems that our circumstances here in Colorado Springs, as well as in the state, as well as in the country, demand it, he said.
Representatives with the Osage Chamber of Commerce and City of Osage welcomed U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, who represents Iowa's 1st district, to Osage on Friday afternoon.

Finkenauer took a brief tour of downtown and was able to meet with some local business owners.

Discussions included rural development, infrastructure and workforce.

"We have a lot to be proud of, from our new daycare center, hospital and school renovation projects, vibrant downtown district and so much more, said Kati Henry, Executive Director of the Osage Chamber of Commerce. It's great to be able to show off our successes and talk about where we need help to our representatives in Washington."

In Congress, Finkenauer serves as vice-chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

Finkenauer also sits on the Small Business Committee, where she chairs the Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee.

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Located 45 miles northwest of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the town of Tequila is known as the birthplace of the drink that bears its name.

The picturesque township, with its colorful buildings and cobblestone streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The federal government of Mexico calls it Pueblo Magico or Magical Town.

It's here that casual sippers drink this aromatic spirit, but there's one secret they may not know: Without the women of Tequila, there'd be no tequila.

The cultivation and annual replanting of the agave blooms in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes in Mexico, has historically been left to the women of Tequila.

No one knows exactly when women became an integral part of growing agave, but it's believed that when the male farmers ate their lunch and rested under parota trees, their wives stepped in to lend a hand. The women, who it turned out were exceptionally skilled at sorting and taking care of the young plants, began working in the fields sometime in the 16th century.

Reviving economy

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one hotel and a handful of restaurants in Tequila. Today it's bustling with Mexican and international tourists who've come to learn about the history of the spirit and its important role in Mexican culture.

Visitors can take a walk through agave fields, visit The National Museum of Tequila, watch production and enjoy a tasting at one of the 22 tequila houses in town, partake in a professional tasting guided by a Maestro Tequilero, a certified master of tequila, and take in a range of Mexican art exhibits at the newly opened Centro Cultural Juan Beckman Gallardo.

The Tequila train

On weekends, about 300 passengers take a day trip on The Jose Cuervo Express, also known fondly as the tequila train. The two-hour journey from Guadalajara to Tequila travels through the Rio Grande Canyon, which provides sweeping views of bluish agave fields and midget oaks spanning against the backdrop of Tequila volcano.

Traingoers can watch an Aztec dance performance before getting on board; upon their return, the performances are live mariachi and folk dancers.

During the ride, guests can enjoy tamales, chips and guacamole and unlimited tequila-based cocktails.

Growing agave

To be officially designated as tequila, the beverage must be distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico, mainly Tequila and surrounding municipalities. The rich volcanic soil and dry climate make it ideal to grow Agave Azul Tequilana Weber (blue agave), a plant native to the area.

If you walk or horseback ride through Jose Cuervo fields surrounding the town, you can see the growing, harvesting and pruning of agave plants.

Farmers wearing cowboy hats to shield their face from the hot sun, cultivate and harvest the prickly cactus-like agave plants, while the women of Tequila select, care for and plant the small delicate seedling, called hijuelos (little children).

Dressed in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, the women can be seen working in the fields from February to July, when the agave plants sprout shoots. They inspect, clean and sort the young plants and send them to the nursery for further care, until they are ready to be planted.

Indeed, there's something about knowing the care and dedication involved in the process that'll make you appreciate your salted margarita even more.

Making tequila

Visitors walking through Tequila's main square hear church bells chiming on the hour; they smell the sweet aroma rising from the chimneys of the distilleries in the area.

Once the pina (pineapple) of the agave plant is harvested, it is brought to a distillery, where it is roasted for 36 hours, releasing its sugars and juices.

A 90-minute guided tour through La Fabrica La Riojena, Latin America's oldest active distillery established in 1795, takes groups through the entire production process, from the brick oven to the cellars. It concludes with Jose Cuervo's premium tequila tasting experience where a master (equivalent of sommelier) demonstrates the proper way to sip tequila from an elegant slender glass.

"There are a lot of men but no more than 10 women certified as 'master of tequila' in Jalisco," says Sonia Espinola, one of the first women in Tequila to earn this designation. She passed the entrance exams based entirely on her own experience working in the tequila industry, and she went on to take the full course at a recognized university. She now conducts guided tastings and seminars.

Agave by-products

Since only the pina of the agave plant is used to make tequila, Mundo Cuervo's nonprofit arm, Fundacion Beckmann, found a way to utilize more of the plant and offer local women more of an opportunity to create and produce  and get paid for their work.

Workshops for aspiring women entrepreneurs teach how to use agave bagasse and recycled tequila bottles for artisanal crafts.

Espinola, who is also the director of Fundacion Beckmann, says, "The women don't only learn how to make the products, but how to sell, incorporate their businesses, create business plans, logos and much more."

Demonstrating their support for Tequila's ambitious women, many hotels including Hotel Solar de las Animas and Hotel Villa Tequila proudly display agave paper notepads and journals in the bedrooms for guests' use, a commitment to the local products of the region.

"When my 10-year-old daughter needed prescription glasses, I asked her to help me make agave paper so she can earn extra money," says Sandra Elizabeth Serna Caballero, one of the women currently enrolled in this particular program. "I feel useful, plus the creative process is quite relaxing," she adds.

One example of how the foundation, largely funded by tequila tourism, has directly impacted women in the area is through Ernestina Carrero Cortez's story.

Cortez, a Jalisco native who was experiencing financial difficulties, approached the foundation about work opportunities. Cortez's husband was a construction worker in the U.S., her son had fallen ill, and she'd resigned herself to cooking food in her home and selling it in the town to help pay for medical expenses. But it wasn't enough.

And so Cortez, through the foundation, learned to knit handbags and wallets using agave fiber. Her original designs became so popular that she started her own brand label, Puntadas. After seven years with the foundation, Cortez now employs 22 women in her business, some as old as 83, and she sells her products through boutiques, museums and hotels around Tequila.

The women's handicraft enterprises also make use of tequila bottles that are discarded by bars and restaurants. Used tequila bottles donated by Mundo Cuervo brands are recycled, selected, cleaned and given to the women at the foundation.

Mother of six, Carolina Garcia Torres faced psychological trauma when she was pregnant with triplets and was concerned with the future of her family's financial health.

"I was worried how my husband, who works in a tequila distillery, would support our family," says Torres. She was instantly drawn to glass-making workshops offered by the foundation, where she learned to cut recycled tequila and wine glass bottles to create decorative pieces like vases and spoons."

Every day, there's an open market in the town plaza where local women sell handmade bags, lotions, paper, jewelry and decorations. Visitors will want to save room in their luggage for gifts and self-care purchases.

Preserving Culture

Mundo Cuervo's Beckmann Foundation started 15 years ago with a mission to preserve the cultural heritage of the women of Jalisco. About 10 families participate in the foundation's culinary program through ongoing festivals, the opportunity to sell homemade products like jams and juices, home-hosted meals and cooking classes.

One such festival is Fogones y Metates (Ovens and Fans). In its second year, it will be held in early December in the town of Tequila.

The event brings together women from different regions of Jalisco to share and preserve old culinary traditions, using native ingredients such as blue corn and criollo beans.

Three generations of women, Amparo Rivera, Evalia Castaneda Rivera and Emma Ramos Castaneda, participated in the festival last year.

Travelers who want to have a gastronomic experience can pay to dine at The Rivera's home, where dishes incorporate local ingredients from the family's own ranch, called El Chiquihuitillo.

This home-hosted meal for visitors to Tequila is a popular foundation initiative. At the Rivera home, guests sit in the open-air patio and sip ciruela juice while they watch Evalia and her husband make fresh corn tortillas and warm gorditas de horno (corn and cheese cakes) in a wood-fired oven.

Curated dining experiences like this one are privately arranged through hotel concierge and tour operators familiar with Beckmann Foundation. The price of such an experience depends on the group size, dishes and more. Evalia said some people just call her to pick up one dish, or a few dishes; others are joined by friends around a table at the Rivera's house.

The food is very different from what you would find at restaurants. "This is how my family eats every day. It is simple for us, yet visitors find it exotic!" Evalia says.

A visit to Tequila not only involves insight into the history of the popular beverage and a greater appreciation for it, but also an opportunity to learn about the Jalisco region  its culture, traditions and people.

Almost all of of the world's tequila comes from Jalisco, and in Tequila, the women ensure that the tequila way of life continues.

The-CNN-Wire &  2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said she wants the wealthy to pay their 2 cents worth during a campaign stop in Mason City on Saturday.

Warren touted her 2-cent tax proposal in front of a standing room-only crowd at Fat Hill Brewing as a way to pay for proposals such as universal child care, free college and student loan forgiveness while still having $1 trillion left over that could be used to fund the New Green Deal as well as infrastructure building.

"Everyone should pay a fair share," said Warren.

Warren's proposal calls for those with assets of more than $50 million to be taxed 2 cents on every dollar over that amount.

She said the wealth tax is just part of the structural change that is needed to address economic inequality in America.

Warren said she wants to end lobbying as "we know it" and "shut the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington."

She also said she wants to re-write the rules to protect democracy.

Warren proposed a Constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American to vote "and have that vote count."

Warren's proposals were greeted by big cheers from the crowd.

During the Q&A portion of Warren's appearance, two protesters from the California-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere came to the front of the crowd and challenger her on her co-sponsorship of the Dairy Pride Act in the U.S. Senate to require that non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae no longer be labeled with dairy terms like milk, yogurt and cheese.

"Why aren't you standing up to big dairy?" one of the protesters yelled.

Employees from Fat Hill escorted both of them out of the building. The police were called, but no one was arrested, said Mason City Police Sgt. Greg Scott.

Warren continued answering questions after the protesters were escorted out.

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Local author Jason Gangwish will join the River City Wordsmiths Writing Group for their May 9 meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The meeting is held in the library of Grace Church, 440 N. Illinois Ave., Mason City. Jason will talk about his recent childrens book, Ivan, the -Inch Worm.

The public is invited to come and hear about Jasons writing and publishing process. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Gangwish will read his book for any children who come.

As a child and now as a father, nature has proven to be Gangwish's favorite classroom. He combines nature and nurture in his first childrens book.

For more information about Gangwish's book go to: www.ivantheinchworm.com.

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For 10 years, North Iowa Honor Guard members from Vietnam Veterans Chapter 790 have participated in the state's Vietnam Veterans Day Recognition ceremony on May 7.

Tuesday's occasion will make 11.

A group of eight North Iowa men will travel to Des Moines to present and post the colors as part of the annual commemoration at the state's Vietnam War monument.

They are: Larry Paul, Daryl Johnson, Dan Gatton, Larry Reynolds, all of Mason City; Steve Hanson, Waverly; Mike Nelson, Abe Borne, both of Clear Lake; and Mike Woodhouse of Nora Springs.

The state Legislature passed a resolution in 2008 naming May 7 the annual day to remember and thank the nation's most forgotten veterans. Tuesday's ceremony will include remarks by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a keynote address by Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, as well as a wreath laying at the monument.

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Americas Biggest Economic Challenge May Be Demographic Decline



Slower growth in the working-age population is a problem in much of the country. Could targeted immigration policy help solve it?



By Neil Irwin





Much of the United States is seeing a decline in working-age residents. In Dayton, Ohio, an economic program to attract immigrants has led to some restored homes over the last decade, including on Alton Avenue in North Dayton.CreditCreditTy William Wright for The New York Times





For many years, American economists have spoken of Japan and Western Europe as places where the slow grind of demographic change  masses of workers reaching retirement age, and smaller generations replacing them  has been a major drag on the economy.



But it is increasingly outdated to think of that as a problem for other countries. The deepest challenge for the United States economy may really be about demographics. And our understanding of the implications is only starting to catch up.



A new report from the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank funded in large part by tech investors and entrepreneurs, adds rich new detail, showing that parts of the United States are already grappling with Japanese-caliber demographic decline  41 percent of American counties with a combined population of 38 million.



At the national level, slower growth in Americas working-age population is a major reason that mainstream forecasters now expect the economy to expand around 2 percent each year rather than the 3 percent common in the second half of the 20th century. As a matter of simple arithmetic, lower growth in the number of people working will almost certainly mean slower growth in economic output.



But demographic change doesnt hit everywhere equally. Besides the inevitable effect of the extra-large baby boom generation hitting retirement age and stepping away from the work force, decisions by working-age people can accentuate or lessen the impact of that underlying shift.



Many younger workers move to bustling urban centers on the coasts, leaving smaller cities and rural areas behind. Immigrants bolster the labor force but also disproportionately go to those same big coastal cities.



Daytons height of population was 1953, and weve seen stagnant growth for the region since 1990, said Nan Whaley, the mayor of the Ohio city.



A lot of people say this was just going to happen, that this is the way it is  I hate that comment, she said, arguing that policy decisions had incentivized investment in coastal cities.



Over all, 80 percent of American counties encompassing 149 million people experienced a decline in the number of residents ages 25 to 54 between 2007 and 2017, according to the paper, which was written by Adam Ozimek of Moodys Analytics and Kenan Fikri and John Lettieri of the Economic Innovation Group.



They project that the trends will continue, and that by 2037, two-thirds of American counties will have fewer adults of prime working age than they did in 1997, despite overall population growth in that period. (Their projections tried to take into account undocumented immigrants.)



Policies to encourage American families to have more children would help over the long run by increasing the supply of potential workers in the future. So could efforts to ensure that even struggling cities have the kinds of amenities young families desire, particularly good schools.



The population of different places is always fluctuating, and economists have traditionally viewed that as a mostly healthy process. Workers make their way to where they will be the most productive, enabling the overall economy to adapt and grow.



But people who study regional economies are increasingly concerned that some aspects of this wave of demographic change make the pain more severe for places left behind  which can get stuck in a vicious cycle.



Theres a possibility that once local areas start on this downward spiral, its self-reproducing, said Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.



A shrinking supply of working-age people can prompt employers to look elsewhere to expand, making it harder for local governments to raise enough taxes to pay for infrastructure and education, and encouraging those younger people who remain to head elsewhere for more opportunity.



It raises the possibility that, if unchecked, these demographic trends might not merely reduce overall national growth rates in the decades ahead. They could also cause the left-behind cities to hit a point of no return that undermines the long-term economic potential of huge swaths of the United States.



The authors of the E.I.G. report suggest a potential solution: an immigration policy that would stop the vicious cycle. They propose that visas could be made available to skilled immigrants on the condition they go to one of the areas struggling with demographic decline. The idea would be to create growth in the working-age population in those places, increasing the tax base and the demand for housing, and giving businesses reason to invest.



The real power of this is that it would start to change how investors, businesses and entrepreneurs view locational decisions, said Mr. Lettieri, the president of the group. They would know that there is this new pipeline for talent.



Given hostility to immigration in large segments of the country, he said, places should be able to elect whether to make visas available to immigrants as part of an economic development strategy. It would have to be a dual opt-in approach in which both the community decides it wants more immigration, and individual immigrants elect to move there.



Dayton is the kind of place where that approach may just have some appeal. Ms. Whaley, the mayor, said a program called Welcome Dayton, intended to help immigrants move to the city, has been helpful in holding the population steady after a long pattern of losses.



Programs like that, she said, combined with a low cost of living and investment in community colleges to create qualified workers, can give smaller cities like Dayton the means to break out of demographic ruts.



Regardless of what one thinks about using immigration policy to try to arrest demographic decline, theres a more basic point that everyone who cares about the United States economic future must wrestle with.



Demography may be the most powerful economic force of them all, and for much of the United States, the trend lines, for now, are pointing in the wrong direction.





Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for The Upshot. He previously wrote for The Washington Post and is the author of The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.
This San Francisco purveyor of graffiti has it right.When times are bleak -- when country and planet sink under the barely restrained sway of greed, raw power, and fear -- it's time to restate what matters. I write here to preserve and kindle hope for a national and global turn toward multi-racial, economically egalitarian, gender non-constricting, woman affirming, and peace choosing democracy that preserves the habitability of earth for all. There's a big order -- but what else is there to do but struggle for this? Not much.Topics range from the minuscule to the transcendent to the global, from dire to delightful. I am not an optimist, but I refuse to allow myself to wallow within the easy bias that everything is going to always be awful. Good also happens; love lives too.I've been yammering here about activism, politics, history, racism and other occasional horrors and pleasures since 2005.I intend to continue as long as the opportunity exists. In this time, that means activism and chronicling resistance. Perhaps it always has, one way and another.My other internet project: 596 Precincts-Walking San Francisco
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Areas of fog early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines pushed ahead Wednesday with an attempt to cut retirement benefits to Indian Health Service pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber, who sexually assaulted Blackfeet children.

The Republican senator for Montana questioned Assistant Surgeon General Michael D. Weahkee on Wednesday about Indian Health Services handling of reports against Weber.

The questions came as the assistant surgeon general appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to make his case for the IHS 2020 budget. After the hearing Daines introduced a bill to cut off retirement benefits for federal workers convicted of on-the-job child sexual assault.

Despite numerous reported suspicions of Webers inappropriate behavior, IHS turned a blind eye and enabled Weber to continue his unspeakable actions for years, Daines said. IHS failed to protect the children they were entrusted to care for. Accountability must be demanded.

In January, Weber was convicted by a U.S. District Court in Great Falls of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all felonies. The charges stem from his 1993 to 1995 employment as an Indian Health Service pediatrician on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Working in Browning, Weber engaged in sex with a boy younger than 12 and attempted to have sex with another boy younger than 16, according to prosecutors.

He was sentenced to prison for 18 years and four months, and fined $200,000 by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. The case has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Weber faces 10 more charges stemming from alleged child sexual encounters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Pine Ridge accusations span 13 years occurring after Webers time in Montana.

Now retired, the pediatrician receives more than $100,000 a year in retirement benefits. Daines has asked IHS to cut off Webers benefits, which the agency has said would be difficult.

Weahkee told the Appropriations Committee the health service is weighing its options concerning Webers pension.

I have personally submitted a letter requesting Dr. Webers retirement pay be discontinued and we are working through the legal counsel, whether or not we have the authority to do that, Weahkee said. Dialogue continues as we evaluate whether or not we have current authority or were going to need to seek legislative support to make those changes.

The Daines bill denying benefits to federal employees convicted of child sexual abuse would apply to future offenses committed by any federal worker. As Weahkee indicated in his testimony Wednesday, denying benefits retroactively for child sexual abuse is legally difficult.

Its shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children, Daines said. "That is unacceptable, which is why Im going to be taking action introducing that bill today to fix this very flawed system.

In February, the Trump administration announced that it was creating a task force to investigate how Weber managed to sexually assault children within IHS.

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A lawsuit filed by a Helena landlord who alleged that NorthWestern Energy illegally cut off power to an East Broadway property he owned has been settled and dismissed with prejudice, according to court documents filed with the First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County.

A document filed March 26 indicates that Dwight Barrett of Salt Lake City reached a confidential settlement with NorthWestern by that date, prompting the April 25 order of dismissal.

Dismissed with prejudice means the plaintiff is barred from again bringing an action on the same claim.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2018, alleged that Barrett's property had the power cut off during a frigid week in February 2018 over an outstanding balance of $16.37.

As a result of NWEs conduct, temperatures in Apartment No. 1003 fell to 10 degrees, endangering the health and safety of the occupants of the property and resulting in thousands of dollars in property and consequential damages, the lawsuit said.

Previous reports state that the apartment was vacant at the time.

Notably, Barrett asked for more than $240 million in damages. He told the Great Falls Tribune in October that he did not believe he would receive that much, but saw an eight-figure settlement as possible.

Judge Mike Menahan of the First Judicial District Court signed the dismissal order, which requires each party pay their own legal fees.

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Today's Highlight in History:

On May 4, 1961, the first group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

On May 4:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1925, an international conference opened in Geneva to forge an agreement against the use of chemical and biological weapons in war; the Geneva Protocol was signed on June 17, 1925 and went into force in 1928.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."

In 1968, the Oroville Dam in Northern California was dedicated by Gov. Ronald Reagan; the 770-foot-tall earth-filled structure, a pet project of Reagan's predecessor, Pat Brown, remains the tallest dam in the United States, but was also the scene of a near disaster in February 2017 when two spillways collapsed, threatening for a time to flood parts of three counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.

In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, telling the convicted terrorist, "You will die with a whimper."

In 2009, President Barack Obama promised to crack down on companies "that ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., underwent the nation's first double-hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Mexican officials lowered a swine flu alert level in their capital. Cleveland's LeBron James was named the NBA's MVP. Actor, comedian and director Dom DeLuise, 75, died in Santa Monica, Calif.

In 2014, Eight acrobats were injured, most of them seriously, when a carabiner clip broke during an aerial hair-hanging stunt, sending the women plummeting to the ground during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island. Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams was released without charge after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in the decades-old IRA killing of a Belfast mother of 10, Jean McConville.

In 2018, President Donald Trump suggested that his newly-hired attorney Rudy Giuliani needed to "get his facts straight" about the hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election; Giuliani had earlier said that Trump knew about the payment to Daniels made by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and that Trump had paid Cohen back. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the 1975 bludgeoning death of a girl in Greenwich, finding that Skakel's trial attorney had failed to present evidence of an alibi. (The U.S. Supreme Court later left in place the Connecticut high court ruling.) Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single against the Seattle Mariners.

Thought for Today:

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

 Franklin P. Jones, American journalist-humorist (1908-1980).

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DECATUR  Decatur residents Ty-Aija Jones and her dad Tyrice Jones attended Saturdays annual Duck Derby at the Childrens Museum of Illinois during a father-daughter date.

The 5-year-old girl took advantage of a free day at the museum after she had her face painted like a butterfly at the Duck Derby.

We are playing on everything, she said.

This year is the 28th year for the Duck Derby, which is the largest fundraiser for the museum at 55 S. Country Club Road.

We are a stand-alone, non-profit, said Amber Kaylor, the museum's executive director. We dont get any state government or local funding. We rely on our fundraisers, admission, special events to keep the museum going.

The museum was open and free to the public through a sponsorship from Jerger Pediatric Dentistry.

The museum parking lot was filled with Duck Derby activities such as face painting, bounce houses, crafts and tours of heavy equipment. Food was also available from Mr. Softee and Dippin' Merv's.

Regina Rhodes, from the pottery business Outside the Lines, brought her white van to the event, allowing families to paint whatever design they wanted on the vehicle. Its all water based, so it washes right off, Rhodes said. These are things you are allowed to do anywhere but home.

For this year's Duck Derby, organizers created the Celebrity Derby in which five well-known community members were invited to run through an obstacle course located among the other events. All armed with duck flippers and inner-tubes, the racers consisted of the winner Lindsay Romano from Neuhoff Media as well as John Reidy, digital editor at the Herald & Review; Decatur firefighter Ryan Pritts; Debbie Bogle from United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois; and Abby Koester, the museums director of education.

For every $100 dollars that was credited to their name, they got a second off of their obstacle course time, Kaylor said.

Pritts, 36, has participated in similar community activities. But this is my first time doing a race like this, he said. Ive done all kinds of silly stuff like this before.

The big floppy duck feet gave the firefighter a challenge. Its not like you can just run forward like you normally would, Pritts said. Otherwise you end up tripping and falling.

The highlight of the event was the Duck Derby. This year the race among thousands of rubber ducks was separated into five heats with the winner announced after the final race. Guests were able to purchase a duck up until the last race.

This year's winners are Jennifer Smith in first place with $3,000; second-place winner Priscilla Burnett with $1,500, and third-place winners Mark and Tappy McLeod with $500.

The multiple races provide two advantages in the Duck Derby.

If a participants duck didnt win a previous heat, they can pay for another opportunity in the finale. They can buy back in, Kaylor said. It gives them greater chance to win.

Also, the children have more than one opportunity to cheer on toy ducks in a race.

The kids are there all day and the race takes all of 15 seconds, Kaylor said. This give them multiple races to see.

Scarlett Donoho, 3, brought her 1-year-old little brother Sullivan along with their parents Hannah and Austin from Moweaqua. Shortly after the family arrived at the Duck Derby, Scarlett had her shoes off. Weve done one bounce house and we are on No. 2, her mother said.

Although the event was filled with activities, the little girl had little interest on anything other than the inflatable houses. I want to do the blue one, she said after finishing the the first house.

Face painting, crafts, and even the museum couldn't pique her interest.

Well just go with the flow and see what looks good, her father said.

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

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RCC professor honored

DECATUR -- Professor Evyonne Hawkins has been named a recipient of the Dale P. Darnell Distinguished Faculty award by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Hawkins has been at Richland Community College for 25 years, where she began her career as an administrative assistant, part of the team that developed the associate degree in nursing program. She holds associate degrees in office technology and general education; bachelor's and master's degrees in education and has been named faculty of the year and a distinguished alumna at Richland. She created the African American studies degree program at Richland and dual credit programs at Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools.

Church to hold community fair

DECATUR -- Life Buildiers Church, 833 W. Pershing Road, will hold a free community event 2 to 6 p.m. today for all ages.

Activities include free food, a Kids' Zone, inflatables, a Construction Zone, stage acts, mobile zoo, escape rooms and more.

Photo contest entries sought

DECATUR -- Macon County Conservation District is inviting students in grades K through 12 to submit original photographs depicting scenes from Illinois nature.

Entries may be submitted in one of three categories: Landscapes, Wildlife and Humans and Nature. Each must be framed and measure at least 8 by 10 inches.

Conservation District staff will determine first, second and third place photographs and award ribbons in each category. All submissions will be displayed in Rock Springs Nature Center in June and August along with other artists' work.

Drop off or mail entries by May 24 to Rock Springs Nature Center, c/o Alysia Callison, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur IL 62521. Photographers must include their name, age, grade, school or home school, and a parent or guardian's phone number. Winners will be notified on Monday, June 10. For more information, visit maconcountyconservation.org.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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DECATUR  Heads up, drivers: With warmer weather approaching, repair crews could soon start fixing some of the region's most well-traveled roads.

City, county and state officials have identified several roadways for repair or improvement projects. Whether they begin this summer or are completed before the construction season ends depends on several factors: budgeting, weather and approval from governing bodies.

"We start putting together (a list of) streets for the coming construction season at the start of the previous construction season," said Griffin Enyart, Decatur's assistant city engineer. "... The goal is to get these projects out early in the spring."

The Decatur Public Works Department on Monday will present city council members a list of roads that it has targeted to repair using funds collected by the local motor fuel tax, which is 5 cents on each gallon of unleaded fuel and 1 cent per gallon for diesel. The council will vote on whether it wants to approve the list and allow staffers to work toward getting the projects ready for contractors to bid on.

More road projects could be coming in the next few years. Republican President Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state and federal lawmakers have all called for major increases in infrastructure spending, but progress has been stymied by how to pay for it.

Illinois needs $13 billion to $15 billion for highway maintenance over the next year, according to IDOT Acting Secretary Matt Magalis. Lawmakers generally agree that the state's roads and bridges need work, but they differ about how to cover the cost. Some have advocated for increasing the state's motor fuel tax, currently 19 cents a gallon, but others are deeply opposed to the idea.

At the federal level, infrastructure could bring together Trump and Democrats in Congress, who said last week that they had agreed to work together on a $2 trillion plan. How to fund that plan remains up in the air. Trump campaigned on a promise to upgrade deteriorating roads and bridges and has been trying for two years to roll out such a package.

For now, city and county leaders say they're focusing on what they can fix with the resources they have. The rising cost of asphalt, decline in motor fuel tax proceeds and other budget pressures have spurred a growing problem for Decatur and communities across the state that have struggled to keep up with repairs.

Deteriorating roads are a continual source of frustration for residents, who say the potholes hurt their cars and make for an unpleasant drive. County Engineer Bruce Bird said the highway department gets a lot of calls from residents about roads that they think should be prioritized for repairs.

There are more roads and bridges on the county's "to-do" list than can be repaired immediately, he said.

We dont use dart boards and Ouija boards, he said. Some people think we do it that way, but we have a five-year plan for any projects that we have on the radar.

Targeted city streets

Some of the Decatur roads targeted for improvement include a reconstruction of East Division Street and North 34th Street to North 35th Street, patchwork for East Wood Street and North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to North Maffit Street, and East Wood Street between Jasper and 22nd streets.

A memo provided to city council members highlighted the Wood Street project as the primary project on the list. About 80 partial lead water services will need to be replaced as part of the project, which means portions of Wood Street will be closed to all traffic until they're replaced.

The proposal as a whole is estimated to cost about $1.8 million, with $1.4 million coming from the motor fuel tax fund and about $367,000 in utility costs coming from the city's storm, sewer and water main replacement funds.

Enyart said the city does street inspections every year, and grades the roadways on a scale of 0 to 100 called a "pavement condition index."

The proposal memo said the city's annual capital improvement list generally focuses on streets with a PCI rating of less than 75. About 41 percent of the city's streets fall below that rating and the overall condition of city streets has dropped from an average PCI rating of 82 to 78 in the past six years.

Enyart notes that low PCI scores aren't the only things that city staff takes into consideration when planning repairs. Other factors such as how much traffic the street regularly gets, or whether underground repairs are scheduled for a certain road also guide the city's decision-making.

"There will be certain ones deferred to future years for some of those reasons," he said. "We'll also decide which ones really need the work based on the budget and what can fit within our budget."

In addition to the primary roads that city staff are recommending for repairs, the city's proposal also features alternate streets for council to consider.

These streets are ones that don't score quite as high on the PCI, but could be improved if bids come in below the engineer's estimate. They can also be switched out for some of the primary repair proposals if the council feels that their repairs should take precedence over the staff recommended projects.

Alternate projects mentioned in the proposal include a $40,000 asphalt overlay to East Eldorado Street and North 33rd Street to North Lake Shore Drive and a $105,000 overlay from 33rd and South Lake Shore Drive to East William Street Road.

Beltway progress

Elsewhere in the county, crews have already begun work to remove a section of Brush College Road near Mound Road to connect with new intersections as part of the ongoing $220 million Macon County Beltway Project.

YOUR TURN What roads should be fixed? Join the conversation and have your voice heard at herald-review.com/letters.

The beltway is a 22-mile loop of road that will run from Brush College near Interstate 72 over Lake Decatur and through Long Creek into Mount Zion before linking to Elwin Road. Macon County Engineer Bruce Bird said crews have made "really good progress" on the Brush College project.

David Brix operates a corn, soybean and alfalfa farm on Garver Church Road, near the closed portion of Brush College. While he and his family arent blocked in on Garver, he said, they now have to drive toward Illinois 48 and wrap around in order to travel south in the city. Looking toward the eventual completion of the beltway, Brix said itll be a challenge getting used to how the new traffic patterns work and also getting large farm equipment down the smaller lanes of roadway that the connector routes will boast.

He also said the overall cost of the beltway project could probably be used to tend to the needs of several other roads in the area. When asked what roads are in the most need of repair, Brix said all of them. Weve sure got a lot of bad roads that could be fixed."

One thing Bird said people should take into account is that local government may not have jurisdiction over many of the major roads going through the area. The responsibility for those roads typically falls on the Illinois Department of Transportation, Bird said.

Other road and bridge projects that the county currently has scheduled include work on Wyckles Road between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36, a bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek, the Baltimore bikepath between Harryland and a reconstruction of Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121.

IDOT has also organized a five-year improvement plan that was released last year. Recently, the department received Decatur city council approval to proceed with a $4.1 million project to fix a stretch of Eldorado Street that runs from North Fairview Avenue to North Church Street.

Decatur-area road projects The following is a list of Decatur roads and bridges targeted by the city and county for improvements in the near future: The end of East Central Avenue to North Warren Street

North Warren Street/East Central Avenue to East King Street

East Division Street/North 34th to North 35th

East Wood Street/South Jasper Street to South 22nd Street

North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Wabash Crossing)

East Wood Street/North MLK to North Maffit Street

Bayview, Country Manor, Lakeridge and Baker Woods neighborhoods

Brush College Road connector for Beltway project

Baltimore bikepath, between Harryland and Lost Bridge Road

Wyckles Road, between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36

Bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek

Bridge on School Road near Cisco

Niantic Road from old Illinois 26 to railroad tracks

Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121

Box culvert replacement near Warrensburg on County Highway 20

Bridge replacement on Lake Fork Road north of Argenta

Bridge replacement on Shellabarger Road in Illini Township

In addition to repaving the worn-and-torn street, new traffic lights and curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Greg Jamerson, program development engineer for IDOT's District 7, which includes Macon County, previously said there's no defined start date for that project. It will ultimately depend on how quickly the state can acquire land for the new traffic signal systems.

Enyart said that while the city doesn't currently have a multi-year plan for road improvements, staff is considering adopting one in the near future.

The plan "still maybe would change a little bit year-to-year as priorities do change, but we'll at least have a plan in place," he said.

Contact Jaylyn Cook at (217) 421-7980. Follow him on Twitter: @jaylyn_HR

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Sunday, April 28

Taylorville continues tornado recovery

Vickie Barker, 67, chose to build on the same Coal Street lot where her last house stood, before the storm roared through and blasted the structure that Dec. 1 evening. Heavily damaged, it had to be razed and a cement foundation was poured, ready for a new modular house on the way.

Were ready to come home, Barker said.

Barker is one piece of the sprawling, ongoing recovery underway in Taylorville this winter and spring. Wednesday marked five months since a violent EF-3 tornado tore an 11-mile gash through this Christian County community, leaving behind a trail of destruction and debris. More than 700 buildings were damaged in some way, but against all odds, no one was killed.

The story of Taylorvilles reconstruction is a lesson in the importance of emergency preparedness, hard work and community togetherness at a time of critical need.

Monday, April 29

City floats Lake Decatur fee hikes

Boat owners and other Lake Decatur users could see fee increases as city leaders contemplate how to make revenue for recreation on the lake cover the cost of supporting those services.

During a study session at the Decatur Civic Center, council members directed city staff to look into how a gradual recreation fee increase could be implemented at the lake in the near future. No action was taken on the issue Monday, but City Manager Scot Wrighton staff will work to have a proposal for council to consider finalized "fairly quickly."

"There are no specific rate hikes at this time," he said before the meeting. "We're at the broad policy stage of this."

Wrighton said dealing with recreational fees is just one aspect of a larger conversation surrounding the city's stewardship of the lake and how it should manage costs and keep it clean in the aftermath of the $91 million dredging project that ended last year.

Tuesday, April 30

Rains drench Central Illinois

Heavy rains and thunderstorms across Central Illinois are bringing a risk for flash floods, keeping farmers from their fields and creating challenges for construction projects.

The wet weather started Monday and was not expected to relent until late in the week. A flash flood watch is in effect until Wednesday evening for counties including Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, DeWitt, Logan, Shelby, Christian, Champaign, Sangamon and Coles.

"This extended period of rainy weather is starting to get a little unusual," though some rain is typical for springtime, said Chris Geelhart, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Geelhart said the region was expecting another 2 to 2 inches through Thursday night. People are itching to get out in the fields, he said, adding that a period of drier weather was expected to start Friday.

Wednesday, May 1

Students' mock trial marks Law Day

A mock trial was conducted at the Macon County Courthouse by members of the Decatur Bar Association in observance of Law Day, first instituted President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Three years later, Congress passed a resolution to make May 1 Law Day annually to celebrate Americans' rights as laid out in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This is something we do to demonstrate our commitment to the law and to really engage the community, said Regan Lewis, chair of the event for the Decatur Bar Association and a new Decatur School District board member.

This year's theme for Law Day was free speech, free press and a free society.

Typically, we give a little bit of information about it to the kids, and then we do a mock trial so they can sort of see how the pieces work. This one (Cinderella) is a civil trial, but I'm going to try to do a criminal (mock) trial next year because that's what the kids seem most interested in, Lewis said.

Thursday, May 2

Buffett gives another $1M to city

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has donated another $1 million to the city of Decatur for its community revitalization efforts.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe made the announcement during her State of the City address Thursday morning during breakfast as part of the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in the Decatur Civic Center.

The foundation previously gave $1 million for revitalization in November 2017, part of which was used to buy 750 parcels of Macon County trustee land, Wolfe said. The neighborhood revitalization project has been a longtime goal for city leaders.

"We're going to get those houses down, and we're going to build up this community," Wolfe said during her remarks.

Moore Wolfe said progress means she can barely find a parking spot downtown these days  and that's a good thing.

"Now, it's time to get really, really specific to fixing our other neighborhoods," Moore Wolfe said.

Friday, May 3

Costly details in property tax plan

Illinois Senate Democrats have sweetened a sales pitch to voters for a proposed graduated-rate income tax in 2020 by attaching to it a vow of property tax relief to weary taxpayers.

Like any sales pitch, the proposal  to freeze property taxes that go to schools  has some significant fine print attached.

First, it would only happen if voters ratify that proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. And, it would only take effect if the state shouldered more of the overall funding for education in Illinois  including funding special education, transportation, free and reduced meal programs and other mandated categorical programs.

The state also would have to meet its decadelong commitment to boost funding for the new general state aid formula by $350 million a year.

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CHICAGO  Mourners came by the hundreds to a Crystal Lake funeral home Friday to pay their respects to a 5-year-old boy many of them didn't know but whose tragic death and the circumstances surrounding it left them heartbroken and wondering why more wasn't done to save him.

Along with the many tears for Andrew "AJ" Freund was also the hope that his sad story would prompt greater action to protect children from the type of life and death authorities said AJ experienced.

The boy was killed last month, and his parents were charged with murder and other crimes after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock. The boy was born with opiates in his system and lived in a home often visited by police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line outside the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory. "Losing a life in general ... but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

People young and old walked solemnly through the funeral home and past a the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross. The casket was made and donated

Visitation for Andrew "AJ" Freund began at 1 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave., and will last until 8 p.m. By 12:30 p.m. hundreds of people had formed a line and were waiting to enter to offer their final goodbyes.

Among them was Elissa Emmert of Crystal Lake, who was holding and rocking her 21-month-old son Levi. She said she came to "show support to AJ. My heart breaks for what happened to him."

The funeral home was expecting thousands of people to attend the memorial visitation for AJ, who was killed last month and whose parents were charged with his death after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock.

Blue ribbons adorned poles and trees along Terra Cotta. There were several posters with pictures that showed AJ with angel wings and were inscribed with the words, "In loving memory of AJ." A flag was a half-staff at one local business.

At the nearby Twisted Stem floral design business, a big blue balloon archway was on display. Owner and designer John Regan had just finished making his 1,000th blue bow, which he has been giving to members of the community for them to display since AJ was reported missing April 18.

"I'm helping turn the city blue today," he said "It's just a simple gesture."

Many mourners, some who brought their children, questioned how, as authorities allege, the parents could beat and kill their own son. They also decried what they said were the failures of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and begged for change.

The Tribune has found that DCFS, which has had contact with the family over several years, missed signs of trouble despite hotline calls and police reports that documented squalid living conditions, substance abuse, domestic violence, suspicious bruises and, at times, uncooperative parents. DCFS' acting director said the agency is reviewing its "shortcomings" in the case and would take steps to address those issues.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line. "Losing a life in general, but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

Lovey Sauers of Crystal Lake asked why other local agencies and community groups were not contacted by DCFS to help in AJ's case.

She said "there are so many resources" that could have been called to help including shelters, CASA, local churches, schools and Safe Haven at Willow Creek Church.

"Crystal Lake is a family community," Sauers said. "It's a good community. To have this at our back door, it's shameful and it's disturbing."

Michelle Murphy of Cary attended because she wanted to pay respects to a boy who it appeared to her no one wanted.

"If they didn't want him, they're other things they could have done," she said. "Don't kill him. There are other things you could do."

Marjorie Lehmann, director of administration at Trappist Caskets of Peosta, Iowa, said the business is donating an oak casket, made by monks of the New Melleray Abbey child casket ministry.

The Abbey also will plant a tree in AJ's name to replenish the wood used to make his casket.

AJ was reported missing by his parents April 18. He was found buried in a shallow field near Woodstock a week later. An autopsy determined that AJ died from blunt force trauma to his head.

His parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham, have been charged with murder and are being held in McHenry County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

AJ is remembered in an online obituary as a doting and loving big brother to his 4-year-old brother and his mother's unborn child. He is described as "loving, affectionate and outgoing ... a virtual ray of sunshine to all who knew him, with a giggle and laugh that was uniquely his."

An online account remains active to raise money for AJ's siblings. As of Wednesday it had raised more than $58,000.

Donations may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/d62g4d-rest-in-peace-aj.

The funeral for AJ will be private.

Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.

Also forgot one bouquet was from a family in Florida... sweet messages on the flower cards people saying they are sorry and how he's an angel now...

**

Took about an hour to walk through, like my other notes people told me ... very somber, several comfort dogs, big flower arrangements everywhere, one bouquet from Chicago Cubs another from Crystal Lake Lions Club and others with what looks like random family names I didn't recognize .. flowers are all colors not just blue and white ... there are gifts, stuffed animals toy trucks near the casket, large pics of AJ smiling. When you walk in there is a big Batman balloon appearing to lay on and hold a huge stuffed teddy bear ... alps are in there and there is an honor guard by the casket.

Oh and a piece of art made by St Mary's preschool in Woodstock.. looks like a tree then all the kids thumb prints in different colors are the leaves ... very sweet ...

As mourners exited the funeral home many carrying big blue ribbons or tiny blue ribbons with a rose attached they described a "somber" and "sad" scene.

"It's very quiet. Very somber. Everybody was comforting everybody," said Laurie Pitner of Crystal Lake.

Many described several blue and white floral arrangements, oversized photos of AJ smiling and comfort dogs. A priest also was present hugging and consoling people.

Jenny Carlini of Crystal Lake described the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross that was protected by an honor guard. A statue of an angle was placed nearby the casket as were flower arrangements from area businesses and family members.

Carlini said the mood inside where many sniffles were heard was sad but also hopeful, as if this has presented the community and beyond a time for "resetting what's important."

"I felt mad (at first)," she said, but as she looked at the hundreds of mourners lined up along Terra Cotta Ave. waiting to go inside she added: "Look what we can do as a community."

"We have to take care of our children," Carlini said. "If we don't we're going to have a very bleak future."

***

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ALTON (AP)  A disaster proclamation has been issued by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for 34 counties along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers due to flooding.

Friday's declaration is to ensure communities battling floods caused by heavy rain will receive state support. That support includes the Corrections Department providing work crews to support sandbagging efforts.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for several rivers across Illinois after several days of soaking rain. More than 5 inches fell in places like Aurora, Morris and Chicago's Midway and O'Hare international airports.

Public works employees in Alton erected a barrier wall Thursday after a Mississippi River surge closed roadways. The weather service forecasts a crest of 35.5 feet by Sunday or Monday in Alton.

The Mississippi River at Chester on Friday was at nearly 37 feet with the weather service forecasting it to crest at more than 43 feet by Monday.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Fifty years ago, new Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie pushed through the state's first income tax to shore up Illinois finances. It was a flat 2.5% applying to all levels of income. Requiring a flat-rate income tax was hotly contested a year later among those rewriting the state Constitution. The Constitution enshrined it in 1971, Ogilvie lost re-election in 1972, but the debate over the system's fairness never abated.

Enter Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a multibillionaire who campaigned on dumping the flat-rate structure for a so-called "fair tax," a graduated scale that duns wealthy taxpayers at greater percentages. The Illinois Senate approved the inaugural steps to that goal last week.

Here are some questions and answers on the subject:

Q: WHAT'S THE IDEA?

A: Pritzker proposed a progressive structure which he touts as one in which 97% of Illinois taxpayers would pay the same as they do now or less. It starts at 4.75% for incomes up to $10,000. Those making $100,000 to $250,000 would pay the current 4.95%. The rates go up from there and top out at 7.95% for those earning $1 million or more.

Those 3% who would pay more would produce $3 billion in extra revenue, Pritzker contends, to help the state erase its structural deficit  wrought by spending unexpectedly outstripping revenue  and help the state twist its way out of tens of billions of dollars of debt associated with overdue bills, underfunded pensions, and more.

A non-partisan study largely agreed with Pritzker that his plan would spare the bulk of taxpayers from increased tax bills and narrow the ever-widening income gap.

Q: WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR THE CHANGE?

A: An amendment to the state Constitution. Democratic Oak Park Sen. Don Harmon's proposal won Senate approval last Wednesday by a three-fifths majority. It must get a three-fifths majority endorsement in the House before voters would get the final say at the ballot box in November 2020. If they approve, the new tax rate would take effect in 2021.

Q: IS THERE OPPOSITION?

A: Quite a bit. No Senate Republicans voted for the constitutional amendment or follow-up legislation from Sen. Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Olympia Fields, which sets the tax rates. The GOP and leading business interests say the plan simply generates $3 billion for Democrats to spend unaccountably. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs called the Senate vote "another step toward handing a blank check over to the Democrats and their reckless spending habits."

Q: BUT DEMOCRATS ARE ALL ON BOARD?

A: No. Chicago Democratic Rep. Robert Martwick is sponsoring a constitutional amendment in the House, and he's still counting noses. A three-fifths majority is 71 House votes, and there are 74 Democrats. The GOP is solidly opposed, and Illinois Democrats are a disparate group. Martwick says he's trying to combine "the right ingredients to make everyone happy with it."

Although the amendment doesn't mention rates, the two are inextricably linked. Martwick says some lawmakers are comfortable supporting the amendment but shy away from a vote on rates. Others don't want to commit to the amendment without seeing the rates.

Q: BUT PRITZKER PROPOSED RATES. AREN'T THEY ALREADY PART OF THE SENATE PLAN?

A: No. The Senate-approved Hutchinson legislation includes a top rate that differs from Pritzker's. It increases the top rate to 7.99% and applies it to $1 million in income for married couples filing jointly. But for single filers, Hutchinson's plan applies the top rate to income over $750,000. She said that's to make the process fairer for couples whose combined income can often kick them into a higher tax bracket, a phenomenon dubbed the "marriage penalty."

"It's a delicate balance, but right now, we have a system that doesn't tax where growth is actually occurring and growth is occurring in the top income brackets," Hutchinson said.

Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who inherits the Senate tax plan, said House Democrats are less concerned about slight changes in the rates than they are about property tax relief.

Q: AREN'T PROPERTY TAXES THE REAL BANE?

A: Arguably, yes, given that Illinois has the nation's next-to-highest property taxes after New Jersey. Pritzker's plan offers a 20% increase in the property tax credit, meaning taxpayers would be able to claim an income-tax credit of 6% of property taxes paid instead of 5% of property taxes paid.

And the Senate added another sweetener last week when it adopted Sen. Andy Manar's measure to rein in the property taxes collected by public schools, which rely to a disproportionate degree on real estate taxes because the state has traditionally not met its funding commitment. The Bunker Hill Democrat's plan would bar schools from increasing property taxes as long as the state met all its expected obligations for general state aid funding and so-called categorical program such as transportation and special education.

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SPRINGFIELD  Members of a liberal House caucus announced their opposition Friday to the Senates move to strike Illinois estate tax from statute, a measure unexpectedly included in a package of bills to change the states income tax structure.

Chicago Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the state is at a critical moment. The General Assembly is negotiating the terms under which to implement a graduated income tax system, and repealing a tax on the transfer of property, he said, is a move in precisely the opposite direction.

Giving a $300 million tax break to the estates of the richest people in Illinois, that nobody as far as I can tell is even really asking for, seems to me like a step in the wrong direction, Guzzardi said.

The measure, contained in Senate President John Cullertons, D-Chicago, Senate Bill 689, passed the Senate with 33 votes after unexpectedly being added to a package of bills which can only become law if the voters approve a graduated tax constitutional amendment in November 2020.

Six Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in voting against the measure. State Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, said the estate tax repeal is generally supported by Republicans, but his opposition was based on the fact that the repeal could be reversed at any time.

The estate tax currently only applies to estates worth more than $4 million, and it produces $305 million in revenue, according to a 2020 estimate from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Guzzardi said that revenue would have to be made up elsewhere or the budget would have to be cut to account for the $305 million  even with the estimated $3.5 billion in revenue that would be gained from a proposed graduated tax structure.

I think that we are pushing pretty hard on about every other source of revenue we can find, he said.

He said cuts might have to come from programs people care about, such as higher education, health care, human services or others.

I think it would harm our ability to balance our budget and it would undermine our efforts to make our tax policy more fair, he added.

Guzzardi said the Progressive Caucus supports the graduated income tax proposal because Illinois does not have the financial resources to fund services its members see as ones a government should provide  quality public schools, affordable health care and access to social programs.

Our tax system in this state is broken  we tax poor people and working-class people too much and very, very wealthy people way too little, Guzzardi said. We support the progressive income tax because it makes our tax system more fair and generates the revenue we need to pay for the services the government needs to perform.

He said he is optimistic the constitutional amendment necessary to enact the new tax structure will receive enough votes to be presented to voters in 2020. The bill needs 71 votes in the House, which has 74 Democratic members.

But either way, removing current law that taxes the transfer of property is not something Guzzardi said he thinks will be successful in his chamber.

To be clear, there arent enough votes in the House for a repeal of the estate tax and whatever happens with the fair tax, we dont believe that that should be or will be included, he said.

Democratic Reps. Carol Ammons (Urbana), Theresa Mah (Chicago), Celina Villanueva (Chicago), Delia Ramirez (Chicago), Kelly Cassidy (Chicago), Robyn Gabel (Evanston), Gregory Harris (Chicago), Joyce Mason (Gurnee), Anna Moeller (Elgin), Aaron Ortiz (Chicago), Lamont Robinson, Jr. (Chicago), Anne Stava-Murray (Naperville) and Maurice West (Rockford) joined in the caucuss opposition to the estate tax.

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The last time I saw John William King, he was leaving a courtroom in Jasper, Texas, in handcuffs. It had taken a jury of 11 whites and one African-American just 2 hours to convict him of one of the most heinous hate crimes America had ever seen.

King was 24 at the time, clean-cut with an engaging smile. He did not look like someone who could chain a man to the back of a pickup truck and drag him for nearly 3 miles, ripping the body into pieces scattered along the road.

He looked like an all-American guy. But 49-year-old James Byrd Jr., the unfortunate black man who crossed paths with King and his two accomplices that awful day in 1998, proved how easily looks could be deceiving. One had to gaze beyond King's boyish charm to see the monster that lived inside.

Last week, King was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. But his execution did not change a thing. Before the week had ended, evil was resurrected during a Passover service in California.

King orchestrated the lynching in Jasper and, for a while, he was one of the most loathsome men in America. A self-proclaimed white supremacist, he rekindled memories of a vile part of our nation's history that some thought had been buried 40 years before. He reminded us that hatred and bigotry, when cast into a shallow grave, could simply kick off the dirt and rise again with an even greater vengeance.

Byrd, an unemployed ex-convict, became a martyr. His funeral drew a thousand people from across the country, including politicians and activists. He had not lived a perfect life, but he did not deserve such a horrendous death. On this point, most Americans agreed.

The only way Jasper and the rest of the country could heal, most seemed to think, was if King were put to death. Two decades later, he was.

As a national reporter for the Tribune, I covered the 1999 trial, but I had long forgotten the defendant's name. By the time he was executed, most Americans likely had never heard about what King had done, or they could not recall.

One of King's accomplices was executed in 2011 and the third is serving a life sentence in prison. Byrd's murder reawakened America's spirit, but it quickly fell asleep again. People rarely mentioned it anymore.

In this country, outrage is fleeting. It mellows over time like emotional pain vanishes after injecting a synthetic drug. When it comes to easing the burden of injustice, America's drug of choice is apathy.

Byrd's slaying recalled an era when African-Americans were routinely lynched by hooded nightriders. Jasper residents feared their town being portrayed as one of the most racist communities in the nation. Some believed at the time, however, that the case would be a catalyst for change across the country, as the nation came together in solidarity.

But it changed nothing. Years later, there would be racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Charlottesville, Virginia. There would be religious slaughters in Charleston, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh. And there would be countless stories about attacks on Muslims, gays and lesbians, Hispanics and African-Americans that would not even make the news. And the nation would be even more divided.

When the trial was over, Booker T. Hunter, then the president of the Jasper chapter of the NAACP, told me that King would have to die in order for people to heal.

"If we get total justice, the death penalty, people will begin to heal," Hunter said. "We will never forget it, but we can move on."

The truth is that we moved on long before King was put to death. But we still have not healed. There have been too many evil people picking at the scab.

I am not an advocate of the death penalty. I have never believed that a life for a life is the best way to right a wrong. Retaliating with more violence is not the way to end violence. And certainly, it will not put an end to hatred.

But the timing of King's death seemed appropriate. As our country is under siege by bigotry, contempt and anger, America was reminded that evil is nothing fresh. It is something we have toiled with and cried over since our nation was founded.

Though people eventually forget and move on, bigotry lingers and waits for the perfect moment to strike again. Hardly a week goes by in today's America that we don't see this hatred manifested. Each time we stop and wonder if evil is winning, and whether we are helpless to stop it.

Last Wednesday, King lay on a gurney with a needle in his arm. Witnesses said his eyes were closed the entire time, moving only once to take a deep breath when the killing process began. When the warden asked if he had any last words, King, 44, said, "No."

Byrd's sister watched from the gallery. "There was no sense of relief," she said afterward. Some of the victim's relatives knew that from the start and had advocated mercy for the killer.

It only took three days for evil to rear its head again. A gunman, yelling anti-Semitic slurs, opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California. A 60-year-old woman was killed. A rabbi was shot in the hand and two others were wounded.

King's execution did nothing to stop it.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday. It was a simple and spiritual ceremony that belied his importance as a champion of global harmony.

He was the son of Emperor Hirohito, who approved the bombing of Pearl Harbor and helped lead the world into the chaos and destruction of World War II. Akihito inherited a new monarchy as victorious Allied Forces demanded that the institution become totally symbolic, a world of distance from his predecessors godlike status. In that new era, he was an unshakable pacifist.

Akihito became a leading moral voice who traveled the world marking the impact of Japans aggression. He honored his countrys own dead without excusing the deaths they caused. Educated by an American Quaker, he quickly came to understand the necessity of peace.

This has stood in contrast to recent moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed for a more unshackled military that has been constrained since the end of the war.

And Japan has not been alone in militaristic moods. The United States and Russia spend billions on their armed forces and eye Cold War-style aggression. Parts of the Middle East remain a battle zone. Terrorists the world over murder innocent civilians, and Western nations become more comfortable using drones as weapons as they argue over the principles of a just war. More leaders like Akihito are needed to stand for peace and acknowledge the terrible alternative.

I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Akihito, 85, said in a farewell address.

We couldnt agree more.

Newsday

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When around 870 million people globally are deprived of food, losing or wasting around 1.3 billion tonnes of food valued over $1 trillion is nothing less than a crime. A report by FAO says that if just one-fourth of lost or wasted food were saved, it could end global hunger. Another FAO statistics states that food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emission each year. Hence it is the responsibility of each stake holder(from farm to fork) to ensure nothing is lost/wasted. Food loss could be the result of inadequate infrastructure, markets, price mechanisms, poor supply chain, improper packaging and many more.Understanding the impact food loss has on the world population, Hitesh Lohani (Managing Director) & Priyanka Lohani (Director)incepted Top Fresh International Private Limited (TFIPL) in 2017 in Delhi. Our companys foundation stone was laid on the very concept of food

lost during transit. Most of the brands work with distributor model, which compromises their brand name in a lot of possible ways, where the quality is highly affected due to poor supply chain, explains Hitesh. Hence TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model. This helps the company keep a thorough check on the quality of the product and supply fresh products like fresh fruits, green peas, sweet corn, veg soya chaap, broccoli, mix vegetable, strawberry, blackberry French fries and many more at the top conditions.



"TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model"



Quality being the centrifugal force of the company, it packs every product at its own cold chain & packaging unit in Delhi that maintains a very low temperature but ensure no ice formation, which is common otherwise as the temperature drop leads to thawing of a product which degrades the quality. This gives the best shelf life and can be achieved only with good relations with third party warehouse providers and creating your own stock, adds Priyanka. To further ensure healthy products, TFIPL has leased a small land in Rudrapurcity of Uttarakhand for pesticide-free cultivation of green peas.



Customer is the King

Giving its ears to every client concerns, TFIPL puts their opinions and suggestions on top priority and
Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh spoke about the regimes reasons for planning such activities and the agencies that are involved and the role that each one plays.

Last year there was a significant escalation of the regimes malign activities in Europe and in the United States. As a result, several regime diplomats and members of the MOIS were arrested and jailed for terrorist and espionage activities.

Jafarzadeh spoke mainly about ten separate incidents and confirmed that the MOIS and Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are directly involved, emphasising that attacks are not planned by rogue agents. Indeed, the highest ranks in Tehran are involved.

He explained that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves all decisions. Plots are signed off by the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani. While the IRGCs Quds Force takes the lead on terrorist plots across the Middle East, the MOIS is in charge of terrorism in Europe.

Foreign embassies are used as intelligence centres where agents are given cover, documentation, weapons, and the all-important diplomatic immunity. The embassies will intervene if terrorists are arrested and the issue will be whitewashed with the suspects taken out of custody and sent back to Iran.

A number of PMOI members have been residing in Albania which has become a point of interest for the regime. A plot to bomb a Nowruz (new year) celebration was foiled by authorities and two regime agents were arrested. Jafarzadeh explained that a senior MOIS official became the regimes ambassador in Albania to prepare for terror attacks.

European authorities also foiled a plot to bomb the oppositions Free Iran gathering in Paris last year where a number of foreign dignitaries were due to attend, as well as 100,000 supporters. The regime diplomat that was residing in Austria was stripped of diplomatic immunity and is in German custody. The regime is taking great efforts to get him send back to Iran.

Jafarzadeh also pointed to the involvement of foreign ministers, including current minister Zarif who, as a member of the Supreme National Security Council, is aware of the regimes terrorist activity. Jafarzadeh said that Zarif should be arrested for his involvement, pointing out that of all the regimes diplomats that were expatriated back to Iran only one remains jailed.

Moving forward, Jafarzadeh believes that the Supreme Leader and his office as well as the MOIS should be designated as a foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) and that Iranian agents in Europe should be prosecuted. He also suggested that the regimes embassies in Europe should be shut down. Jafarzadeh said that the regime has taken advantage of diplomatic relations to plot terrorist attacks in the West.

He further went on to explain that the real solution to the regimes belligerence is not sanctions, but regime change that is effectuated by the people.
Zarif said: I put this offer on the table, publicly, now. Exchange them. All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on an extradition request from the United States Let us exchange them I have the authority to do that. We informed the government of the United States six months ago that we are ready.

Now, there is a critical inaccuracy in that statement. Zarif, as a member of the executive branch, does not have the power to make such offers to foreign governments. This power is held solely by the head of the judiciary, who is appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Zarif even manages to admit that he has no power to release prisoners when he was questioned about the environmental scientists held by Iran, claiming that the judiciary is independent and that he is busy enough preventing wars and economic pressures.

So how can it be that Zarif has the authority to release some prisoners but not others? After all, the eight environmentalists, arrested on vague charges like spreading corruption on Earth, have received support from human rights organizations and Members of the European Parliament urging their release but Iran has not responded. One scientist, Iranian-Canadian Kavous Seyyed-Emami, died in suspicious circumstances while in jail and the Regime claimed it to be suicide.

Other foreign citizens held in Iran include:

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

US Navy veteran Michael White

Princeton University student Xiyue Wang

US businessmen Baquer and Siamak Namazi

The truth is, of course, that Zarif only has the power to release prisoners that Khamenei believes will get him concessions from the international community. The Iranian Regime uses hostages as political pawns to gain leverage against other governments, something that has been true since the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh said: In a nutshell, the Iranian regime is once again using foreign citizens as hostages in order to blackmail other governments. It is incumbent on these countries not to submit to Tehrans hostage-taking game. Accepting Irans terms will only embolden and empower the regime.
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SPRINGFIELD  This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). When the NIIW observance was established in 1994, the U.S. was in the midst of several outbreaks, the largest of which was among Illinois and Missouri residents. Decades of increased vaccinations led to the declaration of measles being eliminated in the U.S. in 2000; however, 25 years after the first NIIW, the country is once again seeing measles outbreaks. During NIIW April 27-May 4, 2019, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is asking parents to talk with a health care provider to ensure their children are fully immunized.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not have heard of some of the serious diseases they prevent. Children can suffer serious illness and even death when exposed to diseases like measles, mumps, and pertussis, said Dr. Ezike. Although vaccines are among the most successful, safe, and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death, some people still chose not to be vaccinated. It is essential that you protect your child against serious illness by having them vaccinated before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.

As of April 26, 2019, there have been more than 700 cases of measles in the U.S. this year, including 78 new cases identified last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Although Illinois data do not reflect the same trend, the U.S. is seeing an increase in the number of children younger than two years old who are receiving no vaccines. CDCs data suggest that many of these parents do want to vaccinate their children, but they may not be able to get vaccines for them. They may face hurdles, like not having a health care professional nearby, not having time to get their children to a doctor, and/or thinking they cannot afford vaccines.

Public health officials are working with schools, community organizations, religious groups, parent organizations, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to provide vaccinations.

Steps will include, but are not limited to:

Mobile Units: IDPH will assist in providing mobile health units to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates to hold clinics and provide vaccinations.

Targeted Events: IDPH will identify events with high parent and children attendance and support vaccination clinics at these events. These can include county fairs and neighborhood celebrations.

Faith Outreach: IDPH will work with religious organizations to sponsor vaccination clinics after services, during vacation bible school, and near other religious gatherings.

Community Coordination: IDPH will work with community health workers and parent educators to help set up appointment times for vaccinations, provide or arrange transportation, and assist parents in filling out the paperwork.

Public Education: IDPH will work to combat misinformation about vaccines and increase education efforts through health events, marketing, and social media.

IDPH is currently working with local health departments across the state to meet and talk with school officials and health care providers in the community to learn about barriers that limit vaccination and identify additional opportunities to increase rates. Barriers already identified include:

Transportation: Some parents do not have a way to get their children to clinics for vaccinations.

Time: Health clinic hours may not fit with working parents schedule.

Paperwork: Vaccination requires the consent forms to be filled by the parent. Some parents may be overwhelmed by the paperwork and not fully understand how to fill it out.

Wait Times: While local health departments and providers may offer special vaccination clinics before the beginning of the school year, the wait times can sometimes be more than an hour.

Additionally, IDPH continues to recruit and retain Vaccine for Children (VFC) health care providers. The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost for children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. The VFC program helps children get their vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule.

Through on-time immunization, parents can protect infants and children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases before age two. While overall childhood immunization rates remain high, unvaccinated children in the U.S. are at risk for contracting diseases that some parents might consider diseases of the past.

In the 1950s, nearly every child developed measles, and unfortunately, some developed serious complications including death from this serious disease. Today, many practicing physicians have never seen a case of measles due to the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, although rare in the U.S., they are still commonly transmitted in many parts of the world and brought into the country by unvaccinated individuals, putting other unvaccinated people at risk.

More information about the VFC program and immunizations can be found on the IDPH website at www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.

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Carriage Crossing Senior Living located at Green Mill Village in Arcola, Illinois, is hosting a free luncheon on Thursday, May 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at your Lifespan Center 11021 E. Co. Rd 800 N. Charleston, IL, behind Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital off Loxa Road.

This free luncheon is one of the Caring Conversations Luncheon Series where leading experts in the Senior Living industry discuss purposeful and thoughtful topics that interest seniors, their loved ones, and their caregivers.

With proper information, assistance and encouragement, informed decisions can be made allowing seniors to live the life they love with respect and dignity in their chosen community.

The speaker for this free luncheon is Ms. Brenda Hearn, a certified Assisted Living Cabinet Member of Leading Age Illinois. Ms. Hearn is a highly trained professional in the Senior Living industry who fully understands the needs of seniors and their families, and the importance of maximizing the independence of the senior while residing in an assisted living/memory care facility. Ms. Hearns topic for this luncheon will be: Navigating the Senior Living Curriculum.

Carriage Crossing Senior Living of Arcola is a leading choice for assisted living communities. Carriage Crossing has successfully implemented a focus on lifestyle, family and trust, with maintenance free living, exceptional farm to table meals, life-enriching opportunities and 24-hour personal care assistance.

Memory care at Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to support families caring for loved ones with dementia through a partnership built on trust between the well trained and caring staff, the resident, the family and the physician.

As seniors age and require personal care services, Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to grow with them, enabling them and their loved ones to know they have chosen a community that can meet their needs for today and tomorrow.

The luncheon is free and open to the public. An RSVP is needed to secure space for the luncheon. Please call 217-268-3516 today to reserve your spot.

For more information on this event or other upcoming activities open to seniors, find Carriage Crossing Senior Living Arcola on Facebook.

The LifeSpan Center is located at 11021 E. County Road 800N, Charleston. The telephone number is (217) 639-5150. The numbers for the programs are as follows: Coles County Telecare -- (217) 639-5166; Family Care Giver Resource Center -- (217) 639-5168 and Dial A Ride -- (217) 639-5169 or 1-800-500-5505. See you at your LifeSpan Center.

Come join us each weekday at noon for Lunch at LifeSpan. Peace Meals are served Monday through Friday at a suggested donation of $3.50. To register, reserve a lunch or learn more, contact Peace Meal at (217) 348-1800.

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CHARLESTON  A large pool of Eastern Illinois University graduates will be walking across the stage Saturday to receive their diplomas.

Just a few years ago, this annual ritual would have signified a major blow to the university's enrollment numbers. But officials are anticipating the arrival of a larger population of students this fall that should fill the gap left by those who are graduating.

May 1 was National Decision Day, the day many prospective students make their final college decisions, and predictive figures for EIU enrollment shows another year of growth.

Last year, the fall enrollment numbers saw a 7.1 percent increase.

The university is on track to see an overall increase for the 2019 fall semester.

"When you are at May 1, and you are sitting at over 20 percent (more compared to last year) on your freshman commitments, that is fantastic," Josh Norman, EIUs associate vice president for enrollment management, said.

Interestingly, the number of applications to the college is similar to what officials saw in the previous enrollment cycle, but the yield, the metric for commitments to EIU, is growing.

"The yield has just been abnormal in a great way," Norman said. "It is great to see what (the university) is doing is working."

The increases the university is seeing in its student populations are accelerating, especially in the freshman incoming populations. Exact figures were not given, but Norman said they can expect a significant increase in the freshman class this fall.

Beyond these metrics, the upward swing university officials have been seeing for the past couple of years has become most evident in the popularity of orientations, open house events, and regular visit days. On one recent regular visit day, where students and their families are given a tour around the campus, there were 67 who participated, a number not seen in a while.

"The momentum is wild," Norman said.

The international numbers will be the determining factor for how much student population growth the university will see.

International enrollments have become a wild card in the past couple of years, and this is not for a lack of interest, Norman indicated. The international applications are up, but that means little without the visa to get into the country.

As previously reported in the JG-TC, it is harder nowadays for the prospective students to get their visas accepted.

Looking at the incoming populations, the demographics appear to be diversifying.

This has been a slow-building trend over several years, but the university has been getting more interest across state lines. Norman said the university has been putting more resources into efforts to attract out-of-state students.

EIU is looking beyond bordering states to as far as California, where Norman said there has been a large export of students.

Norman noted these out-of-state students are often athletes looking to play at EIU.

This growth had not been at the expense of quality students, Norman said. The university academic profile is advancing, as well, with a 25 percent increase in honors commitments.

Officials have consistently pointed to the Vitalization Project, which tasked the university as a whole with identifying efficiencies and possibilities to make the university more marketable, as the reason for the upward trend.

The university has still got some time before it reaches its goal of 9,000 students. Norman said they are working at hitting that number by 2027.

Contact Jarad Jarmon at (217) 238-6839. Follow him on Twitter: @JJarmonReporter

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SHELBYVILLE  Joseph D. Denton, 50, of Shelbyville, IL, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 6, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mattoon, IL with Father John Titus as Celebrant. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Monday in the church. Following the service, a luncheon will be held in the Parish Center. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday in the Potomac Cemetery, Potomac, IL with military honors. Memorials may be given to the Immaculate Conception Church of Mattoon.

"Joseph Joe Dean Denton was born January 24, 1969 to Dean L. Denton and Ann (Berry) Denton in Charleston, IL. Joe grew up primarily in Nebraska and Alaska under his stepfathers name, Robinson. As a youth Joe was an avid hunter into his teens. Joe had the privilege to hunt in some of the most challenging areas of Alaska, primarily in the Arctic. Joe later became an avid shooter in the area of marksmanship.

Eventually, Joe graduated where he started with his last name restored to Denton, from Charleston High School with Honors in 1987. After graduation, Joe joined the U.S. Navy serving first on the Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) in Long Beach, CA. Later, after extensive and intense training in what is now known as Special Ops Joe became the head of security for Long Beach Commander Admiral John Hogginson. Joe was involved in extensive security issues when representatives of the previous USSR came to Long Beach Naval Station as part of the SALT II Nuclear Treaty. Joe was commended for his role in this and after activities. Joe was recommended, and received, a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy but for personal reasons could not attend. Joe traveled extensively to Asia and the Middle East.

Joe became a professional Firefighter, first at the now-defunct University of Illinois Fire Department, then the Champaign Illinois Fire Department. In March of 2000, Joe suffered a catastrophic injury to his back, left leg, and hip while carrying a woman from her residence during an emergency response. Joe would live the rest of this life in chronic pain and with titanium rods, bolts, and plates, Keeping me together as he joked. In 2010, he received a spinal implant which did wonders for his pain levels.

Despite this monumental hurdle, Joe took pride in helping those in need and giving back to his community. He was involved in Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Mattoon Knights of Columbus where he was a 4th Degree Knight. Immaculate Conception in Mattoon, IL became Joes spiritual home, presided over by Father John Titus, whom Joe was deeply impressed with and respected both as a man and as a Priest.

Joe served on various committees and Councils at Immaculate Conception. These included the reinstitution of 24 Adoration (hours) and was also involved with his Parish Council and the Legion of Mary, Joe was also a Cooperator in Opus Dei.

Joe had a passion for genealogy. He located several living cousins including Harry Selsor and his wife Shirley, and Cynthia Snider who assisted him with his membership application for Sons of the American Revolution, of which he became a member in 2017. His Patriot Ancestor was his 6th Great Grandfather Pennsylvania Militia Captain Martin Bowman. Joe eventually developed and became Chairman of the Public Safety Award Committee at the Ewington Chapter of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Joe also discovered he had an ancestor at the Jamestown Colony, a man named Isaac Madison, the common ancestor Joe shared with eventual President James Madison.

He leaves behind his adored wife, Julie, beloved stepson Jordan, sisters Julie McCarty of California, Jane Robinson of Louisiana, and father Dean Denton of Canada. Joe also leaves behind his faithful and constant companion, his dog Taz.

Joe served his Country, his communities, and people in need in general. He was a staunch supporter of the First & Second Amendments and was an Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association. He was a 3-sport letterman and held physical fitness in high regard, and the reason he was able to walk after his injury as a Firefighter. He will be missed by those who knew him."

Obituary as written by Joseph D. Denton.
CHARLESTON  Having a healthy lifestyle and knowledge of resources can help you stay healthier longer while improving your quality of life. The University of Illinois Extension will be holding a healthy aging summit at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County on Monday, May 13 from 9 a.m.  2 p.m.

The Amazing Brain will feature three Extension Educators focusing on valuable, timely research related to healthy brains. Local Foods/Small Farms Educator and State Master Naturalist Coordinator Dave Shiley will present Refresh, Relax and Recharge in Nature where he will point out how nature can reduce stress and attention fatigue while increasing creativity and brain wellness. Nutrition and Wellness Educator Mary Liz Wright will discuss Eating for Cognitive Health and will teach participants what to eat to delay cognitive decline. Family Life Educator Cheri Burcham will be presenting Two Heads are Better than One. She will share the connection between social engagement and brain health, while leading participants through intellectual exercises that will challenge their noggins! Special guest speaker Elizabeth Hagemann from the Alzheimers Association will be speaking on what the latest research identifies as the best (not foolproof) ways to prevent Alzheimers disease. There will also be fun brain breaks throughout the day.

The summit will be held at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County at 11021 E CR 800 N, Charleston. The cost for this summit is only $5 and includes a buffet lunch and all materials. Pre-registration is required by calling the University of Illinois Extension office at 217-345-7034 or by going online to http://go.illinois.edu/agingsummit Those wanting to attend must be registered and paid by May 8. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in this program, please call 217-345-7034.

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Investor Whitney Tilson used to attract a mix of seasoned professionals and amateur investors to his conferences around the Berkshire meetings. Tilson no longer holds the events, but he is looking forward to his 22nd annual meeting.

"There is really is nothing else like it. It draws people from all over the globe," Tilson said.

And the smaller conferences and gatherings of friends help enhance the attraction of Berkshire's meeting, Tilson added.

Author Bob Miles said it was natural to move his Value Investing Conference to Omaha from California in 2011 because the course already focused on Buffett, Munger and other prominent investors.

"Warren Buffett has popularized value investing and devotees from across the globe see the Berkshire weekend as a touchstone for honoring, learning and emulating an investment genius and masterful teacher," Miles said.

For Creighton University professor Gerald Jensen, setting up an investing conference at Creighton's campus just north of downtown made sense because of all the investors gathered before Berkshire's meeting.
Here are some ways to cope with loneliness during the holiday season, five foods that can help prevent cold and flu, and more videos to improv
A federal judge this week said Lincoln firefighter Troy Hurd must choose between a new trial on damages or a $630,000 reduction in the amount the city must pay him for retaliation he faced after reporting discrimination against a female firefighter trainee born in Iraq.

Senior U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said based on the evidence at Hurd's trial in Omaha in February, it wasn't shocking or plainly unjust that the jury awarded Hurd a substantial amount for past and future emotional distress.

In all, the jury awarded the fire captain $1,177,815.

"It is, however, shocking that the jury awarded $930,472.12 for future emotional distress, because the jury wasn't presented with any evidence of extraordinary circumstances that would merit such a large amount," she said.

Smith Camp said Hurd still works for the city and suffered no financial hardship.

At trial, Hurd said he always wanted to be a firefighter and now considers his career in Lincoln Fire & Rescue effectively over.

Over roughly seven years, he said he suffered from a list of problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and a loss of energy.
Nepals indecision on same-sex marriage leaves couples in limbo

Today, over a decade after the Supreme Courts verdict and four years after the committees report, same-sex marriage remains unrecognised, putting couples like Pant and Melnyk in limbo, with no decision in sight. Two years ago, the couple visited ministry after ministry to seek help for a spousal visa for Melnyk, before filing a case against the immigration office.
In February 2016, he delivered a TED Talk he said was a first of its kind. Prosecutors weren't allowed to say the kinds of things he said publicly. It could have spelled the end of his career.

Everything did change that day, but in a good way, he said.

"I remember the feeling of walking off the stage and just being like, something has happened. The universe has shifted," he said.

Prosecutors, he said in his talk, are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system, but they are unaware and untrained in the notion that the decisions they make every day have grave consequences.

Thousands of people make big mistakes, but they deserve to have the chance to transcend them. Prosecutors have the power to change lives instead of ruin them.

With that, in saying prosecutors have to admit they're part of the problem, people started to listen, he said. Foss has since founded Prosecutor Impact, an advocacy organization that develops training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. He travels the country providing training and delivering talks.
BILLINGS, Mont.  An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name, to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline were blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on Keystone XL's proposed route through the state.

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As Lincoln developed around the old village of Lancaster, there was no building originally located on the southeast corner of 10th and P streets and although it is unclear if Quick himself built the original frame building on the site, in 1873 it was known as Quicks Saloon and quickly became known as the citys quasi-official headquarters of many fraternal orders and was one of 18 saloons, mostly within a block of Market Square which was between 9th, 10th, O and P streets.

In February of 1874 a group of Lincoln women, from several local churches, were organized by the minister at First Methodist (later renamed St. Paul Methodist) Church to combat the ever-increasing presence and power of the citys saloons. On Feb. 14 and 15 the ladies visited each of Lincolns 18 saloons. At Quicks they were met by the owner and his attorney E. E. Brown, who was also Lincolns mayor, and both urged the ladies to move on. One of their number, Mrs. Ricketts, ignored the plea and entered the saloon only to be physically removed by the barman C. W. Whipple. Mrs. Ricketts husband, A. C. Ricketts, prosecuted Quick with the first trial ending with a hung jury. Then, with the second trial, Quick was assessed $57.50 though it was apparently never paid.
A group of Lincoln and Nebraska organizations -- the Native Womens Task Force, Sacred Winds United Methodist Church and Nebraskans for Peace -- concerned about violence against indigenous women will sponsor a discussion from 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at Sacred Winds UMC, 2400 S. 11th St. The event is titled Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: A service, discussion-meal and remembrance.

About 5,700 Native American and Alaskan Native women and girls were reported missing across the nation in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center. The number is probably higher, since many missing go unreported to authorities. An estimated 80% of native women have experienced violence. Nebraska ranked seventh-highest among the states for cases involving missing or slain Native American women and girls  as the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute found.

Omahas 24 cases were the eighth-highest total among 71 cities studied. As the Omaha World-Herald noted, Nationwide, 25% involved missing person cases, 56% were murder cases and 19% had an unknown status.
Had Barr taken the next two years to comb through Mueller's report to determine what information should be redacted, Democrats would have a point. But that's not what happened. On April 18, the public and Congress got a chance to read Mueller's report, with only about 10 percent of it redacted.

Yes, the full report is more damning to the president than the conclusions shared in Barr's letter. It describes sordid scenes where the president asks subordinates to lie. It says Trump had advance notice of the WikiLeaks disclosure of emails stolen by Russian hackers. It shows how Trump's campaign built up a communications strategy around those stolen emails.

As Barr's letter said, "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." As my colleague Noah Feldman has noted, Barr was only following Justice Department regulations when he issued his letter. He was not violating any procedures or rules.
Its commencement season at the University of Nebraska  a time for us to celebrate the achievements of thousands of young people who are about to start a new chapter in their lives.

I am often asked to characterize the universitys impact on the states economy. To me, theres almost no more powerful force for economic growth than the thousands of graduates Nebraskas colleges and universities produce for the workforce every year, including 11,000 students who graduate annually from the University of Nebraska.

These young people are Nebraskas future farmers and ranchers, nurses and doctors, teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. Upwards of 40 percent of them are the first in their families to attend college. Every graduating class of the University of Nebraska has a $2.4 billion impact on Nebraskas economy.

I know each diploma being handed out this week represents a story of hard work, sacrifice and opportunity. And each new graduate will be a catalyst for change for Nebraskas quality of life and economic competitiveness.

Theres just one problem: We are proud of our growth over time, but Nebraska is not producing nearly enough college graduates to solve the urgent workforce crisis facing our state.
Lincoln is a community of diverse political views, and no party holds a majority of registered voters. As a result, our leaders must be willing to work across party lines, to understand differing viewpoints and to craft consensus solutions from the best ideas of all stakeholders.

Leirion Gaylor Baird demonstrated those qualities last year, when our community addressed the safety and success of Lincoln's children.

Following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, community members asked the city and school district for a deeper partnership on student safety. However, there was significant contention on which preventative, protective and proactive programs to include, as well as how to fund them.

Leirion reached out to school board members to find common ground. She worked to unite the City Council, the Board of Education and the mayor's office. Together, we found a sustainable, consensus solution -- the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement.

Leirion's leadership, her commitment to building consensus and her love for this great community made that agreement possible. She demonstrated precisely the qualities we need in our next mayor. Please join me in electing Leirion Gaylor Baird.

Lanny Boswell, Lincoln

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RACINE  Downtown jewelry store Plumb Gold is poised to expand sideways in a unique way, into the space now held by beads and art shop Funky Hannahs.

The two adjacent businesses  Plumb Gold at 322 Main St. and Funky Hannahs at 324 Main St.  each occupy a storefront of a single, 1860s building. On Wednesday, Plumb Gold owner Austin Schultz, owner of his building, closed the purchase of the Funky Hannahs building from owner-operator Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath.

Paffrath will be closing Funky Hannahs in its current form and said she is not sure what will come next. Shes already marked down her inventory to prepare for an exit by about July 6.

If shes able to be out by then, Schultz said, he would like to open his new shop, Plumb Silver, by the next holiday season. But if the project goes later than that, it would have to wait until after the holidays.

Schultz purchase of 324 Main St. will have several outcomes, one being to reunite what was constructed as a single building  albeit with two separate storefronts  under one owner.

He will also make a doorway between the two spaces, and what is now Funky Hannahs will become a new Plumb Gold division of sorts, Plumb Silver.

The deal came about for a couple of reasons, said Paffrath and Schultz, who bought Plumb Gold from former owner Judy Olsen 3 years ago.

Were out of room, he said. I want to be able to offer our customers new things, and we just dont have anywhere to put them. So thats when I approached Amanda.

Austin talked to me about buying my building, and I was ready to do something different, Paffrath said.

But shes not yet sure what that something will be. What were saying that were doing is that were closing this location, and stay tuned for details.

Paffrath, also owner of Hot Shop Glass, 239 Wisconsin Ave., added, We have a great location at Hot Shop thats a possibility, but theres lots of possibilities.

Interesting history, she remarked, is that the second floor of that building is where Plumb Gold started.

Plumb Gold, Plumb Silver

Schultz said he didnt want to merely expand Plumb Golds footprint, but also to create something new.

The stores are going to have different personalities, he said.

Ive been trying to make Plumb Gold really welcoming and comfortable for people, Schultz continued. Before, I think  it was a little standoffish. So, (Plumb Silver) is my way of counteracting that and also putting my own stamp on a space.

He plans to put in chairs and a lounger and said, I want people to come in and just hang out. Come in and have a coffee with your friends  and we just happen to sell jewelry, or gifts.

Plumb Gold has a secured door, and customers have to be buzzed in. Plumb Silver will not, Schultz said. It will sell lower-priced merchandise than Plumb Golds, and all the silver jewelry from there will be moved over to Plumb Silver.

Keeping Downtown retail alive

It was always my dream, when I bought that business, Schultz said, to own both buildings.

I wasnt looking to sell this building, Paffrath said. I wasnt looking to retool the business  although its perfect timing to do that.

But with the movement thats happening Downtown, having somebody whos in retail, who lives locally, who wants to keep a thriving retail business and make it better, to me was a real motivating factor too.

Because I feel really strongly about having some properties being held by people who have local ties and who are interested in keeping retail alive Downtown. And thats not easy to do.

It was always my dream, when I bought that business to own both buildings  The stores are going to have different personalities. <&textAlign: right>Austin Schultz, owner of Plumb Gold and the future Plumb Silver

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RACINE  Seven months after the Wild Root Market reached one fundraising goal, it still needs to fill an approximately $1 million financing gap to be able to start renovating its building, and the group has again pushed back the project timing.

It is now going on a decade that the hoped-for food cooperative has been in the planning stage. In late 2009, a small group of people first met to talk about starting a community-owned, natural foods grocery store in the Downtown area. The impetus for their efforts came from a market study, in about 2006, for a Downtown grocery store that would emphasize natural foods.

Last Sept. 23, on its final day of member fundraising, the local food cooperative hit a milestone when it reached its $1.125 million goal in memberships and member loans. A precommitted loan from the National Cooperative Bank, for construction and equipment, was contingent on the co-op coming up with the $1.125 million in owner loans and donations.

At the time Wild Root was anticipating opening the north-side food cooperative, at 500 Walton Ave., this year.

The co-op did close on the purchase of that building in December, Wild Root Board Secretary Margie Michicich said Tuesday. The City of Racine released $175,000 of its promised project grant of up to $390,000 to help with the purchase, Michicich said.

However, per the property covenant, if Wild Root Market has not closed on its private financing by Dec. 31, Wild Root must deed the property to the city. The city would be able to sell the property in order to recoup the $175,000 grant. It has been determined that the property is worth more than $175,000.

The Wild Root board continues to work with the National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., as the primary lender for construction and equipment, Michicich said. Our primary lender wants us to have a strong cash position to ensure stability in our first year, she said.

Consequently, the Wild Root board has been talking with private, government and community entities that Michicich declined to identify as potential sources for closing the $1 million gap.

The boards goal is now to find that funding and begin renovations on the building this year, as soon as possible, she said. The expectation is that renovations will take at least six months.

Michicich said she and other Wild Root board members are cautiously optimistic about landing the needed funding to spring loose the main loan. And she said Wild Root has obtained more than 80 percent of the capital it requires.

The Wild Root Market plan

The cooperative, formed in 2011, is trying to open a full-service grocery store with 7,700 square feet of retail space, at an estimated cost of $5.2 million, in a former medical building two blocks west of the Racine Zoo. The plan includes a delicatessen and cafe, local and organic meat, eggs and produce; bulk foods; bakery; wine and beer; supplements and more. Wild Root says the grocery store will create about 50 jobs, all of which will pay above minimum wage.

Although the Wild Root Market would be member-owned, returning the profits to its members, it would be a for-profit operation that would increase the amount of property taxes paid to the city on the now-vacant building.

The co-op expects to make between $5 million and $6 million in its first year, and at least 20 percent would come from sales of products produced within 100 miles of the market.

For more information, visit wildrootmarket.coop or email info@wildrootmarket.com.

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ORLANDO, Fla.  Gateway Technical College Collegiate DECA Chapter earned several recognitions at the International College DECA Conference held recently in Orlando.

The following Gateway students received an award of excellence for placing a high score in their event: David Czuper, of Racine; Jada Peters, Taylor Arena and Angelique Ortiz, all of Kenosha; and Ailyn Castro, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.

Executive Leadership Passport Award to the Gateway DECA chapter. The Collegiate DECA Leadership Passport Program encourages local chapters and individual members to plan activities and participate in events that enhance the experiences of members. Individual Leadership Passport Awards were awarded to Gateway students Czuper, Peters and David St. Peter, of Kenosha.

Community Service Award. This award is designed to recognize Collegiate DECA chapters for civic activities performed in their community. This year students raised awareness and funds for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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DSP Dhungel suspended for suspected association with a robber

When the police division started the investigation after three of the six robbers had been arrested, Shresthas connection with Dhungel was revealed.
RACINE  The reconstruction of Three Mile Road from 150 feet east of Douglas Avenue (Highway 32) to 480 feet west of LaSalle Street is set to begin Wednesday, according to John Rooney, Racine city engineer.

The work is a joint project between Racine and Caledonia, with Racines Engineering Department overseeing the work. Waukehsa-based LaLonde Contractors was awarded the contract and is expected to finish the project by mid-August.

The road will be closed from just west of LaSalle Street to Charles Street during the project. Only westbound traffic from Charles Street in Caledonia or the quarry will be permitted on Three Mile Road to Douglas Avenue.

The western half of the project will be staged to allow westbound traffic on half of the roadway at a time.

Traffic will be able to exit businesses on the south side of Three Mile Road near Douglas Avenue by traveling west. Westbound traffic from Charles Street will be able to enter businesses on Three Mile Road.

The posted detour for eastbound traffic will be from Douglas Avenue to South Street to LaSalle Street, and the same route in reverse for westbound traffic.

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MADISON  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is raising concerns that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers gave temporary raises to workers at only state six prisons across Wisconsin, none of which are in Racine County.

Earlier this week, Evers authorized temporary raises of up to $5 an hour to workers at six prisons. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that guards and sergeants at Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun correctional institutions, as well as at the Lincoln Hills youth prison, will receive the additional pay.

While providing raises for our correctional officers is the right thing to do, cherry picking which facilities receive the benefits is fundamentally unfair and creates unnecessary animosity in a system that already needs reform, said Vos, R-Rochester. There are three corrections facilities in my district and every one of the hardworking officers deserves to be compensated for the incredibly important work that they do.

The three corrections facilities in the 63rd Assembly District, which Vos represents, are: Racine Correctional Institution on Wisconsin Street in Sturtevant; Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center on Highway C in Dover; and the Sturtevant Transitional Facility on Rayne Road.

I look forward to working with our finance members to bring forward a fair compensation package that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of our correctional workers in Racine County, Vos said.

The pay increases come at a time the state Department of Corrections is struggling to recruit and retain prison workers.

Overtime hours, turnover and vacancy rates in the states prison system rose dramatically over the last five fiscal years, according to a report state auditors released Friday.

The report underscores the DOCs ongoing struggle to find enough people willing to deal with inmates for relatively low wages. DOC Secretary-designee Kevin Carr said in a letter to auditors that unless the agency can get control of vacancies things probably wont change.

Until the vacancy rates of our institutions are decreased, overtime will continue to be the reality for many employees, he said.

The total number of paid overtime hours within DOC institutions grew 50.7% from fiscal year 2013-14 to fiscal year 2017-18, auditors found. Of the $397.5 million the state spent on DOC wages in fiscal year 2017-18, nearly $53 million, or 13%, went to cover overtime hours worked mostly by security personnel.

The 10 employees with the most paid overtime hours that year worked between 69 and 93.2 hours per week. Their earnings averaged $117,500, with $71,000 of that overtime pay.

High turnover

Playing into the overtime hours are turnover and a failure to fill vacancies.

Auditors found the turnover rate for guards grew from just under 18% in 2013-14 to 26% in 2017-18. Turnover was highest in maximum-security prisons, with Columbia Correctional Institution seeing the largest increase of about 25% from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

The turnover rate for health and social service employees saw the highest turnover rate for any type of DOC worker in both years at 24.4% and 31.7%, respectively. Nurses had a turnover rate of nearly 60%, and social workers had a turnover rate of about 54%. The report notes that DOC attributes that turnover to nurses and social workers finding more lucrative positions elsewhere.

The report also shows that DOC is struggling to fill empty positions. The vacancy rate for security personnel, including guards, more than doubled over the five fiscal years, from 6.7% to 14%. As of June 2018, the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, four prisons had vacancy rates of 20% or higher. Three of them were maximum-security institutions. The other was a minimum-security prison.

The report notes that perceptions that prison jobs arent safe and low pay are likely fueling the turnovers and vacancies.

There were more than 300 inmate-on-employee assaults or attempted assaults in each of the five years, with a high of 367 in 2015-16. As for wages, the report found Wisconsins $16.32-an-hour wage for entry-level guards in August 2018 was the second-lowest among seven Midwestern states, higher only than Indianas $16 an hour. The average entry-level pay among the seven states was $18.35 an hour.

Evers plan

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers state budget calls for spending an additional $23.8 million to implement a pay progression system for guards, sergeants and psychiatrists within DOC and the state Department of Health Services. The report notes that the budget doesnt specify amounts. Raising the starting wage for Wisconsin guards to $17.90, the median starting wage for guards in surrounding states, would cost about $30 million, the report indicates.

DOC is attempting to retain workers through training academies at six institutions where guard applicants work alongside guards and job fairs at its prisons, auditors noted.

They recommended DOC evaluate the effectiveness of the training academies, job fairs and potential pay progressions and report findings to the Legislatures Joint Audit Committee by March. Carr said in his letter he looks forward to providing the committee with details on the agencys follow-up to the report.

Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, co-chairman of the audit committee, said in a statement that DOC needs better data to determine the effectiveness of its worker retention programs.

The goal is still to reduce staffing vacancies, turnover and instances of excessive overtime, Cowles said. Doing this would not only result in cost savings, but ultimately a safer work environment.

Christina Lieffring of The Journal Times contributed to this report.

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- A Facebook page named Kren Austria received intense public online bashing

- The Facebook page is believed to be managed by the trending daughter who slapped her mother with a slipper

- Maria Magdalena Austria, Kren's mother also left a comment in the Facebook Page

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Amidst the bashing and online backlash, an apologetic message was posted by a 'Kren Austria' Facebook page. Netizens were convinced that the account was legit especially with Maria Magdalena Austria commenting on it.

Kren Austria was the daughter of Maria Magdalena Austria who took the Filipino netizens by storm when she asked for Raffy Tulfo's help.

The old lady went to Raffy Tulfo because she wanted to fix her relationship with her two daughters. They were also living with her in her house.

She emotionally shared how her younger daughter Kren slapped her with a slipper. When they finally got to talk to sort things out, the older sister Irish said she was willing to settle their feud. The younger sister, however, earned more hatred from the netizens when her mom hugged her but she seemed not to care at all.

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She did not hug her mother back. A 'Kren Austria' Facebook page was made recently. Based on the posts it was made by Kren herself because she deactivated her private account.

"I created a public FB account, but then it was disabled by Facebook. I deactivated my private account to protect my privacy. Let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry and please stop spreading hatred. Thank you!"

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

With the intense online reactions, Kren's employment could get affected especially with the netizens sending messages of protests to the company she is working with.

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

In the comment section, a message from Austria Maria Magdalena read, "To all....naintintihan ko po kayo, as a mother, kaya po pang unawa sa bawat isa sa amin ang pangyayari ito. Siguro pagsubok ito sa amin at nalusutan namin. Dios pa rin ang nangibabaw at nagtagumpay. God is good to all of us. I need your pang unawa nlng. God bless to all...I love you all....salamat po."

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Tricky Questions: What Is Kulangot In English? | HumanMeter

HumanMeter continues to ask tricky questions in the streets of the Philippines. We will try to find out how many respondents can answer the question, "What Is Kulangot In English?" Click "Play" and watch our new Tricky Question Challenge on HumanMeter!

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has introduced The Peoples Budget.

So its no surprise the most recent Marquette poll showed that 70 percent of Wisconsinites support the Medicaid expansion  a cornerstone of the governors budget proposal.

Unfortunately, since 2014 Republicans have refused to do the right thing and accept these funds. Let me give you a quick reminder about the positive impacts Medicaid expansion would have on our state.

Over 80,000 people across Wisconsin would gain access to affordable health coverage under BadgerCare. Insuring more people means healthier families and a healthier workforce.

Accepting the expansion is also the fiscally responsible thing to do for our state. It would save $324 million dollars for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Medicaid expansion also helps address the opioid crisis. Low-income adults are an especially high-risk population that are more likely to be uninsured and vulnerable to opioid abuse. Governor Evers budget proposes assisting all individuals in crisis, including those in need of substance abuse treatment.

Finally, Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do for our rural communities. Studies have proven there is a direct correlation between states that have expanded Medicaid and the ability of rural hospitals to stay open in those states due to increased reimbursement rates.

While Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion at every turn, its never too late to do the right thing.

Wisconsin Democrats stand with the people of Wisconsin who overwhelmingly want us to accept the Medicaid expansion.

Democrat Dianne Hesselbein, Middleton, represents the 79th state Assembly District.

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With shiny brown eyes, a glossy tan coat and a sleek physique, Belgian Malinois Tasja is a canine beauty with an elite pedigree. She is also a crime- fighting force in the La Crosse community.

With her striking visage, mental sharpness and impeccable physicality, Tasja was the perfect choice for the Vohne Liche Kennels and Kinetic Performance Dog Food K-9 of the Year, winning a year supply of kibble and bragging rights for both the diligent dog and partner Joshua Czys, investigator for the town of Campbell Police Department.

Their photo submission will also be featured in Kinetic and Vohne Liche media and marketing materials for the duration of the year.

We got another group of amazing entries this year, said Dave Dourson, co-owner of Kinetic Performance Dog Food. Teams like Investigator Czys and Tasja are great examples of why Vohne Liche is known as one of the best in the business when it comes to working police and military K-9 dogs and training.

We were excited. Its cool, Czys said of winning the nationwide contest.

Czys and Tasja graduated from Vohne Liche, an Indiana based K-9 training facility for police and military service dogs, in 2013.

She was sworn in at the Campbell Police Department in 2016 after community members raised the funds to purchase Tasja, previously owned by the Adams County Sheriffs Department, for the local force. The 7-year-old dog was trained in handler protection, finding drugs and evidence and locating missing people at Von Liche, founded in 1993 by U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Kenneth Licklider and staffed by 24 trainers of military or law enforcement backgrounds.

Investigator Czys and Tasja are a veteran K-9 team with years of great service together, said Vohne Liche owner Ken Licklider. Its great to see these guys looking fit and still serving strong years after we first introduced them here at our kennel.

Canine graduates have gone on to serve at more than 5,000 agencies including the Pentagon, National Security Agency and U.S. State Department, U.S. Army and more than 500 other U.S. government, police, military and civilian agencies. In addition to assisting in narcotics and patrol, Tasja also works with the SWAT unit.

With the Campbell Police Department funded through donations, Czys says the free dog food prize will save the department about $1,000. The hardworking dog, however, is priceless.

Shes trustworthy, Czys said of his canine partner. Shes fearless and reliable.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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A multifamily dwelling was left with minor smoke and fire damage after flames broke out Friday morning.

The La Crosse Fire Department was called to 704 Division St. at 7:31 a.m. Friday for reports of a possible fire.

Fire crews arrived in less than two minutes and found smoke and flames coming from a stairwell doorway leading to a second-floor apartment. The fire was quickly extinguished and all residents were safely evacuated, firefighters said, with one resident evaluated and released by Tri State Ambulance at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Damage was confined to a stairwell, door threshold and steps, firefighters said, and extensive ventilation of smoke from the basement and two apartments was required.

Firefighters determined careless use of smoking materials caused the fire. The La Crosse Fire Department received assistance from La Crosse police.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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This key and this fire truck are both in the artifact collection of La Crosse County Historical Society.

While small, the key is certainly not the smallest item in the collection, but the fire truck is one of the biggest. Probably Historic Hixon House itself is the only thing that could be considered bigger.

A relatively large key, 5.5 inches long, it folds in half for convenience  not a feature we often see on keys these days. But handy for keeping it safely in a pocket.

Its been in the collection for a very long time: so long, the documentation about who donated it has been lost.

But we know it was a key to the old La Crosse Courthouse because it still has its original tag, with very old writing in script that has turned sepia with age, reading key to court house square, please return to Central Police Station.

We presume this refers to the La Crosse County Courthouse, which opened in 1904 and was torn down in 1965.

The fire truck is a chain-driven 1922 American La France pumper ladder truck, used by the La Crosse Fire Department.

This truck was actually maintained and used as a back-up until 1962, when the Southside Businessmens Club bought it for $250 and donated it to the Historical Society.

A few years ago, it was on display in our exhibit All Fired Up: The History of Firefighting in La Crosse.

At that time a retired firefighter told me he remembered riding in the open back of this truck and bouncing down city streets like the keystone cops. He was the last of a generation of firefighters who rode on the outside of their vehicles. Im sure its safer this way, but possibly not as much fun.

In terms of size, the key and the fire truck represent two extremes of the roughly 10,000 local historic artifacts that LCHS preserves and shares with the people of this region.

Proper storage and cataloging are priorities, and we share our treasures as best we can: at our house museum, Historic Hixon House; at our small local history museum in Riverside Park, Riverside Museum; in our online database; and every Saturday through this newspaper column.

Despite our name, LCHS is not a part of any branch of government: we are a private non-profit corporation and have been 1898.

We are very grateful for the $18,100 grant we receive every year from the La Crosse County commissioners, but as you can imagine, it doesnt begin to cover our costs.

From year to year we are dependent on our members and donors to fill in the gaps left by grants and museum admissions, and do more with less. Our computers are second hand, our staff of 2.5 receive no benefits, and there are no stipends for devoted volunteers who give guided tours or make Silent City possible year after year.

So why am I telling you all this in a Things That Matter column?

Because people keep asking me what we are raising money for. It is to keep our doors open, and to keep people caring for our artifacts. La Crosse County Historical Society is a public trust: we collect, preserve and share these artifacts on behalf of you, the people of La Crosse County.

We pay for core mission support through memberships, appeals and events. I cannot overemphasize the importance of membership. Members receive free admission to Hixon House and they stay abreast of LCHS events through an excellent quarterly newsletter that also publishes well-researched articles on local history. We are a member-governed organization, with the membership electing our board of directors.

LCHS members are engaged with our goal of creating a new local history and cultural center for the region, where we will have the opportunity to display many more of our historic treasures and share stories with more people. We are eager to be able to display more cool things, such as fire trucks and memorabilia from the old Courthouse.

Membership is easy to do and isnt expensive: individual membership is just $35. You can join or make a donation from our website, lchshistory.org, or you can call our office at 608-782-1980 for more information on this, as well as on our museum and event schedules.

Have a historic day.

Peggy Derrick is executive director of the La Crosse County Historical Society.

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Fall in imports, bird flu scare drive up price of goat meat

Goat meat has become dearer by around Rs150 per kg in the Kathmandu Valley over the past month, mainly due to a fall in imports of live animals from India and a surge in demand caused by consumers switching to goat from chicken over a bird flu scare.
FOUNTAIN CITY  Karl Hoffmann wanted $100 for the cast iron, claw-foot tub he bought last year while Up North near his cottage in Crivitz.

The chamber pot he found at a resale shop had a $10 sticker, but the three remaining 7-week-old kittens in the nearby carrier were free.

Meanwhile, Nellie, a pregnant and plump 6-year-old golden lab, waddled her way up and down the sidewalk here where Hoffman was having a garage sale.

In a few months, Nellies litter will also be up for sale at $325 a pooch.

I should have a sign on her back, Hoffmann joked about Nellie, who is expecting 11 puppies. Shes a great duck retriever.

The weird, unusual, living and vintage are all on display  and for sale  this weekend with the spring ritual known as the 100 Mile Garage Sale. Many towns, villages, cities and neighborhoods set aside specific dates throughout the spring and summer in an effort to group together sales and maximize the crowds.

But along both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sides of the Mississippi River this weekend, 22 communities have joined together to create a string of sales, many of them just feet away from the passing traffic on the Great River Road.

On Highway 61 from Hastings to Winona, Minnesota, and on Highway 35 from Prescott south to Fountain City, Wisconsin, the four-day event that roughly circles Lake Pepin brings thousands of people to the region that is punctuated with bluffs, barges, passing trains and historic buildings.

Residents along both sides of the river have always had garage sales, but according to Pat Mutter, executive director of Visit Winona, Minnesota, around 2005 the first weekend of May became the official event and was dubbed The 100 Mile Garage Sale. The title plays off of 100 Miles of Friends, a collection of about 15 communities that promote themselves through an umbrella organization, Mississippi Valley Partners. That organization puts together a comprehensive website that lists scores of sales, their addresses and brief descriptions of the inventory.

Each year it really changes, Mutter said when asked about the size and scope of the event. I mean, we get people from around the United States who come to this.

And some of those visitors arent just buying.

Bonna Schultz came from Gwinner, North Dakota, with a truckload of clothing to sell at a family sale in a rural subdivision between Buffalo City and Fountain City. The family has been doing a sale for about 15 years, and Schultz was quick to pull out her smart phone to show off pictures from 2013 when the sale was blanketed in wet snow.

It was actually a good sale because a lot of people wanted to get out after the snow, Schultz said.

The 70-mile Rummage Along the River set for May 17-18 For those who missed this weekend's 100 Mile Garage Sale or didn't get their fill, there's another major sale, only this one is south of La Crosse. The 9th annual Rummage Along the River is a 70 mile garage sale event on May 17 and 18 along Highway 35, also known as the Great River Road. The event features a wide range of sales in Stoddard, Genoa, Bad Axe, Victory, De Soto, Ferryville, Lynxville and points in between. Seneca and Mount Sterling on Highway 27 northeast of Lynxsville are also taking part. Information about the sales can be found at www.rummagealongtheriver.com and the event's Facebook page. Maps for the sales will be placed on-line on May 16 while gas stations and convenience stores, some bait shops and select village offices will also have the maps.

Her familys driveway included a CB radio, a red, three-piece set of American Tourister luggage, five waist-high vases and a Sun-Mar composting toilet thats never been used.

We had an offer of $300 on it, said Jerry Axvig, of Moorehead, Minnesota. It would be great for a hunting shack.

Next door, Paul and Cindy Lorenz, of Fountain City, were just hoping to make enough money to pay off the $150 plumbing bill they incurred the previous weekend while setting up the sale at their sons home. Paul thought he could easily replace the outdoor faucet so he could wash off a few dog transport crates and a bike he had stored in a barn but he broke the faucet off at the pipe. Thankfully the water had been turned off.

I think Im almost even, Paul said Thursday morning shortly after selling $85 in fishing lures. Its not bad for a couple of hours of work.

Back in Fountain City, Frances Burt and her husband have an old lumber yard building stuffed with old tools, signs, outboard motors, vintage soda and beer bottles and even an A&W toboggan. There are buckets of nails, thousands of car parts and plastic bottles filled with small agates.

Wed actually like to sell the building, said Burt, 81.

The couple will also likely, someday, sell one of the Great River Roads more unusual roadside attractions. Burt and her husband, John, 86, who is in declining health, own the Rock in the House. In 1995, a 55-ton boulder broke loose from the hillside and crashed into the bedroom of Maxine and Dwight Anderson. The couple escaped death and sold the home to the Burts a few months later.

The first year the Burts owned the house, 20,000 people visited. Last year, about 3,000 people paid $2 to get a glimpse at the rock that remains embedded in the house that fronts Highway 35 on Fountain Citys north side.

Were trying to downsize, Frances Burt said.

In Alma, where the bluffs have contained the community into a two-block-wide, seven-mile-long city, history mixed with rummage.

In a cinder-block garage that at one time was used to store appliances and hardware for a local store, tables filled with items lined the buildings interior. Windows in the back offered views of the swelling river and the occasional passing freight train. Other items spilled out onto the sidewalk and into the street, including a box of sweaters for $2 each, 25-cent Christmas decorations and an old metal bed spring.

A bin also held a few dozen wooden yardsticks including some from the Bank of Mondovi, Gilmanton Co-op Creamery and the Lincoln Lumber Company in West Allis. They were all priced at $1 each but others inside were $5 apiece because of their outdated telephone numbers. The Goodrich Lumber & Coal Co. in Durand, for example, had a phone number of 28.

Robin Becker owns the building and seven others in the city and used two personal days from her job as a teacher in Eau Claire to run the sale on Thursday and Friday. Last year, she made $3,000 over the four-day event.

We were setting up last weekend and people were stopping, Becker said. I had sales starting at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Its been crazy.

One of the neatest settings was just up the street where Gina Dyess used the old Heise Grainery barn, constructed in 1862, to hold her sale. The building still has its original wood floor and the pulley system in the rafters used to pull grain from wagons. Modern Mylar balloons with long strings, and purposefully let loose by Dyess, dotted the ceiling to discourage bats.

Her inventory, like most, was a melange of items. However, one stood out. She was asking $125 for a Victrola from the Victor Talking Machine Co. in New Jersey. The price includes a small collection of records, one featuring the song Theres a Little White House on a Little Green Hill performed by the Cadillac Orchestra.

It gets really busy, Dyess said of the weekend sale. Whatever youre not looking for, you can find.

Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

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They're big, they're burly -- and they're baaaaack.

We're talking about basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, and they've been spotted all over the coast of Southern California for the first time in decades.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are reporting dozens of basking shark sightings from Ventura and the Santa Barbara Channel, all the way to Los Angeles and the Channel Islands.

Basking sharks can grow up to 30 feet long -- almost the size of your average Metro bus -- and boast a mouth that can stretch open to more than 3 feet wide. (Lucky for us they eat plankton, not people.)

While they're found pretty much all over the world, especially off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, basking sharks are a fairly rare sight in Southern California.

In the 1950s and '60s, boaters and fishermen reportedly spotted them in the hundreds or thousands, They've since all but disappeared -- until now..

"It's a pretty big deal," said NOAA fisheries biologist Heidi Dewar, who is part of the team that's now keeping a close eye on the sharks. "Time will tell if this is a one-off rebound or a real comeback."

No one is quite sure why basking sharks seemed to disappear, but Dewar said there's strong evidence that, locally, many of them became victims of commercial fishing bycatch. They were also targeted eradication efforts against populations of basking sharks in British Columbia to keep them out of salmon fishing nets.

Fortunately for the sharks, things have changed quite a bit since then. In 1994, California banned gill and trammel net fishing within three nautical miles of the state's coastline, and that zone appears to make up a good portion of the sharks' preferred feeding grounds.

A basking shark spotted by NOAA researchers near Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

Dr. Chris Lowe with the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach agreed that the latest sightings appear to be a good sign, but noted that it could also just be another indicator of climate change.

Warming ocean temperatures and recent marine heatwaves are causing plankton and other microorganisms to slowly shift north up the West Coast, bringing the larger animals that feed on them (e.g.: basking sharks) with them.

"Ultimately, what we don't know is why they show up at certain places at certain times," Lowe said.

That knowledge gap is largely due to the fact that scientists simply haven't had the opportunity to properly study their range in the Pacific or what their regular offshore habitats look like. And because it's been so long since one of them was spotted, data collection on basking sharks in California has been sporadic and inconsistent over the years.

"It was, honestly, off my radar that we used to have basking sharks off California," Dewar said.

NOAA researchers follow a basking shark for satellite tagging off Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

But with more basking sharks popping up in recent weeks, NOAA is now actively maintaining a database of those sightings -- and they're asking anyone who sees one to let them know.

"We can take that data and link it to environmental conditions that day and try to get a better sense of what their preferred habitat is or even get a boat out on the water to catch up with them and put a satellite tag on them," Dewar said.

So if you do spot a basking shark, help a scientist out and call NOAA's basking shark hotline at (858) 334-2884 or send an email to basking.shark@noaa.gov.
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A charter school in South Los Angeles, whose future was already in doubt, has taken the unusual step of ending its school year a month early before ceasing operations for good.

Friday was the last day of classes at Summit Preparatory Charter School, which originally planned to end its school year on June 7. The charter enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood.

Summit Prep parents have known about the closure for about a month.

On April 2, the L.A. Unified School Board voted against renewing Summit Prep's charter. Later the same day, with the school already running a deficit, Summit Prep's leaders decided to begin the process of shutting it down.

Summit Prep students have technically already clocked a complete school year; they've met a state minimum for instructional time, the school's founder and executive director Arianna Haut said.

"We will continue to work with our families to ensure our students are enrolled in schools for next year," Haut said in a statement. "With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to a community that welcomed us."

While Summit Prep's closure isn't exactly sudden, for a charter school to close this early is rare.

In the past two decades, state data shows that 135 charter schools have closed in L.A. County. But the vast majority closed in June or July -- likely after the school year ended. Before Summit Prep, just 13 charter schools closed between October and May.

Every three to five years, charter schools must apply for renewals from the "authorizer" that regulates and oversees them -- often, the local school district in which they operate. LAUSD officials asked school board members to deny Summit Prep's renewal application, citing concerns with the school's financial and academic track record.

Last school year, nearly one-quarter of Summit Prep's students were at-risk or long-term English learners. District officials said only 1.1 percent of the school's English learners had been "reclassified" as English-proficient -- far lower than other area schools.

"That number matters," said Ed Lin, president of Summit Prep's governing board, in an emotional interview. "We would've liked to have a chance to address it." (The school had developed an action plan to improve its English learner metrics.)

Summit Preparatory Charter School enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood. (Kyle Stokes/KPCC)

Summit Prep leaders could have appealed the LAUSD board's April 2 vote on its petition to renew its charter for five years, and sought a new charter from either county or state officials.

But Lin said the LAUSD board's non-renewal vote jeopardized a short-term loan the school was counting on in order to continue operations. Summit Prep had a projected net income of $275,000 this year -- but that still left the school with negative net assets of around $310,000.

"There's no way we could've gone all the way to June," Lin said. "We would be so far into the red that it would be irresponsible. This is the best plan we could come up with."

"Is it what we wanted? No," Lin added. "We wanted to finish out the school year."

Donations to a GoFundMe page for Summit Prep, which Haut posted shortly after the decision to close last month, netted just under $15,000 for the school, Haut said. Those donations -- coupled with an early closing date and selling off school equipment -- should allow Summit Prep to settle all of its existing expenses, including staff payroll before it closes its doors.

Summit Prep's shutdown has raised eyebrows among critics of charter schools. Teachers unions in particular see charters as existential threats to the finances of traditional, district-run public schools.

Prominent charter critic Diane Ravitch posted a write-up about the early closure on her widely-read blog.

The post noted that Summit Prep claimed space on an LAUSD campus under the state law known as Prop. 39, which entitles charter schools to operate on district-run campuses at minimal cost. These "co-locations" sometimes force the LAUSD host school to give up computer labs, music rooms and parent centers for the charter school's use.

"Nothing, I mean nothing," the blog post quoted an LAUSD teacher as saying, "is worse to me than lying to immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much to get to this country, to give their children a better life."

An exasperated-sounding Lin, who was a founding board member of Summit Prep, said that criticism of charter schools has gotten out of hand -- particularly after January's L.A. teachers strike.

"I passionately believe in public education," Lin said. "The treatment we've received from LAUSD, and from the public ... it's ridiculous. We're members of this community trying to do a good thing."
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An Orange County infant who was too young to be vaccinated is hospitalized with measles, OC health officials announced Saturday. That latest case became public hours after UC Irvine officials said a graduate student who spent time on campus this week had also been confirmed to have the highly-contagious disease.

The student, identified as a man who lives in Long Beach, did not need hospitalization and is currently quarantined at his home, officials said. Orange County health officials said he had been vaccinated and had no history of international travel.

Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said the man is among some 3% of people who still contract measles despite being vaccinated. The good news is that those people typically suffer less severe symptoms and also are not as contagious to others.

Here's What You Need To Know About Measles, As The Outbreak Continues To Grow

The man had spent extensive time in public before his diagnosis, including at a movie theatre, grocery stores and wine bars in Long Beach, according to information released by health officials.

L.A. County officials also named some of the region's most popular tourist destinations as having been visited by a local person now known to have been contagious, including The Grove, L.A. Farmers Market and the La Brea Tar Pits. [Details below.]

L.A. County officials on Saturday also said another person infected with measles recently traveled through the area. They did not offer any additional details about that individual. To date this year, L.A. County has reported eight cases in residents and another six non-resident cases.

The majority of the people who had measles had not been vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Orange County had announced its first case of measles this year, a Placentia woman in her 20s who became infected while traveling internationally. She went to the movies in Fullerton while contagious, according to health officials.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE INFANT

OC health officials said the baby has "no history of international travel." They did not give a specific age for the infant, who was cared for at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) emergency department.

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a child get the first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine when they are between 12 months and 15 months. A child who is traveling internationally should get the first vaccination at 6 months of age, health officials recommend.

OC officials said the infant was infectious while being cared for at CHOC's emergency department at these dates and times:

Sunday, April 28, 7 - 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, 9:30 p.m. through Wednesday, May 1 at 12:15 a.m.

Thursday, May 2, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

One of the key reasons public health officials say vaccination is important has to do with a concept known as herd immunity. If enough people are vaccinated -- typically at least 90 to 95% of the population in cases of highly contagious diseases such as measles -- that effectively protects those who cannot be vaccinated like infants or people who have compromised immune systems by limiting the spread of the disease.

UCI CASE

In an announcement released to the UC Irvine community Saturday morning, Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university had been "informed that the student attended classes or was present while contagious."

The latest case comes after concerns about the spread of measles on two campuses in Los Angeles County, Cal State Los Angeles and UCLA, led health officials to quarantine hundreds of students until the period for signs of new infections passed earlier this week.

As of Thursday, state health officials reported 40 people in California have been diagnosed with measles so far this year. Most were unvaccinated. The number is already twice the reported cases in all of 2018.

Nationwide, a number of large outbreaks have propelled the number of measles case over 700, already more than in 2014 when an outbreak tied to Disneyland led to a renewed vaccination push and stricter rules on exemptions in California.

The trend is concerning to many public health officials who point out measles had once become so rare in the U.S. that the disease was considered eliminated in 2000.

WHERE THE GRAD STUDENT WENT

Gillman provided a list of places where the student came in contact with others on the campus:

Monday, April 29: Humanities Instructional Building 100, 10 a.m.-noon Krieger Hall, Classic Dept. 4th Floor, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Humanities Hall 112, 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2, UCI Student Health Center, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Dr. Albert Cheng, of the UCI student health department, said they'd worked to evaluate if students who came in contact with the infected man had immunizations or lab work to show immunity.

If not, he said they're working to reach out.

Gillman said some students who may have come in contact with the contagious person had already been cleared. He described the number of people on campus who did not have vaccinations as a "small percentage."

"I want to assure you that campus health experts have been working closely with local public health officials to ensure that notifications are made and proper care is provided to all who might be affected," he wrote. "We are currently notifying students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed, providing them with information about treatment and prevention."

In addition to the places on campus, OC health officials provided the following locations in Fullerton the man visited on Friday, May 3:

The Pickled Monk, 1:45 - 3:30 p.m.

Brick Basement Antiques, 2:40 - 4 p.m.

Buffalo Exchange, 3 - 4:15 p.m.

8Eightyeight Cigar, 3:15 - 5 p.m.

He also said the student will remain at home, which is in Los Angeles County.

Long Beach health officials also released a list of locations the man had visited in his home city:

Sunday, April 28: Pizzanista, 1837 E 7th St, 5:30- 7:00 p.m. Total Wine, 7400 Carson Blvd, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Susan European Dressmaker, 3319 E 7th St, 5 -7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1: Art du Vin Wine Bar, 2027 E 4th St, 8 -10 p.m. Ralph's, 2930 E 4th St, 2 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2: Ralph's, 6290 Pacific Coast Highway, 3- 6:30 p.m. AMC Marina Pacifica, 6346 E PCH, 6- 10 p.m.

Friday, May 3, Broadway Carwash,4000 E Broadway, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

L.A. County offered this list of public places visited by a person infected with measles. They did not specify which case, the Long Beach resident or the non-resident individual, the exposures are tied to:



Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28, Farmer's Daughter Hotel 115 S Fairfax Ave

Also on Saturday, April 27: Peet's Coffee, 3rd & Fairfax, 9 a.m. - noon Fratelli's Cafe, 7200 Melrose Ave, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. TART Restaurant (located in Farmer's Daughter Hotel), 5 -8 p.m. The Grove, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles Farmer's Market, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Paper Source, 3rd & Fairfax, 4 - 6 p.m. Whole Food's (Fairfax) 6350 W 3rd St., 8 - 11 p.m. La Brea Tarpits, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, LAX International Terminal, 7:45 - 11:45 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1, LAX Employee Shuttle, unclear time and 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1,LAX International Terminal, 7:10 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

ANOTHER OC CASE

Earlier this week, Orange County health officials announced a confirmed case of measles in a county resident who was infected while traveling internationally.

Places where that person, identified as a Placentia resident in her 20s, could have come in contact with others while contagious are:

Tuesday - Thursday, April 23-25, 5 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, 7:45 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. daily

Thursday- Friday, April 25-26, AMC Movie Theatre, 1001 S. Lemon St., Fullerton, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Saturday, April 27, St. Jude Emergency Department, 7-9 a.m.

THE LATEST FROM LA COUNTY

In Los Angeles County, officials this week announced a seventh confirmed measles case on Tuesday.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting that day, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer warned that there will likely be more cases.

And she cautioned that although most people who get measles get a high fever and a rash all over their body and recover, there is a small risk of much more serious harm.

"It does cause and can cause very serious illness," she said, "including brain swelling, deafness, pneumonia, and death."

That's why she and other health officials are urging everyone to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date.

Megan Garvey and Michelle Faust Raghavan contributed to this report

UPDATES:

11:45 p.m.: This article updated with additional details about the new L.A. County cases and locations where the public was exposed.

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details about vaccinated people still contracting the measles.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the case of the infant in Orange County as well as additional details about where the UCI student had been while contagious.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
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Congresswoman Barragan Hosted Town Hall Meeting on Compton Potholes

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44) hosted a community town hall regarding residents concerns over the growing number of potholes in Compton. During the town hall, Rep. Barragan questioned panelists from the state, county and city regarding funding sources, including Measure P and the progress of street repairs in Compton and Unincorporated Compton. Although street repairs are the responsibility of state and local officials, it is among the top issues reported to our office. As a result, constituents received some transparency on sources of funding and spending, and were also given the opportunity to ask questions about the status of repaving their roads.

Panelists included Compton City Manager Cecil Rhambo, Compton Public Works Director Wendell Johnson, LA County Public Works District Engineer Dai Bui and Caltrans Deputy District 7 Director Paul Marquez.

For years, potholes in the City of Compton and Unincorporated Compton have damaged residents vehicles, caused people to get in or near accidents and made it difficult for first responders to rapidly address emergencies.

ADVERTISEMENT

This issue has been years in the making due to the mismanagement of the citys funds and a lack of an organized schedule to repave the roads, said Rep. Barragan. I will continue working to ensure our roads are safe for my constituents and our first responders.

To report a pothole, residents are encouraged to call our office at (310) 831-1799 or email [email protected].

Live stream of the town call can be found here.

Photos of the town hall can be found here.
One of my all-time favorite Westerns -- indeed, one of my favorite movies -- has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber That movie is BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), the second collaboration between star James Stewart and director Anthony Mann BEND OF THE RIVER has a well-written screenplay by Borden Chase based on the novel BEND OF THE SNAKE by Bill Gulick. It's the story of Glynn McLyntock (Stewart), a man with a violent past seeking to reform and live a new life with a group of settlers in Oregon.McLyntock meets Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) when he saves him from a lynch mob. Cole, like McLyntock, has a dark past. Cole is initially helpful to McLyntock, whether battling Indians or retrieving stolen supplies, but although Cole wins the love of Laura ( Julie Adams ), one of the settlers, he still finds himself tempted off the straight and narrow.This is a marvelous film in every respect, with a great cast in a well-paced 91-minute story. It was a particular pleasure having the chance to see it shortly after watching Stewart and Mann's first Western, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), at this month's TCM Classic Film Festival . I wrote about the WINCHESTER '73 screening for Classic Movie Hub In both films Stewart plays a tough man who balances tenderness and gallantry with sadness and bitter anger. We see his affection for Laura in the ways he watches her when she's not looking; he's a man with deep, unspoken feelings who's capable of not only love but deep hurt. His "You'll be seein' me" when betrayed by a friend conveys pain but is also downright chilling.Stewart is matched by Kennedy as a man who can't quite make up his mind what he wants and whether to be bad or good. Kennedy and Stewart have many wryly funny moments together as well as darker dramatic scenes. Watching two very similar men struggle and ultimately chart different paths is part of what makes the film so interesting.I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes to flesh out Julie Adams' character, who goes through some interesting transitions which could have been presented with more depth. That's really my only criticism of the film. Rock Hudson is charming in the third lead as Trey Wilson, a gambler who throws in his lot with McLyntock and Cole when trouble brews in town. He has a cute courtship of Laura's younger sister Marjie (Lori Nelson) and is delightful to have on hand.Also in the excellent cast: Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Howard Petrie, Jack Lambert, Frances Bavier, Frank Ferguson, and Lillian Randolph. I especially enjoy the sweet relationship between Chubby Johnson as a paddlewheeler captain and Stepin Fetchit as his helper; though Fetchit at times speaks in stereotypical fashion, I find that aspect is offset by the depth of the loving friendship between Johnson and Fetchit's characters. The movie was shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg , shown off nicely via Kino's attractive Blu-ray.Extras include a typically solid commentary by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s , who shares the background of all the players as well as some of the difficulties faced by the company shooting at remote locations in Oregon. The disc also includes the trailer, as well as five additional trailers for Westerns available from Kino Lorber.For a bit more on this film, I wrote about seeing it at the Egyptian Theatre with star Julie Adams present in 2011 , along with a more cursory post way back in 2006 BEND OF THE RIVER is a film I go back to time and again, always finding something new to appreciate. Highly recommended.
Opposition parties disrupt Provincial Assembly meeting

The NCP and NC criticised the ruling parties for appointing their activists only while forming committee in all eight districts.
Saturday, May 4, 2019





Structural Tools of Settler Colonialism by Carrie Rosenbaum, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming

Abstract

The systems of immigration and criminal law come together in many important ways, one of which being their role in instilling difference and undermining inclusion and integration. In this article, I will begin a discussion examining the concept of integration, simplistically described as inclusion into American life, not in the more traversed realm of citizenship, but in the context of crimmigration. I posit that when considering the relationship between those who are formally considered integrated versus other, or outsider, which may or may not overlap with immigration status, the accepted concept of integration is misguided at best. Instead, if the concept of integration is framed as an epistemological tool of settler colonialism, the construction of race provides a more fruitful line of inquiry.



There remains a divide in United States civil society, where people racialized as nonwhite do not have the same lived experience as people racialized as white. Similarly, identity, or the perception of race, play a role in the criminal justice system, wherein people racialized as nonwhite are disproportionately incarcerated. These two problems are mutually reinforcing  being poor increases the chances of being incarcerated, while being a person racialized as nonwhite is part of the equation in socio-economic standing and the likelihood of experiencing incarceration. Achieving socio-economic parity with people racialized as white has generally been considered a hallmark of what over-simplistically, and even dangerously, is characterized as integration.



These problems are replicated in and by the crimmigration system. Just as people racialized as nonwhite are more likely to be relatively socio-economically poor and more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, immigrants racialized as nonwhite face these same challenges. The effects of racialization are significant, and the mechanisms purportedly designed to reverse, erase, or change these dynamics have failed immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite. There is a longstanding myth that in a democratic society, such as the United States, everyone has the opportunity, the path, and maybe even a right to strive to and achieve integration. Becoming a naturalized United States citizen is a symbol or marker of such achievement, although it is superficial and still limited with respect to full membership and integration. Citizenship does not elevate one above the caste system of racialized hierarchy. The failure of integration is evidenced by the reality that immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite do not obtain the socio-economic successes of the dominant class.



This article will propose that the promise of integration is a myth. Even more than a false promise, the concept of integration itself erases the historical racialized institutional infrastructure that is responsible for the falseness of this promise. Crimmigration is a piece of this larger puzzle.



Derrick Bells consideration of racial realism and theories of settler colonialism will be explored here to propose a theory of why the offer of integration is disingenuous and a promise never intended to be fulfilled. Settler colonialism is a continuing form of nation building, whereby settlers fortify the dominant culture, removing and replacing communities with constructed ones. (While racism predates colonialism, it plays a leading role in settler colonialism.) These methodologies also help explain why and how crimmigration is an extension of settler colonialism and is responsible for reinforcing racialized differences and the impossibility (and perhaps undesirability) of integration. While the theoretical tool of integration provides some insight into the relationship between racialization and the roles of the criminal justice and crimmigration systems, broadening the lens to examine crimmigration via the methodologies of racial realism and settler colonialism exposes the flaws in the integrationist paradigm.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/05/immigration-article-of-the-day-crimmigration-structural-tools-of-settler-colonialism-by-carrie-rosen.html


Today we tell a traditional American story called a "tall tale." A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated  much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories.



Pecos Bill was a larger than life hero of the American West. No one knows who first told stories about Pecos Bill. Cowboys may have invented the stories. Others say Edward O'Reilly invented the character in stories he wrote for the Century Magazine in the early 1900s. The stories were collected in a book called "The Saga of Pecos Bill," published in 1923.



Another writer, James Cloyd Bowman, wrote an award-winning children's book called "Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time." The book won the Newbery Honor in 1938.



Pecos Bill was not a historical person. But he does represent the spirit of early settlers in the American West. His unusual childhood and extraordinary actions tell about people who believed there were no limits to what they could do. Now, here is Barbara Klein with our story.



Pecos Bill had one of the strangest childhoods a boy ever had. It all started after his father decided that there was no longer enough room in east Texas for his family.



"Pack up, Ma!" he cried. "Neighbors movin' in 50 miles away! It's getting too crowded!"



So they loaded up a wagon with all their things. Now some say they had 15 children while others say 18. However many there were, the children were louder than thunder. And as they set off across the wild country of west Texas, their mother and father could hardly hear a thing.

Now, as they came to the Pecos River, the wagon hit a big rock. The force threw little Bill out of the wagon and he landed on the sandy ground. Mother did not know Bill was gone until she gathered the children for the midday meal. Mother set off with some of the children to look for Bill, but they could find no sign of him.



Well, some people say Bill was just a baby when his family lost him. Others say he was four years old. But all agree that a group of animals called coyotes found Bill and raised him. Bill did all the things those animals did, like chase lizards and howl at the moon. He became as good a coyote as any.

Now, Bill spent 17 years living like a coyote until one day a cowboy rode by on his horse. Some say the cowboy was one of Bill's brothers. Whoever he was, he took one look at Bill and asked, "What are you?"



Bill was not used to human language. At first, he could not say anything. The cowboy repeated his question. This time, Bill said, "varmint."



That is a word used for any kind of wild animal.



"No you aren't," said the cowboy.



"Yes, I am," said Bill. "I have fleas."



"Lots of people have fleas," said the cowboy. "You don't have a tail."



"Yes, I do," said Bill.



"Show it to me then," the cowboy said.



Bill looked at his backside and realized that he did not have a tail like the other coyotes. "Well, what am I then?" asked Bill.



"You're a cowboy! So start acting like one!" the cowboy cried out. Well that was all Bill needed to hear. He said goodbye to his coyote friends and left to join the world of humans.



Now, Pecos Bill was a good cowboy. Still, he hungered for adventure. One day he heard about a rough group of men. There is some debate over what the group was called. But one storyteller calls it the "Hell's Gate Gang."



So Bill set out across the rough country to find this gang of men. Well, Bill's horse soon was injured so Bill had to carry it for a hundred miles. Then Bill met a rattlesnake 50 feet long. The snake made a hissing noise and was not about to let Bill pass. But after a tense minute, Bill beat the snake until it surrendered. He felt sorry for the varmint, though, and wrapped it around his arm.



After Bill walked another hundred miles, he came across an angry mountain lion. There was a huge battle, but Bill took control of the big cat and put his saddle on it. He rode that mountain lion all the way to the camp of the Hell's Gate Gang.



Now, when Bill saw the gang he shouted out, "Who's the boss around here?"



A huge cowboy, 9 feet tall, took one look at Bill and said in a shaky voice, "I was the boss. But you are the boss from here on in."



With his gang, Pecos Bill was able to create the biggest ranch in the Southwest. Bill and his men had so many cattle that they needed all of New Mexico to hold them. Arizona was the pasture where the cattle ate grass.



Pecos Bill invented the art of being a cowboy. He invented the skill of throwing a special rope called a lasso over a cow's head to catch wandering cattle.

Some say he used a rattlesnake for a lasso. Others say he made a lasso so big that it circled the whole Earth.



Bill invented the method of using a hot branding iron to permanently put the mark of a ranch on a cow's skin. That helped stop people from stealing cattle. Some say he invented cowboy songs to help calm the cattle and make the cowboy's life easier. But he is also said to have invented tarantulas and scorpions as jokes. Cowboys have had trouble with those poisonous creatures ever since.



Now, Pecos Bill could ride anything that ever was. So, as some tell the story, there came a storm bigger than any other. It all happened during the worst drought the West had ever seen. It was so dry that horses and cows started to dry up and blow away in the wind. So when Bill saw the windstorm, he got an idea. The huge tornado kicked across the land like a wild bronco. But Bill jumped on it without a thought.



He rode that tornado across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, all the time squeezing the rain out of it to save the land from drought. When the storm was over, Bill fell off the tornado. He landed in California. He left a hole so deep that to this day it is known as Death Valley.



Now, Bill had a horse named Widow Maker. He got that name because any man who rode that horse would be thrown off and killed, and his wife would become a widow. No one could ride that horse but Bill.



And Widow Maker, in the end, caused the biggest problem for Pecos Bill. You see, one day Bill saw a woman. Not just any woman, but a wild, red-haired woman, riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande River.



Her name was Slue-foot Sue. And Bill fell in love with her at first sight. Well, Bill would not rest until he had asked for her hand in marriage. And Slue-foot Sue accepted.



On their wedding day, Pecos Bill dressed in his best buckskin suit. And Sue wore a beautiful white dress with a huge steel-spring bustle in the back. It was the kind of big dress that many women wore in those days  the bigger the better.



Now, after the marriage ceremony Slue-foot Sue got a really bad idea. She decided that she wanted to ride Widow Maker. Bill begged her not to try. But she had her mind made up.



Well, the second she jumped on the horse's back he began to kick and buck like nothing anyone had ever seen. He sent Sue flying so high that she sailed clear over the new moon.



She fell back to Earth, but the steel-spring bustle just bounced her back up as high as before.



Now, there are many different stories about what happened next. One story says Bill saw that Sue was in trouble. She would keep bouncing forever if nothing was done. So he took his rope out -- though some say it was a huge rattlesnake -- and lassoed Sue to catch her and bring her down to Earth. Only, she just bounced him back up with her.

Somehow the two came to rest on the moon. And that's where they stayed. Some people say they raised a family up there. Their children were as loud and wild as Bill and Sue were in their younger days. People say the sound of thunder that sometimes carries over the dry land around the Pecos River is nothing more than Pecos Bill's family laughing up a storm.



This tall tale of Pecos Bill was adapted for Learning English and produced by Mario Ritter. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. The video was produced by Adam Brock.

________________________________________________________________

Test your understanding of this story by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Pecos Bill Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy classify to help students understand the story of Pecos Bill.



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

debate - n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something

varmint - n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem

lasso - n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)

tarantula - n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions

scorpion - n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end

make up ones mind - idiom. to decide on something
Nearly 100 years ago -- in 1920 -- the U.S. Constitution was changed to guarantee women the right to vote.

Today, at least six women are running for president  the highest number the country has ever seen.

The struggle for womens political rights in the United States has deep and complex roots, says historian Kate Lemay. She recently launched a show at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., called Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence.

The show explains that the struggle for womens political equality began long before 1920. It was connected to the fight against slavery in the 1800s.

It also connected to efforts to reach civil rights for African Americans during the 1900s.

Political rights for women are only part of the story, argues another historian, Katherine Marino. In March, she released a book called Feminism in the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement.

Marino writes that a group of influential feminists in Latin America in the early 1900s split with some feminists in the United States over the goals of the movement. These Latin American feminists wanted to advance social and economic rights along with political rights.

For example, they spoke out against government oppression and international imperialism. And, Marino says, Latin American feminists sought rights for families as well as individuals.

Marino says feminists from Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Chile, and other places often worked together. Their work resulted in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. It also gave birth to the phrase womens rights are human rights.

Today, says Marino, some feminists in Latin American still combine struggles for women's rights with other issues. For example, she says, before the #MeToo movement began in the United States, some Latin American women created Ni Una Menos. The phrase means not one woman less. It speaks out against the killing of women and girls, and in some cases also opposes national austerity measures.

Marino notes that, even with an early split, feminists across the Americas are sounding similar again.

She says, Today in the U.S. we are seeing a broader definition of feminism thats connected to social, racial, economic justice.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

persistence - n. the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people

imperialism - n. a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world

austerity - n. a situation in which there is not much money and it is spent only on things that are necessary

broad - n. including or involving many things or people : wide in range or amount
A Vietnamese woman who was tried in the killing of the half brother of North Koreas leader left a Malaysian prison on Friday and flew back to Hanoi.

Doan Thi Huong recorded a video just before her airplane left Malaysia. In the recording, she thanked everyone who prayed for her.

I want to say I love you all. I thank you my Lord Jesus. Thank you so much, she said.

Huongs release likely closes the murder case.

Four North Koreans are named as co-conspirators in the 2017 killing of Kim, but they escaped to North Korea. Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea. The officials also made it clear they did not want the trial politicized.

Huong was the last suspect in detention. In March, Malaysias attorney general decided to drop charges against her co-defendant, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia.

The decision followed Indonesian efforts to persuade the Malaysian government to suspend the case against Aisyah. Huong asked to be acquitted after she was freed, but government lawyers rejected her request. Aisyah returned home to Indonesia.

The two women were charged with working with the four North Koreans to murder the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The women put VX, a nerve agent, on the face of Kim Jong Nam in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, 2017. Both women later said they believed they were taking part in a prank for a television show.

Last month, the 30-year-old Huong admitted guilt to a lesser charge of causing injury after the Malaysian government dropped a murder charge against her. She was sentenced to 40 months in prison from the day of her arrest and was released early for good behavior.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik is Huongs lawyer. At the airport Friday, he said that the case has come to a complete end because the government did not appeal her sentence.

After her sentencing last month, Huong said she wants to sing and act when she returns to Vietnam.

Last August, the High Court judge had found there was enough evidence to believe that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans plotted to kill Kim Jong Nam. He called on the two women to present their defense.

The four North Koreans left Malaysia the day Kim was killed.

Lawyers for the women have said that they were pawns in a political assassination. They said the killing clearly had links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They also said that the Malaysian government failed to show the women wanted to kill Kim.

The desire to kill is an important part of a murder charge under Malaysian law.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

co-conspirator  n. the partner of a person who is involved in a secret plan to do something harmful or illegal

attorney general  n. the senior legal officer of the state or country

acquit  v. to decide that someone is not guilty of a crime

prank  n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

pawn  n. a person or group that does not have much power and that is controlled by a more powerful person or group

assassination  n. to kill a usually famous person for political reasons
Eschenbrenner, Hain and Naprstek held a presentation for the LRHC Auxiliary over differences in Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans that a beneficiary should be aware of when making a decision whether to leave the traditional Medicare benefits, and the vast network of providers which are contracted with Medicare versus the current Medicare Advantage plans in the area which do not have the same developed network. This can mean that a beneficiary in a Medicare Advantage network may have limited choices of providers and services compared to beneficiaries covered under the traditional Medicare network of providers. These facts are often not known to the beneficiaries when they are sold these plans and the women in the Auxiliary were also surprised to learn these facts. There were approximately 40 people in attendance, said Hain. Eschenbrenner said they also spoke about the network of specialists that come to LRHC and the services that can be done at the hospital.
Praying for the direction to take in this years devotions, God directed my thoughts to the alphabet and 2x26 equals the weeks in a year, and that He can be described by many English words beginning with those 26 letters (X is the exception, but EX words will work). This year, I will gaze at the glory of God using the ESV and the alphabet!




Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo(SEATTLE) -- Its a boy!

The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington welcomed one of its latest and tallest babies this Thursday.

Olivia, the zoo's 12-year-old giraffe gave birth to a healthy boy at 4:56 am yesterday morning.

Unlike human newborns, the baby was on his feet within an hour after he was born, which is what we want to see, Katie Ahl, a lead zoo keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, said in a press release.

Olivia and her unnamed calf are currently out of view in the giraffe barn to allow what the zoo calls a cozy, quiet environment for maternal bonding and nursing.

The first 24 to 72 hours are critical to the proper development of newborn giraffes, Ahl said.

An experienced mother, Olivia is showing good maternal behavior for her second offspring, Ahl said. In 2013, she gave birth to her first boy, Misawa, with another male giraffe, Chioke.

This babys father is 6-year-old Dave, who also fathered Olivias sisters baby.

Olivias sister, Tufani gave birth to a girl, Lulu, in 2017 -- making this latest giraffe the second baby born in the zoo within the last 5 years.

Although the baby is nursing and standing, concerns remain about his rear legs.

Hes not walking normally on his rear legs, a condition known as "hyper extended fetlocks," Dr. Darin Collins, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo, noted in a press release.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In the coming days the zoo will be a holding a community naming contest to give Seattle residents a chance to name their zoos newest addition.

For all the other giraffe fans that cannot make it to the zoo to see the new baby, the zoo will be putting up a live barn cam. Fans can visit www.zoo.org/giraffe or follow the zoo on social media to find updates on when the live barn cam will be up.

Baby giraffes have a magical way of touching the hearts and minds of people, no matter how old you are," said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

"We hope everyone connects again with this new baby and comes to care about saving giraffes in their natural ranges in Africa. We want everyone to care about giraffes as much as we do.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Police arrest man with 1kg smuggled gold

Anukesh Kumar Sah, a local, was held while he was transporting the contraband gold on his motorcycle (Lu 4 Pa 5803), said police.


Ronald Reagan

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Albert Einstein

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

Winston Churchill





It isnt so much that liberals are ignorant. Its just that they know so many things that arent so.

With integrity nothing else counts; Without integrity nothing else counts.

Winston Churchill





Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey S. Firestone





It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. H. L. Menken



Referenda insure all have a voice in land use decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Listen carefully to first criticism of your work. Note just what it is about your work the critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.

Jean Cocteau
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Private sector urges SAARC nations to invest in Nepal

The countrys private sector on Thursday urged the business fraternity from SAARC member nations to invest in Nepal, saying that the government has adopted lenient policies to boost investment in the country.
In an era of increased scrutiny of and cynicism about law enforcement and policing practices, it is easy to lose sight of the dangers and stress experienced by the rank and file, and how this contributes to mental health problems.

On a daily basis, police officers encounter individuals and situations that put their lives at risk. They regularly witness and investigate unspeakable acts of violence, cruelty and tragedy. Compounding this burden is the constant awareness that every action, utterance and split-second decision, on good days and bad, are captured on video and subject to scrutiny by superiors, the public and, in worst cases, prosecutors. It doesnt take an expert to conclude that these extraordinary burdens can have a deleterious effect on mental health.

Although most segments of our society, including the military, have made great strides in reducing the stigma associated with common and treatable mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and addiction, the law enforcement community has lagged in this respect.

Thanks in part to organizations like Badge of Life and Blue H.E.L.P., there is a growing awareness within law enforcement of this issue and the need to address it in a meaningful way. This is a critical first step.
Mack's Mets Blogspot - Mets News and Links, #Mets Twitter Feed, Mets Minor Leagues, and comments. Mobile Uses click down arrows for more pages
Illustrating the importance of networks, Madison shared how City Council President Shiva Bidar, who works for UW Health, helped secure funding for local yoga instructor Keena Atkinson to get certified as a teacher.

Ive been trying to really work at UW Health to be really intentional about not creating these barriers in the system to give money out because thats what systems do, Bidar said.

Madison was seeking a black yoga instructor to work with young girls in the community. Atkinson described how she felt unwelcome in yoga studios to the point where she could not focus on the class.

Im going to teach yoga, so people can have the experience I want to have, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said she wants to focus on living her life authentically and unapologetically as a black woman.

A lot of mornings I hear Sabrinas voice in my head, I quit my job to work for black women, so I was like Im going to quit my job because I want to live my purpose, Atkinson said.

Atkinson ended up quitting her job to focus on teaching yoga and on her hair and wellness businesses.
Supervisor Analiese Eicher, District 3, said new supervisors, including herself, were not expecting to take another vote on the major capital project. She agreed with the boards action in the 2018 budget and thinks the south tower option makes sense.

At the end of this, our goal is a smaller jail, a safer jail and a jail that is more in line with jail reduction strategies that allow us to engage in best practices, Eicher said.

Though he campaigned after the board first voted on the jail project, Supervisor Yogesh Chawla, District 6, vocally opposed the plan. Chawla feels the county needs more information, such as the results of a mental health study, before proceeding with a decision.

Were really making critical decisions with incomplete information and the big question I think we need to ask the community is do we want to take a $150 million risk without all the information in front of us?

When the board first voted, four supervisors voted against the project. Two of those supervisors  Heidi Wegleitner, District 2, and Richard Kilmer, District 4  remain on the board.

To move forward, the county will have to vote on a budget resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Two held for extortion

The suspects planted a suspicious object saying it was an explosive at Dhadkan Road on April 27 apparently to terrorise the business community.
A seven-year Idaho study of non-lethal methods, with zero wolf killing, mirrors these results: sheep depredation losses to wolves were just 0.02% of the total number of sheep present, the lowest loss rate among sheep-grazing areas in wolf range statewide.

As The Grizzly Times states in The Problem of State Wildlife Management:

Management of wildlife by state agencies is almost wholly for the benefit of hunters and fishers  Hunters are a shrinking minority, not the majority of those who care about wildlife and places like Yellowstone. As the Tribes in the Northern Rockies are fond of saying, state wildlife management agencies represent a last bastion of the ethos of Manifest Destiny, which led to genocide and the destruction of ecosystems during the 1800s and early 1900s.
Interestingly enough, it was a medical professional who originally recommended marijuana, highlighting several studies that demonstrated not only relief from pain, but also from muscle spasms. I remember being embarrassed to admit that I had never used marijuana (I know, Im a square) but I was willing to try. Luckily, I had a college friend who was willing to help, and that was how I tried marijuana for the first time.

Not only did it eliminate my pain symptoms, but for the first time since my accident, I had no spasticity. Having lived for so long with pain and discomfort, it was overwhelming to just feel normal. I had tears welling up in my eyes. Unfortunately, the side effects were a little too intense. I found it difficult to focus, my appetite grew unruly and it made me way too sleepy. It just wasnt for me.

Im fortunate, because I have been able to regulate my pain using legally prescribed medications  but what has worked for me has destroyed the lives of many others. I know how difficult it can be to step away from pain medications after an injury. When I was in the hospital recovering from my accident, they prescribed all kinds of opioids: hydromorphone, fentanyl patches, morphine, OxyContin, hydrocodone and diazepam.
Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19
Aaron Kennedy is an entrepreneur with national credentials. He was founder and chief executive officer for Noodles & Company, led Colorados successful branding and marketing campaign, managed product rollouts for major firms and continues to advise emerging companies through some of the nations leading accelerators.

Now, perhaps somewhat to his surprise, UW-Madison graduate Kennedy is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UW-Green Bay.

The late April announcement that Kennedy will join the effort to put Green Bay on the map for startups and scale-ups is the latest example of how the Upper Midwest is making a collective case for being a place where innovation is valued, talent is available and companies with the ideas can grow.

Not that anyone is hanging Vacancy signs in tech hubs such as Californias Silicon Valley, Boston or North Carolinas Research Triangle, which continue to flourish, but there are reasons for investors, entrepreneurs and others to tap the rise in activity across the Upper Midwest.
The high volume of police calls at Rethke Terrace and Tree Lane has exposed challenges in housing so many of the citys most vulnerable at the same sites and inadequacies in the funding model to pay for critical support services for tenants, OKeefe said.

Police calls for service at the properties stabilized in colder months, but have bumped up again with warmer weather, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

The primary issue for police centers on the lack of long-term or permanent property managers at each site, DeSpain said, adding that Heartland is working to resolve the situation. Problems, he said, are often related to people being allowed into the buildings when they shouldnt be there. The hope is these situations, and calls for police service, will be mitigated with more consistent management, he said.
This was my goal, Lor said of opening his own business. I wanted to have my own shop someday. But it took me almost 15 years.

How did you and your family end up in Madison?

In like 1979, (the Thai government) tried to eliminate all the camps so we (were) sent to a second one, and after the second one my family, they had to decide to come here or go back to Laos. My parents did not want to do either one so we escaped from the official refugee camp to live with Thai people. And then, like 10 years later they closed all the camps and we (were) stuck in the middle. Then the Thai government took us and registered us and told us we had to come here.

When you got here what did you do?

I went to school. I was barbering in Thailand for four years so when I came to this country it took me three and half years to learn English, go to (Madison Area Technical College) and get my (barbers) license. And then I went to work at Dick & Arnies (Barber Shop, in Middleton) for almost 10 years.

Did you need a license to cut hair in Thailand?
MILWAUKEE  The Evers administrations war on school choice continues.

The latest attack is from Gov. Tony Evers appointed successor at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who is refusing to allow private schools in the choice programs to count online (virtual) learning toward annual class-time requirements. She is doing so even though DPI has permitted public schools to use virtual learning for a variety of reasons, including to make up for class cancellations caused by Wisconsins winter weather.

This is unfair and wrong. We also believe it is illegal. Last month, attorneys at our organization, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), sued Taylor and DPI in Waukesha Circuit Court on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action, a membership organization of private choice schools.

This winter has been brutal for Wisconsins schools. With unprecedented snowfall, temperatures frequently below zero and mass flooding, Wisconsin K-12 schools have been forced to cancel classes at an extraordinary rate. Because of a state law that requires students to attend more than 1,000 hours in the classroom, many schools are having to make up class time by extending minutes in their school day or by adding days to the school year.
Perhaps Republicans work from a principle akin to Facebook: If the project is liked, the land is taken. This is exactly how conservative Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling described Republican views on eminent domain in a Nov. 9, 2017, interview in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Many of the people on my side  the conservative side  they change their opinion on this [eminent domain] if the project is something that they like.

Such arbitrariness in whose property is protected and whose isnt erodes public trust in government institutions and undermines citizens confidence they live in a fair economic system.

Seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke warned that the arbitrary taking of property by the government absolved the people from further obedience. Heeding Lockes advice and recognizing the threat to a new democracy, our countrys Founders crafted the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The amendment limits government to taking private land only if it is for public use. It is time for Wisconsin Republicans to anchor their eminent domain actions to the constitution and work to secure the property rights of all Wisconsinites.

Borchardt, of Marshfield, is founder of 80 Feet Is Enough, a group advocating for property rights in Wisconsin: 80feetisenough.org and mbgs@tznet.com.
Prayers for All is today

TWIN FALLS  The first Saturday of the month is time for Prayers for All. The public is invited to attend at 10 a.m. Saturday at Max Newlins home, 328 Seventh Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Celebrate by trying something new  praying for everyone from different faith perspectives.

This months theme will be Indigenous Traditions, including Yoruba, Animism, Native American Church, Shenism and Zoroastrianism.

Prayers from Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish scriptures, the Quran and Bahai Prayers will be read. Discussion will follow without proselytizing and with respect for all viewpoints.

For more information, call 208-221-8621.

Feed My Sheep Ministry recognized by IEF

TWIN FALLS  The Feed My Sheep Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension was recognized by the Idaho Episcopal Foundation with an Excellence in Mission Award at the Bishops Banquet April 27 in Boise.

Ascension parishioners Bette Krepcik and Georgia Durbin received this distinguished award for their efforts in 2016 to re-establish an abandoned monthly meal program for those affected by food insecurity in Twin Falls. The Mustard Seed Ministries in Twin Falls offered their location as a place to hold a Saturday hot meal, and monthly meals have been provided for the past three years.

Their dedication to and passion for serving Christ in others through this feeding ministry has inspired and transformed the lives of both those who receive a warm meal and those who have volunteered, the Idaho Episcopal Foundation said in a statement.

In 2018 Feed My Sheep served 912 meals  many of those to children who do not have access to food on weekends.

Unitarian Universalists ponder anxiety

TWIN FALLS  Why do we get so anxious? Sundays sermon will explore the concept of fear and anxiety  the good and the bad. Sometimes we just get nervous about getting nervous. We can work ourselves into a frenzy trying to figure out why we are getting nervous.

Perhaps it is time to break the cycle and just accept that a certain level of anxiety is to be expected.

We must allow ourselves to feel the fear and then do it anyway.

The public is welcome at the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at 160 Ninth Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths individuals travel. Congregations are places where people celebrate, support and challenge one another as they continue on their spiritual journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Newcomers of all religious paths, or none at all, are always welcome. Child care is available.

The church is handicapped-accessible.

Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building.

For more information, call Ken Whiting at 208-410-8904 or email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or go to magicvalleyuu.org.

Bishop Thom visits Ascension

TWIN FALLS  The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will welcome the Right Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho, for his annual visitation on Sunday.

Holy Communion will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at the church, 371 Eastland Drive N. Childcare for infants to five-year-olds will run from 8:45 a.m. until after worship.

A fellowship coffee hour will be held after the 10 a.m. service.

All are invited to meet and greet the bishop.

The community is invited to the final seven weeks of Living the Questions which will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays at First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls.

This video and discussion series helps participants explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in todays world.

Prior participation in the earlier portions of this program held at Ascension Episcopal Church and Our Savior Lutheran Church is not necessary.

The knitting and handwork group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Choir practice is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Bible study is held from 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

All are welcome for worship, fellowship or study at Ascension which is handicapped-accessible.

For more information, call 208-733-1248 or go to ascension.episcopalidaho.org.

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Whose government is it anyway? People ask as President presents policies and programmes

On social media, some posted screenshots of Part 1 (Preliminary) of the Constitution of Nepal, asking why the Head of State was referring to the government as my government. Article 2 of the Constitution of Nepal reads: The sovereignty and state authority of Nepal shall be vested in the Nepali people. It shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Constitution.
KIMBERLY  Rock Creek Rural Fire District has hired a firefighter out of Wyoming to replace its long-beleaguered fire chief who resigned in August.

Aaron Zent will take over the fire department May 28, district Clerk Jennifer Egbert said Friday. Zent is a Rawlins, Wyo., fire battalion chief.

Rock Creek fire district covers 212 square miles in eastern Twin Falls County  including the cities of Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh  and parts of Cassia County. The department responded to 402 fire calls and 897 medical calls in 2018.

Keller resigned his position Aug. 31, and Interim Chief Stacey Thomas took over on Sept. 3.

Thomas, still a captain with the department, later resigned as interim chief, and long-time firefighter Assistant Fire Chief Greg Vawser stepped in.

The department has been through several rounds of applications before deciding on Zent, Egbert said.

Thomas spoke with the Times-News after Keller resigned and credited the past chief with the departments growth in recent years.

We wouldnt be where were at had it not been for Chief Keller, Thomas said.

But townsfolk say discord often surrounded Keller.

A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against Keller and the Rock Creek Fire District by former training Capt. Brent Blamires was settled in January 2017 for $26,000.

Blamires claimed he was fired in January 2016 for blowing the whistle on Kellers driving a fire district vehicle while under the influence, which led to Kellers week-long suspension in August 2015.

Keller was a finalist to become Twin Falls fire chief in 2016, but the city dropped Keller from consideration over allegations in the suit.

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November 27, 1960April 30, 2019

TWIN FALLS  Deena would like to inform you all that her work here is done. She began her work on November 27, 1960 and survived this place for 58 years. On April 30, 2019, she received a call (sort of an offer you cant refuse). She accepted and will not be returning from this endeavor. Deena requests that everyone wipe the tears from their eyes and smile. Fill your hearts with joy, as this call has lent her the opportunity to be free from pain while reuniting with many family and friends.

Deena was born in Rexburg, Idaho, to Dee and June Newman. She was raised in Sugar City and Howe, ID., but attended high school in Arco, ID. Deena was a part of the Butte County High School graduating class of 79. Shortly thereafter, she met and later married Nelson Dean Slaymaker on February, 1980. Together they had four beautiful children to which Deena cherished. (Randy Nelson, Andrea Rose, Brittany Dee, and James Dean). Deena and Dean later divorced in 1994 but remained great friends until his passing in 2008.

Deena met her husband, Eric Saeugling, in January 2000. It took a year before Deena agreed to a date with him but it was worth the wait for both. They married in August of 2001 and have been inseparable since.

Deena had a love affair with her fuzzy blankets, A&E criminal television shows, and butter. Not necessarily in that order. She did not care for Idaho Power and towels folded incorrectly (which was any way other than her way). She had her quirks however as her family and friends, we never questioned her love for us, the gospel, and her pet chickens. Not necessarily in that order. Deena was passionate about several things. For instance, she loved to sing, read, and was always expanding her education. Deenas love of singing and beautiful voice was noticed by many. She was often asked to sing at celebrations. Her strong thirst for knowledge led her to pursue a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, completion of her CNA, and certification as a Behavioral Specialist. Deena enjoyed reading, whether it was a mystery novel in bed at night or a childrens book to the grandchild on her lap, she seemed to always have a book in her hands. Deena often bragged about her 8 grandchildren. She welcomed every opportunity to cuddle and sing to them. She was fortunate in life to have five best friends, her sisters, (Sheila, Jolene, Clara, Jennie, & Pennie). Not a day passed that she didnt speak to at least one of them. When all six girls reunited several times a year, Oh... help us all! No husband nor child was safe from the giggling teasing of the ole biddies. They laughed (at our expense) till they cried. Most truly a beautiful thing to witness was the strong bond they shared and their love so great.

Deenas children not only consisted of her four biological but also included several that she took under her wing and loved as if they were her own (Kelsey Stanger, Justin Wallis, Brandy Hill, Dan & Lucy Thieman, Jhovan Ellinger). Suffice it to say, Deenas greatest love in life was family.

Deena was preceded in death by her two loving parents and her little sister Jennie. She is survived by her husband, four sisters, children, grandchildren and several other family members.

She was beautiful. Beautiful for the way she thought. She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful for the ability to make others smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasnt beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She was just beautiful.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 6, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Cedar Draw Ward, 840 W. Midway Street in Filer. A viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, at White Mortuary Chapel by the Park, 136 4th Ave E. in Twin Falls and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral at the church. Burial will be at Twin Falls Cemetery.
With 40 percent of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.

All Idahoans benefit from the clean water, abundant wildlife habitat, recreation and wood and paper products that healthy forests provide, along with many positive economic impacts.

Arbor Day is April 26, a time to celebrate the benefits forests provide us, but also a time to reflect on how forests depend on humans for their continued health through active forest management  the sustainable cycle of harvesting followed by replanting of trees and using fire as a management tool to reduce overgrown vegetation.

There are 21.4 million acres of forests in Idaho. About 10 million acres of federal forests in Idaho are overgrown, unhealthy, and prone to devastating fires.

Impaired forest health conditions and wildfire know no boundaries. As Land Board members, we oversee the management of one million acres of forested state endowment lands. The lands are a gift to Idaho in all they offer. Timber sales on endowment lands generate millions of dollars in revenue for Idahos public schools annually. Sustainable forest management practices ensure these lands will continue to benefit public schools and Idaho citizens for years to come.

However, 94 percent of forested state endowment lands border federal national forests in Idaho. Wildfire, insects, and disease move freely between federal, state, and private lands.

To address the forest health crisis in Idaho and maintain healthy state endowment forests for public schools, we directed the Idaho Department of Lands to work with the U.S. Forest Service, forest industry, conservation groups, and others to help improve forest conditions on a scale that matters.

The recently inked Shared Stewardship agreement recognizes that different land owners  federal, state, and private  need to work together to reduce the risk of fire and infestations of insects and disease in our forests.

The state and federal government are using spatial planning tools to identify, coordinate, and treat priority landscapes across ownerships. The result will be reduced fuels to protect Idaho communities from wildfire, improved forest health, and job creation in the private sector.

We are just getting going with Shared Stewardship in Idaho, but we are anchoring to our success with the Good Neighbor Authority, a related program that encourages collaboration, resource sharing, and a get it done approach to land management.

We all love forests. But most of Idahos forests need to be conserved, not preserved. Active, sustainable forest management is part of conservation. The steps we are taking with your support will ensure our forests are healthy for future generations.

The State Board of Land Commissioners is comprised of Gov. Brad Little, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, State Controller Brandon Woolf, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

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The federal government should meet a high threshold of proving illegal activity when seizing personal property in a criminal investigation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should not be given cart blanche to take an Americanshard-earned and legally-earned moneyand then require the accused to prove the IRS should not have taken it in order to get it back. Unfortunately, there have been reports over the years of the IRS seizing the bank accounts of small businesses making cash deposits of money earned legally and then only returning portions of the accounts after an exhaustive, drawn-out and nebulous investigation. I have pressed for an end to this abuse. Thankfully, progress is being made in making reasonable changes to federal law putting better restraints on the IRS, requiring it to prove criminal intent to seize property.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 was intended to prevent money laundering. It requires financial institutions to report daily cash transactions that exceed $10,000. The problem is some small businesses with legal earnings have been accused of structuring cash deposits to fall below the reporting threshold. Small business owners have been caught up in costly, drawn-out, bureaucratic nightmares to try to get their money returned for deposits of legally earned money. As I have looked into this issue and questioned the IRS about it, I have found that while property owners have the opportunity to challenge the governments evidence in court, this opportunity unjustly comes after the account has already been seized.

For example, at congressional hearings to look into this abuse of small businesses, a Maryland dairy farmer detailed his family farms awful experience with the IRS. The agency seized more than $60,000 from his familys bank account and filed criminal charges after his family made cash deposits from dairy sales. He testified about the difficult and lengthy process to try to get the money returned while trying to keep the farm afloat. Another producer, who grows corn and raises chickens, was investigated by the IRS for cash deposits from sales of produce at farm stands. The farm was left with a zero balance in its bank account when the IRS seized all of the roughly $90,000 in the account. The producer testified that IRS agents told them that after being investigated they may get part of their money back, but they should not expect that to happen quickly. He explained how overwhelming this was during a challenging year stating the seizure left them without money for family living expenses, for their daughters wedding, or to pay the many farm vendors.

This is backward and beyond outrageous. The federal agency should have to prove illegal activity before seizing property. The property owners should not have to prove their innocence to get their property back.

Bipartisan legislation, known as the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, is making its way through Congress. This legislation includes important reforms aimed at curbing wrongful seizures that leave American small businesses in limbo. Among its provisions, the legislation would restrain the IRS from seizing bank accounts of taxpayers for structuring deposits to fall under the $10,000 threshold to avoid reporting requirements unless the funds are from an illegal source or connected to criminal activity. The House of Representatives passed this legislation unanimously by voice vote before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. I look forward to enactment of these much-needed restraints on shameful, federal bureaucracy run amuck.

Mike Crapo represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

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J.R. Strunk Benefit Dinner organizers appreciate community

Thank you to some very special people. On April 20, we held a benefit dinner for J.R. Strunk  with a last minute change of venue. With a few Hail Marys and a lot of phone calls, we got it ready.

Thank you to Greer Copeland for allowing us to use his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on South F Street in Rupert. He and his young men were a blessing. They opened the building, set up the tables and chairs and opened the kitchen for us to use. Then they came and helped tear down and put everything away.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated their wares and gift cards to be raffled off, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle 13-5, all the kitchen help, Adam Fowler for taking care of the riffles to be raffled off, Zeb Bell, Weekly Mailer and Cat Country for advertising our event, Les and Marilyn Wilson  our co organizers, Rupert Veterans Memorial Inc., Penny Schell of the Minidoka County Senior Center and the riders and car clubs that did the awesome drive around the building. Thank you most of all to the public who showed up and contributed to our success. We could not have pulled it off without everyones help.

George and Dona Mas

Les and Marilyn Wilson

Rupert

Wendell schools thank sponsors

Thank you to the sponsors that made the Wendell schools Cinco de Mayo Fiesta a free event for the community: Jesus Hurtado Dairies, Stouder Holsteins, Double A Dairy, Glanbia, Idaho Power Co., Mr. Amigo El Bailador, Lupita La Indomable Madrigal, Payasitos Felices/The Happy Clowns, 208 Photo Booth, Garibaldis, El Tapatio, Washington Federal, Wells Fargo, Simerlys, Advance Restoration, Bunn Insurance, Miller Brothers and Thomas and Darlene Neal.

Wendell schools personnel

Thank you from the ERC

The Environmental Resource Center of Ketchum thanks its sponsors for the Clean Sweep event: KBs of Hailey and Ketchum, Cox Communications, Idaho Mountain Express, Clear Creek Disposal, Atkinsons Market, McLaughlin & Associates Architects Chartered, AlA, Lee Gilman Builders, AC Houston Lumber Company, Clearwater Landscaping, Friesen Gallery, Idaho Lumber and Hardware, Idaho Mountain Builders, Mahoneys Bar & Grill, Perrys, Wood River YMCA, All Seasons Landscaping, Conrad Brothers Construction, Lutz Rental, Rickshaw, Sushi on Second, Trout Unlimited/Hemingway Chapter, Wiseguy Pizza Pie, Dangs Thai Cuisine, Hailey Coffee Company, Johnny Gs Subshack, Starbucks, the Board Bin, the Cellar Pub, and Whiskey Jacques.

Special thanks to Blaine County and the cities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

The Environmental Resource Center staff

Cassia School District Federal Programs appreciates support

Cassia School District Federal Programs would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for their generous support of our fifth annual College and Career Day  Your Future, Your Choices: Packaging Corporation of America, Southern Fabrication Works, Burley Fire Department, First Federal Savings Bank, Fairfield Inn, New Cold, Dow Chemical, High Desert Milk, Landview Fertilizer, Lynch Oil, McCain Foods, Raft River Electric, United Electric, Stotz Equipment, Streamline Precision, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop, Square One Restoration, C3 Customer Contact Channels, Vivent Smart Home, D.L. Evans Bank, Idaho Central Credit Union, Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho Workers Opportunity Network, Intermountain Health Care, ISU Credit Union, Nifty Marketing, Boise State University CAMP Program, Cassia Regional Technical Center, College of Southern Idaho Mini-Cassia Center, College of Southern Idaho, Cosmetology School of Arts and Sciences, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Rocks National Reserve, United States Forest Service, Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center, Community Council of Idaho, Idaho State Police, United States Army, Idaho National Guard and the United States Navy.

We would also like to extend a big thank you to Steffany Wells and the Best Western Burley Inn and Convention Center staff. Without their help and support, this event would not have been possible.

In addition to providing the students of Cassia School District with ideas for college, career opportunities and options, our students will also benefit from the generous donations which helped purchase swag bags and provided door prizes. Thank you: Butte Irrigation, Cassia Regional Hospital, DOT Foods, Lewis Clark State College, Packaging Corporation of America, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop and Square One.

The community support for Cassia schools has been amazing. Please help us continue to thank these businesses by shopping locally. While you are there, thank them for their support of our schools and children.

Kim Bedke, Federal Programs Coordinator

Jeanne Allen, Federal Programs Assistant Coordinator

The Letters of Thanks column will publish letters of up to 200 words from organizations thanking contributors or supporters and individuals thanking public agencies and businesses for extraordinary service. Send letters to letters@magicvalley.com. If you would like to purchase a classified ad to express gratitude of a personal rather than public nature, call the Times-News Customer Service Department.

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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 ...



ENJOY


El 2 de diciembre de 1970, Oscar Arnoldo Rios Maldonado, estudiante de Periodismo de la Universidad de Concepcion y militante del MIR, fue asesinado por un disparo de un integrante la Brigada Ramona Parra del Partido Comunista. Salvador Allende, quien habia asumido la presidencia de Chile el 4 de noviembre, solicita a las direcciones de ambos partidos que logren un acuerdo que impida conflictos que empanen el desarrollo del naciente gobierno. En la foto de izquierda a derecha aparecen Andres Pascal Allende, Luciano Cruz y Miguel Enriquez, quienes aun clandestinos por el caso Osses Santa Maria se presentan en el velorio de Rios que se realizaba en esos momentos en la pinacoteca de la universidad. Al fondo de la foto se puede apreciar el conocido campanil de la Universidad de Concepcion. Foto y texto tomado del muro de Facebook de MARCO BRAVO, 29 de sept 2018 4 Comments 2 Shares 23 Rolando Briones, Matias Salvador Villa Juica and 21 others
Every day, 78 Canadians receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, the most deadly form of cancer in the country. Some of them will have one of the lobes of a lung removed by thoracotomy, a common, but risky surgical procedure that requires months of recovery. However, a less invasive and safer surgical technique exists and could be used more widely.

In a large international clinical study presented at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Moishe Liberman, a thoracic surgeon and researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), and his team showed that thoracoscopic lobectomyvideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)combined with pulmonary artery sealing using an ultrasonic energy device reduced the risk of post-operative bleeding, complications and pain.

Unlike surgery with thoracotomy, which involves making a 25 cm incision in the patient's chest and cutting the ribs, a VATS procedure requires small incisions. A miniature video camera is inserted through one of the incisions. In both types of surgical interventions, there is a risk of bleeding because the branches of the pulmonary artery are very thin, fragile and are attached directly to the heart.

"Thanks to this clinical trial conducted in Canadian, American and British hospitals, we have shown that it is possible to safely seal pulmonary blood vessels through ultrasonic sealing and effectively control possible bleeding during a VATS procedure," explained Dr. Liberman, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Montreal.

Currently, only 15% of lobectomies around the world are performed by VATS, mainly because of the actual risks of major bleeding or surgeons' perception of these risks.

"I truly hope that the results of our clinical trial will reassure surgeons about the technical feasibility and safety of this operation and will encourage them to adopt it. A large number of patients could benefit from it and would be on their feet faster, with less pain," indicated Dr. Liberman.

Next-generation device

After five years of preclinical research at the CRCHUM, trials conducted on animals, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials showing the safety of the surgical intervention, Dr. Liberman's team has recently completed their large international phase 2 clinical trial launched in 2016.

It was able to evaluate the effectiveness of this new technique on 150 patients in eight hospitals across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. 139 of them underwent a lobectomy, while the remaining 11 underwent a segmentectomy (removal of a small part of the lung).

A total of 424 pulmonary artery branches were sealed during the study: 181 using surgical staplers, 4 with endoscopic clips and 239 using the HARMONIC ACE +7 Shears, designed by the company Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson). With a 3-millimetre jaw at its tip, this high-tech "pistol" allows a surgeon to seal blood vessels by delivering ultrasonic energy. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills nearly 1.69 million people around the world every year.

Explore further Revolutionary surgery for lung cancer

More information: "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, www.aats.org/aatsimis/AATSWeb/  9-A-655-AATS-44.aspx
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You can hear some of Montana in the high-decibel drone of "Life Metal," the new album by metal band Sunn O))).

Tim Midyett, of the late indie-rock band Silkworm, plays bass and baritone guitar on the tracks, which were recorded at Electrical Audio, the studio run by fellow Hellgate High School graduate Steve Albini.

Sunn sounds like someone liked the part at the beginning of a Black Sabbath song, where unaccompanied guitar makes a crashing entry, and decided to make that the basis for an expansive new sound.

"It's fairly challenging music to play because the riffs are so long," Midyett said in a phone interview, "and time is kind of indeterminate. It's kind of predicated on whatever happens on a given note, however long you're going to be hanging out on it, so it was challenging for me at first."

The idea of crushing riffs played for extended periods of time, as in 20 minutes long, might sound inaccessible, but the record was named "best new music" by Pitchfork and premiered on NPR's First Listen series, where it was described as "joyous" in its own way, which might become clear after you adjust to the density.

"If you're a musician or you have a certain appreciation of experimental art or whatever," Midyett said, then you'll recognize "there's a depth of character to it."

*

Midyett grew up in Missoula and played in a local art-rock band called Ein Heit. His next group, Silkworm, headed to Seattle and then Chicago, where they recorded a succession of albums with engineer Steve Albini, whose credits include classics like Nirvana's "In Utero" and the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa." Albini's own guitar work with Big Black and Shellac added to his reputation for experimental, abrasive rock.

Midyett has known the main forces behind Sunn since his time in Seattle in the 1990s, and they invited him to record on "Life Metal."

In an email, guitarist Stephen O'Malley said, "Tim's presence not only brought a great sense of spirit," but they also both play Travis Bean aluminum neck guitars, a first in the band's history. He said Midyett's the first person he knew who had one of the guitars, which are no longer made.

The band is named after the manufacturer of their favorite model of amplifier, and the ones used by drone pioneers Earth. The "O)))" is a reference on the amp's logo, and isn't pronounced. The album title, meanwhile, is an in-joke  the term "life metal" was frequently used as a derogatory term in the metal community, and the band members began to make jokes about it.

"If you had to go do your laundry and pick up your robe at the dry cleaners or whatever, that would be doing 'life metal,'" Midyett said.

The band does feel that the name reflects the music on this album, which is "very uplifting" and "expansive" once you've acquainted yourself with the sound, Midyett said.

"Sometimes the playing is aggressive, but the overall experience I think is rather welcoming and enveloping. And I think it encourages reflection and meditation, and a kind of calm state of being in time," he said.

That plays out in different ways live. For instance, O'Malley and fellow guitarist Greg Anderson cue the rest of the band live, when the fog and lights and robes can be an impediment.

"If you're going to hang out on some part of a piece for awhile, that'll be indicated in some subtle way by somebody and then you'll kind of go with the flow and see what's going to happen. A lot of times you can tell by careful listening, when the change is about to happen," Midyett said.

They recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio studio, all to analog tape with very few overdubs. Even string player Hildur Gunadottir was in the room for her parts, such as a long, modern classical section on the album-closer, "Nov."

Midyett said that Albini's often stereotyped as a "noisy rock band" engineer, but "some of the most beautiful records he's made are records that are heavy on acoustic instruments."

For this session, it meant "an awful lot of sound" to capture on tape. "He has decades of experience of doing it, and I think he's only gotten better over time," he said.

In an email, O'Malley said, he thinks "Steves accomplishments on behalf of the recording are self evident in the fidelity and capture of the reality of what the band sounds like at that moment in time. Remarkable isnt the right word, but minimalism, realism and cinematography are all metaphorical terms I have been using lately when discussing this recording."

In an email, Albini said his task "was to somehow make the listening experience at home evoke the sensation of hearing the music in person."

"Beginning each piece, Stephen and Greg would trace out the outline of the structure and then fine-tune the sound of each of their rigs. With a band like this, where so few sounds are present at any one time, each of the sounds needs a voice that can suffer scrutiny, and these two are meticulous about sculpting the density and texture of each chord. They can hear the difference between 2 o'clock and 2.30 on the dial of one of their pedals, and they should be able to hear that same difference in the studio once it's been recorded," he wrote.

During the sessions, O'Malley and Anderson might run their guitars through six to eight amps, some set up in different rooms.

"Any one of those amps might not sound particularly perfect on its own," Midyett said, "but you put the whole thing together and they tweak them so that they're adding up to this huge thing that you could never get out of a single piece of equipment."

Albini said the multiple-amp configuration contributed to the final wall of guitar tones in a few different ways. They can have different pedals and different pickups send to different amplifiers.

"Also, each amp will have a particular breakup character that may be overbearing if the whole signal is breaking up, but as a component of the sound can be invigorating. There's a mode of distortion that Sunn O))) use where the individual notes disappear and you hear the buckling sound of the speakers as a principal voice. Blue Cheer and other heavy bands hint at that sound but Sunn O))) have really made it a trademark. This sound is a product of volume, and strictly speaking is a kind of failure mode for an amplifier. Each amplifier will enter that mode in different ways, and the effect, especially in stereo, can be startling," he wrote in an email.

Over the 70-minute run time, there are plenty of shifts in texture and variations in the sound.

Albini said that "the hack, stock way of thinking about electrical guitars in the studio is that they are unsubtle and don't require careful attention or technique. Stick a mic on there and don't ask too many questions. If I've learned anything over the years it's that guitarists are extremely particular about precisely what their instruments sound like, and doing them justice is as demanding as recording a string quartet or chamber orchestra."

He had to keep track of all those signals and then work in additional instruments like the cello, pipe organ, synth, baritone guitar, and halldorophone, a "self-contained amplified cello that produces feedback and infinite-sustain effects," he said.

In the fall, the band will release a second album, "Pyroclasts," with material from the same sessions. Midyett said they're fairly meditative pieces, in the 11- to 14-minute range, based on a single root note. They were recordings from the beginning or end of a session, "where everyone would gather together and play these things to kind of either wake up and introduce the studio to what was going to happen to it that day, or calm it down," he said.

Midyett, who is on tour with the group, said the new albums are the closest to the live Sunn experience yet. "It's essentially impossible to replicate that unless you have a really big stereo, and even then you're not going to have a bunch of people in robes and fog, probably in front of you, unless you hire somebody."

O'Malley and Anderson tune their lowest guitar string down a fifth from standard tuning, and which means it's lower than the famously heavy riffs on Sabbath records. They often have 15 amps on stage, with O'Malley and Anderson running their guitars through three Sunn amps, plus one more. Another member, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, plugs his Moog synthesizer in three amps. Steve Moore runs his synthesizers through several Fender amps (and plays trombone), and Midyett plays through two amps.

He estimates that it adds up to about 3,200 watts on stage. "The technical rider is very detailed, with particular focus on being able to source enough current to keep everything up and running," he said. Sound tech Chris Fullard is "super important to the whole thing coming off properly," and so is Anne Weckstrom's pink-and-blue lighting and fog design. "The fog is kind of a great leveler. It can transform any space you're in," he said.

O'Malley said the overall sonic experience to be "a kind of spiritualism in my life."

"Id hesitate that the band has a unified philosophy as far as being inside the group as there are very distinct and different characters involved, with vastly differentiating points of view, tastes, tendencies, beliefs and lifestyles, but also vastly compatible and amenable ones as well. And these change all the time. We get together for the glory of being able to be part of the greater phenomena of sound of the O))) rather than individual philosophies, but those philosophies are all welcome inside of this."

*

Regarding the music itself, Midyett's been able to "live in the riffs for awhile, so I'm used to it."

He compared it to playing improvisational jazz, combined with modern composition, in which they have to listen closely and read the moment.

"There's a map, and the map is there and you have to know what the map is, but you can wander quite a bit as a group. It's a pretty wide trail. As long as you're going together, or if you going to go against things, you're doing it intentionally," he said.

With such long sustained notes, it adds a degree of difficulty.

"You might be living with whatever you do for awhile. So if you hit a wrong note, and you don't get it right, you've got to figure out a way to adapt whatever you did to make it work, but ideally you want to hit them right in the first place," he said.

The set, which can last for a couple of hours, is paced as one continuous piece of music, with several long songs stitched together through interstitial drones, which he compared to a monolith that you can view from multiple angles.

He said it's all of a piece, and that "a lot of art that's any good has a kind of fractal quality to it, where you can break it down to smaller subsections of the whole and it still maintains its integrity somehow," he said. "People have analyzed Jackson Pollock paintings and you look at a square inch of a Jackson Pollock painting and then it has the same compositional qualities as the whole thing has, and that's the reason you and me can't go drip-paint all over something and make it look like a Pollock."

He feels the same about the sound O'Malley and Anderson have created with Sunn, where any short section of the set is carefully considered. "But in terms of the texture of it, they're kind of the only band in the world that sounds like that," he said.

Midyett's band, Mint Mile, just finished a double album with a fall release planned. It's called "Ambertron," a word he coined himself. He likes music that tries to capture a feeling, impression or thought and presents it in a form that allows you to re-live it, although it might be slightly different, something preserved in amber. The "tron" part comes from Greek word for an instrument.

"I think bands are kind of machines for doing that," he said.

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Hotter, drier summers. More wildfires and smoke. Additional flooding. Lower stream flows with higher water temperatures. Shorter ski seasons.

Welcome to what could be Missoulas future.

A draft Vulnerability Assessment on what the greater Missoula area might be like by 2050, based on climate projections paints a disturbing picture. Despite that, two authors of the study are upbeat, noting that now that the community has identified potential impacts, its residents can prepare and work on strategies and solutions.

Climate change is such an overwhelming issue. But when people dive in and start to understand the local effect, they can start to think about what approach we can take so its not so depressing that we want to run away, said Amy Cilimburg, executive director of Climate Smart Missoula. It is sobering and a lot to take in, but the Vulnerability Assessment should lead to helping people feel motivated and figure out what to do.

Diana Maneta, the energy conservation and sustainability coordinator for Missoula County, adds that they learned a lot in creating the report, which used input from more than 100 local stakeholders ranging from agriculture to public health sectors.

The report is based on a workshop that brought together the stakeholders, many of whom I knew nothing about, Maneta said. It was interesting to learn about the impacts to these stakeholders.

The Vulnerability Assessment is the product of collaboration among Missoula County, the city and Climate Smart Missoula. Its part of the Climate Ready Communities: Building Resiliency in Missoula County initiative, an 18-month climate resiliency planning process that started last summer.

The new document, which was unveiled on Friday, comes on the heels of a Climate and Community Primer, which included three mid-century climate scenarios that illustrated a range of possible futures Missoula County could face within 30 years. That document was released in December.

The climate projections presented in the primer suggest that Missoula County is likely to experience hotter, drier summers; warmer, wetter springs; decreased low-elevation snowpack, and earlier spring runoff, the Vulnerability Assessment notes. We are already beginning to see the impacts of these changes. The conditions that led to our 2017 fire season and the 2018 flood season are likely to become increasingly common in the coming decades.

Addressing more frequent and intense wildfires, with the potential loss of lives, is probably the greatest climate-related change for Missoula city and county emergency services. The report notes that rural parts of the county are served by a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, whose departments already are understaffed and shrinking. With more people building homes next to forested wildlands, those limited resources are expected to be increasingly strained.

For instance, the Missoula City-County Health Department recommended evacuating the entire town of Seeley Lake in 2017 due to wildfire smoke, and there may be an increased need for such evacuations in the future.

The reports note that these and other impacts may be wide ranging. People could experience more health problems and increased health care costs due to smoke from wildfires. Water supplies could become unreliable due to drought. Business revenues could drop as tourism declines due to smoke, fires and floods. Forests could change to grasslands. Crops could be damaged from more intense rains and early or late freezes.

The report adds that its important to keep in mind that although the risks are described one by one, in the coming decade, the Missoula community may experience impacts concurrently, like wildfire smoke combined with higher temperatures. They also could come in quick succession, with heavy precipitation and flooding in the spring followed by dry conditions and wildfires in the summer. That will make dealing with them even more challenging.

Yet even as the local results to a worldwide problem are daunting, Cilimburg said theyre not insurmountable.

We need to think about mitigation to reduce carbon pollution and our carbon footprint. Everyone needs to do it, she said. We also have some time to adapt to changes that already are here and those that are coming. This Vulnerability Assessment is part of the process of us understanding the risks, prioritizing those risks and impacts, and deciding which really are the most crucial to develop strategies to deal with them.

The report also notes that warmer weather may have positive impacts on Missoula Countys agricultural sector. It could increase the length of the growing season, creating opportunities for new crops such as stone fruits, grapes, melons and corn. Those extended growing seasons also could benefit alfalfa and hay producers by allowing for additional cuttings.

Two informal workshops, where the public can provide input on the draft and gather feedback, are set for this month. One will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, and the other is noon to 1:30 p.m. May 16.

Both events will take place in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse Annex at 200 W. Broadway. People can also provide input online at missoulaclimate.org/resiliency-planning.

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Even back in 1966, a University of Montana graduate student talked about preserving Native American languages, in this case the names of edible and medicinal plants used by residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

"As knowledge of my study became known on the reservation, many curious and interested Indians asked me if I had collected various plants or told me of different uses for plants which I already had," wrote Ron Stubbs in his master's degree thesis. When possible, he had at least two people identify each plant. "  My informants  expressed an intense desire to make sure that I recorded information concerning each plant correctly."

This year, prompted by a UM faculty member, Montana lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

"Montana is the home to 13 different Indigenous languages," said associate professor Rosalyn LaPier in an email. "Folks like me and others at UM work on the national and international stage to strengthen policies regarding (Native American) languages."

In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly made a proclamation declaring 2019 a time to support Native languages, which the UN noted "play a crucial role in our lives."

"They are not only our first medium for communication, education and social integration, but are also at the heart of each persons unique identity, cultural history and memory," said the UN proclamation.

LaPier requested the 2019 Montana Legislature's American Indian Caucus take up a resolution in support of the UN proclamation, and legislators adopted the statement partly to "draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages."

The joint resolution was introduced by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder; Rep. Jade Bahr, D-Billings; Rep. Barbara Bessette, D-Great Falls; Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula; Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning; Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, D-Crow Agency; and Rep. Marvin Weatherwax, D-Browning.

"The 66th Legislature is committed to the continued preservation of tribal languages in Montana and urges all state agencies to take appropriate steps, when applicable, to support the preservation, revitalization and promotion of these valued languages and cultures."

Higher visibility

Kelly Webster, chief of staff for UM President Seth Bodnar, said in an email the campus stands behind the legislation.

"The UM family celebrates the signing of this joint resolution in support of the United Nations proclamation of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages," Webster said. "UM faculty and students have long been leaders in revitalizing, preserving, and strengthening indigenous languages and cultures, work that enriches our campus, our state, our country, and our world."

Native American language preservation is recently more visible on the UM campus. Last month for Arbor Week, LaPier said Environmental Studies interns added Salish names to local tree tags, such as satqp for Ponderosa pine.

In January, LaPier herself participated in a gathering at Harvard University as an invited speaker to discuss the National Coalition of Native American Language Schools and Programs, an organization she helped found. She said this week that people often consider Native language and Native knowledge as separate entities, but that's not the case.

"Those things are really deeply connected," LaPier said. "  That's something I teach at UM, how those things are connected. And when you are revitalizing or even saving an indigenous language, you're also saving that community's indigenous knowledge, which is connected to their ecological knowledge and their environmental knowledge."

LaPier is an indigenous writer and ethnobotanist in Environmental Studies at UM, and she said the flagship has worked hard toward Native language preservation.

"University of Montana is one of the leaders in promoting and preserving Native American languages on the national stage," said LaPier, also an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Metis.

The joint resolution notes the Montana Secretary of State will provide copies of the legislation to recipients including the secretary general of the United Nations, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., each tribal government on the seven Montana reservations and Little Shell Chippewa tribe, and the Montana governor.

Please sign up on Missoulian.com to subscribe to Under the M, the weekly email about the University of Montana and higher education news in Montana.

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NorthWestern Energy issued a warning Wednesday that scammers are targeting Montana customers, threatening immediate utility shut offs unless payment is made.

The company says customers have reported that they have received a call in which a recording instructs the customer to call a 1-800 number to avoid having their utility service interrupted.

Customers who called the phone number report that the person who answers the call demands immediate payment.

The scammers appear to be calling utility customers throughout Montana.

NorthWestern says it does not call customers and demand immediate payment of past-due bills. The utility will provide multiple past-due notices before terminating service.

If you get a cancellation notification, the company recommends dialing the customer service number on your utility bill to verify the notification. NorthWestern never asks customers to use a prepaid debit card for payment.

NorthWestern Energy has reported the scam and the phone number being used to authorities.

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Custos Media Technologies runs a unique blockchain-based anti-piracy product, which leverages the immutability of public blockchains and game theory to curb incidents of piracy.

Custos cofounder Fred Lutz told MyBroadband that the companys technology functions by encouraging pirates to anonymously rat out their compatriots  with a Bitcoin reward up for grabs.

While at the forefront of blockchain technology, Custos was founded in Stellenbosch, South Africa  once again showing that the country can be the home of world-first developments.

Great adoption

The great thing about building on global platforms like Bitcoin and AWS means we were global from day one, Lutz told MyBroadband.

Our first customer was the foremost film distributor in South Africa, Indigenous Film Distribution. They are very forward-looking and jumped on the opportunity to increase the security of their customers content.

Custos has applied its piracy protection to over 350,000 movies across the film industry, and it has seen a dramatic reduction in piracy since it entered the market.

In South Africa, for example, about 60% of films were pirated before we entered the market  it is notoriously bad for piracy, Lutz said.

We have not had a single leak from any of the movies we protected since.

And its not as if the pirates left  there have been two cases where our internal web crawler picked up pirated copies of movies that we protected well before they were in the market.

Custos contacted the customers and in both cases a single unprotected DVD copy was sent out to a reviewer that insisted on it. Needless to say, they refused to send any DVDs following that.

The company has also been contracted by one of South Africas biggest universities to protect the content that goes through their learning management platform.

Based in South Africa

Lutz said that the physical distance of South Africa from the rest of the world can be a challenge for companies with international clients, but they have managed to overcome this obstacle.

We now have customers in Hollywood, Atlanta, New York, Canada, the UK, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, Norway, and even Trinidad and Tobago. We also protect just about all major movies in South Africa, Lutz said.

Id say the biggest issue is the flights, he said, adding that time zone differences also impact working hours.

Lutz said another big issue has been raising venture capital in South Africa, noting that while the local industry is developing at an exciting pace, there are still few early-stage deep tech investors locally.

Luckily, Custos was able to source funding from TIA, Stellenbosch University, local angel investors, and US-based firms.

This was coupled with exchange controls in South Africa, Lutz added.

Youd think that the government would be happy about money flowing into the country, but the expected time for funds to be cleared into South Africa through the Reserve Bank is eight weeks. Show me a startup for which an eight-week knock to cash flow is easy to weather.

Blockchain in SA

Lutz said that South Africa is a powerhouse for blockchain innovation, which he ascribes to early adopters, a general distrust for the government, and good tech talent.

This access to great engineers and talent, in general, has been a very big plus for building a blockchain startup in South Africa, Lutz said.

The lower cost of living locally has also helped the team develop their technology for a fraction of what it would have cost to do in the United States, Lutz added.

Now read: The one thing IT professionals like more than money
Eskoms power generation woes mean that it may be time to look to alternative energy sources that can assist in keeping the national power grid running.

This is particularly important given the monumental failure that has been South Africas two newest coal plants  Medupi and Kusile.

One possible alternative energy source is wind energy, with wind turbine generators currently providing 2020 MW of operational capacity to the grid.

South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chair Mercia Grimbeek explained to MyBroadband how wind energy offers great potential in South Africa.

No need for nuclear

Grimbeek said that according to the current draft update of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which serves as the governments long-term energy plan, there is no need for any new nuclear power to be added to South Africas grid.

Instead, Grimbeek said, the country can reduce its reliance on coal plants by using other clean forms of power such as wind power, which is expected to constitute 15% of installed power capacity by 2030.

Government has, to an extent, embraced renewables, which have gained traction in other parts of the world as countries recognise this economically sound means to combat climate change, said Grimbeek.

She added that while wind power has the potential to provide even more grid capacity than the planning current foresees, SAWEA recognises that issues of social and economic development are as important as successful energy transition.

The feasibility of wind power

Grimbeek said that wind and solar are the two fastest power generation systems to deploy, as it takes just 1-2 years as opposed to 10+ years for coal and nuclear plants.

As a result, said Grimbeek, these generation methods are ideally suited to assist Eskom in dealing with the current energy crisis.

Operational wind power has avoided lots of additional load shedding and additional diesel burn, and more of them will avoid more, said Grimbeek.

Grimbeek added that wind is often available during the evening hours of the day, which is the time of day with the highest demand. This means that wind power is particularly well-suited to helping Eskom deal with peak energy usage periods that are most likely to otherwise necessitate load-shedding.

Outside of reducing the threat posed by load-shedding, Grimbeek said that other benefits of wind power include:

Low cost power generation.

Construction that happens on-budget and on-time while creating jobs.

Advancing the transformation agenda.

Attracting foreign direct investment.

Contributing to national emissions reduction targets.

The value of wind energy is evident in the fact that it is one of the fastest growing sources of electricity, while also being one of the cleanest and safest means of generating power.

The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other research institutes have conclusively demonstrated that the option of new wind, solar PV and flexible generation capacity in South Africa delivers the least-cost electricity price trajectory in the years ahead to 2050 and beyond, as well as least water consumption, lowest carbon emissions and the most jobs, added Grimbeek.

The department of energys plans for wind power

Grimbeek highlighted that the Department of Energy, in its Draft IRP 2018, has outlined its cost-optimised path for the South African electricity sector.

According to this scenario, wind would be the largest source of electricity by 2040. The DoE foresees 12 GW of wind by 2030, 38 GW by 2040 and 50 GW by 2050.

The DoE however omitted three key disruptions in its IRP2018: batteries, electric vehicles, and flexibility on the demand side, added Grimbeek.

All three factored in, wind will reach 18 GW by 2030, 57 GW by 2040 and 75 GW by 2050.
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AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CALVARY CHAPEL NAPA

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets as well on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. Check out our website at calvarynapa.org.

CARMELITE MONASTERY

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. Confession Days for English and Spanish: Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.; 8-9 p.m. First Saturdays: Confessions at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. 944-2454. oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING

Services are 9 and 10:30 with Teen Group at 10 and Youth Program at 10:30. Rev Jay's topic is "Springing into Action for the Environment". Path of the Sacred Self Workshop with Ardyce West this Sunday after services at noon. Spanish Meditation Mondays, 7-8 p.m. Course in Miracles on Tuesdays from 6:15- 8:15 p.m. Open Meditation Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. followed by Power of 8 Healing Circles. Three-week Interfaith Series continues Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m. with a Shasta Abbey Buddhism presentation. Spiritual Cinema Night Friday, May 10, features "Barbara Marx Hubbard Tribute: Co-Creative Evolution". Rev Jay's 8 week class Practical Wisdom from Ancient Roots begins Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30-8:45. 1249 Coombs St.; 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase. 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

Congregation Beth Shalom-The Center of Jewish Life in the Napa Valley-Shabbat Worship Services, Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. followed by Oneg Shabbat at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at 9:30. Religious School at 10 a.m.. Join Roy Barush and learn to make Chocolate Babka. At 10 a.m., Shorashim for tots. May 6 at 7 p.m., Women's Wisdom Circle. Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 1455 Elm Street, Napa,; 707-253-7305. www.cbsnapa.org

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Rev. Jesse Larson examines the Gospel of Luke 24: 13-35 this week assisted by Liturgist, Doreen Wilkinson. The text reminds us that when the lonely become our friends, when a stranger is welcomed, when hope is stronger than despair, we will find Jesus walking beside us. Our doors open wide every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome to worship and lead. The Covenant Choir is back, accompanied by Mark Osten, and well sing one of our favorite hymns this week, Here I Am, Lord. Youll find us tucked among the vineyards in north Napa at 1226 Salvador Avenue. Join us for a Cinco de Mayo feast in the fellowship hall after church. Well enjoy good food, friendship, and conversation while celebrating our neighbors. See you Sunday! (707) 255-9426, www.cpcnapa.org.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH

Please join us Sundays at 8:30 or 10 a.m. for a new series about our relationship with the "Stuff of Life". Money-related issues are among the most stressful that we face in life. The wisdom of Jesus offers a helpful guide. Children's programs available during 10 a.m. service. Check out our website for more information -- CrossWalkNapa.org. This year's theme: Love is Bigger, It is Hopeful  whatever we go through, Love is Bigger.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We welcome you to come and experience a Sunday morning at First Christian Church. Be inspired and encouraged by a message from the Bible that you can apply to your daily life. Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. Our Kids Ministry has a great time planned for your kids (babies through 5th graders) We are located at 2659 First Street; www.fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

You are invited to worship with us at First Presbyterian Church - Napa! Sunday, May 5, is Communion Sunday. All are welcome. Our Traditional Service with hymns and choir is at 9 a.m. and our Contemporary Worship Service with Praise Music is at 10:30 a.m. Childcare for newborns to age 4 is available, and The Path (Children's Sunday Schools) is during the 10:30 a.m. service. We invite you to stay and enjoy coffee and refreshments following both services. 1333 Third Street, 707-224-8693; www.fpcnapa.org or Facebook.com/fpcnapa.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY

Grace Church of Napa Valley: Worship service at 10 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 8:45 a.m.; Childrens Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. and Childrens Church at 10 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior High and High School ministry meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036. hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses, there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE

Sunday worship service 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840. The public is welcome.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De La Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Please join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. for Sabbath School and Connection Classes. Stay for the worship service at 11:15 a.m. Our Community Services is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 2110 Seminary St., 252-8552, Napacomm.com, 1105 G St., Napa; 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH

You are invited to worship each Sunday at the Napa Methodist Church at 625 Randolph St. where ALL are welcome. The May sermon series is "Unafraid: Facing Fear with Faith". This Sunday, the Bonner Handbell Choir will play at the 9:30 am worship service and the Fusion Band will play at the 11am service. Keith Calara will preach on "Holiness and Silliness" at both worship services. Our Sierra Service Project Youth are hosting a fundraiser on May 11 and everyone is welcome to enjoy a God's House Band Concert at 4pm and a Bar-B- Que Dinner at 6pm. A good will offering will be requested at both fundraisers. Please call the church at 253-1411 for more information.

NAPA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS)

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. Childrens program available with advance notice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

(See Napa Valley Life Church listing)

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching, and a class is available for children and youth during this service. A Bible study on the Song of Solomon is being held at the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. 1559 Second St., Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH

We welcome you to join us Sunday at 10 a.m. for our morning service! We also welcome Brad Jameson to lead us in the message entitled Loving Others: Eternal Grace Revealed in Love, using the text from 1st John 4:7-12. We will celebrate the Lords Supper. Sunday School for children and childcare also provided. Open forum discussion immediately after refreshments after the service. Napa Valley Community Church is a Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. www.napavalleychurch.org.

NAPA VALLEY LIFE CHURCH

Napa Valley Baptist Church is now Napa Valley Life Church. Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 2303 Trower Ave. for exciting worship, relevant message and a safe and fun childrens program. A well-staffed and trained nursery is provided. Tony Valenti is Senior Pastor. nvlife.org.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN

We welcome all regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, culture, age, etc. All are welcome!

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS

At 9 a.m.: Leaders: Shawna Bynum & Margaret Kelso (What Moves Us: UU Theology #9) An Organic Faith for Our Time William Schultz considers Unitarian Universalist worship services to be places where one learns how to seek, perceive, and touch the Spirit. These practices translate into a willingness to think and act in global and nondualistic ways. What in our religious history and our congregational life shapes and forms our moral values and informs the way we act in the world? Schultz uses word like holy, grace and spirit. 11 a.m: Lessons from a Tuscan Grasshopper Traditional service with Jeanne Foster and Sunday Service Assistant, Jeff Leles. When we use the word diversity, we usually think of the differences among human beings. But the interdependent web, we UUs vow to support, embraces all being, including non-human beings. The little creatures of the world have a lot to teach we big ones if, in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau and Anne Dillard, we will take the time to simply see. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH

All masses are in English. Visitors are welcome. Sunday Mass times: 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday Evening (Vigil for Sunday) 4:30 p.m. Daily mass times: Monday-Friday: 7 and 8:45 a.m.; Saturday: 8:45 a.m. Confession: Saturdays: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Monday-Friday: 6:30-6:50 a.m., Monday-Saturday: 8:15-8:35 a.m. 3700 Lassen St., Napa.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome streets in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH

We start a new series on May 5, Visions of Hope, finding hope in the visions of John in the Book of Revelation. This week we focus on the vision of the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation 5:1-14. Worship at 8:30 (traditional, Communion, Hand Bells) and 10:15 (contemporary, childrens church). All are welcome! (3521 Linda Vista, stjohnslutheran.net)

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY

Worship meetings every Sunday at 9 a.m.  breakfast included! Everyone is welcome and we always include solid Bible teaching. Need something less churchy? Try our 10:30 a.m. Coffee and Conversation time: A Bible study which allows anyone to bring their questions about life, spirituality, and Jesus to the table. Join us for one or both each week. Childrens meetings are available too. The Salvation Army, 590 Franklin Street, Napa. 707-226-8150; Napa.Salvationarmy.Org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY

Sunday, May 5 at the 10 a.m. service, Unity welcomes, Rev. Marjorie Brach, her message is titled,How To Let God Help You: Chapter 1-The Purpose of Living. Her theme: This week, we are beginning a new series based on the Unity Classic Book, How to Let God Help You. This compilation of treasured teachings and writings of Unitys Co-founder Myrtle Fillmore, is full of inspiring and practical ideas for how to live the Truth as we know it. Join us for a wonderful Sunday celebration of living our purpose, of fully expressing the God wisdom that lives within us! Unitys musical director, Lon Eakes, will be performing our Sunday Service music this week. 11:40 a.m.-Forum-After a brief refreshment break, Rev. Marjorie will facilitate a discussion group pertaining to her message. Sunday Service and Forum are held at the historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagan Road (1 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking next to the building. www.Facebook.com/USCNV, www.UnitySpiritualCenterNapa.org 255-6881.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH

This Sunday, May 5, we will have Senior Chaplain of Napa County Lee Shaw as our guest speaker. Come join us at 10 a.m. Sunday for our worship service. We have our weekly Prayer meeting at 9 a.m. in the conference center. The main church building is under repairs and we are meeting in our Sunday School classrooms on the North side of the church. Come join us for coffee, doughnuts, and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sunday School is for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fifth - eighth grades and high school students),and Children's classes "Jesus and Me", (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. Church office hours at Tuesday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; 6619 Yount St., Yountville; 707-944-2179.

Want to have your church included in Worship Notes? Need to update your congregations information? Contact editor Kelly Doren at kdoren@napanews.com or 256-2263.
Heather Hernandez has been the manager of Live Fire Pizza in the Oxbow Public Market for about a year now. Asked about her impressions, she was quick to respond, I am beyond impressed. I dont think I expected it to feel this natural. And the quality  from the food, to the staff to the owners  is amazing.

Thats hardly idle praise. Hernandez is a self described foodie who has spent her career in the hospitality and food industry. Shes seen all sides of the business, from fast casual, to cafe to full service.

Live Fire is actually a blend of all of that, depending on what our guests want. Many people pick up their food to go; others order, get a pager and walk around the market or enjoy Live Fires private patio, and some prefer to sit at the bar for full service.

The delicious and approachable menu, crafted by Liza Shaw (San Franciscos A16, Redd Wood and Merigan Sub Shop), features artisan pizzas, salads, sandwiches and plenty of wine country inspired small plates.

Pizzas, cooked in a brick oven, are charred just enough to give them a full flavor, and to add a little bit of love, as Hernandez puts it.

The mushroom pizza, which is prepared with a bounty of roasted mushrooms, also features ricotta, smoked mozzarella, radicchio, grana, garlic and oregano. Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts? Wait until you try a side of fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, which are roasted in the wood fire oven, quickly fried and then drizzled with lemon, capers, chilies and mint, and you may change your mind. Live Fire offers a carefully curated selection of beers, wines and other beverages.

For Hernandez, Live Fire is all about people. We really listen to our guests. Shes worked in corporate environments, which allow for no deviation from the formula.

Its wonderful here. Were going to remodel the outside patio this summer, largely based on wanting to create a comfier dining environment for all our locals and visitors.

When the owners are in, its to taste product and high five the staff. That really rubs off on the people dining here.

Even the staff is amazing  high energy, creative, willing to do what it takes to make the guest experience completely positive.

Grand re-opening

Antiques on Second, at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets, celebrates new ownership and a remodel on May 18 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Expect a splash, small bites and a great new look for the store. New owner Jennifer Smith, who has been an antique dealer at the site for ten years, said she didnt have to change a lot.

Molly (Silcox, who opened the business 17 years ago) did a great job. Its updated, but we are still keeping the vintage look and feel.

Smith has rearranged vendors and added six new ones. The store is open daily.

See you downtown!

Craig Smith is the executive director of the Downtown Napa Association and also the author of Lies That Bind  How Do You Arrest Somebody Who Doesnt Exist? Reach him at 257-0322 or craig@donapa.com.
Depending on whos describing it, Measure F is either a tool to protect reasonably priced senior housing or an unwelcome government intrusion into a cordial relationship between Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Parks tenants and owners.

St. Helena officials steered a neutral course during Saturdays informational workshop, taking a just the facts, maam approach to a polarizing measure that will be decided by a June 4 special election.

We are Switzerland, said City Manager Mark Prestwich before he and Deepa Sharma, an attorney representing the city, delved into the details of the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO).

A yes vote would enact an ordinance passed by the City Council last November introducing rent stabilization at the citys mobile home parks, of which there is currently only one. A no vote would maintain the status quo at Vineyard Valley, where tenants typically sign a long-term lease with annual rent increases of 3 percent.

Under Measure F, tenants entering into new leases would have two choices: a short-term lease of 12 months or less subject to rent stabilization or a long-term lease with the parks usual rent increases.

Annual rent increases for rent-stabilized leases would be capped at 100 percent of the change in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3 percent of the base rent, whichever is less.

If park owners seek a higher rent increase than the formula allows, they would have to hold informational meetings to explain the reason for the increase  major capital improvements, for example  and engage in mediation with the leaseholders.

If mediation fails, the dispute could end up in arbitration, where an arbitrator would ensure that the park owner receives a just and reasonable return.

Rent increases exceeding 300 percent of the change in CPI would go straight to arbitration once mediation fails. Rent increases of 300 percent or less of the change in CPI would go to arbitration only if 51 percent of the rent-stabilized leaseholders sign a petition for rate review.

The city would pay all related costs (mediation, arbitration, staff time) until 50 percent of the leases opt into rent stabilization. Once that threshold is crossed, the city could charge a fee to the owner, who could pass half of that cost on to tenants.

The ordinance also contains a vacancy control provision. When a unit is sold in place and the new buyer chooses a rent-stabilized lease, the park owner wouldnt be able to increase the rent beyond whats allowed by the rent stabilization formula.

The owner would be able to bring the rent up to market rate if the buyer signs a long-term lease, if theres a termination of a tenancy, if a mobile home is abandoned or removed for reasons other than off-site rehabilitation, or if the owner can establish that an adjustment is necessary for the owner to receive a fair return.

The city will hold another informational workshop about Measure F at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the firehouse.

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19382019

On Monday morning April 29, 2019, Wallace Wally Dean Gray, Jr., devoted husband and loving father, passed away at the age of 80 surrounded by family after an arduous battle with bone cancer. Wally was born on December 22, 1938 in Ohio to Wallace and Clarice (Rogers) Gray, Sr. After his childhood spent in Idaho, Wally went on to receive his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho, then proceeded to earn his license in engineering. He carried on his work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for over 40 years. After retirement, Wally taught computer classes for the Adult Education Program at Napa Valley College.

At the tender age of 19, he met the love of his life, Judith Santina Ramos, in Costa Rica. Despite a language barrier, they fell in love and married on August 29, 1959. They had three children together. When he wasnt attending to his family, he used his time to obtain his pilot license, read numerous books, contemplate physics, and become an avid Star Wars fan and Trekkie. With his children as his accomplices, he occasionally partook in playing practical jokes on his unsuspecting wife. He was known to be a kind, welcoming man who gave great hugs.

In his passing, Wally is now reunited with his parents and his youngest son, Eric. Wally is survived by his wife, Judy; his son Greg and his wife Melissa; his daughter Sue and her husband Ken; his grandchildren Jeanette, Blake and Gianna; and his great-grandchildren Noah, Sariah and Michael.

Services will be held on Friday, May 10th, 2019 at Tolucay Cemetery on Coombsville Road at 11 a.m. with a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society.

May the Force be with you.
Chad Frazier thinks theres some special scenery along Highway 128 as it runs by Markley Cove Resort along Lake Berryessa in remote, eastern Napa County.

Were quintessential California, said Frazier, the resort general manager. Were the oak trees and poppies and lupine at this time of year  were kind of this hidden gem up here that people dont know about.

California could help spread the word. Highway 128 might someday have the blue signs with the orange poppies that mark official California scenic highways.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, is trying to open the door to a designation. Her Assembly Bill 998 would make Highway 128 eligible for scenic highway status, though not bestow the honor in-and-of itself. It recently passed the Assembly and now moves to the Senate.

As a designated scenic highway, Highway 128 will promote tourism and enhance local pride in the region, Aguiar-Curry said in a press release.

Highway 128 is about 140 miles long. It runs from Highway 1 near the misty Pacific Ocean in Mendocino County east through Sonoma, Napa and Yolo counties before ending at Interstate 505 at Winters near walnut orchards in the hot Sacramento Valley.

Thats the big picture. Theres also the smaller, Napa County picture.

The highway enters the western county near Calistoga, travels northern Napa Valley on a shared route with Highway 29 through St. Helena, cuts across wine country, then heads into eastern mountains past Lake Hennessey. It leaves the county near Monticello Dam, that 300-foot-tall, Lake Berryessa-creating concrete monolith blocking Putah Creek at Devils Gate.

Highway 128 has more than the scenic beauty of oak-covered hills and sprawling vineyards, according to Assembly Bill 998.

There are also many Michelin star restaurants and world class resorts, from spas to rustic bed-and breakfasts, where drivers can stop and enjoy local cuisine and comforts, the bill said.

California began its scenic highway program in 1963. To be chosen, a state highway must first be on a list of eligible roadways passed by the state Legislature. Napa County already has highways 29, 121 and 221 eligible, though none of them are designated.

Being eligible isnt enough. A local government such as Napa County must prepare a scenic highway proposal that includes a survey of the visual highlights. The proposals must be discussed at a public meeting.

Then the paperwork goes to Caltrans. Once Caltrans accepts the proposal, the local government creates a corridor protection program that details how the scenic views will be protected. Then Caltrans decides whether to designate or not.

That means, if Aguiar-Curry succeeds in making Highway 128 eligible for scenic road status, Napa County must decide whether it wants to complete the effort for the segment within its boundaries.

The county hasnt ignored the idea of scenic roadways. In fact, it has designated 280 miles of scenic roads on its own and tried to protect them from visual intrusions with its viewshed ordinance. Among them is Highway 128.

But Napa County has never taken those extra steps that would bring official state designation and those official poppy signs.

Historically, the county has refrained from seeking official state designation due to concerns about maintenance and improvement costs, the county general plan says.

The general plan doesnt detail the nature of the costs. A Caltrans report gives an example, saying counties are responsible for installing and maintaining those scenic highway signs with the poppy logo at three-to-five mile intervals and at important intersections.

Could Napa County have a change of heart in the case of Highway 128 if Aguiar-Currys bill passes the Senate and wins Gov. Gavin Newsoms signature?

Supervisor Diane Dillons district contains much of the Napa stretch of Highway 128. She said she looked at the ramifications and whats involved with state scenic highway designations after Aguiar-Curry asked for her support.

There didnt seem to be a downside, Dillon said.

Meanwhile, a regional push to publicize Highway 128 has resulted in a Highway 128 website. The site features attractions along the route and has web links to tourism groups in all four counties along the route, including Visit Napa Valley. Go to https://www.visit128.com to see the site.

Among the Highway 128 attractions featured on the website is Markley Cove, with its marina, store, launch and cabins on a finger of Lake Berryessas 160-mile shoreline. The Frazier family has operated the resort on federal land for more than 30 years.

Chad Frazier wasnt recently ready to take a position on Assembly Bill 998, given he didnt know the details of what state scenic highway status entails. But he doesnt want the area to be hidden away, adding its tough for people to care about something if they dont know anything about it.

If youve never driven that whole length of 128, that really is a fantastic drive, he said.

Assembly Bill 998 is co-authored by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg and Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa.

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A Napa County jury will soon decide whether a Bay Area man accused of pimping a young woman in her 20s will be found guilty of human trafficking charges.

The case stems from the October 2018 arrest of 28-year-old Kevin Lamarr Lewis. He was arrested at the Motel 6 in Napa after he drove the woman to meet law enforcement officers who had responded to her online prostitution ad. The Napa Special Investigations Bureau, which focuses on human and drug trafficking cases, partnered with the Vacaville Police Department in the sting operation that resulted in his arrest.

The woman involved in this case is not being named in this article because the Napa County District Attorneys Office has identified her as a victim of human trafficking.

Court records show Lewis is charged with seven felonies related to pimping, human trafficking, pandering and witness intimidation. He also faces four misdemeanors related to violating a protective order, obstructing an officer and driving with a suspended license. Judge Rodney Stone presided over Lewiss week-long trial before the 12-person jury of six men and six women.

At the time of his arrest in Napa, Lewis was out on bail after abandoning a court date in Los Angeles a week earlier, law enforcement officials said in court. That court hearing was related to human trafficking charges he faced in Los Angeles after a September arrest that involved the same woman targeted in the Napa arrest.

Prosecutors argue that Lewis and the woman were heading to Los Angeles for prostitution, but Lewis said he invited the woman on the trip for company while he broke into cars.

Los Angeles law enforcement filed a protective order that barred Lewis from contacting the woman. Napa officials have since done the same.

When questioned in court by prosecutor Stephanie Macumber of the DAs Office on Wednesday, the woman claimed she fell in love with Lewis, who encouraged her to return to prostitution after leaving an abusive pimp, then took all of the money she earned from performing sex acts and threatened her. Lewis took the stand Friday afternoon to deny those accusations and claim that he did not know the woman continued to prostitute.

Alleged victim takes the stand

The woman who accuses Lewis of being her pimp said in response to the prosecutors questions Wednesday that she did not want to testify and was subpoenaed. Her family had recently received threatening phone calls and she worried for their safety, she said.

She told the prosecutor that she and Lewis had known each other for years and were introduced through family. They were friends at first, she said, but that changed about six or seven years later when their relationship began to change to one that she described as being more than friends.

She had previous experience with prostitution, but that didnt last long, she said. Her last pimp was physically violent and she left, she said.

She had tattoos on her hand and neck that referred to Lewis, plus another large thigh tattoo that referred to her old pimp. Tattoos can be a way for pimps to brand prostitutes, Macumber said, though the woman said she had received those tattoos before Lewis became her pimp, and Lewis denied forcing her to get the tattoos.

She said he promised her money, nice clothes and a nice car if she prostituted for him, but he kept all of the money she made, she said.

She would place ads for sexual services on the internet, and Lewis would text her to commit sex acts, drive her to dates and wait nearby for her in his Infiniti with paper plates covering the license plate, she said. He would keep her purse while she went on dates, and sometimes keep her phone and delete text messages between the two of them, she said. Lewis denied doing this.

She wanted a regular job, but Lewis discouraged her and said people with regular jobs are squares, she said.

Lewis September arrest in Los Angeles came up several times in court Wednesday when Los Angeles Police Department officials and the woman testified.

Lewis, who said he has been breaking into cars for the past decade and has faced seven or eight related felonies in various counties, maintained he and the woman took the trip to L.A. so that he could break into cars. Los Angeles police returned stolen items found in their car to at least five owners, said Lewiss public defender Andy Rubinger.

The Napa County District Attorneys Office played body camera footage from an arrest in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, when officials say Lewis was apprehended after skipping out on a court hearing for charges related to human trafficking.

The video shows Lewis in a Hogwarts T-shirt and an unzipped black hoodie. Officer Michael Liebe led him into the back of a black-and-white police SUV on a sunny day. The video captures some small talk between Liebe and Lewis while sitting in traffic, on their way to the South-Central Los Angeles police station.

Audio from the footage captures Lewis asking Liebe to let him go and tell officials that he escaped instead.

I got $10,000 for you, bro, Lewis said, before asking the officer to turn off his body camera.

Lewis said Friday that he did not have that much money and had no intention to give the officer any money, but wanted to avoid going to jail.

Lewis tries to clear his name

Lewis said that he met the woman on her 18th birthday. The two began to develop a sexual, noncommittal relationship over the coming months, but fell out of touch until late 2017, when he said they reconnected over social media. He then asked her to accompany him on a trip to Los Angeles so that he could break into cars.

Los Angeles was a better spot to break into cars because frequent car break-ins are featured prominently on Bay Area news, Lewis said. They returned to Los Angeles between five and 10 times for such trips, Lewis said, though the woman did not participate in the car break-ins.

During their September trip to Los Angeles, Lewis said he broke into at least 40 to 50 cars at one point and stole property worth about $2,000. He agreed to drop the woman off to meet with friends since he had already made so much money.

Thats when the woman got arrested after meeting up with an undercover officer.

Lewis said when Los Angeles officers found him later, guns drawn, there were many stolen items in his backseat. He initially thought he left a cell phone turned on and officers had tracked the devices location.

After his arrest, Lewis said he called his girlfriend, who is not the same woman as the alleged victim, to ask her to start gathering bail.

He said he skipped his court date the next month because the bail had been raised to $245,000 from $100,000, he said. Lewis knew it was wrong, but he had about $160, he said.

He headed to catch a Greyhound bus, where he was arrested. Again, Lewis said he called his girlfriend for help pulling together the bail, but she came up $1,500 short. His grandfather agreed to loan him the last sum he needed to be released and the alleged victim said she could give Lewis $1,500 to repay his grandfather, he said.

He texted and called the woman multiple times to no avail, but she eventually answered and agreed to meet with him, Lewis said. Lewis agreed to drive her to meet someone in Napa who he believed to have the $1,500, he said. Thats when the woman and Lewis were arrested at the Motel 6.

He denied that he would drive her to commit an act of prostitution and said he knew the woman had previously been a prostitute, but didnt know whether that continued to be the case, he said. Lewis also said he did not know that the woman had previously accused him of pimping her out.

While Lewis denied the human trafficking charges, he admitted to contacting the woman in spite of protective orders, delaying officers, driving on a suspended license and making phone calls in jail, in spite of a judges order that he could only contact his four-year-old son.

The trial resumes Monday, when closing arguments are expected to be made.

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Napa Valley College will host a campus housing forum on Wednesday, May 8, in the Community Room 1731 on campus. Members of the public are invited to drop in any time from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with presentations at set times during the day.

The college recently implemented a feasibility study on campus housing to determine if there was a true demand for housing, and if so, what NVC's specific needs would be.

This is the publics opportunity to learn more about the process and weigh in on the feasibility study. The Community Room at Napa Valley College will be open to the public all day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that people can review materials and post comments and questions.

The college's vendor, the Scion Group, will make three presentations at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m and also be available for questions throughout the day.

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Anyone whos visited the Oxbow Public Market on a weekend or downtown Napa on a Friday night can attest to the number of tourists making Napa a destination.

The statistics back it up.

In 2018, the Napa Valley welcomed 3.85 million visitors who spent $2.23 billion, said a new report from Visit Napa Valley. To compare, the 2016 report said visitors spent $1.9 billion in Napa Valley.

On Friday, Visit Napa Valley released the 2018 Napa Valley Visitor Industry Economic Impact and Visitor Profile reports, with results of a yearlong research study conducted by Destination Analysts.

According to Visit Napa Valley, nearly 70 percent of the $2.23 billion is generated from overnight hotel guests, who spent an average of $446 in Napa County per guest, per day.

The $2.23 billion spent in 2018 represents $85.1 million in tax benefit to residents, said the report. Taxes generated by the visitor industry include revenues from the transient occupancy tax (TOT), sales taxes and property and transfer taxes paid on lodging facilities.

The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County (after the wine industry), supporting the livelihood of an estimated 15,872 people in the community, with a combined payroll of $492 million, said the report.

The tourism industry continues to provide a significant positive impact to Napa Valleys economy, while also supporting local initiatives essential to the well-being of our community, said Linsey Gallagher, the new president and CEO for Visit Napa Valley.

As residents, we sometimes overlook the ancillary benefits that visitor spending achieves. Napa Valleys healthy and vibrant tourism industry contributes to the quality of life that we are so fortunate to enjoy. We live and work in one of the most desirable destinations in the world.

Direct visitor spending within Napa County increased 15.4 percent since 2016, outpacing visitor growth of 8.9 percent in the same time period, said the report.

Our goal is to maintain and increase travel and spending in the Napa Valley during nonpeak time periods, including November through April (Cabernet Season) and midweek, Sunday through Thursday nights, said Gallagher.

The city of Napa generated more than $21.6 million in TOT in 2018 followed by $6.9 million in Yountville, $3 million in St. Helena, $6.2 million in Calistoga and more than $1.5 million in American Canyon.

Revenue from tourism allows local government to invest in services and programs that benefit all residents, including infrastructure improvements, civic amenities and public safety, said Gallagher.

Additionally, tourism creates demand for a diverse range of goods, services, and cultural programs that are available for both residents and visitors to enjoy, she said.

In 2018, Visit Napa Valley rallied the support of the hospitality industry and other leaders to pass a voter supported 1 percent increase in TOT for a special fund dedicated to workforce housing in five out of six jurisdictions. Approximately $5 million will be collected annually to promote future housing development for residents, said Visit Napa Valley.

Napa Valleys second largest industry

In 2018, tourism put an estimated 15,872 people to work in the community providing a combined payroll of $492 million to support their families, reported the data.

This represents an employment increase of 18.1 percent from 2016 and a 27.2 percent increase in combined payroll in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the majority of hospitality jobs are related to either restaurants or hotels. Since the last survey in 2016, three hotels - Las Alcobas, Vista Collina and Archer Hotel Napa - opened, along with four smaller inns with 10 rooms or less.

Overnight guests versus 'day trippers'

More than one-third, or 35.5 percent, of visitors in 2018 stayed overnight in the Napa Valley, while the remaining 64.5 percent were on day trips.

In total, 80.7 percent of overnight visitors stayed in a hotel within Napa Valley and 12.4 percent stayed in a private residence.

Compared to the 2016 study, overnight visitation grew 13.7 percent in 2018 with day trip visitation growing 5.3 percent, supporting Visit Napa Valleys mission to inspire visitors to extend their stay by experiencing the valleys more than 125 hotels, motels, and inns, said the release.

Hotel guests in 2018 were responsible for $1.55 billion in direct visitor spending, or an average of $446 per person, per day, compared to an average of $170 per person, per day spent by day-trippers. This represents a 15.4 percent increase in spending from 2016.

The largest proportion of day trip visitors originated their trip from San Francisco, followed by Vallejo-Fairfield, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

How much visitors spend

The largest component of visitor spending in 2018 was on retail, which accounted for 40 percent of all spending, or $746 million, reported Visit Napa Valley.

The second and third largest components of Napa Valley visitor spending included restaurants at $479 million and lodging at $476 million. Group meetings, weddings, and social events generated $267 million in direct spending in Napa Valley.

How often they come back

The Napa Valley draws a substantial amount of repeat visitation, with the average visitor in 2018 making 3.6 trips to the Napa Valley in the past twelve months (compared with 2.9 trips in 2016). In total, 88.1 percent of respondents said that they were very likely or likely to return to the Napa Valley.

Why they visit

Visitors stated the primary reason for visiting the Napa Valley was for a getaway or vacation, representing 71.8 percent of all visitors. Wedding or special events represented 11.3 percent of visitors and a conference or business travel represented 5.8 percent of visitors.

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For the last few decades, Californias largest utilities and the states Public Utilities Commission have conducted an elaborate kabuki-style dance every two or three years, whenever the utilities applied for general rate increases.

Now the amounts at stake in these dramatic farces are rising to absurd levels, with all three of the states big privately-owned utilities suddenly asking that shareholders get rates of return on investment approximating what they could net from risky junk bonds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the largest of these, asked in late April to increase shareholder returns from about 10 percent to 16 percent, essentially trying to reward itself and its investors for negligence that led authorities to hold it largely responsible for two huge blazes in less than a years time. Southern California Edison, No. 2 in state electricity sales, is gunning for a leap from 10.3 percent to just under 17 percent, while San Diego Gas & Electric seeks a jump from around 10 percent to more than 14 percent.

Customers around the state would pay an extra $11 to $12 per month for these ill-gotten rewards, if the PUC grants them. Add in the approximately $2 each company will seek to get in increased profits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the added tab goes to about $14 per month for the average customer.

This mere concept outraged Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opined of PG&Es bid for 16 percent that Theyre not going to get it, periodIts jaw-droppingly wrong.

Newsom, unlike his long-serving predecessor Jerry Brown, at least wants to protect consumers. Trouble is, while he can appoint new PUC members, he cant fire anyone on the commission once theyve been confirmed by the state Senate for six-year terms. So Newsom wont make the vital upcoming decisions; holdover Brown appointees will do that.

It appears these cases will proceed in the old-fashioned way, via a Japanese-style kabuki-like charade. If past is prologue, it will work this way: After months of public hearings and massive paper filings, the utilities will get something above current profit rates on facilities and equipment, but less than theyre asking. The PUC will brag about its toughness, while the utilities cry all the way to the bank  or to Wall Street investment houses. As with an elaborately acted out and costumed kabuki dance, everyone in the cast and audience knows this outcome in advance.

The utilities say they must offer shareholders junk-bond level payouts to draw investors while their corporate futures are in doubt due to fire responsibility and liability. Virtually all fire-related lawsuits against the companies have not yet been decided or settled, but the firms are desperate to protect themselves.

We are having to make significant investments to harden the grid and make it more resilient to wildfire, one Edison executive told a reporter. To attract the capital, we need (for this), we need a return on investments that reflects the operating risks we have today.

As usual, the big utilities expect customers already paying some of the highest rates in America to foot the bill. Employees are not being dunned, no matter how negligent. Just customers, most of whom live nowhere near fire areas and will get no new benefits for their higher rates.

Essentially, these companies seek to deflect responsibility for their actions or lack of action away from management and ownership and onto consumers.

No matter what Newsom says, theres little reason to suspect the PUC will act differently from how it predictably has in the past, rewarding utility ineptitude and error with increased revenues.

Rather than sticking with that course, the better path for state regulators would be to cut rates and punish the utilities for their cavalier attitude about past errors.

This could encourage formation of more publicly-owned Community Choice Aggregations, which already supply power to dozens of cities and counties around the state, and are answerable to elected officials, and, thus, to voters.

But utility rate cases have long followed the same path. Chances are the new kabuki dance will play out like the old ones, with the big utilities again making out like bandits.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

This is an urgent question in the wake of the latest synagogue attack last week in Poway, Calif., that left one brave congregant dead as she tried to defend her rabbi and three wounded.

A raft of statistics demonstrates the shocking increase in violent extremism by white supremacists over the past three years. That includes near-historic levels of anti-Semitic acts in 2018 and the single deadliest attack against the Jewish community in American history, which killed 11 at Pittsburghs Tree of Life Synagogue six months ago.

Yet rather than denounce radical white nationalism, the president deliberately downplays it, or even excuses it.

His pro-forma denunciation of anti-Semitism hours after the Poway killing came one day after he once again defended the torch-bearing white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

And rather than organize a counterterrorism strategy, the Trump administration has gutted the very federal programs that were set up to deal with this insidious threat.

A number of these programs were run by George Selim, who held senior posts in countering terrorism and confronting domestic extremism under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. He recalled having a budget of more than $21 million under President Obama and 16 employees to develop local strategies to combat and prevent such violence. Now the budget is $3 million and the staff cut by half.

Now a senior vice president for programs of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which closely monitors extremist groups, Selim says the incoming Trump administration was not interested in prioritizing this issue: We certainly saw an emboldening under Trump. At no point in recent memory have we seen a march like Charlottesville with white nationalists from 30 states carrying tiki torches and chanting Jews will not replace us.

The statistics reveal how much has changed for the worse since Trump.

ADLs annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded a total of 1,879 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions across the USA in 2018, the third-highest year on record since ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s. That includes white nationalist banners hung over highway bridges, and flyers distributed on campuses.

ADLs audit also identified 59 people who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017. That includes the record 11 murders at the Tree of Life synagogue, where the killer shouted All Jews must die.

ADL Senior Vice President Eileen Hershenov told a congressional hearing: White supremacists in the United States have experienced a resurgence in the past three years, driven in large part by the rise of the alt-right. There is also a clear corollary ... to the rise in polarizing and hateful rhetoric on the part of candidates and elected leaders.

Another grim statistic: White supremacists, Hershenov noted, were responsible in 2018 for 78 percent of all extremist-related murders.

In the Trump era, radical white nationalists have taken full advantage of social media. Racist and anti-Semitic white nationalist rhetoric and manifestos, filled with particular catch phrases and memes, spread across borders via the internet and hate-filled internet chat rooms, such as 8chan or Gab. For example, the Poway shooter cited as his inspiration the manifesto of the New Zealand killer who shot dead 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch.

The language these white nationalists use often conflates fear of replacement  whites being replaced by minorities, especially Muslims  with claims that international Jewry is facilitating such replacement. Example: the Tree of Life killer claimed, falsely, that American Jewish financier George Soros was funding the migrant caravans on Americas southern border. Thus, this mad murderer justified killing Jews.

When President Trump whips up hysteria over migrant caravans on Americas southern border, when he refuses to denounce the torch-bearers at Charlottesville, he is viewed by white supremacists as signaling his approval.

When Trump hinted last fall that the caravans were funded by George Soros, he only confirmed the conspiracy theories of the alt-right.

The New Zealand killer wrote that he saw Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.

Unfair? If Trumps unremitting winks and nods at white nationalists are not meant as approval, he can easily prove it. He need only denounce white supremacists violence publicly.

He needs to devise an overarching policy to deal with these issues, says Selim. Trumps actions dont match his strong words about condemning anti-Semitism.

There is plenty he can do. The ADL has a list that includes revitalizing agencies working against hate crimes and strengthening laws against perpetrators of online hate.

Most important, Id add, is for the president to stop yellow lighting white supremacists who support him and who blame Jews, Muslims, blacks, and immigrants for all their problems.

How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If you've ever seen a horse break a leg and go down on a racetrack, you'll never forget it. Sometimes the injured animal will get up and try to run with the limb dangling below the break.

Tracks have become adept at hiding this horror. A vehicle follows the Thoroughbreds in every race, and when a horse goes down, huge fabric screens are pulled from the truck and quickly erected between the horse and the people in the stands.

But it's not the spectators who need protection -- it's the horses.

That became clear this year when a public that has grown intolerant of racing's cruelty erupted in outrage after 23 Thoroughbreds died at Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles between December and April. In response, Santa Anita officials took unprecedented steps to prevent further carnage and enacted rules to protect horses. This was a good first step, and so far, no more horses have died.

But the changes must not stop here. The Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown season will be haunted by those 23 horses -- and thousands of others who have died -- unless the entire racing industry does away with the worst forms of abuse immediately. All 38 racing states should ban all medications in the two weeks before a race, ban trainers with multiple medication violations, stop pushing very young horses beyond their capacity, end whipping, and switch to high-quality synthetic tracks, which are known to be safer.

Even that isn't enough, but it's a start. The racing industry must be held accountable for the harm that it has caused.

Broken bones should never have become business as usual. But the more than two dozen horses who die on tracks every single week in the U.S. have been sold out by an industry that puts speed and winning above decent care.

While several factors may contribute to a horse's leg snapping, evidence from thousands of necropsies of Thoroughbreds overwhelmingly shows that most horses who break legs have been recently injured. In other words, unfit horses are being forced to train and race when they should be recuperating.

These horses don't appear sore because they're given a constant cocktail of medications that mask injury. They feel OK because they've got painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, sedatives and other drugs in their bodies. But they're not OK, and sometimes they die.

It made good sense for Santa Anita Park to call for a ban on more than a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs, decrease the allowable limit of medication in a horse's system on race day, mandate inspections of horses for training as well as for racing, require trainers to disclose veterinary and medication records, and more. This is how they can find out if horses are injured and, if they are, allow them to recover fully.

It's also logical to use a synthetic track, which has been proven to be safer; allow horses to develop properly before forcing them to run at high speeds; and get rid of the trainers who think a syringe full of drugs is a prerequisite for every race.

And finally, it's time to stop the whipping. The constant refrain of "we love our horses" coming from the racing community rings hollow when the very animals who supposedly love to race are being beaten to make them run.

Owners, trainers and racetracks, the next move is yours. Do right by the horses.

Kathy Guillermo

Senior Vice President

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
In 1914, at the young age of 18, a young woman crossed the Atlantic, bound for New York City. Anna did not speak a word of English, nor could she read the English alphabet, speaking Hebrew, Yiddish, and some Polish and Russian.

She left her parents, grandparents, and four brothers and sisters behind. In her home country, due to her religion, her family faced persecution, attacks, and discrimination.

Anna passed through Ellis Island carrying the hopes and aspirations of many.

Anna faced many obstacles, eventually finding employment as a seamstress. She worked in a garment sweatshop alongside other immigrants looking to make a living. Over the next few years, Anna was able to send enough money home and bring her parents and all siblings (but one) to join her in NYC.

Leon, the one brother who remained, was blocked from joining his family by the Immigration Quota Act of 1921, designed to limit immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe and Italians from Southern Europe. Leon was trapped.

Twenty years later, having started his own family, Leon died in the Birkenau Concentration Camp.

This is part of the history of my family. It is also the history of so many other families today. There are currently over 65 million refugees in the world, each fleeing grinding poverty and oppression, searching for better lives. The prejudice these refugees face presents insurmountable odds to their finding peace.

Last weekends violent shooting in a synagogue in Poway, California, is an example of where such ideology leads.

When immigrants are turned away at the border or deported into dangerous situations, we are all harmed. When we allow the concept of the other to support prejudice, we lessen our own humanity.

Elie Wiesel, the author and Holocaust survivor, said that: We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

At Blue Oak, we welcome all, creating a safe place to learn, connect, and act. But we know that the problems of the world still deeply affect many of our Blue Oak families. Therefore, two years ago, we enacted this Board Immigration Policy to protect our community.

On this anniversary of the Holocaust, what else can we all do to make our world a better place?

Dan Schwartz

Head of School

Blue Oak School
Dollar still losing value in Armenia

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NEWS.am daily digest: 23.12.21

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59 N. Ogden St., #5. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Speer?

According to Walk Score, this Denver neighborhood is quite walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and has good transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Speer is currently hovering around $1,295.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

59 N. Ogden St., #5

Listed at $1,340/month, this 595-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 59 N. Ogden St., #5.

In the apartment, you can expect a dishwasher, granite countertops and air conditioning. The building has on-site laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are allowed. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

619 Logan St., #406

Next, there's this apartment situated at 619 Logan St., #406. It's listed for $1,335/month for its 492 square feet of space.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking, outdoor space and a fitness center. In the unit, expect a dishwasher, air conditioning and in-unit laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. There's no leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

636 Pearl St.

Here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 636 Pearl St. that's going for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts on-site laundry, assigned parking and storage space. Pet owners, you're in luck: this spot allows cats and dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

Story continues

77 S. Ogden St.

Lastly, check out this 414-square-foot studio that's located at 77 S. Ogden St. It's also listed for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher, a balcony and carpeted floors. The building features a fitness center, a swimming pool, a residents lounge and outdoor space. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are permitted here. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
1218 Walnut St., #306. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Washington Square?

According to Walk Score, this Philadelphia neighborhood is a "walker's paradise," is convenient for biking and is a haven for transit riders. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Washington Square is currently hovering around $1,470.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1312 Walnut St.

Listed at $1,400/month, this 782-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is located at 1312 Walnut St.

In the unit, you can anticipate hardwood floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Neither cats nor dogs are welcome. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

1218 Walnut St., #306

Next, check out this 500-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1218 Walnut St., #306. It's listed for $1,395/month.

In the unit, you'll get hardwood floors. The building features on-site laundry. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

319 S. 12th St.

Located at 319 S. 12th St., here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's also listed for $1,395/month.

The building boasts on-site laundry and outdoor space. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are permitted. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

1109 Spruce St., #1F

Here's a 350-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 1109 Spruce St., #1F that's going for $1,350/month.

In the unit, there are hardwood floors. Cats and dogs are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

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(Take a look at the full listing here.)

1229 Chestnut St., #314

Then, check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1229 Chestnut St., #314. It's also listed for $1,350/month.

The building offers on-site laundry, a fitness center and an elevator. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

735 Spruce St.

Finally, located at 735 Spruce St., here's a 655-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's listed for $1,350/month.

In the unit, you can expect a dishwasher and a fireplace. Package service is listed as a building amenity. Dogs and cats are not welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
(Corrects location of base on west bank of river, paragraph 11)

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Turkish army post hit by artillery shelling, wounding two

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit (Updates with Turkish defense ministry statement)

By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun

BEIRUT/ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion.

Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months.

The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory.

Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.

Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria.

But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people.

Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia.

The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now.

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Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT

A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
* Scotland's Davidson pledges "no more referenda"

* Support for independence from the UK at 4-year peak

* Handling of Brexit has eroded Conservative support (Adds details, color, quotes)

By Elisabeth O'Leary

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 4 (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises.

The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands.

Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives.

"We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum.

But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall.

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At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support.

POLL RATINGS

In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls.

Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters:

"I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said.

Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister.

But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood.

"It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
(Adds CHP spokesman, details)

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish businesspeople in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name."

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labeled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

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"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
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(Adds senior parliamentarian urges talks with world powers, IAEA)

DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

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Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
(Corrects location of summit to Hanoi in lead paragraph)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as analysts said the country is stepping up pressure against the United States after February's failed nuclear summit in Hanoi.

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description.

If the unidentified projectiles were missiles, it would be the first missile launch since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

In Saturday's statement South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) which flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles).

In an earlier message, South Korea's military command had said the North fired an "unidentified short-range missile."

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches.

Surveillance and vigilance has been stepped up in preparation for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

The latest firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April, added to the pressure Pyongyang has sought to exert on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program.

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Korea's presidential Blue House is "analyzing the situation," a Blue House official said without elaborating. There were reports of a missile launch by North Korea, but we have not confirmed the entry of any ballistic missile into Japans Exclusive Economic Zone. At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected. Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Korea's action would send a message to the United States.

"It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates and Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Flare-up follows killing of two Hamas militants

* Cairo trying to mediate truce

* Netanyahu convenes Israeli security council (Adds U.S. State Department comment)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.

The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups.

Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

"The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar.

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The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike.

"According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details.

Two multi-story buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said.

Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel.

TRUCE EFFORTS

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

"Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts.

The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks.

"The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

"The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.

Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years.

Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
(Adds updated injury count, details on investigation plans from news conference)

By Brendan O'Brien

May 4 (Reuters) - Federal investigators on Saturday began searching for what caused a Boeing jetliner with 143 people on board to slide off a runway into a shallow river while landing at a Jacksonville, Florida, military base during a thunderstorm, injuring 22 people.

The Boeing 737-800 chartered by the U.S. military was arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members when it slid into the St. Johns River at the end of the 9,000-foot runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday night, authorities said.

Officials raised the count of people injured to 22, from 21, after a three-month-old child was admitted to a local hospital for observation, Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer at the Jacksonville station, told a news conference.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have recovered an undamaged flight data recorder and it has been sent to Washington for analysis, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at the news conference.

"We expect to get a very full report on that shortly," he said.

Investigators said they are hoping to interview the crew on Sunday. The cockpit voice recorder is in the tail of the plane and submerged underwater. Investigators will not be able to recover it until the aircraft is lifted out of the water, Landsberg said.

"We are going to be very careful in preserving the perishable evidence," he said.

Officials were determining the best way to remove the plane from the water, NTSB investigator in charge John Lovell said.

"There are some ideas being floated in terms of putting some sort of cushioning below it ... and moving it on those cushions," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard placed floating booms around the jetliner to contain leaking jet fuel in the water, Landsberg said.

The plane, chartered from Miami Air International, was attempting to land at about 9:40 p.m. local time amid thunder and lightning when it slid off the runway and came to rest in the shallow water of the river, authorities and passengers said.

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Landsberg said investigators will look closely at whether the weather played a role in the incident.

"It is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story," Connor said early on Saturday.

Active duty military members, civilian government employees and their dependents were on the jetliner, Connor told CNN.

The military base is on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles (12.87 km) south of central Jacksonville, about 350 miles (563.27 km) north of Miami.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane.

Representatives of the airline did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Boeing Co said that the company was aware of the incident and gathering information.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" round-trip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles, and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)
(Recasts with new information throughout)

BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theaters of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces," said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defense ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Adds comments from Prime Minister May, context)

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - British police will not investigate the sacked defense minister, Gavin Williamson, after a senior officer said the information that was leaked about Chinese telecoms company Huawei was too minor to count as a criminal offense.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson on Wednesday, despite his denials that he was to blame for a newspaper report that Britain would allow Huawei equipment to be used in part of a new 5G mobile data network.

The Daily Telegraph story, which came from a meeting of Britain's normally top-secret National Security Council (NSC), embarrassed the government and set it at odds with the United States over the next generation of communications technology.

The opposition Labour Party had called for a criminal investigation into the leak. But on Saturday, Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer rejected this.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Williamson, once in charge of party discipline for May's Conservatives, was an important ally for the prime minister as she struggled to steer Britain through Brexit without a majority in parliament or consensus on how to leave the European Union.

May defended her decision to sack him following a brief investigation by the government's most senior civil servant, Mark Sedwill, who unusually is also the NSC's secretary.

"The importance of this was not about the information that was leaked, it was where it was leaked from. This was about the NSC and trust in the NSC," she told Sky News on Saturday before the police said there was no criminal case to answer.

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"The investigation was conducted properly, and was about the fact that something was leaked from the NSC, and the importance of everybody around that table having trust when they come together in those meetings," she added.

Williamson said he had not been given full details of the evidence against him.

"With the Met Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt," he told reporters. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Ros Russell)
Eat This, Not That!

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has surged worldwide in record timeit was only three weeks ago that the first case was identified in South Africa. Last week, it accounted for 73% of new COVID infections in the United States, according to the latest CDC data. It's highly contagiousscientists estimate it's twice as transmissible as the Delta variant, which itself was twice as transmissible as the original COIVD strainwhich calls for an abundance of caution. How do you know if you've been infect
(Updates sourcing, adds details, background)

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

"The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority.

"I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time.

Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria.

Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!."

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The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests.

Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft.

Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Photography has shaped the American memory of the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings.

The image of a young woman screaming in horror as she crouches beside the body of a student has become the defining moment of the day when National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio.

This year, on the 49th anniversary of the shooting, historys lens has gotten a little wider. Getty Images has released previously unpublished pictures revealing the weekend leading up to the tragedy, the moments when the guards opened fire and the grief afterwards.

An unidentified demonstrator runs through a cloud of teargas on the Kent State University Commons during a student antiwar protest, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

The new photos were taken by John Filo and Howard Ruffner, two students at the university. Filo captured the days most iconic image: 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio beside the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller.

View, from behind, as Ohio National Guardsmen in gas masks and with rifles as they prepare to advance up Blanket Hill, through clouds of teargas, to drive back Kent State University students during an antiwar demonstration on the university's campus, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. Visible at left is Taylor Hill. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Ruffner, a second-year-student who had learned about photography while serving in the U.S. Air Force, was working on the universitys yearbook. Recruited as a freelance photographer by LIFE magazine, he snapped photos after students set fire to the campus ROTC building and National Guardsmen began to take over the school grounds. The campus was mostly empty, because Kent State was known to be a suitcase school  where students leave on the weekend, Ruffner told TIME.

Paramedics and students run as they push the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller (1950 - 1970) on a gurney after he'd been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Students were arriving back on campus on May 4  a Monday  and about 500 people gathered for a rally to protest the presence of the National Guard and the Vietnam War at around 12 p.m.

Ruffner said he was standing about 80 feet from the soldiers when they opened fire on the protesters.

On Blanket Hill, Kent State University students, several with hands over their mouths, stare in the aftermath of the Ohio National Guard having opened fire on their antiwar demonstration, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

I heard people shouting, Oh my God, theyre shooting with real bullets,' Ruffner said. And I looked around with my camera by myself, and I saw people on the ground in front of me, a person on the ground beside me. I was probably in a [state] of awe, or disbelief. But it didnt stop me, or change who I was I had to continue doing what I was doing.

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Bob Ahern, the director of Getty Images archive, told TIME that Ruffner and Filos perspective as students makes the images even more powerful.

Students kneel on the grass beside wounded classmate John Cleary after the latter had been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Its incredible coverage because it is [a] kind of eyewitness, he said. It was people there with cameras They werent seasoned photojournalists, they were very much in the moment. [The pictures are] incredibly immediate like any good news photo can be. They still have a freshness and a rawness about them, which is kind of chilling.

Prior to the shootings anniversary, Getty asked Ruffner and Filo to look through their archives and check whether they had any unreleased photos. As they were freelance photographers at the time, their full collection of photos likely wouldnt have gone into a magazine archive, Ahern says to explain why the photos are surfacing now.

Closeup of a bullet hole left in a metal sculpture after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. In the background, an unidentified person photographs the hole from the opposite side. The sculpture, 'Solar Totem #1' by Don Drumm, is located outside Taylor Hall. | John FiloGetty Images

Ahern said the power of the Kent State photographs echoes through time.

[The pictures remind] us of whats involved in protest, and how high that price can be, he said.

Correction, May 5:

Captions in the original version of story misidentified two of the victims during the Kent State shootings. They are believed to have died while walking to class, not while taking part in the protest. The original version of this story also misstated why Mary Ann Vecchio was present at the Kent State protest. Vecchio was visiting Kent State, she was not a student and was not Jeffrey Millers classmate.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Looking to get out into the community this weekend?

From an architecture tour to a community bike ride, there's plenty to do when it comes to community and cultural events coming up in Milwaukee. Read on for a rundown.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

Thoroughly Modernist Milwaukee

From the event description:

The stroll will explore different forms of architecture and urban planning, from the mid-century era and beyond. The event will also include discussions about the legacies of renowned modernists Eero Saarinen, Dan Kiley, Harry Weese, Harrison and Abramowitz and others, as well as the late-century landmark collaboration between Santiago Calatrava and Dan Kiley.

When: Friday, May 3, 5:15-7 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WeGiveMKE: Spring Food Distribution

From the event description:

Kingdom Manna and F.I.N.A.O., will be providing food for individuals within the community. Quantities are limited. There are also opportunities to volunteer for set-up and food distribution.

When: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-noon

Where: CFFC Destiny Plaza, 7220 N. 76th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WPR Listener Appreciation Event

From the event description:

Join us for an open house at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee. You can chat with Larry Meiller and other Wisconsin Public Radio staff over coffee and pastries while exploring all the nature center has to offer. There will also be live music from PK Harmony, guided nature hikes with Havenwoods naturalists, arts and crafts, yard games and more.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-noon

Where: Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Re-imagining Villard Forward Session 1

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From the event description:

Momentum is building as the Villard Avenue business corridor is currently being revitalized. Community members are invited to share their thoughts and opinions.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee Public Library Villard Square Branch, 5190 N. 35th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail Spring Ride

From the event description:

Join the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail for the inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail spring ride to celebrate the opening of the west end of the trail. The event will kick off with a presentation about the trail, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Two sculptures will also be unveiled in a new artistic monument planned for this very location: People of the Road. People of the Road is a five-sculpture public artwork that will honor and celebrate the thousands of workers who built the locomotives and rail cars made in Milwaukee.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2-3:30 p.m.

Where: Menomonee Valley Community Park, 212 S. 36th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
ABC News(DALLAS) -- Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters at an event in Texas Friday night, but one of his fellow Democratic challengers was happy to immediately come to his defense.



Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner Friday when he was interrupted on several occasions by anti-gay remarks.



The protesters yelled, "Marriage is between a man and a woman," and, "Repent," according to CNN reporter DJ Judd, who was in the audience. Judd also filmed footage of a woman being ushered out of the venue for making anti-abortion comments.



Buttigieg came out as gay just four years ago, at 33 years old, in an op-ed for the South Bend Tribune. He married his boyfriend, Chasten, in June 2018.



He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in history. Buttigieg has periodically been heckled on the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in mid-April.



Fellow presidential candidate, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, quickly came to his opponent's defense on Twitter.



"Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred," O'Rourke wrote. "Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon."



O'Rourke was also in Texas on Friday night, speaking at an outdoor event in downtown Fort Worth, just a half hour west of Buttigieg's event in Dallas.



"This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through," O'Rourke told the assembled audience.



Texas, once regarded as a magnet for conservative candidates, has seen an influx of Democratic presidential contenders stumping in the state. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth last week and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will also be in the city this weekend.



The protesters' comments at Buttigieg's event echoed those of Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, an evangelist who was a spiritual adviser to a dozen presidents, both Republican and Democrat. Billy Graham died last year.



Franklin Graham tweeted on April 24, "Mayor Buttigieg says hes a gay Christian. As a Christian, I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as a sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman  not two men, not two women."



The 37-year-old Buttigieg was largely unknown nationally before launching an exploratory committee earlier this year and officially beginning his presidential campaign last month. The candidate has emerged as a serious contender early in the race, though.



The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll from late April showed Buttigieg in third place among a very crowded field. He ranked at 5%, behind former Vice President Joe Biden (17%) and Sanders (11%).

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Thai House Restaurant. | Photo: L C./Yelp

Looking for a sublime Thai meal near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Thai restaurants around Mesa, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to meet your needs.

1. Thai Patio

Photo: JASON P./Yelp

Topping the list is Thai Patio. Located at 1929 N. Power Road, Suite 101 in Moondance, the Thai spot is the highest rated low-priced Thai restaurant in Mesa, boasting four stars out of 186 reviews on Yelp.

2. Thai House Restaurant

photo: L C./Yelp

Next up is Golden Hills's Thai House Restaurant, situated at 1155 S. Power Road, Suite 121. With four stars out of 165 reviews on Yelp, the Thai spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option.

3. Wok In

PHOTO: MATTHEW M./YELP

Wok In, located at 7530 E. Main St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the inexpensive Asian fusion, Vietnamese and Thai spot four stars out of 131 reviews.

4. Royal Thai Grill

PHOTO: CRIS N./YELP

Royal Thai Grill, a Thai spot, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 106 Yelp reviews. Head over to 321 W. McKellips Road to see for yourself.

5. Thai Food Corner

photo: kim g./yelp

Over in Alta Mesa, check out Thai Food Corner, which has earned four stars out of 74 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Thai spot by heading over to 5253 E. Brown Road, Suite 104.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
El Molcajete. | Photo: Elizabeth R./ Yelp



In search of a new favorite Mexican spot?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Mexican restaurants around Louisville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. Fiesta Time Amigos

PHOTO: CAPTAIN M./YELP

Topping the list is Fiesta Time Amigos. Located at 135 S. English Station Road, the Mexican spot is the highest-rated low-priced Mexican restaurant in Louisville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 58 reviews on Yelp.

The restaurant offers various lunch and dinner entrees that range from taco salads and burritos to fajitas, quesadillas and enchiladas. Look for the flatbread filled with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle sauce and served with rice, or try the shrimp nachos with grilled shrimp, cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Happy hour is Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. when domestic and Mexican beers and margaritas are flowing.

2. Taqueria La Mexicana

PHOTO: MEGAN F./YELP

Next up is Taqueria La Mexicana, situated at 6201 Preston Highway. With 4.5 stars out of 28 reviews on Yelp, the Mexican spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option. Choose from a menu of tacos, tortas, sopes, burritos and quesadillas. Keep it simple with steak or chicken tacos with cilantro and onions or quesadillas with a flour tortilla, beef and cheese.

3. El Caporal

PHOTO: RAYMOND B./YELP

Bon Air's El Caporal, located at 2209 Meadow Drive, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the affordable Mexican spot 4.5 stars out of 48 reviews.

With a history that dates back to 1989, El Caporal has fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, seafood, house specials and more. A menu favorite is the Burritos Mexicanos, consisting of two burritos stuffed with beans and beef tips and topped with lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Save room for dessert, from ice cream to sopapillas to cheesecake.

4. El Molcajete

Photo: EL MOLCAJETE/Yelp

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El Molcajete, a Mexican spot in South Louisville, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 144 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2932 S. Fourth St. to see for yourself.

El Molcajete serves up gorditas, sopes, tacos, burritos, tortas, desserts and more. Enjoy dishes like the steak or chicken grande quesadilla served with salad or the shrimp fajitas topped with bell peppers, onions, rice and beans.

5. Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza

PHOTO: KATHY T./YELP

Finally, over in University, check out Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza, which has earned four stars out of 82 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Mexican spot by heading over to 2787 S. Floyd St.

This spot offers soups, salads, burritos, tortas and a number of specialty dishes. Opt for empanadas, nachos and carnitas. The Baja fish tacos are customer stand out as well.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
New Dong Khanh. | Photo: Little J./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for Southeast Asian fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Southeast Asian restaurants around Boston, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings.

1. New Dong Khanh

Photo: new dong khanh/Yelp

Topping the list is New Dong Khanh. Located at 83 Harrison Ave. (between Knapp and Beach streets.) in Chinatown, the Vietnamese and Chinese spot, which offers bubble tea and more, is the highest-rated affordable Southeast Asian restaurant in Boston, boasting four stars out of 553 reviews on Yelp.

For starters, try the deep-fried shrimp bean cake served on a bed of vermicelli and lettuce. Stir fried noodle and rice dishes are available as entrees. Fruit shakes and smoothies are available as well.

2. New Saigon

Photo: chris h./Yelp

Next up is East Boston's New Saigon, situated at 985 Bennington St. (between Saratoga and Trident streets). With 4.5 stars out of 140 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option.

On the menu, you'll find rice plates, pho and more. Try the fried squid or the crispy soft-shell crab.

3. S & I Thai

Photo: nguyen t./Yelp

Allston's S & I Thai, located at 168 Brighton Ave., Suite A (between Parkvale and Harvard avenues), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the low-priced Thai spot four stars out of 451 reviews.

Lunch and dinner specials are served with a spring roll, chicken wing, gyoza, dumpling, fried tofu or crab wonton. Try the whole fish, available steamed, grilled or pan fried.

4. Pho Viet's

Photo: stephanie c./Yelp

Pho Viet's, a Vietnamese spot in Allston, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 415 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1095 Commonwealth Ave. to see for yourself.

The business has another location in Newtown Centre. In addition to the usual pho, rice and noodle dishes, it offers vegetarian specials like tofu saute, with vegetables, lemongrass and rice.

5. New Saigon Sandwich

Over in Chinatown, check out New Saigon Sandwich, which has earned four stars out of 418 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the deli and Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and more, by heading over to 696 Washington St. (between Lagrange and Stuart streets).

Sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, chili peppers, cilantro and soy sauce or fish sauce. Boxed meals include teriyaki chicken with noodles.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Michigan State University interim President addresses graduates Friday, May 3, 2019, during commencement ceremonies at the Breslin Center.

EAST LANSING, Mich.  Acting Michigan State University President Satish Udpa was taken to a hospital after falling on stage during an commencement ceremony Friday.

An MSU spokeswoman said Udpa had "a health incident" and was receiving medical attention.

"He is receiving medical attention and everyone in the Spartan community has he, (his wife) Lalita and their family in our thoughts and prayers," said the spokeswoman, Emily Guerrant.

Guerrant declined to elaborate about the nature of the health problem and said she had not received an update about Udpa's condition.

The incident happened late Friday afternoon during the commencement ceremony for advanced degree candidates. No other details were available Friday evening.

Udpa, an executive vice president for administrative services, was appointed acting president of the university in January after John Engler resigned as acting president under pressure related to the Larry Nassar scandal.

Udpa has been an executive vice president at the school since 2013. He previously served as dean of the school of engineering for seven years.

His wife, Lalita Udpa, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU.

Follow Ken Palmer on Twitter: @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Acting Michigan State Univ. President Udpa hospitalized after falling during commencement
WASHINGTON (AP)  The "no-collusion" chorus sang loudly this past week, with President Donald Trump in full-throated roar and even Russian President Vladimir Putin chiming in.

The upshot: substantial misrepresentations of what the special counsel's Russia investigation actually found.

A review of recent rhetoric from Trump and his associates on Russia and more, with Putin in the mix:

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

PUTIN on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: "A mountain gave birth to a mouse."  remarks Tuesday, echoed in a phone call with Trump on Friday.

THE FACTS: Some might say this is a mouse that roared.

The investigation produced charges against nearly three dozen people, among them senior Trump campaign operatives and 25 Russians, as it shed light on a brazen Russian assault on the American political system.

The investigation did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia and it reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Yet it described his campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt rival Hillary Clinton and it exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The Russians caught up in the investigation were charged either with hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

___

TRUMP: "The Mueller Report strongly stated that there was No Collusion with Russia (of course) and, in fact, they were rebuffed ... at every turn in attempts to gain access."  tweets Thursday.

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: "The evidence is now that the president was falsely accused of colluding with the Russians and accused of being treasonous. ... Two years of his administration have been dominated by allegations that have now been proven false."  Senate hearing Wednesday.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Mr. Mueller and his team concluded there was no collusion."  Senate hearing.

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THE FACTS: This refrain about the Mueller report stating there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign is wrong.

Trump's assertion that his campaign denied all access to Russians is false. The Mueller report and other scrutiny revealed a multitude of meetings with Russians. Among them: Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Clinton.

On collusion, Mueller said he did not assess whether that occurred because it is not a legal term.

He looked into a potential criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign and said the investigation did not collect sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges on that front.

Mueller noted some Trump campaign officials had declined to testify under the 5th Amendment or had provided false or incomplete testimony, making it difficult to get a complete picture of what happened during the 2016 campaign. The special counsel wrote that he "cannot rule out the possibility" that unavailable information could have cast a different light on the investigation's findings.

___

BARR, speaking of Trump: "He fully cooperated."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: It's highly questionable to say Trump was fully cooperative in the Russia investigation.

Trump declined to sit for an interview with Mueller's team, gave written answers that investigators described as "inadequate" and "incomplete," said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and  according to the report  tried to get aides to fire Mueller or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry.

In the end, the Mueller report found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice.

___

GRAHAM: "As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide after two years, and all this time. He said, 'Mr. Barr, you decide.' Mr. Barr did."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: Not true. Mueller did not ask Barr to rule on whether Trump's efforts to undermine the special counsel's Russia investigation had obstructed justice.

According to the report, Mueller's team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted.

As a result, the report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, specifically leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter or for prosecutors to do so once Trump leaves office.

Barr wrote in a March 24 letter that he ultimately decided, as attorney general, that the evidence developed by Mueller was "not sufficient" to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Barr subsequently acknowledged that he had not talked directly to Mueller about making that ruling and did not know whether Mueller agreed with him.

___

VENEZUELA

TRUMP says Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."  remarks to reporters Friday after speaking with Putin on the phone.

THE FACTS: Putin is already deeply involved in Venezuela as U.S.-supported Juan Guaido, opposition leader of the National Assembly, challenges President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

Russia has a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support Maduro's hold on power.

The Russians have provided Venezuela with substantial assistance, including an air defense system and help circumventing U.S. sanctions on its oil industry.

"Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down," said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

___

NATO

TRUMP: "We're getting ripped off on military, NATO. I'm all for NATO. But you know, we're paying for almost 100 percent of defending Europe."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: The U.S. is not paying "almost 100 percent" the cost of defending Europe.

NATO does have a shared budget to which each member makes contributions based on the size of its economy. The United States, with the biggest economy, pays the biggest share, about 22 percent.

Four European members  Germany, France, Britain and Italy  combined pay nearly 44 percent of the total. The money, about $3 billion, runs NATO's headquarters and covers certain other civilian and military costs.

Defending Europe involves far more than that fund. The primary cost of doing so would come from each member country's military budget, as the alliance operates under a mutual defense treaty.

The U.S. is the largest military spender but others in the alliance obviously have armed forces, too. The notion that almost all costs would fall to the U.S. is false.

In fact, NATO's Article 5, calling for allies to act if one is attacked, has only been invoked once, and it was on behalf of the U.S., after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

___

ECONOMY

TRUMP: "We just did 3.2 ... 3.2 is a number that they haven't hit in 14 years."  interview Wednesday with Fox Business News.

THE FACTS: First-quarter growth of 3.2% in the gross domestic product is nowhere close to the best in 14 years, by any measure. It's only the best since last year, surpassed in the second and third quarters with rates of 4.2% and 3.4% respectively.

Perhaps he meant to say it was the best first-quarter growth in 14 years. But that's not right, either. It's the best in four years.

The economy grew by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2015. So President Barack Obama has a better first-quarter record than Trump to date.

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TRUMP: "Wages are rising fastest for the lowest-income Americans."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: This is true, though he's claiming credit for a trend that predates his presidency.

Some of the gains also reflect higher minimum wages passed at the state and local level; the Trump administration opposes an increase to the federal minimum wage.

With the unemployment rate at 3.6 %, the lowest since December 1969, employers are struggling to fill jobs. Despite all the talk of robots and automation, thousands of restaurants, warehouses, and retail stores still need workers.

They are offering higher wages and have pushed up pay for the lowest-paid one-quarter of workers more quickly than for everyone else since 2015. In March, the poorest 25% saw their paychecks increase 4.4% from a year earlier, compared with 3% for the richest one quarter.

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Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Eric Tucker, Lolita C. Baldor and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
ASHEVILLE, N.C.  Students whispering into phones and hiding behind barricaded doors. Panicked parents calling on behalf of their children, feeding information from text-message updates. Faculty members requesting help, unsure whether their classrooms could be the next target.

The four-dozen 911 calls placed in relation to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting Tuesday paint the picture of a campus in chaos moments after a gunman wielding a pistol opened fire in a large lecture hall, killing two people and injuring four more.

Student Riley Howell, who in his last seconds fought to subdue the gunman, died not far from a professor who called to report the shooting seconds later.

"A student went out to make a copy, and he came running in saying he saw people bleeding," she told one of several 911 operators fielding calls about the shooting. "I have a room full of students ... these doors don't lock ... look, we need help."

Mourners pause to look at a variety of memorials left at Kennedy Hall at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, May 2, 2019. A gunman opened fire at Kennedy on April 30, killing two and wounding four.

Several of the 911 calls came from faculty members working in buildings close to Kennedy Hall, where police say Trystan Andrew Terrell entered a room during an anthropology lecture and began shooting. One male teacher told an operator that he could see students running around all over campus from his window but that he hadnt been alerted of an emergency by the university.

We dont really know the status of anything, he said.

More: Police stopped UNC Charlotte shooting quickly. But what about preventing it?

Looking for information

That was the case for about a dozen parents who called 911 asking for updates or trying to relay information theyd received in text messages.

One man called to tell police that his daughter was hiding in the bathroom of the Chick-fil-A in the student union. There, she was taking shelter with her roommate and with members of the fire department providing first aid to one of the shooting victims.

Shes hiding in a bathroom right now, the man told the operator, talking about his daughter. The fire department is with the girl who was shot there, and theyre hiding her, too.

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Though many of the calls came from people who had witnessed only the panic and not the shooting, a handful of student callers were able to identify the suspect, describing his light skin, dark hair, black clothes and the pistol with which he was armed.

One of the callers told an operator she had escaped from the class in which the shooting unfolded.

It seemed like he was shooting at one person, she said. It was a lot of shots. He was still shooting when we left.

For those students who werent close to the shooting, only text messages and the shouts of others informed them of what was happening. One such caller told an operator he was in the library  located just across the street from Kennedy Hall  when he learned of the shooting.

I was sitting at the computer when someone came in yelling, and I ran, he said. I didnt even see who yelled it. I just got up and ran.

Some of the people who called 911 to report the shooting didnt even have that much information.

One woman who called on behalf of her sister, who was hiding and unable to call for herself, cried as she tried to pass her sisters location on to the operator. During their discussion, she received a troubling text.

Oh gosh; she said people are running outside in the hallway, she told the operator just before breaking down and sobbing.

As she was still on the line, the operator got word that Terrell, 22, had been taken into custody. She told the woman on the other end that her sister was no longer in danger.

Thank you, the woman said, struggling to get the words out between sobs.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'It was a lot of shots': 911 calls from UNC Charlotte shooting describe campus in chaos
The plane that greeted the 143 passengers and crew at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was four hours late and lacked air-conditioning.

It got terrifyingly worse when the Boeing 737 hours later crashed into the St. Johns River off a runway in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night at 9:40 p.m.

Cheryl Bormann, a passenger on the military-chartered plane heading from Cuba to Jacksonville, said they were in a "universally miserable" mood when they boarded the plane but begrudgingly took their seats anyway.

Appearing on CNN with host Don Lemon Friday, she described a frantic, confusing final minutes, with the pilot seeming to lose control before the plane skidded off the runway and into the marsh of the nearby river.

This handout image obtained courtesy of Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff's Office on May 3 shows a Boeing 737 aircraft after it went off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the St. Johns river, near Jacksonville, Florida.

All passengers and crew aboard the plane are safe and accounted for, although 22 were treated and one, a 3-month-old child, was hospitalized overnight as a precaution. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there were no critical injuries.

More: Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe

The plane traveled through rain and lightning to make it to Jacksonville  but the tumultuous landing came afterward.

Bormann, a prominent defense attorney from Chicago, said the landing "didn't feel right." She said the plane "literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right."

She added: "The pilot was trying to control it but couldn't, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something."

She said the plane "came to a complete like crash stop."

The plane skidded off the runway at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the river, but it did not submerge in the water. Photos showed the plane landed in a shallow dredge of water with minimal damage.

Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at the station, called the safe landing "a miracle."

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CNN reported that the plane was carrying military personnel headed home, on vacation, or to get medical care. The group included families, civilians, grandparents and children connected to the military.

Bormann said that after the crash landing some oxygen masks deployed, and overhead bins opened up and sent belongings spilling out. She said her identification, cash, credit cards, computers, phone and passport were sent flying to the seats behind her.

Passengers didn't know what happened or where they were, she said. However, she recalled that they weren't screaming, and people helped each other put on their life vests and exit the plane onto its wing and into a raft.

Bormann told CNN that as of Friday night most passengers didn't have the identification that authorities are asking for because their items are still on the plane.

"Everyone is sort of milling around because no one knows quite what to do. They won't let us leave," Bormann said. "Everybody is curious about their belongings and want to know what will happen next."

Connor, the commanding officer, told reporters Saturday that despite the chaotic landing, those on board were "very cordial" and there wasn't "any commotion or panic."

While all of the passengers on board made it out OK, at least four pets aboard the plane had not been found and are presumed dead.

More: Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

The pets, which included dogs and cats, were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane, the portion that was partially submerged.

Connor told reporters the status of the pets became the "second priority" for responders after it was determined all passengers were safe. He said first responders looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said. He said that he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positive determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about 8 miles south of downtown.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it is investigating the crash landing and officials were working Saturday to retrieve the plane's flight recorder and get the jet to shore.

Contributing: Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'All of a sudden it smashed into something:' Jacksonville, Florida, plane crash survivor recounts chaotic landing
Photo: Miyako Yakitori and Sushi/Yelp

Want the dirt on Austin's most talked-about local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this spring.

Miyako Yakitori & Sushi

Photo: lenny d./Yelp

Open since November, this sushi bar and Japanese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, sushi bars saw a median 3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Miyako Yakitori & Sushi saw a 57.7 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Miyako Yakitori & Sushi's review count increased by more than 170 percent.

Located at 8701 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 2128, Miyako Yakitori & Sushi offers sushi (special, baked, tempura, house rolls and nigiri and sashimi), yakitori (skewers with chicken, beef, pork seafood and vegetables), ramen, donburi (rice bowls), curry and chicken, salmon and beef entrees. Click here to view the full menu.

Anthem

Photo: alice l./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Austin's Anthem, the beer bar, cocktail bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Anthem bagged a 14.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

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Open at 91 Rainey St., Suite 120, since September, Anthem's Hawaiian-themed menu includes an Aloha burger (bacon, gruyere cheese and grilled pineapple), a curry vegan hot dog on a pretzel bun and the coastal fish and fries (redfish fried in a tempura beer batter with cilantro and Cajun panko served with furikake fries). To view the menu, click here.

Bao'd Up

RMMA's Bao'd Up is also making waves. Open since July 25, 2017 at 1911 Aldrich St., Suite A1, the popular Asian fusion and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers bubble tea and more, has seen a 7.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bao'd Up's review count increased by more than 200 percent.

There's more than one hotspot trending in Austin's breakfast and brunch category: Il Brutto has seen a 7.1 percent increase in reviews.

On Bao'd Up's menu, look for items such as barbecue pork and vegetable bao, pork belly guabao, picked vegetable salad and apple curry or sesame noodle bowls. There are also breakfast options. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.

Austin Taco Project

Photo: harvard p./Yelp

Downtown Austin's Austin Taco Project is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The well-established bar, which offers tapas, tacos and more and opened at 500 E. Fourth St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 3.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Austin Taco Project features fusion tacos inspired by Latin and North American, European, Asian and African flavors. Try the Eisben (caramelized pork shank and sauerkraut) from Europe and the Umami Tofu (mushroom mix, fennel salad, candied ginger and portobello shell) from Asia. View all of the choices here.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
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Crypto exchange Bitfinex will conduct an initial exchange offering (IEO), aiming to raise $1 billion, according to details from an upcoming white paper reviewed by The Block. The final version of the white paper is still under review.

Bitfinex's exchange tokens, dubbed LEO, would first be offered to private investors, then subsequently opened to the public after May 10 if there is any allocation left, according to the information shared by shareholder Zhao Dong. According to Zhao Dong, Bitfinex has already raised $600 million in private, verbal commitments. Since last week, it has been rumored that Bitfinex would raise money via an IEO, a red-hot fundraising mechanism that allows crypto firms to sell tokens on an exchange to raise cash.

As per the white paper details, the firm says it is issuing the exchange tokens to cover the $850 million currently frozen in several accounts controlled by the payment processing company Crypto Capital. A week ago, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) sued Bitfinex and Tether for allegedly commingling funds to cover the loss of that $850 million.

In documents described as "information from the white paper," Bitfinex says it is actively collaborating with the legal investigation and applying to unfreeze these funds through legal procedures. The company is confident that it will retrieve these funds, according to the white paper details.

As for the specifics about the new tokens, they will be bought back on a monthly basis at market price, with at least 27% of Bifinexs profit from the previous month  akin to stock buybacks on Wall Street. Notably, Bitfinex also reserves the right to buy back the tokens within 18 months after its funds are unfrozen.

In fact, at least 95% of the unfrozen funds will be used to redeem and burn the LEO in an equivalent amount. Zhao Dong said that even if the seized money cannot be retrieved, according to the projections from Bitfinexs profits in 2017 and 2018, the company should be able to buy back all of the tokens within 4 years.

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If Bitfinex were to retrieve a portion of the hacked 119,756 bitcoins (~$72 million at the time) from 2016, at least 80% of it would be used to buy back and burn the tokens. Market observers, however, tell The Block this would be nearly impossible.

Like other exchange tokens, such as Binances BNB, LEO will also offer discounts on trading fees. In addition, LEO holders will have access to a 15% discount of taker fees for crypto-to-crypto trading, discounted lending rate, and discounted withdrawal fees.

Bitfinexs profit in 2018 was $404 million, and it paid out a dividend of around $261 million.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the information contained within this report was pulled from documents related to Bitfinex's white paper, not the official white paper itself.
UPDATE: May 7  The bodies of a dog and two cats have been recovered from the cargo hold of the airplane that crash-landed in a Florida river, Naval Air Station Jacksonville said Sunday in a Facebook post. All three animals belonged to a military family. A fourth animal on the flight was traveling in the cabin with its owner, who safely took the pet off the plane.

PREVIOUSLY:

While all humans aboard a charter flight that crash-landed in a Florida river on Friday night survived, multiple animals remain in the planes waterlogged cargo hold, and its unclear whether any are alive.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737 was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members from the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it skidded off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville during a thunderstorm. The plane ended up coming to a stop in the St. Johns River.

The people were rescued with only some minor injuries. But NAS Jacksonville spokeswoman Kaylee LaRocque told USA Today that based on the flights manifest, there were at least four animals that had been checked as luggage traveling in the planes cargo hold. Although the plane is not totally submerged in the river, there is water in the cargo hold and the animals there are unaccounted for.

The charter plane sitting in the river on Saturday.

Our first priority was obviously human life, NAS Jacksonville base Cmdr. Mike Connor said at a Saturday-evening press conference.

After learning there were animals still aboard, Connor added, My heart immediately sank because I am a pet owner myself and cannot imagine what the pet owners were going through.

At that point, he said the next priority became to attempt to determine the status of the pets.

Connor said first responders looked inside the cargo bay, and did not see any animals or hear any animal noises. They then backed out, he said, because at that point responders were unsure if the plane could sink at any minute.

Later, he said he asked first responders to assess the cargo hold again, and said they could not see any pet carriers that were above the water line.

NAS Jacksonville did not immediately return a request for comment from HuffPost. But LaRocque told NBC News that no one will know the animals status for sure until the plane is removed from the water.
Miami (AFP) - A Boeing 737 slid off a runway into a river after crash-landing at a Florida naval air station Friday, officials said, with no fatalities reported.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ended in shallow water next to the air station in Jacksonville, with all passengers safely evacuated, naval authorities said.

"There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter.

Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Images showed the plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry tweeted.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries military personnel and family members.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and gathering information.
Algiers (AFP) - Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.

There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.

He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after a stroke in 2013.

Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.

In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.

Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika to neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state".

Tartag -- described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother -- was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.

Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."

According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

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Mediene said "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudo-meeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.

Algeria's former defence minister Khaled Nezzar meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.

Demonstrations are ongoing in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

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In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

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Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.
By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday. No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV. Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair. Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration. "The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday. Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people. Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority. "I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time. Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria. Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!". The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests. Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft. Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Charlie Munger, business partner of billionaire Warren Buffett, said Saturday the two are "ashamed" of not having invested in Google, which has become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire, of which Munger is vice president, recently took a stake in Amazon and has a $40 billion stake in Apple, but has generally steered clear of the technology sector.

"We are ashamed," Munger, 95, told a shareholder at the annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, when asked about the absence of an investment in Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger said.

"We screwed up," he said, without indicating whether Berkshire Hathaway aimed to catch up now.
OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday swung to a big quarterly profit, bolstered by gains in its stock investments, and also posted a small increase in operating earnings.

The $21.66 billion overall profit, or $13,209 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per share, and a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.39 billion.

These results illustrate what Buffett has called the "wild and capricious" and, in his view, meaningless swings caused by an accounting rule requiring the reporting of unrealized stock gains with earnings, regardless of Berkshire's plans to sell.

Berkshire said operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 5 percent to $5.56 billion. Operating profit was $5.29 billion, or $3,215 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Kneeling in front of her King, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya was invested as Queen on Saturday in Bangkok's Grand Palace, taking up a prominent role in a country where the monarchy is deeply revered, a fairytale ascent for the former flight attendant.

Wearing a pink traditional dress, Suthida took her seat next to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the throne hall after he poured a few drops of sacred water on her forehead and handed over insignia according her status as queen.

The newest member of the royal family is the fourth wife of 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, a deeply private monarch who spends a lot of his time abroad in Germany. He has a 14-year-old son from his third marriage and six other children.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation Saturday came just three days after a stunning palace announcement that the pair had married bestowing Suthida with the title of Queen.

But not much is known about his long-time consort-turned-queen, who faces a new and protocol-filled life in the wealthy and venerated Thai monarchy.

Broad biographical details such as her work as a flight attendant and her education at an upper-crust institution have emerged in Thai media. But the palace has so far declined requests for more information.

Suthida does not have the same royal lineage as Vajiralongkorn's mother Queen Sirikit, who is the great-granddaughter of the Chakri dynasty's fifth king.

She has "really come from the people", said Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Thailand specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside the country is dangerous and can result in a prison term of up to 15 years per count.

Thailand's normally effusive social media have been subdued in reaction to the royal news.

Suthida's first public engagement came Thursday when the couple kneeled to pay their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's old quarter.

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On Friday, she accompanied her husband to the sacred Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the heart of the Grand Palace.

- Queen brings 'legitimacy' -

Born on June 3, 1978, she graduated with a Communication Arts degree in 2000 from the Catholic-run Assumption University of Thailand.

She then worked as a flight attendant for national carrier Thai Airways.

According to a local media report she met the future king, a keen aviator with a pilot's licence, when he flew the company's aircraft during a charity event in 2007.

In November 2013, Suthida entered the royal army before becoming part of the monarch's prestigious security detail less than a year later.

She was promoted to the rank of general in December 2016 two months after the death of revered former King Bhumibol Adulyadej as Vajiralongkorn took to the throne.

Less than a year later, in 2017, she was made deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard, often seen shadowing the monarch at public events.

One of her latest appearances was in April, when she sat stone-faced behind her future husband wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed police.

The couple would often travel to Bavaria in southern Germany, where Vajiralongkorn has several residences.

The king's marriage to Suthida is a "way of further legitimising" his reign, said Paul Chambers, political analyst at Thailand's Naresuan University.

"A king is supposed to have a queen and now he has one."
The California Legislature is attempting to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns  a move that could bar President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's primary ballot if he does not make the documents public.

The state Senate voted 27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state's presidential primary ballot to publicly release five years' worth of income tax returns. The proposal is in response to Trump, who bucked 40 years of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns prior to his election in 2016.

California's presidential primary is scheduled for March 3. If the bill becomes law, Trump could not appear on the state's primary ballot without filing his tax returns with the California secretary of state.

"We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn't have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns," said Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg and the co-author of the bill along with Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.

Congress fights for returns: Treasury misses second deadline to release Trump's tax returns, will make decision by May 6

Opinion: It's April 15. Do you know where President Trump's tax returns are?

Sarah Sanders: This Congress not 'smart enough' to understand Trump's tax returns

The Legislature passed a nearly identical bill in 2017, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, telling lawmakers he was concerned the law was unconstitutional. Brown, a Democrat, refused to release his tax returns while in office.

He left office in January and was replaced by Gavin Newsom, who has released his tax returns and embraced his role as a national "resistance" leader to Trump and his policies.

Newsom's office didn't say whether he'd sign it. If the bill reaches his desk, "it would be evaluated on its own merits," spokesman Brian Ferguson said.

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McGuire said he has had "initial discussions" with the Newsom administration about the proposal.

"I never want to put words into his mouth, but here's what I'll say: Gov. Newsom has led by example," by releasing his own tax returns, McGuire said.

The bill would also apply to the more than a dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. But many of them have already released their tax returns. They include California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who released his tax returns last month after refusing to do so in 2016.

Candidates would have to submit tax returns to the secretary of state's office, which would work with the candidates to redact some information before posting the returns online.

The bill echoes similar legislation being considered in Illinois, Washington and New Jersey.

In New York, Democrats have examined multiple approaches in hopes of helping release Trump's tax returns, including bills requiring officials to release tax returns to appear on the ballot. State lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would allow the state to release Trump's state tax returns if any of three congressional committees  the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation  ask for the documents.

Trump is a resident of New York and does much of his business in the state.

'Im not gonna do it': Donald Trump says he won't give his tax returns to Congress

All of the bills come as Democrats in Washington continue to fight for access to Trump's returns.

Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal officially requested six years of the president's tax returns last month from the IRS but it hasn't been easy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also oversees the IRS, has missed two deadlines, imposed by Neal, to hand over the documents and instead said he would wait for the Justice Department to weigh in on the legality before making a decision.

In his latest letter last month to Neal, Mnuchin detailed both the constitutional concerns and his department's worries with releasing the president's financial information. He also accused Democrats of attempting to skirt the law in order to obtain the documents, something they have been after since even before Trump was elected.

Contributing: Joseph Spector

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California bill: President Trump won't appear on ballot unless he releases tax returns
Julian Castro (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Nati Harnik/AP, Moises Castillo/AP, AP)

Presidential elections are decided by many things: media exposure, financial backing, personal chemistry, timing and luck. Policy positions often are just a way of signaling where a candidate stands on the political spectrum. But 2020 is shaping up to be different, the most ideas-driven election in recent American history. On the Democratic side, a robust debate about inequality has given rise to ambitious proposals to redress the imbalance in Americans economic situations. Candidates are churning out positions on banking regulation, antitrust law and the future effects of artificial intelligence. The Green New Deal is spurring debate on the crucial issue of climate change, which could also play a role in a possible Republican challenge to Donald Trump.

Yahoo News will be examining these and other policy questions in The Ideas Election  a series of articles on how candidates are defining and addressing the most important issues facing the United States as it prepares to enter a new decade.

Three years into the presidency of Donald Trump, who launched his campaign with a call to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, the United States is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southwest border without proper documentation in more than a decade.

But more important than the totals, which remain well below the historic rates of illegal border crossings reported during the late 1990s and early 2000s, is the demographic makeup of the migrants.

During the month of September 2018, Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 people caught illegally crossing the border with a family member  ending the fiscal year with what was, at the time, the highest monthly total of family unit apprehensions to date. Since then, arrests of families between official ports of entry on the southwest border have continued to climb to historic highs each month, with significant spikes in February (36,531) and March (53,077) and another big jump last month to over 92,000, a 12-year high.

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Immigrants from Central America seeking asylum at Travis Park Church in downtown San Antonio. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Families and unaccompanied children  mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  now make up a majority of migrants arriving at the southern border without documentation, supplanting single adult males from Mexico.

But unlike single men, families and children arriving at the border to request asylum cannot be quickly deported after arrest. Border officials have found themselves ill-equipped to accommodate this new population in facilities that were designed for single men.

Beyond the border, the United States is home to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, 66 percent of whom had been in the country for more than 10 years as of 2016 and who, because of Trump administrations aggressive enforcement policies, are increasingly vulnerable to the threat of deportation.

More than 50,000 immigrants are in detention, a record high, with ICE actively searching for more space to house detainees.

Although the crisis has been shaped by Trumps immigration policies, its origins can be traced to legislation that dates from well before the current administration.

Much of the legal framework for todays immigration system is rooted in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, or INA, of 1965, which eliminated discriminatory country-based quotas that favored immigrants from Western Europe in favor of a system that prioritized family reunification and, to a lesser degree, employment-based immigration.

The law helped create the diverse, multicultural immigrant population that has changed the makeup of the United States  legally and illegally  over the last half-century.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed another immigration overhaul that laid the groundwork for todays deportation and border enforcement system.

The changes made it easier for the U.S. to deport people, and made more people eligible for deportation, while also making it significantly harder, if not impossible, for immigrants already in the country unlawfully to obtain legal status. Deportations skyrocketed after 1996, as did the undocumented population in the U.S.

After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, new laws and policies greatly expanded the immigration enforcement crackdown set into motion by the 1996 law, a trend that continued through the Obama administration and has accelerated under Trump.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Immigration Bill of 1965 on Liberty Island, with a view of the New York City skyline in the background. Next to the president on his right are first lady Lady Bird Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. To the president's left are Sen. Edward Kennedy (third from right) and Sen. Robert Kennedy (second from right). (Photo: Corbis via Getty Images, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Among the changes were the expansion of immigration detention and expedited removal, the use of criminal penalties against some border crossers and restructuring the Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Services to become part of the newly established Department of Homeland Security. These moves officially conflated the missions of immigration and border enforcement with counterterrorism and national security.

Meanwhile, Congress, the White House and the courts have wrestled for years over how to treat Dreamers  people who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as children  an issue that was caught up last year in the debate over Trumps request for funding for a wall on the border with Mexico.

While many the Trump administrations immigration policies have been widely condemned by Democrats, most of the 2020 presidential candidates have held back from presenting specific plans for reform.

In fact, of the 20 candidates currently crowding the 2020 Democratic primary field, just one so far has produced a detailed policy proposal on immigration: Julian Castro. On April 2, the former San Antonio mayor who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Obama unveiled his People First Immigration Policy.

Castros ambitious proposal includes many standard Democratic positions, including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, for refugees with temporary protected status because they would be in danger in their homelands, and millions of others living in the U.S. without protection or other options for legal status. He pledged to undo a number of Trump administration policies, including the ban on entry for citizens of majority-Muslim countries and barriers to asylum seekers. He would reverse Trumps large cuts to refugee quotas and expand the qualifying categories to account for new global challenges like climate change.

Castros proposal also includes bold reforms to the broader immigration system, starting with a repeal of the law that treats crossing the border without authorization as a federal crime rather than a civil violation. This statute, he notes in his proposal, has allowed for separation of children and families at our border, the large-scale detention of tens of thousands of families, and has deterred migrants from turning themselves in to an immigration official within our borders.

He also seeks to eliminate the private immigration detention and prison industry, and drastically reduce the population of detainees. He proposes restructuring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into two separate agencies, one tasked with general immigration enforcement and another focused on investigating terrorism, drug and human trafficking, an idea supported by many ICE officials in a letter sent last year to then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Looking beyond U.S. borders, one section of Castros proposal outlines a plan for Establishing a 21st Century Marshall Plan for Central America, to improve conditions in the countries from which refugees are fleeing.

Julian Castro with students at Rancho High School in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Asked why he chose to dive head first into immigration at this early stage in the campaign, Castro told the New Yorkers David Remnick, I wanted to go as straight to what this President has considered his bread-and-butter issue. This is how he stokes division.

Other candidates have been more hesitant to take the plunge.

Before entering the race, former Rep. Beto ORourke seemed to be positioning himself as Trumps most formidable adversary on border and immigration issues, especially on the construction of a border wall. When Trump traveled to El Paso to speak about the border wall earlier this year, ORourke held a counter rally, proclaiming, We are not safe because of walls but in spite of walls. In a post on Medium, he listed 10 immigration, security and bilateral policies that match reality and our values, including increasing visa caps, and investing in additional infrastructure and personnel at the ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug and human trafficking.

As a presidential candidate, however, ORourke has been light on specifics. At a town hall in San Diego this week, ORourke talked loosely of comprehensive immigration reform that would include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers and their parents.

While Bernie Sanders hasnt shied away from the immigration debate, he hasnt offered much in the way of new ideas on the issue.

During a Fox News town hall on April 16, Sanders expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform, and called for hiring hundreds of new judges to more quickly clear up backlog of more than 800,000 pending immigration cases. He also endorsed building proper facilities right on the border for the surge of families in custody.

Demonstrating the sensitivity of the issue, though, Sanders, speaking in Iowa last month, denied he was "an advocate for open borders, an accusation Trump regularly lobs at Democrats.

"If you open the borders, my God, theres a lot of poverty in this world, and youre going to have people from all over the world, Sanders said, once again calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

Meanwhile, candidates such as Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are working on immigration issues in Congress, rather than on the campaign trail. Harris, the California senator and daughter of immigrants, who has made clear that she intends to court Latino voters, has introduced legislation to expand oversight of ICE detention facilities. She said she plans to introduce a bill with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., to allow Dreamers to serve as congressional staffers.

This week in the Senate, Booker took the lead to re-introduce Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, an ambitious bill to drastically undo the countrys vast immigration detention system in response to the Trump administrations latest efforts to expand it.

Castros proposal was praised by immigration advocates, who have long been pushing for Democrats to push back harder against Trump on immigration issues. Some predicted Castros plan would be the catalyst to force other Democrats to offer clear proposals of their own, though thus far no one has really followed suit. The question now is how long the other Democrats can avoid taking a strong position on what will surely be a central issue of Trumps 2020 campaign.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats generally steered clear of the topic, focusing instead on issues such as health care and taxes, while many Republicans copied Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and his efforts to stoke fear about migrant caravans.

President Trump at a recent rally in Green Bay, Wis. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

The result, a historic gain for Democrats in the House of Representatives, appear to have vindicated that strategy.

But the politics might play out differently in a presidential election, when Trump himself is on the ballot.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week, Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about illegal immigration at the southwest border, with 24 percent now agreeing that the situation is a crisis, compared to 7 percent who felt that way in January.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - The leader of South Africa's main opposition party urged voters Saturday to give "change a chance" in next week's general election after 25 years of ANC rule.

"Let us be brave and give change a chance," Mmusi Maimane told more than 10,000 Democratic Alliance supporters at Dobsonville stadium in Soweto.

South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in one of the most competitive national elections since the first multi-racial vote in 1994.

Nelson Mandelas African National Congress, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has won every election since then.

But addressing his final and biggest rally before the vote, Maimane said it was time for change as the country battles corruption, poverty and high unemployment.

"Today the choice is between fear and bravery. If South Africans were not brave, I bet you apartheid would still be in place.

"We are brave and we are going to show courage and hope for change in this election".

He condemned the ANC for going from from "leaders in the struggle for freedom" to those who now "stand directly in the way of freedom".

"They were once our liberators but today we need to be liberated from them," Maimane told the cheering crowd in his home township.

- 'Yes we can!'-

Donald Mlangeni, 28, said in the last election in 2014 he had voted for the ANC, but now he will go with the DA.

"We are going to put an end to corruption," he said, complaining that he struggles to get access to basics such as water at his house. "I think the DA will bring change. At least let's give them a chance".

Ketsie Kobedi, 67, echoed a view driven by disappointment with the ANC that things were actually better under white rule.

"We want to go back to the white people era when things were in order. We don't trust the ANC because of corruption," she said.

The DA, which has been the largest opposition party in South Africa for the past 19 years, has hammered away on the ANC's failure to deliver Mandela's dream of a prosperous and equal South Africa.

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Its popularity has steadily grown over the years to 22 percent in the last election. During the 2016 local government elections the DA wrested control of the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the administrative capital Pretoria, from the ANC.

For the past decade, the DA has also been in charge of the Western Cape - one of the country's best run provinces.

Plagued by intra-party wrangling, the DA is not expected to move much in numbers at Wednesday's polls, according to latest pre-voting surveys, which give the ANC a victory of up to around 60 percent of the ballots cast.

"This is not a popularity contest. This is about competence. Im merely asking you to employ a government with a proven track record. But let us first prove to you that we can do this job because I know we can. I have no doubt that the DA can turn South Africa around," said Maimane.

"Yes we can!" said Maimane concluding his 40-minute long speech, borrowing former US president Barack Obama's famous campaign slogan.
Paris (AFP) - On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making.

Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe.

It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises.

- Dating back to Napoleon -

Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages.

A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes.

In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation.

Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons".

The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later.

In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build.

Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side.

But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons.

- Bridge or tunnel? -

After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus.

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A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel.

Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option.

It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986.

- Breaking through -

Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain.

AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres.

Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up.

An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk.

Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British.

- Queen and president -

"Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel.

"We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said.

After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent.

Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh.

During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported.

Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey.
Dover (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's "greatest achievements" but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

"I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit," the 70-year-old told AFP. "I don't see that as incompatible."

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community -- the forerunner to the EU -- in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

"We voted for a trade deal," he explained. "I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'."

- 'Little bit overwhelming' -

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

"I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other," Cozette told AFP this week.

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The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

"I don't think it will drive the English and French apart," he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered "it was all a little bit overwhelming" and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

"They had champagne, wine, food," he said. "On our side we had just tea, coffee and water -- and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!"

- 'I had other plans' -

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

"The faster we went, the more money we got," he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

"I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough'," he added.

"I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans."

-'Historical moment' -

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

"It's a great engineering feat," he said. "It's good that people enjoy it."

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

"It was a historical moment," he recollected of his famous handshake.

"The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you."
Sam's Canterbury Cafe. | Photo: Henry F./Yelp

Visiting Tuscany-Canterbury, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this Baltimore neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Mediterranean spot to Hong Kong-style beverages and desserts.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Tuscany-Canterbury, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cypriana Of Roland Park

Photo: cypriana of roland park/Yelp

Topping the list is Mediterranean, vegan and Greek spot Cypriana of Roland Park. Located at 105 W. 39th St., it's the highest rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 126 reviews on Yelp.

This spot, which has operated for nearly three decades, was named one of Baltimore's "hidden gem" restaurants by Open Table in 2017, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. On the menu, look for selections of wood-fired flatbread and small plates of grilled eggplant and stuffed grape leaves.

2. Sam's Canterbury Cafe

Photo: sam's canterbury cafe/Yelp

Next up is cafe and breakfast and brunch spot Sam's Canterbury Cafe, serving coffee, tea and more, situated at 3811 Canterbury Road With 4.5 stars out of 45 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite.

Yelp named this spot one of the top 50 places to eat in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun. On the menu, expect all-day breakfast, along with lunch fare like sandwiches, flatbreads and greens. Look for The Charles, a flatbread topped with mozzarella, burrata, spicy red sauce and basil.

3. TSAOCAA

Photo: Tea T./Yelp

TSAOCAA, a spot to score beverages and desserts, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 4 W. University Parkway, 4.5 stars out of 31 reviews.

With nearly a dozen locations across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Las Vegas and more, this Hong Kong-style tea and dessert shop offers a wide selection of teas, milk bubble beverages, smoothies, milkshakes and more. Look for the hot cheese-infused mango tea.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Photo: iStock

The number of crime incidents in Miami saw an overall increase last week, after a previous decline, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents rose to 443 for the week of April 22, up from 360 the week before.

The specific offenses that increased the most were theft and burglary. Theft rose to 175 incidents last week, from 146 the week before. Burglary went from 21 to 27. Reports of burglary have continued to grow for the last three weeks.

There was also a notable percentage increase in robbery, from eight incidents per week to 12.

There was one reported shooting last week. That represents a steady state from the previous week.

Among the few types of offenses that saw a downturn last week, reports of assault went from 69 to 61.

There were 166 reports of "other" crimes, an increase of 52 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 44 involved arrests, for offenses such as drug possession, up from 28 reported arrests the week before.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, Allapattah, Downtown and Little Havana continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Crime in Liberty City went up the most. Crime reports in Downtown also rose, after declining the week before, and incidents in Allapattah are up considerably as well.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday saw the most crime incidents last week. The largest increase from the previous week occurred on Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday, while incidents on Sunday, Saturday and Thursday went down. Comparing times of day, late afternoon, late morning and evening saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) (AFP) - The Dutch territory of Curacao said Saturday it would do what was needed to prevent measles spreading from a Scientology cruise ship, after a crew member came down with the disease.

The Freewinds, which left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia on Friday, arrived back in its home port of Curacao Saturday.

There were about 300 people aboard the ship, according to Saint Lucia authorities.

The Curacao government said it would "take all necessary precautions to handle the case of measles on board of the Freewinds," including vaccinations.

"An investigation will also be done to determine who will be allowed to leave the ship without (posing) a threat to the population of Curacao," it said in a statement.

The vessel is moored in an area not accessible to the public.

Three health officials had gone aboard to examine passengers, Dutch broadcaster NOS said, quoting its correspondent in Curacao.

Anyone who could prove they had been vaccinated or who had contracted measles in the past would be allowed to leave the ship while the others would have to stay on board, the reporter told NOS.

"It is imperative to make all efforts to prevent a spread of this disease internationally," the Curacao government said.

It said the risk of the disease spreading was relatively low as many people had been already been vaccinated in the past but advised parents to make sure their children were vaccinated.

The Church of Scientology says the 440-foot (134-meter) vessel is used for religious retreats and is normally based in Curacao.

The vessel had arrived in St. Lucia from Curacao on Tuesday, when it was placed under quarantine by health authorities because of a measles patient, said to be a female crew member.

The resurgence of the once-eradicated, highly contagious disease is linked to the growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as a major global health threat.

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The church, founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, did not respond to requests for comment.

Its teachings do not directly oppose vaccination, but followers consider illness a sign of personal failing and generally avoid medical interventions.

The Curacao government is asking people who may have visited the Freewinds between April 22 and 28 to report to health authorities.
Photos: Petfinder

Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of charming rabbits up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Pittsburgh, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect fit.

Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of rabbits available for adoption near you. Read on to meet some friendly locals.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.

Blue Belle, rabbit

Adorable Blue Belle is a female American rabbit being kept at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Blue Belle's compatibility with kids and other pets.

What my friends at Rabbit Wranglers think of me:

Blue is one beautiful, 9 pound ball of "please love me." After six months in a shelter, she decided she needed a break, and really, who can blame her? Blue immediately cheered up in her foster home! She started greeting her foster parents within two days by showing off her bunny dance moves when they would enter the room.

Apply to adopt Blue Belle today at Petfinder.

Lemmy, rabbit

Lemmy is a charming male satin rabbit in the care of Rabbit Wranglers.

Lemmy is looking for a kid-free family.

His vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but he's been neutered.

Notes from Lemmy's friends:

Lemmy is a gorgeous black satin rabbit. He came to Rabbit Wranglers to give him a much-needed break from shelter life and to help him resolve some behavior issues. He is now sweet and calm. He loves to run around and find new hiding places. Hes also big and strong at just over 10 pounds!

Read more about Lemmy on Petfinder.

Remmie, rabbit

Remmie is a female rabbit being cared for at the Humane Animal Rescue.

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Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Remmie is looking for a kid-free forever home.

Remmie's friends say:

Meet our darling girl, Remmie! Remmie is a sweet, shy girl who is learning to come out of her shell and enjoy things. Remmie enjoys playing with toys that she can chew and toss around (especially cardboard boxes, tubes and stuffed animals). While Remmie is a bit unsure about her new environment, give her some time and love and you'll see her blossom into a curious and active girl, ready for adventure.

Read more about Remmie on Petfinder.

Trooper, rabbit

Trooper is a female bunny rabbit mix being cared for at The Foster Farm.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, and she hasn't been spayed yet.

There's no information on Trooper's profile about how she does with children or other animals, so it's worth asking The Foster Farm directly.

Notes from Trooper's caretakers:

Trooper and her siblings were an accidental litter surrendered to us when the owner had to move. She is pretty human friendly, but a quieter bunny and prefers to lounge in the company of another rabbit.

Read more about Trooper on Petfinder.

Harriet, rabbit

Darling Harriet is a female tan rabbit currently housed at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Harriet's compatibility with kids and other pets. Harriet is a special needs pet, so please inquire about her specific care requirements.

Harriet's caretakers say:

Harriet is a very active girl with lots of love to share. She was found roaming free and we suspect that experience has caused her be scared and distrustful. But, once you've earned her trust, she'll gladly join you on the couch for TV binge-watching! One of Harriet's favorite activities is sitting and listening to someone read to her; it calms her down and lulls her to sleep if you are still enough.

Read more about Harriet on Petfinder.

This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Damascus (AFP) - The Syrian government has accused Kurdish leaders of "treason" for organising a conference with allied Arab tribes to plot out the political future of territory under their alliance's control.

The Kurds and their Arab allies control a vast swathe of the north and northeast that makes up around a third of Syrian territory, much of which they captured in the long and costly campaign against the Islamic State group.

Buoyed by its recapture of most of the rest of Syria, Damascus is now demanding that alliance-held areas too return to central government control.

Weakened by the decision of its main ally Washington to withdraw most of its troops following the defeat of the last vestige of IS's "caliphate" in March, the Kurdish-led alliance has opened talks with Damascus.

But its leaders are determined not to accept the negotiated surrender of a "reconciliation agreement" like those imposed by Damascus on various rebel groups, and on Friday convened a conference of Arab tribes to seek their support.

The state SANA news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as accusing organisers of the conference in the alliance-held but mainly Arab town of Ain Issa of "treason".

It claimed that the meeting in a town "held by armed militia dependent on the United States and some European countries" had ended in "failure" as a result of a "boycott by most of the tribes".

"Such gatherings are clear embodiments of the treason of their organisers, whatever their political, ethnic or racial allegiances," the source added.

In his address to Friday's conference, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said that Damascus would need to recognise the authority of the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria as well as the "special status" of the alliance and its role in defending the region against IS.

He said there could be no going back to the situation before the civil war erupted in 2011 when the Kurds were denied any official recognition as a minority that accounts for some 15 percent of the population.

"It is not possible to reach a democratic and pluralistic Syria without full recognition of the rights of Syria's Kurds," he said.

The SDF has been cornered into seeking an accommodation with Damascus by two-pronged pressure from the looming US troop withdrawal and a longstanding threat by Turkey to send troops across the border to end the experiment in self-rule by Kurdish forces it regards as "terrorists".
By Elisabeth O'Leary ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises. The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen. On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands. Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. "I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives. "We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen. Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum. But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall. At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support. POLL RATINGS In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls. Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters: "I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said. Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister. But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster. In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood. "It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done". (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
Today marks the anniversary of an important Supreme Court case that helped to end the Hollywood studio system and fuel a young television industry in the late 1940s.

Hollywoods greatest drama took place over two decades in a fight that featured movie barons, President Franklin Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, and the United States Supreme Court.

In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The major studios had a near-monopoly on the movie business in the United States. Each studio had exclusive contracts with actors and directors; owned the theaters where their movies played; worked with each other to control how movies were shown in independent theaters; and, in some cases, owned the companies that processed the film.

The system of vertical integration was expensive to maintain, but it was lucrative when the movie business was booming.

Independent movie makers and theater owners started taking legal action decades before the 1948 Supreme Court ruling.

The website Hollywood Renegades Archive has a detailed history of the 27-year fight that pitted movie titans like Adolph Zukor and Jesse Laskey against the Justice Department in the 1920s.

The Justice Department won the first round of the fight in 1930, when the Supreme Court ruled that the movies studios were monopolies. A key finding was that the process of block booking was illegal. In block booking, studios forced theaters to buy films as a group well in advance, and often without seeing them.

But the studios, after some legal delays, found an ear with incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Claiming that the movie business was in dire straits during the Depression, the studios asked President Roosevelt to stop the forced breakup of the monopolies. After all, the nation needed movies as a relief from troubled times.

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Roosevelt used the National Industrial Recovery Act to justify a delay. But the Supreme Court threw out the Recovery Act in 1935, and in 1938, the Justice Department filed a new lawsuit against the studios.

Again, the studios found a way out of losing their monopolies. In 1940, they reached a deal with the Justice Department in a consent decree. During a three-year trial, the studios could keep their movies theaters, but block booking was regulated and theater owners had a chance to see movies before they bought them.

The decision enraged independent producers like Disney, Chaplin, David Selznick, Mary Pickford, and Orson Welles. They organized as a group, even though some would be defendants in the case because of their roles in United Artists, a studio that only distributed films.

The Justice Department, with the support of the independent producers, renewed the case in 1946. A federal district court in New York eliminated the studios ability to sell blocks of films, but it also let the studios keep their movie theaters.

Both sides appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In its 1948 ruling, the court effectively dismantled the Hollywood studio system.

In an opinion from Justice William O. Douglas, the court killed the block booking system, and recommended the breakup of the studio-theater monopolies. The justices asked the lower court to decide the issue of selling the theaters.

As the movie studios regrouped for another fight in the lower courts or another deal with the Justice Department, their unity in the case cracked. Maverick studio owner Howard Hughes of RKO Pictures decided to sell his movie theaters.

The Justice Department made it clear that no deals were coming, and then the biggest studio, Paramount, sold its movies theaters. Its involvement in the antitrust case blocked its ability to buy into a new fad called television. The battle was over.

In the end, the Paramount case greatly fueled the growth of television, in addition to changing the movie business. RKO and other studios sold their film libraries to television stations to offset the losses from the Paramount case. The studios also released actors from contracts who became the new stars of the television world.

The audience for television grew tremendously as people stopped going to movie theaters. In 1948, about 90 million people were regular moviegoers. By 1958, that number fell to 46 million people. The audience for television grew to 204 million people in 1958.

Scott Bomboy is editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.
Denver-based travel app company Pana has secured $10 million in Series A funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced April 29 and led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Pana is on a mission to make travel simple, personal and delightful. From an app, they make booking travel as easy as texting a friend, provide white-glove care for the highs and lows of travel and offer best travel perks, rewards and experiences."

The fo-year-old startup has raised four previous funding rounds, including a seed round in 2016.

The round brings total funding raised by Denver companies in commerce and shopping over the past 90 days to $35 million. The local commerce and shopping industry has produced 11 funding rounds over the past year, capturing a total of $81 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, risk management company Insurdata announced a $3 million seed funding round on April 15, led by Anthemis Group.

According to Crunchbase, "Insurdata provides insurance and reinsurance underwriters property-specific data to support their pricing, underwriting and portfolio management decisions. The firm specializes in high-resolution, peril-specific exposures and building-level risk data, using technology that includes mobile augmented reality and 3-D model creation, providing both desktop and mobile products."

The company also raised a $1 million seed round in 2017.

This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
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We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Catenae Innovation Plc (LON:CTEA) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 91%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 52% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 39% in the last three months.

We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Check out our latest analysis for Catenae Innovation

Catenae Innovation recorded just UK15,851 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). Investors will be hoping that Catenae Innovation can make progress and gain better traction for the business, before it runs low on cash.

Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. Catenae Innovation has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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Our data indicates that Catenae Innovation had net debt of UK863,835 when it last reported in March 2018. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But with the share price diving 39% per year, over 5 years, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. The image below shows how Catenae Innovation's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CTEA Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Catenae Innovation had a tough year, with a total loss of 52%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 39% over the last half decade. 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. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (HKG:2343), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Basin Shipping

Pacific Basin Shipping Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Mats Berglund, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$1.9m worth of shares at a price of HK$1.85 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of HK$1.62. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive). Mats Berglund was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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SEHK:2343 Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.8% of Pacific Basin Shipping shares, worth about HK$56m, according to our data. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Pacific Basin Shipping Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Pacific Basin Shipping shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Pacific Basin Shipping insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Pacific Basin Shipping.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Shaw Communications Inc.'s (TSE:SJR.B) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Shaw Communications has a P/E ratio of 29.87. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying CA$29.87 for every CA$1 in prior year profit.

View our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

How Do You Calculate Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Shaw Communications:

P/E of 29.87 = CA$26.92  CA$0.90 (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Shaw Communications's 81% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 12% per year over 5 years.

How Does Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below, Shaw Communications has a higher P/E than the average company (23.2) in the media industry.

TSX:SJR.B Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

That means that the market expects Shaw Communications will outperform other companies in its industry. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Shaw Communications's Balance Sheet

Shaw Communications's net debt equates to 29% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio

Shaw Communications trades on a P/E ratio of 29.9, which is above the CA market average of 14.4. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and its EPS growth is very healthy indeed. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: Shaw Communications may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides again faltered.

Israel said around 50 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defence systems intercepted dozens of them.

The army said it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response.

A Gazan security source said later that a series of Israeli strikes hit at least three separate areas of the Gaza Strip and that three "resistance fighters" were wounded.

It was not yet clear if there were casualties on the Israeli side.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.
Doha (AFP) - The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

- 'Failed strategies' -

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

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Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the opposition's local election victory in Istanbul to be declared invalid and the vote re-run, increasing the pressure on the country's electoral authorities.

"Clearly, there were irregularities and corruption," Erdogan said in a speech at a business leaders' meeting.

"If the Supreme Electoral Council could dissipate all this, that would ease the conscience of our fellow citizens," he added.

The electoral body, the YSK, is due to meet on Monday to examine a request by Erdogan's AKP party to cancel the result of the March 31 local elections which the party lost in Istanbul, where the main opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu won the mayoral race by a tight margin.

Several partial recounts have so far supported the initial results in both Ankara and Istanbul, with the main opposition CHP party calling Erdogan a "bad loser" willing to do anything to hold on to power in the country's economic capital.

Observers attribute the electoral setbacks to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to voter discontent over Turkey's ongoing economic troubles.

Refusing to concede the Istanbul result, Erdogan denounced "massive irregularities", and his party accused voting officials of under-reporting votes cast in favour of its candidate.

"My fellow citizens say to me: 'My president, there must be a re-run of this election'," Erdogan said. "Come and let's go before the people and we will accept what the people's wish dictates."

Istanbul prosecutors on Thursday said they had opened around 30 probes into the vote, and over 100 voting booth managers had been summoned for questioning.

In comments later Saturday Imamoglu urged the electoral council to "take a decision based on the law and justice,".

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told Erdogan to "stop putting pressure on the YSK".

"There were no irregularities, no abuse," he insisted.

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Istanbul (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fiercely denounced Israel for the bombing of a building housing Turkey's state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

"We strongly condemn Israel's attack against Anadolu Agencys office in Gaza," Erdogan said on Twitter.

"Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks," he wrote.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff were evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: "Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israel's unrestrained aggression.

"Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is Anaa crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone," he said.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a "tyrant" after Netanyahu called him a "dictator" and a "joke".
BAMAKO, May 4 (Reuters) - At least 18 civilians were killed in two related attacks this week in central Mali, the United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission said on Saturday, as the death toll from fighting between local hunters and herders continues to climb.

MINUSMA did not identify the assailants in the attacks on a Dogon ethnic community in the Mopti region.

The region has been engulfed in a conflict between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders that killed hundreds of civilians in 2018 and is spreading across the Sahel, the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa's savannas to the south.

MINUSMA said a number of Dogons were killed in an ambush on Wednesday, while other members of the same community were killed on Thursday as they tried to retrieve the bodies from the previous day's attack. One Fulani civilian was also killed, it said.

"The U.N. urges the authorities to redouble efforts to stop this cycle of intercommunal violence, whose recurrence is very worrying in an already alarming security context," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said in a statement.

The Malian authorities have come under fire for failing to disarm militias or beat back Islamist insurgents, who have been capitalizing on the spiraling communal conflicts to recruit new members and extend their reach in the Sahel.

This week's attacks follow a March massacre of at least 157 Fulani villagers in Mopti, in what was seen as one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the region in living memory.

The escalating violence led to the resignation in April of the entire Malian government.

The largely Saharan nation has been in turmoil since Tuaregs and allied jihadists took control of more than half the country in a rebellion in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year. (Reporting by Souleymane Ag Anara; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - The United States' allies in Europe have criticized its recent decisions to restrict oil trade with Iran and to limit the extension of waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects.

"We ... take note with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran," Britain's foreign office said in a joint statement with its German and French counterparts and the European Union.

"We also note with concern the decision by the United States not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects," Britain's foreign office added.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Last week, the United States said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Brussels (AFP) - EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union.

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement.

"In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights".

On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September.

According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.

Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights".

In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources.

Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move.

"This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said.

It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation".

The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration.

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Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February.

The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara.

European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling.

Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island.

In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships.

Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.

The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed.

Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern".

In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law.

Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Reacting to President Trumps over hour-long Friday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said he didnt press Putin on meddling in the 2020 presidential election, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi claimed that POTUS had given the Russian leader the green light to interfere again.

Speaking at the White House shortly after the call, the president said that Putin sort of smiled when they talked about the Mueller Report, adding that the Russian leader said it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. The Mueller Report, while finding no chargeable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, found Russia engaged in sweeping interference during the 2016 election.

During Fridays Deadline: White House, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Figliuzzi what jumped out at him about the phone call, noting that Trump and Putin share a personal relationship, and she hasnt heard Trump describe a foreign leader smiling since he was president.

Its troubling to think the president is finding comfort in our adversary, Figliuzzi, an MSNBC national security analyst, replied. And our nations adversary is actually now his buddy. Hes finding self-affirmation in someone who gets up every morning trying to hurt our country.

The former FBI official pointed out that Trump should have told Putin that the Mueller Report contained troubling information about Russias attempts to mess with our democracy and that hed receive the wrath of American sanctions if it happened again.

Wallace went on to ask about Trump discussing the Mueller Reports conclusions with Putin, wondering what he thought about a president talking to a U.S. adversary who attacked our democracy and theyre sharing some sort of commonality about its result?

After stating that Trump is once again mixing up collusion with criminal conspiracy and that Mueller didnt actually look at the matter of collusion, Figliuzzi said the president was welcoming further meddling by the Russians.

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With regard to continued relations and cozying up to Putin, Putin has the green light now, he declared before referencing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen describing Trump as having a mob boss mentality.

And the lack of pushing back by this government and by the president has got to be giving Putin the green light to do it again, Figliuzzi added. Do it again. Help us out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Zendo. | Photo: Mario C./Yelp

Spending time in downtown Albuquerque? Get to know this Albuquerque neighborhood by browsing its most popular spots for food and drinks, from a restaurant featuring New Mexican cuisine to a tapas bar.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit downtown, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cocina Azul

Photo: diana s./Yelp

New Mexican spot Cocina Azul, situated at 1134 Mountain Road NW, has proven to be a local favorite, with 4.5 stars out of 1,088 reviews on Yelp.

2. The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine

Photo: adrienne a./Yelp

Bar and Spanish spot The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine, which offers tapas and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW, 4.5 stars out of 229 reviews.

3. Slow Roasted Bocadillos

Photo: Carol R./yelp

Slow Roasted Bocadillos, a sandwich shop that offers sandwiches, tacos and more, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with five stars out of 58 Yelp reviews. Head over to 200 Lomas Blvd. NW, Suite 110 to see for yourself.

4. Zendo

photo: alice w./yelp

Check out Zendo, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 185 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score coffee, tea and more at 413 Second St. SW.

5. Cafe Lush

Photo: michael c./Yelp

Finally, there's Cafe Lush, a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 150 reviews. Stop by 700 Tijeras Ave. NW to hit up the cafe and New American spot next time you're in the neighborhood.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Havana (AFP) - US giant ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against Cuba's state-owned oil company and a major business group for what it called "unlawful trafficking" of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeks $280 million from Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and Cimex, which operates service stations on the island nation.

The lawsuit from America's biggest oil producer came as the administration of US President Donald Trump lifted the suspension of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

The provision allows anyone whose assets were seized after the revolution to sue Cuban individuals and businesses profiting from the former holdings.

It had been suspended by all previous US presidents to avoid causing friction with allies, some of whom view it as overstepping American jurisdiction.

Exxon said in the suit it was seeking compensation "for property that was expropriated by the Fidel Castro regime in 1960, including oil refineries and service stations, which are still in use today even though Plaintiff has never received any compensation for this property."

Exxon is one of the companies born out of the now-defunct Standard Oil, whose refinery in Havana was one of the first American entities nationalized by Castro.

The refinery is currently operated by Cupet.

Exxon merged with Mobil in 1988.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliament's Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian party's rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: "Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us."

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: "There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity."
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
TRIPOLI, May 4 (Reuters) - Recent fighting in southern Tripoli in Libya has killed 187 people and wounded 1,157, a spokesman for the ministry of health said on Saturday.

The government has also transferred a number of wounded to Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Ukraine for medical treatment, said Tarek al-Hamshiri, the head of the government forces' Field Medical Centre.

The offensive launched by eastern Libya-based military commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli is now in its fifth week.

The U.N.-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli issued a statement earlier on Saturday recognizing 710 fighters killed in Libya's civil war in 2014 as "martyrs," in a move a Tripoli government source said was aimed at winning the backing of forces in nearby Zintan in the fight against Haftar.

"The GNA took this step in a bid to get support from the mountain town of Zintan to strengthen its forces in confronting the eastern forces deployed by military commander Khalifa Haftar," the government source said. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Miami (AFP) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

The issue is an especially sensitive one in

Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

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The issue is an especially sensitive one in a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.

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a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.
File image of jail cell (Photo: Getty Images)

After a mentally ill Florida woman was allegedly left alone to give birth in her jail cell, advocates are pushing for a full review of medical and isolation practices.

In a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Friday, Public Defender Howard Finkelstein expressed outrage over his 34-year-old pregnant client, who was left alone in a jail cell for almost seven hours, despite asking for assistance. She eventually gave birth alone, the Associated Press reports.

I am incensed and heartbroken after learning that a mentally ill client was forced to deliver her child alone in a jail cell, Finkelstein writes.

According to Finkelstein, his client complained of contractions and bleeding. However, jail staff, who were fully aware that his client was pregnant, only attempted to contact an on-call doctor, instead of taking her to a hospital. The doctor said he would check on the inmate when he arrived at the jail.

Six hours and 54 minutes after asking for help, a BSO (Broward Sheriffs Office) tech notified medical staff that Ms. Jackson was holding her newborn baby in her arms, having delivered her baby without medication or the assistance of a physician, the letter reads. She was forced to deliver her baby alone.

In her time of extreme need and vulnerability, BSO neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve. Not only was Ms. Jacksons health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk, Finkelstein continued.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, 1396 pregnant women were admitted to prisons from 2016 to 2017. 92 percent of outcomes resulted in 753 live births, while there was also 46 miscarriages (6%), 11 abortions (1%), 4 stillbirths (0.5%), 3 newborn deaths, and no maternal deaths. Of the 753 live births, 30% were cesarean deliveries, and 6% were preterm.

It continues by saying that three quarters of incarcerated women are between the ages of 18 and 44, which is considered to be childbearing age. Two thirds are mothers and the primary caregivers to young children.

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The study concludes that those in positions of power should work to optimize health outcomes for incarcerated pregnant women and their newborns, whose health has broad sociopolitical implications.

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Washington (AFP) - Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a firm that operates centers for housing unaccompanied migrant children, US media reported Friday, prompting a storm of criticism from Democrats.

The ex-Marine general -- who as Homeland Security secretary proposed the controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents -- joined Caliburn International four months after leaving the White House.

"General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Caliburn International CEO James Van Dusen in a statement cited by various US outlets.

Democrats including 2020 presidential hopefuls accused Kelly of profiting from policies he had supervised during his stint in President Donald Trump's administration.

"John Kelly oversaw many of the Trump Admin's most morally repugnant immigration policies," tweeted Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Now he could be making big bucks serving on the Board of a company that's profiting from the same cruel plans he put in place. This is corruption at its absolute worst."

Senator Cory Booker, another Democrat candidate, tweeted: "Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting."

Caliburn is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, a private firm that has been given contracts by US Customs and Border Protection.

It runs Homestead, a temporary facility for housing unaccompanied migrant children, in Florida.

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.

During his stint as Trump's Homeland Security secretary, Kelly said would consider separating migrant children from their parents and would "do almost anything to deter the people from Central America" getting into the US via the Mexico border.

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He later became White House chief of staff, before his relationship with the president reportedly deteriorated.

In December last year, shortly before leaving the White House, Kelly said he had "nothing but compassion" for undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

"Illegal immigrants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people.... I have nothing but compassion for them, the young kids," Kelly told the LA Times, adding that many had been manipulated by traffickers.
Paris (AFP) - French investigators are looking at several videos that appear to show police violence during May Day demonstrations in Paris, including one showing an officer push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man.

The man attacked with a telescopic truncheon had been plucked from a crowd of protesters, many of whom were chanting "everyone hates the police".

Paris police chiefs have asked the IGPN, the body that investigates police abuses, to investigate the incident, which happened when the arrested man was pinned down by other officers.

They are also looking at two other incidents caught on video.

One shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester while the second shows another officer hurling a paving stone at protesters.

On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told journalists: "If someone is at fault, there will be a sanction, legal and administrative sanctions."

The traditional May Day workers' march took place in an already tense atmosphere, given the weekly "yellow vest" protests in Paris and other French cities over the past six months.

Clashes occurred even before the march got underway and continued throughout the day.

For months, yellow vest activists have accused the police of heavy-handed repression of their right to assemble and protest, in particular the use of rubber bullet launchers that have seriously injured dozens of people.
Paris (AFP) - Film stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart joined hundreds of people from the arts world in backing France's "yellow vests" movement, as the latest anti-government marches took place Saturday.

Binoche and Beart joined more than 1,400 signatories to an open letter published in the left-leaning daily Liberation.

Entitled "Yellow Vests: we are not fooled!", it denounced what it said were attempts to discredit the movement.

It also backed the demands of the protesters, which it said included calls for greater social and fiscal justice, and radical measures to tackle what they called an ecological emergency.

The open letter condemned what it said were the increasingly repressive measures taken against the movement, noting that international organisations such as United Nations and the European Union had already expressed their concern.

Binoche and Beart were among the most prominent signatories, which also included directors, scriptwriters and composers. Binoche won an Oscar for her role in "The English Patient" while Beart is perhaps best known internationally for her role in the first "Mission Impossible" film.

Official estimates suggested that turnout for Saturday's marches was down, in the wake of the May Day rallies when yellow vest activists joined the traditional trade union march.

The interior ministry said 18,900 people demonstrated across France, 1,460 of them in Paris -- well down on their count for the previous weekend, when they said 23,600 turned up across the country.

The yellow vest organisers, who regularly dismiss the accuracy of the official count, put the turnout across France on Saturday at 40,291.

The day's marches were relatively calm, with only a handful of arrests and eight people detained in Paris.

In the southwest city of Bordeaux, where support for the movement has been strong, 61-year-old teaching assistant Jose acknowledged that the movement was running out of steam a little.

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"That's 25 weeks that we have put our life on hold for a bit to at least get back a minimum of dignity," he said.

- Police violence probe -

At Charles de Gaulle airport, meanwhile, around 20 yellow vest protesters handed out leaflets objecting to government plans to privatise Aeroports de Paris (ADP), which runs the capital's three airports.

Saturday's protests come just days after Wednesday's May Day protests, and the fallout over the violence was still being discussed.

The IGPN, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is looking at three incidents caught on video that appear to show police violence against May Day protesters.

In one, an officer appears to push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man. Another shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester, while a third shows another officer hurling a paving stone.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday that if anyone was at fault they would be punished.

But he is under pressure himself after acknowledging Friday that he had been wrong to call an incident at the Paris Pitie-Salpetriere hospital an "attack".

Video footage and accounts from hospital staff and demonstrators suggest that protesters had been fleeing riot police.

And on Saturday, more than 30 people arrested inside the hospital grounds held a news conference to say that all they had done was "flee the ultra-violent police".

Several placards at Saturday's demonstrations denounced Castaner as a "liar".

In the northwestern city of Metz, meanwhile, yellow vest protesters and ecologists joined forces in a march ahead of a meeting there of G7 environment ministers on Sunday and Monday.

Police said 3,000 people turned out for the march, while the organisers -- an alliance of around 40 environmental and grass-roots groups -- put the figure at between 4,500 and 5,000.
JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes.

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli forces in the often violent weekly demonstrations at the Gaza-Israel border.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March set off a burst of intense fighting, have been working to prevent any further escalation.

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Al-Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

Some two million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people. Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky. The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities. The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military. Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan. The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. "The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike. "According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel. TRUCE EFFORTS Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo. In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza. Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. "Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts. The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks. "The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza." "The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant. Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
Berlin (AFP) - German police have shut down one of the world's largest illegal online markets in the so-called darkweb and arrested the three men allegedly running it, prosecutors said Friday.

The "Wall Street Market" (WSM) site enabled trade in cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines as well as stolen data, fake documents and malicious software.

The encrypted platform had more than one million customer accounts, over 5,000 registered sellers and more than 60,000 sales offers, according to Frankfurt prosecutors and affidavits filed by US prosecutors in federal court in Los Angeles.

"WSM operated like a conventional e-commerce website, such as eBay and Amazon. However, its sole existence was geared to the trafficking of contraband," US prosecutors said.

Three German administrators of WSM were arrested, while a fourth man -- a Brazilian who acted as an online mediator for the website -- was being pursued in Brazil.

In addition, two people US prosecutors said were top WSM vendors and major drug dealers operating out of Los Angeles were also arrested in an international operation that involved Europol, German and Dutch police and the FBI.

Launched in 2016, WSM grew over the past three years to be the largest darknet site after the 2017 shutdown of the notorious AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces.

The site was accessed through the encrypted Tor network to shield customers from detection and transactions were made with crypto currencies Bitcoin and Monero.

It offered interfaces in six languages -- English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian -- and numerous separate categories for merchandise, including drugs, jewelry, equipment and support for credit card fraud, software and malware, among others.

One vendor category was simply called "fraud," according to the court filings.

Like legal online marketplaces, buyers could search by product, product popularity, vendor ratings, payment type and price.

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The operators allegedly received commissions of two to six percent of the sales value.

The police operation started after Finnish authorities shut down the illegal Tor trade site Silkkitie (Valhalla) earlier this year, said Europol.

This had led some Finnish narcotics traders to move to WSM.

In April, the WSM administrators were apparently alarmed at the sudden surge of customers and, the court documents said, enacted an exit plan that involved freezing the escrow accounts and customer wallets and taking all the virtual currency held in them at the time -- estimated at $11 million.

That spurred investigators to act and on April 23 and 24 they arrested the three German suspects, aged 22 to 31, in the states of Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

They also seized servers, over 550,000 euros (about $600,000) in cash, and hundreds of Bitcoin and Monero, as well as several vehicles and a gun.

In the United States, an investigation in Los Angeles led to the arrests of two of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics, and the seizure of illegal weapons as well as millions of dollars in cash, said German authorities.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) are becoming unelectable after the head of their youth wing JUSOS called for companies such as BMW to be collectively owned, works council chiefs have warned. JUSOS chief Kevin Kuehnert, 29, unleashed a storm of protest, including from party allies, this week when he said that "without collectivization, overcoming capitalism is not thinkable", citing BMW specifically. The uproar took on a new dimension with the publication on Saturday of comments from works council chiefs, traditionally among the party's biggest supporters, who said the SPD was alienating itself from workers. "For workers at German companies, this SPD is no longer electable," Manfred Schoch, head of the general works council at BMW, told WirtschaftsWoche magazine. Works councils are elected bodies dealing with management on issues such as working conditions and are a particular feature of Germany's post-war economic success. Kuehnert's vision for some evokes memories of Communist East Germany. The backlash threatens to further erode support for the SPD, junior partner in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. The SPD is languishing in polls and risks heavy losses in European and regional elections later this month. The party may even lose power in Bremen, a city state they have ruled for 73 years, in a May 26 vote. Kuehnert, who opposed going into coalition with Merkel's conservatives, appeals to those on the left of the party but less so to the centrists and floating voters it needs to increase its overall vote share. Mass-selling daily Bild splashed the backlash on page one of its Saturday edition and quoted the head of Daimler's works council Michael Brecht as saying: "I share the view that it is becoming ever hard for workers to vote for the SPD." Brecht pressed the SPD to work out quickly what it wants to stand for: "For secure jobs and a sustainable industry policy, or for fantasies far from reality that in the end only cost jobs and increase social inequality." Bild also quoted the former head of Porsche's works council, Uwe Hueck, an SPD member since 1982, as saying the party was still electable but adding that Kuehnert's comments were absolute nonsense that could be excused by his age. "If he had witnessed the GDR himself, then he would not say something like that," Hueck said with reference to former Communist East Germany. SPD leader Andrea Nahles told the paper: "Workers can feel assured: The SPD is not demanding nationalization. Every day, we pursue policies for good work, high collective wage agreements and secure pensions - all in line with the works councils." (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by David Holmes)
LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labour's customs union proposal was a long-term solution. "The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered," he told the Press Association news agency. "If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal)." (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
Lizzie Deignan found the going tough on home roads

Lizzie Deignan admitted the conditions on the second and final stage of the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Womens Race had pushed her to the limit.

The Otley-born former world champion was pretty much a spent force after trying to keep track of stage and GC winner Marianne Vos as the race entered a crucial stage.

And she was honest enough to admit the gruelling conditions had left her making the wrong tactical moves when it mattered most.

She said: I probably wasnt in the best tactical moves today but I was on the limit physically so I wasnt making the most intelligent decisions but I had a good race.

Marianne is a phenomenal rider. She was there with me in the breakaway and was probably a lot smarter than I was. She saved herself and wasnt pulling through when we made that first move.

An oil spill before the first climb at Cote de Silpho meant the race was briefly neutralised and the womens peloton were diverted around.

Anna van der Breggen blew the race apart shortly after and after she was reeled back in, Mavia Garcia tried her luck before she was joined by Vos and Italian rider Soraya Paladin.

The trio never really looked like letting anyone else have a look in and finished the stage with a three-up sprint more than a minute ahead of Christine Majerus and Amanda Spratt who battled it out for fourth.

Despite not quite having the legs to be prominent in the finish of either stage former Tour de Yorkshire winner Deignan, racing for the first time in Britain since the birth of her daughter Orla in September, said she was pleased with her progress.

She said: I think my progression has been really good and Im really happy with the team and my personal progress has been good.

My legs were good and then bad and then good. I went through all kinds of emotions. But I think the main point for me was that at the pinch points there on the climbs when it really mattered I was able to follow the best in the world, so I know Ive still got a lot of improvement to make but Im happy with my progress.

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Deignan, who finished the stage three minutes 54 seconds behind Vos, didnt leave the race empty-handed though.

She won the public vote for the grey jersey given to the most active rider.

And the 30-year-old was quick to thank the thousands of fans who braved the horrendous conditions to line the route despite the dreadful weather conditions.

She said: I think the whole womens peloton is incredibly grateful for the support weve received. Its been a real top class race.

Hannah Barnes of Canyon-SRAM was the top-placed Brit in eighth with Biglas Lizzy Banks 20 seconds behind her in ninth.

Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk/tdy
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MyState Limited (ASX:MYS) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 6.8% makes it one of the market's top dividend payer. In the past ten years, MyState has also grown its dividend from A$0.10 to A$0.29. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for MyState for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio.

See our latest analysis for MyState

What Is A Dividend Rock Star?

It is a stock that pays a stable and consistent dividend, having done so reliably for the past decade with the expectation of this continuing into the future. More specifically:

Its annual yield is among the top 25% of dividend payers

It consistently pays out dividend without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout

Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past

It is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings

It is able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future

High Yield And Dependable

The company's dividend yield stands at 6.8%, which is high for Mortgage stocks. But the real reason MyState stands out is because it has a proven track record of continuously paying out this level of dividends, from earnings, to shareholders and can be expected to continue paying in the future. This is a highly desirable trait for a stock holding if you're investor who wants a robust cash inflow from your portfolio over a long period of time.

ASX:MYS Historical Dividend Yield, May 3rd 2019

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. In the case of MYS it has increased its DPS from A$0.10 to A$0.29 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.

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The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 86%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a payout ratio of 88% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 7.1%. In addition to this, EPS should increase to A$0.34.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

Next Steps:

Investors of MyState can continue to expect strong dividends from the stock. With its favorable dividend characteristics, if high income generation is still the goal for your portfolio, then MyState is one worth keeping around. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I've compiled three important aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MYSs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MYSs outlook. Valuation: What is MYS worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MYS is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The uprising marked the first time soldiers had become directly involved in the bid to remove Nicolas Maduro - AFP

Juan Guaido and his advisers were perhaps too impatient in their keenness to force out Nicolas Maduro, according to the only man to have ever ousted the Chavista rulers of Venezuela.

Pedro Carmona, now 77, toppled Hugo Chavez in a 2002 uprising whose anniversary was marked across Venezuela last month. He was sworn in as interim leader inside the Miraflores presidential palace and ruled the country for 48 hours, before supporters in the military rallied round Chavez and restored him to power.

Mr Carmona, in his first ever interview with a British newspaper, said that the uprising launched on Tuesday was disappointing, risky, and should have been better planned.

Five people have been killed in a week of protests, yet Mr Maduro has held on, despite this being Mr Guaido's most serious push to oust him since declaring himself the constitutionally-legitimate interim president on January 23.

Its hard to opine from outside, said Mr Carmona, who has lived in exile in Bogota since his failed rebellion. But it looks like they could have given advance warning of some actions. They could have planned better. It seems like they should have had some more things in place. It was risky.

Mr Guaido released a video on Twitter, calling on more soldiers to join him in Credit: EPA-EFE/REX

Despite its failure, however, it was a stunning gambit on the part of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader. Venezuelans woke up to a dawn video message from Mr Guaido, flanked by dozens of troops, stationed just outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas, announcing the start of "Operation Freedom". By his side stood Leopoldo Lopez, the long time opposition leader, freed from house arrest by members of the state intelligence service, Sebin.

Across Venezuela, protesters heeded Mr Guaido's call, pouring on to the streets. Most of the military, however, heeded Mr Maduro's, and succeeded in putting down the rebellion. But while the state was able to reassert its grip, the fracture within the armed forces was left in evidence; at one point, the gates to the La Carlota base opened, allowing in anti-government protesters.

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While Mr Guaido has since acknowledged that he did not have enough military support for a definitive break, last weeks events saw Mr Maduro come closer to losing his hold on the nation than ever before. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, even said that Mr Maduro had an aeroplane waiting for him on the tarmac, destined for Cuba, but was convinced to hang on by Russian advisers.

Rebelling forces identified themselves with blue armbands Credit: Yuri Cortez/AFP

In Venezuela, its never just the opposition at work  its international geopolitical forces, and armed gangs, Mr Carmona said. Last week the Russian ambassador was acting like a military spokesman, reassuring the nation that everything was fine in the country.

Its a disgrace that the Russian government supports Maduros genocidal regime.

Mr Carmona sees clear parallels with his own attempted uprising 17 years ago, which was preceded by street protests similar to those occurring now. Fourteen people died in the violence and a group of soldiers, angered at the civilian bloodshed, conspired to remove Chavez. Mr Carmona, the president of the chamber of commerce (Fedecamaras), was chosen as interim president.

On April 11, 2002, the military swung into action, and arrested Chavez, taking him to the national army headquarters, Fuerte Tiuna. Chavez accepted an offer of asylum from Fidel Castro, but was prevented from leaving by coup leaders who wanted him tried in Venezuela - a mistake which was to prove fatal to their plot. Pro-Chavez soldiers then came to his defence, and on April 13, at 4:40am, he addressed the nation from inside Miraflores, president once again.

John Bolton pointed to three members of Mr Maduro's inner circle as being involved in the plan to remove him Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX

Recently declassified documents have shown that the US - as well as Spain - were strongly supporting Mr Carmona behind the scenes  he, however, insisted to The Telegraph that he never spoke to any US agent or official either before or during the coup.

This time around, Donald Trump's administration has been open about its role. Speaking amid the uprising, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, claimed Mr Maduro had been betrayed by three of those closest to him: the supreme court president , the head of the presidential guard, and, crucially, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister. The next day, Elliot Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, said that those who had been negotiating Mr Maduro's departure had "switched off their cellphones".

The Sebin intelligence chief, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, was also allegedly on board - and indeed was fired by Mr Maduro the day of the uprising; he himself released a letter admitting knowledge of, if not complicity in, the plot, before apparently fleeing the country.

On Thursday, Mr Maduro addressed troops with Gen. Lopez by his side, insisting he was in control of the military Credit: Jhonn Zerpa/Miraflores Press Office

Gen. Lopez, meanwhile, later appeared to confirm the Americans had contacted him, telling troops on Thursday there were those who approached him with a "ridiculous offer" who then went "shooting their mouths off". Whether he rejected the offer, double-crossed the US or reversed course as failure loomed isn't clear.

Leopoldo Lopez, meanwhile, also claimed on Thursday that senior military figures had committed themselves to ousting Mr Maduro. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he insisted.

Mr Carmona, however, believes the uprising has brought the end of Mr Maduro's reign closer.

Guaido did make advances last week  it wasnt a total failure," he said. "He weakened the resolve of many soldiers. He freed Leopoldo Lopez from house arrest. He reiterated international support. Its a process of steps. Now he is moving to a strike. And history has shown us that dictatorships in Latin America often fall with general strikes.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Southern District of New York Court.

Matthew Herricks high-profile legal case against Grindr had all the ingredients of a salacious story about the unintended victims of the internet until late March, when a federal appeals court ruled against his case proceeding. Although his lawyers are seeking a rehearing, for now its looking like Herrick may never get his day in court, and its business as usual at the gay hookup site that is used by millions of people worldwide.

In a message to Yahoo News, Herrick said he was heartbroken upon learning of the decision.

I find it reprehensible that a company that knew the horror I experienced from their platform for an entire year has no responsibility to step in or take any accountability, Herrick wrote. This wasnt simply harassment. This was a full-fledged attack on my life.

Herrick, an aspiring actor living in New York City, had his life upended when an ex-boyfriend turned to Grindr to torment him between October 2016 and March 2017. The ex set up fake profiles impersonating Herrick, using his photo, allegedly directing would-be hookups to his real address. The profiles were intended to attract men who were into deviant, hard-core sex, and in the profile description were code words for drugs, unprotected sex and bondage. The fake profiles also falsely claimed Herrick was HIV-positive.

What happened from there was described in court papers as a nightmare for Herrick. Strangers would show up at his home and workplace, directed there, he alleges, by Grindrs geolocation features, which allow men to meet other men in their vicinity. Herrick would try to explain to the men that the profiles were impersonations, but because the lewd enticements in the fake profiles included rape fantasies, some of the men thought Herrick was role playing, and refused to leave, aggressively demanding sex, sometimes violently.

Evidence in the Grinder v. Herrick court case. (Photos: Southern District of New York court)

Herricks bitter ex had apparently got what he wanted: revenge. Although the ex was arrested and charged with stalking and other felonies in October 2017 (he remains in custody awaiting trial), Herrick believed that Grindr should also be held responsible for his ordeal. He had complained to the company numerous times, filed more than a dozen police reports and even got a temporary restraining order issued against Grindr, but his complaint says the company failed to take action and the unwanted solicitations continued. Herrick, the complaint said, experienced grave emotional distress and trauma because Grindrs products and services marshaled an endless stream of horny and violent strangers into his life.

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For its part, legal filings by the companys attorneys claim Grindr rigorously worked to try to stop the alleged impersonation...and identified and deleted numerous accounts. But its central defense was that it couldnt be held responsible for content posted on its site by a third party. It was invoking a powerful statute that has long protected online platforms from being sued  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Grindr, like Facebook, Reddit, Yelp or other online platforms that do not produce their own content, are generally immunized from lawsuits such as Herricks. Section 230 was intended to encourage freedom of expression online, but it leaves victims like Herrick without much legal recourse against powerful Internet companies. The dismissal of Herrick v. Grindr by the Second Circuit was yet another affirmation of the laws broad protections for companies like Grindr.

The weaponization of products has become a major issue with no legal recourse to the ones it harms, Herrick wrote in his reply.

Im on a f***ing crusade against Section 230, Carrie Goldberg, Herricks attorney, told Yahoo News. Goldberg is owner of a law firm specializing in defending abuse and harassment victims, and author of the forthcoming book Nobodys Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls.

It was never supposed to give the tech industry blanket immunity for any harm thats caused on their platforms, Goldberg said. I had all this hope, especially with the Second Circuit, that the court could narrow back down the scope of 230.

Goldberg says courts are interpreting the law too broadly and is calling for legislators to scrap the section entirely. And she isnt the only one calling for more scrutiny of a law that has long been considered a bulwark against censorship. Section 230 is being attacked from the left and right sides of the political spectrum, by everyone from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

But as much as Section 230 is under political attack, the Herrick v. Grindr lawsuit shows what an uphill battle victims face in challenging the liability protections in court.

Matthew Herrick. (Photo: Larry Hamilton)

Herricks legal team filed 14 claims against Grinder, claiming that it was legally liable for a defective product design, that it had engaged in false advertising and inflicted emotional distress on Herrick, but virtually none of them stuck. The court ruled that Section 230 barred all the claims, except for the claim of copyright infringement for use of Herricks photograph in the phony profiles.

As Aaron Rubin, co-chair of the Technology Transactions Group at Morrison & Foerster, pointed out in an interview with Yahoo News, courts have shown ambivalence in recent years about Section 230 protections. In one controversial case, Doe v. Internet Brands, the Ninth Circuit found that a company that posted model profiles was not protected by Section 230. A model had posted her profile, and a rapist used the information to lure her and later rape her. The judge found the company could be held liable for failing to warn the model that this could happen.

What was interesting about Herrick v. Grindr is that the Second Circuit didnt go down that rabbit hole. This is a pretty standard Section 230 analysis, says Rubin. Weve seen over the past few years this seesaw back and forth. Herrick and Grindr is another swing in that pendulum.

Powerful tech companies and digital rights groups are lobbying to uphold 230 protections. Following the Herrick v. Grindr decision, the Electronic Frontier Foundation issued a statement praising the courts decision: In a victory for online freedom of expression, the Second Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a dangerous lawsuit that would threaten to undercut what makes the Internet an essential tool for modern life.

After the ruling, Herrick tweeted: We started a conversation. I feel as though we have contributed to something much bigger than just my case. I am proud of our fight. This is a road block, not an ending. I will continue to advocate for reform and justice. One day the courts will have to see the light.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Kyle Hendricks threw a complete-game shutout on 81 pitches to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

Hendricks (2-4) allowed four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter in the opener of the three-game series. It was his third major league shutout and first since a 5-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1, 2016.

The last Chicago pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches was Carlos Zambrano, who beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on 98 pitches on Sept. 25, 2009.

Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer among his three hits for Chicago, which has won five in a row, the past two by shutout.

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty (3-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts and a season-high four walks.

The Cardinals had wrapped up their four-game series at the Washington Nationals on Thursday night after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay. The Cubs had been off since finishing their two-game series at the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Flaherty walked back-to-back batters with one out in the third before Rizzo lifted an 0-1 pitch just inside the right field foul pole for a 3-0 lead.

It was Rizzo's fourth home run in the past five games and the 199th of his major league career.

After striking out in his first three plate appearances, Javier Baez lined an RBI single to right in the seventh to make it 4-0.

Only one batter moved into scoring position off Hendricks, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Cardinals on Sept. 12, 2016.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong led off the third with a single. He was thrown out at second for the second out on a bunt back to the pitcher by Flaherty, who then became the first pitcher in the majors to steal a base this season. Hendricks got Matt Carpenter to ground out to first to end the inning.

--Field Level Media
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Encana Corporation's (TSE:ECA) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Encana has a P/E ratio of 9.89. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Encana

How Do You Calculate Encana's P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Encana:

P/E of 9.89 = $6.51 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD )  $0.66 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Most would be impressed by Encana earnings growth of 17% in the last year. In contrast, EPS has decreased by 9.1%, annually, over 5 years.

Does Encana Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Encana has a lower P/E than the average (16) in the oil and gas industry classification.

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TSX:ECA Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

Encana's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Encana's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Encana's net debt is 81% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On Encana's P/E Ratio

Encana trades on a P/E ratio of 9.9, which is below the CA market average of 14.4. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

But note: Encana may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
WASHINGTON  A key Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says he fully expects the panel to vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over a full, unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

There is a huge groundswell on the committee to move this as quickly as possible next week, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a Friday interview on the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. So I would be startled if we didnt do it next week.

Raskins comments came the same day that committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr one last chance to turn over the full Mueller report  and the underlying evidence used to reach its conclusions  by Monday or face contempt. Nadler, however, softened his demands somewhat, offering to work with the Justice Department to make a joint request to the courts to release grand jury material, one of the main sticking points in the dispute. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who has emerged as one of the leading Democratic voices on the panel, also said that 99.9 percent of the American public would conclude that Barr lied when he answered, No, I dont after being asked by Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., whether he knew what was behind press reports that mentioned members of Muellers staff had objected to the way he described the Russia report in his March 24 letter to Congress clearing the president of any wrongdoing. The question came on April 9, 13 days after Mueller had sent Barr a letter saying that the attorney generals letter did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.

Did he lie? Raskin said. Yeah, he lied. Of course he lied. Now, could he be prosecuted for perjury? Now, certainly the Department of Justice is not going to accept our referral and prosecute the attorney general, so its kind of the same position were in with Trump. We would have to impeach the guy. Could we impeach him? Sure, we could impeach him for perjury.

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On Wednesday, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he took Crists question to mean members of Muellers staff, not Mueller himself. And when he called Mueller after receiving the letter, the special counsel told him that he didnt believe anything he wrote in his letter was inaccurate  and that his beef was really with the press coverage of the letter.

Raskin laid out the likely strategy the committee will pursue against the attorney general: It will vote to hold Barr in civil, rather than criminal, contempt, and then ask a federal judge to hear the case on an expedited basis. That could result in Barr being personally fined if a judge rules in the Houses favor and the Justice Department continues to withhold the full report.

Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News

That move, however, could get bogged down in a protracted legal battle. Raskin acknowledged an alternative route  seeking to hold Barr in criminal contempt  would ultimately not prove fruitful since the Justice Department under Barrs leadership would never prosecute.

Still, Raskin said, he doesnt consider the criminal contempt threat to be pointless.

Its not toothless if you have any shame. Would you like to be held in contempt of Congress? he said. I would consider it, in a democracy, if you have civic self-respect and respect for other people, you would consider it a major shame and stigma for the rest of your life, as I suppose President Clinton carries it as a shame and stigma that he was impeached by the House of Representatives despite the fact that it was a totally tawdry partisan affair.

Asked why it was important for the committee to see the full report, given that most of it including all of Muellers conclusions  has already been publicly released, Raskin pointed to a key sentence about Trumps potential motive for obstructing justice. After saying that Trumps underlying conduct did not show that he was engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the Russians, Mueller added: But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns.

Raskin said that sentence could point to all of the money that came in through laundering schemes with the Russians who bought condo units in Trump Tower and all of the other money which members of the Trump family have bragged about coming from Russians to bankroll them after Trump suffered four bankruptcies, and they said, Oh well well just get all our money from the Russians now. Theyre talking about dirty money that was laundered here, he said.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seeking financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said they needed to intervene in the lawsuit in order to "defend their significant interests in the enforcement of their subpoenas" as part of "investigations on issues of national significance." In a separate filing on Friday, Trump, his children and his company asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos for a preliminary order blocking the banks from responding to the subpoenas while their lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, is pending. They said they will suffer "irreparable harm" without such an order, and that the subpoenas appeared to be intended to expose their confidential financial information "for the sake of exposure." "That purpose is illegitimate and provides no constitutional footing for the subpoenas," they said. Deutsche Bank has long been one of the main banks for Trump's real estate empire. A 2017 financial disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to Deutsche Bank. Democratic lawmakers had asked Capital One's chief executive in March for documents related to potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's hotel in downtown Washington and other business interests. In their lawsuit, Trump, a Republican, and the other plaintiffs accused House leaders of pursuing records for no legitimate or lawful purpose in hopes they would "stumble upon something" they could use as a political weapon against Trump. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on April 15 their panels had issued subpoenas to multiple financial institutions for information on Trump's finances. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January, including possible dealings with Russia, and has said "we're fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House. The White House is also resisting other House subpoenas, including for Trump's personal and business tax returns, and sought to block current and former administration officials from cooperating with House investigators. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Pontianak (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesia began sinking dozens of impounded foreign boats Saturday to deter illegal fishing in its waters, a week after a naval vessel clashed with a Vietnamese coastguard near the South China Sea.

Up to 51 foreign boats -- including from Vietnam, Malaysia and China -- will be scuttled at several different locations over the next two weeks, officials said.

Over a dozen were scuttled Saturday near Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province.

Fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the action was necessary to warn neighbouring countries that Indonesia was serious about fighting illegal fishing.

"There's no other way," she said. "This is actually the most beautiful solution for our nation, but yes, it's scary for other countries."

She said Indonesia suffered great economic loss from lax regulations that gave leeway for foreign boats to fish in Indonesian waters.

Since president Joko Widodo took office in 2014, hundreds of captured foreign fishing vessels have been sunk -- more than half from Vietnam.

The practice was suspended for several months, but has resumed since last week when a Vietnamese coastguard boat rammed an Indonesian navy ship attempting to seize an illegal trawler.

A dozen fishermen were detained and remain in Indonesian custody.

"If we don't act firm, they will be even more daring. I believe these collisions will get worse one day, this will escalate," Pudjiastuti said.

Jakarta claims the area in the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone and two years ago changed its name to the North Natuna Sea in a bid to show sovereignty.

More recently, it inaugurated a new military base in the chain of several hundred small islands to beef up defences. The moves prompted criticism from Beijing, whose claims in the sea overlap Indonesia's around the remote Natuna Islands.

str-dsa\fox
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Cora Gold

Cora Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Paul Quirk for UK125k worth of shares, at about UK0.038 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK0.038. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Cora Gold share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 3.9m shares for a total of UK150k. Cora Gold may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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AIM:CORA Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

Cora Gold 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.

Insiders at Cora Gold Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Cora Gold. Overall, three insiders shelled out US$150k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership of Cora Gold

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 29% of Cora Gold shares, worth about UK742k. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Cora Gold Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Cora Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soliders took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim. (Reporting By Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Additional reporting by the Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Emperor Naruhito urged Japan to work together for world peace as he made his first public appearance Saturday in front of a cheering, flag-waving crowd of tens of thousands.

"I sincerely wish that our country, hand-in-hand with foreign countries, seeks world peace and further development," said the 59-year-old Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Wednesday.

Japan's 126th emperor wore a morning coat to make the brief appearance on a glass-covered balcony of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, along with other adult royals including Empress Masako.

Masako donned an elegant yellow, long-sleeved dress with a matching hat and pearl necklace.

Emperor and empress emeritus, Akihito and Michiko, did not join their children as they have decided to withdraw from official duties after their three-decade reign.

Akihito, 85, was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than two centuries.

The royal family were scheduled to make a total of six appearances throughout the day, with some 50,000 people gathered before the main gate of the palace before the first one, according to national broadcaster NHK.

More elaborate festivities are planned for October 22 when he and Masako will appear in traditional robes for a palace ceremony before parading through the streets of Tokyo to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals.
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space Saturday, making it the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company's test site in the town of Taiki on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido and flew about 10 minutes.

"We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching the space," Interstellar Technologies CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference from Hokkaido.

The rocket, about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in diameter, weighs about 1 ton. It is capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 20 kilograms (44 pounds) but currently lacks an ability to send them into orbit.

The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, who was a former Livedoor Co. President, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites into space. Horie expressed high expectations for his new business.

"I'm hoping that many manufacturers and satellite makers will come here to join us," he said.

The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by U.S. startups such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Saturday's success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times EDT):

9 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is making his foreign policy experience a primary selling point to top donors to his presidential campaign.

At a private fundraiser Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Biden told several dozen donors that "at least 14 world leaders" have called him during President Donald Trump's tenure expressing unease.

Biden said British Prime Minister Theresa May asked him directly for reassurance that the U.S. and the United Kingdom "still have a special relationship."

Biden said the U.S. under Trump "is about to squander alliances" built over generations. He noted that he's "spent my entire adult life" in foreign affairs, first with 36 years in the Senate then eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden told donors he doesn't believe he's the only Democrat who can beat Trump. But he said he can beat Trump and then "on Day One" be ready to serve as head of state and lead post-Trump world affairs.

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8:15 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is telling donors in South Carolina that he knows President Donald Trump is "going to go after me and my family" in the 2020 presidential race.

Biden said he will answer Trump "directly" in the future without name-calling. He recalled saying in 2016 that in high school he'd have fought Trump. "Guess what? I probably shouldn't have done that," Biden said. "The presidency is an office that requires dignity and reestablishing respect and standing." Biden said he doesn't want to give the president the "mud-wrestling match" that Biden believes Trump wants.

There "are so many nicknames I want to give this guy," and he drew laughter when he joked that he'd "start with clown."

"The only place he has any confidence is in the mud," Biden said, because the president "doesn't understand how to respond to issues."

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6:30 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says one area in which he doesn't fault President Donald Trump is his handling of North Korea.

The independent senator from Vermont tells ABC's "This Week" that Trump's face-to-face meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un "is the right thing to do."

Sanders says North Korea is "a threat to the planet" and that the U.S. has to do everything possible to have China and others in the region put pressure on the North and "make it clear that they cannot continue to act this way."

South Korean officials say North Korea fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Saturday. The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown between the U.S. and the North.

"This Week" airs Sunday morning.

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5:40 p.m.

Joe Biden is suggesting any adult American should have the option to buy "Medicare-like" insurance as part of expanding health-care access in the U.S.

The former vice president made his pitch for a so-called "public option" during his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other Democratic presidential hopefuls back a single-payer health insurance commonly referred to as "Medicare-for-all."

What Biden pitches is adding a government-run insurance program like Medicare and Medicaid to the insurance exchanges that were created by the Affordable Care Act that was enacted when Biden was vice president.

Exchanges now sell private insurance policies to individuals who don't otherwise have access to coverage. Biden says even workers with access to employer-based plans should be able to buy a public plan.

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5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. "You see it," he said Saturday. "You got Jim Crow sneaking back in."

The former vice president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be "aggressive in making sure it doesn't happen." Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target "mostly ... people of color."

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the South's first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Biden's son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. "Joe and I love South Carolina," she said.

The former vice president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Biden's first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesn't endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Biden's event, but Biden noted one of Clyburn's daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains "at risk" for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump "puts us squarely in trouble" with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Mueller's report "demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

She says Trump then "turns around two weeks later and says 'we're all good on this'? We're not all good on this."

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of "tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia."

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, "then I need to buy more ammunition."

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, "When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesn't just save ammunition. It saves American lives."

Under his presidency, Moulton said, "we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department."

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsel's report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didn't warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. "What I would say when I'm president to Vladimir Putin is that we've got your number, I've got the FBI after you, I've got the CIA looking at all of this, I've figured out what you guys are up to and we're going to protect our elections and we're going to put increasing sanctions on against you."

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators haven't been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as "the witness we need to go after Russia so that they don't attack our elections again."

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke says the legacies of "slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression" are "alive and well" today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. He's spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says "the work is far from over."

He's previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

O'Rourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
Marseille (AFP) - Investigators in southeast France have seized a white tiger cub at the home of a suspected exotic animal trafficker, while pythons and endangered marsupials were found at his mother's house, a police source said Saturday.

Members of the public health agency OCLAESP were recently informed of the illegal sale of lemurs and their investigations led them to the suspect's premises.

The arrested man is believed to have cashed the sum of 17,000 euros ($19,000) "but had not yet handed the small primates from Madagascar to the buyer," the French police said in a statement.

A raid on his home uncovered the white tiger cub, while a simultaneous operation at the home of the suspect's mother in northeast France uncovered four sugar gliders -- small, nocturnal marsupials native to part of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea -- as well as nine snakes including two royal pythons.

Appearing before a judge, the arrested man was immediately jailed for eight months in connection with an earlier fraud case.

Illegal trafficking in wild animals is punishable in France by a year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.

The baby tiger, now called Hermes, was taken to the Barben zoo in southeast France.

White tigers are not a separate subspecies. The white fur is a rare genetic mutation which is mainly seen among animals inbred in captivity.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  A man who was one half of the first gay couple to attend a high school prom says he didn't expect to become entrenched in LGBTQ rights history and that he looks back on the event in South Dakota 40 years later as "just a moment."

Grady Quinn was 20 when he attended the Lincoln High School prom in Sioux Falls with 17-year-old Randy Rohl.

The May 23, 1979, event drew news media from across the country, and it's still commemorated in Sioux Falls today. But Rohl told the Associated Press at the time that he didn't think they were "more worthy of special attention" than any other couple.

Quinn echoes the same sentiment now, the Argus Leader reported.

He said he's glad the prom happened, but he didn't think at the time that they might be making a historical stand for LGBTQ rights. Quinn said "it was just us being real and being who we are."

The Sioux Falls newspaper first wrote about the story on May 11, 1979, saying that Lincoln High School had approved a request from an unidentified high school senior to take his boyfriend to the prom. Later stories clarified that the two weren't romantically involved.

Apart from the attention and news coverage, the night ended up being an average high school prom.

The Washington Post wrote several days later that the only special treatment that Rohl and Quinn received "was a lot of room on the dance floor."

Rebuffing suggestions from acquaintances in the years that followed that he could somehow capitalize on the event, Quinn told them: "What? No. It's part of my life. It was just a moment."

The two drifted from the public eye after the prom, eventually losing touch after they both moved away from Sioux Falls.

Quinn said he later learned that Rohl had died of AIDS in 1993.

"It hit kind of hard," Quinn said. "I lost a lot of good friends in that era. It was sad to learn that was what got him."

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Sioux Falls Pride hosts an annual event named after Rohl. The Randy Rohl Youth Prom is held for LGBTQ and allied youth who aren't permitted to bring their partner to prom, or who would feel unsafe doing so.

Quinn Kathner, president of Sioux Falls Pride, said she doesn't think many Sioux Falls residents know about this part of the city's history.

"It transcends," Kathner said. "The message transcends whether it was 40 years ago or today."

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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
Presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was heckled by several anti-gay protesters at a campaign event in Dallas on Friday night.

Buttigieg, the first openly gay man to run for President, was speaking at an event hosted by the Dallas County Democratic Party when he was interrupted by multiple hecklers, shouting calls such as Marriage is between a man and a woman! and Repent, according to CNNs DJ Judd.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

As the hecklers were escorted out of the event, Buttigieg acknowledged to the crowd that he had fought for their right to protest, according to journalist Marcus DiPaola. Buttigieg was deployed to Afghanistan for six months on active duty as a navy officer.

A woman, who event staff said did not have a ticket, was also escorted out of the venue after crying out anti-abortion comments, according to a video tweeted by Judd.

Anti-gay protester Randall Terry is back and yelling at @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/SBwjP8ocTZ  Marcus DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) May 4, 2019

Buttigieg has been openly gay since 2015, when he published an op-ed about his identity in the South Bend Tribune. He married his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, last year.

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After the event, presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke defended Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred, ORourke wrote. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon. https://t.co/IhRDtIBREb  Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) May 4, 2019

Both Buttigieg and ORourke are considered to be serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. The most recent Quinnipiac poll, from April 30, said that Buttigieg is ranking fourth among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with 10% of the polls (behind Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders). ORourke ranked sixth, with 5% of the vote.

Buttigieg told TIME earlier this year that his observation of homophobic behavior has convinced him that people can change and earn forgiveness.

This idea that we just sort people into baskets of good and evil ignores the central fact of human existence, which is that each of us is a basket of good and evil, said Buttigieg, The job of politics is to summon the good and beat back the evil.

Correction, May 4: The original version of this story misstated the results of the April 30 Quinnipiac poll. Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders polled ahead of Pete Buttigieg.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - One member of Mexico's navy was killed and three were injured on Saturday when they came under fire while patrolling a section of state-run oil firm Pemex's frequently plundered pipelines, the country's naval secretary said. Members of the navy were monitoring part of the Tuxpan-Azcapotzalco pipeline, which runs from the southeastern state of Veracruz to Mexico City, the navy secretary said in a statement, without saying exactly where the attack took place. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to crack down on the country's rampant fuel theft, which cost Pemex an estimated $3 billion last year alone. "Groups dedicated to fuel theft have increased the level of aggression against the staff of this institution," the navy secretary said. "The navy secretary of Mexico rejects these actions and reaffirms its commitment to act firmly in defense of the peace of Mexico." (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Julia Love; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
New York (AFP) - As scandals under the Donald Trump administration offer a steady stream of fodder for satirists and comedy show hosts, now the world of musical theater is taking a stab at lampooning the White House.

This weekend a New York take on "The Mikado" -- a 19th century comic operetta originally intended to satirize British politics through Japanese imagery -- sees its characters take on decidedly Trumpian airs.

Ben Spierman's revamp of the Victorian musical in which a clownish despot rules over his juvenile population is an attempt, he says, to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"For me 'The Mikado' is a perfect example," Spierman, the director of the Bronx Opera, told AFP.

"The politics and the reality of the fact that we have corruption, and that we have unqualified people in jobs or whatever, nepotism: these things have not changed."

Performed this week as part of New York's Opera Fest, the themes of the piece originally staged in smog-choked 1880s London by dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan resonate "almost too well," says Spierman.

"We're in a time that's shadowed not just by this person, by Trump himself, but by 'Trumpism' -- by this kind of cultural battle that we're having," he added.

Spierman's production, set in the White House press room, doesn't match characters one-to-one with members of the US president's administration, instead weaving elements of real-life personalities into the show.

The likenesses of Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are featured alongside elements of former chief strategist Steve Bannon, senior advisor Stephen Miller and press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Another character evokes the personalities of Hillary Clinton and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren -- a champion of progressive causes in the US -- while the titular Mikado himself recalls none other than Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Trump himself is an overarching presence rather than a specific character, with all of the players in the comic romp inhabiting aspects of his persona.

"To put Gilbert's words, or even the adapted words of Gilbert, into the mouth of Donald Trump just didn't make any sense to me," Spierman said. "He's just not that clever with the language."

- Art as critical vanguard -

Opera has long been a potent medium for provocative takes on the contemporary moment, according to Spierman -- one that can make audiences laugh before encouraging more sober reflection on the state of our times.

"I think that one of the things we have in this country which is important to remember is that we are allowed to poke fun at the president," he said.

"It's important that we use that right, because if you don't... you lose that. It's important to be aware that yes, we've just laughed, but we also need to understand the serious issues that underlie what you just saw on the stage."

Spierman continues to update the script as events unfold at the White House, and even squeezed in some tweaks when the infamous Mueller report into Russian interference in US democracy came out last month.

"We all as artists have to be aware of what's going on; I think that part of our job is to be the vanguard in some ways of political criticism."

At one moment in 'The Mikado' a character presented as a female challenger to authority describes herself "an acquired taste," Spierman's nod to the double standards in contemporary coverage of male leaders and their female counterparts.

"I really think that is very telling, when it comes to talking about how strong women are looked at in our political discourse," he said.

- From footnote to chapter -

Considered a classic of British musical theater, "The Mikado" is no stranger to controversy: modern critics have skewered it not for its political commentary but for what they dub casual racism.

Many point to the traditional production's setting in Japan that includes excessive bowing by white actors, who sing in pinched voices while wearing yellow-tinted makeup.

The Bronx Opera's revamped version eschews those ingredients, aiming instead to "focus people on the fact that it is ultimately about the political state," Spierman said.

Actresses on his stage sport the business casual pantsuits quintessential to the halls and corridors of Washington's great institutions while several of the men don excessively long red ties, a clear visual nod to Trump.

Twitter also features strongly in the show, whether via a series of Trump tweets or allusions in the libretto to direct messages between characters.

For now, the production is running solely as part of the city's annual Opera Fest -- a bid to bring shows to a wide audience and highlight the diversity of New York's contemporary opera scene -- but Spierman sees it as fitting into a broader narrative of the Trump presidency.

"He's just a fact of history," the director said. "That's what happened when he was elected president -- he went from being a footnote to a chapter."

Though he is satirizing the 45th US president's term, for Spierman it remains to be seen whether Trump is comedy or a tragedy: "I think we're not at the end of the show yet."
ABC News(CARACAS, Venezuela) -- Two days after violent clashes ended in Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido said that although the protests did not end President Nicolas Maduros usurpation, those who stood in opposition had still made progress.



Guaido called on supporters to rally in a video on Tuesday, saying that their push to oust Maduro had reached its final phase and that they had obtained the support of some of the embattled presidents key aides. Three senior aides in particular were believed to be ready to declare their allegiance to the constitution, according to U.S. officials. However, that failed to materialize.



In an interview with ABC News, Guaido said that although Maduros senior aides did not defect, there are fractures in the military and government, and pointed to Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the head of the countrys SEBIN intelligence agency.



The very director of intelligence under Maduro, who used to be Chavezs guy for 12 years is against whats happening now, Guaido told ABC News. And its not like hes on my side necessarily, but on the side of the constitution.



Guaido said that hes open to evaluating all our options in order to return the country to stability and governability. He noted that Cuba is already helping the opposition with counterintelligence against Venezuelan soldiers. But he also emphasized that any transition should be done peacefully and with as little violence as possible.



Weve built the majority, we have manifested our discontent, we have achieved getting a hold of Parliament, we have succeeded in getting support from the armed forces, said Guaido, noting that theres been a lot of sacrifice too.



After just this weeks protests, at least four people had died and 239 were injured, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a human rights group, told ABC News on Thursday.



Maduro, who has faced months of protests over the countrys economic collapse and his consolidation of power, made a show of force on Thursday when he appeared on state TV and again derided what he has called a U.S.-backed coup and vowed to combat traitors.



Something good came from evil, which is loyalty, in full combat, Maduro said. The time has come to defend peace.



Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, was sworn in as interim president by that body in January. He was immediately recognized by the U.S. and, ultimately, 53 other countries as the legitimate leader.



Guaido said the best options so far are to end Maduros usurpation, to establish a transitional government and to hold free elections all within our constitution.



Those who are on the side of the constitution, on the side of the Venezuelan people...we would be willing to talk to all of them, Guaido said. We expect that...theyre still in a phase of rumors and doubt among themselves while we are very clear in our objective, our way, our direction, and we would like for there to be many more of them to guarantee a democratic and peaceful transition in Venezuela.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Kinshasa (AFP) - More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organization had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

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Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began. Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

- 'Deeply worrying' -

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."

The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert. This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."

In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

burs-jah/qan
415 N.W. Ninth St.| Photos: Padmapper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Overtown are hovering around $1,500, compared to a $1,900 one-bedroom median for Miami as a whole.

But how does the low-end pricing on an Overtown rental look these days  and what might you get for the price?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is extremely walkable, is convenient for biking and has excellent transit.

Read on for the cheapest listings available right now. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1720 N.W. First Place

Listed at $800/month, this 391-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom, located at 1720 N.W. First Place, is 46.7 percent less than the $1,500/month median rent for a one bedroom in Overtown.

The building boasts on-site management. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Pet owners, rejoice: cats and small dogs are allowed, according to the company's website. An application fee of $20 and a security deposit of $1,600 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

415 N.W. Ninth St.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 415 N.W. Ninth St., is listed for $850/month for its 472 square feet of space.

In the unit, look for hardwood floors and in-unit laundry. Cats and dogs are not permitted. A $20 application fee and security deposit of $1,500 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

1533 N.W. Second Ave.

Then there's this 600-square-foot at 1533 N.W. Second Ave., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, look for in-unit laundry and hardwood floors. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are allowed. The building boasts assigned parking and on-site management. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

Story continues

(See the listing here.)

219 N.W. 10th St.

Check out this 408-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 219 N.W. 10th St., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, you'll find ceramic tile floors. The building offers assigned parking and on-site management. Pet owners, you're in luck: furry companions are allowed on this property. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Here's the listing.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A year ago at the UnitedHealth Group offices at 1 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, Wali Omarkheil, a 43-year-old regional marketing director, gathered with five of his colleagues to meet their new supervisor, Josiane Peluso.

But before Peluso even introduced herself to her new team, she complained to the group about the new strict security in the building.

Its because of all the darn terrorists we have in this country, she said as she made eye contact with Omarkheil. She didnt look at anyone else, he said. Suddenly, he felt the rest of the staff turn their heads and stare at him, too.

Omarkheil brushed it off as a coincidence. I remember thinking, I hope she didnt mean what she said, he told HuffPost.

But it turns out she did mean it, according to Omarkheil. Within six months of their first meeting, Omarkheil, who had put in nearly 12 happy years at UnitedHealth, was out of a job. He was fired.

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January against UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the individual supervisors involved, Omarkheil detailed the abuse he faced under Peluso, as well as the lack of proper recourse by her manager, David Willhoft, and the human resources representative assigned to handle his case, Jennifer St. George.

He alleged that Peluso frequently made comments about his Muslim faith when it had no relevance to his work, pressured him to work on weekends during the holy month of Ramadan when he was fasting and berated him for using his lunch break to attend Friday prayers. Just weeks after Omarkhail issued a complaint with human resources which was escalated to Willhoft, UnitedHealths Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he was terminated without warning.

There is little data that tracks anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace. But Muslims across the country have complained of bias during interviews, targeted harassment during employment, and, like Omarkheils case, unlawful termination.

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Over 24,000 anti-Muslim allegations have been brought to the EEOC since 2000. Over 1,300 cases were brought in 2019 alone. The EEOC saw the highest numbers of complaints in 2016 with over 2,500 cases. Half of those total allegations were complaints regarding unfair discharge.

In 2018, the Council on American Islamic Relations received more than 228 cases of employment discrimination nationwide, compared to 225 cases in 2017.

Muslims are also less likely to get hired when their social media profiles mentioned their faith compared to their Christian counterparts, according to a 2013 Carnegie Mellon study. Even after being hired, Muslims still faced high levels of discrimination. In November 2018, a group of Somali Muslims in Minnesota forced Amazon to negotiate better treatment for its workers, including the right to pray during breaks. In 2016, the New York City Police Department allowed for Muslims and Sikhs to grow out their beards for religious reasons.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, whether its firing an employee or a refusal to accommodate an employees religious garb such as the hijab or holiday schedule.

Civil rights law generally requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices of their workers and that doesnt always happen in practice, Daniel Mach, the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion & Belief, told HuffPost.

Omarkheil says that for several months, Peluso verbally abused him and used hostile comments about his faith. Once he sought help from human resources about the rising workplace discrimination, the targeted harassment intensified. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

After that initial meeting with his new boss, Omarkheil dismissed the incident as a one-off misunderstanding. The next day, Omarkheil had a one-on-one meeting with his new manager to discuss work goals and team expectations. He had hoped the meeting would start them off on the right foot. But Peluso didnt discuss any of that during the meeting, instead, she wanted to discuss Omarkheils Muslim faith.

Before we can start our one-on-one meeting, I want you to know that I am a Christian and I take my religion seriously, Peluso allegedly told Omarkheil, according to the lawsuit. I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

Omarkheil was first hired to be a sales rep for UnitedHealth in 2007, after being aggressively recruited. It didnt take much for him to decide to take the job. He knew this was where he wanted to work and grow  he even hoped to retire there someday.

For the next 12 years he soared at the company. He hopped from promotion to promotion, moving up from sales representative to supervisor to regional marketing director, where he oversaw a team of over 50 sales associates and five supervisors. According to the lawsuit, he increased the companys Brooklyn membership by more than half, from 130,000 members to 200,000 members, and even opened a new storefront in downtown Brooklyn.

Omarkheil, who immigrated from Afghanistan when he was just 11 years old, embodied the quintessential American dream. But none of that would matter when he was assigned a new supervisor in 2018.

Over the next 5 months working under Peluso, his situation significantly worsened, as the level of harassment increasingly became more aggressive.

Omarkheils team was spread across five boroughs of New York City and Long Island, requiring him to commute between offices every day. Peluso would call Omarkheil three to four times a day, according to the lawsuit, asking him to prove his whereabouts at any given time. She didnt trust Omarkheil to be where he said he was going to be, Omarkheil said. On multiple occasions, she asked him to pass the phone to a co-worker nearby to confirm that he was indeed where he said he was.

Peluso would call Omarkheil repeatedly when he attended Friday prayers. Every week Omarkheil attended a service, also known as Jummah, where Muslims go to a mosque for congregational prayers.

For years, Omarkheil attended the prayers during his lunch break, since the service usually began around noon, without any problems. His previous managers were accommodating, he said. But Peluso repeatedly called during this time and made anti-Muslim remarks about his choice to attend prayers.

Oh, you do that? she would sarcastically ask him despite the fact he told her he attended prayers every week.

If he didnt pick up, she would admonish him. Omarkheil says he was clear about when and where he was going to be, but every week she continued to harass him during his time at prayer.

My previous managers had no issues with it. But she was disrespectful to it from the beginning, he said.

Omarkheil believed he was being harassed by Peluso because of his faith. He began to take notes after every incident, according to documents reviewed by HuffPost. Two of Omarkheils former colleagues, who asked for anonymity because they are still employed by UnitedHealth Group and they fear retaliation by the company, told HuffPost they either witnessed or discussed Pelusos harassment with Omarkheil.

The Targeted Harassment Intensifies

Peluso gave Omarkheil menial tasks not normally required by managers, such as pitching tents for work events and delivering flowers. During a midday meeting with a client, who happened to be a friend of Peluso, the client and Peluso began drinking alcohol. When Omarkheil asked to excuse himself from the the rest of the meeting, Peluso demanded he stay. You dont drink because youre Muslim so you can start taking notes for me, she said, according to the lawsuit.

For several months, Peluso verbally abused Omarkheil and made hostile comments about his faith. Whenever he was unavailable to take her phone call, Peluso said, Let me guess, you were at prayers again? She would perceive Omarkheils religious commitment as laziness and treated him as though he was a delinquent, according to the lawsuit.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. Instead, he worked late nights and felt obligated to take on weekend events during the long summer days.

I felt scared of her. I thought she was coming after my work. I thought, I gotta do everything that she was asking of me. I started going to events on weekends and it was very, very tough. Hot weather, no water no food and Im out there and Im sending her pictures [to prove that] Im here, he told HuffPost.

But nothing seemed to appease her, he said. Instead, the abuse escalated. She started to berate him in front of other UnitedHealth employees and embarrassed him in front of his clients. During a June incident detailed in the lawsuit, Peluso scolded Omarkheil in a phone call, which he had on speakerphone, for hanging out around the Muslim/Arab community way too much.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Trying To Do It The Right Way

The next day, on June 13, 2018, Omarkheil wrote a letter to UnitedHealth Groups Human Resources department, which HuffPost has reviewed. He voiced his concern to the HR representative that he was particularly worried that speaking out could result in retaliation, but the representative reassured him not to worry.

But days after Omarkheil wrote to HR, Peluso informed him that he would not be receiving his quarterly bonus due to poor performance, which Omarkheil disputed. His numbers were strong, he said. HuffPost has reviewed a number of Omarkheils performance reviews which indicated he had consistently met or exceeded work expectations.

The following week, Omarkheil was instructed by HR to meet with Pelusos manager, David Willhoft. When he did, Willhoft told him if he was unhappy he could always find work elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. He was also advised that he address his concerns directly with his manager and not with human resources.

Laszlo Bock is the chief executive officer and co-founder at Humu.com, a technology company based in Mountain View, California, that uses behavioral sciences and artificial intelligence to help organizations improve their work culture.

Bock said instructing an employee to go above their own manager could invite conflict from ones immediate manager and may escalate a situation.

The former senior vice president of People Operations at Google said most HR departments are pretty forward-thinking in terms of a social justice perspective and want to do the right thing.

He said when it came to allegations of discrimination, it was imperative for HR representatives to address the situation carefully and in full transparency. For starters, when an allegation like Omarkheils is raised, he said HRs default presumption should be that the victim is being truthful.

If somebody raises a complaint of discrimination, you start from a bias of believing that person, said Bock. It doesnt feel good to make a complaint like this. [That person has] typically been second-guessing [themselves] this whole time.

Large companies, Bock said, should employ several best practices in situations like this one. He said that they should conduct a thorough investigation and know that an investigation will make all parties in the conflict uncomfortable. Do get all the facts, he said, and do conduct interviews with other people beyond those directly involved. But, he warns, dont drag out the process. Dont ask the junior employee to conduct the investigation themselves. Do provide a path for redemption, he added, but if warranted, dont shy away from firing people.

Back at UnitedHealth, Omarkheil followed the instructions by his HR representative Jennifer St, George, and detailed his concerns in an email to Peluso, despite his extreme discomfort registering his complaint and discussing it without St. George present. He wrote that it was clear he was treated different and that he did not want to be harassed anymore for anything including my beliefs or cultural background. Omarkheil told his manager that he felt embarrassed, demoralized and degraded as a result and requested a meeting with her to settle the matter.

Instead what followed was a series of emails and meetings between Omarkheil, Peluso and Willhoft, none that brought any resolve. He attempted to go back to the human resources department but each time he was pointed back to Peluso or her manager. He was stuck in a bureaucratic circle.

A company like UnitedHealth, who the public trusts [with] their families healthcare coverage, and these are people from every type of community, its incumbent on them that they must show that theyre dedicated to servicing everyone and that theyre going to treat people, including their employees, equally, regardless of their background. said Lawrence Pearson, partner at Wigdor LLP, an employment litigation law firm based in New York City representing Omarkheil.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group told HuffPost the company could not comment on specific matters that are in ligation, but it took such allegations seriously and that the company remained committed to inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and continuing to meet the needs of the multicultural clients, communities and individuals we serve.

Peter Romer-Friedman is a workers rights attorney at Outten & Golden LLP based in Washington, D.C., where he litigates and supervises employment discrimination cases.

Romer-Friedman said Omarkheil case is a clear cut case of discrimination and retaliation and pointed to the very brief time period between when the complaint was filed to Omarkheils termination as one of the main indicators.

It also appears to be a strong discrimination case, because even though most of the evidence of discrimination would be considered circumstantial, there is such strong evidence here that the person who is directly involved in Omarkheils termination harbored animus against Muslims and crossed some real lines in harassing this man when he was trying to exercise his religion outside of the workplace.

Two months after initiating a formal complaint with HR, Omarkheil went into work when he noticed he couldnt access his email. Once at the office, he was brought into a meeting with Peluso and Willhoft. There was no one from the Human Resources present at the meeting. He was told then that his position was being eliminated and he was terminated effective immediately.

The term at-will employment refers to the U.S. labor law in which an employee can be let go by an employer without establishing a reason, so long as it is not illegal. Romer-Friedman, who previously taught civil rights law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, however noted that the civil right laws overrules the at-will employment rule, including in Omarkheils case.

Just invoking the discretion to fire someone doesnt bar the person from making a claim for discrimination. Even if someone is a lousy employee, if the real reason you fire the person is motivated by bias, then its discrimination full-stop, Romer-Friedman told HuffPost.

A lawyer representing Peluso, Willhoft and St. George did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

I was completely shocked. I have kids. I have a family. I have bills. Suddenly everything is going through your mind. [I thought] how am I going to survive this? said Omarkheil. It was a tough process. I really didnt know what to do because I was there for over 11 years, with a really good record.

Omarkheil and his daughters in their home. He is worried he might have to sell his home if he doesnt find work soon. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Two UnitedHealth staff members who spoke anonymously told HuffPost that Omarkheils position was in fact never eliminated instead another employee was designated to take his place and now oversees his team.

United Healthcare did not respond to HuffPosts questions confirming or denying what actually occurred to Omarkheils position.

It was only after the lawsuit was filed, UnitedHealth revealed to Omarkheil that he had signed documents during his employment that required his claims to be arbitrated and not heard in court. With his case now in arbitration, a widely criticized behind closed door process required by private companies including UnitedHealth meant to resolve legal matters outside the court system, Omarkheil and his lawyers withdrew his case from court.

Romer-Friedman, who is critical of cases being taken into arbitration, explained during the process the employer has the upper hand. For example, the panel selected to mitigate the issue is often selected by the employer.

Arbitration is not transparent, Romer-Friedman said. It denies the worker often the opportunity often to tell his or her story which impacts the ability of other people to learn about these problems at a company.

For the past nine months, Omarkheil has been looking for work, and hasnt found anything yet. With a wife and three daughters to support, Omarkheil says he will be forced to sell his home if something doesnt turn up soon. An Afghan native who immigrated to the United States in 1985, Omarkheil calls himself a New Yorker through and through, with the accent to prove it.

All these years you work hard and youre left with nothing, Omarkheil told HuffPost. At the end of the day, it had nothing to do with my performance. It had nothing to do with anything that I was doing wrong. It was just who I was. I didnt think we would part ways this way. I never saw the ugly side until now.
SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analyzing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)
* North Macedonia holds presidential election run-off

* Country's name change has dominated campaigning

* Ruling coalition candidate seen winning vote

* Low turnout could invalidate vote, force fresh election

*

By Ivana Sekularac and Kole Casule

SKOPJE, May 5 (Reuters) - Voters in North Macedonia will elect a new president on Sunday in a run-off vote dominated by deep divisions over a change in the country's name agreed with Greece that has opened the path to NATO and European Union membership.

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for the presidential election, when about 1.8 million voters will choose between two candidates who got through to the second round.

The ruling coalition's candidate, a long-serving public official and academic, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova came neck-and-neck in the first round two weeks ago.

In the run-off, political analysts give the advantage to Pendarovski, who is expected to win support from voters of the second largest Albanian party whose candidate Blerim Reka came third in the first round.

"We are half way to full NATO membership, and in two months we expect a date to begin membership talks with the EU," Pendarovski told supporters at a rally.

"After 10 years Macedonia deserves to have a president who will speed up every positive government policy."

Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change accord but is also pro-EU. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

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The refusal of outgoing President Gjeorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language -- 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia.

THREAT OF LOW TURNOUT

The main concern is that if voter turnout falls below 40 percent in the second round the election will be declared invalid. In that case, the speaker of parliament would become interim president and new elections would have to be held.

"The ruling coalition voters are disappointed with the pace of reforms, while opposition supporters see that their candidate is not set to win, so many people are likely to stay at home," said Petar Arsovski, an analyst.

Turnout in the first round of voting was 41.6 percent.

Some opponents of the name change planned to boycott Sunday's vote.

"Vote? Why? Voting means Im giving legitimacy to the name change. No thanks," said Dejan Temelkovski, 47, a dentist.

"By not choosing a president we are sending a message to all politicians that it is enough."

Polling stations will be open until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), with the first preliminary results due two hours later. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac Editing by Gareth Jones)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes.

"I will never hesitate even for a second to fly on a 737 MAX," he said in response to a question from AFP on the sidelines of the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha.

While Buffett, the world's third-richest man, owns stakes in several of the most prestigious American companies -- from Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs to Apple and, recently, Amazon -- he holds no shares in Boeing, though he has invested in airlines.

Buffett was responding to a question about the damage to Boeing's reputation after 737 MAX planes were involved in two fatal crashes that left a total of nearly 350 people dead in a span of less than five months.

Boeing's entire 737 MAX fleet has been grounded since shortly after the latest crash in March, while investigators study the incidents and engineers work on solutions.

Another Boeing plane -- a 737 model that preceded the MAX line -- was involved in a rough landing late Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, when it skidded off a runway and into a river, but without causing any serious injuries.

"Planes have never been so safe," Buffett said, even as he encouraged Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to always make safety a priority.
Tripoli (AFP) - At least nine people were killed Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group targeting forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar in southern Libya, officials said.

IS fighters, "backed by criminal groups and mercenaries", launched a dawn assault on a military training camp in the southern city of Sebha, which is controlled by Haftar's forces, the city's mayor Hamed al-Khayali told AFP.

"The attack left nine dead ... some of whom had their throats slit and others who were shot dead," he said.

A spokesman for the Sebha Medical Centre confirmed it had received nine dead bodies.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through social media, saying it had targeted "Haftar's heretical militia" and freed prisoners held on the base.

Sebha is controlled by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which opposes the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

A power struggle between the unity government and Haftar -- who has over the last month launched an offensive against Tripoli and forces loyal to the GNA -- has left the country's vast desert south a lawless no-man's land.

The rugged territory, which shares borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan, has become a haven for jihadists and other armed groups.

In a statement, the GNA said Haftar shouldered "direct responsibility for the reemergence of the Islamic State organisation; for (its) terrorist activities and its return to the scene... after the GNA had been successful... in destroying" the jihadist group.

"Ever since the offensive against Tripoli, we have warned that the only beneficiaries... are the terrorist groups and that what is happening will offer them a fertile ground to restart their activities".

Meanwhile the UN's mission in Libya, UNSMIL, said on Twitter it "strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sebha, which was claimed by (IS) and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties."

"Perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," UNSMIL added.

Ahead of its assault on pro-GNA forces on the edge of Tripoli, the LNA in mid-January announced the start of an offensive intended to "purge the south of terrorists and criminal groups", including rebels from Chad.
Beirut (AFP) - At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.
London (AFP) - The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

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"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

- 'Royally screwed': Williamson -

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself."

He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
WASHINGTON  North Korea fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the defiant nation's first launch in more than a year and possibly re-stirring tensions with the U.S.

Both the White House and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches. South Korean media reported the missiles were fired about 9 a.m. local time Saturday from the city of Wonsan. The missiles flew about 125 miles in the direction of the ocean before landing in the water, the joint chiefs said.

Officials are analyzing the situation and details surrounding the type of missiles that were launched, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said late Friday that the White House was "aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The launch comes less than three months since President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi to negotiate denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The summit, which was the second held between the leaders, ended without any agreement on denuclearization or sanction relief.

The launch would not violate Kims self-imposed testing moratorium, which prevented the country from testing intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But the news is sure to raise tensions between North Korea and the U.S. and is the first missile launch since the North's November 2017 test of an ICBM.

In March, after North Korean officials threatened to resume testing missiles, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Kim had promised Trump that such tests would not happen.

"In Hanoi, on multiple occasions, he spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing nor would he resume missile testing," Pompeo said. "So thats Chairman Kims word. We have every expectation he will live up to that commitment."

More: North Korea wants Pompeo out of talks; Kremlin announces an April visit by Kim Jong Un

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More: Negotiations between Trump, North Korea at a standstill, but optimism still in force at DMZ

President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June.

Last month, Kim oversaw the testing of a new "tactical guided weapon." It was the nation's first publicly announced weapons test since last year and came amid growing signs that Kim has soured on his negotiations with Trump.

The country's state-run news outlet KCNA did not specify what kind of weapon the North Koreans tested last month but said the event was "of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power" of the country's military.

Since the February summit, the country has asked that Pompeo be pulled from negotiations, saying he'd been "talking nonsense" and misrepresenting comments made by Kim.

Harry Kazianis, who works for the conservative think tank National Interest, said the launch made it clear that "North Korea is angry" after February's summit with Trump, and the administration's "lack of flexibility" when it comes to sanctions.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," Kazianis said. "My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."

In March, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that the U.S. threw away a "golden opportunity" when the two countries did not come to an agreement during the February summit and said the country was rethinking its moratorium against missile launches.

"We have neither the intention to compromise with the U.S. in any form nor much less the desire or plan to conduct this kind of negotiation," Choe said.

At the time, Pompeo downplayed the threat, saying Trump would continue to pursue negotiations with the North Korean leader. Pompeo added that the U.S. expected Kim to live up to his promise to Trump to maintain the moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and dismissed North Korean demands that he be removed from negotiations.

Just last week, Pompeo reiterated that negotiating with the North could be fruitful and stressed that it would take time.

"There are lots of elements of this. There are many pieces. Its an enormous challenge for that country to make its shift, too," Pompeo said in an interview for CBS' "Intelligence Matters" podcast, noting the country's history of telling its citizens that nukes "kept them secure."

"So theres not just a military strategic decision, but a political strategic decision that we think Chairman Kim is prepared to make," Pompeo said. "Only time will tell for sure, but Ive seen enough to believe that there is a real opportunity to fundamentally shift the strategic paradigm on the peninsula there."

Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea fires several short-range missiles, its first launch in more than a year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leads the testing of a newly developed tactical weapon, November 2018 - REUTERS

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong-un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

The tests were the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.

The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9am (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.

The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017, before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.

Kimhas vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

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The missile firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical weapons system, added to the pressure it has exerted on Washington in talks on ending the North's nuclear programme.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with US President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear programme due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.
By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April. Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program after a summit in February ended in failure. South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year. "We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement. "We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearization talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defense minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief. In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration. "It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang. The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year. SECURITY GUARANTEE Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize." During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media. "The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification. "CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND" U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement. Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary." Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. "At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February.

The talks broke down after cash-strapped North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong Un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand.

The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio.

Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him.

Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.

- 'Unbureaucratic' -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger.

"But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said.

Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm.

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Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.

- Investing in tech -

On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.

Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today.

Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up."

But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.

Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp).

The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater.

Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip.

He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing.

"It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal.

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.




All 143 passengers and crew have escaped after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a terrifying attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air international plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

Officials said the 136 passengers and seven crew were alive and accounted for after the plane ditched in shallow water.

Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries but were in good condition.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. On Saturday the National Transportation Safety Board said 16 investigators were arriving to determine the cause.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.Photograph: Thomas A Higgins/AP

A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was alive and accounted for but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville sheriffs office said on Twitter.

Plane slides off runway into river in Jacksonville, Florida https://t.co/YPpdEyZ6zp pic.twitter.com/ACeadSy14O  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2019

A passenger on board the plane, lawyer Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced, it was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane, it bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.

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Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. We were in the water, we couldnt tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

The Jacksonville fire and rescue department posted on Twitter that about 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier Friday.

Later, Capt Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse. I think it is a miracle, Connor said. We could be talking about a different story.

It wasnt known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Miami Air international is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly rotator roundtrip service between the US and Guantanamo, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the naval station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

Reuters and Associated Press also contributed to this report.
All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but three pets weren't as fortunate.

The bodies of a dog and two cats were recovered, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, where the crash landing occurred, confirmed Sunday. An owner safely removed one animal that traveled in the cabin.

"Those who were involved in this sad tasking performed the recovery in the most dignified way possible with the base veterinarian on site to ensure all protocols were followed," the station posted on Facebook. "The animals will be cremated through a local company. Every possible avenue to rescue these animals was pursued following the incident."

Previous reports indicated at least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each was presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Theres water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."

Authorities have left the plane untouched as the National Transportation Safety Board conducts an investigation of the crash landing, meaning passengers' possessions, including pets, are still on the plane.

Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said the status of the pets became the "second priority" for initial responders after it was determined all passengers were safe.

He said they looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said at a Saturday news conference.

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He said he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positively determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

LaRocque said earlier Saturday that the pets include dogs and cats. The flight's manifest recorded a total of four pets on board, but she said it's possible more could have been boarded.

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

The plane skidded off the runway at around 9:40 a.m. Cheryl Bormann, prominent defense attorney who was aboard the plane, described a chaotic landing in which the pilot appeared to lose control of the aircraft before it smashed into the water and screeched to a halt.

LaRocque said that once the plane is removed from the river, authorities will then retrieve the pets and everyone's luggage.

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about eight miles south of downtown.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3 pets died in Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility's ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy "in the coming weeks," according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-based PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has "concurrent jurisdiction" with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E's bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for Californias goal to source 60% of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

"PG&E recognizes its important role in supporting the state's commitment to clean energy initiatives and remains committed to continuing to help California achieve its bold clean energy goals," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We appreciate the concerns from stakeholders across the state concerning the impact that Chapter 11 filing could have on the state's clean energy progress. PG&E has made no decisions as to whether to assume or reject contracts as part of filing for Chapter 11."

Officials from NextEra were not immediately available for comment.Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)
Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and Jerad Eickhoff and four relievers shut down a decimated Washington lineup as the host Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 4-2 on Friday.

The Nationals are now 1-9 in the first game of a series this year, as Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his fifth save while the Phillies won for the fifth time in six games. Neris fanned Michael A. Taylor for the last out with a runner on.

The winning rally started as Jean Segura reached on an infield single with one out and Bryce Harper followed with a walk against his former team in the bottom of the sixth.

Hoskins then hit a 1-1 pitch from lefty reliever Dan Jennings (0-1) well over the fence in left for a three-run shot and a 4-2 lead. That was the 10th homer of the year for Hoskins.

Eickhoff lasted five innings but allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Washington starter Jeremy Hellickson fanned five in a row at one point. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs against his former team while striking out nine. That was the most since he fanned nine at the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Eickhoff was replaced in the sixth by Seranthony Dominguez (3-0), who gave up a solo homer with one out to Kurt Suzuki as the Nationals took a 2-1 lead. The reliever allowed one run in one inning with two strikeouts.

Segura, hitting second in the Phillies lineup, hit a solo homer off Hellickson to make it 1-0 in the first.

The Nationals tied the score in the third as Hellickson led off with a walk, went to second on a single by Adam Eaton and scored on an RBI single by Howie Kendrick.

Washington left fielder Juan Soto did not start again Friday, as he is dealing with back spasms. It was the third game in a row that he missed. Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are on the injured list for the struggling Nationals, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games.

--Field Level Media
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB - Getty Images

From Esquire

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To The Last Post Of The Week From The Blog's Favourite Living Canadian)

They have to be kidding now. From the Washington Post:

President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour Friday about topics including special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation but that he did not confront Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the two leaders devoted only a brief part of their conversation to what Trump characterized as a finding of no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

I sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and ended up as a mouse, Trump said. Pressed by a reporter on whether he had confronted Putin on Russian interference in the election, Trump said: We didnt discuss that.

All "checking in with the home office" japery aside, the President* of the United States was on the line with the Russian president whose people ratfcked the 2016 presidential election and already may have started ratfcking the next one, and neither of those events even came up? This is like JFK's getting on the teletype with Khrushchev in October of 1962 and discussing the weather in Havana.

And this had escaped my notice.

Putin has echoed some of Trumps talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand, Putin said last month. Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump.

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Explain to me how this entire presidency* isn't a national-security crisis. Jesus, Lord, somebody throw the emergency brake, or hand out parachutes.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images

'Fi were king of the forest...the following things would happen.

Beto O'Rourke-or Joaquin Castro-would be running for the Senate in Texas, and Stacey Abrams would be running for the Senate in Georgia, and Steve Bullock would be running for the Senate in Montana. Michael Bennet would stay in the Senate to torment Ted Cruz further-a worthy goal for any right-thinking American. Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan would be running for re-election to the House, and Bill DeBlasio would be back in New York, trying to get the subways to run on time.

Nobody who watched William Barr's performance before a Republican-majority Senate Judiciary Committee this past week can sensibly deny that, as long as the Senate remains in the hands of the Republican Party, it doesn't matter what happens in the 2020 presidential election. If the incumbent* wins, there will be four more years of enabled destruction of our political institutions. If one of the Democrats wins, and the Senate stays Republican, the Democratic president simply will not be allowed to govern. Not as a Democrat, anyway.

And this didn't start with El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, either. The record shows that, upon Bill Clinton's election, good ol' Bob Dole announced that he was there to represent everyone who didn't vote for the winner. The Florida burglary in 2000 was in part a refusal to allow another Democrat to succeed Clinton, and the upper echelons of the Republican Party in Congress decided to obstruct Barack Obama at a dinner on the night of Obama's inauguration. If the Democratic Party can't get its senatorial campaigns together, they're chasing a fool's errand for which no fool would volunteer.

Thus, one of the most important Democratic politicians in the country is a woman named M.J. Reger, an Afghanistan vet and the favorite to win the Democratic nomination in Texas for a chance to relieve the Congress of the presence of John Cornyn. Outside of the presidential contest, that's the most critical election of them all.

Photo credit: Jessica McGowan - Getty Images

WWOZ Pick To Click: Once again, the mighty, mighty 'OZ was doing some broadcasting from Jazz Fest this week. Anyway, "Downtown Soulsville" (Chuck Edwards): Yeah, I pretty much still love New Orleans.

Weekly Visit To The Pathe Archives: Here's a British guy in a motorized bathtub. Nice that they gave him a license plate. I don't know why I felt like including this but history is pretty cool.

Is it a good day for dinosaur news, ScienceDaily? It's always a good day for dinosaur news!

An early winged dinosaur couldnt fly, but it could run. Now, with assists from a robotic dino and young ostriches wearing artificial wings, a study suggests that the dinosaurs running gait caused its wings to flap, in what may have been an evolutionary precursor to flight.

Caudipteryx was a peacock-sized dinosaur with feathered and winglike forelimbs that lived about 125 million years ago. Running at speeds of about 2.5 to 5.8 meters per second sent vibrations through its body, causing its wings to flap vigorously, scientists report online May 2 in PLOS Computational Biology. If true, the results suggest that some dinosaurs had to run before they could fly - adding a new wrinkle to a long-standing debate over whether the earliest fliers were flappers or gliders.

The vision of dozens of these poor beasts flapping their way across the savanna in futile attempts to get airborne is truly heartbreaking, even if does bring to mind a very famous skit from the Pythons.

In particular, Zhao and his colleagues wanted to see how Caudipteryxs running gait might have jostled its forelimbs, perhaps causing them to flap involuntarily. Hypothetically, with strong enough vibrations - and if the wings were large and strong enough - such flapping could generate enough lift to leave the ground.

Imagine being the first dinosaur to find itself flying by accident. That seriously could screw you up. But the vision of all those plucky dinosaurs trying to conquer the air is enough to be glad they lived them to make us happy now.

The Committee was very impressed with Top Commenter Carol Nicklaus and her ability to use various variations of words beginning with "pend--" while resisting the temptation to employ the word, "pendejo" which in our current circumstances can be an overwhelming one.

As for any "pendency" inhibiting the president*'s ability to perform any "governance," I think that would be the "pendency" of his twitter device perpetually "pendent" from his fingers...

Pending delivery, you will have 80.11 Beckhams on the house.

I'll be back on Monday with the results of my borscht taste-testing, which is part of Making American Kiev Again. Be well and play nice, ya bastids. Stay above the snake-line, and don't give up trying to fly. A few million years from now, who knows?

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

('You Might Also Like',)
Lisbon (AFP) - Portugal's Socialist prime minister has boosted his credibility in an election year and piled pressure on the conservative opposition by threatening to resign if parliament approves salary increases for teachers, analysts say.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa issued the warning on Friday, a day after a parliamentary education committee approved giving teachers salary increases that were not paid during the country's financial crisis.

The proposal was unexpectedly backed by his minority government's far-left allies -- the Communists and the Left Bloc, plus the conservative PSD and CDS parties which have long defended the need for stiff austerity measures.

It must be ratified by the full parliament but Costa said his government will resign if it goes through, bringing forward general elections slated for October 6. The far-left parties have already ruled out any compromise.

Costa said the measure would cost 800 million euros ($895 million) a year and undermine efforts to balance the budget.

The stand-off however positions the Socialists as "a centre-left party ... (and) puts pressure on the rightist camp because it shows their incoherence and contradictions" on austerity, political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto told AFP.

"Whoever thought the Socialist Party would turn left was completely mistaken. The centre is what matters for the elections," he added.

Recent polls have suggested the Socialists are on track to win the next general election but fall short of a majority.

The popularity of the party has slipped in recent months amid a scandal over perceived nepotism within the government. Costa's cabinet includes a married couple and a father and daughter.

- 'Only responsible party' -

The Socialists' chances have now improved since they "appear as the only responsible party," political analyst Pedro Marques Lopes wrote in a column Saturday in daily newspaper Diario de Noticias.

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"Welcome to the now real possibility that the Socialists will win an absolute majority. With compliments of the PSD," Lopes wrote.

Since coming to power in 2015 with the support of the Communists and the Left Bloc, Costa's government has focused on restoring fiscal credibility and balancing the budget.

The budget deficit, once 11 percent of total economic output during Portugal's 2010-14 debt crisis, has been almost eliminated even as the government has opened the purse strings in some areas, raising pensions and cutting taxes for those on lower wages.

This helped the government win the prestigious post of Eurogroup leader for its finance minister, Mario Centeno, who in this role chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers.

- 'Act of political mastery' -

Centeno was quick to accuse opposition parties of being irresponsible in voting for the teachers' salary hike.

Costa has also warned that the extra spending would have to be made up through "significantly higher taxes" or steep public spending cuts.

Costa's move was "an indisputable act of political mastery" since it allows him to present the Socialists as the "guarantor of fiscal stability and the right as being irresponsible," political analyst Jose Miguel Judice told private TV station Sic.
UN and other experts Saturday praised India for its early warning systems and rapid evacuation of more than 1 million people, which they said helped minimise loss of life from a deadly cyclone that battered its eastern coast.

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, tore into Odisha Friday, leaving a trail of devastation across the coastal state of 46 million people before swinging towards Bangladesh.

In 1999 the same state was hit by a devastating 30-hour super-cyclone that saw a storm surge sweep 20 kilometres inland. Unprepared for the scale of the diaster, authorities struggled to evacuate the stricken population and some 10,000 people were killed.

This time, improved forecasting models, public awareness campaigns and well-drilled evacuation plans -- backed up by an army of responders and volunteers -- has seen Odisha's inhabitants spared the worst of Fani's fury.

Only twelve people have been killed by the cyclone in India -- which escaped being hit by a major storm surge -- and at least 160 injured, local media reported.

As soon as it became clear this week that Fani was on course to hit Odisha, emergency teams began the mammoth task of evacuating those living in low-lying regions, moving 1.2 million residents away from danger areas and in to temporary shelters.

Alerts asking residents to stay indoors and follow the dos and don'ts were issued repeatedly on TV and radio, and broadcast through loudspeakers in public places.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised the government's "effective" evacuation, saying it had "saved many lives".

- New weather models -

The state government in Odisha along with national disaster response teams and volunteers have worked in tandem to carry out evacuations and set up safe shelters.

Workers have been equipped with satellite phones and inflatable boats along with food and medicines to distribute in the storm's aftermath.

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Some 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters have been set up, thanks to an army of 45,000 volunteers.

Emergency workers are now focussing on restoring damaged infrastructure, including power and telecom lines, and clearing roads.

Mahesh Palawat, the vice-president of meteorology at private forecaster Skymet, said the early warnings had been vital in allowing authorities to plan in advance.

"From April 25 onwards we (the Indian Meteorological Department and Skymet) had been monitoring the track and intensity of the cyclone continuously, what time it would make landfall and the probable points of landfall," Palawat told AFP.

Numerical models, adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2014 to supplement the more traditional statistical modelling, allowed forecasters to track Fani's progress and wind profiles in the upper atmosphere.

Denis McClean, a spokesperson for UNISDR, said "the almost pinpoint accuracy" of the early warnings from the IMD had enabled the authorities to "conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan."

Social media users also lauded the Indian authorities for averting a mass human disaster, despite the fact that a densely populated region was in the eye of the storm.

"Credit goes to #India authorities for their aggressive pre-impact response, including massive evacuations," wrote Josh Morgerman, a US-based cyclone expert.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For months, President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen tried  but failed  to position himself as a whistleblower in the vein of Watergate hero John Dean.

As the time ticked down toward his deadline to report to prison, Cohen also lost the interest of the one group of people who could help him out: the federal prosecutors he desperately hoped would ask a judge to shorten his sentence.

Since mid-March, prosecutors in New York have rebuffed Cohen's repeated offers to provide more information about alleged wrongdoing by Trump and other people in his orbit, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis told The Associated Press on Friday.

"Why not see him?" Davis asked. "What's the downside? He's about to go to prison."

Cohen's legal team reached out to prosecutors in March asking for an opportunity to meet for a "frank discussion" about reducing his sentence, based on his cooperation. That meeting never happened.

That snub might be the best evidence yet that Cohen's months-long campaign to sell himself as a potential witness hasn't paid off.

Cohen is scheduled to report Monday to a federal prison 70 miles north of New York City to begin serving a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress.

In an apparent bid to maintain a semblance of normalcy before starting his sentence, Cohen left his Manhattan apartment building on Saturday with his son to go to a coffee shop and then to a barbershop, Eddie Arthur Salon. They both got haircuts. Cohen's next stop was the pricy retailer Barneys New York, where he told journalists that he plans to hold a news conference Monday before heading to prison.

Cohen remains the only person charged in a scandal involving hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who were threatening during the presidential campaign to speak up about alleged affairs with Trump.

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Cohen started to cast himself publicly as a whistleblower less than three months after the FBI raided his home and apartment.

He gave a series of tantalizing teases that there was "more to come," starting with an interview last July in which he told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos he was no longer loyal to Trump. More dribbled out over the next few weeks. Davis released a tape of Cohen and Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments.

That effort, though, has largely been met with an uncompromising approach by federal prosecutors.

New York investigators built their case for months without speaking with Cohen, then finally agreed to meet with him on a Saturday last August, just a few days before he would plead guilty.

At the meeting, they delivered an ultimatum: plead guilty or be indicted within days. Cohen also believed after the meeting that his wife could be charged with financial crimes if he didn't cooperate.

"I love this woman, and I am not going to let her get dragged into the mud of this crap," Cohen later told an acquaintance, the actor Tom Arnold, in a conversation that Arnold recorded and provided to The Wall Street Journal.

Cohen's wife, Laura, filed taxes with her husband and made investments with Cohen in taxi medallions. She ultimately was not charged.

After pleading guilty in August, Cohen did meet with Manhattan-based prosecutors multiple times to discuss several issues. Those included Trump's personal business dealings, the president's personal involvement in attempts to pay off McDougal and Daniels, and his inaugural committee, which is now the subject of a criminal investigation centering on possible donations by foreign nationals and influence peddling.

Cohen also met with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators several times, culminating with a session just days before the former FBI director turned his report over to the Justice Department.

Still, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, in court filings before his sentencing, criticized what it described as Cohen's unwillingness to cooperate fully and be debriefed "on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past."

They didn't ask the judge for a lenient sentence and have given no sign that they intend to file a so-called Rule 35 motion a legal filing that could reduce Cohen's punishment if his cooperation is deemed to be of substantial assistance. Cohen's attorneys say they believe Cohen's information supports several potential prosecutions.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

In February, Cohen testified before several Congressional panels about what he said was dishonesty by Trump in his business affairs. He also testified that a Trump Organization executive, Allen Weisselberg, and Trump's son Donald Jr. were involved in reimbursing him for one of the hush money payments.

During that testimony, Cohen said a number of Trump-related topics were still being probed by New York prosecutors.

"I am currently working with them right now on several other issues of investigation that concerns them, that they're looking at," Cohen said.

Yet, within weeks, prosecutors were through speaking with him.

Davis, in the interview Friday, said he believes Cohen has been treated unfairly.

"The Southern District of New York was disproportionate in the sentence it asked for and appears to have targeted just Michael Cohen for reasons that I can't understand," Davis said.

___

Sisak reported from New York.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A protest in the South Darfur city of Nyala ended in violence on Saturday, with security forces launching tear gas at protesters and firing gunshots, state news agency SUNA and Sudan's main protest organizer said. Around 5,000 protesters marched peacefully from the Atash camp for the displaced to a military installation housing the 16th Infantry Division, SUNA said, citing South Darfur's governor. Sudan has seen frequent protests near military buildings. The agency said protesters attacked military personnel and tried to seize military vehicles in the town, some 1,100 km southwest of Khartoum. However the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests that led to the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir last month, said the protesters were peaceful, and made no mention of casualties. South Darfur Governor Hashim Khalid Mahmoud said four military and Rapid Support Forces personnel were injured, SUNA reported. He said the joint forces fired live ammunition into the air and used tear gas, but said no demonstrators were hurt. The SPA is locked in a standoff with the ruling Transitional Military Council over who will control a proposed joint civilian-military body to oversee the country until elections can be held. Protests have continued in a bid to push the council to cede power to civilians. The SPA, part of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, called on people across Sudan to take to the streets "in rejection of the practices of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militias, and condemning their attacks on the peaceful rebels in Nyala". "Let us go out to the streets and rally at the sit-ins to support our brothers in Nyala, in support of them and their right to recapture their glorious sit-in in front of the 16th Infantry Division," the SPA said in a statement. Mahmoud said he would "not allow again the presence of protesters" in front of the military's general command and the state government building in Nyala. "They have to choose any other place to sit in," he said. A widely circulated video that was shared live on Facebook from inside a hospital in Nyala showed several people with gunshot wounds to the limbs. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jan Harvey)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Puerto Rico's government has reached a key debt restructuring deal with a group that bought bonds issued by the U.S. territory's power company.

The deal announced Friday is expected to reduce some of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority debt by 33 percent as the company prepares to privatize the energy generation.

The deal also was reached with bond insurer Assured Guaranty Corp. and calls for a fixed transition charge of 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour that will rise to 4.5 cents. The increase would be reflected in customer's bills as Puerto Ricans decry austerity measures.

A federal control board that oversees the island's finances said the plan would save about $3 billion in debt service payments over the next decade.

The deal has to be approved by a federal judge.
The Cincinnati Reds on Saturday released outfielder Matt Kemp, who had been a disappointment since being acquired in an offseason deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati also demoted former 30-homer man Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville.

The moves come one day after the Reds recalled top prospect Nick Senzel. He made his major league debut in center field on Friday night and went 1-for-5 with two walks in a 12-11, 11-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Kemp, a three-time All-Star, was batting just .200 with one homer and five RBIs in 20 games with the Reds, who are managed by David Bell.

"With our support, David is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

The 34-year-old Kemp last played for the Reds on April 21, when he suffered a broken left rib after colliding with the left field wall in San Diego while trying to catch a two-run double hit by Padres outfielder Wil Myers.

Kemp batted .290 with 21 homers and 85 RBIs for the Dodgers last season. He was traded to Cincinnati in December as part of the deal in which the Reds landed outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed from Louisville. Reed was 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances.

Reed has spent part of the last three seasons with the Reds and is 2-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 39 career appearances (18 starts).

--Field Level Media
Kigali (AFP) - The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered in Rwanda's genocide were laid to rest Saturday in a sombre ceremony in Kigali, a quarter of a century after the slaughter.

Mourners sobbed as 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mass killings were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital.

They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, massacred over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militia forces determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 -- the day the genocide began. But this year has witnessed particular commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary.

"Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is every Rwandans responsibility -- and so is giving them a decent burial," said Justice Minister Johnston Busingye at the mass burial.

Some mourners broke down wailing as survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the funeral by ushers.

Emanuel Nduwayezu said the discovery meant he finally had somewhere to come each April 7 and lay a wreath in memory of his murdered family.

"Right now I am very happy because I have buried my dad, my sister and her children, and my in-law. Twenty-five years have passed and I had not known where they were," he told AFP.

"Everyday I was thinking and getting confused (about) where my dad was but now I found him and I have a buried him.

The remains of those interred on Saturday were only found early last year, when 143 pits containing thousands of bone and clothing fragments were discovered beneath homes on the outskirts of Kigali.

Those exhumed for burial on Saturday came from just 43 such pits -- leaving 100 more to go.

A painstaking effort was undertaken so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothing and other markings.

They join 11,000 other victims already laid to rest at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial.

Story continues

- Grim discovery -

Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors, said a landlord from the area revealed the location of the graves only after he was threatened with arrest.

More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 with dumping corpses, came forward with new information.

Dusingizemungu said it was likely those living on the graves knew what lay beneath their homes.

"It is unfortunate that... these perpetrators, now free, never bothered to reveal to bereaved families the location of these grave sites, so they could get closure," he said.

Clementine Ingabire was the sole survivor from her extended family of 23 who were massacred in the frenzy.

Seven of her relatives were identified from the pits, their remains scattered among the coffins. But at least they were granted a dignified burial, she said.

Just seven at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous she made it out alive.

"Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others," the 32-year-old said.

"I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend to my mother. She saw me running and grabbed me... that's how I survived."

The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing the genocidal killers out of Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became Rwanda's president and has remained in power ever since.
2030 15th Ave., #3. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Sacramento?

We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down housing in Sacramento if you've got $1,000/month earmarked for your rent.

Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

4500 63rd St. (Tahoe Park South)

Here's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 4500 63rd St. This apartment is listed for $995/month.

Amenities offered in the building include on-site laundry, storage space and secured entry. In the apartment, there are granite countertops and a walk-in closet. Cats are allowed, but dogs are not. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

Per Walk Score ratings, this location is car-dependent, is relatively bikeable and has some transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

603 11th St. (Alkali Flat)

Here's a 550-square-foot studio apartment at 603 11th St. that's also going for $995/month.

In the unit, you'll get a walk-in closet. The building boasts on-site laundry, outdoor space and secured entry. Pets are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $25 application fee.

According to Walk Score, this location is very walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

2030 15th Ave., #3 (Carleton Tract)

Located at 2030 15th Ave., #3, here's a 700-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that's listed for $895/month.

The building has on-site laundry and assigned parking. Apartment amenities include air conditioning and laminate flooring. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted.

Story continues

According to Walk Score, this location is friendly for those on foot, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive

His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan's fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. "I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops," Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the frontline of Islamist militancy in Pakistan.

Tyson Foods recalls almost 12 million pounds of chicken strips over contamination fears

Tyson Foods Inc significantly expanded a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips to close to 12 million pounds (5.4 million kg) over contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday. The Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was aware of six complaints from consumers who found pieces of metal in the product.

Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone

A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.

UK's Vectura wins patent infringement case against GlaxoSmithKline in U.S

British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said.

Story continues

Congo Ebola deaths surpass 1,000 as attacks on treatment centers go on

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, with attacks on treatment centers continuing to hamper efforts to control the "intense transmission" of the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record. The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Newly adopted children need specialized health exams

Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcare workers should play a significant role in the adoption process, the guideline authors emphasize.

AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms  where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples.

Scientology cruise ship leaves St. Lucia after measles quarantine

A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia late on Thursday after health officials provided 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, media reports said. The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined in port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected on board.

Scientology cruise ship faces renewed quarantine at home port in Curacao

A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said. A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations

An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds. The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in April test accident

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an "anomaly" - science jargon for when something goes wrong.

First moon landing manual could fetch $9 million at auction

The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie's said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apollo 11 lunar module timeline book details every procedure that was needed to undock, land and rendezvous the Eagle with its Columbia command module when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK politicians can reach Brexit deal in next few days: Scottish Conservative leader

A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen.

North Korea fires 'projectiles', South Korea says stop raising tensions

North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula." The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rocket attacks, air strikes

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday and an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

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'I shall reign with righteousness': Thailand crowns king in ornate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

UK Conservatives look for Brexit compromise after local poll losses

Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

South Africa's largest opposition party promises to lead coalitions, tackle racism

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions.

Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports. Rouhani's comments, carried live on Iranian TV, came a day after Washington acted to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting its ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Cyclone Fani kills at least 12 dead in India before swiping Bangladesh

The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety. Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'Deep Depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan dismissed concerns about a potential intelligence failure on Venezuela like the one that preceded the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and said top U.S. officials had held talks at the Pentagon on Friday. President Donald Trump's strategy on Venezuela has come under growing scrutiny as President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, raising questions about the way ahead for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and some 50 countries recognize as the legitimate head of state.

English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos: early results

English voters used local elections to punish both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the deadlock over Brexit, partial results showed on Friday. With just under a third of English local council vote results declared, the Conservative Party had lost 212 councilors and the Labour Party had lost 54 councilors, according to a BBC tally. The Liberal Democrats gained 145.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Thailand to crown its newlywed king in elaborate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday begins intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowns its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The king will be joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

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Canada vows to defends its business in Cuba as U.S. opens way for lawsuits

Canada vowed on Friday to defend its businesses operating in Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a ban on American citizens filing lawsuits against investors working on the island nation. "The Government of Canada will always defend Canadians and Canadian businesses conducting legitimate trade and investment with Cuba, and is reviewing all options in response to the U.S. decision," a foreign ministry statement said.

Scotland's Davidson girds for fight as support for independence rises

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

Trump says he, Putin discussed new nuclear pact possibly including China

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

Israel kills two militants in Gaza; two Palestinians killed in border protest

Israel killed two Hamas militants in air strikes on Gaza on Friday, and two Palestinian protesters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces along the enclave's border. The strikes were a response to gunfire from southern Gaza that wounded two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said.

One Venezuelan protester's brush with death

A young protester, his arms outstretched and his head thrown completely back, is struck from behind by a Venezuelan National Guard riot control vehicle and pulled underneath. Luis Alejandro had joined a protest outside 'La Carlota' military base in Caracas after opposition leader Juan Guaido called on Venezuelans to support the "final phase" of his effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.

U.S. cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant

The United States acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of U.S. sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programs designed to prevent Iran from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons program.
By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc's drivers in New York will go on strike next week shortly before the ride-hailing company goes public to protest what they view as unfair employment conditions, a taxi union said on Friday. The protests underscore the challenge for Uber of finding a way to lower driver costs in order to become profitable and paying drivers enough to retain their services. Drivers for Uber, as well Lyft Inc and other ride-hailing apps, will strike on Wednesday for two hours, beginning at 7 a.m. ET (1100 GMT). Uber currently expects to price its IPO on Thursday and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following day. The drivers join peers in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., who are also planning to strike. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) said the drivers are demanding job security, livable incomes and a cap on the amount ride-hailing companies can collect from fares. "Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our work day," Sonam Lama, a NYTWA member and Uber driver since 2015, said in a statement. "Uber executives are getting rich off of our work. They should treat us with respect. We are striking to send a message that drivers will keep rising up," Lama said. Uber cautioned in its IPO filing that its business would be "adversely affected" if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors. The company hopes to be valued at between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion. Uber has yet to turn a profit. It reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2019. "I voted to go on strike because drivers need job security," said Henry Rolands, an NYTWA member and Lyft driver. Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lyft said in an emailed statement that its drivers' hourly earnings have increased over the last two year. "Over 75 percent drive less than 10 hours a week to supplement their existing jobs. On average, drivers nationwide earn over $20 per hour," Lyft said. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)
A University of North Carolina student who died charging an active shooter on the schools Charlotte campus will be buried with full military honors, local TV station WJZY reported Friday.

Wells Funeral Homes confirmed to the outlet that 21-year-old Riley Howell, a ROTC cadet, will receive the special recognition when he is laid to rest.

Howell, who was nearly finished with his junior year of college, was killed on Tuesday as he tackled the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Trystan Terrell, a former UNCC student who has been arrested.

A second student, 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, was also killed, and four others were injured. Terrell faces two charges of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

In Howells obituary, he is remembered as an adventurous guy who loved the outdoors and had a passion for life and all living things.

The family is profoundly moved by the outpouring of love and support shown by our friends, family, community and people around the country we have never even met, the obituary reads. Riley died the way he lived, putting others first.

In the wake of the violence, UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois told students in a statement Thursday that we will emerge from these difficult days.

We will not emerge unchanged, but we will emerge united and stronger, he said. That will be our new normal.
DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated.

"This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying.

Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail.

Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by David Holmes)
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated. "This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying. Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added. The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail. Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani. The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)
(Repeats story moved May 2)

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, May 2 (Reuters) - During Thailand's main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4, the monarch will be presented with five royal regalia, which are treated as symbols of kingship, marking the legitimacy of his reign.

Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known.

The items were first made for the coronation of King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok, or Rama I, and heavily infused with Hindu-Brahman beliefs.

Here are the five royal instruments that will play a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, the 10th divine monarch of Thailand's Chakri dynasty.

THE GREAT CROWN OF VICTORY

The crown is the most important article among all the royal regalia. Adorned with diamonds set in gold enamel, the crown is 66 cm (26 inches) tall and weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb). At the tip of the cone-shaped crown is a large diamond from Kolkata, India, called "Phra Maha Wichian Mani."

During coronation ceremonies of the early reigns, kings Rama I to III would only place the crown next to them upon receiving it. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries, King Rama IV started the practice of placing the crown upon his head, to be more in line with the Western idea of kingship.

The high-reaching crown symbolizes the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra's heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch's royal burden.

THE SWORD OF VICTORY

The sword is believed to be an ancient sword of the Khmer Empire, which was lost at the bottom of a lake in Siem Reap until it was caught in a fisherman's net and later presented to King Rama I.

The king then ordered the sword's hilt and sheath to be ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems, becoming the sword "Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri" as we now know it.

The length of the sword is 89.8 cm (35 inches), including the 64.5 cm (25 inch) blade. It weighs 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) when enclosed with the sheath.

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It represents the king's ability to protect his nation.

THE ROYAL SCEPTER

The 118 cm (3.8 feet) staff, called "Than Phra Kon," is made of Javanese Cassia wood enameled in gold. The finial is shaped like a trident gilded with gold, and its iron hilt is also inlaid with gold.

The staff symbolizes the righteousness of the king.

THE ROYAL FAN AND FLY WHISK

The "Walawichani" was originally only a fan made of a palm leaf, with gold-trimmed rim and gold-enameled rod.

However, King Rama IV said "Walawichani," in the Pali language, refers more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, an animal found in the Himalayas. The king, therefore, ordered the whisk to be made and included it in the royal regalia along with the original palm-leaf fan.

The fan and whisk signify the king's duty to chase away his people's troubles.

THE ROYAL SLIPPERS

The curve-tipped slippers, called "Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon," are made of colorful enameled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

During the coronation ceremony, the chief Brahmin, who presents the king with the five royal regalia, will put the slippers on the king's feet.

The royal slippers represent the ground of Mount Meru, the abode of the god Indra. (Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
Havana (AFP) - Russia is stirring the ghosts of Cuba's Cold War past as it looks to re-establish its influence in the Communist-run island nation, although this time analysts say Moscow has no intention of bankrolling Havana.

Whereas once the Soviet Union and Cuba were linked by an ideological bond, now pragmatism and a shared rejection of US foreign policy is drawing them together again.

At Havana's colorful May Day parade Wednesday, Raul Castro, the first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party, received the highest distinction from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: the Order of Lenin.

The former Cuba president said the prize -- first presented in 1930 by the Soviet Union -- pointed to the "historic relations" between the two countries that "have endured different scenarios and today are being reinforced and renewed."

This rapprochement is not new but has been consolidated by shared opposition to sanctions imposed on Cuba by Washington, which accuses the Caribbean nation of providing military support to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, another Moscow ally.

"The effect of this policy is that it isolates the United States on Cuba and we're opening the door for greater Chinese and Russian presence on the island," said Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, which connects Cuban-Americans advocating economic and political freedom on the island.

Relations between Havana and Washington had thawed under former president Barack Obama, but have chilled considerably since Donald Trump's administration took over.

- 'Lovers triangle' -

The Soviet era may have been confined to history, but it hasn't been forgotten.

"In Cuba, we've always had fond memories of Russia," said 82-year-old Luis Corredera Rodriguez as he played dominos with friends on a Havana sidewalk. "They supported us in everything."

"They're friends for life," added Julio Garcia, 59, although he noted that "the Russians have changed." In effect, he said, the Cubans have become more Russian than the Russians themselves.

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"They're no longer Soviet, they're capitalist like everyone."

Behind the dominos table -- Cuba's national pastime -- a parked Russian Lada is passed by a revving classic 1950s American car.

"It's almost like a lovers triangle between the US, Cuba and Russia: it's an old relationship, there's a lot of emotion here," said Scott B. MacDonald, senior associate of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the last two years have seen Cuba slide into "a new Cold War," although with a different dynamic this time.

"At the end of the Soviet Union, it was about $4 billion a year that went to prop up the Cuban economy."

That came to an end when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1990.

Now, Russia is only Cuba's third largest commercial partner, after the European Union and China.

"Russia likes the idea of warming up this relationship, but does Russia want to spend $4 billion a year to keep Cuba alive economically?" asked MacDonald.

The US may be wary of Russia sidling up to Cuba but the EU seems to have no issue with it.

The EU ambassadors in Cuba invited their Russian counterpart to their monthly meeting, where Andrei Guskov talked about the collaboration between Moscow and Havana and his desire to increase it, several participants said.

After agreeing to business deals worth $350 million in 2018, Russian investments will allow Cuba to increase its energy production by 20 percent and renew the 14-strong fleet of the national airline, Guskov said.

- 'No ideological dimension' -

On top of that, Russia has agreed a 38 million euro ($42 million) loan to modernize Cuba's military, $1 billion to refurbish its railway lines and agreements in civilian nuclear power and cybersecurity.

This "is part of a larger effort by Russia to destabilize the United States, rather than" a bid "to form a Soviet satellite 90 miles off the (US) shores like during the Cold War," said Herrero.

However, the friendship between the two countries today is "built on a pragmatic base, without the ideological dimension there was during the Soviet era," said Nikolai Kalashnikov, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

While Russia is no longer communist, socialist Cuba is driven in part by the threat it will lose its oil aid from crisis-wracked Venezuela -- itself creaking under the strain of US sanctions -- and its need for cash.

"Cuba needs to export and Russia is a market of 143 million" people, said Santiago Perez, deputy director of the Cuban Research Center for International Policy.

There may no longer be a common ideology, but there are "mutual interests."

"The relationship with Russia is crucial for us right now, and I think it's the same for them too."
By Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said.

A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, chief epidemiologist for the Curacao Biomedical and Health Research Institute, said passengers and crew who can prove they were already vaccinated or have had measles in the past would likely be free to disembark "and go about their business."

Others would likely be restricted from leaving the vessel for the duration of the incubation period - the time during which they could potentially transmit the disease to others, he told Reuters by telephone.

"What we don't want is for the disease to spread further," Gerstenbluth said. "There is no other way than ... by not allowing anyone who may be infected off the ship."

Incubation can last up to 21 days after exposure, with infected individuals most contagious from four days before the onset of tell-tale measles rash - while the person is experiencing cold-like symptoms - to four days after the rash appears.

Gerstenbluth said the infected crew member had traveled to Europe and rejoined the ship on April 17, then reported feeling ill on April 22. She remained on the vessel after a blood sample taken several days later came back positive for measles, by which time the ship was already en route to St. Lucia.

Health authorities placed the ship under quarantine after its arrival there on April 30, barring anyone from disembarking. St. Lucia also was reported to have furnished 100 doses of measles vaccine to the vessel before it departed on Thursday for Curacao.

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A total of 318 passengers and crew are believed to be aboard the ship, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified by maritime-tracking records as SMV Freewinds, the name of the 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

The church, on its website, describes Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion."

It says the boat is based in Curacao, an island once part of the Dutch Antilles north of Venezuela and now an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Scientology officials have not responded to requests for comment.

Although the measles-infected crew member has supposedly been restricted to her cabin since diagnosed, the relatively confined interior of a cruise ship and highly communicable nature of the virus - it can linger in an enclosed space for two hours - raises the risk of exposure to others who lack immunity, Gerstenbluth said.

The quarantine comes amid a worldwide resurgence of measles blamed by public health officials on declining inoculation rates in some populations due to misinformation about the safety of the vaccine.

The number of measles cases in the United States alone in recent months has climbed to more than 700 this week, a 25-year peak. Health authorities in Los Angeles last month ordered quarantines on two university campuses after each one had reported at least one confirmed case. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Dakar (AFP) - Senegalese lawmakers on Saturday approved a constitutional reform to scrap the post of prime minister, the first initiative of President Macky Sall's second term in office.

The motion passed with 124 MPs voting in favour and only seven against, National Assembly president Moustapha Niasse said Saturday evening after a nine-hour debate.

The government approved the measure last month before sending it to the parliament where the presidential party enjoys a majority.

Sall, who was comfortably re-elected in February, announced the plan in early April, telling the prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, to abolish his own job.

The move was a surprise as it had not been part of Sall's re-election campaign.

On Saturday, lawmakers also backed legislative changes aimed at preventing the president from dissolving the National Assembly, which in turn can no longer table a motion of no confidence against the government.

Justice Minister Malick Sall said the changes were "purely technical and administrative".

"The goal is not to increase the powers of the president of the republic," he told MPs.

Opposition parties have denounced the constitutional amendments.

"It's a democratic setback. You can't concentrate powers in the hands of one person," said Toussaint Manga, who heads an opposition group founded by supporters of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall has been in power since 2012 and secured 58 percent of the popular vote in the recent election.

A self-proclaimed social liberal -- despite a flirtation with Maoism in his youth -- Sall has described, in his autobiography published last November, a slow, steady rise from a modest background all the way to the top, despite a stint in the political wilderness.

But critics argue that such single-mindedness has made Sall willing to bend the rules to get what he wants.
Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) - When he first heard Pope Francis would visit North Macedonia, the birthplace of the world's most famous Catholic nun Mother Teresa, Marinko Pinjuh thought it was "fake news".

Like many of his fellow Catholics, the waiter said he is equally puzzled and delighted to welcome the pontiff to their tiny country on Tuesday.

Catholics account for less than one percent of the Balkan state's population of 2.1 million, most of whom are Orthodox Christians while a quarter are Muslim.

But the capital Skopje does have one claim to Catholic fame: Mother Teresa -- who earned the sobriquet "Saint of the Gutters" for her lifelong work with the poorest of the poor in the Indian city of Calcutta -- was born there in 1910.

"He is coming to the hometown of Holy Mother Teresa, who became the moral conscience of the world," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said ahead of the pope's "historic" visit.

Mother Teresa, who was canonised in 2016, lived in Skopje when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire.

Born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she belonged to a rich family from the ethnic Albanian minority in Skopje.

North Macedonia's Catholics hail from both the country's Albanian and Croat minorities, as well as descendants of Macedonian Slavs who did not embrace Orthodox Christianity after the Great Schism in 11th century.

- Mother Teresa everywhere -

Although Mother Teresa rarely returned to her birthplace after leaving in the 1920s, her legacy is everywhere in the small Balkan capital.

A motorway bears her name while a plaque marks the place where she was born, though the house itself was destroyed in a devastating 1963 earthquake that nearly wiped the city off the map.

Next to it are trees she planted during her last visit in 1980, according to her grand-nephew Gombar Alojz, 71, who sells pendants with the nun's effigy in his nearby shop.

A few metres away tourists pose for pictures with a photo of Mother Teresa, while down another road stands a memorial devoted to her life and works, which the Pope will visit on Tuesday.

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Believers should thank the revered nun for the pope's visit, Macedonian bishop Kiro Stojanov told AFP.

During an Easter mass he called on his congregation to welcome Francis with "humbleness" and to show themselves as "worthy of his love".

Outside Skopje's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart stands a statue of Mother Teresa with her hands clasped in prayer, while nuns of her order were recognisable at the Easter mass by their white saris with blue borders.

"Do not be afraid, little flock," said the bishop, quoting the Gospel of Luke.

In this "small country, the number of (Catholic) believers is equally small... but like Jesus, the pope is devoted to the ordinary man," he said.

- Why North Macedonia? -

Believers are now gearing up for the mass of a lifetime, with Francis set to guide them in prayer in Skopje's central square. Around 15,000 people are expected to join the ceremony.

Pinjuh, the 42-year old waiter, never thought his town would host the pontiff.

Why did the pope choose North Macedonia?

"No idea," he says. "Everybody has the same question."

Andreja Atanasovska, a 22-year old Catholic economy student, echoed him.

"It is a bit odd, isn't it?," she said. "But it is nice to meet the pope!"

Catholic saleswoman Katerina Milevska said the visit is related to the recent change of the country's name -- which added "North" to Macedonia -- that helped seal a deal to end a long-running dispute with Greece.

"Since the situation is tense in the rest of the Balkans... the pope wants maybe to release a message of peace to Christians of Europe in these difficult times," she said.

Gombar Alojz, who met Mother Teresa twice, is convinced that the pope is coming to tell Macedonian Catholics: "You are a small flock and I want you to increase."

"There are really very few of us," he added.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions. At the DA's final campaign rally on Saturday, Mmusi Maimane, the first black African to lead the center-right party, told 5,000 supporters in the township of Soweto the DA would grow jobs, protect minority rights and unite the country. "You will find us at the heart of coalition governments in this country, as we build a strong center for South Africa, free from the divisions of the past," Maimane said. Parliamentary and provincial elections take place every five years, with seats allocated according to a proportional representation system. The DA and the hard left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) teamed up in 2016 local elections to clinch control in three of the country's largest metropolitan districts - South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, administrative capital Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay in the eastern province. But the parties have been at odds since, disagreeing over key laws at national and local level, particularly land reform. The DA rejected a move to amend the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation after the EFF brought the motion to parliament, and eventually saw it passed with the support of the ANC. Polls in the past two weeks suggest the DA, as well as the ANC, will struggle to win outright majorities in crucial urban areas. "The smaller parties pose somewhat of a threat to the dominant ones this year. New parties, many launched by former ANC and DA members, will siphon away votes and could be key in provincial coalitions," political risk organization Eurasia said in a note. The DA won 22 percent of the parliamentary vote in 2014, giving it the second biggest number of seats in the National Assembly. Analysts also say a sharper fracturing of voters along racial and ideological lines has seen smaller, more hardline parties gain traction. "Your vote should not simply there to expression your race," Maimane said. "If the rights of the minority are going to protected they are going to be protected by the majority," he said, responding to a growing challenge by smaller nationalist groups to the party's traditional base of white, English and Afrikaans-speaking middle class voters. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ros Russell)
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter's suicide bombings, even as police and troops tightened security.

Father Edmund Tillakaratne said public masses were suspended for a second week amid fears of a repeat jihadi strike, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television.

Police, meanwhile, said they were stepping up search operations over the weekend ahead of a planned re-opening of over 10,000 public schools after an extended Easter vacation.

Some 257 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings against three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21.

"We will not allow any parking near public schools from Sunday afternoon," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. "Search operations will be intensified as part of tighter security."

Police and troops across the country had recovered small quantities of explosives, guns, swords, daggers and kris knives, Gunasekera said.

"We will grant a two-day amnesty for people to surrender such weapons," he added.

Despite the tight security, Catholic churches will remain shut on Sunday, a spokesman said, adding that a private mass will be telecast live from the residence of the Archbishop.

"It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live," spokesman Edmond Tillakaratne told AFP.

Ranjith, also archbishop of Colombo, said Thursday a "reliable foreign source" had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for a second week.

"The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution," the Cardinal said in a statement.

- Basilica secured -

Official sources said the Thewatte National Basilica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

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"There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security in the neighbourhood," a police official said.

Although the 10,194 public schools re-open on Monday, a few Catholic schools will remain shut "until further notice".

Sri Lankan authorities had advance warnings from Indian intelligence of the impending Easter attacks, but police and security forces failed to act.

There were at least 42 foreigners among the 257 killed, while some 480 were also wounded. About 50 children were among the dead.

Armed guards have been stationed outside hotels, churches, Buddhist temples and mosques across the country since the attacks.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Friday that some of the conspirators may still be at large.

"Most of those responsible for the Easter attacks have been arrested. Some have been killed," Wickremesinghe said during a tour of island's east, where a Christian church was hit.

"We are trying to see if there are any more secret IS cells in the country," he said. "We will ensure that IS terrorism will be eradicated from our land."

Sri Lanka bolstered security Friday with fears of attacks against several bridges and flyovers in Colombo as well as police stations.

The attacks were blamed on the local National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) whose leader was among the suicide bombers. The group had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
By Shihar Aneez and Shri Navaratnam COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would "eradicate terrorism" following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end. Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility. "Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism," Sirisena told Reuters. The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election. "We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them," Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 "active members" linked to the bombings still at large. Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: "It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings." Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known. Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings. Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation. Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers. ATTACKERS ON LOOSE Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done. "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers." Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago. Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday. The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks. "This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement," Sirisena said. "Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace." Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent. Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15. "Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas," he said. Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues. Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a "big blow" by the attacks, Sirisena said. The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year. "It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sirisena said. "For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks." (Reporting By Shri Navaratnam & Shihar Aneez; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - As the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway gets underway on Saturday, a key question hangs over the gathering: who will take the reins of the empire built by 88-year-old billionaire Warren Buffett?

"Warren Buffett is irreplaceable," said Macrae Sykes, a research analysts at Gabelli & Company.

But Meyer Shields, managing director at the investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, was less concerned.

"Berkshire Hathaway can certainly survive without Warren Buffett," he said. After all the conglomerate is made up of "mostly solid businesses that are only minimally impacted by their ownership."

Investors are not expecting major upheaval, since Buffett has taken steps in recent years to carefully prepare for a leadership change, although he has not made the plan public.

Among four likely candidates, there are two clear frontrunners: Gregory Abel, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67, who were both promoted last year to the board of directors and who are both known quantities who have been with Buffett for decades.

- Leading candidates -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities.

Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

Also potentially in the running are Todd Combs, 48, and Ted Weschler, 56, chosen by Buffett and his long-time business partner, Charles Munger, 95, to handle the group's investments.

"That's never been officially disclosed, but I suspect it will be either Greg Abel or Ajit Jain... and probably the former, given his solid and growing exposure to Berkshire's non-insurance businesses," Shields said.

Sykes agreed, noting that Jain "really likes to focus on insurance businesses and... seems less interested in the spotlight."

It is always possible a dark horse candidate could emerge from the company's board, which includes fellow billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

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One is Tracy Britt Cool, 35, a Harvard graduate and Buffett's right-hand woman for the past 10 years.

Regardless of who the successor will be, Shields said markets should at first "respond very negatively" to Buffett's absence, in part due to his unique status.

But it is also partly because Berkshire's "exceedingly weak" disclosures "have forced investors to rely more on Mr Buffett's carefully-managed public persona than on the companies' individual or aggregated earnings potential," Shield said.

Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager at Meeschaert Financial Services, said Buffett's presence added 10 to 15 percent to the company's share price, and without him, that premium would "disappear."

- More transparency? -

In a little more than 50 years, "the Oracle of Omaha" has built a juggernaut worth more than $530 billion, with businesses that range from paint to railways to consumer products, and include energy, clothing, insurance, banking and fast food.

Buffett never embraced the idea of passing the baton to his children -- Susan, Howard and Peter -- who are involved in many charities.

Only Howard is listed in the Berkshire Hathaway organizational chart as a member of the board of directors.

In 2011, Buffett told CBS that he wanted his son "Howie" -- who has joined in night patrols in Arizona to prevent unauthorized immigrants from crossing onto American soil -- to succeed him as non-executive chairman of the board of directors.

But even if the face of the company will change, its culture and investment strategy likely will remain marked by the caution that has been so central to Buffett, the world's third richest person, analysts say.

Buffett epitomizes safe, value investing. His investments are carefully scrutinized, as are decisions to pull out of any businesses.

Leaders of the individual business units will maintain a high degree of autonomy, while frivolous acquisitions are unlikely.

His departure could lead the financial community to demand more transparency from the company. Berkshire only publishes its results once a year in Buffett's annual letter and does not hold a conference call, as other publicly-traded companies do, to answer questions from financial analysts and journalists.

And even the questions asked at the annual shareholder meeting are selected by journalists whom he has picked.

"I'm not sure investors will be as satisfied with the crumbs of disclosure that are currently offered," Shields said.
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit

* War monitor says at least 67 killed so far in offensive

BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest with fresh air strikes on Saturday, the fifth day of a widening campaign that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee, sources in the area and a war monitor said.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas has strained a Russian-Turkish agreement struck last September that staved off a government offensive into the last major foothold of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

Syrian state media has said government forces are attacking jihadists. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

ESCALATION

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he told Reuters from northern Syria.

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The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib province, but that such an operation was impractical for now.

Russia's deal with Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence.

Mustafa, their spokesman, said Damascus was well aware the rebels were well armed and capable of repelling any assault: "The regime will not be able to advance." (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Khalil Ashawi in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry Editing by Gareth Jones)
"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming," the Japanese artist's largest solo show to date, will open on May 18 at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.

The exhibition, curated by Sun Qidong, features a series of LED displays and performance pieces, spanning the Japanese artist's career since 1988. It will also present several artworks created specifically for the show, including the LED installation "Time Waterfall" and the video performance "Counter Skin Face."

The show reevaluates Miyajima's core concepts in the light of Japan's radical postwar art wave. Entitled "Keep Changing," "Connect with All" and "Goes on Forever," these guiding principles are the foundation of the artist's installations and performance videos.

Often billed as "immersive," Miyajima's artworks invite viewers to reflect on continuity, eternity and the flow of space and time. Most of his installations feature LED lights counting down from 1 to 9 -- embodying the human life cycle and the Eastern philosophy of change and renewal.

"In Western thought, permanency refers to a sense of constancy, without change. In Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, change is natural and consistently happening," the artist explained in a statement.

"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming" will be on show at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum from May 18 to August 18, 2019. See additional information on the museum's website: www.minshengart.com.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It's not possible to invest over long periods without making some bad investments. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of China Nonferrous Gold Limited (LON:CNG); the share price is down a whopping 92% in the last three years. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And over the last year the share price fell 79%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 41% in the last three months.

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 Nonferrous Gold

We don't think China Nonferrous Gold's revenue of US$291,000 is enough to establish significant demand. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. For example, investors may be hoping that China Nonferrous Gold finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money.

As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. China Nonferrous Gold has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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China Nonferrous Gold had net debt of US$402,333,000 when it last reported in June 2018, according to our data. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But since the share price has dived -56% per year, over 3 years, it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak. The image below shows how China Nonferrous Gold's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CNG Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.

A Different Perspective

Investors in China Nonferrous Gold had a tough year, with a total loss of 79%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 37% over the last half decade. 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.

But note: China Nonferrous Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
West Texas Chophouse. | Photo: Jay B./Yelp

Looking to try the top steakhouses around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end steakhouses in El Paso, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

1. West Texas Chophouse

Photo: cody a./Yelp

Topping the list is West Texas Chophouse. Located at 1135 Airway Blvd., Suite 7B, in Cielo Vista, the steakhouse, which offers burgers, sandwiches and more, is the highest rated high-end steakhouse in El Paso, boasting four stars out of 195 reviews on Yelp.

2. Garufa Argentinean Restaurant

Photo: kris p./Yelp



Next up is Mesa Hills's Garufa Argentinean Restaurant, situated at 5411 N. Mesa St., Suite 26A. With four stars out of 121 reviews on Yelp, the steakhouse, pasta shop and Argentine spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge.

3. Ruth's Chris Steak House

Photo: ruth chris steak house/Yelp

Cielo Vista's Ruth's Chris Steak House, located at 8889 Gateway Blvd. West, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse four stars out of 99 reviews.

4. The Grape Italian Steakhouse

Photo: josh a./Yelp

The Grape Italian Steakhouse, a bar, steakhouse and Italian spot, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 52 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6350 Escondido Drive, A11, to see for yourself.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force captured a village from Kurdish YPG forces north of Aleppo on Saturday, the spokesman for the rebel force said.

"There is military action, and the village of Maranaz has been liberated," said Yousef Hammoud, the spokesman for the Syrian National Army, a force formed from a number of factions of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The YPG could not immediately be reached for comment.

The village is part of a YPG-held piece of territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat that the FSA groups have long vowed to recover. "Our aspiration is to reach Tel Rifaat and what is beyond it," Hammoud said. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi and Khalil Ashawi; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Israeli forces had targeted a building in Gaza where the offices of Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency are located, and added that the attacks were a crime against humanity.

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - One Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat on Saturday, during an attack by the Kurdish YPG militia, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aiming to drive Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

The ministry said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Turkish forces shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defense ministry said Turkish and Russian forces carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by David Holmes)
(Reuters) - Two Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders said on Friday they would withhold their support for the re-election of all ExxonMobil directors at the company's annual meeting due to the U.S. oil major's "inadequate response" to climate change.

The Church Commissioners for England (CCE), the endowment fund of the Church of England, as well as New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who manages the state's pension fund, also urged other shareholders to vote in favor of an independent chairman.

ExxonMobil's inadequate responses to climate change indicated its board was not functioning effectively due to the absence of an independent chairman, the two shareholders said in a filing.

Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for DiNapoli declined immediate comment on Friday.

The filing comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier in April that Exxon Mobil was not required to let investors vote on a shareholder submission calling on the company to set emissions targets beginning next year.

Exxon had called the resolution misleading, substantially implemented and an attempt to interfere with its management responsibilities.

The proposal, which would have asked the oil company to set emissions targets "aligned with the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the Paris climate agreement," was rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Reporting by Akashdeep Baruah and Philip George in Bengaluru and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Stephen Coates)
By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday approved a $307.5 million civil settlement for about 100,000 U.S. owners of Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that the government said had illegal software that allowed them to emit excess emissions.

Under the settlement approved by Judge Edward Chen, about 100,000 owners and lessees of Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0-liter diesel vehicles from model years 2014 to 2016 will receive payments for having a software reflash completed. Most owners will receive $3,075 payments.

Current owners and lease-holders have until February 2021 to submit a claim, and until May 2021 to complete the repair and receive compensation, while former owners have until August to submit a claim.

The Italian-American automaker on Jan. 10 announced it had

settled with the U.S. Justice Department, the state of California and diesel owners over civil claims that it used illegal software that produced false results on diesel-emissions tests. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

Chen also approved the consent decrees announced in January between Fiat Chrysler and California, Environmental Protection Agency and agreements with all 50 states.

Under the agreement, Fiat Chrysler agreed to apprise an independent auditor of the status of various initiatives. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it has launched three-quarters of the initiatives and one-third are already complete.

Fiat Chrysler estimated the total value of the various settlements at about $800 million.

Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided emissions control software for the Fiat Chrysler vehicles, agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve claims from diesel owners, while Fiat Chrysler is paying $280 million of the $307.5 million.

Fiat Chrysler is also paying $311 million in total civil penalties to U.S. and California regulators, granting extended warranties worth $105 million. Fiat Chrysler is also paying $72.5 million for state civil penalties and $33.5 million to California to offset excess emissions and consumer claims.

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Fiat Chrysler and Bosch also agreed to pay $66 million to the lawyers representing the vehicle owners.

The hefty penalty was the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules.

Regulators said Fiat Chrysler used "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests in real-world driving. Fiat Chrysler did not admit liability.

U.S. regulators are also reviewing Ford Motor Co's emissions certification process and emissions questions about some Daimler AG vehicles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A panel of three federal judges on Friday ruled that Ohio's Republican-drawn congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and ordered the state to revamp it before the 2020 presidential election. The ruling comes a week after another federal court ruled that Michigan's congressional maps were unconstitutionally drawn by Republican politicians to dilute the power of Democratic voters. Both Michigan and Ohio are expected to play a pivotal role in the 2020 election, as they have in recent elections. They were key swing states in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. "We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity," the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati panel wrote in its decision, ordering the state to create a plan to fix the map by June 14. The ruling in Ohio could be short-lived if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be brought in federal court. In partisan gerrymandering, one political party draws legislative districts to weaken the other party's voters. The lines are typically redrawn once a decade after the U.S. census, and in many states the party in power controls the decision-making. Republicans control both houses of the Ohio legislature, as well as the governorship. Four congressional elections have occurred under the map and each resulted in 12 Republican representatives and four Democratic representatives, the ruling noted. Included in the 2012 map was the "'Snake on the Lake'  a bizarre, elongated sliver of a district that severed numerous counties," the judges wrote in their 301-page opinion, referring to the state's 9th district that runs along Lake Erie. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement that the state will seek a stay and appeal. The court said it will redraw the maps itself if Ohio fails to come up with a solution that the judges deem fair. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought last year by the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union against the state's attorney general. "This opinion, declaring Ohio an egregiously gerrymandered state, completely validates every one of our claims and theories in every respect," Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. Ohio's secretary of state, Frank Larose, a Republican who oversees the state's elections process, said his office will work to "administer fair, accurate and secure elections in 2020, pending the conclusion of the judicial process," he said. The conservative justices who hold a 5-4 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court at a March hearing focused on gerrymandering in Maryland and North Carolina signaled that they were skeptical of lower courts' authority to block electoral maps drawn to give one party a lopsided advantage. Critics have said gerrymandering has become increasingly effective and insidious, guided by precise voter data and powerful computer software. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
By David Shepardson and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials rejected Tesla Inc's bid for relief from President Donald Trump's 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot "brain" of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to China's industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed "strategically important" to the "Made in China 2025" program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: "Our costs for producing our vehicles in the U.S. have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China."

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart China's efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of U.S. intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing China's prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and U.S. demands for sweeping changes to China's policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

ECONOMIC HARM

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the "brain of the vehicle" when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that "increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability."

Story continues

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Tesla's request because it "concerns a product strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs." USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a U.S. government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corp's Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

"The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit," Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

NO U.S. SOURCES

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that "choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training."

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

"For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China," Tesla wrote. "When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers' lives due to a defect from a supplier."

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls "the brain responsible for Tesla's Autopilot functionality" and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of U.S. sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of U.S. Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, David Gregorio and Sandra Maler)
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U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc (NYSE: USX)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

May. 02, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:





Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the U.S. Xpress first-quarter 2019 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Brian Baubach.

Thank you, you may begin.

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate your participation in our first-quarter 2019 earnings call. With me today are Eric Fuller, president and chief executive officer; and Eric Peterson, chief financial officer. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available on the Investor section of our website through May 9, 2019.

We've also posted a supplemental presentation to accompany today's discussion on our website at investor.usxpress.com. Before we begin, let me remind everyone, that this call may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include remarks about future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements.

More From The Motley Fool

Such risks and other factors are set forth in our 2018 10-K, filed on March 6, 2019, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements. Additionally, during today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Eric Fuller.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to start by reviewing our first-quarter results and the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives and then conclude with a review of our market outlook. Eric Peterson will then discuss our first-quarter financial results in more detail before opening the call for questions. I am pleased with our team's execution to the first quarter given the more challenging market backdrop that we encountered as we managed through the closure of our Mexico joint venture and encountered weather disruptions.

Despite these challenges, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is a 40-basis-point improvement from the year-ago quarter and our seventh-consecutive quarter of OR improvement. Our results clearly demonstrate the continued successful implementation of our strategic initiatives as we strive to transform our operations and improve our profitability. While we have achieved a great deal over the last several years, we have much more to accomplish in order to realize our goal. Turning to our segment-level highlights.

In our over the road division, average revenue per tractor per week declined 6.1% compared with the first quarter of 2018. This was a result of a 6.7% decrease in average revenue miles per tractor per week, partially offset by 0.7% increase in our average revenue per mile. The impact on average revenue per tractor per week resulted from unfavorable weather conditions, the transition out of the companies US-Mexico cross-border operations and the less favorable freight environment. Typically, about 80% of our over the road division's volume is contracted and approximately 20% is noncontracted.

In the first quarter, we experienced an 8% increase in our contract rates, while noncontracted spot rates declined more than 20%. Turning to our dedicated division. The average revenue per tractor per week, excluding fuel surcharges, increased to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily the result of a 7.1% rise in the division's revenue per mile in addition to a 4.4% increase in the division's revenue miles per tractor per week.

The increase in utilization was largely the result of our initiative designed to grow our business with those accounts that offer a more attractive combination of rate and utilization while reducing our business with accounts that have a less attractive blend. We implemented this initiative through 2018, and I am very pleased with the improved execution in the dedicated division over the last two quarters. Brokerage segment revenue decreased to $46.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 on fewer loads and decreased revenues per loads. The revenue decrease was more than offset by a higher gross margin as transportation cost per load decreased significantly due to sourcing third-party capacity more efficiently.

As a result, operating income increased 18.9% to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. Importantly, the brokerage segment continues to provide additional selectively for our assets to optimize yield, while at the same time, offering more capacity solutions to our customers. I would now like to spend a few minutes reviewing our strategic initiatives designed to deliver improved profitability and the priorities that we have for the year ahead. As we've discussed on previous calls, our management team has been driving a complete overhaul to company strategy and operations in order to improve our execution and profitability.

We have created an execution-oriented structure, whereby we now manage the business by core metrics with the focus on rate, truck count, utilization and cost. We've also designed and implemented initiatives to improve these core metrics. And ultimately, our operating ratio where we strive to meaningfully improve our profitability. As part of our transformation, we have improved our asset optimization through a redesigned fleet-renewal and maintenance program, optimized our asset utilization through the use of proprietary optimization software and implemented our load-planning initiative in our over the road initiative, designed to improve utilization.

The successful implementation of these initiatives have contributed to the significant margin expansion that we have achieved over the last three years. Another key focus for our initiatives is to improve the quality of life for our drivers as we reduced the day-to-day challenges and frustrations that they encounter. Our drivers are critical to our success and are our greatest asset. As a result, we have launched a series of initiatives designed to position U.S.

Xpress as the company of choice for drivers in the industry. One such initiative was the launch of our new driver development program and the opening of our redesigned development center in Tunnel Hill, Georgia this past February. The newly launched program was created with input from our drivers and provides continuous learning opportunities for both new and experienced drivers. The multi-platform program features in-person development sessions; a hands-on commercial motor-vehicle learning lab, where drivers inspect and identify faulty equipment; a competency-aligned simulator program; a driving range, where drivers can practice complicated maneuvers; over a 150 e-learning modules; and ELD practices and device training.

Our goal is to provide our drivers with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for successful driving career. Moving to the balance of 2019, our priority continues to be on improving the lifestyle and satisfaction of our drivers, as well as our operations as we focus on technology, including digital load matching, automated load acceptance and prioritization and working toward our ultimate growth of the frictionless order. When you analyze the process from order to cash, what you find is that there are many gates in that process where manual decisions are made. These manual decision points open the door to less-than-optimal decisions, along with the potential for errors, given that data entry is often required.

As we remove more the friction that exists, those errors, which frustrate our drivers, will be reduced, and our driver satisfaction will improve. Our goal over time is to have a frictionless order, which we believe will not only improve driver retention but also reduce costs and optimize freight planning, not to mention improved capacity. As you can see, utilizing technology to improve our operations represents a significant opportunity for U.S. Xpress.

As the trucking industry continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. Xpress will be at the forefront, and we're very excited to have Cameron Ramsdell join our team as President of our newly formed unit U.S. Xpress Ventures. As we announced last week, U.S.

Xpress is internal business unit focused on developing and implementing new asset-based business models and technology strategies. Turning to the market and our outlook. The second-quarter freight environment remains subdued relative to normal seasonality and in comparison to the strongest market in 20 years, which we experienced in the second quarter of 2018. While we expect ongoing improvements in network efficiency from the exit of our Mexico business and then operating efficiencies from our strategic initiatives, the changing market conditions since our fourth-quarter call has changed our expectations on second-quarter earnings.

While we continue to expect our initiatives and an improving market backdrop to allow us to improve our adjusted operating ratio on a sequential basis, we now expect our second-quarter adjusted operating ratio to deteriorate as compared to the year-ago comparable quarter. Importantly, we believe the operating improvements implemented over the past several years has positioned the company to better manage market fluctuations such as those that we are now experiencing. As we look forward, our current guidance of delivering a 93% adjusted operating ratio for the full-year 2019 remains achievable, though, it is dependent on market conditions strengthening through the balance of the second quarter. As a result, we plan to update our full-year adjusted operating ratio guidance when we have better visibility on the freight market and our full-year results.

Despite the more challenging freight market, we have contractually agreed to rate renewals for approximately 40% of our anticipated truckload revenue for 2019 with an average rate increase of approximately 5% since November. While current rate increases have moderated slightly, we believe full-year contract rates will increase in the mid-single-digit range. I would now like to turn the call over to Eric Peterson for a review of our financial results.

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon. As Eric discussed, we are pleased with the continued successful execution of our strategic initiatives which enabled our team to manage through a more challenging market backdrop. We offset more challenging market conditions through leveraging our fleet and our brokerage operations and taking advantage of our enhanced dedicated business mix achieved during 2018. In addition, we believe we are well positioned to continue to execute on our current initiatives to drive continued operating ratio improvement.

I'm going to spend a few minutes summarizing our results for the quarter, and we'll focus on the core metrics we use to evaluate and monitor our progress. Operating revenue was $415.4 million, a decrease of $10.3 million compared to the first quarter of 2018. Excluding revenue from our Mexico operations, which were discontinued in January 2019, operating revenue increased $2.9 million, excluding fuel surcharge. The increase was attributable to a 3.8% increase in revenue per mile, mostly offset by decreases of $8.3 million in brokerage revenue.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $12.5 million, compared to the $14.9 million achieved in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $3.4 million in costs related to the exit of our Mexico operations, our adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $15.9 million, which compares to $14.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. As Eric discussed, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is the 40-basis-points improvement from the year-ago quarter. Additionally, our adjusted operating ratio improved by 260 basis points to an adjusted operating ratio of 93.9% from 96.5% for the trailing four quarters ending March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $4.7 million, compared to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income for the first quarter was $7.3 million and compares favorably to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.15 for the first quarter of 2019. As we discussed our fourth-quarter call, the exit of our fixed cost investment and our cross-border US-Mexico operations was expected to be a drag on our first-half results as revenues would declined more rapidly than expenses which we experienced in the first quarter.

Looking forward, we expect the headwind to persist into the second quarter, though, at a reduced level before turning neutral in the third quarter. Thereafter, we expect to build an annualized operating income benefit. Importantly, we'll offer customers, both additional capacity within our core U.S. lanes and continued access to cross-border coverage through an asset-light alternative.

Our effective tax rate for the third quarter was approximately 27.5%, and we continue to anticipate our full-year 2019 effective tax rate to be between 27% to 29% that we outlined on the fourth-quarter 2018 call. For the full-year 2019, we continue to expect our cash tax rate to be in the low single digits. Turning to our fleet, we continue to manage our tractors to a 475,000 mile replacement cycle, and we are converting a portion of our leased tractors to owned, and we'll spend approximately $170 million to $190 million in net capex through 2019 to execute that strategy, with approximately $45 million of the total related to replacing leased equipment with owned. As a reminder, when thinking of free cash flow, a normalized net capex figure over a four-year period is approximately $115 million annually, and we expect our net capex to revert to more normalized levels in 2020 and 2021.

During the first quarter of 2019, the company adopted new ASC Topic 842 leases. The new standard requires us to recognize right-of-use assets and a comparable amount of lease liabilities arising from operating leases on the balance sheet. This resulted from in approximately $187 million of assets and a comparable amount of liabilities being recognized on the balance sheet at March 31, 2019. Rent associated with these operating leases was approximately $20 million for the first quarter of 2019 and is reflected under vehicle rent and general and other expenses in our income statement for the 2019 quarter.

The impact on stockholders' equity was immaterial, and the impact on covenant compliance under our credit facility is also immaterial. Capital leases will continue to be recognized on the balance sheet but are now referred as finance leases as required by the new standard. In regards to leverage, we ended the first quarter with $407.1 million of net debt and had $120.4 million of cash in availability under our revolving credit facility. Interest expense for the first quarter was $5.6 million, and we continue to expect interest expense to be approximately $22.0 million for the full year of 2019.

Looking for the remainder of the year, we continue to have opportunities for improvement as our existing driver-centric initiatives mature and as a focus on operational execution. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Eric Fuller for concluding remarks.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Eric. In summary, we are pleased with the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives, enabling us to achieve our seventh-consecutive quarter of adjusted operating ratio improvement in the first quarter and the highest earnings of any first quarter in our company's history. As we've discussed, the outlook for the second quarter remains challenged in comparison to an exceptionally strong 2018 comparable quarter. That said, we continue to have much opportunity and remain well positioned to capitalize on our numerous initiatives aimed at driving operational efficiencies as we work toward our goal of achieving a 100% frictionless order, which will improve the lives and daily routines of our drivers, not to mention, reduce costs and expand our capacity.

As we focus on managing the core metrics within our business, we remain committed to our goal of improving our operations in solidifying U.S. Xpress as a leader within the industry. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress on our second-quarter call. Thank you again for your time today.

Operator, please open the call for questions.

Questions & Answers:





Operator

[Operator instructions] Our first question here is from Ravi Shanker from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Thanks. Good evening, guys. So on the OR target for the year, obviously, it's understandable it's going to be dependent on market conditions. But part of the story here also was you guys undertaking a number of cost initiatives to close the gap to peers and so maybe that OR improvement was not as market depend on some of your peers.

So can you help us understand that how much tailwind or opportunity there is in the cost side this year? And kind of, if that's tracking consistent with your initial expectations behind the IPO?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So this is Eric Fuller. So we had -- obviously, we have focused around a couple of the big factors and driver turnover being one of them. That is an area where we still believe we're going to continue to get traction through the year.

Our big focus -- the big initiative that we have in our operation is around what we're calling the frictionless order. And we believe that's going to greatly improve our driver retention. So we think we can drive a good bit of cost in that area over probably the next, say, four quarters. We also still believe that we're going to get improvement in the insurance line item.

Insurance is the area where we continue to see higher than what we had expected or what we'd hoped for. But with the forward-looking event recorders, we're putting a new program around driver training. We're trying to move more toward -- all of our drivers going to hair follicle testing. We believe that we will start to see some significant results in that area as well.

So those really are our two biggest cost items that we think we can see some improvement over the next couple of quarters.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. Got it. And just on the pricing side, I think your mid-single-digit pricing expectations sounds pretty good and may be ahead of some of your peers. What gives you confidence that you should be able to kind of sustain that rate going into the back half of the year when maybe you could see some more pricing pressure if current trends continue?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Yes, I think we can -- we will continue to see a little bit of pressure from where we're at today. But we're still having constructive conversations with customers in a positive manner in relation to rate increases for this year. So we feel confident that where the market is -- where we believe the market is going, and we will continue to be able to get decent rate increases on a go-forward basis that will still put us in that mid-single-digit range.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. And if I can just squeeze one more in. Can I just ask you what U.S. X ventures, sounds pretty interesting? Can you just give us maybe two or three top priorities for that venture? And kind of does that involve M&A? Is this homegrown? Kind of, what do expect to see there and maybe some timing on some of the new initiatives?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. I think it's really an exploration about what technology can do for us going forward. If you look at all the money that's getting thrown in to venture capital, all the investments out there, we believe that technology is going to be a big driver of asset-based trucking companies going forward. I think it's going to be an improvement to the overall operations and profitability.

We also think that there's going to be some -- maybe not on the asset side, exactly, but there's going to be some new entrants and some new things that we're going to have to face that maybe we have faced in the past. And we think applying technology to those problems is going to be key to having a lot of them. And so we're going to be exploring exactly what that means. I think today, I would tell you that we are in an infancy stage, but we will be looking at opportunities whether it be an M&A-type opportunities or whether it be looking at some homegrown opportunities to further make better business model-type changes in our existing business or potentially new businesses as we explore what technology can do for us.

And we just think there's a lot of exciting things going on in the market, and we think that we can capitalize if we put a focus on it.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. Thank you.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Brad Delco from Stephens. Please go ahead.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon, guys. Eric, I think you kind of touched on this in your comments, but can you sort of help us reconcile the revenue per loaded mile being up 60 basis points versus kind of your comments about mid-single digits? I mean is it just because you have 20% exposure of a spot? I mean why wouldn't we be reducing that and trying to get more trucks into a committed or contractual basis or maybe even in more dedicated?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So it is in -- it is because of the spot concentration. So absolutely, we are looking at probably more dedicated. The market is probably a little tougher from bringing on new opportunities.

The one thing that we have -- that's been a little bit of a headwind for us is that move out of Mexico where we've had additional capacity that we've had to try to fill. So we've had to go to customers and find new opportunities. And so I think that for us to move some trucks out of these spot environment, we're going to have to probably go to dedicated. But we're doing that, and we are seeing some a little bit of growth in our dedicated area.

And so I think that over time, we'll continue to migrate more into that dedicated arena. I think -- personally, I think that where we're at from our spot exposure though is still decent level of spot exposure. And when you look at a long term -- on a long-term basis, so while it is kind of affecting us today, I think long term, we're in the right position.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then when we think about sort of weather impacting results, would that have -- would you have visibility to know if that impacted your OTR business or dedicated business more? And any comments would be helpful there.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So dedicated, we had a big concentration in the Northeast. And so obviously, any time you've got any kind of weather issues -- winter weather issues, you end up being pretty impacted in those areas. So I would say it's probably a fair mix. But with our concentration of dedicated in the Northeast, we definitely saw a fairly large impact from that business.

The over-the-road piece was typically because the trucks aren't as concentrated, you do end up having trucks probably down for a little bit longer. So when you're ending up having a maintenance-related issue as it relates to weather, that's probably a little bit more impactful in the over the road division. But I would say that both areas were impacted by the weather.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then maybe last one. I appreciate the comments about second quarter and not seeing OR improvement on a year-over-year basis. What is -- maybe this is for Eric Peterson, what's really happening on the cost side that gives you that much visibility.

I mean I feel like it's pretty early into 2Q, and June's probably the most important month, but is there anything specific that's occurred in April, whether a bad accident or something that maybe gives you less confidence in being able to improve margins in this environment?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Brad, I think the biggest thing right now is our visibility, where we stand today on May 2 as it relates to the quarter from an overall volume standpoint. The freight is a little bit weaker than we would like. And as we get into spring shipping, we would have liked to seen a little bit of a more robust environment than we're seeing today. So that leads us to believe where we stand today that may be the quarter could be a little weaker than we expected.

Now obviously, your quarter's made in May and June. And so things could change, but we felt like it was prudent to go ahead and get that out there. We're not seeing any kind of cost issues as it relates to this quarter that have us concerned at this point.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. All right, guys. I'll get back in queue. Thanks for the time.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Scott Group of Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Hey, thanks. Afternoon, guys.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Afternoon.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

So I just want to follow up on the second-quarter comments. Can you say -- are you including or excluding the Mexico cost? And then what's the base of OR you're using for second-quarter '18?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. If you look at our adjusted second-quarter OR for '18, we're comparing that to a 93.4%. The headwinds on the -- we had a $3.4 million adjustment in the first quarter related to Mexico. That adjustment in the second quarter is going to be significantly lower than that $3.4 million.

So it won't really impact the adjusted OR by a meaningful amount.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Helpful. And then as we think about the utilization on the OTR, it was down 7%. Maybe, Eric, what are some of the initiatives to get that better? Are you seeing that start to get better? When can that turn positive? And then on the pricing side, if we look at the rev per loaded mile, up less than a percent.

Even with the pricing -- contract pricing, are we confident that that stays positive in the second quarter?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So on the utilization piece, it really impacted in two areas: weather was a big impact and then just overall freight volumes was an impact. I would say we're not going to have those weather issues in the second quarter. I still think that freight volumes are lighter than we would like, and so that could have a little bit of a drag in our utilization in our over the road division as we go into this quarter, especially in comparison to the previous year. On the contract business, we still think that the contract rates will trend in a positive manner.

And even with that little bit of underlying weakness in the market, we are still getting positive rate increases currently from our customers. So I still feel confident that we will be positive, up, and like we said that mid-single-digit range in contracts for the year.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

I guess I was asking about the total revenue per mile.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, OK. Oh, we're going to be higher than that. I think that with our exposure to spot, I think that's going to be difficult.

To be higher than --

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Understood. And then maybe just lastly for Eric Peterson. Given sort of the backdrop here, any thoughts to maybe slowing in the capex a little bit, maybe doing less of the lease conversions just to generate some cash and pay down some debt?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. I think it's too early to make that call. I think if we look at why we're here is to stick to our strategy, which we believe is in the best interest of our shareholders over the long run to bring that equipment in. When we do the math, it shows that if we delay that equipment cycle, the operating costs increase significantly.

And it might get a temporary benefit on my net debt for a quarter or free cash flow calculation, but I believe that's absolutely the wrong decision over the longer for the enterprise. And so we're going to stick to our strategy at 475,000 miles. Obviously, if there's an extreme situation or circumstance, then we won't be so bullish on that strategy if we need to make a change. But I don't see us as anywhere near the type of situation right now with our current credit profile and liquidity that would prevent us from executing our strategy.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Makes sense. Thank you, guys. Appreciate the time.

Operator

Our next question is from Ken Hoexter from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon. Eric, can you just quickly clarify, what is your spot exposure now and what was it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So it's really -- it's right in that 10% of our total revenue or, say differently, 20% of our over the road division, and that really hasn't changed. It's just that obviously the spot rates have changed dramatically, but our overall exposure hasn't changed much.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

And how significantly have you seen the spot rates change whether it's year-to-date, year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I think we're down roughly 20%.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

At this point?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. So just to come back to, I guess, the first question. I guess I'm little -- still troubled by the lack of improvement on the initiatives. During the IPO process, you talked about all the different programs you were putting in place that were specifically focused irrespective of the market that we're going to see the operating ratio improved.

And even -- last year was the best freight environment in generation, so we should have been setting all-time record. And now we're back to kind of -- it seems like October '17. If you're down 20% on spot rates, that's kind of right around the time of the hurricanes but maybe a little bit before ELDs but not a collapsed market. And if you're talking about rates being up mid-single digits, I'm confused as to why we're not seeing some of the benefits from the initiatives that you made.

Has something gone awry in terms of driver pay or has turnover actually gone against you and increased? Maybe talk a little bit about what's going against some of the initiatives that you have been rolling out?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

OK. I think -- This is Eric Peterson. I believe when I'm looking at the financial results from these initiatives, I think it's fair to say that there are some we haven't made progress on that we'd like. But I think if I step back and look what just happened in the first quarter, it was the best first quarter from an earnings perspective in the enterprise's history.

And I believe in what -- 100% of the people would agree, it was not the strongest market from a first-quarter perspective. To answer your question on where we're behind is these event recorders with the insurance and you look at our insurance expense for the quarter, I believe it was adversely impacted by weather. But I also believe we're not making the progress at the speed of financial return that he probably thought we would. With that said, Eric addressed earlier, with our new training facility that launched in the first quarter of this year and also with the hair follicle testing, we are laser-focused on this forward-facing event recorder that we are going to get the savings.

And just because we don't have it now doesn't mean we're not going to get it. It's a path that we're not recreating anything. Other organizations are doing this successfully. And it's -- just because it's not implemented doesn't mean that it will not be.

And so that's where we are on that initiative. But I guess just to step back, are we where we want to be on an absolute basis on earnings? No. Was it the best quarter in the enterprise's history and are we still progress and do we have initial initiatives that we're launching that we think will accelerate over earnings improvement? Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Thanks for that Eric. And then just on your ability to get to 93% full year, you said you need to see some see strengthening. Is that -- you need to see a strengthening on where? Is it on the volume side as Eric talked about? Maybe not as strong of a second quarter or is it pricing to accelerate? Maybe just walk through on that target.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I mean I think that a little bit of market pick up as it relates to both volume and rate. If we can just get some -- a little bit of life in the spot market, I think that would go a long way and then get a little bit more volume. As I mentioned, part of our utilization impact has been a lack of volume opportunities in the market.

So we believe with just a little bit of pick up on the demand side, then we can start to see some movement there that I think can get us in that direction. As Eric just mentioned, I still -- we're going to have to see a little bit of life in the initiatives around insurance. That has been an area that admittedly has been disappointing and one that we did talk about on the IPO that we expected to see a little bit of movement there previous to now. So that is an area that we continue to believe that we have put a lot of focus on and investment on.

And we're going to -- we believe we will see some improvement in that area, but that is an area where -- at this point, if there's anything, I would say, disappointing as that we haven't seen that move as of yet.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Just one last one, if I can. We head some other companies talk about Amazon and Walmart bringing business in-house. Have you seen any enterprises pull any dedicated business away from the market? Is that any exposure of yours that we should look to?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. I'm not seeing anything on the dedicated side at all.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Or over the road?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. we have seen some stuff on -- that we're really were running mostly in our brokerage division. But we've had two customers -- two larger customers that did pull some business out of the brokerage side and take that in-house. So that's probably been about the only thing that we've seen from somebody moving business back in-house.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Appreciate the time and thoughts. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Our next question is from Brian Ossenbeck from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Hey, guys. Good afternoon. I just want to come back to the hair follicle testing for a second. Is this something where you're going to see a bit of cost before you get some benefit, potentially on the insurance side? I'm thinking when you make switch you have a higher standard and little bit more cost and probably a little bit more turnover.

So maybe if you can just walk us through that, and if that's the right way to look at it? And if so, where you are in that process? This is going to get a little bit worse before you start to get some improvements and some benefits from it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. If you look at how we're managing that process is we're doing it a little bit more in a phased approach. You've seen some people who've had probably the most impactful results from an overall truck-count standpoint that went 100% all-in. We have been a little bit more phased in our rollout.

And it's for that reason that we know -- we're trying to overall manage the impact on the negative side. I do believe though that we are seeing some real positive results as it relates to, not only less accidents and insurance-related issues from drivers who have been hair follicle tested, but we're actually seeing less turnover as well. So I feel confident that as we continue to roll this out to the entire fleet, then we can manage any kind of downside issues as it relates to truck count, and we can get through this with a positive impact throughout the entire process.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And then so the timing, is it supposed to be done by the end of the year, I mean, what specifically [Inaudible] would look like?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Yes, I would say that at this point our plan would be to have the entire fleet under hair follicle testing by the end of the year.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And Eric, one more for you. You talked about this frictionless order concept. And it sounds like there might be something we talk more about in the next couple of quarters.

It sounds like from what you said about the timeline. So maybe you can give a high-level view in terms of what that means in the longer term. And I guess in the intermediate step, what you're looking to accomplish? Is this in brokerage or do you tend to see a lot more of the tech-enabled stuff? Or it does sound like it's going to be more impactful for the drivers, so maybe you're approaching a little bit differently than what we've seen so far in the market.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I would say we're approaching it a little differently and really focused around on the asset side of our business. So if you look at a typical order, there could be as many as 15 gates. And those 15 gates are points in the order in which either they are some sort of data entry point or some sort of decision has to be made.

Some of those decisions are being made by office employees and that entries being entered by office employees. Some of those gates are actually managed by the drivers. So it creates a level -- it's a couple of issues. One, when you're -- every time you have to enter data, there's a chance that you're going to have errors.

So being able to completely take that data entry piece off the table can reduce the amount of errors I have on my system. But then also, by optimize -- and then I can optimize those gates and make better decisions and make sure that I'm making an optimal decision every time. And then also, by optimizing and potentially even automating the gates on the driver side, I can reduce the amount of friction and frustration that the drivers have. So the drivers aren't constantly having to send information back into us on things going on with them or in their order that we can automate a lot of that.

And so for us, we believe it's probably more impactful on the driver turnover side. So as the drivers job become easier and they don't have that friction in their day-to-day, we can drive the driver -- the driver turnover down. And we think it's going to be extremely impactful as we go through the year. Admittedly, we started this process, what, about three or four months ago.

I can tell you today we're at 0% frictionless. But we believe over this next year, we'll start to drive some of those gates out to where we can automate them, and we're going to make things a lot easier for the drivers and also a lot easier for office employees as well.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And I just want a quick follow-up. Is this an internal process where you're dealing with the U.S. X folks or you have consultants? Is this more off the shelf? What's -- how's this all structured and being handled?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It's mostly internal. We have worked a little bit with some consultants here and there, but for the most part we're doing this internal. And so that's where we think we're going to get the biggest benefit, and we think it will be a differentiator.

Operator

Our next question is from David Ross of Stifel. Please go ahead.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

Yes. So just a follow up there on the technology costs. Is there any lumpiness to the investments that you are making in the technology around the frictionless order or other? And is it going to flow through mainly in capex or opex?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Eric Peterson. I look at this more of a continuation of what we've been working on.

If you track back to our S-1, this is launched last June, two of our four strategies were technology. And we were using words like AI and graph databases, and we were doing that back then. And then kind of as we've evolved, and we've had these initiatives around the fleet management, the customer service, the load planning, part of those initiatives had a technology component. And as these initiatives evolve, you start putting the investment where you're getting the largest return.

And what we found right now is that on the technology component to those initiatives, they're all ultimately driven around to see the tractor utilization rate and cost is where -- how we focus our initiatives. We see that as we're putting extra investment to the technology piece that we're getting a larger return. And so as we mentioned, the core part of that was a consultant component and then part of that now is bringing some of that talent and ideas in-house to augment the team with perspectives we haven't had before. So right now, we're not talking about a significant capex investment that we're making.

But to the extent that we're walking in trying to enhance the enterprise value and we have a discovery on this initiative where an investment might make a lot of sense relative to the return, then we would do that. But right now, I don't have a plan in place that says, this is how much -- I'm going to have this big lumpy spend in the next month, and then it's going go away. We're just focused on the technology and investing in it as we go along.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. So no lumpiness in the opex or anything, it just flows through and then..

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Correct.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

What's the current average fleet age for the tractors and trailers?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're in that mid-27-month range right now. And I think the important with this capex here to point out as we plan on exiting the year at 18 months on the tractors. And so when you're -- and that's why that investment looks heavy in 2019, but I think what really sets us up for the 2020 is having a really young fleet, lower operating cost and a chance to really enhance our earnings as we migrate down to 18 months over that remaining seven months of the year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

And what about the trailer side?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

I don't have that exact number in front of me.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And you talked about the event recorders, what percent of the fleet now has those event recorders? And when is it going to be 100%?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I mean we're pretty much at 100%. There are some straggler out there. But for the most part, we're at 100% and have been, since mid-summer of last year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And last question is just a clarification. When you talked about a couple customers moving freight from your brokerage division in-house, were they moving it in-house to their own private fleet, in-house to their own in house brokerage or in-house to manage under contract with another carrier?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Not moving into another carrier, in most cases, moving it in-house to manage through potentially their own brokerage.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. Excellent. Thank you very much.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. We appreciate everybody's time, and we'll see you in a couple of months. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 54 minutes

Call participants:

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

More USX analysis

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Motley Fool Transcribing 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.
ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen. "There is a deal that could be done in the next few days in quite short order, and I really hope we can get to that point." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, writing by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Elisabeth O'Leary and David Milliken

ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.

Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash from voters.

The Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election, and Labour - which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote - instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If we thought yesterday's results were a wake-up call, just wait for the European elections on the 23rd of May," Davidson told a party conference in Aberdeen.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she said there had been progress in the weeks of talks between the Conservatives and Labour to find a Brexit deal which passes parliamentary muster.

"There is a deal that could be done in the next few days ... and I really hope we can get to that point," she said, describing the results as "a kick up the backside".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday there was now a huge impetus on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

But even if the Conservative and Labour Party leaderships reach a Brexit compromise, there is no guarantee that it will pass through parliament, which has roundly rejected May's proposals three times already.

In an indication of the hostility May faces from the most pro-Brexit wing of her party, former leader Iain Duncan Smith renewed his call for her to step down soon, calling her a "caretaker prime minister" after the local election losses.

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Complicating the picture, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two major UK parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

"MOOD FOR COMPROMISE"

Health minister Matt Hancock urged pragmatism in a BBC radio interview earlier on Saturday.

"I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt also saw a "glimmer of hope" that there might be a deal with Labour soon.

But an EU customs union that prevented Britain from striking its own trade deals was not a viable long-term option for the world's fifth-largest economy, he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Buzzfeed News reported sources saying that May was optimistic about a deal, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," the sources familiar with the talks said.

One source told Buzzfeed "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

However, the sources did not think a deal was necessarily imminent, as Labour might wish to delay any agreement until after the European elections to maximise the damage to May.

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement favoured by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in ABERDEEN and Kalia Shubham in BENGALURU; Editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Jan Harvey)
(Reuters) - British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said. The jury found that GSK, which is also a UK-based pharmaceutical company, willfully infringed the patent, which Vectura said gives it the right to seek enhanced damages. Vectura expects to seek application of the 3 percent royalty to sales of the infringing products through the end of the patent term in mid-2021, it said. Vectura started legal proceedings against GSK in July 2016 after a patent license agreement between the two companies expired and GSK declined to license additional patent families under the original agreement. GSK did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

His speech at a military base in the northwest, where he appeared alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

Earlier this week, Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection but it quickly fizzled out as a group of 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

Maduro had responded to that by insisting the military high command had reasserted its loyalty to him.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty ... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech broadcast on public radio and television.

The socialist leader accused Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- of trying to launch a "coup d'etat."

Despite Guaido's best efforts, the military has remained loyal to Maduro.

His appeal came during a week in which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned Caracas that "military action is possible."

Despite repeatedly alluding to such an intervention, Washington has so far limited its actions to ramping up sanctions against key figures in the Maduro regime, as well as state oil company PDVSA.
LIMA (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting "terrorist groups" in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on the groups in Colombia that it alleged Maduro was protecting. But it said in its joint statement that it rejected any attempt to assassinate Colombian President Ivan Duque or undermine regional security. Duque said on Twitter on April 27 that explosives set off at a military base had been orchestrated from Venezuela, where he alleged Maduro was protecting Colombian ELN rebels. Maduro's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro often accuses the right-wing Duque, the Lima Group and the United States of plotting to overthrow his socialist government. The Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, reiterated on Friday that it opposes military intervention to remove Maduro from power, and encouraged Venezuelans to continue efforts to keep fighting for democracy. "This process must be done peacefully and respecting the constitutional order in Venezuela," Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told journalists after meeting with his counterparts in a Lima Group meeting in Peru. The Lima Group backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's push to oust Maduro on Tuesday, which failed to trigger the military defections needed to wrest control of key institutions. The Lima Group said it wants Maduro's ally Cuba to join efforts end the political crisis in Venezuela, and called for an urgent meeting with the EU-backed International Contact Group, which has placed more emphasis on dialogue to find a solution. (Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
FOCA, Bosnia, May 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of Muslims flocked to the town of Foca on Saturday for the reopening of a historic mosque leveled at the beginning of the Bosnian war, in a ceremony aimed at encouraging religious tolerance between deeply divided communities.

The 16th century Aladza Mosque was one of the most prominent masterpieces of classical Ottoman architecture in the Balkans before its destruction in the 1992-95 war by Bosnian Serb forces trying to carve out an ethnically "pure" state.

The eastern town of Foca became notorious for the mass persecution and killings of non-Serbs that took place there during the conflict.

Before the war, the Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, made up 51 percent of its 41,000 residents with the remainder mostly Serbs. Today, among some 18,000 residents, just over 1,000 Bosniaks remain.

"Everything that was connected to Islam, its civilisation or culture was destroyed," said 65-year-old Muslim worshipper Sulejman Dzamalija.

Sacred items dumped on rubbish tips have been restored and built into the mosque "to mark the start of a new era in this part of the country," he said.

Nestled in the valley by the Drina river, Aladza, also known as the Colourful Mosque, was one of 17 Ottoman mosques in Foca. Five of them were destroyed during World War Two, while the 12 remaining were demolished during the 1990 war.

During the war, Bosnian Serbs authorities renamed the town Srbinje, but Bosnia's top court ordered the reinstatement of the original name of Foca in 2004.

Muhamed Jusic, the Foca assembly speaker, said the reconstructed mosque offered hope for the return of pre-war residents and "a new beginning in Foca."

Twenty four years on from the devastating war between its Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, Bosnia remains split along ethnic lines, with rival groups blocking reconciliation and reform needed to join the European Union.

"Today we are witnessing a hope that people will again find peace at this place," the head of Bosnia's Islamic Community Husein Kavazovic said at the ceremony.

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Work on rebuilding the mosque started in 2012 and was financed by the governments of Turkey and the United States.

"Aladza should serve as a monument to resilience, reconciliation and diversity," said U.S. Ambassador Eric Nelson.

Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said reopening of the mosque demonstrates that "racism and hatred can make material damage but cannot destroy culture of co-exsistence nourished for centuries."

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela Editing by Ros Russell)
By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday rejected a frequent criticism that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc does not disclose enough about its more than 90, often large operating businesses or its common stock investments.

Buffett defended Berkshire's disclosures in responding to three questions at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Meyer Shields, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is among the critics of Berkshire's disclosures, saying in an April 28 report they leave investors "disproportionately reliant" on Buffett's public persona and past investment successes rather than actual knowledge about the company.

Berkshire owns or co-owns several companies, such as the BNSF railroad, large enough to be in the Fortune 500 on their own, yet which merit no more than a couple of pages in its quarterly and annual reports. Profit and revenue for many smaller units are not disclosed at all.

Buffett said "I don't think we actually provide less information" in periodic reports, but may present it in a different form.

He insisted that overwhelming investors with technical information was the wrong idea, saying you can "lose people" in a 300-page report that says less than a 50-page report.

Buffett also said Berkshire did not need to know the reasoning beyond its investments in stocks generally and foreign stocks, saying it might require the disclosure of proprietary strategies or would not be legally required.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
Just four short years ago, things weren't looking so hot for the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). The company had announced a 75% dividend cut to help with its high debt load, and the share price dropped like a stone.

However, since then, Kinder Morgan has been pulling itself together. Can it keep it up? Here's where the company is likely to find itself five years from now.

Pipes head toward a refinery in the distance

Kinder Morgan, the largest gas pipeline company in the U.S., has been punished by the stock market. Image source: Getty Images.

Slow but steady improvement

Kinder Morgan's fortunes cratered during the energy price slump of 2014-2017. By 2016, the company's revenue on a trailing 12-month basis fell almost 20% to just over $13 billion. Net income dropped off a proverbial cliff, falling 85.6% between Q3 2014 and Q3 2016. Long-term debt levels soared 28.5% from about $35 billion to more than $45 billion. And with the company's painful dividend cut, investors fled the stock, shares of which collapsed 65%, from more than $40 per share to $13 per share.

Since then, however, the company's fundamentals have improved slowly but steadily. Revenue is up 8.4% from its 2016 low. Free cash flow is up 259% from its 2015 low. And management has used some of that cash to pay down long-term debt by 22% and double the dividend payout.

But more important than the improving fundamentals are the improving industry conditions driving them.

More gas than producers know what to do with

Since the oil price slump began in 2014, domestic oil and gas production has exploded, thanks to the comparatively inexpensive shale drilling available in the Permian Basin and other U.S. hydrocarbon hot spots. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. natural gas production has increased by 8.3% since 2014, and estimates it will jump an additional 10.9% by 2020.

All that gas has to go somewhere, and Kinder Morgan has been expanding its pipeline network to accommodate it. The company currently has about $6.1 billion of expansion projects under construction, and expects to greenlight an additional $2 billion to $3 billion annually moving forward. These projects include two major gas pipelines from the Permian Basin: the Gulf Coast Express, which is slated to begin operation this October, and the Permian Highway Pipeline, which will enter service in October 2020. Management admitted on the most recent earnings call that it's even considering a third pipeline as well.

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Some of these new projects push the envelope a bit. Kinder's traditional focus has been on natural gas pipelines, but the company is pursuing a joint venture with Tallgrass Energy (NYSE: TGE) to develop an oil pipeline through the Rockies. The JV would primarily consist of Tallgrass' existing Pony Express oil pipeline system and Kinder's Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline, which would be converted to handle oil.

Looking long term

Kinder Morgan plans to keep growing its gas pipeline network and to expand into the oil pipeline business through its JV with Tallgrass. But it's worth pointing out that pipelines aren't built in a day. We're looking at where the business will be five years from now, but some of the projects currently in Kinder Morgan's $6.1 billion program may not even be finished by then.

That's not stopping the company from looking ahead to 2024. Indeed, on the most recent earnings call, president Kim Dang had this to say about where the company might be in five years: "Overall, the higher utilization on our systems ... will drive nice expansion opportunity. If you look at the longer term, by 2024 the natural gas market is projected to grow to almost 110 [billion cubic feet] a day, driven by increases in power generation, LNG and Mexico exports, and continued industrial development, with most of that supply growth expected to come out of the Permian, the Haynesville [Shale of Texas/Louisiana], and the Marcellus [Shale of Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio]."

Is anyone surprised that Kinder Morgan has significant pipeline assets in all three of these named formations that are expected to drive supply growth?

Keep an eye on Kinder Morgan

The U.S. energy boom seems to be here to stay, and Kinder Morgan is poised to ride the wave of higher domestic production. With a steady stream of new projects in the pipeline (no pun intended), the company looks set for sustained growth over the next five years.

Investors should expect that growth to power additional dividend increases and debt reduction, which makes the company even more attractive as a long-term investment.

More From The Motley Fool

John Bromels owns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I cant think of a better illustration of our partisan divide than the reactions to Attorney General William Barrs testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Democrats are furious at Barrs defense of his rollout of the Mueller report and his assertions of executive power. Some Democrats want Barr to resign, others want him to be impeached, and Nancy Pelosi says hes guilty of lying to Congress. Republicans have found a hero.

Barr is the new Dick Cheney: a stocky, bespectacled, confrontational, blunt, intelligent, unapologetically conservative, experienced, high-powered official who believes in and fights for the office of the president. Just as Democrats loathed Cheney as a bugaboo manipulating President George W. Bush to further the interests of Halliburton, they attack Barr as a dishonest factotum of President Trumps. The qualities that drove Democrats batty over Cheney  his inscrutability, his cleverness, his asperity, and above all his success  make them incensed about Barr. These happen to be qualities Republicans find appealing.

Whats behind conservative support for Cheney and Barr is their lack of embarrassment. Most Washingtonians, no matter their party, find it important to be held in esteem by the citys tastemakers, who are overwhelmingly liberal. Not these two. The classic Cheney moment was his 2004 exchange with Pat Leahy on the Senate floor. Cheney complained that Leahy had called him a war profiteer. Leahy responded that Cheney had said he was a bad Catholic. So Cheney ended the conversation by telling Leahy to perform a physically impossible four-letter act. Youd be surprised at how many people liked that, Cheney recollected in a 2010 interview. Its sort of the best thing I ever did. Hes selling himself short.

Republican fans of Barr circulated clips of his Senate appearance Wednesday even as media coverage of his testimony was uniformly negative. No Democrats are held in less esteem by conservatives than are the ones on the Judiciary Committee. They will never live down their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh. Trump supporters nodded in agreement when Barr said the controversy over his March 24 description of the Mueller report is mind-bendingly bizarre. They chuckled when he said Muellers March 27 letter to him was a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff members. They guffawed when Barr described the verb spying as a good English word. They cheered when Richard Blumenthal asked for notes Barr had taken of his phone conversation with Mueller and Barr told him no. Why should you have them?

Story continues

Where his predecessor was genial and deferential to Congress and the press, Barr is disdainful and combative. At his April 18 press conference before the publication of the Mueller report, a CBS reporter asked Barr if his use of the word unprecedented to describe the circumstances of the Russia investigation was quite generous to the president and his feelings and emotions. Barr replied, Is there another precedent for it? No, the reporter acknowledged sheepishly. Another reporter wondered, Is it an impropriety for you to come out and sort of spin the report before people are able to read it? Barr said, No, and left the room. Lib owned.

In 2001, Cheney fought with Henry Waxman over records related to the formers energy task force. Almost two decades later, Barr and Jerry Nadler face each other in a standoff over whether a sitting attorney general ought to be questioned by staff counsel. Not even CNN could locate an instance where a Cabinet official was interviewed by staff members during a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. But that hasnt stopped Nadler from claiming theres ample precedent for his request. Committee Democrat Steve Cohen accuses Barr of being afraid of staff attorneys, but anyone whos watched Barr before Congress knows he doesnt spook easily. The fight with Nadler is over optics. Nadler wants his hearing to evoke memories of Watergate and Iran-Contra. Barr has no problem denying him the opportunity.

The Democrats have a dilemma. Their base would like to impeach Trump, but the public at large is against it, and Democratic voters themselves dont put impeachment high on the priority list. The people most interested in impeachment, it seems, are cable-news anchors and the same four Democrats  SwalwellSchiffLieuBlumenthal  who appear on their shows day after day. Pelosi has adopted a too-clever-by-half strategy of letting the committee chairmen hound the Trump administration while leadership resists full-bore impeachment. The danger of overreach is real.

Barr is an obstacle not just because of his support for a strong presidency. He also shows every sign of wanting to get to the bottom of malfeasance at the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 campaign. His critics decry his use of the word spying to describe surreptitious intelligence gathering on Trump advisers, but the day after his Senate testimony the New York Times revealed that George Papadopoulos had been contacted by a second FBI employee as part of the Bureaus counterintelligence probe. It was another vindication of Barr, who had told Congress last month the question wasnt if spying had occurred, but if it had been adequately predicated.

I think we did the right thing, Dick Cheney tells James Rosen in Cheney One on One. And I dont have any problem defending it. Bill Barr gives every indication of feeling the same way. Thats why hes become a Democratic target. And a GOP star.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Free Beacon.

More from National Review
(Bloomberg) -- Bombardier Inc. backed away from its 2020 forecast a week after cutting its 2019 outlook, and said it would sell a Northern Ireland wing factory as the company extends a revamp to focus primarily on making luxury jets and trains.

The manufacturer is unable to reaffirm its financial targets for next year, and Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert said he couldnt provide any additional precision. Bombardier also announced Thursday the formation of a new aerospace division that will oversee private aircraft and CRJ regional jets.

The cloudy outlook underscores the challenges still facing Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, who began a five-year turnaround of the debt-laden company in 2015. While the planned divestiture in Belfast would further his overhaul of Bombardier, the potential sale would take a bite out of revenue -- and face uncertainty from Britains planned split from the European Union.

We think it is going to take longer than we had previously thought to get the company to the targeted levels of cash flow and profitability, Rob Stallard, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in a note to clients as he cut the stock to hold from buy. The decision to sell half of the aerostructures division, with no buyer lined up, also removes a considerable chunk of the projected future profits and cash flow.

Bombardier fell 4.7 percent to C$2.23 at 2:25 p.m. in Toronto, paring declines of as much as 11 percent. That came on the heels of a 15 percent one-day decline a week ago, when the company cut its 2019 sales and profit forecast. The bonds also weakened, as $2 billion of notes due in 2027 traded to yield 7.91 percent, from 7.73 percent Wednesday.

Potential Buyers

Bombardier last year handed control of its C Series jetliner to Airbus SE, which Airbus renamed the A220. The Belfast factory makes wings for the single-aisle plane.

It still isnt clear whether barriers will be erected between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain after a divorce. The exit has been postponed until Oct. 31, and a chaotic no-deal scenario that would snarl trade -- the worst-case for businesses -- hasnt entirely been ruled out.

Story continues

The government will work with potential buyers to take this successful and ambitious business forward, U.K. Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement about the Belfast plant.

The biggest players in aircraft parts include U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. and Triumph Group Inc., plus Britains GKN, acquired last year by Melrose Industries Plc in a $10 billion hostile takeover.

Speaking to journalists after the annual meeting of shareholders in Montreal, Bellemare said the decision to sell the Belfast plant had nothing to do with Brexit, adding the company also employs 4,000 people on the train side in the U.K. and loves its presence there. The wing factory in Belfast has about 3,600 employees.

This asset could benefit from having a company that would focus on aerostructure to grow because the potential in Belfast is very significant, he said. Its a high-value business and were confident there will be lots of interested buyers.

Bombardier wants to get the full value of the asset, he said, adding that its not a fire-sale situation.

Prized Asset

Selling Belfast would further distance Bombardier from the A220, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Seth Seifman said in a note to clients. This makes it a prized asset and with Airbus still ramping production of a young program, we imagine it will have an opinion about who owns this integral piece of it.

Spirit said Wednesday that it was looking for acquisitions to diversify away from its dependence on Boeing Co. and the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes in five months.

If Airbus does not want the asset itself, another possibility is Spirit AeroSystems, Seifman said.

Spirit declined to comment on the Belfast plant.

For all of the Belfast plants technological prowess, buyers will also need to assess its profitability, said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

We dont see wing businesses as being very lucrative, Ferguson said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg TV.

Beyond Bombardier

Belfast plant chief Michael Ryan told Bloomberg in November that he planned to look beyond Bombardier for growth as the company shrank its aerospace business, adding that all options would be considered, with nothing out of the question.

There are no new workforce announcements as a result of this decision, the Northern Ireland operation said.

Bombardier said it would also look to sell an aerostructures plant in Morocco.

A new division called Bombardier Aviation will oversee the Global, Challenger and Learjet private aircraft, the manufacturer said in a statement. Bombardier said the unit will also maximize the value of its proven CRJ regional jets, a business for which the company has been exploring strategic options.

The aviation business will be one of two strong pillars for the future, Bombardier said in the statement.

This change reflects our strategic and discipline approach to simplify and better focus the company on the growth opportunities, Bellemare said on the conference call.

Geographic Footprint

Bombardier Aviation will retain a geographic footprint stretching from Montreal to Texas and Mexico. The division will be led by David Coleal, the head of Bombardiers business-jet operations. Bombardier expects to close a sale of its turboprop operations this year.

The Montreal-based company burned through $1.04 billion on a free cash flow basis in the first quarter, more than the expected outflow of $947.2 million. Sales fell 13 percent to $3.52 billion. That fell short of the $3.67 billion expected by analysts. The company swung to an adjusted net loss of seven cents a share.

Bombardier last week cited challenges in its rail-equipment business as it pared its 2019 outlook for sales and profit.

Before effectively pulling its 2020 forecast, the company had targeted financial objectives including revenue of at least $20 billion and free cash flow of $750 million to $1 billion.

Bellemare said its good to have a prudent approach on 2020 because of recent difficulties in the rail unit.

Theres been some disappointment on our performance in the train sector, we acknowledge it and it is being addressed, he said.

(Updates with CEO comments.)

--With assistance from Emma Ross-Thomas, Christopher Jasper, Esteban Duarte and Julie Johnsson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net;Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
News about a good book often travels fast. Readers love to share what they are reading and talk about the last great character or plot-twist they encountered. At the library, all of that shared information turns into some books being checked out more often than others. As we look back at 202
Harry has cancelled his trip to the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images

Two days after announcing a trip to the Netherlands, The Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip, and the world is holding its breath

The Duke had been scheduled to visit Amsterdam and The Hague next week, but will stay in England in the coming days.

Logistical challenges have been cited as causing the sudden change of plans, but as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex suspicion is mounting.

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours ago, Buckingham Palace have now cancelled the first day of the trip.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussexs scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019 .

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The Duchess is suspected to be long overdue. Photo: Getty Images

Harry was originally scheduled to visit the Netherlands on the 8th and 9th of May.

The announcement left observers wondering if something more was afoot, as the decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife a little longer.

What is unclear is whether he will spend the time waiting for, or enjoying the company of their newborn baby.

Is possible the change of plans is a nod to his father, the Prince of Wales, who will be undertaking an important diplomatic visit to Germany next week at the request of the Foreign office.

The trip will see the Prince meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to secure the friendship between the two countries amid ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Some are concerned the importance of Charles visit would play second fiddle to the development in the Sussex family life.

The delay could be a nod to his father Prince Charles. Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry will now instead travel only to The Hague on the 9th to launch the Invictus Games.

The Duchess is now thought to be overdue, and international media and fans are waiting with bated breath.

Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

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A YouTuber inadvertently filmed what might be the body of a murder victim stuffed in a suitcase for a travel video.

The suitcase may be connected to a serial murder case rocking Cyprus politics, nearly two years after the video was filmed. The suspected killer confessed to murdering seven people just days ago, and told law enforcement officials he dumped some of his victims' bodies in suitcases into a lake that's become a destination for travel influencers.

New York-based vlogger Sarah Funk visited Cyprus' Mitsero Red Lake, a toxic, acidic body of water tinted red from now-abandoned British mining operations in June 2017.

"This is what murder episodes are made of," Funk's partner, Luis Yanes, can be heard joking in a YouTube video she posted of their visit to the eery locale.

They climbed over barbed wire and scrambled down a steep hill to get to the lake.

"This feels like death, you know what I mean?" Funk exclaimed. Later, she quipped, "I just feel death in the air, it's so nice."

A shot of Funk squatting to photograph a boxy object in the water can be seen at roughly 2:08 in the video. The object may be one of the suitcases containing a woman's remains.

Cypriot officials believe there are three suitcases in the lake and on Saturday retrieved one of them. It's unclear if that suitcase is the same one Funk saw nearly two years ago and police have not confirmed whether they used Funk's video during the investigation. On Sunday, Cypriot military officer Nicos Metaxas confessed to murdering five women and two children over a three year period. He said he dumped three of their bodies into Mitsero Red Lake. His adult victims were domestic workers for households around Cyprus, according to the Guardian, and are thought to hail from the Philippines, India or Nepal, and Romania.

Political critics are blaming police for mishandling the case, noting that they were unmotivated to find the missing persons because they were foreigners.

Story continues

The Washington Post reports that two of the suitcases have been located, but only one has been retrieved. Authorities continue to search for the third suitcase.

Funk said she thought the suitcase was a log.

Image: sarah funk

After news of the confession broke, Funk posted a blog post with photos of one of the suitcases and asked people to stop contacting her about it.

"This is terrible and I am devastated for the victims' families," she wrote. "It felt eerie there but I did not see anything completely out of the norm ... I dont have any other information about the lake. This is all of the information I have, and I hope it helps."

She added that at the time, she thought the suitcase was a log.

Funk also said she didn't have any other information about the lake.

Image: sarah funk

The Guardian reports that four bodies have been found so far, but notes that the island has "scores" of unsolved cases related to missing migrant women.
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The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

Source A common scene from the 405 in LA.

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

Analyst downgrade due to debt

The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

Source

We should acknowledge though for a company with $1.3 bn in market capitalization, having $5.2 bn in long term debt poses, at least an optical problem in the balance sheet. In the last six months "Capital Restraint" has entered the oilfield lexicon, and companies are being held to account.

But, the debt was right there on the balance sheet in February of 2018, when the very same firm, Goldman upgraded CRC to neutral (whatever neutral means...maybe, don't buy it, but don't sell it?). About the same time two other firms upgraded it to buy. It then started its ramp to $50. Proving only that you shouldnt overly rely on investment analysts advice when making decisions!

Source

Now, Goldman is downgrading a company with significantly more cash flow, and less debt than a year before. A headscratcher, that one! The debt was a legacy from its former parent, Occidental Petroleum, when the two separated in 2014.

In 2018 CRC repurchased about $230 mm in debt for $199 mm, saving approximately $31 mm in the process. It was able to do this as a result of improving cash flow YoY, and high net realizations from an aggressive hedging strategy. I think this will continue, the oil price allowing. Related: Mexico Puts The Squeeze On Fuel Theft

Bottom-line, I think, absent a big drop in oil prices, debt is a false flag to fly with California Resources. This a well-managed company, that was born with a stone around its neck, and has been gradually working its way to a better Enterprise Value. In the currently supportive price environment, the stock should not be punished for the debt.

CRC's Strategic Advantage in California

It can't really be over-stated what the importation of ~60 percent of its crude means to California. I've heard higher figures, some approaching 70 percent, but let's go with what the state tells us. What it boils down to is that a significant disruption in shipping could cripple the state, energy-wise.

Source This goes back a lot farther than the 10 year period I captured. If you go back to 1982, California only imported about 5 percent of its needs.

So as California has become more and more addicted to foreign crude it is interesting to note the sources to which it has turned to keep its roadways clogged up.

Source

It's easy to see that over a third of Californias crude comes from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-KSA, and KSA has been making the news for one reason alone in the past few months. They are reducing total shipments to the U.S., and other countries (but, the U.S. in particular), in an effort to drive prices up.

IMO 2020

From the table published by the State of California, almost 370 mm bbl of crude were brought into the state by oil tanker in 2018. Let's assume these were all VLCC's that hold a 2-million barrels a pop, that's a hundred and sixty-five loads. I am not going to get all wonky and try and calculate the carbon foot-print of a VLCC, but what I will say is that the cost of crude shipping will be rising due to this IMO 2020 mandate, that restrict the amount of sulfur in diesel used in marine engines. This will make locally produced crude even more competitive. A win for CRC.

Let's not forget, as well, that crude shipping is an interruptible supply, meaning that these boats can go anywhere.

New vapor pressure law in Washington State could shutdown Bakken crude.

As if California drivers shouldn't already be paranoid about having enough gas to fill up the minivan for a trip to the soccer field, now the very 'green' State of Washington throws them a curve ball. You may ask, "What's the legislature in Washington have to do with driving in California?" A fair question. The answer is that that California does not produce all the refined products it needs, and the five refineries in Washington are the marginal suppliers to them.

If the new law mentioned goes into effect, about 150 K BOPD of Bakken crude could have to find another home. I am sure you see where I am going with this line of thought. California crude and refined product supply could come under potentially greater threat, making locally produced oil still more valuable.

Summary of CRC's California advantage

Source

100 percent of CRC's daily production comes from fields within the state. A guy named David Ricardo once postulated what has become known as the Law of Comparative Advantage. I won't get too deep in the weeds here, but the relevance to this article is that CRC has an advantage over other (foreign) producers by being in the state, and can sell every barrel it produces at Brent prices, and a lower net cost.

A new potential problem that is weighing on the stock.

California AB-345 is a red-herring that will never see the light of day as a law, but has made waves as it passed through a key committee. What it does essentially is sunset the entire oil production industry in the state. Here is a link if you would like to read the bill.

What hasnt gotten a lot of ink in the press is the fact, that even in the unlikely event it did become law, all permits to drill that have been issued will remain valid. California Resources currently has over 600 permits to drill approved and I see this bill as non-event in assessing CRC stock.

Related: How The Renewable Revolution Is Reshaping Geopolitics

Notable outtakes from Production Data and other Key Financial metrics for 2018

Daily production was132 BPOED, 8 percent higher YoY, and with a slight increase in Q-4 to 86 K from 84 K in Q-3. A trend that it would be nice to see continue in Q-1 of this year. Worth mentioning also was the product skew improved in favor of liquids over gas.

Source

CRC is guiding for capex of about $500 mm for 2019, with about 2/3 of that generated internally. That's a slight step back from 2018, and reflects a conservative outlook with respect to price realizations. Speaking of which, CRC benefits from its exposure to Brent pricing and aggressive hedging.

Source

CRC also built its reserves base YoY while cutting costs.

Source

CRC is telling us to expect daily production of about 132K BOPED for 2019, or ~$2.9 bn in gross revenue at hedged prices. If you back out roughly $2.3 bn in core costs, that leaves about $250 mm in free cash. If you give them a multiple of 10 it suggests a price of $48-52 might be in a fair range for CRC. A 100 percent upside from current pricing, making CRC an easy 2-bagger, assuming favorable oil price conditions persist.

Your takeaway

The market is currently whacking CRC like it had the same fundamentals as shale players. It doesn't. CRC produces from predominantly conventional reservoirs with a low decline curve, (about 10 percent a year), as opposed to the much higher curves for shale.

As I've said, I think too much is being made by the analysts of CRC's debt. In my view they are taking the same metrics applied to shale drillers without considering CRC reservoirs and unique sales scenario in California.

When the market comes to its senses, CRC is well positioned to see some gains.

By David Messler for Oilprice.com

Disclosure: The writer does not hold and does not intend to obtain a position in this stock within the next 72hrs. The author expresses his own opinions and has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Global oil market fundamentals are looking particularly bullish, from the OPEC+ production cuts, to the constraints of exports in Nigeria and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuelan. While oil price volatility has increased thanks to financial analysts putting an emphasis on Trumps apparent Twitter agreements with OPEC leaders, market fundamentals are still very bullish. Until the global market realizes that U.S. oil storage reports are not the be all and end all for oil prices, volatility will remain.

There is a new threat looming though as OPEC+ prepares to meet at its June 25-26th Ministerial Meeting in Vienna. The internal cohesion of OPEC is being called into question at present, as several major member countries are facing not only external sanctions but threats of a total internal implosion of their respective regimes. The removal of U.S. waivers for leading oil importers of Iranian oil and gas is putting the Tehran regime under severe pressure. While Trumps target of reducing Iranian production to zero is unrealistic, the impact of the sanctions is undeniable. No new oil contracts have been reported between Iran and its main clients, China and India, since the sanctions. It seems that the fear of indirect sanctions by the U.S. is already having its desired result, Irans hydrocarbon exports have been hit hard and seem to have no response. Reports about Iran having trouble to pay not only its own bills, but also its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, also show that the regime is struggling.

At the same time, Irans staunchest supporter in OPEC, Venezuela appears to be on the brink. Confronted by U.S. sanctions and increased political support from Arab and European countries for opposition leader Guaido, Venezuela is a facing an economic meltdown as its hydrocarbon sectors come to a standstill. In recent days the situation here has worsened as the opposition, supported by parts of the Venezuelan armed forces and security services, has openly started a rebellion to remove current president Maduro. The latter remains in power, but mainly due to Russian, Chinese and Turkish support. Irans Latin American partner is heading for a possible civil conflict of unknown proportions. Related: Economists: Higher Oil Prices Here To Stay

Based on these two key OPEC producers, at least on paper, OPECs internal structure is fragmenting. The Saudi-led OPEC+ production cut strategy is still in place, but it is partly successful due to the negative repercussions of the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. The high level of compliance with the agreement (128%) is based on the loss of these particular volumes. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia, are sticking to their roles, cutting as needed. Optimism about Iraq is based on uncertain assumptions, while Libyas overall situation is highly volatilie.

To top up OPECs internal issues, Africas main oil producer Nigeria reports that it is not even able to sell some of its cargoes. Nigerian sources stated on May 2 that around 20 Nigerian oil cargoes are not sold, even after severe price cuts. Nigeria has already reduced its selling prices of a basket of May-loading crude oil grades, mainly as buyers were not showing an interest in contracts for cargoes offered at and above a premium of $2 compared to dated Brent. At present, Nigerias major grades, including Bonny Light and Qua Iboe, Forcados and Escravos, saw a decrease of around 20 to 25 cents compared with April. At the same time, Nigeria has been hit by several force majeurs, such as that declared by oil major Shell on exports of Nigerias major Bonny Light stream after the closure of one of two export pipelines, while Amenam, operated by Total, is also under force majeure. The main reason for this is not a lack of demand from China or India, but from European clients. Related: BP CEO: Trump Is The Wild Card In Oil Markets

In the coming weeks, as analysts focus on production figures, storage volumes and demand, OPEC will be focusing on defusing pressure to increase production, while at the same time the Saudi-led faction will likely confront the Tehran-Venezuela (and possibly Iraqi) axis. Iran has openly threatened to undermine OPECs stability if no support can be gathered before the June meeting. In several statements to the press, Irans oil Minister has warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse. Tehran threatens at present to take all necessary measures to block oil and gas flows from OPEC members that are supporting the U.S. sanctions regime. At the same time, Tehran has warned to take measures against countries trying to fill in the supply gap left by Iran. Zanganeh reiterated the latter during a meeting with OPEC secretary general Barkindo in Tehran. Barkindo reacted by saying that OPEC will do its utmost to depoliticize oil and gas policies of the organization. OPECs SG statements however look very bleak in light of the growing heat in the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Zanganeh is counting on Iraq, Libya and Venezuela to keep the pressure on Riyadh an Abu Dhabi, not to fully support U.S. sanctions. The meeting in June will be crucial. Geopolitical pressure, combined with an aggressive power projection of Iran in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya), leaves less room to maneuver for Arab countries than before. Tehrans hope to keep Moscow on its side also seems to be backfiring as Russia openly is behind OPEC+ cuts, while backing Saudi-UAEs efforts in Libya.

In many ways this appears to be a repeat of the 2018 meeting of OPEC in Vienna. The main difference will be that Tehran has lost much of its internal OPEC powers, due to the departure of Qatar and the implosion of Venezuela. Tehran doesnt hold any real cards anymore, even the threat of military action in the Gulf or elsewhere will backfire. The cartel is heading for a rearrangement of powers, a rearrangement in which a new actor may be taking part. Moscow is still heading for an official agreement with OPEC, threatening to topple any Iranian future in the cartel for a very long time. Putins need for Iran is gone, new power plays are already in place, in which Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Libya are much more prominent.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Russias second largest natural gas producer, independent player Novatek, has signed up key participation from two state-owned Chinese oil majors in its massive Arctic LNG 2 project. The deals were inked last week at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation held in China. This cements Novateks position as Russias leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer, moving it a step ahead of the countrys two state-backed companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and China National Oil and Gas Development Co. (CNODC), a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), signed up to acquire 10 percent each in the project. CNOOC is also Chinas largest offshore oil and gas producer and developer.

Novateks chairman, Leonid Mikhelson, welcomed CNOOCs involvement, saying China was one of the key consuming markets for our LNG sales. He added that Arctic LNG 2 would be a game-changer in the global gas market and noted the companys experience from its Yamal LNG project as a demonstration of its ability to carry out operations in the Arctic.

The entry of the CNPC unit, meanwhile, was described by Mikhelson as an important milestone for Arctic LNG 2, while he noted the Chinese companys participation in Yamal LNG. The accumulated experience of working together is a solid basis for the successful implementation of our new LNG project, he said. No details have been given yet for the price the Chinese companies paid. French oil major Total also invested in Arctic LNG 2 in March. Novatek, in its first-quarter results, said the sale of a 10 percent stake in the project had resulted in a net gain of $4.8 billion. Related: Oil Market Is Set To Become Very Tight Later This Year

Experience

China was instrumental in making the Yamal LNG work. In addition to the participation of CNPC, which acquired a 20 percent stake in 2013, the Silk Road Fund (SRF) purchased a 9.9 percent stake for $1.21 billion in March 2016. SRF also provided a 15-year loan worth some $813 million. Additionally, CNPC signed up to a 20-year off-take agreement, covering 3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of Yamal LNGs production, indexed to the Japanese Crude Cocktail (JCC) price, the leading LNG pricing benchmark in Asia. The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) also provided loans, of $10.4 billion and $151 million in 2016. This came on top of a $4 billion loan from Russian funding.

Massive gas project

The Arctic LNG 2 project will cover three production trains, each with 6.6 mtpa worth of capacity. An all-important final investment decision (FID) on the project is anticipated later this year, with the first LNG delivery slated for the end of 2023, around the time when most analysts forecast that global LNG markets will pivot from its current overhang to a possible shortage of the super-cooled fuel.

Insatiable gas demand

hinese LNG demand could reach 80-100 mtpa by 2025, according to various industry forecasts, up from 53.7 million tonnes in 2018. Rising demand for the fuel is part of Beijings drive to clean up the air quality of the countrys largest cities, which have been plagued by high air pollution levels for years. This drive has seen an explosion of demand in recent years that has been increasingly met by imports, including U.S.-sourced geopolitically charged gas imports that have also been embroiled in the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Overall demand for gas is expected to climb to 620 bcm by 2035, according to CNPC, up from at 280.3 bcm in 2018. The oil major has also predicted that domestic production will amount to 300 bcm by 2035, up from 161 bcm last year. This will mean an expansion in imports from 124.7 bcm in 2018 to 320 bcm in 2035.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

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In spite of their political differences, the display of warmth between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Dakar shows that they are cool outside politics.

Pundits expected them to be at each others throat, especially with the completion of the presidential election to which Obasanjo had joined forces to try to unseat Buhari.

The boisterous exchange of pleasantries by Buhari and Obasanjo at the inauguration of President Sall of Senegal is a confirmation that politics is a game. No hard feelings.

Obasanjo, who supported Buhari in 2015 election, gave his support to Atiku Abubakar this time.

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A Massachusetts teenager named Mathew Borges is currently facing murder trial after he stabbed his classmate Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, and later beheaded him for sitting with his girlfriend in the cafeteria of Lawrence High School in the United States.

The prosecutor, Jay Gubitose, said that argument later ensued between Borges and Viloria-Paulino following the development which happened in 2016.

Gubitose told the jury that Borges, who was 15 years old at the time, was very jealous. He started screaming at his girlfriend. He sent her a text that said:

I think of killing someone and I smirk  Its all I think about every day.

In November that year, a day before Borges allegedly killed Viloria-Paulino, he texted the girl with whom he had broken up by then because of his jealousies saying:

The next time you see me, look at my eyes because thats the last time theyll be like that. Theyll be dead.

Surveillance video at the home of a neighbor of Viloria-Paulino showed the victim and Borges leaving together and walking toward a river, the prosecutor told the jury.

Borges, who is being tried as an adult, told police that he and the victim walked toward the river to smoke marijuana and that he left.

The video showed four people later walking near the victims house, and then returning with duffle bags, the prosecutor said, adding that Viloria-Paulinos home had been burglarized.

Borges attorney, Edward Hayden, said that his client and his friends burglarized Viloria-Paulinos home, but that Borges did not commit murder.

Hayden also said that the case against Borges lacked evidence such as DNA, weapons or blood implicating his client, that witnesses who are going to say he committed murder are not reliable.

And while Borges texts supposedly indicate jealousy, he argued, they did not mention Viloria-Paulino.

In these thousands of texts and messages there is no evidence that Mathew killed Lee. Anything incriminating is referring to the house break. There is nothing in all these messages and theres no motive, he said.

Police searching Borges home found a journal in which he wrote kill him, and he spoke of calling his friends, and telling them to cover their shoes with bags.

The defendant told them he stabbed him to death and cut his head and hands off so he couldnt be identified, Gubitose said.

A man who was walking his dog found Viloria-Paulinos decapitated body by the river. Police later found his head in a bag close to where the body was located.
Foreign Affairs Ministry says its silent diplomatic efforts in the past few weeks culminated in the release of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar arrested by Saudi authority for a drug-related offence.

The ministry said this in a statement by its Acting Spokesperson, Friday Akpan, on Thursday in Abuja

Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian student who travelled for Lesser Hajj with her mother was arrested by Saudi Security Officials on December 26, 2018, in a hotel in Madinah.

She was accused of possessing a bag containing illicit drugs purportedly bearing a tag with her name.

Another passenger, Ibrahim Abubakar, unrelated to Zainab who also travelled on the same aircraft, was also arrested on the same day, it stated.

The ministry explained that Zainab Aliyu was released on April 30, while Ibrahim Abubakar was released on May 1.

It also stressed that the intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari directing that all efforts be exerted to secure their release facilitated the expedited final favourable resolution of the matter.

While explaining further its efforts on the release of the two Nigerians, the ministry stated that on receipt of the information on their arrest, the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah intervened.

It stated that the Nigerian Mission in Saudi then requested for a full investigation to ascertain the innocence of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

Investigations conducted by the Airport Authorities and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano discovered a drug cartel at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, that specialises in planting illicit drugs on innocent travellers without their knowledge.

It was also discovered that the bag tagged in Zainabs name was planted by the cartel without her knowledge.

Following the arrest of members of the cartel, the Federal Government is currently prosecuting the suspects in the Federal High Court, Kano.

The outcome of the investigation and subsequent trial of the suspects confirmed the innocence of the two Nigerians.

The Consulate General of Nigeria in Jeddah, upon instruction from Headquarters, therefore sent series of Diplomatic Notes to the Saudi Foreign Ministry informing of the arrest of members of the syndicate in Kano and forwarding the report of the NDLEA investigation and court proceeding.

It stated that investigation documents were forwarded to the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah to further support the innocence of the two Nigerians and also resolve the issue of luggage tag numbers.

According to the ministry, following these efforts, officials in the Consulate secured an appointment and met with the Director General of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Jeddah.

It said that the DG then requested the official in the consulate to forward the NDLEA report to all concerned Saudi agencies with a view to releasing Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

All these processes followed were consistent with the usual diplomatic channel of engagement.

To maintain the diplomatic pressure, another Note was sent by our Embassy in Riyadh conveying the same message to the Saudi Authorities.

On April 26, a Note was also sent to both the Saudi Embassy in Abuja and its Consulate in Kano, forwarding court documents relating to the trial of members of the Kano syndicate, it stated.

It added that the Legal Adviser of the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that relevant agencies and departments in Saudi Arabia were going to meet to consider all the Notes Verbal and reports submitted by Nigeria.

This, it stated, was to facilitate early resolution of the case of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

The ministry added that the judicial and legal process in Nigeria also provided the critical documentation that aided the diplomatic efforts to establish the innocence of both Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

It stated that the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jeddah is currently processing travel documents for the two individuals to facilitate their return to Nigeria.

The ministry commended the Saudi government, through its Embassy in Abuja and officials of Saudi Foreign Ministry, for cooperating with Nigeria in the eventual resolution of the matter

Post Views: 91
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

This is a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast.

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the U.S. mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

South Korea said in a statement its very concerned about North Koreas weapons launches, calling them a violation of last years inter-Korean agreements to reduce animosities between the countries.

The statement, issued after an emergency meeting of top officials at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, also urged North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear diplomacy.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that U.S.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (U.S.-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.

Post Views: 30
State governments across the country are taking a fresh look at their finances with a view to mapping out strategies for payment of the new N30,000 minimum wage.

They are also awaiting guidelines from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on how best to handle the situation.

Although some of the states, including Kano, Zamfara, Kwara, Rivers, Kogi and Edo, had expressed their readiness to pay the new minimum wage, there seems to be discordant tunes from some other states about their ability to pay.

One of such states is Oyo where the current monthly wage bill stands at N5.6 billion.

The state is allocated an average of N4.4 billion a month from the federal purse while its internally generated revenue is about N1.6 billion monthly.

Information, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Toye Arulogun, could not tell what the wage bill would look like when details of the new minimum wage are released.

He said that could only be determined when the Federal Government gazettes the new minimum wage and guidelines are out.

The commissioner explained that the government would take the necessary step if it was confronted with inability to pay.

But he was quick to add: We will wait to cross the bridge before deciding the appropriate line of action.

The Kwara State Government is also awaiting the template for payment from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

It says the template is required by the 13-man minimum wage reviewing committee it set up to guide it on computing new salaries for workers.

Investigations revealed that the state government receives between N2.5 and N3.8 billion monthly, going by the figure usually released by the Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC).

The internally generated revenue of the state also stands at between N1.7 billion and N2.3 billion per month.

The Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Prof Muritala

Awodun, recently said that the service generated a total sum of N6.279 billion as revenue in the first quarter of 2019.

Awodun, said that the agency generated N2.16 billion in January, N1.76 billion in February and N2.38 billion in March 2019.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of N60 billion revenue per annum or N5 billion monthly, however, said that the service has been developed to a point that it would not make less than an average of N2.5 billion every month.

It was gathered that the state government currently spends over N2 billion on the payment of workers salaries.

A source gave the breakdown of salary payment as follows: core civil servants N600 million; primary and secondary school teachers N940 million; local government staff N500 million and pensioners N400 million.

Like Oyo and Kwara, Cross River State is also waiting for the guidelines from the federal authorities.

It currently has about 25,000 workers on its payroll and receives an average of N3 billion allocation from Abuja monthly and generates between N1.5 billion and N3.5 billion.

Apart from paying salaries and meeting financial obligations in respect of projects, the state also services the loan taken for the execution of the Tinapa complex.

This is put at almost N100 million per month.

There is also the controversial superhighway expected to gulp over N700 billion.

The governor recently transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly to approve modalities for funding the project by the state government.

The letter, which was leaked on the Internet, sought approval for an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for N648.8 billion in favour of a construction company.

The letter with reference number SSG/S/300/VOL.XVII/1199, addressed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, sought the state legislature to consider and pass a resolution granting an approval for the state government to issue an ISPO of N300 million monthly through a bank in favour of the construction company.

Imo ll pay, says Okorocha

as gov-elect insists on checking records first

The Chief Press Secretary to outgoing Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told The Nation that the state government would pay the new minimum wage.

He said: Imo State was the first state to pay the N18,000 minimum wage and it will also pay the new minimum wage of N30,000.

The governor has always considered the welfare of workers a top priority of his administration.

But Mr. Chibuike Onyeukwu, the media aide to Governor-elect Emeka Ihedioha, said the records would have to be checked first to determine what could be done.

He said: The issue of the minimum wage is a matter the governor-elect will not comment on until he is sworn in and assumes office on May 29.

Thereafter, he will check the records on ground and make the position of the state known.

Investigation showed that the current monthly wage bill of workers in the state is about N4 billion, pensions gulp N1.4 billion, while internally generated revenue (IGR) is N1.4 billion per annum.

The state also gets between N3.4 billion and N5 billion as allocation from Abuja monthly.

Speaking on the states chances of paying the new minimum wage, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Iyke Njoku, described it as a complicated issue.

He said: With the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law, every state is expected to pay. For it to be obtainable, the Federal Government should have made it optional rather than foisting it on the states.

States should have been allowed to negotiate with the workers and agree on what they can pay.

For instance, in Imo State, we have free education going on, and this is taking a lot of money and we cannot stop that to meet up with the new salary because they will bring back hardship on the people.

And if you fail to comply with the new salary structure, labour will revolt. So it is a very complicated issue for now.

Niger to initiate discussion with labour

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is seeking talks with labour leaders in the state on how to proceed with payment of the new minimum wage.

He wants to find out why governments wage bill has remained unchanged despite the large number of those who have either retired from the service or died since 2015 when he assumed office.

Bello said that while he is committed to paying the new minimum wage, we will initiate discussions with the organised labour on how to proceed with the necessary modalities for the full implementation of the 30,000 minimum wage bill as signed into law by the President.

He said it was disheartening that despite conscious efforts to turn around the fortunes of the state, the state wage bill continues to remain static, regardless of the number of the people that have retired from the service and those who died between 2015 and now.

The civil servants need to be sincere with themselves and support government in changing the ugly trend.

The federal allocation to Niger State in January 2019 was N4.043 billion.

Figures recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the states IGR last year at N6.5 billion per annum, an average of N543 million per month.

Abia ready to pay, says commissioner

The Abia State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, told The Nation that the state government was ready to pay the new minimum wage, saying it will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be on the same page with other states.

Asked whether the state has the financial muscle to pay, he said: Our IGR is not static; it fluctuates. In my time, it has gone beyond N1 billion, and at times, it has fallen below N700 million.

It keeps fluctuating, but we have arrived at a point where I think today, we can target N2 billion as IGR in Abia and achieve it.

Ultimately, people believe that Abia can make N5 billion as IGR, and I share that optimism. But that hasnt happened yet.

Minimum wage is something that we have all agreed that the amount currently being earned by workers is low, and as a state, we are going to abide with the decision, in line with other states. Whatever other states are doing, be rest assured that we are going to do it.

But I am not also worried, because if you check the whole of Southeast today, Abia pays the highest. N30,000 minimum wage will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be at the same page with other states.

On the possibility of the wage bill being a burden on the state, the commissioner said: There is no doubt that it is going to be a big burden on the state.

But why I am not a bit bothered like other states is because Abia has been paying well above the N18, 000 minimum wage since 2011 till date.

So, we are not as jittery as other states. But like I told you, this has also provided a very good platform for us to look at our wage structure, knowing that we pay the highest.

We have the capacity to continue paying highest. We are going to use this opportunity and adjust and then make it easier for us to pay and for the workers to earn this money as and when due.

It is going to be a win-win situation for everybody. The workers will be happy and the state will also be happy.

I know that when we came in and did the biometrics and the new payroll administration strategy where we have centralized payroll system, that assisted us in realigning our wage structure and we made huge savings from that exercise.

This exercise was basically for the MDAs, but the minimum wage now is going to give us the opportunity to look at what is being earned even in other parastatals like Abia Poly where the wage structure is dysfunctional because a PhD holder in Abia Poly earns higher than a professor in ABSU (Abia State University, Uturu).

It is absurd and totally unacceptable. So, be rest assured that with the restructuring that we are trying to do, it will realign these things and make it look like what it should be, so that the state will be alive to its responsibility, these institutions will also be alive and running.

We are going to restructure our salary wage bill to be in line with what is obtainable elsewhere.

Concerning our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), we are currently undergoing restructuring. During the period of restructuring, you dont get that kind of quantum leap that you expect, but any moment from now, we will start reaping the dividends of those things.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly kept the selection of his choices for new ministers for his second term in office to himself.

According to The Nation, some members of the inner power circle popularly known as Cabal went to London to meet with the president but were denied access based on strict orders from him.

It was reported that unlike his first term in office, the president has not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party.

A top source said: It seems Buhari has realized that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.

His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London.

Those who went to London came back empty-handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).

We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.

A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015?

He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.

Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him.

A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.

I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President.

We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended.
Anglican Diocese of Aguata in Anambra State has asked the state governor, Willie Obiano to tender an unreserved apology to Ndigbo for betraying them by supporting President Muhammadu Buharis reelection during the electioneering campaign.

The church said that the insult the governor gave the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, in the run-up to the last general elections, is a betrayal to the entire Igbo race.

These were contained in the Bishops Charge presented on Friday by Rt. Rev. Samuel Ezeofor at the 2nd Session of the Fifth Synod of Diocese of Aguata holding at St James Anglican Church Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of the State.

The church described Obianos betrayal as an insult which inflicted a deep wound on Igbo people.

The insult Chief Willie Obiano laid on President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo was a betrayal of the highest order, a betrayal of the whole Igbo people, a betrayal of his own people. It was an insult on the whole of Igbo race and we call on him, His Excellency Chief Willie Obiano to apologize to Ndigbo. We do not know how Governor Obiano can explain the stance he took but may it please him to know that he wounded us so deep in his bid to stop his benefactor Sir Peter Obi. We also need to let the Governor know that we are not unaware of his moves against the Anglican faithful in Anambra State.

Chancellor of the Diocese, Justice Pete Obiora commended the Bishop for his analysis of the society and courage to say things the way they were.
Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT], Lanre Osibona has reiterated the Federal Governments commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are un-banked or under-banked.

Osibodu made this assertion in his keynote address at the recently concluded Lagos Fintech Week that was held in Lagos.

Lagos Fintech Week is an invigorating week of distinct Fintech events that delivers exciting discussions, stimulating demos and insightful debates.

He said that digital financial services is critical to building a robust digital economy and government is determined in using it to make financial services affordable to everyone irrespective of their status and gender.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity  the National Identity Number (NIN).

For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians, he said.

He also pointed that government has put in place a number of initiatives that include FECs approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies, developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

He said the Federal Government was expected to have setup an independent Data Protection Agency. This is currently in the National Assembly for final adoption before being signed into law, he added.

The Presidents senior adviser also mentioned that government is developing a robust cyber security framework on the outcome of the cyber security assessment initiative.

We have upgraded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) technology in order to scale the number of records it can hold and working with a number of stakeholders including the private sector to develop strategy for e-commerce in the digital economy.

He stated that the country cannot afford to lose out in leveraging the opportunities that digital economy is bringing but must work together in developing policies and regulations that will address challenges of data sovereignty, data ownership and commercialisation of data.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will meet with the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigerias power sector to assess the take-off and implementation of the third-party meter deployment scheme, Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), initiated by the regulatory agency.

However, as the date for the MAPs to begin rolling out meters to all electricity consumers enters the third day, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr. Kola Adesina, has said meter rollout alone will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

It was also gathered that many Discos did meet NERCs May 1 deadline for the conclusion of their selection of MAPs.

However, the regulator has insisted that all Discos must engage a MAP, insisting that the Discos conclude theirs immediately.

The roll out commenced Thursday as contained in the permit. We shall have update from Discos/Permit holders during the NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry) meeting on Monday, May 6, in Lagos, a senior official of NERC said.

NERC, from various notices it released, has indicated that it had issued permits to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc; Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc, to engage MAPs.

According to the agency, Discos MAPs permits were in accordance with section 4(3) of the MAP Regulations- NERC- R-112 of 2018.

It added that the Port Harcourt Disco appointed Armese Consulting Ltd and Holley Metering Ltd as its MAP; Yola Disco appointed Chris Ejik International Agencies Ltd; while Enugu Disco appointed Mojec International Ltd.

Ibadan Disco, NERC said, appointed CWG Plc, Integrated Resources Ltd, Mojec International Ltd, Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd, New Hampshire Capital Ltd, Protogy Global Services Ltd and Tinuten Nigeria Limited to provide meters within their respective franchise under the MAP scheme.

It also issued permits to Ikeja and Benin Discos to appoint their preferred MAPs, as well as to Abuja and Jos Discos.

NERC approved for Ikeja Disco to appoint Mojec International Limited to provide 399,790 meters; Consolidated Infrastructure Group Ltd  397,922 meters and New Hamshire Capital Ltd  276,699 meters respectively for it within its franchise network, while Benin Disco got its nod to appoint FLT Energy System Ltd; G-Unit Engineering Ltd; Inlaks Power Solution Ltd; Sabrud Consortium Nigeria Ltd and Turbo Energy Ltd to provide meters within its franchise network.

For Abuja Disco, NERC approved Mojec International Limited, Meron Consortium and Turbo Engineering Limited to provide 487,000; 213,000 and 200,000 meters respectively for the distribution company.

NERC also approved Triple 7 and Mojec International Limited consortium to provide 500,000 meters to Jos Disco.

The commission had directed that the rollout of meters under the MAP shall commence not later than May 1, 2019, and asked customers of the Discos to expect from the commencement of rollout date for meters to be installed in their premises within 10 working days of making payment to MAPs in accordance with section 18 (3) of the MAP Regulations 2018.

It added that MAPs shall charge an upfront amount of N36, 991.50 for single-phase meters and N67, 055.85 for three-phase meters.

These costs of meters are inclusive of supply, installation, maintenance and replacement of meters over its technical life.

The commission shall monitor closely the rollout plan of distribution licensees and overall compliance with the regulation and various service agreements by the MAP and electricity distribution licensees, the NERC had stated in one of its statements on the scheme.

However, out of the 11 Discos, NERC reported that only eight have procured their MAPs. Kaduna, Kano and Eko Discos have not.

Meanwhile, Kola Adesina, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), said only meter rollout will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

Adesina, who spoke with journalists on the side-lines of the inauguration of the 2019 Young Engineers Programme (YEP), an initiative of the company, said rather than shifting focus to metering, the federal government and the regulators should recommend a holistic solution to all the fundamental problems in the power sector.

He said: Well, you said it all, yesterday (May 1), was meant to be the first day for meter rollout. I believe that from today most of them will begin to see how fast they can rollout the meters. My own view has always been this: when you have a problem of this nature, it is a holistic solution that you need to recommend.

But because the narratives for the power sector have shifted to metering as above the key solutions here, we want to see whether that alone can solve the problem. But I know that alone will not solve our problem. We still have many other issues within the value chain that need to be solved.

Citing the power outage experienced in the country recently, which he said was caused by a bolt that went off leading to shutting down the pipeline for repair, Adesina stated that as a country, having only one pipeline was not acceptable.

He explained: I give you an instance; recently we had serious power outage in Nigeria. The reason for that was that the gas provider had a leakage on the pipeline, and in solving that leakage, all generation companies had to ramp down their power because they cannot be supplying gas while they are repairing what needed to be repaired.

So, it is a bolt that actually got off within the pipeline. So, they needed to repair that. Now, I say, for us to have a holistic, total, systemic solution, Nigeria should not have just one pipeline supplying gas to different power plants. Nigeria should have multiple gas pipelines to all the power stations that we have, such that if there is shortage in one, they can divert gas all to the other. But that is one side of the equation as well.

He re-echoed the issue of electricity tariff as another fundamental issue that needs to be addressed in the power sector, saying without a cost-reflective tariff in place, stable, uninterrupted power supply might not be achieved as desired by Nigerians.

According to him, Once there is cost reflective tariff and all the relevant critical enablers apart from tariff, are made available, investors and business will all fall suit. They will want to make more money doing the business and they will want to make legitimate money doing this business.

If the cost of generation is N10 and tariff is N6, you cant get power. If the tariff methodology is very clear; if the generation companies are charging to power companies, using the exchange rate of N305 to a dollar, therefore, the distribution companies must use the exchange rate of N305 to charge the customers for the power they are consuming.

But today, the distribution companies are using N199 to $1. I am sure none of you can get a dollar at 199. So if the equipment required by distribution companies are being gotten at N360 per dollar, which is even the open market rate, then there is a big issue that somebody needs to speak to here.

They cannot be using N199 as the exchange rate for distribution companies to you and I the consumer, and whereas the generation companies use N305 to charge to the distribution companies. So somebody is losing money and it is the distribution companies.

Adesina called for the review of electricity tariff, saying tariff review was supposed to have been done for six times since the last review but that that has not happened till date.

Post Views: 48
There was a brief commotion after a helicopter landed at the stadium in Kogi State University yesterday 3rd of May. It was gathered that the helicopter made an emergency landing at the school due to bad weather.

The Universitys stadium was overcrowded with students who rushed to the scene in their numbers to catch a glimpse of the chopper and also to take some pictures.

The pilot later revealed they were flying to Abuja, but because of the weather condition, they landed inside the school stadium as it was about to rain.

The helicopter later left for its destination after spending some minutes there. Continue to see photos below;
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
One of Chinas most popular tourist destinations has been hit by an avalanche in the middle of a busy holiday period.

The landslide at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan took place on Friday morning near Baisha Ancient Town, another popular local attraction.

Although the incident happened in the middle of the extended May Day public holiday, no injuries were reported.

Visitors to the area recorded dramatic pictures of the avalanche, showing clouds of dust being thrown into the air along the mountainside, footage first published in the local newspaper Spring City Evening News.

The Yulong county government said rocks had been sent hurtling into the valley below, but the area was uninhabited and away from the main tourist areas and there had been no risk to life as a result.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also known as Mount Yulong, is the southmost glacier in the northern hemisphere, stretching over 35 kilometres (22 miles) and consisting of 13 peaks, the highest of which is at an altitude of nearly 5,600 metres.

One of Chinas busiest tourist sites, it attracted about 4.32 million visitors last year, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, according to the local government.

A preliminary investigation by the authorities concluded that the rock collapse had been caused by a free-thaw effect in the alpine landscape, which is common in high-altitude mountains and frozen soil regions.

A similar incident was recorded on the mountain in March 2004.

The government said it was conducting comprehensive field inspections and had set up warning signs on the periphery of the collapsed area to stop members of the public from entering the area.

The county will then call in geologists to conduct a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the impact of the incident.

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Taiwans presidential election is still eight months away but there is already an elephant in the room for the opposition Kuomintang hoping to defeat incumbent Tsai Ing-wen.

Its the China factor  the one issue KMT candidates are hesitant to mention but has played a big role in previous presidential polls.

The self-ruled island has elected four leaders since its first democratic presidential race in 1996 and the mainland has remained a key influence each time during and after the elections.

For the KMT, embracing Beijings economic incentives could boost the economy and its chances of winning. But such cross-strait associations also risk a backlash from voters who fear encroachment from the mainland, analysts say.

Four KMT members have signalled their interest in taking part in the partys primaries next month to determine who will be on the KMTs ticket  former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng, former Taipei county magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, and Foxconn billionaire chairman Terry Gou. Popular Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu has yet to say whether he will run.

But so far, none of them has said how they would deal with the mainland if they became president.

Wang Yu-min, legislator and former KMT deputy legislative caucus head, said the candidates would not be able to dodge the question forever.

Taiwans president is responsible for handling cross-strait policy and relations, so all hopefuls will have to address this issue if they want to run for president, she said.

While the KMT supports having conciliatory ties with the mainland to maintain cross-strait peace, it also faces censure and criticism by the pro-independence camp here for trying to sell Taiwan to the mainland, thus making both the party and the KMT hopefuls more cautious over the China factor during presidential elections.

Analysts said that since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party first took power from the mainland-friendly KMT in 2000, the China factor has been growing increasingly more complex as Beijing has tried to influence the election results in its favour.

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It used military intimidation and wooed away Taiwans diplomatic allies to try to discourage Taiwanese voters from supporting the DPP. But tactics like this only led to a backlash from residents, Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping said.

Beijing first tried those tactics before the 1996 presidential election, the islands first. It launched unarmed missiles at Taiwans doorstep to discourage voters from electing Lee Teng-hui, over what it saw as Lees attempt to promote Taiwanese independence.

It tried again by mounting vitriolic attacks and staging war games around Taiwan when Chen Shui-bian from the DPP ran in 2000 and again in 2004, only to find that such spurred resentful Taiwanese to vote for the pro-independence Chen.

Fan said Beijing had learned the lesson and become more sophisticated in its attempts to influence the islands elections, using tactics such as cybertroops and content farms to feed false information.

Wang said the party and its hopefuls did not want to be tarnished by such associations with the mainland if elected.

Other dangers in aligning with Beijing are closer to the surface.

Recent disputes over [People First Party chairman] James Soong Chu-yus visit to the mainland exemplify what the KMT wants to avoid in times of election, she said.

Soong came under intense criticism in Taiwan after Beijings state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying he supported Chinese President Xi Jinpings January proposal to have the two sides to discuss cross-strait unification under one country, two systems model used in Hong Kong and Macau.

Opinion polls suggest the model is highly unpopular in Taiwan, and Soong later denied ever making the comment to Xinhua.

Another contentious cross-strait issue is the 1992 consensus, an understanding reached verbally in 1992 in Hong Kong to allow both sides to continue talks as long as they support that there is only one China. Tsai, from the DPP, has refused to acknowledge the understanding, which Beijing demands as the foundation for any exchanges.

KMT deputy spokeswoman Angel Hung said the KMT still supported the consensus. But we define that China as the Republic of China, she said referring to Taiwans official title, adding Beijing could have its own interpretation of what that China stands for.

Chang Ling-chen, an emeritus political science professor at National Taiwan University, said that while the KMT might try to avoid the China factor during the election, the DPP would do all it could to capitalise on it.

They [DPP] would resort to the scare tactics by saying Taiwan might be forced to reunify with the if the KMT won the presidential poll, she said.

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US President Donald Trump has said China would like to be part of a new three-way accord to limit nuclear arms  a suggestion greeted with scepticism by many observers who questioned whether Beijing would want to limit its ability to enhance its second-strike capacity.

Trump, who had a lengthy telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, said they had discussed ways to include China in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which became effective in 2011.

We discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal. And China  Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Slovakias Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road, Trump said.

We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less, and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he added.

The New Start Treaty between the US and Russia restricted the number of strategic nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy to 1,550 and halved the number of missile launchers they possess.

China is not believed to have any deployed warheads but is thought to be expanding its nuclear capacity.

The exact number of Chinese warheads is a closely guarded secret, but a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year estimated China has about 280 nuclear warheads, compared with a total of 6,450 deployed and non-deployed warheads for the US and 6,850 for Russia.

On Friday Trump implied that the question of arms reduction would be linked to talks on ending the US-China trade war.

During the trade talks, we started talking about that. They were excited about that  they felt very strongly about it, he added, noting that the new treaty would be a very comprehensive one.

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Trump may be completely misreading China

Zhao Tong

Last month he suggested that China and Russia should join America in discussing arms controls once Washington and Beijing have settled their trade war.

During a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the US president said it was ridiculous that the three countries were spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

He then turned to Liu and said: A lot of money could be put in other things, would you like to respond to that?

Liu replied: I think it is a very good idea.

If this is Trumps basis for saying China felt very strongly about joining a nuclear arms control agreement, he may be completely misreading China. In fact, all reactions in Beijing to the US proposal have been very negative, showing no serious interest, Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said.

China is very sceptical of US intentions to pressure China on arms control.

China fears the United States is seeking to gain advantage in a comprehensive competition with China by withdrawing from existing arms control agreements such as the INF [Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces] Treaty and giving itself more freedom to strengthen its military capabilities against China on the one hand and pressuring China to limit its own strategic capabilities on the other.

Earlier this year German Chancellor Angela Merkel said China should be incorporated into a new INF deal  to ban land-based intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and launchers  after Trump pulled out of the previous agreement blaming Russian non-compliance.

But China, which mainly possesses missiles that would be affected by the ban, has dismissed the idea.

Its top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi said China would develop its capabilities according to its defensive needs and would not pose a threat to anyone.

But Beijing has yet to comment on Trumps remarks and analysts believe the chances of China joining the treaty are low as Beijing is eager to enhance its nuclear arms stockpile.

Beijing perceives China to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia

Adam Ni

In January, China ran a simulated launch and strike mission against an imaginary enemy, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from an underground facility, a second-strike exercise widely interpreted as a way of enhancing the credibility of its deterrent.

Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said China  which has a no-first-use policy  is rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal, but does not feel secure about its ability to deter nuclear attack.

There is virtually no prospect that China will voluntarily sign up to something that would limit its ability to develop and enhance a credible nuclear second-strike capability.

This is especially so because Beijing perceives it to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia, he said.

Ultimately, Beijing wants to develop its nuclear capabilities in order to raise the credibility of its nuclear deterrent while the US wants to slow Beijing down.

The likelihood of a meaningful nuclear treaty with the participation of China is virtually zero, at least in the short term.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said China would be unlikely to sign a new Start treaty.

I am not optimistic about the feasibility of a new trilateral nuclear deal due to Chinas limited number of nuclear arms, he said.

Chinese experts believe that China's nuclear capabilities are too small due to the expansion of US missile defence.

Indeed, US missile defence has been posing rising threats to the credibility of China's nuclear deterrent and constitutes a major driver of Beijing's efforts to modernise and expand its nuclear capabilities.

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Legal adviser to Hong Kongs legislature questions why mainland China is not excluded from controversial extradition bill

The row over a contentious proposal to amend Hong Kongs extradition laws has deepened, with the legal adviser to the legislature questioning why mainland China is not excluded and a prominent law expert suggesting local suspects be exempt from transferral across the border.

Both the Legislative Councils legal division and scholar Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, raised doubts on the amendment ahead of a showdown meeting among lawmakers on Saturday. That meeting will discuss a motion by the pro-government camp to unseat a rival who presides over the committee that will scrutinise the extradition bill.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

If passed, the amendment will allow case-by-case fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including Taiwan and the mainland.

But in a letter to the Security Bureau dated April 30, Legcos legal adviser raised dozens of questions about the proposal, including whether the government had changed its policy on seeking a formal extradition agreement with the mainland.

The letter said that the intent of excluding China from the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance when the law was localised for the handover in 1997 was to have a separate agreement with the mainland.

Timothy Tso Chi-yuen, the divisions senior assistant legal adviser, said the bureau should explain if there had been a policy change, and if so, give the reasons.

Tso also wrote that there had long been a case-by-case arrangement under the existing ordinance, to allow Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to places it lacked an extradition deal with.

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Such a move was possible if the chief executive issued an order under the ordinance, he wrote.

Tso urged the bureau to clarify why such an arrangement was considered impracticable now.

His other queries included whether further human rights safeguards could be introduced to the bill, as well as how Legco and the public would be informed of possible transfer requests.

By convention, the bureau had to answer questions from the division, lawmakers said.

Separately, in an online commentary, University of Hong Kong legal scholar Chen said local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to the mainland. Instead, the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen said it was advisable to include more restrictions and safeguards in the bill. He said case-by-case extradition should be limited to the most heinous crimes and a small number of the most serious offences.

The professor also said the amendment should be non-retroactive, meaning it would only apply to cases that happened after the bill passed.

He also said that if the bill passed, Hong Kong courts will be placed in a difficult and invidious position, as judges would have to decide whether the mainlands legal system complied with human rights standards before granting extradition requests.

In a statement issued on Friday night, the Security Bureau said the exclusion of mainland China from the existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was not intentional.

A bureau spokesman said mainland China was not included as a destination of fugitive transfer in the British law the ordinance was based on.

The matter was not handled in the process of localising the ordinance, and the exclusion of China was not intentional, he said.

The spokesman also said the current amendment did not target individual jurisdictions, but any that currently lacks an extradition agreement with Hong Kong.

The bureau will issue a reply and submit it to the bills committee before May 14, he said.

Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said Tso had pointed out the flaws and unanswered questions related to the bill, noting that the document had been in greater detail than usual.

Why is there a sudden change in a policy that was established 20 years ago to exclude the mainland? Kwok said.

Pro-establishment legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a former security minister, said the existing case-by-case arrangement would not work in Chans case, as Taiwan was considered by the central government as part of China.

Two functional constituency lawmakers in Ips camp  Ma Fung-kwok and Tony Tse Wai-chuen  also faced pressure from their sectors to properly consult electors before backing the bill.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming will head to Canada and the United States on a 14-day visit in a bid to persuade the international community to voice its opposition to the bill.

The group will also testify at a public hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington to voice concerns over the threats Hongkongers may face from the bill.

Additional reporting by Alvin Lum

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North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.
Row over controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong intensifies as legal scholars call for changes sends shock waves through political circles

An adviser to Hong Kongs leader on Saturday hit back at a prominent legal expert who expressed doubts over the controversial proposal to amend extradition laws, as legislators passed a motion that was likely to lead to more chaos at the committee scrutinising the bill next week.

Academic Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, wrote on Friday that local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to mainland China. Instead, the University of Hong Kong law professor said the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen was commenting on the governments proposal to amend fugitive laws, such that Hong Kong could transfer suspects to places it lacked a formal extradition agreement with, including the mainland and Taiwan.

His proposal sent shock waves through political circles as the scholar had in the past tended to side with the government on thorny legal issues.

At least one opposition party has called for a discussion of his suggestion, while a pro-Beijing lawmaker who had been lined up to steer scrutiny of the bill expressed doubts.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

On Saturday, senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member to Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngors cabinet, said Chen had given in to public pressure.

He should know that trying Hongkongers in Hong Kong is not the answer, Tong wrote online, citing as an example the United States, which he said did not have extraterritorial powers over serious crimes.

Criminal acts are internal issues of each country or jurisdiction, it is part of a regions sovereignty, it will not be easily controlled by other countries, Tong said.

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However, Section 2332 of US law states that whoever kills American nationals outside the country can still be punished by its courts.

Tong also said it would be hard for local courts to obtain evidence and witness statements for crimes committed outside Hong Kong.

Alvin Yeung, leader of the opposition Civic Party, who had made a similar suggestion on extraterritorial powers, said even Chen was having some strong doubts about the amendment.

Whatever Professor Chen is suggesting its a way to counter the present proposal, Yeung said, adding the academics other suggestions also deserved thorough discussion.

But pro-establishment camp veteran Paul Tse Wai-chun said Chens suggestion on trying Hongkongers locally might be easier said than done, as it would require foreign law enforcement agencies to send over witnesses and physical evidence.

Nonetheless, the authorities should carefully study Chens suggestions, Tse said.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, held a special House Committee meeting on Saturday, triggered by moves from the pro-establishment camp to remove pan-democrat James To Kun-sun from presiding over the committee that will vet the extradition bill.

A letter signed by 42 pro-establishment lawmakers called for To to be replaced by the camps Abraham Razack. They asked the House Committee, which considers matters relating to Legco business, to issue guidelines on ousting him.

Their motion to issue a non-binding guideline to the bills committee for Razack to replace To was passed 37-19.

The bloc has accused To, who is leading the bills committee because of his seniority until a chair is elected, of filibustering.

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters protested against the bill outside Legco as the meeting took place.

The bills committee meets for the third time on Monday afternoon.

The struggle for control of the bills committee did not end with the vote. Soon after the meeting, Legcos secretariat issued a circular to lawmakers on the committee, asking them to express in writing before Monday noon whether the guideline should be adopted  instead of letting To deal with it.

To insisted that only he, as the presiding member, had the power to issue circulars, and the matter had to be debated at the meeting.

Ive lost faith in the secretariat, it has become a political tool, To said.

However, the secretariat said it was practical to issue the circular, as the bills committee lacked an elected chair at the moment.

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The plane was carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

A Boeing 737 skidded off a runway into a river after crash-landing during a lightning storm in Florida on Friday, officials said, with terrified passengers all safely evacuated to shore from the stricken jet's wings.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down ... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."

Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told a news conference early Saturday it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane ... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft", NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook Saturday.

'Lightning and thunder'

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday a team was being sent to investigate the incident.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to website FlightRadar24.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October, and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa, occurred shortly after takeoff.

 2019 AFP
The IMF said that carbon pricing is "the single most effective mitigation instrument" in cutting greenhouse gas emissions

At $70 per ton of carbon dioxide, a carbon tax would be the most efficient means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to an International Monetary Fund report published Friday.

But for the moment, carbon taxes remain unpopular, particularly in France, where plans to increase it to 55 euros (or $61.60) from 44.60 euros recently ignited the Yellow Vest protest movement.

The French government was forced to suspend the plan in the face of popular revolt.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 by more than 200 countries, aims to cap overall increases in global temperatures at two degrees centigrade above the pre-industrial era.

"The 2C target would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around $70 per ton," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar, the fund's head of fiscal affairs, said in a joint blog post.

"There is a growing consensus that carbon pricing... is the single most effective mitigation instrument," they said.

It allows for a reduction in energy consumption, favors cleaner energies and mobilizes private financing, according to the IMF.

"It also provides much needed revenues," they said, adding that countries could use that income to finance sustainable and more inclusive growth.

In the report, the IMF said that in China, the world's largest emitter, and in India or South Africa, countries which rely heavily on coal, a carbon tax of just $35 per ton would cut emissions by 30 percent.

But in nine countries that use little coal, such as Ivory Coast, Costa Rica or France, the result would be a reduction of only 10 percent.

 2019 AFP
Morocco and Tunisia are two success stories of the Arab Spring. They are two countries struggling to establish democratic rules in a regional environment plagued by the rise of the military as a kingmaker.

In Algeria, the army scapegoated an ailing president and is currently trying to refurbish its facade despite mounting popular protests.

In Libya, renegade general Khalifa Haftar, bolstered by foreign support, is on the offensive to take Tripoli where a UN-backed government of national accord is trying to hold still.

In Mauritania and Egypt, the head of the military is the head of state with a blank check to quell dissent and flout basic democratic rules and human rights standards.

In such a regional context, the two stable Maghreb countries face increasing security and economic challenges. In Tunisia, the degradation of security conditions in Libya implies more displaced people flowing into its borders seeking refuge and medical treatment in crowded hospitals.

Tunisian border towns rely heavily on trade with Libya and the war will only hamper the flow of goods.

Morocco will also have to wait for a new Algerian leadership that sees the Maghreb as a win-win project. The North African Kingdom has on multiple occasions called on Algeria to open the borders in order to pave the way for an integrated region. However, the call falls on deaf Algerian ears.

Both Morocco and Tunisia are looking closely to the uncertainty in their surrounding where military regimes continue their power grab.
Indian residents inspect damage on a street in Puri in the eastern state of Odisha after Cyclone Fani made landfall

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India.

Eight people reportedly died in India and Bangladeshi police said nine perished even before the eye of the storm rumbled over the border in the morning.

Some 400,000 people have been taken to shelters, Bangladeshi officials told AFP.

Fourteen villages were inundated as a tidal surge breached flood dams. The dead included a minor in Barguna district on the coast and five others killed by lightening.

"We are mooring our boat because it's the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again," Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

With the storm weakening but still packing a punch, winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battered overnight and on Saturday morning the Indian state of West Bengal and its capital Kolkata, including the Sundarbans mangrove forest area.

"It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister.

Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall

"Locals spent a sleepless night and many came out of their thatched huts and stood on the river banks measuring the level of the water," Pakhira said.

"Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled."

Several hundred thousand people were told to evacuate coastal areas of West Bengal before the arrival of Fani ("snake" in Bengali), with 5,000 leaving the low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings of Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people.

"Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," Kolkata's mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place."

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal's chief minister and a key figure in India's ongoing mega-election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Kolkata's international airport was ordered closed. Train services were also halted.

Cyclone Fani ripped down trees, power lines and damaged buildings

Flying trees

Worst hit was the state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

Eight people were killed in Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris.

While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster management official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 people injured in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri alone.

"It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident.

"There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air," the man told AFP. "The wind is deafening."

An Indian resident rides a bike past a bulldozer clearing debris from a road in Puri

PTI reported that a construction crane collapsed and that a police booth was dragged 60 metres (yards) by the wind.

As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services.

Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and windows on many buildings were smashed.

Puri's famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped damage, however.

Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his six-strong family collapsed, its roof blown away.

"I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP.

Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hundreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs.

burs-stu/qan

 2019 AFP
Traditional Songket weaver. Credit: Universiti Teknologi MARA

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr. Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layerswhich include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

Explore further Mobile phone 'Have-nots' sidelined

More information: The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.
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ATHOL  It was a rich life of family, farming and community. And for many years James E. Galusha delighted residents during Thurman Maple Days when they toured Toad Hill Maple Farm and its maple syrup operation.

On Thursday, just four months after Galushas wife Norma Jean passed away, Galusha, 78, died while a patient in Glens Falls Hospital. Married in 1959, Jim and Norma would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August.

James Elliott Galusha April 5, 1941  May 2, 2019

One of the couples favorite adventures was taking long Sunday drives and traveling out west for horse auctions and rodeos, according to his obituary.

A horseman for many years, Galusha won several awards with Long Shadows Duke, an American Quarter Horse.

Serving as the Thurman town justice for six years and the town supervisor for four years, Galusha was also well known for leading the bidding at Warrensburgs annual auction at the Smoke Eaters Jamboree and for several charity auctions.

In the 1960s he began Toad Hill Stud Farm, where he trained, bred, boarded, bought and sold horses. And he competed throughout New York in horse shows and in team roping events at local rodeos.

According to Galushas obituary, friends may call from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Alexander Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg.

A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation at 4 p.m. at the funeral home, and burial for both Jim and Norma will follow at the Warrensburg Cemetery.

A dinner will be held after the burial at the First Presbyterian Church of Warrensburg, 2 Stewart Farrar Ave.

Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online guest book, condolences and directions.

Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli covers Washington County government and other county news and events.

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Editor:

I have three sons and one son-in-law who have served our country for 17-27 years. My Marine was injured in Afghanistan and has three Purple Hearts.

In October 2011, my husband passed after a short bout of cancer. On his gravestone, I left two dimes; the meaning known to only my husband and I. My Marine left one of his Purple Hearts.

On Monday, April 22, I went to the Moss Street Cemetery and the dimes and Purple Heart were there. I went on Sunday, April 28, and lo and behold, the dimes were there and the Purple Heart gone! After eight years, the ribbon faded, the shiny medal still recognizable, but not as shiny. It could not mean anything to anyone but our family.

So, please, if you have it, return it. It cant possibly be as important to you as it is to us.

Disappointed and brokenhearted.

Patti Stoy and Family, Hudson Falls

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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
Morocco has offered key intelligence to help Sri Lanka avert further attacks after offering tip offs that led to identifying the perpetrators of the Sunday Easter Bombing in the Island nation, Indian paper The Economic Times reported.

Morocco, which maintains a substantial information bank on ISIS and its network, provided leads to Sri Lanka in collaboration with India that led to an operation in Colombo to eliminate terrorists who were planning a second round of attacks after Easter Sunday bombings, the Indian paper said.

The paper also highlighted that Morocco cooperates closely with India in counterterrorism and that both countries lent a helping hand to Sri Lanka in the wake of the bombings that targeted churches and hotels in different parts of Sri Lanka, killing at least 359 people.

Morocco maintains close cooperation with many leading countries in the global fight against terrorism including the US, Spain and France as well as India, recalls the paper, noting that the North African Kingdom signed last February with India a cooperation agreement to counter terrorism.

Morocco, which follows a moderate school of Islam, has one of the successful records of counterterrorism and de-radicalization. Last year Abdelhak Khiame, Head of Moroccos Central Bureau of Legal Investigation (BCIJ), said Moroccan security services dismantled 183 terrorist cells in the country that were in various stages of planning 361 devastating terrorist projects. More than 3,000 people, including 292 individuals with previous criminal record, have been arrested by Moroccan security services, said the Economic Times.

The paper also highlighted the measures taken by Morocco to foster the legal framework including the adoption of laws that criminalize a range of terrorism-related actions including foreign travel to conflict areas such as Syria as well as the creation of the counterterrorism agency BCIJ.
The semi driver saw the car circle around behind him, so he swerved and struck the Volkwagen, pinning the car under the trailer.

Johnston fired several more rounds into the passenger door of the semi. The semi then pulled onto Atalissa Road, just south of the interstate, and observed the black Volkswagen travel south on Atalissa Road and turn around and park.

Moments later, the black Volkswagen approached the semi.

Iowa State Patrol arrived on scene, and Johnston fired two shots at a trooper, striking the squad car.

Officers fired on the Volkswagen. Additional officers arrived and secured the scene.

Johnston was brought to an ambulance to be checked out and was transported to the Cedar County Jail. After his arrest, he mentioned he was taking several prescription drugs and had recently been hospitalized.

Officers found several prescription pill bottles in plain view in the vehicle.

Johnston also said he became enraged or obsessed over a family supposedly killed in a crash with a semi and that the motive behind his actions was to harm a truck driver or truck drivers in retaliation, according to the application.
You just have to wait for Mother Nature to heal itself, Onken said. The flood event and crest doesnt concern as much as what the forecast holds for next week. We dont have any room for heavy rain.

Forecasts for next week predict rainfall on four days. With land and levees at full saturation already, even an inch or two of rain could yield major repercussions for farmers.

We are really not in a panic situation by any stretch. All were doing is being concerned and attentive going into next week, Onken said. This is the longest stretch of time that weve been in major flood stage. Its a learning experience for us.

Although it remains too early to know how flooding will affect the price of crops, farmers said it is unlikely consumers will be affected.

The consumer will never see (an issue), Onken said. Its going to have to take a lot more. We have such a surplus of commodities on hand right now. As you can see by watching the commodity trade right now, in Nebraska and Iowa, its not reflected in the value of our corn and soybeans one bit.
Representatives of food and beverages major PepsiCo India, which has decided not to pursue the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, met state officials Friday seeking "amicable solution for everyone".

Senior officials including Chief Secretary J N Singh and Additional Chief Secretary of the agriculture department Sanjay Prasad met PepsiCo India representatives in Gandhinagar.

"PepsiCo representatives informed us that the company has decided to withdraw cases against nine farmers in Gujarat," Prasad said after the meeting.

Also Read: PepsiCo withdraws lawsuit against Gujarat potato farmers

The company will now file necessary applications in the concerned courts, he told reporters. The company's delegation was led by Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President, Snacks Category.

"We came here to update the government about our decision to withdraw cases against farmers. The meeting was positive. It was aimed at bringing an amicable solution for everyone in the longer run," he told reporters.

The multi-national firm has sued nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts for allegedly growing a variety of potato for which it claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

Also Read: BT Buzz: Pepsi vs farmers - Lay off the potatoes

Following public outcry, it announced Thursday that it will withdraw the cases.

Meanwhile, following the PepsiCo's litigation, some 25 major farmers' bodies including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body, Seed Sovereignty Forum, to protect farmers' rights to seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith, said farm rights activist Kapil Shah.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non- negotiable," he said.

Also Read: PepsiCo seeks Rs 1 crore from four farmers it sued for patented Lay's potatoes

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a watch on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, a common practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips of Lays brand), while small potatoes are discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed only those potatoes. We have now realized that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.
1944  75 years ago: After eighteen months in various naval hospitals, preceded by a year of war during which time he was reported killed, took part in seven major and twenty-one minor naval engagements, and carried an unexploded 20 mm. anti-aircraft shell in his right hip for two weeks, Allen Gordon came home last night. He was driven by Earl Wendt in an ambulance.

1969  50 years ago: Two purse snatchers were apprehended about 10 last night by definitely non-apathetic citizens, who chased them and held them until police arrived.

Mrs. Robert Horn, 39, of 1013 South 11th St., Silvis, was leaving Moline Public Hospital, where she had been visiting her mother, who is hospitalized there, about 9:45 p.m.

As she approached her car in the east parking lot, two youths grabbed her purse and ran through the lot, over the terrace and onto 8th St. in the 500 block.

1994  25 years ago: ROCK ISLAND  After eight days of questioning 100 candidates, attorneys this morning picked a woman to be the 12th juror who will decide whether Larry Simpson brutally killed and sexually assaulted 5-year-old Amber Sutton.

Ask the Times appears on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can call 563-333-2632, email ask@qctimes.com or write Ask the Times, Quad-City Times, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA 52801.

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If those stories aren't enough to scare drivers into taking care, perhaps doubling the bite will raise awareness of the prohibition and scare scofflaws into compliance.

Cheers to Moline for pursing a light-timing study for the Avenue of the Cities.

"We have never gone back and looked at either the timings or the phasing since those intersections were installed years and years ago," city engineer Scott Hinton told the Moline City Council this week. "We have them all timed together so we can coordinate them, but the coordination doesn't work real well."

Motorists who use this busy business district artery should be applauding. So should pedestrians who walk the corridor and would no doubt welcome changes that make it easier for them to cross the busy avenue.

Though the study is expected to cost $200,000, it will be a good investment if it makes this central essential corridor safer, easier to travel and more inviting.
I am so sick of hearing about the media urging people to get vaccinated, get a booster shot, etc. While Covid is a deadly and dangerous disease to get, it is just common sense to mask up, wash your hands and disinfect. I believe everyone should get vaccinated and booster shots or this will never go away! Joe Biden should mandate it for frontline workers. Stimulus checks won't solve this issue. Mask up if you don't believe in vaccinations, and shut up if you get the virus from not protecting yourselves and others! Thank you for your time.
A celebration of the culture of Moline's culturally diverse Floreciente neighborhood will be held Sunday afternoon.

Celebra Floreciente, a neighborhood festival, will happen at the Catalyst Kitchen, located inside St. John's Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Ave. from 2-6 p.m.

The fest, hosted by the church and A Palomares Social Justice Center, will feature: food vendors, music from DJ Candela, free children's activities including Miller's Petting Zoo, games and an inflatable obstacle course.

Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers, director of Cafe Mundo, said in a press release the cafe aims to encourage acceptance and inclusion of the many cultures that exist in the Quad-Cities.

"Food perhaps is the most universal language, and it brings people together," she said. "By breaking bread together, we break down barriers and appreciate the joy of experiencing another culture's food, music and other things that make it unique."

A portion of the proceeds from Cafe Mundo dinners will go towards scholarships for entrepreneurs to become certified food managers before they start their business.

The event was made possible by a generous grant from the Exelon Corporation, according to the press release.

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But as the Mississippi River reached a record crest of 22.64 feet at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, she said the flooding became an emergency.

"Our block wall has shifted in about two feet from where we placed it; the water moved it two feet," she said. "And (Thursday), we had water at the very top of our blocks. If we had any other rise in the crest, that water was coming over."

Managers, she said, had to make an immediate decision to reinforce the inside of the building with a sandbag wall.

"It was a lesson we learned from the city of Davenport: You better have a back-up plan," she said.

Crews brought in two truckloads of sand, sopping wet from the rain, then took them to the building by boat.

"We pulled as many available crew people as we could. And friends and family came from Iowa City and drove in, and took off work, to come help," she said. "By 2:30, the sandbag wall was built inside the building to protect us in case water comes over the wall."

By 4:30 p.m., she said, all they could do was "sit back and watch."
Although its long been a dream to serve in public office, Iowa City businesswoman Veronica Tessler has decided not to run for Congress.

Tessler posted on social media that with a heavy heart, she has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination in Iowa 2nd District. There will be an open-seat race in 2020 because U.S. Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack has announced he will not see re-election. Loebsack was first elected in 2006.

Tesslers announcement follows a similar decision by state Sen. Kevin Kinney of Oxford not to run.

Like Kinney, Tessler, 33, has not endorsed another candidates.

However, in her announcement she offered suggestions on who should run in the 24-county district that stretches from Johnson County to the Mississippi River on the east and Missouri to the south.

For too long, Democrats have played it safe, she wrote. These times call for courageous leaders, and I urge those willing to fight for the solutions we need to get in the race, she said.

Loebsacks retirement, she said, provides an opportunity for fresh, bold leadership.
The Moline Police Department has announced the arrest of a man on suspicion of being a gang member being armed with a gun.

Maycol J. Lopez-Miller, 20, Moline, was arrested around 5:38 p.m., Thursday, in the 2100 block 6th Avenue, Moline, according to a department news release. A residence in that block was being watched by Moline and East Moline police because of reports of gang activity.

The officers allegedly observed Lopez-Miller, a known member of the Latin King gang, leaving that residence while carrying a revolver and arrested him on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, according to the release.

He was being held Friday morning in the Rock Island County Jail, according to jail staff. He was expected to make his first appearance in the afternoon.

The investigation is still open, and police are asking for information from the public.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident or any gang activity is asked to contact the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.

Crime Stoppers can also be contacted through the P3 Tips app.

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Two men have been charged with stealing copper piping from the appliances on the roof of the former Hotel Davenport and Conference Center, located at 5202 Brady St.

Todd Aaron Cottrell, 48, of 2503 Pacific St., Davenport, and Jeffery Robb Willson, 53, no address listed, each are charged with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

Each of the charges is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Both men were being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail on $20,000 bond each, cash or surety.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police officer Dwight Swartz, at 5:59 a.m. Friday officers were dispatched to the closed hotel to investigate a report of people on the roof damaging and stealing property.

Officers found Cottrell and Willson on the roof, where they used a DeWalt saw to cut copper piping from several appliances. The two men were cutting off the copper pipe with the intent to sell the metal.

Police seized the saw, which had copper shavings on the blade.
ITC Ltd is mulling to broaden its reach in the Indian market by expanding its dairy beverages portfolio to the rest of the country by next summer. The company is also looking to grab a 5-10% market share in the first year of its operations.

With the launch of its three fruit beverages under its B Natural brand in PET bottles, ITC is on the expansion spree. The company presently offers nine flavours of fruit juices in tetra packs and has a market share of 9-10% in the Rs 2,000-crore fruit beverages component.

The Tobaccos-to-hotels major's food division is already present in India selling fruits-based beverages for the past four-five years. ITC also offers dairy-based beverages which it soft-launched in the South in December 2018.

Also Read:ITC, Patanjali under lens for not passing on GST rate cuts to consumers

With the launch of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk last December, the company entered the ready-to-drink dairy beverages market. The milkshake market in India is around 1,000 crore.

"We would be extending our dairy beverage business and will be launching across the country by the next summer. We expect to clock 5-10% of the Rs 1,000-crore market in the first year of operations," Sanjay Singal, Chief operating officer for dairy and beverages unit at ITC told PTI.

Also Read:ITC to launch milk-based beverages to take on Coca-Cola, Britannia

ITC is also planning to export its dry fruits-based dairy beverages badam milkshake to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It had also unveiled its Aashirvaad brand in Kolkata and Bihar. The company offers packaged milk and curds under this brand.

Meanwhile, Singal told the news agency that ITC would focus concentrate only in the Eastern markets for its packaged milk business in the foreseeable future as there is less competition in these markets.

He also said that the company will launch vegetable juices within a month and is also assessing possibilities in the water segment.
The Figge was without an executive director for 18 months after former director Sean O'Harrow became director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Most of the University of Iowa's collection of 12,000 pieces is housed at the Figge after a 2008 flood irreparably damaged the Iowa City museum.

Schiffer said Friday he's moving to Iowa City, but not to become new director of the new University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. The plan is to break ground for that museum June 7, and have the building completed in two years.

We are very grateful for Tims contributions to the Figge and the community as a whole, said Cindy Carlson, current Figge board president. We will greatly miss the leadership, knowledge and love for art that he brought to the Figge.

During his tenure, the museum has become a hub of community activity, as well as a major factor in community initiatives such as the Q2030 regional vision and Davenport riverfront plans, she added. I am proud of what we have done here and believe we have lived our mission of bringing people and art together.
When Georgia's biggest political star left Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the altar earlier this week, Republicans cheered.

Stacey Abrams, who came whisper-close to winning her state's governor's race last year, spurned the Senate minority leader's efforts to entice her to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue next year. Instead, Abrams is expected to make another bid for governor in 2022.

Nor was she the first much-talked-about Democrat to take a pass on a Senate race. Texas's Beto O'Rourke, a narrow loser last year against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, is running for president, instead of taking on Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.

In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is also expected to soon announce a presidential bid, after ruling out a challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. And in Iowa, Rep. Cindy Axne, who flipped a House seat to Democratic in the 2018 midterms, announced that she is staying put, rather than challenging GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

The political world is fixated on the rapidly growing 2020 presidential field, but it is worth remembering how much Democrats have at stake in next year's Senate races. They need three more seats to take control if they win the White House, and four if they do not.
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BISMARCK, N.D. | North Dakota plans to invest $33 million in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in an attempt to establish the state as a premier location for drone research, testing and commercialization.

Gov. Doug Burgum is expected to sign a bill authorizing the investment in a ceremony Monday with state leaders. The majority of the money will go toward building out infrastructure to support operations to fly drones beyond the sight of the pilot.

About $2 million will be used to support an unmanned aircraft test site in Grand Forks that's been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones without chase planes to observe the flight. Another $3 million will upgrade infrastructure at Grand Sky, the country's first unmanned aircraft business park located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The first trans-Atlantic flight of a medium-altitude unmanned aircraft flew from Grand Sky to England last July.

Burgum lauded the state's strong commitment to supporting researchers, entrepreneurs and technology in the field when announcing the decision this week.

"The exciting work made possible by our statewide UAS infrastructure network and beyond visual line of sight capability will diversify our economy and create lasting benefits for taxpayers, businesses and industry alike," Burgum said.

The new commitment will raise North Dakota's total investment in drone research and development to $77 million.

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A Montana senator has introduced a bill that would deny pensions to a former Pine Ridge doctor and any federal employee convicted of child sexual abuse.

The law would make sure "any monster who's guilty of the unspeakable crimes that Stanley Patrick Weber was convicted of will not receive a federal government pension," Republican Sen. Steve Daines said at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 1. "A convicted pedophile should not receive one cent of taxpayer money in retirement benefits."

Daines' bill, Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act, is inspired by the fact that Weber  who awaits trial in Rapid City to face allegations that he sexually abused Native American boys while working at the Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation  is set to receive more than $1.8 million while serving his more than 18-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing boys on Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"It's shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children," said Daines, calling it "unacceptable" and "outrageous."

Daines said he hopes federal agencies will try to come up with a fix as he works on the legislative angle.

Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, principal deputy director of the IHS, told Daines he is exploring "every possible avenue" to hold Weber accountable and make sure he doesn't receive his pension.

Weahkee said he's working with lawyers to see if IHS is able to cancel the pension itself, or if it can only be done through legislation. He also said he asked the Health and Human Services Department and Surgeon General's Office to see if they can do anything.

Weber, 70, receives his pension, worth about $100,000 a year, from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which sends doctors to the IHS and other federal agencies. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

There are three current and planned investigations into the IHS, which for decades failed to investigate or cleared Weber after receiving tips that he was abusing children. A White House task force is investigating how Weber was able to sexually assault children in his care and how to prevent future abuse, while the Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing the effectiveness of the actions IHS has already taken. The IHS is hiring an independent contractor to review whether laws and policies were followed in the past, and what future improvements it can make.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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PM Narendra Modi Saturday hit back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over reports that Gandhi's former business partner received defence offset contracts during UPA regime.

Addressing an election rally in UP's Pratapgarh, PM Modi said, "Today I read that during UPA, one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha (It was their government, their friend and their own defence deal.... which means they had arranged it all)".

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

We'll fire up the economy with NYAY, create jobs, says Rahul Gandhi

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up.

On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owed 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

Edited by Aseem Thapliyal
BELLE FOURCHE | George Douglas Doug Johnson, 83, passed away at the South Dakota Human Services Center in Yankton, after a ten-year-long battle with dementia.

The third of eight girls and two boys, Doug was born on Jan. 27, 1936 in Newell, SD to George J. and Mamie (Stolnack) Johnson. His family rented ranches from south of Newell to south of Camp Crook until purchasing a ranch between Castle Rock and Redig in 1946. At the age of 10, he trailed 500 head of sheep from Camp Crook to their new home 50 miles away, with a 15-year-old friend, one horse and one dog in four days.

He attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1954. While in high school he worked as a bellhop at the Don Pratt Hotel for his room. Following high school, he attended Colorado State University for one year. Along with working on the family ranch, he worked in the Fall in the sugar beet factory and drove truck until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1961, where he served as a Military Policeman at Fort Riley, Kansas. His job in the Army was to bring soldiers back who went AWOL. On one of his trips to New York to find a prisoner, he met Patricia Ann Caswell. Following his honorable discharge from the service in 1963, he flew back to New York and the couple married in October of 1963.

They moved to the family ranch and had four children. He and his brother worked on the ranch until it was sold in 1974. Doug then bought a ranch southeast of Belle Fourche where he resided until dementia forced him into an assisted living. In 1977, he purchased an interest in a car dealership in Rapid City. He sold his interest in the dealership in 1984 and bought another dealership in Spearfish in 1986. He owned and operated that business for 17 years. He always said his best customers were the farmers and ranchers from the five-state region.

While he would spend his weekdays at the car dealership, his weekends were always spent on the ranch. During his time selling cars, he also bought a registered Angus herd and sold bulls for 20 years. His wife loved animals and calved out and kept records for the herd until her death in 1987.

Through the years he was a director for the Federal Land Bank, holding that position for ten years, and was on the advisory board for Norwest Bank. He won numerous awards for excellence and customer satisfaction through his 25 years as a Ford dealer. He was a member of the Buckaroos and the Custer Trail Riders. The highlight of the year for him was the annual trip to the NFR in Vegas. Following his retirement from the Ford dealership, he would still get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and go to town for his morning coffee, occasionally help his son with the morning chores and field work, and his favorite, Chase the tail of a cow on horseback.

Doug is survived by his three children; Tammie Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Tyron (Tami) Johnson, Coffeyville, KS and Troy (Carolyn Stansberry) Johnson, St. Onge, SD; grandchildren, Jack and Jessa, St. Onge, SD; brother, Andrew (Linda) Johnson, Rapid City, SD; sisters; Betty Niemi, Buffalo, SD, Doris Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Beverly Miller, Mission, TX, Darlene Schafer, Mission, TX, Arlene Reynold, Rapid City, SD, Judy Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD and Ida (Melvin) Johnson, Apple Valley, MN; and friend and brother-in-law, Arnie Schmidt, Brandon, SD.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Patricia; daughter, Teryl Johnson; and sister, Marilyn Schmidt.

Doug will be laid to rest privately with his family present at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A public celebration of Dougs Life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, from noon-4 p.m. at Troy and Carolyns home at 11295 SD HWY 34 between Belle Fourche and St. Onge. All of Dougs friends are encouraged to stop by.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels & Isburg Crematory of Spearfish.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com.
The oversight of private residential treatment programs for troubled teens in Montana no longer rests in the hands of program owners who, for the past 12 years, have regulated the same programs they operate.

On Friday, Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill into law that terminates the Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs (PAARP) board and moves licensing of programs under the state health department.

I would say its one of the first steps toward regulation, said Sen. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, who carried the Senate Bill 267.

This is not the last step. Its the beginning of a process of paying very focused attention to both the implementation of that law but to other potential activities that will bring these programs into compliance with every other residential treatment program, Sands said.

The board has been criticized as the fox guarding the henhouse because the 12 years since its creation have seen 58 complaints against programs, yet the board has not issued any significant sanctions, a yearlong investigation by the Missoulian found.

Under the move to Department of Public Health and Human Services Quality Assurance Division, which oversees more than 70 similar facilities, more complaints against programs will be public.

The Department of Labor and Industry, which oversaw the PAARP board, and the board chairman both conceded that the board lacked the resources to properly oversee programs and supported the shift to DPHHS.

I do think that DPHHS is probably better set up to offer the kind of oversight and regulation than is the Department of Labor and Industry, board chair John Santa, who co-founded Montana Academy in Marion, told the Missoulian.

Santa said he feels confident in the move because DPHHS has indicated they would be cooperative with us in creating regulations that meet the kinds of levels of care that we represent and that weve been operating under for the last 10 years.

The health department has yet to establish new rules for standards of care at private alternative residential treatment programs.

The original version of SB267 included language specifying minimum standards of care, but that language was removed in an amendment by Rep. Bob Brown, R-Thompson Falls.

Brown, who previously worked at the now-closed program known as Spring Creek Lodge where a student died by suicide in 2004, said he proposed the amendment because language in the bill could hinder programs ability to exist.

The fact that those things could be a barrier to these programs operating, how is that not a huge warning sign? said Tamara Cherwin, who attended Montana Academy from 2010 to 2011.

If you cant operate with minimum standards of care and qualified staff, I dont think you should operate at all, Cherwin said.

Cherwin said shes grateful the bill passed but still feels that its not enough and that she still deals with PTSD that she was diagnosed with from her time at the program.

When I think of the state of Montana, I should think of huckleberries and hiking and Glacier Park, Cherwin said. Instead, I think of the worst two years of my life.

Santa said he has some concerns about the rules that DPHHS could create, but declined to specify examples that would hinder a programs ability to operate.

They could create regulations that would make it impossible for the levels of care we offer, and that would not be a good thing because it would close a number of businesses throughout Montana and it would also take away levels of care that are very important, Santa said.

Carter Andersen, the administrator for the Quality Assurance Division at DPHHS, expressed an interest in working to accommodate programs needs in a February PAARP board meeting.

Andersen is currently responsible for the oversight of residential treatment programs in the state, including a program where he was formerly the CEO called Acadia Montana, which has been criticized recently by the state of Oregon for its use of chemical restraints and other practices.

The rules governing Acadia Montana and other residential treatment programs for youth remain unclear, as The Montana Standard reported.

Sands said her efforts to bring increased oversight to programs isn't done. She said she remains interested in following the programs' transition to the health department.

Sands also said she intends to continue to bring up religious programs in the interim between legislative sessions. Those programs are allowed to operate unregulated if they claim ties to a religious organization. Currently, if children at religious programs are sexually assaulted or psychologically or physically abused, the state's child protection system can move the child to safety but can do nothing to the program or its employees.

House Bill 222, which would have regulated religious programs, died in committee, adding to a history of failed attempts to bring religious programs under licensure.

However, Sands found success with another bill which made it illegal for staff and therapists at private residential treatment programs to have sexual relationships with the teens they treat  even if those clients are 16, the age of consent in Montana.

All three of the bills in the 2019 legislative session to increase protections for youth in residential treatment programs were met with emotional testimonies from former program participants.

"Its the courage of people to come forward in all of this that makes a difference," Sands said.

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Gov. Steve Bullock signed Hannas Act into law Friday, authorizing and providing funding for the state Department of Justice to hire a missing persons specialist to help quickly coordinate searches for missing Montanans  especially Native Americans.

The bill is named for Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman who went missing on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in July 2013 and was found murdered soon after. Rep. Rae Peppers, a Democrat representing Harris's hometown of Lame Deer, carried the bill for the State-Tribal Relations Committee.

Hannas Act was one of 24 bills Bullock signed into law Friday, and one of two carried by Peppers. The other, House Bill 54, requires Montana law enforcement to accept reports of missing persons without delay and compile a complete and accurate record of information for cases that go unsolved after 30 days, including a photograph of the missing person. Reports of missing persons younger than 21 must also be entered into the FBIs National Crime Information Center database within two hours.

In addition to Peppers's bills, Bullock signed another bill requested by the State-Tribal Relations Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 40, carried by Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, requires the state Office of Public Instruction to maintain a database of photographs of Montana schoolchildren, though their parents can decide to opt out. The Missing Persons Clearinghouse at the state Department of Justice would have continuous access to the database.

Montana's attorney general called the new law an important step forward in solving missing persons cases.

"My team and I have been working on this legislation since before its inception, and we are already working on its implementation," Tim Fox said in a Friday statement.

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One man's odyssey through the world of books
Guyana Goldstrike Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties. It explores for gold deposits. It primarily holds an interest in the Marudi Gold project that covers an area of approximately 13,500 acres located in Guyana, South America. The company was formerly known as Swift Resources Inc. and changed its name to Guyana Goldstrike Inc. in March 2017. Guyana Goldstrike Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Just because cryptocurrency is having a bad time of it doesnt mean crypto thieves arent thriving: On the contrary, theyve managed to nab at least $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year alone, according to CipherTrace cybersecurity firm. That figure includes outright theft from crypto exchanges and complicated digital scams.

If you break it down, theft alone was $356 million for Q1 2019--the rest was fraud.

Even more specifically, exit scams in which crypto company founders steal everything accounted for $195 million in losses.

CiperTrace CEO Dave Jeans blames inadequate regulations and enforcement, noting that insider issues such as fraud or theft have grown mostly due to operations outside of the U.S. where regulations are poor, or simply due to greed and mismanagement by young management teams at these cryptocurrency companies that are managing hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

For last year, CipherTrace noted in its Q4 Anti-Money Laundering Report that $1.7 billion in stolen and exit scammed crypto needs laundering. That figure represented a 3.6-fold increase over 2017 thefts, even though token prices were lower.

The most high-profile exit scam went down in Canada, when an estimated 90,000+ investors on the largest crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, were left high and dry after the CEO and owner, Gerald Cotten, passed away and took his passwords with him to the grave. Perhaps it wasnt an outright scam, but it does speak to the crypto exit vacuum that investors have to deal with in this little-known and little-understood digital world. All told, these investors lost around $190 million in fiat and digital tokens that have since been rendered to the black hole.

It was a one-man show that took everyone down with it.

Last summer, Chinese police busted a group of hackers who had allegedly stolen around $87 million in cryptocurrencies in what was the highest-value crypt heist in China so far.

Related: Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs On Blue Chip Earnings

During that same period, South Korea-based Bithumb, the sixth-biggest exchange in the world, revealed that it had lost $30 million to hackers, leading to a temporary shut-down of its services.

And just last week, the New York Attorney General said that over $850 million in crypto had been misplaced by Bitfinex. Last Thursday, crypto markets lost a whopping $10 billion in a single hour after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Bitfinex and Tether of rigging the market in order to hide an $850-million loss. James aid that Bitfinex used up to $700 million in stablecoin Tethers cash reserves to cover up the losses.

And on the theft side of things, new techniques are popping up at breakneck speed, with crypto thieves using methods. One such method involves SIM swapping, a fraud that tricks a provider into transferring a subscribers phone number to a SIM card controlled by someone else, according to Reuters. And then its just a matter of emptying their wallet.

The wider picture, though, is that this is a major global--and even geopolitical problem because its the new heart and soul of money-laundering and terrorism financing. From CipherTraces perspective, then, its a gold mine as it flaunts its AML and ATL wares for the crypto world. With that in mind, CipherTrace is now expecting a whirlwind of new global regulations aimed to make crypto less amenable to the underworld.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com
The 37th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival will return to Santa Marias Rancho Sisquoc Winery on Saturday, when winemakers and winery owners will pour from their collections and answer wine-related questions. Held from 1 to 4 p.m., the festival will feature over 70 wineries, many pouring newly released wines. In addition to tasting from locally grown varietals, festivalgoers will enjoy local food purveyors, live music, culinary and wine demonstrations, and a silent auction.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in exclusive story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up. On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owned 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Live Updates: Cyclone Fani throws campaign schedules out of gear in West Bengal; Modi, Shah, Mamata's rallies re-scheduled
" " A maintenance worker inspects the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel in the CERN (European Organization For Nuclear Research) research center on Nov. 19, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Vladimir Simicek/isifa/Getty Images

When the Large Hadron Collider was first turned on in 2008, there were seemingly endless possibilities  and ideas  for what it might find. Maybe it would spot the elusive Higgs boson, which would help scientists confirm how other particles gain mass. Maybe it would uncover a host of new particles that would give physicists not just confirmation of supersymmetry, but also a bonanza of new science to study. Maybe it would create a new universe where it was OK to eat Cheetos for dinner and protons looked like Froot Loops.

Some of these possibilities were more likely than others. And a few of them (ahem) were, in fact, not really within the LHC's scope. While naysayers predicted that the LHC's mini Big Bangs would create black holes that would destroy the world and eat the universe like so many Cheetos for dinner, the truth is that there weren't that many theories that the LHC could prove or disprove.

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And in terms of that scope: No, the LHC is not going to prove string theory  but it might provide evidence to support ideas that are central to string theory.

Think about it like this: I'm walking along and see a tunnel. I think that tunnel might have some sort of creek running through it, so I throw a ball in and see what happens when it comes out the other side. If the ball comes out sopping wet, I could say that it totally supports my theory that the tunnel contained a stream. But someone else could say that it supports the theory that there is a sprinkler in the tunnel. Still another could say that it is actually raining in the tunnel, and a wet ball is just the thing to prove it.

The only thing we can say for certain is that the wet ball supports all those theories, and perhaps rules out the theory that the tunnel is bone-dry. At the LHC, physicists with very disparate ideas are looking for "the ball is wet" statements to support  or refute  theories about how particles (and the universe) work. One of those theories is string theory.

String theory basically says that particles are composed of energies that resemble vibrating strings. The distinctive vibrations of the strings create all the different particles and forces. So, fundamentally, all matter and forces in the universe are made of these vibrating strings [source: Greene]. But here's a fun fact: String theory doesn't really become a unifying theory  one that can explain the makings of every force and particle in the universe  unless it turns out that the universe also has more than three dimensions. Which, you know, is hard to get a lot of physicists to shake hands on.

And for good reason. This not being Hogwarts, we can't just apparate into another dimension to check on whether it's really there. We can only look around and see three observable dimensions in front of us. But you might be able to talk yourself into believing it if you think of the dimensions as really, really tiny ... maybe they're just too small to see.

That creates a problem: If the necessary dimensions are too tiny to see, how the heck can we expect to observe  or even test a hypothesis about string theory?

That's where the LHC comes in. There are a few ideas being bandied around to test some of string theory's characteristics. One is pretty straightforward: The simplest model of string theory predicts the existence of superpartner particles. Basically, these are much heavier partners to the Standard Model quarks and leptons that physicists have already observed, and they would unite force and matter. Physicists expected to find superpartners in the same mass as the Higgs, but they haven't yet. So, the LHC is doing its darndest to try to find those superpartner particles, both in their latest proton collisions, and in future experiments at even higher energies. The "wet ball" in this case  superpartner particles  would also support the theory of supersymmetries, which is connected to, but separate from, string theory.

The LHC can also jump into the hunt for those ultra-tiny dimensions that would have to exist for string theory to work as a unified theory. If those dimensions exist, we'd be pretty much swimming in them. LHC can slam protons together to produce new particles  just like it's been doing. By adding up the energy of the particles formed in the collisions and subtracting it from the energy the particles pre-collision, we can tell if some of the energy is MIA. If it is, we might then be able to say, "Hey, we don't know where that energy went  but maybe it's in another dimension."

This time, the wet ball is the difference in energy before and after the collision. Again, this wouldn't be "proving" string theory or even extra dimensions. But it would be ascientific discovery that supports some of the things necessary for string theory to work.

What we can't predict is whether string theory will mature into a scientific hypothesis we can test or observe. Right now, one of the reasons it's so controversial is that many physicists don't think it's possible to test, and more importantly they don't think it's possible to prove false. Some in the physicist community are comfortable saying that string theory is straight-up not falsifiable [source: Nature Physics]. (That means that you have to be able to disprove the hypothesis, not just confirm it.)

So, while we can be reasonably certain that no, the LHC isn't going to prove string theory is true using proton collisions, physicists might find some evidence that doesn't prove it wrong.
" " This deep-sea hydrothermal vent octopus was discovered 2,394 meters below sea level (nearly a mile and a half down) near Antarctica in 2012. NOAA

A lot of people are pretty sure that we've discovered everything there is to discover. Oh sure, there are probably some bacteria we haven't classified yet, but as far as large animals and land masses, there isn't too much left to explore.

Not so, say scientists, who in recent years, have discovered new species all over the world  mainly smaller mammals, fish, insects and microbes. But does that mean larger animals we've never seen are still out there, too? That's exactly what Matt Frederick, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown discuss in this episode of Stuff They Don't Want You to Know.

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There are an estimated 8.7 million classified species in the world, and scientists figure that there are 5 million left to be described. Add microbes and bacteria to that number and it jumps to 1 trillion. A number of them have been discovered recently, including a small primate in Africa called the pygmy galago; an enormous spider guaranteed to give you nightmares; and scores of fish and other sea creatures. But so many are still left to be found, it's hard to imagine none of them are large mammals. Could just one of them be a cryptid like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster?

Maybe so. Of course, you won't find either of those  or any other undiscovered species  in your backyard. More than likely, they'll be found in habitats that are difficult for human scientists to explore  like caves  where species flourish under extreme conditions. Movile Cave in Romania, for instance, housed many previously unknowns, and is referred to as a "poison cave" because of its lack of oxygen and high density of dangerous gases like hydrogen and sulfide. The conditions explain why it took so long to find out about the species calling this place home.

Other unwelcoming habitats include the massive teeming biome of the Amazon rainforest, where discoveries of new species including plants, insects and mammals are made every day. Thermal vents under Antarctica have yielded "lost worlds" of new animals; the Himalayan mountains, as well, have led us to exciting new classifications. And deserts, what seem to be the most inhabitable of all climates, have also given us new creatures to study, including ant-like bees and the Mongolian death worm. But almost everyone agrees that if there is a large animal out there we've never seen before, it's bound to be in that most mysterious biome of all: the ocean.

The ocean is as mysterious a place to us as space. Fathoms deep, teeming with life and hard to explore, the ocean has yet to give up all its secrets; scientists estimate that two-thirds of marine life has yet to be discovered. And with the rates of extinction, many species are winking out before we have a chance to study them. Tune into the podcast to hear Matt's, Ben's and Noel's thoughts on whether we'll ever know exactly what we're sharing this world with.
The news was reported by the Kyodo News and has caught my attention, Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as defense against cyber attacks.

The Kyodo News revealed that Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as a defense measure against cyber attacks and that the development will be completed by next March.

The Defense Ministry plans to use the malware as a vaccine that could neutralize the other malicious codes.

The Japanese Government aims at improving its defense capabilities in the fifth domain of warfare and wants to be ready to face threats from the cyberspace.

Japan wants to fill the gap respect more advanced countries in the cyber space. and plans to make important investimests to reach the goal in time.

The government has said it is looking to enhance its defense capabilities beyond the ground, marine and air domains to address security challenges in new areas such as cyberspace and outer space amid technological advances in recent years. states the KyodoNews website.

Japan lags behind other countries in addressing the threat of cyberattacks. It plans to increase the number of personnel in its cyberspace unit to 220 from 150, compared with 6,200 in the United States, 7,000 in North Korea and 130,000 in China, according to the ministry.

The efforts are the result of the latest national defense guidelines launched by the Defence Ministry in December.

The use of malware for defense purposes is in the middle of a heated debate. The cyberspace has no boundaries and the risk that malicious code will go out of control, threatening the sovereignty of foreign states, is concrete.

Some defense experts say the ability to obstruct an enemys use of cyberspace could exceed the limits of the countrys exclusively defense-oriented policy. continues KyodoNews.

The virus will be developed by private companies and will not be used for pre-emptive attack or active defense, a ministry source revealed.

The Government policy allows cyberattacks only against a country or any other organization considered equivalent to a country.

Pierluigi Paganini

( SecurityAffairs  malware, Japan)

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 "When Plea Bargaining Became Normal" | Main | Assembling criminal justice questions for the 2020 Prez field 

This local article out of Florida, headlined "Legislature OKs criminal justice reforms but no change to mandatory-minimum sentencing," reports on how the Sunshine State is starting to move forward on reform inspired clearly by the federal FIRST STEP Act. But, as the article explains, political challenges have resulted in Florida's first step being even more limited that what has been achieved at the federal level:

The Florida Legislature passed a 296-page criminal justice reform package bill Friday, the last full day of the session, addressing the issue of a bulging prison population that has long eluded resolution....

Reshaping Floridas tough-on-crime policies and reducing the states nearly 100,000-person prison population is a rare issue that has united Trump populists and progressive civil rights groups, yet often results in open and closed-door fights among Republicans over how far to go.

This year, compromise was reached. The House passed the bill unanimously Friday, following the Senates near-unanimous passage on Thursday. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk. Despite the victory for Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, whos long been a leading voice in the Legislature for the need for criminal justice reform, the bills passage was bittersweet.

I am incredibly disappointed, he said Thursday, referring to several big-ticket reform pieces that were taken out of the bill at the behest of the House. Im not surprised we didnt get there, but I think what we did was advance the conversation.

House Bill 7125 is the result of private negotiations between the two chambers over the past week and contains many changes proposed by those seeking to reshape Floridas tough-on-crime laws from the 1990s. That includes making it easier for felons to get professional licenses and allowing state attorneys to decide whether juvenile cases should be transferred to adult court. Currently, that happens automatically if the crime is severe or the child has certain prior convictions.

It also would raise the threshold dollar amount at which theft charges go from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $300 to $750. Thats not as high as the Houses original proposal, which was to raise it to $1,000, but it brings Floridas law closer to the national average. It also eliminates or reduces drivers license suspensions as a criminal penalty, which lawmakers have said unfairly hampered peoples ability to get to their jobs and continue to make an honest living.

The bill has been dubbed the Florida First Step Act after the federal reform law with the same name. Shortly after the bill passed the House, Kara Gross, the legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the bill amounted to a baby step, at best....

What didnt make the cut of the final bill:

 Allowing judges discretion over sentences for certain drug crimes that currently have required amounts of time that defendants must serve, called mandatory minimum sentences.

 Permitting prison inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies to be released after serving a minimum 65 percent of their sentence if they have good behavior and participate in educational and rehabilitative programs (current law is 85 percent).

 Retroactive re-sentencing for people who were convicted of aggravated assault back when the states punishment for that crime was harsher than it is now.

Email messages between House and Senate staff obtained by the Herald/Times show that the House had, at one point last week, been comfortable with modified language related to giving judges more discretion over sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, reducing the length of some sentences. But that didnt make it into the final bill....

Despite some lukewarm support for giving judges more sentencing discretion, Gov. Ron DeSantis poured cold water on the idea of letting inmates out after serving 65 percent of their sentence, likely one of the reasons that piece was scrapped....

The bill passed with only one no vote in the Senate, which came from Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, who praised Brandes efforts but said that he, too, was frustrated with the compromise. Honestly, Im tired of submitting to the will of the House on these types of issues, he said.

Still, the willingness of the House, traditionally the more tough-on-crime chamber, to cobble together a criminal justice reform package of this size shows a shift of tone, however subtle, toward reducing Floridas burgeoning prison population.

Fridays bill also creates a task force to reevaluate Floridas entire criminal punishment code, and whether the set punishments fit the crime. House Speaker Jose Oliva said that this bill is the result of several years of discussion on this issue. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they intend on taking up some of the issues that failed next year. Sometimes ideas take time for people to understand and to have a chance to really let set in. For a lot of years the idea was being tough on crime, Oliva said recently. He added, though, that data showing the harms of these policies started a conversation. I think that conversation is now maturing.
From Guoco Midtown and Shaw Towers to the new residential developments at Tan Quee Lan Street and Middle Road, the Beach Road-Rochor Road area is set for a massive renewal

For the past four decades, those driving along Nicoll Highway from Singapores East Coast to the CBD have been treated to the landmarks defining Beach Roads skyline: first, the Golden Mile Complex and Tower, a relic of the 1970s; followed by the 1990s modernist architecture of The Concourse, designed by the late American architect, Paul Rudolph, and the knife-edged triangular towers of The Gateway by the legendary American-Chinese architect I M Pei who turns 102 this year.

In recent years, the skyline has been enhanced by the addition of two multi-billion-dollar integrated developments designed by star architectural firms of the current era, namely DUO by Buro Ole Scheeren, and South Beach by Foster and Partners.



DUO, an integrated development by M+S, completed in Dec 2016, was designed by Buro Ole Scheeren (Credit: M+S)

The stretch of Beach Road from Ophir Road and Rochor Road onwards has changed a lot, says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of listed property group GuocoLand Singapore. But the eastern stretch of Beach Road is still quite old.

GuocoLand is developing Guoco Midtown, a new integrated development at the junction of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road. Adjacent to Guoco Midtown is Shaw Tower, which will be redeveloped. A commercial tower built on a site sold in the government land sales (GLS) programme in 1970, Shaw Tower is a redevelopment of the former Alhambra and Marlboro theatres, and also where the original Satay Club at Hoi How Road was located. The 34-storey tower contains offices from the 11th to the top floor, carpark lots from the second to 10th floors and a retail podium with two cinemas. Shaw Tower is owned by Shaw Foundation, which was established in Singapore in 1957.

NEW ADDITIONS

The new commercial development that will replace the existing Shaw Tower will be predominantly office with a total net lettable area of 222,700 sq ft. The redevelopment of Shaw Tower is overdue, says Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

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Construction is underway at the Guoco Midtown site, with the adjacent Shaw Tower to be redeveloped into a new commercial development (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The new Shaw Tower and Guoco Midtown will be linked to each other and to their neighbouring developments on the second level, and by underground pedestrian links to the MRT stations. For instance, there will be an underground link from Guoco Midtown to Bugis MRT Interchange Station for the Downtown and East- West Lines. From South Beach, they will have direct access to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. South Beach is also linked directly to Suntec City via an overhead bridge that brings pedestrians to City Hall MRT Interchange Station for the North-South and East-West Lines.

Guoco Midtown and the redevelopment of Shaw Tower will be new additions that will complement South Beach and DUO, says Chris Archibold, JLL head of leasing. They will bring a critical mass of Grade-A office space to the area, which GuocoLand has aptly branded Midtown.

There will be very little new office supply in the next two years until Guoco Midtown is completed. South Beach Tower, which contains about 500,000 sq ft of premium office space, and was completed in 2015, is full today, says Archibold. Likewise, DUO Tower, which has 568,000 sq ft of office space, and was completed in 2017, is also almost full. The average rent in these two towers is said to be around $11 psf. Guoco Midtown is expected to trade at double- digit rents. However, the office tower in the development will only be put up for lease two years from now. Our view of the market is very positive, he adds. The supply pipeline is fairly low, and demand seems fairly robust across many different sectors.



The new redevelopment on the site of Shaw Tower will have predominantly office space and will be linked to the neighbouring South Beach and Guoco Midtown (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

JLLs basket of premium, Grade-A office buildings are made up of those that are under 16 years old and have floor plates of at least says Archibold. Whether they are in Marina Bay, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar, they are all trading at around $11 psf per month.

MIXED-USE APPEAL

Beach Road appeals to a wide spectrum of occupiers, notes Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore managing director. Potential tenants could include fintech, technology, energy sector, co-working operators and MNCs that appreciate the accessibility within the CBD, he adds. We anticipate the new developments will attract tenants keen to upgrade and flight-to-quality will be a feature of tenants relocation drivers.

Planned as a mixed-use district with offices, hotels and residences, the Beach Road/ Ophir-Rochor corridor primarily serves as an extension of the central business district due to its proximity to Raffles Place and Marina Bay, adds Armstrong. The area is also unique due to its heritage and cultural vibe from the Kampong Glam conservation area. It has the cool factor. The existing commercial building architecture in this micro-market is particularly distinctive.

When South Beach Tower first entered the market five years ago, 80% of prospective office occupiers were already drawn to the location. The Beach Road area has a very nice mixed-use feel, says JLLs Archibold. Theres a fair amount of retail and F&B in the area, and youre also near a very large retail mall of over a million sq ft at Suntec City. From an immediacy point of view, it works very well.



Completed in 2015, South Beach Tower contains about 500,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space is full today (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Construction has already started at Guoco Midtown, located on a 2.1ha GLS site purchased by GuocoLand in October 2017 for $1.622 billion.

Designed by acclaimed Australian architectural practice, Denton Corker Marshall, Guoco Midtown is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The property, which has a gross development value of $2.4 billion, will contain a 30-storey Grade-A office tower linked to a five-storey Network Hub. Office space will account for 770,000 sq ft (81%) of the total gross floor area (GFA) of 950,000 sq ft within the development.

Landscaped public spaces comprise a total of 170,000 sq ft spread across multiple floors. There will also be a 32-storey residential tower with more than 200 units, called Midtown Bay. Within the site is a three-storey, conserved colonial- era building that once housed the Beach Road Police Station.

BUILT-IN FLEX COMPONENT TO CHANGE LEASING MODEL

GuocoLand has announced that it will be offering a core and flex leasing concept at Guoco Midtown. The floor plates of the office tower are rectangular in shape and measure 27,000 to 30,000 sq ft. There are also four different access points in each floor, which makes it very efficient for sub-division, says JLLs Archibold.

CBREs Armstrong agrees: Where Guoco Midtown stands out is that it specifically incorporated agile areas and facilities into the developments design concept, he says. We are likely to see changes in lease contracts whereby end-users core occupied space is leased for conventional, longer periods, while a proportion of the space is held under shorter and more fluid terms.

This in turn will change leasing models, says Armstrong, where core leased space will be offered at a lower cost base, with a premium payable for flexibility. This is akin to an airline ticket whereby the customer pays a higher price for a ticket that can be changed versus one that is more rigid, he adds.



Guoco Midtown will have a total of 770,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space and is scheduled to be completed by 2023 (Credit: GuocoLand)

ENLARGED RESIDENTIAL CATCHMENT

Located directly across the road from the upcoming Guoco Midtown is an empty green plot of 124,119 sq ft, flanked on one side by the conservation shophouses along Tan Quee Lan Street.

The GLS site has been earmarked by URA for a residential development of about 580 units, with a maximum height of 30 storeys, and a low-rise block of six storeys. The first level will be allocated to commercial space. The site will be launched for sale in May, with the tender to close in September.

Meanwhile, just one block away on Middle Road, another GLS site was sold in early April to listed property developer Wing Tai Holdings. The group had emerged at the top of 10 bids received at the close of the tender on March 29. Wing Tais bid price was $492 million ($1,458 psf per plot ratio).



The Middle Road GLS site was sold to Wing Tai for $492 million or $1,458 psf per plot ratio (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The site, which covers 80,000 sq ft, will be developed into two high-rise, 20-storey residential towers with a low-rise block containing commercial units on the first level and residential units on the upper levels.

As it is within the Central Area, we are excited by the excellent opportunity to create a fresh, exciting living space that caters to urbanites who desire to live in the city and experience its vibrant, cosmopolitan culture, says Tan Hwee Bin, executive director of Wing Tai Holdings.

C&Ws Li expects the future projects to enlarge the residential catchment in the area and further boost the attractiveness of the sub-market. On the one hand, you have more residential developments which cater to the expatriate community in town, she says. On the other hand, you have more top-notch corporate clients coming over from older CBD buildings to take up office space in this up-and-coming submarket.

DIFFERENTIATED OFFERINGS



The residential site at Tan Quee Lan Street will be put up for launch sometime later this month (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

She reckons the new 99-year leasehold residential developments in the area are likely to have selling prices in the $2,550 psf to $2,800 psf range, depending on the unit sizes. The products will be differentiated to suit the spectrum of buyers and tenants at Beach Road, adds Li.

For instance, at South Beach Residences, which was launched last September to coincide with the Singapore Grand Prix, prices of units sold started from $2,795 psf for the lowest floor on the 23rd level to a high of $3,950 psf in the first month of sales. The super penthouse, a triplex, was sold for $26 million ($3,865 psf) last October. Units in the 190-unit luxury residence occupy the 23rd to 45th floors of the 45-storey tower, with luxury hotel JW Marriott Singapore occupying the lower half.

Units at South Beach Residences have still been sold at prices from $3,207 to $3,551 psf over the two months from March to April, according to data from URA REALIS. Sales at South Beach Residences have been pretty encouraging despite the property cooling measures, notes C&Ws Li.



View from a unit at South Beach Residences, where units have been sold for as high as $3,950 psf (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

GuocoLand could well position the residences at Midtown Bay as a luxury project similar to its 181-unit Wallich Residence, which sits on top of Guoco Tower at its $3.4 billion integrated development, Tanjong Pagar Centre.

According to GuocoLands Cheng, the residences at Midtown Bay will have spectacular views of Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and Orchard Road. We will take advantage of these views, he says. We hope that Guoco Midtown will be a game-changer, adds Cheng. We want to redesign street life, city living and Grade-A office space in the Beach Road district.

Meanwhile, Golden Mile Complex, designed in the 1960s and completed in 1973, was relaunched for collective sale with a price tag of $800 million at the end of March with Edmund Tie & Co as the marketing agent. The tender closed on April 25 with no bids.



Golden Mile Complex was put up for collective sale a second time last month at a price tag of $800 million (Credit: Edmund Tie & Co)

While the main 16-storey tower with its stepped facade is to be retained, URA has indicated that intensification of the existing development to a total GFA of 925,677 sq ft with a plot ratio of 6.387 can be considered.

In the long term, it is likely to be redeveloped into another landmark integrated development with office, retail, hotel, serviced apartments and residences. For now, as an industry veteran remarks, Golden Mile Complex will remain a golden o

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Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly.

"We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards."

Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.
A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. May 3, 2019 in this picture obtained from social media. JACKSONVILLE SHERIFFS OFFICE /via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union. "We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement. "In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added. "In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights". On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September. According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights". In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources. Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move. "This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said. It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation". The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration. Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February. The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara. European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling. Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island. In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships. Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed. Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern". In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law. Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip Friday, authorities in the enclave said, after Israel reported two of its soldiers wounded in a shooting on the border. Two of the Palestinians were shot dead during clashes along the frontier while two fighters from Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers, were killed in an air strike, the health ministry in Gaza said. The Israeli army said the air strike was in retaliation for the shooting incident on the border that left its soldiers wounded. Hamas confirmed two of the dead were members of its military wing and pledged to respond to what it called an "Israeli aggression". The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border. The Israeli army said "one soldier was moderately injured, and another soldier was lightly injured" when they came under fire during renewed protests. An army spokeswoman said around 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day. Palestinians have participated in often violent demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave. At least 269 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period. Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
SIOUX CITY | Kevin McManamy, president of United Real Estate Solutions, Inc. presented production awards to the companys top producers at their Quarterly Awards breakfast. Twenty-six people received honors for the 1st quarter of 2019.

Earning the real estate industrys highest production honors, the Presidents Award, were Barb Kimmel, Gayle Miille, Dave Pepin and Mark Vos, as well as Beau Braunger and Nathan Connelly of NAI United.

Claiming the Diamond Award were Rick Arnold, Paula Brown, Liz Deurloo, Joe Krage, Jeff Nelson, Adam Stokes and Nick Tramp. The Platinum Award was presented to Chuck Burnett.

Receiving the Gold Award were Hank Baker and Sheryl Ford. Silver Award winners were Judy Clayton, Mick Morgan, Mike Wojcik and Kuen Yeh. Those earning Bronze Awards were Mike Borschuk, Anne Danielson, Eric Hoak, Bob Patton, Patti Robinson, and Tonya Vakulskas.

Individual company awards were also presented to the overall Top Producer in several categories. Dave Pepin was the companys Top Residential Producer with the highest overall production volume for the quarter. Joe Krage earned the Top Lister Award for the highest number of listings taken.

United Real Estate Solutions has been the Sioux City areas real estate market leader since 2001 with professional sales associates licensed in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company has three offices located at 302 Jones St. in Sioux City, Iowa, 1913 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City, Neb., and 400 Gold Circle in Dakota Dunes, S.D. They can be found online at www.unitedrealestatesolutions.com. NAI United is headquartered at 400 Gold Circle Suite 120 in Dakota Dunes and online at www.naiunited.com.

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HARTLEY, Iowa -- An Archer, Iowa man was arrested Friday after he reportedly abducted his ex-girlfriend in Hartley.

According to a press release from the O'Brien County Sheriff's Office, at around 2:27 p.m. Friday, authorities took a report of a woman taken against her will and forced into a car near Neeble Park in Hartley. The abductor was the woman's ex-boyfriend, and the two had recently broken up.

The Hartley Police Department issued an attempt to locate notice to all area law enforcement agencies.

At around 4:33 p.m., an Iowa State Trooper located the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Audi, on Highway 59 south of Calumet. The woman was recovered and the ex-boyfriend, Justin Michael Banta, 37, of Archer, was taken to the Hartley Police Department for an interview.

Banta was taken into custody and faces charges including third-degree kidnapping charge (a class C felony), domestic abuse assault first offense and driving while suspended.

A no-contact order has been issued between Banta and the victim. Banta went before a magistrate Saturday and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SIOUX CITY -- Shortly after being accused of fatally stabbing two Sioux City teenagers, Tran Walker offered no regrets for his actions, a police officer testified Friday.

Det. Nick Thompson said he interviewed Walker soon after he was released from a local hospital in the wee hours of Jan. 28, 2018.

Thompson recalled he asked Walker if he had anything to say to the families of the two victims, Paiten Sullivan, 17, and Felipe Negron Jr., 18.

"He said, quote, 'I would tell them, I would tell them that, I don't think I would apologize to them just because right now I don't feel sorry," Thompson said.

The detective's testimony came during the second day of Walker's trial in Woodbury County District Court.

Walker, 19, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sullivan and Negron Jr., both of Sioux City.

Police believe Walker stabbed Sullivan in a PT Cruiser near the King Koin Launderette in Morningside because he was upset about a recent romantic breakup with her. Negron was stabbed as he tried to protect Sullivan, according to court documents.

Sgt. Todd Sassman recounted that he knew Sullivan would not survive upon seeing her after the stabbing.

"I knew as soon as I looked at her that she was probably already deceased," Sassman testified.

During the trial Friday, prosecution and defense attorneys reached an agreement over the use of text messages sent by Walker and Sullivan prior to the stabbings as evidence.

Mark Campbell, an assistant Woodbury County attorney, had Thompson read a set of messages from Walker to various acquaintances.

"The only reason I'm able to smile and talk about my issues is Paiten," Thompson said, reading one of Walker's texts. "And if she were to cheat or leave me, IDK how I'd react. All I know is that it would be very bad."

Walker also sent messages threatening to kill "witnesses," and, at one point, wrote, "I'd rather just have someone beat her a--, LMAO, bust her face in so she's hideous."

Sullivan, meanwhile, expressed fear of Walker in some texts.

"Tran, until you are better, we won't work. I love you to death, but FFS when you said that about killing (me), that scared me. I can't be in a relationship where I'm scared," she wrote. FFS is an abbreviation for an expletive-containing phrase.

Campbell quoted another text message from Walker during the discussion about whether the pages of messages would be included in evidence.

"At the top it says, 'So she wants to say I'm controlling. Most guys (wouldn't) allow their girls to talk to their exes but I did,'" Campbell said, quoting from the text.

Defense attorney Jennifer Solberg argued that the authorship of the messages is not proven, that the recipients of the messages are unknown to the defense, that the messages are irrelevant and remote in time to the case and that they represent hearsay.

"There's different authors, there's people who aren't here, they're unknown that any of these things are actions or thoughts or who the author actually is, some of them are just people that have not testified," she told the court.

In the end, Judge Tod Deck agreed to withhold some pages of text messages from evidence but to permit others.

"The court believes that the records themselves are, (we are) satisfied that they are accurate representations of statements that were made on Facebook, so because of that the court does not believe that they would be excluded as hearsay," Deck said.

Walker's defense attorneys also have vociferously objected to the prosecution's bid to enter as evidence dozens of Facebook messages sent by Walker to various people prior to the slayings.

During the trial Friday, some employees of the Gordon Plaza Hy-Vee also testified about Walker's appearance at the store after the stabbings. Employees called 911 after Walker arrived bloodied and asking to use the restroom. He told an assistant manager that he had been jumped.

Authorities arrested Walker in the store restroom, following a search through Morningside that involved the use of K-9 search dogs. After he was apprehended, he was hospitalized briefly after injuring himself in the alleged incident.

Also Friday, the defense asked many of the witnesses about Walker's mental status in the hours after the killings.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Because Walker waived his right to a jury trial, Deck will render the verdict. If convicted of first-degree murder, Walker will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DES MOINES -- Democrats see an incumbent Republican president ripe for electoral defeat and no standard-bearer within their own party whose candidacy convinces others to remain on the sidelines.

Those factors and a few others, experts say, is why we have nearly two dozen Democrats running to become the next President of the United States.

The largest-ever field of presidential candidates grew this week to 22 when former vice president Joe Biden and Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet made their campaigns official.

The field will grow even more when Montana Gov. Steve Bullock joins the race as expected later this month, and media reports appear to indicate New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also is expected to announce his run soon.

How did the field of Democratic candidates grow so large, blowing well past even the 2015 field of Republicans, which capped out at what at the time seemed like a remarkable 17?

Experts say myriad factors have contributed to the candidate boom, but there are two particularly influential reasons: the Democratic Party has no clear national leader, and Republican President Donald Trump has stoked Democrats passion and sense of urgency.

It looked like a wide open opportunity with no heir apparent taking the baton or carrying the torch, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University. He said that contrasts to 2016, when Hillary Clinton appeared to be the partys heir apparent to President Barack Obama. A new generation of more diverse Democrats and their supporters are now jockeying for position to lead.

The field includes party stalwarts like Biden and Elizabeth Warren, and longtime progressive independent Bernie Sanders, who is making is second run for the Democratic nomination; but also young faces and candidates new to the national scene like Pete Buttigieg and Beto ORourke.

Prominent though theyve been on the national stage, and while they have led in most early polling on the primary race, Biden and Sanders were not strong enough candidates to stop 20 others from also running.

The fact there is a couple dozen candidates announcing indicates theres no clear leadership in the Democratic Party in the Trump era, said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University and co-author of a historical encyclopedia on the Iowa caucuses.

And then theres the current president.

Democrats are fired up by Trumps policies and actions, and they believe his re-election prospects are shaky.

Politicians are rational animals, and the fact that so many Democrats have gotten in reflects a view that they really do think they have a reasonable chance, if not an excellent chance to defeat an incumbent president, Goldford said.

Trumps average job approval rating, according to Real Clear Politics average of national polls, is 43.6 percent approve and 53 percent disapprove. His average Gallup poll approval rating while in office is 39 percent, easily the lowest of any president in the polls history.

And its not just the perceived weakness of Trumps re-election chances, said Sue Dvorsky, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman. Its also Democrats fierce opposition to Trumps policies and behavior, particularly on social media.

The current occupant has really made a situation that feels dire, Dvorsky said. There is so much passion involved in this. That is driving people.

Republicans, unsurprisingly, see matters differently. A spokesperson for the national Republican Party said Trumps policies are gaining favor with Iowans while Democratic candidates are becoming increasingly liberal.

While Democrats continue to embrace costly, out-of-touch policies that will hurt middle America, those same families continue to benefit from the policies enacted by the Trump administration and the choice for them could not be clearer, Republican National Committee spokesperson Preya Samsundar said in a statement to the bureau.

Goldford said the field may also be large because some candidates could be running with ulterior motives. He said some candidates may not believe themselves to be legitimate contenders, but could be using a run to boost their national profile in order to sell a book, earn a job as a cable news commentator, or land a job in a future Democratic administration.

If people can monetize their candidacies, even if they dont get the nomination, that may very well not be the rationale (anyway), Goldford said.

The expansive field creates a unique challenge for most of the candidates to find a way to establish and distinguish themselves. Other than Biden, who served for 8 years as vice president, and Sanders, who ran for president 4 years ago, the candidates must find a way to rise above the crowded field.

Many of these candidates are going to have to do the relatively quiet work of putting together organizations in key states before they can begin to build momentum and make any noise, said Donna Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. Right now, this can happen by doing ground work in early states and trying to catch the attention of local activists, local media, and parlaying that into some level of momentum that might be noticed in other early states and with national media.

It will take a candidate with a dynamic personality, a message that is relevant to voters concerns in 2020, and a natural constituency that will be drawn to the candidate, Steffen said.

Goldford said one thing will not change despite the fields enormous size: the Iowa caucuses will still come down to which campaign can best organize and mobilize its supporters.

Right now obviously youve got Biden and Sanders seemingly ahead of everybody else. A lot of thats familiarity and name recognition. ... Everybodys out there working away, trying to carve out something, Goldford said. It still is the standard caucus route: organize, organize, organize and get hot at the end. Thats the ticket.

Experts said while the current atmosphere allows candidates to survive longer than in the past --- online fundraising makes it easier for candidates to support their campaigns and social media makes it easier to communicate with voters --- they still expect the field to narrow before the caucuses.

Were not going to have 23 people to caucus for. That is not going to happen, Dvorsky said. I think the field will winnow.

Hoffman noted a number of Republicans in that large 2015 field dropped out before the caucuses, and said she thinks even more Democrats will drop out this year ahead of Februarys caucuses, especially if fundraising streams start to dry up for bottom-tier candidates.

Goldford said he expects the field to thin by mid-summer, or at the latest by the state fair in August.

But he added a caveat that summarizes the whole caucus campaign.

In many ways, Goldford said, were in uncharted territory here.

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Its that time of the year again, when the pollen-heavy rains of spring have overstayed their welcome, and we all breathlessly await the real arrival of summer. Along with the prospect of beach days comes the annual opportunity to guess what new trends and takes on warm-weather staples will overtake Instagram. Throwing her hat into the predicting ring early is Who What Wear senior news editor Erin Fitzpatrick, who declares that the Montunass Trellis Lirio Rope-Trimmed Acetate and Linen Tote  is ripe to become a summer It bag. How exactly Fitzpatrick has divined this forecast isnt entirely clear, but the Montunas bag is certainly ripe to be named of the strangest objects Ive ever laid eyes on.

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Apparently inspired by the shape of plant pots, the Trellis Lirio tote is a curious little bag that costs a mere $435 and resembles either an inverted lampshade or one of the little trash cans that one keeps in their bathroom. Or perhaps a half-full, to-go cup of ice cream. Maybe an Easter basket?

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The tote features a structural exterior made of acetate pearlescent slats and a drawstring pouch interior. Theres also a pink tassel involved. The website copy suggests that buyers match your lip color to the pretty pink rope handle and that the tote is one for Instagram, which makes sense since it looks as if it will fit approximately three things. Other bags in the Montunas line are comparably  eccentric. The Guaria tote, for example, looks a bit like a rectangular green spice rack attached to a silk scarf and is inspired by hanging pots and planters. The Lirio bag is similar in structure to the Trellis Lirio, except without the slats, which somehow makes it look even more like a bathroom trash can, albeit one cast in resin. According to one of the founders of Montanaus, all of the acetate bags are inspired by their orchid house in the mountains of Costa Rica.

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The shapes are all based on orchid pots and vessels, and the names are native Costa Rican orchids. For us, nature is our biggest inspirationits not hard when youre from Costa Rica! The new Pearl collection fuses together the two important parts of nature there: the jungle and the sea.

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Yes, of course. Now that Ive read that, I definitely understand the raison detre for this little trashcan orchid pot bag. While the entire bag strikes me as nonsensical, what I will say is that the most confounding part is that the little interior linen pouch is apparently removable, which feels both like a security risk and a huge hassle. Whoever owns this purse is stuck holding it perfectly upright, lest their linen bag of three things tumble out onto the street. Or should you leave your home without the linen pouch, youre walking around with what is functionally a bucket with slats through which anyone can see what three things youve chosen to carry with you. Actually, now that I think about it, this might be the perfect bag for a concert venue where youre only allowed to bring in a transparent vessel.

Price: $435

Who would buy this thing? Cher Horowitz going Easter egg hunting
Rachel Held Evans, an influential progressive Christian writer and speaker who cheerfully challenged American evangelical culture, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans, 37, entered the hospital in mid-April with the flu, and then had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, as she wrote on Twitter several weeks ago. According to her husband, Dan Evans, she then developed sustained seizures. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma, but some seizures returned when her medical team attempted to wean her from the medications that were maintaining her coma. Her condition worsened on Thursday morning, and her medical team discovered severe swelling of her brain. She died early on Saturday morning.

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She put others before herself, her husband, Dan Evans, said in an email on Saturday. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

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Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism, first as a blogger and later as an author and sought-after speaker. She started her eponymous site more than a decade ago, and in her years of writing she confronted every controversial issue in American evangelical culture. She wrote about biblical literalism, racism, abortion, evolution, theology, marriage, patriarchy, women in leadership, and evangelical support for Donald Trump. She advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church and analyzed her own complicity in racial bias after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Washington Post once called her the most polarizing woman in evangelicalism.

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Evans political and cultural polemics attracted the most attention. But she also wrote passionately about her own evolving faith, her prayer life, her wrestling with doubt, and her love for the church. Anyone who has loved the Bible as much as I have, and who has lost it and found it again, knows how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend, she wrote in her most recent book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.

Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism.

Evans announced in 2014 that she was leaving evangelicalism, exhausted by wearing out my voice in calling for an end to evangelicalisms culture wars. She began attending an Episcopal church. But she remained widely read within evangelical circles and among Christians and others who had left evangelicalism but still felt connected to it in some way. Evans was famous enough among Christians that many referred to her online simply as RHE. When her friends and colleagues, the writers Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu, announced an online prayer vigil for her on April 19, the hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter.

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High-profile female writers and speakers in American evangelicalism have traditionally focused on spiritual questions and shied away from controversy and confrontation. But Evans often used her platform to challenge male pastors and leaders. Over the years, she sparred about theology, culture, and politics with prominent Christian men including Russell Moore, John Piper, Rod Dreher, and Mark Driscoll. (Many of them have expressed their prayers for her in recent weeks, after Evans shared the news of her illness.)

Evans reacted righteously to injustice wherever she saw it: She published a series on her blog about abuse in the church in 2013, years before many evangelical institutions began to seriously confront the problem. But her writing was also warm and funny. For her second book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, she spent a year following the Bibles instructions for women literally, gamely camping out in her yard in obedience to Levitical instructions for menstruating women. She put so much of herself into her books, her husband said. I tell people: If you want to know Rachel, read her work. She was the author of four books, and the co-founder of two major conferences aimed at progressive Christians, Why Christian and Evolving Faith.

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Evans was born in Alabama in 1981 and moved to Dayton, Tennessee, as a teenager. She graduated from Bryan College, a small Christian institution there named for William Jennings Bryan, who had prosecuted the Scopes monkey trial in Dayton in 1925. Evans was an enthusiastic and devout believer from the start, steeped in the American conservative evangelicalism of the 1980s and 90s; as a teenager, she was quoted in Christianity Today praising her high schools federally funded abstinence program. (As an adult, she became a vocal critic of shame-based purity culture.) She married her college boyfriend, Dan, and worked as a journalist and humor columnist before her first book was published in 2010. The couple has two young children: a 3-year-old boy and a girl who turns 1 later this month.

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Evans last blog post appeared online on March 6, Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. It is a day of repentance and solemnity that marks the beginning of Lent, which leads up to the joyful Easter celebration of resurrection. She wrote:

It strikes me today that the liturgy of Ash Wednesday teaches something that nearly everyone can agree on. Whether you are part of a church or not, whether you believe today or your doubt, whether you are a Christian or an atheist or an agnostic or a so-called none (whose faith experiences far transcend the limits of that label) you know this truth deep in your bones: Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. Death is a part of life. My prayer for you this season is that you make time to celebrate that reality, and to grieve that reality, and that you will know you are not alone.

More on Rachel Held Evans

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: An Evangelical Blogger Follows the Bibles Instructions for Women

An Evangelical Writer Spent a Year Living Biblically. Now a Major Christian Bookseller Wont Carry Her Book.

With the Religious Right in Turmoil Over Trump, Can Democrats Become the Party of God?
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

When I moved to Europe I was 29 and my skin-care routine consisted of a nightly face wash, a slap of Differin, and some moisturizer. No 12 steps (11 of them Korean) and no bathroom vanity spilling over with tubes and bottles. My skin was easy and needed very little. But life changes: I became a bicycle-loving expat. I met the love of my life in Berlin, on an app. Also, my forehead exploded, and I suddenly had problematic skin.

So for the first time ever, I went after my skin care. Under duress and budget constraints, it was an unscientific process. I picked up a bottle of micellar water at my local apotheke, going for Bioderma, the much-touted clear-skin fixer of every Parisian I knew. I swiped morning and night, and waited.

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Based on what showed up on the cotton pad, my face was obviously cleaner than in its pre-micellar state. It was not, however, any less red and angry, and it was still just as broken out. The Bioderma went under the bathroom sink, and I went down an oligosaccharide-filled rabbit hole of online reviews. Bioderma contains solvent and humectant propylene glycol which, to some people online, is contentious. Im not sure if that was the source of my problem, but I decided to look for an equally loved, more natural micellar.

Melvita Floral Bouquet Cleansing Micellar Water

Somewhere deep in the internet I found Melvitas Bouquet Floral Micellar Water. Made in France, the Bouquet Floral ticked all the boxes: It contains clearing, soothing, and dependable witch hazel and rose water, and none of the preservatives or fragrances that can be found in plenty of other micellars.

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With the Bouquet Floral, my skin relaxed, and even brightened. The redness of unwisely savaged zits calmed down. After transferring a supply to a travel bottle and using it throughout the day against sweat and street dirt accumulated from biking, I noticed the micellar water was particularly effective as a preventive. I would never ditch my face wash for micellar-only cleansing, as some do, but its an essential part of my slightly-more-adult skin-care regimen, and I absolutely credit the Melvita for my skins willingness to finally relax and enjoy life in a new city.

More skin savers

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

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As stated, Bioderma didnt work for Susannah. But finding a skin-care routine is always a matter of trial and error, and plenty of people swear by Bioderma  like our own Rio Viera-Newton, who once said, since Ive incorporated this Bioderma micellar into my routine (pre-cleanser), my skin has felt even more supple and rejuvenated.

Cosrx Whitehead Power Liquid

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Another Rio favorite, this time from Korea: this Cosrx liquid works wonders on breakouts.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the country, the company announced Friday.

The company, Caliburn International, owns Comprehensive Health Services Inc., which operates a massive shelter in Homestead, Floridaa facility congressional Democrats have described as keeping children in prison-like conditions.

It seems that Kelly, as a former White House official, would not be prevented from sitting on the companys board under current White House ethics rules, but he is still not allowed to try to influence government policies in a way that would benefit the company, according to the Associated Press. Democrats have expressed outrage over what they have deemed the corruption and callousness of a former administration official joining a company that participated in the separation of thousands of families at the border during the administrations zero-tolerance policy in the spring of 2018.

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This is unforgivable, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district containing the facility, tweeted. It confirms what we knew about the Presidentthat he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.

Sen. Cory Booker echoed that sentiment on Twitter: Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting.

Kelly, who left the Trump administration in January, had already been on the board of advisors of the investment firm that now owns Caliburn before joining the White House. Kelly stepped down from the board in January 2017 when he joined the administration. The company was awarded at least $222 million to operate the Florida facility between July 2018 and April 2019, according to CBS News.

The Homestead facility, which is continuing to expand, still holds thousands of migrant children, most of whom arrived at the border without a parent or guardian. During the zero-tolerance period, the shelter held up to 140 children separated from their families, according to the AP.

Comprehensive Health Services has won licenses to operate three shelters in Texas for migrant children along with the one in Florida. According to CBS News, the Florida shelter is the only one in the country not subject to routine inspections from child welfare experts.
North Korea fired several short-term projectiles into the sea Saturday, in what could be the countrys first missile test since 2017 and a possible warning to the U.S. after the two countries denuclearization talks stalled.

While its not clear what the projectiles are, the South Korean military, which reported the test and originally identified the projectiles as short-term missiles before revising its statement, has used the term before for missiles before they can be identified. There is no evidence that the test Saturday involved a nuclear explosion and it appears not to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the New York Times.

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The projectiles were fired from the east coast of the peninsula and launched 45 to 125 miles. The launches will not have violated the moratorium the country declared in November 2017 on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile tests, according to the Washington Post. That moratorium was intended to help clear the path for negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea.

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In April, North Korea tested a new weapon, which it called a tactical guided weapon, and which is thought to have been a more conventional weapon. That test appeared to be a warning to President Trump to continue the talks between the two nations, as in February a failed summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim Jong-un resulted only in frustration. In that summit, Kim demanded sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament and Trump refused to lift sanctions until North Korea gave up all of its nuclear weapons. The two did agree to remain in discussions, and both nations have said a third summit between the two leaders remained a possibility.

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Since then, it appears North Korea has only become more frustrated with sanctions and the hard line taken by the U.S, as well as with continued U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Last month, Kim said in a speech he was losing patience and that he would give the U.S. until the end of the year to come up with new terms.

According to the Post, South Koreas president said the Norths actions violated a September military cooperation agreement between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions. A spokeswoman for the president said the South would work with the U.S. to ramp up vigilance and closely communicate with neighboring countries as needed. According to the Times, the South Korean foreign minister said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in a conversation with her that the U.S. would respond with caution. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said he still believes he can reach a nuclear deal with Kim.
On Thursday, we found out what the sound of a defenestrated troll is like. That afternoon, Facebook banned Infowars, Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, and other inflammatory figures like far-right personalities Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos, white supremacist politician Paul Nehlen, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has long been criticized as holding anti-Semitic and homophobic views. These bans are reportedly permanent and extend to the fan pages and groups affiliated with their accounts.

The breakup wasnt clean. The news broke before Facebook had actually banned all of their accounts across its platforms. Loomer and Yiannopoulos were still able to post to Instagram for nearly an hour after the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, and the Verge published stories saying they were getting the boot. In that time, Loomer and Yiannopoulos used their accounts to tell their legions of followers where else to find them. On Facebook, Alex Jones was able to stream on Facebook Live for nearly two hours after the world learned that he was technically no longer welcome there. Facebook told Wired the reason for the time lag was that scrubbing these characters footprint was a bigger job than they anticipated.

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While Facebook briefed news organizations ahead of time over these actions, the company didnt specify how these accounts had violated the platforms policies. Instead, a spokesperson told multiple outlets that the company has always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology, which was a bit tough to swallow, considering these accounts have been spewing hate for yearsand many, many hateful accounts remain on the social network. (A quick search Friday on Facebook for the term jews oven unearthed a page called Jewsinoven?) The Facebook spokesperson continued, The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today. Facebook didnt share what rules specifically were violated or what the process was for reviewing its rules. Presumably, if Thursdays actions reflect a new approach that Facebook is now takingor at least a new sense of urgencythen far more than seven accounts would have been banned.

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Still: At the end of the day, a bunch of high-profile bigots had been stripped of a major platform. It shouldve resonated as a victory against the fringe figures who have benefited from the distortionary effects of social media, where ranking algorithms tend to benefit divisive, emotional content. So why did this latest act of content moderation instead feel underwhelming?

The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists.

Deplatforming certainly does help to reduce the spread of hate. Since Alex Jones lost his main Facebook and YouTube pages in August, traffic to Infowars has plummeted. Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right provocateur who was banned from Twitter for directing racist harassment at the actress Leslie Jones, can no longer receive financial backing from his fan base via Venmo or PayPal and is reportedly in severe debt. (Those services banned him last year after he sent $14.88, a number that symbolizes a salute to Hitler in neo-Nazi communities, to a Jewish journalist.) But, particularly in Facebooks case, deplatforming also has to align with a set of clearly articulated policies so that it isnt read as a tyrannical act of corporate censorship that will further inflame accusations of bias. In this case, Facebook created a news story in much the way it might if it had announced a new product, but it didnt actually say why specifically the accounts were removed. What should have been a by-the-book punitive act became a spectacleand probably one that Alex Jones and the like will try to spin to their advantage. Facebook has the power to punish wrongdoers, as it did on Thursday. But we dont know its full rationale for doing so, nor do we know who will be next.

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The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists. For years, black users on Facebook have been forced to navigate the platforms mercurial enforcement of its speech policies. Its become so routine for black activists to get suspended when they complain about racism that its become common practice in activist communities to create backup accounts and use slang like wypipo to dodge the companys content moderation algorithm. Complaining about racism isnt hate speech. But Facebook appears to have done less hand-wringing when moderating content from this community than it has with content that is anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, or racist, or that promotes dangerous conspiracy theories that have led to violence. While figures like Alex Jones might attract the attention of higher-up Facebook executives, most people are moderated by a mix of algorithm and low-level contract workersand are subject to a broad brush with little room for appeal.

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I emailed Facebook to ask specifically which rules were violated, what the process was for reviewing the rules, and if this means more accounts, presumably of lesser-known users, would be banned for engaging in hateful rhetoric soon, too. I have yet to hear back. But unless this move is part of an overall cleanup effort in which the company includes its rationale for taking action and promises to do so consistently into the future, dont expect Facebook to become free of bigotry anytime soon. Removing hate will always be a game of whack-a-mole. Its good to ban high-profile bigots. Its also critically important to explain in clear terms what policy was violated, how many violations were tabulated, and what they did to violate the policyeither shared with the account holder or with the public. Simply saying the company always does this isnt sensical or sufficient.

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What might be more bothersome, however, is that Facebook risks unleashing a whole other breed of hate and disinformation across its networkone that a high-profile act of deplatforming doesnt address.

Earlier this week, Facebook shared that it is redesigning its platform to promote the use of private groups for sharing Facebook posts, which would reduce the prominence of the more open news feed. Moving people into private rooms will certainly make it a lot easier for Facebook to continue its haphazard style of governance. Its a lot easier to promote and share bigotry in a closed group of racists than it is to do so on a public pageand for that bigotry to spread widely without anyone noticing, as it did on WhatsApp during the Brazilian elections last year. And its a lot harder for users who are trying to fight hate to report it. I expect the people who lost their accounts on Thursday to start new ones soon, or worse, commandeer an account or group with a large following from an ally. Sure, they probably wont have the reach they did before, but hate is insidious. Policies against racism dont eradicate racism. Unless Facebook applies its rules consistently and transparently, people with an agenda will find a way to come crawling back to find their fans. And if theyre in big private groups, where only their fellow sexists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, homophobes, and racists are allowed in, they may well find a hideout there too.
Imagine this: Scientists have just detected an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. According to their calculations, the damage would be catastrophic, and we dont have long to prepare. Experts determine that the best plan of action would be to launch armed spacecraft, perhaps with nukes, to rendezvous with the asteroid.

Though this sounds suspiciously like the plot of Armageddon, its also the plot of the sixth International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference. Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the European Space Agency, the U.N., and other international space experts have gathered in College Park, Maryland, this week to do a cosmic fire drill. The premise of this role-play universe begins with an imaginary asteroid called 2019 PDC, which has a 1 in 100 chance of striking Earth in 2027. According to NASA, those odds were selected for this drill because experts worldwide generally agree that thats the threshold for when we should take collective action.

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Sure, it seems far-fetched, but its only a matter of time until were faced with a serious asteroid threat. This year has already seen three close asteroid flybys, between 73,500 and 274,000 miles away from us, but none close enough to sound the alarm. (For reference, the distance between Earth and the moon is 238,900 miles.) Small asteroids pass within 4 million miles of Earth all the time. Earth has definitely seen some giant impacts before, but it seems in our best interest to be ready next time around. (As this amazing shirt from the European Space Agency says: Dinosaurs didnt have a space agency.) So, the logic goes, practice makes perfect.

The conference looked like any otherexperts giving presentations in a nondescript meeting hallbut instead of covering new advances in the field, the talks gave a broad outline of the hypothetical impact scenario and discussed the questions and decisions that would stem from it. The scenario is wrapped around an excellent and compelling storyline. Though every tweet from organizers and attendees, as well as the PowerPoint slides, included the word EXERCISE in bold letters, I found myself getting drawn into the role-play as I watched the conference livestream from home (and, apparently, so did some momentarily alarmed folks on Twitter, prompting one astronomy account to remind followers that the scenario was not real). Like a good sci-fi storyline, each day of the exercise advanced the story forward. While Day 1 took place in real time, Day 2 took place three months later, in July 2019, and then we jumped forward to Dec. 30, 2021, on Day 3, to 2024 in Day 4, and to 10 days before impact on Day 5.

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At first, efforts focused on quantifying the problem: Where might the asteroid strike, and with how much force? By Day 3, experts had calculated that 2019 PDC would land in the middle of Denver, completely incinerating the immediate area (one scientist used the phrase molten buildings to describe the damage) and casting shock waves hundreds of miles out. Windows are breaking from Pueblo to Laramie, said physicist Mark Boslough to set the scene at his end-of-day briefing about the asteroids physical effects.

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A great deal of discussion has focused on how best to deflect the asteroids path. Some suggested deploying kinetic impactors, launched to collide with the asteroid and knock it into a different path, as well as launching nuclear weapons. The problem is that scientists arent yet sure exactly how each method would move the asteroid because theyre not sure of the asteroids mass, which, as you may guess, matters a lot when it comes to physics. The logistics of this exercise assume that humankind will send a probe up to study the asteroid more closely, but given the lag in how long it takes for spacecraft to reach the asteroid, scientists will need to make a decision about their deflection method before the probe sends back additional data.

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In imaginary 2024, the experts decide to send up a series of kinetic impactors, which successfully move the asteroid out of Earths path, but the force of the impacts also causes a chunk of the asteroid to break offand the simulation has it hitting Earth in April 2029. Luckily, the fake piece is small, by celestial standards: Its estimated at 60 meters. While it will likely become smaller or even vaporize while entering our atmosphere, it still has the power to inflict damage; for instance, the Tunguska meteor in 1908 was thought to be around the same size, and while it didnt leave a crater, it flattened hundreds of miles of Arctic forest. On Day 5, it was revealed that 2019 PDC would hit Manhattan in 10 days, an incident worse than Tunguska. Experts drew up models of the damage and began planning for evacuations.

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Unsurprisingly, much of the drill focused on decision-making and mission logistics. How do we learn as much as we can about this asteroid, and what do we do to minimize its damage? But a full-scale rehearsal like this also brings more practical considerations to the forefront, and attendees questions and experts analyses highlight the very real concerns people might have should a scenario like this arise in real life.

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One attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S.

At the end of Day 3, for instance, one attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S., even for a thought exercise, saying, I might be biased since were all on the East Coast here, but   This person went on to ask: Had we considered possibly sending spacecraft up just to nudge the asteroid slightly away from any major population center, instead of nudging it out of Earths orbit? The speaker, NASAs Brent Barbee, politely shot him down. I would characterize that as a last resort. Our primary goal would be to move the asteroid off of Earth, he said. The moderator of the Q&A also jumped in to add that the impactors targeting wouldnt be precise enough to ensure the exact amount the asteroid would be moved. But still, this questioner is probably not alone. The people who would be tasked with huge decisions like this are more likely to live in certain cities, and, as well-intentioned as they may be, that could color decisions.

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But its also not clear who, ultimately, will get to make those calls. Attendees brought up questions about the possibilities of different countries getting in each others way when it comes to launching spacecraft meant to work together, like if three different space agencies each contributed kinetic impactors to a global mission. With a mission of this scope, youd need strong coordination, said discussion moderator Paul Chodas, of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With procedures and protocols, we could achieve the coordination necessary, but it would be essential to coordinate very closely.

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In theory, there would be an international team that coordinates important intergalactic decisions, like how to launch defense against the asteroid or, if nuclear weapons are used, who actually initiates the detonation. (Hopefully, this coordination is better than that of the crew in Armageddon, when Bruce Willis pushes young Ben Affleck out of the way at the last moment.) We dont have those procedures in place right now, but were developing them, Chodas said.

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Figuring that out appears to be outside the purview of this conference, but it seems like a piece of the puzzle law and politics experts should figure out long before were faced with an actual asteroid threat. And one hopes that any team meant to represent the interests of all humans on Earth includes delegates from countries that dont have their own space programs but can contribute in other ways, like drawing up policies and offering technical expertise. Currently, the International Asteroid Warning Network is the go-to group for finding and monitoring near-Earth objects and coordinating international resources, and while there are a good number of institutions from space-faring countries represented, its definitely biased toward wealthier powers.

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This thought experiment also demonstrates how important it will be to bring in experts outside of physics and astronomy. In several summaries, experts have mentioned the consequences of a huge asteroid event on plane or train travel and internet access, as well as the possible destabilization of the economy as property values in potential strike areas plummet. Others have pointed out that areas outside the immediate strike zones will likely be ravaged by wildfires caused by the impact. There are real costs to culture, as well. One researcher noted that when 2019 PDC incinerates Manhattan, museums like the Met would need to move their collections elsewhere as quickly as possible.

My favorite question came from an attendee who has clearly seen his share of action movies: How big would [the asteroid] need to be to pop the cork on Yellowstone? The scientists onstage didnt seem to immediately understand his question, so the attendee went on to explain that an impact could destabilize the Wyoming supervolcano. We have not considered volcanic impacts, replied one of the scientists. Well, the attendee said, maybe its something to take a look at.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Foreign investments quite beneficial in stabilising national economy: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Friday, announced federal government plans for strategies to alleviate the creation of business and investment opportunities.



He was addressing the Investment Conference in Islamabad when he said that foreign investments would be quite beneficial in stabilising the national economy as well as creating employment and remittances. There is a need to promote investment and trade, he added. FM Qureshi believed it was high time for entrepreneurs to take advantage of lucrative business opportunities in the country.



The minister talked at length about various sectors, which would be enhanced to improve the economy by facilitating foreign investors and businesspersons. Minister Qureshi assured the exchange of modern technology would be made possible on easy terms.



He maintained the tourism sector would also play an important role in economic betterment. However, the developing countries were said to definitely need the cooperation of the developed nations to meet their targets. Qureshi said for the first time government was pursuing economic diplomacy for socio-economic development of the country.





Saudi Arabia was said to have committed $20 billion investment in Pakistan while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were also eyeing investments in various sectors.



He noted, Saudi Aramco wants to establish an oil refinery in Gwadar, moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister had expressed his interest in various sectors in Pakistan during his visit. ExxonMobil Company has returned to Pakistan and has been engaged in the exploration of energy resources, he continued.



Qureshi also talked about the major steps taken to promote tourism. He asserted, Pakistan is providing E-Visa facility to tourists besides provision of other facilities.



The foreign minister reiterated that Islamabad desired longstanding peace in Afghanistan and was also playing its due part in the peace process.



Pakistan played a role for peace, and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, took peace overtures towards India, including opening Kartarpur corridor and reinvigorated relations with China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia and Iran, he added.





He further asserted, We are moving in the right direction following the vision of Prime Minister [Imran Khan]. The Foreign Ministry is also taking steps for amelioration of economy on diplomatic fronts. he continued.
This week's 'Rewind' is the regular monthly edition of Years Ago, this time devoted to events, personalities and memories from the decade of the 1970's. This offering is a bit different than usual in that all of the pictures and accounts are from the same location.

For many years, horsepeople from numerous geographical areas in Canada raced at Wolverine Raceway located on the outskirts of Detroit. Thanks to the work of archivist and photo collector Don Daniels, viewers are able to see some good quality photos from the Abahazy collection that Don has painstakingly restored. It is interesting to note that in each photo a rather large crowd is visible as a background.

1970 - Springfield Wins Matron Stake at Wolverine

The connections of Springfield gather in the winner's circle at Wolverine following a victory (shown in photo above) by the Dr. George Boyce-owned two-year-old son of Shadow Wave. He and Mrs. Boyce are at the far right end of the picture receiving the trophy. (Abahazy photos)

Two races after Springfield's win came the second division of that year's Matron Stake and it was won by the amazing Albatross, then driven by Harry Harvey. That year saw the great son of Meadow Skipper win a total of 14 races in 17 starts good enough for $183,540 taking a two-year-old mark of 1:57.4. Numbers not seen too often back then or since for that matter.

1971 - Ontario-Owned Merrywood King Scores in 2:02.3

Merrywood King is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver and trainer Don Larkin with his distinctive polka dot silks. (Abahazy photos)

For many years Don Larkin was the private trainer and driver for the Merrywood Stable of Grand Bend, Ont., owned by Eric McIlroy. Their farm and training centre was located close to this once-popular summer resort town located on the shores of Lake Huron. At one time Mr. McIlroy operated a popular dance hall dating back to the 1930's. The Merrywood name for their horses became popular and many of the farm breds were successful across Ontario and Michigan. When the O.S.S. started in 1974 Merrywood Sara was the fastest performer during that entire season.

1974 - McIntosh Brothers Winning At Wolverine

By the 1970's the brothers McIntosh -- Doug as driver and Bob as trainer -- were making their mark. Both were introduced to the sport through their father Jack McIntosh who bred and raised a number of notable performers at his Wheatley, Ont. farm. In the 1950's, accompanied by the noted veterinarian Dr. Lloyd McKibbin, the senior McIntosh purchased a filly named Success Barbara at a U.S. sale. After racing her at many local one-day meets and at Old Woodbine she was retired and began her career as a broodmare. Among her better offspring was Baroness Barbara, shown in the photo below.

Baroness Barbara, owned by Leo Thibodeau of Windsor, Ont., is shown in the Wolverine winner's enclosure following a win in 1974. On the left is Bob McIntosh with brother Douglas John on the far right. Mr. Thibodeau, long associated with the transport industry as part-owner of Thibodeau - Finch, owned a lot of good horses over the years. In later years Mark Austin trained a number of his horses. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Ray Remmen Campaigns At Wolverine

Western-born horseman Ray Remmen of Hanley, Sask., made his way eastward in the late 1960's. His journey, which eventually led him to become a star at the Meadowlands in New Jersey when it opened in 1976, included stops at Windsor Raceway and many trips across the border to Wolverine. Always in demand as a catch driver in addition to his own trainees, Ray made numerous visits to the Wolverine winner's circle. A couple are shown below.

Ray Remmen reaches the wire a winner behind the pacer Goyo, owned by Eric and Harry Whebby of Dartmouth N.S., in 2:00.3 to defeat Master Command (Boring) in a conditioned event for $3,400. The betting public must have had others to wager on as this winner paid $37.00, $10.60 and $5.00 across the board. The roan son of Canadian Dares out of Betts Folly was a six-year-old at the time. (Abahazy photos)

Jewell Mir, co-owned by trainer and driver Ray Remmen and Wilbur Thompson of Weyburn, Sask., is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver Remmen after a 2:01 score which was a pretty good mile for April. The six-year-old son of Buxton Hanover had been a member of the Miron Farms contingent in previous years racing for Marcel Dostie. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Quebec Stable Successful at Wolverine

Even a few horsemen from Quebec made the long trip to Wolverine and showed their expertise. Yvon Demers of Angers, P.Q. was one of those who campaigned here during the 1976 season. His own Chief Hielo was also among the top performers in his stable.

Yvon Demers had his trainee Keystone Sheldon, a four-year-old son of Bye Bye Byrd in top form as he took a new lifetime mark of 2:02.3 on April 13th. This horse was owned by Thaddee Matte of Papineauville, Quebec and won a total of eight races that season. As shown, the winner received a nice Wolverine Raceway cooler to mark this victory. (Abahazy photos)

Note: There are a number of unidentified individuals in the above pictures. If anyone in the reading audience can readily identify these people please feel free to do so.

Who Is It?

Can you identify this driver appearing during the 1978 season at Wolverine? The correct answer will be given during the upcoming week. (Abahazy photos)
Do you eat, sleep and breathe harness racing? Do you have exceptional customer service skills? If this sounds like you and you feel like you have the potential to be an outstanding ambassador for Standardbred Canada, read on.

Standardbred Canadas Member & Stakeholder Relations Department is seeking a summer student/intern to assist with various member and customer service related activities. Knowledge of horse racing is an asset.

The position requires an energetic self-starter with strong interpersonal and computer skills, outstanding organizational and presentation skills, and experience in social media applications. This individual will have the ability to work independently while contributing to a team. The successful candidate will work out of SCs office in Mississauga, Ontario.

Some of the duties include:

Data entry & analysis

Report writing

Writing for website

Assisting with producing video content for web & social media

Assisting with SCs Member Value Program

Assisting with writing web stories for National Caretaker Appreciation Day

Assisting with industry research

Taking photographs at events, etc.

Administrative duties as required

Qualifications

Currently enrolled in a Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or Business Administration program

Detail oriented with outstanding time management skills

Customer Service training an asset

Knowledgeable about horse racing is an asset

Computer Skills Required

Excel/MS Office/Power Point

Experience with SurveyMonkey & DirectIQ

Experience with social media tools

Experience with Premiere Pro would be an asset

Applicants must be returning to a post secondary program in the fall of 2019. Access to a car would be an asset, and the applicant should be willing to work a few weekends if required.

Duration: 8-10 weeks (start date of mid-June)

Please submit applications via email no later than Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. to:

Member & Stakeholder Relations - Kathy Wade Vlaar

Standardbred Canada

2150 Meadowvale Blvd.

Mississauga, ON L5N 6R6

email [email protected]

We thank all those who apply, but only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.
These men  some of these old Jewish men  are a special breed  from a special time and place.

I mean, all the expectation today leaves little for a kid to dream about. You are supposed to go to college. Then maybe law school or medical school. Family and responsibilities then start to add up. A decade or two goes by and you wonder where it all went.

But these guys.

These guys peak the imagination, if only in a villainous way.

Because what boy wants to work 8-5 and take orders?

A reflection of a road not taken. A tough guy, indeed.

Around each other, these men have a kind of ease that makes you want to confide things. The ease of old friends. Late nights. Stories by now more fiction than fact. Stories set on the stoops and corners of Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Brownsville, in a time when Jewish gangsters, that lost romantic breed, still roamed the streets, when Italians had no monopoly on hooliganism, when a Jewish boy could still fashion his future as murderous and daring and wide open, a future shot full of holes. Alleys. Blue smoky rooms. Basements. The ominous echo of footsteps. Leather shoulder holsters.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews
Texas Tech University

At Texas Tech, in Lubbock, students can pursue a PhD in Technical Communications and Rhetoric. A focus area in technical communication is available. Research methods is significant emphasis of the program. The degree can be completed on campus, or through an online program. To earn the degree, students will be required to complete 60 credit hours, a qualifying examination, and a dissertation comprised of original research. Students may choose a minor in a complementary subject area.

Texas Tech also offers an MA in Technical Communication. The program can be completed on-campus or online. Students will be required to complete 36 credit hours to earn the degree, and students must assemble a portfolio of their work. Students may complete an internship as a component of their degree. The Media Lab offers space to collaborate on the integration of new media literacy within technical communications.

Texas State University

Texas State University, in San Marcos, offers an MA in Technical Communication. The 30-credit program is offered on-campus with evening classes, or online. The department offers a user experience (UX) research lab, for students to see how readers or users would interact with a product they create. Scholarships or graduate assistantships may be available to assist with funding, and a travel fund supports students in attending professional conferences.

University of Houston

At the University of Houston, students can pursue an MS in Technical Communication. The program requires 33 credit hours of study. A capstone course requires the production of a portfolio containing five major projects. Concentrations are available in areas including Science and Medical Writing, Instructional Design, and Usability Research. Students can also pursue certificates in Plain English or Medical and Applied Health Communication.

University of Texas El Paso

At the University of Texas El Paso, those who are interested in technical writing can earn a graduate certificate in technical and professional writing. The program is offered online. It requires twelve credits to complete. Professionals working in any field who wish to improve their communication skills are encouraged to apply.

University of North Texas

Students can choose to pursue an MA in Professional and Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Students are required to specialize in a technical cognate field. Those pursuing the degree can choose a 36-credit hour program with a written exam; or a 30-hour program with a thesis. A graduate certificate in teaching technical writing is also available.
Are you hoping to have a fun and educational Fourth of July celebration with your family this year? This blog post offers interesting July Fourth facts you can share with your kids.

Fourth of July: Keys to Celebrating

The Fourth of July is a fun, family-friendly holiday. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the warm weather, delicious cookouts, and exciting fireworks. But it's also a holiday that marks a key moment in American history, which is important to remember during your celebration. To make the holiday more educational, we recommend you share these seven fun facts with your children.

Fact 1: The vote to declare independence from Great Britain was almost unanimous.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted on the decision to declare the colonies' independence. Almost every representative voted ''yes,'' except for the delegation from New York, who were awaiting authorization from their home state.

Fact 2: The Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed on July Fourth.

Rather, it was signed almost a month later, on August 2nd. July Fourth is actually the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. The later signing date was partly due to the delay in getting the New York State delegation's approval. Additionally, it took two weeks for the document to be written on parchment.

Fact 3: The Fourth of July was first celebrated as a holiday in 1777.

That was the year colonists began celebrating July Fourth as their day of independence. Their celebrations usually included reading the Declaration of Independence, enjoying bonfires, firing cannons, and watching parades and concerts. They even celebrated July Fourth throughout the Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783.

Fact 4: Congress made the Fourth of July an official federal holiday in 1870.

In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress voted to make July Fourth a paid holiday. What a great way to encourage people to celebrate the United States' independence every year!

Fact 5: Fireworks were invented in China between 600 and 900 A.D.

Between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese scientists were experimenting with mixing different substances when they accidentally created gunpowder, an explosive mix of charcoal, sulfur, and other substances. Then they filled bamboo shoots with the powder and threw them into a fire, creating the world's first firecracker. The Chinese later went on to use paper tubes to create firecrackers that were used in celebrations and battles.

Fact 6: The fireworks first used to celebrate the Fourth of July only came in orange and white.

Buried within the gunpowder used in fireworks are pellets of substances, like strontium, calcium, iron, and sodium, that produce bright sparks of different colors when lit. The colorful fireworks displays you see on the Fourth of July today are due to these materials. However, in 1784, not long after the first Independence Day celebrations, these combinations had yet to be developed. So the fireworks used in colonial celebrations only came in orange and white.

Fact 7: The 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old boy.

The American flag has evolved throughout the years, as the number of states in the union has changed. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th American state, and the flag needed to be updated again. A contest was held to find a new design, and a 17-year-old boy was named the winner. His flag design is still the one we use to this day.

For more engaging, educational lessons you can share with your child, check out Study.com's library of over 70,000 lessons for all ages.
In the fall of 2018, a fundraiser was held at all 14 Fibre Federal Credit Union locations to raise money for Doernbechers Childrens Hospital.

Titled Doernbecher Days, offered at the branches to members for small donations were Childrens Miracle Network balloon signs and Credit Unions for Kids piggy banks.

In addition, several independent staff-driven fundraisers were held including raffles and sales of snacks.

Over the seven-week fundraiser, FFCU staffers raised $32,751.52 for the hospital. The money was combined with a $20,000 donation from early 2018 staff fundraisers to donate $52,751.52 to the hospital for the 2018 year.

This year, on April 11, the top fundraising credit union employees visited the hospital to present the donation check and to meet with a doctor to discuss plans for the hospitals growth. The group toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and saw firsthand how premature infants are cared for at the hospital.

According to a press release from FFCU, Northwest credit unions have for decades supported Doernbecher through Credit Unions for Kids, a collective effort with the Childrens Miracle Network.

The Gary and Christine Rood Family Pavilion, the newest addition at Oregon Health Science University, will house patients families from distant locations. One of the floors in the pavilion will be named after Credit Unions for Kids to honor the organizations commitment.

Fibre Federal Credit Union will continue to raise money for Doernbechers.

The credit unions president and chief executive officer, Christopher Bradberry said in the press release that the credit union is passionate about supporting Doernbecher because we see the miracles they achieve every day.

He noted all children should have access to caring and comprehensive medical treatment, even if their families cannot afford to pay for it.

Every fundraising dollar for Doernbecher supports those children and helps give them a better chance at growing into healthy and vital adults.

What better way to support our communities than to help children have a better future?

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India made several efforts to politicise proceedings at FATF: FO

Islamabad on Friday expressed deep concern over Indian finance ministers statement about New Delhis intention to have Pakistan downgraded on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list.



The Indian ministers statement re-confirms Pakistans longstanding concerns that this technical forum is being politicised by India against Pakistan, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.



The Foreign Office said that India has made several efforts in the past as well to politicise the proceedings at FATF. Prior to the FATF plenary meeting in February 2019, India circulated its own assessment of Pakistans progress and solicited immediate support for blacklisting Pakistan. On several previous occasions, calculated leaks were made to the Indian media about the proceedings of FATF, which were otherwise strictly confidential, the Foreign Office said. These instances of politicisation by India have been brought to the attention of the FATF president by the finance minister of Pakistan, it added.



Indias attempts to politicise the proceedings in FATF against Pakistan call into question its credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group, that reviews the progress made by Pakistan to implement the FATF action plan, the statement observed. Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the FATF action plan. This commitment has been made at the highest political level, it continued. However, FATF must ensure that the process remains fair, unbiased and firmly grounded in the technical criteria of the forum, it demanded.
There are fewer minority employees than statistically expected at Kelso schools, but the district is working toward adding diversity to its workforce within the next five years, according to an affirmative action report.

The federal government requires any employer that receives federal funding to complete an affirmative action plan. These plans show what the current minority representation is in the workforce, compare it to the statistically expected percentage of employees and outline how the business can make sure minorities are fairly represented in their workforce.

An analysis of the 2017-18 school year staff showed that were are no administrators or supervisors from minority backgrounds working in the Kelso district at that time. Kelso would need three minority administrators and one minority supervisor to meet its statistical expectations, according to the report.

As for teachers and support staff, Kelso has about 19 and 17 minority staff members, respectively. Thats compared to the expected rate of 32 teachers and 49 support staff.

The report says one reason for the disparity in Kelso is that the percent of minorities in teacher and education staff associate training programs has not kept up with demand. Certificated training programs with higher concentrations of minority students are outside Washington state.

To balance out minority representation, the Kelso School District plans to advertise jobs in minority-focused media, attend a variety of job fairs and post jobs with colleges, universities and professional organizations that traditionally have diverse populations, among other strategies listed in its affirmative action plan.

The district will also continue its equal opportunity hiring practices, which base screening criteria on job qualifications and create a bias-free selection process with a diverse hiring committee, among other practices.

The school board will review the complete affirmative action report and plan at its meeting Monday night.

Also Monday the board will:

Vote on an architect/engineer for the districts capital bond projects that will not receive any state match money. District officials are recommending the board select Collins Architectural Group of Longview.

Vote to accept a bid for soil stabilization work at the Wallace and Lexington elementary school build sites. Additional information about the bids was not included in the board agenda packet.

Vote on a boiler project at Kelso High School. Additional information about the project was not included in the board agenda packet.

Set its 2019-20 meeting schedule.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Administrative Offices on Crawford Street.

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State lawmakers revision of Washingtons sales tax exemption rules has many Cowlitz County retailers worried that their Oregon customers will stop crossing the Columbia River to shop here.

The bill, which legislators approved last weekend, eliminates the sales tax exemption at checkout for residents from tax-free states and countries, including Oregon and British Columbia. Instead, these customers would need to apply for a reimbursement for paid Washington state taxes through the state Department of Revenue, starting January 2020. Only one application will be allowed per calendar year.

Under the new system, which takes effect in July, eligible shoppers must save sales receipts to submit together, complete special reimbursement paperwork and wait to get their refunds. Its a process that used to be paperless and took just seconds and the flick of a ID at checkout stands.

Im 86-years-old. Im not interested in messing with the little details, said Jack Crosby, a long-time Rainier resident.

Crosby was shopping at Rainiers Grocery Outlet Friday afternoon, but he said he also does a lot of my shopping in Longview because there are some items that he cant buy locally.

Its available there, but its not available here, he said. But now hell be more likely to drive to Portland for those items to avoid the extra paperwork, he said.

While the new law does not affect vehicle sales, it will apply to most other tangible goods, such as furniture, appliances and electronics. And all customers will be charged sales tax on vehicle parts, too.

Right now they dont pay sales tax on the parts, but they do pay sales tax on the labor. Now they will have to pay sales tax on the parts, as well, said Pat Sari, president of Columbia Ford in Longview. Those are things that could hurt our economy quite a bit. Those customers in Oregon will have to decide if they want to go all the way to Portland  if they want to buy furniture or have work done on their cars.

Sari said he hopes the level of quality and the convenience of close-to-home car service options will convince Columbia Fords Oregon customers to continue shopping at his dealership.

If a car breaks down and they need it repaired, it might not be practical to get it to Oregon.  Hopefully they will keep all the benefits they had, and they just have to fill out the (reimbursement) paperwork, Sari said.

After several failed attempts in the last five years to alter or eliminate the sales tax exemption, the Legislature finally succeeded in pushing the bill through. It passed with close votes in both chambers: 55-43 in the House and 25-22 in the Senate.

The six local lawmakers who represent Cowlitz and Lewis counties voted no on the measure. One of the no votes came from Sen. Dean Takko, a Longview Democrat.

For a lot of people that dont live in a border districts, its an easy vote.  I dont think they really realize its impact on retail in the border counties, particularly in Clark and Cowlitz counties, Takko said. People in Rainier and Clatskanie, they dont have the variety and options in those communities across the river like they do in Longview. They come across here.

This particular bill was drafted as a strategy to increase state revenues. It banks on the hope that Oregon buyers arent going to save their receipts and turn them in once a year for the sales tax rebate, Takko said.

If every one of those residents saved all their receipts and submitted them, then there would be  zero income for the state, he said.

The state anticipates the new law will generate nearly $54 million in fiscal years 2019-21. That estimate is based on several assumptions, including a loss of sales to non-residents and a tax rebate submission rate of only about 21 percent of Oregonians and 11 percent of residents from other tax-free places.

Takko said the bill will negatively affect retail sales in border areas such as Cowlitz County. He said it is likely to deter Oregon buyers from coming across the bridge to shop.

Ranae McKee, owner of Sears Hometown in Longview, said about 40 to 50 percent of her customers come from Rainier, Clatskanie and other rural Oregon towns. She doubted whether those customers would really be willing to fill out the forms to get a tax rebate.

What Ive learned in the retail industry is that they want instant gratification, and thats applying to any kind of discount they can receive. How many people, when they look at rebate option so to speak, really submit that paperwork? McKee said.

Instead, those customers might decide to drive to whatever competitor they live closest to in Oregon because it is more convenient than having to save and submit receipts, she said.

Rainier resident Jewell Labelle said he agrees that the new reimbursmenet system will be a hassle for buyers.

Who is going to save their receipts? What a pain that would be, Labelle said.

Although it will be more inconvenient to drive the extra distance to shop in Oregon  as opposed to the short jaunt across the bridge to Longview  Labelle said hed be willing to make the drive to save money.

Theres always Clatskanie. Theres always St. Helens. And then theres always Portland, Labelle said.

McKee, the Sears owner, said she worries that the appeal of getting an immediate savings of hundreds of dollars in sales tax for appliance purchases will detract from her Longview store.

I think instead of the hassle of applying for rebates, I think they will choose to go somewhere in the Oregon state to avoid having to do that, McKee said. I am afraid it will lose business for us.

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Probation violation  Longview police Thursday arrested Mark Anthony Edmonds, 33, of Longview on suspicion of probation/parole violation, resisting arrest, obstructing a public servant and driving with a suspended license.

Possession of a stolen vehicle  Woodland police Thursday arrested Devon Lee Miller, 24, of Kelso on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Vehicle prowls

200 block of Shawnee Street, Kelso. Thursday. Subjects tried to break into a neighbors car.

200 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. A man and a woman seen going through a vehicle then leaving on foot.

Burglary

4000 block of Westside Highway, Castle Rock. Thursday. Black 2014 Yamaha stolen.

Stolen vehicle

500 block of Seventh Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. White 1995 Honda Civic. Washington BEJ4256. Tape over front lights. Back the Blue sticker on the trunk.

Theft

1100 block of Second Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Reports girlfriend has taken his vehicle, phone and other items.

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NEW YORK  Understanding Donald Trumps foreign policy is a challenge, since the president has written and spoken little on the subject for most of his life. So how to make sense of his worldview? Is there a Trump Doctrine?

Michael Anton, a former Trump national security official, believes there is, and he explains it in a new essay in Foreign Policy. The Trump Doctrine, Anton argues, is simple: Lets all put our own countries first, and be candid about it, and recognize that its nothing to be ashamed of. But, as Daniel Larison responds in the American Conservative, That isnt a doctrine. It is a banality. What country has not put its own interests first? What president has argued to give preference to global interests over American ones?

Anton outlines a certain kind of nationalist conservatism that does seem at the heart of Donald Trumps worldview. More important  since Trump is rarely consistent and could change his mind tomorrow  it reflects the views of the man closest to him on foreign policy, national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton has been variously described as a neoconservative, a paleoconservative and a conservative hawk. In fact, he is simply a conservative, in the oldest, most classical sense, someone who has a dark view of humankind. As a former U.S. official told the New Yorker, Bolton believes that Thomas Hobbes famous description of life without order applies precisely to international lifenasty, brutish and short.

Bolton believes that to protect itself and project its power, the United States must be aggressive, unilateral and militant. Bolton seems to share the worldview that animated Dick Cheney, who after 9/11 spoke openly about the need to work ... the dark side and to use any means at our disposal basically to achieve our objectives.

There are some in the foreign policy establishment who believe that a revanchist Russia poses a grave threat to America. Others worry about a rising China or an ideological Iran. For Bolton, its all of the above and more. He has at various points warned darkly about the mortal threat posed to the United States by Cuba, Libya, Syria and of course, Iraq. A longtime fan of regime change, he recently labeled Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a triangle of terror and said the U.S. looks forward to watching each corner of the triangle fall. It seems he wants them to fall not to usher in an era of democracy, but because they resist American power and influence. The Monroe Doctrine is alive and well, Bolton told the New Yorkers Dexter Filkins. Its our hemisphere.

This kind of conservatism believes that national interests are worth pursuing not because they are virtuous  about democracy and freedom  but because they are ours. This view originates in a cultural chauvinism and can easily morph into racism.

And sure enough, a senior State Department official, Kiron Skinner, this week explained that the challenge with confronting China is that it is a great power competitor that is not Caucasian. She noted: The Soviet Union and that competition, in a way it was a fight within the Western family.

Where to begin? The Cold War was an existential struggle because the Soviet Union believed it had a superior ideology of economics, politics and society that it would impose on the rest of the world. That is why it was called totalitarian. Chinas rise to power is the standard process by which a new powerhouse economy tries to find a space on the international stage. Chinas system, incidentally, is largely a mixture of two Western ideas, capitalism and communism  Adam Smith and Marx  which is why The New York Times Nicholas Kristof has aptly described it as Market-Leninism.

By Skinners logic we had more in common with Hitlers ideology than with the Chinese because the Nazis were Caucasian, which is both historically uninformed and morally grotesque.

The more practical problem with the Cheney-Bolton worldview is that it is profoundly inaccurate. The world is not nasty, brutish and short. Life has improved immeasurably over the last 100 years. Political violence  deaths from wars, civil wars and terrorism  has plummeted. And this has happened in large part because human beings also have the genes to cooperate, to compete peacefully and to weigh the costs of war against their benefits.

Bolton says that he might well invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine  which asserts that the U.S. can use force unilaterally anywhere in the Western hemisphere. If he does, what is the argument against Russia doing the same in Ukraine, China in the South China Sea, and Iran in Yemen? Without rules and norms, the U.S. would have to militarily thwart every such effort or else accept a world of war and anarchy. You see, nationalist assertiveness works as long as only you get to practice it.

Fareed Zakarias syndicated foreign affairs column appears each week in The Washington Post.

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Pak Army support Afghan peace process: COAS

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Friday reiterated its support for Afghan peace process and vowed to continue working for sustainable peace in the country.



The support for Afghan peace process was reaffirmed as the latest round of talks between the United States and Taliban in Qatar ran into a fresh stalemate due to the latters refusal to accept the American demand for a ceasefire. The US has made it clear that a peace deal would require simultaneous agreement on troops withdrawal, counterterrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.



Forum reiterated to continue its efforts for bringing enduring peace in the country while supporting all initiatives towards regional peace, ISPR said in a statement on the corps commanders conference held at the GHQ, which was chaired by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.



Pakistan facilitated the talks between the US and Taliban and more lately Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged neutrality in Afghan conflict. Pakistan will not be party to any internal conflict in Afghanistan anymore, Mr Khan said in a policy statement on Afghan peace last week in which he denounced violence by both sides of the conflict. The prime ministers statement was welcomed by the US government.



However, such categorical statements from Islamabad too have failed to push the peace process forward with the Taliban first refusing to talk to the Afghan government, then last month cancelling a meeting with Afghan representatives in Doha, and now refusing to observe a ceasefire. The Taliban, it should be recalled, had on the occasion of Eidul Fitr last year observed an unprecedented ceasefire raising hopes for peace. In a related development the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan ended on Friday with demands for peace and ceasefire.



The commanders meeting, which is a monthly feature, discusses internal and external security situation and professional matters of the Army. Forum reviewed evolving geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country including progress of operation Raddul Fasaad, ISPR said.



Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had at a press briefing earlier this week said that Operation Raddul Fasaad (RuF) was progressing satisfactorily. Sharing statistics, he said 47 major operations and 100,000 intelligence-based operations had been undertaken, which resulted in the recovery of over 64,000 weapons and 5.1 million units of ammunition.



A major success under RuF has been the border fencing. A total of 1,000kms of border has so far been fenced decreasing chances for unauthorised border crossing. Additionally, the security of the border with Afghanistan has been buttressed by construction of 300 border forts. A total of 843 forts are planned to be constructed.
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.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
What was formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale has expanded its mission, and changed its name to match.

After 15 years in operation, the organization will now be known as the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois, according to a Friday news release from the group.

The release states the name change is to reflect its expanded goal of serving more children and teens around the region.

The club also launched a fundraising goal on Friday; they are trying to raise $15,000 by June 30.

For more information, visit bgcsi.org.

 The Southern

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Les Winkeler Sports editor Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Follow Les Winkeler Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

You have to see it to believe it.

Nearly one-fifth of Alexander County has been inundated by Mississippi River floodwaters since mid-February. Yet, little is said about the chronic flooding because relatively few people are affected. No industries or serious infrastructure are threatened by the flood.

Many of the homeowners in the area sold their homes following the 2016 New Years Flood caused by a massive breach of the Len Small Levee. While water currently covers about 30,000 acres, most of the acreage is farmland located south of Olive Branch.

There are a few homeowners living on small islands throughout the region. They use boats to get to and from their land. But, little or nothing is being done to assist them.

Fact is, at the current time, it appears little can be done.

Prior to the levee breach, the Mississippi River had to top 48.5 feet at Cape Girardeau to put the land in danger. With the three-quarter mile gap in the levee, water begins pouring through the breach at about 33 feet.

In recent years, thats a pretty good bet to happen at least once or twice a year.

As tempting as it is to blame politicians and government agencies for the inaction, thats not really fair. As Jeff Denny, county engineer in Alexander County explained, levee repairs can only be made when the river is low for an extended period of time.

That hasnt happened recently. As noted earlier, much of the county has been underwater since mid-February. With the drenching rains that struck the Midwest this weekend, those waters arent likely to recede anytime in the near future.

Once upon a time plans were on the table to repair the levee breech, but that was three or four floods ago.

The roiling floodwaters have expanded their damage since then, scouring more dirt away from the levee.

And, the floodwaters have become more insidious since the levee gave way in 2016.

These arent passive backups from water topping a levee. The water now is forced through the breach with a vengeance, powerful enough to carry away homes and pull pavement off roadways. The floodwaters deposited tons of sand on Alexander County farmland.

When the water recedes, large portions of the county are covered in several feet of sand. And, no one is quite sure what the floodwaters are doing to Horseshoe Lake and its trademark cypress and Tupelo trees. Aerial photographs graphically illustrate the siltation occurring.

The flooding has become a slow-motion natural disaster occurring right under our noses. There are just so many questions that appear to have no answers.

Will Horseshoe Lakes cypress and Tupelo survive? Will the shallow lake become nothing more than a wetland? Will the Mississippi change course as many are worried it might do? Will any of the flooded land be tillable again? Will state and federal agencies be willing to appropriate money to repair the levee? Will and state or federal government simply buy up the property to turn the area into a wildlife refuge? What would taking the land off the tax rolls do to an already cash-strapped Alexander County?

Worst of all, the people of Alexander County will be waiting months, likely years, for answers.

LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call 618-351-5088 / On Twitter @LesWinkeler.

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South Carolina Telehealth Alliance Receives National Award

BAMBERG -- The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance was awarded the American Telemedicine Association Presidents Award for Transformation of Health Care Delivery during the ATA Annual Conference held recently in New Orleans.

The ATA Presidents Award for the Transformation of Healthcare Delivery recognizes the leadership of an organization that incorporates virtual health care services as part of an initiative resulting in improved health care quality and value for a large population of patients.

The SCTA is a statewide collaboration of many organizations that have joined forces to expand telehealth services across South Carolina. Led by the SCTA Advisory Council, it provides guidance, assists with strategic development, and advises on technology and standards. The SCTA was formed with founding strategic providers, Greenville Health, McLeod Health, Medical University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health, providing telehealth care services.

SCTA Advisory Council co-chairs, Kathy Schwarting, MHA, Palmetto Care Connections chief executive officer, and James McElligott, MD, MSCR, MUSC Center for Telehealth medical director, accepted the award along with representatives from S.C. Area Health Education Consortium, S.C. Department of Mental Health, SCTA, McLeod Health, MUSC Health, Palmetto Care Connections and Prisma Health.

This award recognizes that SCTA is a national leader in statewide telehealth collaboration, Schwarting said. And its a testament to the great work that is being done to improve access to health care for all South Carolinians.

ATA stated that the SCTA has demonstrated exceptional character, leadership along with continued service to the association and telehealth industry.

The winners of this years awards are doing amazing work and its wonderful to see the innovation and transformation that is happening in the Telehealth field, said Laurie Poole, vice president, clinical innovation at the Ontario Telemedicine Network and chair of the ATA Awards Committee.

Consideration for this award included: the impact on the population served such as special needs groups; academic peer-reviewed research and presentations; targeted education programs; number of telehealth sites; business case or business model; long-term sustainability; and effective partnerships and collaboration.

The ATA is a non-profit association based in Washington with a membership network of more than 10,000 industry leaders and health care professionals. As the only national organization completely focused on telehealth, the ATA is working to change the way the world thinks about telemedicine and virtual care.

The SCTA provides administrative functions of programs and services, telehealth equipment and maintenance, technical support and security and leads initiatives determined by collaborative strategic planning.

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C. PCC is the leader of the Palmetto State Providers Network, a broadband consortium which facilitates broadband connections throughout the state.

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A Revolutionary War battlefield near Eutawville is being enhanced as part of its inclusion among a system of Liberty Trails that aims to connect all of the war's battlefields throughout the state.

As part of the process, the battlefield will be one of five battle sites to be developed into a park, complete with amenities such as a visitor's center, trails, shelters and an amphitheater.

Its a real source of pride

"The Liberty Trail was a project conceived by the South Carolina Battlefield Trust and we're partnering in this project with the American Battlefield Trust, a large foundation in Washington," said Doug Bostick, executive director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, a land trust that preserves battlefields in the Palmetto State.

In that role, Bostick also serves as the director of the South Carolina Liberty Trail project, which includes 69 American Revolutionary War battlefields which are divided into four trails stretching from as far south as Jasper County to as far north as Spartanburg County.

"What we want to do is connect all these sites. First, we want to preserve the ones that are not currently preserved. There are three that are run by the National Park Service, three that are run by state parks and two that are preserved by individual organizations," Bostick said.

"But the balance of all those are not currently protected. So our objective is to acquire as many of them as we can either through direct ownership of the land, or through a conservation easement," he said.

The work doesn't stop there.

"Then our plan is to interpret all of these to the public, both with battle signage and battle maps on the ground where there properties are, but also through a smartphone tablet app that will be available to the public for free.

"This app is currently being engineered. So it would give you drive-in directions, battle narratives, biographies, battle maps, any engravings or paintings that have ever been done of these battles, even down to linking you to where to stay and where to go eat when you visit these areas," Bostick said.

He added, "Our objective is to get all of this in place prior to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which is coming up in the next six years. Now some of these are just going to be small sites, where you might have the chance to pull off and park and then read the interpretive signage and understand what happened there," while others will be developed into parks.

"Five of them are going to be developed into full parks, meaning it'll have visitor amenities, shelters, trails, everything that you would expect to see if you went to a state park or a national park," said Bostick, noting that the Battle of Eutaw Springs deserves to be recognized.

The battle occurred on Sept. 8, 1781, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. The site includes a historic marker, a monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the tomb of British Commander major John Marjoribanks.

The Eutaw Springs battlefield site became listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 2, 1970.

We think itll draw a lot of just attention to Eutaw Springs. Eutaw Springs was a really big deal in its day. It was one of the most important battles in our state and in the nation. And so, number one, we want people to understand the real story of Eutaw Springs and, number two, to have the opportunity to go there and learn about all the people who were involved in this.

Several of the American Revolution's heroes fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs -- William Washington, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion, Andrew Pickens, "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Wade Hampton.

There are many captivating stories related to this battle. Thats the thing about the American Revolution. Theres kind of a piece of the story for everybody. At Eutaw Springs, we jokingly refer to it as the Patriot All-Star Game because most all of the notable commanders for the American cause were at Eutaw Springs, Bostick said.

A treasure trove of stories have come out of the battle, including that of slave Jim Capers.

He enlisted with Francis Marion in 1775, fought with Marion throughout the war, was wounded four times at Eutaw Springs, but was with his unit a month later to watch the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, Bostick said.

When he returns to South Carolina, hes given his freedom and he moves out West, which was Alabama in those days, and remarkably  I dont know how he did it  lived until the age of 110. But if you go to his grave today in Alabama, youll find a Revolutionary War veterans cross on his grave. So these stories about Eutaw Springs just go on and on and on, and thats why that particular battle is a very big deal to us, he said.

Bostick also shared the story of one of the battles Maryland commanders who later became governor of Maryland.

When he goes home after the war, he renames his own plantation Belvidere for the name of the plantation on which the battle was fought. And he names what today are all of the historic downtown streets of Baltimore. Theyre named after other patriot commanders that fought with him at the battle.

And if you go to a Baltimore Orioles game today to walk through to the gate of Camden Yards, which is the name of their stadium, you walk down Eutaw Street. Now I doubt that anyone in Baltimore knows where those names came from, but they all come from Eutaw Springs, he said.

Bostick added, Its a real source of pride. This battles a big, big deal, so big that a guy from Maryland goes home and names everything after people and things in the battle. So I think that that gives us a different understanding and appreciation of what happened there.

Its going to draw peoples attention

Cameron resident Douglas Doster is the past state president of the Battle of Eutaw Springs Chapter of the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Doster is excited about the Liberty Trail project and the enhancements that the S.C. Battlefield Preservation Trust proposes to make to the memorial battle site in Eutaw Springs.

"It's pretty common knowledge that this group has purchased several properties around Eutawville. And it is all going to be part of this group of Liberty Trails. We're on Liberty Trail One. It starts down here in Charleston.

They've already built up the grounds around Fort Fair Lawn, an old plantation there, but it's going to come up to Eutaw Springs and go all the way up to Camden and end up in Lancaster County at a mass grave of patriots that were killed. It's called Buford's Massacre, and we observe that every May, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trust is buying big pieces of land at different phases of the battle.

So weve been buying land in Eutawville for a while now. Weve bought four properties there so far. We have others under contract, and we others that were still negotiating over. Well never buy the entire battlefield. The whole battlefield is 4-1/2 square miles, but what we want to do is buy significant pieces of this battle because this battle stretched over four miles in length and was five hours long, he said.

Bostick said the enhancement plan includes turning the old Chefs Choice restaurant into a visitors center. The Preservation Trust purchased the restaurant  less than one mile from the site  in 2017.

Were still developing the master plan, but we would like to create a visitors center there so that you could go inside and get a proper orientation to the site. And, again, our hope is that well have an amphitheater there and a shelter there where people could meet, trails and facilities, he said.

The part of the battlefield that includes the historic marker and the monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is being leased to the Preservation Trust by Santee Cooper.

We own a total of 20 acres so far, and the Santee Cooper property that were going to lease is about another eight acres. Thats the end of the battle on that property. A lot of people think thats the whole battlefield, but thats just where the British camp was and thats the very end, Bostick said.

Doster said, Its going to be developed with a visitors center with displays and hopefully some artifacts. Some of the people whose families have been there since that time may say, Well, you know, so and so has got those old cannonballs that came from there, and old muskets and so forth. Were hoping that we can entice some of them to put them on loan like they would do with artifacts at a museum.

He added, The key thing is whats happening now with this Liberty Trail program. Thats going to pick things up and draw peoples attention. Were excited about that.

While an interpretive visitors center is not yet developed, there are illustrated signs throughout the Eutaw Springs battlefield site that tell visitors about the battle.

Doster said the South Carolina Society of Sons of the American Revolution traditionally celebrates the anniversary of the battle. This years commemoration will take place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

We do the commemoration every year. In 1936, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of Interior to establish a battlefield park near Eutaw Springs. It could have been a national park right then, but this was never implemented. Then, of course, World War II came along and everything got swept under the table, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trusts mission, however, will continue to highlight and preserve not just the Eutaw Springs battle sites, but others across the entire state.

Weve been around a good little while. To date, we have preserved 58 battlefields around the state, and were adding to that list fairly rapidly right now with the focus on the Liberty Trail, he said.

Bostick said the reason is simple.

People have lost touch with the founding of our country. If we had a better understanding of what it took to become the United States of America, then I think we will take better care of it.

The Liberty Trail is a project to create outdoor classrooms to allow people to visit these places and learn the stories of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Jim Capers. Every battlefield has its own story. We want to get Americans, South Carolinians and our visitors back in touch with all the great stories about how we started, he said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will stop by Orangeburg next week.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will host a meet and greet at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Sulit, located at 1005 Broughton Street.

Buttigiegs campaign recently told the Associated Press that his visit to South Carolina stems from a focus on outreach to African American voters.

While hes in South Carolina, Buttigieg will hold town hall events at North Charleston High School and the Eau Claire Print Building in Columbia.

This will be the former naval intelligence officers first campaign visit to Orangeburg County, which is no stranger to presidential candidates.

Buttigiegs fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have all recently visited the county. Beto ORourke visited Bamberg County.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516.

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A group of fathers came together Thursday evening at Mellichamp Elementary School to put the hood back in fatherhood.

The topic of discussion was the impact of fathers and father figures in the community. A four-person panel and audience members discussed topics ranging from the absence of a father in the home to the necessity of mentoring youth in the community.

Mellichamp Elementary School Principal Hayward Jean, who hosted the forum, sparked the conversation.

Im learning now that youre not a father just because you are a father biologically, he said.

The panel consisting of Jerrod Anderson, Jamall Grant, Aldolphus Johnson and Van Gaffney followed with their definitions of fatherhood.

Fatherhood to me means putting someone other than yourself first for providing a safe environment, for taking responsibility and investing in loved ones and your community, Anderson stated. Its very important, vital what role we play today, and not only for those who we bring into this world but those who are in our community.

Grant said being a father covers many areas.

For me personally, it means being a provider, a protector. Sometimes it means being a mother. It means being a disciplinarian. It means being a friend. We dont get a lot of credit for it, but a real father sacrifices a lot, Grant said.

Gaffney said fatherhood means setting an example for the youth.

To me, fatherhood is being a positive role model because what you do, your children usually mirror you. So, if you set a good example and are a good example for them, the old saying the chip doesnt fall far from the tree is true, he stated.

Johnson said being a father represents, being protector. It means that youre a provider, but to me being a father means that youre responsible.

I believe that if youre a father, youre responsible for your kids, youre responsible for their well-being.

Panelists discussed their relationships with their fathers and noted how it impacted them.

Gaffney noted that his father was in his life.

My father was in the military, and we traveled a lot. Discipline was his thing. He taught us that he was a provider. He was organized and he taught that if youre going to be a man, be a man, do the right thing. He set that tone for us early in our life, Gaffney stated.

It taught you responsibility. It taught me that you handle your business first before you go do something else, he stated.

Grant stated that his father was involved in the early years of his life, but became absent in his pre-teenage years.

In the first part of my life, I had my father. Then, being honest, I dont know what happened, even to this day. When he left, that was probably when I needed a father the most, he stated.

At that time, Im being raised by music, he said. I hid a lot from my mom. I had male figures in my family, dont get me wrong, but I had none I could look up to from the time I was 12 until the time I was maybe 24.

Grant stated that the circumstances led to him making decisions that involved the street life. Now Grant has a mentoring program at Mellichamp Elementary and is looking to expand his program.

Jean asked the panelists how they can become visible to the youth who may not have father figures.

Anderson said it requires an investment to reach the youth.

I think you just have to take the time and get involved, he said.

Gaffney also said it requires a commitment to make a change.

Youve got to be committed because once you are involved with a young persons life, you cant just be there then leave them out there after you talk to them, he said. You have to take time with your children or any child because if you want them to respect and trust you, youve got to show them you can be trusted and respected.

Grant said parents have to be willing for their children to be mentored.

The mothers who want their child to get help and be helped, theyve got to be willing to let somebody help, first of all, Grant said.

Johnson said that it also takes practice.

I think before you go out in public that you should practice at home. I see a lot of younger people, a lot of people that have a good heart for their community, but theyre not practicing it at home, he said.

All panelists agreed that fatherhood ultimately comes down to sacrifice and unconditional love.

I believe that if you want to be a great father, you have to be willing to sacrifice, Johnson said.

Its important that you make the time to teach your children how to live with you together because if youre not there, then theyll learn to live without you, Anderson said.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516

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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.
North Macedonia goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential run-off vote that will be a litmus test for the pro-Western government, which has warned low turnout could invalidate the vote and trigger a general election.

The first round of voting last month was a tie between the candidate favoured by the ruling Social Democrats and his right-wing rival, reflecting a deep divide in the Balkan state, particularly over the country's historic name change.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but the poll is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's centre-left government, which recently finalised the controversial deal to add "North" to Macedonia's official name and end a long-running dispute with Greece.

The ruling party's preferred contender, 56-year-old Stevo Pendarovski, is a strong backer of the name deal and has cast himself as the pro-Western candidate who will join Zaev in bringing North Macedonia closer to Europe.

His nationalist-backed rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor who would be the country's first female president if elected, is highly critical of the change. She has framed her campaign around tackling weak rule of law and corruption.

But in addition to taking a majority, the candidates are pressed with drawing high enough turnout to clear a legal threshold.

More than 40 percent of the Balkan state's 1.8 million electorate need to cast ballots to validate the poll, a margin that was barely passed in the first round of voting last month.

If enthusiasm dips any further, it could hand a political crisis to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

According to the premier, the country would have to either restart the election process or make constitutional changes, such as allowing parliament to choose the president.

A failure to reach the turnout threshold -- or a victory for Siljanovska-Davkova -- would also trigger snap parliamentary elections, Zaev has said.

But the premier remains optimistic about hitting the turnout target, saying in TV interview this week: "We believe that citizens will elect a president".

- Voter discontent -

Some new voters may be motivated to head to the polls to avert more turmoil in a country that lurches from political crisis to crisis.

"I did not vote (in the first round)... but now everyone says there will be a crisis if we don't elect president, so I'll just do it," said Jana Damjanovska, a 27-year-old Skopje resident.

The country's name change was a compromise to end a decades-old row with Greece, which has a province called Macedonia and has never accepted its northern neighbour's use of the name.

In return, Athens promised to stop thwarting Skopje's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.

But that is just one of a range of issues concerning voters.

Petar Arovski, an analyst in Skopje, said the record low turnout last month reflected "dissatisfaction with rule of law reforms, the fight against corruption and the poor economy".

More than a fifth of the country is jobless while average wages are stuck at around 400 euros ($450) a month, helping fuel waves of emigration abroad.

In 2018 GDP growth was 2.5 percent, the lowest figure in the Western Balkans region according to the World Bank.

The presidential candidates are also vying for votes from the country's ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up around a quarter of the population.

The Albanian candidate fell out of the race after the first round.
Un avion commercial Boeing 737 avec 136 personnes a bord a du atterrir dans les eaux du fleuve Saint Johns, pres de Jacksonville en Floride, a annonce un porte-parole de la base aeronavale de Jacksonville.

Laccident na fait aucun blesse mais lequipage saffaire a controler le kerosene dans leau, a declare le maire de Jacksonville sur Twitter.

We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

 Lavion na pas ete submerge. Tous les passagers ont ete retrouves et sont en vie , ecrit le sherif de Jacksonville dans un tweet.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Le vol en provenance de la base navale de la baie de Guantanamo est entre dans l'eau en bout de piste vers 21h40 locales, a annonce la base aerienne. L'avion, portant le logo de la compagnie Miami Air International, est reste parfaitement intact, dans des eaux peu profondes.

Miami Air International est une compagnie charter qui exploite une flotte de Boeing 737-800. Boeing a dit etre au courant de l'incident et rassemblait des informations pour expliquer cette arrivee en catastrophe, a declare un porte-parole.
The Virginia businessman whose attempt to buy the Kemmerer coal mine in western Wyoming failed this month blamed the busted bid on the creditors of the bankrupt coal company Westmoreland.

The Kemmerer mine is owned by Westmoreland Resource Partners. As part of the bankruptcy process, the troubled coal firm was set to sell the coal mine to Tom Clarke for $7.5 million in cash and more than $200 million in secured promissory notes.

There was also the challenge of bonding  secured funding for cleaning up the large open surface mine.

During a private status conference call Tuesday to discuss Westmorelands creditors attempt to block Clarke from buying the mine until reclamation was secured, it was disclosed that Clarke would no longer be purchasing the Kemmerer mine due to his failure to provide bonding terms prior to an April deadline.

Clarke rebuffed that narrative in a call with the Star-Tribune, arguing that he had been ready to acquire the mine as early as mid-March and had obtained a bonding package. However, the lenders became inflexible, he said. The impending sale fell short as the first-in-line lenders that Westmoreland is indebted to balked at the deal offered by Clarke, the businessman maintained.

We had everything, he continued, detailing a plan for bonding that included cash collateral and ongoing payments to equal approximately $14 million paid over the next 10 months and provided by operations from the mine. We had the money. We had bonding commitments, maybe not the bonding commitments that the creditors wanted, but they were the only bonding commitments available.

The deadline for the sale closure was extended from April 15 to 25. Clarke said he received a letter from the creditors attorneys asking for more time. After the first extension, Clarke said he was approached by the creditors asking for another.

Clarke said he wasnt interested in an extension, but he still wanted a deal. The deadline passed and the asset purchase agreement cleared by the bankruptcy court expired.

A call to the secured lenders attorneys in Houston, Porter Hedges LLP, was not returned by press time.

Clarke still wants to buy the mine, he said.

His interest in Wyoming has expanded to other potential assets, though he declined to disclose which mining operations he was interested in. Clarke said the mine-to-plant operations, in which a coal mine feeds directly to a power plant, could be kept open for years to come with the right strategy.

Wyoming has been facing increasing concern over the potential closure of power plants like PacifiCorps Naughton plant  which is the chief purchaser of the Kemmerer mines coal, a relationship that goes back to the 1950s. PacifiCorp has a coal supply agreement with the mine that ends in December 2021.

As coal is pummeled in a power market where cheap natural gas is replacing the black rock as a fuel source, companies like PacifiCorp have become more interested in closing uneconomic coal plants in favor of new wind or gas power.

The utility disclosed recently that closing Naughton and other coal plants by 2023 would save customers $12 million.

Clarke said his ongoing interest in the Kemmerer mine, and other mine-to-plant operations in Wyoming, is based on his belief that he has a solution to the trend of retiring coal plants.

Rather than have a sudden announcement of early termination of power plants, there ought to be a longer term plan so that a community like Kemmerer can figure out a new economic base, he said.

Clarke first got involved in Westmoreland as a shareholder. He said he and his wife were at one point the largest private shareholders in the company. With the bankruptcy, Clarke saw an opportunity to take over the mining operations. Clarke had made a similar, surprising move in 2015, when he acquired coal assets in Appalachia from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal  a spinoff of Peabody Energy in the early 2000s that took on some of the coal giants liabilities and operations in Appalachia.

Patriot went bust after five years, declaring bankruptcy in 2012. It entered bankruptcy again in 2015, when Clarke picked up a number of coal mines from Patriot, including a number that were not operating.

Clarke considers those mines his success stories in coal. Those once-fallow mining operations from Patriot have generated nearly 1,000 jobs under his ownership, Clarke said.

The businessman, whod started out in nursing homes and health centers, said in a previous interview with the Star-Tribune that he became interested in coal when its decline played a role in shutting a struggling local hospital in Virginia. Hes had a number of high-profile acquisitions or projects in his home state, including a public spat with current Gov. Jim Justice over coal pollution in Appalachian waterways.

Few of Clarkes public ventures have gone smoothly, and a number of critics have risen in their wake.

The state of Ohio opposed the sale of Westmoreland coal assets to Clarke when they went before the bankruptcy judge, arguing that Clarke and his wife, Ana, did not appear to have the money to support reclamation associated with those sites.

In March, the Sierra Club asked a U.S. district court judge in West Virginia to force Clarke to pay $6 million that the environmental groups claim he has failed to pay  payments to an environmental nonprofit that were part of a settlement agreement for coal-polluted waterways in Appalachia.

Clarke also ran into trouble in the iron ore business in Minnesota, picking up assets from a bankruptcy in 2016. He was later booted from his role as an executive in the iron ore companies, ERP Iron Ore and Chippewa Capital Partners, at the insistence of the other investors, according to reporting at the time from Business North, a Minnesota business news publication based in Duluth.

In a previous interview with the Star-Tribune, Clarke said that the iron ore experience was a lesson learned in whom to partner with.

With the Kemmerer acquisition in limbo, Clarke argued that he is like a bride left standing at the altar. However, he said he is still willing to negotiate with the mines debtors. His style is in part a social one, making connections locally in Kemmerer, he said.

For the sake of the miners and the community, I hope, if not me, they find somebody else. But there are not too many people left, he said. There are people that are like Write me a check and well take over, but real mining companies? Youre not going to find Arch or Peabody coming [out there].

Follow energy reporter Heather Richards on Twitter @hroxaner

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BY MARK OSBORNE/ ABC News





Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries originally appeared on abcnews.go.com





A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.





There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.





"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."





The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."





Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.




Sally Ann Shurmur Community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur arrived at the Star-Tribune to cover sports two weeks after graduating from the University of Wyoming and now serves as community news editor. She was raised in Laramie and is a passionate fan of Cowboys football, food and family. Follow Sally Ann Shurmur Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Thank you for your service.

Five words say everything necessary, said Lt. Col. A. Michael Pezeshki, one of a number who spoke to the standing-room only crowd on Thursday night.

Speakers quoted songwriter Lee Greenwood and William Shakespeare.

Bagpipes and drums played America, and Amazing Grace.

The governor arrived 15 minutes late and spoke from his heart.

The Rev. Bill Pierce, who is a preacher and a doer and a Vietnam veteran, prayed over the group.

He thanked God for the wonderful country You have given us, for all of those who served on the front lines and here at home.

Gary Cohee, a Marine Vietnam veteran, explained that the first name on the wall is of the first casualty suffered in 1956. He said the wall contains six sets of fathers and sons, 11 sets of brothers. West Virginia has the most names on the wall, and there are the names of seven women, all nurses.

Indeed, the wall is constructed by date, with some panels reaching more than six feet high, containing names of lives lost in sometimes a period of five or six days.

Casper College president Dr. Darren Divine spoke of gratitude that often is felt but not shown. He choked up as he quoted from Lee Greenwoods song, God Bless the USA.

It was a remarkable evening.

Veteran students at Casper College worked for months to organize the five-day visit of Americas Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall, an 80 percent replica of the same wall erected in Washington, D.C., in 1982.

The opening ceremony was solemn and heartfelt, uplifting and sad all at the same time.

Gov. Mark Gordon said he was honored to attend.

He spoke of a cousin, George Patton IV, who served in Vietnam and another cousin who was Secretary of the Air Force.

In our family, there is quite a bit of talk about having a mission you can understand, he said. Americans stand up and step forward. Because we are Americans, we are the greatest country in the world and I am proud to be governor of the greatest state in the greatest country in the world.

In addition to the more than 5,000 names on the wall just outside the windows of the Gateway Center, Gordon remembered the 1,711 unaccounted for, including five from Wyoming, whom he mentioned by name, hometown and date they went missing.

(Harry Bob Coen, Riverton, May 12, 1968; Orville Dale Cooley, Range, Jan. 16, 1968; Joseph Leslie Hart, Afton, Feb. 25, 1967; Alva Ray Krogman, Afton, Jan. 17, 1967, and Thomas William Skiles, Buffalo, Dec. 19, 1971 I knew him, the governor said.)

The keynote speech was delivered by Eric Distad of Casper, who served in Vietnam for 14 months before returning home, where he graduated from Casper College and then the University of Wyoming before practicing law.

He said that there was a tremendous amount of survivors guilt for having come home virtually unscathed.

Perhaps some who view the wall only see the numbers, we still see the faces, feel the pain of their deaths. The wall is a symbol of closure and healing, Distad said.

He closed his remarks by quoting Shakespeare in Henry V:

... From this day to the end of time, without our being remembered: we few, we happy few, we band of brothers  for whoever sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother.

The wall is open to the public until 3 p.m. on Sunday, when a closing ceremony will be held. It is located just across the parking lot from the Gateway Building on the Casper College campus, off of Casper Mountain Road.

Follow community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur on Twitter @WYOSAS

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GILLETTE  More than four decades ago, a 30-year-old shoe salesman named Mike Enzi was elected mayor of Gillette, kicking off a political career that would take him all the way to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the senior senator from Wyoming announced the end of his political career from right where it began  Gillette City Hall.

In a press conference in the city council chambers, Enzi, 75, announced his term ending next fall will be his last, drawing a storied  if understated  career on Capitol Hill to a close.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, he said. I want to be able to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt, to do several small business initiatives, to protect and diversify Wyomings jobs. I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this term, Ill find other ways to serve.

While not the longest-serving senator in the states history (that distinction belongs to Francis E. Warren, who served the Equality State in Washington for nearly four decades), Enzi has spent 22 years in office  among the longest tenures of any delegate from Wyoming.

Long-known as one of Washingtons more reserved statesman, Enzi is also one of the Senates more influential members, passing more than 100 bills since taking office in 1997, when he replaced former Sen. Al Simpson. During that time, Enzi led efforts in the Senate to pass the Republican tax cuts of 2017, and has served terms as both chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and its Budget Committee, a position he has held since 2015.

At the press conference, which was attended by Enzis family, friends and a handful of journalists, Enzi noted that most of his successful bills passed with fewer than 15 votes in opposition, which is considered very bipartisan, he said.

I didnt get into the Senate for the fancy titles, he said. I like passing legislation.

A strong fiscal conservative, Enzi in recent years has been highly outspoken about the nations looming fiscal crisis, and has introduced legislation intended to avert future shutdowns of the United States government and reduce the national debt.

Enzi told reporters he had also addressed roughly 14,000 individual constituent issues while in office.

My biggest job, as it turns out, is to solve problems for the people of Wyoming, he said.

Prior to his time in Washington, Enzi spent a decade as a member of the Wyoming Legislature, serving two terms in the House of Representatives and six years in the Senate.

With Enzis retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. The most recent opening in Wyoming came in 2007, when Sen. John Barrasso was appointed to replace Craig Thomas, who died in office.

Barrasso lauded Enzi in a statement released shortly after Saturdays announcement.

Mike Enzis character, courage and credibility have made him a respected moral leader in the U.S. Senate, Barrasso said. In four terms in the Senate he has never wavered in his commitment to God, family or Wyoming. The Senate and Wyoming will miss the valued leadership of the trusted trail boss of our congressional delegation.

Potential replacements

The field to replace Enzi in 2020 could be large.

Recent candidates for Senate like Democrat Gary Trauner and David Dodson  a Republican who ran an unsuccessful bid against Barrasso last year  could potentially try another run for office, and other names floated have included statewide elected officials like Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow, who gave an open-ended answer when asked by the Casper Star-Tribune earlier this year whether shed consider a run for Senate.

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr  who hinted at higher political aspirations last year  told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in January she would not be running for the office.

Rep. Liz Cheney  who is currently the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives  could potentially mount a run for the Senate, having made an attempt to unseat Enzi in 2014. However, recent power struggles with members of party leadership could leave the door open for her to make a potential run at Speaker of the House in 2020, should the Republicans take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections.

In a statement released after Enzis announcement, Cheney said Wyomings senior senator never forgot where he came from.

During his 20 years in Washington, he brought our states values to the nations capital, fighting for smaller, less obtrusive, and more efficient federal government that would allow people to grow and thrive, she said.

Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Enzi  one of nine Republican candidates for office the last time an open seat became available with Sen. Al Simpsons retirement in 1996  declined to comment on future prospects for his seat.

Typically, when its an open seat, the delegation doesnt take sides, itd be an unfair advantage, said Enzi. The voters get to decide, and Ive thought theyve done a good job for 22 years.

Legacy

As mayor of Gillette during its first oil boom, Enzi helmed the ship at a time where a new era of prosperity was being ushered into what locals consider to be the Energy Capital of the Nation. During his eight-year tenure, the citys population doubled in size, new municipal buildings were constructed and the citys profile began to grow.

Enzis administration laid down a foundation for the future, he said, building a system to provide water for 30,000 people, striking a deal with the county for a local landfill, developing a street plan for the future and constructing a number of new parks in town.

I never intended to get into politics, said Enzi, who was urged to run by Simpson when the former senator was in state office. But I was mayor eight years during the first boom. I got to work with some amazing people who didnt know what couldnt be done  so we did it.

In 1996, while recovering from open-heart surgery, Enzi was urged by local leaders to try and run for Simpsons seat, despite Enzis wishes to take some time to hunt and fish. Relaxation didnt seem to be in the cards, however. In his speech, Enzi remembered leaving his church in tears, after hearing some higher power telling him I didnt keep you alive to hunt and fish.

The career that followed saw many successes. The first bill he ever sponsored  which preserved property rights for Campbell County residents caught up in a coal-bed methane dispute with the federal government  passed unanimously. He enjoyed a high legislative success rate thanks, in part, to what he called his 80 percent rule, where you work across the aisle to come to terms on the 80 percent of a bill the two parties agree on and ignore the 20 percent where they dont.

A legislative workhorse, Enzi was also known as an effective vote counter, and has long advocated for a slow, methodical approach toward passing legislation, working his fellow lawmakers one at a time, over a long period of time, in order to affect incremental change.

I sold shoes for 28 years, said Enzi. Thats the best training for being in Washington. You have to know who your customer is, you have to know what they want and you have to see how it matches up with your inventory. Its the same thing in Washington.

Thats why you dont see me on the floor as much, he added. Im talking to customers and my inventory is the bills.

In an era where Washington seems more polarized than ever, Enzi told reporters that this method is still effective, but has often gone unrecognized  citing a career and technical education bill he recently passed that got little attention.

I asked reporters about that, he said. And they responded, it passed unanimously, it must have been easy. That was seven years of my life.

Theyre not looking for what gets done, he said. Theyre looking for good fights they can report on, that people get excited over. We can come out of a meeting where weve just accomplished something, and they dont want to know what weve just accomplished  they want to know what this person has just said about that person which, in my opinion, is starting a fight because they couldnt find one. Thats not journalism. Getting the word out on whats being done is journalism. People might not be as excited about that.

Most recently, Enzi has placed most of his focus on addressing the national deficit and the nations looming fiscal crises. Earlier in the week, Enzi gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor warning of the imminent insolvency of the nations Social Security and Medicare programs. As chairman of the budget committee, Enzi has been central to conversations around that issue in recent years, and has worked several pieces of legislation intended to address it, including a five-year plan he announced earlier this spring intended to fight the national debt.

Though those conversations will soon be in someone elses hands, Enzi said he was not done yet.

Ive got a year-and-a-half yet, so dont write me off, said Enzi. Weve had some success with it before, but we just werent able to get it across the finish line. So we should be able to do what weve done before and move it along. Ill be able to concentrate on that this year instead of a campaign, which is a very complicated thing and getting even more complicated all the time. So now, I can devote myself to this for the next year-and-a-half, and I will.

Enzi also mentioned he would be continuing his work on ambitious proposals in health care and economic development over the next 18 months. But  on a trip home in a job that keeps him in Washington for four days a week  Enzis Saturday plans in Gillette were more simple:

First lunch, then fishing.

Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds

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Recently I attended a fundraising event at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs for the Western Bear Foundation (WBF). There were about seventy people in attendance. There were several raffles, an auction for some beautiful prints, free snacks and a cash bar.

The big issue of the event was the use of bear baiting as an aid in hunting. This is the practice of having a barrel, with a small opening and containing aromatic foods, like old donuts, preset in the wilds at the end of a clear line of fire. WBF speakers demonized environmental and animal rights groups, who have filed an intent to sue the government in order to stop this practice. The speeches, however, had an evangelical quality to them, as though WBF indisputably held the moral high ground of an aggrieved victim.

For example, speaker Joe Kondelis, WBFs president, harped on and on about how the public needed to be educated  meaning they are uneducated. If we were to listen to Kondelis, however, we could become blessedly educated. According to WBF, environmentalists are spreading misinformation among the public. But might it be that environmentalists are also the public, and have a right to say what they may? Is there any value to what little education environmentalists might have?

Kondelis also seemed to take it upon himself to speak for state wildlife agencies and their professional biologists and experts, as the rightfully intended party to make wildlife policies, and that it is morally wrong, and maybe even unconstitutional, for the judiciary to interfere in matters of hunting. Are all individuals, who work for wildlife agencies, in agreement with WBF? Some were in attendance, but, as usual, they didnt say anything  are they scared?

According to Kondelis, environmental extremists are inappropriately getting in the way of the public, now meaning WBF, and a strong tradition of bear baiting. Looked at linearly, both ends of an argument are extremes, and WBF is certainly at one of them, making WBF extremist, too. As for a bear-baiting tradition, WBF would have you believe that only beneficial and equitable results come about from baiting, for both bears and people. This is because, a little contrarily, the bears end up dead or maimed, and some humans can form a pretty superior image of themselves.

The huffy environmentalists, WBF complains, oppose baiting animals as contrary to the doctrine of fair chase and tradition. Here, WBF surely has two good points, so lets have bear baiters hunt with only a sharp stick and a rock, in the nude like our ancestors. This would put tradition back into things. Simply pull the bears head out of the bait barrel, and have a more or less equal fight. Sportsmen and sportswomen could then rightly call what they do a sport, because a sport involves opponents who have an equal chance of winning.

There was a short film showing the step-by-step drama of a bear-baited black bear hunt, though it was nothing like Ive just proposed above. Instead, to background sounds of a breeze and mystical instrumental chords, and speaking in a hushed conspiratorial tone, the narrator, decked out in trim paramilitary clothing and expensive gear, allows us to see, using powerful optics, the bear on a distant mountainside. We drive in a spotless truck some distance to within twenty minutes easy walking of where the bear is struggling to extract goodies from a bait barrel.

The narrator slowly and methodically gets into position and aims his high-powered rifle, from which we now view the bear through an expensive scope. We concentrate hard and take deep breaths. We are dramatic, holy and wise. The trigger is slowly, expertly, pulled, and the bear pops up in astonishment! It runs this way and that, till shortly exhausting itself and falling face forward into the grass. It heaves once or twice, then stops moving. We cautiously, yet reverentially, advance towards it. The hunter kneels before it, he reaches out to touch the great bear, he sensuously pushes his hand from the front of the bear to the back, pushing deeper and deeper into its fur and body, in a seemingly sexual show of dominance over the now submissive wild animal. Now law and order, or at least obedience, can prevail over wild and dangerous nature, as personified in the bear.

Tom Gagnon lives in Rock Springs.

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Each Sunday we ask you a question about an issue important to Wyoming, then print what you think the following Sunday. We call it Open Air because its a chance to examine a topic from all sides  wide open like Wyomings sky.

You can reply through our website or by email, postal mail, Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to specify youre responding to the Open Air question. Please keep your responses to 350 words and include your full name, town and contact information so we can verify your submission. Be sure to submit your comment by Tuesday or it might not make our deadline.
The second half of the book also explores Barajass history, from his childhood spent on Tucsons south side to his stand-up comedy career nurtured at Laffs Comedy Caffe under the tutelage of his mentor Gary Hoodie Hood, who died in 2016. Barajas, 30, gave up standup when he moved to Los Angeles several years ago to pursue a career in comic book publishing with Top Cow, where he is an operations director in charge of organizing events including comic-cons.

The first installment of La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, which is available digitally through gumroad.com, introduces us to Jaurigue, a first-generation Tucson native who returned home after the war, married a Pascua Yaqui girl and lived in Old Pascua, a settlement along the Santa Cruz River on West Grant Road. When the federal government stepped in during the early 1960s with plans to extend Interstate 10 through Tucson, the land the Pascua Yaquis occupied was in the direct path. Thats when Jaurigue and a group of Yaqui activists formed M.A.Y.O. and began lobbying to save their land.
We want this great place to be accessible to the American people and to the people of the world, as much as possible, he said.

Another consideration is the enormity of the Grand Canyon, which is 277 river-miles long. That makes effective enforcement a challenge, he said.

If a visitor wants to head off trail or peer over a precipice, Torres said, it better be an isolated event with no distractions or tomfoolery.

Quinley said relatively small choices and decisions visitors make at the park can lead to significant consequences.

Nancy Meyer of Phoenix visited the Grand Canyon over spring break with family and friends from New York and England. She said the rules and regulations at the national park shouldnt be changed at all.

Its such a natural and beautiful thing, and I really believe that people should be responsible and understand what they need to do if theyre going to take more of a hike than a tourist look at the Canyon, Meyer said. And also be responsible for their own health. You know, the usual that we do when we go to beaches  use sunscreen, drink enough water, hydrate, wear the proper clothing. Mostly common sense.
Michael Torres, a detective with the Marana Police Department, died Friday after a battle with an "aggressive form of cancer," department officials confirmed.

Torres began his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Tucson Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator.

Marana Police Department welcomed Torres into their family on July 9, 2012, officials said. In that capacity, he worked in a similar role as he did with Tucson police before becoming a detective in June 2014.

Officials say he worked "tirelessly" to investigate cases and provided "unparalleled service," which made him well-known in the community.

After he was diagnosed in February, Southern Arizona law enforcement agencies came together for the "Towers for Torres" event to raise money in support of Torres and his family. They raised more than $6,000 during the event on April 12.

Services in honor of Torres are pending.

Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1

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I would like to extend my thanks to Emily Bregel and Kendall Blust for their excellent reporting on the serious problems with sewage being fac
Days from now, works will begin on the disassembly of a 134-year-old cathedral in Nam Dinh Province of north-central Vietnam, removing from existence an architectural marvel that has served the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the Southeast Asian country.

Built in 1885 during French colonist era, the Bui Chu Cathedral serves a namesake diocese in Nam Dinh with over 412,000 Catholics.

It is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in Vietnam, founded in 1533 during the first wave of European missionaries who arrived in the area to proselytize.

Bui Chu Cathedral is considered a one-of-a-kind architectural gem that holds a significant place in the history of Catholicism in Vietnam.

As the priest who oversaw its construction was Spanish, Bui Chus design incorporated elements of baroque architecture with inspirations from East Asian culture.

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Most materials used in construction of the cathedral were sourced locally, allowing the structure to withstand the tropical climate of north-central Vietnam for nearly one and a half centuries, according to Vietnamese architect Cao Thanh Nghiep.

Its structural strength comes from weight-bearing brick walls combined with rows of ironwood pillars juxtaposed among exquisite sculpted stone platforms, a unique construction technique unseen at any other Catholic churches in Vietnam, Nghiep said.

At 78 meters long, 27 meters wide and 15 meters high, Bui Chu is also one of the largest Catholic churches in the area.

Ironwood pillars inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam remain in good condition after 134 years. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Bui Chu Cathedral is up for disassembly on May 13, according to a plan agreed upon by a council of priests and local Catholics.

Severe degradation and risks of collapse are cited as reasons for the demolition.

Construction of a new cathedral on the existing ones grounds  bearing the same design and architecture albeit with entirely new materials  has also received approval from provincial authorities.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

VND200 billion (US$8.57 million) worth of ironwood trunks have been imported and are being carved by artisans working at a camp set up near the cathedral to prepare for construction of the new building.

The new cathedral will be bigger and better than the old one, said a local official.

The current building may be a heritage to architects, but to us it is a wreck thats no longer safe for service, he added.

A large number of visitors  including regular tourists, photographers, journalists, architects, and art researchers  have been drawn to the site in recent days to pay one last visit to the historical structure before its demolition, according to a woodworker.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Reflection of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is seen on a puddle. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The roof and bell towers of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is badly degraded. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Signs of degradation are seen on a wall of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Children offer prayers inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Parts of the roof of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam have fallen off, posing risks to churchgoers. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Stained glasses are used inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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BANGKOK, May 04, 2019 : Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will be officially crowned on May 4 as part of elaborate three-day coronation ceremonies, has been listed as the worlds richest monarch by publications such as Business Insider in 2018.





His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was also listed by Forbes magazine as the worlds richest royal ruler in 2011, edging out the Sultan of Brunei.





Estimates of Vajiralongkorns personal wealth start at $30 billion, according to Business Insider.





That puts him among the wealthiest individual rulers, although when it comes to royal families, Saudi Arabias tops the list with an estimated $1.7 trillion, according an MSN Money report in 2019. The Thai royal family ranked fifth in that list.





Reuters was unable to independently confirm those estimates.





The Crown Property Bureau did not respond to Reuters request for comment. The Bureau of the Royal Household did not respond to written questions about the value of royal assets.





The following is a look at some of the Thai kings most significant assets:





PROPERTY Most of Vajiralongkorns wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau, which holds title to 6,560 hectares (16,210 acres) of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the capital.





Vajiralongkorn in 2017 placed the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control and later announced the removal its tax exempt status.





In Bangkok alone, the Crown Property Bureau owns 1,328 hectares of land, some of it prime real estate in the heart of the business district. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth $33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorns father, King Bhumibol, A Lifes Work.





The kings private secretary, Air Chief Marshal Satitpong Sukvimol, was appointed chairman of the Crown Property Bureau in 2017, a position previously held by the Finance Minister.





NEW DEVELOPMENT DEALS





Since the king took control of Crown Property Bureau, some $4.7 billion in new developments have been announced on land it owns, based on company announcements.





Property developers have stepped up investment on Crown Property real estate in recent years with the latest in April, when mall operator Central Pattana Pcl and hotelier Dusit Thani announced the $1.2 billion residential, retail and office project Dusit Central Park on a 67-year lease on 3.68 hectares. It is expected to be completed in 2024.





In 2018, TCC Group and Fraser Property Ltd, both controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, announced the $3.5 billion One Bangkok. The mixed-use project, on 16.7 hectares with a lease to 2083, is expected to complete its first phase in 2022, according to Fraser Property.





COMPANY STOCK





In a statement last year, the Crown Property Bureau announced assets previously registered to Crown Property would be held in the Kings name, placing shares worth some $9 billion in companies Siam Cement Group and Siam Commercial Bank among his personal assets.





Vajiralongkorn has a 23 percent stake in Siam Commercial Bank, Thailands second largest lender and 33.3 percent in countrys largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Group.





Both companies were founded by royal decree in the 1900s.





Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.





GOLD AND GEMS





Among Thailands crown jewels is the 545.67-carat brown Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world. Its value is estimated at up to $12 million by The Diamond Authority, a jewellery website.





It was presented to Vajiralongkorns late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1996 to mark the 50th year of his reign, according to the Gem and Jewelry Information Center, an industry body in Thailand.





On coronation day, the King will also be presented with five royal instruments, including the 7.3 kg (16 lb) golden Great Crown of Victory, which in inlaid with gems and topped by a large diamond from Kolkata, India.





The other priceless regalia are also adorned with diamonds and set in gold enamel, each steeped with history and cultural significance.





MALLS





While the Crown Property Bureaus 17,000 Bangkok rental contracts cover everything from government agencies to shophouses, some of the most visible holdings are the land on which some of the best-known shopping malls are built.





Siam Paragon shopping centre, Siam Discovery and Siam Center, all of which rest on Crown Property land, drew in some 200,000 shoppers per day last year.





The Crown does not run the malls but collects an unknown amount of rent from their operator, Siam Piwat, which also opened the $1.7 billion luxury mall, IconSiam, last year on its own land.




Check out whats in the news today.

Society

-- Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, landed in Hanoi on Friday night, hours after she was released from a Kuala Lumpur prison in the morning.

-- A journalist of Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper on Friday received death threats from phone calls of a woman who is the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit in the south-central city of Nha Trang that his newspaper had previously reported.

-- Local people residing along the banks of To Lich River in Hanoi, which is seriously polluted by wastewater, were surprised by its sudden greener color on Friday, thanks to water released from the West Lake as a way to prevent flooding in the iconic lake following recent downpours in the Vietnamese capital.

Business

-- Vietnams newest carrier Bamboo Airways announced on its website on Friday that it will open commercial air routes from the northern port city of Hai Phong to Quy Nhon, the capital of the south-central province of Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from May 10 with one round-trip flight per day for each route.

-- Vietnams automobile import turnover reached US$2.4 billion in the first four months of 2019, up 95.6 percent year-on-year, of which imports of completely-built-unit cars from countries in the ASEAN soared 619.3 percent.

-- Ho Chi Minh City reported a zero turnover in gasoline import in the first four months of this year, as to businesses have switched to sourcing petroleum locally produced at Dung Quat oil refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

-- Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has tasked the government inspectorate with coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to scrutinize a recent power price hike that has been widely opposed by members of the public and local media.

Lifestyle

-- The 2019 European Book Days is taking place simultaneously in the three major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from May 2 to 25.

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Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman who spent more than two years in a Malaysian prison on suspicion of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, has thanked those who supported her during the legal battle in a letter released after she was freed on Friday.

Huong, 30, was charged along with an Indonesian woman with poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong last month after she pleaded guilty to an alternate charge of causing harm.

Huong was taken into immigration custody immediately after her release from prison, where she remained until boarding a flight from the Malaysian capital to Vietnam later on Friday.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Video: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

In a handwritten letter, Huong thanked the governments of Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as those involved in her trial and imprisonment, for "all the support".

"I'm very happy and thank you all a lot. I love you all," Huong said in the letter shown by her lawyers at an airport press conference before her flight.

Thank [you] so much [to] everybody [who] pray[ed] for me [at] the church, and at home as well, Huong wrote in broken English.

Thank you Lord Jesus for he love[s] me so much, reads the letter, dated May 2, 2019.

A close-up view of Huong's letter

Huong's father, Doan Van Thanh, said he and her brother would be in Hanoi to welcome her home.

"I am so happy now, my whole village is happy now," Thanh told Reuters by telephone.

"We will hold a party on Sunday and anyone can come and join the party. We will slaughter some pigs for the party. My daughter particularly likes fried fish, so we will prepare that too," he said.

Huong arrived in the Vietnamese capital at 9:35 pm on Friday on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Doan Thi Huong smiles as she leaves the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam surrounded by reporters on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Speaking with the press upon arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport, Huong said she was happy to be back in her home country and sent thanks to the government of Vietnam and Malaysia as well as to her lawyers.

Huong said she had no immediate plan for her future except to spend time with her family in the neighboring province of Nam Dinh.

We are happy with the release of Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong and that she is reunited with her family in Vietnam, said foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang the same day.

This is the fruit of citizen protection efforts by the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Vietnam Bar Federation as well as Malaysian lawyers, Hang said.

At the same time, we acknowledge the positive efforts made by competent Malaysian authorities in resolving this issue, she added.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Huongs co-accused, Siti Aisyah, was freed in March after prosecutors also dropped a murder charge against her.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in the murder 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 came under criticism for charging the two women with murder - which carries a mandatory death penalty in the Southeast Asian country - when the key perpetrators were still being sought.

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Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Friday nabbed a 25-year-old man who broke into a local elementary school and stabbed students playing in the yard with a knife on the morning the same day.

The incident took place at around 9:00 am at Dong Luong Elementary School in Lang Chanh District, with one fifth-grade student killed and four others injured by the knifeman, Do Minh Chieu, who is now in custody, according to the district deputy chairman Le Duc Chung.

The man, who broke into the school by jumping over its fence, also stabbed a teacher when she rushed to stop him, and then fled the scene.

Local authorities immediately mobilized all forces to hospitalize the injured and hunt the suspect.

It took law enforcement only one hour to arrest Chieu, a Thanh Hoa resident.

The suspect is seen in this photo provided by the police.

As of Friday evening, the four wounded students and the injured teacher were still receiving treatment at a local hospital. Three of the students were severely injured, according to officers.

The knifeman still lives with his parents in Thanh Hoas mountainous Lang Chanh District and does not have a stable job, according to police. Local residents said he is addicted to online games.

The motive for the knife attack remains unclear and police are investigating further.

The knife used in the attack is seen in this photo provided by the police.

Also on Friday, police in Ho Chi Minh City said they have arrested Truong Tin, 29, for allegedly killing his grandmother, mother and aunt the day before, when he was apparently high on drugs.

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Presidents Trump and Putin held a 90-minute telephone conversation on Friday. Hopefully, it is the start of a long-overdue strategic dialogue to repair the damage done by Russia-gate and other political roadblocks thrown up in the way of a resumption of Russian-American efforts to find areas of common global interest and set aside points of conflict in the interest of global stability.

The list of shared concerns is long: Extension of the New START Treaty covering strategic weapons; efforts to either salvage or replace the INF Treaty before both Russia and NATO begin deploying intermediate range missiles along a European front; Korean denuclearization; a diplomatic solution to the Syrian War, now that it is clear that President Bashar Assad has survived the eight-year regime change effort.

While the MSM continues to assail Trump every time he tries to strike up a conversation with Putin, a number of Cold War veterans have come out recently, pressing for US-Russian dialogue. William Perry, Sam Nunn and George Shultz penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on April 10 headlined "The Threat of Nuclear War Is Still With Us." They argued for a multi-track resumption of US-Russian diplomacy, involving the Executive and Legislative Branches. Most urgently, they called for the US and Russia to agree to abandon the "launch on warning" doctrine of nuclear retaliatory strikes, which give leaders only moments to decide whether to launch Armageddon. A majority of Democratic Senators recently wrote to President Trump, urging the beginning of direct dialogue with Russia over extension of New START beyond the 2021 termination date.

Before the Trump-Putin phone call, two Administration officials traveled recently to Moscow to confer with counterparts. Fiona Hill, the National Security Council director for Russian Affairs visited around the same time that the President's envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun made an April 17-18 visit to the Kremlin to discuss US-Russian collaboration to revive the stalled Korea denuclearization talks.

The Hill and Biegun talks were a very cautious first step towards reconstituting a Russian-American diplomatic engagement. Still far from plans for the Trump-Putin summit that has been on hold since July 2018, when the two presidents met in Helsinki.

All of the bitching and moaning about Donald Trump's personality, his unpredictability and worse cannot any longer stand in the way of some effort to resume real substantive Washington-Moscow engagement. Nuclear war and the other pressing issues on the US-Russian table are adult stuff. The Beltway infantile fits about Trump-Russian "collusion" have played their course. It's time to let it go.
Tonight on 60 Minutes Liz Hayes fronts a special investigation into Boeing following recent aviation failures.

Fatal Flaw

When aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced its brand-new passenger jet, the 737 MAX, it thought it was onto another winner. Airlines around the world  including Australia  ordered thousands. But Boeing was wrong, and the plane has turned out to be a catastrophic failure. In the last six months two of the jets have crashed and 346 people have been killed. In a special edition of 60 MINUTES, Liz Hayes reconstructs the final horrific moments of both Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. In startling interviews with 737 pilots, aircraft engineers and a former Boeing insider, Hayes investigates the fatal flaw of the 737 MAX, and questions not only why Boeing designed a plane with the ability to override the control of the pilots, but also why the company didnt tell the airlines buying the planes it was doing this. Boeing says it can, and will, fix the problem, but Hayes asks whether the damage has already been done. For decades Boeing has relied on the undisputed trust of pilots and millions of passengers flying worldwide. But now, has it all been lost?

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producer: Gareth Harvey

8:40pm Sunday on Nine.
EXCLUSIVE: Foxtels Head of Drama Penny Win is stepping down from a full time position but will continue in a consultancy role.

Win (pictured top left) joined the company as Programme Promotions Manager in 1996, before a five year stint as programmer at TV3 & TV4 in New Zealand and rejoined Foxtel in 2003. She has held the positions of Channel Manager with Foxtel Networks and was appointed as Commissioning Editor for Drama in 2012 and then to Head Of Drama in 2014.

Dramas under her watch have included Wentworth, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Secret City, A Place to Call Home, Fighting Season, Devils Playground, Deadline Gallipoli, and The Kettering Incident. Upcoming commissions include Lambs of God, Upright and The End.

The achievements under Penny are impressive, said Executive Director of television Brian Walsh.

Under her direction, Foxtels drama series have been recognised by the Australian creative community and industry professionals to great acclaim and won numerous accolades for achievement in excellence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Penny for her enormous contribution and more broadly, for her invaluable participation in furthering the creation of unique Australian stories for television. Penny will continue to play a key role in Foxtels local production plans, specifically as our Drama Consultant on signature series, Wentworth.

Pennys associates in our Drama Department, Carly Heaton and Lana Greenhalgh, will now report direct into Ross Crowley.
excerpt from The Real Face of Facebook in India: How Social Media Have Become a Weapon and Dissemninator of Disinformation and Falsehood by Cyril Sam and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (April 2019) Published by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta | available via: https://amzn.to/2ViCdzV

aThe 2014 Modi pre-election campaign was inspired by the 2012 campaign to elect Barack Obama as the aworldas first Facebook President.a Some of the managers of the Modi campaign like Jain were apparently inspired by Sasha Issenbergas book on the topic, The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. In the first data-led election in India in 2014, information was collected from every possible source to not just micro-target users but also fine-tune messages praising and amythologizinga Modi as the Great Leader who would usher in acche din (good times) for the country.a

[ . . . ]

aEarlier, in 2015, the Modi government rallied support for the social media platform by announcing an e-governance scheme called aDigital Indiaa a all government departments, ministers and bureaucrats were asked to create Facebook pages to reach out to their friends and constituents. In effect, Facebook became the default communication platform for the government of India. In the years that followed, supporters of the BJP started aweaponizinga Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to target voices critical of Modi and his party.

These three social media platforms together comprise the biggest advertising network of its kind in the history of humankind. But they have huge design issues that go beyond leaking user data. Facebook and its sister platforms are not just addictive but seek to convert politics into games. Democracy and interpersonal interactions turn into games of engagement: likes, shares, comments and a race to gather more followers.

In India, representatives of various political parties have been reported saying that the chances of a person getting a party ticket to stand for elections would go up if the concerned person had a large number of followers on Facebook. In March this year, Prime Minister Modi asked his party MPs how many of them had over 300,000 agenuine likesa on their Facebook pages and said he would incentivise such MPs by appearing on video conferences for their supporters.

The social media giant is no ordinary corporate conglomerate. As the New York Times recently put it: aIn just over a decade, Facebook has connected more than 2.2 billion people, a global nation unto itself that reshaped political campaigns, the advertising business and daily life around the world. Along the way, Facebook accumulated one of the largest-ever repositories of personal data, a treasure trove of photos, messages and likes that propelled the company into the Fortune 500 (list of the worldas largest companies).a

Facebook makes money, and lots and lots of it, on engagement. aCommercial, political and personal speech are different a Facebook short-circuits democracy by blurring the lines between and among them,a said Dr Ravi Sundaram, media scholar at the aSaraia programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a Delhi-based think tank, adding: aIt is an infrastructure that makes money by conflating all forms of messaging and speech into commercial speech.a

Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, together also comprise the biggest consciousness manipulation infrastructure of its kind that has been constructed on a scale never seen before in the history of the world. In 2012, Facebook conducted a notorious global experiment to evaluate how changes to its news feeds affect the emotional state of its users. The results published in 2014 were not surprising. When users see more positive content on their feeds, they post positive content. And when people see negative posts, they post negative things.

Simple, but true! Facebook makes lots and lots of money by manipulating the consciousness of its unsuspecting users. Extreme content generates extreme emotions and, therefore, enhances engagement. Advertisers realised this quite quickly. The tactics employed by political hackers is borrowed from the playbook of advertisers. Facebook does its part by providing support to political operatives to generate better, more effective and more polarising messaging.

In the book, we have already examined the role played by Facebook and WhatsApp in disseminating fake news, hate speech and incendiary information and their alleged complicity with Modi, and the BJP. We have reported on how Facebook arrived at the dominant position it is in India at present with more than a little help from the current ruling regime. We continue to outline the role played by key individuals with close links with the BJP and Prime Minister Modi in propagating his partyas right-wing Hindu nationalist agenda on social media platforms like Facebook.a
The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said. The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.(AP)

The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

(AP)
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish business people in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name".

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labelled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

Story continues

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.

Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.

The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.

A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.

Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.

A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.

The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.

Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.

Story continues

Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.

The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.

There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
More than 1 million recovered from puppy fraudsters in Scotland A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK.

More than 1 million has been recovered in Scotland as part of a crackdown on fraudsters selling puppies on the black market.

A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK after welfare groups suggested that tens of thousands of puppies were being reared in unregulated conditions and sold illicitly.

Officers uncovered fraudsters selling puppies on a mass scale and for huge profit.

Due to the underground nature of the activity, the sellers had failed to declare their sales.

In the west of Scotland, two unconnected puppy breeders were handed tax bills of 425,000 and 337,000, while a puppy dealer in the east of the country was handed a tax bill in excess of 400,000 as part of the probe.

Using a full range of civil and criminal enforcement powers, HMRC recovered a total of 5,393,035 in lost taxes in the UK from 257 separate cases since the formation of the taskforce.

Several arrests have been made as part of the taskforces work across the UK over the past four years.

Puppies seized as part of Operation Delphin (HMRC/PA)

HMRC is also involved in Operation Delphin, a multi-agency collaboration across the UK and Ireland designed to tackle illegal puppy smuggling and its consequences.

It is led by the Scottish SPCA and includes partners such as the RSPCA, Ulster SPCA, Dublin SPCA, Irish SPCA, Border Force, and the police.

The head of the Scottish SPCAs Special Investigations Unit, who cannot be named due to undercover operations, said: Unfortunately, the puppy trade is big business, with thousands of dogs being brought into the country each year, particularly from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is a multimillion pound industry and many of these poor dogs are bred on large scale puppy farms with little to no regard for their welfare.

We have seized 27 puppies smuggled from Ireland at Cairnryan Port in Dumfries and Galloway as part of Operation Delphin, which is dedicated to ending the illegal puppy dealing industry and bringing those who prioritise profits over animal welfare to justice.

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Its a barbaric trade which commands huge profit from selling puppies. Often these puppies are kept in appalling conditions and this leads to injuries, health issues and behavioural problems.

Some are so far gone that they pass away from complications due to the way they are bred and kept.

The efforts of all involved in the taskforce have helped us to make inroads into this brutal trade but it is a growing problem.

Last year nearly half of all animals seized by the Scottish SPCA were rescued from puppy farms and I would urge everyone to sign the pledge #SayNoToPuppyDealers and send a clear message that this cruel trade has to end.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured."They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.""We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings."Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.(AP)

Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday.

Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Story continues

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.

(AP)
The Scottish Tory leader pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18.

Ruth Davidson has made her pitch to be Scotlands next first minister, pledging to bring about a blue-collar revolution that would get the country on the right track.

Despite the next Holyrood elections being two years away in May 2021, the Scottish Tory leader said the choice voters would face would be between another SNP government led by Nicola Sturgeon banging on about independence and a Conservative administration that would offer a brighter horizon.

Ms Davidson pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18, or take up a structured apprenticeship or training place if they want to go into work.

The Tories want the 10,000 youngsters who leave school every year and take a job with no training, or who have no job at all, to be able to carry on with their education or learn new skills, with a future Tory administration pledging between 20 million and 60 million to help make this happen.

In her speech she said the greatest service we can do to our nation would be bringing down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance.

Closing the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, Ms Davidson said: As first minister, I wont use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. Ill use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.

And Ill make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotlands next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. Weve had enough to last a lifetime.

We can't see the potential of another generation go unfulfilled. These are the people who should demand our attention.#SCC19 pic.twitter.com/e2eqkENrAv  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The speech marked her return to frontline politics after going on maternity leave, and she told activists: Im back because I want to put Scotlands constitutional division aside, to allow the country to come back together again.

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Im back because I want us to build a better Scotland  right here, right now.

That election is still two years away but today its time we fire the starting gun on the campaign.

With Ms Sturgeon having declared her desire to hold another independence referendum within the next two years, the Scottish Tory leader was clear about saying no to another referendum.

But she stressed that was because she wanted to deal, front and centre, with the very real issues affecting our country.

Here are the policies announced in Ruth's speech to #SCC19 that will help bring Scotland back together:  A New Economic Strategy for Scotland A Scottish Exporting Institute Investment Hubs in the Rest of the UK Economic Growth Fund Reformed Enterprise Agencies 1/2  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The bulk of her speech was about the policies the Tories could bring in if she achieves her goal of ousting Ms Sturgeon.

She outlined plans for a new skills participation age of 18, ending the current system which allows children to finish education when they are 16.

Ms Davidson said she wanted it to be the law that everybody up until the age of 18 has to either go to college or university, or if they want to start work, its through a structured apprenticeship or a traineeship.

As part of a sea change in culture in vocational education, she argued for junior colleges to be set up to provide more opportunities for those who choose not to go to university.

Ms Davidson also promised a lifelong skills guarantee that could help workers of all ages to retrain or improve their skills to help their careers.

What we need is nothing short of a blue-collar revolution. And a government led by me would deliver on it.

On the economy, she pledged the Tories would start by untangling the bureaucracy thats spread like Japanese knotweed under this SNP Government.

Outstanding speech by @RuthDavidsonMSP. Setting out our @ScotTories vision to grow the Scottish economy, transform the life chances of Scotlands young people, restore our public services, and end 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance. #SCC19 pic.twitter.com/5aNeF4opYN  Miles Briggs MSP (@MilesBriggsMSP) May 4, 2019

In addition there would be a new economic growth fund to support those looking to invest in Scotland, as well as the establishment of a Scottish exporting institute.

With the world facing the massive challenge of climate change, she said Scotland could be at the forefront of the new clean energy revolution of the future too, adding that her government would work to encourage technologies such as hydrogen power.

Countries like Australia are already investing millions in developing hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas, she said.

Its zero emissions, you can make it from water using renewable electricity, you can store it and then export it to neighbouring countries. Well why not us too?

You cant trust a word @RuthDavidsonMSP says today. Heres what she really thinks pic.twitter.com/OciYsrdBDo  Scottish Labour (@scottishlabour) May 4, 2019

But SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: Ruth Davidson is, just like her boss Theresa May, running scared of democracy.

Support for independence is on the rise, and the Tories can see that, which is what lies behind their utterly undemocratic move to block the people of Scotland having a say on their future.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said the Tory had been silent about how the reforms she promised would be funded.

Mr Gray said: Labour is committed to lifelong learning, but the most urgent reform our education system needs is more funding  we have over 3,000 fewer teachers under the SNP but Ruth Davidson wont ask the richest to pay their fair share to deliver it.

In fact, Ruth Davidson was silent on how she plans to pay for her plans.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

Shamima Begum, pictured going through security at Gatwick airport, before catching a flight to Turkey in 2015 to join Islamic State (Met Police/PA)

She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

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Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Three men have been arrested over the incident in the south of the city on Friday.

A teenage boy is critically ill after being attacked in Belfast.

The 17-year-old was found by police inside a flat on the Donegall Road in the south of the city on Friday afternoon following reports of a disturbance.

He was found injured and unconscious.

Police are currently investigating the serious assault of a teenage boy in the Donegal Road area of south Belfast this afternoon. He has been taken to hospital for treatment. Witnesses or anyone with info call 101, quoting reference number 1018 of 03/05/19.  PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 3, 2019

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said the victim is understood to be critically-ill in hospital.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at about 4.15pm on Friday.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said those who were arrested are being questioned at Musgrave police station.

Anyone who can assist us with our investigation is asked to contact Musgrave CID on 101, quoting reference 1018 03/05/19, he added.
Wellbeing and sport spokesman Brian Whittle said the issue was 'not an easy one' for the party to deal with.

Government welfare policy on the rape clause is a not an easy one for Conservatives to deal with, a leading Scottish Tory said.

Brian Whittle, the sport and wellbeing spokesman for the Conservatives in Holyrood, said great marketing by opposition parties had seen them use the policy to attack the Government.

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird insisted it was absolutely shameful that Conservatives, including Ruth Davidson, support the despicable Tory rape clause.

But speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative Aberdeen conference, Mr Whittle argued it was legitimate to debate the limits that should be put on benefit payments.

He said: The thing about the rape clause, and I think it is fair to say the opposition have grasped hold of that and are driving that really hard into us, the thing is this, were looking at a system where the question is, should there be an upper limit on social benefits, and thats a debate that has to happen and its a very legitimate debate

We think there should be a limit to what social security payments should be, and if we agree to what social security payments should be, you would accept there have to be exemptions to that.

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He added that if the party had not included an exemption to the policy  which limits to two the number of children for which families can claim tax credits  they would have been massively criticised.

But Mr Whittle said Tories were getting beaten for doing that, when the actual debate is around social security benefits, should there be an upper limit, what it should be, and if there isnt an upper limit how does that encourage people to go back into work.

He continued: Its not an easy one for Conservatives to get round, and Ive been beaten for that as well.

But there is a legitimate debate to be had here that is not being had.

Alison Thewliss MP, SNP, said: Brian Whittles comments are not only offensive, theyre totally heartless.

He seems to be in total denial about the hardship and misery his own party is causing.

The rape clause is not a political invention  its an utterly horrific policy of the Tory government, which has forced families across Scotland and the UK into poverty.
[Translation from the original statement in Portuguese - Nota da Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia em Defesa do Ensino e Pesquisa Nas Areas de Humanas, BrasAlia, 26 de abril de 2019 is made available here for public information, hoping that social scientists in South Asia will express their solidarity with Brazilian sociologists protesting end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and write letters of protest to the Govt of Brazil]

sacw.net - 3 May 2019

Statement from Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia / Brazilian Sociological Society

BrasAlia, April 26, 2019.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology (SBS) publicly expresses its strong criticism of the statements made by the President of the Republic regarding his intention to "decentralize" university resources to human areas - specifically philosophy and sociology - in order to "focus" on areas such as veterinary medicine, engineering and medicine.

Certainly, the areas of veterinary, engineering, medicine - and others such as biology, chemistry, etc. - are fundamental for the social and economic development of the country.

However, it is necessary to point out that the humanities, among which the mentioned disciplines philosophy and sociology, have a long trajectory in the history of knowledge elaborated in several universities in Brazil and in the world and are equally important for the construction of a modern country, developed and more supportive.

Sociology is a scientific discipline as much as physics, medicine, chemistry, biology, etc. The knowledge it draws is based on empirical facts confronted with theories and concepts, but also on conceptual reflections and analyses of social reality carried out through the use of analytical categories that are proper to it. The results obtained through sociological research are the result of the use of rigorous methods for obtaining data, considering and analyzing multiple sources of information and also sophisticated techniques in the treatment of quantitative and qualitative data obtained in various ways. In this sense, the Brazilian Society of Sociology cannot accept the unreasonable charge that sociology, both national and international, produces ideologies or the like. Sociology is a science, and like all others, it is separated from notions of common sense.

Sociology, moreover, is an academic discipline present in virtually every country that has universities. In all the contexts in which it is present, it has provided relevant contributions in analyzing issues of public interest such as violence, inequalities, social, urban and rural life, etc. Their results contribute, in no small measure, to the formulation and implementation of public policies to address the many issues facing our societies.

Sociology, as one of the most respected contemporary sociologists Anthony Giddens has argued, has, after all, become a fundamental actor in modern societies, since the knowledge produced by it enables citizens to understand the world around us and the broader contexts in which we live.

It will never be too much trouble to warn that countries with more robust university systems than Brazil have vigorous departments of human sciences and sociology, such as Harvard, Columbia and Yale in the USA, the London School of Economics in England and France, Ecole des Hautes Atudes en Sciences Sociales, as well as sociology departments at the German universities of Bielefeld, Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt, or in emerging countries such as China and its Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Instead of suffering senseless accusations and threats of budget cuts, these institutions and their departments of sociology enjoy social and intellectual respect for their local communities and, at the same time, the protection and academic encouragement of their respective governments.

Finally, it is important to point out that numerous international calls for the execution of large technological projects (in areas as diverse as the environment, health in general and public health, engineering) have required the presence of sociologists or sociologists in the teams of researchers, since more and more discussions in international political arenas take into account the possible ramifications and consequences of the results of these projects on the living conditions of broad population segments.

To decree and / or stimulate the end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and humanities, is to stimulate and promote the international isolation of the country in front of the most advanced in all fields of science in the world.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology urges the national and international university communities to join in the defence of the departments of sociology - and philosophy - in Brazil, as well as the other areas of the human field.

SBS also calls on Brazilian society to defend freedom of thought and research, preservation of academic dialogue between the various areas of knowledge, namely, the intellectual exchange between the natural sciences, the technological areas and the human build together scientifically and socially relevant knowledge for a modern and supportive society as we hope
As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.May Day hangoverAfter the May Day demonstrations \- when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops. * Yellow Vests battle images of violenceThen, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'Numbers drastically fallingOne would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central ParisHowever, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.This may be attributed to two reasons:Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten. Notre Dame vs the people? After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms. * Fall in Yellow Vest numbers after Macron's proposed reformsThe reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.Sacred summerAnother reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?

As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?

For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.

Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.

The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.

The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.

May Day hangover

After the May Day demonstrations - when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.

The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.

Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops.

Then, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.

Story continues

This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.

But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'

Numbers drastically falling

One would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central Paris

However, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.

This may be attributed to two reasons:

Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.

Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.

Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.

He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.

The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.

But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten.

Notre Dame vs the people?

After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.

Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms.

The reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.

A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.

The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.

Sacred summer

Another reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.

As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.

Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.

Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.

One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is engaged to her longtime partner, fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, after a proposal over the Easter holidays, her spokesman said on Friday.

The forthcoming nuptials are a rarity for world leaders in office and follow Ardern's pregnancy last year which was seen around the globe as a symbol of progress for female leaders.

She is only the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and, if she marries while in office, will be the first major leader to do so since French President Nicolas Sarkozy wed Carla Bruni in 2008.

Her fiance, Gayford, is a 41-year-old host of a television fishing show who takes care of their 10-month-old daughter Neve Te Aroha, while Ardern, 38, runs the country.

News of their engagement broke after journalists noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger at a public event on Friday.

Her spokesman Andrew Campbell confirmed she had been wearing the ring since Easter. He did not give details of the proposal.

Ardern was asked by the BBC while visiting London in January if she would consider asking Gayford to marry her or wait for him to propose.

"Absolutely, I'm a feminist, but I want to put him through the pain and torture of having to agonise about that question himself. That's letting him off the hook, absolutely not," she said jokingly.

The couple met about six years ago when Gayford went to complain to a member of parliament about the then National Party government's proposed changes to security legislation.

He bumped into Ardern, a rising star in the Labour Party, they had coffee and were living together not long after.

Gayford's television show, Fish of the Day, takes him around the Pacific, fishing and finding recipes for his catch. The series has been sold to 20 countries and won a gold award at the Houston International Film Festival in 2016.

While Ardern was breastfeeding her infant daughter, the family travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Story continues

The family divides their time between the capital Wellington and Auckland, where they own a house in a central city suburb.

Ardern's calm and compassionate response to the killing of 51 Muslims in March burnished the credentials of a leader who has been criticised domestically over her handling of the economy and flip flops in government policy.

Three U.S. presidents married in office, according to the White House historical association, wartime leader Woodrow Wilson and two nineteenth century presidents, widower John Tyler and Grover Cleveland, who married at the White House.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jacqueline Wong)
May 5 is Your Last Chance to Win a $1.3K PokerNews Cup Package For $33

May 03 2019 Matthew Pitt

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PokerNews heads to the Finix Casino on the Greek border in Kulata, Bulgaria from May 15-19 and were hoping you will join us. Hundreds of poker players will descend on the Finix Casino hoping to become the latest in a long line of PokerNews Cup champions.

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This final $33 satellite shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. GMT on May 5 and is your last chance to get your hands on the following package:

550 ticket to the PokerNews Cup Main Event

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Is This the Best Welcome Bonus?

Those of you who have already attempted to win a PokerNews Cup package in the previous two $33 satellites can now register for the final satellite and see if it is a case of third time lucky. If this is your first attempt at winning a satellite or if you havent got a Natural8 account yet, youre in line for what could be the best online poker welcome bonus.

Download Natural8 via PokerNews, create your free account and when you make your first deposit, Natural8 matches it 100 percent up to a maximum of $1,688. Not only is the bonus amount large, there is no timeframe attached to releasing the bonus into your account; you can have as much time as you wish as long as you do not make a withdrawal while the bonus is active.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you contribute $50 to the cash game rake or in tournament fees. You will also gain access to a $500 New Player Freeroll if your initial deposit is at least $10.

Join us in Bulgaria for the 2019 PokerNews Cup and see if you can write yourself into pokers history books.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least 152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of 4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive 827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.

EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.

Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.

For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.

Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.

Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?

History of the EPT in Monte-Carlo at a Glance

Year Entries Prize Pool Winner Country Top Prize (in EUR) 2005 211  1,983,400 Rob Hollink Netherlands  635,000 2006 298  2,801,200 Jeff Williams United States  900,000 2007 706  6,636,400 Gavin Griffin United States  1,825,010 2008 842  8,420,000 Glen Chorny Canada  2,020,000 2009 935  9,350,000 Pieter de Korver Netherlands  2,300,000 2010 848  8,480,000 Nicolas Chouity Lebanon  1,700,000 2012 665  6,650,000 Mohsin Charania United States  1,350,000 2013 531  5,310,000 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland  1,224,000 2014 650  6,500,000 Antonio Buonanno Italy  1,240,000 2015 564  5,640,000 Adrian Mateos Spain  1,082,000 2016 1098  5,325,300 Jan Bendik Slovakia  961,800 2017* 727  3,525,950 Raffaele Sorrentino Italy  466,714 2018 777  3,768,450 Nicolas Dumont France  712,000 2019 922  4,471,700 - -  827,700

*Held as PokerStars Championship
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.
Local banks are taking precautionary measures to cope with card fraud, such as asking cardholders to change their passwords and locking automated teller machines (ATMs) after 10 p.m. during public holidays.

How much does it cost to convert magnetic into chip cards?

Vietnam to have first domestic chip cards in Q1 2019

More Vietnamese consumers embracing digital payments: Visa

A client of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank withdraws cash from an ATM. Local banks are adopting preventive measures to minimize risks for themselves and their clients  PHOTO: SACOMBANK

A cardholder of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that she had received an email from the lender on April 28, which detailed the types of scams being employed.

For example, scammers pose as bank staff and tell clients they have won prizes, or they hack into Facebook accounts to send phishing messages. These individuals also pose as police officers and threaten clients to make them provide their bank account details.

Some cardholders of Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, recently complained that they could neither withdraw cash at ATMs nor make online transactions.

VietinBanks Chairman Le Duc Tho told Tuoi Tre newspaper that multiple ATMs of the bank had been targeted for credit card skimming, where a small device is planted on the ATM to read credit card details, which scammers then sell or use to make fraudulent purchases.

To ensure card security during the long holiday, VietinBank has identified ATMs at high risk of skimming and has changed the card status for those clients in addition to sending SMS messages to the cardholders, who will need to change their passwords at ATMs before conducting any transactions.

Other banks, such as Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), have taken similar steps. Some have also imposed a limit on cash withdrawals at their ATMs at night.

An Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the State Bank of Vietnam allows commercial banks to close their ATMs at a number of locations that are at high risk of skimming. As such, clients can only access these ATMs at a certain time. However, the banks are required to post their opening hours at these ATM locations and on their official websites.

In August last year, the State Bank of Vietnam asked these banks to flexibly cap the amount of cash withdrawals at ATMs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., following scores of unauthorized withdrawal cases.

Credit card skimmers are often placed over the card swipe mechanism on ATMs, though skimmers can also be placed over almost any type of credit card reader. With ATMs, a small, undetectable camera may be placed nearby to record people entering their PIN numbers. This provides thieves with all the information they need to manufacture fake cards and withdraw cash from the cardholders accounts.

Victims of credit card skimming are often unaware of the theft until they notice unauthorized charges to their accounts or have their cards unexpectedly declined. SGT
In the context of Industry 4.0, Vietnam is trying its best to promote a digital economy, with an initiative to promote a national innovation centre.

Vietnam wants to boost enterprises by creating innovative facilities such as the NIC

Let's takes a look into which incentives are expected to be offered to investors that wish to be involved in the initiative.

Soon after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to speed up the development of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment has called for investment at an international level through visits to developed countries like Singapore and Germany.

At the first seminar in Singapore to introduce the NIC to the international market, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung received questions about policies for investing in the centre.

According to Minister Dung, innovative entrepreneurs operating in the centre will pay just 50 per cent of personal income tax. They will be supported in training, and consultancy on capital mobilisation, trade management, and marketing by the Vietnamese government. For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the minister said that those established in five years can register to operate in the centre and be facilitated to commercialise their research results and technology development. They will also enjoy incentives of corporate income tax at the rate of 10 per cent within 30 years. Furthermore, they will also be exempt from import tax for input goods and services in support of research and development activities.

These businesses can register to establish an enterprise without listing business lines and receive a business registration certificate within 24 hours after providing the necessary information for the NIC.

Minister Dung also emphasised that SMEs can receive capital contributions, purchase shares of venture capital funds, foreign angel investors, and be supported by the NIC in administrative procedures related to investment, business, and product and service commercialisation.

Moreover, investors who fund startups operating in the centre will benefit from a 50 per cent tax reduction on transfer of shares and capital contribution if they invest for more than two years.

With such outstanding incentives, the centre will be a model in which enterprises and startups can bring into full play their creativeness and ability, Minister Dung said.

Vu Tuyet, principal at Boston Consulting Group, one of the two consultants for the NIC, told VIR that there are two notable factors that would set the centre apart from what currently exists in Vietnam.

The first is the development of a complete innovative ecosystem, especially with the presence of established big companies and links between those companies with smaller enterprises and startups, said Tuyet. The second is the experimental regulatory environment that allows the piloting of nurturing regulations and policies for new sectors to grow.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, the centre is the place to test new institutions, including giving autonomy to the management board with a special governance model. The centres head will be hired and will play a very important role. This person must be truly talented, internationally influential, and be paid an internationally competitive salary, he said.

Cung also noted that the centre is result of the serious learning of lessons from hundreds of innovation centres across the world. These centres include 17 ones in South Korea, which help startups connect with big international and domestic corporations operating in the region like Lotte, LG, Hyundai, Samsung, and SK to take advantage of their resources and experience. Meanwhile, China has established a network of manufacturing centres, a national technological innovation centre, and a network of areas demonstrating innovative ideas. In the Made in China 2025 plan, the government plans to create a national-level network of innovation centres with 15 centres established in 2020 and up to 40 such facilities in 2025.

As one of Asias leading countries in innovation, Singapore has established JTC LaunchPad, a site over six-and-a-half acres which offers a nurturing environment for startups. This environment has helped them have the chance to share and learn from each other through common use of equipment and workshops.

According to Tuyet of Boston Consulting Group, Vietnams NIC places a lot of emphasis on talents which will be the core competitive advantage for Vietnam going forward. There is huge untapped potential of Vietnamese talents who have made their mark in the world, she said. We will provide the best working and living environment in a vibrant community around the NIC, with talents at the centre, and will provide what is required for them to prosper here in their home country, she added.

Being aware of the NIC, foreign groups like German-based Bosch Vietnam and Swedish tech pioneer ABB see new opportunities, confident with their achievements gained over recent years in Vietnam. Bosch Vietnam is now getting to know about the level of foreign investment that could get involved at the centre, while ABB Vietnams priorities in smart factories, smart cities, and digital industry provide competitive advantages and so investment in the NIC is being seriously considered.

According to Ho Duc Hoan, CEO of tech startup Edu2Review, capital is a big challenge to Vietnam private companies. Vietnam hasnt got a single information gate so that startups can find capital easily. Therefore, the NIC, with its incentives, will be a good place for startups to find capital, and share and develop their ideas. Hoan also said that the current procedure of granting investment certificates for foreign-invested enterpirses often takes from five to 10 days. When the procedure is shortened to 24 hours as proposed, it will become a great area of support from the government.

Meanwhile Ho Minh Duc, co-founder of Artificial Intelligence solutions firm VBee, said that startups need financial support. Over the years, due to lack of suitable legislation, we have witnessed a lot of startups move to neighbouring countries. This brain drain wastes Vietnamese talent. He said the mechanism of capital, tax, and business procedures will help attract and keep talent in Vietnam.

Pham Minh Tuan - CEO, FPT Software

The NIC will be a place for startups to carry out and test their ideas. This is very important because to have any perfect product, we have to try again and again. Particularly in technology, its very normal to redo, repair, and improve. Being fearful or refusing responsibility are barriers to innovation. So when the government commits and accompanies startups, their chances will be wider.

The government will understand the difficulties of startups and have quicker, better solutions for them. For example, digital signature will be easier and widely applied with the support of the government. Moreover, the voice of government will help startups and innovative enterprises promote their products.

Vietnam is now attracting many major investors from across the globe. It seems that international financiers are excited with the Vietnamese market. In fact, many investors are overpaying for some of Vietnams initiatives. We have witnessed that products with potential are welcomed by funders, and they even compete with each other to own innovative products.

Norihiko Muratake - General director NTT DATA Vietnam

NTT DATA is a company with over 50 years of experience in supporting the social infrastructure in Japan and 45 other countries. Recently, we have begun collaboration with startups in possession of the worlds most advanced technologies, which we aim to utilise for the purposes of creating innovative and sustainable businesses. This is the reason why NTT DATA is interested in the NIC. This model is ideal for Vietnam to improve its IT infrastructure for Industry 4.0 through connecting startups and innovative enterprises, not only within the country but also in the ASEAN, especially Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. We will endeavour to understand more about the concept and contents of the NIC and eventually enact our plan to contribute to its progress in the future.

Brian Hull - Country managing director, ABB Vietnam

Operating in Vietnam for 25 years, ABB is proud to be a continuing partner in the countrys sustainability. The technology for utilities and automation, used in both smart cities and Industry 4.0, is changing rapidly and Vietnam is at an exciting phase of its development.

The establishment of the NIC sends a strong signal for startups, innovative enterprises, and investors. Startups will make use of the convenient infrastructure of the NIC for their innovation while larger companies such as ABB can collaborate and garner benefits from these new developments.

We look forward to continuing with clear guidance from the government on the technological and cybersecurity aspects, as well as the appropriate financial mechanisms where necessary. VIR
The Vietnamese private sector has gone on a journey from no to yes, suffering stumbles to become mature.

From zero

Even though the Vietnamese private sector suffers from mistakes and losses, pioneers constantly appear, seeking ways for breakthroughs, and becoming mature, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chung, Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Economist Pham Chi Lan said that after the national liberation, the private sector was not recognized. Only in the renewal period, the private sector was mentioned.

However, statistics showed that, after five years of reform, the private sector emerged outstandingly. Average growth rate of the non-state sector was 6.2pc. Meanwhile, the state sector only grew 1.9pc. The proportions of the state sector, non-state sector, and FDI sector are 31.8pc, 64.6pc, and 3.6pc, respectively. However, the number of private businesses remained modest amidst a range of economic barriers.

The Law on private enterprises and the Law on companies were introduced in 1990, making a turning point for the private sector. As of 1996, Vietnam housed 21,000 private companies, 9,000 limited liability companies, 210 joint stock companies. Meanwhile, the number of household businesses increased from 840,000 in 1990 to 2.2 million in early 1996.

However, the Law on Enterprises was released in 1999, marking a big leap in thinking of the State, serving to generate a new wave of the private sector. The Law was passed by the National Assembly in 1999, changing the face of the Vietnamese private economic sector, said Economist Lan.

Since 2000, the number of newly-founded enterprises yearly surged from 20,000 to 25,000, to 30,000, to 100,000 in 2015 after the Law on Enterprises was passed in 2014. Especially, the figures increased vigorously and set new records in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to 110,000; 126,000; 131,100.

The development process of private enterprises is on a pair with the national economic integration path. The 1999 Law on Enterprises was introduced, helping Vietnam to catch up with the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement. So far, the private sector is regarded as an important driving force for the economy, Ms. Lan said.

Strong rise

The private sector is strongly attached with a large number of trademarks. In the early period, famous brand names included Da Lan toothpaste, Biti's footwear, My Hao dishwashing liquid, Kinh Do bakery. At present, well-known trademarks include Vietjet Air, VinGroup, FPT, TH True Milk, VPBank, Trung Nguyen. They have contributed to bringing Vietnam to speed up in the world economic map.

Statistics showed that the private sector accounted for 38-43pc of GDP in 1995-2017 period. However, the proportions decreased from 43pc in 1995 to 39pc in 2010, 38pc in 2017.

Mr. Cung assessed that the development of private enterprises with big brand names has created counterbalance with the State sector and FDI sector, serving to generate more competitiveness.

For example, the emerge of Vietjet Air has served to make the domestic aviation market more dynamic.

Some careers appear of which private sector plays a vital role including software, Internet, real estate, steel, coffee, food.

Vietnamese billionaires made debut including Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Ba Duong, Tran Dinh Long who were listed in the Forbes list. Vietnamese brand names such as Truong Hai, Vietjet Air, Masan, FPT have reached the outside world.

What will the Vietnamese private enterprise sector look like?

So far, private enterprises have changed. A large number of Vietnamese trademarks appeared and disappeared. The hard and competitive market functions its selective competence. The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that besides the record number of newly-established enterprises, there are temporarily suspended or dissolved enterprises.

Hence, it is necessary for Vietnam to own more powerful firms.

According to Mr. Chung, it is difficult to forecast which enterprises will up and which enterprises will down or whether enterprises are successful at present will look like in the future. However, institutions decide development of enterprises.

Mr. Cung suggested private enterprises focus on five issues namely costs, legal risks, business safety, fair competition, good administration.

He also recommended the Party and Government attach importance to generating a proper environment in favor of the private sector which is expected to become the key engine for the economy. VGP
TheStable.ca, racings fastest-growing fractional ownership operation, will welcome special guest Daniel Dube to its Open House on May 12.

Dube will join a collection of top drivers showcasing TheStable.cas two-year-old hopefuls.

The Quebec native celebrated his 9,000th win on March 17 at Yonkers Raceway.

Having driven horses to more than $121 million, Dube is one of the top 20 all-time money-winning drivers in harness racing. Among the many standout horses he has steered are Horse Of The Year winners Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010).

"I've known Anthony for a long time, said Dube. When he approached me about attending their Open House, I was intrigued. Driving in the stakes program in New York I was impressed with what I saw from TheStable.ca's videos of their New York eligible horses, he said.

Another good friend of mine, Scott Di Domenico, owns a piece of one of them and will be training all four this summer, so I am looking forward to going with the babies. It's going to be a lots of fun," said Dube.

Clients of TheStable.ca and newcomers of all ages are welcome to attend the event at Tomiko Training Centre (210 Campbellville Rd., Hamilton) and drop-in any time from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The event is free but an RSVP is requested.

During the Open House, guests are invited to meet the horses of TheStable.ca and chat with owners Anthony and Amy MacDonald, their staff, clients, and industry professionals.

The event will showcase many of the engaging features of TheStable.ca, including its bi-weekly live streaming video broadcasts of TheStable.ca horses in training.

The Open House broadcast kicks off at 10:00 a.m., when the horses will train on the racetrack. Dube and fellow drivers will steer the young colts and fillies, while TV commentators preview the horses pedigrees. The broadcast will include live interviews and video features and be streamed at TheStable.ca starting at 10:00 a.m. EST

A catalogue will be available on The Stable.ca on May 10, detailing all horses for which fractions are available for purchase. The catalogue will include a schedule of when each horse will be showcased on the broadcast during the Open House.

Several prizes will be awarded throughout the event, including one-percent fractions of the horses.

Onsite purchasing will be available for horses and merchandise. Payment can be made with credit card, PayPal, cash, cheque and e-transfer.

The facility offers a heated viewing area with limited seating. Hot and cold drinks will be sold as a fundraising effort by Racing Under Saddle Ontario. Lunch is available to purchase from the Gastro Grub Food Truck.

Now in its fourth year, TheStable.ca is an award-winning fractional racehorse ownership operation based in Guelph, ON. There are currently 130 Standardbred horses owned by nearly 700 people from 11 countries worldwide.

Complete Open House event details and the RSVP form are available here.

(TheStable.ca)
More than 1,000 domestic and international delegations paid tribute to former President, General Le Duc Anh at ceremonies held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and his home province of Thua Thien-Hue on May 3.

At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh

Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Condolences sent to Vietnam over former President Le Duc Anhs death

Leaders of various countries have extended their condolences to the Party, State, Government and people of Vietnam over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.

Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.

The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.

In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.

On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Respect-paying services held for former President around the globe

Respect-paying services for former President General Le Duc Anh in the Republic of Korea

The Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General in Germany are staying open on May 3-4 for individuals, organisations and Vietnamese people in the country to pay tribute to General Le Duc Anh, former President of Vietnam.

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu and staff of the embassy as well as representatives of the Vietnamese community in Germany spent a minute of silence in memory of the former leader.

On May 3, foreign ambassadors in Germany, including Spain, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Jamaica, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burkina Faso, and representatives from the diplomatic corps, the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, as well as foreign friends came to the embassy to pay last tribute to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, World Trade Organisations and other organisations in Geneva held a memorial service and opened the funeral book for former President Anh.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the mission, recalled great contributions by the former leader to the country, especially his efforts to normalise Vietnams relations with China and the US as well as the countrys joining of the ASEAN.

The diplomat said that the mission received condolences from many international organisations over the former leaders passing away.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong (China), the Vietnamese General Consulate opened the funeral book in memory of General Le Duc Anh. Representatives from the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, the administration of Hong Kong, general consulates of ASEAN countries, and diplomatic delegations from various countries in Hong Kong paid tribute to the former leader.

Writing on the funeral book, Thai Consul General in Hong Kong expressed deep condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the great loss, stating that the deceased made great contributions to the development of the Thailand-Vietnam relations.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and held a memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh.

A delegation from the Malaysian Government led by Deputy Foreign Minister Haji Marzuki Yahya paid homage to the deceased. The official highly valued efforts by the former President to the strengthening of the bilateral partnership.

In Seoul, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Taeho headed a delegation to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh. Representatives from many countries in Seoul, including Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Ireland, Mexico, Angola, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, the US, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Thailand also came to the embassy to pay tribute to the deceased.

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh have also been held in many other countries around the world, including Belgium and Israel.

Foreign officials pay respect to former leader at overseas ceremonies

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai writes down in the funeral book

Senior officials of many countries have paid homage to Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh at the tribute-paying ceremony held by Vietnamese embassies.

President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin led a parliamentary delegation to pay tribute to the former leader of Vietnam at the service organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh on May 3.

In the condolence book, he wrote that Gen. Le Duc Anh was a close friend of Cambodia who greatly helped to liberate the Cambodian people from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and to recover and develop the country.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol also came to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh and handed over King Norodom Sihamonis condolence letter.

Other Cambodian officials, including Senate President Samdech Say Chhum and Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development Yim Chhay Ly, also showed their respect for Le Duc Anh at the ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said General Le Duc Anh directly made enormous contributions to the two countries friendship.

From 1981 to 1986, he served as Deputy Defence Minister and Commander of Vietnams volunteer soldiers in Cambodia. He was Defence Minister of Vietnam at the time the countrys volunteer soldiers fulfilled their mission in Cambodia in 1989, the diplomat noted.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in India held a respect-paying ceremony.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, wrote in the condolence book that Gen. Le Duc Anh was an excellent leader with considerable contributions to Vietnams development. The Indian people will always keep in mind his role in enhancing the India-Vietnam friendship.

Indian officials and representatives of diplomatic corps in the country also came to pay homage to the former leader.

A similar ceremony took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand the same day.

In his note, First Vice-President of Thailands National Legislative Assembly Surachai Liengboonlertchai expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Vietnam on the passing of Le Duc Anh.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Sakchai Tanaboonchai, along with many diplomats and Vietnamese people in the country, also attended the event.

Officials, diplomats and Vietnamese people in Russia, Singapore and New Zealand also paid homage to the former leader at the ceremonies held by the Vietnamese embassies in the countries.

The overseas ceremonies are scheduled to last through May 4.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Lao leaders pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993

General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith led a high-ranking delegation to pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Vientiane on May 3.

In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3.

Foreign officials pay homage to former President in UK, France

Scene taken at the respect-paying services held at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK

The Vietnamese Embassies in the UK and France held respect-paying services for Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh on May 3.

Attending the ceremony in London, on behalf of the UK Government and people, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field extended his deepest condolences toward the passing of the former President.

The ceremony, to last until late May 4, has so far gathered the attendance of representatives from foreign embassies in UK, including those of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, China, Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea, among others.

Meanwhile, at the ceremony in Paris, Corine Crespel, a representative from the French Foreign Ministrys Asia-Pacific Department, paid respect to the deceased. In the condolences book, she wrote about the significant role the former President once played in consolidating Vietnam  France relations.

The same day, many members of foreign diplomatic corps came to pay their homage.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

General Le Duc Anh remembered at former military base browser not support iframe.



During recent days, thousands of visitors flocked to the former military command base of the People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam, a national special relic site that witnessed daily works of General Le Duc Anh during Vietnams resistance war against the United States in the past.

The 3,200-hectare site, known as Ta Thiet military base in Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province, consists of a tunnel system, accommodations and workplaces of high-level party and state officials during the resistance war, including former State President Le Duc Anh, who passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Here in the base, strategic decisions were made, which greatly contributed to the glorious victory of Ho Chi Minh Campaign and liberation of the South to reunify the country.

With its rich historical values, Ta Thiet military base has become not only a tourist destination in Binh Phuoc province, but also a venue for educating youngsters about patriotism.

Besides Ta Thiet Military Base, Loc Ninh is also home to other renowned historical relic site, including the Headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and Loc Ninh military airport.

Foreign officials mourn former President Le Duc Anhs passing

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

On behalf of the Cambodian officers, Defense Ministry Secretary of State Elvan Sarat expressed his deepest sorrow at the passing of General Le Duc Anh.

He recalled the former Presidents great contributions to enhancing the friendship, solidarity and multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies.

Representatives from several ministries and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia also paid their last respects to former President General Le Duc Anh.

The same day, Russian Ambassador to Cambodia Dmitry Tsvetkov came to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay his homage to the late leader.

The diplomat showed his respect to the deceased for his talent, and lauded his huge contributions to consolidating and strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in various spheres.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt also opened the book of condolences for former President General Le Duc Anh on May 3 and 4.

Representatives from foreign embassies and diplomatic corps in Egypt, local officials and Vietnamese expats in the country came to pay tribute to the late leader.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Foreign leaders extend condolences over death of former President

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk (second, right) received President Le Duc Anh (second, left) on August 8, 1995 during the latter's official visit to Cambodia

Leaders of Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Palestine have sent messages and letters of condolences to leaders of the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

In his letter of condolences to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni offered the deepest condolences to the top Vietnamese leader, people and the family of former President General Le Duc Anh.

King Norodom Sihamoni also highlighted the late leaders great contributions to Vietnams national construction and development cause, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh was an excellent and respectable leader of Vietnam.

Saudi Arabias King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, extended their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Palestinian President, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas also sent messages of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra sent a letter of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Respect-paying ceremonies held for former President in Myanmar, Netherlands

Myanmars Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin came to the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar on May 4 to pay respect to former President Gen. Le Duc Anh.

Writing in the condolence book, the minister extended his deepest sympathies to the Vietnamese people and the family of the deceased.

The passing away of the former President on April 22 was a great loss for the Vietnamese people, he wrote, adding that the general will be remembered for his important role in Vietnams struggle for national liberation and development.

On May 3-4, ambassadors of many countries in Laos, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and international friends paid tribute to the former Vietnamese leader at the embassy.

On these two days, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands also held a respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for the former President.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered in China, ASEAN

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao writes in the condolences book.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China on May 3-4 opened a condolences book for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month at the age of 99.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Chaiman of the Steering Committee of the National Peoples Congress Li Zhanshu, and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Wang Yang sent wreaths in memory of the Vietnamese former leader.

Paying last respects to the deceased, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao wrote in the condolences book that the passing of Le Duc Anh is a great loss for both Vietnamese and Chinese peoples, describing him as a friend of the Chinese people.

He affirmed that the Chinese Party and State always attach much importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, and want to promote the Vietnam-China friendship collaboration in a practical and stable manner.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi, Deputy Secretary-General Hoang Anh Tuan and staffers at the ASEAN Secretariat on May 4 paid homage to former President Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia.

In the condolences book, Lim expressed his deep sympathies to the Vietnamese people over the passing of Le Duc Anh, who made great contributions to the nations peace, stability and economic development, particularly in the nations joining the ASEAN in 1995. He will be remembered as one of the most respected leaders in Vietnam and a leader that gave strong support to the ASEAN, the official wrote.

At the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters, the Vietnamese national flag flied at half-staff on May 3-4.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered abroad

Vietnam's permanent mission to the United Nations opened a condolence book for former President Gen. Le Duc Anh in New York on May 3.

Maria Luiza Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sent a representative to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese leader and write in the funeral book, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh will go down in Vietnams history as a talented and respected leader.

Ambassadors of several countries such as Laos, Cuba, Singapore and Australia also came to the missions headquarters to pay homage to Gen. Anh.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in the US also held a solemn respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for him.

Crowds of representatives from the US administration, organisations and diplomatic missions of many countries in Washington DC came to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese President.

Susan Parker-Burns, Acting Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State, extended her profound condolences to the family of the deceased, emphasizing that under the leadership of the former President, Vietnam and the US made important steps forwards towards reconciliation and establishment of cooperative ties, laying important foundations for the current good relationship between the two countries.

In the funeral book, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families Ann Mills-Griffiths affirmed that President Le Duc Anh had made great contributions to building the US-Vietnam relations, including supporting and promoting Vietnams humanitarian policies on POW/MIA work,

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh were also held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Mozambique, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Canada.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Respect paid to former President Le Duc Anh in Latin America, Africa

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile holds a respect-paying ceremony on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile held a respect-paying ceremony in the Latin American country on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month.

The ceremony saw the presence of many local officials, representatives of political parties and Vietnams friends in the countries. Heads of many foreign diplomatic offices in Chile were also on hand.

They expressed their deep condolences to Vietnam over the passing of the former President.

Meanwhile, representing the Tanzanian government, Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi on May 4 came to the Vietnamese Embassy in the African country to pay his last respect to the deceased.

Writing in the condolences book, the minister highlighted that former President Anh had greatly contributed to the strengthening of the bilateral relations.

Representatives of many foreign embassies in Tanzania also came to pay respect to former President Le Duc Anh.

VNA/VNN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang

On April 1, Malaysias Shah Alam High Court (MLS) sentenced Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of a man holding a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder. The prison term was calculated starting from the time Doan Thi Huong was detained on February 15, 2017.

Huongs lawyer Salim Bashir said after the trial that Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behaviour.

Huong was set free on the morning of May 3. She took a flight from the Kuala Lumpur Airport afterwards and arrived at Hanois Noi Bai airport the same day.

Spokesperson Hang said: We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

This outcome was contributed by continuous efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong, she said.

We also acknowledge positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time, she added.-VNA
Bui Hai Hung, PhD, who has resigned from his post at Google DeepMind to be the head of VinAI Research, said that he was returning to Vietnam to struggle, not to retire.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.

Mr Bui Hai Hung

He obtained a scholarship to Curtin University of Technology which was offered to one Vietnamese student winning an international prize in 1991. The scholarship program for Vietnamese students unexpectedly was postponed the next year.

This drove him to continue study for a doctorate and skip the masters degree after he finished Curtin University in Australia with high marks. Later, he left for the US and realized that the US, not Australia, was the ideal environment for technology engineers.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.



When I started working at Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, there were only several Vietnamese. The figure now is several hundred, Hung said. There, staff develop research and seek opportunities themselves, while Vietnam does not have a methodical process to produce a high-quality labor force, he said.

The former senior expert of Google DeepMind will to draw up a plan to produce a high number of talents in IT industry for Vietnam, or those who can perform in technology centers such as Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are many talented Vietnamese, but they developed their careers accidentally like me. They dont know how good they are, how far they can go, and where they should go to develop their abilities, he said.

In the field of AI, Bui Hai Hung is a leading expert in the world who has been carrying out research on AI for the last 20 years in Silicon Valley. In recent years, scientists have begun talking about the 4.0 industry revolution, and AI is at the center of the revolution.

However, despite Hungs stature, Vietnam remains a zero on the worlds AI map. Hung has vowed to change the situation.

Hung met Pham Nhat Vuong, chair of Vingroup, a Vietnam conglomerate which has made heavy investments in R&D and technology. Hung said the meeting was, once again, something he did accidentally in his life.

The meeting of a leading scientist in AI and the US dollar billionaire ended up with Hung deciding to come back to Vietnam to take the post as head of VinAI Research. Hung believes that he and his future colleagues can perform top-level research in Vietnam.

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For lifetime Hanoian Thanh Van, days filled with fresh air and walks down the cool, tree-shaded streets of the capital are few and far between.

Hanoi to focus on air quality monitoring

Hanoi residents worry about air pollution

Thick haze engulfs Vinh Tuy Bridge connecting Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien District.

The woman born and raised in the Old Quarter is more used to a thick blanket of haze on her daily commute.

Some 7 million people living in the city suffer the same ordeal.

Hanois air quality has worsened dramatically in the last few years, remaining at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels almost year-round, according to air quality forecast app AirVisual.

A report released by Greenpeace in early March listed Hanoi as the second most polluted city in Southeast Asia, following Indonesias Jakarta.

Theres an estimated global cost of US$225 billion in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets, noted Yeb Sano, Executive Director of Greenpeace South East Asia, on the effects of air pollution.

Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by nearly two years, research by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found.

Hanois heavy concentration of particulate PM2.5 in the citys air has also raised concern.

At monitoring stations in areas with high traffic density such as Pham Van Dong Street, Hang Dau Street or Minh Khai Commune in Bac Tu Liem District, PM2.5 concentration is usually measured at 300-400 micrograms, far exceeding the World Health Organisations safety limit of 25 micrograms.

PM2.5 refers to tiny dust particles, also known as fine particles, that are about 30 times smaller than a human hair, which allow them to intrude the lungs and blood.

Exposure to fine particles can lead to reduced lungs function, respiratory and heart-related diseases.

Be careful

Despite visual indications used by monitoring apps, tracking air quality is tricky.

It depends a lot on which location you put a sensor. Simple activities like cooking can also lift the index, implying the air quality is worsening, said Do Van Nguyet, director of NGO Live&Learn Centre for Environment and Community.

The declining air quality in Hanoi has been blamed on inner city pollution sources including rapid rise of vehicles, constructions and daily activities like using coal-stoves or burning waste.

The citys sunken terrain and poor urban planning along with temperature inversions also foster pollution spikes, according to researcher Nguyen Thi Anh Thu from Green ID.

Hanoi is being choked by high-density construction. Photo taken on Minh Khai Street. VNS Photos Khoa Thu



Cross-border air pollution has also emerged because of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial zones and energy production or burning forest for agriculture.

There are several causes of air pollution so to tackle the problem, Hanoi needs to determine its major causes, Thu stressed.

Unfortunately, there has been no completed report on what triggers the citys air pollution, making people blame traffic as the biggest pollutant.

Meanwhile, according to a report by International Energy Agency, the total CO2 emissions of Vietnam in 2016 were 187.1 million tonnes, of which thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, accounted for 40 per cent, followed by manufacturing industries and construction with 33 per cent.

Transport contributed 35.7 million tonnes, equivalent to just 19 per cent.

Most of nearly 30 operating coal-fired plants in Vietnam are located in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh.

Urgent intervention

In early April, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan rejected the 2018 World Air Quality Report by Greenpeace and AirVisuals report, saying Hanoi ranking as the second-worst polluted city in Southeast Asia was inaccurate.

According to Nhan, the report just showed pollution results of 20 cities of four among 11 nations in the Southeast Asia.

It was a baseless conclusion, he said.

For Thu Thuy, an apartment resident on Minh Khai Street, Hanois ranking is not important.

I do not care whether Hanoi is the second most polluted city in the region or not. What I want to know is how we can take action to improve the situation, not downplay it. Air pollution is real. I can feel it, I can see it without anyone telling me the citys air quality is declining, she said.

Pham Huyen, a NGO officer in Bach Mai Street, said she was not put at ease by the deputy ministers statement.

Frequently travelling to Southeast Asian countries, despite having no data, I still feel Bangkoks air is much more breathable than Hanois, she said.

The authorities need to give instructions on how to protect our health and urge companies and people to use eco-friendly materials and energy in construction, transport and daily lives, Huyen added.

Meanwhile, data provided by Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network at moitruongthudo.vn is updated slowly.

We need air quality to be forecasted, just like weather so that people can take measures to protect them when going out, said Nguyet.

While authorities seem to be passive in responding to polluted air, NGOs have launched several initiatives.

Clean Air  Green Cities, a project by USAID and Live & Learn, is working with the Center of Multidisciplinary Integrated Technologies for Field Monitoring (FIMO) to install low-cost air sensors in Hanois schools and offices.

Data collected from these sensors is updated at fairnet.vn for students and parents easily tracking air quality at where they are studying.

A bulletin on air quality is also published weekly, focusing on air pollution challenges and community-based solutions.

The systematic problem of air pollution needs a systematic solution, according to experts.

Hanoi authorities need to specify major pollutants and promptly take action to reduce and manage them, said Thu. Regulations on construction dust control should be tightened along with reducing vehicle emissions.

Collaboration between Hanoi and neighbouring provinces in monitoring toxic air is key, she added.

To tackle bad air quality, Hanoi has mulled banning motorbikes by 2030, aiming to accelerate public transportation use.

In the recent three years, the PM2.5 concentration recorded at the US Embassys air quality monitoring station has slightly reduced yet remained at a high level. Therefore, we need more commitments to improve the situation as well as more sensors and shared data to fully portrait the citys air quality, said Thu.

As all these efforts take time to alter Hanois air quality, Van is looking for help from nature.

Sometimes, rain can wash away all dust and give back Hanois clean sky, even for a short moment, she said.

Lucky for her, summer rains are forecasted for the next few days.

Information on Hanois air quality can be found at:

Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network: www.moitruongthudo.vn

FAirNet Map of air quality: www.fairnet.vn

PAM Air Map of air quality: www.pamair.org

Real-time Air Quality Index: www.aqicn.org/city/vietnam/hanoi

US Embassy in Ha Noi: www.airnow.gov

German Embassy in Ha Noi: www.hanoiair.de/en_US/

AirVisual: www.airvisual.com/vietnam/hanoi

(Source: The Clean Air - Green Cities Weekly Bulletin)

VNS
Vietnam needs to settle fundamental problems before it can think of building smart cities, experts say.

The Da Nang City Peoples Committee has announced it will spend VND2.1 trillion to implement a smart city project from now to 2025.

To date, more than 30 cities and provinces have been implementing or have begun preparing for similar projects.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that local authorities have been too hasty to build smart cities, though they think agree with the concept.

Nguyen Van Ngai, vice rector of Hoa Sen University, said that there was a smart city rush which follows the airport rush, university rush and a movement to build administration centers.

He said while local authorities have called on to build smart cities, their understanding about smart cities remains vague.

Authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.



Ngai said that authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.

An analyst, agreeing with Ngai, said it is easy to attract foreign investors. They will come if they can see promising profits. However, before inviting them to Vietnam, local authorities need to think about how to program the development of the cities, and how much to budget for smart city plans and other issues.

He said Vietnam needs to learn a lesson from the heavy-industry development plan initiated in the 1970s. It was too hasty to implement the plan when it lacked capital and technologies.

Smart city sounds fashionable. But in the context of a scanty budget, he said, local authorities have to prioritize to spend money on the most essential needs.

Meanwhile, Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City, said there was no need to worry about smart city rush, saying that it is the era of IT and digital technology application in urban area management.

Cuong pointed out that there will be obstacles in building smart cities.

First, the IT era is an era of communication, but the ability of Vietnamese to cooperate and exchange information is poor.

Second, to have smart cities, it is necessary to have information systems for exchange. Agencies and individuals need to have the desire to provide information and get shared information.

Third, its necessary to re-train and upgrade peoples knowledge in science and technology. Fourth, financial capability is limited.

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A Vietnamese suspect in the murder of the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol arrived home on May 3 after two years in prison in Malaysia.

Doan Thi Huong arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 3

Doan Thi Huong arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 10pm on Friday after being freed from a prison in Malaysia's Selangor State at 7.20am the same day.



Huong, wearing jeans, long coat and sunglasses, constantly smiled as she was met by well-wishers and journalists who came to see her at the airport. Huong's father and brother were also present to welcome her.

She was accompanied by a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese lawyer, and three Malaysian lawyers.

Huong answered questions from the media for about five minutes and then quickly got on a car and left with her family members.

Huong said she was very grateful to the Vietnamese and Malaysian governments and some lawyers both from Malaysia and Vietnam for their work.

"I was treated well in prison in Malaysia," she said. "I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone for that."

The 30-year-old former hair salon worker said she still wanted to follow her dream to become an actress and wished to have a chance to return to Malaysia again.

Anh:

Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were put on trial for murdering the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur Airport in October 2017 and faced death by hanging if convicted.

The two women always denied having committed murder, arguing that they were pawns in a plan hatched by North Korean agents who fled Malaysia after the killing.

The defence stage of the case was due to start in March, but in a shock move, prosecutors announced they were withdrawing the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, and she flew back to Jakarta.

Her release followed intense diplomatic pressure from Indonesia, including from President Joko Widodo.

Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong's murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. Dtinews
US chemical firms, including Monsanto should be responsible for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Monsanto court ruling bolsters the hope for millions of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

VN welcomes Monsanto ruling: Foreign ministry

Vietnam demands Monsanto compensate Agent Orange victims

Illustrative photo



Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical?  a Vietnamese association has questioned US courts for ignoring those of US Agent Orange chemical warfare.

Vietnam is again seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange (AO), inspired by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California. The biotech firm had supplied the US military with the chemical during the Vietnam War, the RT has reported.

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) has logged a letter to a US court asking it to restart a class-action lawsuit by AO victims against American chemical firms, including Monsanto, which the Eastern District Court of New York dismissed in 2004, claiming a lack of evidence and asserting that herbicide spraying... did not constitute a war crime pre-1975.

Citing two recent court rulings in San Francisco, where Monsantos Roundup was found responsible for health damages and the company was ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, VAVA asserted that it is time for the company to take responsibility for supplying the US military with AO during the brutal chemical warfare campaign (1961-1971) in which 12 million gallons of herbicide were used.

Dioxin, a highly toxic element of AO, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. Stressing that Vietnam currently has more than 4.8 million AO victims, the letter asked for justice for people with hideous deformities.

Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical? the letter states.

Is all the scientific evidence, with people as living proof, and Vietnams environment ravaged by AO used by the US in a meaningless war from 1961-1971 still not convincing?

Monsanto, which was acquired by German giant Bayer AG last June, in the past argued that it was the US military that had set the specifications for making AO and decided on where and how the herbicide was used. The company also noted that it was just one of many wartime US government contractors who manufactured the toxin.

Last month a jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million in punitive damages to Edwin Hardeman after the court found that Roundup, Monsantos infamous glyphosate-based herbicide, was a substantial factor in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

In a similar case in August 2018, Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million after developing cancer from long-term exposure to Roundup. After months of legal drama, the terminally ill cancer patient agreed to a reduced payout of $78 million.

Earlier last month, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said that Monsanto needs to be responsible for settling consequences caused to people and environment in Vietnam. Hanoitimes
A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War.

War-remnant coffee shop in Hue City

Little House on the Prairie in town

A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War. -- Photo: VNN

The cafe, which opened over a year ago, used to be a weapons vault supervised by Tran Van Lai, who was a Sai Gon special soldier.

Lais son Tran Vu Binh, who runs the cafe now, said it is decorated with memorabilia of soldiers in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

"I was researching materials to rebuild this house in its original form and collecting artifacts to make this a historical cafe for people to visit. This idea was born out of my affection and respect for the soldiers," he said.

The three-level building still has its original brick floor and tiled roof. The houses specialty is a tunnel system that opened to visitors last year.

Many objects used to make the tunnel are also displayed at the cafe, including iron boxes and wooden barrels for weapons.

The coffee shop also showcases items once used by Saigon residents many decades ago, evoking nostalgia for a bygone era.

VNS
WATERLOO  William L. Burts dream of operating a mobile barbershop is on hold  for now.

Burt, who cuts hair at four different locations in the Cedar Valley, has been trying to launch Kut Kings, a mobile barbershop, since December. But Iowa code prohibits barber shops not having a fixed location.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, who said Burt wants to serve people who cant come to his shop, such as people at homeless shelters, veterans clubs, senior centers and schools.

The bill went through the Iowa House, but was stopped by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, later in the State Government Committee.

A no vote wont stop me, Burt said. So if the people need me, give me a call.

Burt has been one of Smiths barbers throughout his life.

Some of the things that he was doing are really in line with my mission as a member of the Legislature, Smith said.

The legislation to legalize mobile barbershops was bipartisan and had a Republican co-sponsor, Smith said. Americans For Prosperity also endorsed the bill.

It passed in the House with broad support, Smith said. We were pretty surprised to see when it, singularly, was pulled out of a cosmetologist bill. It was the only thing that was pulled out of that bill.

Zaun never made his reasons for opposing the bill clear, Smith said.

He was pretty dead set on not negotiating and not having a conversation about it, Smith said. To me, if were allowed to groom a dog in a mobile vehicle, then it doesnt make sense why we cant have a barbershop do the same thing for humans.

Zaun didnt respond to The Couriers call for comments on the legislation.

Smith plans to start over again next year.

This was just the first step, Smith said. Were definitely not finished.

Mobile barbershops are going to become a need, especially in rural Iowa, he said.

Burt hopes the legislation moves forward next year.

Im keeping my ducks in a row, Burt said. Im kind of just waiting in limbo.

If hes unable to operate in the state, Burt said hell leave Iowa to operate Kut Kings. It doesnt stop here.

Currently, his prospective shop is sitting in his backyard waiting to be used.

Everythings tied up. Its like a clogged drain right now, Burt said. Im just trying to stay afloat.

Burt has invested thousands of dollars into the stalled project, but hes still making house calls.

If you need me, if youve got anybody thats sick or shut-in, give me a call, Burt said. I just wont pull the bus and cause a big scene, but I will bring my clippers.

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NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

May 3, 2019



NEW YORK, May 3, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks by an Alabama legislator:

Alabama state Rep. John Rogers is against the death penaltyfor those who have been convicted of murdering someone.

But he believes in the death penalty for innocent unborn childrenon the incredible supposition that they might grow up to be violent criminals 15 or 20 years later.

"Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later," he told the Alabama legislature earlier this week, as he spoke in opposition to a bill protecting the unborn. "You bring them into the world unwanted, unloved, then you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later."

Rogers' hypocrisy knows no bounds. In 2002, speaking against the death penalty, he lectured pro-lifers: "If you are against abortion, you ought to be against the death penalty."

But the obverse, in his view, doesn't hold. While many pro-lifers do oppose capital punishment, Rogers, while opposing the execution of convicted criminals, believes innocent unborn children should be executed, for crimes they might commit if they are permitted to be born and grow up.

In 2002, arguing for changes in Alabama's death penalty law, Rogers declared, "We need to at least give a man a chance to prove that he is innocent." But unborn children targeted for abortionwho clearly are innocentdon't get that chance. They are presumed to be headed for a life of violent crime, and thus can be killedshould be killed, in Rogers' viewbefore they can grow up and prove to be productive, law-abiding citizens. History is literally filled with the stories of people who, having grown up in terribly deprived, destitute, neglected or abused circumstances, went on to make inestimable contributions to the common good.

Since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 1,494 executions in the United States. During that same time, there have been upwards of 40 million babies aborted. Does Rogers really believe, if abortion had not been legal, that we would have had anywhere near 40 million executions over the last 43 years? If not, that's an awful lot of innocent lives destroyed to get at the relatively few who might have become criminalsand whose lives Rogers would have fought to protect if they did commit violent crimes.

Pro-life people are of course aghast at Rogers' callous remarks. But many abortion supporters are upset as well, for a different reason. They know that Rogers has ripped the mask off the human carnage that is abortion.

Rogers fully acknowledges the brutal truththat every abortion kills an innocent, living human being. We appreciate his honesty, even as we deplore his cold-hearted embrace of that killing. In calling it what it is, he is far more truthful than most abortion supporters.
WAVERLY  After many years selling his wares, Doug Cole of Cole Art Pottery in Sumner noticed a trend: Young people his daughters age didnt seem to be buying art anymore.

Millennials and Gen X, theyre just not buying stuff  they go more for experiences, Cole said. They dont want to collect stuff.

Thats a big problem for Cole and other artists who sell stuff. Hes seen galleries close up and shows dissipate over the years.

Its a tough time for the art world, he lamented.

And yet, Cole was doing brisk business Saturday morning at the Art Walk in Waverly, selling his ceramic pottery to a crowd he called fantastic and one of the better turnouts hed seen. Hes the only artist who has been at the event all 14 years.

Apparently, today seems to be a little bit of an exception, Cole said.

Plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the high 60s worked in the favor of the artists showcasing their wares at the 14th annual Art Walk, held at the riverside Kohlmann Park in downtown Waverly.

Its the kickoff to the spring season for a lot of people, said Tiffany Schrage, tourism and special events director for the Waverly Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the Walk. A nice day like today, people can see their friends and see some art while theyre down here.

Thirty-one artists, the vast majority from Iowa, set up along the parks winding sidewalk, hawking everything from paintings to metal sculptures to jewelry to wooden benches as hundreds passed through.

Jennifer Jones Ruiz began the Art Walk as a service project while in high school and continues to direct the event 14 years later.

We have a lot of talented artists for one, and a lot of community support, Jones Ruiz said. I think people appreciate and are happy we have an event like this.

Food vendors and childrens activities, like the yearly piano painting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., helped bring families out.

But kids were painting more than just a piano. At age 11, Maria Tonelli of North Liberty was the youngest artist selected for the event this year, showcasing watercolors and pastels.

Shes been painting since she was 5, she said.

I think I just like doing them  the animals, she said.

Her pieces featuring puffins were a top seller, friends working her booth confirmed.

Grandmother Margie Kline of St. Ansgar, a ceramics artist herself, said Marias art can be found in stores in Decorah, St. Ansgar, Mason City and Austin, Minn.

I do pottery and (husband) Bill does pottery, and Maria started coming along with us, she said.

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WATERLOO  Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in the case of a Waterloo man accused of killing his girlfriends daughter in 2015.

Chad Allen Littles defense team rested their case on Friday after Little declined to take the stand.

Prosecutors said Little, now 35, called a hospital hotline using another persons name on the morning of May 30, 2015, to report Gracie Buss, 4, had a seizure and fell down the stairs of her Downing Court townhouse. He then left Gracie and her mother, Kristi Buss, at the apartment before the ambulance arrived.

Gracie remained unconscious in the hospital until she died days later. A medical examiner determine she died of blunt trauma to the head but wasnt able to determine if it was accidental or homicide.

During trial, doctors said the collection of injuries to Gracies body and retinal hemorrhages in her eyes pointed to abusive trauma.

Little first told police he wasnt at the apartment May 29 and 30, 2015, but then admitted he was there for a little while and said Gracie was asleep at the time.

Buss, 34, is charged with child endangerment, and she is being tried separately.

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WATERLOO -- A former Waterloo man is in custody awaiting extradition to Texas on a warrant for three counts of manslaughter.

Jarmmal Augustine Phillips, 36, was taken into custody without incident at 10:10 a.m. Saturday at Kwik Star, 506 West Ninth St.

Waterloo Police ran Phillips' license plate Saturday morning and found the manslaughter warrant out of Texas, and pulled him over.

Phillips was being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a no-bond hold as of Saturday morning awaiting extradition to Kaufman, Texas.

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office in Texas said Phillips is wanted on three separate charges of manslaughter, but had no further details Saturday.

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In the northern hemisphere, April showers bring May flowers, or so the saying goes. We see the earth waking up around us at a frenetic, energetic pace. Bare stems on trees that survived winter sprout green buds, lush flowers, and shiny leaves. May marks the best of spring: the fiery heat of full summer has not yet emerged, and the blistering cold of winter appears to be a just a memory. Traditionally, the month of May invites a celebration of fertility created through fun, fortitude, flexibility, and foundation.

Fun:

While many may see the definitive start of May celebrations as May Day or the sabbat Beltane, imagine six days of games and celebration, where everyone, including sex workers, revels in the full emergence of spring and fertility with the release of fertile animals, such as hares and goats. This is the traditional Roman festival of Floralia, honoring the goddess Flora, held from April 27-May 3 in the Julian calendar (May 11-May 16 in the modern Gregorian calendar). As a festival of the people, and not just the elite or upper classes, everyone celebrated, including prostitutes.

As a precursor to raucous modern May Day festivals, Floralia symbolizes the ability to let go of inhibitions and to frolic in the present. Spring flowers bloom and die, but while they live they capture moments of pure joy. Other festivals, such as Maiouma, where nocturnal revelry reigned, serve as a reminder that the heart of the month comes down to fun.

Fortitude

For most of the world, the start of May means International Workers Day. While Labor Day in the United States in September is a holiday now associated with picnics, the traditional end of summer, holiday sales, and politicians giving speeches that honor the common laborer, the start of May and Workers Day highlights the strength and bravery that many undertake on a daily basis for workers rights. Although the timing of the Haymarket Affair led to the eventual designation of May 1 as International Workers Day, the underlying problems and themes continue to this day.

The fight for economic security, a mandatory eight hour work day, the rights for all workers to earn a livable wage, the right to work in a safe environment, and the right to collectively bargain for changes are the bedrock of many issues that are still being fought. Even though the legal Labor Day in the United States is in September, marches, demonstrations, and protests to bring awareness to the importance of the worker and to workers issues traditionally take play on May Day. In 2017, workers protested immigrant rights against the wishes of the governmental designation of May 1, 2017 as Loyalty Day. The continued willingness to use the energy of spring to demonstrate strength of character and resilience is what makes International Workers Day an important May celebration.

A free press demonstrates fortitude by having the courage to shed light on issues that are not always popular. The UN General Assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, and the current theme is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. The freedom to express oneself without restrictions is one that many enjoy during the positive upbeat festivities in May;however, acknowledgement of the role that a free press plays remains vitally important in continuing to have such expression.

Flexibility

May is a time of great flexibility. The weather can easily change. One day a few plants are sprouting, and a week later, an entire field of bushes displays a lush array of flowers. Completion and beginning can seemingly occur in one breath. The rush of college graduations in the United States that occur in May simultaneously launch the graduate into a new world and complete a long phase of individual development for the student. It can be a mix of hearty congratulations, gifts, and parties one week, and hitting the reality of finding a permanent job or a new stability the next.

The traditional commencement speech marks the rite of passage from the walls of academic learning to the open vistas of the larger world. It is no accident that the speech reflects the speakers own life and experiences as lessons that are passed onto the new graduates. Works of wisdom such as the final work by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You Will Go and his earlier, less controversial I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew are classic gifts.

Graduation symbolizes achievement on many levels, including the ability to take charge of ones own path through the many challenges that life brings. Each year is a renewal of this celebration in a variety of forms, such as watching high school students arrive in colorful gowns and dashing tuxedos to celebrate the coming end of the school year at prom. From the presentation of a wrist corsage or pinning on a tuxedo of a boutonniere, to the official photo outside the venue, to dancing for hours to music, it is the experience of prom that provides memories.

Graduation and prom are institutional symbols of achievement that mark conclusions and beginnings. They require a willingness to accept the change and to start in a new direction. Such flexibility allows us to enjoy all that the month of May has to offer.

Foundation

May is also a common month for weddings. How better to celebrate change, fertility, and foundation than with a wedding? Many who come to Paganism do so from other traditions and faith practices given by families of origin. A wedding is a formal rite of marriage, and as such is seen as foundational for the continuation of a strong society. The ceremonial space often includes flowers, as bridal wreaths and bouquets symbolize the hope for a fertile, long-lasting union. We toast to the health and happiness of couple.

Beltane is another celebration that provides a foundation for the rest of the year. Whether it is placing yellow flowers on doors, leaping over a bonfire, or bringing a bit of the community bonfire back to ones home to light the family hearth fire or altar, Beltane provides a chance to start fresh. Traditionally, the start of summer, the sabbat Beltane takes the spark, the fire that burns literally and asks us to use it figuratively and spiritually in our lives. Beltane celebrates the act of union, be it the physical act of sex or the symbolic creation of something new.

One of the largest foundational holidays in May in the United States is Mothers Day. Although the holiday has become more commercialized with sales, the obligatory Mothers Day card, text, flowers, and calls, the sentiment remains one of celebrating family, and in particular, maternal bonds. Restaurants tend to fill with families taking Mom out so that she does not have to cook for the family. Calling Mom becomes a popular way to maintain a sense of growth and continuation. We celebrate foundation with that call or remembrance of our mothers.

In the end, we plant in May, or when the soil is receptive, moist, and able to promote maximum growth for harvest later in the year. We use the warmth of the sun, the diurnal flame that warms our planet and our bodies to grow, to begin unions, to release ideas, and to remember why life is so much fun in the first place. We celebrate what it means to be human. After all, it is the laughter and the uncertainty that allow us to embrace all that this time has to offer.

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.
SHE GOT PROMOTED TO OUR 'PERMANENT REGISTER' THIS IS THE LINE OF THINKING OF YOUR 'FUTURE BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP'. She does NOT value "Black lives". She ONLY cares about RE-RATIONALIZING HER MIND - using a WHITE REFERENCE. I WILL RE-WATCH THIS VIDEO WHENEVER I BELIEVE THAT 'MY LOVED ONES' ARE SAFE FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL MOLESTATION - AS A WEAPON.









Black Inferiority / Progressive Nationalism



Foreign Colonization Is AMERICAN DOMESTICATION



RIZZO IS DEAD IN PHILLY. LONG LIVE FRAUD IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY.



America: One Big INTEREST ONLY Loan



US Government USED Americanized Blacks' To Achieve Its African Goals Why Did You Hear This Admission About The US/NATO Actual Destructive Goals From 'WHITE TRiUMP', While The "We Are In The White House Negroes' Never Pushed President Obama To Admit That The Coup In Libya North Africa WAS NOT A 'Humanitarian Mission', As 'The Black Commander In Chief' Told The World?

What Is The 'American Containerized Black' Tribe GIVING UP In The Name Of PROGRESSIVE DISARMAMENT, Which Will Later Be Used Against Them Toward Their Destruction, That Will Be Called 'Social Justice'?

A Major Step In Protecting Black Valuables Investmented



We Are Now In The "Or Else WHAT" Stage



Slavery In Libya North Africa 2017 6 Years After The "Humanitarian Mission" - Not A Peep From "Black Grievance Studies" Professors

Perfect 1.0 'Spiritual Whiteness' Is No Respecter Of Skin Color



The "Blackest" Moment In American Jurisprudence

A Ninja Got Himself Kilt Last Night



Few Colonial Subjects Will Ask "Who Were They Fighting Against Between These Two Historical Points"



The Qualifications For Admission Have Increased



Street Pirate Adverse Community Experience Creator



When The Colonizer Becomes Aware Of The Need To Find A NEGRO CONFIDENCE MAN PARTNER



The Revenge Of LBJ After MLK "Stabbed Him In The Back" Over Vietnam



#BlackLivesMatter Is NOT A GOVERNANCE Movement It Is ONLY A POLIITCAL OPPORTUNISTIC Movement With Up To 75% Of The Homicide Victims In Philly Being Black This Means That About 126 Black People Murdered In 2015 Have Not Triggered More National Awareness Than The Cherry Picked Small Number Of Inductees In The "Black Civil Rights Homicide Victim Martyr Hall Of Fame" That Is Used As A Reference Of The Status Of Black People With Reference To White Americans

"#All Killers Of Black People Are Equal Street Pirates" The "#BlackLivesMatter" Movement Must Prove That It Is More Than The 'Ideologically Bigoted' Analog To "Police Racial Profiling" By Eliminating Its Propensity To 'Walk Past Dead Black Bodies That Don't Fit Their Agenda' On Their Way To The Protest Rally On The Downtown Public Square.



The Flag Of A New Colonizer Is Hung At Full Staff



Sudan - To-Damned-Day



The Manifestation Of Progressive Feminism As A Cultural Replacement Download Video: .mp4

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose From "My Queen" To "My Bitch" In A Few GenerationsCONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose

THE NINJA WHO GOT HIMSELF KILT



YOU ARE A WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION IN "HAMSTERDAMN"



Thanks To The Progressives I Can Now Breath



Getting Your Ass Whipped In Prison Is Not A Choice. Silence In Public Reaction To It Is



Kermit Asks That You Be Consistent



A Friend Of "Black Community Development"



The Capture Of The Assassination Killer Of Kim Jones Of Philadelphia Should Be Top News Among Those Who Value "Black Lives"

Maybe You Are Being "Colonized" Today?



The Henry Dee & Charles Moore Martyr Hall Of Fame & Last Chance NIT Tournament



"Black Consciousness" Is NOT Proven By A Large Headcount



A Black Man Seeing Crying In Philly After A Loss At The Hands Of A Street Pirate



A Question Of Personal Values And Community Priorities And Black Media Agenda

I Want To Be Allowed To Develop Into Maya Angelou



Dr King's Pulpit Then And Now



The Americanized Negro Has Known No Rivers Beyond The Urban Water Supply Spigot



The Fire Hose As A GPS Coordinate Depicting Black People's Coordinates Upon "The Struggle"



If After 20 Years Of Observations I Am On To Them, The Fact That The Media Has Been Echoing Them For 50 Years Without Challenging Them About The DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAST OF THESE UNDER THEIR CARE - Points To A Conspiracy

Converting "Safe Passage" From Municipal Street Sign To A Consciousness Within The People



The Embedded Confidence Man's Press Agents Blow Smoke Rings As Circular References



The SUPERIORITY Of White People's Thoughts



Material Access To Consumer Comforts Is Not Indicative Of A Greater Consciousness



Mayor Nutter's Lessons Learned



Gen Edmund Pettus C.S.A. - Thanks You



He Cracked The Code On Black Progressive Outrage



In This House We Still Believe In God!!!

Tavis-You Blacks Need To Fire The Negro Generals Who Have Failed & Get New Leadership



The Inside Threat That Lurks Outside Of The Window Of Community Consciousness



My Faith In Institutions That I Once Trusted To Indoctrinate My Children Will Forever Be Shattered



Regulatory Capture







The Black Racial Services Machine



A Miscalculation On The School Busing Program To Social Justice



Full Faith And Confidence Of The Office Of The President Of The United States

The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection.

Who Diverted The Community's Eyes Off Of The Prize In Pursuit Of Shortsighted Political Gains?



As I Increase The Scope Of My Sample For Observation It Is Becoming Clear To Me That The "Machine Effect" In Metro-Atlanta That Distorts And Disrupts The Development Of Black People Is Not A Geographic Phenomenon But Instead Is Rooted In Lack Of Conscious Awareness Beyond One's On Provincial Interests And, More Importantly, The Absence Of A GOVERNING OVERLAY That Can Push Back Against These Misappropriations Of "The Black Community Development Consciousness"

NYOil - Ya'll Should All Get Lynched

Why Haven't Those Who Claim To MANAGE Your Community Told You The Dimensions Of The Space?



The Rabid "Embedded Black Fox Confidence Man"



The Mayor Of Philly Learned What The Korean Merchants Already Know



A Black Man Is Not Equal Until He Can Commit A "Civil Rights Violation" With His Actions



The Elephants In Africa Are Not Republicans







Bishop Henry McNeal Turner



Obama - The First American President To Bomb Africa w/o Massive Protests From "The Blacks"



Prison Radio Speaks To BLAX News



A Foreshadowing In "The Motherland"



What About All Of The Black Executions That The Police Or The State Did Not "Sponsor"?



The Pathway Upon Which The Hijacking Occurs



With The Loss Of Black American Consciousness Comes This Detachment



With the failure of the institutions within the Black Community to develop ORGANIC COMPETENCIES domestically there is no chance that the interests of the diasporatic Blacks can be protected by American Blacks who are more focused in domestic political affairs. The main utility of this video will be to make the American Negro "angry", increasing his resolve in "VOTING HARDER" as his means of fighting against racism, this according to his present consciousness. :'(

The "Mission Accomplished" Banner Hung By The Black Progressive-Fundamentalist



A People's Consciousness Fused To An Agenda Not Of Their Own



My Relative Ideological Position



Malcolm X Called You A "Race Traitor". CF Calls You A "Racial Consciousness Misappropriator"` The "Racial Consciousness Mis-Appropriators Malcolm X Picture On Your Blog" Removal Project

Racism Chasing - The Ultimate Hustle



The Nationalization Of The Black Community Consciousness



The PPP&HWBC Blog Supports The BAOHPEH, Inc



Evaluate The Varacity Of The PROCESS Of Judgment Not Merely The Verdict Rendered



Community Management 101



Profiles In Community Consciousness



Make Black America Happy Once Again



When We Were Colored



Schuyler And X



The 10P's In The Pod Of The Black Establishment Progressive Politicians

* Perpetual Protesters (Civil Rights orgs)

* Policy Influencers (lobbyist groups, think tanks)

* Press Operatives (the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")

* Performers (singers, rappers, actors)

* Preachers w/ and w/o Pulpits * Public Intellectuals (Humanities Professors)

* Public School Teachers

* Pro-Union Labor Forces

* Posters (Bloggers) (Civil Rights orgs)(lobbyist groups, think tanks)(the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")(singers, rappers, actors)

Don't Shoot Me Street Pirate! I Am Attempting To Be A Positive Asset To My Community



Will The Black Comunity Recover From The Hijacking Of Its Consciousness?



The Use Of "Slave/Jim Crow Images" In Black Political Debate - Evaluate The Agenda The use of "slave imagery" is common in ideological discourse among Black people today. The best way to appraise the veracity of the agenda of the presenter is to distinguish between those images which are used to cajole Black people into "Ideological Unity" versus those images used to bring consciousness to the sad fact that in far too many cases today - the man holding the gun is a Black man, his disturbed consciousness allowed to fester because the balance of our community organizers are focused on external political affairs. They sell us on the notion that when our people assist their political/ideological external partners in their success that these individuals who suffer from BENIGN NEGLECT will be cured - no longer terrorizing us. In the circular reference that is their struggle - the more damaged individuals that matriculate through the local institutions that they now control per their struggle, the louder their call for continued UNITY and redirection lest our community's long time external adversaries start terrorizing us again. They successfully avoid community scrutiny of their stewardship of our key "Human Resource Development" institutions.

I Am A Man!!



The Photographic Negative Of The Black Progressive Blogs That Focus On What White Folks Are Doing Black Racism And Race Hatred Blog

Stuff Black People Don't Like

Chicago Lady 216 - The Crisis Of Consciousness WITHIN The Black Community You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

Consciousness Mission Accomplished



I Support The "Corporate Premise Security Equality Project"



New York Times Demographic Mapping



The Antidote For Fear And Ignorance Antidote to the use of the tactics of FEAR as propagated by 'confidence men' to prompt a people toward a certain direction that is against their permanent interests is the development within these masses a base of Knowledge. When this knowledge is applied to their daily lives this builds up their Competencies. As a result their "Standard Of Living" is increased toward the a favorable level.

Obama Commemorative Plate = "Mission Accompished - An Ensnared Black Community"



Black Male Un-Demployment Rates In "Mission Accomplished" Cities



The Conflict Between The Civil Rights Pharisees Vs The Neo-Progressive Establishment Players You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

From Reactionary Transactionalism To Management Of Our Community



Ideologically Polarized Vision



Ted Kennedy & Black Independent Consciousenss



People Who Aide & Abet Street Pirates Need To Hear These Words & Instead Pursue Absolute Justice

THe NAACP & Rachael Maddow See These Guns As INFERIOR To Guns Used By Right-Wing Militias ** No matter how many guns these Street Pirates gather and no matter how many Black people are killed - these "equal human beings" will never been EQUAL in the mind of Civil Rights Pharisees and their White Snarling Fox Liberal co-conspirators because there is no ideological and political advantage in going after them.

The Rallo Tubbs Fan Club



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Those Who Have Their Conciousness Focused "Within The Black Community"

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SSC results on May 6

Staff Reporter :

The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations will be published on May 6.

Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee President Professor Muhammad Ziaul Haq said that the chairmen of all education boards would hand the results to

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni in the morning of May 6.

"The Education Minister will then announce the results in a press briefing at International Mother Language Institute," Professor Ziaul said.

Usually, the Education Minister submits the results to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a programme at Ganabhaban in the morning of the publishing day. After getting PM's approval, the Education Minister announces the results formally. But this year, as the Prime Minister is not at home, Dr Dipu Moni will announce the results, the Education Ministry sources said.

A total of 21,35,333 students -- 10,70,441 boys and 10,64,892 girls - from 28,682 institutions took part in the examinations.

Of the examinees, 17,00,102 sat for the SSC examinations under eight general education boards while 3,10,172 for Dakhil examinations under the Madrasa Education Board, and 1,25,059 for vocational examinations under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

A total of 434 students appeared in the examinations from eight overseas centres as well.
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for reelection in 2020. Enzi, 75, was first elected to the Senate in 1996. He has been returned to the Senate for three additional terms, getting over 70% of the vote each time.

Possible replacements could include former Gov. Matt Mead or Rep. Liz Cheney. In July 2013, Cheney announced she would challenge Enzi for the Republican nomination. After failing to gain significant party support, she withdrew in early 2014. Enzi would easily defeat four other challengers on the way to winning a fourth and final term in November that year. Cheney went on to win the state's at-large seat in the U.S. House in November, 2016.

Enzi becomes the fourth Senator to announce a 2020 retirement. His Republican colleagues Lamar Alexander (TN) and Pat Roberts (KS), as well as Democrat Tom Udall (NM) will be leaving. All these seats are seen as safe for the incumbent party.
Nicholas Mulder in n+1:

Where most of the charges that the right levels against the EU are hard to take seriously, the left has produced cogent and sophisticated critiques of the organization. Leftist skepticism about the project of integration goes back to the beginnings of the European Economic Community, but was generally a minority current; the Eurozone economic crisis and Britains ongoing attempts to depart from the EU have reanimated this tradition, with some arguing for a left exit, or Lexit. The Lexit position points to a split among the Unions left-wing critics: varying diagnoses of the EUs democratic deficit and neoliberal bias in turn suggest different paths to a more progressive and democratic Europe.

Currently, there are two broad varieties in left-wing anti-Europeanism. The first line of criticism is that the EU is an unaccountable technocracy constitutionally opposed to democracy. On this reading, unelected Eurocrats at the European Commission threaten national sovereignty as they enforce budgetary rules, laws, and regulations with no accountability. A related but distinct accusation is that the EU is terrible for national democracy because it is a vehicle for German empire. On this reading, the technocrats are either simply doing the Germans bidding, or else the Germans are responsible for long ago having rigged the rules of the union in favor of the continents largest and most powerful country.

These left-wing analyses focus on a real problem: the constraints of current EU and Eurozone economic policies, which have deepened and prolonged the continents crisis. Yet in their urge to counter the tyranny of the market, left nationalists misread the nature of the neoliberal project in European politics.

More here.
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The best athletes, teams, coaches of 2021: South Dakota Sportswriters awards

The South Dakota Sportswriters Association honored the best teams, players and coaches in college, high school and independent sports.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In late June 2015, Enrique Palomino, then 14, went mobbing overnight with five friends in a Foothills neighborhood. The spree ended early the next morning when one of the teens, 16-year-old Jeremiah King, shot and killed a 60-year-old homeowner  a popular local bartender who had tried to chase the teens away from his house.

Last month, police say, Palomino  now an 18-year-old on supervised probation  and two other teens shot and seriously injured a homeless man during a robbery. A GPS monitor put Palomino at the scene of the crime, according to court documents.

Palomino, Xavier Pino, 18, and Dominic Lopez, 17, are charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the April 4 shooting of 29-year-old Garfield Lopez, who was homeless. There is no indication that Garfield Lopez and Dominic Lopez are related.

Palomino was arrested for an unrelated probation violation on April 11 and booked into the juvenile detention center. The charges connected to Garfield Lopezs shooting were filed against him this week.

Meanwhile, Pino has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Dominic Lopez.

In another twist, police say the casings found at the scene of the shooting have been traced to at least six other shootings, including a 2017 homicide and the April 8 slaying of 15-year-old Martin Maestas. A police spokesman did not provide details about any of the shootings.

Palomino was at the scene of Maestas slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

Palominos mother, Amanda, told the Journal that Maestas and her son were good friends and that the two were shot at randomly by two robbers.

My son does not deserve what were going through, she said.  He has a lot of people that love him and are going to fight for him.

Palomino was detained at the scene of Maestass slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

A storied history

Palomino has a storied history in the case files of the Albuquerque Police Department and Childrens Court.

Most notably, he was the second youngest of six teenagers charged in the 2015 death of Steven Gerecke after a night of mobbing  when a group of teenagers broke into cars and homes.

Palomino, who said he was in the car when Gerecke was shot, pleaded guilty to larceny, conspiracy, aggravated burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced as a juvenile and shuttled around treatment facilities, two of which he was kicked out of for fights and drug possession.

Palomino was released in November 2018 and placed on probation, but it didnt take long for him to catch the eye of the law.

On April 2, a Facebook photo surfaced of Palomino holding a gun and beer  a violation of his probation. That is what led to his April 11 arrest. He pleaded guilty earlier this week to that violation, and a judge sentenced him to a juvenile detention facility until he is 21 years old.

This is our neighborhood

The recent robbery and assault charges against Palomino are the most serious since Gereckes slaying.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded to a shooting around 7 p.m. in the 3400 block of Tulane NE, near Carlisle and Candelaria, on April 4. They found Garfield Lopez, who friends and family described as being homeless, had been shot four times.

Neighbors told police three young men  later identified as Palomino, Pino and Dominic Lopez  sped off in a gray car after the gunfire. One man said two of the suspects pointed guns, one with a green laser on it, at him as they fled.

Benjamin Gomez told police he was walking with Garfield Lopez down the street when three men said this is our neighborhood, asked if they had drugs and called them a slur for homosexuals.

Police say two of the suspects drew guns and one tried to pistol whip Garfield Lopez as the other robbed Gomez of his phone and wallet. When Garfield Lopez punched one of the suspects, they shot him and ran off.

A woman who lives nearby told police that her son Dominic Lopez and his friends may have been involved. She told police that the three all carry guns and were outside her home when the shooting occurred. She called her son a wanna be gangster who loves guns and thinks its cool.

Detectives spoke with Palomino after he was arrested for the probation violation and told him his ankle bracelet put him at the scene. He told them he was with Pino and Dominic Lopez but a couple blocks away when he heard gunshots.

Before APD officers could track down Pino, he was arrested April 21 in Moriarty by local police after he allegedly pointed a gun  with a green laser on it  at another driver during a road rage incident.

When questioned about the shooting of Garfield Lopez, Pino told police he was chilling in the car when Dominic Lopez and Palomino robbed the two men. Pino said Palomino shot Garfield Lopez after being punched and they jumped in his car and fled the scene.

According to the complaint, Pino said he had not seen Dominic Lopez or Palomino since, and he has been focused on school.

Journal staff writer Elise Kaplan contributed to this report.
It just felt right, Cathy Baehr said, when asked why she has decided to retire from Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Baehr, the principal at Enchanted Hills Elementary since January 2000, is the longest-serving RRPS principal. She said leaving is truly bittersweet  its a humbling experience.

Sometimes you feel its time to look for new adventures, she said.

Growing up in Oklahoma, she recalled wanting to be a nurse, then laughed when she noted her college degree was in business management.

I found it wasnt going to fulfill my heart and soul. I returned to school and got my teaching license, she said.

That was back in 1984, when her first job was teaching language arts in Cyprus-Fairbanks, north of Houston.

That forced her to renege on something she had told her mother: I am not going back to school to be in school, (but) I loved it.

In 1986, she and her then-husband moved to Albuquerque and she got a job with Albuquerque Public Schools.

In making a long story short, she basically wound up in Rio Rancho because she learned then-Enchanted Hills Elementary Principal Carl Leppelman was not only looking for references for someone, but also recruiting. Baehr said she was interested, and soon found herself teaching in Rio Rancho  at Lincoln Middle School, in the 1986-87 school year.

Eight years later, when the APS buildings in the City of Vision were absorbed when RRPS became a reality, Leppelman brought Baehr to Enchanted Hills to be his assistant principal. When Leppelman became an RRPS administrator  hes now the executive director of curriculum and instruction  Baehr was named the schools principal.

Its been a great ride, she said, soon to say goodbye to at least six teachers who have been there for 20 or more years, and two women who work in the office, with 12 years each under their belts.

Shes always in good humor  Ive never heard her raise her voice, said Liz Bushma, the schools attendance clerk. She can multi-task like nobody on the planet.

Added Aileen Patrick, the schools registrar, Cathy has been a pillar of the school. Anytime you think of Enchanted Hills, you think of Cathy Baehr: not only a great principal, (but) a great friend  to the staff and the kids. Shes been a blessing.

Its leaving a family, Baehr said, making her decision to retire hard. I need to learn to unwind after 35 years  25 in this building  and take a bit of a break.

That break includes a cruise to Cuba and Cozumel with her sons, both of whom attended EH El. Now shell have more time for housework, walking her dogs, organizing, church and reading.

Her EH El highlights have been many, among them seeing the school receive an A from the state Public Education Department, being rated as one of just 12 exemplary schools in the state and hiring one-time Enchanted Hills students who decided to become teachers.

We get to help mold them with their parents, she said of her role as an educator and principal.

She sees the good in even the students with the most challenging demeanors and biggest struggles, says former EH El teacher Kristi Smith, now teaching in California. Cathy is also fiercely loyal and loves students.

She notices that good in her staff, Smith added.

When Cathy sees something in you, there is nothing that will stop her from helping you believe as well, Smith said. For example, Cathy approached me quite a few years ago and asked if I would consider being our schools next education tech specialist. Intimidated by the idea, I told Cathy I did not think I was capable of that role. She pushed in the way only Cathy can until I decided to give the job a try. It was a decision I will forever be thankful for, both professionally and personally.

Baehr said current Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary assistant principal Jennifer Bartley has been named her successor.

Baehrs advice to Bartley: Keep a great sense of humor.

As far as her legacy is concerned, Baehr, who doesnt like talking about herself, said she hopes others understand that I tried to give the kids the best learning environment, a safe school, and I provided lots of encouragement for the students.  Im glad my work has meant something to others.

After all, she concluded, We need to prepare them for the world  and its moving very fast.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
If someone libels, slanders or defames your character, you can sue them. Of course, youll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business, and youll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion. Youll have to show the offender made a false statement of fact.

I got to thinking, if everyone is equal under the law, shouldnt this standard also apply to those high-powered lawyers who routinely throw out defamatory comments while defending their celebrity clients?

Currently two brothers, Bola and Ola Osundairo, have filed a defamation lawsuit against the attorneys representing television actor Jussie Smollett. You probably remember that Smollett was accused by law enforcement in Chicago of filing a false police report in late January.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, reportedly told police that while he was out on a late-night sandwich run, two white men wearing Trump-inspired MAGA hats attacked him, shouting homophobic and racist slurs while splashing him with bleach and looping a noose around his neck. Smollett later told ABC he never mentioned MAGA hats but his attackers declared This is MAGA country!

The Osundairo brothers came forward to say they were the attackers but it was all a pre-planned publicity stunt choreographed by Smollett himself. They explained they were bit actors on the TV program Empire, on which Smollett also appeared, and had staged the hoax hate crime as a favor to Smollett. Sixteen felony charges were filed against Smollett, but in a controversial move they were later dismissed. Smollett insists he is a victim.

Smollett engaged the top-tier law firm of Geragos and Geragos. Its founder, Mark Geragos, and his associate Tina Glandian went on a publicity drive of their own, calling the brothers liars and saying they were guilty of a hate crime. On March 28, Glandian appeared on the Today Show and went so far as to say the brothers, who are black and from Nigeria, may have been wearing whiteface during the attack. In early April, Glandian was on the popular podcast, A Reasonable Doubt, strongly suggesting one of the brothers had a sexual relationship with Smollett.

Less than a month later the Osundairos filed their defamation suit against Geragos and Glandian, alleging they had falsely maligned the brothers to distract from Mr. Smolletts farce and to promote themselves. They claimed damage was done to their reputations, personal lives and acting careers. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria, punishable by long jail sentences or even death by stoning, and the brothers claimed the lawyers false statements made them fear for their familys safety back home. The suit also pointed out that many of the ugly accusations by Smolletts lawyers came after charges had been dropped, so the Geragos team could not convincingly say they were just doing their job defending a client.

The written response to the defamation suit from the Geragos and Geragos firm may have compounded the problem. It calls the lawsuit comical and then clearly accuses the brothers of fraud. It reads in part, While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public.

Wouldnt it be something if this suit was not dismissed? If high-profile, camera-loving attorneys were held accountable for their public statements defaming adversaries? It might change the whole tone of the justice system when dealing with headline cases.

Last December, criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman preemptively released emails between his former client, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and two women who have accused him of sex crimes. Brafman alluded to more emails from other women who may be called to testify at Weinsteins upcoming criminal trial. Brafman wrote to the judge, For the most part, these extraordinary emails suggest, beyond question, that many of these women have lied in making their complaints against Mr. Weinstein. Brafman branded these women as liars, and under the defamation standards you and I would be held to he would have to prove his claim or be held liable, right?

I was in the Florida courtroom during opening statements in the trial of Casey Anthony, accused of killing her toddler daughter. Her lawyer, Jose Baez, sought to deflect attention and told the jury Casey had been sexually abused for years by her father. Yet during the trial he presented no evidence of that. Could George Anthony have sued for defamation? Id think so, but he didnt.

Jurors and journalists need to be on the lookout for these flamboyant lawyers who steamroll over peoples reputations without repercussion or proof. Verdicts should be reached only on the actual evidence presented at trial. Publicity-seeking lawyers who face the cameras first before entering the courtroom in hopes of influencing public opinion arent doing their job. Their job is to defend their client in court with the truth.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Student test scores will not be included in New Mexico teacher evaluation process this year, the state Public Education Department announced this week.

A memo from Deputy PED Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment to superintendents and charter school leaders statewide said the test scores are being dropped from the Transition Teacher Evaluation Reports for 2018-19.

Under the teacher evaluation system unveiled this week, teachers will be graded on a 100-point scale.

 Classroom observations will be worth 50%.

 Planning, preparation and professionalism will be worth 40%.

 Family and student surveys will be worth 10%.

Student assessments accounted for 35% of the previous evaluation under the administration of then-Gov. Susana Martinez. Earlier in her administration, it had been higher, but she reduced it after opposition from a wide spectrum of educators.

Despite the change, the use of test scores was still opposed by teacher unions.

The PED memo said the decision to drop test scores was made to comply with an executive order addressing teacher evaluations signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The governor issued an executive order in January  just days after being sworn in to office  directing the PED to come up with new rating and assessment tools to decrease unnecessary pressure on students and teachers, while also providing more time for instruction.

But the executive order did not specify what factors the new evaluation system should use, and two bills aimed at revamping the states current system  and putting those changes in state law  stalled in this years 60-day legislative session.

The first-term Democratic governor earlier ordered that New Mexico drop the PARCC exam and create a new state-specific assessment system in its place. Scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exam have been used by the state in past years as a factor in teacher evaluations and school grades, which were used to identify low-performing schools for potential closure.

As we look to the future of teacher evaluations in New Mexico, the educator growth and development team will engage stakeholders across the state to ensure all voices are part of designing a new teacher evaluation system, the memo said. NMPEDs stakeholder engagement events will begin in late May and (be) held throughout the state.

The change drew both praise and criticism.

The transitional system helps students by putting teachers, not standardized test corporations, back in control over classroom teaching, and it will improve and showcase our teaching, National Education Association-New Mexico President Betty Patterson said in a news release. Increasing classroom observation to 50% is appropriate. So too is the increased importance of planning, preparation and professionalism to 40% of the total.

Patterson said all teachers will be able to show their hands-on abilities as they are observed by their highly trained administrators.

There is no doubt our students will benefit from these changes, she said.

But National Council on Teacher Quality President Kate Walsh called the decision a step backward.

Good teachers have nothing to fear from such measures (student assessments), Walsh told the Journal.

Walshs organization praised the states previous evaluation system in a report, calling it a model for success.

NewMexicoKidsCAN Executive Director Amanda Aragon called the decision a disservice to students and teachers.

She predicted that New Mexico would fall further behind other states. She said student scores are part of most states teacher evaluations.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
SANTA FE  With her trial date approaching, former state Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla allegedly defied a judges order by attempting to contact a division director at her old state agency who is also listed as a possible witness in her case.

Thats according to Attorney General Hector Balderas office, which has asked a judge to revoke Padillas conditions of release over the incident.

The dispute is the latest legal salvo in the states public corruption case against Padilla, a former Cabinet secretary in Gov. Susana Martinezs administration who has pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and using her appointed position to push for favorable tax treatment.

In a motion filed this week, the AGs Office alleged that Padilla tried to call Aysha Mora, director of the Taxation and Revenue Departments Audit and Compliance Division, in March regarding a taxpayers audit. Padilla is a certified public accountant who has been working as her case plays out.

Mora, who did not respond to the telephone message, is among the states possible witnesses in the case against Padilla, who was ordered last year by a judge to have no contact with witnesses.

Attorneys with the AGs Office have previously raised the issue of improper contact with witnesses, as an assistant attorney generally said during a November 2018 preliminary hearing that he had personally observed Padilla speaking with two witnesses and said he had been told she also mouthed something to another individual who was testifying.

The judge did not immediately act on the request at the time and allowed Padilla to remain free on her own recognizance. In addition to no contact with witnesses, her conditions of release also include no alcohol and no leaving the state without the courts permission.

In its latest motion, the AGs Office said Padilla was already on notice that she should not attempt to communicate with potential witnesses.

On its face, defendants attempted contact with Mora might not seem alarming; but viewed in proper context, the contact should make the court question why defendant is willing to continue to violate her conditions of release by contacting identified witnesses in her pending criminal case, two assistant attorneys general wrote in their court filing.

Padillas attorney, Paul Kennedy, declined to comment Friday on the latest allegations.

Padilla was charged by the AGs Office in June 2018 with embezzling more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo-based company, Harolds Grading & Trucking, and other alleged crimes, including violating the ethical principles of public service and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain.

If convicted of all seven charges she is facing, Padilla could face up to 16 years in prison and as much as $20,000 in fines.

The effort to revoke Padillas conditions of release is one of several motions state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer could rule on this month. The case is expected to go to trial this summer.
Climate change is not a lie. Do not let our planet die.

Thats a chant that could be heard by those passing by the University of New Mexicos Johnson Field around 1 p.m. Friday.

Repeating those words was a crowd of more than 100 mostly high school students who were skipping school.

They didnt seem to worry about getting caught. They were proudly carrying signs that said Climate Crisis, Stop Climate Change Before Its Too Late, System Change, Not Climate Change, and Claim Our Rights.

For them, walking out of class was a way of making their voices heard about the future of their planet. The demonstration was part of the National School Strike for Climate Action in which high school students throughout the U.S. and Canada walked out to urge action to halt the damage caused by climate change.

I want to send a message to our senators, people who can vote and those in charge that we need to take action immediately, said Aubrey McCullough, a freshman at Sandia High School.

She wants government officials to cut down on carbon emissions and switch to renewable resources.

Obviously, its not something that will happen with an immediate change, she said. Its not going to happen with one bill. We definitely need to start weaning ourselves off of it (fossil fuels).

Eldorado High School junior Jared Sichler walked out to encourage more action and legislation to save the planet for future generations.

We need to start using renewable energy more and start committing more money to it, Sichler said. He agreed with McCulloch that America needed to start cutting back on its dependence on oil.

Teslas doing a lot of things to make electric cars more affordable, Sichler said.

Sandia High School junior Alyssa Ruiz was concerned about the damage continued dependence on oil would do to the environment and the economy.

She said didnt want to live in a world where climate change causes drought and food shortages.

Ruiz said she would like to see climate change declared a national emergency.

Jennifer Patterson, also a junior at Sandia High, said she would like to see more policies cutting down air pollution by companies.

Id also like to see Styrofoam bans in Albuquerque, she said.

Eldorado sophomore Mitchell Hahn voiced a concern that the Earth is being destroyed and pointed to the problems being caused by plastic products piling up in the oceans. Hes in favor of banning plastic products.

That includes water bottles, straws and plastic utensils, Hahn said, with the exception of use by some businesses.

He views the recent decision by the Albuquerque City Council to prohibit businesses from providing single-use plastic bags at the point of sale as a positive step.

I believe we should be using reusable bags, Sichler said.
SANTA FE  Two New Mexico state lawmakers  one Republican and one Democrat  were feted Friday by a national group for their work on criminal justice legislation.

Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, were among 10 individuals selected to receive the People Over Partisanship award by The Coalition for Public Safety, a Washington D.C.-based group.

The honorees, who also included U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were recognized at an upscale ceremony at a Kentucky castle that both Maestas and Rue planned to attend.

Rue and Maestas teamed up during this years 60-day legislative session  along with a few other lawmakers  on a crime package signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that will expand a diversion program aimed at unclogging the states court system.

The two also worked on a different bill dealing with changes to New Mexicos probation and parole system that was vetoed after prosecutors statewide raised concerns about it.

Maestas and Rue are also co-chairs of the state Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that meets while the Legislature is not in session to study ideas and hear testimony. The subcommittee was disbanded several years ago but later revived after a three-year break.

Along with Rue and Maestas, bipartisan legislative duos from Kentucky and Pennsylvania were also honored Friday by the Coalition for Public Safety for their work.

Party staffing: With a high-stakes election cycle on the horizon next year, the New Mexico Republican Party currently has only one full-time employee.

GOP spokeswoman Anissa Ford-Tinnin said Friday that Pam Kingston, the partys bookkeeper, is currently the only full-time staffer as others doing work for the party, including Ford-Tinnin herself, are volunteers.

Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said after being elected to the post in December that he planned to get to work immediately on fundraising and hiring a full-time staff. And a hiring ramp-up could still happen before next years election season, which will include a presidential election and a race for an open U.S. Senate seat.

By contrast, the Democratic Party of New Mexico currently has five full-time staffers, including an executive director and communications director.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to  contain any type of fuel.

____

Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
WASHINGTON  Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill  charges he denied. People may know hes a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and hes said he doesnt plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trumps nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some pretty radical decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the courts more conservative justices  Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito  can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high courts longest-serving justice, the senior associate justice, when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the courts ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the courts far right.

Thats won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas highly underrated. Trump said Thomas has been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas views may now have more sway, something she described as terrifying to many progressives.

Still, Thomas views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he wont be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but theyre kind of sucked along in his wake, Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law . He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the courts Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans werent citizens, labeling both notoriously incorrect.

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as abdicating our judicial duty. Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest  with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that hes not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when hell celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the courts third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: Its a pretty good job. Im having fun, and Im winning.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
CHICO, Calif. - A structure fire was reported in Chico on Saturday just before noon. The Chico Fire Department and CAL FIRE Butte County crews responded to the scene on Dead End Court.

According to Chico Fire Captain Ken Smith, the fire appears to have been caused by a wiring issue involving an air conditioner.

The homeowners had the air conditioner mounted on the shake-shingled roof. Captain Smith referred to those shingles as "a receptive fuel bed on the roof."

He said smoke was noticed by a neighbor who sprayed the air conditioning unit with a fire extinguisher, keeping the situation in check until firefighting personnel arrived.

Captain Smith suggests that as the summer heat picks up, people should get their air conditioners serviced by a quality, professional company.
Blue Dart, Indias leading logistics service provider and part of Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) Group, has been conferred with the prestigious and highly acclaimed Superbrands Award for the 12th consecutive year. Superbrand is the worlds largest independent arbiter of branding and pays tribute to the strongest and most valuable brands in the world through an intense process of selection.

The selection criteria followed by Superbrands is internationally renowned and is considered as one of the esteemed awards in the Branding category. This year Superbrands India invited brands from an exclusive group and were voted by 18,031 consumers and senior professionals from a cross section of industries.

Commenting on the occasion, Ketan Kulkarni, Head - Business Development & CMO, Blue Dart said It is an honour for Blue Dart to be recognized as a Superbrand for the 12th year in a row, validated by the industry and consumers. As leaders in the express logistics industry and trade facilitators for the country, Blue Dart has been established based on strong brand equity; we will continue to delight our customers at every touch point through high service quality, best-in-class technological innovations, products and services. This accolade stands testimony to our ability to continuously raise the bar in driving innovation in the industry. We are focused on building an organisation that sets new benchmarks in driving customer delight in Blue Dart country.

Superbrands has earned the proud distinction of being the award that brands consistently use as a symbol of excellence and credibility. Superbrands is a concept that started in 1993 in the UK to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands, to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians. Since then 86 countries have already published 360 volumes featuring more than 15,000 case studies.

Blue Dart remains one of the best managed companies in India which is evident by the awards and recognitions it has received. The company is benchmarked to international standards and continues to be Indias Most Innovative and Awarded Logistics Company.

Prior to this, Blue Dart was ranked no.1 amongst the 25 best multinational workplaces in Asia  2019 by Great Place to Work Institute, Asia for the third time in a row. Great Place to Work identified Blue Dart as the top organization that has successfully created high-trust, high-performing cultures in the Asia and Middle East regions. It was also recognised as a Readers Digest Most Trusted Brand for the 11th consecutive year.
Cinepolis, Indias 1st international and the worlds 2nd largest movie theatre circuit in terms of attendees has collaborated with Paytm and Student Of The Year 2, to provide an exclusive offer on the popular Student Combo. The blockbuster offer was announced in the presence of the supremely talented and spunky star cast of the much-awaited release, Student Of The Year 2. The excitement was heightened as the vibrant actors unveiled the second song of the movie.

Cinepolis in sync with the popularity of the sequel Student Of The Year 2 has curated this initiative to enhance the movie watching experience for the movie buffs. Tickets for Student Of The Year 2 can be exclusively booked via Paytm to avail the 90% off on the Student Combo. The offer will be available from 10th to 12th May, with advance bookings open from 5th May onwards, across 20 cities. The offer has been customized in line with Cinepolis constant endeavor to engage their patrons with interesting initiatives.

Devang Sampat, Director  Strategic Initiatives, Cinepolis India said We constantly look out for enticing offers that will not only ease the accessibility to watching movies but also truly enhance the experience. Given that Student of the year-2 is anticipated to be one of the biggest release of 2019, we want to add to the excitement of the experience by providing the most demanded combo at an unbelievable price. We look forward to our patrons availing the exclusive offer.

Siddharth Kadam, Head of Marketing, Dharma Productions added, We have partnered with Cinepolis to create an exciting offer for all students. SOTY2 is an anticipated franchise film and we feel the student combo offer, available India wide, across Cinepolis theatres, will be like icing to their Summer movie delight. Hope the students enjoy the film and the combo!

Cinepolis understands the importance of a quality culinary experience and thus focusses on constantly innovating their offerings. A new lip smacking menu handcrafted by the celebrated Chef Saransh Goila was recently launched to advance the premium immersive experience for its patrons. Adding to its list of initiatives for foodies, the blockbuster offer available on Student Combo can availed through bookings on the Paytm website https://paytm.com/ and App.
Indian tyre major JK Tyre & Industries Limited has launched a powerful TVC in their effort to build a premium imagery of the brand and establish a youth connect. Aimed at capturing the imagination of the young and ambitious Indians, new TVC talks about the enduring journey of international Indian ace-racer Armaan Ebrahim.

The new television commercial by creative agency BBH India builds an emotional connect with Armaans journey, riding on the different waves of his life that brings hope, dreams and achievements.

The ad reflects the character of every kid who loves speed; the kid is portrayed in the role of Armaan Ebrahim, who grows up to become an international motorsports racing star and trusts JK Tyres at every step of his journey to achieve speed. The commercial captures three stages of Armaans life, as a 3-year-old bike enthusiast growing into an 8-year-old boy, thereon to a 15-year old with dreams and aspirations of racing to becoming the present champion of the track and how with JK Tyre, he finally achieves his dream speed with tyres that finally keep up with him in all conditions and help him be in Total Control.

Elaborating on the commercial, Vikram Malhotra, Marketing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, The new TVC highlights our core brand values of determination, passion and unwavering commitment towards realising dreams. The new commercial showcases the emotional connect we have with our customers who like to stay in total control, be it on small car or luxury sedan. We cherish our association with Armaan Ebrahim and his journey to success has encouraged millions of youngsters to dream big and never lose sight of the goals. This is a true reflection of our brand philosophy.

The advertisement has been produced by Vivek Singhania of Picture Perfect and directed by Ruchi Narain, mostly known as the writer of the film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. The TVC is currently running across platforms.
Field work for IRS Q2 2019 has already begun: Ashish Bhasin

Adgully spoke with Ashish Bhasin, CEO  Greater South and Chairman & CEO  India, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman, MRUC, and Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH, Madison World and IRS Technical Committee Chairman, to know more about the key trends and observations on IRS Q1 2019.

Mark Tuttsel moves on from Leo Burnett

Mark Tuttsel the executive chairman of Leo Burnett has announced that he will retire from his role at the agency. He has been associated with the creative shop for 34 years.

IPL, Polls, World Cup will buoy news broadcasters revenues by 40%: MK Anand

In a freewheeling interaction with Adgully, MK Anand, CEO & MD, Times Network, speaks about the 2019 Elections and what they mean to the news media industry, marketing opportunities, key trends and much more.

The Zoom Studios achieves milestone of 80 mn+ views and 1 mn+ subscribers in year one

The Zoom Studios, original content arm of Zoom today announced the successful completion of its first year and with it sets a new benchmark in storytelling with powerful and real-life narratives aiming a 100% growth over the next year. The Zoom Studios also announced its plans of 6 new originals for FY 19-20, targeting 200% increase in subscriber base.

Offbeat: Indira Rangarajan - A Zoya Akhtar fan girl spreading tinsel magic on-air

Indira Rangarajan is the National Programming Head for Radio Mirchis second frequency, Mirchi Love. Rangarajan has spent the last 12 years of her life across various roles in Radio Mirchi  from heading programming across various cities to managing and curating music across multiple stations in India.

Ad lands Young Guns: Shreya Natasha Shah, FCB Ulka

With 2 years of experience in advertising, Shreya is a Senior Copywriter at FCB Ulka, Delhi. Shreya first ventured into advertising when she was completing her Bachelors in Mass Media from St.Xaviers College, Mumbai. However, with an ardent interest in human behaviour and the ability to influence it through writing, Advertising, always seemed like a natural fit.

The Lion marks its new territory in Mumbai

In a move that will enable the agency to become the crucial hub for its much-acclaimed Power of One capabilities, Publicis India, the full-service ad agency from Publicis Groupe has announced its relocation to a swanky new office in Mumbais iconic commercial landmark in Parel (East).

Honda Cars awards Dentsu X its media duties

According to media reports, dentsu X, part of Dentsu Aegis Network has won the media duties for Honda Cars. The creative mandate for Honda cars is already being handle by Dentsu One. The account was previously held by the media agency Motivator who was handling the business since 2015.

Solomon Wheeler moves on from Vistara

Solomon Wheeler, VP & Head of Marketing at Vistara the Joint Venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. According to media reports his last day with the aviation company was April 17th.

HONOR ropes in Mullen Lintas as its new creative agency

The agency won the creative mandate for HONOR following a multi-agency pitch held in New Delhi recently. The agency will errand conceptualizing and developing innovative communication strategy to support HONORs long term vision of providing best quality products for the young dynamic target audience.

Saint-Gobain appoints Vizeum India as its media agency

The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch. Under this partnership, Saint-Gobain is launching its new brand campaign after a gap of 15 years. The campaign will be rolled out nationally across television, digital and content streaming portals.

Hansa Research appoints Praveen Nijhara as Chief Executive Officer

Praveen Nijhara takes over from veteran Ashok Das who will continue as Senior Advisor of the Group. Till recently, Nijhara was Senior Executive Director, responsible for the Customer Experience Business for Kantar IMRB South Asia region, which he led for nearly a decade.

Viacom18 appoints Gourav Rakshit as COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures

Gourav Rakshit will be joining the organization in May 2019, and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18. Rakshit is currently serving as the President and CEO of People Group that owns and operates Shaadi.com.

Sabeer Ahluwalia joins BBC Good Food India as COO

BBC GoodFood India has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Sabeer Ahluwalia to spice up the luxury quotient and consolidate their presence in Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events.
RTHK: Trump and Putin have 'positive' Venezuela talks

US President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks on Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Collaborative spaces  led by global giant WeWorks expansion in India  are having a real impact on the concept of workspaces and therefore the economy. A new report assessing economic impact has outlined interesting insights that point to Indias work-life moving in a new direction.

Democratization of neighborhoods

Intensive urbanization and growing population density in a few areas have made the CBDs of metropolitan India practically inaccessible over the past two decades, especially in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. NITI Aayog foresees the growth of the Indian real estate sector to jump over fivefold to $650 billion by 2040. As commercial real estate become more expensive, flexible workspaces are democratizing access by reducing the prohibitive barrier of price. This is re-injecting vibrancy to these locations and enabling businesses and individuals to benefit from proximity to business areas. In fact, the report found that 76% of WeWork members in Mumbai, 74% in Bangalore, and 67% in Delhi and did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork.

This has also had an impact on associated activities in these areas; 9-15% of WeWork members have moved closer to the WeWork location since joining, especially in Bangalore where 1 in 4 (37%) members visit neighborhood restaurants, cafes and businesses daily. In Bangalore, the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,957 crore and in total supports INR 2,002 crore (INR 44 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city.

Mumbai comes next in terms of impact, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,692 crore of GDP and in total supports INR 1,737 crore (INR 45 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Economic contribution of WeWork in Delhi is the highest, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 2,986 crore of GDP and INR 62.7 crore indirectly, resulting in a whopping INR 3,049 crore GDP impact.

Knowledge workers, entrepreneurs are the biggest beneficiaries of co-working revolution

Growing automation is driving a shift towards knowledge work, and these contributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the growth of collaborative workspaces. Flexibility and low capital commitment helps encourage entrepreneurship, with 17% of Mumbai WeWork entrepreneur-members, for instance, pursuing their first startup project at WeWork.

Likewise, over 77% of WeWork members in Bangalore are in the innovation economy, and a fifth of WeWork member-entrepreneurs are taking the plunge to self-employment for the first time. In Delhi, 53% of members are in the innovation economy while 11% of entrepreneur-members are first-timers.

Flexible working correlated to the rise of women in leadership roles

The flexibility, access and convenience that collaborative workspaces offer have an impact on women rising to leadership positions, and Indias WeWork members are ahead of the curve.

Led by Mumbai, where a significant 41% of senior roles (executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors) are held by women, followed by Delhi (29%) and Bangalore (26%), India is far ahead of the rest of Asia, where the percentage is at 23%.

Companies grow faster with better collaboration, global access

Across cities, collaborative working has had a direct impact on company growth, with 65% members in Bangalore and 58% in Delhi stating that WeWork has helped accelerate growth. This is especially true among small and medium companies, who benefit from the national and international network of member companies, ease of collaboration and world-class infrastructure access. In fact, the average growth rate across SMB WeWork members in Bangalore is 25% compared to 4% for all companies in the city. The difference is even starker in Mumbai, where SMB WeWork members have grown at 37% on average compared to 2% for all companies in the financial capital.

Flexible workspaces more efficient, sustainable

Easier access to flexible workspace has also increased the viability of sustainable forms of commute, including walking, biking or public transport. In Bangalore and Mumbai, over half of WeWork members use sustainable public transit modes. Members also tend to switch from self-driving to sustainable public transit, with 15% in Bangalore and 25% in Mumbai reporting that theyve done so since joining WeWork. In Delhi, over 60% of members use sustainable transit options and about 29% have given up polluting cars since joining WeWork.

Karan Virwani, Co CWeO WeWork India says, WeWork as a community enables its members to collaborate with each other, which has led to the creation of efficiencies in terms of increased creativity, productivity at the workplace and innovation. This process has effects that go far beyond individual considerations as it also sparks the development and support of local communities, neighborhoods and businesses, a culture that we as an organisation look to actively imbibe, encourage and promote. This is true for WeWork across countries around the world and in India.
Note: Dan wrote this post in 2016. It holds truer than ever today, when vaccine mandates and pushes to eliminate exemptions are raging from coast to coast. I miss Dan so much. Our anchor. Our beacon. The General of the Rebel Alliance. Kim



By Dan Olmsted



"An effort spanning two decades has resulted in a global first," CNN reported Thursday. "The Americas have eliminated measles, the World Health Organization said this week. The battle was won through mass vaccination to prevent the viral disease, which can cause severe health problems including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death."



Well, the battle was mostly won before the battle began, as anyone who's looked at the pre-vaccine wipeout of the disease would know.



From Mark Blaxill and my 2015 book, Vaccines 2.0:





In Vaccines 2.0 we wrote: Much of the recent publicity about measles reflects a small increase in US cases in the past few yearsusually overseas travelers becoming infected and then spreading the illness in small pockets that generate alarmist headlines.



In the spring of 2014, a news outlet in suburban Washington, under a large banner titled Health Warning, reported public health workers are informing people who were at various locations . . . that they may have been exposed to a person with measles. Northern Virginia area health officials are mounting a coordinated effort to identify people who may have been exposed.



The idea that measles is highly infectious is certainly true; the claim that it is a health emergency is not. For generations, measles was considered a rite of passage for children, with little risk of complications and the reward of lifetime immunity."



A blogger at Livingwhole.org made the same point in June 2014 in a post titled, Measles Shmeasles:



So far, in 2014 there have been 288 cases of measles, no cases of encephalitis, and no death. In 2013 there were 189 cases of measles, no encephalitis and no death. In 2012 there were 54 cases of measles, no encephalitis, and no death. In 2011, there were 22 cases of measles, and you guessed it . . . no encephalitis, and no death.



I could go on, but you get the point.



By and large, measles is unpleasant, not deadly.



In comparison, the same cannot be said for the MMR vaccine. As of March 1, 2012 there were 842 serious injuries following the MMR vaccine and 56 deaths. Since 1990 there have been more than 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Whats even more sad is that only 110% of cases are actually reported .



Honestly. If youve seen Vaxxed, you know it does a great job of contrasting the Disney measles hysteria with the blase attitude of mainstream media and medicine and the CDC and the NIH and HRSA and etcetera to the endless, increasing, debilitating, sometimes lethal autism epidemic and its allied catastrophes.



But of course kids will all be getting the MMR into perpetuity  now with one part that doesnt work and spawns epidemics post-adolescence that are far more dangerous (mumps); a vaccine for a disease that is usually not serious and is no circulating (measles) but can have serious side effects, and one for which there can be an altruistic argument given the risk of congenital rubella syndrome, but also with serious risks. Put them all together, shake it up and voila -- the autism shot, as Jenny called it.



Kind of like the DPT  diphtheria doesnt circulate, tetanus is not a serious risk, and certainly not to anyone but the person who might get it, and pertussis, for which we believe there is a case worth discussing.



Not to mention the deadly and disgusting HPV, the useless and dangerous Hep B, the useless and dangerous chickenpox.



This is why parental choice and no mandates are so important, regardless of ones stance on vaccines overall. Too much autism, too many vaccines with too many side effects  but at least, thank God, no measles.

--

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
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Hundreds of current and former members of the Badr Organization protested April 13 in downtown Baghdad demanding long-overdue financial compensation for their combat service against Saddam Hussein, whose regime was toppled in 2003. However, security forces affiliated with the party's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, used violence to deter protesters, and a number of demonstrators were jailed for days.

The protests failed to get coverage in local Iraqi newspapers and media outlets because of Amiri's political influence, according to participants and organizers.

Amiri doesn't seem to have earned the confidence of ex-combatants who fought by his side against Saddams regime in the 1980s. They blame him for their marginalization and lack of compensation.

The Badr Organization was founded in 1982-83 as a military group in Iran. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Badr turned into a civil organization that ran all elections in Iraq. Amiri has been heading the organization since early in its founding days.

Many Badr members, annoyed by the unilateral internal decision-making process, left the organization earlier this year. They attacked Amiri's leadership and labeled the organizations policies as "racist, sectarian and serving foreign projects.

Politically, Amiri seems to be on top of his game. His Al-Binaa Alliance, in participation with the Sairoon Alliance led by Muqtada al-Sadr, formed the new government. Al-Binaa is now seeking to pass parliamentary laws in line with its agenda.

Yet, at the internal Badr level, Amiri has his difficulties. He is surrounded by a group of dissidents who lash out at him on social media, along with a group of ex-combatants who believe he abandoned them for power and money.

This organization is not the one we knew," said Sattar Douwad al-Tamimi, who fought alongside Amiri from 1984 to 1997. "It is entangled in a lot of corruption issues. Amiri has turned it into a family establishment," granting favors to friends.

Tamimi is leading a broad campaign demanding rights for a number of Badr ex-combatants. Under an order issued in 2004 by US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer, combatants who fought against Saddams regime are entitled to recognition and benefits and may be integrated into the regular armed forces.

Badr has abandoned its members. Many of them were wounded and suffered chemical injuries and did not receive any compensation for fighting the former regime," Tamimi said. "Amiri has not kept his promise over the past 15 years to about 3,000 ex-combatants in Badr who are today in dire need."

One of those ex-combatants, Mahmoud al-Qazwini, who left Badr in 2017, told Al-Monitor, We cannot leave our brothers with whom we fought on the front lines. I would not accept enjoying rights that my brothers are being denied.

On April 13, Qazwini participated in the protest outside Badr headquarters. "We wanted to get our rights," he said. "But our protest seems to have worried those close to Amiri. We were severely beaten and detained for several days at two police stations in Baghdad.

He went on, I was detained along with six other people. We were interrogated on charges of defamation of Amiri and the Badr Organization. We were also accused of using violence. We are old people, how can we use violence in a peaceful protest?

Two days after the protest, while Qazwini was still under investigation, Amiri issued a press statement requesting that the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meet the demands of the protesters "and do them justice," pointing out that their demands are "true and legitimate."

Tamimi and Qazwini believe Amiri is trying to evade his responsibility to secure the rights of Badr ex-combatants.

Amiri promised before the elections to get us all our rights immediately after the formation of the government in return for our electoral support of Badr," Tamimi said. Instead, Amiri has put the names of his close associates on the compensation list instead of real fighters.

Al-Monitor tried to obtain more information about the changes taking place in Badr, but more than one member refused to talk, fearing reprisals.

However, a source close to the Badr Organization told Al-Monitor, Anger toward Amiri is growing within Badr over a series of positions, including the neglect of ex-combatants and the expansion of internal influence of those close to Amiri. He also said Amiri often appears to be under Iran's control.

The source said on condition of anonymity, There will be new splits within Badr in light of the unilateral decision-making process by Amiri. The current situation is stirring anger. A shake-up inside Badr is imperative.

Meanwhile, Tamimi and Qazwini said they will continue to issue statements and stage protests to expose the Badr situation and get all ex-combatants what they are owed.
By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovi?, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovi? said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.
Putin brokers Israel-Syria goodwill gestures

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two Syrian prisoners as a "goodwill gesture last week, a sign that he may be ready to live and let live with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The prisoners release was the sole decision of Netanyahu, Ben Caspit reports, made without authorization from the Cabinet and carried out in utmost secrecy. In the harsh public and political criticism that followed, it was argued that the move was the second part of a secret deal that Netanyahu made with Assad under the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first step, it was said, was the transfer of the remains of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel to Israel just prior to the April 9 elections, winning Netanyahu brownie points from the public as a world-class statesman, as we reported here.

Putin, it will be recalled, outed Syrias role in the return of Baumels remains, telling Netanyahu, As you may know, our military personnel and their Syrian partners helped find Zacharys remains. The official response from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) at the time was that Syria has no clue about Baumel and that the incident confirms cooperation between terrorist groups and Mossad.

Russia Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev later said that the retrieval of Baumels body paid off for Syria in the end and that Russia would never act in a way that contradicts Syrias interests.

Between the lines is another astonishing fact with regard to Israels relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, writes Caspit. Many high-level Israeli figures have long since branded Assad as finished, someone who had lost international and ethical legitimacy and committed genocide on his own people. Now, however, it seems that Israel has simply decided to reconcile itself to Assads full return to power. It even maintains covert relations with Assad via Russian mediation, including goodwill measures and confidence-building steps. Despite Israel's frequent attacks on Iranian targets in Syrian territory, according to foreign reports, there are no direct conflicts with the Syrian ruler himself. On the contrary  many high-level Israeli figures have maintained over the last two years that Assad knows that he has a lot to lose from the Iranian presence on his territory and agreed to it only under pressure. He is loath to pay Israel the price for that presence.

Could it be, Caspit asks, that the Israeli-Syrian deal was designed to mobilize Assad to leave the Iranian camp for the Israeli side, with Russian encouragement?

Pro-Syrian commentators have suggested that Putin, and by extension Assad, got burned in the exchange with Netanyahu. Syria News remarked that Netanyahu released a Palestinian who didnt want to go to Syria in the first place  and a drug dealer who has already spent his 11 years sentence in the Israeli prisons and was set to be released in a couple of months completing his sentence without any deal!

SANA nonetheless reported the return of the prisoners on April 28, with photos, and quoted Quneitra's governor, Humam Dibyat, as saying that the Syrian state puts the liberation of all captives in the Israeli occupation prisons as a priority, on top of them Sidqi al-Maqt and Amal Abu Saleh. The reference to Syrias most prominent prisoners in Israel hinted that Damascus may have expected they would have been the ones released. It might also signal the prospect of a subsequent exchange or some other quid pro quo to compensate, from Damascus perspective, from a disappointing trade.

Akar: United States has moved closer to our position on safe zone

US Syria envoy James Jeffrey was in Ankara this week to narrow differences with Turkey over a "safe zone" on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The official Turkish readout of Jeffreys meeting with Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on May 1 set a high bar for the talks: With the planned safe zone, Turkeys security concerns would be addressed and the area would be cleared of all terror groups.

For Turkey, all terror groups includes the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which make up the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US on-the-ground-partner in the coalition to defeat the Islamic State.

Amberin Zaman got the scoop on the gap between the Turkish and Kurdish sides heading into the talks: Turkey wants a lead role in a safe zone that would be 32 kilometers (20 miles) deep and stretch the length of Syrian Kurdish-controlled territory all the way to Iraq.

The trouble is that the YPG refuses to accept any Turkish presence in Kurdish-controlled territory stretching east of the Euphrates River to Iraq, Zaman writes. It has reportedly rejected one of the ideas being floated  that Turkish and US forces conduct joint patrols as they currently do in Manbij. The Arab-majority town that lies west of the river has been the source of unremitting tension between Turkey and the United States.

SDF commander Mazlum Kobanes demand that Turkey return Afrin to its people, is also a nonstarter, Zaman reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was guarded following Jeffreys meetings, saying, We have not agreed on everything, but we are making progress, while Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he was extremely happy to see that Jeffrey and his delegation have moved closer to our position.

By painting a rosy picture, Zaman writes, Turkey jams US officials into a corner from which they cant publicly contradict Ankara in hopes over time to pull them toward its own interpretation of events.

Kobane said on May 3 that the SDF was holding indirect talks with Ankara through "intermediaries," adds Zaman, in other words, through the United States. Kobane said his group stood ready to negotiate with Turkey and resolve outstanding problems in peaceful ways.

The recent US diplomatic flurry with Turkey reflects Washingtons priority in getting Ankara more closely aligned with American objectives in Syria, and preventing a Turkish attack on the YPG. This is no easy task, given the differences over the YPG and PYD, Turkeys purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defense systems, Americans held in Turkish jails and Ankaras indignation that the United States will not extradite Fetullah Gulen, who it blames for the attempted coup in 2016.

Meanwhile, Turkey is joined with Iran and Russia in the Astana group talks on Syria. Representatives of the three countries met April 25-26 for the 12th time since October 2016 in Nursultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, as reported here by Kirill Semenov. The Astana grouping is, in principle, based on the conditions for a Syrian transition in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Astana format has basically absorbed, and in many ways overtaken, the Geneva process. UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen participated in last weeks talks. The United States and Jordan are observers, rather than participants, in these sessions. Iraq and Lebanon, which favor some lines of engagement with Damascus, were added last week as Astana observers.

Both Russia and Iran have also developed a backchannel between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad. The Syrian Kurds are already talking with the Syrian government, and we can probably expect that channel to accelerate, as the United States seeks to accommodate Turkey while withdrawing its ground forces from Syria.

The first-order challenge for the Trump administration is whether it can tilt Turkey away from the Astana orbit  a tall order, given Putins assertive diplomacy in Syria, the strains in US-Turkey ties and a trend toward normalization with Damascus among some regional states. The UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and other Arab countries, to varying degrees, are also seeking to rebuild ties with Syria, in part to balance Iranian influence. And even Israel may be resigned to Assads staying power, as reported above.

Jeffreys meetings reflect an aggressive US approach to turning this around. Otherwise, there is probably only so long the United States may be able to keep up the present workaround of the Assad government. The trendlines "on the ground" lead to dealing with Damascus. Washington is nonetheless steadfast in its opposition to any normalization efforts. US oil sanctions are taking their toll, and if Iran policy is any guide, we can expect even more sanctions on Syria in the coming months.
A vacation home is a luxury. But for many, its also about family, and that was at the heart of every decision Joanna Goodman made while designing this luxurious Florida beach house. As vice president and director of interiors at Birminghams Christopher Architecture & Interiors, Goodman is accustomed to getting to the heart of each assignment.

This Gulf Coast home was a significant project: The four-story, 8,000-square-foot house includes four master suites, four kitchens, 10 bathrooms, and it sleeps 28 people. Early in the nearly three-year process, Goodman visited the owners multigenerational family at their Little Rock, Arkansas homes to learn how they liveand how they want to live on vacation.

Goodman describes the patriarchs home as dripping with tradition, including mahogany walls and a two-story library. But the beach house was meant to provide a different environment, a place where the couple, their daughters, grandchildren, and cousins could relax and enjoy easy living.

The familys requests were fairly straightforward: The home should be clean and fun, incorporating LED lighting and other technology while avoiding a typical beach house look.

Goodman used a neutral color palette in each room, creating a look designed to remain in style throughout the years.

I was trying to appease several different generations and tastes, and keep in mind the longevity of the interiors, making sure it was going to be timeless and comfortable, low-maintenance and livable, she says.

Accessories add color to the rooms, such as bedroom pillows and a bench cushion in living coral. Texture also adds visual interest. Goodman says layering over a neutral palette makes it easy to update a room when a homeowner grows tired of a look, or wants to change out details for a season. Artwork ties the rooms together, and the family has since added its own whimsical touches to reflect their personalities.

Goodman also considered details to ensure that the family finds easy living when they visit their beach home. She used performance fabrics throughout the house to keep the interiors low-maintenance and livable.

They dont have to worry about wet bathing suits or spilled wineor, in this case, splashes from the pool, Goodman says.

That pool is one of the most striking features in a home full of thoughtful details. The radius infinity pool surrounds the homes main living area. A motorized wall system allows the living areas windows that open out to the pooland to the sundeck a story above itto stack behind a curved wall. The result is seamless access to the homes outdoor living spacesand views of the beachas well as ample space for the family to socialize.

Their love of spending time with others was obvious when Goodman visited the familys Arkansas homes, and the beach house is full of spaces for them to gather.

Such a meaningful part of how I design is I really get to know the people. Its a strong bond, she says.

And it showed when the family arrived for their first visit to the completed home. Goodman and her team had stocked the pantry, lit candles, and had wine ready to serve.

They were crying and laughing. It was such a moving experience, she recalls. It was probably the highlight of my whole career. It was incredible to see that all your hard work and time paid off at the end.

Designing Across Borders

Christopher Architecture & Interiors is based in Birminghams Highland Park neighborhood, but its common for the firms clients to come to them from far beyond the metropolitan area. Pinterest has been an asset for the firm, which has seen a number of clients find it because of images that link back to the companys website.

Vice President and Director of Interiors Joanna Goodman says the social media site also is an asset in collaborating with clients. A current client is based in Hong Kong, for example, but the client and Goodman are easily able to share ideas via Pinterest.

The firm counts several West Coast residents among its clientele, including actors, musicians, and other high-profile individuals. But the principles of design are the same, regardless of location or the clients time in the spotlight.

You treat everybody the same and it doesnt matter who they are, Goodman says. You design for their life.

This story appears in Birmingham magazines May 2019 issue. Subscribe today!
Casey Cep has a message for folks in Alabama: Go into your garage, climb into the attic or head to the bookshelves in your home. Pull out that old set of reference books that nobodys touched for decades  or better yet, dust off the battered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird thats been passed down in the family.

If youre lucky, you just might find literary treasure inside, in the form of a letter signed by Monroeville native Nelle Harper Lee.

The author of Mockingbird was a prolific correspondent during her lifetime (April 28, 1926  February 19, 2016), writing letters and notes to family members, friends, acquaintances and people who briefly entered her personal sphere. In the early years of her acclaim, after her best-selling novel was published in 1960, Lee even responded to the voluminous amounts of fan mail that arrived at her doorstep.

Its not out of the question, then, that a small part of Lees correspondence  precious but long forgotten  might be tucked into a book that you own.

Harper Lee wrote graciously to total strangers, says Cep, a writer from Maryland whos become something of a specialist on Lee. She had decades-long relationships with some of her correspondents. ... Some of it is high-octane writing. There are great, incredibly vivid little scenes and set pieces.

Lee, a reluctant celebrity, was not inclined to discuss her writing with the public or reveal any projects she might have in the works, post-"Mockingbird."

Her letters can be telling, though, offering a window into what this famously private woman was thinking and feeling.

Case in point: In 2009, a woman named Sheralyn Belyeu found a note from Lee dated June 11, 1978, inside an Encyclopaedia Brittanica that was purchased by Belyeus husband at the Salvation Army in Alexander City. A card from Lee, thanking the hosts of a cocktail party shed attended, was discovered near the encyclopedia entry for Harpers Ferry.

You simply cant beat the people in Alex City, Lee wrote. If I fall flat on my face with this book, I wont be terribly disappointed."

The book in question? It certainly wasnt Go Set a Watchman, a precursor to Mockingbird that was set aside by Lee but found its way to print in 2015.

As it turns out, Lee was working on a true-crime project in the late 1970s, documenting a murder case in her home state. The case involved a rather notorious figure in the Alex City area, the Rev. Willie Maxwell, who was suspected of killing five people to cash in on insurance policies.

Maxwell was fatally shot in 1977 during the funeral of one of his alleged victims, and Maxwells former attorney, Tom Radney, was now defending the man who shot him.

Lees efforts to research and write about the Maxwell case are the subject of a new book by Cep, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95 hardcover, in stores Tuesday).

In Furious Hours, Cep offers readers a detailed look at the Maxwell case and three primary figures whose lives intersected because of it: the reverend, the lawyer and the celebrated author who wanted to write about them.

Correspondence by Lee  including that note hidden inside the encyclopedia  formed an important part of Ceps research for Furious Hours, along with legal documents, court transcripts, police reports, autopsy files, death certificates, press clippings and other documents.

Cep conducted interviews with a long list of people with were involved in the case in some way or had firsthand knowledge of her three main characters: Maxwell, Radney and Lee. She also relied on an archive that few have ever seen: a briefcase stuffed with original materials on the murder and the trial of Maxwells killer, including typed notes by Lee and hundreds of pages Radney had given Lee for her research in the 70s.

Lees estate found the briefcase after her death and returned it to the Radney family, who allowed Cep to review the contents for her book. (Tom Radney died in 2011 at age 79.)

Cep spent about three years working on Furious Hours, prompted by her longtime love of Mockingbird and some tips shed received while visiting Monroeville for a 2015 piece on Go Set a Watchman in The New Yorker.

Ceps reporting for The New Yorker revealed that Lee had been planning to write a true crime book, The Reverend, but no one seemed to know what happened to the project.

This one was darker, stranger, and made me reconsider what I thought I knew about one of my favorite writers, Cep says in a message to readers on her website. Having already helped her childhood friend Truman Capote report In Cold Blood, she had a template for what she wanted to doand being Harper Lee, she saw in this almost tabloid-tale a parable about race and criminal justice. I wish that shed been the one to tell you this story, but Im honored to pick up where she left off.

Furious Hours is divided into three sections devoted to Maxwell, Radney and Lee, telling the story in a chronological manner but providing information about the trio -- biographical, social, political, emotional -- that resonates throughout the book.

There are three core ways of making sense of the world: religion, law and literature, Cep says during a phone interview with AL.com. In some ways, the book tells the same story three different times.

Given the enduring fascination with Lee, some readers may be tempted to skip the first two sections on Maxwell and Radney, and go straight to the chapters on the Mockingbird author.

Cep says she certainly understands that impulse, but hopes people will tackle the text -- which spans 314 pages, including the notes and bibliography -- in a straightforward way.

Youll understand her more and will have more sympathy for the struggles she faced," Cep says. You need each section to build on the previous one. Like any writer, shes a creature of her time and place. Youll learn about her context as a Southern writer, and as an Alabamian."

The image of Lee that emerges isnt always a flattering one, but Cep, a meticulous researcher, wasnt interested in writing a hagiography. Furious Hours tells us, for example, that Lee had a drinking problem, and could be quite unpleasant when she indulged in an excess of scotch or vodka.

Lee could be grumpy, irascible and sharply critical, the book indicates; she didnt suffer fools gladly and resented the demands celebrity made on her time and privacy. On the flip side, Lee is described as warm, friendly and charming. She was fiercely loyal to her family members and intimates. Her intelligence was formidable. She valued the truth and had a sincere love of history, music and literature.

Lee also enjoyed a good mystery, a fact that might have drawn her to the Maxwell case.

Although she was said to be writing constantly -- people who lived in Lees apartment building in New York City often heard her typewriter clicking -- Lee admitted that the task made her unhappy. Her perfectionist tendencies were more curse than blessing, and resulted in something akin to writers block.

Despite several attempts and approaches, and in spite of much labor and strife, Lee never managed to complete her book on the Maxwell case. At least, all the available evidence points that way in Furious Hours."

Some might regard it as a failure on Lees part, but Ceps book seeks to illuminate, not to judge. That philosophy extends to her entire portrait of Lee, whom Cep regards as a complex and fascinating figure.

Its clear that she was juggling a lot," Cep says. Writing made her miserable, but she was not a miserable person. She was vivacious and witty and clever. ... I hope, by the end of the book, that you feel she was a happier person than others thought she was. She is not an entirely tragic figure. Like all of us, she was a complicated person."

Cep will make six stops in Alabama next week on her book tour for Furious Hours, and her wish list for those dates, May 5-11, includes conversations with people who can add to her extensive storehouse of Lee lore. Cep says shes looking forward to hearing stories, anecdotes and trivia about the author from the people in Lees home state.

You live in a story, when youre writing a book, and form your own ideas and opinions about it, Cep says. I think itll be exciting to go from that to being with people who have their own ideas about Harper Lee and this project. Thats exciting to me. I cant wait to talk to them."

Ask Cep what Lee might think about Furious Hours," and her response is a thoughtful one thats tinged with humor. Shes been digging into Lees life for years, after all, and casting a wide net with her research. No subject was taboo and no stone unturned, within the time constraints.

Surely that wouldnt sit well with the woman who once told a reporter from AL.com to Go away! in no uncertain terms.

I think obviously she would have been allergic to being a character in this book, Cep says. I would like to think that the scrupulousness of the reporting would impress her. I just think I would have a hard time getting her to open the book. I think shed read the first two sections and then slam the lid closed.

If you go: Casey Ceps book tour for Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee will make the following stops in Alabama. The agenda for each includes a talk by the author and a Q&A with the audience.
Celia Keenan-Bolger remembers To Kill a Mockingbird being one of the first chapter books her mother ever read to her as a child.

My parents used it as a teaching manual about race in America, she said.

Now she can be seen nightly playing the role of Jean Louise Finch, aka Scout, in the new Broadway adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, best known for writing works like The West Wing and A Few Good Men.

Keenan-Bolger, who is a nominee for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, may not seem like the obvious choice for Southerners protective of Harper Lees iconic novel. After all, she aint exactly from Maycomb County.

Like Jeff Daniels, who currently portrays Atticus Finch, Keenan-Bolger grew up in Michigan. Shes spent most of her adult life in New York -- though she points out her husbands family is from Atlanta and shes made many long drives through the South. Still, shes always felt a connection to Mockingbird.

Its so easy for us in our little bubble to look as other places as The Other and even as a kid, Maycomb was so different than inner city Detroit but I felt such a pull to the story, she said in an interview with AL.com

It felt different but it didnt feel Other. Its easy to feel so divided. But I didnt feel like a crazy Northerner from New York City. It made all 50 states not feel so spread apart.

AL.com columnist John Archibald gave the production his stamp of approval when he attended previews in December 2018.

This story, this work of genius that used fiction to reveal truth about justice in the American South, was somehow evolving before my eyes, he wrote in a column.

Not in a way that was untrue to the original. Not in a way that was obvious or upsetting. In a way that was timely. And necessary.

Keenan-Bolger said that she did visit Alabama for several days when researching the role of Jean Louise, spending two days in Lees hometown of Monroeville which was the basis for the books Maycomb. She also visited Selma and Montgomery. The trip was different than she anticipated.

I was going there in hopes of finding someone who would tell me everything about Harper Lee but that was not what happened. It was a spiritually nourishing trip, she said.

Because the movie is black and white, I just assumed it was a dusty old town and getting there, its certainly a small town, but it was so green and the sky was so blue. The air feels so differently from New York City, I found it really helpful in imagining what it would be like to grow up there. That trip ended up being enormously helpful.

She said witnessing her three year-old son explore Monroeville gave her insight into what it wouldve been like to be a child there.

This isnt the first time Keenan-Bolger has portrayed a child on stage. In 2011, she starred as Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher, a play based on the 2004 novel offering a unique interpretation of Peter Pan.

But taking on the role of Jean Louise offered a different challenge. In Aaron Sorkins To Kill a Mockingbird, the children are portrayed by adults. However, its also clear to the audience that the story is framed as Jean Louise and Jem looking back on their childhood as adults.

These are adults looking back on a summer in their life and trying to figure what doesnt make sense, Keenan-Bolger said.

That allows Sorkin and the actors to explore themes that would otherwise be too mature for a child to understand. The audience sees Scout looking at the trial and understanding that Oh, the reason this all happened is because [Mayella Ewell] was abused by her father, said Keenan-Bolger.

That doesnt make it right, but it does help you walk around in someone elses skin.

Thats a point that wasnt clear in the 1962 film but was clear in Lees novel. Keenan-Bolger said it was important that Sorkin restore that aspect of the narrative. Part of that decision was driven by the #metoo movement and other real world considerations.

The theme of false rape accusations was discussed among the cast during rehearsals in the Summer of 2017. Brett Kavanaugh was being considered for the U.S. Supreme Court and under scrutiny for allegations of sexual assault. Some pundits began comparing the situation to To Kill a Mockingbird.

We all collectively felt was that we didnt want another story about a woman testifying against someone in this climate. So obviously we have to stay true to the story but is there a way to point the audience in a direction to help us understand why she does this?

Politicians have used the play to its advantage, but the play is trying to reclaim that.

Tickets to Mockingbird are currently on sale through November -- and theres an HBO documentary in the works, as well -- but Keenan-Bolger hopes the show will be extended long past that.

Ive never been a part of something that reached so many people.

One attendee stood out, however. Mary Badham who iconically portrayed the role of Scout in the film. Badham, who grew up in Birmingham, visited the Broadway production in a few months ago and Keenan-Bolger said it was one of the most moving experiences shes had with the production so far.

She could not have been more generous or more supportive of the play. She was eight years old when she played this part and she made it her life work to support anybody that wants to talk about this novel, Keenan-Bolger said.

It has a lot to do with the novel that Harper Lee wrote in the first place. She wrote the book in 1960 about the 1930s and here we are in 2019 and the story still endures.
Make a list; check it twice.

Thats our advice for anyone who plans to cover the entire Spring Parade of Homes in Birmingham.

A total of 73 homes are on the tour this year, and it takes careful planning -- not to mention a dose of stamina -- to travel to every one of them.

Luckily, organizers at the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders provide a comprehensive map on the Parade of Homes website, along with information, addresses and photos of the featured homes.

Twice per year, the home builders association opens the doors of models, spec houses, remodeled and pre-sold homes, aiming to give potential buyers and real-estate buffs a look at the latest trends, designs, colors and accessories.

The 2019 Spring Parade launched on April 26 and will conclude on May 5. Hours for the tour are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today, and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free on the self-guided tour, which covers territory ranging from Morris to Montevallo, Pell City to McCalla.

More than 40 homes on the tour received awards linked to various communities and price categories. A house by Drummond Built Homes, at The Overlook in Liberty Park, earned the accolade for best in show.

One house, at The Cove at Overton, is featured as the 2019 Ideal Home. It takes the No. 1 spot on the tour and is a good place to start for visitors. (Five homes on the tour are featured in the photo gallery at the top of this post, including the Ideal Home and best in show.)

For more information, see the FAQs on the Parade of Homes website or call the home builders association at 205-912-7000.
Federal agents this week arrested seven Birmingham residents who allegedly conspired to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana in Alabama, prosecutors said Friday.

The seven defendants were indicted in April stemming from a long-term investigation of an operation to bring large quantities of marijuana from California to Birmingham through commercial flights.

Three of the defendants were also charged with federal gun-related offenses, including alleged ringleader Stephen Lamar Gadson, 38. Gadson was charged with discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Two others, 32-year-old Lynn Darnell Gadsdon, Jr. and 31-year-old Ryan Jamal Washington, were charged with felon in possession of a firearm.

The other defendants were: Keoni Keith Gaddy, 30; Erica Jacinda Gadson, 30; Cormisha Ketua Quinn, 24; and Janacia Latrice Thomas, 28.

Guns and drugs are a volatile mix, as well as a problem for the Northern District of Alabama, which we will continue to do everything within our power to stop, said Jay Town, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Gadson, Gadson, Jr., Erica Gadson, Washington and Quinn were also charged with money laundering, which carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department and three police departments.

These indictments represent the long-term enforcement efforts by ATF and area law enforcement, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. As a result, the violent criminal acts that plaque our neighborhoods have been reduced.

ATF agents and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies found a gun in Gadsons car while arresting him on an outstanding state trafficking marijuana warrant from 2016, prosecutors said. The state warrant stemmed from an incident where Gadson allegedly shot a Jefferson County sheriffs deputy during a narcotics search warrant in June 2016. Three charges against Gadson from the April 2019 indictment deal with his conduct from the 2016 arrest, including the discharging a firearm during a trafficking crime charge. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The establishment of an Alabama abortion ban intended to trigger a federal court challenge to abortion rights is drawing closer to completion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing and vote on the bill Wednesday, committee Chairman Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said its likely the Senate will consider the bill on Thursday if it is approved by the committee.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 74-3 on Tuesday, with the Republican majority prevailing over Democratic opposition. Most of the 28 House Democrats did not vote.

Republicans control the Senate, too, holding 27 of 35 seats. They could give the bill final passage and send it to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law.

Lori Jhons, deputy press secretary for Ivey, said the governor is withholding comment as the bill works its way through the process.

The bill would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion. A woman receiving an abortion would not be liable.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the sponsor, said the purpose is to spark litigation that could lead to a challenge of the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.

The bill would allow abortions to protect the woman from serious health risks. But there is no exception for pregnancies caused by incest or rape.

Collins opposed the Democrats amendment to add that exception in the House, saying the intent is to confront the Roe v. Wade decision by asserting that the unborn child is a person. The House rejected the rape and incest exception by a vote of 72-26.

Marsh said he expects the rape and incest exception to be debated in the Senate. Marsh said he supports allowing that exception, as well as the exception for the health of the woman.

Someone is going to have to make a pretty good reason why you would change that for me, Marsh said

Democrats proposed an amendment that would have required lawmakers who vote for the bill to bear the legal cost of defending it in court. That amendment was voted down 61-27.

Rep. Louise Alexander, D-Birmingham, said it was wrong to try to take away womens right to choose abortion. She criticized the lack of an exception for rape and incest.

Until all of you in this room walk in a womans shoes, yall dont know, Alexander told the House.

Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston, said he feared a return to the days of back room surgeries and unsterile conditions.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, has a Senate bill identical to Collins bill.

Albritton, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he does not know how the votes will line up on the committee. Albritton said committee approval will likely be the biggest hurdle for the bill because he said the committee is generally not as conservative as the Senate overall.

Albritton said his purpose in supporting the bill is not to trigger a court challenge, although he expects that would happen if it passes.

Whether it results in a court challenge and such, Im not going to worry about that, Albritton said. Im not going to focus on that. My purpose is trying to get this bill approved and pushed into law so we can protect human life in Alabama.

Ward said the public hearing on the bill would be Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., followed by the vote.
Rachel Held Evans, a young writer whose books about her journey from a conservative Christian upbringing to a new faith brought her tens of thousands of readers, has died at age 37, according to multiple press reports including Religion News Service.

Evans never recovered from a severe infection caused by a reaction to antibiotics, reports said. She had been in a medically induced coma and never regained consciousness.

Writer and friend Sarah Bessey said Evans died surrounded by friends and family who sang and prayed at her bedside.

It is with a broken heart that I share that @rachelheldevans passed away early this morning. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends - we sang, prayed, held her always. Woman of valour, eshet chayil. Official update: https://t.co/WYznnc5tYh  Sarah Bessey (@sarahbessey) May 4, 2019

Evans grew up in Birmingham before moving to Dayton, Tenn., when she was 14 years old. Her father was an administrator at Bryan College, where Evans graduated with a degree in English literature. She married her college sweetheart and worked briefly as an intern at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

News of her death brought an outpouring of grief from new and longtime fans and leaders of established denominations and organizations. Bible teacher Beth Moore was one of those who posted her grief on Twitter.

Sobbing over @rachelheldevans death. My heart is broken for Dan and the children and for all of you who loved her so so much. I will spend the time Ive been daily praying for her praying for all of you.  Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) May 4, 2019

The president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, said he was grieving and asked for prayers and financial support for her family.

. @rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills:https://t.co/LZnq7Z3j0p  Russell Moore (@drmoore) May 4, 2019

Other fans expressed their own grief on social media as news spread about Evans death.

This is such a loss for all of us. I learned so much and was inspired by the writings and life of Rachel Held Evans. :( "Christian writer Rachel Held Evans is dead at 37" https://t.co/j4z1Mk3zVU  Lisa Burgess (@LisaNotes) May 4, 2019

Evans books included including New York Times best-seller A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Searching for Sunday and, most recently, Inspired. She was popular for her Internet blog posts and her support of women in ministry.

Her husband posted on Evans website today that physicians had weaned Evans from her coma medication but she never returned to a wakened state. On Thursday, her condition changed dramatically and her medical team found swelling in Evans brain. They took emergency steps, Evans wrote, but the swelling was not survivable. She died early Saturday morning.

This entire experience is surreal, Evans wrote. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.
Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African American student to attend The University of Alabama, on Friday received an honorary doctoral degree from UA at a commencement ceremony.

The architect of desegregating Alabamas education system, Autherine Lucy Fosters bravery + tenacious spirit paved the way in the face of adversity. #TodayAtUA  a legendary moment as we presented our 1st civil rights trailblazer with an honorary doctoral degree  Her story  http://bit.ly/2IYbnYo  #BamaGrad #WhereLegendsAreMade Posted by The University of Alabama on Friday, May 3, 2019

I love The University of Alabama, and it is an honor to be recognized in this way, said Foster upon learning of the honorary doctoral degree. I am thankful for opportunities such as this, which allow us to talk about the past while looking to the future, said Foster, who believes that while talking about the past may be painful, it is necessary so that none of us forget.

Foster applied to attend the university for graduate school in 1952, but was denied attendance because she was black. A federal court reversed the decision in 1956 and Foster attended class for just three days before she was removed from campus because of threats against her life.

Fosters dismissal was reversed in 1988 and she re-enrolled with her daughter Grazia. The two graduated together in 1991.

Its truly a privilege to award Mrs. Foster with an honorary degree from The University of Alabama, Stuart Bell, UAs president, said. Her tenacious spirit, gracious heart for helping others and unfailing belief in the value of education and human rights positions Mrs. Foster as a meaningful example of what one can achieve in the face of adversity.

Since graduating in 1991, UA has honored Foster for her desegregation efforts by issuing two endowed scholarships in her name every year and erecting two markers on campus.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A charter plane traveling from Cuba to north Florida ended up in a river at the end of a runway Friday night, officials said.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, crashed into the St. Johns River, according to s Naval Air Station Jacksonville news release.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist. The plane was in shallow water and not submerged. Officials say everyone on the plane was alive and accounted for, although 21 adults were transported to the hospital, none with critical injuries.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted on Twitter that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water.

4. All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all. @JFRDJAX @jaff122  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

Officials didnt immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.
By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.



As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

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.
An Alabama lawmaker this week defended his kill them now or kill them later criticism of strict abortion legislation pending in the Legislature, and more details emerged about horrific conditions in state prisons reported by the U.S. Justice Department.

Measles remained a hot topic of conversation as officials continued to clarify which adults may need measles vaccine and which ones probably dont.

Readers in Alabama and across the nation also were shocked by the death of a Delta Force commander in a lawn mower accident at his home.

Mother of measles victim attacked online

The mother of the 5-month girl confirmed as Alabamas first case of the measles was attacked online for her comments related to vaccinations. Audrey Peine of Pell City wrote in a now-private Facebook post that she did everything to protect her daughter Emma before her diagnosis. She blamed negligent parents who didnt vaccinate their own kids.

Lawmaker defends abortion comments

An Alabama lawmaker is defending comments that on Wednesday quickly shook the hornets nest of the abortion ban debate. So you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later, State Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said in a video posted on Twitter.

On Thursday, Rogers defended the statement, arguing Alabama does not value life despite the House having just passed what some say is one of the strictest abortion laws in America.

Inmates mom: I dont want my son dead

Linda Donahoo says she occasionally gets phone calls from inmates at Easterling Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Thats where her son Shannon is imprisoned.

The phone calls are simple: Send money, or your son could die.

She says she sent $300 last time. Shes sent larger sums over the years - $400, $500. The money is sent through Green Dot, Pay Pal, Western Union or Walmart cards.

Here are Alabamas top 56 high schools in 2019

U.S. News and World Report came out with its list of the best high schools in America this week and Alabama had one high school----Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery ranked 13th in the nation--- near the top of the national list.

The next-closest Alabama school in the national ranking is Mountain Brook High School, located in the states wealthiest suburb and ranked 213th out of more than 17,000 schools nationwide.

This is the first time the list includes nearly every high school, up from last years ranking of 2,700 schools. The new methodology relies heavily on student access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and tests, state standardized test results, and graduation rates.

Former Delta Force commander dies in accident

A retired Army Major General and one-time commander of the elite Delta Force died in a lawnmower accident at his Alabama home, according to reports. Retired Major Gen. Eldon Bargewell, 72, died Monday after his lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his house in Eufaula,

According to his military biography, Bargewell enlisted in the Army in 1967 and served in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. According to the award citation, Bargewell placed a deadly volume of machine gun fire on the enemy during an attack, despite being wounded himself. He later refused medical treatment in order to defend the area and allow the safe extraction of his team.
The introduction of tolls for the new Interstate 10 bridge and the Wallace Tunnel has sparked concern among state transportation officials about toll-averse drivers changing their commutes and traveling on free roads.

In Mobile, expectations are for a traffic surge onto the Spanish Fort Causeway and Interstate 165 toward the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.

And that is the same bridge that leads into the heart of Africatown, a mostly black, low-income community that has long found itself forced to co-exist with the pollution and industrial stench of paper mills, oil storage farms and chemical plants, and the all-hours noise from big trucks moving back and forth.

We are sick and tired of being dumped on, said Ruth Ballard, a resident of the Africatown-Plateau community three miles north of downtown Mobile for most of her 83 years.

We have nothing

The Alabama Department of Transportation is aware of the concerns, and has met with residents in the community. The state is looking for ways to mitigate the potential new river of traffic through the community.

An ongoing analysis by ALDOT, as part of an environmental impact statement process for the massive $2.1 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, will be discussed during two separate public hearings this week: 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Spanish Fort Community Center and 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the Mobile Civic Center.

The meetings will focus on topics addressed in the supplemental draft analysis, released in March. The 200-plus-page document contained a chapter dedicated to environmental justice and focused on the bridges effects in Africatown-Plateau. The historic communitys roots reach back to the 1860s, when the survivors of the last known slave ship into the U.S., the Clotilda, settled within the area after the Civil War.

Many descendants of these original families still live in Africatown today.

In the past half-century, residents have struggled amid what they claim is an inundation of heavy industry. Some protest that dumping and discharges have spiked the cancer rate; there is persistent suspicion of International Paper, which closed more than two decades ago: An ongoing lawsuit maintains that the company is responsible for dangerous toxins in the communitys midst.

At one time we had a viable community, said Ballard. We had grocery stores and everything. We didnt have to leave the area. Now we have to leave the area for everything. Doctor trips, the cleaners. We have to leave to go to a service station. We have nothing out here.

Community benefits agreement

A map of the Africatown-Plateau community's boundaries north of Mobile, Ala., in relation with the preferred route for the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge. (map courtesy of the Alabama Department of Transportation).

ALDOT has met with the community on multiple occasions within the past year, highlighted by a March 19 meeting at Union Missionary Baptist Church.

About 50 people attended, and ideas were floated to include traffic signal adjustments, new traffic lights, and crosswalks.

But the idea that packs the most intrigue is a request for ALDOT and its future toll operator to consider the creation of a community benefits agreement.

Under the agreement, a portion of the revenue generated from the new toll roads would be reinvested in the areas where toll diversion could result in more congestion  Africatown, Spanish Fort, downtown Mobile, to name a few.

The suggestion was included in a letter sent Thursday to ALDOTs I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening spokeswoman Allison Gregg.

ALDOT, as a way to pay for the new six-lane, 215-foot-high bridge across the Mobile River and eight-lane Bayway, is pitching tolls that would cost $3 to $6 for a one-way trip. The plan calls for segmented tolling, in which the total fee is based on how far someone travels along the 10-mile length of the Bayway project stretching from Virginia Street in Mobile to U.S. 98 in Daphne.

ALDOT is also exploring a 15% discount for local drivers who would use the Bayway and Bridge when taking 20 or more trips.

The tolls, which would be assessed on the new bridge and the Wallace Tunnel, has generated concern among ALDOT officials and the public about pushing more traffic to the non-tolled roads. Interstate 165 and New Bay Bridge Road  the main routes leading motorists to the non-tolled Cochrane-Africatown Bridge -- are likely to bear the most traffic.

Ramsey Sprague, president of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, said the Africatown community views the toll revenues as something that should be reinvested into communities dealing with the new traffic.

The letter to Gregg, signed by Sprague and other Africatown leaders, does not say what this reinvestment should entail.

Separate from the community benefits agreement, Sprague and his group are requesting infrastructure improvements that include putting timers on the traffic lights at Magazine Street at the foot of the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge. They also want more crosswalks to the historic Old Plateau Graveyard, the resting place of many of the enslaved Africans borne here by the Clotilda.

Africatown has a number of needs that are severe and when the community approaches the city to discuss these things, they say there is only so much money to go around, Sprague said. The community needs to attract grocery stores, small businesses and to do that, you need existing store fronts. You need something to attract business.

Cleon Jones, president of the Africatown Community Development Corporation (ACDC) who is a famous father-figure in the neighborhood best known as a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York Miracle Mets, said he thinks the community benefits agreement is a great idea.

Jones and the ACDC have voiced support for progress projects in Africatown.

You cannot take from communities all the time, Jones said. Something has to be given back to the community. The concession from tolls  some of that, if its given back to the community to help facilitate the needs in the community and help with its growth, I think its a great idea.

ALDOT reactions

Gregg said that ALDOT is well-aware of the community benefits agreement suggestion, but isnt committing to it.

She said that toll revenues, as currently planned, will be reinvested in paying for the massive project that  without a toll system  would likely never get off the drawing board.

As for the concept of funding for Africatown, Gregg said, We just dont have a plan for that right now. It would need to be further explored.

She added, We have mitigation efforts that are a part of the project.

Indeed, ALDOT is considering several elements to help resolve the projected traffic surge, such as new signals at a four-way stop outside Union Baptist Church.

Projections show that with or without the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, congestion is expected to rise along Bay Bridge Road within Africatown.

Jones pointed out that the new traffic wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing: As more drivers see Africatown, interest and tourism will rise, especially with the prospects of a new $3.5 million welcome center forthcoming.

Another tourism possibility exists if ALDOT decides to construct a bicycle-pedestrian pathway in Africatown leading onto the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. The current plan from the state provides for a bike-pedestrian path for the area.

The community was very supportive of that idea, said Gregg.

Jones predicts the commercial trucking industry preferring to pay for the toll costs, and not diverting off I-10 for an out-of-the-way non-tolled route to I-165.

It depends on how you look at it, said Jones. If I had a choice, I would take the non-tolled road to go home if I lived (in the Eastern Shore). But if I was a truck driver, the toll would not be a problem for me and I would take the bridge.

Tolls for semi-tractor trailers weighing more than 80,000 pounds or requiring a special permit to drive, are estimated to cost $36.

Gregg said ALDOT was unsure as to how the trucking industry will react to the proposed toll fee.

We are working with the trucking industry, she said. Its a question of time versus money and whats more important to you  getting through and paying the toll or taking the time to divert through the toll-free route. That is up to the individual drivers to make that kind of judgement call for themselves.

Gregg said that ALDOT does anticipate fewer hazardous material vehicles traveling through Africatown. Currently, trucks carrying hazardous materials are prohibited from traveling through either the Wallace or Bankhead tunnels.

We anticipate seeing less of those vehicles cutting through that community, she said.
As white supremacy reigns supreme in the US, a new book seeks to bring back to the fore one of its ideological branches.

In March this year, a new volume called, The Four Horsemen, hit the book market in the United States. The book boasts an introduction by British comedian Stephen Fry, three essays and the transcript of the 2007 recorded discussion among four proponents of the so-called new atheism  Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens.

Prior to this encounter, all four had authored books arguing that religion and holy war pose the greatest threat to human civilisation and therefore, religiosity should not be tolerated in Western societies.

Their works  Dawkinss, The God Delusion, Harriss, The End of Faith, Dennetts, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and Hitchenss, God Is Not Great  were all essentially written as a blind reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and all zoomed in on Islam and the Muslim world, demonstrating a remarkable ignorance of both.

Needless to say, none of the four was able to offer any serious historical understanding of this terror act, why it happened, what it meant, or how to prevent similar acts of wanton violence in the future. Nor did they make any intellectually challenging or noteworthy contribution to the millennia-old debate on belief and disbelief in God.

That publishers have chosen to resurrect, today, this 12-year-old Islamophobic backslapping session advertised as a landmark discussion about modern atheism is indeed quite telling. With white supremacy currently flourishing in the US and elsewhere, a book on new atheism  a pseudo-intellectual movement that has heavily contributed to its rise  would surely sell.

Spectacular ignorance

Before proceeding any further, let us be clear: Atheism as such is a perfectly healthy proposition and the world, including the Muslim part of it, has never been devoid of atheists  all the power to them.

Across religions and cultures, there are decent and reasonable atheists, as there are equally decent and reasonable believers, who can and should openly engage in debate about religion and the belief in God without succumbing to hatred and convictions in ones supremacy. Such open and honest conversations are indeed healthy for any community or nation and should be encouraged.

But what the so-called four horsemen have engaged in during their 2007 discussion and in their public appearances and writings, is not an open and honest debate. Instead, the entirety of their work is just a vicious attack on a 1.5-billion-strong, immensely diverse and dynamic community.

So who are these four new atheist crusaders (yes, they may deny it, but they are indeed very much the product of the white Western Christian crusader tradition)? They are all white older men, who have never embarked on studying Islam, do not speak Arabic  the language of the Quran  and certainly have no special insight into any Muslim community on earth. They are, literally, illiterate.

Let us take Sam Harris, for example. In his book, End of Faith, he dedicates a whole chapter to the The Problem with Islam. There, he explains that: While Christianity has few living inquisitors today, Islam has many  In our opposition to the world view of Islam, we confront a civilization with an arrested history. It is as though a portal in time has opened, and fourteenth-century hordes are pouring into our world. Unfortunately, they are now armed with twenty-first-century weapons. One is left breathless considering whether to address the unabashed racism, the astonishing ignorance, or the barefaced vulgarity of such utterances.

The other rabid Islamophobe, Dawkins uses the infamous Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, which sparked mass protests in a few Muslim countries, to portray in his book, The God Delusion, all Muslims as a gang of delusional psychopaths. In his opinion: Danes just live in a country with a free press, something that people in many Islamic countries might have a hard time understanding. With this one sentence, Dawkins tries (but fails) to erase the long and sustained history of Muslims struggle for freedom of expression and truthful journalism.

In Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett, too, engages in some sweeping and vastly inaccurate conclusions. For example, he makes the following mind-boggling observation: It is worth recalling that the Arabic word Islam means submission. The idea that Muslims should put the proliferation of Islam ahead of their own interests is built right into the etymology of its name. Yet, Islam means submission to the will of God, which is a central theological pillar in many religions and which has nothing to do with proliferation of Islam.

Last but not least, Hitchens is equally creative with his spurious conclusions about Islam in God Is Not Great. Just one example would suffice: Real horror of the porcine is manifest all over the Islamic world. One good instance would be the continued prohibition of George Orwells Animal Farm, one of the most charming and useful fables of modern times, of the reading of which Muslim schoolchildren are deprived.

I am a Muslim. I was born and raised in a Muslim country. I read Orwells Animal Farm in Persian in Iran when I was a teenager. The book was translated into Persian soon after its publication in English, and ever since has had numerous Persian translations and I, myself, have repeatedly included it in my courses.

New atheism and Western imperialism

In other words, it is quite clear from the writings of the four horsemen that new atheism has little to do with atheism or any serious intellectual examination of the belief in God and everything to do with hatred and power.

Indeed, new atheism is the ideological foregrounding of liberal imperialism whose fanatical secularism extends the racist logic of white supremacy. It purports to be areligious, but it is not. It is, in fact, the twin brother of the rabid Christian conservatism which currently feeds the Trump administrations destructive policies at home and abroad  minus all the biblical references.

While the right-wing conservatives favour the Judeo-Christian canard (the idea that the Judeo-Christian civilisation is superior to all others), the liberals opt for new atheism (or the idea that secular Western societies are superior to all others). Both, however, are in perfect agreement about their perceived white supremacy, which supposedly gives them the right to wreak havoc across the world as they please. That is  they are the two faces of that same cheap imperialist coin.

And just as religious white supremacy encourages individual and state-sponsored violence against those perceived as inferior, so does its new atheist version. Historically, the liberal atheists have always eagerly joined their Christian conservative brethren in the battle call in advance of any US aggression anywhere in the world.

However, this is, not to say that such deadly fanaticism occurs only in the US (and by extension Europe). Militant Islamism and extremist Zionism have the same exact roots. If Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden are the symbols of Muslim fanaticism, Meir Kahane, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked, and Naftali Bennett are the prime examples of the Zionist equivalent, while the four horsemen, along with Steve Bannon, Mike Pompeo et al are the flag bearers of secular-Christian imperialism in full power.

In the raging battle between these hateful, toxic ideologies, they thrive and feed off of each other. Caught in the crossfire of this clash of ignorance and barbarity, are billions of human beings  Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists  who pay the price with their lives.

Thus, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in the US, Brenton Tarrant who massacred 51 Muslims during Friday prayers in New Zealand, members of National Thowheed Jamath, who murdered 257 people during the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka and the Israeli soldiers who over the past year have slain more than 260 unarmed Palestinian during right of return protests at the Israel-Gaza fence are all kindred souls.

In todays world, mass murder and religious and secular fanaticism go hand-in-hand.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Said Bouteflika was seen as Algerias de facto ruler after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013.

Algerian police have arrested former President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas youngest brother alongside two former intelligence chiefs, according to local media.

Said Bouteflika, General Bachir Athmane Tartag and General Mohamed Mediene were taken into custody for questioning on Saturday, the private Ennahar TV reported.

The younger Bouteflika, who served as adviser to the president for more than a decade, is seen by many as having taken de facto control of the North African state, after his brother suffered a crippling stroke in 2013.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked to the former administration.





Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, a former associate of President Bouteflika, came to the fore in late March after he broke ranks with the ailing leader, and called on him to step down. The president resigned five days later.

The 79-year-old Gaid Salah has since sought to win the confidence of demonstrators by vowing to prosecute members of the old guard suspected of corruption.

But the arrest of more than half a dozen prominent businessmen seen as close to the presidential clan has largely failed to appease protesters, who continue to take to the streets demanding a complete overhaul of the political system.

On Friday, during the eleventh straight week of demonstrations, some protesters called on Gaid Salah to resign. They held up banners accusing him of failing to take on senior figures in the Bouteflika government, including the presidents brother.

Others held placards reading No to military rule.

North Africa analyst Rochdi Alloui said that, in prosecuting members of the ruling elite, Gaid Salah was hoping to set himself further apart from Bouteflikas immediate entourage and signal both his readiness and credibility to negotiate a transition with the opposition.

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An important question that we should ask is what these arrests mean to the popular movement, Alloui said.

Honestly, it offers an opening for negotiations between Gaid Salah and some of the leaders in the movement.

Gaid Salah had previously criticised the younger Bouteflika, without ever citing him, instead describing the 61-year-old as the head of the gang that was running the country.
Brazilian president drops plan to attend New York gala in his honour, citing resistance and deliberate attacks.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has cancelled a trip to the United States after major protests in New York City prompted several companies to withdraw sponsorship for a gala event in his honour.

Bolsonaro, who was named 2019 Person of the Year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, was due to receive the award at a May 14 event in New York.

But on Friday, Bolsonaros spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros said the president would not attend the gala, citing resistance and deliberate attacks by the New York mayor and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organise, sponsor and host the event annually.

Bill de Blasio, New Yorks mayor, welcomed the announcement, saying Bolsonaro just learned the hard way that New Yorkers dont turn a blind eye to oppression.

We called his bigotry out. He ran away. Not surprised  bullies usually cant take a punch. Jair Bolsonaro, Good riddance. Your hatred isnt welcome here, de Blasio said in a Tweet.

.@jairbolsonaros assault on LGBTQ rights and destructive plans for our planet are reflected in too many leaders  including many here in our country. EVERYONE must stand up, speak out and fight back against this reckless hate. https://t.co/JX96ZokYfB  Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 4, 2019

Bolsonaro swept to power in a highly divisive October election on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption and tough on crime ticket.

He is revered by his supporters for his outspoken pro-gun, conservative family values and military stances but is despised by critics for his frequent homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks.

Bad for Brazil

The gala was originally scheduled to be held at New Yorks Museum of Natural History. But the venue ditched the event last month amid heavy criticism for potentially hosting Bolsonaro, who has pushed to deregulate existing environmental policy since taking office.

In particular, Bolsonaros plan to open up the Amazon for commercial activities such as mining, logging and farming has drawn fierce censure from scientists, climate activists and environmental NGOs.

At the time, de Blasio praised the museums move, denouncing the 64-year-old Brazilian leader as a dangerous man.

The event was then moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, prompting protesters to gather outside the venue seeking the galas complete cancellation.

Amid the demonstrations, major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week pulled their support for the event.

Analysts said the events in New York were bad for Bolsonaro and bad for Brazil.

This is a direct result of Bolsonaros rhetoric and it is something that he will have to deal with in the upcoming years; he might change his narrative and try to demonstrate more empathy to some topics, or he might present it as an attack on him and spin it around, Thiago de Aragao, director at the Brasilia-based political consultancy Arko Advice, told Al Jazeera.

Bolsonaro-Trump ties

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce confirmed the event will still take place as planned, however, with Bolsonaro now set to be acknowledged in absentia for his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro has actively courted a closer relationship with the US since assuming office and repeatedly expressed admiration for President Donald Trump.

The pair met for talks at the White House in March, after which the Brazilian leader said the two countries were tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news.

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Mauricio Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaros cancelled visit to New York was an embarrassment for his administration as it seeks to pivot to Washington.

Bolsonaro is facing an international backlash that is without precedent for any democratic Brazilian president, Santoro told Al Jazeera, adding more censure and protest would likely accompany the presidents overseas trips in the future.

In general, Brazil has had quite a lot of soft power abroad  and that has been important for Brazilian foreign policy, but its very different with Bolsonaro, he added.

If he goes on with the kind of policies he is pursuing concerning the environment, education, human rights, and sexual and ethnic minorities we are going to see many other cases of international reaction against him  its a difficult moment in Brazil right now.
Nearly 30 people killed in the two South Asian countries as the strongest storm in years hits the Indian subcontinent.

Cyclone Fani, the strongest storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in five years, has barrelled into Bangladesh after leaving a trail of deadly destruction across the eastern coast of India.

At least 16 people died in India, mostly in the worst-hit state of Odisha, Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler said on Saturday, citing local Indian media reports.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said at least 12 people died and scored of others wounded as Fani swung northeastwards into the country.

At least four of those deaths were reported from Kishorganj district in central Bangladesh. They died after they were struck by lightning. There have been heavy rains and storm here since Friday noon, the districts Deputy Commissioner Sarwar Murshed Chowdhury told Al Jazeera.

Kabir Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Barguna district, said an elderly woman and her grandson died around 3 am on Saturday morning after a tree fell on their tin-shed home.

Millions moved to safety

Over a million people were moved to safety, Bangladeshi officials said, a massive evacuation exercise also followed in Indias Odisha state, where a similar cyclone 20 years ago had killed 10,000 people.

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After it made landfall early on Friday, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a Deep Depression by the Indian Meteorological Department as the storm moved inland over Bangladesh.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladeshs low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.

We are mooring our boat because its the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again, Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP news agency while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

The fear of a major disaster is mostly over as it has weakened, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Al Jazeera.

Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeeras Heidler said the priority for Indian authorities is to reach the areas hit by the monster cyclone.

The biggest concern now is clearing the roads so that they can get to the communities that are cut off, he said, adding that the hardest-hit areas are without electricity.

Heidler said there are also fears over Fani (snakes hood in Bengali) triggering a heavy rainfall or storm surge along the eastern Indian coast.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengals chief minister and a key figure in Indias ongoing general election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Motorcycles lie on a street in Odishas Puri city after Cyclone Fani hit on Friday [AP Photo]

Odisha state worst hit

Worst hit was the Indian state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200km an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

With power lines down, authorities in Odishas Bhubaneswar city installed these lights on the roads [Subrat Kumar Pati/Al Jazeera]

As authorities assessed the damage, Indian media reported that at least 12 people died across Odisha, with most deaths caused by falling trees.

But a mass evacuation of 1.2 million people in the 24 hours before Fani made landfall averted a greater loss of life.

The seaside temple town of Puri, which lay directly in the path of Fani, suffered extensive damage.

Destruction is unimaginable  Puri is devastated, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters news agency, adding that over a 100 people were injured.

At least six people died in Bhubaneswar, Odishas capital, where fallen trees blocked roads and electricity supply was still to be fully restored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the midst of a general election, said in a tweet that he would visit Odisha on Monday.

Bhubaneswar airport suffered considerable damage, but would re-open on Saturday afternoon, Indias aviation ministry said.

Shelters were set up in schools and other safe buildings to accommodate the evacuees, who included scores of tourists.

Neighbouring West Bengal state escaped substantial damage, but authorities moved nearly 45,000 people to safer locations.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December.

Faisal Mahmud contributed to this report from Dhaka, Bangladesh
The escalation has raised fears that a truce that lasted almost eight months in Idlib will be declared over.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have intensified their air offensive on the countrys rebel-held northwest for a fifth consecutive day in a widening campaign, killing and wounding dozens and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

After an overnight lull, government and Russian warplanes escalated bombings on Saturday hitting rebel areas in Idlib and the neighbouring province of Hama, aid workers in the area said.

The Syrian military sent new reinforcements towards Idlib, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and hundreds of troops on Saturday.

The official SANA news agency said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the UN humanitarian coordinator said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

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Now, the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama, Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the US-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), told Reuters News Agency.

The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse, al-Dbis added.

The recent upsurge in violence is the most serious in Idlib since Russia and Turkey negotiated a ceasefire in September.

The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days.

Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Medical facilities bombed

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the civil defence director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: Civil defence centres have been targeted directly.

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaeda-linked fighters attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week, according to the AP news agency.

Idlib is the last major area of Syria still in rebel hands after a string of government offensives backed by Russian air power since 2015 turned the tables in a protracted civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad has regained control over most of the country, with the northeast held by Kurdish groups backed by the United States.

Idlib is held by an array of rebel groups, including the powerful Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of armed groups including those formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

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Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the air attacks with little success.
By 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 on May 4, Trend reports.

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 US has imposed sanctions on Iran, which relies on oil and gas for 80% of its exports. How will this impact the Iranian economy?

Irans economic situation is even more precarious now that US sanctions waivers on eight major buyers of its oil have expired.

Irans oil sales have already fallen by half since Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The end of the sanctions waivers will likely impact the whole region, especially other oil-producing countries.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid explains the economic impact of Washingtons actions.
A court in Iran has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis younger brother to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that supporters of the Iranian leader allege is politically motivated.

Hossein Fereydoun, who is also a close confidante of the president, has vowed to appeal the sentence, local media reported on Saturday.

This person [Hossein Fereydoun] was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations, Hamidreza Hosseini, a judiciary official, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges.

He had initially been held in 2017 on financial crime charges before being released on bail.

Fereydoun, responding to the courts decision on Saturday, said he rejected the ruling.

I strongly and categorically reject allegations against me in the court and some of the media, and Im protesting, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Fereydoun was a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Some supporters of Rouhani, who was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname, view the charges against his brother as a move by the judiciary to discredit the president.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in the cases it tries.
Police say leak from meeting on Chinas Huawei  which felled the defence secretary  is not a criminal offence.

British police have declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms company Huawei, saying the disclosure did not amount to a crime.

In a statement on Saturday, Neil Basu, Britains counterterrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the defence secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act.

No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said.

Opposition politicians had called for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over media reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

The councils discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

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Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office, the assistant commissioner said.

The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Royally screwed

Williamson has strenuously denied he was the source of the leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper and suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

On Saturday, he told the Daily Mail newspaper: I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

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The 42-year-old was once a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was Mays parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

He was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip  tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

May appointed International Development Minister Penny Mordaunt to replace Williamson.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huaweis involvement in developing Britains 5G network due to the firms obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, Mays effective deputy, said on Thursday there were no plans to pass information from an internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.
Weapons test seen by analysts as a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with the US.

North Korea has fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and United States authorities are analysing the details.

If its confirmed that North Korea fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since its November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from North Korea and a belligerent response from US President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas latest action sent a message after the failed summit between North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump in February when the two disagreed over weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, told Reuters news agency.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to cautiously respond to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Koreas foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japans Foreign Minister Taro Kono and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans defence ministry said in a statement.

Undesired consequences

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

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North Koreas vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the US would face undesired consequences if it fails to present a new position in denuclearisation talks by the end of the year.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, Kim said that peace and security on the Korean Peninsula depended on the US, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.
Fighters in Gaza fire more than 200 rockets into Israel, as Israeli air raids continue to hit besieged enclave.

A pregnant Palestinian woman and her one-year-old niece have been killed in a wave of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, shattering a month-long lull in violence in the besieged enclave.

The bombardment on Saturday came as Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine fired more than 200 rockets towards cities and villages in southern Israel.

At least three Palestinians, including the woman, an infant and a 22-year-old man were killed in the air raids, the health ministry in Gaza said, while 13 others were wounded.

Shrapnel from the Gaza rockets meanwhile wounded two Israelis; one of them was an 80-year-old woman.

The latest escalation comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday. Those killed included two Hamas fighters, who died in an Israeli air raid, and two Palestinian protesters, who were shot dead near Israels fence with Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded with rocket fire on Saturday, promising a broader and more painful response if Israel pursues its aggression.

Israeli military hit back with air raids and tank fire against more than 30 targets belonging to both groups.

Relatives of 22-year-old Emad Naseer mourn during a funeral in the Gaza Strip [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Dangerous situation

Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

Ibtessam Abu Arar, aunt of Siba, the 14-month old infant who died in the Israeli raid, said: The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby.





Siba was being held in the lap of her pregnant aunt Falestine Abu Arar, 37, who was also struck. She died from her wounds hours later, the health ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, it was mistakenly reported that Falestine was Sibas mother.

The Israeli military denied responsibility for the two deaths, blaming a misfiring of a Hamas rocket.

Across the fence, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead, and Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for Israeli military, said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks.

The European Union called for an immediate de-escalation late on Saturday, and threw its backing behind efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to calm the situation.

The rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. A de-escalation of this dangerous situation is urgently needed to ensure that civilians lives are protected, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU.

Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity, she added in her statement.

Egyptian mediation

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Some two million Palestinians live in the coastal enclave, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2007.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to the cash-strapped territory.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut crossings in and out of Gaza entirely on Saturday.

Smoke rises during Israeli air attacks in Gaza [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israel had also so far failed to facilitate the promised extra funding from Qatar and that other easings of the Israeli siege have not borne fruit either.

Mukhaimer Abu Sadda, a professor of political science at Al Azhar University in the Gaza Strip, said the onus was on Israel to implement the agreements brokered following the March fighting.

Its the Israeli government who has not implemented the latest understandings, Sadda told Al Jazeera.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

The latest outbreak of fighting, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, also comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv.

Al Jazeeras Fawcett said the bout of conflict had erupted at a politically sensitive time for the Israelis.

Perhaps the calculation is that Israel wont ramp up this military escalation to the extent of a full conflict because of the concerns about those events and this might be a time to try to get it to follow through on what it reportedly promised at the end of the last military escalation at the beginning of April, he said.
Gazas health ministry says 51 Palestinians were also injured in both incidents.

Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that two demonstrators, Raid Abu Tair, 19, and Ramzi Abdo, 31 were shot dead in the eastern Gaza Strip, near the Israeli fence.

Fridays protests broke out in the afternoon as part of weekly rallies and protests that have been going on since March 30 last year.

Qidra added that another two Palestinians, belonging to Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli air raid on the central Gaza Strip, east of al-Mughazi refugee camp.

They were identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Abu Malooh, 33 and Alaa Ali al-Bubali, 29.

Hamas confirmed the deaths of its members and pledged to respond to what it called an Israeli aggression.

A total of 51 people were also injured in both incidents, the ministry said.

According to the Israeli army, two of its soldiers were injured at the Israeli fence east of Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border.

An army spokesperson said about 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day.

As part of the Great March of Return, protesters in the Gaza Strip demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israels 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclaves economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

The Gaza health ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests last year, the Israeli army has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others, who were officially referred to hospitals.

Israel has waged three offensives on Gaza since December 2008.

The last war in 2014 severely damaged Gazas already weak infrastructure, prompting the United Nations to warn that the strip would be uninhabitable by 2020.
Israeli raid kills Palestinian in Gaza, amid latest flare-up a day after Israel kills four in two separate incidents.

A Palestinian has been killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip, according to Gazas health ministry, amid a fresh escalation between Israels military and Gaza fighters.

Imad Nseir, 22, was killed in Beit Hanoun after Israeli warplanes targeted multiple areas in the besieged enclave on Saturday morning after dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

The latest flare-up comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza came after an Israeli drone attack in the north of the strip early on Saturday, which injured three people.

We are looking at another military escalation, the first since last months in which we saw another exchange of air raids and rocket fire out of Gaza, which seemed to end with some hopes towards some kind of longer-term resolution, he said.

There was a good deal of reporting about talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt with further relaxing of the situation likely to happen from the Israeli side, he continued.

Hamas says so far all they have seen is the relaxation in maritime controls, allowing fishing out to 15 nautical miles from six, which has now been reduced again.

Rockets fired

The Iron Dome missile system intercepted dozens of projectiles, the Israeli army said, adding that about 90 rockets were fired from the strip. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side, the army also said.

According to Palestinian news agencies, Israeli warplanes targeted an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun, a northern town in the Strip, with multiple air raids following the rocket fire.

Israeli forces at the fence with Gaza also shelled several monitoring outposts east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Gaza health officials also said four Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli raids.

The Iron Dome system intercepted rockets above Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Israelis look on as the anti-missile system intercepts rockets over Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Sirens went off in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, and nearby Zikim beach, located two kilometres north of the Gaza Strip, was also closed off.

Municipality workers told beachgoers to leave following rocket fire in Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza.

The Palestinian Information Center quoted Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif Al-Qanou as saying: The resistance will remain present to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow it to shed the blood of our people.

The Islamic Jihad movement also released a similar statement, saying the resistance is doing its duty to protect and defend our people, adding that it will respond to the [Israeli] aggression to the fullest extent.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in the occupied West Bank has condemned the escalation on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to curb the aggression.

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On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents; two of them were shot dead during the weekly Great March of Return protests near the Israeli fence east of Gaza, while an air raid targeting a Hamas outpost killed two members of the movements armed wing.

Raed Abu Tair was killed during a protest at the fence on Friday [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The Israeli army said it had hit the Hamas base after two of its soldiers were injured by gunfire from Gaza at the Israeli fence.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israels April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

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Israels army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Following the air raid, the Israeli military said two rockets were launched from Gaza toward Israel, setting off sirens in parts of the south.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head, Yahya Sinwar, left the enclave for Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on the truce.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently engaged in negotiations to form a new government following last months election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers intentionally shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report outright but Hamas called for Israel to be held accountable.
The king has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has performed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida on Saturday after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

The king appeared dressed in white as he underwent a royal purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The countrys Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the kings body, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members.

Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects.

The kings coronation, after a period of mourning for the late king, comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military government chief and a democratic front trying to push the army out of politics.

King Vajiralongkorn has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thai kings coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, signifying that he is the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782.

The monarchy is the only institution in this country that has lasted for more than 700 years, Sulak Siwarak, a historian in Thailand told Al Jazeera.

I think the new king means well about his country. He wants to do something significant.





Royal patron of Buddhism

Saturdays rituals are about transforming him into a Devaraja, or a divine embodiment of the gods.

As the waters started pouring, ancient cannons from the 19th century, used specifically for the coronation, started firing 10 volleys each.

The king will then change into a full uniform and take a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hands in an anointment ritual.

Selected officials, including military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the National Legislative Assembly, and the chairman of the Supreme Court, will pour the waters from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

The waters used in both rituals were collected from 117 sources last month and blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country before they were combined and consecrated.

Before noon, the purified and anointed sovereign will sit under an elaborate nine-tiered umbrella, where he will receive the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week.

The king will also receive and wear five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

Once in full regalia, the king will give his first royal command, a short utterance that will highlight the essence of his reign.

The king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done.
Wine says his supporters relate to him because of his fight against injustice.

Ugandas opposition politician Bobi Wine has told Al Jazeera that he is willing to sit down with President Yoweri Museveni to discuss challenges facing the country.

The popular musician-turned-politician was released after three days in custody for taking part in what the authorities called unlawful protests against a social media tax.

Bobi Wine has support among young Ugandans, many of whom are poor, frustrated and have struggled to find jobs.

Catherine Soi reports from Kampala.
The protest call comes days after Guaidos failed bid to convince the armed forces to rise up against President Maduro.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido will make a fresh bid on Saturday to rally Venezuelas armed forces behind him calling on his supporters to march to military bases and barracks.

The protest call by the head of the National Assembly legislature  who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries  comes just days after he urged the military to rise up against the socialist president.

Peacefully, civically  we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas on Friday.

The call is to add and not to confront, to ask the military to be on the side of the constitution, he said on Twitter.

Calle permanente y sostenida!

Manana a las 10:00 am, todo el pais se moviliza en paz a las principales unidades militares. El llamado es a sumar y no enfrentar, a que se pongan del lado de la constitucion.

Anunciaremos los puntos en @Presidencia_VE. #VzlaEnPieDeLucha  Juan Guaido (@jguaido) May 3, 2019

A small group of military personnel responded to Guaidos call to join him on Tuesday, but the effort petered out, triggering two days of protests against the government in which four people were killed and several hundred injured.

Military supports Maduro

Also on Tuesday, Leopoldo Lopez, a politician and Guaidos mentor who was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017, appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish ambassadors residence.

Venezuelas military has since reiterated its support for the government, and President Maduro is standing his ground.

Do not come to buy us with a dishonest offer, as if we do not have dignity, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said.

190123205835912

The countrys attorney general Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for civilian and military conspirators following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

However, analysts say the actions of the military reveal the uncertainty of the current situation.

What happened on April 30, displays the fragility of the system at this moment, Ramon Pinango, a Venezuelan sociologist told Al Jazeera.

How is it possible that Leopoldo Lopez was under house arrest, with officers in front of his house, and he was able to walk out, and be in the streets for a good part of the day? he added.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the Constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

The standoff has drawn in major world powers, with the US throwing its support behind Guaido and Russia and China backing Maduro.





The United States has imposed tough sanctions and President Donald Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro out.

But Trump adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone after a more-than-hour-long conversation with Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis, describing the Friday talks with his Russian counterpart as very positive.

He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump said of Putin.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, in Moscow on Sunday.

Interference in internal affairs

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisers, in particular, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The US is insisting Maduros days are numbered, but experts say its options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.
By Trend

Russia did not keep the word it gave to Turkey, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said, Trend reports referring to Turkish media on May 3.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow agreed that with the mediation of Russia, the YPG troops would leave the Syrian district of Tall Rifat. Much to our regret, for the time being, the YPG detachments remain in this district and periodically shell the territories that the Turkish Armed Forces liberated from the terrorists, said Akar.

He added that in general, the joint actions of Turkey and Russia in Syria are aimed at ensuring stability and peace in the region.

On April 30, the Turkish Armed Forces shelled the positions of the Syrian branch of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terrorist network - PYD/YPG in the north of Syria in Azaz and Tall Rifat towns.

The operation to eliminate terrorists began after an attack on a Turkish military convoy, as a result of which one Turkish soldier was killed and three were injured.

On August 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against the "Islamic State", and liberated, with the support of the Syrian opposition, Al-Bab town and the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria.



On January 20, 2018, Turkish Armed Forces together with the Free Syrian Army launched the Olive Branch Operation in Afrin, Syria.
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.
These days in Japan, the attention of most people has been riveted on the historic abdication of one emperor and the ascension to the throne of a new one, whose reign inaugurates the Reiwa era, by the imperial calendar. This occasion seems appropriate for expressing appreciation for the character of Japanese people and their achievements as a nation. I am an American citizen but have spent more than 30 years in this country and often reflect on how fortunate I am to be able to live here.

This appreciation has not at all been dampened by consideration of unpleasant facts about past national wrongdoing. Without a doubt, there have been dark periods in Japanese history, such as the period leading up to World War II. During that interlude, a "holy war" ideology (not the one we are very familiar with nowadays) violently supplanted democratic government and inflicted much harm. Few in Japan want a return to those days.

Multitudes all over the world are attracted by Japanese comic books, animation, and other pop culture icons. Others are fascinated by traditional elements like ninja warriors and haiku poetry. My perspective is different. In my view, the most attractive aspects of the Japanese are qualities like gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition.

To begin with, the Japanese are generally very grateful people. Thankfully, an entitlement mentality does not yet pervade Japanese society. If one is congratulated or thanked in Japan, the appropriate response is often to say "okagesama de," which means something like "it is only thanks to you/everyone." Boastfulness and self-glorifying behavior are usually frowned upon.

Foreigners, including Americans, also experience this kind of gratitude from people. In view of the devastation brought on Japan by the American military during World War II, it would not be surprising if there were widespread, deep-rooted resentment toward the U.S., but this is generally not the case. The opposite is true.

In Sapporo, the city where I live, there are monuments in various places to Americans and other Westerners who helped modernize and advance Japanese education, agriculture, and industry, such as statues of William S. Clark, who started Sapporo Agricultural College in the nineteenth century, the origin of present-day Hokkaido University. His parting words to his students  "Boys, be ambitious!"  are legendary throughout Japan. Likewise, a museum in Sapporo commemorates Edwin Dun, an American rancher who came to Hokkaido to develop livestock farming. Even in small towns here, one often finds replicas of the Statue of Liberty and American flags on display. In the town of Kutchan, I once encountered a laundry named "America."

Along with this, Christianity is generally appreciated, since its influence helped to remedy some of the feudalistic features of Japanese society, including the low status of women. Education for women in Japan was pioneered mostly by missionaries and Japanese Christians. My own university began as a girls' school, started by nineteenth-century American missionary Sarah Smith. Many Japanese would be surprised to find out that Western feminists often blame Christianity for oppressing women, since the opposite has been Japan's experience. However, the number of Christian believers in Japan is small.

Though they are often open to ethical reforms, Japanese people value tradition and are basically conservative in outlook. As Scruton observes in England: An Elegy, royal families provide a symbolic link to the past, and Japan's imperial family has also performed that role. There has been nothing akin to the Cultural Revolution in communist China, when many of the young, at the instigation of Mao Zedong, went on a rampage against the "Four Olds" (old ideas, customs, culture, and habits), abusing their elders and destroying many objects associated with China's past. The new imperial name, "Reiwa," comes from an ancient collection of Japanese poetry. In regard to the era name, the current prime minister expressed his hope that Japanese culture and tradition will be passed down to future generations.

Finally, there is the well known civility of Japanese people, still intact though somewhat eroded by social media and other influences. The Japanese tend to make a practice of showing consideration for the feelings, social standing, and reputations of others. Generally speaking, the worst offenders against good manners in Japan come from the minority of political ideologues, delinquents, and criminals. I need not fear that Japanese university students will try to mob me if I say something in class they disagree with. They even make a point of personally thanking me for my teaching efforts.

It is sad to note that gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition used to be more widespread in places like North America and Europe before left-leaning educators, entertainers, activists, politicians, and journalists got to work "fundamentally transforming" things. My hope and prayer is that most Japanese people will continue to capitalize on their strengths and resist the voices advocating unhealthy changes.

Bruce W. Davidson is a professor at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan and a contributor to The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia.
According to Julius Caesar, in first century B.C., Gaul was divided into three parts, though it was probably more accurate to say that all Gaul was at that time divided into five parts. Differences still exist about the origins of France, but generally speaking, the beginning of modern France is seen with the emergence of the Kingdom of France in 987 under Hugh Capet (987-996), who made Paris the power center of the country. He was the first of 14 Capetian kings of a people who regard the Gauls as their ancestors, and their legendary hero Vercingetorix who united the Gauls in revolt against Roman control.

The national myth often rests on shaky foundations. Is France the eldest daughter of the church? Certainly, Notre Dame, started in 1187 and completed a century later, though it has had frequent small changes, was quickly understood as the center of international gothic with its perfect form and style, and its famed gargoyles, flying buttresses, and stained-glass rose windows. It is one of the symbols not just of Paris but of the whole country. Notre Dame was nationalized in November 1789 and is the property of the French state, though its use for religious purposes has been returned to the Catholic Church. Notre Dame therefore is maintained at the expense of the State, mostly by the Ministry of Culture.

Notre Dame has played a conspicuous role in French life. Napoleon was crowned Emperor there in 1804, and a memorial service for Charles de Gaulle took place there on November 12. 1970. It is a great place of worship and seen as a symbol of peace, but it is also a major tourist attraction, the most visited French monument after the Louvre, with 13 million visitors a year. The whole country, indeed the whole world, was traumatized by the event, apparently a tragic accident, on April 15, 2019 when the roof caught fire and caused damage that may be irreparable, though President Emmanuel Macron has vowed it will be restored, irrespective of the cost and within five years.

The interesting thing is the deep concern that a church, though a Gothic jewel, should exist in a secularized country. According to Article 2 of the October 1958 Constitution, France is an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social republic, a modern version of the republican slogan adopted during the days of revolution in 1792. All the main symbols of French pride are political and or military: the main national holiday, July 14, commemorates the storming of the Bastille; the tricolor flag, the motto, Liberty Equality, Fraternity; the national anthem, the Marsellaise, written after the declaration of war against Austria, for the Rhine Army of revolutionary France; the personification of the country, bare-breasted Marianne, a national symbol displayed through the country who in recent years, has taken on, since Brigitte Bardot, the visage of well-known celebrities.

Despite the respect and love exhibited by countless people after the tragic fire at Notre Dame, France is not a Christian country, nor a united one. The struggle between church and state continued through the 19thcentury until the 1905 Law separated them, and church property was confiscated. This is a law of separation, not discrimination, neutral to all religion, and tolerant to all. Reflecting the cultural diversity of France, the law and current practice rests on the principle of laicite, which however differs in interpretation as on the issue of wearing religious symbols in state schools.

However, religion today, apart from the issue of immigration of Muslim Arabs, is not as important or divisive as social and economic ones. President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Notre Dame: It is our history, it is our literature, it is our imagery. Its the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars, to pandemics, to liberations. But he is faced with a number of issues that divide the country.

Macron is a pluralist rather than a populist. His misfortune is to be confronted by the gilets jaunes, the yellow vests, the grassroots movement that began on October 18, 2018, originally motivated by government plans to increase fuel prices. For 24 subsequent weeks thousands have demonstrated in streets in Paris and other cities, blocking roads and fuel depots, and damaging shops and other property, smashing windows, burning cars, using violence against the police. Even on the annual May Day celebrations, thousands of yellow vests took to the street to demonstrate. The protestors, slowly aligning themselves with Frances old leftist organizations, have adopted various formulas: they are underpaid, overtaxed, want a higher minimum wage, more direct democracy, lower taxes but restore the tax on wealth, increase the public sector.

The supposed objective of the yellow vests is to reduce elitism in France, though the paradox is that they are now already a symbol of France.

Macron has been unable to end the demonstrations and the violence. He suggested a great national debate, 10,000 local debates, though the danger of this is that the process might raise too many grievances, reminding the country of the unhappy past experience when a similar set of grievances led to the cahiers de doleances in 1789 which galvanized a spirit of insurrection and the French Revolution.

So far, the record of Macron is mixed, but so is that of divided France. The French work fewer hours than the OECD average, 14 hours less than the average U.S. figure. France has a higher than average share, 82%, of full-time employees. The working week is three hours shorter than in the U.S. or UK. Its high productivity rate is countered by high unemployment.

Macron remains a puzzling, polarizing figure. He has good, sensible ideas on economic and political reforms in France. He is an internationalist, an advocate of deeper EU integration and global governance, a severe critic of British Brexit policy. On a platform of freedom, protection, progress he has called for more border controls, higher taxes for global tech companies, an EU-wide minimum wage, and a European innovation council to fund business investment.

He is also an elitist, overconfident, the youngest French president ever, accused of hubris. He is essentially a part of the French meritocratic elite, a brilliant technocrat, investment banker, millionaire. He resurrected the Palace of Versailles, seat of monarchy, as the place for summits. For a number of reasons, he has also been accused of lack of concern for civil liberties. In October 2017, an anti-terrorism law increased the power given to police forces. In February 2018, an immigration law weakened the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Macron, the young man in a hurry, has slowed down. Now at 41 he is confronting at least four problems, social, territorial, economic, and democratic. He remains ambitious, as his proposal to criminalize some criticism of Israel as a form of hate speech, and his partnership with Egypt worth millions of euros, show. He is also forthright with his attack on far-right nationalists who he called anger-mongers backed by fake news.

Macrons immediate comment on the Notre Dame tragedy was to call on the nation to unite and rally the country, to rebuild a society of equal opportunity and national excellence. Yet, Macron has been criticized for lack of emotion and connection with people. An interesting test may come over Macrons proposal to close down or radically change the prestigious ENA, a college that trains public servants. Macron is himself a graduate, as are his prime minister, finance, and defense ministers, and six of his top advisers. Will any proposed change satisfy the yellow vests and reduce the gap between the ruling French elite and the workers of France?
Normally, one would expect that a university fortunate enough to get a sitting Supreme Court Justice to join its faculty would be receiving accolades from its students. But of course, these are not normal times. Thus, when George Mason University recently announced that Justice Brett Kavanaugh would co-teach (along with Professor Jennifer L. Mascott) a summer class at its Antonin Scalia Law School, the campus Left was seriously triggered.

Students immediately launched protests, a petition drive, and an ad campaign claiming that they would suffer harm due to the uncorroborated allegations of sexual assault made against Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings last fall.

Reason's Robby Soave described the unhinged response:

'The hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well-being of all survivors on this campus,' said one female student during the public comment period of GMU's board meeting last week Another student, a survivor of sexual violence, claimed that her mental health had already suffered as a result of the Antonin Scalia Law School's decision to hire Kavanaugh. 'It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty,' she said. A third student said, As someone who has survived sexual assault three times, I do not feel comfortable with someone who has sexual assault allegations walking on campus.'

And it wasnt just students. Professor Bethany Letiecq, president of GMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, actually suggested that the university conduct its own separate investigation of Kavanaugh. It's hard to imagine what such an investigation would even look like, Soave noted, given that the incidents in question do not involve GMU, were made three decades ago, and were already explored by the federal government and the news media.

GMU president Angel Cabrera sought to bring some common sense and civility to the discussion, saying that:

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. 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.

Dr. Cabrera later reiterated his support for Kavanaugh at a town hall organized by GMUs student government, saying that even if the outcome is painful, whats at stake is very, very important for the integrity of the university.

What is so absurd about all this is that Kavanaugh will not be teaching anywhere near the GMU campus in Virginia. The course will be taught in Runnymede, England. In other words, we are being asked to believe that some university students (and professors) will be traumatized by the presence of an individual teaching at a campus 3,600 miles away.

The contretemps may surprise some who think of GMU as a conservative university. However, Walter Williams, the respected professor of economics at GMU, explained that the university's reputation as a bastion of conservatism is somewhat overstated:

George Mason University erroneously earns a reputation as a conservative/libertarian university because of its most distinguished and internationally known liberty-oriented economics department, which can boast of two homegrown Nobel laureates in economics. Its Antonin Scalia Law School has a distinguished faculty that believes in personal liberty and reveres the U.S. Constitution -- unlike many other law schools that hold liberty and our Constitution in contempt. The rest of the university is just like most other universities -- liberal, Democratic Party-dominated. The chief difference between my GMU colleagues and liberals at some other universities is that they are polite, respectful and congenial, unlike what one might find at places like U.C. Berkeley or University of Massachusetts.

The subject of Justice Kavanaugh's course itself might prove triggering to the Left. The course is entitled Creation of the Constitution. According to the course description, students will study the historical origins of the Constitution and read Founding-era documents and debates shaping the content of the document.

Runnymede, where the course will be taught, was the location of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

In his indispensable book, The Roots of American Order, Russell Kirk explained the significance of the Magna Carta [p. 195]:

It became the rock upon which the English constitution was built. It was principle of the supremacy of law: the idea that an enduring law exists, which all men must obey. The king himself is one of those men under the law. Along with this principle ran the corollary principle -- that if the king breaks the law, and invades the rights of his vassals, then barons and people may deprive him of his powers. From this principle, the whole English constitution -- an unwritten constitution in the sense that it can be found in no single document -- developed in time. This principle would be asserted by the Americans in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; it is the root of the Declaration of Independence.

This is our shared heritage, the British legal system, the foundation of America's freedom. Recently, Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner for the presidency, said that our "English jurisprudential culture" should be changed, although he declined to say what he might replace it with. Biden ought to take some time to visit Runnymede this summer and audit Justice Kavanaugh's class. He just might learn something.

You can follow Nicholas J. Kaster on Twitter.
On April 6, 2019, AT published the article, On Joe McCarthy, Washington Post Gets It Embarrassingly Wrong, by the estimable Jack Cashill. It drew hundreds of comments, which were overwhelmingly laudatory of McCarthy. The relatively few anti-McCarthy comments were pounced on by the McCarthy partisans.

McCarthys (few) detractors in the comments section of that article included this writer. My comments against McCarthy drew lots of ire and opprobrium from his fans. I thought that it would be best to write a rejoinder.

Perhaps my disdain for McCarthy is almost genetic, for it comes from my late fathers personal knowledge of him. My father, Lt. Col. Anthony R. Nollet, was a Marine Corps aviator and knew McCarthy well, they having served together in the same squadron that flew Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers in the South Pacific. McCarthy was the Air Intelligence Officer for that squadron. My father passed on to posterity three stories about McCarthy, based on his personal observations. Perhaps this oral history has predisposed me to despise McCarthy.

THE CARD SHARP

McCarthy was a ferocious poker player -- and a cheater and a welsher on his poker debts. He left the South Pacific owing his fellow officers some $4,000 in unredeemed markers from poker games.

Today, that would be less than a months pay for an O-2 with under two years military experience, which is what McCarthy and most of his fellow officers were. But during world War II, the monthly basic pay for such officers was all of $166.67. At this salary rate, McCarthy left the South Pacific owing two years pay.

There was, of course, no way that the Marine Corps could force McCarthy to honor his debts. This is because gambling for money was illegal, and the Marine Corps cannot enforce illegal contracts. The only factor compelling any officer to discharge such debts is his own integrity. Honorable officers pay their gambling debts and dishonorable ones dont. McCarthy didnt.

And dont ask me for evidence, either, for there is none. The last surviving aviator of the Black Sheep Squadron, the sister squadron of my fathers SBD squadron, died five years ago, and probably all my fathers squadronmates likewise have passed on. Perhaps some of the enlisted men are still with us.

But there is indirect evidence. The two great poker players of 20th-Century American politics were Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy. Nixon was so good at it he was able to use his winnings from the Pacific War to finance his first campaign for Congress. And McCarthy was so good that before the war, he was able to finance his way through the Marquette University Law School with winnings acquired in the gambling halls of Wisconsin. Historian Arthur Herman describes McCarthys poker style as demonic. That is, McCarthy played poker the same way he played his politics: with bluster, boisterousness, intimidation, and lots of bluffing for high stakes. Herman also says that McCarthy cheated whenever he thought he could get away with it and thought it was a hoot whenever he was caught. It is easy to envision such a man eagerly participating in the poker games of the Marine Air Wing in which he and my father served. (Nixon at least couldnt have defaulted on his poker debts, since he was able to bring back enough money from the Pacific to run for Congress.)

THE SHYSTER

After the war, my father and McCarthy found themselves together again -- in Camp Pendleton, California. The Marine Corps thought that a former Wisconsin judge like McCarthy would be perfect to serve in the bases Legal Department pending his discharge. My father was there awaiting the decision on whether he wouldnt be demobilized and discharged.

A M arine corporal was facing court-martial for beating up an illegal Mexican immigrant. Nowadays, such offenses would be within the jurisdiction of the State of California, but not so in 1945. McCarthy was assigned to be the corporals defense attorney.

McCarthy found a typically devious and, well, McCarthyite way to win a trial victory: he went to the Mexicans hospital room and said to him, Here, spic, take this $50 and get back to Mexico, or Ill have you arrested and deported. The Mexican accepted the stipend and did just that, after he was discharged from the hospital. Without a complaining witness, the case against the corporal collapsed. McCarthy wins again!

Dont ask for evidence here, either. There isnt even indirect evidence. I now regret that I never thought to ask my father how he knew of the story. Perhaps McCarthy boasted of it; it would be like him.

THE DRINKING MAN

Fast-forward eight years, to 1953. By this time, my father had not only been permitted to remain in the Marine Corps, he had also earned a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. And on March 5, 1953 (the day Stalin died), Polish pilot Francizek Jarecki defected by flying his MiG-15bis from Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. They sent my father to help evaluate the MiG-15.

When my father returned to the USA, they sent him to Washington to give testimony about the MiG to Congress. And when in the Capitol Building, he was surprised to run into his old squadronmate from the South Pacific, none other than Joseph R. McCarthy himself, now a U.S. senator.

McCarthy remembered his old comrade and greeted him most jovially. He said, Ello there, Owlet [sic], owre you doing? Perhaps one reason McCarthy mangled the pronunciation of my fathers name is that even though it was only midday, McCarthy was already stinking drunk.

And no, dont ask me for evidence about that one, either. There would have been no witnesses. Although indirect evidence does exist for this one as well, in that McCarthy is well known to have died a roaring, angry alcoholic.

I already know what McCarthys partisans are going to say: Wheres the proof? If theres no proof, then it cant be true. And I reply by stipulating that of course there is no proof in the formal sense. But I will add that I hope that McCarthys partisans can sympathize with me that if my father said it, then I take it to the bank. No matter how correct McCarthy was about Communists in the United States government -- and for the most part, he was correct -- he was still a scoundrel.

Ill go farther. I say that not only was McCarthy a scoundrel, he was the worst internal enemy that the United States ever had during the Cold War. Through his demagoguery, his bullying, his reckless accusations -- a few of them against innocent men -- and his alcohol-fueled rages, he gave respectable conservatism and anti-Communism a black name from which they arguably have not recovered to this day. Even seventy years later, shrieks of McCarthyism! continue to be the Lefts favorite dog whistle to stifle conservative opposition. McCarthy made our eventual victory in the Cold War harder and more costly, because we conservatives had to fight on with his albatross around our necks.

So hail and farewell, Joe McCarthy. We did it without you. More precisely, we did it despite you. That is, we triumphed over Communism and won the Cold War anyway, and we did it despite all the difficulties that you threw in our way by bringing our cause into such disrepute. My father saw right through you and had your number.

Thanks for nothing, Tail Gunner Joe.

The author is an Iowa truck driver known to some AT readers as "Kzintosh."
Last April 24 was Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Millions of Armenians around the world remembered how the Islamic Ottoman Empire killed  often cruelly and out of religious hatred  some 1.5 million of their ancestors during World War I.

Ironically, most people, including most Armenians, are unaware that the first genocide of Christian Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks did not occur in the twentieth century. Rather, it began in 1019  exactly one thousand years ago this year  when Turks first began to pour into and transform a then much larger Armenia into what it is today, the eastern portion of modern-day Turkey.

Thus, in 1019, "the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts ... the savage nation of infidels called Turks entered Armenia ... and mercilessly slaughtered the Christian faithful with the sword," writes Matthew of Edessa (d. 1144), a chief source for this period. Three decades later, the raids were virtually nonstop. In 1049, the founder of the Turkic Seljuk Empire himself, Sultan Tughril Bey (r. 10371063), reached the unwalled city of Arzden, west of Lake Van, and "put the whole town to the sword, causing severe slaughter, as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons."

After thoroughly plundering the city  which reportedly contained eight hundred churches  he ordered it set ablaze and turned into a desert. Arzden was "filled with bodies," and none "could count the number of those who perished in the flames." The invaders "burned priests whom they seized in the churches and massacred those whom they found outside. They put great chunks of pork in the hands of the undead to insult us"  Muslims deem the pig unclean  "and made them objects of mockery to all who saw them."

Eight hundred oxen and forty camels were required to cart out the vast plunder, mostly taken from Arzden's churches. "How to relate here, with a voice stifled by tears, the death of nobles and clergy whose bodies, left without graves, became the prey of carrion beasts, the exodus of women ... led with their children into Persian slavery and condemned to an eternal servitude! That was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia," laments Matthew. "So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital."

Contemporaries confirm the devastation visited upon Arzden. "Like famished dogs," writes Aristakes (d. 1080), an eyewitness, "bands of infidels hurled themselves on our city, surrounded it and pushed inside, massacring the men and mowing everything down like reapers in the fields, making the city a desert. Without mercy, they incinerated those who had hidden themselves in houses and churches."

Similarly, during the Turkic siege of Sebastia (modern-day Sivas) in 1060, six hundred churches were destroyed, and "many [more] maidens, brides, and distinguished ladies were led into captivity to Persia." Another raid on Armenian territory saw "many and innumerable people who were burned [to death]." The atrocities are too many for Matthew to recount, and he frequently ends in resignation:

Who is able to relate the happenings and ruinous events which befell the Armenians, for everything was covered with blood[.] ... Because of the great number of corpses, the land stank, and all of Persia was filled with innumerable captives; thus this whole nation of beasts became drunk with blood. All human beings of Christian faith were in tears and in sorrowful affliction, because God our creator had turned away His benevolent face from us.

Nor was there much doubt concerning what fueled the Turks' animus: "This nation of infidels comes against us because of our Christian faith and they are intent on destroying the ordinances of the worshippers of the cross and on exterminating the Christian faithful," one David, head of an Armenian region, explained to his countrymen. Therefore, "it is fitting and right for all the faithful to go forth with their swords and to die for the Christian faith." Many were of the same mind; records tell of monks and priests, fathers, wives, and children, all shabbily armed but zealous to protect their way of life, coming out to face the invaders  to little avail.

Anecdotes of faith-driven courage also permeate the chronicles. During the first Turkic siege of Manzikert in 1054, when a massive catapult pummeled and caused its walls to quake, a Catholic Frank holed up in with the Orthodox Armenians volunteered to sacrifice himself: "I will go forth and burn down that catapult, and today my blood shall be shed for all the Christians, for I have neither wife nor children to weep over me." The Frank succeeded and returned to gratitude and honors. Adding insult to injury, the defenders catapulted a pig into the Muslim camp while shouting, "O sultan [Tughril], take that pig for your wife, and we will give you Manzikert as a dowry!" "Filled with anger, Tughril had all Christian prisoners in his camp ritually decapitated."

Between 1064 and 1065, Tughril's successor, Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri  known to posterity as Alp Arslan, a Turkish honorific meaning "Heroic Lion"  "going forth full of rage and with a formidable army," laid siege to Ani, the fortified capital of Armenia, then a great and populous city. The thunderous bombardment of Muhammad's siege engines caused the entire city to quake, and Matthew describes countless terror-stricken families huddled together and weeping.

Once inside, the Islamic Turks  reportedly armed with two knives in each hand and an extra in their mouths  "began to mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants of the entire city ... and piling up their bodies one on top of the other[.] ... Beautiful and respectable ladies of high birth were led into captivity into Persia. Innumerable and countless boys with bright faces and pretty girls were carried off together with their mothers."

The most savage treatment was always reserved for those visibly proclaiming their Christianity: clergy and monks "were burned to death, while others were flayed alive from head to toe." Every monastery and church  before this, Ani was known as "the City of 1,001 Churches"  was pillaged, desecrated, and set aflame. A zealous jihadi climbed atop the city's main cathedral "and pulled down the very heavy cross which was on the dome, throwing it to the ground," before entering and defiling the church. Made of pure silver and the "size of a man"  and now symbolic of Islam's might over Christianity, the broken crucifix was sent as a trophy to adorn a mosque in modern-day Azerbaijan.

Not only do several Christian sources document the sack of Armenia's capital  one contemporary succinctly notes that Muhammad "rendered Ani a desert by massacres and fire"  but so do Muslim sources, often in apocalyptic terms: "I wanted to enter the city and see it with my own eyes," one Arab explained. "I tried to find a street without having to walk over the corpses. But that was impossible."

Such is an idea of what Muslim Turks did to Christian Armenians  not during the Armenian Genocide of a century ago, but exactly one thousand years ago, starting in 1019, when the Turkic invasion and subsequent colonization of Armenia began.

Even so, and as an example of surreal denial, Turkey's foreign minister, capturing popular Turkish sentiment, recently announced, "We [Turks] are proud of our history because our history has never had any genocides. And no colonialism exists in our history."

Note: The first Turkic invasion of Armenia (and others) is documented in Raymond Ibrahim's recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. American Thinker reviews of the book can be read here and here.
Over the next few weeks, we will learn why so many Democrats wanted to destroy or derail the Trump presidency. It had nothing to do with ideology or liberal versus conservative ideas or tax plans or foreign policy. It had everything to do with covering up what the Obama administration did to protect Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The counterattack is led by Attorney General William Barr, and a lot of information that will make the "Trump-Russia story" look like a G-rated movie.

As Andrew McCarthy wrote, the next move will come soon:

The coming weeks will expose the true genesis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation  and just how it is tied to some of the highest Obama-era officials, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy. McCarthy made the ominous prediction on Fox News host Bill Hemmer's "Hemmer Time" podcast and said he expects the answer to what really spurred the investigation to be revealed when the Department of Justice's Inspector General releases his much-anticipated report. "We're going to start getting the answers in the next four to six weeks when we can expect that Inspector General [Michael] Horowitz's reports are going to start flowing out," McCarthy told Hemmer.

We will wait for such a report. My guess is that the report won't make a lot of people look good and some could be looking criminal.

All this is about to boomerang on the Democrats because they couldn't accept the 2016 election results. They had to find excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss, from Russia to "they stole the election" to whatever.

In other words, they put the country through two years of hell just because Hillary Clinton could not accept that voters turned on President Obama.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because you may get it, as the expression goes. The Democrats are about to get it, and they won't like it.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
By Trend

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.



Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.
That didn't take long.

Mere days after President Trump lifted the waiver on lawsuits by Americans to sue communist Cuba for expropriated assets, Big Oil's Bigfoot, ExxonMobil, was on this case like Godzilla. The Miami Herald reports that it is ready to stomp Cuba:

Exxon Mobil has filed suit in U.S. federal court against Cubas CIMEX and CUPET companies for their use of an oil refinery and other properties seized by the Fidel Castro government six decades ago. Exxon Mobil is the first U.S. company to file suit after President Donald Trump allowed Title III of the Helms-Burton Act to take effect, opening the way for demands against Cuban and foreign companies that benefit from properties seized by the communist government. Title III had been suspended every six months by every U.S. president since the law was approved in 1996.

That's a monster. And it's going to cost Cuba big, if ExxonMobil wins, and ExxonMobil always plays to win, and with some of the world's best attorneys, it usually does win. The Helms-Burton law of 1996 states that U.S. companies who had their property stolen by communists in Cuba are entitled to sue for three times the value of the stolen properties, plus 6% annual interest, which, compounded over 60 years of Castro rule, is a...lot of interest. The company must have had that lawsuit ready for Trump's move, given the speed with which it was executed.

It shows just how major President Trump's act was. Over the years, much of the reporting on this matter has focused on small-time Cuban-American stakeholders who lost shops and apartments in the vast uncompensated thievery of communization, and these are people who have largely been dismissed as poor mice hopelessly living in the past.

Exxon's the elephant, though, and it never forgets.

Why do I think this will be a monster for the Castroites? Well, because back when I was reporting news, I wrote an investigative story describing ExxonMobil's response to Venezuela's expropriations. The company fought the Chavistas like the Mobil tiger in the tank  and it eventually won more than a billion in compensation. The company plays for keeps. Here is an old story I found from 2005 that ran on Page One of Investor's Business Daily, describing how ExxonMobil responded to Chavista Venezuela's attempt to steal ExxonMobil's assets.

ExxonMobil, of course, is going to be painted as a bully for doing it by the Chavista left, and it's likely the leftists are painting their signs and calling up their media buddies as I write this. But ExxonMobil has a rationale for this, because its business extends across the globe, and it doesn't get to pick where the oil is  which means it often has to deal with some very gamy dictators. Of course they have to fight the thieves among them. Because once word gets around in the global dictator community that big-moneyed ExxonMobil can be pushed around (its revenues, as I noted in the IBD piece back in 2005, were three times the size of the Venezuelan economy), all of them will jump in and try to shake ExxonMobil down for more for themselves. It's dictator nature. So for ExxonMobil, it's fight the miscreants, and keep the rest on their best behavior. It's the only way to run an international oil company. Now Cuba is about to learn that the hard way.

This is precisely what it deserves, given its propping up of the Maduro regime in Venezuela through its use of intelligence agents, incompetent technicians, and torturers. Trump's move is about squeezing Cuba to force it to get the hell out of Venezuela, and Trump plays hardball.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of socialist thieves.
Despite the barbarism seen in Venezuela these days  the latest the running down of protesters with armored military vehicles  President Trump's hard words for the brutal socialist dictatorship there have largely been seen in the context of winning the Florida vote, or blustering for the sake of it, or speaking loud and carrying a small stick based on the geopolitical realities of confronting Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Most important, Trump himself has been seen as reluctant to get the U.S. into any conflict abroad, based on the miserable series of nation-building wars on Stone-Age people.

Consequently, the conventional wisdom that Venezuela's acting president Juan Guaido's inability to enact a military uprising has been dubbed a 'failure.' Trump's not gonna act, so dictator Nicolas Maduro stays in place strong.

There are now signs that that may not be the case. Here's longtime Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer's surprising take on what he's hearing. He writes:

How likely is a U.S.-Brazil-Colombia military intervention in Venezuela? I still think that it's highly unlikely, but judging from what I'm told are secret talks between United States and Latin American officials to resurrect a dormant 1947 Inter-American mutual defense treaty, I'm no longer willing to bet that it won't happen. First, the Trump administration is escalating its rhetoric following the Venezuelan opposition's courageous but unsuccessful April 30 attempt to spark a military rebellion. Going beyond his earlier talking point that, "All options are on the table," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that "military action is possible."

He adds that it's Latin diplomats who are telling him that talks about a collective military intervention effort are going on. Hmmm, real interesting. Perhaps there really will be a Panama-style pounding and then leaving the Venezuelan democrats in charge to take care of the matter.

The Venezuelans themselves  and its most notable dissidents  are certainly calling for it. Maria Corina Machado, who's been opposing the dictatorship for at least 15 years, has pointed out on Twitter and in television interviews that Venezuela pretty much doesn't have many other options. Venezuela's former United Nations ambassador and U.N. Security Council president, as well as senior statesman, Diego Arria has pointed out that the U.N. went into Bosnia to defend its locals from the Serbs in the 1990s for much less.

There seems to be a lot of support for the idea inside Venezuela and with Venezuelans pouring over Brazil's and Colombia's borders, the attitudes are changing in those quarters, too.

It's very significant to read this coming from him, because he's the Latin swamp thing, he knows what goes on in the thinking of the established elites around Latin America and in Latin American policy circles. If he's hearing military talk, and he's balancing that against the establishment, there's general inertia and fear toward intervention in the affairs of other countries, there must be something going on.

If it comes off right, it certainly would argue for a bright future for Colombia and Brazil, not only in that they'll have a democratic neighbor instead of a bleeding ulcer of socialism on their border, but that their own troops are highly competent. It would demonstrate the case for their joining on as full-blown NATO members, too, something President Trump has brought up earlier. Meanwhile, as long as this looks to be a multi-nation effort, it would be nice to see the Dutch and Maltese involved, too, given the positive role both nations have played in checking the Maduro regime  the Netherlands by helping out with aid and the geography of its Curacao island territory off the coast of Venezuela, and Malta by throwing a massive roadblock to Russia's designs in setting up military supply lines to Venezuela.

If this is what's going on, it shows that the matter is not over. It shows that Venezuelans have not failed, and that their refusal to stop fighting  two decades into what became a socialist dictatorship  is something that may ultimately lead to its liberation  by whatever means necessary.

Maduro can sleep with one eye open on this report.

Image credit: Sgt. Anthony J. Kirby, U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Is it time to break up Twitter, or regulate it as an edited platform?

The people over there really went over the line, not to enforce rules, but simply to show us all how powerful they've become by suspending one of the most popular Twitterers, actor James Woods, whose pithy, perfectly composed tweets have brought him 2.12 million followers.

Breitbart had the story that happened.

James Woods, one of the few conservative stars in Hollywood, has been locked out of his Twitter account for over a week now for "abusive behavior," once again demonstrating the double standard the tech giant holds when it comes to enforcing rules. Twitter suspended Woods for a tweet that read, "'If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll," according to his girlfriend Sara Miller.

And the disgusting censorship was noticed by President Trump, who went into a full tweetstorm about all the instances of social media censorship of conservatives he could think of in just the past few days:

So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

This seems to have ended the Woods suspension early this morning, a capricious censorship of a powerful conservative voice that was over absolutely nothing. Update: It hasn't.

Thing is, it is censorship, a very raw, creepy, Mao-style censorship coming from a private company. The leftists running Twitter and its algorithms claim to be a private company, which they seem to think gives them the right to run their company any way they want, but their erratic censorship practices make them an edited platform.

Now, it's fine and dandy to be an edited platform as a private company, but they want it both ways  the non-accountability of a public utility but the private censorship practices of an edited platform. If they can be declared that, they would need to be regulated as newspapers are  responsible for every single word that goes out on their site, including the words of the freaks and killers and terrorists who also employ their platform. They'd have to edit every last bit of it, not just the words of people they don't like politically, or who have politically powerful voices they don't like politically. Someone tweets murder; maybe Twitter should now be suable for it, given that it's chosen to be an edited platform instead of a public utility.

Because it isn't rules anyone is violating based on their banning practices; it's big voices they don't like.

How capriciously are they censoring? Well, against the backdrop of Woods's tweet, which was the repetition of an old saw dating back to a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, I've gotten actual death threats that Twitter didn't deem worthy of any censorship when I complained to it about the problem. Only time constraints prevent me from locating the correspondence and posting it. Freaks threatening death? Not a problem for them. Woods citing an old saying? Ban!

What's more, they make their money through getting their customers' information in exchange for the right to post, something Mickey Kaus has noted is legally known as 'consideration.' If they are going to go around censoring now, not only are they an edited platform, but they are also suable for breach of contract with their customers.

Here's another thing. Woods is big, and Woods attracts a lot of eyeballs to Twitter, which is exactly what it should want as a company to make money. Banning Woods is contrary to its own business interests, given that it drives away customers for the practice. As a public company, Twitter ought to be suable for lost profits by shareholders, too.

Trump was right to point out that the matter is getting out of hand. It's time for some legislation to hold the company accountable and force it to choose whether it wants to be the equivalent of a public utility, such as the phone company, or else a censoring, capricious, edited private platform that would also be forced to be accountable.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Seven of the UAEs top projects were named winners among the Gulf regions best projects at the recently held 2019 Meed Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, in Dubai, UAE



The UAE was followed by Oman with four winning projects, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had three winners each and Kuwait had one regional awardee.



The only awards programme recognising excellence for completed projects in the GCC, Meed Projects Awards honoured national winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in ceremonies held at the Conrad Hotel Dubai.



We are honoured to be a partner with Meed in recognising projects excellence in the GCC. This is our way of putting a spotlight on these projects for not only upholding quality standards, but also in improving the standard of living in the Gulf through their invariable impact on the socio-economic aspirations of the region, said Mohammad Khader Al Shouli, senior vice president, Head of Contracting Finance at Mashreq Bank, headline sponsor of the awards programme.



The 2019 Meed Quality Project of the Year, in association with Mashreq, the award programmes highly coveted honour, was given to Saudi Arabias Haramain High Speed Railway Project (entered by Saudi Railways Organization and owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia). It also won the GCC Transport Project of the Year award.



The judges praised the projects efforts to maximise social impact and the efficient design of departure and arrivals lounges improving passenger flow and comfort and which are also low energy with innovative prismatic daylight collectors on the roofs.



The other Saudi Arabia winner was the Titanium Sponge Plant Project in Yanbu Project (entered by a Joint Venture of Chiyoda Corporation and CTCI Corporation and owned by Advanced Metal Industries Cluster and Toho Titanium Metal Company Limited) which was awarded the GCC Industrial Project of the Year.



The GCC is home to some of the worlds most high-profile projects, known worldwide not just for their engineering and construction brilliance but also for being beacons of the regions economic progress. We are delighted to honour their commitment to the highest quality standards for projects excellence, said Richard Thompson, editorial director, Meed.



Among the regional winners from the UAE were Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (GCC Tourism & Leisure Project of the Year), Bluewaters Mosque (GCC Small Project of the Year), Improvement of Mafraq to Al Ghweifat Border Post Highway  Section 4A from Himeem Interchange to Abu Al Abyad (GCC Road Project of the Year), Sheikh Shakbout Medical City (GCC Healthcare Project of the Year), Offices 4 and Offices 5, One Central (GCC Commercial Project of the Year), Khalifa University (GCC Education Project of the Year) and Dubai American Academy (Innovation Medal, sponsored by China State Construction).



In Oman, the projects honoured for excellence were Diyar Al Salam (GCC Residential Project of the Year), Suhar Refinery Improvement Project (GCC Oil and Gas Project of the Year), Salalah II Power Project (GCC Power Generation Project of the Year) and Muscat International Airport (Mega Project of the Year).



From Bahrain, the projects which gained regional recognition was Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Works, Long Sea Outfall & Irrigation Network which received the GCC Water Project of the Year, GCC Engineering Project of the Year and the Sustainability Medal (sponsored by China State Construction).



Kuwaits regional winner was The Ministry of Education Headquarters Project which received the GCC Social, Culture and Heritage of the Year award.



Special awards were also given to Maher Habanjar, senior director of the Water & Environment Division at Khatib &Alami, (Engineer of the Year), The Founders Memorial (Meed Editor's Award for Special Achievement) and Al Karamah School, Abu Dhabi (Meed Editor's Award for Contribution to Community).  TradeArabia News Service
Creators are driving record audiences to YouTube, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told the presentation audience gathered at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. Two-hundred million people come to YouTube every single day just to watch gaming videos. Thats twice the audience of this years Super Bowl.  Los Angeles Times
Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO Jatan.

Ahemdabad: A day after PepsiCo announced that it would withdraw cases filed against the potato farmers in Gujarat, activists and farmer leaders on Friday said the company must do it unconditionally and also pay a compensation to the cultivators for causing "harassment".

Agitated by PepsiCo's earlier decision to sue potato growing farmers for allegedly growing a variety of potato registered by it, around 25 major farmers' bodies of Gujarat and the country, including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body - Seed Sovereignty Forum - to protect farmers' rights on seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO 'Jatan'.

"We are apprehensive because PepsiCo's statement yesterday does not offer anything new. The company had earlier told the court that it will withdraw cases on two conditions - either farmers give up using company's seeds or farmers become part of contract farming with the company," Shah told reporters here.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' or cultivators' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non-negotiable," he said.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts were sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights, and sought damages ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from each of them.

They have been sued by the company under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.

Shah said the issue touches farmers of the entire country and not just of Gujarat.

"After this issue cropped up, around 25 national and regional organisations working for farmers decided to come under one roof to form 'Seed Sovereignty Forum'. We will hold a meeting today to devise an action plan to fight against such cases in the future and formulate a long-term strategy to ensure that farmers' rights are not snatched away," said Shah.

Shah was accompanied by four farmers of Sabarkantha district, who were sued by the MNC. Office-bearers of the BKS and several other farm rights activists were also present.

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading of awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a check on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani, who is the president of Gujarat Association of Agricultural Sciences, said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, which is a natural practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips), while small potatoes were discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed those potatoes only. We have now realised that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PepsiCo India had said it has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers after holding talks with the government.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection," the statement said.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing.

New Delhi: Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on Saturday said it will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"The Board has constituted a sub-committee named "Special Committee for Issuance of Securities" and authorised the said Committee to decide upon various factors viz. mode, pricing, terms & conditions and other allied matters in respect of the said issuance," DHFL added.
Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

Mumbai: Indias sugar production could rise 1.5 per cent in 2018/19 to a record 33 million tonnes, increasing inventories in the worlds second-biggest producer and putting pressure on local prices, a producers body said on Friday.

The record production could force New Delhi to continue incentives for overseas sales of sugar into the next season, weighing on global prices, which are now trading near their lowest in four months.

In the first seven months of the 2018/19 marketing year that started on Oct. 1, mills have churned out 32.1 million tonnes of sugar, 3 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.

India produced 32.5 million tonnes of sugar for the whole of the 2017/18 marketing year.

The sugar recovery in northern India has been substantially better than the sugar recovery achieved in the last season, the association said.

Years of bumper cane harvests and record sugar production have hammered domestic sugar prices, making it hard for mills to pay monies owed to farmers, who form an influential voting bloc.

Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers, who have gone unpaid for their produce for more than a year.

To bring down cane arrears and reduce rising inventories, New Delhi has been providing incentives to mills for overseas sale of sugar and set an export target of 5 million tonnes.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

That means Indias sugar inventory levels will rise to 14.7 million tonnes at the beginning of the new season on Oct. 1, 2019, up 37.4 percent from a year ago, the trade body said.

The industry has been hoping the 2019/20 seasons output could drop due to higher ethanol production and a drought in the western state of Maharashtra, the countrys second-biggest sugar-producing region.

With additional ethanol production capacities getting installed and expanding existing capacities at a very fast pace ... (that) in turn will further reduce sugar production in the next season, the trade body said.
The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of Gaddi Lohar community.

Mumbai: Deana Uppal, Miss India UK, is all set to direct and produce an in-depth documentary on the life of this Banjara community. The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of the Gaddi Lohar community.

Uppal is also working on forming her own organisation that will work for the issues faced by the Banjara community on a day-to-day basis. As the entire country participates in the mega general elections with fervour, Rajasthans Gaddi Lohar community has been left out. This nomadic tribe, who fall below the poverty line, do not possess any voter ID, Aadhar Card or any other identification document.

In the absence of these vital documents, this nomadic tribe does not get a chance to exercise their franchise. Also, being bereft of these documents, this community does not get the benefits of the government schemes.

As part of her campaign for the nomadic community, Uppal is also holding meetings with several ministers of Rajasthan and putting forth the issues faced by these people.

The Miss India UK has been to the offices of Public Works and Development Ministry, Health Ministry, Women and Child Development Ministry to discuss the problems faced by the Gaddi Lohar community.

As Rajasthan goes to polls on May 6, Uppal has written to the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan, Anand Kumar, urging him to devise a strategy for future so that this community can have their voting rights and get a chance to elect their representative.
Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

There were reports that Priyan would return to direct Hera Phera 3. The Hera Pheri producer Firoz Nadiadwala had a massive fall-out with his director after Hera Pheri in 2000. The second Hera Pheri film was directed by writer Neeraj Vora who passed away last year. Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

Priyan is busy shooting his most ambitious film to date in Hyderabad.

It is called Marakkar: The Lion Of The Arabian Sea. It features my favourite actor Mohan Lal in the lead. This time hes playing a real-life character, says Priyan excitedly.

Priyan and Mohanlal have worked in a staggering 44 films together. Marakkar is their 45th collaboration. Says Priyan, We are shooting on ships that weve created and erected in a studio. At the age of 62, Im shooting non-stop for nearly 90 days. I must retire soon. But only after I finish directing my 100th film. Marakkar is my 93rd film. Hope God will keep me going for seven more films.
The UAE government has signed a strategic agreement with National Bonds, the leading Sharia-compliant saving and investment company, to launch its new Labour Saving Programme (Tharaa) initiative.

The laborer in UAE is the creator of foundations, the thread that holds together the social fabric, and the one who is impacting the domestic economy and its development. Thus, he deserves special attention and privileges awarded by the UAE Government, said a satement from Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE).

The attention paid by the leadership is notable as it recognises laborers rights and ensure that laws are in place and being regulated by various bodies and ministries, such as the MOHRE, which is working to ensure laborers happiness, convenience and rights.

In keeping with MOHREs efforts, Tharaa was launched under the National Happiness and Positivity Programme of the Ministry of Happiness.

Tharaas launch occurs ideally in conjunction with the global and local celebration of Labor Day, emphasizing MOHREs constant efforts to provide laborers with the best services and competitive earnings, in order to achieve the highest level of happiness. This, in turn, is reflected in the Happiness Index for the UAE, as a whole, said the statement.

Tharaa is aimed at enabling labourers to build a financially stable future through monthly fixed deductions directly from their Wage Protection System (WPS), the amount of which is voluntarily contributed by the laborer throughout the duration of his/her stay in the country.

The laborer shall also have several benefits, annual profits, micro-financing facilities through third party tie ups and entry into National Bonds generous rewards program.

This allows the laborer the chance to win several rewards including a million-dirham every quarter, in turn enabling him to create a happy and secured future.

The savings initiative, Tharaa, is supported by automated kiosks at thirty-eight of MOHREs Tawjeeh Centers, spread across the Emirates.

They will be also eligible to participate in additional program benefits and awards, which amount to more than Dh37 million. These rewards are distributed on a monthly and quarterly basis to local and expatriate employees working in the private sector, said the statement.

The most prominent of these awards is the quarterly one million prize draw. This draw is divided into two parts: the quarterly one million prize draw for UAE locals, and the same for expatriates.

UAE locals and expatriates can also participate in the monthly draw for two cars or their equivalent of Dh100,000, two monthly draws for a cash prize of Dh10,000 and 40,000 prizes of Dh50 each distributed monthly.

Furthermore, 50 savers will benefit yearly from Takaful services that protect them in the event of work-related death or injury.

In addition, more benefits will be provided including a complimentary quarterly money transfer service; a labor loyalty program, which will be launched in a later phase it stated.

On the novel scheme, National Bonds CEO Mohammed Qasim Al Ali said Tharaa come as part of the development of innovative programs and products to enhance financial happiness and strengthen the UAE's position as one of the best countries to live, work and invest in.

"This initiative will help employers and workers develop quick and practical plans for better financial health, and contribute to their families welfare and thus enhance their productivity," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour. (Photo: File)

Bhubaneswar: Back in 1999, when Odisha was hit by a cyclone, thousands had lost their lives. The state was left in shambles with the story of despair and fear written all over it.

Twenty years later in 2019, when cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India, the state was better prepared to handle the crisis.

Odisha is prone to incessant rainfall, cyclone and extreme weather conditions. The state is among the poorer states in India with coastal cities and villages exposed to the cyclone.

The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

In this process, they had to ensure the expediency and immediacy.

The New York Times reports that the state engaged in 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, around 1,000 emergency workers, buses, police and civic administration and reaching every lane of every village informing the last man about the nearing disaster.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour.

The impact was huge as trees and structures were ripped from their roots. While the millions were evacuated, very few lives were lost.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation spoke to the NYT. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

After the catastrophe in 1999, the state undertook the construction of numerous cyclone shelters. These were built miles away from the seashore.

Designed by some prestigious engineering colleges, the shelters, basic in design, have been of great help.

The Indian Meteorological Department had kept a close eye on the movement of the cyclone. Its path was accurately predicted and it landed at Odisha coast. Odishas fishermen were warned beforehand.

On the morning when the storm hit the coast, Odisha government had released a five page action plan prioritizing the safety of lives.

Having practised the evacuation drills on numerous counts, the task was clear in volunteers minds.

Food and beverages were delivered at the shelters. The loudspeakers kept asking people to reach the nearest shelter at the earliest.

In some areas, police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, asking people to leave.

Packed buses made rounds around Puri. Each shelter accommodated several hundred people.

In Puri, the officials said the winds reached at the speed of100 m.p.h. knocking down the very machine which measured the speed.

Though the lives were not lost, it did affect livelihoods. However, the storm of 1999 did prepare the state to gear for this battle.

Evacuating a million plus people in a span of 3-4 days was a challenging task. The bitterness sown in 2019 bore sweets in 2019.
In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Puri: Eight people were killed as Cyclone Fani battered Odisha on Friday, packing in rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees and electricity poles, cutting off power supply and swamping towns and villages.

The monster weather system, the biggest in years, made landfall at the holy city of Puri at around 8 am and continued to wreak havoc for four hours.

Special relief commissioner B.P. Sethi said three people had died in different incidents in Puri, Nayagarh and Kendrapara districts. While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district. By evening, the toll mounted to eight.

In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Extensive damage to the structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, all patients, staff and students safe, Union health secretary Preeti Sudan was quoted as saying.

Fani, which is pronounced as Foni and means snake hood in Bengali, struck with the fury and venom of a poisonous snake, bringing destruction to districts like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

The landfall of Fani happened at Puri at around 8 am. We have recorded wind speed of 142 km from hour gusting up to 175 km per hour, said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of India Meteorological Department, New Delhi.

Puri city, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and many other parts of the state remained completely disconnected from the world with internet and telephone services hit, flight and train services remaining suspended.

Airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata were closed. Bhubaneswar airport was shut on Thursday midnight. No flights departed Kolkata airport after 3 pm on Friday. Operations will remain suspended at Kolkata airport till 8 am on Saturday, aviation regulator DGCA said in New Delhi.

After pounding Odisha and heading northeastwards, losing strength on the way, the extremely severe cyclone (ESC) moved towards West Bengal where it is likely to hit Kolkata early on Saturday with gale wind speed reaching 90 to 100 kmph.

We are monitoring the situation 24x7 and doing all it takes... Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

The authorities in Odisha, where 10,000 people perished in a 1999 cyclone, had evacuated more than a million people two days ahead of the cylone from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in probably the largest evacuation exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the Centre has released more than Rs 1,000 crore to Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in advance for undertaking preventive and relief measures

A baby was born near Bhubaneswar just as the cyclone passed through. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit, said a spokesperson for the hospital.

Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which claimed close to 10,000 lives and battered the Odisha coast for 30 hours

Winds from to the weather system of the were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

As Fani pummelled Odisha, neighbouring West Bengal braced itself for its fury.

The sky was overcast in Kolkata and several other places since Friday morning as rain came in spurts, inundating several parts of the state capital.

Traffic snarls were reported from different places in the city. The storm brought down the political temperature, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelling all her election rallies that were planned over the next 48 hours and getting down to monitoring the situation.

The eye of the storm is likely to be weakened when it enters West Bengal. The wind speed will be around 100 kmph to 110 kmph, an official of the meteorological department said.

A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

New Delhi: Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was all set to face sanctions as a terrorist by the European Union due to the efforts of France but the proposed move has now been supplanted by the UN designation of Azhar as a global terrorist, French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said on Friday, even as he termed the listing of Azhar by the UN as a very good news for the world community and an important political decision.

The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

The UN sanctions on Azhar will need to be followed by all countries including the EU nations. The French ambassador said the UN listing would hinder the JeM chiefs activities. He also said that India had been officially invited (by France as the host) to the G-7 Summit to be held in France in August this year. The G-7 group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, termed as seven of the largest advanced economies in the world.

The French envoy described the listing of Masood Azhar as a successful realisation of the diplomatic efforts that France has been conducting for many years.
Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Patna: Leadership battle in the RJD resurfaced after Lalu Yadavs elder son Tej Pratap hinted that he is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

While addressing a rally in Jehanabad, he called h-imself a second Lalu and also attacked his you-nger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has been spea-rheading RJDs campaign in the absence of Lalu Yadav. He said, Lalu Yadav is a role model and guru for many leaders. There are some leaders who fall sick by addressing two or four rallies but Lalu ji used to campaign continuously and attended 10 to 12 political meetings during elections without taking rest even during excessive heat.

Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Tej Pratap was in Jehanabad to campaign in favour of his candidate Chandra Shekhar Yadav, where he gave the statement.

"The RJD candidate is weak because he has lost twice from this seat. Please vote for my candidate Chandra Prakash Yadav because he is capable of defeating the BJP in Jehanabad."

Senior RJD leader Surendra Yadav has been pitted against BJP candidate Chandeshwar Chandrawanshi from Jehanabad seat. The election in Jehanabad is in the seventh phase on May 19.

Political analysts claim that Tej Pratap fielding candidate against the RJD may upset the partys caste calculations in Jehanabad. He had has also been campaigning against RJDs Sheohar candidate Syed Faisal Ali.

Grand Alliance insiders said that reports of a rift in Lalu Yadavs family have confused RJD workers.

Reacting sharply to Tej Pratap's statement, former Bihar chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "People don't take Tej Pratap seriously but I feel that he has made a mistake by fielding a candidate against his own party."

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The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site.

Srinagar: Lateef Tiger, the only surviving member of Burhan Wani group, is among the three militants killed in a fierce fire fight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Shopian district on Friday.

Wani, the 22-year-old Internet savvy poster boy of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, was along with two associates killed by the Army in Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, triggering widespread unrest in the Kashmir and parts of Chenab valley of Jammu region.

The officials said that the fighting broke out in Adkhara village of Shopians Imam Sahib area at dawn on Friday after the security forces, including the Armys 34 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), laid siege to the area on learning about the presence of the Hizb militants in a private house.

A police spokesman, while confirming one of the slain militants was Lateef Ahmad Dar alias Tiger, said that he was a close associate of Burhan Wani and was active in south Kashmir since 2014. The two other militants killed with him have been identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh alias Mufti Waqas alias Tariq Moulvi and Shariq Ahmed Nengroo, both local residents.

The officials said that one Army soldier was injured during the fighting. The residential house in which the militants had been holed up was completely and two adjacent houses were partially damaged in the security forces final assault against them, the local sources said.

The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site. The security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet shotguns to quell stone-pelting mobs, leaving, at least, 17 persons injured. Three of them have been brought to Srinagar for specialized treatment.

As the word about the killing of the Hizb militants spread, traders brought their shutters down and transport services were withdrawn from the roads in most parts of Shopian and Pulwama. The authorities immediately snapped mobile Internet services in south Kashmir whereas train services through the area have also been suspended.

A handout issued by the police here said that, as per police records, Lateef Tiger had a long history of crime records since 2014 and was involved in planning and executing several attacks in the area. It said that similarly, Tariq also had a long history of crime records and was involved in several attacks. About Shariq, it said that he too was involved in several attacks.
Modi said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

New Delhi: A day after Congress claimed that multiple surgical strikes were carried out by the UPA regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the me too claim of the rival party on Friday, saying only the Congress can do a surgical strike on paper and in video games.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, Mr Modi suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes and also hit out at the UPA for shifting IPL tournament abroad in the past due to its failure to provide security.

Showcasing the ruling BJPs muscular nationalism, Mr Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during that partys term and now another leader is saying there were six. PM mocks Cong me too claim on surgical strikes

The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time the elections are over, this will increase to 600, he said.

Jab kagaz par hi karni ho, jab video game mein hi strike karni ho to 6 ho ya 3 ho, 20 hon ya 25 hon, ye jhoote logon ko kya fark padta hai (When the surgical strikes are to be done on a piece of paper then how does it matter if they have conducted 6 or 25), Mr Modi said.

Hitting out at the Congress for questioning his governments anti-terror action across the border, Mr Modi hit out at the party for Pehle upeksha, fir virodh, ab me too, me too (They initially rejected it, then opposed it and now they are saying me too, me too).

He said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

Mr Modi accused Congress leaders of calling the Army chief a goonda (thug) and the Indian Air Force chief a liar, in an apparent reference to alleged remarks by Sandeep Dikshit and Veerappa Moily in past years.

He said the Congress leaders do not trust the valour of the countrys jawans and raise doubts on casualties inflicted on terrorists.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

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Speaking at a rally in Karauli, the Prime Minister hit out at the Congress for shifting IPL tournament abroad on the pretext that they cannot ensure security for it.

IPL matches were played outside the country on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, because the government did not give permission, citing elections. But now, elections are also happening and so is the IPL, he said.

Ye poonch daba ke bhaagne waali sarkar mein the, Modi seena taan ke jata hai (It was a government that was scared while Modi is here standing tall), Mr Modi said.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of cheating people in the name of various schemes.

In Rajasthan, people are given forms for Rs 100 for getting Rs 72,000. This is how they cheat, he said.

Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan will be held in the fifth phase of the election on May 6. Thirteen other seats in the state went to polls in the fourth phase on April 29.
Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

New Delhi: Days before polling in Amethi, considered by many to be the pocket-borough of the Gandhis, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to voters there urging them to vote him back as their MP and promising to push schemes for the region blocked by the BJP when his party gets to form the government at the Centre.

Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

It is my promise to the people of Amethi that the moment the Congress comes to power at the Centre, the schemes blocked by the BJP will be started soonest. On May 6, vote in large numbers to bring back this member of the family, he wrote in the letter.

The Congress president, who is said to be facing a tough fight in Amethi from Union minister Smriti Irani, has not been seen much in his constituency, which has been managed by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation is rife in the Congress that if Mr Gandhi wins both Amethi and Wayanad  the second seat from where he is contesting  then he is likely to vacate Amethi for Priyanka.

In the letter on Friday, Mr Gandhi accused the BJP of setting up a factory of lies and distributing rivers of cash to voters.

Amethi is my family. My Amethi family gives me courage that I stand with the truth, that I can hear the pain of the poor and weak and raise my voice for them and to ensure equal justice for all, he wrote.

With your love, I have tried to unite the country from north to south; east to west... My karmbhumi Amethis ideology is getting support from across the country, the Congress president said in his letter.

Amethi has voted elected Mr Gandhi since he first took his eletoral plunge in 2004. But the much-reduced votes and vote share in the last election in 2014, when the BJP fielded Ms Irani against him, has given the Congress chief reason to worry.

The BJP has alleged that he chose Wayanad to also contest as he was afraid of losing from Amethi.

Smriti Irani said the letter signifies that he has not given importance to Amethi.
In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was assaulted by a man during his road show in Moti Nagar area here on Saturday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the Chief Minister.

The man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway, said police. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

However, this is not the first time that his security has been breached. In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

AAP condemned the cowardly act and said that opposition sponsored attack cannot stop AAP in Delhi.

"Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi," tweeted AAP.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi.  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

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'Intimate Audrey': Hepburn exhibition opens in Brussels on the 90th anniversary of her birth.

An exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth. (Photo: Pixabay)

Brussels: From personal pictures and dresses to film props and awards, an exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth in the Belgian city.

Put together by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Intimate Audrey features hundreds of private and professional photos - originals and reprints - as well as some movie memorabilia, such as the scooter used in the 1953 classic Roman Holiday for which Hepburn won a best actress Oscar.

Hepburn Ferrer, whose father was U.S. actor Mel Ferrer, said he wanted to offer a more personal perspective of the life of the British actress, who dedicated her later years to charity work and became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She lived a humble life, a simple life, and maybe in there lies the key to why she is still so beloved today, he told Reuters.

Hepburn was born in 1929 in the Brussels area of Ixelles to a Dutch mother and British father. She later moved to London to pursue ballet training and eventually turned to acting, taking to the stage in New York in 1951 for Broadway play Gigi.

She starred in a string of films in the 1950s and 1960s, including Breakfast at Tiffanys, Charade and My Fair Lady. Hepburn died in 1993 aged 63.

On display are also Hepburns fashion drawings and humanitarian writings. Hepburn Ferrer said one the key features of the exhibition was a replica cherry blossom tree, a tribute to the childhood home in Switzerland his parents bought in 1963 and remained Hepburns residence until her death.

It is an unusual exhibition because it has been completely devoid of the Hollywood aspect of her career so its the woman who is coming home, naked of the legend, of the icon, he said. Intimate Audrey runs Espace Vanderborght until Aug. 25.
No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Global security officials agreed a set of proposals on Friday for future 5G networks, highlighting concerns about equipment supplied by vendors that might be subject to state influence.

No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies over concerns their gear could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei denies this.

The overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country should be taken into account, participants at the conference in the Czech capital said in a non-binding statement released on the last day of the two-day gathering.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.

Diplomatic sources said participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home but called for participants to seize on the momentum moving forward.

This would be a pity if this turns out to be a one-off event, Japans ambassador for cyber policy Masato Ohtaka said.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Some western countries concerns about Huawei centre on Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law, stating that Chinese organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.

EU members have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to a bloc-wide assessment by October 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of the year.

Huawei said it was ready to work with regulators and other stakeholders on creating effective rules.

We are encouraged by the emphasis on the importance of research and development, open markets and competition, but would urge policymakers to avoid measures that would increase bureaucracy and costs and limit the benefit that 5G can bring, it said in a statement.

As the EU continues its deliberations, we firmly believe that any future security principles should be based on verifiable facts and technical data.

The final document looked at the impact of 5G on policy, technology, economy and security, with general recommendations on how best to mitigate potential risks.

All stakeholders including industry should work together to promote security and resilience of national critical infrastructure networks, systems and connected devices, the document said.

The security issue is crucial because of 5Gs leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them.

Europe  where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are preparing to auction 5G licences this year  has emerged as a battleground over Huaweis next-generation technology.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has collaborated with the IE School of Global and Public Affairs (IE) and International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch the groundbreaking Executive Master Degree in Internationalization and Trade in Spain.

Held at the IE School campus in Madrid, the event featured a panel discussion on the Challenges of Global Trade and International Business Expansion with panelists including Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol (ITFC CEO), Arancha Gonzalez (ITC Executive Director) and Isaac Martin Barbero (Cabify Chief Cities & Communities Officer).

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is a co-designed program, originally initiated by the ITFC after it recognised the need for a specialised executive course capable of developing trade professionals with rounded knowledge and expertise in order to thrive in global trade and international business.

The programme which focuses on trade, trade finance and trade development, is the first of its kind to be initiated by a multilateral financial trade institution, said a statement from ITFC.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade has been designed for two complementary profiles: executives and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their global businesses, and professionals working in trade policy and regulation of global trade.

This provides each with a unique opportunity to share experiences of addressing the universal challenges of making trade more inclusive and improving livelihoods to lift people out of poverty worldwide.

Through collaboration with IE and the ITC, ITFCs vision of shaping a comprehensive degree has led to the creation of a course built around a blended methodology, combining live videoconferences and interactive forums, with face-to-face sessions in Geneva and Madrid.

This approach enables students to advance their career while simultaneously pursuing a valuable and meaningful education.

Salem Sonbol said: "Shaping up a programme like the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is an answer to the needs of the dynamic and evolving landscape of Trade and Trade Finance."

"Partnering with prominent institutions like IE and ITC in this Program provides a unique transformational experience that combines academic excellence and practitioners leadership with the aim to push the frontier of learning beyond conventional practices and assumptions to new horizonsthis is at the core of our mandate of Advancing Trade and Improving Lives," he stated.

IE Dean Manuel Muniz said: "We live in a time of exponential change. This is also evident in the space of trade. The digitalization of value chains, 3D printing and the use of cryptocurrencies or Blockchain technology is radically reshaping trade."

"We need policymakers and trade practitioners to understand this change, navigate it and make the most of the opportunities it brings," he explained.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade programme is a notable milestone for ITFC. It is the organizations first foray into education and a major contribution to encouraging experienced professionals in the industry to take up the challenge of transforming trade.

Salem Sonbol pointed out that after witnessing the dynamics of global trade over the years, the need to equip professionals with the essential skills and latest trends has become a necessity.

"Working everyday across the value chain of trade, we could tell the Why, but to get a mastery on the What and the How directed us to partner with IE and ITC; and together we designed the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade to establish the excellent means to improve transformation of trade executives, professionals and experts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The launch would be North Korea's first action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned. (Photo:File)

Washington: Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy, prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.
Rich Guys Are More Likely to Pretend to be Experts, Says Study

Rich Guys Are More Likely to Bullshit You

While some people seem to have a natural ability to call BS, for other people, it isnt quite as easy. However, heres some help. According to a new study, rich guys are more likely to pretend theyre experts on subjects they know nothing about.

RELATED: The Surprising Trait Self-Made Millionaires Share

The study, published in April in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, aptly titled Bullshitters. Who Are They and What Do We Know About Their Lives? assessed the ability to pretend to be an expert without actually being one  or, the ability to bullshit.

The research conducted by John Jerram and Nikki Shure of the University College of London and Phil Parker of Australian Catholic University involved assessing participants and their knowledge of 16 math topics. The study also used data from the Program for International Student Assessment, which involves tens of thousands of 15-year-olds globally. The participants answered topics based on a five-point scale from never heard of it up to know it well, understand the concept.

But there was a twist in the topics. Three of them were fake, essentially outing which of the participants were the true BSers. Those who pretended to know about the fabricated topics, proper numbers, subjunctive scaling, and declarative fractions, ranked highest on the BS meter.

Just who those imposters were, might surprise you. According to the study, men were more likely than women to pretend like they knew what they were talking about. There was also a difference between those who were wealthy, poor, and middle class. Rich guys, specifically, were the biggest BSers.

The study also suggested that North Americans were more likely to pretend to know about something than English speakers in other parts of the world. Incidentally, participants from Canada ranked at the top of the list.

RELATED: Best Dating Sites for Rich Men

Do you know any self-proclaimed math whizzes? It turns out, those participants were also the most likely to claim to be experts in other non-existent subject areas. According to the study, if you frequently boast about your abilities, you might also be good at bluffing and pretending to know about topics you know nothing about.

Fortunately, there are some good things about having a knack for pretending like you know about stuff that you dont. The studys authors wrote, Being able to bulls- convincingly may be useful in certain situations (e.g., job interviews, negotiations, grant applications).

And, it could also explain why the biggest BSers also happened to be wealthy. The study suggests that this behavior could help them earn higher wages and explain some of the gender wage gap, said study co-author Nikki Shure. This has important implications for thinking about tasks in job interviews and how to evaluate performance.

One thing to note about the study is that the participants were 15-year-olds, which doesnt necessarily mean the results apply to adults. Although the studys authors guess that most traits like the ability to successfully bluff transfer from teenage years to adulthood, there isnt definite proof of it.

Further, the study only involved math topics, which may or may not have something to do with the participants inclination to embellish on their knowledge. Who knows, maybe participants are more honest about their knowledge when it comes to other topics. In the meantime, its probably safest to take what your self-proclaimed math genius friends tell you with a grain of salt.

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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy. Cloudy and damp with rain, possibly heavy this morning, then becoming partly cloudy late. High 53F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill earlier this week declaring marital rape illegal and repealing the state's previous exemptions, reports AP.

The state of play: The state house approved the bill 132-0, while the Minnesota senate unanimously voted 66-0 this week. Previously, the law protected a rapist if he or she lived with the victim and had a prior voluntary sexual relationship. State Rep. Zack Stephenson, who wrote the bill, called the marital rape exception an "abominable law," in a statement, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Marital rape was made illegal in all 50 states by 1993, but many loopholes and remnants of the historic "spousal defense" persisted, per AP. Maryland made marital rape illegal in 2017, reports the Baltimore Sun. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers are continuing to close these loopholes, intending to reintroduce a similar bill later this month, per NPR.

Go deeper: Tech companies step in to stop date rape
Beto O'Rourke told supporters at a Fort Worth rally on Friday that he would put former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in charge of voting rights initiatives if he were elected president, CBS reports.

Driving the news: Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has fielded offers from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Joe Biden for respective Senate and 2020 White House runs. O'Rourke reportedly said at the rally he spoke with Abrams on the phone "to thank her for all the work that she's doing on voting rights."

What they're saying:

When asked about O'Rourke's potential offer, an Abrams spokesperson told CBS, "As she thinks about her own campaign for the Presidency, Leader Abrams has taken the time to speak with numerous Democrats who are already running about the need to combat voter suppression and about the importance of Georgia's 16 electoral votes."

An O'Rourke campaign spokesperson told CBS that "Beto believes he would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ms. Abrams in any capacity and looks forward to continuing to follow her incredible lead on the many efforts she's championing including protecting voting rights and fighting to increase access to the ballot box."

"...we will put Stacey Abrams in charge of this effort so that we get it done," O'Rourke said at his rally on Friday, in reference to automatic voter registration and gerrymandering.

The context: Abrams filed a federal lawsuit challenging the gross mismanagement of Georgias 2018 gubernatorial election after she narrowly lost to Republican opponent Brian Kemp amid mass voter purging.

Go deeper: Stacey Abrams commends Joe Biden for recognizing harassment claims
Ariston Thermo, an Italian specialist in heating systems and related products that opened its first manufacturing plant in Bahrain last year, sees the Gulf Construction Expo as a major platform in the kingdom to establish and expand its business and network of contractors.

The three-day event, organised by Hilal Conference and Exhibitions (HCE), concludes today at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The 7,000-sq-m plant located in the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) has a production capacity of 250,000 electric water heaters. The company manufactures storage electric water heaters branded Ariston, which are mainly marketed in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

We see a good number of construction and real estate developers at the event. We hope to build new contacts at the show and yield new projects too, said Edoardo Pauletta dAnna, country manager, UAE, Gulf and Levant, Ariston Therma SpA Middle East Branch.

A leading company in the water heating and heating industry, Ariston Thermos product portfolio includes water heating, heating and solar systems, heat pumps and gas boilers. Apart from showcasing its Made in Bahrain water heaters at the Gulf Construction Expo, Ariston for the first time is also promoting its new Kairos Thermo  a solar system for sanitary water heating.

We see a trend towards energy-efficient water heaters and thats why we are promoting this here, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
By Trend

For as long as Armenia continues to engage in a destructive propaganda campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and keeps its soldiers in the Azerbaijani territory, recent bilateral talks hosted by the Russian Federation and OSCE, with the intention to pacify the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, are doomed to failure, Peter M. Tase, expert in Transatlantic Relations and Azerbaijani Studies, a senior advisor to the Global Engineering Deans Council and to various European and Latin American governments, told Azernews, Trend reports.

He noted that the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at the center of these talks, however concrete actions by the government of Nikol Pashinyan are nowhere to be seen, and Armenia continues to occupy twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and maintains a posture of belligerence in the region.

Tase recalled that on April 10-11, Nikol Pashinyan visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, in this occasion he delivered once again an inflammatory speech against Azerbaijan, stating the following in the plenary: [Azerbaijan] must refrain from the use of force, threaten by use of force and military rhetoric.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, who pretends to refrain from the use of force and calls upon Azerbaijan to stop using force, is simply bluffing, deceiving the international community and misinforming the Council of Europe. In fact Armenia is the belligerent party and the main source of violence and turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighboring seven districts, all of this territory is a sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and is recognized as such by United Nations and by all its member states, said the expert.

He believes that Pashinyan must review the OSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

In the Helsinki Final Act the principle of refraining from the use of force, included as the second point among its ten tenets, states: The participating States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations and with the present Declaration. The entire international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said Tase.

He went on to add that Armenian Prime Minister must take immediate steps to refrain from the use of force according to the demands of the international community towards the full withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in order to ensure a lasting peace, regional security and economic prosperity in the region.



Tase pointed out that the two governments are not equally positioned on a negotiating table: Armenia is the aggressor (occupying twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and plundering its natural resources) and on the side is the government of Azerbaijan (fully respecting International Laws, U. N. Security Council Resolutions and patiently waiting to solve this conflict by peaceful means, even though Azerbaijan has the military might to liberate its occupied territories with the use of force).

Prime Minister Pashinyan is utilizing every diplomatic tool and international factor that would delay any progress made in the bilateral negotiations time table. International Economic sanctions against Yerevan and constant political condemnation of its aggressive actions in the Caucasus are very much necessary in order to pressure Pashinyan to fully withdraw Armenian Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. Only after the withdrawal of Armenian Armed Forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, we may have lasting results in the solution of this conflict that has caused so much pain and suffering for Azerbaijan and its peace loving nation, he said.

As for the statement of the Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan about the possibility of moving military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, Tase said that David Edgari Tonoyan is a former representative of Armenia to NATO, in his current position as Minister of Defense he should focus more on providing sufficient quantities of food and overall resources to the Armed Forces of Armenia, which is going through economic hardships. Tonoyans statement on upcoming Armenian Military Operations is a deceptive message that wont frighten Baku, he added.

Tase noted that Azerbaijani Armed Forces are ranked among the top ten military forces worldwide, thanks to their impeccable training, cutting edge weapons technology and high levels of moral and patriotism. Tonoyans forces will be met with an unmatched response and a heavy thunder of weapons, if they try to awaken the Azerbaijani might. As the old Latin adage states: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon).

On the other hand, Tase believes that one concrete example of showing international pressure towards Armenia is to suspend the current cooperation framework between Armenia and NATO, until the Government of Nikol Pashinyan has withdrawn all of its Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

NATO must take steps on the ground and deliver political statements that condemn Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories; the alliance should halt the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with Armenia for as long as this country is ruled by politicians that have kissed the blarney stone and use epizeuxis approach when engaged in a smear campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its people, he concluded.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovic said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order appointing Khalaf Khalafov Deputy Foreign Minister, Trendreports.

By another presidential order, Khalafov has been entrusted with the duties of a Special Presidential Representative for border and the Caspian Sea issues.

Earlier, Khalaf Khalafov served as head of the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Perhaps at no point over the past 30 years, since the recognition of the newly-independent Republic of Armenia by Turkey in 1991, have the circumstances been so auspicious as to begin a lasting and sustainable normalisation of the relations between the two nations.
After going through something as life-altering as a car accident, the best thing you can get out of it is...
Bahrain has reached an agreement with the Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni to develop the northern concession 1, said a BNA report.

The National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) will sign the commercial deals with the Italian firm, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, adding that a draft law would be referred to the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council to be endorsed.

The minister made the press statement on the sidelines of his patronage of the annual Bapco Green School Award 2018-2019.

Noga is now gathering information regarding the analysis of the seismic and geological data of concessions 2, 3 and 4 in the north of Bahrain, he said, adding that international companies would be invited to participate in the exploration later.

He revealed that Bapco is studying a project to make use of carbon dioxide for injection into the Bahrain Field to increase the output when extracting oil.

Noga is also studying plans to cooperate with Government departements in carrying key projects such as the fish farming and tree planting across Bahrain.
Lukoil, one of the worlds largest vertically integrated and privately-owned global energy companies and the market leading lubricants brand in Russia and Europe, has partnered with Al Mustaqbil Al Zahir Cars Trading (Amaz) to distribute its extensive range of lubricant products in the UAE.

Lukoils premium product range includes Genesis, the advanced Synthetic Automotive Lubricants products, already acclaimed in the industry and approved by reputed car manufacturers globally.

Lukoil Lubricants boast over 700 products in their global range and carries more than 1000 international OEM approvals and endorsements, which include Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Scania, MAN, Mack, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, Siemens, Wartsila, ZF and several more car makers from Japan and Korea.

The agreement between the two parties was finalized at the offices of Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC. The event was presided over by June Manoharan, the managing director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC; William Gilbert Dsouza, Lukoil Sales Director, Automotive Lubricants; Sandeep Malhotra, Lukoil Regional Sales Manager besides Amaz officials including Abdullah Ahmed Bahwan, Executive Director; Shyam Asnani, Chief Operating Officer, Intl Business; Paulo S Fernandes, VP, International Business and Parvinder Singh, Head of Lubricants Business.

Manoharan, who is responsible for Automotive Lubricants in the region, said: "As the 21st century consumers, governments and industries move towards advanced technology to achieve increased efficiency and reduced emissions, the role and scope of oil manufacturers changes and calls for huge R&D investments in new product developments."

"Lukoil being a progressive organization, has already kept itself ahead of the curve and developed an impressive range of synthetic products. The Lukoil Genesis products meet and exceed the stringent quality and high-performance standards set by the global industry organizations, API and ACEA," she stated.

"We are pleased to partner with Amaz to market our Genesis range and other motor lubricants in this highly sophisticated and competitive market," he added.

On the Lukoil tieup, Ahmed Bahwan said: "We are very pleased to partner with Lukoil, a progressive organization and respected global brand, whose strategy for the region matches with ours."

"We want to bring high quality products & services to UAE consumers and continuously strive to provide best in class customer service. Our experienced and motivated teams will significantly contribute to the success of Lukoil Lubricants in the UAE," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Californians Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Include your name and phone number; they wont be published.
One of the two men convicted in the murder that introduced a scandalized public to the so-called Lords of Bakersfield is out of prison after 3
Beachy Dating Advice: Three Wowing Central Oregon Coast Make-Out Spots

Published 05/01/2019 at 3:53 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Newport, Oregon)  Whether it's trying to find a place to really impress someone on a first date or provide a little zing into an ongoing relationship, the Oregon coast is hard to beat. Though theres a lot thats cliche about romantic getaways along the shoreline, and its easy to veer into very unsurprising territory (Above: 15th St. ramp, Lincoln City).

So, what can you do on these beaches that is different and really romantic? This article looks at three places on the central Oregon coast to wow and woo that first date in a very singular way (while in a previous article suggested North Oregon Coast Romantic Surprises).





Pier at South Beach. Newport has tons of lovely beach area, but not a lot thats unpopulated unless youre wandering at night. One spot, however, is a manmade beauty by day or night, sitting on the other side of the bay from Newport.

Park in or around the marina, close to the south jetty, and youll find a pier stretching out a hundred feet or so into Yaquina Bay. Mostly, youll find crabbers and their crab pots  if you find anyone at all. But at night theres usually not a soul here. The lights of the bayfront shimmer and twinkle on the water, and the sound of the waves in the distance is quite lulling. Cuddling together to keep warm in this somewhat exposed spot is another kiss-inducing plus. Lodgings in Newport - Newport Virtual Tour





SW 15th Street Beach Ramp, Lincoln City. In many ways, this central Oregon coast spot doesnt stand out for natural beauty or the possibility of being really alone. In fact, its sort of the opposite: theres a lot of people on this one, with their cars, and its a tad on the greasy side because of the oil from the auto traffic.

However, the fact it allows cars on the beach offers some unique opportunities for interesting romantic moments. Hit this beach later at night, and youll likely find yourselves alone. Slip in your sweethearts favorite romantic, slow dance tune into your vehicles CD player or I-pod port. Then engage in a gushy slow dance on the sand with the surf nearby.

Youll be the hero for what appears to be a spontaneous tender moment and for thinking outside the box.

After dark, the ramp is lit up in an especially lovely way, and either the sloped pavement or the stairway will make for a nicely atmospheric stroll down to the beach should you decide to not take your vehicle down there.

If you do take a rig thats not well equipped for driving on the sand, be careful to stay on the wet and hard parts, and watch for the mushy sections. Its quite easy to get stuck here.

During the day, this spot does provide some fascinating rocky areas at the tideline, which can yield engaging tide pool life. Lodgings in Lincoln City - Lincoln City Virtual Tour











Intoxicatingly Lovely in Lane County. In that 20-mile or so stretch of central Oregon coast between Yachats and Florence, there are copious possibilities for finding yourselves the only two people on the beach. Even on the busiest of weekends, its not hard to find a chunk of sand to yourselves. Its a smorgasbord of kissy-kissy possibilities.

Various hidden accesses lie next to better-known spots like Ocean Beach Picnic Area, Ten Mile Creek or Neptune State Park. These are all hidden enough and even rough enough in landscape as to make them largely unusable at night, unless youve got a really good flashlight. But even then things get so dark and bumpy its a tad comfortable for a totally romantic vibe. However, this all depends on how adventurous the two of you are.

Daylight provides a whole lotta lovin opportunities around here, however.

On the southern side of the little blob-like hill of Ocean Beach Picnic Area sits Rock Creek Campground and Roosevelt Beach. Just south of the campground and the bridge over the creek youll find some hidden accesses trailing off through the shrubbery. These lead to parts of Roosevelt Beach, which is one seriously enchanting tract of sand mixed with rocky structures. Youll pretty much never find anyone here.

This beach, like many along this area, is not wide. So these are big no-nos during high tide events or stormy conditions. But the big plus is that theyre surrounded by high bluffs from which to watch the tidal melee while smooching. Along this part of 101 sit many little overlooks, which make this an awesome spot for wintry dates as well, especially if you want to remain hidden from the elements in your car. And what can be more perfect than making out in your car with a wild beach view, as the wind and rain batter your rig? Lodgings in Yachats - Lane County Virtual Tour











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Over the last several months, a visit to any Beaumont-related social media was almost guaranteed to lead to conversation about one of the citys most hotly-contested council races.

The matchup of incumbent Mike Getz, 62, and Jefferson Fisher, 30, has seemingly prompted the most conversation among city residents.

During the campaign season, a website disapproving of Getz appeared online through an unknown owner. Fisher quickly made clear he didnt approve it, instead choosing to refocus on his own mission to reshape the future, according to his campaign Facebook page.

The website later was taken down, but speculation spread on who could have started such a page and what side they belong to.

THE BALLOT: Candidates in contested races across Southeast Texas

Fisher says he entered the race because the city needs a breath of fresh air. He says hes the candidate to foster positive relationships and be a young, civil force to help improve the citys image.

Getz, a sometimes controversial council member first elected in 2011, has acknowledged that his tenure has drawn opposition from some, but believes many detractors live outside of Ward 2. He says his constituents know him as a council member who answers phone calls and emails, and addresses complaints as soon as possible.

Both local attorneys have discussed addressing crime with differing approaches.

Fisher said he believes in fighting crime smarter, not harder, which doesnt always mean bringing in more officers. He said members of the Beaumont Police Department have told him theyve had trouble hiring to fill current vacancies, so simply budgeting for more officers likely isnt the best response.

He has said the city needs to focus equally on the causes of crime, including taking care of youth.

Getz has stressed being an advocate for keeping police, fire and EMS at proper staffing and training levels, ensuring they have the equipment they need to do their job.

While in office, Getz has stuck with that campaign promise, and also led and funded a charge to put In God We Trust on emergency vehicles.

Fisher was endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association; Getz was endorsed by the Beaumont Professional Firefighters Local 399.

If elected, Fisher has said he plans to open a dialogue with the school board to build a trusting relationship and push for an overhaul of the citys website to provide residents easier access to information, among other initiatives.

Getz plans to advocate for an extension for Dowlen Road and start a multicultural festival that could happen on the Great Lawn outside the downtown Event Centre.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
One of the biggest issues facing Nederland voters at the polls this spring is a proposed $155.6 million school bond issue split into two proposals.

Proposition A would devote $82 million to build a new high school at the site of the existing building; $49.1 million to repair and expand all four elementary schools; $11.1 to make improvements to both middle schools; and $4.8 million to upgrade technology throughout the district.
Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 120 miles per hour, said media reports.

Odisha was put on high alert with several teams of the Indian Army, Navy, Coast Guard, National Disaster Rapid Force (NDRF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on standby for rescue and relief operations. The cyclone is said to be the worst to hit India since 2014.

Eight people were killed in Odisha due to the cyclone. According to the government, nearly 160 people were reported injured, with extensive damage to kuchha houses, old buildings and temporary shops, news agency ANI reported.

While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, it stated.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani over coastal Odisha and adjoining northwest bay moved north-northeastwards and has weakened further before reaching Bangladesh.

It now lies over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area at last reported around 9pm, according to the latest special weather bulletin from Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

By Friday night, the full impact of the storm was still being assessed according to local officials. Indias Coast Guard said on Twitter that emergency workers had started providing aid within the first hour of the storm making landfall, reported The New York Times.

Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclones path. India and Bangladesh evacuated more than 1 million people each from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.

The fast-moving storm struck the coast as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Several hours after it made landfall, the cyclone was downgraded to a very severe storm from an extremely severe storm.

Some relief efforts were hampered by extensive damage. Many large trees were uprooted and toppled onto roads in Puri district, according to a government spokesman, but road restoration work had already begun by Friday night, stated the report.

Phone lines, internet and electricity were all down in the city, but the government vowed to have services running again soon. At least 160 people were injured by the storm, it added.

The military conducted aerial surveys Friday evening to assess the damage, and at least four ships with aid supplies were stationed in affected areas, the navy said on Twitter.
Audiovisual technologies company Christie has been named the Official Displays and Projection Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai. It will create life-like visuals on Al Wasl Plaza dome to provide unparalleled visual experience across the entire Expo 2020 site.

With more than 250 ground-breaking laser projectors will illuminate iconic dome, visible from the sky, unparalleled visual experience awaits at Expo 2020 Dubai for the visitiors, said the event organiser.

As the Official Displays and Projection Partner, Christie will showcase its breakthrough laser projection technology, including using more than 250 of its D4K40-RGB projectors to create life-like evolving scenes on Al Wasl Plazas giant 130-metre-wide projection surface, which can also be seen from above.

Christies ground-breaking innovations have featured in Hollywood blockbusters and at major sporting events.

The award-winning company operates in more than 20 countries, and has a major presence in the UAE and Middle East since 2007 with the opening of its Dubai office.

The firm has installations across world-class events, retail centres, classrooms and movie theatres, and operated at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.

Regarded as setting the gold standard for display and projection technology, Christie will supply and manage all display screens across the Expo site, contributing to an exceptional Expo experience for the millions of visitors expected to attend.

Ahmed Al Khatib, the chief development and delivery officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We aim to create an unrivalled experience at Expo 2020 and spectacular visuals on the giant Al Wasl Plaza dome will be an iconic part of this."

"Christie is a trailblazer in this field and we anticipate an array of memorable displays across the Expo site thanks to Christies innovative technologies," he stated.

Bryan Boehme, the executive director, Global Sales and Business Development, Christie, said: "We are proud and excited to be an Expo 2020 Dubai Official Partner and look forward to creating memories with our unparalleled visual displays."

"The Christie D4K40-RGB pure laser projector is a powerhouse of technology and will wow the world with its unrivalled, rich and crisp visuals that raise the bar in image quality, making sure Expo 2020 welcomes the future in the most unforgettable and magical way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
She's the voice that soothes us into an easy Sunday morning on BBC Radio Ulster. But for veteran broadcaster Roisin McAuley, a recent holiday of a lifetime was far from stress-free due to a terrifying medical emergency.

Cookstown-born Roisin, who lives in Belfast with her husband Richard Lee and is stepmum to two children and a granny to one, took seriously ill on a world tour in March.

The much-loved and respected former news reporter, who returned to Northern Ireland five years ago after spending three decades in England, was rushed to hospital in Queensland after falling ill while visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

"We were doing a six-week, I suppose you could call it, world tour," she says. "We wanted to go and visit our friends and relations in Australia and in New Zealand. We decided to go via our nieces in New York and our nephew in California. Our friends also flew down to join us. We went then to Tahiti, to New Zealand and then on to Australia.

"We were in north Queensland beside the rainforest at a lovely resort called Port Douglas. We were able to travel on the Skyrail over the rainforest and we went out to see the Great Barrier Reef.

"It was during the trip out to the Barrier Reef that I fell ill. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I just felt suddenly ill and was out of it. I felt funny and started vomiting. We were on a kind of platform on a reef so it wasn't exactly sea sickness.

"I have very little memory of it. I just remember that Richard was going out snorkelling on the reef and I was thinking to myself, do I want to go out there, too?

"I remember thinking that you had to wear a wetsuit at that time of the year on the reef, because there were little fish out there which could bite you horribly and some of them could be poisonous, and maybe even lethal," she says.

"I was thinking all this and thinking about putting on a wetsuit and how tight it was going to be and I started to feel very unwell. I thought, I don't know if I want to do this at all, and then I started to feel even worse.

"Richard had come back from snorkelling at this stage and all I can remember is being violently sick and staff running to help me. The staff were absolutely excellent.

"They must have been medically trained. One of them, Johan, saw that I really wasn't well at all and acted very quickly.

"He took my blood pressure and told me that they were going to get the Flying Doctor in. He took a list of the medication I was on. I think he must have guessed what was happening, or perhaps he had seen it happening before.

"The boat was at this stage making its way to shore and the Flying Doctor wasn't needed as there was an ambulance waiting there for me. Thankfully there were no helicopters involved, but I was whizzed off to the hospital in a nearby town, Mossman, which was a really small place.

"It was a lovely little hospital, almost like the cottage hospitals that used to exist in Ireland. It was a small, local, district hospital but it was very well staffed," she adds.

When Roisin arrived at the hospital, doctors quickly diagnosed her with hyponatraemia, a critical depletion of salt levels in the body. Signs and symptoms of the condition include nausea and vomiting, headache, short-term memory loss, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma.

"The doctors quickly diagnosed me with hyponatraemia," she says. "It basically meant that my body was depleted of salt. It is a very serious condition. It is the illness that took the lives of the five children - Adam Strain, Claire Roberts, Raychel Ferguson, Lucy Crawford and Conor Mitchell - in hospital in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2003.

"It can lead to all kinds of problems and if I hadn't have been lucky enough to have been on the boat and had it spotted by staff, things could have turned out very different.

"I originally thought that it was heat stroke, as someone I knew had suffered from that and they had been sick like I w as. They had gone to bed to sleep it off and felt fine when they got up again. If I, feeling unwell, had gone to bed and gone to sleep, it might have been curtains for me.

"They were absolutely wonderful at the hospital. They put me on a saline drip. I was very confused. I kept saying to my husband 'Where am I?' and he would say to me 'You're in Australia' and I'd keep asking him 'What am I doing in Australia?' I was totally confused and out of it. But after a few days I came around all right.

"They asked me the usual questions: What day of the week is it? Do you know where you are? What year is it? I was able to answer them all correctly and they were able to let me out when my salt levels returned to normal. They looked after me so well. I was very fortunate and very lucky."

Roisin says it was explained to her that her condition arose due to her medication.

"It all happened because I had taken medication for blood pressure," she says. "My medication is called bendroflumethiazide and because it acts like a diuretic it can deplete the salt in your body.

"I have been taking the same medication for a number of years. But sometimes, they explained to me in the hospital, something else can trigger the condition and cause a low salt crisis. And in my case it was probably the heat and the humidity.

"It was very, very hot in Queensland at the time. In fact, there was a cyclone when I was recovering in the hospital. There was torrential rain - it is the rainforest, after all - and that was spectacular. At least I got to see that, even if it was from my hospital bed.

"I'm just glad that my condition was spotted by wonderful people and treated by amazing people and it was dealt with. They took me off the medication and I'm still off. My blood pressure now seems fine."

Roisin says that she doesn't like to dwell too much on the life-threatening experience, but instead the fact that she is so lucky and blessed.

"I never like to make things too dramatic," she says. "I was very fortunate that I was around people who knew what they were doing. Had the symptoms not been spotted, who knows how serious it could have been? I don't particularly think of my own mortality when I think of this. It just makes me think I am very, very lucky. It was an extraordinary experience and an interesting one.

"I feel that I always appreciate life and I just feel that I was so fortunate that we were able to get help quickly.

"There is a really excellent health system in Australia as far as I could see. They were very prompt in dealing with me and their hospital was very well staffed. There is a Medicare system - a system of reciprocal medical treatment between the UK and Australia. So we didn't even have to pay for my hospital stay.

"We just had to go to an office and register with Medicare and the reciprocal arrangement stood. That was very good and very reassuring.

"I might not have been so lucky had I fallen ill in Tahiti. I don't know what the hospitals are like there. I feel that it is hugely important that when people are travelling to another country they have insurance and know all about these things."

Roisin says she wouldn't be qualified to give others a warning on her condition, as it was so unique to her situation and came on so suddenly, but advised that if anyone feels unwell when travelling they get themselves checked over by a doctor. "As far as symptoms go, mine was just severe vomiting," she says. "I just felt awfully unwell. I just remember thinking that there was something really not right.

"I'm sure there are other ways it presents but I am not medically qualified to advise others. I just know the reason it happened to me.

"It is an unusual condition and it had to do with the medication I was taking so I couldn't put out a general warning to others to watch out for it, except to say that if you feel unwell, go seek medical attention.

"I don't think that it's a common condition by any manner of means, but I would just implore everyone to make sure that they are aware of the health arrangements in the country they are going to."

"For me, I don't have to keep an eye on this. They just took me off the medication I was on and it was fine. And if it continues to be okay, that's fine.

"And it if goes up again they will put me on something different," she says.

Roisin spent four days and four nights in hospital while on holiday recovering from her ordeal.

She says she has one big regret over the whole experience - not getting to see a famous Sydney landmark.

"One of my biggest regrets about the whole thing was that we had booked to go to the Sydney Opera House," she says.

"Before I took ill we had planned to go and stay with friends of ours in Sydney, visit the city and attend the opera house.

"We were so looking forward to five days in the city. That obviously didn't happen. We missed what might have been a highlight of our holiday.

"But in any case we had a wonderful time away. We loved Australia. It was hot and cheerful and beautiful. We will certainly go back.

"Next time, though, we will definitely stay out of the hospital and go to the opera instead."

Roisin is no stranger to drama and stress, perhaps due to her four decades working in the newsrooms of Belfast and indeed England.

"I went to the BBC from a post-grad secretarial course," she says. "It was brilliant for typing like smoke and taking a note, but I was never cut out for keeping 'the boss's diary'.

"It was in the days when there were ads in the newspapers for 'Girl Fridays'. I answered a BBC advert for a newsreader but I suppose I went into journalism because I wanted to write the news rather than read it.

"I've had some rather memorable moments over the years.

"I met Yasser Arafat. I made a film in Sarajevo while under siege and bombardment. We had no electricity and had to depend on water from trucks. I remember racing down 'Sniper Alley' in a 'soft' car - which is one with no armour plating.

"I remember meeting the incredibly brave hospital staff who could only operate when they had to switch on the reserve generator to keep the blood supplies cooled."

She adds: "I remember being tear-gassed in a Lima riot and reporting on the revolution in the Philippines. I remember walking through the abandoned palace of President Marcos after he fled. I filmed in Beirut during the hostage crisis, being the only reporter in West Beirut.

"I recall there being armed guards in the hotel whose only other occupants seemed to be arms dealers but bizarrely, there was a wedding by the swimming pool with belly dancers and obligatory firing of rifles, all this while I lay with my ear to the BBC World Service hearing reports about the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"There are just too many other memories to list."

And Roisin's Australian medical emergency is not the first time the broadcaster has had her holiday interrupted by a hospital stay.

"My return to Belfast in 2014 was actually prompted by an accident in France while we were on holiday there in 2013," she says. "Both my Achilles tendons were ruptured when I fell down a flight of stairs.

"I spent two weeks in a hospital in Bordeaux and 18 weeks in a rehab clinic there learning to walk again.

"I had magnificent care throughout.

"Richard stayed in an apartment nearby and visited me every day.

"Every single member of the family came out to Bordeaux as well as friends from Ireland.

"It prompted Richard to suggest we should move to Belfast. He had retired from his job as chairman of a law firm and we'd been talking about moving from Reading, where we were living."

Roisin adds: "Just after we moved - in early 2014 - the BBC offered me the job presenting Sunday Sequence.

"So you could say my return to the BBC was because of my Achilles tendons. Life takes you in unexpected directions sometimes."

Roisin presents Sunday Sequence on BBC Radio Ulster at 8.30am every Sunday morning
Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Counting has resumed for a second day in Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

Amongst the DUPs successes was the election of their first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, at Antrim and Newtownabbey Council.

Although she received warm congratulations from many of her party colleagues, former DUP health minister Jim Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Expand Close Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster. Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster.

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA)

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Derry ward where journalist Lyra McKee was murdered (PA)

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly has topped the poll in a Derry ward weeks after the dissident republican murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

Mr Donnelly is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

He polled 1,374 first-preference votes in the Moor district electoral area (DEA) of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

He was first elected to the council as an independent in 2014. Mr Donnellys re-election came as Ms McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry, was remembered during a May Day parade in Belfast.

Her murder sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly said she died because of a reckless act.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said: This is wrong and my thoughts like the thoughts of this entire community are with her loved ones.

I would plead with those behind this attack to desist from any further attacks and seriously consider the consequences of their action.

Revulsion at her death has galvanised a new bid for political agreement at Stormont following criticism of the stalemate from a Catholic priest.

Demands for action from Father Martin Magill and Ms McKees sister Nichola Corner during her funeral in Belfast spurred the UK Government into a renewed effort to restore Stormont powersharing, due to begin next week.

On Saturday, members from the NUJ paid a special tribute to Ms McKee at Belfast City Hall as the parade made its way through the city.
DUP leader Arlene Foster at the count centre for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Pic: Cate McCurry/PA Wire

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the partys first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by party members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking a vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of the dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA)

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA)

In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Hogg said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
A former MP, Barry McElduff, who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat (Barry McElduff/PA).

A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

On Friday, the Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate was elected in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA). PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA).

Alison Bennington was propelled onto Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to represent the pro-union and Christian party and praised her supporters good, hard work and good teamwork.

The DUPs founder, the late Rev Ian Paisley once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Sidelined former DUP health minister Jim Wells has said his former leader would be aghast, but her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from her supporters at a leisure centre near Belfast..

The DUP is staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and has thwarted recent efforts to legalise it.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where it is banned, despite five attempts by the devolved administration to introduce it and calls on Westminster to bypass Stormonts quarrelling politicians.

Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same-sex marriage were two separate issues.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the centralist Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the shooting dead of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.

Antrim and Newtownabbey voters have re-elected a former DUP mayor following his recent conviction for drink driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.
A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre has won a council seat in the Northern Ireland local elections.

Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

The Co Tyrone man was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on the fourth count.

Newly elected councillor Barry McElduff - who was forced to resign as Sinn Fein MP after angering relatives of the Kingsmill massacre - said he wants to move forward with dignity and integrity. pic.twitter.com/PuZzk7NHRr  Cate McCurry (@CateMcCurry) May 4, 2019

Mr McElduff and his supporters did not celebrate when it was officially confirmed.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she does not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle DEA  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance Partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

He previously ran for office in the 2017 Westminster election in North Belfast and won 19,159 votes, finishing second behind DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.

Pat Finucane was shot dead by loyalists at the age of 39 in front of his wife and three children in 1989.

The Ulster Unionist Party has suffered a number of high profile causalities, including Jeffrey Dudgeon who lost his council seat in the Balmoral DEA of Belfast.

In what has been a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

In 1981, Mr Dudgeon took a legal challenge to Europe to change the law on homosexuality in Northern Ireland.

The court ruled in his favour and the law in Northern Ireland was changed, bringing the region into line with the rest of the UK.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking at vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston  while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA)

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey, a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA)

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland wants to move away from them and us politics, the leader of the Greens has said after her party made significant gains.

The Green Party picked up four seats on Belfast City Council, including holding the one they won in 2014.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

The centralist Alliance Party also made gains in Belfast, going from eight seats to 10 seats.

Expand Close Eric Hanvey of the Alliance party (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Green Party leader Clare Bailey told the Press Association she is feeling overwhelmed by their success.

Mal OHara received a jubilant response from supporters as he emerged from the counting room having been deemed elected in the Castle DEA of north Belfast holding a rainbow flag.

He received a kiss from his partner and a hug from Ms Bailey.

Green Partys Mal OHara is elected in Castle DEA in what has been a phenomenal election for his party in Belfast. Celebrated with a kiss from his partner and a big hug from party leader Clare Bailey pic.twitter.com/GeQu2nmszr  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 4, 2019

Ms Bailey also praised the performance of first-time candidate Aine Groogan, who topped the poll in the Botanic DEA.

Mal OHaras election is a phenomenal breakthrough for the party to get a seat in north Belfast. It was a very tight race, and Aine Groogan topping the poll in Botanic as a first-time candidate coming in ahead of the mayor and deputy mayor of the city, she said.

People have really come out and supported us, they have shown us by their vote that they really want to make the change and our conversations at the door have really resonated, climate change and climate chaos right at the front of the arguments.

Expand Close Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

So regardless of our traditional cultural identities, the them and us politics, what we really need to be looking at is how we all mitigate against climate change, and that message is just being understood on the doors and over the last few days we are seeing that result coming in.

Its phenomenal.
A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service

A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service.

James McGaughey was sentenced at Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday where a judge said, that in the circumstances, he was not ordering any compensation to be paid.

McGaughey (24), of Celandine Court in Londonderry, had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm on James Healy on May 7 last year.

He also denied harassment of Healy between January 1 and January 31 last year.

At the earlier hearing at Derry Magistrates Court, Healy, the injured party, gave evidence that last January he had been crossing the Peace Bridge when he encountered McGaughey.

He said McGaughey started shouting things like "you murdering b******" and "I'll get you".

He told the court that McGaughey then followed him up to his flat and said he felt "anxious" after the incident.

The court was also told that the pair had met later outside a shopping centre and the defendant told him he was lucky he had his child with him or he would have killed him.

In relation to the incident last May, the witness said he had been walking across the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge when he encountered McGaughey and another man.

He said the defendant said to him "no knives today big man" before punching him and breaking his nose.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Alan Stewart, Healy agreed he had been convicted of the manslaughter of McGaughey's father on October 30, 2011.

He also agreed the killing involved a knife and that he had been released from prison in October 2017.

The barrister put it to him that when he saw McGaughey, he had said to him "would you like me to murder you like I murdered your father?". This was denied.

McGaughey had told the court that Healy had used "two knives" to kill his father and said the first time he had seen Healy since his release was in May.

He said when they met on the Craigavon Bridge Healy had made the remarks about his father and then reached to his pocket.

McGaughey said he thought Healy was reaching for a weapon so he punched him.

Under cross-examination by a prosecution solicitor, McGaughey denied having met Healy before the incident in May.

District Judge Barney McElholm said the case came down to a credibility issue and he believed the injured party.

He said he did take issue with McGaughey's anger towards the witness.

But he added people could not simply "lash out as that road leads to anarchy".

At yesterday's hearing Mr Stewart said that his client was basically a carer for his mother. He said he had sought counselling on a voluntary basis.

Imposing a sentence of 160 hours community service, Judge McElholm said he was not ordering any compensation to be paid and Healy could pursue that himself if he chose to do so.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to a Northern Ireland man who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) hosted a record 3.43 million delegates for the first time in its history in 2018 with visitation growth of 4 per cent year-on-year.



The results, announced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, deputy chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA), were driven by 363 Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and business events  a notable 3 per cent increase over 2017  of which 97 were large-scale events.



Aligned with Dubais progress towards a knowledge-based economy, top-performing events reflected steady growth across key sectors identified within the UAE Vision 2021 national diversification agenda, equally reflecting the strong return on investment witnessed by show participants across these sectors.



Chairing the Dubai World Trade Centre Authoritys Annual Board Meeting, Sheikh Ahmed reviewed the companys 2018 results and its strategic plans for future growth and expansion. Members of the Board in attendance at the session included Buti Saeed Al Ghandi; Ziad Abdulla Galadari; Abdulla Mohammed Rafia; Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin; Saoud Ibrahim Obaidalla; Abdulrahman Mohammed Rashid Al Sharid; and Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DWTCA and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of DWTC.



In his address to the board, Sheikh Ahmed said: This year marks 40 years since the opening of the Dubai World Trade Centre and the iconic Sheikh Rashid Tower, which was forged by the ground-breaking vision of our citys founding father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. As we remain future-focused with the aim to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world, DWTC will continue to play a central role in fuelling innovation across all sectors, driving destination competitiveness, and creating future economic opportunities for both, Dubai and the global community.



The year-on-year footfall increase was a reflection of the strength of DWTCs entire business portfolio in its ability to attract 54,717 exhibiting companies from 162 countries, of which 41,147 were foreign exhibitors (5 per cent increase from 2017), accounting for 75 per cent of total exhibitor participation. DWTC has been able to build on the success of 2017 by continuing to assert its regional leadership and impactful contributions in the international Mice sector and by leveraging Dubais strategic positioning as a powerful international convening platform for business and trade enablement, fuelling investment and expansion opportunities across industry verticals throughout the wider EMEASA region.



With strong international participation in 2018, DWTC welcomed 1.04 million foreign business travellers to Dubai, representing 41 per cent of its overall participant volumes. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to aid Dubais destination competitiveness with the development of critical event-related infrastructure and successfully succeeded in spurring growth within its key source markets. The primary source for attendees continued to be dominated by the proximity markets and Europe, namely Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, China, Egypt, Turkey, UK, Germany, Italy and Kuwait, ranked in order of participant volume. While several of the non-regional markets moved up in their ranking in 2018, Italy entered the Top 10 business visitor source country list for the very first time.



Growth across key sectors aligned with national diversification agenda

DWTCs scalable and content-rich events calendar added 28 new entrants including seven exhibitions, nine associations and 12 conferences in 2018, of which 13 were categorised as large scale events with more than 2,000 attendees. Overall, DWTCs 97 large-scale events attracted 2.5 million participants, 23 of which were classified as mega-events and attracted over 30,000 attendees per event. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to demonstrate its ability to meet the demands of the global Mice sector across a range of high-performing sectors including healthcare, science, F&B, hospitality, technology, energy and environment.



Healthcare, medical and science

In alignment with the UAE vision and Dubai Plan 2021, the Dubai Health Strategy aims at transforming Dubai into a leading healthcare destination by promoting public and private participation in the sector and enhancing Dubais competitiveness as a global medical destination. DWTC hosted 22 events in the healthcare, medical and science sector in 2018, including seven new events. Total visitor participation in this sector grew by 7 per cent from 419,217 in 2017 to 449,098 in 2018. Mega-event Arab Health, the largest medical exhibition and conference in the Middle East, topped the sectors figures with a 3 per cent increase in exhibiting companies, while Dubai Derma recorded a 29% increase in foreign visitors.



Hospitality, food and catering

The hospitality, food and catering sector once again rallied strong, reflecting the criticality of the industry and the far-reaching impact that its sustainability bears on global society. With 10 events collectively witnessing a robust double-digit surge in the number of participants, the portfolio was up 32 per cent in its visitation volumes from 325,438 in 2017 to 428,183 in 2018. Dominating the hospitality sector, as always, Gulfood, the worlds largest show for food business professionals and suppliers, attracted close to a 100,000 visitors, its strongest performance to-date. Meanwhile, the regional and global F&B manufacturing industry convened at Gulfood Manufacturing, which witnessed a 4 per cent increase in exhibiting companies from 1,543 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2018. Gulf Host, hospitality equipment and food service expo attracted significant interest with an impressive 25,000 visitors, up 144 per cent from 2017.



Travel and tourism

With Dubais global positioning as the #4 most visited city in the world and travel and tourism driving 5.1 per cent of the UAEs GDP, the sector continued to be a major focus in 2018. Arabian Travel Market, the leading global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, welcomed around 39,000 visitors while the Hotel Show had a strong showing with over 30,000 attendees.



Information communications and technology

One of the fastest growing and most disruptively transforming sectors across the world, ICT continued to remain a priority feature of the DWTC Calendar with 13 shows recording 42 per cent growth in the number of participants across events  from 226,708 in 2017 to 321,871 in 2018. These growth figures are reflective of Dubais visionary leadership to pioneer innovation, enable sustainable shared economic development and create a platform for continuous knowledge sharing and start-up empowerment. Flagship mega-show GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Future Stars, the regions premier technology and start-up events, showcasing game-changing innovations and the most illustrious investor and start-up gatherings, retained its ascendancy as it welcomed over 150,000 participants (4 per cent growth year-on-year), out of which approximately 40 per cent were foreign visitors with over 5,000 exhibiting companies. The new ICT event entrants in the calendar included the inaugural Future Blockchain Summit, which attracted significant interest with an impressive 14,000 visitors.



Energy and environment

Showcasing the UAEs progress to a sustainable future, the 20th WETEX and third Dubai Solar Show, a regional showcase of the latest developments in conventional energy and renewables reported 2,100 exhibitors and 35,088 visitors, a 10 per cent increase over 2017. Middle East Electricity Exhibition attracted 62,567 visitors, of which nearly half were from international markets.



Corporate portfolio drives synergistic value and sustainable future growth

Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to carry out critical event-related infrastructure upgrades and introduced a number of new facilities across its assets to enhance the experience of business travellers to the exhibition complex. DWTC saw the completion of Offices 4 and 5 in One Central, Dubais newest business district located within the DWTC complex, offering an integrated residential, commercial and hospitality destination, ahead of schedule in December 2018, marking the conclusion of the commercial aspect of the mixed-use destination.



DWTC also continued to extend its successes throughout Dubai through its role in the development of the Expo Village and the new Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at the Expo 2020 site.



DWTCs position as a global innovation leader in the MICE sector continues to be enhanced by the scaling up of strategic events within its calendar  both through the introduction of novel formats, niche segments and new events, as well as the development of the scalable, flexible content for its existing event portfolio. By harnessing new technologies and future-proofing DWTCs businesses by setting the gold standard in digital innovation, DWTC is able to deliver the ultimate, integrated, game-changing business destination experience, not just for 2019 but equally ensuring that we pioneer the evolutionary journey of the global MICE business as we look to the future, said Almarri. - TradeArabia News Service
Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson, who is acting as an ambassador for a huge summer commemoration to honour police and army veterans of the Troubles, says there is nothing dissident about the New IRA terrorists who killed journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry.

"They're just the same old, same old as far as I am concerned," said Lawson, who used the words of Gerry Adams to claim: "They haven't gone away."

The Enniskillen actor said he was "humbled" to have been asked to play a role in the August 17 events paying tribute to police and army veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Thousands of former members of the security forces, along with ex-prison officers and retired emergency service personnel are expected to descend on Lisburn for a drumhead service and parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of Operation Banner, the name for the British Army's deployment here from 1969 to 2007.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lawson, who plays Jim McDonald in the TV soap, will fly in next Tuesday to take part in the press launch for the parade organised by the Northern Ireland Veterans Association (NIVA), who are inviting all servicemen and women to take part in the commemoration.

Lawson said: "My family are all from the services. All through my life relatives have been associated with the armed forces and I have done everything I can to support veterans over the last 30 years.

"So when the association asked me to be an ambassador for the commemoration in August I had no hesitation in saying yes.

"It's the least I can do. I have always stood my ground in defence of the people who served here," added Lawson who has campaigned for more help to be given to the men and women who served here during the Troubles and to families whose loved ones died.

"I didn't lose any relations in the Troubles but I know many people who were affected by the violence. Even as a child I was very much aware of what was going on. When we lived in Fermanagh we owed a great debt of gratitude to the security forces for providing the security they did.

"My own father, who was a unionist politician, was considered a target. I also know that my mother lost friends in the Enniskillen bombing."

NIVA who have expressed concerns about the recent charging of soldiers with murders here, have said that the August commemoration will be primarily a day for reflection on the losses sustained by the security forces and other services during the Troubles.

The official figures for Army, police and prison service deaths stand at just over 1,200 but research by NIVA has uncovered the names of 2,400 men and women who they say died not only in terrorist attacks but also as a result of suicide and stress related illnesses.

"I'm only too aware of post-traumatic stress disorder. I know personally of people who are getting no help. It makes me very angry," said Lawson who is on record as saying that he didn't meet a Catholic until he was 20 when one of his first friends "from the other side" was fellow Fermanagh actor Adrian Dunbar, currently starring in the hit TV series, Line of Duty

"We're still close friends and we've never had a cross word during 40 years about what happened back home," said Lawson who uses social media to keep up to date with developments in Northern Ireland.

He added: "I knew there was trouble in the Creggan estate even before journalist Lyra McKee was killed. That was shocking and I see graffiti has gone up on the walls supporting the New IRA. To me there's nothing dissident about them. They're the same old same old as far as I am concerned."

On a lighter note on the subject of Adrian Dunbar, Lawson said: "Don't ask me if he's H. I'm not saying a word."
There has been a surge in support for Northern Irelands smaller parties in the local government elections.

Alliance and the Greens have topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.

With all 462 seats filled in 11 councils, Alliance is celebrating victories across the country, which saw its representation jump by 65%.

However, the political landscape in Northern Ireland stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the countrys largest.

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The unionist party gained 24.1% first preference votes  up by 1%  and ended the election with 122 seats, a loss of eight seats compared to the 2014 council elections.

Sinn Fein suffered a slight dent to its support base with 23.2% first preference votes  a drop of 0.8%. The party walked away with 105 council seats, the same number of seats they won in 2014.

The Alliance party saw a surge in its share of votes which increased from 6.7% to 11.5%. Its number of seats rose from 32 to 53.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said she not expect the remarkable breakthrough in the local government elections, adding that it has transformed the party.

She said: We got seats in places that our target was to get a candidate who would run there.

We were not expecting the surge that we got and it has been tremendous. We were fortunate that we have a robust approval system for our candidates.

It has completely transformed the party and I am excited about where the party can go from here.

The Green party and independents also made significant gains across the 11 councils.

The Green partys Mal OHara was elected to Belfast City Council in what has been a hugely successful election for his party in Northern Irelands capital.

The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party suffered some of its biggest causalities with the loss of high-profile Belfast councillor Jeff Dudgeon.

In a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

The party now has 75 council seats, a loss of 13 compared to the last local government elections.

The SDLP also lost seven councillors and gained 12% of first preference votes  a drop of 1.6%.

The Traditional Unionist Voice suffered a heavy blow to its representation after losing over half of their seats. The party have been left with six seats.

Independents made significant gains taking 23 seats. People Before Profit added a councillor to its representation, taking home five seats.

In Omagh, a former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre won a council seat.

Expand Close Barry McElduff (Barry McElduff/Twitter/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she did not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle district electoral area  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would have been aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made the comments to the media.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in the Moor district electoral area of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.
The 17-year-old victim was found unconscious in a flat in Belfast.

A teenage boy is in a critical condition following an assault in Belfast.

Three males have been arrested in connection with the attack, which happened at around 4.15pm on Friday, May 3. Police were called to reports of a disturbance at a flat on the Donegall Road, where they found the 17-year-old victim unconscious.

He has been taken to hospital where his condition is understood to be critical.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said: The arrested males were detained at the scene and were taken to Musgrave police station for questioning. They remain in police custody this morning.
Patricia Irvine, chair of the United Nations Association NI, speaking at World Press Freedom Day in Belfast

The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday described Northern Ireland as "an inhospitable place for journalists".

Speaking in Belfast on Unesco World Press Freedom Day, NUJ official Seamus Dooley warned of increasing threats to both the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

At least 95 journalists were killed last year while at work, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Mr Dooley said that the unsolved murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan in 2001 was "a stain on the history of policing in Northern Ireland".

Turning to the murder of Lyra McKee, Mr Dooley said: "Unlike Martin's murder, Lyra was not the target of a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a journalist.

"But Lyra was killed in the course of her work, the important work of witnessing news on the streets of Creggan."

He also criticised the arrest of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their investigation into the Loughinisland bar murders.

"The treatment of Trevor and Barry illustrates in microcosm the difficulties faced by those who seek the truth," he said. "On a regular basis we get reports of threats to journalists from both sides of the political divide. The threats are vicious and vile and increasingly directed at women and misogynistic in nature.

"Today we must assert the right of journalists to do our job, not just in Northern Ireland but across the globe."

In London, the Society of Editors has called on all politicians in the UK to give their support to the media.

Ian Murray, executive director of the society, said: "All too often strong words in support of a free media are quickly forgotten when new laws on being considered to constrain what the public has a right to know."
The Unite union has said it will campaign for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation to be nationalised if a new owner seeks to break up the company.

Announcing the sale of its aerostructures and engineering operations in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards on Thursday, the Canadian giant said it was committed to finding a buyer that will "operate responsibly" in Northern Ireland.

A number of major companies involved in aerospace components have already been suggested as potential buyers, but the prospect of a venture capital-led takeover has prompted fears among unions.

Susan Fitzgerald from Unite said such an outcome could spell the "kiss of death" for Bombardier's 3,600 workforce and could threaten thousands more jobs in the supply chain.

"The idea of somebody coming in and picking what they want and scrapping the rest is just a recipe for job losses, not just within the Bombardier workforce, but in the supply chain as well," she said.

"Shorts was nationalised in the past. If that's what it takes to secure jobs in communities, we don't have a problem putting that out there and standing over it. If we thought the workforce could be broken up, we would put forward that as a campaigning demand and we would be vigorous in pursuing it.

"We have no choice. Do we just sit by and let market forces dictate what happens to communities, to jobs and people's lives? The answer from Unite is no."

While Bombardier has previously expressed concern over the uncertainty posed by the threat of a no-deal Brexit, the company said on Thursday that its exit from Northern Ireland was down to a strategic move away from commercial aviation.

But the UK's eventual status within the EU is likely to be a significant factor in who buys the business.

American-owned manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems and UK-based GKN have emerged as potential front-runners.

Both companies declined to comment yesterday on a potential bid for Bombardier.

GKN was recently acquired by Melrose Industries in a hostile 8bn takeover and may not be geared toward an acquisition.

Spirit Aero, which is heavily dependent on Boeing's crisis-hit 737 Max, has recently expressed interest in acquisitions to diversify its business.

Airbus, which is one of the biggest customers for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation, could also potentially step in. The European aerospace giant owns the majority stake in the A220 aircraft series, which Bombardier makes the wings for. The sale of the business is likely to include the wing programme.

In a statement, Airbus said it does not anticipate any impact on A220 production as a result of the sale, but added: "We will of course monitor the evolution with our partner, Bombardier, to ensure that this is the case."

China's state-owned AVIC, which acquired NI aircraft seat manufacturer Thompson Aero three years ago, could also see Bombardier as an opportunity to strengthen its stake in the UK.
Sinn Feins John Finucane celebrating with party colleague Mary Ellen Campbell during the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

Veteran Eamonn McCann celebrates after being elected for People Before Profit during Derry and Strabane District Local Government Elections count in Derry on Saturday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin 4-5-2019 

Counting continues at Belfast City Hall for the Belfast City Council elections after Thursday's voting across Northern Ireland. Alliance parties Nuala McAllister celebrates topping the poll in Castle pictured with Naomi Long. Picture Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

The 2019 Northern Ireland Local Government Elections saw a surge in support for the middle ground with smaller parties claiming a bigger share of the vote - and the Alliance Party surging in popularity.

The DUP took a 24.1% share of first preference votes - a 1% increase on the last election, while Sinn Fein's vote was slightly down by under 1% to 23.2%. The Alliance Party share of first preference votes was up by almost 5% to 11.5%. The SDLP, UUP and TUV all saw a drop since 2014, while the Greens enjoyed a 1.2% increase.

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For a full breakdown visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

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Here's how the results unfolded:
The son of murdered prison officer David Black has been elected in the Mid Ulster Council.

Kyle Black ran as a candidate for the DUP in the Carntogher electoral ward.

His father, David 52, died following a motorway drive-by shooting in Co Armagh in November 2012 while on his way to work.

A republican organisation calling itself the IRA said it carried out the murder.

Kyle celebrated with family as he was unveiled as the first candidate returned in his District Electoral Area (DEA).

He said he was over the moon and ecstatic to be elected, adding that his thoughts were also with his father.

Its something I think of every single day, he said.

Its been a big part of my drive as to do what Im doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially and offers opportunities.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live inKyle Black

He said that by getting involved in politics he could give back to his community.

Speaking to Radio Ulster, he said: (My dad) was a huge influence on my life and he moulded me into the man I am today.

He was a man of principle, a man of great moral integrity and if I can live up to half the man he was I will be doing well.

He was a fantastic man and anybody that did know him would be able to testify that.

If I had of reacted differently (to his murder) that would have been understandable.

However, my family had no control over what happened to us but we have control over what I do and what we do and out of absolutely devastating consequences, that will impact our lives forever, I felt that out of that I would try and do something positive and put something back into the community.

I felt it was something good to be able to do for the people in the local area.

I cant change what happened but I will create my own identity in who am I.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live in.

He also welcomed the election of the DUPs first openly gay candidate.

Alison Bennington will serve on the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

I believe that individuals should be elected on the basis of their merit and their personal capabilities, Kyle added.
Damac Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality arm of UAE developer Damac Properties, has signed a key partnership agreement with Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, a leading regional name in hospitality, on the opening day of the 26th Arabian Travel Market expo in Dubai.



Under this agreement, Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh, an architectural landmark in the heart of Riyadh, featuring luxury hotel apartments furnished by Fendi Casa, will be operated under the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand.



Ali Sajwani, the general manager of operations at Damac, said: "Our partnership with Rotana will help us realise our vision of offering unrivalled investment opportunities in the hospitality industry. The kingdom sees continued growth in the travel sector, which is driven primarily by leisure, pilgrim, and corporate visitors, and we are confident that this partnership will translate to renewed value for investors and differentiated experiences for our guests."



Rotana's acting CEO Guy Hutchinson said: "We are proud to be signing this agreement with Damac and to be participating in the kingdoms development journey towards Vision 2030."



"The partnership confirms our commitment to achieving the goals of the National Transformation Program 2020, which entails the activation of the kingdoms regional and global role as a commercial and economic centre, as well as a destination for tourists and investors alike," he noted.



"Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana in Riyadh looks forward to welcoming guests, while supporting the diversification of the kingdoms hospitality offering, characterized by Rotanas personal touch developed for long-term guests and families," stated Hutchinson.



The agreement with Rotana, with a footprint that now crosses the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, will further boost investors confidence through an attractive rental pool programme.



Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh is the first property to be included in the agreement and comprises of two towers that offer deluxe serviced apartments and a collection of penthouses.



The partnership between two of the regions most prominent home-grown brands also highlights a shared commitment to service the thriving hospitality market of Saudi Arabia.



This rise in tourism is attributed to the kingdoms ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap that emphasises diversifying its economy with increased investments in infrastructure, real estate and tourism sectors, said the developer.



International arrivals to the kingdom are expected to increase on average by four per cent per year, reaching figures of 22.1 million by 2025, it stated.



Earlier this year, Damac chairman, Hussain Sajwani, expressed interest in new plots in Saudi Arabia. Around the same time, Rotana also laid out its plans of stepping up efforts to expand its footprint in the kingdom, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Ulster Unionists' vote has fallen significantly as the Alliance Party made massive gains in the council elections.

UUP leader Robin Swann last night acknowledged Alliance's success but insisted his party was far from finished. He pledged he would "listen to what the voters are telling us" and learn from the poll.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

Counting continues today but with over half of 462 seats across Northern Ireland filled, there has been a significant shift to the centre ground.

The DUP vote increased and the party elected its first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who took a seat in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from DUP supporters.

Party leader Arlene Foster said DUP opposition to same-sex marriage was unchanged.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson welcomed Ms Bennington's election. "If you believe in our party's principles, if you stand for our values, if you are prepared to go forward and seek selection and you are selected and elected by the people - then get on and do the job," he told the BBC, adding that opposition to Ms Bennington's candidacy expressed by DUP MLA Jim Wells was shared only by a minority of members.

The Greens and People Before Profit secured notable victories in Belfast where the performance of the day came from the SDLP's Paul McCusker and his poll-topping 2,856 vote in Oldpark.

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The son of murdered prison officer David Black, Kyle, took a seat for the DUP on Mid-Ulster District Council. "I'm absolutely ecstatic at being elected," he said. "I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support that I received."

He said that the murder of his father was always prominent in his thoughts. "It's been a big part of my drive as to do what I'm doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially."

In Belfast, DUP group leader Lee Reynolds failed to get elected in Titanic where the party fell short of the three seats it wanted.

In Oldpark, PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston lost her seat. UUP councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory in Titanic to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death in east Belfast.

Dr Anne McCloskey made history as the first candidate to be elected for new party Aontu. She won a seat on Derry and Strabane District Council.

Overall in the District Electoral Areas (DEAs) where votes have been counted, election pundit Nicholas Whyte said the Alliance vote had increased 4.1 percentage points from 2014 with the DUP recording a 1.6 percentage point rise. The SDLP's vote fell by 0.6 percentage points, Sinn Fein was down 0.8 points and the UUP 2.2.

Alliance topped the poll in a number of areas including six DEAs in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and in three Antrim and Newtownabbey DEAs.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Alliance leader Naomi Long said she was delighted with her party's performance.

"I am conscious we are only halfway through the election results but there is no doubting this is a fantastic day for Alliance," she said.

"While this is a council election, it is clear people have been left disillusioned with the stagnation at Stormont and deadlock at Westminster.

"While others engaged in the politics of fear, many people instead responded to Alliance's positive campaign by voting in a different way than they had before. That vote to increase the centre ground may well have changed the dynamic in terms of local politics."

Mrs Long added: "Some people and parties spent the campaign accusing Alliance of being unionist or being nationalist.

"We didn't engage in that but rather told people what we would do if elected; it is clear people desire that delivery, which has been reflected in the results."

The UUP leader admitted he was disappointed in how his party polled in Belfast.

"There's still a bit to go and more results to come," Mr Swann said. "It has been a day of mixed fortunes. We acknowledge we have issues in Belfast and we will work to address that.

"This has been a good election for the Alliance Party. The UUP will still have representatives in every council chamber in Northern Ireland.

"And we have had some good results such as John McDermott winning a second seat in Carrick Castle, Alex Swan winning a second seat for us in Downshire East alongside James Baird on Lisburn and Castlereagh Council with possibly more gains there. Louise McKinstry was a first-time candidate and was elected on the first count in Lurgan to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council."

Mr Swann added: "I acknowledge this has been a good election for the Alliance Party, but the UUP are in this for the long haul. We will learn from these elections and come back stronger. We will listen to what the voters are telling us."
An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher

An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher.

A judge varied an earlier ruling that there was to be no further publication of any evidence in the trial of the two 14-year-olds accused of the murder of Ana Kriegel until after the verdicts.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the ruling would only apply to one media organisation.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to the murder of schoolgirl Anastasia 'Ana' Kriegel (14) in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys has also denied a further charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's body was found by gardai at a disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen by her father leaving her home at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison including Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Star Wars fans have gathered in Ireland to mark the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Hundreds of fans, many dressed as their favourite characters from the film, descended on Kerry and Donegal for the May the Fourth festivals.

Themed festivities and events for all ages attracted tourists from all over the world to Irish locations made famous by the films.

Activities included walking tours, childrens work shops, movie screenings, exhibitions, fireworks and boat trips.

Storm Troopers invading the universe of #MalinHead #Donegal today for our #Maythe4thBeWithYou festival which is in full swing with lots of adventures for the entire family. Find out more https://t.co/NZ0KEjHD1Z #WildAtlanticWay pic.twitter.com/9RPhdXX4lE  Failte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) May 4, 2019

Star Wars events were held around the world on May 4, due to the date sounding like the films famous phrase  May the Force be with you.

In Ireland, two festivals were staged over the weekend at locations close to where scenes from the most recent movies were shot  Malin Head in Co Donegal and in Portmagee in Co Kerry.

Ciara Sugrue, head of festivals and events at Failte Ireland, said the festival in Kerry connected fans from across the world.

She said: This festival is really something that we created to celebrate the fact that some of the greatest movie makers in the world picked this part of Ireland to include as the location for their movie.

Its that connection with the Wild Atlantic Way and Stars Wars and attracting people to this beautiful part of the country and to celebrate universal Star Wars day.

The place is buzzing.

Expand Close Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Gary OToole, who makes Star Wars costumes, was one of the main attractions for the festival.

He paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who recently died at the age of 74.

Chewbacca is quite possibly one of the most popular characters and one of the first that comes to mind when you think of Star Wars, he said.

Peter was a very gentle sole. Some of us has the pleasure of meeting him and his family. Who doesnt love Chewbacca and Stars Wars?

He was gentle giant, someone with a very kind heart who was dedicated and brought a lot of charisma to the role.

Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as Star Wars character Rey.

She said: Its an amazing experience. The scenery is stunning and I can see why they chose here.

I was almost in tears when I got to see Skellig Michael, its a stunning place that everyone should go see.

I loved Chewbacca  it was my favourite character. I burst into tears when I heard Peter (Mayhew) died.

He lived a great life and it impacted on so many people. He will live on.
An emergency fund should be set up to help NHS workers at Hairmyres Hospital facing a potential delay of their wages due to a new payroll system, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon has said.

The new system is set to be introduced at the hospital in East Kilbride this month by NHS sub-contractor ISS, with fears that the change could cause financial hardship for staff.

Currently, payments are made in arrears on a fortnightly basis, however during the rollout of the new system it is claimed there are plans for staff wages to be delayed for one week on the first payment.

Hospital workers at Hairmyres are facing the loss of a weeks pay because of their money grabbing PFI employer.



As a trade union organiser I fought against PFI, as Labour First Minister Ill end it because this is what it does to workers. pic.twitter.com/Weq0sTmy75  Richard Leonard (@LabourRichard) May 3, 2019

It would mean workers receiving two weeks pay covering a three-week period, with a weeks worth of wages retained by the employer.

Workers who could struggle to make ends meet have been offered bridging loans to help make up the shortfall, although the money would have to be paid back to the employer.

According to employees who applied for loans, some have still not received them.

In a letter to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman Monica Lennon requested that funding be granted to support the workers.

Shame on @issworld for implementing this cruel pay-grab. I raised it with @NHSLanarkshire today and requested emergency support for those put into hardship. @lilian_macer represented the workers brilliantly and presented the facts that NHS Lanarkshire needed to hear about ISS. https://t.co/vtDOdvxBo6  Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) May 3, 2019

Ms Lennon and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also addressed a rally of workers who held a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

It is scandalous that hospital workers are being forced to fight for their wages and are having to consider industrial action, said Ms Lennon.

I have called on NHS Lanarkshire to work with the GMB and Unison to put an emergency fund in place for low-paid, frontline staff who need urgent assistance.

The possibility of industrial action is growing.

NHS Lanarkshire must urgently send out a hard message to Prospect Healthcare and its sub-contractor ISS that this conduct breaches the principles of fair work, and will not be tolerated in our health service.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: The Health Secretary wrote to both ISS UKs managing director of healthcare and chief executive officer to express concerns about the financial impact of these changes on staff at Harimyres Hospital, who are a vital part of our NHS Scotland staff.

We welcome the ISS proposal to provide an interest free bridging loan to cover the additional six days pay now being withheld from staff and which are to be repaid over a 20-week period.

ISS is a PFI contractor appointed in 2001 during the reconstruction of the hospital. It provides facilities services at Hairmyres Hospital, and its staff are valued members of the local healthcare team.

Senior staff at NHS Lanarkshire are in dialogue with ISS and a dedicated helpdesk has been set up by ISS, offering help to individual members of staff who wish to discuss changes in the payroll system.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said: I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was compelling evidence he was behind the leak  something he denies.

In a statement, Mr Basu, head of the Mets Specialist Operations, added: Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Mr Williamson himself has said he would welcome a police probe, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs on Thursday there was no plan to pass information from its leak inquiry to police, and said the Prime Minister regarded it as closed.

It was understood the information leaked from the meeting was not judged by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to be of a classification level that would require a criminal investigation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has described the partys local election performance as brilliant and believes its opposition to Brexit will be the key to future successes.

The Twickenham MP told BBC Breakfast that the gains of 676 after Thursdays vote were the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Sir Vince said the Lib Dems positioning as a Remain party will win them votes in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for EuropeSir Vince Cable

He told the BBC: We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for Europe.

When people are trying to make their minds up, they would and they should vote for us, knowing that every vote is a vote to stop Brexit.

The Lib Dems have taken control of ten councils, including Winchester and North Norfolk, which Sir Vince credited to lots of hard work, over months.

Congratulations to hundreds @LibDems councillors elected today, scoring 703 gains - the most in our partys history. Your commitment and formidable campaigning were crucial to this stunning result. Next the European campaign, when every @LibDems vote will be a vote to #StopBrexit pic.twitter.com/9lOQWXKiGf  Vince Cable (@vincecable) May 3, 2019

The party increased its presence across England, including in Chelmsford, where it gained 26 seats and took control from the Conservatives.

The town, which had a population of 168,310 according to the 2011 census, voted 53,249 in favour of Leave in 2016, compared with 47,545 to Remain.

Thursdays poll saw the Conservatives lose almost 1,250 seats and 45 councils  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Meanwhile, the number of councils under no overall control has increased by 36, to 71 in total.
Police are appealing for information about the robbery (Joe Giddens/PA)

Robbers have stolen a safe containing a five-figure sum of money from a mans home after bursting in and threatening him.

Police believe the robbery in Galston, Ayrshire, may have been a pre-planned, targeted attack.

The group of men entered the property on Shields Road at around 2.15pm on Friday.

One of the men threatened the 66-year-old victim while the others stole the safe, which contained a five-figure sum.

Police Scotland is appealing for information after a 66 year-old man was robbed at an address in Galston yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/XXuxGORkZ5 pic.twitter.com/aCNTz62rIS  Ayrshire Police (@AyrshirePolice) May 4, 2019

The men then made off in a silver coloured Lexus GS300 vehicle, which had a broken rear windscreen, heading towards the centre of Galston.

Police are appealing for information about the incident.

Detective Sergeant Ewan Bell, at Kilmarnock Police Office, said: Although the man was not physically injured, this robbery was a terrifying experience for him to have to go through and he has been left shaken.

Nobody should be afraid in their own home and it is vital that we find the men responsible for this incredibly callous and forceful crime.

Our officers are currently going through CCTV and making door to door enquiries, however we are appealing for the wider public who may have any information that can help us to get in touch.

We believe that the man we have described may have been in the area in the days leading up to the robbery and that it was a pre-planned, targeted attack.

Do you remember hearing or seeing anything in the area prior to the incident taking place, or did you see the vehicle described driving away from the area?

We know the area was busy with people at the time, think back, you may have information that did not seem like anything at the time, but now you know a robbery took place, may now seem significant.

The men are described as a group of four of five, with one wearing a grey balaclava.

One of the men is described as 5ft 10ins, of stocky build with pale skin, stubble and short cropped blonde or red hair.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police via 101, quoting incident number 2010 of Friday May 3, 2019 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

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Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

Expand Close Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

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Whatsapp Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Theresa May must set a date for her departure or her MPs will do it for her, a former Conservative Party leader has said in the wake of devastating local election results.

Iain Duncan Smith described the polls as a judgment on leadership as he urged the caretaker Prime Minister to say when she will stand down.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils after the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

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Mr Duncan Smith said the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should urgently meet again to decide on Mrs Mays fate.

We have to make a change The message was loud and clear that, since March 29, people have decided they are absolutely furious with the political class, he told LBC.

The committee has to sit again now, urgently, and decide that either the Prime Minister sets the immediate date for departure or, Im afraid, they must do it for her.

The threat of an imminent challenge to Mrs Mays position as Conservative leader was lifted last month when the 1922 Committees executive rejected calls to change party rules which protect her from a no-confidence vote until December.

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Earlier, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the outcome would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

He said the results were very disappointing, telling BBC Breakfast: What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit.

We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Ministers meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the message from voters in local elections was: Get on, deliver Brexit and then move on.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The electorate right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt pointed the finger at purist Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories drubbing.

Asked who was responsible for the losses, he told reporters in Africa: You can look at lots of different groups of people  you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

You can for sure look at Government  Im sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently.

But it was a good night for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Sir Vince Cable hailed the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Mr Cable said the Lib Dems opposition to Brexit will help them in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that, he told BBC Breakfast.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as PM and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei which cost Gavin Williamson his job did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked as defence secretary over his alleged involvement in the disclosure, was among those to call for a criminal investigation, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, Mr Basu said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

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Whatsapp Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network (Steve Parsons/PA)

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

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According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

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She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UKs National Security Council.

Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry:

April 23  A meeting of the UKs National Security Council (NSC), the countrys top national security body, is held.

April 24  The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britains new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting.

Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council.

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April 25  Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is deeply worrying.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is completely unacceptable for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should absolutely be looked at.

Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible.

In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had divulged information from the National Security Council.

April 26  An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions.

Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak.

Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved.

Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved.

April 27  It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill.

Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting.

Chinas ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure.

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April 28  Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone.

He says the UK should exercise a degree of caution about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei.

April 29  The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers.

May 1  Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information.

Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having lost confidence in his ability to serve.

May 2  Gavin Williamson says he would be absolutely exonerated if there was a police investigation into the leak.

May 4  The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.
Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech to local party members at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby (Nigel Roddis/PA)

Tory leader Theresa May has overseen a local election massacre, with one-in-four of her councillors being booted out of their seats.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils as the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw the Tory leader heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was always going to be difficult at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main partiesTheresa May

She said: Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties.

As the party who has been in government for nine years, it was of course always going to be particularly difficult for us.

But as we look at what happened, nobody was expecting that Labour was going to do as badly as they did.

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Labour lost 63 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.

He told ITV: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done, parliament has to resolve this issue. I think that is very, very clear.

Well see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections- Brexit - sort it. Message received.  John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) May 3, 2019

And shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: So far, message from local elections  Brexit  sort it. Message received.

Mrs May welcomed the Labour leaders offer to get a Brexit deal done as the only escape route.

She said: I welcome the fact that Jeremy Corbyn has said today that he sees the time is now to get a deal and to deliver on Brexit  its what Ive been saying for some time.

Its what we want to do, its what weve been working for, so now we must get on and do that.

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But backbench MPs called for her removal and warned that the party would be toast if it did not change direction.

Heckler Stuart Davies, a Tory Party member and former county councillor, said he called for Mrs May to resign because of her handling of Brexit.

The 71-year-old, from Llangollen, told the Press Association: I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly, she is telling lies  We will be out by March 29.

I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move onSir Bernard Jenkin on Theresa May

There were calls from Tory MPs for Mrs Mays removal as leader, with senior Brexiteer Sir Bernard Jenkin warning that the party would be toast unless it mends its ways pretty quickly.

He said voters overwhelmingly believed that the Prime Minister had lost the plot and that the time had come for a change of leader.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move on, he said.

His comments were echoed by former Cabinet minister Priti Patel, who said voters saw Mrs May as part of the problem.

I just dont think we can continue like this. We need change, we need a change of leadership. Perhaps the time has now come for that, she told the BBC.

Labour was also licking its wounds after forfeiting control in heartland councils like Burnley, Hartlepool and Bolsover.

Despite some predictions that Jeremy Corbyns party could pick up three-figure gains, Labour was down more than 100 seats, though it did have the consolation of restoring control in Trafford for the first time sine 2003.

Remain-backing Labour MPs warned the leadership against striking a Brexit deal without the promise of a referendum, after shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner suggested the party was bailing out Tories in cross-party talks.

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Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said: Labour should not be bailing the Tories out. Any deal  any  must go to a public vote. Without a commitment to a public vote, Ill vote for a Labour-Tory deal when hell freezes over and Im not alone in that.

With all results in the Conservatives had lost 1,269 seats, Labour 63 and Ukip 36.

The Lib Dems gained 676, the Greens were up 185 and independents increased by 242.

The Conservatives lost councils including Peterborough, Warwick and Worcester to no overall control, while Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton fell to the Liberal Democrats, with North Kesteven going to independents.

However the party held on in the bellwether council of Swindon, seen as a possible Labour gain, and took Walsall and North East Lincolnshire from no overall control.

Labour, meanwhile, lost control in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Wirral and the mayoralty in Middlesbrough, where its vote was down 11% as independent Andy Preston was elected, although it did gain control of Amber Valley from Tories.

Even where the party held on in its traditional stronghold of Sunderland, which voted heavily for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, it still lost 10 council seats.
Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council as a shabby and discredited witch hunt and called for a probe into it.

The Metropolitan Police said the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, but the former defence secretary accused Prime Minister Theresa May and Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill of badly mishandling the inquiry.

Huge thank you to all of you for all your support the past few days. Enormously grateful to have received so many kind and supportive messages - there have been far too many to respond individually to!  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 3, 2019

He said: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamson was sacked on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the leak of information about Chinese tech giant Huawei, and has previously called for a criminal investigation which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said on Saturday that he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

AC Neil Basu statement re National Security Council disclosure https://t.co/BZJUdDnBQY pic.twitter.com/rRRl13meVq  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 4, 2019

Mr Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case was referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.

40 years ago today Margaret Thatcher entered Downing St as Prime Minister. She demonstrated to Britain & the world her passion, commitment & courage to stand up for her values, party & country. #IronLady pic.twitter.com/LT4ga4dLaT  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 4, 2019

Several Tory MPs aired their anger at the handling on the inquiry following Mr Williamsons sacking, including Conservative backbencher Peter Bone who said he had been found guilty in secret in a kangaroo court, as he called for an independent inquiry into the probe.

I think it more and more looks like there was a rushed judgment. If the police dont think theres an offence it does rather put a question mark on why the Secretary of State was fired, he told the Press Association.

It smells this investigation, and it looks like for whatever reason they wanted to get rid of the defence secretary.

And Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson told the Press Association: Its good to hear that there was no breach of the OSA, but that doesnt change the facts of what happened.

An official investigation found that there was compelling evidence that Gavin Williamson leaked details from the NSC. Given that, why does Theresa May think it appropriate that Gavin Williamson maintains the Tory party whip?

But Mr Williamson, an avid user of social media site Instagram, struck an upbeat tone following his dismissal, posting a photograph of him eating at McDonalds on Friday instead of attending a cancelled dinner with the US defence secretary.

Smiling alongside chips and a soft drink, he wrote: So the plan had been for dinner this evening with the US Defence Secretary at Lancaster House. Obviously things change and you just cant beat a @mcdonalds#mcdonalds #food.

In what has been seen by some as a thinly veiled dig at Mrs May, he tweeted a photograph of Margaret Thatcher on the 40th anniversary of her election as prime minister, saying she demonstrated her passion, commitment and courage to stand up for her values, party and country.
The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to hold US Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with a new deadline for providing special counsel Robert Muellers full, unredacted report on his Russia probe.

The new offer from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler comes after the Justice Department missed the committees earlier deadline for the information.

Mr Nadler slightly narrowed his offer in a new letter to Mr Barr on Friday, saying the committee would limit its request for underlying materials to those directly cited in the report.

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He also asked for the department to work with Congress to seek a court order for secret grand jury materials, a request Mr Barr has previously denied.

The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr.

But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.

The contempt threat comes a day after Mr Barr skipped a Judiciary panel hearing on Mr Muellers report amid a dispute over how Mr Barr would be questioned.

Mr Nadler said after that hearing that he would give the Justice Department one more chance to send the full report and then he would move forward with holding Mr Barr in contempt.

Mr Nadler set a 9am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to respond to the latest offer.

Democrats have assailed Mr Barrs handling of the Mueller report and questioned the truthfulness of his statements to Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she believed Mr Barr had lied about his communications with Mr Mueller in testimony last month, and that was a crime.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Ms Pelosis accusation reckless, irresponsible and false.

In the letter, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr that Congresss constitutional, oversight and legislative interest in investigating misconduct by the President and his associates cannot be disputed.

In terms of the underlying materials, Mr Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and items such as contemporaneous notes that are cited in the report.

Expand Close Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (J Scott Applewhite/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version of the report.

The Justice Department has made a less redacted version available for House and Senate leaders and some committee heads, but the Democrats have said that is not enough and have so far declined to read it.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the new letter. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes at no point will it ever be enough for Democrats.

It is astonishing to me that not a single Democrat has yet to go read the less redacted version of the report, yet they keep asking for more, Ms Sanders said.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, and for the first time in almost 20 years a local journalist was prominent in our minds.

The death of Lyra McKee, who was murdered by the New IRA in Londonderry just over two weeks ago, was all the more shocking because only two journalists have been killed during more than four decades of the Troubles and also in the lingering but savage violence which still disfigures our society.

Sadly, other journalists have been shot, wounded and subjected to other forms of intimidation, despite the fact that it is widely accepted a free press is a vital component of democracy.

Lyra's untimely death is a stark reminder of the price that can be, and often is, paid by those journalists who seek to report on events and to uncover the truth in the public interest.

Freedom, including freedom of speech, is under attack across the globe as never before. The hostility to journalists shown by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious acts of violence against news professionals.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least 95 journalists were killed last year while carrying out their work. The hallmark of many of these crimes is what press freedom campaigners describe as "the concept of impunity" whereby people who want to attack the press are emboldened by the authorities to countenance such behaviour.

This is characteristic of both the developed world and elsewhere. All of which is why it is vital that the PSNI investigation of Lyra McKee is robust and ongoing.

Of course, the detectives here have to face challenges peculiar to Northern Ireland, and while it is regrettable that the police have to take such a step, it is nevertheless welcome to see them offer anonymity to anyone who could assist them with bringing her killers to justice.

Without doubt, a successful conviction for Lyra's murder would be one of the strongest signals that press freedom remains a cornerstone of democracy in these islands.
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There is a certain tension in the phrase, social democracy, and the description of someone as a social democrat. Social in this context is socialism by the state. A democrat supports the freedom for individual electors to express and defend personal interests in regular plebiscites. The two positions are incompatible, Eurasia Review writes in the article Why Social Democracy Is Failing Europe  OpEd.

Social democratic political parties express a belief in social justice. But social justice is a meaningless term used by the far left to attract support for more extreme forms of socialism. In Europe, social democrats advocating social justice have held sway since the Second World War. But they are becoming victims of their success at taking down capitalism, because they are losing electoral support.

The era of social democracy appears to be coming to an end. Germanys SPD recently suffered its worst electoral result since the Second World War, and Frances Socialist Party came fifth in the presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron, a political outsider. Other social democratic parties to have lost ground include the Netherlands Labour Party, Italys Democratic Party and Austrias Social Democrats. In the United States there was a rejection of the Democrats in favor of President Trump, who like Macron in France started as a political outsider.

Brexit was the rejection by the British voter of the socializing controls imposed by a remote super-state. The British parliament initially paid lip-service to the electorates wishes, before rallying round its socialist credentials and is now conspiring to stop Brexit. So strong is Parliaments collective socialist instinct that Mays appeasing government is prepared to destroy its electoral base rather than stand against the socialist tide. It comes at a time when the Labour Party has been captured by a Marxist clique which appears increasingly likely to form the next government.

Commentators attribute the decline in social democracy to events such as the great financial crisis. This and other reasons are why traditional working-class and blue-collar workers have drifted away. The philosophical conflict between socialism and democracy is at the heart of the rebellion, if only the voters themselves knew it. Instead of rejecting socialism, they are embracing extremes, and the extremes are always socialist extremes. Notably, almost none of the disillusioned social democrats support free markets.

The point missed by most analysts is that social democracy is failing because of the contradiction between personal freedom and state control.

As a form of mild socialism, it fails for the same reason as did communism. It all plays into the hands of the communists, for whom the failure of social democracy is an opportunity.
After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

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After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

"Theres no words to explain it. Everything has changed for her  she has energy, shes eating better, playing better, shes mentally better," Adetudimu said of her 14-year-old daughter, Dorcas. "When you have a sickle cell crisis, you dont have your life  Now, shes free like a bird to be able to do anything and everything."

Dorcas Adetudimu14, and her mother Juliette sit together in her bedroom earlier this week. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

Sickle cell disease is a severe form of anemia that is found more frequently in people of Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean and African descent because those geographic regions are most prone to malaria. It causes red blood cells to become irregularly shaped, rigid and sticky  prone to getting stuck in small blood vessels and slowing or blocking blood flow to parts of the body, which can be extremely painful.

Two years ago, Dorcass condition was worsening, Adetudimu said. She was suffering through multiple crises a year  one of which landed her in the intensive care unit in Winnipeg after her lungs collapsed.

"Some (crises) were worse than others," Dorcas said. "I would get back pain, joint pain  it felt like someone was squeezing your ribs together."

Doctors suggested a stem cell transplant for Dorcas, Adetudimu said, so the family kicked into gear  with the help of Canadian Blood Services  raising awareness in the community for the stem cell registry while at the same time hoping to find Dorcas a stem cell match.

They held a stem cell registration and swab event in Shoppers Mall in 2017, and while it didnt lead to a match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said the community support was amazing.

"We were happy to raise awareness about the importance of being a donor," Adetudimu said. "If people hadnt been giving that blood, she wouldnt be here today  you dont know who is going to need it."

It was shortly afterward that a family member was found to be a 70 per cent match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said. While an 100 per cent match would have been better, they decided to go ahead anyway in hopes the transplant would take.

The treatment was a long process, Adetudimu said, beginning in April last year and continuing through until August.

Dorcas had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of her existing red blood cells before the transplant could be completed, Adetudimu said.

She also had to stay in isolation because of the risk of infection.

"Shes like a newborn baby in that you have to protect her from infection, her immunity was wiped out," Adetudimu said, adding that Dorcas is in the process of being completely revaccinated.

As of August, the treatment was declared to be successful, and Dorcas was able to go back to school in September.

Dorcas Adetudimu, 14, plays the video game Fortnite at her home Wednesday, in her room that was renovated by people behind the charitable organization The Dream Factory. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

"Going to a treatment like that, you dont know if youre going to have the same child when you get back  it could have been the opposite," Adetudimu said. "Were just fortunate shes alive. Many kids have died before this age because of the disease. Were just blessed to be here."

These days, Dorcas is catching up on things she wasnt able to do before.

Shes enjoying playing volleyball, she said, and is trying to get as much swimming in as possible.

"Its good  I dont have to worry about medicine. I can also go swimming; before I couldnt go swimming because the cold water would make me go into a crisis," Dorcas said.

"She hasnt really had fun as a kid," Adetudimu said. "You cant play too much, when its cold  its a problem, when its hot its a problem, everything wasnt good. So now that life is good, we can start having fun."

Always a need

At any given time, there are more than 600 patients across Canada looking for a stem cell transplant, said Canadian Blood Services donor relations representative Adrienne San Juan, as there are more than 80 diseases  between blood disorders and blood cancers  that stem cell transplants can help cure.

There are approximately 445,000 people signed up to be potential stem cell donors in Canada, with Manitoba only representing three per cent of that  or approximately 15,000 donors.

Right now, there is a need for more ethnic donors to register, San Juan said.

"The registry is comprised of 69 per cent of Caucasian registrants, while only 31 per cent of the database is comprised of people from diverse ancestry," San Juan said. "So in order to accurately reflect the patient population, more potential stem cell donors from diverse ancestry are needed on the Canadian registry."

Registering to be a donor is quite easy, San Juan said. After completing a health questionnaire on their website, Canadian Blood Services sends interested registrants a swab kit to complete at home and mail back.

It takes between six and eight weeks to be put on the registry, but even then it could be months or even years before a registrant is matched with someone in need of a donor, if at all.

"Its actually more likely for you to win the lottery than to actually match someone  its that rare," San Juan said.

There is also a tight criteria to register, as donors need to be between the ages of 13 and 35.

However, a lot of people outside that age range can still help by donating blood, San Juan said.

While waiting for her transplant, Dorcas went for blood transfusions every four weeks for 18 months, Adetudimu said, just to get her body ready.

"Patients who are waiting for a match and undergoing transplants are an immediate need for blood and blood products," San Juan said. "So we really strongly urge everyone to continue to donate blood, as well."

New room, new Dorcas

Support from organizations such as Westman Dreams for Kids and The Dream Factory have been a blessing in Dorcass treatment and recovery, Adetudimu said.

When The Dream Factory approached Dorcas asking if they could fulfil a dream for her, Dorcas said she knew exactly what she wanted  a new bedroom.

"At first she wanted to renovate the whole house," Adetudimu said, laughing. "But her room was so important to her recovery. Coming back after chemo and radiation you cant socialize, you cant go out, youre in isolation because of the risk of infection. So to be able to stay in the room for 24 hours it has to be nice. (The room renovation) made the recovery process so much better."

When The Dream Factory approached Jaydi Dinsdale with Timber + Lace Interior Design asking for help making Dorcass dream possible, she said she jumped at the opportunity.

"Ive always wanted to be able to do projects like this, to really make a difference for somebody and donate my time to a good cause, so I was really excited," Dinsdale said. "I actually spent quite a bit of time in the hospital when I was a kid, so it kind of has a special spot in my heart."

Working with Dorcas to pick out colours, look over designs and discuss what Dorcas needed out of her space, Dinsdale said she created vision boards from which Dorcas could choose.

With generous donations from local businesses such as Blinds by Anita, Jeannies Interiors and Westman Premier Homes, Dinsdale said the room was able to be completed in a couple of months  just in time for Dorcas to come home from treatment.

"I didnt like my room at all before," Dorcas said with a chuckle. "When I saw this room, I thought it was so cool. I really like it."

"She spends all her time in here," Adetudimu added.

Westman Dreams for Kids has also been a huge support while Dorcas travels back and forth to Winnipeg for appointments and treatment, Adetudimu said.

They also made it possible for Dorcas to visit Disneyworld.

"We were just so lucky and fortunate to go (to Disneyworld) because we didnt know if it would be the last time, the last trip, wed be spending together," Adetudimu said, adding shed like to bring Dorcas back to Disneyworld and create new memories, now that shes cured.

"If I have my way, Ill take her back ... now that she can really enjoy it, she can really have fun."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

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A collection of drugs and cash Brandon Police Service members seized on Thursday, which was part of a broader pattern of seizures that have totalled approximately $450,000 during the past week. (Brandon Police Service)

Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

"When we have those numbers in those amounts that we can remove from the street, at the end of the day its protecting the most vulnerable in the community because those will filter down to the people that are addicted and have a substance-use disorder," Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said.

"If we can remove that, it allows them time to not have access to those drugs and seek some sort of assistance for their addiction."

The most recent Thursday incident comprised of Brandon Police Service members finding 11 ounces of meth  worth approximately $30,800 and a quantity of Canadian currency during a vehicle stop.

A second vehicle was stopped shortly after, where police found four ounces of heroin, which according to the Brandon Police Service has a maximum street value of $56,000.

After the second vehicle was stopped, a 28-year-old Brandon woman was found in possession of 71 grams of meth, with a maximum value of $7,000 and a can of bear spray.

Later in the day, police conducted a search warrant on a house in the west end and found another nine ounces of meth and two grams of heroin, which added up to a value of $26,400.

As a result of the drug busts on May 2, six people were arrested and charged with drug offences, including a 45-year-old man from Thompson, a 45-year-old man from Brandon, a 40-year-old man from Winnipeg, a 28-year-old woman from Brandon, a 24-year-old man from Winnipeg and a 20-year-old man from Thompson.

All six are in police custody and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Balcaen wouldnt say specifically how long the investigation took before the arrests but said the days events unfolded over around 10 hours. He said the drug bust was "very significant."

At a Brandon police funding announcement on Friday, Mayor Rick Chrest called the news of the drug bust a "pleasant surprise."

"We know it helps to at least seemingly temporarily disrupt the flow of illicit product into our community and presumably to other communities around us."

The city is currently dealing with a meth crisis and an influx of the drug into Manitoba, but Balcaen said the increased appearance of fentanyl is relatively new in the city. Fentanyl is an opioid used as a painkiller. It is especially powerful and responsible for a large number of overdoses in other parts of the country.

"Weve seen it in the last month or so starting to have an increase here, so its certainly a concern to us when you have that because ultimately it can result in serious harm or death to individuals."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

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SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

The joint rescue co-ordination centre received a notification Saturday from an emergency locator transmitter, indicating a small plane had gone down.

The centre's navy Lt. Tony Wright says a search was launched and the wreckage of the Cessna 182, capable of carrying four passengers, was found about 100 kilometres northeast of Smithers.

Wright says a technician was lowered by cable from the helicopter to check for survivors and the operation was handed over to police.

RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says they know there is at least one fatality, but they are still working on getting people to the crash site.

She says the coroner and Transportation Safety Board have been notified about the crash.
MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents of Holy Street in Ile Bizard west of Montreal, float a porta-potty down their street, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Residents of the street have not been evacuated but cannot flush their toilets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit currently by floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

"Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners," they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels haven't dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.
People in Drogheda are living in fear that someone will die before the violent feud between rival drug gangs in their town is brought under control.

Up to a thousand people have attended a rally in the Co Louth town over gang violence.

The town's locals have been sending a message to gangs that enough is enough.

They are unhappy with the Government's response in tackling a violent feud between rival drug gangs in the town.

People gathering in Drogheda for a rally against the gang violence that has blighted the town in recent months@VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/xULPp0o6Yd  Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 4, 2019

Labour councillor Pio Smith has hit out at the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for not putting enough resources into the local Gardai.

He said: "The fault lies squarely with Minister Charlie Flanagan because... we should have had the 25 gardai earlier on.

"The challenge now for him and the Government is, are they going to fully resource An Garda Siochana?"

Standing in solidarity with the people of Drogheda saying to the thugs and criminals Enough is EnoughThomas Byrne TD Breathnach https://t.co/5tZMEgeo2K pic.twitter.com/Qyo4YVLbD2  Declan Breathnach (@BreathnachLouth) May 4, 2019

Declan Breathnach TD said the message from the community was clear.

He said: "There was a massive crowd there...made up of men, women, children, community organisations, the public and politicians.

"The message was loud and clear to the criminals acting in Drogheda, enough is enough, and they want these people to get off the street and leave their town."
UPDATE: A missing 18-month-old baby, Shania Constantin, and her grandfather, Condrut Iosca, have been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai have issued an appeal to the public for help in locating a missing baby who is in the care of her grandfather in Dublin.
Maria Pearson, a native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, has won a seat for the Tory Party in the local elections for Brentwood Borough Council in England. This is the first time a native Irish speaker has been elected.

Maria was elected in the Herongate, Ingrave and West Herndon Ward of Brentwood, an area in the London commuter belt.

Maria got a huge majority of the vote, approximately 70%, and said she was both surprised and proud of the result.

"This is the first time I have stood, and I was nervous about running, people don't normally get in the first time. It was a personal vote I think, and I have to say that I'm very proud of the result."

Speaking on the on the Ronan Beo show on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta on Friday, Maria said that her husband, who's Scottish, had owned a pub in the area for two years, something which meant that they knew many people in the area personally, and she felt that this helped her campaign a lot.

"People gave me a vote who would never normally have voted Tory, and indeed never had. It was a personal vote ..."

Maria said that Brexit was a huge issue on the doorsteps and that they were 'eaten alive' on that subject.

She explained that there was strong support for a No Deal Brexit in the area, that all people wanted was to be going out of the EU, but that people had little or no understanding of the border question.

She believes that they can't go with a no deal Brexit and said explaining the implications on the doorsteps was challenging.

"Over here, in the papers and on the radio, nobody was talking about the border and what was going to happen in Ireland, something that was of huge importance to me.

They don't understand the border, they think it's like something they've seen on TV with guards walking up and down patrolling.

"I was explaining how there are houses that straddle both sides of the border, and they found it hard to believe.

"But it's something that's so important to me personally, and to everyone at home in Ireland.

"When I explained the implications to them of a no deal Brexit, then they began to understand and to come around to my point of view."

You can listen to the full interview here.
More than 20 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, Yandex. Schedule service informs.

It is reported that two flights were delayed and two canceled at Vnukovo, six flights delayed and nine canceled at Domodedovo. In Sheremetyevo, two flights were delayed.

There is no information about the reasons for the delays.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As far as blue-ribbon seats go, Wentworth was one of the Liberal Party's safest.But in the byelection that followed the resignation of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, independent Kerryn Phelps trounced the Liberals and forced Scott Morrison's government into a minority. The contest for Wentworth was a litmus test for a government trailing in the polls, and Phelps' victory was a fillip for independents. The independents who make it to Canberra are generally the exception rather than the rule  but they can make a big splash when they get there. Fast-forward to this federal election campaign, and prominent independent candidates for the lower house  Phelps, Julia Banks in Flinders, Helen Haines in Indi, Rob Oakeshott in Cowper, Zali Steggall in Warringah, Andrew Wilkie in Clark, and Oliver Yates in Kooyong  release a statement setting out the "price of power" for their support after May 18. This includes demands to take action on climate change and to potentially block the Adani coal mine. Loading Sydney Morning Herald and Age commentator David Crowe says: "The demands are a sign of confidence among key independents that climate change policy will help swing the federal election, helping them defeat Liberal or Nationals candidates." Meanwhile, the Centre Alliance party is being forecast as a likely kingmaker in a post-election Senate. In Parliament's upper house, senators assume the role of gatekeepers, deciding which laws will pass. The support of the crossbench can be critical.

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These confident candidates are not the only ones hoping to shape the agenda of the future government. What role do independents  and minor parties  play in our Parliament? Who are the ones to watch at this election? What chance do other independents and smaller parties have? And how much influence can they wield when the election dust settles? Independent, minor and micro: what's the difference? All minor and micro-party and independent MPs elected to Canberra sit on the crossbench, the seats between the government and the opposition in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Independents are not members or affiliates of a political party. To run, they havecollected 100 signatures, filled in a nomination form and paid a $2000 deposit at their local electoral office.

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Ninety-five independents have put up their hands to contest the 151 lower house seats, and 37 independents are fighting for state-based Senate spots. There are 76 Senate seats but elections are staggered and fixed to six-year terms so only 40 are up or grabs. Loading Once elected, some independents, such as Pauline Hanson, have sought to build their personal popularity into a party that can spread their message.

The term "minor party" is used to describe a party that is not Labor, the Liberals or the Nationals, which for decades have been the only parties big enough to form government. There are more than 50 minor parties registered with the Australian Electoral Commission this election, ranging from the Animal Justice and Australian Affordable Housing parties through the alphabet to Pirate Party, Australia, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, The Women's Party and Yellow Vest Australia. In the Federal Parliament, there is a higher hurdle under parliamentary entitlement rules to gain recognition as a minor party  five elected MPs are needed to obtain minor party status and the extra staff and other resources that come with it.

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Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota were able to thrust themselves into the public debate. Micro-parties are the very small parties that have risen to prominence in the Senate in the past 10 years  including Family First, the DLP and the Liberal Democrats  by winning seats with small numbers of votes because of preference deals. After the 2013 federal election, the micro-parties lobbed a hand grenade into the political arena. Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota (Ricky Muir from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party infamously pulled in .51 per cent) were able to thrust themselves into the public debate by joining together to block the passage of contentious legislation. The major parties joined to change the Senate voting system, making it difficult for micro-party candidates to get elected. Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull then called a double-dissolution election, putting all the upper house seats up for grabs. Greens leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Derryn Hinch embrace after the Senate agreed on amendments to a bill in the Senate in February. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Is the era of micro-parties over? The 2016 rule changes to Senate voting mean groups of unknown micro-parties are no longer able to funnel their votes to each other until they have a quota of votes in their own right.

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The voting system is now optional preferential above the line, in which voters rank at least their first six candidates  thus distributing their own preferences. "I think the reform is a huge advantage for democracy," says ABC election analyst Antony Green. The members that now get elected actually get votes. "The Arts Party  I dont know what theyre doing," he says. "Seniors  who are they? Pirate Party  vague idea who they area. Health Australia party are anti-vaccinations. None of these have a hope in hell. All these people think they can be the next Ricky Muir, but they cant get elected [now because of recent Senate reforms]." But some independents and minor parties with high enough profiles are still likely to get elected, says Green. These include Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, the Australian Greens and Pauline Hansons One Nation, which are able to attract a significant primary vote. "The members that now get elected actually get votes," says Green. Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has entered the fray. Credit:AAP

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A crime scene has been set up in Brisbane's north as police investigate a suspicious death.

Emergency services were called to a 42-year-old mans Mitchelton home about midday on Saturday.

He was rushed from the Osborne Road unit to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital but died shortly after arrival, according to police.

A police spokesman said a crime scene had been declared as police worked to determine the cause of death.

No information about the mans injuries was available.
A saw accidentally hitting a fuel tank is believed to have sparked a fire that broke out at a business north of Brisbane.

Emergency services, including six firefighting crews, were called about 10am on Saturday to A1 Car Wreckers used-car and wrecking business on South Pine Road at Brendale.

A fire broke out at Brendale. Credit:Video by Chloe MacIntyre supplied to Seven News

Police said the contact between a saw and fuel tank sparked the flames that destroyed a shed on the premises.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the fire was under control 20 minutes after the initial call but firefighters were still on scene to put out the blaze.
A year-long police operation that disrupted and dismantled a drug syndicate in north Queensland has come to an end.

The investigation targeting the trafficking of drugs in north Queensland led to 20 raids in properties at Bowen, Collinsville, Mackay, Sarina and Ayr.

Queensland police have busted a drug syndicate after raiding properties in north Queensland.

Police discovered about 60 grams of meth, a quantity of cannabis plants and seeds, more than $25,000 in cash, two firearms, knuckledusters, a flick knife and pepper spray.

It will be further alleged that a clandestine laboratory was located as a property in Bowen as well as two hydroponic cannabis production sites.
Iran's revenues from the tourism amounted to $ 11.8 billion since March 28, the chairman of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation of Iran, Ali Asghar Monesan reported.

He stressed that the impact of the sanction pressure on Irans tourism sector is negligible.

In addition, the chairman of the organization drew attention to the fact that tourism makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. "The creation of new tourist accommodation sites will help the development of the sector," Trend quotes Monesan as saying with a referring to ISNA.
New Delhi: The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri on Friday with wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometres per hour before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswa.

Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'deep depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladesh's low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.
Seoul: North Korea has fired "a barrage" of unidentified short-range projectiles toward the ocean, according to the South Korean military.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities were analysing the details of the Saturday launch.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch in Seoul on Saturday. Credit:AP

The South initially reported that a single missile was fired, then said it was a barrage of missiles, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometres before splashing into the sea toward the north-east. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions

They flew for a range of about 70 to 100 kilometres from 9.06am (10.06 AEST), the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details of the missiles.
Jerusalem: Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters. There are reports of four Palestinians killed since Friday.

Medics move their wounded colleague, shot by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border at Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.
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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 Israeli military began to strike the targets of radical Palestinian groups, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces informs.

It is specified that the strikes were the answer of Israel to the missiles fired from Palestine.

"To date, more than 10 terrorist targets were hit with tanks and drones, TASS cites the military communique.
The gathbandhan, the term in common parlance for the Uttar Pradesh alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has left the big two of Indian politics rattled in the most populous state.

Over the past three days, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing. The results of UPs 80 seats could determine whether the BJP would make a comeback or struggle to get the requisite number of allies, as happened in 1996, and fails to prove its majority. ...
While a battery of some 100-odd erstwhile left activists have been deployed to campaign extensively for Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Avantika Nehru, daughter of former MP Arun Nehru, has been roped in at Rae Bareli. ALSO READ: Rae Bareli Lok Sabha polls: Voters say Congress turncoat no match for Sonia The Congress is getting its act together, following reports of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar making extra efforts in Amethi to dislodge Rahul Gandhi, who had had a ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
Exxon Mobil on Friday sued Cubas state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and CIMEX Corp in US federal court seeking $280 million over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized after Fidel Castros revolution. Exxon, the largest US oil producer, is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents ...
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick. That, of course, was nothing new. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as chief executive of Uber in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in Silicon Valley, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Mr. Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future. Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would ...
By 9:30 am the line for Fultons Pancake House and Sugarbush had snaked out the door and down the driveway toward the parking lot, like the day a new iPhone goes on sale. But the restaurant, roughly 40 miles southwest of Ottawa, isnt brand-new. Its in its 50th year, and its star attraction, maple syrup, is much older. It was invented by Native Americans long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. Maple is a social crop, said Shirley Fulton-Deugo, the owner. Its the first crop of the year and a sign that spring is ...
U S President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour. The 2011 New START ...
Hours after approximately 200 rockets were fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel on Saturday, the latter responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, one person has died as a result of the Israeli strikes, and seven others have been wounded, reported CNN.

The rockets fired by Gaza wounded two Israelis, including an 80-year old woman in the city of Kiryat Gat, about twenty miles from Gaza.

In light of the rocket fire, Israel announced that it was closing Kerem Shalom and Erez crossing between the two countries, as well as the Gaza fishing zone. No specific date has been given for when the crossings and the fishing zone would reopen.

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days after nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel fired artillery and launched air raids into Gaza on Saturday morning in response to what it said had been scores of rockets launched out of the strip, escalating tensions after an airstrike killed two Hamas members and Israeli border forces shot two protesters on Friday, The National reports.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes on Saturday. Hamas-run Al Aqsa Voice reported that there was shelling in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

Israeli radio said that there had been air raids and shelling in response to 50 rockets in the space of about 30 minutes  some launched deep into Israel. The official Israeli military Twitter account reported a heavy barrage of rockets being fired at southern Israel from Gaza. It added that air-raid sirens were being sounded in towns across the area.
The sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Roopnagar Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Singh welcomed Amarjit to the party's fold and said it was Punjab government's initiatives in the last two years that had encouraged the opposition MLAs to join the Congress.

"We have got a major boost from the wave of the exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state. It is a clear endorsement of our government's path-breaking initiatives over the past two years," said Chief Minister Singh while speaking to reporters here.

He said that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's oppressive style of functioning had forced the leaders of his party to join the Congress.

"Arvind Kejriwal's autocratic style of functioning and the chaos in the state wing of the party were making its legislators feel suffocated. They are motivated to shift to the Congress because of our focus on the state's development," he said.

Singh urged Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state and help Manisha Tewari, who is the party's MP candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency in Punjab.

This is the second jolt to the AAP in a week's time. Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, joined the Congress on April 29.

Punjab will see polling for all 13 seats on May 19, the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A girl was hacked to death allegedly by her neighbour in Agra's Khandauli area, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the reason behind the girl's death is yet to be ascertained.

A case will be registered soon and strict action will be taken against the culprit, police added.

Superintendent of Police (SP) City Prashant Verma said, "The body has been sent for postmortem. Her (victim's) family is at the police station registering a complaint.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Special CBI court here on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against a Gulf-based investor for being allegedly linked to the AgustaWestland case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar issued the warrant against foreign investor Omar Al Balsharaf after pursuing the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) counsels -- Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Pramod Kumar Dubey and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta.

During the course of hearing, ED's counsels argued that the agency had issued summon to him multiple times since March 2018, but he didn't join the investigation deliberately and also didn't provide the information sought from him, while he was availing his legal remedies before the different legal forums.

The agency further claimed that by not joining the investigation, he is evading the process of law and the NBW issued against him and it is necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the investigations carried out by the ED, it was revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, transferred an amount of USD (5,303,471) to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai but the same was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf-Gautam Khaitan in the book of RAKGT, which raises many questions and need clarification. Some other entries were also found to be suspected in the case, which needed Omar to join the probe.

As RAKGT is associated with Shiekh Omar Al Balsharaf, it is contended that Balsharaf trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain about the money he got from various companies into Dubai account, in which some companies are related to accused Gautam Khaitan and other accused.

On July 18 last year, ED had filed a prosecution complaint against 34 accused persons and companies including Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former directors of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, former IAF chief SP Tyagi and others in the case of VVIP helicopter scam.

The ED investigation revealed that the kickbacks were allegedly paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels.

One channel was handled by the middleman Christian Michel James and the other channel was handled by Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.

According to ED investigations, Gerosa and Haschke in collusion with Tyagi brothers, cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi, allegedly conspired with Gautam Khaitan of OP Khaitan and Company Auditors & Solicitors based in New Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded at Bhubaneswar airport due to cyclone Fani. The flight will leave for Bhubaneswar from Delhi Airport at 3 pm and from Bhubaneswar to Delhi at 5.45 pm.

Also, Air India on Saturday announced the recommencement of operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the cancellation of all flights to and from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports due to the cyclone on Thursday.

The carrier also stepped forward and decided to ship free of cost relief material to cyclone-affected areas in the state by any NGO, Civil society, Self Help Group etc.

Heavy rains along with over wind speed of over 175 kmph battered Odisha as cyclone Fani made landfall close to the temple town of Puri on Friday morning, leaving a trail of destruction in the state.

The cyclone, which crossed Odisha coast close to Puri coast between 8 am and 10 am, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday introduced a "baba," having apparent resemblance with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The 'baba' donned a saffron attire as Adityanath does and also had his head shaved in a similar fashion. However, his face is not visible. Baba can be seen accompanying Yadav in the pictures shared by latter on his twitter handle.

"We cannot bring fake God but we bring a 'baba' ji. He has left Gorakhpur and is telling truth about the government to everyone in the state," tweeted Yadav.

SP, BSP and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as an alliance. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, BSP, SP, and RLD are contesting 38, 37 and three Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Robert Daigle, Pentagon's top official, has resigned from his position, announced the US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Friday.

Daigle, the Director of the Department Of Defence's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, will vacate the office in mid-May after serving for two years.

"On behalf of the entire Department of Defense (DOD), I thank Bob Daigle for his extraordinary service over the past two years," The Hill quoted Shanahan as saying.

He adds that Daigle and his team "have been key architects of the investment strategies that ensure our military is ready to compete, deter, and win in any high-end fight of the future. These investments have formed the foundation for our Department's FY19 and FY20 strategy-driven budgets, enabling DOD to field new technologies and weapons systems at the speed of relevance."

Reportedly, Daigle is leaving to rejoin the private sector. He did not ascertain the reason for resigning.

Daigle, who took over CAPE in August 2017, earlier worked in House Armed Services Committee and led the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission for three years.

During his tenure, his office took the decision to decommission Truman aircraft carrier and called for the Air Force to buy the F-15X.

His departure will add to the expanding void of confirmed top-official in DOD.

At present most top positions at Pentagon are filled by individuals on acting-basis, including the secretary and deputy secretary of defence, the chief management officer, the office of the undersecretary of personnel and readiness and the Air Force secretary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tiger Found Injured In Orang Park, Treatment Underway In State Zoo

Assam [India], May 4 (ANI): A Royal Bengal tigress was brought to a state zoo here on Friday after she was found injured near the Orang Park in Sonitpur district.

She had accidentally drifted away from the park. "The reason for straying out of the park may be due to territorial fight with another tiger. Orang has seen a rise in tiger population and has the highest tiger density in India. Tigers being fiercely territorial, such fights are common in high tiger density areas," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswamy told media persons here.

The tigress has now been kept in a comfortable cage.

On being rescued, she was found to have developed blindness due to corneal opacity, which might have happened due to starvation or injury to the eye.

The nails of her feet had become brittle, eyes had begun to lose vision and she was nearing her death when found by the team of zookeepers in Sonitpur district.

"The blindness, however, is curable. On May 10, doctors will again monitor her health," officials confirmed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States on Friday (local time) warned that assisting Iran in expanding its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could invite sanctions, according to the US State Department Spokesperson.

The latest announcement is part of United States' "unprecedented maximum pressure campaign" on Iran, as per an official press release. Washington also targetted Iran's enriched uranium exports through its statement on May 3.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable. In addition, activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable," Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in the statement.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment. We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the statement added.

"The US will continue to apply maximum pressure until #Iran's leaders change their destructive behaviour, respect the rights of their people, and return to the negotiating table," the US State Department tweeted.

The relations between Iran and the United States have worsened after the latter pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump came into power. Washington re-imposed sanctions on nuclear cooperation with Iran, including by re-designating Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entities, and by placing new limits on foreign assistance that could expand Iran's nuclear program in November 2018.

Furthermore, in March 2019, the US designated an additional 31 Iranian individuals and entities "linked to Iran's WMD proliferation-sensitive activities," as per the US Department of State.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar being placed on United Nations terror list will not have any impact on Pakistan and United States relations, asserted Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on Saturday.

"We want good relations with the US. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Majeed said quoting Duniya news.

On Wednesday, the UN designated Azhar as a 'global terrorist' after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal floated by US, UK and France in the UNSC following the Pulwama terror attack.

"Those steps are not to make anyone happy but it is for our own need. It will not have any impact on US-Pakistan relations," he asserted.

In a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, the United Nations on Wednesday added Azhar to the United Nations 1267 ISIL and al-Qaeda Sanctions List.

After putting technical holds for 10 years, China on Wednesday supported the draft resolution put forward by P3 Nations - United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The United States has welcomed the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist and has sought "sustained actions" from Pakistan against terrorism perpetrating from its soil.

This was the second proposal in a year by the P3 nations, the first proposal was moved 12 days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in Kashmir in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed after a Pakistan-backed JeM terrorist rammed an IED laden car into the jawans' convoy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Stepping up the attcak after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, Finance Minister Arun jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's PM," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 per cent stake) and US Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One person died and four were injured as a result of the attack by Israeli forces responding to the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

"A 22-year-old Palestinian was killed, four more injured as a result of an Israeli air forces strike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip," spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said.

According to the press service of the Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian militants fired about 90 missiles in the morning, dozens of which were intercepted by missile defense systems. Israel responded with tank fire and air strikes on militant positions and rocket launchers, including in the north of the enclave.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at BJP calling its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls -- 'a cut and paste job of old documents'. "Who is discussing BJP Manifesto? I have not seen or heard anyone talking about BJP's manifesto. It is a "cut and paste job" of old documents, he said addressing a press conference here. "The only manifesto which is being discussed across the country is Congress manifesto. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not discuss his party's manifesto. I have not seen any BJP minister who speaks about its manifesto. They are only speaking against the Congress manifesto. The only manifesto, which is before the people, is the Congress manifesto," he said. Claiming that the Congress and its declared allies are ahead of BJP and their declared allies in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said

"The government will not let NSSO publish the data. Where are the jobs? We have learnt 4 lakh government posts are lying vacant and 20 lakh post are vacant in the state government. It was our first election promises that we will fill all these 24 lakh vacant posts by March 21, 2020. This is a low hanging fruit and we will do it." Chidambaram said Modi also said he will double farmers' income but in the last five years, farmers' death has doubled.

"Ask any farmer he will say the same. That is why we are promising a separate Kisan budget. For the first time, people will know what is really being done for agriculture. If a farmer defaults on a loan, he will not be jailed. It is a big promise," he added. Asserting that if BJP comes to power there will be no Nyay to people of India, Chidambaram said: Nyay scheme (Nyuntam Aay Yojna) is justice for India's poorest people. "Around 20 per cent of Indian population lives below the poverty line. Nyay will revolutionise the poorest part of India's economy."

"BJP can say they cannot implement NYAY because it is unimplementable for them. The biggest idea they have done is to ask people to do yoga," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leicester City's manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as "one of the best players in the world."

"What I loved about Raheem was that, for a young boy, he knew what he wanted to be," Rodgers told a press conference.

"When I ask young players what it is they want to achieve, he wanted to be one of the best players in the world, at that age," Goal quoted Rodgers, as saying.

"He's taken his game now to a level where he clearly is one of the best players in the world," he said.

The 46-year old further added that Sterling has put in the work and did not rely solely on his talent.

"He was someone who was always going to do the work, he wasn't just expecting it because of his incredible talent. This was a boy who looked after his body and his life to ensure that he could give himself every chance to do that," Rodgers said.

Rodgers even enunciated that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is not the same without Sterling.

"I look at Pep [Guardiola's] team and it's not the same if he's not in it," he said.

Rodgers' Leicester City will compete with Manchester City in the Premier League on May 7.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 17 people, including police officers and Taliban militants, were killed during clashes here on Saturday, according to the provincial police chief.

"The clashes started in the early hours of the day after Taliban stormed Boldak Nika police security checkpoint in Spin Boldak district, southern part of provincial capital Kandahar city. And the exchange of fire lasted for four hours leaving the casualties," General Tadeen Khan told Xinhua.

Out of the deceased, three are police officers while 14 are Taliban militants. Furthermore, four police officers and seven Taliban militants were also injured due to the fighting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the Prime Minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Gandhi.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA, the Gandhi scion said he is ready for all the investigation.

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Gandhi told reporters.

Gandhi also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar Chor hai' as he hasn't apologized for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan.

"The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The results of all the phases will be announced on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said the party wanted Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to focus on 20 seats instead of being captive to only the Varanasi parliamentary constituency with an aim to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi by contesting polls.

On being asked whether Priyanka's decision not to contest elections from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is because Modi is said to be invincible from the temple city, Pitroda in an interview to ANI said, "Earlier also I have said that it has to be her own decision because contesting elections is a very personal decision and it has to be a decision between a party and a person. When the party and the person collectively made that decision, we all have to support it."

When asked about the reason behind Priyanka's decision not to contest polls, Pitroda said, "They must have felt it is better to use her time and talent on more seats rather than one seat and not divert her energy to one place as opposed to 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh."

Priyanka had faced much criticism for her decision not to contest from Varanasi against Modi despite a big build-up.

Congress has fielded Ajay Rai, a local Congress leader against Modi in the temple town.

Varanasi will go to polls in the last phase of elections on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

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Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching speed of 200 kmph, and left three persons dead besides over 160 injured, a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst April storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre has released Rs. 1,000 crores to Odisha and other states to deal with the devastation caused by Fani.

Director General of the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said that three persons lost their lives during the cyclone.

"As of now, three persons have lost their lives in the cyclone. The precautions that have been taken should be continued," Pradhan told ANI.

Central government spokesperson Sitansu Kar said quoting a telephonic conversation with state administration officials that 160 people were reportedly injured.

A state government statement said, "There is extensive damage to dwelling houses. Almost all kutcha and old pucca have been fully or severely damaged."

Power supply snapped due to the uprooting of electricity poles, damage to substations and KV lines. "Power restoration process is in full swing," it said. Uprooted trees and electricity poles blocked roads preventing vehicular movement.

The cyclone caused damage to telecom towers resulting in failure of cellular and land-line telephone networks in several areas including capital Bhubaneswar. "All telephone and cell phones are down in Puri district," the statement said.

Large-scale devastation has also been caused to summer crops, orchards and plantations, it added.

The storm caused extensive damage to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with several overhead water tanks and a part of the roof getting blown away. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said.

Strong winds uprooted several electricity poles on the campus. However, all patients, staff and students are safe. "We have enough supply and are ready to support the state," Sudan said.

Massive waves along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state inundated low-lying areas in Ganjam. Khordha, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A large crane at an under-construction building site fell on the buildings nearby but there was no indication whether there were any human casualty.

The office of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik posted on Twitter that over 11 lakh people from the vulnerable regions have been evacuated since Thursday.

Over 3 lakh people were evacuated from Ganjam district alone, followed by 1.3 lakh from Puri district. Around 5000 kitchens are operating to serve people in shelters.

A 60-year-old reportedly died in a shelter home in Kendrapara following a heart attack.The cyclone weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" after landfall.

"Everything is flying in Air ..have literally turned deaf because of wind sound ..All window panes were broken..difficult indeed ..if this is my condition in a concrete building ..I pray for the lives of millions," tweeted BJP leader Sambit Patra who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Puri.

"The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun ..extremely high wind speed ..heavy rain ..the harrowing sound ..reminds me of 1999 Supercyclone With folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jaganath ji to give us the strength to endure this," he said.

Civilian air services have been suspended from airports in Odisha and Kolkata while nearly 225 trains cancelled including 56 on Friday.

Indian Navy's P-8I and Dornier aircraft are scheduled to undertake an aerial survey to assess the extent of impact and devastation caused by the cyclone.

Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Paradip, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata besides four ships at Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Helpline number - 1938 - has been made operational by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter, saying that she has cancelled all her election rallies till May 5 in her state.As Fani continues to move north-northeast, it is likely to further weaken into a "severe cyclonic storm".

The system is expected to weaken gradually and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal as a "severe cyclonic storm" by the early morning of May 4, the MeT department said. Thereafter, it is expected to move further north-northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh by May 4 evening as a cyclonic storm.

Disaster Response Force teams deployed in Digha, West Bengal, has evacuated nearly 150 people including children from Dattapur and Tajpur to a shelter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Odisha government claimed the cyclone 'Fani' has led to one of the biggest human evacuations in history as a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours including 3.2 lakh from Ganjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri.

"3.2 lakh from Ganjam and 1.3 lakh people from Puri were evacuated with almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. The mammoth exercise involved more than 45 thousand volunteers, 3 million targeted messages, 2000 emergency workers, youth clubs and other civil society organizations, ODRAF, NDRF, PRI agencies," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik also added that the death toll is only in single digit without mentioning the exact number. "According to our latest report, it is only in single digit," he said.

Cyclone Fani on Friday made landfall in Puri with a wind speed of over 200 Km/hr. 'Kuccha' houses were completely destroyed in Puri, parts of Khurda, and other districts. The cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply. Lakhs of trees were uprooted blocking roads, breaking homes and damaging infrastructure.

The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in the state. It left three people dead and over 160 injured along with leaving behind a trail of destructions that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm" was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Cyclone Fani has weakened and is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of the cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal," said Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations, NDRF.

Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching the speed of 200 kmph, and left three people dead and over 160 injured. It also left behind a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Air India on Saturday announces the recommencement of its operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport.

On the other hand, for the convenience of passengers, the Railways has decided to run a special train from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, today evening. This Special Train will leave Bhubaneswar at 7 pm and will reach Bangalore at 1.35 am on May 6.

It will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nandayal, Guntakal and Dharmavaram between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP candidate from North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat Hans Raj Hans on Saturday mentioned the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman while addressing a rally here.

Hans said that Wing Commander Varthaman was taken into custody in Pakistan after a "successful operation."

"Hum sochte they ki pehle jaise delay ho jaega, Ye na ho Sarabjit jaise usko bhi fansi laga dein bahut papi,beimaan mulq hai," he added.

This comes after the Election Commission earlier today gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Wing Commander Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

While addressing a poll rally, Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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The US Defense Department is preparing for the final exclusion of Turkey from the program to create the newest American F-35 bomber fighters, the acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said, specifying that this measure is due to the purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 by Ankara.

According to him, he held a meeting with the direction board of the US military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin and the United Technologies company. The parties discussed in detail the consequences of Turkeys possible exclusion from the F-35 program. "If we cannot find a solution to the current situation, then we need to carry out our plans in terms of their progress," TASS quotes Shanahan as saying with a reference to the transcript of the conversation published by the Pentagon.

The acting Defence Minister stressed that it is necessary to make sure that the plan is effective. I need plans that don't have a single weak point, with a zero risk of failure, so that we can smoothly deliver F-35 to our other customers, he stressed.

In addition, Shanahan noted that during the meeting with the management of the companies he understood where the risk level is high. "Now it is necessary to make decisions to reduce this risk, but at the same time, we continue the negotiations with Turkey," the acting Defence Minister noted.

He stressed that the Turkish side is still the US strategic partner. "In my opinion, today the relations between Turkey and the United States are better than two or four months ago, simply because of the frequency of contacts," he explained, reiterating that the purchase of S-400 by Ankara will lead to the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program.

Shanahan also confirmed the Pentagons position on impossibility of the simultaneous use of the Russian S-400 and the American F-35 systems.
Final voter turnout in the fourth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections held on April 29 stood at 65.51 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (EC) on Saturday.

The voting percentage is 2.46 per cent higher than in 2014. The 2014 Lok Sabha witnessed 63.05 per cent turnout in the fourth phase.

The first, second and third phases of the Lok Sabha polls held on April 11, 18 and 23 witnessed a turnout of 69.5 per cent, 69.44 per cent, and 68.4 per cent respectively.

A total of 72 seats from nine states including Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the fourth phase.

The polling percentage in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections was the highest in West Bengal - around 76.44 per cent till 5 pm, EC had said on Monday.

Eight seats of the state went to the polls in the fourth phase. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage for these seats was 83.38 per cent.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout with just 10.5 per cent votes. Polling for Anantnag seat is scheduled to be held in three phases. Kulgam district went to polls in the fourth phase.

The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

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Escalating the tensions in the region, Gaza on Saturday launched rockets towards Israel after the latter's forces killed four Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip on Friday, reported Al Jazeera.

Reportedly, Israeli defence forces are intercepting rockets through its Iron Dome missile.

According to Gaza health ministry, while two civilians were killed in the firing by Israeli forces, two others died in air strikes. Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries.

Israeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling with Palestinian protestors.

Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson said, "Some roads and sites along the Gaza border, including the Zikim beach, would be closed off after Friday's incident, which comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are in Egypt in an attempt to bring about calm in the border."

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days as nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

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The British police on Saturday declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecom company Huawei, saying that the disclosure does not amount to any crime.

In a statement, Neil Basu, Britain's counter-terrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the Defence Secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act, Al Jazeera reported.

"No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police," he said.

Opposition lawmakers had urged for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary over reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain's new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). The council's discussions were only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first signed the Official Secrets Act that allows them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office," Basu was quoted as saying.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances," he added.

Williamson has repeatedly denied he was the source of the leak and suggested that May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G networks.

The 42-year-old former minister was once a trusted ally of May. He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

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A day after North Korea fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, their leader Kim Jong-un supervised the "strike drill" of defence units to test their performance, state media reported.

"The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance of large-calibre long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units in the frontline area and on the eastern front," said state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from its eastern coastal town of Wonsan into the East Sea. They flew about 70 kilometres to 200 kilometres, reported Yonhap News agency.

Despite this, United States President Donald Trump reaffirmed confidence in the North Korean leader, saying that "he won't break his promise."

"Anything in this very interesting is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" Trump tweeted.

Saturday's weapons tests were the most serious by the Asian country since it launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017, The New York Times reported.

South Korean officials said the "short-range" projectiles flew only 42 to 124 miles off the North's east coast, ruling out the possibility that the country had resumed tests of intermediate- or intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

The launch of the short-range missile comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea are yet to see progress following the abrupt fallout of the Hanoi summit.

Ties between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock over the ease of sanctions, where Pyongyang sought relief as a recognition of the steps taken towards denuclearisation.

No joint statement was released following the talks, as it is reported that the two countries could not resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

Washington has, until now, reinforced that relief in sanctions would only be given after Pyongyang carries out "complete and verifiable" denuclearisation.

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Hitting out at the BJP for terming his party's rule in Uttar Pradesh as "gundaraj," Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that "let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us but show us FIR copies registered against state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath." "They blamed us for gundaraj (hooliganism) in Uttar Pradesh. I want to say let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us. But also show us FIR copies registered against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," Akhilesh Yadav said while addressing an election rally here. "He has been charged under several sections. I can not even count them and you cannot even imagine what kind of sections he was charged under," he added. The SP chief and former chief minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled the nomination of his party candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav from Varanasi. "The government claims that it wants to end terrorism but it was afraid of a jawan."

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Yadav said: "What are the BJP people bringing on roads? It is bulls. And bulls are hurting the people on roads. If a bull hurts anyone, what charges the police will impose on them? Will they register an FIR against a bull?"

Yadav wondered if a case will be filed against any bull if it hurts anyone and demanded that the FIR should be registered against Adityanath instead. He also claimed that seven people died in Lucknow because of the bulls.Later, Akhilesh attacked Adityanath for branding him a 'tonti-chor' (a thief who steals water tap).

"The Chief Minister (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) and a few of his officials have taught 'chilam' (tobacco pipe) to PM Modi. Those who are calling us 'tonti tonti,' they are the one with chilam" (Mukhyamantri ji ne aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chilam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chilam wale)."

Polling for 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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A retired employee of an insurance company has been arrested for allegedly molesting at least six girls including minors in Jagrati area of Meerut.

The accused identified as Vimal, 65, has been working as a social activist, providing shelter and free education to the poor girls.

"We have arrested an old man for allegedly physically exploiting at least 6 girls, including minors, at his residence in Jagrati Vihar colony. FIR will be registered in the case. Have also arrested another person in connection with the case," senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told ANI.

The horrendous incident came to light on Thursday when CCTV footage of Vimal's residence at Jagrati Vihar was inspected. Vimal used to persuade young innocent girls and later used to sexually abuse them.

"The accused was living in the posh area while going through CCTV footage we found young girls being molested. Vimal has been arrested and the family of the victims have been informed., he added.

A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

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Muslim Education Society (MES) President Dr P A Fazal Gafoor has received an anonymous call threatening to kill him, a day after he issued a circular banning students from covering their faces with religious veils at its educational institutions.

He received the call from an international number on Friday, following which he filed a complaint at Nadalkavu police here, he said in a complaint in which he had alleged that the caller used "threatening, harsh and demeaning" words against him.

Founded in 1964, MES runs as many as 35 colleges and 72 schools.

In the notice banning religious veils issued on May 2, he had also asked the institution heads and officer-bearers of the local management of the institutions to remain vigilant.

His notice had come days after Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' demanded the imposition of a ban on the burqa in India in the interest of security, citing a similar measure taken in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks last month.

The editorial had stated, "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the Prime Minister as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday."

The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by an NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.

The Sri Lankan government on April 28 took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on the occasion of Easter Sunday on April 21, claiming the lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds.

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A Delhi court is recording the statement of former Union Minister MJ Akbar today in connection with a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani after she complained of sexual misconduct.

Ramani and other senior journalists will also appear before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal today.

She had on April 10 pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar.

In the last hearing, ACMM Vishal had also granted a permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance in the hearings to follow.

In February, Ramani was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

Ramani was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo campaign.

Akbar, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, had filed a defamation case against the journalist for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The allegations levelled against him forced him to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.

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Actor Vivek Oberoi, who essayed the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his biopic 'PM Narendra Modi,' on Saturday said that the latter will remain the Prime Minister of the country even after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The history of India demonstrates that whenever any a prince or any foreigner has ruled us, they have only robbed us. Now, all the citizens and all the 'Chowkidasrs' won't let the country be robbed again," he told media persons.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory is confirmed. He is the Prime Minister and he will remain the Prime Minister. Now, India won't get robbed. Rather it will rise," Vivek said.

Vivek was in the capital to take part in BJP's 'Saaton Seetein Modi Ko' campaign at the India Gate. Bengaluru South BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya and Kapil Mishra were also present.

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Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JDU and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling it a "vote cutter" party. He also accused Congress and SP of "betraying" BSP supremo Mayawati for their personal gains.

"Congress leaders are happily sharing the stage with SP in rallies. These people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. The party which was staking claim to prime ministerial post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said at a public rally here.

"These people made an alliance just to benefit themselves. They took advantage of Mayawati by showing her dreams of becoming the prime minister. But instead, Congress and SP kept her in the dark," he added.

Raking up the alleged links of Congress president Rahul Gandhi with Scorpene deal, Modi said: "Today I read that during UPA's tenure, one of naamdar's (dynast) business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

Continuing his attack on Congress, the Prime Minister remarked: "The naamdars used to say they are scared of Modi's effect and his aura. Now they are openly saying they can't win against Modi unless they can taint his hard work, honesty and nationalism. The naamdar (Gandhi) himself admitted that a campaign is being run against Modi to spoil his image."

Targeting 'mahagathbandhan', Modi alleged that if the grand alliance come to power, then it would spoil the future of the youth in the country and indulge in personal benefits.

"If the 'mahamilavat' is given free rein, they will ruin the future of the country's youth and pursue benefits only for themselves. So, naamdar, open your ears. This Modi has been working hard for the country in the last five decades. He has given his life for the nation and nothing else," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister listed five dangers that the mahagathbandhan poses including corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic and bad governance. Taking a dig at Congress, Modi said he was not "born with a golden spoon or into a royal family."

Exuding confidence that the BJP will be voted to power again, he said, "The people of Uttar Pradesh decided the results already in the four phases of voting. The people here have vowed that they want development and nothing else. The 'mahamilawati' can't understand now what game they should play in the remaining phases of polling. A situation could arise that they will run away from the field seeing people' enthusiasm."

Accusing the Congress of not doing anything for poor, Modi said: "Rahul is shouting loudly that he wants proof of Modi's works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor," he said.

Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, 39 of them have gone to polls in Uttar Pradesh while remaining 41 constituencies will go to polls during the next three phases of the polling, that is scheduled on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of being a 'Chowkidar' only for a few businessmen while ignoring the welfare of farmers and youths.

Addressing a poll rally in Sultanpur parliamentary constituency, Rahul Gandhi lambasted the Prime Minister and said, "The whole country has understood this now that this 56-inch-chest man or chowkidar has done chowkidari of only Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and not of farmers or youth. This chowkidar has no strength and he couldn't stand in front of Choksi and Vijay Mallya and sold off complete country".

He also said that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are a fight between NYAY and injustice and said, "I had asked Prime Minister four questions in Lok Sabha but he couldn't answer. He gave a speech of one and half hours in the Parliament but was very comfortable while making that address."

"There have been many promises made by him one after the other but during these elections, he is not able to speak a single word about his own promises. It is because he has no strength and he is hollow," said the Gandhi scion in a strongly worded attack against the Prime Minister.'

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi is contesting on BJP's ticket from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Congress has fielded former legislator Sanjay Singh against her.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

"The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. After examination, the Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted," the electoral body stated on Saturday.

While addressing a poll rally, Prime Minister Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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Prince Harry delayed his trip to the Netherlands next week as he awaits the arrival of his first child.

"Due to the logistical planning for the traveling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as saying.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned," the spokesperson added.

While there have been speculations that Meghan Markle has already secretly given birth, Buckingham Palace recently confirmed to E! News that the baby hasn't been born yet.

The announcement of Harry and Meghan expecting their first child together was made on the Twitter handle of Kensington Palace on October 15 last year.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sending bribes of Rs 20,000 to village headmen of Amethi parliamentary constituency.

Addressing a public gathering Priyanka levied these strong acquisitions against her political rivals and said: "Wrong kind of campaign is happening here as money is being distributed. I am sending our election manifesto to village headman but BJP is sending letters with Rs 20,000 in the envelope. They are thinking that Amethi headmen will sell themselves for Rs 20,000. They think that generations of love, generations of development can be purchased in Rs 20,000."

Priyanka, who is also Congress's general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh East, said the BJP government is halting development work in Amethi.

"BJP government has been there in the country for five years. People voted in large number to bring their government in power in the state and Centre. Now there is BJP government in State and Centre and the effect is such that the projects started by Rahul Gandhi are being halted in this parliamentary constituency," she said.

In a direct attack on the BJP candidate Smriti Irani, she accused Irani of visiting Amethi for very less number of times. She said: "BJP candidate came to this constituency only for 16 times in all these years. Every time she comes, she leaves in just four hours. Compared to this, your MP Rahul Gandhi has come two times more to the constituency and has always met people and listen to their problems."

On April 30, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said, in last five years, BJP leader Smriti Irani visited Amethi more times than Congress President Rahul Gandhi did in the last 15 years.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting against BJP candidate Smriti Irani from Amethi parliamentary constituency. Gandhi had defeated Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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Draught in many parts of Maharashtra is adversely affecting students from these regions who are living in other cities of the state for higher or to prepare for tests for government jobs.

One such student living and studying in Pune, Deepak Kangne said, "I belong to a drought-prone district and I am preparing for competitive exams staying in Pune. My native place gets hit by drought every year and farming suffers which in turn hampers our financial situation. I do a part-time job to support my studies."

Many students from these drought-hit areas also say that they won't be going back to their homes during summer holidays as that would increase financial burden on their families.

Another student Nivrati Tiwode said, "I am from Nanded district and have been living here for four years. I do not get money from home and hence work with a catering company during weekends. I cannot go home even during vacations because I have to work during that time to earn money for fees for next year."

While, these students fight through these adversities to continue their education, there are also organisations which help them sail through these challenging times.

Tiwode said that an organisation called Student Helping Hand provides them with free food twice a day.

Vinayak another student from Nanded living in Pune said, "I do not get any financial help from my home and work on a cloth shop part-time. Students Helping Hand provides us with food two times a day."

Organisation President Kuldeep Ambedkar says, "We try to help the students who are financially struggling. 2,000 students filed an application seeking help. But due to financial constraints, we are able to provide food to 600 only."

The Government of Maharashtra has declared 151 talukas as drought affected.

On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for wishing to scrap the sedition law if they come to power after the Lok Sabha polls.

"Rahul baba says; Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap the sedition law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail," asked Shah, while addressing an election rally here.

He also went on to recall the incidents which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in February 2016 and said that if the sedition law was removed, then those raising anti-India slogans could not be jailed.

"Slogans were raised in JNU -- Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah, Insha Allah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government put them behind the bars under sedition law. If you scrap sedition law, how will you put them in jails," he asked.

The BJP president was joined by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and BJP MP candidate from North West Delhi Hans Raj Hans in the public meeting.

Shah also said that he had just attended a roadshow in Amethi and he could guarantee that Rahul Gandhi's constituency will make BJP win this time.

"I have just come after holding a roadshow in Amethi and I will tell you what is going to happen this time in Rahul baba's constituency. Lotus will bloom in Amethi this time, guaranteed," he said.

"I will not speak much but I promise to come here again and reveal every misdeed of Arvind Kejriwal," he said attacking the Delhi Chief Minister.

Delhi will see polling for seven Lok Sabha seats on May 12, the sixth phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Rescue and relief operations were mounted on a massive scale in Odisha, which was recovering from devastation on Friday left by Cyclone Fani that crossed West Bengal on Saturday, bringing in its wake heavy rains in Kolkata and causing damage in various towns of the state.

Extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure was reported from Puri, Bhubaneshwar and other parts of Odisha when the storm with wind speed reaching up to 175kmph lashed the Odisha coast after it made landfall near Puri coast.

The Crisis Management Committee met in Delhi on Saturday and reviewed the rescue and relief measures being carried out in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It was felt that due to timely measures and large scale evacuation of people to safety shelters, loss of human lives was minimal.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the death toll was only in single digit but did not give the exact figure. He said a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours and called it one of the biggest human evacuations in history.

A total of 3.2 lakh people from Gunjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri were evacuated.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreaked havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'Fani' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Patnaik over phone and discussed the situation in the wake of Cyclone Fani wreaking havoc.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Cyclone Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster," the PM said.

He also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi and promised Centre's readiness to provided all help needed to cope with the cyclone.

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Severe Cyclone FANI weakened into a Cyclonic Storm and lay centred at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon," tweeted IMD.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said that he believes that party President Rahul Gandhi is capable of being a Prime Minister as he is the right man to lead the country.

On being asked whether there would be any consensus among 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders for pitching Gandhi as the first choice for prime minister, Pitroda said, "...if we get to form the government, the party will decide who will be the candidate for the prime ministerial post. I, Sam Pitroda, personally would like Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister because he is a young guy and is highly skilled, well-educated, his heart is in the right place and he has learned a lot in the last decade. You have seen a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years. I think he will make a good leader and I am convinced."

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Calling himself a "small party man", Pitroda, a confidant of the Gandhi scion, said he personally believes that India needs leaders who are in their 40s and 50s and not someone above 60 years of age.

"No, I am just a small party man but I genuinely believe that today India needs younger people. We have 650 million people below the age of 25 and I would like to see leaders who are in the 40s and 50s and not in 60s and 70s," he said.

Before Pitroda, DMK president MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had batted for Gandhi as a PM candidate.

Meanwhile, Pitroda slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning Gandhi's nationality.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for 15 years. You (those questioning his citizenship) sat with him in Parliament, 15 years you worked with him in Parliament, why did you wake up today with lies and you think people are stupid? Don't underestimate the intelligence of Indian people, don't play with their emotions. It's not a good thing and they will show you in these elections. I am telling you, you can't just cheat and lie all the time. If you had a question on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship, you had 15 years to ask but you asked two weeks before elections. Rahul Gandhi is a proud Indian citizen," Pitroda said.

The remark came after the Ministry of Home Affairs recently issued a notice to Gandhi regarding his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

Swamy had also claimed that the Congress president had declared his nationality as British in a UK-based company.

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NCP president and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday discussed the current drought crisis in the state with his party leaders.

Prominent leaders of the party, its MPs, and MLAs attended the meeting. According to party sources, Pawar also spoke to every district unit party president via video conference.

As the drought is expected to aggravate in the state in coming days, the NCP chief is likely to visit the farmers. The meeting also discussed important issues to be taken up during the Monsoon Session of the state assembly, which is scheduled to commence from next month.On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

"Extreme summer. There are a number of infrastructure works such as drilling of bore wells, repairs to drinking water schemes, irrigation canal maintenance works, etc. which need to be taken up during the extreme summer," wrote Chief Minister Fadnavis.

"The Government of Maharashtra declared 151 talukas as drought affected and the Government of India has extended the assistance of Rs 4,714 crore in this regard. Separately I am proposing the Cabinet Meeting on this issue at the earliest," Fadnavis further wrote.

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In the wake of the serial bomb attacks that rattled Sri Lanka killing over 250 people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday ordered the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to regulate madrasas, instead of the education ministry.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas, though the minister had earlier said the education ministry would take steps to regulate them.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam said.

Earlier, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said around 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at the Madrasas. These clerics had arrived on tourist visas and therefore they should be deported, the minister added.

Sri Lankan authorities are on high-alert after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts that shook three churches and three high-end hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring more than 500.

The IS (Islamic State) or 'Daesh' terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), believed to be associated with the former, for the deadly attacks.

Wickremesinghe on Friday visited the Zion Church Batticaloa, which came under terrorist attack on Easter Sunday and discussed with the church authorities on the various matters related to security measures.

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Tesla is very serious about its data and the level of seriousness is evident from the company's latest e-mail to its employees, warning against leaking confidential information.

The e-mail, shared with CNBC, warns that outsiders who will do anything to see Tesla mail are targeting employees for information through social media and other methods.

It reminds employees about their confidentiality agreements and warns them that leaking propriety business information will result in action against them, including termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has officially crowned the reigning monarch on Saturday, after his father, the late King Bhumibol passed away in October 2016.

"I will continue to preserve, develop and rule the land with justice for the benefits of all Thai people," the new King said shortly after being crowned in a ceremony at the Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence at the Grand Palace here. He was flanked by two men wearing military uniforms during his address.

In an event marked by elements from both Buddhist and Hindu faiths, the new King donned an elaborate gold crown weighing around seven kilograms while sitting on his throne beneath a nine-tier umbrella. Only the King is permitted to sit under the nine-tier umbrella in Thailand, which signifies the reigning monarch's connection with heaven.

Cannons were fired in honour of the new King, as Thai citizens around the country wore yellow to commemorate the crowning, which is being held for the first time in 69 years. The colour yellow is associated with the monarch's day of birth, according to CNN.

Vajiralongkorn is the 10th member of the Chakri dynasty, making him King Rama X. The dynasty has ruled Thailand since Rama I took the throne in 1782.

Just days before the coronation, he married his royal consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, declaring her as the queen of the nation. The wedding ceremony took place at the Ampornsathan Throne Hall in Bangkok's Dusit Palace on May 1 and was attended by members of the royal family and Junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha amongst others.

"I am happy to see this event. Now we have a full King the country will be better. This ceremony is an auspicious thing to see. I am so proud of it," a 62-year-old Thai citizen, watching the coronation outside the palace, told CNN.

The official coronation ceremony will last three days. It began with a purification ritual which used water collected from all 76 provinces on Saturday. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway ever since the passing away of King Rama IX in 2016.

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The United States and South Korea have agreed to "prudently" deal with North Korea's launch of a short-range missile on Saturday, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

South Korea also alleged that the missile launch breached inter-Korean military accords which were signed between the two states last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said.

The statement comes after the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks via phone, hours after the North Korean launch on Saturday.

Kang also spoke with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono over the phone with regard to Pyongyang's latest move and vowed to respond "with discretion".

The unidentified short-range missile was launched in the eastern direction from the east coast town of Wonsan in North Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This latest development comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock following the abrupt ending of the second US-North Korea summit held in Hanoi earlier this year.

The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences over the ease of sanctions, leading to the summit ending with no agreement. The much-awaited agreement was expected to chart out the future course in the denuclearisation process, which was agreed upon by Pyongyang in the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year.

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Pentagon is planning to eliminate Turkey from a programme on creating F-35 multi-role fighters over the latter's deals to buy Russian S-400 defence system, said acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

He also underlined that Turkey remains a key "strategic US partner", however, it cannot have S-400 and F-35 "together", reported TASS on Saturday.

"I want air-tight plans that have near-zero execution risk so that we can flawlessly deliver on all the other F-35s to, you know, our other customers. So part of me going through there is, and meeting with folks is like, show me where the risk is. Let's talk about what kind of decisions we have to make to mitigate that risk. But at the same time, we are talking with Turkey," said Shanahan.

"Now, S-400s and F-35s do not go together. That's a big bump," he added.

Last week, Shanahan held a meeting with the leadership of Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corporation, US' principal defence manufacturers, to discuss the consequences of removing Turkey from the programme.

Earlier Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said that US considers Russia deal with Turkey as a "strategic trick" of Moscow to disconnect Ankara from its western allies.

However, Turkey has indicated that it would not go back on its deal, regardless of the US decision.

"Turkey could cooperate with any other country if the US refused to supply F-35 fighters," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The development would further strain the already fragile US-Turkey relations.

Russia and Turkey signed a deal for S-400 in 2017 after engaging in hectic negotiations for a year. Reportedly, Turkey has already transferred the advance payment.

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Union Minister V K Singh, a former army chief, on Saturday denied knowledge of a surgical strike during his tenure and accused the rival Congress of lying about it.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So-called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS (chief of army staff). Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story."

The statement from the Union Minister came days after Congress leader Rajiv Shukla told reporters at the AICC briefing that six surgical strikes were conducted during Manmohan Singh government.

Shukla had further stated that two surgical strikes were carried out when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister--one on January 21, 2000, in Nadala Enclave across the Neelam River and second on September 18, 2003, in Baroh Sector in Poonch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday mocked the Congress party for its claim of having conducted surgical strikes during the UPA regime and said after questioning the NDA government's strikes it was now claiming having done similar strikes by saying "me too, me too".

The Congress hit back saying by making these remarks the prime minister was insulting the armed forces.

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Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

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BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Twitter after a news report alleged that the Gandhi scion's former business partner Ulrik McKnight got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," tweeted Shah.

According to the report, McKnight was the 35 per cent owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up.

McKnight was later director in a company that acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

This news came to light just days after Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.

"Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read.

The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake while McKnight had 35 per cent.

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The Yellow Vest protesters took to the streets in Paris for the 25th consecutive week on Saturday.

At least three rallies are expected in Paris on Saturday alone, according to Sputnik.

The protests have continued despite French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge of a "significant" cut in income tax during a conference recently. Macron had previously unveiled an 'economic and social emergency plan' after the demonstrations started in November last year

The protests reportedly attracted more than 23,500 people across France last week. Scores of people were arrested by the police as clashes erupted during the protests.

The Yellow Vests also used the May Day rally to protest against the French President's economic policies. Police had to resort to using tear gas and sting grenades to control the crowd gathering near Paris' Montparnasse train station during Wednesday's protests. The demonstrators responded by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the police.

At least 165 protesters were arrested on Wednesday as per the French police.

Demonstrators donning yellow vests have been taking to streets across France since November 17, to protest against rising fuel prices and Macron's policies. Even though Macron has since scrapped the rise in fuel prices, protests have continued with calls for the President's resignation being rampant throughout the agitation.

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A total of 159 students were taken into custody from an unlicenced resort in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi early on Saturday for drug abuse, police said.

According to police, a large number of college students, mostly from Kerala, gathered at the Agri Nest resort in Pollachi on Friday to party.

However, the blaring music throughout the night and also a drunken brawl amongst the students disturbed the neighbours, who complained to the police.

Police then raided the resort and saw some of the students drunk while others seemed to have consumed narcotic substances.

While the resort's owner is absconding, police have seized the two and four wheelers of the students.

According to police, the students contact each other via social media for such parties and this time they fixed a fee of Rs 1,200 per head.

Meanwhile, the district administration has sealed the resort.

--IANS

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The Assam government deported 20 convicted Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, on Saturday, an official said.

"The 20 people were deported to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh) border check post (in Assam) in the presence of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh," police inspector (border wing) Utpal Sharma told the media.

These 20 people, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, were convicted for violation of either the Passports Act or the Foreigners Act, or both and had been lodged in Silchar jail.

"These Bangladeshi nationals have confessed that they entered India illegally in search of jobs or to meet their relatives," Sharma added.

Assam shares a 263 km border along Karimganj district with Bangladesh's Sylhet district.

--IANS

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Aamir Khan-starrer "Laal Singh Chaddha", which is the Hindi remake of Tom Hanks' 1994 classic "Forrest Gump", will release around Christmas in 2020.

The release date of the film, produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, was announced on Saturday.

The film, which is expected to go on the floors in October, is written by Atul Kulkarni and will be helmed by "Secret Superstar" director Advait Chandan.

Aamir had announced the project on his birthday in March. The actor, who tasted failure with his last film "Thugs of Hindostan", said he would be losing around 20 kgs for his role in "Laal Singh Chaddha". He also shared that he would be sporting a turban for some segments of the movie.

"Forrest Gump", directed by Robert Zemeckis, is based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name. It follows the life of Forrest Gump, a big-hearted man from Alabama, who witnesses and influences several historical events in the 20th century in the US.

The film went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hanks.

It is also being reported that "Laal Singh Chaddha" might clash with Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Krissh 4".

--IANS

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"Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."

--IANS

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Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

--IANS

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Promoters and top officials of realty firm Amrapali Group diverted homebuyers' money for personal benefits and building their own empire, said the forensic report submitted to the Supreme Court.

The audit report reveals that around Rs 3,500 crore of homebuyers' money was diverted by the Amrapali top brass. According to the auditors, the money was spent on houses, luxury cars and weddings among others and also invested in shares and mutual funds.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed both the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and the banks concerned for the diversion of funds by the group.

Pointing to the diversion of Rs 3,500 crore by the Amrapali Group as estimated by the forensic auditors, Justice Arun Mishra said: "Rs 3,500 crore have gone away. Due to your inaction, cheating has taken place. The banks' inaction has contributed to it. Had you taken action timely, this would not have happened."

"It is your own doing. You have not done anything. If you had done anything, this would not have happened. If it is not hand in gloves then what it is," Justice Mishra told the Noida, Greater Noida authorities and the banks.

The forensic auditors' report pointed to instances where money moved from one company to another company of the Amrapali Group.

The court said that that "without the active support of the banks, this kind of large scale money laundering could not have happened".

However, as per the auditors, it is possible to raise the required funds to complete the Amrapali projects. For this, they said the money diverted will have to be brought back and several other assets of the group will have to be sold.

A total of around Rs 9,590 crore can be recovered from the group, noted the auditors.

--IANS

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Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.

--IANS

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The Boeing 737 charter jet that was seen floating on the St. Johns River in Florida after crashing, was reminiscent of the January 2009 emergency landing of a now-defunct US Airways jet in New York's freezing Hudson River.

Twenty-one people were injured in the Friday night incident when the pilot attempted to land the Boeing amid thunder and heavy rains. All the 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued by early Saturday morning.

Images from social media showed rescue teams scurrying over the plane in the St. Johns River, similar to the January 15, 2009, emergency landing on the Hudson River.

That time, the US Airways' Flight 1549 with 155 people on board had suffered a bird strike upon take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. It was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The US Airways' pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, had told the air traffic controllers that the plane suffered "a double bird strike" that led to loss of both the engines and that he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart.

Given the total loss of power and time constraints, the pilot opted to land on the Hudson River.

Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia saw the plane clear the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before gliding into the water.

Later, Sullenberger, emerged as a hero, with praise being heaped on him by passengers, officials and aviation experts for handling the emergency river landing with aplomb and avoiding major injuries.

The incident was dubbed as "Miracle on the Hudson" and the story behind it was told in the movie "Sully". Actor Tom Hanks played pilot Sullenberger.

Sullenberger's final words before losing contact with Air Traffic Control were calm but direct: "We're gonna be in the Hudson."

The time between the loss of the engines and landing the plane was 208 seconds, just under four minutes.

--IANS

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.

--IANS

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Campaigning for five Bihar Lok Sabha seats -- Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur and Saran -- concluded on Saturday for the fifth phase of the seven-phased elections on May 6.

Nearly three-week long canvassing saw intense campaigning by top leaders of the ruling NDA and opposition grand alliance as well as Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP). While the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are part of the NDA; the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, the RLSP, the HAM and the VIP have formed grand allaince.

Amid the political war of words creeped in some personal attacks by various leaders. For the NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with other star politicians, spearhead the campaign.

For the grand alliance, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and the Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav (both RJD), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the campaigning scene hot.

It's more or less direct contest between the NDA and the grand alliance, except in Madhubani where a rebel Congress candidate Shakeel Ahmad has made the contest triangular.

The prominent candidates in the fray are Chandrika Rai (RJD, Saran), father in law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav. He is taking on senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

In Muzaffarpur, sitting BJP MP Ajay Nishad is caught in a tough battle with Vikassheel Insaan Party's Raj Bhusan Choudhary. In Hajipur, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Pashupati Kumar Paras is being challenged by RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram. Paras is younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has kept himself out of the election this time.

Besides economic development, quota in government jobs and eradication of corruption are among the main electoral issues. However, the BJP is also tom-tomming nationalism and action against Pakistan.

According to political pundits, caste equations will dominate the voting pattern. Thus, the NDA is banking on upper castes and economically backwards besides OBCs and dalits. The grand alliance is hoping to garner votes of OBCs, EBCs, Muslims and Dalits.

More than 87 lakh voters would decide the fate of 82 candidates on Monday. Tight security arrangements have been made and adequate para-military personnel have been deployed. Surveillance will also be conducted by drones, officials said.

--IANS

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Campaigning came to an end on Saturday in 51 constituencies spread over seven states which will go to the polls on Monday in the fifth phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise.

Since poll timings vary in different seats, the campaigning period also ended at different times between 4 p.m and 6 p.m., 48 hours before the voting closure time at each constituency.

The 48-hour period preceding the conclusion of voting is called the "silence period" during which any kind of political campaigning is prohibited.

As the silence period began, election rallies and street corner meetings ended in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven each in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand.

Campaigning also ended in Ladakh, and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.

--IANS

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A court on Saturday reserved its order on BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to bring a Delhi Police Vigilance report on record in Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj said it would pass its order on May 13 on Swamy's plea seeking to bring on record a vigilance report on the alleged tampering of evidence in the case.

The court was hearing arguments against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, accused of abetment of suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Swamy told the court that there is certain evidence which is required in the case. He told the court that some people had gone to "extraordinary extent" to "make sure that the evidence was destroyed."

But Tharoor's counsel and senior advocate Vikas Pahwa opposed the plea and said that Swamy has no locus in the case because he is neither associated with the prosecution nor with the accsued or victim.

Swamy responded that he has locus in the matter as chargesheet in this case was the outcome of his public interest litigation filed in the higher court.

Defence counsel Pahwa said public suits did not grant anyone the right to be a part of a trial.

Advocate Pahwa also said that all the allegations on destruction of evidence were false.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava also opposed Swamy's plea and raised question over its maintainability.

On May 14 2018, police chargesheeted Tharoor under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to abetment to suicide and cruelty to wife, which entail a jail term of up to 10 years.

Pushkar, 51, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in south Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

--IANS

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Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.

--IANS

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History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)

--IANS

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The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has filed a criminal complaint against UK-based Liberty House Group for withdrawing after successfully bidding for Amtek Auto.

The IBBI, the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings in the country, filed the complaint on Friday.

Liberty House had emerged as the highest bidder for Amtek Auto but soon backed out citing inadequate information being provided, which was allowed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after imposing a cost.

But the lenders moved the NCLT, alleging that Liberty House wilfully withdrew. The tribunal in agreement with them said the board may move against Liberty House as per the regulations laid down under the bankruptcy code.

Section 74(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) says that any party that violates conditions laid under the resolution plan is liable for prosecution and may face a prison term of up to five years with a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore.

--IANS

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An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the UK for causing a death of another man due to dangerous driving.

Jaskaren Dayal, 47, pleaded guilty to the crime which took place on January 6 last year when he crashed his Mercedes into the victim's vehicle while driving drunk and above the speed limit in northwest London.

He pleaded guilty in April at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced by the same court on May 2, MyLondon News reported on Friday.

The report said that cabbie Anwar Ali, 55, was working in the early hours of January 6 last year in Kensal Rise area when out-of-control drink-driver Jaskaren Dayal crashed into him.

Witnesses say they saw him driving at "excess speed", reaching 76mph in a 30mph area just before he crashed into Ali's taxi.

Ali, from Stoke Newington, was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested Dayal at the crash site and he was found to be over limit. He was taken to hospital for treatment for a leg injury before being taken into custody.

The police charged him in March 2019.

Detective Constable Rob Simpson, of the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This was an awful incident in which the actions of an irresponsible man resulted in the death of an innocent man going about his work.

"There was simply no justification for the way Dayal was driving; as a result, it meant that the victim, Anwar Ali, did not stand a chance.

"Dayal will quite rightly spend a significant amount of time now in prison, but this will be of little comfort to Anwar's family, who continue to grieve for his untimely loss."

--IANS

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Israel attacked about 70 military targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad organisations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, said a report by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Israeli attack followed a barrage of more than 200 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel starting around 10 a.m., wounding two people, of whom was an 80-year-old woman seriously injured in the city of Kiryat Gat, Xinhua reported.

According to reports by the Israeli media, during the IDF attacks in Gaza Strip, a 14-month-old Palestinian infant was killed.

The IDF announced that one of the destroyed Palestinian targets was an Islamic Jihad 20-metre-deep cross-border tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

In addition, other Islamic Jihad targets were struck, including military compounds and refugee camps.

According to the IDF, five military compounds of Hamas in the city of Gaza were also attacked, which are used for training and weapon manufacturing.

One of the compounds, according to the Israeli army, serves the Hamas Naval Force.

A joint compound belonging to both organisations was also under attack in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Indian air strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot would have been ranked "among one of the major military operations of the world", had it not been for "politics".

In an interview to India TV's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma in front of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Modi was asked what had prompted the early release of captured Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The PM replied cryptically: "That was a (terrible) night. There are many mysteries buried in (the darkness of) that night. Let those mysteries stay where they are," he added.

Speaking at length about the air strike on Balakot, Modi said in the absence of the general election, the air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world.

In a sharp jibe at the Opposition, who sought credible evidence of the strike, he said: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence... political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself."

He argued that after the air strike, Pakistan was in a quandary. "If it admitted that the air strike caused damage, the world would know that there was a terrorist camp there. It was a lone residential building housing 600 people on a hill surrounded by trees. So, to hide this, they had to do something," he added.

Recounting the sequence of events on the day of the strike, Modi said: "As per our strategy, we were to meet in the morning to plan something. At 3.30 a.m., when the operation was over, and our pilots and aircraft returned, took off their uniforms and were sipping tea and joking among themselves... But I was curious, to find out how the world took this. I started surfing online for international news."

He said that at 5.15 a.m., the Pakistan Army tweeted saying that Indian aircraft had dropped their payload and left. Such a reaction was self-explanatory that they were trying to gain sympathy, he added.

On the dogfight between Indian and Pakistan jets, a day after the air strike, Modi said it was a Pakistan fighter plane which had crashed, and its pilot died, but they said that an Indian plane was downed.

"They had lost their balance, and they are still to come out of that trauma," he added.

--IANS

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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has sent a letter to the Justice Department's inspector general, requesting a probe into whether Attorney General William Barr has acted upon requests or suggestions from President Donald Trump to investigate his "perceived enemies".

In a letter addressed to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, cites the findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and Barr's Wednesday congressional testimony as the reasons, reports CNN.

"Such inappropriate requests by the President have been well documented," Harris wrote. "Special Counsel Mueller documented a disturbing pattern of behaviour on the part of the President -- repeated attempts to target his perceived opponents.

"There must be no doubt that the Department of Justice and its leadership stand apart from partisan politics, and resist improper attempts to use the power of federal law enforcement to settle personal scores," the letter said.

Harris' letter comes days after a heated exchange between the California Democrat and the attorney general, in which Barr parsed words to answer Harris' question about whether the White House has "asked or suggested" that he open an investigation into anyone.

In her letter, Harris also points to details in Mueller's report where he notes three occasions on which the President called for an investigation into former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister and AAam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday attacked during a road show in the national capital allegedly by a party worker, police said.

Kejriwal, who was campaigning for party's candidate in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area along with party candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar, was "slapped" by a person wearing a maroon colour T-shirt soon after the CM boarded the open jeep to participate in a road show.

AAP workers and supporters overpowered the alleged attacker.

Today's road show was organized from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at R.K. Ashram Marg. Police said security was in place for the event in consultation with the organizers.

"The Chief Minister arrived around 5.43 p.m. at the venue. He stepped out of the official vehicle and got on to the open Gypsy prepared for the road show. As he was greeting his party workers who had gathered around the Gypsy, a person, later identified as Suresh, got to the bonnet of the Gypsy and attempted to assault the CM," said Additional PRO (Delhi Police) Anil Mittal.

"Suresh was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The road show then resumed as per schedule," said Mittal.

"Preliminary interrogation has revealed that Suresh, a scrap dealer in the area, was an AAP activist and worked as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings", he said.

As per the accused version, over a period of time he got disenchanted due to behaviour of its leaders. He got further angry due to distrust of the party in the armed forces, Mittal said.

"Today Suresh was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party as he stood near the the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault Kejriwal", the officer said.

Suresh, a resident of Kailash Park, is being interrogated. Police are awaiting a formal complaint from AAP to register an FIR against him", the officer added.

"An inquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered as to how the accused was allowed to be in the proximate area," he added.

--IANS

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Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will meet his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza for talks on Sunday.

The two diplomats will discuss the situation in Venezuela in light of the attempt by the opposition led by Juan Guaido - whom more than 50 governments have recognized as the country's interim President - in urging the armed forces to turn their backs on embattled President Nicolas Maduro, Russia's TASS News agency reported.

Russia, one of Maduro's main backers, is against involvement in Venezuela's internal affairs, while the US has not ruled out military intervention.

Trump has long stated that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Venezuela, where Maduro is clinging to power despite street protests and withering US sanctions.

But the US President's aides have appeared to lean further into military options in recent days as an uprising led by Guaido, whom the US recognizes as the country's legitimate President, failed to topple him.

Venezuela was one of the topics of conversation during a telephonic talk held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Trump that external interference and any attempts to forcefully change the power structure would go against a peaceful solution to the crisis gripping the Latin American country.

--IANS

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to declare ceasefire in the state during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Addressing a press conference at her high-security Gupkar Road residency here, Mufti said that people in Kashmir were being subjected to immense hardships in the name of militancy and stone pelting.

"People pray day and night during the holy month of Ramadan and the government should consider a halt in its anti-militancy operations in the Valley as was done last year when I was the Chief Minister," she said.

She simultaneously appealed to the militants to stop attacks on security forces during the month of Ramadan that starts on May 7.

She also alleged that space for the people of Kashmir was being choked at every front.

"In the name of militancy, people are being intimidated and harassed while various institutions such as the J&K Bank are being targeted to choke the people economically.

"Now even the government employees are on the radar of the intelligence agencies. Many other tactics are also being employed to choke the people," Mufti said as she slammed decisions like suspension of cross LoC trade, closure of highway for civilian traffic and the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

She also warned that such tactics would not work and the only way to keep the state with the rest of the country was through dignity, and not by coercion.

--IANS

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Veteran actress Mumtaz is in London, hale and hearty, said her family members after a death hoax on social media.

Mumtaz's daughter Tanya Madhwani confirmed that her mother is doing well through a post on social media. And her nephew and actor Shaad Randhawa told IANS that Mumtaz is enjoying her time with her grandchildren.

"So exhausting, another rumour of my mother's death. She is healthy and looking beautiful as always and has asked me to let her fans know she is well! It's all rubbish," Tanya wrote on Instagram.

In an accompanying video, she said: "My mother is fine. She is in London... She is sending her love to you all."

Sharing how the veteran actress reacted to the rumour, Shaad told IANS: "Firstly, Mumtazji is absolutely fine, healthy. She is actually having a happy time as she has four grandchildren.

"When she got to know about the rumour, of course, initially, she was upset and irritated but then eventually we all were laughing. She was like, 'what is this rubbish, why these people keep doing this? More than anything, my fans, who loved me for years, are misguided'."

The buzz began with some social media users, including key film trade experts, writing about Mumtaz's death on Friday night.

"Well, Komalji (Komal Nahta, who first tweeted about the rumour) is a very respected journalist and even our family knows him. I am sure he did not do it intentionally. But we all know about the power of social media. If we put out anything, it just spreads everywhere like wildfire," Shaad said.

Film director and writer Milap Zaveri had also dispelled the rumours first, and tweeted: "Just spoke to Mumtaz aunty and her nephew Shaad Randhawa on the conference. She is hale and hearty."

According to Shaan, several family members also panicked after the death hoax.

"Milap started calling me repeatedly and my mother also got worried and started calling. They panicked. Then I made Milap talk to aunty and now things are fine."

Even last year, rumours of Mumtaz's demise had done the rounds. The 71-year-old actress is known for films like "Do Raaste", "Bandhan" and "Loafer".

--IANS

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North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.

--IANS

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Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.

--IANS

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Sheer negligence on part of various security agencies might have resulted in the avoidable tragedy in which 15 commandos of the elite Quick Response Team (QRT) were killed in a Maoist blast in Gadchiroli on Maharashtra Day, May 1, a top security expert opines.

Former Additional Deputy Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID), Shirish Inamdar, in a freewheeling chat with IANS, said that from all available indicators, the QRT squad may have unwittingly walked into a 'trap' laid by the Maoists.

There were at least a dozen intelligence alerts indicating the possibility of precisely such attacks in the Maoist-infested district, but complacency may have overtaken caution, particularly since the Parliament elections had passed off virtually peacefully.

"Ominous signs had come in the hours preceding the strike. Just a day before (April 30), the Chhattisgarh Police had nabbed six dreaded Maoists from Aranpur in Dantewada. In the early hours of May 1, the Maoists hit back by torching around 36 heavy vehicles in Kurkheda, resulting in higher movement of security forces. Barely hours later they triggered the road blast claiming 15 of our commandos," Inamdar, a retired Intelligence Officer, points out.

In such circumstances, he suspects the Maoists had practically "anticipated the retaliatory moves" by the Maharashtra security forces, which reacted as per their assumptions, leading to tragedy.

Soon after the Kurkheda incident, the Deputy Superintendent of Police had ordered the QRT to rush there and probably since official armoured vehicles were not immediately available, they took a private van, says Inamdar.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar and Director-General of Police Subodh Jaiswal referred to this aspect - which Inamdar dubs akin to making the security forces asitting pigeons easily targeted by the rebels.

"The question is for how how long was that private vehicle working for the QRT, was the driver knowledgeable or trained for such sensitive assignment like transporting troops in a danger zone, did the information about the security itinerary leak out to the Maoists and how?" wonders Inamdar.

On the contrary, the government is trying to make political capital with emotional reactions - a Minister claiming credit for successful elections in the Maoist-infested regions, the Chief Minister saying their sacrifices won't go in vain and the Prime Minister saluting their bravery - instead of concentrating on the root causes.

Suspecting that standard operating procedures may have been "thrown to the winds", Inamdar said it was not clear whether the Road Clearance Party (RCP) and Road Opening Party (ROP) did their job of sanitising the expected route taken by the QRT van.

"The fresh road digging activity is clearly visible in videos/telecasts, apparently two vehicles had passed that route before the security van was blasted. The Maoists got sufficient time to plant the explosives by digging the road, covering it and retreating to their dens, there are too many unanswered questions," Inamdar said.

On how the rebels in Maharashtra and other Maoist-troubled states manage to get unlimited funds or uninterrupted supplies of arms and explosives, the former top cop revealed that their methods were similar to terror groups worldwide.

"Nearly two-thirds of the arms and ammunition are stolen. In the May 1 case, there were no guns seen lying in the vicinity of the blast, so we can easily draw this conclusion," he adds.

As for funds, they cultivate opium in isolated areas which is sold for their various needs or simply swapped for more arms with the narcotics mafia.

"While the sophisticated arms go to the top-level guerillas, the other lower cadres use mostly country-made arms or even bow-arrows and occasionally even slings," smiles Inamdar knowingly, having served in some of the affected regions.

He rued that in the so-called Controlled Areas where the Maoists are the virtual rulers, they cultivate opium, have illegal arms manufacturing factories, build small dams, bridges, well-equipped training camps and other necessary infrastructure for their survival and it is practically impossible for anybody to infiltrate there.

Even in the Liberated Zones, which Maoists don't completely control but even the government has limited access, other illegal activities nevertheless flourish virtually unhindered.

However, Inamdar says that the three-pronged policy of the former UPA government when P. Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, has proved to be "extremely successful" in containing the red rebels menace across the country and left untouched even by the BJP-led NDA government since past five years.

These pertained to 'No Negotiations' with the Maoists, Low Intensity Conflict to clear their areas of influence and All Inclusive Development in all the affected regions around the country.

"The proof of success is that since the past nearly two decades, the government and security forces have restricted them to their areas of influence without giving them space to spill over to other territories, development activities along with employment has noticeably increased in the affected areas," Inamdar explains.

However, on the 'surrender policy', Inamdar is a tad sceptical as mostly new Maoist recruits, with limited knowledge of the operations of the top commanders and their forces, opting for it, or others defecting to the law's side without specific reasons.

"The latter variety can be tricky as some maybe tempted to act as 'double-agents', but the entire responsibility of protecting and rehabilitating them is the government's job, making it a very risky and costly proposition," concludes Inamdar.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

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Reacting sharply to Sri Lankan Army chief Mahesh Senanayake's statement that some of the 12 suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings were trained in Kashmir, a top intelligence officer here said that there was no input to prove the claim.

Speaking to IANS, the officer, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have no such information. The Sri Lankan intelligence has not sent us any input on this so that we can work on those links.

"As far as our information and inputs are concerned, there is nothing to prove that any of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir in connection with any subversive activity or for obtaining terror training."

Backing the officer's statement, a Union Home Ministry official said, "Sri Lanka hasn't shared any such information with us. More importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies have themselves ruled out this possibility after investigation."

There have been instances in the past when foreign militants, other than those belonging to Pakistan, got involved in militant activities in Kashmir.

Militants from Afghanistan, Sudan and even Chechnya have been killed by the security forces in Kashmir in the last 32 years. However, there have been no militancy-related incidents proving the involvement of Sri Lankan militants here.

--IANS

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Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while Pakistan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.

--IANS

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AAP and several other parties on Saturday blamed the BJP for the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a road show in West Delhi today, calling it yet another instance of "negligence" in the security of the AAP leader.

AAP said the "opposition-sponsored attack" won't be able to stop the party in Delhi.

Delhi will go to the polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of the election. The AAP is contesting against the BJP and Congress.

Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal has remained "unstoppable" in the last few years, alleging that "(PM) Modi and (BJP chief) Shah are trying to kill Kejriwal".

AAP spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj too blamed the BJP.

"Kejriwal is supposedly a Z+ security protectee, who has been attacked several times in a systematic and clearly visible pattern. Whenever there is an attack, BJP tries to justify it on national TV. They try to make a hero of the attacker," said Bhardwaj.

"Many of the attackers in the past have had links with the BJP. The wife of today's attacker also confirmed that he is a Modi bhakt."

He alleged the Delhi Police deliberately lowers its guard to make the CM vulnerable to such attacks. "No one talks of suspension of Commissioner of Police... this is in itself a glaring evidence that the Modi government is patronising these attacks."

Several other parties too blamed the BJP and condemned the attack.

Sharad Yadav, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief, said the slap will ensure the defeat of BJP.

"The slap on Arvind Kejriwal today during the roadshow will ensure BJP's total defeat. The BJP has made in the country very dirty in the last five years. It will take years now to cleanse in our country," he tweeted.

TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack.

"Political vandalism. Political goondaism. Political vendetta. Maligning and attacking Opposition leaders show that BJP has lost the election and is making desperate attempts. We condemn the attack on Arvind Kejriwal... we are all with you, Arvind," she said.

CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury also condemned the attack, saying: "This is highly condemnable. Delhi's security is controlled by Modi and his government. Even then a Chief Minister is not safe. But many middle-rung BJP and RSS persons have got top-level security."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the attack "shocking and unacceptable."

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said after trying to defeat, demoralize, degrade, destabilize and dethrone Kejriwal, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles "are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal".

"This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such a dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this act. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy."

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Tanweer Hassan and Manoj Jha too condemned the attack.

The Delhi police said the attacker was an AAP supporter and worked as an organiser of party's rallies and meetings.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, however, said Delhi Police was doing everything at the behest of the Modi government.

"Delhi Police planted that man. This is shameful... even wife of the attacker has herself said that her husband is a Modi bhakt and that he did not like anyone talking against Modi. This is same Delhi Police that had planted a man for the 'mirchi (chilli powder) attack' on the CM. The police's statement is a proof that Delhi Police is taking orders from the Modi government," he said in a statement.

Kejriwal has been attacked multiple times. Last year, the CM was attacked with chilli powder outside his office in Delhi Secretariat.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
the UK's Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby's arrival.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most parts of Assam witnessed incessant rains on Saturday due to the impact of cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades.

Following the rains, the state government has issued an alert to suspend ferry services between Jorhat and Majuli, Guwahati and North Guwahati, Dhubri and other places from Saturday to Sunday.

While flight services from Guwahati has been suspended till Saturday evening, the Northeast Frontier Railway has also cancelled several trains to Kolkata and Odisha. Similarly, trains from Kolkata and Odisha to Assam were also cancelled.

Weather experts at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar had warned of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds to lash the northeastern states on Saturday and Sunday.

Assam government had earlier warned the district administrations to remain alert ahead of Fani and deployed 40 companies of National Disaster Rescue Force at some vulnerable locations across the state.

As of Saturday, Fani has weakened into a "cyclonic storm leaving no more major threat" for West Bengal. It is situated at Shantipur in Nadia district about 60 km north of Kolkata, and is likely to enter Bangaldesh around Saturday noon.

The cyclone made landfall in Odisha on Friday morning.

--IANS

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(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 said that restoration work was going on following the devastation caused by cyclone Fani, that hit the state earlier in the day but weakened soon after.

Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha's Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur, with a wind speed at 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. The storm will later move towards Bangladesh.

"Electricity poles went down, some sub-stations were damaged. As per the latest report, around 12 kuccha (thatched) houses have been destroyed. Restoration work is in process," Banerjee told the media.

She said that trees that were uprooted in places like West Midnapore's Goaltore, Digha, Mandarmani and North 24 Parganas district were being cleared.

Major damage will be taken care of in the next two days.

"All the District Magistrates have been instructed to repair the damaged houses," she said.

According to the Chief Minister, nearly 42,000 people who were evacuated will be asked to return to their houses from Sunday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After a section of employees floated the proposal to take over management control of the grounded Jet Airways and arrange up to Rs 3,000 crore from external investors, a group of frequent flyers of the cash-strapped airline has approached the key lenders, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, to submit the 'Revival of Jet Airways Plan' or 'Roja'.

Claiming to be reputed professionals and minority shareholders in Jet Airways as well as nine banks that have lent money to Jet, the group has proposed a leveraged buy-out plan (LBO) to revive the grounded airline.

The group of professionals, led by Sankaran P. Raghunathan, has given a presentation on the airline's revival plan to various stakeholders, including pilots, engineers, employee unions and bankers.

As per the plan, the employees of Jet Airways would first take control of the company. They will take loan from existing lenders and invest in the company, eventually becoming part-owners.

"The banks can give Rs 1,500 crore loan to the employees. This is six months' salary of each employee as personal loan. The employees will use this money to buy out 51 per cent stake in the company from SBI and 12.5 per cent from Etihad. The balance Rs 200 crore would be given to the company for new shares. This way the employees will control Jet Airways," said the presentation reviewed by IANS.

In the next step, the plan is to raise money involving the frequent flyers.

Accordingly, the banks can be persuaded to give a personal loan to all those who want to buy four tickets each for Rs 10,000 which would be valid for two years. By pre-selling these tickets, as much as Rs 8,000 crore could be raised.

The employees, already in controlling position, would pass a resolution to authorise the additional issue of shares on a preferential basis to all those who buy the ticket packets -- 100 shares each for Rs 150 each -- and thus raise Rs 12,000 crore.

"The Rs 20,000 crore raised will now be used for operational working capital and for repayment to creditors over five years," the presentation said.

Facing severe financial crisis, Jet Airways had on April 17 announced to temporarily suspend its flight operations. The airline continues to be grounded and its revival depends upon fresh fund infusion by the investors.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With its 3,500 to 4,000 shakhas across Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to play an active role in the state during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

With around 20-100 active workers in each shakha, the RSS began doing its homework for the parliamentary elections right after the December Assembly polls, which saw the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government voted out.

Since January, the organisation has been working on the ground to ensure that the voting percentage in the state increases during the Lok Sabha elections. Thirteen of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan voted in the fourth phase of elections on April 29 while the remaining 12 seats will go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 6.

As part of its plans, the RSS has categorised the voters into four categories -- A, B, C and D.

While the first two categories include RSS workers and people connected to the organisation and BJP workers and those who vote for the party, the 'C' category comprises people who keep shifting parties. This section has at times voted for the Congress, while at other times, it went with the BJP.

The last category are those who vote for the Congress or the other opposition parties.

The RSS workers believe that there is no point in appealing to the last category of voters as it would be a waste of time. However, they definitely want to spend time with the 'C' category which, they feel, can be influenced towards supporting the BJP.

While the outfit is in constant touch with people belonging to the 'A' and 'B' categories, it is putting in extra efforts to convince those falling under the 'C' category.

As part of its mobilisation plans, Krishna Gopal, the national Joint Secretary of the RSS, had convened two meetings in the state in January and March.

In between, the RSS workers also held meetings in February to chalk out a clear-cut strategy for the elections, state RSS prachar pramukh Manoj Kumar said.

Even before the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10, the RSS had worked out a three-tier plan for the elections. The first stage included holding meetings, the second stage involved distributing pamphlets while the third stage focused on ensuring that the voters exercised their franchise.

As many as 40 different branches of the RSS, including Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, are working with the tribals in the state while a separate unit is active in the border areas. However, Kumar said that the RSS is focusing more on areas where its network is strong.

"We have also chalked out a clear plan for social media to ask voters to cast their votes. We went from door-to-door and met people in different areas," he said.

However, not everyone is ready to beleive that the RSS is working hard on the ground.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Chaudhary said that RSS, which was once a social organisation, has now turned into a political unit supporting the BJP and trying to get plush portfolios for its people. "It (RSS) works for the BJP and is now enjoying it's due share in politics," he alleged.

He also said that in 2003, Vasundhara Raje had come to power in the state with the help of RSS after it helped dethrone the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

(Archana Sharma can be reached at archana.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday pushed back Congress chief Rahul Gandhis attacks on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a telling tweet: "Midas Touch, no deal is too much!

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga."

The reference was to a media expose on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

The former partner, Ulrik Mcknight, who was also co-owner at BackOps, acquired defence assets when the UPA was in power at the centre. The media story claimed that Rahul Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake in Backops between 2003 and 2009, when it was wound up.

However, after that McKnight acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011. He also went on and signed a contract with a Visakhapatnam-based firm for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene missile, a report in Business Today said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi responded to the charges and to Shah's remarks, saying, "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale."

There is also a company named Backops Services Private Limited, an Indian firm, in which Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as co-director. Rahul Gandhi owned 83 per cent shares in this Indian firm and had made a capital investment of Rs 2.50 lakh in the same. This also folded up. As for McKnight, he won the offset contracts from the French company, the Business Today report said.

In 2011, as part of his contract with the Naval Group, McKnight had signed a contract with Visakhapatnam-based Flash Forge Private Limited for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene submarines being built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) -- the contract to build the submarines was worth Rs 20,000 crore, the Business Today report said.

The Indian firm Flash Forge also acquired a UK-based company named Optical Armour Limited in which Mcknight was given directorship. He also had 4.9 per cent shares in it.

For the record, the Indian and European companies associated with Rahul Gandhi were dissolved before the Naval Group engaged in a contract with Flash Forge, the Business Today report said.

The website of the Naval Group refers to a September 18, 2018, event to mark 10 years in business for Naval Group in India.

"Naval Group in India was created in 2008 as a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of the group to ensure a long-lasting presence in the country, thereby demonstrating the strong commitment to the Indian Navy.

"This partnership led to the emergence of an industrial ecosystem which fosters the indigenous manufacturing of submarines," it says.

--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.)
The Auckland-based mother and sister of one of the Sri Lankan Easter Sunday suicide bombers have been "cooperating fully" with the New Zealand police following the attacks that killed over 250 people.

Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed was to blow up the luxury Taj Samudra hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. He, however, is believed to have botched the attempt to detonate bomb at the five-star hotel and instead blew himself up at a nearby budget motel, killing 2 guests who had just arrived.

Mohamed's mother, sister and her husband live in a modest house in southern Auckland. They refused to comment on the extent of their involvement in the suicide bombings' investigation, which involves the New Zealand police and Sri Lankan authorities.

"We only cooperate with the (New Zealand) police, no matter what they want to know, that's about it," Mohamed's brother-in-law told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday.

According to a report by the daily, 10 years ago, after the death of Mohamed's father Abdul Latif, his mother Samsun Nissa moved the family to Colombo, renting the upper floor of a mansion in a majority Muslim eastern suburb.

After completing his studies in Britain, Mohamed returned to the property and fell in love with Shifana, daughter of their landlord who came from an affluent meat-trading family. Mohamed married her and shifted to Australia with her to pursue postgraduate studies.

Mohamed's sister, meanwhile, married a Sri Lankan and emigrated to Auckland along with her mother.

Mohamed, who had his first child in Australia, later returned to Sri Lanka to live in the mansion his family previously rented. His grandfather had left him an extensive property portfolio, including the family home in Kandy.

As a result, the trained aeronautical engineer did not need to work.

The bomber's sister said Mohamed had been well educated but became increasingly withdrawn and intense as he descended into extremism. "My brother became deeply, deeply religious while he was in Australia. After he did his postgraduation in Australia, he returned to Sri Lanka a different man.

"He had a long beard and had lost his sense of humour. He became serious and withdrawn and would not even smile at anyone he didn't know, let alone laugh," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)








Top astronomers all over the world have had a working understanding for about a century that the universe is continually expanding. But recent discoveries have had astronomers double-checking their facts. This is because according to recent research, the current universe is expanding 9% faster than the early universe. This is faster than first predicted. And you can read about these findings in an article published by Astronomy Magazine.

These findings, which seem to be valid, have caused some controversy among scientists, though. This research, which was conducted from the Hubble Space Telescope, is in direct conflict with the European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies of the early universe and how it would continue to expand. The European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies suggest that as the universe expands in the future, it will follow the same pattern as it always has.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy, which have been theorized about for some time now, seem to be one of the unpredictable variables that partially explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. However, most dark matter, which scientists have only caught glimpses of, is too small to reflect light and therefore cannot be seen, even with the Hubble Space Telescope. And the existence of dark energy has never actually been established for certain.

And while all of this new information is fascinating, this kind of science isnt as easy to follow as television shows like Star Trek or the Big Bang Theory. In fact, even if you read the article in Astronomy Magazine (which is written for laymen), you may walk away scratching your head. This is because astronomers dont use the words Star, Planet, and Galaxy so much as they use the words Cepheid,Magellanic Cloud, Type Ia Supernova, Neutrinos, and Dark Radiation.

So to fully appreciate even the simplest explanation of how the universe is expanding, you will need a glossary of astronomy. This is a book that is set up like a dictionary, with entries that define astronomy terms and also explain the concepts of astronomy, cosmology, and their sub-disciplines. An astronomy glossary can turn you from a stargazer into a person who has a concept of how the universe works.

One such glossary, Astroglossary: Revised Edition, compiled by the late G. Cyr, is one of the most comprehensive and easily understood astronomy reference books on the market today. It is an invaluable resource which includes all of the critical terms needed to understand modern astronomy, and at the same time gives any reader a deeper appreciation of the universe.

In fact, using this glossary as a resource is the first step to fully comprehending new findings of the universe. Whether you are reading an article in a scientific magazine or watching a television program about how the universe is developing, you will be able to absorb much more information if you have the Astroglossary on hand. Knowing critical terms while you educate yourself about the wonders of the universe will also help you better understand how infinitely beautiful, awesome, and ever-expanding it is.
After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the apparent failure of the Sri Lankan government to act on intelligence on Easter Sunday's suicide bombings, information has now surfaced that the defence authorities had also ignored Turkish government alerts that 50 members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) had arrived in the island country.

Sri Lankan former External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said that Turkish Ambassador Tunca Ozcuhadar had handed over documents related to the matter to him, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday.

Peiris is a loyalist of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

There was an attempted coup to overthrow the Turkish government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016. The coup bid was blamed on FETO, a terrorist outfit led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, in which 250 people were killed. Later, FETO terrorists fled to different countries.

Peiris said that the Turkish Embassy had repeatedly alerted the Sri Lankan government, Denmark, Austria and some African countries about the terrorists sneaking into their territories. While the governments of these countries took prompt action on the alert, the Sri Lankan authorities paid no heed, he added.

The former Minister said that he then brought this to the notice of President Maithripala Sirisena when he met him with a delegation led by Rajapaksa on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the country.

Sri Lanka has been on alert since the April 21 bloodbath in which over 250 people were killed and hundreds injured. The authorities have cancelled weekend mass in the capital due to fears of fresh bomb attacks.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine soldiers were killed as a terrorist attack on Saturday targeted an Army training centre in the Libyan city of Sabha, officials said.

"Terrorists launched an attack at 5 a.m. (local time) on the training centre of the Army in Sabha. The attackers used vehicles and opened fire at the soldiers," a military official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He added that the Islamic State was likely to be behind the attack.

Osama al-Wafi, spokesman of Sabha medical centre, said they received nine bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based Army since January.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UN's humanitarian agencies have met ahead of Cyclone Fani arrival in India to study the readiness for it, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Guterres.

He said on Friday at his news briefing: "Our colleagues in India are well aware (of the situation). The UN humanitarian agencies in India have also met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures."

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) referred to the evacuation of over a million people from the endangered areas and the opening of thousands of cyclone centres and said "it is to be hoped that the massive mobilisation operation ahead of Fani will keep casualties to a minimum".

The Geneva-headquartered WMO noted that the fatalities from severe cyclones have been coming down in India because of "forecasts and warnings and better coordinated disaster management".

Super Cyclonic Storm BOB06 caused more than 10,000 fatalities in October 1999, but the toll from an equally intense cyclone, Phailin, in 2013 was less than 50.

Fani was less intense at landfall than either of those two, "but is still one of the most intense storms to make landfall in Odisha for 20 years", it added.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are stretched bringing aid to East African countries reeling from a double punch delivered by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone was about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget. We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people hit by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said. "What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and Sri Lanka have urged countries to come together and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by India in 1996 but blocked by some nations, as the world mourns the victims of terrorist attacks in the island nation.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue," Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Rohan Perera said on Friday at a UN event to mourn the Easter Sunday attacks' victims.

"The time has come for the international community to go beyond words and demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

Perera is the chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism that is charged with piloting the CCIT.

"The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the global counter terrorism strategy," he said.

The CCIT has been derailed by differences over defining terrorism, with some making a false distinction between "freedom-fighters" and terrorists instead of seeing that it's the tactic of killing civilians, including children, and not the ideology that defines a terrorist.

India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin joined Perera in appealing for concluding the CCIT as a tribute to the victims of terrorism.

Perera, "has, for more than two decades, tried to steer us to an outcome on the CCIT", Akbaruddin said. "Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of putting in place a global legal framework to counter the global scourge," he said.

At the meeting, musical tributes were paid to Sri Lankan and international victims of the Easter attacks. UN leaders and representatives of nations pledged to fight terrorism.

There were also calls for international action to stop social media from being used to spread hate and violence. "While protecting the freedom of expression, we must also find ways to address incitement to violence through traditional and social media," General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces said.

"It's sobering that the theme of World Press Freedom Day today is 'Journalism in times of disinformation'," she said. "We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote -- and not harm -- human security," Garces said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke about social media being used to spread hate. "The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. Today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet," Mohammed said and added,

"The UN continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism."

The Sri Lankan Permanent Representative was more forthright in calling for a consensus on how to regulate social media, like Twitter and Facebook, to prevent them from becoming the media to spread hate.

"It's time to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework. It's vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools, such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are used as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism," he said.

Sri Lanka blocked access to social media after the Easter bombings because it was being used to circulate fake news and create enmity between communities. Access to social media was restored on April 30.

Denouncing the use of religion to justify violence, the UN deputy Secretary General said: "As a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance. Tragically yet, again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become killing grounds and houses of horror.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence."

The General Assembly President reflected on how religions can bring people together.

"I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans -- Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others -- donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage and resilience. Of unity," she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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Renowned US geophysicist Roger Bilham, who was denied a visa to attened a International workshop on climate change and extreme events in the Himalayan region last month, will receive the document the next time he applies it, the California-based convenor of the event has said.

"I got a phone call from the Ministry of Home Affairs saying his case is now cleared and that he will get the visa next time he applied," workshop convener Ramesh Singh of Chapman University in California, who took up the visa issue with India's Home Ministry, told this correspondent on the phone.

Bilham welcomed the move.

"That I am again allowed to visit India comes as welcome news to my many scientific colleagues in India, and restores global confidence in the fundamental integrity of Indian science," Bilham said.

"I always believed that banning Roger Bilham was a very bad move by the Indian government and went against the fundamental right of free expression," said Chittenipattu Rajendran, a leading seismologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru. "I am extremely happy the ban has been revoked and I am looking forward to interacting with him."

"Roger Bilham is a true scientist, solely driven by the spirit of enquiry," said Vinod Gaur, former director of the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad. "For example, the list of research investigations required to calculate ground accelerations to arrive at a safe seismic design of Jaitapur nuclear structures for reassuring the public, still remains outstanding, even as Roger was banned from entering the country in the wake of this publication."

Bilham, a professor at the University of Colorado who catalysed the GPS and modern geosciences research in India, first came to know he was on the country's list of "unwanted persons" on May 18, 2012 when he was sent back to US immediately on landing at the Delhi airport.

Bilham met with a similar fate in 2014 when he was denied visa to deliver a talk at the UK-India workshop on Himalayan earthquakes held in Jammu & Kashmir. Last month's visa denial prevented his presence at the workshop in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

"I have twice applied for a visa and, after payment of $450, have been refused one," Bilham had told this correspondent at the time.

Though he was not told the reason, Bilham says he learnt from the US State Department he was "blacklisted" by the Indian government allegedly for "national security/intelligence reasons."

He says it was likely a reaction to his publications in 2011 bringing to light seismic risks to Jaitapur - the proposed site south of Mumbai - for a 9.9 Gigawatt nuclear power plant. His plea that he did not mean to scare, but only provide a starting parameter to engineers for safe design of the power plant was apparently ignored.

"The scientific findings that led to my banishment are not controversial, although they were considered so by one or two former seismologists who proposed scientific blacklisting to the government in 2012," Bilham said without naming them.

(K.S. Jayaraman is a veteran science journalist. He can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

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Actor Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving after his arrest for driving under influence last year.

Vaughn accepted a no-jail plea deal on Friday involving his drunk driving arrest at a sobriety checkpoint in California last June, reports nydailynews.com.

The "Wedding Crashers" star had a lawyer appear on his behalf in the courtroom here and enter a plea of "no contest" to one count of misdemeanor alcohol-related reckless driving, sources said.

He was immediately sentenced to three years probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said.

Vaughn was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program, pay fines and submit to any alcohol screening tests requested by law enforcement while on probation.

The actor's lawyer was advised that if Vaughn drives under the influence and a person is killed, he could be charged with murder, prosecutors said.

The deal, which dropped the original three charges in the case, means Vaughn won't have a DUI on his record.

Vaughn, 49, was stopped around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 last year at a checkpoint in the coastal community of Manhattan Beach.

--IANS

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Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

"It was not done by the Congress," Rahul said amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking credit for Azhar being designated terrorist by world body UN, and terror strikes to wipe out terror launch pads across the border.

Addressing a mid-poll press conference here, the Congress leader said, "Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him."

He also asserted that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

"Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly," he added.

He was responding to a question over Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist by the United Nation Security Council.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.

--IANS

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Campaigning ended on Saturday evening for the seven seats going to poll in the fifth phase on May 6 in Bundelkhand, Vindhya and Narmada regions of Madhya Pradesh. This would be the second of the four rounds of polling in MP. The remaining two phases are scheduled for May 12 and May 19.

The Congress has fielded new faces in all seven seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put its bet on old hands in five seats.

With poling for more than 60 per cent seats over, star campaigners, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief Amit Shah, made electoral sorties in MP in quick succession.

The BJP, which won all these seven seats in 2014, replaced four candidates and RSS stamp is pronounced in its selections. There is growing resentment against the candidates chosen for Khajuraho and Betul, where (like Bhopal) the sole merit for selection is candidates' proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

After the first phase witnessed complaints of sabotage from the BJP candidates, the leadership is keen to ensure better booth management this time.

Damoh, Tikamgarh and Khjuraho, the three seats in the Bundelkhand region gearing up for the polling, have strong BJP leaning.

The BJP has held Damoh since 1989. The Congress has fielded Pratap Singh Lodhi here against Prahlad Patel a two-time winner. The Congress has changed its candidate on each of the past four occasions. It ignored the recent acquisition from the BJP, Dr Ramkrishna Kusmaria, who won the seat twice.

Tikamgarh also has a contest between experience and fresh face. The BJP has retained Union minister Virendra Khatik, seeking a third term, while the Congress has nominated state women's Congress Secretary Kiran Ahirwar. An untested Ahirwar is toiling on gamely hoping to benefit from resentment against Khatik over his long incumbency.

Khajuraho boasts of having returned former Chief Minister and Union minister Uma Bharti four times. Both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces this time. The RSS which had insisted on fielding Vishnu Dutt Sharma in the face of near rebellion in Bhopal has shifted him to Khajuraho. The party has overlooked protests with some party members burning Sharma's effigies.

The Congress has settled for Kavita Singh, wife of Vikram Singh Natiraja, MLA from Raj Nagar. Natiraja hails from an influential Royal family in the neighbourhood. It will be interesting to see how the RSS ensures victory of Sharma who has no connection with the constituency.

The BJP has dominated the constituency since in 1989 and has returned the Congress candidate Satyavrat Chaturvedi once from 1999 to 2004. His mother, Vidyawati Chaturvedi, was elected twice in the early 1980s. Former state minister Nagendra Singh, member of outgoing Lok Sabha, has apparently been denied ticket over incumbency fatigue.

The two Vindhya constituencies in the second round of polling are Rewa and Satna. Though the constituencies have only one Assembly segment each reserved for Scheduled Castes, the Bahujan Samaj Party wields immense influence here. Rewa has returned a BSP member to the Lok Sabha thrice, while Satna has elected a BSP candidate once.

Sitting MP from Rewa Janardan Mishra, faces Siddharth Tiwari, son of 2014 runner-up Sunderlal Tiwari who died recently. The Tiwaris are a prominent political family with the patriarch Srinivas Tiwari (Sunderlal's father) having been the Assembly Speaker for over a decade. The contest is triangular with Vikas Patel of the BSP making a strong presence.

In Satna, Ganesh Singh is in the fray for a fourth term. He faces Rajaram Tripathi who earlier contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Patels and Brahmins dominate the electoral scene in the region. Caste has played a key in the region all along since formation of MP.

The other two seats Hoshangabad and Betul lie across the Vindhyachal ranges on the gateway to south. They were part of the old MP, which had its capital in Nagpur.

Rao Udaypratap Singh, who won the 2009 election from Hoshangabad on the Congress ticket, switched to the BJP and won the 2014 battle. The BJP has been winning the seat since 1989 except for 2009.

Significantly, Udaypratap who won the seat with a margin of 19,000 votes in 2009 saw 17 per cent swing in his favour in 2014 to win by nearly 3.8 lakh votes. He would find it hard to match that performance. The Congress has overlooked the five-time representative of Hoshangabad, Sartaj Singh, who switched from the BJP not long ago. It has fielded a new face Shailendra Dewan.

In Betul, reserved for Scheduled Tribe, the Congress has had a history of approaching each election with a new face for past many terms. The Congress has nominated Ramu Tekam against the RSS choice of Durgadas Uikey. Two-term MP Jyoti Dhurve has been disqualified following controversy over her ST certificate.

The BJP's move to change the narrative to tune it to the RSS agenda is likely to have a bearing on elections. It is Modi versus Congress now on and the BJP supporters do realise Modi's popularity has waned considerably since 2014.

--IANS

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Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Saturday raided a zoo here and rescued 134 foreign animals, allegedly brought into the country illegally.

On a tip-off, DRI officials raided the zoo located in Malharganj area, run illegally by the NGO Karuna Sagar, an official release said.

Creatures found in the zoo included a South American Marmoset, Australian Iguanas, a Persian cat, Red Eared Singapore Slider Turtle, North American Alligator Gar, South American Guinea Pig and South American Macaw.

The rescued animals, birds and reptiles were shifted to Kamala Nehru Zoo in the city.

The NGO which was running the zoo could not present legal documents related to import or purchase of these foreign animals, the DRI release alleged, adding that appropriate legal action will be taken against it.

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The death toll in the Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years



It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit. Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure."



An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected. Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations. The state has so far been able to restore all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration. Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work. The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday. Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

He said trains originating from Bhubaneswar, including the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express will run normally from Sunday barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express.

There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, the official said.

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Two private cars of same make, colour and bearing identical registration number were seized in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A police spokesman said they have arrested a man in this connection.

The person was arrested after the owner of one of the cars lodged a complaint with the Lakhanpur police station that another car of the same make, colour and registration number is plying in the town.

He also said he had purchased his car from a person named Mohammad Rafiq, a resident of Broindhai Hatli village in Kathua. Police said Rafiq was arrested after it came to light that he recently purchased a brand new car and intentionally used the same registration number.

The spokesman said a case has been registered and police are seeking clarification from authorities concerned.

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The US city of Minneapolis on Friday announced a $20 million civil settlement with the family of an unarmed Australian yoga instructor who was shot dead by a police officer.

Mohamed Noor was convicted Tuesday of murder for the 2017 shooting that killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had moved to the US to marry her fiancee.

The 40-year-old was killed while approaching Noor's police car. She had called police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home.

Noor's conviction was the first time in the Midwestern city's modern history that an officer was found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited the unprecedented circumstances as playing a role in the record $20 million settlement with Damond's family -- the highest in the city's history.

"As the proceedings made clear, there was not a clear threat before the use of force was made, as per Mr Noor's statements," Frey said at a conference.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward." The family was to donate $2 million of that money to a fund to fight gun violence in Minneapolis.

Robert Bennett, a Ruszczyk family attorney, said the large settlement was meant to send "an unmistakable message to change the Minneapolis Police Department in ways that will help all of its communities," according to CNN.

The 33-year-old Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7.

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Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.

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Three suspected drug peddlers and four bovine smugglers were arrested Saturday in two separate operations in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The three suspected drug peddlers were arrested from Poonch town and were detained under different preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and sent to judicial custody, a police official said.

In a separate incident, four persons were arrested after police foiled their attempt to smuggle bovines along the Mughal road, connecting Poonch with Shopian district of south Kashmir, the official said.

Four load carriers, heading towards Kashmir, were intercepted separately by a police party and 16 buffaloes were rescued, he said.

A case was registered and the accused were arrested, the official said, adding that their vehicles were also seized.

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Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

"The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near SaraiKale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.

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An AAP supporter slapped Delhi Chief Minister during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders, police said.

Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.

The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the and used to work as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings, they said.

"An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to enquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group," Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said.

According to his version, over a period of time, Suresh got disenchanted due to behaviour of the AAP leaders. His anger intensified due to "distrust of the party in the armed forces", the official said, adding further interrogation is on in the matter.

No FIR has been registered in the matter as police did not receive any complaint.

"Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM," said in its statement.

The AAP, however, alleged that the had planted that the man belonged to the party.

The AAP roadshow was organised from 4 pm to 10 pm in Moti Nagar. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at RK Ashram Marg, it said.

Proper police arrangement from both Security Unit and local police was put in place for the event in consultation with the organizers of the event, it added.

The chief minister arrived at around 5.43 pm at the starting point. He got out of the official vehicle and boarded the open gypsy prepared for the roadshow. As he was meeting and greeting his party workers who had gathered around the gypsy, suddenly a person got on to the bonnet of the vehicle and attempted to assault the chief minister, the statement said.

He was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The roadshow then started and continued as per the schedule, it said.

During security arrangements at such events, which are put in place in consultation with the organizers, necessary tie-up is made with the organizers so that they ensure that only the persons identified by them are in the reception party or the proximate group or near the vehicle used for the roadshow, police said.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the had planted the man.

"Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker's wife has herself said he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi.

"This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no 'mirchi attack' happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red faced," Bharadwaj said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday attacked BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that after the Lok Sabha poll results, 'bua' will term 'babua' the king of goons and 'babua' will say that she is the very image of corruption.

Mayawati and Yadav are referred to as 'bua' (aunt) and 'babua' (nephew) respectively.

"Bua-babua are together now, but after May 23, bua will say babua is the king of goons and babua will say bua is the very image of corruption," he claimed.

Adityanath Saturday addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Faizabad, Gonda and state capital Lucknow.

On the UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "Countries all over the world are happy about the news, while in India one can understand why there is silence in the camps of opposition parties."



He asked why had the Congress and SP linked terrorism with votebank. "Their intentions are clear. They are not bothered about the national security, they are only worried about their votes," Adityanath said.

The BJP leader also launched a scathing attack on Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over a video in which children were seen using abusive language in front of Vadra.

"I was looking at a video of the Congress shehzadi which went viral on social media. At an age when kids should be taught about moral values, she was seen teaching them abusive words. The Congress should not teach its kusanskaar (bad values) to the children of the country," he said.

He also referred to the Congress leader touching and petting snakes during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, a video of which was circulating on social media.

"I saw Congress ki shehzadi playing with poisonous snakes, the same way in which the Congress gave this country poisonous snakes like terrorism, Naxalism and separatism during its rule.

"For 55 years, these snakes continued to bite the country. The Congress cannot improve (on its own), and now the public of the country will improve it," he said.

Taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad besides Amethi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is losing elections in Amethi and now he has gone to Kerala to hide his failures."



"...When we were asked why the BJP speaks of nationalism, we said that nationalism for us means that the poor have their own concrete houses, toilets, gas connections, electricity and security of 120 crore people of India (is ensured)," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish-Iraqi Border: Turks Bomb and Kurds Use Assyrians As Human Shields

House in Tashish, Barwari Bala valley, in Iraq, near the border with Turkey; destroyed by Turkish aviation. It is only a matter of time until the last of the Christians who still resist on the Iraqi side of the Zagros, on the border of Iraq with Turkey, disappears. The Chaldean-Assyrian Christian villages are being devastated by the missiles launched by the Turkish army against the Kurdish secessionist guerrillas, which use them as human shields and even 'squatted' monasteries.

It happened in Tashish, a Christian village in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border, at nightfall and in the usual way.

First, the buzzing of the drones was heard and it did not take long, the thunderous and horrendous detonation of the two bombs dropped by a Turkish plane. With absolute certainty, he was one of the F16 fighters or the F4 Phantom II that Ankara has active while imploring the Americans to provide his desired F35.

The missiles struck in a very precise way in one of the houses of the Christian village. The shock wave caused damage in more than one hundred meters to the round and the shrapnel and the metal splinters projected against all the houses of the surroundings, biting the outer walls and leaving big notches in the formwork so that the memory never is lost of what happened at 10.37 at night, local time, on April 11, 2019.

In the pictures taken the next morning, the lethal destructive power of these weapons is seen in all its magnitude. The building-one of those bright, one-story little houses that rise above the shady orchard of the hills of the Barwari Bala valley -was reduced to a mountain of twisted iron, large blocks of reinforced concrete and broken concrete slabs. A few meters from the house, the perforations and dents of the pick-up of the Kurdish militiamen who 'squatted' the house are intuited.

Nobody wants to talk about it, but that someone died is taken for granted . How could someone have survived such an explosion? The Turks know well the objectives of their so-called "war against terrorism". That has to be granted.

Attending, exactly, to the 'surgical' accuracy of their air attacks and the meticulous information they obtain thanks to their drones and their intelligence services it is possible to conclude that the Turks did not ignore that the night of that bombardment there were eight civilians in the town. All of them were Chaldean-Assyrian Christians , oblivious to the pulse that the Turkish Government of Erdogan holds in Iraq against the Popular Defense Forces (HPD, according to its Kurdish acronym), armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), around which the bulk of the Kurdish secessionists from Turkey gather.

It was providential that there were no civilian casualties: the few Christians who resist in the valley dined shortly before twilight in two courtyards near the building that the missiles hammered. Twenty meters from the blast site, a family of four was talking. As it has been common, they waited at dawn and left scared of the small town. The night had been long.

Parish closed in Sharanish, with the poster in Arabic and in Syriac.

Turkish artillery bombs Christian villages

Just one day earlier, on April 10, Erdogan's artillery had bombarded the town of Sharanish, another Chaldean-Assyrian enclave located near the Turkish border, in the Kurdish-Iraqi district of Zakho, about fifty miles east of Tashish, and northeast of Dahok. Both its Muslim and Christian neighborhoods were devastated by the projectiles.

Sending Sharanish mission fighter-bombers or beating him with artillery has been a long tradition since, a few years ago, the Kurd militia of the HPD, at war with Turkey, left the high and steep snowy peaks of the Zagros to seek refuge among the civilians who occupy the hidden valleys of one of the wildest and most uninhabited borders of the planet.

Kurds "kind" but armed: they use Christians

In a systematic way, Christians have been used by the guerrillas as human shields. It is an open secret that they stand in their villages to avoid, without success, the attacks of the Turks.

An Assyrian bishop visits Hezaney, in the Nahla Valley; has tried to convince the Kurdish militias to leave the place, without success.

"They are kind, that's true, " a Christian from the Nahla Valley tells us, while imploring us to identify him with the nickname of Saad Matey. " They are as kind as can be someone who holds a kalashnikov. It is also true that there have never been problems of coexistence and, unlike the Barzani peshmerga [the Kurdish armed forces that operate in the Noriequen territories], they always pay for what they take and interact politely with us. Of course, that is not the real issue. The point is that we are not a judge or part of a foreign conflict, and nobody has ever asked us if we want to live in a militarized zone or in peace. and oblivious to a struggle that does not concern us and that is forcing us to abandon one of our last Iraqi enclaves. "

Christians have been trapped with the rest of Iraqis in the crossfire of a war that is not theirs.

No one in Iraq needs the Islamic State to turn their lives into hell. These types of situations have often been silenced by the great reports about the criminal activities of Daesh.

Unlike what usually happens in other parts of Iraq, such as Bajdida or Erbil, the bulk of NGOs, humanitarian organizations and Christian charities operate on the border . It remains 'terra incognita', an opaque blur whose precise location ignores, in a literal sense, even large maps.

A wild border with mini-guerrilla states

"Look at our house," laments a countryman from the town of Sharanish interviewed by a local television station while showing the shrapnel notches, the vain busts and the cracks of the walls of a house hit by the shock wave of the bombs. artillery. "We were around eighty families. Then, that number fell to twenty, and later, to eighteen , and so on until everyone, Muslims and Christians, left for fear of being busted or buried in the rubble. "

Almost the entire border strip has been occupied in progressive waves by small groups of Kurdish guerrillas attached to the HPD (or PKK) that NATO, EU and Turkey still have today as terrorists. Some of the fiefs that the guerrillas have in places like Sinyar or Qandil are real proto-states beyond the control of the Erbil governments (of Kurdish-Iraqi autonomy) or Baghdad.

The Kurds often crossed the Zagros mountain range, coming from Turkish Anatolia, to get away from Turkey. Of course, gradually, small groups of them left their holes in the rocks to descend to the populations that mark the border. One of the last occupations took place in the Nahla Valley, four years ago.

It was as of that moment when the Government of Turkey stopped settling for illegally invading Iraqi airspace to displace several contingents of replacement soldiers . With the acquiescence of the Kurdish leader Masud Barzani, the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan, the different Turkish units of the Komando were quartered in positions of tactical importance from where they control the natural steps of the guerrilla and from where they strike indiscriminately anyone who is in the immediate vicinity of the guerrillas, even if, as it almost always happens, it is against their own will.

Sharanish is one of the Chaldean-Assyrian peoples most punished by Turkish bombs . What happened in that small town is a good example of the process that is about to end Christians, in this case, without stenographers. Today there is no one who goes to pray to any of his two churches; one belonging to the Chaldeans (Catholics) and the other, built in the 4th century on an old synagogue, by the Eastern Church (Nestorian, or "of the Persians"). In Antiquity, all its population was Jewish, before its conversion to Christianity.

Descendants of the Turkish genocide a century ago

Like other valleys ravaged by Turkish bombs such as Nahla, most of its inhabitants descend from the survivors of the Assyrian-Greco-Armenian genocide of a century ago in Turkey. They arrived, originally, from Turkey, where the Christians were literally exterminated by Kurdish tribes under Ankara, during the First World War.

From their old patriarchal headquarters, located in Kodshanes, their ancestors fled with the almost legendary patriarchs Simon Sea XXI and Agha Patros at the head , to undertake a circular road through Persia that would take them back to the mountains, only from the side Iraqi from their lands. They are the survivors by antonomasia.

Long before the emergence of the Islamic State in the geopolitical scene, the persecution against this minority has been brutal, systematic and often sponsored by the nationalist and supposedly democratic governments of the hostile ecosystem where they live. The jihad to which the Salafist parties appeal is often only an alibi to appropriate their assets.

The same happens against Bartella's babaquAes, who have their own religion, different from Islam, although influenced by it. Or much earlier, in the villages of Nahla. Spiritual differences have often been used to fuel rivalries that, in the end, mask the petty desire to steal their lands. Daesh has been just one of his problems. And not necessarily the biggest one.

On the border of Turkey is another conflict that is settled on the bloody Chaldean-Assyrian sand. It is not religious differences that worries the PKK. In fact, there are Turkish Christians in their ranks from Tur Abdin. They are not, as is usually agreed, an atheist militia, but secularized.

The Kurdish militia paraded in an Assyrian monastery,

Among the buildings occupied by the Anatolian Kurdish militia to hide from the Turkish bombs is the 1,400-year-old Assyrian monastery of Qayoma Mar. As a general rule, Kurdish guerrillas look for uninhabited houses in the heart of the villages, and 'squat' without the opinion of their legitimate owners, who have very little to say about it. In fact, not even complaints have been registered. Could they complain about it? The supposedly temporary occupations against which several Assyrian priests protested have become permanent.

The Kurdish militia at Assyrian funerals

In some villages like Hezaney, the daily coexistence with the militiamen is now daily, and it is possible to see the militia girls , very young, go to a funeral, with their campaign uniforms and without detaching themselves from a moment of their AK47 , to present your respect to the family of the victims. Thanks to the belligerency of Turkey, the guerrillas have indirectly exported their conflict, drawing the violence of the Turkish government of Erdogan towards families completely unrelated to their disputes.

Often, when night falls, from Chaldean-Assyrian populations such as Kanimase (Barwar Valley), it is possible to see in the distance the flashes of Turkish artillery blinking against the cross of the Mar Sawa church.

Aviation raids do not only start, in fact, from Turkey. Also the Iranian neighbors have launched their missiles on the positions of the PKK occupied by Chaldean-Assyrian civilians. They are so accustomed to it that, unless it rains bombs, there is nothing to alter their daily lives. In summer, they gather in the cool to look at the sky, as if they were fireworks.

Article translated from Spanish to English by Google Translate.
An Afghan official says at least seven Afghan policemen were killed overnight when the Taliban stormed security checkpoints in western Badghis province.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said Saturday that three other security forces were wounded during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry said Saturday that two separate airstrikes conducted Friday night by coalition forces in coordination with Afghan forces killed at least 43 militants from the Islamic State group in eastern Kunar province.

The statement said the airstrikes targeted IS in Chapara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"



"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition.

"If you scrap the sedition law, how will you send such people to jail?"shah asked.

"The Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they hurl a brick at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make their stand clear on the demand for a separate prime minster for Kashmir.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one can take it away from India till the BJP is there," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the Army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."



Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A barrage of around 50 rockets was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and dozens were intercepted by air defences, the Israeli army said.

The army said earlier it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response. It was not yet clear if there were casualties on either side.

The escalation follows the most violent protests along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank and said they consider even a "human being just a number".

Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

"SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj PArty) and have been affected by a bad habit that they consider even a human being just a number, Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing when SP chief vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.
There will be no negative repercussions of UN's designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Pakistan's ambassador to the US has said, asserting that the move only reinforces Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

The United Nations on Wednesday designated Pakistan-based Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him.

China removed its hold on the proposal, which was moved by France, the UK and the US in the Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February just days after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, who is on a rare visit to Houston this week, noted that the United States also appreciated Pakistan's commitment in its first reaction to the designation on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

Before the adoption, China and Pakistan worked jointly to delink the designation from the Kashmiri struggle for freedom and the Pulwama terrorist attack, it said.

The delinking allows Pakistan to continue to support the Kashmiri movement, it added.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the United States or China," said the ambassador while talking to the media after his address at the World Affairs Council in Houston on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism," Khan said.

In his address to the council, the ambassador also spoke about improvements in the US-Pakistan relations after a recent dip.

"This is a very important and consequential relationship. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Khan said.

The ambassador also spoke about Pakistan's role in promoting US-Taliban talks in Doha and asserted that Islamabad helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks," he said.

Ambassador Khan said that while Pakistan's role was important, other regional actors must also play their part.

Pakistan also supported US efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban, he said.

Khan hoped that the progress in the Afghan peace process would improve Pakistan's relations with the United States.

Underlining Pakistan's efforts for better ties with India, the ambassador noted that in February the two nuclear states had the first dogfight.

"This is very dangerous but unfortunately India seems more interested in whipping up differences for domestic political gains than in resolving disputes," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A madrasa teacher who was declared a Bangladeshi living illegally in Assam was arrested, and 20 other Bangladeshis were deported to their country on Saturday, officials said.

Abdur Rashid, who was working as a teacher in a government run madrasa since 2001, was declared a Bangladeshi by the Foreigners Tribunal of Morigaon district on October 30, 2016, official sources said.

He had then moved the Gauhati High Court but it upheld the declaration of the Tribunal in September 2018.

Rashid was in service till Saturday, the sources said adding that he will be sent to the detention camp inTezpur on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 20 jailed Bangladeshis, including a woman, were deported through Sutarkandi on the international border in Karimganj district.

Karimganj Superintendent of Police Manobendra Debroy said those 20 people were handed over to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the border guards of the neighbouring country.

Of them, 19 were in Sichar Central Jail and one in Kokrajhar Central Jail for the last two to five years, official sources said.

Debroy, district Deputy Commissioner M S Mani Mannan, BSF Deputy Commandant S K Uppadhay were present when they were deported.

The Bangladesh side was respresented by police and BDR officials, Debroy said.

Another group of 21 Bangladesh nationals was deported on January 19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (BJP) on Saturday attacked chief for his alleged links to a defence firm that got an offset contract when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Gandhi refuted the allegations and said he was willing to face any probe, but added that an investigation should also be ordered in the fighter jet deal.

At a press conference, Union Finance Minister pointed to a media report to allege that and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt Ltd registered in in 2002. He said a firm of a similar name was registered in the in which and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an influence-for-cash company, Jaitley alleged. The FM said Mcknight was married to a leaders daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhis social gang. Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor

In 2009, Rahul Gandhi left the firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, Jaitley alleged. Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an deal to build submarines, he said, citing the report. Jaitley said Rahul Gandhis was a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and was now aspiring to be prime minister.

The rejected the allegations. This has all been dealt with (already). Please take any investigation, any action you want. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. (But) please also investigate Rafale, he said.

BJP Subramanian Swamy said he had sent a complaint to central probe agencies in December 2015, and insinuated that Jaitley blocked the probe. Is this on part of Jaitley a prayashchit (penance) or credit grabbing after blocking the ED (Enforcement Directorate) from investigating my complaint on Backops money laundering? Swamy tweeted.





Congress said it was an allegation that needed to be proved. Sibal released three video clips purportedly showing government officials who claimed they could get old notes exchanged months after demonetisation, and alleged that it was done at the behest of the BJP. The videos were apparently shot in 2017 by an investigative journalist. However, there was no authentication of the clips by the party or any other agency. No immediate reaction was available from the BJP.

The first video was shot in a car in Delhi on March 27, 2017. According to Sibal, a serving sub-inspector alleged in the clip that Piyush Goyal, who was BJPs treasurer, regularly instructed security personnel posted at the BJP headquarters to let in specific vehicles without any checks. He also introduced the journalist to a couple of retired IAS officers who agreed to get the currency exchanged, Sibal alleged.

The Congress claimed the second video was shot in Delhi on March 27, 2017 and the same official discussed the exchange of notes with a face value of Rs 300 crore. Sibal claimed that in the third video from April 1, 2017, a government official said the new currency notes were printed in Moscow. Extra notes were printed, more than the value of demonetised currency, the Congress leader said.

Sibal said, if elected, the Congress would conduct an investigation into the matter. He termed demonetisation an ill-thought decision. Demonetisation apparently was the biggest political scam has ever seen. The victims were the hapless 1.25 billion people, Sibal said.

Sibal said one of the objectives was to discourage the use of cash and check the currency in circulation to reduce flow of black money, but now cash was being used in a big way.

Demonetisation allowed black money to be generated and stashed abroad which is reflected by the latest data released by Zurich-based Swiss Bank (SNB), where money deposited by Indians rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion swiss francs (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, a year after the note ban, he claimed.


BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy by threatening TMC workers to bring musclemen from Uttar Pradesh and kill them like a dog if they dared to act smart.

Ghosh, a former IPS officer who was once close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Senior TMC leader Parthat Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

When contacted, TMC's Ghatal candidate Dev said, "I do not understand what to say. I think people should not forget decency. I had huge respect for Bharati-di, but after this incident I think that will be affected. I think the people of Ghatal will give a befitting reply to this."



Earlier, Banerjee conducted a road show in West Midnapore urging people not to cast their votes for BJP candidates and save the country.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nomited for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging that the party was distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi, instead of handing out its election manifestoes.

Addressing an election meeting here, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Money is being distributed here. The Congress has distributed its election manifesto among the public, but the BJP is not distributing manifestoes, it is distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans."



Priyanka Gandhi also attacked Union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting from Amethi on BJP ticket. "She is doing drama in your constituency. She has herself come here 16 times, while your MP has visited the place twice as much. He has even stayed in villages," the Congress leader said.

"She comes here with the media and distributes shoes. She wants to insult you. She has been unable to understand what the public of Amethi wants," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had committed suicide. "Insurance premium worth Rs 10,000 crore paid by the farmers goes into the pockets of big industrialists," she claimed.

She took a dig at BJP leaders over the issue of stray animals and asked whether any of them had come to the people's agricultural fields to do 'chowkidaari' and safeguard them from stray animals.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Militants shot dead BJP leader Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP's Telangana president K Laxman Saturday said the party plans to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and others in Delhi over the alleged goof-up in the declaration of intermediate exam results.

Laxman had called off his indefinite fast on the issue Friday following an appeal from BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir.

Laxman was discharged from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Saturday.

He was shifted to the NIMS on April 29, hours after he launched the fast and continued his fast in the hospital.

The state party unit intends to move ahead by preparing an actionplan - consoling parents of deceased students, giving confidence to parents, meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and also the President, he told reporters here.

The party also plans to meet the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the alleged police detention of BJP workers and how force was allegedly used to 'suppress' the agitation by students and organisations like the ABVP, he said.

Though the stir started by BJP against the alleged injustice to the students has been on since April 15, there was no response from the government as it was 'dictatorial and autocratic', Laxman alleged.

Asserting that BJP would stand by the students, he appealed to them not to take the extreme step.

He hit out at TRS working president K T Rama Rao over his comments that the opposition parties was involved in "cheap politics."



"When 26 children had died (allegedly committing suicides), it is cheap politics for you," he said.

The state government has not seriously pondered over why more than three lakh students had failed among the more than eight lakh who appeared for the exams, Ahir had alleged here Friday.

The Centre would check the technical issues of the matter and study the possibility of conducting a CBI probe if the state government fails to take up the issue with due compassion, Ahir had said.

"We don't interfere in the work of any state government. But, we cannot leave the students in the lurch," he added.

Laxman started his fast with demands, including sacking of minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of Board of Intermediate (BIE) secretary, judicial inquiry into the whole episode and paying compensation to families of students who allegedly committed suicide.

BJP staged a state-wide bandh on the issue Thursday last.

Meanwhile, CPI activists held a protest here Saturday on the alleged bungling of the results.

About 9.74 lakh students had appeared for the intermediate exam in March this year and 3.28 lakh of them had failed, according to official sources.

The BJP has claimed that 25 students killed themselves since the declaration of results April 18.

The alleged bungling by BIE in the announcement of results led to widespread protests by students, their parents, student organisations and political parties.

Some students and their parents claimed even meritorious students have scored low marks.

Errors like not displaying practical exam marks in the memos of certain geography students and error by examiners, along with mistakes of other nature, have come to the fore since the announcement of results.

A three-member committee, appointed by the state government to look into the issue, has pointed out certain shortcomings in conducting the exam and suggested remedial measures.

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Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven)... Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."



Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act". He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.

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The has issued a notice, seeking reply of BJP's candidate Kirron Kher after she shared a video on twitter in which children were seen campaigning for her.

The poll panel has asked the actor-turned-politician to reply within 24 hours.

"You have shared a video on your twitter account which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour through slogan 'Vote for Kirron Kher' and 'Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar'," the notice, issued on May 3, said.

In the notice, it was mentioned that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January 2017 had requested the to ensure that children are not involved in any form with election-related activities, by either elections officials or political parties.

The EC had subsequently instructed that it should be ensured by all political parties and election officials that children are not involved in any election-related activity, as per the notice.

Kher is seeking re-election from the seat and is pitted against four-time MP and candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan.

will vote in the last phase of elections on May 19.
Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."



"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

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A BJP worker was shot dead by suspected militants in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, police said.

Unknown terrorists fired at a member of the BJP, Gul AhmadMir, at Nowgam Verinag, a police official said.

The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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With less than 48 hours to go for polling in West Bengal's Bongaon(SC) Lok Sabha seat in the fifth phase, its BJP candidate Shantunu Thakur Saturday met with an accident at Hanskhali in Nadia district, police said.

Shantanu Thakur, who is the grandson of the Matua community matriarch late Binapani Devi, his driver and two others who were in the vehicle, were injured, the police said.

He suffered an injury in his head and was rushed to the Bongaon sub-divisional hospital.

The accident happened at around 12.15 p m when a police van lost control and hit Thakur's vehicle at the front when he was heading towards Kalyani to attend an election rally on the last day of campaigning, the police said.

BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya was scheduled to speak at the rally.

None was arrested in connection with the accident and the police vehicle was allegedly damaged by BJP workers.

A West Bengal Police officer said "We are trying to find out what actually happened and whose fault it was. We are talking to drivers of both the vehicles. So far nobody has been arrested".

When contacted the BJP candidate's mother Chabirani Thakur alleged that the accident was the result of a "conspiracy" hatched by Trinamool Congress.

"My son's vehicle was standing on the side of the road and suddenly from nowhere this police van came and hit it. We want a thorough investigation into the matter," she told PTI.

Seven parliamentary constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpore both in North 24 Parganas district, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampore, Hooghly, Arambag are scheduled to go to the polls in the fifth phase.

BJP has pitted Shantanu Thakur of the Matua community against sitting TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur, the daughter-in-law of the late Matua matriarch. The family is witnessing a feud over control on the community, which has an estimated 30 lakh population in the state and can influence results in at least five parliamentary constituencies of North and South 24 Parganas districts.

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Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

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Campaign ended on Saturday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which go to the polls in the fifth phase of general elections on May 6.

The five seats are Muzaffarpur, Saran, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Hajipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaigning from the front, holding a rally at Muzaffarpur where he canvassed in favor of the local BJP candidate as also nominees fielded by alliance partners the JD(U) and the LJP.

He described the ruling NDA in the state as a cohesive three in one entity and the opposition weak, loosely knit and helpless against menaces of black money, corruption and threats to national security.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose party is not contesting any of the five seats going to the polls on Monday, did not hold an election meeting in these constituencies which are, however, being contested by alliance partners in the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies at Saran and Sitamarhi and spoke about the prime ministers commitment to his work which is evident from his having not taken a day off in 20 years.

In his speeches Shah sought to present a contrast with Gandhi whom he accused of going on a holiday every three to four months.

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Hema Malini held a rally at Sitamarhi where she expressed delight over the improved infrastructure in Bihar and recalled with amusement the 1990s when the then chief minister Lalu Prasads reported promise of making the potholed roads of the state as smooth as her cheeks had made headlines.

All the five seats going to polls in the fifth phase were won in 2014 by the NDA two each by BJP and LJP and one by Upendra Kushwahas RLSP, which quit the coalition last year and joined the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

Sitamarhi MP Ram Kumar Sharma, who had supported Kushwaha when he severed ties with the NDA, revolted after he was denied a ticket by RLSP, which is contesting five seats as against three five years ago.

He shared the stage with Amit Shah at the latters Sitamarhi rally dropping ample hints about his future political move. The seat has now gone to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U), which has fielded former MLA Sunil Kumar alias Pintu.

The party had earlier nominated Varun Kumar, but he declined to contest. Pintu faces Arjun Rai of RJD, who had won in 2009 on JD-U ticket.

BJP MPs Ajay Nishad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy are seeking re-election from their respective seats of Muzaffarpur and Saran respectively. Ajay faces another Nishad, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary fielded by the Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which is seeking to assume leadership of the Nishads.

Rudy faces Chandrika Rai of RJD, father-in-law of Lalu Prasads elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who has announced that he would no longer contest direct elections, has fielded his younger brother and state minister Pashupati Kumar Paras from his pocket borough of Hajipur.

In neighboring Vaishali, he has replaced mafia don-turned-politician Rama Singh with former BJP MLA Veena Devi, who is said to have joined LJP after her candidature was announced.

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Campaigning for the four Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the second phase of elections in Jharkhand on May 6 came to an end on Saturday evening.

A total of 65,87,028 electorate will decide the fate of 61 candidates.

Among the total electorate, 31,44,679 are female voters and 83 belong to the third gender, the Election Commission said in a release here.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Khunti (ST) Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday.

Union minister Jayant Sinha is seeking re-election from the Hazaribagh constituency as a BJP candidate.

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is pitted against him.

Two-time MP and CPIs Jharkhand unit secretary B P Mehta is also in the fray from Hazaribagh.

The BJP has fielded former chief minister Arjun Munda from Khunti, Sanjay Seth from Ranchi and Annapurna Devi from Koderma, replacing its sitting MPs Karia Munda, Ramtahal Chaudhary and Ravindra Rai respectively.

Annapurna Devi, who quit the RJD and joined the BJP on March 25, is facing Mahagathbandhans Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi and CPI (ML- Liberation) MLA Raj Kumar Yadav from Koderma.

Seth is taking on former union minister and Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay from Ranchi, where the five-time BJP MP, Ramtahal Choudhary, is also contesting as an independent after being denied ticket by the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi canvassed for Annapurna Devi from Koderma while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed Hazaribagh people through a video conference from Lucknow as he could not reach the constituency on Friday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the people of Khunti and sought their votes for party candidate Kalicharan Munda.

Adequate security arrangements have been made to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections, police sources said.

The EC release said that total number of polling personnel for the second phase polling is 39,909 and the number of micro observers will be 1,191.

Out of a total of 8,834 polling stations, 105 will be manned by women polling personnel.

At least 918 polling stations out of the total will have webcasting facility.

The first phase of polling in Jharkhand was held in three Lok Sabha seats - Lohardaga (ST), Palamu (SC) and Chatraon - on April 29.

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BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23.

Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

"Kamal Nath, you think you can win elections in a democracy by repressing our workers? Let Lok Sabha results be declared on May 23 and all four legs of your chair will tremble," he said, adding that the "Congress's way" of suppressing the opposition would not work anymore.

"During recent visits, I heard the ordeal of our workers. Those engaged in campaigning were externed from the districts, cases of murder were filed against them, and two workers were killed," Shah alleged.

The BJP chief also accused the state government of encouraging activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

"There was a time when Malwa region of the state was the base of SIMI. Shivraj Singh Chouhan (ex-BJP chief minister) dismantled the SIMI network and they (SIMI workers) were forced to leave Madhya Pradesh. Some of them are in Ahmedabad jail, some in Delhi jail and others in prison in Bhopal," Shah said.

"But due to vote bank politics, this government is again encouraging SIMI. I want to warn them, do not play with the country's security or your hands will get burnt. The BJP will strongly oppose their every step," the BJP chief asserted.

Shah claimed that the Congress, which came to power in the state in December 2018 after a gap of 15 years, had already started failing the people.

The BJP chief alleged that within three months of the Congress coming to power, transactions worth Rs 281 crore were unearthed during Income Tax raids at the premises of those close to Kamal Nath.

Seven seats of Bundelkhand, including Rewa, will go to polls on Monday.

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Former legislator from Langate constituency in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Sheikh Abdul Rashid Saturday said the Centre would be responsible if anything bad happens to JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik who is in Tihar Jail.

"Malik is not a criminal. He is a leader, a soldier of the people who respect him. Whether we like his ideology or not, we warn New Delhi not to play with fire... If anything bad happens to Malik, the responsibility will be on the Government of India," Rashid told reporters here.

A Delhi court last week sent Malik to judicial custody till May 24. He was arrested in a case related to alleged funding of separatists and militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), said the low poll percentage in parliamentary polls should make New Delhi understand that the separatist leadership "has its routes deep in masses and their voice cannot be muzzled by force".

"Be it banning Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF, nothing will change on the ground unless New Delhi realizes significance of resolving Kashmir issue," he said.

The former MLA said his party would take out a protest march outside Civil Secretariat on Monday the day it opens in the summer capital here as part of the bi-annual darbar move -- against the alleged failure of the government to provide basic immunities to people, arrest of youth, "state suppression against pro-resistance leadership" and for seeking revocation of ban on the Jamat-i-islami and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) .

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Three Naxals were Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.

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A Saturday posted for May 7 plea of Rajeev Saxena, a middleman-turned-approver in a case related to the chopper scam, seeking permission to travel abroad.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar, before whom the matter came up for hearing, posted it for May 7.

The court had earlier issued notice to the (ED) on Saxena's plea to travel to Europe, UK and in May.

Saxena has sought permission to travel abroad on the ground of medical ailments.

The court had earlier allowed Saxena to turn approver and his plea for grant of pardon on the condition that he will fully disclose all information in the case.

He was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusal of reports submitted by AIIMS.

Saxena, director at two Dubai-based firms -- UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings -- is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore scam.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party's internal assessment after four phases of polling shows that the BJP will lose in the Lok Sabha elections and he sees a "scared prime minister" unable to face the onslaught of the opposition.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he stated that it was said five years ago that Modi cannot be defeated and will rule for 10-15 years, but the Congress has "demolished" him.

"The structure that is standing is hollow. It is going to fall in 10-15 days," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

With more than half the election process completed, there is a clear cut feeling that PM Modi is losing, Gandhi claimed.

"There is an undercurrent and the BJP is losing. I don't see a strategic campaign by the BJP...I see a scared prime minister unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and a PM who is absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped and he is not going to succeed," he said, adding that the BJP's is a "panicky campaign".

He expressed confidence of a very good showing of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

First time defence ministry officials have written that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is directly negotiating with France, Gandhi alleged.

"What does it mean. Why is the PMO holding parallel negotiations, it has to be a money transaction. Why has Anil Ambani got Rs 1000 crore tax rebate in France. There is going to be zero tolerance on corruption," Gandhi said.

Asked about who will be the prime minister after the election, he said people have to decide who will be PM.

"The main issues are of employment, farmers, PM's corruption, and attack on institutions," Gandhi said.

The biggest issues are of unemployment and that Modi has destroyed the Indian economy, he said.

"The country wants to know from the Prime Minister. You had told the youth that you would give 2 crore jobs in a year, and today unemployment, is at a 45 year-high. Congress party's manifesto's first chapter is on jobs. We have given all the details, how we will make jobs available, the benefits of Nyay scheme," Gandhi said.

Modi does not say a word about employment, because he cannot say anything as there is neither any plan nor there is any record, he claimed.

"First, he used to talk about corruption. Now wherever you say chowkidar, people say 'chor hai'. Narendra Modi's system is to distract. When he sees he is losing he comes out with some distraction like the sea plane in Gujarat," Gandhi claimed.

But, the reality is that he is losing the elections, he said.

Gandhi also elaborated on the Congress's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme Nyay, saying it aims to put money directly in the bank account of the poorest people and also jump-start India's economy.

"Narendra Modi demonetised the economy, Nyay yojana will remonetise it," he said.

"As soon as the Nyay yojana money will come, people will start buying, shops will get impetus and then factories will get more work and jobs will be generated," he said.

Gandhi also listed other key promises of the Congress such as 22 lakh government jobs to youths within a year and 10 lakh jobs in panchayats.

"What is the BJP doing about jobs. Everybody has said Congress manifesto is an effective document as it is the voice of the people. What has Modi promised," he said.

"Congress has fought on the ground and changed the narrative. The country is in danger," he claimed.

Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi over not holding press conferences during his tenure, saying "please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences as it is really looking very bad".

"He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A scuffle broke out between Congress workers and BJP supporters after the latter raised pro-Modi slogans during a Congress' roadshow here on Saturday, police said.

The roadshow was being conducted by the Congress in support of party candidate Jyoti Khandelwal.

During the roadshow, a group of people raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to that, Congress supporters allegedly manhandled two-three people and raised slogans like 'chowkidar chor hai' (watchman is a thief).

Police said both the groups were separated within a short span of time and situation was brought under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister on Saturday claimed that the Congress-led opposition was staring at an imminent defeat after completion of four phases of polls and seeking excuses to cover up the same like a batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled.

They began with hurling abuses at Modi, all day long. When they realized it was not paying electoral dividends they changed tack and started complaining about faulty After four phases of elections, they have become flustered and started pointing fingers at the Election Commission, Modi told an election rally in this remote Lok Sabha constituency located along the Indo- border.

These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness, he said wryly.

The Prime Minister also charged the Congress, which has ruled the country for so long, with lacking a clear vision with regard to combating terror and said I was appalled to see that they have promised in their manifesto, among other things, withdrawal of special powers given to armed forces in insurgency-hit areas and abolition of the

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They do not realize the consequences. They are unmindful that if the armed forces are divested of the special powers, they will end up spending their time and in appearing before courts for cases that secessionists may frame them in. And they are promising scrapping of which would only embolden extremists and the pattharbaaz gang (stone- pelting mobs phenomenon recently observed in the restive state of and Kashmir), Modi claimed.

They are simply clueless about how to combat terrorism, naxalism or any other type of security threat. And what disgusts me most as the language they have ended up speaking reminds us of what the Pakistanis keep on using, he alleged.

Before we came to power in 2014, not a month used to pass without some corner of the country or another being rocked by bomb explosions. That has been effectively checked since we took over. The credit goes not to Modi but to your vote which helped a strong government come to power. You, through your vote, sent the message across that will no longer take things lying down, the prime minister said.

Speaking in the presence of alliance partners - Chief Minister and Union minister who head the JD(U) and the LJP respectively-, Modi also took a veiled dig at the proposed NYAY scheme of the Congress, saying they could not help the poor in getting their accounts opened in banks and now they have suddenly begun to promise direct cash transfer. Beware of their misleading promises.

About another poll plank of the waiver of loans to farmers Modi said they made a similar promise ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. And after the elections, they waived loans to the tune of a meagre Rs 54,000 crore when debts ran into nearly Rs six lakh crore. And, as the CAG later pointed out, many of the so-called beneficiaries had their loans waived despite not being engaged in agriculture. They want to indulge in a similar fraud once again.

It has been an old trait of the They promised to the people of that they would build houses for the poor and got many people sign forms to make their tall talk credible. Nobody got these houses which remained on paper. In Rajasthan, where they have come to power, they are again making people sign forms saying these were meant to enroll them for the NYAY scheme which promises remittance of Rs 72,000 per year. Beware of such scams, Modi alleged.

The Prime Minister also sought to draw a contrast between the and the BJP saying whenever his party was in power it handled volatile issues with care unlike the opposition party which often left the country in turmoil.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, three states of Uttarakhand, and came into being. All these new entities have excellent and cordial relations with the parent states. Compare that with Telangana which was carved out of under Congress rule. So much of bitterness prevails between the two states despite both being peopled by Telugu-speaking citizens, Modi said.

Similarly, we have seen so much of tension in the past on the issue of caste-based reservations. There has been rumor- mongering that quotas are under threat. We demonstrated by introducing quotas for the economically weaker sections among the general category, without infringing on the rights of other social groups, how these things should be handled, he asserted.

has worked very hard to pull out of the lantern age, Modi remarked in a lighter vein in a veiled dig at Lalu Prasads RJD which is the main opposition party in the state, and added please do remember whichever NDA constituent you vote for your vote shall be going to Modi.

Seeking to strike a rapport with the local populace, Modi began his speech that lasted 40 minutes with a few sentences in the local dialect Bhojpuri evoking rapturous response by the crowds.

He also spoke of the NDAs role in getting the Tharus a tribe populating the terai region along the Indo- border



the Scheduled Tribe status.

Modi also said that he had drawn the inspiration for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Mahatma Gandhis satyagrah in Champaran. He also showered praise on Bhagirathi a local BJP MLA who has been awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her social work.
/ -- Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) supports concerted joint action



The Council for Healthcare and Pharma hailed its just concluded Legislative day at Capitol Hill D.C. as engaging and successful. The forum received overwhelming support and consensus for greater traction between India and the USA to fully utilise mutual synergies and complementarities in the Pharma & Health space for the cause of Universal Healthcare.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881557/CHP_Legislative_Day.jpg )



The 'Legislative Day' had attendance of over 20 eminent US Congress leaders, representatives from Industry & Trade, Medical Fraternity and Board of Management AAPI, supporting the need for greater affordability, accessibility and accountability in keeping populations healthy.

Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, President, CHP, said, "For Universal Healthcare to become a reality, we must pull out all the stops to optimise the sourcing and delivery of each element of the health value chain. This calls for extensive deployment of the best-known bases and practices around the world for high quality medicines, technologies and skill sets. The logic, natural synergies and complementarities between India and the US in healthcare are compelling and the potential to realise accelerated gains from bringing these together is enormous and immediate."



A strong proponent of Affordable Medicare, Congressman Steny Hoyer emphasized the need for Government to work for improving healthcare access and affordability and to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health coverage. Further, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is a champion for Universal Healthcare expressed her commitment towards working proactively for the same.

Senator Roger F Wicker was of the view that one of the biggest concerns facing the US in the arena of Health is the lack of affordable health insurance coverage. Expressing his support to the cause of Women's Healthcare, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was categorical that America succeeds when women succeed in their quest for affordable healthcare. He also expressed his commitment towards accessible and affordable medicines to achieve the goal of 'Health for All'.

Congressman Frank Pallone who serves as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee was of the opinion that all Americans should have access to high quality affordable healthcare. He assured the gathering that he is committed to work steadfastly to protect the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin applauded the Council and its members in its committed support towards the TB elimination programme in India. Furthering their collaboration, the two organisations have entered into a joint dialogue to offer affordable Oncology Medicines for women, especially for cancers of the Breast and Cervix.

The Indian Ambassador to USA, H.E. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, hailed the contribution of the Indian Generics industry in its drive towards affordable care. He also applauded the role of the AAPI community in the US Healthcare system.

The opportunity to lower cost clearly lies in emphasizing a high quality Generic Formulary, realizing supply chain efficiencies, complementing R&D strengths to amplify drug development efforts, locating manufacturing where advantageous, leveraging new technologies such as Robotics, AI and Blockchain for greater efficiencies, better health surveillance, early detection of disease, improved treatment protocols, enhanced patient experience with significantly better outcomes.

These opportunities can be developed where best feasible through a Make in USA or Make in India initiative.

India has critical mass in providing affordable, high quality generic medicines to the USA and the world. India additionally has strengths in IT and a vibrant start-up environment for frugal innovation with interesting health applications being developed that have the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and outcomes in delivering healthcare.

On the other hand, American firms can outsource significant parts of their R&D efforts with considerable savings in new drug discovery as well as to amplify their shortlist of drug candidates for further research and development. These drugs in turn can be marketed not only in the US but also in India and other populous countries.

In addition, there are medical challenges of significant proportions like AMR which continue to deplete our arsenal of antibiotics by rendering them ineffective on account of overuse and misuse. The US has done a lot of work in alleviating this global problem and both countries can collaborate to mount a sizable program to mitigate this menacing challenge and such others.

The Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) is an integrated, not-for-profit, Global think tank that advocates the development of sustainable health systems around the World. It looks at engaging with Governments and other stakeholders to adopt rational approaches that capture benefits, that accrue through the optimization of the eco-system and value chain involved in treating diseases and keeping people healthy. CHP members include domestic and global Pharmaceutical companies, Providers of Diagnostics, Medical device Manufacturers, Hospitals and adjunct services.

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the Council focuses on Africa, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK and the USA. Its important areas of work are in ease-of-doing business; increasing competitiveness; broadening access to safe, efficacious and affordable healthcare services and medicines. CHP is guided in its work by expert advisory committee's in Intellectual Property; Market Access; Regulatory Policy; Key Therapeutics - Women's Health, Oncology & Tropical Diseases; Research & Development (R&D); Artificial Intelligence (AI); Environment; Healthcare start-up's.

As a significant and credible stakeholder in alleviating the burden of disease, the CHP brings to bear the collective wisdom of industry and policy makers on health issues that stand to make a positive contribution to society in bringing about Universal healthcare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court Saturday issued open ended Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against a Gulf based investor for his alleged links to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar, allowed the Enforcement Directorate's application against Gulf investor/ businessman Omar Ali Balsharaf.

The agency's Special Public Prosecutor D P Singh and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta argued that the ED had summoned Balsharaf multiple times since March 2018, but he did not join the investigation deliberately.

The ED further said by not joining the investigation, he was evading the process of law and NBW against him was necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the ED investigation, it is revealed that M/s interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius, a company which received the AgustaWestland kickbacks, transferred an amount of USD 5,303,471 to the account of M/s Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading (RAKGT) LLC, Dubai which was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf and Gautam Khaitan, another accused, which raised many questions and need clarification.

Some other entries also found suspected in the RAKGT need Omar to join the probe, the ED said.

The agency contended that as RAKGT was associated with Balsharaf, his trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain the money he got from various companies into the Dubai account. Some companies are also related to accused Khaitan and others.

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The Indian Air Force Saturday sent three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Bhubaneswar from Hindan Air Base for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, an IAF spokesperson said.

The aircraft are carrying approximate 45 tonnes of relief material including medicines for the locations affected by Cyclone Fani.

"The IAF had remained on hot standby for a launch ever since the first warning about the cyclone was received. The aircraft were positioned at Hindan for a short notice take off, waiting for the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields," he said.

The Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter landed at Bhubaneswar for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The helicopter, launched from Guwahati airbase, is one of many IAF aircraft being deployed to the cyclone affected areas, he said.

"Air operations began after the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields and are going to continue with full force in the coming days.

"The Indian Air Force is committed to providing dedicated efforts to bring succour and relief to the affected populace and help in restoring normalcy in the region," the spokesperson said.

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At least 14 people were killed and 63 injured as severe Fani barrelled into on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in neighbouring India, media reports said on Saturday.

authorities said that more than 1.6 million people have been shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in country's coastal areas.

The deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur that were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone, the Tribune reported.

The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

"In Noakhali district, a minor has been killed and several of the family injured when the house collapsed on them during storm. Moreover, 30 villagers were also injured as the storm destroyed over hundred houses in the two unions," the paper reported.

Similarly, in Lakshmipur district a 70-year-old woman, Anwara Begum, was killed in house collapse due to the storm.

The cyclonic storm battered the coastal districts of the country and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Sky in several parts of continue to remain overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds is continuing across the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel12 flights so far and delay several others, the paper reported.

The severe Fani also caused destruction in

The cyclonic storm, which made landfall at India's eastern state of Odisha on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Indian officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
A day after cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, a massive restoration and relief work was launched on war-footing Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas, officials said.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, they said.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

All the four people were killed after uprooted trees fell on them at different places in Baripada, the emergency officer of Mayurbhanj district, S K Pati, said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the cyclone's landfall in the coastal state.

The prime minister assured continuous support from the central government.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.



Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Though the "extremely severe" cyclone weakened into a "very severe" cyclonic storm in a few hours, it flattened houses with thatched roofs and kutcha houses, uprooted scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers in coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit.

Patnaik, after reviewing the situation on Friday night, had said that Puri district suffered huge damage.

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he had said.

Hundreds of engineers and technicians are working to restore power supply, the officials said.

Work is on to restore road communication, thrown into disarray with thousands of uprooted trees blocking the way in innumerable places, Patnaik said.

ALSO READ: Bhubaneshwar flight operations expected to begin by 1 pm on Saturday

Men and machinery of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services swung into action and launched a massive restoration work to bring back normalcy, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), B P Sethi, said.

Odisha Energy Secretary Hemanth Sharma said around 3 million power consumers have been affected by the cyclone, which threw electricity distribution infrastructure out of gear in most coastal districts.

Restoration work is on in full swing, he said.

In Bhubaneswar city itself, over 10,000 electric poles have been uprooted or broken, he said, adding, efforts are on to restore power supply in 25 per cent crucial sectors such as the airport, the railway station and hospitals.

Another 25 per cent work will be completed on Sunday and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest, Sharma said.

The power network had been severely damaged in districts such as Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore.

The Quick Action Team (QRT) of the premier naval training establishment, INS Chilka, was immediately deployed to provide emergency assistance in cutting and clearing trees in some areas, said an official.

A naval Dornier aircraft carried out aerial survey and found extensive damaged to vegetation in many places around Puri.

Large-scale water inundation was observed in many places, particularly in low-lying areas between Puri and Chilka lake, he said.

The chief minister said nearly 1.2 million people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, "probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country".

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially-designed cyclone centres, he said.

Cooked food is being served to them for free.

The cyclone, after the landfall, passed through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal, the SRC said, adding, Bhubaneswar city was hit by high velocity winds of around 140 kmph.

Telecommunication lines got snapped in several parts of the state capital and other areas.

Summer crops, orchards and plantations also suffered huge damage, he said.

Around 220 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled in view of passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.
'Fani', which ravaged most parts of and left 12 people dead, poses no threat to West Bengal anymore, as it weakens further before entering neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official said on Saturday.

As per forecast, there will be moderate to light rainfall, particularly in the districts adjacent to Bangladesh, but the weather condition in and around the city will normalise through the course of the day, Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here, Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

"There is absolutely no threat from this system ( Fani) to West Bengal. The very severe cyclonic storm had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over coast before entering West Bengal," he said.

"Fani is likely to continue to move and further weaken in the next six hours. It is very likely to move to Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression," Bandyopadhyay said.

Light to moderate rain is likely in the districts adjacent to Kolkata, and clear skies are expected in the city by afternoon, the official said.

The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures Friday in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans, in wake of the cyclonic storm.

'Fani' barrelled through on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least 12 people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.
Committees of Creditors (CoCs) should provide all relevant information and share their vision for companies under the insolvency process, a senior official said Saturday as he asserted that it will be dangerous to let viable firms to close down.

Amid rising number of stressed assets being referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), IBBI chief M S Sahoo said the law also gives opportunities to rectify the mistakes during the insolvency process.

The objective of the law is to rescue viable companies and close down unviable ones, he said.

"If due to incompetence (of market participants) the reverse happens, then it is dangerous," Sahoo said here.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson also noted that CoCs must provide all relevant information to resolution applicants so that they find interest in the companies.

"Commercial decisions are not black and white. There is no mathematical formula to say that a company is unviable and another is viable. It depends on so much considerations and it depends on who is looking at it," he noted.

Speaking at an event, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said that financial creditors should not play foul while going through the viability and commercial aspects of a resolution plan.

Citing examples, he indicated that operational creditors should also be getting money and not just the financial creditors in a resolution process.

Responding to a query on whether operational creditors are not getting their dues, Sahoo cited data till December 2018 to say that both operational and financial creditors "on average, got about 48 per cent each of their claims".

About haircuts taken by creditors, he wondered what can be done if the resolution process started very late.

"Today about 370-380 companies have been ordered into liquidation. Most of them, 80 per cent, were in BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) or defunct companies. So when there is nothing to really recover, when the liquidation value almost zero, you will have to take haircut," he noted.

According to him, it also needs to be seen how much one gets in comparison to his claim and in comparison to the liquidation value.

"Up to March data, creditors have got about 195 per cent of the liquidation value. That means companies have been rescued and thereafter creditors have got 195 per cent of the liquidation value. Anything above liquidation value is bonus and that has come because of the IBC," he said.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) President and Chief Justice (Rtd) M M Kumar said that 32 more members would be joining the tribunal, which would help in stabilising the system.

At present, it has 25 members.

Despite the adjudicating authority functioning with a very poor infrastructure, the average timeline for resolution of cases is around 300 days, Kumar said.

Under the IBC, the timeline for resolution of a case is a maximum of 270 days.

Kumar also said the institution of resolution professionals needs to be strengthened and such professionals must be more equipped and full of knowledge.

They were speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by industry body Assocham.

The IBC provides for market-driven and time-bound resolution of stressed assets.

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Sana Niyaz has joined the league of her three sisters after topping the Delhi government-run schools in the CBSE Class 12 examination.

Niyaz, who studied at Sarvdaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Jama Masjid, scored 97.6 per cent marks in the examination and thus bagged the first position among the students of the schools run by the Delhi government.

Her three sisters had also studied in the same school. While one among them was the top scorer of the school in her Class 12 exams, the other two also had performed excellently.

Niyaz, whose father is a cook at Matia Mahal's famed Al Jawahar restaurant and mother a housewife, says she had to maintain the "standard" set by her elder sisters.

And she did not disappoint.

"I never had to take any tuition because my sisters were there to clear all my doubts. I wanted to live up to the standards they had set in the family," Niyaz said.

Her family says they felt happy when Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called them to congratulate for the results of Niyaz.

The results for the Class 12 examination were announced by the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) on Thursday. The pass percentage of Delhi government schools has gone up by 3.6 per cent to 94.24 per cent this time.

Niyaz wants to pursue Bachelor of Arts at St Stephen's college and also prepare for civil services.

Niyaz's younger sister is studying in Class 9 in the same school and she also has to follow suit.

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US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost a hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly also -- we discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal," the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

"And China, I've already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that," Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

We're going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. We'll be talking about nonproliferation. We'll be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said.

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A major drug racket was busted at a resort near Pollachi in the district and over 150 college students were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Based on a complaint that a large number of students, who were camping in the resort since Friday night, were involved in drug abuse, a raid was conducted, they said.

A total of 159 students were allegedly under the influence of ganja, cocaine, intravenous drugs, sedatives and also liquor when they were arrested, police said.

Majority of the students were from neighbouring Kerala and studying in private colleges in and around Coimbatore, they said.

Six employees of the resort were also arrested while the owner was at large, police said, adding that a large number of narcotic substances and vehicles were seized from the resort.

Meanwhile, District Collector K Rajamani has issued an order to seal the resort, official sources said.

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In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."



The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.

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Embassy Office Parks REIT, India's first listed real estate investment trust, has raised Rs 3,000 crore through private placement of debentures mainly to repay debt.

Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between global investment firm Blackstone and realty firm Embassy Group, is a leading developer of commercial real estate. It launched the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to raise Rs 4,750 crore.

In a statement, the company said "it has successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement Rs 30 billion of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable and non-convertible debentures (NCDs)."



The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market segment of the BSE.

The debentures, EMBASSY REIT Series I NCD 2019, carry a face value of Rs 1,000,000 with yield to maturity of 9.4 per cent and will mature in June 2022.

Embassy REIT intends to use the proceeds from the issue to repay its existing debt and for general corporate purposes, it added.

On April 23, 2019, the Debenture Committee of the board had approved the issue of debentures aggregating Rs 3,650 crore in two tranches.

The panel on May 3 approved the allotment of the Tranche A debentures aggregating Rs 3,000 crore.

Embassy REIT owns and operates a 33 million square feet (msf) portfolio of seven Grade A office parks and four city-centre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, comprising two completed hotels, two under-construction hotels and a 100 MW solar park supplying renewable energy to park tenants.

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The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready." Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban appeared to rebuff the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither Khalilzad or the Taliban have said much about progress in their latest talks, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms" and "stop repeating failed strategies & expecting different outcomes."



Last year, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.

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The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.

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"Westworld" star Evan Rachel Wood will be headlining the Hiroshima bombing survivor drama "One Thousand Paper Cranes".

According to Variety, Richard Raymond will direct the project from a script by Ben Bolea.

Wood, 31, will be joined by actors Jim Sturgess and Shinobu Terajima in the cast.

The film is based on the story of Hiroshima survivor Sadako Sasaki and author Eleanor Coerr, who wrote the bestselling children's book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes".

Sasaki was a two-year-old when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. She was later diagnosed with leukemia caused by exposure to radiation from the blast. She, however, drew strength from a Japanese legend that, if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish, which in her case was to live.

Coerr, an aspiring journalist and young mother, learns of the girl and becomes determined to share her story with the world.

Raymond will also produce the film Ian Bryce and Irene Yeung.

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A retired Army man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The deceased, identified as Irdaus Lakra (68), had gone out to answer nature's call at his vegetable farm adjacent to his house in Sithra village under Chhal forest range in the wee hours when he was attacked by the elephant, he said.

"Lakra, a retired Army man, died on the spot in the attack. After being informed about the incident, forest personnel reached the place and sent the body for post- mortem," the official said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000, he added.

According to the official, a herd of 11 elephants has been spotted in this forest range and the forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on their movement to avoid untoward incidents.

After the incident, local residents staged a protest and blocked the Dharamjaigarh road for about three hours, demanding protection from the wild elephants.

The villagers also asked the forest department to keep them informed about the movement of wild elephants and provide them equipment like torches to keep the pachyderm away from human habitations. The protesters were later pacified by the forest officials.

The forested Surguja division comprising five districts- Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Balrampur and Surajpur- and two other districts- Korba and Raigarh- of Bilaspur division, are notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.

The region, which falls in northern part of the state, has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in past years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Not farmers' income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former minister alleged Saturday.

The also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

"Farmers' income will be doubled (if the comes to power). In the last five years, farmers' income has not doubled but their debt has doubled," told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 400,000 vacant posts in the government will be filled when the comes to power, he said.

said another issue is farmers' distress.

"I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014," the Congress said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

"Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJP's alliances," he said.

The BJP won all the seats in and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in in the last elections, but Prime Minister did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 1.5 million in of every citizen and 20 million jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congress's election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people."Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room," Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJP's manifesto, they are discussing the Congress's, he said.

On his party's proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise India's economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.
A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

"Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Arjun Singh is known for his local connections and strong booth management skills but sitting TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi dismisses the chances of his former chief election manager in their fight for supremacy in this seat, saying he is a non-factor in this poll.

Having a 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, Barrackpore is one of the key seats where the Modi-Mamata factor has turned the contest into a prestige fight for both the TMC and the BJP.

With Trivedi eyeing a consecutive third term from the seat, which goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6, Singh, who defected to the BJP recently, is hoping to upset the former Union minister's applecart.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in West Bengal had claimed that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to accuse him of engaging in horse trading and demanding for cancellation of his candidature.

"After this statement and counter statement, the election in this seat is more about whether the BJP and Modi will be able to make a penetration in Bengal or Mamata Banerjee will be stop them and become the next prime minister," says a senior TMC leader of North 24 Parganas district.

Even wall graffiti mention a Modi vs Mamata fight.

"It is a fight to make Didi (Mamata Banerjee) prime minister and stop horse trading of MLAs", says a wall writing here whereas another writing goes: "Vote to re-elect Modi as PM and end the misrule of Mamata".

Barrackpore, situated in the north western part of Kolkata, has about 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, which had migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the past few decades. They are likely to be a deciding factor in the polls.

Though Singh is a four-time former TMC MLA from the Bhatpara assembly constituency and is said to have considerable influence among the Hindi-speaking population of the area, Trivedi asserts his rival is a non-factor in the elections as he has lost connection with the masses.

"He was never a factor in this seat. His tall claims that it was his organisational skills that helped TMC win the seat would fall flat in the Lok Sabha polls. He will get to know his political stature once the results are out on May 23," Trivedi, who was railway minister from July 2011 to March 2012, told PTI.

Singh, who was the main election manager of Trivedi since 2009, had switched over to the BJP in March, after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from this seat.

Once also known to be close to former CPI (M) MP from Barrackpore Tarit Baran Topdar, Singh was considered a game-changer for the TMC in several elections, from panchayat polls to parliamentary battles, due to his local connections and strong booth management skills.

"The people of this seat will vote for BJP and Modiji. Trivedi has been a complete failure as an MP. People will oust him," Singh told PTI.

At present, all the seven assembly seats in the Lok Sabha seat are held by the TMC.

There is also a minority-dominated Amdanga assembly segment and the TMC eyeing these votes.

Apart from Trivedi and Singh, the contest has also become a prestige issue for BJP leader Mukul Roy whose son Subhranshu Roy is a TMC MLA from Bijpur assembly seat which falls under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.

The onus on Roy is to ensure victory of Singh from Barrackpore, whereas for Subhranshu it is a fight to prove his loyalty to the party.

Roy, once considered number two in the TMC, had switched over to the BJP in 2017. Many also consider him to be the BJP's key organisational man in engineering defections in the TMC.

"It's has nothing to do with father-son relationship. I can ensure you that TMC would win from this assembly segment with a big margin," Subhranshu says.

In 2014, Bijpur gave the TMC the highest lead among the all seven assembly segments in the constituency.

But with the fast changing political equations in the area, both the TMC and the BJP have kept the cards close to their chest.

The Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, which has been a CPI(M) stronghold since early sixties, had elected Trivedi for the first time in 2009.

Also in the fray are Gargi Chatterjee of the CPI(M) and Mohammed Alam of Congress.

Trivedi won the seat in 2014 by defeating his nearest rival of the CPI(M) by a margin of over two lakh votes. The constituency at present has 14,33, 276 voters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol.

Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Donald Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation.

This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration.

"One of the things that everybody in this country needs to think about is when the president denies the Congress documents and access to key witnesses, basically what they're doing is saying, Congress you don't count," said Rep.

Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. "We cannot we simply cannot have a presidency that is run as if it were a king or a dictator in charge," said Cummings, D-Md. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversight and Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do so is testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

Trump derides the oversight of his business dealings and his administration as "presidential harassment" and has the backing of most Republicans in Congress. With Mueller's work completed, Trump wants closure to what he has long complained was a "witch hunt."



"No more costly & time consuming investigations," Trump tweeted.

Stunned by the administration's refusal to allow officials to testify or respond to document requests, lawmakers have been left to think aloud about their next steps against the White House.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding a redacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge.

Barr could face another subpoena to appear before Nadler's committee after skipping a hearing Thursday in a dispute over the rules for questioning him.

Nadler, D-N.Y., also has subpoenaed testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

Cummings is considering what to do on several fronts, including about testimony from Carl Kline, the White House's personnel security director.

Cummings said Kline declined last week to answer specific questions in a closed-session hearing about the security clearances granted for White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president's son-in-law and daughter.

Also, the House Ways and Means Committee is being refused access to Trump's tax returns. Republicans are largely declining to join Democrats in pursuing the investigations any further.

"It is over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Barr testified last week before the committee.

Graham, R-S.C., has asked Mueller to respond to Barr's testimony, particularly after the disclosure of a letter the special counsel sent Barr complaining about attorney general's summary of the 400-plus page Russia report.

The rejection of oversight is the latest and perhaps most high-profile example of the new normal in the Trump era.

Gone are the daily White House press briefings, once a fixture in Washington.

Top department vacancies go unfilled, leaving fewer officials to respond to congressional requests.

Agencies across the government seem more insular than before. Princeton professor Julian E Zelizer said what's unfolding between the White House and Congress "fits in a long history of bad moments when the branches clash over vital information."



While other presidents, including Barack Obama, have resisted congressional oversight in certain situations, including during Attorney General Eric Holder's blockade of the "Fast and Furious" gun-running investigation, Zelizer said "Trump is going further by saying no to everything."To Zelizer, "certainly there are echoes of Watergate when the administration did everything possible to stonewall Congress as they undertook legitimate investigations and hearings into presidential corruption."He said presidents with "too much power" can easily make decisions that undermine government operations in everyday lives.

"Should citizens care? Of course, the restraint of presidential power is an essential part of our Constitution and the health of our democracy," Zelizer said.

Impeachment is being shelved, for now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her leadership team are taking a step-by-step approach to the White House standoff, declining any rush to impeachment proceedings, as some in her party want, for a more incremental response.

Pelosi did note this past week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there?" Pelosi said Friday.

"I don't agree with that."



Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt.

They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jail time.

Capitol Hill has been buzzing about the unlikely prospect of using a jail that some say exists somewhere in the Capitol and that was used in the past to detain those in contempt of Congress.

But the House and Senate say no such facility exists. "No evidence suggests that any room in the Capitol was ever designated for use as a jail," says an entry on the House website's historical pages.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see if he is still fit to rule.

The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible", according to the ruling seen by AFP Saturday.

Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.

But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.

"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads up one of the groups behind the bid, said.

Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered on October 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.

During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum.

A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.

But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial enquiry into his state of health.

Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.

Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who ruled from 1967.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farmers' organizations alleged Saturday that the Gujarat government had yet to consult them or the cultivators sued by PepsiCo India for growing a 'protected' variety of potato in its discussions with the company.

PepsiCo has decided to withdraw the cases filed against nine farmers in Gujarat following an outcry.

"The Gujarat government, after making itself a mediator in this controversy, has not consulted the farmers sued by PepsiCo and has not involved any farmers' organizations in the discussions it is holding with PepsiCo India," farmers rights groups said in a joint statement.

They also said they would intensify their agitation, if the government, as reported by an English daily, tried to persuade farmers not to grow the variety of potato for which PepsiCo is claiming Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights, or tried to persuade farmers to sell the produce only to the company.

"Why should the government try to persuade the farmers when they have not committed any crime under our law?" the statement asked.

No permission is required to be taken by farmers for growing any variety including registered ones as per the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001, they said.

PepsiCo India Thursday announced that it will withdraw cases filed against potato farmers in Gujarat.

On Friday, representatives of the company held a meeting with the Gujarat government officials and called for an "amicable solution for everyone".

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by the company for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which it has claimed PVP rights.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shops and other businesses in Gujarat can remain open round the clock now with the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 coming into force from May 1, the government said.

The act, passed by the state Assembly in February, was notified on May 1, a government release said Saturday.

With this, commercial establishments in municipal corporations limits, or those near national highways, railway stations, state transport depots, hospitals and petrol pumps will be allowed to operate 24 hours.

The shops and commercial entities operating near state highways and within municipality limits can now operate between 6 am to 2 am.

The act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act of 1948, which prohibited shops and other businesses from operating between 12 am to 6 am.

Under the new act, shops and commercial entities employing more than 10 workers will require one-time registration with no need for renewal, while those with less than 10 employees will need no registration.

Employees will get twice the regular salary for working overtime, against the one-and-a-half-time as provided under the earlier act.

Under the new act, working hours for women employees can be between 6 am and 9 pm, which could be relaxed only if a written request is made and after the authorities consider safety issues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(ANSA) - Turin, May 3 - A three-man gang sold drugs as Communion wafers in Turin, police said Friday.

A 31-year-old Ivorian, a 27-year-old Gabonese and a 22-year-old Mauritanian were arrested at their underground drugs lab.


US President Donald Trump has said that he had a very positive conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Venezuela, emphasising that Moscow was not looking at all to get involved in the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump on Friday spoke with Putin for about an hour, during which Venezuela was one of the major topics of discussion.

I had a very good talk with President Putin -- probably over an hour. We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump told reporters.

Stating that he too wanted something positive for Venezuela, Trump said the US was willing to help the nation with humanitarian aid as people were starving.

We want to get them some humanitarian aid. Right now, people are starving. They have no water, they have no food. This is one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago, and now they don't have food and they don't have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis, he said.

Responding to questions, Trump said the alleged Russian interference in the US election was not discussed.

We didn't discuss that. Really, we didn't discuss it. We discussed five or six things. We went into detail on various things, especially, I would say, the nuclear. Especially, maybe, Venezuela. We talked about North Korea at great length, and pretty much that's it, he said.

The two leaders also discussed trade.

We intend to do a lot of trade with Russia. We do some right now. It's up a little bit. But he'd like to do trade and we'd like to do trade, he said.

Getting along with Russia and China, getting along with all of them is very good thing, not a bad thing. It's a good thing. It's a positive thing. We want to have good relationships with every country, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police in Sri Lanka on Saturday asked members of the public to hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police station after a haul of such blades were recovered from mosques and homes during searches following the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara that the knives which are used for day-to-day "domestic" and "justifiable" purposes were not required to be handed over to police.

Apart from large blades, Gunasekara said that police and army uniforms or such camouflaged materials, which are in possession with the common people should also be hand over to the police.

"This will be in effect from today until tomorrow", he said, adding, "If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station".

The move came after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, and camouflaged materials during searches of mosques and houses following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

According to the police, several people including politicians were arrested for possession of sharp-edged weapons like swords since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests to identify around 56 bodies, laying unclaimed in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SAD candidate from the Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday accused the Punjab government of failing to procure gunny bags that led to "stalling" of wheat procurement process in the constituency.

"The Congress government's criminal negligence in failing to procure gunny bags has choked all the grain markets in the constituency, besides stalling the wheat procurement process and causing untold misery to farmers," she claimed.

Holding Amarinder Singh responsible for farmers' "hardships", the Union minister said the farmers had the right to know why their chief minister had "let them down".

"Raja Sahab you are accountable to the people. You should tell farmers why your government failed to procure gunny bags in advance by placing orders in time. It is condemnable that you are still not paying attention to this problem forget about identifying those responsible for this lapse and taking strict action against them," she said.

She advised Singh to lead from the front and address farmers' grievances.

Badal said the CM had made only one visit to a grain market while enroute to a political function more than one week back.

She said with no political will to mitigate the problems of farmers, the administration as well as procurement agencies were now also giving a "raw deal" to the farmers.

Badal said she was getting complaints from all mandis in the constituency, including Bhucho, Naruana and Kaljharani, besides the local mandi that despite complaints to staff, no attempt was being made to lift wheat from the mandis.

She said farmers were complaining that the procurement process had also been delayed.

"Even commission agents are suffering due to lack of lifting," she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday that if an alliance of opposition parties came to power, there will be a different prime minister every day.

The Opposition is leaderless, Shah said, addressing an election rally at Govindgarh in Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.

"Friends, tell me who will be the leader of the alliance....I am asking who will be their leader, but there is no reply," he said.

Quoting a WhatsApp message sent by a BJP worker, he said, "...if an alliance government is formed at the Center, on Monday, Mayawati will be PM, Tuesday Akhilesh (Yadav), Wednesday Sharad Pawar, Thursday (H D) Devegowda, Friday Chandra Babu (Naidu), Saturday Mamata Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and on Sunday the country will go on holiday!"



"Can a country be run like this? The country needs a strong leader and a strong government at the Center. Congress government will not help the poor. It will not fight terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give a befitting reply to Pakistan," the BJP chief said.

Referring to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's suggestion that Jammu and Kashmir should have a separate prime minister, Shah alleged the Congress wanted the same.

"But the Modi government will never allow secession (of Kashmir) from India," he said.

"Anti-national slogans like 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge' were shouted in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). Shouldn't these people be sent to jail?" he asked.

On Congress leader Sam Pitroda's statement that India should hold talks with Pakistan, he said, "Rahul Baba's guru Sam Pitroda made a statement....tell me, should we talk to those who killed our 40 jawans (in Pulwama terror attack) or should we attack them? This is a Narendra Modi government which will reply to gunfire with a bombshell."



When the whole country was rejoicing over India taking revenge of the Pulwama attack (by conducting air strike at Balakot in Pakistan), Shah alleged that there was gloom only in Pakistan and "at (houses of) Rahul Gandhi and (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Kamal Nath".

Congress leaders were sad after the Balakot air strike because "their vote-bank was sad", he added.

Even if people do not wish to vote for the development carried out under the BJP, they should elect Modi (as PM) for strengthening the country's security, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut Saturday advised Sitaram Yechury to drop his first name after the CPI(M) general secretary said Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were replete with "violence".

Raut also asked Yechury if he would term as "violence" the action of security forces while defending the country against Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

"If Sitaram Yechury calls Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu violence, then he should remove Sitaram from his name," Raut added.

In an article for the CPIM mouthpiece, People's Democracy, Yechury had said the BJP's decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal is an expression of its efforts to consolidate the Hindutva "communal" vote bank.

Yechury also took on Narendra Modi for his claim that Hindus can never be violent, alleging that the Prime Minister erases Indian history replete with gruesome battles and wars.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

Raut said, "What do you mean by saying Hindus are violent? The Ramayana and Mahabharata conveyed a central message -- victory of good over evil, truth over falsehood. Ram, Krishna and Arjuna are symbols of truth."



"If this is the meaning they interpret, then tomorrow they will say our soldiers fighting against Pakistan is 'violence'. When we defend ourselves against Pakistani acts of terrorism in Kashmir, is that violence?" he asked.

"Sitaram Yechury's intentions are clear: it is to attack Hindus and make oneself a secular person," the Sena Rajya Sabha MP alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here convicted two persons, including a woman, in the abduction and rape case of a 13-year-old girl.

While the court sentenced Jhalawar's Chitawa village resident Inderraj Gujjar (25) to life imprisonment till the remainder of his natural life, Seema Saina (27), a resident of Salora village in Jhalawar, was given 10-year rigorous imprisonment.

In the order that was delivered on Friday, the man and the woman were also told to pay a fine of Rs 95,000 and 50,000, respectively.

The convicts had abducted the minor from Kanwas in Kota district in May 2015. The police had rescued her after two months from Jhalawar district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a 'Pathalgadi' area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering don't strike a chord in Jharkhand's Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or 'Pathalgadi', declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where 'gram sabhas', or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes don't recognise any authority and don't owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6 BJP's former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress' Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

"Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes," proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through 'Pathalgadi' leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

"We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference," Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers' outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, "It is no subject."



"There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here," he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, "No one has reached us."



The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhand's high profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their "jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land)".

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, "We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us."



"Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat," added an elderly man. "We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright."



To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Munda's home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India could soon be facing a predicament of having more writers than readers, feels iconic author Ruskin Bond.

Bond also said the publishing industry in the country has developed and matured over the years, benefitting young writers.

The 85-year-old author was in the city recently to launch 'myELSA', an English learning app for school students.

"Publishing has come of age and more and more writers are making a good living out of it... But, I think with so many people writing now, there is a danger of having more writers than readers," he said in reply to a question on the present Indian literary scenario.

"After all, we want people also to buy them (books)," the celebrated author told PTI.

In a word of advice for budding writers, the 'Padma Bhushan' awardee said they must be sure to be able to write first. "Confidence in the language is a must. You should have something to say and be able to research on it well. Clarity is key."



On the increasing trend of people turning to e-books and other alternatives on the digital platform, Bond said the printed book is still the first choice for those in love with literature and reading.

"I would call e-books and other such apps an extension, in a way, of people's reading habits. They offer convenience and are useful for seeking information or hone one's writing and speaking skills. But, printed books are here to stay as a form of pleasurable reading," he said.

Talking about his favourite authors, Bond said there have been "too many" since his childhood days, but Charles Dickens, Somerset Maugham and Rabindranath Tagore are among his most-loved writers.

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India, close on the heels of getting Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar blacklisted, has given a clarion call at the UN for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending global convention on international terrorism amidst increasing terror attacks on places of worship across the globe.

India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at a solemn commemorative event Friday for victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, said the early adoption of the global framework to combat terrorism will be a "tribute" to those killed and injured in the "barbaric and cowardly" terror attacks in the island nation last month.

"The barbaric and cowardly attacks on places of worship and recreation, that took lives of hundreds of innocent people of different nationalities, is a reminder that terrorism aims not only to disrupt livelihoods, destroy lives and traumatise people, but also rupture societies, destabilise states and undermine the fabric of human beliefs by creating panic for the sake of panic," he said.

Akbaruddin highlighted the efforts by Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Amrith Rohan Perera over the last two decades towards achieving an outcome on the CCIT.

"Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of a putting in place a global legal framework to counter a global scourge," he said at the event co-organised by the President of the General Assembly and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN.

India's clarion call to adopt the CCIT came just a day after it won a massive victory in the fight against terrorism with the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The blacklisting of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief on Wednesday came 10 years after India first moved a proposal in the UN body to sanction him.

Perera underscored the need for the international community to demonstrate a "political will" to adopt the legal framework to combat international terrorism, saying "too much blood" has been spilled due to terrorism and nations can no longer remain deadlocked over the issue.

"I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue. The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy," the Sri Lankan envoy said.

Akbaruddin stressed that the challenges posed by the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka reflect threats to the common heritage of mankind that nations strive to build at the UN.

"Terrorists, globally, seek to lay the foundations of edifices built on violence, even as we strive here to promote the culture of peace. They are antithetical to all that we promote here. Terrorism fundamentally stands for the denial of all that we stand for here at the UN - peace, development, security and human rights," he said.

UN leadership and members expressed their condolences to Sri Lanka for the attacks that killed over 250 people and injured close to 500.

Nationals from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US were among those who lost their lives or were affected by the attacks.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the commemorative meeting that "tragically", again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become "killing grounds and houses of horror".

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said, adding that "as a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance".

Mohammed said the world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, voicing concern that today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet.

President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly Mara Fernanda Espinosa said the attacks, targeting worshippers, families, workers and holidaymakers, ignited fear among communities in Sri Lanka a country still grappling with the deep wounds inflicted by three decades of civil war.

"Against this backdrop, I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage, resilience and unity," Espinosa said.

On March 15, a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and injured as many others in two Christchurch mosques, the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history.

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A group of 18 Indian fintech companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme.

The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually.

"These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT).

"The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming our nation as the best place to raise capital for foreign investment," he said.

The Indian delegation included Nomisma Mobile Solutions, Nineroot Technologies, Chillar Payment Solutions, Rupeepower, Credenc, Lithasa Technologies, CredRight, Fingpay, Aye Finance, StashFin, Intelligence Node, Safehouse, Zuper, Oro Wealth, Clensta, Zest IOT, Inclov and Mobile Wallet.

At an event organised by the City of London Corporation and the Indian High Commission in London, the companies attended a fintech roundtable at India House on Friday to discuss barriers to entry in the UK and how these can be addressed.

Led by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Charanjeet Singh, the event brought together stakeholders from Innovate Finance, Grant Thornton, Santander and investment firm CoBa to share their expertise on the UK-India relationship.

"India and the UK have much to gain by increasing ties in fintech, an area seeing significant growth and innovation in both our countries," said Estlin.

"Many Indian firms have expressed interest in setting up in the UK, but market access remains an issue for some, especially smaller companies. This meeting in London aims to explore what support organisations like the City of London Corporation can provide to address this and further open our doors," he said.

According to the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the financial heart of London known as the Square Mile, the UK's fintech sector is worth around 6.6 billion pounds to UK GDP and accounts for 76,500 jobs.

The latest Indian fintech delegation follows a visit to India in October 2018 by former Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, who led a UK fintech delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The delegation from India coincided with the UK Fintech Week, backed by the UK government and City of London Corporation.

UK Fintech Week, which concluded on Friday, was designed as a think-tank and collaborative approach to cover topics such as post-Brexit UK, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cyber security.

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An Indian man in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 15 million (USD 4 million) in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi, the latest addition to the long list of lucky winners from India.

Shojith KS, who lives in Sharjah, won on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket series draw which was livestreamed on Youtube.

Shojith bought his winning ticket online on April 1, but is unaware that he is now a multi-millionaire as he repeatedly rejected the calls of the officers who tried to get in touch with him.

"If (our calls) don't get through we will keep on trying. And if we still can't get in touch with Shojith, we are going to his house - we know where he lives in Sharjah," Richard, who conducts the Big Ticket Raffle at the Abu Dhabi International Airport every month, told the Khaleej Times.

Another Indian expatriate Mangesh Mainde won a BMW 220i in the draw, it said, adding that eight other Indian nationals and one Pakistani won 9 consolation prizes.

Last year, Indian driver from Kerala John Varughese won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw.

In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.

Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.

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The Islamic State (ISIS) is an "extremely dangerous" terror organisation, which is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, Dr Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has said here.

He was delivering a lecture on 'Israel, Iran and the Arabs: The Middle East of the 21st Century' at the Pune International Centre here on Friday.

"We have to distinguish between the IS as a territorial facet in the region, which I think has been demolished...But ISIS is internationally extremely dangerous, not because of their military power, not because of their territorial base, which has disappeared, but because ISIS is a source of inspiration for international terrorism," he said.

Since it is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, it is very difficult to combat, he added.

"ISIS has the capacity to engage in terrorism. We have seen it in France, we have seen it in Sri Lanka," he said.

Giving the example of Israel, Susser said the country fought terrorism fairly successfully due to its "outstanding intelligence" and "effective military force".

"The problem of those who stand up to ISIS, they have neither of these capacities...take the example the European Union. Their intelligence on ISIS and military capabilities are relatively poor. Although every EU member has its own intelligence operations, they do not cooperate," he said, and called for greater international cooperation.

Prof Susser said the Middle East of the 21st century is not the Arab world as it used to be.

"Arab countries have declined economically, politically and also in terms of their power in the region. This is due to lack of political freedom, deficit of first world education and gender equality," he said.

Former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also present at the talk.

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Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public Saturday for the first time since his succession, expressing hope for Japan to keep pursuing peace.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the palace ground, Naruhito thanked throngs of well-wishers for congratulating him.

"I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today," said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

"I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further."



As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long lines outside the palace.

More than 140,000 people came to celebrate, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 59-year-old new emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after World War II and the first who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death. Still, there has been a lack of discussion about maintaining the monarchy's male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is still recovering from stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Naruhito's succession leaves only two younger male heirs in line for the throne, his 53-year-old younger brother Fumihito and 12-year-old nephew Hisahito.

Adding to the issue, the family faces a declining royal population because female royals are stripped of their status when they marry commoners.

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Union minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday accused the Congress of damaging constitutional institutions and patronising corruption during the UPA regime.

He claimed that it was Congress' character to give threats of impeachment to Supreme Court judges.

"The Congress-led UPA government gave 2G scam, CWG scam to the country. The party is known for corruption in every deal and for taking commission in different forms," the minister alleged.

"The Congress has now come up with a claim that surgical strikes were carried out in its rule also but Union minister and former army chief V K Singh, in whose tenure the strikes were claimed to have happened, has also said that he is not aware of any such action during his tenure," he said.

He also alleged that then prime minister Manmohan Singh did not give permission for surgical strike after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 but Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his assent to the Indian Air Force after the Pulwama attack.

Javadekar, who is BJP's poll-incharge in Rajasthan, said security of the nation was the main issue in the election and people have expressed their faith in the leadership of Modi.

He exuded confidence that the BJP would win more than 300 seats in the ongoing polls.

"We will win more than 300 seats in the country and will maintain the record of 2014 Lok Sabha polls of winning all the 25 seats in Rajasthan," he said.

Javadekar said the BJP has done intense campaigning in the state where top leaders of the party, including Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, addressed public rallies and conducted roadshows.

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Seeking to promote use of public transport and make commercial areas pedestrian-friendly, the north corporation has hiked parking fees for using a Karol Bagh street in this popular marketing zone in Delhi.

The move comes right after a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road in the area was made pedestrianised on Wednesday.

Senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials Saturday said, the approval for the project and on parking fee hike was taken just before the elections dates were announced.

Ajmal Khan Road for decades has been clogged with traffic and haphazard parking leading to discomfort for visitors.

"This project had been first conceptualised in 2010 but could not take off for some reasons. So, we picked up this zone, as soon I took charge at NDMC, and we engaged with market associations and created off-street parking spaces by utilizing old, defunct municipal spaces," NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

On Wednesday, visitors taken by surprise, when they found a stretch of the nearly one-km road, decongested, and pavements lined with benches and the street decorated with flower pots.

"About 600 metre of the Ajmal Khan Road has been pedestrianised, rest of it being done. People were taken by surprise, as we did most of the work at night time, from installing benches to painting kerbs, etc, she said.

The street has been marked with yellow and white strips demarcating space for hawkers. Besides, bollards have been put at the entry points of Ajmal Khan Road on Pusa Road and Arya Samaj Road to restrict entry of vehicles to the road.

Joshi said, the project could not have been executed without arranging for alternative parking spaces, and so, off-street parking zones were built in a couple of places nearby, adding, the idea is to enhance shopping experience and encourage walking among people.

In pursuance of its pilot project to decongest Karol Bagh and disincentivise use of private cars, the NDMC has increased the surface parking rates on portion of Arya Samaj Road.

The civic agency has increased the parking charge for cars from Rs 20 to Rs 40 for the first hour. For the second hour, the charge will be Rs 50; between two and three hours, the rate will be Rs 60; between three and five hours, it will be Rs 70; and for over five hours, the charge will be Rs 300.

Also, instead of perpendicular parking, parallel parking is being implemented to give more access of the Arya Samaj road to pedestrians, the commissioner said.

The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation has also launched a similar project to remove vehicles from Chandni Chowk, and work on which is currently underway.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act".

Police said the man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway.

Kejriwal was on an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before he was pulled off the jeep.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park area.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj too alleged that the BJP might be behind the attack and asserted the incident would not deter the spirit of the party.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi," he said.

BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari condemned the incident and said the AAP might have "scripted" the incident.

"We do not support violence and condemn such action by anyone. But I have doubt as to why such incidents happen with Kejriwal in election time only.

"I doubt this incident may have been scripted by Kejriwal himself," Tiwari alleged.

Kejriwal was holding the roadshow in favour of New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the Lok Sabha seat.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally. Earlier, he was also attacked with ink and spices.

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Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited and for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka mulls regulating Madrasas under religious and cultural ministry

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in and Kerala, the chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka police arrests Indian photo journalist on trespassing charges

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security".

He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the chief added.
Madrasas in should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Prime Minister has said, days after the country's worst terror attack killed over 250 people.

Authorities are on high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring about 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Wickremesinghe has stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror newspaper.

Earlier, Kariyawasam had said that the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.

Some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at Madrasas, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, adding that they had arrived on tourist visas and therefore should be deported.

has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.

Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
A city-based advocate Saturday approached police over an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana which called for a ban on burqas in India.

In the editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqas and other face-covering garments in India considering the threat it poses to the nation's security.

Police said advocate Munsif Khan has approached Santa Cruz police station demanding action against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut and others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

"The Constitution of India has given right to life and liberty to the citizens of India and it allows the citizens to wear clothes of their choice and there is also freedom to follow religion," Khan's complaint stated.

When contacted, senior inspector Shriram Koregoankar of Santa Cruz police station said police had received an application from Khan but no case has been registered as yet.

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The Press Club Leh has accused the BJP of trying to bribe its members by offering "envelops filled with money", a charge denied by the party which said the allegations were "politically motivated".

BJP state president Ravinder Raina also threatened to file a defamation suit if the body did not issue a public apology.

"The BJP will not tolerate such allegations. It will file a defamation suit in the high court against the press club if it fails to make a public apology," Raina said.

He said the charges were "baseless and false propaganda" and it was a "politically motivated move".

A two-page letter signed by several members of the Press Club was circulating on social media, seeking an FIR against Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa for allegedly trying to bribe journalists by offering money in envelops to influence the outcome of elections.

Press Club, Leh, president Morup Stanzin confirmed that the letter was written but said they had not lodged the complaint with the police.

"We have lodged our complaint with deputy commissioner, Leh, who is also the returning officer on Friday... After a press conference, Randhawa handed over the envelops filled with money to some journalists who returned these to him immediately," Stanzin told PTI.

Raina refuted the claim, saying he had left the room immediately after the press conference was over on May 2 around 1.30 pm as he had interviews lined up with media groups.

The Ladakh parliamentary constituency is going to polls on May 6.

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Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Saturday visited Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the force in the sector.

The GOC-in-C Northern Command visited the headquarters of Fire and Fury Corps, a defence spokesman said.

The Army commander was briefed by Lt Gen Y K Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on the operational readiness being maintained in the Ladakh sector, he said.

Lt Gen Singh appreciated the high standards of professionalism displayed by all ranks of the Corps, the spokesman said.

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Winning this Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma claimed, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

The seat was won by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee five consecutive times between 1991 and 2004, and Sharma believes that Singh will win as he has carried forward the BJP stalwart's "vision for development".

Lucknow is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and will go to polls on Monday, the fifth phase of the general elections.

While the SP-BSP-RLD alliance's Poonam Sinha, who is backed by her actor husband and former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, is making her political debut, the Congress has fielded self-styled spiritual guru Pramod Krishnam, who had unsuccessfully contested Sambhal in 2014 and got just 1.52 per cent of the votes.

Krishnam is seeking votes invoking Vajpayee's legacy and has promised that if he wins, he will build a grand statue of Vajpayee in the UP capital on the lines of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.

The statue in Gujarat is designed as a memorial to India's Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In the midst of his hectic campaigning, Sharma told PTI: "The (Lucknow) seat will be a cakewalk for Rajnathji, who has carried forward the vision for development of Atalji in this constituency."



Singh was a minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet between 2003 and 2004, and also the president of the BJP from 2013 to 2014 before Amit Shah took over.

He was made the district chief of the Jana Sangh in 1975, became an MLA in 1977 and an MP in the Rajya Sabha in 1994.

Campaigning in Lucknow, an urban constituency, has been peaceful, with Shatrughan's daughter Sonakshi Sinha adding a tinge of glamour towards the fag end of hectic electioneering by her mother.

On his part, Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister between 2000 and 2002, during his campaign, tried to portray a balanced image by visiting temples and Muslim clerics.

Since Muslim voters are a force to reckon with in Lucknow, with around 13 per cent of the city's residents belonging to the community, every party has been making efforts to woo them.

Singh met with some Muslim clerics, including Lucknow Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali.

Rasheed, however, downplayed the meeting as "non-political", saying it had nothing to do with the elections.

Poonam Sinha, too, has been meeting Muslim leaders. "We are meeting Muslim clerics because we feel they are important. We need their blessings," she said.

During most of his public meetings, the Union home minister has harped on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India has surged ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has acknowledged the fact that Modi has done wonders to help the country attain great heights," he has been telling voters, sounding confident of a big win from Lucknow.

He led a massive road show in the Uttar Pradesh capital in April before filing his nomination.

Similarly, gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLD alliance) candidate Poonam Sinha held public meetings in Aminabad, an area in old Lucknow with a large Muslim population, and famous for 'chikan' (thread work).

Khalid, a rickshaw puller who mostly plies his cart between Qaiserbagh and Hussainganj, hoped that Muslims will vote for the SP-BSP alliance candidate.

However, in the busy commercial zone of Hazratganj, a Muslim youth, requesting anonymity, said young voters would back the BJP for Modi's "vision and dynamic personality".

Poonam Sinha is relying on transfer of votes from the BSP along with SP's own votes.

"But, presence of a Congress candidate will queer her pitch," said, Harish Tiwari, who runs a betel shop outside Charbagh railway station.

"Ultimately, Rajnath Singh will emerge victorious," he said, with a BJP party flag fluttering atop his kiosk.

Tiwari pointed out that Singh has been a politician for over four decades.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."



"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message.

"The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation." This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.

"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving." Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go.

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Mahindra wants to make South Africa the hub of its exports into the rest of the Africa, a senior official of the company has said.

Arvind Mathew, Chief of International Operations at Mahindra & Mahindra, joined Rajesh Gupta, CEO of the company's local subsidiary, Mahindra SA, on Friday to launch two models in the 7500 series and three in the 6000 series of its tractors from its farming equipment range, which are very popular in India and several other countries.

Africa is the future agricultural base of the world, Mathew told reporters and farming sector representatives at the event in the heart of the farming community in North West Province.

In the15 years that Mahindra has been in South Africa, it is very well recognised in the automotive and information technology sectors, and today we are announcing our advent into this sector with our farming equipment, he added.

Alongside the two tractors, the guests were also introduced to the entire range of farm equipment, including Mahindra implements, Sampo Combines, and Hisarlar implements sourced from India, Turkey and Finland.

With the strong historical bonds between India and South Africa, we have embraced South Africa as our home outside India and have already established a strong presence in the automotive business.

South Africa will always be our base for Africa. We have our assembly plant in Durban and we have built our brand in automotive, he said.

Mathew was referring to a plant which was set up a year ago to assemble its Pik Up-range, that is now among the top six brands in this category in South Africa.

We have also seen initial success in our generators and construction equipment businesses. We feel this is the right time for us to introduce our wide range of farm solutions.

Gupta explained that extensive research across South Africa had shown that farmers wanted versatility, efficiency, reliability, comfort and good service, which matched exactly what the two models of the Mahindra range of tractors which were unveiled offered.

Mahindra is the world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume and many of our models are designed for markets that demand tough and efficient solutions which are also effortless to operate in harsh conditions.

Our initial market study shows that these attributes are in high demand in South Africa as well and we trust that it will find favour with our customers, he said.

Gupta said Mahindra South Africa was now among the fastest growing automotive brands in South Africa for its range of bakkies and SUVs in a market where the industry overall was going through a difficult time amid the economic slump in the country.
The main accused of kidnapping and killing a minor boy here was nabbed after a gunfight with the police at HapurModinagar road, a day after his four accomplices were arrested, officials said Saturday.

Aditya Bansal, a student of Class 6, was kidnapped by two bike-borne men on the evening of April 27 and his body was recovered the next morning from a jungle under the Niwari police station area, Superintendent of Police (rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

During its routine checking late Friday night, the police had signalled a bike to stop, but the rider took a U-turn and sped away, Jadaun said.

The bike-borne men then entered inside a sugarcane field and fired upon the police team. During exchange of fire, a goon and constable Irfaan sustained bullet injuries. They both were immediately rushed to hospital.

The injured youth has been identified as Dinesh alias Ajay, who was riding the bike. He confessed to killing the boy, the SP said.

Police have recovered two country made pistols, three live and two used cartridges from his possession, Jadaun said.

Four people, including a woman, were arrested Friday in this connection.

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The Thane district court in Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

Judge S A Sinha also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 42-year-old man (name not disclosed), a resident of Uttan in the district, after convicting him under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC on Friday.

The victim and the convict, who worked as a security guard, were neighbours, said Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar Saturday.

On August 27, 2018, the victim and her younger brother had gone to the convict's residence to play with his cat, she said.

The convict sent the boy outside to purchase something and raped the girl.

After the girl narrated the incident to her grandmother, a complaint was lodged against the convict at the Uttan Sagari (Marine) police station, Moholkar said.

The judge relied on the victim's testimony as well as on the medical evidence, the prosecutor added.

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PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the Centre and the militants to announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir for the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan so that the "people get some relief".

"The month of Ramzan is starting after a couple of days and so, I appeal the Government of India that ours is a Muslim-majority state and people here are facing difficulties.

"It is a month of prayer and so I request them (Centre) to announce a ceasefire like the last year so that crackdowns, search operations and encounters are stopped and people get some relief, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told reporters here.

She also asked the militants to stop attacks on security forces.

I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attacks in this month, she said.

Ramzan is likely to commence from Monday or Tuesday.

The Union government had in May last year directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". Mehbooba was at that time heading a PDP-BJP coalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

Mehbooba said Ramzam ceasefire would be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he was following former prime minister A B Vajpayee's policy of "insaniyat', jhamooriyat' and Kashmiriyat".

Modi keeps on saying that he wants to follow Vajpayee's policy of insaniyat, jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat and I feel that announcing a Ramadhaan ceasefire will be the biggest proof of democracy and humanity, she said.

The former chief minister said while elections were going on in the country, the Centre has turned Jammu and Kashmir "into a battlefield" and slammed decisions like ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and JKLF, suspension of cross-LoC trade and the closure of highway for civilian traffic for two days a week.

The PDP president said since the elections started, youths have been arrested "in the name of stone-pelting" especially from south Kashmir where from she is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if anti-militancy operations like the Friday's in Shopian would have any impact on the polling in the two districts of Shopian and Pulwama in the last leg of the three-phased polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mehbooba said naturally, it will have an impact.

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Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad laughed off some of the allegations that the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has levelled against him, in his book 'Game Changer'.

In the book, which is officially launched in Pakistan on Saturday, Afridi described the former captain Miandad as a small human being.

Claiming that Miandad didn't like him and his batting style, Afridi said one day before the first Test against India at Chennai in 1999, the 61-year-old didn't even give him time in the nets to practice.

Miandad laughed off the allegations.

"I leave everything to Allah but how is it possible that a player is not given net practice a day before a Test match he is supposed to play," Miandad laughed as he told PTI.

Miandad said it is true that he had his issues with Afridi but they were purely professional.

"I always told him the potential he had he could have been a much better player for Pakistan. There were times I spent hours with him in the nets trying to improve his temperament and batting techniques," claimed Miandad.

The former batsman added that he is not surprised by the content of Afridi's book as nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies and autobiographies.

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Dozens of shocked passengers were evacuated to safety from the wings of a stricken Boeing 737 on Saturday in Florida after the jet made a rough landing in a lightning storm and skidded off the runway into a river.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."



Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, the Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told reporters it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven air crew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft," NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a 16-member team had arrived on site to investigate the incident, and would brief the media later in the day.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident was and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the rough landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters were on the scene.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US military base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to the FlightRadar24 website.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa occurred shortly after takeoff.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks courage to speak even a word about the poll promises, including on jobs, that he had made in 2014 and said a strong leader should be able to apologise for failing to keep his word.

Addressing an election meeting here, Gandhi repeated the claim that six surgical strikes were conducted during the tenure of the UPA and said his party never used it for political benefit.

He said the prime minister must tell as to how the youngsters will be given employment after 2019.

"Modi is unable to speak even a word about his earlier promises.

"If Modi had the guts, then he would have said that I had spoken about giving two crore jobs every year in a rush of blood but I have made a mistake. But, this man lacks courage....

"A strong leader is the one who accepts the truth. A strong leader is the one who would tender an apology for failing to provide two crore jobs to youngsters and Rs 15 lakh, and then talk about rectification (of the mistake)," Gandhi told voters in the constituency from where the BJP has fielded Maneka Gandhi, the estranged sister-in-law of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress has given ticket to Sanjay Singh, while the BSP has nominated Chandrabhadra Singh.

Gandhi said the entire country has understood that the "chowkidaar is doing chowkidaari of Ambani, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. This chowkidaar has spoken lies before the country."



"The lion-like Congress workers have burst Modi's balloon which was inflated by the media," he said.

A day after Modi mocked the Congress saying the party, which first ignored the surgical strikes carried out under his government across the Line of Control and then opposed them, was now crying me too, me too, Gandhi reiterated his party's stand.

"There were six surgical strikes during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress never used it for political purpose and neither wants to say anything now. It gives the credit for this to the Army, and not to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress president also said that "India's ideology is influenced by love. Nothing can be derived from hatred. But, the BJP people speak about violence.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are likely to conduct roadshows in Kolkata before the last phase of elections on May 19.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said though the dates are yet to be fixed, the two leaders are likely to hold separate road shows in the city.

"Both the prime minister and our party president have addressed rallies in each and every phase (of polling). But they have not conducted any roadshow. They are likely to hold separate roadshows in Kolkata. The dates will be fixed by next week," Ghosh told PTI.

BJP sources said the decision to conduct roadshows of Modi and Shah is a reflection of the "special focus" that West Bengal has in the party's scheme of things.

Shah has set a target of winning 23 out of the 42 seats in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier had rescheduled the election rallies of Modi and Shah in coastal districts of West Bengal where cyclone Fani was supposed to have an impact.

BJP general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Friday that Modi's May 5 rallies in Tamluk and Jhargram were rescheduled to May 6.

Similarly, Shah's rallies scheduled for May 6 at Ghatal, Midnapore and Bishnupur will be held on May 7.

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More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organisation had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began.

Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."



The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert.

This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."



In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

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The opposition BJP Saturday released an 'aarop patra' or charge sheet against the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh, targeting it over its "failure" to deliver on the promises it had made to the people.

The charge sheet, which is a 12-page booklet, lists the "unfulfilled promises" of the Congress, which formed the government in the state in December last year.

The saffron party alleged that among other things, the Congress duped farmers in the name of loan waiver. It also said that the ruling party has disappointed the people of the state as its assurances have remained "only on paper", as against its claim of implementing 83 promises.

However, the ruling party hit back at the BJP saying the allegations against it were "baseless".

The booklet was released at the BJP's state party office by former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party's national vice presidents Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Prabhat Jha, among others.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Chouhan said, "The farm loan waiver scheme of the Congress, on the basis of which it came to power, has been a complete failure. Not a single farmer in the state has received a loan waiver certificate."



"Although the Congress government had issued an order of loan waiver, the debts of not a single farmer have been written off.

"Farmers across the state are setting on fire the copies of false certificates, while Congress leaders, including party chief Rahul Gandhi and CM Kamal Nath, claim that the government has waived loan of up to Rs two lakh as promised, which is actually false," Chouhan alleged.

Referring to the power outages in the state, he said, "It reminds us of the 'Bantadhar Yug' (ruined state) when electricity cuts had become routine."



Chouhan's 'Bantadhar Yug' remark indirectly referred to former MP chief minister Digvijay Singh's rule.

He said, power had tripped even when Nath had gone to cast his vote in his constituency.

"It shows the kind of situation in the state and the government is blaming BJP for it instead of tackling the issue...They are so afraid of power cuts that now the CM has provided a mobile generator to (Digvijay) Singh for his campaign to deal with power cuts," Chouhan added.

Singh is Congress' candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, polling for which will take place on May 12.

On the Congress's promise of providing Rs 4,000 as unemployment allowance to the youths in the state, the BJP national vice president claimed that nobody has got the assistance so far.

He also alleged that a number of welfare schemes launched by the erstwhile BJP government led by him, were closed due to paucity of funds, including the scheme under which Rs 5,000 used to be given for performing last rites of poor people.

Chouhan said instead of improving the situation in the state, the Congress government has launched a "transfer industry to mint money".

"The recent I-T raids on persons close to Nath in which Rs 281 crore worth illegal assets were unearthed shows the kind of government in the state and reflects the nature of the Congress," he alleged.

Chouhan said that after the Congress came to power, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

"The recent rape and murder of a minor girl and shooting down of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in his residence in Bhopal are just some examples of it," he said.

Responding to his charges, state Congress media cell chairperson Shobha Oza said, "BJP's charges are baseless. BJP and Chouhan ruled the state for nearly 15 years, during which over 21,000 farmers committed suicide and 25,000 to 30,000 incidents of rape and gang rape occurred."



"Then why did Chouhan remain a mute spectator all these years?" she asked.

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The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges.

"The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf.

According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added.

In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.

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The RJD on Saturday demanded resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in view of the CBI's revelation in the Supreme Court that 11 minor girls were allegedly murdered in the Muzaffarpur shelter home where a sex scandal has broken out in 2018.

If Kumar does not quit on his own, the RJD said, Governor Lalji Tandon should dismiss his government for its inability to protect the lives of 11 inmates of the state aided shelter home.

The party of Lalu Prasad stepped up its offensive against the Bihar government a day after the CBI, in an affidavit, told the apex court that 11 girls were murdered by Brajesh Thakur, the key accused in the Muzaffarpur home sex scandal case, and his accomplices, and "bundle of bones" were recovered from a burial ground inside it.

"We request the governor to sack the Nitish Kumar government immediately following its involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case," RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "If there is any shame left in Nitish Kumar, he should tender an apology after evidences have been found in Muzaffarpur shelter home case Why Nitish Kumar used to go to Brajesh Thakur's home at Muzaffarpur?"



The leader of opposition in Bihar assembly also asked, why an FIR was not lodged initially against Thakur, and when it was lodged, why he was not booked under the POCSO act.

RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha, who held a press conference here on the issue, said Kumar should resign on his own and if he does not resign, the governor should sack him.

"After the CBI's confirmation that 11 out of 42 minor girls were murdered at the shelter home, the chief minister has no moral right to continue in the post," he said.

"We demand that Nitish Kumar resign taking up moral responsibility in the matter. If he does not resign, the governor should sack his government," Jha said.

Asked whether the RJD will approach the governor to press for the demand, Jha said the party will wait till May 6, when the matter will be heard again in the apex court.

Tejashwi, through his tweets, also wanted to know whether the 11 missing girls of the shelter home were buried after being killed as it appeared that they were not cremated following Hindu traditions.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The probe into the case was transferred to CBI and the agency has chargesheeted 21 people, including Brajesh Thakur who, as the head of an NGO, used to run the home.

Tejashwi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not utter a single word on this issue as Kumar and several BJP ministers in Bihar government are involved in it.

The PM addressed an election meeting in Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the RJD spokesman Jha defended fielding Vibha Devi, the wife of former RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav who was convicted for raping a minor, from Nawada seat.

"Raj Ballabh Yadav was convicted in the rape case but his wife was not. If someone is convicted, you cannot hold the entire family guilty," he said.

To another query whether or not Tej Pratap Yadav's comment that his father-in-law and the party's Saran Lok Sabha candidate Chandrika Rai is an "impersonator" amounts to indiscipline, Jha replied in the negative saying statements sometimes flow in the heat of electioneering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A newly-married couple was found dead at Visva-Bharati university campus in Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.

The bodies were found near Cheena Bhavana, located within the campus, on Friday late night, the police said.

The Department of Chinese Language & Culture of Visva-Bharati university is known as Cheena Bhavana.

The deceased were identified as 18-year-old Somnath Mahato and 19-year-old Abantika, a police officer said.

The couple had got married recently and both of them were students of Srinanda High School at Bolpur, the police officer said.

Somnath had appeared for Higher Secondary Examinations this year and Abantika had appeared for class 10 board examinations, he said.

Though it appears to be a case of suicide, it can be confirmed only after the most-mortem examination report arrives, a senior officer of Bolpur police station said.

"Our security personnel informed us about the matter after they spotted the bodies near Cheena Bhavana," the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Visva-Bharati, Anirban Sarkar, said.

"We will look into the matter and the authority may issue an order to find out how they had entered the campus at late night," the PRO said.

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Except for damaging a few huts, cyclone Fani did not cause much havoc in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as the severe cyclonic storm weakened Saturday morning and headed towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

While flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am, train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) also resumed its routine operation this morning at both Haldia and Kolkata docks.

"The entire administration was awake the whole night. We were very worried about the cyclone Fani," Banerjee said.

Banerjee had cancelled her election programmes and stayed put at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation arising out of the cyclone.

"There were not much damage in the state. At least 850 mud houses in the districts were partially damaged while 12 were completely destroyed," she said.

Banerjee said the state government will extend help to people whose houses have been damaged due to the cyclone.

Trees uprooted in different parts of the state due to speedy wind have been removed and the roads cleared for plying of vehicles, the chief minister said.

Restoration of electricity snapped in different districts is underway.

"Around 42,000 people have been evacuated by our people who took them to relief shelters. The civic services have been restored in Digha, Mandarmoni, whereas it is work in progress at other places," she said.

The storm weakened on Saturday morning and moved towards Bangladesh. Kolkata witnessed wind speed of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am Saturday, officials said.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district from where it will go to Murshidabad district before entering Bangladesh. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation.

"We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Much to the glee of passengers, flight operations, which was suspended from 3 pm on Friday, resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.

Air India was the first airline to start operating out of Kolkata airport, the AAI official said, adding that a GoAir flight from Delhi was the first flight to land in Kolkata at 10.10 am.

The AAI official said that airlines had refunded fares of cancelled flights to the passengers and took care of them.

Very few passengers had stayed back at the airport on Friday, the official said.

Out of an average 224 daily flights only 110 flights operated on Friday, the official said.

Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal, officials said.

The ferry services on river Hooghly, however, were yet to resume.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in central Kolkata's Beniatola Lane, police said.

All the five injured persons were released after treatment.

Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said there had been no damages to the port infrastructure. "Operations at both Kolkata and Haldia docks have resumed since morning.

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With the rollout of the agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications from May 1, the number of Indian students in French universities will go up substantially, a senior French diplomat has said.

Talking to PTI here on Friday, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Sonia Barbry, said the number of Indian students in her country may go up to 15,000 by 2025 from the current figure of 9,000.

Four Indian academic qualifications -- Senior School Certificate (SSC), Bachelor's and Master's degrees and PhDs - from government-approved institutions have been recognised by the French government from May 1.

Barbry said inviting Indian students to study in the universities of France has been one of the priorities of the consulate.

"We want to have more Indian students. Now, we have 9,000 students studying in France. They are studying business management, engineering, social sciences and others. We have a number of courses in English and they need not learn French," she added.

"This has been made possible by an agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications signed during President Macron's visit to India last year," she added.

The agreement was signed during the India-France Knowledge Summit, the first high-level summit for university, scientific and technological cooperation held by the two countries.

The diplomat said that five years ago, only 3,000 Indian students were studying in France.

"President Macron gave us an objective of 10,000 Indian students by 2020, now we are almost there. We want to have 15,000 in 2025 or 20,000 in 2030," she said.

According to Barbry, the course in France have better value for money.

"Basically, we have a very high quality higher education, which is recognized all over the world and it is very affordable for Indian students. If they study in France, they get two year visa to work," Barbry said.

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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted.

In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

"It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Four foreign nationals including one from Pakistan who violated immigration and emigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested persons include two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 people.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

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Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

"It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families," another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.

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Gazan authorities reported a pregnant Palestinian mother and her one-year-old daughter killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, but an Israeli army spokesman challenged the Palestinian account of the incident.

The Gazan health ministry said in a statement Falestine Abu Arar, 37, died from the "Israeli targeting east of Gaza".

It had earlier announced the death of her 14-month-old daughter in the same incident as Israel carried out strikes in response to some 250 rockets fired from Gaza.

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesman on Twitter questioned the claim and suggested Palestinian fire may have been to blame, but did not provide details on what he believe occurred.

"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike," Avichay Adraee said.

He added that pictures from the day "clearly show the launching of rockets from crowded areas."



Israeli army international spokesman Jonathan Conricus declined to provide more clarity.

The army said earlier it was only targeting military sites in Gaza. The incident took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw significant damage to a building. Neighbours said an area outside had been hit by an Israeli strike.

Two other Palestinians were also killed in the Israeli strikes Saturday, according to the ministry, bringing the death toll to four.

In Israel, one woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Israeli police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

Medics said the woman was 80 and the man 50. A house near Ashkelon was damaged while other rockets hit open areas.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."



Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans. In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'chowkidar' of his industrialist "friends" and accused him of speaking one lie after the other.

Gandhi was addressing his first poll rally in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress has fielded Ajay Singh Yadav from the Gurgaon parliamentary seat.

"During last elections, PM Narendra Modi made different promises to people of this country and Haryana Modi speaks one lie after the other. He said he will give two crore jobs to the youth, put Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts, remunerative price for farmers' produce and will double farmers' income," Gandhi said.

"Did you give farmers the right price for their produce? Did you put Rs 15 lakh? No," he said.

"He (Modi) waived loans worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore of 15 industrialists of this country," Gandhi claimed.

"I want to ask how much loans of farmers of Haryana he waived," Gandhi asked the gathering.

He also spoke about how the Congress, after coming to power in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, waived farmers' loans.

When the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and in Haryana, the MSP was hiked from time to time. Modi is not your Chowkidar, not Gurgaon's chowkidar," he said, claiming that the prime minister was a 'chowkidar' of a "big" industrialist.

Referring to alleged Rafale scam, the Congress chief Rahul claimed that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to an industrialist's company.

"Modi stole your Rs 30,000 crore and put it into his (industrialist) accounts," he claimed.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Gandhi said, "To seek votes, whatever comes to Modi's heart, he utters from the stage without applying the mind".

Referring to Modi's statement made from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Rahul said he said that the "elephant was sleeping" before he came to power.

Gandhi said Modi was trying to project as if nothing had happened in the country before the BJP came to power.

"Modi said nothing happened in the country before he came to power," he said.

"Gurgaon was not developed by Narendra Modi, but its people, its youth, labourers, farmers. Gurgaon was world famous before you (Modi) came, it was an IT hub. What have you given to Gurgaon, what have you given to Gurgaon and its people. Did you bring Metro?" he asked.

"When Modi says from the ramparts of the Red Fort that elephant was sleeping before he came, he insults you, your parents, your forefathers. The country is not built by one person, but crores of its people. Its farmers, labourers, mothers and sisters build this nation.

"Gurgaon is an example where people of various castes and communities co-exist peacefully. Before the BJP came, people lived peacefully in entire country. Wherever Modi goes, he spreads hatred, speaks lies," he alleged.

Congress president further accused the PM of "destroying" small trade and businesses with demonetisation and GST that he described as 'Gabbar Singh Tax.'



"Entire Gurgaon knows how adversely these decisions hit them. Fugitives were given money and they fled the country," he claimed.

He also said no farmer who failed to repay his loan will be arrested if the Congress comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Hardworking farmers of this country tell me that when they take loans and are unable to pay, they have to go to jails. But rich industrialists, who borrow money and don't repay and then flee the country, are not caught.

If the Congress comes to power at the Centre, a law will be brought so that no peasant who is unable to repay loan will have to go to jail, he said, adding that a separate budget for agriculture will be brought out.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies on May 10 and May 13 in Punjab, where polling for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 19.

Modi will address first rally in Hoshiarpur on May 10 and second in Mansa on May 13, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma said on Saturday.

The BJP has fielded Phagwara legislator Som Prakash from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) seat and he is pitted against Congress candidate and MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal.

Modi's second rally will be held in Mansa which falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency from where Akali candidate and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting for the third time.

BJP chief Amit Shah will also hold rallies on May 5 in Pathankot and on May 12 in Amritsar, said BJP's national secretary Tarun Chugh.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement, Akalis will contest on 10 seats while the BJP on three seats.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday wished speedy recovery to javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who underwent an elbow surgery.

"Undergone elbow surgery in Mumbai...Will require some months of rehabilitation...Every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before," Chopra tweeted on Thursday.

Modi wished him well, saying he is a brave youngster who has been making India proud continuously.

"Everyone is praying for your quick and complete recovery," the prime minister tweeted.

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Sri Lankan police on Saturday directed the public that those who are in possession of any sharp-edged weapons like swords or Kris knives, and uniforms similar to that of the Army and the Police should deposit them at the nearest police station by tomorrow.

The move was taken after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, during searches of mosques following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said "This will be in effect from today until tomorrow".

"If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station," he said.

The police said that several people including politicians were arrested for their possession of sharp-edged weapons like sword since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests on them as around 56 bodies, laying in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary, are yet to identified.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Saturday appealed to industry chambers to organise relief operations for helping people affected by Cyclone Fani.

"Appealing all in commerce & industry organise relief for the unfortunate affected by #FaniCyclone. We will organise best possible way to ensure the help reaches those who needs it most. All Chambers must immediately respond to this calamity," Prabhu tweeted and tagged industry chambers CII, Ficci and Assocham.

Cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people. Fani or the 'Hood of Snake', labelled as a category 4 storm on a scale of 1 to 5, made landfall around 8 am in Puri on Friday, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

The storm has weakened as it entered West Bengal last night.

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: A priest was killed and another was injured allegedly by a masked robber-gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy Temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying tobreak the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service.

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday directed minister Brahm Mohindra to meet representatives of government employees and resolve their issues after the Lok Sabha elections.

Singh reviewed the issues relating to government employees with top officials and directed the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mohindra to meet their representatives on May 27 to work out an early resolution.

Polling to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on May 19.

Since the government can not take any decision in the matter till the model code of conduct is in place, it was felt that a meeting should be held immediately after the declarations of results to resolve the pending issues, an official spokesperson said.

The government employees under the banner of 'Saanjha Mulazam Manch' had protested against the government in March, seeking clarity on dearness allowance issue, regularisation of contractual employees, reducing the term of probation period, restoration of old pension scheme, among others. PTI CHS VSD



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As turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on Saturday.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."



Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."



Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if loses."



Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."



Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

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Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday accused the Congress of doing a U-turn on the issue of surgical strikes, saying the party which earlier sought proof from the Modi government, was now claiming that six such operations were carried out during the UPA rule.

He claimed that people came to know about the phrase 'surgical strike' thanks to the Modi government.

The chief minister also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have become the butt of jokes on social media.

"Congress, which was seeking a proof of air strike and surgical strike, had to say yesterday that it had conducted surgical strike six times. It means looking at the mood, enthusiasm and patriotism of people, you have made a U-turn. You would ask for proof earlier, but now you accept that it has happened. Now you say we (UPA) also conducted it," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"It means you have quietly accepted that there was a surgical strike (under the Modi government)...The truth is that the people of the country learnt about the word 'surgical strike' from Modi government, which conducted the operations in response to the terror attacks in Pulwama and Uri. People were not even aware of the word till then. And India made it possible," he said.

The Congress had Friday stated that it conducted six surgical strikes between June 2008 and January 2014.

On the controversy surrounding the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said, "Congress is blaming the Election Commission. It will start blaming the EVMs. These machines worked fine in three state elections (where Congress won), but they will be called faulty when it is defeated."



He also targeted Congress in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her meeting with snake charmers in Uttar Pradesh, and said that she and her brother Rahul Gandhi have become the butt of joke on social media.

"Priyanka Gandhi is playing with snake charmers. This is childishness. Both the bother-sister have become the butt of joke on websites, YouTube," he said.

He said the Congress will get the least number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

"Congress is left with nothing but hopelessness. People want a strong government, which only Modi can give," he said.

He also attacked the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh alleging that they failed to deliver on the promises of loan waiver and unemployment allowance.

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BJP president Amit Shah Saturday cited a media report to attack Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a defence deal under the UPA government in which an alleged business partner of Gandhi had got an offset contract.

According to Business Today magazine, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm in which Gandhi owned a majority stake received defence contract as an offset partner of a French company when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

"With Rahul Gandhi's midas touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," Shah tweeted, tagging the report.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

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A tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge conducted a two-day hearing here to ascertain whether there was sufficient cause to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an unlawful association.

The tribunal, presided by Justice Mukta Gupta of the Delhi High Court, began its hearing on Friday in Pune and it concluded on Saturday.

Founded in 1977, SIMI was banned in 2001. The tribunal, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was constituted by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 21 this year after the five-year ban on SIMI ended on January 31.

Officials from the Maharashtra Police's Crime Investigation Department, the state Anti-Terrorism Squad and State Intelligence Department deposed before the Unlawful Activities Tribunal, to justify the ban on SIMI.

Among officials who deposed before the tribunal were Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS), Ganesh Shinde, Special Branch (CID), Mumbai Police and Nisar Tamboli, Deputy Commissioner, State Intelligence Department.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who is part of the tribunal, said the three nodal officers from the state CID, ATS and Intelligence deposed before the tribunal stating the ban on SIMI is essential in view of national security and to ensure there are no anti-national activities.

"All three officers deposed and briefed about the pending trials, discoveries and seizures made and information gathered regarding SIMI activities and how the ban is essential in view of national security," she said.

DCP Tamboli, while deposing before the tribunal Saturday, informed there are about eight cases involving SIMI.

He also told the tribunal that if the ban on the organisation is lifted, it will regroup and carry out anti-national activities.

ATS SP Pardeshi, who deposed on Friday, justified the ban on SIMI and submitted information about the Mumbai local train bombings of 2006 and also briefed about a SIMI operative who was convicted by the court.

He also submitted that the lone convict in Pune's German Bakery blast case, Mirza Himayat Baig, had links with SIMI.

DCP Shinde from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cited a 2001 case from Mumbai where a SIMI operative was arrested and some incriminating material were recovered.

Anand said the tribunal will head to Hyderabad for the next hearing and, thereafter, will return to Maharashtra, where a hearing is likely to take place at Aurangabad.

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Six persons, including three women, were injured when two groups hurled stones at each other over a minor dispute at Khaikheda village under the Kakroli police station limits in this district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

According to Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Jitender Kumar, the incident occurred on Friday, following an altercation between a man and a woman. The altercation turned into a violent clash involving two groups which hurled stones and bricks at each other, the officer said.

The injured -- Bidyawati, Rinu, Mamta, Chatrapal, Deepak and Prince -- were rushed to a hospital, the SHO said.

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BJP president Amit Shah Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."



Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."



"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...for development to take place in real sense."



Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the SP, BSP and Congress of "trampling upon" principles for gaining power, and said they were so obsessed with poll arithmetic that they treat people merely as vote banks.

Addressing an election rally here, the PM continued his 'mahamilawat' (grand adulteration) jibe at the opposition alliance and predicted that the bonhomie between the parties fighting the BJP together was short-lived. They will be at each others' throat after May 23, when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared, he said.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and the BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

The PM said NDA's work culture was different from that of the 'mahamilawati' alliance. "We want to decentralize the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said, adding his government has worked strongly keeping development in mind.

"When your 'sevak' goes to different parts of the world, they realise the power of 130 crore Indians," Modi said.

He also referred to the UN listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

"Earlier governments used to cry over activities of Pakistan. They were more concerned about their vote banks than the country's enemy. There was a time, when Indian leaders were seen crying, and today Pakistan is going around crying," he said.

Attacking BSP chief Mayawati over her recent tweet that number of violent incidents during her government was fewer than that during the BJP's, Modi listed out some such incidents in Uttar Pradesh from Mayawati's 2007-2012 tenure.

"On May 23, 2007 there were serial blasts in Gorakhpur, whose government was there? Six months later, there were serial blasts in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Lucknow, whose government was there then? In 2008, there was an attack on CRPF camp in Rampur, and in 2010, a blast took place at Dashashwamedh Ghat, whose government was there at that point of time?" he asked.

He also slammed the three parties over the "condition of Poorvanchal".

"When the Congress was in power at Centre, and the SP and BSP governments were in the state, what was the condition of Poorvanchal? You know it very well. The lives of the children were in danger due to Japanese Encephalitis, and they (political parties) were busy in vote bank "



Modi also said those who are contesting just eight seats have readied themselves for taking oath as the prime minister.

"Those who are fighting just 20 seats are also salivating. And those who are fighting 40 have given their their clothes for stitching," he said.

"Tell me which is the face that can eliminate terrorism? Who can rise beyond casteism and think about the betterment of the country?" he asked the gathering.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a big game against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Addressing BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, Modi said the SP-BSP alliance partners will be at each other's throats when the results are out on May 23.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh.

He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about respect towards her.

It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now 'Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said.

"By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that the Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

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Four persons, including two minors, resting under a tree alongside the Lucknow-Varanasi road here were killed after being run over by a speeding car, police said Saturday.

The accident took place in Mahkani village and the deceased were identified as Mamta Devi (30), Gudhiya Devi (32), Neeraj (5) and Suman (4), Additional Superintendent of Police Avneesh Mishra said.

The four were rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, he said.

The car also overturned and fell into a ditch, he added.

The driver of the car was taken into custody and the bodies were sent for post-mortem, police said.

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DMK president M K Stalin Saturday blamed the ruling AIADMK government for not holding civic polls and said it was the reason for problems related to provision of basic amenities like drinking water and roads.

Addressing people in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency here, which goes to the bypolls on May 19, Stalin said his party had held over 12,500 village level meetings (Ooratchi Sabai) and listened to the grievances of the people.

"You have listed the problems of your region.

If you look at the basic problems, there are several of them like providing drinking water, road and bus facilities, and sanitation and hygiene," he said.

"If you ask the reason for such problems, this government has not held the local body elections. Had civic polls been conducted (and if elected bodies had taken charge) there is no scope for such grievances," he observed.

Local body elections were originally scheduled to be held in October 2016.

Subsequently, the DMK moved the Madras High Court and the State Election Commission had said in January this year that notification for the civic polls would be issued in May.

Days ago, the SEC has again approached the court, seeking three months time for issuing the notification.

Assuring that DMK would solve the problems of the people, Stalin said the government should address issues pertaining to the handloom sector (Tirupparankundram is home to handloom weavers), with the Centre's support.

"This (State) government, however, is unable to solve even basic problems...this is a minority government (alleging that AIADMK does not have majority support in the Assembly) which is not worried about the poeple," he alleged.

The DMK had for long been working for the welfare of handloom weavers, he said and recalled that party founder C N Annadurai and late leader M Karunanidhi had sold handloom goods by going door to door for the benefit of handloom weavers.

Also, 100 units of electricity was provided free of cost to handloom weavers to help them, he said.

"This is the history of DMK," he said and assured that such bonding with handloom weavers would continue for ever.

Stalin alleged that the AIADMK, the ruling party for eight years, was giving several assurances since bypolls were around the corner, and all of these were nothing but a "deceitful drama."



"On May 23, (the day of counting of votes) there will be a change of government at the Centre and State and after that the grievances of weavers will be addressed.

I would like to assure you that the DMK will take resolute steps to ensure that," he said seeking support for his party candidate, P Saravanan (Tirupparankundram).

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Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma' (duty as a husband), she will also play her 'patni dharma' once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."



When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the one-man show' and the two-man army will not return.

The 72 year-old quit the BJP after being sidelined for years.

Sinha, who had served as minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has often targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

His exit from the BJP was precipitated by that party's announcement that Ravi Shankar Prasad will contest from Patna Sahib, the seat Sinha won in 2009 and 2014.

In the build-up to the inevitable breakup, Sinha needled his party bosses repeatedly on Twitter.

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A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".

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A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.

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: Additional general manager of Southern Railway Rahul Jain inspected the Pamban railway bridge Saturday and said the bridge was strongand that the construction of the new railway bridge has been speeded up.

Talking to reporters here, he said the construction of the new Pamban bridge would be done without affecting the marine resources.

The first phase of work on the extension of train service to Danushkodi has been completed, and the rest of the work would begin soon, he said.

The new bridge uses 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally. In the new bridge, a 63-metre section would lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck. It would be done using sensors at each end, an official had told PTI.

The entire bridge, including the navigational span, was being designed keeping in mind the railways electrification plan, according to PTI.

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President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."



"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."



Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognized as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduro's days are numbered -- but experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leader's strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trump's position -- that "all options" are on the table -- Shanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

"I'm trying to avoid walking into 'We could do this or we could do that,'" he said.

"What people should feel confident about is we have... there's depth to these plans."



"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and I'm just going to leave it at that."



Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

"Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections," Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered out -- with 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas -- sparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez -- who made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arrest -- has since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuela's military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesday's failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing "a very confusion situation," a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

"The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united," he said.

"There are cracks, but not in the military leadership," said the source. "International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime.

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US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

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US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"



Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles." But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly. "We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards." Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing e-rickshaws after offering the drivers cold drinks laced with sedatives in northeast Delhi, police said Saturday.

The accused, identified as Dheeraj Pal (32) and Gaurav (25), were operating the infamous 'Jahar Khurani' gang, they said.

The arrest was made on Friday after a trap was laid at the Dharampura red light following a tip-off that two persons travelling in an auto-rickshaw would be coming towards Seelampur from Shastri Park, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) said.

Eight stolen e-rickshaws were seized from them, he said.

The accused duo used to offer cold drinks laced with sedatives to e-rickshaw drivers and then fled with their vehicles, he added.

They used to dispose off the vehicles out of Delhi, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice has been the major achievement of Narendra Modi government during the last five years.

He said Prime Minister Modi has put corruption on 'ventilator' and development on 'accelerator' in the last five years.

"This has made the champions of corruption feeling suffocated in the atmosphere of honesty and transparency," Naqvi said at an election meeting here in support of the party's Jaipur candidate Ramcharan Bohra.

He said in the last five years PM Modi has restored the dignity and stability of the government.

"The Modi government has removed policy paralysis by taking bold and tough reformist decisions keeping in mind the welfare of the common man. It has proved to be a government of 'Iqbal' (authority), 'Insaaf' (justice) and 'Imaan' (integrity)," he said.

Naqvi said PM Modi has provided equal opportunities of development to every needy of the society without 'vote bank politics'.

"No section of the society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on the basis of caste, religion, region or state. All the sections have been provided equal opportunities for socio-economic-educational development," the minister said.

He claimed that "loot and leakage" of the public money has stopped in Modi-led central government.

"Our Government has created 'high-way of development' by demolishing 'speed breaker of corruption', he stressed.

Hitting out at the Congress, Naqvi said the party wants a "contractual prime minister who can be remote controlled."



"But the people of the country do not want a prime minister on 'rotation and contract' for 6 months," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



His speech at a military base came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Idea said Saturday it will seek its shareholders' approval on June 6 to transfer optical fibre assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Towers Limited.

The company has proposed to hive off its telecom fibre infrastructure to Towers before monetising it and approached the National Company Law Tribunal Ahmedabad on April 11, 2019, for its approval.

"NCLT has directed a meeting to be held of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company... notice is hereby given that a meeting of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company will be held...on Thursday, the 6th day of June 2019," said in a regulatory filing.

According to an industry source, (VIL) has received valuation of around Rs 15,000 crore for its around 156,000 kilometre long telecom fibre assets.

"... the Transferor Company (VIL) believes that it would be beneficial to restructure its business by divesting the Fibre Infrastructure Undertaking into a separate legal entity with sharper and dedicated focus on the fibre infrastructure business so as to achieve greater infrastructure sharing, operational efficiencies and cost optimization resulting in more affordable and reliable telecommunications services to its consumers," the filing said.

VIL in the filing said that there would be neither any change in its the capital structure nor in the Vodafone Towers pursuant to the sanctioning of the scheme.
A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of AgustaWestland chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan, in a black money and laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to Ritu Khaitan after she appeared before the court in pursuance to summons issued after filing of charge sheet.

In the same case, the court had on April 16 granted bail to Gautam Khaitan and had put various conditions on him, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.

The fresh criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Gautam Khaitan and his wife on the basis of a case lodged by the Income Tax Department against him under the provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP's Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

His remarks came a few days after Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia joined the Congress.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

"Everyday, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return," said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of "jhadoo" to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the "unparalleled" work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for "ruining" Punjab.

"In Punjab, you have seen divisive in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues," he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state government's 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar' scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsiders -- Hardeep Puri and Sunny Deol -- from Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

"Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman was arrested for allegedly blackmailing a BJP corporator from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and extorting money from him, police said on Saturday.

The woman was identified as Priya Chandrakant Kharat (28), police said.

Corporator Daya Gaikwad, who is also the Kalyan unit chief of BJP's backward cell, had lodged a complaint at Khadakpada police station against her.

"In the complaint, he said that after befriending him on a social networking site a few years back, the woman started demanding Rs 10 lakh from him. But when he did not pay heed to her demands, she allegedly filed a false case of rape against him in September 2017," police said.

"On April 15 (last month), she again demanded Rs five lakh from him and threatened that if he failed to pay, she would lodge a similar complaint against him. She forcibly took him to an ATM and made him withdraw Rs 5,000," police added.

Based on the complaint, police arrested Kharat, a resident of Thane, on Friday night, and booked her under IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 500 (defamation).

Further investigation is on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna visited Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart to commemorate the first anniversary of the partnership between the two companies, the e-commerce company said Friday.

McKenna who is on a four-day internal business (April 30 to May 3) visit to Flipkart, interacted with the company's top management and employees, Flipkart said in a release.

Richard Mayfield, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Walmart International and Leigh Hopkins, Walmart's International Strategy Head were also a part of the interaction.

The company said Judith praised the "creativity and passion" of the team and commended the Flipkart leadership for its commitment to bringing e-commerce to more Indian consumers to make their lives better.

She also met with the top leadership and employees of Flipkart Group companies- Myntra & Jabong & Phonepe. Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer met Mckenna to update her on how the cash-and-carry business is changing the lives of kiranas (general stores) in India, the statement said.

During the visit, Walmart International's Judith McKenna had expressed confidence in team Myntra as well. Judith along with Kalyan and Amar Nagaram, Head Myntra and Jabong, announced the launch of Myntra's first of its kind service kiosk that offers shoppers a host of value added services such as flexible pickup and drop, instant returns, trial room and free alteration of products.

Judith also met with Flipkart employees at its head office and with PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam and his team at the PhonePe office. McKenna visited a Flipkart fulfilment centre to understand the supply-chain efficiency which Flipkart is bringing to the country, and also met with kiranas (general stores)that are a part of the Myntra's unique MENSA (Myntra Extended Network for Service Augmentation) network.

Judith said she was "delighted" to see Flipkart excelling by leveraging its homegrown innovations, cutting-edge technology and deep customer centricity and making the most of synergies with Walmart as it seeks to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online.

After Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon's visit to Flipkart a few weeks ago, she met with the PhonePe staff and said she appreciated the work they were doing to revolutionise financial payments through technology.

"Flipkart's partnership with Walmart is helping the Group better serve Indian customers and accelerate its growth with products and solutions that solve real problems in the country. These include supply-chain infrastructure that is disrupting the industry to benefit local consumers, suppliers and manufacturers, "Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Walmart in May 2018, had announced that it is buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about Rs 1.05 lakh crore, it's biggest deal which will give the US retailer access to Indian e-commerce market that is estimated to grow to $200 billion within a decade.

Also Read:Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Birla Corp profit surges 66.10% to Rs 255.70 crore in FY19; board declares dividend of Rs 7.50 per share
After PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah took on Rahul Gandhi over reports that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. Jaitley said Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself has been involved in corruption.

Meanwhile, PM Modi Saturday tore into Congress saying that the party leaders who shared the stage with BSP supremo Mayawati, betrayed her "so cunningly" that even she is not able to understand it. "Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP.

Cyclone Fani has thrown a lot of poll campaigns of political parties in the run-up to Lok Sabha Election 2019 out of gear especially in the eastern states. While PM Modi's public meetings took a hit in Tamlik and Jhargram in West Bengal which were scheduled on May 5 but have been scheduled to be held on May 6, Shah's rallies in Ghatal and Bishnupur (West Bengal) on May 6 have been pushed back to May 7.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee also announced Friday that her party has cancelled all its poll campaigns and political programmes for the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, top leaders across the political spectrum including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will campaign across the states today.

Where PM Modi will canvass for BJP in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Pratapgarh and Basti followed by a public rally in Ramnagar in Bihar's West Champaran district, Shah will campaign in Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Rewa, he will also, hold a roadshow in UP's Amethi and address a public meeting in Rohini, Delhi. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will canvass for his party in Harayana's Gurugram and UP's Dhammor. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal will hold a roadshow in South Delhi where he will campaign for AAP candidate Raghav Chadha.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details

Here is the timeline for Lok Sabha election 2019:

7: 30 pm: Union Minister VK Singh hits out at Congress party over its claim of having carried out 6 surgical strikes when the UPA government was in power.

The BJP candidate from Ghaziabad and the current member of Parliament from the district in a tweet questioned the claim of Congress that surgical strikes had been conducted between 2008 and 2014.

Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS. Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story . - Chowkidar Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) May 4, 2019

7:10 pm Election Commission gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on April 21. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

6: 57 pm: Electioneering ended Saturday evening for 12 Rajasthan constituencies, which saw hectic campaigning by the BJP and the Congress over the past week. Election campaigning for 14 Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituencies also ended today evening. Polling for the fifth phase on Monday will see a clash of titans including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6: 45 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah accuses the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23. Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

6: 20 pm: Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Sharma says winning Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

6: 10 pm: Man taken into police custody. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

6: 00 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by a man during his roadshow in Moti Nagar, Delhi. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4 - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

: Chidambaram said, "Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person."

5:20 pm: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram over banning of terrorist Masood Azhar by United Nations

Chidambaram asked, "We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie and only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?"

4:59 PM: PM Modi takes on RJD in Bihar

Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar says Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs.

4:45 pm: Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" Jaitley said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

4:35 pm: RED CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF TWEETS

PM Modi's higher overall reach also is on account of a larger number of tweets. Since 10th March, Modi has tweeted 654 times (excluding retweets) - the highest among all leaders.

4:30 pm : After Modi, FM Jaitley hits back at Rahul Gandhi over defence offset clause deals during UPA regime.

Jaitley in a press conference said, "It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher & today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge. "

4:00 pm: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offered prayers in Amethi today.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offers prayers at Hazrat Meer Imamuddin dargah in Amethi. pic.twitter.com/DsgcKFJF3m - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3:46 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank politics during a rally in Basti and said they consider even a "human being just a number". Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the Congress and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

3:25 pm: ORANGE CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NET ENGAGEMENT

In terms of total retweets and favourites in this election season, PM Modi is far ahead than Rahul Gandhi. PM's total engagement--retweets and favourites combined--over the given time period was 20.7 million, which is 5.5 times more than Rahul Gandhi's 3.7 million.

3:20 pm: BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani held a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency.

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3.00 pm: Manoj Tiwari gives a rebuttal to Kejriwal on his "naachta bahaut acha hai" remark

"By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it," says Tiwari.

Manoj Tiwari on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's remark 'Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai,is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena,naachne wale ko vote mat dena': By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it pic.twitter.com/J5LZmJWw8U - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

2.45 pm: Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP during rally in Barabanki, UP

"BJP wale kinhe utar rahe hai sadak par,dekha hai kabhi?Saand aa rahe hai aur aisi BJP ki sarkar hai,saand logon mar raha hai.Agar saand maar de kisi aadmi ko,bataye humari police kaunsi FIR hogi uspe? Agar saand maar raha hai toh FIR CM pe honi chahiye," says Yadav.

1:59 pm: PURPLE CAP FOR RAHUL GANDHI: HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT PER TWEET

However, in terms of engagement per tweet, Rahul Gandhi beats the Prime Minister. Gandhi, on an average, got 8,094 retweets per tweet, compared to Modi's 4,844. Same for favourites: Gandhi got 30,673 favourites per tweet, on an average; Modi got 19,242.

1.50 pm: Congress leaders betrayed Behenji (Mayawati): PM Modi in Pratapgarh

"Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP

1.45 pm: Kejriwal attacks BJP's Manoj Tiwari, says "naachta bahaut acha hai" (dances very well).

"Manoj Tiwari dances very well, Dilip Pandey (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate) doesn't know how to dance, he only knows how to work. This time vote for the one who works, not the one who dances," says Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, hitting out at BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi.

#WATCH Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai, Pandey ji (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey) ko naachna nahi aata, kaam karna aata hai, is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena, naachne wale ko vote mat dena. (03/05/2019) pic.twitter.com/a3EuxyNytP - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

12.40 pm: The Central Government Saturday filed a fresh affidavit inRafale review case pertaining to the deal in the Supreme Court saying that theDecember 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiatedmedia reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in aselective manner cannot form the basis for review, ANI reported.

Centre files fresh affidavits in Rafale review case in SC saying- the Dec 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form basis for review. pic.twitter.com/oMfFYdZltG - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

11.15 am: Amit Shah alleges Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA.

BJP Chief Amit Shah Saturday slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi after a Business Today story alleging a company associated with Gandhi's former business partner received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way." Shah tweeted.

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

10.00 am: Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi at press conference.

On Unemployment Issue: "The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

On Surgical Strikes on Pakistan: "The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army," says Rahul.

On Chowkidar Chor hai jibe: "Process is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' will remain our slogan," says Rahul.

On UN ban on Masood Azhar: "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt," says Rahul.

On BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," says Rahul.

On PM Modi: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down," says Rahul.

9: 05 am: GREEN CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

With over 47 million followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is far ahead than any other leader.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," PM Modi tweeted.

Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts. - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

8.30 am: Poll campaigns across parties have been rescheduled in Basirhat, Jaynagar, Diamond Harbour, Medinipur, Ghatal, Howrah, Hooghly, Kanthi, Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency which are either adjacent to Odisha or close to the sea, IANS reports.
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Penticton city hall story of the year: Byelection brings controversy Contentious byelection Casey Richardson Castanet is revisiting the top stories of an eventful 2021. Today, for Penticton's City Hall Story of the Year, we are looking at the controversy that was brought when a managing editor of a local paper won a councillor seat. Penticton residents went to the polls in 2021 to fill an empty council seat left by Jake Kimberley, who retired following a stroke. Ten candidates came forward in the by-election, many taking a second shot after losing in 2018. On June 19, Penticton Herald managing editor James Miller took the seat with 33 per cent of the votes. But his win didnt come without controversy. As a local newspaper editor, he would have to make some changes, limiting his writing and editing coverage. During his election campaign, Miller had taken time off from the paper and hired freelance reports to cover his run. Miller felt he had prepared the right tools in order to succeed. Im gonna have obviously a lot of strict guidelines. I tried to test run before I even announced to see if I can do it. As I said, and thank you to the 1,666 people who, who trust me when I said, I can wear two hats, but not at the same time. I will not be mentioning City Council, I will not be writing on it, he said on election night, after his win. When council has their bi-weekly meetings, Miller stated he planned to not be in the Herald building at all and assured that he would absolutely not mandate to staff what they are to report or say. The union that represents some Penticton Herald reporters and employees expressed their concerns after Miller won, citing conflict of interest of retaining both positions. We have concerns when the editor of a paper is elected to council and wants to hold onto his newspaper job. There's a very serious conflict of interest there, and it certainly raises ethics concerns as well. And it puts our one remaining reporter there in a very awkward position where he is reporting on his boss, Jennifer Moreau, the secretary treasurer for Unifor Local 2000 told Castanet back in June. Miller joins Barbara Roden, Mayor of Ashcroft and editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, as one of the few in B.C. who work in both a journalist and local politician role. Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs of people in power. And in this case, you have someone holding both positions. So I don't know how you can be a watchdog of people in power and also be sitting on council and keeping your position at the newspaper. I just don't see it working, Moreau added. Miller was sworn in to council on July 6. Penticton will once again head to the polls in the fall of 2022. When Castanet reached out to the union for comment in December, president Brian Gibson said he was unable to comment, since the organization was currently in collective bargaining with the newspapers in Penticton and Kelowna.







Oliver, Osoyoos mayors grateful for town spirit throughout 2021 Mayors talk town resiliency Photo: Casey Richardson The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire sat between Oliver and Osoyoos throughout the summer of 2021 It was a long year of pandemic, drought, wildfires, intense heat and evacuations for the South Okanagan. The mayors of Oliver and Osoyoos look back on 2021 as a time when the community came together through hardships. I just think that the town is showing leadership. We're getting on with our lives with COVID, Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen said. Tight restrictions were still in place at the start of the year, and care homes throughout the region dealt with outbreaks. Oliver saw a handful of their own deal with rising case numbers in staff and residents. McKinney Place care home had an outbreak that took the lives of 13 residents. When the pandemic restrictions allowed visits with friends and family again, things began to find new normal. Then, restrictions from the provincial government in the spring limited hotels, accommodations and campsites in the South Okanagan, with non-essential travel cut off for BC residents outside their own health authority regions. As vaccine doses continued to roll out, the area saw an increase in their visitors with travel limits taken down. I guess one of the positives about living in Osoyoos is that we didn't see as much of the lack of tourists or lack of business as other places did. We were kind of a go-to spot during tourist season for a lot of people in B.C. and certainly we had many from Alberta as well, Osoyoos Mayor Sue Mckortoff said. The area suffered a loss in the spring when a church was set ablaze near Osoyoos in April. Fire crews in Oliver were called to a church on Nk'Mip Road on Osoyoos Indian Band land on June 21, the same day Penticton fire crews had responded to the fire at Sacred Heart Church on Penticton Indian Band land. Then in July, wildfire season kicked off with the Wolfcub Creek wildfire that destroyed one home. Two weeks later, the massive Nk'Mip Creek wildfire that would rage for over two month between Oliver and Osoyoos, sitting mostly on OIB land, would officially claim three properties, burning through rural areas and forcing people from their homes. One thing that does stand out for me is how the community came together during the wildfire. It was inspiring to see the support of those that were impacted by evacuation orders and it was pretty intense there in July and August, Johansen said. The fire season was a huge, huge issue around Osoyoos. And the heat, oh my goodness, it's kind of scary, isn't it? To think of all the things sort of gone wrong, McKortoff added. The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire reached over 20,000 hectares and lasted until September as a wildfire of note. The final evacuation alerts associated with the wildfire were also rescinded then. It definitely took centre stage for quite a while here and the town of Oliver stood up. Our emergency support services put in more hours than I think anyone in the surrounding South Okanagan, as well, Johansen said. We are doing a post-review on how things rolled out during the fire and what we could do better when another one comes. This is our second one in a couple of years. You have to plan for more because I don't think this is the last one that we're going to see. The situation presented challenges for peak summer tourism as well, with some visitors impacted by evacuation orders debating whether to go home or not. I did say that, if they were in an evacuated area, they should probably consider going home. It was probably safer to do that, McKortoff said, adding that she was never encouraging all visitors to leave. But the skies were full of smoke and the community was on edge, which did push some visitors from the area. South Okanagan tourist towns were hit further as they faced more challenges seeing visitors drop due to BC's vaccination passport program. We're going to have to learn to adapt and live with COVID. It isn't going anywhere. It isn't going to suddenly disappear. But we just need to find a way forward to keep everybody safe and keep getting back to the things that everybody likes to do, Johansen added. Both towns saw phenomenal support and turnout at local events that were allowed to proceed. There's a lot of pent up demand. We just need to find ways to get back to having the festivals and events and the programming and having our town open for business and open for the community, Johansen said. The town of Oliver ran events, celebrations and a history exploration for reaching their centennial year. Snowbirds and other travellers were eager to cross the Canada-U.S. land border in Osoyoos in November, with non-essential land travel resuming for the first time in nearly 20 months. Certainly the day that the border opened in November you could see the cars and trailers parked up the highway for about three miles. Pretty well close to town, McKortoff said with a laugh, adding that it levelled off after that first weekend. People were happy that that is an available route now. But I sure don't see it as busy as it could have been or I thought it might be. Even throughout a tough year, both towns saw a boom in development and construction for the area, including Canada's first wine village finally opening in July. All that development that is getting started, I'm looking forward to seeing it getting completed, Johansen said, pointing to plans for further affordable housing developments, condos and industrial buildings. Mckortoff added that Osoyoos has seen around 20 new businesses open up since January. Last year, our building report showed, I think about $7 million in building and this year it's close to $30 million. It just shows that there is a great deal of work going on here. And the mayors look forward to the continued growth heading into 2022. They shared excitement to see projects move forward, developments come to fruition and hopefully, more of their usual celebrations. I think that we have to kind of look at ways that we can help one another and celebrate things but do it in a safe way and I think we've been able to do that. So we'd sure like to have music in the park next year and all of the events that people normally put on, McKortoff said. I think that there's so much COVID fatigue going on, but I just hope you know this new variant coming out, you can just see the ripple of concern, but just hoping that we can continue to move forward, Johansen added. While next fall will bring municipal elections, both Johansen and Mckortoff are considering it as they work through the next ten months, but neither confirmed whether they would be running for re-election. I love the job. I think it's fascinating. I'm so lucky to be in this job. Yes, there are some negatives because there certainly are some people who don't agree with what we're doing and that's totally understandable. You're never going to have everybody on side. But the bottom line is we're trying to look at the whole picture, what's best for our town and our citizens, Mckortoff said.

Highway 97 Brewery opens its doors after moving into downtown Penticton Brewery opens its doors Photo: Facebook Pull up a bar stool at a familiar brewery in a new spot in Penticton. Highway 97 welcomed customers through their doors on Ellis Street, with their grand opening on Wednesday. The brewery has been open since 2017 at its location on the highway across from the South Okanagan Events Centre. "We will be opening with minimal food until the new year but will have all our delicious beer flowing. Come check out our new digs and celebrate our opening," they shared on their Facebook page. Highway 97 Brewing got an official thumbs up from Penticton city council to move forward with their plans to take over the former Mile Zero bar on Ellis Street in January. The boutique-style family-owned and operated craft brewery is also dog-friendly. The brewery will also be operating with limited holiday hours until the new year. Find out more information on their Facebook page here.







Penticton gym asking for locals to help out fitness centres as closures come down Help out the local gyms Photo: Contributed One Penticton business is feeling the impact of nearly two years of the pandemic as gyms and fitness centres are dealing with another closure, with provincial restrictions coming into effect. City Centre Fitness Owner Kirby Kirby Layng explained that he thought classes might be cancelled in the midst of rising numbers, but the full closure was a complete shock. The gym has dealt with changing restrictions, class size allowances and vaccine passports. "A [number] of fitness clubs have already closed down across Canada...So this is just going up that number. There's a little bit of government help, but in a lot of cases, it won't be enough." There comes a question on looking after not only an individuals physical health during this time, but their mental health. "It's a tough time for people since you can't really exercise outside, especially with the coming cold weather. It's gonna be a tough one. So yeah, just really try and stay healthy and watch your nutrition, of course, this time of year, which is tough," Layng added. But the gym is hoping to keep people active with online classes starting in the new year on Zoom. "We're open for supplement purchase. The other thing we are doing is we're renting out some equipment as well. Spin bikes, weight equipment and dumbbells and selling gift certificates." Keep an eye on your own gyms or fitness centre website or social media page for updates on what they're offering and how to support.

Penticton mom gifted a free vehicle and holiday feast from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Deserving mom gifted a car Photo: Casey Richardson One family in need had Christmas come early on Thursday afternoon, when they were given a car for free from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Penticton. Courtney Brown walked into the dealership with her mom expecting to help her find a car and instead was greeted with a giant surprise. I had no idea what was going on. My mom had just told me that she had something for me. So she asked if I was able to leave work early. I thought we were coming down here to look at cars for her. And little did I know, I was coming in to find a car for myself, she explained. This is so wonderful. I am still in such complete shock. The dealership gifted Brown a 2013 Grand Caravan, along with three months insurance, an extended warranty and a Christmas feast with some presents for her two kids. Brown had been trying to save for a car for the past year, to help take her kids to school, go to appointments and make it to work. But just like anyone else, things come up with the kids. I just didn't have the funds at the moment. Huber Bannister Chevrolet started taking nominations in the beginning of December and had over 50 submitted for families or friends that could use a car. With everything that's been going on this year with COVID and with floods, we had a lot of nominations and that's without even expanding it to too much, General Manager Julian Smallbone said. Everyone deserves to get one but we found this would really help this family. Tears of joy shed down Browns face after being given the car. I've had to rely on my mom. I've had to rely on some friends to help me out over the last couple years. And so this is just going to help so much, she said. It is amazing. I could not thank the staff here at Huber Bannister enough. The idea came from Sales Manager Will Seguin, who wanted to spread some Christmas cheer, especially this year. If we had more vehicles, I would love to give them all the way. There were so many. It's really tough to decide on the submission and some tears are shed when we were reading those things, he added. Seeing the look on their face when they actually get the keys in their hand is probably my biggest achievement. The dealership hopes to see others join in the holiday giving over the coming years. What we are hoping to do is to make it into two cars next year, three and four afterwards. Again, we're going to have to get other other businesses support to be able to do that, but we are hoping to be able to give away more cars in the future, Smallbone explained. Photo: Casey Richardson

COVID-19 has caused the BCHL to cancel its 60th Anniversary event BCHL cancels all-star game Photo: BCHL COVID-19 has caused another cancellation. The BC Hockey League is postponing its 60th Anniversary event which was scheduled for January 2022 due to increased provincial restrictions around events and a spike in COVID-19 cases in B.C. The event, was going to feature an outdoor 3-on-3 All-Star Series, skills competition and alumni game, as well as a Top Prospects Game, over several days, Jan. 14 to 16 in Penticton, B.C. We are extremely disappointed to announce todays news that, in the interest of public safety, we have decided to postpone our 60th Anniversary event to next year, said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. We are disappointed for our loyal fans that were planning on attending the event, but we feel the worst for the 50 players who were set to participate in the weekends festivities. The outdoor game was also set to be a Save Pond Hockey event, in partnership with the Climate and Sport Initiative. We are grateful to all our event and league partners who supported us and are eager to work with them again next year to make the event even bigger and better. The silver lining is that the event will go ahead next year in Penticton at the newly built outdoor arena, if health protocols allow.

Princeton continues to work on flood recovery and housing for the community Overcoming all together Photo: Contributed The Town of Princeton continues to work on getting interim housing in place for the residents displaced by the floods. Mayor Spencer Coyne shared an update on Wednesday night from town's facebook page, amid ongoing discussions with the Province. "We have identified a temporary area and hope to have some answers soon," he stated. "We are working on a Resiliency Centre that will help navigate our communities recovery stage." Emergency Support Services are being carried out through Red Cross with the Province and those in need are asked to contact them if not already done so. Do not consume and boil water orders still stand for much of the community and Princeton hopes to see answers come in the next week, waiting on information from the health authority. Much of their water and sewer infrastructure was damaged. "We are working with NGOs and Provincial agencies to bring mental health supports into the community. We understand that this is a hard time of year and moving forward things will get harder we want to have the supports in place to assist not only with what is to come next, but the realization of what has just happened," Coyne said. "We have lobbied hard to get our community those much needed supports." The town is working on syncing their recovery with that of surrounding rural communities that were effected including Tulameen and Coalmont, so services can be provided to throughout equally. "We are in this together and we want to overcome this together." "I know some days it seems as nothing is happening or that we have hit a wall. I will reassure you all that there is still an army of volunteers and town employees and outside agencies working tirelessly to try and bring some sense of normalcy back to our community. We are Princeton Strong as people have started to say and we will overcome this and we will do it together." The town will have a long road ahead of extensive, expensive cleanup. To contribute to Princeton residents who need help in the wake of flooding, click here. Casey Richardson

Some facilities to close at Penticton Community Centre Community Centre changes Photo: Contributed The City will be closing Penticton's Community Centre fitness room, as a response to new health orders issued by the province on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the city announced the changes, along with a note that all customers who hold valid passes will receive an extension to their pass equal to the duration of the closure. All of the land-based fitness classes are suspended as well. Clients who are impacted by the fitness class cancellations and facility rentals impacted by the restrictions will be contacted by staff. Currently, all other recreation programs and services are able to continue as scheduled, including public swim, public skating, drop-in sports and general recreation classes. These closures will begin at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 22 and run through Jan. 18.

Baldy Mountain Resort sees strong opening week with fresh powder and new snow activities Fresh powder on opening Photo: Troy Lucas Try out your volleyball skill's at Baldy's new snow court Baldy Mountain Resort was ready for opening on Dec. 17 with a snow packed hill and groomed runs for power hounds to enjoy. "We had a great snow this year, because we had lots of time to groom it and pack it," Troy Lucas, operations manager with the resort shared. "Lots of snow and there's a lot coming." Opening numbers were a little smaller start but Lucas expects that to progress as people take time off heading into the holidays. "The local community we had a dry run with, we put on a lunch for them," he added. "We got rave reviews from them and they even sent us emails and thanked us because it's first year they've done that up here, inviting all the locals to meet our staff and get to know the community." On top of the 110 cm base and all lifts open, the resort has a snow volleyball court set up on 'Baldy Beach', along with a frisbee golf course through the forest, an improved picnic area and an outdoor s'mores pit. "We've kind of re-done the kiosk and the picnic area for lunches because of obviously COVID and seating so we have that outdoor seating all good to go and the umbrellas up." The focus this year was to make the resort very family friendly. "This is more of a family mountain," Lucas added. The resort also spent part of the summer working with the Ministry of Transportation on the road heading up to the hill. Check out Baldy's snow report on their website here. Photo: Contributed
Photo: The Canadian Press TransCanada Corp. president and CEO Russ Girling addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary.

TransCanada Corp. topped expectations as it reported a profit of $1.00 billion in its latest quarter, up from $734 million a year ago, as its revenue edged higher.

The pipeline company says the profit amounted to $1.09 per share for the quarter ended March 31. That compared with a profit of 83 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for what was the company's first quarter totalled $3.49 billion, compared with $3.42 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

On a comparable basis, TransCanada says it earned $987 million or $1.07 per share for the quarter, up from $864 million or 98 cents per share a year ago.

Chief executive Russ Girling says the increase was due to the strong performance of the company's legacy assets, along with roughly $5.3 billion of growth projects that were placed into service in the quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 99 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
A joint investigation with special agents from the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with multiple East Tennessee law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a New Market police officer for arranging to have sex with a minor.

At the request of 4th District Attorney General Jimmy B. Dunn, TBI agents, along with investigators with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the 4th Judicial District Attorney Generals Office and the Knoxville Police Department, began investigating New Market Police Officer Joseph Ray Miller, 43.

During the course of the four-week investigation, agents developed information that indicated Miller attempted to arrange through an adult to engage in sexual activity with a female under the age of 13.

The investigation revealed Miller intended to pay money to the juvenile for engaging in the act, and to the adult for making the arrangement.

On Friday night, TBI agents, with the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, arrested Miller and charged him with one count of solicitation of a minor. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail. His bond will be set at his next court appearance.
The two religious leaders sign a joint declaration of solidarity with the victims in Sri Lanka. Those who sow death are "the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth." This is why it is our duty [. . .] to banish them".

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  The head of the Catholic Church of India and the leader of one of India's most important Islamic groups signed a joint declaration this morning in Mumbai, expressing their solidarity with the victims of the Sri Lanka bombings and condemned the bloodshed in three churches and three hotels in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

For Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), and Mawlana Mahmood A. Madani, general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, "The persons and the groups responsible for the serials blasts are anti-human, anti-civilization and anti-God.

According to the two religious leaders, those who killed at least 257 people "are the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth. To associate them with any faith would be most sacrilegious to the faith itself. Therefore, the people of all faiths must disown and condemn such barbarous individuals and groups. It is our duty to expose them and banish them from civilized society.

In their statement, the cardinal and the mawlana list five points in which they lay out their rejection of violence perpetrated in the name of religion and call for the elimination of terrorism. The points are:

1) The terrorist attacks become all the more gruesome if launched under the garb of religion and holy mission. Besides causing great loss of innocent lives, peace and harmony is destroyed. It is the prime duty of all faith leaders to stand up and use all our resources and to cleanse society of this evil.

(2) Attacks on religious places and during religious festivals such as Easter are perpetrated with a design to cause a divide between people of various faiths and communities. Therefore, we feel it all the more necessary that we stand together with our Christian brothers everywhere and assure them that we share their sorrows and pains and express our solidarity with them.

(3) We appeal to the government and law-enforcement agencies all over the world to be more vigilant and take effective precautionary measures making it impossible for any terrorist groups to play havoc with the life and property of civil society anywhere.

(4) Sri Lanka being our closest neighbour, we are ready with an offer of help to enable the victims to get over the unprecedented crisis in their lives. We propose to depute a high-level delegation of various faiths to Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of cooperation and also to offer our sincere condolence to the bereaved families.

(5) We sincerely hope that media and peace-loving citizens of this country will extend their fullest cooperation for our endeavour against terrorism. We express our resolve to continue our struggle against terrorism and for global peace. We appeal to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste and creed to come forward to save humanity and to maintain social harmony and peace.
Sugar-white beaches and aqua blue waters have drawn sun seekers to Anna Maria Island for more than a century. Yet, the seven-mile-long barrier island off the coast of Bradenton, Florida, seems to be a well-kept secret among loyal visitors for whom it reflects a bit of old Florida with understated charm.

Notwithstanding recent growth, Anna Maria has intentionally kept its local flavor, respectful of the natural habitat and with an eye towards sustainable development. There are no high-rise hotels or chain restaurants; the island character is a blend of retro bungalow and Key West chic  with an element of funky flair.



Thanks, Fig Newton



The first wooden bridge was built from the mainland in 1922, but development on the island began in 1897 by the family of homesteader George Emerson Bean and Charles M. Roser, inventor of the Fig Newton. Roser sold his would-be famous cookie recipe to Nabisco, and reportedly funded early building and infrastructure on Anna Maria.

Three towns, three vibes



Surprisingly, the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay comprises three distinct municipalities: the town of Anna Maria at the north end, Holmes Beach at mid-island, and Bradenton Beach at the south end near the bridge to Longboat Key. There are countless small hotels, resorts and vacation rentals in each township.

The north end is mostly residential and quiet, but its charming Pine Street is a village hub with great restaurants, boutiques, and LEED-certified buildings. The middle of the island is the main commercial area and further south, Bradenton Beach is the hot spot with lively restaurants, Tiki bars, and the historic Bridge Street, where the original wooden bridge once stood and is now a popular fishing pier.



You can explore the island by bike or car (be forewarned that car parking is limited in busy areas) or take the free island trolley that operates daily. Another option is the Monkey Bus, a color-schemed minibus that offers rides for tips only.

A three-day jaunt



Despite frequent visits to Floridas west coast, I only recently discovered Anna Maria Island on a weekend getaway, thanks to Allegiants new flights to Sarasota/Bradenton from Nashville. The island is a 30-45 minute drive from the airport (or one hour from Tampa/St. Pete).

Even a short stay allowed us plenty of time to enjoy the pristine beaches and activities such as biking, fishing and kayaking. My husband and I stayed at the new Anna Maria Beach Resort at Holmes Beach (formerly the Blue Water Beach Motel) which is completely renovated and well appointed with luxury upgrades, a lovely walk-in pool, Jacuzzi and beach access. Some suites have full kitchens and living space with mesmerizing views overlooking the Gulf.



We set off to explore the island on colorful cruiser bikes available to motel guests, heading north to the town of Anna Maria, which has bike paths and quiet roads along the bay side. After passing several beach access points we finally propped our bikes against a picket fence and walked through a nearly hidden tunnel of palms before the wide expanse of beach known as Bean Point opened before us. The tip of the island is stunningly beautiful and a favorite spot for beach walks and watching sunset.



Out on the water, we took a guided kayak tour with AMI Paddleboard Adventures, a wonderful outing which led us through mangrove tunnels, bayous and lagoons. We also signed on with Paradise Boat Tours to see dolphins, manatee, herons and other wildlife that inhabit Sarasota Bay. Our knowledgeable captain shared interesting tidbits about the habits of the various species we spotted; even my skeptical husband was most impressed with the eco-tour.



Seafood and champagne sunsets



Youll find front row seats for sunset at several beachfront restaurants, but the place to be for toes-in-the-sand dining and the fresh catch of the day is The Sandbar, where sunset is our big event every night, our waitress told us. If you correctly guess the exact minute of sunset, you win a bottle of champagne. Another dining favorite for fine food and a romantic experience is Beach Bistro, top-rated by Zagat.

Gulf Coast seafood reigns on Anna Maria, though there are plentiful culinary options. We found wonderful choices for brunch or lunch, including Eliza Anns Coastal Kitchen, the Waterfront Restaurant for new American cuisine and delicious salads, and the irresistible Poppo's Taqueria for a healthy, fresh take on Mexican. Dont miss the Donut Experiment  fun for families, where every donut is your creation and choices range from plain Jane to glazed keylime and Sriracha.



Make sure to stop in at The Doctors Office, creatively themed after the actual doctors office it once was, and now serving craft cocktails and fresh, ingredient-driven bar fare. The Painkiller  made with Pussers Rum, fresh pineapple, orange juice and cream of coconut  cures what ails you.



Anna Maria has not lost sight of its greatest assets and experiences  from beachcomber mornings to nature activities and the celebrated sunset hour. Even the locals say, Anna Maria Island is where old Florida still exists. https://www.bradentongulfislands.com/



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Ann Yungmeyer is a travel writer and frequent contributor to print and digital publications.


There is a problem in one area of Soddy Lake that is out of the jurisdiction of the city of Soddy Daisy. Caused by flooding at the end of September 2018, a lot of debris washed into the lake and collected in the area between State Highway 27 and Dayton Pike in the area known locally as Soddy Embankment. In that area, which is always shallow, just one foot deep in some places, there is a path almost 200 feet wide now filled with dangerous pieces of jagged metal, wood and other materials that have accumulated. The trash lies just below the surface and cannot be seen from above. With the temperatures warming and people increasingly using the lake, there is a real fear that jet skiers, boaters and children being pulled on inner tubes could be seriously hurt if they run into the rubbish.

Mayor Gene Shipley said the city has made every effort to clean out that space but has been unable to. The water level never has dropped low enough because of the huge amount of rain this winter and spring. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for cleaning it up and keeping people safe, he said. Officials from the city have met with representatives from TWRA to ask for help by putting up buoys as markers and signs of warning until they are able to get rid of the debris. In the meantime, the mayor is asking to get the word out through social media about staying away from the dangerous area.



A public hearing was held at the commission meeting Thursday night about an amendment to the city code that will allow beer sales every day of the week, 24 hours a day. Just one resident of Soddy Daisy spoke saying he was in opposition and asking instead for the city to allow no alcohol sales at all. The commissioners voted five to one to change the law. The state controls the sale of wine and spirits and has made changes to times that is allowed. The new hours approved for beer sales will match those for alcohol and will reduce confusion by retailers who sell both.



City Manager Janice Cagle received approval from the commissioners for several expenditures including $24,400 for a contract with Johnson, Murphy and Wright for yearly auditing services. The public works department has paved several roads and payments of $27,465 for labor and $64,040 for materials to pay for the work was authorized. Some fire hydrants in Soddy Daisy were originally installed in the 1940s and parts are no longer available to repair them. There are 10 hydrants that are scheduled to be replaced this year. Only one bid was received for $23,500. These were planned for in the budget, said Recorder Burt Johnson.



A solution is being sought for speeding cars that several commissioners routinely hear complaints about. Commissioner Rick Nunley said that the city has tried using rumble strips, posting signs, putting up speed displays that show how fast a car is traveling and giving tickets, but he said, "We are not getting anywhere." He asked the commissioners to consider enhancing existing rumble strips and adding new ones.

City Manager Cagle questioned that being the answer, because she said, where they have been used in the past, people living nearby call and wanted them removed. The people that are speeding most often are residents who live in the neighborhood where they are stopped, she said. The possibility of putting in speed humps was also discussed. City Attorney Sam Elliott said the city has been advised that its insurer considers them to be a liability. He suggested talking to the liability carrier for their advice.


Kelly Ann (Richie) Burns, 51 of Chattanooga, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Kelly was born on June 5, 1967, in Chattanooga, to Gene and Norma (Bolton) Richie.



She received her Masters of Science in Accountancy from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2007 and worked in payroll supervision for the past 4 years. Most recently, she was the payroll supervisor for the Hamilton County Department of Education.



On May 26, 2006, she married the love of her life, Barry Burns. Kelly was the proud mother of Jonathan Chase Hudson, a 2013 West Point graduate, and currently serving as a captain in the United States Army.



Kelly loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her family, people, and life. Her interests were varied and included sewing, traveling, motorcycles, and pets. Her smile was infectious and she touched many lives.



She is survived by her husband, Barry; her son, Captain Jonathan and his wife, Lisa; her parents, a sister, Chris and her husband, Doug; and a large number of extended family.



A celebration of Kelly's life and her Savior will be held at noon on Tuesday, May 7, at Stuart Heights Baptist Church, 3208 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, with Pastor Gary Jared and Pastor Doug Raynes officiating. Burial will take place at the Chattanooga National Cemetery at 2 p.m.

Those wishing to memorialize Kelly's life are encouraged to contribute to the Stuart Heights Baptist Church's Chosen Ministries.

Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort.



Visitation will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the church.



Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421.


Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo recently surprised fans with the announcement that they were moving to Los Angeles. The couple posted some information on their blog, and everyone was extremely thrilled to see the two branching out on their own  and heading to a city thats so different from where they were raised. But now, fans are a bit confused about the move, since Jinger keeps posting photos from Laredo, Texas, where they currently live. Are they still moving?

Jinger Duggar with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo and daughter, Felicity Vuolo. | Jinger Vuolo via Instagram

Duggar and Vuolo recently announced theyre starting a new chapter in Los Angeles

A few months ago, Duggar and Vuolo took a family trip to California and allowed their followers to live vicariously through all of their Instagram photos from the trip. Fans loved how much fun the two seemed to be having, and several people suggested Los Angeles might make a perfect home for the couple and their young daughter, Felicity. Not long after the family returned home, they made a huge announcement on their blog  they would, indeed, be moving to Los Angeles.

People were thrilled to see the couple taking their lives into their own hands

When Duggar and Vuolo made their announcement, everyone was extremely happy for them. Duggar has been dubbed the most rebellious of the family, since she broke away from some family traditions once she got married. While shes still extremely religious, she wears pants and tank tops now, and reportedly even stood up for transgender rights. People were excited to hear that the Vuolos would be moving to a city as liberal and accepting as Los Angeles, because it might make them see that all kinds of people deserve to be loved and respected.

Fans keep asking Duggar if shes still moving to California, since she keeps posting photos from Laredo

Although Duggar and Vuolo made their major announcement, fans have been a bit confused about their timeline. Duggar recently posted a photo of Felicity sitting on a friends couch in Laredo, and her followers were confused. Are you guys still moving, one user wrote. Are yall still moving to Cali? Another questioned. The comments section saw several confused fans wondering what the couples big announcement meant, since they still havent moved.

We have some BIG NEWS to share with all of you  https://t.co/ui64DhFKUT  Jinger Vuolo (@jingervuolo) March 25, 2019

To clear things up, Duggar and Vuolo wont be moving to California until July. Vuolo will be starting graduate classes out in Los Angeles in the fall, which is why the couple is waiting until the summer to move. The move is still in place, but they have a few months left in Laredo before they start a new life in California.

People clearly favor Duggar and Vuolo over the other Duggar family couples

When it comes to the Duggars, Jinger Duggar flew under the radar up until she married Vuolo. When the two started their own life together, fans realized how funny and friendly Duggar seemed, and they loved that she didnt always play by the rules. According to a poll conducted by InTouch, Duggar is the overwhelming favorite of fans among any of her siblings. She received 33% of the vote; Jana Duggar came in second with 21%. All of the other Duggars received less than 10%. Fans will continue to follow Duggar as she makes her move out to California and eventually grows her family even more (were still waiting on a baby no. 2 announcement).

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Dannielynn Birkhead, 12, and her father Larry Birkhead have officially made their yearly pilgrimage to Churchhill Downs. She is looking even more like her mother with each passing day. The father-daughter duo was first spotted on Friday evening at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala, an event held in honor of the upcoming race each year. The pair is expected to stay in Louisville through the weekends festivities. They will be on hand for Saturdays officially running of the 145th Kentucky Derby. This year marks Dannielynns 10th appearance at the event, according to People.

Why is the Kentucky Derby important to Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead?

arry Birkhead and Dannielynn Birkhead | Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/WireImage

Dannielynn has been residing with her father, Larry in rural Kentucky for years now, but thats not how it always was. Dannielynn, born to Anna Nicole Smith in September 2006 was at the center of a custody battle when she was just a few months old. Birkhead had been purposefully left off of the childs birth certificate, and a bitter court battle ensued following Smiths untimely death at a Florida hotel.

I cant catch a break even on my birthday! But I am proud of Dannielynns grades! #birthday #honorroll #bankrolled pic.twitter.com/Ex7TDkzO8A  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) January 22, 2019

Birkhead eventually won the battle, proving he was the biological father of the child and had every intention of raising her. Since then, they have kept a low profile  even moving to the rural Kentucky area to allow Dannielynn to be raised in relative anonymity. The duo does surface each year for the famous horse race for one important reason; its precisely where Larry Birkhead met Anna Nicole Smith so many years ago. According to the Courier-Journal Birkhead told Steve Harvey I make it as normal as I can. Shes like any other kid; she goes to school with every other kid, and shes a girl scout. She does things that I think her mom would be really proud of her for,

Kentucky Derby time once again. Dannielynn looks pretty in pink in her dress by Junona and her Moms hat from her unforgettable appearance at The Kentucky Derby in 2004#KentuckyDerby2019 pic.twitter.com/5oUZfcGfbW  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) May 4, 2019

The event at Churchhill Downs is a way of connecting Dannielynn with her mother. The younger Birkhead surely doesnt remember much of her mother, but Birkhead is dedicated to keeping the memory alive while raising the tween in a healthy environment.

How did Anna Nicole Smith die?

Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at around 1 pm on February 8, 2007. Smith was rushed to a local hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. An official autopsy report noted the existence of 11 drugs in the 39-year-old models system, many of which had never been prescribed to her. The lethal concoction is blamed for Smiths demise.

Anna Nicole Smith | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Smiths death came on the heels of the passing of her son, Daniel. Daniel died while visiting Smith in the Bahamas following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn. An inquest found that Daniels death was caused by an accidental overdose. Birkhead has suggested that the 20-year-old may have stolen his mothers methadone; methadone was one of three drugs found in his system.
No one was too surprised to hear the newsafter months of keeping so many details of the pregnancy private, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted that they were taking it one step further. Instead of posing for a post-birth photo a few hours after Baby Sussexs debut, the couple announced that they have taken the personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private and that they look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.

Understandably, the decree drove royal fans into a frenzy. As the hours ticked by towards the speculated (yet unconfirmed) due date, conspiracy theories abounded. Did Meghan Markle already have the baby in secret? Could we guess the plans based on Prince Harrys travel plans? How long would the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make everyone wait before sharing the news?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

This babys birth feels even more exciting than any of Prince William and Kate Middletons kids, which is weird because he or she is even further from the throne. The mystery is part of the appeal. However, there are critics who believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a huge mistake by being so secretive.

Meghan Markles influence has changed Prince Harry

Whether its good or bad is up for discussion. But theres no denying that Prince Harry is a much different man these days than he used to be, and many say its Meghan Markles presence that inspired the change.

Before Markle came along, Prince Harry was known for wild partying and controversial antics. He had calmed down in recent years, but he seemed perfectly content to hang out as the third wheel with his brother and sister-in-law. Thats all different now.

Ever since they became serious, Prince Harry has been forging a new path with his wife by his side. First, it was the break from offices at Kensington Palace and starting his own official household apart from Prince William. Now its throwing up walls of privacy where none existed before.

Critics think Prince Harry is shirking his royal responsibilities

Meghan Markle joined the royal family with little exposure to their customs. It makes senseMarkle is an American Hollywood actress, not a British socialite. Its logical shed expect a different approach.

But now people are miffed by her reticence and failure to do those things that the public expects from the royal family. It may not go along with Markles agenda, but in certain ways the royal family belongs to the public, and allowing them access to their big life events is part of the deal. This whole veil of mystery was fun at first but its starting to make people irritated.

Prince Harry may be intentionally punishing the media

There are lots of people blaming Meghan Markle for keeping all the birth details secret, but there are just as many fans who think it stems from Prince Harry, too. Its common knowledge that the Duke of Sussex has a complicated relationship with the press and some say hes hiding royal baby details on purpose to punish them.

As Sun photographer Arthur Edwards told the New York Times: Its the way Harry is at the moment, hes just got this bee in his bonnet that all the media are to be ignored.

But destroying his relationship with the media could prove disastrous for Prince Harry, especially as he and his wife are trying to get specific issues (such as mental health) into the spotlight.

The next few weeks will reveal more about Prince Harry and Meghan Markles deeper agenda. For now, we all just have to wait some more.
Anna Duggars announcement of her sixth child with Joshua Duggar was met by fans with a mix of concern and sadness. While another baby is undoubtedly a happy occasion, fans have long wished Anna would leave the man who spent a good portion of his time in Washington D.C trolling the internet for extra-marital affairs. While the news of Joshuas indiscretions broke back in 2015, fans have held out hope all these years that Anna would finally take a stand.

#Throwback to when Jill, Joy & I were pregnant together!Currently, there are 4 Duggar sisters/sisters-in-law that have shared expectant baby news! I wonder how many more new cousins will be announced before https://t.co/IelSs196ih  Anna Duggar (@Anna_Duggar) May 2, 2019

The announcement of their 6th child together have evaporated those hopes, but are fans the only ones disappointed in Annas decision to stand by her man? What does her large, ultra-conservative Christian family think of her choices?

Anna Duggars brother has offered her a chance to escape

While the majority of the Keller family has stayed mum about their feelings for Joshua Duggar, there is one Keller who has held nothing back. Daniel Keller, the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family, has been outspoken about his feelings regarding Josh. In fact, Daniel has informed fans he offered Anna the chance to escape. Not only was he willing to give the homeschooled mom a place to stay, but he even offered to pay for her childrens needs.

Daniel has not spoken publicly about Anna since the 2015 scandal, but if his words from back then still apply, hes likely not thrilled with the recent turn of events. Daniel stated that he wouldnt stop trying to get Josh out of his family.

Annas parents might be part of the reason she stayed

According to In Touch, the Keller family does not consider divorce an option, under any circumstances. Mike and Suzette raised their large family in Florida, and while they adhere to most of the Duggar family rules, insiders allege they take the conservative rules around dating and marriage even more seriously. Divorce would be seen as a massive sin, and Anna may have been advised by her parents to stick it out.

In 2017 an alleged insider posted an AMA on Reddit and noted that things were really rocky when the news first broke about Joshs cheating. According to the insider, Michelle Duggar was under the impression that Anna was planning to leave the family, but something happened that changed her mind. Some fans surmise that watching her divorced siblings being treated with icy indifference was enough to make her stick it out with Josh.

The Keller kids dont all adhere to the rules

While Anna and her siblings were all raised in an ultra-conservative household, they all dont share their parents moral leanings. In fact, two of the Keller kids are officially divorced. Rebekah Keller, who was married to Joshua Macdonald in 2005 filed for divorce from her husband in 2015.

Happy Thanksgiving for our family to yours! We have so much to be grateful for and what a better time then today to give thanks to God and others for all that has been given and done for us. @annaduggar @susanna_keller pic.twitter.com/ZPOqFIWCu6  David & Priscilla W (@DavidNCil) November 23, 2018

According to Radar, the reasoning for the divorce is purposefully vague, but its clear Rebekah broke all the rules. Not only was she the one to file the paperwork, but she also requested full custody of the couples two children. The divorce was finalized the following year.

Daniel Keller also called it quits with his wife. Keller married a woman named Candice in 2008, but their marriage dissolved in 2016. They share one son. Neither Daniel nor Candice have ever spoken publicly about their marriage or divorce.

Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar | Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images

Rebekah and Daniel arent the only Keller kids to face romantic issues. Younger sibling Susanna broke free from the Keller family years ago. She gave birth to a child in 2013; she never married the father of her daughter. Susanna was featured on several episodes of 19 Kids and Counting during Josh and Annas courtship.
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are officially a married couple.

Shortly after the 2019 Billboard Awards, the famous couple headed to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas to take their relationship to the next level.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas |Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Getty Images for dcp

Though none of us saw this spontaneous wedding coming, Jonas and Turner tied the knot while they were in Sin City for one particular reason.

Their marriage needed to be legal in the U.S.

On May 1, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner shocked us all when it was revealed they had tied the knot immediately following the 2019 Billboard Awards.

Shortly after Joe Jonas performed alongside his brothers and Sophie Turner presented, the couple, along with their friends and family, headed to A Little White Chapel to say I do at the Sin City locations Chapel LAmour.

Videos from the wedding were caught and shared by Diplo on his Instagram Story.

Those in attendance were Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Kevin Jonas, and Danielle Jonas. The country duo Dan + Shay even sang their smash hit Speechless during the ceremony.

Though many fans knew Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were planning on getting married, they were not expecting a ceremony to happen so soon.

Jonas and Turner have discussed their plans to get married this upcoming summer in France but there was a reason the couple decided to tie the knot in Vegas.

According to sources, if the couple only got married in France, their marriage wouldnt be legal in the United States.

They knew they needed to have a legal ceremony in the U.S. and decided a few weeks ago to do it in Vegas after the Billboard Awards, a source revealed to E! News. Some of their friends and family would be there so it felt like the perfect timing.

It was just the right time

Though Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopras wedding was well-thought out and beautifully executed, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turners Las Vegas wedding was in the spur of the moment.

Since they were already in Vegas for the Billboard Awards, what better way to end the night than getting married in a wedding chapel?

Their wedding this summer will be a lot more formal, but Jonas and Turner just couldnt wait any longer to be man and wife.

They booked the chapel for a big block of the night to make sure they had it to themselves and that the timing could be spontaneous, an insider shared. A friend paid and set up the entire thing.

Instead of exchanging wedding bands, Joe and Sophie gave each other ring pops and couldnt be happier that they are officially married.

A source says that the couple is just so excited to be together and to be married.

As for their summer wedding in France, the couple still plans for that to happen.

The ceremony will be a lot more formal than the one in Vegas and more of their family and friends will be in attendance.

It looks like multiple wedding ceremonies are a thing in the Jonas family!
It was only a few weeks ago when reports of a new royal feud were underway. It started with The Sun publishing the first story about Kate Middleton and her once good friend Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The two were believed to be good friends and were often seen together at royal gatherings. The Duke and Duchess had also been on several double dates with Hanbury and her husband. Now it seems there is a rift between them and rumors say infidelity is to blame.

When the article first came out in March, it only covered the alleged feud between Middleton and Hanbury. What happened next caused a social media firestorm and even bigger rumors to circulate.

Rumors of Prince Williams infidelity are going viral

According to Page Six, it was In Touch Weekly that first published cheating allegations against William. It was their unnamed source that claimed Middletons friend and husband had an affair together, causing the end of their friendship and marital problems. However, there is no tangible proof that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are having marriage problems and no evidence of infidelity.

The public cant seem to drop it. Its just too juicy of a story to let go. Social media has also exploded with opinions. It seems people are divided. Some believe William is having an affair, taking after his father, Prince Charles. Others believe that the duke and duchess are too in love to worry about the Marchioness. Still, others wonder why the British media isnt covering the story.

Why isnt the British media covering Prince Williams alleged affair?

While many American media outlets have started covering the rumors of Prince Williams affair, the British press seems decidedly absent. This has caused even more speculation, as the British media never stay quiet on these matters. They are known to be the most aggressive in their search for the truth or a good story.

Some have taken to Twitter, questioning why theres a lack of coverage. It could be that he is the future king, and they dont want to get on his bad side. We should also remember that he and Kate have sued them in the past for publishing inappropriate photos of the duchess, and they won.

According to the Daily Beast, the royals had their lawyers send a letter to the media outlets that said: In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights.

It might be that the British press is worried about another lawsuit. After all, there is no evidence to support the rumors as of yet. Then again one Twitter user, @Celia, wrote, How much tax money does the British monarchy give to the British media to keep quiet about Prince Williams affair?

How much tax money does the british monarchy give to the british media to keep quiet about Prince William's affair ?  Celia (@_MrsWanted) April 24, 2019

There is plenty of coverage for Meghan Markle

Still, one cant help but wonder why the British media can trash Meghan Markle in the press when they rarely have proof. A Twitter user, @Wiltshire said: The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story theyre threatening to sue the media over is probably true! 90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didnt notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!

The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story they're threatening to sue the media over is probably true!



90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didn't notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!  Wiltshire (@SocialIssueNews) April 23, 2019

Another reason, Williams affair rumors arent being covered might be due to Meghan and Prince Harrys baby. They have had a lot of media attention over the past year. It could be that the Sussex celebrity status is bigger than the Cambridge celebrity status right now.
Russell Finex, worldwide suppliers of high quality separation equipment, celebrate 80 years of experience in chemical sieving and filtration. With innovation at the core of their business, their wide range of vibratory sieves, liquid solid separation equipment and self-cleaning liquid filters have been the answer for many customers within the chemical industry around the world. Russell Finex work closely with renowned chemical companies, providing them customized solutions to their unique separation and filtration needs.



Russell Finex are aware that every process or application is different and choosing the right machine is essential to assure a maximum throughput. Therefore Russell Finex provide their machines for trials at either the customers site or at their specialized test facilities. By offering this service customers are assured they have the right machine for the application.



With offices in the UK, Belgium, USA and India and a broad network of agents, Russell Finex serve over 140 countries offering the support you need. Within the chemical industry Russell Finex have offered screening solutions such as the precise filtration of liquid paint, the sieving of chemical powders and separation or recovery of plastic. Below you can read more about the machines suitable for these applications.



Liquid paint filtration



The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter has been used by many coating companies for the filtration of liquid paint. The filter provides a fine and continuous filtration down to 15m, removing any impurity or skins from the paint at the end of the production line. The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter is a major advancement compared to bag- or cartridge filters. It has a stainless steel re-usable filter element which is continuously cleaned by a wiper system. This way product loss is minimized and costs for replacing bag or filter media are eliminated.



Sieving chemical powders



Russell Finex have often provided the Russell Compact Sieve for the sieving of various chemical powders. This vibratory sieve meets the high standards of the industry. It is a reliable machine providing a consistent high capacity and accurate fine screening. In combination with the Vibrasonic Deblinding System, which uses ultrasonic frequencies to keep the mesh clear, sticky or porous chemical powders can be easily screened down to 20m.



Separation or recovery of plastics



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Please visit the Russell Finex website for more information about separation equipment for the chemical industry.
The ceremony began at 10.09, an auspicious time. The rituals of purification and anointing turned the man into a Buddhist deity. The king ascended to the throne in 2016, following the death of the late monarch Bhumibol.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) - This morning King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned king of Thailand, at the start of three days of ceremonies.

Dressed in the golden robe required for the occasion, the 66-year-old monarch placed the 7.3 kilo Great Crown of Victory on his head before issuing his first royal command: "I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever.

The coronation began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, with the purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

The king received the five Royal Regalia - the symbols of kingship - which include the Great Crown of Victory, the Royal Slippers, the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Sceptre.

The celebrations will last until Monday and represent the kings transformation from human into a divine figure.

Today, in addition to the coronation and gifts, Rama X will visit the Emerald Buddha temple (Wat Phra Kaew), where he will proclaim himself Royal Patron of Buddhism. Afterwards, he will symbolically move into the official Royal Residence with a housewarming ceremony.

Tomorrow he will ride the Royal Palanquin allowing people to pay homage to him. On Monday, he will grant a public audience on a balcony in the Grand Palace.

Born on 28 July 1952, King Vajiralongkorn is the second child (only male) of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He has an older sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya  who recently put herself forward as a candidate in an election, only to be forced to withdraw because traditionally the royal family remains above politics  and two younger siblings, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn Walailak.

He studied abroad, in Great Britain and Australia, and was proclaimed heir to the throne on 28 December 1972.

King Vajiralongkorn, who will be known from now on simply as Rama X, is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since in 1782.

He ascended the throne in 2016 following the death of his beloved father, but had to wait until after a long mourning period before he could be crowned. Two days ago, in a surprise move, he married Queen Suthida Tidjai, his former bodyguard.
Guest Commentary

As president, Donald Trump has leaned heavily upon what he has called an America First policy. This nationalist approach involves walking away from cooperative agreements with other nations and relying, instead, upon a dominant role for the United States, under girded by military might, in world affairs.

Nevertheless, as numerous recent opinion polls reveal, most Americans dont support this policy.

The reaction of the American public to Trumps withdrawal of the United States from key international agreements has been hostile. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in early May 2018, shortly before Trump announced a pullout from the Iran nuclear agreement, 54 percent of respondents backed the agreement. Only 29 percent favored a pullout.

In July 2018, when the Chicago Council on Global Affairs surveyed Americans about their reaction to Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement, it found that 66 favored remaining within the Iran accord, while 68 percent favored remaining within the Paris accord  an increase of six percent in support for each of these agreements over the preceding year.

Most Americans also rejected Trumps 2019 withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. A survey that February by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reported that 54 percent of Americans opposed withdrawal from this nuclear arms control treaty and only 41 percent favored it. Furthermore, when pollsters presented arguments for and against withdrawal from the treaty to Americans before asking for their opinion, 66 percent opposed withdrawal.

In addition, despite Trumps sharp criticism of U.S. allies, most Americans expressed their support for a cooperative relationship with them. The Chicago Councils July 2018 survey found that 66 percent of Americans agreed that the United States should make decisions with its allies, even if it meant that the U.S. government would have to go along with a policy other than its own. Only 32 percent disagreed. Similarly, a March 2019 Pew Research poll found that 54 percent of American respondents wanted the U.S. government to take into account the interests of its allies, even if that meant compromising with them, while only 40 percent said the U.S. government should follow its national interests when its allies strongly disagreed.

Moreover, despite the Trump administrations attacks upon the United Nations and other international human rights entities  including pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council, withdrawing from UNESCO, defunding UN relief efforts for Palestinians, and threatening to prosecute the judges of the International Criminal Court  public support for international institutions remained strong. In July 2018, 64 percent of Americans surveyed told the Chicago Councils pollsters that the United States should be more willing to make decisions within the framework of the UN, even if that meant going along with a policy other than its own. This was the highest level of agreement on this question since 2004, when it was first asked. In February 2019, 66 percent of U.S. respondents to a Gallup survey declared that the UN played a necessary role in the world today.

But what about expanding U.S. military power? Given the Trump administrations success at fostering a massive military buildup, isnt there widespread enthusiasm about that?

On this point, too, the administrations priorities are strikingly out of line with the views of most Americans. A National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey of U.S. public opinion, conducted from April through November 2018, found that only 27 percent of respondents thought that the U.S. government spent too little on the military, while 66 percent thought that it spent either too much or about the right amount. By contrast, 77 percent said the government spent too little on education, 71 percent said it spent too little on assistance to the poor, and 70 percent said it spent too little on improving and protecting the nations health.

In February 2019, shortly after Trump indicated he would seek another hefty spending increase in the U.S. military budget, bringing it to an unprecedented $750 billion, only 25 percent of American respondents to a Gallup poll stated that the U.S. government was spending too little on the military. Another 73 percent said that the government was spending too much on it or about the right amount.

Moreover, when it comes to using U.S. military might, Americans seem considerably less hawkish than the Trump administration. According to a July 2018 survey by the Eurasia Group Foundation, U.S. respondents  asked what should be done if Iran gets back on track with its nuclear weapons program favored diplomatic responses over military responses by 80 percent to 12.5 percent. That same month, as the Chicago Council noted, almost three times as many Americans believed that admiration for the United States (73 percent) was more important than fear of their country (26 percent) for achieving U.S. foreign policy goals.

Unlike the president, who has boasted of U.S. weapons sales to other countries, particularly to Saudi Arabia, Americans are also rather uncomfortable about the U.S. role as the worlds pre-eminent arms dealer. In November 2018, 58 percent of Americans surveyed told YouGov that they wanted the U.S. government to curtail or halt its arms sales to the Saudi Arabian government, while only 13 percent wanted to maintain or increase such sales.

Finally, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to express their support for nuclear arms control and disarmament. In the aftermath of Trumps withdrawal of the United States from the INF treaty and announcement of plans to build new nuclear weapons, 87 percent of respondents to a February 2019 poll by Chicago Council said they wanted the United States and Russia to come to an agreement to limit nuclear arms.

The real question is not whether most Americans disagree with Trumps America First national security policy but, rather, what they are willing to do about it.

Dr. Lawrence Wittner syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor of history emeritus at SUNY/Albany. He is the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).
Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T) has known that the hydropower cable that connects Haines and Skagway to the Kasidaya hydropower project has been vulnerable to damage for years, predicting the faults that the cable would develop with great accuracy. Still, no steps were taken to provide maintenance.

An average household in Haines or Skagway pays between $200 and $250 a month for power, according to AP&T power operations manager Darren Belisle

They charge us a lot of money for the electricity we use, and maintenance has to be a part of their budget, said veteran Haines Borough planning commissioner Rob Goldberg.

We dont have any routine maintenance, Belisle said. Because its hard to do when its in such deep water.

Belisle explained that there are only a few ships in the world capable of dealing with a hydropower cable at that depth, and it costs at least $250,000 to bring one of them here. The 17-mile armored cable is 4.5 inches in diameter and rests below 800 feet of water at the place where the cable is damaged worst.

On March 3, AP&T first lost communication with the Kasidaya plant and realized that some of the cables fiber-optics were damaged. The company contacted a remotely operated submarine to assess the damage. It arrived two weeks later, which Belisle said is a fast response time. The submarine found significant damage caused by underwater landslides, which are frequent occurrences in the Taiya River Delta. Since the end of March, AP&T has known that the cable is on the verge of failure.

Nothing has changed, said Belisle. Now, AP&T is going through the process of a long and complex contingency plan. AP&T is just beginning to talk to the municipality about other places to relocate the cable.

In 2011, then AP&T operations manager Danny Gonce predicted that one or more faults would develop on the cable within the next 10 years.

Its not a question of if, its a question of when our cable is going to fail, the CVN reported that Gonce said.

When exactly the cable might failThats the million-dollar question, said Belisle. Reading all of the documentation on them, they last from 20 years to 50 years. Theres quite a large gap there, said Belisle.

The hydropower cable was bought for $6 million in 1998. According to CVN reporting from 2011, the Italian manufacturer that built the cable, Pirrelli, guaranteed it for 30 years. Since then, Pirelli has been taken over by a company called Prysmian, and Prysmian did not respond for comment about the cables warranty. The cable is now 21 years old. Belisle estimated that a new cable would cost $7 million.

If that cable does have an expected life span, then its a maintenance item. And if its a maintenance issue, it should be replaced in a timely manner, said Goldberg, We said it back (in 2011), why dont you just schedule this and replace it if its a maintenance item? But they didnt do it.

AP&Ts explanation for not providing cable maintenance was that it was unaffordable and impractical to do so.

If the power cable fails, it will take at least six months to replace it, according to Belisle, meaning that for at least six months, Haines would rely on diesel power.

In 2010, AP&T first proposed to build a hydropower project closer to Haines, on Connelly Lake, which many opposed due to environmental concerns. In 2013, due to the high cost of the project, AP&T scrapped its Connelly Lake plans.
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.
Q&A with Greg Laurie: America ripe for spiritual awakening

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SoCal Pastor Greg Laurie caught up with My Faith Votes recently at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He talked openly with us about his new book, Jesus Revolution, Americas need for another spiritual awakening, the churchs role as salt and light and where our ultimate hope lies. For a few truly uplifting moments, watch the full interview.

Standing in front of the colorful Jesus Revolution bus, Pastor Greg Laurie shared his testimony of becoming a Christ-follower during Americas last great spiritual revival  the Jesus Movement  in the 1960s and 1970s. He believes America is in desperate need of spiritual revival today and that the apparent divisions in our country over race, economic status, politics, religion, etc., poses no obstacle to God. In fact, Laurie suggests the timing might be more ripe for spiritual awakening because most revivals seem to happen during times of conflict.

Laurie says Christians must pray for spiritual revival in their own lives as a catalyst for America to experience spiritual revival and must recommit to follow the biblical exhortation to live as salt and light in our culture. By comparing believers to salt, Laurie says the Bible calls Christians to be cultural preservatives, and the best way to do that is to proclaim the gospel. As light, Christians are to beat back the darkness and stop the spread of evil.

Along with prayer and preaching, Laurie suggests a practical way for Christians to oppose evil is to register and vote. No candidate will ever align perfectly with biblical values but, he says, find one that is as close to biblical values as possible and vote for them.

Thats our core mission at My Faith Votes. We work every day to empower Christians to put their faith into action. That means helping Christians to be informed and think well about the issues being decided at the ballot box, to pray for our country and our leaders and, ultimately, to live out our faith by voting.

There is no perfect political or cultural solution for America. Our hope is in nothing that human beings can do, Laurie says. Our hope is in God. The Bible calls that our blessed hope.
National Day of Prayer: David Platt on the 'greatest hindrance' to advancing the Gospel

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WASHINGTON  Influential megachurch pastor and best-selling author David Platt voiced concerns about a trend within church culture that he suspects might be the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel today.

As Americans celebrate The National Day of Prayer Thursday, Platt spoke before a group of church leaders gathered for the Mens and Womens Prayer Breakfast Wednesday morning at The Willard Hotel located about a block from the White House in Washington, D.C.

The Radical author and former leader of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board explained that church and ministry leaders are too frequently tempted to accomplish their ministry goals through human abilities and ingenuity without the presence of God.

I believe you and I are tempted in a strangely similar way all across our church culture, said Platt, the teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. Think about it. You and I are tempted every day in our lives and in our churches to do the work of God apart from the power and the presence of God.

Lets be honest with each other. We have created a whole host of means and methods to our ministry today that require little if no help at all from the Holy Spirit of God, he continued. We dont have to fast and pray for the Church to go. We have marketing for that today.

It's dangerously possible for leaders to carry on the machinery and activity of churches and ministries," the 39-year-old pastor said. "All of it to be successful in the eyes of the world and we can never notice that the Holy Spirit is totally absent from it, Platt worried.

If we are not careful, we can deceive ourselves by mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a building for the existence of spiritual life in a church. I wonder if the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel in our day may be the attempt of the people to do the work of God apart from the power of the Spirit of God.

He suggests that the greatest barrier to spreading the Gospel might not be the self-indulgent immorality of our culture but rather the self-sufficient mentality in the Church evident in our prayerlessness.

Earlier in his keynote message, Platt explained that he recently returned from a preaching trip in South Korea. He said it was a trip in which the Lord convicted him in a fresh and deep way after seeing how hours of intentional prayer, repentance and fasting played a major role in the spiritual awakening in the country.

Platt noted that around 1900, less than 1 percent of the Korean Peninsula was Christian. But in 2000, there were as many as 10 million Christians in South Korea. Today, the country is only second to the United States in the number of missionaries sent around the world.

At the church I was preaching at recently, they still gather every morning. They have a prayer gathering every Friday night, all night to pray. There's not a formal event for them once a year. Prayer is a way of life every single day in the church. And I walked away convicted because I have not led the church well in this way, in a country where I am part of the church culture where I preach at conferences and events filled with hours of talks and sermons and relative minutes of prayer and confession.

Platt warned that leaders in the American Church culture are known for preaching and teaching, writing and blogging, organizing and strategizing, planning and planting.

But we are not known for our praying and fasting, He added. And in this, we're in profound danger of missing the whole point. When was the last time we got together with the church just for worship on Sunday and crowds of people fell on our faces weeping for hidden sin in our midst, crying out for God's mercy upon us? We have no room because we need to get on to the next song we have planned, the next program that is waiting.

What kind of church culture have we created where we pastors, members of churches like ours, are content to go week after week after week in church, watch what happens on stage and then move on with our lives? Platt asked.

Platt pointed to Exodus 33, a story in which Moses and the Israelites were faced with the possibility of having to journey to the promised land flowing with milk and honey without the presence of God.

So what does Moses do when faced with the prospect of doing Gods work apart from Gods presence? He prays. He goes in the tent of meeting, Platt explained. You should see this scene.

Platt detailed the scene in which Moses goes far outside of the camp to set up a tent in which he meets face-to-face with God just as a man speaks to a friend. A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Moses as he entered the tent and were struck with awe when the pillar of cloud came down to speak with Moses.

This is one of those places where you cant believe this is in the Old Testament, right? Platt commented. We didnt gather here today to watch Ronnie [Floyd] go into a tent or anybody go into a tent. Every single one of us can go into the tent. We dont have to go anywhere. You are the tent.

Platt added that Christians today have the privilege to speak with God face-to-face before they even get out of bed in the morning, a privilege that we have that Old Testament saints could only long for.

We have the privilege of knowing God face-to-face through Jesus what He has done on the cross for us, Platt said. What a privilege we have. Lets not forsake this privilege. Moses goes in and he says, I cant do this without you. He pleads for Gods presence to go with him. And God answers.

Lets do this. Lets get on our faces before God, not just these couple of days but day after day, all night in our churches and say, God we cant do this without you. We need Your grace. We need Your mercy. We need Your presence among us.

Platt called for ministries in the U.S. to throw aside their damning dependence on natural ability and human ingenuity and plead for God to do in our churches, across our countries and among the nations what only God can do.

Keep on pleading until the day when Scripture promises we will see His face and all His unchanging perfections, Platt concluded. Purposes and promises will come to pass in His ever-unfolding plan in which you and I get to play a part. Lets play our part.

In addition to various National Day of Prayer events held throughout the country on Thursday, a national observance ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Child sex trafficking victims, ex-drug addicts find healing in Duck Dynasty star's jewelry line

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Driven by her belief that God is a God of grace, forgiveness, and redemption, Missy Robertson is giving hurting and broken women a second chance at life through her new jewelry line.

The former Duck Dynasty star told The Christian Post she created Laminin by Missy Robertson back in 2016 to provide jobs for women in the West Monroe, Louisiana, area coming out of the sex industry, addiction, and poverty, among other life issues.

When women come to apply for a job, they dont fear checking that box that says have you ever been convicted of a felony? That doesnt scare us, and it doesnt stop us from hiring you, Robertson told CP. I strongly believe in second chances, and Laminin is about second chances.

But that wasnt always the goal.

Robertson, a mother of three, admitted that when he first conceived of Laminin  not without the help of her mother-in-law, Miss Kay, she said  it was with the intention of helping women like herself.

I pictured women who had married early and didnt have a college degree but were working and at the same time trying to be involved in their children's lives, she said. But Gods will is different from ours, and it takes a while to see it.

The women who applied were nothing like me, she continued. Theyd had tumultuous backgrounds and many of them were basically the result of being on drugs, whether their choice or their parents choice. Many of them were trying to stay out of trouble and had lost everything they had because they had been in prison.

Robertson recounted the story of Brandy, a former Laminin staff member who has overcome a life of drugs, crime, and unimaginable abuses. She shared how Brandy was born with drugs in her system and at the age of 9, was sold by her own mother into prostitution.

Her own mother took her to men at truck stops to fuel her drug habit, Robertson said. She would be tied to a bed and given drugs so that these men could do what they wanted to her.

Addicted to drugs and desperate to make ends meet, Brandy ended up prostituting herself and eventually ended up in prison on a slew of charges. While in prison, Brandy found Christ and decided to turn her life around.

While working with Robertson at Laminin, Brandy went on to finish school and earned her degree in counseling. Now married, she has a daughter of her own and works to help save other women from the life that nearly destroyed her.

I would just say one word, and thats God, Robertson said. Its truly amazing how He works.

The former A&E star shared another story of a Laminin employee who was previously involved in the mafia: One day, she was put into a vehicle, blindfolded, Robertson said. They took her to this area where a man was tied to a tree. They said, This man was caught talking, and heres what happens to people who talk. They shot him, right in front of her.

These things happened right in my hometown, she continued. This is a huge problem, and what were trying to do is provide them a safe environment to come to and give them the skill to create something thats useful and beautiful. It gives them purpose and value.

This month, the Laminin website was re-launched. Each piece of jewelry available is handcrafted and consists of natural stones and beads with mixed metals, deer horns, Druzy stones, leather, rosary beads, and more. Robertson emphasized that Laminin is a business  not a charity.

Thats something I feel strongly about, Robertson said. If this was a charity, these women would have their hands out. Theyve learned how to manipulate the world around them to get what they can to survive. If this business grows and thrives, its because of their commitment to it. Every time I walk in with another success story, whether its a new account or business, they get so excited and thrilled because they feel that what theyve done is valuable.

She explained that Laminin is a molecular protein that holds everything in our bodies together. If seen through a microscope, laminin is in the exact shape of the cross. The organizations mission verse Colossians 1:17: He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

This year alone, weve had three women come to Christ at Laminin, Robertson shared. God has His hand all over this ministry. When women come to work for Laminin, not only do they get a second chance at life, they learn about the greatest gift there is  and thats a relationship with the Lord.

Yes, its a business, but its a ministry, too, she added. What greater way to grow the kingdom of God.


Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian writer, dies at age 37

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Rachel Held Evans, a New York Times best-selling progressive Christian writer, has died at age 37.

Evans died Saturday morning at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after she had been in a medically induced coma for several weeks.

It is with a broken heart that we share with you that Rachel Held Evans died early this morning. She took a serious turn on Thursday morning and deteriorated quickly. Rachel died in the very early morning hours of May 4, 2019. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends  we sang and we prayed and we held her always. We are grateful for your prayers and for all the ways you have supported not only her but her family especially Dan and the kids, wrote Sarah Bessey, a feminist Christian author and friend of Evans in an update on the official GoFundMe page for the family.

In a public statement on the crowdfunding page, Evans' husband, Dan, wrote:

"Rachel was slowly weaned from the coma medication. Her seizures returned but at a reduced rate. There were periods of time where she didnt have seizures at all. Rachel did not return to an alert state during this process. The hospital team worked to diagnose the primary cause of her seizures and proactively treated for some known possible causes for which diagnostics were not immediately available due to physical limitations.

"Early Thursday morning, May 2, Rachel experienced sudden and extreme changes in her vitals. The team at the hospital discovered extensive swelling of her brain and took emergency action to stabilize her. The team worked until Friday afternoon to the best of their ability to save her. This swelling event caused severe damage and ultimately was not survivable.

"Rachel died early Saturday morning, May 4, 2019.

"This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her."

In an email to Ruth Graham of Slate on Saturday, Dan Evans added: She put others before herself. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

Evans announced on April 14 that she was in the hospital to treat the flu and a urinary tract infection and had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. She then began experiencing symptoms that caused her to have constant seizures and was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Jeff Chu, a reporter and friend of Evans, wrote on Twitter Saturday: She gave me some of the best advice I ever received. She loved me so, so, so welland I know I'm not alone in that, because she gave so much of herself to others. Last night, a few of us gathered to say goodbye to her. I got to hold her hand and thank her for being who she was.

Pray for Dan and their two beautiful children. And I love you, Rachel, and I miss you so much already, he added on Twitter.

Chu and Bessey are co-curators with Evans for the Evolving Faith Conference. They, along with Jim Chaffee, started the GoFundMe page that has raised over $122,000 to help pay for the cost of Evans medical care.

Christian writer Jen Hatmaker, who made headlines in 2015 for voicing support for the legality of same-sex marriage, also shared her reaction on Twitter Saturday: Eshet chayil, beloved Woman of Valor. You ran a beautiful, faithful race. We are crushed. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Evans was a former evangelical who joined an Episcopal church and operated a blog that is popular among progressive Christians.

She wrote the book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a New York Times best-selling e-book in 2012. She also authored other titles such as Searching for Sunday, Faith Unraveled and Inspired.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, continued to call for an outpouring of support from believers across the political and theological spectrum for Evans' family.

On Saturday, Moore extended his public condolences in a post on Twitter: "I am shocked and broken-hearted to hear of the death of @rachelheldevans. Please stop right now and pray for this young family."

He also encouraged believers to continue to donate to Evans' family to help pay for expenses incurred for treatment at the hospital: ".@rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills."
North Korean defector details decade of abuse, forced labor at orphanage

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WASHINGTON  A North Korean defector recounted Thursday the hell she experienced during a decade full of abuse, starvation and enslavement as an orphan in the rogue nation, a fate that too many children are still experiencing today under the Kim regime.

As part of a weeklong advocacy effort in support of human rights reform in North Korea, Park Ji-Hye told attendees at an event held at the Family Research Council headquarters that she spent time in two different orphanages after her father died of starvation during a famine in the 1990s.

With her mom having been trafficked to China, Park said she knows too well the desperate situation facing North Korean orphans today, as they have no social protections guaranteed by the government and are treated as property in the country that has been ruled by the repressive Kim dynasty over the past 70 years.

It was just like going through hell for me to live in an orphanage, then running around by myself and being trafficked to China, Park said through a translator during a 45-minute recounting of her life. It was a long journey of suffering. I know for sure even now there are people going through the same thing, whether it's in an orphanage or in China.

While much attention has been paid in the last several years to the fact that thousands of Koreans are worked to death in labor camps, not as much focus has been paid to the human rights abuses being committed in North Korean orphanages, said Suzanne Schulte, head of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a key organizer behind North Korea Freedom Week.

I can tell you when we brought the first survivors of the political prison camp to testify [before Congress] in the late 1990s, people did not believe the stories because there were only a few witnesses, Schulte said.

Now, there have been hundreds of folks that have been able to escape and testify about the horrible political prison camps that are really death camps for innocent men, women and children. Today, we're facing that same issue except now it is the orphans.

Schulte, who has been involved in North Korea human rights advocacy for over 20 years, said that many people dont know what is happening to orphans in North Korea because there are very few survivors.

Thursdays North Korea Freedom Week event at FRC was the first time Park has shared her story on the international stage, according to an event organizer.

Life in two orphanages

Park was born into a family of four children. She has a younger sister, an older sister, and a younger brother and her mother left home on a quest to run a business in hopes of supporting her family. However, Parks mom ended up being trafficked into neighboring China.

In the 1990s famine spread throughout North Korea. It's been estimated that between 330,000 up to 3 million people died as a result of starvation. One of those people was Parks father, who worked as a miner.

While her younger sister was adopted and her older sister was allowed to live at her grandmothers house (before defecting at the age of 13), Park and her younger brother were not as fortunate.

The first orphanage they went to, she said, was a state-run orphanage where countless children were being housed in a three-story building.

The facility was awful and they didnt provide any food to children, she explained. So many children tried to escape and jumped out of the building.

Park and her younger brother eventually escaped and fled to their grandmothers house. During that time, her brother became ill and they both stayed at their grandmothers house until he recovered before being sent to a second orphanage where they were held for about 10 years.

She said it was a private orphanage run by a married couple. The couple themselves were honored as heroes by the Kim regime, she recalled.

According to Park, there were 170 children at the orphanage. Each bedroom housed as many as 30 children, she added.

The family that ran the orphanage also ran a farm at the same time. Park said that a typical day for the orphans started at 4 a.m. as they were forced to work for two hours on the farm.

At 6 a.m., she added, the children would then be forced to march in the streets to wake people up. Following that, they would head back to the orphanage for breakfast.

After breakfast, the school-aged children would go to school while the rest of the children would go back to work in the field.

At school, Park said, the facilities were awful and only one textbook was provided for the whole class. Also, the students were not provided with lunch at the school.

After school, the orphans returned and were forced to go into the mountain to fetch firewood. According to Park, each orphan had a quota to meet. If the orphan didnt meet his or her quota, they would not be given dinner.

This meant that Park, whose younger brother was only 6 at the time and too weak to carry his weight, had to work doubly hard to ensure that both she and her brother would eat each day.

At night, the children would be called into self-criticism sessions, park added.

Not only did we have to confess what we did wrong that day, we also had to criticize others for what they did wrong, she remembers. Since we lived together, we basically took a turn to say, I would criticize you today and you can criticize me tomorrow.

Those who made mistakes, they were scolded and punished, she continued.

Following the self-criticism session came the recreation session, when the children were made to sing and dance.

But even if the children cried, they had to smile and pretend they were having a good time during singing and dancing, she said.

It wouldnt be until about 10 p.m. that children would be allowed to go to bed on most nights, Park explained.

That is how I lived for about 10 years of my life, she contended.

The three sons

Park said that manual labor was only part of the problem with the orphanage. The worst part of the orphanage, she recalled, was the three sons of the couple that owned the orphanage.

Although the sons were all married, they considered the girls in the orphanage as their possession or slave they could use.

Whenever they liked, they designated one person. There was no choice for the girls that were designated and anyone who did not fulfill their needs or request, then all the children were summoned. In the morning, we found out the first thing, they would share who was called and who got pregnant by the three sons.

Park said that the mother who ran the orphanage tried hard to cover up what her sons were doing.

Most of the time the pregnant girls had an abortion, Park explained.

Park detailed that one of the sons tried to abuse her. However, the mother prevented Park from getting abused by the son because Park has family on the outside. She said that children with family on the outside of the orphanage were largely protected from such abuses.

However, Park wasnt completely shielded from abuse. She recalled a time in which the mother of the orphanage allowed her to borrow a bicycle and go to the market to buy something.

But when she returned, she said that one of the sons summoned all the children because he was furious that the bike was taken without his permission. Park told the son that his mother had allowed her to take the bike. As punishment, the son forced all the children to stand outside barefoot for 30 minutes in the winter cold.

During this time, Park said the son started beating the orphans with his belt.

He started to beat me also with the belt but the female owner came in and screamed at her son, she said.

For the next month, the female owner allowed Park to stay in a special room with just her and her husband to recuperate from the scars all over her body. After the husband tried to abuse Park, she asked to move back into the room with all the other children.

Eventually, the female owner got Park out of the orphanage by sending her to work and live at a restaurant. But during her three months at the restaurant, Park said she was treated like a slave.

The husband of the owner of the restaurant was disabled. After long hours of work at the restaurant, I would go back to the house and take care of the husband, she recounted. After three months, I got ill because of the hard work in the restaurant.

She was then forced to move back to the orphanage. She stayed there for about another year before she finally escaped at age 19.

I decided to escape from the orphanage and live my own life, she said.

Living her own life

Park said she immediately went back to her grandmothers house but was scolded for fleeing from the orphanage. So Park asked one of her grandmothers neighbors if she could stay at their house, which she was allowed to do.

Eventually, the orphanage released her younger brother at the age of 16 because he was on the verge of death from starvation. Park said they released her brother so that he wouldnt die in the orphanage. The orphanage, she said, was more worried about keeping its reputation intact than helping her brother.

He came back to my grandmother's house and stayed there to recover. My grandfather decided to let both of us go because he couldnt take care of us anymore, she said. We started wandering around in the street. In order to support my younger brother, I started my business in the market.

Park said she was inspired to go into the market because her sister who was adopted did. Eventually, Park rented a room in a small house that she and her brother could stay in.

Park also borrowed money on high interest in order to start her business and pay for her brothers expensive medication. She was eventually beaten because she was not able to pay back the lender.

Trafficked to China

After being beaten, Park decided to flee to China. But without money to flee, she decided that the best route was to get trafficked to China.

I stayed there about a year-and-a-half in China and I married a Chinese man and gave birth to a son, she explained, adding that her child was stateless because he couldnt be registered to a government.

In China, Park reunited with her two sisters and as a family they fled to South Korea.

When they arrived in South Korea, Park said the sisters discovered that their mother, who had been trafficked to China when they were children, had also resettled in China.

All four members in my family reunited and having a great life in South Korea now, she said.

Whats happening now?

Although Parks horrifying past is behind her, she recognizes that there are still helpless children in the same shoes that she was in.

I am a mother with two children now. I have my own family, she said. Whenever I see orphans, I feel the same pain that they might be going through. I really urge that the international community will get together to solve this North Korean human rights issue.

Kim Yong-Hwa, a former military officer who escaped North Korea in 1988 and founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association, told the audience that the Kim regime has put up propaganda-type orphanages that foreign delegations are sent to in order to get the idea that orphans in North Korea are well cared for.

These are orphanages set up to show the outside world, Kim said. This is for Kim Jong-Un, he wants to promote that he loves children, which is show and nonsense. This show and a lot of people are believing in the nonsense that he has set up for the outside world.

At the private orphanage that Park was at, she explained that it received humanitarian support from humanitarian associations from other countries because it was famous for being run by so-called heroes.

As soon as officials from the humanitarian associations left, two of the North Korean officials arrived and took half of the aid we got from them, she explained. After that, the family of the founders took most of the leftovers which left us almost nothing. Children in the orphanage were starving.

After listening to Parks experience, Kim vouched by saying that orphanages in North Korea are like a slavery facility.

When you hear the word orphanage, you think of a place where kids can be safe and be adopted, that is not what orphanages are like in North Korea, Schulte added.

In addition to the orphans in North Korea, Kim said there are as many as 40,000 North Korea orphans who have crossed the border into China.

Recently, we have seen even the boys are being sold and trafficked. They are being sold to coal mines as workers or as hard laborers in mountains and woods. Even if they die, there is no compensation. There is nothing. Even if the employees dont get money, there is nothing to complain about with the Chinese government [which repatriates defectors back to North Korea]. There is really no way to improve the circumstances for them. As they have lived as slaves in North Korea, even in [China], they are also living as de-facto slaves.
Why Is Kim Jong Un Afraid of Christianity? Group Points to Clash Between Jesus and 'Supreme Leader'

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A persecution watchdog group has explored the reasons why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains "afraid" of Christianity, which go to the heart of people's beliefs about Jesus.

"It's likely because people who are following Jesus and who are committed to one another mean there are people he can't control, and who follow a greater King. It means there are people who practice radical love for each other and for Jesus  who won't so easily follow him and the lies of his regime," Open Doors USA suggested.

"This is why Christians continue to be seen as 'dangerous' and are also part of the hostile class, according to the country's social system called songbun. What this means is that anyone who is known to be a follower of Jesus is immediately assumed to be a hostile political figure."

The organization, which lists North Korea as the No.1 worst persecutor of Christians around the world, noted that Christianity "directly challenges the notion of any Supreme Leader and the idea that there is any master outside of Jesus Christ. Additionally, Christianity offers a new way and identity for people in North Korea. Both aspects of faith are direct threats to the ruling family of North Korea."

Kim has reportedly made the unprecedented move of inviting Roman Cathoic leader Pope Francis to visit him in Pyongyang, with reports indicating that the pontiff is considering agreeing to the meeting.

Kim, who earlier this year met U.S. President Donald Trump in another controversial and unprecedented meeting, has been criticized by the United Nations for human rights abuses in the country's labor camps.

Kim continues making moves to meet major world leaders, though the consequences of that for the suffering minorities in his country, including close to 300,000 Christians, are yet unclear.

Back in May, the congressionally-mandated 2017 International Religious Freedom report by the U.S. found that there are between 80,000 to 120,000 people trapped in North Korea camps, many imprisoned for their faith.

"The government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in almost any religious practices through executions, torture, beatings, and arrests," the report stated.

"An estimated 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, some imprisoned for religious reasons, were believed to be held in the political prison camp system in remote areas under horrific conditions.

"Religious and human rights groups outside the country continued to provide numerous reports that members of underground churches were arrested, beaten, tortured, and killed because of their religious beliefs."

Christian defectors have spoken of torture they have suffered at the hands of the North Korean regime. Believers are often thrown in prison or even executed if they are found with a Bible.

Amid the uncertainty for believers, Open Doors urged people to pray.

"Please continue to join your brothers and sisters in North Korea in prayer. Pray for their strength in the face of a regime that views their faith as a special threat. Pray for God's grace in every situation. And pray for a change in the hearts of the regime, that they would see the love of Jesus as the road to truth and peace," the group stated.
Alabama lawmaker defends abortion: 'You kill them now or kill them later'

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A Democratic state representative in Alabama justified the practice of abortion during a debate over a pro-life bill by arguing that some kids are unwanted" and you either "kill them now or kill them later."

Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham garnered widespread condemnation for comments he made during a debate over House Bill 314, which makes most abortion procedures a felony. The bill eventually passed by a vote of 743.

Rogers argued that he was opposed to the bill because he believed it was a womans choice whether to abort her children, and then went on to say that some kids are unwanted.

Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later, said Rogers.

Rogers' statement was posted to social media on Wednesday by Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra, whose tweet got as of Thursday afternoon over 7,700 retweets.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Saavedras post and weighed in on the comments by Rogers, describing them as stomach curling.

Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we've seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening, tweeted Trump Jr.

Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review called the comment horrifying and chilling, adding in an opinion column that she believed it was a striking reminder of how rarely abortion rights activists openly admit the reality of the right they are demanding.

Most often, they dismiss unborn human beings as a clump of cells or a parasite within the mother, wrote DeSanctis.

Rogers has exposed those lies, admitting, as abortion defenders so rarely do, that every abortion procedure  no matter when or how it takes place  intentionally ends an innocent human life.

For his part, Rogers has defended his comments, saying in a statement on Thursday that his comments were centered on his belief that Alabama in general does not value human life.

Weve closed 13 rural hospitals in this state, including Cooper Green. We have put hundreds of people in jail. Making it hard for you to get food stamps. In other words, if youre on drug tests, you cant get food stamps, said Rogers, as reported by al.com.

And then youve got at least two people a night dying in our Alabama prisons. It just doesnt make sense. So why do you want to bring these people in the world and then deny them the right to process and live in Alabama?
The murder took place on the morning of 17 October 2011. The defendants are the two alleged killers, a tribal leader and three militants, and the member of a paramilitary group. Charges against the former mayor of Arakan and two army officers previously investigated have been dropped. The four key witnesses are under the protection of the authorities.

Manila (AsiaNews)  A court in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, has remanded seven people for trial in connection with the unsolved murder of Fr Fausto "Pops" Tentorio (picture 1), a priest with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), this according to Fr Pietro Geremia, also a missionary with the Milan-based Institute in Mindanao.

Fr Tentorio was killed on the morning of 17 October 2011, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Aid in Arakan, North Cotabato (Mindanao). He had been in the Philippines for more than 32 years

Because of his work in favour of Manobo tribes threatened by mining, the missionary was not liked by the Filipino military. In December 2017, the case took a new turn when new suspects came into the picture.

Now a court has now decided to try the new suspects: Jimmy and Robert Ato (the suspected killers); Jan Corbala, commander of a group of tribal militants called Bagani, and three members of his unit; and Nene Durado, a member of the Ilaga movement, a group of fanatic Christian settlers who have been fighting against Muslims and tribals since the 1970s and who still continue to steal land from them.

It should be noted that the charges against some people who had previously been investigated were dismissed. These are the former mayor of Arakan, Romulo Tagpos, and two businessmen from the city; the Lieutenant Colonel Joven Gonzales and last Major Mark Espiritu, officers in command of the 57th Army Battalion and Special Forces units at the time of the killing of Fr Fausto.

In the brief filed on 1st April by Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan G. Parrocha (picture 2), the circumstances of the missionarys murder are summarised: "That on or about 7:20 oclock in the morning of October 17, 2011, at the compound of Our Mother of Perpetual Help parish, Arakan, North Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and mutually aiding one another, with the aim of accomplishing a common design, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously kill FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO.

The indictment goes on to say that the accused, with treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, and with evident premeditation, as shown by evidence that such killing was previously planned on October 20, 2011 at Sitio Kamanagan, Brgy. Ganatan shot and hit said harmless victim FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO, several times using 9mm caliber firearm with frangible bullets, hitting him several times on his head, trunk and the different parts of his body, which caused his instantaneous death.

As preparations for the trial get underway, "The four key witnesses and their families are kept in a safe house under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Fr Geremia noted. There are also new witnesses preparing to testify.

"The trial can identify the perpetrators and the motive for the killing. It can obtain at least partial justice for Fr Fausto and other similar Extra Judicial Victims (EJK). The trial can provide more security to the witnesses so that they can return to their homes and their jobs.

"It can also provide more security for those who continue the programs of Fr Fausto and all those who serve the Tribals all over the country, and it can even inspire more volunteers to serve the poor.

Finally, "It can bring some comfort to the Tentorio family and to the PIME family and to all the communities who shared Fr Faustos activities. In particular, it can contribute to the peace process in Arakan and Mindanao.
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Speaking at a campaign event last week in Nevada, Democratic Presidential candidate Robert Francis Beto O'Rourke was asked by a student how he will protect a womans right to access safe and legal abortion.

During his response, ORourke reiterated his support for abortion rights. This was unsurprising. Every Democratic Presidential candidate this election cycle is a vocal proponent of legal abortion. However, during his response, ORourke raised eyebrows with his effusive praise for Planned Parenthood. He stated that Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women.

Here O'Rourke is misinformed. Planned Parenthood is America's number one performer of abortions. Their most recent annual report indicates that they performed over 330,000 abortions in 2017. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood's annual reports indicate that the number of abortions they perform has been consistently increasing, while the number of other health services they offer has been consistently decreasing. Specifically, between 2005and 2017 Planned Parenthood conducted 64 percent fewer breast exams and 69 percent fewer cancer screenings  while performing 26 percent more abortions.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that funding Planned Parenthood improves other aspects of public health. In his remarks, O'Rourke referenced high rates of maternal mortality. However, reports of high maternal mortality rates in Texas are based on a flawed study that was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2016. A 2018 study published in the same journal finds that due to coding errors in the 2016 study  the maternal mortality rate in Texas is half of what was previously indicated. Furthermore, there is no evidence of any kind that funding reductions to Planned Parenthood has increased maternal mortality rates.

In 2011, the Texas state legislature and former Governor Rick Perry took the lead in cutting off taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Many media outlets and health professionals confidently predicted doom. The New York Times, The Texas Tribune, and NPR cited a Legislative Budget Board analysis which predicted an increase of over 20,000 unplanned births. Similarly, a Guttmacher Institute analysis, according to a piece put out by The Nation, predicted that in the absence of funding for family planning, abortions would increasb e by 22 percent in the Lone Star State.

However, since that time, many public health trends in Texas have been very positive. The most recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicates that since 2011, minor pregnancies have declined by 33 percent, minor births have gone down by 30 percent and minor abortions have been reduced by over 48 percent. The total number of abortions in Texas has fallen by 22 percent since 2011. The record indicates that Beto O'Rourke is incorrect. Planned Parenthood is not saving lives. Indeed, ORourkes home state of Texas is faring very well without forcing its taxpayers to fork over millions of dollars annually to Planned Parenthood.

Originally posted at cnsnews.com

Michael J. New is a Visiting Associate Professor at Ave Maria University and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
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Some questions come from people who are skeptical about the Christian faith. Some come from believers who have skeptical friends. And some come from believers who are struggling with the issue themselves.

Our question is found in the hearts of all three.

Who of us hasnt wondered at times why we believe this ancient book is the revelation of the God of the universe?

Think about it for a moment: The Creator of all that exists reveals himself to a small group of former Egyptian slaves in a remote corner of the globe. Not to kings and emperors, or to scholars in leading universities, but to shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, refugees. On documents which no longer exist so that we must depend on the copies that history has handed down to us. Through circumstances completely foreign to our culture and lives today.

Think of King Arthur and Camelot, and you envision ancient history. The Bible sitting on your shelf is more than twice that old. If we arent sure King Arthur existed or why he matters, what of this ancient book upon which we build our faith? Why should we believe it to be the word of God?

The Bible claims to be the word of God

This fact does not settle the issue, of course.

The Koran claims to be the word of Allah; the Book of Mormon claims to be the revelation of God. But at least we know that Christians do not believe something about the Bible which it does not claim for itself.

Paul was convinced that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). He meant the Old Testament, which was the Bible of his day.

Peter, the leader of early Christianity, considered Pauls writings to be Scripture as well: [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16, my emphasis).

Jesus believed his words to be divinely inspired: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Luke 21:33).

Speaking of the totality of biblical revelation, the writer to the Hebrews claims, The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Someone said, God said, I believe it, and that settles it.

His friend replied, No, God said it and that settles it, whether I believe it or not.

J. I. Packer called the Bible God preaching. Augustine described it as love letters from home.

The copies we possess are trustworthy

Now, lets turn to objective evidence that the Bible is right in its self-description as Gods inspired, authoritative word.

We begin with the manuscript evidence. No original manuscript of any ancient book exists today. The materials used in that era could not stand the effects of elements and time.

For instance, we have only nine or ten good copies of Caesars Gallic Wars, none made earlier than nine hundred years after Caesar. Tacitus, the greatest ancient Roman historian, wrote fourteen books of his Histories; we possess only 4, none made earlier than the tenth century AD. We can find only five manuscripts of any work of Aristotle, none copied earlier than fourteen centuries after Aristotle wrote the originals.

By contrast, we possess five thousand ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and ten thousand copies in other ancient languages. Fragments and parts of these copies date back as early as thirty years after the originals were written. Complete versions of the Gospels, Acts, Pauls letters, and Hebrews date to the early part of the third century. Revelation dates to the latter half of that century. Complete volumes date to the fourth century. Extensive quotations of Scripture in the letters of early Christians date to AD 100.

Textual critics are scholars who devote their attention to comparing ancient manuscripts and trying to produce a copy as close to the original as possible. Those who work with biblical texts believe that the Old and New Testaments we possess today are virtually identical to the originals. The only questions that remain affect matters of spelling, punctuation, and isolated verses. None relates to essential doctrines or practices of the faith.

Archaeology confirms the biblical record

Archaeological finds continue to give us confidence that the biblical writers accurately recorded history.

For instance, the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) was once dismissed as non-historical. Now, tour guides in Jerusalem point groups to its location in the northeast quarter of the Old City. Ive seen the ruins myself.

We have a stone inscription documenting the life and office of Pontius Pilate; the ossuary (coffin) of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the crucifixion; an inscription found at Delphi that describes the work of Gallio, proconsul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17); and scores of other artifacts that document the accuracy of biblical history and description.

The best test for the Bible

There are strong evidential reasons to believe the Bible is Gods word. But the best test comes from personal experience.

I once owned a 1965 Ford Mustang and found myself under its hood as often as I was behind its wheel. Chiltons Car Repair Manual became my constant companion. I learned to trust its advice because it worked.

Try living by the Bible. Accept its Savior as yours. Make its principles the guideposts of your life. And youll learn for yourself that its words are the word of God.

What makes the Bible different from other religious books?

My grandfather was born before the turn of the twentieth century. In his lifetime, he saw the advent of the automobile, commercial airplanes, and the computer. But he never met a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Mormon. Our question never occurred to him.

Today, its a common issue: Why do we believe the Bible is right and other religious books are wrong?

Other religions are just as sincere in their commitment to their sacred writings as Christians are to ours. Is it not the height of bigotry and hypocrisy to claim that our book is right and theirs are not?

In our post-9/11 world, there has been an explosion of interest in Islam and an accompanying cry for tolerance. When we claim that our holy book is true and theirs is not, arent we just as intolerant as those who attacked our nation?

Different paths, different mountains

Conventional wisdom these days dictates that the various religions are just different roads up the same mountain. It doesnt matter which God you trust because they are all the same. Allah is Jehovah; Buddhists and Hindus seek the same God we worship. Different holy books are simply religious diaries. Whos to say that your diary is right and mine is wrong?

Such an approach to world religions and their writings feels tolerant and hopeful. But is it true? Do other religions agree with this characterization of their faith commitments?

In a word, no.

Buddhist beliefs

Buddha taught that there is no god, despite the fact that some of his followers now worship him. He instructed his disciples to avoid all material desires that they might cease their sufferings. The Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path are the keys to enlightenment. The Tripitika is the oldest compilation of the rules, sermons, and doctrines of this approach to life.

Hindu beliefs

Hindus believe in thousands of territorial deities but no Lord of the universe; Brahman is the divine force that sustains the universe, not a personal God to be worshiped. The Rigveda, their earliest scriptures, refer to Brahman as the power that is present in religious sacrifices and actions. Their Upanishads glorify the concept of Brahman over other inferior forms of personal deities.

Muslim beliefs

Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) is the one supreme ruler of the universe, that Jesus was a prophet but not the divine Son of God, and that salvation comes through obedience to the Koran. This book is Allahs self-revelation through his prophet Muhammad. All other holy books are inferior to it, for its pages alone contain the very word of God.

Jewish beliefs

Jews believe that Yahweh revealed himself through the Laws and Prophets of their Scriptures, that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the New Testament is not the Word of God. They base their hope of heaven on the mercy of God in response to their lives of obedience and morality.

Mormon beliefs

Mormons believe that God revealed himself in the Bible but also in their Book of Mormon, a history of the early peoples of the Western hemisphere. Joseph Smith translated the book from golden plates that he claimed to have received from the angel Moroni. Doctrine and Covenants contain further revelations received by Smith from God. The Pearl of Great Price contains more writings of Smith. They picture God as an eternal being of flesh and bone who had physical relations with Mary to produce Jesus. Salvation and heavenly rewards come through obedience to these revelations.

If any one of these religions is right, the others by definition are wrong. None believes that other religions are equally correct or divinely inspired. The scriptures that the various world religions trust do not describe different paths up the same mountain but very different mountains.

Examine the evidence

So far, we have demonstrated the fact that the worlds great religious books cannot all be right. In fact, if any of them is correct in its teachings regarding the supernatural and eternal, the others are by definition wrong.

So, how do we decide which documents to trust?

Examine the evidence for their truth claims.

Hindu documents, for instance, posit an afterlife filled with reincarnations. Is there any historical support or objective evidence for such a position?

Does objective, independent evidence exist to document the Buddhas enlightenment or Muhammads experiences with Allah?

A number of cities, inscriptions, and places are described only in the Book of Mormon. To date, none have been found by archaeologists.

Conversely, independent evidence for the existence and deity of Jesus Christ is remarkable. Manuscript evidence documenting the trustworthy nature of the biblical materials is overwhelming. There are excellent reasons to believe the Bible is what it claims to be: the word of God.C

What makes the Bible different from other holy books?

In a word, Jesus.

He taught that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). The Bible was written to help us believe in him and find life in his love (John 20:31).

The sacred writings of the various world religions each tell a different story about the divine, the afterlife, and the purpose of life today. Different roads lead to different destinations. The road you choose determines where your trip will end.

Choose wisely.

Isnt the Bible filled with contradictions?

Here is one of the most common ways skeptics justify their skepticism about the Bible. The question is based on the commonplace supposition that contradictions are bad. If you can find a statement I make that disagrees with something Ive already said, youll feel justified in rejecting both. Even though one may be right. Even though they both may be.

Why?

Contradict the contradictions

We have Aristotle (384-322 BC) to thank or blame. In his desire to compile all knowledge into an organized system, he devised laws of logic as organizational tools.

One of them is called the law of contradiction: A cannot equal B and at the same time not equal B. A fish cannot also be a mammal, if a biologist like Aristotle is going to classify it. From then to now, we Westerners have adopted Aristotles law as the basis for determining all truth. If we can find a contradiction in the Bible, we have reason to dismiss its veracity.

But theres a fly in the ointment. Aristotle applied his laws to physical and rational truth, not to spiritual or relational experience.

It may appear contradictory to claim that you love your children and yet sometimes wish theyd never been born. But if youre a typical parent, both are sometimes true.

Jesus claimed to be fully God and fully man; God is three and yet one; the Bible is divinely inspired but humanly written; God knows the future but we have freedom to choose. Inside every essential Christian doctrine, there is a paradox, an apparent contradiction.

Many of the so-called contradictions in the Bible fit into such spiritual or relational categories. For instance, the Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet it also states clearly, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). And it warns, For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Romans 2:8).

How can God both love and hate? Dont ask Aristotle. But you can ask any parent.

Not all truth fits into test tubes. My seventh-grade geometry teacher claimed that parallel lives never intersect. But to prove it, hed have to draw them forever. Black and white are not the only crayons in the box.

Consider the context

The second category of apparent contradictions in the Bible is more historical and factual.

For example, here are two of the common questions Ive been asked. Each is clarified when we understand the larger context of the text in question.

The Old Testament teaches, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. Which is right?

Both.

Moses was dealing with an ancient culture in which blood vengeance was common and drastic. If you kill my son, I kill your entire family. To limit retribution to the actual criminal and crime was a great step forward.

On the other hand, Jesus was speaking to the issue of personal insult. People in his day used only the right hand in public (as the left was used for personal hygiene). To strike you on the right cheek (Matthew 5:39) with my right hand meant to slap you, a threat to your social standing but not your life. Here you are to forgive rather than punish.

Matthew says that Judas hanged himself; the book of Acts says he fell down and died. Which is it?

Matthews gospel does indeed record Judas suicide by hanging (Matthew 27:5). In Acts 1, Peter says, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out (v. 18).

It may be that Judas body decomposed so that when the rope broke or was cut, it fell as Peter describes. Or it may be that the Greek word translated hanged is actually the word impaled (both meanings are possible) so that Peter describes more vividly the way Judas killed himself.

Either option is a possible way to explain the apparent contradiction.

When we consider the intended meaning of the text and its larger context, such apparent contradictions are resolved.

Check all the options

The third category of supposed contradictions is not the result of context.

For instance, 2 Samuel 24:1 states that the Lord incited David to take a census of the people; 1 Chronicles 21:1 records, Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

But the Jewish people saw all that happens as within the providence and permission of God, so that Satans activity (1 Chronicles) was permitted by the Lord and thus attributable to him (2 Samuel). And the people grew in their knowledge of God so that the Chronicler (writing four hundred years after 2 Samuel) could record Satans activity in more detail than the people had earlier understood.

Matthew 4 records Jesus temptations in a different order than does Luke 4. But neither claimed to be writing chronology, so the order is immaterial. One could set them in time order, the other in spiritual priority, for instance.

1 Kings 7:13 states that Huram, one of the builders of Solomons temple, came from the tribe of Naphtali; 2 Chronicles 2:14 says his mother was from the tribe of Dan. But she could have lived in the territory of Naphtali, or her parents could have come from both tribes.

The real contradiction

The next time someone claims the Bible is full of contradictions, ask him if he has read the Bible. Then ask if it is a contradiction to dismiss a book he hasnt read. Then offer to help him study the Bible and meet its Author.

It is a contradiction to me that a holy and perfect God would want me to live in his perfect paradise.

Im glad its not a contradiction to God.

Who decided what books should be in the Bible?

My earliest experience with the Bible was leafing through an ancient King James Version my parents kept in the guest room. The fountain-penned family tree calligraphied in the first pages fascinated me. The printed thees and thous made no sensethe begats even less. I assumed the entire thing had been handed from God to man in black leather.

Most people know better. Theyve heard somewhere along the way that some books were excluded from the Bible and wonder why. Maybe a group of church officials decided the whole thing. Maybe there were books that told a different story than the one we have in our Bibles. Maybe there was a smoke-filled room somewhere. Maybe there were hanging chads.

The actual story is nowhere near that interesting.

How the Hebrew Scriptures came to be

Christians typically call this section the Old Testament, but those who wrote the New Testament didnt.

When Paul, writing from death row in Rome, asked Timothy for his scrolls and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13), he was asking for his copies of the only Bible he knew. Most scholars appropriately call these thirty-nine books the Hebrew Scriptures, in deference to the Jewish faith they express.

The Hebrew Bible was first divided into Law, Prophets, and Writings, the arrangement current in Jesus day (see Luke 24:44).

The Jews numbered the Scriptures as twenty-four books, combining Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the 12 Minor Prophets as The Twelve. These books were written and compiled over centuries of use.

According to Jewish tradition, a council of rabbis and scholars met at Jamnia on the Mediterranean Sea in AD 90 and again in AD 118. They finalized the list of books as we have them today, recognizing what their people had accepted as Gods word for centuries.

How the New Testament joined the Old

Eventually, the Christian movement began recording its faith and doctrines as well. The eyewitnesses to Jesus life and ministry were dying or growing old. Fraudulent claims were beginning to appear. Believers needed a canon (rule) by which to measure truth and defend the faith. The New Testament was the result.

Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

1. The book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony.

Matthew, the tax collector, was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John.

Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Acts 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Pauls second missionary journey at Troas (note Acts 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from they to we). He wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Luke 1:1-4).

Pauls letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Acts 9:1-6), as did the letters of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John.

This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon.

2. The book must possess merit and authority in its use.

Here, it was easy to separate those writings that were inspired from those that were not.

For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24).

It wasnt hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

3. A book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation.

Pauls letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter that became circular in nature, i.e., read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status.

By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally by the church, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. Others were not considered to be inspired by God.

4. A book came to be approved by the decision of the church.

The so-called Muratorian Canon was the first list to convey the larger churchs opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around AD 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius in AD 367. His list was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God.

By the time the councils had approved the twenty-seven books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

So, who decided what books should be in the Bible?

Ultimately, their Author.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical revelation (2 Peter 1:20-21) led the Christian movement to those books he inspired.

You can know that the Bible you hold today is the book God means you to have.

He did, in fact, hand it to man, through manthough the color of the cover is your choice.

Originally posted at Denison Forum.
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Six-year-old Biola, four-year-old Leona, and eleven-month-old Seth were dressed in their Sunday best by their parents Rangana and Danadiri to attend St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka Easter Sunday to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Christian faith. Moments after arriving for worship, the entire family was brutally murdered by an Islamist terrorist who detonated a bomb inside St. Sebastians.

This beautiful Christian family represents five of the 359 killed and more than 500 injured in a wave of bombings targeting Christians on Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. Suicide bombers hit churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa as worshipers celebrated the resurrection of their savior.

The horrific scenes across Sri Lanka are an abomination to the world and a brutal reminder that terrorism from ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for Sundays bombings, and other Islamist groups are still a significant threat to peace-loving citizens across the world, particularly Christians.

Christians are being persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith across the world. Unfortunately, the coordinated attacks targeting Christians in Sri Lanka were not isolated incidents. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS suicide bombers killed 45 Coptic Christians in Egypt as they worshiped. A Taliban suicide bomber killed dozens of Christians celebrating Easter in 2016 in a public park in Pakistan. A Boko Haram killer took the lives of 38 Christians worshipping on Easter Sunday in 2012 in Nigeria.

U.S. State Department estimates show that over 250 million Christians suffer some form of oppression for their beliefs around the world, most notably in North Korea and Iran. Recent studies show that 215 million Christians in more than 50 countries currently experience extreme levels of persecution  simply because they believe in Jesus Christ.

Christian communities in have existed for nearly 2,000 years in Iraq and Syria, but in the past decade have been nearly exterminated by Muslim extremists. More than a million Syrian Christians have been killed, forcibly converted, or chased out of their own country. Iraq, which once was home to 1.5 million Christians, has just 200,000 Christians left after years of violence. In Iran, Christians face imprisonment, torture, and execution for their faith. Last August, a Christian couple was sentenced to one year in prison in Iran on the charge of propagating against the Islamic Republic in favor of Christianity." These Christian converts were arrested in 2015 and held without trial for three years before being sentenced.

Anti-Christian violence is also spreading throughout Asia and Africa. Christians in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan report increasing occurrences of Muslim and government-sponsored persecution. In North Korea, a recent defector described a life of hell for her nations Christian population as the Kim regime kills, imprisons and tortures Christians found practicing their faith. In Nigeria, the killing of Christians because of their faith shot up by more than 62 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The list of atrocities committed against Christians peacefully practicing their religion is taking place in more than 50 countries all across the world. Places like China, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, and Indonesia continue to crack down on churches and worshippers who dont adhere to their respective regime's rules of worship. Even political allies of the U.S. such as Saudi Arabia and India have seen dramatic increases in the number of Christians persecuted or killed for their faith.

As the most religiously tolerant and free nation on earth, the United States must lead the way for the rest of the world in allowing believers of all faiths to live the tenets of their religion peacefully. However, as the data surrounding religious freedoms around the globe illustrates, it is imperative that President Trump and Congress continue efforts to insist that nations that do business with the U.S. must defend the rights, liberties, and lives of all people, including Christians, in their countries.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have displayed strong leadership on the international stage to advance the cause of religious liberty. Christians around the world are counting on the United States to continue to lead the way in stopping religious persecution and protecting the rights of Christians and other religious minorities around the world.

Tim Head is the Executive Director of Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Interfaith leaders slam US law firm lobbying for Chinese govt, other repressive regimes

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An interfaith group of religious leaders and human rights activists asked one of Americas top international law firms Wednesday to stop representing foreign governments known for their repeated human rights abuses.

In a joint letter sent to the chairman of Squire Patton Boggs, 44 leaders and activists from various faiths and political backgrounds voiced their concerns about the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered organizations representation of foreign governments that are among the worlds most aggressive persecutors of people of faith.

It is deeply troubling to us that your prestigious firm and the many good people it employs are currently associated with and providing legal counsel, representation and other services to such nations, the letter reads.

SPB has 47 offices in 20 countries and has clients that range from local and national governments to large corporations and emerging businesses. Wednesdays letter specifically calls out SPBs relationship with the governments of China, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Surely, Squire Patton Boggs attorneys and advisors  including former House Speaker John Boehner and other prominent, retired American lawmakers  and your firms other clients, have no desire to be associated with, let alone involved in defending or otherwise being implicated in, these governments odious practice, the letter contends.

The letter is spearheaded by the grassroots organization Save the Persecuted Christians and its president, Frank Gaffney, a conservative security analyst and a former acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

Save the Persecuted Christians is pleased to join with others determined to hold accountable those who persecute people of faith  including lobbyists who, as a practical matter, work to enable the persecutors to do so with impunity, Gaffney said in a statement. This is an important initiative in STPCs effort to build a grassroots movement that will help create real costs to the perpetrators for their crimes against humanity.

Included as a signatory in the joint letter is former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican who is considered by many to be an icon in the international religious freedom movement and is the namesake of the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act.

Wolf has been vocal over the years about his concerns with SPBs work for governments in countries like China and Sudan, among others.

Pastor Bob Fu, a religious freedom advocate who runs an influential Chinese religious freedom watchdog, the nongovernmental organization China Aid, also signed onto the letter. Fu has on different occasions testified before Congress about Chinas abuses against Christians.

Signatories also include Foley Beach, the primate of the Anglican Church in North America; popular conservative Christian radio host Eric Metaxas; Greg Mitchell, a longtime lobbyist for the Church of Scientology and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable; Omer Kanat, director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project; and Lily Zhang, director of government and advocacy for the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Association of Washington, D.C.

The letter notes that the communist government in China has systematically repressed every religious minority group in the country through means that include controlling what citizens can access on the internet.

The Uighur Muslim community has greatly been impacted by Chinas intolerance to faith as hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been imprisoned in concentration camps.

Some such camps have reportedly, chillingly had crematoria installed for disposing of the bodies of those who die while interned, the letter explains.

The letter also stresses that the Chinese government has destroyed countless underground Protestant and Catholic churches and regularly arrests pastors who are not registered with a state-sanctioned church. The letter adds that the Chinese government has begun offering rewards for information about secret worship gatherings.

As for other faiths, Falun Gong believers are being subjected to organ harvesting while Tibetan Buddhists are suffering from a cultural genocide.

As for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the leaders contend that the country is systematically repressing its own people, especially women.

The monarchy places a particular emphasis on the suppression of religious freedom at home, the letter states. "As a result, Christians and other faith communities in the Kingdom risk imprisonment and gruesome corporal punishments, including decapitation.

Last week, Saudi Arabia received much criticism from the international religious freedom community when 37 Saudi nationals, most of whom were Shia Muslims, were executed.

The joint letter also criticized the Saudi regime for promoting intolerance in its textbooks, mosques and overseas madrassas.

The leaders specifically pointed to the killing last year of journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

On the basis of the KPIs, unquestionably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most egregious offenders of religious liberty and that is why it is a [a country of particular concern], Commissioner Johnnie Moore from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said this week during the rollout of USCIRFs annual report.

Moore was among a group of evangelical leaders who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year as part of a USCIRF delegation that met with Saudi religious police.

Qatar is ranked as the 38th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA. Open Doors warns that the Qatari government has engaged in heavy persecution of Christians.

The letter contends that Qatar is funding terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and propaganda outlets like Al Jazeera. The letter adds that Qatar is promoting intolerant practices worldwide toward people of other faiths or not faith at all.

As advocates for suffering religious communities globally, we are determined to hold accountable those responsible, the letter concludes. We respectfully call upon your firm promptly and fully to disassociate itself from and cease all work on behalf of the governments of the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Christian Post reached out to SPB for a response to the letter. A response is pending.
From Paris to Boston, the crucial role of fire chaplains

Chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, Jean-Marc Fournier, is credited with saving several items of great significance  such as the crown of thorns  from the Cathedral of Notre Dame as it burned.

Previously a military chaplain in Afghanistan, Fournier also cared for survivors from the 2015 terrorist rampage at the Bataclan in Paris that killed more than 100 people.

Fournier is not alone in placing himself at great risk in service of others. Mychal Judge, the first casuality of 9/11, was a Catholic chaplain to the New York City Fire Department.

Although rarely seen by those on the outside, fire departments across the country include chaplains. They provide care to firefighters, family members and members of the public in a range of crucial ways.

Regardless of their own faith background, they typically work with people of all faiths and beliefs, outside of traditional congregations or parishes.

The chaplaincy context

Historically chaplains were required in the military, federal prisons and the Veterans Administration.

But as congregations shrink and growing numbers of Americans move away from organised religion, it is chaplains that are often doing the work of spiritual care.

Chaplains these days are mostly present in health care settings such as hospices, hospitals and some nursing facilities where people are more likely to need end-of-life spiritual care.

They are also to be seen in airports, seaports, car racetracks and in areas where disasters have struck. There are chaplains even for pets and their owners.

Some chaplains have graduate degrees and extensive clinical training while others may not.

Fire chaplains in Massachusetts

As scholars of contemporary religion and its practice, we interviewed 65 chaplains in a range of sectors over the past three years and spent time with fire chaplains who work across the greater Boston area.

The Boston Fire Department appointed its first chaplains in the early 1900s and since then chaplains have served continually in the Mass Corps of Fire Chaplains. Over the course of the 20th century, several of them have put themselves at great risk to serve firefighters and others in need.

During the 1942 fire in Boston's popular Coconut Grove nightclub in which more than 450 were killed and 160 injured, chaplains were a steady presence and served in whatever way was most helpful.

In another devastating fire in Hotel Vendome in 1972, in which nine firefighters died, James Keating, Catholic chaplain to the fire department, crawled into holes dug in the rubble to administer last rites to two of the firemen who had died in the collapse.

In 1973, Father Daniel Mahoney provided support at Logan Airport when a flight crashed, killing all 89 on board.

In 1983, Father Maloney entered Temple Tifereth Israel in Everett to save the precious Torah scrolls during a fire. Like Fournier in Paris, he took an extraordinary risk to save religious items. Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains later honored him for his distinguished service.

The emotional work

Fire chaplains also serve firefighters and their families when they are sick, getting married or have other needs.

In our interviews, one fire chaplain described blessing the bodies of firefighters killed in the line of duty and accompanying their families and coworkers through memorial services and months of grief. He explained how chaplains try "to bring some solace," when there is loss of life during a fire. "Whether it's through prayer or just chatting with them or .. blessing a body  the whole entire reverence that takes place at that time is important," he said.

Chaplains help firefighters cope with other difficulties as well. Witnessing injuries, losing colleagues in the line of duty, or recovering the remains of fire victims all take an enormous emotional and mental toll on firefighters.

"Chiefs appreciate our role," one reflected, "I look at the scene and I have been around long enough to assess this is going to be a three-hour operation so it is worth rolling the rehab truck up."

Sometimes this includes being a resource for fire victims. One chaplain remembered a time when the fire had been put out and everyone was ready to leave. He said, "And there is one man who lived there and he was waiting," as the Red Cross had not shown up yet. He recalled thinking,

"I can't walk away and just leave this man here by himself. So I sat there with him for like almost two hours before the Red Cross finally came. No one even really knew that I did that and that is one of the things we do. We are silently there and do what needs to be done."

Chaplains are a central, if often overlooked, element of the changing American religious landscape.

Jean-Marc Fournier's service is a reminder of the role many play. Often it is quiet and behind-the-scenes.

Wendy Cadge, Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University and Michael Skaggs, Executive Director, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Brandeis University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
India: decades of hostility against NGOs have worsened under Narendra Modi

India has nearly 3.4m non-governmental organisations (NGOs), working in a variety of fields ranging from disaster relief to advocacy for marginalised and disadvantaged communities. They are a major part of civil society which bring rapid change and social transformation.

NGOs are considered as independent of the state, and voluntary in nature. They depend on individual donations, foreign funding and aid from different government agencies and private donors. Their work helps rid India of

prejudices, corruption, illiteracy and poverty.

But in recent decades, India has been a difficult environment for a number of organisations  particularly those working to empower people against unjust government policies, question structural discrimination and advocate for the rights of Dalits, tribal people and other deprived groups. A succession of Indian governments have tried to curb their activities.

The most draconian attempt to crack down on NGOs came in 2010 with amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA) by the Congress government of the then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The law was first enacted in 1976 by the Congress government to prohibit the use of foreign funding in political activities in an effort to restrain foreign interference in domestic politics. But the 2010 amendments meant "any organisation of a political nature" was forbidden from taking foreign funding. This vague definition allowed the government to question those NGOs demanding better government accountability about their funding sources.

Soon after Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister in May 2014, a leaked report from India's Intelligence Bureau accused NGOs such as Greenpeace, Cordaid, Amnesty and Action Aid for reducing India's GDP by 2-3% per year. It helped to legitimise the government's actions against NGOs.

In late 2018, it was revealed the Modi government had cancelled the licenses of nearly 20,000 NGOs receiving foreign funds under the FCRA. According to a report on India's philanthropic landscape by the consultancy Bain and Company, there was around a 40% decline in foreign funding between 2015 and 2018.

Even NGOs such as the Public Health Foundation of India, which has expertise in public health policy, and Navsarjan, which works for the protection of Dalit rights, have had their licences to receive foreign funding cancelled.

In 2015, Greenpeace staff member Priya Pillai was taken off a flight on her way to a meeting in the UK about issues relating to the allocation of coal exploration licences and its impact on tribal people.

In 2018, a number of rights NGO activists were arrested and accused of being Maoists working against the state. This included Sudha Bhardwaj, general secretary of the Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties, who had worked for decades to empower disadvantaged, voiceless groups in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

Muzzling NGOs

Such clampdowns are not new and not merely the result of the ideology of Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) regime. They reflect decades of attempts under various governments, irrespective of political ideology, to curtail the work of NGOs.

In 2012, Singh's government cracked down on NGOs protesting against the Kudankulum nuclear power project, without recognising the fact that NGOs were representing and supporting people's safety and environmental concerns. At the time, Singh criticised NGOs, saying: "There are NGOs, often funded from the US and the Scandinavian countries, which are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces." Three NGOs lost their licence.

READ MORE: 'It Is Devastating For Families': How Compassion International Is Being Forced Out Of India

Modi has used his political platform to speak out against NGOs, in an attempt to fuel mistrust of their activities. In early 2016, he claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy by NGOs to finish him and remove his government.

Yet, in recent decades, many NGOs in India have assisted the state to serve its citizens by pushing for laws including those on the right to information, food security and rural employment.

Still, India's disproportionate number of NGOs and the sector's lack of transparency and accountability is clearly an issue that needs reforms. Nor should allegations of corruption against NGOs be ignored. In 2009, 883 NGOs were blacklisted after being found to have indulged in misappropriation of funds. In such cases, NGOs need to uphold probity in their work. But the government's tactics of cracking down on rights-based NGOs through vague legislation goes against the idea of justice.

Issues such as the rising cases of violence against Dalits and land grabs by the state in India provide an opportunity for NGOs to ask uncomfortable questions of the government. This particularly so at a time when the rights of those who don't agree with the state need to be protected.



Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Is Britain breaking up?

Is Britain about to break up? The argument is being made more frequently by the commentariat in London and Manchester  especially those who are opposed to Brexit. 'Look' they say, "Brexit will mean the break up of Britain" and this, along with the other apocalyptic predictions 'planes will stop flying, the NHS will collapse, the end of civilization as we know it', is being used as a weapon to prevent Brexit.

But how true is this meme? And does it matter from a Christian perspective?

I live in Scotland. I am a Scot. And I have been involved in the Scottish political scene since 1979. In 2014 the independence movement came very close to achieving its aim. David Cameron had granted a referendum on Scottish independence confident that he would easily win it and kill off Scottish nationalism for good (does that sound familiar?).

He was so confident, (polls were showing 70% for the Union) that he even allowed the leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, to draft the question; "Should Scotland be an independent country?" It became a close run thing with all the stops being pulled out, everything from Project Fear to Gordon Brown. The union survived 55%-45%, but the SNP thrived. Its membership quadrupled and in 2015 they won an astonishing 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the Westminster election.

In the 2016 EU referendum 1.6 million Scots (63%) voted Remain, 1 million (37%) voted Leave. The narrative since then has been that Scotland wants to remain and so will leave the UK in order to join the EU. This narrative is superficial and simplistic. It won't happen. In fact the opposite has occurred  instead of strengthening the chances of Scottish independence, Brexit has killed the possibility off for decades.

Why?

One third of SNP voters voted for Brexit and they cannot understand why the SNP would want Scotland to become independent of one union, only to join a larger one, where we would have less say. 'Independence in the EU' is to them an oxymoron.

Whatever the pros and cons of the EU, when your economies, laws and courts are largely controlled by an outside body, that is not what most would call independence. The obsession with Brexit seems to have turned the SNP into the EUNP. Ironically they now use the same Project Fear arguments against leaving the EU, as were used against leaving the UK. In the 2017 General election the SNP lost 21 seats and the Tories gained 12  largely because of the Brexit issue.

Secondly, as the UK has found with leaving the EU, breaking up is hard to do. If leaving a 50 year old union is hard, how much more complex will leaving a 400 year old one be?! That is why, despite the chaos in Westminster, polling figures show that support for independence has not risen, and may even have shrunk. In order to call a secnd independence referendum Nicola Sturgeon wants the polls to be at about 60% Yes. They are generally 15-20% short of that.

But didn't the First Minister talk recently about putting legislation for another Independence referendum before the Scottish Parliament? Was she bluffing? To put it bluntly, yes. She was speaking to a conference of SNP activists hungry for news and hope. She offered them the carrot of another referendum knowing that it is not going to happen.Because another referendum cannot happen without the Westminster government giving what is called a Section 30 order. Both the Tories and Labour have said they will not do this.

When the UK parliament refuses, this is a win/win for Sturgeon and the SNP. They don't have to fight a referendum they would almost certainly lose and they get to blame the bad politicians in Westminster yet again.

So if you are concerned about the breakup of the UK, relax. Scotland won't be leaving soon (although Northern Ireland is a different and even more complex story).

But should we care? And is there a particular Christian perspective on this? I think so.

There are Christians who want Scotland to be an independent country (I am one of them) and others who want us to remain within the UK. I hope that none of us will claim particular biblical sanction for our positions. Amazingly, the Bible says nothing about Scottish independence! But we should be concerned about the state of Christianity in our countries.

The 17th century was also a time of great turbulence in the British Isles  with a civil war in England being extended to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Amidst all the turmoil, including a king losing his head; parliament requested a large group of 'divines' (clergymen) to meet in Westminster to formulate a plan for uniting the churches, and thus the kingdoms, in Britain.

Although that didn't exactly pan out, it did result in the Westminster Confession of Faith (the basis of most Presbyterian churches). Ultimately by the end of the century we had a stronger parliamentary democracy and the union of Scotland and England.

Who knows but the current chaos in the land may yet lead to something better! We can only pray!

The United Kingdom was formed for economic, military and social reasons. But what is often forgotten is the fourth element  the United Kingdom was founded on the basis of Christianity.

Whether that was a good or bad thing  I tend to plumb on balance for the former  is not the question. The real question is now that we are removing Christianity can a United Kingdom that was founded upon it, remain? And do we want it to? Perhaps there is more that hangs on that question than we realise.

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He blogs at www.theweeflea.com
Will Europe's persecuted Christian refugees be acknowledged in Jeremy Hunt's review?

Many Christian refugees from the Middle East report facing persecution from Islamic extremists in the refugee camps and centres in Europe and converts from Islam to Christianity are in the worst danger, as they are considered apostates by the extremists.

Although protection policies exist in UN treaties and international refugee law, these protections are rarely implemented because officials fear that they will be accused of discrimination. In effect, most agencies and charities working with refugees in Europe choose to ignore the problem.

The interim report into persecution by the Bishop of Truro for the Foreign Secretary, released on Friday, also ignores the plight of Christian refugees in Europe, even when it was highlighted as part of the oral and written evidence submitted to the independent review panel in Westminster.

In fact, the report doesn't mention what is happening with Christians in Europe or Great Britain at all.

Yochana Darling, head of mission at (ICC), which manages a day centre and safe houses for Christian refugees in Greece, was one of those who gave oral evidence to the Westminster panel.

According to that evidence, Christian refugees in Athens were surrounded by Muslim extremists and shown videos of the Islamic State beheading Christians. They were told they would be next.

The review panel were told that when a family was relocated from a camp to official agency accommodation, they were attacked with knives.

An Iranian refugee in Greece suffered a heart attack when around fifty extremists surrounded their accommodation unit after he returned from church with his family. The extremists poured petrol on their temporary home and held knives to the throats of the women and children. The security guards were too afraid to intervene.

"Verbal abuse is normal," Yochana tells me. "Christians are mocked, ridiculed, and called kafirs [unbeliever]. That happens daily. More concerning though are the high numbers of regular death threats and threats of physical harm. Over the past three years, we have come across countless cases of actual physical and sexual assaults."

In 2016, both Open Doors in Germany and ICC in Greece published two separate reports on the persecution of Christian refugees. These reports were independent from each other but produced almost identical results: at the time, 87-88 per cent of respondents reported of persecution in refugee and migrant camps and accommodation. And because the persecution is ignored, it continues unabated.

"Rape is used as a punishment for conversion and a method of coercion to get apostates to repent and return to Islam," Yochana says.

"Women and children have had knives held to their throats, whilst fathers and husbands are beaten with metal pipes and other implements. Families have had petrol poured over them and threatened with burning alive, just because they were reading their Bibles together and singing some worship songs.

"Tents and accommodation have been destroyed and Christians driven out of camps and other accommodation.

"The police and camp officials don't intervene, and no protection is given."

In Greece, there have been many reports of male converts being gang-raped as punishment.

In the Moria camp, on the island of Lesvos, 95 per cent of Christian refugees told ICC it was unsafe to read the Bible. In Germany, an Afghan man was recently stabbed because of his faith. He survived but the police told him he was lying and that the attack had nothing to do with him being a Christian, so that it wouldn't be recorded as a hate crime.

Some Western Christians are sceptical about refugees converting to Christianity but the grim reality is that converting from Islam to Christianity can be dangerous anywhere in Europe. We hear similar reports of attacks on converts across Europe, including Britain.

Our contacts in Germany tell us that when Muslim converts to Christianity are attacked, the emergency services often delay their arrival. This has resulted in the death of some converts.

"It's a politically sensitive question but overwhelmingly the persecutors are fellow asylum seekers from the Middle East and from Islamic backgrounds," Yochana says.

"There are concerns about the number of extremist groups in the camps, and this is something that we are told regularly by our charity's beneficiaries, who are shocked that their persecutors in the Middle East have followed them into the camps.

She asserts that government and other official agencies "avoid looking at religion at any cost".

"The general policy is to not ask anything about religious beliefs or issues, and consequently, religious persecution is usually completely off their radar," she says.

"They fear political consequences or accusations of preferential treatment if they consider the dangers faced by Christian refugees and converts.

"People still tend to consider Europe as a Christian majority continent, and it can be challenging for people to understand that Christian refugees are a religious minority group in need of protection in certain situations."

ICC has a day centre in Athens specifically for the Christian refugees. They need to feel safe to access integration support services and other types of support, so it has become a vital hub for many of the organisation's beneficiaries.

So what does Yochana want to see happen?

"The first thing that needs to happen is recognition of the issue," she says.

"Fear of political backlash or accusations of discrimination is not an excuse to ignore serious violations of religious

freedom rights in Europe.

"More support needs to be given to this group, which is currently a hidden persecuted minority, and protection measures in camps and other accommodation need to be implemented. Currently this is not happening."

Yochana says that the wider refugee population also needs to be educated about religious freedom rights.

Many people working with refugees are willing to talk about the issue off the record but fear that talking about it publicly could endanger the important work they are doing improving the lives of the refugees. Also, they fear that the wider refugee population, who have nothing to do with the extremist groups, will be demonised and that public opinion that is often already hostile against refugees, will become even more so.

But we can't ignore these attacks any longer, she concludes.

"It would be wonderful to see the British Foreign Office take a stand in this matter and lead by example in upholding these fundamental human rights, which are currently being completely ignored for Christian refugees", Yochana says.

With the Bishop of Truro's full report due out in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the plight of Europe's Christian refugees is acknowledged then.
A pilot from Anahuac survived the second helicopter crash of his life Saturday afternoon, this time in New Caney.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported the helicopter crash just after 2 p.m in a parking lot near FM 494 and Antique Lane.
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Humble residents gathered at the Humble Civic Center on Thursday to love one another and to pray for the community and country, city officials said.

As part of the National Day of Prayer, residents, community religious leaders and city officials also offered prayers to the government, military, first responders, educators, businesses, families and the media.

The goal was to bring the community together.

This years theme is Love One Another, and it is taken from John 13:34, Jennifer Wooden, Humble Civic Center director said. Love one another just as I have loved you.

Back in 1952, Kansas Senator Frank Carlson and Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels initiated a bill asking Former President Harry S. Truman to set aside a day, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer.

It wasnt until 1983 when the first National Day of Prayer was observed and organized by the National Day of Prayer Committee. It took place in Washington D.C.

Former President Bill Clinton signed a bill that became law in 1998 recognizing the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring May 2 as the 2019 National Day of Prayer. Trumps proclamation acknowledges religious liberty as a natural right, given to us by our Creator, not a courtesy that government extends to us.

The City of Humble also gave a proclamation declaring May 2, 2019 as the National Day of Prayer in Humble, which was read by Mayor Pro Tem Norman Funderburk.

The city is pleased to serve as host for this significant event offering unified public prayer for our countrybringing us together from all backgrounds, transcending whatever differences that may exist between us, Funderburk said. Through our participation we become part of a movement nationwide where millions of Americans of all faiths praying for our country.

Many residents who attended the ceremony donned their patriotic colors as they prayed for the U.S. Many if not all who attended the ceremony believe prayer is a powerful thing.

Prayer is so important to me because without it, were nothing, Humble resident Pam Ripley said. We have to have our God for wisdom, guidance and direction. He loves us, and He hears our prayers.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
A longtime member of the Katy Social Services Advisory Board and a coordinator of the Katy United Methodist Church home-delivered meals program is the 2019 Katy Senior Citizen of the Year.

Peggy Dimmick, director of social services, said she nominated Nevelynn Melendy for the honor and her nomination was unanimously supported by the advisory board. Her name then was submitted to Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner and she will be honored at the May 13 Katy City Council meeting. May is recognized as Older Americans Month.

Dimmick said Melendys contributions to the Katy community through the years are the main criteria for her being selected this year for the honor.

Nevelynn is very special to us and has been an asset to our community ... we are all proud to honor her with this special Senior of the Year Award, added Dimmick.

Melendy was among seniors who participated in the August 2011 ground-breaking for the senior citizen center built at 5370 E. Fifth St. in Katy. She volunteered on the Katy Social Services Board at the Fussell Senior center from October 2001 to May 2018. For 14 years, she coordinated the meals program at the Methodist church first through the Stephen Ministry and then through Interfaith Ministries.

Born in Sweetwater, Texas, she moved with her family when she was about a year old to Katy where she grew up. After she married, she moved to Cypress for about 20 years before moving back to Katy. Shes lived in the Katy area for over 64 years, said William Melendy, of Houston and one of her three children. Her son, Wes, and her daughter, Patti, live in the Katy area. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When he was a youngster, William Melendy said his mom volunteered first with the Boy Scouts and then worked for them a number of years as director of handicapped Scouting before she retired. She also served in various positions with the AARP  Katy Chapter #2655.

Shes always been involved in the community, he added. Shes always there to lend a helping hand. Thats just my mom.

Her involvement includes teaching Sunday school at church and belonging to the Joyful Noise Makers choir which makes weekly visits to nursing homes as well as singing with the church choir.

A huge Astros fan, Melendy turned 85 on April 15. Through AARP, shes able to attend Astros games with her friends. If an Astros game is on TV, shes watching the Astros, added William.

karen.zurawski@chron.com
The woman who died after hitting a downed tree in a Kingwood street on Friday night has been identified as a fourth-grade teacher in the Humble ISD, according to Houston police.

Amy Woodeshick taught at Groves Elementary, the district confirmed in a letter sent to parents.

The 25-year-old hit the fallen tree around 8:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Kingwood Drive, a business and tree-lined thoroughfare near the HEB grocery store, according to officials.

An officer was flagged down to the crash and she was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where she died, police said.

"She loved helping children learn and grow, and she made students' school days bright," the Humble ISD statement said.

Counselors will be on hand to support students and staff on Monday.

Woodeshick was a graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball and the University of Houston. She previously taught at Humble Middle School and Shadow Forest Elementary.

The crash happened after several storm cells swept through Waller, Montgomery and north Harris County with multiple confirmed tornadoes, hail and flooded streets in the Spring area.

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Each year, they gather to celebrate accomplishments, raise money and have a little fun. But what makes the difference for those gathered for the annual Go Red For Women luncheon is that they leave the respective facility with a little bit of education.

Hundreds of women and men gathered Friday for the 2019 Northwest Harris County Go Red For Women Luncheon at The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.

The Go Red For Woman cause is to raise awareness among women about the health threat of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, one in three women are impacted by cardiovascular disease.

By the end of the luncheon, thousands of dollars had been raised to help the cause  through pledges and donated auction items  and stories were shared which punctuated the notion that women need to be aware of their heart health.

CVS Health serves as the national sponsor for Go Red for Women. Locally, Houston Methodist takes the reins as a top sponsor.

Emcee Lindsey Caldwell lauded the events 15th anniversary but cautioned against complacency.

The fight is not over, she said while pointing out 80% of heart events are preventable.

Go Red For Women Chair Darcy Mingoia said, The Go Red movement starts with us. We raise money. We also educate men and women in our community.

Telling their stories of heart disease were survivors Regay Hildreth and Temika Jones, who connected as young mothers and wives with heart problems.

Jones was just 32 when she ended up in the hospital when she landed in the hospital, where she was heavily sedated for a week as doctors worked to heal her damaged heart.

Hildreth has a history of parents and grandparents with heart disease and had a similar story to share.

Together, Jones and Hildreth led the way for the Open Your Heart campaign, which according to the American Heart Association $0.90 of every dollar raised supports research and education for women and heart disease.

For more information, go to GoRedForWomen.org or locally visit nwHarrisCountyGoRed.heart.org.

rkent@hcnonline.com
The largest tribe in South Dakota told the state's governor on Thursday that she is "not welcome" in its homelands, a sprawling reservation southwest of the capital city, Pierre.

The extraordinary step is the latest escalation in a years-long feud over the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, a conflict that now pits advocates of indigenous rights, environmentalism and free speech against the state government, the Trump administration and a powerful oil company.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted Wednesday to ban Gov. Kristi Noem, R, from its Pine Ridge Reservation and sent a sharply worded letter on Thursday.

"If you do not honor this directive," wrote tribe President Julian Bear Runner, "... we will have no choice but to banish you."

In response, Noem's spokeswoman said the governor was surprised at the letter but said she will "maintain her efforts to build relationships with the tribes."

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Bear Runner pledged that the ban would last until Noem rescinds her support for a pair of laws the state passed in response to promised demonstrations against the Keystone XL pipeline project. The laws, which codify "riot boosting," are designed to prevent protests that may disrupt pipeline construction.

Critics say the legislation was designed to prevent the sort of large-scale, high-profile protests that unfolded over the Dakota Access pipeline in neighboring North Dakota, which began in 2016 and lasted for months. Demonstrations there led to more than 750 arrests, and the policing effort cost the state $38 million.

Noem announced the bills in the waning days of the year's legislative session, and the state's Republican majorities pushed them through the House and Senate in just 72 hours.

"My pipeline bills make clear that we will not let rioters control our economic development," Noem said in a statement after she signed the bills into law in late March.

But the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have staunchly opposed the new laws, criticizing what they see as serious threats to free speech.

Together, the laws would allow officials to sue activists if violence or law breaking occurs at a protest they organized, promoted or somehow encouraged. Money collected from those lawsuits would be used to pay for damage claims stemming from that demonstration or for law enforcement costs.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new statute (and two existing criminal riot laws), claiming that it is too vague, too broad and impinges on protected speech.

"We believe they chill free speech and they are therefore unconstitutional," said Courtney Bowie, the legal director for the ACLU's South Dakota chapter, in an interview with The Washington Post. "I don't think anyone can accurately define what 'riot boosting' is ... the law is completely unclear and that's part of the problem."

Chase Iron Eyes, the public relations liaison for Bear Runner, told The Post that the laws pose a direct threat to members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, many of whom plan to oppose the pipeline project, which would run through, and could threaten, sacred tribal lands.

"We have a right to speak freely," Iron Eyes said. "We have a right to peaceably assemble."

Tribe leaders have said Noem and state legislators excluded them from the bill crafting process and instead elected to meet with TransCanada Corp., the company behind the $8 billion project. Iron Eyes said the effort amounted to a violation of the tribe's sovereignty and the treaty it signed with the United States.

"We don't feel Kristi Noem wrote this legislation for the good of South Dakotans, or our land, or our water," he said. "We believe big extraction wrote this legislation."

The tribe's response on Wednesday was an unprecedented step, said Iron Eyes, who couldn't recall another instance when leaders told a representative of state government that she wasn't welcome on their land. If Noem violates the resolution, she could face banishment, a serious formal tribal process - though Iron Eyes said he doesn't think it'll come to that.

Noem's press secretary, Kristin Wileman, said in a statement that the governor "has spent considerable time in Pine Ridge building relationships with tribal members."

"This announcement from Oglala Sioux tribal leadership is inconsistent with the interactions she has had with members of the community," Wileman said.

Noem visited the reservation in March, as residents were recovering from severe flooding in the region, a trip leaders welcomed at the time. However, Iron Eyes said, she made subsequent trips to the reservation without informing Bear Runner or other leaders, which, he said, was a lapse in diplomatic courtesy.

"It's unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux's leadership when resources were needed during recent storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community," Wileman said.

The letter is another sign of further fraying relationships between the state government and its neighboring tribes in the weeks since Noem proposed the protest bills. In mid-March, four tribal chairmen, including Bear Runner, asked the state not to display their flags at the Capitol, saying that the bills had "destroyed our trust" in South Dakota's leadership.

But Iron Eyes said he's confident the laws will be struck down eventually.

"We're on the right side, here, of spirit and morality," he said. "And the legality just needs to come along. We've got to evolve."

From the Oval Office, however, President Donald Trump has tried to muscle the pipeline project through its court challenges. Days after Noem signed her bills into law, Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to clear a path for pipeline construction. That, too, now faces legal challenges.
High school students from Spring, Klein, Tomball, Humble and The Woodlands raised their right hands and pledged to serve in the U.S. Army on Wednesday, May 1.

While most of the 52 student recruits dressed in matching black shirts taking the oath were high school seniors, Caston Benoit of Klein Collins High School, is still a junior.

I just hope to be on base and work on the big trucks, all of the equipment and do my best, he said.

After completing his basic training, Benoit said he will return to complete his last year of high school in September, less than three weeks after the year officially begins.

While getting ready to take the oath, he said he enjoyed getting to know the other recruits.

Its like a big family  a bunch of brothers and sisters. It doesnt take long to get to know someone, he said.

Other students, like Mirakle Clayton, a senior at Westfield High School, said her decision to enlist was more practical.

Eventually, she also plans to enroll at a university when she can obtain financial aid and pursue her studies in microbiology.

Wherever Im stationed, I will look up universities, she said.

As the first in her family to join the military, Gina Lucciono, a senior at Spring High School, said she wanted to join so that she could travel around the world.

Lucciono said that while shes still not sure what she wants to study, she plans to eventually enroll at a university wherever she is stationed.

After a year or two, Im hoping to start college while Im deployed, she said.

While on stage with the other recruits, Lucciono said that reciting the oath reminded her of her commitment.

It gives you that rush of anticipation. You know its happening. Youre not quite there yet, but youre saying this stuff. Youre ready to go, she said.

The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the Church at Creeks End in Spring as a way to honor families and encourage students for their upcoming military service, said chamber president Jenan Blank.

With the way the world is right now, who knows if some of them are coming back. Why not support them and their families? Whether you agree with whats going on politically or worldwide, these kids still believe in our country enough that we can believe behind them, she said.

Tariq Carter, a senior at Tomball High School, said his family talked him into enlisting so that he could receive help with tuition costs once he enrolls in college classes.

Carter said he hopes to stay in Texas so that he can close to his family and eventually take film studies courses at the University of Texas or the University of Houston.

While he was taking the oath along with the other recruits, he said he would take his responsibility seriously.

I was just thinking its real. Its a big commitment youve got to make. I was just thinking to myself, This is what I want to do, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
May 3, 1621  Sir Simonds DEwes published his political biography of Sir Francis Bacon, in which he accuses the great lawyer, scholar of his most abominable and daring sin. DEwes continued, I should rather bury in silence than mention it, were it not a most admirable instance of how men are enslaved by wickedness and held captive by the devil. DEwes accused Frances Bacon of keeping still one Godrick, a very effeminate-faced youth, to be his catamite and bedfellow deserting the bed of his Lady. That same year, Bacon resigned as Lord Chancellor over accusations that he accepted payment from litigants, which, while against the law, was a widespread and accepted practice at the time. He quickly confessed to accepting payments, a confession that may have been prompted by threats to charge him with the capital offense of sodomy.

Wrote DEwes:

. . the favour he had with the beloved Marquis of Buckingham emboldened him, as I learned in discourse from a gentleman of his bedchamber, who told me he was sure his lord should never fall as long as the said Marquis continued in favour. His most abominable and darling sinne I should rather burie in silence, than mencion it, were it not a most admirable instance, how men are enslaved by wickedness, & held captive by the devill. For wheeras presentlie upon his censure at this time his ambition was moderated, his pride humbled, and the meanes of his former injustice and corruption removed; yet would he not relinquish the practice of his most horrible & secret sinne of sodomie, keeping still one Godrick, a verie effeminate faced youth, to bee his catamite and bedfellow, although hee had discharged the most of his other household sevants: which was the moore to bee admired, because men generallie after his fall begann to discourse of that his unnaturall crime, which hee had practiced manie yeares, deserting the bedd of his Ladie, which hee accounted, as the Italians and the Turkes doe, a poore & meane pleasure in respect of the other; & it was thought by some, that hee should have been tried at the barre of justice for it, & have satisfied the law most severe against that horrible villanie with the price of his bloud; which caused some bold and forward man to write these verses following in a whole sheete of paper, & to cast it down in some part of Yorkehouse in the strand, wheere Viscount St. Alban yet lay: Within this sty a *hogg doth ly,

That must be hangd for Sodomy. (*alluding both to his sirname of Bacon, & to that swinish abominable sinne.) But hee never came to anye publicke triall for this crime; nor did ever, that I could heare, forbeare his old custome of making his servants his bedfellowes, soe to avoid the scandall was raised of him, though hee lived many yeares after his fall in his lodgings in Grayes Inne in Holbourne, in great want & penurie.

At a time when moralists described gay love as unnatural lust, and a variety of other degrading terms, Sir Francis Bacon was the first person in the English language to use the non-stigmatizing phrase masculine love

May 3, 1921  Dr. Clarence P. Oberndorf, a New York City psychoanalyst, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Brooklyn about one of his patients, a 74-year-old Civil War veteran who suffered from depression, saying For sixty years I have been leading a double life. He became aware of his feelings for other men at a very early age. He preferred rough, coarse men, like longshoremen, husky and full of vitality. These he sought at intervals, while his acquaintances knew him as a refined gentleman interested in art and literature. He never married. Oberndorf quoted tim: In my younger days, I used to grieve because of my affliction, but in later years I have become indifferent.

Oberndorfs goal was not to cure homosexuality per se. Where treatment is undertaken for passive homoerotism in the male,  active homosexuals, or tops, were not considered truly homosexual in the early 20th century  psychoanalysis may powerfully influence the attitude of the patient toward his malady by removing some of the urgent neurotic fears which accompany the inversion. After analysis such an invert at least feels himself more reconciled to his passive homoeroticism than previously. I have had male passive homoerotics seek treatment with just such stipulations  not to be cured but to be made more content with their lives.
ALBANY  Presidential candidate Tim Ryan on Friday spoke to more than 1,000 delegates at the New York State United Teachers convention at the Capital Center.

Of the 21 Democrats running for president, the Ohio congressman is one of the more obscure candidates but that was OK. In fact it may have been one of the reasons he was there.

Thats because NYSUTs national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, is taking a decidedly different approach toward the 2020 presidential race in comparison with 2016.

AFT, considered an essential pillar of support for any Democrat, was badly burned the last time around when their leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, a full year before the convention. The early support of Clinton angered those union members who wanted to support Bernie Sanders and it left them on the losing end of the race to Donald Trump.

Union leadership, as well as rank-and-file members, has conceded that. I think there was a significant backlash, said Jennifer-Jo Moyer, a teacher from New York City attending Fridays convention.

So this year, AFT is trying for a more inclusive and deliberate process.

AFT President Randi Weingarten, in her speech before she introduced Ryan to the crowd, noted that the union has a website devoted to gathering input from members on the upcoming races. Answer the questions. Tell us what you think, she told NYSUT delegates.

And following his talk to union members, Ryan participated in a Town Hall style meeting with a small group of activists.

Topics ranged from the high cost of college and the subsequent loans, to mandated testing. One union member asked Ryan how he plans to win over voters in New York City, which is several times larger than the candidates hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

More for you With new Democratic Senate, education debate could grow protracted, complicated

My experience is that people are people, he said.

AFT says there will be a number of such meetings with candidates this year. And during her speech, Weingarten did mention other Democratic candidates the union is engaging with, including Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.

Normally, endorsing early can have benefits.

Its rational from their perspective. You get on the train early and you get rewarded, said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College and a longtime electoral observer.

But these arent normal times, with Trumps unexpected win in 2016. Public sector unions like NYSUT/AFT are also under additional pressure due to last years Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case, which can make it easier for people to leave their unions. That doesnt appear to be happening at NYSUT, but Janus has caused a rethinking of how labor leaders have to keep their members happy.

The historically large field of Democratic candidates is another complicating factor. There are too many candidates, said Muzzio. Its more problematic.

The NYSUT gathering marked the largest convention to come to the Capital Center since it opened in 2017.

That was welcome news to Jill Delaney, president and CEO of Discover Albany, which promotes visitors and tourism in the Albany area.

Overall, more than 2,000 union members were expected for the event, which runs through Saturday.

Were using all of our properties congruently, said Delaney. In addition to filling up the Capital Center, spaces in the adjacent Empire State Plaza also are being used. There are 1,700 room-nights, or rooms booked for the event, and Delaney said $1 million would be a super conservative estimate about the economic impact on the area. That represents money spent on ancillary services like restaurants, Uber drivers, bars and other businesses in town.

This is our proving ground for a multi-site event, she said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
Authorities said theyve confirmed that a human foot found in April in a pond in northwestern Indiana was that of a missing Indianapolis-area woman.

Police responded in Crown Point after a fisherman reported snagging what appeared to be a human foot. Officers determined the remains were human and a distinct tattoo led authorities to believe the remains belonged to 30-year-old Najah Ferrell of Avon, who has been missing since mid-March.

The Avon Police Department said Wednesday that the identification was confirmed by DNA analysis and comparison.

Family members have said that Ferrell left for work early March 15 and never made it. Ferrells vehicle was found March 26 abandoned in Indianapolis and some of her belongings were located along an interstate.

SPILLED GRAVY: A simple accident revealed child porn on a man's computer

The investigation into Ferrells disappearance is ongoing.

"It's a very disturbing a case of this magnitude. A mother of 5 just simply vanishes. It doesnt just happen on its own. Somebody has some involvement," Avon Police's Deputy Chief of Investigations Brian Nugent told Fox 59.

Nugent said investigators recognize foul play is involved and understand residents are concerned.

"We certainly agree that there is concern about what took place. Does that make one area more unsafe in our community than another? I dont believe so," Nugent said.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to Ferrells disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477).
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the end of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election during a lengthy phone call Friday but said he did not raise concerns about the possibility of Russian interference to come in the 2020 contest.

Trump also contradicted his top national security aides on Russian motives in Venezuela, where the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a deadly political schism.

The two leaders, during their first known conversation in months, also discussed North Korea, whose leader met with Putin last month, and a potential nuclear arms control deal.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the call with Putin, Trump described a brief exchange about the conclusion of the two-year investigation. Mueller found that while Russia interfered "in sweeping and systematic fashion," there was not a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's campaign.

"We discussed it. He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse," Trump said. "But he knew that, because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever."

The two leaders could not see each other during the call. Trump's description was meant to convey that it was a light moment, a spokesman said.

Trump was asked repeatedly whether he raised the issue of election interference or warned Putin not to do it again.

"We didn't discuss that," Trump said eventually. "Really, we didn't discuss it."

In the past, Trump has bristled at criticism that he has not forcefully confronted Putin over Russian actions aimed at influencing the election and undermining Americans' faith in their democracy.

After the two leaders met in Helsinki last July, Trump accepted what he called Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of election interference, despite the opposite conclusion by American intelligence agencies.

Trump's comments Friday came shortly after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Mueller report was discussed "very, very briefly" during the morning phone call, which lasted slightly more than an hour.

"It was discussed, essentially in the context that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," Sanders said.

Sanders said most of the conversation was devoted to other topics, including nuclear agreements, North Korea, Venezuela and trade.

Trump later tweeted about the call, referring to the Mueller investigation as the "Russian Hoax."

Russian election interference in 2016 included a social media campaign that favored Trump and disparaged Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as the hacking of computers maintained by allies of Clinton and the subsequent release of stolen documents.

The special counsel did not find sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy with Russia against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. The report did not offer a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General William P. Barr later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for obstruction of justice, but House Democrats are continuing to pursue that issue.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned last month that Russia is continuing to attempt to undermine U.S. elections, including the presidential election next year.

Putin has echoed some of Trump's talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has also denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

"We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand," Putin said last month. "Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump."

Trump also contradicted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other advisers who have said this week that Russia propped up embattled Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and blocked what might have been a peaceful transfer of power to the U.S.-backed opposition.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said after the conversation with Putin, which had been arranged in large part to air differences over Venezuela and de-escalate a brewing proxy fight.

Instead, Trump appeared to take Putin at his word that Russia wants to help ease a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Right now, people are starving. They have no water. They have no food."

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the White House had said that Russia "must leave" Venezuela and "renounce their support of the Maduro regime." Russia has significant investments in Venezuela and has been a strong backer of Maduro.

Pompeo delivered the same message in a Wednesday call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Pompeo will see next week in Finland. Pompeo had said that Russia had told Maduro not to step down and accept an offer of passage to Venezuelan ally Cuba.

"It's the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he's not going to govern," Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday. "Structurally, there's no way he stays in power. It's time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door."

A day earlier, national security adviser John Bolton had said that if Russians continue to ignore U.S. warnings about malign influence in Venezuela, they "will do that at their own cost."

The Kremlin said that Putin "underscored that only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country, whereas outside interference in the country's internal affairs and attempts to change the government in Caracas by force undermine prospects for a political settlement of the crisis."

Sanders said Trump reiterated "the need for a peaceful transition."

Trump said he and Putin also discussed the possibility of extending a current nuclear agreement or creating a new one that includes China. A trilateral agreement among the world's major nuclear powers would be significant advance in arms control.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now," Trump told reporters.

It was not clear whether he was referring to an extension of the existing New START accord limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons with Russia, or a separate compact. The 2011 New START accord expires in 2021 but can be extended for five years by mutual agreement.

Regarding North Korea, Trump's focus was on "the importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," Sanders said.

- - -

Troianovski reported from Moscow. The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
A teenager was shot at an after-prom party at Preet Banquet Hall off Fairbanks North Houston Road in northwest Houston late Friday, authorities said.

A sheriff's deputy said there had been a high school party when one boy was shot in the torso at around midnight. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. It's possible a white sedan four-door vehicle was involved, deputies said.
A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Kent State University School of Information (iSchool) presented Library Media Specialist Angie Jameson, Chagrin Falls Schools, with its Dan MacLachlan Award in Library and Information Science on April 25.

The award is given to a library media specialist who exhibits creativity, leadership and dedication in his/her school. Each year, the university recognizes the alumni who are transforming the global information environment.

Dr. Meghan Harper, MLIS program and school library media concentration coordinator, nominated Jameson for this award, which is named for Dan MacLachlan, Riedinger Middle School Librarian from 1984-1993.
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Democracy Day was observed Thursday (May 2) in South Euclid, as people from several communities gathered at City Hall to center on the themes that corporations are not people and that corporations have too large an influence on todays elections and lawmaking.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in the case Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that corporations are entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections as natural persons.

Those who gathered Thursday believe the decision restricts the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity.

Hence, this decision supported the increasing amounts of money being spent by corporations to influence election results and legislation at federal, state and local levels, said South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo, the first of 14 people to speak at the Move to Amend, non-partisan event.

In November 2016, South Euclid voters joined a list of communities in Ohio -- including Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lorain, Lyndhurst and Mentor -- as well as about 800 others throughout the country and 19 states, in seeking change.

Seventy-seven percent of South Euclid voters approved Issue 201 in 2016, which called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights; and that money is not equivalent to speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Until a constitutional amendment is ratified reflecting the principles listed above, Welo said, South Euclid will continue to hold a public meeting (a Democracy Day) every two years where our citizens will have an opportunity to speak on the impact that uncontrolled political contributions have on local governments.

Thursday marked the second such meeting held in South Euclid since the 2016 passage.

After each public hearing, a letter will be sent to key elected leaders of our state and federal government, including a reminder that in 2016 the citizens of South Euclid voted in support of this constitutional amendment, Welo said.

As was the case in 2017, South Euclid resident Madelon Watts organized the event. Watts has also worked in other Ohio communities to forward the cause.

Speakers included interested parties from across Northeast Ohio. Tish ODell, of Broadview Heights, said that corporate influence is present when many of our countrys laws are written.

Were following, very obediently, laws written by corporations, ODell said. Thats got to change.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Sara Continenza took to the podium, which had on it logos of corporations such as Exxon, McDonalds and GE under the statement End Corporate Personhood."

I recently read an article that Amazon paid zero dollars in taxes to our federal government -- zero, Continenza said. "Yet, they have over $10 billion in profits. Meanwhile, we have someone working 40-plus hours a week at minimum wage with a family paying more taxes than that.

So we have to really think where we cast our votes, and every dollar we spend is a vote we cast. She urged shopping at mom-and-pop stores and curbing urges to always shop online.

Brecksvilles Jack Petsche spoke of how the costs of elections have been on the increase in the eight years since the Supreme Court decision.

The 2018 election was the most expensive midterm ever by a large margin, with total spending surpassing $5.7 billion, he said. That cost exceeded the 2016 presidential election, in which $5.3 billion was spent.

In 2018, Petsche said, "a blue wave of money helped Democrats crush House Republicans. Democrats outspent Republicans across the board in the 2018 cycle.

Ten individual mega-donors combined to pour $436 million into the election, displaying the widespread influence of wealthy individuals in the post-Citizens United era.

He concluded by saying, I ask my Republican friends, Democrats and independents to join forces and fight to obtain reasonable regulation of money in politics so that our individual votes do count, and our great democracy survives and thrives far into the future.

The event attracted Shaker Heights High School students Lauren Sheperd, a sophomore, and senior Christos Ioannou, who spoke about the harsh realities of school shootings, as well as Suzanne DeGatano, owner of Macs Backs bookstore on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights.

Ioannou said of firearms in society, This is not just a gun issue, its an empathy issue." He said that politicians are "dehumanizing human beings.

DeGatano said of her bookstore and the online competition it faces, I feel we can compete with online sellers. Were in touch with the community.

Cleveland Heights residents Carla Rautenberg and David Berenson took a different approach to attempt to show the absurdity of the Supreme Court ruling by performing a pair of skits.

In one, Rautenberg played a driver and Berenson a judge in a skit based on an actual California case in which a woman was cited for driving alone in the carpool lane. She answers the charge by saying that the photograph in her car that day of a corporate charter was her passenger that day. Like in the skit, Rautenberg said the person in California had her case dismissed.

Watts said anyone wishing to join the Cleveland East Move to Amend affiliate and help pass a 28th Constitutional Amendment can do so by visiting movetoamend.org/oh-cleveland-east, or Facebook.com/movetoamendclevelandheights.

See more Sun Messenger news here.
WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Chase, Interstate 90: A Westlake police officer at 1:15 p.m. April 27 stopped a vehicle on the Crocker Road overpass for equipment and moving violations.

As the officer got out of his cruiser and began to approach, the vehicle drove off and committed several traffic violations while fleeing westbound on I-90, according to police. The officer pursued the fleeing vehicle for two minutes before calling off the chase for safety reasons.

The vehicle, which belonged to an Elyria resident, soon was reported stolen to Elyria police. It was reported stolen from an apartment complex in Elyria.

Arrest on warrant, I-90: Police at 11 a.m. April 29 found a pedestrian walking along the highway near Crocker Road.

The man told police he was walking back to Cleveland. Police discovered that the Parma Police Department had a warrant for the mans arrest for a dangerous-drug charge. Westlake police arrested the suspect and turned him over to Parma police.

Westlake police also warned the Cleveland man against walking on the highway and for a marijuana pipe they confiscated from him.

Theft by deception: Westlake police arrested a suspect April 29 on several warrants for theft by deception.

Police said the suspect on multiple occasions approached local business owners asking for loans. The suspect claimed to be a small businessman who had locked himself out of his building or out of a car and needed to borrow money to hire a locksmith.

In one instance, the suspect got away with $40 and in another, he got away with $60.

The suspect never returned with the cash. The suspect is being held on $7,500 bond.

Felony theft, Center Ridge Road: Management at a business contacted police at 7 p.m. April 30 to report that they suspected one of their employees had stolen more than $1,500 in gift cards.

A 25-year-old female employee from Lorain admitted to the theft, and police arrested her for felony theft.

Prostitution arrests: Westlake police arrested three people accused in two suspected prostitution cases.

At 7:30 a.m. May 1, investigators learned that a woman was advertising online that she would provide services at the Red Roof Inn on Clemens Road. Police stopped a suspicious vehicle leaving the motel, and two woman inside admitted to soliciting prostitution.

The women, 30- and 31-year-old Cleveland residents, also were charged with drug possession for suspected ecstasy found in the vehicle.

In the second incident, at 7:30 a.m. May 2, investigators learned that a female suspect was advertising services online at the Super 8 Motel on Sperry Road. Officers again responded to the advertisement and arrested the suspect as she walked from the room. The 24-year-old Cleveland woman was charged with soliciting for prostitution.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the West Shore Sun here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man with a service dog was taken into custody then hospitalized Saturday after he bit a Cleveland police officer.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police were called to assist TSA with a man who was being disruptive, police said.

The man became combative and bit one of the officers, police said. Police did not say where the officer was bit.

He was taken into custody and admitted to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for an evaluation, police say.

Police took the service dog to the citys kennel, police say.

The incident is still under investigation and the officer was not seriously hurt, police say.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland judge is calling on U.S. Attorney Justin Herdmans office to consider reaching a consent decree with Cuyahoga County over conditions in its jail, where eight inmates died in 2018.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Michael Nelson hand-delivered the May 1 letter, which cites the recent indictments of several jail guards, along with the former director and warden, as underscoring ongoing dysfunction thats eroded public confidence in the management of the jail.

Nelsons letter says it is time Herdmans office consider meeting with the County to carve out a consent decree to ensure the jail is run in accordance with state and federal law, according to a copy of the letter provided to cleveland.com.

Read the letter below.

Nelson first spoke out in October about jail conditions later deemed inhumane by the U.S. Marshals Service. He vowed not to send people charged with most crimes to the county jail because he believed it unsafe following a spate of six deaths over a four-month span.

Two more died in 2018. The county is now facing several lawsuits and a federal civil rights investigation over inmate conditions. The administration of County Executive Armond Budish says it continues to implement reforms.

The dysfunction directly impacts on the fair pursuit of justice, which is the lynchpin of a civilized society, the letter says. It appears from all of the preliminary reports that the County cannot protect the rights of detainees without the intervention of your department.

Nelson in an April 17 interview with cleveland.com called for a U.S. Justice Department consent decree, but had yet to ask Herdman to begin the process. U.S Attorney spokesman Mike Tobin declined comment at that time about whether his office is considering such a proposal.

Cleveland.com previously reported that the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI are looking at the Nov. 21 marshals report that said inmates civil rights were routinely violated.

U.S. Attorneys offices elsewhere in the county have pursued consent decree agreements with jails and prisons, including through intervention in existing lawsuits. One filed in December on behalf of seven Cuyahoga inmates has called for a federal monitor.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Theft, Shopping Center: After a high school-age boy was heard asking if a cell phone on a restaurant counter belonged to anyone at 3:15 p.m. April 22, an employee noticed hers was gone.

She said it had been behind the beverage containers and on the employee side of the counter at Einstein Bagel. The $800 phone was deactivated with the carrier, but the owner would like it returned to her.

Identity theft, Nob Hill: A man received an email April 22 indicating that he had an outstanding bill for $3,700 from a Good Sams reward Visa card. The bank for the credit card will investigate.

Animal at large, High Street: A homeowner, 47, was cited for not containing his dogs on his property at 9:56 a.m. April 22 and faces a Bedford Municipal Court date.

His two dogs charged out from a yard at walkers in Whitesburg Park. He had been warned for the same infraction the previous week.

Disturbance, Hall Street: Police arrested an Avon Lake woman, 28, for obstructing official business at 1:20 a.m. April 27. A man had called police when his intoxicated passenger would not get out of the car at his home. The woman would not cooperate with police, either.

EMS checked her out and she was transported to the Bedford jail.

Suspicious, South Franklin Street: A worshiper contacted police during a church service at 11:20 a.m. April 28 after seeing a man in the front row with a guitar case large enough to contain a weapon.

The Chardon man with the guitar checked out fine, but he said he could understand the concern.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Disturbance, Pekin Road: Police were called at midnight April 28 about a large party with numerous vehicles stopped -- blocking both lanes of travel -- and more than 200 party attendees.

Police backup was called for from South Russell, Chester and the Geauga County Sheriffs Office. The homeowner was extremely agitated about the police presence. Officers stood by to keep the peace until all the vehicles were moved.

Drunken driving, Sunrise Lane: Police responded at 4 a.m. April 22 to a one-car crash with an unresponsive driver. Upon arrival, the driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Theft, Chillicothe Road: Police detained a man at 1:17 a.m. April 27 after he stole two cases of bottled water from Circle K. He also had an outstanding warrant and was taken into custody.

Traffic stop, Kinsman Road: An underage driver, stopped for ignoring a traffic signal at 10:45 p.m. April 26, was found to have alcohol beverages and a fake ID. He will face charges for those offenses.

Suspicious vehicle, Kinsman Road: An officer on patrol at 1:30 a.m. April 23 encountered a man in a parked car. The man explained that he had been kicked out of his home and was sleeping in his car. He was advised of park hours and available resources and sent on his way.

Animal at large, County Line Road: A Hunting Valley resident found a brown and white female cat, approximately 1 year old, in her yard April 23 and took it to the Happy Tails cat sanctuary. She reported it to police in case someone was looking for the cat.

Suspicious, Chillicothe Road: After receiving an email that he had purchased a ticket to Boise, Idaho, and receiving a Federal Express package from the same location, a man called police April 29. He had not purchased a ticket, and was told it was a scam that he should not respond to.

When the package was opened at the police station, it was discovered that he had ordered those items.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Noble Prize-winning economist, says there are "several problems facing the global economy."

These challenges range from President Trump's protectionism to trouble in Europe and concerns about the stability of growth in China.

He points to the increased deficits from Republican tax cuts, which he says are "not well designed," as the primary driver of increased growth in the United States. He expects a growth slowdown moving forward.

Stiglitz, a longtime skeptic of the broad benefits of globalization, also discusses Trump's strategy of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

"Many of us who were critics of the WTO, and I think correctly, didn't really appreciate the virtues of the WTO until we actually confronted the reality of a world without rules," he says.

Watch the video above to hear more from economist Joseph Stiglitz on risks to the economy and global trade.

See more:
Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a small stake in Occidental Petroleum, people close to the matter told CNBC on Friday.

The company is in the middle of a rare bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum, having bid $38 billion for its smaller rival. Chevron had previously bid $33 billion for Anadarko.

Shares of Occidental jumped 2% in extended trading Friday, immediately following the news.

The size of Icahn's stake is still unclear, and Bloomberg  which first reported the stake  reports Icahn hasn't decided whether to push for changes at the company. Still, the stake throws another heavyweight name behind a bidding war that's already captured Wall Street's attention.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $10 billion in Houston-based Occidental in an effort to help the takeover bid. CNBC reported earlier Friday that Buffett was willing to invest as much as $20 billion.
Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters

WASHINGTON This one is both highly personal and disturbingly global. On Wednesday afternoon this week, fifth grade students of Sidwell Friends Middle School walked down Wisconsin Avenue to the Washington National Cathedral to say goodbye to one of their own. A suicide terrorist's bomb  at an Easter Sunday brunch at a Sri Lankan hotel  had taken the life of their classmate, Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, age 11. They gathered in pews with parents to celebrate the life of Kieran, who had died along with more than 250 others in nine coordinated attacks. They heard about his pet ball pythons and the wooden mazes he built for them, about his too-long showers and tendency to misplace things, about his knack for math and science and his gentle spirit and captivating smile. Our daughter Johanna, also 11, had been a classmate and friend of Kieran since pre-kindergarten. Like her classmates, she was looking forward to his return from a year abroad in Sri Lanka. Like the others, she couldn't fathom why God would take this sweet soul so prematurely, this boy with the biggest heart and the most inventive Halloween costumes. The pastor couldn't help them. "How did this happen? Why did this happen? These are the questions that haunt us," said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. "Why God allows such tragic events to take place, I do not know." Yet he did offer a response: "We have to push back against the evil that would divide us, the evil that seeks to create fear, hatred and destruction. We have to push back, not with violence but with a renewed commitment to reach out to one another, to be like Kieran and seek to build new relationships, new understandings, to live with love and hope and courage." "This is Kieran's example to us."

A global and more coordinated response

What Reverend Hollerith didn't say was that events of recent weeks have underscored that the community that pushes back would need to be global and more coordinated and resourceful than is currently the case. The ISIS terrorist cancer that took Kieran's life isn't defeated or even in remission, but rather it is metastasizing since its loss of a caliphate first in Iraq and then finally Syria. The Trump administration's national security strategy has represented a shift from the post 9-11 emphasis on fighting terrorism to address a new era of major power competition with China and Russia. However, what's growing clearer with each day is that the United States and its allies will likely have to contend with extremist, Islamist terrorism for decades to come. On Monday, just two days before Kieran's funeral, the so-called Islamic State released a video of its leader and the world's most wanted man, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, signaling this new challenge. "Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy," he said in an 18-minute video, "and they must know that jihad will continue until Judgment Day." He praised the Sri Lanka Easter attacks as an act of vengeance against "Crusaders" for ISIS' last loss of territory in Baghouz, Syria and added "Praise to Allah" that "among the dead were Americans and Europeans." Much remains to be explained about the video and what it says about the well-being and location of the ISIS leader and the capabilities and reach of his terrorist organization. The apparent intent of Baghdadi's decision to surface, despite a $25-million bounty on his head, is to reassert his authority and send a signal that the Islamic State still exists and that he is still in charge, even after having lost his caliphate. It's believed several thousand battle-hardened ISIS combatants have now re-formed as an international network of militants that will sometimes remain silent and at other times launch unpredictable attacks in under-prepared settings like Sri Lanka. In a piece in The Atlantic, Graeme Wood studies the image Baghdadi projects in the video, his first since declaring the caliphate in 2014. He has morphed himself from the religiously robed, rhetorically grandiose leader of a caliphate with a well-armed military, tax collectors and health inspectors to "a terrorist leader, an insurgent, a shadow leader of a subterranean movement of global reach." The garb is a pocketed vest, rifle by his side, with a sheet as backdrop.

Terrorism 3.0
Isabel Diaz Tinoco (L) and Jose Luis Tinoco speak with Otto Hernandez, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as they shop for insurance under the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of Americas on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images

The Affordable Care Act once again faces legal hurdles after President Donald Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit questioning the health-care law's constitutionality. If the lawsuit succeeds and the courts decide to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans could lose their health care if a replacement plan is not established. Though Trump wanted to replace the law with a new Republican plan before the 2020 elections, the GOP refused to bring forward its own proposal until it wins a majority in the House of Representatives. The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn Obamacare after a federal judge in Texas ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the removal of a tax penalty levied against citizens without health insurance. The Trump administration reduced the tax penalty, called the individual mandate, to $0 in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Though Obamacare remains law while it awaits deliberation in the courts, about 25 million Americans may be left uninsured if the law is struck down in its entirety. Here's who is at risk of losing their health insurance if Obamacare is repealed:

Exchange plans

Approximately 11.4 million Americans enrolled or re-enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan in 2019. Obamacare established public marketplaces for individuals and families to shop for insurance plans that are compliant with ACA regulations. The exchanges also let citizens see if they qualify for federal subsidies that can help reduce health care costs. Twenty-eight states use federally run marketplaces, while 12 states use their own state-based marketplaces. Eleven states use either federally supported state marketplaces or marketplaces that are run by a partnership between the federal government and the state. But those exchanges would likely cease to exist if Obamacare is repealed, according to Cori Uccello, a senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries. "If the entire law has to go, then what is an exchange?" asked Uccello. Uccello said she is not sure what would happen to the state exchanges, but people who got their plans on the federal marketplace would almost certainly lose their coverage. States could potentially step in and fund their own exchanges, according to Ben Sommers, professor of health policy and economics at Harvard University, "but that's not a straightforward process," he said.

Medicaid expansion

Medicaid enrollment increased by 16 million people since Obamacare went into effect, with 13.6 million of those people living in Medicaid expansion states. Obamacare expanded Medicaid eligibility to cover adults at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid was also expanded to make uninsured children and many people with mental illnesses eligible for coverage. Thirty-six states and D.C. have adopted Medicaid expansion and 14 states have not. As of now, the federal government pays 90% of the cost in states that have expanded Medicaid, but if Obamacare is repealed, states would no longer receive that funding. Sommers said states don't have the resources to continue Medicaid expansion without federal funds, which could cause the people now insured through expanded eligibility to lose their coverage. "We're talking about millions of low income adults that become uninsured," Sommers said.

Pre-existing conditions
Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images

For Emmanus Stephen, an Uber driver from Asbury Park, New Jersey, earning enough to pay the bills means strategizing carefully about where he will work each day. Local, short-distance rides near his home on the Jersey Shore are convenient for him, but they don't pay well  "You drive all day and you can make $100," says the father of six. So to pay the bills, he'll often drive the 45 miles to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he can shuttle travelers on longer distance, more lucrative trips. He works all night to beat the New Jersey traffic, then heads home at 4 a.m., dropping his children off at school before getting some shuteye. With Uber preparing for an IPO, the issue of whether gig economy workers like Stephen can earn a living wage is likely to reemerge. For publicly traded companies, the issue of social impact is a growing issue. Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers, according to The State of Independence in America 2018 report by MBO Partners, which studies the freelance economy. For those millions of full-time gig workers, getting recognized as a full-fledged employee  at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere  is not coming anytime soon. This week the Department of Labor clarified that these workers are to be classified as independent contractors that are not entitled to health insurance and other benefits that would force companies to follow federal minimum-wage laws. (However, companies still have to abide with local minimum wage requirements.)

Making a living wage

Steve King, an analyst at Emergent Research, which studies independent workers, says Uber and Lyft drivers net $12 to $15 an hour after costs, based on his firm's calculations. "That is substantially below what you need to earn to have a middle-class job," says King. The median household income in the U.S. was $63,378, according to Sentier Research, which bases its calculations on U.S. Census Bureau data. But many ride-share drivers don't have the skills required for jobs where they could earn more and would otherwise have to take a minimum-wage position somewhere, notes King. For them, gig work offers a benefit they would not have in a lower-skilled, hourly job. "They have more flexibility and freedom driving," he says. More from At Work: 4 gig economy trends transforming the job market

What's key for workplace happiness That said, many gig workers earn far more than ride-share drivers do. "A lot of them are highly skilled and paid that way," says King. The Freelancing in America 2018 survey, run by the giant platform Upwork, found that 31% of freelancers earn $75,000 a year or more, up 15 points since 2014. Among respondents who left a traditional job to freelance, 73% said they earn more now freelancing than they did at their prior, traditional job.

Julie Ewald, founder of Impressa Solutions, a marketing firm in Milwaukee, got her start as a solo freelancer on Upwork eight years ago. She made enough to quit several part-time jobs she was juggling and has since expanded her business by bringing on a small army of contractors she found on Upwork. Being very specialized has helped her to command healthy fees, she says, and she does not find she's an anomaly in the world of freelance workers. "Some of the folks I meet are doing really, really well," she says. Jeff Brown, a radio veteran turned podcaster from Nashville, Tennessee, who runs an online event for freelancers called The Boss-Free Virtual Summit, says the best paid freelancers generally aren't "trading time for money" like Uber and Lyft drivers but instead are creating products or recurring services that tap into their knowledge. "Create something once and sell it hundreds, if not thousands, of times," he advises. In his own case, he started a paid, subscription-based book club.

The talent chase heats up
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of his country's own Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017.

North Korea launched "several unidentified short-range projectiles" on Saturday, a South Korean military official told NBC News.

"We confirm that what North Korea launched today was not ballistic missiles," the official told NBC News.

The official said the projectiles were launched at about 9:06 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. Korean Standard Time from Wonsan's Hodo Bando area in a northeastern direction. The official said the projectiles traveled about 70 to 200 kilometers (about 43 to 124 miles).

Officials had originally said there was one missile launched.

"The National Security's chief, the Minister of National Defense, the head of the National Intelligence Service have gathered at South Korea's presidential office and are monitoring the current situation and are sharing information closely with the U.S. counterparts," a South Korean's presidential spokesperson told NBC.

The Associated Press reported that Japan's Defense Ministry does not see any immediate risk to the country's national security as the missiles did not enter the territory.

South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the situation, the military official told NBC, adding that the South Korean military has upped its surveillance and on the look out for more launches.

A senior administration official told NBC that National Security Advisor John Bolton has "fully briefed" President Donald Trump on the situation.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

This incident comes a little over two weeks after Pyongyang said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of a new type of tactical guided weapon.

Saturday's launch is the second time North Korea fired a missile since talks collapsed between Trump and Kim in February. The two men had met in Hanoi to discuss the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, but those talks ended abruptly without a deal. That summit had followed the historic meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June.

In April 2018, North Korea had pledged to cease its nuclear and long-range missile tests. But suspicions about that promise flared when satellite images surfaced suggesting that a long-range missile test site was undergoing "rapid rebuilding."

Saturday's missile launch risks reigniting tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

The Trump administration has been pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons but so far Pyongyang has resisted. On Friday, Sanders said Trump pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage Kim to denuclearize. But the Russian leader responded by urging the U.S. to ease its sanctions on the isolated state.

The North Korean leader had his first meeting last week with Putin. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin discussed that meeting and his takeaways with Trump.

 CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed reporting.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at federal court, April 4, 2019 in New York City. A federal judge will hear oral arguments this afternoon in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seeks to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal.

Tesla's security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who "will do anything to see us fail" are "targeting" employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, "Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges."

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, "In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists."

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

Tesla's beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the company's recent accomplishments including:

Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

CEO Elon Musk's promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So it's not surprising that Tesla's security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

Here's the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges. As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day. When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they "will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish" any of Tesla's confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted]. If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted]. The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary. We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization. Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information. If you're unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences: * This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day. * A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information. * A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets. * Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations. * In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Tesla's Communications policy. It's every employee's responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Tesla's mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

WATCH: Elon Musk is interested in buying $25 million Tesla stock
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.

OMAHA, Neb.  88-year-old Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway shareholders another hint about who his successor (or successors) will be, but once again refused to tip his hand too much, frustrating some in the audience at the company's annual meeting who repeatedly asked him for more information on the matter.

The chairman and chief executive officer said at the company's annual meeting that longtime executives Greg Abel and Ajit Jain could one day join him and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on stage and answer questions from shareholders.

For years, Buffett and Munger have taken questions from Berkshire shareholders without sharing the stage at an arena in Omaha. But Buffett said Saturday that "this format will not be around forever and if it's better to have them up on the stage, then we'd be happy to do it." He added that they thought of having all four of them on stage at the same time.

Abel and Jain were promoted last year, with Abel running Berkshire's noninsurance businesses while Jain handles all insurance-related operations. These promotions made them the clear-cut favorites to succeed Buffett once he departs from his post.

Jain and Abel even answered shareholder questions on Saturday at Buffett's urging, two rare occurrences at the annual gathering.

Still, Buffett shied away from hinting at exactly who is the frontrunner and when they would take over. Instead, he said of Abel and Jain: "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished."

Buffett made his remarks after hearing a shareholder's question on the succession matter. The crowd erupted in applause after the question was read, a sign of just how much the matter is weighing on their minds. Buffett has been running Berkshire since the 1960s and over that time the conglomerate has returned more than 20% annually, double the return of the S&P 500. Many shareholders want to know what the long-term succession plan is.

But Munger, Buffett's longtime right-hand man, said the way Berkshire operates makes succession questions tough to answer.

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," Munger said. "We don't have analyst committees deliberating forever and making bad decisions. We're radically different. It's awkward being so different, but I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us."

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People Ethan Miller | Getty Images

When Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping student debt forgiveness proposal last month, many borrowers imagined how their lives would transform if their loan balance shrank or disappeared. "Emotionally, it's the biggest thing in the back of your mind," said Dominic DeFelice, 23, who owes more than $100,000. "To have Elizabeth Warren actually come out and have a plan for it felt really good." On Twitter, people described what student debt forgiveness would mean to them and included the hashtag #cancelmydebt. Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans. Average debt at graduation is currently around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the early 1990s. Repayment is a challenge for many: Every day, 3,000 borrowers default.

Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "The time for half measures is over," Warren writes. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Critics of the proposal, which could cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, say much of the money would go to borrowers with high incomes who are capable of repaying their debt. Others say the plan only throws money at the larger problem of rising tuition. Still, more than half of Americans say student debt is "a major problem" for the country, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. And it's no wonder people saddled with student debt can't help but dream of a different life (even if the candidate with the proposal trails in the polls): 67 percent of people with student debt say the loans delayed them from buying a house, car or large appliance. Forty percent claimed the debt caused them to put off having a child or getting married. CNBC spoke with borrowers about how the Massachusetts Democratic senator's proposal would change their circumstances.

Dominic DeFelice Source: Dominic DeFelice

DOMINIC DeFELICE'S bachelor's degree in geology left him $120,000 in the hole. "That amount of money is incomprehensible to someone like me," said the 23-year-old DeFelice. "I should have known that at 17." The entry level jobs to which he's been applying since he graduated last year from Juniata College in Pennsylvania offer annual salaries of around $30,000. After taxes, he calculates, he'd have $2,200 a month to live on. His student loan bill is more than $1,300. (The loans are currently on pause, accruing interest.) "I invested in an education and I don't see a return in sight," DeFelice said. He said his brother, who is 2 years younger and never went to college, makes more money as a security guard. DeFelice noticed a lot of the environmental jobs he hoped to fill require a graduate degree. And so thanks to a grant he received, he recently enrolled at Brooklyn College to get his master's degree in geology. However, he decided to leave school after just one semester, realizing that, given the high cost of living in New York, he'd still have to take out some loans.

I could actually plan my life. Dominic DeFelice

"It could really amplify my earning potential, but I just can't," he said. "I'm just digging myself deeper when I'm already at rock bottom." Education loans, ironically, can be a barrier to education: One study found that bachelor degree recipients without debt are 70% more likely to enroll in further schooling than those with debt. Under Warren's plan, DeFelice would have $50,000 of his federal loans wiped away, and potentially some of his private loans, too. With a smaller debt load, he said, he could likely finish his schooling and not have to move back in with his parents or his girlfriend's, a reality now on his horizon. "I could actually plan my life," he said.

Kanu Mendoza Source: Kanu Mendoza

KANU MENDOZA wishes she could work less, but she owes more than $50,000 in student loans. When a disk in her back ruptured, the 52-year-old had to leave the Navy after a two-decade career. To advance in the Navy, she pursued a bachelor's degree in leadership and then a master's in public administration at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Currently, she's a supervisor at an aerospace manufacturing company in San Diego. "If I didn't have that debt hanging over my head, I'd probably find a less demanding job," Mendoza said. "It's difficult when you're in so much pain you don't want to move, but you have to get up and go to work." Student debt is growing fast among older people: In 2018, Americans over age 50 owed more than $260 billion in student loans, up from $36 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Mendoza said her $400 monthly student loan bill makes it hard for her to save for retirement. Her pension is just $1,500 a month. "If I didn't have that debt I could retire in the next few years," Mendoza said. "With it, I'm going to be in the workforce another 10 years, if not longer."

Morgan Hopkins has paid off more than $12,000 in credit card debt during the break for student loan borrowers. Source: Jaheem J. Green

MORGAN HOPKINS would like to start a family. But she owes more than $75,000 in student loans, for her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and women's studies. "If I could understand the implication of having this debt forever, I might have made a different choice," Hopkins, 31, said of her education. Today, she works as a national field manager at a nonprofit in Denver. She said it's going to take years of planning for her and her boyfriend to be able to have a child and buy a house  and even just a financial cushion should one of them lose their job or fall ill. "If I didn't have half-a-rent payment in student debt, I'd have an emergency savings plan," she said.

How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life? Morgan Hopkins

Her monthly student loan bill is more than $900, most of which she said just goes to interest. "I haven't seen any significant reduction," Hopkins said. Under Warren's plan, half of Hopkins' debt would be canceled, and all of her boyfriend's loans would be forgiven. The result: She could see a future. "I have a lot of financial stress now, as a lot of our generation does," Hopkins said. "How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life?"

Madeline Smith Source: Madeline Smith
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday retweeted messages from conspiracy theorists and far-right figures after Facebook banned several right-wing personalities for promoting violence and hate.

Trump has lashed out against Facebook following the bans, tweeting on Friday that he is "continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms." On Saturday morning, he retweeted a number of Twitter users who defended the far-right personalities, including one of the banned users.

Later in the day, Trump questioned why The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were allowed on Facebook and Twitter, saying much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

Trump resumed his attacks on tech giants on Saturday afternoon, asking how it is possible for a "strong but responsible Conservative Voice" like actor James Woods to be banned from Twitter. Woods got locked out of Twitter for posting the hashtag #HangThemAll in an apparent reference to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, according to a screen capture shared by Woods' girlfriend Sara Miller.

Tweet

Facebook on Thursday banned Infowars, as well as its founder Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, the former editor-at-large for the website, which is notorious for pushing conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was staged. Facebook also banned far-right media personalities Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as Paul Nehlen, who has run for Congress in Wisconsin and is widely considered a white supremacist.

"We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today," Facebook said in a statement.

Trump on Saturday retweeted two messages from Watson, the former Infowars deputy who now hosts a YouTube channel called Prison Planet Live known for its nativist screeds. On Friday, Trump tweeted that he was "so surprised" to see "Conservative thinkers" like Watson and Woods banned from Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

He also promoted a tweet by Lauren Southern, a far-right author and activist who backed the anti-refugee campaign Defend Europe, which sought to harass boats attempting to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, Southern and activists from the nativist Generation Identity movement filmed themselves firing flares at a Doctors Without Borders vessel.

The president on Friday retweeted an anti-Islamic video shared by Deep State Exposed, an account tied to author Jeremy Stone, who is associated with a pro-Trump conspiracy theory called QAnon.

The video shared by Stone and resurfaced by Trump shows a bearded man with subtitles saying Muslims will conquer the U.S. and kill Americans, take their women and smash their churches if they do not convert to Islam. The last subtitle highlights the words "this is Islam."

Stone boasts in his Twitter profile that he has been retweeted by Trump nine times.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to promote his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for the two countries to have a good or great relationship.

Trump suggested the "Fake News Media" is not covering that potential fairly. He alleged the media misled the public about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media," he tweeted.

Tweet

Trump and Putin spoke for over an hour on Friday, the White House said. The two discussed the Mueller report, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea and nuclear arms control.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are currently heightened on several fronts.

Washington backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in his bid to push strongman Nicolas Maduro from power, while Moscow is supporting the Maduro regime. The Trump administration also suspended a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia this year, and U.S. sanctions remain in place on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and its role in the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in order to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster Trump. Mueller indicted 13 individuals and three entities in Russia on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by posing as Americans to stoke political and racial tension on social media during the election.

Mueller's report concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's assistance in the 2016 campaign but found insufficient evidence to bring a charge of conspiracy. American law enforcement warns that Russia will likely step up its efforts during the 2020 election.

Trump continued his long-standing criticism of the media's coverage of the investigation on Saturday, saying "Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.'"

"When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!" Trump tweeted earlier on Saturday.

Trump questioned why the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC are allowed on Twitter and Facebook. He said much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

In fact, Mueller's investigation did not attempt to assess whether collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place. Collusion is not a legal term. The special counsel considered whether there was evidence of criminal conspiracy.

 CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a break in talks at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on February 28, 2019.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with North Korea 'will happen,' hours after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had fired new tactical guided weapons.



Trump said he believes Kim Jong Un will do nothing to interfere with the "great economic potential" of North Korea.



"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me," Trump said. "Deal will happen!"



Trump tweet: Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!



The South Korean military said Sunday that North Korea fired multiple rocket launchers including new tactical guided weapons. A military official told NBC News that Pyongyang did not launch ballistic missiles.

Seoul originally said the North had launched a single missile, but subsequently changed its language and said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified, short-range vertical objects.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the projectiles landed in the sea east of the Korean peninsula and never posed a threat to South Korea, Japan or the United States.

"We know that they were relatively short range and beyond that we know they weren't intercontinental ballistic missiles either," Pompeo said.

The South Korean president's office said Seoul and Washington are sharing detailed information and analyzing the material used in the projectiles and what exactly they were.

"In particular, we do notice that North Korea's action this time has taken place when the de-nuclearization dialogue is in lull state," presidential spokeswoman Koh Min Jung said. "We do hope that North Korea would positively participate in efforts to resume the dialogue."

A senior U.S. administration official told NBC News that National Security Advisor John Bolton had "fully briefed" Trump on the situation.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration is aware of North Korea's actions: "We will continue to monitor as necessary," she said.



In April, North Korea claimed to have "tested a powerful warhead" in the first public weapons test for the regime since Trump and Kim met for a historic summit in Singapore last year.



Trump and Kim held a second round of talks in Vietnam February of this year, but negotiations collapsed after Trump reportedly handed Kim a note demanding he turn over the North's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel.
Warren Buffett has shown a bigger interest in the oil industry with Berkshire Hathaway's recent $10 billion investment to back Occidental Petroleum's bid for Anadarko Petroleum, and he said it's a bet on the Permian Basin.

"I mean the Permian Basin is four million barrels a day. It's incredible," Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an interview before the start of Berkshire's 2019 annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Remember it was the last great find in the United States 40 years ago or more...The United States is producing 12 million barrels and four million" are from the Permian, he added.

Occidental revealed this week that Berkshire has committed to invest $10 billion in the company to help fund its proposed acquisition of Anadarko. Berkshire would make the investment by purchasing 100,000 shares of preferred stock, which pays out an 8% annual dividend.

Backed by Berkshire, Occidental's bid topped an earlier bid by Chevron. However, the "Oracle of Omaha" doesn't consider it to be a hostile deal because Anadarko wants to sell its properties.

"I mean it's not a hostile deal in that Anadarko had been talking to Occidental about the sale of their properties...It's different than Coca-Cola or something like that. You are buying physical assets...Anadarko wanted to sell...It wasn't like a private company being sold or a management controlled company," Buffett told Quick.

When asked about why Buffett didn't buy Anadarko outright, Buffett said he's not an expert on the oil industry.

"Charlie is quite impressed with the Permian Basin. He knows more about oil than I do, which isn't really much praise, but we both follow that," Buffett said.

The Permian Basin, which is 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, stretches from New Mexico to Texas and holds more than 20 of the top 100 oil fields in the country, according to Chevron.

"You can mess up oil fields very easily. A lot of that was done in the early days, so you can take a field that is huge and by foolish production techniques you can reduce the recoveries dramatically," Buffett said.

At a Q&A session at the annual meeting, when asked if Berkshire will do other large financing transactions in the future, Buffett said "Maybe there's one three or four years from now, it won't be identical. I hope it's larger. The point is we are very likely to get the call because we can do something that really no institution can do it."

"Well I like it," Charlie Munger, Berkshire's Vice Chairman and Buffett's longtime partner, said at the annual meeting, referring to the Occidental investment.
Warren Buffett tours the shopping kiosks at the 2019 BHASM in Omaha, NE on May 3rd, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway's Amazon bet seems to stray from Warren Buffett's value investing style, but the Oracle of Omaha said the e-commence giant still meets the philosophy.

"The people making the decision on Amazon are absolutely [as] much value investors as I was when I was looking around for all these things selling below working capital years ago. That has not changed," Buffett said Saturday during a Q&A session at Berkshire's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. "The considerations are identical when you buy Amazon versus ... say a bank stock that looks cheap against book value or earnings of some sort."

Berkshire Hathaway revealed this week that one of its investment managers has been buying shares of Amazon. The news sent Amazon's stock soaring more than 3% that day. The stock is up 30% this year.

Buffett said the money managers who bought Amazon shares took into consideration a slew of financial metrics including the company's sales, margins, tangible assets, excess cash and excess debt.

"All those things go into making a calculation as to whether they should buy A versus B versus C and they are absolutely following the principal...I don't second guess them," he added.

Berkshire has been sticking with big value companies such as Coca-Cola and Bank of America over the years, missing out on the big tech boom that saw some of the so-called FANG names crossing $1 trillion market cap. Buffett just started purchasing Apple as recently as February 2017.

Berkshire's vice chairman and longtime investing partner, Charlie Munger, said he'd forgiven himself for not investing in Amazon earlier, but missing out on Google is a hard one to swallow.

"Warren and I are a little older than some people... Of course if something extreme as the internet happens and you don't catch it, other people are going to blow by you ... I give myself a pass. But I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google better. I think Warren feels the same way," Munger said Saturday.

"We saw it in our own operations and how well the Google advertising is working and we just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger added.

Google parent Alphabet's stock has surged from about $96 a share at its inception in 2004 to about $1,189 today.
Warren Buffett's aversion to bitcoin just escalated.

"It's a gambling device... there's been a lot of frauds connected with it. There's been disappearances, so there's a lot lost on it. Bitcoin hasn't produced anything," Buffett told a group of reporters ahead of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"It doesn't do anything. It just sits there. It's like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me," he added.

Buffett even compared the cryptocurrency to a button on his jacket.

"I'll tear off a button here. What I'll have here is a little token...I'll offer it to you for $1000, and I'll see if I can get the price up to $2000 by the end of the day... But the button has one use and it's a very limited use," Buffett said.

Buffett had previously called bitcoin "rat poison squared," and Berkshire's vice chairman Charlie Munger said trading in cryptocurrencies is "just dementia." Bitcoin rallied to a six-month high on Friday, rebounding from a steep loss last year.

However, the Oracle of Omaha acknowledged the blockchain technology that bitcoin is built on has some promise.

"Blockchain...is very big, but it didn't need bitcoin. J.P. Morgan of course came out with their own cryptocurrency," Buffett said Saturday.

Asked if Buffett will get involved with blockchain, he said "We are probably doing it indirectly, but no, I wouldn't be the person to be a big leader in blockchain."
Max Beaverbrook: Not Quite a Gentleman by Charles Williams

Max Beaverbrook is one of the most entertaining figures ever to have sat in a British Cabinet. He did so twice, during both the First and the Second World Wars, despite being detested and distrusted by a large part of the Establishment.

And yet the Beaver, as he was known, has slipped almost into oblivion, a name but not much more to most people under the age of 70. This book performs the valuable task of bringing a strange and gifted figure once more before the public.

Charles Williams provides, at the start of this biography, a useful list of some of the people who loathed Beaverbrook. They included Kings George V and VI, Stanley Baldwin, Clement Attlee, Lords Alanbrooke and Curzon, Hugh Dalton, Ernest Bevin and a large segment of the Canadian political and industrial establishments.

But Winston Churchill decided he was just the man to put in charge of aircraft production in May 1940, and David Lloyd George entrusted propaganda to him in early 1918, when the Germans were gathering themselves for a last attempt at a knockout blow in the west.

Beaverbrook was an adventurer who spotted opportunities where others could only see problems; a businessman of genius whose early fortune was founded on attaining, by devious manoeuvres to which this author devotes too much attention, a near monopoly in Canadian cement.

He was born Max Aitken in 1879, the third son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who had emigrated to New Brunswick, in Canada, as there were no jobs going in Scotland. Max was a rebel who started out with nothing except a knowledge of the Bible, but who soon displayed astonishing gifts as a financier.

Having made large sums and a reputation for sharp practice in Canada, he moved to Britain, where in December 1910 he was elected Conservative MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. At the same time he made friends with Bonar Law, like him the son of a minister in New Brunswick, who the following year became Conservative Party leader.

Aitken was at the heart of the manoeuvres which at the end of 1916 saw Asquith supplanted as Prime Minister by Lloyd George, after which Aitken was raised to the peerage as the first Lord Beaverbrook.

The King was not pleased, nor were the upper reaches of the aristocracy. But Beaverbrook had taken control of The Daily Express, and was turning it into an enormous success, the greatest mid-market newspaper of its time, smart and popular and a source for its proprietor of great influence, for there could be no doubt who decided the editorial line.

Beaverbrook sent jolts of electricity through any outfit where he took control. He was a malicious bully who was also capable of great generosity, and who stood by friends when they got into trouble. He had a brilliant eye for talented subordinates.

He despised Stanley Baldwin, who dominated the Conservative Party for the 14 years after Bonar Laws death in 1923. Baldwin tempted Beaverbrook into overplaying his hand, and gave him and his fellow press baron Lord Rothermere a bloody nose by accusing them of exercising power without responsibility  the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.

It seemed as though Beaverbrooks career, except as a newspaper proprietor and a writer of vivid and perceptive books about Lloyd George and other men of power he had known, might well be over. Then the nation turned to Churchill, an outsider in Conservative Party terms, and Churchill needed to recruit other outsiders who could help him to grip and dynamise Whitehall.

This is the most exciting part of Williamss account. The pace quickens as Beaverbrook seeks to ensure that the RAF gets the planes it needs. He picks tremendous battles within the bureaucracy, threatens at frequent intervals to resign, but is told by the Prime Minister that he is indispensable.

For Churchill, Beaverbrook is a boon companion, a friend with whom in the darkest days of the war he can find relief from the almost intolerable burden of leadership, an ally who can be sent to negotiate with Stalin and Roosevelt, and who charms them too. Clementine Churchill, by contrast, regarded him with lifelong distrust.

The first sentence of this book reads:

Lady Diana Cooper, in her day one of Londons leading society lionesses, described Max Beaverbrook as this strange attractive gnome with an odour of genius about him.

The word lionesses will not do as a category in which to place Lady Diana. Nor is there any need for in her day. But the quotation which follows is wonderful.

This mixture runs through the book. Williams can be cloth-eared, but has a keen eye for good material. The dust jacket notes that he is 86. His industry puts many younger biographers to shame.

At times, however, it is excessive. He sketches more of the background to various early transactions than we really need, and this thoroughness is accompanied by a sense of responsibility which sometimes gets in the way of conveying his subjects utter irresponsibility.

He is not unscrupulous enough to revel in Beaverbrooks exploits. The author remarks that his own wife, Jane Portal, who got to know Beaverbrook in her capacity as Churchills secretary, still describes him as somebody you would instinctively walk away from.

Her instinctive reaction was right. Beaverbrook usually treated the women in his life, who were numerous, with cruel neglect once his eye had been attracted by new conquests.

To get an idea of how intolerable but also invigorating Beaverbrook was, the short sketch of him in old age by his great-nephew, Jonathan Aitken, published as the first essay in Heroes and Contemporaries (2006), is in some ways a better place to start.

Williams quotes an admirable description of Beaverbrook by Peter Masefield, who worked for him during the war:

He was unlike any other man I ever knew. For all his foibles and tough exterior, he was at heart deeply sensitive and often lonely. Critical, thrusting, demanding, self-centred and intolerant, he could be kind and even generous, just as he could be hasty and vindictive. He could reverse passionate feelings within hours. He perpetually maintained a hard front, even when the man inside had softened. I often thought of the frightened little boy in Canada, whose Presbyterian father had drunk away the familys slender funds.

The religion mattered. Beaverbrook was steeped in it, and said it was better to be an evangelist than a cabinet minister or a millionaire. As a lapsed Calvinist, he suffered from deep feelings of guilt, and was profoundly hurt by the scathing reviews given to one of his last books, The Divine Propagandist, which attempted to present the life of Jesus as it appears to worldly men of my generation.

Williams touches on the religion, but does not convey how important it was. Perhaps that is an impossible task. Beaverbrook was good at covering his tracks, and in 1964, shortly before his death, had a lot of his personal papers burned.

He liked buying up other mens papers, and controlling access to them during his lifetime, but there were strict limits to how mischievous the great mischief maker wanted anyone else to be at his own expense.

It is a pity he is not better known today, for among many other qualities, he was a remarkable journalist, who for over 60 years cultivated at his various houses a range of contacts of which most people could only dream, and was ruthless and vulgar enough to publish what they told him, except when he was covering up Churchills stroke or Tom Dribergs trial for indecent assault.

Beaverbrooks refusal to treat the Establishment with the respect it believed it deserved was attractive to men of the Left such as Driberg, Michael Foot and A.J.P.Taylor.

But it was not attractive to Attlee. When Churchill said during the 1945 general election that a Labour government would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo  an accusation against his wartime coalition partner which was generally reckoned to have gone much too far  Attlee was quick to counter-attack, while at the same time exculpating Churchill, whom he liked and admired:
Local elections 1) The Conservatives lose 1,300 councillors, the worst results since 1995

The results in full  BBC

Conservatives must change course, or die  Leader, Daily Telegraph

The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blairs humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago as they lost 1,269 council seats. Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a devastating voter backlash over Brexit. On a night described as brutal by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live TV interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents. Labour, which had expected to profit from the Conservatives failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful Opposition leader of the past 40 years.  Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: The local election aftermath. May and Corbyn are like two spooked children, drawing nearer for comfort as the thunder rages.

>Yesterday:

Local elections 2) There is worse to come, warns Javid.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted voters had issues of trust over Brexit, and said the European elections would be even more challenging. But, in a rallying cry to Conservatives in Aberdeen, he said that a divided party cannot unite a divided nationThe home secretary said the party risked losing voters trust after not delivering on a promise at the heart of our last manifesto. And, speaking about the European elections, due to take place on 23 May, he said: We shouldnt be surprised if people tick the protest box on the ballot paper. Without anything else at stake, it will be a verdict on the delivery of Brexit.  BBC

Home Secretary vows to secure more funding for the police  The Sun

Local elections 3) May to be told she must set a departure date

How can the battered Tories defend themselves with a leader whos keeping them on their knees?  Leader, The Sun

One member of the 1922 Committee  has already told colleagues that he has changed his mind and would now favour a rule change to allow a challenge  James Forsyth, The Sun

Theresa May will be told by senior Tories that she must set a date for her departure next week after their party was given its worst drubbing in local elections in almost a quarter of a centuryThe head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, will meet the prime minister when the Commons returns on Tuesday to request that she set a timetable for her departure. It is understood that Sir Graham met Mrs May before the elections on Thursday but agreed to defer the committees demand for her to set a date to leave until after the vote. Yesterday a source on the committee said that if Mrs May refused to set a date they could move to rewrite the rules to allow a fresh no-confidence vote in her leadership. Priti Patel, the former cabinet minister, led calls for Mrs May to go while Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, called on the 1922 Committee to take action.  The Times

.>Today: Dinah Glover on Comment: The Prime Minister lacks empathy, negotiates badly  and doesnt lead. The Conservative Party needs to get her out now.

>Yesterday: WATCH: May heckled at the Welsh Conservative conference. Why dont you resign?

Local elections 4) Labour lost seats too

Labour had expected to make gains, but instead suffered a net loss, and lost control of a string of councils, including Burnley, Darlington and Wirral.Many Labour MPs suggested the results underlined the urgency for Labour to shift to a full-throated remain position. But Corbyn insisted: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done. Parliament has to resolve this issue  I think that is very, very clear. Close Corbyn allies Ian Lavery and Richard Burgon echoed his message, saying Brexit was detracting from a string of other crucial issues, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the message from voters was: Brexit  sort it.  The Guardian

Sir Tony Robinson resign from the Labour Party  The Sun

McDonnell had predicted 400 net gains  Daily Express

How Corbyn was snared in a death trap by trying to appeal to either side of the Brexit debate but ended up offending both  Peter Oborne, Daily Mail

Local elections 5) Lib Dems feeling tiggerish

Pavement politics can still matter  Sir John Curtice, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 6) Charge of the independents

Sir Vince Cable, who is preparing to stand down as leader, described his party as the big success story of the night. He took a swipe at Change UK, which also backs a second Brexit referendum, saying: We are clearly the dominant, successful Remain party. Change UK was not formed in time to compete in the local elections but will field candidates in the European elections on May 23. A Lib Dem source said that their party had a bounce in our step and we are feeling Tiggerish, a play on Change UKs first name, the Independent Group (TIG), and the Tiggers nickname given to its members. On a bruising night for the two main parties, the Lib Dems scored a victory in Leave-supporting Chelmsford, Essex, where they are now in control of the council. They also took councils including North Devon, North Norfolk, Winchester, Cotswold and Vale of White Horse in OxfordshireThe Lib Dems also did well in typically strong Labour areas like Hull and Barnsley. Lib Dem sources played down the idea that the party was simply the beneficiary of protest votes, pointing out that it had taken seats in areas where it had a strong local history.  The Times

A community fed up with party politics has seized control of its council as independent candidates made big gains across the country. Voters in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, elected a new independent party to 30 of the councils 35 seats amid anger at Brexit wrangling. Only three Conservative councillors and two Labour survived as 65 per cent of the working-class districts voters backed the Ashfield Independents, with candidates in some wards taking 90 per cent of the vote. The humiliation for Labour in Ashfield came as independent candidates made sweeping gains across the UK, with more than 575 new councillors elected and 997 independents taking seats. In North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, the Tories lost control as eight independents were elected, while in the Labour heartland of Bolsover, Derbyshire the party lost control of the district council for the first time in 40 years. Among 11 new independents was Ross Walker, a bricklayer who went into politics after the council cut down a sycamore tree commemorating his grandfather.  The Times

Local elections 7) Green Party boasts of phenomenal gains

Local elections 8) Thousands of spoiled ballot papers

The Greens have hailed a phenomenal set of local election results Bartleys co-leader, Sian Berry, said the party had won its first councillors in areas not seen as traditionally Green areas, including South Tyneside, Sunderland, Colchester, Folkestone and the Cotswolds. Weve broken through on to the councils to become the new voice, she told BBC News. Weve done that through hard work, basically. I can pretty confidently say were going to have a record number of Greens on a record number of councils. In Sunderland, the Greens defeated Labour in Washington South. In South Tyneside, the party crushed Labour as its candidate took more than two-thirds of the vote to become the first Green member of the council.  The Guardian

Election results were delayed in parts of England overnight after so many people had deliberately spoilt their ballot papers. Some voters scribbled Brexit means Brexit, Get May out and us out of the EU or traitors on their forms and refused to mark crosses against any candidates names. Each of the spoilt papers had to be individually adjudicated and the number to be examined was higher than normal in Ipswich, Suffolk  delaying the result.In Basildon alone there were 800 spoilt ballot papers, reported BBC Essex. Brexit Party MEP candidate Michael Heaver said the figure showed huge anger out there. It was 200 in Immingham, Lincolnshire, with councillor David Watson saying: That is a phenomenal amount. The residents have disengaged with the political process. Meanwhile there were 414 in Castle Point, 600 in Tendring and 539 in Chelmsford, all in Essex, plus 647 in Folkestone & Hythe, Kent, and 693 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.  Daily Mail

Local elections 9) DUP holding up in Northern Ireland results so far

Son of murdered prison officer ecstatic as he thanks supporters after election  Belfast Telegraph

Local elections 10) Rees-Mogg: It could be a blessing in disguise

It was a good day for the Alliance and a bad one for the UUP and the TUV. Sinn Fein and the DUP look to be holding up their vote. Greens and People Before Profit had notable victories while the new pro-life party Aontu secured its first seat. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (which finished up at 6am), Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Mid Ulster councils have all completed meaning with still have eight councils still to declare.  Belfast Telegraph

People who normally vote Tory either stayed at home or voted for a protest party, be it Liberal Democrats, Greens or independents. Labour suffered too because it also failed to deliver on its Brexit promises. Thus, the warning shot has been fired and the Conservative Party must heed it. While the importance of local government must not be understated, this could possibly be a blessing in disguise as it now gives the Tories the opportunity to make the things right that have gone wrong. Inevitably, this will be with a new leader. Mrs May has already announced that she will retire before the next election but it must be someone who will advocate Conservative principles, put them into action and ensure that promises and deeds match.  Jacob Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 11) Parris: These results show remainers must unite

The Voters Verdict  Leader, The Times

Something is rotten in Britains political system  Leader, Financial Times

Leadership 1) Davis declares for Raab

Surely this cries out for a temporary alliance of Remain-leaning political movements, and a temporary coming-together of Remain-leaning voters? Its too late for this in the European elections due on May 23. Change UK appears to have blocked co-operation. The Lib Dems are open to it. The Greens just might. But a leaked alleged strategy document from the Tiggers makes ugly reading. Strategy: Win over LD activists and members . . . attract support and resources from LD backers . . . draw attention to any ex-LD [parliamentary candidates] joining TIG . . .. Change UKs response when this was published was hardly a denial. And an article by Umunna, defending his partys disinclination to get into bed with anyone else, was shot through with an overconfident, even conceited, expectation of a moment that never came.  Matthew Parris, The Times

We will need a leader with focus and drive, a combination of conviction and tenacity. There is no shortage of talent in our party, but the demands on him or her will be great. Bluntly Brexit alone will require a unique combination of intellect, determination, decisiveness and courage. The next stage of Brexit, and the coming election will both be a real test of the character of the next prime minister. With all these considerations the standout candidate is Dominic Raab, so I will back him if he runs. I have known and worked with Dominic over the last 13 years so I know he has the vision and personal attributes required to lead us at these crossroads in our history.  David Davis, Daily Mail

Leadership 2) Gove claims to be a team player

Leadership 3) Hunt speaks out against the Customs Union

Michael Gove has insisted he has not gone soft on Brexit as he pledged to strive to get it over the line in the wake of the Tories disastrous local election resultsSpeaking from his parents home in Aberdeen, he also said he had learned from his botched 2016 Tory leadership campaign and insisted he was now a team player. Although he refused to be drawn on whether he intends to stand again in the race to succeed Theresa May, he argued that his conduct since being recalled from the subs bench showed his fellow Tory MPs that he is trustworthy. With his mother and father watching on, he paid tribute to them for instilling in him compassion and being unafraid to tell him home truths over his mistakes.  Interview with Michael Gove, Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt makes another thinly veiled leadership pitch by speaking out against the prospect of Britain staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit. The Foreign Secretary warned that it would fail British exporters because the UK would have no say in trade deals the EU signs with third countries.His comments came in an interview with the Press Association where he refused to reveal the naughtiest thing he has done  because its too X-rated. But the Foreign Secretary said it was definitely naughtier than running through a wheat field, which Theresa May famously said was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.  The Sun

Foreign Secretarys wife is his secret weapon  Daily Telegraph

Leadership 4) Hancock: Voters want the centre, not the extremes

Sedwill accused of failing to investigate troop numbers leak

 We need to deliver Brexit and then turn the page and we need to deliver from the centre ground, says Matt Hancock. The 40-year-old health secretary could be the new-generation Conservative leadership candidate. He is wearing jeans, a T-shirt and trainers when we meet the morning after the local elections at a cafe packed with mothers and babies in Kensal Rise, northwest London, where he orders us all a latte and fried banana bread and leans back to discuss the results.He dislikes the way some in his party, including the prime minister, have disparaged citizens of nowhere who havent stayed close to their roots.We need the Conservatives to be not just comfortable with modern Britain but champions of modern Britain.  Interview with Matt Hancock, The Times

Sir Mark Sedwill, the man behind the leak inquiry that led to Gavin Williamsons sacking, has been accused of refusing to investigate a leak which risked putting soldiers lives in danger. Allies of the former minister claimed Sir Mark had declined to intervene when a newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was to almost double the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr Williamson was so concerned that the story would compromise troop safety that he had tried to issue a D-Notice  the mechanism used to prevent newspapers reporting the most sensitive security issues. Sir Mark, however, declined to instigate a leak inquiry despite two separate requests from the then minister, according to Mr Williamsons allies.  Daily Telegraph

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy demands to see the evidence against Williamson  The Sun

Davidson promises an end to constitutional games

News in brief

The age of political volatility  Sunder Katwala, CapX

How the Tories can turn their dire election results around  James Forsyth, The Spectator

Grieve escapes deselection proceedings despite losing confidence vote  Independent

This climate change fantasy will cripple our economy  Benny Peiser, Conservative Woman

Neoliberals must retake the reins of the Conservative Party  Samuel Prosser, 1828

Ruth Davidson will deliver a withering assessment of Nicola Sturgeons record in government on Saturday as she promises no more constitutional games and no more referendums if she becomes Scotlands next First Minister. The Scottish Conservative leader will tell delegates at the party conference that the country must get out of the trenches of the last decade of Yes and No, Leave and Remain. Setting out her plan to replace Ms Sturgeon in 2021 she will pledge to build a better Scotland now, using the Scottish Parliaments powers, rather than blaming Westminster and agitating for independence.- Daily Telegraph
74%

Website aeolus.sk uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 8761 bytes (8.56 kb uncompressed) and 3820 bytes (3.73 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-20, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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Website chmail.ir uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 26128 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 1448 bytes (1.41 kb uncompressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-10-02, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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Website zubilovaz.ru uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 23764 bytes (23.21 kb uncompressed) and 7151 bytes (6.98 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-25, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
You might think that archaeology is nothing but sifting through the dirt trying to find 3,000-year-old toilet pits. But since we make the past every single day, the whole field of preserving history has had to step up its game. That means we're digging up 20th-century artifacts in places that are far stranger than any viking crapper. For example ...

5 The Original Lunar Photos Were Recovered From Somebody's Filthy Backyard

From '66 to '67, five NASA lunar orbiters took pictures of the moon's surface to pinpoint the best landing sites to model Stanley Kubrick's set after. These pictures, including the first-ever earthrise image, were beamed directly into magnetic tape decks. And in deference to their lofty purpose, these tapes were preserved with the same dignity afforded to your weird uncle's collection of 1970s amateur porn. They were printed once, in really terrible quality, and then shoved in a dusty box to be forgotten

Fast-forward to 2004, when NASA hackers in an old Usenet group learned that retired archivist Nancy Evans had saved the tapes from being destroyed in 1986. And when they tracked Evans down, they found both the tapes and the refrigerator-sized drives to read them on in her backyard garden shed, surrounded by farm animals. Together, Evans and the hackers launched the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (or LOIRP), tasking themselves with recovering the history trapped inside the hundreds of tapes. They established their base of operations in the greatest symbol of JFK's America: an abandoned McDonald's.
The AIDAstella made her inaugural call to Gibraltar on Friday, April 26, according to a statement.

Minister for Tourism Gilbert Licudi QC said: The call by the first AIDA cruise ship is significant and shows that Gibraltar continues to be an important port of call for cruise ships in the Mediterranean.

As with other inaugurals, there was an exchange of plaques onboard the ship between the Captain and representatives of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, the Port Authority and local shipping agents Lucas Imossi.
STRATFORD  Oronoque Village will host its sixth annual Mini Walk and Car Show to benefit the Alzheimers Associations Connecticut Chapter on Saturday morning, June 1 (rain date is Sunday, June 2).

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the South Clubhouse parking lot on South Trail and the short walk, loops around South Trail, starting at 9:30. The recommended entry donation is $10 per walker, but donations above the entry are very much appreciated. Water will be provided for the walkers. At 10 a.m. the Car Show begins in the back parking lot. A $10 entry donation per car is recommended. There will also be a bake sale so please bring money to indulge in our delectable baked goodies after the walk!
Contributed Photo / Google Maps

STRATFORD  Melanie M. Ordner, a 55-year old Stratford resident, was found dead in a vehicle in a New Hampshire store parking lot on Thursday, state police there said.

Around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, troopers from Troop A in New Hampshire responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the southbound State Liquor Store parking lot along Interstate 95 in Hampton, N.H., state police said.
Our own Bruce Siwy and Eric Kieta talk about their true-crime cases in Return To View: The Roundtable
CRUDE OIL PRICE FORECAST  TALKING POINTS

Selling pressure in crude sent oil prices tumbling over 2.5 percent before trimming losses during Fridays session to finish the week roughly 1 percent lower

A surprise stockpile build in the US sent oil prices swooning while calls on OPEC to increase production countered the prospect of supply constraints from the expiration of Iranian sanctions

Crude oil price outlook now shifts focus to the possibility of a US-China trade deal next week which could boost future demand for the commodity if materialized

Crude oil dipped 1.17 percent to $62.15/bbl over the last 5 trading days, inking back-to-back weekly losses for the commodity. The primary driver of recent downside could be attributed to reports from the EIA that crossed the wires during Thursdays session which stated US crude stockpiles skyrocketed 9.9m/bbl to their highest level since September 2017.

US OIL PRODUCTION AND CRUDE INVENTORIES

Source: EIA, Reuters | Henning Gloystein

Ballooning crude oil production in the US now tops 12m/bpd and largely contributed to the recent bulge in oil inventories. The trend looks to continue after the Trump administration announced that the Interior Department released a fresh set of regulations last week that makes offshore oil drilling easier for energy companies.

Furthermore, President Trump continues to demand that OPEC increases its output after oil prices have soared since the start of the year  but the recent threats of higher supply has sent crude plunging in response. Also, Saudi Arabia is already rumored to have plans in place to boost production ahead of an expected spike in domestic demand during the summer.

That being said, the updated EIA short-term energy outlook report is due for release on May 7 and looks to provide oil market participants with the latest comprehensive insight over potential supply and demand imbalances.

OIL DEMAND & US-CHINA TRADE DEAL

Looking forward, however, global demand for crude oil  and consequently its price  hinges principally on the final outcome of US-China trade talks which are now expected to conclude within the next two weeks. A positive outcome where the worlds largest two economies reach a trade deal looks to provide a solid boost to global growth and thus demand for oil.

Although, this scenario has largely been factored into market pricing already and may limit potential upside in oil prices. On the other hand, a negative outcome where the US and China fail to reach an agreement could quite possibly derail bullish prospects for oil demand and prices.

TRADING RESOURCES

Whether you are a new or experienced trader, DailyFX has multiple resources available to help you: an indicator for monitoring trader sentiment; quarterly trading forecasts; analytical and educational webinars held daily; trading guides to help you improve trading performance, and even one for those who are new to FX trading.

- Written by Rich Dvorak, Junior Analyst for DailyFX

- Follow @RichDvorakFX on Twitter
MIDDLETOWN >> Approximately two dozen residents of Chester and Delaware counties, joined by state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, and a representative of U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, met Friday morning at the site of Sunocos latest known sinkhole along Route 1 in Middletown.

Since assuming office in 2016, Quinn has repeatedly expressed his concerns about the risks to public safety associated with the proposed Mariner East pipelines.

Shut it down, said Quinn. Ive visited the sinkholes in the Lisa Drive area, but this area is built on granite.

There shouldnt be sinkholes here  yet there are. Its like youre driving a car when a warning light comes on. You need to stop immediately and get it checked out. Im calling for an immediate halt to construction and operation of these pipelines.

Signs were held high for the benefit of drivers on Route 1.

Gov. (Tom) Wolf needs to shut down these dangerous pipelines now, said Linda Ciavarelli, a Middletown resident and health care provider whose property lies in the blast zone of Sunocos proposed hazardous, highly volatile liquids export project, marketed as Mariner East.

There is no way that this sinkhole did not expose the leaky old 12-inch workaround pipeline. This project is putting our community, our first responders, and workers at unacceptable risk.

Delaware County Council procured an assessment of the risks associated with Mariner East, which was publicly released in November 2018. It predicted lethal blast and thermal effects resulting from a leak of highly volatile liquids from Mariner East could extend a mile and a quarter from the point of a release.

The 12-by-12- by-12 foot sinkhole opened near the State Police Barracks in Middletown on Wednesday, April 24. Apparently, before notifying appropriate regulatory agencies such as Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utility Commission, or Middletown Township, Sunoco filled the sinkhole with flowable fill, a kind of concrete.

While the sinkhole appears to be directly over the centerline of the 12-inch workaround pipeline, these agencies currently have no knowledge of whether this sinkhole exposed the line. The nearby 8-inch Mariner East 1, another 1930s-era Sunoco pipeline, was shut down by the PUC in 2018 and again in 2019, both times after the pipeline was exposed by sinkholes in Chester County.

Middletown Council Chairman Mark Kirchgasser wrote to the chairman of the PUC on April 29. In his letter, Kirchgasser stated on behalf of a unanimous township council, We have grave concerns that despite an unexplained subsidence with no determined cause in an otherwise stable area that an aged, repurposed 12-inch line carrying highly volatile liquids is allowed to continue to operate without a clear cause for the event, or any knowledge of what an adequate remedy to the subsidence issue could or would otherwise be.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Sunoco continue to investigate the subsidence that occurred in front of the State Police barracks; both parties assert to the township that the 12-inch HVL line is safe to operate. While Sunoco has answered all of our inquiries, Middletown Township firmly stands by our letter to the chairman of the PUC and requests that the 12-inch HVL line be shut down until a clear cause of the subsidence has been made.

The sinkhole is next to the shoulder of heavily trafficked Route 1, adjacent to the Pennsylvania State Police Media Barracks, and across the street from Granite Farms Estates retirement community and the Rocky Run YMCA.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance, said there is no prof that the sinkhole is related to the pipeline.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has proven itself to be an effective watchdog that relies on science and engineering before rendering decisions. There has been no definitive report to conclusively determine cause in this area, and there is risk. No portion of the pipeline was exposed, Knaus said.
If Shakespeare had titled Attorney General William Barrs appearance on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he would have called it Much Ado About Nothing.

Democrats seized on the supposed bombshell that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Barr expressing dissatisfaction with the attorney generals four-page memo to Congress from March 24, declaring it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of his report. Barr told senators upon receiving the special counsels letter that he immediately called Mueller and said Bob, whats with the letter? Why dont you just pick up the phone and call me if theres an issue?

Heres a better question he should have asked: Bob, why didnt you accept my offer to review the memo before it was released to the public?

The fact is, Barr gave Mueller the chance to go over the document, and offer comments or suggested edits, before the attorney general made it public. Mueller declined to do so. Sorry, you dont get to turn down an opportunity to review a document before release, and then complain about it later if you dont like how it is being covered by the media.

And putting his complaints in a letter  going to paper in Justice Department parlance  the details of which (surprise, surprise) were then leaked to the media on the eve of Barrs testimony, was dishonorable. The entire episode hurts Muellers reputation more than it does Barrs.

Moreover, officials told The Washington Post, When Barr pressed [Mueller] whether he thought Barrs letter was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not, but felt that the media coverage of the letter was misinterpreting the investigation. So, there was nothing wrong with Barrs letter per se. What Mueller really wanted was for Barr to release more information  specifically the introduction and executive summaries of each volume of the report, which he had marked with redactions to remove any information that potentially could be protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure that concerned declination decisions; or that related to a charged case.

But, as Barr testified on Wednesday, even if he had agreed that releasing the introductions and executive summaries was a good idea (which he did not), he could not have done so because they required additional redactions from the intelligence community. Barr did not want to release the report piecemeal. I thought what we should do is focus on getting the full report out as quickly as possible, he said. The attorney general did just that.

Regardless, the whole issue was moot by the time Barr testified, because the entire 448-page report  including the introduction and executive summaries  has been released to the public. That did not stop Democrats from using it to attack Barrs credibility. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told Barr you lied to Congress and had chosen to be the presidents lawyer rather than Americas lawyer. She announced that she had asked the Justice Department inspector general to investigate his conduct. She called on Barr to resign. Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. It was a disgusting partisan display. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rightly chastised Hirono, declaring, You slandered this man from top to bottom.

ar from lying, Barr has bent over backward to be open with Congress and the American people. He overrode Justice Department regulations, and released the full Mueller report with only minor redactions. Thats virtually unprecedented. And he has made an almost completely unredacted version of the report available to members of Congress, who now have access to all but one-tenth of 1 percent of the document. And while the Justice Department worked overtime to speed the redaction process, he released a memo which accurately informed the American people about Muellers bottom line conclusions. It is a fact that Mueller declared that his investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

And it is a fact that while the report does not exonerate him of obstruction it also does not conclude that the President committed a crime. For two years, Trump was falsely accused of being a Russian agent and colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin  including by many of those on Capitol Hill now attacking Barrs credibility. If members of Congress want examples of dishonesty and efforts to mislead the American people, they can start by looking in the mirror.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post Writers Group
Only a fool believes the political landscape will never change. As the Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan once told his aides: There are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of.

As it happens, Callaghan said those words almost exactly four decades ago, as he was preparing to lose the 1979 election to Margaret Thatcher.

Perhaps the Tories should reflect on the irony that yesterday, which saw one of their most wretched electoral performances in recent times, was the 40th anniversary of one of their greatest landmarks, when Margaret Thatcher won her first General Election.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion.

Triumphant: Margaret Thatcher, flanked by husband Denis and son Mark, salutes the party faithful on May 4, 1979

The truth, however, is that the political landscape over which the Iron Lady presided has largely disappeared.

Voters today are angrier, more frustrated, less deferential. Influenced by social media more than ancestral loyalty, they are more likely to swing between extremes, and much more likely to be wooed by radical new groups.

A number of voters took to social media to boast of spoiling their ballot papers in the local elections. People shared images of voting slips with messages including Get May out, Brexit betrayal and Traitors written across them.

These are not normal times.

Despite the Tories taking a battering and Labour performing wretchedly, their spokesmen yesterday robotically intoned prepared lines about their determination to listen and learn from voters frustrations. But if the two main parties think things will soon return to normal, they are deceiving themselves.

For with Brexit having rewritten the rules of British politics, I believe these local elections are a last warning for the two historic parties of government.

Unless something changes radically, the local elections may well go down in history as the first part of a three or four-act drama that could reshape the landscape of British politics to an extent not seen since the 1920s.

And with European elections likely to follow on May 23, and a possible General Election or second referendum to come, both the Conservatives and Labour are in serious danger of being torn apart completely.

Conservative MP Vicky Ford after the Tories lost a comfortable majority in Chelmsford, Essex

Much of this story, of course, is about Brexit. For as soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box.

The Prime Minister can hardly blame them. For almost three years, she has assured us that her priority is to deliver Brexit. Yet the original deadline for leaving the EU has come and gone, and she has conspicuously failed to do so.

This is not entirely her fault. If all Tory MPs had backed her withdrawal deal, their party would surely not be in such a mess. But the British people are perfectly entitled to conclude that many Tory MPs have completely lost the plot, and are more interested in ideological posturing and self-promotion than in reaching a compromise in the national interest.

It is true, of course, that Conservative governments often do badly in local elections.

It is generally forgotten, for example, that David Cameron lost a whopping 2,000 council seats between 2012 and 2014, but still won an overall majority at the next General Election.

Yet if the Tories think they can easily repeat the trick, then they are even more deluded than I thought.

Whatever you think of Mr Cameron, his government gave an impression of competence and unity. By contrast, these abysmal results come against a background of unprecedented Tory divisions, infighting and paralysis.

No wonder that, among the public at large, frustration and anger are running higher than at any time I can remember.

Leave voters, in particular, are outraged that Britains exit from the EU seems to have been delayed indefinitely. But many Remain voters, too, can barely contain their exasperation with a Government that seems incapable of winning a vital vote in the Commons.

The one consolation for the Tories is that Labour is doing equally badly. For while governments almost always lose council seats, it is extraordinary to see the main Opposition party haemorrhaging seats, too.

In other circumstances, Labour might expect to be celebrating a tremendous night.

Under Ed Miliband in 2012, Labour won more than 800 seats. Yet on Thursday, facing a far weaker Tory Government, it lost at least 87 seats, which suggests it would find it very hard to win a majority at a General Election.

Labours performance in many working-class Leave areas was astonishingly bad.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion

In the West Midlands it lost control of Dudley, while the Tories gained control of Walsall.

And in the North East, Labour lost control of Hartlepool, shed seats in Sunderland and lost the mayoralty of Middlesbrough to an independent.

The explanation is no mystery.

Labours flagrant dishonesty on Brexit has disgusted Leave voters, who rightly suspect most Labour MPs would like to pretend the referendum result never happened.

Yet at the same time, Jeremy Corbyns refusal to back a second referendum has alienated enthusiastic Remainers, who turned on Thursday to the Lib Dems. So in effect, Labour has tried to be all things to all men and ended up pleasing very few.

On top of that, Labour is suffering badly from the Corbyn factor.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst.

Social media data shows hard-Left websites are losing support. And Mr Corbyns shameless evasions on Brexit have clearly alienated thousands of youngsters, who care more about staying in the EU than they do about his weird enthusiasms for Palestine, Venezuela, punitive taxes and the nationalisation of water.

The longer Mr Corbyn remains as Labour leader, the more he looks like just another shop-soiled, dishonest politician.

Indeed, given that almost every week brings some new accusation of anti-Semitism, I find it hard to see how his personal ratings, already dire, can ever improve.

As soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box

What both major parties need is a long break to rest and reflect  but that is precisely what they are not going to get. For, barring some miraculous breakthrough in their Brexit talks, the bloodied, weary combatants will have to drag themselves back into the ring for the dramas second act: the European elections.

And although it is never wise to make predictions these days, I am very happy to stick my neck out.

Turnout will almost certainly be dreadful. The Tories will do abysmally, probably sinking below 20 per cent of the vote. Labour will lose votes to the Lib Dems, the Greens and the new Change UK party, which will divide up the Remain vote between them.

Above all, the big winners, sweeping up Leave supporters across the country, will be the Brexit Party, with perhaps as much as a third of the vote.

The day after the results come through, every paper will carry a prominent picture of a grinning Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, raising a pint in victory.

In other words: chaos. And if that scenario does materialise, I dont expect things to become any clearer over the summer.

If the Tories do as badly in the European elections as everybody expects, the pressure on Mrs May to stand down will probably become intolerable.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst

That would mean the Tories could face a summer leadership contest, which could well tear the Conservative Party in two and see the Government fall from office.

Most Tory insiders think that if a Brexiteer such as Boris Johnson made it to the final run-off between two candidates, he would almost certainly sweep to victory with the partys national membership.

But if he did win, many pro-Remain MPs might refuse to support a Johnson government, forcing him to call a snap election.

Alternatively, Tory MPs might gang up to keep Mr Johnson (or another Brexiteer such as Dominic Raab) out of the final two. If that happened, the grassroots could revolt en masse.

In turn, that would be a huge boost to the Brexit Party and could create an irreparable rift between Tory MPs and party activists.

In other words, the Conservatives would be damned if they did and damned if they didnt.

For Labour, the picture is scarcely brighter. If it does badly in the European elections, there could be more defections to Change UK.

And if Change UK and the Lib Dems have the sense to strike a formal alliance, the newcomers could easily position themselves as the natural home of liberal, do-gooding Remainers.

That would leave Labour as well, as what?

As the natural home of working-class Leavers? That doesnt seem likely, given the pro-European predilections of many of its MPs.

As the last redoubt of anti-Semites, crypto-Communists and the Fidel Castro fan club?

That would be true to Mr Corbyns convictions, but I cant imagine such a party would fare very well at a General Election.

Should anything like this come to pass, all bets would be off. Anyone who claims to know what the political landscape will look like this time next year is a fantasist.

Not since the early 1920s, when Labour supplanted the Liberals as Britains main anti-Conservative party, has politics been so fragmented. And the comparison seems particularly apposite because then, as now, seismic change led to the proliferation of insurgent alternatives, rather like todays Brexit Party and Change UK.

Among the candidates at the 1922 election, for example, were 334 Liberals, 155 National Liberals, three Independent Liberals, 20 Independent Conservatives, five Communists, four Agriculturalists and four Independent Labour candidates. And although things had calmed down a bit by the 1924 election  the third in three years  there were still 12 Constitutionalist candidates, among them a certain Winston Churchill.

The big winners in the end were the Tories and Labour. But had the Liberals remained united, they might have seen off the Labour challenge and political history would have been very different.

The fate of those Liberals, once a mighty party of government, should be a chilling warning for todays mainstream parties.

Adrift in this bewildering new world and apparently baffled by Brexit, they seem incapable of charting a new course. And if they continue to haemorrhage votes, the next General Election could see one, even both, swept away.

Given how both the Tories and Labour have behaved over the past three years, I suspect few people would mourn their demise.

Yet the alternative  a fragmented, European-style mosaic of squabbling parties  would hardly make for effective Government.

And if that sounds bad, theres an even grimmer possibility.

What if the Tories fall apart and Labour dont? What if a chaotic General Election ends with Jeremy Corbyn walking into No 10, to the cheers of assorted Communists, Trotskyists, anti-Semites and the Russian secret service?

You might think it could never happen. But if the political shocks of the past few years have told us anything, it very certainly could.
Advertisement

Julian Coulston's battle with a rare bone cancer wasn't one he was left to fight on his own.

His girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018, with doctors in Melbourne, Victoria, telling the couple chemotherapy had failed.

And she stood next to him on March 28 at their dream wedding ceremony, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.

Sadly, that only meant another eight days for Julian.

Julian's girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, (both pictured) stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018

The 27-year-old was told by specialists that the last round of treatment had been ineffective and they would have to remove 100 per cent of his sacrum - which is connected to the pelvis - if he wanted any chance of survival.

Vital nerves that control bowel and leg function would also be taken out as a result and he'd be unable to walk.

Above all else, surgery couldn't promise that the cancerous cells wouldn't return a third time either.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle.

So she reached out to volunteer group My Wedding Wish in hopes they could help make their special day come true.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle (Ayla pictured)

The company provides free weddings - with the help and support of the local community - to terminally ill brides and grooms.

Julian and Ayla's application was approved within the hour.

'The only issue was that Julian was currently in Peter Mac Hospital undergoing pain management protocols. We all had to wait, eager to create magic, but unable to without a time or place for the wedding,' the company wrote on their Facebook page.

'On March 26 a date was set because doctors couldn't get Julian's pain under control and we were concerned this may change. We had two days.

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day.'

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day,' My Wedding Wish wrote on Facebook

My Wedding Wish organised the cake, Ayla's wedding dress, a suit for Julian and the legal proceedings in just a few short hours, with a photographer, celebrant and makeup artist soon to follow.

With Julian's health deteriorating the wedding was set to be one of the most emotional days for the two families joining as one, with images from the day showcasing just how close the couple were.

'The next day, Thursday March 28, 2019, a stunning autumn day, close friends and family gathered at 2pm to watch Julian and Ayla marry in a moving ceremony,' the team at My Wedding Wish wrote online.

'There were a lot of tears and there was so much joy.'

In writing to the charity foundation a few days after her nuptials, Ayla expressed extreme gratitude for the team who brought her the greatest gift of all: Eternal love.

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' Ayla said

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' she said.

'I can't believe the generosity of everyone who helped pull off the wedding.

'I cried out of bittersweet happiness because I finally married my best friend of seven years and it will always mean the world to me.'

In the weeks prior to the wedding, Ayla had been packing up their home in Melbourne to move as Julian wanted to be in New Zealand surrounded by family when he died.

They were due to fly out on the evening of April 3, 2019, and that night the new little family prepared to jet off abroad.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand

Harry from Melbourne Portraits dropped by that evening to deliver their wedding album. Julian was able to reminisce on the day he married his wife.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand.

He was in too much pain to board the three-and-a-half hour flight and had to be admitted back into hospital.

Julian died two days later in the arms of his beloved wife on April 5 and his funeral will be in the country he had hoped to return to on May 4.

You can donate to Julian's funeral fund by visiting this website.
From Victoria to The Crown, we cant get enough of TV dramas about British royals.

The latest to hit our screens is about another queen of England, albeit one who has often seemed like the side story in the bigger tale of her husbands murderous reign.

The Spanish Princess, a sequel to the hits The White Queen and The White Princess about the Wars of the Roses and the early days of the Tudor dynasty, centres on Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs first wife.

It shows her before she was scorned in favour of a younger model who might be able to give Henry the male heir he so desperately wanted.

Catherine is typically portrayed as little more than the older, uglier, spurned wife whose refusal to go quietly led to Henrys break with the Catholic Church.

A new series retells the love story of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon (pictured) - to whom he was married for 17 years

But in this retelling, which like those previous series is based on books by Philippa Gregory, she is much more than that.

Catherine is perceived as an older woman who was unwanted baggage for Henry VIII, when in fact she was the love of his life, says the dramas co-writer Emma Frost.

They were married for 17 years before he took up with Anne Boleyn, and we felt it necessary to dignify Catherines place in history with a retelling of her story.

This starts in Spain with Catherine, daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile, being brought up to believe its her destiny to be queen of England because, as a direct descendant of John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV, shes an heir to the English throne.

Played by British actress Charlotte Hope, Catherine arrives in England at the age of 15 to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales.

The princesss arrival in this dour, warring nation from what was then the most powerful country in Europe is a culture shock for her.

Shes surrounded by enemies, in particular Maggie Pole, played by Downton Abbeys Laura Carmichael  her brother Edward Plantagenet, a nephew of Richard III, had been killed to ensure there were no challengers to Arthurs  and so Catherines  path to the throne.

British actress Charlotte Hope (pictured right) stars as Catherine alongside Ruairi OConnor (pictured left) as Henry VIII. The drama begins with Catherine preparing to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales

Most marriages come with a degree of pressure, says Emmas co-writer Matthew Graham.

But this one particularly so because the security of Europe hinges on it being successful.

When, less than five months after their wedding, Arthur dies of a disease known as the sweating sickness, Catherine is forced to take destiny into her own hands.

From the age of four shed been told God was giving her the throne of England, says Matthew.

When circumstances changed and the throne seemed to be out of her grip, she refused to believe that was Gods will.

'She had to fulfil the destiny God laid out for her.

So we see Catherine spin the tale that will lead to her becoming queen of England  she claims her union with Arthur was never consummated, something that would allow her to marry his younger brother Henry (Ruairi OConnor), now the king himself after the death of Henry VII.

The drama's co-writer Emma Frost says Henry was obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife (pictured: Catherine and her retinue arrive in England in the new drama)

Catherine is such a fascinating character because she has this absolute belief in what her destiny should be, says Emma.

She makes dangerous choices to get where she wants to be.

Although her marriage to Henry, five years her junior, was convenient as it meant her valuable dowry stayed in England, it also turned out to be a real love match, Emma insists.

But when Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry became obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brothers wife, says Emma.

It becomes a story about a lie. The series looks at the decisions she made and their consequences.

'Its a strong story of a woman trying to define her place in the world, and one modern audiences will be able to relate to.

The Spanish Princess will be on Starzplay (via Amazon Prime and Virgin) from tomorrow.
Whether it's nature or nurture, what makes someone a killer is something that's long been debated by psychiatrists.

That question is even trickier when you apply it to child murderers - how does an innocent young person turn into a cold-hearted killer?

FEMAIL spoke to Dr Keri Nixon, a consultant forensic psychologist, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series which focuses on the deadly crimes of young people.

She told how generally, people who commit murder or acts of extreme violence have usually got troubled backgrounds.

'That's the case for some of these perpetrators,' Keri explained. 'But interestingly with some of the cases this series covers, many of them haven't, which makes them quite unusual.'

Here Keri gives her take on some of the UK's most famous child killers - and whether murder was inevitable or could have been avoided.

The mystery: William Cornick

The nation was horrified when model student William Cornick, then 15, stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish lesson

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed his Spanish teacher Ann Maguire to death during class

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014.

He left his classmates in a state of shock when he casually walked up to Ms Maguire and stabbed her seven times while she was writing on the whiteboard.

The teenager was described as a 'a clever child from a loving middle class home' and the 'most unlikely perpetrator of a crime that would shock Britain'.

The teacher in charge of his year said he was 'a delightful pupil who always gave his best', while fellow pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College said he was a just a 'typical lad' who rarely misbehaved.

'William Cornick doesn't fit the profile of what we would usually see,' Keri told FEMAIL.

'As a forensic psychologist, I can honestly say that the majority of murderers or violent offenders that I've worked with, whether that's young people or adults, have got that history of dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyles.

FEMAIL spoke to forensic psychologist Keri Nixon, pictured, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series examining the crimes of young people

'There were some dark sides of his personality, but it's easy for us to unpick that with hindsight.'

Keri suggested that, had Cornick come from a dysfunctional family and had previous convictions, people may have taken his threats to kill his teacher more seriously.

' I think people thought his disturbing behaviour was just him being a bit bizarre, a bit dark,' she said.

'There was evidence of personality disorder and psychopathic traits, although you can't diagnose somebody at that age because he's far too young. But some of his behaviour was evidencing of that.

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014

'People talked about him being a loner, a bit odd, but didn't consider him a genuine threat because he didn't have those risk factors, so I think there's a bit of confirmation bias going on.'

She said 'bystander apathy' also came into play, with people presuming someone else would raise concern about the violent threats he was making.

'Nobody takes on the responsibility for reporting it themselves because they assume somebody else is doing it,' she explained.

'I think also, we'd be quite surprised and troubled if we could hear a lot of the conversations that go on between adolescents, especially on social media. I think a lot of adolescents make some quite throwaway comments and threats, but they don't take each other seriously.'

Flowers and tributes left the entrance to Corpus Christi College in Leeds following the shocking murder of teacher Ann Maguire

Ann Maguire's family say they still don't know what caused him to kill - except for severe hatred for the teacher.

Cornick told a psychologist: 'I wasn't in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still do.' The criminal also said after the killing that he thought everything he had done was 'fine and dandy'.

Speaking about the 'nature versus nurture' debate, Keri said the two are very much entwined because a person's environment impacts on their brain.

But the fact Cornick showed no remorse makes one question whether there is something within him that drove him to commit such an unprecendented atrocity.

Britain's youngest female double murderer: Lorraine Thorpe

Lorraine Thorpe, pictured age 16, was given a life sentence for killing her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009

Age: 15

Crime: Murdered her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt

Lorraine Thorpe became Britain's youngest female double murderer when, aged 15, she smothered her father Desmond Thorpe to death in the hope he wouldn't tell the police about her killing a stranger, Rosalyn Hunt, following a row over a dog in 2009.

Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days, with Thorpe responsible for kicking, punching and stamping on her head.

Her father, 43, a 'vulnerable' alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about her first crime.

She was given a life sentence, with the judge ruling she had been brought up 'with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong'.

She was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who five years later was found dead in his cell.

Thorpe, now 24, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Thorpe was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, pictured, who five years later was found dead in his cell

Mr Justice Saunders said she could be 'manipulative' and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: 'She found violence funny and entertaining.'

The judge said Clarke, also an alcoholic, was the 'instigator' in the murder of Ms Hunt, although Thorpe 'played a full part'.

'Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head,' he said.

For Keri, Thorpe's crime is one that could have been prevented - especially if she had never met Clarke.

She explained: 'I start to feel complete empathy for the girl that was let down, by society and professionals. No girl should be living with her alcoholic father at the age of 12.

Keri said she very much feels Lorraine Thorpe's crimes could have been prevented had she not been let down by society and professionals

'She was lost. She went from her mother to foster care, and then she ran away to be with her father and eventually social services lost her and she was living on the streets drinking with alcoholic men. That shouldn't happen in our society.

'I believe she was groomed by Paul Clark and living a life that no teenager should be living.

'But then we look at the level of violence she enacted on Rosalyn Hunt. It was so extreme, so vicious, and that's where it's difficult to look at the vulnerable girl.

'Would those murders have taken place if she wasn't part of that drinking community, and if she hadn't met Paul Clark? No, I don't believe they would have done.'

Britain's youngest serial killer: James Fairweather

James Fairweather was just 15 years old when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex - and was set to kill again

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed two people, stopped while planning a third

James Fairweather was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins.

Fairweather was branded a monster at Guildford Crown Court in 2016 when he was found guilty of two murders and was sentenced at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Spencer, who said the killings were 'brutal and sadistic'.

He was caught after a dog walker spotted him lurking in woods 'lying in wait for his next victim'. After his arrest, he admitted he had been hunting down a third victim.

Fairweather's first was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014.

Three months later the 5ft 6in schoolboy - who was 'obsessed' with killers including the Yorkshire Ripper - attacked Saudi PhD student Nahid Almanea, 31, knifing her 16 times with a 10-inch bayonet on a public footpath.

Both victims were stabbed in their eyes. During the two-week trial, the jury was shown clips from Fairweather's police interviews in which he provided 'chilling' details of his attack on Mr Attfield.

Fairweather, who told a psychiatrist he could have killed another 15 victims, committed the murders under the noses of his parents James, 45, a cleaner, and Anita, 45, a McDonald's worker.

Keri said Fairweather's obsession with serial killers and other 'warning signs' could have made these crimes preventable.

'There had been a previous non-custodial sentence for armed robbery where he'd used a knife on a newsagents, so again I think with this one there were definitely warning signs there,' she explained.

James Attfield, pictured with his mum Julie Finch, was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014 by James Fairweather

A knife used by James Fairweather, the teenager who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper and murdered two innocent people

'Apparently after he was in a psychiatric unit he did start to respond well to some treatment. He's got autism, and he was obsessed with serial killers, and that's something that we see with autism - that obsession and absolute focus on something.

'It doesn't mean people with autism are more likely to commit violent crime, absolutely not, in fact we know studies have shown that it doesn't increase a predisposition to violence.

'However, somebody who has got autism and was not given that support, plus the different difficulties that he has, then he's certainly somebody that became quite obsessed with violence.'

She added: 'This is a young man that needs treatment in a hospital, not a prison, in my opinion.'

The Twilight Killers: Kim Edwards & Lucas Markham

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards, right, was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, left, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016

Age: Both 14

Crime: Killed Kim's sister, 13, and mother, 49

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016.

Edwards and Markham, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders.

In his police interview Markham described with a complete lack of emotion how he killed Elizabeth and Katie Edwards by 'stabbing them in the neck'.

The couple, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders

TIMELINE OF HORROR May 23, 2015 - Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham began their relationship, shortly before he was excluded from Sir John Gleed school just a year before the murders. March 17, 2016 - Edwards, who had been assessed by mental health professionals after expressing suicidal thoughts, makes an attempt on her own life and spends two days in hospital. April 11, 2016 - During a conversation in the back garden of the Edwards' family home, Markham and his girlfriend agree to kill her mother and sister. April 13, 2016 - Markham smothers and stabs both victims through the neck. April 14 - Edwards and Markham are reported missing to the police by their school and his aunt. April 15 - Police find Ms Edwards and Katie dead in their beds. Both defendants are arrested on suspicion of murder. April 17 - Both teenagers are charged with two counts of murder. September 6 - Edwards and Markham both admit manslaughter but plead not guilty to murder. October 10 - Markham admits murder and is remanded in custody October 11 - Edwards is found guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict. November 10 - Edwards and Markham are both given life sentences with minimum terms of 20 years. June 9, 2017 - Their minimum terms are reduced to 17 years the Court of Appeal which also rules they can be named. Advertisement

The lovers hatched the gruesome plot after Elizabeth tried to break them up, and also as revenge because Edwards believed her mother favoured her sister Katie over her.

The clinical justifications they gave for their crimes in police interviews were so startling officers took the unprecedented decision to make the recordings public, because of the danger they believed the teenagers represented to society.

Markham pleaded guilty to murder, and Edwards denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - a defence rejected by the jury. They were both sentenced to 20 years in prison, but this was later reduced to 17 following a hearing at the Court of Appeals.

Liz Edwards with daughter Katie Edwards who were both found dead in their house in Spalding, England

Keri said she believes had this pair not been in a 'toxic relationship', it's likely these killings would not have happened when they did.

She told FEMAIL: 'I don't believe that individually, each of those two people would have killed at that particular time. That's not to say that neither of them would have gone on to do something else at some point.

'They both had difficult childhoods, Lucas Markham in particular had a very dysfunctional background and was desperate for love and attention, and I think he had a toxic relationship with Kim Edwards. I think they both had a toxic relationship with each other.'

Likening the case to that of Lorraine Thorpe, Keri said the threat of an outsider on their relationship and situation was the 'trigger' for them to kill.

'Just before the murders occurred, the families had separated them; there was this dramatic, "You two or not going to be together," and the murders took place shortly afterwards,' she said.

'All these factors that have been put forward, that she hated her mum and was jealous of her sister, but I think fundamentally the key trigger was when their relationship was threatened and they were being kept apart.'

Killed his girlfriend for a free breakfast: Joshua Davies

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast

Age: 15

Crime: Bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her by bashing her over the head with a rock so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him.

In the court case the following year it emerged that in the time before the meet-up in October, the killer had been publishing hateful material about Rebecca online and bragging to friends that he was going to poison her with plants like deadly nightshade, or push her over a quarry or into a river.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca, pictured, for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him

'Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now,' Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley later said.

'In January 2010 he left Becca for another girl. She was absolutely devastated and I hated seeing her so hurt. But in time she started going out with another boy herself - only for Josh to convince her to end it and to meet up with him.

'She did so, almost instantly, thrilled at the thought of their reconciliation.'

As the day of the meet-up wore on, concern started to grow as Rebecca failed to return home.

Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now.

After a night of searching, Rebecca's body was found at around 9am the next day near Aberkenfig. The wooded area was said to have been popular with teenagers.

Davies, who had since turned 16, was accused of Rebecca's murder after bludgeoning her to death with a large rock.

With Rebecca's mother sitting in court alongside family and friends, the horrifying details of what happened that day began to emerge.

It was heard that Davies had told a friend he was going into the forest with Rebecca and smiled as he said 'the time has come'. The same friend later phoned Davies to ask if he was with Rebecca. The defendant replied with two words - 'define with'.

After summoning the fellow 16-year-old into the forest, the murderer then told his friend he had hit Rebecca from behind with a rock until she stopped screaming, before discarding the bloody weapon into the undergrowth.

Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley said she believes there was a controlling element to Rebecca and Davies' relationship

His demeanour was described merely as 'cool'. Together the boys went home, in full knowledge that Rebecca's body lay in the woods behind them. Davies even sent texts to Rebecca's phone, knowing she was dead, pleading with her to let people know where she was.

Keri said she believes Davies was a very controlling individual with 'all the hallmarks of a domestic abuse perpetrator'.

'None of these people can be diagnosed with any personality order because of their age, but he is certainly demonstrating traits that would point to that direction in the future,' she explained.

'The complete lack of remorse, the planning; people thought that he was not possibly serious because of the way that he would calmly talk about what he was doing.

'He wanted to take control of her, break her down and destroy her, and he ultimately did the worst thing he possibly could.'

Gang of sword-wielding baby-faced murderers: 'The Liverpool Launderette killings'

Andrew Hewitt (right) and Corey Hewitt (left) who murdered an apprentice bricklayer in a launderette then boasted about the killing in September 2013

Five teenagers attacked and murdered a man in a Liverpool launderette when two of them were only 13 in September 2013.

The gang chased Sean McHugh, 19, into a launderette and killed him. As he lay dying in hospital, the yobs sent each other a series of chilling messages mocking their victim.

Liverpool Crown Court heard gang member Keyfer Dykstra, just 14 at the time of the murder, posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty  we always knew ye was a p***y'. Shockingly, 11 people 'liked' the comment.

Keyfer Dykstra, 14, and Corey Hewitt, then 13, plus his 15-year-old cousin Andrew Hewitt, and Joseph McGill, who was also just 13 at the time of the attack, were all convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with 19-year-old Reese OShaughnessy.

Recorder of Liverpool, Clement Goldstone QC, took the unusual step of naming the young gang members after a jury found them guilty.

Keyfer Dykstra, pictured, far left, was 14 at the time of the murder, and posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty.' The ringleader Reese O'Shaughness, 19, pictured middle, had been carrying the sword stick weapon. Joseph McGill, just 13 at the time of the attack, pictured right, was given a minimum sentence of nine years

Victim Mr McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang. As Mr Williams sought refuge inside a nearby newsagent, Mr McHugh, who was known as Shorty, was chased back into the launderette they'd just come from.

O'Shaughnessy, who was carrying a sword stick - a walking cane with a blade hidden inside - and Dykstra, armed with a knife, arrived a short time later and the gang kicked the back door of the shop open.

Victim Sean McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang - and he was chased into a laundrette

Prosecutors were unable to prove just who struck the fatal blow but argued that all involved in the attack were guilty of murder, whether they held the blade or not.

The boys were slammed by a detective in the case, who said they had shown little remorse for their actions, including the suffering heaped upon Mr McHugh and his family.

The senior police officer also said he heard the boys laughing and joking as they sat in the dock.

Corey Hewitt, 13, pictured left, was convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with his cousin Andrew Hewitt, 15, pictured right

Keri put this brutal crime down to 'gang mentality'. She explained: ' None of those young people intended to go out and take somebody's life that night. They intended to do harm, because of the weapons they went and got, but the they didn't intend to go out and kill that man that night.

'However that doesn't make it any less horrific; what happened was awful. But the gang mentality kicked in there - that pack mentality where they all get involved.

'They all had difficult lives; I worked with Merseyside Police looking at knife crime 10 years ago and I looked at the backgrounds of 105 young offenders who used knives and guns, and they fit every single characteristic of the ones we looked at.

'They've come from dysfunctional backgrounds, poverty, they've got no hope, they've got no identity apart from the identity of this low level, geographical gang. It gives them something.

'It means they have little respect for life, and it's incredibly sad. It's something social workers are dealing with all over the country right now.'

Britains Deadliest Kids premieres at 10pm on Saturday 11 May on Quest Red.
A British man has become the first patient in Europe to undergo walk-in, walk-out prostate surgery  carried out while he was wide awake in an outpatient clinic. The procedure, for an enlarged prostate, requires only a local anaesthetic and the 76-year-old patient was allowed home just hours later.

Its hoped the procedure will soon be offered at community clinics, benefiting thousands of men with prostate problems.

Those suffering from prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are currently offered major surgery as a last resort, which is effective but can cause loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence. Some are too frail for the operation, which is called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP.

Others, understandably, are simply unwilling  up to 42 per cent of those needing it delay it due to fears about complications. The TURP operation can mean three nights in hospital.

The new treatment will hopefully mean no more rushed trips to the toilet (a man using a urinal, pictured above)

The UroLife treatment works by firing clips into the prostate which hold the urethra open

The new procedure, called UroLift, has been available for about ten years but this is the first time it has been carried out as a walk-in, walk-out case, with no need for an operating theatre or an overnight stay.

The new operation was offered to John Penny, from Thornton, near Crosby on Merseyside. He had had BPH for a decade, getting up five or six times a night to go to the toilet.

John kept postponing his operation because a traumatic surgical experience in his teens left him terrified of going under the knife. I nearly died having my appendix out when I was 18, recalls John. Every time I go into hospital, my blood pressure, which is usually absolutely healthy, shoots up.

Now, eight months after the UroLift procedure, his symptoms have eased considerably and he is sleeping much better.

An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties (stock image of man and woman holding in their urine)

The prostate, a walnut-size gland, sits beneath the bladder and is essential for producing components of semen. An enlarged prostate is not linked to cancer  yet the symptoms are similar, so men with the problem are tested to make sure their prostate is not cancerous.

Although two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with BPH, it is thought to affect as many as half of those over 50, and 60 per cent of those over 60. Many suffer symptoms without realising the cause.

The most common sign is a frequent, urgent need to urinate, even throughout the night. An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties. As a result, men often find they are unable to go, even when they are desperate to.

Enlarged prostates are thought to be linked to hormonal changes as a man gets older. John recalls: About ten years ago, I starting having difficulty peeing. My GP told me I had an enlargement of the prostate, due to my age, and put me on tablets. Things did improve but I was still waking five times a night, so I never got a proper nights sleep. I even moved out of the bedroom, as I was disturbing my wife Lorraine.

It was very stressful. It takes over your life because it is constantly on your mind.

Treatment for BPH usually begins with medication to relax the bladder muscles and shrink the prostate. John was told he needed TURP surgery  carried out on some 18,000 men a year in the UK  when he began to worry that wouldnt be able to go to the lavatory at all.

He says: My GP again asked me to think very carefully about surgery, but I was very nervous.

In the meantime, he read an article in a newspaper about UroLift, which described how it was done as a day case under a local anaesthetic. After showing the newspaper clipping to his GP, John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital, who offered the procedure.

John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital (pictured above)

Mr Lucky says: Its been available as day case surgery on the NHS since last year and has far fewer complications than TURP. It involves no cutting or incisions, and men who may have heart problems that make them unsuitable for major surgery can have it.

It is a huge development, and means we could see community clinics offering it in the not- too-distant future, meaning that patients could be treated without even visiting hospital.

A catheter is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder and anaesthetic is injected through it. The catheter is then removed and a protective sheath, about 7mm in diameter, inserted into the urethra to protect it against damage from instruments used in the procedure.

The UroLift device itself is a handpiece  a little like a gun, with a trigger  with a long, fine metal tube on the end.

The tube goes through the sheath to where the prostate is enlarged and the trigger pulled to fire a tiny clip into the organ, anchoring it to the tissues beside it. This lifts the gland away from the urethra, allowing urine to flow again.

Several clips can be used  John had three  and the operation can be repeated if necessary.

Consultant urologist Professor Roger Kirby, director of The Prostate Centre, London, welcomed the advance, saying: UroLift is better at preserving sexual function than other procedures, and now it can be done without a hospital admission, which will provide a cost-saving to the NHS.

It doesnt work so well for very large prostates as the tiny implants [clips] may not be able to hold the tissue back. In these cases, a type of laser treatment may be a better alternative. UroLift is still relatively new, so we dont totally know how durable the procedure is. But it looks promising.

John recalls: I was quite nervous but I couldnt believe I was only in there for 15 minutes.

He was home later the same day. Its been a vast improvement, he says. Id recommend it. It hardly feels like youre having a serious operation.
Tolkien Cert: 12A, 1hr 52mins

Rating:

Tolkiens The Lord Of The Rings was first published in the mid-Fifties, understandably giving rise to the idea in some quarters that the author had got his inspiration for the endless battles and marauding orcs of Middle-earth from the Second World War.

A new biopic  recently disowned, it must be quickly said, by the Tolkien estate  knocks that notion very firmly on the head. It places the books origins 30 years earlier amid the mud, shell holes and carnage of the First World War, the horrors of which John Ronald Reuel Tolkien  now often described as the father of modern fantasy fiction  experienced first-hand.

Whatever the estates misgivings (its brief statement did not elaborate), the movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Finnish film-maker Dome Karukoski, nevertheless comes across as plausible, tender and, for the most part, extremely watchable.

Tolkien begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) is desperately searching for news of a friend

Anyone who was ever a Tolkien fan  even if only for a few brief teenage years  will find something to interest and enjoy here.

It begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien is desperately searching for news of a friend. But, to the despair of his batman, he cant find the right regiment and the trenches are under constant bombardment.

Wounded and exhausted, he collapses and so the flashbacks begin.

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Geoffrey Bache Smith (Anthony Boyle), Robert Gilson (Patrick Gibson) and Christopher Wiseman (Tom Glynn-Carney)

What follows is a tale of triumph over adversity  Tolkien had lost both his parents and anything resembling family money by the time he was 12  and of enduring male friendship, with Tolkien winning a scholarship to King Edwards, Birmingham, where he made the sort of friends you assume are made for life.

Unless, of course, the war to end all wars is just around the corner.

I love this section, with the younger Tolkien, already skilled in several languages and knowing his Chaucer by heart, very nicely played by Harry Gilby until Hoult takes over.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Robert Gilson, Geoffrey Bache Smith and Christopher Wiseman. Together they are four impetuous, intelligent boys with a love of tea and cake and a touching desire to change the world through the power of art.

One of them, of course, in a film not exactly subtle in tracing cause to effect, will. With two of the boys, Tolkien included, hoping to go to Oxford and two to Cambridge, its atmospherically reminiscent of Alan Bennetts great tale of grammar-school success, The History Boys.

At Oxford, the film begins to lose a little traction, despite the best efforts (and they are uniformly good) of Messrs Hoult, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle and Tom Glynn-Carney.

This is partly because were very used to the sight of posh white boys in tweed jackets getting drunk in pretty quadrangles and partly because the screenplay, by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford, has made its one serious mistake.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches, fencing and drunken run-ins with the police.

IT'S A FACT Tolkien and fellow author CS Lewis once dressed up as polar bears to attend a New Year's Eve party - which wasn't fancy dress. Advertisement

Meanwhile, as anyone who heard the 2017 Radio 4 drama Tolkien In Love may recall, the real action was taking place in Cheltenham, where Edith, banned from seeing the smitten Tolkien until he was 21, was on the verge of marrying someone else, and Tolkien was desperate to stop her.

Here, however, we see and feel almost nothing of this romantic tension, leaving Collins little to do except flounce out of a teenage high tea and improbably mime her way through Wagners Ring.

Despite liberties clearly being taken with the chronology, and the fact that were never quite sure whether the war scenes are real or hallucinatory (Tolkien was eventually diagnosed with trench fever), theres no doubt that the film has a real emotional power, underpinned by the enduring idea that brave men died in the mud of the First World War so that others could live to do great things.

J R R Tolkien did not let his friends down.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

Long Shot (15)

Rating:

This is surely one of the most welcome surprises of the cinematic year, with Jonathan Levines enjoyable film showing that unorthodox casting combinations can work and that there is still life in the romantic comedy. Hurrah!

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky, whos just lost his job.

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky

They used to be childhood friends, reconnected as adults, and when Charlotte decides to run for President and finds herself in need of a speechwriter well, Fred seems perfect for the job.

What ensues is intelligent, funny, bang up to date and without stereotypes. Amid the romantic fun, look out for a bedroom scene that is not only very funny but mildly sexy too.

Vox Lux (15)

Rating:

Brady Corbets cautionary tale of fame and pop music has real quality, particularly in the first half, as the actor-turned-film-maker tells the story of Celeste, a young pop wannabe who achieves overnight success when she survives a high-school shooting and writes a haunting musical tribute to classmates who did not.

With Jude Law playing her manager, we see the still-only-14-year-old Celeste  played very well by Raffey Cassidy  taking her first steps to fame and fortune. Then the story jumps 16 years and Natalie Portman  in a very big performance  takes over as the, by now, badly damaged diva.

The film will divide opinion but the late Scott Walkers score is wonderful.

A Dog's Journey (PG)

Rating:

A surely unwanted sequel to A Dogs Purpose, the 2017 oddity about seemingly endless doggy reincarnation. With Baileys original owner now very old, a new succession of pooches  all reincarnations of Bailey  are charged with looking after his granddaughter.

Josh Gads canine voiceover is as testing as the near two-hour running time.

The Curse Of La Llorona (15)

Rating:

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity, murders her children and has been killing other peoples children ever since.

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity and murders her children

Expect a Seventies Los Angeles setting, plenty of jump-scares and a generous dollop of The Exorcist.
Man Of La Mancha

London Coliseum Until Jun 8, 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

Kelsey Grammer  the great sitcom star of Frasier  is the nicest performer to interview. I saw him in his first major Broadway Shakespeare, in which he acted just as he seemed off-stage: a friendly, cheery, charming man incapable of violence.

Unfortunately, he was playing Macbeth.

Now Grammer is better cast in Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darions Sixties musical retelling of Cervantes novel about Don Quixote, the shows windmill-jousting hero who does knightly deeds in an unchivalrous age.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical

Grammer sings the shows only hit, The Impossible Dream, in his sturdy baritone, and he does it well. But when the show opened in 1965 it ran for almost six years. Watching this plodding London revival, I couldnt see why.

Director Lonny Prices conception for the show doesnt help. Its set in a concrete bunker-like prison in some modern fascist state ruled over by the Inquisition (theyve dropped the Spanish).

The author Cervantes (Kelsey Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel

The author Cervantes (Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel and leaves its fate to the jury of captives, who take various parts.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical.

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea. De Niese is a feisty presence but her brutal rape scene at the hands of the villagers proves a terminal downer in an evening that trades in comic whimsy.

Peter Polycarpou comes off best as a charming Sancho Panza.

As long as karaoke exists, The Impossible Dream will never die. But I am not so sure about this musical. Grammer fans like me will still worship at the altar. But he looks too unsure of himself to ride to the rescue here.

Ghosts

Royal & Derngate, Northampton Until Sat, 2hrs 25mins

Rating:

This is the play that was deemed a public health hazard in the 1890s. The Norwegian writer Ibsen wilfully dragged syphilis, incest and assisted dying into this drawing-room drama in which the truth will out.

And boy it does, when the son of the widowed Mrs Alving returns home, having inherited syphilis from his debauched father, whose reputation his mother loyally shielded from scandal.

Penny Downies ramrod Mrs Alving is superb  severe but with occasional bright flashes. Lecturing her on her past failure as a mother is Pastor Manders, expertly played by James Wilby with a greasy smirk and a bad temper.

As her son Osvald, Pierro Niel-Mee is steeped in self-loathing.

For the family, the sins of the past are the unavoidable ghosts. The diseased, futureless Osvald and his adoring mother end up alone with a stash of morphine.

Lucy Baileys classy production comes with the sound of ceaseless rain and a lively new English version by Mike Poulton.

A cracking evening.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Rose Theatre, Kingston Until Sat, touring until Jun 29, 2hrs 50mins

Rating:

The book that spawned a thousand holidays to Cephalonia arrives onstage, 25 years after it became a publishing sensation.

Louis de Bernieres novel about a romance between an Italian soldier and a Greek woman during World War II is in safe hands with adapter Rona Munro and director Melly Still, who knows how to mount big, beautiful productions of bestsellers (see also The Lovely Bones and My Brilliant Friend).

This is a hugely enjoyable evening, reminding audiences why de Bernieres sweeping historical fiction was so popular, while also finding new theatrical means of telling the story.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia is irresistible

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat being played  very charmingly  by actors. But Still also fills the stage with epic, evocative images and movement, whether suggesting changing seasons or the horrors of war.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia, portrayed with real freshness by one-to-watch Madison Clare, is irresistible  although given that he doesnt arrive until halfway through the show, the relationship occasionally feels oddly rushed.

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat (Luisa Guerreiro) being played  very charmingly  by actors

Two crumpled copper panels loom over Mayou Trikeriotis sparse set, and with Malcolm Rippeths gorgeous lighting, you can almost feel the Mediterranean sun on your face.

Warmly recommended.

Holly Williams

captaincorellismandolin.com

This Is My Family

Minerva Theatre, Chichester Until Jun 15, 2hrs 20mins

Rating:

Tim Firths musical about a family who go on a terrible camping holiday is given a warm, fuzzy staging by Daniel Evans that has a campfire-cosy glow.

Firth (who wrote Calendar Girls) has a pleasingly light touch: this is a sitcom with songs, the humour broad and relatable. Its pretty predictable, from the male midlife crisis to the overlooked mum, from the moody teenager to the grandma losing her marbles.

Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock (pictured with Kirsty MacLaren) steals them back with a bittersweet performance

But in turning hackneyed gripes into nimble songs with comic observation, it feels familiar and fresh.

James Nesbitt is touching as the emotionally constipated dad, with Clare Burt nicely shaded as his long-suffering wife. Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock steals them back with a bittersweet performance, both mischievous and melancholic.

Holly Williams
Britains best-known brothel-keeper cheered up the nation, remembers Rowan Pelling

Madam Cyn flicks the V-sign

I was 12 when Cynthia Payne  Madam Cyn  was found guilty of running a disorderly house and sentenced to 18 months in prison. I read my dads newspaper on the school run, risking car sickness to devour every last salacious detail of the trial. Scriptwriters couldnt have dreamed up a more British tale of suburban swinging  down to the fact that her ageing clientele paid for sexual services with luncheon vouchers.

The police infiltrated Cynthias South London home during a sex party, where they found 53 men  allegedly including a lord, an MP, a couple of vicars and a clutch of lawyers  queuing for, or enjoying, the ministrations of 13 scantily clad women. PC Stewart Taylor told the judge he posed as a client and went upstairs with a woman called Isobel, who explained in a German accent that her specialisms were bondage and domination.

The timing of the trial, in the early months of 1980, couldnt have been more fortuitous. Britains steel workers had gone on strike for the first time since 1926 and the years headlines were dominated by soaring unemployment. The country was in drastic need of cheer and Cynthia delivered it in spades. In the dock she explained her ideal slave was someone who does all the housework and in return he likes a little bit of caning, insulting and mild humiliation. Judge Brian Pryors sentence was widely viewed as overly harsh and the term was reduced on appeal to six months.

This photo shows an exuberant Cynthia on her release, giving a V-sign to the establishment as she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to a champagne reception. The trial elevated her to national treasure status  two films were made of her life and she even stood for parliament, as a member of the Payne and Pleasure party. So when I became editor of the Erotic Review magazine, I was able to remind my anxious mother that being a woman of ill repute hadnt harmed Cynthia Payne.

Sebastian Coe (right) won gold in the 1500m event at the Moscow Olympics

Also that month
Trophy hunters are paying huge sums to shoot big game animals  including endangered species  and its all legal. Lady VICTORIA HERVEY reports on a bloody trade thats attracting women in ever growing numbers

To my left is a magnificent lion standing regally at the centre of an African landscape. To the right crouches a beautiful leopard, while in the distance a cheetah lies sprawled in a tree. This is not, however, the Serengeti plain. Nor am I watching these creatures through the lens of a camera in the bush.

I am, in fact, in the US  thousands of miles from their natural habitat  under the gaudy neon lights of a convention centre in Reno, a casino town in the Nevada desert. Here the natives are paunchy Americans and their camouflage-clad wives who are sipping cocktails at 9am while plotting their next hunting safari. The animals around me are stuffed and lifeless, victims of one of the worlds most senseless hobbies.

Lady Victoria Hervey with trophies on show at the Safari Club International Conference in Reno

I am here for the Safari Club International (SCI) convention, the worlds biggest gathering of trophy hunters. I have been interested in conservation for more than a decade. Ive done everything from vaccinating wolves in Ethiopia to making a documentary about the illegal bushmeat trade of gorillas and chimps in Cameroon. But in November 2017 I decided to take direct action after the Trump administration announced plans to lift the outright ban on importing elephant kills to the US. Although approval is still on a case-by-case basis, it effectively means these animals can be butchered, stuffed and hung on ranch walls. So I started my own foundation, Preserve Our Wild, to highlight crimes against wildlife, and this is what has brought me here today.

Billed as a hunters heaven, this event sees 20,000 people from more than 100 countries flock through its doors over four days. More than 800 exhibitors peddle everything from the latest guns and wolf skins for little over 100 to week-long trips that offer the chance to kill a rhino for somewhere in the region of 100,000. Within minutes of entering the conference centre, Im offered a ten-day stay at the Okarumuti Game Lodge in Namibia where I could hunt eight different animals, including a zebra and a giraffe. A snip at 13,326. Nadia Savoldelli, the Okarumuti Game Lodge representative at the show, adds conspiratorially that: This is the only place you are going to be able to kill a Hartmann mountain zebra.

You may have seen pictures of these safaris on the internet, featuring people grinning broadly while holding up the head of some of natures most extraordinary, and rare, creatures. Indeed, most of those I spoke to at the convention dreamed of bagging the big five  an African elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo, African lion and African leopard  and were willing to pay up to 100,000 for the privilege. And its all completely legal. Despite pressure on the UK government to ban trophy-hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were brought into the country last year, the law has yet to be changed.

Larysa Switlyk

The SCI has more than 50,000 members worldwide. Most of those here today are white men dressed in camouflage hunting gear. Most accents are American, but I also hear Russian, Spanish and Italian. Some brag to me that they are the messengers of death. The one thing they all bond over is the thrill of a kill. What surprises me more are the women and children  babies in camouflage onesies; toddlers gazing in awe at guns bigger than they are  who are here, albeit in smaller numbers. What was traditionally a rich white mans sport has seen increasing numbers of women flocking to pay 90 to kill a baboon or 2,940 to gun down a giraffe. In many ways women are the perfect hunters, Nadia told me. They typically dont have as big an ego as men and are more patient.

Gun camps with names such as Babes with Bullets encourage women to join. Over the past few years a record number of women have joined the organisation. And who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare, had been old and she was simply participating in conservation through game management. Even Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whose father is associated with a hunting safari in Zimbabwe, has been spotted at SCI conventions.

Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year. Set up three years ago to teach hunting skills to women, it has doubled in size every year since, and camps get booked up months in advance. Women listen, recognise the guides skills and follow instructions. Men are more governed by their egos, co-founder Shannon Lansdowne says. Ive hunted all my life and the thrill of the kill never goes away. When you pull the trigger and know this beautiful animal has given their life for you it is an emotional moment.

Who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare

She Hunts, along with many other hunting companies, peddles the same message that the slaughter is somehow necessary in the name of conservation. I was told repeatedly that money earned from hunting safaris funds preservation, that older animals need to be culled and that, thanks to the millions of dollars raised through legitimate hunting safaris, the economies in poor African countries are bolstered, creating a regulated environment where endangered species can thrive. Yet a report by Washingtons House of Natural Resources Committee in 2016 found that there was little evidence of the money being used to help threatened species such as lions, rhinos and leopards. Instead, corruption and poorly managed wildlife programmes take it all. The report reached the damning conclusion that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals, including elephants.

At a stand for Charlton McCallum Safaris, I watch a horrific video showing an elephant hunt. Two men appear to shoot randomly at a herd of elephants charging towards them as an elephant drops to the ground. We only kill the older male bulls and the ones that are causing a problem for the rest of their herd, one of the men on the stand tells me. But studies claim younger elephants depend on their elders to teach them to forage and raise a family. Dan Bucknell, executive director of Tusk Trust, an organisation that protects African wildlife, says: Elephants are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals that are known to mourn their dead. Killing any individual is traumatic for those that remain, while shooting older herd members removes decades of ecological knowledge and social experience that is important for the herd. Far from being past their prime, the older males that get targeted are often the prime breeders and leaders in male society; younger males become more aggressive when theyre not around.

Victoria at an exhibition stall targeting women. She writes: 'Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year'

There are hundreds of hunting trips advertised here, with names such as The Grizzinator and Blazin Hot Guide Service. How much you spend depends on what you want to kill. When, at one stand, I enquire about rhino hunts, Im asked whether I prefer white or black. The rare subspecies of white rhino is critically endangered after the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 80s. The southern white rhino is classed as near threatened while the black and Sumatran rhinos are also critically endangered. Yet a trophy hunter can still kill these animals in places such as Namibia and South Africa legally, albeit with a licence. Its mind-boggling, until you see the numbers. One pound of rhino horn is worth around 150,000 on the Asian black market, where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Last year China partially reversed a ban on the trade of rhino horn to allow parts from captive animals to be used for scientific, medical and cultural use  a move the World Wide Fund for Nature said would have devastating consequences.

It is even possible to hunt big game on US soil. The Ox Ranch in Texas breeds exotic animals specifically for hunting. To shoot a zebra costs 4,000; a kangaroo 5,300. If all this continues, we risk making these creatures extinct for little more than machismo, and the facilitators profit. The future must be one where we shoot wild beasts with cameras not bullets.

For more information on Victorias foundation, visit preserveourwild.org
How to help yourself heal

How do you learn to live again when life as you knew it has fallen apart? When her marriage broke down, Mary Jane Grant discovered that the little pleasures can make the biggest difference

After her husband Stuart announced he wanted a separation from their 25-year marriage in November 2013, Mary Jane decided to move from their home in Canada to London to be near her son, Ryan. She told herself that this was a test of their relationship and that they would find a way to get back together. But in London she found some simple but effective ways to help ease her sadness, which made her feel more alive than ever

Mary jane With her son ryan

The pleasure of living in the moment

The vibrant city of London was at my feet and I was barely taking it in. Upon seeing something remarkable, I would instinctively reach out to touch my husbands arm and say, Will you look at that? but nobody was there and I felt the sting of rejection. Youve been discarded, remember? Then I went into a tea shop and came face to face with a display of small white pots filled with different types of tea. Smell the teas said the laminated sign. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and picked up a cup labelled tranquillity. The scent of lavender hit me first but also something citrus.

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, then opened them to look at the tea  tiny buds of pale purple lavender and dried lemon peel. I was present and it felt wonderful.

I walked back to my rented room and instead of looking down, I looked up at the faces of people coming in the opposite direction. Sometimes my eyes met theirs and I must have been smiling because several smiled back at me.

Cool air, I said to myself as the damp evening chill touched my cheeks. Spicy curry, catching an exotic scent as people went into an Indian restaurant. Listen. The sounds of rush hour swirled around me. As I walked home I clung to the five senses. For the first time in months, obsessive thoughts of what a lifetime of loneliness might look like were refreshingly absent.

By focusing on the moment, I was not stuck in the past or worried about the future. I could calm the mind and soothe the spirit by doing something blissfully ordinary. Paying attention to our senses is intelligent, not indulgent. It is, in fact, the only way to live fully connected to the world and to each other. The choice was stark  I could continue to stumble through life, senses dulled, heart aching for what wasnt here, or I could live right now.

The pleasure of wandering

I began to walk everywhere. Using my senses had started to make me feel more alive. Now, more than ever, I wanted the journey and the day, the space and the time to simply unfold. I could appreciate what Rebecca Solnit said in her book Wanderlust, Part of what makes roads, trails and paths so unique as built structures is that they cannot be perceived as a whole all at once They unfold in time as one travels along them.

Is that a metaphor for our journey through life? I wondered. No matter how much we plan and worry, we can never see round the next bend. Immersed in the green of trees, the cool of the air, the scent of autumn leaves, I had nothing to do but feel the simple pleasure of moving through the world at this moment. The never-ending script that had been my constant companion, so full of babble, interior dialogue, worry and what-ifs, had been nudged out of the frame by a quiet awareness, a simple noting of this and that and a most welcome peacefulness that was new to me.

You dont live for 80 years. You live today and then today. You dont live yesterday, you dont live tomorrow. You can only be alive one moment at a time. This seemed suddenly obvious to me, but why had I lived my life up until now as though something else was true? As if tomorrow mattered more than today? I realised I had spent most of my time designing a future life, while forgetting to live the only current life I have.

If my life is only one moment long, how do I choose to live each moment? If I am ready with a kind word, I will live a life of kindness. If I am quick to offer someone a warm embrace, I will live a life of compassion. If I ask why? then I will live a life of curiosity. If I stop to savour beauty, my life will be lifted by what is beautiful.

The pleasure of letting go

In London, I was living in a much smaller place and carrying few possessions. I was feeling freer and happier than when I energetically chased happiness and meaning. Living lightly, I was starting to sense what it felt like to have, do and be enough.

A friend invited me to a fundraiser one evening. But I dont have anything to wear, I said. Its ten in the morning, youre in the middle of London and you have a credit card, she replied.

I met my son Ryan, who lives in London, and we went shopping. I found a little black dress made of light wool, cut in a slim silhouette. I tried it on and it looked as though it had been tailor-made.

After showering, I put on the dress. It was perfect paired with my new suede high heels. So far, my time in London had been solitary  save for when I got together with Ryan. I was feeling a little nervous when I arrived at the party but as the evening went on I felt my confidence coming back. By the way, I love your dress, my friend said when I found her to say goodbye.

What happened next came as a surprise  I started to wear that little black dress everywhere. In my previous life, after its initial debut, this special dress would have hung unworn in the wardrobe for months. But now, with limited choices, I wore it often. Every time I did, it reminded me I was living a full life in this fantastic city and doing it all with so little. I thought about all the striving I was leaving behind. I had been trying to have it all, do it all, create a more beautiful home or fashionable wardrobe. Slowly, I was moving away from that, towards a state that felt like enough.

The pleasure of doing what you love

I could see that the void created by the loss of my marriage was now available to be filled with something new. And that was the opportunity to do something that I loved. A new routine took shape. I rose early and walked from my flat to the British Library. My days began to acquire a sense of purpose and focus.

As I spent my time reading and writing, I felt a deep connection with something  creativity brought a feeling of satisfaction and meaning that had been missing in recent months. Working in the library with hundreds of other people eased my feelings of isolation. In following my instincts, I was bringing something  my writing  into existence. No matter how it might turn out, the process of creation produces something that can never be wrong  engagement, meaning and aliveness.

The pleasure of appreciation

What am I doing here? Isolation swirled around me just before Christmas. I was painfully aware of my husbands absence. Was he sitting in front of the fire with this new woman now?

I held my tear-soaked face in my hands. I remembered what the writer Julian Barnes said after the death of his wife. All couples, even the most bohemian, build up patterns in their lives together and these patterns have an annual cycle. As the morning progressed, I moved like someone recovering from a fall  bruised and sore but knowing it was better to work through the discomfort than resist it. Remember, I reminded myself, thoughts and feelings, good and bad, will come and go. Nothing lasts for ever.

To chase only the good feelings while resisting the bad would be living half a life. Wasnt this what I had been experiencing in the past few weeks? Being present, loving the here and now and allowing life to unfold in the moment? I could see that I had been operating with an implicit assumption: if I got through the pain, I would reach a better, brighter place. What if this pain and sadness was worth much more than that  not something to endure but embrace?

There was a silver lining to what had happened. I got to live in the incredible city of London and spend time with my son, seeing him working and happy. I was free of the obligations that had stolen my creative life in the past. And I was becoming reacquainted with myself  rediscovering parts that had been suppressed for years.

The poet David Whyte says, We use the word heartbreak as if it only occurs when things have gone wrong. But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human And of coming to care for what we find along the way.

The pleasure of starting a new life

On a surprisingly warm autumn day in 2016, I briskly walked through the streets of Soho to a small bar on Dean Street. I had dipped my toe into the world of online dating and I was going to meet someone I liked, at least on paper.

And here he is today, just returning from his morning run through Greenwich Park. In less than a month we will be returning to that same bar on Dean Street to celebrate the second anniversary of the day we met. We dont know what life will bring, but we are living it together now, one small pleasure at a time.
The police forces in England and Wales that are most - and least - likely to cancel a speeding fine has been revealed.

There's a huge difference in the chances of being let off a speeding fine depending where in the country you've been caught, according to Home Office data.

For instance, three in five motorists are let off a fixed penalty notice (FPN) related to speeding by City of London, while drivers are pretty much banged to rights by North Wales police, according to a new report.

These are the police forces that cancelled the highest percentage of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences in 2017-2018

Analysis of government data covering the 12 months to the end of March 2018 was conducted by vehicle finance provider Moneybarn.

The figures not only highlighted which police forces have dished out the most FPNs for speeding during that period but also revealed the ones most and least likely to cancel them for one reason or another.

Exclusive data for This is Money showed the top 10 forces that ripped up speeding tickets more frequently and 10 who cancel fewer than four per cent of fines they issue for the offence of driving over the limit.

Police forces that cancel the most speeding fines 1. City of London - 62.6% 2. Cambridgeshire - 30.6% 3. Greater Manchester - 26.7% 4. London Metropolitan - 24.2% 5. Bedfordshire - 23.2% 6. Hertfordshire - 21.3% 7. Warwickshire - 17.9% 8. Northamptonshire - 15.0% 9. Avon and Somerset - 14.9% 10. West Midlands - 13.0% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

City of London was way out in front for the most commonly canceled speeding fines.

Some 62 per cent issued to motorists over 12 months were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons.

This includes:

The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) had incorrect details about the nature, time or location of the alleged offence

The alleged speeder wasn't driving when the offence took place

The road signage for speed limits was missing or incorrect

The speed measuring equipment had not been calibrated or was being misused

Cambridgeshire police are the next most likely to revoke a speeding FPN, with just over 30 per cent being cancelled.

Manchester Metropolitan police tore up more than a quarter, while Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police also revoked more than 20 per cent of speeding tickets they issued.

Some 62% of speeding fines issued to motorists caught by City of London police were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons

Some police forces are not quite as forthcoming when it comes to cancelling speeding FPNs, the figures reveal.

North Wales police are least likely to let a driver off, with almost 99 per cent of speeding fines upheld.

Police forces that cancel the fewest speeding fines 1. North Wales - 1.3% 2. Devon & Cornwall - 1.6% 3. Dyfed-Powys - 1.8% 4. Wiltshire - 2.1% 5. Nottinghamshire - 2.1% 6. Cleveland - 3.3% 7. Gwent 3.3% 8. South Yorkshire - 3.3% 9. Surrey - 3.8% 10. Humberside 3.9% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Devon and Cornwall police is second in the table, revoking just 1.6 per cent of tickets, while Dyfed-Powys was third with just 1.8 per cent of intended prosecution notices for speeding being overlooked.

The minimum penalty for a speeding ticket in England and Wales is 100 and three points added to a driver's licence.

If you're caught by a camera, you will receive an NIP and Section 172 notice in the post.

You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.

After you've sent the Section 172 notice back and admitted you were at the wheel, you'll be sent a FPN requesting a payment of 100 or more, depending on the severity of the offence and punishment.

Last week, information released by forces in England and Wales identified the tolerances set for speed cameras in different regions, with most operating a 10 per cent plus 2mph threshold.

Motorists caught speeding by an officer will be handed a FPN on the spot or will have one issued in the post.

You're least likely to get off a speeding fine if you were caught in Wales. Though stats also suggest the chances of being caught driving over the limit is less likely than in England

Moneybarn's stats also revealed which police forces handed out the most fines.

Avon and Somerset issued the largest number of fixed penalty notices FPNs for speeding, with a staggering 199,337 brandished to motorists during the 12-month period - the equivalent of 548 issued each day.

The vast majority of drivers would have been caught by the 800 active speed cameras - both fixed and mobile - in the area rather than the 3,000 officers in its constabulary.

West Yorkshire and London Metropolitan follow in second and third place, with 174,796 and 135,430 FPNs issued for speeding.

The police forces issuing the most and least speeding fines (Apr 2017-Mar 2018) FORCES ISSUING MOST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs FORCES ISSUING LEAST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs 1. Avon and Somerset 199,337 1. Gwent 242 2. West Yorkshire 174,796 2. Dyfed-Powys 793 3. London Metropolitan 135,430 3. Wiltshire 1,191 4. Thames Valley 131,401 4. City of London 3,888 5. Greater Manchester 101,421 5. Durham 8,802 6. Essex 95,967 6. Derbyshire 10,480 7. Norfolk 92,750 7. Cleveland 11,308 8. Hampshire 79,126 8. Kent 18,878 9. Bedfordshire 74,297 9. North Wales 20,462 10. Surrey 74,163 10. Gloucestershire 21,727 Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Welsh police forces dominated list of areas where the lowest number of speeding fines were issued - though we now know that most of these are upheld.

Gwent police - which has just eight active speed cameras - issued the lowest, at just 242 speeding tickets.

Knowing that 96.7 per cent are upheld, by our calculations that means just eight drivers have their FPNs rebuffed.

Dyfed-Powys and North Wales also feature. It means you're least likely to be hit with a speeding fine in Wales, but if you are there's very little hope of squirming out of the fine and penalty points.
Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of its burgeoning population.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts.

Former farmland on the edge of Sydney is being consumed by new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits.

Australia's biggest city could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of a population boom (pictured is Oran Park in Sydney's outer south-west)

In just a decade, the population of the Camden local government area ballooned by 58 per cent, surging from 49,645 in 2006 to 78,218, Australian Bureau of Statistics Census figures show.

That rate of growth was more than triple that of greater Sydney - at 17 per cent - over the same period, as the population climbed to 4.8million, fuelled by high levels of immigration.

In Sydney's south-western outskirts Oran Park, a former car race track, mushroomed from less than 200 people in 2011 to 4,765 people five years later.

In another part of Sydney, the opening of the Metro Northwest railway line is also underpinning apartment construction near the Rouse Hill station, almost 50km from the city.

Nearby, West Schofields is expected to house another 45,000 people between 2021 and 2031, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment projected.

Mark Steinert, the chief executive of residential building group Stockland, this week predicted Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade.

Hemmed in by the Blue Mountains to the west and national parks to the north and south, there was little room for further expansion.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses (Oran Park pictured) are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts

Former farmland (Narellan pictured) on the edge of Sydney is making way for new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits

'There's very little housing land left in Sydney, in fact we'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years,' Mr Steinert told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon.

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would unavoidably lead to high-density housing, killing off the backyard.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert: 'We'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years'

'What has been Australian life will vanish inevitably,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'You cannot ramp up the population of the Sydney basin with the highest level of immigration of any developed country - in proportion to the existing population - without forcing the city to go up in increased densities.

'We are now looking at the last land available for broad-acre subdivision and development.

'We were never going to be able to sprawl forever.'

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would eventually kill off the backyard

Australia's population surpassed the 25million mark in August 2018, 24 years earlier than predicted in the federal government's first inter-generational report of 2002.

The 1.6 per cent population growth pace is also more than double the rich-world average of 0.7 per cent.

Mr Carr served as foreign minister in 2012 and 2013, as Australia's annual net immigration level surged above 200,000 for the first time, when Julia Gillard was prime minister.

'There was no discussion in cabinet on immigration levels,' he said.

'They continued to be pumped up but there was no opportunity to have a broad debate on migration and population.'

Since the late 1990s, backyard sizes in new Sydney houses have shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres, in places like Oran Park in the Camden Council area.

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said backyards had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres (new house at Oran Park pictured)

Sydney's median house price has fallen by 16.1 per cent since peaking in July 2017.

But at $880,369, detached homes with a backyard are still more than 10 times an average full-time salary of $83,500, which is forcing couples with children to move to an outer suburb.

How backyards are shrinking or disappearing Griffith University senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning Tony Matthews said backyards, during the past two decades, had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres. Tony Matthews: 'We're running out of greenfield land' The traditional 'quarter acre block' backyard was becoming rarer as houses grew larger and in many cases, land sizes became smaller. 'The building footprint fills up a considerable portion of the block, maybe as much as 90 per cent,' Dr Matthews told Daily Mail Australia. High land costs were also encouraging developers to fit in more master-planned houses to get higher yields. 'The cost of land is so high developers or master planning development companies need to get a yield that will allow them to make sufficient profit to go ahead with the actual development,' Dr Matthews said. The lack of new land in Sydney was also contributing to smaller backyards and more apartment towers. 'We are basically running out of greenfield land,' he said. 'Within our existing urban areas and our existing suburban areas, and even our existing outer-suburban areas, what has been a planning priority over the last 20 years is to try and curtail sprawl development, particularly at the edge of the cities. 'That's also why we've seen so much high-rise development.' Advertisement

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said many parents were moving to small blocks 60km from the city to find somewhere affordable with a vague semblance of a backyard.

'Their priorities shift when they have children and they starting thinking about, "You know what, I'd really rather raise my children in a more conventional house",' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're prepared to sacrifice their backyard or a large backyard.

'There has been a long history of reluctance to equate family living with apartments in Australia.'

The excessive commute times in Sydney were also creating 'socially detrimental consequences'.

'You've just got less time with your kids or one parent has less time with their kids,' Dr Matthews said.

'Children end up often being not just in daycare but long daycare so they might be there from 6am to 6pm, which isn't necessarily optimal for them for their social development.

'The amount of time that you spend commuting is almost directly proportional to the amount of time that you are likely to engage with your community and participate in things like voluntary activities.'

Camden Liberal councillor Peter Sidgreaves, who until recently was mayor, said population growth was a problem in his area.

'I have to say that the traffic congestion is getting worse,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

An influx of new immigrants - from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal - were moving into the area, 65km from Sydney's city centre.

'Yes, that's certainly a major change to Camden and that's something as a community we're dealing with,' Mr Sidgreaves said.

At this stage, Mr Sidgreaves said Camden's population increase was fuelling more demand for house and land packages than apartments.

'There have been a lot of residential developments and that has been happening in the south-west growth centre precinct,' he said.

Late this week Dart West Developments, the group behind the new Narellan Town Centre, lodged a council application to knock down 11 houses to build a new four-storey apartment complex along Somerset Avenue.

Whether they sell for a good price is another matter, with New South Wales already home to almost half of Australia's apartments.

While younger people may prefer apartments (Sydney Olympic Park pictured), Dr Matthews said parents with young children were preferring to live in house, even a long way from the city

Tim Lawless, the head of research with real estate data group CoreLogic, said younger people were preferring to live in apartments closer to the city instead of houses a long way from work.

'We are seeing a gradual shift towards medium to high-density preferences,' he said.

Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics; House of Representatives Standing Committee for Long-Term Strategies, December 1994 Advertisement

'Those people look to, say, sacrifice the Hills Hoist in their backyard and live close to the city where they can perhaps live in medium to high-density but also be much closer to where they work, closer maybe to transport connections, social opportunities, perhaps where their parents live.'

At the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon, in Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel overlooking The Rocks, the Property Council of Australia's group executive of policy and advocacy Mike Zorbas slammed Mr Carr's suggestion as premier that Sydney was full.

Mr Carr said big business and federal Treasury economists were wedded to 'remorseless population growth as the underpinning of our economy'.

'It is the orthodoxy that links business and the Canberra bureaucrats,' he said.

He said Mr Steinert's prediction of land running out in Sydney 'confirms the warnings I've been making for over 20 years about the "more the merrier" ideology'.

'The inevitable depletion of the land supply mandates a basin filling with towers.'
Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate, lifestyle and safety.

A report by AfrAsia Bank found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running.

In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular.

Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate and lifestyle (pictured is the Sydney Opera House at night)

'Sydney is one of the top financial centres in Asia and has become one of the most sought-after destinations for the world's super-rich due to its lifestyle, safety and climate,' the 'Global Wealth Migration Review' report said.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

Despite having had seven prime ministers since 2007, Australia was also regarded as being the 'most politically developed country in the world'.

'Politicians in Australia are seen as everyday public servants and do not have extreme power,' the report said.

A report by AfrAsia Bank, with headquarters in Mauritius, found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running. In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular

'Notably, the Prime Minister of Australia is often replaced between elections if party members feel they need a change.'

After Australia, the U.S. was the second most prevalent destination for the rich, with 10,000 high net worth individuals moving there last year, as 108,000 wealthy people migrated globally.

By comparison, 4,000 wealthy people moved to Canada as another 3,000 relocated to Switzerland.

The United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean, which includes the tax havens of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, each attracted 2,000 very rich migrants.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised in the AfrAsia report for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, Portugal, Greece and Spain each welcomed 1,000 wealthy new residents last year.

Australia was regarded as the best place for the rich which, unlike the U.S., doesn't have inheritance taxes, is free from gun massacres and has accessible universal health care for everyone regardless of their income.

'Australia is also a particularly safe country to raise children,' the report said.

'The U.S. has some safety problems especially in the big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.'

Australia was also praised for having the 'highest minimum wage in the world' and a migration program biased towards those with skills instead of family reunion.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, from billionaire Meriton Group founder Harry Triguboff (left) to online retail millionaire Ruslan Kogan (right)

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996

'Most of the immigrants that are allowed into Australia are professional people (i.e. doctors, lawyers, engineers),' it said.

'Notably, in Australia there is only a small difference in wages between manual labour jobs and corporate jobs - this encourages a more equal society.'

Apart from Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts, Perth and Brisbane were popular with rich migrants.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, with their ranks including billionaires Harry Triguboff, the 86-year-old Chinese-born founder of the Meriton apartment building group, and Westfield shopping mall founder Frank Lowy.

Young entrepreneurs born overseas include 36-year-old online retail king Ruslan Kogan, who moved from Belarus as a child and grew up in a Melbourne housing commission flat.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996.
A wild raccoon has moved into a zoo - and keepers can't kick him out.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover the uninvited guest inside the existing raccoon enclosure on Friday, Germany's Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung reported.

It's not known how the animal managed to get through the security barriers keeping the animals inside, but he has been integrated into zoo life.

Keepers, who have nicknamed him Fred, have seen him getting along with the seven other raccoons in residence, the publication reported.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover a wild raccoon had moved into the raccoon enclosure (stock image)

'Fred came to us and got used to the good life in the zoo,' Sandra Reichler, mammal curator at Heidelberg Zoo told the publication.

While Fred initially had issues adapting, Ms Reichler said: 'he has become accustomed to the zookeepers and also adapted his daily rhythm to his conspecifics in the zoo.'

The raccoon can now expect to a live comfortably alongside the captive raccoons for the rest of his life.

The 2015 EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species forbids wild animals from being released back into the wild after life in captivity.

The wild creature, nicknamed him Fred, can expect to live 'the good life' from now on as EU law forbids him from being released back into the wild (stock image)

Despite upgrading to a life of luxury, Fred will unlikely produce any offspring with potential mates at the zoo.

Fred will also need to be castrated, as per the 2015 EU Regulation.

Raccoons are considered an invasive alien species that may pose a threat to European plants and animals under rule.

Wild raccoons in Europe are the descendants of animals that escaped from fur farms decades ago.
The family of a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death in east London have paid tribute to the 'loving, caring boy' who had an 'infectious laugh'.

Detectives believe aspiring musician Tashaun Aird was killed after a 'fracas' with a group of young people in a park in Hackney on Wednesday evening.

His family went to the scene of his death in Somerford Grove, Hackney, with one woman heard screaming: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

He was described by friends as a 'good guy' and produced Afrobeat and drill music.

In a statement released by Scotland Yard on Friday, they said: 'Tashaun was family orientated, he loved his family and we loved him dearly. He was passionate about his music and he loved drawing. He was a loving, caring boy with an infectious laugh.

The family of aspiring musician Tashaun Aird, 15, have paid tribute to him after he was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday evening

'There are no words to avoid this empty void we now have, a huge part of us is now missing. He was a talented young boy and worked hard in his studies, particularly with his English.

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by our loss; we have lost a dear son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson and an uncle in Tashaun.'

Another teenager, 16, was riding a bicycle when he was stabbed and chased, before he sought refuge in a convenience store.

He remains in hospital after he was found with stab injuries in nearby Shacklewell Road, but police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Tashaun Jones, 15, was described by friends as a 'good guy' who produced drill music

There have been no arrests and police are appealing for information.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Rance said: 'Tashaun's family have been left devastated by the sudden loss of their son and we are continuing to do everything we can to find those responsible.

'We believe both victims were attacked following a fracas with another group of youths in a park near Somerford Grove before both fled.

'Although we are following a number of leads we are urging anyone who has any information that may help our investigation to get in touch with us or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

The killing, which is the 43rd homicide in the capital this year and the 27th fatal stabbing, happened in Somerford Grove on Wednesday night.

Despite efforts of medics to save him, he was pronounced dead at 9.49pm. He is the eighth teenager to die violently so far this year.

A post-mortem examination gave his provisional cause of death as a stab wound to the lung.

Members of the victim's family were seen today at the estate in Hackney, East London, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son'

Police in Hackney, East London, this morning after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death

A blue tent was erected overnight in Hackney as police continue to investigate this morning

A friend who visited the scene of the boy's death said: 'It's sad. It came to us as a surprise because he was a good guy.

'We did music together. He didn't only produce afrobeats, he made drill music as well. He also sold some beats to some big artists.

'I never thought that any of my friends would be murdered. I'm shocked.'

Another friend added: 'I'm so done. It doesn't feel safe anymore.'

Family members leave flowers at the scene in Hackney on Thursday following the stabbing

Police officers investigate the scene in Hackney after the boy was stabbed to death

There have been 43 murders in London so far this year, and another on a London-bound train

Members of Tashaun's family were seen at the estate, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'I am deeply saddened by the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy in Hackney. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

'This horrific violence has absolutely no place on our streets. To anyone with information - please contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

No arrests have been made and the Metropolitan Police put a Section 60 order in place for Hackney, which allows officers to stop and search anyone in the area.
Police said Aida Melcado, 18, is one of two women who stole 2,000 pairs of underwear from a Pennsylvania Victoria's Secret store

Police in Pennsylvania have identified two suspects accused of stealing $21,000 worth of Victoria's Secret underwear last month.

Lower Allen Township police said Aida Melcado, 18, and a minor identified as 'BC' were behind the theft of 2,000 pairs of underwear from the Victoria's Secret store at the Capital City Mall near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 7.

Authorities said Melcado and BC were identified and arrested during a drug investigation in Virginia's Fairfax County on April 18, according to Fox 43.

The duo was said to have had the stolen underwear with them at the time of the arrest and that police later found their 'booster' bags  specially lined to prevent electronic security tags from working  which they allegedly used during the robbery.

Melcado and BC are believed to gone into the Victoria's Secret store at about 3 p.m. on April 7. Each was said to have been carrying a large, black shopping bag while using their cell phones.

Police said that the pair took the underwear off of a display table and out from inside the size drawers. BC was said to have acted as the lookout while Melcado secreted the huge quantity of underwear into the booster bags.

Authorities released surveillance pictures of the two women accused of stealing the underwear. It's believed that the woman in these images is Melcado

Police also released this image of the second suspect in the theft, who was identified as 'BC'

Melcado and BC are accused of having lifted the 2,000 pairs of underwear from this Victoria's Secret in Pennsylvania's Capital City Mall

Police said the pair stole 375 hipster panties (similar to left), 375 cut thongs (similar to right), 1,000 thongs and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties from the store display

The theft occurred at a time when the Victoria's Secret employees were busy assisting other shoppers, police said after releasing surveillance pictures of the suspects during their initial investigation of the crime in early April, CBS 21 reported.

All told, Melcado and BC are accused of having swiped $21,000 worth of merchandise, which was broken down as being 375 hipster panties worth $3,937.50; 375 cut thongs worth $3,937.50; 1,000 thongs worth $10,500, and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties worth $2,625.00.

On Friday, police issued an arrest warrant for Melcado, who now faces a felony charge of retail theft and conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of an instrument of crime, according to Penn Live.

BC faces juvenile charges as well, although the specific charges are unclear.
Jeremy Corbyn was humiliated in Labours heartlands yesterday as the party lost councillors on a night it had hoped to gain hundreds.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils.

The party suffered a string of stunning reverses in heartlands and Leave- voting areas such as Hartlepool and Bolsover, the local council of Left-wing firebrand Dennis Skinner.

By 7.30pm last night, Labour had recorded a net loss of more than 70 councillors.

Despite Theresa Mays extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour (Jeremy Corbyn is pictured left) recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils. Despite Theresa Mays (right) extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives

As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats

The astonishing scale of Labours failure came as a total shock to the party leadership. As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats.

By yesterday morning he was forced to admit the voters message from the local elections was: Brexit  sort it.

He added: Message received. Mr Corbyn could only say he was very sorry at the scale of the losses. Last night, an internal row broke out over the partys Brexit policy, with backbench MPs saying the poor performance was because of its mixed messages on the issue.

Former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw said: When you cower in the middle of the road on the biggest existential crisis facing Britain for generations, you get squashed.

I quit after 45 years, says furious Baldrick He once had a cunning plan to get Labour in power. But thats all history now, as Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson last night quit the party over its complete s*** leadership. The actor, who played Baldrick, said he had left Labour after 45 years because of Brexit and anti-Semitism. Actor Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder He described as duplicity the partys decision not to come down fully on the side of a second referendum. Sir Tony has appeared in party political broadcasts for Labour and has served on its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from 2000 to 2004. He tweeted: Ive left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at branch, constituency and NEC levels, partly because of its continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of its anti-Semitism, but also because its leadership is complete s***. Sir Tony tweeted to say he was leaving the Labour party Actress Tracy Ann Oberman replied: I feel your pain. Huge part of our identity  gone x. But one Corbynista said: The middle-classes always cave in, they never have the stamina for a long fight. Another wrote: Bye bye, sulky saboteur. During the 1980s Sir Tony played Baldrick, famous for his cunning plans, across four series of Blackadder. Advertisement

Remain-supporting Labour MPs said the fact that both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens had done well showed the party should back a second referendum.

Jess Phillips said: Those who had a clear message last night seem to have prospered much better. People dont know where the Labour Party stand on Brexit.

But MPs in Leave areas claimed the polls proved the party would prosper only if it helped to facilitate Brexit.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery told the BBC the clear message from the local elections was that the two parties need to get on and get Brexit sorted.

One MP, Neil Coyle, blamed Mr Corbyn himself for the poor results, saying: The number one negative for Labour was Jeremy Corbyn.

Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, said Mr Corbyn was losing the support of the working classes. Its a mixed picture for us, but the key worrying trend is the white working-class moving away from Labour, she said. Its a long-term trend, but Brexit has put rocket boosters under it.

Labour celebrated taking Trafford Council in Greater Manchester, and it made gains in Amber Valley, High Peak and Calderdale.

But results elsewhere were disastrous. The party in Barnsley said it was their worst night in years, with a 17 per cent swing to the Lib Dems. And Labour lost control of Bolsover for the first time in 40 years. Outgoing Labour leader Ann Syrett said: What weve met on the doorstep is that its just not clear to people what Labour means on Brexit. It simply isnt clear.

Visiting Trafford, where the party won overall control for the first time since 2003, Mr Corbyn said he was very sorry at the scale of losses. I wanted us to do better, of course, he said. Results across the country are interesting, to put it mildly. But I also say the swings to Labour in many parts of the country show that we can win seats in a general election, whenever that comes.

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis said: Last night John McDonnell was boasting about winning more than 400 seats.

Theyre actually going backwards, which is a dreadful place to be in Opposition.

Former Labour minister Chris Bryant said: I never thought constructive ambiguity would survive the white heat of the ballot box. Voters want to know what theyre getting from a party. Fudge just sickens them.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: Whats important is that before the European elections, we have clarity in relation to our position on Europe. In my view, that means giving the British public a final say on whether they accept the deal negotiated by the Prime Minister or the one which has the most support in Parliament, with the option of remaining in the EU.

But shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: We are not a second-referendum-at-all-costs party.
Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country, it was announced Friday.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Donald Trump cabinet member in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described 'prison-like' conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida and the news has already been condemned by several senior democrats.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was 'corruption at its absolute worst,' and Sen. Cory Booker said Kelly's actions were 'disgusting.'

U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district where the facility stands tweeted: 'This is unforgivable. It confirms what we knew about the President - that he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.'

But CEO Van Dusen said: 'With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team.'

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate operating the largest facility for migrant children in the country

An executive order on ethics issued by Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities. Trump and Kelly are pictured here in 2017

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space.

It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

CBS News first reported on the board appointment in a Friday news report.

Kelly revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was already affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.

Kelly was seen last month touring the migrant teen detention camp in Homestead, Florida, where he was also spotted by activists protesting over the detention of children.

The new conglomerate formed last year by DC Capital Partners consolidated four companies. One of them is the facility contractor, called Comprehensive Health Services.

About 2,500 children are detained at The Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Florida. The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space

Children are seen as they walk through the facility in February. The facility is the nation's largest for housing migrant children

Among its executives, Caliburn also has a high-ranking military officer who advised President Donald Trump his first months in office, and a former Department of Defense inspector general.

'It appears to be a strategy of trying to leverage Washington insiders to help the company win contracts,' said Mandy Smithberger, a director at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog group.

The government recently gave the company new contracts to run other facilities in Texas and awarded it $340 million to expand its Florida operation in a no-bid phase.

The corporation's chief compliance officer, Lynne Halbrooks, served as Department of Defense's principal deputy inspector general from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015. She is included in a 'revolving door' database by an independent watchdog group of military officials who are now working for companies they used to oversee.

The chief strategy officer for Caliburn is Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, who was an assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 2015 to August 2017.
A father-of-three who was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on issued a chilling warning about the dangers of the machine just days before he died.

Craig Tanner, 42, from Engadine, 33km south of Sydney, had been working as an industrial cleaner for an ink plant in Auburn when he was fatally struck by a mixing blade that abruptly began moving in December 2017.

It's now emerged that Mr Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services and was working at the site on a contract basis, had predicted his own demise in an eerie caution to his brother-in-law Mark Riach.

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Craig Tanner, 42, (pictured right alongside his wife Rachel Tanner and three sons) was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on

'Craig said to me, "I'm scared the ink vat is going to turn on one day",' Mr Riach told The Daily Telegraph.

Tragically Mr Tanner's worst fears were confirmed just days later when he was trudging through the ink tank and it suddenly revved up and trapped his leg and crushed his pelvis.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident.

Another worker, 29, was injured while a third man, 28, sustained leg injuries when he tried to save his co-workers at the DIC Australia premises on Chisholm Road.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death (Mr Tanner pictured alongside his three sons)

Ms Tanner (pictured alongside her three sons) said she struggles with the lack of closure from not knowing the exact circumstances around her husband's death

Mr Tanner has left behind a loving wife Rachel Tanner and three young sons all under the age of ten.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death.

'Craig was my best friend and soul mate. He was such an involved father that loved nothing more than his sons. He loved taking them on adventures and they worshipped him,' she said.

Ms Tanner said she struggles with the lack of closure from still not knowing the exact circumstances surrounding her husband's death.

'I'm his wife. I should know what happened to my husband. I can't even tell my sons why their father was killed. It's difficult to explain that we have no answers,' she said.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident

The incident occurred at DIC Australia factory on Chisholm Road in Auburn, western Sydney

A man dressed in protective clothing stands in the factory metres from where the accident occurred

At the time of his death SafeWork NSW issued multiple safety notices to the Auburn plant which, according to the government agency, have now been complied with.

SafeWork NSW and the police have also submitted an investigation into Mr Tanner's death to the coroner.

However, Jacob Carswell-Doherty who works as a lawyer for Ms Tanner, said the investigation had taken far too long.

He also said that while he understood the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation there had not been an adequate amount of transparency.

A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW told the publication the agency was committed to continue to provide 'significant resources' to the ongoing investigation.

The case will be reviewed at the NSW Coroner's Court on June 28.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Tanner for comment.
A cancer sufferer has received disgusting abuse online after she reached out to a Facebook group for help to save an injured ibis.

Chelsea Campbell, 21, who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across the injured bird on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday.

She immediately reached out to NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), who contacted Sydney Trains to help save the injured bird.

Chelsea Campbell, 21 (pictured), who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across an injured ibis on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday

But when the transport authority was unable to provide immediate assistance, and Ms Campbell commented about it on Facebook, she was slammed by trolls.

'Basically the response I got was, 'Is she kidding?',' Ms Campbell told Yahoo News Australia.

The 21-year-old said she was horrified to read the replies to her post about the ibis - which is often referred to as a 'bin chicken' for its scavenger eating habits.

Initially, Ms Campbell was ridiculed for suggesting Sydney Trains should intervene, but eventually the comments took a dark turn, she said.

She said 'some really nasty people' began leaving horrific messages on her Facebook post, in relation to photos of her taken during cancer treatment.

One Facebook user replied to her call-to-action post by commenting on a photo of Ms Campbell without hair, saying she resembled an ibis herself.

While another disgusting message told the 21-year-old to 'go kill yourself'.

The post quickly garnered more than 50 negative comments, before the Facebook group's admin intervened and removed it from the page.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued (stock)

Ms Campbell, who suffers from anxiety and depression, was so traumatised by the comments that she reached out to her family, who have slammed the online haters.

Her aunt, Sam Ward, was so angered by the actions of the trolls that she took to Facebook to share her concerns over the incident.

'How would any of you feel if your son, daughter brother, sister, mum, dad was told to go 'kill themselves' when asking for help?!?! (sic),' Ms Ward wrote.

She told Yahoo News the people responsible for the hateful comments have no right to be so judgmental and should be ashamed of themselves.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued.
He has launched a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools

Pushy parents are driving teachers out of their jobs by ranting on social media when their children get told off, the Education Secretary has warned.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies.

He revealed that he plans to update guidance for heads and teachers on what to do when they are cyber-bullied by parents and pupils.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn [File photo]

He told the conference of the NAHT school leaders union: Teachers and leaders should not be subject to online abuse simply for doing their jobs. He also said social media companies had a role in protecting victims.

Speaking earlier to the Daily Mail, he said it used to be that if you were in trouble at school you were in trouble at home.

He added: Thats still true in lots of cases but there is this minority. In the very worst cases  and I do stress this is a tiny minority  social media then comes into play.

Social media changes everything. It does concern me greatly because I want to attract and retain the very best people into teaching. I dont want there to be any untoward thing that makes that profession less attractive.

Some parents were also quick to phone or email schools, very ready sometimes to be over-challenging of what schools are doing.

Mr Hinds warned: School teachers are in charge of schools and its really important for good discipline, good behaviour, that everybody knows where they stand.

These cases are a small minority of parents, but it would be crazy to say there isnt that problem. With some families there is a much quicker willingness to say, Why are you taking this action against my child?.

He said that for teachers who are considering leaving the profession, behaviour is one of the key things that is part of that consideration. He added: When you ask parents and grandparents, what is it about the school system that they care about most, behaviour comes out really high.

And one of the reasons for that is, its what they are hearing from their children.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies [File photo]

Mr Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn.

He was speaking before the launch today of a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools. It will create a network of head teachers who have a track record on improving discipline to provide bespoke support for other schools.

From next year mentor schools will provide advice on issues including detention and sanction and reward mechanisms.

More than 82 per cent of parents consider good discipline in the class a key factor when choosing a school for their child, according to research. However, more than a third of schools are currently judged as not having good enough behaviour by Ofsted.

Mr Hinds, 49, a father of three, said children were most likely to reach their academic potential if they have clear boundaries where everyone has mutual respect for each other.
Gary Hill was caught having sex with Crystal Frances Monday night in Florida. Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public

A Florida man has arrested after being caught having sex with a woman outside a police station following them downing a pint of vodka.

Gary Hill was spotted on North Roosevelt Boulevard Monday night with his short around his ankles and a woman passing by alerted cops at headquarters in the immediate vicinity.

A police report states the witness told cops via dispatch telephone in the Key West Police Station lobby that she saw two subjects who appeared as if there were about to have sex.

His partner in the 9pm clinch Crystal Frances was found on the sidewalk by a pond with no underwear or clothing on her bottom half.

According to a report after the incident, Hill and Frances were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' between a metal fence and concrete barrier when law enforcement went to investigate.

When confronted Hill told Officer Brian P Leahy: 'It was a Key West moment.

'I'm horny. She was giving it up to me right then and there.'

The couple is said to be homeless. Hill's address was listed as a general reference to Key West.

Police said Hill put his clothes back on when prompted.

However Frances angrily refused and cops took her to hospital after being led to believe she was intoxicated. The report stated her speech was not understandable.

A woman passing by Key West Police Station spotted them appearing as if they were about to have sex. They were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' when police arrived

Officer Leahy called in Sergeant Siracuse for backup and he handcuffed Frances after she eventually did put clothes on.

The reporting officer stated Hill had 'glassy/bloodshot eyes' and emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath.

'I observed Hill to have slurred speech and be unsteady on his feet,' Leahy wrote.

Hill, 46, told cops he and Frances had consumed a pint of vodka between them earlier in the evening.

Police found a half empty bottle of vodka near where they were caught having sex.

Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public.

Police said they aimed to obtain a warrant for the woman's arrest on once she's released from hospital for treatment of alcohol consumption and 'possible ingestion of narcotics'.
A mother and son have opened up about their terrifying ordeal when a group of robbers strapped bombs to the pair in an elaborate plot to rob the son's bank.

Matt Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home.

Matt was then zipped and headphones were placed over his head so that the robbers could speak with him, saying that he would need to go the credit union where he worked and steal money.

Matt Yussmann opened up about terrifying moment he was held hostage by a gang of robbers who strapped a bomb to him in a plot to steal millions of dollars from the bank where he worked

Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home

'It was a very specific amount. We want $4.2 million in cash,' says Matt in a clip obtained by DailyMail.com.

'They knew where I work. What I did. That I had my mother in the house.'

The men then showed him the explosives he would be wearing, and that would be placed under this mother's bed, if he did not comply.

'They said, "Do you know what this is ?" And I said, "No",'says Matt.

'And they said, "This is C4 explosive. We're gonna make an explosive device and we're gonna strap it to you because we don't trust that you're gonna do what you're told."'

His mother could also hear the men from the next room.

The men broke into Yussman's home in Bristol, Connecticut (pictured)

'And then I could hear them unwrapping duct tape, lots and lots, I could hear that unwrapping. And that must've been when they were strapping it around him,' says Valerie.

'And I began to cry harder and really panic because - as you're laying there, and I'm thinking, "they're putting a bomb on him".'

Yussman told police that two men confronted him when he arrived at his home in Bristol after work. The suspects bound Yussman and his mother and held them for hours before sending Yussman out at daybreak to get money from a branch of the credit union in nearby New Britain, police said at the time.

When Yussman arrived at the branch, he called a fellow credit union official, who called police.

Minutes later, police found Yussman alone in his car outside the New Britain branch of the credit union with the bomb strapped to his chest.

Attempted heist: Police swarm around the Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Connecticut on February 23, 2015, after Yussman was found in the parking lot with a device strapped to his chest

Public works trucks were brought to the scene as 'shields' because they would be large enough to withstand a blast or stop a car from fleeing if needed.

The state police bomb unit was called in and rendered the device safe, police said.

The suspects had disappeared by the time police arrived, fleeing in a white older model four-door Mazda, according to reports at the time.

The incident sparked a massive police response involving dozens of officers and SWAT equipment. Schools were put on lockdown and roads were closed.

Yussman, 46, was treated at a hospital for exposure to freezing temperatures while having to sit in the unheated car while authorities removed the device, police said. His mother wasn't harmed.

Police withheld many other details at that time, including whether the suspects made off with any money and whether Yussman was an unlucky victim or part of the plot.
Authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao have announced they will quarantine a ship carrying 300 people, after confirmation that a female crew member has measles.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, and is set to dock early Saturday.

Health officials say they will board the vessel when it arrives and assess who has been vaccinated for measles or has had the virus previously.

They say proof will be required, and that those who do not comply will be vaccinated immediately, regardless of their religious views.

The Church of Scientology website describes the Freewinds as a floating 'religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion'.

It is normally docked in Curacao when not in use, but Church officials have not returned messages for comment.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, will be quarantined when it arrives in Curacao on Saturday

Detained passengers were pictured on the deck of the vessel in this picture during its mooring at St. Lucia earlier this week. The passengers were not let off the ship, and it has now turned back to Curacao

The ship departed Curacao for the nearby island of St Lucia on April 28.

Prior to departure, a female crew member had visited a doctor for cold symptoms. She told medics that she had recently been in Europe.

A blood sample was taken, but by the time officials diagnosed her with measles, she had already left port on the ship.

Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia, who banned passengers from disembarking when they reached island. The ship has now turned back to Curacao.

Officials urged anyone who visited the Freewinds ship from April 22-28 to get a medical checkup.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks, in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
Derryn Culverwell and her children survived but her husband Alan was shot dead

The wife of a man shot dead at close-range by callous Caribbean pirates, who raided the family yacht on a round-the-world trip, survived the traumatising ordeal despite being brutally attacked with a machete.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht near Morodub island in the Guna Yala district in Panama's northeast at about 2am local time on Thursday.

It's understood Mr Culverwell was attacked after he was woken up by a noise on the yacht's roof, but when he went upstairs to check what the noise was he was fatally shot.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of Mr Culverwell, local media outlet TVN Noticias reported.

The former paua diver's wife Derryn and daughter Briar, 11, were also set upon by the hooded assailants, but the mother and daughter managed to stay alive because Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

'There were about two hours where Derryn just sheltered with the kids in the boat,' Derryn Hughes, Mr Culverwell's sister, told Stuff.co.nz.

Despite suffering with knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand who helped the family get back to safety.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean

'As a family, we are so proud of her,' Ms Hughes said.

Ms Hughes also said she believed both her sister-in-law and niece, who had been taken to hospital in Panama City, had now been released from hospital.

The couple's son Flynn, 11, was not injured in the attack, it's understood.

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean.

Panama was to be their final destination before making their way back to New Zealand.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the incident and the director of the Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, confirmed an investigation was ongoing.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

A GoFundMe page had been set up by loved ones to help the Culverwell family (pictured) in the wake of the traumatising incident

He also said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.
A man who called police to report his cannabis plants were stolen was charged when officers allegedly found more illegal plants in his house.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in Tennant Creek, a Northern Territory town, on Friday.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants (pictured) at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in the Northern Territory on Friday

'Police were alerted to the presence of the plants when the male called them to report that a number of individuals had been stealing them,' a Northern Territory police spokeswoman said.

'A search warrant was executed at the property.'

The man was charged with cultivating a commercial quality of cannabis, supplying a dangerous drug and possessing a trafficable amount of cannabis.

He was issued a notice to appear at court.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants (pictured) ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material
A New York schoolteacher who was jailed for murdering her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus, 55, murdered her lover's wife Betty Jeanne Solomon in 1989 by shooting her in the back with a gun nine times.

She was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail in 1992 for the bloody murder, which drew parallels to the famed film Fatal Attraction that came out just two years prior in 1987. In the film the main character is obsessed with her lover and seeks to harm his wife.

After decades behind bars, a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison on Friday, and she could get out as early as June 10.

'Fatal Attraction' killer Carolyn Warmus, 55, was granted parole on Friday. In 1992 she was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail for the bloody murder of her lover's wife in 1989. Warmus pictured left in 2017 and right in court in 1991

A three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10. Pictured above in New York Supreme Court in 2017

The convicted teacher was denied parole after her initial board appearance in 2017.

Warmus is the daughter of a millionaire insurance executive and worked as a teacher at Greenville Elementary School in Scarsdale, New York in the late 1980s.

She was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him.

Then on January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back.

After she committed the horrific murder she met up with Paul for drinks at a hotel bar and reportedly had sex with him in his car.

Warmus was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him. Solomon pictured above with his wife Betty Jeanne at their wedding

Paul Solomon pictured testifying in her murder trial in 1991

On January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back. Paul Solomon pictured above talking with a friend as he left court in 1992

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

Warmus pictured above in her high school year book photo

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus has always maintained her innocence.

At her first parole hearing she insisted she was innocent and 'was found guilty because of the media attention and the publicity', as per the New York Post.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, 'We are indeed pleased that release has been granted.' He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting 'the particulars of her future' in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.
Had his chips: Gavin Williamson posted this picture of himself in McDonald's last night

Gavin Williamson has received the backing of more than 200 Conservative MPs since his brutal sacking by Theresa May, friends revealed last night.

Amid mounting Tory unease at Mr Williamson's dramatic ejection from the Cabinet, allies of the former defence secretary said around two-thirds of the party had sent him supportive messages.

He is also understood to have received a consolatory call from DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose MPs prop up Mrs May's Government.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  allegations he strenuously denies  is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name.

He told the Mail last night: 'I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.'

Downing Street had reportedly decided that Mr Williamson was guilty of leaking 48 hours before he was given an ultimatum of quitting or being sacked.

Sources told The Times that it was apparent on Monday that Mr Williamson no longer had a place in Theresa May's government - two days before he was sacked.

A cabinet source had said: 'Everyone knew [Mr Williamson] was a serial leaker so the onus was on him to disprove it. The test is whether he has the prime minister's confidence.

'That is the only test that needs to be applied.'

Mr Williamson is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate. Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who oversaw the inquiry, has also resisted calls to ask the police to investigate, despite opposition claims that the leak  which revealed secret details of Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G mobile network  constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act which can carry a two-year jail term.

Mr Williamson has claimed Sir Mark was engaged in a 'vendetta' against him amid suggestions that he found him guilty before the inquiry even began. One Whitehall source yesterday said Sir Mark had told a meeting of officials on the morning the Huawei leak was reported that he believed Mr Williamson was guilty.

'Sedwill was telling people last Wednesday that Gavin was guilty,' the source said. 'It raised a few eyebrows because at that stage no one can have known.'

His astonishing 'F*** the PM' memo Mr Williamson scrawled 'F*** the Prime Minister' across an official memo as his relationship with Downing Street deteriorated, it emerged last night. Friends of the former defence secretary confirmed that he had written the aggressive message in frustration after Theresa May overruled his controversial decision to deploy the UK's new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. Word of Mr Williamson's angry response in February spread like wildfire around the Ministry of Defence and is said to have reached the ears of Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who would play a central role in his downfall. Mr Williamson's announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to the South China Sea underlined his position as the Cabinet's leading hawk on China's expansionist policies. He said the UK had to be prepared to use 'hard power' against countries that 'flout international law', as critics claim Beijing has done in the disputed South China Sea. The decision angered Beijing and caused consternation in Whitehall, where officials were eyeing up a potential trade deal with the communist giant. China's rulers were so irritated that they cancelled a planned visit by the Chancellor Philip Hammond. Downing Street responded by overruling Mr Williamson, with the PM's official spokesman making it clear that she would make the 'final decision' on the route taken by the aircraft carrier when it is deployed to the Pacific. The row highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Mrs May and the man who masterminded her 2016 leadership victory and forged an alliance with the DUP that kept her in power following the disastrous 2017 general election. Mr Williamson had been one of Mrs May's most trusted allies. But, as No 10 came to be dominated by Brexit, relations grew more strained. The former Remainer became an increasingly vocal advocate of a hard Brexit. He was one of a handful of Cabinet ministers urging Mrs May to leave the EU without a deal if she could not get her plans through. Advertisement

Mr Williamson and Sir Mark are known to have clashed in recent months.

The Cabinet Secretary, who also serves as the PM's national security adviser, was said to be 'sore' after coming off second-best during a clash over defence spending last year when Mr Williamson secured more cash for conventional forces at a time when Sir Mark was pushing for the money to be invested in cyber defences.

One source said: 'Gavin and Mark basically agreed on 90 per cent of things.

'In most relationships that would be enough for two people to get along.

'But Mark is someone who if you are not 100 per cent with him, he sees you as being 100 per cent against him.'

Yesterday, Parliament's cross-party National Security Committee demanded that Sir Mark, Britain's top civil servant, hand over the evidence that led to Mr Williamson's sacking.

Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, who chairs the committee, told Sir Mark that MPs had to be 'apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry,' adding: 'This directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the National Security Council.'

The involvement of Huawei in the rollout of the high-speed, next-generation 5G network is highly controversial. The Chinese firm insists it is a private company, but ministers have been told that the security services judge it to be under the control of Beijing's communist regime. The United States, which has banned Huawei from its networks, has warned that intelligence sharing with the UK could be jeopardised if the deal goes ahead.

No 10 yesterday denied tensions between Mr Williamson and Sir Mark had coloured the inquiry. A spokesman said the investigation, led by the Government's chief security officer Dominic Fortescue, had been conducted 'fairly and impartially'.

In the PM's letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, she said the investigation had found 'compelling evidence' that he was the source of the leak.

But the former defence secretary has told friends the only evidence produced against him by the PM was an 11-minute phone call with the Daily Telegraph journalist who reported the leak. The inquiry is said to have found that the reporter later spoke to 'several' other ministers and officials who attended the National Security Council meeting on April 23.

Mr Williamson, who was refused access to the inquiry's findings, pointed out that he had reported the phone call himself and flatly denied divulging any details of the Government's dealings with Huawei.

Mrs May yesterday said it had been a 'difficult decision' to sack Mr Williamson, adding: 'This was not about what was leaked, but where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

But she ducked a direct question about whether she was 'convinced' that Mr Williamson was responsible, telling ITV News: 'I took the decision I did. It was the right decision.'
Sir James Dyson's former PA has hit back at claims that she stole family secrets including his wife's medical records.

The inventor and his wife Lady Deirdre are suing Lynette Flanders for allegedly plundering emails, family records and photos of their grandchildren at their 20million mansion.

But Mrs Flanders, 50, branded the claims 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files.

Lynette Flanders has been accused of 'spying' by her former boss, businessman James Dyson

James Dyson and his wife Deirdre are suing his former PA Lynette Flanders for 50,000

She also said she had only taken photos of framed family snaps to remember their position on a windowsill so she could return them to the right place after tidying.

The Dysons, who are worth 9.5billion, have lodged High Court papers demanding 50,000 compensation from Mrs Flanders.

The married mother-of-three joined their staff as a cleaner in 2007 and rose to become the 35,000-a-year house manager of Dodington Park, where the couple live, with a staff of 100.

Lawyers for the 72-year-old vacuum cleaner tycoon said this gave her 'extensive access to private and confidential information' before she was made redundant last August.

In May last year, she allegedly created a folder called 'Deirdre' on her work laptop containing 'private, confidential and sensitive medical records' of Lady Deirdre, then later copied it to a portable data storage USB stick.

She also copied 5,000 emails to her personal email account and sent herself five photos taken on her phone inside the Dysons' home, it was claimed.

Mrs Flanders, 50, denies the allegations, saying they are 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files

On another occasion, it was said, she copied a list of guests invited to a 'private opera' the Dysons were hosting, including their private email addresses. It is also alleged she made a secret recording of a conversation between two senior estate staff.

The Dysons, who bought their 300-acre Georgian estate in south Gloucestershire in 2003, said there was 'no legitimate basis' for her to have the data.

But Mrs Flanders, of Bristol, denies their claims of breach of contract, breach of confidence, misuse of private information and causing distress and anxiety. She admits creating a computer folder called Deirdre and moving records of the work she had done for Lady Deirdre into it 'in an effort to try and tidy the electronic files', her lawyer said.

She later copied it to a USB device 'in order to retain a profile of the work she had undertaken as an aide-memoire'.

To the claim that she photographed pictures of the Dysons' children and grandchildren, she said it was for a 'legitimate work-related purpose'.

The couple's sprawling country home, the 300-acre 20million Dodington Park in Gloucestershire

Her lawyer Allan Roberts said: 'These photographs were a general view of a windowsill area, which contained items including photographs. The windowsill was to be cleared and the photographs taken to enable the items to be returned to their original place.'

He added that Mrs Flanders had intended to send them to her work email address 'but inadvertently selected her personal address'.

The opera guest list was indeed sent to Mrs Flanders's personal email address, he said, but this was because she was working from home and could only print it out from her home computer, not her work laptop. The recording of a staff conversation was also made as an aide-memoire, he added.

Mrs Flanders claims Lady Deirdre, 76, was well aware of her using her personal email address for work because the tycoon's wife had often sent work emails to it. She had never been asked to delete the files in her personal email account, her lawyer said.

Mrs Flanders denies all the Dysons' claims and says they are 'retaliation' for her intention to sue the billionaire couple for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

No date has yet been set for a court hearing. Neither side wished to comment last night.
Ministers have set up a Line of Duty-style anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drug-taking in prisons.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'.

But there is growing evidence the drugs are being smuggled in by prison officers working for organised gangs.

A new anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drugs in prisons will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty (pictured)

Police chiefs strongly suspect gang members are encouraging associates or family members to get jobs in prisons to bring in banned substances.

In one unnamed jail in the West Midlands, up to 13 employees were suspended last year for smuggling in drugs.

The Counter Corruption Unit was launched this week and will pursue any officers suspected of corruption in prison and probation services.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'

It will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty, which is tasked with rooting out police corruption.

The unit will consist of intelligence analysts who will work on tip-offs from prison staff to identify culprits.

Prison employees can already report wrongdoing anonymously via a hotline.
Travel broadens the mind, but it can broaden other things, too.

Two pies, two haggises, two whisky and lemonades and two packets of crisps, please, is the dinner order from my neighbours at the next table in the restaurant car on the Caledonian Sleeper.

If an alien with even a faint grasp of cultural indicators were to beam down from Mars and hazard a guess at what was going on, it might conclude that I am on a Scottish train with Scottish people heading to Scotland for a Scottish break, and it would be entirely correct.

But it is not just any old Scottish train.

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous! The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life

With the help of a 60 million subsidy from Scotlands government, the services giant Serco has spent 150 million relaunching the ageing sleeper service whose previous set of carriages had ploughed up and down between England and Scotland for the past 40 years. It is not before time.

For decades, regular passengers like me increasingly despaired at the decrepit carriages on the sleepers, the balding carpets and the prison-like sleeping berths where every expense was spared and comfort was as thin as the duvets.

Now the 75 ageing carriages have finally been replaced by a spanking new fleet which came into service this week on the Lowlander trains, which run between London and Glasgow or Edinburgh. Highlander trains to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William are due to get the new carriages next month.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine

The trains boast the first commercial sleeper cabins to offer double beds, complete with mattresses from the Queens own supplier.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel.

Certainly, the prices dont make sense to ordinary travellers, who might find that it is cheaper  and quicker  to fly or drive.

What can I tell you? The high-profile launch was, alas, a complete disaster.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night

The first train from London rolled into Glasgow three hours late and blushing with shame.

The journalists, dignitaries, passengers and MPs on board endured lost bookings, delays, unmade beds, water leakages and even a shortage of butter, shriek.

A signal failure at Carstairs Junction, South Lanarkshire, was blamed for much of the woe. Did matters improve for my midweek journey from London to Glasgow a few days later?

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous!

The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life.

Just as before, the train splits into two (or joins up, on the reverse journey) at Carstairs Junction, a violent shunting process that traditionally and infuriatingly wakes everyone up in the wee small hours.

But not any more, as train bosses promise a smooth new transition in every way. Well, we shall see about that.

At least we leave on time, just before midnight, sliding quietly out of London on the long journey north.

I paid a rather gasping 270 for my First Class Solo Cabin ticket  one way!  which provides an ensuite toilet and shower, a sink, a little desk, space under the bed to stow your luggage and coat hooks.

There is a smart plaid carpet, pleasant lighting, power and recharging points, but best of all, the whole cabin seems to be hermetically sealed from your neighbours. What utter luxury.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel. The club car is pictured above

But whats this! On a hook, there is a grotty mesh nylon bag crammed with crushed towels and a spare loo roll; like something you would be handed before going into solitary confinement at a maximum security facility.

Are those towels clean, I squeak? Yes, we just havent thought of a better way of storing them, says the steward. After she has gone, I cant figure out how to use the sink tap, and have to wash my hands with bottled water before going to dinner.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy.

Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals.

Dishes include a traditional hand crafted pie, 7.50.

Oh, what is it today, I ask, expecting something glorious and gamey, such as venison or grouse. Pork, says the waiter. He makes a circle with his hands. Its about that big with a thick crust.

Instead I have the haggis, neeps and tatties (9).

The tasty haggis is supplied by Cockburns of Dingwall and is actually not bad, but the vegetables are lumpy and the dish is so badly made and terribly served  slumped on a plate with a splat of whisky sauce on top  that it looks like an unspeakable effluence that has been ejected at speed from the Monarch of the Glen himself.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap

Nothing is actually freshly made on site but cooked and pre-plated elsewhere in the dreary modern way, before being heated up in the trains warming ovens.

Still, at least there are some genuine Scottish delicacies on board, in the form of Mackies haggis crisps (1.10), and Tunnocks teacakes (50p), hurrah.

They also charge 50p for an apple  at these ticket prices youd think they could find it in their hearts to give them away free, but no.

Back in my cabin I snuggle under the crisp cotton sheets and lulled by the rocking of the train, fall into a deep and lovely sleep.

Sleeper travel has always been expensive, but for me travelling home on the Highland line, to Perth and beyond, is more convenient than flying.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night.

I have booked breakfast in the dining car at 6am but oversleep. At 6.10 I am woken by a female Scottish voice crackling through my ears. Hello! Hello! Jan. Thats your breakfast ready. Repeat, your breakfast is ready for you.

What? Is that my mother? Mum? Whassgoinon? I had no idea they had a kitchen to cabin intercom system. But now I do.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy. Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals

Yet despite all the improvements, a part of me does mourn the sleepers of old. Even I can remember when dining cars had genuine kitchens staffed with real chefs, who would sizzle bacon, fry farm eggs and cook up proper breakfasts for 50 in a space the size of a telephone box. The porridge was historic and always made with water and salt, never with Sassenach cream and sugar, in the proper Scottish way.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap.

Whisky or brandy, madam? they would say. How civilised. Still, progress means we have more comfort and less pain, give or take the loss of charm.

Yes, the Carstairs shunt is more of a gentle bump  that really is progress  and you can even have a shower in your room, can you imagine!

So back in my cabin, I get in the shower cubicle, switch on the tap and wait to experience the latest in luxury train travel.

Except there is no water. Of course there isnt. I should have known.
A Central California school district has allowed a high school newspaper to publish a risque profile of an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry and has earned as much as $475 in three hours from selling nude images.

The Lodi Unified School District didn't stop the story from running Friday in the Bear Creek High School paper, The Bruin Voice, where Caitlin Fink says that one of the hardest things since leaving home after a fallout and moving in with her friend's parents, is earning enough money.

But she quickly learned some tough lessons

'I used to sell my content first before receiving any sort of payment, and when I asked for the payment, [buyers would] save my content and block me,' Fink said in the article Friday. 'I've also had to put my name on pictures sometimes because people would try and sell them, claiming them as theirs.'

Lodi Unified School District didn't stop a story about Bear Creek High School student Caitlin Fink's porn career from running Friday in The Bruin Voice

The editorial team of the Bruin Voice and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby (right), fought hard to get the article published, saying that the piece humanized Caitlin Fink (left) and tells the story of the challenges she has faced

The lawyer who represents teacher Kathi Duffel (left) and student writer Bailey Kirkeby (right) concluded that the story didn't violate education codes

The paper's adviser, English teacher Kathi Duffel, had accused district officials of censorship after they demanded to review and approve the article before publication.

In an April 11 letter, district Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of possible discipline, 'up to and including dismissal' if she refused.

Duffel refused on free speech grounds, and officials in the San Joaquin Valley district, which has about 31,500 students, agreed to let an attorney review the story.

Matthew Cate, who represents Duffel and the student who wrote the article, concluded that the story didn't violate education codes.

A lawyer for the district, Paul Gant, wrote to Cate Wednesday to say the district wouldn't prevent publication of the story. But Gant also called Duffel insubordinate for refusing to submit the article for review, and said, 'There is no question that the article could be lawfully reviewed or censored,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Duffel refused to let district review story she oversaw before its publication

California English teacher, Kathi Duffel (pictured), could lose her job after overseeing a high school newspaper story about senior, Caitlin Fink, 18, who is working in the porn industry

'Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,' the district said in a statement. 'Because we are charged with the education and care of our community's children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law.'

The Bruin Voice tweeted Thursday that Duffell said: 'This is a whole new level of district administrators who have lost their minds, quite frankly.'

Duffel, who has taught English for 33 years in the Lodi School District, believed that Fink should be able to tell her own story.

Fink says in the piece: 'When I first started selling, it was just for money. But then I liked the attention I got, [such as] being called beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me feel good about myself.'

The article profiles a student who sells nude videos and aspires to be a stripper

Fink works as a part-time dishwasher and pays a friend's parents $300 per month to live with them. Duffel said the teenager wanted to share story and challenges that led her to do porn

She details how she was 'so excited' when her agent told her about scenes she was going to do under her professional contract with Pornhub. She passed mandatory blood test every two weeks in order to film sex scenes but was told to get her body acne cleared because the camera picks up details.

Her first professional porn shoot was cancelled as a result and she hasn't earned anything so far with the website.

Fink has a second job as a dishwasher to make ends meet.

'You can choose how you get paid,' Fink shared. 'It usually goes by view count, or you can sell your videos if [users] want to download them. There is also a tip option on [member's] profiles. Pornhub sends money to your PayPal.'

Officials from Bear Creek High School believe the Bruin Voice (file image) story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'

Video courtesy KTXL

Fink aspires to be a stripper where it's easier to rake in the cash.

'When I auditioned at a strip club, I made $80 in what felt like five or six minutes,' Fink - who calls herself a 'lovey-dovey, old school romantic' reveals.

She warns in the Friday article that her onscreen encounters do not reflect real-life sex.

The district believes the story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'.

The editorial team and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby, said the piece humanizes Fink.

'I am very proud of the story and how it turned out,' she told the Chronicle.

Duffel contacted an attorney after the district warned (letter picture) her that she would be personally liable for any legal claims that could result from the article and if she failed to provide a copy of the story, she could face 'dismissal'

Duffel had told the paper that the article doesn't glamorize pornography, but it 'will help students think more critically about the choices they do make at this age in their lives.'

The student who was interviewed said she wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm 18, what I'm doing is legal, and I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,' Fink said.

California law ensures that the First Amendment applies to student journalists. It prohibits prior restraint of school newspaper stories unless they are obscene, libelous or slanderous or incite unlawful acts or school disruptions.

Duffel's students 'are getting a front-row seat to our government in action,' she told the Chronicle. 'What better way to teach the value of the First Amendment than by teaching them firsthand not to have their voices silenced?'

Duffel has relied on the law before to block censorship attempts over her nearly three decades advising the Bruin Voice. For example, in 2013 the principal at the time confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper when students exposed inaccuracies in the school safety handbook.
A conman has launched an appeal against his eight-year sentence while on the run, in an echo of notorious speedboat killer Jack Shepherd.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue.

It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction.

Raja, 32, a cold-call scammer from Grays, Essex, who duped elderly victims into handing over their life savings by posing as a broker, fled to Dubai before his trial. In January he was sentenced to eight years in jail for his part in the 2.4million fraud, which he had used to buy an Aston Martin and a 4,000 Rolex.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue. It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction

Yesterday, at a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, it emerged he is launching an appeal from his hideaway. Prosecutor Paul Casey said: We understand Mr Raja is contesting his conviction.

Judge Christopher Hehir replied: It seems to be in vogue these days, that one contests ones conviction having fled overseas.

Shepherd, 31, was convicted in his absence after he fled to Georgia instead of attending his trial for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, who died in December 2015 when Shepherds defective speedboat capsized on the Thames, throwing the pair into the freezing water.

He triggered public outrage when he was granted legal aid to fund his appeal, but was brought back to justice last month after a Daily Mail campaign flushed him out in Georgia, where he was working as a web designer.

Back in London, he was given an extra six months on his sentence for running away by a judge who praised the Mail for finding him. His appeal has yet to be heard.

Shepherd has been found guilty of manslaughter after Charlotte Brown, 24, died in 2015 when his speedboat flipped on the Thames while they were on a first date

Raja was found guilty in his absence of six counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Victims received unsolicited calls from brokers who used high-pressure sales techniques to persuade them to invest in the scam products. As a fugitive in Dubai, he is believed to still be running Sami Raja Consultancy, which claims to help investors set up and expand their businesses in the UAE and the UK.

Senior investigating officer Hayley Wade, of the City of London Polices fraud squad, said: Raja cruelly targeted often elderly individuals with the intention of defrauding them of their life savings. He clearly felt no remorse.

Raja was one of five men convicted over the scam, which saw 130 victims conned between 2012 and 2013.
A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies.

In a thread of communications between the teacher and a year 13 student, seen by Stuff, the Auckland teacher allegedly discussed meeting up and going for a drive.

The teacher then allegedly recalled sexual dreams she had about her student, which included kissing him all over and 'sensuous' oral sex.

A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies (stock image)

The male student and female teacher are connected on social media and have shared their phone numbers.

The Auckland college where the teacher was employed denied to comment on the alleged dirty texts but said the matter was before the Teaching Council.

A spokeswoman confirmed to Stuff they were following up a report lodged by the college but were unable to comment further.

She said teachers who did not maintain their professional boundaries with students were in breach of the profession's Code of Professional Responsibility.

'Also, serious misconduct as defined in the Education Act 1989 and the Teaching Council Rules 2016 includes breaches of professional boundaries such as engaging in an inappropriate relationship or any behaviour or communication of a sexual nature with a student.'

A parent at the school alleged the teacher had also sent nude pictures to students amid the offending.

The parent told Stuff she understood the teacher had been dismissed.

The register of New Zealand teachers says the student voluntarily agreed to step away from teaching.
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Shoppers were sent jumping out of the way as a huge tree fell in strong winds on Soho Square in the centre of London as gusts came in from the North Sea earlier today.

Racegoers at Newmarket had to cling onto their hats and umbrellas as they battled the bad weather during the first day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival.

Arctic winds and biting rain blasted attendees, with temperatures reaching just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area.

This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a chilly one, in stark contrast to the warmer climes seen this time last year and over the Easter holiday.

Many of us are still sporting tans from the glorious sunshine over Easter but the heatwave is now long gone, with unseasonably cold temperatures and even hail forecast for the May Day bank holiday weekend.

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday.

Saturday will see a cold and frosty start for many with possible heavy showers for the Midlands and South East, and a risk of hail.

A tree fall that squashed a van has blocked off Soho Square in central London, as strong winds hit the country and the capital faces hail, showers and wind

This woman was left holding on to her hat as arctic winders battered the Newmarket racecourse today

Others struggled to control their umbrellas as rain fell during day one of the QIPCO Guineas festival

Temperatures reached just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area today

Elsewhere, an inch of snow couldn't stop the Shepherd family from Dornoch eating their breakfast outside at a campsite near Aviemore today

Wendy Stewart and Marilyn Hemingway went out for a run in the snow near Aviemore with dogs Chunk and Rowan

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.' Pictured: the Inverness to Edinburgh citylink bus near Inverness

Waves crashed over the sea wall at Tynemouth earlier today as Brits prepared for a chilly Bank Holiday weekend

Pictured: People braving the rain to go punting on the River Cam in Cambridge

Sunday is set to be dry except for showers in the North East, continuing into Monday.

Andy Page, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: 'After cold, frosty starts and cool days for many across the Bank Holiday weekend, daytime temperatures will gradually recover early next week.

The daytime average for the start of May is around 16C (61F) - and the top temperature over Easter was 77F (25C).

The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather  including 28.7C (83.7F) at Northolt, north-west London, the warmest since records began in 1910.

The lowest temperature ever recorded on the early May bank holiday weekend was -6.4C (20.5F) in Grantown-on-Spey in 1981 and then again in Kinbrace in 1988 - a figure that could be beaten this weekend in Scotland.

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.

Pictured: snow on the hills of Herefordshire near Longtown today. The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather

Tourists didn't let the wet weather in Cambridge stop them from going punting on the River Cam

People watch others surfing in the Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships held at Perranporth, Cornwall

This group of tourists huddled under umbrellas on the River Cam in Cambridge earlier today

Huge waves pound Seaham lighthouse on the North East coastline as cold weather beckons for the bank holiday weekend

People out punting on the river Cam in Cambridge today get caught in one of the rain showers

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday. Pictured: Tynemouth today

'What we are expecting is a weather 'battleground' as we are seeing influences from all parts of the compass. Higher parts of the country, including the Highlands, will see some snow over the weekend, as will the Southern Uplands.

'It will be a cold and frosty start to Saturday but the day is expected to produce plenty of sunshine as well. That will help keep up day time temperatures, even though it is a cold air mass moving down from an Arctic direction.

'It will feel chilly but it shouldn't stop you getting out and about this Bank Holiday  even if you need extra layers.'

Mr Madge added: 'We might see night-time temperatures getting pretty cold. The cities should not drop too far below freezing but in sheltered spots in the north of Scotland, expect it to get down to 3C, 4C or possibly even 5C over the next few days.'
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said - a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington over its nuclear arsenal.

Missiles from Hodo peninsula flew for between 70km and 200km before landing in the sea, according to Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details, South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said.

If Saturday's activity in the city of Wonsan between 9.06am and 9.27am is confirmed as a firing of banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.'

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast. It's two months since Kim Jong Un (pictured April 24) and President Trump (pictured Friday) didn't come to an agreement at a nuclear summit

If confirmed as a firing of a banned ballistic missile, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Pictured is North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang on August 29, 2017

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

Their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February ended without an agreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry said it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the US mainland

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.' Trump met with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC Friday

Last month Pyongyang said it was testing a 'tactical guided weapon' conducted in 'various modes of firing at different targets'. They demanded that Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations.



Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to 'cautiously respond' to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

North Korea has claimed to have ballistic missiles that could reach the US mainland. The country also says it has developed a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a long-range missile.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday

Japan's Defense Ministry said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security. In Tokyo people walk past a screen showing a TV news on unidentified short-range projectiles fired by North Korea

As the projectiles were launched it was still Friday in the US when Trump hosted reporters during his meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

North Korea's vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the United States will face 'undesired consequences' if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

'The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today,' said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times 'the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.'

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone

'With North Korea never promising to completely stop all missile testing - it only promised a self-imposed moratorium of testing long-range missiles such as ICBMs that can hit the US homeland - we should not be shocked by North Korea's short-range launch,' Korean studies director at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, Harry J. Kazianis, said.

'Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough. It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump Administration's position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'.'

Experts believe that the North has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons.

In this April 18, 2019 photo, a mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, center, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea

North Korea said last month it had test-fired a new type of 'tactical guided weapon' and demanded Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations. Pictured above, visitors watch a photo showing North Korea's missile launch at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea on April 19

During the diplomacy that followed a rocky 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

However satellite images last month indicated radioactive material could be being turned into bomb fuel.

A short-range missile would not violate that self-imposed moratorium.

It may instead be a way to register his displeasure with Washington and the state of talks meant to provide sanctions relief for disarmament without having the diplomacy collapse.
A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier.

Nick Rose, 32, was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo.

'I was in total shock to see this dog running towards us like that, stopping and then just lunging,' Mr Rose told Daily Mail Australia.

A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo (pictured) needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier

Following the savage attack, Cosmo (pictured) was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated

He said the attack wasn't about dominance as the comparatively huge dog locked onto Cosmo's leg and wouldn't let go - thrashing him around like a rag doll.

'The bull terrier latched on and started to twist and turn its head,' Mr Rose said.

He recalled how terrifying it was to witness what was happening to Cosmo, and at one point he heard the dog's leg snap and twist around at the weirdest angles.

'I heard the cracks as its (the bull terrier's) teeth were chipping the bones and everything,' he said.

Desperate to free Cosmo from the other dog's grasp, Mr Rose kicked, punched and screamed at the bull terrier, but try as he might, he couldn't separate the animals.

He said it felt like the longest time had passed before help eventually came in the form of a horse trainer called Jason, who was passing by the field.

'Jason had the lead rope from some horses he'd just taken to the stables nearby, which he clipped onto the bull terrier's harness and started pulling,' Mr Rose said.

As Jason pulled the lead, the bull terrier started to let go of his grasp, and when he finally did, Jason led him around the field in a circle to keep him away from Cosmo.

Nick Rose, 32 (pictured), was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo

Cosmo (pictured) is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest

'If it hadn't been for Jason, Cosmo would have died,' Mr Rose said.

When the dog's owner eventually turned up and saw Cosmo's leg wound, he simply said 'aw, mate' before putting his lead on the animal and walking off.

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving.

He said rangers are investigating the matter and a number of people have come forward to say they have seen the man around the streets of Hamilton South.

Following the savage attack, Cosmo was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated.

Mr Rose (left) said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving

Cosmo is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest.

'The amount of damage and dead tissue has prevented blood flow to the area so, even after amputation, the whole thing (the wound) is breaking down,' he said.

Mr Rose said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000.

'I've borrowed from family and friends, sold off what I can and maxed Vetpay for almost everything to date but there's still money owing on vet bills,' he wrote.

Mr Rose, who describes Cosmo as his first born child, said while he doesn't like having to ask for help, the idea of putting him is just devastating.

'Help me get this guy back on his feet and give him at least another 5 years of Hawaiian shirts, stolen cheese and cuddles,' he wrote.
Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate

The acclaimed poet Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate to focus on her own work.

Miss Dharker, who was widely tipped to receive the highest honour in British poetry, would have been the first Asian laureate in the posts 350 years.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing.

I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands pf a public role. The poems won, she told The Guardian.

It was a huge honour to be considered for the role of poet laureate and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and encouragement from all over the world.

Miss Dharker, who was born in Lahore but grew up in Glasgow, was due to be announced as the next laureate - taking over from Dame Carol Ann Duffy who has been in the post for 10 years this month.

The Queen presenting Imtiaz Dharker with The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

It is understood that any formal selection was yet to take place but an announcement is expected this month.

The honorary position expects doesnt entail any specific duties but he holder is expected to write verse for significant national and royal occasions.

It is now up to the individual whether or not to produce poetry for royal occasions.

Some former poet laureates have said the role has not been kind to their own their work.

Andrew Chalice, who held the position from 1999 to 2009 said the role was very, very damaging to my work. While still in the post he said: I dried up completely about five years ago and cant write anything except to commission.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing

A stipend of 5,750 is given to the laureate and traditionally a butt of sack equivalent to roughly 600 bottles of sherry.

Ms Ann-Duffy, 63, used her money to fund a poetry prize.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said yesterday: The recommendations of an independent panel have been considered in the usual way. An appointment has not yet been confirmed
President Trump says he is 'closely monitoring' Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after the social media giants removed a number of conservative figures from their platforms.

Right-wing personalities Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer were banned from Facebook this week, as the site attempts to combat criticism that it spreads misinformation and hateful content.

However, in a flurry of Tweets on Friday, the Commander-in-chief seemed to imply that the purge was merely an attack on right-wing voices and that shutting off their access to social media may be a violation of first amendment rights.

'I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America  and we have what's known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH!' Trump wrote in one post.

He added: 'We are monitoring and watching, closely!!'

President Trump took to Twitter Friday to declare that he is monitoring social media sites for censorship of conservatives. It comes in the wake of Facebook's announcement that it was banning several far-right figures from its site

Trump shared a flurry of outraged tweets - clearly unimpressed by Facebook's recent purge of controversial users

Later, the president posted a tweet referencing Diamond & Silk, right-wing commentators who were briefly blocked from Facebook last year amid claims that their page was 'unsafe'.

'The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we're looking into.

'It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media! ' he proclaimed.

Trump then shared a link to a Breitbart article that discussed the social media bans of two more famous right-wing figures.

'So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook!' he tweeted sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. also weighed in on Facebook's recent purge.

'The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @Facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears they're taking their censorship campaign to the next level.

'Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back,' he implored.

Despite the president hitting out at the social media giants, he is still a prolific user of Twitter.

He has tweeted a whopping 41,600 times and he boasts an incredible 60 million followers.

Donald Trump Jr. joined his father in criticizing Facebook and other big name social media sites

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site.

They additionally blocked Paul Nehlen, a white nationalist who ran for Congress in 2018.

However, the social media giants have also barred other controversial voices who do not identify as conservative or right-wing.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was one figure who was blocked from the website, following accusations of antisemitism.

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site (pictured is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg)

Alt-right radio host Paul Joseph Watson, also a writer and conspiracy theorist, is among the right-wing personalities banned from Facebook this week

A Facebook spokesperson told Dailymail.com that it conducts a lengthy process to determine which people or groups it considers to have a violent or hateful mission.

Among the factors include whether or not the person has called for or directly carried out acts of violence against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity or national origin.

The firm also considers whether they're a self-described or identified follower of a hateful ideology, use hate speech or slurs in their bio on Facebook, Instagram or other social sites, and whether they've had pages, groups and accounts removed from Facebook or Instagram for violating its hate speech policies, the spokesperson added.

Facebook's policies around dangerous content are further detailed on its site.

The company first signaled a broader crackdown on content when, in March, it banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform.

As part of the sweeping crackdown, Facebook said it would no longer allow posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer' to remain on its site.
A Texas woman's world was turned upside down when she took a genetic history test and learned that a sperm donor she believed was her father, wasn't her dad - her mother's fertility doctor was.

Eve Wiley, 31, spent years looking for her father after she learned she was conceived by artificial insemination in 1987. Fourteen years ago she traced her mother's sperm donor Steve Scholl - known as Donor #106 - and over time they've built a loving father-daughter relationship.

But that relationship was rocked when she took genetic history tests on 23andMe and Ancestry.com and learned that her true father was fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries.

McMorries had quietly mixed in his sperm with that of the donor after the donor sperm failed to impregnate Wiley's mother Margo Williams after five tries.

He used his own sperm that he donated to a sperm bank from his medical school days - and succeeded in getting her pregnant.

But he didn't tell a soul.

Dr. McMorries has now defended his actions, claiming they were 'acceptable practice for the times.'

'I had no idea, 33 years ago, the importance of an offspring's desire to know their biological identity. At that time, the anonymity was supposed to be permanent,' he added.

Texas woman Eve Wiley, 31, was shocked to learn that her mother's fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries (right) is her biological father after he artificially inseminated her mother using his own semen, without her knowledge. The truth finally came to light after Wiley took 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on learning her true father's identity on ABC's 20/20

Margo Williams (pictured) was artificially inseminated by her fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries after Williams and her husband experienced fertility problems

But the truth finally came to light when Wiley decided to learn more abut her family and medical health history and took the genetic 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

The hits however, didn't match that of her believed sperm donor father Scholl who she spent years developing a close relationship with.

'I call him dad. We say I love you,' Wiley told the Dallas Morning News, referring to Scholl, 'We spend holidays together and he actually officiated at my wedding.'

The hits of her genetic family tree matched her to someone in east Texas  where neither Scholl or his family ever lived. After she found a biological first cousin and traded information, she learned the truth.

'I have one uncle,' her first cousin said when Wiley asked him about his family. 'He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas, and his name is Kim McMorries.'

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on ABC's 20/20.

Neither Wiley nor her mother ever knew that McMorries had used his semen in the procedure.

The family even has a picture showing McMorries carrying her in his arms after delivering her.

'It looks like he's holding me like a prize. You can see him smiling through his mask with his eyes, and he's holding me up... It's his little secret,' Wiley said on the photo.

Dr. McMorries pictured carrying Wiley moments after delivering her in 1987

McMorries is considered a reputable and respected doctor in Texas and runs the McMorries Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility clinic in the small town of Nacogdoches

McMorries says that he mixed his semen with the donor's as a practice he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. He says he couldn't tell Williams he was the donor because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation

Williams said she had no idea that Dr. McMorries had mixed in his own semen with that of a donor to artificially inseminate her

Sharing the hard news to Scholl and her mother, broke Wiley's heart.

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' she said.

'I was just in shock. I was shaking. I couldn't believe it. I really trusted him,' her mother Margo Williams said.

Finally Wiley confronted McMorries in a letter explaining their genetic connection.

McMorries then replied in a letter saying that Donor 106 failed to impregnate Wileys mother six times, leaving him to resort to mixing Donor 106's sample with another local sample.

Mixing was a practice he claimed he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. The doctor claimed that Williams was on board with the mixing plan.

When Williams is asked if she knew he was using local donor sperm she shook her head and says, 'Absolutely not. That never happened.'

Wiley believed sperm donor Steve Scholl was her father and developed a father-daughter relationship with him 14 years ago

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' Wiley said on breaking the hard news to Scholl

Wiley has a half sister who was conceived naturally by Williams and her husband 14 months after Wiley's birth

She said she didn't want to mix to avoid the chance of Wiley growing up and discovering she had a half sibling in town.

Nonetheless McMorries fetched his own sperm from his donor days back in medical school and continued with the fertility treatment.

Though McMorries declined to be interviewed for the ABC special, he maintains he couldn't tell Williams that he was using his own sperm because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation.

He argued 'there is no law that requires the disclosure of donor identity'.

He used semen from his donor days back in med school (above) to artificially inseminate Williams

In Texas, the act is not considered a crime as the state does not include rape by deception charges.

But Wiley wasn't satisfied and asked if he had inadvertently fathered any other children in the same way.

The doctor said he knows of one to two other women who became pregnant after he mixed his semen in with a donors.

'It is easy to look back and judge protocols/standards used 33 years ago and assume they were wrong in todays environment,' Dr. McMorries wrote. 'However, it was not wrong 33 years ago as that was acceptable practice for the times.'

Dr. McMorries still runs an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility clinic in Nacogdoches called the Womens Center. Its website says the clinic offers 'conservative values with personal health.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor

His lawyer defended him saying: 'Dr. McMorries is a good and fine man who is an excellent, well respected ob/gyn. He has a reputation for trying to help his patients as much as he possibly can.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor.

She has visited more than 20 legislative offices to press for passage of bills that would change the law in Texas to categorize fertility fraud as sexual assault.

'It's really important to protect vulnerable people,' she told The Dallas Morning News. 'You spend a lot of time with those doctors. There's a lot of trust. You are trusting them and you are incredibly vulnerable.'

If the bill goes into law then offenders can expect a punishment of between six months and two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee have unanimously approved the bill and sent it to the full Senate.
Elvis Presley was not hurt in the 1973 Las Vegas crowd attack but was 'rattled' and bought the weapon

Elvis Presley's gun, bought after a four-person onstage attack in Las Vegas left the star 'rattled', is to be auctioned next weekend along with other personal pieces.

Other lots include chest x-rays taken just months before his death by heart attack, golden jewellery owned by the king of bling and Graceland documents.

The personal pieces are expected leave bidders 'All Shook Up' when they go under the hammer with GWS Auctions in Beverly Hills next weekend, Saturday May 11.

Elvis's Smith & Wesson handgun bought by the star after he was attacked onstage in 1973 could sell for up to 15,300.

He was left unhurt by the attack at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada, but was believed to have been so 'rattled' by the encounter that he purchased the weapon.

According to a provenance letter, the 'Shook Up' star then added black grips and filed the hammer down so he could 'strap it to his right leg while onstage'.

The Smith and Wesson handgun bought by Elvis after he was attacked onstage in 1973 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada. Expected to sell for up to 15,300 ($20,000 USD)

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000USD). It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD)

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death has an estimate of $3,000 USD.

The x-ray that could have been taken to analyse chest pains, with the cause of Elvis's death in August 1977 ruled as a heart attack.

Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand scanning for a potential break or fracture where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot.

A dimpled signet ring owned by the star, diamond and white gold, with Elvis Presley's initials E.P. spelled in diamonds

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with KING is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present

The 10-karat gifted watch bares an inscription on the back plate reading 'KING' in true Elvis style

A 14-karat yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing. It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back - To Bobby from 'Squirrly'

Brigitte Kruse, of GWS Auctions, said: 'When Elvis was attacked on stage by a crowd of people during one of his it rattled him and put things into perspective.

'He was able to get away and from my understanding his security team would have been able to mitigate the situation.

'I don't think he was harmed but it was a wake-up call for him.

'Being a performer on stage, you don't know if someone is coming at you to cause harm to kill or embrace you, it really scared Elvis.

'What he did with this revolver was file it down to fit in his boot, that way he could wear it on stage, should something happen.

'There has always been this crazed fanbase surrounding Elvis Presley and then The Beatles, people tried to steal Elvis's body after it was buried the first time.

'The chest x-ray was before Elvis passed away, I can only speculate but it's quite possible that Elvis had chest pains - ultimately passing away due to heart issues.

In these shots you can see Elvis and his gold bracelets. Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand for a potential break or fracture, where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death that could have been taken to analyse chest pains. The lot could sell for up to 2,300 ($3,000 USD)

A chest scan. The cause of Elvis's death in August 1977, was ruled to from a heart attack

'He had heart disease and what is amazing to me is that in September 1976, less than year before his death, he was obviously complaining of chest pains.

'I would say in the medical realm of memorabilia these are extremely rare because unlike pill bottles, x-rays are kept in medical files.

'What's also really neat is that in the hand x-ray you can see his gold bracelet, it's something very different and you won't see this kind of item again.'

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000 USD).

It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD), where he would live for 20-years.

Brigitte said: 'I have never seen anything with all three of their signatures on it, which is just incredible.

'Elvis loved his parents so much, so to be able to have something like this and share such success with them, makes it one of the most notable pieces.'

Some of the elaborate jewellery of Elvis is also up for sale including his iconic diamond and 14k yellow/white gold nugget ring bearing his initials.

Elvis Presley Custom Made Solid 18K Yellow Gold Guitar Brooch with tiger eye inlay. It was given to Aunt Delta, with a certificate of authentication. He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, Flying Lady and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornaments. Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet

An 14k yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing.

It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back 'To Bobby from Squirrly EP'.

Although misspelled by the engraver, the nickname 'Squirrley' was given to Elvis due to his 'fooling around' during rehearsals.

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with 'King' is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present.

Brigitte said: 'Jewellery was Elvis's way of decorating himself, you realise his parents were sharecroppers.

'For someone of such humble beginnings, he could never have dreamed about owning jewellery, so then to become one of the most famous people in the world.

'I think jewellery was the first thing attainable to him, it was something he never had before and could only have dreamed of those finer things as boy.

A rare pair of unused concert tickets from The Tour That Never Was a mere month after Elvis's death

Gold Record to commemorate Suspicious Minds selling more than one million copies

'When he found a piece that he really loved he would buy five or ten, he was a very giving person, gifting jewellery and cars.'

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, 'Flying Lady' and 'Spirit of Ecstasy' hood ornaments.

Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death - it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet.

He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death, and also received a custom made 18k yellow gold guitar brooch.

Jimmy said: 'Delta disclosed that she was going to pass away soon and wanted me to purchase all of the things which Elvis had given her over the years..'

These feature alongside a rare pair of unused concert tickets from 'The Tour That Never Was' a mere month after Elvis's death and 1969 RIAA Gold Record to commemorate 'Suspicious Minds' selling more than one million copies.

An autograph book with Elvis, his girlfriend Anita Wood and uncle Vester Presley's signatures, a promotional collection from Blue Hawaii, and a sympathy acceptance card from the Presley family to a fan.

Other headlining pieces include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather.

The timepiece that is engraved with 'Vito's' after his character Don Corleone and 'MB' his initials, could sell for $10,000 USD.

Other headlining pieces in the May 11 auction include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather. Expected to sell for 7,600 ($10,000 USD)

Marlon Brando's watch. The timepiece is engraved with Vito's after his character Don Corleone and MB his initials. It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship

It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship.

Brigitte said: 'This is a pretty incredible find and has never been offered at auction, it's a piece no one knew existed.

'It's arguably the most significant film of all time, Marlon Brando and Don Vito Corleoni, in the film world that's as good as it gets.

'Patricia built such a great rapport and relationship with Brando that he said, "This will probably fit you and I want to give it to you."'

The Archives of Hollywood & Music auction will take place on May 11 starting at 10am PST (6pm UK time), for more information or to place a bid visit: www.gwsauctions.com
The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship.

A Labor candidate is also in hot water over anti-refugee comments posted on social media.

According to The Guardian, Ms Zaki declared she had renounced her Afghan citizenship on April 16, but the document she provided to the Australian Electoral Commission and Afghan citizenship law both suggest an additional step is required for complete renunciation.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship.

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The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship

In 2018 the High Court ruled - in the midst of the dual citizenship crisis of the 45th Parliament - that the 'reasonable steps' defence for renouncing foreign citizenship was insufficient.

This is the first election where all candidates are required by the AEC to fill out an eligibility checklist declaring whether they have any issues, such as bankruptcy or dual citizenship, that could put them in breach of section 44 of the constitution.

While the Canberra seat is notionally held by Labor on a 12.9 per cent margin, uncertainty about another candidate's eligibility will rock the Liberals who have already lost nine candidates since the election was called.

Meanwhile, Labor is under pressure to disendorse their candidate for the Western Australia seat of Durack over anti-asylum seeker posts on social media.

The West Australian reported that Sharyn Morrow made her comments on Facebook in 2013 in response to a riot at the Nauru detention centre.

'These trouble makers should be sent back to where they came from, they do not deserve our charity. When will we see a government that understands charity begins at home.'

Questioned by reporters about Ms Morrow's comments shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it was the first he'd heard of her remarks.

'We have processes to look at these things. We would need to look at that closely,' he said.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship

Environment minister Melissa Price holds the seat of Durack on a margin of 11.1 per cent.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said that all parties would be examining their processes after the election, including candidate endorsement.

'All parties have been struggling with candidates that have not quite met the mark for both the parties they choose to represent but also the broader Australian public,' she told the ABC.

So far fifteen candidates have either been sacked or stood down ahead of the federal election because of a string of scandals.

From rape jokes and Islamophobic comments to anti-Semitic remarks, the controversies have involved candidates from a number of parties.

Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery. She stepped down on Friday.

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

Earlier in the week One Nation candidate Steve Dickson resigned after footage emerged of him making inappropriate comments at a strip club in the United States.

Dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity

Ms Whelan was accused in Parliament of advocating the genital mutilation of Muslim women and selling them as slaves, and of saying Tasmanians 'don't bloody want' to take in Syrian refugees.

A Facebook profile under the candidate's name recently commented on a post about US police officer Mohamed Noor, saying: 'He's a filthy Muslim!'

Her second alleged remark was under a Reclaim Australia Rally's Facebook post about Iraqi and Syrian refugees being settled in New South Wales.

'Don't bloody send them to Tasmania. We don't want them. Nick McKim, the biggest waste of space in politics, does not represent Tasmanians,' the same account wrote.

Ms Whelan has denied the allegations, but stepped down as the candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club.

The recording was captured by an undercover journalist and was leaked to Nine's A Current Affair, which broadcast the footage on Monday night.

Mr Dickson, who is married, called one of the dancers a 'bitch' before describing her as 'hot' and could be heard saying Asian women don't know what they're doing during sex and 'white women f*** a whole lot better'.

Liberal candidate Jeremy Hearn was also dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light.

The House of Representatives candidate for Victoria state wrote online in 2016 that taxpayers should not fund Muslim schools because they were 'fomenting rebellion against the government'.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club in the US

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson (pictured) online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE RESIGNED OR BEEN SACKED SO FAR Jessica Whelan (Liberal, TAS) - Facebook comments about Muslims Luke Creasey (Labor, VIC) - Rape jokes and memes on social media Jeremy Hearn (Liberal, VIC) - Anti-Muslim Facebook posts Wayne Kurnoth (Labor, NT) - Anti-Semitic Facebook posts Peter Killin (Liberal, VIC) - Homophobic blog posts, insulting Tim Wilson Murray Angus (Liberal, VIC) - Breaking party rules Melissa Parke (Labor, WA) - Anti-Israel comments Steve Dickson (One Nation, QLD) - Strip club scandal ELIGIBILITY PROBLEMS: Kate Oski (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Vaishali Gosh (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Helen Jackson (Liberal, VIC) - Public servant Sam Kayal (Liberal, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Courtney Nguyen (Liberal, NSW) -citizenship doubts Mary Ross (Labor, NSW) - Citizenship doubts James Harker-Mortlock (Nationals, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Advertisement

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected.

Liberal candidate Murray Angus, 71, was disendorsed after breaking party rules.

The candidate for Corio in Geelong, Victoria, told News Corp papers he thought Labor opponent Richard Marles was a 'good bloke'.

Helen Jackson was dumped as the candidate for Cooper in Victoria as she was an employee of Australia Post.

Labor candidate Mr Creasey resigned from his party after it emerged he once joked on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

The 29-year-old faced calls to step down for sharing porn and rape memes and insulting working class voters on Facebook in 2012.

In the posts in 2012, Mr Creasey shared one meme titled 'overly attached girlfriend' which read: 'Hey I just met you / If you don't date me / You'll go to prison / I'll say you raped me.'

Another meme he shared, designed to insult people with concerns about immigration, said: 'Complains refugees waste tax dollars / Uses Centrelink money to buy drugs and alcohol.'

Mr Creasey also insulted working class voters in Scott Morrison's south Sydney seat with a post that read: 'Endorsement by those who call the Sutherland Shire home is not something that anyone with decency should aspire to.'

He also shared a link to porn involving the sexual kink pegging.

Another Liberal candidate, Jeremy Hearn, was dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook

In the latest post to emerge, he joked about watching a female friend have sex with several people and wanting somebody to 'roughly take her virginity'.

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook.

Mr Kurnoth, who was set to run for the party in the Northern Territory, was given the boot by Labor after it was revealed that he shared a video by controversial British lecturer David Icke.

In the clip, Icke claims that the world is being run by shape-shifting Jewish lizards.

Mr Kurnoth shared the conspiracy theory - in which Icke also alleged that the Rothschild banking family are controlling the world - on his Facebook page in December 2015, according to The Australian.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten might still be leading the polls, but the Labor leader has not been able to avoid the scandal brought to his party by its candidates

Mr Kurnoth was already under pressure after being caught posting an image of Malcolm Turnbull beheading ABC journalist Emma Alberici, and making offensive remarks about former MP Natasha Griggs.

Labor candidate Melissa Parke quit the party after a controversial speech which outraged the Jewish community.

The candidate for Curtin at Perth, Western Australia, described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 'worse than the South African system of apartheid' while speaking to pro-Palestinian activists last month.

Labor's Mary Ross and the Liberal party's Kate Oski, Vaishali Ghosh, Courtney Nguyen and Sam Kayal all pulled out over citizenship uncertainty, as did the Nationals' James Harker-Mortlock.


The mother of a toddler who was punched by a shopper has revealed how a malfunctioning self-service checkout sparked the Kmart clash.

The mother, identified as Rebecca, was purchasing her items at the store in Westfield Albany, Auckland, when the alleged assault occurred on Thursday at about 12pm.

Rebecca recalled joining a fairly long queue at the checkout with her three young sons in tow, NZ Herald reported.

A woman believed to be in her 60s is accused of punching a two-year-old boy and pushing a trolley towards him after he threw a tantrum at Kmart in Westfield Albany (pictured)

The boys, aged six, four and two, became increasingly restless and her youngest began to throw a tantrum.

She tried to console him by explaining they would leave soon to visit their grandma's but the meltdown only got worse.

'He wouldn't usually behave like this, but I've got to admit - it was a really bad tantrum. Probably one of the worst I would have seen,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items.

She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

'I had my two-year-old in my arms and was trying to scan my products with the other arm it was getting quite bad,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items. She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

She then put her son down in front of the shopping cart when a woman, believed to be in her 60s, appeared to have lost her patience with the young family.

Rebecca claims she turned around to see a trolley being pushed straight towards her son by the woman.

When the mother moved to stop the attack, the woman hurled abuse at her, telling Rebecca to 'take him bloody home'.

Rebecca said people watched on in shock as the woman screamed at her.

She continued to scan her items as she tried to come to terms with what had transpired and her son quieted down.

A stranger came over to tell her she was doing an 'amazing job' as she finalised her shopping.

After the alleged attack, Rebecca approached Kmart staff to see what could be done, and CCTV footage allegedly shows the woman appear to intentionally steer her trolley towards the young boy.

A store worker said they would review the footage further, file a complaint and see if they could find the woman, and Rebecca left the store.

The woman has not been identified, but police are investigating the allegations

Later that day, the man called Rebecca with more terrible news.

'We've reviewed the video footage in detail and we can see that she has actually punched your son in the head with quite some force, when your back was turned,' he told Rebecca.

A spokesman for NZ Police told Daily Mail Australia an investigation had been launched.

'Police were notified on Thursday afternoon about an earlier incident where an assault was reported to have taken place,' he said.

'Police will be looking into the matter and will be following up with the complainant.'
Fire and Rescue crews rushed to Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night after a military charter plane carrying 143 people skidded off the runway and plunged into water.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing shortly after 9.30pm.

The plane was not fully submerged in the water, and all passengers were evacuated safely.

Two people were treated for minor injuries, according to CBS.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

Pictures show the plane in shallow water, with crews working to control jet fuel which had spilled out of the aircraft

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing will be investigated.
This is the moment staff and customers in a South Carolina McDonald's watched as a homeless man smashed up the front windows then waited for police to arrest him.

The man is seen on video taking a brick to break glass as shocked spectators urge staff to call law enforcement to detain him.

At the same time onlookers are concerned for the man who later smashes another area of the fast food chain's window using only his forehead.

A homeless man smashed up a South Carolina McDonald's then waited for police to arrest him

He's seen throwing stones outside the fast food restaurant and angrily demands attention from people inside

'He's going to kill himself,' one woman is heard yelling in the clip filmed from a witness inside the restaurant.

When the cell phone recording begins the man knocks on the door and window to get the attention of people inside the McDonald's branch then begins throwing stones.

At first onlookers sound amused then realized real damage could be done and begin to question where the cops they called earlier could be.

After destroying multiple areas of the glass front, the shouting man then plants himself on top of a bush and patiently waits for law enforcement.

He then smashes glass with a brick and uses his forehead to break the windows if the venue as customers stand back. One window near a children's play area is pictured broken

The voice of the woman's recording the incident states that the commotion began when 'he grabbed my hand when he asked for mustard'.

She adds: 'Y'all are blaming this on mental health problems. That's crack. That's heroin.'

But another concerned woman warns the person filming to quieten down predicting the man will get upset if he hears.

'Don't say that to him because that makes him angry,' a woman says, noting that he comes in regularly and predicting he'll simply return are temporarily being taken to a psych ward.

The camera shows the restaurant covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'.

The restaurant was covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'

The man wearing a high visibility jacket then patiently waited for a policeman to detain him

Later in the 10-minute-long video the witnesses are appalled when a policeman finally shows up six minutes into when they first began recording the man who appeared to have earlier been locked out.

However a woman explains that the door was in fact not locked.

They then note how only one officer arrived to detain him in what seems to be a lengthy process getting him into a car.

'He probably did that just to get somewhere to stay,' one man is heard saying as staff continue to take customer's orders.

Staff express their frustration at how difficult it will be to find someone to fix the windows on the same day. The woman filming points out that police are quick to stop people but take an alarming long time to respond to a scene like this.

'South Carolina is crazy', she adds.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been ruthlessly mocked online for cringeworthy memes about 'Star Wars Day'.

May 4 has been dubbed as 'Star Wars Day' for its similarity in sound to the movie's famous catchphrase 'may the force be with you'.

But Mr Morrison's attempt to connect popular culture with the impending Federal Election backfired with Star Wars fans and voters alike questioning the Liberal Party's bizarre ploy.

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday.

'The economy is strong with this one,' the meme, written in Star Wars text, said.

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

A second meme, with Mr Shorten dressed as Emperor Palpatine, suggested the Labor Party's 'debt' was similar to the death star.

The moon-sized weapon lurked over Australia and the meme was covered in a red tinge, reminiscent of the Opposition Party's colour.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read

Mr Morrison was even transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers'

One unimpressed Twitter user hit back with Princess Leia saying 'no thanks'

They hit back with more Star Wars memes, including Princess Leia saying 'no thanks' and the movie's famous yellow opening text.

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read.

'This is not the hot take you're looking for,' another person wrote in response to Mr Morrison's Obi-Wan portrayal.

Mr Morrison was also transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers' with his head planted on to his body.

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' an image of Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca read

Despite being labelled as 'embarrassing' some viewers requested more of the 'great' memes

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text.

Despite numerous attempts to mock Mr Morrison, some viewers enjoyed the Party's humorous take on Star Wars Day.

'Please continue to make more of these,' one person tweeted.

'Keep going these are great,' tweeted another.
Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a ship off the Great Barrier Reef after getting caught in fishing nets.

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year and obtained by WWF, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe.

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Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a fishing ship off the Great Barrier Reef after meeting their fate with destructive fishing nets

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said.

'These pictures show that gill nets are indiscriminate killers in that they drown whatever swims into them including many iconic and threatened species.'

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines.

The photos of the bloodied and lifeless sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off.

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said

Scalloped and great hammerheads are both listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List as endangered.

A marine turtle was also snapped caught in a net on the deck, with their rostrums cut off.

WWF-Australia is advocating for a 85,000 square-kilometre safe space, where gill nets would be banned from the north of Cooktown through to the tip of the Cape.

Supporters of WWF had previously helped the organisation buy and retire three commercial gill net licences operating on the Reef.

'We're calling on the next Australian government to help create a Net Free North and to end targeted shark fishing in the Great Barrier Reef by providing adequate financial adjustment for affected fishers to remove the last 3 remaining industrial sized gill nets from the whole GBR,' Mr O'Gorman said.

The photos of the bloodied and lifelesss sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines

GILL NETS The nets are used to target species, typically, gummy shark, saw shark and elephant fish. They are long rectangular panels of netting with diamond-shaped mesh. Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net, their gills, fins and spines become entangled. The are normally implemented in waters less than 100 metres deep. SOURCE: Australian Government: Australian Fisheries Management Authority Advertisement

In 2018, 125,000 sharks were caught in nets according to data from Fisheries Queensland, the Cairns Post reported.

Of the total, 41,000 were discarded and 84,000 were processed.

The fillets of small sharks can be sold as 'flake' in fish and chip shops but larger sharks are not appropriate for human's to eat.

Their fins, however, are usually cut off from their discarded bodies and are exported.

Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the government was taking the necessary steps to encourage sustainable fishing.

'There is already an existing catch limit on commercial harvest of sharks, which can be harvested sustainably, particularly smaller, faster growing sharks like black tip sharks,' he said.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data
Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers.

The cigarettes are then sold for less than the lollies and chocolates sitting on the counter nearby.

Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers (stock image)

Health advocates believe the practice is aimed at children who can't afford more than $20 for a pack but can use their meager cash to buy one or two at a time.

Cigarettes can only legally be sold in packs of at least 20 and shops can be fined up to $19,028 for selling 'loosies'.

The ban was brought in as part of the Tobacco Act of 1987 specifically to protect children, who are particularly prone to nicotine addiction.

The Geelong Advertiser visited 10 convenience stores and milk bars undercover and found two in Norlane that sold single cigarettes.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers (stock image)

One sold them for 50c each and their other for $1.50, and the customer merely had to ask before the cashier opened the secret drawer.

Norlane and neighbouring Corio have the highest smoking rate in Victoria with 30 per cent of the population describing themselves as 'current smokers'.

The local council is responsible for cracking down on illegal sales but would not reveal how many fines it had dished out.
The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse.

On Friday, a Church spokesperson slammed an article published by Vice News, which questioned whether a 24-hour abuse help line was effective in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.

'Abuse is taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' the spokesperson said.

'The Church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse'.

The helpline is available to its 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents so that they can report suspected cases of criminal behavior.

But, earlier this week, Vice published its bombshell article alleging that the hotline may actually be used 'to shield the Mormon Church from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to them'.

The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse

Vice claims that calls to the hotline were 'funneled' through to law firm Kirton McConkie so that they could help the Church identify cases that might pose a high financial risk

According to the publication, calls to the the hotline 'are not immediately transferred to authorities', but are rather 'funneled' through to the law firm Kirton McConkie, which has close ties to the Church.

The publication quotes a source as saying that one lawyer from Kirton McConkie 'acknowledged that that they [the firm] uses information gleaned from helpline calls to identify cases that pose a high financial risk to the Mormon Church.'

The Church does not publicly disclose the number of calls that are made to its hotline.

Vice claims that the 'lack of transparency contrasts starkly with actions taken by other religious groups and institutions' and that it is a 'visible symptom of a system that appears to place Church interests ahead of abuse victims.

Church practices surrounding the hotline were reportedly brought to light in a sexual abuse-related civil lawsuit brought against the Church by six plaintiffs in West Virginia.

All plaintiffs say their children were abused by convicted Mormon sex offender, Michael Jensen.

'Helen' spoke with Vice about the alleged sexual abuse suffered by her son at the hands of his babysitter, Michael Jensen

One of the plaintiffs, known only as Helen, was interviewed by Vice, and relayed harrowing details of the alleged abuse her child suffered at the hands of Jensen.

She said her four-year-old son tearfully told her that Jensen 'made him suck his privates' while he was employed as their babysitter.

In 2013, Jensen was jailed for the abuse of two other children in the community whilst working as a babysitter.

He is currently serving 35 years in prison without parole.
A paedophile wanted in Australia was able to roam free and commit a series of sickening crimes against young boys in the UK after he slipped through the net.

Barry Radford, 53, who resided in Northumberland, in the northeast of England, was wanted by New South Wales state police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999.

But the British-born spray painter moved back to the UK the year after he committed the alleged crimes.

Barry Radford (pictured) resided in Northumberland, in northeast of England, and was wanted by New South Wales police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this week, after he admitted to committing multiple offences including inciting a child into sexual activity, grooming and possessing indecent images.

Radford had taken indecent images of one of his victims on two occasions.

On one occasion the boy had passed out after taking drugs and drinking, and another he had paid the boy in a bid to let him take the inappropriate images.

He also possessed more than 1,000 indecent images of other children.

Radford's heinous crimes were only alerted to authorities last year when one of his victims came forward.

In 2007 Australian authorities issued an arrest warrant and Interpol got in touch with Northumbria Police after Radford had been stopped for a driving offence.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and trampoline parks

But two years later New South Wales authorities revoked the warrant when it did not lead to Radford being sent back to Australia for the alleged offences.

Meanwhile Radford was left to prey on teenage boys in the Northumberland area.

It's understood Radford would groom the young men by giving them money and buying them expensive gifts such as trainers.

He allowed the teenagers to drink and smoke cannabis, a class B drug in the UK, at his home where the boys could also play pool.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and to trampoline parks.

Throughout a lengthy grooming process Radford conned one boy's parents into trusting him.

One of Radford's victims described him as a 'very dangerous man' and said he had known 'exactly what he was doing'.

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) earlier this week

Handing down the sentence, Judge Amanda Rippon noted Radford's action had had a 'profound effect' on his victims and their mental health.

Radford's lawyer said his client was remorseful and had taken the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.

Outside the courtroom a spokesperson for New South Wales police said in 2000 authorities had established that Radford had fled to the UK.

'In 2000, it was established that the man had left Australia and travelled to the UK.

'In 2002, NSW Police issued two warrants for his arrest, however a decision was made to revoke them in 2009.

'Given the man remains before the courts in the UK, it would be inappropriate to comment on further action by NSW Police,' the spokesperson said.

But a Northumbria police spokesperson said they were made aware of Radford in 2007.

'We can confirm we were made aware, by international partners, of Radford in 2007, who was suspected of living in our area at the time.

'This was an intelligence-led request by police in Australia. This was an investigation by NSW Police and we had no power of arrest.

'We are unable to comment on this any further,' the spokesperson concluded.
A man who was seen wearing a Nazi swastika armband while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community.

The man was riding his bike along Atherton road in Oakleigh this week, when a shocked member of the Jewish community saw him and took a photo.

The identity of the man is not known.

The Jewish man then sent the photo to the Anti-Defamation Commission - an organisation that keeps track of anti-Semitic activity and tracks perpetrators.

A man who was seen wearing a Nazi Swastika armband (pictured) while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community

Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich responded to the incident by issuing a statement, where he slammed the man's actions.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol.

'No one can feel safe when such sickening incidents happen, and we should not stand for this heinous behavior,' Dr Abramovich said.

He said people shouldn't have to see such things - especially after Christchurch and San Diego when white-supremacist ideology manifested itself in such a deadly way.

'It is chilling that anyone would so openly exhibit the ugly Nazi swastika - a universal symbol of genocide and evil, Dr Abramovich said.

'This open display of hatred, which would have caused enormous distress to a Holocaust survivor, should anger all people.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol (stock)

'During a week, in which we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the millions of victims who died at the hands of Hitlers regime, it is abhorrent that individuals filled with hate are intimidating and terrifying community members.'

The chairman said the 'repulsive display of racism' is an attack against all Australians and violates the memory of courageous diggers who fought to defeat Hitler.

'At this time, we repeat our call for federal and state governments to ban the public displays of symbols from the Third Reich,' he said.
Australian voters trust New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern far more than any Aussie politician - as it's revealed female candidates are more 'believable' than men.

The country's leader was 24 points more trustworthy than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the 'Believability Index' by OPR.

Ardern scored 77 out of 100 while prime minister Scott Morrison scored 43 and Bill Shorten scored 42.

The top four positions were all taken by women with Senator Penny Wong in second, Julie Bishop in third and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek in fourth.

The NZ PM was 24 points more believable than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the Belivability Index by OPR

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said

The most believable Australian politician was Senator Wong with 53 points, closely followed by Julie Bishop with 52 and Tanya Plibersek with 50.

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said.

Politicians and business people were assessed across six 'dimensions of believability' by 1400 people in March and April.

The dimensions were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important.

Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton and Clive Palmer all performed poorly in integrity and were the least believable politicians with scores of 36, 34 and 30, respectively.

Prime minister Scott Morrison (left) and Labor leader Bill Shorten (right) were neck and neck in the believability index. Mr Morrison beat out Shorten by one point

The dimensions of believability were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important

Greens Party leader Richard Di Natale scored 45 and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson scored 44, both beating out the major party leaders.

Anthony Albanese scored 46 to beat Shorten by four points, suggesting Labor may have backed the wrong horse in the 2013 party leadership election.

Australians even found business leaders more believable than politicians.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose scored 64 points.

Former Fortescue CEO Twiggy scored 53, tying with Senator Wong.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose (pictured) scored 64 points, 11 more the most trusted Australian politician Penny Wong
Former Vice President Joe Biden charged Saturday that Jim Crow is 'sneaking back in' as he emphasized the need to ensure voting rights are protected, which he said is lacking under the Trump administration.

Biden drew several hundred people to a community center in Columbia as he opened his presidential campaign in South Carolina, home of the first-in-the-South primary and where black voters play a major role in the Democratic nominating process.

In criticizing Republican attempts to reconfigure voting rules, including establishing identification requirements, Biden recalled the racial segregation laws of the past known as Jim Crow.

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, (left), has attacked Donald Trump, (right), for letting 'Jim Crow sneak back in' by attempting to reconfigure voting rules in his latest campaign appearance

'You've got Jim Crow sneaking back in,' he said, and added: 'You know what happens when you have an equal right to vote? They lose.'

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House, continuing to make his campaign a full-throttle assault against President Donald Trump.

'Quite frankly, I've had it up to here,' he said. 'Your state motto is, "While I breathe, I hope." It's not a joke. We're breathing, but God, we have got to have hope.'

Biden's initial campaign agenda to South Carolina included a fundraiser and a Sunday morning visit to a black church in Columbia.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now, Biden is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. The laws, which existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964, were meant to return Southern states to a two-tier class structure by marginalizing black Americans.

Biden recalled racial segregation laws of the pasts as he took a swipe at Trump. He is pictured taking photos with supporters following the first rally of his 2020 campaign on Saturday

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House

The dawn of the 20th century saw states across the south ratcheting up Jim Crow laws, which affected every part of daily life.

Laws forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas.

Signs posted at town and city limits warning African Americans that they were not welcome were also a familiar sight. The post-World War II era then saw an increase in civil rights activities in the black community, with a focus on ensuring that black citizens were able to vote.

This heralded the era of the Civil Rights Movement which resulted in the gradual removal of Jim Crow laws in various states.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended discrimination and segregation that became entrenched in American society.

Biden claimed the Trump administration was allowing 'Jim Crow to sneak back in.' He was referring to a set of laws that legalized racial segregation. The regime existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964 with the start of the Civil Rights Movement

Laws also forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas across the South

Meanwhile the latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. He is pictured posing for photos with audience members during a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday

Biden has attacked many of the policy areas and changes presided over Donald Trump, (pictured), since launching his presidential campaign last month

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.
A father-of-two was knocked out with a single punch and left in a heap on the floor after becoming caught up in a wild street brawl.

Footage shows the 26-year-old man was knocked unconscious during a mass fight on Hindley Street in north-west Adelaide late on Friday evening.

South Australia police attended the scene just after midnight and the violent altercation is still under investigation.

A 26-year-old father-of-two (pictured) has been knocked out by a single punch in a violent altercation

The man could be seen among a group of other men who were fighting.

The reason for the attack is not clear from the video.

A man could be seen grabbing the young father by his t-shirt during the melee.

He then punched the man square in the face, causing the target of the attack to be seemingly knocked out cold.

The man then punches him one more time before he hits the floor.

The young father appeared to lie completely still on the ground.

No arrests or charges have been made but police are investigating.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said the current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming.

Buffett, 88, notes that the current climate is an unusual one with unemployment at the lowest levels for a generation, inflation and interest rates staying low and the U.S. government continuing to spend more money than it brings in.

'No economics textbook I know that was written in the first couple of thousand years that discussed even the possibility that you could have this sort of situation continue and have all variables stay more or less the same,' Buffett mused in a CNBC interview on Friday.

Warren Buffett notes that unemployment remains its lowest since 1969, yet interest rates and inflation are not rising

Speaking on CNBC Buffett notes how the U.S. continues to spend more money than it takes in

A shareholder arranges her belongings under a large graphic of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. An estimated 40,000 people are expected in town for the event

A shareholder and his son, both dressed in suits with pictures of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, try to get a glimpse of Buffett as he arrives at the 2019 annual meeting

Shareholders linedup before dawn to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett

'These conditions are not sustainable for the long term', Buffett said during the broadcast which came one day ahead of the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha this weekend.

'I don't think our present conditions can exist in terms of fiscal and monetary policy and various other elements across the political landscape,' he said. 'I think it will change, I don't know when, or to what degree. But I don't think this can be done without leading to other things.'

The figures tell the story. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April on Friday, the lowest since 1969.

Inflation was up just 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, well below the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is surrounded by press and fans as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting

The current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming, Warren Buffett said

Shareholders gather to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska

Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett (not pictured), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway,

Buffett doesn't believe today's current economic conditions are sustainable for the long term

A cutout of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett holds Duracell Batteries during a shareholders shopping day in Omaha

The third-richest man in the world also revealed that his firm has been buying shares of Amazon.

On Saturday, he will appear at the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire.

The 'Oracle of Omaha' and his 95-year-old business partner Charlie Munger will take more than five hours of shareholder questions posed by three journalists.

Two questions are sure to come up, as they did last year: 'Who will succeed him?' And 'When does he intend to retire?'

Buffett will also meet privately with investors and business owners, many of whom are making the trek to Nebraska.

Jaymee Wei of Taiwan poses with a life-size photo of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett

He is attending his firm, Berkshire Hathaway's, annual meeting Saturday

Last year, about 40,000 people made the trip to Omaha, a leafy city home to about 410,000 residents, to hear him speak. Lines start forming at 4am to enter the theater and by 8am all the seats are gone.

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Does he believe in the strength of the sharing economy, symbolized by companies like Uber and Airbnb?

What does he think of artificial intelligence and self-driving cars?

David Kass, finance professor at University of Maryland, has made the trip each year for the past decade, sometimes with MBA students, a number of whom were granted private meetings with Buffett.

'It's pretty much a hobby,' said Kass, a Berkshire shareholder since 1985 and the author of a blog on Buffett.

This year he invited 200 of his students to follow the proceedings along with him, broadcast live in one of the university's auditoriums.

Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' with 'festival-goers' hailing from the Who's Who of the American business community.

People pass an illustration of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, during the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists'

In addition to well-known names like billionaire Bill Gates - Buffett's friend and bridge partner - business executives and investors come to seek the approval of the well-liked, folksy mogul at a time when appearing elitist can be a curse.

'He sets a great example for the leaders, especially business leaders, setting a great example for young people. He gives his money to help other people... and I think there is something we are missing now in this world,' said Indian millionaire Paul Singh, 68, who became an angel investor after the sale of his Primus Telecommunications company.

Singh's son Jay Phoenix, 32, a psychiatrist who became a millionaire after selling his startup, said Buffett represents a long view.

'Because you are getting wealthy and you are hitting those numbers, it doesn't mean that your lifestyle has to change that much,' he said. 'It's... about how you treat other people and the integrity that you have.'

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.

Apart from surveillance cameras, no other security is visible, but if a visitor takes photos, an agent will come out and ask 'nicely' what they will be used for.
Scott Morrison had to hit the ground running as he became Prime Minister just ahead of a series of regional summits.

But the newly-minted leader had an experienced ally to show him the ropes as he entered the world stage - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Mr Morrison spoke of his admiration for the veteran head of Australia's second-biggest trading partner, calling him 'the senior figure' among Asian leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of his admiration for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

'He's got a real wisdom about him which I found really helpful and which I have leaned on,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Morrison said a dinner in Darwin together with their wives stuck out among the many meetings he had after he replaced Malcolm Turnbull.

'It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had... and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period,' he said.

'Because I became prime minister and went pretty much into the summit season.'

Mr Morrison said his Japanese counterpart was particularly useful in helping him balance Australia's strong alliance with the US with its proximity to regional power and huge trading partner China.

Japan has to navigate a similar situation and Mr Morrison said this meant his new friend had a wealth of experience to share.

He said the Japanese Prime Minister was similar to 'us' as the country also has an important relationship with the US.

Mr Morrison explained the connection with China was intercultural and economic, while the US attachment was based on values and history.

He said maintaining a stable relationship with the south-west Pacific is a priority.
A mother has made a heartbreaking plea to find the people responsible for a brutal bashing that has left her two sons in hospital.

Lochie, 20, and Rueben Higgins, 17, were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, about 3am on Saturday.

The pair's mother, Amanda, took to Facebook to share photos of her badly beaten sons following the attack.

'These are my two boys at the Alfred [Hospital] Emergency Department. Both king hit early this morning.'

Lochie and Rueben Higgins (pictured) were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, at around 3am on Saturday

The photos show her injured sons (pictured, Lochie) wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds

The photos show her injured sons wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds.

Dry blood is splattered across the face of one of the men, and his left eye badly bruised.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward.

The brothers are understood to have been walking through the car park in front of the supermarket on Railway Grove at the time.

The pair became involved in an argument with a group of men, before they were knocked to the ground.

Bystanders intervened before the attackers fled in an unidentified car.

Both victims were taken to hospital with non-life threatening head injuries. One of the men is in a serious condition.

A 28-year-old man presented himself to police in the afternoon and is assisting officers with their inquiries.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward (pictured, social media post made to Facebook following the attack in front of a Mornington Coles on Saturday)
An earthquake shook homes in Surrey's leafy commuter-belt overnight as residents in the county's tremor hotspot were panicked by rumblings for the third time in three months.

'Scary loud bangs' were reported by people in the Crawley area and a seismograph from the British Geological Survey confirmed the quake happened at 1.19am.

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years.

Last night, one concerned resident tweeted: 'Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!'

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years

A seismograph from the British Geological Survey shows the tremor at 1.19am BST

'Scary loud bangs' and 'shakes' were reported by people in the Crawley area overnight

Another said: 'Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up'

The magnitude of the tremor is not yet clear.

It follows a series of earthquakes in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration in Horse Hill, but this has not been proved.

However, Professor Stuart Haszeldine of Edinburgh University believes that the recent tremors are a direct consequence of drilling into known fault lines.

And the geoscience expert, who has described the Surrey patch as an 'earthquake zone', told MailOnline that the tremors are likely to become more frequent over time and could even see buildings damaged.

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport

He said: 'We know that there are fault lines and that the oil company has said the oil production has drilled into these.

'To me it's entirely unsurprising that is has caused some movement'

'As this goes on this is just going to get worse and I think the frequency with which they occur will increase.'

This is because the rocks below the surface are under more pressure and will be more likely to shift which could lead to buildings on the surface cracking.

MailOnline approached UK Oil and Gas, which is drilling at Horse Hill, for comment.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were 'keeping an open mind', there was 'still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities'.

He said: 'It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.'

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
Sydney train services were thrown into chaos after a passenger was hit by a train at Town Hall station.

A woman is understood to have walked onto the train tracks before she was injured at around 4.30pm on Saturday.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia the passenger has since been transported to hospital for treatment.

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed as a result.

Sydney train services have been cancelled amid reports of a commuter being hit by a train at Town Hall station

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed on Saturday afternoon

Trains travelling through Platform Three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line.

'We temporarily had to suspend services over the bridge,' Sydney Trains said on Twitter.

Passengers took to social media to vent their frustration when trains suddenly came to a screeching halt.

'So there is someone on the track between Central and Townhall... Whats going on?' one person tweeted.

A Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia police had been investigating the incident..

'We can't say how long delays will take as police are currently undertaking their investigations,' a Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Only earlier today, an electrical fire in the roof of the station forced train services to skip platforms two and four.

The delays come as hundreds of rugby league fans make the commute to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Roosters face off the West Tigers.

If you are in need of advice or assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Trains travelling through platform three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line and services leaving the city
Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after drunken visitors caused fights and had too many accidents.

Hikers, Kayakers and campers in the Ardeche national park won't be able to indulge in a cheeky alcoholic beverage from May 1 to September 30 this year.

Officials said it was is in response to regular fights at the only campsites, Gaud and Gournier, and accidents caused by drunkenness.

The famous gorges, such as the natural Pont d'Arc bridge, are visited by around 1.5million people, and 180,000 kayakers, including people from Britain, according to the Syndicate of Management of the Gorges de l'Ardeche.

Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after hikers and campers caused too many accidents

The park in southeastern France is well known for natural features including the famous Pont d'Arch natural bridge (pictured)

Francoise Soulimane, the state prefect for the Ardeche, made the temporary order.

'It is forbidden for hikers and users of boats to hold alcoholic beverages for consumption in the bivouacs (tents) of Gaud and Gournier [the only areas where camping is allowed in the gorge] or on the fluvial area,' it read.

Anyone caught flouting the rules to sneak in a bottle of wine, beer or spirits, will face a 28 (23.83) fine, reports The Times.

Once taken, the drinks can be reclaimed from authorities headquarters in Vallon Pont d'Arc village for up to a week.

Founded in 1980, the park covers 32km of gorges carved from limestone rocks by the river Ardeche.

The Ardeche gorges are located in southeastern France near Avignon, Nimes and Valence
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Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public for the first time since his succession - as more than 65,000 people queued up in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, Naruhito thanked tens of thousands of well wishers for congratulating him.

'I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today,' said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greeted the public for the first time since his succession from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today

He greeted well wishers waving hundreds of Japanese flags alongside his wife Empress Masako and other members of the royal family

Naruhito's father, Akihito, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor. Pictured: Princess Tomohito, Princess Kako, Princess Mako and Princess Kiko

In this aerial shot, thousands of well wishers can be seen queuing for the chance to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

Emperor Naruhito was joined on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by Japan's Crown Prince Akishino

The area in front of the balcony was filled with a sea of Japanese flags and cellphones as people scrambled to take a picture of their new emperor

During his speech, Naruhito said: 'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further'

'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further.'

As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace. An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate.

Pictured: crowds queuing up outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate. Pictured: people wait in line to see Japan's new Emperor

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace

People walk towards the Imperial Palace as they are led by Imperial Guard officers ahead of the emperor's speech

People wave Japanese national flags and try to take photos of the new emperor in Tokyo earlier today

Here, a group of Imperial Guard officers stand in front of the gate at the palace earlier today

The 59-year-old emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after the Second World War and one who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death amid the lack of discussion about the significance of maintaining the social upper-class bound by its male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, Harvard-educated former diplomat Masako, is still recovering from her stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.

But her parents, from Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay 3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.

They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

Claire told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her  and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'

The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.

It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.

The letter they received asked that Martin pay 2,038.62 and Claire contribute 1,595.

He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'

The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.

Gretna Green (pictured) was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'

Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.

At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.

Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.

As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.

The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.
Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal.

The Environment Secretary said that he is opposed to the prospect of a customs union but said that there is no 'arithmetic' in the House of Commons for Britain to leave the EU without a deal.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures.

Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal (Pictured today at the Scottish Conservative Party conference)

He said in an interview with The Telegraph at his parents' home in Aberdeen that he had not 'gone soft' on Brexit, but instead said that the country and his party had to 'face facts'.

'At the moment the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal,' he said.

'There would be economic challenges. We could get through them but they would undoubtedly be there in the short term.'

Mr Gove added that leaving without a deal would 'undermine the Union' and that the best way of 'bringing the country together is to leave with a good deal'.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures

Outlining his opposition to a customs union, Mr Gove said that he wanted Britain to have an 'independent trade policy' and that the best way to secure it was to 'get the Withdrawal Bill' through and persuade Labour 'of the merits' of it.

The Brexiteer also said he had learned from his failed 2016 Tory leadership campaign, in which he dramatically withdrew his support for Boris Johnson's bid before announcing his own candidature, saying that he is now part of a team.

However, he refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May, but said that his conduct since being made Environment Secretary showed that he is trustworthy.

He said that the local council results, in which Labour lost seats in areas which had voted strongly for Leave in the referendum, showed that Jeremy Corbyn should help the Government pass a deal and ditch any prospect of a second referendum.

Despite his own party's disastrous results, Mr Gove said that Labour should have done 'much better' in the elections after nine years of Conservatives' in power.

'I hope they will recognise that they need to work with the Government in order to deliver Brexit,' he said.

The father-of-two has become a leading Cabinet figure again after many accused him of 'treachery' over the way in which he brutally torpedoed Boris Johnson's chances of becoming Tory leader in 2016.

Since then, he said the pair had 'worked well' on issues such as the 'Brexit strategy' and the illegal wildlife trade.

The results left the two-party system at breaking point and the Conservatives lost 1,335 seats

Mr Gove refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May. Mrs May said he had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted that Brexit was an 'added dimension' to the results

He added that Johnson remained 'a friend' who he held in 'enormously high regard'.

The Surrey Heath MP was at his parents' home in Scotland ahead of his keynote speech to the Scottish Conservative Conference today, in which he is expected to pay tribute to Ruth Davidson's leadership.

He was born in Edinburgh but adopted by Ernest and Christine Gove when he was just four months old.

The couple, now aged 82 and 79 respectively, live in the same house in which Gove grew up in from the age of eight.

Following the disastrous results yesterday, Theresa May claimed she had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted Brexit was 'an added dimension' to that result.

'There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit,' Mrs May said.

'This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that,' Mrs May told the Welsh Conservative Conference.
An explosion at a Chicago chemical plant on Friday night has left three people dead and four others injured, officials have confirmed.

The blast erupted at the AB Specialty Silicones plant in Waukegan at 9:45pm last night, leveling the large structure.

A local resident's doorbell camera captured the dramatic moment a ball of fire erupted into the night sky, causing surrounding homes to tremble as and debris to fall to the ground below.

Another terrified local remarked that it 'felt like an earthquake' had struck the Illinois town.

Waukegan Police Commander Joe Florip described it as a catastrophic explosion and said an employee at the plant was found dead this morning shortly before authorities suspended their search due to structural instability at the site.

The search could not be continued, officials said, as heavy-duty equipment needed to be brought in to dig further beneath the rubble to find those who remained missing.

However by 11:30am, officials confirmed that the bodies of two other employees who were previously reported missing had been recovered.

Firefighters are seen battling a blaze at a chemical plant in Waukegan, Illinois, on Friday

The AB Specialty Silicones plant was reportedly leveled by the blast at around 9.45pm

Pictures taken on Saturday morning show the horrifying aftermath of the explosion

Debris can be seen scattered across the roads nearby. Local residents said houses shook for miles around

Officials say the cause of the explosion is still not yet known. The victims' identities have not yet been released.

All of those affected by the blast are employees of AB Specialty Silicone. The four injured workers were taken to local hospitals with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

The plant was open and in operation when the blast rang out.

Ablaze for several hours, all fires at the dilapidated building have now been fully extinguished.

Hazardous materials technicians and other specialist crews are also at the scene to assist local emergency responders.

Twitter users living nearby said the blast shook houses for miles around.

One wrote: 'Huge explosion across the street from me, my friend over 10 miles away said he heard it... felt like an earthquake.'

The Lake County Sheriff's office said on Twitter last night that it was aware of a very loud explosion sound and the ground shaking.

They have asked residents living nearby to avoid the area.

They wrote: 'Fire, police, and paramedic personnel are working diligently at this scene.

'Again, please stay out of the area and let the first-responders work.'

A doorbell camera captured the moment the 'catastrophic' explosion occured

As of Saturday morning, three people were still unaccounted for

Footage captured by ABC 7 Chicago on Saturday morning showed the devastation at the scene.

Florip estimated that damage to buildings in the area is likely to exceed $1 million. At least five surrounding structures are thought to have been affected.

Many neighboring properties are going to have damage, he said. I would categorize this as a massive explosion.

He added they have no concerns about air contamination or quality and insisted theres no need to seek immediate shelter.

The plant has been very responsive and was safety cautious after the incident from the previous fire, Lenzi said in a press conference. We have had no instances as far as code violations or anything like that with the plant.
A British father and son who travelled to Spain in March for a six-day road trip and haven't been heard from since 'may have come to harm' detectives have admitted.

Daniel Poole, 46, and his 22-year-old son Liam, travelled to Malaga on March 31 for the short break.

The pair, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex were last in contact their their family on April 1.

Daniel Poole, 46, left, and his son Liam, 22, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, flew to Malaga on March 31 and hired a car for a six-day road trip. They were last in contact with their family on April 1

The pair had checked into the Valle Romano Hotel, pictured, before they vanished. Police are becoming increasingly worried about their safety and fear they may have come to some harm

The Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team are now investigating the case to find the pair from Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

They are working with the Spanish authorities to investigate the circumstances of their disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Heater of Sussex Police said: 'We are working closely with the Spanish Police.

'One possibility that must be considered, as they have not contacted family or friends, is that they have come to harm.

'Their family are very concerned about them as they last heard from them on April 1, the lack of contact is out of character for the pair. The family are being supported by family liaison officers and are being kept informed.

'We know that Daniel and Liam hired a grey Peugeot 308 car when they got to Spain but this has not been returned to the car hire firm. We would like to hear from anyone who has seen them, the car or has any information about their whereabouts in Spain or any other location since March 31.'

The father and son flew to Spain on March 31 and checked into a hotel.

Detective Sergeant Alan Fenn of Sussex Police's missing persons team said last month: 'This is extremely unusual behaviour from Daniel and Liam to not be in contact with their family.

'They have been on holiday together before, but never have they lost contact with family members in Burgess Hill where they live.

'We, and their family, are eager to hear from anyone who has made contact with either Daniel or Liam since Monday April 1.'

The men were reportedly staying at the Valle Romano Hotel, after arriving in Estepona on March 31 for a six-day holiday.

Daniel's wife, Tara Poole, told The Olive Press last month: 'This is completely out of character for them. They never have their phones off and always keep in touch - we are so worried.'

Tara said she last spoke to Daniel, who runs a car repair shop in Burgess Hill, at about 6.30pm on April 1.

Sussex Police said that Daniel, 46, is white, 5ft 9in tall, of heavy build and with short grey hair.

Liam, 22, is white, 6ft, of medium build and with short light brown hair.
Magistrate Richard Pithouse (pictured) told Rex Morgan, who had refused further testing, not to call him 'bro' and to 'drop the attitude'

A man has been slammed by a magistrate after he called him 'bro' and gave him 'attitude' in court.

New Zealand man Rex Morgan appeared Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria this week after he reversed his car 30m on the opposite side of the road and up a driveway before crashing into his neighbour's fence.

Police observed the crash and the man tested positive for alcohol in a preliminary breath test, he was then asked to undergo further testing at a police station.

Morgan refused and told officers 'just charge me bro, I don't care', the Herald Sun reported.

Magistrate Richard Pithouse was not impressed with his behaviour.

'Don't call me bro,' Magistrate Pithouse said.

'Drop the attitude, take your hands out of your pockets and start showing some respect to the court,' he said.

Morgan was convicted and given a three-year cancellation on his license along with a $1,500 fine at Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria (pictured)

During proceedings, Morgan claimed he had no idea why he had been forced to attend court as he claimed to have only consumed one drink.

Morgan claimed he was the designated driver at a friend's 21st birthday party and the only drink he had consumed was in his car while in his own driveway before the crash.

The magistrate berated Morgan over his refusal to take a breath test and said that the police had every right to demand he undertake further testing.

Mr Pithouse convicted the man and cancellled his licence for three years - a full year over the required minimum for refusing a breath test.

Morgan was also fined $1,500.
Despite having some of the best wines in the world, France is turning towards craft beers, stouts and British-inspired pale ales.

And one micro-brewery launched by a French man and his British neighbour in the wine-soaked Loire valley last year UK-origin pale ales.

France has been flowing to these alcoholic beverages for some time, with the number of breweries in the country almost tripling in eight years from 387 in 2010 to 1,100 in 2018.

Their number looks set to rise too as demand went up by up to 4.2 per cent alone last year.

The number of French breweries has tripled in eight years to 1,100 in 2018 (stock image)

A French man and his British neighbour have started a brewery together making UK-inspired India pale ale (stock image)

Dominique Terray, 63, who spent 40 years advising Loire vineyards, teamed up with his British friend Simon Armstrong, 42, to produce the alcoholic beverages, reports The Times.

The pair were neighbours in Chinon, Loire valley, and used to go on beer tasting holidays to Britain together.

Mr Armstrong moved back to Somerset as a stonemason, but then returned to Chinon last year where he began brewing in the kitchen.

Describing the choice to brew pale ales, Mr Terray said it was because of their fruity scent with a hint of honey.

'When you swill it around the glass it exudes a scent that is fresh, fruity and floral, with a hint of malt and honey. Once in the mouth, the taste is full and rounded and capped by a well-controlled bitterness.'

They sell an India pale ale and an extra pale ale, both priced at 2.90 (2.50) for a 33cl bottle, and a black India pale ale for 3.30 (2.81).

France has the third highest number of breweries in Europe, behind Britain with 2,250, and Germany with 1,408, according to organisation the Brewers of Europe.

The country has the second highest area of land devoted to wineries at more than 800,000 hectares according to Eurostat, while Spain has the most land for making wine at 941,000 hectares.
A British music teacher who plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines has been jailed.

James Alexander, 42, was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017.

British music teacher James Alexander, 42, plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines. He was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Illigan City, in Northern Mindanao

Forensic analysis of his electronic devices showed Alexander, of Beeston, Leeds, sent at least 15 money transfers to abuse facilitators between August 2017 and June 2018.

It also showed that Alexander tried to arrange with abuse facilitators over Skype and WhatsApp to travel to the Philippines to abuse little girls himself.

Alexander admitted one count of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence; three counts of attempting to cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

He was prosecuted under section 72 of the Sex Offences Act 2003, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed abroad.

Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard Alexander had a discussion with one female facilitator about a 13-year-old girl, in which he said: 'If I meet anyone else I would like younger'.

He then asked the facilitator for pictures of her 12-year-old daughter.

It is believed indecent images of the 12-year-old were sent to him, as his recovered chat history shows he said: 'nice baby * now take the other pictures I asked.'

On 1 February 2018 Alexander and the woman discussed plans for him to meet the girls in a hotel and he asked: 'Are you going to bring them both with you and stay also'.

He added: 'You'll show them what to do.'

The woman told Alexander she had other daughters aged nine, six and four.

Alexander, who taught in Leeds and Malaysia before moving to Thailand, asked for sick images of the girls aged nine and six posing in a certain way, and asked what the six-year-old would do with him.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017. Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (Photo supplied by the National Crime Agency)

He also explained how he would like to sexually abuse the four-year-old.

Alexander told another Filipino mother - who says she will make her daughters do anything for money - that he wants to have sex with her seven and 11-year-old girls. He directed them to pose for photographs.

NCA officers also discovered other WhatsApp messages where Alexander asked a 10-year-old to send him images of her posing, and asked if he could meet her.

There were no records of Alexander ever travelling to the Philippines.

In-country investigations into the facilitators continue, but as a result of NCA intelligence, one suspect was arrested and several children safeguarded.

Alexander taught at Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok, Thailand, which dismissed him upon notification of the investigation. Safeguarding checks were made at the school and there was no evidence of Alexander offending there.

Alexander's phone contained child abuse images.

He was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court. He was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Speaking after the hearing, Hazel Stewart, NCA senior investigating officer, said: 'Alexander clearly tried to manipulate and exploit the poverty of the vulnerable in order to gratify his sick sexual desires.

Alexander was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order at Leeds Crown Court which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life

'He believed he could abuse Filipino children safely from his home and wanted to visit the Philippines to carry out the sexual abuse himself.

'The NCA has strong partnerships with law enforcement in the Philippines. We work together to combat this kind of offending.

'We and UK policing will never give up our pursuit of offenders who commit these horrendous crimes.'
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A Cambridge postgraduate student has reportedly been arrested for forcing himself upon a female student in his college dormitory.

The 27-year-old suspected rapist is thought to come from a 'wealthy overseas family' according to a source who spoke to the Sun.

He allegedly sexually attacked a 20-year-old undergraduate but is believed to deny these claims.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year (stock pic)

Instead, he is reportedly insisting it was consensual sex and has been bailed until May 22.

A source said that the alleged rape has caused 'considerable shock'.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year.
Three people - including a minor - have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday.

His daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury.

Three people were arrested following the attack and will front court in Colon, a city in Panama, on Sunday, the NZ Herald reported.

A minor and two other people have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack (pictured, Alan Culverwell with partner Derryn)

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea-bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday (pictured, Derryn, Briar, Flynn and Alan)

Mr Culverwell's daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury (pictured, Alan Culverwell)

Mr Culverwell is understood to have been sleeping below deck with his family when he heard a noise on the yacht's roof.

When he went up to check on the cause of the noise, he was fatally shot.

His wife, and two children, managed to stay alive after Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

Despite suffering knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand.

'He kept Derryn on the phone and as calm as he could,' Mr Culverwell's sister Derryn Hughes said.

'The attackers had left the boat at that stage, but Derryn was very scared but trying to keep it together for the kids.

The friend notified authorities in Panama and New Zealand Police, before the family was finally rescued.

A tracker was also installed on the boat, which helped rescuers locate the vessel.

Ms Culverwell received stitches for her injury and left hospital with her two children on Saturday.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Mr Culverwell's stepson and a close friend are understood to be leaving New Zealand to be by the family's side.

Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela has since appeared on television and publicly apologised to the Culverwell family.

During the broadcast, Mr Varela promised that the attackers would pay for their crimes.

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island.

The father used the money to purchase the 65ft yacht from a seller in Florida, US.

'It was a beautiful big boat that had been owned by someone with way too much money and [Culverwell] just timed it perfectly, he bought it in Florida for way less than had been spent on it,' Paua Industry Council chief executive Jeremy Cooper said.

The family were sailing the newly-bought boat back from the place of purchase, making numerous stops along the way.

They made a stop at the Panamanian island of Bocas del Toro and were to make their way back to New Zealand before they were intercepted.

Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.

The family are in the process of also arranging Mr Culverwell's body to be transported back to New Zealand.
Andrew Marks (pictured) who is running as a United Australia Party candidate is the youngest member in the federal election

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook.

Andrew Marks is representing the United Australia Party at this year's federal election, and is the youngest candidate running for a seat.

The 18-year-old has been criticised after he posted a meme referencing Hitler on Facebook in 2016.

Mr Marks, who is studying accounting and communications at university, shared an image of a man giving a Nazi salute.

He also shared a meme of a character using a time machine to applaud Hitler.

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook

Election candidate Andrew Marks has been slammed for sharing memes about Adolf Hitler on Facebook in 2016 (pictured is an image shared by Mr Marks)

His father, Robert Marks, who helped set up the UAP and is also running as a candidate, said his grandfathers fought against the Nazis and the family aren't anti-Semitic.

'We are absolutely anti-Nazi. My son was 15 when he posted those memes. He is now 18,' Mr Marks told The Sunday Telegraph.

'The memes are from a WWII Facebook history page that my son signed up to. It may be substandard to us but this is how the kids communicate these days,' he said.

The co-chair executive officer at the executive council of the Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said these memes harm and are damaging to the Jewish community.

Mr Marks had also previously shared an image referencing school shootings.

The post which pictured chips, a bag of McDonalds and a rifle, said: 'Everyone wishes that they were your friend when you bring these to school!'

His father Robert Marks (pictured) said they are anti-Nazi and his son was 15 when he shared the posts on Facebook

A number of UAP candidates have also been criticised for inflammatory social media posts.

North Sydney's Peter Vagg shared a post about stopping Muslim extremists and African gangs from immigrating to Australia.

Mr Vagg also shared images calling for a ban on the burqa and a ban on school excursions to mosques.

Also, the candidate for Greenway, Scott Feeney, posted an image of comedian Bill Cosby following his sentencing for sexual assault.

He captioned the photo: 'Holy crap, Morgan Freeman just got sent to prison.'

Mr Feeney said the post referred to a joke officers made while he was in the navy and he is not a racist.
A snake catcher has found a huge python that had slithered under the bed of an unsuspecting woman.

The photo of the two-metre long carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was posted online by snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie, who found the intruder in a woman's bedroom on Friday.

A neighbour had spotted a snake in the area but after the woman's bedside lamp blew out she wasn't able to spot it easily, Mr Mckenzie said on Facebook.

The photo of the two-metre carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was uploaded to Facebook

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?' snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie asked

'I relocated this Carpet Python out of the ladies' room and back in to the bush,' Mr Mckenzie said.

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?'

He said that while the snake is not venomous, they can still be dangerous if they grow bigger, noting that he has caught ones as big as 3.3m long.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Mr Mckenzie said.

The snake catcher said the it was able to get inside the house due to an all too common mistake.

'The screen door to the house was left open so the dogs could come in and out, unfortunately that means other wildlife can come in and out too!' Mr Mckenzie said.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Stuart Mckenzie said (pictured)

The Carpet Phython is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland

'You can leave your screen doors open if you are there, but if you are leaving the house you have got to shut everything up, especially at night because that is when they get in.'

He ended the post by asking people how they would react to seeing such a large snake in their house.

The carpet python is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland.

Some commenters were braver than others but many people said they would happily run away from their houses or 'burn the house down'.
A mother of a ten-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome claims her daughter was left in tears after she was refused entry into a trampoline park.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana, pictured, was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out trampolining park, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment

She said she was told by Flip Out staff that neither would be a problem and had taken her daughters to the park in the past, the Daily Record reported.

However, when the family arrived, Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment.

Ms Henry tried to speak to staff about her daughter's condition, but said they were 'not in the slightest bit interested'.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer

The mother-of-two said that the family were served by a male member of staff who 'was gone for approximately five minutes' after seeing her daughters.

She said they were then asked to go to the manager's office and was told that Dana's Down's Syndrome meant that she could not take part.

'The manager said: "Sorry we notice your daughter has Down's syndrome and the policy that has come in means she won't be able to take part,"' she said.

'As I stood there I felt like my heart was ripped out with my daughter at my feet and she started sobbing,' she added.

People with Down's Syndrome who want to participate in gymnastics require a medical screening and approval under requirements issued by the British Gymnastics Association.

Ms Henry said she then tried to clarify her daughter's condition and explained that she was 'registered under the British gymnasium and is more than able'.

But she said the manager refused to let Dana get on the trampolines because 'his mind was made up'.

The family were then taken to reception and given a refund.

'I was totally heartbroken,' she added and claimed that, rather than being taken to one side to be told away from her daughter, Dana 'heard everything'.

She said that Flip Out staff have since failed to resolve the the situation and said she had to call the firm four times before they responded.

However, when the family arrived at Flip Out (pictured), Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment

A Flip Out spokesman apologised for the 'misunderstanding' and stressed that their policy 'follows the advice given from the Down-syndrome.org website and the British Gymnastics Association which strongly recommends screening before any trampolining activities for people with Down-Syndrome.

'We then require a GP's approval letter confirming the participant is safe to take part in trampolining activities,' they added.

The firm invited the family to return as a 'treat' and said they had 'put on additional training' to 'further increase awareness.'

MailOnline has approached Flip Out directly for comment.
Lancashire police confirmed a body found in the woods near Parbold railway station was missing teenager Alex Davies, pictured

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of a Home Bargains worker who was found dead in the woods.

Victim Alex Davies, 18, had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire on Monday when he got a taxi to Parbold railway station.

A murder probe was launched after his body was discovered off Parbold Hill in West Lancashire on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives were initially unsure if the body was a man or woman.

Mr Davies had recently been promoted to the job of lead sales assistant at Home Bargains in Skelmersdale, and was looking forward to the future, friends said.

A post mortem examination has been carried out and the cause of death has been established but for operational reasons we cannot disclose this at this time.

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said yesterday: 'We recognise the impact this investigation has had in the Parbold area and would like to thank the community for its support.

'We can confirm officers investigating Alex's death have tonight arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He is currently in custody.

'This is a truly shocking murder of a young man and my thoughts are with his family and friends at this desperately sad time.

'Alex was a much loved son and brother and his family are obviously distraught by what has happened.

Police cordoned off an area of woodland where the missing teenager's body was found

'I have a dedicated team of officers and staff working on this enquiry.

'We are keeping an open mind for the reason Alex was in the Parbold area. I would appeal to anyone with information which could assist to come forward.

'We are carrying out CCTV and house to house enquiries in the area to try and piece together Alex's movements but I need the public's help as someone out there could hold the key to solving this horrendous crime.

'Furthermore, if you have seen anyone acting suspiciously or any unusual behaviour in the area in recent days, please come forward.

'You may think you are doing the right thing protecting them but if anyone does have suspicions about an individual I would ask them to search their conscience and do the right thing and contact police.'

Mr Davies had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire and his body was found off Parbold Hill two days later

On Thursday before his body was discovered, his boss Gerard Boylan said: 'This [going missing] is not something that he does.

'It's a complete mystery. Alex had his whole future ahead of him, and he loves his job and had recently got himself a promotion.

'He comes from Skelmersdale and lives with his mum.

'He's an energetic, kind and helpful lad, who loved working with customers.

'He's not a shy bloke, and is the type of person who would talk to anyone.

'He's a brilliant lad.'

Mr Davies had worked for Home Bargains for the last two years. He had not used his mobile phone since Monday afternoon.

Lancashire Police launched a missing person enquiry, which was upgraded to 'high-risk' on Thursday with the search reaching into its fourth day.

Police cordoned off two areas of field - one leading up towards Wrightington and a further field towards High Moore Lane.

A shocked passer-by said: 'Nothing ever happens here, I'm shocked to see so many police cars here.'
Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn.

They say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity in jeopardy unless immediate steps are taken to reverse climate destruction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests (Amazon pictured) and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction

Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn (Young eco-activists chain themselves to the Houses of Parliament yesterday)

It is the first dossier of its kind since 2005 and is due to be released in Paris on Monday, but a preliminary copy has been leaked to the Guardian.

Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told the paper: 'There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

'We are in trouble if we don't act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.'

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population (Pictured: deforestation on Indonesia's Borneo Island)

The experts say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity (pictured: Hong Kong Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday)

Hundreds students took part in the School Strike for Climate yesterday as the global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - was leaked

The global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - will construct several scenarios for the future based on likely decisions taken by governments and policymakers over the coming years.

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population.

The report comes after scores of eco-activists rallied in London to raise awareness of climate change and its global impact.

Extinction Rebellion protesters paralysed parts of the capital for ten days as they blocked roads and caused transport chaos.

And earlier this week Members of Parliament approved a Labour motion calling on the government to declare a 'climate emergency'.
A police dispatcher has sued the state of Queensland for causing her post-traumatic stress disorder after she was forced to listen to the murder of a young mother in a chilling triple-0 phone call.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie boyfriend Lionel Patea on a Gold Coast road on September 8, 2015.

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call.

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond.

The 50-year-old has blamed Queensland police for the lack of support following the call, which led to her PTSD leaving her unable to work for 15 months, and has sued the state for $615,572.

'It's with me every day. I can replay every moment,' Ms Jansen told The Sunday Mail.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie ex-boyfriend Lionel Patea

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call. Pictured: Patea, left, and Ms Brown

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond. Pictured: Patea and his child

Ms Brown made the emergency call as she was chased by her tattooed partner who was driving a black Jeep on the morning of September 8.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries.

A neighbour was initially helping Patea smash the windscreen of Ms Brown's car, thinking he was trying help the woman get out.

Ms Brown was heard yelling out for her young daughter Aria by a witness and brave mother- of-four Leesa Kennedy, who tried to help stop Patea from murdering her.

Ms Kennedy, who said she had been haunted by vicious dreams since the murder, said the distressing event felt like 'it went for hours but it was really just 15 minutes'.

Ms Jansen remembered trying to find out where Ms Brown was and was told Patea was threatening her with a knife.

The dispatcher had asked not to deal with emergency calls but was only taken off the job for two days.

TARA BROWN'S CHILLING EMERGENCY CALL In the call, which left senior police officers traumatised, Ms Brown was heard repeatedly asking Patea to stop the attack that ended in her death a day later in hospital. Ms Brown phoned emergency services after she left the Nerang childcare centre, on Queensland's Gold Coast, where she had dropped off her daughter about 8.45am. Just 40 seconds later, the 24-year-old mother was heard begging for Patea to go away and then a huge crashing noise rings out. The noise was the moment Patea used his car to deliberately run Ms Brown's off the road. Advertisement

'The next minute he'd just run her off the road. I could her screaming. I just prayed she would talk to me, but she couldn't,' she said.

'It was 40 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to me.'

She was able to send emergency services to where the young mother was, despite the fact she was no longer responding.

Ms Jansen was unable to attend work after she was haunted by numerous news reports about Ms Brown's murder, including CCTV footage and details about the pre-trial hearing.

Apart from the lack of support, she also claims no one had done a welfare check on her.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyer Beth Rolton backed Ms Jansen's claim of being given no support for dealing with one of the most distressing phone calls.

'I never knew of a murder that has taken place while a person was on the phone, Ms Janson, who now works with Queensland Police as an acting executive secretary, said.

She said her new role has put her in a lower salary in comparison to her previous role.

Ms Jansen, who filed her personal injury damages to the District Court, is waiting for the response of the State Government.

Ms Brown and Patea shared a daughter, Aria, born in 2012.

Former Bandido sergeant-at-arms Patea was jailed for life on February 27, 2017 after pleading guilty to the murder of Ms Brown at the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Tara Brown's mother Natalie Hinton read out a victim impact statement to the court about the 'monster' who claimed her daughter's life.

'Tara was empathetic, warm and trusting. She was a lover of life from a very young age,' Ms Hinton said.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home at about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries

'The monster was now in control, she feared him. He took full advantage of her vulnerability. I was oblivious to the extent of his sickening actions.

'My whole world caved in around me as this misogynistic narcissist murdered my baby girl.'

Ms Brown had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at day care when Patea chased down her hatchback with a four-wheel-drive.

She had been hiding from him at a safe house and friends' homes since taking out a domestic violence order against him just days earlier.

Witnesses saw the pair reaching speeds of more than 100km/h and Patea bashing on Ms Brown's driver's side window with both fists when she had to stop at red lights.

Patea (left) ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's (right) car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle

Patea ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle.

He used the metal slab weighing 7.8kg taken from the side of the road to repeatedly bash her head, causing 'non-survivable' brain injuries.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Ms Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

It wasn't until they heard her crying out that they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he fought them off.

Emergency operators listened helplessly as the mother cried for help - as more than a dozen 'thumping' sounds were recorded over the phone.
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was subjected to homophobic heckling during an event in Texas on Friday night  but one of his Democratic challengers was quick to come to his aid.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by anti-LGBT+ remarks on four separate occasions.

Marriage is between a man and a woman, shouted one protester. Repent, added a second.

CNNs DJ Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by four protesters

The protesters' cries were in reference to biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were 'reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy'

Others shouted marriage is between a man and a woman.' Another protester repeatedly shouted repent, during Buttigieg's speech

After the fourth heckler - all of whom were part of a group for truth and justice who oppose same sex marriage and abortion - called out, Buttigieg reminded his audience of why he decided to enroll in the military and serve in the Middle East.

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance.

He also deadpanned that it was a lively room, adding later that he was just thinking of that scripture that says bless and do not curse.

Each of the protesters' cries were in reference to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Bible claims were reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy.

It's believed their group is led by Randal Terry, who founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue in the 1980s.

The good news is the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you, Buttigieg responded in stride as the protesters were ushered away. Remember the beauty of our democracy. Everyone here gets the exact same voice and vote. Feels like the numbers are on our side, he added.

CNNs JD Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door

Demonstrators also positioned them outside of the Hilton Anatole, in Dallas, ahead of Buttigieg's arrival

Buttigieg, the first gay presidential candidate in history, married his partner Chasten Glezman in 2018

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, came out as gay just four years ago when he was 33.

He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in US History  but his trailblazing hasnt come without adversity.

As a result of his sexual orientation, Buttigieg has been heckled a number of times already early in the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in April.

But this time, Buttigieg didnt have to face the jeers alone.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred,' O'Rourke wrote. 'Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

ORourke also spoke in Texas on Friday night, where he hosted a town hall rally in downtown Fort Worth Texas, thirty minutes west from Buttigiegs event in Dallas.

This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through, O'Rourke told the assembled audience.

Long a Republican stronghold, Texas has seen an influx of Democratic presidential candidates flock to the state early in the trail for the 2020 bid.

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance

Last week, Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be hosting an event there on Saturday.

Before launching his campaign last month, little was known of 37-year-old Buttigieg outside of Indiana.

However he is now emerging as a serious contender, placing third in the late April polls at a ranking of 5%.

Only former president Joe Biden (17%) and Bernie Sanders (11%) are besting him.
The charity allowed Kamran Hussain (pictured) to give sermons in front of an ISIS flag and tell three-year-old children that martyrdom is better than school over a period of four months

A charity which ran a British mosque has been dissolved after it allowed a radical Imam to tell three-year-old children martyrdom is better than school and give sermons in front of an Islamic state flag.

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was closed for 'facilitating terrorism' by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from running a charity in future.

It comes after radical Imam Kamran Hussian was allowed to speak at its mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, over a period of four months in 2016.

Hussain was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2017 after being convicted of six charges of encouraging terrorism and two of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic state.

An inquiry, opened by the commission last year, said the trustees 'failed to properly manage, administer and protect the trust and its resources, resulting in it being used to facilitate terrorism offences'.

It was also found the trust did not have a viable future leading to its dissolution with 132,000 funds split between five charities in Stoke-on-Trent which have similar objectives.

The Charity Commission's director of investigations, Michelle Russell, said what happened was 'unacceptable' and a 'clear failing on the part of the charity's trustees as its custodians'.

'Our actions will reassure the public that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated.

Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust, based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was closed by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from setting up a charity in future

'While instances of abuse of charities for terrorism are rare, such links undermine public trust and confidence in charities, and the vital work that charities do. It is right that those responsible have been held to account for their actions.'

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was set up in 2003 with the aim of 'educating all people, particularly children and young people, in the Muslim religion and Urdu language and the advancement of the Muslim religion through collective prayer meetings and otherwise'.

As part of the investigation, the Charity Commission carried out an unannounced visit and scrutinised material seized by the police including bank statements.

The report reads: 'The inquiry found that the charity's premises had been misused, by the Imam, to encourage terrorism and encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic State.

'The fact that the sermons delivered by the Imam which resulted in his conviction were delivered over a number of months compounds the failure on the part of the charity's trustees to ensure that the charity and its property were not used for criminal purposes.

An entrance to the charity's mosque, pictured off the side of a street in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

'Trustee A (Fazal Ellahi) advised that he was not aware of what the Imam had said and that there had been no complaints made about him by those in attendance at the mosque.

'It is unclear whether the trustees were present for some or all of the Imam's sermons between June and September 2016 which resulted in his conviction; irrespective of whether or not either or both of the trustees were present, the inquiry found that the trustees failed to manage the charity's resources appropriately and that their failure to do so facilitated their use for terrorist purposes.'

Hussain, 40, of Knightsbridge Way, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed at the Old Bailey in September 2017 after anti-terror police planted an undercover officer in the Tunstall mosque.

The officer recorded 17 sermons and six were found to have 'crossed the line' by encouraging terrorism and two encouraged support for Islamic State.

The court heard Hussain would often deliver speeches in front an Islamic State flag and laud the values of terrorist groups.

In one he told the congregation: 'Inshallah...we will see the black flag rise over Big Ben and Downing Street.'

The preacher supported the virtues of killing, martyrdom and violent jihad and endorsed the efforts of those who had undertaken such acts.

And he told worshippers the UK government funded far-right groups to attack Muslims.

Hussain said: 'The kuffar (unbeliever) will attack you and kill you.

'Stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to stand in the face of the elements of Shaytan (Satan), be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt.'

It is not yet clear what the charity's dissolution means for the mosque, which had around 40 worshippers.
The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden (left), who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders (right)

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll of Democrat voters was conducted from April 30 to May 1

The poll represented a surge in support for Biden following his announcement. The previous Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted in March, prior to Biden entering the race, showed him at 35 per cent and Sanders at 17 per cent.

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop Saturday in Columbia, the capital, followed by a fundraiser.

Biden, seen campaigning in Iowa this week, opened with an appeal to white, working-class voters. Now he is jetting to South Carolina to test his message with crucial black voters

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now Biden now is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.

Outside those early-voting states, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is in Houston, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio visits Michigan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee is in California.

Maverick businessman Andrew Yang, who proposes instituting a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for every U.S. citizen, is holding a campaign event in Detroit.
A 23-year-old man with a took his own life while under investigation for rape which his family claim is false.

Mark Hunton, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation.

Mark Hunton, 23, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him

Devon Live reported that the pressure of the investigation contributed to Mr Hunton's mental health issues, his father Nick said.

He added that he does not know how he will return to normality after the tragedy.

The family said: 'Despite our best efforts to look after him, Mark's mental health deteriorated and collapsed under the strain.

'When Mark took his own life he effectively took ours with him.'

The family have now turned to crowd funding in the hope of raising 25,000 to secure legal representation at the upcoming inquest into Mr Hunton's death.

In a tribute written on the day of his cremation, Nick Hunton wrote of his grief after having his son cremated 'in the presence of his mother and two brothers'.

'No mourners, no service, no friends and family to grieve only our boys who we truly trusted. No one to ask why, no awkward questions or explanations to provide,' he added.

'Asking each of my family in repeated turns 'Are you OK' - perhaps the most stupid words I've ever spoken - in sure and certain knowledge that they were not, but hoping that my two surviving sons would one day return to some level of normality. But how are we to return, Judy and I.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation

'They said that there was nothing worse than to out live your child. No one has yet, I don't think, tried to categorise the severity of that tragedy.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'We are aware and continue to look into concerns raised by the family in relation to Marks' death.

'At this point, due to active and ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

For confidential support in the UK: call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
A man struggling with a severe lung condition and given just two years to live by doctors has been deemed fit to work and has had his benefits slashed.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions after attending a mandatory work capability assessment.

Mr Nicholson, from Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: 'I failed even though my condition has worsened. But because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work.'

The widower, who lost his wife to cancer when she was 36, previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month directly into his bank account.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions. He said: 'Because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work'

But after being put on Universal Credit, his money has been halved to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat.'

The payment he receives just covers his expenses including 48 phone bill, 60 per month for electric, and 10.37 for gas, and around 15 per week for food.

'I'm not expecting to go on holiday or buy a car. I'm just expecting to be able to live. Sometimes I only have one meal a day, and there are days where I go with no food.

'This has a knock on affect and means that I can't take all of my medications because you have to take food with them. I've lost half a stone.

'A downside of my illness is that my immune system is weak and it will only weaken.

He underwent a mandatory reconsideration which was rejected and is now awaiting a tribunal.

'I should be focusing on life instead of this. I have spoken to people about work, but I don't know what I could do to be honest. I am stage three and would have more sick days than working days,' he said.

Mr Nicholson applied for two more benefits - the illness and disability enhancements on Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment - and has called the process humiliating.

Mr Nicholson previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month but has had his money slashed to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat'

'I know I am going to die young. I was young when I got diagnosed, now I'm 47, and have been told I could live until I'm 50.

'Someone who does not understand this condition made this decision, with someone with even less understanding making a final decision.'

Mr Nicholson said the mandatory reconsideration process needs overhauling and the tribunal service needs to clear its back log, starting fresh.

'I'm wanting to share this not just for me, but for the thousands of other people who are also affected. It is atrocious and is like going back to the Second World War. It is like a slow genocide.'

A DWP spokesman said: 'Decisions for ESA are made by medical professionals following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including evidence from their GP or medical specialist.

'There is a free and independent appeals process where claimants can provide any further documentation.

'Mr Nicholson continues to receive benefits and support during his appeal and is not required to seek work.'
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the National Security Council leak as a 'shabby and discredited witch hunt' and called for a 'proper, full and impartial' investigation into it.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked after he was accused by PM Theresa May of leaking details from the top secret meeting wants a full investigation into the scandal.

His comments follow the decision by Britain's top anti-terror officer Neil Basu to recommend no further police action into the Huawei leak. Assistant Commissioner Basu said the contents of the leak did not warrant further action as they 'did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'.

Commissioner Basu is the head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations and is the senior officer in charge of counter terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations said there was no evidence to suggest the Huawei leak which led to Gavin Williamson's sacking breached the Official Secrets Act

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured on his last official duty on board a nuclear submarine was sacked after Theresa May accused him of leaking details from a top-secret National Sercurity Council briefing to a newspaper

Mr Williamson, pictured yesterday on his Instagram feed, strongly denied allegations that he was responsible for the NSC leak

In a statement, Commissioner Basu said: 'I have spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material that was discussed in the National Security Council. This material was used to inform a discussion, the outcome of which was subsequently disclosed to the media. I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

'I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice. I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

'Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

'At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

'No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage Misconduct in a Public Office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.'

The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

The SO15 officers have special arrangements with government to examine information to determine whether a criminal prosecution was necessary.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured, insisted sacking Mr Williamson was the correct decision

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in 'non-core' elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was 'compelling evidence' he was behind the leak - something he denies.

Downing Street insisted the leak probe into the NSC affair was carried out 'fairly', however, friends of Mr Williamson dismissed it as 'slipshod' and 'rushed'.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The investigation was conducted fairly by officials operating impartially.'

The chairwoman of Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Dame Margaret Beckett, wrote to Sir Mark Sedwill  who is also Prime Minister Theresa May's National Security Adviser  seeking information on the inquiry.

'The committee notes your ongoing inquiry into the leak of the National Security Council's decision on the use of Huawei in the UK's 5G telecommunications network,' wrote Dame Margaret.

'As this directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the NSC, the Committee would like to be apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry once it is complete.'

Following the sacking, PM Theresa May insisted it was the correct course of action.

She told ITV News: 'I did take a difficult decision.

'This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: 'I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.'

How Huawei leak sunk Gavin Williamson's ministerial career Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson's sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UK's National Security Council. Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry: Gavin Williamson, pictured, was sacked as Defence Secretary after a leak from the National Security Council to the media. Mr Williamson, pictured, strongly denies the allegations April 23 - A meeting of the UK's National Security Council (NSC), the country's top national security body, is held. April 24 - The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting. Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council. April 25 - Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is 'deeply worrying'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is 'completely unacceptable' for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should 'absolutely be looked at'. Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible. In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had 'divulged information from the National Security Council'. April 26 - An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions. Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak. Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved. Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved. April 27 - It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill. Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting. China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure. April 28 - Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone. He says the UK should exercise 'a degree of caution' about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei. April 29 - The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers. May 1 - Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information. Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having 'lost confidence in his ability to serve'. May 2 - Gavin Williamson says he would be 'absolutely exonerated' if there was a police investigation into the leak. May 4 - The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was 'satisfied' that the details disclosed to the media did not 'contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'. Advertisement
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Archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC.

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday.

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah.

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre.

Khafre, also known as Khefren or Chephren to the Ancient Greeks, built the second of the three famous Pyramids of Giza as well as the Sphinx.

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, statues of jackals, as well as hieroglyphs.

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today: 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty.'

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday

An excavation worker carefully uses a tool inside a burial shaft at the Giza pyramid plateau following the recent discovery of the tombs

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah

This excavation worker carefully brushes dust from the face of the sarcophagus

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre

Another member of the excavation team carefully brushes away sand and debris from the sarcophagus

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, as well as statues of what appear to be jackals

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today : 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty'
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Palestinian militants fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

On Saturday video footage of a family screaming in fear during rocket attacks was posted on social media.

A picture taken in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2019 shows an explosion following an airstrike by Israel

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators (pictured: A target explodes during airstrikes in Gaza City, May 4)

An explosion is pictured among buildings during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 4, 2019

Palestinians gather on the beach in Gaza City as smoke and fire billow following airstrikes by Israel in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites (pictured: Gaza City)

Missiles are fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells,

Gaza's militant strongholds came under fire (fireball pictured) from Israeli troops after they launched rockets into southern Israel

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 13 miles from the Gaza border, police said (pictured: Gaza City)

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire.

In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

Pictured: Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza city Israeli airstrike

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them (pictured: An explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike)

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday (pictured: Fire rises in Gaza on May 4)

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said 'the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.'

'We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks,' she said in a statement.

Smoke rises after Israeli army carried out airstrike in Rafah, Gaza on May 4, 2019

Israeli bomb squad inspect the remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Yad Mordechai

A picture taken from the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara shows an explosion caused by an Israeli air strike across the border in the Gaza Strip

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a 'high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel' that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to 'de-escalate' and restore recent understandings.

A missile fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells races towards Gaza

Damage to a house is seen after a rocket fired from Gaza Strip hit in the southern Israeli city Kiryat Gat, May 4

A statement from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, allied to Hamas, claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary (pictured, rocket fired from Gaza towards Israel)

'Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all,' he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying 'firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.'

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas, 70, from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied.

People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court.

But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Legal scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been the 'senior associate justice' on the Supreme Court since Anthony Kennedy retired in 2018

Many Americans know Thomas from his 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill (center)

He is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September.

Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas became the high court's longest-serving justice, the 'senior associate justice,' when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer.

Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White on October 18, 1991. Scholars say Thomas is an 'originalist' who believes in interpreting the Constitution as it's written, the way its authors intended

Thomas is also a staunch conservative who recently was joined on the court by President Trump's right-leaning nominees Neil Gorsuch (top left) and Brett Kavanaugh (top right)

But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump. As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas 'highly underrated.' Trump said Thomas has 'been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.'

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump.

Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the current President and First Lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as 'terrifying to many progressives.'

(Front row, left to right) US Supreme Court Justices Elena Kegan, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservative justices are now firmly in control of the court, which is expected to rule on issues like abortion, gun control and LGBT rights in the near future

Thomas and his wife, Virginia (left), herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas.

Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as un-influential, but Rossum disagrees.

'He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake,' Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, 'Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.'

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

Thomas' far-right rulings have earned him praise from President Donald Trump. More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump

Thomas is now on a court with at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, according to political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist, believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant.

He feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.'

He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both 'notoriously incorrect.'

Thomas recently called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law'

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as 'abdicating our judicial duty.' Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained: 'My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.'

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news.

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

'Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale, where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice.

But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: 'It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning.'
A 97-year-old New Jersey man's indomitable work ethic is earning him praise and admiration from peers in his town.

Second World War veteran Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto of Edison, New Jersey, has been working a regular job virtually his entire life and refuses to stop doing so now, even though he's nearing 100 years old.

Ficeto currently bags groceries at the Stop & Shop grocery store in his community, doing four-hour shifts two days a week.

He technically retired from his job as a cosmetics company warehouse supervisor back in the 1980s, but told CBS News he's been doing odd jobs ever since because he has always loved putting in a hard day's work.

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Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto, 97, of Edison, New Jersey, bags groceries at his local Stop & Shop grocery store four hours a day, two times per week

Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner during WWII. He flew a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy

The store's manager says he tries to make Ficeto take required breaks, but the 97-year-old yells at him, saying 'Don't tell me how to work'

'Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy,' store manager Sal Marconi told ABC 7 NY.

Stop & Shop assistant manager Mike Moss said he's tried to make 'Bennie' take his mandatory 15-minute break during shifts, but Ficeto just yells at his boss, saying 'I don't want to stop. Don't tell me how to work. See the light on? That's where I'm going.'

'I don't take no breaks,' Ficeto told CBS. 'Why would I take a break when I only get to work four hours?'

Ficeto's attitude about work may have a lot to do with his time serving in the US Army Air Force during WWII.

In his youth, Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner, flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy.

Bartholomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto (center) and members of his 310th Bombardment Group 428th squadron during WWII. Ficeto, a gunner who flew missions on a B-25 Mitchell, was a barber and he shaved his soldiers head with the word, 'victory.'

Ficeto supposedly retired from his job as a warehouse supervisor for a cosmetics company in the 1980s, but he's been doing odd jobs ever since

Ficeto told reporters he wants to work until he drops dead

'I was scared every time I had to get into the plane. But the Lord took me back,' Ficeto said. 'The day I didn't fly, they shot my plane down. And I don't know where they went down.'

The loss of his brothers in arms seems to have stuck with Bennie throughout his life. He told reporters he isn't that old and still has all his wits about him, so doesn't plan to stop using them and will work until he drops dead, according to ABC 7.

'I get a feeling that I did something good. You can't just stand around, like an idiot. You have to have a reason to keep alive,' Ficeto said.
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A funeral service has been held for the three children of the Asos billionaire who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Fashion tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen was seen comforting his wife Anne and daughter Astrid as the flower-covered coffins of his three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes emerged from their hearses at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark.

Astrid was seen walking with her parents towards one of the three hearses to cut a bouquet of balloons from a coffin.

Today's service was attended by members of the Danish Royal Family and the country's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Crown Princess Mary could be seen holding her daughter Princess Isabella as she was flanked by her son Prince Vincent and daughter Princess Josephine.

At a memorial service last week Mr Povlsen described the family's loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' but thanked family, friends and neighbours in the Danish town of Brande for their love and support and promised to come through the tragedy 'together'.

He was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant.

His son Alfred and two daughters Alma and Agnes were killed in the blast, while his third daughter Astrid survived. It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt.

Flowers are pictured covering the coffins of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes as they arrive at Aarhus Catherdral in Denmark today. He is pictured with his daughter Astrid, who survived and his wife Anne

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid as she prepares to cut a bouquet of balloons from one of the coffins

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne stand before the three flower-adorned coffins of their children as their surviving daughter Astrid holds a bouquet of balloons outside Aarhus Cathedral

Anders Holch Povlsen, his wife Anne and their surviving daughter Astrid walk towards the three hearses of their murdered children Alfred, Alma and Agnes

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne watch as their surviving daughter Astrid releases the bouquet of balloons into the air outside the cathedral

The bouquet of balloons floats into the sky as a choir sings outside the cathedral in Aarhus at the funeral service

The coffins are carried out of Aarhus Cathedral by family and friends of the children after the funeral on Saturday

The coffins adorned with flowers and framed pictures of the children were carried out by family and friends of the victims

The girls' coffins were covered with pink and purple balloons along with their smiling faces in picture frames

Alfred's coffin with a bouquet of balloons attached and blue flowers was the first to be carried from the cathedral followed by those of his sisters

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid outside Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark on Saturday

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne walk across the cobbles outside the church with their surviving daughter Astrid

Anders Holch Povlsen and his Anne and daughter Astrid stand outside the Aarhus cathedral (far right) as the bishop looks on at their coffins

One of the children's white coffins adorned with pink flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

One of the children's white coffins adorned with blue flowers has a bouquet of balloons attached to it which young Astrid Holch Povlsen cut with a pair of scissors

One of the children's white coffins adorned with purple flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (pictured centre) and her children Princess Isabella (centre being held by her mother), Prince Vincent (left), and Princess Josephine (right) attended the funeral service for the three children

The wife of Asos tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, Anne, is pictured holding back tears as she watches her children's coffins emerge, embracing her husband and surviving daughter Astrid

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary consoles her daughter Princess Isabella outside the cathedral

Denmark's ambassador to India, Peter Takse-Jensen, confirmed that one family member was injured but was discharged and returned home.

At a memorial service in Brande, Denmark, last Thursday, the family expressed their loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' in a text message.

Reading the message to a crowd of around 700 well-wishers, pastor Arne Holst-Larsen said: 'The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred are completely incomprehensible.

'With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

'We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.'

Mr Povlsen's children were killed just days after he revealed plans to hand his Scottish estates to them, in the hope they'd carry on his legacy of conservation.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (right) also attended the funeral today where hundreds paid their respects

Other mourners outside Aarhus cathedral on Saturday as friends and family of the Holch Povlsen family paid their respects

He has been working via his Wildland project to 'rewild' parts of Scotland, bringing back endangered species by reviving long-lost habitats.

In an open letter posted on the firm's website, Mr Povlsen and wife Anne Storm Pedersen wrote that the project will take longer than a lifetime to complete and so would be carried on by their children after they died.

He wrote: 'From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape.

'As the holdings have grown and our common vision for the work becomes ever clearer, we have incorporated the entirety of the project into a venture we call Wildland.

'It's a significant and lifelong commitment that we have made - not just for ourselves but for the Scottish people and Scottish nature too - a commitment which we believe in deeply.

An emotional funeral service is being held for the three children of the billionaire Asos tycoon who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka

Friends and family left floral arrangements outside the church in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier today as Anders Holch Povlsen held a funeral for his son Alfred and daughters Alma and Agnes today

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant

It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt

Povlsen, 46, and Anne Storm Pedersen, pictured together, met when Anne began working in sales for Bestseller

Pictured are daughters Astrid and Agnes alongside son Alfred, in an image taken by daughter Alma. Mr Povlsen has confirmed that Agnes, Alfred and Alma died in the terror attack, while Astrid survived

Mr Povlsen and his wife described the loss of their three children as 'utterly incomprehensible' but vowed to overcome the tragedy 'together' (pictured are Astrid, Agnes and Alfred in an image taken by Alma)

The Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka is pictured after it was targeted by two suicide bombers on Easter Sunday morning

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo, when it was targeted by two suicide bombers identified as suspected plot mastermind Zahran Hashim and Ilham Ibrahim

Sri Lankan Police officers inspects a blast spot at the Shangri-la hotel in Colombo a day after a bomb ripped through the building on Easter Sunday

A map showing where the eight blasts went off, six of them in very quick succession on Easter Sunday morning

'We wish to restore our parts of the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state and repair the harm that man has inflicted on them.

'There are many vulnerable properties across all of the holdings that we have the wonderful and privileged opportunity to rehabilitate and restore to life; there are also archaeologically important structures that we have the responsibility to protect.

'Our vision of Wildland is of a project that provides security and an enduring connection, not just for those that work and live on our estates but also for the greater communities.

'We are working towards an entirely sustainable model; everything in balance a project that can endure beyond what Anne and myself can ever expect to see in our own lifetime.'

Just days before the devastating attacks, Alma had shared a holiday snap of her siblings next to a pool.

Sri Lankan officials have blamed a little-known Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the terrorist attacks, adding that the organisation had 'international help'.

A video has emerged of eight men pledging allegiance to ISIS and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before the attack.

The bombers co-ordinated their attacks targeting five-star hotels and churches on Easter Sunday in an apparent deliberate attempt to target westerners and Christians.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' after the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

The death of Mr Polvsen's three children came just days after he revealed plans to pass on his estates in Scotland - where he is the country's largest land-owner - to them after he died

Memorial services were held for the three children in Stavtrup, a suburb of Aarhus where the family lives, last Thursday, ahead of the funeral today, as a torch-lit walk went from the town centre to their house

Walkers gathered outside the Povlsen house before Anders and Anne emerged and stood with them for a few minutes

As well as the memorial in Stavtrup (pictured), commemorations were also held in Brande last Thursday, where Mr Povlsen's fashion empire is based, the capital Copenhagen and third-largest city Odense

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

'Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism,' Sirisena said.

'We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them,' Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 'active members' linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: 'It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organisation made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.'

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end

Sirisena said more needs to be done: 'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers'

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasised that more needs to be done.

'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.'

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo last Monday - the country remains on high alert

Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

'This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement,' Sirisena said. 'Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.'

Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

'Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas,' he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a 'big blow' by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

'It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry,' Sirisena said. 'For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.'
Channel Nine star Erin Molan has helped convict a troll who sent her disgusting online threats about her unborn baby daughter.

Molan, 36, was 33 weeks pregnant when she reported the man's string of violent Facebook messages, including one hoping she would give birth to a stillborn baby.

'I wish u a f** still born I use u a f** still born I wish u a f** still born AND U DIE IN THE PROCESS ... hip hip hooray hip hip HOORAY,' one of the threats said.

'I am used to copping nasty comments, I am not a snowflake,' Molan told the Sunday Telegraph.

'But when it gets to the stage when I felt unsafe and I was heavily pregnant, and someone is threatening my life and the life of my child, it's too much.'

Erin Molan (pictured) was the host of the The Footy Show when she was bombarded with violent threats

A Facebook troll had sent her a string of offensive messages, including one wishing she would give birth to a stillborn when she was pregnant with her daughter

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages

Ms Molan was initially abused online for being the host of the NRL Footy Show, before receiving frightening messages about her unborn daughter.

'Get the f** off the footy show you fake f** slag...guarantee you are killing the show...maybe go do the weather report on channel 2 wheir ya belong yiu f** rag,' one message read.

'... pls i mean pretty please have a still born birth ...im praying u do,' another read.

The harasser also told Molan he would hunt her down and kill her.

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages.

Molan reported the messages to Chatswood Police after she felt the threats risked the safety of her and her child .

She had also reported the threats to Facebook but received a slack response from the platform saying the messages weren't 'abusive or offensive' enough to be taken down.

Facebook eventually deleted two accounts linked to the man.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence for the threats

Facebook Policy Communications Manager for Australia and New Zealand Ben McConaghy said the platform is meant to be a space 'where people feel safe to express themselves'.

'Our bullying and harassment policies are clear; we don't allow this type of vile content on Facebook and we'll remove it as soon as it's reported to us,' he said.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence.

He was initially arrested after failing to appear in court.

Molan gave birth to her daughter Eliza Ogilvy in 2018.
Former Tunnel Bore Machine Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph at Samphire Hoe, Dover

A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's 'greatest achievements' but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

'I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit,' the 70-year-old told AFP. 'I don't see that as incompatible.'

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

Graham Fagg engineer (aged 42) from Dover (left) greets his French counterpart Phillippe Cozette in the Channel Tunnel as they make the first break through on December 1 1990

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community - the forerunner to the EU - in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

'We voted for a trade deal,' he explained. 'I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'.'

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph next to the cooling facility for the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg looks at a memorial to workers who died in the construction of the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

'Little bit overwhelming'

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

'I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other,' Cozette told AFP this week.

The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

The former miners of the Channel Tunnel - France's Philippe Cozette (left) and Britain's Graham Fagg, who dug the last meters of the Eurotunnel and met in a maintenance tunnel in 2014

'I don't think it will drive the English and French apart,' he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered 'it was all a little bit overwhelming' and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

'They had champagne, wine, food,' he said. 'On our side we had just tea, coffee and water - and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!'

French President Francois Mitterrand (R) welcomes Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) as she disembarks from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France in May 1994

Francois Mitterrand (2L) and his wife Danielle Mitterrand (L) welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) and Prince Phillip as they disembark from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France

'I had other plans'

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

'The faster we went, the more money we got,' he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

'I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough',' he added.

'I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans.'

A Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international terminal at Waterloo Station in London

'Historical moment'

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

'It's a great engineering feat,' he said. 'It's good that people enjoy it.'

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

'It was a historical moment,' he recollected of his famous handshake.

'The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you.'
Facebook has been slammed for banning a breast cancer advertisement that featured topless survivors.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) was ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests.

In a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite earlier approving the campaign.

According to the BCNA, the decision was made because the photographs violated the social media site's partial nudity policy.

'We certainly understand that the ads are promoting awareness for breast cancer, however the images associated with the ad are in violation of our policies for partial nudity,' a Facebook employee told the organisation.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) were ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies

'We will uphold the disable here until the ads can be modified for compliance.'

Outraged cancer survivor, Emma featured in the advertisement and slammed Facebook's decision.

'That's not nudity, it's joyful and it's ridiculous that they would stop and look at something like that,' she told breakfast talk-show Today.

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies.

Bakers Delight had provided the cakes used to cover the victims.

Slogans for the advertisements read: 'Breast cancer comes in all shapes and sizes' and 'Every fun bun counts.'

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate for its advertisements, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors.

'Every single one of those images is just amazing and the campaign has been set up as 'breast friend'. So we all got to come to shoot with our 'breast' friends and people who support you through what is a really awful journey  the campaign sends a wonderful, wonderful message.'

BCNA's Kristen Pilatti picked up the thread and said the campaign gave a voice to the victims.

Though in a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite approving the campaign last month

'We know that the physical and psychological scars of breast cancer can often be invisible to the wider community and this campaign lifts the t-shirt on the reality of the disease while reinforcing the importance of support,' Kirsten said.

'The campaign is also a celebration of those people in your life who support you during a diagnosis.'

She told the ABC campaigns like this were vital to raise money to help BCNA provide the necessary resources to victims.

'The opening days of the campaign are where we raise the most money for BCNA to ensure we can provide free resources to those people with breast cancer.'

'Facebook is a very important tool for us to promote the campaign.'

While the images will not be used as ads in Facebook, the social media site will still allow them to appear on the BCNA and Bakers Delight pages.

'It does seem to me that Facebook need to review their policies and have some consistency but, probably most importantly, some common sense around what they do approve and what they do reject,' Ms Pilatti said.

ANZ Facebook head of communications Antonia Sanda told CBS News on Friday that the social media giant would only allow the ads if they complied to its policy.

'I love these ads and our team has been working hard with Bakers Delight to allow them to run on our platforms,' she said.

'We recognize the importance of ads about breast cancer education or teaching women how to examine their breasts and we allow these on our platforms.

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors

'However, these specific ads do not contain any of these messages, rather it is a brand selling a product.'

Ms Sanda said Facebook had been working with the advertiser for weeks in the lead-up to the launch of the campaign.

She claimed they had not taken their advice into consideration.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling out fellow tech industry titans for violating users' privacy rights and expressing concern about he much time iPhone customers and their children are spending using Apple products.

Cook also mentioned Facebook and Google after criticizing sites that sell people's data, saying such sites can obtain more information in secret than a 'peeping Tom.'

His highly-critical comments were made during an exclusive ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer that aired on Friday.

The 58-year-old leader of the world's most profitable tech company was discussing the issue of online privacy and ways to help Americans spend less time looking at smartphone screens during a conversation about how technology is damaging people's lives.

'When I was growing up, one of the worst things other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the peeping Tom, you know, somebody looking in the window,' Cook told Sawyer.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave ABC News an exclusive interview that aired Friday

Cook told Diane Sawyer that some companies know a lot more about you than a 'peeping Tom,' which he described as 'one of the worst things'

'The fact is that the people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window, a lot more. Because you tend to put your thoughts online, what you think about something.'

Facebook, for one, has been embroiled in major privacy-related scandals over the last year or so.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the political data firm provided the 2016 Trump campaign with data from more than 50 million Facebook users, including information about their identities, who their friends are and what they've 'liked' on the website.

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify

Facebook vowed to improve its privacy features while announcing a new version of its site at the company's F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday

The world's largest social media company has vowed to change the way it manages users' private data.

During its F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday, Zuckerberg told a crowd of revelers Facebook's 'future is private,' as the company announced a redesign of its main app and website and plans to one day unify the site with the company's other platforms, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

'We dont exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But Im committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product,' Zuckerberg said. 'Over time, I believe that a private social platform will be even more important to our lives than our digital town squares... We believe that for the future, people want a privacy-focused social platform... This is about building the kind of future we want to live in.'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October.

Apple offers Google apps including the search engine company's Chromes web browser, in its App Store. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed disapproval of Google's data collecting, but said Apple believes Chrome is the 'best web browser'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October

He characterized the issue of online privacy as a 'crisis' on Friday.

'Privacy in itself has become a crisis. I think it's a crisis,' he said.

Sawyer pointed out Apple offers Facebook and Google apps like Chrome in its App Store and also does business through data collecting apps.

'You're making money through the App Store on the apps that are doing things that you think have got us in a crisis,' she said.

'We don't make any money on Facebook,' Cook responded pointedly. 'Google, we do make money on the browser. We selected Google, frankly, because we believe it's the best browser.'

American adults spend what amounts to 49 days per year looking at their smartphone, according to a 2018 Nielsen report.

That adds up to one and a half months staring at a phone screen over a lifetime.

During the interview, Cook said overuse of tech products concerns him, particularly how it is affecting parents and children.

He pointed out Apple created ways for parents to control screen time on specific iPhone apps in 2018, allowing them to track and police what children are using and how long they are using Apple devices.

'We have been working hard to add key capabilities into our products to help people find a better balance,' he said.

Cook emphasized that Apple makes most of its money from selling iPhones, iPads and other hardware devices, but the company doesn't want customers to overuse the products and miss out on real-world experiences.

'You make money from how long people stay on the app,' Sawyer challenged.

'No. No, we make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone. And so it's kind of a straight forward and honest business model. But I don't want you using the product a lot. In fact, if you're using it a lot, there's probably something we should do to make your use more productive,' Cook responded.

Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to request for comment on Cook's comments.

The Apple CEO also said his company prioritizes customers' privacy and that other companies need to do the same to solve the growing problem.

Apple also installed a system on its Safari web browser in 2018 that allows users to limit access to their personal data.

'We treasure your data. We want to help you keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side,' Cook said. 'This [privacy crisis] is fixable... We very much are an ally in that fight.'
Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc.

Mr Juncker, 64, who is set to leave his role as president of the European Commission in November, was speaking a few days before a leaders' summit on the future of the bloc in the Romanian city of Sibiu.

He told German newspaper Handelsblatt: 'We have lost our collective libido  Five or six years after the second world war there was one.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc

'Yet these days it should be much easier for Europeans to fall in love with each other than it was in 1952,' he added in the light-hearted analysis.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and as he took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'.

He said: 'Brexit is a special case. If you pepper a nation for 40 years with the message that it doesn't actually belong in the EU, then the decision to leave is the logical outcome. The bride was systematically reviled and then rejected.'

'The European commission is doing its best, but it cannot solve every problem,' he added.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'

'The commission cannot compensate for the weaknesses of the national governments and democracies in Europe. Look at the United Kingdom.

'The fact that the government and the opposition there only started to talk to each other three years after the Brexit referendum is hardly a sign of strength for the British democracy, he added.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg went on to defend his leadership of the European Commission and said that it no longer got involved in 'every tiny detail' of citizens' lives.
President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after a string of social media bans on controversial, mostly right-wing, figures sparked uproar.

'When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning, apparently referring to revelations of FBI surveillance on his campaign.

'Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!' he continued.

It followed a string of retweets of criticism aimed at Facebook for its recent ban of several controversial figures, which the company labeled 'dangerous individuals'.

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet reading ''If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll,' a paraphrase of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after the companies banned controversial, mostly right-wing, figures

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet paraphrasing a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote

Facebook's ban on Thursday included right-wing personalities Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as radio host Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

Facebook also banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, an ally of left-wing Democrats.

Trump retweeted former InfoWars editor-at-large Watson, who wrote: 'The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don't let it rest.'

Trump's retweets included a range of commentary blasting Facebook's ban as politically-motivated censorship.

'When did we decide, as Americans, that it's ok fo govt & 3d parties to censor/ curate our info? That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info?' read one tweet by Sharyl Attkisson, host of the Sinclair Broadcasting television show Full Measure News.

'Lmao at establishment conservatives who think they won't be labeled the new 'dangerous' / 'extremist' voices when those to the right of them are all banned. Good luck with that one guys,' wrote author and filmmaker Lauren Southern.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew criticism after the company banned a range of controversial figures on Thursday

Facebook said the newly banned accounts violated its policy against 'dangerous individuals and organizations'.

The company says it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

It added that when it bans someone under this policy, the company also prohibits anyone else from praising or supporting them.

It is not clear what events led to Thursday's announcement. In a statement, Facebook merely said, 'The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.'

Asked to comment by AP on the bans, Yiannopoulos emailed only: 'You're next'.

Jones reacted angrily Thursday during a live stream of his show on his Infowars website.

'They didn't just ban me. They just defamed us. Why did Zuckerberg even do this?' Jones said, referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Jones called himself a victim of 'racketeering' by 'cartels.'

'There's a new world now, man, where they're banning everybody and then they tell Congress nobody is getting banned,' he said.

Also on Saturday, Trump tweeted about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said the door was still open to de-nuclearization talks with North Korea after a weapons test on the peninsula early on Saturday, and said a phone call with Putin on Friday was productive.
Madeleine McCann could have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, a think-tank has claimed.

The shocking allegations were made by John Whitehead, president of US-based Rutherford Institute and author of a recent report on child sex abuse in the US, who said he believes she was taken in the same way as other children.

This comes after police began investigating an alleged foreign paedophile who was in the area in May 2007, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard, according to Portuguese media.

Maddie has been missing for 12 years since she disappeared from her hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents had dinner in a nearby restaurant. She had been with her younger twin siblings.

Madeleine McCann may have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, claims a US-based think-tank

Kate and Gerry McCann posted on their website findmadeleine.com where they said they would like to 'fast forward' the first couple of weeks in May (Madeleine pictured above)

When asked whether he thought Maddie was taken in a similar way to other children, Mr Whitehead told the Daily Star: 'Oh I think she was. Kids are being snatched all over the world.

'When you look at migrant children coming across the border in the US, they just go missing.

'It's big business. You can get more money than from drugs and guns because you have kids doing multiple sex acts a day and they're being filmed'.

Whitehead also claimed the child sex industry was being made possible by 'predatory cops' - although there is no evidence to suggest Portuguese police were involved.

The Rutherford think-tank recently published a report on child sex trafficking, entitled The Essence of Evil: Sex with Children has become Big Business in America, which looked into how kids are bought, sold and exploited sexually.

Portuguese detectives were recently given extra resources to look into a new suspect, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard.

Authorities are said to have 'many doubts' that Maddie is still alive amid claims police are 'nearer to knowing what happened'.

A report by news website Expresso said the enquiry 'relates to a complaint made about a foreigner who was in Portugal in May 2007.'

'The suspect is no stranger to Portuguese police,' it goes on.

'At the time the PJ investigated him on suspicion of being involved in cases of paedophilia but in light of the information coming from London, the investigators are looking into this case in more detail.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation was 'ongoing' but said they would 'not provide a running commentary'.

Lisbon-based newspaper Correio da Manha said prosecutors had turned down a request to see material in the case because of 'active lines of investigation'.

'Police are following new Maddie kidnap clues,' the newspaper claimed.

'More inspectors are advancing with an investigation into a new suspect. A new clue and a new suspect, which the PJ are trying to keep an absolute secret, has led to new resources being put in place to investigate the little girl's whereabouts.'

A spokesman for Portugal's attorney general said: 'Regarding these facts, as is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing. It is under investigation.'

The latest development came as Madeleine's parents vowed to carry on looking for their daughter 'for as long as it takes'.

Kate and Gerry, who cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie could still be alive, tell of their 'comfort and reassurance' that the police hunt to find her carries on.

In a message to mark the latest harrowing milestone which they wish they could 'fast forward', they share their heartache that Maddie would soon be turning sixteen.

In a posting on the Official Find Maddie Campaign website the couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, jointly say: 'It's that time of year again. As much as we'd like to fast forward the first couple of weeks of May, there's no getting around it.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured above) have vowed to continue to look for their daughter Madeleine, who went missing in 2007

Three-year-old Maddie vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals at the seaside complex.

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker and eminent heart doctor Gerry, 50, said continued supported from family, friends and the public boosted them.

In a joint message they write: 'The months and years roll by too quickly; Madeleine will be sixteen this month. It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.'

They add: 'Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief. For as long as it takes.' before signing off Kate and Gerry.

The couple (pictured above) have remained extremely grateful to Scotland Yard

The Facebook page, run by a close friend of the McCanns and seen by millions across the globe, has updated its cover photo with the couple's key words 'For as long as it takes.' in yellow, a couple representing hope in Portugal.

Kate and Gerry's message entitled '12th Anniversary of Madeleine's Abduction (3rd May 2019)' was posted just hours before they are due to join well wishers tonight to remember their daughter during a poignant prayer service in their home village.

Family, friends and locals will gather at the war memorial where a lantern - a beacon of hope - still shines brightly around the clock for the world's most famous missing child.

Maddie's parents remain extremely grateful to Scotland Yard who have actively been searching for their daughter for the past eight years.

Madeleine McCann (left and right) would be turning sixteen this month and her parents posted a heartfelt piece on their website

Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick confirmed yesterday that the force had applied for more money from the Home Office to continue its Operation Grange search for Maddie.

She said: 'We have active lines of inquiries and I think the public would expect us to see those through. A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding.'

Kate has previously said in a log standing post on the Find Maddie website: 'As a parent of an abducted child, I can tell you that it is the most painful and agonising experience you could ever imagine. My thoughts of fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable - crippling.'

A controversial new Netflix documentary re-examining Maddie's kidnap was released last month, triggering a barrage of online abuse against Kate and Gerry by heartless trolls. They pair, who refused to take part in the eight hour programme series, slammed it for 'potentially hindering' the search for their daughter while an active police hunt is ongoing.
A farmer who objected to the way Rihanna was dressed while she filmed a music video in his field has lost his council seat.

Alan Graham, of the Democratic Unionist Party, hit headlines across the world after voicing concerns over the revealing outfit Rihanna wore while recording for her 2011 hit We Found Love.

Mr Graham, who had agreed for one of his fields in Bangor, County Down, to be used for recording, said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain'.

Alan Graham said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain' (pictured: Rihanna on the first day of filming We Found Love in Northern Ireland, 2011)

Alan Graham, left, said he had not halted the filming, adding that Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke (pictured right: Rihanna during filming in the New Lodge area of North Belfast, September 2011)

The farmer, who was 61 at the time, said Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke, and they had 'parted company on good terms'.

Carry On and EastEnders star Barbara Windsor spoke out in support of Mr Graham's stance, commenting at the time: 'I don't blame him. How old is he? Does he need that at his time of life, seeing Rihanna taking her top off? He doesn't.'

Mr Graham has been a councillor on Ards and North Down Council for several terms.

He is known for his conservative views and last year objected to a proposal to light up Bangor Town Hall in the rainbow colours for a Pride event.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land'

The DUP veteran lost his council seat on Saturday morning to Alliance Party representative Scott Wilson.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land.

Someone explained she was as big as it gets as far as pop stars were concerned. I am a bit illiterate about those issues.'

After the issue came to light in 2011 it was reported that Mr Graham had said: 'I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God.'
Royal Navy supply vessels could be built in Spain as a result of Brexit negotiations regarding Gibraltar, union leaders say.

The GMB has raised fears that contracts worth 1billion to build the vessels could go to a naval yard in northern Spain.

The union said the contract for Fleet Solid Support ships could go to Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company.

A contract for Fleet Solid Support ships (pictured) could go to a Spanish shipyard as a result of Brexit negotiations, according to union leaders

Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company that could win the contract for the Royal Navy supply vessels

The trade union said there were rumours that the decision to give the work to Spain is linked to negotiations over the future of the British territory of Gibraltar.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said: 'If the contracts for these ships go abroad, the Government is basically sticking two fingers up to shipbuilding communities and the entire manufacturing industry in the UK.

'No other government would outsource national security.

'If it is true this deal is being done because of ministers' abject failure to sort out Brexit then it's not just negligent, it's grubby and reeks of self-preservation and putting party politics ahead of people's livelihoods and communities.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said the potential deal is 'grubby and reeks of self-preservation'

'If this is what the Government is planning, it needs to think again.'

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We are required by law to procure the Fleet Solid Support ships through open international competition.

'We issued formal tender documents to bidders, including a UK consortium, in late 2018.

'The final decision regarding the winning bid will be made in 2020.'

There are believed to be five bidders to build the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, with the Rosyth yard in Fife, Scotland, in line for work if Babcock wins the contract.
King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace, the 64-year-old is the only son and male heir of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain, including King's Mead School, Seaford, Sussex, and then at Millfield School, Somerset. After, he embarked on a military career, training in Australia.

In 1976, he graduated as a newly commissioned lieutenant with a liberal arts bachelors degree from the University of New South Wales.

After graduating he started a career in the military training with US, British and Australian armed forces. He also qualified as a a fixed wing helicopter pilot in the late 1970s in the Royal Thai Army.

His military career was interrupted in 1978 so he could be ordained for a season as a Buddhist monk, as is customary for all Thai Buddhist men.

He married his first wife in 1977, a cousin, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978. They divorced in 1993.

Nine months after his daughter was born, the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with whom he went on to have a total of five children and a tumultuous relationship.

Three years later his relationship broke down with Ms Polpraserth as she fled to the UK in 1996, after a spectacular bust up.

In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee, describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone' and like his previous relationships there were to be a number of controversies in their time together.

In 2007, footage published online showed the couple throwing a party for his pet poodle - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Princess Srirasmi, a former waitress, who sang happy birthday to the dog topless, also got on her knees and ate from a dog bowl in the same video.

In late 2014, Srirasmi suffered a very public fall from grace when several members of her family were arrested as part of a police corruption probe and charged with lese majeste (treason).

Vajiralongkorn later divorced her and she lost her royal titles . The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

Despite holding a number of military titles, including Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems, the prince admitted to an interviewer he was unable to tie his own shoe laces aged 12 because courtiers had always done it for him.

The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, living overseas in Germany, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

In August 2015 he led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance.

He was drafted in as King in October 2016, 50 days after the death of his father, the highly revered Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had to fly back from Germany after learning of his father's deteriorating health in the days before.

Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne with tthe statement: 'The government will inform the National Legislative Assembly that His Majesty the King appointed his heir on Dec. 28, 1972.'

However, in a shock move he requested to delay his coronation and ascension to the throne for a year to mourn the passing of his father.
Private security contractor Erik Prince's connection to the right-wing activist group Project Veritas has been revealed.

Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, a self-described 'activist journalist', even visited Prince's family ranch in early 2017 to learn 'spying and self-defense,' according to a report Friday in The Intercept.

Prince, 49, famously founded Blackwater Worldwide, the private security company that subsequently changed its name and was sold after its guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

In late 2015 or early 2016, Prince became involved with Project Veritas, according to a former Trump White House official cited by the Intercept.

Private security contractor Erik Prince (left) invited Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe (right) to his family's Wyoming ranch in February 2017 for 'spy training'

Project Veritas uses hidden cameras and phony identities to attempt to catch subjects making embarrassing statements.

The group generally targets left-wing subjects, and first shot to fame in 2009 with video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

More recently, the group has sought to expose liberal bias in big tech and the media, and targeted teachers' unions.

According to the Intercept, Prince arranged for O'Keefe and Project Veritas to receive training in intelligence and 'elicitation' techniques from a retired military intelligence operative named Euripides Rubio Jr.

After several weeks of training, the frustrated Rubio quit, saying that the Veritas activists weren't 'capable of learning,' the report says.

The relationship between Prince and Veritas continued, however, with O'Keefe and his colleagues visiting Prince's family ranch in Wyoming in February 2017.

O'Keefe posted this photo on Instagram showing him on Prince's ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer, saying he was 'learning some new skills on spying and self-defense'

O'Keefe posted on Instagram and Twitter at the time that he was at a 'classified location' where he was learning 'spying and self-defense,' in an effort to make Project Veritas 'the next great intelligence agency.'

A photo O'Keefe posted on Instagram shows him on the ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer.

In response to questions from The Intercept, Prince's spokesperson said, 'Mr. Prince supports Project Veritas's mission of uncovering government largesse and corruption, and has allowed Project Veritas to use his family's ranch in Wyoming.

The statement said that Prince has no business relationship with James O'Keefe or Project Veritas.

The Intercept report also gives a detailed account of Prince's dealings in Africa and the Middle East after selling Blackwater in 2010.
Penny Mordaunt (pictured on Friday) leaving Westminster Abbey after attending a service to recognise fifty years of continuous at sea deterrent

New Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt delighted the Royal Navys top brass on her first day in the job by sporting an honorary submariners badge.

The silver dolphin pin is awarded to submariners when they complete the final part of their training and, in an old tradition, they have to catch it between their teeth while drinking a tot of rum.

Ms Mordaunt, the first female head of the Ministry of Defence, who is herself a naval reservist, had previously served at the department as junior Minister for the Armed Forces in 2015.

During her tenure, she successfully completed the boozy submariners challenge and earned her own dolphin pin, which she chose to sport on her first official outing in the new role.

On Friday she joined the Duke of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey to commemorate Britains nuclear submariners, just hours after being promoted to replace sacked Gavin Williamson.

The service, attended by 2,000 naval representatives and their families, was in recognition of the Royal Navys commitment in maintaining Operation Relentless  the longest sustained military operation ever undertaken by the UK.

Since April 1969, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at least one British nuclear-armed submarine has been on patrol.

Prince William (pictured above) also attended the event

Ms Mordaunt said: We pay tribute to those incredible crews, their supportive families, the Royal Navy and the thousands of industry experts who will continue to sustain this truly national endeavour for many years to come. A Royal Navy source added: The dolphin was a really nice touch. Went down very well at a difficult time.

Ms Mordaunt vowed to channel her inner Nelson in her new role, putting up a picture of Britains greatest naval hero in her office in the MoD as one of her first acts in charge.

And The Mail on Sunday understands that she is poised to lambast France and Germany for not paying their way on Nato commitments. The move is likely to endear her to Washington, as Donald Trump has made such complaints a central part of his defence outlook.

All major Nato members have vowed to increase defence spending to two per cent of their economic output by 2024, but to date, only the US and UK have hit that target.
Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440-foot ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told The Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

'We will go on board and do our job,' he said, adding that aut horities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

The Freewinds cruise ship is docked in the port of Willemstad, Curacao early on Saturday. Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded the ship to start vaccinating people

A 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, SMV Freewinds, is docked under quarantine from a measles outbreak in port in Willemstad, Curacao on Saturday

'If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when we're talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance,' Gerstenbluth said.

Authorities worry people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St. Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St. Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early Saturday.

A passenger is seen on the deck of the Freewinds as the ship docks under quarantine

The Church of Scientology says the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling'

Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it's a small ship.

'This is what happens when we don't vaccinate,' he said.

Church officials have not returned calls for comment.

According to the church's website, the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling.' It says religious conventions and seminars also are held aboard.

Though Scientology takes a well-known stance in opposition to psychiatric medication, the church does not oppose standard medical treatment for physical illness and injury.

The Church of Scientology has previously said that it takes 'no position' on the question of vaccinations.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms of measles include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
The Russian ambassador to London is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy.

Alexander Yakovenko, 64, became a contentious figure after making mocking remarks about the Salisbury poisoning attack, which nearly killed Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and led to the death of British mother Dawn Sturgess.

In March, a Mail on Sunday investigation suggested Mr Yakovenko was expelled from the US during a purge of agents at the height of the Cold War.

Experts believe our expose could be behind the decision to send him back to Russia.

Russian ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko (pictured with his wife Nana) is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy

The revelation, which Russia has strenuously denied, centred on Mr Yakovenko's disappearance from the US in 1986 at the time the US was sending dozens of Soviet diplomats working in New York back home.

Tory MP Bob Seely and Independent MP Ian Austin, who both sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, have written to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US.

Russian media has reported that Mr Yakovenko will leave his London post in midsummer to become head of the Russian diplomatic academy in Moscow.

An intelligence source said of his recall: 'The more direct attention being paid to his activities, including the news of his likely expulsion from New York, then the less able he was to do his job. His recall, and probable replacement by a more conventional mainstream diplomat, likely reflects an awareness in Moscow that an increasingly sceptical British Government is paying greater attention to who Russia chooses to represent it.'

Tory MP Bob Seely (left) and Independent MP Ian Austin (right) both wrote to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US

Dr Andrew Foxall (pictured) said: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight... it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change'

Mr Seely said: 'The ambassador allowed himself to become a figure of comedy rather than a serious diplomat. The Mail on Sunday's brilliant expose of him as someone who was, very probably, a former spy, compounded his problems.'

Dr Andrew Foxall, director of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, added: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight. Given that eight isn't easily divisible by three or five, it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change.'

The Foreign Office last night confirmed the ambassador would be leaving his post.

The Russian authorities have dismissed accusations that Mr Yakovenko was a spy as 'a blatant lie'. Last night they did not respond to requests to comment on his departure from London.
In public, she has been the soul of discretion throughout her long reign.

But a very different side of the Queen is revealed today with the extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated.

According to a senior diplomat's diary, Her Majesty said she was 'surprised nobody had found means of putting something' in the coffee of the Jordanian king's 'wicked' uncle.

And in a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools.

A very different side of the Queen (pictured with Former Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden) is revealed with an extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated, according to a senior diplomat's diary

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis.

At the time, Britain feared that Jordan's King Hussein, an Old Harrovian aged 19, was under the malign influence of his uncle and aide-de-camp, Sharif Nasser Bin Jamil.

Evelyn Shuckburgh, Assistant Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, wrote on July 7, 1955: 'After lunch I had what seemed like 20 minutes' conversation with the Queen, mostly about King Hussein of Jordan and his new Queen Dina.

'I told her the sad story of their estrangement and the machinations of the wicked uncle, Nasser. The Queen said she didn't really think it a good idea to send Arabs to English public schools.

'She had seen poor little Hussein, fresh from Harrow, a year or two ago and all he could do was stand stiffly to attention, saying, 'Your Majesty' and not another word.

'As for Uncle Nasser, she said she was surprised nobody had found means of putting something in his coffee.'

In a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools (Pictured: Prince Hussein of Jordan, who studied at Harrow, aged 17)

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis (pictured)

Mr Shuckburgh had revealed to Her Majesty that King Hussein's uncle wanted to expel British soldiers from Jordan. It was then that the Queen joked somebody should assassinate him. The quip was not that far-fetched: British intelligence was involved in plots to kill Egypt's Nasser.

Mr Shuckburgh's diary entry was found by Dr Rory Cormac, professor of international relations at Nottingham University, and will be shown in a documentary tonight that also reveals King George VI's intelligence role in the Second World War.

Prof Cormac said: 'It shows the closeness between the Monarch and the secret state.'

In March 1956, British troops were expelled from Jordan, just a few months before the humiliation of the Suez Crisis.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on 'private conversations from more than 60 years ago'.

D-Day: The King Who Fooled Hitler will be shown on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.
With 4,000 animal kills to his name, including hundreds of lions, Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth.

The 89-year-old Spaniards appalling lifetime tally of kills includes 1,317 elephants, 127 black rhino, 167 leopards and 2,093 buffalo, along with 340 lions.

And disturbingly  despite the carnage  for some he is an object of adulation, celebrated as the worlds most dangerous and experienced game hunter and with a formidable reputation as a marksman who builds his own game cartridges and rifles, each one with his name engraved in gold on the barrel.

Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth. Over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards

He is a close friend of Spains former King Juan Carlos, who was discredited and dropped as honorary president of the countrys World Wildlife Fund branch after it was discovered he had hunted and killed elephants and buffalo in Botswana.

With astonishing hypocrisy, Sanchez-Arino has even had the temerity to say he fears the African elephant will be hunted to extinction in the wild within our lifetime, to the shame of humanity.

He made the jaw-dropping remark in his book Elephants, Ivory And Hunters, published in 2002, in which he describes how he has devoted his life to the pursuit of this magnificent animal.

Having gone to Africa on his first hunting safari at 21, he has since been hunting for ivory, guiding trophy-hunting clients and adding to his tally of big game, which he does for eight months each year, mostly in Botswana and Tanzania.

He was still leading safaris in his mid-80s and, although he has begun to slow down in his advanced age, over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards.

Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: This man is little more than a serial killer of wildlife. Governments give them licences to kill, and the hunting industry lavishes them with awards.

Cold-blooded killers like Sanchez-Arino should get prison, not permits and prizes.
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A powerful Walther PPK pistol and a spear gun would seem excessive for most anglers  but then most anglers aren't James Bond.

Our exclusive pictures show Daniel Craig filming on set in Jamaica for 007's latest adventure.

And while there is no Pussy Galore, the spy's latest feline co-star clearly enjoys the finer things in life.

Daniel Craig looks down the sights of a Walther PPK pistol as he plays James Bond while filming on the Jamaican coast

The spy who love me: A very happy cat gets to share some of the delicious red snapper caught by a smiling Daniel Craig

Fishy galore for Bond's pussycat: Daniel Craig fed the cat as his feline friend took a liking to the fish 007 had caught

Tinned fish just won't do. Instead, Bond feeds it fresh red snapper killed with the spear gun and filleted on the beach.

But this being a Bond film, danger soon approaches and the secret agent has to reach for his pistol, main picture, left.

Like the cat, Craig, 51, is also being well looked after  with a physio, trainer and chef to ensure his physique is impressively ripped for Bond's 25th outing, and the actor's fifth as the British spy.

The unnamed film  scheduled for release next April and rumoured to be a remake of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby  opens with Bond having left active service.

Unfortunately his retirement is interrupted by the arrival in Jamaica of his CIA friend, Felix Leiter, who persuades him to help rescue a kidnapped scientist.

Bond's arch-enemy will be played by Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Craig chomping on a cigar as he walked along the boardwalk for a scene for the upcoming film set in Jamaica which is rumoured to be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Bond caught a red snapper with a harpoon gun and chomped on a cigar as he filmed for the new Bond movie, for which he is rumoured to be getting 50 million

James Bond carrying a huge red snapper fish in his right hand and a harpoon in the other (left) as he holds a handgun close to his chest (right)

More familiar faces include Ralph Fiennes as M, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Jeffrey Wright as Leiter.

Craig can certainly afford the cigars he was seen, left, enjoying during breaks in filming.

He is rumoured to be getting 50 million for his latest  and, he insists, final  Bond adventure.
Theresa Mays relationship with sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson collapsed after No 10 was told he had been spreading claims that her health was failing, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Mr Williamson  who was fired on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister.

The claim infuriated Mrs Mays allies, who say she is in robust health despite having to inject herself with insulin at least twice a day.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation.

Gavin Williamson was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister

Reacting to an announcement by Scotland Yard that the leak did not breach the Official Secrets Act, he told Sky News: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation, it is clear that a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled.

As the recriminations continued, this newspaper has also been told Mr Williamsons friends believe that one of his Ministers, Tobias Ellwood, reported him to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill over unfounded claims of a bullying management style and briefing against him.

This included disputing Mr Ellwoods heroics when he fought to save the life of stabbed PC Keith Palmer during 2017s Westminster terror attack.

Sir Mark oversaw the inquiry which concluded that Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak  which revealed details of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G network, which critics have warned poses a national security threat.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation (pictured: Gavin Williamson with Sir Mark Sedwill)

Will he do 'a Geoffrey Howe'? Gavin Williamson used his Instagram account to give a coded warning to Theresa May last night, appearing to question her loyalty and whether she was acting in the national interest. The spurned Tory posted this picture, above, of Margaret Thatcher at No 10, praising her for standing up for her party and country. It came amid speculation he could be planning to give Mrs May a Geoffrey Howe moment in the Commons. In 1990, Howe, who had been Deputy PM, gave a withering resignation speech criticising Mrs Thatcher, which triggered a leadership contest. Advertisement

Mr Ellwood infuriated Mr Williamson by making repeated criticisms of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, who he accused of holding Mrs May hostage and blocking the progress of her withdrawal agreement.

He has also indicated his support for a second referendum. Mr Ellwood, a former Green Jacket, was hailed as a hero when he tried to save the life of PC Keith Palmer  although an unfounded whispering campaign claimed his actions had actually impeded the work of the emergency services.

A source close to Mr Williamson said: Tobias and Gavin always worked closely together on military affairs, and no complaint was ever made regarding bullying.

But an ally added: Gavin did grow frustrated at the amount of time Tobias spent on the airwaves making the case for a second referendum and slagging off the ERG.

MPs were left reeling by Mrs Mays decision to sack Mr Williamson last week, despite the only publicly acknowledged evidence being an 11-minute phone conversation with the Daily Telegraph journalist who wrote the story.

One source said: She would only have done that if she had been presented with incontrovertible evidence in black and white.

In her letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister said that the investigation had found compelling evidence that he was the source of the leak.

There have even been claims in Whitehall that Mr Williamsons office in the MoD was being monitored by the security services at the behest of the Americans, who were angered by his claim last year that the Russians posed a threat to European energy supplies, which Washington said came from classified US naval intelligence.

'Don't underestimate how vindictive I can be' It was a cold January day and in a scene more akin to the politics of a Tudor court, powerful mandarin Sir Mark Sedwill gave Gavin Williamson a chilling warning that he was determined to oust him. According to the former Defence Secretarys account, the Prime Ministers seething enforcer stopped him in Cockpit Passage, the red-brick corridor that is the last surviving part of Henry VIIIs Whitehall Palace  and the scene of many historic executions. Do not underestimate how vindictive I can be Mr Williamson, the usually silver- tongued official is said to have spat towards his nemesis after yet another testy meeting where they had clashed. It was all very dramatic, Mr Williamson told friends, and further proof, he said, that there had been a long-running campaign by Sedwill for his head. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sir Mark confronted Mr Williamson as the pairs working relationship deteriorated. The extraordinary moment came after Mr Williamson jettisoned a plan by Sir Mark  the Prime Ministers National Security Adviser  to hive off part of the defence budget to use on his pet cyber security projects. The row saw two of Whitehalls most Machiavellian characters pitted against each other. Mr Williamson is said to delight in his image as a master of the dark political arts. He once said: I dont very much believe in the stick, but its amazing what can be achieved with a sharpened carrot. Meanwhile, Sir Mark has always been keen to play up his spooky securocrat image. This was all about spies v soldiers and in the end Mark got his revenge, just as he told him he would, said one observer. Last night the Cabinet Office refused to comment on the allegation against Sir Mark, but a supporter said: Dont believe everything you hear. Advertisement

Mr Williamson rose quickly under Mrs May, running her successful leadership campaign in 2016 and being rewarded with the job of Chief Whip.

He became Defence Secretary the following year after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over the pestminster scandal, but the relationship with No 10 started to sour after Mr Williamson lobbied for greater funding for the Armed Forces.

A senior party figure is understood to have reported to No 10 that they heard Mr Williamson suggesting her health condition meant she was not fit to continue as PM.

One of Mrs Mays allies said: Its absolutely outrageous he would attempt to use the Prime Ministers health condition against her and to suggest it makes her too frail and ill to be the Prime Minister.

When Mrs May revealed in 2011 that she had diabetes, which carries the risk of heart attacks and strokes, she said: The diabetes doesnt affect how I do the job or what I do. Its a case of head down and getting on with it. She is often seen wearing a diabetes monitoring patch, which helps sufferers keep track of their sugar levels without having to resort to fingerprick tests.

It was also revealed yesterday that Mr Williamson had scrawled f*** the Prime Minister across an official memo in February after Mrs May overruled his decision to deploy the UKs new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea.

Friends of Mr Williamson say he has received the backing of more than 200 Tory MPs since his sacking. He said yesterday: I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report that sealed his fate. Mr Williamson is weighing up whether to make a speech about his sacking in the coming days.

Last night, a source close to him said it was nonsense that his office had been bugged because the MoD office is a secure zone, with no mobiles allowed.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have strict security measures in place to prevent the use of listening devices in all sensitive areas of the MoD.

Mr Ellwood did not respond to requests for comment.

You'll never guess where Williamson's nemesis is jetting off to this week!

By Harry Cole, Deputy Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
It was the television advert that captured the nation's heart.

A young boy valiantly pushes a bike loaded with bread up the steep cobbled hill of a post-war British town.

Now, 46 years after it first aired, Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time.

Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time

Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a gorilla playing the drums is another of the nation's favourite adverts

Set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony, the 1973 advert was directed by Sir Ridley Scott six years before his Hollywood debut with Alien.

Although the commercial is supposed to be set in a fictional Yorkshire town, it was in fact filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, which has one of the steepest streets in Britain.

Once the young boy reaches the top of the hill, he excitedly freewheels back down with a smile on his face, declaring in a heavy Yorkshire accent: 'T'was like taking bread to top of the world. T'was a grand ride back though.'

The advert was later parodied by numerous comedians, most famously by The Two Ronnies.

The 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book made the top five

Coca Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing is another of the nation's favourite adverts

In the poll it beat Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a 'gorilla' drumming along to Phil Collins's hit In The Air Tonight, and the 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book.

Research firm Kantar conducted the poll.

Other adverts that made the top five included John Lewis's 2010 Always A Woman and Coca-Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing.
A new suspect police want to quiz over Madeleine McCann's disappearance 12 years ago is understood to be a German child sex fiend killer.

Detectives in Portugal are closing in on a foreign paedophile of 'considerable significance' following a tip off from Scotland Yard.

Prolific pervert and convicted triple-murderer Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on and are set to quiz behind bars.

Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry are yet to be informed of any fresh leads.

Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on (left), and a previously issued suspect's photofit (right)

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz as a three-year-old in May 2007

Ney was jailed for life in 2012 for abducting and murdering three young children and abusing many more, The Sun reported.

The killer, known as the 'masked man', was reportedly known to haunt the Algarve and travelled throughout Portugal in the 1990s.

He revealed in chatroom messages, under the username GerdX, he had dressed in camouflage to jump out of bushes, 'in children's playgrounds if a beautiful boy goes past,' The Sun reported.

He also wore masks, balaclavas and replied 'yes' when one girl awoke from a nap and asked if he was her daddy.

Ney was jailed for killing Stefan Jahr, 13, in 1992, Dennis Rostel, eight, in 1995, and Dennis Klein, nine, in 2001.

His known victims are all boys, but experts claim gender is often unimportant for paedophiles.

It was reported last year that Ney confessed a fourth killing to a cellmate, that of 10-year-old French school boy Jonathan Coulom, who was kidnapped and killed from a holiday camp in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in 2004. This has not resulted in a charge.

He was also investigated over the disappearance of German boy Renee Hasse in Aljezur, Portugal, in 1996, but never charged.

He is known to have finished his teacher training aged 21 before travelling to Ecuador in 1993, Peru in 1995 and Portugal a year later. He was jailed in 2012 after a wide scale police operation.

Former disgraced Portuguese Police chief Goncalo Amaral gave a recent interview to Australian journalist Mark Saunokonko in which he claimed police were on the verge on naming a new Maddie suspect, a German paedophile whom he didn't identify.

Family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said of potential new kidnapper Ney: 'It might be him and he fits the profile, he is a known predatory paedophile and he's a foreigner.

'He wore camouflage gear, carried knives and jumped out of bushes to pounce on victims.'

Ney is believed to have leapt out at children from behind bushes wearing a mask and dressed all in black (photofit pictured)

He told MailOnline: 'It is quite possible and plausible police are looking at him again but it could be someone else. There is a degree of credibility it is Ney but we cannot speculate.

'Ney has been previously interviewed by detectives over Madeleine's abduction, and denied it. He is in a German jail now.'

Mr Mitchell said that Portuguese Police's fresh bid to close in on Maddie's kidnapper was 'action on a tip off from Scotland Yard.

He explained: 'The Yard has been doing a fair amount of work on this new person of interest and they then ask Portuguese officers to nail it down.

'If activity needs to be done, the local police have to do it even if it's a foreign force's investigation. And if Ney is the person of interest a German force will then have to get involved to interview him on their soil.'

He added: 'Kate and Gerry are not in a position to comment on this, nor would they because it is operational detail and they will not discuss it.

Police are reportedly pursuing two theories and two potential suspects including the German paedophile and another revolving around a suspect in another country

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are focusing on a convicted German paedophile

'It is purely for the police if they choose to comment. The family will wait to hear of any developments and remain grateful to the British police for everything they are doing.'

A close friend of the McCann's said: 'If Ney is the suspect can you imagine how Madeleine's parents will be feeling, knowing that a child killing pervert may be involved in their daughter's kidnap. It is beyond horrendous.'

Kate has previously said there is 'always the worst case scenario' as she told of her need to know if Maddie dead or alive.

She said in an interview to mark the seventh anniversary in May 2014 that not knowing was the worst thing.

She said: 'But there is always the worst case scenario. That's always been a possibility and anyone who thinks that we're blinkered doesn't know us.

'We obviously want Madeleine back number one, but we want an answer whatever.

'I'm not underestimating the blow of hearing bad news that your child has been killed, because obviously we're not going to go 'OK, at least we know.'

'But I've spent hours thinking about that and, each time, I still come up thinking we need to know.'

It is understood the new suspect, who is already in prison, has only been recently identified

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker, told in her 2011 best seller book 'Madeleine' that several witnesses reported seeing 'men behaving suspiciously' around the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz where Maddie vanished from as a three-year-old in May 2007.

Kate of Rothley, Leicestershire, said: 'The witnesses helped to produce images of these men.'

Of four, two look very similar and have been likened to Ney.


Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

A Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, the source said

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
Tickets can cost up to 18,000 and create nearly two tons of carbon dioxide

High-flying hypocrite: Dame Thompson is spotted on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning, despite earlier demanding: We should all fly less

Left-wing actress Dame Emma Thompson was branded a first-class hypocrite last night after jetting to New York just days after backing climate protests that brought chaos to London.

The Jeremy Corbyn supporter took her personal booth in the luxury cabin of a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning after earlier demanding: We should all fly less.

First-class BA flights to New York cost up to 18,000 and generate nearly two tons of carbon dioxide  the main driver of climate change  for each passenger in the elite cabin.

Onlookers claim the multi-millionaire activist also drank Laurent-Perrier champagne and dined on beef carpaccio  even though cattle farming is also a major contributor to greenhouse gasses.

Dame Emma has also previously called on people to eat less meat in the name of preserving the planet.

Cows produce methane  which is 23 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide  while clearing forests for pasture and to grow feed for livestock also drives global warming.

Just two weeks before her 3,400-mile flight, lifelong Labour supporter Dame Emma, 60, joined the Extinction Rebellion protests that shut down swathes of Central London, climbing aboard a pink boat the activists had used to blockade Oxford Circus.

The group wants to curb air travel and even made an abortive attempt to close Heathrow Airport, from where she departed at 11.20am on Friday for the eight-hour journey. Her share of the carbon dioxide generated by the flight was the same as that emitted by heating an average house for nine months.

The 60-year-old jetted 5,400 miles from Los Angeles to join Extinction Rebellion protestors who had taken over swathes of London's streets, closing off Waterloo Bridge for days and bringing Oxford Circus to a standstill

Airbus A380-800 Super Jumbo airliner with it's four engines creates a vapour trail (pictured above)

Dame Emma was spotted in 2F  one of the most exclusive seats on board the Boeing 777-200, which accommodates just 14 wealthy passengers in the first-class cabin.

An onlooker said Dame Emma  who has previously championed the Meat Free Monday movement which aims to raise awareness of the environmental damage caused by eating meat  was tucking into those bovines who produce all that methane.

Extinction Rebellion believes that there is now a climate crisis and has suggested that flights be used only in an emergency.

Dame Emma was previously criticised after flying 5,400 miles from her 60th birthday party in Los Angeles to join their protests over the Easter weekend. On Good Friday, the Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street.

The Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street on Good Friday

I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion. We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed, she told the protestors in an address from a large pink boat

Addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

She told them: I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion.

We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed.

At the time, the group defended its celebrity backer. It insisted that the tons of carbon her flight produced for her to be at their protest was an unfortunate cost in our bigger battle to save the planet.

And addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

Yes, its unhappy and an inconvenience and were often involved in situations where we will be hypocritical, but if we dont address this we are failing our children and our grandchildren.

The plane pictured above is the same model which Emma Thompson has been pictured on

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night. It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade

Wearing gold sandals and dungarees, Dam Thompson struggles for a few seconds to disembark the large pink ship in the centre of Oxford Circus

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

But she insisted: We should all fly less, the future of this planet is at stake and thats perhaps more important than our own reputations.

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said: If Emma Thompson wants to come and help out, thats great  shes using her platform which is incredibly valuable to anyone. If she has to fly around the world like a climate lawyer might have to fly around the world, it seems counter-productive in the short term but we are looking at the bigger picture.

But last night critics branded the excuses nonsense.

Tory MP David Morris said: This is typical Left-wing Do as I say, not as I do. Dame Emma Thompson is clearly a first-class hypocrite and a champagne socialist.

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night.

It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade.
In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
Hilarious footage has emerged of Star Wars' character Chewbacca speaking English to Han Solo during an outtake for The Empire Strikes Back.

Video shows Chewbacca, a Wookiee warrior who mumbled much of his dialogue and didn't speak English, welding piping while scolding Harrison Ford's character Han Solo in his native London accent.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Han Solo's hirsute and lovable sidekick, died of a heart attack aged 74 on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played the character Chewbacca in Star Wars, died of a heart attack on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height

Fans around the world have been paying tribute to Mayhew as a day of celebration for the iconic film series, dubbed 'May the fourth be with you' takes place on Saturday.

Mayhew was born in Richmond-on-Thames in London 1944 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2005.

In the footage, Chewbacca tells Han Solo in his native Cockney accent: 'Where the hell have you been?.' Solo then replies: 'Alright, don't lose your temper, I'll come right back and give you a hand.

Chebacca responds: 'Where you going? Tell them we're leaving,' to which Ford responds: 'Alright I'm tell em.'

Harrison Ford led the tributes to Mayhew at news of his passing, having last appeared on screen with him in 2015's The Force Awakens.

He tweeted: 'Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.

'These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him.

Video shows Chewbacca welding piping while scolding Ford's character Han Solo in an outtake for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back and unusually speaking English

Chebacca, a Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk, was Han Solo's hirsuit and lovable sidekick in the film franchise and starred in most of the franchise's nine movies

He added: 'He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience.

'Chewbacca was an important part of the success of the films we made together. He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them.'

Mark Hamill, who played Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the franchise, also spoke out - praising Mayhew as 'a big man with an even bigger heart' and said that he was 'forever grateful' for the memories they had shared.

Mayhew, (pictured in 20017), was a mainstay at Star Wars conventions around the world, including the bi-annual Star Wars Celebration, and he was heavily involved in the Make-A-Wish foundation. He is pictured in character in 1978, (right)

His costars and fans around the world paid tribute to him following his death last Tuesday. He is seen in character with actors Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in a promotional shot Star Wars Episode Vi - Return Of The Jedi - 1983

Mayhew landed the role of the Wookie due to his towering 7ft 3ins frame.

He came to the attention of film casting agents by chance while working as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital when a reporter for a local newspaper took his photograph for an article about men with big feet in 1976.

Seeing the picture, producer Charles H. Schneer invited Mayhew to audition for a film he was working on - Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger - and he was cast as the Minoton, a robotic creature based on a Minotaur.

A short time later Mayhew was spotted by George Lucas who was looking for a large man to play the Wookie in his upcoming film, Star Wars.

He is sen here in costume as Chewbacca in 1983 with American actress Carrie Fisher, who played the role of Princesss Leia and died of a sudden cardiac arrest in December 2016

Lucas had originally cast 6ft 6ins bodybuilder David Prowse in the role, but he ended up playing Darth Vader. Lucas was desperate for a taller actor for Chewbacca, and said all Mayhew had to do to get the part was 'stand up'.

Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing film of all time.

It has been followed by another seven canonical films, with an eighth episode due this December, two standalone films, and has spawned TV series, video games and books.

Incredibly, Mayhew went back to his job at the hospital following the first Star Wars film and continued working there until Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, was released in 1983.

Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in five films, most recently in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. By that time Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones

After that he quit and made his living off the character, giving speeches and appearing at fan conventions.

Mayhew would reprise the role twice more - in 2005 for Revenge Of The Sith and 2015 for The Force Awakens.

By the time Force Awakens was produced, Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones.

Producers gave him a courtesy call to say they would be casting a new actor in the role but Mayhew, who had just undergone a double knee transplant, insisted he could make himself fit enough to play the role one more time.

He underwent a physical training regime for three hours a day, every day, for four months. That was enough to get him out of the wheelchair and he was able to reprise the role alongside Ford as Solo.

Joonas Suotamo was then brought in to take over the role of Chewbacca after The Force Awakens.
Federal investigators have retrieved the flight data recorder to investigate why a chartered jet ran off a military base runway and into the St Johns River in Florida Friday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted aerial photos of the Boeing 737 stuck in the river along with a picture of an investigator holding the orange recorder that was recovered Saturday.

The military charter landed hard in a thunderstorm carrying 143 people from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overran the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Everyone on board survived without serious injuries, leading one former transportation official to liken the event to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson landing.

However, the animals on board were not so lucky. At least four pets are presumed dead after being transported in the luggage compartment below the plane when it landed in the river.

Miami Air International Boeing 737 crashed into Jacksonville's St Johns River on Friday night and is still stuck in the shallow water

The plane was carrying 143 passengers and seven crew members from Guantanamo Bay. All people on board were rescued, with two passengers treated for minor injuries

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee told Fox: 'I also call it a miracle in St. John, akin to the miracle in [the] Hudson with the great Captain Sully.'

Ten years ago, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger and co-captain Jeff Skiles saved all 155 people on board Flight 1549 when both engines blew out after striking Canadian geese.

The hero pilot made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River on a chilly January morning.

Now this Boeing 737 remains stuck in the riverbed, with the bottom of the fuselage under water and the plane's nose cone missing.

Marine units from local sheriff and fire departments joined first responders from the naval air station in helping passengers and crew who had lined up on the plane's wings to safety.

NTSB investigator Dan Boggs holds the flight data recorder to investigate why the plane overran the runway

At least four pets that were stored below the plane are presumed dead

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee likened the water landing to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing is still being investigated.
Demands for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour to face a full-scale anti-Semitism probe intensified last night with the delivery of a 'damning dossier' alleging hundreds of incidents of anti-Jewish prejudice within the party.

Equality watchdogs were sent a huge file alleging 'endemic' anti-Semitic behaviour in Labour and the party's apparent 'don't care' attitude to the problem.

The digital dossier  equivalent to 15,000 pages  was delivered by anti-Semitism campaigners to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which is now considering whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into Labour.

Embarrassingly for Mr Corbyn, the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice by revealing her own 30-year-old daughter Ruby had now quit the party 'in disgust'  partly over his failure in dealing with anti-Semitism.

Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Manchester on Friday), the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice

Mr Corbyn leaving his home on Thursday - he has been challenged by Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton after her own daughter quit the party 'in disgust' over his Brexit policy and the anti-Semitism row

Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton tweeted: 'Well done @jeremycorbyn  the teenager who canvassed with you and for you in 2005 and who voted for you, has left the party in disgust at your failure to deliver party policy on Brexit and deal with anti-Semitism.

'My daughter along with many others  heartbroken.'

The EHRC said yesterday that it had yet to decide whether to launch a full investigation into how the Labour Party handled claims of anti-Semitism.

But campaign group Labour Against Anti-Semitism revealed that it had submitted a detailed dossier involving over 15,000 screenshots taken from hundreds of Labour members 'and officials' promoting anti-Semitic views.

Group spokesman Euan Philipps said the file provided evidence of anti-Jewish racism on a massive scale within the party and a lack of commitment to deal with it.

Mr Philipps said: 'Over the last two years, our team of dedicated volunteers has systematically collected and detailed evidence of Labour Party members promoting anti-Semitic views and tropes across a range of social media platforms.

'This has all been reported to the party's compliance team, in a format suggested by them and including a significant level of detail.'

But he claimed the response by the party had been 'shocking and alarming', with reports ignored and party members suspended for only weeks at a time.

'Most distressing of all, reports containing the most appalling levels of racism have been given only the lightest reprimand.

'The message again and again has been the same: we don't care about this issue.'

Last night, Lady Thornton said she shared her daughter's 'frustration' but said she did not intend to resign from Mr Corbyn's front bench.

Responding to the dossier last night, a Labour spokesman said: 'This has not been submitted to the party so we cannot establish whether or not these relate to party members.'

Mr Corbyn was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband (pictured in Washington on Wednesday), who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'

They declined to comment on Baroness Thornton's remarks.

In the latest anti-Semitic row to hit the party publicly, Mr Corbyn himself came under fire last week for having endorsed a book containing anti-Jewish ideas.

As a backbench MP in 2011, he wrote the foreword for a new edition of J. A. Hobson's 1902 book Imperialism.

His aides said Mr Corbyn completely rejected the 'anti-Semitic elements' of the book.

But he was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'.
Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister uses an article in todays Mail on Sunday to appeal directly to the Labour leader to reach an agreement. She hopes such a deal could avoid the UK having to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

But last night, Tory Eurosceptics reacted with fury to the plan for a so-called customs framework or customs arrangement, describing it as abject surrender.

Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU

Downing Street hopes that Mr Corbyns poor showing in Thursdays local elections, when Labour lost dozens of seats in heartland Leave-voting areas, will motivate him to strike a deal.

Do they have the numbers? The hopes of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn of achieving a controversial customs union Brexit will rest on whether they can bring the so-called middle 400 MPs on board. Those are the Tory, Labour and other MPs who just want a Brexit deal passed to avoid either No Deal or a second referendum. If the Prime Minister can get most of the 270 pro-deal Tories to back her and Mr Corbyn can cajole even half of his 246 MPs to follow him, the deal may yet get through. Advertisement

The Tories were also punished over the Brexit impasse, losing 1,300 seats  their worst result in 24 years.

Mrs May writes that reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides  but promises her MPs that if the UK enters the arrangement now in order to secure cross-party support, they will be able to unpick it at a future date.

This deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead, she says. This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

She adds: To the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, Tory negotiators have told Labour that the Government would accept UK membership of a customs union  a red line for Brexiteers  but on condition that they called it something else to avoid inflaming party anger. One source said: It must look like a duck and quack like a duck, but it doesnt have to be called a duck.

Gove and The Saj play their leadership cards Values: Michael Gove makes his pitch in Scotland Two leading contenders to replace Theresa May made major pitches for the keys to No 10 yesterday as the battle for the Tory leadership intensified. Environment Secretary Michael Gove gave an emotionally charged address to the Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen, where he was raised by adoptive parents. In a well-received speech in which he gave his clearest hint yet that he is preparing to run to be Prime Minister, Mr Gove set out a vision of how he would lead the country based on the values taught to him by his mother and father. He said his parents values included: A belief that business is a force for good. A faith in education as a good in itself. A compassion for those less fortunate, which leads to action not just words. A big heart that they dont want to wear on their sleeve. A willingness to take risks and believe the best in others. A basic sense of justice, combined with a readiness to forgive. He later refused to rule out running in the looming contest when asked by The Mail on Sunday. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Sajid Javid also used his life story to set out his stall. In a clear pitch to the Left of the party and Labour voters, he spoke at the Welsh Conservative Party conference about how the state had helped him rise up from being a working class child in Rochdale to a City high-flyer. Straying way beyond his Home Affairs brief, he said: Health, education, work and pensions. For many in Westminster, these are the names of departments to be managed. But for my family growing up, they were our lifelines, and ultimately the ladder to my success. Referring to his brothers, he added: Theyre one reason that my parents, themselves raised by dollar-a-day farmers in rural Pakistan, could go on to raise a chief superintendent, an entrepreneur, a finance professional and a Cabinet Minister. Advertisement

Government sources insisted last night that an arrangement would differ from a union in that the UK would still be free to strike trade deals with non-EU countries. It could also be written directly into the Withdrawal Agreement Bill without approval from Brussels.

But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith branded the idea of a customs union deal as total anathema. He said: The idea we would leave the EU but have the EU decide all our future trading arrangements, decide what our tariffs are  basically, thats the most ridiculous position to be in.

Mr Duncan Smith added: The election result was so devastating that the Prime Minister now has to consider herself a caretaker PM.

She must now move fast to resolve this matter of leadership urgently because everywhere you went [during campaigning], the element of trust in the PM had completely broken down.

The idea that she is now able to do a deal with an equally discredited Labour Party is ridiculous. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory partys Brexiteer European Research Group, condemned a customs union deal as symbolic of an attempt by the political establishment to avoid Brexit, to have a pretend Brexit. He also appeared to suggest it was Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill who was making the decisions, not Mrs May. She seems at the moment to have such authority as the Cabinet Secretary allows her, Mr Rees-Mogg said.

Tory arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said any customs union deal would amount to an abject surrender. He added that in the wake of the local election results, his Wellingborough Tory association executive had called on Mrs May to resign by May 23 and for Brexit to happen on No Deal/World Trade Organisation terms. The warning was echoed by Alanna Vine, chairman of the Cheadle Tory association, who said: If we dont change course, bin the non-Brexit withdrawal agreement, prepare properly for a WTO deal, immediately cease discussions with Corbyn about remaining in the EU Customs Union and stop endlessly extending our leaving date, our party will be wiped out for a generation.

In her MoS article, Mrs May apologises to Tory councillors who lost their seats, saying: Voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

She adds: The Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency in this.

Now that's what you call a people's vote! The scale of grassroots anger over the Governments failure to deliver Brexit was reflected in the blizzard of spoilt ballot papers across the nation in Thursdays local elections. A social media campaign, using the hashtag SpoilYourBallot, led to thousands of voting papers being scrawled with Brexit Party and Brexit means Brexit. Others said: None of these deliver Brexit. One ballot paper, in Staffordshire, had written next to Jeremy Corbyns candidate: Led by a terrorist sympathiser. Next to the Tory candidate were the words: Theresa May betrayed Brexit. Other voting slips stated simply, again in reference to Brexit: Traitors. Advertisement

My Message to Jeremy Corbyn: Let's do a deal

By Prime Minister Theresa May

In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
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Country House has won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after first-place finisher Maximum Security was sensationally disqualified in a stewards' call.

Maximum Security had crossed the line first, but was taken down due to an incident on the final turn when he veered out of line and impeded War of Will and Long Range Toddy.

Jockey Luis Saez was able to straighten Maximum Security up almost immediately, but the stewards ruled it was a foul after reviewing footage.

The 150,000 spectators who descended on Churchill Downs in Louisville to watch the race were forced to wait for more than 20 minutes for a victor to be declared.

The decision left 65-1 long-shot Country House to be declared the winner of the world-famous $3 million race.

The shock decision marks the first time in the race's 145-year history that the victor has been changed on the day.

And it's possible the situation doesn't end here. There could be appeals to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or the courts.

Controversy rocked the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, after first-place finisher Maximum Security (right) was disqualified shortly after the race

Maximum Security crossed the line in first place, but the victory lap was short-lived, with the thoroughbred subsequently disqualified in a stewards' call

Country House (right) crossed the line in second place, but was later crowned the winner

Country House jockey Flavien Prat was seen celebrating after his surprise victory

Maximum Security's jockey, Luis Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict- seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations

Country House was the second longest shot to win in the history of the Derby and paid out $132.40 on a $2 bet.

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby.

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations.

He later said: 'No words can describe this. It's amazing.'

'I really lost my momentum around the turn,' he said of Maximum Security's foul, which came as several horses were gaining ground on the leader.

The stunning outcome gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first Derby victory at age 65.

'It feels pretty darn good,' an elated Mott said after the race.

'It was an odd way to do it and we hate to back into any of these things. It's a bittersweet victory but I've got to say our horse ran very well and our jockey rode very well.'

He added: 'You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the very good horse and great athlete that he is.

'Due to the disqualification, I think some of that is diminished.'

Country House is pictured in the winner's circle following the most dramatic Kentucky Derby in history

The disqualification was a crushing turn of events for Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis and jockey Luis Saez, who already had begun celebrating what they thought were their first Derby victories.

Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict - and was seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed.

Maximum Security - owned by billionaire philanthropists Gary and Mary West - was the odds-on favorite to win the Derby, making the disqualification all the more heartbreaking.

"I never put anybody in danger," Saez said.

Servis backed up his jockey, saying: "He's right. He straightened him up right away and I didn't think it affects the outcome of the race."

Prat claimed that Maximum Security ducked out in the final turn and forced several horses to steady, including Long Range Toddy. War of Will came perilously close to clipping heels with Maximum Security, which could have caused a chain-reaction accident.

The only other disqualification in Kentucky Derby history occurred long after the race in 1968.

In that race, Dancer's Image, the first-place finisher, tested positive for a prohibited medication, and Kentucky state racing officials ordered the purse money to be redistributed. Forward Pass got the winner's share. A subsequent court challenge upheld the stewards' decision.

Saturday's race came at a time when the sport has come under scrutiny following the death of 23 horses at the famed Santa Anita track in Southern California since Christmas.

The spate of fatalities has prompted an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and led to protests by animal rights activists at the track, which is scheduled to host the Breeders' Cup in November.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks

While there was certainly plenty of drama on the track, there was much happening elsewhere at Churchill Downs.

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks - with female racegoers sporting stylish hats and stylish fascinators.

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions.

Organizers cautioned guests to bring a pair along a pair of flat shoes as the 'historic grounds can be tricky to maneuver and the day is long'.

No doubt, the sensible footwear came in handy, as the rain intensified over the course of the afternoon, creating mud and slush as punters prepared to head home.

Plenty of men at the event also made sure to dress to impress for the occasion - wearing stylish suits and trendy hats
Facebook is allowing anti-Christian extremists freedom to peddle hate despite closing down accounts of far-right and anti-Semitic leaders, MailOnline can reveal.

The social media giant this week said it had shut down profiles belonging to Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were thrown off Facebook, along with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and the white nationalist Paul Nehlen, saying they had violated its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

But the company was today accused of hypocrisy when hordes of anti-Christian fanatics and anti-Semites are allowed to function freely on the site despite a raft complaints.

They say hate preachers like the Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik  spreads anti-Christian rhetoric to thousands of followers on the network.

Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year.

Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik - spreads anti-Christian rhetoric - and is still allowed to remain on Facebook

He also praised the murder of Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah by Islamists in Glasgow in 2016.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the anti-racism group Faith Matters, reported him to Facebook in November 2017 amid concerns that his hatred was influencing British Pakistani communities.

But no action was taken and the fanatic remains active on the social network today.

'How long can this farce continue when Facebook says it acts and then does not?' Mr Mughal told MailOnline.

'How long can violence inspirers have Facebook pages? This man has praised the murderer of a British resident for allegedly 'blaspheming'.

'It is like we are back in the barbaric Dark Ages with Facebook giving us spin, whilst the founders lounge in San Francisco, batting away these issues with slick public relations statements.'

Rizvi is not the only Islamist using Facebook to spread his messages of Christian-hatred.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) had his Facebook account deactivated

Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation, said that the platform has become 'a sewer of poisonous anti-Christian hatred and anti-Semitism'.

'Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood are very active on Facebook, both as organisations and as individual members,' he said.

'They have been reported so many times but Facebook does nothing. In fact, when a Muslim friend of mine wrote an article that was mildly critical of Islamic fundamentalism, Facebook removed it.

'Sometimes I wonder whether the platform is really being run by Islamists.'

Mr Aleji demanded to know why Facebook purge hasn't included Ayat Oraby, the Egyptian blogger linked to the Muslim Brotherhood living in the US.

'Some of the things she writes on Facebook about Christians are truly poisonous, especially in Arabic,' he said. 'People have complained many times. Yet she is allowed to carry on freely.'

Far-right British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has also had his Facebook account deleted

It comes as a report by the Foreign Office found Christians are 'by far the most persecuted' religious group and are enduring what amounts to genocide in some parts of the world.

They are being driven out of the Middle East in a modern-day exodus that means the religion could be wiped out in parts 'where its roots go back furthest', the study found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed 'political correctness' for a failure to confront the oppression of Christians, which he called the 'forgotten persecution'.

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi (pictured), a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa during his five-day tour of Africa, Mr Hunt  who is a committed Christian  said: 'I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

'I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.'

As well a Christian haters, Jewish groups have also long complained that Facebook tolerates anti-Semitism while coming down hard on pro-Israel sentiment.

Alison Chabloz, the Holocaust denier who was convicted of hate crimes last year, remains active on Facebook, often using it to promote her vile views  even though a court has banned her from using social media.

Similarly, Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Israel firebrand who lost a court case last year over his claims that anti-Semitism was invented to defraud the taxpayer, has a large Facebook following.

Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir (Facebook profile image pictured) and the Muslim Brotherhood are still active on Facebook, Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation claims

And David Icke, an arch conspiracy theorists who was banned from entering Australia and has been thrown out of numerous venues in Britain, operates openly on the social network.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'While we welcome Facebook's removal of a handful of bigots, this is mere virtue signalling as the platform remains a vehicle for hatred.

'The fact is that Facebook is where neo-Nazis, Islamists and far-left extremists feel at home, using it to spread poisonous hatred against Jews and many others.

'Facebook is the only major social network that refuses to talk to us about our concerns.

'For years, Facebook has done its best to avoid stamping out incitement on its network. This is too little, too late.'

A Facebook spokesman told MailOnline: 'We work hard to make Facebook a hostile place for extremism and do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism.

'We have invested heavily in specialist teams, expert partnerships, and new technology to identify, review and remove extremist content.

'99% of terrorist content which is removed from the platform is done so proactively before it is reported to us. '
Q. I would like to hitchhike or catch buses following the Mississippi River. What do you recommend? I am 66.

Tommy MacDonald, Chelsea, London

A. Hitchhiking could be risky, as well as tiring.

Rides on Greyhound buses from Minneapolis in Minnesota to New Orleans in Louisiana, stopping for a few days at St Louis in Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee, to get a flavour of life by the river, would come to about 200-250 (greyhound.com).

Long and winding: The Mississippi River is one of the longest rivers in the world and the route along it is well-served by Greyhound Buses

Q. We are going to a wedding in Positano in Italy, flying in to Naples. Can you advise on the best, and cheapest, way to get there from the airport?

Mrs Sam Pugh, via email.

A. For an adventure, take the 20-minute airport bus (4.30) to Garibaldi Station in Naples.

Then catch a 68-minute Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento (3.90). From Sorrento, its a 35-minute ferry to Positano (18, directferries.co.uk).

Or, much easier, a shared shuttle bus direct to your Positano hotel is from 48 for two (positanoshuttle.com).

Pretty as a picture: To reach Postitano, pictured, from Naples take the train to Sorrento then a 35-minute ferry for 18

Q. We want to go to Florida for a holiday, then hop over to Cuba for a week before flying back to Florida. Can we do this?

Chrissie Mobbs, via email.

A. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says: Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the U.S. to Cuba is not allowed under U.S. law. See gov.uk.

If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card. These cost 25 (cubavisa.uk).

Colourful: If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card costing 25

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions and provide tips for your precious time off. Send questions to: holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk or write to Daily Mail Travel, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT  and include your contact details.

We will do our best to answer your queries but we cant reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Britain has over 1,000 islands and many of them, as a fascinating new book reveals, are ripe for exploring.

Islandeering: Adventures Around The Edge Of Britains Hidden Islands, by Lisa Drewe, charts 50 hidden islands, many accessible but little known  all perfect for adventure and circumnavigation.

The new book underscores what each island is best for, with categories including skinning dipping, epic tidal crossings and pubs. Here we pick out our favourite examples. Scroll down to behold some of Britains last undiscovered wildernesses

Best for epic tidal crossings: Worm's Head

Worm's Head, pictured, is described as 'one of the UKs most exhilarating islands by Lisa Drewe in her Islandeering book

Drewe describes Worms Head  on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea - as one of the UKs most exhilarating islands.

Not least because the jagged causeway to the island is submerged at high tide.

Handily, a large board below an old Coastguard lookout reveals the safe crossing times.

In the book, Drewe also lists the following islands as being best for tidal crossings: Lihou, Foulness, Scolt Head, Lindisfarne, Chapel, Hilbre, Ynys Lochtyn, Oronsay/Colonsay and Vallay.

Best for skinny dips and secluded swims: Sark

The potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches on Sark (pictured) is huge, writes Drewe. She lists it as one of the top spots for skinny dipping

Channel Island Sark, says Drewe, is a quirky, timeless island with a coastline thats packed with caves and swimming spots.

Perfect, the book points out, for skinny dipping.

Drewe, who lives in Wiltshire and the Isle of Skye, continues: Once ashore you seem to have inadvertently stepped into a time warp: This island has no cars, has its own parliament and the potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches is huge.

Drewes other skinny dipping hotspots are Lihou, Scolt Head, Cei Ballast, Ynys Gifftan, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Vatersay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for wild and remote: Steep Holm

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year to Steep Holm (pictured) and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds

Getting to Steep Holm, which is off the coast of Weston-super-Mare, isnt easy, but your efforts will be rewarded with panoramic views of the Somerset coast.

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year  roughly  and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds.

The island is now a nature reserve but used to be a military outpost. Today, says Drewe, its packed with signal stations, watchtowers, gun batteries and underground munition stores  and about 2,000 pairs of nesting gulls.

The other wild and remote islands listed in the book are Samson, Foulness, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Oronsay/Skye, Vatersay, Eriskay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for glorious beaches: Vallay

Vallay is Drewe's favourite island. She says that it's a 'great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot'

Vallay is not only a glorious beach spot but Drewes favourite island overall.

Drewe, who spent the past 10 years researching this book, told MailOnline Travel: It has everything for me. There is an epic two-kilometre crossing to the island on tidal sands and stunning views out to the remotest part of Britain, the St Kilda archipelago, with the sea in between uplit by the bone-white sands.

This is a great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot. This is freedom.

The other islands listed as having glorious beaches are Samson, St Martins, Herm, Scolt Head, Llanddwyn, Vatersay, Berneray, Taransay and Great Bernera.

Best for ruins and ancient remains: Great Bernera

At Great Bernera there's an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known

Great Bernera, off the west coast of Lewis, is an island with a passionate history, writes Drewe.

The highlights include an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known.

And theres a bonus, apparently  great cakes at the community centre.

Other islands that excel in the ruins and ancient remains department are Samson, Steep Holm, Alderney, Skomer, Flat Holm, Kerrera, Flotta, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for cafes, local food and inns: Muck

The cafe at Port Mor on Muck is, by all accounts, a great place for a scone, a cup of tea or a beer

Muck, in the Inner Hebrides, has much to recommend it, enthuses Drew  not least the cafe at the islands main hamlet, Port Mor.

She says that the owners are a hoot and serve up great scones, beer and tea.

And the cafe generally stays open until the last ferry leaves.

The island also boasts the Godag B&B, which is stunningly located on the northeast shore.

Other islands picked out for their cafes, food and inns are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Lundy, Mersea, Luing, Kerrera, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for families: Brownsea

Brownsea has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, writes Drewe

Brownsea, in Poole Harbour, was voted the best nature reserve in the UK, and Drewe can understand why.

She says that it has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, from pine-woods to meadows, crammed with flowers and wild creatures.

Heading to the peaceful South Shore for a swim is highly recommended.

The other family friendly islands listed in the book are Looe, Lundy, Lihou, Herm, Thorney, Llanddwyn and Flat Holm.

Best for birds, wild creatures and flowers: Skomer

Skomer is home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect

Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, is the location for one of Britains greatest natural spectacles, says Drewe  the nightly return of thousands of Manx shearwater sea birds, back from a days fishing.

Its also home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect.

Plus, there are lots of wildflowers. Springtime bluebell walks on the west coast are a must.

The other islands listed as best for birds, wild creatures and flowers are Looe, Brownsea, Lundy, Alderney, Two Tree, Canvey, Scolt Head, Vatersay and Taransay.

Best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks: Ynys Lochtyn

Ynys Lochtyn 'is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure'

This tidal island on the coast of Cardigan Bay is described by Drewe as a rocky adventure.

She continues: It is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure.

If youve got adventure in your veins, she says, this island will not disappoint.

The other islands listed in the book as being best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks are Bryher, Lundy, Sark, Hilbre, Worms Head, Davaar, Iona, Oronsay/Skye and South Walls.

Best for trail running: Thorney

On Thorney there's an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior

This West Sussex MoD-owned island is a haven for wildlife and the wild, says Drewe.

Theres an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior and a nice sandy beach at the southern tip thats great for a swim.

For a change of pace, pop into atmospheric St Nicholas Church.

Other islands highlighted for their trail running potential are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Alderney, Mersea, Lindisfarne, Ramsey, Flotta and Papa Westray.

Best for contemplation and retreat: Iona

Iona is the perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation. Must-visits include the abbey and St Martin's Cave. Heading along the north coast, youll see a Bronze Age stone circle on the peninsula of Aird an Uan, which leads to Eilean nan Each (Horse Island)

This sacred Inner Hebrides island is adorned with rock pools and secluded white-sand beaches, says Drewe.

The perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation.

Must-visits include the abbey, which is guarded by an array of beautiful Celtic crosses, and the remote and mesmerising St Martins Cave.

Other islands you should consider for contemplation are Lindisfarne, Llanddwyn, Bardsey, Holy Island (Arran), Davaar and Oronsay/Colonsay.

Best for spotting whales and dolphins: Bardsey

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place

HOW TO STAY SAFE 'The most important thing is to understand the tides around the island,' says Drewe, 'particularly if you need to cross tidal sands or causeways to get there. Not only the times of the low tides but also their depths as these can vary between spring and neap tides and could mean the difference between a walk, wade or swim. Tide tables are available but if in doubt the locals are the experts. They also know about water flows if you are thinking of a swim.' Advertisement

From the summit of Bardsey, which lies at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, its possible to spot pods of Rissos dolphins cavorting in the sea.

And seals and porpoises can be seen on the harbour beach.

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place.

Don't forget to climb Mynydd Enlli summit for panoramic views, says Drewe.

Other islands that are prime spots for wildlife spotting are Lundy, Ynys Lochtyn, Ramsey, Davaar, Eriskay, Berneray, Taransay, South Walls and North Ronaldsay.

This graphic indicates 12 of the 50 islands that are featured in Islandeering - and what they're best for
She recently shared her fears over giving birth after stumbling upon a book about childbirth.

But Gemma Atkinson, 34, looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during Strictly Come Dancing's professionals tour.

The former Hollyoaks star concealed her baby bump in an all black ensemble as she smiled for the cameras.

Radiant: Pregnant Gemma Atkinson, 34, smiled for the cameras as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, on Friday

The English star sported figure-hugging black leggings and an unbuttoned cream shirt as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by the BBC One stars.

Gemma kept her hands in the pockets of her stylish black coat as she she stepped outside to meet the chilly weather.

She completed her look with a pair of sleek flat shoes and a handbag slung over her shoulder.

Also making an appearance at the Manchester theatre was actress Denise Welch who was accompanied by her husband Lincoln Townley.

Mum-to-be: The actress looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Manchester venue to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals Tour

Looking good: Gemma sported a casual look as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by dancing stars

Smile: The beauty sported a stylish black and a pair of sleek flat shoes as she arrived at the theatre

The former Waterloo Road star donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper, a pair of blue jeans and white trainers as she came to support the Strictly professionals.

Gemma's appearance comes less than a month after she discovered the unsettling reality of what might occur during her labour.

Writing to her 988,000 on Instagram the actress wrote: 'Baby books are fine until you read the part where you "May tear from your vagina to your bum"'.

Strike a pose: Also arriving at the Manchester venue was soap actress Denise Welch and husband Lincoln Townley

Keeping it casual: Denise donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper and a pair of blue jeans as she arrived at the theatre

Gemma and professional dancer Gorka Marquez, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, are expecting their first child later this year.

The couple, who went public with their relationship in February 2018, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram.

Since sharing their news the Gemma and Gorka, who is currently on tour with his Strictly co-stars, have been keeping fans up to date with the pregnancy on social media.

Joining Gorka for this year's Strictly tour are professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Oti Mabuse, Karen Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, AJ Pritchard, and Pasha Kovalev.

Horror: Gemma recently revealed her horror after stumbling upon a baby book that gave the gory details of childbirth

Chilling: The couple, who met in 2017, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram




Paris Jackson and Caroline D'Amore go together like pepperoni and cheese.

The 21-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson hosted a dinner party to celebrate the new Pizza Girl by Caroline DAmore pasta sauce at the private home of the CEO of Absolut Elyx, Jonas Tahlin.

The Chanel model wore a dramatic, low-cut black crop top that showed off her chakra tattoos and patterned boho pants.

Empowered women empower women: Paris Jackson hosted an event in Los Angeles on Thursday to support her friend's new product

She wore a number of bracelets ad three necklaces, each draped at different lengths around her neck.

The 21-year-old musician also wore a pair of large, beaded hoop earrings.

Paris wore her hair in tight curls and finished off the boho-rocker look with dramatic winged black eyeliner.

Gal pals: Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore

Pizza girl: Pizza, pasta, salad and specialty cocktails were all on the menu

Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore, 34, in celebration of the new Pizza Girl sauce she created.

Notable attendees included Ashlee Simpson, Emile Hirsch, Ryan Cabrera and Evan Ross.

Ashlee and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm and were happily enjoying the beautiful night before before taking their seats at the beautiful outside tables for the sunset dinner.

Guests of honor: Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm

Feast fit for a king: Dozens of guests gathered round the dinner table

Be our guest: Attendees feasted on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe

Just before 8pm guests sat down at the magical poolside dining table to feast on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe.

Guests were also treated to specialty cocktails made with Absolut Elyx.

The most popular cocktail of the night was named 'Thats DAmore.'

The outing comes less than two months Paris was hospitalized.

Paris denied a report that she had attempted suicide, and sources told DailyMail.com that the King of Pop's daughter had been 'partying' very hard and cut herself with kitchen scissors after she had gotten out of control.
Nina Dobrev knows how to show a friend a good time.

The Vampire Diaries star, 30, helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress posted videos to social media on Friday.

And 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina.

Gal pals: Nina Dobrev (L) helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's (R) bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress, 30, posted videos to social media on Friday

Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out.

Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic.

Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil.

She not only models, but is also an aspiring actress.

Stunners: 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina

Impressive: Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out

Keleigh appeared in the short film Opeth: The Devils Orchard in 2012 and in the short film Dance in 2017, according to IMDb.

And Keleigh recently partnered up with Wells of Life, whose mission is to bring clean water to the villagers of Uganda.

She posted a picture from a Wells of Life meeting with the caption: 'Thank you Kingdom of Uganda for your partnership,agreement, and donation to breaking ground on our sanitization compound to keep these wells in Uganda clean'

Seductive: Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil

Sweet snap: Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic

Keleigh's sister Christie revealed in 2017 that Miles had popped the question to Keleigh while the pair were on a romantic safari holiday in Africa after dating for nearly four years.

Miles even brought Keleigh home to meet his whole family.

'I brought her to meet my grandparents,' he said in a 2014 interview with Elle magazine. 'My grandma tweets my girlfriend.'

Gangs all here: A gaggle of gorgeous girls help Keleigh celebrate

Last name! The ladies surprised her with balloons spelling out her fiance's last name

Keleigh and Miles have been a couple since way back in 2013, the year he drew attention for his high school film The Spectacular Now.

Meanwhile, Miles is busy wrapping up his highly anticipated sequel to Top Gun.

The film - directed by Joseph Kosinski - is subtitled Maverick with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles.
They have remained on great terms following their split.

And Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday.

The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple.

Family time: Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday

Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat.

Under the jacket the blonde kept it casual in denim jeans and a camel knit.

She boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a burgundy handbag from FRAME.

Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up.

Trendy: Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat, and she carried her favorite burgundy red bag from FRAME

Yum! The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple

Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper.

Tom caught the eye in bright blue trousers and a matching jacket underneath a navy raincoat.

Later on, Sienna seemed to step away from Marlowe and Tom as she took a phone call.

Fashionable: Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper

Sienna previously gushed to Harper's Bazaar that Tom was her 'best friend in the entire world' - and that while they don't share a property, they often stay together to spend mutual time with their little girl.

Admitting their close bond has not broken since they cut romantic ties in the summer of 2015 after four years together, she explained: We still love each other.

'I think in a break-up somebody has to be a little bit cruel in order for it to be traditional, but its not been acrimonious in a way where you would choose to not be around that person.'

Trendy: Sienna boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a oxblood handbag

Natural: Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up

Sienna is now dating Lucus Zwirner, 28, the pair went public with their romance in January.

The couple, who met through mutual friends in New York, went public with their romance last year when they attended her ex Tom's birthday party in London together.

Lucas, who currently oversees 25 book releases a year as editorial director of David Zwirner Books, is a Yale-educated literature aficionado.

The star famously dated fellow A-lister Jude Law on-off from 2003, with the actor famously issuing a public apology to her after having an affair with his children's nanny.
Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children.

The 56-year-old reality star, according to The Blast, told a South Carolina court his ex-girlfriend Dennis, 26, has had her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, watch their two children - Kensie, four, and Saint, three - in the latest chapter in their bitter custody fight.

Dennis's time with the kids should immediately be suspended pending Price moving out of her home, Ravenel told the court.

The latest: Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 56, claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis, 26, foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children

Ravenel, a one-time treasurer for the state of South Carolina, was responding to a previous request Dennis made that the court bar Ravenels girlfriend Ashley Jacobs from contacting the two children; or posting their images on social media.

Dennis has also requested the court give her a temporary order that would award her primary custody and Ravenel visitation (in which he'd be barred from consuming alcohol); and modified child support to reflect the arrangement.

Ravenel told the court Dennis's request for an immediate result was unwarranted, as there have been no drastic changes in their parenting arrangement as of late.

He chalked her requests involving Jacobs to jealousy, saying they were a means of control; and said that Dennis has past told the children he wants to harm and kill her, according to the outlet.

Romance: Dennis was seen with her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, in an Instagram shot

On the offense: Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her

Ravenel also requested child support from Dennis, saying she has a six-figure income.

Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her, after her custody was revoked three years ago after she failed a drug test (She has since finished a rehab and been granted joint custody).

The custody battle last year involved Bravo, as Ravenel sued the network in November to cease broadcasting content that hadn't previously been aired (linked to a discussion about his ongoing sexual assault case).

Bravo encouraged Dennis to enter a long custody battle with him in hopes of creating content for their series, Ravenel told the court.

Southern Charm comes back on May 15, airing on Bravo at 8/7c.
She first revealed her burgeoning pregnancy back in January.

And Kate Mara covered her growing bump during a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon.

The 36-year-old actress and heiress was pushing along a stroller, presumably for one of the other women's children.

Day out: Kate Mara, 36, was seen going for a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon

The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a black shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket.

She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag.

The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week.

Back in black: The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a blakc shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket

Matching: She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag

New 'do: The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week

Kate was chatting with two friends who were recent mothers while pushing a stroller, though her own baby is still on the way.

The happy news was first reported in early January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans while waiting in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes.

She revealed she was pregnant after A Quiet Place's Emily Blunt commented on her growing breasts.

She was reportedly five-months pregnant at the time, suggesting she's close to her due date now.

Revealed: The news was first reported in January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans after Emily Blunt remarked on the size of her breasts while in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes

This will be the first child for Kate and her husband Jamie Bell, whom she married in July 2017.

The two began their relationship in late 2015, after working on the doomed superhero flick Fantastic Four.

This baby will be her first, though Jamie shares a five-year-old son with his former wife Evan Rachel Wood, whom he divorced in 2014.

The Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool actor will next be seen in the Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which he'll play John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.

Kate will appear in the TV movie A Teacher. She played Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, a young campaign worker who was killed while riding with the late Senator Ted Kennedy when his car plunged off a bridge.
She's getting ready for another showstopping appearance at Monday's Met Gala.

But Kim Kardashian wasn't waiting to steal the spotlight as she commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday.

The 37-year-old reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe while eldest sister Kourtney's ex Scott Disick joined in on the fun.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian, 37, commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday

Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle.

Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders.

Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots.

Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades.

Impressive: Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle

Sister act: The reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe

The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022.

And the reality TV star proved how focused she is on becoming a lawyer in a preview for Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The Selfish author was looking through letters from prisoners asking for her help with clemency when her mother Kris Jenner entered the room to give her some compliments about her new career goal.

Rear view: Kim put her pert derriere on full display as she was joined by Scott Disick

They could be twins! Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots

Kim is sitting on a sofa when she says, 'I'm reading this letter from prison and this one's a good one.'

Kris asks, 'How many cases do you do at a time?'

'The average time to get someone clemency is seven to 10 years,' said Kim, who did not finish college but is able to take the bar with proper studying. She has to pass a mini bar this year.

Hair story: Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders

Casual cool: Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades

'I'm super proud of you Kim, you take this all seriously and I think that they're lucky that you listen,' added the momager.

'If I see something that I feel like has a real shot and just like moves me, then I'll send it to my attorney's who look over everything just to make sure it's legitimate,' she tells Jenner.

She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer.

Meanwhile, Kim is getting ready for another appearance at the highly anticipated Met Gala in New York City on Monday.

Aiming high: The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022

Inspired: She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer

This year's exhibition, titled Camp: Notes On Fashion, will examine 'how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.'

'We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures,' curator Andrew Bolton told the New York Times in October.

How 'camp' went from the margins to mainstream

Inspired by the Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on Camp, the exhibition will comprise more than 250 objects, dating from the 17th century to the present.

These objects will take visitors through the evolution of camp, from the royal courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV at Versailles, to the American and European queer subcultures of the 20th-century, according to CNN.
Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun.

A source told the publication that the actress, 23, had been approached to appear on the show last year, but was banned from such deals under strict rules by ITV bosses.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced she would be leaving Coronation Street in 2020, making her seventh cast member in three months to quit the show.

Dancefloor ready: Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun

The source said: 'Lucy is a huge fan of Strictly and was invited to watch last year's live show in Blackpool. When Strictly bosses realised she was keen, they told her she'd have to quit Corrie because of its ban on deals.

'Lucy took the plunge as she knows her acting career has more opportunities ahead than sticking around in Weatherfield.

'Talks have started between her representatives and Strictly bookers. Some male dancers already want to partner her.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing and Lucy Fallon for comment.

Next big thing: The star had reportedly been approached to appear on the soap while she is stil playing Bethany Platt, but is banned from such deals by ITV bosses

Lucy would not be the first Corrie star to appear on Strictly after quitting the soap, joining stars such as Natalie Gumede and Georgia May Foote.

Gemma Atkinson also appeared on Strictly in 2017 after leaving Emmerdale, but it is unclear whether the same rules apply to the stars of ITV's rival soap.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020.

She's off! The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020

In a statement the star told MailOnline: 'After the most incredible four years, I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave Coronation Street at the end of my contract in 2020.

'It's hard to put into words how much this show means to me. I've made lifelong friends with some of the most talented and hardworking people in the industry, I've had some terrific and immensely important storylines and I've laughed with the best people everyday.'

The star added: 'I'm so thankful to Iain and everyone at Coronation Street, I owe everything to them and I will miss them greatly.'

Sequins at the ready: Several Coronation Street stars have gone onto take part in Strictly, after they left the soap (last year's winner Stacey Dooley pictured above)

Lucy then went onto clarify her decision in a tweet, writing: 'My decision to leave was made in August last year and has nothing to do with ANYONE at Coronation Street. I didn't make it lightly and I am going to miss every single person there.'

The beauty has joined stars such as Faye Brookes, Katie McGlynn and Kym Marsh who have recently decided to leave the soap, with a total of seven stars quitting in the last three months alone.

It comes after it was claimed by The Irish Sun that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as several stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary and long hours, as well as their bans on performing in panto and other big brand deals.

A source said: 'Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won't let her take them on.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coronation Street for comment.

Mass exodus: Lucy has joined seven other stars who have decided to leave the soap in the past three months
They first met on an international flight in August last year and since then, their relationship appears to have gone from strength to strength.

So much so, that Sophie Monk looked completely smitten with boyfriend Joshua Gross as they enjoyed a date night together while holidaying in the Maldives.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the Love Island host, 39, shared a sweet snap of herself and her beau staring into each other's eyes, as they cuddled up together.

The look of love! Sophie Monk and boyfriend Joshua Gross looked nothing but smitten as they cuddled up together for a new Instagram post shared by the Love Island host on Friday

In the photo, Sophie stunned in a plunging white crochet dress that tied together at the waist and teased a look at her ample bust.

Joshua was also dressed in white and wrapped his arm around Sophie, while she affectionately leaned on her love's shoulder.

Sweetly looking at each other, the couple looked the picture of happiness as they continued to mark their first relationship milestone - their very first holiday together.

Stunning: Sophie jetted to the Maldives for her first holiday away with boyfriend Joshua, who she met in August last year on an international flight

Sophie has been sharing plenty of snaps from their romantic getaway for her followers to see, including one of her posing in a low-cut fitted dress and round shades by the sea.

Other photos saw the beauty flaunting her enviable frame in a cut-away scarlet red swimsuit, as she posed by the water and alongside her beau.

Sophie's romance with businessman Joshua follows her less-than successful relationship with millionaire publican Stu Laundy, who she met on The Bachelorette in 2017.

Smitten: The TV star has been sharing snaps from their romantic break away with her Instagram followers, including a picture of herself and Joshua posing together by the pool

Wow: Other holiday snaps saw Sophie slip into a stunning scarlet red swimsuit that teased a look at the beauty's enviable frame with its cut-out panels

Monk has spent two decades in the spotlight and recently confessed, as she approaches turning 40 later this year, that she thought she'd now be living a 'normal life' with four children and a husband.

Speaking to TV Week, she said: 'I thought I'd have four children and be married.

'I thought I'd be in this industry for a little bit and then get out and have a normal life, where I'd pick up the kids from school, but I've realised that's not going to happen.'
Line of Duty star Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into his cab earlier this week.

The 34-year-old actor was reportedly left 'shaken' but unscathed after the HGV ploughed into the side of the vehicle he had been sitting in during a taxi ride through Salford, Manchester, on Thursday.

According to reports, one of cab's door's had been left completely destroyed following the crash.

Narrow escape: Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into a taxi he had been sat in during his journey through Salford, Manchester on Thursday

Dashcam footage obtained by The Sun shows the moments after the star escaped serious injury as he was being driven back to his hotel in the city.

Taxi driver Derek Burton, 71, who claimed he had been waiting at a red light when the accident took place, described the moment the large truck smashed into his vehicle.

He told The Sun: 'There was a thundering bang. I thought it was a bomb. Martin screamed. We didn't know what happened. We hadn't seen the truck.

'It smashed into where he was sitting. Martin's door was bashed in. It was probably doing 10mph but was so big it destroyed the cab.'

Fighting crime: Footage obtained by The Sun shows the star after he escaped serious injury

On the hunt: The actor is currently starring in the fifth series of the BBC drama Line of Duty

Footage following the crash shows the Line of Duty actor walk around the cab as the taxi driver and the HGV driver exchange details.

The actor, who currently stars as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the BBC One series, recently shared his thoughts on the countless fan theories surrounding Jed Mercurio's plot.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast he said: 'I saw some people the first time saying, 'I can't believe they got that wrong, that's a mistake.'

Theres no mistakes with Jed Mercurio. Hes got every single thing thought through.

Earlier this year, the award-winning drama, which follows the controversial police anti-corruption unit AC-12 and is currently in its fifth series, confirmed it had been renewed for a sixth season.

MailOnline has contacted Martin Compston's representatives for comment.
She has been embracing her newly-single status after announcing her split from husband Lee Henderson in October last year.

And showing her former love exactly what he's missing, Jackie O stunned as she stepped out for a Mother's Day High Tea hosted by her best pal Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta.

The radio presenter, 44, looked sensational in a chic all-black getup that made for a very leggy display.

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Sensational: Jackie O, 44, (pictured) looked incredible as she made a very leggy appearance at the Mother's Day High Tea hosted by Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta on Friday

Jackie paired together a black square-necked top and tailored shorts that were cut just above the knee.

She wore a stylish long blazer on top of her outfit choice and added a boost to her look with a pair of clear perspex heels.

Her footwear only emphasized her incredibly toned pins further and she finished off her outfit by styling her blonde locks into soft curls that framed her face.

Smile! The radio presenter was seen rubbing shoulders with her BFF Roxy (pictured far right) and other guests at the stylish event

Gorgeous! Jackie favoured a chic all-black getup that teamed together a long blazer and tailored shorts cut just above the knee

The mother-of-one wore glamorous make-up that boasted a dramatic smokey eye, bronzed cheeks and a glossy nude lip.

She was seen posing on her arrival to the event and flashed a smile alongside BFF Roxy, who dazzled in an off-the-shoulder pink layered dress, and other guests.

Jackie's appearance at the tea comes after she was recently heard discussing dating again on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, following her split with husband Lee last year.

Jackie joked that she could see herself dating a celebrity chef next, as her co-host Kyle Sandilands teased: 'You'll probably end up with one!'

Ready to find love again? Jackie recently joked on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she'll probably end up dating a celebrity chef following her split from husband Lee Henderson

She announced her split with Lee in October and stressed the decision to end their marriage after 18 years together was 'not made lightly'.

The exes have remained amicable despite separating and are now actively co-parenting their eight-year-old daughter Kitty.

Speaking on her radio show, Jackie, who has been supported through her split by close friend Roxy, explained: 'It's not a decision we took lightly at all.

'Lee and I have been so lucky that our separation has been extremely amicable.

All over: The star and husband Lee announced their split in October last year - they have separated after 18 years together, but continue to co-parent their daughter Kitty (pictured)

'I know everyone says that, but we actually have remained really good friends throughout this.'

She added that the pair were separated for quite some time before announcing their split, but decided to play things out privately at first, and still speak every day.

In December, just two months after news surfaced of their split, Jackie and Lee took their daughter Kitty on holiday together in Fiji.

Jackie and Lee married in 2003 - three years after first meeting in a bar in Sydney, when Lee had been backpacking around Australia in 2000.
Luke Perry was buried in an eco-friendly mushroom suit.

His 18-year-old daughter Sophie took to Instagram to confirm the news as well as share a cute story about how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet.

She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday with the caption: 'In December I went to San Francisco with two of my best friends.

'One of them, had never never been to California, so we went to show him the Redwoods. I took this picture while we were there, because i thought, "damn, those mushrooms are beautiful."'

Bond: Sophie Perry revealed that her father Luke was buried in an Infinity Burial Suit after his untimely death in March

Interesting: The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms

Sophie goes on to explain that mushrooms mean an entirely different thing for her as she goes on to explain the concept of an Infinity Burial Suit.

She continued: 'Any explanation i give will not do justice to the genius that is the mushroom burial suit, but it is essentially an eco friendly burial option via mushrooms. '

The teenager goes on to suggest that her followers read up on the suit as she shared that it was one of her father Luke's final wishes to be buried in one.

Sophie said: 'My dad discovered it, and was more excited by this than I have ever seen him. He was buried in this suit, one of his final wishes.

'My dad was more excited by this than I have ever seen him': She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday as she revealed how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet

'They are truly a beautiful thing for this beautiful planet, and I want to share it with all of you.'

The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms.

It has three main functions: aid in decomposition, neutralizes toxins found in the body and transfer them to plant life.

Sophie has been doing plenty to honor her father's name as she has had a school named after him just two months after his untimely death.

Earlier this week she took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star.

She shared a group photo which included her mother and Luke's ex wife Minnie Sharp in front of the building which had his name emblazoned on the side.

Amazing gesture: Earlier this week Sophie took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star

Alongside the image, Sophie wrote a thoughtful caption which read: 'Thank you to everybody who donated to help with our projects!

'Our first school is finished and I cant tell you how proud and excited I am to see it open on Wednesday. Thank you to my amazing partner Ruben for everything. Especially for fighting to name the school after my dad.'

Over the past few months Sophie and her friends Gabriella and Ruben have been living in the southeastern African country serving as development instructors to help build preschools in rural communities.

Back in early March, Sophie rushed back home after the Riverdale star had suffered a massive stroke. He later died at the age of 52.

Since his untimely death, his daughter and 21-year-old son Jack Perry have gotten back to work.

Jack made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month and posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day.

Back: After spending the last month grieving, Jack Perry made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month

The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match.

'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video.

Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory.

Volunteer work: Sophie Perry also revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to her volunteer work in Malawi while wearing an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her dad

Triumphant return: The 21-year-old wrestler posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day

Work: The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match

Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event.

'Unfortunately Jungle Boy will no longer be wrestling at our March 13th show,' the promotion said on its Twitter account. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.'

Luke Perry - who shot to fame in the early 90s playing Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 - died March 4, about five days after he suffered a massive stroke at his Sherman Oaks, California home February 27.

Changed: 'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video

Motorcycle ride: Sophie also shared a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle

Sophie meanwhile revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to Africa to continue her mission work.

She posted a selfie wearing a blue cap with an Andrews Construction label while traveling in a vehicle and also a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle for her roughly 92,000 followers on Instagram.

Luke at the time of his death was portraying Fred Andrews on Riverdale who owned his own construction company Andrews Construction.

Charity trip: The teenager cut short her six-month charity trip when Luke suffered the stroke

TV tribute: Sophie in a selfie wore an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her father's character Fred Andrews on Riverdale

Sophie wrote in the caption: 'First few days back in Malawi have been very emotional but it feels right to come back, to finish what I started, to do the most with whatever time we have left.

'I recently learned that may not be as much time as we think. It was quick and scary to leave home again so soon, but theres a job to be done, and someone to make proud,' she wrote.

Sophie added: 'Also excuse my ''post 30 hours o travel'' face'.

Good times: She was back in Malawi where she was volunteering to develop pre-schools

In September Sophie, who lived in Dowagiac, Michigan, posted a video describing her charity work for non-profit One World Center, and asked for fundraising help for her trip.

'I'm in a group of eight people, seven of us are going to Africa and one of us is going to Brazil,' she said.

'We're going to be there for six months, and we're going to be working on community development projects. These can range from teaching teachers, building schools, helping with agriculture, providing water purification, all types of good stuff.'

Technique: Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory

Moving forward: Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event

Loving: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began

Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52.

'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began.

'He loved supported me in everything, and inspired me to be the best that I could possibly be.'

Jack continued: 'I've learned so much from you, and my heart is broken thinking about everything you wont be here for.

Touching: Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52

'I'll miss you every day that I walk this earth.

'I'll do whatever I can to carry on your legacy and make you proud.

'I love you Dad.'

Memories: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began
Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night.

The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer.

Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand.

On the town: Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night

She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs.

Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos.

The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection.

When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby.'

Chic to the hilt: The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer

Family matters: Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand

What a look: She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs

A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

The caption set online tongues wagging, and an E! News insider gossiped: 'Kylie talks about having another baby very frequently'

To hear this source tell it: 'She would love to have another baby with Travis and would love to be pregnant by next year. She talks about it all the time and feels like she was truly meant to be a mother.'

Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga.

Hoofing it: Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos

Recovery: The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection

Bombshell: When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby'

Late that year, she was the subject of a storm of pregnancy rumors, but kept publicly mum on the subject until their baby was born in February 2018.

In the midst of a widely covered scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had sex with U.S. President Donald Trump, the baby was named Stormi.

Tyga has a six-year-old son called King Cairo with Blac Chyna, who shares a two-year-old daughter called Dream with Kylie's half-brother Rob Kardashian.

Specifics: A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

History: Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga

Steamy: The mom-of-one set pulses racing later with a provocative Instagram post
Brittney Weldon just finished her stint on Australia's Bachelor in Paradise, but she's already keen to join the American version of the show.

When asked about it by fans during an Instagram Q&A with her Bachelor in Paradise co-star Rachael Gouvignon, the reality star said she'd 'definitely' be up for a stint on the American series.

'I totally would, but I haven't been asked!' the 26-year-old exclaimed.

'Definitely!' Bachelor in Paradise star Brittney Weldon has revealed that she's keen to star on the American version of the show

Rachael was more hesitant about doing another season of Paradise, offering a less enthusiastic 'maybe' when pressed.

On Friday, Daily Mail Australia revealed that producers behind The Bachelor franchise in America are considering casting some Aussie talent for the show's upcoming sixth season.

A handful of names are already being thrown around, with Rachael and Alex Nation at the top of the list.

Coming to America? Producers behind the American Bachelor franchise are looking to cast stars from the Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise. (Pictured: Alex Nation)

'Bachelor in Paradise is far more extreme in the US than Australia, so producers are only interested in people who are outgoing and dramatic,' an insider revealed.

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up,' the source continued.

'Plus, she's been on the show three times now so she's knows what's expected and how to deliver on camera.'

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up!' Rachael Gouvignon (pictured) and Alex Nation are the main names being considered for the show

Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise.

'She's gorgeous and she forms connections with a lot of people in a short amount of time, both men and women,' the insider said of Alex.

'Her sexuality will bring some much needed diversity to the show, which is something fans have been clamouring for.'

'She's gorgeous!' Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise

Paddy Colliar, James Trethewie and Brittney Weldon are also being considered.

'Paddy and Brittney are hilarious and would fit right in with the American version, which is a lot funnier and more tongue-in-cheek,' the source said.

'James could be good but he's more reserved than the others, so producers need to find him an American match who is genuine about finding love to make it worthwhile.'

Comedic relief? Brittney Weldon (pictured) has also made the list thanks to her hilarious antics on Bachelor in Paradise this year

Producers are only looking at Bachelor stars that are currently single, leaving some regretting going public with their relationships.

'So many people went public with new relationships recently and I know they must be kicking themselves right now!' a Bachelor source revealed.

This isn't the first time that Aussies have been cast for the American Bachelor franchise.

Bring the boys out! Producers are also keen on Paddy Colliar and James Trethewie for the show

Producers first toyed with the idea back in 2016 for the third season, before Keira Maguire was officially cast as an intruder for the fourth season.

However, right before flying to Mexico to start filming, a sexual incident between cast members Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson resulted in production being halted - leading to Keira's role being canceled.

The Bachelor spin-off Winter Games went on to cast a number of international participants last year, including Australia's own Tiffany Scanlon and Courtney Dober.
Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth was on lunch duty at Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a suspected knife attacker on the school grounds, it has been reported.

Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler, 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday.

Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Private Sydney on Saturday, the couple were actually on the grounds during the police lock-down.

Thor blimey! Chris Hemsworth (pictured) and his wife Elsa Pataky were reportedly on the grounds of Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a person who allegedly stabbed a teacher in the face on Tuesday

The school was locked down for four hours during the alarming incident.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Chris Hemsworth's management and Byron Bay Public School for comment on this story.

Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is recovering after receiving cuts to his face and and arm at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Close call! Chris and Elsa were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Confidential on Saturday, the couple were reportedly on the grounds during the four-hour police lock-down

Hands-on dad! Earlier that day Chris and Elsa, who live in Byron Bay, arrived with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the school canteen

Chris and Elsa, who are parents to daughter India, six, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, five, had arrived at the school with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the cafeteria.

Police allege that Sbaraini and Mr Vockler were 'speaking on the premises before she approached him with what's believed to be a pair of scissors'.

Sbaraini fled the scene after the alleged attack, but was later arrested at her home on Beachside Drive in Suffolk Park at about 10.30am.

Disturbing incident: Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler (left), 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday

She was found crouching in her backyard when police arrived and questioned for hours before being taken to the station.

Later that day, she was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and trespassing.

She was refused bail and will face Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

In footage shared to Instagram just hours after the alleged incident, Chris and Elsa were seen carrying food into the school before helping out at the canteen.

Elsa captioned one of the clips: 'Another dad to help in the canteen today!'

Another video showed them inside the canteen preparing food with the other parents.

Having a laugh: Footage shared to Instagram showed Chris and Elsa inside the canteen preparing food with other parents

At one stage, Chris said, 'I've got a bigger pile than you', and gestured towards a mound of sushi rolls wrapped in paper on the table in front of him.

He then started rolling out more sushi servings while singing happily: 'Roll, roll, roll your boat!'

The other volunteer parents smiled and told Chris he didn't do 'too bad', to which he replied: 'Too bad? We dominated! Dominated!'
She has been giving fans a better glimpse into her life as a mother-of-one, by sharing more and more pictures of her daughter Mae, four, on social media.

And proving just how smitten she is with her mini-me, Kate Ritchie penned an open letter to her daughter in the new issue of Marie Claire, ahead of Mother's Day.

In the heartfelt note, the former Home and Away star, 40, gushed that life without Mae would be 'unimaginable', as she revealed becoming a mother has taught her to 'accept herself and her body'.

'Life without you seems unimaginable' Kate Ritchie, 40, has penned a heartfelt open letter to her daughter Mae, four, in the new issue of Marie Clarie

Addressing her daughter, Kate wrote in part of the letter: 'A life without you seems unimaginable and goodness knows who I'd be today if you hadn't come along to change me and my life.'

The actress added: 'You are teaching me to accept myself and value myself, especially when it comes to my body.'

She also credited Mae for helping her to be 'brave' and 'patient'.

'Greatest gift': The former Home and Away star described her little girl as an 'inspiration' and said Mae has helped her to 'accept herself and her body'

Kate concluded: 'You are my greatest gift, achievement and inspiration and I will feel this way even when you're a teen slamming doors in the hallway, just as I did.'

The letter made no mention of Kate's husband of nine years, Stuart Webb, who was charged with drink driving in March.

Stuart, 38, reportedly ran a red light on Avoca Street in Randwick, just a short distance from the couple's home.

Family: Kate's letter didn't mention her husband of nine years Stuart Webb, who is facing drink driving charges after running a red light in March

Police later learned he was also allegedly driving on a suspended licence.

If convicted, the former Sydney Roosters and St George Dragons player faces a further six-month licence suspension for the drink-driving offence alone, while driving without a licence carries up to 12 months in prison.

Kate, who shot to fame as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away, married Stuart back in 2010.

They share daughter Mae, who is now featuring more regularly on Kate's social media channels.

Showing her off: Kate has been giving fans a better insight into her life as a mother by posting more frequent snaps of daughter Mae online

Previously, Kate wanted to protect her daughter's identity and refrained from posting her face on Instagram.

She has since changed her mind and explained to fans that she was 'tired of protecting' Mae and wants to 'rejoice' in her little girl instead.

Kate said: 'I don't often share this most precious being but sometimes I am tired of protecting her and want to rejoice in her.

'She is full of wonder in so many ways and she also helps me to simply be me.'
Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York.

The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience.

Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa, 40, posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators.

Limelight: Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York

The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side.

She balanced on a pair of gold ankle-strap stilettos and wore her wavy hair down, turning to the side to treat the audience to multiple angles of her outfit.

While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania.

Dolores herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin.

Fun for the whole family: The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience

Life begins at 40: Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators

When you got it, flaunt it: The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side

Mingling: While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania

What a night: Dolores (right) herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to former New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin

At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider.

Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants.

While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno.

Fabulous: At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs (center) and Jackie Goldschneider (right)

Exquisite: Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants

Date night: While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno

However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand.

Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie.

Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress.

Feel the heat: However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand

Dynamic duo: Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie

Night out: Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress

Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway.

The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13.

Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa.

Jennifer Aydin, one of the newest members of the hit Bravo series' cast, arrived at the fashion show on the arm of her besuited husband Bill Aydin.

Heartthrob: Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway

Party of three: The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13

Spot the resemblance: Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa
She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson.

And Anne Hathaway landed in JFK on Friday to continue the public relations media blitz for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake.

The 36-year-old Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport.

Model traveler: Anne Hathaway, 36, landed in JFK on Friday

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner was seen with no shirt on as she wore suits for the latest issue of Shape.

The mother-of-one talked about trying to stay positive. 'Finding yourself takes as long as it takes, and I'm still in the process,' said the brunette.

The star has had plenty of his and lows since she became famous with The Princess Diaries. After she won an Oscar for Les Miserables, trolls attacked her viciously. But she has found a way to handle herself.

'Some days are still like, Whoa, I just fell off this cliff again! But learning how to be kind to yourself while youre discovering who you are is something I wish for everybody.

Stunner: The Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport

'Not having all the answers, not knowing what to do, and making mistakesthose arent reasons to beat yourself up.'

And she has also slowed down. 'Before I had my son, I sensed this pressure to fill my schedule,' she said. 'If I wasn't working, I felt like I was wasting time. Now I know I have to build in breaks in my year, and there are times when I'm just not available to work because it's important for me to be home with him.'

Anne's appearance comes after the star admitted she big plans in place for when her little boy is grown, admitting in a candid interview with ITV's Lorraine that she'll spend 'the back half of my life completely sloshed.'

Working hard: She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson

The Hustle is a female-centric remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin.

The Sydney-born star explained that in one of her improv scenes with Anne, she suggested The Devil Wears Prada actress call her a 'big-t*tted Russell Crowe'.

'I insulted Anne a lot in that film and she didnt have many back so I gave her that one,' Rebel told Fitzy and Wippa.

'Thats not really an insult. I think thats a compliment.'

Anne shares three-year-old son Jonathon with her husband Adam Shulman.
Between the Billboard Music Awards and her brother-in-law Joe Jonas' surprise Vegas marriage to actress Sophie Turner, she's had a huge week.

But Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight.

The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top.

Looking good: Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight

The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal.

Chopra clad her feet in patent leather high heeled boots and wore her raven tresses loose and with a center part.

The Baywatch star needed only minimal makeup for the day, allowing her naturally gorgeous features to shine through.

She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year.

Feeling fine: The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top

Strut: The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal

However Nick's brother spent considerably less on his own nuptials to his Game Of Thrones star fiance.

Joe Jonas, 29, surprised fans by exchanging vows with fiancee Sophie Turner, 23, after the awards show in a wedding chapel on the Vegas Strip on Wednesday.

The two, who got engaged in October 2017, opted for a quickie $600 ceremony presided over by an Elvis impersonator and with candy rings.

Priyanka, who has become close friends with the X-Men: Dark Phoenix star, served as Sophie's maid of honor while Nick and brother Kevin were Joe's groomsmen.

Her man: She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year. The pair are seen here Wednesday night
The Hollywood actress recently announced that she is raising her eldest son Jackson, seven, as a girl.

And fully supportive of Jackson's decision to identify as female, Charlize Theron insisted it's 'not for her to decide' who her children are and will instead 'celebrate, love and support' their choices.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's BW magazine, the 43-year-old said she wants her children to enjoy figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Supportive: Charlize Theron has said her children's choices are 'not for her to decide' but to 'support and celebrate' after revealing her eldest child Jackson identifies as a girl

Speaking of the prejudice her children may face, Charlize told the publication: 'My oldest is already a little aware, but I watch that she enjoys this moment.'

'She gets to find herself and who she wants to be - for both my kids, that's not for me to decide.'

Charlize pointed out: 'My job as a parent is to celebrate that and to love and support that... to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be who they want to be.'

'That's not for me to decide, they are born who they are': The 43-year-old actress says she wants Jackson to enjoy finding out who she is without the fear of prejudice

The Long Shot star is he mother to two adopted African-American daughters, now three and seven.

She had introduced her eldest child Jackson as a boy when she first adopted her brood and over the years, rumours circulated suggesting Charlize was raising Jackson as a girl.

Addressing the speculation in April, Charlize confirmed Jackson identifies as female to the US Daily Mail.

When asked about Jackson, she said: 'Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three-years-old and said, "I am not a boy!"'

'So there you go! I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive.'

Charlize, meanwhile, also spoke about her single status in her interview with BW and admitted she always tends to 'make herself smaller' when she is dating to try and 'better' her relationship.

As a result, she admits she would rather 'stay single' instead of changing who she is for a partner, as it only leads to resenting the other person.

'I'd rather be single': Charlize also discussed dating in her interview with BW magazine and insisted she'd rather be single than changing who she is to be in a relationship

Charlize recently found herself at the centre of rumours she is dating Brad Pitt, but was quick to deny such speculation and shut down the claims.

She previously dated her Trapped co-star Stuart Townsend between 2001 and 2010, with the actor giving her a 'commitment ring' during their relationship.

Charlize later became engaged to Sean Penn. They were together for two years, later ending their relationship in 2015.
Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green.

The 'Hot Felon', 35, shared a snap of the Topshop heiress, 28, alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine, in Monaco.

Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours.'

Love: Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green, sharing a photo of her alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine

Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage.

The model's tribute to his other half comes after rumours of a split swirled after Chloe stepped out without her 'engagement' ring in London earlier this week.

Chloe ditched her sparkling diamond band for a photocall, although she has been seen without the bling before.

The couple are parents to son Jayden Meeks-Green, one, and in October Jeremy hinted that he is set to wed Chloe imminently.

Post: Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours'

They fuelled engagement rumours after she was spotted flashing a jaw-dropping diamond ring on her wedding finger last year.

When speaking to US Weekly, the model teased 'maybe' when asked if they were set to take the next step in their relationship anytime soon.

Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht.

Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength and the couple welcomed Jayden at the end of May last year.

Split: Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage

Romance: Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht

In March, Chloe and Jeremy looked happier than ever as they jetted off on a romantic break to Thailand and shared a slew of snaps from their idyllic getaway.

The couple enjoyed some alone time together as they continue to settle into their roles as parents.

Before their holiday, the lovebirds were hit with rumours they had a public spat in Dubai in February, where hunky Jeremy stormed out of a club - leaving Chloe alone.

However, insiders revealed to MailOnline of their latest sighting in Thailand: 'They seemed really happy in each other's company and there was no sign of a strain in their relationship as has been reported recently.'
She's been dating NRL star Braith Anasta since early 2016.

And on Friday night, Rachael Lee and Braith looked as loved-up as ever as they celebrated the brunette beauty's 31st birthday in Sydney.

Heading to China Doll restaurant, Rachael shared photos from the night with her hunky boyfriend, labeling him: 'The absolute love of my life.'

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'Absolute love of my life!' Rachael Lee cuddles up to NRL boyfriend Braith Anasta in a thigh-skimming yellow frock as she celebrates her 31st birthday in Sydney on Friday night

Rachael stunned in a thigh-skimming yellow floral dress, as Braith looked smart in jeans and a black T-shirt.

Braith, 34, also uploaded an affectionate image of the pair from the evening to his Instagram, as they sporting huge smiles.

'Yes I know... I'm batting overs,' he wrote in his caption.

It all started with a kiss: Braith, 34, also uploaded to his Instagram the same picture where the pair can be seen sporting huge smiles

Time to celebrate: Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photo's with friends from the evening sharing laughs at dinner

In another photograph, Rachel can be seen giving Braith a big smooch on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photos with friends from the evening.

The entourage then appeared to go to another bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations.

'Amaaazing night w my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote

Heating up the dance floor: The entourage then went to a bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations

'Amaaazing night with my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote.

The couple, who welcomed their first child together, daughter Gigi in January last year, have been dating since 2016.

Rachael is also a mother to eight-year-old son Addison from a previous relationship, while Braith is a father to five-year-old Aleeia from his former marriage to Jodi Gordon.

Jodi and Braith confirmed their separation in 2015 after three years of marriage.
They welcomed their first child together, a son, in February this year.

And now Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday.

The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre.

Happy: Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday

Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms.

He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look.

Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels.

Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection.

Loved-up: The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre

Laid back: Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms

The couple looked more loved-up than ever as they hugged and laughed on the red carpet.

Richard even lovingly put a protective arm around his wifes waist as they smiled for waiting photographers.

The pair were joined by a plethora of other celebrities at the event including Robert De Niro, 75, and Michael Douglas, 74.

Keeping things casual: He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look

Glam: Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels

Dressed to impress: Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection

Gangs all here! Billy Lyons, Robert De Niro, Wynn Handman, Michael Douglas and Richard posed for a group shot

Also in attendance at the premiere were Billy Lyons and Wynn Handman.

It Takes A Lunatic is a documentary film about the life and pioneering work of Wynn and The American Place Theatre.

According to the Tribeca Film Festival website, the film focuses on Wynn who was 'known for bringing voices worth hearing to the American stage'.

Oh baby! Richard and his wife Alejandra welcomed their first child together in Febrruary, a son born in New York City (pictured together in May 2017)

Richard and Alejandra, who's son Alexander was born in New York, revealed that they were expecting their first child together back in September.

Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama - who put his hand on her bump to bless the unborn child. Gere is a long-term friend of the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled spiritual leader.

A Buddhist himself, Gere is a prominent advocate for human rights in Tibet - something he says led to him being blacklisted in Hollywood. His support for the state also led to him being banned from entering China.

News: The couple announced they were expecting their first child together back in September, when Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama

Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together.

Respected Madrid-based daily newspaper ABC broke the news of Geres wedding to the pretty Spaniard, 33 years his junior, earlier this year and first reported the pregnancy last month.

Pretty Woman star Gere tied the knot with Alejandra at a civil ceremony in Spain in April before celebrating the occasion with friends and family at his home near New York the following month.

Love and marriage: Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together. (pictured in October 2018)

Both Alejandra and Richard are already parents to a child each from previous relationships. Richard has a son called Homer  who celebrates his 19th birthday this month  with former wife Carey Lowell.

They married in 2002 and split 14 years later. He had previously been married to first wife Cindy Crawford for four years between 1991 and 1995.

Alejandra, who met her current husband while divorcing her first husband Govind Friedland, the son of mining magnate Robert Friedland, has a five-year-old son called Alberto, who she affectionately she calls Albertino.

Gere met wife Alejandra back in 2014 at a luxury Italian boutique hotel Alejandra bought with her former husband and was managing at the time.
She recently revealed how menopause has 'crippled' her sex life and left her 'wiped out physically and mentally'.

But Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram.

The blonde beauty, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach with her hands on her hips.

Pose: Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram

Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace which settled on her trim frame.

And she wore her blonde locks loose around her shoulders as she dried off after a dip in the Aegean Sea.

Meg later posted a clip of herself on her seventh day of weight training inside the lavish Macakizi Hotel.

Relax: The entrepreneur, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach

Delicate: Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace settled on her trim frame

In the caption of her snap, she wrote: 'Day 7 feeling better chest infection / cough still not feeling great but having my implants out have been the best thing I have done.

'But hanging in there as don't want to spoil this much needed rest and ... and the sun and sea ... #megsmenopause #menopause #53 #lovelife #noimplants #silicone free'.

It comes after Meg revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'.

The 53-year-old spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers.

Getting older: Meg recently revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'

Breaking the stigma around menopause, she told Closer Magazine: 'I lost all my libido, I was like "urgh, dont come near me", I just wanted the whole bed to myself.'

'The minute he wanted to have sex with me I was like, "get off", it was the last thing that I was feeling.

'But you need keep masturbating because when you stop having sex, you don't miss it, after four or five weeks, you're much happier to just cuddle up with your dog.'

Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set.

Honest: Meg spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers (pictured last month)

In the 90's Meg would spend her nights partying away with the likes of Kate Moss, Davinia Taylor and Sadie Frost.

So when menopause hit her 'like a tsunami' at the age of 48, Meg initially feared her rock 'n' roll lifestyle had caught up with her because she didn't realise her symptoms were the onset of menopause.

The entrepreneur stayed in the house for the next three months battling social anxiety and mental issues which made her life feel 'really overwhelming'.

Party girl: Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set (pictured with Kate Moss and Fran Cutler in 1988)

Reformed: Meg is now a devoted mother-of-one to her 19-year-old daughter Anais (pictured in February) and prefers a quieter life than her 90's rock 'n' roll lifestyle

The mother-of-one, who shares 19-year-old daughter Anais with Noel, started taking hormone replacement therapy a year later and found her symptoms alleviated.

She has since launched her own MegsMenopause product range to help women cope with the symptoms.

The reformed party girl recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health.

She shared a number of lists to show the negative side effects of having the cosmetic procedure, alongside a candid before and after shot of herself.

The side-by-side comparison saw her pose in the same coral pink bikini which had a patterned hem, and in the first image the top could barely contain her assets before the removal.

Happy: Meg recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health

Alongside it, Meg posed for a mirror selfie so that she could showcase her noticeably smaller chest, as large plasters were placed on either side of her rib cage, and stuck out from underneath the bikini top.

Speaking honestly, she wrote: 'The best thing I did was taking my implants out 2 years ago.'

In December 2017, she admitted to Lizzy Cundy during an interview on Fubar Radio that it was time to 'take it down a notch', and has said goodbye to fake nails and false lashes as well as going back to a B cup from a DD.

The '90s it girl explained that she had been struggling with social anxiety and not able to leave the house, and that she felt better when she removed her implants 21 years after getting them done.

Meg admitted she said that she wished she had done it ages ago, as she said: 'You get in to your 50s I think we try and stay young, I thought just let it go, come to terms with it.

'I can still wear all my clothes  they just look better. I have a Celine [the French luxury label] cashmere jumper and, with big boobs, it looked rubbish. Now, it looks amazing. I was a DD; Im now a B.'
Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview.

The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby for Hunger magazine in 2013.

Phillip - who was a CBBC host from 1985 to 1987 - told Holly he 'partied a bit' as a 'lad' but never lost his 'son of Enid Blyton' image because he knew to stay out of central London.

Confession: Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview

He said: 'It wasn't a case of hiding it. I did the same as everybody else. I was a lad, we partied a bit, but I didn't hide anything. It's just that nobody bothered to look in the right place.

'We were simply getting leathered in Chiswick where we lived at the time. Everybody knew us and nobody was bothered, and nobody would tell. So I got away with it.'

The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Past: The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star for Hunger magazine in 2013 (Pictured with Sara Greene of Going Live! in 1990)

Scandal: The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall

Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes.

He confessed: 'We got in the car and we drove through Checkpoint Charlie with these two East German hookers, no questions asked. God knows what the children's television would have thought!'

But despite his boozy past, the presenter - who has daughters Ruby, 23, and Molly, 26, with wife Stephanie Lowe - said he 'never got much into drugs' because he 'wasn't very good at it'.

Drinking buddies: Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes (Pictured with Holly and Steve Wilson)

His confession comes after Holly evealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out.

The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air.

The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio.

Nightmare: It comes after Holly Willoughby also revealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out

However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning.

She told the Mail On Sunday's Live magazine: 'There were times when we went straight from the hotel bar to going live on air.

'Everyone in children's TV drinks until 5am. If you mess up, no one cares. It got a bit too wild when my breast popped out of my dress.'

Had a shocker! The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air

Messy: The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio

'It doesn't help when you read the script and you've got to drink anchovies in custard with some eight year old. No matter how hard you scrub in the shower, you can't get the smell of custard pie off your skin.'

Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV children's game show which saw Holly dress as a French maid and even boast a cockney accent, encouraging her guests- and celebrity guests- to catapult sweet treats off a skateboard.

The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood.

Yuck! However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning

Co-hosts: The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood

Holly and Stephen have stayed firm friends over the years after their two-year presenting stint together on the children's television show.

As their friendship has flourished over time, their presenting careers have blossomed in the limelight.

Holly's most recent success includes reportedly securing a six-figure sum to step into the embattled star Ant McPartlin's shoes for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

Day job: She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip Schofield since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm

She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm.

Holly's hectic schedule has also included her Dancing On Ice hosting role, which she reprised in 2018 after the show returned following a seven-year hiatus.

Despite her clean-cut image, Holly also showcases her cheekier side during appearances on Celebrity Juice, which she has been a team captain on since 2008.

Holly is a firm fan-favourite on the programme, which she worked on alongside her pal Keith Lemon and best pal Fearne Cotton, until she left in 2018.

True love: During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side throughout, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin

Big brood: They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four

Before embarking on her TV career, she was signed to British icon Kate Moss' former modelling agency Storm Models at the tender age of 14.

During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin.

Sparks first flew between producer Dan and Holly when they met during their time on Ministry Of Mayhem and enjoyed a secret romance.

Speaking of their relationship, Holly previously explained: 'At first, I didn't fancy Dan at all  I didn't even think about it,' she revealed to Woman & Home. 'I don't think he could have fancied me either because it was such a genuine friendship.'

However their friendship proved to be a firm foundation for their romance, as six months after meeting they embarked on a relationship.

After just 18 months of dating Dan popped the question and the couple later tied the knot in 2007 in a lavish ceremony.

They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four.
She has just returned from a sun-drenched trip to Dubai.

But no sooner had she landed, Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page.

The Love Island star, 21, showcased her peachy posterior in a very high-rise white swimsuit as she leaned against the pool bar in a casual fashion.

'Not your baby: Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page

She added a defiant caption to the image which read 'Not your baby', following her recent split from her convicted fraudster ex Medi Abalimba.

Georgia looked typically glamorous in the visually pleasing snap, as she showcased her glowing tan which was only accentuated by the bright white swimwear.

She coordinated her stylish look with a pair of kooky white cat-eye shades, which helped to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunshine.

Beach babe: Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches

The Celebs Go Dating star opted for a signature full face of make-up, while wearing her glossy locks in perfectly styled curls.

Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches.

She rocked a skimpy neon green bikini for the shot, while wearing her long locks in French braids and posing up a storm for the camera.

Wow! Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection

Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection.

The appearance follows Georgia's emotional interview with The Sun earlier this month, in which the Celebs On The Ranch star said: 'I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone.

'I was in my flat and I've never been in a situation like that in my life. I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.'

Ex: She recently claimed her ex Medi Abalimba had stolen 'tens of thousands of pounds' from her following their split, despite her former flame, 26, protesting it had 'nothing to do with him'

She added that she had confronted Medi about her missing funds, but he said it was nothing to do with him.

Georgia said the matter is now in the hands of the police and MailOnline contacted her spokesperson for further information at the time.

The Love Island star has just appeared on Celebs Go Dating after splitting from ex-boyfriend Sam Bird in 2018 after moving in to their very own love pad together following the hit ITV2 show.
She regularly turns heads with her sensational sense of style.

And Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday.

The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim miniskirt.

Stunning: Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday

She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt and styled her blonde locks into loose waves.

The reality star is one of several famous mothers who are currently selling their children's used clothes online.

Ferne, who is worth a reported 2.7million, is the most active on the Market For Mums app with 26 listings for clothes worn by her 18-month-old daughter Sunday, and has so far made 257 from the site.

The app, which promises buyers gorgeous one-offs from celebrity mums', is where Ferne is selling her daughter's used items, ranging from 5 for a pair of baby top to 25 for a 'balloon dress and frilly knickers' set.

Fashion: The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim mini-skirt

Other celebrity mums are also a fan of the app, with Mario Falcone's wife Becky Miesner selling her breast pump.

Love Island star Tyla Carr's items are on sale on the app too, as well as Teen Mom UK's Amber Butler's belongings.

The Market of Mums website revealed: 'Were a group of Mums and shopping experts who got fed up hunting through apps to find nice stuff for our kids.

Style: She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt

Ensemble: Ferne also sported cream handbag and a pair of bracelets for the fun event

Look: The TV star styled her blonde locks into loose waves for the day

'So we made our own, for busy parents like us.'

Last month, Ferne informed her Instagram followers of the app, revealing: 'Hey parents. Ive just joined a great app called @marketofmums where you can sell all your unwanted or second hand baby items.

'Its ideal for clearing out all your childrens outgrown clothes and accessories whilst supporting other parents! Ive added a few items already and all the sales made through the app help support the childrens charity BLISS.'
Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'.

The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview with The Guardian's Weekend magazine.

But Richard added that he firmly believes directors should cast 'the best actor for the role' - regardless of their personal life or sexual orientation.

Terrible: Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'

He said: 'It's a really terrible route to go down if we start restricting people's casting based on their personal lives. We have to focus more on diversity and having everyone represented, but also I'm a firm believer in the best actor for the role.'

Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic.

Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality after he famously came out as bisexual in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976.

Backlash: Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic

Candid: The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview

Richard, who plays Elton's manager and lover John Reid in the film, went on to describe the Tiny Dancer hit-maker as a 'very interesting and interested man'.

The role is the latest in a long line of impressive bookings for the actor - who has previously starred as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and the Prince in Disney's live-action retelling of Cinderella.

The actor said he put on weight through on-set catering when he was younger - but decided to shed the extra pounds when he applied for drama school at 18.

Good choice? Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality

He said: 'I didn't want to be the fattest boy in drama school'.

Richard also revealed he doesn't like the look of himself in the mirror, and joked he loves 'a high waist, always good for a fat lad'.

The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard.

On playing the stony-faced character, he said: 'Likable is the actor's flaw. It's something I've tried to shake off over the years.'

Smash hit: The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard (Pictured with Keeley Hawes)

Anxiety: Taron, 29, admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24

Richard's comments come after Taron admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24.

Speaking in GQ magazine's May edition, the actor spoke candidly about the life changing role as he discussed possible LGBTQ backlash, taking on a musical icon, and why life will never be the same from now on.

He reasoned: 'I've approached it wholeheartedly and I hope that for that reason people accept me [as Elton].

'The LGBTQ community has always been about inclusiveness, hasn't it? Not about "We're here. You're there." In fact, if you want to come in, come on in.'

He continued: 'It was a fairly revolutionary time. Men were more outlandish. We didn't have role models like that when we were growing up. Sometimes, I think I'm from a time gone by, born too late.'
Margot Robbie jetted home to the Gold Coast in time to attend her grandmother's burial on Saturday.

First reported in the Sydney Morning Herald's Emerald City, the Australian actress left New York on Friday after having attended the Tribeca film festival.

The 28-year-old joined her loved ones, including brother Cameron Robbie, at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs.

Loss: Margot Robbie, 28, flew back home to the Gold Coast in time for her grandmother Narnie's burial on Saturday. Pictured on April 29 at the Tribeca film festival in New York

Emerald City understands that Margot's family held a funeral service on April 26 at Southport's Trinity Lutheran Church.

However they decided to delay the burial until Saturday in order for Margot to arrive home in time.

Margot's grandmother Verna, 92, who was affectionately called 'Narnie', passed away on April 13.

Just days prior to the burial, the I, Tonya star was pictured looking understandably downcast in New York.

Support: Margot is understood to have joined her loved ones at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs, in time for Saturday's burial. Pictured at the Tribeca film festival on April 28

Margot had been attending a slew of events at the Tribeca film festival, promoting her latest movie Dreamland.

She stars in the film opposite Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Kerry Condon, Finn Cole and Darby Camp.

Margot plays a seductive bank robber on the run in 1930s Texas while Cole is an innocent young man who falls under her spell.

The drama, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, is adapted from a screenplay by Nicolaas Zwart and got its official premiere last Sunday at Tribeca.

Prior to the festival Margot and her English husband Tom Ackerley returned from a vacation in the Caribbean.

The pair wed in a private Byron Bay ceremony on the New South Wales coast of Australia, and are now based in Los Angeles.
Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason is ready to admit he has issues he needs to work on, following a brutal incident that left their family dog Nugget dead.

Eason has apparently come to terms with the fact he has serious anger issues, according to an insider who spoke to TMZ, and is now 'ready' to seek therapy or get into an anger management program.

But the reality person can't undo the damage done to Teen Mom 2, which has lost a number of key sponsors amid the controversy.

Ready for help: David Eason, the husband of Teen Mom 2's Jenelle Evans, is ready to admit he has serious anger problems and get help following a brutal incident that left their family dog death

Eason has come to terms with the fact that his anger issues are out of control and is ready to get the help he needs. It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant, and had previously admitted that she's 'thought' about divorce.

All the while, MTV is dealing with the fall out from the controversy, even though they already axed David from the show last year for making homophobic and transphobic comments online.

The pet company Greenies was one of the first to take a stand, tweeting: 'We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty. We can now confirm that, as a result of this incident, our GREENIES ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming.'

Chipotle also announced they were pulling their support, tweeting: 'We are no longer airing our ads during episodes of Teen Mom.'

Dove Chocolate echoed those sentiments, writing, We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.

Twix candy echoed the sentiment, writing: We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.'

Blow back: Teen Mom 2 has lost several sponsors over the dog controversy, even though Eason left the show last year

It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant

David admitted to killing the family dog via social media earlier this week.

He defended killing the defenseless animal on social media Wednesday, sharing a video on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face.

Eason took to his HickTownKing Instagram page and posted the clip showing Nugget on the couch with his daughter Ensley who tries to go in for a kiss.

Instead of intervening between the animal, who is clearly uncomfortable as it cowers and pulls away from the little girl, Eason sits across the room and films the dog nip back at the girls face, causing her to cry.

He also shared a photo of a tearful toddler after the incident with a slight red welt on her cheek, the skin having not been broken by the dogs teeth.

Heartless: In response to the accusations that he killed the defenseless animal, Eason shared a video in his defense on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face while he sat across the room and watched

Proof? Eason shared a photo of his daughter after the nip that showed a small welt as the dogs teeth had not broken the skin

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption.

'I'm all about protecting my family, it is my lifes mission,' he continued.

He wrote: 'Some people are worth killing or dying for and my family means that much to me. You can hate me all you want but this isnt the first time the dog bit Ensley aggressively. The only person that can judge weather or not a animal is a danger to MY CHILD is ME.'

Eason turned off the comments function on the video post.

People were horrified when the brutal details of the dog murder emerged earlier this week.

The hunting enthusiast was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast.

Horrible: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast; seen on Instagram

Sad: The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death

The Teen Mom 2 star 'grabbed the dog by the throat and slammed it on the ground' before throwing the helpless animal into the kitchen table after filming the French Bulldog nipping at their two-year-old daughter Ensley.

The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything' to Jenelle.

The Attorney General's Office in North Carolina reportedly received 138 complaints from the animal welfare office once news broke that the dog had been killed, according to TMZ.

Sources revealed to the publication that Animal Control will be sending an officer to Jenelle's home on Thursday to 'confirm the dog is dead' and verify who has 'possession of the dog's corpse.

Law enforcement officials did later confirm to TMZ that a home check did take place, and the officers were able to drive onto the property through an open gate.

The Animal Control officers did see a grey pit bull on the porch, along with numerous 'No Trespassing' signs.

Sources claim that the Animal Control officers feared for their safety and left the property, alerting the Sheriff's Department who would come in and complete the visit.

Officers were hoping to determine whether or not Nugget was still alive, and whose name was on the ownership papers for the dog.

Later this afternoon, a source close to Jenelle told TMZ that right after Nugget 'nipped at his daughter,' David took the dog out back and slammed it repeatedly into their backyard shed, and then took the dog into the woods and shot it.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything to Eason

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office confirmed later on Thursday afternoon that they are conducting a 'joint investigation into allegations of animal cruelty' with Columbus County Animal Control.

Jenelle told US Weekly that she's had 'thoughts' of divorcing Eason, 'but nothing is finalized,' adding that 'David and I are not on talking terms.'

In North Carolina, killing a dog is a Class H Felony under the Animal-Cruelty statute.

But officials told TMZ on Wednesday that they will only go after David if Jenelle reports him.

On Tuesday unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter.

Eason's reality star wife took to social media to express her grief at the situation.

'Nugget... Im crying everyday. I love you so much and Im so sorry. Im speechless. You were my side kick and knew the moment I felt bad and would cuddle with me,' she penned.

Adding: 'You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons. Everyday I wake up youre not here, when I come home youre not here, when I go to bed... youre not here. Youre gone forever and theres no coming back. #Heartbroken #Distraught.'

Jenelle had adopted the French bulldog in August and the couple also has two Pitbulls.

Unsafe: The couple have two other dogs, pitbulls, the safety of status of which are unknown

Eason made it clear he had no comment about the incident when he appeared in court to pay $5k of back child support Friday in North Carolina.

David proved he was not to be trifled with when a photog/reporter for local station WSFX asked about the canine's murder.

'Don't get in my face, bro. I promise you don't want to do that,' 2nd amendment enthusiast Eason threatened in video obtained by TMZ .

Eason and the photog's tense exchange happened after the former appeared in court over $5187 he owed in child support.

Though he was at risk of being sent to jail for failing to pay child support, Eason originally showed up to court without the money he owed.

The judge granted him a small reprieve, allowing him to come up with the money by the end of day. He returned with the money shortly after time in court.

But Eason still faces serious accusations from Olivia Leedham, a woman he dated briefly in 2013 and subsequently had a son with.

Tough guy: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason threatened a photographer who asked him questions about killing the family dog when he appeared at a North Carolina courthouse Friday. He was in court over $5k of unpaid child support

Horrifying: An unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter

The pair have been embroiled in a tense custody battle for years.

In court, Leedham claimed Eason was physically abusive to her. Among her her claims, that Eason shoved her while eight-months pregnant and that he left her in the middle of the road at night when she was seven-months pregnant.

She also said Eason was 'thousands' of dollars behind in child support.

Eason has been accused of domestic violence in the past. Last fall Evans called 911 claiming her husband 'assaulted' her, causing her to break her collarbone.

'He got violent because he's been drinking,' Evans sobbed to the 911 operator in October.

'I'm recovering from a surgery on Monday. I can't breathe. I have four kids in the house with me right now. They're all sleeping. I don't know what to do. He left the house. I don't know what to do right now.'

But the reality star later dismissed the incident as a drunken misunderstanding.




Her glitzy looks and outrageous curves have made her a style icon.

And Dolly Parton is now throwing her cowboy hat into the fashion ring, set to launch her own clothing line according to WWD Friday.

The Jolene crooner, 73, explained how 'excited' she is about her forthcoming line of clothing, jewelry, accessories and home goods in a statement to the publication.

Fashion icon: Dolly Parton (above 2016) is giving fans the opportunity to embrace her style, set to launch a fashion line with IMG

Speaking about her multi-year partnership with high-powered management company IMG, she said: 'I am excited to be working with IMG on a global scale to give my fans products that they will cherish for years to come.

'You might even see my mug on a mug,' she joked.

IMG's VP of licensing Gary Krakower explained how 'thrilled' the company is to work with Dolly, telling WWD: 'Dolly Parton is an international icon and we are thrilled to be working with her.

'Together, we look forward to building cohesive lifestyle brand products that will celebrate Dolly and bring her iconic style and personality to her millions of fans worldwide in engaging new ways.'

More information about the line and its release date will be forthcoming.

Yee-haw! Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late. Above the beauty is seen in '77

Signature style: Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour. Above Dolly's seen in 2017 on The Tonight Show

Dolly has never shying away from sartorial drama through her six decade career.

Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour.

And it's said that Parton and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year.

Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late.

Lots o' looks! It's said that Parton (2002 above) and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year

Muse: Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection

Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest. Her face was also emblazoned onto a sweater.

Though she'll be a newcomer to fashion, Dolly has a number of other business ventures.

Her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee will celebrate its 33rd anniversary next year.

And later this year Netflix will debut an eight-part film anthology series, Heartstrings, inspired by her music.

True star: He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest and emblazoning her face onto a sweater
Kylie Minogue has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children.

Reflecting on her 2005 diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family, the pop icon told Sunday Times Style: 'I was 36 when I had my diagnosis (breast cancer). Realistically, youre getting to the late side of things.'

The petite beauty, 50, also spoke to the publication about her new relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons, who is the creative director of British GQ.

'Late side of things': Kylie Minogue, 50, has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children

Speaking of her desire to have children, Kylie explained: 'While that wasnt on my agenda at the time, it changed everything.'

Revealing how she has remained positive, she added: 'I dont want to dwell on it, obviously, but I wonder what that would have been like. Everyone will say there are options, but I dont know.

'Im 50 now, and Im more at ease with my life. I cant say there are no regrets, but it would be very hard for me to move on if I classed that as a regret, so I just have to be as philosophical about it as I can. Youve got to accept where you are and get on with it.'

Kylie also couldn't resist gushing about her new beau Paul, admitting: 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'.

'It changed everything': The pop icon reflecting on her 2005 breast cancer diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family (Pictured 2005)

'Have to accept it and move on': While Kylie admitted that having children 'wasn't on her agenda at the time', it changed everything

She shared: 'I can feel my face going, people say "Your face changes when you take about him," and it does.

'Happiness. Hes an inspiring, funny, talented guy. Hes got a real-life actual job! Its lovely.'

Meanwhile, Kylie has bagged herself a space in the famous afternoon Legend Sunday slot of the Glastonbury festival coming up this summer in 2019.

She was previously booked to play at the festival in 2005 but was forced to bow out after being given a breast cancer diagnosis.

'Happiness': The petite beauty also spoke to the publication about her relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons who is the creative director of British GQ

Smitten: Continuing to gush about her new beau Paul, Kylie revealed 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'

Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday.

She said: 'I keep losing my breath. Everytime someone mentions Glastonbury Im like, "yup, thats happening.

'It was 2005 and that was thrilling at that time that I was going to play Glastonbury. Then I received my diagnosis which put a halt to everything.

'All these years have passed and I was thinking, "well I guess thats never going to happen for me, I missed the boat on that."

'Then bang, I was offered the Legends slot which is incredibly exciting to me.'

Exciting! Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday

Kylie has been reported to be writing and recording new music recently for Glastonbury.

A source told The Sun: 'Kylie's been writing and recording new music for a while and its likely fans will hear some of the material when she plays Glastonbury in June.

'She's just registered a song called A Rose Is A Rose which she wrote with producer EG White.

'He worked with Kylie on her most recent album and has written songs for big-name artists including Adele and Celine Dion.'

Read Kylie Minogue's full interview in Sunday Times Style.
Line Of Duty wraps things up tonight with a special extended episode.

In theory anyway...

Put another way, only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions.

What's next? Line Of Duty wraps things up tomorrow with a special extended episode, and put another way, that leaves only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions

Why did Supt. Ted Hastings misspell definately for example, and why did no one else in AC-12 notice?

Why had he accepted that 50, 000 in cash but not spent some of it on a better hotel - one where he could actually flush the toilet?

Had he really lost thousands in something called The Kettle Bell Complex, which sounded more like one of a conspiracy anthem by Radiohead than a serious investment?

Was Gill Bigelow a baddie or just habitually bitchy? Was it true that you couldnt send flowers to people in hospital anymore, as she told like when she told the Deputy Chief Constable? And were muffins really the right alternative as DCC Wise decided (for Teds wife)?

Dramatic: Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent

Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent. And thats even if Mercurio wanted to, which frankly seems unlikely based on the previous four series.

You might be thinking the big issue in the finale is meant to be: will Superintendent Hastings turn out to be the high-ranking police officer/organised crime boss known as H?

Ironically though, thats the one thing we dont need to worry about.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! (As Ted would say.) Of course he isnt. Hes Ted Hastings!

Hes the last person who could be H.

So many questions: Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow

Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow.

Who is H?

Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out.

But here are 20 questions that should be answered in the Line Of Duty finale.

1. Is Ted Hastings H ?

Just because Hastings told the OCGs Lisa McQueen and Miroslav Minkowicz he was H, has spent the whole series seemingly helping the gang as H would, and misspelt definately like H didnt mean that he was H. We didnt float up the Lagan in a bubble you know Jed.

2. Will Ted go down for being H anyway?

This would give Mercurio a sensational ending for this series and a way to start the next (Arnott and Fleming trying to get him out of prison by exonerating him). Mercurio has dug such a deep hole for his hero its hard to see how he can come up with a convincing story to explain all Teds uncharacteristically strange behaviour and bad decision-making.

Bizarre: Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out

3. For instance why did Supt. Hastings furtively take his laptop to be disposed of in an Electronics Disposal Centre as soon as he learnt Arnott had made contact with undercover cop John Corbett?

This not only seemed highly suspicious but like a lot of trouble to go to  rather than just sticking it in a bin-liner and throwing it away. Where did Ted find a shop like this? Do they even exist?

4. And why had Ted Hastings accepted that Jiffy bag stuffed with 50K in cash and then just kept it on his desk, staring at it for several episodes, for AC-3 to find and use as evidence against him?

Teds explanation to DCS Patricia Carmichael was dodgy ex-detective Mark Moffatt had given him the money using false pretences and that hed been in the process of returning it. Clearly not only inadequate excuses but just not true.

5. Was Ted/Mercurio seriously going to claim hed been posing as H in order to discover Hs identity/trap H?

If Ted was going to use this (ridiculous) defence he was in trouble. H would not be living in a grotty Travelodge like Alan Partridge for a start and wasnt even a good cover story  given that H would want to maintain anonymity and Teds financial difficulties actually attracted suspicion that he was open to corruption.

Pretending to be H was a rubbish plan, as was proved when Lisa McQueen refused to believe H would break his cover at such a dangerous time after all those years undetected. Surely even Ted could see his trap could never work. H would know that Ted wasnt really H - because he was.

Odd: So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

6. If Ted was innocent why didnt he have anyone to corroborate that hed been pretending to be H? Or had been framed and by who?

Ted indignantly insisted to DCS Carmichael that hed been set up, but didnt have the foggiest clue who by. Ted had basically framed himself. He had nothing to corroborate his story about the 50, 000 because - much to Teds amazement, Moffatt hadnt left his fingerprints on the cash. And his visit to OCG member Lee Banks in Blackthorn prison - unaccompanied, unrecorded, and unbeknownst to any of his colleagues in AC-12  looked even more unwise/dubious when Banks failed to deny the accusation Ted had tipped the OCG off that Corbett was an undercover police officer (thus sealing his fate) by answering no comment to AC-3s questions.

7. Why had Ted Hastings spent THE WHOLE SERIES looking so shifty or sweating like the pilot in Airplane?

God knows how Mercurio would explain Teds behaviour  ordering Steve Arnott to shoot Corbett, moving armed officers away from the OCGs raid (allowing the balaclava gang to get away with 50m of stolen goods), panicking when AC-12 discovered a surveillance photo of the figure in the flat cap, or when corrupt PC Jane Cafferty revealed whod recruited her to the gang. No wonder at one point DI Kate Fleming even asked Ted: are you alright Sir?

8. Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

Ted Hastings had clearly been un-co-operative/ wilfully obfuscating regarding his involvement in the murder of John Corbetts mother - a police informant during The Troubles when Hastings was a young officer in the RUC.

Motives: Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

9. So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

Every time Ted said we will get our man or Lisa McQueen argued this is how he operates it seemed more like a red herring.

10. So could Gill Bigelow be H?

The PCCs legal counsel and Ted Hastings man-eating stalker was evil enough. Poor woman, she sighed, about the attack on his wife. At her age... She certainly seems keen on what she called a non-exclusive relationship with the truth. And the way she headed straight into the bathroom when Ted took her back to his hotel was suspiciously gratuitous. Had she been plotting to stitch him up by planting his DNA amongst the condoms discovered in AC-12s raid on the OCGs brothel?

11. Could DS Amanda Powell, DCC Andrea Wise, or DCS Patricia Carmichael be H or corrupt?

Any of these would be a cheap shot by Mercurio given that they had hardly featured. DCC Wise was also nice enough to send Roisin Hastings those muffins.

Sinister: Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

12. Were any minor characters working for the OCG  the likes of PC Tatleen Sohotra, authorised firearms officer Sergeant Kyle Ferringham, AC-3s Martina Trantor, or DS Arnotts ex-girlfriend for example?

The way Tatleen was running AC-12 virtually singlehanded seemed suspicious and DS Sam Railston rather desperate to get close to Steve.

13. Was Ryan Pilkington, the OCG thug who slashed PC Maneet Bindras throat, the new Dot Cottan  the next gang member to be planted in AC-12? (And was he really the kid on the bike in Series One nearly SEVEN years ago?)

It didnt bode well when Lisa McQueen asked Ryan how his exams had gone and heard back that he was preparing for an interview that ruled him out of any more fun with the OCG.

14. Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

Her emotional reaction to the death of Maneet Bindra and the way she spared PC Caffertys life in episode one still contradict her image as the OCGs toughest cookie.

Who is it? Were any minor characters working for the OCG?

15. Could Lisa McQueen be the secret love child of series ones protagonists corrupt cop DCI Tony Gates and his lover Jackie Laverty - whose legs were in Terrys freezer?

This would explain why she seemed so satisfied by John Corbetts demise.

16. Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

Lisa McQueen and the gang had identified Steve from Terrys photos of AC-12 raiding the OCGs print shop.

17. Was DI Kate Flemings life in danger from the OCG?

The way Kate kept telling people like Steff Corbett that shed worked undercover seemed unwise/unprofessional and the soppy scenes of her life at home with her kids and (grumpy) husband worryingly uncharacteristic for Line Of Duty.

Scared: Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

18. Could Kate Fleming be H?

Admittedly the most outlandish rumour amongst LoD websites.

19. Does H actually exist?

The entire theory about the codename H stemmed from Dot Cottan blinking to confirm it just before he died. Kate Fleming was rushing through the alphabet so quickly some fans theory is that he really indicated G.

20. Should the next series of Line Of Duty be about AC-3 given that AC-12 are so useless?

Patricia Carmichael may be more icy and less noble than Ted Hastings but she would be a worthy replacement. And if AC-12 cant even arrest Terry  who lived in the flat opposite the OCGs print shop with Jackie Lavertys legs in his freezer all that time  it seems unlikely they will ever discover who H is.
She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015.

And Bella Hadid made sure her look for this year's affair would be picture perfect, as she headed to a final fitting in NYC on Saturday.

The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers.

Finishing touches: Bella Hadid got ready for Monday's Met Gala by going to a dress fitting in NYC on Saturday

The black and white and red all over Miaou pants, which retail for just under $300, rose high up her hips and featured a row of slick silver buttons and a cropped hem.

Keeping her look nonchalant, she tossed a crisp shirt on top.

Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble while she topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant.

The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun, also framing her face with hoop earrings.

Read all about it! The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers

Bun in the sun: The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun

Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion, which is inspired by the similarly titled Susan Sontag essay Notes On Camp.

Defining 'camp,' the public intellectual described the concept as 'the metaphor of life as theater.'

And while the Gala is known for bringing out the dramatic, stars are said to be worried sick about how to tackle this year's theme.

Cool kicks: Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble

Accessories: She topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant

Camp chic: Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion

'I know some A-listers who regularly attend were unhappy with the looks designers were pitching them,' one fashion insider told Page Six.

'The idea of "camp" is out of their grasp. One major hairstylist to an A-list actress told me, "Shes freaking out because she just wants to look pretty."'

Meanwhile, many are worried about offending the tastes of Ms. Anna Wintour.

As one insider explained: 'You get to the top of the stairs [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art] and... if she isnt smiling, your dress sucks.'

Previous years' themes have include 2015's China: Through The Looking Glass, 2016's Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, 2017's Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, and 2018's Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination.

Freshman year: She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015, above
Billie Lourd honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, marking May 4 Star Wars Day.

The 26-year-old actress posted a shot of herself and her mother with a caption of emojis honoring the nostalgic celebration that plays on the date and a key line throughout the Star Wars anthology, 'May the force be with you.'

Lourd had initially posted the mother-daughter shot prior on December 14, 2015 prior to screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which marked her onscreen entry into the Star Wars universe as the Lieutenant Connix character.

In her heart: Billie Lourd, 26, honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, which marked Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Fisher died at 60 on December 27 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, four days after she had a heart attack on a December 23, 2016 flight from London to Los Angeles.

Her mother and Billie's grandmother, Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds, died after a stroke December 28 as she was planning Fisher's memorial.

Lourd in December took to Instagram with a tribute to her late mother with clips of herself playing the 1967 Nico song These Days - a favorite of Fisher's - on a family heirloom piano.

'It has been two years since my Momby's death and I still don't know what the "right" thing to do on a death anniversary is (I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way about your loved ones),' the actress wrote.

Cherished memories: Lourd posted a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away Thursday

Icon: Fisher was seen in this still from the initial Star Wars film released in 1977

Lourd said that she's coped with the tragic experience by staying busy and keeping good company.

'I've found that what keeps me moving,' she wrote, 'is doing things that make me happy, working hard on the things that I'm passionate about and surrounding myself with people I love and making them smile.

She added that she hoped the emotional clip would inspire others 'feeling a little low or lost to "keep on moving."

'As my Momby once said, "Take your broken heart and turn it into art" - whatever that art may be for you,' she added.

Lourd, who's been seen on Scream Queens and American Horror Story, took to the site Friday with a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew - who passed away Thursday.

Classic: Mark Hamill, Fisher and Harrison Ford are seen in this shot from Star Wars

On the move: The trio was pictured with classic Star Wars characters Chewbacca (played by the late Peter Mayhew) and CP-30 (played by Anthony Daniels) in this shot from 1983's Return of the Jedi

No bargain: The Leia character found herself chained to Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi

Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, John Stamos, Jimmy Fallon and Bret Michaels paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists.

Also chiming in were Star Wars alums Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, who have appeared in recent Star Wars films in the anthology.

Star Wars with the stars: Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists

Hey there: Hollywood stalwart John Stamos posed alongside a shot of of R2-D2 in this retro post he brought back for the special day

Lots of laughs: The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon hearkened back to a bit based on the films

Cloud City checks in: Billy Dee Williams, who plays Lando Calrissian, took to the site with an uplifting message

Amusing: Mark Hamill's tweet inspired a back-and-forth with pop culture king Jeff Goldblum

Nothing but a good time: Poison's Bret Michaels shared a lively concert pic for the occasion

Hulk meets Chewy: The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno shared this shot with characters from the film
Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks

US authorities are seeking to sell a $39-million luxury mansion in Los Angeles allegedly bought by a Malaysian financier with money looted from scandal-hit state fund 1MDB, court documents showed.

Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks.

Financier Low Taek Jho is suspected of playing a central role in the fraud and has been charged in absentia in Malaysia and America, which is seeking to recover assets allegedly bought with looted funds via civil lawsuits.

Among these assets is the mansion in Beverly Hills, a wealthy area of LA that is home to many Hollywood stars, said to have been bought by Low in 2012 with stolen money.

US prosecutors and Low's holding company that owns the property have agreed to try to sell it, according to documents filed in a California court Friday.

"The property is at risk of deterioration and damage as it will likely be uninhabited during" ongoing legal action unless it is sold, the filings said.

"The expense of keeping the property is excessive and/or is disproportionate to its fair market value," they added.

The US legal action linked to the mansion will continue despite the agreement. Proceeds from any eventual sale will be held in a government account until the action ends, the filings said.

Low's spokesman in a statement welcomed the "mutual effort to preserve the property's value while ensuring the owners' claims are protected and may proceed in a timely fashion".

The current whereabouts of Low, who gained a reputation as a jet-setting playboy, are unknown. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The 1MDB scandal played a huge part in the election loss last year of Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

The ex-leader has since been arrested over the fraud and went on trial last month.

Malaysia's new government has re-opened investigations into 1MDB and vowed to get back stolen money. The US is getting ready to return about $200 million of recovered funds to Malaysia, Bloomberg News reported this week.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month's first round.

Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a country deeply polarized between the governing Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE conservatives. Turnout will be crucial, with 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past that point, with a turnout of 41.8%.

Campaigning in the first round centered on a recent deal the Balkan country reached with neighboring Greece to rename itself North Macedonia in exchange for Athens dropping objections to it joining NATO and the European Union. This time round, the candidates have focused more on the issues of corruption, crime, poverty and brain drain.

Here is a look at the two contenders for North Macedonia's presidency.

____

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63 - The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock 'n' roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

A woman walks past a poster of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan "Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls." She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country's name to North Macedonia and had hinted she would challenge the name agreement in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But last week, Siljanovska said during a debate on national television MTV she will not "spend the whole mandate in reviewing the name agreement with Greece."

"I will fight for democratization of the undemocratic Macedonian political system," she added.

During a campaign speech, Siljanovska said her country needs a "radical reversal," and described it as being "in many elements a failed state."

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country's first constitution.

____

Stevo Pendarovski, 56 - A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovski's second bid for the presidency after being defeated by Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He has defended the name deal with Greece, arguing it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan "Forward Together" reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring foreign investment, jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

"People should know what is at stake, they should not stay passive," he said during the television debate. "They have to go out and choose between two concepts - the one that is for progress, cohesion and integration in the strongest international organizations, (and) the other that draws the country back in time."

People walk past a campaign poster of Stevo Pendarovski, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads: "Together Forward", in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Campaign posters of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, left, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, which reads in Macedonian: "Justice for Macedonia" and a poster of Stevo Pendarovski, right, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads in Macedonian: "Together Forward", are placed in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied. People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some "pretty radical" decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high court's longest-serving justice, the "senior associate justice," when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas "highly underrated." Trump said Thomas has "been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit."

FIILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as "terrifying to many progressives."

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

"He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake," Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, "Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise."

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as "policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law ." He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both "notoriously incorrect."

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as "abdicating our judicial duty." Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : "My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances."

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

"Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest ... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: "It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning."

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 1991, file photo, Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White. Watch from left are first lady Barbara Bush, President George H.W. Bush, behind Thomas, and Thomas' wife, Virginia Lamp Thomas. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2011, file photo Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laughs while talking with other guests at The Federalist Society's 2011 Annual Dinner in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, from left, Supreme court Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts arrive for services for former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 1991, file photo, newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talks to reporters while posing on the plaza of the court in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP photo/Dennis Cook, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include the new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DOHA, May 4 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways' return to flying over Syria as its eight-year war dies down is part of its efforts to grapple with a nearly two-year Gulf dispute that has blocked it from using the airspace of many of its neighbours, CEO Akbar al-Baker said on Saturday.

Syrian transport minister Ali Hammoud said last month that his country had approved a request by Qatar Airways to begin using the country's airspace for routes, one of the first airlines to do so. Qatar did not comment at the time.

Qatar's state-owned carrier has had to re-route many of its flights since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with the tiny Gulf state in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

The adjusted routes have increased the duration and cost of flights moving west and south of the Gulf, and in March the company reported an annual loss for the second consecutive year.

"This is all about the blockade," Baker said of the decision, referring to the 2017 boycott. "We are blockaded, so we have to find ways to fulfil the requirements of my country. It's very simple".

Baker said the restored routes, which analysts have said include flights to Doha from Beirut and Larnaca, do not pose safety issues.

"You know Qatar Airways would not fly anywhere that is not safe. We have to protect our passengers and our crew," said Baker. (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was later quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency as saying the military had killed 23 militants in retaliation for the attacks from Syria.

A Turkish security official told Reuters that the army was carrying out small operations to eliminate threats from the Tel Rifaat region, but that it could launch "a bigger operation" if necessary.

Separately, three Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after Kurdish militants shelled the region, the defence ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy militant targets.

Akar said the military had killed five other militants in the cross-border operation into northern Iraq, and a total of 28 militants in response to the two attacks.

"We neutralised the 28 terrorists who carried out the attacks. Our operations both inside and outside our country continue with great determination," Akar said, according to Anadolu.

Turkey's military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defence ministry said Turkish and Russian forces had carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Holmes, Jan Harvey and Hugh Lawson)
BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theatres of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces", said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defence ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
Any reform in any community is sustainable in the long run only if it follows internal churning. It shouldnt be thrust down a community's throat, ideally, but it should come after debates, discussions and deliberations from within.

This, of course, applies only to practices that are not a threat to human life.

It is beyond time the Muslim community itself banned the burqa. (Source: Reuters)

The move of Keralas Muslim Educational Society (MES)  which controls 150 educational institutions  to ban any dress that covers the face for girls on all the campuses is thus a positive move.

The MES will not encourage any type of veils on its campus... Managers of each MES institution will have to ensure that girl students do not come to the campus with their faces covered. They are hereby asked to include this as a rule on the campus from the academic year 2019-20, the MES circular read.

It has for long been maintained that regressive practices within the Muslim world must be questioned  from within.

While many say that covering the face is a matter of 'choice', the hard fact is, millions of women in the world are forced to cover up their bodies, including their faces. The hard fact is also that in some countries, women can be stoned to death for not covering up. Every call for a ban on the burqa is met with senseless rebuttals, stating it is a matter of choice  and also a fashion statement for many. Both these weak defences either naively or deliberately miss the hard truth behind the practice.

But this glamorisation of the burqa by some has proven to be an incarceration of sorts for many others, who have risked their lives fighting for their right to walk with their faces uncovered and their heads held high.

However, when countries like France implemented this ban without much debate, almost as a diktat, they faced backlash. The implementation of a similar move is currently under discussion in Sri Lanka, following the terror attacks on April 21 that claimed over 300 lives.

Such a 'burqa ban' by a state, topdown and sans sufficient consensus, actually furthers divide  but when such a move is implemented from within the community, it creates room for positive dialogue.

Why should men be given the right to enforce a ban on women leaving their faces free? (Source: Reuters)

Some would say Keralas MES should have waited for a consensus to build on the subject. But that makes little sense, given that the burqa has been in existence for pretty long and has been implemented with such an iron fist for so many women that it needs to be done away with  now.

There is no reason for women to cover up their faces, just as there is no reason for women to join their deceased husbands on a funeral pyre, just as there is no reason for women to be killed while they are still a foetus.

Burqa is not a matter of choice of choice for many. It is a marker of deep misogyny. If there is a God, why would s/he want women to cover their faces and let men beat them up for not doing so? If womens faces were indeed problematic, why would that Supreme Being create them in the first place?

As the debate gathers steam, Kerala MES has made a very good beginning.

It is time more Muslims support it and speak out against the veil.

Also read: AR Rehmans daughter wearing the veil is her choice. But it's still a hugely regressive one
ADLER is one of Germany's leading residential property companies with a focus on affordable housing. Its portfolio is primarily located in A- or on the outskirts of A- large and growing conurbations in northern, eastern and western Germany and has considerable upside potential in terms of revaluation gains, vacancy reduction and rent uplifts. All of the Group's properties and business operations are located in Germany, and benefit from the high employment in the German economy in general and also favourable real estate market dynamics in German A'B cities'. The Group's residential portfolio has been built up over the past five years by acquiring individual portfolios or shares in property holding companies.

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Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC.
BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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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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Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is engaged principally in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing, management and ownership of an industrial global rental portfolio of properties in North America and Europe leased primarily to Magna International Inc. and its automotive operating units. It is a service REIT with an international portfolio consisting of over 100 properties. It provides a range of services that includes sourcing and real estate acquisition, site development, assisting with government approvals and re-zoning to specific uses, build-to-suit construction, property renovation, project management and long-term leasing. In November 2013, Granite Real Estate Investment Trust completed its acquisition of a 2.5 million square foot portfolio of seven properties located in Germany and the Netherlands from funds managed by AEW Europe.

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Shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF reverse split on the morning of Monday, November 7th 2016. The 1-2 reverse split was announced on Friday, October 14th 2016. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the market closes on Friday, November 4th 2016. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split.
Power Financial Corporation provides financial services in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers life, disability, critical illness, and health insurance products, as well as wealth savings and income products, and specialty products. The company also provides financial products, including employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, enrollment services, communication materials, investment options and education services, fund management services, and investment and advisory services. In addition, it offers protection and wealth management products, such as payout annuity products; reinsurance products; and sub-advisory services. Further, the company provides mutual funds, pooled funds, segregated funds, separate accounts, and other investment vehicles; securities, mortgages, and other financial services; and investment management services. It offers its products primarily through distribution network of third-party financial advisors, consultants, and independent financial advisors. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Power Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada.

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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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4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Dimeco has received 32 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Dimeco has received 16 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Dimeco has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Dimeco and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe DIMC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe DIMC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
The Williams Cos., Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico; Northeast G&P; and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment comprises of interstate natural gas pipelines, Transco and Northwest Pipeline, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment includes midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation businesses in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment consists of gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of south Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins. The company was founded by David Williams and Miller Williams in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa,

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African Battery Metals Plc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for and exploits mineral resources. It explores for cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, gold, and other battery metals. The company holds interest in cobalt-copper exploration licenses, which include the Kisinka license covering an area of 50 square kilometers; and Sakania license covering an area of 140 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also holds interest in the Ferensola Project, a gold, iron, and coltan deposit covering an area of 153 square kilometers located in Northern Sierra Leone. The company was formerly known as Sula Iron & Gold plc and changed its name to African Battery Metals Plc in January 2018. African Battery Metals Plc was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in long-term, investment grade municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock MuniHoldings Insured Fund II, Inc. BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. was formed on February 26, 1999 and is domiciled in United States.

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CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bioxyquell Limited, CALGON EUROPE LIMITED, CALGON LLC, CID LINES HOLDING NV, CID LINES INVEST NV, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstaff Inc., Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AP Holdings LLC, Ecolab AT 2 GmbH, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab B.V.B.A./S.P.R.L., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH, Ecolab CH 5 GmbH, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co., Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 S.a.r.l., Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab NL 4 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V.B.A., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Guangzhou Green Harbour Environmental Operation Ltd., HYDROSAN LIMITED, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BVBA, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., London & General Packaging Ltd, MALAYSIA SDN. BHD, MANUFACTURING S.R.L., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Europe Limited, Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, Midland Research Laboratories UK Limited, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM BVBA, NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND MANUFACTURING GMBH UND CO. KG, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO LUXEMBOURG HOLDINGS SARL, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO NORTH AFRICA LIMITED, NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO ZAO, NALFLOC LIMITED, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC, Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Nalco Gulf Response Corp., Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Shield Salvage Associates Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, Technical Textile Services Limited, Techtex Holdings Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, Wabasha Leasing LLC, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.
ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V..
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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Intu owns and manages some of the best shopping centres, in some of the strongest locations, in the UK and Spain. Our UK portfolio is made up of 17 centres, including eight of the top-20, and in Spain we own three of the country's top-10 centres, with advanced plans to build a fourth. We are passionate about creating compelling experiences, in centre and online, that make our customers smile and help our retailers flourish. We attract around 400 million customer visits and 26 million website visits a year offering a multichannel approach that truly supports retail strategies. Our strategic focus on prime, high-footfall flagship destinations, combined with the strength and popularity of our brand, means that intu offers enhanced footfall, dwell time and loyalty. This helps our tenants flourish, driving occupancy and income growth. We are committed to our local communities, with our centres supporting nearly 130,000 jobs (representing about 3 per cent of the total UK retail workforce), and to operating with environmental responsibility. We have already met or exceeded a significant number of our 2020 environmental targets.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF's stock was trading at $20.50 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, BBJP stock has increased by 170.4% and is now trading at $55.43.

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Heap of Dirt Abandoned at Bamenda Food Market Camera

Inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have been inhaling strong smell from the heaps of dirt dumbed along major areas in town, after the company in charge of keeping the town clean, HYSACAM, abandoned duty for security reasons.



Following the kidnapping of four workers of the waste disposal company few weeks ago in Bamenda, council officials expressed doubts if HYSACAM would continue cleaning the town.

Suspected separatists kidnapped four workers and seized a truck, around the dumpsite in Mankon on Thursday, April 11. The truck driver was freed along with the truck but the company had to pay ransoms for the other three to be released, although they didnt state how much.

Today the Bamenda Food Market is littered with dirt, stinks and makes the environment, quite uncomfortable for business persons, who say they dont have a choice, because they still have to earn a living, despite the condition they face.

Similar attacks on the company few months ago, pushed HYSACAM authorities to suspend its activities in three towns in the Anglophone regions. In January 2019, the company suspended its activities within the city of Bamenda. In a press statement, it explained the company was exposed to violence, perpetrated by armed separatists in the North West. They announced they had lost close to FCFA 1Billion.

Suspected separatists, damaged the bridge, connecting the city to the waste management center This grounded HYSACAMs activities for 15 days with no way to carry on with waste disposal in Bamenda.

The main bridge leading to the dump site in Mbelewa- Mile Four Nkwen in Bamenda 3 subdivision was broken by unidentified gun men, trying to restrict the movement of cars into certain parts of Bafut thus rendering the dump site inaccessible to trucks of the company.

HYSACAMs Communication Officer, Funwi Jude said their man power and machinery is ready to keep Bamenda clean but they couldnt access the dump site . The company also announced that same thing was done in Buea on the 2nd of December 2018. In Kumba, separatists burnt down two new brand trucks of theirs, that had just been commissioned. HYSACAM employees all over Anglophone regions, were threatened and some received calls to contribute to the war.

Since the arrival of HYSACAM, commended efforts have been done to clean up the city of Bamenda, to the acknowledgement of the population. As the Anglophone crisis intensified, the company has on several occasions complained of being attacked by separatists, as they carry out their activities.

However, the council has not released any official statement, on its activities in Bamenda.
Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 11 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 97.53%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.17% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

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iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $80.84 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, HYG stock has increased by 7.8% and is now trading at $87.16.

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iShares MSCI India ETF's stock was trading at $28.76 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, INDA shares have increased by 56.8% and is now trading at $45.10.

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UN Security Council concerned about humanitarian situation in Cameroon Internet

According to French magazine, Jeune Afrique, the United Nations Security Council will meet on May 13, to discuss the ongoing unrest in Cameroon's North West and South West regions.

The paper says the United States is behind the initiative, that will focus on the humanitarian aspects of the conflict that began since 2016. No statement is expected to be released by the council, after the meeting.

The magazine quoted a statement from the US mission to the United Nations, who said the situation in Cameroon had caught their attention, especially with the devastating humanitarian crisis.

"We hope that this meeting will encourage a more robust regional and international response (...) to avoid further deterioration of the situation," the source added.

Many diplomats and international bodies have voiced out on several occasions, the need to push forward the ongoing sociopolitical unrest in Cameroon, to the United Nations Security Council.

At least four million persons need humanitarian assistance in the English a speaking regions of Cameroon . The International Crisis Group, recently reported that over 500,000 persons have been displaced as a result of the crisis, while 1,850 persons have died as a result of the crisis.

Cameroonian government continues to believe that it can take control of the situation in the Anglophone regions by exerting force, while armed separatists believe that they would achieve independence at any moment from now.

A humanitarian assistance response plan, carried out by Cameroon and other international partners have seen an inadequate response, according to UN resident coordinator, Ms.Allegra Baiocchi.

Meeting in Yaounde on Friday with the national coordinator of the Humanitarian Response plan, Ms Allegra and Minister Atanga Nji Paul, announced they had created a platform to effectively account to the distribution of humanitarian needs.
The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; premium fleet services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment processing solutions for payment and transaction monitoring needs. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented and that require pre-authorization; and prepaid and gift card products that enables secure payment and financial management solutions with single card options, access to open or closed loop redemption, load limits, and with various expirations. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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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. 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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.  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5 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for bioMerieux in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" bioMerieux stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in BMXMF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

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Kouam Wokam Paul Atia Azohnwi

The Divisional Officer (DO) for Buea, Kouam Wokam Paul has fired a missive at Chief Mafany Njie Martin of Liongo Village in Buea who doubles as President of the South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC.

In a "letter of observation" dated May 3, 2019, the Senior Civil Administrator conveyed to Chief Mafany Njie his "total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct." It was sent to the recipient through the President of the Buea Chiefs Conference.

The DO's epistle follows a letter signed by Chief Mafany Njie in his capacity as SWECC president in which he condemned the South West Governor Okalia Bilai Bernard's "ordering" of Chiefs to march on May 20 along with their subjects under pain of losing their royal crowns.

In a communique signed Tuesday April 30, 2019, Chief Mafany Njie Martin on behalf of his peers said the governor did not have to remind them of their civic responsibilities.

"We, the South West Chiefs categorically condemn the demeaning and threatening manner by which the Governor of the South West Region reminded us of our usual civic duties, which we have always performed so diligently without be ordered to do so by whosoever," the statement in response to Governor Okalia read.

The regional chief executive had on Thursday April 25, 2019, as he chaired a preparatory meeting ahead of the 47th edition of Cameroon's National Day nationwide celebrations billed for May 20, said chiefs who fail to march with their subjects will be sanctioned severely 30 days after the national unity feast.

"During the 20th May this year, all the Chiefs will march with a placard indicating their village and with their population behind them," Okalia said, adding that, "If that is not the case, it means those chiefs don't exist. And if you don't exist as a body, as a village, then you should neither be called a village nor be counted among villages."

"I said this some two, three years ago but the Chiefs refused to do it because they were still volunteer Chiefs. But today, know that the volunteerism is finish. Tradition is there, but you are tied to the state with an obligation. Eh Chief? You know noh? I don't want to disclose it here. But we understand each other," Okalia said with a feigned smile.

In a firm tone, he handed down a subtle threat: "If you fail to do what I am instructing, you'll see 30 days after, the consequences of that disobedience."

Okalia turned to the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge to know the number of villages within his municipality and the mayor's response put smiles on his face. He then instructed the Mayor to prepare placards bearing the names of all the villages in Buea - which placards will be carried by the Chiefs as they lead their kits and kins during the National Day parade.

"So Lord Mayor, prepare the placards because soon they will say they don't have money. Prepare it. How many villages do we have in Buea? Ah! a hundred, put them on placards. Every Chief will march. And those who are in exile in Douala or Yaounde, Let them stay there. When they come back, they'll find someone else as chief," Okalia decreed.

The chiefs say their native laws and customs do not allow them as natural rulers to march past the grandstand during official ceremonies, according to the Chief Mafany Njie signed statement.

"We completely dissociate ourselves from such a representation and remind the public that the traditions and customs of the South West people are full of values of respect, tolerance, nobility and unity. We therefore call on our population to remain calm and positive as we look forward to accompanying the State in all national events like we have always done," the chiefs said through their president.

But in a rare outing, the Divisional Officer for Buea set the records straight.







What the DO "observed":

"It has been brought to my attention that in a declaration dated 30th April 2019 addressed to the general public and currently circulating in the social media, you took upon yourself on behalf of traditional rulers of the South West region to denounce, in calumnious language to the person of H.E. the Governor of the South West region the appeal he made on the 30th April 2019 during the first preparatory meeting for the 20th May 2019 at which you were conspicuously absent, an appeal made to traditional rulers and community leaders of Buea Subdivision for the mobilisation and massive participation of their population in the celebration of the National Day in Buea.

"Further thereto, I have the honour to observe that by embarking in this exercise of the deliberate distortion and manipulation of the words of the Governor, your statements which are characterised by untruths and gratuitous assertions could not be only demobilise to the population that you are expected to be catering for but to also severely undermine the relentless efforts deployed by public authorities to ensure the success of this event in Buea - the cradle of our National Unity. In this light, your statements constitute a sort of caution for the actions of enemy forces that have made the disruption of the celebration of this solemn event on of their main objective.

"At a time when I expect to see you actively engaged in the company of your peers within Buea Subdivision in action geared at ensuring a commendable representation of your respective communities through various socio-cultural associations and traditional dance groups, I regret to realise that you are rather actively trying to dubiously involve the entire body which you now chair of South West traditional rulers who were never mentioned at any point whatsoever of this working session.

"I deem it necessary to remind you that in your capacity as auxiliary of the administration, such agitation is punishable both at the administrative, disciplinary and penal levels especially in this period of security challenges.

"Consequently, this letter of observation is intended to convey to you my total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct."






Rutherford said King sexually assaulted the victim and took advantage of her by taking her to get clothes and food when she was in need. He described her as the perfect victim.

Thats whats so horrible about this case, Rutherford said.

He requested King serve a 10-year sentence and said the defendant deserves every day of that time behind bars.

He takes advantage of girls who are in need, Rutherford said. Thats his M.O.

Rutherford submitted a victim impact statement from the victims mother, which Garrett initially ruled would not be allowed as evidence after hearing a defense motion, but the judge later reversed the decision.

Lamson said though King has some criminal history he has no previous sex offenses. He said King has helped teenagers in the area and others find employment, overcame his background as a felon by starting his own business and has spent more than $60,000 on his defense, which caused stress for his family.

In serving just more than two years in jail already, Lamson said King already exceeded the low end of the time sentencing guidelines called for and requested time served.
 Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association (Rixeyville) holds Gospelfest, featuring the Swanee Quintet of Augusta, Georgia, and others at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Womens Auxiliary holds a Prayer Luncheon at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. 15044 Ryland Chapel Road. (540) 661-2013.

 Zion Union Baptist Church Womens Fellowship hosts a Prayer Breakfast with the Rev. Denise Watson-Smith at 9 a.m. Saturday. Womens Day will be observed with performances by various gospel groups at 3 p.m. Sunday. 1015 Preston Ave. (434) 297-2271.

This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication, including an address and phone number, should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication.

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WASHINGTON  Heres how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending May 3:

House

Keeping America in climate accord. The House on May 2 voted, 231 for and 190 against, to continue U.S. participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The bill (HR 9) would deny funding to carry out President Donald Trumps plan to withdraw the United States from the global pact in November 2020. The bill also requires the administration to develop a plan for achieving voluntary carbon-reduction goals to which America subscribed when the Obama administration joined the agreement in 2016. Those goals would be reached primarily by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Signed by 195 nations, the Paris Agreement is designed to limit the increase in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (about 1850) levels. Each participant is responsible on a voluntary basis to meet emissions targets it negotiates with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The United States is the only signee nation to have disavowed the agreement.
Now a corner of Madison County has gotten its shot at world-class status.

We all knew that Old Rag Mountain was a challenging and rewarding hike, and we knew that it wasnt a local secret. Old Rag attracts tons of hikers, to the extent that it often can seem overcrowded.

Now Outside magazine has listed Old Rag as one of the 25 best hikes in the world . That puts it right up there (pun intended) with such sites as Everest Base Camp in Nepal and the Lares Trek in Peru.

Now we can expect more visitors.

That should be good news for Madison County (Old Rag lies in Madisons portion of the Shenandoah National Park) and for nearby counties.

Outside magazine acknowledges the crowding issue and suggests hiking the 9.2-mile loop (rock-scrambling might be more like it) during the winter at midweek instead of spring, summer or autumn weekends.

But the National Park Service warns against making the attempt in wet or icy conditions. (The website www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/old-rag-hike-prep.htm has more information.)
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:41PM

Well, this killed any remaining mystery surrounding the more affordable Google Pixel devicesspecifically the Pixel 3a XL. The phone was spotted at a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio. The phones were kept under glass but it showed the two previously leaked colours, Purple-ish and Just Black. The phone was being rumoured for a launch at Googles I/O event on May 7th. This seems to confirm that the phone will make an appearance then. The rumoured specs of are 5.6-inch for the Pixel 3a and 6-inch for the Pixel 3a XL. The phones will reportedly run on a Snapdragon 670 and 710 processors, respectively, with 4GB of RAM and the same Pixel Visual Core that runs on the cameras of the current Pixel 3 phones. The prices are said to be US$399 for the Pixel 3a and $479 for the Pixel 3a XL. While this seems legitimate, the launch hasnt happened yet, so as usual, its best to take this information with a grain of salt.

Source: Android Police
Under the insolvency proceedings, 41 per cent of the members of the committee of creditors (CoC) voted against the proposal, while 23 per cent were in favour.

New Delhi: Financial creditors of Jaypee Infratech on Friday rejected Suraksha Realty's bid for the debt-laden firm as the offer was low on upfront cash payment and will meet on May 9 to discuss the future course of action, sources said.

Mumbai-based Suraksha group was the lone contender in the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd on the grounds that the offer did not have approval from various government departments.

NBCC wants its bid to be reconsidered, while Adani Group has also shown interest in acquiring Jaypee Infratech and completing over 20,000 delayed flats in Noida.

Interestingly, Jaypee Group's promoters too have put in a bid to retain control of the company.

Under the insolvency proceedings Friday, members representing 41.85 per cent of voting rights were against the proposal, while 23.47 per cent were in favour.

Most of those voting in favour were homebuyers, who hold about 60 per cent of the voting rights in the CoC.

The remaining around 34.69 per cent homebuyers abstained from the voting process, which started on April 30 and concluded on Friday.

"Section 28(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code stipulates that 'No action shall be approved by the committee of creditors unless approved by a vote of 66 per cent of the voting shares'.

"Since the members representing 23.47 per cent of the voting rights assented to the matter, the decision on the item stands rejected," Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain said in a statement.

The CoC will meet again on May 9 to decide the future course of action, sources said, even as the court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution process ends on May 6.

Lenders have sought extension of the deadline and the matter is pending before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

IDBI Bank, India Infrastructure Finance Company, LIC, SBI, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank, ICICI, IFCI, Axis Bank and SREI Equipment Finance voted against Suraksha's offer. Only J&K Bank voted in favour.

Among homebuyers, 8,019 people voted in favour, 860 against while 14,632 abstained.

Suraksha Realty had in this round offered lenders Rs 18.55 crore as upfront payment and land parcels worth Rs 5,000 crore to settle the debt. It also proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital to complete pending flats.

After its bid got rejected, NBCC Ltd got the necessary approvals from various government departments for its offer and has written to the IRP that its bid should be reconsidered on merit.

Last month, business conglomerate Adani Group too wrote to the IRP, expressing its interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group's promoters too are keen to retain control over its realty arm and have already submitted their debt resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Meanwhile, the lead lender IDBI on April 29 approached the Allahabad bench of the NCLT seeking extension of insolvency proceedings beyond the May 6 deadline.

In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after the NCLT admitted the application by an IDBI

Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee Group's flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates, owes nearly Rs 9,800 crore to financial creditors.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the IRP to oversee the affairs of the company and conduct the bidding process to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech who can complete pending 20,000 flats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the company's net worth and assets as well as liquidation value of about Rs 14,000 crore.

In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT's direction.

To protect lenders interest, NBCC has offered Rs 5,000 crore worth land as well as 100 per cent equity of Yamuna Expressway, the only cash generating asset with Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur has promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore to complete pending apartments over the next four years. The group had submitted a Rs 10,000-crore plan before lenders in April 2018 as well, but the same was not accepted.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with the NCLT.
The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated. (Photo: Representational | ANI)

Panaji: The Government of France is planning to organise an investment conclave in Goa in October this year, to encourage French companies to invest in various sectors in the coastal state.

A proposal to this effect would be submitted to the Goa government soon, Consul General of France in Mumbai Sonia Barbry said here on Friday.

The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated, she said.

"During that conclave, a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LOI) were signed between French and Indian companies. Now, we will try to bring in French investment into Goa," she said.

The 'Franco Goa Investment Conclave' will look at investment in the field of green marinas, health, medical equipment and waste management besides others, Barbry said.

"We have some companies in France that know how to make sustainable marinas without disturbing the environment," she said.

Barbry, who was in Goa to oversee Indo-French Naval Exercise 'Varuna', met Goa Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Thursday and discussed economic interests of France in Goa.

She said some French companies were interested in investing in Goa in different fields.

During her visit, the Consul General also met Goa University Vice Chancellor Varun Sahani to discuss about preparations for the upcoming workshop for French teachers to be held from May 20-25 at Goa University.

She said around 130 teachers from various colleges from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal would take part in the workshop, which will improve their pedagogical skills.
Dabangg actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is currently shooting for Salman Khans Dabangg 3, took some time off from her hectic work schedule to head to Lucknow. There, the actress was seen campaigning for her mother, Poonam Sinha, whos contesting the General Elections as a candidate from the city.

Sonakshi, who is active on Instagram, also posted pictures of her with her mother Poonam in Lucknow as an Instagram story.

Reportedly, Sonakshi spent time meeting Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple and the rest of the family. Later in the afternoon, she participated in the road show that started from GPO in Hazratganj and urged people to vote for her mother. A huge turnout was seen, as many wanted to catch a glimpse of actress,while Sonakshi was seen waving to the crowds.
Based on Anna Todds successful fan fiction series on Harry Styles, After is being brought to the big screen. PVR Pictures is all set to charm the country with its release on 3rd May 2019. This romantic drama introduces us to the journey of a young woman who falls for a guy with a dark secret and the two embark on a rocky relationship. Directed and written by Jenny Gage, After is based on the 2014 fiction novel of the same name by Anna Todd. The movie features Hero Fiennes Tiffin(Hardin) and Josephine Langford(Tessa) in prominent roles, alongside Selma Blair, Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder, Swen Temmel, Inanna Sarkis , Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals , Pia Mia, Meadow Williams, Dylan Arnold.

We found Hero early on in the process, remembers Director Jenny Gage. His tape from London was one of the first auditions that we all saw. We didn't meet him in person until later, but even on tape there was something about his vulnerability in his performance that really captivated me. He was perfect for Hardin.

The character of Hardin Scott is described as having intense green eyes, an English accent, brooding good looks, and a piercing stare. Todd knew the moment she saw Hero that he was the perfect choice. When I got in the room with Hero, about 30 seconds in, I said to Jen, What just happened? This is it. No one else can be Hardin." Todd continues, I was to the point where I was literally saying, If you guys even think about trying to hire someone else, were going to be making a mistake. Hero has something.

Despite being unaware of the source material, the actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin was interested in what makes Hardin Scott tick. I had never heard of the book After when I first auditioned, but as soon as I mentioned it, everyone and their mum around me knew what it was, remembers Fiennes Tiffin. I don't relate to Hardin in too many ways, and that's why I find him funny to play, because there are aspects of his personality that interest me  his lack of self-control, the fact he's very logical but also impulsive and can be very erratic and unpredictable. Hardin is a womanizer who changes throughout the film, thanks to Tessa. Hardin is a dangerous character, he can go either way, you think you know him and then he will surprise you.

Hero comes from an incredible lineage of actors: his uncles are Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, states producer Mark Canton. Also, Josephines older sister Katherine, has been a big star on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. But it was more than their famous gene pools that made Josephine and Hero right for these roles.

The search for the role of Tessa proved to be more challenging and continued until just before shooting began. At the exact right moment, this girl happened to Skype in from Perth, Australia auditioning for the role of Molly, and the second she came on screen, I said That is our Tessa, explains producer Jennifer Gibgot.

Josephine Langford recalls, I was back home and did a self-tape for Molly, then I did a Skype callback, then a week later when I was waiting to hear back about Molly, I got a call at 5:00AM from my agents who said, The producers want to meet with you for the lead role. So I got on a plane with about sixteen hours notice, read the script on the plane to LA, had a meeting and about two other meetings and then got the job.

When asked about working with each other Fiennes Tiffin shares, I could go on for ages about working with Josephine, but Ill start with her acting ability, which helps me so much, and the fact she's such a nice, considerate person. She acts so well, especially in emotional scenes, and really gives me a lot to feed off. Shes really carrying this film,.

Langford is equally complimentary of her leading man. Hero brings this vulnerability and sincerity to Hardin which is difficult to find with a character like that. Ive loved working with him, Langford comments. When you're doing this type of content - a lot of intimate and intense scenes  its so important that you feel safe and comfortable with the person youre working with. So I feel lucky to have had him as a partner through this experience.

Catch this saga of love on the silver screen on 3rd May 2019 in the cinemas near you.
Bengaluru: Two BMTC bus drivers and a photographer were arrested recently by the Yelahanka police while they were trying to circulate fake notes.

The arrested were identified as Somanna Gowda, 38, from Raichur and working as a driver and conductor in BMTC, Nanje Gowda, 32, from Channarayapatna and works as a driver in BMTC, and Kiran Kumar, 24, who is from Hassan and a photographer. The police seized around Rs 81 lakh worth of fake notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations.

The police also raided a room in Garvebhavipalya, which was rented out by the trio. They had a computer and scanning and printing machines. They used to scan and print the notes and circulate them.

A couple of days ago, they were near Kogilu Circle trying to circulate the money. Based on a tip-off, the police went to the spot in civil clothes, identified the trio and started questioning them. The three tried to flee, but were arrested. The police found fake notes in their possession, the police said.

A case was registered at the Yelahanka police station and investigation is on.
Rameswaram: Bharathan, a Rameswaram fisherman who went missing after his fishing boat capsized in 1996 while he was fishing on the high seas, is alive 23 years later. He has been sighted among beggars in Colombo, his family members here claim.

The fisherman, who was 42 then, had set out for fishing in April 1996 along with five others when the boat capsized. While others were rescued, Bharathan went missing. He could not be traced for the next couple of months and there was no report of his body being washed ashore.

Believing that he had drowned, his wife, two daughters and a son conducted the rituals. As the fisherman had set out for fishing in the name of another fisherman Raju, the family members did not seek any compensation from the government.

The family had given up all hopes of his survival, when Rajesh, the fishermans grand nephew, an auto-rickshaw driver in Rameswaram, spotted him among beggars while watching a YouTube clipping of a special story done by Jaffna Tamil TV about a beggar millionaire in Colombo.The video clip showed beggars who had been begging for more than two decades in Colombo and one beggar had striking similarities with the missing Bharathan.

Rajesh showed the clip to his mother-in-law and Bharathans daughter - Saravana Sundari, 42, and she confirmed the man was her father.

On seeing the picture, Sundari wailed saying it was that of her father, Her husband Ramesh, also an auto-rickshaw driver said, after seeing the picture she is crying and is refusing to even take food.

Bharathans other daughter and son also confirmed that the beggar was their missing father, he said.

The fishermans wife Sarasu, however, is mentally unstable and is in no position to identify her husband, he said.

The family has no idea as to how Bharathan reached Colombo. They suspect that he may have lost his memory.

M. Karunamurthy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Meenpidi Thozhirsanga Kottamaippu has proposed to take the family members to the district collector so that steps could be taken to secure Bharathans return.
Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.

KOCHI: The health department has issued an alert against an outbreak of infectious diseases such dengue fever as summer showers intensified.

Residents of those areas where dengue fever was reported earlier have been told to be extra careful. The other vulnerable areas are plantations and migrant labourers' colonies.

The conducive climatic condition - drought, followed by intermittent summer rains - is a major reason for the increased breeding of anopheles aedes mosquitoes. The high daytime temperature coupled with evening showers also helps increase mosquito density.

Acute fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and pain around the eyes are the preliminary symptoms of dengue.

People have been asked to take preventive measures such as source reduction, proper waste management and obser-ving dry day against vector-borne diseases. Chances for outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases are higher this year as the city corporation is yet to intensify the pre-monsoon cleaning.

Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.
Kozhikode: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Hussain Madavoor on Friday came out in support of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) banning face-covering dress for female students in its educational institutions.

He said face-covering dresses like burqa or niqab had not been recommended in the Quran.

The MES circular last month banning face-covering dress from 2019-20 academic year had sparked controversy with Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SKJU) coming out against it.

Quran only directs covering the body parts that create sexual urges in men. It can be a sari or a churidar provided it decently covers the female body, he told DC.

In schools, there can be law and order issues as even a boy could move around in such a face-covering dress, he said, adding that religion need not be mixed unnecessarily with all such issues.

He believes that the diktats to cover the face of women came in a later period through the interpretations of covering the body by the religious scholars.

Meanwhile, MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor, who issued the circular, said in Mukkam near here that the society was undergoing fast changes which the communities also should adopt.

"Those who believe that another should not see ones face should remain at their homes. It is time we gave ear to the changing times, he said.

Many scholars think that the veil is the dress in the deserts, not Islamic. Among the over 150-crore Muslims living all over the world, Arabs are only around ten crores.

In that too, hijab covering the face is used only by a few such as Yemenis and Saudis which is not limited to women as they protect them from sandstorms.
Ramani had pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar. (Photo: File I PTI)

New Delhi: In a heated courtroom drama that lasted for almost two hours, former Union minister M J Akbar on Saturday recorded his statement and was cross examined in a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "malafide" and "defamatory".

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, cross examined Akbar on details regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age, among others.

However, Akbar responded to most of the questions as "I do not remember". Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations. The court has posted the matter for the next hearing on May 20.
'The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official said. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kozhikode: The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges. "The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added. In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.
The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

Kollam: In the wake of intelligence reports about possible terror attacks in the state, a luxury car with the caricature of deceased Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was seized here on Thursday.

Though the police could not find any link to terrorist groups, the issue is being investigated by the local police.

The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

The car was plying under the nose of the police for nearly a year, but was seized only after its pictures turned viral on the social media. The photos of the car bearing a West Bengal registration number with Bin Ladens caricature on its boot and his name written on the rear windshield were circulated on social media after it was spotted at Thattamala, Eravipuram and Mayyanad areas. A complaint about it was also received by higher police officials, following which action was taken.

The car was seized by Eravipuram police while it was being used by a young couple for their marriage at Ayathil on Thursday. Upon inspection, the car was found to be registered in the name of Praveen Agarval of West Bengal. Muhammad Haneef had bought the car about a year ago from his friend in Bengaluru for Rs 4.5 lakh, but the ownership was not yet changed. He told the police that the caricature of the terrorist was printed at a sticker shop at Mundakkal and intended just for fun. The police are further verifying the ownership details and whether the car is involved in crimes.
Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kamareddy: A police official here attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

Speaking to media on Friday, Kamareddy DSP Laxminarayana said earlier in the day, Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

"He was immediately shifted to Kamareddy government hospital for treatment. Doctors have said he is out of danger. We are shifting him to Hyderabad for better treatment," he added.

The DSP said the reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained.

"Further details will be revealed after investigation," he added.
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has started an inquiry to identify officials said to be leaking information about the goings-on in his office to the Chief Ministers Office. This come just a day after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took umbrage at Mr Subrahmanyams absence from his review meeting.

According to reports, some officials were relaying information from the Chief Secretarys review meetings to the CMO.

Citing an instance, sources said that Mr Subrahmanyam had recently conducted a review meeting about a corporate hospital in Nellore demanding the organs of a brain dead patient in lieu of the bill payment. The matter was leaked.

Information of several other review meetings also leaked to the CMO, sources said, which left officials at the Chief Secretarys office worried. According to sources, Mr Subrahmanyam himself found some persons leaking information and had decided to take action.

Further, Mr Subrahmanyam had ordered an inquiry into alleged double payments in the Comprehensive Financial Management System and into payments of bills to contractors and firms by the finance department, which the Chief Ministers Office reportedly tried to stop.

Sources claimed that Mr Naidu had tried to stop Mr Subrahmanyam from holding reviews meetings by lodging complaints with the Election Commission but in vain.

Mr Naidu has been critical of Mr Subrahmanyam from the time he was appointed by the Election Commission. He has called the official an accused in the quid pro quo cases of YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, something that has angered IAS officials.

Officials are worried that the tussle between Mr Naidu and Mr Subrahmanyam will split the bureaucracy into two groups which would not good for the administration.
Vijayawada: In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has alleged that Naidu deceived people of AP State on Polavaram funds, by taking Polavaram construction into his hand, for political benefits.

He stated that AP Re-organisation Act, 2014 mandates that the Central Government shall take over the Polavaram Project and complete it on expedient public interest. The Congress MP alleged that Naidu helped the contractors by paying variation charges from the year 2013, resulting in Rs 30,000 crores as burden for AP exchequer.

Mr Ramachandra Rao said that the then UPA Cabinet had also taken a decision that an Exclusive Authority (Special Purpose Vehicle) shall be constituted for the construction of Polavaram and also, entire cost escalation on the project due to cost and time overruns and also, the new Land Acquisition Act shall be borne by the Central Government.

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu both deceived AP People and the Central Government renounced the responsibility over the project reconstruction, agreeing to Mr Naidus requests and put several conditions on the expenditure of the project.

Mr Rao said that in a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee of Water Resources in February, the Committee approved the project cost of Rs 55,549 crore at the 2017-2018 price-level. He stated that in the same meeting, the Advisory Committee also approved the estimates of Polavaram, at the 2013-14 price-level, at Rs 27,082 crore.

He lamented that now, according to the Central Governments decision, the Centre will only bear the price at the 2013-14 level and the difference in price- Rs 28,467 crore has to be borne by the AP Government.

Mr Ramachandra Rao alleged that Mr Naidu also issued GO 22 and GO 67 to help the contractors and spent several crores of rupees in the name of site visit of people, foundation and inauguration of several gates and pillars of head works and also Gallery Walk, family trip etc., giving an additional burden to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore to the State.

The Congress MP claimed that due to the greed of Mr Naidu, now AP was burdened with Rs 30,000 crore and also, AP is compelled to bear the entire expenditure of Polavaram initially and later, seek the funds from the Central Government and wait for their mercy.

He said that the Congress-led UPA Government had taken every precaution to safeguard the interests of APs people after bifurcation. He stated that the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, will not allow AP to lose further and it will assure that every provision of the AP Reorganisation Act will be implemented.

He urged Mr Naidu to ask an open apology to the people of AP for the loss that occurred to them in Polavaram, due to his selfish attitude.

Mr Ramachandra Rao further demanded Mr Naidu to immediately ask the officials concerned to file a counter to the PIL filed in AP High Court, requesting to issue an order directing the Central Government to bear the entire cost of Polavaram Project, without any conditions.
Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines.

Thrissur: Security will be tightened for the Thrissur Pooram in view of the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the Easter day and the terrorists threat to attack targets in South India.

The public will not be allowed to take carry bags to the site of the Pooram to be held on May 13. The police will take other precautions too to avoid any untoward incidents, said Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the Pooram at the collectorate here on Saturday. Collector T.V. Anupama and city police commissioner Yathish Chandra also attended the meeting.

Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines. The PESO officials in the regional office at Sivakasi had declined permission for the chain cracker citing a Supreme Court order in connection with festivals. The Pooram organising committee had sought permission from the Chief Controller of Explosives at the head office of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) at Nagpur last week.

The functionaries of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, who conduct the fireworks display said at the meeting that they had moved the Supreme Court over the matter and that the court was expected to take up the matter on Monday.

The decision to lift the ban on star elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran who had killed two persons during private celebrations at Kottappadi, Guruvayur, in February was not discussed in the meeting, Mr Sunil Kumar said.

Kerala Elephant Owners Federation functionary P. Sasikumar said that as the forest secretary was on election duty in Delhi, the forest department would issue an order to lift the ban on Ramachandran only after his return to Kerala.

Sasikumar also said that the ban on Dr P.B. Giridasan, veterinary doctor treating elephants in Thrissur, from issuing fitness certificates for parading captive elephants had been lifted. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (forest management) had asked the director of animal husbandry department on Saturday to keep the earlier direction issued by PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden on May 2 in abeyance and conduct a detailed inquiry into the complaints against the veterinarian.
'Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher,' Yogi said. (Photo: File)

Fatehpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday hit out at Congress general secretary for UP, Priyanka Gandhi, over a video in which children were seen using objectionable language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Terming Priyanka Gandhi as "shehzadi", the UP CM claimed, "I was seeing a video of the Congress' "shehzadi" (princess) which went viral. At an age, when kids should be taught about 'cultures', she is sowing poison in their hearts. She is teaching them to abuse. This is the reality of the Congress party"

"Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher. When there is flood and drought, then they do not remember India. At that time, they go to Italy. When elections are around, they begin to tour to show that they are the biggest well-wishers," he said addressing an election rally here.

The chief minister also boasted about dealing with criminals with a heavy hand.

"We made it clear that criminals will either be in jail or they will be on their way to "Ram naam satya hai"," said Yogi Adityanath.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting Masood Azhar listed as a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "You would have read that UNSC has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This has happened due to PM Modi's diplomacy. The countdown for Masood Azhar has begun just like Osama bin Laden."

Yogi also accused the rival parties of being soft on terrorism.

"First job that SP government took after coming to power in 2012 was to take back cases against terrorists," he said while referring to the various terror attacks between 2005-2014.

"Why are Congress, SP, and BSP being so generous towards terrorists?" the CM questioned.

Taking a dig at BSP president Mayawati, the BJP leader said, "I want to ask Mayawati jee, how did you go to seek votes for the people who insulted Baba Sahib?"

The Lok Sabha polls in the state are scheduled to be conducted in all seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 06, 12 and 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

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Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he 'insulted' the armed forces by taking credit. (Photo: ANI)

Chennai: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into politics.

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

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Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday. (Photo: File)

Patna: Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JD(U) and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

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The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly.

Hyderabad: A detailed analysis is under way in the Telugu Desam and YSRC camps of candidates who are most likely to win, which will come handy for the last-minute strategies that could well be adopted by both parties.

Simultaneously, there are quite a few hush-hush brainstorming sessions in which some super rich men have been heard discussing scenarios and possibilities if either political party falls short of 10 or 20 seats.

Top government sources told Deccan Chronicle that a few trusted aides of the powers-that-be were analysing the chances of candidates who contested on YSR Congress tickets. Right from ground reports to their financial status, their family background, their support and dominance in their respective constituencies are being analysed, sources said.

The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly. The analysis is part of the preparations for worst-case scenarios which may emerge on the day the results are announced, they said.

It is unclear if feelers were being sent from either party to the candidates who are sure to win. The possibility always exists till the results are out, sources said.

It is believed that the bitterly fought elections has led to a polarisation in the state due to which various caste groups, it is learnt, are willing to help the party of their choice in any way possible to steer them to power.

Such meetings, or rather brainstorming sessions, have come to notice mostly in Guntur and Krishna districts in the last few days, where participants are discussing all sorts of possibilities on the day of results.

It is learnt that a similar exercise is going on in the YSRC camp, where leaders are trying to identify candidates who are sure to win. Obviously, the exercise in the YSRC is not on the same scale which the TD loyalists are doing as the ruling party has an edge over the rival parties it has the Intelligence department working for them, which collates ground reports and gets huge feedback about the candidate. The YSR Congress has some trusted people within the government who are helping them in the analysis, sources said.

The YSR Congress had won 67 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections and the party raised a hue and cry when 23 legislators switched sides and joined the TD.

Since there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, one can expect anything, one official said indicating that both parties are preparing for worst-case scenarios.
New Delhi: Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major national parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

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Hyderabad: The local income-tax office has issued notices to around 40 MLAs, all belonging to the TRS, demanding explanations for the increase in the value of their movable and immovable assets. These MLAs include those in the state cabinet and the TRS top brass.

Sources have confirmed that nobody from the Opposition has received such notices.

The income-tax investigation team studied the affidavits filed by the legislators before the Election Commission in 2014 and compared them with the affidavits submitted ahead of the Assembly elections last year. Those legislators whose records reflected a large difference in their I-T payments and assets are the ones who have been issued the notices, an official said.

This newspaper inquired with at least 10 elected representatives from Karimnagar, Medchal, Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthi, Adilabad, Asifabad, and Khammam districts, who confirmed receiving the notice.

Notices were issued to those whose incomes were found to have increased tenfold over a span of 4 years, since the previous election. The Income Tax department has asked the legislators to submit annual records explaining their source of income and legitimate reasons for the increase in their income. The MLAs have been given time to respond to the notice.

It is learnt that many legislators are seeking the assistance of their accountants and consulting chartered accountants to prepare their explanation.

According to the affidavits submitted, the highest increase in assets (movable and immovable) has been noted in the case of the Nagarkurnool MLA Marri Janardhan Reddy at Rs 160 crore, followed by the former finance minister Etela Rajender at Rs 42.41 crore, TRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, Parkala MLA Dharma Reddy, Wardhannapeta MLA A. Ramesh, and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took everyone by surprise when she named Saradha scam accused Madan Mitra as the party's candidate for the by-poll to the Bhatpara Assembly seat. It was widely believed that Mr Mitra had fallen from grace after he was jailed in connection with the infamous Saradha chit fund scam. Though he was released more than two years ago, the Trinamul chief had chosen to keep him at arm's length. But Ms Banerjee had her reasons for rehabilitating Mr Mitra. The move was necessitated after she received feedback that Dinesh Trivedi, sitting MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, was being given a tough time by BJP's Arjun Singh, who had recently left the Trinamul Congress in a huff when he was denied a ticket by Ms Banerjee. Mr Singh is a known bahubali and the genteel Mr Trivedi was ill-equipped to deal with his rough ways. So, Ms Banerjee pulled out Mr Mitra from oblivion and named him candidate from Bhatpara, an Assembly seat in Barrackpore constituency. Mr Mitra is also a known bahubali of the area and, more importantly, Arjun Singh was once his protege. The upshot is that Mr Trivedi can now breathe easy as his chief opponent Mr Singh is being ably handled by his former mentor Mr Mitra.

The four-term chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, is known to be low-key, understated and reclusive. He barely moves out of the state and is seen and heard on a few occasions which had led to a lot of speculation about his failing health. However, in this election  Odisha has simultaneous state and Lok Sabha polls  Mr Patnaik has turned a new leaf. He is now more visible and vocal. Faced with a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in his home state, the chief minister has been campaigning actively, has given several interviews and has also reached to the youth through social media. In addition, he has put out video clips about his exercise regimen to dispel the widespread impression that he is ailing and, therefore, incapable of discharging his duties as chief minister. In fact, he has publicly blamed his former party colleague, Jay Panda (now with the BJP) for spreading rumours about his ill health in Delhi. This reference to Mr Panda and his health has touched an emotional chord among the people, especially women, who are clearly upset and angry about how Mr Patnaik had been backstabbed by a party member. All these efforts are working to Mr Patnaik's advantage who may well return as chief minister for a record fifth term.

The Bharatiya Janata Party cadre is wondering if it was necessary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a massive road show in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. His two-day stay in the city involved hectic preparations by party workers in the midst of an election and was also an expensive affair with several hundred tons of rose petals being showered during the seven-kilometre roadshow through the streets of Varanasi. It is believed that Mr Modi's programme, which would normally have been scheduled just before polling, was held earlier to pre-empt and overshadow the announcement about Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's candidature from Varanasi. However, the Congress backed off from fielding her, as a result of which the main purpose of Mr Modi's roadshow was defeated. While questioning the need for scheduling the programme, BJP members said it was unnecessary considering Mr Modi's victory in Varanasi is a foregone conclusion. Instead, the BJP's star campaigner could have been utilised in constituencies where the party needs a boost.

The Trinamul Congress and the Congress may be busy attacking each other on the campaign trail but they are also keeping their options open for a post-poll rapprochement. Last week, a delegation of Trinamul Congress leaders approached the Election Commission to complain that the Bharatiya Janata Party's name was being displayed along with the party symbol on the electronic voting machines during a mock drill in West Bengal's Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. On learning about this, the Congress also decided to reach the Election Commission with a similar petition. Congress leaders were, however, baffled about their involvement in this case as they felt that their petition was unnecessary and uncalled for. Apparently, it was Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel's idea that the Congress also led a delegation on the same issue on the same day the Trinamul Congress leaders were reaching the Election Commission. The canny politician that he is, Mr Patel later explained to his doubting colleagues that this display of solidarity with the Trinamul Congress was needed as it could become necessary to build bridges with Mamata Banerjee after the Lok Sabha elections.
RTHK: North Korea tests short-range missile

North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06am to 09.27am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres towards the Sea of Japan the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong-un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong-un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The decision of Gujarat state last Thursday to deny the CBI sanction to prosecute suspended senior police officers D.G. Vanzara (who in an explosive letter of resignation from service, written from prison in September 2013, condemned the "betrayal and treachery" of then BJP general secretary Amit Shah, who had been minister of state for home) and N.K. Amin is an administrative, political and judicial scandal.

Mr Vanzara, who was a DIG of police and headed the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad at the time of a series of high-profile police encounters  those of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan, Tulsiram Prajapati and Sadiq Jamal  was arrested by the CID in April 2007. These encounters looked like extra-judicial killings.

The controversial police officer was released on bail in February 2015 and acquitted in the Sohrabuddin case in 2017, but not in the other cases. Last Thursday, the state government denied the CBI special court permission to try him, leading to all the cases being dropped.

Foremost among these was the much-talked-about Ishrat Jahan case in which a 19-year old girl was shot dead in circumstances that appeared to be cold-blooded murder. The manner in which events have panned out, it would seem no one killed the teenager.

Administratively, withholding permission to prosecute uniformed personnel charged with heinous crimes suggests the existence of an unaccountable government which permits those accused of high criminality by a leading organ of the state to roam free.

In his high-voltage letter of resignation, Mr Vanzara called then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi his God, but blamed the CM's government for his own woes. In the ten-page letter to the Gujarat Home department, the suspended officer did not once plead his innocence. He insisted that every act that he had committed was government policy.

I, along with my officers, stood beside this government like a bulwark whenever it faced existential crisis in the past, the disgraced police officer wrote. He wrote that between the government and the police, there ought to be a relationship of mutual protection and reciprocal assistance. It was his grievance that this turned out not to be the case.

He was deeply aggrieved that while Mr Shah had managed to secure his release in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, after being externed by the Supreme Court for two years from Gujarat, the state government had clandestinely made efforts to keep him in jail to save its own skin. This appears to be the crux of the matter on the political side. If, like Mr Shah himself, Mr Vanzara and others were not discharged from various cases, they would always remain a threat.

But the dead deserve justice. The system needs to be healed. The police personnel can have a fair trial only when the state government's order is challenged and reversed.
The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

After pushing along for several months, the Modi sarkars move on lateral entry into government has finally become a reality. The government has selected nine private sector specialists for appointment to the post of joint secretary in the Government of India on a contract basis.

But still playing it safe, these appointments have to wait for clearance from the Election Commission.

The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

Those selected are Amber Dubey (for civil aviation), Arun Goel (commerce), Rajeev Saksena (economic affairs), Sujit Kumar Bajpayee (environment, forest and climate change), Saurabh Mishra (financial services) and Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale (new and renewable energy). Suman Prasad Singh has been selected for appointment as joint secretary in the road transport and highways ministry, Bhushan Kumar in shipping and Kakoli Ghosh for agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare.

The newly appointed joint secretaries include IIT, IIM and Oxford alumni who have worked with the United Nations and renowned multinational financial organisations.

Mr Saksena is a former banker who has worked at the Saarc Development Fund, Mr Dubey is an IIT-IIM alumnus who is a partner at KPMG, while Ms Ghosh holds a doctorate in plant sciences from Oxford University.

The lateral entry mode, which relates to the appointment of specialists from the private sector in government, is an ambitious step of the Modi government to bring in fresh talent in bureaucracy.

Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by IAS, IPS, IFoS and IRS officers who are selected through a three-step process undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In June last year, however, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) had invited applications for 10 joint secretary-rank posts through the lateral entry mode.

While nearly 6,000 candidates had applied for the posts, only 2 per cent of them qualified for the interview stage.

The long delay, sources say, was due to the government having to surmount opposition from entrenched babus who fear encroachment on their turf. The entry of domain experts from the private sector would mean relinquishing their carefully protected dominance of government administration.

The announcement of these appointments has, predictably, set tongues wagging. The civil service babus are expressing worries about conflict of interest due to the new appointees experience in the private sector during which they were advising private companies while liaising with government officials.

The other chief concern, it emerges, is that the appointments would undercut the heavily defined hierarchy in the administration, since some of the appointees are felt to be too junior for such key decision-making positions.

It is clear that the appointees have joined an elite club, but where despite their professional expertise, they will still need to earn their spurs! Fortunately, unlike on previous occasions when individual domain experts were inducted into government and had done well in their respective fields but were inundated by the vast civil service apparatus, the lateral entry move is strongly backed by the Niti Aayog.

Even then the government was moving slowly to avoid a pushback from the babus. Which is why the announcement, coming in the midst of elections, has taken many people by surprise.

With electioneering in full swing, it was widely believed that any development on this front would have to wait until the elections were over and a new government had taken over.

So typical of Narendra Modi to spring a surprise!
In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates. (Photo: File)

There is no precedent for the massive protest that was undertaken by the Congress before the Supreme Court of India on April 28. The Apex Court agreed to urgently hear a Congress petition that said the Election Commissions (ECs) ongoing silence on complaints regarding vitriolic speeches and the misuse of Indian forces as propaganda by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president, Amit Shah, was tantamount to a tacit endorsement of their conduct.

A bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, had consented to hear on April 30 a petition, whose urgency had been stressed by lawyers A.M. Singhvi and Sunil Fernandes.

In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates.

The Congress said that no action had been taken by the commission on the many petitions of violations that the Model Code of Conduct had moved so far. The delay, the Congress emphasised, was a deliberate action itself. According to the petition, since the notification of the election in March, the Prime Minister and Mr Shah had specifically in sensitive areas and states, ex-facie violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Rules.

The petition described at length the reported remarks of Mr Modi that allegedly contravened the code of conduct. For instance, Mr Modis utterances presented Rahul Gandhis choice of Wayanad as a seat where the minority is majority and called for votes in the name of the troops killed in the Pulwama attack in February. The petition alleged that the lack of action by the commission against the Prime Minister and Mr Shah was a tacit endorsement of their statements and a clean chit to the individuals.

Inaction on the part of the Election Commission is a sign of invidious discrimination and is arbitrary, capricious and impermissible ... certain selected very powerful individuals have been permitted to gain an unfair electoral advantage by their material infractions of the Representation of the People Act, Election Rules and Model Code of Conduct.

Eyebrows were raised when the present Chief Election Commissioner and his two subordinates were appointed brazenly without any consultation with the Opposition. On April 30, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to explain its silence against the hate speeches alleged against it in a 146-page affidavit. Forty representations had been now made against them since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 10.

Not since the days of Indira Gandhi (1972-77 and 1980-1984) have institutions been suborned as under Mr Modi. What is now directly in issue is the state of the Election Commission and its bogus code of conduct, which is of recent origin. The commission once based its rules on the rulings of the Supreme Court. The Model Code of Conduct that was enforced by the commission had no statutory back-up. It is well settled, since the days of A.V. Dicey that executive action against a persons rights are devoid of legality.

The time has come in 2019 to amend the Constitution to make consultation with Opposition leaders imperative in the appointment of all Election Commissioners and make it obligatory on the commission to seek legal opinion on whether the facts warrant a prosecution. The Election Commission seems to obey no rules except its own. Constitutional legislation is imperative if the situation is not to get out of hand. For this, an all-party consensus is essential. But that can be attained only after the elections. Indian political parties abhor consensus. We are in an acute dilemma.

By arrangement with Dawn
You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query. (Photo: Pixabay)

Google released its Chrome OS 74 which promises bug fixes, enhanced hardware support, and more importantly, a unified search experience.

As Engadget reports, the reworked search experience unifies Google Assistant, on-device and web search. You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query.

Other improvements include USB camera support for Android Camera app, output audio for Linux apps, and document annotation in Chrome PDF viewer.

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To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie.

Google has built a new AI that uses your selfie and combines it with your choice of words to create your unique portrait, overlaid with poetry.

Called PoemPortrait, the online collective artwork is a combination of poetry, design, and machine learning. As Google explained in its blog, starting today, you can create your own custom portrait with poetry.

To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie. Each word is then expanded into original lines of poetry by an algorithm that has been trained using nineteenth-century poetry.

The AI then provides a unique PoemPortrait of the face, illuminated by the original lines of poetry. All the lines are then combined to form an ever-evolving, collective poem.

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The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

US trade officials rejected Tesla Incs bid for relief from President Donald Trumps 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot brain of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to Chinas industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the US Trade Representatives office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed strategically important to the Made in China 2025 program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: Our costs for producing our vehicles in the US have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China.

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart Chinas efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of US intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing Chinas prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and US demands for sweeping changes to Chinas policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the brain of the vehicle when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability.

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Teslas request because it concerns a product strategically important or related to Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs. USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a US government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corps Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit, Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training.

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China, Tesla wrote. When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers lives due to a defect from a supplier.

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls the brain responsible for Teslas Autopilot functionality and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of US sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent US tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of US Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

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Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1. (Representational Image)

Washington: A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the ISIS and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the ISIS and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group. "Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for

Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well. The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Koreas missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang during a news show at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyong-yangs first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washin-gton with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The US and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyangs concessions on its atomic arsenal. North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06 am (0006 GMT) to 9.27 am today, the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 km towards the East Sea, the JCS added. In an earlier statement, it said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions reli-ef, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyon-gyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean vice-foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea. Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on. The White House said it was aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was no confirmation of ballistic missiles entering its territory.

At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used as a training area for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.
The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice. (DC)

Colombo: Sri Lankas Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter suicide bombings that killed 257 people, a spokesman said.

Father Edmund Tillaka-ratne said public masses were suspended for a second week, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television. It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live, Tillakaratne said.

Ranjith, who is also archbishop of Colombo, said on Thursday that a reliable foreign source had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for the second week. The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution, the Cardinal said. Official sources said the Thewatte National Basi-lica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security, a police official said.

The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice.
A woman reacts as she stands amidst scattered objects in a house that was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip in the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara, on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed one Palestinian gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Pales-tinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Israel hit Gaza with air strikes and tank fire after Palestinian militants fired about 150 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. The Israeli military said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike.

The Gaza Health Ministry said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

The Palestinian Educa-tion Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Across the border, rocket sirens sent Israelis running to shelters, and the Magen David Adom ambulance service said one woman was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the city of Kiryat Gat. Many of the missiles were intercepted, the military said.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene his security council, comes days before Muslims begin Ramzan.
In what is the biggest seizure of smuggled gold from an individual this year at the Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials confiscated gold worth Rs 1.19 crore from a passenger.

The man, who hails from Chamarajanagar, was travelling to Bengaluru from Dubai and had hidden the gold in a bench vice. He hid two gold bars worth one kilogram each and four cut pieces of a bar.

They were wrapped in black insulation tapes and were neatly packed in a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice, an official of the customs department said.

Having concealed the gold inside the bench vice, a thick iron sheet was welded and ground over the compartment to cover the area. The vice was painted to make it appear genuine. Besides the essential parts, around 7.6 kilograms of iron was packed with the bench vice to hide the gold. The item appeared to be suspicious when we scanned it. Air Intelligence officials then questioned the passenger. His responses prompted the officials to thoroughly check the vice, and they found the gold, a source said.

In a separate instance, officials also arrested a passenger flying in from Muscat, who attempted to smuggle in 358 grams of gold worth Rs 11.75 lakh. The man hid the yellow metal as 14 pieces in his trolley bag.

Officials found four very thin strips of gold painted in aluminium colour on the trolley bags handle and two black-painted gold buckles in the strap, besides eight thin straps of aluminium-painted gold strips fixed inside the bags metal casing.
India may engage with Pakistan soon after its parliamentary elections get over  notwithstanding the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's high-pitched poll-time rhetoric against the neighbouring country.

Though the formal dialogue, which remained stalled since January 2013, may not restart immediately, India and Pakistan are likely to have some engagements after the Lok Sabha elections, beginning with a bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two nations on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek  the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

If incumbent Narendra Modi retains the office of Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections, he is likely to attend the SCO summit in Bishkek on June 14 and 15. In case the poll results in a change of guard in New Delhi, his successor may take part the summit of the eight-nation bloc, which admitted both India and Pakistan as its newest members in 2017. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also likely to attend the conclave.

Pakistan is learnt to have informally conveyed to India through China and Russia that the opportunity presented by the presence of the leaders of the two South Asian neighbours at the SCO summit in the capital of Kyrgyzstan could be utilized for a bilateral meeting between them so that they could at least explore the possibilities of further engagements.

The top brass of the government in New Delhi did not turn down the proposal outright but asked for an assessment on the pros and cons of having a meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Bishkek. A source told the DH that the political leadership of the current dispensation in New Delhi might not be averse to have a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the SCO summit, but would like to make it sure that such engagements would not be misconstrued as resumption of the formal bilateral dialogue.

New Delhi would never budge from its stand that talks and terror could never go together, the source said, underlining that the onus to set the stage for resumption of the structured bilateral dialogue would remain on Imran Khan's Government, which would have to take credible, effective and verifiable actions to address India's concern over cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend a meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers in Bishkek on May 21 and 22  just after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on May 19 and before the counting of votes on May 23. Her counterpart in Pakistan Government Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also likely to take part in the meeting. It is still not clear if Swaraj and Qureshi are going to meet on the sideline and explore the possibility of a meeting between the leaders next month.

Another source in New Delhi said that the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the forthcoming SCO summit could not be ruled out, but much would depend on the political situation that would emerge after the Lok Sabha polls. If a new government with a new Prime Minister takes office after the poll, it would possibly like to review the status of India-Pakistan relations before deciding on such a meeting, he told the DH.
A girl has made a suicide attempt in her college campus in Thiruvananthapuram accusing the college union of forcing her to political activities and not allowing to study.

The incident took place at University College in Thiruvananthapuram, a decades-old prestigious institution.

Meanwhile, in a statement given to the police on Saturday, the girl maintained that she wrote the letter accusing the college union activists owing to the mental condition and she did not want to proceed with any complaint against anyone in this connection.

The first-year degree student, reported missing since Thursday, was found unconscious in a waiting room in the college on Friday morning with her wrist nerve severed. A note recovered by the police from her revealed that she was under stress from the Students Federation of India (SFI) led college union.

Even as the SFI denied any sort of pressure on her, the incident could trigger fresh discussions on banning politics in college campuses.

The condition of the girl was stable by Saturday morning and the police would be recording here statement in detail. Based on her statement further steps would be taken against any SFI activists, police sources said.

University College situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city has been a stronghold of SFI over these years. There used to be even allegations that SFI cadres would not allow any other political parties to function in the campus.

According to sources, the girl said in the note that some college union leaders were forcing her to participate in the union's programmes during the class hours and hence she could not study properly. She was also learnt to have shared this concern with some of her classmates and wanted to resist such acts by the college union. But most students feared of hostile measures by the union activists.

Meanwhile, SFI Kerala state secretary Sachin Dev told DH that there were no such issues at the college. "I had enquired about the incident. There was no pressure on any students to take part in union activities. Moreover, now it is vacation time at the college and hence no union activities used to take place these days," he said.

Despite restrictions imposed by High Court several times earlier, campus politics with the backing of mainstream political parties continues in Kerala college campuses. The brutal killing of a college student in Kochi last year over campus political rivalries had also triggered demands to strictly ban politics in campuses.
India has been invited to the G-7 (Group of Seven) summit which France would host at Biarritz on its southwestern coast from August 24 to 26.

Alexandre Ziegler, Paris's envoy to New Delhi, on Friday, told journalists that India had been officially invited to the G-7. He said that France had also invited India to take part in the preparatory meetings during the run-up to the summit.

The G-7 at present comprises France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States  the seven of the advanced economies designated so by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Russia was also a member of the bloc from 1998 through 2014, a period when it was known as the Group of Eight (G-8).

The bloc, however, suspended Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

Sources said that New Delhi had about a month back received the French Government's invitation for India to attend the G-7 summit and the invitation had already been accepted.

If incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be in the office after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, he, himself, may attend the summit. In case of a change in the regime in New Delhi after the elections, the new government would take a call on the level of participation, sources told the DH.

Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh had attended an outreach session of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles in the United Kingdom in July 2005. The bloc had then also included Russia. The UK, which had hosted the 2005 summit, had invited not only India but also Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa in the outreach session.

Sources in New Delhi said that the French Government's invitation to India to attend the G-7 summit this year had reflected growing stature and economic clout of the country.

The G-7 represents 58% of the global net wealth, more than 46% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on nominal values and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity. It came into existence in 1975 as a Group of Six with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US. Canada joined the bloc in 1976 making it Group of Seven or G-7, which remained as an important forum of the industrialized democracies for coordinating economic, security and energy policies. Its relevance, however, came under questions in the recent years, particularly after the G-20 came into existence in 1999 as an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union and started expanding its agenda in 2008.

India is a member of the G-20 and the Prime Minister  Modi or whoever else succeeds him after the LS polls  is expected to take part in the summit of the bloc at Osaka in Japan from June 28 to 29.
Chinas move to lift the hold on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee resolution to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist is a well thought-out move on the South Asian chessboard, part of a much larger diplomatic effort to preserve peace in the region so as to avoid any adverse impact on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Protecting this signature trillion-dollar initiative from any form of conflict is now the highest Chinese foreign policy priority, especially on two of the six BRI routes  the China-Pakistan and China-Myanmar corridors  threatened by durable disorder.

Pakistan and Myanmar provide China with important land-to-sea access that helps Beijing get around the Malacca chokepoint and hugely reduces transportation cost for its energy imports. The Chinese live in dread of a US naval blockade of the Malacca Straits in the event of exacerbated conflict. Hence the determined effort to cultivate Pakistan and Myanmar to seek an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Chinas geostrategic weakness of a small East Asia-focused coast (in contrast to Indias location in the middle of rimland Asia, with large coastlines in both East and West) has influenced much of its recent foreign initiatives, the BRI included.

Having interacted with a large number of Chinese academics, business and political leaders in recent weeks, many of them with links to decision-makers in Beijing, I got the feeling that China was almost desperate to avoid escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict post-Pulwama. If Kashmir, including the Pakistani part of it, became a battleground post-Balakot, the Chinese would not be able to operationalise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which begins in that area. The Balakot airstrike and Pakistans retaliatory air raids raised the spectre of an India-Pakistan war and left Beijing worried, because that would unsettle the CPEC at its point of origin. Who would believe that Chinese maps put up at the April 25-27 BRI conference showing the whole of Kashmir (and also Arunachal Pradesh) as Indian territory were a mistake! It may be one subtle effort to signal to Delhi that BRI would not undermine its sovereignty concerns on Kashmir. And why such a move just when Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visits Beijing amidst the humdrum of the BRI conference that India boycotted a second time!

The Chinese apprehend that Indian tit-for-tat covert operations inside Pakistan could intensify. Indian intelligence has assets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amongst the Shias, who resent resettlement of Sunni Punjabi ex-servicemen in Gilgit and Baltistan. A serious Indian effort to get them to attack Chinese-funded Pakistani assets is not a threat that Beijing can wish away. The Chinese already have trouble where the CPEC terminates  in Balochistan. The April 18 ambush in that restive province, in which Baloch rebels dressed in Pakistani military uniforms pulled out bus passengers, segregated military personnel, and shot 14 of them, has raised the hackles in Islamabad and Beijing. The Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an united platform of three separatist rebel groups, have stepped up the heat in Pakistans most-endowed province, beginning with the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi late last year. That attack showed that the Baloch rebels were now willing  and somewhat capable  of hitting even outside their province.

With huge investments in Balochistans mineral resources and in the deep sea port of Gwadar, the Chinese surely dont fancy a powerful Baloch separatist movement that India (and now Iran) may back to counter Pakistans terror exports to Kashmir (and Sistan). In his book Kaoboys of R&AW, the late B Raman wrote about how India had used its assets in Sindh in the late 1980s to force Pakistan to stop making mischief in Punjab. That could be repeated in Balochistan. Indeed, early in his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the prospect, as had NSA Ajit Doval.

Baloch rebels

The Jaish-ul-Adl ambush on Irans Revolutionary Guards, in which 27 died, a day after the Pulwama suicide bombing, has left Iran fuming. The Revolutionary Guards chief even threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if such attacks continued. Pakistan has recently alleged that the Baloch rebels who murdered 14 Pakistani military personnel at Ormara came from Iran, where they now have bases.

This is Pakistans (and Chinas) worst nightmare  a joint India-Iran covert effort to arm and shelter Baloch rebels. Pakistan has already announced plans to fence its border with Iran. Insurgencies in PoK and Balochistan do not augur well for the smooth functioning of the CPEC  and the one way to prevent India and Iran from backing them is to restrain the Pakistani deep state from its terror exports. Withdrawing the hold on the UN resolution against Masood Azhar is Beijings first symbolic gesture to placate India and signal to Iran that Beijing will try to rein in the Pakistani terror factory. Pakistan itself has much to do to escape blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force. Just grey-listing is costing its economy nearly $6 billion annually.

The Chinese are also making a serious effort to get the Burmese peace process going. The Burmese army recently declared suspension of operations for two months against the Northern Alliance rebel groups in Kachin and Shan provinces. Of them, the Kokang group MNDDA is a Chinese surrogate. Peace in North Myanmar is crucial for the Chinese to implement their projects under the BRI and exploit the regions considerable natural resources. That the Burmese army announced suspension of operations after its chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaings visit to Beijing (followed by Aung San Suu Kyis visit to the BRI conference) is significant. China now has a huge interest in regional peace to ensure that its BRI routes are not affected by any conflict.

(The writer is a veteran BBC journalist and author)
CHESTER  Widener University President Julie E. Wollman announced last month the appointment of Andrew A. Workman, Ph.D. as the next provost of the university.

Workman, who is currently the interim president of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, will serve as the chief academic officer at Widener, comprising the main campus in Chester, Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Del.

As provost, Workman will play a significant role in advancing Wideners ongoing growth as a thriving, nationally ranked university that offers innovative programs, taught by faculty who are leaders in their fields, and that puts students on an inside track to success. He will oversee the full student experience, including student affairs and academic affairs.

My academic and administrative experience has prepared me to help lead a dynamic university like Widener, Workman said. Its history of growth and change demonstrates the universitys willingness to make the strategic moves that strengthen its core programs, embrace new opportunities, and move it toward an even stronger national profile. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute my talents at such a vibrant place.

He will begin his new position on July 17.

Kutztown draws up winning graphic design program

KUTZTOWN  Kutztown Universitys Communication Design program was ranked third in Animation Career Reviews 2019 Top 10 Graphic Design School Programs in Pennsylvania. This 2019 list is Animation Career Reviews fifth annual ranking compilation for graphic design. More than 700 schools with graphic design programs were considered in preparation for this years rankings.

KU was the lone state system university recognized.

Animation Career Review considers every degree-granting four-year school. The organizations goal is to give students and their parents access to ample information as a starting point for students to discover the schools that are the best fit for them and make an informed decision about their program.

High school students noted for leadership by Widener

CHESTER  Widener University, one of the nations premier universities for civic engagement and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, is proud to recognize the 2019 winners of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.

In its eighth year, the program recognized 163 students from high schools throughout the region for their abilities to stand up for what is right, address a wrong and make a difference in their communities or schools.

ASTON: Meaghan OBrien.

BROOKHAVEN: Bryson Eldridge.

BROOMALL: Hanna McDermott.

BRYN MAWR: Noor Bowman.

DARBY: Lowoe Samolu.

FOLCROFT: Anna Conrad.

GARNET VALLEY: Reece Gabriele.

GLEN MILLS: Thomas Carney.

HAVERTOWN: Gwendolyn Pfister.

MEDIA: Ann Crockett.

NEWTOWN SQUARE: Kathleen Till.

RIDLEY PARK: Ethan McKellar.

SPRINGFIELD: Elizabeth Lynch.

UPPER DARBY: Ciro Diop and Raisa Sharif.

VILLANOVA: Kian Bina.

WALLINGFORD: Grayson Ray.

WAYNE: Isaac Debrosse.

YEADON: Maya Taylor.

Glen Mills student inducted to Lebanons honor society

ANNVILLE  Julia Brewer of Glen Mills, was inducted into Phi Alpha Epsilon, the Colleges honor society celebrating academic achievement and volunteer service. Brewer, a graduate of Garnet Valley High School, is pursuing a bachelor of science and doctor of physical therapy in exercise science and physical therapy.

Widener expands international footprint

CHESTER  Widener University is pleased to announce it will build on its strong partnership with American Community Schools of Athens  a prominent K-12 school based in Greece  to begin offering graduate programs that focus on international school leadership.

An agreement signed recently by leaders of both institutions offers:

A doctoral degree, the Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

A masters degree, the Master of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

Access to online undergraduate coursework in general education subject areas, for qualified ACS Athens high school and non-ACS Athens students through Wideners Center for Extended Learning.

The masters and doctoral level programs are designed for people who want to be leaders in international K-12 schools. They may already be teachers or mid-level school administrators, either in public or private U.S. schools, or at institutions around the world.

These programs will position educators who want to advance in international K-12 school settings to compete for leadership opportunities, said Robin Dole, dean of Wideners School of Human Service Professions.

Bloomsburg claims fourth at national sales competition

BLOOMSBURG  the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania professional sales team recently finished fourth out of 75 teams competing at the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Kennesaw, Ga. It was BUs best finish ever.

Kimberly Oaster, of Springfield, along with Austin Collins took third place overall in the graduate competition.

The NCSC is a university sales role-play competition for more than 400 of the top university sales talent along with college sales professors during the three-day event.

Ashland University

ASHLAND, OHIO  Alana Waldt of Swarthmore, will receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing during Ashland Universitys spring 2019 commencement ceremonies on May 4.

Central Penn College

SUMMERDALE  Drexel Hill residents Nasir Copeland and Sabir Copeland were both named to the winter 2019 deans list at Central Penn College.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

MADISON, N.J.  Grace Schug, of Villanova, and Aleah Stevens, of Darby, made deans list at Fairleigh Dickinson Universitys Florham Campus for carrying a 3.2 GPA or higher for the fall 2018 term.

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

BRADFORD  The following students graduated at University of Pittsburgh at Bradfords commencement exercises on April 28.

COLLINGDALE: Mercy Johnson.

DARBY: Aaliyah Hyman.

MEDIA: Darien Talley.

UPPER DARBY: Malcolm Hardie.

Western Governors University

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  A number of local residents earned their degrees from the online university during a number of commencement exercises held from late last year to early this year.

BRYN MAWR: Stacey OBrien.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS: Belgica Urena.

SPRINGFIELD: Melissa Brennan.

UPPER DARBY: Emanual Amadiguwe.

YEADON: Kalese Dawson.
CHESTER  The citys Polish community gathered downtown Friday morning at the 1724 Courthouse to commemorate the 228th anniversary of the worlds second oldest democratic constitution. Members of St. Hedwigs Church were joined by leaders of Polish-American groups from throughout the region and city officials to honor Polands short-lived but long influential Constitution of 3 May 1791.

It is said that our Polish constitution was the culmination of all that good in our Polish culture, said keynote speaker Richard Piascik, a Philadelphia native and member of the Polish American Congress, Eastern Pennsylvania District. The constitution, in effect for only a year-and-a-half, followed shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and brought greater political equality to all classes of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Poland would soon be divided amongst surrounding kingdoms and remain non-existent as a political entity until the end of World War I.

Organizers estimated the annual courthouse event has been held since at least the 1970s, continuing despite a declining Polish population in the West End and 2019 marking 25 years since the process of redesignating St. Hedwigs Parish as a worship site and linking it with Scared Heart Parish in Clifton Heights was completed.

As long as were still here, well keep on doing it, said David Chominski, president of the Polish American Heritage Association of Delaware County. Back in the day when we had (St. Hedwigs School) open, we had the children doing Polish dancing, said Judy Kuchinski, vice president of the county heritage association and chairwoman of the constitution day event. This place used to more packed, but people are getting older, Kuchinski said, as both noted the challenge faced by many civic and fraternal groups of getting younger generations involved to carry on events. Kuchinski remained optimistic, however, saying her grandchildren are receptive to Polish traditions, singing holiday and celebratory songs in the Polish language.

City officials were on hand for the ceremony, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams giving an opening speech on the Chesters role in the founding of Pennsylvania. He landed here in Chester  not Philadelphia, Williams said. History started right here in Pennsylvania under William Penn, and our city is known as the Seat of the Nation, she said.

Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland presented a city proclamation honoring the anniversary, stating, in part, that the constitution serves as an everlasting platform for social justice and equality.

During his closing remarks, Chominski referenced Williams remarks about Chesters place in colonial history. Stating St. Hedwigs has been a major part of the citys recent history, he said We were in Poland back in 96, our (parish) was suppressed in 92. (Polish residents) asked where we were from and we said St. Hedwigs, and they said Chester,' he said. I think thats pretty cool  and Im proud to say Im from Chester, and that our church is from Chester.

Piascik provided a keynote address on his family history and their efforts to establish successful lives in America. I stand before you now on the shoulders of two great, heroic, and patriotic families, who through hard work and sacrifice got to live the American Dream, Piascik said. All while keeping what was good and Polish alive in me; I am proud of my Polish and American heritage. Piasciks familys process of emigrating to the U.S. meant enduring both world wars, German and Soviet occupation and the rise of the Eastern Bloc.

He first told of his paternal side, emigrating to America at the turn of the 20th century before returning to Poland with his young U.S.-born grandfather. His grandfather would return in 1931, intending to send for his wife and infant son. The scheduled October 1938 would be delayed eight years due to the outbreak of World War II, with Piasciks grandmother and father enduring slave labor amongst other oppression under the German occupation.

Piasciks maternal family endured both the Soviet and German occupations of then-eastern Poland, avoiding death in a mass execution in their village during the German occupation. A person pulls the trigger, but God guides the bullets, he said. Piasciks mother, then 13 years old, escaped execution while standing in the front of the crowd 15 yards from the machine guns. Finding themselves in newly claimed Soviet territory after the war, they then trekked back into Polish lands, where Piasciks mother worked in a fishery while completing a college degree. While on a U.S. visit in 1961, she met Piasciks father and soon married. She worked as the financial and operations officer of her husbands general contracting and rental property businesses  which he founded after arriving in the U.S. speaking no English and taking work making steel casting molds.
The stories coming out of Venezuela and Washington are complicated and confusing. Political cartoonists put their spin on these stories and more throughout the week.

Venezuela has been all over headlines this week.

The country's opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has been asking armed forces for the last few months to join his side to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido challenged the country's leadership when he declared himself interim president two weeks after Maduro was sworn in for his second term back in January. Thousands of protestors supported Guaido and several countries, including the United States, recognized him as the head of state.

Guaido spoke with the military base Tuesday in the capital of Caracas, signalling the military may finally have sided with him.

This caused serious clashes to happen outside the base when Maduro's government and supporters suspected an attempted coup.

Venezuela is one of Latin America's most prosperous countries, but the political upheaval has created an economic and humanitarian crisis.

Attorney General William Barr was also a big name to know this week.

Barr appeared before a Senate panel Wednesday and said he thinks "spying did occur" against the presidential campaign of President Donald Trump.

He did not define what sort of "spying" occurred.

Barr skipped a house hearing Thursday.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., made headlines for sending a message to Barr by placing a bucket of chicken in front of Barr's empty chair.

The large number of Democratic candidates is still making news.

Commentators are worried about the variety in platforms and the confusion it may cause voters.

Other stories this week included the fate of Social Security, infrastructure week and the recent tragic acts committed against religious communities.
When I first saw the original print of Andrew J. Russells East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of the Last Rail from the Union Pacifics Historical Collection at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, I found it surprisingly ... small. I had always imagined this iconic photograph, also known as the Champagne Photo, to be grandiose, superlative and towering compared to its hundreds of counterparts in the collection.

Over the course of a century and a half, this photo has been framed by historians, scholars and educators to encapsulate the entire narrative of the construction of the nations first transcontinental railroad. Yet, there it was before me, a standard imperial print measuring 10 inches by 13 inches like most of the other photographs.

The Champagne Photo is both a source of pride of accomplishment and a painful reminder of exclusion. While the old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words, it may not always tell us the entire story. As a member of the organizing entity to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, I and my colleagues hope to widen the lens of history to truly understand the magnificence of this project.

In Russells Chinese laying the last rail on May 10, 1869, eight Chinese railroad workers are placing a ceremonious rail just moments prior to the driving of a golden spike into a polished laurel tie.

Same day. Same photographer. Different story.

While teaching professional development to fourth-grade teachers across the Wasatch Front as part of the new Utah history curriculum, nearly all the teachers recognized the Champagne Photo and nearly all have never seen the photograph with the Chinese workers. One teacher even confessed to me she was surprised to learn the Chinese even worked on the railroad in Utah.

Not only did the Chinese work in Utah, they were part of a more than Herculean effort to lay an unfathomable 10 miles of track from sunup to sundown on April 28, 1869, to help settle a wager between Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific and Doc Durant of the Union Pacific. On that day, an estimated 4,000 Chinese workers along with a handful of Irishmen lifted more than 4.4 million pounds of materials including 25,800 ties, 55,000 spikes and 3,520 rails each weighing 560 pounds. These railroad workers were asked to do the impossible and they delivered the impossible.

The construction of the combined 1,776 miles by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads gave America its independence to move into the modern era of industrialization and to rise as a global power. On the other hand, there was undoubtedly collateral damage. In just a half century, the bison population declined from an estimated 30-50 million to just a few hundred. The way of life for the Native Americans was irrevocably altered. The Chinese became scapegoats for economic and labor woes and eventually became the first and only race to be excluded from immigrating to the United States with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

The stories behind the construction of the transcontinental railroad are exponentially greater than an image of a single photograph. In order to navigate our countrys present and future, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of our past. Flaunting the celebratory while flouting the dolorous is a disservice when it comes to fully recognizing and honoring the perseverance, resilience and fortitude of all those involved in the building of not just a transcontinental railroad but of Utah and America.
Despite decades of general knowledge about the negative effects of smoking, the effort to reduce the number of smokers and incidents of nicotine addiction never ends. Now, new research highlights the gaps in knowledge and the lack of education about the latest form of tobacco use  electronic cigarettes.

Recent numbers estimate that about 30% of youths between 13-18 have used e-cigarettes. A gap in language, however, reveals that the statistic could be much higher. U.S. health officials are having a hard time measuring underage vaping because to many young people, juuling is its own verb and is considered separate from vaping. To get a more accurate number, pollsters have now added juul as its own option.

The slim, sleek design of Juuls stands out from other popular vaping products and has caused the product, manufactured by Pax Labs, to become popular among youths. Its easy to conceal, and the company came under fire earlier this year for ads that appeared to target an underaged demographic. Last year, studies revealed that youths also were unaware that vaping can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

We have previously cautioned against using a product whose side effects still arent fully known. Evidence also shows that teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to convert to traditional tobacco products eventually. These troubling facts indicate that decades of effort to reduce smoking in youths, which had seen tremendous progress, are starting to decline in effectiveness.

In an effort to combat this trend and prevent a new generation from becoming tobacco users, a Utah congressman and senator are among those who want to raise the legal smoking age to 21. A new bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would raise the age for the legal sale of tobacco products, which includes e-cigarettes.

Additionally, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is among a bipartisan group that supports prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. This effort echoes the example set here in Utah, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to raise the smoking age incrementally to 21 by 2021.

The number of youths who have been duped by sleek devices, fun flavor names and a trendy term may be troubling, but hope abounds. Efforts to crack down on underage vaping and to educate teens about the dangers of smoking and nicotine addiction have ramped up significantly in the last year. Lawmakers around the country have taken note, and even youths themselves are becoming advocates to fight the trend.

More precise language will give better insight into just how pervasive the problem is. Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step in finding ways to tackle it. Significant steps already have been taken, but its ultimately the responsibility of parents, educators and lawmakers to take initiative in educating youths about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes, even by any other name, are still tobacco products. Juuling may be considered a part of the youth lexicon, but the repercussions of a new generation becoming addicted lasts much longer than those teenage years. Increased education and smart lawmaking decisions are steps toward a healthy, addiction-free future.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Pew Research Center study released April 22 finds that people across the globe say their country has increased in diversity and gender equality while at the same time the role of religion has become less important and family ties have weakened.

The study surveyed over 30,000 people in 27 countries.

In the U.S., it finds 71 percent are in favor of more gender equity and 68 percent say gender equality has increased over the past 20 years. It also reports a majority  58 percent  of Americans say religion plays a less important role today than it did 20 years ago.

The exact link between these two phenomena  rising gender equity and the changing role of religion  is the topic of much debate.

In an April 2017 article, City University of New York professor Peter Beinart comments on a cultural departure from religion in the U.S.:

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.

Beinart explains that this separation from religion has results on the political left as well.

In 2016, the least religiously affiliated white Democrats  like the least religiously affiliated white Republicans  were the ones most likely to back candidates promising revolutionary change.

A cultural movement away from religion could offer the possibility of change in other areas, such as gender inequity, as the shift in focus allows society the space to address neglected issues, Beinart writes.

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.  City University of New York professor Peter Beinart

Religion itself can also be a driver of the trend toward gender equality.

While religion is historically seen as perpetuating gender norms, society often overlooks feminisms roots in those seeking equality within religious practice, explains the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

And women of faith have long been integral in changing gender inequality, argue Rachel Koehler and Gwen Calais-Haase of the Center for American Progress. As women assume leadership positions within their faith communities, serve in public office and advocate for immigrants and against sexual harassment, religious women make a societal space for women to flourish.

Additionally, Courtney McCluney writing for the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan suggests that because churches are not regulated by government policies seeking to amend wrongs toward women, congregations make their own decisions about putting women in religious leadership positions. Within many denominations, including predominantly black churches in particular, women are fighting against traditional religious patriarchy.

Efforts to promote religious freedom also have been integral to creating a greater platform for gender equality around the world.

A 2014 study by researchers from Georgetown University and Brigham Young University found that governments denying religious freedom contributes to economic instability  and this also impacts gender equality. Countries with severe religious intolerance affect womens financial empowerment by limiting their ability to participate in the economy, according to the World Economic Forum.

The restrictions present in religiously hostile environments threaten elements necessary for sustainable economic development, such as entrepreneurship  a component women often participate in both in the U.S. and around the world.

This correlation suggests that in places of religious tolerance  including religious indifference  women have increased opportunities to thrive.

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred.  New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof

Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, writes: (W)omens status, power, wealth, and life choices are stronger/better in the most secular societies on earth today, and weaker/poorer in the most religious."

He also suggests a clear relationship between religious decline and the rise of gender equality:

(T)he scriptures of major world religions contain explicitly misogynistic passages that cannot be equated to any similar such sentiments in modern, secular-humanist manifestos or declarations.

Zuckerman suggests that religion currently plays a lesser role in society than it has previously because many traditional religious tenets are so disparate from todays social practices. This contrast has resulted in the present-day shift that enables increased gender equality.

Whether one is religious or a proponent of gender equality, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof writes that because religion is changing, society is also:

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred. But just as religion was initially used to justify slavery but later to inspire abolitionists, faith is now evolving from a rationale for suppressing women to a means for empowering them.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Canadian amputee has filed a new petition to have his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission after officials at an airport in Calgary reportedly confiscated the batteries he needs to power his scooter, CBC reports.

The Canadian man, Stearn Hodge, lost his left arm and right leg from a workplace accident in 1984. Since that time, he has used a scooter that uses lithium batteries to move around.

In 2017, Hodge traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife for their wedding anniversary. A security agent at the Calgary International Airport, who was also a representative from United Airlines, told him it was unsafe to fly with that battery, which cost $2,000, CBC reported.

Without the batteries, the scooter wouldnt work, which left Hodge confined to his bed for three weeks.

Hodge said he earned approval from the International Air Transport Association with prepared documents. But no one would listen to him, according to CNN.

"I still remember the CATSA agent saying, 'Well, you could get a wheelchair.' How's a one-armed guy going to run a wheelchair?" Hodge told the outlet. "How am I going to go down a ramp and brake with one hand? But that shouldn't even have to come up."

Hodge asked a United Airlines agent to confirm that he received permission, but the agent sided with the security team, according to CBC.

"We are looking into the allegations, and because of the pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment," Andrea Hiller, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, told CNN. "That said, the experience described falls far short of our own high standard of caring for our customers. We are proud of the many steps we have taken over the past few years to exhibit more care for our customers and we are proud to operate an airline that doesn't just include people with disabilities but welcomes them as customers."

According to The Hill, an airline complaint resolution sent an email to Hodge that there may have been a violation of federal disability requirements. The email reportedly offered Hodge and his wife an $800 travel certificate.
SALT LAKE CITY  An 83-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a young boy outside of a church nearly a decade ago was charged Friday.

John "Jack" Gordon, of Salt Lake City, was charged in 3rd District Court with sodomy on a child and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies. A $750,000 warrant was issued Friday for his arrest.

According to charging documents, sometime between 2008 and 2010, a boy, who was 7 or 8 at the time, was waiting outside a Salt Lake City church for his dad when Gordon approached him, according to charging documents.

He told the boy "he had some trinkets to show him if he would walk to the back of the building," the charges state. Once the two went behind the church, the boy was sexually assaulted, according to the charges.

The assault was reported to a police agency in Davis County in December, according to a search warrant affidavit. Gordon denied the assault when interviewed by police.

Court documents do not indicate why the allegations were being brought up 10 years after the alleged incident or what other evidence police may have collected.

According to state court records, this is the first time Gordon has been charged with a crime in Utah.
HELPER  A semitrailer hauling two tankers of crude oil rolled near Helper on Friday, dumping about 5,000 gallons of yellow sludge onto the roadway and into a creek, troopers reported.

They have not released a cause of the double-tanker crash that happened about 7 a.m. Friday on Highway 191, about 7 miles north of Helper. Crews were working to contain globs of waxy crude that had solidified in chilly Willow Creek about 5 miles downstream. Drinking water is unaffected.

Troopers said a portion of the road would be closed into Saturday and asked travelers to instead use U.S. 6 and state Route 40. They released drone footage showing the tankers tipped on their sides and surrounded by the waxy crude oil in both lanes.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Lawrence Hopper said the truck driver did not sustain injuries serious enough to be transported to a hospital. Hopper said the agency did not immediately know what caused the crash. No other cars were involved.

Scientists were taking samples from the creek, but results won't be available until Monday, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said on Twitter.

The truck had been carrying 280 barrels but 120 spilled out of the truck, Hopper said.
PROVO  A woman who admitted to having marijuana in her system when she caused a crash that killed a South Jordan teenager has been ordered to speak with students about the dangers of driving distracted or impaired, in addition to time behind bars.

Kali Shae Hardman, 31, was sentenced Friday to more than five months in jail in the death of Baylor Christian Stout, 13. Baylor, who loved loved hiking and motorcycles, had hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder, according to his family, and tried to make the world better with little acts of kindness.

He was killed July 22 after Hardman's Kia Sedona drifted into oncoming traffic on U.S. 89 near the small community of Birdseye and hit a Ford pickup truck head-on, troopers reported. Baylor, who was travelling in the truck with his father, was rushed to a hospital where he later died. Both had been wearing a seatbelt.

Hardman pleaded guilty in March to driving with marijuana in her system and causing a fatal crash, a third-degree felony, and driving without insurance, a class C misdemeanor.

Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell ordered her on Friday to three years of probation, and to pay roughly $35,000 in restitution to a hemophilia charity, court documents show.

Baylor's parents, Marty and Staci Stout, said they are satisfied with the sentence because it reflects the profound impact of Hardman's actions, but still gives her a chance to make a positive contribution.

But they also believe their son's death exposes a gap in Utah law that imposes lesser penalties on those impaired by certain drugs, including marijuana, than by alcohol.

"Whether it was marijuana or alcohol," Marty Stout said outside the courtroom, "this tragedy still had the same impact on our family, so we'd like to see more equity in the sentencing guidelines."
SALT LAKE CITY  In a rare action, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced a news story reported by Vice News, saying Friday that the media outlet irresponsibly mischaracterized the faith's response to sexual abuse.

"In short, Vice News chose to misreport this story," said Eric Hawkins, the church's director of media relations. "Abuse is a matter taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he added. "It is not tolerated, and the church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse."

On Thursday night, HBO's Vice News Tonight aired a story about the ongoing pain and suffering of Christopher Michael Jensen's sexual abuse victims and their families in West Virginia. A print version was published Friday on the Vice News website. Both versions incorrectly reported the church's name multiple times.

Jensen was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children while babysitting as a teenager. Vice News interviewed the attorney and two of five families who sued the church in 2013 regarding the Jensen cases, alleging the church acted improperly in its response to Jensen, a church member.

The families and church settled the suit last year. The church, which excommunicated Jensen in 2013, denied any wrongdoing and the settlement amount is confidential.

The Vice News story focused in part on the 24-hour abuse help line the church makes available to its approximately 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents. Those leaders, who are not professional clergy, are instructed to call the hotline promptly about every situation they believe includes abuse or neglect or risk for either, Hawkins said. The goal, he said, is to prevent abuse and advise bishops about compliance with local abuse reporting laws.

Vice News said its reporting "suggests that the system serves a very different purpose: to shield the 'Mormon Church' from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to the church."

Timothy Kosnoff, the attorney who represented the families in the lawsuit and who according to Vice News has been involved in more than 100 cases against the church, alleged in the story that the church uses the hotline to intimidate victims into not suing the church for possible liability in the abuse.

Hawkins called those claims an egregious mistake and said the hotline is designed to maintain confidentiality.

"We are deeply disappointed by Vice News' irresponsible mischaracterization of the church help line," he said.

West Virginia requires clergy to report abuse allegations and Hawkins said that contrary to Vice's reporting, the church complied with every reporting requirement in the Jensen cases, "and in years of investigation and legal process, no church leader was ever charged with a failure to report or to comply with the law."

"We disagree with many of the statements made by the plaintiffs in this story and are frustrated that no fact-checking appears to have been done to verify what individuals told Vice," Hawkins added. "Their statements to VICE are wildly different than (what they said in) police reports, depositions and court testimonies."

He pointed to the example of a victim's mother who told Vice that when she couldn't reach the bishop about Jensen's abuse, she called police.

Hawkins said she testified differently in court, that when she couldn't reach her congregation's bishop, she instead called his first counselor in the bishopric.

"She testified in court," Hawkins said, "that when she reported the abuse to him, he told her, 'this is a crime,' and provided her with the phone number so that she could call the police. The church leader then called the church help line, and the church then called the police to make sure a report had been made."

Hawkins said that was the most egregious fact withheld in the story. He also said the case is a positive example of the church's local leaders correctly using its hotline system and generating a criminal report.

Vice News representatives did not immediately respond to messages for them left Friday afternoon seeking comment on Hawkins' statement. Kosnoff, the families' attorney, also did not immediately return messages left for him and the families.

"To be very clear," Hawkins added, "the case in West Virginia is very different from the types of cases where churches have been held liable for not preventing or even covering up abuse. None of the abuse happened on church property or during a church activity. None of the abuse was committed by a church officer or leader. Tragically, a number of children were abused by a teenage member of the church, Michael Jensen, while babysitting or vacationing or temporarily residing in their or his homes. Jensen is in prison, as he should be, for a very long time."

Vice News said the church's hotline is operated by LDS Family Services and Kirton McConkie, a law firm retained by the church.

The church created the abuse hotline in 1995. A church document released last year states, "When bishops or stake presidents call the help line, legal and clinical professionals will answer their questions and provide instructions about how to assist victims, comply with local laws and requirements for reporting abuse, and protect against further abuse."

Hawkins said the legal advisers on the hotline strongly encourage and assist bishops and stake presidents to report suspected abuse to law enforcement whether reporting is required by local laws or not.
The Salt Lake City Jewish community held the event in response to the recent shooting attack at Poway Chabad in California, which took the life of 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three other worshipers. Houses of worship in the faith were encouraged to #ShareShabbat by encouraging synagogue attendance in the wake of the shooting. While the lighting of Shabbat candles is uniquely tasked to Jewish women, all wishing to show support were welcome to attend. In a statement, Rabbi Benny Zippel, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, said This coming Friday evening, May 3rd, Jewish women and girls the world over are being called upon to kindle Shabbat candles, in loving tribute to Lori, and in prayer for peace and tolerance amongst all of humanity.

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SALT LAKE CITY  Patient advocacy groups in Utah have dropped their argument in a legal challenge that lawmakers made broad changes to a voter-approved plan legalizing medical marijuana at the behest of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The groups' Friday court filings now focus on claims that lawmakers violated voters' constitutional rights and passed directives that conflict with federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal drug.

The recrafted argument comes after the Utah Attorney General's Office contended in filings last week that lawmakers had the authority to change the law. The office asked a judge to toss the suit, arguing the church was exercising its right to free speech when it called on lawmakers to find a different solution to Proposition 2, and when the church announced it was working to identify legislation it believed to be appropriate.

"The church was simply expressing its views and desires on a matter of public interest, as any person or group has the right to do," the Attorney General's filing says.

A church representative declined comment Friday. When attorney Rocky Anderson, former Salt Lake City mayor, first published a letter threatening legal action regarding Proposition 2 last year, it said it stands behind the compromise.

Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, or TRUCE, and the Epilepsy Association of Utah sued the state in 3rd District Court in December in an effort to block the replacement law, a compromise reached by legislators, plus backers of the ballot measure and opponents, including the church. The groups asked a judge to impose the voter-approved plan instead.

Ahead of the November election, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, brokered the legislation in private talks. The Utah Patients Coalition, the campaign that promoted and helped author Proposition 2; Libertas Institute, the campaign's largest in-state donor; the Utah Medical Association, a fierce critic of the initiative; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, another critic of the measure, all agreed to support the contents of a sweeping medical marijuana compromise bill following dozens of hours of negotiations.

The groups that hashed out the compromise said the measure created legitimate access to medical marijuana while also involving medical providers more with patients and guarding against recreational use. The bill, sponsored by Hughes, passed overwhelmingly at the Utah Legislature during a December special session. Herbert signed the bill later that day.

The lawsuit fighting the compromise maintains that it "unconstitutionally undermines or entirely defeats core purposes of Proposition 2" and "severely reduces or eliminates" some patients' medical marijuana access.

The groups previously contended the bill had violated Article I Section 4 of the Utah Constitution, which states "there shall be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate the state or interfere with its functions." But the new legal complaint filed Friday leaves out those arguments.

The suit names Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, as defendants.
SALT LAKE CITY  American International School of Utah is asking the Utah State Board of Education to forgive $360,000 of $514,000 in special education funds state officials say must be refunded because the money was used for "unallowable expenditures."

The full State School Board will consider the appeal during its June meeting. The boards finance committee on Friday referred the matter to the state's full school board without addressing the appeal or making a recommendation.

Following a review of the schools special education expenditures for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, State School Board staff notified the public charter school in late March that it must repay more than $500,000 in state and federal special education funds plus interest.

The appeal comes as the charter school's governing board is contemplating the future of the K-12 public charter school that serves 1,300 students amid growing concerns about its financial viability.

"Every effort is being made to keep the school open until the end of the year. There's a whole lot of work going on to try to make sure that happens," said Kent Burggraaf, chairman of AISU's governing board.

Still, "it's a dire circumstance," and it remains uncertain whether the school will remain open until the end of the academic year, he said. Earlier this week, the school's governing board voted to postpone a vote on the school's future.

Repayment of the special education funding is just one of the school's challenges.

Given state reviewers' findings with special education funds, instead of automatically disbursing restricted funds to the school, the state is reimbursing AISU as it presents documentation for those expenditures.

"The school has to front those costs," some $300,000 a month, Burggraaf said.

Earlier this year, the school received an unanticipated $250,000 property tax bill from Salt Lake County. Burggraaf said the school pays property tax as a condition of its lease.

It had no grounds to appeal the assessment so it wrote a check to the county, Burggraaf said.

"This SPED (special education) funding issue takes it over the top," he said.

According to state officials' letter to AISU, the state review determined that both state and federal special education funds were used to pay for expenses not supported by proper documentation.

The letter, dated March 28, said the funds need to be repaid "out of unrestricted funds within 90 days of receipt of this letter." The school had 30 days to appeal the state's findings, which it did.

The review by state special education staff found that during the 2016 fiscal year, "it appears" AISU incorrectly allocated more than $157,200 of federal special education funds to pay for "unallowable health insurance premiums and salaries and benefits of teachers."

A review of account records and supporting documents such as invoices, teacher contracts, schedules, payroll time cards and personnel activity reports did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act special education fund, the letter states.

The review also found that in the 2017 fiscal year that "it appears that American International School of Utah has incorrectly allocated $154,197.44 of state special education funds to pay for unsupported salaries and benefits of school administrators, teachers, social workers and health insurance premiums."

The letter goes on to say the review of document and records "did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the state special education fund."

In an earlier interview, the school's executive director Tasi Young said about 25 percent of AISU students receive special education services.

Burggraaf said the school has submitted additional documentation to the State School Board to support its position special education funds were spent appropriately.

AISU is described on its website as a "public-private hybrid STEAM international charter school in Murray, Utah." It has a partnership with Realms of Inquiry, a private school also located at 4998 S. Galleria Drive, the site of the former Galleria Mall.

The public charter school was placed on warning status by the Utah State Charter School Board in December 2018. It is a formal action taken by the state charter board after a school has not resolved deficiencies previously identified by regulators.

"Warnings require the school to take action," the state charter board's annual report explains.

The process includes developing a timeline to address the deficiencies and can result in "possible removal of board member, director or business manager."

AISU contracts with Charter Solutions as its business manager. The firm's president is Lincoln Fillmore, according to its website. Fillmore is a Utah state senator. He did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Friday evening.

Charter Solutions was selected as the school's contract business manager through a request for proposals in 2017 and "was fully in place by January 2018," said Burggraaf.

Speaking during a governing board meeting at AISU Wednesday night, Fillmore urged the school's directors as they weigh the future of the school to keep in mind "it's not your money that you're spending. It's taxpayers' money. That taxpayers' money is a trust that the taxpayers of Utah have given to you to spend but they're wanting it to be spent on the education of students."
MOUNT PLEASANT, Sanpete County  Emily Wheeler said the last day she spent with her big sister, Kodi, and her best friend, Julie, she tried to join in on their secret handshake, but she couldn't quite match what they had already mastered.

"They were so perfectly in-sync," Emily Wheeler said. "They were perfect."

Now, Kodi and Julie are gone.

"It wasn't real," Emily said. "It's not real now."

Emily, 15, said she was "shaking" in the car when she heard the news after she and her mom drove to the scene of the crash.

There, on Power Plant Road in Sanpete County, 16-year-old Kodi Wheeler, 16-year-old Julie Oldroyd, and 18-year-old Ryan Lyman died after their vehicle rammed into the back of a slow-moving flatbed truck and burst into flames Friday night.

Emily said she and her family are in shock.

"Kodi's been by my side my entire life," Emily said. "And to have her not by my side, it feels like she's still gone hanging out with her friends, like she's coming home. And it's like half of me is gone.  It's been the hardest moments of my life, to not have her come home."

The girl choked back tears as she spoke.

"When you're a little girl, you dream of growing up together, being at each other's weddings, doing all these things together," Emily said. "She was my everything. And now I'm just here."

The group of high school kids were in a sedan, driven by a 16-year-old female, and were traveling west at about 9:20 p.m. when they came over a hill directly behind the slow-moving truck. The driver of the sedan tried to stop but was traveling too fast. The car hit the back of the flat-bed truck and burst into flames, Utah Highway Patrol reported.

The driver was taken to the hospital with a head injury but was later released.

Front-seat passenger, Lyman, of Ephraim, and back-seat passenger, Oldroyd, of Fountain Green, were both killed on impact, UHP reported. Wheeler, who was also in the back seat, was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.

All three teenagers who died in the crash were not wearing seatbelts, UHP Cpl. Colton Freckleton said. The crash is still under investigation, but drugs or alcohol are not suspected, the corporal said.

The 16-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger of the truck received minor injuries and were later released by the hospital, Freckleton said.

The six occupants of the two vehicles were all students at North Sanpete High School, according to Freckleton.

The Facebook account for the North Sanpete Hawks, the high school's mascot, posted a statement Saturday morning saying counselors and administration officials would be available Saturday afternoon in the counseling center at North Sanpete High School. A state crisis team was also expected to come to the school Monday to give students support.

"We are all in this together, and we will stand by each other," the post said.

As news of the crash spread Saturday, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox lamented the loss to his community.

"A horrific tragedy in our small communities last night," Cox tweeted. "Our hearts are broken for these kids and their families."

Emily said her sister and Julie were "like two peas in a pod" and "did everything together. She said they had plans to raise lambs together for this year's local lamb show.

Emily said her sister and her best friend could "make anybody laugh" and connected with each other on an extraordinary level.

"I think that's something we can all look for in a friendship, is what Kodi and Julie had," Emily said.

Contributing: Tania Mashburn, Wendy Leonard
GILLETTE, Wyo.  Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for a fifth term in 2020, costing the GOP a loyal conservative senator but likely not the seat.

Enzi, 75, announced his pending retirement in his hometown of Gillette, where he owned a shoe store and "never intended to get into politics." But his election as mayor in 1974 was the start of a successful political career that led him to the Senate in 1996.

"I have much to get done in the next year and a half," he said. "I want to focus on budget reform. I don't want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this year, I'll find other ways to serve."

During his tenure in the Senate, Enzi has gained a reputation of being low-key and willing to work across party lines to produce results.

"I didn't get into the Senate for the fancy titles," Enzi, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Saturday. "I like passing legislation."

President Donald Trump sent out a tweet Saturday night praising Enzi: "Mike has been a fantastic Senator!"

With Enzi's retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. It's expected to remain in Republican hands. Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in over 40 years. The state's other senator, Republican John Barrasso, easily won re-election last year.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that he's confident Wyoming will elect "another Republican who will best represent the state's values."

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and Democrats are looking to flip a number of Republican seats to win a new majority in 2020.

Enzi's departure could open the way for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Five years ago, she launched an ill-fated challenge against Enzi. She dropped out of the race before the primary after being labeled a carpetbagger for having moved to Wyoming from Virginia barely a year earlier. Still, she was elected to Congress in 2014 and was re-elected last year.

Cheney has been a rising star in Congress and already is the third-most senior House Republican.

In a statement Saturday, Cheney didn't mention any further intentions for the Senate seat.

She praised Enzi for his service to the state and country.

"He never forgot where he came from and always put the interests of Wyoming first, constantly championing our Western way of life," Cheney said.

A phone message left with her spokesman was not immediately returned Saturday.

Enzi said Saturday that he envisions Cheney eventually becoming speaker of the House.
OREM  Former state lawmaker Derek Brown's easy win Saturday in the race to lead the Utah Republican Party was hailed by Gov. Gary Herbert as a "new beginning" for a party split by years of infighting over a controversial election law.

The governor told reporters the party now needs to stay out of efforts to change the law still known as SB54 that creates a signature-gathering alternative to the party's traditional caucus and convention system for nominating candidates.

"Let's not say, 'I'm more pure than you're pure. You're not really a true Republican and I am.' That stuff has got to be over inside the party," he said. "This is a new beginning, a new opportunity, for us to unite and stand together as Republicans."

Brown, who has served as Sen. Mike Lee's deputy chief of staff, was elected state Republican Party chairman with the support of more than 62 percent of the more than 2,300 delegates attending the convention held at Utah Valley University.

The new chairman said delegates made a "decision not to look backwards but to look forward in the future," by choosing him over three other candidates including Phill Wright, a leader of the faction of the GOP behind the battle over SB54.

"The SB54 fight is over because the Supreme Court has decided not to take it," Brown told reporters after his first-round victory. "The Legislature can do what they want to do, but as a party, we're going to look forward."

Wright, who ended up with about a third of the vote, a second-place finish ahead of Chadwick H. Fairbanks III and Sylvia Miera-Fisk, said he felt like he heard more support in the college arena.

"It is what it is," Wright said. "I'm a Republican. I'll support our chair."

Brown said in his speech to delegates he wasn't aligned with either side of the election law debate but is "the win elections guy. I'm the put Republicans in office guy," promising to maintain Utah's status as a reliably red state.

Wright told delegates "winning elections isn't just about winning elections. It's about making sure we elect candidates that have the same principles and values that we do."

Before the convention started, Brown and Wright campaigned at booths set up just outside the hall. While both candidates attracted supporters, Brown drew a much bigger crowd, including a number of elected officials.

Earlier in the week, Lee endorsed Brown as having the skills needed to "give the Utah GOP a fresh start." So did Sen. Mitt Romney, who did not attend Saturday's convention because of a family commitment out of state.

The governor, who paid for the more than $18,000 electronic voting system used at the convention out of his political action committee funds, had also encouraged Brown to get in the race.

Brown had briefly considered running for party chairman two years ago, when Wright lost to Rob Anderson. The now-former chairman campaigned on ending the SB54 fight, blamed for a debt that currently adds up to about $100,000.

As a member of the party's State Central Committee, Wright sparred with Anderson repeatedly over continuing the legal battle. His boss, Entrada CEO Dave Bateman, has picked up the legal cost.

But financial support for the state's dominant party slowed after the Utah GOP sued the state over SB54, which created an alternative path to the primary election ballot by allowing candidates to gather voter signatures.

The bill was passed in 2014 by the GOP-controlled Legislature as a compromise with supporters of the Count My Vote initiative that would have replaced the caucus and convention system with a direct primary.

The state won legal challenges to the law in federal district court in Salt Lake and in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case earlier this year.

Anderson, who chose not to seek a second term, told delegates the convention was paid for thanks to contributions by the governor and others. The price tag for the event was about $20,000.

The governor said the "clean sweep" of party offices, which included replacing now-former Utah GOP Secretary Lisa Shepherd with Kendra Seeley, means the financial situation should improve.

"It takes you a while to get into the hole, it takes you a while to get out of the hole," he said. "Those who have said, 'You know what, I'm going to sit on the sidelines,' I hope they will take a new, fresh look at the party and say it's time to re-engage."

Anderson said the message the convention results send to donors is positive enough that the party's debt could be retired in the next month or so. He said unlike when he took office, rent and utility payments are current.

GOP delegates gathered in the university's arena moved relatively quickly through the convention agenda, deciding not to take action on a long list of proposed bylaw changes and resolutions, including a call to repeal a new hate crimes law.

Speeches by elected officials largely focused on uniting against an increased interest in socialism and Democratic candidates in next year's elections, and the convention ended in less than four hours.

The usual sparring over procedural issues was kept to a minimum. State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the sponsor of SB54, presided over the convention until voting for party offices began.

The governor said delegates, which included the first lady, don't want the divisiveness of past conventions.

"They want to be able to work together with people, with respect and civility," Herbert said. "I think you saw an uprising here today that said, 'We don't have to have this elongated debate on silly issues."

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated SB54 was passed by the Legislature in 2015. It passed in 2014.
Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr. Paul Kehoe, T.D., paid tribute to the members of the 114th Infantry Battalion who will leave in the coming weeks for service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Minister was accompanied at the review by Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces , Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

In his address to the troops the Minister said: "I have had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas in Lebanon on several occasions and on each visit, I have seen the fine work that our personnel are doing on the ground, to help bring stability and peace to the region. Irish peacekeepers play an important part in improving the lives of vulnerable citizens on the ground."

The Minister went on to say that he was impressed by the strong relationship forged between our personnel and the local communities in which they serve. Liaison with the local population and the provision of support and humanitarian assistance is one of the hallmarks of Irelands approach to involvement in peace support operations.

Soldiers from 29 counties around Ireland were represented among the 450 strong battalion deploying to UNIFIL. Personnel from the Armed Forces of Malta will also deploy to UNIFIL for the second time as part of the Irish Battalion.

Minister Kehoe noted: Also today, we have twenty eight female personnel ready to deploy as part of this Battalion. Irish women peacekeepers have proven that they can perform the same roles, to the same standards and under the same difficult conditions, as their male colleagues.

The UNIFIL mission represents Ireland's largest overseas deployment. Following Finland's withdrawal from a joint Battalion in November 2018, Ireland increased the number of personnel deployed and assumed the full duties and responsibilities of the Battalion for a twelve month period. Earlier this year it was confirmed that a contingent of the Polish Armed Forces together with a contribution of troops from Hungary will join the Irish UNIFIL contingent in November 2019. The Minister today again welcomed this development commenting "Partnership with other States is an important element of peacekeeping operations."

The Minister thanked the families and friends for the support they provide to those serving overseas and concluded by wishing the 114th Infantry Battalion a safe and successful mission.
Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties such as Donegal who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region.

In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Donegal. Key findings from the report from a Donegal perspective included:

 60% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal are holidaymakers

 26% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal visit from mainland Europe ie Barcelona, Milan

 Overseas visitors spend an average of 6 nights in Donegal when visiting the region

Hiking, cross country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Donegal. 32% of overseas visitors coming to Donegal said an event or festival was also one of the highlights of their stay in Donegal. In addition the Wild Atlantic Way, Sliabh Liag and Malin Head featured as three particularly popular attractions for visitors coming to Donegal.

Visitors to Donegal through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 57% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a hotel or B&B during their stay in Donegal whilst visitors to Donegal estimated they spent on average 697 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016.

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019.

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Donegal & the entire region.

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland.

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said: "The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region.

"The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Donegal economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism."

Seamus Neely, CE, Donegal County Council, said: We welcome these research findings which will be of great value to us in determining future marketing strategies for the development of our tourism sector. Access and ease of access are important factors in growing visitor numbers in Donegal.

"Ireland West Airports plans for continued route development for overseas markets particularly through new European and US routes will benefit Donegal from both an economic development and inbound tourism perspective."

Pictured with this story: Members of the region's Local Authority delegation pictured in the new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre at Ireland West Airport Knock. Pictured with Board Chairman Arthur French and Airport Manager Joe Gilmore, were from left Donegal Head of Tourism, Barney McLaughlin, Sligo Cllr Paul Taylor, Sligo Co Council Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes, Mayo Co Council CEO and airport board member Peter Hynes, Galway Co Council Chief Executive Kevin Kelly, Roscommon Co Council's Leas-Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher, Galway City Council's Chief Executive Brendan McGrath, Roscommon Co Council Chief Executive, Eugene Cummins and Leitrim Co Council's Director of Services Joseph Gilhooly. Picture Henry Wills.
Donegal beef farmers are on their knees. That is the stark succinct warning from recently elected county Donegal IFA chairman Brendan McLaughlin, who called a crisis meeting earlier this week in the Clanree Hotel Letterkenny, to highlight the current crisis in the livestock industry locally.

And he called for immediate help from the government and the EU to help alleviate this crisis. Mr McLaughlin said the reason for the meeting was that the beef farmers in Donegal are all on their knees at the moment.

There is a major beef crisis here at present and farmers have been losing from 100 to 300 in the price they get for their animal. It is as high as 300 in some cases.

Mr McLaughlin said there were two major factors causing this crisis-market forces and the grave uncertainty over Brexit.

Supply and demand always govern prices. There are not enough live exports going abroad to Europe because of a recession.

You need that competition with the beef factories to keep the prices up for the farmers.

He added: The negativity on Brexit is also causing big problems here and is discouraging in investment in beef. This is a scare mongering game and that should not be happening.

Nobody knows what is going to happen in Brexit and Britain could still stay in, so how can the factories and the farmers know? The threat of Brexit means we will have no investment. We export 50 per cent of our beef to Britain. If tariffs go up and if you have an animal going for 1,000 to Britain, the farmer could be paying a tariff of up to 700. So that would put us out of business in the morning and lamb is much the same.

He added: There could be tariffs of up to 70 per cent on beef and we can do nothing about that. It is not the farmers fault and it is not the factories fault, it is to do with the EU and Britain and I think Europe has to compensate us in some way or another to save farming.

The suckler farmer is the basis for farming in Donegal and the West of Ireland and we need the beef man around the ring to buy our calves that we rear, the weanlings. And if we dont have those men, we are finished, beef men will not invest anymore because of all the uncertainty.

He added: "We are lobbying the government and Irish farmers in general have lost 102m since last September on beef alone. We want the government and the EU to do something. We want the government to stop hiding behind the EU and the EU to stop hiding behind the government.

And that is why I called the crisis meeting in Letterkenny on Monday night, the IFA is doing its very best for the farmers of Donegal," he added.
Following highly successful workshops over the past two months, a third workshop for Donegal businesses to get customs-ready for Brexit will take place on Thursday, May 9 in Solis Lough Eske, Donegal town.

The feedback on the first workshops has been very positive and businesses attending, engaged on six key steps to prepare their business for Customs after Brexit.

Any businesses in Donegal planning on moving goods to, from or through the UK after Brexit are being urged to prepare by attending the one day interactive workshop.

Previous workshops were oversubscribed and with demand once again expected to be very high for the limited places, businesses are being asked to make sure they book in good time.

Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, have stressed that the workshop is open to businesses from all sectors.

"If the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market, it will become a 'Third Country' for customs purposes. At this workshop businesses can learn about the potential impacts, formalities and procedures you will need to adopt when trading with a country which is outside the Single

Market and Custom Unions (a 'Third Country')," Head of Enterprise in Donegal, Michael Tunney said.

He added that the workshop is fully funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and is delivered by BDO Ireland on behalf of the Local Enterprise Offices.

"It will cover areas such as what export and import procedures apply, how tariffs work and how to correctly classify goods," he said.

This workshop is open to businesses from all sectors and the aim is to help Donegal businesses understand:

- The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) process

- The Administration process around import and export procedures.

- Custom formalities at borders

- Tariffs and cost implication of tariffs

- Import procedures, such as the Electronic Declaration Process and

- Automated Entry Processing (AEP)

Places are booking up fast, so interested businesses are asked to call book online on: localenterprise.ie/donegal or call the office on 0749160735



Local Enterprise Office Donegal is supported through co-funding from the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund 2014 - 2020. To contact the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal, log on to www.localenterprise.ie/donegal or phone 0749160735.
Two brave and heroic youths who saved the life of their friend were recognised for their courage at the National Garda Youth awards.

Odhran O'Neill from Ballyshannon and Ruby Hurst from Rossnowlagh were presented with their award on April 17, in Portlaoise.

Garda Grainne Doherty warmly congratulated the two youths this week.

She said: They showed immense bravery and remained very level-headed and they saved the life of one of their friends," she said.

They were very deserving winners of the award.

Recognition was also paid to the Irish Water Safety organisation in Ballyshannon where the two youths voluntarily undertook the CPR course.

Ruby said: We were at school, in a PE class and the student, he collapsed and started into cardiac arrest. Odhran immediately went for the defib.

The two youths then began to perform CPR on their friend and awaited the arrival of the paramedics.

Odhran said: Since we were eleven we have been training with Irish Water Safety in the Ballyshannon pool and the training kicked-in and the adrenaline kept us calm."

He paid tribute to his PE teacher, Michael Doherty, from Ardara, whose very presence kept both youths calm during the course of events and cleared the hall for them.

He let us take over the situation. If he hadn't been there I don't think we would have been as calm.

Ruby said that both youths worked well together as a team.

We both took turns doing compressions because it is very physically demanding.

Odhran commended the early intervention of the paramedics who were at the scene within around five minutes.

Ruby praised the Irish Water Safety Organisation which supports and facilitates people with the skills to save peoples' lives.

It is not just a skill for the day - it is a skill for life, she said.

Both youths work as lifeguards on beaches during the summer.

Garda Doherty said that without the training by the Ballyshannon organisation lives would have been lost.
An investigation into allegations that a Dothan High School teacher had been having sex with a student yielded an arrest Friday afternoon.

Julia Engle, 29, of Dothan, is charged with one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19. Dothan Highs website lists Engle as a math teacher.

According to a Dothan Police Department release, the agency began an investigation into the allegations Friday. Officers took Engle and two students to the police station for interviews, and Engle was arrested following the conclusion of interviews.

She faces a $30,000 bond on the charge. Other charges could be filed since the investigation continues.

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For example, under the 1872 law it's perfectly legal for foreign interests (many mining companies are based abroad) to stake claims on U.S. public land, and remove valuable "economic minerals." These companies make billions of dollars in profit, but they don't have to pay a dime in royalties to our government for the privilege, costs and enduring problems of mining public land. Safeguards to protect water, air quality and wildlife are virtually absent from the Mining Act. State and federal environmental laws can be marshalled against mining companies to some degree but state law in particular is provisional, changeable, and the Mining Act still enshrines the right of corporations to scar our mountains, foul our streams and pollute our air. If environmentalists file lawsuits, companies can declare bankruptcy or retreat to offshore unaccountability.

The rationale for the Mining Act's sweeping support for extraction above all else is as dated as the law: The urgent need to open the West to settlement and commerce. The ethos of the 1870s wasn't sustainability, let alone conservation. From the beginning, the Mining Act was steeped in corruption because it was written by the very industry that benefited from its passage. It has become only more advantageous to contemporary mining corporations with time, technology and greedy globalism.
We realize a citizen's video of the arrest was already circulating on social media, which likely contributed to Anderson's decision to release the footage. After viewing that citizen's video, our impression, like Anderson's, was that the officers had not gone too far, even though at one point one of the officers hit the woman with his baton, forcefully. Without context, without knowing what came before or after or what might have happened that we couldn't see, we wanted to know more to determine whether it was newsworthy.

Too many times the media have jumped to conclusions on something like this, only to learn that first impressions were wrong. Usually, that has meant someone was cast in an unfavorable light that turned out to be unfair. This case appears to be the other way around. The body cam footage showed the execution of an arrest that seemed well out of proportion to what the circumstances required. Not only was the arrest unnecessarily physical, the woman was threatened with bodily harm  You do anything other than what you're told to do right now and I'm going to kick you in the teeth  and subjected to a stream of profanity.
Bronac Mackin is the Business Development Manager at Carlingford Lough Ferry

Whats your favourite thing about Dundalk?

I know its been said a million times before but my favourite thing about Dundalk is undoubtedly its people.

My father was a Dundalk man born and reared, as is my husband and the entire Mackin clan!

When Im at family occasions or nights out in the town, I get that feeling of being at home. The craic is not the same anywhere else as it is in Dundalk town.

What would your perfect day in the local area be  and why?

Hands down my favourite place to spend some time is on the Navvy Bank.

A morning walk down towards Soldiers Point does the soul good. I love nature and and there is nowhere better in the area to get a glimpse at the abundance of wildlife that inhabits the shores of Dundalk Bay.

After that I would go to the Isle De France for a bag of chips! I would then spend the afternoon in Faughart Graveyard.

This is where I ran about as a child and still go to for peace as an adult.

Faughart Graveyard has the most stunning views of the mountains and sea and the town itself, especially at night when the entire town is illuminated!

What would you like to change about Dundalk?

I would love if more shops took up residence in the town centre.

As a child, my mam always took us up town on a Saturday and we spent the whole day in Clanbrassil Street, Park Street and the square going from shop to shop.

While I know there is work being done at present in the town centre, I hope that this brings some life back to the main streets and helps the traders who are fighting tooth and nail there at the minute.

What annoys you about the town?

The cycle lane coming up Chapel Street, from the Home Bakery to Ta Tas really annoys me.

I know that cycle lanes are important but the positioning of this one and some other cycle lane locations in Dundalk make absolutely no sense and are more dangerous than advantageous.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?

The ferry is getting busier with each passing week and we expect the coming summer season to be a bumper one so the rest of my working year will consist of getting out and about promoting the ferry business and the area, and encouraging new visitors to Dundalk and surrounds.

Over Easter weekend we welcomed over 6000 passengers onboard the ferry which contributed to a good boost to the local economy.

20+ national and international tour operators are committed to including the ferry and the area in their itineraries this coming season, and this number is growing.

So I will spend a lot of time getting to know business owners and providers in the locality to confidently showcase what this area has to offer.

Outside of work, I am looking forward to spending lots of family time with my husband and three girls.

How would you describe Dundalk people?

Dundalk people are down to earth, welcoming and full of life, but are always ready for a good slagging match!

Nowhere else do you get the type of caustic wit that exists in the town  if theyre not verbally hammering you  chances are they dont like you!!

What's your favourite story you've heard about Dundalk?

There are so many hilarious stories about Dundalk and a lot of emotional ones too, but my favourite is a story that everyone of a certain age can remember and most people tell.

When we had the old town square with the big fountain in it, every teenager at some point in their school career got a bottle of washing up liquid and emptied it into the water.

The suds would be everywhere and lasted for hours. Seems silly now but it was hilarious at the time.

What's your favourite Dundalk phrase?

Alright horse or Well hen!!

Is Carlingford Ferry a popular tourist attraction for Dundalk people?

We are seeing more and more Dundalk people using the ferry service.

Before the existence of Carlingford Lough Ferry, people from the town were not as likely to visit the tourist offerings that exist on the other side of Carlingford Lough like the St. Patricks Centre in Downpatrick, Castle Ward, Kilbroney Park, Spelga Dam, The Silent Valley and the seaside town of Newcastle to name but a few.

The ferry really adds to the whole day out experience and we are delighted that the service has been embraced by so many Dundalk people.

These days we all need some time to put down the phones and enjoy being outdoors.

The stretch of water that the ferry traverses is the most scenically beautiful in the country and people use the 20 minute crossing time to relax and breath while taking in some of the most stunning views in the area.
Photo: Contributed There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown Kelowna museum.

The Okanagan has the greatest biodiversity in all of Canada, and Kelowna Museum is celebrating some of that diversity in a new exhibition.

The museum is hosting Birds of Prey, a bilingual travelling exhibition from the Royal BC Museum. There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown museum, including barred owls, ospreys, turkey vultures and peregrine falcons.

Curatorial manager Amanda Snyder believes the intriguing birds will leave people impressed.

This exhibit presents a truly unique opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close, to analyze their details and to see what makes them so special. Im sure our guests will be fascinated by these beautiful birds," she says.

Theres an opening celebration today, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Snyder, who happens to be a bird watcher, is particularly excited about Birds of Prey, but believes it will have broad appeal with local audiences.

Birds of prey have what people might refer to as a wow-factor  theyre impressive and engaging I genuinely believe this exhibit will appeal to bird novices and avid watchers alike.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 5.
YouTube executives have been unable or unwilling to rein in toxic content because it could reduce engagement on their platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

In a 3,000-word article, Mark Bergen wrote that the US$16 billion company has spent years chasing one business goal: engagement.

In recent years, scores of people inside YouTube and Google, its owner, raised concerns about the mass of false, incendiary and toxic content that the worlds largest video site surfaced and spread, he noted.

Despite those concerns, YouTubes corporate leadership is unable or unwilling to act on these internal alarms for fear of throttling engagement, Bergen wrote.

The problem with the social internet, IMO, is metrics. They're almost always a false indicator  shock rather than quality  but because businesses are built on KPIs, they will always manage by any given numbers, even bad ones. https://t.co/peTyXPb6BR

 Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 2, 2019

Tackling Tough Content Issues

YouTube did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but in a statement provided to Bloomberg it maintained the companys primary focus has been tackling tough content challenges.

Some of the measures taken to address the toxic content challenge:

Updating its recommendations system to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation by adding a measure of social responsibility to its recommendation algorithm, which includes input on how many times people share and click the like and dislike buttons on a video;

Improving the news experience on by adding links to Google News results inside of YouTube search, and featuring authoritative sources, from established media outlets, in its news sections;

Increasing the number of people focused on content issues across Google to 10,000;

Investing in machine learning to be able to more quickly find and remove content that violates the platforms policies;

Continually reviewing and updating its policies (it made more than 30 policy updates in 2018 alone); and

Removing over 8.8 million channels for violating its guidelines.

Bad Virality

Corporate culture began to change at YouTube in 2012, Bergen explained, when executives like Robert Kyncl, formerly of Netflix, and Salar Kamangar, a Google veteran, were brought in to make the company profitable.

In 2012, Bergen wrote, YouTube concluded that the more people watched, the more ads it could run  and that recommending videos, alongside a clip or after one was finished, was the best way to keep eyes on the site.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At that time, too, Kamangar set an ambitious goal for the company: one billion hours of viewing a day. So the company rewrote its recommendation engine with that goal in mind, and reached it in 2016.

Virality  a videos ability to capture thousands, if not millions of views  was key to reaching the billion-hour goal.

YouTube doesnt give an exact recipe for virality. But in the race to one billion hours, a formula emerged: Outrage equals attention, Bergen wrote.

People inside YouTube knew about this dynamic, he explained. Over the years, there were many tortured debates about what to do with troublesome videos  those that dont violate its content policies and so remain on the site. Some software engineers have nicknamed the problem bad virality.'

Borderline Content

The problem YouTube now faces is how to create an effective mechanism to handle problematic content, observed Cayce Myers, an assistant professor in the communications department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Much of this content doesnt violate YouTubes social community standards, he told TechNewsWorld. This is content that is borderline.

Any mechanism that removes content from a platform creates risks. You run the risk of developing a reputation of privileging some content over others as to whats removed and whats not, Myers explained.

On the other hand, if something isnt done about toxic content, theres the risk that government regulators will enter the picture  something no industry wants.

Any time you have government intervention, youre going to have to have some mechanism for compliance, Myers said.

That creates an expense, an added layer of management, an added layer of employees, and its going to complicate how your business model runs, he continued.It may also affect the ease at which content is populated on a site. Regulatory oversight may take away the kind of ease and quickness that exists today.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

From Lake to Cesspit

Its doubtful that government regulation of YouTube would be beneficial, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California.

Though Facebook and YouTube and Google execs have claimed for years to be doing all they can to curb toxic content, the results are pretty dismal, he told TechNewsWorld.

The video shared by the suspect in the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque massacre is just their latest failure, King remarked. That said, its difficult to envision how government regulation could improve the situation.

Companies ought to be concerned about toxic content because it can have a negative impact on a companys brand and financial performance, he pointed out.

You can see evidence of that in various consumer boycotts of advertisers that support talk show and other TV programs whose hosts or guests have gone beyond the pale. No company wants to be deeply associated with toxic content, King added.

Failing to control or contain toxic content can poison a platform or brand among users and consumers. That can directly impact a companys bottom line, as weve seen happening when advertisers abandon controversial programs, he explained. In worst case circumstances, the platform itself may become toxic. With inattention and pollution, a popular mountain lake can quickly transform into a cesspit that people avoid. Commercial companies are no different.

Trump Card

Meanwhile, YouTubes efforts to manage toxic content may get more complicated due to a federal court ruling in New York state. That decision stems from President Donald J. Trumps blocking of some Twitter followers critical of his job performance.

We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account  the interactive space where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the Presidents tweets  are properly analyzed under the public forum doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.

That public forum analysis has social media executives wondering about the legal status of their platforms.

Everybody is concerned that rather than being a private club where everybody can have their own dress code, theyre more like a public forum or town square where theyre subject to the First Amendment, said Karen North, director of the Annenberg Online Communities program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

If theres a question of freedom of speech, then everyone is wondering where they can draw the line between what should be available and what should be blocked, she told TechNewsWorld. Some pretty vile and toxic speech is legal, and in the town square that speech is protected.
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By Kaitlin Grable

1. The media still isnt addressing climate change in a way that matches the urgency of the problem. Despite years of record-breaking extreme weather, the climate crisis usually gets minor mentions when mainstream news comments on climate-linked disasters or Trump's pro-fossil fuel rhetoric. Climate change shouldn't be a footnote  it should be center stage. Holding a climate-focused debate will ensure that the climate crisis is treated as a serious issue to address, not an opinion to be questioned. It would push the candidates to specifically address how they will tackle one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime, and give us all the ability to make an informed choice on who will lead us into an era of bold climate action that's accountable to communities.

2. We need bold, visionary leaders to beat Trump in 2020. We've spent more than two years resisting a racist and destructive Trump agenda. With daily attacks on our values and freedoms, this administration has attempted to divide us and wear us down. But people power has given us a record number of women in Congress, voting rights restoration in Florida, and the beginnings of an ambitious Green New Deal. This is just the start. Now we need presidential candidates that will look beyond the status quo and reimagine what's possible. The next president should have the guts and vision to move us toward a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future where we reject the politics of fear and exclusion  while directly confronting how corporate polluters tarnish our air, our water and our climate without repercussions. It's not the time for half-measures if we want to beat Trump. For decades, the bar on climate policy has been incredibly low. If a politician says they believe in man-made climate change, they've been lauded as progressive on climate. Agreeing with nearly every climate scientist in the world isn't leadership. We all deserve to know whether each Democratic candidate has a well-thought-out plan for the climate crisis and go toe-to-toe with the oil and gas industry. Here's what a climate-focused debate could reveal: Who supports the Green New Deal and who doesn't; How the candidates will stop the fossil fuel industry's influence on our democracy; Who will push our economy to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy; How candidates will support communities affected by climate disasters; Who will make a responsible plan to phase-out fossil fuels while protecting workers.

3. Communities across the country are being badly hurt by the effects of climate change. Politics has always been divisive. But recently the emphasis on "us versus them" has gone too far. Instead of creating common goals for thriving communities, with healthy air and water, and shared access to clean energy, the calls of "fake news" and "build a wall" put people in conflict with one another. We need to hear how candidates for president are going to bring us together  because we need everyone in this fight. If we don't shift the way we produce energy in this country, the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis will continue to suffer the most from devastating extreme weather events and environmental pollution. The time for talk has passed. We need to move to a 100 percent renewable energy economy and hold corporate polluters accountable for the damage they've caused.

4. We only have just over a decade to take drastic action on climate change. Scientists tell us we have until 2030 to cut carbon pollution in half to stave off the worst effects of climate change. You do the math. Our future rests on the shoulders of whoever we elect as the next president. Every day we allow to pass without taking action is one day we come closer to an irreversible ecological tipping point. Since we have just over 10 years to take major steps forward on climate, the coming years will be a critical time to make up for all the years of climate inaction on both sides of the aisle. The next president of the U.S. must take bolder, faster climate action than any leader has before. We want to see who is going to claim the mantle of climate leadership, and the best way to do that is for the candidates to debate their plans face-to-face on the debate stage.

Together, we can build a powerful movement to make sure that bold climate action is at the top of presidential candidates' priorities  but we need everyone on board.
Photo: Colin Dacre Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre, speaking to SILGA delegates in Penticton on Friday.

A regulated and decriminalized drug supply.

Thats what mayors and councillors from across the Southern Interior heard is the answer to the opioid overdose crisis, in the opinion of the woman leading the provincial agency trying to get a handle on the emergency that killed nearly 1,500 British Columbians last year.

Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre within the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, spoke at the Southern Interior Local Government Association convention in Penticton Friday morning to update politicians on the provinces response to the post-fentanyl era.

In response to a delegate question about what law enforcement is doing to stem the tide of fentanyl in communities, Patterson qualified her answer as her own opinion and not that of the ministry.

Not sure if anyone in this room is going to like my answer, she said. But the answer is regulation.... There are harms from the illicit, illegal, toxic drug supply and there is criminal activity that surrounds that.

Like what happened with the prohibition of alcohol the answer is I believe regulation [and decriminalization], but it takes political bravery to take that step.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made similar public comments last month.

Patterson told delegates overdose is now killing more people in B.C. than motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides combined, making it the leading cause of unnatural death. Fentanyl was detected in 87 per cent of fatal overdoses in 2018, up from just four per cent in 2012.

Presented statistics showed the emergencys impact on segments of society outside the stereotypes. Sixty per cent of fatal overdose victims are not intravenous drug users, 40 per cent were employed at the time of their death and 68 per cent in Interior B.C. died while using at home.

Patterson spoke at length about the need to reduce the stigma associated with drug use, telling the room substance-use disorders are a health issue.

Not a failure of character, not a moral issue, but a health issue, she said. Because of stigma, people are more likely to use at home alone and die, alone.

The provincial government has been rapidly distributing naloxone kits throughout the province since declaring a public health emergency in 2016. The drug quickly reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Patterson said 45,000 kits have now been distributed in Interior B.C., with estimates of one life saved for every 65 kits handed out.

Opioid-replacement therapy like methadone or suboxone is also being made more accessible, with enrolled participants climbing from 14,000 in 2015 to 22,000 today.

While this is an improvement, this number represents less than half of all individuals diagnosed with an opioid-use disorder, Patterson said, noting there are hundreds of thousands more undiagnosed.

She said many of those now addicted to opiods started with prescriptions from doctors following an injury or surgery, with Canada very well known in the international context for liberally prescribing opioids. The country would benefit from a new, less opioid-dependant, pain management strategy, she said.
Primary school singing extravaganza to hit Villa Marina stage

More than 600 of the Islands primary school pupils will take to the Villa Marina Royal Hall stage next month.

The Sound of Stories will take place on Wednesday 12th June and features a variety of songs from films and musicals that have been adapted from books, stories and tales. 23 local primary schools, plus two local singing schools and choirs, will take part in the mass singing concert.



Organiser Katie Lawrence, a music teacher at Ballacottier Primary School, explained: The concert will showcase classics and family-favourites from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Wicked, Oliver and The Little Mermaid, amongst others. Its an opportunity for the children to just have fun and enjoy singing alongside their friends, without any sort of competition pressure.



Ive wanted to bring this idea to life for some time now and I decided 2019 would be the year I finally put it into action. There will be a live band and the evening promises to be something really special  certainly a feel-good night to remember!



Tickets for The Sound of Stories are priced at 10 for adults and 5 for under 16s and are available to buy online from www.villagaiety.com or by calling the Villa Gaiety Ticket Hotline on 01624 600555.
Education system praised in recent visit

The quality and diversity of education in schools in the Isle of Man has been praised following a recent visit from Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research at The Edge Foundation.

The Edge Foundation is an independent education charity dedicated to shaping education in the UK.

The focus of the visit, which took place at the beginning of April, was to research and gain an insight into the education system on the Isle of Man.

Following the visit, Olly Newton praised the Isle of Man Governments innovative approach to learning.

In his recently published blog, Olly Newton summarised:

The Isle of Man presents an excellent example of what can flourish when schools are released from the strictures of the rigid EBacc and academic curriculum. Head teachers with greater autonomy, a broader curriculum, inter-disciplinary learning and early access to vocational opportunities  all giving young people on the Isle of Man more opportunities to develop the skills that our research shows that employers are looking for.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A northern Ontario First Nation where a mother and four of her children died in a house fire this week has no effective means or equipment to fight fires, a spokesman said Friday as the community grappled with its loss.

Sam McKay, spokesman for the chief and council of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, said the community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay has a fire truck that doesn't work, a fire hall that was never completed and no fire hoses.

There are fire hydrants in some parts of the community of roughly 1,000, but not everywhere, he said. At times, the community has used drinking water delivered there by truck to combat flames but that's not enough to put them out, he said.

"When there's a fire, you pretty much stand and look at the building burn and make sure there's nobody there," he said. "At this time we were very unfortunate that we lost five people."

Thursday's fatal fire happened around 3 or 4 a.m. so no one was around to help at first, McKay said, though some rescue attempts were made later. Three people were airlifted to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and other injuries after they tried to go into the burning home, he said.

Seamus O'Regan, the federal minister of Indigenous services, expressed his condolences in a tweet Thursday evening and said his department was working to provide assistance to the community.

Ontario's minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford, said in a statement that the province will also offer support to the community.

McKay has said the victims of the fire were a single mother and four of her children  aged six, seven, nine and 12. Her older daughter was away at the time and survived, he said.

A prayer vigil was held at the site Friday morning at the request of the family before police began their investigation, he said.

Ontario's fire marshal's office, coroner's office and forensic pathology service have also been dispatched to the community.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, has said a team of crisis and support workers would also be sent there.
Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries.

A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the US outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

HARD LANDING

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the sheriffs office said on Twitter. The sheriffs tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into East Sea

North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Koreas military said.

North Korea fired unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, according to South Koreas state-run Yonhap News Agency.

"MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF MISSILES"

Yonhap cited South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. today".





The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles seem to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The incident comes more than a year after the country fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details of the launch, the agency said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it has been certified to represent hundreds of flight attendants at WestJet Encore.

The union says the decision was made by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after a majority of flight attendants signed cards in support of unionization.

The unionization of about 600 flight attendants at WestJet's regional carrier comes after their colleagues at WestJet's mainline carrier were unionized last July.

Together, nearly 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are unionized, while CUPE says it is continuing efforts to add flight attendants as WestJet's low-cost carrier, Swoop.

Meanwhile, the Calgary-based airline says that 92 per cent of its Encore pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association voted in favour of a five-year agreement that runs until Jan. 1, 2024.

Canada's second-largest airline saw the repercussions of labour strife last May, when WestJet pilots voted in favour of strike action before the Air Line Pilots Association and the company agreed to a settlement process two weeks later.
Pentagon: No F-35 for Turkey if it acquires Russian S-40

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated US opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Michael Shanahan said Turkey would not receive F-35 fighter jets if it proceeds with its purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, the Washington Examiner reported.

"ONE OR THE OTHER"

US officials have repeatedly said the S-400s could be used by Russia to collect sensitive information on the F-35s if the two systems are used simultaneously. They have threatened to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme and not deliver the 100 fighter jets it has ordered from the United States.

"There's no confusion on our part," Shanahan said at a House of Representatives Appropriations Committee hearing. "It's one or the other".





The US Congress passed legislation last year to block the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey if the Turkish government took delivery of the Russian missiles. Washington has also offered to sell Patriot air defence batteries to Turkey, of Ankara cancels the S-400 purchase.
The culture of political opportunism and hyper-masculinity fails the cause of womens representation.

The intention behind the demand for an increase in the representation of women in electoral politics has been to not only ensure the physical presence of women in the political arena, but also influence a change in the dominant political discourse rife with opportunism, sexism and, hyper-masculinity. Incidents like Priyanka Chaturvedis move from Congress to Shiv Sena, however, bring to attention a tragic irony. Chaturvedi, who left the Congress on grounds of inaction by the party on sexism and lumpenism against her, instead, chose to be co-opted by a political party that can hardly boast of a bright record on gender justice. While justifying her move up the ladder, Chaturvedi also reiterated her commitment to womens rights.

Such a move, though not in the least isolated, brings to focus the new normal of politics: a naked careerism bereft of principled or ethical stands, commitment, and guilt. It is important to interrogate this normality. This incident also reflects how parties may end up looking at their members as employees on a payroll, whose job is to market the partys brand and image. Such members could, however, not be considered politicians inasmuch as they are not expected to have any deep connect with people or even with the partys core beliefs and ideology. This also makes a switch between parties normal as it is in a corporate culture.
Indian sociologists and historians have retained a certain foundational bias and blindness regarding caste. M N Srinivass theory of Sanskritisation saw underprivileged castes as aspirational, seeking social mobility. Socio-economic changes were seen as destabilising caste relations and leading to their disappearance. The persistence of upper-caste hegemony, and the resistance to it from underprivileged sections, does not corroborate the thesis forwarded by Srinivas and other sociologists and historians. The neglect of B R Ambedkar has been part of a strange refusal to acknowledge the political in caste.

The intellectual discourse in India has since long been sitting comfortably in its deliberate blindness towards certain proper names of suffering. The proper name of caste struggled to find place in the world of social science theory as upper-caste academicians did not care or pay attention to it. Both liberals and Marxists in India have been reluctant to expand the terminologies of their discourse to include caste as a political category deserving theoretical investigation. Caste was of course mentioned, but never in terms of a political hierarchy that thwarted social change. And Untouchability was addressed not in its radical (meaning, radically exploitative) specificity but as a feature within the caste problem. The left and liberal discourse that supported reservations did so through the Western narrative of positive discrimination, or affirmative action. It was welcomed within the narrative of special, legitimate rights. But this did not simultaneously translate into a political discourse of caste erasure, of challenging the ideological edifice of the caste system.

The grounds were laid by a host of Indian political and social thinkers. In The Discovery of India (1964), Jawaharlal Nehru (1985: 85) speculated on the fluid condition of caste in its earlier stages, and rigidity coming in only later. According to Nehru (1985: 216), the institution of caste, with all its evils  was infinitely better than slavery. Unlike slave-labour in Greece, Nehru found a measure of freedom in the fixed occupational system of caste. This led, according to Nehru (1985: 216) to a high degree of specialisation and skill in handicrafts and craftsmanship.
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement today of its short list of finalists to host the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) underscores its unilateral and evidence-lite approach to addressing the future of US food and agriculture research.

"Any gains that USDA asserts will result from relocating ERS and NIFA away from our nation's research, food and agricultural policymaking are overwhelmingly outweighed by the detrimental impacts," stated Ron Wasserstein, executive director of the American Statistical Association (ASA). "Further, USDA has neither made a compelling case for such an upheaval nor listened to their own stakeholders, experts and leaders. Adding insult to injury, they have bypassed the 155-year partnership with land grant universities and Congress that has been a hallmark in determining American agricultural and food research policy."

ASA leaders also reissued their points made regarding USDA's March release of the "middle" list:

"We're disappointed to see USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue persisting in his plans to uproot the USDA research arm, despite the overwhelming concerns of its former leaders and the greater statistical and agricultural research community," said Wasserstein. "The USDA leadership developed their plans without consulting any of the agency's current or former research and statistical heads or the broader research community. With that community now having strongly voiced its concerns and opposition, USDA seems intent to proceed without course corrections." "We thank Congress for expressing its concerns and seeking clarity from USDA for both the rationale and the costs and impacts of the ERS/NIFA move," said 2019 ASA President Karen Kafadar. "Regrettably, USDA's announcement today dismisses the input from ERS/NIFA's customers and stakeholders, primarily policy- and decision-makers. We continue to believe that this move is not only costly to US taxpayers but removes ERS from its critical mission, 'to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision-making.' We strongly urge Congress to halt USDA's plans to move ERS/NIFA to protect the research and statistical foundations of our food, agricultural and rural economies."

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See also the March 25 press release, 101 Agriculture, Food, and Science Organizations Urge Congress to Block USDA Moves; the March 12 press release, American Statistical Association, Other Leaders Maintain USDA's Upheaval of Research Arm Unwise, Counterproductive; and the December 5 press release, The American Statistical Association Board of Directors Decries USDA Undermining of Federal Statistical Agency and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Contact: Steve Pierson, pierson@amstat.org, (703) 302-1841.

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.

As part of ASA's commitment to support the importance of government statistics for evidence-based policymaking, ASA created Count on Stats. In partnership with over a dozen organizations, the initiative is designed to educate and inform the public about the critically important nature of federal data. Without federal agencies' data collection and analysis, we would not have key insights into nutrition, economic trends, community issues, public safety, agriculture, and countless other facets that are vital to our society. For additional information, please visit the Count on Stats website at http://www.countonstats.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

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Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 8987 2499

Mobile: +33 (0) 7 8531 2036

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Notes to editor

The hashtag for EuroHeartCare 2019 is #euroheartcare.

Funding: This work was supported through the Swedish National Science Council (K2013-69X-22302-01-3, 2016-01390), Swedish National Science Council/Swedish research council for health, working life and welfare (VR-FORTE) 2014-4100, The Swedish Heart and Lung Association E085/12, The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20130340 and 20160439), the Vardal Foundation (2014-0018), the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS 474681).

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1The abstract 'Cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure: a descriptive international study' will be presented during Moderated poster session - Heart Failure on Saturday 4 May at 10:45 to 11:45 CEST in the Moderated Poster Area.

About the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions

The mission of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) is to support nurses and allied health professionals throughout Europe to deliver the best possible care to patients with cardiovascular disease and their families.

EuroHeartCare is the annual Congress of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

Information for journalists attending EuroHeartCare 2019

EuroHeartCare 2019 will be held 2 to 4 May at the Milano Convention Centre (MiCo) in Milan, Italy. Explore the scientific programme.
New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layers - which include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

###

The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.

The Paper's authors are Dr Min Zhang, Professor Corina Sas and Dr Zoe Lambert, of Lancaster University, and Dr Masitah Ahmad, of Universiti Teknologi MARA.
New analysis of 16th-century drawing by Italian doctors concludes da Vinci's right hand affected by ulnar palsy, rather than stroke

A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."

###

The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) is a leading voice in the UK and internationally for medicine and healthcare. Published continuously since 1809, JRSM features scholarly comment and clinical research. JRSM is editorially independent from the Royal Society of Medicine, and its editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.

JRSM is a journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it is published by SAGE Publishing.

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com
Richard Perez, the president of San Antonios Chamber of Commerce, apologized Friday for suggesting domestic violence allegations are not a business issue.

The comment, made Thursday after the chamber hosted San Antonios final mayoral debate at KLRN-TV, drew criticism from city leaders such as Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

After the debate between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and challenger Greg Brockhouse, a reporter asked Perez why the moderator did not ask Brockhouse about past police reports of domestic violence. The councilman was not arrested in either incident and has denied any wrongdoing.

We didnt really see it as a business issue, Perez said at the time.

In a statement from her campaign Friday, Gonzales said the comment was alarming.

I want to be very clear about this, domestic violence is very much a business issue, said Gonzales, herself a business owner. To deny this is at best willful ignorance and at worst conscious neglect.

On ExpressNews.com: In final debate, San Antonios mayoral candidates agree: They present a clear choice

Gonzales said people cant work when their basic needs arent being met, and safety is a basic need.

This is about basic human principles and as our city closes in on making important representative government decisions, its the best and proper time to talk about it, she said.

Soon after Gonzales released her statement, Perez said there had been a misunderstanding and apologized.

I explained our focus was on business issues rather than the allegations against (Brockhouse), Perez said. I, in no way, meant to imply that domestic violence is not a business issue, and I apologize for that.

Perez called domestic violence a vitally important issue that needs to continue to be a priority for our entire community.

Others were upset by Perezs initial comments as well.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO, said she read the statement in the newspaper Friday and was immediately upset.

Domestic violence should be an issue that everyone should be discussing, Chavez-Thompson said. The fact of the matter is we dont get enough attention in San Antonio, or even nationwide, on the issue of domestic violence.

She said she heard from a number of friends who were similarly troubled. Chavez-Thompson said she has reached out to Perez and wants to see if the chamber could do something to bring more awareness to the issue in the future.

The Express-News reported in March that Brockhouses ex-wife and current wife accused him of domestic violence in separate police reports in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He was never arrested or charged and his wife has repudiated her earlier account to police.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayoral candidate Brockhouse told debate moderators he would leave if they asked about domestic violence police reports

At a previous debate held by the nonprofit Rivard Report, Brockhouse told a moderator he would leave if asked about the reports.

I just told them Im not answering any more questions on it, Brockhouse said then. (My wife has) fully denied them. Ive denied them. I dont know what else there is to talk about.

Before Thursdays debate, Brockhouse said he would answer a question about the reports if asked. But Jim Forsyth, the moderator for KLRN, did not broach the topic.

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
Photo: The Canadian Press A Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River.

A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the U.S. military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing onto the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members came to a stop in shallow water in the St. Johns River. Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

Marine units from the sheriff's department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Capt. Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

"I think it is a miracle," Connor said. "We could be talking about a different story this evening."

Several pets were on the plane as well, and their status wasn't immediately clear. A navy statement early Saturday offering "hearts and prayers" to their owners said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

It wasn't immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information." The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

It wasn't known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.
Ethan Miller /Getty Images

More than 65,000 people have donated to Julian Castros presidential campaign, providing more assurance the former San Antonio mayor will appear on stage during the first Democratic presidential debates in June.

Castro, one of more than 20 candidates vying for the nomination, had already qualified for the debates by reaching 1 percent in three approved polls. That was one of two ways to qualify in rules laid out by the Democratic National Committee. The other way is by having at least 65,000 unique donors.
Arlis Olson wants mandatory trash service for suburban neighborhoods in unincorporated Bexar County. So do her neighbors Karen Roth and Mallie Van.

They are tired of picking up the trash others leave behind. Tired of seeing dumped mattresses, couches and TVs at empty street corners. They are disgusted by trash bags piled high behind a strip mall near their Candlewood Park neighborhood on the Northeast Side near Kirby. They are exhausted by asking the county to do something even though they know that something is never enough.

This is a slightly different story than The Glen, a Northeast Side neighborhood where garbage can pile 5 feet high, and it oozes and seeps across the street. It is an out-of-control public health crisis.

That doesnt happen at Candlewood Park, just beyond the city of San Antonios limits. The trash problem is not nearly so extreme here. But that doesnt mean there should be a trash problem  and it points to the failure by the county and state lawmakers to meaningfully address this issue.

Candlewood Park has the familiar and orderly trappings of the suburbs. Good schools. Spacious homes. Quiet streets. Part of its allure is being beyond city limits, and development signs herald the lack of city property taxes.

Its a fine place to live. Many military families call this neighborhood home, Van said. Its a mixture of rentals and longtime residents. But, yes, there is dumping and trash.

As Olson wrote in a letter to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in March, We have a cleanup crew of neighbors that pick trash a couple of times a week. Our efforts are the only things keeping our neighborhood from swimming in trash like other unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

Some of that dumping is coming from beyond the neighborhood. But some of it is coming from neighbors who dont have private trash service, the three women said.

Its just an ongoing problem, Roth said. Its time for us to have mandatory garbage collection.

It was a sunny April morning, and the three women sat around Olsons kitchen table as a breeze drifted through open windows.

It wont solve everything, Olson said of mandatory trash service. But it would help.

Van agreed, but added she would like to see regular bulky pickup to deal with the mattresses, sofas and TVs.

None of this is unreasonable. Its not unreasonable to want your neighborhood to be free of garbage and dumping. Just as its not unreasonable to look at the mounds of garbage in The Glen and be disgusted, not just by the trash, but the inaction from the county and state.

Why is it two years after legislation was passed to grant the county the power to mandate trash service, so many Bexar neighborhoods continue to have trash problems? Why is it nearly four years after the city and county successfully partnered to provide mandatory trash service in the Camelot II neighborhood, no such partnership can be formed for The Glen? Its the next neighborhood over with nearly identical conditions.

The answer to these questions resides in that 2017 legislation. When state Sen. Jose Menendez filed it, the legislation originally included language that required landlords to provide trash service. But that language was stripped away.

Menendez said the law still gives the county the authority to do something, and they are choosing not to.

This may be so  never underestimate the power of indifference  but there is no doubt removing the landlord language undercut the intent.

Why? Because as many residents in The Glen and Camelot II have said, much of the trash problem in these neighborhoods is tied to rental properties.

But wait, there is more.

While the law allows the county to contract with the city or private haulers to provide mandatory trash service, it also allows residents to keep their existing trash service. This is problematic because the city would never provide such a service to a patchwork of homes (and the city has no interest in serving the unincorporated county). And if residents can keep their trash service, the county cant put an entire subdivision out to bid for one hauler.

Menendez said its probably too late in the session to fix the legislation. Hes hoping to meet with county officials.

In other words, its a political and bureaucratic mess  and Olson, Roth and Van are stuck with the cleanup.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
In case youre thinking of wearing a big sombrero to a Cinco de Mayo party  dont.

Please dont. Just take a few minutes and rethink the hat.

I know, theyre just hats. Its just a costume. Its fun, right?

Not really.

Its not so much that dressing up like a Mexican from 1915 is offensive, although people are offended when they are openly mocked. To be clear, speaking with an exaggerated accent, joshing about citizenship and tossing out punchlines involving the words siesta, beans, arriba, no bueno, ole and ay-ay-ay are  in most cases in which a Mexican costume party is concerned  mockery.

And silly stuff happens when people are in costume.

Still, were used to it. People have been putting on sombreros and quoting Speedy Gonzales to us since Richie Valens changed his name.

We are used to non-Latinos picking out a few cultural markers and using them as props and party favors during Fiesta, and on Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis  although in San Antonio, a fiesta can happen on any day.

Most of us dont give this more than a smirk or an eye-roll, as this doesnt directly take food off our table. In fact, for those of us who know how to properly make enchiladas or form a pinata the way God intended, it actually puts food on our table.

But unless youre a mariachi or are planning to spend a long day out in the sun, the sombrero is impractical. Thats why we dont wear them.

The glittery velvet numbers you see on mariachis and charros are ceremonial. Mariachis play at weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries, special dinners and happy events during which we like to hear songs that remind us of our past.

But we dont all dress like this, and even the charros and mariachis who do only dress up when theres a performance involved.

And that big straw sombrero? That is a throwback to an agrarian life that went away a long time ago. Today, we wear cowboy hats, Spurs caps and Selena newsboy hats  the same stuff you wear. Even my grandpa was a Resistol guy. Those of us who do work out in the sun all day have figured out a better way to stay cool than those hats worn by El Guapo from The Three Amigos.

So when we see you wearing a big sombrero at the party  or a bright sarape or a fake Emiliano Zapata moustache  we know where youre coming from. Youre wearing a silly, outdated caricature of us.

That you think its OK to do this shows us that you arent worried about what we think about that caricature. It shows us you dont know us at all.

My Mexican mom taught me that everyone deserves respect. Those whom we dont know, especially, deserve respect because how we treat them defines not only who we are but also how we will be perceived.

Think about this before you put on my great-great-grandpas hat so you can get your party on. None of us are wearing it; a few of us will take offense, but most of us will just roll our eyes.

But everyone will see you coming.

Mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
In the normal course of events, the successful demagogue demands and receives cringing deference. But how about a little empathy now and then?

Everyone loves heroic dissidents like Sir Thomas More, at least when canonizing them has no cost. They get all the best press and plays about them. Yet who stops to consider the predicament of the prince? He can always find some lickspittles who will do as they are told. But the problem with lickspittles is their darned undependability. Men or women who are subservient out of self-interest will turn against the prince when their interests change, or when they get a plea deal. One day they are drinking at a princes open bar. The next they are talking to 60 Minutes or congressional investigators. No matter how much the Michael Cohens of the world are favored and rewarded, their allegiance will go with a better bid.

Deep down  at their most honest and vulnerable  what demagogues really want is sycophants who act out of conviction. Is it too much to ask for servants who grovel because they really mean it?

By this standard, Donald Trump must be a very happy man. In Attorney General William Barr, he has finally found someone who licks his boots out of principle.

Barr was clearly chosen for his position because he genuinely believes in expansive executive authority. But his performance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee went a step further. Barr made an argument for expansive and largely unaccountable executive authority.

The attorney general essentially argued that if a president really, really, really believes he is innocent of a crime, then he can undermine an investigation of that crime without the corrupt motive required to prove obstruction of justice.

Said Barr: If the president is being falsely accused  which the evidence now suggests that the accusations against him were false  and he knew they were false, and he felt that this investigation was unfair, propelled by his political opponents, and was hampering his ability to govern, that is not a corrupt motive for replacing an independent counsel.

This is a remarkable claim on several counts. The evidence from the Mueller report does not provide evidence that the accusations against Trump were false. It found that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a criminal conspiracy. If the accusation is that the Trump campaign had extensive, disturbing contacts with a hostile foreign power in an attempt to gain political advantage, then the Mueller report comprehensively proves the charge. This tendency by Barr to equate the absence of a crime with vindication for the president is what makes him sound like part of Trumps defense team. It is also what seems to have rubbed special counsel Robert Mueller the wrong way, provoking his snitty letter of protest to Barr.

It is the broader implications of Barrs view of obstruction, however, that should concern us the most. He is claiming that Trumps belief in his own innocence, along with his conviction that political opponents were out to get him, constituted a sufficiently pure motive to fire Mueller (and much else) without incurring the guilt of obstruction of justice. But what president  Richard Nixon included  does not believe in his own innocence until a smoking gun appears? What president does not believe that his opponents are unfairly accusing him? And how should an attorney general determine that such beliefs are sincerely held?

The standard that Barr sets essentially makes obstruction of justice by a president impossible to demonstrate. And this amounts, for a president such as Trump, to preemptive permission.

I have no doubt that Barr believes his own argument. But this is what should please Trump the most. Barr is not merely summarizing Muellers findings. He is providing justification for Trumps whole approach to the Mueller investigation  the presidents charge of a witch hunt, his raging paranoia, his belief that everyone who serves at his pleasure should do his bidding. Barr is bowing and scraping with complete sincerity. Finally, Trump has found a man of integrity to bless his corruption.

Does this mean that Barr should resign as attorney general? He has diminished the independence of his office, not just in fact but in theory. He has removed a check on presidential power within the executive branch. This does damage to the effectiveness and standing of federal law enforcement.

But Barr, by his own lights, is performing his duty. And his boss has every reason for satisfaction. Why begrudge a prince his fondest wish?

michaelgerson@washpost.com
West Kelowna's Kalamoir Regional Park was filled with dozens of people looking to prepare the area for the upcoming fire season.

Friends of Kalamoir, a local community group dedicated to maintaining the regional park, teamed up with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan to clear wildfire fuel from the 27-hectare park's forest floor.

While the cleanup event was scheduled for two hours, the turnout was much better than expected, and the group of volunteers filled up the large bin with pine needles, pine cones and small branches within 45 minutes.

We're really kind of overwhelmed, said Cathy MacKenzie, parks natural resource technician with the RDCO. They've covered an amazing amount of ground in that amount of time.

MacKenzie said the main thing they were looking to remove from the site was smaller ground fuels that a fire could get started in, as well as some of the ladder fuels that can move a fire from the ground into the top of trees.

Saturday is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Canada, and the event in Kalamoir Park was an educational experience for those in attendance.

(The volunteers) learn about Fire Smart activities for their own homes and what to do around their own homes to help prevent forest fires, MacKenzie said.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund stopped by the park Saturday.

Every little bit of work helps, so seeing a community cleanup in the park here today is a really great thing, Brolund said. That's a whole big, huge bin load of material that's no longer in the park to burn.

The problem is so huge but every little drop in the bucket helps.

The waste material collected Saturday was taken to the Glenmore landfill's OgoGrow composting program.
The ancient hatred has migrated to the internet.

The San Diego synagogue shooter was self-radicalized on a right-wing message board on the website 8chan, posting before he went on his rampage a thank-you to the boards users: what Ive learned here is priceless.

The attack, which killed one and injured three, came six months to the day after the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11. The San Diego shooter declared the Pittsburgh shooter  also a creature of fringe internet culture  one of his heroes.

Anti-Semitism is a millennia-old phenomenon, and anti-Jewish shootings in the U.S. arent new either (several occurred while George W. Bush and Barack Obama were president).

Whats disturbing about the latest spate of violence is the common thread of white-nationalist ideology, propagated and readily available on the internet and developing its own twisted culture of mass shootings. What happened two decades ago with the Columbine shooting  which set the predicate for years of copycat killers, each soaked in the iconography of Columbine and seeking their own moment of notoriety  is being replicated by a loose collection of sick racists.

The San Diego shooter attested to how quickly hed been prepped for mass murder by 8chan, where white nationalists push one another to undertake acts of violence that they call real-life effort-posting. He said he never could have imagined killing even a few months ago and that he planned the attack in four weeks.

He explained that he was inspired by the Christchurch mosque shooter, who killed 50 in New Zealand and came from the same white-nationalist 8chan sewer. The San Diego shooter aped his hero by also posting a similar long manifesto to the site and attempting to livestream his crime.

Todays internet anti-Semitism is based on very old lies, at the bottom of which is the belief that the Jews are an alien, parasitic force conspiring against their host  in this case, supposedly the white race. The San Diego shooter even cited a notorious lie dating from the 15th century that Jews had used the blood of a Christian boy to bake their Passover matzos.

The addition the 8chan haters make to the anti-Semitic oeuvre is their very internet in-jokes and memes, underscoring their rancid nihilism.

Because everything must be about Donald Trump, the left blames him for Pittsburgh and San Diego. His critics point to his shabby response to Charlottesville (Trump actually did condemn the white nationalists and neo-Nazis, but posited fine people on their side who didnt exist). Yet Trump was explicitly rejected by the San Diego and Pittsburgh shooters, precisely because hes so pro-Israel.

His State of the Union address earlier this year was notably philo-Semitic. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism or those who spread its venomous creed, he said while recognizing a hero of the Pittsburgh massacre. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.

At the same time that an extreme fringe on the right marinates in its own malice, a different sort of anti-Semitism, rooted in hatred for Israel, is getting normalized on the left. It can be seen in the refusal of House Democrats to forthrightly condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar for her anti-Semitic tropes and in the astonishing publication by the international edition of the New York Times of a political cartoon worthy of Der Sturmer.

Its not the 1930s again, but the elite atmosphere is becoming more hostile to Israel than it has been for many decades, and the physical threat to Jews is growing. According to news reports, the San Diego shooting might have been much worse if the Poway Chabad congregation hadnt recently practiced shooter drills, and other synagogues will have to take note. If the freaks on 8chan have anything to say about it, there will be a next time.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The charge was criminal trespass, but Jack Michael Ule was put in jail because he was homeless and mentally ill. He died there, a tragic example of the criminal justice reform needed but that too many are still trying to stymie.

Ule spent two weeks in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center for a nonviolent misdemeanor simply because he could not afford a nominal bond. He spent two weeks locked up, and he never saw a judge.

Tragically, this is all too familiar. The contours of Ules death on April 18 mirror the December death of Janice Dotson-Stephens, another inmate in the Bexar County Jail. Both had schizophrenia diagnoses. Adults in their 60s, both were charged with criminal trespass and held on low bonds. For Ule, bond was $500. For Dotson-Stephens, it was $300. Neither received representation at their bail hearings, nor appropriate mental health treatment while languishing in jail.

Their deaths were four months apart, but each is the same damning indictment of a broken system desperately in need of the very reforms Bexar Countys judges continue to resist and reject. If Bexar Countys judges had embraced bail reform for nonviolent misdemeanors, Ule would never have died in jail. If Bexar Countys judges truly embraced public defender representation for all defendants at bail hearings, Ules mental health issues may have been flagged, and again, he may never have ended up in jail.

But he did end up in jail. Just like Dotson-Stephens was placed in jail. Just like countless others who are homeless or have mental health issues find their way into jail each day.

Ule was from Ohio. He was a bright student, earning straight As in grade school and high school. He studied agronomy at Ohio State University, his brother Joseph Ule told us. But as an adult, he was kind of diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Joseph Ule said.

He could be difficult when not on his medication, which was often. But he made his way, working at times as a cook and living with his mother, Sylvia Ule, in Richmond Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland.

After his mother died about four years ago, Ule became homeless. Sylvia was behind on her property taxes, and Joseph Ule said the house had to be sold.

He didnt understand why he had to move out of the house, said Peggy Taksar, Ules sister. He kind of just went on his own.

Joseph Ule lives in Kansas City and said he offered his brother a place to stay there, but his brother wasnt interested. Instead, Ule drifted across the Southwest. Phoenix. Albuquerque. Colorado. El Paso. North to Ohio and then south to the sunshine.

It was hard to keep tabs. Joseph Ule was battling pancreatic cancer back in Kansas City, and his brother was an adult. Ule might have been schizophrenic, but his siblings couldnt force him into treatment. As long as he wasnt a danger to himself or others, he was free to come and go. Joseph Ule said he had long been dreading the call he received about his brother.

His family didnt know how long Ule was in San Antonio or what brought him here. Joseph Ule thought it was the warm weather. Taksar thought her brother might have been making his way to El Paso.

But we know from a University Health System police report that he received medical assistance in February, and that UHS police had warned him about criminal trespass in March. We also know he listed Haven for Hope, the communitys homeless shelter, as his address. On April 4th, UHS police arrested Ule, 63, for criminal trespass at University Hospital in the Medical Center.

It was 12:08 a.m., and he was watching television in an unoccupied waiting area without an appointment, wrote officer Edwin Bell.

Ule said he had recently been discharged from the hospital and he wanted to rest and watch television. Bell said he was loitering.

University Hospital is the immediate alternative to jail for people in mental health crises, but in this case the system worked in reverse. The hospital sent a person with mental illness to jail. Why?

In a situation where we have a disturbance at the hospital or another University Health System facility, officers are faced with three options: asking the person to leave, making an arrest, or putting the person in emergency detention, wrote Elizabeth Allen, a public relations manager for UHS. The officer, like the majority of our officers, has had crisis intervention training to accurately assess these things, and this person did not qualify for emergency detention.

But that doesnt mean he should have qualified for jail.

In jail, his case was fast-tracked. It moved so fast the public defender never had the chance to meet with Ule and represent him at his bail hearing. It moved so fast no one took into account his previous mental health history.

Consider this timeline:

2:30 a.m. Ule entered the countys Justice Intake and Assessment Center.

2:42 a.m. The public defenders office received his booking slip.

3:30 a.m. Judge Celeste Ramirez set his $500 bond.

There are two problems here. The first is that even though the public defenders office is supposed to represent defendants at bail hearings, that representation comes with caveats. Per a district judge order, the public defender cant represent defendants with existing representation or another bond.

In real terms, that has meant public defenders have to jump through many hoops to determine if someone is eligible for representation. In our view, this obstacle reflects the district judges resistance to expanding the public defenders office and providing representation at bail hearings.

The second problem is that beyond bail hearings, the public defenders office primarily represents mentally ill defendants accused of low-level offenses. People just like Ule. But in this case, Ule was assigned a private court-appointed attorney.

He would have been the perfect candidate for our program, said Bexar County Chief Public Defender Michael Young. He had indicated some mental illness. He was charged with a low-level offense.

But the public defender never even had the chance to speak with Ule.

Instead, he spent the next two weeks in jail, a homeless man from Ohio with a $500 bond. It might as well have been $5 million. His family would have paid the bond in a heartbeat, but they had no idea where he was.

People being thrown in jail because they are homeless, said a disgusted Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who oversees Commissioners Court. Because they got a mental problem. Because they cant afford to pay a bond. Thats what the justice system is? No, its not.

In jail, Ule joined a cadre of people charged with criminal trespass who couldnt make nominal bonds. According to data from the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the week Ule died, 54 people were in jail for criminal trespass. Their bonds ranged from $100 to $2,000.

Ule died April 18, and the cause of his death remains unknown. A press release from the sheriffs office cites ongoing health issues as a possible factor. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he will no longer prosecute people charged with criminal trespass.

There are exceptions to every rule, but as a general matter, I dont think we need to have the homeless population in the Bexar County Jail because they are homeless, he said.

And Ules death was one of the reasons Bexar County Commissioners decided to have city of San Antonio judges oversee bail hearings. Municipal Court Presiding Judge John Bull has welcomed the public defender and said the defense and prosecution will be present at all bail hearings.

As welcome as these changes are, they are not enough. Meaningful criminal justice reform must be embraced by Bexar Countys felony and misdemeanor court judges, and this includes a better job identifying mental health issues to keep people out of jail.

There will be one more journey for Jack Ule. His ashes will be sent to Kansas City where there will be a service at a Slovenian church to honor his heritage, Joseph Ule said. His remains will then be buried in Ohio, beside his mother.
Being tough on crime means being smart on crime.

It means recognizing what cases to prioritize and how best to use limited resources. It means understanding some people accused of crimes should never be in jail, but others should not be released pretrial out of concern for the safety of victims and the community.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales gets this. Its early in his term, but Gonzales is moving forward with a number of smart and overdue reforms that should keep more people accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes out of the overcrowded Bexar County Adult Detention Center, and hes offering opportunities for these defendants to avoid ever being charged for these crimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, prosecutors have been working nights and weekends to address a backlog of family violence cases  another campaign promise from Gonzales.

By far the biggest reform Gonzales has promised voters is a meaningful cite-and-release program. This is when certain nonviolent misdemeanors are treated similarly to tickets. Picture charges such as marijuana possession of 4 ounces or less, criminal mischief, theft and theft of service  not paying for ones bill at a restaurant.

Under this program, defendants facing such misdemeanors will be given tickets and asked to appear at Bexar Countys Reentry Services building within 30 days. They may be asked to take a course, perform community service or enter drug treatment. If such conditions are met, then charges are never filed. And, of course, if conditions are not met, then charges will be filed and its back to the old way of doing things.

But the old way of doing things isnt always the best way of doing things. Thats the point of cite and release and other reforms.

Gonzales had hoped his cite-and-release program would be running by now, and so did we. But it looks as if it wont launch until this summer when new ticket books finally arrive. Part of this delay reflects the work Gonzales has put in to get this right. Gonzales has buy-in from the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the two largest local law enforcement agencies.

Gonzales told us a successful program might serve 100 people a month. In terms of dollars and cents, that would mean 100 people a month who arent languishing in jail for minor crimes at considerable taxpayer expense. In terms of supporting families, that would mean 100 people a month who could stay employed and live with their families, or who might participate in a program to meaningfully change their lives.

But this is also not the only reform in play.

Gonzales will no longer be charging most homeless people with criminal trespass. This policy change follows the tragic case of Jack Michael Ule, 63, a homeless man from Ohio who died in jail in April. He was charged with criminal trespass.

There will be exceptions to this rule, but the basic premise is that homeless people need to be guilty of something more than being homeless to be jailed for criminal trespass. We agree.

Ule was in jail on a $500 bond, which is yet another reminder about the inherent unfairness and absurdity of the cash bail system. One that rewards wealthy defendants, but punishes poor defendants and has absolutely nothing to do with community safety.

Gonzales has said he has instituted a policy for prosecutors to recommend personal recognizance bonds for such nonviolent cases. Hes going where Bexar Countys judges have refused to go.

Hes also considering declining charges for small amounts of marijuana possession and trace amounts of other drugs.

These are all welcome reforms that highlight an intention to bring fairness to the system, but its more than that. Its also about focus. The community is better served prosecuting violent crime (remember the backlog of family violence cases he inherited) than clogging the jail with low-level offenses.

Gonzales is lighting the way, and Bexar Countys judges, who have been so resistant to bail reform and other changes, should follow.
Re: Gun owners alerted to vehicle theft, Metro, April 24:

Do local authorities truly believe I am not aware of the possibly of theft if I leave my firearm in my vehicle? I can assure you that is not the case.

The off-the-cuff solution is to prevent law-abiding citizens from being forced to disarm whenever they enter certain venues, but I do respect the property rights of business owners who erroneously believe that I am the cause of violent crime in our society.

Instead, I exercise my right to do business elsewhere when possible, and I encourage other law-abiding armed citizens to do the same. Perhaps, if we work together, we can combat theft of firearms from vehicles and make society safer by starving gun-free zones of the monetary funds needed to continue business in their inherently unsafe spaces.

Robert E. Thornburgh III, Canyon Lake

Get armed, ladies

It seems like every couple of days one hears of a lady jogger or other women being attacked and sometimes killed. After watching the news or otherwise knowing about these attacks, I cannot fathom why girls still fail to arm themselves when continually being in situations where they are completely alone.

For heavens sake, ladies, I think a trip to the local gun dealer, a concealed carry license and a firearms course would be better than losing your life to some maniac. Just because you may have been getting away with it for a while doesnt mean that tomorrow you wont die!

Get armed, and dont be afraid to use the weapon. They make fanny packs especially for concealed carry that you could use. Protect yourselves!

John Burner

Really look at Trump

Re: Breaking the bank, Your Turn, April 23:

Larry Kovalchik overlooks the most glaring part of the issue. He is fine with criticizing Beto ORourke and Kamala Harris, but he never mentions the abomination he obviously voted for in the last election, who has not and will not ever release his tax records voluntarily.

Our liar in chief has defied even legal requests for these documents, and his supporters are more than willing to defend his actions. His protectors ignore every one of his egregious actions even when it involves cozying up to our enemies.

So, Mr. Kovalchik, please dont lecture about Rep. ORourke and Sen. Harris, when the biggest penny pincher is in the playpen with you.

Jeffrey Hall

Theyre the worst

Both parties have produced rotten presidents. But two presidents stand out: Richard Nixon, meet Donald Trump.

And to seal the deal, Attorney General John Mitchell, meet Attorney General William Barr.

William Larson, Universal City

Pick up a shovel

If the president is so obsessed with a wall around the border, I believe we should get him a hat, a pickax and a shovel, and tell him to start digging. Maybe then he will get some common sense.

Rolando M. Pena

Do they care?

Listening to the news, I fail to understand why we are trying to downgrade President Donald Trump, but our supposed Congress and senators cannot address or care about all the people coming illegally into our country and for whom we are paying  and at 77, Ive been paying for a long time.

Do our elected officials not care?

Patricia J. Wood

Why 20 years?

It is absolutely ridiculous that our penal system takes 20 years, on average, for a person to be executed on death row. How can anybody justify housing and feeding prisoners that have taken someones life? I can't understand why our supposed leaders of the state never touch that issue.

They are much more interested in getting their face in the newspaper or getting reelected than wasting taxpayers money housing killers. Instead of building new prisons, we need to clean out some and make room for more. That might even deter a few criminals once they see it happen.

Michael B. White

Never forget the past

Re: Statue must be placed in a museum, by columnist Josh Brodesky, Opinion, April 21:

History, like current news, is not always fair and balanced. More often than not it is mythologized, conflated and convoluted, as pointed out by Mr. Brodesky.

In bright daylight, place American romantic-nationalistic Confederate statues in museums. Red-blooded, American-soil heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Stephen F. Austin and William B. Travis, all who owned slaves, were no doubt held in high regard by the average Confederate soldier.

Slavery was not Americas so-called original sin. In fact, for centuries, it had been defended and condoned by the Bible. Removing Confederate statues is surely not enough. Truly, we must apply ethical reason, hard facts and abundant evidence to not forgetting what we did  and do.

Jesse L. Howell

A new work program

I have read that there was a Bracero program during World War II. The program was, for the most part, between the U.S. and Mexico, and was ended a long time ago. The program provided farm field workers. While it was not perfect, maybe Congress can come up with a better program and add other services such as caregivers, cafeteria workers and construction workers, to name a few.

They would be screened and given work visas that would permit them to legally work and file the proper U.S. income tax returns for income earned in the U.S. Would that not solve some of the immigrant claims that they come to the U.S. to find a job?

Manuel Vera Jr.
GREENWICH  Greenwich Hospital will spearhead an effort to help doctors better recognize the symptoms and signs of ovarian cancer and breast cancer and more effectively diagnose the potentially deadly diseases.

Town resident Kaile Zagger and Dr. Elena Ratner, a leader in the field of gynecological oncology, co-founded the MAT Education Program, which will provide doctors with a rigorous curriculum to help them to better understand the vague signs and symptoms of the two cancers at an early stage.

The issue is meaningful to Zagger, whose mother, Marilyn Ann Trahan, died after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. It was Trahans struggle with the disease that inspired the MAT initiative, which bears her initials.

She was a warrior and waged repeated battles with the horrific nature of ovarian cancer, Zagger said. In 1999 at the age of 46, she succumbed to the disease. My family was splintered. ... The impact was devastating.  Cancer doesnt just impact the patient. It traumatizes families, creates financial devastation, depletes communities and leaves scars that are unable to be healed.

The MAT program is designed to identify women who are at an elevated risk of breast or ovarian cancer as well as find those showing initial signs of the diseases sooner. Primary care physicians and specialists will learn more about the signs and symptoms, with a goal of diagnosing women sooner, instead of when they reach Stage 3 or Stage 4.

In the U.S. last year, nearly 300,000 new cases of breast and ovarian cancer were diagnosed. Of those patients, 55,000 women died.

Studies show that women with ovarian cancer have the disease for 24 months, and they have seen four to six physicians before it is diagnosed, Zagger said. Symptoms are vague, they whisper, but they are there and they are just enough for us to ignore and prioritize something more interesting.

And when some women seek medical care for abdominal pain, frequent urination, bloating, trouble eating, mild back pain, rashes, exhaustion or even flu-like symptoms, the diagnosis is not made. Saying the puzzle is not being completed, Zagger said the health care community needed more training to understand breast and ovarian cancers.

The curriculum was designed by Ratner, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Yale School of Medicine and clinical leader for the Gynecological Oncology Program at the Smilow Cancer Hospital. Her colleagues helped with the curriculum, which she will take to physicians working in a variety of specialities at Greenwich Hospital.

This truly will change the future of womens care, Ratner said. Greenwich Hospital will soon set an example for other hospitals and health systems to follow, she said.

We need to not only find these cancers early, we need to prevent the cancers, she said. The future is prevention. Im not only going to cure your cancer or find it early, were going to find it before it even happens so you never have to hear those words  that you have cancer.

The MAT program has partner organizations from around the community, including town government, the Greenwich-based Breast Cancer Alliance, YWCA Greenwich and the UJA-JCC of Greenwich.

The effort at Greenwich Hospital will officially launch June 1 with the goal of completing training by Oct. 31.

The MAT Education Program was celebrated May 1, with a special proclamation ceremony at Town Hall. First Selectman Peter Tesei presented the formal proclamation to Zagger and her two children, Geralyn Grace and Colton.

Tesei recounted that his mother and wife have both been treated for breast cancer, and his aunt died from it.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing together the resources medically, in research and within the professional medical community, to put this together, Tesei said. What youre doing is saving lives and saving the future for those women and their families. Ive seen first hand what happens when a parent doesnt survive and how it indelibly changes the future for those children.

During the ceremony, Greenwich resident Diane Powis, discussed what she is facing as an ovarian cancer patient. Her mother died from breast cancer, as did both of her mothers aunts. Because of her familys Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish descent, which research has shown is of high risk for breast cancer, Powis said she was hyper-vigilant about checking for any sign of breast cancer.

But when Powis became ill, neither she nor any of her doctors had any idea what was happening as she got sicker and sicker. It was only after she went for a colonoscopy that she found out that she had a large cancerous mass inside her that was caused by Stage 3 ovarian cancer. It had gone undetected and spread like sand thrown sideways inside her, she said.

When I was finally diagnosed in 2013, my prognosis was, at best, five years, and I am acutely aware that I am only still alive today because of recent advances in gynecological oncology as well as the amazing work of countless health professionals who have guided me through multiple surgeries, years of chemotherapy infusions, two clinical trials and my current regiment on a PARP inhibitor, Powis said. She wondered how her life would have been different had MAT training been in place and her cancer had been detected sooner.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
People of West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as severe cyclonic storm Fani weakened on Saturday morning and was moving towards neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official of the regional meteorological centre said.

The city witnessed wind speeds of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight, he said. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed, officials said. "Fani is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours.

"It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and enter Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am on Saturday.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district...and is moving towards Murshidabad district," Bandyopadhyay said. A senior official said apart from a few mud houses collapsing and tress falling, there were no reports of casualties from any of the districts. "However, we are awaiting further details," he added.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation. "We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Meanwhile, flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am on Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Flight services were suspended at the airport from 3 pm on Friday. Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections were also getting back to normal, the officials said.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in the central part of the city's Beniatola Lane, police said. All the five injured persons were released after treatment. The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans.

The cyclone barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.

-PTI
British pig producers are 'furious' at the 'dismal' prices currently being offered at a time when the global pork market is buoyant.

The UK's competitors are enjoying increased prices on the back of soaring Chinese demand as the world's biggest pig producer comes to grips with the African swine fever (ASF) crisis.

Following recent small increases, the EU-spec Standard Pig Price (SPP) rose by just over 1p to reach 139.84p/kg last week.

This increase represents the largest weekly rise since June last year and the highest price since the first week in January.

Nonetheless, the price is still around 6p below the price this time last year. The National Pig Association (NPA) says the increases seen in April 'pale into insignificance' in comparison to what is happening in the EU.

'Game-changer' for UK's competitors

Danish Crown, Europe's largest pork producer, recently described the surge in demand for EU pork from China as a game-changer  the processors export volumes to China have doubled since February.

The latest Eurostat figures show EU fresh and frozen pork shipments to China were up by 16% (+19,600 tonnes) year-on-year in January and February, which has had a big impact on EU pork prices.

Meanwhile, the EU reference price has soared from 117p/kg in early February to nearly 146p/kg in the week ended April 22.

Most major producing countries have seen massive hikes over that period.

The China effect is being seen on prices all over the world, including the US, where prices have almost doubled since February.

UK pork exports to China were up 40% year-on-year in February  and yet the UK price is still almost exactly where it was at the start of February.

'Dismal prices'

The NPA says it has received a number of calls from concerned pig producers who want to know what is happening.

Chairman Richard Lister said the price British producers are getting is 'dismal', especially in the context of what is happening with China.

As the EU pig price surges ahead, UK pig producers are left feeling like the modern day Oliver Twist, he said, faced with heavily over-stretched overdraft facilities, producers were entitled to breathe a sigh of relief at the increase in EU prices.

Sadly, this relief has turned to anger and frustration at the scraps being offered over the last four weeks. Processors will know full well the pressures producers are under, with owning so many of their own sows, and having seen another significant independent producer disappear.

He added: I have had numerous producers ringing me during the last fortnight wanting to understand why we are not seeing a proper and significant recovery in their price.

It is important producers make their feelings known to processors and marketing groups because we need a fairer share - just like Oliver Twist, he said.

The NPA has been collecting data from members about the current market situation, which chief executive Zoe Davies said was proving to be illuminating.

The group is demanding 'rapid and significant change' from processors in the prices being paid.
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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan.

I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.

-PTI
There is not enough analysis data for Firestone Diamonds.

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MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Firestone Diamonds and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe FDI will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe FDI will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Public Joint Stock Company Rostelecom and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe ROSYY will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe ROSYY will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Autodesk, Avigilon, CommScope, Finastra, McAfee, Poly and T-Mobile honored for channel program excellence at Impartner's annual customer and channel management conference

SALT LAKE CITY, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Impartner, the world's best-selling pure-play Partner Relationship Management solution today announced the winners of its fourth annual customer awards, which were presented at ImpartnerCON19, the company's annual global customer and channel management summit. The theme for this year's conference, which is now the largest conference of channel chiefs in the industry, was Elevate, with the focus being on helping companies prepare for 2020 and the decade beyond. Following are the winners of this year's Impartner Elevate Awards, which are presented to companies setting the pace for channel operations:

Autodesk: For pushing the boundaries of personalized channel communications in eight languages using Impartner's News on Demand solution.

Avigilon/Motorola: For innovation in CPQ functionality for partners and spectacular growth in partner engagement.

CommScope: For completely transforming their CRM and PRM solutions simultaneously and in record time, and at the same time, delivering an innovative, ground-breaking partner experience.

Finastra: For pioneering use of PRM in the fast-growing fintech industry.

McAfee: For a rapid, streamlined, efficient implementation of a PRM solution, despite the complexities of a major organization.

Poly: For nimbleness in transformation of the company's channel management solution, all while integrating a major acquisition.

T-Mobile: For the creation of a unique partner and distribution experience to enable an unparalleled, more comprehensive market presence.

At the event, Impartner also presented its first Partner of the Year Award to AchieveUnite, for being the company's highest producing referral partner.

The 4th annual conference comes as Impartner continues a growth streak that's driven by an ever-increasing slate of customer wins from Fortune 100 corporations in multiple verticals from tech, to manufacturing, to oil and gas, to fintech, all of which has resulted in a 10x growth in new customer logos in the same four-year time period. During the conference, the company also announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate direct and indirect sales by co-marketing and co-selling Impartner PRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

About Impartner

Impartner helps companies worldwide transform the performance of their indirect sales, increasing revenue an average of 31 percent and reduce administrative costs as much as 23 percent in the first year of use alone. Impartner's SaaS-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software is the best-selling, most award-winning pure-play solution on the market and can be up and running in as few as 14 days. For more information on Impartner, which is based in Utah's tech hotbed, the Silicon Slopes, visit www.impartner.com , or in the United States call +1 801 501 7000, for EMEA general call +33 1 40 90 31 20, for London call +44 0 20 3283 4465, and for LATAM call +1 954 364 7883.

Follow Impartner on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .

Contact:

Kerry Desberg

Impartner

425-231-9529

Kerry.desberg@impartner.com

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By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday. The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares

By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday.

The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares.

The conversations have been ongoing with companies that seek exposure to the Gulf of Mexico, the people said, but did not specify which companies the talks were with.

Fieldwood has both deepwater and shallow-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico, including a stake in more than 500 platforms, according to its website. With over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in output, it is the sixth-largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, marginally ahead of Exxon Mobil Corp, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.

Fieldwood declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. Barclays facilitated the meetings, two of the people said.

Fieldwood has grown to operate more than 1,000 wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since its formation in 2013 by buyout firm Riverstone Holdings. The company has acquired assets from oil firms exiting the Gulf, including Apache Corp, Noble Energy Inc and SandRidge Energy.

Fieldwood also operates two fields in Mexico's shallow water Bay of Campeche.

The company's fortunes have see-sawed in part due to an oil price rout that began in 2014 and to the massive onshore shale ramp-up in the United States, where production costs are generally lower than offshore operations.

Like a number of offshore producers in 2016 and early 2017, Fieldwood filed for bankruptcy in February 2018. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in April after restructuring its debt.

Fieldwood retained advisers to study an IPO last year in hopes to list on the stock market in 2019, seeking a valuation of more than $5 billion, according to media reports in September.

However, Fieldwood has been unable to pursue an IPO after several years of underperformance in the stock market by oil and gas producers compared with other economic sectors, the people said. In the last 12 months, energy companies in the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 index are down 12 percent, compared with a 10 percent gain for the broader index.

(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S

By Julia Harte

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

The Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must be approved by federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump's presidency and first disclosed by Reuters, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits.

Congressional staffers confirmed to Reuters that the Trump World Tower lease requests were never submitted to Congress. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said his committee has been "stonewalled" in its efforts to obtain detailed information about foreign government payments to Trump's businesses.

"This new information raises serious questions about the President and his businesses' potential receipt of payments from foreign governments," Cummings said in a statement to Reuters. "The American public deserves full transparency."

A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved "matters related to ongoing litigation." The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which declined to comment before publication.

Following publication of this article, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten sent an email to Reuters describing the story as "inaccurate" and "misleading". He said Trump World Tower is owned by its third-party condominium owners and therefore Trump would not receive proceeds from the lease of such units.

Six legal experts said that regardless of who owns those units, the fact that Trump was collecting fees for managing the building while foreign governments were paying to live there represents a potential breach of the emoluments clause. Certain constitutional scholars counter that the definition of "emolument" should be more narrow, a view that Trump's attorneys share.

The 1982 Foreign Missions Act requires foreign governments to get State Department clearance for any purchase, lease, sale, or other use of a property in the United States. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Reuters obtained diplomatic notes sent to the agency under this requirement from early 2015 until late 2017.

The records show that in the eight months following Trump's January 20, 2017 inauguration, foreign governments sent 13 notes to the State Department seeking permission to rent or renew leases in Trump World Tower. That is more solicitations from foreign governments for new or renewed leases in that building than in the previous two years combined.

The governments of Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Thailand and the European Union got the green light to rent a combined eight units in Trump World Tower and followed through with leases, according to other documents viewed by Reuters and people familiar with the leases. Five of those governments - Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the European Union - had also sought to rent units there in 2015 and 2016, State Department records showed.

Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait.

"Letting this go without Congress knowing about it condones the creation of a second, opaque track of foreign policy," said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor at Yale Law School and former legal adviser at the State Department. "What it might lead to is a group of countries enriching the people in power on the mistaken belief that it's going to improve their access."

(For a graphic on foreign government leases at Trump World Tower, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2DHJKOS)

PAYMENT CHAIN

The 18-year-old luxury skyscraper is located next to the United Nations headquarters near the East River, and is not to be confused with Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue landmark where Trump maintains a residence.

Although Garten, the attorney, contended the emoluments question is moot because Trump World Tower units are owned by third parties, Trump does earn income through the Trump Corporation, a Trump-owned company that manages Trump World Tower and draws its income from fees paid by unit owners, according to the building's financial records.

In 2017, the president earned more than $15 million in management and related fees through the properties managed by the Trump Corporation, according to the president's financial disclosure. The document did not reveal how much of that sum came from Trump World Tower.

In at least eight instances in 2017, third-party owners in Trump World Tower leased their units to foreign governments. When privately-owned units are leased, their owners typically use that rental income to cover management fees and other common charges, according to two unit owners in Trump World Tower and four real estate experts interviewed by Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine exactly how the owners who leased the units to the foreign governments paid their fees.

But even if the condominium owners did not use their rental income to pay their common charges, it still could be considered an emolument because the foreign governments helped those owners defray their costs, with the benefit flowing to Trump, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law who has studied the history of Justice Department interpretations on the subject.

In other words, Clark said, payments passing through a chain of intermediaries to a U.S. official could still constitute emoluments because they could ultimately enrich and influence the behaviour of the official.

In legal opinions issued under previous administrations, Clark said, "the Justice Department has expressed concern that foreign governments would use companies as conduits for foreign emoluments."

However, South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said that foreign government payments that enrich a U.S. official should only constitute emoluments if they are "tied to the discharge of official duties." He has filed briefs in each emoluments lawsuit against Trump endorsing this view.

While U.S. presidents have rarely needed to seek approval of payments from foreign governments in the past, Trumps continued ownership of his vast network of businesses has left him exposed to more potential emoluments issues than any previous U.S. president, according to legal and ethics experts.

The revenue Trump draws from foreign government business at his properties, such as the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has sparked lawsuits by U.S. lawmakers and the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, alleging this income violates the emoluments clause. Defining exactly what constitutes an emolument is at the heart of those cases.

Trump's attorneys have argued in court that the Constitution only requires him to seek congressional approval for foreign emoluments offered in connection with his role as president. Trump has retained ownership of his global business interests while president, but handed off day-to-day control to his oldest sons and a longtime company executive.

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge denied Trump's motion to dismiss one of the emoluments lawsuits against him, saying Trump's narrow definition of emoluments was "unpersuasive and inconsistent". Courts may ultimately decide whether some of Trump's business dealings violate the Constitution.

Issuing such judgements is not the job of the State Department office in charge of reviewing foreign government property requests, according to Patrick Kennedy, who from 2007 to 2017 was the top State Department official in charge of the internal administration of the agency. He said that office's mandate is to screen for national security and diplomatic concerns, not for potential emolument violations.

If the State Department began obstructing requests from foreign governments to lease units in Trump-affiliated properties, he said, it could prompt them to retaliate against U.S. diplomats seeking housing in their territories.

"The State Department's interest in saying 'no' is probably zero if there's no security threat and we have good reciprocal relations with the countries," Kennedy told Reuters.

'CONVENIENT AND COMFORTABLE'

According to the State Department records obtained by Reuters, which covered the period from January 2015 through September 2017, Trump World Tower was the only Trump-affiliated building in the United States where foreign governments sought to lease or buy units.

In 2017, the median monthly asking rent for units in Trump World Tower was $8,500, according to real estate website StreetEasy. That was more than 2.5 times the median in the surrounding neighbourhood, known as Turtle Bay.

Some of the foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, had previously purchased property in the building, where the average unit currently sells for nearly $7 million, according to StreetEasy.

Mohammad Alkadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Mission to the United Nations, said Trump World Tower's prime location near U.N. headquarters was the kingdom's motivation to lease there.

"The governments pay for these units in the building not to get favours from Trump or anything, but just because it's very convenient and comfortable for us," Alkadi said. He said he moved into his own unit in Trump World Tower at the end of 2017.

Slovakia, another Trump World Tower renter, said in a statement that its lease was "fully in line with U.S. legislation and our internal guidelines." Slovakia's prime minister is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House today to discuss security cooperation and other issues.

The Malaysian mission to the United Nations said it was not currently renting a unit in Trump World Tower when reached by phone in April. It declined to comment on the unit it rented in 2017. That lease was confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the transaction.

All the other governments that sought to rent units after Trump's inauguration declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Jason Szep and Marla Dickerson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution.

The largest U.S. oil producer is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents had waived Title III of the Act, under which anyone whose property was nationalized after the 1959 Cuban Revolution can sue any individual or company profiting from their former holdings.

On Thursday two Cuban-Americans sued Carnival Corporation for using Cuban ports nationalized from the family members who owned them.

Exxon Mobil accuses the Cuban defendants of "unlawful trafficking in Plaintiffs confiscated property in violation of Title III of the ... Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996," according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Standard Oil refinery at Havana Bay, now operated by CUPET, was the first U.S. property taken over by Castro and his bearded revolutionaries after the company refused to process oil from the Soviet Union as tensions mounted with the United States.

CIMEX operates gasoline stations in Cuba with CUPET.

Standard Oil was broken up into several companies, one of which was Exxon, which merged with Mobil in a 1998 deal.

In the 1960s the United States certified 5,913 claims against Cuba valued at $1,9 billion of which Standard Oil and Mobil each have a claim valued at a combined $245 million according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York - based organisation whose expertise includes U.S. claims.

"This filing is significant. This is the fifth-largest company in the world using Title III of the Libertad Act to sue a company owned by the government of Cuba," said John Kavulich, president of the council.

"This provides comfort for other large claimants to sue, will increase fear by companies in other countries from engagement with Cuba due to the reach of Exxon Mobil and is consistent with Exxon Mobil efforts to recover assets in Venezuela and defend themselves in other countries," he said.

Under a Cuban law passed in 1996 in response to the Helms-Burton Act, certified claimants who take advantage of the Act will be disqualified from future settlements.

CUPET and CIMEX were not immediately available for comment.

An Exxon Mobil spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Cuba charges Title III violates international law because its nationalisation of property was legal and also because Cuban-Americans were not U.S. citizens when their properties were taken.

All other nations settled their citizens' property claims decades ago. Certified U.S. claims by American citizens at the time of expropriation were never settled.

Canada, the European Union and other countries charge the United States has no jurisdiction over their citizens' activity in Cuba and they will take the issue to the World Trade Organization, among other actions.

International opposition, and the fear that thousands of suits brought by Cuban-Americans would clog U.S. courts, led previous U.S. presidents to waive implementation of Title III.

Title I and II of the Helm-Burton Act codify all previous sanctions into law and set conditions for the U.S. Congress to lift them.

Title IV bans executives and their families from the United States if they profit from expropriated properties.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered.

The Gujarat government wants the best possible deal for farmers and has told PepsiCo India it can play the 'umpire' in its contract farming arrangement with potato farmers, Gujarats Chief Secretary J N Singh said.

Singh said the company was paying 'a good price' to farmers and the government wanted the contract farming programme to go 'smoothly'. He had suggested tripartite agreement as a model, where the government would be a party to a contract between PepsiCo and potato farmers.

Singh spoke to Firstpost after PepsiCo offered to withdraw the cases it had filed against nine farmers and two traders-cum-farmers for allegedly using its protected FL 2027 variety, which it sells under the trade name FC 5. PepsiCo had sued some farmers for Rs 20 lakh each. From others it had sought damages of Rs 1.05 cr each. A PepsiCo executive said the higher damages were meant to fast track the litigation and not for monetary gain.

The FL 2027 variety was registered in the United States in February 2004 and enjoys protection there till February 2024. PepsiCo India Holdings commercialised the variety in India in December 2009. It applied for registration under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 in February 2011, two months after the PPVFR Authority allowed new varieties of 11 crops including potato to be registered. Registration for FC 2027 was granted in February 2016. It will remain protected in India till February 2031.

PepsiCo was forced on the back foot by a backlash on social media. More than 190 organisations and individuals which claim to speak for farmers urged PepsiCo to take back its suit. The company was also on weak grounds legally because Indian law gives not just exemptions from breeders rights to farmers but also active entitlements. Congress Party leader Ahmed Patel chided the company and the Gujarat government. PepsiCo felt isolated.

Rather than risk further damage to its reputation, Pepsico India withdrew the litigation. This has been passed off as a triumph of the underdogs and a reminder to multinational corporations that however high they might be, the Indian law is above them.

Ashwani Mahajan, Co-Convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar which supports economic nationalism tweeted that it was a moral victory for farmers.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch had condemned PepsiCos decision to sue farmers in Gujarat. Pepsi: PepsiCo should have apologised for intimidation of farmers; ASHA - The Economic Times https://t.co/Nc2kt7ICtd  ASHWANI MAHAJAN (@ashwani_mahajan) May 3, 2019

Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable settlement to all issues around seed protection, PepsiCo India said in a statement.

If PepsiCo had persisted with the litigation, an opportunity would have been afforded to the courts to clarify the extent to which the entitlements of farmers could abridge the rights of breeders, a legal executive at an Indian agricultural biotechnology company with a portfolio of IPRs said. The section of the PPVFR Act granting farmers the exemption to save, share, exchange and sell produce and seed of even protected varieties (in an unbranded form) has not been legally tested, she said.

The Act says farmers will be deemed to be entitled in the same manner as before the law came into force. The legislative intent, she said, was to permit the customary practice of farmers using saved seed for sowing. The courts would have been able to say when a farmer selling the seed of a protected variety became a trader.

PepsiCo is the largest procurer of chips-quality potatoes. It buys 3 lakh tonnes annually from 24,000 contract growers. It paid about Rs 10 a kg in the last season. That would have resulted in a transfer of Rs 300 crore to farmers. The sued farmers were not on contract to PepsiCo India. If they wanted to supply chips-quality potatoes to PepsiCos rivals they have a choice of non-protected varieties like Lady Rosetta, ATL or Atlantic and Chipsona 1, 2, and 3.

PepsiCo India executives say they have been advertising in local newspapers that FC 5 is protected. They have distributed pamphlets in villages to create awareness and also told cold storages not to stock FC 5, which is meant for is captive use.

PepsiCo India had offered to buy FC 5 produce from the sued farmers and invited them to become its contract growers the next season. It had sold FC 5 seed to its contract growers at Rs 20-25 a kg depending on size and had brought produce from them at about Rs 10 a kg.

PepsiCo India executives say FC 5 gives it a competitive advantage. It is higher-yielding, has a higher proportion of dry matter and lower percentage of reducing sugars. But Vinay Bhardwaj, Head of Crop Improvement at the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, says ATL was better in some respects. Ismail Sheru, a contract grower in Banaskantha of French fry-quality potatoes for McCain, a Canadian supplier to McDonalds was also of the same opinion.

PepsiCos rates were similar to those offered by Hyfun Frozen Foods, which has 1,200 farmers on contract and procured 62,000 tonnes of potatoes in the last season. The company has a processing plant at Mehsana and supplies French fries to Burger King and KFC. It charged Rs 26 a kg for seed and paid Rs 9 a kg for potatoes at the farm gate.

The backstory is that Fulchand Kachchhava, the Managing Director of Tirupati Balaji Potato Chip, a company that procures potatoes for Balaji Wafers is orchestrating the agitation. The companys registered office is in Deesa, Banaskantha. Kachchhava and his brother, who are also potato growers, were among the 11 who were sued.

Kachchhava admitted to Firstpost that he was procuring 40,000 tonnes of potatoes. He had bought at the rate of Rs 9.50-10 a kg. These were both cooking variety and chip quality. He said he went by the characteristics of potatoes and not their trade names. He denied backing the sued farmers or engaging a PR agency to smear PepsiCo. I dont know what a PR agency is, he asserted.

Kachchhava said farmers were agitated by PepsiCo action. Till it withdrew the suits, farmers unions have decided to continue with the 'seed andolan' or protest at its potato collection points. They might even boycott its contract farming programme, he added.

Contract farming is good for farmers. It gives them the assurance of prices. India wants to encourage it. It has drafted a model law for the states to enact. Farmers also gain from hand-holding in good agronomic practices.

PepsiCo says it encourages sustainable practices like water-saving drip and sprinkler irrigation, the application of precise quantities of liquid fertilisers and the use of labour and cost-saving machines for planting, spraying and harvesting.

In the late 1980s, when PepsiCo sought a license to ply its soft drinks business in India, the government made horticultural development a pre-condition. Under the leadership of Ramesh Vangal, PepsiCo India set up a tomato processing plant in Punjab. It got farmers to grow tomatoes under contract. The varieties they planted were tall with fruit at various stages of ripening. These could be plucked manually with family labour.

Since the harvesting was in instalments and not in one go, the processing plant was smaller than in the developed countriesappropriate for a country with scarce and expensive capital. The pasteurised paste was of a quality that was acceptable to the finicky Japanese market. PepsiCo also introduced techniques like deep chiselling to break the hard pan that was formed about two feet below the surface in Punjabs fields due to compaction by tractors. This allowed plants to access underlying nutrients.

Another contract buyer, McCain, also changed the way potatoes were grown in the Banaskantha region. Before it began its operations in 2006, farmers would flood irrigate their fields. They would tap into the aquifers recharged by the River Banas. The water used over the course of a four-month period, from sowing to harvesting, if stacked, would rise to a column about two feet high.

McCain converted the farmers to micro-irrigation. With information provided by its weather stations, its agents in the field would tell them when to irrigate and how much. Not only was water saved but pests and diseases caused by humidity decreased. Jalgaon in Maharashtra has become a banana hub because of Jain Irrigation. The state is the second largest producer of bananas. Jain Irrigation promoted the cultivation of the fruit through a combination of tissue culture, drip irrigation and fertigation. It replaced traditional varieties with the high-yielding Grand Naine from Israel in the early 1990s.

While speaking at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association in Delhi in December 2017, NITI Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand said the involvement of companies was essential for profitable and innovative agriculture. But their share in agricultural investment at 2 percent was very low compared to that of farmers (84 percent) and the government (14 percent).

Indias milk revolution was brought about by Amuls contract dairy farming and the Green Revolution in north-west India was due to the price, procurement and hand-holding support given by the Indian government.

It will be a hollow victory for farmers if companies like PepsiCo India who benefit farmers through contract farming arrangements are painted as villains for trying to protect their intellectual property.

(The author is a senior journalist. He tweets @smartindianagri)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

ANI reported while Kejriwal was waving to the people at the roadshow he was holding for the Lok Sabha polls, an unidentified man climbed his car and slapped him. CNN-News18 further reported that the man who slapped him has been taken into custody by Delhi Police.

The Delhi chief minister has been attacked several times since he entered public life.

On 20 November, Kejriwal was attacked by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

The incident occurred at 2.10 pm when the chief minister was leaving for lunch.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal for his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Transport Nagar of Rajasthan's Bikaner district, PTI reported.

Following the ink attack, ABVP activists Dinesh Ojha and Vikram Singh were taken into custody.

In April 2016, a man identified as Ved Sharma and claiming to be from the Aam Aadmi Sena (a breakaway faction from Aam Aadmi Party) threw a shoe at the Delhi chief minister when he was addressing a press conference in the secretariat.

Sharma was eventually detained by the police.

In March 2016, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Punjab's Ludhiana. The car's windshield was broken in the attack, The Hindu reported. Kejriwal was in Ludhiana on the last day of his tour to Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI
Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said

Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. IMD also said that it is expected to further weaken over the course of the day on Saturday.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 on Saturday with four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, three each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and one each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, briefed the media after the storm ebbed on Saturday and said, "A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri and almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers."

In West Bengal, a total of 52,297 people were evacuated from 131 gram panchayats and put up in 723 rescue shelters. However, some people returned to their homes as the situation improved on Saturday. At least 771 houses have been fully or partly damaged.

Disruptions in traffic were reported in Garb2, Kharagpur 1, Keshiary and Mohanpur blocks due to broken trees. Power supply has also been restored by WBSEDCL

The cyclone left a trail of destruction to life and property after it made landfall in Odisha's Puri on Friday morning, with several structures collapsing in the district's temple town. The cyclone then moved into West Bengal via Kharagpur in the wee hours of Saturday. The effects of the cyclone were also felt in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Kolkata airport resumed operations, however, dozens of people were stranded at Howrah station in the city as most trains under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway remained cancelled. National carrier Air India offered to deliver relief material to affected areas free of cost. The airline resumed operations at Kolkata airport around 9.30 am on Saturday.

The CS FANI over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards & weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 0830 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6N & long 88.8E. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs. pic.twitter.com/VzDrqMJK2F  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 4, 2019

The airport in Odisha's capital, Bhubaneshwar, is likely to resume operations on Saturday. The equipment at the airport was significantly damaged on Friday but flight operations are expected to begin by 1 pm, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The passenger terminal building at Bhubaneswar has been considerably damaged, particularly at the rooftop and facades... Based on the feedback and action taken, it was decided that Bhubaneswar will resume commercial flight operations with effect from 1300 IST on May 4, 2019," the statement said.

However, as state governments and the Centre took stock of the damage in the wake of the storm, reports said that even though Digha was expected to face a major impact of the cyclone, the situation seemed calm on Saturday morning despite heavy rainfall on Friday night.

The IMD in Alipore was quoted as saying that there was no more threat from Cyclone Fani for West Bengal, as it has headed towards Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governors of West Bengal and Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situations and said that he will visit Odisha on Monday, 6 May. Monday also happens to be the election day for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election. He also said that he had spoken to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and "assured continued support" from the Centre.

During his conversation with West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centre's readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," Modi said in a tweet.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans were expected to be hit by the storm that then moved towards Bangladesh and is likely to taper off.

Modi also extended the Centre's support to Odisha governor Ganesh Lal and said that the people of the state had shown "exemplary courage" in the face of the "natural disaster".

The United Nations agency for disaster reduction on Saturday commended the IMD's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life.

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Goa President, Ahraz Mulla has written a letter to the President, Prime Minister and Union HRD Ministry requesting them to postpone NEET exam, in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone 'Fani' in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," the letter reads.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm. The storm was initially categorised as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" by the IMD.

Effects of Cyclone Fani were felt as far as the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying. The Nepali government issued a warning that heavy snowfall was expected in the higher mountain areas with rain and storms lower down, and asked trekking agencies to take tourists to safety.

Hundreds of climbers, their guides, cooks, and porters huddled at the Everest base camp, according to Pemba Sherpa of Xtreme Climbers Trek, who said weather and visibility were poor. May is the best month to climb the 8,850-foot Everest when Nepal experiences a few windows of good weather to scale the peak.

It is still the beginning of the month, so there is no reason for climbers to worry that weather from the cyclone will cost them their chance to reach the summit, Sherpa said.

With inputs from agencies and 101 Reporters
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Priya Ramani, then began her cross examination of MJ Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details.

New Delhi: Former Union minister MJ Akbar came face to face with journalist Priya Ramani during a courtroom battle on Saturday. Akbar, who has slapped a criminal defamation suit against Ramani for going public with sexual misconduct allegations against him, recorded his statement in the case. When it came to the cross-examination, however, Akbar did not reveal much, choosing instead to claim that he did not have much memory of what happened then.

Several prominent women journalists were also in attendance in court, in a show of support to Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "unwarranted, defamatory and mala fide". India's one-time Minister of State for External Affairs, Akbar began by essaying his careergraph  often a technical necessity in defamation cases, seeing that to put forth such a charge one would need to prove that there was a reputation of some worth to begin with in the court.

After speaking of his lengthy career spanning several publication houses and ultimately in the North Block, Akbar went on to say that he was in Africa when the allegation against him was levelled by Priya Ramani. "There was a curious anomaly. The original article in Vogue did not contain my name. I can infer that this was because the inclusion of my name would have been defamatory. The tweet however referred specifically to me, MJ Akbar," he said, alleging that the allegations had adversely affected his public life.

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, then began her cross examination of Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details. However, Akbar responded to most of the questions with "I do not remember".

John began with an examination of why Akbar had not mentioned in his detailed deposition that he had been a Congress MP from Bihar's Kishan Ganj from 1989 to 2002, a spokesperson of the party in 1988, and that he had lost on a Congress ticket in 1991. Moving on from her allegation of Akbar's "political opportunism", displayed by several U-turns in his political career, John went on to ask him if the Delhi High Court had indeed issued a contempt notice to him in 2003, when he was editor-in-chief of The Asian Age for "deliberate false reporting court proceedings."

A verbal battle broke out between Luthra and John over the former's interjections several times in the course of the cross-examination at this point. This was also the point from which onwards Akbar noted not remembering much. Among things he claimed to have never known or forgotten were where Ramani studied, whether he had asked her to meet at a hotel after 7 pm, and whether a friend had dropped her to the hotel.

Proceedings then had to be stopped for the day as Akbar's counsel claimed he had engagements for the day. Judge Vishal, while agreeing to the request, ended with a curt advice to "come prepared for the full day on the next date."

The court posted the matter for the next hearing on 20 May.

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on 17 October last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations.

With inputs from Bar & Bench and PTI
A string of incidents of people being injured because of explosives detonating accidentally have been reported in Kashmir.

On a Friday afternoon in February this year, a loud bang left two children soaked in blood at Rahmoo village in Jammu and Kashmir. After a grenade exploded near a river bed, eleven-year-old Intizar Bashir and his 12-year-old playmate Junaid Bilal lay writhing. Five days later, the older one died at a hospital in Srinagar. Hours before the explosion, the curious children had brought the grenade from a gun battle site in the neighbouring village of Drubgam, in which two militants were killed on 1 February, according to a police report.

The explosion led to injuries to Intizar's face and arm. His father, 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad Bhat, said, "The blast tore off the flesh from my sons face, and we had to get his arm operated...The children just picked up the shells out of curiosity. Security forces told us that my son was lucky that the grenade did not explode in his hands but hit a river bed."

Junaid's father Bilal Ahmad Wani said that his son succumbed to multiple shrapnel wounds that he had received in the head and limbs. A fragment of a shell had hit him in the head and he died at a hospital in Srinagar, he said, adding, I was praying at a mosque when I received a call from a neighbour telling me that my son was wounded. I was deeply shocked and it left me shattered.

Wani said that the government is considering compensating the families as "the police report mentions that they are not involved in any criminal case. He added, We have filed an application for compensation with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.

The explosion at Rahmoo is among a string of such incidents reported in Kashmir. Several people have sustained injuries, while some people have died due to leftover shells exploding. In some cases, children collect shells from sites of gun battles between security forces and militants. In some other cases, blasts take place while people remove the rubble of damaged houses.

In a recent such example, on Wednesday, two boys were wounded as they were playing with a shell in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. They were fiddling with the shell near a water tank, when it burst, leaving them injured, said a police official. He described the blast as mysterious, adding that the nature of the explosive that resulted in minor injuries to the boys is being ascertained.

In Kashmir, for several years, human rights activists had campaigned against the use of a large swathe of a land close to a civilian area in central Kashmirs Budgam as an artillery firing range. Following public pressure, the army abandoned the area. But now, explosives that are not cleared from encounter sites are posing a new threat.

In the past four months, fatalities have been reported in at least half a dozen explosions across Kashmir. In October 2018, 6 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at an encounter site at Kulgam. In another incident, a shell exploded as a boy was playing with it, while another one detonated at a school in Sirnoo area of Pulwama, leaving several injured. Fatalities in similar incidents have been reported from Shopian as well.

Human rights activists have denounced authorities for their failure to clear shells from gun battle sites. Activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo said that it is the responsibility of the government forces to clear explosives from gun battle areas.

In some cases, bodies of militants are left badly charred as the houses are blown up through the use of heavy shells. The forces are not adhering to their own standard operating procedures (SOPs). They dont sanitise areas to clear explosives, he said.

However, Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Kulgam, Gurinderpal Singh, said that youth converge at gun battle sites, and disrupt operations launched to clear the areas of any explosives.

We even put up banners asking the youth not to gather near encounter sites until combing has been completed. But they dont adhere to the advisories, due to which, at times, it becomes difficult to ensure a foolproof clearing operation, he said.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar.

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The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'. With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj said on Saturday that while Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati had allegedly called him a "gunda" or thug at a rally in Gonda, "she is Uttar Pradesh's gundi." Singh added that Mayawati had allegedly threatened to throw him into jail after elections.

Sam Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress chief said on Saturday that the BJP was sure to lose the Lok Sabha election and slammed its charge over citizenship against Rahul Gandhi. "He has been a Member of Parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the Parliament. You worked with him in Parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate the intelligence of Indian people," Pitroda told ANI.

"...you are a hilarious man!!! Anyway, we are still granting visas to Pakistanis for medical tourism. I will personally take you to a psychiatrist," Gambhir tweeted. He is the BJP candidate for the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Afridi in his just-released autobiography Game Changer had sarcastically referred to Gambhir as someone who "behaves like a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond," and has a "lot of attitude and no great records"

Not known to pull back punches, Gautam Gambhir hit back at Shahid Afridi, offering to take him to a session with "a psychiatrist" after the former Pakistan captain wrote a few uncharitable things about the Indian opener.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

He also accused the Congress of playing fast and loose with Mayawati's confidence. "Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behen ji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. A party which was staking a claim to the prime minister's post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said.

Narendra Modi, at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday, directed a tirade at the alliance, calling it a 'mahamilavat'. He said the alliance had five evils, including corruption, unstability, communalism, dynasty and misrule. He particularly cited a news report which claimed Rahul Gandhi's one-time business partner had received offset contracts during the UPA's rule, just what the Congress has been accusing Modi of orchestrating for Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal. He also alleged that several summons had been sent to Rahul by the government, presumably to deal with his corruption, but said that Rahul was waiting for the time when his government would come in power and these cases could be done away with. It is not known which cases Modi was referring to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

But the poll panel was unanimous Thursday disposing a third complaint against Modi, finding no violation of the poll code by him in his speech in Barmer in Rajasthan where he had warned Pakistan, saying Indias nuclear arsenal is not meant for Diwali, Express has reported.

A high-ranking source in the Election Commission told NDTV that on five occasions, one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let PM Modi and Amit Shah off the hook for their comments.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said.

On the Congress' claim that as many as six unpublicised surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA's tenure, the party's adviser on matters of national security said, "Call them surgical strikes, call them cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of the exact dates and areas that have been brought out."

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Yoga exponent Ramdev, along with a few other godmen, have filed a complaint with the Haridwar SSP against CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury for his statement, "Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence and battles,"

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the only Member of Parliament, who holds the distinction of being thoroughly disliked as the serving representative of the Amethi parliamentary constituency and yet having been re-elected from there three consecutive terms. Since the last 15 years, thousands of people  who even say that he has consistently failed on every count for last three term  would still vote for him because of the emotional connect they have had with the Gandhi-Nehru family.

'Won't abandon Rahul Gandhi when he needs us most': Amethi voters admit to lack of development but are 'bound by emotions'

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Jharkhand: A polling station in Ramgarh, under Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the looks of coaches of a train. The Parliamentary constituency will undergo voting on 6th May, in the fifth phase of #LokSabhaElection2019 pic.twitter.com/5WHVsS6G9P

A polling station in Ramgarh, under the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the look of a rail coache. The Parliamentary constituency will go to polls on 6 May, in the fifth phase of the election.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister and the party's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani are holding a roadshow in Amethi, a seat held for generations by members of the Gandhi family.

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

At his Basti rally, Narendra Modi once again spoke of Diwali as a synonym for warfare on Pakistan. "Every Indian has waited for the day when Pakistan-supported Masood Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the world's biggest organisation. Our government was so powerful that Pakistan must wait for Diwali now or find itself compelled to deal with Masood Azhar," Modi said, adding that his own strength had compelled Pakistan to deal with the problem.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said. Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'.

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the chowkidar chor hai jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The army, air force or navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are . When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

On the last day of campaigns before the fifth phase of the election on Monday, Modi will campaign in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister is scheduled to hold rallies in Pratapgad and Basti in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, he is expected to address rallies in Valmiki Nagar.

BJP president Amit Shah is expected to hold a roadshow in Rahul's home constituency of Amethi. He will also address rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to declare a ceasefire during Ramadan and stop crackdown and search operations during the holy month

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the government of India that just like a ceasefire was put in place during Ramadan last year, crackdowns and search ops should be stopped, so that people of Jammu and Kashmir spend at least this one month in relief," Mufti said addressing told media.

"I would also like to appeal to the militants that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," she added.

Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

"Whether it is imposing a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF and after that the manner in which business was stopped on Muzaffarabad Road and it was announced that highway will be closed for two days. It feels like the government of India wants to break the backbone of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the garb of militancy. They want to completely end our economy," Mufti said.

"Ever since the elections have begun, a lot of people are being arrested in the name of stone pelting. In this kind of an atmosphere, it is difficult to understand how they will be able to work with people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"They have left no stone unturned to push people of Jammu and Kashmir to the war. Because of this alienation is increasing. The space of the Jammu and Kashmir people - democratic space, economic space or financial space - they all are being choked... They have made life hell for the Kashmiris," the former chief minister added.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

NEET dress code 2019: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), the nodal body for the country's biggest undergraduate entrance test for medical courses, has prescribed a specific dress code for the applicants, which has been mentioned in the official brochure too. The 2019 NEET dress code is well-defined by the NTA in terms of clothes, footwear and other accessories.

This has been done to prevent cheating and to maintain the fairness of the exam. The exam body said: "The NTA believes in the sanctity and fairness of conducting the Examination, however, it also believes in the sensitivity involved in frisking (girl) candidates and will issue comprehensive instructions accordingly to the staff and other officials at the Examination Centres."

NEET 2019 dress code has been mentioned in the brochure on page 52 along with the list of barred items that cannot be worn or carried to the exam hall. The NEET dress code 2019 will also be mentioned in the admit card of the candidates to point out what would be allowed and what would not be allowed on the day of the exam.

However, we are listing down the major highlights here for convenience.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is allowed?

Male examinees are advised to wear simple shirt or t-shirt without any elaborate embroidery, multiple pockets, large buttons or patchwork motifs. The simple shirt or t-shirt qualifying as NEET dress code 2019 should be of half sleeves. Candidates wearing trouser, slippers or sandals are allowed to appear for the examination. Kurta pajama is not allowed for male aspirants.

Likewise, women candidates are asked to opt for simple kurtas in half sleeve without any embroidery or pockets. As per NEET 2019 dress code, Salwars and trousers are suggested for women candidates. All female aspirants are advised to wear slippers or sandals with low heels as shoes are not allowed in the examination hall.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is not allowed?

Light clothes with half sleeves and long sleeves are not permitted. Closed footwear, like shoes, is not permitted to the exam centre. Candidates who wish to wear cultural or customary dress to the exam centre should report at least an hour before the reporting time for proper frisking.

Burqa or head scarves come under this section. As per the Delhi High Court order, Sikh candidates will be allowed to carry traditional kangha kara and kirpan with them. These articles will be considered as a part of the customary dress.

Any footwear that causes obstruction in searching or frisking will have to be removed by candidates before entering the exam hall.

Other sundry items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap etc are not allowed inside the exam hall. Watches/wrist watches, bracelets, or any kind of elaborate ornaments are also barred from the examination hall.
If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Some things never seem to change. One of them may well be the United States department of defences cartographic perception of the India-Pakistan boundary, which seemingly has not changed from the Cold War-era when India was seen to be a Soviet bloc follower. If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Released on Thursday (2 May), the Pentagon's much-awaited 123-page annual report to the US Congress called Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China 2019, had at least 10 maps of the relevant region where Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is shown to be inside Pakistan. The delineation of the India-Pakistan boundary lies in the realm of political controversy because of the Kashmir issue.

While Indias claim over PoK is ignored, the region is shown to be a part of Pakistan as a result of which the disputed status of the region is glossed over. But at the same time, the disputed status of the Aksai Chin region which Indian claims, but is under the effective control of China, is acknowledged.

In one particular illustration on page 78 of the report, the 1972 Line of Control (LoC) is mentioned on the map but the area India referred to as PoK is shown to be totally under Pakistan. Pakistan calls a large swath of this region Azad Kashmir. The LoC is the line that divides Kashmir and signifies the military control on either side.

The Pentagon is another name for the United States department of defence which is mandated to submit such a report to the US Congress every year. This year, the report has been prepared at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. In the past too, India had complained to the US several times whenever official US government maps failed to acknowledge Indian territorial claims. In most cases, the US made the appropriate rectifications.

While omitting any reference to the disputed India-Pakistan border, the report specifically mentioned the bickering over the India-China border. It says: Tensions remain with India along the shared border over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is part of Tibet and therefore part of China, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau. Chinese and Indian patrols regularly encounter one another along the disputed border, and both sides often accuse one another of border incursions.

Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a bitter 73-day stand-off in the Doka La near Sikkim before it ended on 28 August, 2017. The Indians objected to Chinese road building in a disputed area. It was followed by another incident at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, but that was also resolved.
The government in its Saturday response held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The Centre, Saturday, filed a fresh affidavit in the Rafale case, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions demanding a detailed investigation into the case on the grounds of national security. The BJP-led central government has argued that disclosing the procurement process will have "grave repercussions on existence of Indian state" and on national security, given the current environment in the country, as well as in neighbouring ones.

The Centre had been asked to file a reply latest by today (Saturday) on petitions seeking review of last December's verdict in which the apex court had dismissed pleas challenging India's deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

In its 14 December order, the Supreme Court had ruled that it was satisfied by the government's submissions and dismissed all petitions demanding a probe into the controversial defence deal. The court had asserted that the Rafale deal was not a case of "commercial favouritism", as opposed to what was being alleged by Opposition parties.

However, in the light of some media reports highlighting fresh facts about the negotiation process of the deal, and the alleged "parallel negotiations" by the prime minister's office, the Supreme Court had agreed to review its order.

The government, however, in Saturday's response, held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The reference here was to a report in The Hindu, which leaked a "dissent note" by a defence ministry official objecting to the PMO's parallel discussions which has weakened the negotiation of the MoD and the Indian Negotiating Team.

The government had then opposed the admissibility of these documents as proof, stating that these were stolen from classified government files and had submitted that the "privilege documents" were procured by petitioners illegally. However, the court had shot down this "peculiar argument", maintaining that documents revealed by media without authorisation can also be treated as admissible evidence in public interest.

Now, the Centre has admitted to the PMO's intervention in the negotiation process but has claimed that mere "monitoring" by the prime minister's office of an important deal did not translate to conducting "parallel negotiations" with the French side.

"Monitoring of the progress by PMO of this Government to Government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations," the government told the Supreme Court.

The government also raised questions on the Supreme Court order of 10 April, allowing the submission of these documents saying that the by letting closely guarded State secrets be obtained through whatever means will have "great repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State".

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. A deal to procure the jets was signed between India and France in 2015. The delivery is expected to begin in September this year.

With inputs from @utkarsh_aanand and @ANI
By Azera Parveen Rahman Like fish trapped in a net, Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in the Kutch region, Ismael pointed at the massive structure of an ultra mega power plant releasing water from its outfall channel. Another power plant stands on the other side. They said it (power plant) would not adversely affect us. Truth is, it has driven away the fishes and nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing, he said. Ismael Ali does not have scientific data to support his claim. But when he, and other traditional fishermen like him in Traghadi, talk about the drastic drop in their catch ever since the 4000 megawatt Tata Mundra Power Plant came up in Tunda, in the vicinity of their village less than a decade ago, it strongly indicates the correlation. Before the thermal power plant came up, we used to fish here, in this intertidal zone and get 60-70 kilograms of fish every day. We now barely get two kilograms, he said. Pagadia fishing nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing is a traditional form of fishing in the intertidal waters of Kutch wherein the fishermen use only nets; pag from Pagadia means foot, indicating they go as deep into the water as their feet can take them. Mundra falls within the seven-kilometre intertidal zone where these fishermen live, and this type of fishing typically takes place during the 'off-season', between April/May to August, when the monsoon winds pick up, making it unsafe for boats to venture deep into the sea. For as long as I can remember, this type of fishing helped us sustain during the off-season, and we would get a very good catch. The women would sell the fishes in the nearby town and villages, Ismael said. But now, because there is not enough to sustain ourselves and we dont know any other work, the fishermen families go to moneylenders to help them see through this period. The debt builds up, and the rest of the year goes in repaying that.

Hussain and Ismael (L to R). Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

The imported coal-fired thermal plant became functional in 2012, but Hussainbhai, another Pagadia fisherman of the same village, said that not only were they "not consulted beforehand, but were later told the water from the outfall channel would be let off in a different direction that would not affect them in any way. However, the released water which is much hotter  seven to eight degrees warmer  came where we typically went fishing. Over time, the fisheslike pomfret and lobsters that were found in abundance earlier  started disappearing. Malai, Ser, Khagai (local names), all migrated elsewhere. Now we mostly get small fishes, thats it, he said. The Gulf of Kutch has nearly 200 species of fishes. Standing close to the Tata Mundra Power Plant is the Mundra Power Project by the Adani group. Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) which works for the fishermen community, said, The Tata Mundra Power Plant uses an open-cycle cooling system and releases 6,000 lakh (600 million) litres of water of higher temperature through its outfall channel, per hour. The Adani power project has a somewhat lesser impact because it uses a close-cycle cooling system, which means it cools the water before releasing it back into the sea; it releases 600 lakh (60 million) litres per hour. Although a 2015 law required all plants to install cooling towers to minimise thermal pollution by the end of 2017, the Tata plant has failed to do so, he added. In 2008, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a pan-India wildlife research organisation, assessed the possible future effect of the Tata Mundra Power Plant on the surrounding coastal and marine biodiversity, so that proactive measures could be taken to minimise the ecosystem damage. Published on the companys website, the report says that the 4.9-kilometre-long outfall channel through which the sea water is released into the open water of the Gulf of Kutch, crosses the Modhva creek. The channel will be carrying the saline water having seven degrees higher than the intake channel seawater, it said. The shoreline, intertidal area and the open sea adjacent to the outfall channel is rich in fisheries resources including elasmobranch (sharks). Traghadi, Salaya and Modhva have been considered as important fish landing centres. All these fall in the impact zone of the outfall channel, the report said. However this is a temporary (fishermen) settlement and is active only during the fishing season, i.e. September to May. Nearly 10 years on, the local fishermen say that not only has fishing during the peak season been affected  they now have to venture deeper into the sea, often risking venturing into international waters  but also during the off-season, nearly wiping away Pagadia fishing.

An abandoned fishermans settlement (left) near the outfall channel of the power plant in Mundra. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

Patel said that in the Mundra-Anjar region, 10,000-15,000 fishermen have been directly impacted by the industrialisation process along the coastline. Kutch also supplies the bulk of crude oil production. This and other factors have led to busy port traffic that also affects fishermen, he added. Coal ash from thermal power plants threatens life and livelihood The BNHS report also mentioned the adverse impact of high-temperature water on the breeding ecology of turtles. This area is an important nesting site for two endangered species  green sea turtle and the olive ridley turtle. Another impact on the fishermen is by the coal ash generated by the power plants. Although the Tata Mundra Power Plant says that all the coal ash it generates is stored within the plant premises and dry ash is transported in sealed carriers to the cement industry, the locals complain of its adverse effect on them. Gajendra Sinh, the Panchayat leader of Navinal village in the same area said, The coal ash from the power plants stains the fish that are left to dry, thereby reducing its market value by a big margin. Navinal has at least 40 fishermen families. Coal Kills, a joint report by the Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace estimated that the two coal-fired power plants in Mundra put the lives of 100-120 people of the region at risk of premature death. The clash between industrialisation and coastal ecology in Mundra with a direct socio-economic impact on the local population is just a sample of what is happening along Kutchs, and the rest of Gujarats, coastline. Nearly 60 percent of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) undertakings are along the coastline. In Kutch, particularly post the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, there has been a spurt in industries taking root, mainly cement, salt, and, along the coastline, of thermal power plants and ports. Mangroves are under threat too Yet another concern from the rapid industrialisation along Kutchs coastline, particularly by the salt industry, is mangrove destruction. Mahendra Bhanani of Sahjeevan, an NGO that works on the welfare of pastoralists and for the unique Kharai camel of Kutch, said that industries typically block a natural creek and create bunds that dont allow natural tidal water to come in. This dries up the mangroves and makes it easier for heavy machinery to uproot them, and create salt pans. The Rabari community  the tribe that typically owns the threatened species of Kharai camels that are highly dependent on the mangroves for feeding  near Tunda, voice a similar concern. The warmer-than-normal water from the power plants, they say, has been detrimental to the mangroves. In a village here, there was a time when almost every family owned Kharai camel. When the two power plants came up, its access to the sea was cut off by the canal and the conveyor belts built by the companies. So they now have to walk a much longer route to reach the sea, for the camels to swim to the mangrove islands. From around 2,500 camels a decade back, less than 200 remain in the village today. No hope from political leadership At a time when Indian political parties are going all out to appease voters and promising to meet their demands in the backdrop of the national elections, these local communities have little hope from them. For the villagers of Traghadi for example, politics makes no difference to their lives. It doesnt make any difference to us if Modi comes back to power or Rahul [Gandhi]. We are on our own, the Pagadia fishermen said.

(L to R) Bharat Patel, Jam Ismael, Hussainbhai. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

MASS filed a suit against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bankwhich had financed the Tata power plantin the US Federal Court in 2015 for failing to ensure that the plant complied with the environmental and social conditions of its loan. Although the US district court ruled that the IFC had absolute immunity, the US Supreme Court, on 27 February this year, gave a ruling in the Kutch fishermens favour, saying that the IFC does not have absolute immunity and can be sued. This was a landmark moment for us, said Patel, We are now pursuing the case legally. As part of their corporate social responsibility, the thermal power plants in Tunda have supplied drinking water to the villages in the vicinity. We dont want the lights, the water, nothing. Just give us our livelihood back and we will take care of ourselves, Ismael said. There was no official response from the Tata and the Adani group despite attempts to get one. The BNHS did not respond either. However, in a recent development, an official statement from the Tata group said that its Mundra plant is making consistent, significant losses and that its experience (in Mundra) has helped convince the company to turn away from new coal-fired power. *** This article was originally published on Mongabay.com Mongabay-India is an environmental science and conservation news service. This article has been republished under the Creative Commons licence.
Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

New Delhi: Stepping up the attack after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, finance minister Arun Jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on Saturday and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's ," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 percent stake) and US national Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.
The Bhil community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

Jaipur: Miffed at constant neglect from the government, a section of tribals inhabiting parts of central and western India have organised themselves as a formidable political force pushing for a separate state.

The Bhil tribe is demanding a separate Bhilistan state comprising 22 districts of four states: Rajasthan (five districts), Gujarat (seven), Madhya Pradesh (five), and Maharashtra (five). Their evolution in the political field is indicative of their commitment to the cause.

They first tasted success in 2017, when their student wing  Bhil Pradesh Vidyarthi Morcha (BPVM)  secured a clean sweep in colleges across Dungarpur, Sagwara, Banswara, and Khairwada in Rajasthan and came second in Udaipur, trouncing heavyweights ABVP and NSUI.

The 70-year-old slogan of Jai Bhil Pradesh resonated in the Rajasthan Assembly when it gathered for its first session in February. It was raised by two legislators belonging to the newly-formed Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), formed by Chotubhai Vasava, a legislator from Gujarat, in 2017. Rajkumar Roat won from Chourasi seat and Ramprasad Dindor won from Sagwara, both with decent margins. BTP contested 11 seats, won two, and did well in two other seats.

A fight for tribal might

Roat said, All we want is our rights as tribals, as Bhils. It hurts us when we are compared to Naxals. We are not against the state or union of India. All we want is reservation within reservation. Out of the 12 percent reservation for tribals, one community takes up 11 percent and all other tribals get a mere 1 percent. This must end.

BTPs MLA from Sagwara, Dindor, seconded him. Ensuring tribal rights is our main aim. For that, the formation of a separate Bhilistan is necessary. This was the slogan we raised in the Assembly on the first day, when we took oath in the name of nature  the sun, moon, rivers, mountains, and forests; these are our gods. We have arrived on the platform from where our voice can reach people, he said.

The Bhils are tribals, classified as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tripura.

In Rajasthan, they are the largest tribe. As per the 2011 census, there are more than 92 lakh people belonging to Scheduled Tribes in the state. This is 12 percent of the states total population and nearly 40 percent of its tribal population.

The Bhils established Rajasthans Banswara, Udaipur, and Dungarpur kingdoms, which are now districts. They also fought alongside Maharana Pratap in the Haldighati battle against emperor Akbar.

BTP state president Dr Vela Ram Ghoghra confirmed, We have fielded candidates from four seats, Banswara-Dungarpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Jodhpur. We hope to register our presence in the Parliament this time. Our candidates are Sansi Lal Roat from Banswara-Dungarpur, BL Sanwal from Udaipur, Amar Singh Kalunda from Jodhpur and Prakash Meena from Chittorgarh. We will regularly raise our demands through rallies, first in Rajasthan and later in Delhi."

Ghogra further said, Why is it that governors and Presidents, who are our guardians as per the Constitution, never took up our cause? Its time they did now.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be held on Monday, during which some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls.

How Bhils emerged in politics

Before jumping in the political arena, Bhil leaders had changed tactics and started initiatives to infuse pride in their historic icons among community members and establish the tribal identity. Over the last decade, birth anniversaries of community leaders and icons have been celebrated with increasing enthusiasm and participation.

In 2017, Adivasi Parivar, a Gujarat-based community-funded organisation helped to form BTP.

The RSS did intensive outreach programmes through its Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad. But it failed to stop Bhils from gravitating towards their own party.

The community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

The 2018 Assembly polls saw the BTP polling 12.5 percent votes in Bhil-dominated seats of Banswara, Dungarpur, Sagwara, Bagidora, Chorasi, Ghatol, Kushalgarh, and Gadhi in Rajasthan.

The Bhilistan dream

The demand for a separate state for Bhils was prominently discussed at the annual convention of the Adivasi Ekta Parishad organised in Silvasa on 14 and 15 January this year. The Parishad is the largest body of tribals.

The community wants Bhilistan formed out of Udaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Aravalli, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, a part of Surat, and Panchmahal in Gujarat; Nashik, Thane, Dhule, a part of Pune, and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra; and Jhabua, Dhar, Barwani, Khargone, and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

The 22 districts have a dominant population of Bhils, a tribe unique to these areas. Historians confirm that, during the British Raj, these areas were called Khan Desh for their mineral mines, and were also called Bhil Patti (strip). They have one language, one gotra, and similar food styles, traditions, and rituals.

(The author is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com)
Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only 'on paper' and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

New Delhi: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists  Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh  were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the army," the Congress chief said.

He said the army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it? It is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

Thursday, 2 May was quite an unusual day on Prime Minister Narendra Modis calendar. He stayed put in Delhi.

In a departure from his routine since the election season took over the country, he did not hop from state to state holding three rallies a day.

But today he will be back to that punishing schedule. It is likely to remain so for most of the remaining days of campaigning that ends on 17 May 5 pm.

Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

In around 125 days  from 25 December to 1 May  Modi has held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories. Directed at the ongoing elections, these programmes, however, have been only a part of all the activities that Modi has been a part of in this period. He has chaired 14 Cabinet meetings in the interim.

This post on Narendra Modi's website gives an account of his campaign and how he has been juggling politics and administration.

Take for instance, the days of 25 and 26 February just two months ago. Modi delivered a keynote address at the inaugural of the two-day Rising India Summit 2019 of News18 at Taj Palace hotel. He left the venue around 9 pm on 25 February, six hours before the air strikes on Balakot. He remained awake throughout the night to keep himself abreast of the IAF operation to destroy Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps at Balakot around 3 am on 26 February.

After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his next days schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am.

He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. Soon thereafter, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi and took a Metro ride from Khan Market to attend an event at ISKCON temple in the city.

"There can't be any substitute to Modi ji as PM. Our country needs an energetic, strong and vibrant leader like him. It's always easy to criticise ones work, but through his hard work and perseverance, Modiji has set an example before the young generation," says Atanu Das, a grocer in South Delhi.

In fact, Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah seem to have taken the wind out of the Oppositions sails with their whirlwind election campaigning.

One of enduring images from the 2019 election campaign will be the sea of humanity that took to the streets to welcome their MP, Narendra Modi, when he landed in Varanasi to file his nomination papers. Slowly winding through the streets of the city, the juggernaut of the procession underscored yet again the strength of Modis grassroots connect.

His connect with the masses has always operated at several levels such as the Townhall programmes, Pariksha Pe Charcha through which he has connected with students, Main Bhi Chowkidar programmes that have touched the nationalistic chord among the voters, or the radio programme Mann Ki Baat that gets citizens in the remotest corners tuned in to listen to their leader.

"Whether one likes or dislikes Narendra Modi or many of his statements and ideas, what can't be ignored is his die-hard spirit and energy that he brings to his election campaigning, besides running the country simultaneously as prime minister," says Rajeev Bakshi, an engineer working with an ITES company in Noida.

But the Prime Minister is a multi-tasker who did not allow the approaching elections to cast any shadow on the ongoing work of the government, even though the country knew that polls would have been the top priority for all political leaders in the last year of the current government in power.

Two big successes for the nation that the PM oversaw just before the elections were announced were the Balakot air strike and the successful conduct of the Anti-Satellite Missile Test (A-SAT) on 27 February.

Its quite clear that being on the go 24x7 and not showing any stress from it is one of the biggest assets that Modi takes to elections. That at 68 he can maintain a schedule over such a long time is a vote-catcher.
For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. BJD is expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 election.

For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. His party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)  named after his father Biju Patnaik  is widely expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly election.

However, Patnaik doesnt seem to be comfortable with the B factor. For the names of his two former associates-turned-bete noirs, start with the second letter of English alphabet: Bijoy Mohapatra and Baijayant Panda. Both are in his enemy camp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contesting polls. It was evident all within a space of less than a week on either side of the poll.

In the last and final phase of polls on 29 April, the entire state watched keenly the high voltage tussle between BJD and Naveens political enemy Baijayant Panda, seeking re-election from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. All thought the drama ended there. They were wrong.

On 30 April, while most of the leaders, following the grueling month-long campaign in terrible heat and energy-sapping humidity, searched for a welcome breather, Patnaik, who had also extensively held roadshows and addressed rallies for his party candidates, was in New Delhi.

He met the Election Commission (EC) and urged it to postpone polling in Patkura Assembly seat and withdraw the Model Code of Conduct for all the coastal districts in view of the severe cyclonic storm Fani. Polling in Patkura has been rescheduled for 19 May, following the death of the BJD nominee Bed Prakash Agarwal.

BJP knew what Patnaik exactly aiming at. So on 1 April, a BJP delegation, led by Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met the EC and urged it not to postpone the polls in Patkura seat  under Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat  from where its candidate Bijoy Mohapatra is contesting.

"The chief minister in his letter to the EC has mentioned that the cyclone is likely to hit Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. This is not correct. The cyclone is likely to hit Krushna Prasad block under Brahmagiri Assembly segment, which is 150 km from Patkura," Pradhan said in a statement.

Both politicians and experts realised that Patnaik's demand for postponing the elections in Patkura was a ploy to block his longtime rival Mohapatras entry into the Assembly. Mohapatra, who is at the centre of this political drama, doesnt seem to be bothered though. He has been through worse. Mohapatra said that Patnaik tried his best to postpone the election but when that failed, he went to the EC to delay it post 23 May. It shows his mindset. I cant imagine how someone can be so mean, Mohapatra said in between answering calls.

He exuded confidence that both he and Panda are going to win and Patnaik is aware of that. I have noticed from the minds of the people that they are very unhappy with Naveens tactics. There is a sympathy wave in favour of me. Baijayant Panda will also win, he declared.

Mohapatra said that Patnaik is scared of him. He is highly scared, therefore adopting such dirty politics. Naveen is just the opposite of his father and has a very small heart, he added.

Even leaders of the Congress, BJPs principal enemy, criticised Patnaik for such a move. They believe Patnaik is trying to scuttle Mohapatras attempt to get inside the Assembly, by hook or crook.

Naveen is in the habit of playing this type of politics. He dislikes honesty and efficiency. He thinks he can play with the entire democratic system, maintained senior Congress leader and Cuttack Lok Sabha candidate Panchanan Kanungo. He wants people around him who would remain surrendered and never raise their voice. When the state is about to face a natural calamity, the chief minister went to Delhi with his own personal agenda. This is really unfortunate, Kanungo, who once was the finance minister in Patnaiks cabinet, added.

Senior journalist Rajaram Satpathy, who hails from Patkura constituency itself, during his long career as a reporter has seen Kendrapara and Odisha politics closely. He too has watched political careers of Patnaik, Panda and Mohapatra, equally from close quarters.

According to him, Patnaik doesnt like to see the rise of the Panda-Mohapatra duo. Patnaik is against Panda due to his growing popularity. Panda as a two-term MP has done quite a lot of good work and is liked by the people of Kendrapara. Naveen is aware Mohapatras presence in the Assembly would create horrors for him. Otherwise, he wouldnt have forced Bed Prakash Agarwal to contest against Mohapatra, Satpathy believed.

But the BJD leaders are not ready to accept any such argument. Our president has always worked hard in the best interest of the state. If the BJP or others are thinking that BJD or our leader is against a particular leader, they are free to do so. Its their problem, said a block-level leader of the party. However, when asked about the reasons behind fielding an ailing Agarwal, he tried to avoid the question and said, Wait. The people of Patkura will tell us in the election what is right or wrong.

Incidentally, the entire state was baffled when Naveen announced Agarwal as BJDs candidate for Patkura. Consider this. While Patnaik chose to give rest to many seventy plus leaders like Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik (Berhampur), Jugal Kishore Patnaik (Bhadrak), V Sugnan Kumari Deo (Kabisuryanagar) and Jogendra Behera (Loisingha), he thought it prudent to nominate the 83-year-old Agarwal.

Not only that. The veteran leader, who was fighting for life in the ICU of a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar couldnt come to collect his ticket for nearly a week. Incidentally, Agarwals wife and son had met Patnaik and pleaded that the ticket be given to someone else in the family. But Patnaik maintained silence. On the other hand, he thought it apt to give tickets to sons of Pravat Tripathy (Banki) and Pravat Biswal (Cuttack-Choudwar). Both of them served jail terms for their links in the chit fund case.

The image of Agarwal filing nominations in a wheelchair, as beamed across TV channels, shocked all, as they dreaded the obvious. Agarwal passed away on 20 April. Ironically, the BJD then nominated his widow Sabitri Agarwal.

The voters have seen everything and they know the truth. Therefore, the sympathy wave that Naveen thought would help his party is not going to happen. Perhaps Naveen knows it and thats why he had approached the EC to postpone the election in Patkura, Satpathy said.

Patnaik-Mohapatra rivalry is part of the Odisha politics folklore. In the 2000 elections, Mohapatra headed the BJDs powerful political affairs committee. He was distributing tickets. He had filed his nomination and was sure of a successful return to the Assembly for a possible bigger role.

However, just a couple of hours before the deadline for filing nominations ended, Mohapatra, who was chairing a meeting of party leaders in Bhubaneswar, was informed of the cruel truth: someone else had filed nomination on the partys ticket. He didnt have the required time to even reach Kendrapara, let alone file nominations.

Since then, he experimented but remained in political wilderness.

Ironically, both Mohapatra and Panda were not only among the founding members of the BJD but they also regard Patnaik's maverick chief minister father with great respect and admiration. While the Twitter savvy, suave Panda always refers to Biju as 'uncle' for his familys long association with the senior Patnaik, Mohapatra, who welded immense power during Bijus rule (1990-95), cant stop lavishing praises on him. Biju babu was not only a great leader but also had a large heart. You rarely see such great men in Indian politics, Mohapatra said.

Kendrapara district was known as Biju Patnaiks karmabhoomi. The district has been loyal to the Biju family for over fifty years.
The 'full commission' which takes such decisions comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

On Saturday the Election Commission Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on 21 April. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

One of the two election commissioners gave a dissenting view in the decision of the 'full Election Commission' to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said on Friday.

The 'full commission', which takes such decisions, comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. In the past three days, the commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Congress against the prime minister, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

One of the election commissioners, according to the sources, gave a dissenting view in EC's decision to give clean chit to the prime minister on his speech at Wardha on 1 April where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Wayanad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama martyrs in Latur on 9 April.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the poll panel was unanimous in disposing of a third complaint against the prime minister for his speech in Rajasthan's Barmer where he warned Pakistan about India's nuclear arsenal. Every other day they used to say we have nuclear button, we have nuclear button. What do we have then? Have we kept it for Diwali? he said, as per the report.

However, NDTV reported that one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah off the hook for their comments on five occasions, as per a high-ranking source. In addition to Modi's speeches in Karnataka and Maharashtra and his questioning of Rahul Gandhi selecting the Wayanad seat, the fifth instance related to Shah's comments, also on Wayanad, where in a speech in Nagpur, he said "Rahul Gandhi is contesting in such a place where it is impossible to say when a procession is taken out, whether it is a procession in India or Pakistan."

Since it was not a quasi-judicial decision, the dissent was not recorded. It was a view verbally presented in the meeting, a functionary explained. The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 states that if the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The commission transacts its business by holding regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All election commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the commission.

With inputs from PTI
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, the Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modiji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modiji, it is a hollow structure and in 10-20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground." He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"The Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Rahul.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got the defence offset contract during the UPA's tenure, Rahul said he is ready for the investigations.

Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army. pic.twitter.com/wAPPISCXUq  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Rahul told reporters.

Rahul also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar chor hai' as he hasn't apologised for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan. "The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologise to BJP or Modiji. 'Chowkidar chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised, and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for 6 May. The results of all the phases will be announced on 23 May.

Rahul also slammed Modi for raising suspicion over the claims of the surgical strike during the UPA regime and asserted that doing so is an insult to the Army. On Thursday, Congress party claimed that six surgical strikes were conducted during former prime minister Manmohan Singh's regime from 2004 to 2014.

On Friday, Modi, in a rally in Rajasthan had said that the Congress had first objected "decisive" action against terrorist by way of surgical strikes and then claimed that they had also done the same. He also said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

In response, Rahul said: "The Army, Air Force or Navy is not personal properties of Narendra Modiji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress, but the Army. These air strikes were done by the Army and we do not politicise the Army. The prime minister should not insult the Army."

Rahul also claimed the Congress's internal assessment is clearly saying that the BJP is losing. "More than half of elections are over and there is a clear-cut feeling that Narendra Modi is losing. The main issues are jobs, farmers, corruption by the prime minister and attack on an institution.

"People of the country are asking questions. Unemployment is the biggest issue in front of the country. The country is asking that Narendra Modi had promised employment to 2 crore people, but today there is maximum unemployment in the country in 45 years. In Congress's manifesto, we have the first chapter on jobs whereas Narendra Modi is not speaking a word on jobs because he cannot speak over it.

"He cannot speak because he has no plan or vision on the issue," said Rahul.

The Congress president once again attacked the BJP on the issue of release of Masood Azhar and said, "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Government."
What makes things worse in the case of Rahul Gandhi is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse.

The India Today interview of Rahul Gandhi that was published in the groups magazine but wasnt aired on its TV channel (despite promos and teasers) for reasons unknown, proves a simple point. The Congress president is unfit for any public office, leave alone serving as Indias prime minister.

It is difficult to reach any other conclusion after going through the transcript of the interview. The interviewers were sympathetic. Not too many tough questions were asked, Rahul was given a free pass on dubious claims and allowed to go unchallenged on what he claimed were facts. They let him speak  and that is all the encouragement that the dynast needed to expose his ineptitude anew.

Obviously, this wasnt the first time Rahul has made a case against himself in public life. What came through in the interview, however, was that the Gandhi scion has sank deeper into his dystopian reality and started believing in own delusions.

This happens when a cocooned dynast  who has not been exposed to the rough and tumble of life, or has never done a real job to earn a living  is airdropped onto the top of an organisation not on merit but entitlement, and surrounds himself with sycophants who are determined to tell him only what he wants to hear.

The leader becomes cut off from reality, develops an exaggerated sense of self-importance and starts believing that the world revolves around him. It isnt a crime for a leader not to be an orator. For instance, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee are not known for their oratorical skills. Yet, they have repeatedly won electoral success and established their credentials as chief ministers and mass leaders.

It is possible that Rahuls grasp of reality is not sound enough for him to be able to deal with complex questions on policy and politics that he is expected to answer as a challenger to the prime minister. Then, he needs to do his homework and come up with sane responses to legitimate questions. The answers that he came up with are beyond belief.

What makes things worse in Rahuls case is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse. This has degraded his ability to self-detect the inconsistencies and gaps of logic in his arguments. And since nobody within his party dares point out to him these anomalies, his delusion becomes progressively deeper and may eventually become incurable.

For instance, when asked in the India Today interview whether he would like to be the prime minister or is ready to be one, the Congress president comes up with a sensible answer. Who am I to say that? About 900 million people are casting their votes, its up to them to decide. Whoever they choose, Im happy with that.

He says much the same thing in a recent NDTV interview.

This would mean that Rahul grasps the key factor in a democracy  it is the people who decide and choose their leaders. Keeping this in mind, let us see scrutinise his answer to a rather innocuous question on his fitness mantra. While describing the value of persistence in fitness, Rahul draws a political equivalence.

Everyone told me Mr Narendra Modi cant be defeated. I said, 'Yeah, you really think so? I asked them, Tell me what Mr Narendra Modis strength is. They said, His strength is his (incorruptible) image. I said, Okay, Im going to rip that strength to pieces. Im going to take it and shred it. And Ive done it. Persistence, my friend! Keep going and keep going and keep going. And I will keep going until the truth on Rafale is out!

This is an extraordinary comment at multiple levels. At one level, it shows Rahuls confusion about key tenets in a democracy. It is not for Rahul or any other politician to rip into shreds the reputation of a rival who enjoys popular support and mass appeal. Even after five years in power as prime minister, Narendra Modis popularity far exceeds that of his rivals, and he punches even above the weight of his own party. His popularity graph, according to surveys and opinion polls, instead of dipping towards the end of tenure seems to have got a second wind after the Balakot air strikes.

It is breathtakingly arrogant for the Gandhi scion to assume that he can make the electorate think on his terms and sway their opinion. The logic behind his assertion isnt clear.

At another level, these comments reveal that Rahuls charges against Modi on the Rafale deal are fictional. These charges are not based on facts but driven by Rahuls self-declared urge to rip Modis strength (incorruptible image) into pieces. Whats more, Rahul is convinced that he has done his job (of damaging Modis image ostensibly through concocted charges and insinuations). This may also explain why Rahul continues to play truant with facts on the Rafale deal "controversy" and remains entitled to his own unverified and constantly fluctuating statistics.

We shall soon know whether Rahuls confidence is well-founded or misplaced, but from surveys and reportages, it seems that allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal have failed to catch public attention and Modi still enjoys an image of incorruptibility despite Rahuls effort to rip it into pieces.

Rahuls comments on the privatisation of public sector entities such as Air India are equally worrying. Not because he believes in socialism, capitalism or market economy. It is not clear what exactly he believes in, because his answers are fuzzier than mist on a winter morning in Delhi.

The question by the India Today interviewers was rather straight: Are you for or against public sector disinvestment? Does Air India need to be shut down?

Rahuls answer: This, if I may be blunt with you, is too basic a question: are we against it or for it? He goes on to say that the Congress has a strategy on public disinvestment, and he hates being asked these simplistic questions. This is not the kind of question you should be asking a national political leader, its the kind of question you ask high school kids. Come at me with sophistication and Ill come back at you with sophistication.

It is unclear what exactly Rahul means by sophistication. Perhaps it is his belief that "my mother is my sister. My sister is my mother." He insists, "They are the same thing, the same force. They are not different." This level of sophistication, one suspects, might boggle the minds of ordinary folks.

Rahul shows the same level of sophistication while dealing with a question on his favorite fruit. According to him, vipassana has made his mind so adaptable that his mind can construct the flavour of the fruit. Which apparently means that, You can choose to like mango, you can choose to hate it. You can choose to like poor people, you can choose to hate them. You construct everything in your mind. The mind decides everything.

Interestingly, the India Today group seems to have chosen not to telecast the interview on its TV channel. One of the journalists belonging to the group clarified on Twitter that this was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week."

This was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress Presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week. https://t.co/yAd6xop0ZE  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 4, 2019

This clarification, however, runs thin on facts, because the media house had run promos and teasers of this interview on its channel.

And you say "watch" the most in-depth interview. pic.twitter.com/YNi804gdYH  Arun (@nonemnura) May 4, 2019

Dear Rahul kanwal, Your channel ran a ticker to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview at 6:30 on 2'nd of may Your channel's Twitter feed asked people to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview Now tell me how was it supposed to be a Print interview when you asked people to "watch" it https://t.co/yUBDWvVjnP     (@indiantweeter) May 4, 2019

It is quite clear that the understanding was that this interview was meant to be aired. The group wouldnt have run promos based on the Congress material. It is not clear at what stage it was taken off air, why and whether the group came under any sort of political pressure in not airing it.
Agence France-Presse

The fossilised remains of an early human cousin found in the mountains of Tibet prove mankind adapted to live at a high altitude far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

A jawbone dating from at least 160,000 years ago of a Denisovan  a now-extinct branch of humanity  is the first of its kind discovered outside of southern Siberia, and experts believe it holds the key to understanding how some modern-day humans have evolved to tolerate low-oxygen conditions.

Contemporaries of the Neanderthals  and like them, possibly wiped out by anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens  the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago.

Their existence was determined through a piece of the finger bone and two molars unearthed at the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia's Altai Mountains and dated to some 80,000 years ago.

But the new remains  discovered in passing by a local monk nearly thirty years ago  has led researchers to conclude that Denisovans were far more numerous, and far older than previously thought.

"To have beings, even if a little archaic, living at 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) on the Tibetan plateau 160,000 years ago... That's something that no one could have imagined until today," said Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Max Planck Institute's Department of Human Evolution.

The bone, found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe, China, was donated by the monk to a local museum, before scientists set about analysing its composition. It was so old no DNA could be extracted.

But Hublin and his team used the latest protein analysis to date one of its teeth and to link it genetically to Denisovan specimens found in Siberia.

"From my point of view it's confirmation of a working hypothesis I've had for a while: Nearly all Chinese and East Asian (hominim) fossils between 350,000-50,000 years ago are probably Denisovan," said Hublin, lead author of the study published in Nature.

Extraordinary

A recent research paper suggested that humans only reached the Tibetan plateau  a vast area of mountainous terrain north of the Himalayas  around 40,000 years ago.

"Here we have something that's four times older," said Hublin. "It's absolutely extraordinary."

The jawbone discovery also solves a riddle that has troubled anthropologists for years.

In 2015, researchers found that ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese living at altitude had buried in their genetic code an unusual variant of a gene, EPAS1, which regulates haemoglobin, the molecule that hauls oxygen around the blood. At high altitude, common variants of the gene overproduce haemoglobin and red blood cells, causing the blood to become thick and sludgy  a cause of hypertension, low birth-weight and infant mortality.

But the variant found in Tibetans increases production by much less, thus averting hypoxia problems experienced by many people who relocate to places above 4,000 metres in altitude. The mutation is nearly identical to that found in the DNA of Denisovans discovered in Siberia  at an altitude of less than 700 metres.

"That was something that no one really understood, because the Denisovans weren't known to live at altitude, so they didn't really need that gene to survive," said Hublin. "Now we know why. It's not the DNA from Denisovans from (Siberia), it's the DNA from the Denisovans of Tibet."
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday when a sniper from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired at Israeli troops across the border wounding two of them, according to the Israeli military. A retaliatory Israeli air strike then killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired more than 200 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. In response, the Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft carried out attacks against more than 30 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby was killed by one of the Israeli strikes and at least 13 other Palestinians were wounded throughout Saturday. Residents identified two of them as militants.The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby, said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. An Israeli military spokeswoman made no immediate comment.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. Across the border, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two people were wounded by shrapnel. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

In a joint statement in which they claimed responsibility for firing rockets, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression.

Egyptian mediation

Although Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets from Gaza are a frequent occurrence, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent any further escalation of hostilities. Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel but there is no conclusion yet, said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairos mediation efforts.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day. Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Fridays events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairos mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza.
Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

Seoul: North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland. The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (US-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong-un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

After the launches, South Koreas presidential national security adviser, the defense minister and the intelligence chief gathered at the presidential Blue House to monitor the situation, according to the Blue House. It said South Korea and the United States are closely sharing information about the launches.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.
Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

Bangkok: Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago. The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favour the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralise royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers  though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said. A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometre (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election. In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so. On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning: 'The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions,' Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election.

In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning:

"The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions," Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday.

"The very system of government in the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator is very much at stake."

His remarks came after Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, refused to attend the same hearing before Nadler's committee, which is examining Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's efforts to stifle the probe.

In an unprecedented approach, Trump in recent days has filed lawsuits meant to block congressional subpoenas that were sent to two banks and an accounting firm that have worked with his businesses, which he did not divest when he took office. The subpoenas seek access to past financial records for Trump.

A businessman-turned-politician, Trump also still refuses to disclose any of his annual tax returns, rejecting decades of practice by recent presidents.

Standing by their president, Republicans in Congress dismissed as hollow Nadler's rhetoric about Trump's defiance and played down Barr's refusal to attend the House hearing.

The Republicans complained that Nadler wanted committee staff lawyers to be able to question Barr, a departure from the standard hearing format where lawmakers do the questioning.

They stressed Barr's readiness to defend his handling of the Mueller report before a Republican-controlled Senate panel on the day before he skipped the House hearing.

On Nadler's comments, Republican Representative Tom Cole said, "It's over the top. The attorney general showed up before the Senate committee and took every question."

POLITICAL RISKS

The partisan shouting match in Washington is intensifying as a platoon of Democratic presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail, with Trump lobbing Twitter insults at the front-runners.

Both sides run risks in ramping up their confrontation. The Democrats could turn off voters if they push too hard to investigate, and perhaps ultimately try to impeach Trump, allowing him to play the victim, a role he excels in.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading Democrat in opinion polls, said this week that Trump's stonewalling left no alternative but impeachment, which other Democrats have urged.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed the public split evenly over impeachment, with 40 percent in favor and 42 percent against it.

On the other hand, Trump's behavior may already be worrying Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump with a 37 percent approval rating after the Mueller report's release, his lowest of the year. [L1N2210EG]

Any further erosion will likely be muted by the economy, which is churning along in its 10th year of expansion. But if economic growth were to falter, the stand-off in Washington could become a bigger issue ahead of the November 2020 election.

MUELLER'S FINDINGS

Mueller's 448-page report, almost two years in the making, unearthed numerous links between Russians and Trump's campaign, but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

It described attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller's probe, but stopped short of declaring that Trump had committed a crime.

House Democrats are treating the report as a guide book for more investigations. Shortly after its release in redacted form on April 18, Nadler subpoenaed an unredacted version, as well as the underlying evidence that informed it.

Barr's Justice Department has refused to comply and Nadler is weighing a contempt citation against Barr over the matter.

In response to Nadler's and other inquiries, Trump has dug in. In a letter obtained by Reuters, the White House argued that Trump is within his rights to order his advisers not to testify before Congress, even though he allowed them to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, accused Barr of lying to lawmakers about his interactions with Mueller. "That's a crime," she said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman called Pelosi's allegation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on Nadler's panel, said Democrats are resorting to hyperbole because the Mueller report did not land a knock-out legal blow on Trump.

"If you don't have the facts and you don't have the law, the old joke is that you stand on the table and yell. Well, he's just standing on the table and yelling now," Collins said, referring to Nadler.

(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Kieran Murray and Howard Goller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the United States Steel Corporation's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder today's call is being recorded.

I'll now hand the call over to Kevin Lewis, General Manager of Investor Relations.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning. On the call with me this morning will be US Steel President and CEO; Dave Burritt; Executive Vice President and CFO; Kevin Bradley; and Sara Greenstein; Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions. Sara has responsibility for the Mon Valley and the new technology we announced yesterday.

After the close of business yesterday, we posted our earnings release and earnings presentation under the Investor Section of our website. Yesterday morning, we also post an investor presentation highlighting our announcement on Mon Valley. On today's call, we will walk through via webcast, select slides, highlighting our investment in first quarter results. The link to the webcast can be found on the Investor Section of our website. We also posted this morning slides to our website.

Before we start, let me remind you that some information provided during this call may include forward-looking statements that are based on certain assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings and actual future results may vary materially. Forward-looking statements in the press release that we issued yesterday along with other remarks today are made as of today and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to US Steel President and CEO, Dave Burritt, who will begin today's presentation on Slide four.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Kevin. Today is a great day for US Steel. I could not be more excited for our employees; for our community; for our customers and for our current and future stockholders. Before I get into our strong first quarter financial results, I want to take a few moments to provide context for yesterday's state-of-the-art high-tech transformational announcement.

We have all seen in the headlines some on this call have even said US Steel's competitive position has weakened. US Steel can't compete with recently announced capacity additions. We know the competition, we live it and we welcome it, we don't fear it, but we respect it. We love to compete, it's our competitive spirit, our unwavering commitment and our relentless focus that has brought us to yesterday's announcement.

First, before we get into the materials, I want to talk about some facts, then I'll talk about the future. These are the facts, US Steel is special and you know this, US Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the US and the only US headquartered steel company that can mine, melt, and make steel in USA, that's a fact. We have a world-class safety performance, you all know that, that's a fact.

And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry, we understand cash is king, that's a fact. We are executing projects better, here are few examples; in the last two years, we spent $800 million on North American engineering capital projects, 90% were on or under budget. On the last five major projects, we underspent them and had an internal rate of return greater than 22%, I'm talking about projects like galvanizing line upgrades at Midwest, pipe mill and threading line projects in tubular, caster upgrades at Granite City, pickle line upgrades in Europe.

We completed nine large infrastructure projects and underspent the budget. These projects include; multiple blast furnace steel rebuilds at various facilities and steel shop environmental projects at Great Lakes Works and Granite City Works. On finishing projects, all the can do projects for our tin business were right on budget. We are executing projects better, that's a fact.

Typically first quarter is always a lighter quarter for financial results. You know -- you now know these first quarter issues well, whether or like the Polar Vortex this year and of course we can't ship pellets from Minnesota Mines, because the Soo Locks are closed. By now everyone should know how difficult the first quarter is. But we beat even our own expectations in the first quarter, because we are performing better. Asset revitalization is working, our performance and productive capability are better, that's a fact.

We're now pivoting from playing defense to offense. So let me tell you a little bit about yesterday's announcement and the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Hundreds of US Steel employees welcomed local government and community leaders to Edgar Thompson, Pennsylvania. The support we have received for this investment and the value it will create for our company, our customers, our employees and our community is extraordinary. I thank each and every person, who has reached out to congratulate the company for bringing state-of-the-art sustainable steel advanced manufacturing to Western Pennsylvania.

Following the announcement of the EAF in Alabama and a Dynamo Line in Europe, yesterday's announcement is another step in our value creation strategy. Here are the highlights: we expect the investment to be about -- approximately $1.2 billion; we are investing in the first state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line in the United States; we expect to achieve a $35 per ton reduction in operating costs. We are creating new product boundaries that create a moat around the most attractive markets we serve. Gauge and width combinations not available today in the United States. And we expect to deliver significant environmental improvements.

Turning to Page five, we have been making significant improvements to our business over the past few years, enhancing our operational excellence, creating operating leverage through improved performance and investing in technology to improve our cost structure and expand our capabilities. Our strategy is straightforward and we continue to be guided by our critical success factors. We will move down the cost curve, we will win in attractive markets and we will move up the talent curve.

Turning to Page six. This investment is truly transformative, again here is the proof. The Mon Valley is currently a low cost mill in the steel industry and we are now combining the best of both, our high quality integrated steel making process with industry-leading casting technology. Again, we expect the investment to further reduce operating costs by $35 per ton, and we are equipping the facility with best-in-class capabilities that significantly improves the quality and product attributes to meet the needs of our customers today and into the future. This is a significant competitive advantage for our company, and it delivers enormous value to our customers, as we will be able to provide sustainable steel solutions many thought impossible. The lightest, thinnest, strongest and most formable steel available.

Turning to Page seven, as part of our investment in this new technology, we are also building a state-of-the-art co-generation facility at our Clairton plant. The facility will convert coke oven gas to electricity and steam, delivering significant environmental improvements within our facilities and across the region. Once completed, we expect our investments to significantly reduce emissions; including the following estimates: 35% reduction in particulate matter 10 and 2.5, 50% reduction in sulfur dioxide, 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide.

Turning to Page eight, we've been listening to what our customers are telling us and our strategy is clear, we're creating a moat around the attractive markets through dimensions and differentiation, and are expanding our capabilities to be the material provider of choice in growing markets. We know that sustainable profitability lies with being a flexible and agile steel producer capable of solving 21st century material problems.

From asset revitalization to endless casting and rolling, our investment strategy expands our capability and cost profile to win share. We are revitalizing and now we are revolutionizing. From wide to narrow and from light gauge to heavy gauge our footprint will be well positioned to win in the US market and will help shape the future markets, we will create with our customers. To be clear we are not adding steel making capacity, instead we are transforming our footprint to capture market share. I have never been more confident in our future than I am right now.

With that I'll turn to Page nine and Kevin Bradley. Kevin?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Dave, and good morning everyone. Given yesterday's announcement, Page nine provides a helpful visual of the work we've done on our capital structure over the last two years. We've made great progress reducing our overall debt and shifting our maturity profile. We've reshaped our capital structure having eliminated or refinanced over $1.8 billion in debt. We've extended our maturity profile with no significant maturities until 2025 and beyond.

In addition, our strong liquidity at $2.5 billion including cash of $676 million and $1.8 billion of availability on our US and European revolving credit facilities, positions the company well for strategic investments like the one we announced yesterday.

Turning to Page 10, let's talk about the investment in Mon Valley. At a $1.2 billion level of investment, we are estimating a return of 15% or higher. You can see the expected cash requirements between today and 2022 with just over a $1 billion being required between 2020 and 2021. We are planning to fund the investment from a combination of vendor-supported financing and senior unsecured notes. The vendor-supported financing will be approximately $250 million, and we'll have flexible draw-down terms to match project cash flow requirements.

Slide 11 provides a summary of our recent technology investments. In January, we announced the construction of a new Dynamo Line at our European steel mill. We expect that this $130 million capital investment over the next two years will deliver an annualized run rate EBITDA benefit of $35 million. Full year EBITDA benefits are expected in 2021. In February, we announced the restart of the tubular EAF in Fairfield, Alabama. We expect annualized run rate benefits by 2021, up to total approximately $80 million from our $280 million capital investment to complete the EAF. This investment makes our tubular business self-sufficient on round substrate for the seamless pipe mills, resulting in significant cost savings.

Yesterday's announcement of the endless casting and rolling line is targeting first coil in 2022. With a full year $275 million EBITDA benefit expected in 2023. The combination of these three technology investments totaled approximately $390 million EBITDA expansion over the next three to four years.

Before I turn it back to Dave, let's recap some of the first quarter highlights on Page 12. Total adjusted EBITDA of $285 million was, up $30 million over the prior year quarter, and up approximately $60 million versus our expectations. Overall, it was a strong first quarter. We gained market share and continue to see opportunities to improve our competitive position. The better-than-expected results in our Flat-Rolled segment were largely driven by increased shipments and strong operational performance. I was very impressed with the team's execution across the Flat-Rolled footprint.

Our European segment performed in line with our expectations, while our Tubular segment capitalized on an improved commercial environment to deliver material upside. First quarter adjusted EPS of $0.47 was significantly higher than the first quarter of 2018 at $0.32.

Please note our Q1, effective tax rate was 12.4% as you know we released a significant portion of the valuation allowance against our NOLs at the end of 2018. That action is resulting in a more normal annual rate for the company. Our tax rate also reflects the benefits of the depletion, deduction generated by our mining operations. While, our reported tax rate should be higher than prior years going forward, we do not expect to incur US cash taxes for a few more years, due to the NOLs. As discussed in January, we will provide quantitative guidance later in the quarter, but given today's environment, we currently expect Q2 adjusted EBITDA at the enterprise level to be similar to Q1. The Flat-Rolled segment should benefit from stronger sheet and third-party pellet shipments. However, our European business is being negatively impacted by increasingly challenging market conditions across Europe. Overall, we feel good about the company's performance and our ability to execute our strategy and deliver results.

With that let me turn it back to Dave.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Kevin. Before we turn to the Q&A, we've covered a lot today, so I want to take a moment to recap. As Kevin said we are obviously happy with the first quarter. We have some serious headwinds in Europe that we have to work through, the market is certainly more challenged than anyone anticipated when we entered the year. But overall we feel good about the business and 2019.

Lastly, we have some really exciting news yesterday, we think this unleashes value in so many ways. It's a big time capability improvement and big time cost improvement and it's a big time sustainability improvement. It checks all the boxes. Strong strategic rationale, high levels of value creation and our capital structure is well positioned to support this investment. I couldn't be happier for our employees, the community, our customers and the returns this will yield for our long-term stockholders.

Kevin let's move to Q&A.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, Dave. We have a lot of people in the queue today. So, we'd appreciate your cooperation help us get everybody to questions. Greg, can you please queue the line for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instruction) Your first question comes from the line of Martin Englert from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Hi, good morning everyone.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Good morning.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

So for the Mon Valley project you've highlighted potential sources of funding of $250 million, I believe you said from vendors and then also unsecured notes, as well as cash and the revolver. Can you provide a rough breakdown of the remaining allocation? And also remind us of your targeted leverage metrics and what comfortable ranges?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we're in good shape and I kind of talked about the timing of the requirements, so I think overall we would look to fill most of it. You know, other than the vendor supported with high yield. But we're going to be opportunistic pick the right time, we want to make sure our message here is being absorbed and so we're in no hurry to go out there until the market is right and we need to. But I would say the majority ideally would be high yield and the vendor-supported financing.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay, and the leverage metrics that you're comfortable with?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, I mean given where we are now right, with this project and the Dynamo and the EAF, we're still very comfortably within our goal, which is kind of, you know, when we double the range. I don't think at any point we get to more than three times the total debt through this list. Obviously subject to market conditions as always. But you know given where we're starting from in terms of total and net debt leverage, we feel really good about our ability to pull this off and stay strong.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for that. and if I could one last one. The new Mon Valley project is potentially a significant support for the company. Can you discuss from a high level, if other similar transformational projects are potentially under consideration?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, of course, we're always looking at opportunities, I will say this is such a big transformational project for us this is one of a kind we don't see another project like this coming on for anyone, anytime soon.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for the detail there and congratulations.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Gagliano from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay great. Thanks for taking my question. I'm sure a lot of people are going to questions on Mon Valley. So I'll try and focus in on just one piece of it. Thanks by the way for the additional information on the longer-term targets here. I was wondering, if you can give us more details behind the targeted $275 million of EBITDA in 2023 that incremental contribution; for example what price is that based on or there offsetting reductions since I -- it looks to me like this is an upgrade to existing downstream production mix that kind of thing. And any other additional detail behind that $275 million would be great. Thank you.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understood. This is Dave, but the way I interpret your question is what are driving these EBITDA benefits, you know, there's yield improvement, there's reduced externally purchased energy, there's more efficient staffing, there is improved operational efficiency, there is all those things that are going to be making the business stronger and better in fact, if you think about this investment we are already low on the cost curve this will make us from a variable cost perspective, the -- from our out side in-look, the lowest in the United States and maybe Sara you can provide a little more color on this issue.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Sure. Thanks, Dave. This is Sara Greenstein, you know, when you think about what this icon -- what this iconic investment does, it does a couple of things; it makes the Mon Valley Works, one of the lowest cost steel mills in the world; able to profitably compete with both domestic and foreign steel producers; delivering sustainable profits through cycle. The other thing it does is enables the Mon Valley Works to be the producer of choice for the lighter, wider, stronger and more formable steel.

So the combination of this advanced manufacturing technology when combined with our integrated steel making process at the Mon Valley enables us to do what no other North American steel producer can do today. We will be able to produce our proprietary advanced high strength steel, substrate at the Mon Valley making the strongest, most formidable products available to allow our auto customers to continue to lightweight their end products previously incapable -- when we were previously incapable of doing this at the Valley.

We will continue to support our appliance, our construction and our industrial customers from the Valley and provide both our current and future product capability to them as they continue to lightweight their products, driving innovation and growth for them. But the profitability piece, which was the core of your question, really lies in the fact that we as Dave mentioned in his earlier comments will be the material solution of choice for these end markets, that we seek to serve, while simultaneously reducing $35 a ton reduction in our overall conversion costs, reducing our overall sustaining CapEx, and then all the things that Dave just mentioned, improving yield, lower energy consumption and greater production efficiency.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

You know, thanks for that, Sara. You know, I'm just, I'm sitting here holding a piece of steel in my hands, it's a sample of a 0.6 millimeter thick hot-rolled strip and that's 0.236 inches hot-rolled that is a thickness nobody in this market comes close to making today. We're going to unlock solutions for our customers that they've never thought possible to allow them to reengineer what they buy. This is clearly breakthrough folks.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And in addition to the investment that we're making at the Valley, our ability to be able to produce the thinner, lighter, wider product then frees up our Gary facility and all the investments that we've recently made in our hot strip out there, to go after the sicker, wider, heavy gauge product especially focused on the API market.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So the thick and thin of things are, we got the thin inside and we got to thick side, you know, what we're doing in Gary, $0.5 billion investment on hot rolled, and so we're building the moat on that side and the moat here on the thin side. So we feel very good about where we are on this journey and we're sort of over the top excited about the possibility. So thanks for the question, sorry for the very long answer. One more thing, Kevin Bradley --

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

One thing, Dave. It's a great question. You mentioned the commercial piece just, you know we model the IRR on this at 50% or higher. We're using a backward-looking through-the-cycle, you know, CRU. So this did not based on today's market this is a much more conservative assumption that, you know, the market would revert back to. We always look at it on a backward looking, so if you believe there's a new normal or that today's pricing is better and sustainable, the 15% would be much higher.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Just my follow-up question here. Just curious how much capital has actually been spent at Mon Valley as part of the asset revitalization program, so far. And how much additional CapEx at Mon Valley tied specifically to that, you know, the ARP piece?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

So, this investment that we announced yesterday is in addition to the revitalization investment that we've made at the Mon Valley. And all in on -- across the Mon Valley, we will have spent a $200 million revamping our primary end and our finishing line.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

But think of this as a technological breakthrough. This is not revitalization, this is revolutionizing the way steel is made.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

And, specifically you know the hot mill has not received, you know, very much capital investment the last couple of years. So that's part of the question. We want to clear on that, as well.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The cold mill there is a significant, critical -- one of the 13 critical assets we talk about and is receiving capital.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And is our primary end.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Terry from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Hi guys and thanks for taking my questions. Just in terms of the technology given you'll be the first in the US. Can you just talk through your conference on the reliability, and the technology itself? And then just -- I know you touched on this in some of the earlier questions. but why Mon Valley specifically? And how long have you been looking at this investment? What's the decision -- time line that you've been doing the details in this process. Thanks.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, this is Dave. First, the way we approach this when we look at our strategy, of course we look at our global footprint and make sure that we're optimizing the value we have, the rigorous capital allocation process. And then through that process we find out where the attractive markets are, and we focus on those markets where they have sufficient size, and have adequate margins and they're continuing to grow. And then we look at our capabilities and say how do we fit those capabilities into the markets that we want to pursue, and we looked at our footprint and we looked at the opportunities it was clear that Mon Valley was the place we knew, we need to be doing some upgrades on the 1938 mill at that time, and this was going to be something that would take this not just to a good level, but to an absolutely great level.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you, Dave. And if I could just add a bit, the state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling technology, while the first of its kind to be introduced in the US is actually in operation and it has been for years in other countries around the world. So this is a proven technology and capability. We are bringing it to the US and we are combining it with our lowest cost facility already and the integrated steel making process, and as a result have the ability to make products that no one else in this country can.

So, it's deploying proven advanced manufacturing technology with our integrated steel making process that allows us and positions us to really make a game changing difference in this industry in this country. But why the Mon Valley? I talked about some of these things. The first and foremost it expands our structural cost advantage at the Valley. We are currently a low cost provider, this move has even further down the cost curve. It provides us as US Steel greater footprint optionality. I mentioned what this allows us to do and focus on now at our Gary Work facility. It upgrades a 1938 vintage hot strip mill and takes us from being more limited in what we can do to being the most capable field producer in terms of thinner, wider, stronger product in this country. And finally it enhances the number of markets that we can and intend and will serve.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well said, Sara, you know, it's -- and there's obviously going to be a lot more discussions that we have on this. We have models that have built that will bring this to life to you. But if you think about this technology and think about the four processes of steel making, you've got iron making, steel making, hot rolling, you know, and then finishing. And where we've been challenged is typically at our mills. Liquid steel, we do exceptionally well and integrated mills have this great cost advantage from our mine side and from our coke making, because we can use that energy to power the facilities, still there's a lot of advantages that we have with liquid steel. Where we've had trouble is providing the extra variety of steel, the extra capability and this now expands our capability and moves us further down the cost curve. So that we can be a -- if not the leader certainly one of the leaders in US, because we are clearly in a great cost position when this is finished.

So it's really important to understand the benefits of this because it has the conversion costs benefits as we use our state-of-the-art PRO-TEC XG3 steel at -- in Ohio, where we'd be starting to run coils at the end of this year. So all of this connects very well with the footprint that we've been working on for quite some time. And we're finally able to get it announced to you folks. But it's going to take a while for you to digest it and understand it, and we have some models that we can be taking you through at the appropriate time.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Just a follow-up question on the CapEx and the layering of the asset revitalization program about $900 million still to spend at EAF at Fairfield and now Mon Valley. Is there a way to maybe delay this? So you saw a sense of urgency, as well, a limited time frame to get this and/or do you think the balance sheet can handle it?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understand you're breaking up a little bit, but we don't intend to slow down the asset revitalization we've always said, if we can get the returns faster we're going to go after them. So we need to make sure that we get ourselves positioned well and the revitalization is well under way we're executing, and so we don't want to move slower, we want to move faster.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Karl Blunden from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Hi, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the question. I guess on the side of funding here when you think about funding all of the CapEx and organic investment on Mon Valley. Are there any non-core assets in the portfolio that you've taken a look at that may help you raise some of the cash there and reduce the debt burden you're going to take on?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Well, we're always looking at our footprint and you know and you've heard me say this so many times everything's for sale all the time, but you know we certainly like our footprint currently and we're basically doing our best to create monetized value from all of our assets and upgrading them and improving them, so that we will be positioned here with this breakthrough investment for a better tomorrow.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Got you. And historically there was some discussion of the European asset. Is the environment now just not conducive to raising capital from that market through asset sales?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, I think you know about the Dynamo Line, so that's an important investment force and that is a extraordinarily well-run asset and it's been throwing off substantial EBITDA for the -- from well-run operations, you know, this is one of those businesses that makes money in the trough, and so it's an ideal asset for us and we'll continue to make sure that we manage that well and with the Dynamo Line that also gets us a additional EBITDA.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Okay, and just quick one. You mentioned unsecured debt in your slides, wondering if you'd be open to secure debt, as well if that's needed given the funding costs?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're always going to be open to anything the company needs at the same time we don't see that as a requirement, so that is not a preference for us, we'd like to stay unsecured, and that's our intention.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Thanks for your time.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And maybe that gets into a little bit here of our capital allocation strategy, because you know what we're -- it's really important people understand this because we're always looking at throughout the business cycle and the way we manage this, and we have these three priorities for cash and that gets into what you're kind of walking around here on the balance sheet. We've got to have a strong balance sheet that's supportive of the company's strategic objective that's first and foremost and we'll do what's required in order to deliver that. We're investing now and the second one is investing in operational excellence, investing in technology, investing in innovation that's aligned with these critical success factors that we mentioned. Moving up the talent curve and moving down the cost curve and then winning in attractive markets, we got to take share.

And then finally this -- the third priority here is return capital stockholders, who have consistent dividend payments and opportunistic stock repurchases. This is what we want to construct here and with these types of improvements that we're making over the last few years, if you think about the clean up of the balance sheet, the cleanup of the operations and taking the operations to a better level or increasing our execution capability and demonstrating that we can perform. Now is the right time for this announcement for us to accelerate and set the stage for people that were, you know, we'll still play some defense, but mostly we're going to be pushing forward to show that we're a leader now and not somebody that's having market share taken from us, we're going to be taking it from others.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Nicholas Jarmoszuk from Stifel. Please go ahead.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning. Had a question on the CapEx outlook. We've got the Fairfield project, we have the Mon Valley provided the -- how that's going to be spent over through 2022? The Dynamo line, you have the ongoing asset revitalization and there's going to be a line for sustaining CapEx. Can you give us a sense for what those various line items are going to be for the next couple of years?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I'm not going to break it down. Let me let me start by saying that you've got the new updated guidance on CapEx moving up to 1.3. That reflects all the projects that we've announced, so in total and sustaining capital and all engineering capital, that's all in what we know today and what you know today is reflected. Clearly the icon, the project in the Valley et cetera is going to increase that going forward. Next year is our last year of revitalization and so it will be -- you'll see the same level coming through. There is going to be some spillover because of payment terms into the following year, as well from revitalization. But we're not going to, you know, forecast beyond this year in terms of CapEx. But as I shared earlier very comfortable with our liquidity, our cash flow position, the balance sheet strength and our ability to handle this lift.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

And then regarding that 275 uplift from the Mon Valley project. So if you're saving $35 per ton and the production is still going to be roughly 2.6 million tons, there I can account for roughly $90 million of EBITDA uplift. Can you talk about the remaining amounts in terms of how to think about the buckets in terms of the thinner gauges, the better pricing on that regard. How we can think about, what was it, the lower purchases of energy purchases, better staffing. How could we think about the bridge from the $90 million -- from $0 million to $90 million to $275 million?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sure. Nick, you've summarized the calculation, the cost reductions appropriately that is about approximately $90 million of the EBITDA benefits expected as a result of this investment. Additionally we're sizing the commercial opportunities about 50% of the $275 million, so that's everything we're looking through for additional mix improvements and all the benefits that Dave and Sara have described here on this call today.

And then we have some other benefits from the co-generation facility and just some overall efficiencies throughout the entire Mon Valley footprint. So kind of to summarize the variable cost is about a third of the improvement with the half attributable to the commercial benefits. So that should give you some good insight to the anatomy of where the EBITDA is coming from on a run rate basis.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Hi, good morning. I want to ask little bit about the quarter, if I could just steer things that way. First half the decline in prices for the Flat-Rolled segment was a lot smaller than the spot price obviously you have annual contracts. But just as you see the current environment, so we expect to see, kind of, the same, kind of, decline going forward given the recent spot declines and on the Tubular side, you saw prices go up and PIPELOGIX price fell about $40 a ton. So, can you just provided a little bit more color on kind of the trends you're seeing in pricing?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, so Timna. I'll talk a little bit first maybe about the 4Q to 1Q change in Flat-Rolled. I think we saw a really good improvement in our mix, we were able to capture some high-end hot-rolled and some other project business that kept our average selling prices pretty resilient in this spot market environment that we were in. It also reflects the success we had in our annual contract, so we were pretty happy with where we came in for the first quarter from an average selling price perspective.

On the Tubular side, we did see some good improvements in pricing, mostly on the seamless side. So early mix, nice mix change there with the -- with seamless and which contribute a lot to the commercial uplift in the Tubular segment from a 4Q to 1Q perspective.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. Helpful. And then did ask a little bit about like it's that's -- if either one or both of those are trends that you could see continuing. And then separately can you give us your perspective and the updates you're seeing on the air quality issues in Clairton, I think, I saw last night or this morning comes through a lawsuit claiming $50 million in damages. Just wanted to get your response to that. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

So, Timna, maybe I'll take the first question on the trends, and then maybe ask Sara to give an overview about where we are at Clairton. So, I think we all seen the recent move down in spot prices, so we certainly expect that to impact our commercial portfolio. But we remain committed to kind of the mix improvements and going after those markets as described by Sara and Dave. So you could certainly model through the impact of a decreasing price environment here on the business. But overall our strategy remains to make sure that our mix is strong, and we can generate the right types of average selling prices and different types of the -- through cycle environments.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes. Thanks, Kevin. And while we don't nor will we comment on any legal activity as it relates to Clairton, what I will comment on is, and I think you all know we experienced a catastrophic event on December 24th and couldn't be prouder of the people and the team and the community that came together to support us and getting us back up. As of April 4th, we restarted the desulfurization process facility at the Clairton plant. We -- as of that date we're desulfurizing a 100% of the coke oven gas that we generate at that plant. And in fact on our January earnings call, we had forecasted about a $40 million impact from this fire. And we had about a $31 million impact in the quarter primarily really due to the purchase of natural gas and inefficiencies that we experienced. But we are backup, we are running and that's where we're at.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, thanks for taking my question. You know, forgive sort of an equity question from a debt guy. But you know, I thought share buybacks were really sort of something you did when you didn't have anything better to do with the cash. If you guys have identified $3 billion of value-add projects. What's the hurry in getting cash back to shareholders at this time?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're not seeing it as a hurry, when we announced the program last year, what we're trying to do is make sure we've got a balanced capital allocation methodology. So the $300 million over the two year period, we think, is an appropriate level and we're kind of committed to it. So we're going to continue to do that. Agree, we've got some very high and exciting opportunities, high return exciting opportunities. We want to make sure we're balanced as we go through it. So for now, we feel good about the program, we're executing against it, we think appropriately and you can expect that to continue.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Then one quick follow up, as you think about coming to the high yield unsecured market, you'd mentioned sort of a leverage cap, if you will of around 3 times, and you've referenced, you know, a strong balance sheet a number of times today. I mean is that your sense that up to 3 times levered balance sheet would sort of maintain that strong balance sheet?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

No. And I didn't mean to imply it as a cap, What I was saying is what we've announced, you know, we don't think over the coming years would put us above 3 times. So what we said is you know and we've been talked with the agencies regularly, you know, under 4 times we think is a BB, and that's our medium to long term goal. And so I'm not implying a cap at three, I'm just saying given where we are and what we've announced in terms of investments, I don't think we go above three with that.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Tumazos from Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you very much. Could you give us a little more explanation as to the physical breakthroughs of the new rolling mill. How much wider is it? You already gave us thinness. Forgive me. Could you describe the scientific measures of improved ductility or formability that you refer to qualitatively? How much wider will this steel be for an automaker, because it's thinner, stronger, more ductile. Forgive me for my specificity and enthusiasm, please.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a very detailed question, and I think I'll keep it back to the -- is it strategic, we're going thinner and we're going thicker on the strategy, and we can get you more details on those specifics at another time. But I think today we're talking what the strategy is, and if we can get into those details at this point.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Congratulations.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you. What I can tell you just very quickly, as you know, we can go down to 0.03 on gauge and we can go as wide as 77 inches.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Phil Gibbs from KeyBanc. Please go ahead.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Hey, good morning. Thanks for all the good details this morning, appreciate it. I have just a question on the guidance for the second quarter, I know European spreads have been weak. Are we -- should we be expecting Europe to on an EBIT basis be in the red in the second quarter similar -- similarly should we expect that for Tubular given a little bit of softness in that market. And do you expect Flat-Rolled volumes to be higher relative to Q1 in the US?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

What I would say, you know, we're not going to give specific quantitative especially at the segment level. But given my comments you can expect Europe to be down from Q1. And we do expect shipments in North American Flat-Rolled to be up in Q2 sequentially, if that helps. But we're going to -- later in the quarter we're going to come out with more quantitative guidance and give you much more clarity around what to expect.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's no question, there's pressure in Europe and we see the economic reports and we feel the pressure on margin, no doubt about it. But as you look at this year and where we started this year and where we are right now, we feel as good about the year now as we did then. Now the mix of where things are has been shifting a bit, but the first half will be about the same as what we thought it was at the beginning of the year and we're going to have a really good 2019, that's where we are.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks. And then just have a follow-up question. Just wanted to be clear so the $1.2 billion investment on Mon Valley, obviously need to support that with capital. Are we expecting that $1.2 billion to be syndicated right now? Meaning are you going out and raising those funds in the market today? Or is that going to be staggered through time. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we went through this a little bit, but the bulk of the requirement is in 2020 and 2021. So, yes, we're in good shape right now, we can be opportunistic. We want to pick the timing, we don't need to get out too far ahead of it. So when the market's right and we're ready we'll go in, but there's no hurry here for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Gambardella from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, David and team and congratulations on the quarter and more importantly the project in Mon Valley. My question is really around the strategy with Mon Valley and the rest of your projects. A lot of other domestic steel producers have opted to import semi-finished or intermediate steel and then do the downstream finishing in the US. With some recent announcements by the administration with exemptions being denied out in California steel, I know you don't do stainless, gratings and some others, the administration is clearly saying we want domestic industry to invest in the US and invest in US jobs, like you're doing at Mon Valley. What assurances do you have from the administration that they'll be able to maintain that stance, and how do you think they'll address trade in terms of trend shipping, which, in my mind, is the key to fair trade and eliminating trend shipping?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's a lot in that question. I'll just say first on the slab things, we're open for business and so if anybody needs slabs we can certainly provide that. As far as assurances nobody can give anybody assurances on any of these things, but we have enough contacts and enough connections here that we just can't imagine this administration blinking and at a time like this, I mean there's a lot going on and we know it's very heavy, you got to get three different governments to agree on USMCA, you got Canada, you got Mexico, you got the United States so this is a heavy lift.

And also the more important issue is related to China, and China is the one with the excess capacity and to your point until you apply these things everywhere you're still going to have some leakage. So we have some leakage of unfair trade. That's happened in Europe right now and that needs to be shored up. And when that gets shored up, we'll start seeing a better pricing environment in Europe, as well. But as far as assurances, I don't know that anybody could say that, but we feel strongly that the 232 will continue and we're going to continue to operate our facilities and our business to the best we can within the current environment, and also continue to be more nimble take costs out, so that if it does change we're still going to be able to generate value. So it's really a hard question to speculate on. But we're optimistic that we'll get to the right conclusion with this administration.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I agree, Dave. Just want to add a reminder. When we model out our strategy we absolutely try to look at it from a standpoint of not depending on things that we can't necessarily predict. So our strategy holds up on a through-cycle basis on a look-back. But agree completely. We feel the group -- the strong support from the administration, and we expect that to continue.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a great point, we're focused on what we can control the -- we understand this whack-a-mole thing that you've been talking about for a long time, you know, the Vietnam case, and we have had changes with CBD and the whole trade situation. So certainly there are several provisions designed to increase the use of USMCA original steel and increased trade enforcement coordination among the three countries, and we look forward to getting an agreement there that's in the best interest of all, and we think we will. We absolutely think that there will be always some type of appropriate measure, maybe moving more toward quotas than tariffs for the USMCA, but we'll have to wait and see in any case we're optimistic that it will be a good result.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

The West Coast market is pretty much served for carbon sheet by your joint venture with POSCO, UPI and California Steel, which was recently denied exemption on the slabs they have to import to finish. Are you shipping or intend to ship a fair amount of slabs, hot band out to the West Coast, which would move it out of the Midwest market?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Go ahead, Kevin.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So I was just going to -- yes, we have been shipping to our JV, UPI, for a few years now and that's continuing this year. So we're the primary supplier of substrate to that joint venture today.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Piyush Sood from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Hey, guys, good morning. A lot of questions have been covered, couple more from me. Once you're done with the Mon Valley investment and maybe reusing some of that equipment elsewhere. Is there a need to do something similar elsewhere down the line in a few years?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Good question. Really what we are putting in is brand-new technology. And what we are -- we'll no longer use is a 1938 hot strip mill. So I don't imagine that being redeployed anywhere else.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

So you probably get rid of the old equipment, but this one to understand, if the other operations need a similar upgrade down the line?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Hey, Piyush. Yes. so as Dave described earlier when we look at our footprint, we look at the markets where we want to participate, and then we understand our capability to serve those markets. So with that strategy in mind that's what we found particularly compelling about this investment, the Mon Valley. As we evaluate our footprint and the capabilities required to serve the markets we find attractive. We will choose the investment strategy required to kind of satisfy that strategy. So that's the lens through which we look at these types of projects. And similarly, the Gary hot strip mill, we understood what it's capabilities were, what markets we wanted to serve out of that facility, how they are best positioned to serve those markets. So we'll continue to do that type of analysis on our footprint and we will invest in those types of projects that return value.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Charles Bradford from Bradford Research. Please go ahead.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Good morning. Do you have any current blast furnaces offline and/or any -- about to go offline. Hello?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're planning right now for us to turn off any blast furnaces today with the exception of planned outages for revitalization. But there's no plans to take anything offline today.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I'm not sure I understand. I think you're asking about major outages that we have scheduled for the second quarter, because we have Mon Valley the blast furnace number three Great Lakes split, B2 furnace and a shorter duration outage at number 14 in Gary. Is that what you're referring to because we have no plans to shutdown any blast furnaces.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

No, I was thinking specifically about number 14 and that state problem.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Okay. So, yes, we did have an outage in Q1.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, which was normal, and that was a high-tech improvement. That's a whole another discussion that we could have, that was incredible, awesome work. This was rehearsed. The team pulled it together. This is something you guys ought to come visit to see what the people did. This was absolutely remarkable. So, yes, that was an improvement that we made there and then that's behind us. Big success story for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Fields from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, everyone. Don't want to be the dead horse on the funding issue. But noted your preference for unsecured bonds for the $1.2 billion. Is it are you willing to consider a short-term bond like a five year issue inside of your current maturities. Or is it important to be out there beyond 2026?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yeah we kind of -- we like the runway that we've created so we want to preserve that. So that's our intention. Again we're going to be nimble and flexible, we're going to do what's in the best interest to have an efficient capital structure. So we'll look at our options and pick the right option at the right time. But I'm indicating longer term high yield is the likely anchored tenant in the funding strategy for this project.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. And then what was the look-back CRU price through the cycle that you used for your IRR calculation?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. It's just mathematical so you can do it yourself. But we're looking you know just above 600, that's kind of a multi-year look-back through cycle average for hot rolled.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay, great. And then last one from me. I appreciate the color on Clairton. I know you can't talk about existing litigation. But --

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Operator?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Can we loop him back?

Operator

Matthew Fields, your line is open.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hello?

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Yes, Sorry Matt. You have to jump off there for a moment. So continue with your question please.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Just with regards to Clairton. Are you currently fully in compliance with your air emissions permit?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

We are.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Alright. That's it from me. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Tyler Kenyon from Cowen. Please go ahead.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Hey good morning. So appreciate all the colors, so far. But my first question was just related to the Mon Valley investment. And are you expecting any improvement, reduce bottlenecks or commercial optionality across the rest of your US Flat-Rolled operations outside of Mon Valley? And if so can you talk a bit about those?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

The answer -- the short answer is, yes, we are. And I think you might have heard Dave talk about we're going to be able to go thinner, lighter, wider and thicker, heavier and build moats around the markets that we are seeking to serve in a very differentiated way. So we've talked a lot about the investment and the technology investment at the Valley and then at Gary through our revitalization efforts have put significant money into our hot strip mill there and downstream assets there, that have positioned us to be able to serve the API market, the packaging market in a very differentiated cost competitive way. We're leveraging the best of our footprint with the best technology available to deliver to the market that we will serve and creating moats around those markets as we do so.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

And so our -- are all of those benefits captured in your projected EBITDA contribution from the $1.2 billion or could those be in addition to what it is that you've laid out here?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

It would be in addition.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

So we're closing up on our time here, 9:30. So on behalf of the entire leadership team here at US Steel, we appreciate everybody's strong interest in the company, and the investment we made yesterday. And we are certainly available to take any additional questions that you have. And so with that, I'm going to hand it back over to Dave as we wrap up today's call.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Thanks everybody for your interest in US Steel, and as Kevin just said we know there was a lot to take in -- on the call the day, so obviously, you know, we're incredibly excited about this transformative announcement. So for those not able to have their questions answered on the call, our team is available to continue that dialogue. But before I sign off, I do want to recognize our US Steel employees, you finish the first 123 days of 2019 with all time record safety results as measured by days away from work. Thank you for making safety first, not a slogan, but a reality. Your hard work has gotten us to today and our announcement at the Mon Valley. This investment is a sign of our continued confidence in your abilities to deliver high quality sustainable steel solutions to our customers. Competitive pressures are increasing, but so is your fight and perseverance. We have made good progress so far, but I know our best days are ahead. Let's get back to work with safety and environmental stewardship as our core values.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

Duration: 61 minutes

Call participants:

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

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In 2015, a waste containment dam ruptured at one of Vale's (NYSE:VALE) Brazilian mines. Earlier this year, another of the global iron ore miner's Brazilian containment dams broke. Lives were lost in both instances, but, understandably, the government of Brazil is taking a harder line with the company after the second mishap. Still, following a broad shutdown, Vale has been allowed to increase production at a key mine in the country. But if you step back and look at the big picture, most investors should remain wary of Vale stock despite this good news. Here's why.

Stop and start

After a mine waste containment dam broke at Vale's Samarco joint venture with BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) in 2015, the Brazilian government stepped in and hit the pair with large fines. However, when a similar disaster occurred at the company's Brumadinho mine earlier this year, the company and the government were faced with a bigger question: Were there broader concerns about the safety of Vale's facilities? When it turned out that Vale may have known about the risks at Brumadinho, the best course of action was obvious -- err on the side of caution.

Thus, Brazil suspended operations at a number of Vale's mines pending deeper reviews of the facilities. (Other miners voluntarily followed suit, to ensure the safety of those who live near mining assets.) Vale announced that the forced shutdowns would result in a roughly 20% reduction in its iron ore output in 2019. That's a huge drop, amounting to a reduction of around 75 million metric tons of iron ore. Iron ore prices moved higher on the news. The company also decided to part ways with some of its top brass, including the CEO, as it looked to hit the reset button.

Now, the company has announced that it has been allowed to restart some of its operations. The move will eventually mean the return of around 30 million metric tons of iron ore to Vale's production. Investors reacted by pushing iron ore prices lower. While this change is notable for the industry, and will likely be a benefit to Vale's business, it doesn't remove the big-picture problems the miner is facing today.

Not so big a deal

The first real indication that the restart isn't as helpful as it may appear is the simple fact that Vale didn't increase its production guidance for the year. It's maintaining the lowered range it announced following the government-imposed closures. It's possible that new management is simply taking a conservative stance, but the truth is, it kind of has to tread cautiously given the circumstances.

Two similar mine disasters in such a short period of time speak to bigger issues at the company. With the government taking a harder line, Vale can't politically afford to be overly aggressive in any way. It needs to show a significant level of contrition, if for no other reason than to convey it accepts responsibility for what happened. The impact that the production increase will have on the iron ore market, realistically, is almost immaterial to Vale's situation right now. The bigger problem the company faces is going to be on the legal and regulatory fronts.

For example, Vale and BHP have yet to settle all of the outstanding legal issues surrounding Samarco. According to a federal prosecutor, the $41 billion settlement agreement over that disaster is on hold until there's further clarity on the more recent disaster. If Vale turns out to be at fault, the Samarco deal could cost more, or at least end up being more complicated to finalize.

Vale is responsible for at least half of any costs associated with Samarco. It will likely be fully on the hook for any legal costs stemming from this year's dam failure. And, at this point, there's no way to tell how large the costs will be. What is clear, however, is that there are a number of very negative inputs. Those include the fact that this is the second disaster in a short time and that there were considerably more lives lost because of the second dam breach. Whatever the outcome is, conservative investors should probably see the $41 billion figure from Samarco as a low estimate for what Vale will face this time around.

Even if Vale is allowed to spread out the payments over a number of years, any fine will create a long-lasting bottom-line headwind. And that will be on top of the impact that comes from the Samarco settlement, the cost of which may actually go up. With so much legal uncertainty surrounding it, Vale is, at best, a special-situation stock right now. Most investors should avoid it.

Not worth the risk

Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore miners. What happens with its business has a major impact on the global supply dynamic in the industry, so investors do need to pay attention to what's going on with the company. However, amid uncertainty regarding the longer-term impact of the two mine disasters at Vale facilities, most investors would be better off avoiding Vale's stock. That remains true despite the fact that some market watchers are suggesting Vale's stock is undervalued. It's too hard to quantify the financial headwind that legal costs will impose, and they will likely hit the bottom line for years to come.
Oil giant Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) desperately wants to buy rival Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). It's so intent on making a deal that company executives flew out to Omaha, Nebraska last weekend to meet with super-investor Warren Buffett. They wanted his help in funding their battle with oil behemoth Chevron (NYSE:CVX) for control of Anadarko and its prime position in the oil-rich Permian Basin.

Occidental walked away from that meeting with a $10 billion commitment from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B), which gives it ammunition in its hostile fight for Anadarko. The deal, however, doesn't make much sense from Occidental's perspective. Not only is it willing to pay a high price for Buffett's support, but it has offered a significant premium to beat out Chevron. That seems excessive, since Anadarko's not the best strategic fit.

An epic battle in the oil patch

Occidental Petroleum has long admired Anadarko Petroleum, which holds an expansive position in the Permian Basin, as well as the Rockies, the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Africa. It sees those assets as highly complementary to its portfolio, which includes a leading position in the Permian, as well as Latin America and the Middle East. That's why it has made three offers to acquire Anadarko since late March. However, instead of engaging with Occidental, Anadarko agreed to merge with Chevron in a stunning $50 billion transaction that was below what Occidental offered.

Undeterred, Occidental took its battle public, reiterating its proposal to acquire Anadarko for $76 per share, well above the $65 per share it accepted from Chevron. CEO Vicki Hollub also went on CNBC to drill down into why she believes Occidental is the right buyer for Anadarko. She stated that:

We are the right acquirer for Anadarko Petroleum because we can get the most out of the shale. We have a lot more experience [in the Permian]. We are performing really, really well, and what hasn't been talked about very much is that the upside in this deal is the shale play.

She noted that Occidental's wells in the Permian perform 74% better than Anadarko's and that it spends less money on drilling and fracking. Because of that, the company believes it can extract more value out of Anadarko's assets. That leads the company to estimate it can capture $3.5 billion in cost savings and other synergies by combining, which is well above the $2 billion Chevron believes it can deliver.

Occidental has also directly addressed the concerns analysts and investors have with the deal. While Anadarko's positions in the Gulf of Mexico and its Mozambique LNG project line up well with Chevron's expertise, these assets only comprise about 15% of the deal's value according to Hollub. As such, they're not as meaningful as it might seem.

Another issue raised by analysts is that Occidental will need to take on a significant amount of debt to close this deal. They see the company's leverage ratio zooming from less than 1 times debt-to-EBITDA up to about 2.4 times its anticipated EBITDA in 2020. The company plans to address this issue by selling $10 billion to $15 billion in assets within a year or two of closing the deal. Investors, however, worry that the company might stretch itself too thin, especially if oil prices plunge again in the meantime.

Backing from Buffett

Occidental is working to address those balance-sheet concerns by bringing Buffett on board to help fund the deal. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to invest $10 billion into Occidental in the form of cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The preferred stock will pay Berkshire an 8% annual dividend, which works out to a hefty $800 million in cash flow per year heading from Occidental to Berkshire.

Buffett's company also will receive warrants to buy up to 80 million shares of Occidental's common stock at $62.50 apiece, which is a bit below the current price. That represents another $5 billion of potential investment in the oil company. It's also worth noting that Occidental can't redeem the preferred stock for a decade, though there's a mandatory redemption feature upon certain capital return events like a stock buyback. Meanwhile, Buffett has 11 years to exercise the warrants.

It's an excellent deal for Buffett and Berkshire since the preferred stock pays a very high rate. On top of that, Buffett picks up low-risk upside from the warrants that could pay off spectacularly if the merger delivers the benefits Occidental envisions.

This funding agreement, however, makes no sense for Occidental investors. For starters, the company would pay nearly twice the rate on the preferred stock as it would if it issued new debt to fund the deal. While they would help ease the potential leverage burden, the company is paying a high cost for Buffett's support since most analysts believe that the company could issue preferred stock in a public offering at 6%.

Further, the warrants give Warren Buffett the option to buy enough shares to dilute existing investors by 10%. As such, it transfers some of their upside potential to Berkshire Hathaway.

This battle could end badly for Occidental

Occidental Petroleum is doing everything in its power to position itself to emerge as the victor over Chevron in the fight for Anadarko. It's not only willing to pay a much higher price for the company, but it's prepared to secure expensive and potentially dilutive financing to ensure it has the firepower to compete against the big oil behemoth.

While that could be enough for it to win the bidding war, Occidental might not end up victorious in the end. The extra interest payments could hamper the company's ability to operate -- and might even put its high-yielding dividend in jeopardy -- especially if oil prices tumble. That's why its deal with Buffett doesn't make as much sense for Occidental's investors, though it certainly does for Berkshire shareholders.
Albo pointed out that several witnesses confirmed the suns glare was extremely potent that morning. One man said hed lived in that area since 1999 and it was the worst glare hed ever seen.

The defense attorney said Vancamp was the victim of a massive blind spot created by the sun and the shiny tanker truck, which was stopped at the time of the collision.

Its a sad and tragic situation, Albo said. But just because someone dies doesnt make it a crime.

Bird said that Vancamp was clearly not following his training by driving nine miles over the speed limit and not slowing down until an instant before the impact. The investigation showed that Vancamp traveled 1,948 feet in a straight line prior to the crash.

He was checked out, Bird said. I dont know why. But he certainly wasnt paying attention to what he was doing.

Bird pointed out that the other drivers adjusted for the suns glare by slowing down. She said a trained, certified driver should have done at least as much.

Vancamp was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail following his conviction. Because his conviction is a misdemeanor, he will only have to serve half of his time, or six months.

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The Virginia Supreme Court, stating it was not filed in a timely fashion, has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multi-year battle with the town of Culpeper over the 2013 condemnation of 5.4 acres.

In July of 2017, a Circuit Court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in in just compensation for the property the town took through eminent domain to build the four-lane Col. Jameson Boulevard in an area he had envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer had asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, what he estimated as its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the jurys just compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, which heard arguments on it. On March 28, the court dismissed the case, agreeing with the town that the appeal was filed after the 30-day deadline to do so.
You have to take a look at how you think about where you locate them, how it doesnt end up affecting your power rates because of the enormous amount of power they use. And are there ways to do that and to make sure that theres going to be good jobs to go along with them? Because a lot of those centers dont bring a lot of employment, Warner said.

Del. Bob Thomas, RStafford, expressed his views on the Interstate 95 corridor with hopes to accelerate the process to relieve congestion in the area through local efforts and a push at the federal level.

This is the one thing that I need the federal government to step up onespecially on interstates, because its their responsibility, said Thomas. I think its good to know that even if theres not a major infrastructure package coming right now, that if we do come up with a proposal for 95which were going to study this yearto be able to take it not only to Congressman [Rob] Wittman, but also to Sen. Warner to help push this through the process. That would be a tremendous help. Its a non-partisan issue. Weve got to fix the roads.

Supervisor Gary Snellings also found another ally to help with Staffords transportation woes.
Bar-Restaurant at the highest point in Tbilisi - GeorgianJournal
How to make Adjarian Khachapuri at home - GeorgianJournal
Amazon Summer Sale on Nokia smartphones: Get attractive offers and discounts Features oi-Harish Kumar

The Summer sale is currently running over Amazon's shopping platform. Under this sale, you can purchase devices, gadgets and other wares at amazing discounts and other exciting offers. Those who are keen on having Nokia phones can follow our list. The enlisted devices from Nokia are the ones which will leave you satisfied with the features they are coming with.

Offers provided by Amazon, until the sale gets over include- no cost EMI option on all major credit cards and select debit cards, amazing cashback and exchange offer, 10% instant discount up to Rs. 1500 on minimum order of Rs. 3,000 with SBI Debit and Credit cards and Credit Card EMIs, get up to Rs. 2,400 cash back(on Swiggy, BookMyShow, Netmeds, Yatra) and on recharges & bill payments, and get GST invoice and save up to 28% on business purchases. The platform also offers a 100% purchase protection plan on these devices. You can find detailed offers, after following the devices individually.

17% off on Nokia 6.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.8-inch (2280  1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio with 96% NTSC Color Gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM, 64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android P

16MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP secondary rear camera

16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size

Fingerprint sensor

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 15% off on Nokia 5.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.86-inch ( 7201520 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass 19:9 aspect ratio display

Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor with 800MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU

3GB RAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS, upgradable to Android P

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

13MP rear camera and secondary 5-megapixel rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typcial) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 6% off on Nokia 8.1 Best Price of Nokia 8.1

Key Specs 6.18-inch (2246  1080 pixels) Full HD+ Puredisplay

Octa Core Snapdragon 710 10nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 616 GPU

4GB (LPPDDR4x) RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP rear camera and 13MP secondary rear camera

20MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3500mAh (typical) / 3400mAh (minimum) battery with fast charging 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.84-inch (2244 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ HDR 10 display with 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP (Monochrome) secondary rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh battery with fast charging 50% off on Nokia 3.1 Best Price of Nokia 3.1

Key Specs 5.2 Inch HD+ IPS Display

1.5GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750N Processor

2/3GB RAM With 16/32GB ROM

Dual SIM

13MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

8MP Front Camera

4G VoLTE/WiFi

2990mAh Battery 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

6 inch FHD+ 2.5D Curved Display

2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

12MP + 13MP Dual Camera With Dual-Tone LED Flash And PDAF And ZEISS Optics

16MP Front Facing Camera

USB Type-C

Fingerprint Sensor

3300 MAh Battery 10 % off on Nokia 8 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.3 inch 2K 700 Nits Display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono) Camera

13MP Front Facing Camera

Quick Charge 3.0

Nokia OZO 360 Degree Audio

3090 MAh Battery 22% off on Nokia 3.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

13MP+5MP dual rear camera | 8MP front camera

15.24 centimeters (6-inch) capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio

Memory, Storage & SIM: 3GB RAM | 32GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB | Dual SIM dual-standby (4G+4G)

Android v8.0 Oreo operating system with 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6762 octa core processor

3500mAH lithium-ion battery

Best Mobiles in India

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HTC might soon launch an entry-level smartphone with 6 GB of RAM reveals Geekbench listing News oi-Vivek HTC = High Tech Computer

HTC or High Tech Computer, a Taiwan tech-company was the first smartphone maker to launch a smartphone powered by Android OS. In the last decade, HTC has launched a good number of smartphones with a lot of innovative features. However, the last few years have been very challenging, where the Chinese smartphone brands have been offering affordable smartphones, and HTC fails to cope up with the same.

An entry-level phone with 6 GB RAM

The recent listing on Geekbench suggests that the company is working on a new entry-level smartphone, which might launch in the coming day. An unknown HTC smartphone with model number HTC 2Q741 has been spotted on Geekbench.

Geekbench listing reveals that the smartphone scores 897 points on single core and 4385 points on multi-core performance. As per the listing, the smartphone is powered by an Octa-core chipset from MediaTek (Probably the MediaTek Helio P35), coupled with 6GB of RAM.

The benchmark scores reveal that the smartphone will sport an entry-level processor with 6 GB of RAM, which is a bit strange, considering the performance of the device. The listing also reveals that the smartphone will run on Android 9 Pie OS, probably with a custom skin on top.

Do note that, the company is also working on a similar smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC with the model number HTC 2Q7A100. It looks like the company will launch the Qualcomm variant in select markets, and the remaining countries will see a MediaTek variant.

If HTC price their devices competitively, then HTC still has brand value, at least in the country like India, where HTC is considered as a premium smartphone maker. What is your opinion companies using a MediaTek or a Qualcomm chipset? Which one do you prefer over one onther MediaTek or Qualcomm? Let us know in the comment box below.

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Pornhub wants to acquire Tumblr and bring adult content back News oi-Karan Sharma Verizon looking to sell Tumblr and Pornhub is ready to grab the opportunity. All you need to know.

Verizon has seemed to be interested in selling its blogging platform Tumblr which it has acquired two years back as part of its Yahoo acquisition. Now Pornhub has announced that it is interested in buying the blogging site after which it will end the porn ban which is imposed by Verizon.

"Verizon Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for blogging website Tumblr, according to people familiar with the matter, as it tries to steady a media business that has struggled to meet revenue targets," as per The Wall Street Journal report.

Just after the news broke Pornhub quickly showed its interest in buying the site. However, it is not clear that both companies have talked so far or not. Back in December 2018, Verizon banned all the adult content from Tumblr. It seems this Pornhub want to restore the site with all the adult content which were removed by the company.

"There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr," Pornhub VP Corey Price said in a statement to Ars. "We're extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content."

The announcement and interest of Pornhub buying Tumblr were first reported by BuzzFeed. Just to recall, back in 2013 Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. In June 2017, Verizon acquires Yahoo's operating business, including Tumblr, for $4.48 billion. Now, Verizon is also selling the blogging website.

Let's see who is going to buy Tumblr, would it the Pornhub or some other company. Hope we will see some acquisition soon in the near future.

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Tech Mahindra launches Blockchain Technology to curb spam calls News oi-Priyanka Dua Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share.

Tech Mahindra has announced the deployment of a cutting-edge solution leveraging Blockchain Technology aiming at mitigating spam calls for the telecom sector in India impacting 300 million mobile subscribers.

Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share, in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of TRAI in order to enable Telecom providers to prevent unauthorized access of their subscribers' data.

Further, the firm is also demonstrating Blockchain capabilities in diverse sectors including Telecom, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech Industries, and Financial Services.

"Blockchain is a focus for corporates and government alike and is expected to be a trillion-dollar market by 2030. With the concerted and coordinated efforts by the Indian government and the industry backed by appropriate regulation, India can continue to sustain and enhance its leadership position in Blockchain technology. At Tech Mahindra, we are betting big on Blockchain as part of our TechMNxt charter, to deliver tangible business value and empower our customers to provide a completely differentiated experience to their end customers," Rajesh Dhuddu, Global Practice Leader, Blockchain, Tech Mahindra, said.

The digital transformation provider has already identified and is working on a holistic framework called Block Ecosystem that comprises of various levers; Block Studio, Block Engage, Block Talks, Block Geeks, Block Accelerate, Block Access & Block Value, which create industry-leading applications that are architected on innovation and human excellence to unlock significant value for all stakeholders.n

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How to get 25% cashback from BSNL annual broadband plans News oi-Priyanka Dua Customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

The State-run telecom Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has once again extended the deadline for the 25 percent cash back on its annual broadband plans till May 31, 2019.

BSNL also tweeted that through its official Twitter handle saying,"-Get flat 25 percent off on BSNL annual subscription."

For the unaware, this cashback offer was first announced last year in December for its landline and broadband customers.

However, there are some terms and conditions for this scheme as this cashback will be credited when a customer opts for an annual plan and makes payment timely.

In fact, the customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

Meanwhile, telco installed 54000 towers during 2018-2019, which is higher than the combined figures of the previous three years.

BSNL has also started installing 4G towers during the financial year 2018-2019 and has installed approx.

Subscribers have welcomed the network expansion and attractive plans offered by joining BSNL and leaving other operators in large numbers. During the year 2018-2019 more than 50 lacs subscribers have ported their number to BSNL from other operators, utilizing the MNP facility. BSNL is one of the two operators showing net addition of more than 9 lakh subscribers, during February 2019, as per the latest TRAI report.

Recently BSNL has also offered Eros Now premium subscription free of cost with unlimited movies and exclusive video series to its consumers of select STV/plans of Rs.78, Rs.98 and Rs.298.

Source

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Jordanian king sacks senior intelligence chief, security officials, fearing plot: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 09:43AM

Jordanian King Abdullah II has sacked his intelligence chief along with other senior security officials, fearing a plot to destabilize the kingdom, according to a report.

The removals followed reports that several senior Jordanian officials were found to have planned mass demonstrations against Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper says.

General Intelligence Department Chief General Adnan al-Jundi was among the most influential officials to have been sacked by the king, along with other figures in the country's defense establishment and police force.

Following the removals, the king explained that the measure came in response to reported shortcomings in the country's intelligence apparatus, with some officials allegedly using their positions to advance personal interests at the expense of the kingdom.

Jordanian officials have said that they expect further changes to take place at the palace and in the country's security apparatus.

The abrupt dismissal and concerns over instability come as Jordan fears Saudi Arabia's recent push to normalize relations with the Israeli regime, in line with the US-proposed "deal of the century", may greatly destabilize the kingdom.

The plan formulated by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will reportedly deny Palestinians any right to a sovereign Palestinian state while recognizing further Israeli rule over the occupied territories.

Jordanian officials have expressed concern that Riyadh may be seeking to compromise the special status of Jordan as the custodian of the Haram al-Sharif in East Jerusalem al-Quds and surrender the Palestinian right of return in order to achieve the deal.

"Half the population of Jordan are Palestinians and if there is official talk in Riyadh about ending the right of return, this will cause turmoil within the kingdom," said a senior official close to the royal court in Amman speaking to the Middle East Monitor.

King Abdullah has strongly voiced his opposition to any plan compromising Palestinian right to return in recent months.

Although many Palestinians in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and access to medical care, they are under-represented in parliament and have insignificant presence in the country's security services.

Jordan countering Israel

Jordan's heightened concerns over an impending Tel Aviv-Riyadh deal come as the country has recently taken a more vocal stance against Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that King Abdullah had ordered a review of the country's controversial multi-billion-dollar deal to import natural gas from the Israeli-occupied territories.

Jordan has also recently warmed ties with Tehran. Last year, King Abdullah met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for the first time in 15 years.

Last month, Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh and Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed the importance of Muslim unity against the Israeli regime during a meeting.

The Jordanian speaker said concerns over Israeli aggression on the al-Aqsa mosque make it necessary for Muslim states to pay special attention to the issue of Palestine.

King Abdullah has also recently expressed hope for improved relations with Syria and Iraq, hailing the improved security situation in the two countries.

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Jordan's King Sacks Intel Chief, Senior Officials Amid Plot Suspicions  Reports

Sputnik News

07:04 03.05.2019(updated 08:03 03.05.2019)

Jordanian King Abdullah II fired several senior officials, including the general intelligence chief over the past week following reports of a plot to destabilise the kingdom.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, citing anonymous sources, reported that several senior and influential Jordanian figures had conspired to hold a mass protest outside the royal palace in Amman to demonstrate a lack of public confidence in Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and thereby create instability in the kingdom.

The Jordanian King replaced the director of the General Intelligence Department, General Adnan al-Jundi, who held one of the most influential positions in the country. The palace issued a statement stating that the king had decided to retire Jundi, replacing him with General Ahmed Husni, who has served in several senior intelligence posts.

The king said in the statement, cited by Haaretz, that the move was prompted by complaints of shortcomings in the management of the intelligence system and finding that some people were using their status and positions to advance personal interests at the expense of those of the kingdom. Before Jundi, the king also replaced several officials in his bureau, including the head of policy and information.

Jordanian media reported that changes had also been made in the defence establishment and police force, with new commanders appointed for some regions. According to Jordanian officials, additional changes are expected to take place at the palace and in defence-related positions.

Haaretz also noted that Jordanian officials are worried about the repercussions of the Middle East peace proposal that the Trump administration is gearing up to present. The concern is that the plan could destabilize the kingdom and undermine its relations with the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and other Arab countries.

The Jordanian King has previously said that he has been subject to heavy pressure in the course of preparations to release the plan, noting that Jordan "will not compromise on issues of principle such as the Palestinian right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, as well as the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees".

Jordanian officials have firmly denied reports that the kingdom will grant citizenship to more than a million Palestinian refugees in exchange for generous economic assistance, estimated at tens of billions of dollars, as part of the peace plan. A senior Jordanian official told Haaretz on Thursday that King Abdullah has set clear red lines and would not "surrender to dictates that infringe on the Palestinians' basic rights." Jordan would not become an alternative to a Palestinian state, the official added.

 Sputnik

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3 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/3 19:21:37

Three militants were killed and a trooper wounded on Friday in a fierce gunfight with government forces in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out at village Aadkhara, Imam Sahab of Shopian district, about 58 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A gunfight broke out this morning between militants and joint contingents of army and police here. The militants present inside a house fired upon search party, which was retaliated by it resulting into a stand-off," a police official posted in Shopian told Xinhua.

Police said the identity of slain militants was being ascertained. However, local media reports said the three were local cadres of region's indigenous militant outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to police, the operation in the area was launched on specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the districts, south of Srinagar, in the wake of the gunfight.

Locals said clashes broke out between youth and government forces in the area following the killing of three militants in the gunfight.

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NATO Secretary General praises the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's long-standing contribution to Euro-Atlantic defence and security

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

03 May. 2019

"For seven decades, NATO has defended the way of life, and the values that underpin it: freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. This makes the job of SACEUR one of the most challenging  and most important  military positions in the world," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today (3 May 2019), during the change of command ceremony for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons (Belgium).

"Those who have held the title 'SACEUR' have led our Alliance during the Cold War, deterring the Soviet Union. They stopped brutal wars in the Balkans, helped to defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and spread freedom and democracy across the nations of Europe," Mr. Stoltenberg said. Speaking of General Scaparrotti, Mr. Stoltenberg said: "Your leadership and vision have proved critical to strengthening our Alliance. Under you command, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation, we have deployed four multinational battlegroups in the eastern part of our Alliance, and we have enhanced the readiness of our forces. You have been instrumental in the development of NATO's Hub for the South, increasing our understanding and approach to challenges in the Middle East and North Africa," the NATO Secretary General added.

"But now it is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters," Mr. Stoltenberg said. "As SACEUR you will now take command of forces from across our Alliance, ensuring the safety and security of the 29 nations of our NATO Alliance; standing up to current challenges as well as new evolving threats. I know you will continue to demonstrate the same levels of excellence you have become known for throughout your career," he pointed out.

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USS Louisville Returns to Pearl Harbor

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS190503-02

Release Date: 5/3/2019 9:25:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shaun Griffin, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment, May 2.

"Louisville Sailors are some of the finest in the world," said Cmdr. Robert W. Rose, from Garland, Utah, and Louisville's commanding officer. "Their hard work, ingenuity, and constant effort kept Louisville ready for every phase of deployment. As commanding officer, it is my absolute privilege to lead this crew in carrying out our nation's most important tasking."

During the deployment, 27 Sailors were promoted and 26 Sailors and six officers earned their submarine warfare qualification.

"Our strength on Louisville has always been our teamwork and mentorship; it's what enables us to succeed," said Senior Chief Fire Control Technician Teruedum A. Cox, a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina and Louisville's Chief of the Boat. "The senior members of our crew did an incredible job training our junior Sailors on the deck plate level. My hat's off to our entire crew."

While deployed, Louisville conducted port visits in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets and hosted several Royal Thai Navy dignitaries during the bilateral exercise Guardian Sea.

"Seeing the crew serve as great hosts to our Thai allies on board speaks to the Louisville way," said Senior Chief Yeoman (Submarine) Gary White, a native of Dallas, Texas. "For many on board, this was the first time they interacted with foreign Sailors, and it was an awesome opportunity for them to learn about a different culture."

"Experiencing different cultures in the 5th and 7th Fleets was certainly a highlight of this deployment," said Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Alex York, from Tucson, Arizona. "This will stick with me for many years."

Louisville is the fourth United States ship to bear the name in honor of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. She is the 35th nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the Los Angeles-class design. The completion of her deployment in the 5th and 7th Fleet area of operations marks her last deployment as she prepares for decommission.

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Afghan president expresses readiness to declare ceasefire with Taliban

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:50PM

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

"If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it," he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as "a gesture of goodwill".

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatar's capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to "declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire."

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

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Exclusive: Hamas official says Palestinians will resist Trump's 'deal of century'

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:59PM

A senior Hamas official has told Press TV that Palestinians will resist the so-called deal of the century proposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, stopping at nothing less than creating an "independent Palestinian state."

"As Palestinians, we will not accept such ideas. We will resist. No one can accept selling his own land. We will not accept Jerusalem al-Quds being the capital of another state; it will be the capital of the Palestinian state forever," said Hamas' international relations committee head Osama Hamdan on Friday.

Hamdan made the comments on the sidelines of the first "Return of the Century" international graphic arts workshop for Palestine, which is currently being held in Mashhad, Iran.

The workshop has been held in a bid to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation of Palestine as well as Trump's "deal of the century," which is designed to do away with the Palestinian people's right of return to their own land.

Trump's "peace plan" is expected to be unveiled at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in June.

Describing the so-called plan as "a new Israeli-American arrangement" for the region, Hamdan said that Palestinians stood united against any concessions on the liberation and sovereignty of Palestine.

"We have to liberate it. There are Palestinian refugees that have to return to their homeland and we have to create our own independent state on all the Palestinian lands from the river to the sea," he said.

Hamdan also made reference to what he described as the Palestinian nation's objection to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's Camp David negotiations with Israel.

"If anyone of the Arabs is seeking to have relations with Israel, he can bring the Israelis to his homeland, [not Palestine]," he said.

The Hamas official added that, "if anyone wants to do anything good, he has to help the Palestinians and the resistance against the occupation."

Hamdan went on to laud the weekly "right to return" marches that have been held in the Gaza Strip since March 2018 as part of the "resistance against the occupation."

"We will continue the resistance, be it by either the return marches or by military action against the occupation. We will do it until the occupation ceases to exist on Palestinian land," he said.

The "Return of the Century" workshop, which kicked off on May 1 and will continue for three days, is attended by graphic designers from 12 countries. Thirty artists from Iran are also participating in the event.

According to organizers, 40 posters will be selected to be showcased by pro-Palestinian groups around the world on Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) as well as the International Quds Day.

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US Senate fails to end military assistance to Saudi war in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:38AM

The US Senate has failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution demanding an end to American military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, a country plagued by more than four years of a devastating conflict.

The vote on Thursday was 53 to 45, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, despite a handful of Trump's fellow Republicans joining Democrats in backing the War Powers Act, which limits the president's ability to send troops into action without congressional authorization.

The resolution's passage earlier this year marked the first time both the Senate and House of Representatives supported the provision of the War Powers Act.

Supporters of the resolution said they wanted to reassert the constitutional power of Congress to declare war, and send a strong message to Saudi Arabia about the devastating civilian toll of the war in Yemen.

The Saudi-led war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world's most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the former Saudi-sponsored government back to power.

The US along with some Western countries are complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

Last November, Washington stopped providing aerial refueling for the coalition's warplanes. It only halted the support after the coalition grew independent of it.

Many members of Congress have also become angry with Riyadh over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and columnist for the Washington Post.

US intelligence agencies believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

However, some observers believe the anti-Saudi sentiment in Congress is not genuine and Riyadh continues to have widespread support in Washington.

Riyadh spent $27 million on hiring lobbying firms in 2017 to influence Congress, compared with $10 million in 2016, according to the Center for International Policy, which tracks foreign influence spending in the US.

The Senate vote on Thursday comes less than two weeks after the beheading of 37 Saudi nationals across the kingdom.

World leaders and several human rights organizations have expressed shock and condemnation over the mass execution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that most of those beheaded were minority Shia Muslims. She also voiced concern about a lack of due process and fair trial in the kingdom amid allegations that confessions were obtained through torture.

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Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Calls For Immediate Cease-Fire

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

A Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, has wrapped up in Kabul, with leading Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire to help settle the nearly two-decade long conflict in the country.

Some 3,200 representatives, separated into dozens of individual committees, met in the Afghan capital under tight security to find common ground and discuss methods of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban militant group.

According to the state-run Afghan broadcaster RTA World, the Loya Jirga also called for a prisoner exchange and the opening of a Taliban office in Afghanistan.

Reacting to the Loya Jirga demand for a cease-fire, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was "prepared to implement the fair and legitimate demand" for a truce but stressed it "cannot be one-sided," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The Taliban later rejected calls for a truce, which the Loya Jirga proposed should start on May 6, the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, the Taliban said waging jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan had "even more [holy] rewards."

They called the Loya Jirga "symbolic" and a "failure."

The Loya Jirga said the government in Kabul must have a central role in the peace process with coordination provided by the international community. It also said human rights, including women's rights, must be protected in Afghanistan.

Some opposition politicians boycotted the assembly, saying they had not been consulted by the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who organized the event. Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, was among those saying he would not attend.

Ghani has alienated much of the country's political elite, who say they have been sidelined from the government's peace efforts.

Many concerns remain within Afghan society about a potential peace deal with the Taliban, with some people expressing worries that the militant Islamists would try to seize power and reverse advances in women's rights, media freedoms, and legal protections.

Hundreds of women attended the assembly and set out their "red lines" for any negotiations with the Taliban.

Semin Noori, head of one of the assembly committees, said that "withdrawal of foreign forces should not mean that all advances made in women's rights are forgotten and we are forced to suffer again."

Many leaders said the government and the Taliban must immediately agree to a nationwide battlefield truce as a prelude to a peace deal.

Abdul Hannan, a committee chairman who traveled from the south of the country to attend the assembly, urged "both sides to announce a cease-fire."

"The war will end only when both sides stop fighting before they sign a permanent peace agreement," he added.

"Every day, Afghans are being killed without any reason. An unconditional cease-fire must be announced," said Mohammad Qureshi, another committee leader.

Taliban negotiators have so far refused to negotiate with the government, calling it a puppet of the West, and have insisted on the withdrawal of foreign forces before talks with Kabul can begin.

The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support, a NATO-led mission that provides training and assistance to security forces in Afghanistan as they battle Taliban fighters and other extremist groups.

The Taliban now effectively controls or influences about half of the country. Dashing hopes for any quick cease-fire, the militant group has announced the start of its spring offensive, despite taking part in several rounds of talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar.

Even if U.S. and Taliban negotiators strike a deal to end fighting in the 18-year war, the militant group would still need to reach agreement with Afghan politicians and tribal leaders before a sustainable cease-fire could begin.

Loya Jirga is an ancient Afghan tradition that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle major disputes. It plays a purely consultative role but usually carries much influence in Afghan society.

The most recent jirga was held in 2013, when the Afghan government endorsed a security agreement allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond their planned withdrawal in 2014.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-loya- jirga-assembly-wraps-up-statement- possible/29918505.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 Top NATO Military Officer Sworn In

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

MONS, Belgium -- U.S. General Tod Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the NATO military alliance.

Wolters became supreme allied commander in Europe, a post always held by a U.S. military officer, at a ceremony on May 3 at NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

At the ceremony, NATO's top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said the command is "one of the most challenging and most important military positions in the world."

"It is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters. Tod, as an Air Force pilot you have fought in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The leadership, professionalism, and dedication to duty you showed in the air has been an essential part of your career on the ground," Stoltenberg stated.

Wolters, who replaces U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, will also be commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

"Fifty-seven years ago my dad, then-Captain [Thomas] Wolters, was a NATO F-102 pilot out of Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, and he was responsible for securing West German skies. Thirty-two years ago, this Captain [Tod] Wolters was a NATO F-15C pilot out a Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, responsible for achieving local air superiority in the vicinity of the East German border. NATO had changed, yet the prospect of surviving a conflict in dad's F-102 and my 1987 F-15C was a challenge," Wolters said at the ceremony.

He takes over at a time when the alliance is preparing for the likely demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a U.S-Russian disarmament pact that has protected Europe for the past three decades.

Wolters had served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe -- Air Forces Africa based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Wolters is a fighter pilot by training, with more than 5,000 hours through his nearly 32-year military career, according to his Air Force biography.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/new-top-nato -military-officer-sworn-in/29919201.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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Pentagon May Deploy Submarines in the Arctic to Deter Alleged Chinese Threat

Sputnik News

16:18 03.05.2019

Last year, China released its Arctic Policy, in which it vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a key stakeholder in the region.

On the pretext of China's growing activity there, the US may expand its military presence in the Arctic and deploy submarines, the Pentagon announced in a report published Thursday.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region," the report said.

This follows the publication of China's Arctic Policy, released in June last year, in which Beijing vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a major stakeholder in the region.

In the document, the Asian superpower introduced its plans to create shipping lanes opened up by global warming to develop a "Polar Silk Road" that relies on China's President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative; the programme's key aim is to develop infrastructure and boost ties between Eurasian countries.

The Polar Silk Road project is of great significance to China, as it allows the Asian state to ship goods to Europe faster than via the Suez Canal; shipping via the Arctic route may save Chinese vessels around 30 days.

In addition, the recently released Pentagon report showed its concern with the alleged Chinese threat after last month Beijing showcased a nuclear-powered submarine for the first time during a key international naval parade, held on the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy's founding. The parade was held in the western port city of Qingdao, featuring 32 naval vessels led by China's latest and largest Type 094 (Jin-class) nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub.

The document went on to note that US submarines might be used "as a deterrent against nuclear attacks."

 Sputnik

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India-Pakistan Nuclear Exchange Would 'Immediately' Kill 20 Million  Official

Sputnik News

13:04 03.05.2019(updated 13:12 03.05.2019)

Earlier this week, the Pakistani Army blasted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks about New Delhi's willingness to use its "mother of nuclear bombs" to retaliate in case of a nuclear war between the two South Asian powers.

A nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India would quickly turn into a "nuclear Armageddon" affecting the whole world, Sardar Masood Khan, president of the Pakistani-administered jurisdiction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has warned.

"If there was a nuclear conflict between the two countries, 20 million people would die immediately," Khan said, speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs in Istanbul, Turkey, with his remarks cited by the Anadolu Agency.

According to Khan, the long-running Pakistani-Indian conflict over Kashmir, which came into being immediately after the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947, "should be resolved and peace should be established. We have no other options," he stressed.

Among the three wars India and Pakistan have fought, between 1948 and 1971, two of them were over the Kashmir region, with low-intensity conflict raging inside the divided Kashmir region for decades, claiming thousands of lives and occasionally spilling out into broader tensions.

"The conflict in Kashmir is not only related to politics, economy and geopolitics, but it is also a human tragedy," Khan noted, adding that India and Pakistan might turn to the United Nations and neighbouring powers in a search for ways to resolve the problem.

Earlier this week, a Pakistani Armed Forces spokesman urged New Delhi not to "test" Pakistan's "resolve," saying that nuclear weapons were "a weapon of deterrence that should not be mentioned lightly."

The comments were a response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told supporters at an election rally last month that India had the "mother of nuclear bombs" and would never yield to what he described as Pakistan's attempts at nuclear blackmail.

According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan and India have a total of between 140-150 and 130-140 nuclear weapons, respectively. Both sides also have access to air-launched, land-based and sea-based nuclear delivery systems.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in mid-February, when al-Qaeda* affiliated terrorists believed to be operating from the Pakistani side of the border in Kashmir attacked an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 personnel. India retaliated by launching airstrikes inside Pakistan in late February, with these resulting in a series of clashes along the Line of Control border area which have continued to this day.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Indian Forces Kill Three Militants in Kashmir, 20 Hurt Protesting the Move

Sputnik News

11:51 03.05.2019(updated 13:51 03.05.2019)

The authorities have suspended Internet services across south Kashmir following clashes and a gunfight; a shutdown is being observed in the state's Shopian sector and other parts of neighbouring districts.

New Delhi (Sputnik): At least 20 civilians suffered pellet injuries in Jammu and Kashmir state on Friday during clashes with the Indian security forces that erupted after the killing of three militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.

The clashes occurred in the state's Shopian district in the morning.

Three out of the 20 hit were struck by by pellets in their eyes, and were referred to a hospital in the state capital city of Srinagar for specialised medical attention while the others were being attended to in Pulwama and Shopian, other sectors of the state, a Police official said.

The security forces lobbed tear smoke shells and resorted to firing pellets to quell the stone-throwing crowd, witnesses said.

Earlier in the morning, a gunfight occurred after a joint team of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Adkhara village in the Shopian district.

According to police, Lateef Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pulwama district and the lone surviving terrorist of Burhan Wani group, was among the three terrorists gunned down by security forces. The two others were identified as Tariq Molvi and Shariq Ahmad Negroo, the residents of local villages in Shopian district.

"The trio was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen militant group," a police official said.

Burhan Wani was a commander of Kashmiri group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, perceived to be a prominent face of resurgence of terrorism in Kashmir whom security personnel neutralised in 2016. His killing had triggered massive civilian unrest, especially in the form of stone-pelting crowds, in which around 100 protestors were killed and thousands others were injured mostly with pellets.

 Sputnik

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Taliban Reject US, Afghan Demands for Cease-Fire

By Ayesha Tanzeem May 03, 2019

An Afghan grand assembly, or loya jirga, ended Friday with the delegates in Kabul demanding peace with the Taliban, as President Ashraf Ghani promised to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, which begins in a few days.

The Afghan Taliban, for their part, responded harshly to demands for a cease-fire, saying the United States should end the use of force instead.

"@US4AfghanPeace should forget about the idea of us putting down our arms. Instead of such fantasies, he should drive the idea home (U.S.) about ending the use of force & incurring further human & financial losses for the decaying Kabul administration," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, who started a sixth round of direct negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday as the jirga was taking place.

"It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace," Khalilzad said on Twitter.

Cease-fire vs. foreign troop exit

The government says the jirga was convened to allow delegates from Afghan society to formulate the parameters of negotiations with the Taliban.

In its final resolution presented Friday, the jirga demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The Taliban in turn issued their own formula for peace in the form of an op-ed on their website, titled, "What is the path towards Peace?"

"[O]ccupation and war are tied on a linear string as cause and effect," the piece read, adding that without the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, peace cannot be achieved.

The Taliban insist on postponement of an intra-Afghan dialogue involving the current Kabul administration until foreign troops are out of the country. Pressure has increased on the Taliban to include the government in peace negotiations as China, Russia and other regional countries add their support to this U.S. demand.

"So, when the occupation ends and the foreign aspect of war [is] removed from the equation, peace then requires the Afghans, especially the political class to be lenient, cordial and forgiving by learning from historic experiences and working hand in hand with one another to achieve the common goal of the people, a peaceful Islamic government," the opinion piece stated.

Prisoner release

Even though the Taliban have engaged with Afghan stakeholders in the past, including opposition politicians, they refuse to have direct talks with official representatives of the Kabul government, labeling it a puppet of foreign occupiers.

Ghani announced that he was ready to implement more than 20 recommendations of the jirga immediately. As a gesture of goodwill, Ghani pledged to release 175 Taliban from Afghan prisons.

Apart from an immediate cease-fire, the jirga also recommended the opening of a Taliban political office in Afghanistan, a prisoner exchange, preservation of human rights, including the rights of women during negotiations with the Taliban, and the formation of an all-inclusive negotiation team to talk to the Taliban.

Ghani has repeatedly asked the Taliban to move their peace negotiations to Afghanistan and promised them a political office and security. So far, the Taliban have ignored his requests, and usually meet Khalilzad and his team in Doha, where they have maintained an unofficial political office for years.

While the loya jirga does not have legal status, analysts say its recommendations will put public pressure on the Taliban.

The jirga was not without controversy. A majority of opposition politicians, including 12 presidential candidates, boycotted the jirga, calling it a waste of money and a campaign stunt by Ghani, who seeks a second term in presidential elections scheduled for September.

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European Security Chiefs Alarmed at Threat From Far-Right Terrorism

By Jamie Dettmer May 03, 2019

When British police first visited 41-year-old Steven Bishop at his home in the ethnically-diverse London suburb of Thornton Heath he told them he was planning a fireworks display.

But officers, who had been alerted by one of Bishop's co-workers who feared his colleague was making a bomb, examined the fireworks and discovered they had been tampered with.

Last month, Bishop, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, pleaded guilty to terror charges, including planning an attack on a nearby mosque in revenge  as he saw it  for the 2017 Manchester Arena suicide bombing by a radical Islamist that left 23 dead and 139 wounded, half of them children.

From Germany to Britain, alarm is rising across Europe about the terror threat from fringe far-right groups and their supporters. Analysts and intelligence officials say the groups are studying the tactics of jihadist factions, like the Islamic State terror group, and copying their bomb-making methods and social-media propaganda techniques, using YouTube and messaging platforms to radicalize others.

This week, German authorities said the number of far-right extremists and fringe groups has jumped by 50 percent over the past two years.

In Britain, intelligence agencies are now being drafted to help police tackle the far-right terror threat with authorities saying four attacks have been foiled since 2017. The country's Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, which is coordinated by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, has been tasked to assess the threat posed by militant right-wing terrorism.

Britain's interior minister, Sajid Javid, told reporters last month, "The marked shift in the nature of extreme right-wing activity, and in the organization of such groups and their reach, from being small groups mainly focused on promoting anti-immigration views and white supremacy to actual engagement in terrorist activity, has resulted in this aspect of the threat presenting a higher risk to national security than it previously has."

The alarm in London, Berlin and other European capitals has jumped since the live-streamed shootings in April at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 50 dead and 50 wounded. It emerged after the massacre that the 28-year-old assailant had ties to so-called Identitarian (white nationalist) groups in Europe, having sent donations to France's far-right anti-immigrant movement Generation Identaire and to an Austrian affiliate.

In an analysis of far-right extremist activity, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, warned that monitoring far-right militants with violence in mind is becoming increasingly challenging and labor-intensive. Traditional extremist groups have fragmented into even more shadowy and secretive factions. The potential for 'lone-wolf' attacks has increased dramatically, the agency warned.

"They are developing in different currents and spectra of the right-wing extremist scene, but also on the fringe or entirely outside of organized right-wing extremist tableaus," the report said. Online surveillance must be increased to try to keep tabs and head off attacks in the early stages of planning, the agency counseled.

The overall assessment of the threat from right-wing terrorism and violence has changed dramatically. Until two years ago, analysts were reporting that the number of deadly incidents perpetrated by far-right militants had declined considerably between 1990 to 2015, although they noted that that in most Western democracies, the number of deadly attacks motivated by far-right beliefs was higher than those motivated by Islamism, including in the United States.

Writing in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism in 2016, Jacob Aasland Ravndal, a Norwegian analyst of militant activism and political violence, noted the decline was puzzling given that the conditions commonly assumed to stimulate such violence were plentiful. "These conditions include increased immigration, enhanced support to radical right parties, Islamist terrorism, and booming youth unemployment rates," he wrote.

But intelligence officials across the Continent now say jihadists and the far-right militants are feeding each other, using similar methods to radicalize people quickly and to inspire loners to carry out copy-cat attacks. A London court heard last year how Darren Osborne, who drove a van into pedestrians in the capital's Finsbury Park neighborhood near a mosque, had been radicalized in a matter of weeks. Osborne was cited by the Christchurch attacker as an inspiration.

"Evolving technologies and increasing exploitation of social media for the purpose of spreading terrorist material and radicalizing others poses a particularly difficult challenge," Javid told reporters in London last month. Analysts say social media can indeed help turn political extremists into violent ones and the fear is that the trajectory may be shifting and that right-wing motivated violence may be heading back up.

Researchers at the University of Maryland, who compile the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism database (START) on terrorist attacks in North America, Western Europe and Oceania say "a spate of right-wing terrorist attacks broke out after a lull in the early-to-mid 2000s, just as social media began to gain popularity."

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Bahrain - Patriot Missile System and Related Support and Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-06

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain of various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.478 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Bahrain has requested to buy sixty (60) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, thirty-six (36) Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, nine (9) M903 Launching Stations (LS), five (5) Antenna Mast Groups (AMG), three (3) Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III, two (2) AN/MPQ-65 Radar Sets (RS), and two (2) AN/MSQ-132 Engagement Control Stations (ECS). Also included is communications equipment, tools and test equipment, range and test programs, support equipment, prime movers, generators, publications and technical documentation, training equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training, Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT), U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO), field office support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $2.478 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a Major Non-NATO ally which is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance Bahrain's interoperability with the United States. Bahrain will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats. Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 Missile is Lockheed-Martin in Dallas, Texas. The prime contractor for the GEM-T missile is Raytheon Company in Andover, Massachusetts. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require approximately 25 U.S. Government and 40 contractor representatives to travel to Bahrain for an extended period for equipment de-processing/fielding, system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Patriot Missile System and Related Support Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-37

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to United Arab Emirates of four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.728 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested to buy up to four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE). Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design, U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics, sustainment and program support. The estimated cost is $2.728 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important ally which has been, and continues to be,' a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modem systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance the UAE's capability to meet current and future aircraft and missile threats. The UAE will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. The UAE will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 System will be Raytheon Corporation, Andover, Massachusetts, and Lockheed-Martin, Dallas, Texas. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed program will require additional contractor representatives to travel to the UAE. It is not expected additional U.S. Government personnel will be required in country for an extended period of time.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Air Force Research Laboratory completes successful shoot down of air-launched missiles

88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published May 03, 2019

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Research Laboratory Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator Advanced Technology Demonstration Program successfully completed a major program milestone with the successful surrogate laser weapon system shoot down of multiple air launched missiles in flight, April 23.

The SHiELD program is developing a directed energy laser system on an aircraft pod that will serve to demonstrate self-defense of aircraft against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.

"This critical demonstration shows that our directed energy systems are on track to be a game changer for our warfighters," said Dr. Kelly Hammett, AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate director.

During the series of tests at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility, the Demonstrator Laser Weapon System , acting as a ground-based test surrogate for the SHiELD system, was able to engage and shoot down several air launched missiles in flight.

The demonstration is an important step of the SHiELD system development, by validating laser effectiveness against the target missiles. The final SHiELD system, however, will be much smaller and lighter, as well as ruggedized for an airborne environment.

"The successful test is a big step ahead for directed energy systems and protection against adversarial threats," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander. "The ability to shoot down missiles with speed-of-light technology will enable air operation in denied environments. I am proud of the AFRL team advancing our Air Force's directed energy capability."

High Energy Laser technology has made significant gains in performance and maturity due to continued research and development by AFRL and others in the science and technology ecosystem. It is considered to be a game changing technology that will bring new capabilities to the warfighter.

For more information about the Air Force Research Laboratory, visit www.afresearchlab.com.



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May 3, 2019

News

By Jim Garamone

Defense.gov

DOD Official Details Continuing Chinese Military Buildup

WASHINGTON -- China continues to build up its military to challenge and supplant the United States as the preeminent power in the Indo-Pacific region, the assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs said today.

Randall G. Schriver briefed the Pentagon's press corps following the release of the new China Military Power Report. He said China continues to challenge U.S. military advantages, such as America's ability to deploy and sustain forces anywhere in the world and its unparalleled alliance system.

China is investing money and time into capabilities and capacity, Schriver said.

"Our 2019 report finds that in the coming decades, China seeks to become both prosperous and powerful, and the report notes that China has a stated goal of becoming a world class military by 2049," he said.

China Building Military

China is continuing to build its missile force, Schriver said, and it has begun building a second aircraft carrier. The nation is sailing two new cruisers and is building more, he said. And China's air force has flown its J-20 fifth-generation aircraft, Schriver said. The aircraft has stealth characteristics and many U.S. officials have said they believe it may contain technologies stolen from U.S. manufacturers.

Chinese conventional forces are moving to improve training and evaluation of ground, sea and air forces, he said. Newly published doctrine "emphasizes realistic and joint training across all domains and tasks the PLA to prepare for conflict aimed at 'strong military opponents,'" Schriver said.

China is emphasizing civil-military integration with civilian companies entering the military market to achieve greater efficiencies, innovation and growth, he said.

The report also touches on Chinese espionage, including cybertheft, targeted investment in foreign companies with crucial technologies and its exploitation of access that Chinese nationals may have to U.S. technology. "In 2018, we saw specific efforts targeting such areas as aviation technologies and anti-submarine warfare technologies," Schriver said.

DOD officials have said they expect China will increase its military footprint, both in and out of the Indo-Pacific region. "We believe China will seek to establish additional bases overseas as well as points for access," Schriver said. He cited Chinese desires to establish military bases in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.

International Status-Seeking

China has been working seriously to bulk up its worldwide status for more than 20 years. China's economy is expanding and the Chinese Communist Party can mandate a strategy unchecked by democratic forces in the nation. Two programs  the "Made in China 2025" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives  point to the path China would like to take to ensure it is the preeminent power in the region.

Schriver said the initiatives have caused concern in many nations that following them would mean a loss of sovereignty if the nations by into the Chinese strategy. "Chinese leaders have softened their rhetoric and sought to rebrand [the initiatives], however the fundamental goals of these programs have not changed," he said.

The report covers Chinese efforts in "influence operations"  Chinese efforts to influence media, culture, business, academia in other countries to accept the Chinese way.

China continues efforts to claim the South China Sea and East China Sea. They continue to claim land on its borders with India and Bhutan.

China's attitude toward Taiwan continues to be threatening as they use elements of persuasion and coercion against the island," Schriver said. He said this is destabilizing to the entire region.

The U.S. National Defense Strategy says the United States is in competition with China, but that does not preclude the United States and China from working together when the interests align, Schriver said. "We continue to pursue a constructive results-oriented relationship between our countries, and it is an important part of our regional strategy to have stable, constructive relations with China and a relationship which mitigates the risk of incidents or accidents."

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US alarmed as China flexes military muscle with bases

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:22AM

The United States has expressed disquiet over Chinese increasing military activities, including the deployment of submarines to the Arctic Ocean as well as the construction of military bases around the world.

The US Defense Department released a report on Thursday, saying Beijing was planning to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in its trillion-dollar project, known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The initiative would reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects for international trade in an effort to counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies.

The US report said China, which currently has just one overseas military base in Djibouti, is believed to be planning others, including possibly in Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower.

"China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries," it said.

The report also said the target locations for such bases could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

The report was issued as Beijing and Washington are locked in dispute over US military presence in resource-rich South China Sea.

The US has been taking sides with several of China's neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, stepping up military presence under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

China has constantly warned Washington that close military encounters by air and naval forces of the two countries in the region could easily trigger miscalculation or even accidents at sea or in air.

'China's activities reaching the Arctic'

The Pentagon report noted that China has been accelerating military activities in the Arctic as well.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The eight-nation Arctic Council will convene a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday with the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Chinese military presence in the region.

The expansion of submarine forces is just one element of China's broad and costly modernization of its military, according to US experts, who believe the move is largely aimed at deterring any action by US armed forces.

The Pentagon assessment also mentioned Beijing's military actives in Taiwan, the self-ruled island, over which Beijing asserts sovereignty.

China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing's leadership pursues their reunification.

In 1979, the US adopted the "One China" policy, but under the administration of US President Donald Trump, it has courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China.

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful "reunification."

Beijing has accused Washington of making "a series of moves" on Taiwan and "other issues" that harm China's sovereignty.

The self-ruled island is only one of a growing number of sticking points in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war initiated by the US as well as an aggressive campaign it launched against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei's equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company's 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the law calling the bans unconstitutional.

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China May Create Bases in Pakistan to Protect Silk Road, Pentagon Report Claims

Sputnik News

11:24 03.05.2019

The Belt and Road Initiative, which was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe; the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt deals with Russia as well as countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Beijing may create more military bases across the world to protect its investments in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments.

With China currently having just one overseas military base in Djibouti, target locations could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific, according to the report.

"China's advancement of projects such as the 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative will probably drive military overseas basing through a perceived need to provide security for OBOR projects," the document pointed out.

The document singled out China's push to "establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries".

In March, Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the US White House's national security adviser urged the Italian government not to participate in China's BRI, calling it a "vanity project".

Shortly after, however, Italy became the first major Western country to support the BRI, which stipulates promoting investment in projects that would link dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe through the creation of infrastructure networks similar in purpose to the ancient Silk Road trading routes.

During a recent BRI Forum in Beijing, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaie, in turn, said that major EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding on BRI as a group rather than as individual states.

As for the Pentagon report, it comes at a time of ongoing Indian-Pakistani tensions, which escalated after the 14 February Pulwama terrorist attack in which at least 40 Indian security personnel were killed.

Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and New Delhi accused Islamabad of harbouring and sponsoring the Islamist terrorist outfit, a charge which Islamabad denies.

 Sputnik

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Pentagon Warns of Chinese Military Spying

By Carla Babb May 03, 2019

China's two decades of military modernization has paid off big in missile development and domains like cyber and space, but the Pentagon says China is still relying on spying on others to steal the latest military technology.

"China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals' access to these technologies, as well as ... computer intrusions and other illicit approaches," according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Thursday.

Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters Friday at the Pentagon that China frequently uses tactics that fall just short of armed conflict to reach its goal of becoming a "world-class military by 2049," from threats and coercion against media and academia to jamming systems against ships in international waters in the South China Sea.

The report said China has used these illicit approaches to acquire military-grade technologies from the United States that ranged from antisubmarine to aviation equipment.

He said the Chinese were "very aggressive" with modernization and had made "significant progress" in their ballistic and cruise missile development, but he stopped short of calling Beijing an adversary.

"We certainly don't see conflict with China, and it doesn't preclude cooperation where interests align," Schriver told reporters.

Arctic

The report also shows increased Chinese activities in the Arctic region.

Arctic states have expressed concerns that Beijing could use its presence there to strengthen China's military reach, mirroring worries about Chinese military presence in Africa and Latin America following its Belt and Road economic initiative.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report notes.

The Pentagon report noted that European allies like Denmark have expressed concern about Chinese proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station in Greenland.

Concentration camps

Schriver also noted the U.S. military's concern that the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission has taken sole authority of the People's Armed Police, China's primary force for internal security.

He accused China of imprisoning close to 3 million Chinese Muslims in "concentration camps" that "erode the rules-based order." He later defended his description, which harks back to the Jewish concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as appropriate, given the magnitude of the Chinese detentions and the goals of the camps based on public comments from the Chinese government.

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Seoul Confirms North Korea Tests Short-Range Missile

By William Gallo May 03, 2019

North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest small-scale provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the missile toward the east from the eastern town of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

No other details about the missile were immediately available, but a short-range missile would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirt the line of moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang said. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.

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India Considers Purchasing Russian Ka-31 Helicopters in $500 Mln Deal - Reports

Sputnik News

12:17 03.05.2019(updated 12:42 03.05.2019)

India recently also started formal negotiations with Russia to purchase 21 MiG-29 fighter jets, worth over $800 million, to bolster the ageing fleet of the world's fourth-largest air force. In January, India approached Russia for 18 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft, worth $700 million.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Having concluded multi-billion dollar deals since last October, the Indian government is likely to begin dwelling upon purchasing 10 Kamov-31 helicopters from Russia later this month for aircraft carrier operations and deployment on future Gregorivich-class warships.

The Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopter is based on the Ka-27 (Ka-28) design and its development started in 1987.

"The Defence Ministry is scheduled to take up over $500 million proposal for buying around 10 Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control choppers for the aircraft carrier operations and deployment of future warships of the Gregorovich class," reported Indian news agency ANI, citing government sources.

Russia has supplied a total of 14 Kamov-31 helicopters to the Indian Navy since 2003. The first four were inducted into the Indian Navy in April 2003 and the second batch in 2005.

The helicopter is powered by 2  Isotov TV3-117VMAR turboshafts generating 1633 kW (2217.7 hp) each driving contra rotating rotors, which allow the helicopters to be stowed on board frigate-sized ships.

Currently stationed on INS Talwar class frigates, Ka-31s will be based on the INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy's new aircraft carrier. The radar antenna of the helicopter can be folded and stowed under the fuselage during cruising.

The Koryo-A radar, produced by Phazotron NIIR Corporation, gives the Ka-31 the ability to monitor airspace all around it, up to a radius of 250 km. The radar detects and tracks aerial as well as surface threats using an electro-mechanically steered antenna. It can pin-point the geographical locations of the threats with co-ordinates, allowing data linked surface ships (Talwar class frigates, INS Vikramaditya) or airborne aircraft (MiG-29Ks operating from INS Vikramaditya) to engage the targets without turning on their own sensors and giving their position away.

Amid the backdrop of last year's annual summit in October 2018, which witnessed India and Russia sealing a $5.43 billion deal for S-400 air missile and defence systems, the old friends have inked defence deals worth over $7 billion, including the sale of submarines, short range air defence systems, frigates, and assault rifles by Russia to the Indian Armed Forces.

 Sputnik

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No looming war between US, Iran: Zarif

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he believed no military confrontation between Iran and the US is imminent and stressed that accidents like lack of communication with Iranian forces controlling the Strait of Hormuz could lead to conflict.

The Independent's journalist, Negar Mortazavi, released Thursday a summary of her recent talk with the Iranian foreign minister at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In the conversation, Zarif sees no possible war between the US and Iran as imminent but says that the lack of communication between the American ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf with Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) which is in charge of controlling the strategic strait on Iranian side might result in military confrontation.

IRGC, a major part of Iran's official Armed Forces, was listed by the US on terrorist organizations.

Zarif tried to highlight the consequences of such move when it comes to the oil lifeline in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian minister described lack of communication with IRGC as an 'accident' the other instance of which was the detention of US Navy boats in the Persian Gulf in 2016.

The incidents, however, were handled by Zarif and his then American counterpart John Kerry who were in touch directly following the nuclear deal that was signed with other permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Foreign Minister Zarif had also told the media in the past, that he had the authority to make prisoners swap deals with the US, but the swap would not include Europeans, the Independent added.

Commenting on his interview with the Fox News in New York, Zarif argued that speaking to the other side is sometimes important, according to the Independent.

In the interview, the Iranian foreign minister warned about the consequences of the 'B-Team' efforts, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, US National Security Advisor John Bolton, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and United Arab Emirates Prince Bin Zayed who are trying to exert a great influence on Trump's policies toward Iran.

9156**1424

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Iran's missile program 'national defense issue': Envoy to UN

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New York, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations reaffirmed that the country's missile program is non-negotiable and Tehran will not retreat from its stance on the program as it is a matter of national defense.

Responding to a visit by the US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, to New York for mobilizing UN Security Council members against Iran's missile program, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said Thursday, 'In a statement we announced our stances. Our missiles are by no means subject to the Resolution 2231. The Resolution that was proposed and ratified by the US itself and other countries stipulates that only the missiles that are designed for carrying nuclear warheads are forbidden.'

The permanent representative added that the Iranian missiles are not meant for such a purpose and Tehran has repeatedly announced and clarified the issue.

The 14 reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are evidences that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, Takht-e Ravanchi said.

The issue raised by Washington is not legitimate at all, he said adding that this was the US that had to explain why it withdrew from the nuclear deal and violated the Resolution 2231, as the deal was a part of the Resolution and Washington's pull-out from the deal was a blatant violation of the Resolution 2231.

'In the statement the US Secretary of State has issued on the visit of the official to New York, the Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal have not been mentioned, and this is evidence that they are misleading others, but they will get nowhere,' he said.

Iran's stances are absolutely clear, he said adding that the country is in contact with the opposed members of the Security Council.

'The missile issue is a matter of national defense, and therefore, it will not be negotiable, and there is no contradiction between the program and Resolution 2231 whatsoever,' the Iranian permanent representative to the UN said.

Hook has convened a meeting with the Security Council members on Iran's missile program.

9156**1424

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US imposes sanctions on Iran enriched uranium exports, but renews nuclear work waivers

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 08:19PM

The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium but at the same time renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with the Islamic Republic on civil nuclear program.

"Any involvement in transferring enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium will now be exposed to sanctions. The United States has been clear that Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the State Department announced in statement issued on Friday.

Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran is limited to keeping 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent. As part of the JCPOA, Iran is allowed to sell any enriched uranium above that threshold on international markets in exchange for natural uranium, with Russia a key player.

The waivers, due to expire Saturday, are extended for 90 days, the State Department statement added.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the JCPOA, reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

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FM Zarif rules out US-Iran war, but says 'accidents' possible

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 02:40PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismisses the likelihood of a war between Iran and the United States but says certain "accidents" might ignite a military confrontation.

In a recent interview with the British online newspaper Independent at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Zarif said although he did not think a war between Iran and the US was imminent, "accidents can happen" that then spiral into a "military conflict."

In response to a question about the nature of such accidents, Zarif gave the example of a recent move by US President Donald Trump to put Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on its blacklist of foreign "terrorist" organizations.

A lack of "vital communication" between the IRGC forces and ships going through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where most of the world's oil exporters pass through, can easily lead to conflict.

The United States in April officially registered the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization," according to a notice published on the website of the US Federal Register.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) slammed the US government as "supporter of terrorism," designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization."

In a statement, the Iranian top security council said the designation came as a "reciprocal measure" against US President Trump's "illegal and unwise" move to blacklist the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

In a meeting with IRGC personnel and their family members in the capital Tehran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the recent US decision is rooted in America's "rancor" against the force, which has been in the forefront of the fight against enemies.

"The IRGC is the vanguard both on the field confronting the enemy on [Iranian] borders and even several thousand kilometers away [in Syria] as well as on the political battleground against the enemy," the Leader said, adding that Americans hold a grudge against the force for that reason.

Also in his interview, the top Iranian diplomat mentioned an incident happened in the Persian Gulf in January 2016 when the IRGC naval forces arrested 10 US sailors after their patrol boats entered Iran's territorial waters.

Zarif said that "a direct line of communication" between him and his US counterpart at the time John Kerry let the two top diplomats control the situation and secure the quick release of American sailors, adding that no such communication channel exists today.

"So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," he said.

On January 13, 2016, the IRGC announced that ten US Marines, who had drifted into the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and had been taken into Iranian custody, had been released after Americans apologized for the incident.

When asked about Zarif's interview with Fox News, the Iranian foreign minister said he wanted to reach out to Trump's base in American mainstream "because it is important to speak to the other side sometimes".

However, he noted that it was not his first interview with Fox and that he had talked to the channel years ago when he was Iran's ambassador at the United Nations in New York.

In the interview with "FOX NEWS SUNDAY", the top Iranian diplomat said all measures adopted by the administration of President Trump in dealing with Iran conveyed a message that "the United States is not reliable."

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Iran won't let US threaten Persian Gulf Security: FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 10:17AM

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran does not seek to escalate tensions with the United States, but it will not let Washington disrupt the security of Persian Gulf, the "lifeline of Iran".

"We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation," Zarif said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera TV, which is to be aired on Saturday.

"We have been clear that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are our lifeline. We depend on them for our livelihood, and we want them safe, secure, and free for navigation of all countries, including Iran," he said.

"As we have stated before, Iran won't permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf," the foreign minister added.

The US has vowed to cut Iran's oil exports down to zero, prompting Tehran to warn that it will not allow any other country to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz if Tehran cannot sell its crude.

Last Sunday, Iran's top military commander said Iran wants the strait  through which nearly one-third of all oil traded by sea passes  to remain open and secure, warning that the country will not allow anyone to destabilize the waters.

"As oil and commodities of other countries are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, ours are also moving through it," said Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri.

Iran "will definitely confront anyone who attempts to destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, and if our crude is not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, others' [crude] will not pass either."

The Iranian commander explained, "This does not mean [that we are going to] close the Strait of Hormuz. We do not intend to shut it unless the enemies' hostile acts will leave us with no other option. We will be fully capable of closing it on that day."

The US administration said in a statement on April 22 that buyers of Iranian oil must stop their purchases by May 1 or face sanctions. The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

The US also said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would "more than make up the oil flow difference" to make sure that global markets were not unsettled. The two OPEC members are close Washington allies and firmly back US President Donald Trump's hostile Iran policy.

"We will continue to sell our oil and we will seek customers, and we will always remember those who worked with us during times of difficulty," Zarif said.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani played down Washington's plan to cut Iran's oil sales to zero, saying Tehran has its own ways of selling oil and will keep up its exports despite US pressure.

"America's decision to block and cut Iran's oil exports to zero is wrong and we will not let this decision become operational," Rouhani said during a ceremony commemorating Workers' Week in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has also said that the US administration's hostile attempts to block Iran's oil sales will lead nowhere, and that the country will export "as much crude as it needs and wishes" in defiance of American sanctions.

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Iran to respond to threats made by other OPEC members if interests are threatened: Iranian Minister of Petroleum

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:00AM

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has warned that Iran will reply in kind if its interests in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are threatened.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organization seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh said on Thursday.

The petroleum minister made the comments after a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo who had arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to participate in the 24th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition.

"I told Barkindo that OPEC is threatened by the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organization may collapse," said Zangeneh following the meeting.

Barkindo said that the organization seeks to reach decisions collectively.

"We have seen numerous times in the past how one-sided decisions made by state-members have failed to be effectual. The same will happen again this time," said the OPEC chief.

OPEC and its allies are set to meet in June to decide on any supply changes.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member-states, have however pledged to step up oil production to substitute Iranian barrels in line with the US policy of zeroing out Iran's oil exports.

The US announced last month that it would not renew waivers that allowed Tehran's eight largest customers to purchase its oil. The exemptions expired on May 1.

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of exaggerating their ability to replace the country's oil.

Countries affected by US sanctions have so far opposed the expected move, citing tight market conditions and high fuel prices that are harming oil-dependent industries.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US decision to end sanctions waivers had even angered Washington's allies.

"People are not happy. China is not happy, Turkey is not happy, Russia is not happy. France is not happy. US allies are not happy that this is happening and they say that they will find ways of resisting it," said Zarif.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned of the repercussions of the American sanctions on Iran, saying they negatively affect the entire region, including his own country.

Regarding the expiration of the waivers, the top Turkish diplomat said his country cannot quickly abandon Iranian oil.

"The refineries in Turkey are not adapted for Iraqi oil," said Cavusoglu.

Last week, China slammed the US sanctions, saying the country's dealings with Tehran were in accordance with international law, "reasonable and legitimate".

Bejing also warned that Washington's decision would "intensify turmoil" in the Middle East and in the international energy market.

On Monday, Chinese tabloid newspaper the Global Times said China and India could work together "to form a buyers' bloc" to counter US sanctions on Iran.

Opposition parties in India have also urged the government to push the US to reconsider the Iranian oil ban, describing the sanctions as a violation of India's sovereignty.

Earlier this week, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj accosted her US counterpart Mike Pompeo, saying immediate arrangements for alternative supplies to replace Iranian oil were "not possible,"

South Korea and Japan have also sought negotiations with the US, calling on Washington to backtrack on its decision.

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Turkey Says Unable To Quickly Diversify Away From Iranian Oil

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Turkey says it will not be able to diversify oil imports quickly after the United States ended sanction waivers on purchases from Iran, and Ankara continues to urge Washington to reconsider its decision.

"It does not seem possible for us to diversify the sources of the oil we import in a short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on May 2.

Turkey has reduced its heavy reliance on Iranian crude in the past year  traditionally some 1 million barrels a day --- but Ankara said its refineries were not suited to handling oil from some other countries.

"We have to renew the technology of our refineries when we buy oil from third countries. That would mean the refineries remaining shut for some time. This, of course, has a cost," he added.

The statement comes a day after the United States told international buyers to stop oil purchases or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers for eight countries to continue buying Iranian oil to ease disruptions on their own economies.

Washington has encouraged countries to find alternative sources and has pressed Persian Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to export more oil to meet potential shortages arising from Iranian sanctions and prevent a spike in prices.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on April 26 said Turkey was working to persuade Washington to allow oil refiner Tupras to continue crude imports from Iran.

"Tupras is following the subject closely. The characteristics of their refineries are suitable for Iranian oil. We are trying to convince the U.S.," Aksoy said.

Turkey and China are the only two countries so far to have expressed a need to continue substantial purchases of Iranian oil. Others, such as India, Japan, and South Korea, have indicated they will comply with U.S. demands.

China last month said it opposed "long-armed jurisdictions implemented by the United States" and would continue "rational and legal" cooperation with Iran.

The United States has said it wants to cut Iranian oil exports to zero as it looks to pressure Tehran for what it has called "malign" activities in the region, including support for extremists and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the accusations.

With reporting by Reuters, CNBC, and TRT

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-says- unable-to-quickly-diversify-away-from- iran-oil/29918502.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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State Dept Threatens Sanctions for Helping Expand Iran's Nuclear Power Plant

Sputnik News

23:59 03.05.2019(updated 00:38 04.05.2019)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States may impose sanctions against actors providing assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant starting on May 4, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a press release on Friday.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable," the release said.

Iran reached a deal with Russia on the first stage of the Bushehr project  the Bushehr 1  in 1992. Russia and Iran signed an agreement in 2014 to build the second and third reactors for the Bushehr plant.

The press release says that the United States will no longer permit storage for Iran of heavy water in excess of limits related to its nuclear program.

"We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the release said on Friday.

US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also said that the United States calls on Iran to stop all proliferation-sensitive actives and warned Tehran that transferring enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the release said. "Activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable."

 Sputnik

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US Grants Shortened Waivers to Iranian Nuclear Power Sites - Report

Sputnik News

23:53 03.05.2019(updated 23:55 03.05.2019)

The Trump administration has decided to renew waivers for Iran's limited nuclear power program, albeit on terms half as long as before. However, it has also revoked other waivers allowing disposal of excess nuclear material, putting pressure on Tehran to end all uranium enrichment to stay within the international deal signed in 2015.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ended international sanctions against Iran in exchange for its rejection of a nuclear weapons program. The deal, signed by Tehran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, provided for a limited amount of nuclear fuel to be produced by Iran for experimentation and nuclear power, but not of the quality or quantity necessary to produce a nuclear bomb.

While Washington unilaterally left that agreement last May, it has permitted nations that remained in the deal to engage in nonproliferation activities and nuclear research at three sites in Iran  Fordow, Bushehr and Arak  without facing sanctions. Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Ford announced on Friday that these waivers would be renewed, but this time only for 90 days instead of 180 days, as they had been before.

However, that deal has come at a price: Washington has also revoked two waivers allowing Iran to send its excess heavy water to Oman and to export excess enriched uranium, a practice it used to remain within the strict limits of the JCPOA. In turn, Tehran received from its trade partners "yellowcake" uranium, a type of the radioactive element with a much lower concentration than enriched fuel.

"We are tightening restrictions on Iran's nuclear program as part of our pressure campaign," US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Bloomberg for a Friday article. "Iran cannot have any path to a nuclear weapon."

Two of the three facilities given waivers have relationships with foreign countries; the heavy water reactor at Arak is being redesigned with Chinese help, according to the JCPOA; the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was built with help from the Soviet Union, and today Russia supplies enriched uranium for the plant and takes away its spent fuel rods. The third site, Fordow, is a uranium enrichment facility. Its inclusion in the waivers has drawn heavy criticism because of the potential for the facility to be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is derived from uranium.

While US President Donald Trump and hawkish associates such as National Security Adviser John Bolton have pressed for a total cessation of all Iranian nuclear fuel refinement, the US State Department is forced to navigate a difficult and narrow path between, on the one hand, constraining Iranian production so as to avoid the perceived danger of an Iranian nuclear program, and on the other, pushing Tehran into such a desperate situation that it departs from all cooperation with the JCPOA powers and resumes its pre-2015 activities  something it's threatened to do more than once in the last year.

"Our leadership is not comfortable with any mechanism that allows uranium enrichment," Ford said. "We don't want to give Iran a supposed excuse to continue to enrich."

 Sputnik

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Zarif Warns Iran-US War Possible If 'Accident' Spirals Into Military Conflict

Sputnik News

17:08 03.05.2019(updated 20:01 03.05.2019)

Tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to mount amid US threats to bring Iranian oil exports down "to zero" and Iranian officials' warnings that the country may close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if its security was threatened.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe that a war between Iran and the US was imminent or inevitable, but does not exclude the possibility of some "accident" 'spiraling' into a military conflict.

Speaking to The Independent, the foreign minister indicated that the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 percent of the world's oil supplies pass, may be the spark that could ignite a war, particularly in the event of a lack of communication between the US military and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with each side recently labeling the other as "terrorists," in this narrow passageway.

Zarif also recalled a January 2016 incident in which two US Navy vessels entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and were detained by the IRGC. Here it was possible to avoid escalation thanks to the existence of a direct line of communication between Zarif and then-Secretary of State John Kerry. "But today there is no such line of communication between the Iranian foreign minister and US Secretary of State. So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," The Independent noted.

Zarif spent much of last week in the US, making appearances on US media and speaking to policy experts about the dangers of another war in the Middle East. The trip included an interview with Fox News, during which the foreign minister said he felt President Trump himself had no interest in war, but that some of his officials and US allies, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Prince Bin Zayed, were interested in "dragging the United States into a conflict."

In a separate event last week, Zarif warned that Iran would continue selling its oil abroad despite US threats and warned that Washington should prepare to face "consequences" if it took "the crazy measure" of trying to prevent Iran from selling its oil.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and the United States took a turn for the worse in May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and began slapping Iran with several rounds of sanctions, including energy restrictions aimed at bringing Iran's oil exports down "to zero", as well as banking restrictions and other measures meant to cripple the country's economy.

In late 2018, the US granted eight major importers of Iranian oil with temporary waivers exempting them from the possible US secondary sanctions. The wavers formally expired on Thursday, with the US Treasury giving no indication of any plans to extend them. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have promised to increase oil production to substitute Iranian oil, with Iran warning that its fellow OPEC members' policy would not be left unanswered.

 Sputnik

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Iran Vows Response to OPEC's 'Threats', Warns Organisation of 'Collapse'

Sputnik News

15:54 03.05.2019

The warning comes after Washington claimed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member states, promised late last month to increase oil production to substitute Iranian crude, in line with the US policy of bringing Tehran's oil exports "to zero".

Iran will respond in kind if its interests in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are damaged, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said after his talks with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organisation seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh underscored.

He added that he had told Barkindo that OPEC, in turn, is damaged by "the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organisation may collapse".

Additionally, Zangeneh accused "certain" OPEC members of exaggerating their capacities to compensate for any shortfall in the oil supply caused by a tightening of US sanctions on Iran, aimed to zero out Iran's oil exports.

"As I have already said, the US wishes to cut Iran's oil exports to zero but this is a pious hope. Any independent market expert knows that a surplus of capacities declared by certain countries is exaggeration and overstatement", Zangeneh told the opening of the 24th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran on Wednesday.

In late April, Zangeneh did not mince words and berated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for overstating their oil capacities.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, for his part, noted that he did not see any need for Riyadh to raise oil output in response to the tougher anti-Iranian sanctions, but added that Saudi Arabia would supply "more oil if asked to by its customers".

This came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recalled that Washington would not renew any exemptions from US sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil, and that he had received a commitment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE ensuring that oil supplies will remain stable.

The six-month waivers from oil sanctions against Iran were granted by the US in early November 2018 to Greece, Italy, Taiwan, China, India, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea.

The move followed the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

After that, Washington has repeatedly stressed that it wants all importers to eventually cut their oil sales from Iran to zero, in what the US claims will have a significant impact on the Islamic Republic's economy.

 Sputnik

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China, Turkey, India Silent on Buying Iran's Oil as US Ban Begins

By Michael Lipin, Anjana Pasricha, Hilmi Hacaloglu May 03, 2019

Iran's biggest likely remaining oil customers, China, Turkey and India, were silent about purchases of Iranian crude Thursday as a total U.S. ban on such trade took effect, leaving their next moves a mystery.

The Trump administration was equally silent about what action it might take if any of the three countries continues to purchase Iranian oil after Thursday, with no statements on the subject issued during the day by the departments of State or Treasury.

A six-month grace period granted by the United States for China, Turkey, India and five other governments to reduce their Iranian oil imports to zero expired Wednesday. In an April 22 statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said no nation would receive any further exemptions or waivers from U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's oil industry last November. The sanctions are part of a U.S. bid to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal to end its alleged nuclear weapons program and other malign behaviors.

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful and it intends to keep exporting oil, its main revenue source, in defiance of the U.S. sanctions.

Washington has been encouraging Iran's oil customers to switch to other major oil producers such as Gulf Arab nations that have pledged to keep energy markets appropriately supplied. Pompeo also has said the United States will enforce its unilateral ban on Iran's oil trade and warned that paying Iran for its crude entails "risks" that will "not  be worth the benefits," a reference to the possibility of purchasers facing U.S. secondary sanctions.

Turkey

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said diversifying Ankara's oil sources in a short time "does not seem possible."

Cavusoglu said Turkish refineries that have been processing Iranian crude are capable of handling oil from Iraq but not from many other nations, whom he did not name. He said Turkey would need to upgrade the technology of its refineries in order to import oil from those other countries, requiring the refineries to be shut down for a period of time.

"This would have a cost. However you look at it, the unilateral decision made by the U.S. is adversely affecting everyone," Cavusoglu said. "The U.S. should review its decisions."

The top Turkish diplomat did not say whether Ankara will buy Iranian oil in future.

But Turkey has been significantly reducing its reliance on Iranian imports since the start of the U.S. sanctions waiver. Data from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority show the country imported an average of 209,000 tons of Iranian crude per month from November through February, the first four months of the waiver period. It had been importing an average of 701,000 tons per month in the prior 10 months, accounting for around one-fifth of its total oil imports for the period.

China

China, Iran's biggest oil customer, made no comment on Thursday's expiry of the six-month U.S. waiver for buying Iranian crude. But its initial response to the U.S. decision not to extend the waiver was similar to that of Turkey. In an April 24 news briefing, Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing also opposes the unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdictions" of the United States. He also urged Washington not to undermine what he called Beijing's lawful and legitimate "cooperation" with Iran.

India

India also did not comment Thursday. In an April 23 tweet, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said New Delhi has a plan to maintain an "adequate" supply of crude to Indian refineries, adding: "There will be additional supplies from other major oil-producing countries."

Pradhan did not name those countries or say whether the additional supplies would completely replace crude from Iran, which had been India's third biggest supplier a year ago.

Indian media have said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj appealed to Pompeo in an April 27 phone call for New Delhi to have more time to import Iranian oil without being hit by U.S. secondary sanctions. Swaraj was quoted as calling for flexibility in the U.S. position because India is in the midst of a general election and wants the next government to make decisions about whom to buy oil from.

China and India had been reducing their dependence on Iranian oil before the end of the U.S. waiver period. An April 30 report by Reuters showed both nations significantly cut their Iranian crude imports in the January to March quarter compared to the same period a year before, with China making a 28% reduction and India a 40% reduction in imported barrels per day.

What will the three do?

Frank Verrastro, a Washington-based energy analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told VOA Persian he expects further reductions in China's purchases of Iranian oil.

"They have been increasing purchases of similar-quality Saudi oil as well as looking at alternative supplies from the U.S., other Mideast nations and Russia," Verrastro said in a Tuesday email.

But Verrastro said Beijing also may try to keep importing some Iranian crude in ways that bypass the U.S. financial system and sanctions regime. He said China could barter with Iran, enable Iran to repay loans with oil, or make non-U.S. dollar purchases of Iranian crude.

Indian strategic affairs analyst Manoj Joshi of New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation told VOA the U.S. ban on Iranian oil exports presents India not just with an economic challenge but also a foreign policy one.

"It puts us in a very awkward spot," Joshi said in a Thursday interview, noting the move will hurt India's ties with Iran. "The U.S. may be our partner, but we cannot have a congruence of interests in everything. When there are no options, what do you do?"

Turkey is likely to wait and see what Iran's bigger customers China and India do before deciding whether to keep importing Iranian oil, according to Hakki Uygur, acting director of Ankara's Center of Iranian Studies. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Turkish, he said that if China and India maintain their recent levels of imports, Turkey may do the same.

"But if the U.S. sanctions are enforced strictly, Iraq would be one of our most important secondary sources of oil," Uygur said.

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service. Anjana Pasricha contributed from New Delhi and Hilmi Hacaloglu contributed from Istanbul.

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Five terrorists killed in Pakistan near Iran border

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 3, IRNA -- Pakistani security forces have killed five terrorists in two separate operations in Pakistani province of Balochistan near Iranian border, local media reported.

The security forces conducted operations in Khuzdar and Turbat areas of Balohcistan province of Pakistan.

The police also recovered radio sets, transmitters, GPS devices, explosives and huge cache of arms from the terrorists.

Pakistani province of Balochistan has faced a number of security challenges in recent months, with security personnel in the province often being targeted by roadside improvised explosive device (IED).

Last month at least 14 security officials were offloaded from buses and were shot dead by terrorists on the Makran Coastal Highway.

In the same month 22 people were killed and several others injured in a terrorist attack in Quetta targeting Shia community.

272**1416

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South Korea Approves $6.3 Billion Deal for New Warships

Sputnik News

21:58 03.05.2019

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has approved the construction of three more KDX-III Sejong the Great-class destroyers, along with three more KSS-III diesel-electric attack submarines. The procurement is worth $6.3 billion.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee, a division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, decided on Tuesday to OK the $6.3 billion deal, which will enhance South Korea's ballistic missile defenses above the waves and its offensive capabilities below. The vessels are expected to join the Republic of Korea Navy by 2028, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 11,000-ton Sejong the Great-class destroyers carry the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system, giving them upgraded air defenses as well as ballistic missile defense. The Diplomat notes the ships, roughly comparable to the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, will carry the SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missile and SM-3 Block IB missie, both of which are made by US defense giant Raytheon and are used for different types of anti-air defense.

While three of the destroyers have been in service with the navy since 2008, the KSS-III submarines, also called the Jangbogo-III-class, are new and of an indigenous design.

The first boat, dubbed "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho," only put to sea for the first time in September 2018, Sputnik reported. The 3,450-ton sub is Seoul's first ballistic missile submarine and by far the largest of South Korea's 18 submarines, sporting 10 vertical launch tubes that can carry either ballistic missiles or cruise missiles.

However, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho is still being tested and won't be delivered to the navy until at least 2020. That hasn't stopped Seoul, though, which hopes to have all four KSS-III subs in service by 2025.

 Sputnik

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Damascus won't let Turkey control even one centimeter of Syrian territory: Deputy FM

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 04:54PM

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad says the Damascus government "will not allow Turkey to control even one centimeter of the Syrian territory," stressing that Ankara should know that "Damascus will not accept the survival of militant groups" in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

"The Damascus government's resolution is to liberate every inch of the Syrian territory, and Idlib is no exception," Mekdad said in an exclusive interview with the Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network.

He added, "The Turks and others should know that the Syrian government is determined to recover all of Syrian soil. Turkey must also understand that its support for terrorism and its occupation of the Syrian territory will not guarantee security."

The high-ranking Syrian official then advised US-sponsored Kurdish militant groups active in northern Syria to stop being used as a pawn by Washington, and to prove loyalty to their homeland.

Mekdad told the pro-government and Arabic-language al-Watan daily newspaper on November 4 last year that "occupation" forces from Turkey must depart the territories of his conflict-plagued Arab country in order for security and stability to be restored there.

"The Syrian Arab army is the only party that stands against the Turkish occupation of the Syrian territories," he said.

"We believe that these (Kurdish parties) should return to the spirit of citizenship and to believe in their homeland; not to use Americans, Israelis and others against the interests of their native soil," Mekdad said when asked about calls by some Kurdish militant groups in the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stand against Turkish attacks.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister added, "The Syrian army stands with all groups, parties and tribes in order to tackle terrorism for the benefit of Syrian people."

He stated that Syria will eventually emerge victorious over terrorism and its sponsors, and all areas will be liberated from the clutches of Americans, Turks and separatists, thanks to the high motivation and sacrifices made by the Syrian nation and Syrian army.

The senior Syrian official highlighted that the Damascus government cannot trust Turkish assurances, because Ankara's objectives are colonial and expansionist.

"The Ankara government misleads the public opinion inside Turkey and in the (Middle East) region by announcing something but implementing something else," Mekdad commented.



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Militant attempt to shell Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria foiled, no one injured

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 12:46PM

A high-ranking Russia military official says foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants have attempted to shell the country's strategic Hmeimim airbase in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia, but it was successfully foiled.

"On May 2, militants from illegal armed groups, who hold positions near the towns of Qalaat al-Madiq and Bab al-Atika, made another attempt to shell the Hmeimim airbase. Their attempt was repelled. No Russian servicemen were injured, and no damage was done to the facility," Major General Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation, said on Friday.

He added that Takfiri militants had also launched barrages of shells at the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, Handarat town north of Aleppo city, as well as the city of Mahardah and Saklabiya town in Syria's western-central Hama province over the past 24 hours.

Kupchishin said on Wednesday that the Russian military had repelled 12 drone and rocket attacks by terrorists based in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib against Hmeimim airbase and positions of Syrian government forces in Latakia since early April.

Russia Defense ministry rejects reports on death of four soldiers

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry has dismissed media reports that four Russian servicemen had been killed as terrorists shelled an area in Syria's Hama province.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, described the reports as "fake news," stressing that all Russian forces deployed in Syria are well and fulfilling their duties.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other foreign-backed terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russian air cover.

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Military Escalation Continues in Northwest Syria

By Sirwan Kajjo May 03, 2019

Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighboring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA.

The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.

"The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.

"This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to northwestern Syria, it's only Russia who calls the shots," Abdulrahman added.

Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.

Russia has been backing the Syrian regime since 2015, helping government forces and allied militias recapture rebel-held cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Damascus suburbs.

Idlib is under the control of a former al-Qaida affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The Syrian province is the last stronghold of rebel forces battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. stance

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, the U.S. has twice carried out airstrikes against Syrian regime targets, punishing Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus and elsewhere.

The U.S., which has led a coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) terror group in eastern Syria, does not have any military presence in northwestern Syria, including Idlib. In the past, however, U.S. officials did voice concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of foreign fighters, including al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, in the province but cautioned against full-scale military operations, maintaining that doing so would lead to a humanitarian crisis, as the province is home to 3 million people.

"Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaida affiliates in the world right now," Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said this week during remarks at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

"We have very limited insights as to what's going on," he added.

Idlib is one of several de-escalation zones in Syria that were created in 2017 after trilateral talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran to try to prevent further escalation among warring parties.

U.S. officials have urged Russia and the Syrian regime to comply with their commitments in Idlib, which were to ensure that the zones remain free of escalation.

"The violence must end," Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement this week. "The United States reiterates that any escalation in violence in northwest Syria will result in the destabilization of the region."

Turkey's role

Turkey and Russia reached an agreement last September that prevented a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border. Turkey assured Russia that the local rebel and militant groups, some of which are allied with Ankara, would not assault Russian and Syrian government forces.

However, HTS's advances in Idlib earlier this year, which led to the terror group's consolidation of power over most of the province, has put an already fragile agreement between Russia and Turkey at further risk.

One point of the Turkey-Russia deal was that Ankara would work to disarm and dislodge the jihadist group and other extremists from Idlib. But Turkey has so far been unable to implement that part of the agreement.

"Turkey has two options. The first one is to give in to Russian demands by entering a war with HTS and its allies," said Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian army general who is now a military analyst based in Istanbul.

"But this unlikely because the jihadists are based in a civilian area where more 3 million people live. Turkey cannot enter such a war because it would create a major refugee and humanitarian crisis. That's why Ankara is pushing for a diplomatic solution."

The other option for Turkey, according to Rahal, is to yield the way for its allied Syrian rebel forces to enter an open-ended war with Syrian regime troops.

Military buildup or containment?

Pro-regime Syrian media outlets on Thursday reported a continued military buildup by regime troops near the southern part of Idlib, in what appears to be a final preparation for a ground offensive against rebel forces.

But experts say a major offensive carried out by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is unlikely at this point.

"I don't think the Syrian regime would launch a large-scale ground offensive in Idlib," said Fabrice Balanche, a professor at the University of Lyon in France who is an expert on Syria and follows developments in the country.

He told VOA the ongoing movements of Syrian government forces in south Idlib could be part of the "Syrian regime's policy of containment" to ensure that jihadists would not be able to expand their operations into Idlib's neighboring provinces.

Civilians displaced

The U.N. has blamed the Russia and Syrian regimes for the damage to a medical center and two hospitals resulting from the airstrikes in northwestern Syria this week.

While thousands of civilians have already evacuated from Idlib and its surrounding areas, the U.N. fears that such military activities could result in a massive refugee crisis in the region.

"Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib," said David Swanson, an official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"Between 1 and 28 April, it's estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates," Swanson told AFP.

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China could use force against Taiwan in push for unification: Pentagon

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 16:22:28

Washington, May 2 (CNA) China could use force to push Taiwan into unification or into unification dialogue, the United States Department of Defense said in its annual military report, which was issued Thursday.

In the 2019 report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon said China is likely to pursue a measured approach by demonstrating its readiness to use force or take punitive actions against Taiwan.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) could also conduct a more comprehensive campaign designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or unification dialogue, under China's terms," said the Pentagon report, which focuses on military and security development involving China.

According to the report, Taiwan remains the PLA's main strategic direction and serves as one of the geographic areas the Chinese government identifies as having strategic importance.

"China's overall strategy toward Taiwan continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence," the Pentagon said in the paper.

To force Taiwan into unification or unification dialogue, China is likely to employ an air and missile campaign against Taiwan, the report said.

"China could use missile attacks and precision air strikes against air defense systems, including air bases, radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications facilities, to degrade Taiwan's defenses, neutralize Taiwan's leadership, or break the Taiwan people's resolve," the report said.

Taiwan has much smaller military capabilities than China, and the gap is growing, the Pentagon report said.

According to its estimate, China has 2,600 fighter jets, including 1,100 fighter trainers, while Taiwan has only 450 fighter jets in total.

China also has special mission aircraft, 450 transport planes, 450 bombers and 150 special mission aircraft, while Taiwan deploys only 30 transport planes and 30 special mission aircraft and has no bombers, the Pentagon said.

It said that while China speaks of peaceful unification with Taiwan, the Chinese government has never given up the use of force as an option, and continues to develop and deploy advanced military capabilities, paving the way for a potential military campaign to increase the pressure on Taipei.

Chinese President Xi Jinping () said in a speech on Jan. 2 that China is willing to talk with any party in Taiwan to push forward the process of peaceful unification on the basis of the "one China principle," but said he was making no promises to "renounce the use of force and reserved the option of taking all necessary means" to achieve that end.

In its report, the Pentagon said that in the event of a protracted conflict, China might resort to escalating cyberspace, space, or nuclear activities.

Alternatively, China might choose to fight to a standstill and pursue a political solution, the report said.

The Pentagon said the U.S. supports a peaceful resolution of China-Taiwan issues, and under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), will contribute to peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan Strait by providing defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain adequate self-defense capability.

According to the Pentagon, Washington has announced more than US$15 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010.

The TRA was signed in April 1979 by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a few months after the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

(By Lu Tzu-ying and Frances Huang)

Enditem/pc



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Expert praises Taiwan's plans to purchase F-16V jets

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 22:57:30

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A Taiwanese military expert on Friday hailed the government's decision to purchase F-16V fighter jets from the United States for deployment in eastern Taiwan as a "correct strategic choice."

The F-16V jets are to replace the aging fleet of F-5E fighters at the Chi-Hang Air Force Base in Taitung County, which will be out of the reach of China's S-400 anti-air missiles, Su Tzu-yun (), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA.

Although the S-400 Triumf missile is intended to hit targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers, Su said, they are only capable of covering the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's western half, given the geographic features in eastern Taiwan, which has the Central Mountain Range and Coastal Mountain Range running down most of it.

Under such conditions, Taiwan's Air Force will gain an air supremacy in the region with the F-16V jets, he contended.

Su's comments came after the U.S. Defense Department published a report on Thursday warning that "China's leaders are leveraging China's growing economic, diplomatic and military clout to establish regional preeminence and expand the country's international influence."

Beijing in particular increasingly sees the U.S. as becoming more confrontational and trying to contain China's expanding power, the report said.

According to Su, since Chinese President Xi Jinping () assumed power, China has begun to incorporate its economic might into its military strategy, and it is seeking to further strengthen its military and economic power by building a strong national defense industry.

China's brisk military sales have made it the world's fourth-largest exporter of arms and weapons, Su noted.

Taiwan has officially asked to buy 66 F-16V jet fighters from the United States and Washington is expected to give a response in July.

(By Flor Wang and Yu Kai-hsiang)

Enditem/cs

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Russia 'ready to cooperate' to sell Turkey Su-57 fighter jets: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:25PM

The chief executive of Russia's state-owned hi-tech industrial development conglomerate, Rostec Corporation, says his country is "ready to cooperate" to sell Turkey Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets in case Ankara is excluded from the F-35 fighter jet program with the United States.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Sergey Chemezov told Turkey's official Anadolu news agency on Thursday.

He noted that Moscow would "gladly evaluate" any Turkish suggestions for the localization or transfer of technologies of Su-57 warplanes as well as advanced S-400 air defense missile systems.

"We are ready to support Turkey's desire to develop its own defense industry," Chemezov said.

The Russian official went on to say that Turkey, irrespective of US-led pressure regarding the S-400 deal, is holding a very direct and consistent position concerning implementation of all provisions of the contract.

"We signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries," Chemezov commented.

He also said Russia welcomes Turkey's participation in the development of S-500 missile system.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defense system without equal throughout the world," Chemezov said, stressing that both countries had the capacity to contribute to such a project.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 stealth fighter jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

On April 24, Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country will look elsewhere for an alternative to American F-35 fighter jets if Washington blocks the delivery of its advanced stealth warplanes to Ankara.

"We are already partners in the F-35 manufacturing program, we participate in this project, we have paid the necessary amount. There are currently no problems with this," Cavusoglu said.

"But in the worst case scenario, we will have to satisfy our need in another place, where the best technologies will be offered," he added.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017.

Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

A number of NATO member states have criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

They also argue that the purchase could jeopardize Ankara's acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in US sanctions.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against Ankara in July 2016.

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Turkey says not moving away from NATO with S-400 deal

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:41PM

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar says his country is not distancing itself from the US-led NATO military alliance by acquiring Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Akar said Ankara should not be excluded from the F-35 fighter jet production program over the deal, noting that such a move would put "very serious" burdens on the other partners in the project.

"There is no clause saying 'you will be excluded if you buy S-400s' in this partnership. Excluding us just because any one country wants so would not be in line with justice, laws or rights. This should not happen," Akar said in an interview with broadcaster NTV on Friday.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017. Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

The US and a number of NATO member states criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The US also warned of tough sanctions if Turkey pursued plans to acquire S-400. Ankara, however, said it would not go back on the deal with Russia.

Turkey also proposed to form a working group with the US to determine whether the S-400s pose a threat to the F-35s, but says US officials have not responded to the offer yet.

Akar said that Ankara was attempting to clarify to the US and other partners in the F-35 project that the S-400s would not pose a threat to the F-35s, and added that his country had taken measures to prevent that.

President Erdogan on Tuesday criticized the US for threatening to stall the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to his country, saying "The F-35 project is bound to collapse if it excludes Turkey."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish minister said his country was still assessing the latest US offer to sell Raytheon Co. Patriot missile defense system, which he described as more positive than Washington's previous offers.

Turkey said two weeks ago it expected US President Donald Trump to use an S-400 sanctions waiver, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Ankara could face penalties under a law that calls for sanctions against countries buying military gear from Russia.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against the Ankara government in July 2016.

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Russia Ready to Sell Su-57 to Turkey if Ankara Quits F-35 Programme - Rostec CEO

Sputnik News

20:09 03.05.2019

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.

Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.

 Sputnik

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Russia Hails Turkey's Push for S-500s Amid Ankara's Adherence to S-400 Deal

Sputnik News

17:05 03.05.2019(updated 22:06 03.05.2019)

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara's commitment to its deal with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, adding that Turkey may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.

Sergey Chemezov, head of the Russian state-owned corporation Rostec, has told the Anadolu news agency that Moscow would welcome Turkey's desire to join the project on developing the sophisticated Russian S-500 missile systems.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defence system without equal throughout the world", Chemezov said, adding that Turkey has the necessary technological capacity to contribute to such a project.

Separately, he touched upon the S-400 deal between Russia and Turkey, saying that "we signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries".

The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Ankara's readiness to look into buying the S-500 systems in the future during his interview with Kanal 24 in March.

This followed Erdogan telling the Turkish broadcaster in June 2018 that Ankara is looking forward to the joint production of the S-500s; he said that he had "contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal" on the matter.

The development comes against the background of tensions between Ankara and Washington over Turkey's push to purchase the S-400 systems.

Turkish officials have repeatedly indicated that Ankara has no plans to abandon the S-400 deal, with deliveries due to start in July, despite heavy pressure to do so from Washington.

The US alleges that the S-400 systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards, and pose a possible danger to the F-35's stealth technology. Washington has threatened to withhold the sale of the fighters to Turkey, or to slap Ankara with anti-Russian arms sanctions if it goes through with the S-400 deal.

Meanwhile, Russian Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov disclosed last month that the development of the S-500, the successor to the S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, had reached its final stage.

With the S-500's specs remaining officially classified, the system is reportedly capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away, and it is also believed to be able to track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (approximately Mach 20).

 Sputnik

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Zelenskiy: Relations Between Moscow, Kyiv Far From 'Brotherly'

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that current ties between Kyiv and Moscow cannot be called "brotherly," and the two countries now have little in common outside a shared border.

In a Facebook post on May 2, Zelenskiy reacted to recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Russians and Ukrainians had "lots in common."

"The reality is that today, after [Russia's] annexation of Crimea and [its] aggression in [Ukraine's eastern region of] Donbas, the 'common' thing that is left is the state border: 2,295 kilometers and 400 meters. And Russia must give back to Ukraine control over each millimeter. Only after that can we look for what is still 'common' between us," Zelenskiy wrote.

Zelenskiy said Russian actions such as banning oil exports to Ukraine, holding Ukrainian citizens in Russian jails, issuing passports to residents in territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists "do not bring our countries' relations one bit closer."

"And it is definitely impossible to call such relations 'brotherly,'" Zelenskiy added.

On April 29, Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians "may at the end of the day have common citizenship, as we have lots in common."

Zelenskiy's Facebook statement came a day after Putin signed a decree to fast-track passports and citizenship for people in Ukraine and Soviet-era deportees.

Before that, just days after Zelenskiy's April 21 victory in a presidential runoff, Putin signed another decree that simplified the process to get Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia-backed-separatist-controlled territories in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Putin's moves were decried by Ukraine and the West as an attempt not only to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty but Zelenskiy's electoral win.

Zelenskiy mocked the passport offer, telling Ukrainians not to bother since Russian citizenship means "the right to be arrested for peaceful protests," and "the right not to have free and competitive elections."

Meanwhile, separatists controlling parts of the Donetsk region have announced that they will start accepting applications for Russian citizenship from local residents as of May 3.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy- relations-between-moscow-kyiv-far- from-brotherly/29919040.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, Putin discuss possible new US-Russia nuclear accord: White House

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:06PM

US President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour, discussing the possibility of a new nuclear accord, North Korean denuclearization, Ukraine and the political situation in Venezuela, according to the White House.

Trump and Putin talked on Friday about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear accord between Washington and Moscow or an extension of the current US-Russia strategic nuclear treaty, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The New START treaty, which was signed in 2011, is the only US-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed nuclear weapons.

The accord expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree.

Trump has called the New START treaty a "bad deal" and "one-sided."

"They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well," Sanders said.

The two men also discussed briefly about the report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 US presidential election.

The Mueller probe discussion was "essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," said Sanders.

Trump told Putin "the United States stands with the people of Venezuela" and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, Sanders said.

Sanders also said the two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump canceled a summit meeting with Putin in late 2018 after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on November 25 and arrested 24 sailors.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Kim has yet to agree to a denuclearization deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

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New York, NY, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York, opening at the Museum of the City of New York on May 1, will trace how New York became the most unionized large city in the United States. For more than two centuries, New York City has been an incubator and battleground of movements by and for working people and today, 24 percent of New York City workers are unionized, compared to the national average of 11 percent. This exhibition will examine the social, political, and economic story of the diverse workers and movements in New York through rare documents, artifacts, photographs, archival film footage, and interactive features.



You cannot understand the history of New York City without understanding the history of labor movements here, said Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. Through this exhibition, visitors will learn how labor movements evolved over two centuries in New York, the current state of affairs for workers, and what the future may hold.



"Labor movements have been central to the rise of the city that we know today. It's exciting that City of Workers, City of Struggle explores New Yorks rich labor history, and also gives voice to contemporary labor activists and working people as they face the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing urban economy," said Steven H. Jaffe, curator of the exhibition.



City of Workers, City of Struggle will follow the progression of the labor movement by breaking the history into four segments and then looking toward the future. The exhibition begins with the section In Union There is Strength, which documents the 19th century when there was a shift from the artisan to wage worker through the development of new patterns of work and employment, as well as new technology. This will be exemplified in the exhibition by an enormous wrench used to build the Brooklyn Bridge. It will also include an illustration of the day in 1882 when New Yorks Central Labor Union launched the nations first Labor Day to underscore Labors efforts to secure better pay, hours, and working conditions.



The exhibition moves on to the period of 19001965 with the section Labor Will Rule, looking at an era when New Yorks unions gained monumental power. By 1950, New York City had about one million union members representing at least a quarter of the entire workforce. However, this power was not equally shared as female, African American, Latino, and Asian American New Yorkers still fought obstacles to their presence in union ranks and leadership.



Sea Change, the third section, focuses on the years between 1965 and 2001. Over the preceding decades, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants had joined African Americans from the South and Puerto Ricans in coming to New York to seek opportunity. The citys fiscal crisis in 1975, and a growing anti-union mood in local and national politics, led to challenges for the movement to organize labor. These developments coincided with court and federal agency decisions that scaled back legal protections earlier won by organized labor. Together, they began a long weakening of unions economic and political power, as many New Yorkers worried about the costs of union contracts to the city and as the number of unionized workers declined nationwide. Between 1960 and 2000, New York City lost more than 650,000 manufacturing and port jobs as businesses automated or moved away in pursuit of lower wages and taxes, and fewer regulations.



By the 1970s, a new militancy fueled the activism of previously marginalized workers: women, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans were challenging union establishments. As union membership declined in private industry, organizations of government employees and service workers (hospital, maintenance, security, clerical, and others) increasingly became engines of upward mobility for thousands of New Yorkers.



The last section, New Challenges, looks at how New York activists after 2001 continued to reshape the future of labor by broadening the agenda to confront issues ranging from racial profiling to sexual violence, LGBTQ equality, environmental safety, and citizenship status. Worker Centers and other new community organizations used foundation grants, legal action, and public pressure to help non-unionized and undocumented workers. In a changing economy, this Alt Labor or New Labor movement also mobilized people who worked as freelancers or in a succession of jobs.



Although New York remains the most unionized city in the United States today, current realities are challenging. Conflicting visions for the citys future have sometimes pitted different groups of organized workers against each other. Yet local labor activists have also achieved important recent victories, including paid family leave, guaranteed sick leave, and a $15 minimum wage.



The exhibition is organized by curator Steven H. Jaffe with the help of a distinguished panel of scholars.



A companion publication takes a deeper dive into some of the topics touched in the exhibition. City Workers, City of Struggle features essays by leading historians of New York along with vivid depictions of work, daily life, and political struggle. Edited by Joshua B. Freeman, Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, it is published by Columbia University Press and is available for $40 in the Museum shop.



City of Workers, City of Struggle is presented in collaboration with the Kheel Center at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.



City of Workers, City of Struggle, its associated programs, and its companion publication are made possible through the generous support of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.



Additional support for the exhibitions companion publication is provided by Atran Foundation, Inc., and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and other generous donors.



Made Possible in part by The New Network Fund, supported by JL Greene.



Exhibition Committee

Governor David A. Paterson, Co-Chair

Patricia Smith, Co-Chair, Senior Counsel, National Employment Law Project Law Project; former New York State Commissioner of Labor

Vincent Alvarez, President, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Esta R. Bigler, Director, Labor and Employment Law Program, Cornell University ILR School

Marco Carrion, Commissioner, Mayors Office of Community Affairs

Janella T. Hinds, UFT Vice President, Academic High schools, United Federation of Teachers

Ed Ott, Active in the Labor Movement for more than 50 years

Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor

Lorelei Salas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Maritza Silva-Farrell, Executive Director, ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York

Lara Skinner, Executive Director, The Worker Institute, Cornell University ILR School

Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City



Scholarly Advisory Committee

Joshua B. Freeman, chair, Rachel Bernstein, Michelle Chen, Margaret Chin, Richard Greenwald, Louis Hyman, Alice Kessler-Harris, Richard Lieberman, Stephen McFarland, Premilla Nadasen, Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Christopher Rhomberg, Aldo Lauria Santiago, Robert W. Snyder, Michael Spear and Clarence Taylor.



Public Programs

Uncovering the Lost Lives of Workers: The Archaeology of Labor

May 8, 6:30pm  8:00pm

$15 Admission | $10 Members

The New York City we know today was profoundly shaped by workers. Not only did workers build and maintain the physical city, but their struggles over pay, power, and inclusion have made and remade the city many times over. Join archaeologists Dr. Meta Janowitz, Dr. Jean Howson, and Alanna Warner-Smith as they share their latest findings about New York Citys working and living conditions. Moderated by Sharon Wilkins, Deputy Borough Historian of Manhattan.

Meet the Curators: Steven H. Jaffe

May 14, 4:00pm  5:00pm

$40 Admission | $35 Members

Join Curator Steven H. Jaffe as he guides you through City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York. Did you know that some of the nations foremost labor leaders have been New Yorkers? Ask questions, give feedback, and learn something new with your fellow New Yorkers (or New Yorkers at heart) during this truly behind-the-scenes experience.

New Labor in New York and the Fight for Workers' Rights

May 22, 7:00pm  8:30pm

$20 Admission | $10 Members

Join three of New York's most dynamic new labor activists, Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Allison Julien of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Michelle Miller of Coworker.org, for a conversation about recent gains (and setbacks) in their movements to protect the workers who make this city run. Moderated by Ed Ott, former Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council.

Moonlight & Movies Series

$15 General Admission

9 to 5

June 20, 8:00pm  10:30pm

This classic 1980 feminist satire 9 to 5 still remains all too relevant in today's #MeToo America. Prior to the screening, Jessica Bennett will share her perspective as the first-ever gender editor for The New York Times, working to expand the newsroom's coverage of social issues and culture through the lens of gender.

En el Septimo Dia

July 16, 8:00pm  10:15pm

En el Septimo Dia follows Jose, an undocumented bike delivery worker, over the course of seven days. Prior the screening, director Jim McKay and Make the Road New York's Mel Gonzalez sit down for a conversation about the contemporary immigration and labor issues that inspired the film.

Modern Times

August 21, 7:30pm  9:30pm

Charlie Chaplins timeless 1936 masterpiece, Modern Times, was the last outing for his iconic Little Tramp character, who stars as an inept factory worker caught up in the cogs and sprockets of modern industrialization. As one of the last great films of the silent era, Modern Times represents Chaplin's rejection of the forward march of modernization.

On the Waterfront

September 10, 7:00pm  9:30pm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan introduces this outdoor screening of Elia Kazans 1954 classic On the Waterfront. Egans latest novel, historical noir thriller Manhattan Beach, navigates the crime-ridden underworld of New York Citys shipyards in the 1940s.

Labor Day week union member discount

The Museum is offering a 50% discount on admission for union members who show any union card from Sunday, September 1st through Saturday, September 7th in honor of Labor Day week.

#CityofWorkers

About the Museum of the City of New York

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the worlds most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the citys past, present, and future. To connect with the Museum on social media, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumofCityNY and visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MuseumofCityNY. For more information please visit www.mcny.org.



Press Contacts:

Mary Flanagan | 917-492-3480 | mflanagan@mcny.org

Sarah Jackson | 917-492-3483 | sjackson@mcny.org

Attachments
Upon assuming office as the Nassau County, N.Y., executive in 2018, one of Laura Currans top priorities was to build more transparency and accountability into the jurisdiction.Nassau County is home to nearly 1.4 million residents, situated in western Long Island beside the New York City borough of Queens. In recent years, the jurisdiction has had some controversy in its local government stemming from malfeasance by elected officials. Specifically, the county executive that proceeded Curran, Ed Mangano, was convicted in March in the wake of a 13-count federal indictment related to fraud and bribery. Curran, who said she doesnt like to focus on the countys past troubles, is now using a number of tech-based projects to push forward and foster more transparency and accountability.When I ran for office I knew it was very important to deliver on the promise of transparency, making sure that it was up to us now to win back the trust of the people, Curran said. The trust really was frayed. You can talk about transparency and accountability, but you have to do concrete things to show people youre serious about this.The concrete things that Curran is doing now are wide-ranging, to be sure, including many that arent related to technology at all, such as signing an executive order that prohibited her from giving jobs to anyone whod donated to her campaign. Whats happening in Nassau County involves technology being used as part of a unified philosophy around bolstering the governmental investment in transparency and accountability.This has resulted in a number of tangible projects in just the first nearly year and a half she has been in office. In conjunction with the office of the comptroller, the county has launched a new open checkbook , which details more than a billion dollars of annual county outside expenditures in an easy-to-read format.The county has rolled out an 18-month pilot program partnership with the private company Exiger. This partnership gives the county access to the companys Insight 3PM platform, which streamlines due diligence vendor research to help the county spot red flags that might be related to a conflict of interest.Not all of the work with tech to prevent malfeasance is that complicated, though. In fact, some of it is as simple as moving from paper-based to digital workflows. Curran said that when she first took office there were many vital documents being kept on paper and filed away in cardboard boxes, sometimes in a basement.These things included the financial disclosure forms required of county employees. They were being filled out on paper and filed away in physical containers, a format that inherently makes them easy to forget about and very difficult to search.People would have to dig through reams of paper to find this contract or that agreement, Curran said. Now with a click of a button, its right there.Moving forward, the county is working on a way to enable vendors to track where they are in the governmental procurement process. This is part of a larger idea to simplify the procurement process in general, bolster competition among the companies that the local government works with, and also open the doors to smaller, more agile companies like tech startups.Nassau County is far from alone in using digital tools in this way. In fact, it is part of a larger movement of jurisdictions that are putting an increasing amount of governmental business online, where it can be more easily accessed by both the public and other internal agencies. As this software has become cheaper and easier to develop or use, the prevalence of it in local government has gone up, thereby enabling counties like Nassau to combat long-standing accountability challenges with tech.
(TNS)  5G, the fifth generation of wireless, promises lightning-fast download speeds and could lay the foundation for high-tech advancements like self-driving cars. But like many new technologies, its sparking concern about potential health issues.The first generation of wireless ushered in mobile phones and 2G brought texting. 3G laid the groundwork for smartphones, and 4G allowed video streaming and more. 5G is expected to download data 20 times faster than its predecessor, and some experts argue it could be much faster.And its not just about streaming data faster, its about streaming more of it. On a 5G network, a user can download a movie instantly and data will flow between connected objects without delay. The amount of data people use on mobile devices has gone up 40 times since 2010, and is only expected to increase. 5G networks are wireless companies attempts to satisfy that demand.5G taps into millimeter waves at the top of the radio spectrum, which have not previously been used for telecommunication. The higher waves allow for faster transfer of data, but they also dont travel through buildings, trees and rain like previous generations of wireless, which operate on lower wavelengths.That means wireless companies must install more equipment with 5G than they did with previous generations of wireless. That includes new base stations and antennas on parking garages, or equipment on light poles that fill gaps for cellular coverage.The untested nature of 5G, and the extensiveness of its infrastructure, has some worried that the increased exposure could have serious health effects.Wireless safety advocates have called for more studies on the effects of the exposure, and one group is trying to stop the rollout of 5G networks in Chicagos neighborhoods. Verizon and Sprint turned on their 5G networks in parts of Chicago earlier this year, putting the city among the first in the nation with access to 5G. AT&T plans to turn on parts of its Chicago network later this year, and T-Mobile is aiming for 2020.The federal government has safety rules that wireless companies must abide by that limit human exposure to radio waves, including frequencies used with 5G. Wireless industry association CTIA says typical exposure to 5G infrastructure is comparable to Bluetooth devices and baby monitors, and there is no scientific evidence of adverse health effects.The companies, for their part, say they abide by the wireless network standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.Still, assurances from government agencies and industry operators are not enough for Chicago resident Judy Blake. Additional studies on 5Gs health impacts likely wouldnt soothe her either, she said. People cant choose whether or not to be exposed to this radiation.I dont need another test. The only test thats going to happen now is peoples lives, said Blake, 67.Though little is known about the long-term health impact of the millimeter waves that 5G operates on, some research has shown short-term exposure could be problematic, said Joel Moskowitz, a public health expert at the University of California at Berkeley.The eyes and sweat glands are among several body parts studies have shown could be at risk, Moskowitz said. Insects and plant life could also be affected, he added.Additionally, studies on the impact of radiation from radio waves used by previous generations of wireless have raised health concerns, and some 5G networks will operate in part on those lower-frequency waves too.The findings concern Chicago resident Kristin Welch.We absolutely need to study these high-frequency waves  before you put (this new equipment) in front of someones home or a school, said Welch, 39. Were putting the cart before the horse here.Cellphone radiation study finds biological changes in animals; human implications unclearThe mother of three recently co-founded a Facebook group called Stop 5G Chicago, aimed at halting the rollout of the network in residential areas. Welch said she is especially worried about the impact the radiation could have on vulnerable populations, like children and pregnant women.This is not an unreasonable thing to be concerned about, Welch said. We are now in a position where this untested technology is going to be widespread throughout our city.The wireless companies are using different technologies and techniques to achieve the new 5G standards. Sprint, for example, is building out its 5G network mostly on top of its 4G footprint in Chicago. Its installing new radios and other equipment on existing stations.The millimeter waves used in 5G are absorbed by the upper layers of skin, potentially causing the temperature of the skin to rise, said Suresh Borkar, senior lecturer in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The effects of extended rises in skin temperature becomes a big unknown, he said.Wireless industry association CTIA said in a statement that cellphone users safety is important, and it follows the guidance of experts regarding health effects.Following numerous scientific studies conducted over several decades, the FCC, the FDA, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society and numerous other international and U.S. organizations and health experts continue to say that the scientific evidence shows no known health risk to humans due to the RF (radio frequency) energy emitted by antennas and cellphones, the CTIA statement said.This isnt the first time people will come into contact with millimeter waves: Theyre also used in airport body scanners, said Lav Varshney, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Still, its the first time the high-frequency waves will be used on such a scale, and concerns surrounding new technologies are common throughout history.When cars first started replacing horse-drawn carriages, people were afraid of what the health impacts of traveling at high speeds would be, Varshney said. There has always been occurrence of this fear.
Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High near 55F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Irizar has signed a contract for 15 zero emissions electric buses and charging infrastructure for Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The energy needed for the charging stations will be generated by the Rhine River as it passes through Schaffhausen.





Irizar was awarded the supply contract for the first line of electric buses for the city of Schaffhausen by public tender. The contract includes 15 Irizar ie tram model zero-emissions electric vehicles (7 of which are 12 meters and 8 are 18 meters long); 12 fast charging stations; and 16 in-depot charging stations.

This is a lighthouse project with the aim of electrifying public transport in the city of Schaffhausen. There will be the possibility for a second phase in 2022-2027 when the amount could rise to 47 vehicles, 20 quick charging stations and 51 in-depot charging stations.

The Irizar ie tram model includes integrated Irizar Group technology in its electronics, energy storage and communications.

This is a unique project in Switzerland and in Europe where 12 fast charging points of 600 kW will be installed in one of the main avenues of the city and charging will be done using green energy generated by the river Rhine as it passes through Schaffhausen. Once more the Irizar Group is showing its capacity to provide turnkey solutions by supplying buses and charging stations that meet specific requirements of a city. Hector Olabegogeaskoetxea, Manager Director of Irizar e-mobility

Irizar e-mobility aims to provide comprehensive electric mobility solutions for cities, both in terms of manufacturing zero emissions 100% electric vehicles, and in terms of manufacturing and installing the major infrastructure systems necessary for charging, traction and energy storage, all designed and manufactured using 100% Group technology, with the Irizar guarantee and service quality.

The Irizar ie tram is a 100% electric bus that combines the large capacity, ease of access and internal configuration of a tram with the flexibility of a city bus.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Maid of the Mist, which has been navigating the waters of the Lower Niagara River since 1846, will launch later this year two new all-electric, zero-emission passenger vessels constructed in the United States.





Rendering of the new electric Maid of the Mist vessels

The catamaran-style vessels will provide more than 1.6 million guests from around the world with an up-close, iconic view of Niagara Falls. The vessels feature a wide stance, resulting in a smooth, quiet ride, allowing guests to better enjoy the roar and majesty of Niagara Falls.

Designed by Propulsion Data Systems, the new totally integrated vessels are currently under construction by Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wisc. In mid-May, the modules will be transported to Niagara Falls and lowered onto the Maid of the Mist dry dock and maintenance facility for assembly. Following completion of construction, launch and certification, the new vessels will be placed into service in mid-September.

ABB will supply a comprehensive integrated power and propulsion solution for the new-build vessels, including lithium-ion battery packs and an onshore charging system, enabling sustainable operation with maximum reliability.

Powered by ABBs zero-emission technology, the two fully-electric vessels will take tourists to the heart of the Niagara Falls, undisturbed by engine noise or exhaust fumes. Batteries will be recharged for seven minutes after each trip to 80% capacity, allowing for maximum efficiency and battery life.

The hull of the new vessels features an icon of the electricity symbol within a water droplet surrounded by a turbine with Niagara Falls in the background. The color scheme is environmentally-friendly green combined with the blue of the water.

Maid of the Mist VI (1990) and Maid of the Mist VII (1997), will be retired from service when the new vessels begin operating.

New York is leading the way in the transition to an electric transportation system. The Maid of the Mists conversion to an all-electric fleet is a bold move that shows the world we take our commitment to lowering carbon emissions seriously. The Niagara Power Project has been a long time partner to the Maid the Mist and we are pleased to support the Maid going electric and making our environment cleaner and greener with every trip.  Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO at the New York Power Authority

Maid of the Mist first launched in 1846, making it one of North Americas longest running tourist attractions. Maid of the Mist vessels have been continuously operating tours to the base of Niagara Falls for 134 consecutive years, providing guests from around the world with an iconic experience.

In 2012 Maid of the Mist faced closure in the absence of storage space for its boats on the New York side of the river. Governor Cuomo struck a deal to keep the boats running and produce increased revenues for Niagara Falls State Park. The Maid of the Mist Corporation agreed to invest $32 million in the former Schoellkopf Power Station site near the falls to make it suitable for the winter storage and maintenance of its boats. Under the memorandum, the company agreed to increase its license payments to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, totaling $105 million over 30 yearsthree times the revenues that were projected for the 30-year period when a contract was initially approved in 2002.

The new Maid of the Mist vessels build on a $70-million revitalization of Niagara Falls State Park. The initiative has renewed the parks major viewing areas including Luna Island, Prospect Point, Lower Grove, Three Sisters Islands, North Shoreline Trail, Luna Bridge, and Terrapin Point with new pedestrian walkways, enhanced landscaping, new benches, light posts and railings. Under Governor Cuomos NY Parks 2020 program, the state has made a multi-year commitment to revitalize state parks and includes $110 million in the 2019-20 State Budget for park improvement projects.
From December 19th through December 26th we will be granting free access as a gift to our readers presented by High Point University
The Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha dates to 1965 and was inspired by the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes from the early 1600s.

It may not be surprising, then, that Triad Stages artistic director, Preston Lane, felt the need to set his companys production in a more contemporary situation.

Similar to the original musical written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, this Man of La Mancha is set in a jail.

But this jail is modern, perhaps even futuristic. It has chain-link fences, barbed wire, security cameras and other current fittings. It has harsh lights, along with projections that include the watching eye of Big Brother when they arent setting a scene for the imagined adventures of Don Quixote.

Its inmates, similarly, wear individualized, up-to-date clothing (designed by K. April Soroko).

As Lane says in a program note, I was determined to shake off the 1960s theatricality and place the musical firmly and immediately in our times.
Participants also visit classrooms, ranging from talking about Native American boarding schools in AP History classes to presenting a Native American dance for elementary students. Malesovas said they'd welcome more chances to visit schools.

Academic support is a big part of the program's mission. There's a library of laptops, calculators and school supplies at students' disposal.

"We offer students the opportunity to participate in college visits in the fall and spring," said Malesovas, adding that she shares information about scholarships.

The American Indian Education Program has another feather in its cap  literally.

"Beginning last year, our graduating seniors were eligible to wear a coup feather in their graduation regalia, as a symbol of the milestone that they are achieving," Malesovas said.

The feather was given to the seniors by the American Indian Education Program at its annual student recognition banquet.

"Not every school district has that," she said.

Contact Cindy Loman at cindy.loman@greensboro.com, 336-373-7212 or on Facebook at Cindy News-Record Loman.
20190505g_nws_native americans "People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," says UNCG student Raven Dial-Stanley, a member of 

In February, a stare-down between a Native American man beating a drum and a white teenager in a MAGA hat caused a national stir outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Three years ago, President Trump began calling U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas.

And 10 years ago, Leslie Locklear, a member of the Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan tribes, was a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill when classmates asked if she lived in a teepee.

As a younger Native woman, I spent countless hours explaining myself and my race, she said. It was both infuriating and exhausting to have the same conversation, in every class, with every new group of people, for countless semesters.

Raven Dial-Stanley, a third-year UNCG fashion design student and a member of the Lumbee tribe, knows how Locklear feels.

A college classmate told her "I didn't even know we still had Indians in the U.S.," Dial-Stanley said.

"People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," she said.

General confusion about Native American culture and history remains.

Locklear said her peers comments were the fault of an American public school system that doesnt teach the roles of American Indians in an accurate way. Educators see long-term problems with glossing over Native American history starting in elementary school.

Not only is it not accurate, there is a significant portion of information missing, said Locklear, now the program director for the First Americans Teacher Education Program at UNC-Pembroke.

Dial-Stanley agrees.

"If it wasn't for the knowledge my mother and my people instilled me in, I would be ignorant of my history," she said.

Dial-Stanley, 21, is passionate about her culture. She has been a member of the One Spirit Cultural Class and Dance Team and the N.C. Native American Youth Organization and as a freshman at UNCG, she was president of the Native American Student Association, chairwoman of the UNCG Pow-Wow Committee, and president of the founding class of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, the nations oldest Native American Greek letter organization. She attended the United National Indian Tribal Youth Conference and the 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering in Washington, where then-first lady Michelle Obama was the guest speaker.

In Guilford County, indigenous students have resources that aren't available in most school districts. Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers monthly extracurricular classes that focus on academic and cultural elements "intended to further enhance the childs education and exposure to Native traditions," said Mia Malesovas, American Indian Education coordinator for Guilford County Schools.

The classes are created for Native American students, but others are welcome, Malesovas said. She and others also visit schools by invitation to share lessons and demonstrations on Native cultures.

Native Americans compose about 1 percent of the U.S. population. American Indian/Alaska Native residents make up 1.8 percent of North Carolinas population as of 2014. N.C. was one of only 15 states to have 100,000 or more people from this group.

When a voice is so small, its very easy to overlook it, Locklear said.

Kayla Trevethan, who teaches social studies in Wake County, thinks her first- and second-grade students arent getting much information about Native American life and history even though they could handle it.

I dont really think that, you know, its the best teaching practice to be reading and sharing literature with younger kids that pretty much just paints this happy-go-lucky picture of Native American lives, she said. Because that is not what happened.

Dial-Stanley graduated from Glenn High School in Kernersville, and her twin brother graduated from Atkins High in Winston-Salem. Their mom used to go to their school open houses and ask to see her kids' history books.

"If you're going to be teaching my children our history, I want to make sure it's done correctly," her mom told the teachers, Dial-Stanley says.

Her mom also volunteered to talk to classes and share that history, she said.

According to the N.C. State Board of Education, teachers are required to teach changes in American Indian life before and after European exploration in the fourth and eighth grades, but Locklear said this leads primarily to discussions of the Trail of Tears and thats it.

Some educators say whats taught is whitewashed.

Christopher Scott, an assistant professor at UNC-CH and member of the Lumbee tribe, said classroom instruction enforces that the world just began when Christopher Columbus came to the new world.

We dont teach kids that a holocaust happened in our country to the natives that were here, Scott said.

Dial-Stanley said most people don't know that indigenous children were placed in boarding schools in the late 1800s, torn from their families and culture for years at a time.

When she was a kindergartner in Charlotte, Erin Stacks learned about Thanksgiving by dressing up and joining her fellow Indian and Pilgrim classmates to peacefully eat a meal together. They held hands and broke bread, learning that the Indians and Pilgrims were allies who shared knowledge and thrived together.

This rendition of the Thanksgiving story has been played out for decades, but it glosses over the true relationship between indigenous people and Pilgrims.

Today as a senior at UNC-CH, Stacks has seen improvements in her peers education on native culture but there are still glaring gaps of knowledge.

You can ask people when did blacks in our nation receive the right to vote, when did women receive the right to vote; people know these things, she said. But you ask someone when did Native Americans receive the right to vote, and people dont know that it was 1924 because its not taught as intensely in our school system.

While the North Carolina education standards for elementary school call for a discussion of the Trail of Tears in the fourth grade, Locklear does not think this goes far enough to educate students about tribes outside of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee.

A study conducted by social studies scholars in 2013 found that 87 percent of state-mandated K-12 education standards placed Native Americans in a solely pre-1900 context, not mentioning the ongoing battle for civil rights.

Trevethans second-grade students learned about Native Americans by studying the concept of artifacts left behind from past civilizations.

Im not totally sure that (my students) have an awareness that there are still Native Americans today, almost like it was a thing of the past, Trevethan said. Wow.

Scott and Locklear worry about American Indian students sense of identity.

Scott, a former elementary principal, has seen the education system penalize students for displaying their culture. For example, students who are Lumbee have a linguistic marker that varies from standard English. Because of this, Scott said they cant write the way they speak at home because it is viewed as incorrect. These punishments for showing ethnic identity in the classroom can lead students to choose between success or showing their heritage.

You learn to hide, he said. You learn these traits of invisibility. You learn to mask who you are because thats safety.

Locklear sees the same thing.

Im spending 12 years in a school system that does not mention my people, does not recognize my people, she said. And then in those critical middle school, early high school years, where Im trying to develop my identity and all I see in the media is Pocahontas, and the savages, and the cowboys and the Indians, it almost harms that positive identity development.

Stacks said that her sense of Native American identity started forming because her family kept traditions alive, but she had to explain to students what her culture was.

It kind of started in middle school, she said, when I kind of realized that Native Americans live in society normally and that my classmates didnt understand that.

Today, Stacks answers more questions from college classmates about cultural appropriation than the questions Locklear faced during her time at UNC-CH.

Around Halloween, Stacks and the Carolina Indian Circle carry signs in the heart of campus to educate their peers about costumes that hypersexualize native women or fuel cultural stereotypes. At UNCG, the Native American Student Council put up a display spotlighting indigenous cultures with posters that said "We're a culture, not a costume."

Stacks can provide this education, but she said the earlier people can be taught about Native American tradition and culture, such as in elementary school, the better.

The State Advisory Council on Indian Education advocates to end low achievement rates among Native American students and provides an annual report to schools displaying the achievement gap between Native students and others in the subjects North Carolina tests.

Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers resources in academics and culture Mia Malesovas holds a position not many school systems in North Carolina have: American Indian Education coordinator.

Guilford's American Indian Education Program addresses that gap with academic support, mentoring and tutoring.

Olivia Oxendine, member of the state Board of Education and member of the Lumbee tribe, said the gap was startling. By providing an annual report highlighting the difference in testing between Native students and other groups, Oxendine said creative teachers can build lesson plans around this information.

The standards might be too skimpy and too focused on only one tribe, but publishing information on the achievement gap and requiring it on every schools website is a step in the right direction, Oxendine said.

The advisory boards website provides resources on teaching about Native Americans and, for instance, how to teach about Thanksgiving.

Scott said that the burden of accurately teaching this information cant just lie on educators, but also on policy.

Right now, Stacks calls the amount of information in the school systems about her people empty, but she has hope that will change one day.

I feel like society is slowly moving toward becoming more receptive and more aware, she said.

According to Dial-Stanley, "There's no subject in school that isn't touched by indigenous people."

For educators like Locklear, theres no reason why the learning shouldnt begin at a very early age.

To me, it is just the right thing to do, to tell the truth, she said, to not basically lie about the history of what this country was founded on.

Sophie Whisnant is a senior in the UNC School of Media and Journalism studying reporting. She is from Wilmington. News & Record Editor Cindy Loman contributed to this report. Contact her at cindy.loman@greensboro.com or 336-373-7212.
The report also advises city officials to require any group that discharges contaminating foam to clean it up afterward by containing, treating and properly disposing of the substances before they reach stormwater drains or sink into the ground.

Greensboro officials have linked pollution problems to years of actual firefighting and training exercises in the airport area, as well as to industrial plants that use the compounds either in production or in their fire-suppression systems.

For example, PTIs fire department is required by federal regulations to conduct annual training drills using PFOS-containing foams, a requirement that apparently would supersede any state statute. But Congress passed a law last year ending the PFOS requirement in October 2021, so that could change.

Over the years, other fire departments also have used the area for testing because of its industrial character, which includes the massive gasoline tank farm near PTI.

Greensboro officials discovered that the local water supply was contaminated by PFOS and PFOA while participating in federally mandated testing for unregulated emerging contaminants five years ago.
Climate change pact: The House has passed the Climate Action Now Act, which would require the president to submit annual plans for the U.S. to meet a goal set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change of cutting its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 26 to 28% by 2025, and request that other large economies meet similar emissions reduction goals. The vote Thursday, May 2, was 231-190.

Nays: Walker, Budd

U.S. Senate

Energy Department lawyer: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Cooper to serve as the Energy Departments general counsel. Cooper is a senior counsel at the McConnell Valdes law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former legal official on various House energy and natural resources committees. The vote on Tuesday, April 30, was 68-31.

Yeas: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, both R-N.C.
Attorney General William Barrs testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee was an exercise in what committee member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accurately described as masterful hairsplitting.

But give Barr credit for making one thing clear: We must hear from special counsel Robert Mueller, directly and publicly.

At one point, under the Whitehouses questioning about the special counsels report, the attorney general said: I dont want to characterize Bobs thought process here. Except he did. Again and again.

Most strikingly, Barr told a blatant falsehood about Muellers reaction to the attorney generals efforts to portray the report as an exoneration of President Donald Trump. Barr did that twice  first in a four-page letter March 24 summarizing the findings of the report, and then in a news conference shortly before the 448-page document was made public April 18.

Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate, Barr said during his testimony. I certainly am not aware of any challenge to the accuracy of the findings.
A threat made by a student to shoot up Weston Middle School was investigated by police and school officials.

In a letter to parents, Weston Middle School principal Daniel Doak said a number of students knew about these threatening statements for several days and perhaps, as long as three weeks.

Fortunately, one student turned to a trusted adult to report these comments and that adult passed the information on to the middle school administration. We immediately called the Weston Police Department.

Through our investigation, we quickly determined the nature of the comments and the time frame. We interviewed several students who had knowledge of the threatening comments. When we asked these students why they hadn't reported them to an adult (parent, teacher, counselor administrator), the consistent response was we knew it was just a joke.

In meeting with all three grades in the school, Doak told them we must never assume that a threatening comment is a joke, adding even if it is meant as a joke, is a very serious violation of our code of conduct with school and legal consequences.

Doak said some students mentioned a specific date for a shooting to take place (June 13) and several students referenced a list" of targeted individuals.

For the record, we have no evidence of a physical list. No student claims to have seen a list of names. Many students gave very different versions of who might be on the list. If we had knowledge of a list of that type, we would immediately notify all affected individuals.

Doak said students were not a risk and the situation is under control.

Police determined the student accused of making threats did not have direct access to firearms.

Doak said school officials and police would not allow us to open the school if we believed that our students, staff and visitors were not safe.
Last week, we reported that Nokia 3.2 and 4.2 were listed on the company's official India website hinting at an imminent launch. Now HMD Global, via Nokia, has shared a video teasing the May 7 launch date of the Nokia 4.2 in India.

This video shows off the dedicated Google Assistant button on the Nokia 4.2 which is located on the left side of the phone. The 3.2 also has this dedicated Assistant key on its left bezel, and it remains to be seen whether it will debut alongside the 4.2 in India on May 7, or will launch at a later date instead.

All your answers are a tap away. 4 days before you can #DoItAll

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/r4Jwsxj744  Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) May 3, 2019

The flagship Nokia 9 PureView, announced back in February at Mobile World Congress is also expected to go official in India soon. The smartphone was teased by the company in March and it recently bagged a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, hinting at an imminent launch in the country.

Source
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND  Celtic won the Scottish league title for the eighth straight year on Saturday, completing the second leg in its bid to clinch a domestic treble for the third straight season.
Xiaomi seems to be quite deliberate in its efforts to muddy the waters surrounding its upcoming Redmi flagship device. Conflicting info has been floating all over the place and it seems that Lu Weibing - the brand's general manager remains one of the only fairly reputable sources on the matter. Thankfully, he is quite active on social media and willing to interact with fans. That's precisely how the latest revelation of an ultrawide camera on the phone came about.

To be more specific though, it is more of a reaffirmation, since a previous specs leak did mention a 48MP, plus 13MP and 8MP setup for the upcoming flagship phone. Coincidentally, that seems to be the exact setup on the Mi 9 SE, which would make a lot of sense.



Leaked specs of Redmi flagship

Other bits and pieces of info Lu Weibing has also spilled or at least eluded to on social networks include a 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming device, as well as NFC. Some other leaked alleged specs for the Redmi flagship include a 6.39-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display, Snapdragon 855 chipset and an 8GB/128GB memory configuration, which could be one of a few available. On the selfie side, rumors hint at a 32MP snapper, likely mounted on a periscope.

We only say likely since the design in question last appeared in a rather questionable, potentially photoshopped render, along with the mention of the Redmi X moniker. All the while, in yet another informative post, Lu Weibing noted that the Redmi flagship will not be called the Redmi X and will instead have "a better name". Now, that could either be interpreted as Redmi X being an internal codename for the product or, alternatively as the name of yet another unreleased Redmi device. Unfortunately, to further add to the confusion, rumors have mentioned that a Snapdragon 730 Redmi phone is also currently in the works.

Circling back to our original point - info on the upcoming Redmi flagship is messy and incomplete to say the least. We'll be sure to keep you posted if we get a clearer picture in the upcoming days.

Source (in Chinese) | Via




Haiti - Environment : A businessman blocks the landfill of Limonade





Esaie Lefranc, Deputy Mayor of Cap-Haitien criticizes the behavior of the businessman Lesly Nazon, who claims the land located in Mouchinette, in the commune of Limonade where the construction of the landfill, started to serve the populations of Limonade, Quartier-Morin and Cap-Haitien.



A claim followed by a decision that is the basis of the blocking of work.



Esaie Lefranc regrets that despite the energy and money spent by the town halls of the communes concerned in concert with international partners to carry out this project, nothing else moves because of the ownership claim of this businessman. For the Deputy Mayor the approach of the businessman is part of a "plot conspired with State authorities, especially at the north department to confiscate the land."



He recalled that following a popular protest organized by some inhabitants of Limonade, the 19 families who occupied the land at that time had submitted invoices confirming that they had paid taxes to the DGI as owners, stating that these people had already started to receive some of the money provided for compensation he wonders where was Lesly Nazon during this first stage of the process...



The Deputy Mayor is counting on the popular movements of citizens aware of the importance of a dump site in the corridor Cap-Haitien, Quartier-Morin and Limonade, to force the entrepreneur to listen to reason and withdraw his decision.



In the meantime, despite the resentment of the residents of the Madeline area, in the communal section of Petite-Anse, it is in the mangroves located near the habitats that the waste is thrown away. A practice that should no longer be appropriate, recall the Deputy Mayor.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Drug Trafficking : The Haitian Justice extraded Gregory Georges in the United States





Rebound in the case of the Panama-flagged "MV Manzanares" vessel carrying sugar from Colombia for the Nabatco Company (owned by Haitian businessman Marc Antoine Acra) and where a significant amount of cocaine and of heroin was found on board in various caches in April 2015 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html by agents of the Brigade for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (BLTS) coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a final estimated quantity of between 700 and 800 kg of cocaine and 300 kilograms of heroin with a market value of approximately $ 100 million.



This operation led to the arrest of 16 people including 3 Haitians https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html then to the arrestation of several members of an important family https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-more-members-of-a- large-family-Haitian-inculpes.html



Gregory Georges, aka "Ti Ketan" presented as a "lieutenant" of an international network of traffickers, only of all suspects apprehended in this case to be incarcerated in prison first in the national penitentiary and then in isolation for his safety at the civil prison of Croix-des-Bouquets, having survived 6 assassination attempts was extradited to the United States.



Arrived Friday on American soil in Florida, "Ti Ketan" will appear on May 6 before a federal judge where he will be tried for conspiracy to distribute drugs. For the US authorities this is a key witness in this case that could reveal names and bring down heads in the business community both in the US and Haiti, circles that have not ceased to accuse him of lying... what contradicts the many assassination attempts in prison to silence him...



This extradition to the United States was authorized by Jean Roody Aly, the Minister of Justice.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-several-members-of-an-important-haitian-family-accused.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17272-haiti-flash-burglary-of-the-government-commissioner-s-office.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-15537-icihaiti-justice-11-crew-members-of-manzanares-released.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The Minister of Tourism meets French-Chilean investors

Thursday, Marie Christine Stepheson Minister of Tourism, spoke with Franco-Chilean investors. The discussions focused on the opportunities offered by Haiti in terms of tourism potential.



Words of Jovenel Moise

"I welcome the work of the press on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd. I urge press workers to be more respectful of ethical rules and more responsible in the exercise of their noble mission," Jovenel Moise.



Beekeeping source of income

Beekeeping is one of the income generating activities that Food for the Poor (FFP) facilitates across the country. The organization accompanies beekeepers, from training to setting up hives and inspection. As Roselaure, mother of 4 children in the commune of Gros Trou(Fond des Blancs), the inhabitants of Gros Morne (Department of Artibonite), the Small Artibonite River and Mole Saint Nicolas (North-West Department) can take care of their families through hive products. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22216-haiti-agriculture-beekeeping-an-alternative-activity-for-fishermen-in-st-jean-du-sud.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22870-haiti-environment-development-of-the-beekeeping-industry-in-the-south.html



Response Plan to the Southeast Food Crisis

Launch of the Food Crisis Response Plan in the Southeast. This two-month project aims to strengthen the resilience of inhabitants of the communal sections of La Montagne and Bas Cap Rouge to cope with food insecurity. About 800 families will benefit from this project, which will be implemented in close collaboration with the CASECs of the two communal sections and the organized groups of women living in these areas.



New union

A delegation from the Office of Citizen Protection took part in the launch of a union within the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights. This delegation, headed by the Coordinator of Territorial Presences, Mrs. Yolande M. Jodeph, was composed of Mrs. Erna Eloi, Head of Complaints and Investigations Department, Ms. Berline Jean Pierre, Legal Counsel and Mr. Jean Jolin Dodier, Communication Advisor. In her remarks of circumstance Ms. Joseph insisted on the bad conditions in which work citizens and the non respect of the quota 30% of the women in the decisional positions within the public administration.



The Minister of the Environment in DR

As part of the Cuba - Haiti - Dominican Republic Corridor Biological Project https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12513-haiti-environmentcaribbean-biological-corridor-signature-of-a-tripartite-agreement.html , Joseph Jouthe, the Minister of the Environment at the head of a delegation is in Santo-Domingo (3-4 May) to give a speech during the graduation of the 15th class of graduates executives in environmental management and natural resources. The Haitian delegation will take advantage of his stay to meet the management team of the Corridor Biologique project to discuss the progress and next steps of the project.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Getting millennials to move to San Diego has been a concern of business leaders who are struggling to fill highly skilled jobs. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. launched a campaign last year to attract workers, many of whom are millennials, in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.
Recerca

Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumor with no cure, usually associated with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The main EGFR mutation found in this tumor known as EGFRvlll- is treated with the antibody mAb806, a drug developed by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (United States) about twenty years ago, although its action mechanism was unknown. Now, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) reveals for the first time the action mechanism of this antibody on the mutated EGFR receptor.

The results of the study, which open new pathways for the treatment of cancer, suggest the antibody mAb806 could be used in many tumours in which EGFR has mutated and not only in a specific mutation like researchers believed so far. The study counts on the participation of experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the University of California (United States), among other institutions.

Moreover, the scientific team proved that, even if EGFR has not mutated yet, it can be treated to make it sensitive to the protocol with the antibody mAb806. These findings provide the rational basis to conduct anti-EGFR therapies combined with antibodies and kinase inhibitors, instead of blind testing them, as it has happened so far, notes Modesto Orozco, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB, head of the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Lab at IRB Barcelona and member of the Bioinformatics Barcelona platform (BIB).

Universitat de Barcelona
Two friends have been sent for trial accused of having more than 13,000 of cocaine in the west of the city.

Carley O'Connor (30) and Gemma Reilly (26) had books of evidence served on them when they appeared at Blanchardstown District Court.

Ms O'Connor, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, and Ms Reilly, of Briarfield Grove, Kilbarrack, are both charged with possession of more than 13,000 of cocaine, with intent to sell or supply.

They are also charged with related counts of simple possession and sale or supply of the drug. The offences are all alleged to have happened at the Outer Ring Road, Clondalkin, on November 24, 2017.

A State solicitor said books of evidence were ready and had been served on the accused.

The DPP was consenting to their return for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Warning

Judge David McHugh gave each woman the formal warning that they must provide details of any alibis they intend to rely on in their trial to the prosecution within 14 days.

Free legal aid had been granted previously, after the court heard they were both working but their earnings came in under the threshold to qualify.

A lawyer for the accused asked Judge McHugh to extend legal aid to cover a senior counsel as well as a junior given the potential sentences on conviction.

Judge McHugh said that although he would not refuse the application, it should be renewed in the circuit court.

The accused have not yet indicated how they intend to plead to the charges, which are under Sections 3, 15 and 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They were remanded on bail under existing terms, to appear in the circuit court later this month.
'Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.' (stock photo)

A young man who claimed a stolen phone was his own but could not open it when challenged by gardai had told a "likely story", a judge said.

Christopher O'Grady (27) first said he bought the phone, which had a picture of women socialising on the cover, but then maintained he found it outside a McDonald's.

Judge Michael Walsh ordered him to carry out 120 hours of community service, instead of a three-month prison sentence.

O'Grady, of Cedarwood Park, Cox's Demesne, Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

He was not charged with stealing the phone.

Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.

When asked why he was doing this, O'Grady "said he was not".

When searched, he had a mobile phone in his pocket with a picture on the cover of three women socialising.

He said the phone was his property and gardai told him to enter the pin but he said that the battery needed charging.

Threatening

However, it was turned on and he said he was unable to enter the pin. He then told gardai he had bought it for 50.

He was asked if he was aware of the value of the phone and he said: "Yeah, a couple of hundred euro."

The phone had been stolen from a woman while she was socialising in Temple Bar the night before, the court heard.

Separately, O'Grady admitted threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour when he was caught smoking drugs in a city centre car park.

The court heard that last February 13 gardai were called to Fleet Street car park, where security said a man became aggressive after refusing to leave when he was seen smoking heroin from a metal pipe.

The accused had had problems with heroin over the years, his lawyer said. He had a relapse after a bereavement.

The accused maintained he had found the phone outside McDonald's and had been "foolish" in keeping it.

"A likely story," Judge Walsh said.

The phone had now been returned to its owner.

O'Grady had previous convictions for public order offences.
Prices Lane where the innocent victim was brutally beaten

A man has been arrested over a random attack that put an innocent man in hospital with serious injuries.

The man, who is from Moldova, was not previously known to gardai for involvement in serious crime.

Most of his previous encounters with officers are said to be for minor matters, including public order offences.

Violent

The 32-year-old suspect, who is living in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin, was arrested by detectives from Pearse Street in Dublin yesterday morning as he made his way to work in the south inner city.

Detectives believe he launched his "violent attack" after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol.

The victim, a respected 46-year-old family man, was attacked by the crazed thug in Prices Lane, Dublin, at around 10.25pm on April 26 as he made his way through the city centre.

Earlier this week, the victim's niece shared heartbreaking photos of him in a serious condition in hospital.

It is understood there is high- quality CCTV of the attack.

The victim and attacker are completely unknown to each other.

"This poor man was just walking along, minding his own business, and his assailant went for him, violently attacking him in an entirely unprovoked incident," a senior source said.

"Gardai believe his attacker was heavily under the influence."

"A 32-year-old man was arrested this morning, Friday, May 3, in Dublin in relation to a serious assault in Prices Lane, Dublin 2, on Friday, April 26," a garda spokesman said yesterday.

"He is detained at Pearse Street Garda Station under the Provisions of Section 4 - Criminal Justice Act 1984."

"The injured man remains in hospital with serious injuries. Investigations are continuing."
This court finds it unsettling, nay, repugnant, that after violating the public trust, Mr. Boyle should stand poised to collect a pension, Judge Martin said in November 2009. However, the court is duty bound to apply the law. There is simply nothing in the record before this court that points to Boyle using any of his training as a fireman to further the commission of his felonious activities.
Eads said $1.3 million of the general fund increase is offset by state and federal funds, and the actual rise in city spending totals about $900,000.

The majority of that goes for raises for employees  $400,000  information technology is $70,000 [one position with benefits] and to fund capital [expenses] is $345,000, Eads said. The other piece was $50,000 for the CVB, which puts it where it was last year. It was also based on conversations with council in June or July of last year. When it was cut, I know there was a change of heart, and we discussed during the fall maybe CVB needed to be funded on a percentage level.

The mayor said its too soon to give additional funds to the bureau, and more study is needed to show what the citys return on investment of taxpayer dollars is from the tourism promotion organization.

Both Mumpower and Wingard also spent several minutes revisiting their concern that the city employs too many firefighters given its land size and population. And both renewed calls from 2017 to close a fire station, reduce staffing and relocate station one from next to the city courthouse to a more central location.
Superintendent Keith Perrigan said Friday the issue is timing.

The School Board will be in Marion that night for input for changing the SOQ [state Standards of Quality] as well as other conflicts, Perrigan said. I will try to make it back and some are trying to change their schedules, but no one is able to commit at this time.

Hopefully, in the future, Perrigan said they can work together to plan activities to ensure optimum participation.

Some members of City Council are expected to attend.

Chapter members have met with parents and other community members to gauge their thoughts about school consolidation, according to the statement. The reaction was overwhelmingly against closing our neighborhood schools. Its Virginia Organizings role to give voice to community thoughts, Melissa Roberts, parent and chapter leader, said in the statement. City leaders and School Board members continue to say the barrier is a lack of communication. We are holding this forum so they have the opportunity for discussion.

According to its website, Virginia Organizing, based in Charlottesville, is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives, especially those with little or no voice in society.

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She was a teacher and college counselor at Gerard High School in Phoenix. (I wrote about her once before.) She convinced me to apply to Pomona College in California. My parents, who were in dire financial straits, knew nothing about colleges or applications. And given that they were preparing to move our family into a motel room during my senior year, my college quest was not high on their agenda.
He said he was scared, but kept looking over his shoulder as he ran away.

As I was running, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I was too scared to notice much, but I saw him take out the money and run up to the main road.

Police said they were on the lookout for an old model black sedan with Tennessee license plates. Barnett described the holdup man as white, between the ages of 25 and 30, with blue eyes and sandy, curly hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, gray trousers and brown shoes.

Barnett said after the man left, he returned to his truck and tried unsuccessfully to chase him down.

Police searched for the suspect for several days, but its not clear whether anyone was ever arrested. The Abingdon Police Department has no record of the case in its current files.

We do not have many open case reports from that far back, Abingdon Police Department Community Relations Coordinator Tenille Montgomery said. This case could have been handled by us, the Virginia State Police or the WCSO [Washington County Sheriffs office]. For a long time, towns were not allowed to investigate felonies. Once they were granted authorization, many still relied upon the VSP or the county sheriff.

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Robert Sorrell Follow Robert Sorrell Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
A multi-state investigation into the armed robbery of a Marion, Virginia, business has resulted in the arrest of a Newport, Tennessee, man.

Travis Day, 47, has been charged via a federal criminal complaint with one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence.

On Thursday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, along with Marion Police Department Detective Wes Tomas, executed a search warrant in the 700 block of Raven Way in Newport at Days residence.

Marion Police Chief John Patrick Clair said Day was the primary suspect in an armed robbery that occurred April 18 at the Fas-Mart in Marion. A person with a gun entered the store and removed cash from the register, Clair said.

As a result of information obtained during the search warrants execution, Clair said Day was located by ATF agents in Morgantown, West Virginia, and was taken into custody without incident.

Clair said the investigation, which involved Marion police and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, led officers to Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Bidens well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasnt that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

Id never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Bidens explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.
(We must be clear, however, that case files remain open to the public and the news media.)

Del. Mike Mullins, a Newport News Democrat who led a bipartisan group of legislators in 2018 to work on legislation addressing transparency in the court system, was less than impressed by the high courts new rules. Speaking with the Daily Press, he was blunt in his assessment: You could drive a truck through these [rules].

And hes right; these rules are designed for the benefit of judges and court officials, certainly not the public.

The battle over court openness began more than three years ago when the Daily Press embarked on a statewide investigation project examining the differences in sentencing across the state, with an eye toward the defendants race and what type of legal representation the person had. The papers reporters discovered there was a tremendous discrepancy between counties regarding how such records were assembled and maintained, but that there was also a much more sophisticated database at the Supreme Court level. The paper sued for access to that database, but lost in court. From that legal battle, came the effort in the General Assembly to address transparency in the court system.

And not just the judicial systems case records shielded from the public: The new rules put information about the court systems finances and administration off limits to the public. Why the justices enacted these sweeping rules is anyones guess, but we believe they went much further than the Assembly intended in 2018. We hope, in 2020, legislators revisit the matter and pry the courts open.
The other day I overheard a person (white older male) comment that that he was tired of seeing all these immigrants coming in and stealing jobs away from good, hard-working Americans and he especially didnt want any of them around HERE! I felt compelled then to answer him in this letter.

Sir, have you noticed that the population of Southwest Virginia is shrinking? We are losing folks, not gaining them. The young people are leaving, by and large, and it is the habit of old people to die. That alone would seem a rather good reason to be welcoming immigrants, not discouraging them.

And, let me say, they are indeed NOT taking jobs away from hard-working Americans. Have you seen any immigrants lazing around the streets or just hanging out at a coffee shop? Id hazard a guess not. Chances are the immigrants you HAVE seen have most likely been working harder than many Americans would at the jobs they have and doing them very efficiently while learning a new language, to boot. Think about that the next time you talk about stealing jobs.

And have you SEEN all the help wanted signs out? Americans arent lining up for these jobs.
A Provo family caring for foster children needs help with Christmas magic

A Provo family needs help to make Christmas magical for their foster children this year. Maya and her family had cared for three foster children years ago who suddenly needed to stay with them again. According to Maya, the sudden change in family size has been a difficult adjustment. She has struggled to get enough sleep in addition to supporting all of the kids. Its hard to give everyone the attention they need, Maya said. As a previous Sub for Santa volunteer, Maya understands the tremendous impact that the program can have on a family. Using this service will help her to ...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago by Montgomery Ward copywriter Robert L. May to sell toys in 1939. Heres how the popular Christmas character  and its author  went down in history.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago: Here's how the story became a book, song and TV special
Once is enough when it comes to big news stories
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted to set up shop here, at least for now. Instead, the focus would be on small craft growers, with an emphasis on helping people of color become entrepreneurs in the weed industry. In addition, adults would be allowed to grow up to five plants per household, in a locked room out of public view, with the permission of the landowner.
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Grand Prize Winner: Donna Rickey Blog Winners: A Song for her Enemies by Sherri Stewart: Mary Ann Hake Spies & Sweethearts by Linda Shenton Matchett: Connie Ruggles Sword of Trust by DebbieLynn Costello: Brenda Walters Justice for Julia by Donna Schlachter: Natalya Lakhno Party Prize winners: Sherri Stewarts Winners A Song for her Enemies: Angie Pool Bottle of Dutch Syrup: Carol Koch Alscheff Corrie ten Boom book: Deb Gramie Burgess Linda Shenton Matchetts winners: $5.00 gift card to online retailer or choice (Kobo, B&N, AppleBooks, Amazon): Karen Hadley A Bride for Seamus: Carol Osterhouse Wotring DebbieLynn Costellos winners: Sword of the Matchmaker: Melissa Planas Sword of Forgiveness: Paty Hinojosa Gomez Shattered Memories: Charlene Zall Capodice Sword of the Perfect Bride: Licha Haney Donna Schlachters winner: Leather Journal: Lisa Turley

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HICKORY  Thomas Dufour, son of Harold and Jennifer Dufour of Hickory, was recently honored for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, scoutings highest achievement. In addition, he was awarded a Bronze Palm for having completed an extra five merit badges more than the 21 required for Eagle.

Only seven percent of Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle and less than one percent earn a Palm. The ceremony was held in the Althouse Room at Corinth Reformed Church and officiated by Scoutmaster Brad Lasecki and Committee Chairman Mark Faruque. A closing prayer was given by Pastor Peggy Stout of Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ.

Dufour, 16, a junior at Newton-Conover High School, has been active in scouting since first grade when he joined Pack 231 at First Presbyterian Church as a Tiger Cub. He continued through to Boy Scouts joining Troop 351, which later merged with Troop 1 at Corinth Reformed Church, where Thomas is currently an active member. He has enjoyed many camping excursions through scouting such as: hiking part of the Appalachian Trail, Mountain Man Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee, and sailing around the Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. John with Seabase Scout Camp. When wildfires struck New Mexico last summer, a planned trip to Philmont Scout Ranch was cancelled because the ranch was forced to close for the entire summer. Now that the camp is back in operation, he plans to attend Philmont next year.
A year before he left the assessors post, Hynes was tapped with heading up President Bill Clintons re-election campaign in Illinois, chairing what has become a routine staple of Illinois politics  the coordinated campaign which linked national and local Democratic candidate strategy and fundraising. So successful was the effort that Democrats, after two years as the minority, won back control of the Illinois House despite a Republican-drawn redistricting map. It also returned Michael Madigan to the speakers chair after the only two years he has not held the post since 1983.
The Islamic Research Foundation of Dr. Zakir Naik who is overtly supporting terrorism and propagating the ideology of terrorism was banned in India by the Indian Government on 17.11.2016. Even after that, the terrorists have committed bomb blasts in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, by taking inspiration from the speeches of Dr. Zakir Naik. A chargesheet submitted recently by the Enforcement Directorate in the court mentions that the illegal property of Dr. Naik worth Rs. 193 crores was found.

Similarly, the National Investigation Agency has claimed that the literature of Dr. Zakir Naik was found with the terrorists of Islamic State in Kerala. Therefore, if the Indian Government claims that Dr. Zakir Naik is dangerous for the national security, why the Facebook accounts of Dr. Naik himself and those of Islamic Research Foundation have not been banned so far by the Government ?

If Dr. Zakir Naik is allowed to propagate through an effective medium such as Facebook, the ban imposed on him appears pretentious. Therefore, the ban should be imposed immediately on the Facebook and other social media groups of Dr. Zakir Naik and his organisations, demanded Mr. Ramesh Shinde National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

After the Central Government imposes a ban on the organisation, as per the prevalent rules, the organisation or its activists cannot remain active in the interest of that organisation. Still, 1.7 crore followers are active on the Facebook account of Dr. Zakir Naik and 6 million followers on the Facebook account of the Islamic Research Foundation.

An official complaint was lodged on 5th June 2017 with the Union Home Ministry, Home Secretary and National Security Agency by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti demanding a ban on both the Facebook accounts. A memorandum to this effect was also personally submitted to the Minister of State of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir. Despite the lapse of 2 years, why is the Government has not taken any action in this matter ? Is the Government waiting for the terrorist attacks in India too on the lines of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ? These questions were also raised by Mr. Ramesh Shinde.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was eligible for the National Film Awards under the rules. According to the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the awards, Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for Awards.

The only condition for an artist under the rulebook is that his or her name should appear in the credit line and the person should be a resident of India.

Clause 7.1 of the regulations say that Only those persons whose names are on the credit titles of the film and are normally residing and working in India will be eligible for the Awards.

When a row broke out on social media about Akshay Kumars national award, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia made a similar point and said that foreign nationals can get National Awards.

Akshay Kumar was named for the Best Actor award for 2016. Akshay issued a statement on Friday regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He says he has never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport and that he doesnt understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about it.

I really dont understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years, Akshay tweeted.

I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others, he added in the statement.

He concluded by saying: Lastly, I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.

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Actor Priyanka Chopras to be sister-in-law Ishita Kumar has deleted every wedding-related picture from her Instagram account, after it was rumoured that her wedding to Priyankas brother Siddharth had been called off. Priyanka had recently come to India for the celebrations, which were reportedly supposed to take place at the end of April. Her cousin Parineeti Chopra, too, joined the family in Mumbai. But the actors flew back without any vows having been exchanged between Siddharth and Ishita.

Ishita had earlier deleted pictures from her and Siddharths roka ceremony and had shared fresh pictures of herself, hinting at new beginnings and beautiful endings. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Ishita has now deleted her solo pictures from the roka ceremony as well as the bridal shower that took place in London.

Ishita has posted a new picture of herself hanging out at a restaurant with the caption, Cheers to new beginnings. With a goodbye kiss to beautiful endings. Her mother Nidhi Kumar had written on the post, Close old book and write, whereas her father had commented, We are with you; Feel the expanse of the universe and be the star you were born to be.

Earlier, it was reported that the bride-to-be had undergone an emergency surgery just days before the wedding, which was thought to be the reason for the postponement. There has been no official word from the family regarding the matter.

Priyanka, however, ended up attending brother-in-law Joe Jonas surprise wedding with fiance and Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner in Las Vegas. Sophie and Joe tied the knot in a private ceremony soon after attending the Billboard Music Awards with the rest of the family. The Jonas Brothers performed at the awards and were cheered on by their wives, after which they headed to the Little White Chapel for the wedding. Priyanka was wearing a halo of white ribbons and is assumed to have played one of the bridesmaids to Sophie.

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If, as most polls suggest, Narendra Modi is likely to return as Prime Minister albeit weakened by the loss of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) majority, its time we took seriously some of his partys manifesto commitments. The ones I want to focus on concern Kashmir. It is, undeniably, one of the most serious challenges awaiting the next government and, arguably, very poorly handled by this one.

Compared to 2014, terrorist incidents have increased nearly 300% according to home ministry figures. Bomb blasts have gone up by 330% according to the National Bomb Data Centre of the National Security Guard put out by PTI. Last year, the people killed in Kashmir was the highest in a decade, according to the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The number of local Kashmiris joining militancy was also the highest in a decade, according to army sources quoted in PTI. Today its not uncommon for young Kashmiris, often young girls, to throw stones at security forces to prevent them from capturing militants. These young teenagers show no fear. It seems weve alienated them.

Its in these circumstances the BJP manifesto commits the party to abrogating Article 370 and annulling 35A. Other than BJP supporters, practically everyone else believes this will inflame the situation. Its a recipe for making things worse.

The key question is: Does the BJP mean what its manifesto says or is this political posturing to enthuse and consolidate its voters in the rest of the country? Until last weekend, there were few doubts but then general secretary, Ram Madhav, queered the pitch. Speaking in Anantnag, he said the issue will be decided by the Parliament. The BJP is fighting in Kashmir on the agenda of development, so lets now focus on this. He then proceeded to speak about Insaniyat, Jamooriyat, Kashmiriyat, the Vajpayee formula of two decades ago.

So was Ram Madhav tweaking the manifesto commitment? Was he, subtly, telling Kashmiris not to take it seriously? Possibly. That conclusion was seemingly corroborated when, a day later, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh reiterated in strong terms the commitment to abrogate. But they were speaking in Barabanki and Lucknow, far away from the Valley.

The truth is the BJP position on 370 has repeatedly changed since the mid-1990s. In 1996 and 1998, it promised to abrogate. In 1999 and 2004, it was silent though LK Advani publicly said (24 March 2004) that this was not the right time to abrogate. In 2009 and 2014, the BJP, once again, decided to abrogate. A year later, in 2015, in the Agenda for Alliance with the People Democratic Party (PDP), it committed itself to retaining 370. Now, in 2019, its gone back to abrogating.

So what should we make of the latest commitment? To whom is it addressed? And if the party wins, will it be implemented or forgotten? Whilst clear answers are awaited, one thing is certain: If the commitment is serious its certainly no more so than it was in 1998 and 2014, when the BJP-led governments that followed did not even for a moment consider abrogation.

This time around the commitment has provoked anger in the Valley. That, perhaps, is what the BJP wanted. It has the right effect on its supporters in the rest of the country. But lest the situation in Srinagar and Anantnag get out of control, Ram Madhav sought to delicately defuse it. And in case that sent the wrong message south of the Banihal, Shah and Singh trumpeted the undiluted commitment.

This feels like different strokes for different folks. Of course, thats what the BJP has been attempting for two decades. But does it reveal Modis BJP in a flattering light? Or suggest a preference for opportunistic tactics over conviction and principle? I wonder how Modi would answer that question.

The views expressed are personal

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India is being acclaimed around the world for upholding democracy by conducting the largest general election ever held. But this election once again raises two questions. How democratic is Indias democracy? And, is parliamentary democracy right for India?

It is often suggested that presidential democracy would be preferable to parliamentary democracy in India, that a president would be able to deliver development more efficiently than a prime minister. Certainly a president elected by the people is far freer to act than a prime minister because he is not answerable to the Parliament, and doesnt have to restrict his choice of ministers to members of parliament (MPs). But a president is less of a democrat than a prime minister because so much power is concentrated in his hands. That is dangerous and not necessary. Its often forgotten that two prime ministers whose powers were particularly limited by the constraints of parliamentary democracy were the most successful economic reformers  PV Narasimha Rao, who headed a minority government, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had to hold a jumbo coalition together.

It can certainly be argued that India would be more democratic if its MPs, now elected by being first-past-the-post in their constituencies, were elected by proportional representation (PR). There are different forms of PR but the basic principle is that seats in Parliament are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes each party wins. In other words, a party winning 30% of the votes gets approximately 30% of the seats in Parliament.

The results of the 2014 election demonstrate how undemocratic the first-past-the-post voting proved to be. We have come to believe that a popular wave swept Narendra Modi into Parliament, whereas, in fact, most Indians voted for parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party Modi led won 282 seats with just 31% of the votes. This is the lowest percentage of votes ever to win an absolute majority in Parliament. The Congress performance wasnt as miserable as its tally of seats, 44, suggests. Its vote share was 19.3%. Third came the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 4.2% of the vote which didnt give the party even one seat. If the election had been held under PR and if the voting had been similar, the BJP would have been well short of a majority, with about 170 seats and the Congress would have had a more respectable total of nearly 110 seats. The BSP would have found itself with 23 MPs. These figures show that under PR there is much more chance of every voters vote getting him or her representation in Parliament.

The main argument against PR is that it would lead to unstable coalitions . As Vajpayee showed, coalitions dont have to be unstable. The Congress coalition under Manmohan Singh survived for 10 years but it has to be said that apart from those two prime ministers, the survival rate of coalitions has not been encouraging. Against that, the long years of the Congress dominating Indian politics are not an advertisement that first-past-the-post can lead to stability because they favour bigger parties. Speaking in the Rajasthan town of Jalore in this campaign, Amit Shah called on Rahul Gandhi to give an account of what he called 55 years of Congress rule. With his call for a Congress-free India, Shah is now trying to create a one-party democracy under the BJP rule. Speaking on another occasion in Rajasthan, he said the BJP will now rule for the next 50 years.

I believe PR elections resulting in coalitions would be the most democratic way for a country as diverse as India to choose governments, rather than first-past-the-post elections, which might lead again to one-party domination. However, I doubt whether politicians can exercise the discipline and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices of personal interests and ambitions for multi-party coalitions to work. So maybe the best outcome for India after all, would be first-past-the-post elections leading to a two-party democracy. That would require the Congress to revive and the BJP to temper its ambition.

The views expressed are personal
Three men from Bangladesh  who allegedly used to take flights to Delhi to commit dacoity in different Indian

states before flying back to evade arrest  Friday landed in Delhi Polices net.

The stolen valuables and the passports used for the frequent trips have been seized from them, police said.

Police said the three are members of a larger gang that operates in different states of India. Besides the several crimes they have committed in Delhi, police officers maintained, five dacoities reported from Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Dharwad and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh have been solved with their arrest.

According to police, the three arrested men have been identified as Kamrul Kamaal (42), Sahidul Islam (38) and Nazrul (36)  all of them Bangladesh nationals. Kamaal was lodged in a jail in Delhi between 2003 and 2010, and then, at a jail in Muzaffarnagar between 2011 and June, 2017, police said, adding that Nazrul is involved in at least 21 cases and has been convicted in several of them. Islam, meanwhile, has six cases of robbery, theft and cases under the Arms Act registered against him, police maintained.

G Ram Gopal Naik, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said recently, a number of dacoities were reported from different states. All of the incidents were reported late in the night by a gang comprising six-eight members. The gang used to cut open window grilles and tie up all members of the targeted houses at gunpoint before fleeing with their valuables. During investigations into the case, it was revealed that a Bangladeshi gang is involved in these cases, and therefore, we put Bangladeshi gangs active in India under surveillance, Naik said.

Elaborating further, Naik said police managed to zero in on one Kamrul Kamaal, who was suspected to be leading the gang. Following an input of his presence in Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, our team swung into action and arrested Kamaal and two of his aides, later identified as Islam and Nazrul. Two countrymade pistols were recovered from their possession, he said.

During questioning, the trio told police that all of them are Bangladesh nationals. They said Kamaal and Islam had entered India with passports after procuring a visa while Nazrul had sneaked in through border, illegally. Passports revealed Kamaal visited India eight times since July, 2017, and Islam entered India thrice since. Nazrul said he had gained entry illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying R5000, the DCP said.

Police said the gang targeted houses in posh colonies. If any member resisted, they did not hesitate to kill them. They mostly stayed near railway stations or in the forested areas of the city. After committing the crime, the gang used to return to Bangladesh. Since the other two used to fly back, Nazrul, who used to sneak in illegally, used to carry the stolen valuables, which the gang later distributed equally, Naik said.
It was a two-minute conversation that 27-year-old doctor Chandra Prakash Verma had with his mother over the phone Thursday morning that led police to him.

Police tracked down Vermas last phone call location to Uttarakhands Rishikesh, but it took them more than 24 hours to identify the guest house where he was staying. They finally nabbed him from Roorkee when he was about to jump into the Ganga canal.

Vermas phone was switched off near NH-24 around 10pm Tuesday, almost two hours after he allegedly murdered his flatmate, Dr Garmia Mishra, a crime branch officer said.

As Verma did not turn up at his family home in Bahraich nor at his relatives or friends houses, we were waiting for him to switch his phone on or try to contact someone from a landline. The phone numbers of his family, relatives and friends were on surveillance, the officer said.

On Thursday, around 7am, Verma called his mother and said he had committed a big mistake and sought her forgiveness. He told her that he was going to kill himself and disconnected the call, the police said.

The call location was traced to Rishikesh. The police teams visited over 30 guest houses in Rishikesh found the one where he had stayed till 6am Thursday, the crime branch officer said.

Police said the guest house staff told them that Verma had been enquiring about the depth of the Ganga, the points where the river was very deep, and the chances of survival if he jumped into the river. The staff told him that the Ganga canal is much deeper at places in Dehradun and Haridwar. Our team began scanning areas along the river and the Ganga canal. They spotted him standing on a bridge in Roorkee and caught him. He confessed to killing his roommate and also admitted that he was about to kill himself, DCP (crime branch) G Ram Gopal Naik.

During questioning, Verma revealed that he tried to kill himself thrice but could not do so.

Verma said on Wednesday, at the guest house in Rishikesh, he planned to hang himself from the ceiling fan but dropped the idea as he thought that the fan would break, the officer said.

The second time, he tried to get himself electrocuted by touching a power transformer in Haridwar. But since Verma had dealt with cases of attempted suicides gone wrong at the hospital, he knew the problems the families of such people faced and decided to drop the second plan, the officer said.

He then decided to jump into the Ganga canal and reached the Roorkee bridge. But we caught him before he could jump, the officer added.
Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was booked on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after Baba Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in Haridwar.

Yechury had in Bhopal on Thursday said, Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Taking objection to the comments, Ramdev lodged a complaint with senior superintendent of police Haridwar, Janmejaya Khanduri.

Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies, Khanduri said.

A case under IPC Section 153(a) has been registered against Yechury.

Reacting to the case, member of CPI(M) state secretariat, Bacchiram Konswal said, Ramdev is working for BJP and his complaint is part of BJPs polarisation efforts. Yechury didnt make the statement against Hindus but on a statement of the BJPs Bhopal candidate. He never said anything against any community.
A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.
Two branches of Bank of Baroda in Surat sparked a controversy on Saturday for banning entries of customers in burqas and helmets and then backtracked following protests from Muslims.

Notices saying remove burqa/helmet and no admission with burqa and helmet had come up at Ambaji Road branch and New Civil Hospital branch in Surat. On Saturday, Muslims raised objections over the ban on burqa which is a religious tradition.

As Muslim leaders raised objections, the bank said it did not intend to hurt sentiments of any community and removed the notice.

Bank officials maintained that the notice was put up after recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka. Only two branches of the bank in the city had the notice.

There was no ill intent behind the notice. Also, it was not meant to target any community. It was done for security reasons. And it has been removed now, Ambaji road branch manager Navin Gohiya told the media.

But not everybody was convinced with the explanation.

Such notice definitely targets the Muslims. Helmets can be removed anytime. But Muslim women put on burqa to follow the religion. They are not supposed to remove it, said Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh.

The ruling BJP maintained that the government was not involved in the in the banks decision and said that peoples consent is required even in the matters of security measures.

The government has nothing to do with the banks decision. But the BJP believes that even for security steps, consent of people or community should be taken. Besides, the rules should not be the cause of inconvenience for anyone .
After cyclone Fani weakened into a severe depression and moved course towards Bangladesh by Saturday morning, chief minister Mamata Banerjee resumed campaigning, as she had put them on hold to monitor relief efforts, a day after she had cancelled all her political programmes for 48 hours.

PM Modi called up Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and expressed his concern and directly asked Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prepare a report.

An irked TMC secretary general and minister Partha Chatterjee said, In a federal structural a state government has its own position and rights. The Modi government never respected that.
A woman lawmaker in Telangana, who recently defected from the Congress to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, faced the fury of her former partys supporters who attacked her with stones and chappals on Saturday when she entered a village in her constituency to campaign for a TRS candidate in the local body elections.

Banothu Haripriya Naik, who represents Yellandu assembly constituency in Khammam district, visited Govindrala village of Kamepalli block in the morning to campaign for TRS candidate Lakhavarthu Sunitha contesting as mandal parishad (block) territorial constituency member.

As the MLA entered the village in an open-top vehicle, followed by the local TRS workers, irate villagers, mostly Congress supporters, shouted at her and asked her to go back. They questioned how she dared to enter the village after betraying them by defecting to the TRS.

We toiled day and night in the assembly elections held in December to get Haripriya elected braving tough fight with the TRS. But within a couple of months becoming the MLA, she joined the TRS betraying our faith, an angry Congress worker told local reporters.

As the Congress workers started pelting stones and chappals at Haripriya, the TRS workers formed a shield around her and saved her from the attack. The shocked MLA got back into her car and left the village, while the TRS workers retaliated by pelting stones back at the Congress workers. At least five people were injured in the stone pelting.

Police stopped the situation from getting out of hand by dispersing the warring groups. We immediately shifted the injured to the Yellandu hospital for treatment. The situation is under the control now, sub-inspector Tirupati Reddy said.

Police beefed up the security it the village and are trying to pacify the leaders of both parties to bring normalcy.

Haripriya could not be reached for her comment.

The Telangana unit of the Congress has been protesting against alleged illegal poaching of its MLAs by the TRS to eliminate an opposition in the state. The Congress won 19 seats in the elections to 119-member assembly in December and of them, 11 MLAs have defected to the TRS, leaving the grand old party with just eight members.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who began Prajaswamya Parirakshana Yatra (Save Democracy tour) from Khammam on Monday , called upon the party workers to pull up the defected MLAs for ditching the party.

He demanded that the turncoat MLAs be booked under Section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code, as they cheated the people who voted for them against the TRS.

Defecting from one party into other party was a matter of concern to all people. The Constitutional bodies should respond to the issue without delay, he said.

A TRS leader said on condition of anonymity that defection of MLAs from the opposition to the ruling party was not a new phenomenon. Even during the Congress regime between 2004 and 2009, then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy poached several TRS MLAs into the Congress, he pointed out.

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Dismissing the Congress as a vote cutter party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the grand old party has now stooped to maligning his honesty and hard work.

Addressing a rally in Pratapgarh on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase of national elections, Modi said till the first phase, Congress leaders were looking at the prime ministers post. But after four phases of polling, they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter, Modi said.

He said the Opposition was not able to accept the mandate given by the people to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the four phases of polling so far. Desperate Opposition is now trying everything up their sleeves to keep Modi out of power, the Prime Minister said.

Modi also accused Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav of cheating his Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair. However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the

Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he said.

If they [Opposition] see the crowd in my meetings, they will be rattled. I have never seen so many people gathering for a political cause in the month of May, said Modi, in a choked voice.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as maha milavati [adulterated], the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance  corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule, and misgovernance.

Dubbing Congress president Rahul Gandhi as naamdar, Modi said the Congress president has accepted that his motive was to malign his image by harping on false issues. Naamdar, listen to me. Modi has grown up eating dust of Bharat mata and has lived for Bharat mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceits, he added.

He also accused the Congress of not doing anything for the poor. Rahul [Gandhi] wants proof of Modis works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our jawans, as the conscience of country has awoken. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi while seeking support for BJP candidates from Basti, Siddharthnagar and Sant Kabeernagar.
Friday started on an unforgettable note for Sana, the daughter of a cook at the Walled Citys iconic Al Jawahar restaurant. She got a call from Manish Sisodia, Delhis deputy chief minister and education minister, congratulating her for topping the Class 12 school-leaving examination across the citys government schools.

The 17-year-old humanities student from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Chandni Chowk scored 97.6% overall and scored a perfect 100 in history. I received a call early in the morning, saying the minister wanted to speak to me. I thought it was a prank call. I believed it only after I heard him speaking! she said.

A bright student right through school, Sana never wanted to switch to a private institution. There were instances when my friends in the neighbourhood advised me to switch to a private school. They used to say I cannot do well in life after studying in a government school. But the private schools were expensive for us. I did not care about the suggestions and worked hard. I did not even take tuitions, said Sana, who wants to be an IAS officer.

First. I want to pursue BA (Honours) in Political Science from a top Delhi University college, and then will prepare for the civil services exam, she said.

Sanas father Niazuddin, whose secret twist to the butter chicken, is renowned across the city, cooked for the family on Friday as a special treat. My father loves to cook for us on big occasions, Sana said. He has always encouraged me and my four siblings to work hard. Even my sister had topped her school in Class 12 in 2017.

Niazuddin, who has been working at the Old Delhi restaurant for the last 35 years, said he takes care of its kitchen along with assisting the head chef who cooks the iconic delicacies, including the butter chicken. I am overwhelmed today. Despite all odds, my daughter has made us all proud, he said.

Gyan Kaur, 17, a student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Ramesh Nagar, got the second rank across Delhi government schools, scoring 97%. Kaurs father works in a cement company. She scored a perfect 100 in Economics and wants to pursue Political Science (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College.

The topper in the Commerce stream across the Delhi government schools is Pooja Singh, whose parents have hearing and speech disabilities. A student of Government Senior Secondary School in Sant Nagar, she got 481 marks out of 500. Her father works in Delhi University as a staffer. I want to pursue my career in finance, she said.

Sisodia said on Friday that the Class 12 results were unprecedented, with the overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools 94. 24% in the Central Board of Secondary Education exam. The results could have been better if the Delhi government was given land to build more schools. But our teachers and students worked very hard to make it possible. Even the results of our evening shift schools have improved to 89.3% from last years 83%, he said.

The results have improved even as the number of students appearing in the Class 12 exam rose from 112,826 last year to 129,917 in 2019.

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In a major security breach, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was attacked during his roadshow in New Delhis Moti Nagar area on Saturday.

The incident took place when Arvind Kejriwal was holding a roadshow in favour of his partys candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the New Delhi seat.

In the video, a man wearing a red shirt can be seen climbing atop the open jeep and slapping Kejriwal across the face before he is pulled off the jeep.

The assailant, identified as Suresh, 33, who has a spare-parts business in Kailash Park, was immediately apprehended by the AAP workers around the jeep and handed to the police. He has been taken to the Moti Nagar police station.

Heres the video:

This is not the first time that the Delhi CM has been attacked.

In November 2018, a man had thrown chilli powder on him outside his office in the Delhi secretariat.

In 2016, a man had thrown a shoe at Arvind Kejriwal when he was giving the details of the phase 2 of the odd-even scheme. Around the same time, a woman had also thrown ink on him at a thanksgiving gathering at Chhatrasal Stadium.

In 2014, an autorickshaw driver had slapped Kejriwal while he was campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections in Sultapuri in northwest Delhi. Kejriwal had suffered a black eye at that time.

Earlier, he has had engine oil and eggs also hurled at him.
India has conveyed to Pakistan its concerns about the security of its high commission in Islamabad and complained about the harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month, people familiar with developments said on Saturday.

Concerns about the security of the high commission were conveyed in a demarche submitted to Pakistans Foreign Office recently, the people said. They declined to go into the details of the security threat but indicated it was a serious matter.

In a separate note verbale sent to the Pakistani side on April 25, India protested about the harassment and detention of two of its diplomats at Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The diplomats, who were at the shrine to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were locked up in a room for close to half an hour by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, the people said. The intelligence operatives also questioned the diplomats and searched their belongings, they added.

Before letting the diplomats go, the intelligence personnel warned them not to come back to the area, the people said.

The note verbale asked the Pakistani side to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to ensure such incidents did not occur again.

Indian diplomats have been repeatedly harassed while trying to assist and facilitate visiting Sikh pilgrims at several gurdwaras in Punjab province. Indians pilgrims have also been confronted with propaganda by pro-Khalistan groups.
The chief of Sri Lankas army said some of the people who carried out the April 21 serial bombings in his country had travelled to regions such as Kashmir and Kerala in India to possibly be part of terrorism training activities, according to an interview with the BBC published online on Friday.

The comments by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke is the first confirmation by a senior security official in either of the countries of the terrorists having travelled to India, a link that Indian security agencies have been pursuing since shortly after the attacks in the island nation.

They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us, Senanayke said.

Asked if he was aware of the purpose of those visits, the army commander replied: It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

WATCH: Moment of explosion at Sri Lankas Kingsbury Hotel caught on CCTV

Counter-terror agencies such as the National Investigation Agency have carried out raids in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they have picked up several people for suspected links to the Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group that claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Indian officials who have not to be named, at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

A Union home ministry official did not comment on the Sri Lanka Army chiefs comment. Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation, a senior official in the security establishment, who did not wanted to named, said. Till now, Indian investigators have not mentioned a Kashmir link to the Lankan bombers, though leads were still being followed.

One of the key suspects who is believed by Indian officials to have visited India is Islamic preacher Maulvi Zahran Bin Hashim  leader of Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and the ringleader of Easter Sunday attackers.

Indian officials refused to share details about the purpose of Hashims visit or the people he was in touch with. Hashim, an official said, was initially associated with Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ) but the organisation was not found involved in any terror activities. He subsequently broke away from TNTJ to form his own  Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and started preaching violent form of Islam in the island nation.
The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case after the head of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), who banned wearing niqab, the face veil, on campus of his institutions complained of receiving a death threat.

I received a call on my mobile phone on Friday evening threatening to kill me. He was very agitated and heaped abuses on me. He told me not to fiddle with religious issues, said MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor. I tried to reason with him but he was not willing to listen.

But Gafoor insisted his group will go ahead with its decision to ban the veil.

The police later found that the threat call came from one of the countries in the Middle east which has a sizeable non-resident Indians. The police did not name the country.

The MES had issued the circular on Thursday citing a recent Kerala High Court order to ban hijab which covers a womans head in all its institutions. The MES runs 150 institutions.

While many progressive Muslim outfits have welcomed the decision saying face veil was nothing to do with the religion but many traditionalists opposed it vehemently dubbing it an incursion on religious freedom.

Samastha Kerala Jemiayathul Ulema president Muthukoya Thangal criticized MESs move saying: The MES has no right to dictate terms to believers. Burqua is the identity of Muslim women and nobody can deny this, and demanded the withdrawal of the circular. Jammat e-Islami has also criticised the move.

But the dominant Muslim political party, the Muslim League, is yet to comment on the issue. The ruling Left Democratic Front has welcomed the move. Even while performing the Haj pilgrimage women never cover their face. It is nothing to do with religion and we should promote such saner voices from the community, said K T Jaleel, state minister for local administration.
A 56-year-old villager was killed on Friday when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to be planted by Maoists to target security personnel, exploded in Aurangabad district of Magadh region, about 125 km south of Patna, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred between Pachrukhia and Langurahi forest area where road construction work was on. The villager who was herding his cattle home stepped on the IED which blew up injuring him seriously. He succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.

The deceased was identified as Karu Bhuiyan of Koilwa village Madanpur Tehsil. A police official said Karu had gone to the area to bring back his cattle when he stepped on the IED.

The official said the Maoists often plant IEDs to target security forces who regularly visit the area on routine patrol. A police team rushed to the spot after the blast and Karus body was sent for post mortem.

Additional Superintendent of Police (operations) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that a case has been registered in this connection. Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras, he said.

Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the ongoing parliamentary election, have stepped up violence in their areas of influence.

On Friday night, suspected Maoists blew up the election office of Jharkhands former chief minister and BJP candidate from Khunti Arjun Munda.

On Wednesday, Maoists blew up a vehicle in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district killing 15 policemen and the driver on Dadapur road.

Shortly after the attack, Maoists set ablaze at least six vehicles and other machines of a construction company engaged in road construction in Bihars Magadh division.
India is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of buying more American shale oil, which the US has been pushing to counterbalance the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

Indias main problem with US shale is that it will be more expensive for Indian refineries to process it, effectively increasing the price of the output.

The officials, who didnt want to be named, said that once the US sanctions on Iranian oil kicked in, Indias future purchases from alternative energy suppliers will be finalised keeping in mind the countrys energy and commercial security.

Also Read | India could cut US shale import to offset Iran loss

The US sanctions will disrupt supplies from Iran, which accounted for 10% of Indias energy imports in 2018-19, but the officials said relying on US shale oil will be more expensive and require changes in the configuration of refineries currently set up to process Iranian and other crude.

This, in turn, will make output costlier, and hence, economically unviable, they added.

Were already taking a hit due to the disruption of supplies from Iran. It makes no sense if we have to take a bigger hit by sourcing oil that is more expensive from an alternative source, said an official familiar with developments.

The officials said India is reconsidering a decision to import more shale oil from the US.

Only a handful of new refineries, such as Indian Oil Corporations (IOC) Paradip Refinery, can process shale oil as its composition and properties are different from crude oil. The officials said shale oil processing requires refinery recalibration, which is not commercially viable, especially at a time when the country has been hit by the economic impact of the disruption of Iranian crude supplies.

Also Read | Easter bombers visited Kashmir for training: Sri Lanka army chief

On April 22, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to any country importing Iranian oil. India had been hoping for an extension of the six-month exemption or Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) that had been granted to it last November.

India imported oil and gas worth close to $4 billion from the US last year, and Indias envoy to Washington, Harsh Shringla, said in January the country is committed to buying American oil and gas worth $5 billion per annum.

IOC executives confirmed the company imported 3.8 million tonnes of shale oil from the US during 2018-19 for Paradip Refinery. Even earlier, we imported some shale oil from the US from the spot market in absence of any NOC [national oil company] in America. Now we have term purchase (long-term supply contract), an executive said, requesting anonymity.

The chief executive of a private refinery said on condition of anonymity: The government cannot force us to buy oil from the US if that does not make any economic sense.

Crude or shale oil have different assay, and refiners extract value based on that. One would buy crude oil or shale oil depending on the value one gets. It is a purely commercial consideration, he added.

Asked about Indias future oil purchases once the US sanctions kicked in on May 2, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a briefing on Thursday that all decisions will be taken on the basis of the countrys energy security, commercial considerations and economic security interests. He said the petroleum ministry has a robust plan for obtaining additional supplies from other countries.
India may use a mix of Euros and a Rupee-Rouble transfer to pay for new defence platforms it is buying (or which it has recently bought) from Russia to avoid attracting sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) even as New Delhi continues to explore options of a waiver from Washington, a senior official aware of the details said on condition of anonymity.

A team of senior defence officials led by the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was in Russia last week and one of the issues discussed was the payment channel. Over next few years, India will have to pay approximately $ 7 billion to Russia for weapon systems such as the surface-air-missile Triumf or the S-400, the leasing of the second nuclear-propelled submarine, and the two warships being built in Russia. The S-400 alone is likely to cost India 40,000 crore alone. This surface-air-defence system detects incoming threats at a distance of about 350380 km and its induction is likely to give Indian air-defence a major boost.

The Donald Trump administration passed CAATSA in 2017 with the aim to hurt Russia, Iran and North Korea through punitive measure  primarily sanctions. As many as 39 Russian entities have been placed on the blacklist. An entity dealing with them could attract sanction . Some of the Russian entities are Rosoboronexport, Almaz-Antey, Sukhoi Aviation, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, and United Shipbuilding Corporation. CAATSA came into force from April 2018; since then India has deferred its payments to Russia. Indias problems are at two levels: legacy equipment, most of which are of Russian origin, and which require spares or ammunition; and new weaponry. Washington understands India cannot stop using Russian origin equipment, payment for new equipment, however, is a tricky issue, a second senior official aware of the details said, asking not to be identified.

The Indian delegation met Dmitry Shugev the head of the Federal Service for MilitaryTechnical Cooperation, the body that regulates military-technical cooperation issues, the second official added. Rupee-Rouble trade was discussed as one possible avenue, he said. India, however, needs to make some payment in hard-currency and thats where the Euro comes in. Some countries like China, for instance, have used barters to settle payments with Russia. but that isnt an option for India. India doesnt export enough to Russia to cover the entire amount of the cost. In 2018-19, Indias exports to Russia in 2018 stood at about $2.1 billion whereas it imported about $8 billion from Russia last year.

Payment in Euros to Russia isnt entirely risk-free because it will have to be made through the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and attract sanctions. While the issue of paying Russia without attracting sanctions hasnt been sorted completely, we are closer to a solution, the second senior official said. Sanctions are currency neutral, but there are a lot of ifs and buts, but I am sure that if India has the political will, a way forward will be there and the deal will go through, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Country is run by small-scale shopkeepers, farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand that the nation is not run by a few industrialists but by small-scale shopkeepers and businessmen, said Rahul Gandhi while concluding his rally in Haryanas Gurugram.

We want nyay, not two Indias: Rahul Gandhi in Haryana

We want nyay, not two Indias. As soon as PM imposed demonetisation, you stopped buying and the producers stopped producing. The shopkeepers of Gurugram understand the loss very well. Now we introduced this scheme which will ensure 6,000 goes to every poor persons bank account. Yearly, you will get 72,000. In addition, small shopkeepers and youth will get benefitted. People will start spending on small things and the economy will benefit from it, said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Gurugram

PM Modi is reluctant to use the word chowkidar now in his rallies, lest someone shouts back chor hai, said Rahul Gandhi.

Man who assaulted Arvind Kejriwal during road show held

The man who assaulted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during road show in Moti Nagar area, was held and taken to Moti Nagar police station. He was recognised as Suresh (33).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by man during his road show

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was assaulted by a man during his rally in Moti Nagar area today. :ANI

They are trying to push you back in the lalten era: PM Modi in Bihar

Nitish ji removed Lalten (RJDs symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the lalten era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. :ANI

Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other: PM Modi

Unlike Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh- Uttarakhand, Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other, said PM Modi.

It has become fashionable to spread lies on reservation to divide community: PM Modi

It has become a fashion to spread lies on reservation to divide the community.

Congress, RJD want to save face through playing dirty politics: PM Modi

Congress and RJD now want to save face through playing dirty politics. Their intension is not to serve the people of Bihar. They do not consider themselves servants of the democracy, but rulers. They can go to any extent for their betterment, said PM Modi.

Amit Shah, Smriti Irani hold roadshow in Amethi

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. :ANI

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

BJP candidate hospitalised after SUV rams his car

Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Partys Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, West Bengal, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. :ANI

West Bengal: Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. pic.twitter.com/w8DBpl8gga  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

People of Bihar did not let mahamilavati allies strength increase: PM Modi

Congress, RJD and their allies have cheated this land. The youngsters of this land have been cheated. Bihars dreams were broken, and you all are witness to it. But Bihars people did not let these mahamilavati peoples strength, said PM Modi.

Sisters like Bhagirathi Devi leading new India commendably: PM Modi

It makes me happy when sisters like Padma Sri Bhagirathi Devi lead the new India commendably, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar.

After four phases, they are preparing ground for defeat by insulting me, EC: PM Modi

They used to insult me all the time. But after four phases, they have started insulting the Election Commission and blaming the EVMs too. This is nothing but their excuse for not winning the elections, said PM Modi.

PM Modi addresses public meeting in Bihars Valmiki Nagar

Bihars Champaran has lead the country into understanding the concept of cleanliness, said PM Modi in Bihar.

PM Modi addresses public meeting at Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. Dial 9345014501 to listen LIVE. #DeshKiPasandModi https://t.co/zD6kA12z6u  BJP (@BJP4India) May 4, 2019

Congress and its mahamilawati allies dont want stable government: PM

Congress and its `mahamilawati allies dont want a stable government, PM Modi at rally in Uttar Pradeshs Basti.

BJPs next 5 years will take the country to a new high: PM Modi

They raised bogey of Hindu terrorism in a way that even big terrorists managed to get away but we have changed this. We are promoting defence, farming and other industries in this region. The past 5 years were laying foundation stone of development and the next 5 years will take the country to a new high, said PM Modi

Under BSP rule, nothing or no one was safe: PM Modi

In BSP rule, neither the Taj mahal nor the ambulances were safe. Be it sand or anything else, nothing was safe

its clear that SP under guise of alliance have taken advantage of Mayawati: PM

Now, it is clear that SP under the guise of alliance have taken advantage of behen Mayawati, by keeping her in dark, telling that they would make her the PM but now it is becoming clear to her that SP and Congress have played a game for themselves. Behenji is now openly opposing and criticising Congress, said PM Modi

UP has decided to vote for development: PM Modi

I bow down my head to salute you. You have supported me wholeheartedly. You have already decided to vote for development. The opposition are at their wits end as to what to do to save themselves, said PM Modi

People of UP have decided what poll outcome going to be: PM Modi

The people of UP have already decided what the outcome of the polling is going to be. Bracing such scoching heat, you are standing on roof tops to bless me. I am sure none has been able to get such blessings. I urge caution to people standing on walls that they do not fall off, said PM Modi in UPs Pratapgarh

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan: Rahul Gandhis return fire at PM

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan, said Rahul Gandhi in a return fire at PM Modi. Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by UN on May 1.

Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt, said Rahul Gandhi.

Still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

I apologised to Supreme Court for misquoting their statement, but I still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan, said Rahul Gandhi.

Our main aim is to defeat PM: Rahul Gandhi

Our main aim is to defeat PM Modi. Our manifesto is an effective document, it talks about main issues faced by our country like jobs and farm woes, said Rahul Gandhi.

BJP insulting armed forces: Rahul Gandhi

The BJP is insulting our armed forces. Army is not their property. The strikes were done by them and not by the prime minister, said Rahul Gandhi.

Modi damaged economy, NYAY will give it a jump-start: Rahul Gandhi

PM Modi has completely damaged the economy. He doesnt say anything about jobs. Our NYAY scheme will give it a jump-start. Our ,said Rahul Gandhi.

Our assessment, BJP is going to lose LS polls: Rahul Gandhi

It is now clear that BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha polls. You can see it in the prime ministers face that he is losing. Our assessment says that the BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha elections, said Rahul Gandhi
PM Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up the political temperature on Saturday with a volley of attacks aimed at each other, two days before the fifth phase of the ongoing national elections amid a slugfest over anti-terror strikes conducted in Pakistan during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

At rallies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two key heartland states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting to repeat its impressive 2014 performance, Modi called the Congress a vote-cutter and said the people will reject selfish parties that insulted the countrys soldiers. He also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav, of cheating his so-called Bua, or aunt (ally and Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayawati), by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair.

However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he alleged in Pratapgarh.

Gandhi responded in a speech in Delhi, saying the defence forces were not the PMs personal property, and took a swipe at the BJP for the previous NDA governments decision to release Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Indian Army. We do not politicise the Indian Army, said Gandhi. The comment came a day after Modi said the surgical strikes conducted during the UPA tenure  the Congress has claimed there were six  were only on paper or in a video game.

Gandhi also hit out at the Election Commission of India (EC) and said that the poll watchdog was on the straight line when it came to complaints from the BJP but was completely biased when it came to Opposition complaints.The EC cleared Modi of any wrongdoing in six cases of alleged poll code violation and BJP chief Amit Shah in two. Gandhi himself has been cleared in one case. The EC did not immediately respond to Gandhis charge.

Responding over allegations against the EC, Modi said: These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness. The 48-year-old Congress president also criticised Modi for taking credit for the United Nations Security Council designating Masood Azhar a global terrorist earlier this week. Gandhi said it was the BJP-led government under AB Vajpayee that released Azhar. Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? Did the Congress party do it? Who bowed in front of terrorism, he asked.

The war of words took place in the middle of a general elections in which nationalism and national security, opposition alliance arithmetic, unemployment, and agricultural distress have emerged as big issues.

In Uttar Pradesh, Modi dismissed the Congress as vote cutter party and said it was maligning his honesty and hard work. Till the first phase, the Congress leaders were dreaming of PMs chair, but after four phases of polling they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter party, said the Prime Minister in Pratapgarh.

It was a reference to remarks attributed to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that the party had fielded weak candidates in some constituencies in UP just to cut into the votes of the BJP and help the SP-BSP alliance.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as Maha Milavati (mega adulterated), the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance which were corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule and mis-governance. Naamdar [dynast  a reference to Gandhi], listen to me. Modi has grown up with the dust of Bharat Maa and had lived for Bharat Mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceit, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our soldiers as the conscience of country has woken up now. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi.

He also accused his rival parties of mismanaging law and order. During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SPs tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared, he said. In Bihars West Champaran district, Modi warned people against gimmicks by the Congress to dupe poor farmers.

Later in the day in Delhi, Gandhi credited his party for demolishing Modis image. He is using nationalism as a means to distract. We have fought him in four-five elections, in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like the seaplane in Gujarat. That was a reference to Modi landing on the Sabarmati river in a seaplane towards the end of the Gujarat poll campaign in 2017. He signed off by asking the PM to address at least one press conference before the elections end. It is really looking very bad. He is looking terrible...
Former Union minister MJ Akbar was cross-examined for the first time on Saturday in the criminal defamation suit that he filed against journalist Priya Ramani, who accused him of sexual harassment last year.

Akbar had resigned from his position as minister of state for external affairs in November 2018 after Ramani named him as a harasser.

The case pertains to Ramanis allegations of sexual misconduct against Akbar, dating back to 1993 when he was editor and proprietor of the Asian Age, and she was applying for a job at the paper. I do not remember that Priya Ramani met me in my office in December 93 or that she was looking for a job in Asian Age, Bombay, Akbar told the Ramanis counsel, Rebecca John.

He further added that he does not recollect calling her to a five star hotel in Mumbais Nariman Point in the evening.

Ramani wrote two tweets in October that accused Akbar of sexual misconduct at the workplace. Her tweets also tagged other women, who had similarly accused him of the same.

Soon after the allegations surfaced, Akbar issued a statement that said, The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice.

On October 15, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, stating that his reputation had been irreparably damaged. If proven, Ramani could go to jail for two years in prison. The case will continue on May 20.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday that the Congress lacked the political will but Prime Minister Narendra Modis diplomatic skill led to the UN declaring Jaish-e-mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and the isolation of Pakistan in the international community.

She said the demand to declare Masood Azhar a global terrorist was being raised since 2009 but due to Modis diplomatic skills, Azhar was declared a global terrorist on May 1.

After the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, the then UPA government could have isolated Pakistan but it could not due to lack of political will. Our government has given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, she said while addressing the Vijay Sankalp Samwad in which women from various fields and different sections of society participated.

She said Prime Minister Modi is among the prominent leaders in the world and is now setting the global agenda.

She said in the last five years, Indias respect in the international stage has grown and a lot of development work has taken place. Five years back India was among the weakest economies in the world while now it is the worlds sixth biggest economy.

She said any Indian citizen who sought help on twitter was given assistance and resolution of their problems within 24 hours. She said the Indian government has been successful in bringing back 2.75 lakh persons stranded in other countries.

She said the government had made its slogan sabka saath, sabka vikas a reality. Our government has given 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS), has increased tax exemption limit to 5 lakh for middle class and given constitutional status to the OBCS. The Haj quota for Muslims has been increased and Muslim women has got a reprieve from triple talaq, Swaraj said. This all became possible becase Modi hai toh mumkin hai.

At another press conference, BJP leader and former minister Vasudev Devnani said Lok Sabha election results would be a jolt to the Congress, claiming that the BJP will win all 25 seats. He said political equations in Rajasthan would change after declaration of results.
There will be no water cuts in the city till June-end, said Girish Bapat, guardian minister, on Friday. The minister said that a review of water stock in dams will be taken every ten days.

Bapat said, We have water to suffice only for May and June, and rains are expected in June. So, by considering this, there is no need to cut water supply till June-end.

The minister urged residents to use water judiciously.

We will take a review of the water level in dams every ten days and if needed will take appropriate decision at that time. Also, if needed, we will use water from dams dead stock, said Bapat. Bapat advanced the review meeting, scheduled for Saturday (May 6), to Friday. He held a meeting at Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters where officers from the civic body and irrigation department were present.

Last year on the same day the water level was eight thousand million cubic (TMC), but now it has come down to six TMC.

An official of the irrigation department on condition of anonymity said, At least half TMC water would be needed during the Palkhi procession and half TMC water will evaporate.

Meanwhile, as the civic administration plans to implementing water cuts in the city, the opposition targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bapat on the water issue.

Congress leader Mohan Joshi said, Bapat has released more water to rural areas during the voting period to attract votes for BJP candidate in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc at the pilgrim town of Puri with wind speed in excess of 220 km per hour, the district administration still grappling with the devastation which includes damage to parts of the Jagannath temple.

So far 16 people across Odisha have been killed in the cyclone due to wall collapse, falling of trees and flying debris. But officials said the death toll may go up as rescuers are unable to reach several places of the coastal districts which are still inaccessible.

Till now we are unable to reach disconnected blocks like Krushnsprasad, Bramhagiri and Astaranga. Though we have managed to somehow clear the national highway connecting Bhubaneswar and the roads in the town, many interior roads are still inaccessible. We have pressed NDRF and ODRAF teams for the job. We have opened around 25 free kitchens in the town, said Puri district collector Jyoti Prakash Das.

For people in Puri however the words were of little consolation as sweltering heat and lack of drinking water have made their lives miserable. Officials said it would take at least a week to restore power supply in the temple town.

In Kashiharipur village on Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, housewife Pushpalata Patra said she is at her wits end on how to feed her kids.

I have lost my home to the cyclone. Theres nothing to eat and not a drop of water to drink. I am forced to buy bottled water. How do I feed my five kids, asked Patra. In Batagaon village, 70-year-old Hatu Jena wept inconsolably over thinking of ways on how to survive after his small grocery shop was blown away. How do I feed my wife and grandchildren?  asked Jena.

Also read: Towns in darkness, deserted villages: Fanis destructive trail

In Ramchandi sahi slum of Puri, 55-year-old Sushmita Sahu too was distressed over her next meal after she discovered the 10 kg of rice that she stored had turned soggy.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said his government was trying hard to help people in the aftermath of the cyclone, but conceded that the challenge was huge.

Fani is one of the rarest of rare cyclones  the first to hit in 43 years and one of three to hit in 150 years. Because of the rarity, the prediction and tracking of the cyclone was challenging. In 24 hours, one was not sure of the trajectory it was going to take. Fani after landfall, tore apart the infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply,  said Patnaik, adding that the districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh have also been affected.

In the meteorological centre of Puri, weather officials said Fani was possibly as strong as 1999 super cyclone. The anemometer in our centre broke after clocking gusts of 148 knots (274 km per hour). This was the strongest cyclone I have ever experienced in my life, said Hrusikesh Panda, the officer in charge of the weather office.

Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said getting power and mobile connectivity was a huge challenge considering that thousands of kilometres of low tension and extra high tension lines have been snapped by the cyclone and hundreds of mobile towers wrenched apart. By Monday we are trying to restore BSNL connectivity in Puri and Bhubaneswar. We are trying to restore power in large parts of Bhubaneswar by Sunday. In Puri power restoration will take at least a week, he said.

Odisha energy secretary Hemant Sharma said 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar have been completely damaged affecting 30 lakh consumers. Electricity supply will be restored in 25 per cent area of the Capital city, he said. The electric poles and uprooted trees have brought traffic to a standstill on several national and state highways.

Also read: In Puri, Cyclone Fani terrorizes residents, submerges temple town

In Bhubaneswar, the East Coast Railway officials resumed operations on Saturday by running three special trains including one to Bangalore. The Airports Authority of India resumed operations in the afternoon.

The 500 odd hoteliers in Puri who depend on tourists, said they were worried over piling losses. Laxmidhar Sahu, who owns Hotel Shakuntala on the Puri sea beach, said he cant even think of the losses. The rooms in my hotel are stinking after the cyclone swept seawater. The beds are covered with thick layers of sand. I dont know when will the officials restore power. It will take at least three months to bring my hotel back to shape, said Sahu.

The fishing community in Puri too has been hit badly. In Balinolia sahi, the fishermen were glum over their overturned boats. Earlier we never feared the sea. But after Fani, we are not even thinking of going to sea. We have never seen the sea so violent, said P Dhananjay Swami.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi said he will visit Odisha on Monday morning to take stock of the post cyclone situation.
An analysis of Pakistans air strikes against Indian Army installations along the Line of Control on February 27 by a reputed think tank indicates that while the neighbour wanted to be seen to be retaliating against the Indian Air Forces strikes in Pakistans Balakot a day earlier, it carefully planned its response to misguide its domestic audience and ensure that the conflict did not escalate into war.

A new paper published by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) on Friday said Pakistan was fully aware that it was no match for India in a conventional conflict and the air strikes were merely a demonstration of will and did not intend to target Indias military or civilian assets. The paper, titled Reality of Pakistans Counter Air Strike on February 27: A Demonstration that Failed, noted that Pakistan was encouraged by false bravado and with the intention to misguide their masses.

It said the hurried announcement about the early repatriation of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also indicated Pakistans reluctance to escalate the military situation. Varthaman was captured by the Pakistan Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down. He downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan before his plane was hit. Varthaman was released on March 1. The paper, written by CENJOWS senior fellow Group Captain GD Sharma (retd), noted that Pakistan planned its strikes at an altitude that cost them stealth and launched the attack during the day when its strike package could be easily detected.

It appears that Pakistan planned strikes at 7000-10000 feet. Clearly, this denied them stealth and also gave Indian air defence a warning time of 10-12 minutes strikes planned at lower levels could have remained undetected for a larger portion of their flight, the paper noted, questioning the strike planning. Planning of strike at 9000h-1000h is militarily illogical as strikes are planned at a time to achieve surprise. At late morning hours, air defences could be expected to be at their best performance augmented by visual observers to detect flights which escape the radar detection, it added.The paper said the PAFs objective was not to strike targets on the ground. It noted that only three F-16 attempted shallow ingress of less than 10 km and then exited with the Bison on their tail. Missing a target is difficult unless the intention is not to hit. The only inference one can draw is either poor state of training or intended drop of arsenal was not meant to hit any military or civilian target, Sharma wrote.

CENJOWS director Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), who has commanded an army division along the LoC, said the area targeted by the PAF has a high density of military and civilian population along with other installations, and its near impossible to miss a target there. The paper said it was clear that Pakistan could not afford armed conflict with India because of its precarious financial situation. At the same time, it did not want to present an impression to its masses that it has chickened out of the prospective conflict..., it added.

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A radio-tagged female Amur falcon, which flew non-stop for five days covering thousands of kilometers to reach Somalia in November last year, has returned to the Indian sub-continent on her way to her breeding area in northern China, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said on Friday.

After the long open ocean journey, the bird skirted the coastline of Diu and flew straight over to Surat instead of Mumbai, scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is currently monitoring the route of the migratory bird, said. Right now she is in Maharashtra, he added.

Longleng, a female Amur falcon named after Nagalands district was radio-tagged and arrived in Somalia on April 18 from her winter sojourn in South Africa and started her four day return passage to India on April 29 flying at a speed of 45 km per hour, the WII scientist said.

The bird was radio-tagged in October 2016 as part of projects to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

The smart small raptor weighing around 175 grams, depending upon the weather condition is likely to fly across Nagaland and Manipur for her onward journey to China via Myanmar after passing through Bangladesh, Kumar said.

It seems she is tracking Cyclone Fani, Kumar, who has tagged 10 birds over the last five years, said. So lets wait and watch her next move as Cyclone Fani is heading towards her migratory route.

Two more Falcons-Tamenglong (female) and Manipur (male), were also tagged in Tamenglong district in Manipur on November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, Manipur was found dead four days later while Tamenglong has lost contact after reaching Zambia.
Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after yoga guru Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechurys statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ramdev led a delegation of seers to submit his complaint to Haridwars senior superintendent of police (SSP) Janmejaya Khanduri.

Confirming the complaint, SSP Khanduri said, Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

After receiving the complaint, Khanduri directed the local police to take required action on the complaint after which a case was registered.

Based on the complaint we have registered a case against Yechury for promoting enmity between religious communities under section 153(a) of IPC. Investigations are on, said sub-inspector Thakur Singh Rawat, in-charge of Roori-Belwala checkpost.

Earlier before lodging the complaint, Ramdev addressed a press conference along with other seers comprising ex-ShankaracharyaSwami Satyamitranand, Mahamandaleshwar Harichetnan and Maharaj during which he attacked Yechury for his statements.

By making such a statement against Hindus, he has committed a sin ob both religious and social grounds. Calling it a national crime wont be wrong, he said.

He added, Yechury whose own name comprises name of lord of Ram, should be ashamed of what he has said. He should change his name to Kans, Babar or Ravana.

Ramdev called for the boycott of communists in the country.

People should launch a protest against them in states where they are in power. They should also burn their effigies and this should continue till he offers an unconditional apology for hurting sentiments of crores of Hindus, he stated.

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Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the central government to announce ceasefire and stalling of operations against militants in the month of Ramzan starting next week.

After two days the month of Ramzan will begin. I request government of India that J&K is a Muslim majority state. People here are already facing hardships. Ramzan is the month of prayers ...So I request the government of India to announce ceasefire like last year. Crackdowns, search operations should stop so that people of J&K could pass the month peacefully, Mehbooba told mediapersons.

Mehbooba also urged militants against attacking the security forces during the month.

Last year, the Union home ministry had announced ceasefire in Kashmir ahead of Ramzan, however, the month had witnessed a spike in militant attacks. Despite requests from then CM Mehbooba Mufti, operations against militants resumed after Ramzan ended as Centre had refused to extend the ceasefire.

...Modiji has been repeating that he believes in ideology and follows insaniyat and democracy of Vajpayee ji. And for that,... the government of India should announce ceasefire, she said. Whether it is the ban on Jamaat, JKLF, stopping of cross-LoC trade or the closure of national highway, the government of India is trying to destroy the economy of the state, she said accusing the Centre.
Facing a sharp attack by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday offered to face a probe over allegations that his former partner in a UK-based company had acquired defence offset contracts when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power

At the same time, Gandhi called for an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the 59,000 crore contract signed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government

At a press conference, Gandhi said: Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale.

According to a news article posted on the website of Business Today magazine, the co-promoter of Gandhis UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets under the UPA regime. Ulrik Mcknight was 35% co-owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned the remaining 65%. The company, founded in 2003, was wound up in 2009. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the article claimed.

The article offered instant ammunition for leaders of the BJP, which Gandhi has doggedly pursued over the deal for 36 Rafale jet fighters signed by the NDA government, alleging that the aircraft cost three times the initial bid by Dassault Aviation, the maker of the planes, when the UPA regime was trying to buy the warplanes. He has also alleged that the deal was signed to offer an opportunity for businessman Anil Ambani of the Reliance Group to win an offset deal from Dassault. Both the NDA government and Reliance Group have denied any wrongdoing.

Defence offsets require a foreign supplier to source a certain percentage of the value of the contract from Indian sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally on Saturday: Today, I read that during UPAs tenure, one of naamdars [dynasts] business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha.

The Hindi quote translates loosely as: His government, his friend, even the defence deal was big. That means the cream was ready to be served to the dynast.

BJP president Amit Shah took to Twitter to attack Gandhi. Midas Touch, no deal is too much! he wrote.

When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga.

After the remarks by Modi and Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a more elaborate attack on Gandhi at a press conference. Jaitley claimed that on May 28, 2002, a company was formed in India named Backops Services Private Limited with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as its directors. On August 21, 2003, another company was formed in Britain with the same name  Backops Limited  which had Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight as directors, the minister claimed.

This in itself is quite innocent but what does Backops mean. It was not a company that was into services or manufacturing but naturally into liasioning. Its an influence-for-cash company. We will use influence to get your work done, he said.

Jaitley alleged that Mcknight was also part of Rahul jis social gang and the son-in-law of a senior Congress leader from Goa and his wife was a journalist by profession.

After Backops wound up, Mknight continued his work through different companies, including one named Optimal, Jaitley claimed. In 2011, when the French company, DCNS (former name of Naval Group), got the contract to build six Scorpene submarines in Visakhapatnam, a small Indian company  Flash Forge  acquired two companies of Ulrik. And the offset contracts of the Scorpene deal were bagged by this company, Jaitley claimed.

Hindustan Times could not independently verify any of the allegations made by the minister or the magazine article.

Referring to Congress allegations on the Rafale deal, Jaitley said the party had set in place new norms that not the law of evidence but rules set by Rahul Gandhi apply. Now those standards will apply to Gandhi himself, Jaitley said.

He demanded a response from the Congress.

Did he [Gandhi] want to start as a defence dealer, disguised defence dealer, proxy defence dealer, facilitator. What is the meaning of Backops? It is a serious issue and we would want the Congress leadership to answer it as early as possible, he said.

It is the story of a man who once aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be the prime minister. It is a serious charge, he added.

Incidentally, Backops also figured in the row over Gandhis citizenship sparked by a home ministry notice to clarify his position on a claim by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy that Gandhi had mentioned his nationality as British in annual returns filed by the company in 2005 and 2006.
Saudi Arabia is learnt to have arrested Maulana Rila, brother-in-law of the Islamic State inspired Shangri-La hotel bomber Zahran Hashim, and a colleague of his, who just goes by the name Shahnawaj, last week on the basis of inputs from Indian intelligence. Hashim was the leader of National Towheed Jamaat and chief radicaliser of the hardline salafi group responsible for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. India is believed to have provided several warnings on the attacks, including time- and location-specific details, which were ignored by Sri Lanka.

Officers in Indian security agencies say they are already in touch with their Saudi Arabian counterparts to find out on any links between the IS cadres responsible for the Sri Lanka attacks and Kasargode (Kerala)-Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) module in India, with Colombo on the verge of sending a team to Saudi Arabia.

After the Easter Day bombing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is believed to have called up the top-brass of the Tata owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) to ask them to install security scanners and metal detectors at their three properties in Sri Lanka because all the suicide bombers are still not accounted for. The IHCL owned Taj Samudra had a lucky escape on April 21 as UK educated suicide bomber Abdul Latif Mohammed Jamil entered the hotel but could not trigger the device. He later died in a blast at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala suburb with a couple also losing their lives in the blast.

For the record, Indian intelligence alerted Sri Lankan police and security agencies on April 4, 10, 16 (the day the device was tested in a motorcycle), 20 and two hours before the multiple suicide bombings on April 21, the last with the names of three churches under imminent bombing threat.

The IS inspired bombings in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns over spread of this Islamic group in India through the virtual space as the rabid group hardly holds any territory in Syria or Iraq. IS handlers are radicalising cadres in India through cyber-identities such as Yusuf al Hindi/ Abu Hurairah (used by Indian Mujahideen absconder Shafi Armar), Sameer Ali (used by Shajeer Mangalassery of Islamic State in Khorasan Province, killed in Afghanistan), Gold Dinar (used by Abdul Rashid Abdulla, main motivator of radicals from Kerala in ISKP and Babyboy111/Snickers021/Anwer (used by Ashfaq Majeed, who hails from Karala and belonging to ISKP). Since the rise of IS in 2014, around 115 Indian nationals have been radicalised and reached various conflict zones where the group held sway.

Around 81 reached Syria, Iraq and Libya, another 34 reached Nangarhar province of Afghanistan largely. From this original group of 115, 24 died fighting in Syria and Iraq and 11 lost their lives in Afghanistan. In addition to this 35 Indians were deported to India. Around 126 individuals are under the scanner of law enforcement agencies in India with 8 Indian nationals under arrest for their affiliations in other countries. So far nine persons affiliated to Islamic State, J&K have died in encounters in the state with security forces with eight of them hailing from Valley.

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Minister of state for foreign affairs and former chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on Saturday took on the Congress, which claimed that operations across the Line of Control (LoC)  the de-facto border between India and Pakistan  by the Indian military did happen in the past as well. In a tweet, he said: ... Will you please let me know which So called surgical strike are you attributing to my tenure....

General Singh was chief of Army Staff between April 2010 and May 2012.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress both slugged it out politically, former chiefs and veterans made a clear distinction between operations in the strategic and tactical domain.

Yes, we do carry out cross the border, but these operations are tactical in nature, carried out at the initiate of local formations, there was no political clearance, a general officer, who retired as director general of military operation, said on conditions of anonymity. Importantly, the scale of the previous cross-LoC strikes were limited. The targets were single unlike the 2016 operations when multiple targets spread across an arc of 250 km were hit simultaneously, he added.

General Deepak Kapoor, who led the army between 2007 and 2010, underlined the difference between strategic and tactical level operations across the LoC.

Local or tactical level operations dont have political clearance or backing, he said and are generally done by local commanders for reasons that are completely local, whereas the magnitude of the strategic operations are much bigger in magnitude and nations use to message adversaries. By claiming the 2016 operations, the government backed the operations and therefore should get credit, he said and added, Government backing gives credibility and shows strong resolve. General Kapoor, however, had a word of caution; The Indian Army is a professional military and should be kept away from politics.

General Syed Ata Hasnain who commanded Srinagar-based 15 corps echoed a similar view. The politics around cross-border operations is unfortunate. Local operations at the initiate of senior commanders do happen. But 2016 strikes across the border or the 2019 airstrikes, had a strategic message behind them: India is capable of hitting back, he said and added Comparing the operations of the tactical domain with those in strategic domain are like comparing apples to oranges.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by raising the question of who had released the terrorist in 1999.

Saying that the strictest of action should be taken against Masood Azhar, he said, Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan? Did Congress send him to Pakistan? Which government negotiated with terrorism? Congress didnt send him there, he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

Also Read | I apologised to Supreme Court, not PM Modi. Stand by chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

The reality is that BJP compromises with terrorism. Congress has never sent anyone to Pakistan and we never will, he said.

Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist on May 1 by the United Nations Security Council. Masood Azhar was among the three terrorists who were released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers aboard flight IC-814 which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

We deal with terrorism with a strategy, not with revenge, Rahul Gandhi said while referring to the recent air strikes at Balakot in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives.

He said, if voted to power, his party would adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government has displayed.
Political parties in West Bengal enthusiastically plunged back into campaigning on Saturday after cyclone Fani lost severity upon hitting the state on Friday.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, on Friday morning, had announced the cancellation of political programmes for 48 hours and positioned herself right on the projected path of the storm in Kharagpur to monitor and coordinate relief efforts, participated in two roadshows in Ghatal and Chandrakona in West Midnapore district.

We are happy that cyclone Fani had no major impact in Kolkata and Bengal. Our campaigning schedule will follow its normal course, said Sayantan Basu, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Bengal unit.

Even when the disaster was looming, our candidates conducted door-to-door campaigns as far as possible. Saturday will be a normal day, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sujan Chakraborty. On Friday, Left candidates went door to door in Tamluk in East Midnapore district, one of the areas where the cyclone was supposed to hit the hardest.

Saturday was the last day for campaigning for seven constituencies in Bengal where polling will be held during the fifth phase on Monday.

#Odishas emergency helpline number for #CycloneFani +916742534177, Control room number of different districts:- pic.twitter.com/aMoXKgDFJf  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 3, 2019

Though the damage to the Bengal districts from cyclone Fani is yet to be documented fully, the chief minister said on Saturday morning that 12 brick-built houses were flattened and 825 houses were partially damaged. We will build them again. I have told the district magistrates, she said on Saturday morning. Mamata Banerjee also said that power supply was disrupted in some areas since electric poles were toppled on Friday night.

The state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) evacuated 42,000 people. The KMC mayor and his team of civic officials stayed awake on Friday night to meet any eventuality, said the chief minister, adding that the roads had been cleared of uprooted trees. Banerjee also expressed the hope that those evacuated would be moved back to their homes quickly.

Damage was mostly reported in the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. In some areas of West Midnapore, farmers began harvesting paddy since the wind and rain flattened the ripe crop.

Though meteorological officials said on Friday that Fani would hit Bengal as a severe cyclone between midnight and early morning, the storm lost its sting by the time it reached Bengal.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director, IMD Kolkata, said on Saturday morning that Fani will start moving into Bangladesh by 10 am.

Rain was predicted in some areas of Nadia, Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas.

Kolkata airport began operations from 8 am on Saturday after remaining closed for 17 hours.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday he will stand by his Chowkidar Chor Hai jibe as it is a reality and continue using the slogan again Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference in New Delhi that he apologised to the Supreme Court as he felt he had made a mistake.

There is a process is going on in the Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologised. I did not apologise to the BJP or Modi ji. Chowkidar Chor Hai will remain our slogan, he said.

As he launched another attack on the Prime Minister, he took on the issues of unemployment and agrarian crisis and criticised Modi for insulting Indias armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi said that it is clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is losing in the Lok Sabha election 2019 and is conducting a panicky campaign.

More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing  Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections, Rahul Gandhi said.

The reality is that Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face, he said.

The main issues facing the country, he said, were unemployment and the crisis facing the farmers of the country but the Prime Minister said nothing about the concerns of the common people.

The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. The country is asking that Modi ji you promised us two crore jobs, what about that? He doesnt speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, Rahul Gandhi said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: Modijis entire strategy is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like he brought seaplane in Gujarat.

The Congress does not politicise the army, Rahul Gandhi said, and it is not anyones property as Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned the Congress claims that the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes during its tenure.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the army, Gandhi said.

The Congress presidents remarks come a day after the Prime Minister said during a public meeting in Rajasthans Sikar that the party which questioned the surgical strikes is now saying me too, me too.

The issue of surgical strikes has been a regular refrain in PM Modis electoral speeches after the IAFs air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility at Balakot in Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF jawans had lost their lives. He had even asked the first-time voters to dedicate their vote to Balakot.
The election commission will welcome 999 centenarian voters in Himachal Pradesh with roses and other flowers at polling booths on the May 19, when the state goes to polls.

Out of about 53 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh, 999 are more than 100-year-old. They include 377 male and 622 female voters. The highest number of centenarian voters  293, including 111 males and 182 females  are in Kangra district. Lahaul Spiti district has only 5 such voters, including two males and three females, lowest in the state.

Special facilities will be provided to voters who are more than 100-year-old at polling booths, said chief election officer (CEO) Devesh Kumar.

The list of the centenarian voters also includes the name of 102 year-old Shyam Saran Negi of Kinnaur, who is said to be the first person to cast his vote in independent India on October 25, 1951.

Himachal Pradesh also has 5,775 voters with visual disability, 4,366 with hearing and speech impairment, 19,173 with locomotor disability and 8,538 with other disabilities.

The state has 53,30,154 electorate, including 27,24,111 male, 26,05,996 female and 47 third gender voters.

As many as 1,52,390 voters  82,500 males, 69,880 females and 10 third genders  will exercise their franchise for the first time.

Of the 7,730 polling booths in the state,seven have been set up for the convenience of senior citizens and differently abled voters, the CEO said.

In Kangra district, two auxiliary polling stations  in an old age home at Dari in Dharamshala and at GHS, Bara Bhangal  had been set up for the convenience old residents, he said. Another such booth would function at an old age home at Key in Lahaul-Spiti district, he said.

Key Gompa, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries, is situated 4166 metres above sea level in the Spiti valley.

Two auxiliary polling booths have been set up in Mandi district, and one each in Shimla and Solan districts, he added.

In Mandi, the auxiliary booths had been set up in ICSA building at Sundarnagar to facilitate differently-abled voters and at Balh Bhangrotu-I, Vridhashram Bhangotu, for the convenience of old age home inmates.
Barely two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was widely seen as the party all set to end the dominance of traditional parties that had dominated the electoral politics in Punjab for decades.

Its leaders, many of them first generation politicians lured into politics by party chief Arvind Kejriwals appeal and his promise of corruption-free, transparent government, were scenting power in the state assembly polls. But, it is an entirely different story today. A sub-par performance in 2017, frequent squabbles and splits have left hurt the party badly. And, the party is a pale shadow of its former self in the state with a flagging support base and an organisational set-up in total disarray.

SHRINKING SUPPORT, LIMITED CONTEST The AAP has had to struggle to find candidates for several of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. Its poll battle is limited to just Sangrur seat from where state unit chief and sitting MP Bhagwant Mann, the partys best bet in the May 19 polls, is in the fray. The stand-up comedian-turned-politician is in a tough three-way contest with Kewal Singh Dhillon of the Congress and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa of the SAD in his re-election bid.

In almost all other constituencies except Faridkot where sitting MP Sadhu Singh is the AAP nominee, the contest is directly between the Congress and the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine or is being made triangular by other smaller outfits. The mood is not the same in most constituencies, but Mann is doing well, thanks to his rural connect and image. This is one seat where we have a strong chance and have gone all out, one of the senior-most state leaders said, requesting anonymity.

Mann, the face of the party in Punjab, is mainly caught up in his own fight and not gone out much to campaign for other candidates. A bit of a letdown from a party that had pulled off a stunning performance in the 2014 parliamentary polls in Punjab as a rookie player by winning four seats  Sangrur, Patiala, Faridkot and Faridkot  with 25% vote share.

Prof Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science, Panjab University, said the AAP was in a moribund state in Punjab because the leadership failed to build a vibrant organisation, did not develop local leadership and got hampered by lack of resources. Though it promised internal democracy and transparency, the party leadership lost its basic moral fibre by taking decisions arbitrarily, leaving those who had joined the party driven by idealism disappointed.

COMPETING AMBITIONS, FREQUENT UPHEAVALS Though the party had its share of internal squabbles from the start, things got worse after the 2017 assembly polls in which it emerged as the principal opposition party, pushing the SAD to the number three position. The Punjab leaders and their supporters blamed the central leadership, which virtually controlled the state unit, for flawed ticket distribution and not allowing the state leadership a free hand, leading to state affairs in-charge Sanjay Singhs resignation.

There was no observer for eight months even as several state leaders with competing ambitions and distrustful of each other created chaos and the party did poorly in byelections and civic polls.

Kejriwal appointed his close aide and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, but he, too, could not set the house in order.

All hell broke loose after Kejriwals apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia to settle a drug charge-related defamation case. Most of the 20 party MLAs led by leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira challenged his authority. Though a split was averted, it set off a chain

of events that led to revolt by eight of the 20 party MLAs in July 2018, demanding autonomy, when Khaira was removed from his post.

The party has been plagued by desertions since.

The Delhi chief minister, whose own charisma was the prime reason for the groundswell of support for the party, also seems to be focusing more on Haryana (his home state). However, AAPs campaign committee head Aman Arora said the state leadership was concentrating on the entire Malwa region with Sangrur being the epicentre.

He said Kejriwal would spend five days in Punjab after polling in Delhi and Haryana on May 12 to address a series of public meetings and hold a road show.
As another year marked by the global pandemic comes to an end, our photojournalists remain challenged  and, frequently, awed - by the constant state of change.



We documented our ever-evolving world in ways few photo staffs could as we all worked to regain normalcy amid COVID-19s seemingly unbreakable hold on our communities. We showed the relieved faces of people receiving a coveted vaccine, telling the story of a scientific breakthrough with images of those benefitting from it. We covered new workplace policies, school protocols and policing practices. We traveled half-way across the world to an Olympics where the athletes couldnt hug each other, masked medalists step atop the podium and no one came to watch.



The Chicago Tribune faced its own series of changes, too. We have new owners. New bosses. Endured another move. Gained new talented journalists and lost many others from the newsroom ranks. The one constant has been our dedication to providing photography on a daily basis that is relevant to the communities we cover: The joy of picnicking at the lakefront on a summer afternoon, the pain of children, police officers and neighbors all falling victims to violent crime. Documenting whos in and whos out in the political landscape, escaping to your favorite cultural event or sports competition.



We hope this installment of the annual Photos of the Year project reminds us of the moments that shaped our lives and the thoughtful way we portray them. Its also a platform for acknowledging the talent and dedication of Tribune photographers, and all photojournalists, who make change a way of life.



The Chicago Tribune staff photographers for 2021: Brian Cassella, Erin Hooley, Terrence Antonio James, Vashon Jordan Jr., John J. Kim, Youngrae Kim, Jose M. Osorio, Antonio Perez, Armando L. Sanchez, Chris Sweda, Abel Uribe, E. Jason Wambsgans, Stacey Wescott and Raquel Zaldivar.



Tribune visual editors: Mark Hume, Andrew Johnston, Marianne Mather, Steve Rosenberg and Peter Tsai.

- Todd Panagopoulos, Director of Content/Visuals
A Christian priest prays for his victory as union home minister Rajnath Singh, who has had several Muslim clerics supporting him in his bid for a second term as Lucknow MP, patiently meets everyone at the residence of his lawmaker son Pankaj Singh.

In a poll season marred by Ali vs Bajrang Bali controversy, Rajnath has blended his campaign with temple visits, sandwiched by visits to Muslim clerics and churches.

Rajnath is up against the Alliance candidate Poonam Sinha, whose daughter and actor Sonakshi Sinha and actor-turned-politician husband Shatrughan Sinha are drumming up support for her, and Congresss nominee Pramod Krishnam.

In an interview to Manish Chandra Pandey, Rajnath spoke on a range of issues including elections, patriotism and Kashmir. Excerpts:

Patriotism and nationalism have become poll talk. Congress has accused the BJP of politicising the valour of the armed forces. What is your take?

Every Indian, who values nationalism, is a patriot. Praising a commendable work undertaken in the interest of the country from poll stage doesnt come under the violation of model code of conduct. Cant we even praise our security personnel who toil so hard for the country?

Why then is the BJP being accused of politicising patriotism?

Its a baseless charge. We will praise our security forces come what may. Nothing is bigger than the country and those who guard it.

BJP chief Amit Shah has spoken of scrapping Article 370 and giving special status to J&K. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti says Kashmir would burn if that happens. What do you have to say on this as well as Omar Abdullahs two PMs statement?

We will review both Article 370 and Article 35 A of the Constitution when we return to power. It must be examined whether these instruments have helped the border state or not. We will scrap it if we find that it hasnt helped the state. So far as Omar Abdullahs two PM statement is concerned, I condemn it in strongest possible terms. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had given the slogan of Insaniyat (humanity), Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri values) and Jamhooriyat (democracy) that made him popular in the Valley. When you talk of reviewing and scrapping Article 370 and 35 A, dont you think it is contradictory to Vajpayees mantra? A: No. We remain committed to insaaf (justice) and insaniyat (humanity). Our policy is clear. Justice to all, appeasement of none and thats what we would do.

What has been the change you have witnessed in Kashmir in the last five years?

A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done. The people of Kashmir want peace and development. Under PM Modis stewardship maximum financial help has been given to the state. It needs to be seen who is blocking the states progress. This is a cause for concern. This is the first time that SP-BSP have teamed up against BJP in Lucknow where Congress has fielded a seer against you. How are you facing the challenge? Coolly. I am getting support from all sections. I have never done politics of caste, creed or religion. Our PMs motto is sabka saath, sabka vikas. Our political opponents try and create fear of BJP, marketing it as communal. But, the fact is that they create sense of fear among minorities and now, people are seeing through their game. We have initiated works and projects worth 24,000 crore for Lucknow. This will benefit all.

While poll discourse is plummeting we saw your son Neeraj touching the feet of Congress candidate in Lucknow during campaign. How do you see it?

Its nice as I myself have never engaged in politics of hate.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition at a rally in Rajasthan on Friday over a spate of complaints against him by the Congress and other parties to the Election Commission.

Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word Abhinandan, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.

Then their one man or chela will go to the Supreme Court. The court will ask the EC to decide the matter in one week and then EC will say that Modi did not violate he just greeted people. The Congress would then do a press conference. They are just playing this game, Modi said in Rajasthans Sikar.

Modis comments come at a time the EC is looking at several complaints against him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC)  the poll watchdog has already cleared the PM in five complaints of violating the MCC.

The principal opposition party had also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the poll watchdog of inaction and prompting the top court to set Monday as the deadline for acting against the complaints.

Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman hit headlines in February after he downed a Pakistani jet during a dogfight, that came a day after Indian forces struck terror targets deep within Pakistan in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama attack that killed 40 troopers on February 14. Varthamans jet was shot and he was captured by Pakistani forces, and returned a few days later.

One of the cases in which Modi was cleared by the EC this week pertained to a speech where he referred to the air strikes in Pakistans Balakot. The EC has since issued an advisory against the use of defence personnel as a part of political campaigns and a number of BJP leaders have got into trouble for featuring Varthaman in their election posters.

The Congress was not amused by Modis comment. Modis desperation is written all over his face. Bereft of issues and lost in the web of his own lies, he is mocking the entire nation and its institutions...Such arrogance is always given a befitting reply and that reply would have a resounding impact in his defeat on May 23, said the partys chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

At a rally later in the day in Bikaner, Modi questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism, saying the party could not stop Indias share of river water flowing to Pakistan. Was it right to give our share of river water to Pakistan? he asked the gathering, adding if he came back to power, he would prioritise giving water to the states farmers. Twelve remaining seats in Rajasthan go to polls on Monday.

He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her interaction with some snake charmers in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, The PM has flagrantly violated the model code of conductHe is a repeat offender, calls for multiple gag orders.
Senior Congress leader and the partys candidate from North East Delhi, Sheila Dikshit has no regrets that the party could not stitch an alliance with AAP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress is too big a party and far too historical a party while AAP is too small and just confined to the national capital, she told Hindustan Times. Dikshit had been a sharp and loud critic of the idea of the Congress teaming up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.

Also Watch: AAP too small, BJP main rival in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit on campaign trail

Reacting to colleague and Congress candidate from the New Delhi seat Ajay Makens recent statement that had the Congress-AAP alliance materialised, the grand old party would have won all 7 Delhi seats and with margins of more than 2-3 lakhs each, she said it was his personal perception.

But we contest elections not with perceptions. We contest them because we are contesting, she added. The buzz over a possible tie-up between the Congress and AAP continued for weeks before nominations for the polls. But all speculations were put to rest when the two sides were unable to work out a seat-sharing formula for the alliance.

Sheila Dikshit is also the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi constituency and is banking on her 15-year stint as chief minister to wrest the seat from sitting BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. AAPs Dilip Pandey is the other candidate in the fray in the three-cornered contest.

I am going to compete with both of them, says Dikshit, adding that she considers BJP to be the bigger competitor as the party holds all the 7 seats in Delhi as of now. AAP only makes a lot of noise about itself, she added.

Asked how many seats the Congress would win in Delhi, she refused to speculate saying, People are beginning to evaluate the candidates in the fray. I would not like to comment on the outcome of the elections since there are about ten days left for the electoral process to be over, said Dikshit as she signed off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

The prime minister was speaking at an election rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh. He was accompanied by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. The prime minister has election rallies in UP and Bihar scheduled for today. In Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi has two rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, while in Bihar; he will address a public meeting at Valmiki Nagar.

Now it has become clear that the Samajwadi Party under the guise of a grand alliance has used Mayawati. They have been shrewd with her and kept her in the dark about their intentions. They also went to the extent of promising to make her the PM. Now, Behenji has realized their ploy and hence openly criticizes the Congress, PM Modi said.

Making a reference to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi sharing the stage with SP leaders he said, SP keeps very quiet when asked about the Congress and on the other hand Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies and sharing the dias with SP leaders. They should not have tricked Mayawati in such a cunning manner. She is still not able to understand how they tricked her. Truth always comes to the forefront. It cannot be hidden for too long.

The party which in the first phase of polls was portraying their leader as a PM candidate have now started confessing that they are merely there to cut votes

Cutting votes and tearing bills are the character of the Congress, the prime minister said.

Now even Congress is openly accepting that they cannot win over Modi till they malign Modis honesty and hard work, he added.

This Maha Milawati Panja is very dangerous. Whenever they have come to power, the country has had to bear a heavy price. There are five major dangers of this alliance: corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic politics and bad governance, he said.

These people do not trust outsiders and therefore just keep their family members in power. Anyone who starts to emerge as an alternative is destroyed, the prime minister said signing off.
Two weeks after 257 people were killed in suicide bombings across three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka, the churches in the city are contemplating measures to upgrade their security.

Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay  the apex body for Roman Catholic churches in the city  told HT that they are planning to restrict vehicle parking 40 feet away from the church. There will also be a prohibition on haversacks and large bags being allowed inside the church premises. The decision was taken during a meeting conducted by the archbishop of Mumbai, cardinal Oswald Gracias, with priests from the Roman Catholic churches on Thursday.

Last week, the archbishop held at meeting at his house, which was attended by representatives of various churches and the Mumbai police commissioner. Based on those discussions, we decided to take these measures, Barrett said.

He added that the cardinal has also asked the priests in-charge of various churches to take all necessary security measures after consultation with the local police.

Gracias along with Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind (body of Islamic scholars), also issued a joint statement condemning the terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

Apart from causing loss of innocent lives, terrorist attacks leave an impact on the peace and harmony of society. It is the duty of all religious leaders to stand up and use all our resources to cleanse society of this evil, read the statement.
There is a distinct similarity between the 2004 campaign of Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) first prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modis 2019 campaign - they share what can perhaps be best described as a feel good factor.

But what are the elements that set the two elections, and election campaigns, apart?

For starters, any dissatisfaction with Modis performance as Prime Minister does not appear to be necessarily leading to anger directed at him. This is a big advantage for Modi during this election season. His perceived iron-fist policy on security, his projection of nationalism, and his messaging on welfare programmes, is making supporters feel good about having him at the helm. But since this is accompanied with the subtext of Hindu consolidation, it causes a counter polarity of the Muslim vote, whose imprint will be more visible this time as compared to 2014, when not a single Muslim candidate was elected from Indias largest state Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP appears to be reaping a rich harvest from its schemes to provide toilets and housing in rural areas. The relative spread of public conveniences has brought about a behavioral change, and the roof over head mantra has struck a chord. These factors kept coming up in discussions with the locals during my travels in different parts of the country over last month.

By the end of 2018, Modi faced two distinct challenges  mushrooming farm distress, and disenchanted upper castes. The farmers complained about declining profits and the upper castes resented Modis restoring the provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court. Both played a role in BJPs defeat in the December assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states.

In the last three months, Modi has managed to address both. The second instalment of ~2,000 is going into the bank account of farmers even as India is still voting, and the 10% quota in jobs and education to the poor among the general category has changed the mood among the BJPs upper-caste supporters.

Also, the corruption charges that the Opposition threw at him with its chowkidar chor hai slogan, have managed to get only a limited response in most parts. On the ground, Modis image remains his strongest draw.

Notwithstanding this background, a question needs to be asked: Can Modi lose, like Vajpayee did despite his high personal popularity?

To answer this, a comparison needs to be drawn between the BJP of 2004 and 2019. The partys character has evolved since 2004, and how it has modified its campaign for different states makes the Modi of today different from the Vajpayee of 15 years ago. The BJP, too, has grown in size over the last five years.

The story of 2019 lies in Modis ability to keep Indias most backward communities, particularly in UP and Bihar, invested in him. He is winning new support from Dalit groups as well. Both these are different from Vajpayees support base in 2014.

With some exceptions, my trips indicated that there isnt too much dent in the support that Modi received in 2014  171.6 million votes to be precise. His challenge is to get the same number of seats as last time when Opposition unity is greater.

The upper-castes remain with him, so does the umbrella coalition of smaller caste groups that appears to identify better with Modi than with regional players in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These are the two bellwether states accounting for 120 Lok Sabha seats. Modi has also achieved this by altering his speeches in a way that touches the different set of constituents in different states. The BJP has carefully avoided a one size fits all campaign, a trap in which many other political parties find themselves caught in.

In West Bengal, the BJP tapped the nationalist space and talked about Mamata Banerjees pro-Muslim. The decline of the Congress and the Left helped it emerge as the main opposition. If Modi speaks of development and roads in Jharkhand, a tribal state that suffered on account of political instability for years, he goes out of the way to display soft Hindutva with an aarti on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi.

The Balakot air strike and corruption remain common refrains in his speeches. This has helped him traverse the journey from leading a suit boot ki Sarkar to emerge as a socialist leader whose welfare programmes touch a billion people.

If an India Shining moment sank Vajpayee, Modi chose to be careful in articulating that his ek bharat, shrestha bharat (one India, best India) was a work in progress that may need a second shot in power to be complete.

When the results are out on May 23, Modi could well prove that feel good is not a bad phrase in politics.

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The Bihar State Minorities Commission has requested the government to ensure a better civic amenities like water, electricity supplies and cleanliness in state capital, especially in the areas having high Muslim population during the month of Ramzan.

In a letter written to the urban development department, the Bihar State Minorities Commission has asked the department to make proper water supply facility in these areas especially at the time of Sehri (pre-dawn meal).

Sehari is consumed before the dawn breaks by the people who observe Roza or the day long fast during Ramzan and is considered obligatory for the people on fast. The month long festival is to begin in couple of days.

Often, the Sehri is observed at around 3 AM and during the time there is no water in the tap in many households in our city, as the municipal corporation starts supplying water at 6 AM, Prof Md Yunus Hussain Hakim, chairman of Bihar State Minorities Commission, said.

Faroque Zaman, an official from the Bihar State Minorities Commission, said that a large population in the city is still dependent upon government water supply facility.

Considering their conveniences and requirements, the minorities commission has reminded

the urban development to ensure uninterrupted water supply, especially at the time of Sehri, he said. There are many areas in the city with substantially higher Muslim population which include Aalamganj, Sultanganj, Patna City, Sabzi Bagh colony, areas around Gol Ghar, Samanpura, Raja Bazaar, Deegha, Danapur, Maner, Zaman said.

Masod Iqbal, a local from Sultanganj locality, said water and electricity supplies in areas like Sultanganj, Aalamganj and Patna city often remain disrupted. Instances of demonstrations, demanding to restore and regularise the water and electricity supplies are very common here. People demonstrate to press for the demands, he said.

Irregular water supply is a big problem here and may prove to be very inconvenient for the local Muslims during Ramzan, he said.

The minorities commission official said that Muslims are also concerned about the polling in Patna Sahib and Patliputra Lok Sabha constituencies. Visiting polling booth is not a big problem, but standing in queue for hours to cast votes while being on fast may prove to be difficult for many. Its the peak summer season and even those who are not observing fast, prefer not to go outdoors during the daytime, he said. The best thing is polling is to start at early morning, he added.

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Taking serious cognisance of the Thursday drowning incident that claimed the lives of three MBA students, Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud, on Friday decided to send alert messages on social media platforms to students. The messaging service will contain various measures that the students must keep in mind before planning an excursion.

Vernekar said, The college administration is in constant touch with the family members of the deceased students. We have extended all possible assistance to the bereaved families.

Giving details about the alert messaging service, Vernekar said, Considering the incident that took place on Thursday, we have now decided to send an alert message to all the students starting Friday. The messages will be sent on WhatsApp, phone message and email. The message will contain precautionary measures and dos and donts that the students must take before they plan an excursion. We will also ask the students to avoid going near dams, rivers and unknown water bodies.

Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Besides that, for every new batch that joins the institute, we have organised an induction programme for both students and parents. As many students come from different places, they either stay at the college hostel or private residences. I would personally address the programme and inform them about the safety measures and their responsibilities while pursuing their education here. We will also take regular counselling sessions for students.

Talking about the incident, Vernekar said, The ten students who had gone to Mulshi dam were not residing at the college hostel. They did not have any restrictions and hotel deadlines. No such excursions are planned by the college and the students had gone on their own. The incident is extremely unfortunate.

Vernekar said, When we were informed about the incident on Thursday morning, a team from the college, including senior management officials, rushed to the spot. I was continuously following up with the college administration until all the bodies were recovered and their family members reached Pune.

The dean said that when the institute officials spoke to the other seven students who were in that group, they said that they have been to Mulshi dam several times in the past and were familiar with the nearby areas.

The students said that only Shubham Raj Sinha and Shiv Kumar knew how to swim and they rushed to rescue Sangita Negi. However, it was very unfortunate that all three of them drowned, Vernekar said.

Alert messages will carry precautionary tips

1. Carry safety equipment along with you on picnics/outings.

2. Carry preventive medicine/drugs

3. Keep your parents informed

4. Do not go with unknown persons and to unknown area

5. See that you are back home/PG/hostels by 10 pm

6. Read and follow safety signs

7. Follow traffic rules

8. Wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler

Students say

Though I have not met the victim students personally, I am shocked. We are a group of eight boys and, after this tragic incident, we have decided to not plan any excursion near an unknown water body.

Abhijit Koturwar , 1st year MA student

It was an unfortunate incident. The students should think about their family members before planning an excursion that involves a risk of any kind. They must inform their parents about their whereabouts at all times.

Sarita Anand, first year master in social work student

We must always carry safety equipment when we go for an excursion. If the outing involves trekking, one must carry a rope and a torch. These equipment can help during crisis and also save lives.

Suraj Devkar, second year MA student

We have the right to know the truth about Shivs death

The bodies of the three MBA students who drowned at Mulshi dam were kept at the dead house (morgue) of Sassoon General Hospital, before it were handed over to their family members on Friday.

The body of Shiv Kumar, one of the deceased, was collected by his father Gopal Krishna Kumar and uncle Bantu Sharma.

An inconsolable Sharma said, We would like to know if the incident was an accident or was he pushed into the deep waters. His friends at the college are not divulging any details. We at least have the right to know the truth.

Speaking about Shiv, Sharma said, He was loved by one and all and completed his graduation in commerce. He even won gold medals in academics. He was an ex-student of GLA university, which is considered as a top university in Uttar Pradesh.

We have not informed our family members about the incident. They have been told that Shiv is in the intensive care unit (ICU). I can imagine my sisters condition after knowing that her son is no more. She would be devastated.

Kumar, who is a police officer at Mathura, said, I was posted on election duty in Dholpur, Uttar Pradesh. I was unaware of the incident. As soon as I received information about the incident I rushed to Pune with my brother-in-law. I have three children and Shiv was the eldest. The youngest is disabled and my daughter is 17-years-old. I never thought that such an incident will happen with my son. My family members have not been informed yet. This is a very difficult time for us. Shiv was a brilliant student and has been residing in Pune for only one year.
HIV-suppressing medication can make the AIDS virus untransmittable even among couples who have sex without using condoms, new research showed Friday.

The Europe-wide study monitored nearly 1,000 gay male couples over a period of eight years, where one partner was HIV-positive and receiving antiretroviral (ART) treatment, while the other was HIV negative.

Doctors did not find a single case of in-couple HIV transmission within that time, raising hopes that widespread ART programmes could eventually end new infections.

Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero, said Alison Rodger, from University College London, who co-led the research published in The Lancet.

They support the message... that an undetectable viral load makes HIV untransmittable. This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face.

Researchers estimate that ART prevented around 470 HIV transmissions within couples during the study period.

HIV and the fatal illnesses it provokes remain one of the worlds largest health crises despite much progress in recent years.

More than 21 million people currently receive regular ART medication, which suppresses the virus - only around 59% of global HIV sufferers. The authors of the study noted several limitations, including that the average age of the HIV-negative men was 38. Most HIV transmissions occur in people aged under 25.

Individuals currently on ART must take medication almost every day for the rest of their lives, and treatment is often disrupted for a variety of reasons.

But the fact that couples can have unprotected sex for years without passing on the virus was still worth noting, experts said.

Timely identification of HIV-infected people and provision of effective treatment leads to near normal health and virtual elimination of the risk of HIV transmission, said Myron Cohen, from the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases.

Yet maximising the benefits of ART has proven daunting: fear, stigma, homophobia, and other adverse social forces continue to compromise HIV treatment.

The study shows that we can pass the message there is no risk, said Aurelien Beaucamp, the head of the French lobby group Aides.

The UN goal is for 90% of HIV-positive people to know their status by 2020. Of these, at least 90% must receive ART, and the HIV virus be suppressed in 90% of those. AIDS has killed 35 million people since it emerged in the 1980s and 78 million people have been infected with HIV.

There were 1.8 million new HIV infections, down from 1.9 million in 2016 and 3.4 million at the peak of the epidemic in 1996, according to UNAIDS. The number of deaths dropped by 50,000 year-on-year to 940,000, compared to 1.9 million in 2005 when a mere 2.1 million infected people had access to life-lengthening ART.

But for this, money is needed. And the global effort is short about $7 billion (six billion euros) per year, according to UNAIDS.

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Actor and comedian Kapil Sharma is all set to welcome his mother on The Kapil Sharma Show. The actor has released a teaser of the upcoming Mothers Day special episode in which he can be seen introducing his mother, Janak Rani to the audience. He captioned the teaser on his Instagram account, This weekend. The one n only #superstar my mother #mothersday special #love #blessings #mother.

In the teaser video, Kapil can be seen making the viewers emotional by welcoming his mother on stage, who is seen in a midi dress. He says that whole world asks a man about his salary, a mother asks her child if he has eaten food or not. He also reveals that his mother is usually present on the sets of the show. She says in the clip, It feels nice to watch him.

Badhaai Ho actors Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao will also be seen on the show this weekend. The promo shows comedian Kiku Sharda cracking a joke on the meaning of Gajrajs name. He says, Gajraj Rao ji, mujhe aapka naam bahot pasand aaya. Gaj matlab haathi (elephant). Haathi jo hota hai, woh uttpaatt machaata hai. Film mein, dekhiye, aap ne bhi machaa diya. As Neena Gupta, judge Archana Puran Singh and rest of the audience burst out laughing, an embarrassed Gajraj covered his face.

Kapil tied the knot with Ginni Chatrath in twin ceremonies in December 12 in Jalandhar. This was followed by three wedding receptions in Amritsar, Mumbai and Delhi. All from actors Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar to Rekha had attended the star-studded party in Mumbai.

Also read: Priyanka Chopras brother Siddharths fiance deletes all proof of bridal shower, roka ceremony from Instagram

Kapil was missing from action for several months as recovered from his ill health. He had attended the Drug Free India event in Chandigarh a few months ago and had spoken about his experiences of dealing with alcoholism. A source had told DNA, Kapil spoke about how he was consumed by the bottle. He recalled seeing his mother break down. Thats when he decided to kick the habit.

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My two sons who are involved in this and I have been in business now for nine years and weve been doing a lot of local county fairs and such and decided to branch out, Pomales said. Were in a spot where wed like to expand and people from Illinois have been coming out for so long to get our food, we thought it was time we brought it to them.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each others intentions, arms control advocates say.

Trump cited the expense of keeping up the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a motivating factor behind wanting to limit how many weapons are deployed.

Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he said.

Trump said China during trade talks had felt very strongly about joining the United States and Russia in limiting nuclear weapons.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves maybe to start off, and I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about non-proliferation, well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind, and I think itll be a very comprehensive one, he said.

The New START treaty required the United States and Russia to cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades, and limit delivery systems - land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

It also includes extensive transparency measures requiring each side to allow the other to carry out 10 inspections of strategic nuclear bases each year; give 48 hours notice before new missiles covered by the treaty leave their factories; and provide notifications before ballistic missile launches.

Trump has called the New START treaty concluded by his predecessor, Barack Obama, a bad deal and one-sided.

The Kremlin said the two sides confirmed they intended to activate dialogue in various spheres, including strategic security.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, briefly talked about the report by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Putin seemed amused, said Trump.

He said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain, and it ended up being a mouse. But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. Pretty much thats what it was, he said.

The Kremlin said the call was initiated by Washington. It said the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts on different levels and expressed satisfaction with the businesslike and constructive nature of the conversation.

With the United States concerned about a Russian military presence in Venezuela at a time when Washington wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, Trump told Putin the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin told Trump that any external interference in Venezuelas internal business undermines the prospects of a political end to the crisis, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump cancelled a summit meeting with Putin late last year after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on Nov. 25 and arrested 24 sailors. Putin also told Trump that the new leadership in Ukraine should take steps to solve the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has yet to agree to a disarmament deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. The Kremlin said both leaders highlighted the need to pursue denuclearisation of the region.

During an April summit with Kim in Vladivostok, Putin expressed Russian support for a gradual process of trading disarmament for sanctions relief.
North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Koreas joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analysing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Koreas presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
School teachers have found a unique way to ensure their students behave in class. They are threatening to reveal key plots of the highly anticipated film Avengers: Endgame that had a massive opening this weekend.

With most students yet to watch the film, the threat by teachers is proving to be an effective step to keep students in line according to posts by users on Reddit and Twitter.

In the past week, various Reddit and Twitter users have posted pictures and videos showcasing an innovative strategy employed by their teachers: using the threat of spoilers as a way to ensure students behave well in class and stay focused.

One humorous and devious photo showed a substitute chemistry teacher allegedly writing letter-by-letter of a sentence that allegedly spoils part of the movie, whenever students spoke out of turn in the class

Another post from a Twitter user explained how a fellow classmate chose to answer every question to a recent assignment with a spoiler from the film, leaving the teacher unable to grade it.

According to Business Insider and as cited by People, New York high school teacher Rebecca Shamsian shared that she first began threatening her students with spoilers, after one of them accidentally said that he hadnt seen the film yet.

When that same student spoke up in class later that day, Shamsian said that she told him that if he didnt stop distracting people right now, I would tell him an Endgame spoiler.

She couldnt believe how effective the tactic proved to the students.

I could see his eyes widen, and immediately he closed his mouth and turned towards the assignment. I have literally never seen such an instantaneous result with a student, she shared. Needless to say, the rest of the period was perfectly on task.

Although not everyone may agree with this method, Shamsian said its particularly difficult to keep students engaged in whats going on in the classroom as summer break approaches.

When the weather is warm and the years almost over, the usual method of reminding them that their grade will be affected, or warning that you will call home, doesnt make an impact, she said. But the one thing I know my students care about is Endgame.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few showers early, becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Mary Jo Viero, who also works for BAPA, grew up in the neighborhood, as did her husband. When they moved back as adults, they had a four-level Tudor home. But as her father-in-law became dependent on a wheelchair, it was too difficult for him to maneuver throughout the home. They had a new Tudor home built a few blocks away, which melds with the neighborhood, but has an open floor plan and an accessible bathroom in a first-floor bedroom suite.
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"Just because someone believes differently than another, it is not cause to hate them. Our places of worship are the least places where we expect someone to attack and take innocent lives," Fakhruddin said.
Swiac said one of her first patients was discharged on her rotations last day. The patients gratitude "gave me a picture of what it would be like to be a nurse," she said, figuring working in obstetrics and delivery or the emergency room would be "a good place to use my critical thinking."
Rebranding

3 May 2019

Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Fountains Hotel in Cape Town announce the rebranding of the Fountains Hotel.

With 156 guest rooms and suites, the Best Western Fountains Hotel is located in the heart of Cape Town's central business district. Ideal for both business and leisure travelers, the hotel offers a choice of comfortable bedrooms, the majority with views over the harbour, the bustling Thibault Square or Table Mountain.

The hotel boasts a range of rooms, with air-conditioning, safe, coffee-and-tea making facilities, satellite TV's, mini-bars and complimentary WiFi. The restaurant offers a sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner all in convenient buffet style, whilst 24-hour room service is available as well. Breakfast includes international as well as cooked South-African choices, freshly baked bread, rolls, pastries all from their in-house bakery as well as a range of fruits and yoghurts.

Cape Town, South Africa's Mother City, and the location of the established Best Western Cape Suites, is renowned for its pleasant climate. The city offers many memorable experiences including the famous Table Mountain, a stroll around the city centre or to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, Cape Town's most visited tourist destination, whilst the Cape Town International Convention Centre is a mere 500 meter walk from the hotel.
Now Open

4 May 2019

AC Hotels by Marriott, AC Hotels by Marriott, a design-led European lifestyle hotel brand from Marriott International, recently announced the opening of the AC Hotel Lima Miraflores, located in the Miraflores district with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

AC Hotels by Marriott celebrates the beauty of classic modern design with its European soul and Spanish roots, born from the signature vision of the renowned hotelier Antonio Catalan, who founded the brand in 1998 and grew it into one of the most respected hotel brands in Spain. Following its success in Europe, a joint venture was formed with Marriott International in 2011, which has since launched AC Hotels by Marriott globally in France, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and now Peru. The new AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is the second AC Hotel by Marriott in South America.

On the other hand, Jorge Melero, CEO of Intursa (Tourism National Investments) - partner of Breca and Marriott International in Peru - shared that the investment made for this project in Lima amounted to roughly $28.9 million dollars. This new project is part of a franchise deal with Marriott International.

The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is 18 stories high and has 150 rooms, 11 suites and 2 meeting rooms with a total area of 882 square feet and a capacity of 90 people. The hotel is also surrounded by boutiques, trendy restaurants and other local attractions. AC Kitchen serves European inspired dishes and the hotel's trendy AC Lounge offers guests a chic, open and comfortable ambiance, ideal for socializing. The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores also has a rooftop with beautiful views of the city.

AC Hotels by Marriott is a brand with a new understanding of the hotel industry, a modern design and constant evolution in its services, aiming to offer its guests surprising experiences. It allows travelers to know the quality of Marriott International hotels at affordable prices in some of the most interesting cities in the region and promising destinations.

Based on the idea that purposeful design improves lives, AC Hotels by Marriott carves away what is unnecessary, in order to provide guests with thoughtfully designed moments of beauty; experiences that elevate their stay and help them focus on what is important to them. The result is sophisticated yet unpretentious style, innovative food and beverage programming with locally inspired experiences for both guests and locals.

AC Hotel Lima Miraflores will provide employment to over 98 people and create approximately 120 jobs, said Juan Antonio Sanchez. "I've estimated that the hotel will be 60 percent occupied by the corporate segment and the remaining by conventional tourists, a segment that has been growing steadily," added Juan Antonio Sanchez.

Lima is one of the most important cities in South America, which continues to grow in tourism as a business hub and as the gastronomic capital of America. Thanks to its Convention Centers, international tourism has grown in the city.
The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension.

The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension. The new select-service hotel combines the premium elements guests desire with an affordable travel experience and builds on the company's eight decades of expertise in the midscale segment.T

he 72-room Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs features custom murals showcasing popular Sulphur Springs attractions in each room, a brand hallmark that brings the hotel's location to life for every guest. Located at 411 East Industrial Drive, the new hotel is near Interstate 30 and well-known local attractions, including Hopkins County Veterans Memorial, Coleman Park, Main Street Theatre, and The Hopkins County Museum and Heritage Park.

"Clarion Pointe came to life faster than any brand in the company's history, and the first hotel in Sulphur Springs is proof of this powerful select-service conversion concept," said Anne Smith, vice president, brand management, design and compliance, Choice Hotels. "Choice continues to lead and shape the midscale space to meet the needs of franchisees and guests alike. Since unveiling our Clarion Pointe extension in September of last year, the brand has been in high demand."



Nearly 30 Clarion Pointe hotels are expected to open and 10 are planned for this year, including in Medford, Ore.; North Charleston, S.C.; Oklahoma City; and Rochester, N.Y. Influenced by the Clarion brand promise of creating environments for people to connect and socialize, Clarion Pointe allows guests to maximize their travel experience with "focal pointes," including:

Contemporary design touches, including signature murals in guest rooms and the lobby that reflect local points of interest.

Curated food and beverage, like free premium coffee and tea from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as free breakfast with fresh and nutritious items. Craft beer and select wines, juices and smoothies, and small bites are available for purchase in the hotel's marketplace.

On-demand connectivity that lets guests stream content from their mobile devices onto 49-inch TVs with casting capabilities and free streaming-strength Wi-Fi.

Modern fitness space featuring cardio equipment and a strength-training station.

"The interest in Clarion Pointe gives us a solid foundation for growth in the years ahead," said Tom Nee, vice president, franchise development, Choice Hotels. "Clarion Pointe is ideal for owners who want a hotel concept that resonates with today's travelers, from a company that's proven successful in the midscale segment. Owners gain access to Choice's extensive resources, from in-market support and help with the conversion process, to tools that assist with improving ongoing daily operations."

The new Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs was developed by Helm Hotels Group, a family-owned company with over 35 years of experience in Texas.

"Our years of hospitality experience coupled with Choice's invaluable resources and established brands makes us excited to be at the forefront of the new Clarion Pointe brand," Charles Helm, Owner, Helm Hotels Group. "We know guests will love the brand, which offers a premium local experience, and all of the amenities to make for a great and memorable trip."

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 2021 Hotel News Resource
The chaos surrounding the vicious murder of Nipsey Hussle is beginning to subside as mourners continue to grieve and celebrate the life and legacy of the rapper. Brooklyn-born rapper and former gang member China Mac rocked him "prolific" pullover as he sat down with Vlad TV to discuss Nipsey's death and the impact it's had on hip hop and pop culture.

There's no mistaking that Nipsey has gone from an independent rap star to a household name, but unfortunately, it was his death that made millions aware of who he was as a businessman, philanthropist, and community leader. According to China Mac, Nipsey's death is one of the most significant moments in history and it's reverberated globally and brought people into a higher vibration.



Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

"That's crazy," he says of the Staples Center maxing out tickets for Nipsey's funeral. "Because of that, I say his death was more powerful than say, Malcolm X. It was more profound. 'Cause you just look at...when Malcolm X died, it wasn't really much. A lot of people was hurt. A lot of people loved Malcolm but it wasn't...when Nipsey died he's selling out the stadium. You got the ex-President saying something. You have gangs unifying. You got people from all over the world traveling to the place where he got murdered at and showing love."

"I just feel like Nipsey's death...I just feel like it's a powerful...it's powerful and it's great for our generation to see something like that," he said. "Because the last person to have that type of effect was a Malcolm or a Martin [Luther King, Jr.]. And that was a long time ago. So for somebody to stand for something positive and stand for the community and to have this happen..." he expressed as his thoughts trailed off.

"Like I said, I feel like yo, it's a sad thing," he continued. "Nobody wants to see anybody go. It's always sad when it happens like that, but at the same time, I feel like that it was powerful. I feel like...he's the type of person that if he could choose, if he could have made a decision [to] end like this but you make this type of impact and you make this type of movement, or you just don't do nothing and you end like this, you live a longer life and whatever. I don't know him, but I would think he would make the choice like, 'Aight, I'mma go like this.' Like a martyr."

China Mac goes on to say that now Nipsey's message is "loud and clear" and will continue to have a lasting impact on communities, artists, and fans worldwide. Watch his entire message below.
Joe Biden's found himself in some hot water, once again. The Democratic nominee has been on his campaign in an attempt to lead the Dems into the White House during the next election. However, he's been dealing with a few controversies in recent times that might impact his chances in the election. Most recently, his comments about his trek to the "hood" have left many wondering just how out of touch he actually is.

Joe Biden's looking to win over the votes of the African-American community but as a politician, referring to inner-city communities as "the hood" is probably not the best way to go about it. During a stop on his campaign trail in Iowa, the former vice president spoke about the efforts to evolve the economy in cities such as Detroit which is when he brought up how he went to the hood to teach women of color how to code.

"Through a program, we had through community colleges, we said look, put together a program for us where we could teach people how to code, he said. "We went out, literally into the hood, and they found, turns out, 54 [people], they happened to be all women, the vast majority were women of color, no more than a high school degree, aged 25-54, and a third of them only had GEDs.

According to the Washington Examiner, there was an audible yikes from an audience member but his overall point was met with applause.
It's public knowledge that the Kardashian-Jenner crew make bank from social media posts, but the exact number of what they receive for peddling products hasn't been confirmed. However, court documents revealed just how much companies are willing to pay to have Kim Kardashian West pose with their items on Instagram.

Kim has sued Missguided USA clothing company for illegally using her image and likeness to sell their products. Back in February, Business Insider reported that Kim filed a complaint against the company, accusing them of "unlawful misappropriation" by stating, "Like other 'fast fashion' companies, Missguided ... has become notorious for 'knocking off' the clothing worn by celebrities like Kardashian."

"But Missguided does not merely replicate the looks of these celebrities as seen on red carpets, in paparazzi photos, and in social media posts," the complaint goes on to say. "Missguided systematically uses the names and images of Kardashian and other celebrities to advertise and spark interest in its website and clothing."

Also in the documents are details regarding how much Kim charges for her social media posts, and it states that the business mogul receives $300K to $500K per Instagram post. Although there are plenty of companies who are willing to write out a check for Kim to help them promote their products, the documents say that Kim regularly turns down offers because she doesn't want to be associated with the brand.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star claims that her personal brand is being damaged by the association so she's suing for $10 million. According to The Fashion Law, as of April 1, Missguided hasn't responded to the lawsuit.
A video of the violent arrest of a black woman who called the police for help has gone viral. Loving, the victim involved in the brutal arrest, stated to have called the police on March 5th following an altercation with her white neighbor who then allegedly went onto making shooting threats and yelling racial slurs. According to The Daily Beast, the mother of three felt menaced and called the police as she feared for her safety. Upon the police's arrival, Loving states to have been questioned vehemently and then physically assaulted by officer Alejandro Giraldo and three others. The latter is said to have occurred after Loving requested "to make contact with her children."

The viral video depicts the Miami police officer violently arresting Loving by first slamming her against a metal fence. Furthermore, the brutal assault continues with the officer placing the 26-year old in a headlock and forcing her onto the ground. The entire thing was captured on video and resulted in a public outcry. As such, recent reports by the Daily Beast now affirm that Giraldo has since been charged on two counts: third-degree official misconduct and a misdemeanor count of first-degree battery.

In response to Giraldo's arrest, Loving adds: "Im happy that officer Giraldo has been charged, but it does seem like its a slap on the wrist. And what about the other officers who were there? They should be held accountable for what they did to me too."

[Via]
After sweeping Nigeria's NET Honours 2019, with numerous trophy, wins based on national polling results, Tiwa Savage is ready to make her splash on the Global stage. Say what you will about the commercialization of music in the 20th cent. and beyond, but those who love Afrobeats took an interest long before it became a commodity.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1123890671570575362



As of this week, Nigerian phenom has been snapped up by Universal Music Group in what they're calling a "global recording dealing" similar to the contracts signed by WizKid and Davido not too long ago. In addition to the big three garnering the interest of the big multinationals, Warner Music Group recently struck a deal with an entire Nigerian music factory, the "Chocolate City" label based out of Lagos (with offices in Abuja and Nairobi, Kenya). Tiwa Savage expressed her delight in a message issued to the international press.

My biggest goal is to make Africa proud, said Savage in a statement. Im so excited for this moment and Im thankful to [UMG CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge and my new UMG family for their belief in my dreams. Im looking forward to this next chapter in my career and Im more ready than I have ever been."

As for the NET Honours gala that took place late last month, the following is a rundown of who in Nigeria is gaining the most attention on social media. It's no secret Nigerian spend a lot of their downtime on the Internet, so these polling results reflect the popularity dynamics in the more urban sections of the country.

NET Honours 2019 Winners

Most Searched Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Searched Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Popular Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Actor  Jim Iyke

Most Popular Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Searched Actor  Odunlade Adekola

Most Searched Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Popular Couple  Davido and Chioma

Most Popular Media Personality -Tosyn Bucknor (RIP)

Most Searched Media Personality  Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

Most Popular Person  President Muhammadu Buhari

Most Popular Comedian  Alibaba

Most Popular African Celebrity  Juliet Ibrahim

Most Popular Global Celebrity  Kim Kardashian

Most Popular Event  Big Brother Naija 2018

Top Big Brother Naija Star 2018  Tobi Bakre

[Via]
Munster High School has advanced into the top 50 of the Vans Custom Culture Competition to earn a chance to compete for a grand-prize of $75,000 for the school art program. As part of the contest the Vans corporation sent two white pairs of Vans shoes that students drew on and customized along two themes. The first theme is Local Flavor and the second is Off the Wall. The top 50 designs in each category are voted upon by the public with the top five schools receiving monetary prizes ranging from $10,000-$75,000. The public can cast their vote at https://customculture.vans.com. The money would go toward the development of a Digital Design suite within the school specifically geared to the needs of the art department. If Munster were to field a winning entry, specialty shoes would be produced for the design team and a school wide-BBQ would be held with a mystery musical guest flown in to perform for students and staff.
The way to get a company to respond to a complaint is to boycott, and in this social media generation, if you can get something to go viral, you may even get an apology. Earlier this year, Gucci found itself on the wrong side of rapper T.I. after they released an item of clothing that was deemed to be racist. Many people said the balaclava sweater resembled a Golliwog, a black caricature that has black skin, frizzy hair, and large, bright red lips, and they called the company out for allegedly being racist.

Following the backlash, T.I. hopped on social media to not only announce that he would be boycotting the brand, but also to urge others to do the same. "As a 7 figure/yr customer &long time supporter of your brand I must say...Yall GOT US f*cked UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED," he wrote. "Our culture RUNS THIS SH*T!!! We (People of color) spend $1.25 TRILLION/year (but are the least respected and the least included)and if we stop buying ANYTHING they MUST correct any and ALL of our concerns. Thats THE ONLY WAY we can get some RESPECT PUT ON OUR NAME!!!!"

For the last few months, there have been a few celebrities who have followed suit, while others haven't taken the boycott seriously. In a recent interview with Ebony, Waka Flocka Flame and his wife Tammy Rivera shared their thoughts on the Gucci boycott. "A lot of stuff that we claim that's 'for blacks' from schools to books we read to lifestyles...it's not owned by a black person," Waka said. "So how can it be for blacks? I'm just being real. And I know that, so anytime I see cappin' going on, I'm gon' check it."

"And nobody can blame kids for wearing it," he continued. "I snap when I see a guy like me [wearing it]. We know, bro. We grown men. Now, to see a younger kid, like a young thug have it on, that's different. He a thug. He younger. It takes somebody like me to [say], 'Yo, bro you know that's uh...nine times out of ten, when I call them and say it, they be like, 'Whoa, big homie, for real? Man that's crazy. I ain't even know that.' People don't know."

"Like, women don't know why they wear high heels...It was made for men to have an arch, but that's different. But it becomes fashion today," he shared. Waka also says that it's hypocritical for someone to tell others not to wear certain designers because of racism or bigotry if they're wearing high fashion that mirrors exactly what they're against. "I would love for other people to know things," he said. "We just need high fashion black people. That's all I'm saying. [If] you're a black man, you should go to high fashion black men, that's all I'm saying. You wonder why the pants slippin' off your ass. 'Cause they're not made for you."
This weeks Texas Inc. is a salute to the 51st annual Offshore Technology Conference, which is bringing tens of thousands of the energy industrys best and brightest to the worlds energy capital.

Well be keeping an eye on attendance as a pulse on the industry. The conference at NRG Park once drew more than 100,000 visitors, but by last year, it had fallen to 61,300.

Oil prices have risen this year, but we just dont have the $100 a barrel oil that the industry came to expect about five years ago. Drilling offshore is expensive. And theres plenty of juice flowing from land, where its cheaper to drill and more efficient to produce thanks to fracking technology.

Themes at OTC this year center around lowering costs and using more renewable energy sources on offshore rigs.

The industry is looking for exploration and production opportunities that are lower cost, OTC chairman Wafik Beydoun Beydoun told reporter L.M. Sixel. At the same time, you have more societal and environmental awareness both onshore and offshore.  We have more than a dozen including offshore wind.

Energy reporter Jordan Blum details the many ways the offshore oil and gas industry is looking to trim expenses.

The offshore sector globally has been challenged by cheap sources of oil and gas, Vaseem Khan, vice president of global engineering for McDermott International, the Houston engineering and construction firm, told Blum. I dont like the phrase cutting costs. What were doing is removing waste from the industry.

Removing waste. Cutting costs. Its just semantics. If oil sells for less than it costs to produce, drilling for it is not a viable business.

Adding to the costs are increasing regulations as the nations around the world demand solutions to climate change.

Our columnist Chris Tomlinson skillfully argues that the OTC crowd is not paying enough attention to the threats it faces.

The dirty, big secret that only attracts brief mentions and side-long glances at OTC is greenhouse gas regulation, and the worlds need to slash carbon dioxide emissions, Tomlinson writes As the climate changes and people around the world demand action, the oil industry generally--and offshore drilling specifically--face near extinction without adaptation.

It something we must all adapt to eventually. But this week lets learn all we can from OTC. If it werent for the industry, Houston would likely still be a swamp.

Welcome to Texas Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- The National Transportation Safety Board will evaluate a range of factors that could help explain how a Boeing 737-800 plane arriving from Cuba slipped into a river after skidding off a runway in Florida, from human error to the weather to the airports systems.

We are very early in the beginning phase of this investigation, Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman, said during a news conference on Saturday.

The chartered flight operated by Miami Air International Inc. was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew when it left the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday evening, Boeing Co. said in a statement. Authorities said there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

The NTSB quickly dispatched a Go Team of 16 to lead the investigation.

NTSB recovered the flight data recorder, which has been sent to Washington for evaluation, but the cockpit voice recorder remains inaccessible in the plane, which is still partially submerged, said Landsberg. The plane had no prior history of accident or incident, and is one of over 4,000 of such planes worldwide, he said.

The Jacksonville airport runway has pavement that isnt grooved, Landsberg said, adding that it was unclear if the lack of grooves was a factor in the skid. Runway grooving can be an aid to drainage.

More for you SpaceX vehicle was destroyed during last month's 'mishap,' company confirms

The NTSB said they couldnt confirm that pets on board the plane had died, but an investigator didnt spot any pet carriers above the water line, said Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The investigations team has expertise in aircraft operations, structures, power plants, human performance, weather, airports and other areas, the NTSB said earlier. Boeing said its providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the NTSB.

While it isnt clear yet what led to the plane ending up in the river, the incident comes as Boeing remains enmeshed in one of the biggest crises in its century-long history.

The plane maker has been on the defensive since its 737 Max planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people in a span of five months. The 737 Max plane has been grounded as the company tries to convince airlines and regulators it will be safe once a software update is installed.

The chartered flight in Fridays crash arrived from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, according to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in a post on its Facebook page. Images show the plane partially submerged in the St. Johns River.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said soon after the accident on Friday that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water. The St. Johns River is the longest in Florida, flowing some 310 miles, and is a major shipping route around Jacksonville.

(Updates with NTSB comments from first paragraph.)

--With assistance from Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at sadam2@bloomberg.net;Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, James Ludden

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON - Six decades ago, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro ordered federal inspectors to raid Standard Oil offices there, seizing maps and geological records in what was to become the first step in an expropriation that would go on to include a refinery, ports and more than 100 gas stations.

Now Exxon Mobil, Standards successor, is suing Cubas national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Washington Thursday seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest.

The legal action followed an announcement by the White House last month that President Donald Trump would allow companies and individuals to go ahead and sue in U.S. federal court for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution, breaking with more than two decades of diplomatic norms.

Exxon, the first publicly traded company to file a claim, declined to comment on the reason for the litigation Friday. But in the lawsuit, Exxon claimed the assets seized six decades ago, are still in use today even though [Exxon] has never received any compensation for this property.

The Cuban embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Ranging from hotels to ports to communications systems, the assets seized by Cuban forces beginning in the late 1950s have been valued at approximately $8 billion by the Justice Departments Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Congress passed a law allowing companies to sue for compensation in 1996, but European nations, concerned about how such a law might affect their trade relations with the Caribbean nation, threatened to file a claim against the United States at the World Trade Organization if the lawsuits went ahead.

The Maduro factor

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all chose to suspend the provision of the law that allows companies to sue. But unhappy with Cubas decision to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid growing international outrage over the regimes human rights in Venezuela, Trump has decided to allow the litigation to move ahead.

Havana continues to prop up Maduro and help him sustain the brutal suffering of the Venezuelan people, National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a speech in Miami in April. As President Trump has said, Maduro is quite simply a Cuban puppet.

Under Trumps order, companies were allowed to begin filing suit for Cuban claims as of midnight Thursday. So far, Exxon is the only publicly-traded company to do so, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a business organization advocating for greater trade between the two nations.

Exxon has said nothing. This is hugely surprising, he said. Exxon Mobil is going to be the accelerant for others to decide to sue. It gives a lot of companies political cover and commercial justification to move ahead on their claims.

Other companies with claims against Cuba include the hotel group Marriot International, retail giant Office Depot and oil major Chevron, which has a claim on a refinery seized by Cuba valued at $56.2 million. But its unclear whether they and other companies will follow Exxon Mobil.

Cuban companies do not recognize the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, making it difficult to recoup any damages assessed against them by U.S. courts, said Philip Brenner, a professor studying U.S.-Cuba relations at American University in Washington. He added that many U.S. companies have deals in place or plans to develop business in Cuba in the future and might be reluctant to anger politicians there through litigation.

Political decision

The reality is Exxon Mobil has written this off long ago, as have other large companies, Brenner said. It looks wholly like a political decision to support the Trump administration.

So far, only two other lawsuits have been filed seeking compensation for assets seized by Cuba, both by individuals against the Miami-based cruise line Carnival, Kavulich said. They claimed Carnival operates on docks and other port facilities seized from their family by the Cuban government.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
From a tourists perspective, driving through small-town Texas can be a hit-or-miss affair. Main Street is usually the bellwether. In a typical Central Texas town, many of the mom-and-pop food stores and clothing shops have closed and remained boarded up, or have been replaced by tourist-oriented businesses, such as antiques stores and bed-and-breakfast hotels.

The vacuum along these once-bustling main streets can be explained by driving a few miles out of town where a giant Walmart Supercenter acts as a swirling black hole of commercial activity, sucking all the demand for daily necessities to its irresistible pull of low prices and one-stop-shopping convenience.

Lamenting the loss of traditional mom-and-pop shops to the draw of stores such as Target and Walmart is a fools errand. Consumers vote with their wallets, and by that measure, big-box stores are the winner.

I am often asked if the same thing might happen in the barbecue realm. Big-box shops such as Rudys Country Store and Bar-B-Q, Corkys BBQ and H-E-Bs in-store True Texas BBQ are expanding at a rapid pace. Will they replace the beloved mom-and-pop joints for which Texas is known?

I can say with certainty that they will not. Small, family-owned Texas barbecue joints are thriving, even with the additional competition from chain restaurants. Why? The main reason is the nature of the product being sold.

Love the smell of wood smoke in the morning? Join J.C. Reid, Alison Cook and Greg Morago as they discuss barbecue culture with special guests by subscribing to the Chronicle's BBQ State of Mind podcast on Apple's Podcasts, or visit houstonchronicle.com/ bbqpodcast. See More Collapse

A small, family-run food store is essentially selling commodity products. In most cases, theres no difference between the milk and flour you buy at a small store as you do at a big-box store. When it comes to commodities, small stores will never be able to compete on price with big retailers.

But when you move into more specialized products, small businesses have a better chance.

Consider hardware stores. In theory, big-box hardware stores such as Lowes and Home Depot should have killed off small hardware stores long ago. And yet I still find myself shopping at Southland Hardware in Montrose or the local Ace Hardware. Small hardware businesses have stubbornly resisted the draw of big-box retailers by offering an array of specialty items and, more importantly, the one-on-one customer service that consumers need to make educated purchasing decisions.

Small barbecue joints also provide the specialty items and personal customer interaction. If Im in the mood for pastrami, I know to go to Roegels Barbecue Co. on a Thursday. Craving wet-mopped pork ribs? Im heading to Pinkertons Barbecue. For an old-school rib sandwich, Im heading to Burns Original BBQ on a Wednesday. And in most cases, the owner/pitmaster will be taking my order or carving the meat right in front of me, ready to answer any questions or just greet me with a nod and smile.

The bottom line is that there is enough demand and differentiation for big-box barbecue and mom-and-pop joints to co-exist  and even thrive  side by side.

Indeed, if there is any danger of barbecue outlets closing, it will probably be the big-box versions, because of competition among themselves as well as with other casual-dining chains. For chains like Rudys or Corkys, the competition isnt from mom-and-pop barbecue operations but rather from other chains like Chilis and Outback Steakhouse.

In a case of American capitalism coming full circle, mom-and-pop craft-barbecue joints are now expanding to small-town Texas, joining antiques stores and bed-and-breakfasts in a revival of tourist-oriented businesses. Micklethwait Market & Grocery in Smithville, Louies BBQ in Buda and Bretts Backyard Bar-B-Que in Rockdale have all made the commitment to the thriving Texas tradition of family-run barbecue restaurants.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtx
Financial assistance is still available for homeowners who are still rebuilding their homes or seeking reimbursement after Hurricane Harvey.

Representatives from Harris County Commissioner 4 Jack Cagles Office spoke during the Humble Biz Com at Humble High School on Thursday to update the northeast Houston area on one of Harris Countys flood recovery initiatives called Project Recovery.

Homeowners can visit the Project Recovery website or call 832-927-4961 and see what kind of financial assistance program is best for them. Homeowners can also visit one of the countys intake centers to receive in-person assistance selecting a program.

Colin Gary, a public affairs specialist with Outreach Strategists, LLC, who has been collaborating with Harris County on Project Recovery, said over $200 million has been specifically allocated to homeowners outside of the Houston city limits.

RELATED: Harvey housing aid program delayed over vacancy provision

Harris County has just recently received in the last two weeks funding from the federal government for long-term housing assistance for homeowners who were affected by Hurricane Harvey, Gary said. Theres assistance available now for the community.

Financial assistance includes reimbursement up to $50,000 on funds used to remodel homes; up to $80,000 for homes that are still partially damaged and in need of repair; and up to $160,000 for homes that over 50 percent damaged.

More Information Intake Centers are open Monday- Friday from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 13101 Northwest Freeway Ste. 215, Houston, TX 77040 12941 North Freeway Ste. 600, Houston, TX 77060 14700 FM 2100 Ste. 2A&2B, Crosby, TX 77532 3315 Burke Rd. Ste. 204, Pasadena, TX 77504 See More Collapse

Gary said the pre-application process takes about five minutes and Harris County officials should get in touch with the applicant shortly after to help them fill out the full application.

RELATED: More than $1 billion in housing aid headed to Houston

I know its (almost) two years after the storm but (funding) is here now, Gary said. One other clarification is that this assistance is for people who live in Harris County but outside of the Houston city limits.

Gary said due to federal regulations, 70 percent is reserved for people who are on a low to moderate income and the rest is everyone else.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
Beginning on June 1, Bobby Lieb will take the helm of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, the organization announced on Monday, April 29.

Currently the chambers vice president, Lieb will succeed Barbara Thomason, who announced her retirement in March and will step down at the end of May after leading the chamber since November 2005.

In the two years Ive been working economic development here, I have grown to have a deep appreciation of this community. I hope people that live here realize how much theyve got up here and the positive attributes to it, Lieb said.

Before arriving at the chamber in May 2017, Lieb served in Colorado as a county commissioner of La Plata County and executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

Lieb said he found his niche when he began to focus on community work after leaving the private sector.

After two years with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, Lieb said the challenges the community faces are mainly with crime, flooding and generating more jobs.

While violent crime along along FM 1960 is down, the recurring burglary, robberies and other crimes are tarnishing the image of the community, he said.

Its a very long-term problem. There are solutions. They require a lot of community buy-in, he said.

Another major issue facing both businesses and residents is the recurring flooding from the Memorial Day flood in 2015, the Tax Day flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The chamber has previously hosted flood control meetings to advocate for more infrastructure and flood mitigation projects.

You cant tell me that flooding doesnt have an adverse impact on the economy. The solutions clear. Theres lots of hurdles to overcome, but assigning focus and resources to it and then deploying those resources in reducing the level of flooding that does occur is paramount, Lieb said.

Lieb said that while he acknowledges challenges the community faces, the variety of jobs along Beltway 8, Springwoods Village, University Park and the North Houston District have been a benefit to the area.

One of his aims as economic director of the chamber has been to encourage companies and businesses in the community.

Theres lots of good jobs and what I like about it is the variety. Theres a job for every sector of this community. Many communities would kill for what weve got in terms of the diversity of jobs weve got, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
During a luncheon hosted by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 3, business owners and residents voiced support for the high speed train expected to travel between Houston to Dallas. David Hagy, regional vice president of external affairs for Texas Central, provided an project update to luncheon guests.

Robert Maxwell from Tomball, said he became a fan of high speed trains after riding one in France and was impressed by the speed and efficiency.

You could live in Houston and go to (Texas) A&M (University) and back on the train or go to Dallas, he said.

During a transportation meeting hosted by the chamber in April, business owners said they were skeptical of the plan to join the two cities through the high speed train.

Texas Central, the company behind the project, is planning to build 240 miles of tracks so that two trains traveling 205-miles per hour can make the trip between both cities in about 90 minutes.

The project is estimated to cost $12 billion and would seek private investors to fund the construction.

As no high speed rail exists in the U.S., Texas Central would employ a Japanese-style Shinkansen bullet trains, along with Renfe, a Spanish company, to operate the trains.

Hagy said the company acknowledged that the property acquisition process was one of the most controversial aspects of the project, which is currently being disputed in court.

All of our routes are really trying to minimize the impact on private property. Because we are not a government entity, we can pay more for appraised or market value (for properties), he said.

Texas Central is seeking to construct a raised track along the proposed route so that property owners along rural areas can still move their livestock as well as to minimally impact wildlife.

Maxwell said he understood that some property owners were reluctant to sell their property.

Its like someone walking and knocking on your door and saying, I want to buy your house. You get to name your price. To me, thats a benefit, he said.

Maxwell said he is on board with the project as he and his staff have to travel to Dallas to work. He even created a Twitter account called Texans4HighSpeedRail.

As the population in both cities is expected to grow, the train may also get commuters out of cars and provide an alternative to airplanes.

Art Barash, an investment adviser with Baron Financial Advisors in Spring, said he was also excited about the project, but hoped newer technology would be utilized in Houston so that commuters could have an easier time getting around.

The major corridors, such as the Katy Freeway, the North Freeway and U.S. 290 could benefit from rail transport, he said.

Im in favor of the train. Im more in favor of the technology being applied in Houston, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
The Woodlands Townships governing committee for design standards is in the midst of revising several aspects of the townships complicated covenants as challenges have arisen from short-term rentals as well as the recent trend of tearing down older homes and replacing them with new structures.

Walter Lisiewski, the chairman of the seven-member Development Standards Committee, presented an update to township directors on Wednesday, April 24, explaining how the committee and its legal team are coping with the increase in short-term rentals in the township  a development that has irked many residents who feel homes in their neighborhood are becoming hotel-like in nature  as well as tear-downs and rebuilds of older homes.

Weve been working on an update of the standards, Lisiewski said. As The Woodlands grows and gets older, redevelopment is a very vital part of sustainability and keeping property values up.

The committee heard 268 variance applications in the first quarter, which was a more than 35 percent increase from the same time period in 2018.

New changes to the covenants include requiring mandatory drainage engineering plans for swimming pools; a new prohibition on filing for a design variance if a home or business owner has an existing outstanding covenant violations on their record; the official OK to use the controversial Edison lights as well as LED lights  with the caveat the lights do not negatively affect a neighbor. Artificial turf-like will also be allowed now in limited areas, specifically in side yards and in backyards, and must be professionally installed. Some standards governing tree removal were clarified and strengthened to prevent unneccessary cutting down of trees.

Weve updated our standards on new (building) materials. There is a lot of new product out there now, roofing, solar panels  so , we updated that, Lisiewski said. Home fueling stations  after Harvey, everyone has one now. We want to make sure everyone realizes there are state codes governing that and make sure the fire department knows there is a storage tank and where it is.

Short-term rental policy being developed

Lisiewski said the legal staff that works with the DSC as well as the six other members are waiting until the Texas legislative session ends in May or June before making any final decisions on short-term rentals, notably because two possible pieces of legislation have yet to be acted upon and whatever happens with the two proposals, it will likely affect the DSCs policy on the issue.

As you know, short-term rentals have been a big topic of discussion. We have all the (short-term rental) standards updated, but there are two bills in Austin right now, Lisiewski said. Were going to wait until those are resolved. It doesnt make any sense to change the standards and then have to change them again to comply with a new law. We think well be able to control short-term rentals.

Tear-downs & rebuilds a concern

As The Woodlands ages, especially older neighborhoods in original villages like The Village of Grogans Mill, Lisiewski said it is natural for new home buyers to possibly want to merely destroy an old, out-dated home and rebuild a totally new structure. The issue has become controversial in recent years and flared in mid-April when two residents of the Village of Grogans Mill made accusations during public comment on April 18 that a new homeowner was not following covenants and had plans for a building that did not fit the area.

Lisiewski said some of the comments the resident had made to the Board of Directors on April 18 were not accurate, and that the home in question had not had construction started on it. He also said accusations that DSC member Robert Heineman had been disrespectful to homeowners was false.

The Woodlands is getting older, and there is redevelopment taking place  not only residentially but on the commercial side, he said. Were going to see more and more of that. You have to redevelop.

Township board Chairman Gordy Bunch said he is aware of the need to redevelop older, aging homes, especially ones that may not have been maintained or have suffered wear and tear over the decades since they were first built.

Lisiewski said the DSC will ensure all covenants are followed, but in reality there will be new homes with different designs than what was popular in the 1970s or 1980s. Another factor in trying to replicate the style of older homes on a street is that many of the materials, colors and other elements used in construction of homes in the 1970s is simply not available anymore.

It is not going to be exactly the same, Lisiewski said of rebuilt homes. There are some cases that came out recently in Grogans Mill and Panther Creek for redevelopment. We go by the standards on that, we make sure there are some people who are not going to like it. But you have to redevelop.

jeff.forward@chron.com
It was in Christmas 1984, while visiting his wifes family in Louisville, Kentucky, that Kercheval said he first sampled the regional popcorn brand called Old Capital. The already established popcorn company, based in tiny Corydon, Ind., since 1948, had just been purchased that same year for $2 million by married couple Edward and Linda Phillips. The brands name came from the fact that from 1813 to 1816, Corydon had been the state capital of Indiana. Kercheval said he had always dreamed of owning a popcorn farm in his Indiana home state so he contacted the couple and offered to buy the business.
The school was founded in 1896 and its building constucted in 1921. While it was originally created by and to serve German immigrants, demographic changes led to immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries, according to its website.
In announcing that he wont challenge Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn next year, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro explained that he wanted to focus on the important and meaningful work he is doing in Congress.

Many Texas Democrats were saddened by this news because they were hoping Castro would run statewide. Others were disgruntled by it because they would like to flip the Senate seat, and Castro would have been a strong candidate in a year when Democrats hope to recapture control of the U.S. Senate.

I would have been proud to vote for Castro, but have little sympathy for those who denounced his decision as overly cautious. Both he and his twin brother, Julian, have faced this criticism at various points during their respective careers in electoral politics, and its not entirely baseless. The Castro twins are deliberate in their decision-making, and reluctant to take unnecessary risks.

This approach has served them well. Julian Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, at age 26, and went on to become mayor in 2009. He left that office in 2014, to serve as Barack Obamas secretary of housing and urban development, and is currently running for president himself. Joaquin Castro was elected to represent the 20th Congressional District in 2012, after a decade in the Texas House of Representatives; by most accounts, he would have had a real chance of becoming the first Mexican-American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Its hard to put exact odds, though, on Castros chances of winning the Senate seat next year.

Cornyn was re-elected by a 26-point margin in 2014, but he can hardly be considered invincible given the strong showing of Democrats in last years midterm elections. Other Democrats have taken notice. M.J. Hegar, an Air Force veteran and the 2018 Democratic nominee in Texas 31st Congressional District, threw her hat in the ring last month. Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards is also mulling a bid, and other contenders may come forward now that Castro has taken a pass on a 2020 Senate race.

And although there's a sense among Democrats that now is the time to stand up Preisdent Donald Trump, it's worth remembering that Castro is already in a position to do that as a member of Congress. He represents a heavily Democratic district, and is unlikely to face a primary challenge. His stature in Washington has grown with the Democratic takeover of the House last fall, as has his presence in the national media: hes a frequent guest on cable TV news shows to discuss the Russia investigation or Trumps border policies.

Frankly, Castro can probably serve as the congressman from Bexar County until he decides to do something else. The 20th Congressional District is relatively compact, heavily Mexican-American, and historic; its gerrymandered, but not incoherent. And Castro, who grew up on San Antonios Westside as part of a politically active family, has deep roots in the community.

Cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why Castro was looking at taking on Cornyn in the first place, or for that matter challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in last years Senate race. Both would have represented major gambles that entailed giving up his safe House seat.

And that would have been a loss for his constituents  many of whom have been put at risk by Trump in various ways. His successor in the House probably would have been a Democrat, but one with no seniority in Congress, and less relevant experience. As a Democrat who spent 10 years in the Texas Legislature, Castro has dealt with Republicans who are drunk on power. In the aftermath of Trumps election, that has come in handy. In fact, Castro has been the most effective member of our states congressional delegation these past two years.

The Democrats unhappy with his decision aren't thinking about it in those terms; they're prioritizing partisanship over people. For Democrats to win statewide in Texas would be a victory with massive implications for both parties. But Republicans will likely retain control of the Senate, even if Democrats pick up a Senate seat. And Castro, in any case, doesnt work for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He works for the Texans who live in the 20th Congressional District, which was a full-time job even before Trump was elected president.

The leadership Castro has shown since 2016 as the congressman from Bexar County would have distinguished him as a Senate candidate. But hes right to say that he can continue doing important and meaningful work in the House  and Democrats who are unhappy with his decision should remember that theres more than one way to step up to the plate.

erica.grieder@chron.com
A China-donated sculpture has been unveiled in Florence, Italy as part of the activities marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci's death, sources with the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) said.

The work by Chinese sculptor Wu Weishan, director of the NAMOC, features Da Vinci and Chinese painter Qi Baishi having dialog, and is on exhibition in the Accademia Delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing).

It marks the first time for the academy in its over 450 years' history to collect and exhibit the work of a Chinese sculptor.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a famous Chinese painter noted for watercolors featuring a huge variety of subjects.

"Though Leonardo da Vinci and Qi Baishi lived hundreds of years apart, they have both contributed a lot to human civilization, and they could have a conversation that transcends time and space," said Wu.

Wu is an internationally renowned sculptor. His portraits of many great historical figures of Chinese culture, including Confucius and Laozi, have been exhibited in many countries across the world.
When the call came, Ken Hughes had no second thoughts. The state of Texas needed him or, more specifically, its sprawling prison system needed drugs that he could make.

That was in 2014, and for the next 14 months, the lifelong Texan  a gun-carrying conservative and devout Christian  became one of his states lethal injection suppliers, compounding the deadly drug pentobarbital inside his familys West University store.

It ended four years ago, and his wife, whod always been deeply conflicted about it, breathed a sigh of relief. But Hughes decision would come back to haunt him and his family. The source of lethal injection drugs has always been controversial, and  thanks to restrictive shield laws and tight-lipped corrections officials  often cloaked in secrecy. But in November, BuzzFeed News identified Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy and Gifts as one of the suppliers of the states execution drugs, an unexpected stain of notoriety that sparked protests, fear and angry phone calls.

At the time, Hughes would only say that his small business didnt make the drug anymore. But this week he and his family sat down with the Houston Chronicle to talk about the fallout, the turmoil, and the decision that started it all.

This is a death state, Hughes said. Texas is what it is.

Those things conflict me

Ken and Nancy were born and raised in Texas  she in Midland, he in San Marcos. They came to Houston for college and, though hed been raised a Methodist, the pair met at the Second Baptist Church.

Nancy worked as a youth minister and prekindergarten teacher. Ken launched his career at Hospital Pharmacies Incorporated and later worked as head pharmacist at a local hospital.

They were married in 1980. Ken made enough money to be comfortable and start a family, but he saw unfilled need among customers.

There were a lot of people not getting help with their regular medications, he said. Their dosage fell between the commercially available dosages and they were getting too much or not enough.

And some speciality medications  certain variations of prescription eyedrops to fight eye-eating amoebas and fungi  werent widely available elsewhere.

So together, he and Nancy bought the pharmacy and opened their doors in 1992. The business started with three employees, a family-run operation then in an industrial park on Brays Bayou. The couples two children worked in the store as soon as they were big enough to see over the counter.

My older brother taught me how to sneak candy and hide the wrappers behind the register, Amanda, now 30, recalled. Though their primary moneymaker was the niche doses of drugs and prescription eyedrops, the store also featured a kitschy gift shop, a room of baubles and Christmas ornaments meant as a distraction from whatever ailments brought in the clientele.

Greenpark was already compounding the powerful barbiturate pentobarbital for use by veterinarians when prison officials contacted the company to get some made for the states death chamber. Citing current secrecy laws, a state prison spokesman on Friday declined to offer other comment or confirmation.

Ken and Nancy are reluctant to offer details about any exchanges, agreements, or promises made with the state. Aside from short sighs, heavy looks, and the repeated reminder that capital punishment is the law in Texas, Ken is taciturn about explaining his thought process. But Nancy is quick to say that, for her, it was troubling from the moment they made the decision.

I have been struggling with it ever since, she said. It really upsets me to know that there are cold-blooded people among us  but Im still conflicted. I mean, I dont believe in abortion. But Im conflicted; those things conflict me.

For the sake of their marriage, they kept work at work and when they were at home, they didnt talk about their occasional customer.

Looking back, Ken doesnt remember exactly how many transactions there were or how many doses - and the paperwork he might have had to prove it is long gone, shredded and tossed away after the state-mandated retention period ran out.

But in 2015, he said, Greenparks manufacturer stopped selling the raw drug and the pharmacy sold to the state for the last time that April.

I cant prove it to you, that we dont do it anymore, Nancy said.

After a moment of thought, her husband chimed in: I cant even prove that I did it.

Threats and protests

For three years, the Hughes family went on with their business and didnt think much about it. Then in late 2018, an employee came to them with a letter  from then-BuzzFeed reporter Chris McDaniel, who said hed identified Greenpark as one of the states lethal injection suppliers.

It was a blockbuster story, revealing a tightly guarded state secret. As the death drugs have become harder to get, corrections departments across the nation have refused to name their suppliers for fear that drugmakers and compounding pharmacies will cave to pressure from anti-death penalty activists and stop providing the pharmaceuticals.

In Texas, a shield law prevents the state from releasing the name of any lethal injection supplier since late 2015  and the Texas Supreme Court recently decided officials dont have to release the name of the supplier from before then, either. So the public identification of Greenpark was a rare peek behind the curtain of lethal injection secrecy.

Unsure how to handle the media scrutiny, the Hughes family called up the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for advice. Officials sought to reassure them, Nancy said, advising them not to talk to anyone and to wait out the storm  surely this would blow over.

A few days later, they said, a prison official called to warn them about a protest planned outside the store. Since then, its been steady  sometimes a stream, sometimes a trickle  of calls, emails, threats, and protests.

Its always non-violent, but always unnerving.

Some of the claims in the story the family still takes issue with. First and foremost, they say they are no longer the states death drug supplier and havent been since 2015, a claim partially at odds with the BuzzFeed story. Citing federal documents, McDaniel reported that the company had compounded drugs for the state two times  once in 2015 and once in 2016.

But the story also dinged the pharmacy for its track record, including a major mistake the family says was horrible, but taken out of context and something theyve worked hard to correct.

In fall 2015  after they say theyd already stopped providing drugs for the prison system  the pharmacy got in trouble with the State Board of Pharmacy and ended up with two years of probation and a $2,500 fine when one of their workers accidentally switched two drugs. She then hurriedly signed a quality control form herself, forging the signature of the supervising pharmacist.

The mistakes came to light after three children took the improperly mixed medication, accidentally ingesting the antianxiety drug lorazepam instead the antacid drug lansoprazole. One ended up in the hospital, and the childs parents later filed suit.

Greenpark settled the case and fired the worker.

Although they racked up other minor violations over the years, State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Allison Benz confirmed that the medication mix-up was the only matter serious enough to net state disciplinary action any time in the companys 27-year history.

But that wasnt the only problem BuzzFeed reported. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited Greenpark for possible sterility violations. The pharmacy responded by saying that theyd make some corrections and pointing out that everything theyd done had been in compliance with state guidelines. The matter didnt lead to any disciplinary action.

Now, Nancy said, the store has completely revamped its procedures, creating different forms, moving medications so that drugs with similar names are not next to each other, adjusting sterility protocols and changing some processes in the lab.

They completed their probation last year, and expected to return to business as usual  until the BuzzFeed story hit. Then, they worried about protests, hate mail and whether whether they could maintain relationships with their drug suppliers. One has already dropped them.

Confronting the issue

Since November, Amanda has been a constant ball of stress. Artsy and liberal, the tattooed University of Houston graduate is always kinetic and full of worry. She might have worried more four years ago, when her family still made drugs for the state  but she didnt find out until afterward.

I was torn, she said. I didnt even know you could make that. It was a thing I didnt really even think about.

But then she started reading news coverage, and following Twitter on execution days  and she came to a conclusion.

I am against capital punishment, because personally I believe there is only one person who gets to make that decision, she said. And that is Jesus Christ.

Regardless, she would support her parents. So last month, when she heard that another protest was scheduled outside the store, Amanda took matters into her own hands.

Late one Friday night, she phoned Gloria Rubac, a well-known death penalty opponent and perennial protester.

Greenpark doesnt make it anymore, she told her. Rubac was skeptical, demanding to know more.

By the end of the call, Rubac said, she was convinced.

We canceled that protest, Rubac said. If they did that in the past, well, shame on them, but if theyre not doing it now, okay.

She still wants to figure out who the states current supplier is, with the hope of protesting there until they stop. But if its not Greenpark, she understands.

Theyll never see us again, she said. We cant make them do penance for the past.

Every single day

Ken is a man of few words. Whatever second thoughts he has, he rarely shows them, save for a pause that lasts a few beats too long, or a vacant gaze out the stores front window.

For him, the world is black and white: Lethal injection is legal in the state of Texas.

Yet, when asked if he has any regrets, he lets out a sigh and falls to silence.

His wife is quick to answer, though, the tears rising in her voice.

Every day, she says. Every single day.
AUSTIN  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen proclaimed Friday they will muster the votes to pass a bill to cut property taxes and increase sales taxes, despite opposition from fellow Republicans and Democrats who call the swap a bad idea.

The public display of optimism came as a new state analysis shows households earning less than $100,000 a year would pay more in taxes after the swap, while businesses and wealthier households will see a reduction. In a press conference Friday, the leaders did not address that analysis, simply saying their plan would reduce property tax bills for homeowners across the board.

I have confidence that SB 2 is going to make it to my desk and be signed into law, Abbott said as he sat between the two other top Texas Republicans in his Capitol office.

While those three present a united front, there are key lawmakers who are not on board.

For subscribers: Ahead of 2020, Texas Republicans take a risk with sales tax swap plan

More Information How the plan would work A trio of bills in the Legislature aim to boost funding for schools while reducing property taxes and reining in future growth. The tax swap would raise state sales taxes by one percentage point - to the highest rate in the country - while buying down property taxes by an estimated 15 cents for every $100 in value. Renters are one group that may only see a net tax increase from the swap, unless landlords pass the property tax savings on by reducing rents. Another bill would cap what cities and counties can raise in property taxes each year, without first seeking a vote from residents. The measure would lower the cap to 3.5 percent from 8 percent. Local school districts, meanwhile, would be limited in what they could raise each year. Those provisions would slow the future escalation of property taxes, supporters of the bill say. Cities and counties protesting the legislation say funding for police, firefighters and other city services would suffer. A third bill would boost education funding by raising teacher salaries and increasing state spending by pupil. See More Collapse

One notable opponent is State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who has authored other tax relief proposals. He has repeatedly warned that tax swaps have historically failed. On Friday, Bettencourt renewed his objection, saying that homeowners would be left paying increased taxes in the end under the plan before the Legislature now.

Weeks earlier, Bettencourt said there was not a tremendous appetite among members of the Senate for the idea.

Texas has the third-highest property tax rate for single-family homes in the nation, according to a study by ATTOM Data Solutions, trailing behind only New Jersey and Illinois. Texans who own a home valued at $200,000 paid an average of $4,360 in property taxes in 2018, with an average effective property tax rate of 2.18 percent per year, the study found.

Republicans have proposed a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax to raise billions of dollars to deliver promised relief for skyrocketing property tax bills. If successful, the tax swap would raise sales taxes to 9.25 percent for most Texans, making it the highest state sales tax rate in the nation. In 2020, the proposed sales tax increase is projected to raise $5 billion that lawmakers say would be used to buy down school property tax rates across the state. The owner of a $200,000 house would see a reduction of about $260 a year on property taxes.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

But the tax swap would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-class Texans, the analysis found.

You should expect the people struggling to support their families are going to have a harder time, and those who are already doing pretty well will be a little better off, said Dick Lavine, a senior fiscal analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Under that proposal, households that make less $38,000 a year would pay an effective local and state tax rate of 13.8 percent, according to the analysis released Friday by the Legislative Budget Board, which calculates costs of legislation. Households making more than $149,500 a year would pay an effective tax rate of 3.4 percent.

Texas businesses would see a decrease of about $638 million in tax collections, while households would pay nearly $413 million more in taxes, the analysis says.

The analysis does not calculate savings offered in a package of bills that would would restrict property tax increases enacted by cities and counties in the future. One bill would cap property tax collections for cities and counties at 3.5 percent without voter approval. Local school districts would be capped at 2.5 percent. The bills would also provide a further reduction in property taxes collected to fund schools  the decrease of about four cents per $100 of a homes value, would save the owner of a $200,000 house about $80 a year.

Lawmakers are grappling with two possible ways to pass the legislation. The current proposal would make the swap a constitutional amendment that voters would need to approve in the November 2019 election in order for it to take effect in 2020. However, that legislation would require approval by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate, a difficult threshold. Making it a constitutional amendment would ensure that the sales tax money would be dedicated to property tax relief into the future.

Otherwise, the Legislature could increase the sales tax to buy down property tax rates without an election. That route would require a simple majority in both chambers to pass  but lawmakers cannot guarantee that money will continue to be used to reduce property taxes.

Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen have just 24 days left to strike a deal before the legislative session adjourns on Memorial Day.

Allie Morris contributed to this report.
Civil rights groups asked a three-judge panel in San Antonio on Thursday to force Texas to submit its election maps to federal supervision for the next decade to make sure they dont discriminate against minorities.

But lawyers for the state urged the judges to deny the motion, saying the plaintiffs failed to meet requirements for such a request.

After listening to the arguments at a two-hour hearing, the judicial panel gave little indication on when it will rule on whether Texas should again be placed under federal electoral supervision called preclearance.

PURO POLITICS PODCAST : Tensions flare as election night nears

The plaintiffs request is the latest in an 8-year-old redistricting lawsuit that began when Texas redrew its political maps after the 2010 census.

Texas and other states had been required to preclear their political maps under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which mandated supervision for states and local governments with a history of racist voting laws. But in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that part of the law.

The plaintiffs asked the panel to return Texas to preclearance restrictions under a different part of the Voting Rights Act, Section 3, which requires, among other things, a showing of intentional discrimination. Case law on that matter is scant, the panel noted.

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, reminded the panel that it found, after a trial in the redistricting court battle, that Texas intentionally discriminated in several congressional and state House districts when it drew its maps in 2011. The judicial panel came up with interim maps for the 2012 election, which the state adopted in 2013 with no change.

These findings of intentional discrimination in this case  are also bracketed by discrimination in voting before and after the 2011 redistricting, Perales said. Since Texas was covered by Section 5, beginning in 1972, it has never stopped discriminating in its redistricting.

OnExpressNews.com: Pre-k 4 SA's future will rest with 2020 election voters

She argued that after Texas was freed from preclearance in 2013, the state continued to discriminate with laws requiring voter identification and a recent attempt to purge voters the state wrongly claimed were noncitizens.

But state Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick argued that while the Legislature sometimes gets it wrong, Texas has not engaged in pervasive discrimination or constitutional defiance that would drag the state into preclearance again. He also argued that the voter purge efforts and voter ID requirements were necessary for integrity in elections.

They want to strip Texas of its sovereign power to enact laws, Frederick argued. They want to do so despite the states adoption of remedial plans that the Supreme Court has now deemed were not intentionally meant to discriminate.

The Justice Department under the Obama administration had sided with the plaintiffs, which include minority voters and some Democratic lawmakers. But under the Trump administration, the department switched positions, and one of its lawyers, John Gore, backed the states arguments Thursday.

It is now time to bring this case to an end, Gore told the panel, adding that future violations can be addressed through other lawsuits on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Justice can bring those cases where appropriate.

Last June, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld 10 of 11 congressional and state House districts that the maps challengers said intentionally undercut the voting power of Hispanic and black voters, usually to keep white incumbents in office. The court found that the evidence was plainly insufficient to prove that the 2013 Republican-controlled Legislature acted in bad faith when it enacted the districts.

But the court agreed with minority groups that Fort Worth-based House District 90 was an impermissible racial gerrymander because lawmakers illegally used race as the predominant factor in deciding its boundaries.

OnExpressNews.com: San Antonio judge approves settlement ending state's voter purge attempt

The plaintiffs submitted to the three-judge panel a new House District 90 map Thursday that fixed the violations, and the state agreed to it.

The Supreme Court said last year, there is no need ... to prolong this already protracted litigation. ... And you want 10 more (years)? one of the panels jurists, Judge Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court said its over. I dont understand it.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, the chief justice of the San Antonio-based Western District of Texas, wondered if Section 3 requires actual injury or only threatened harm as part of its provisions to kick in preclearance. He got opposing responses.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, the third judge on the panel, asked if the state would stipulate that, after next years census, Texas would have full, fair and transparent hearings ... with (redistricting) maps for the public to see and the opportunity for the public to have meaningful input.

I couldnt even begin to consider it, Frederick answered.

So if the state cant stipulate to it, how can it object to preclearance? Rodriguez queried.

Frederick replied that there had been public hearings the last time around but that nobody is happy when they dont get what they want.

Rodriguez countered that the public hearings were held in unusual locations, with little advance notice or on or near holidays. Rodriguez pressed again on state stipulation.

I cant stipulate because the terms are not defined, Frederick answered. I dont know what I would stipulate to.
In less than 10 seconds, Zhou Bin, a resident in Fuzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province, can access his social security and provident fund accounts on his cell phone.



"In the past, you had to find different official websites for different formalities and also apply for the verification code via your cell phone every time you log in," said Zhou.

But now, he said, the mobile app called "e-Fuzhou" covers almost all aspects of government services and approvals in daily life, saving the city's residents from the red tape.

The leapfrog offers a glimpse of China's digital efforts to improve its governance capacity and efficiency.

Startups can now complete registration procedures and obtain licenses at the self-service registration machines in the city of Pingtan without long queues and onerous paperwork.

The machines, connected to the government database and supported by facial recognition technologies, help streamline the application process and reduce the required time from days to just minutes.

A slew of digital technology applications, including the big data credit inquiry system, the online tax bureau, and the paperless customs clearance system, have also been developed in the province over the years.

Digital technology also has its presence in law enforcement and crime prevention.

Xiao An, a police robot, is now in charge of patrolling the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a famous scenic spot in Fuzhou.

The white robot, which is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 80 kg, moves at a speed of 0.4 meters per second in the designated area, almost the average walking pace of human beings.

Equipped with high-definition cameras on its heads, the robot can take pictures along its routes and send the collected information in real time to the backstage, where the data is further analyzed and nearby police forces can be dispatched accordingly.

The robot also provides tourists with services such as voice navigation and broadcasting lost and found notices.

While the citizens are reaping rewards of e-government data sharing, China has also beefed up laws and regulations to better protect the personal information of its citizens.

Tong Pingping, a government official in the city of Xiamen, said that citizen's sensitive information is encrypted and processed by computers, while officials only have access to information that would prove whether or not a person was involved in a crime.

"Making sensitive data invisible would encourage departments with rich data resources to open data-sharing ports," said Tong, stressing that data security of citizen information is the top priority in e-governance.

China will hold the second summit on digital development from May 6 to 8 in Fuzhou. This year's summit aims to serve as a platform for people at home and abroad to cooperate and contribute to digital China.

Fuzhou, where the first summit was held, has witnessed bourgeoning development of the digital economy in the past year, attracting famous businesses such as Alibaba to invest in the city and nurturing a batch of high-quality digital companies.




Hurricane Harveys 140 mph winds wiped homes completely off the map along one stretch of Copano Cove Road in Rockport, leaving nothing of some of them but a few wooden planks.

But while 11 homes were destroyed and dozens of others badly damaged along the road, one thing didnt change at all: the property tax bills that came later that month.

Just a fraction of over 200,000 structures that were damaged in the 60 counties declared disaster areas were reappraised to ensure that residents recovering from the storm werent hit with unfair tax bills to boot. In Harris County, which has more than 500 taxing districts, only 10 agreed to reappraise properties to reflect their post-storm value, which ultimately helped the owners of 14,000 properties, mostly within the Katy and Humble school districts.

Unconscionable, said Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who is pushing legislation in Austin that he says will give homeowners a chance to fight back against unfair property tax bills after the next monster storm.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Already the Texas Senate has passed a bill that will completely rewrite the rules on reappraising homes after natural disasters to assure that any homeowner can apply for a reappraisal without local taxing jurisdictions standing in the way.

"Nothing makes home and business owners madder than paying full property taxes on a damaged or destroyed property," Bettencourt said.

His legislation, which has cleared the Senate and could be ready for a vote on the House floor next week, would essentially cut cities, counties and other governmental agencies out of disaster reappraisal decision-making.

In 2017, many of those governments said their decision not to rework the tax bills wasnt because they lacked sympathy for homeowners  rather, they worried about losing tax revenue as they faced an epic crisis. Some county officials warned that just the cost of doing reappraisals would cost millions in some cases, and then result in lost revenues to pay for police and fire protection.

But not everyone buys that argument.

All it was, was greed, Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl E. Johnson told Senators in a hearing on the issue last month.

She said local governments were more concerned about the revenues than the owners of 20,000 properties in Galveston County that were badly damaged. While governments can find other revenue sources, she said residents have much more limited options, especially after losing their homes.

But Bettencourts Senate Bill 1772 still has key hurdles to overcome. Even if the bill passes, a change the state constitution would be required to assure the change can be made. That means the Legislature would have to put a ballot item to the public this November.

Its a far different approach than efforts that have failed in the past. In 2017, the state lawmakers twice nearly passed legislation that would have forced all governments to reappraise after a natural disaster. State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, got that idea through the House, but the Senate passed a different bill that never lined up with her proposal, and it died.

Davis and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed similar legislation this year, but their bills have stalled.

While that approach would also assure homeowners get reappraised, local appraisal districts have warned that the time to get those appraisals done in large counties would be daunting and expensive.

In Harris County, where more than 70,000 properties were flooded during Harvey, Harris County Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said it would have cost taxpayers an estimated $2.7 million if all governments were required to redo appraisals. Bettencourts bill would require homeowners to apply for reappraisals of damaged property, which Altinger said would reduce the cost to less than $500,000.

He said after Harvey, when just 10 taxing jurisdictions asked for reappraisals, it cost those entities $543,000 and his appraisers struggled because of the volume of work. But if it has been a more targeted application process, he said the cost would have been less than $100,000, and the reappraisals would have taken a fraction of the time.

Bettencourt was among those who called for making all disaster-struck counties do mass re-appraisals, instead of making it optional. But he said as he talked to appraisal districts, it became clear that the practicality of that was an issue.

It wasnt going to be workable, Bettencourt said.

Bettencourts proposal does more than just create an application process. It also spells out guidelines of how the assessors must do the work. If the assessor declares a property between 15 percent to 29 percent damaged, the assessed value of the home would drop 15 percent. If the damage is between 30 percent and 60 percent, the assessed value drops 30 percent. If the damage is at least 60 percent, the assessed value drops 60 percent. And if a home is a total loss, the value drop would be 100 percent.

In any scenario, the reductions are pro-rated based on when a storm or other disaster hits.

For a home in Houston valued at $200,000 before the hurricane, but worth just $30,000 after, a property owner would have seen a $700 cut just in school taxes, according to a report by Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit tax advocacy group based in Austin.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said it was disappointing to see how few local governments stepped up and were willing to lower tax bills.

We should not be kicking the taxpayer when they are down and they need help, he said.

On Copano Cove Road after Harvey, homeowners instead paid their full tax bill on the first year, and did not see any break until 2018 when the tax bills of many of the homes dropped 30 to 40 percent to reflect the damage.
[Thumbs up] Its Dave Wards birthday Monday, but hes the one who has a gift for Houston. The longtime KTRK news anchor is holding a book launch for his memoir, Good Evening, Friends: A Broadcaster Shares His Life. The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Dave Ward Building at Crime Stoppers of Houston, 3001 Main St. The book covers his life from son of a Baptist preacher to a radio news guy to certified Guinness World Record-holder (no spoilers, but its TV-related). Over his storied career, Ward covered NASA, the opening of the Astrodome, hurricanes, and the energy biz boom and bust, all on the way to becoming, for many Houstonians, the most trusted voice in news. Congratulations on the book and a happy birthday from the Thumbs!

[Thumbs down] A U.S. district judge clearly doesnt understand the power of true crime series on basic cable. How else do you explain his audacity in requiring Kelly Siegler, former Harris County prosecutor and current star of Cold Justice, to appear at a hearing for a death row inmate who claims Siegler improperly used prison informants? When Siegler didnt show on Monday, the judge, who had threatened her with contempt, decided to give her another chance. A spokeswoman for the Oxygen network told the Chronicle that Siegler was on location shooting new episodes. Fortunately for all involved, Siegler agreed to testify via video link later in the week. The Thumbs wonder if her lawyers got through to her. Or maybe it was her agent, offering her a role on MSNBCs Lockup: Harris County that changed her mind?

[Thumbs down] The Thumbs are huge fans of The Simpsons, so when they hear the word paddling they cant help but picture substitute teacher Jasper threatening kids to a paddlin if they talk out of turn or look out the window. But theres nothing funny about hitting children or how H.B. 420  which would prohibit corporal punishment in Texas schools  has languished without a hearing in the Public Education committee. Hitting, spanking or slapping is ineffective and harmful to children, yet Texas ranks No. 2 nationally in the number of paddlings, according to a report from Education Week. Minorities, as usual, get the short end of the stick (or maybe the long end of the paddle?): They are more likely to be punished than non-Hispanic white students. While many school districts in the state already have bans against corporal punishment, why is this still a thing in Texas?

[Thumbs down] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a tweet this week that a recently passed House bill that would lower penalties for pot possession is dead in the Texas Senate. This came on the heels of the Senate approving the use of herbicides to fight Carrizo cane along the border, so maybe Patrick doesnt so much dislike pot as he just hates weed(s). Attitudes over putting people in jail over marijuana use are softening in Texas, and H.B. 63 reflects that. The bill would change possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor  basically like a traffic ticket. Patrick should reconsider his position and stop harshing the mellow on this bipartisan bill.

[Thumbs down] May 4 is Star Wars Day, but you must forgive the Thumbs and other fans of George Lucas space saga if our celebration is muted this year. Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and in 2015s The Force Awakens, died Tuesday in his North Texas home. At 7 feet 2 inches, Mayhew ably brought the ace Wookiee pilot, devoted companion and big walking carpet to life, becoming a beloved character in the series and one of the few to appear throughout (please save your arguments that the prequels dont exist for later). We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him, said Harrison Ford. Hundreds of millions of fans around the world share that love.
Today we welcome author Amra Pajalic to share the inspiration behind her new book Things Nobody Knows But Me.

Amra Pajalic on the inspiration behind Things Nobody Knows But Me

I have been writing this book most of my life in different incarnations. I first began it when I was 20 and studying a writing course. I began a memoir in my non-fiction subject and titled it Sins of the Mother about being the daughter of a Bi Polar sufferer and about the hardship that my mother endured being from a Non-English Speaking Background while suffering from a mental illness. I was very judgemental about the decisions my mother made and the way these had impacted me. I completed enough chapters to submit for the subject, received a mediocre grade, and hid it in my (metaphorical) bottom drawer.

I turned away from non fictionit demanded an honesty and rawness I wasnt ready to bring.

Instead I concentrated on fiction and my debut novel was heavily inspired by my teenage experiences. When I had my daughter my childhood memories resurfaced and now that I was a mother myself I felt more compassion toward my own mum. I had every advantage possibleI was 31-years-old, my baby was from a much wanted and planned pregnancy, and I had an incredibly supportive husband that I had been married to for ten years at that pointand yet I flailed. When my baby was 10-months-old I was felled by post-natal depression.

My mother, on the other hand, had every disadvantage possible. When she was 15-years-old, my mother found herself in an arranged marriage. At 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. Her life was extraordinary because of her ability to survive all the upheavals that she faced.

I found myself compelled to tell her story because there was a need for a story about mental illness from the perspective of those from a Non-English Speaking Background.

Mental illness carries with it stigma and shame in any cultural context, however Bosnia which was once a part of Yugoslavia, was a communist country and people with mental illness were shunned and segregated. This led to a mistrust and misunderstandings about mental illness that affected my mothers access to treatment. For many years she called her illness nervous breakdowns and did not actually know the name of her disorder, Bi Polar, or understand the symptoms and treatment. It was only when she learnt about these things that she was able to take control of her illness and achieve a better quality of life.

While I writing Things Nobody Knows But Me I spent a year interviewing my mother and trying to recreate her perspective. She was very open and honest because she wanted this book to help others who are Bi Polar sufferers and to help readers understand this illness. I found the process of interviewing and writing about her experiences healing. All the judgement that I had carried about the ways my mother failed me as a child: the upheavals, the bad relationships, the changes in school, going into foster homes, being left to live my grandparents for two years in Bosniawere forgiven. In writing this book I came to understand she was a victim of her brain chemistry and she did the best she could with what she had. Thats all a daughter can ask for.

~

Disclosure: If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

Things Nobody Knows But Me Synopsis:

Brave, compassionate, searingly honest and funny, this is a memoir in a voice like no other. Amra Pajalics love letter to her mother is a book that grabs at your heart and doesnt let go until the final page.  Alice Pung

When she is four years old Amra Pajalic realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia.

At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellors office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mothers confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient.

Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiska in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.

(Transit Lounge Publishing, 1 May 2019)

Get your copy of Things Nobody Knows But Me from:

Amazon | Booktopia(Aus/NZ) | Kobobooks | iBooks | Transit Lounge

About the Author, Amra Pajalic

Amra Pajalic is a Melbourne-based author of Bosnian background. Her debut novel The Good Daughter (Text Publishing, 2009) won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literatures Civic Choice Award, and was a finalist in the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award. Prior to publication it was shortlisted in the 2007 Victorian Premiers Awards for Best Unpublished Manuscript. She is also the author of a novel for children, Amir: Friend on Loan (Garratt Publishing, 2014).

Amra is co-editor of the anthology Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2019) that was shortlisted for the 2015 Childrens Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. She also wrote the teaching notes published by Allen & Unwin.

Amra has appeared on panels at conferences and literary festivals including at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Reading Matters Conference Panel, and the VicTESOL Conference. She has delivered workshops and presented at various library and community organisations, and was a judge and convenor of the Premiers Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript.

She was funded by Artists in Schools to be an Artist in Residence in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in high schools, and in 2014 received funding from Creative Victoria to be mentored by Alice Pung to work on her memoir.

She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
China expects to further optimize the investment and operating environment for foreign investors in its financial sector with new measures to open the field wider, according to the country's top banking and insurance regulator.

A total of 12 new rules will be released soon following profound research and evaluation, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said Wednesday.

"These measures will also encourage the stronger presence of foreign investment in the development of China's financial sector," spokesperson for CBIRC Xiao Yuanqi told Xinhua in an interview.

Detailed rules in regulations for foreign banks and foreign insurance companies have been revised in accordance with the new rules and will soon be released, Xiao said.

The playing field for foreign and domestic companies will be further leveled, said the spokesperson, citing the simultaneous removal of upper shareholding limits for a single Chinese-funded bank and a single foreign-funded bank in a Chinese commercial bank, as an example.

At present, the shares of foreign-funded banks and insurance companies' total assets have reached 1.64 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively, in China.

According to the new measures, asset requirement for foreign banks to set up foreign-funded legal person banks or branches will also be removed in a bid to further diversify the structure of banking institutions in China.

"This does not imply a lower standard of supervision, but rather an emphasis on the foreign banks' capability, quality and benefits," said Xiao.

The top regulator also expects to encourage quality firms with latecomer advantages into the Chinese market and increase global conversation and cooperation.

While allowing overseas financial institutions to hold stakes in foreign-funded insurance companies operating in China, the regulator also plans to remove requirements for foreign-funded insurance brokerage firms regarding business and total assets.

"We believe that this round of new measures will significantly enhance the openness and marketization of the banking and insurance sectors," Xiao said.




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 Flash

Egyptian Minister of Transportation Kamel Al-Wazir stressed the importance of implementing a new electric train line around Cairo which is financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) with 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The minister called for immediate start of the civil works of the project while activating investment cooperation with the China EXIM Bank, during a meeting with heads of companies executing the electric train late on Thursday, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Al-Wazir stressed that the companies should start immediately to provide the work sites with equipment in order to start the work on the ground as of next week.

The minister said that during his visit to China recently, he toured the factory that will manufacture the electric train, where he witnessed "the great potential of the factory."

With the new 66-km network line, Egypt hopes that it can redevelop its exhausted railway system that has witnessed deadly accidents in the past few years.
Imperial Valley News Center

President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini

Washington, DC - Joint Statement from the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini:

Thirty years ago, the Velvet Revolution inspired the world. The people of Czechoslovakia took destiny into their own hands and cast off decades of communist oppression. Seventy-five years ago, the Slovak resistance movement against Nazi occupation launched the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, and this movement contributed to the defeat of Nazism and fascism. This year, the United States and the Slovak Republic mark these notable anniversaries together along with 15 years of Slovak membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance.

These milestones reflect Slovakias determination to anchor itself firmly within the Western community of nations. Now, our two nations are bound together by shared and timeless valuesamong them individual liberty, prosperity, the rule of law, democracy, sovereignty, and a commitment to peace and security.

As leaders of the United States and the Slovak Republic, we recognize that safeguarding these values requires strength. We believe the NATO Alliance is the best guarantor of transatlantic and European security. We reaffirm that our collective security demands that each Ally meet the Wales Pledge to devote two percent of gross domestic product to defense and twenty percent of defense spending to investments in new equipment.

The United States recognizes the significant steps the Slovak Republic has taken in the past year to increase its defense spending and modernize its armed forces, including the historic purchase of United States F-16 aircraft. We seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement between our countries.

We praise the courage of American and Slovak troops serving together in Afghanistan and Iraq and as participants in NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups. We remain firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and energy security, including through Slovak reverse gas flow to Ukraine. Continued sanctions against Russia must remain in force until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.

Our countries also affirm that energy security is fundamental to national security. We reiterate our opposition to the use of energy projects as geopolitical weapons, including Nord Stream 2. We commit to deepening our cooperation in cybersecurity and to working to develop and implement telecommunications security principles.

The United States and Slovak Republic believe in fair and reciprocal trade. We support an approach to United States-European Union trade relations that will bring jobs and growth to both sides of the Atlantic. We commit to explore opportunities for increasing investment between our countries and to strengthen our trading relationship further. We will work together to unlock the inherent innovation potential of our two economies.
Imperial Valley News Center

Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Opelousas, Louisiana - Remarks by Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here. I want to thank Reverend Jack and all the pastors from the churches impacted by the fires a little more than a month ago.

What happened here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys was evil. But these communities of faith have overcome evil with good.

And I wanted to be here today just simply to tell all of you, on behalf our President, on behalf of all of the American people, that were with you.

PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Were praying for you. And were standing with you. And we know these churches and this community will rebuild bigger and better than ever before.

PARTICIPANTS: Amen.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your resilience and your faith and your courage in the wake of this unspeakable evil has inspired the nation.

Now, I had to come here to express that to you. But not just me. Im honored to be joined by other public officials whove made time to be with us today and I know who have been standing with you from the very first day and the very first fire. And I want to thank Governor Edwards for being with us today, for the outstanding effort your law enforcement team at the state level did.

I want to thank Attorney General Landry, who is with us today. And I met the law enforcement officer today who brought the suspect to justice just a few short days after these horrific fires. And we commend the law enforcement community at the state and local level for the outstanding work that they did working in this community to bring that person to justice.

And I also want to thank Senator Cassidy and Congressman Scalise and the better part of the entire delegation in the Congress from Louisiana who are joining us today.

It blesses my heart to be with all of you today and to see the way this community has come together with a commitment to rebuild and to rebuild on a foundation of faith.

You know, sadly, we live in a time when attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent. The fires here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys are part of a story that continued last week in California at a synagogue; last fall, in Pittsburgh; at a mosque in New Zealand; and at churches on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

No one should ever fear for their safety in a house of worship anywhere in this country, anywhere in the world. And these attacks on communities of faith must stop.

Let me say to each and every one of you gathered here, though, that your example in the wake of this evil  and not just of the churches of Mount Pleasant and Saint Marys and Greater Union, but also, Reverend Jack, of all of the communities of faith in this area and all across Louisiana has truly been inspiring. To see the way people of faith responded not with anger but with charity.

And to think of churches burning one day after another, and how people might have responded, and to see the way people, here in these churches and this community and across Louisiana, responded is an inspiration to the nation.

After what happened at Saint Marys and here at Mount Pleasant and Greater Union, you overcame evil with good. And, Reverend Toussaint, I particularly was moved when you said, after the suspect was apprehended, that weve got to forgive him. You lived out your faith and had a testimony for Christ that echoed across the country. And I must tell you also: It was very inspirational to us to know that you still had Easter services right here at Mount Pleasant.

Theres a verse that says, If the foundation crumbles, how can the righteous stand? And as I arrived today, the pastors and I spoke about the fact that while these  the structure of these churches burned, what was evident to people all across the America is the foundation was firm  a foundation of faith and heart to charity.

And I know, in my heart of hearts, based on that witness of faith and the generous outpouring of people across this state and across this nation, with great leadership at the state and federal level, and with great leadership in the pulpits of not only these three churches but all the churches across this area, that the best days for these three churches, for faith in Louisiana and faith in America, are yet to come.

So thank you all very much. (Applause.)

Reverend Jack, did you want to say a word?

REVEREND JACKSON: Well, were more than thankful that the President and the Vice President of these United States of America thought well enough to come out and share, through way of expression, their love and concern for the wellbeing of these three families who have lost their places of worship.

And just, Vice President Pence, his presence of being here today lets us know that theres hope not only for today but also hope for tomorrow, and that we have the support of all of Gods children across the globe.

And so were just happy that he thought well enough to come out and share with us, even if just for a short moment. And we are very thankful for that. And we want to thank you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Jack. Were with you. Were with you.

Reverend Toussaint?

REVEREND TOUSSAINT: I just want to say thank you, Vice President Pence, for showing the love of God thats spread abroad in all of us. We have to know that there is something better for this country than hatred, envy, and strife. We are built  this country is built on God. We are one nation under God. And God is love.

If we dont continue to show each other love, why would you wake up in the morning to hate somebody? You should be making yourself a better person to wake up in the morning, to do whats best for your neighbor, do whats best for your fellow man, and then you will fulfill out the Scriptures, which is the  the fullness of Scripture is love. Thats the complete of the Commandments is love, the greatest of them all.

And I thank you for coming and taking your time out to come. Theres nothing better or more important than this visit because it shows me that God is in the White House. His presence is there, and we thank God for you. May God forever keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you peace. (Applause.)

REVEREND SYLVESTER: Vice President Pence, I want to thank you for just coming out and just showing your support. It speaks volumes. And I just want to tell everyone thats here, I want to tell you, I want to tell America, the world: Thank you.

The outpouring, the outreach  mind-blowing. And it just proves that we live in a world where people still care about each other.

And the people that do that  weve got to make sure that we dont lose heart, we dont get all hate  you know, all that hate in our heart. And remember that were here to help one another and be there for one another.

So, once again, I just cant say it enough  and I know I speak on behalf of the other pastors: Thank you, America. Thank you, the world. Thank you, Vice President Pence, for all that youve done to support us and to be there with us. And God is smiling down upon us (inaudible). God bless you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

REVEREND RICHARD: Vice President Pence, I really appreciate the effort that you have taken to come and be with us during our times of trials. You know, the Bible is saying in this world we will have trials and tribulations. Its always good to know that that theres somebody there to help you. And we appreciate you taking out the time, as well as all of the other law enforcement and the governor, and all the help that you guys have given us. I cant express enough how the love of God has shown up in you guys.

You know, oftentimes, when we come to Christ, we say, We come to Christ, but we have to realize that God comes and uses us. Hes in control. And were just instruments. And if youre willing to be used by God, I know weve got great things ahead of us.

God bless you. God bless you, Mr. Vice President. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you again. These three pastors, their faith in the wake of this unspeakable act of evil, is in keeping with the best traditions of our faith. And, frankly, we have the best traditions of our country.

And Im deeply inspired, as people are all across this country, by the courage and the resilience of these communities of faith, these families of faith, but also by the generous support of the people of Louisiana and people all across the country.

I know you have a ways to go. I was told that were going to start hearing hammers pretty soon  (laughter)  at Saint Marys, and Greater Union, and here at Mount Pleasant.

And we have every confidence that with your continued testimony and leadership, with the generous strong support of your governor, your senator, your members of Congress, with an outpouring of support from people all across this state and this nation, I know that the best days for Mount Pleasant, Greater Union, Saint Marys, and Louisiana are yet to come.

So, thank you all very much, and God bless you.
Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

After more than 20 years, you'd think there'd be leaping for joy.

For so many of those years, Flight Attendants had been wondering whether their 8-hour rest periods between duty days were enough.

After all, if you still have to get to a hotel after a long day and then wake at the crack of dawn to get back to the airport and be on your next flight, you're not going to get eight hours' sleep, are you?

Seven fatigue studies ultimately declared in 2015 that the correct and safe amount of resting time should be 10 hours.

Pilots already had that privilege.

Finally, as my colleague Bill Murphy Jr. reported, last September at 2.52 a.m on a Saturday morning, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

Within it was a mandate to the airlines to institute the new, scientifically suggested rest period.

It hasn't yet happened.

First, the Department of Transportation didn't update the regulation, in which there were dozens of other safety initiatives embedded.

Then came the Government Shutdown and the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.

Yet many Flight Attendants are wondering whether one or more airlines are stalling on the hard-fought stipulation.

Because, oh, it can't be money behind this, can it?

Please forgive me, that was my own dry fear.

Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and in her spare time a United Airlines Flight Attendant, told me her members -- Flight Attendants at 20 airlines in all, including United, Alaska and Spirit -- are intensely frustrated.

She also intimates dark forces may be at play. She told me:

We have learned through multiple conversations with industry, regulators, and other sources all over Washington, Delta Air Lines has been pushing the the Department of Transportation and the FAA to slow down implementation.

Nelson told me she's heard Delta is telling the regulators it needs to hire 2,000 more Flight Attendants in order to comply. This could take two years.

Why would Delta want to hold back such an apparently sensible, science-based, safety-orientedf regulation?

A Delta spokesman denied the airline was doing any such thing. He told me:

We're preparing now by hiring flight attendants and making adjustments to our scheduling technology, so that we can support the change once it's implemented.

The airline refutes any suggestion that it would be against the new regulation at all.

Whispers from several thousand feet, however, suggest Delta doesn't necessarily view the new regulations with untrammeled joy.

Nelson is a touch skeptical too. She told me:

If you had a union on the property, you'd know scheduling systems can be a bear to update, but not simply changing a modifier like this.

Delta is alone in its Flight Attendants being non-unionized. Some, though, might find it odd that the airline wouldn't be a touch more gung-ho.

If you're renowned for your customer service, held in high esteem by all your rivals, wouldn't you want to be in the vanguard of such employee-friendly and safety-minded rules?

Safety is, after all, very much in passengers' minds currently, after two awful crashes involving the MAX 8. In one survey, more than half of Americans now say they don't want to fly it.

And when there is a safety issue or even an emergency, it's Flight Attendants who are most often at the forefront.

I asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain what's going on. A spokeswoman told me:

We're in the process of initiating rulemaking on the Flight Attendant duty and rest rules. The change directed by Congress requires that we go through the traditional rulemaking process to revise the rules.

There's a tantalizing kink to all this. As the FAA spokeswoman told me:

Air carriers can adopt the new rest requirements on their own.

So American, Southwest and the rest can simply say Yup, Here We Go and it will be perfectly legal.

Why don't they?

An American Airlines spokesperson told me:

The FAA has not issued its final rule yet detailing the rest requirements. We are in compliance with the current FAA regulations.

But the FAA has said you can go ahead. It told me. It's OK.

Southwest offered a similar line to that of Delta:

Southwest is working to develop technology requirements to support the scheduling requirements of the new rest rule while also working with our Flight Attendants' union to review the implications to our collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, we are coordinating with the FAA to incorporate agency guidance and conform to the specific elements prescribed by the Reauthorization Act of 2018 as we develop and enhance our policies and procedures.

Then again, Nelson told me such procedures should have taken six months at the most.

Are you ready for a touch more irony?

United already has the 10-hour rule, negotiated as part of a 2016 agreement. Yet the airline still doesn't appear to be pushing for the dozens of other associated safety-minded regulations to speed through.

It all seems quite curious.

It could be that some of these airlines are being sincere, given the many trials they've undergone this year.

Oh, but this couldn't be about money, could it?

If you have to give Flight Attendants more rest, you might have to pay more Flight Attendants. That would hurt.

Given the decades-long gestation period, you'd think airlines might have created contingency plans for the day.

Perhaps they never thought it would happen. Or perhaps they always hoped it wouldn't happen.

Nelson told me her union will be organizing protests with a view to speeding up airlines' thinking:

We launched a petition on fightfor10.org to call on DOT and FAA to immediately implement the law, and to encourage members of Congress to hold them accountable. We will ramp up additional actions in the coming weeks and months to hold airlines and regulators responsible for complying with the law.

She explained that May 5 will represent six months since the regulation should have been updated.

Will Flight Attendants have to wait another six months? Or will it be more?

And will passengers be looking at them, wondering if they've had enough rest?

If I'm on a morning flight, I do.
Spreading its arches far and wide? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

McDonald's is very good at doing what it does best.

For so many years, customers knew what to expect and understood that the core of the brand lay in simple, familiar fare.

The Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder were known all over the world.

And no one seemed to mind if they were frozen.

Until the brand seemed frozen in time.

Suddenly, it lagged behind more innovative competitors. It's still catching up with essentials such as fresh beef.

There's more work to do.

Rumor has it, though, that the burger chain is changing its menu, too, in a way that few might expect.

And a certain few may not tolerate.

You see, Business Insider reports that McDonald's has resorted to going, gasp, overseas for new menu items.

It's one thing to feature overseas items in its flagship worldwide headquarters in Chicago.

It's quite another to turn to Spain and import one of that country's dishes in order to put them in U.S. restaurants.

Yet here we seem to be.

The Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger from Spain will join the Stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands in making the trip from Europe.

A shorter journey awaits the Tomato-Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Canada.

Yet it's Australia that might be contributing the most tantalizing item: Cheesy Bacon Fries.

How can America not have invented that?

This glorious quartet will allegedly adorn McDonald's menus from the very point that its Signature Crafted sandwiches shuffle away. Which would be in the first days of June.

It's an extremely curious strategic twist when the chain initially said it was removing the Signature Crafted delights in order to have fewer menu items.

I contacted McDonald's to ask for its thoughts. The deeply cryptic response from a spokeswoman was:

Geen commentaar.

Because Absurdly Driven is reserved for the erudite, you'll know this is Dutch for no comment and PR for Yeah, but we're not admitting it yet.

The chain did confess last year that it was testing one or two of its international favorites in South Florida.

It seems, then, that there were some winners.

I wonder, though, how much or how little the chain will laud the provenance of these fine dishes.

It will be fascinating as to whether the fact they're from foreign lands will be an additional attraction or whether our nation's current, slightly inward-looking penchant will prevail.

You might think that a mere four menu items is nothing so extraordinary.

But in a market as deeply competitive as fast food, it's a sign that the blinkered thinking of promotions and discounts isn't quite enough.

McDonald's, just like Starbucks and many others, has to prove its freshness all the time.
In Berlin, most of the Second World War bullet holes have been filled in, the legendary 1990s rave venues redeveloped. Rents are rising and so are block after block of luxury apartments. Tech startups are flourishing.

Berlin is no longer poor but sexy, as its mayor at the time said in 2003. But with an officially estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including international stars such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and Sean Scully, the city still has the reputation of being the creative capital of the European art world. How is that reputation shaping up to reality in todays troubled times?

Last week, some 45 dealerships participated in the 15th edition of Gallery Weekend Berlin, a slickly organised collaboration that gives collectors and curators a sense of the latest in the citys art scene. Equally important, it gives galleries a chance to make some sales.

Berlin is an uber-cool city. The economics of the city allow dealers to have really great spaces, says Danny Goldberg, a collector based in Sydney, Australia. Goldberg was viewing new canvases by Leipzig-based painter Matthias Weischer and a video and sculptures by French artist Camille Henrot in Konig Galeries converted brutalist church in a less gentrified part of the citys Kreuzberg district.

A regular visitor to Gallery Weekend Berlin for the past five years, Goldberg, like many visiting collectors, says he values the more considered process of viewing and discussing art in galleries, and in artists studios, rather than browsing booths at art fairs.

10 best European art galleries Show all 10 1 /10 10 best European art galleries 10 best European art galleries The Peggy Guggenheim, Venice The only gallery Ive ever visited by water taxi, this little canal-side museum is a tiny gem  and its ideal for ticking off your Venice to do list without having to head back to the hotel for a lie down after. Housed in famed art collector Peggy Guggenheims old gaffe, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, it comes complete with an adorable little sculpture garden and yes, of course theres a cafe. Expect to see lots of paintings you recognise including Picassos and Pollocks, Mondrians and Miros. All the big names in a bite-sized space: bliss. Getty 10 best European art galleries The Picasso Museum, Barcelona There is only one art gallery I have broken down and cried in, and this is it. I think it was just the sheer volume of work, the guy never stopped experimenting and making stuff. He might not have been the nicest person, but youve got to take your hat off to him: he could do anything and everything. And, it's central location makes it perfect for heading out to lunch after working up an appetite learning all about cubism. Getty 10 best European art galleries Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen This gallery is situated about 40km outside of Copenhagen which means you get to go on an exciting train ride through the posh suburbs of Copenhagen  all very Borgen. A 15-minute walk from the station, the gallery itself sits in stunning landscaped gardens slap bang on the Danish coast with a view over the Sound across to Sweden. Expect top class international art, both indoors and outdoors, plus the best open fishy sandwiches on pumpernickel you could hope for. Yum. Rex 10 best European art galleries Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo This is a smart little place on the edge of the freezing fjorde waters of Oslo. I visited in January and basically slid over from the hotel next door  which offered free entry along with our stay. Hugely more enjoyable than the Munch Museum, which I found slightly miserable. This is a light-filled modern gallery with ever-changing exhibitions as well as a permanent collection of names that even the most clueless of us have heard of. Hirst cows are in there for example, alongside Jeff Koons disturbing Michael Jackson with monkey sculpture. It also has a cafe and shop but prepare to choke slightly over the prices. Rex 10 best European art galleries Miro Museum, Palma A must for Miro fans, there are buses from the city centre but we cheated and got a cab. Essentially its a massive Miro fest with some lovely quirky architectural details  Miros studio for example is a primary colour 1960s design classic. Theres also a sculpture garden, coffee bar and obligatory shop where you can buy all things Miro: mugs; fridge magnets; tea towels etc. Rex 10 best European art galleries Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki This was a gallery the old man and I stumbled on whilst strolling around Helsinki, around a decade ago. We were over visiting a production of Grumpy Old Women Live which was being performed in Finnish in the city centre. And after perusing such delicacies as traditional bear pate in the market we needed something a bit more contemporary. Expect cutting-edge modern, colourful and fun, a mix of installation, photography and painting. The exhibitions change seasonally, as does the lunch menu in the cafe, good work Helsinki, though I'd give the bear pate a miss. Rex 10 best European art galleries The Black Horizon Art Pavilion, Lopud Island, Croatia OK this one is a bit off the beaten track, for starters youve got to get a ferry from Durbrovnik to the tiny island of Lopud, from there you either walk, cycle or golf cart it to this wonderful magical box which basically squats in the middle of nowhere. Basically its a wooden shed, designed by our very own David Adjaye, which houses a lighting installation by the artist Olafur Eliasson. It showcases the colour changes on Lopuds horizon over 24 hours on a repeating 15-minute loop. Expect to have your mind blown, but dont expect coffee or cake  there is no cafe. I repeat, there is no cafe. Zoran Marinovic 10 best European art galleries Museum der Dinge, Berlin This isnt strictly an art gallery, its a collection of things, displayed over 500 metres in a former workshop. Its one of my favourite back street hot spots, and features a beautifully curated collection of design and everyday objects from the 20th and 21st century. This might be anything from dolls house furniture to kitchen utensils. Imagine a modern day equivalent of the Victorian collector, where plastic and mass produced household items replace eggs and butterflies. No cafe, but there are lots of cool places to hang out locally. Its so Berlin it hurts. Rex 10 best European art galleries Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery, Croatia A second Croatian gallery, guess where I like to go on my hols? This one is in Dubrovnik and if its getting a bit hot out there on the beach, this is the idea place to take shelter. Fabulously cool and blissfully empty, the exhibitions change regularly, but I remember being mightily impressed when I visited a few years ago. I seem to remember some kind of refreshment facility but I dont think it ran to a decent light lunch menu, so bear that in mind when you visit (or smuggle in a sandwich). AFP/Getty Images 10 best European art galleries Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery, Berlin This is a massive gallery housed in an old train station. Its home to some of the worlds best contemporary art, so you can wander round and tick off all the big names. Its pretty exhausting but dont worry, if you need a pit stop theres a proper restaurant with fancy beers and a comprehensive menu which features the Berlin classic currywurst, chips and homemade ketchup. Oh God, I might just have to catch a plane. Rex

Im art-faired out, says Goldberg, vowing to kick the habit of visiting half a dozen such events a year. Its just more of the same, he adds.

While fair fatigue has become a common complaint among collectors, Berlins leading gallerists value events like Art Basel, FIAC and Frieze as a way of making contact with a global clientele. Unlike New York, London and Paris, Berlin doesnt host any major international art fairs or auctions.

There isnt the social structure or the mentality that supports a collector base here, says Barbara Huttrop, director of the Berlin galerie Kewenig, which exhibits at the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Theres no industry, adds Huttrop, whose gallery in a historic house has yet to attract significant collectors from Berlins tech sector.

Kewenigs The Palace of the Perfect, a presentation of 13 works from the 1980s from the estate of admired American conceptual artist James Lee Byars was, for many, the standout show of the weekend. Byars unique brand of magical minimalism was perhaps most powerfully represented by The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 that consists of an enormous gilded amphora lying in the gallerys red-painted hallway. It was priced at $5m (3.8m).

For us its the most important weekend, says Huttrop, who was hoping to greet at least 20 of the gallerys most important international clients.

Did they turn up? Top collectors such as Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Turin, Anita Zabludowicz from London and Uli Sigg from Switzerland were certainly in Berlin. But some Gallery Weekend regulars noticed a more general shortage of foreign visitors. American accents were rarely heard.

The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 by James Lee Byars (Alamy) (Alamy Stock Photo)

I never saw so few international buyers, says Magnus Resch, the founder of Magnus, an app likened to Shazam for the art world, who is based in New York but has an apartment in Berlin.

The art world calendar is saturated with events, particularly with 2019 being a year of the Venice Biennale, which attracts droves of international collectors hoping to discover the next big names before the market does.

But the shock of the new was in short supply at Gallery Weekend. There was little in the way of performance, installation or digital art. Painting and sculpture by German artists predominated.

By Saturday afternoon, at least half a dozen of Weischers 16 enigmatic and painterly images of interiors had found buyers at Konig Galerie, priced from 24,000 to 175,000.

Similar works were popular with collectors in the late 2000s when Weischer, along with several other contemporary German painters, had been market darlings. Then, large canvases sold for as much as 450,000 at auction; more recently, they have been selling for between 40,000 and 77,000, according to the Artnet database of salesroom results.

Berlin has an estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including Ai Weiwei (AFP/Getty)

Konrad Fischer Galerie formally inaugurated its spectacular new space in an old transformer station with a show of works by Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Long. Granite Crossing, a new and characteristic large-scale floor sculpture made of pale red rocks was priced at 250,000, and was not snapped up by Saturday.

More zeitgeisty works by young Brussels-based German painter Jana Euler were at least in demand at Galerie Neu in Mitte in a show titled Great White Fear.

Euler jokily incorporated her own features in eight 10-foot-high paintings of a breaching white shark that resembled an erect phallus. All subtly different in their expressionistic technique, these sold out, priced at between 40,000 to 75,000.

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For all Berlins reputation as a melting pot of artistic innovation, many visitors were disappointed by the amount of older works on display and the conservatism of the new presentations. I only saw known artists, no new discoveries, no disruption, no innovation. Where are the wild days gone? says Resch, the app founder.

With Hong Kong and Los Angeles both attracting growing attention as must-visit art world hubs, and the calendar getting ever more crowded, Berlins Gallery Weekend needs to embrace change. Just as the city itself has.

 New York Times
Renowned as the Eye of Istanbul, the work of late photojournalist Ara Guler has been on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London before embarking on a worldwide showing.

Guler, who passed away in October last year at the age of 90, was known by many as one of the greatest photojournalists of his time, working for Time Life magazine, Paris Match and Magnum Photos. He was awarded the title Master of Leica in 1962 and, in 1999, was honoured with the Turkish Photographer of the Century award.

Capturing the daily lives of Turkeys working class through the years, Guler also worked as a portrait photographer, intimately depicting the most famous and inuential individuals of the 20th century. I believe that photography is a form of magic by which a moment of experience is seized for transmission to future generations, he once said when asked to explain his art.

The exhibition not only places special emphasis on Gulers striking images of Istanbul, but also gives prominence to fascinating scenes from Anatolia and different parts of the world. It also offers a selection of signicant historical portraits, including Picasso, Dali, Ask Veysel and Nazm Hikmet. The London exhibition features portraits of John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the UKs history and cultural life.

Recommended The winners of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards have been reveal

The exhibition of Gulers works, hailed by the British Journal of Photography as one of the seven greatest photographers in the world, was established by the Turkish presidency. The Europe minister Alan Duncan and Turkish ambassador Umit Yalcn opened the exhibition at the famous art venue, and while underlining that Guler is one of the best photographers in the world, Duncan said Guler never thought of himself as an artist.

He saw himself as a visual historian, as a photojournalist. He put the plight of his fellow men at the heart of his visual histories, particularly in his evocative black and white portraits of Istanbul, hustling and bustling in the age before the nasty motor car.

Following the exhibition in London, Gulers work will move to Paris Polka Gallery in late May. The third exhibition will be beyond Europes borders, at Kyotos Tofukuji Temple. Late June will mark the opening of this exhibition, at the time when the G20 Summit is held in Japan. The fourth iteration is to be held in New York in late September, at the Smithsonian National American Indian Museum, and is expected to attract large crowds from different cultures and nations from across the world, who will visit New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly. The exhibition will then meet art lovers at Romes Trastevere Museum at the end of the year, and nally at the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu by 2020.

The Ara Guler Exhibition runs at the Saatchi until 5 May
 Flash

Thousands of voters in Britain punished the two main political parties on Friday over their failure to resolve the Brexit question by firing hundreds of councilors serving on city and town councils.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives suffered the brunt of public anger, but the main opposition Labour Party also paid the price for the ongoing impasse over Britain's departure from the European Union.

With the counting of votes at the half-way stage by daybreak Friday, results showed the Conservatives had so far lost more than 400 seats in council chambers, and Labour around 90 seats.

The big winners of Thursday's poll have so far been Britain's third political party, the Liberal Democrats, who have won over 300 seats, mainly at the expense of the two big parties.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis admitted it had been a tough night for his party.

"We always knew this would be a tough year for us," Lewis said, adding that he recognized there is huge frustration about Brexit from the British public.

"There's a very clear message to both parties that we have got to get on with getting Brexit done," he said.

The Liberal Democrats spokesman and Westminster Member of Parliament (MP) Ed Davey described the results as fantastic and added, "We are back in business."

His party was punished in 2015 for its part in its coalition with the Conservative Party, when it suffered a near wipe-out at the ballot box.

Davey told Sky News many voters had turned to the Liberal Democrats over their Brexit policy and demanded a second referendum.

The Conservatives MP Crispin Blunt said the Brexit mess in Westminster had hit his party in the local elections.

He warned the outlook for the European Parliament elections, which are planned for later this month, could be even worse as the focus will be on Europe.

"Plainly we are going to need to get a new leader at some point and get a clear strategy to get Brexit across the line," Blunt said in a breakfast radio interview in reference to May's days at 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Gwynne, national campaign coordinator for the Labour Party, said it had been a tough set of elections for his party, and while local factors were at play, Brexit had undoubtedly played a part in the results.

"The point is that for many people, it was their first opportunity to express that sense of frustration and I think the two main parties have borne the brunt of that," Gwynne, Labour Party's shadow communities secretary, told the BBC.

Approaching the half-way stage, the Conservatives had lost control at 16 town halls and Labour three, with leadership in more council chambers certain to change hands as counting resumed Friday morning.

The Green Party was also the beneficiary of public dissent as thousands of traditional Conservatives and Labour voters turned to it.

Elections expert Professor John Curtice from Strathclyde University said the Green Party has had its best ever results while the gains of the Liberal Democrats had restored it to the traditional party of so-called pavement politics, while independent candidates had gained major ground.

"The picture of local government is going to be different after these elections," Curtice said.

"This has been a night under which the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour over politics in Britain has come under substantial challenge. Very unusually both parties have seen their vote fall back and both are suffering loses," he added.

Curtice told the BBC there has been a north-south divide, with Conservatives shedding more seats in the south of England and Labour losing more in its traditional northern heartland.

Both the Conservatives and Labour were bracing themselves for more bad results as the counting continued, with the picture expected to be completed by early afternoon.
Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8

Game of Thrones fans rejoiced during last weeks episode, when Arya Stark killed the Night King and Westeross greatest threat  the White Walkers  was finally annihilated. Yet, the shows creators, David Benioff and DB Weiss, dont want you to get so comfortable.

The pair stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to answer a few questions about the finale season. The host began: A couple of questions  I dont know if youll be able to answer them. Are we for sure done with the White Walkers?

The duo paused and looked at each other, before Benioff replied: Were not gonna answer that. Could Benioff and Weiss be bluffing or is a major twist about to be unleashed on fans?

The next episode appears to move events to Kings Landing, as the survivors of the Night King battle prepare to take on Cersei Lannister, Euron Greyjoy and The Golden Company.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Show all 9 1 /9 Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan

Photos show Jon, Daenerys, Tormund, Grey Worm and Samwell bearing torches in memory of Theon, Beric, Lyanna and Ser Jorah.

The creators also revealed that Mike Pence got a stealthy shout-out during the Battle of Winterfell. According to Weiss, director Miguel Sapochnik asked Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, to say something in Valyrian.

Jacob was so tired and so delirious and so out of it that all he could think to yell was Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Weiss said.

The audio was later dubbed over, so the vice presidents name cannot actually be heard, but that is what Anderson was yelling, the co-creator added.

Game of Thrones is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK, and on HBO in the US.
The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earths plants and animals by people, leading scientists have warned in a dramatic report.

Loss of biodiversity threatens the human race just as much as climate change, the experts believe, with up to a million species facing extinction in the worlds sixth mass die-off.

The UNs global assessment on the state of nature  published on Monday, and the most comprehensive of its kind  says that without urgent action, the wellbeing of current and future generations of people will be at risk as life-support systems providing food, pollination and clean water collapse.

The 1,800-page report lays out a series of future scenarios based on decisions by governments and other policymakers, and recommends a rescue plan.

It highlights how man-made activity has destroyed nature, such as forests, wetlands and other wild landscapes, damaging Earths capacity to renew breathable air, productive soil and drinkable water.

Endangered and threatened species of Britain Show all 10 1 /10 Endangered and threatened species of Britain Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hedgehog In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million hedgehogs in the UK, there are now only one million Getty/iStock Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hazel dormouse The population of the hazel dormouse is thought to have declined by over one third since 2000. It is threatened by loss of habitat Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Red squirrel Famously ravaged by the North American grey squirrel, the red squirrel is nowadays very rare with a population of around 140,000 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Mountain hare The population in Scotland stands at 1% of its 1950 level and only one colony remains in England in the Peak District Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Natterjack toad Threatened by the disappearance of their coastal habitats, the natterjack toad is now only found at a handful of site across the UK Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Water vole Once found across Britain, the water vole is no longer anywhere to be seen in 90% of waterways Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Turtle dove On the Red List of conservation concern, the turtle dove population has declined by 97% since 1970 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Small tortoiseshell butterfly Amid a general decline in butterfly population since records began in the 1970s, the small tortoiseshell saw a 38% drop in population in 2018 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Noble chafer beetle Classed as vulnerable, the noble chafer beetle became increasingly rare throughout the 20th century due to habitat loss. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species gbhone Endangered and threatened species of Britain Stag beetle Their population is not known but due to habitat loss and other threats they are a protected species. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species Getty

The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human wellbeing, said Sir Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in a paper previewing the report.

Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come. Policies, efforts and actions  at every level  will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence. This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides.

The report warns the destruction of nature threatens humanity at least as much as human-induced climate change.

Diplomats from 130 countries met in Paris to launch the report which has been in development for three years and has involved hundreds of experts.

Sir Robert told The Guardian: There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

We are in trouble if we dont act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.

Many species will die out within decades, scientists say, while ocean fish are being plundered to the edge of sustainability.

The loss of pollinating insects, especially bees, will undermine supplies of food crops.

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Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years, WWFs Living Planet Report last year said.

The global assessment report comes at an opportune time when the world is waking up to dual threat of biodiversity loss and climate change, said Guenter Mitlacher, a biodiversity expert at WWF Germany.

This report will play a pivotal role in informing governments and policymakers of the risks of nature loss for future development of societies and economies.
Anna Wintour has revealed her dream guest list for the annual Met Gala would include two members of the British royal family.

During an interview with Todays Jenna Bush Hager, the Vogue editor-in-chief discussed details of the upcoming Met Gala, which takes place on Monday, including everything from the colour of the red carpet to the no selfie rule.

But, according to Wintour, who oversees every detail of the exclusive celebrity-studded event, there are two guests she wishes would attend - the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge.

In response to a question about her dream guest, Wintour said: I would love to have the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge together.

That would be my dream couple, she said, before adding: They could leave their husbands at home. Its the two of them I want.

10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Show all 10 1 /10 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Diana, 1996



Princess Diana attended the 1996 Met Gala alongside friend and former Harper's Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis. The royal wore a navy blue camisole dress from John Gallianos debut couture collection for Dior and a pearl, diamond and sapphire choker around her neck. AFP/Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Lee Radziwill, 2001



Lee Radziwil, the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, attended the Met Gala in 2001 wearing a flowy white gown with intricate embroidery. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Andrea Casiraghi, 2006



Andrea Casiraghi - the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the Met Gala in 2006 with his now wife, Tatiana Santo Domingo. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2007



Queen Rania of Jordan made an appearance at the Met Gala in 2007 wearing a navy silk gown featuring a wide black belt. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Charlotte Casiraghi, 2016



Charlotte Casiraghi - the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the event in 2016 wearing a tiered floor-length dress by Gucci. The colourful gown featured an ombre effect from canary yellow to fuschia pink and purple. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 2016



Socialite Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a cream strapless mini-dress by Balmain with pointed thigh-high boots. 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2016



In 2016, Queen Rania of Jordan was the definition of elegance as she attended the Met Gala in a black and white feathered Valentino gown. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2016



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis - the daughter of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis - attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a gold mini-dress by Mary Katrantzou. The royal accessorised her look with a metallic choker, matching handbag and feather ear piece. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2017



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis also attended the Met Gala the following year wearing a pale pink overcoat designed by Simone Rocha. The garment was covered in 3D floral embellishment and paired with red square toe heels. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Beatrice, 2018



For her first time attending the Met Gala in 2018, Princess Beatrice wore a purple floor-length gown designed by Alberta Ferretti. The dress featured sheer sleeves, a high neck and embellishments across the bodice. Beatrice accessorised the look with a beaded headband and gunmetal silver clutch bag. Getty Images

Although it is unlikely Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton will be in attendance this year, as the royal baby is expected any day, royalty have attended the fashion-focused event before.

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Last year, Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attended the gala in a Grecian-style gown by Alberta Ferretti.

And in 1996, Prince William and Prince Harrys mother Princess Diana was in attendance, dressed in a navy slip dress by John Galliano for Dior.

This years theme is Camp: Notes on Fashion - which Wintour confirmed is nothing about nature and instead about everything completely artificial and fake and not really what you think it means.

As for how she hopes guests will interpret the theme, Wintour said: We want them to take risks, to be fearless, to have fun with fashion.

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We all need to laugh at ourselves too.
The two old boys were having lunch. On the table was a bottle of wine. When they ordered a second, there was an audible ripple of admiration around the room. Fellow diners smiled in their direction.

This scene unfolded recently in a City restaurant. Indeed, the two men looked as if they had met for a bit of a stockbroker reunion, to reminisce about their share trading, and lunching, days.

Hardly anyone has a two bottler any more. Not at lunch on a work day. One bottle is rare, but a couple  that is going some.
Lynne Colston is reading out a postcard from the future.

Her descendants in the village of Aberfan, in Merthyr Vale, south Wales, have written to tell her that climate change has resulted in food shortages. But thanks to Colston, who started localised growing programmes in 2018, her descendants have survived. Her great-great-great-great granddaughter is sitting at a table made from oak grown from an acorn Colston planted, and harvested at a a sawmill established under Colstons watch, which has brought business back to the valley. Thank you for making change happen and thank you for our future, the descendant writes.

Its Wednesday lunchtime in an empty shopping unit in the Capitol Centre, Cardiff, and Colston is one of of a handful of residents presenting their vision for the future of the Welsh valleys. Nearly 100 people are gathered, including Welsh assembly members, local councillors, forestry authorities and community groups. The Skyline Project has spent nine months engaging artists to unlock residents ideas about their natural environment. The resulting maps and quotations are pasted all over the gallery walls, including dreams of swimming pools, walking routes, honeybees and wild birds.

Colstons postcard might be fantasy today, but Skyline sees this artistic reimagining as the first step to a community action plan for the land.

One man is here to show them whats possible. Alastair McIntosh was one of four founders of the Isle of Eigg Trust in 1991, which in the space of six years wrested the island in the Scottish Hebrides from rich owners and put it in the hands of the community. Its not about sloganising politics, its about figuring out things that are going to work, he says. You have to start digging with a teaspoon, then a spade, then a digger, and then political confidence to flow into those channels.

But Scotland has a very different tradition of land ownership. As well as positive examples of community ownership, Scotland has a history of crofting, or long term leases of private land to stewards, and momentum is growing for further reform. An investigation by the Scottish Land Commission found that concentrated land ownership in Scotland, where 1,125 people own 70 per cent of the land, has held back prospects for economic, housing and community development. The commission went so far as to describe the concentration of land ownership in Scotland as socially corrosive.

The situation in Wales is different. Wales has fewer private landowners. It also has much more public land. The question for the groups involved in Skyline is whether they can get public bodies to support their ideas. Being able to get land is a political thing, says Mark Walton, the co-director of Shared Assets. In Scotland it required legislation. Whats exciting is that Skyline is looking at what is already publicly owned land. It is in the gift of authorities to transfer ownership to communities or give them leases to allow the to manage productively. Thats a massive opportunity because it overcomes the main barrier to entry, which is the cost of buying the land.

Walton says that an ambitious programme of land transfer to communities in urban areas has the potential to revitalise areas still reeling from the death of traditional industry, particularly in Wales and the north of England. But he acknowledges that is it sometimes difficult for authorities to cede power: Authorities are afraid because this fundamentally changes the relationship between the state and the people. It changes the way the civil servants behave. It changes the dynamic  and that is scary.

Ian Thomas, runs Welcome to Our Woods, a community partnership in the upper Rhondda Fawr making local natural resources accessible to residents. In May, Welcome to Our Woods was awarded 90,000 in grants and loans from the Co-op Foundation, to put towards its project converting waste wood into furniture and biomass fuel, generating income. The money has been generated by the sale of 5p bags in the Co-ops Welsh supermarkets.

Project Skyline, which is exploring land ownership in the south Wales valleys, visited community forests in Scotland in October (Mike Erskine)

In October, Thomas, Colston and other volunteers from other valleys groups visited the Kilfinan Community Forest in Tighnabruaich, which manages ownership of 434 hectares of Acharossan Forest. Chris Blake, who started the Skyline Project, says that the trip proved the possibilities. To see for yourselves what the forest crofts has achieved in eight years was quite staggering, he says. At the end of the day we sat down and suddenly we realised it can be done.

Geraint Davies, the Plaid Cymru councillor for Treherbert ward, is among those at the event in the shopping centre. As visitors browse the exhibition, he remembers playing in the mountains as a child: We used to be up there making dams, but you dont see children up there now.

Would he support community ownership of the land? I think that would be wonderful, he says. Its very important to get people committed to the area through ownership. In the past people have come in, done things, and gone again.

Lee Waters, the deputy minister for economy and transport at the Welsh assembly, sees Skyline as part of a broader movement for the democratic ownership of land and the economy that is going on in places like Preston in Lancashire and Barcelona in Spain.

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There has been a profound change going on in the valleys in just two generations. Theres been considerable depopulation and some areas are returning to semi-rural, which creates a range of policy challenges but also opens up a new way of doing things, Waters says. Might the Welsh government give Skyline funding for land? Theres absolutely no reason why we wouldnt. Wed have to see some detail but I think its got huge potential.

Thomas says the seeds of change have already been planted. When we looked at our land we found that 85 per cent is public estate, he says. So were not talking about ownership because as far as were concerned we already own the land. Its about what level of stewardship we get. What we are looking at is a micro-hydro scheme, a sawmill, solar farms and forest crofts. This land is opportunity for us.
Over 1,000 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the deadliest outbreaks of the disease in history.

With efforts to bring it under control hampered by civil war and mistrust, health minister Oly Ilunga said 1,008 lives have been claimed by the virus.

While the crisis is a long way off the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africas Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which killed more than 11,000, people experts warn its true extent in DRC is not clear.

There might be double this many cases in reality that were just not aware of, Tariq Riebl, emergency response director for the Ebola response crisis with the International Rescue Committee.

Despite the risk of spread across the highly porous borders with Uganda and Rwanda or further afield, in April the World Health Organisation (WHO) again opted not to declare a global health emergency.

Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Show all 27 1 /27 Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 During Ebola, they quarantined areas. My husband was at Kailahun and couldnt cross the boundary, so we were separated. They taught us how to wash our hands and we were all washing our hands every day; even my children were washing their hands. Haja is the mother of three surviving children, two of her children died from diarrhoea WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 This is the finished toilet that we have built in our compound, I am very happy to have my own toilet and I will be proud to use it WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 All the parents came together and built a school in the village, we have just opened the school. The children are at assembly with no uniforms. I am the teacher at the school so I took this photo to show how we have been working hard for our children to be educated WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Here is my son, Sessay (left), with his friends. I was happy to snap them. I have given birth to six children, but only three are still alive. The first one I lost was three years ago, and the second was two years ago. Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature. He was really, really sick, he wasn't even taking breast milk, and he died. My heart was broken. My baby used to be strong. He was able to sit by himself and was just starting to practise to crawl and reach for things. He laughed a lot when I played with him, Id clap and dance. I have a happy moment when he started sitting by himself and learning to crawl. Those are the happy moments that makes a mother most happy. The moment I remember most about Lahai was when he was breastfeeding and was playing with my neck and chin with his hand. I look to the future and hope that such things won't happen again, and that God will give me children that stay with me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 My step brother Ibrahim is building our toilet with loamy soil because we dont have cement. WaterAid taught us about good sanitation and I want to show that we are now building our own toilets so that we will not go to the bush or use the stream as a toilet that is why I took this photo WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna, 33 Washing in the stream: When we came here the water system was very bad. I know that when I drink dirty water I get sick. We are getting diarrhoea because we are drinking that type of water. If I am sick I am not able to earn money because I am not able to go to work, and I have to stay at home, which is very difficult for me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah These are the contractors that came to build the water well, and they are mixing the stones and the cement to build the cover of the well WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah I started tree climbing when I was living with my grandmother and she was trying to get some palm kernels and process them to make the oil that we use. I didnt like doing the processing part so I decided to climb the trees to do the harvest instead. Tree climbing is very difficult. At times you can be confronted by a snake, as you are going up you just see one and it will hiss at you. If you are not strong you are going to fall out of the tree, and could die! I am just doing it for necessity sake. I dont want to do this job really, but at the moment I have no other means of making money, so I have no choice but to do this to manage my family WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 They killed my uncle during the war. I was not in this village during the war; I was in Guinea. Just after the war, my mother asked me to come back home. There were no houses when I returned; it had all been destroyed WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah This is my son Bockarie. He reminds me of his mother, who is not presently here with me, and he resembles me. Recently my son was very sick and we had to take him to the clinic to get treatment. Even getting to the clinic costs money. I didn't have any money, so I had to borrow money from the community people so I could take him to the hospital. Having very good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yujah Sidique is 21 years old, he is my daughters husband and is drinking from the stream we use to fetch water. Our forefathers created this village, and the water was good. They covered it with a concrete box to keep it safe, but all of that fell down during the war, and afterwards no one could repair it. The water is not good here now and I have worms as a result. It will be very good to have clean water; it would give us a long life. If you have good drinking water, then your life is safe, but if you dont then your life is not secure. Having good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 We the women of this village are experiencing the problems with lack of water and we pray that things will change. The rain washes everything, including faeces into the water. The children get diarrhoea from the water. With clean water, I would be clean and would not suffer from sickness WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 This is my brothers wife, she is holding both her daughter and my granddaughter WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 Matu is the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun. She is a traditional birth attendant and plays an important role within the womens society. Matu suffers from poor health; she has stomach problems caused by the dirty water WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 My name is Amadou Kokoyeh, but I am more familiar with Kokoyeh [Bush Chicken]. The name Kokoyeh was given to me by fathers older brother. Its meant to be a bird that is in the bush and mostly eats other peoples groundnuts when they plant them. WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my father helping to dig the water well, so that we will have clean water to drink. I am happy because we are going to have a well in my village. I dont think the water we currently collect from the muddy spring is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my family  my mother, father and younger brother. When Im not with them this picture will make me feel closer to them WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 Moserie Yajah was lying down in the grass, and asked me to get a shot of him. At the moment, every day people ask me to get a photo of them. I feel very happy when people ask for a picture. What I love most to get a shot of is people that are well dressed, sitting in a chair or in a very comfortable area that I can snap WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 We were going down to Matus place, and my friends and brother decided to cover themselves with that fishing net, and asked me to take a shot of them. The fishing net was taken from Ginnahs mother (Massah) and I think the picture is really good. I like the photo mainly because they are standing close to the wash yard, where people go to heat their water and wash. I love it because they are all my brothers, and we look out for each other WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 I love this picture. I took this photo of Bockarie when he was drinking water. The water was collected from the muddy spring where everyone collects water. I dont think it is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre. If it rains, we harvest rainwater WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my cousin Papay; we are very close  he lives nearby and we spend lots of time together. In this picture he is messing around. On his head is what our fathers make to catch fish in small streams. We then eat some fish and they sell the rest. It is important for our survival WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 The community people helping to build the water well, I was glad about this, that is why I took this photo. Kempah is a youth leader and mechanic from Tombohuaun WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 These children are our next of kin, my children and their friends. They are wonderful children WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Jeneba, 13 Here, my father, brothers and aunt are separating cocoa fruit from pods. By selling cocoa, my family earns enough to pay my school fees WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 We have now built a small school in our village. This is inside the class for my childrens first day in school. I took this picture to show them in the future so they will know that I want them to be educated and also free from diseases WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 This is my Aunt Mamie Ansumana. She is 40 and is a farmer. She loves going to the farm and likes to smile. She looked after me when my children died. The dirty water caused the death of two of my children; I dont want anything to happen to the others. She took me from the room where Senior Lahai died to her own room. I slept in her room for some time. I want to thank to her because she is still taking care of us WaterAid

Ebola treatment centres have come under repeated attack and many international aid agencies have pulled staff out of hotspots, like the towns of Katwa and Butembo, leaving government health workers struggling to cope.

Last month a Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the WHO was killed during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.

Insecurity has become a major impediment to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHOs health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drives community rejection of health personnel.

Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events, Mr Ryan said.

He added they were anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission of the disease.

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WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border.

Many people fear going to Ebola treatment centres, choosing instead to stay at home and risk transmitting the disease from the virus to family and neighbours.

Residents of highly volatile Butembo believe Ebola was brought to the city on purpose, said Vianney Musavuli, 24, adding: I am deeply saddened to learn that the number of Ebola deaths has exceeded 1,000.

The problem is that people here in this area [people] believe Ebola is a political thing, and thats why residents are still attacking the teams in retaliation.

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Insecurity also has prevented vaccination teams from getting to some areas, further limiting the health response.

However, more than 109,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine.

Mr Ryan said authorities are looking at introducing another one. He called for more help from Congo and elsewhere to close an urgent, critical gap of some $54m in containment funding.

Additional reporting by AP
People who spread myths about the harms of vaccines have blood on their hands the health secretary has said as he refused to rule out compulsory immunisations.

While Matt Hancock downplayed suggestions that it would be made illegal not to vaccinate children, he said it could be considered if stalling immunisation rates are not addressed.

Vaccines are good for you, good for your children, and good for your neighbour who may have a medical condition that prevents them having the vaccine, he said.

Those who have promoted the anti-vaccination myth are morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible and have blood on their hands, he added.

His comments came in the wake of an investigation by The Times which found 40,000 UK parents are members of a single online group calling for children to be left unimmunised against life-threatening disease.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was never the same after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

Social media platforms like Facebook have been seen as key conduits for the spread of anti-vaxxer fake news which is having harmful consequences, according to UK health authorities.

However medical experts blamed government health reforms for falling immunisation rates, which have seen MMR uptake drop four years running.

Last month a Unicef report found half a million UK children went unvaccinated over the past seven years.

World Health Organisation figures show global measles cases rose 300 per cent in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The UK also saw its highest number of cases for a decade in 2018.

Mr Hancock said he was completely open to all options on bolstering vaccination rations, something which has previously been interpreted to mean banning unvaccinated children from schools.

Asked about the proposals on BBC Radio 4s Today programme Mr Hancock said: I dont want to reach the point of compulsory vaccination. I said Ill rule nothing out, but I dont want to reach that point, I dont think were near there.

Doctors were divided on the proposals, anaesthetist Dr Dave Jones backed compulsory vaccination.

But Dr Max Davie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said they first needed to undo the damage caused by underfunding and Conservative-led NHS reforms in 2012 which split responsibility for immunisation.

The difficulty is that the recent spike in UK cases does not appear to be due to a drop in public confidence, but in administrative and resource problems resulting from the split of public health to local authorities, he wrote on Twitter.
For Conservatives, there is no more salutary historical lesson of the consequences of leading a divided party than the experience of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850).

Elected with a governing majority of 76 in the general election of June 1841, the party was split for a generation after Peel insisted on pursuing a policy of free trade, through the repeal of the Corn Laws, five years later.

The party, created in the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act, divided, with roughly one-third acting as Peelites until the 1860s and the other two-thirds continuing without them. Many leading Peelites joined the newly formed Liberal Party after 1859 and the Conservative Party did not form another majority government until Benjamin Disraelis triumph at the general election of 1874.
A police force has condemned people for making racist comments about offenders and assumptions about their backgrounds on its Facebook page.

The colour of someones skin or a name thats not traditional is usually a trigger for these assumptions, Gloucestershire Constabulary wrote. Despite commenters not knowing the citizenship of offenders or whether or not they have spent all, most or even just a small part of their lives living in the UK, we often get told to deport them.

It added that a small but vocal number of people were making assumptions.

Youre free to criticise us on our posts and we rarely remove comments, it said. What we wont accept you doing here is writing comments below our posts that encourage xenophobia; the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.

The force it will consider blocking regular commenters who make statements of a xenophobic nature.

Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Show all 10 1 /10 Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland is lead away in handcuffs to a prison van PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A photo of Geoffrey Crossland's property, which contained a secret bunker PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland (right) is lead away after being sentenced PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The pensioned (right) has been jailed for more than 12 years PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the weapons found at the pensioner's property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old had built a bunker complex beneath a outbuilding PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A drawing of the bunker complex at the property of Geoffrey Crossland PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the guns found at the property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA

The negative impact of prejudice and hate meant a number of incidents went unreported, it said.

It also added it would welcome support in challenging the comments from the majority of people who dont post such comments.

 Police take on protesters and neo-Nazis in clash during May Day riots in Sweden

A majority of the comments were positive and supportive of the post.

Thank you for addressing this difficult issue. There will always be a presence from this sector of the public, and my hope is that education and awareness might lead to better understanding and tolerance, one wrote.

Another said: This is the attitude I want to see from my police force, thank you! I do try to challenge racist and xenophobic statements, but Im not always mentally prepared for the inevitable backlash of abuse.

One person was surprised it had taken this long to impose, adding, better late than never!

While some questioned why people making xenophobic comments were not arrested and cautioned, others expressed empathy with people of colour by stating how the response of trolls being challenged gave a taste of being on the receiving end of hate crime.

Others were less positive and the force blocked a comment from a Tommy Robinson supporter who used the word Nazi.

Screen shot of a comment made by a Tommy Robinson supporter on the Facebook page of Gloucestershire Police (Gloucestershire Constabulary/Facebook)

Meanwhile, others said the police post was a threat to freedom of speech, with one person stating: Turning into communist state telling you what to think, say and do, gonna control what we see on the Internet, what is this China?

A spokesperson for the force said it had not prosecuted anyone for xenophobic comments on its page.

They added: We have noticed a number of comments that while not meeting the threshold of a criminal offence are prejudiced or xenophobic and that is why we have taken the decision to post this message.
Julian Assange was given a disproportionate sentence for a bail violation, the United Nations has said as it accused British authorities of breaching his human rights.

The WikiLeaks founder was handed a 50-week sentence earlier this week and is being held at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. He is fighting an extradition request made by the US over an alleged hacking conspiracy.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said it was deeply concerned about the disproportionate sentence and claimed that violating bail was only a minor violation.

The working group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence, it said.

This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.

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 panel added: It is worth recalling that the detention and the subsequent bail of Mr Assange in the UK were connected to preliminary investigations initiated in 2010 by a prosecutor in Sweden. It is equally worth noting that that prosecutor did not press any charges against Mr Assange and that, in 2017, after interviewing him in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, she discontinued investigations and brought an end to the case.

The same panel of legal experts previously stated that Assange was arbitrarily detained in the Ecuadorian embassy and should have had his liberty restored.

Mr Assange lived inside the embassy for almost seven years before being dragged out by police officers last month.

Pro-Assange protesters outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday (AP)

WikiLeaks has said Assange is now living in appalling conditions at the prison, spending 23 hours a day in his cell.

The activist told Westminster Magistrates Court that he does not consent to being extradited to the US.

Speaking via video link from Belmarsh prison at a 10-minute hearing, Assange said: I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.

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US authorities have charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the US at the Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, said there were computer room chats showing real-time discussions between Chelsea Manning and Assange over cracking a password to gain access to classified US documents and the public release of the information.

The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States, Mr Brandon said.
 Flash

Mosquito-borne diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe, and a record number of Europeans contracted West Nile Fever last summer, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Friday.

Climate change and globalization have led to an increase in tropical diseases that have previously been limited to warmer regions.

Cases were recorded in Italy, Greece, France and Croatia. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found as far north as northern Germany and France.

"Italy is now, at times, a tropical country. This benefits the spread of diseases that previously only existed in warmer climates," Jan Semenza of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told SVT.

Globalization is another major contributing factor. The transportation of people and goods facilitates the spread of disease and the mosquitoes that carry it. An Asian tiger mosquito carrying dengue can spread with products like plants and car tires. It can also be spread by travelers and gain a foothold in areas with favorable conditions.

"We travel to or trade with tropical countries where viruses are present, and thus we transport it home. If the climate is favorable at home, the virus can spread," Semenza told SVT.

Those considering travelling to the Mediterranean this summer have been warned to be careful.

"You should avoid mosquito bites. Use mosquito repellent and do not have the windows wide open," Semensa told SVT.

According to Lakartidningen, a Swedish medical journal, the virus that causes West Nile Fever is spread by the Culex mosquito, which in turn contracts it from infected birds. It can then be passed on to animals and people.

In 80 percent of cases, those who are infected may have no or only mild symptoms. In severe cases, coma, seizures, muscle weakness and paralysis can occur. About one in 150 of those infected become seriously ill.

The ECDC, headquartered in the Swedish capital since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases.




North Korea has slashed official food rations to just 300g per person per day after suffering its worst harvest in more than a decade, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The country could face famine within a matter of months, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) warned.

A year of unexpected dry spells, heat waves and flooding, as well as well as ongoing international economic sanctions have all been blamed for the severe shortages.

The dire assessment comes after authorities in the secretive communist state asked the WFP to assess its food security.

It found the country was some 1.36m tonnes short of supplies and estimated 40 per cent of the population  about 10.1 million people  do not have enough to last until the next harvest in the autumn.

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

Mario Zappacosta, a senior economist at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, who worked on the assessment in April, said: It used to be they only reached this low level in July, August, and September. If the international community does not take action somehow, and quickly, there are some social groups who will suffer - the kids, the pregnant women, lactating mothers."

Speaking to the BBC, he added: "This year they have had a real series of weather shocks. They had everything. Low rains, then a heat wave, then floods."

The US blamed the North Korean government, saying its chronic mismanagement was responsible for the potential tragedy.

A spokeswoman for the state department said the "regime continues to exploit, starve, and neglect its own people in order to advance its unlawful nuclear and weapons programme."

North Korea has continually struggled with food production under the decades of its one-party rule.

A famine is estimated to have killed up to three million people in the mid-1990s, while, even at times of high production, most citizens live off just 500g of food a day, mainly consisting of rice and kimchi.
Buildings shook after the latest in a series of earthquakes struck Surrey in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Residents described fearing there had been an explosion after the 2.5 magnitude shaker hit at 1.19am.

It follows at least 20 similar quakes in the county in little more than a year  with many residents saying they fear the new seismic activity may be linked to oil and gas exploration being conducted at Horse Hill near Gatwick airport.

A spokeswoman for the British Geological Survey said: Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience. Typical reports described windows and doors shook, felt like some sort of explosion and a loud bang woke me up.

How fracking works and where it could happen Show all 2 1 /2 How fracking works and where it could happen How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingHowItWorks.jpg How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingMapWeb.jpg

One Crawley resident, Samantha Ferguson, wrote on Twitter: My whole flat just shook underneath me.

Preliminary information indicated the quake centred on the village of Newdigate  also close to the Horse Hill drilling site  and had struck at a depth of 2.3km.

Speaking after the four previous tremors, Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said scientists were keeping an open mind on possible causes.

He said: It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.

But Stuart Haszeldine, a professor with the University of Edinburghs geology department, told the BBC he believed the well  drilled by UK Oil and Gas  was responsible for the unprecedented seismic activity.

Whenever the oil and gas operators start preparing for some intervention, then there is a set of earthquakes, he said. Its pretty straightforward.

Previous quakes in the area  which included four in a single fortnight in February  have reached as high as 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Michael Gove has paved the way for overturning the curbs on shooting birds which triggered death threats against TV naturalist Chris Packham.

Natural England has been stripped of its power over the permits by the environment secretary  who has ordered his own investigation by officials with intensity and urgency.

The move follows calls by angry Tory MPs for Mr Gove to take back control from Natural Englands new chief Tony Juniper, a leading environmentalist and former head of Friends of The Earth.

In a letter to Mr Jupiter, Mr Gove said he was responding to concern that has been generated by the decision to revoke permits allowing farmers to cull pest species of birds, such as crows and wood pigeons.

My judgement is that the present situation needs to be considered with particular intensity and urgency, Mr Gove wrote.

I want to gain a clear understanding of the implications for the protection of wild birds, and the impacts on crops, livestock, wildlife, disease, human health and safety and wider nature conservation efforts.

Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal  effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord  agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe

The restrictions were introduced after legal action by Mr Packham, a BBC presenter  who then revealed death threats and parcels containing human faeces had been sent to his home.

Mr Gove intends to finish the investigation by the end of next weekend and to make a decision just one week later.

Mr Packham revealed the impact of his intervention on Tuesday, saying: Weve had packages sent containing human excrement. Last night, a much more serious thing  death threats of a very serious nature.

Ian Bell, president of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) welcomed Mr Goves decision, stating: BASC hopes this is the first step to resolving the current chaos in the countryside.

This shambles of the last week or so was created by Natural Englands ill-advised decision to withdraw all licences without consultation or notice and, in effect, remove pest control at a critical time of year.

James Cartlidge was among Conservative MPs who had held a private meeting with Mr Gove in the past few days, in an attempt to force his intervention.

People are incredibly angry, a lot of it is going back to how it happened, he told The Daily Telegraph.

He [Mr Gove] said Weve just got to get this sorted and get the new licensing regime up and running so people arent breaking the law when they do the usual things they do to protect livestock and crops.

Natural England had promised to rush out new permits to replace general licences, but Mr Juniper asked for that responsibility to be taken over by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Critics had argued the revocation of the licences means farmers risked prosecution if they shoot wild birds that attack livestock and decimate crops.
Jeremy Hunt has said that a royal yacht or a plane would be attractive options to promote post-Brexit Britain on the world stage.

The foreign secretary, who is regarded as a contender to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, said he is a big believer in flying the flag for Britain overseas but also acknowledged there are other ways of projecting the UKs national self-confidence.

His predecessor Boris Johnson first floated the idea of a Brexit plane during a trip to South America last year, when he complained that the RAF Voyager jet  shared with the prime minister and the royal family  never seems to be available.

Pressed on the idea during a week-long trip to Africa, Mr Hunt said: I think weve got other priorities that we would focus on long ahead of that, but whats important is the foreign secretary is out and about.

Im a big believer in flying the flag for Britain and projecting our national self-confidence. But I think real self-confidence comes from getting the fundamentals right.

And so, attractive though it is to have a royal yacht or a plane for the foreign secretary or whatever else, in the end much more important is that currently, despite all the predictions, the British economy is generating 1,000 jobs every single day.

But the move was criticised by anti-Brexit campaigners, who said Mr Hunt should be focused on solving the Brexit crisis rather than his job perks.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who supports the Best for Britain campaign, said: All this talk about a royal plane shows the foreign secretary has his head in the clouds.

Were in the midst of a national crisis, with thousands of businesses, and consequently, jobs at risk.

The utter shambles that Hunt has been so intimately involved in should be occupying all of his head space, not the chance of more job perks.

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Meanwhile, Mr Hunt also expressed his desire to reset the UKs links with Africa and move away from a relationship where the main motives are aid budgets.

He said: Our TV screens talk about the cyclones, the famines, the terrorism  but actually, what you see is skyscrapers, tech parks, young entrepreneurs, who are all part of a different narrative which, for much of Africa, is Africas future.

Africa has got the capitalist bug in the last 20 years since I started coming here and they look at Britain and they want Britain to be part of Africa.
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve will not face deselection proceedings despite losing a confidence motion at his Beaconsfield Constituency Association in March.

Jackson Ng, chair of the Conservative association, wrote a letter to Mr Grieve which was also sent to all association members.

The Executive Council has decided that this is not the moment to commence such procedures as it serves no constructive purpose, Mr Ng said in the letter.

The chair noted that Mr Grieve had served the constituency loyally for 22 years, but warned the MP that no one can take the loyalty and continued support of our members for granted.

Although Mr Grieve, a pro-Remain Conservative, has escaped deselection, it is clear that the association expects him to support Brexit.

Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage has spent his political career campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson's support for Brexit took many by surprise before the EU referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to agree on a withdrawal deal. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises This was taken from a 2012 speech delivered by Mr Davis. He does not currently support a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson now supports a hard Brexit and resigned from the cabinet in 2018 over Theresa May's strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The US recently issued trade negotiation objectives for future talks with the UK. The country made clear that it expects access to the UK's agriculture industry, reviving the debate about chlorinated chicken. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage does not support the current campaign for a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Despite this quote, in February 2019 Boris Johnson said a no deal Brexit "may yet be the best option for the UK". Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to begin negotiating a deal regarding their future relationship. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May announced that the UK would be leaving the Single Market in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Her withdrawal deal is yet to be passed. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises A classic from the 2015 general election campaign. David Cameron resigned on 24 June 2016, following the EU referendum result. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises David Davis resigned from his post as Brexit secretary in July 2018 after disagreeing with Theresa May's negotiation strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Michael Gove was one of the most influential Leave voices during the EU referendum campaign. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backbencher, does not support a second Brexit referendum. He has called the use of this quote "fundamentally dishonest" as it was taken from a 2011 speech discussing the option of referendum before David Cameron entered negotiations with the EU. Such a vote was never held. Twitter/Led By Donkeys

The overwhelming view of our membership is that the government must deliver Brexit and respect the views of the voters in the referendum, Mr Ng wrote.

The view of our association membership is that they profoundly wish for you to play a more positive role in the coming months on this matter.

We feel it is crucial that you should do so.

Video footage from the March confidence vote appeared to show some constituency members calling Mr Grieve a traitor and a liar.

Mr Grieve lost by 182 to 131 votes and later said he had faced an orchestrated campaign calling for his deselection.

When he tried to explain the political consequences of leaving the EU at the meeting, angry Brexiteers heckled him with calls of lies and rubbish.

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At the time Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support and said the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

Boris Johnson and former chancellor George Osborne also voiced support for the embattled politician.

The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Mr Grieves Beaconsfield constituency, narrowly voted to Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has attacked the investigation that led to his firing, labelling it a shabby and discredited witch hunt.

He has also called for a proper, full and impartial inquiry into the probe.

With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill, the politician said in a statement released on Saturday.

Mr Williamson was dismissed after Theresa May said there was compelling evidence he was behind a leak from the National Security Council (NSC).

He strongly denies the allegation.

Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Show all 5 1 /5 Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by Nigel Farage on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message to the EU on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter

The leaked reports from an NSC meeting last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Chinese company Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Political insiders were taken aback by the leak and an investigation was swiftly launched, led by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamsons fate was sealed after officials uncovered an 11-minute conversation with The Daily Telegraph reporter who revealed the Huawei decision.

A spokesperson for No 10 also criticised his lack of candour about the calls contents.

On Saturday the Metropolitan Police said it was unlikely a crime had been committed when the information was leaked.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that he was satisfied the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Basu said he had made the assessment after speaking to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed at the top-secret meeting.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged, he said.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

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The former defence secretary has previously called for a full criminal investigation into the leak.

Mr Williamson earlier said that such an investigation would absolutely exonerate him.

I did take a difficult decision, Theresa May told ITV News on Friday.

This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from.

It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.
Senior cabinet ministers have rallied around to save Theresa May ahead of a showdown meeting to decide her fate following the local elections massacre.

The prime minister will face fresh demands from Tory grandees on Tuesday to set a fast timetable for quitting, as a shocked Conservative party contemplated the loss of 1,334 local councillors.

The dire performance  the worst for a quarter of a century  has triggered further pressure for her to resign, including from former foreign office minister Hugo Swire, until now a loyalist, who said: We now urgently need a new leader.

Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, is expected to meet Ms May on Tuesday to again urge her to set a date for her departure.

If she refuses, they will consider rewriting the rules to allow a fresh vote of no confidence this summer  a move the 1922 stepped back from last month.

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

But three cabinet ministers, led by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said the party must continue to focus on passing a Brexit deal, not on a change of leader.

Taking on Tory Brexiteers, Mr Gove said: We have to face facts. At the moment, the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal.

He warned that whoever succeeds Theresa would inherit her difficulties, unless the Brexit crisis was resolved first.

David Gauke, the justice secretary, said: I am confident that Theresa May is the right person to lead us through this process.

We have got to deliver phase one of leaving the European Union and the idea we should be changing the leader before we do that is not something that I think would be sensible.

And Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said: I dont think changing the leadership would mean a change to the arithmetic.

The government had to find a majority that will work, either with Labour or by having talks with others and having further votes in the Commons.

But Sir Hugo said the Tories had no time to waste, after suffering their worst local elections day since the dog days of John Major's government in 1995.

These are challenging times for Conservatives and we now urgently need a new leader to reinvigorate the party if we are to prevent an extreme left-wing government that will bring this country to its knees, he tweeted.

Ms May is expected to renew her efforts to strike a cross-party deal with Jeremy Corbyn, hoping to force it through the Commons by the end of June.

It is too late to prevent the European elections taking place on 23 May but Brexit could still be delivered in time to prevent MEPs actually taking their seats in July.

However, there is huge opposition to such a deal  based on a form of customs union  in both main parties.
Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a trip to the US after facing a backlash from protesters and officials in New York City.

The 64-year-old was supposed to be honoured as person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) at a gala dinner on 14 May.

Mr Bolsonaros office sought to blame protesters and city officials for the trips cancellation.

His spokesperson said he would not be attending the event due to the resistance and deliberate attacks by the mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, described Mr Bolsonaro as a very dangerous human being in an interview with WNYC radio last month.

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Show all 20 1 /20 Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro waves as he drives past before his swear-in ceremony Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters wait in front of the Planalto Palace, where he will take office EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress before he is sworn AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters take pictures as Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Flanked by first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro waves to the crowd, as he rides in an open car after his swearing-in ceremony AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro reacts as he drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration The National Congress before Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is sworn in AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty

The choice of President Bolsonaro is a recognition of his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States and his firm commitment to building a strong and durable partnership between the two nations, BACC said on its website.

But the far-right politicians history of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks led to a series of venues refusing to host the event, including the American Museum of Natural History.

The museum had been urged by public figures, including Mr de Blasio, to withdraw from hosting the dinner.

Several companies, including Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co, also withdrew sponsorship funds from the dinner earlier this week.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, a Bain spokesperson said.

Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co all refused to comment on whether they would withdraw their support for the event.

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The dinner is still scheduled to go ahead, despite Mr Bolsonaros withdrawal.

The Chamber hereby affirms that the Gala Dinner will take place as scheduled, a BACC spokesperson said.

The organisation is also honouring US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as its US person of the year.

Additional reporting by agencies
An Afghan assembly to discuss peace with the Taliban has been criticised for making female delegates feel unwelcome, with one woman told she should be in the kitchen.

The assembly, known as a loyal jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organisers said that around 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalised or patronised. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries.

Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

On the second day of the assembly, a female delegate who rose to speak was ordered to be quiet by a male delegate.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! said Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under sharia, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which sharia law, the Taliban sharia law or Isis sharia law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to the Islamic State.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Male delegate Behnoh Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

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For many women, the jirga got off to a bad start when Ms Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights.

When a female delegate complained directly to Mr Sayyaf , she was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Mr Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator.

Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

On Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said delegate Taiyaba Khavari.

Ms Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with comments from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Mr Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off.

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The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Mr Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organisers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organisers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organised the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Mr Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

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Among other recommendations accepted by Mr Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

New York Times
The three-day coronation of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend includes a mixture of Buddhist and Brahmin traditions.

Thai royal practice reflects the traditions of ancient India, with the king transformed through ritual from a member of the royal family to a "Devaraja" or living god.

The king's new title will be revealed on the first day of the main coronation ceremony. It will be unveiled on a golden plaque where it has been inscribed, along with the king's horoscope, which is determined by a royal astrologer.

The king underwent a purification rite, the "Muratha Bhisek" earlier today. Dressed in white, he was showered in water gathered from nine sacred sources of water from around the country.

Scholars says this ceremony is a simplified version of a ritual performed in ancient Indian courts.

Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures REUTERS Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AP Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Getty Images

The king then changed into full royal uniform and sat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne inside the Grand Palace where he received sacred water on his hands.

The water was poured by selected officials from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

It was collected from 108 sources from around the country and blessed in temples by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests.

After the purification and anointment, the king sat under a nine-tiered umbrella which signifies full kingship. He received the monarch's regalia, including five key objects: the great crown of victory, the sword of victory, the royal sceptre, the royal fan and fly whisk, and the royal slippers.

The king will later meet with royal family members, his privy council, and the cabinet, and senior officials at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

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In the afternoon he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to declare himself the patron of Buddhism, the religion followed by more than 90 per cent of Thais.

After the rituals, the king will attend a "housewarming" private ceremony at the Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace Complex, accompanied by the female members of the royal family.

On Sunday morning the king will grant new royal titles to members of the royal family at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

That afternoon, the king, seated in a palanquin, will be carried in a procession though Bangkok's old quarter, in a traditional display of the new monarch to the public.

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He will visit three temples, Wat Bovoranives, Wat Rajabopidh, and Wat Phra Chetuphon, to pay homage to the main Buddha images and give alms to monks.

On Monday afternoon, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida, who he married on Wednesday, will greet the public from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace before granting an audience with foreign diplomats.

Reuters
 Flash

The UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame on Friday said that Libyan journalists face rising threats and violence in the war-torn nation.

"I am reminded today of the risks Libyan journalists face while doing their job every day. We cannot let the truth become a casualty of the fighting. On this day, let us remember the journalists and media workers who sacrificed their lives over the past years while covering the events in Libya," Salame said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

"Journalists, like all civilians, must be protected. I remind all parties that the threats and violence against journalists are prohibited under Libyan law as well as International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws," Salame added.

Salame also called on Libyan officials and the international community to protect journalists and create proper work conditions.

According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), journalists in Libya face "repeated harassment, including refusals to issue or recognize press cards, denials of visas, accusations of spying, discrimination, and threats of death or violence."

"Tragically, journalists have also been beaten, arrested and detained without charge, kidnapped and killed in the line of duty in Libya," the Mission said.




Turkish president Recept Tayyip Erdogan has officially inaugurated the countrys largest ever mosque, an elaborate Ottoman-style house of worship atop a storied Istanbul hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.

The Great Camlica Mosque is the most prominent of numerous Ottoman-style houses of worship built across Turkey under the 17-year rule of President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Its enormous dome and four 107-metre high minarets are visible across much of the city of 16 million people.

During a speech attended by several international leaders and other luminaries, Mr Erdogan described the structure as a monument befitting contemporary Turkey.

The mosque has many symbols that belong to our history, civilisation, and beliefs, he said.

People visit the Camlica mosque the day of its inauguration (AP//Lefteris Pitarakis)

He also spoke out against a recent spate of attacks targeting religious institutions across the world, including attacks on mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka.

Those who attack mosques and those who target churches have the same dark mentality, he said. Massacring the innocent and bombing houses of worship is not jihad. It is terror, atrocity and murder.

Camlica was built at an estimated cost of $100m (76m) over the last six years. Resting atop a storied Istanbul hill, it accommodates up to 63,000 worshippers. It includes an educational complex, museum, gallery, and a conference centre.

It has been criticised for its remote location, at the top of winding road hillside away from any of the citys neighbourhoods.

People attend the official opening ceremony of Camlica mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENCY HANDOUT) (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT)

"Whose idea was it to build a 60,000-person mosque on the top of Camlica Hill? Temel Karamollaoglu, leader of a small Islamist opposition party, quipped last month. If they fill it even once, I'll kiss their hands.

Turkey under Mr Erdogan has modestly expanded the number of mosques, building Ottoman-style houses of worship throughout the country and even abroad. His supporters say the country lacks sufficient numbers of mosques.

But critics point out that polls have shown Turks are becoming increasingly irreligious. The 3,400 or so mosques throughout Istanbul rarely fill up, except for Friday prayers.

The mosques, often using public funds, also are built by powerful and well-connected developers that are close to the AKP.

Turkey recently inaugurated a new airport, dubbed the worlds largest, and plans to build a new canal that cuts through far western Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Developers have also been trying to access publicly owned land to build luxury shopping malls and high rises in deals criticised as giveaways to political allies. But Camlica was reportedly funded by donations.
On paper, 1968 was a great time to be an American.

Young soldiers returning from Vietnam that June saw an economy which had just created 250,000 jobs. Middle class families saw an 8 per cent increase in their household income. GDP growth for the full year hit almost 5 per cent, an incredible number for a modern economy.

1968 was also the year a white supremacist murdered Martin Luther King. It was the year 125 cities across the United States burned in race riots. It was the year that shredded the social fabric of the United States in ways we have yet to fully recover from. And it was the year Senator Robert F Kennedy asked students at the University of Kansas what it really meant to foster a strong economy.

The gross national product .. .measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Even as President Trump celebrates a strong April jobs report, African Americans in Flint, Michigan face their fifth year without drinkable water. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, our core infrastructure  the roads, bridges and waterways that form the lifeblood of our economic vitality  is falling apart.

This is the same America where corporate profits are scraping record highs, and General Motors closing an Ohio manufacturing plant walks hand-in-hand with increases in executive-tier bonuses. The American economy is booming  for some. Dont expect it to trickle down.

Despite the flashy employment numbers and White House spin, only a sliver of Americans stand to gain from nearly a decade of post-Great Recession economic recovery. Here are just a few of the numbers President Trump wont be tweeting about tonight.

Unemployment among African Americans remains at a near-recession level 6.7 per cent, almost twice the unemployment rate of white Americans. Worsening the racial divide, African American families have on average only 10 cents for every dollar of white family net worth.

But what about people who already have jobs, you ask? Lets start with hourly workers  their wages remained flat in April, even as the basic cost of living expenses increased. Thats not so bad, you say? At the same time, employers also reduced the number of hours given to part-time and hourly employees, cutting their take-home pay even further.

 Trump claims that the US economy wasn't the biggest in the world when he became president

Those flat wages and declining hours arent new  wages have been stagnant since President Trump took office. Voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are already feeling the pinch and, despite the economy working out well for Silicon Valley tech founders and the Wall Street banks that fund them, most Americans saw no benefit from this stellar economic readout.

One of President Trumps key 2016 campaign promises boldly promised to bring back coal to states like West Virginia. But todays jobs report shows no evidence the Trump administration takes that pledge seriously: the mining sector lost jobs again in April, as it has nearly every month since President Trump took office.

President Trumps economy offers a look at two different Americas. For the Mar-a-Lago Brunch Buffet crowd that fills President Trumps world, profits are up and the markets are strong. The skies are darker for young workers facing a 13 per cent unemployment rate and a collapse in retail hiring. Or that Trump-supporting family in West Virginia whose water is poisoned by drilling chemicals.

Senator Kennedy was right: instead of celebrating a superficially positive jobs report, we must ask ourselves who the government has decided not to celebrate. An economy disproportionately benefiting wealthy, white business owners is not an economy working for the vast majority of the American people.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

In a circus campaign environment like 2020, its possible we wont even be talking about the April jobs report by the end of the day. But those families left behind by President Trumps lopsided economy will wake up tomorrow to the same poisoned water, the same crumbling bridges, and the same broken promise that President Trump is just about to lift them into the middle class.

On paper, 2019 is a great time to be an American.

Max Burns is a Democratic messaging strategist and Political Contributor for Millennial Politics. He is a past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia Technology Working Group
Scratch the surface of the current plans to decarbonise the economy and replace it with renewable energies and beneath it lays the same logic that has made the UK the 6th richest country in the world. Britain is planning to go green through a new phase of resource and wealth extraction of countries in the global south.

At the heart of our economic system fuelled by the City of London is a belief that the UK and other rich countries are entitled to a greater share of the worlds finite resources irrespective of who we impoverish in doing so, or the destruction we cause.

This green colonialism will be delivered by the very same entrenched economic interests, who have willingly sacrificed both people and the climate in the pursuit of profit. But this time, the mining giants and dirty energy companies will be waving the flag of climate emergency to justify the same deathly business model.

In this new energy revolution, it is cobalt, lithium, silver and copper that will replace oil, gas and coal as the new frontline of our corporate destruction. The metals and minerals needed to build our wind turbines, our solar panels and electric batteries will be ripped out of the earth so that the UK continues to enjoy lifeboat ethics: temporary sustainability to save us, but at the cost of the poor.

Extinction Rebellion supporters Show all 19 1 /19 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent

Reducing fossil fuel dependency by itself certainly doesnt solve the crisis of inequality and poverty faced by the majority of the worlds citizens, two billion of whom dont even have access to electricity or clean cooking.

The scale of new extraction needed will come to dwarf the current relentless drive for resources that capitalism is built upon. The OECDs Global Resources Outlook to 2060, modelled on an annual 2.8 per cent global growth in GDP, estimates that extracted resources would increase from 79 to 167 billion tonnes. This is a 111 per cent increase overall with a 150 per cent increase in metals and a 135 per cent increase in minerals.

Resource extraction is responsible for 50 per cent of global emissions, with minerals and metal mining responsible for 20 per cent of emissions even before the manufacturing stage.

And behind each tonne of extraction is a story of contamination and depletion of water, destruction of habitats, deforestation, poisoning of land, health impacts on workers and hundreds of environmental conflicts  including the murder of two environmental defenders each and every week.

In a final ironic twist the extraction of the very minerals needed for our new green technologies will result in a weakening of the resilience of eco-systems that crucial buffer us from and mitigate the impacts of irreversible climate change.

Much talk in the Labour Party and left sections of the Democrats in the US is of a just transition  transitioning from fossil fuel-intensive jobs to green jobs  and moving to 100 per cent renewable energy. Yet these movements fail to realise that these social democratic fixes would be disastrous for much of the worlds population. A green new deal in the mould of current thinking will lead to a new form of green colonialism that will continue to sacrifice the people of the global south to maintain our broken economic model.

The demand for renewable energy and storage technologies will far exceed the reserves for cobalt, lithium and nickel. In the case of cobalt, of which 58 per cent is currently mined in the DR of Congo, it has helped fuel a conflict that has blighted the lives of millions, led to the contamination of air, water and soil, and left the mining area as one of the top 10 most polluted places in the world.

Some studies estimate that the demand for cobalt by 2050 will be 423 per cent of existing reserves, with lithium at 280 per cent and nickel at 136 per cent of current reserves. Tellurium for solar panels could exceed current production rates by 2020. Rather than face up to the reality that capitalism requires relentless growth and is simply incompatible with tackling climate change, a new scramble for mineral extraction is already being planned with proposals for deep sea mining, that will wreck some of our most fragile ecosystems with more extraction planned across Brazil, China, India and the Philippines.

Last week Chilean community leader Marcela Mella warned that the plans of mining giant Anglo-American to extract 400,000 tonnes of copper per year for the next 40 years from Chiles Andean glaciers, could lead to the destruction of vital ecosystems which also supplies water to the 6 million people living in Chiles capital, Santiago. The mining executives told its AGM our products are essential to the transition to a low carbon economy. The new wave of green extraction promises to be as deadly and dirty as fossil fuel extraction.

Asad Rehman is executive director of global justice charity War on Want
Bank of Ireland reported an increase in customer lending in the three months to March 31, 2019 but its share of new mortgages slipped to 23pc.

The bank, headed by CEO Francesca McDonagh, said customer loans stood at 79.1bn at the end of March, an increase of 2.1bn since the end of December 2018.

The increase was primarily driven by corporate lending at home - including through acquisition - and retail loans in the UK. The overall rise was 600m on a constant currency basis.

Customer deposits were 79.7bn at the end of March - highlighting the extent to which the bank lending is financed from savers rather than the capital markets.

Meanwhile, operating expenses fell 3.5pc compared to the same period last year, according to a trading update from the bank.

Bank of Ireland's net interest margin for the period - a key barometer of a banks profitability - fell to 2.1pc from 2.2pc at the end of 2018. However, in a note analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said the bank's mortgage market share for the three month period was "weak" at 23pc.

"But activity levels on drawdowns and approvals increased as the quarter progressed, indicating that a recovery back to the target share range of 25-30pc should occur over the remainder of the year," analysts said.

Small business lending by the bank picked up despite a perception that nervous managers were waiting to see how Brexit played out before committing to new borrowing.

There was "activity, confidence and credit demand" among small businesses the bank said, with "positive momentum" continuing in the second quarter of 2019.

Since March 31, the bank has acquired KBC Bank Ireland's corporate loan portfolio of roughly 260m.

Bank of Ireland said last month that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming months, was consistent with its plans to grow its lending volumes.
Spanish coffee company Cafento has bought Irish coffee roaster and distributor Java Republic in a deal reckoned to be worth around 30m.

The Irish management team led by Grace O'Shaughnessy and Jeffrey Long will remain in place after the deal, while Cafento intends to oversee Java Republic's domestic and international expansion. Owner David McKernan put the Irish company up for sale last year having founded the business 20 years ago at the start of what has become an explosion in coffee drinking.

Mr McKernan has spoken publicly about the strain on the business during the crash, after borrowing in 2007 to fund a major 7m capital investment in its Ballycoolin, Co Dublin, coffee roastery But the firm is profitable. In 2017, profits came to 409,000, according to the most recently filed accounts. Last year the business invested 500,000 in reinvigorating its brand and has said 2018 was a record year. Java Republic has 80 staff and supplies more than 1,200 offices, hotel groups, cafes and catering services. Customers include Aer Lingus and its IAG sister British Airways. The 'Sunday Independent' first reported in December that Java Republic had been put up for sale. Musgrave Group had been tipped as a potential buyer. It is acquisitive and has its own Frank & Honest coffee brand and owns the La Rousse catering supply firm.
KINGSPAN has "moved on" from its failed attempts to buy some or all of Belgian rival Recticel.

Last week Recticel formally rejected Kingspan's 700m offer - made on April 16 for two of its units - and said the Irish company had also made an approach for the entire business.

A new approach is now unlikely, Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh told shareholders at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

"I wouldn't hold out much hope on [the offers] being revived, it would have been a nice bolt-on, but that's it," he said.

The cost to Kingspan of its acquisition attempts was "not significant", he said.

"At the end of the day [Recticel's] insulation business has about 270m revenue, so ultimately we were going to end up there."

Kingspan has around 500m a year to spend on acquisitions, and has a "very healthy project pipeline when it comes to acquisitions, more than we are capable of executing", Mr Murtagh said.

At the AGM 16pc of Kingspan shareholders voted against the re-appointment of founder Eugene Murtagh as chairman - up from 9.9pc opposition last year.

Eugene Murtagh (76) founded Kingspan in 1965 and was chief executive of the group until 2005, when his son Gene took up that role.

Shareholder advisors ISS and Glass Lewis had recommended shareholders back the re-election of Eugene Murtagh.

Just over 23pc of shareholders voted against the company's remuneration policy.

CEO Gene Murtagh said the board would "absolutely" take shareholder concerns into consideration.

"That's not to say that we'll particularly change," he added.

The group reported a "positive" start to 2019, with sales up 18pc to 1.06bn in the three months to March 31. Sales increased 6pc on an organic basis.

In Ireland Kingspan reported a "strong" start to the year.

UK sales activity was positive, but order intake in insulated panels was relatively subdued, with people "obviously a bit nervous" about Brexit, Mr Murtagh said.

"We don't get absorbed by this [Brexit], it's so unknown, so unquantifiable, it's business as usual until it isn't."

Shares in Recticel fell and were down around 3pc in afternoon trading yesterday.
Question: Over the last couple of years my work set-up has migrated more to my home, so much so that I have agreed that by the end of the year I will be working almost 100pc from my home. I only go to the office intermittently for meetings and presentations. My employer is going to buy some work-related items, such as a new laptop and a phone, and has offered to pay something small towards my overheads. What does this change mean from a tax perspective?

Answer: Becoming an e-worker should not result in any increase in the amount of tax you pay, according to commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics (computer, print, office furniture, etc) you need for work, without you having to pay benefit in kind so long as they are used primarily for work purposes.

And your employer can pay you up to 3.20 tax-free for every working day, to assist with your utility costs. You don't mention how much you employer intends to pay in this regard but even if it does pay the full 3.20 and/or if your working from home costs exceed this, then you will be entitled to a refund of some sort on this money, Ms Devereux said.

Any claims made will need to be supported with evidence in the form of receipts and a letter from your employer stating that you do work from home and that it does not reimburse you for these expenses. You will also need to let Revenue know the number of rooms in your home and whether or not it is a house-share.

The allowance, or rebate, claimed must be reasonable, allowing for the fact that the utilities are for both personal and work and benefit everyone else in the home. This means the refund received will be based on only a portion of the overall expenses.

Question: I want to downsize my work van from my current 2.2 litre Ford Transit. Will buying a smaller van help to bring down my insurance costs? I have been driving for 15 years and have a full no-claims bonus, but I feel I am still paying over the odds.

Answer: In terms of lowering your insurance costs, when it comes to changing your van there are several consideration which will significantly impact your premiums.

These include vehicle specifications, model, and engine size and most importantly the carrying capacity of the van itself, according to Jonathan Hehir, the managing director of InsureMyVan.ie. Each van will have its own specific insurance risk and cost placed against it. Before making a purchase, work out what size van fits your needs best. There is no point getting a large van, which could add to your insurance costs, if you only need a small van to carry out your work.

The basics that apply to reducing car insurance also apply to van insurance so your age, your licence type (ie, full/provisional) and the number of years on your no-claims bonus will be key considerations. Van insurers also place significant emphasis on what the van is being used for, so you must be clear about the purpose of your new van. It is important to ring around and get cost comparisons as the insurer that was best on price for the big van, may be the worst for the smaller van.

Question: My employer has paid my health insurance premiums since I began working with them in 2013 and along with my company car, I pay benefit in kind on these subsidies every year. I recently read that PAYE workers get tax relief on health insurance premiums. So it seems that I am at a disadvantage because my employer pays mine, even though I pay benefit in kind on the premiums?

Answer: You are not at a disadvantage tax-wise, according to the commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux. She said that like thousands of other workers in your position, you have not been made aware that you can claim tax relief on the premiums paid by your employer. If you were to fund your private health insurance yourself, your relief would be deducted at source and you would not need to alert Revenue, but because your employer pays that means you have to take some action.

Contact Revenue directly and notify them of the gross premium paid on your behalf by your employer, on which you have been charged benefit in kind (BIK). Revenue will run the calculations and refund you any mony due.

While you can't claim as far back as when you first started working with your employer, you can go back four years when claiming your tax entitlements.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics you need for working at home without you having to pay benefit-in-kind tax.

Many people are not aware that they can claim tax relief from Revenue on health insurance premiums that are paid for by their employer.
The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles, his representative said (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles on Monday, his representative has said.

Singleton, best known for making 1991 drama Boyz N The Hood, died on April 29 almost two weeks after suffering a stroke.

The 51-year-old will be laid to rest in his home city of Los Angeles in a ceremony for family and close friends, his spokeswoman said.

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Whatsapp John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The funeral will be a very small, intimate goodbye to the filmmaker, a representative said, and will not be open to the press or public.

However, his family is planning a larger memorial in a few weeks to celebrate his life.

Singleton, a father of seven, died after being taken off life support. He suffered a stroke almost two weeks earlier.

Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute, saying he opened doors for filmmakers of colour to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.

Condolences to the family of John Singleton. His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth. He opened doors for filmmakers of color to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 30, 2019

Boyz N The Hood was based on Singletons upbringing and shot in his old neighbourhood.

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It starred Cuba Gooding Jr as a rebellious teen whose single mother sends him to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles.

Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination, and the youngest to do so, and also received a screenplay nomination.

His other films included Poetic Justice, Rosewood and Shaft.
Imagine if your college English paper was corrected by JRR Tolkien, one of the world's most famous authors. Such was the rare event confronting university students in 1949 and 1950, when the man who would go on to write Lord of the Rings was the external examiner to the English Department at what is now NUI Galway. As the Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford, Tolkien's summer job in Galway led him to becoming captivated by the West of Ireland - a region that would go on to have a direct impact upon his iconic novel, then in progress.

He became particularly fascinated by the Burren - a place whose topography bears a striking resemblance to the 'Misty Mountains' of Middle Earth. Tolkien became particularly taken by Poll na gColm cave - a location that may well have influenced the creation of one of the author's most famous characters, Gollum.

JRR Tolkien first came to Ireland in 1926 on a walking tour with his friend, CS Lewis, who would later author The Chronicles of Narnia - a visit that began a lifelong love of Ireland for Tolkien, and which would eventually have a direct influence on his own literary output.

In 1949, during his tenure as Professor of English at Merton College, Tolkien readily grasped the summer work opportunity as external examiner at what was then known as University College Galway - an annual task that would bring him back to Ireland on a number of occasions over the following decade.

During his time at the university, he lodged with Dr Florence Martyn at Gregans Castle, the Martyn ancestral home at the foot of Corkscrew Hill at Ballyvaughan, in the heart of the Burren. Peter Curtin, founder of the Burren Tolkien Society, has devoted much of his life to investigating the possible links of the area with the characters and places in Lord of the Rings. "From studying Tolkien's works and correspondences, as well as having spoken with people who knew the man, we are certain that his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings, was inspired, at least in part, by his experience of the Burren," he says.

Curtin believes that Tolkien denied the Burren links when his masterwork was published in 1954 as he might have feared that admitting to such Irish influences might have been unpalatable to his largely English audience at the time. "In the few years leading up to his death in 1973, however, Tolkien spoke more openly about how his writings were influenced by the themes and ideas of Irish and Celtic mythology," Curtin said.

Although Tolkien referred to Gaelic as "an unattractive language", he admitted that he had studied it and found it to be of great historical and philological interest. "In one of his letters, he said he was 'suffering from acute Eire-starvation', having not visited his favourite counties of Clare, Galway and Cork for a number of years."

Back in the 1970s, Curtin made the acquaintance of Miss Crowe, who was Dr Martyn's housekeeper when Tolkien was a guest during his university visits. "Miss Crowe believed that the rugged, mysterious landscape of the Burren, which was in sharp contrast to the idyllic English countryside familiar to Tolkien, inspired him in creating the journey from the Shire, which features prominently in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."

Tolkien published The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Rings trilogy, in 1954 - by which time he had visited the Burren on many occasions. The Burren is also home to the largest cave system in Ireland, compromising 15 miles of underground passages. The entrance is called Poll Na gColm, phonetically enunciated as 'Gollum'.

In The Book of the Burren, co-author Anne Korff notes the cave as a natural habitat of the rock dove - a bird that makes a distinctly guttural sound, also very similar to Tolkien's throaty Gollum. "I believe that Tolkien, in writing the way he did, demonstrated the necessity for us to keep the umbilical connection with our natural instincts, and our environment alive and healthy," Curtin believes.

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Yet another indicator that Tolkien might have found his inspiration for the Lord of the Rings there is the topography of the region, which bears some striking resemblances.

Dr Charles Travis, a geography research associate at Trinity College, compared the actual topography of the Burren - particularly around Gortaclare Mountain - with the Misty Mountains from Middle Earth's Rohan region in the foreground.

"Dr Travis confirmed that the curve of the Misty Mountain range in Tolkien's 'imaginary' map seems to fit the actual topography of the Burren, and could arguably support the case of it being one source of inspiration for Tolkien."

Yet, while Tolkien clearly held a great curiosity for the landscape and people of the West of Ireland, his comment to an academic colleague, George Sayer, Professor of English at Malvern College, Worcester, that Ireland was "a place full of evil that could be felt everywhere from the trees to the peat bogs to the cliffs" remained a source of some controversy.

"Rather than referring to any perceived evil in the Irish people, I believe Tolkien meant the evil that permeated the Irish landscape and mythology," says Dr Francis McCormack, lecturer at NUIG in medieval languages and literature.

"It is likely he was talking about those mischievous and malevolent spirits who dominated the Irish imagination, like the banshee, the fairies or the leprechaun."

Dr McCormack, who is also an MA in Old and Middle English Language, believes Tolkien wrote about Ireland and its landscape in a very affectionate way: "It does seem a possibility that those evocative places he visited so many times did influence his writings."

'Tolkien', starring Nicholas Hoult as the author, is in cinemas now

Tolkien: the gentle soul who thought out loud

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Rose MacNamara, daughter of Professor Diarmuid Murphy, with whom JRR Tolkien sometimes stayed during his West of Ireland visits, recalls the author as a kindly, sometimes eccentric, individual with an obvious love of nature, who frequently took afternoon naps in the open air amongst the crags and rocks of the Burren.

Aged just 16 when she met the author for the first time in 1949, she often accompanied Tolkien (above) and her father, who was head of the English Department at University College Galway, on their long drives around Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

"He loved nature, and would never allow us to pick a wild plant. 'It's just not done,' he would always say," she recalls.

"He was a very gentle man, tall with long grey hair, and was often inclined to think out loud and say what was on his mind. Sometimes I didn't know if he was addressing me or thinking things out," she remembers of a person completely at ease in a place that inspired him.

In later life, as a nun based in India, Rose received a letter from Tolkien following the death of her father, informing that his son, Father John, had said a Latin Mass for the repose of his old friend's soul, and at which he was the server. He finished the letter with a request: "Spare me a prayer, I have need of it."
It is the day after the killing in Derry of journalist Lyra McKee, and David Holmes is angry. The proud Belfast man abhors the violence that marred the daily lives for so many during the Troubles and he is desperate for all the bloodshed to be left in the past.

"That was absolutely horrendous," he says of McKee's death. "A human being is a human being but to find out how talented she was and it sounds like she was at the beginning of an incredible career. It's just so f***ing senseless. And for what?

"You look at who's in charge up here and you look at who's in charge in England and you think to yourself, 'Oh my God - are we potentially heading into another nightmare?' The person who killed that girl was probably not even born before the Good Friday Agreement. They've not one f***ing reason to be in a movement like - inverted commas - the Continuity IRA, the Real IRA or whatever the f*** they're called."

Like so many of his generation, the revered DJ and film composer - now 50 - has his own very personal memories of the heartache caused by the Troubles. Growing up in a Catholic family in a largely Protestant part of Belfast, he recalls how two of his brothers were essentially driven out of the province during the height of the conflict.

"I remember a young guy, a friend of my brother's, getting shot on our street in 1972. My family weren't political and a local UVF commander came to my father to warn him to get rid of my brother - who was 17 - because he was going to be shot.

"So he came home from work and when he saw the bags packed he asked, 'Who's home?' He was told then that he'd be going to Chicago. My father had a brother there."

Another sibling wound up in the Windy City, too. "He kept getting stopped and searched and beaten up by the British army. One day, he just went, 'F*** this' and he left."

Despite such tribulations, Holmes says he had an exceptionally happy childhood and, as the youngest of 10, he was given a rich cultural upbringing. His oldest sister, Maggie, was 19 when he was born and went to London to be a fashion designer. "She would come home at Christmas with an extra suitcase and in that case were clothes, records, books, magazines - all the stuff that we weren't exposed to. She had all this culture - it was a like a treasure chest.

"And my brother was a huge Jam and Clash fan. When I was eight, I was listening to the Pistols and the Clash and the Damned. I didn't even know how to spell 'anarchy' [in reference to the Sex Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK'] let alone tell you what it meant but it had an energy and emotion that did something to me."

His mother played her part, too. "She had a very open-minded attitude," he says, "and really loved music. She was a huge Gladys Knight fan. She loved Sinatra. She loved Elvis, The Kinks, Simon and Garfunkel. And when she'd go to see my brothers in Chicago, she'd bring me back all these amazing soul and rhythm 'n' blues records and then during the Acid House period, she would come home with all this really cool stuff - and it was perfect because Chicago is where house music began."

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And it was thanks to this middle-aged Irish mammy walking into Chicago record stores and asking staff for recommendations for her music-mad son back home that Holmes began embarking on what would be a magnificently esoteric career.

First, he blazed a trail in the early 1990s as one of the most in-demand DJs the island of Ireland has ever produced - comfortably playing to sell-out crowds in venues like the Point Depot.

Then, at the end of the decade, he was being lauded for cinematic sounding albums like Let's Get Killed. It wasn't long before Hollywood - in the shape of indie auteur Steven Soderbergh - came calling. The result of their first collaboration was the romantic crime caper, Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.

Twenty years on and Holmes and Soderbergh have a partnership every bit as enduring as that of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock and John Williams and Steven Spielberg. "The man is a f***ing genius," he says of Soderbergh. "He's one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever met. He knows exactly what he wants and he can articulate what he wants amazingly well."

He has recently finished the score for Soderbergh's forthcoming film, The Laundromat, which is based on the Panama Papers scandal and stars Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman.

"He sent me the script and a note saying, 'I want you to embrace your inner unhip white man' and he sent me a playlist of the kind of world that the music should be in." He worked with Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and a jazz quartet, and after four productive days in a London studio, he sent the finished product to Soderbergh.

"He got back to me and said, 'This is perfect' and the next time I heard the music, he had cut it into the finished film and I am thinking, 'This fits like a f***ing glove'. That's his genius - not mine. Some directors will micromanage stuff and they'll almost give you too much information, but he knows exactly what he needs to say to you and what he needs to give you. It's a classic case of less is more and being very articulate with very few words."

It's been a highly productive 12 months for Holmes. He has also scored a new Irish film, Normal People, a two-hander with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. "It's made by friends of mine [directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn who did [the Belfast-set] Good Vibrations and I think it's a gorgeous film." He says the central performances are "outstanding" and he is relieved that Neeson has weathered recent controversies, arguing that his words - deemed by some as racist - were taken out of context. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the kicking Neeson received, Holmes isn't keen to get into the nuts and bolts of the argument.

He's on much steadier ground when the subject of Killing Eve comes up. Holmes, along with his Unloved bandmates Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent, have supplied the music that's helped make the BBC spy series such a global TV hit. They soundtracked the first season and the second season features yet more of the sophisticated retro-inspired music that has become Unloved's stock-in-trade.

"I think it works very well," he says of the collaboration with Killing Eve, adapted for television by the much-lauded and newly named James Bond scriptwriter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. "And it's the fruits of the good fortune of being in LA working on a Steven Soderbergh film and meeting [by chance] Keefus and finding we not only got on, but worked very well in the studio together." Jade Vincent is Ciancia's partner in life and art, and once she was recruited to the Unloved cause, the band took off.

"A lot of the stuff that I was playing like Brigitte Fontaine, The Shangri-Las, people like Broadcast and Cat's Eyes became the foundation for Unloved," he says. "It's got this melange of West Coast girl groups, but it's also got this European psychedelic feeing, too.

"Unloved," he adds, "was a name I had in my mind for a while based on the Samantha Morton film."

The trio's second album, Heartbreak, was released to considerable acclaim earlier this year. And while he will support Ciancia and Vincent with a DJ set in Dublin next week, he is not part of the Unloved live show. Touring, he jokes, is not something that appeals to him. "There's not one part of me," he insists, "that wants to go on tour. I'm 50 years of age!"

For now, though, Holmes is enjoying the business of being at home in Belfast and slowing down a little. "I'm taking two months off," he says. "I just hit a brick wall where I was taking on too much stuff and you reach a point where you need to give your creative juices a chance to flow again."

The time-out is unlikely to stretch any longer, though. Holmes enjoys being creatively restless and working with like-minded people like Steven Soderbergh.

He laughs heartily at how his career has turned out. "I'm the luckiest f***er in the world," he says. "I really am."

Unloved play Whelan's, Dublin on May 9, and David Holmes plays a support DJ set
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Russia condemns Washington's recent decision to apply the full weight of an act to step up blockade on Cuba and urges the international community to pool efforts to terminate the blockade, Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Washington's move to tighten the anti-Cuba blockade in the spirit of "Monroe Doctrine" is "overt encroachment" on the sovereignty of Cuba as well as other states including U.S. allies, which violates the norms of international law.

The White House recently announced it was activating Title III of the Helms-Burton act, paving the way for U.S. lawsuits over properties nationalized or expropriated by Cuba's government, and potentially scaring away investors with the prospect of lengthy litigation.

"We emphasize again that the methods of blackmail and pressure used by Washington are absolutely illegal. We call on all responsible forces to defend the UN Charter and international law in order to jointly put an end to the anti-Cuba blockade," the ministry said.

It added that the Cuban leadership has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resolve existing contradictions with the U.S. side on a bilateral basis, which Moscow believes is the only way.

The Helms-Burton act, named after the legislators that sponsored the bill, contains a precept called Title III that would mire Cuba in the courts by allowing Cubans who fled the island following the 1959 Revolution and settled in the United States to claim rights to properties nationalized or confiscated decades ago.

After the U.S. Congress passed the law during the Bill Clinton administration, the Title III rule has been waived by every president ever since, including Clinton.
Court: Geraldine and Patrick Kriegel, parents of schoolgirl Ana Kriegel, arrive for the case yesterday. Photo: Collins Courts

A dog walker thought one of the boy's accused of murdering Ana Kriegel looked "rough" when he saw him in the park.

The witness told the Central Criminal Court that he first spotted a young lad from a distance, who appeared to be "walking with a funny gait".

When the boy got closer he realised it was Boy A, who he knew.

He said Boy A "looked like he'd been hit or something".

The witness said he was concerned for Boy A, possibly that he'd been attacked. The witness asked Boy A whether he was ok and he said he was.

Boy A "looked in rough shape", he said, and there appeared to be something that could be blood on his T-shirt.

The witness said Boy A told him that he took a fall and hit his knee.

Boy A also seemed "embarrassed" and the witness felt that someone had bullied him, and he just wanted to go home.

Earlier, a girl who saw Ana Kriegel in the park with Boy B said they were "laughing and talking" and "they seemed to be having a good time".

The girl gave evidence to the Central Criminal Court that she was out walking her dog when she saw Ana with Boy B, both of whom she knew.

She said the two were "having a brisk walk", were "laughing and jumping" and seemed to be having a good time.

In cross-examination, the teenager described it as a "sort of skip run".

"Ana seemed happy," she said. "She was laughing along with Boy B.

"They did a sort of a skip run, like the kind you'd do with your friend."

The teenager said she was too far away from Ana and Boy B to talk to them and she didn't think that they noticed her.

Another juvenile witness said he was friends with Boy A and Boy B.

On the day Ana disappeared, he answered the door to Boy A. It was shortly before 6pm, the court heard.

"He was limping and holding his chest. He had his arm up to it," the youth said.

He also gave evidence that he noticed blood on Boy A's T-shirt.

"Boy A looked scared," he said.

He asked Boy A what happened and he said he had been attacked by two older teenagers in the park.

The witness was asked by prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC if he remembered talking to Boy A or Boy B after Ana's body was found.

He said Boy B was "sad" and he didn't remember anything else specifically.

In relation to Boy A, he said he couldn't really remembering talking to him about Ana.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys, Boy A, has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's naked body was found by gardai at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen leaving her home with Boy B at 5pm on the day she disappeared.

It is the prosecution's case that Boy B "lured" Ana to the derelict farmhouse and then watched as the other boy sexually assaulted and murdered her. The trial continues.
'The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.' Stock photo: Depositphotos

The President of the High Court will decide at a later date whether several parties are entitled to a copy of an interim report by inspectors investigating matters at Independent News & Media (INM).

The applications were each objected to by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), whose probe last year led to the appointment of the inspectors, barrister Sean Gillane SC and solicitor and corporate governance expert Richard Fleck.

Their interim report was provided to the court last month.

However, the only party who has an automatic entitlement to the report is the ODCE.

Applications were made yesterday by INM, former INM chief executives Robert Pitt and Vincent Crowley, former INM Ireland chief executive Joe Webb, former INM chairman Leslie Buckley, former INM non-executive director Allan Marshall, the Central Bank, Sunday Independent journalist Maeve Sheehan and public relations practitioner Rory Godson.

Applications were also made by DMZ IT Limited, Specialist Security Services Ltd, Reconnaissance Group Ltd, Resilient Defence Ltd, and four individuals linked to those firms.

The firms have been associated with an alleged interrogation of data taken from INM's premises.

Neil Steen SC, for the ODCE, said the report did not reach any findings or conclusions and its disclosure could adversely affect the progress of the investigation.

The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.

Mr Steen said that if the report was not released to any of the parties there would be no potential for reputational damage.

He said it had been a feature of the matter to date that information tended to percolate into the public sphere once it was outside the control of the ODCE.

The barrister said the investigation was in its early stages and akin to a police investigation. Nobody, he said, would be entitled to material from an ongoing police inquiry.

But Shane Murphy SC, for INM, said the company was in a unique position and its interests would be directly affected by any inspectors' report, whether interim or final.

He said past practice of the High Court was in favour of releasing the document.

Mr Justice Kelly said he would reserve his judgment on the various applications.

The inspectors are investigating a range of issues at the company, which owns flagship titles including the Irish Independent, 'Sunday Independent', the 'Herald', the 'Sunday World' and the 'Belfast Telegraph'.

These issues include the alleged data breach in 2014, when it is feared data tapes were taken off-site and searched for information relating to at least 19 people.

INM has said this exercise was carried out at the behest of its former chairman, Leslie Buckley, and that the rest of its then board did not know about it.

Mr Buckley has pledged to robustly defend himself.

According to the ODCE, the exercise was paid for by a company owned by INM shareholder Denis O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien has yet to comment on the matter.

The inspectors' terms of reference entitle them to investigate most of the issues raised by the ODCE, including the adequacy of the INM board's response to protected disclosures made by former chief executive Mr Pitt and former chief financial officer Ryan Preston.

Also being examined are concerns over the circumstances surrounding a proposed acquisition by INM of Newstalk, a radio station owned by Mr O'Brien.
A NEW mum who was given temporary release from prison to visit her baby went shoplifting within hours of getting out of jail, a court heard.

Sylvia Hickey (23) also hurled abuse at nurses in a maternity hospital on the same day.

She had intended to go to visit her child at home but ended up being arrested and refused bail.

Judge John Hughes said what she did flew in the face of justice and jailed her for six months.

Hickey, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to theft and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard that on the morning of April 10, Hickey was given temporary release from a prison sentence at Mountjoys Dochas Centre, subject to conditions with which she had to comply.

That afternoon, she went to Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and stole cosmetics worth 147.

On the same day she went to Holles Street hospital and began hurling abuse at nurses over a medical diagnosis she was unhappy with.

The court heard Hickey had 27 prior convictions for theft, prescription forgery and other offences.

The birth of her first child in November had been a wake-up call for Hickey, her lawyer said.

She had been doing well in prison and was granted temporary release, intending to travel to her mothers home to visit her child.

However, she had a drug addiction and suffered lapses.

Hickey was remorseful for what had happened and she had missed an opportunity to reconnect with her child.

She was very embarrassed and distressed to be in court, her lawyer said.

Judge Hughes said the accused had been unlawfully at large on the day as she broke the conditions of her release.

I am amazed that somebody who was granted temporary release, with so much to look forward to, would go and commit offences of this nature on the very same day of her release, Judge Hughes said.

He said he was satisfied Hickey was aware of the nature and terms of her release and what she did flies in the face of justice.

Hickey wept as the judge passed sentence.
Patrick Quirke left the body of Bobby Ryan (pictured) in a run-off tank after killing him

Patrick Quirke's wife Imelda outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial. Photo: Colin Keegan

Convicted killer Pat Quirke previously threatened murder victim Bobby Ryan and was charged with assaulting their love interest Mary Lowry.

Mr Ryan's former girlfriend Mary Glasheen has told how Quirke had threatened the part-time DJ. However, she was not able to mention this in court.

More details can be revealed today about the violent nature of the killer, who is beginning his life sentence in Mountjoy.

Ms Glasheen said Quirke "threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about".

Quirke (50) was convicted this week of the murder of Mr Ryan, a part-time DJ known as 'Mr Moonlight'.

The 15-week trial heard Quirke had an affair with Ms Lowry, the sister-in-law of his wife Imelda Quirke, after the death of Ms Lowry's husband.

But Quirke was also previously before the courts on a charge of assaulting Ms Lowry, who was the subject of intense jealousy when she started a relationship with Mr Ryan. The charges were later withdrawn by the DPP.

As Quirke begins life in jail, wife Imelda, who stood by him during the trial, is expected to visit him in Mountjoy today. He is likely to be moved, possibly to the Midlands Prison, in the near future.

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Ms Glasheen previously told the murder trial that she had a relationship with Mr Ryan but was delighted when he met Ms Lowry and could be happy, hopefully.

She had a three-month relationship with Mr Ryan starting in January 2008 after she separated from her husband, who subsequently passed away the following year. She described Mr Ryan as bubbly, kind, liked dancing, happy.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, Ms Glasheen said Mr Ryan told her about a threatening phone call he had received from Quirke in the months leading up to his death.

He threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about, she said. However, I wasnt given a chance to use it as evidence in court because it was deemed as hearsay.

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Statements made by someone other than the witness themselves normally are ruled as inadmissable.

She added that the past two nights since Quirkes conviction had been very tough.

I had a rough night yesterday and didnt sleep too well. Its been very tough but thank God its all over.

However, she also expressed her dismay at the prospect of Quirke appealing his conviction. Hopefully, it wont happen. Fingers crossed.

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Further details of Quirkes previous court appearances can also be revealed now that the murder trial is dealt with.

In 2014, Quirke, of Breanshamore, Tipperary, was charged with assault causing harm to Ms Lowry at her home in Fawnagown, Tipperary town between August 1 and 31, 2012. Quirke was also charged with burglary at the same address and handling stolen goods on December 3, 2012. The charges followed a Garda investigation into complaints of burglary at Ms Lowrys home. She became so fearful for her safety at Fawnagown that she had an elaborate CCTV system installed.

At the time, Sergeant Cathal Godfrey told Tipperary District Court that the case file was submitted to the DPP in late March 2014.

The DPP has directed that all three charges now be withdrawn, Sgt Godfrey said.

According to sources, Quirke is showing no signs of stress or anxiety in Mountjoy prison as he begins his life sentence.

It is expected that his wife will visit him over the weekend having stood with him throughout the trial. He is now in a cell on the C1 landing in the main prison with around 25 inmates who are described as quiet and obedient.

Its like theres not a bother on him. He looks like hes taking it in his stride, said one source. Staff are unsure whether Quirke, now known as prisoner 107243, is genuinely unfazed by his new surroundings or if he is good at hiding his real feelings.

He has been assessed by medical and psychological staff after being incarcerated on Wednesday afternoon.

He would have been placed in a quiet environment within the prison deliberately, until he gets used to the prison life and regime.
'Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages' (stock photo)

Ambulance services face disruption during two 24-hour strikes this month and next due to a long-running paramedics' dispute.

Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages.

They are planning a 24-hour strike at the end of this month and another one at the start of June, although the dates have not yet been set.

Previously, the 500 paramedics held shorter stoppages.

Army ambulance crews helped shore up services during six previous 12-hour strikes in the row over union recognition.

The members of Nasra, which is a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, want the HSE to recognise their union.

They claim the HSE is forcing them to be members of unions they do not want to join. The HSE has said it recognises Siptu as the main paramedic union.

Health Minister Simon Harris said it is regrettable that Nasra has decided to escalate the dispute.

"The HSE will continue to ensure patient safety through robust contingency planning," he said.

A HSE spokesperson said the national ambulance service recognises Siptu, Unite and Forsa for staff in the service.

"In particular, Siptu is the recognised trade union for front-line staff," they said.

"Recognition of other associations or unions would undermine the positive engagement that exists and would impair good industrial relations in the national ambulance service."

Meanwhile, psychiatric nurses who are also members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association are due to meet HSE officials next Tuesday in a bid to end a separate row over pay.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to an Irishman who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller, who was originally from an unspecified location in Northern Ireland, was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

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Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Hammersons designs for OConnell St area include a proposed roof over a shopping shopping area by Moore Street

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson

BUSINESS leaders believe plans for a new shopping and cultural quarter for Dublin's OConnell and Moore Street have the potential to mark the start of a bright new era.

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson.

Designed by German architect Friedrich Ludewig, it portrays a vision to restore historic streets, including the creation of a 1916 trail to commemorate the Easter Rising.

And a new 2,000sqm residential area has been proposed, with 23,500sqm of shopping space, 31,500sqm of office space and a 4,700sqm hotel.

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Dublin Chambers head of communications Graeme McQueen said: The north of OConnell Street has been lying idle for far too long.

He said OConnell Street should be the jewel in the crown of Dublin.

The plan from Hammerson to redevelop the entire area is very welcome and has the potential to be the start of a bright new era for both OConnell Street and the wider north city centre area.

This project, in combination with the redevelopment of the Clerys building and other developments, will breathe new life into an area of Dublin that has underwhelmed for too long.

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These moves are hugely exciting for Dublin and for Dubliners, he said.

Architect Ludewig, of the firm Acme, has designed a new pedestrian area running from OConnell to Moore Street, to include a large square at the centre and a smaller square at the junction of Moore Lane and Henry Place.

Mr Ludewig has previously worked on award-winning city schemes, including Victoria Gate in Leeds, Westquay South in Southampton, Highcross in Leicester and Melbournes shopping district Eastland.

It is also understood that the Carlton Cinema, closed in 1994, will have its facade restored.

But the iconic movie theatre will not be returned to its former use the proposals instead see it as a venue for retail outlets.

We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis regarding the future development of the Moore Street area, ahead of wider public consultation, a spokesperson for Hammerson said.

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Hammerson seeks to protect and enhance the Moore Street areas unique heritage, including its market and connections with 1916, while at the same time delivering clear economic benefits and employment opportunities locally, they said.

We have appointed Acme to look at options for the entire site, which stretches from Upper OConnell Street to Parnell Street to Moore Street and Henry Street.

The proposals will reinvigorate this part of Dublins north inner city.

The company also revealed how it had used local knowledge in making its plans.

Acme has been working with the DIT School of Architecture, commissioned by the Moore St Advisory Group,to develop a historically sensitive vision for the area acceptable to stakeholders.
THIS is the face of convicted killer Patrick Quirke photographed just minutes after he was arrested for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan.

The photo shows Quirke in early 2017 as he was processed by gardai who were preparing to question him about the murder of his love rival.

He could receive his first visitor today after being incarcerated in Mountjoy on Wednesday for the murder of Bobby Ryan.

Now known as prisoner number 107243, Quirke (50) has spent his first couple of nights getting used to his new surroundings.

Early indications are that he is keeping his head down and is probably in shock after the jury verdict.

Arriving in the committal unit of Mountjoy late on Wednesday afternoon, he would have had his first look at the prison menu.

He would then have received a standard prison tea, which would have included fruit and bread.

Because he is new to the system, and is older than most other inmates, he will initially be under constant watch.

He was seen by the prison doctor, governor and most likely a psychologist, as is standard

practice.

This is to ensure that his physical, mental and emotional health is assessed and recorded.

Quirke will be allowed to wear his own clothes, but will likely be kept on suicide watch,

when he will be checked every 15 minutes.

This is considered normal procedure and does not mean that Quirke is at any more of a threat of taking his own life

than any other inmate under the circumstances.

Quirke will spend a number of days, and possibly weeks, in the committal unit before he is

designated a cell in the regular prison system.

He may also be moved to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois, or Limerick Prison.

However, there is more space in the Midlands, so it is likely he will serve his sentence there.

Quirke will now also be getting used to the visiting regime, and his first visitor is due today or tomorrow.
'IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.' Stock photo: PA

Prison officers have expressed concern about handling Islamic State (Isil) radicals if they are ever convicted and imprisoned here.

The issue arose as Prison Officers' Association president Tony Power addressed delegates at its annual conference in Sligo this week.

He raised concerns that officers had not been trained in how to handle or treat prisoners involved with Isil.

"We have read recently of the possibility of some Irish citizens returning from involvement with IS and perhaps spending time in our prisons," said Mr Power.

"And if this happens, prison officers could be involved in a deradicalisation process.

"And are we trained to do this? No."

However, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has played down concerns of prison officers that they could be involved in the deradicalisation of Isil fighters.

IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.

She also said the IPS is monitoring the situation in Ireland and is prepared for any changes that may occur.

Mr Power was speaking following speculation that Irish woman Lisa Smith, who went to live in an Isil camp in Syria, wants to come home to Ireland with her two-year-old daughter.

The former member of the Defence Forces has denied fighting for Isil, but her request for assistance to come back to Ireland has sparked debate.
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The UN envoy for Afghanistan met last month with Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, said a spokesman.

"I can confirm to you that Tadamichi Yamamoto, the (UN) secretary-general's special representative, had met in late April with Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

The meeting was part of a regular dialogue between the United Nations and the Taliban on human rights, humanitarian assistance, and the peace process, he explained. "The UN mission conducts frequent meetings with all parties to the conflict as part of its good offices work to support the Afghan people and government to bring an end to the war."

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which is led by Yamamoto, has been engaged in regular meetings with the Taliban in Doha in the past several years, said Dujarric.

The UN mission advises all parties to the conflict of its regular contacts with the Taliban in key areas, he said.
Nineteenth-century Dublin was the whiskey powerhouse of the world. The city's half dozen distilleries produced 10 million gallons every year; one gallon in seven of all those produced in the British Isles. The top distilleries - both in quantity and quality - were the "Dublin Big Four": George Roe (established 1757), William Jameson (1779), John Jameson (1780), and John Power (1791). Pot still whiskey from these four distilleries was considered the finest in the world and the benchmark for all other whiskeys.

"Just as the names of Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini give Italian motor cars a cachet far beyond that of the bulk-selling Fiat saloons, so the great Dublin distillers of the mid-19th century bestowed on the whole Irish whiskey industry a reputation," writes Brian Townsend, author of The Lost Distilleries of Ireland, (1997-1999). "Scotch, at that time, tended to be the poor relation."

Of Dublin's Big Four, George Roe Whiskey was the oldest and eventually became the largest. It began in 1757, when Peter Roe bought a small distillery on Thomas Street. Between 1757 and 1832, the business passed through the hands of many family members, during which time Nicholas Roe founded another distillery on Pimlico Street. Then, in 1832, George Roe took over both distilleries and brought them together to form a larger complex.

By 1887, George Roe & Co Distillers of Thomas Street was the largest distillery in Europe. It covered 17 acres with eight pot stills, producing more than two million gallons of whiskey a year, and employed 200 workers of every skill and trade, including 18 coopers to make and repair barrels. George Roe whiskey was highly regarded, but not quite in the same league as that of the John Jameson or Power distilleries. Now, it's one of the rarest Irish whiskeys in the world.

"Unfortunately, these bottles were just drunk and not saved," says Bryan Mee, auctioneer. A bottle of whiskey made in the 1890s by George Roe whiskey of Thomas Street in Dublin (est 6,000 to 12,000) is coming up for auction at Victor Mee's Irish Connection sale of May 8 and 9. "It's been well cared for and kept out of sunlight so the bottle itself is in excellent condition. There's only a little bit of evaporation. The artwork on the bottle is fabulous - it shows the Thomas Street Distillery and it's a lovely thing to look at."

Mee has only been able to confirm the existence of two other bottles of its kind, one in Belfast and the other in the US. Both are owned by private collectors. This one comes from the Northern Irish collector, Des McCabe, and has been in private ownership for a very long time.

By the end of the 19th century, the Golden Age of Irish Whiskey was drawing to a close.

"The Scots - harnessing their legendary sense of thrift and efficiency - had found a way to make a palatable whiskey more cheaply and eventually elbowed the Irish whiskey distillers out of the market," Townsend writes. In 1889, George Roe & Co Distillers joined William Jameson & Co and the Dublin Whiskey Distillery (DWD) to form a trading unit called the Dublin Distilling Company Ltd. Each distillery continued to market its own whiskey under its own name. They continued to produce whiskey until 1926, leaving large quantities of unsold stock. In the mid-1940s, Geo Roe & Co Distillers dissolved and the site was taken over by Guinness. Now, the most visible reminder of the former Thomas Street distillery is Saint Patrick's Tower, a brick-built windmill that was constructed in 1757 and believed to be one of the oldest surviving smock windmills in Europe.

The sale will also include a 1940s JJ & S Liqueur Dublin Irish Whiskey, a blend of 100pc John Jameson whiskey, distilled and bottled by John Jameson & Son Ltd (est 800 to 1,200). It comes in a hexagonal bottle with a label that states "Not a Drop is Sold till it's Twelve Years Old". This particular bottle was imported into the United States by WA Taylor & Co, New York and was probably brought back to Ireland as a gift by a distant cousin of the vendor. Like the George Roe whiskey, this bottle also shows some evaporation due to age. Over the past two years, Bryan Mee has noticed a surge of interest in Irish whiskey at auction, with enquiries about the George Roe bottle coming in from as far away as China. "Collecting whiskey is a very male hobby," he says, "but there's also a lot of interest among publican and distilleries wanting to assume a collection for display in their visitor centre." Diageo is due to launch a new blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co in June 2019. The whiskey is named in honour of George Roe and made at the new St James's Gate distillery, just a stone's throw from where George Roe & Co Distillers once stood.

The Irish Connections Collectors Sale will take place at Victor Mee Auctions, Cloverhill, Belturbet, Co Cavan. Viewing from tomorrow to Tuesday.

See victormeeauctions.ie.
How do you feel about being on your own - does the thought of a night in alone fill you with dread or joy?

What about being stranded on a desert island - would you be lonely or would you relish the time to yourself? Are you the kind of person who goes to the cinema on their own, enjoys eating dinner alone or even holidays solo?

For many people, time spent alone is essential to their mental well-being, while others regard it as a strange quirk of personality. Some people, typical extroverts, even have a word for people who don't seek out the company of others - loners.

But just how much alone time is healthy and how much is a sign that it might be time to seek help? The answer depends on the person, because one person's ideal quiet night in on their own is another person's depressing night of solitude.

"I recently booked a night away in a hotel on my own, and to be honest it was fantastic," says Thomas Crosse, also known as Crossy. With a demanding job as a DJ and presenter with the Dublin radio station FM104, where he produces the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Crossy says he is more than happy to spend time on his own. In fact, he craves it.

"My ideal night is to be home alone with some takeaway Thai food, some wine and some great TV. I talk all week and deal with people all week, so I need time to just turn off and not feel under pressure to perform for anyone," he says.

So what did he do on his night in a hotel? "I went to the gym and the pool, had a few beers in the bar and spent the evening watching TV. It was great not having to worry about what someone else wanted to do. I could do what I want and I highly recommend it."

He's planning a trip to Rome soon and has deliberately arranged to travel on his own.

"I've always wanted to go and I've said it to loads of people, but they're either going out with someone who doesn't want to go, or they don't have enough holidays left from work to take the time, so I'm going by myself," says Crosse.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and enjoy their company, but I have absolutely no problem booking a restaurant table for one and going out for dinner with myself. It can be difficult to coordinate schedules with friends when everyone is so busy, so if I want to try out a new restaurant, I'll happily go on my own with a newspaper or even just my phone to read."

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Emma Jane Leeson lives outside Prosperous in Co Kildare and works in the human resources department of the multinational Kerry Group. She writes children's fiction in her spare time and her series for kids, The Adventures of Johnny Magory, has been well received. Carving out time to be alone is a crucial part of her mental health routine.

"My job means I see people all day every day and it's extremely tiring. I run the social media accounts of the company I work for so, to be honest, I feel I've had enough of dealing with people quite quickly. I have to get out, be on my own with no humans around. I make an exception for the dog and my favourite thing to do is to walk on my own around Ballynafagh Lake near where I live," she says.

"If I don't do it, I become short-tempered and my mood is massively affected. I am drained by other people and need the release.

"Ironically, I know I'm an extrovert and do like being around people but I have this introverted tendency and once I've had enough, I've had enough."

Leeson says she's always been like this, but in her mid-20s the need for alone time started becoming more pronounced. "For me, it's correlated with being in a corporate and people-focused environment. I recently handed in my notice as I want to give full-time writing a shot and of course, it'll be heaven to be in my own company while I write. We'll see if it lasts though. Perhaps I'll get lonely," she says.

There's a fine line between voluntary solitude and the kind of loneliness that can impact on a person's mental health. Plenty of people experience loneliness and find it far from enjoyable. According to consultant psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy, while some people are naturally introverted and comfortable being alone, there are others who crave interactions with others and can become depressed if they don't have it.

"There are also other individuals who would like to be part of a group but who experience social anxiety and find being around people stressful and difficult. It's important to distinguish between the two. One group chooses solitude for healthy reasons and the other group make choices to be alone because it's the only way they know to cope with their distress," he says.

Loneliness is a big issue for the Irish public. Dr Murphy was part of the National Loneliness Taskforce which published a report that concluded that involuntary loneliness can take three years off a person's life.

"It has the equivalent effect on a person's health of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and affects around one in 10 people in Ireland. On the flipside, there are plenty of people who seek out being on their own and have no negative consequences as a result," he says.

According to Dr Murphy, it's a scientific fact that some people are extroverted and some are introverted - being one or the other has no great bearing on a person's overall level of happiness.

"Some people are happy doing their own thing and being on their own, while another person in the same situation might find themselves experiencing high degrees of loneliness. People have different ways of engaging with the world around them," he says.

Knowing what kind of person you are can be a valuable tool in making good life decisions that work well for you. For example, Dr Murphy suggests that a person's nature can make them more or less likely to be happy in certain jobs.

"One person might find the stress of dealing with the public too much, while an office job might be ideal. Conversely, there are people who might be bored silly at a desk and very happy interacting with people all day long. There's nothing wrong with either of those - it's a case by case thing," he says. "Social connection is important for everyone but it's the degree that differs."

There are some extreme cases of people shutting themselves away from daily life. In Japan, such people are known as hikikomori and an estimated half a million of them live as virtual hermits, rarely, if ever, leaving their homes. These people withdraw from life and the pressures they feel to be successful, hold down jobs and be functional members of a society that can expect a lot from its members.

A controversial theory about the cause of this condition is that it's brought on by the isolating influence of modern technology. Initially psychologists thought that Japanese society was uniquely susceptible to this condition, but a 2015 study by Japanese psychiatrists found cases of the condition in the US, South Korea and India, too.

Few people would argue this is a healthy reaction to stress and pressure, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of pressure on people to present a public face through social media that is often at odds with how they feel about themselves.

Roisin Connaughton is a 29-year-old student in her final year of a medical degree, and to say she leads a busy life would be an understatement. Her time is spent in hospitals dealing with patients, doctors, tutors and the public, in libraries studying, or at work trying to support herself.

"I really like spending time on my own, and I don't mean on my own in a coffee shop or in a shopping centre, I mean at home alone with nobody else around. I find that time almost impossible to get, but it's the one type of time that makes things slow down," she says.

"I need to get away from the expectations of others and the pressure to interact with others. I'm easily distracted and get drawn into thinking about what's going on around me. I'm very much an extrovert - I do like other people and I'm quite outgoing - but I really need time on my own to empty my brain and be myself."

Sleep is a particular challenge for Connaughton because her brain runs so fast that it can take quite a while for her to wind down enough to fall asleep: "My mind races and I need to calm it down with quiet and solitude to be able to really relax. I sleep much better when I've had time by myself to do nothing. I don't even read a book or watch TV - I just do nothing. And that can be hard to explain to people."

Connaughton says that her situation has arisen throughout her 20s and she doesn't put it down to the pressures of her studies.

"The funny thing is that as children, everyone has loads of time to themselves. You spend time being bored and finding things to do with your time, but as an adult your time is so heavily scheduled that you often don't have any free time at all unless you carve it out. Some adults are literally never alone and find it difficult to be on their own. I'm the opposite," she says.

The pressure of dealing with people is something that Colin Harmon well understands.

Harmon is well known on Dublin's coffee scene as the owner of the 3fe coffee shops and Gertrude restaurant, and despite having worked directly with the public for years, he describes himself as an introvert.

"I no longer work directly on the coffee bar but I did it for years, and while you have hundreds of interactions with people every day, they're not typical interactions. It's not like meeting your friends or meeting people on an equal footing - you're in the hospitality industry, so you have to be positive with everyone. That's not normal," he says.

"It's incredibly draining and you have to present a slightly fake gloss to the public. Even when you're talking to your colleagues behind the coffee bar, you're still slightly on display to customers, so you guard what you say and make sure you're being professional."

Harmon's favourite time of day is his hour-long commute home in the evening.

Driving his car, he can be alone and either sits in silence or listens to podcasts - either way, it's time he feels is absolutely crucial to staying centred.

"When I get home, I have kids and a wife who deserve my attention and who have their own worries and concerns that they want to communicate, and I need to be there for them too. And I love being there for them, but I also need time to be on my own and recuperate," he says.

"I go running as much as I can, despite being not very good at it. For me, it's about the silence and time alone... as much as it is about exercise. It's about headspace."

Harmon says he has old friends who find his 'coffee personality' entertaining as they know that he's not naturally an extroverted person. He says when he shops for clothes, he prefers to avoid busy periods and hates it when shop assistants ask if they can help.

"I can go up on a stage in front of thousands of people to speak publicly no problem, but in restaurants I get my wife to order the food to avoid the social interaction. I guess we're all a mix of these contradictions."

Picture: Frank McGrath

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Billy Keane Opinion Incident of the woman who stayed in bed for 40 years brings pirates and Fine Thick Men to mind

This is some of the story of the woman from Taunton, in England, who stayed in bed for 40 years. The reason she stayed in bed for 40 years was because her doctor told her not to get up until he called back. She had the flu and the doctor never came back, so she stayed put. The woman was 34 at the time.
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Mary Kenny Opinion Aviation opened up the world to us, now it needs our support to get airborne again

My mother came of age in the early years of the Free State, and over the course of her lifetime two aspects of being Irish made her hugely proud. One was the little green passport with Eire embossed on the front cover. The other was the sight of an Aer Lingus aircraft flying the flag to international destinations.
Today the Irish Defence Forces family will once again parade, this time in Cork, to protest and highlight the continuing decline of conditions within our armed forces.

In support of my former comrades, I will attempt to explain to those not directly involved with defence issues why this matters.

Recently I encountered a foreign official with many years of experience in the Middle East and elsewhere. He spoke incisively about the role of the Irish Defence Forces on a variety of UN missions, especially the more recent one on the Golan Heights.

This individual was heavy in his praise about how their professionalism, capability and experience were well recognised in the upper echelons of international political circles as a game-changer in many conflict management spheres.

To show he wasn't just spoofing me with nice sentiments, this individual made references to certain specific skill sets and tradecraft of the Irish professional soldier, demonstrating real awareness of the work done by our troops on various missions.

It is ironic it took a foreigner to demonstrate this. Our own politicians, and indeed population, have rarely ever expressed such an awareness.

Most of us have encountered nurses and gardai in our daily lives, but many of you reading this will ask the perennial question: what does the Army do?

Many times you may have heard references to the work of the Naval Service or Air Corps or, indeed, the specialist work of the bomb disposal personnel or the Army Ranger Wing.

However, the very essence of any military force is embodied by a body of troops called the infantry. They are the combat arm of the army, the ones who must get close with the enemy and destroy them if required, or hold ground against heavy odds as the troops who fought at Jadotville did. This is also the body of troops most likely to be called out in support of civil powers during emergencies at home.

From rescuing Filipino peacekeepers under fire on the Golan Heights to clearing snow off roads in Ireland, that is the infantry. All arms, all adaptable, all weather.

What makes the infantry stand out compared with more hi-tech specialists is that it specialises in teamwork in adversity. Troops are taught at an early stage in their career to embrace hardship and develop physical robustness and mental resilience. These are not the skills acquired in institutes of technology or universities, they are learned in the winds of the Wicklow mountains, the rivers of the Glen of Imaal and the sands of South Lebanon.

Coupled with these old-school disciplines are the skills of physical command and leadership in the field from corporal to colonel. This type of stuff takes years upon years to develop to a high functioning level in any individual.

But to develop this year in, year out in a unit of 500 or 600 soldiers of all ranks to the point of it continuing to work in situations of life-threatening stress can take generations. The infantry is the team of teams of our Defence Forces. Imagine stripping away the club sides of the GAA or regional and town teams of the IRFU and then wondering why the county and national teams fail to perform.

This is why the retired veterans of the Defence Forces and their families and friends are marching today. To warn the country, the people, the politicians, that when you hollow out a force like the infantry, it cannot be rebuilt over a few years with regular recruiting.

The culture of leadership in adversity and the embracing of hardship are not easy skills to inculcate into an organisation. Once lost, they are hard to regain.

If others from beyond our shores, as I mentioned at the start, can see the value in our forces, then maybe it is time our politicians and people should place the same value on them.

Declan Power is a former career soldier and author of 'Siege at Jadotville'
Somehow, somewhere along the way, a click went off in his brain. We will never know when his first murderous thought took hold. In the cascading turmoil of his recent life the memory of that singular moment may be lost forever.

Murder since time immemorial has had many guises. It ranges from random instinctive killing to detailed pre-planning for the ending of human life. But always, always, demons within will have been in ferment. The likely cocktail of emotion, swarming in Pat Quirke's head propelling him to kill, has been well recounted. But it is all too easy to presume it was sexual jealousy that nudged him towards the cliff edge.

He may have had his moments brooding as a jilted lover battling rejection. But greed, a lust for cash, and a desire to become a really rich man are what lured Quirke into a space where human empathy deserted him.

His own holding of 67 acres had become far too modest for his money-making schemes. Over the years he had 'diversified' into various non-farming activities. He had shown himself to be especially well informed when pursuing sundry investments.

But a story as old as time itself is the mixed emotions of a man with limited acreage living near somebody with much more land at their disposal. In such a scenario, human nature - with its proclivity for endless comparison - can sow the seeds of seething jealousies and life-long resentments. Mary Lowry, with a much bigger farm and able to access substantial amounts of cash, made Quirke almost starry-eyed with money-making opportunities on his doorstep. This was the lever which would free him to indulge his more grandiose plans.

Financially speaking, he felt he was on a rollercoaster through his relationship with Ms Lowry. Under his instigation, her money became tied up in various financial schemes.

Even complicated 'contracts for difference', outside the ken of many Irish farmers, were part of his 'financial portfolio'.

The land she owned had become the golden ticket which could make Quirke the kind of wealth he craved. Even better times were on the horizon for a man whose mother claimed he had used sharp practice to seize control of the family home.

But when 'Mr Moonlight' came on the scene, Quirke's dream of a monied future collapsed overnight. His personal relationship with his near neighbour was the key to everything.

We don't fully know why Mary Lowry called time on what she termed their 'seedy' affair. But it is clear she had emotionally moved on. Despite some frantic efforts on his part, Quirke was out of her life. The nightmare, from his viewpoint, was that she planned to take back full control of her farm. It would be a major coming down in the world for her former lover.

What gave this case a special piquancy is that a saga of sex, land, and money was played out against the hinterland of rural Irish life. The key players were middle-aged farming folk.

Deeper psychologies of what prompted Quirke to murder are rooted in his own background and formative years. What made him so lustful for land and cash? He just could not let things lie. Living in the local agricultural bubble, he was reminded all the while of the Lowry acreage and the money he could be earning from it.

And so when he carried out the fateful deed, a deluded sense of injustice had overpowered him. He felt he had been wronged. It seemed something he regarded as rightfully his had been plucked from his grasp. His anger was all-consuming. Disposing of his victim's body so near the Lowry home was macabre; but there is no evidence he was tortured by any kind of haunting presence.

Many mysteries remain when murderers do not confess their guilt.

The pudgy, middle-aged Tipperary farmer strode in and out of court each day with his trademark cap and laptop. His face - despite a hint of menace - remained inscrutable all the while.

We will never know. Maybe he himself does not know. But the evidence suggests Pat Quirke murdered part-time DJ Bobby Ryan not over matters pertaining to sex.

He was motivated by something he considered much more important than affairs of the heart. Money.
Former Rose of Tralee and army crack-shot Maria Walsh has insisted she will not resort to force of arms in her election turf wars with party rival Mairead McGuinness.

In fact, both Fine Gael candidates agreed yesterday that their aim was to each win one of the four Euro seats in the 13-county Midlands North-West constituency, as they made light of the reported spat about campaign ground rules.

Ms Walsh, a political newcomer, downplayed reports that she was at loggerheads with Ms McGuinness, a European Parliament vice-president seeking election for the fourth time.

The Mayo woman, crowned Rose of Tralee in 2014, and also an active member of the Defence Forces Reserve (DFR), took issue with alleged encroachments into her designated territory. "As a 31-year-old woman, I have a crown and sash from the Rose of Tralee in one hand, and in the other hand my marksmanship is 37 out of 40 shots with a Steyr rifle. I'm not here to be pushed over," she had told the 'Sunday Independent'.

But at the Fine Gael campaign launch yesterday, in Moate, Co Westmeath, Ms Walsh said she had been merely answering media questions and was not responsible for headlines. She was proud of both her DFR membership and her Rose crown - but would shun negative campaigning and heartily endorsed Ms McGuinness's assertion that they can win two seats for the party.

A diktat issued by Fine Gael headquarters just three weeks ago stated that Ms McGuinness and her team were to canvass Louth, Meath, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan, while Ms Walsh was to focus on Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.

But Ms Walsh was concerned that Ms McGuinness was active in her territory before the divide was fixed - and more recent local ads in Galway and Mayo for Ms McGuinness neglected to mention her running mate.

Ms McGuinness got a round of applause and provoked much hilarity from party supporters at the campaign launch as she refused to take her rival's reported comments too seriously. "I did frisk her before she crossed the border into Westmeathwe will return the arms when they go back across the Shannon," she said to much laughter from colleagues.

The three-time MEP said she had fought many campaigns but avoided negativity in all of them.

She cited the 2004 Euro campaign battles with Avril Doyle of Wexford, where keen rivalry resulted in a surprise win of two out of three seats, boosting the battered fortunes of Fine Gael at the time.

In the 2004 campaign, Ms McGuinness was banned from canvassing in Ms Doyle's Wexford home base. On the other hand, Ms McGuinness was given sole campaign rights in her home base in Co Meath.

But there were several high-profile reports of boundary incursions on both sides.

One involved Ms Doyle's mobile electronic hoarding appearing at Fairyhouse race course, only to have the display covered with posters for Ms McGuinness.

On May 31, 2004, just as polling day approached, McGuinness posters appeared in Ms Doyle's Wexford base.

Fine Gael backroom operators had to intervene on many occasions to restore campaign order and discipline. Curiously, much of the details of these spats did make it into the public domain.

The friction led to publicity, which in turn led to votes.

Fifteen years on, Fine Gael strategists hope history can repeat itself.
Over 40 years ago, the modern Irish Independent changed hands for the first time since its foundation in 1905. When the young entrepreneur Tony O'Reilly acquired control in 1973 from the Murphy family, it was largely on the basis of his hunch that - as we entered the EEC - the domestic newspaper business was, of all Irish industries, probably one of the best protected from foreign ownership and competition. The wheel has now come full circle with the takeover offer from Belgian-Dutch media group Mediahuis, but in circumstances neither he nor anyone else could have predicted even as recently as five years ago.

One of the defining characteristics of the new owners is that they regard media, and newspapers in particular, as more than just businesses. Newspapers are, warts and all, institutions that have a huge public service remit and a public responsibility. One of the greatest and most permanent of those responsibilities is holding the feet of the powerful to the fire and, as a great US journalist once put it, comforting the afflicted as well as afflicting the comfortable.

The foundational Murphy era in Abbey Street was remarkable for its consolidation of the middle market at a time when social and even technological change was proceeding at a snail's pace. It was hardly coincidental that its 50th anniversary was marked by the publication of a congratulatory message from Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin, or that - on another famous occasion - newspaper vans were despatched at high speed in the middle of the night to successfully retrieve all early copies of the Independent from a town whose deceased and highly regarded parish priest, the type-setter had mistakenly recorded, was survived by two sisters and three brothels.

Newspapering has also, traditionally, been a fellowship as well as a competitive market-place. When the 'Irish Times' was replacing its presses, and enhancing its competitiveness, it was actually printed - at commercial rates, naturally - by its rival in Abbey Street.

When O'Reilly took over in 1973, it was not only at the dawn of an era of seismic social and economic change, but it was also an end to the days when the office managers in the Independent would economise by carefully cutting pencils in half before supplying reporters with these tools of their trade.

The eventual demise of the peculiarly managed 'Irish Press' group consolidated the Independent's position in the market-place, even though this was compromised from time to time by experiments with MMDS (multi-media distribution systems, a failed precursor of the internet), problematic experiments with radio stations in the US, and the high-profile but ultimately sacrificial adventure involving the London 'Independent'. Management, under the late Liam Healy in particular, seemed to have a Midas touch.

This was buttressed by conservative, commercially sensitive editorial policies and by an investment policy based on borrowing to buy assets rather than on weakening board control by broadening and increasing shareholder investment.

The O'Reilly era was marked by extraordinary and profitable expansion into Australia and New Zealand and South Africa, its role in South Africa in particular coinciding significantly with the end of apartheid and the support for Mandela.

Subsequent events, however, demonstrated that even major and apparently invulnerable institutions can sometimes develop weaknesses that few could have predicted. In the case of the Irish newspaper industry, two factors were involved.

One of them is the advent of the internet, and the inability or unwillingness of governments everywhere to realise that the lack of regulation and accountability of this new economic model posed a threat, not just to so-called 'legacy' media, but to public life and standards generally. There are, thankfully, some signs that the EU and national governments are now taking this threat seriously.

When external threats like these suddenly appeared contemporaneously with internal difficulties such as the boardroom battles which hobbled Independent News & Media in recent years, it is close to becoming a perfect storm in which only the fittest will survive. In this context, a major problem facing the Independent group has been its inability successfully to manage simultaneously both the new technological, commercial and editorial challenges, and the internal civil war which inevitably consumed huge swathes of everyone's time.

Many years ago, I was a member of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. So was David Palmer, then managing director of the Independent group. While David and I agreed on little, we achieved harmony on one issue: management always had the right to change an editor, but - if they had any sense - they should not interfere with editorial policy. That sums up the peculiar nexus of the newspaper industry: it is private enterprise, but with a public purpose, and its success depends not only on its management but on the skill, commitment, and values with which its journalists approach their societal role and responsibilities.

The media will always be a locus for contention and controversy - which is as it should be. Variety in ownership and control will enhance the growth of adaptability that will help ensure the success of newspapers into the future. We once thought, after all, that television heralded the end of the cinema! And public measures aimed at supporting the media's role in providing readers with essential information and opinions are what will enhance public debate, inform public and private decision-making, and support the endless disagreements that enliven, vivify and inform civil society.

John Horgan is emeritus Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University, and served as Ireland's first Press Ombudsman
The lesson from the North's local elections is unambiguous. It is that no matter what - if the flood waters are rising or the Last Trumpet is sounding - people there vote along tribal lines. That's just how it is. Depressing but true.

What could have signalled the potential for Armageddon more starkly than Brexit, with its threat to the open Border? But it made no difference - clearly, both Sinn Fein and the DUP read their electorates accurately because their voters haven't blamed them.

During the economic crash, Fianna Fail was punished by the public and its recovery on the national stage has been slow. But there's been no backlash against either Sinn Fein or the DUP. No payback for the former's absence from Westminster, no payback for the latter pushing a hard Brexit agenda.

From this, we can conclude something germane to the Good Friday Agreement. It delivered. But it fell short. Peace came but not reconciliation. Integration - of education and housing - was essential but slipped off the agenda.

In Britain, the local elections have delivered a frustration vote, a protest vote, an anti-stasis vote. The Brexit Backlash, it's called. Not so in Northern Ireland, where inertia has no repercussions.

Northern Ireland did not mirror the British trend, where the two dominant parties were punished for being unable to settle on a Brexit deal. The two largest parties in the North couldn't cut a much less complex agreement, to restore Stormont, but received no reprimand - perhaps because people are resigned to failure in the North.

In Britain, although the election was local, the issues were national. In Northern Ireland, everything stayed local. Consequently tribalism held its ground: for God and Ulster on one side, Our Day Will Come on the other. No Stormont Backlash then. No lending out your vote in hopes of sending a message to politicians.

A resurgent SDLP didn't materialise, despite the link-up with Fianna Fail, which is looking like an increasingly bad idea. As for the UUP, its message simply hasn't connected and unionism is becoming interchangeable with the DUP. Peadar Toibin's Aontu, a conservative religious party in its first electoral outing, hasn't made a significant impact on voters, which tells us people in the North are ahead of parties on social policy, as in the Republic.

Candidates had a better than one-in-two chance of getting elected in the locals because there are so many seats relative to the number of contenders. So if someone is left chosen, quite a strong message is being sent.

News that Bombardier was selling its Belfast operation broke as people went to the polls. The Canadian company is one of the region's largest employers with 3,600 working in plane-making activities; overall, some 12,000 jobs may be impacted because of the supply chain. In 2017, it was estimated the wages of the company's employees put 158m (185m) into the local economy annually.

Bombardier had already indicated the DUP stance on Brexit was a worry. Subtext: why would it continue to invest in a place so dysfunctional a government couldn't even be set up? The company is for sale and we don't yet know if some or all of those jobs are safe. What we do know is there's no functioning Stormont to fight for them.

In the last local government elections in 2014, the DUP and Sinn Fein emerged as the two largest parties. Five years on, there is no alteration to that position. Same old, same old. The upsurge for change in the wake of Lyra McKee's killing has not carried through to the ballot box. How to interpret that? Perhaps it is that people want the parties they have always voted for to shift the dynamic, as opposed to taking a chance on anything new?

Last Sunday at Arbour Hill in Dublin, Micheal Martin said Northern Ireland had normalised the abnormal idea that the existence of a government is negotiable: "What they don't seem to understand is that, for democrats, a parliament is a place you go to solve problems - not a place you refuse to go unless your problems are sorted in advance."

This acts as a rebuke. Chiding others is easy. Understanding their position, helping them to move on from it - that's harder. Mr Martin's criticism overlooks the reality that, for most of Northern Ireland's existence, nationalist people there have not felt adequately represented in either Stormont or Westminster.

The Good Friday Agreement transformed that, but the DUP didn't sign up to it. Perhaps that is why neither of the two largest parties was taken to task by electorates for failing to reach agreement and return to Stormont. Those outside attach more weight to Stormont than those in the North, who question its effectiveness.

Obviously, Sinn Fein and the DUP must compromise if Stormont is to be restored. But this vote does not incentivise concessions. It is bound to hamper the talks process due to start next week. Punishment at the ballot box is language which politicians hear loud and clear but they have not been reprimanded - on the contrary, both are likely to feel they have been delivered stronger negotiating hands.

A spirit of cooperation needs to be fostered in the North. 'Ni neart go cur le cheile' - no strength without combination. That was the motto of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, founded by reforming landlord Horace Plunkett. This pioneer of the co-operative movement, who understood the importance of co-operation, was a unionist MP in the House of Commons and later a senator in Dail Eireann. It is examples such as his which have to be invoked.

Unfortunately, the division between Sinn Fein and the DUP is not just political but social. Sinn Fein has evolved to become more socially liberal while the DUP remains conservative. Furthermore, Sinn Fein remains focused on a Border poll - and this will cause tensions within unionism.

Where are the moderates? They do exist but they aren't winning huge traction. Nevertheless, it was a good day for Alliance and the Greens. That represents some progress. Real progress, however, would be signalled by translating those gains into a European seat. One each is guaranteed for the DUP and Sinn Fein but seat number three is up for grabs. Could Alliance make a breakthrough?

Finally, let's look again at what happened in Britain. The Lib Dem tide is a reaction, not a trend. One Tory voter who switched told me he did it for the locals but wouldn't vote for them at national level. Two lifelong Labour voters who went Lib Dem said they did it to send a message that they want Brexit stopped.

British politicians are coming under pressure thanks to this election but their Northern counterparts aren't experiencing the same heat. Their voters aren't saying take Stormont out of cold storage, or else. Dublin and Westminster take note.
Sisters-in-law, once so close they used to go away on family holidays together.

Both slender, dark and fine-featured, their physical resemblance was close enough for it to be remarked on by several onlookers at the longest-running murder trial in the history of the State.

Mary Lowry outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial

Once secret rivals for the love of Patrick Quirke, now Mary Lowry and Imelda Quirke are privately, and in their own way, dealing with the devastating fall-out of his murder of Bobby Ryan.

The two women have not spoken since Ms Lowry, feeling guilty over her affair with Imelda's husband, sent her a blank card saying 'sorry' - much to Quirke's fury.

Asked during the trial why she had done it, she said she supposed sending the card had made her feel better.

"It took some of the guilt away," she explained.

The defence was more sceptical about her actions, with Bernard Condon SC claiming she had done it to "soothe herself, not Imelda".

"You must agree you sent it to make yourself feel better," he put it to her.

"I was very sorry and regretted the affair and I was ashamed about the affair," Ms Lowry insisted, repeating her answer several times.

Regardless of why she had done it, the gesture marked the end of their friendship.

Moments after her husband was found guilty of murder, Imelda rushed to be by his side, ushered into the holding cell at the side of courtroom 13, along with Quirke's sister.

Imelda's devastation was appallingly evident, her face ashen. She did not re-emerge.

And though the photographers waited hours for her to come out of the CCJ complex, mystifyingly, there was no sign of her.

Her life crashing around her, it was clear she had been compassionately spirited out of the building by the gardai.

Back to the dairy farm at Breanshamore, Co Tipperary.

And yet, the removal of her husband from her day to day existence may be the best thing that could possibly have happened to her.

A controlling individual on every level, Quirke's demeanour as he came and went from the trial every day showed demonstrable signs of unpleasantness.

He was seen snatching an object from his wife one day, while another, he was witnessed carelessly jostling her as they entered a door.

She catered to his every need, preparing a packed lunch for her husband every day and she readily supplied bottles of water to him when he gestured to her in court.

She was by his side faithfully, making the trip up and down on the train from Limerick Junction with him every day in a 14-week-long ordeal that was clearly exhausting - her dramatic weight loss throughout was testament to that.

There was nobody in the court who did not have sympathy for Imelda.

Right throughout the terrible events that transpired around the murder and discovery of Bobby Ryan's remains, Quirke seemed to rely heavily and unfairly on his wife's personal strength of character and ability to 'cope.'

He used her birthday as an excuse to flee the scene after the murder in June 2011, booking a weekend away to the Heritage in Portlaoise, which was unusual for them.

Imelda was the first person he called after "discovering" the remains of Bobby Ryan.

A garda later put it to him that if it had been his wife, he would not have liked her to have seen the body in the tank.

Quirke's reply was that Imelda would know what to do.

It was she who had alerted the authorities - in a panicked 55-second phone call to Garda Tom Neville, known to her through her sons' under-age GAA training.

He calculatedly used his wife's innocence to deflect from his own guilt in a most despicable way.

And even as gardai questioned him about his internet searches for the rate of human decomposition, urging him to own up to being at the computer in order to do the right thing by his wife and children, Quirke would not.

He claimed he loved his wife - but the evidence shows that he had roundly abused her just as much as he had Mary Lowry.

During the trial, Quirke and Imelda had gone for leisurely walks hand in hand through Tipperary town with their dog every day after getting off the train from Dublin.

"It was like he was trying to show people that he had nothing to worry about," said one local businessman.

A senior source claimed locals were "afraid" of Quirke and had feared he would not be convicted. They did not want him back amongst them.

But now, the domineering presence of Patrick Quirke has been removed from Breanshamore.

It will be amid some difficulty that Imelda and her two sons can move on with their lives. It was clear they still love and stand by him.

But the support of their extended family and their community will assist them greatly as they adjust to their new reality.

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As for Mary Lowry, the sense of relief will be palpable and she will shed no tears at his predicament.

She had suffered at the hands of Pat Quirke, she had told the trial.

He had manipulated and used her - for sex and for cash, as well as for the magnificent lands of Fawnagown.

He had attempted to frame her for the causing the death of Bobby Ryan.

On the day that Bobby's remains were found on her farm, Mary Lowry upped sticks and left Fawnagown forever. She and her sons had moved in with her brother and then into a rented house in the locality.

She then built her own two-storey house in Bansha, described by one person as a "country dream house", surrounded by many potted plants and a long gravel driveway.

Mary's future is bright.

The man who had coldly snuffed out the life of Bobby Ryan, who had, chillingly, reported her to the social services claiming she had neglected the emotional well-being of her children, and secretly recorded her chatting with her then boyfriend, Flor Cantillon, is now behind bars for life.

She would not talk to media in the aftermath of the trial - stoically saying only: "I'm not too bad. Sure, we have to try and get on with it."

With her privacy stripped from her so comprehensively during the gruelling trial process, who could blame her for seeking it now?

But Mary Lowry is a survivor - her testimony was proof of that.

She was able to stoutly defend herself against the most vigorous efforts by the defence to discredit her.

Her natural good humour was evident on Quirke's secret recordings, when her peals of laughter rang out in court.

Despite the efforts made by Quirke to tarnish her reputation as a mother, her sons are a credit to her - polite, articulate and well able for the toughest of questioning.

As a family, they will blossom after this, the weight of the investigation and trial lifted from their shoulders.

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And it is all thanks to Mary Lowry, who selflessly put her reputation on the line - willing to put everything on the table and to have her personal life mercilessly dissected.

She had "bared her soul" to get justice for Bobby, she told the trial.

It can not have been an easy thing to do - least of all when living in a small, tight-knit community.

But her sacrifice was not in vain.

And now she and Imelda can get on with their lives without the menacing shadow of Patrick Quirke looming large.
 Flash

The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilot strike has ended after an agreement was reached late on Thursday night. All flights in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will resume as soon as possible, Swedish News SVT reported on Friday.







"It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again and that we will be able to pursue our commitment to travelers to, from and within Scandinavia," Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS, wrote in a press release issued by SAS shortly before midnight on Thursday.





The strike lasted for a week, resulting in 4,015 cancelled flights and affecting approximately 360,000 passengers.





SAS has been hit hard financially by the strike, with SVT reporting that it cost the airline an estimated 60-80 million Swedish krona a day. Gustafson told SVT on Friday that it is too early to calculate the total cost.





"I have to admit there is a great deal of talk about it," Gustafson said. "But I want to wait for an exact amount, because we have not yet been able to calculate everything."





According to Gustafson, SAS has no plans to raise airfares to cover losses incurred during the strike.





"It is clear that I would have preferred to use this money to invest in our future than to burn it up in a conflict," Gustafson told SVT. "But now we have ended up here and I deeply regret that we ended up in a conflict."





After over 30 hours of negotiations between SAS and the Swedish Air Line Pilots Association, a new three-year collective bargaining agreement is in place. The new agreement concerns predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries. In the press release issued on Thursday, SAS said the terms are "on par with the industrial benchmark for the Swedish labor market."





SAS traffic is expected to be fully operational again by Saturday morning. (1 U.S. dollar = 10.22 SEK)




Pat Quirke, Prisoner 107243, has become a member of a select group within the ranks of Ireland's most notorious murderers; people whose shocking crimes will be enshrined in the collective public memory and the annals of the Irish criminal justice system.

The 50-year-old farmer - convicted of murdering his love rival after the longest murder trial on record - joins a small gang of other prisoners who became household names for the worst of reasons. Names such as Joe O'Reilly, Graham Dwyer and Brian Kearney.

Like the others, Quirke is responsible for a particularly callous and cold-blooded murder that captivated the public during long and hard-fought courtroom battles to prove their guilt.

He shares many common traits with O'Reilly, Dwyer and Kearney including the fact none of them had ever been involved in crime before and were seen as respectable middle-class, law-abiding citizens.

All of them displayed narcissistic tendencies - as evidenced by a common belief that each one of them had carefully planned and executed the perfect murder.

In each case, the killer demonstrated the attitude that he was cleverer than the force and could easily outwit it, which in turn led to some of the best examples of detective work in the history of An Garda Siochana.

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One insight gleaned from Quirke's computer, which was not allowed into evidence, was an interest in the notorious case of wife killer O'Reilly.

O'Reilly bludgeoned his wife and mother of his two young children Rachel to death when he made a mid-morning visit to the couple's home in the Naul, north Dublin, in October 2004.

He had devised an elaborate plan to murder his wife and make it look like an intruder had attacked her. He built a false alibi that he was busy working in Dublin at the time of the crime.

O'Reilly even appeared on 'The Late Late Show' to appeal for information on the murder alongside Rachel's mother, who by then suspected he was the killer.

He was eventually convicted after a long and dramatic Garda investigation blew his alibi apart by tracking his movements through his mobile phone.

It is reasonable to assume that by searching the online blog "Why Joe O'Reilly thought he had committed the perfect murder", Quirke was trying to learn from O'Reilly's mistakes.

Another individual Quirke is likely to encounter is Brian Kearney, whose cold-blooded murder of his wife Siobhan in February 2006 earned him his place in the pantheon of notorious killers.

His motive for murder was that she intended leaving him causing him financial problems.

Kearney also put on a false face and attempted to brave it out, but came unstuck after another intensive Garda investigation.

Graham Dwyer is a household name who will always be synonymous with one of the most grotesque and depraved murders ever to come before the courts.

Elaine O'Hara, a vulnerable woman with a history of mental illness, had been groomed by Dwyer over a number of years during which they were involved in a BDSM relationship.

The Foxrock architect hid from the world his perverse fascination for piquerism, which involves inflicting pain on a victim using knives and drawing blood for the purpose of sexual gratification.

Dwyer probably reckoned that he had learned from the mistakes of O'Reilly and Kearney when he decided to finally fulfil his ultimate fantasy and murder Elaine O'Hara in August 2012.

Ireland's latest inductee to this notorious lifers' club will have plenty to discuss as they while away the slow passage of prison time.
The graffiti on some walls in Creggan in Derry shows Saoradh and its henchmen in the New IRA are nothing more than intimidating thugs who like to throw their weight around and sow fear wherever they go.

Their threat to "execute" informers takes us back to the bad old days when we saw bodies dumped along the Border or buried in shallow graves by the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.

Saoradh's attempt at distancing itself from the New IRA after the killing of Lyra McKee is like saying Sinn Fein was never the political mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA or that Gerry Adams was never a member of the Army Council.

Who are they trying to cod? Everyone, including the dogs on the street, knows who these terrorists and their supporters are.

We have seen them on display going to or coming from court in Derry or standing in front of Saoradh's former offices when red-painted hands were daubed on their offices after Lyra's murder.

What we need is the political will in Northern Ireland to deal with these terrorists and that everyone supports their police service in preventing further outrages.

Let us not forget Lyra's sacrifice and her will to have a more open and loving society. Not one filled with hate, but one where we all respected each other and had those difficult but vital conversations.

Christy Galligan

Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Abortion vote means children are still dying

I want to begin with a word of praise for John Lynch of Cork for his balanced, objective letter on April 24 and his positive acknowledgement of the work done by nuns in the mother and baby homes.

These homes were in poor condition and had very limited resources, but they did provide an open door for pregnant women who had no place to go at a very dark time in our history.

These women, of different ages and levels of maturity, would have surely been severely traumatised by the experience of being rejected by their own families before they ever set foot inside those institutions.

I cannot understand why the narrative around all of this continues to target and blame the Catholic Church for all the woes of that era. I acknowledge there was much scandalous abuse among some of its community, including priests, family members et al, and this has only surfaced gradually and in relatively recent times. It was covered up, put away and shrouded in secrecy.

At that time, poverty was widespread, housing was cramped and the family configuration was very different from today. A child born outside wedlock was clearly not wanted or welcomed, was described as illegitimate and ruled out of many life privileges.

The pregnant girl was excluded from the family and was not returning, not because of the fear of the Church's teaching nor the parish priest's Sunday sermon. No, this paled beside the fear of what the neighbours over the road would think of an otherwise respectable family. So the family disowned the girl and child.

But doesn't every child have a mother and father? The fathers got away. Where were they then and where are they now, when Catherine Corless is talking about exhuming the remains of infants buried in a chamber over a septic system in Tuam? Whose responsibility is this now, 50 or 100 years on? She talks about identifying these infants and giving them a dignified burial. How can she suggest this is even remotely possible?

What I find troubling is the inability of our politicians to connect with the past in a constructive manner and move on to a better way, with or without the Catholic Church.

In this context, let us briefly reflect on present reality - as a nation, we voted to legalise abortion, resulting in a two-thirds majority. It was sickening to see Government personnel, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, rejoicing that Ireland was entering a new dawn of modernity, enlightenment, speed of access to information and, above all, freedom to choose.

They just may have forgotten a third of us voted No and we are still around. They somehow expect us to accept the awful circumstances around the killing of human embryonic life in the womb. It has become for some children the most threatening and dangerous place to be, in spite of all the vetting and safeguarding courses for child protection. I hope and pray the medical profession will not contribute to this most violent assault on humankind, causing termination of life.

Of course, this is not to rule out medical intervention and ethical decisions in cases of illness and conditions which threaten the life of mother and/or child. There are two patients to be considered.

In the new Ireland, where everything can be open and accepted, what can we now expect when these little innocents have their lives violently snuffed out before they can see the light of day?

Both parents and possibly extended family can be present at an appropriate interment service, giving them the dignity and respect they deserve, just as much as the infants in the former mother and baby homes, and not discarded as clinical waste.

The children who died in Tuam, Cork, Sean Ross and elsewhere can rest in peace. This is not naive or fanciful thinking. We must all take responsibility for our behaviour. It is where I believe we need to go as a society if we are to pursue goals of truth, goodness, compassion and real freedom, and steer ourselves and others away from the darkness of cosmic proportions and individual and collective destruction.

Whatever God we believe in, we need a seismic shift in attitude, thinking and action. I remain hopeful there is enough goodness in human beings and an objective moral conscience to discover a way of seeing reality differently.

Sister Cristin Guerin

Ashbourne Avenue, Limerick

Is misdirected mail a data protection breach?

I read with interest that An Post had removed all bins from the GPO in case personal data falls into the wrong hands, in breach of GDPR.

I'm sure many of your readers have incorrectly received post which was addressed to one of their neighbours. Such letters may contain personal data which would be a breach of GDPR.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that An Post stops delivering post.

Niall McInerney

Malahide, Co Dublin

Be careful what you wish for in the polling booth

There are a lot of things to think about when someone asks you to vote for them in the upcoming elections.

Have they acted in your favour since the last election or interacted with you on what they are doing about the housing crisis, the patients on trolleys, plus funding for penny dinners, Fr Peter McVerry, Focus Ireland, and the Kinsale rescue service?

Does the candidate portray a sense they can do good for us or are they someone with too much time on their hands or ego seekers?

Always choose wisely when casting your vote.

Noel Harrington

Kinsale, Co Cork

Only stand for Europe if you mean to stick at it

With canvassers calling to your doors looking for votes the most important question, especially for the European candidates, is: "Will you, if elected, serve the full term as an MEP or will you be returning to national politics next spring when a general election is called?"

One of the most annoying and, in my opinion, undemocratic things that has been happening in recent years is the practice of an MEP stepping down after a year and being replaced by a party supporter who we have never heard of.

The best example of this was when Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party won the last European seat in the Dublin constituency and after a year or two he stepped down.

He was replaced by Paul Murphy, who went on to become a TD and cause mayhem during the water charges protests. Now that seat was held by Eoin Ryan, who was an excellent MEP. Now I ask you - is that fair?

If Clare Daly or Billy Kelleher gets elected to the European Parliament will either of them be returning to national politics when a general election is called?

I think candidates should be up front with the electorate and let us know their intentions.

Eamonn Kitt

Tuam, Co Galway
Twenty-two arts and community groups in Louth applied for funding for community projects under the Creative Ireland initiative with 13 groups being successful.

The grants which have been approved are: Ablevision,  5,000; Castlebellingham Environment Committee, 462; Drogheda Classical Music 5,000; Droichead Youth Theatre, 4,842; Drumshallon Forge Heritage Centre, 4,000; Dundalk Youth Centre, 5,000; Gathering Heritage, 2,746; Grow Music, 500 (Development Grant for 2020); MAD Youth Theatre 4,000; Oriel Traditional Orchestra

3,400; RehabCare Carroll Village Resource Centre, 4,050; Upstate Theatre Project/Cathal Thornton 500 (Development Grant for 2020); and Upstate Theatre Project/Declan Mallon (500, Development Grant for 2020).
On Saturday night I headed for the Windsor where a special 40th birthday party was being held for Brendan McArdle from Ard Easmuinn and there to make sure he had a great night was his wife Fiona, sons Oisin and Ciaran, parents Gerry and Elizabeth from Brid-a-crinn, brother Barry and Louise who were down from Belfast and a big collection of well wishers.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Brendan who is an engineer in Dublin and he was having a laugh with his old schoolmates Breffni Lynch from Beacon Court and Oliver Morgan and Brendan Byrne from Meadow Grove who were hot off the campaign trail for Oliver and were taking a rest from going door to door to celebrate with Brendan on his big night.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with cousin-in-law Bronagh Richardson who was with Sean Dillon both from Cooley who told me it was excellent night and wanted to wish Brendan a very happy birthday.

They were sitting with family friends Colman and Leona Burgess from Donaghmore who were delighted to be there (in the Windsor) but weren't sure if they wanted to be linked to the party though!

Seated close by were Claire and Neil Richardson from Kilkerley who were having a right old laugh with Gay and Josephine O'Loughlin from Carlingford and their delightful daughter Clare who wanted to wish Brendan a very happy 40th.

Not too long later I got a word with sister-in-law Louise McArdle who was down from Belfast with Brendan's brother Barry and told me the night was going to be great with everyone there to enjoy the party.

I then headed for the front bar in the Windsor where well known physio from Precision Sports, Paul Cheshire from Medebawn was also celebrating his 40th birthday party with a bit of a party and there to make sure he had an excellent night was wife Rosalynn and friends, kids Evan and Chloe were being babysat so the adults could have a bit of a night together.

I wasn't too long in when I got taking to Bobby and Eilish McCarthy from Old Muirhevna who have been friends for years and wanted to make sure Paul had a totally mad night.

Next, I got talking to neighbours David Hazzard, Marcus West, Michael McGee and Karl Cullen all from Medebawn who told me Paul is a really decent guy and they were going to make sure he had a totally mad night.

Also in their company were Daragh McKeown, Karl Lynch, Fra Martin and Vinny Rogers all from Medebawn who told me the crack was only getting going and it was going to be an epic night for sure.

After this I headed over to the ladies and met up with Lisa Rogers from Medebawn who was chatting to Ellie Biggs from outside Bandon in West Cork who had come up specially with husband Shane Beggs to be there and said they definitely weren't going to miss such a monumental occasion, the fact that they had got away without the kids had also turned it into a major bonus.

At an adjacent table I then caught up with Ciara Hazzard, Geraldine Lynch, Shirley McGee, Becky Cullen, Caroline Martin, Pamela McKeown and Laura West all from Medebawn and Louise Moran who had come from Slane specially for the party and the girls were already in party mode, having a brilliant night together and wanted to wish Paul all the best on his big night.
One party I certainly wasn't going to miss on Friday night was Charlie Fee from Ballybarrack's 80th and a huge crowd had turned out specially for the occasion. There to make sure he had an epic night were wife May, kids Maria, Kenneth, Martin, Anthony and Charlie and a special mention for daughter Carol over in New York along with a huge collection of family and friends.

Charlie, who worked for CRV and Ola Oils, also trained teams for St. Dominics in his day and is a huge Man Utd fan, but now he has become his grandchildren's chauffeur according to all his kids!

I then headed for one of the adjacent tables where I met up with Carmel Muckian from Mountain View Crescent who told me his son Joe is married to Charlie's daughter Maria. She was enjoying the evening along with Ann Carroll from Carol Meade who told me she has been a family friend for years, wanted to wish him a happy 80th, would be coming back in 20 year's time for his 100th and it won't be long coming around.

They were enjoying the company of Brigid and Raymond Grant and Maeve Holland all from Ballybarrack who wanted to make sure Charlie had a wonderful night.

Next, I met lifelong friend of May's, Brigid Quigley who was there with Mary Breen both from Upper Faughart and they said they couldn't have missed the party for anything.

Meanwhile up near the bar I got a quick word with Adrian and Carol Sheelan from Cooley who said they too are family friends and were up for a mad one with Charlie and his family.

Making my way through the crowds I then got talking to John and Susan Knipe from New Rath who were with Charlie and Anne Fee from Ballykelly who had kids Caitlin, Regina, Charlie and Dylan and were just abut ready for a major night of fun with the big man.

Heading for another Table I then caught up with Charlie's daughter-in-law Cathy Fee who was over from Long Island with Charlie's son Kenneth and grandson Conor and she was enjoying a laugh with Charlie's nieces Patricia O'Donoghue and Geraldine Hoey both from Carrickmacross and Mary McCarron from Monaghan and the ladies were already having an excellent night together.

At another table I then caught up with Pauline O'Kane from the Quay who told me she was there with her mum Carmel Muckian whom I'd met earlier and she wanted to wish Charlie a very happy 80th.

Next, I had the pleasure of meeting granddaughters Kellie Fee from Ballybarrack, Regina Fee from Inniskeen, Cara Roddy from Bay Estate and Lucymay Fee from Forkhill who all wanted to wish granda Charlie a very happy 80th and hoped he had a brilliant night.

Not too log later I then got talking to Catherine and Barry McKeown from Earl Place Mounthamilton who are family friends and looking forward to an exciting evening with Charlie and his family.

I then headed over for a chat with my old friend Beany Grant from Ballybarrack who was having a laugh with Clare Fee-Grant and Nicholas Hordnes from Norway who both live in Southampton and had come over specially for her granda's big night.

Meanwhile up near the bar I managed a quick word with sisters Audrey Mackin and Susan Fennell both from Ballybarrack who were with their mum Nuala Mackin who wanted to wish their next door neighbour a very happy 80th.
All roads lead south this week as the Drogheda Arts Festival gets underway today (Tuesday) and continues for seven days in venues across Drogheda with arts events for all ages and interests.

Co-Chair of the 2019 Festival Elaine Cronin explains 'We design the programme to bring something new and thought-provoking to local audiences. Each year, we work with local artists, writers, actors and musicians to develop new pieces of work for the Festival. We want to showcase the best of emerging and established professional local artists.'

The festival programme highlights the wealth of talent in all sectors of the arts that exists not just in Drogheda but the wider north east region.

Among the highlights of the programme is the world premiere of Canadian composer Nicole Lizee's Spielberg Etudes in St Peter's Church of Ireland on Saturday at 8pm.

It will be performed by fellow Canadian, Megumi Masaki, who has worked closely with the composer over the last decade.

The programme will also include two of her earlier compositions, Hitchcock Etudes and Kubrick Etudes. In all these pieces, her musicianship will be meshing with film excerpts shown on screen, the original soundtracks and other recorded material.

This concert is being promoted by Louth Contemporary Musical Society which was founded by Dundalk resident Eamonn Quinn.

Dundalk brothers and All-Ireland winning traditional musicians Saran (concertina) and Tadgh (fiddle and bouzouki) Mulligan will be playing with guest musicians in the wonderful space of Highlanes Gallery on Sunday at 4pm.

The Highlanes Gallery is also the venue for a new exhibition 'Disruptors' which opens on Friday with an artist's talk at 7.30pm.

'Borrowed Ground' at the Droichead Arts Centre is housing eight purpose built studios for eleven different artists from April until July 14.

Artists from Dundalk's Creative Spark and Art as Exchange will be in St Dominic's Park running workshops and demonstrations for the family fun day on the Bank Holiday Monday.

One of the theatrical highlights of the week will be the performance of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece', by the Gate Theatre Company, starring the wonderful Camille O'Sullivan. The Belfast Ensemble, will perform the world premiere of their re-imagining of 'Ten Plagues', a collaborative project with local artists Declan Kelly and Els Boghart,

Check out the full line-up and book your tickets now on www.DroghedaArtsFestival.ie. For those aged 18-25, discover the Youth Pass with entry to 3 events for just 20.
Dundalk is set to get a lot brighter thanks to the SeekDundalk, an exciting new visual arts festival set to take place in mid-June.

The festival will see three internationally acclaimed street artists creating striking murals which will tell the town's story.

Dundalk's own OMIN will be joined by Dublin artists James Early and Aches, for the four day event which runs from June 15 to 19.

Speaking on behalf of the Seek committee, Town Centre Commercial Manager, Martin McElligott, said he is delighted to announce the latest addition to their 2019 festival plan. 'The festival is centred around promoting visual arts in Dundalk over a five year period by commissioning established and emerging artists, locally, and nationally, to help promote the town culturally and artistically, repositioning the area as a vibrant hub for creativity'.

David Callan explained that Dundalk has a wealth of history, with many historical layers throughout the ages which are being forgotten.

'This year's programme highlights the importance influence art can have in the public domain, its role as a catalyst for change, helping reinvigorate and refresh some of our town centre spaces.'

The festival sees Dundalk following in the footsteps of other towns and cities in Ireland and across the world that have used street art to striking effect. Notably, Belfast, Derry, Limerick, and Waterford have paved the way in Ireland for facilitating street artists to create large scale works which have the power to transform the streetscape and provoke conversation.

Martin continued: 'We have been working with stakeholders and sponsors, which include Louth County Council, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Dundalk Museum, Creative Spark, Grandson Design Studio, Imperial Hotel, OHR Marketing, The Hairshop, Glengat House and Thinking Cap, to ensure that not only the people of Dundalk rediscover its heritage, but that visitors to the town will get a better sense of the area and its heritage over the many ages right up to the present day.

Colourtrend paint are the headline sponsor for the 2019 festival. Managing Director of Colourtrend, Kevin O'Connor said they were 'honoured to be sponsoring Seek Dundalk 2019. As an Irish family brand, it is important for us to celebrate and support local culture. We are delighted to be in a position to assist in bringing the colour of this wonderful festival to life, celebrating the culture of Dundalk through creative murals. We look forward to seeing what the incredible team of talented artists come up with this summer.

Sarah Daly from Creative Spark said: 'The Seek committee has been one of the most creative she has had the privilege of working on to date, drawing expertise from Killian Walsh, Grandson design and lead designer on the project, local artist Barry Finnegan(Thinking Cap design), Martin McElligott (Dundalk BIDs), and artistic curator, Dave Callan. Events are never easy and people give up a lot of their free time making them happen, but when you get this much creativity in one room, good things happen.'

The artists taking part are Dubliners Arches James Earley and Dundalk's own Omin. This year's festival is focused on figures associated with the town. Omin will create a piece on pioneering engineer Peter Rice, James Earle will produce a piece based on the mythology of Cuchalainn and Aches will focus on the story of the 'Last King of Ireland Edward Bruce who is buried in Faughart graveyard.
The ever popular annual Car Boot Sale and Coffee Morning will be held on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, from 11am - 3pm in the Presbyterian Church grounds in Jocelyn St., Dundalk. Admission 2, children free. If you wish to participate, vehicles will be admitted from 8.45am. Cars 15, Vans 20 (includes refreshments)

Quiz night

A table quiz in aid of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 611 takes place on Thursday May 9 in The Glyde Inn, Annagassan. Organised by St Finian's NS, Dillonstown, there will be prizes for top three teams and a raffle on the night. Admission 40 per table of four.
Local Fine Gael candidate Roisin Duffy has questioned the cost of the additional Garda support that was required in Carlingford on Easter Sunday to keep law and order on the streets of the village following several public order incidents in the previous 2 years.

Roisin said: 'I spent a good part of Easter Sunday afternoon with my husband and children in Carlingford and while there was no trouble or any sign of trouble there was a surreal atmosphere in the village. I counted 10 members of the Garda Public Order unit walking through the village some of whom had dogs under their control. In addition there was also a large presence of regular uniformed Garda patrolling the village'.

The pubs in Carlingford were full from early afternoon with many patrons queuing outside some premises for anything up to 2 hours despite the pubs charging for entry. A bye law regarding drinking in public places was adopted by Louth County Council on 16th July 2018 effective from 16th August 2018.

Roisin Duffy noted 'I walked around the village twice and did not see any signs on display confirming that it was unlawful to drink in public. This is not to say that such signs were not on display somewhere but they were most definitely not on prominent display in the centre of the village'.

Roisin requested that 'The cost of the Garda Public Order unit together with the cost of uniformed Garda should be disclosed so that a full analysis can be undertaken of alternatives. We need to work on the root cause of what attracts these young people to Carlingford for this particular weekend. They don't come to Carlingford to enjoy the scenery or make any positive contribution to the village. They come for a few hours and basically hold the village to ransom for a few hours before they clear off not to be seen until the same weekend the following year'.

Roisin said 'asking Louth County Council to work with Newry Mourne and Down council to highlight Louth County Council's bye laws on public drinking was pointless. Newry Mourne and Down twitter account had one retweet of a notice requesting that people respect local bye laws regarding the consumption of alcohol. Carlingford was not even mentioned in the twitter post. This would have had no effect on the number of buses and young people travelling from Northern Ireland to Carlingford on Easter Sunday'.

Roisin said that 'perhaps we need to be more innovative in our dealings with major influxes of buses from Northern Ireland on particular weekends'.

While acknowledging that the weekend had passed off without any major incidents Roisin Duffy said that this was only due to the huge cost that had been incurred in maintaining public order.
Dundalk resident Billy Byrne is turning to Argus readers to solve the mystery an old crucifix after museums in Ireland, the UK and Amsterdam were unable to cast light on its origins.

Billy says crucifix belonged to his aunt Elizabeth Duffy who lived in Channonrock. After she passed away 40 years ago, Billy found the crucifix when he was clearing the house where she had lived all her life.

As his aunt had never travelled, he is curious as to how the cross came into her possession and also about its origins. 'If she had gone to Dublin, that would be the height of it.'

'It's very unusual, not like anything I'd seen before,' says Billy. 'The figure of Christ is made from lead which was poured into a mould. The cross is 33cms in height and 18cms wide so it should have been quite inexpensive to make and thus quite common, yet no one can shed any light on it.'

He has looked through various books and has been in touch with the National Museum and the Hunt Museum in Limerick, which holds a large collection of religious objects, as well as museums in the UK, and none of them could give him any information about the cross or where it came from.

He also got in touch with a museum in Amsterdam, thinking that it might have been continental, but they hadn't seen anything like it either.

If any readers have any information or suggestions about the possible background to the cross, Billy would appreciate it if they contacted him by email at billyby7@gmail.com.
The son of an elderly woman who was locked in the bathroom of her Dundalk home for hours by masked burglars has spoken of the trauma she experienced.

The shocking incident which unfolded early on Thursday evening began when the 79 year old had been at home on St Alphonsus Road, after her husband had gone out around 5pm.

Her son told the Argus: 'She heard a noise in one of the rooms, and thought maybe it was my father back. When she went to look suddenly she was confronted by two men, one of them grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her down. She was terrified.'

The men then locked her in the bathroom before ransacking the house, stealing a quantity of jewellery.

'It was two hours before my dad came back. My mother was bruised along her arms, and just in a lot of shock. They couldn't face staying in the house that night.'

The alarm was raised and gardai arrived at the scene, along with forensics teams for a technical examination of the scene.

It is believed the burglars may have gained entry by forcing a door at the rear of the property.

'I just want to appeal to everyone to be vigilant,' added her concerned son.

'This happened in broad daylight, when my mum was at home. Elderly people especially should not open their door to anyone they don't know, and check that windows and doors are locked, even when they're at home during the day.'

The terrifying incident was the second in the last week, where elderly people have been targetted in their own home.

A couple in their 80's were hospitalised for shock after an aggravated burglary in Blackrock on Tuesday evening last. The couple, who live on the Rock Road, were tied up by two men, who wearing ski masks, at their home around 8pm.

It was reported that those involved in the break in were aged in their late teens to early 20s and were armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a knife.

After tying up the couple in an upstairs bedroom, the thieves ransacked the house before escaping with a small amount of cash and the couple's car, which was abandoned later in the Rathmount estate.

Gardai are reported to be investigating if the two incidents are linked as another similar incident was reported in Terenure, Dublin in the same week.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact gardai on 042 93 88400 or on the confidential garda line 1800 666 111.
Fledging Louth businesses have the chance to win 100,000 in the InterTradeIreland's Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition.

The largest business competition of its kind, Seedcorn offers a total cash prize fund of 280,000, with 100,000 earmarked for the overall winner. Since its inception in 2003, the total awarded to innovative companies stands at 4.5 million.

As well as the chance to win a substantial cash prize, entrants will benefit from guidance, advice and feedback from business experts, investors and other entrepreneurs through a series of business planning workshops and mentorship support throughout the competition.

Seedcorn entrants from Leinster have historically performed well at the competition with Nebula Innovations, a software and game development from Louth, through to last year's regional final.

Shane O'Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager, InterTradeIreland: 'Louth is a hub of innovative business talent and we are keen that local start-ups and up-and-coming companies take advantage of the Seedcorn competition, responsible for many of the biggest success stories we have seen at InterTradeIreland.

'The support Seedcorn has given to new start and early stage businesses goes beyond the 4.5 million cash funding. It includes the invaluable advice from industry experts and the wider investment community designed to help these young companies refine their business plans and improve their pitches to potential investors."

InterTradeIreland will host a free workshop in Dundalk on May 8 aimed at helping those who are considering applying for this year's Seedcorn competition to prepare their entries. The closing date for entries is Friday May 31 at 1pm.
Charlie Burke from Coillte, Minister For Mental Health Jim Daly, Joe Healy from the IFA and Hazel Brennan from See Change at the launch of the Green Ribbon Walk at Avondale Forest Park this Sunday

Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum will host a Green Ribbon Walk on Sunday, May 5 as part of a series of walks taking place at Coillte forest parks and trails to raise awareness to improve mental health.

Just like the pink ribbon became a symbol for breast cancer awareness the Green Ribbon has been established as the international symbol for mental health awareness and has been introduced to Ireland by See Change.

The Wicklow event is hosted by Coillte in collaboration with Wicklow IFA at Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum at 3 p.m., located two kilometres south of Rathdrum on the L2149.

The event provides an opportunity for friends, families and communities to connect with one another whilst being mindful of their own and others' mental health and wellbeing.

There are a variety of walks to suit everybody including a buggy friendly walk, mindfulness in the woods and a mental health talk, there is also playground and face painters for young and not so young to enjoy.

There will be refreshments after the walk. Car parking is free of charge and All are welcome to attend.
Wicklow's Climate Adaptation Strategy will go first go out on public display before coming back to the elected members to adopt at a future meeting due to take place after the elections.

A peaceful demonstration outside the county buildings from members of the public preceded the meeting, with many of the protesters also present in the Council chamber for the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy.

A notice of motion in the name of Cllr Tom Fortune and from Greystones Municipal District was also agreed, with Cllr Fortune thanking the action taken by local young people for helping to inspire the notice of motion.

Reading out the notice, Cllr Fortune said: 'That Wicklow County Council acknowledge and support recent Climate Strikes driven by the young people and families in Greystones, Bray, Arklow, Dublin and around the country.

'That Wicklow County Council have listened and understood the deadly urgency felt by the young people and their demand that all stakeholders and representatives act immediately to ensure that young people have a liveable future in Wicklow, in Ireland and on plant Earth.

'That Wicklow County Council agreed that the evidence is overwhelmingly from IPCC on Climate and from WWF LPR on Biodiversity. That Wicklow County Council agreed that, while relatively small in global terms, Wild Wicklow, previously acknowledged as the World's most liveable community, can and must step up and show visible leadership.'

He went on to outline steps which need to be taken by the local authority, such as declaring a climate emergency for Wicklow, publish a climate action plan, declare a biodiversity emergency for Wicklow, update and publish a biodiversity action plan and report regularly on progress on both action plans.

Jim Callery, Environment Awareness Officer for Wicklow County Council, made the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy, outlining actions which the local authority plan to take.

'There is a risk of increased event like Storm Emma which we need to plan for. Temperatures are rising and sea levels are rising. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are changing,' said Mr Callery.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore felt that Wicklow County Council urgently required the appointment of a climate change officer, along with an evaluating committee.

'This has been led by students and the youth. They spoke loudly and clear and we are listening. Now we have to show the leadership you are looking for because this hasn't just popped up. It has been going on for years now and we haven't been listening,' sad Cllr Whitmore.

Cllr Steven Matthews, Green Party, warned that 'unpopular decisions' would have to be made in order to reduce emissions but asked 'that the people stay with us.'

He added: 'This is the very reason I got involved in local politics, so we would have proper planning and environmental protection. We have been talking about it for 20 to 30 years with no action whatsoever. This needs to be followed by actions.'

However, he was disappointed with the contents of the draft document.

'It's 101 pages but only ten pages are about strategy, a lot of which isn't funded and a lot of which is aspirational.'

Cllr Gerry Walsh pointed out that Ireland has consistently lagged behind in reaching its emissions target.

'We haven't been meeting all of our emission targets and are bottom of the league. This provides a road map for a more sustainable future.'

Cllr Mary Kavanagh read out a list actions which she wanted Wicklow County Council to take in order to tackle climate change, such as the non use of pesticides which include glyphosate like Roundup, no cutting back verges, no felling of healthy trees and no hedge cutting during nesting season.

The draft will go out on public display this week and has to be adopted by September 30.
Two walkers out night hiking fell on steep ground in Glenmalure and had to be rescued, with one of the walkers receiving multiple injuries.

The alarm was raised at 1.34 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, as both the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to assist in the rescue operation.

Mountain rescue personnel located to the injured walkers in a wooded area, on very steep ground and below a small crag. It proved an extremely area to access and required the first mountain rescue members on the scene to cut through thick undergrowth so they could reach both patients.

One walker was treated by medics for multiple injuries and lacerations, while the other walker only sustained minor injuries.

Following assessment of the patients and possible evacuation routes, a request for air support was made to Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116.

The nature of the terrain meant an airlift wasn't possible from the incident site. A suitable airlift site was identified in a clearing approximately 70m uphill.

The patient with more serious injuries was packaged into a stretcher and, using a rope system, hauled uphill to the clearing. The other injured walker was assisted to the same clearing, using a rope for assistance and safety.

Rescue 116 arrived overhead at 5.45 a.m. and airlifted the first patient at 6.15 a.m.. The second patient was assisted to a waiting mountain rescue vehicle and transported to a waiting vehicle. The incident was stood down at 8.39 a.m..

Wicklow's mountain rescue teams would like to thank the Glenmalure Lodge for feeding their volunteers after a long, night-time rescue.
San Remo nursing home in Bray is expected to close as the cost of necessary renovations has become too high.

The nursing home wrote to families of residents this week to confirm what they had already been told by telephone.

San Remo has been operated in Bray by Willis Care Group for more than 35 years. The group has another facility, Ferndane, in Blackrock.

A HIQA inspection was completed at the Sidmonton Road facility in September 2018. The inspector found that the design and layout of the centre did not meet the needs of the residents in several areas.

'While we have submitted a plan to HIQA to bring the facilities up to the mark, recent increases in construction costs have made it impossible to implement,' wrote senior manager Patricia O'Reilly in the letter. 'Consequently, we have no choice but to close San Remo in the next six months. 'Obviously, our first concern is to make sure that all of our residents find somewhere new to live, ideally within the Bray area or closer to their own relatives,' wrote Ms O'Reilly.'With regret, we have to examine the viability of San Remo and with that in mind we have notified the residents (and their families) and the staff that its closure is likely,' said owners in a statement.

'We are now involved in the mandatory consultation period with staff to decide whether another course of action is possible. Until the mandatory consultation period is complete, we cannot speculate any further regarding the future of the home. We have been contacting other nursing homes in the area to see what capacity is available and whether groups of friends from San Remo could be accommodated together should San Remo close. Our priority throughout will be to ensure that our clients and our staff are treated well.'

The nursing home has nominated case workers to each resident to support and assist them and to help with any other issues that arise.

In a further report published early this year, the HIQA inspector found that planned building works needed to be completed to ensure that the premises would meet the needs of its residents. According to the report, works to redevelop San Remo were expected to begin in January 2019.

San Remo has a maximum occupancy of 51, and there were 39 in residence on the date of the last HIQA inspection in January.

Election candidate Grace McManus said that this is now a very vulnerable time for the residents and their families. 'It's an immediate need presenting in the community. We need an immediate response from the HSE,' said Ms McManus.

Deputy John Brady said that a number of families affected are troubled by facing finding alternative accommodation for their loved ones, any of whom have dementia.
Village life was the theme of Fermoy Camera Club's April monthly competition, which attracted an impressive 17 entries, giving judges a tough task in choosing the winners.

"Many miles were travelled and home towns revisited during April in order to catch that perfect image. All of the entries were of the highest quality and the judging was great fun and a wonderful learning experience for us all," said PRO Helen Arnold.

Grade one and overall winner Eimear Quigley travelled many miles before heading west to the Beara Peninsula and capturing a beautiful image in the village of Eyries.

Michael Walsh also travelled to Eyries, with his image taken from the other side of the village coming second overall.

Third overall and first in grade two was Deirdre Casolani's image captured during a recent visit to her home village of Birgu in Malta, while grade three winner Norma Brennan did not have to travel quite as far to capture the colourful image of the local butcher in her home village of Golden in Tipperary.

The next club meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14, where, amongst other things, there will be a demonstration on camera cleaning with members welcome to bring along their camera. Entries for this months competition, the theme of which will be 'Shapes & Curves', will be accepted up until May 28.

Other upcoming competitions over the next few months include 'Action', 'All Creatures Great & Small' and a picture inspired by a poem.

"New members are always welcome, so come along to our fortnightly meetings at the Community Centre in Fermoy, meet our members and find out how to become part of this vibrant club," she said.

For more information about the club visit www.fermoycameraclub.ie.
Communities across north and mid-Cork have been urged to 'get their ducks in a row' and prepare applications for the 2019 round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

The initiative is a key element of the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development and is one of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural regions under the Project Ireland 2040 programme.

Launching the 2019 scheme Michael Ring, the Minister for Community and Rural Development, said it will support projects that enhance town and village centres environments.

"It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work," he said.

"Proposals seeking to develop projects the encourage town centre living will be particularly welcome, as will projects that stimulate activity between a town/village and its neighbouring townlands. I would also encourage proposals that have clear positive impact on a town or village in terms of regeneration," he added.

North Cork based Cllr John Paul O'Shea (FG) pointed out that since the introduction of the scheme in 2016 almost 53 million has been allocated to more than 670 projects across the country.

"These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs," said Cllr O'Shea.

He said the scheme is specifically targeted towards town and villages with a population of less than 10,000,

"To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages," said Cllr O'Shea.

"He encouraged communities to work with Cork County Council in preparing "innovative and well-thought-out projects" under the scheme.

"In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Cork County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department by the end of June," he added.

Full details of the scheme, along with the application form, are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website, at www.drcd.gov.ie.
Two north Cork based artisan food producers have been selected to represent the county at the inaugural Local Enterprise Office (LEO) 'Meet the Buyer' expose later on this month.

They are among a trio of Cork producers who will represent the Rebel county at the event, which will take place on 'The Street' at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) on Thursday, May 23.

Glanworth based Clotilde's Fruit Compote produces hand-made compotes without any added sugar, preservatives or additives and Bo Rua Farm Fermoy, is home to the Dineen family who use milk from their herd of Montbeliarde cows to make a range of mouthwatering natural cheddar cheeses.

They will be joined at the event by West Cork-based Schull and Crossbones, the only Irish producer of dairy and lactose free alternatives to yoghurts as well as their vegan-friendly Coconut Treasure range.

One of the largest food producer expositions of its kind in the country, it showcases produce from a carefully selected cohort of up-and-coming Irish food producers to key supermarket groups and retailers from across Ireland and the UK.

Deirdre O'Mahony of the Cork North and West LEO said the event would provide small and medium food enterprises with a wonderful opportunity to avail of new distribution channels for their produce and to get expert advice on how to succeed.

"The event is trade only, so it is open to buyers from across the food industry who will be able to sample a wide range of the finest new Irish produce and meet the passionate and talented artisans behind it," said Deirdre.

She emphasised the role that the LEO was playing in supporting local producers through financial assistance, training and development and providing these kinds of networking opportunities.

"The Meet The Buyer event will assist these producers to develop new markets and outlets for their produce and will enable them to benchmark their products against the best from all over Ireland," said Deirdre.

"I expect this event to grow in the coming years and to become a key annual event for not only producers but also for buyers," she added.

Buyers who are interested in attending this event can register their interest by emailing helen.lyons@emap.com.
According to a Lightstep Microservices Trends report, most IT professionals (86%) expect microservices to be the default by 2022, affirming the notion that we are well into the next significant transformation of digital architectural design.

On the trajectory from client-server to web to mobile and now to a world of extreme digital transformation, were now fully into the age of microservices.

But how will we secure data and protect applications from attacks in this more granular world? Given the agility of microservice applications, the value is undeniable. But if these services are rolled out with security  and the network  as an afterthought, we could be in for serious risk and the usual unanticipated consequences of racing to adopt better, new technologies without considering the dark side.

Microservices are truly disruptive, not only because of the architecture but because they are most likely to be deployed using containers, and concerns about protecting an even more fragmented and growing attack surface are keeping security and network operations professionals awake at night. Why? Because now they are responsible for delivering secure app endpoints.

This takes us to what an endpoint is, which itself is morphing especially as the IoT brings more and diverse things to enterprise, government and organizations connected environments. Microservices are enhancing edge applications, even as the edge of the network is taking on more compute responsibilities for all the right reasons.

And every endpoint needs to be secured against attack and exploitation as the attack surface grows, and this is slowing down, in some cases, adoption of highly valuable solutions given concerns about everything from direct attacks to pivot attacks.

We asked Rick Conklin, CTO of Dispersive Networks, what can be done to address security for microservices in as scalable as way as possible to make implementations viable long term.

Microservices rely on a loosely coupled and independently deployable model, Conklin explained. They can be spun-up anywhere and on-demand. Those services will require connectivity, and that connectivity must support that elastic deployment model, and it must be secure while leveraging the ubiquitous public Internet. Deploying microservices over the public Internet is best done using a virtual network overlay that supports microsegmentation, zero trust, and an elastic, on-demand model while providing the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and performance that the end user demands from those microservices.

Conklin also recommended a strategy for APIs which can be created to establish virtual application endpoints in the same way applications are spun up and scaled on bare metal virtual servers.

The legacy SD-WAN solution is optimized for site-to-site connectivity, not mobility, not IoT, not blockchain, and certainly not microservices, Conklin said. We need a better model for micro-services including software-defined perimeter and zero trust to ensure that every session can rely on the network to ensure integrity, confidentiality, availability, authentication, authorization, access, and performance while operating in a zero-trust environment with zero-touch provisioning. That includes confidentiality for sensitive data that is normally sent in the clear including TLS 1.2 headers, DNS requests, and key negotiation. Were in a completely different game with microservices, which is why weve been building networking software which includes security that can protect every endpoint and service.

Using a virtual endpoint can also be enhanced with software that defends against attacks, including rate limiting and bot detection. Rate limiting prevents microservices from being overwhelmed, and bot detection can prevent automated scanners from finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in microservices.

Microservices allow enterprises and governments to free themselves from expensive, complex, monolithic architectures when building and deploying applications, Conklin said. Microservices offer advantages and disadvantages when it comes to security; given the proliferation of separate APIs and ports per app, there are simply more doors for adversaries to access within an application.

While containers can serve as an excellent security perimeter for microservices, its important to take into consideration the full requirement for a software-defined perimeter.

Containers enable you to apply security to each individual service  making them ideal for microservices. And no matter the application, putting it in a container provides an added layer of security, said David Lawrence, a senior software engineer at Docker. We see a common trend across enterprises is to containerize legacy applications, and as a result, gain the immediate benefit of hardened security  in addition to cost-efficiencies and portability to hybrid cloud environments.

In summary, microservices security brings with it new challenges. The DevOps, network ops and security ops teams in every organization must be on high alert, even more, vigilant against unauthenticated access to data and weak policies and enforcement of policies which can lead to man-in-the-middle attacks, and the loss of sensitive and confidential information.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
The Mallow Integration Forum has issued an open invitation to join them for their fourth annual 'Africa Day' celebration, which will take place at the Mercy Centre on Fair Street from 1pm on Saturday, May 18.

Billed as a 'celebration of the diversity of Africa', the event will showcase the many different cultures and traditions of the vibrant African community now living in the wider Mallow area.

Designated by the African Union as an annual celebration of the continents unity, Africa Day is an opportunity for communities across the globe to celebrate the continents rich and diverse cultures.

Africa Day has been celebrated in Ireland since 2008, with events taking place at various locations across the country including Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny and Cork City.

Following on from the success of the previous three Mallow events, the 2019 Africa Day celebrations will feature slide shows about each of the countries represented and live music with visitors also invited to taste some sumptuous African cuisine.

Formed in 2014 by former local RAPID co-ordinator Margaret Desmond, the Mallow Integration Forum was established in order to bridge the gap in cultural diversity between Ireland and the expanding immigrant community.

The chairman of the forum, Nigerian native Emmanuel Adebesi, said she was able to do that by bringing together people from different cultures under a single unified umbrella group.

"Ireland is constantly changing and we are striving to let people know there is a thriving African community living in Mallow," said Emmanuel.

"Our vision is to strive for a society that respects multiculturalism, diversity, welcomes new arrivals and facilitates integration to Irish culture," he added. The forum meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Le Cheile Centre and has been proven a vitally important tool for helping promote integration through educational workshops and other inclusive events.

Admission to the Africa Day event in Mallow is free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about the Mallow Integration Forum contact Emmanuel on 022 20477.
The proposed design plans for Ballydesmond village will be on display until late May as part of the part eight week planning process.

The village renewal scheme for Ballydesmond includes a range of public realm works to improve pedestrian connectivity for vulnerable users with the urban environs in the village and to enhance the urban centre for leisure activities.

According to Cork County Council, there is a "significant residential population living in the environs of the urban area, with potential for further development. There is potential for walking to and from local amenities such as the park, playground, church and school. It is important that the required infrastrucutre is either in place or planning providing the framework for future development work to facilitate this."

The plans of the proposed development are available for inspection, or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, from now until Friday, May 24 and may be inspected during public opening hours at the Cork County Council office in Millstreet.

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O'Shea has welcomed Cork County Council's plans for a Village Renewal Scheme along the R577 in Ballydesmond.

He said such developments by Cork County Council are subject to the Part 8 planning process, which consists of a public consultation process, and he encouraged community members in Ballydesmond to engage in this process. Any submissions received by the Council are considered in the Part 8 Manager's Report which is prepared and presented to Councillors for adoption.

The proposed development in Ballydesmond includes: public realm works, new pedestrian footbridge, replacement footpaths, new footpaths/buildouts, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and public lighting upgrades.

The proposed project objective of the scheme is to increase the safety of vulnerable users within the speed limits of the village, which is proposed to be accomplished by a mixture of traffic calming within the centre of the village and the provision of uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

Furthermore, it is the objective to control vehicular speeds on approaches to the main street with a combination of wider footpaths and concrete buildouts combined with speed ramps/raised table.

Plans are also available for inspection and to print at www.corkcoco.ie.

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposed developments, dealing with proper planning and sustainable development of the area may be made on or before Friday, June 7.

Submissions and observations can be made in writing to: Senior Engineer, Cork County Council, Regional & Local Roads Design Office, Innishmore, Ballincollig, P31 WT69; or in email to: part8.rlrdo@corkcoco.ie.
A Slovakian man who died after becoming involved in a row with two Polish truck drivers at a filling station in North Cork was found to have a significant injury to the back of his head by paramedics called to treat him, a trial has heard this week.

Father of two Ludovit Pasztor (40) from Glencullen, Duntaheen Road, Fermoy was lying unconscious on his back between two trucks when local HSE paramedics Andrew McCrea and Gillian Kinahan arrived at the Amber Filling Station at Carrrignagroghera, Fermoy at 10.25pm on February 21, 2017. Mr McCrea said that there was blood coming from Mr Pasztor's ears and it was starting to congeal and they noticed "a significant injury to the back of the patient's head" while they also detected asystolic rhythm, suggesting he had suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest and they ceased CPR.

He was certified dead at 11.50pm.

Details of Mr Pasztor's injuries emerged on the second day of the trial of Polish truck drivers, Marcin Skrzypezyk (31) and Tomasz Wasowicz (45), who both denied murdering Mr Pasztor.

Witness, Marta Baranska testified on Tuesday that she was working at the filling station when the deceased came in around 9.45pm with his friend, Mariusz Osail (40) who was buying eight cans of Carlsberg. She said Mr Osail was in confident form having been drinking and he was joking as he bought the drink and left the premises with Mr Pasztor.

Ms Baranska said everything was quiet when she went to lock up the off-licence at 10pm ... but when an ambulance called to the shop shortly after 10.20pm to inquire about the incident she saw Mr Osail by the trucks at the rear of the filling station. She said Mr Pasztor was lying by the rear of one of the lorries.

Witness Niamh Dillon said she had been out walking with her friend, Marie O'Mahony, passing the filling station at around 9.55pm. "There were four men standing at the back of a truck. They were talking quite loudly and animatedly. It was getting rough. They were talking very loudly to each other. There was nothing physical, just hand gestures. I felt it was going to escalate into something more," she said.

Earlier, opening the state's case, prosecution counsel Siobhan Lankford SC told the jury that they would hear how the deceased and his Polish friend, Mariusz Osail, had been drinking on the night. The jury would hear the two men were leaving the filling station at 9.45pm when they heard Polish voices and engaged in conversation with Mr Skrzypezyk and Mr Wasowicz who were both working as drivers for Macroom Haulage, but who had arrived separately.

She said the jury would hear that they had been chatting in Mr Wasowicz's truck but they got out of the cab to go to the toilet when they encountered Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail but that the conversation turned sour and they began to engage in verbals before Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail left.

She said that the jury would hear that Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail returned to Mr Osail's house, nearby, where they picked up two bars from a dismantled trampoline before returning to the truck parking area at the rear of the filling station where they knocked on Mr Wasowicz's truck door.

The jury would hear that both Polish truck drivers got out of the truck and a physical altercation ensued with Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail, who both ended up on the ground, where, the state alleges, they were hit with the iron bars by the accused after they had disarmed them.

Ms Lankford said the jury would hear that Mr Osail rang 999 and gardai were alerted at 10.15pm and officers arrived at the scene at 10.22pm where they found Mr Pasztorz on the ground and an iron bar lying near him under a truck while they found the second iron bar in a field nearby.

The trial continued on Wednesday
At 8pm on the 4th May next, the Lord Mayor's Show, proudly reinstated by Mayor Frank Godfrey into the musical life of Drogheda, will take place in the Barbican Centre.

On stage on the night will be one of Ireland's most accomplished artists, acclaimed international soprano Celine Byrne, who will be joined by St. Peter's Male Voice Choir and its musical director, Edward Holly.

Choir PRO Anthony Moore said "We are really honoured to have been invited by Mayor Godfrey to perform on the night, which will be a superb treat for music lovers. We are particularly delighted to join with Celine Byrne, who has sung with us on a number of occasions in recent times. She is an outstanding talent and we are looking forward immensely to singing with her again. This is a show not to be missed."

Admission is  20 and tickets are available from the Barbican Centre, ph: 041 9807416 and and www.ticketweb.ie. All proceeds go to local charities: Alzheimers Drogheda, SOSAD Drogheda and the Deceased Musicians Memorial.
While on a walk down a country lane on one of the dry, warm, sunny and calm days that marked the Easter weekend, it was nice to see several species of butterflies on the wing in the space of a kilometre or two.

The Peacocks were particularly noticeable and are arguably the most colourful member of the 30 or so insects that comprise Ireland's butterfly fauna. With a global range that extends from Ireland to Japan, these common and widespread butterflies hibernate as adults and emerge of the first warm days of late spring heralding the changing of season. Their striking colours and their large eyespots are indeed spectacular.

Named after their eyespots reminiscent of those on the display feathers on the huge tails of the peacock bird, the purpose of the markings is a subject of debate. One interpretation of the eyespots on butterflies is that the insects may flash their wings when threatened by a predator to alarm or deceive it or to draw its attention away from the more vulnerable body parts.

Obviously, the purpose of eyespots on the display feathers on the extravagant tails of male Indian peafowl are unlikely to play a role in deceiving any potential predator of these turkey-sized birds. It is much more likely and is generally accepted that they are display aids in communication and courtship among other members of the same species.

With so many species under threat and with many wildlife populations in steep decline, it is nice to know that the Peacock butterfly is bucking the trend; its numbers are increasing, and its range is expanding.

The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, organised by Tomas Murray at the Waterford-based National Biodiversity Data Centre, began in 2008 so the details of the scheme are now well established. The recently-published Newsletter No 11 reveals that last year, 110 volunteers walked 115 transects and recorded more than 46,000 butterflies. Peacock and Silver-washed Fritillary showed the strongest growth in populations, whereas the Small Heath experienced the strongest decline.

The overall trend in Irish butterfly populations since 2008 shows a decline of 6% but as a consequence of the dry and warm weather experienced in 2018, overall populations of our commoner and widespread species were up by 29% last year.

Full details, together with species by species fast fact files, are in Newsletter No 11 of the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme that can be accessed at http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/latest-news/.
Are election posters not just an insult to the electorate's intelligence? Like, what is it exactly they are supposed to achieve that a five-year track record in office hasn't? And if the candidate is new to the local hustings, how does knowing what they look like suggest a suitability for public office? Surely a vote based on a nice smile, or a twinkle in the eye, is a precarious one?

This week Ireland's unofficial election historian and archivist, Alan Kinsella, told The Irish Times that he believed the lampposts are an important part of democracy. They 'level the playing field' and inform people that there's an election on, because 'not everyone knows, you know', he is reported to have said.

Oh God.

Election posters are an attempt to subliminally brainwash the voter with face recognition, not so subliminally, plain and simple. They're saying to pen-poised voters in polling booths: remember me, you've seen me before, no matter when or where.

That's a Mad Men-esque way of doing business - establish a brand by saturation and ensure recognition by repetition, just like flashing cue cards to a three-year-old eventually teaches them to read.

Fortunately in Arklow, Aughrim and Avoca the Tidy Towns Committees have managed to clamp down on the practise in picturesque south Wicklow. In poor old Dalkey, the Tidy Towns committee actually had to threaten to remove legally erected posters in the salubrious south Dublin suburb, but after a bit of a kerfuffle they backed down.

It isn't that politicians aren't crucial to our society at both European and local level. They are the lynch-pin of the democratic process and, in the case of the local council's, definitely more requiring of people driven by a vocation rather than intent on a career move.

It's just that posters of airbrushed mugs in public places are not a million miles from the murals of despots in the Middle East; they're ego trips, symbols of who's who and who might be, in terms of standing in our society. Imagine the outcry if, as a result of Google analytics, they started invading a computer screen the way they do our streets (probably not a million miles away).

At a cost 5 each (not factoring the cable ties or the time of the person up the ladder), that's the same price as a McDonald's meal, which would be better spent feeding the people lying in the doorways of the streets they number.

Politicians should leave the lampposts to the canines when it comes to marking their turf.
Mid Louth election candidate Hugh D Conlon from Dunleer has been forced to resign from the Joint Policing Committee because he has declared he's running in the local elections.

'The" PPN Secretariat" rang me earlier this month to tell me that because I was running for the forthcoming local elections there was a requirement that I step down from my position as a member of the Policing Forum, but that I could remain as a member of the PPN,' he stated in a letter of resignation this weekend.

'He very kindly sent me a copy of the relevant guidelines which surprisingly seems to indicate clearly that I would need to step down from both bodies. He told me that he would send the matter to the Policing Forum Secretariat to let them handle the matter. To date, I have heard nothing from the Policing Forum,' he added, stating that he put in his nomination papers for the election on Saturday.

'If the copy of the regulation that I was sent is correct, and I take it that it is; then I have no other option but to tender my resignation from the Mid Louth PPN and also the Ardee & Mid Louth Joint Policing Forum. If I don't take this action I run the risk of possible challenges to the validation or not of my nomination, or fingers crossed my election in the future.'

He says he strongly protests with regard to the way that this requirement was introduced since 2014 and how it is impacting on him and other members of PPNs in the country in general.

'I have no doubt that this sneaky piece of regulation was contrived by councillors and TDs and has strong political considerations in its drafting. All the big parties funded by the tax payer of course have loads of money to spend on their back room boys to come up with their worst when it comes to the protection of their own empires.

' It is clear that during the drafting of this regulation the" Fianna Fail" " Confidence and Supply" arrangement is holding up nicely, and the silence of the so called opposition is unsurprising to.

Sinn Fein remaining silent when it suits their interests to do so because in this case they know that it is their support base that could firstly be eroded by the emergence of the PPN members into the Local Political Arena such as myself.'

He says all six Mid Louth councillors, two Fine Gael/ two Sinn Fein/ one Fianna Fail and one Independent on the Policing Forum are allowed retain their seats and still run for the council elections.

'However I as a Community Representative am being asked to step down under the new Legislation. This is not a level playing pitch scenario going into an election in four weeks time.

'It is very unfair and sends a negative message to the community bodies who participate on the PPN s. Also coming at a time when the people of Mid Louth are going through a very bad spate of drug related crimes which has brought further trauma to the community.'
A 9m high work of art, made by Cisco Engineering in Drogheda, and designed by renowned Rathmullen Road artist and sculptor Ronan Halpin, is now winging its way to Dallas, Texas to sit proudly by the lakeshide at a multi million dollar development.

'Icarus' is the focal point of the project and took some six weeks to put together.

And for Ronan, who is now based on Achill Island, it is certainly his biggest commission to date.

But how did the Drogheda man secure such a large scale project?

Last year, Lucy Billingsly, the head of the Billingsly Corporation, who are developing a major centre in Fort Worth, to include housing, schools and offices, was visiting Co Clare and spotted a piece of Ronan's work.

She was deeply impressed and asked about him.

She got in touch and asked for some ideas and 'Icarus' was born. Ultimately, he got the commission.

He got designing and when it needed to be constructed, he headed back home to Drogheda and Cisco Engineering.

'I have worked with them before and they've been very good to me,' he stated. 'They took on board what I wanted with this.'

For weeks, the team there worked on his idea and last week, the finished project was crated into a 40ft container, sent to Dublin and on to Rotterdam and is presently en route to Houston.

In late May, early June, Ronan and his wife, Amanda, will travel to Dallas to oversee the installation of his artwork.

'At the moment, we don't know if it's going to be placed in a lake or by the lakeside, but either way, given the scale of the development, we knew it had to be big and impressive,' he stated.

Stuart Carolan from Cisco said this was the fourth project they had worked on with Ronan and was pretty special.

'It was very much a bespoke project. We went through the ideas and sorted out the problems as they arose.

'We started on it in early February and spent about 1,000 hours working on it.

'At the end, we had 14 to 16 hour days and when we were finishing off , everything else stopped and we had 12 people involved to make the deadline,' Stuart remarked.

He says they'd certainly welcome doing more projects like this.

'We are 44 years here and this was something great to be involved in.'

Ronan Halpin's rise in the world of art design began in 1979 when he attended the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.

Son of Gavin and Aileen Halpin, he was later offered a scholarship to attend Yale School of Art, in New Haven, USA, where he received a Masters Degree in sculpture.

In 1985, he returned to Dublin where he worked for a number of years before moving back to Drogheda. He opened his studio in Fair Street and worked there for five years before moving outside the town to Fieldstown. In 1998 he moved, with his wife Amanda Mac Mahon and two children, to Achill Island in Co Mayo where he now lives, works and runs a gallery.

'Achill was always special to me,' he admits. 'My parents, Gavin and Aileen, met there in the mid 40s and 20 years later bought a cottage om the island and I spent my summers there.'

Ronan works mainly with steel, brass and bronze. Examples of his large scale works can be seen throughout the country, from the 'King & Queen' in Trim Co Meath, to the six metre high sculpture of 'Amergin' in Co Kerry.

In 2016, Ronan was commissioned by Westport Town Council to create a sculpture to celebrate The Irish Times 'Best place to live in Ireland award'. The bronze sculpture 'Sentinel', which stands at the bottom of Peter Street in Westport, was the result of this commission.

His work is well represented in Drogheda; 'The Shaft of Light' the 'Pinnacle' at Millmount and the 'Source at St Oliver's School on Rathmullen Rd, are among his better known works.

The 'Icarus' commission for Dallas is constructed in Corten steel, Bronze and stainless steel and stands nearly 9 metres high.

Like most artists, resting on laurels is not something Ronan can afford to do and really works from job to job.

'It is one job at a time as you don't know where your next commission will come from.

'We will be opening up the gallery on Achill again for the summer and it's near Keel,' he revealed. No doubt if any locals are heading west on their holidays, a visit is a must.

The past few weeks have allowed Ronan plenty of time to see his brothers and sisters still resident locally, with others having travelled far and wide.
The victim of an alleged IRA man who raped two teenage boys at a "republican safe house" two decades ago said his dream life was in "tatters" from the moment the man entered his house.

Seamus Marley (45) of Belfield Court, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of sexual assaulting and anally raping two boys in Co. Louth on dates in the early 1990's.

After a six day trial the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on a total of six counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape.

A character reference from Marley's pastor described him as "an excellent Christian" with a "charitable spirit".

During the trial Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the two complainants lived in a large home owned by a "dedicated republican" and that it began to be used as a "safe house".

Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Mr Gageby that Marley was one of these guests and that he was welcomed into the family.

The older of the two victims woke up one night to find Marley raping him. After the incident Marley warned him off telling anyone what had happened and said he "could be found dead on a border road".

The younger victim was given alcohol by Marley and was groped or masturbated by him on three or four occasions and raped in a tent nearby his house.

Marley has no previous convictions. The court heard that he is from a large family in Belfast and that his father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the older victim said he has spent the previous 27 years living in despair and looking over his shoulder. He said he had finally reached the end of the tunnel and was taking his life back.

The younger victim, who also read his victim impact statement, said that as the house was beside a graveyard they had "quiet neighbours, dead ones. He said that he had learned that it is "not the dead we should be afraid of, but the living".

He said that Marley "preyed on me, groomed me, abused me and raped me". He said the life he had dreamed of was in "tatters" from the moment Marley entered the house.

"Marley was always lurking in the back of my mind," the man said. He said that the "fabrication of stories" to discredit him made the trial so much harder.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the man in custody and adjourned the matter for sentencing on Thursday, next.
The true spirit of Drogheda was never more evident when a supervisor at Starbucks in the Laurence Shopping Centre saved the life of a customer.

When Marion Walshe from Slane began to show signs of suffering a stroke while in the cafe, Platin Road man Jonathan Fitzpatrick immediately recognised the symptoms .

'I noticed her sitting down and she didn't seem right. She got sick and I was worried for her. 'My own mum suffered a stroke, so I knew a bit about it,' he stated.

He stayed with the woman and asked her to perform various tasks that can indicate a stroke and when she couldn't raise her arm or speak properly, he rushed to manager Niamh Madden and they rang for an ambulance.

'They were here within five minutes which was great,' Jonathan stated.

Speaking to the Drogheda Independent, Marion stated that doctors said that only for the action of the Starbucks workers, she would have died as she had suffered a bleed on the brain.

'I rang Jonathan to thank him and we both cried. He's a great guy,' she said. Marion revealed that she woke up that day with a dizzy head, feeling it was stress as her husband had just gone into hospital.

'I went into Drogheda but didn't feel good. I decided to go for tea in Starbucks but I couldn't order as the words wouldn't come out and I got sick.

'The man behind the counter saw me and he was very decent and came over. They rang an ambulance and the doctors said that saved my life.'

The incident took place some weeks ago and Marion has now recovered very well and now wants to recognise the efforts of the young man who saved her.

'I contacted him and we both broke down. I was in hospital for seven weeks in Drogheda and Dundalk. I was lucky, I was blessed,' she said.

Jonathan was very humble about the incident, just delighted that he could help Marion on the day.

'I asked her to look at me and could see the left side of her face was dropping and she couldn't raise her arms properly. I asked her had she ever had a stroke and she said she didn't, so that alarmed me further.'

As Marion got colder, Jonathan and Niamh decided to act and rang the emergency services who arrived very promptly.

Jonathan got a letter from his head office, commending him for his actions. They said it showed that Starbucks is not just about coffee, it's about looking after customers.

'I went into retail to try and make life good for others, so this was special,' he admits. Starbucks Manager Niamh Madden was proud of the team and their efforts that day.

'We are always told to look out for people and we are trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator, but this was different. It shows what can happen.'
The Return of Lightning Comedy to the Lord Mayor's Pub comes this Sunday on May 5.

Hosted by award winning local playwright, actor and comedian, David Gilna who says that a 'night of lightning and laughter always guaranteed' at these regular Lightning Comedy nights at the Lord Mayor's

There's a variety of top class International comedians and a few locals in the mix as always.

Making her debut to stand up is local Nadia Missaoui and there's the return of Dakota Mick, Christina McMahon (Ireland's Got Talent) John O'Keeffe (Bray Comedy Festival Best New Act) Emily Ashmore (Breakout Cherry Comedy Act of the Year) , Billy DeCourcy, Mustafa Saed and all the way from America, Alan Henderson.

The doors will open at 8pm and the laughing will start at 8.30pm when the show begins.

Tickets are 10 on the night or you can purchase tickets online at eventbrite.

David will be hosting a special night for Lightning Comedy in aid of AWARE this July 18 at Swords Castle to kick off the Swords Summer Festival and more details about that exciting event will be announced soon.

Until then there is another Lightning Comedy night to enjoy on Sunday night and the Lord Mayor's is the place to be if you want a fun night out in the company of a great host and a great-line up of top class comedy acts including some of the best of our own home-grown comedy talents.

It is not to be missed.
A Balbriggan man is encouraging everyone to get behind a special event to raise awareness about organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation.

Colin White from Balbriggan is this year's Race Manager for the Irish Kidney Association's 'Run for Life', a family fun run which takes place at Corkagh Park, Clondalkin on Saturday May 25 at 2pm.

'Run For Life' aims to raise awareness about the plight of people in organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation and transplantation.

Colin, Race Manager and National Projects Manager of the Irish Kidney Association said: 'This will be the 11th annual Run for a Life event, which has developed a loyal following over the years and has become a strong platform for the promotion of organ donor awareness.

'We are looking forward to another successful event on May 25, which offers a great day out for all the family.

'Over 500 participants from throughout Ireland took part in last year's event, and we are optimistic for another great turnout this year.'

Sam Kinahan (5), who is waiting for a kidney transplant, his older sister Ali (age 8), and their parents Chloe and Ivan from Baldoyle were joined by Susan Mulligan from Castlerea at the Phoenix Park for a photo call on April 23 in the run up to the event.

Chloe Kinahan, a native of Mullingar, said: 'In his short lifetime, my son Sam has been receiving dialysis treatment for four years and eight months, and that's almost as long as he has been alive.

'Sam is a patient at Temple Street Hospital and has soldiered through his illness as a happy little boy who seldom complains.

'A donor kidney will be the catalyst for transforming Sam's life, and a new kidney will be his transformer!

'Sam has attended the annual Run for a Life every year since his first as a baby, being pushed along in his buggy by his father.

'We look forward to attending the event again this year and hopefully by then we will have received welcome news that Ivan (Sam's father) can be Sam's donor.'

'Run For Life' is open to people of all ages and levels of fitness, who can choose to walk, jog or run in the chip-timed event, which offers prizes for winners of the 2.5km, 5km and 10km distances.

Broadcaster Ray D'Arcy, the National Ambassador for Organ Donor Awareness 2019 and an enthusiastic runner, will also take part in this year's event.

The 'Run For Life' entry fee is 20 (adult), 10 (child) and 45 per family of up to two adults and four children.

All finishers will receive a medal, and entry fee also includes a light lunch.

For more information on the event visit website www.runforlife.ie

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association at: 01-6205306 or free text 'DONOR' to 50050.

You can also obtain an Organ Donor Card by visiting the Irish Kidney Association's website: www.ika.ie
Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) members from Malahide were among over 1,000 members of the Society who gathered in Dublin's Convention Centre recently to celebrate SVP's 175 years in Ireland.

Some of the members of St. Sylvester's Conference, Malahide who attended included Sean Nugent, Bernadette Martin, Patsy McGuirk (president), Breeda Corrigan and Kathleen Morgan

SVP is the best known and most widely supported organisation of social concern and action in Ireland with over 11,500 volunteers active in every county in Ireland.

Since its foundation in 1844 it has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

For decades the Society has provided help and support to those most in need through the Famine in the 19th century, two World Wars, an Uprising, a Civil War and cycles of economic austerity.

'Sadly today we still see poverty in many different situations and circumstances' said SVP national president Kieran Stafford.

"There are nearly 800,000 living below the poverty line including 100,000 people at work; record numbers of homeless; 50% of lone parent families experiencing deprivation and 61% of families struggling with education costs.

'We know and meet the people behind the figures every week bringing friendship and support.' he said.

The anniversary event under the title 'Serving in Hope - Past, Present and Future' was formally opened by President Michael D. Higgins.

Speakers traced the history of SVP and outlined its role in social justice and education.

Members of Young SVP showed how its Youth Development Programme is shaping the volunteers of the future.

Regina Doherty, TD Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection also addressed the gathering.

Other speakers were Katriona O'Sullivan who shared her story from being a homeless, young mother, parenting on her own to being a university lecturer with a PhD and an advocate for equality and equity.

Brian Cody, Kilkenny Senior Hurling manager spoke about leadership.
A Fingal mum, Maeve McAuley ran her first ever 10 mile road race and organised a 12 hour marathon shopping-centre collection to thank staff at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles St. for saving the lives of her premature babies.

Maeve recently presented a cheque for 2789 to the NMH Foundation, Holles St to repay the hospital for all the care and kindness she received when her triplets Meadow, Madison and Morgan were born at just 25 weeks.

Maeve was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, four years before her triplets were born.

She said: 'By the time I was diagnosed in June 2009, it was stage 3. However, Hodgkin's lymphoma is a curable cancer so I was 'lucky' in that sense.

'I ended up having 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months. Before the treatment, the doctors warned me that I might not be able to conceive because of the chemotherapy.

'So I was delighted when I found out I was pregnant. But when I found out it was triplets I was astounded.'

She explained: 'My miracle babies were born at 25 weeks at the NMH, Holles St. Madison was born first weighing 660grams, Meadow was born next weighing just under a lb at 440grams,.

'Morgan was born last and was the biggest weighing 740 grams. Meadow was very sick and it was touch and go. Sadly after two days she had a massive pulmonary haemorrhage and passed away.

'Madison and Morgan ended up spending three and a half months in the Neonatal unit at the NMH, Holles St. I will be forever grateful to all the staff who worked so hard to save their lives.'
Funding of up to 200,000 is available for rural towns and villages across Fingal through the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has become an integral part of the Government's drive to support rural Ireland. It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work.

The scheme is specifically targeted at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000.

Senator James Reilly welcomed the funding opportunity and said: 'Balrothery and Balrothery Community Council are a great example of what this scheme can do for a village.

'Substantial grants were approved for this village, delivering village improvements in co-operation with the excellent active community council and Fingal County Council.

'Recently a MUGA Multi Use Games Area was opened in the Village substantially funded by this scheme.

He explained: 'Naul Village and other villages in rural Fingal could benefit substantially from this scheme and indeed any town below 10,000 population.'

Senator Reilly said: 'Fine Gael is delivering 'Project Ireland 2040' which will ensure sustainable growth over the next twenty years for all parts of Ireland.

'To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages.

'Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016, almost 53 million has been approved for over 670 projects across the country. These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs.

'I strongly encourage towns and villages in Fingal to work with Fingal County Council in preparing innovative and well thought-out projects under the scheme and I look forward to the announcement of the successful recipients of funding in the coming months.'

He added: 'In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Fingal County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications.'
Calls for the council, in conjunction with other Dublin local authorities, to construct a purpose built dog rescue centre in Fingal were opposed by Fingal County Council's executive recently, despite councillors claiming an existing facility at Ashtown was not being run in a 'satisfactory' manner.

A motion at a recent council meeting heard that the operation of the rescue centre in Ashtown was an 'absolute disgrace.'

Through a number of emotive contributions from councillors, the council heard that conditions at the Fingal pound were 'unsatisfactory', and that either a purpose built rescue centre should be built in the county, or the operation of the existing pound assessed.

Cllr Jimmy Guerin (NP), noting the 'emotive' comments made from other councillors, said that, as a dog owner, he would 'not like to find my dog staying in such a place.'

Cllr Guerin added, however, that he would 'like to go to a place where I find that my dog has been rescued', and that, although conditions at the pound were 'not ideal', it was his understanding that there were regular veterinary inspections which had the approval of the DSPCA.

Stating he was 'willing to listen to experts' on the issue, Cllr Guerin said an 'honest debate' was needed before such a new facility was built.

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF), said that given the concerns raised by councillors, 'current arrangements' needed to be looked at.

The cost of such a facility would need to be determined, he said, and in the context of a three year capital programme.

Raising concerns about the Council's assertion that the current rescue centre was being run satisfactorily, Cllr Joe Newman (NP) said he would like to see the criteria against which the current assessment had been carried out.

A council official, responding to the councillors, noted that 'given the context of the meeting', 'I think people have made their minds up, right or wrong.'

The majority of dogs housed at the rescue centre, he said, were re-homed 'within a very short period', and only 'a very small percentage' were 'euthanised', which he said was 'a big change over the last 20 years.'

A report issued by the council in response to the call, stated: 'The current contracted service is operating satisfactorily and in a cost effective manner.'

The local authority report further stated: 'There are no plans at present by either Fingal or the other Dublin Local Authorities to develop and construct a purpose built centre.'
Building on the success of last summer's community dig at Drumanagh promontory fort, Fingal's Community Archaeologist Christine Baker is undertaking another excavation at Drumanagh promontory fort with a team of professional archaeologists and volunteers from the local community and beyond.

Drumanagh is a nationally important archaeological site and is of international significance in terms of Ireland's relationship with the Roman world. 'Community excavation is an objective of the Drumanagh Conservation Study and Management Plan, so it is fantastic to be undertaking another season of excavation at the site' said Christine.

She explained: 'Last year we concentrated our explorations near the Martello Tower and this year we will be investigating the original road to the tower, to the other end of the site.

'What we uncover will inform the future management of the site.

'It is also hugely exciting for the local community who have such a love for the site'.

At a recent talk to the Loughshinny & Rush Historical Society, Christine presented the results of the 2018 dig. The material uncovered relating to Martello Tower during the nineteenth century has shown just what life was like for the occupants. Animal bones retrieved shows there was eating of beef, pork and mutton as well as fish and seabirds.

Wine was being drunk, tobacco smoked and a number of marbles indicate how they passed the time.

Of even more significance was the uncovering of evidence for the Iron Age at the site, with pottery from Roman Spain that would have held olive oil found at the site.

Two decorated antler combs and a hilt from a small sword can all be dated to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Radiocarbon dating of two human bones and seeds reflect a similar date range.

'The people of the Iron Age were known as the invisible people. Here at Drumanagh we have evidence for settlement, trade, death and burial from two thousand years ago, all uncovered by the community of today' said archaeologist Christine Baker.

Season two of the community excavation Digging Drumanagh will take place between 15 May and 29 May 2019.

If you want like to take part or would like more information please contact Fingal County Council's Community Archaeologist, Christine Baker at christine.baker@fingal.ie
Barbecue for Hospice - North Wexford Hospice Nursing Trust is holding its annual barbecue on Saturday, May 11, in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey.

A delicious steak supper will be served from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. followed by dancing with music from Theresa and the Stars with supporting music from Tina Carter.

Tickets are 25 and are available from James Tomkins, Isuzu garage, Gorey 086 2604097. Dr Michael O'Doherty, 053 9421303 or any of our hospice committee members.

In the barbecues 27 years, there has been generous support coming from the people of north Wexford and beyond. The team are looking forward to seeing you all again this year.

Gorey Active Retirement

All booking, payment and inquiries should be made on Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Loch Garman Arms. Members are reminded that the 2019 membership is now overdue.

If you have forgotten please pay on Friday and ensure you are insured at any Active Retirement event nationwide. Non-members are invited to check out our activities by dropping into Loch Garman Arms, there is some activity on most days of the week.

Gorey Active Retirement is thinking Youghal for September break, please put name down ASAP if interested and the cost price will be advised shortly.

Please note the change of Date for Gowran Park Races to Sunday, June 16, NOT 23. Please book early with committee. Also be aware of the Trade and Tourism Show, taking place on June 5, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Punchestown Events Arena. Admission is free and all ARA members welcome.

Courtown Lifeboat shop

The RNLI Shop on the North Pier in Courtown Harbour will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., all welcome to call in and browse the new stock of souvenirs, clothing etc for all occasions. Shop for gifts that help saves lives at sea.

Colour Run

Registration is now open for this year's Courtown Colour Run which takes place on Saturday, July 13.

There will be 3km and 6km distances. Register now for early bird rates, which can be done online popupraces.ie/race/courtown-colour-run-2019.

Gorey Musical Society

Calamity Jane was a great success and the Gorey Musical Society would like to extend its thanks to the prime sponsors, sponsors, patrons and associate members, without such generous support this production would not have been possible.

Thank you to the director Chris Currid, musical director Conor McCarthy, choreographer Clodagh Leacy and the fabulous cast and costume team. Thanks to the raffle organisers, make up artists, Paul, Frank and all of our back stage crew, front of house, ushers, Gorey Little Theatre and last but not least to the faithful audience.

Darkness into Light

The annual Darkness into Light Walk 5km will take place in Courtown again this year on Saturday, May 11, beginning at 4.15 a.m. from Flanagan's Wharf. Each year the community comes together to walk or run in support of Pieta House.

Last year over 1,000 people attended the Courtown walk and raised over 28,000, which goes to supporting the work of the charity such as one to one counselling services as well as the 24-hour suicide helpline. To register now for the event or find out more about the work of Pieta House, visit darknessintolight.ie/event/courtown.

Bridge club holiday

This year's bridge club holiday is to Spain, and the club members will jet off from September 17 to September 24. This year's' package, which costs 795 per person sharing, includes return flights from Dublin to Malaga with 10kg checked bag, airport transfers, a day trip to Granada with an English speaking guide, seven nights in the four star Plas Granada Club Resort on half board basis including wine with dinner and of course five nights of bridge. Phone Podge for more details at 053 9482740 or book direct with Killester Travel at 01 833693.

Choir Festival

The festival of choirs will take place over four days from Thursday, May 9, to Sunday, May 12, and will consist of 25 choral groups taking part of all ages and range. The largest event being organised will be a special celebration of a gala concert to mark Gorey 400, taking place at the Ashdown Park Hotel at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 10.

Other events will take place in Gorey Library, Ashdown Park hotel, Gorey courtrooms, St Michael's Church as well as Creagh School.

Primary and post primary school children will be taking part, as well as adults of all ages, and listeners can enjoy a lot of variety during the festival, from jazz music to acapella and light popular music.

No tickets will be required for any of the events but donations are welcome, with all funds raised going to Wexford Hospice Homecare Service. For more details visit Gorey Festival of Choirs' Facebook page or call 087 9890470.

Afternoon tea

On Sunday, May 5, Wexford Lavender Farm at Coolnagloose, Inch, is hosting afternoon tea from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to support breast cancer research. The cost is 14 per person, which includes refreshments, cakes and sandwiches.

There will be live music from the Cantabile choir. Booking is available online.

Gorey Youth Needs AGM

On Friday, May 3, at 11 a.m. Gorey Youth Needs will host its AGM in Gorey Youth Needs Centre, which is located on Mary Ward Lane, St Michael's Road beside Gorey Community School.

This open meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to get a snapshot of the services provided by Gorey Youth Needs, including Little Daisies Childcare as well as Gorey and Courtown youth training initiatives, and all are welcome to attend.

Gorey-Malawi presentation

The Gorey-Malawi Health Partnership will hold an information meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, at Gorey Library.

There will be presentations from staff and those involved in the locality, as well as people from Malawi visiting to discuss their work and association with the health partnership.

All are welcome to attend to learn more about the medical work of the organisation.

Druid Theatre

Druid Theatre will be performing at Gorey Little Theatre between April 30 and May 1. The theatre will perform Furniture, a selection of three one-act plays by Sonya Kelly and directed by Cathal Cleary.

Garrett Lombard, one of the stars of the show, hails from Gorey and began his acting life in Gorey Little Theatre.

His mum and dad are still prominent members of the group. The show is touring nationally and is long listed for the Irish Times award getting rave reviews. Tickets are 25 and available to purchase from goreytheatre.ie.

Author Visit

Irish author, Anne Griffin, will talk about her writing and her journey to publication at Gorey Library on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

Anne's critically acclaimed debut novel 'When All is Said' is topping the charts and has gotten her noticed by other authors, such as John Banville, calling her book a 'rare jewel'. Please phone Gorey Library at 053 9421481 to book a place.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill Gorey shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The team are currently accepting donations of clothing, footwear, homewares, CD/DVD and furniture. To volunteer, please call into the shop for a form.

SVP shop

The St Vincent de Paul furniture shop in Gorey welcome donations of good clean furniture, bric-a-brac, etc. They will collect furniture if needs be.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For more information, call 086 3962260 or 089 4439667.

Shedfest

The annual Shed Fest at Buffers Alley will take place on Saturday, June 22.

Details will be announced at a later date.

Work Matters

Work Matters Start-Up business event will take place on the Tuesday, May 7, in Gorey Library, aimed at helping local entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. The library are happy to welcome Dermot Casey, Venture Investment Leader with the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), which aims to build and invest in very young digital companies, or startups. It provides startup teams with supports such as cash investment, accelerator programmes, mentoring with industry experts, workshops, networking events and other opportunities to develop your business. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and for more information on the event call Gorey Library at 053 9421481.

Gorey ICA

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the Loch Garman Arms at 8 p.m., new members welcome. Congratulations to Nola Farrell Gorey ICA Guild on coming third in the Comortas Gael Linn.

400 reasons to love Gorey

The Gorey Polish Cultural Association are getting behind the '400 reasons to love Gorey' campaign. The group is inviting the public contribute and give a reason why they love living here in Gorey, visit the Facebook page or search gorey.pl/gorey400 to take part. On completion of the project, a mural will be created.

Coffee Time

Gorey Methodist Church invite all to Coffee Time a free coffee morning that occurs every Wednesday, from 10.30 a.m. till 12.30 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to come in for a tea or coffee and of course a chat on the day.

Thank you

Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club committee chairperson Monica Fallon would like to thank Cllr Robert Ireton and his wife Mary for their continuous support, and all the other ladies and gents as well as young children, who came along to the Easter bonnet parade which was held on the Easter bank holiday Monday.

Monica also extends her sincere thanks to those who donated prizes for the best in show, and altogether the club collected 257 during the parade.
Visual artist James Kirwan is from Gorey and he has been making a name for himself both around Ireland and on an international basis, and in autumn he brought his artistic talents back home when he completed a mural in spray paint entitled 'Albino baby Alligator' on the wall at Different Strokes art shop on St Michael's street in Gorey.

'When I completed that mural in Gorey, I just back from a trip to Canada, and that photo realism was something I haven't done in years. It was great to put those skills into practise but I surprised myself on how it turned out, it was so realistic,' said James.

He said that his murals 'all come about differently,' as sometimes he is invited to create one, it could be collaborative or else a spur of the moment.

James looks for reaction in his work, and he specialises in experimental work with form, abstraction, colour and subject through painting, drawing and digital work.

Enjoying the natural world, he took inspiration from the rural environment and landscape, growing up on the outskirts of Gorey, between the town and Carnew, and he spent his youth and his teenage years discovering his passion for art.

'Living in Gorey, where my parents still live, you walk in one direction you're in town and the other direction you're in fields, Gorey is small enough to be surrounded by nature, and my art was influenced by that,' he said.

'Art was something I loved doing in school, and I was good at it from an early age. I decided I wanted to go to art college early on and this direction for me really was a no brainer,' he said.

He took great inspiration particularly from his art teacher, Paul McCluskey at Gorey Community School.

James went to Gorey CBS national school and then Gorey Community School, before going on to study fine art at the National College of Art and Design until 2005.

After this, James lived and worked in Westport, County Mayo and from there went to Porto in Portugal to do an artist residency.

He currently lives and works in Dublin, being based from his own studio and is involved with creating work for exhibitions, commissioned pieces as well as his own solo ventures.

He explained that with his art, the wall comes first as the backdrop before an idea comes to him about what to put on the wall and he often does free styling from there.

'Dublin is keeping me busy and has been doing so for the last year or two,' said James, adding that he likes to come back to Gorey every few months.

'There's definitely more potential for art in Gorey, because there's so much creativity there between artists and musicians,' said James.

'As an artist, you're trying to better yourself and I look forward to experimenting new avenues and see where it'll lead me,' James explained.
Some of the attendance at the Easter Commemoration ceremony

Oulart is an area with a proud history and this history was well and truly reflected on Easter Sunday as locals gathered to mark 103 years since the 1916 Rising at the Mise Eire monument.

An ever-present, local historian Brian Cleary was master of ceremonies and spoke wonderfully about the contribution that young men from the area had made to Irish independence, linking the past with the present in typically articulate fashion.

The sun shone beautifully as Breda Jacob read aloud the Proclamation in front of the beautiful monument that was officially unveiled in October 2017.

With great reverence Brigid Mythen, whose father Luke and uncle Jim had been involved in the Rising as young men with the Oulart company of Irish Volunteers, listed off the names listed on the monument of local men who fought bravely for Irish freedom.

This was followed by a resounding performance of 'Amhran na bhFiann' while veteran 1798 pikepeople Maggie Furlong of Kilnamanagh and Jim Dunne of Moneyboe looked on in full costume.

The event saw a great attendance, among them Cllr Willie Kavanagh, Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, and James Browne TD.

'It was a simple and dignified event,' said Breda Jacob afterwards.

'We intend now for this to become an annual event. History is ongoing and it's important. We must remember where we are and where we've come from in order to understand where we are going so we're going to try and keep this tradition up.'
Experience life as a Norman at the Bannow 1169 Norman Festival this May Bank Holiday Weekend.

In May 1169 the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach in County Wexford and this weekend the village of Carrig on Bannow will hark back to life in Norman times for the Bannow 1169 Festival.

The festival will host battle re-enactments, and commemmorative ceremonies.
The sounds of North Connacht are to get the North Kerry toes a-tappin' at St John's shortly as Roscommon-based trad greats Gatehouse perform in Listowel on Thursday, May 9, next.

The concert comes as the group - comprised of well-known trad musicians John Wynne (on flute); John and Jacinta McEvoy (on fiddle and guitar/concertina respectively) and Rachel Garvey on vocals - releases its new album Heather Down the Moor.

St John's is the venue for a group that's been together for just the past few years, with the group posting their delight on social media at their imminent return to the intimate venue.

Gatehouse is steeped in the traditions of North Connaught, as well as the sean-nos traditions of Connemara in a repertoire drawing on the canon right back as far as another big Roscommon figure - Carolan. Former All-Ireland winner in both Irish and English singing Rachel meanwhile brings one of the most celebrated young voices in the trad scene to bear on proceedings.
Forty three people living in Kerry are among those who received Irish Citizenship at ceremonies in Killarney this week.

More people from the UK are seeking Irish citizenship because of the 'uncertainty' of Brexit according to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. 309 UK citizens were granted Irish Citizenship at citizenship ceremonies in Killarney on Monday.

In total 2,400 new Irish citizens were welcomed from 90 different countries.

409 Polish nationals were granted Irish citizenship along with 309 from the UK, 281 from Romania and 189 from India.

The presiding officers at the ceremony were Retired High Court Judge Byran McMahon and Retired District Court Judge Paddy McMahon. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan was also in attendance and he welcomed the new citizens. He said Ireland is a place of "openness and diversity".

"Today, you take an oath of fidelity to our nation and loyalty to our state. You will do so in the knowledge that this is a relatively young state - still less than a century since our independence was gained - is a place of culture where traditions are cherished and history is ever present. And to be sure, too, that this state is a place of diversity and openness," said Minister Flanagan.

Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, Ms Justice Tara Burns, addressed the three ceremonies at the INEC in Killarney and urged the new Irish citizens to vote in the upcoming referendum on divorce on May 24.

Voting rights in referendums and presidential elections are among the rights granted to the new Irish citizens.

In an interview with Radio Kerry, Minister Flanagan, said that people were not asked why they were seeking Irish citizenship but he said that Brexit had played a part in the increase in the number of UK residents seeking Irish citizenship.

"There has been an increase of people living in the UK of Irish descent and of UK citizens living here applying now to become Irish citizens...This is a trend following the uncertain discussion in Britain about their future relationship with Europe."
Campaigners against the encroachment of wind turbines around the village of Ballylongford are poised to fight what is effectively the same wind farm plan for a second time.

NMWT@Ballylongford group is now calling a public meeting in the parish hall for 11am on Sunday next to galvanise support ahead of a second campaign against efforts by firm Ballylongford Windfarm Group to erect 126.5m-high turbines outside the village.

The firm's plans for eight turbines were refused by the Council last year and An Bord Pleanala on appeal in January. But the firm is now submitting a fresh application for six turbines.

"We feel we are becoming locked in a permanent fight now against the plans to erect more and more turbines around our community," chairperson of the NMWT@Ballylongford (No More Wind Turbines) Tony Dowd told The Kerryman.

"There are now 31 turbines around Ballylongford with plans for forty more in train. It's a case now of 'welcome to wind farm alley' for people coming off the ferry."

Mr Dowd says the existing turbines are negatively affecting many, with people losing sleep.

"Decibel levels from a windfarm 700m from my home are equivalent to traffic from a major road. We need to start looking at off-shore wind power as is now happening in the UK, at a time when many of these windfarms here are being bought up by American investment funds."
The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme was officially opened by Minister Brendan Griffin and KCC Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley, pictured with KCC CEO Moira Murrell, CEO TII Michael Nolan, Ray OLeary of the Department of Transport and Director of Services at the Council Charlie OSullivan

More than 7,000 cars will use the new road between Milltown and Killorglin which was officially opened on Friday last.

The new route - already open to traffic for a number of weeks - has improved connectivity between north and south Kerry according to the local authority who were delighted to announce that the road was built in budget and on time.

The 11m project, one of the biggest road projects undertaken in the county in recent years, is a new 3.5km road between Milltown and Killorglin and one which allowed the removal of the dangerous Kilderry bends.

The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme, as the project was known as, was officially opened by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD and the Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley.

Contractors on the project were Sorensen Civil Engineering Limited. Planning approval for the scheme was granted in January 2014 and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the required lands was completed in June 2016.

The scheme was developed by the Kerry National Roads Office based in Castleisland. Friday's opening was attended by the Chief Executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Michael Nolan and the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell as well as local residents and many of the region's sitting councillors who have long campaigned for the necessary infrastructure for the local area and have welcomed the finalisation of the project for the region and all those who live and commute to the neigbouring towns.

Kerry County Council Chief Executive Moira Murrell thanked all 28 local landowners for their co-operation in providing the 42 acres of land required for the project. She added that the new scheme was vital for the mid-Kerry area and provided necessary infrastructure for the businesses located in the area as well as for local residents.

"This new road connects Milltown and Killorglin in the first instance. Milltown is a growing and vibrant town which has seen a huge increase in population over the past number of years and the development of two new schools, a new community centre and other facilities. Killorglin is a strategically important town which is home to a number of established industries including; Fujisawa Ireland Limited Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Temmler Ireland and Fexco Financial Services. It is crucial that those employers have improved access to their offices and factories," said Ms Murrell.

Minister Griffin said that he was thrilled to see this essential piece of infrastructure delivered for the benefit of residents, local businesses, tourists and all road users and he hoped that more such large-scale projects would come about in Kerry.

Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley said the opening of a piece of infrastructure worth 11m represented a very good day for the county. Cllr Foley remarked that the road offers spectacular views of mid-Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.

"I think it is fair to say that it offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the county, if not the country. The view over Callinafercy, Killorglin, Cromane, the mouth of the River Laune and beyond to the Dingle Peninsula is a sight to behold."
A man who racially abused and attacked a taxi driver in a shocking incident that went viral after a video was shared on line is understood to be from Kerry.

Gardai have questioned a man after a shocking video of a racist attack on a taxi driver appeared on social media.

The footage shows the man racially and physically abusing a taxi driver, and has been shared widely on Twitter over recent days.

It is understood the incident was recorded on Easter Sunday night in Dublin.

The man - who is sitting in the front passenger seat - is seen shouting "what's your favourite position?" in the face of the driver, before referring to him using a racial slur numerous times.

The man then proceeds to attack the driver, referring to him as a "f***ing c***" and punching him on several occasions.

The passenger, who is believed to be from Kerry, can then be seen to remove his seatbelt and accost the driver, requesting that he gets out of the car while claiming to be "a police officer".

Gardai have since confirmed that the suspect in the case is not a member of the Garda.

Gardai later confirmed in a statement that they had interviewed a man who had presented himself for questioning.

"Gardai in Clontarf are investigating the alleged assault of a taxi driver that occurred at approximately 10pm on the Malahide Road, Donnycarney on April 21," the statement said.

"A suspect in the case has presented themselves at a north Dublin Garda station and gardai are following a definite line of enquiry.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Clontarf garda station 01 6664800 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111," said a Garda spokesman.

Gardai have said that as the investigation is ongoing, they would not be commenting further at this time.

Derek Devoy, who founded Taxi Watch, a suicide prevention service run by taxi drivers, said he had been in contact with the man who he believes was the passenger involved in the incident.

Vincent Kearns, a former vice president of the National Taxi Drivers Union said incidents like this were not uncommon.

"There are no statistics on how frequently this type of abuse happens, but I can tell you, it's frequent enough. I've certainly heard of many cases of it," he said.
An intergalactic celebration will take place in west Kerry this weekend as Star Wars from across the world will gather for the annual 'May the 4th Be With You' festivals.

The celebration of all things Star Wars will include a host of fun activities for all-ages in Ballyferriter close to where the latest film in the blockbuster movie franchise was filmed.

Celebrating May the 4th, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe, a host of fun activities for all-ages will take place including an epic lightsabre battle, Yoda Yoga and outdoor drive-in movie screenings, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the West Coast.

Similar events will also be taking place in Portmagee and Valentia where scenes from the franchise were also filmed.

At the Ballyferriter festival fun family events for all ages include Jedi Training to help you find your inner Jedi; guided walks to explore film locations; Jedi Training with Ludosport Ireland; a virtual reality experience and children's storytelling by torchlight.

Visitors can also take a cruise aboard the MPV 'North Star' cruiser with a local skipper who will share local knowledge of Smerwick Harbour and Star Wars filming locations. There will also be guided walks to film location sites for all to enjoy.

Also new this year, Dingle native and five time World Champion Dancer David Geaney will bring his hit Broadway show, Velocity, to Ballyferriter alongside a John Williams musical tribute to Princess Leia, performed by the Kerry School of Music Orchestra.

Failte Ireland's Head of Festivals and Events, Ciara Sugrue said the event will not only celebrate the Star Wars Universe but the history and natural landscape of Kerry. For full details visit www.wildatlanticway.com
At the presentation of the 25,000 cheque (from left) front: Sean Furlong, Major Gifts Manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Colm Dolan and Stacey OConnor, New Ross Credit Union; back: Peter Walsh, Nick Cashin and John Dreelan

New Ross Credit Union recently made a donation of 25,000 to Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF), with money contributed from thousands of its members.

This donation was made from the local credit union's Third World Fund.

2 is donated to the fund from each member of New Ross Credit Union, and the chosen charity is decided at the company's yearly AGM. This money was donated to help Medecin Sans Frontiers with their works in Mozambique.

The impact of Cyclone Idai and flooding in parts of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe was devastating. Medecins Sans Frontieres teams were already on the ground when the cyclone hit, and once everyone was safely accounted for, they were able to assess the needs of affected communities, and rapidly deploy additional medical and logistical staff. Over 100 tons of emergency supplies were flown in. One month later, MSF has nearly 1,000 staff on the ground to respond to the disaster and they are supporting a massive cholera vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health in Mozambique to contain the spread of the outbreak.

So far, almost 750,000 people have received the vaccine.

A MSF spokesperson said: 'Many families are still struggling to find food, shelter, and healthcare services and it is critical that people in the areas hardest hit are not forgotten. People remain at risk of illnesses like malaria and malnutrition, which are common after natural disasters, and the local health system will take some time to recover. Thanks to MSF supporters, including the members of New Ross Credit Union, MSF teams will continue to provide medical care and other support to those affected by this disaster.'
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president, New Ross man Patrick Kent has rowed in behind Independent TD Mick Wallace, saying he has the bottle and ability to take on the big guns in the European Union, if elected in late May.

Having headed up the ICSA for almost three terms, Mr Kent stepped down from his position as leader of the body last week, to take up the role with Deputy Wallace, saying he left the organisation in a better shape than when he took on the role as its president in 2004. 'I was in the third quarter of my third term as president. It was an exit strategy.'

Mr Wallace is running for an MEP seat in the South constituency. Mr Kent will be advising him on agricultural policy. He is meeting Deputy Wallace this week to iron out the details of how he can assist him in his bid to get elected in Europe.

Mr Kent said the phone call from Mr Wallace had 'come out of the blue' and he has only met the candidate three times. He said he will take up the paid role and is focussed on getting Mr Wallace elected. He is second on a list of five replacements in the Dail named by Independents 4 Change MEP candidate Mick Wallace on his replacement list. Mr Kent has an in depth knowledge of Brussels, having bought cattle there since 30 years ago and lobbied for farmers in the city many times with the ICSA. 'We, in Ireland, are major food exporters. As lobbyists these are factors you have to take into consideration and Mick is aware of that and he will represent the farming sector in a very positive way.'

Although Mr Kent says he does not agree with Mr Wallace on everything, there are many synergies in how they view the importance of food and health in society. 'I think it's very important we have strong politicians in Europe. We need to fight in the place where the policies are made for Ireland Inc. Brussels can be a cold, austere city but Mick is well travelled and is not afraid to take on the big guns. We have elected people in the past who just don't have the bottle or ability.'

He said his time heading the ICSA has opened doors for him. 'I have no regrets. We have done a lot of lobbying and I will be pursuing different roles. Other options are appearing so we'll see what they offer.'
The quaint village of Carrig on Bannow will roar to life this weekend with an action packed 1169 Norman Festival.

It was exactly 850 years when the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach.

To mark the big anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in Irish history, the village will host battle re-enactments, a living history tented village, historical lectures, a commemorative ceremony and concerts featuring local and French musicians.

Visitors can enjoy an entire Medieval Living History Tented Village with 14 different living history tents which will showcase life some 850 years ago, 15 living heritage craft displays will also be showcased along with a display of Norman cavalry warfare and fully trained warriors will host battle re-enactments twice per day on Saturday and Sunday during the festival weekend.

Warrior training will be on offer for younger visitors with a chance to enjoy archery and a free replica Norman coin will be offered to all children who take part.

A civic ceremony will take place at Bannow Church on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. with officials from New Ross Municipal District in attendance. There will also be historical lectures in the marquee in the village.

On Saturday historian Turtle Bunbury will take to the stage and on Sunday Emmet Stafford will be the guest speaker. Both evenings will conclude with a musical concert marquee at Colfer's pub.

On Saturday the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned piece of music for the occasion by composer Greg French will be performed by local artists and guests and Normandy based band 'Strand Hugg' will headline the concert. Sunday evening's concert will feature Strand Hugg along with well-known local band Green Road.

Further details on all of the events can be found at www.bannow1169.com. Tickets for the Living History Village are 5 per adult, U18s go free; concert tickets are 15 per person.

Speaking of the festival weekend, one of the organisers John Murphy said: 'Bannow is a hugely historical location in Irish history. It is pivotal to the ancient heritage of Ireland's Ancient East and we are looking forward to bringing this history to life over the May bank holiday weekend with professional historical re-enactment groups who will create a fun fully impressive medieval experience for festival-goers.'

The Bannow 1169 Norman Festival takes place as part of a year-long programme of events in Wexford to mark the 850th-anniversary of the arrival of the Normans to Ireland.

Throughout the year historical talks and demonstrations, music concerts, landing re-enactments, workshops, medieval games and a Viking Fire Festival with a Norman twist, are all set to take place in Bannow, New Ross, Wexford town, Ferns and Enniscorthy under the banner 'The Normans Are Here.'
New Ross youths are benefiting from a pilot project aimed at helping 'detached' vulnerable people by alerting them about services they can engage in to help their personal, social and educational growth.

New Ross is one of ten towns nationally to benefit from the Detached Youth Work Programme.

Run locally by youth workers, John Caulfield and Hayley Rochford in New Ross since January, the outreach programme has already yielded some success stories.

Wearing a distinctive black jacket and casual clothes, John and Hayley are clearly identifiable as youth workers on patrol.

John said: 'It's a whole new concept. We don't use a youth centre; we're out walking the streets. The aim is to provide people with information on every service available to them in the New Ross and district area.'

Workers like John and Hayley engage with young people on the street on Thursday and Friday nights. Hayley said some youths act a bit wary when they are first approached. 'They have a joke and a laugh. We explain to them that they might see us around in the evening time. Some thought we were social workers. Our first engagement is to introduce ourselves. Some young people are happy enough to chat with us about CAO forms and jobs interviews and we give them the right route to information.'

This can involve directing them to Wexford Local Development's offices in New Ross, for example. 'They do a range of courses in their offices near Lidl and there is also the adult learning centre in Butlersland.'

Originally developed by Youth Work Ireland to identify "hot spots" in a locality, the Detached Youth Workers routinely visit these areas and gain the trust of targeted young people by talking to them and explaining who they are and what they do. Hayley said: 'The aim is to go out and identify young people who are at risk and who may have fallen through the cracks in society, be it in school, employment or mental health services. It's all based on an individual's needs. We got to young people who are vulnerable and get to know them and refer them to services. They feel like there is no place for them in New Ross to just hang out; there isn't even a McDonald's.'

She said the lack of adequate mental health services is impacting on many young people; some of whom are struggling with substance misuse issues.

'A lot of young people have to go through a referral route as there is nowhere for them to go.'

Both Hayley and John record the information surrounding the needs of vulnerable New Ross youths to stakeholders, without ever identifying the people they have come in contact with.

As John explains, it's all about building up trust with the people they meet.

'The big aim is to speak to the young people and to empower them and ask them what they need in their local area. We go out on the streets on a Thursday or Friday evening. It's early intervention work. We judge the situation and we have information on us from Youthreach, Youth New Ross and about training and courses and the Community Based Drugs Initiative Project.

We are a friendly face they can turn to. Sometimes they mightn't engage the first time we meet them but it's about building a relationship. From my experience as a youth work when you go to them in their environment they respond really well.'

Both Hayley and John are trained in child protection so they operate under child safety guidelines.

Hayley said: 'Parents can approach us about their son or daughter at home who is never off the computer; and it's within our remit to help. They might be always on their XBox or Playstation and the parents might have concerns about the child's social skills. Just from talking to people there is a lot of anxiety out there. You won't meet some of the young people on the streets (so we can go to their homes if requested to do so by their parents).'

John said school attendance and substance misuse are among the problems teenagers and young adults are contending with on a daily basis.

'People need a place where they can be a teenager that is not on the street. They need a safe environment to socialise in.'

Working with children aged ten right through to adults in their early 20s, Hayley and John said they have had a positive response so far.

'They are positive and want to have their voices heard. Looking at the facilities in New Ross for young people; they have nowhere to go unless you are involved in sports.'

The effectiveness of the three year programme is primarily demonstrated by the numbers of young people engaged each night, how many hours are spent engaged with the youths, and how many youth are referred to other agencies that focus on the youth's needs.

The Detached Youth Worker's goal is to improve the outcomes of youth lives in the short term as well as the long term by focusing on their individual well-being and their social interactions in the community in which they reside. This includes working to improve the youth's self-esteem, self-awareness, and empowerment. Building individual confidence in the youth helps the youth in the future because they will then be more independent, less inclined to engage in high risk behaviour, and have better overall health. The social implications for the youth include more stable family life, improved well-being, and increased community cohesion.

In the long term, the individuals are more likely to stay in school, so they are more likely to have better jobs and the community overall will be safer.

The Detached Youth Work model can be applied to both rural and urban settings and John said there are plans to roll it out to Campile and surrounding villages.

Hayley and John also plan to give talks to 5th and 6th class schoolchildren alerting them to the service they provide and are liaising with local principals.

'Hopefully more and more local youths will start using the service. I think the older ones are easier to engage with,' John said. He said there are services youths can join in New Ross, including at The Shambles youth centre at the bottom of Barrack Lane, where a youth drop-in service is provided, along with a Traveller Girls group meeting, among other services.

'By going out on the streets it shows to vulnerable young people that someone is taking an interest in them. Many youths engaged with us on the youth forums, we are trying to create a positive environment in New Ross.'

Hayley said: 'I think young people are tarred with the one brush. The perception that (many) older people have of young people in New Ross is very negative and a lot of them aren't giving young people the benefit of the doubt. The youths are still responding and positive towards us even if they are behaving in an anti-social way.'

John agreed, saying: 'Out of the kids we have met on the streets about only 1 per cent of them have been disrespectful.

'Respect works both ways. If we see someone standing in a shop doorway we tell them "you can't do that; there is someone living upstairs in an apartment". Many are frustrated with the lack of facilities.'

Kieran Donohoe of FDYS said: 'Detached youth work is quite innovative in that it tries to meet young people where they are. Not all young people are engaging with youth services so this is a way of making them aware of what services are available for them in New Ross and we are hoping to try and form some form of link between them and the services that are there.'

Mr Donohoe said the programme has given the FDYS a real insight into the needs of local youths.

'As a result the FDYS are starting to tailoring our services to meet those needs.'

This includes funding being provided to refurbish The Shambles and for the drop-in service to be opened two evenings per week; (it is currently only open on Friday evenings).

New couches and a sound system are being purchased for The Shambles after funding was released following a youth forum meeting in New Ross recently.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to work with a youth worker at the centre can contact John Caulfield.

He can be reached at john.caulfield@fdys.ie or on 086 8152381 and Hayley can be reached at hayley.rochford@fdys.ie.
New Ross Drama Workshop is in the final stages of preparation for its production of 'The Anniversary' by Bill MacIlwraith.

Directed by Rojer Whieldon 'The Anniversary' is a hilarious comedy set in the 1960s, brimful with sharp wit, sarcasm and caustic one liners!

The central character in this play, is 'Mum'- played by Margaret Rossiter. Margaret has great fun with the mischievous character

As we meet this 'unorthodox' family at curtain up, two of three sons have something important to tell Mum. Terry, (Shane McDonald) the pensive middle son, wants to leave the family business to emigrate to Canada with his wife (Brid Moloney) and children.

Tom, the youngest, (Nicky Flynn) wants to marry the latest in a long line of girlfriends, Shirley played by Seona O' Connor. Their problem is how and when to deliver their news - that is, if they can muster the bravery needed to tell her at all - because Mum, evil, malevolent and fanatically domineering, is used to getting her own way and intends to keep her world intact at any cost.

Throw the eldest son Henry (Peter O' Connor) into the mix and the family soon learn that all is not as it should be.

Director Rojer Whieldon is delighted to be directing his first full-length production with New Ross Drama Workshop and is ably assisted in the venture by his right hand woman, Kitty Warren. Carmel Furlong is production assistant for 'The Anniversary' with Nancy Rochford Flynn leading the stage management team of Carmel Furlong, Ann Kissane and Annette Stacey.

Costumes are being looked after by Peggy Hussey and Brid Walsh with Paul Walsh and Brian Geoghegan taking charge of lighting and sound for this production. Fully authentic 1960s hair styles will be created for the cast by Jenny Murphy-O'Neill of Vibe Salon in Rosbercon and Kitty Warren is change of make-up. A host of well-known faces from the group will be looking after the front of house. Terry Brennan and Macdara Murray have been tasked with the job of recreating the beautiful drawing room of the dysfunctional family.

The play takes place on May 9, 10 and 11 in St Michael's Theatre. Tickets are now on sale at St. Michael's Theatre on 051-421255.
A childcare group has taken issue with local and EU election candidates for their failure to mention the issue of childcare as a priority.

Referencing the candidate profiles in The Sligo Champion recently, the Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee expressed their disappointment that no candidate took on the issue of childcare as a priority.

"Childcare costs for parents are one of the most expensive in Europe. Parents are paying from 1,000 to 1,400 a month on childcare fees.

"Early Years Educators are earning just above the minimum wage, and Providers are struggling to keep their doors open," outlined a statement from the group.

A statement from the committee went on to explain that the Government spends 0.2% of GDP on Early Childhood Care and Education.

The committee outlined that the average spend in Europe is 0.7% and cited that the Government's spend has resulted in high childcare fees and low wages for educators.

SIPTU's Big Start Campaign is campaigning for proper Government funding for decent pay for qualified early years practitioners and high-quality early years services for children.

Commenting on the lack of representation for the sector by candidates, SIPTU Big Start Activist Lucy Davey stated, "In last week's Sligo Champion, 26 candidates seeking election in upcoming local and European Elections, set out their priorities.

"Although they all raised important issues such as housing, health, and education from primary school to third level, not one candidate mentioned the Early Years sector, despite it being the most underfunded sector in Irish society."

She added: "It is children and parents who would benefit from a properly funded childcare system. The childcare sector has been ignored and made feel invisible for too long. This is changing because we are now building a strong union in the sector, however, we would like to see more of our local politicians supporting our cause."

A member of Sligo Early Years Managers Network, and Big Start Activist Michelle Maitland said the workforce within the sector have no decent quality of living because of poor wages, resulting in staffing issues.

She cited that 28% of staff are leaving their job every year. "Our children deserve quality childcare, our early years professionals deserve a decent wage," she concluded.

SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Co-ordinator Ann O'Reilly said: "The Early Years Sector has been ignored by successive governments and public representatives for years, however workers in the sector now have a voice through the Big Start Campaign, they are taking a stand and refusing to be ignored any longer."

The statement from the group acknowledged that a number of councillors expressed their support for the Big Start Campaign at a recent Big Start Tree Planting event in Sligo IT on April 5th to celebrate National Tree Week.

Following this, Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee will be advising its members of those candidates at an upcoming Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) Information Event hosted by Sligo Early Years Managers Network which will take place on Monday, May 20th in the Sligo Park Hotel at 7.30pm.

The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2017/2018 covers the first year since all families became entitled to some State subsidy when using full-time, registered care for children aged up to six.

In this report is showed the average cost of full time day care costs 153.48 in Sligo.

Figures from the 2016 census revealed the average cost per week per child for pre-school children was 118.00, while the average weekly cost per primary school child was 73.00.

The average weekly cost for a child aged zero to 12 was 96, while the average weekly cost for one pre-school child was 133, 118 per child for two pre-school children, and 103 per child for three or more pre-school children.

Census figures set out that the average household weekly expenditure on paid non-parental childcare is 155.60. This was an increase from 2007, when the corresponding figure was 123.20. However, it should be noted that the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced in January 2010.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney previously quoted figures that funding for childcare had risen from 265 million to 574 million in the last four budgets and 200,000 children were now in subsidised childcare.
The correct cancer diagnosis of a mother of two could have prevented her months of bleeding and discomfort, her husband has said.

Jonathan Costello's wife Charlotte is currently undergoing a second round of treatement for a rare and aggressive type of cancer called leiomyosarcoma, which Sligo University Hospital failed to look into fully when she was admitted with severe bleeding last October.

The 44-year-old from Cartron Estate but living with her husband and two daughters in Glencar, was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe bleeding.

Jonathan told The Sligo Champion that even though Charlotte was bleeding heavily and was 'very sick' she was discharged from Sligo University Hospital on the same day.

"They said it was just the fibroids that she had a history of, that this causes this type of bleeding, which it does."

Jonathan explained that a radiographer who performed a scan said Charlotte probably needed a more detailed one because one of the fibroids was 'very very big' as opposed to the others.

"When we met with the consultant's registrar they said he felt it was more than likely an enlarged fibroid and that we'd be called in due course."

Charlotte was not called by the hospital for a follow-up consultation until December.

"A couple of weeks later she was getting sicker and sicker and we couldn't be waiting for them [Sligo University Hospital] to come so then we had to go private," explained Jonathan.

With no health insurance, the couple privately paid for a biopsy at the Galway Clinic and soon costs began to mount.

On November 1st she was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb and just one week later they were told it had spread to her lungs.

Jonathan described the period between being discharged from Sligo University Hospital on October 1st, to having surgery on December 9th in Galway, as 'horrific'.

"Because they said it was just fibroids and didn't do anything about it, Charlotte was bleeding all the time, everyday. You think in a modern system this wouldn't happen."

He continued, "A few days we'd have to rush down the road to Galway, she was losing litres of blood."

Jonathan stated that he does not assume his wife's cancer would have been eradicated if diagnosed in October in Sligo, but does believe her treatment was impeded.

In Novemeber Charlotte's tumour was showing on her abdomen.

Jonathan highlighted that Charlotte could not be operated on in Galway for some time as the tumour was too big and had to be shrunk first.

"Whatever about questioining if it would have spread [if a diagnosis was reached quicker], they couldn't operate straight away because they had to shrink the tumour because it was too big."

He recalled that on December 9th last things came to a head.

"She nearly bled to death on a Sunday morning.

"They had to do this operation and she ended up in intensive care."

Charlotte had to have a hysterectomy,

"If she was dealt with earlier all that bleeding and discomfort she went through, for private health service, she could have been dealt with two months before that."

Jonathan believes that if Charlotte's bleeding was looked into enough in Sligo she would have been spared months of discomfort.

"I did say to them up there [Sligo University Hospital] that we have two young kids and we are very concerned, the bleed was so heavy, yet we were discharged."

Father to Julianna, aged six and Alicia aged four, Jonathan explained that Charlotte finally got a letter from the Sligo hospital for a follow-up consultation a week after her surgery in December.

"We finally got a letter after everything was done, diagnosed, tumour removed and into starting chemo. It's ridiculous. I was raging, I couldn't believe it. It's such a joke."

He went on to explain that though the situation is not good, if they had waited for a follow-up consultation in Sligo things could be a lot worse.

"As bad as it is, we could be dealing with a situation where it could have spread further and we could be looking at months to live. That's how bad it is."

After a scan last February doctors told the Costellos that although the cancer hadn't spread, the tumours remained unaffected, and further stronger chemotherapy would be necessary.

"We're waiting on results of her second line chemo that she's on at the moment. When we get that then we'll know more and if it's working to try and hold it at bay or shrink it," he explained.

Looking forward in terms of ongoing treatments, Jonathan admitted that his wife will need 'a miracle' but is positive that further medical avenues are available.

As Charlotte's cancer is one of the rarest of its kind, Jonathan explained that this is why alternatives abroad are being considered depending on the outcome of the current regime of chemotherapy.

"Ultimately Charlotte will need a miracle for it to stop altogether, there's not loads it has happened to, but it has happened to people, so we have to try and hope that she'll react longer."

Referring to other drugs and treatments, Jonathan said in some cases people have got a year or two years on one drug which has stopped the progress of the cancer.

Charlotte is down for clinical trials at St James Hospital if needed and it is hoped there will be more alternatives available to her as time goes on.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of a GoFundMe page raising funds for possible alternative treatments abroad, the family are considering every option.

"We're waiting to see how her chemo's going to go first here in Ireland before we go and get the advice abroad, but we will have to get advice abroad at some point.

"Treatment abroad would be into the hundreds of thousands. It was 90,000 for Charlotte's last treatment here that didn't work," explained Jonathan.
Sligo University Hospital is providing a weekly outreach antenatal and gynaecology service from the Ballymote Primary and Mental Health Care Centre.

Ballymote was chosen as the location to cater for the large catchment area of South Sligo which includes the towns and villages of Ballymote, Tubbercurry, Riverstown and Geevagh. Also in this catchment area are the towns of Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon and Charlestown in Mayo and many other towns and villages in between.

This is the fourth outreach antenatal and gynaecology service provided by Sligo University Hospital in addition to the existing clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon.

Dr Ravi Garrib, Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology at Sligo University Hospital will lead the clinic in Ballymote, supported by Midwife, Leona Mulvey and the medical team. He said: "The aim of the new clinic is to bring high quality care as close to where the women who will use the service live and to avoid unnecessary trips to outpatient appointments in the hospital.

The women availing of the service in Ballymote will be seen by me and my team and this is exactly as it would be if we were running a clinic in the hospital. The outreach clinic is in a comfortable, modern building which is easy to access. Once the clinic is established it will also offer midwifery-led care.

"The outreach clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon have proven to be very successful and we expect the same for Ballymote. Women living in the catchment area will automatically be offered an appointment at this clinic from now on."
'We're being treated like cattle'. That was the opinion of matriarch of the McGinley family on Tuesday last following the seizing of cars and the partitioning of the halting site in the Connaughton Road car park.

Speaking to The Sligo Champion, Tilda McGinley said Sligo County Council were at fault and said they were given no prior warning to Tuesday morning's activities, which saw approximately seven cars removed from the car park where four generations of the family live.

The operation has also resulted in the top part of the car park now being cordoned off with the McGinley families being sectioned off by fencing and concrete kerbing to the lower part.

Mrs McGinley said the saga at the car park has been ongoing now for 35 years with Sligo County Council refusing to meanfully engage with the families in relation to sourcing a suitable site to relocate to.

Currently there are four families living on the site which is owned by Sligo County Council.

"This has been going on 35 years. We just want a site where we can be what we are and live the way we live. They're pushing us further down, the young children can't live like this."

She added, "When I came here 35 years ago I didn't think we'd be here this long, we don't want to be here, but my late husband refused to move out to Finisklin years ago because it wasn't healthy."

Asked if they would leave the site, Mrs McGinley expressed doubt citing that the younger people of the family were in school locally. Referring to previous interactions with the council, Mrs McGinley said the council would not listen to the family.

"We're trying to tell them that there would be no trouble if we moved to a proper site." Mrs McGinley said the council have ample amount of lands on the Old Bundoran Road.

She told The Sligo Champion she had no issue with the gardai but did say she believed Tuesday's events were a result of the council, gardai and business people in Sligo town working together.

"Look around you, there's plenty of places left empty by rich people. And this is what is being done to us. We're being treated like cattle and being pushed"

She added, "We were given no warning, they arrived here at 9.30am and the rest of the town knew."

Another member of the McGinley family described the events as 'scandalous and unfair'. Asked how she felt about the events, Mrs McGinley said she was 'ashamed and embarrassed' by it all.

"I offered cups of tea to the gardai they're just doing their jobs, it's the council who are at fault. We don't cause trouble when they come up here."

When asked about the issue of scrap cars at the site, Mrs McGinley said the cars were brought in to highlight to the council the need for a suitable site for the families.

"They [cars] were put in here so the council would see this isn't right, that we're here living like this."

Barney McGinley said: 'They're trying to break up the family', referencing previous occasions when the families were offered relocation sites miles from each other.

Mrs McGinley went on to explain that other locations were simply not suitable for personal reasons regarding tragedy in the family and health risks to children.

"Where they wanted to put us before there would have been trouble. We tried to explain that to them but they won't listen. If they put us on the Old Bundoran Road there wouldn't be trouble."

The family were offered a place in Finisklin many years ago but refused it as they felt living beside the dump and industrial estate was not suitable for young children.

In a previous interview with The Sligo Champion, Barney McGinley had indicated that the family were not seeking compensation in order to relocate. The family took issue with the level of garda presence at the site during Tuesday's events and outlined a previous incident when gardai had visited the site.

"They would be better off trying to solve murders in the town than be here," said Mrs McGinley, whose own son was murdered in 2005.

"Look at the amount of gardai that are here today. If there was an ATM pulled out of a wall you'd only have one or two gardai there. It's madness," said a younger member of the family.

Mrs McGinley singled out Chief Executive Officer of Sligo County Council, Ciaran Hayes for his role in Tuesday's operations.

"Ciaran Hayes is behind this. Would you want your children living like this?," Mrs McGinley asked.

In a response to media queries in relation to works at the car park, Sligo County Council confirmed it was carrying out the works and set out what was being undertaken.

The response detailed that a 'clean up of the area' was being done, which would involve the removal of 'end of life vehicles, scrap, waste, containers, etc'.

The statement continued, "Numerous complaints have been made to the Council relating to the activity and behaviour of those resident in the car park and the manner in which activities in the car park detracts from the area." It outlined that repairs and improvements to the height control barrier were also being carried out.

"The barrier was the subject of an attack in which it was damaged and rendered ineffective. Today's work will restore height control to the car park."

According to the council, part of the car park that was cleared of waste will be restored and returned to its 'original condition'. Addressing the heavy garda presence, the statement detailed a 'risk assessment for the site'.

"As with all construction operations planning for the work includes a risk assessment. Given the history relating to the site which includes violence to Council staff, the Gardai are in attendance to ensure safety of the construction workers and maintenance of public order."

The Council said it was not in a position to comment in relation to discussions with the residents of the car park concerning 'provision of accommodation or offers of accommodation made to individual families.'
A new Customs Training Workshop to help companies with importing and exporting when the UK leave the European Union is being run by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow.

The course, which is free and is taking place on Monday, May 13 in Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew. It is open to all small businesses and business people in the region who may be directly or indirectly affected by Brexit.

The workshop, which is an initiative of the Government of Ireland being delivered by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, will help businesses understand all elements of dealing with the UK as a 'third country' outside of the EU single market. This includes administration around imports and export, customs formalities at borders, tariffs and the possible knock on effect of these tariffs and import procedures such as Electronic Declaration process and Automated Entry Processing.

Vibeke Delahunt Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Wicklow said; 'The Local Enterprise Offices have been working closely with their 7,000 client companies ever since Brexit was announced in 2016. Each one of our companies has been contacted directly in relation to Brexit supports and in 2018 we had over 4,000 attendees at Local Enterprise Office Brexit information events. These Customs Training Workshops provide practical information to these businesses to ensure when the UK leaves the European Union, there are no shocks for them. We would say that any small business that has yet to plan for Brexit, it is not too late and the door of your Local Enterprise Office is open to help you plan for this year and beyond.'

The Customs Training Workshops are just one strand of the supports that the Local Enterprise Offices have supplied to their clients on behalf of Government across the country since Brexit was announced in 2016. This includes scorecards from Enterprise Ireland to evaluate exposure, financial support to trade online, Brexit loans, grants to support exporting into new markets and LEAN programmes to increase company performance, competitiveness and resilience.

The Customs Training Workshops were officially launched in February by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D., and Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., to aid all small businesses deal with customs procedures ahead of the UK leaving the EU single market.

To secure a place on the Customs Training Workshop head to Local Enterprise Office Wicklow's website www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said of people who protested at his home in Greystones on Sunday that their mask has slipped.

'Their mask slipped, we see now where their allegiances lie and it is not to our republic,' said Minster Harris on RTE Radio's News at One on Monday.

Around eight members of a group calling themselves 'Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group' protested outside the houses of Minister Harris and former banker Sean Fitzpatrick, also in Greystones.

A garda spokesperson said that gardai attended the scene of a protest at a Greystones House. 'Protesters have left the scene peacefully and enquiries will be carried out,' they said.

This was the second time the group targeted the house of Minister Harris, where his wife and baby daughter also reside.

'It's an attempt to intimidate,' said Mr Harris. 'This is the second time they have visited my home. It causes huge disruption to my family and neighbours.

'It's very important to send a message that as a people, as a Republic we don't support their actions. I know the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner are going to continue to monitor the situation. There is an obligation to make sure that these things are managed and that people's dignity is maintained.'

In a statement, the group wrote: 'On Sunday, the 29th of April [sic], we conducted a peaceful assembly at two of this states [sic] most notorious figures.

'To hold them accountable for their actions, which have directly affected the health and financial wellbeing of the nations [sic] people. The first was Simon Harris, who's [sic] actions or in some cases lack of actions have directly resulted in the death of our people. The second was Sean Fitzpatrick who's [sic] criminal actions directly affected the financial depth of our people.

'The state has failed once again to act in the interest of the people and hold their elite friends accountable for their actions.'
Selma Blair cannot imagine feeling okay again following her MS diagnosis.

The Cruel Intentions star - who has seven-year-old son Arthur Saint Bleick with former partner Jason Bleick - revealed in October she had been diagnosed with the illness, which affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

And she has now said her battle against the condition has left her feeling sick as all hell, and shes not sure if shes ever going to feel better.

Posting on Instagram, she wrote: Heres a truth. I feel sick as all hell. I am vomiting and all the things which are not polite to speak of. My son ran away. From me. I have to get him to school. The medical treatments take their toll. I am going to get through this. We do. This will pass. And to moms and dads who watch their kids sick on things we take to get better... I hold you. So glad this is me and not my child. I cannot imagine ever feeling ok again. #roughday. We get through. #realitycheck (sic)

Expand Close 91st Academy Awards  Vanity Fair  Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 24, 2019  Selma Blair. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok / Facebook

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Whatsapp 91st Academy Awards  Vanity Fair  Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 24, 2019  Selma Blair. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

The post comes just one day after she shared an image of herself getting a plasma infusion, as she said she was grateful to the universe for helping her cope with the illness.

She wrote: "This is not a sad post. Nor am I showing any tubing although I find it all curious. This is me grateful. Thank you universe. Thank you donors. Thank you my friends and all who aim to find their way to feeling their strongest. Whatever form that takes."

Selma, 46, revealed her MS diagnoses in another Instagram post thanking her Another Life costume designer Allisa Swanson for helping her to get dressed.

In October, she wrote: "She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understand producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for direction from a broken gps. But we are doing it."
The administrators of the collapsed Orla Kiely fashion empire raised 75,000 from a sale of leftover designer goods.

Administrators organised direct sales of Ms Kiely's signature quirky print items via a pop-up shop in the run-up to Christmas and three auctions.

The details are in the first progress report filed to Companies House in the UK by the administrators of Kiely Rowan, which went out of business last September with debts of 7.25m (8.1m).

Joint administrator Chris Newell previously estimated the sell-off of stock would realise around 45,000 to 60,000 (53,000-70,000).

He also confirmed a further 30,000 (35,000) was raised from the sale of items in the US that was not anticipated in the firm's statement of affairs.

However, any gains made from the higher than expected realisation of stock have been almost wiped out, with Mr Newell writing off the prospect of recovering 26,000 (30,500) owed to the firm by debtors.

A connected entity, Killyon Stem LLP, held licensing agreements with manufacturers on behalf of the brand. Administrators for that firm are expected to receive a minimum of 73,000 (85,800) in royalties.

Mr Newell said he expected there to be a payment from the administration of Killyon Stem LLP into the Kiely Rowan plc administration but that the final amount was uncertain.

The firm's secured creditor, Metro Bank, is owed 2.15m (2.52m) and Mr Newell says "it is not anticipated the secured creditor will be paid in full".

Mr Newell's colleagues had to assist former Orla Kiely staff to obtain payments from the UK Redundancy Payments Office.

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He said 'preferential claims' relating to holiday pay and wage arrears were estimated to be at 97,412 (114,551) and to date preferential claims had received of 41,398 (48,684).

Unsecured creditors will be left empty-handed. The administrators currently estimate a deficiency in assets of 7.3m (8.58m).
Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2019 in London

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

(L-R) Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L), talks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (R) as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand by attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex waves after attending an engagement with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) at City, University Of London on January 31, 2019

They say the baby might be on its way! read my text to my mum the other night.

Hmmm, I think itll be a boy, came the swift reply. James, Arthur or Alexander do you reckon? I write back. No, this isnt me who is about to give birth, its not even a close friend or relative, but my mother and I instinctively know who were referring to: Meghan Markle.

Since the moment the 37-year-old shed her Suits star title and took on the mantle of Duchess of Sussex, speculation has been rife about when wed hear the pitter patter of tiny royal feet.

Since confirming the news last October, the royal pregnancy has been a veritable feeding frenzy: bump speculation, bump shaming, doula and home-birth shocks...and much like many others, Im slightly ashamed to admit that Ive been lapping it all up.

Expand Close Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

Of course there will be plenty of people reading the royal baby headlines and rolling their eyes asking the inevitable question of commenters 'round the world, 'Why is this news?' But there's undeniable public interest in the workings of Meghan Markles womb, bizarre a construct as it is.

This however, begs the question - is her pregnancy one of those occasions where what constitutes public interest isn't actually in the public interest and do we really need to know everything about Baby Sussex's arrival?

I had a baby almost exactly a year ago so its fresh in my memory just how irksome speculation in ones unborn infant can be. People mean well, but particularly if youre a geriatric mother (something Meghan and I have in common) then carrying a baby and delivering one can come with a large dose of anxiety and you really dont need any added stress on your plate.

It was initially reported that the duchesss due date would be the end of April, now making her overdue, something fairly common with a first child. Both my boys went 16 and 12 days over respectively and I was ready to punch people in the face for texting and querying any baby yet?, I can only imagine what its like to have the worlds press doing the same.

Then theres all the judging. Every new parent just wants to do the best for their child and Harry and Meghan will be no different. Ive no doubt the parents-to-be will have done their research and if the home birth, doula route is what theyre hoping for then theyll have come to that decision themselves for the best reasons.

Again, I feel a kinship here having opted for a doula with my second-born, but while I just had the occasional elderly relative raise a confused eyebrow at the word doula, Harry and Meghan have had to deal with reams of press and online coverage dissecting and weighing their decisions.

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While its unlikely the Sussexes are wading through the comments section of every article written about them, but the establishment of their Instagram page (and the very clear voice of Meghan that one hears reading that page) suggests a certain level of media savvy and engagement with the online world. Who knows what shes read and how upsetting that might have been?

The lines of royal private life  and indeed all our lives  are increasingly blurred by the accessibility and intimacy of social media. Everything is content. I personally posted a snap to Twitter soon after I had my baby and the wave of likes only added to my post-birth, oxytocin high. I was in love with my little bundle of joy and had an overwhelming urge to share that. Perhaps Meghan will be the same.

Expand Close Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Should she feel under pressure to share a newborn photo? No.

Should she, like her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, feel compelled to don high heels and blow dry to pose for a post-delivery photo just hours after delivery? Dear Lord no.

Should Meghan and Harry feel any duty to disclose the details of labour, cord-cutting and birth weight? Absolutely not.

As royals, their role is to show up for ribbon cuttings, champion good causes and try not to cause a scandal.

Theres something very uncomfortable about the tone of some of the royal baby watch coverage, that seems to suggest that just because Meghan and Harry are in the public eye and part of a family that receives publicly funded money, then the public is somehow entitled to ownership of them and their offspring.

No matter what your status and finances are, no one has the right to tell you what to do with your body or the little person that might come out of it. Everyone should have the right to personal autonomy, something I feel is especially pertinent when it comes matters around women and their bodies.

By choosing not to follow protocol and keep the public up to date on babys arrival (imminent or already past) Meghan is actually sending a much more powerful message that, regardless of who you are, youre entitled to privacy. No womans womb should be up for public debate.

So even though Im nosey and dying to hear all about the squishy newborn, keen to see who he or she looks like and curious to learn how the delivery went  I hope its only because the royal couple choose to share those details, not because they feel obligated to.

Until then, mum, myself and the rest of the world will just have to keep playing the guessing game and checking that Sussex instagram page.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

May The Fourth Bewitch You  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 4, 2019

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine attend the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, and his wife Anne attend the funeral service for their three children who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark May 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

The billionaire behind online clothing retailer Asos and one of the UKs largest private landowners bid farewell to three of his children at their funeral today.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, is Denmarks wealthiest man and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

They set up the company Wildland in 2007 with the stated aim of restoring and conserving landscapes for future generations.

They lost three of their four children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks on Easter Sunday.

Expand Close People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Today, they bid a final farewell to their three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes at a funeral service. It was attended by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine.

Their daughter Astrid cut a bunch of balloons free from one of the coffins outside Aarhus Cathedral.

Expand Close Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsens wholesale fashion business Bestseller, told the Press Association in the hours after the attacks that the couple had lost three children.

Mr Holch Povlsen has a net worth of 7.9 billion US dollars (6.1 billion), according to Forbes.

Expand Close The Bestseller company owner Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne in a file photo. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Jonas Olufson via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Bestseller company owner Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne in a file photo. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Jonas Olufson via REUTERS

The businessman owns the international clothing chain Bestseller and is the biggest single shareholder in fashion retailer Asos.

He and his wife have acquired several Highland estates over the years, including Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms, Strathmore in Sutherland and Braeroy in Fort William.

Expand Close Where the Easter Sunday explosions took place (PA Graphics) / Facebook

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On the Wildland website, Mr Holch Povlsen writes: "From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape."

He describes the couples responsibilities as landowners as a "labour of love", adding: "It is a project that we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands."
Well-wishers arrive for the first public appearance of Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's child population has declined for the 38th year in a row and is now at a record low, the government said.

The number of children younger than 15 stood at 15.22 million on April 1, down 180,000, or 1.2%, from last year, the Statistics Bureau said.

It is the lowest number since comparable data became available in 1950.

The figures were released ahead of Children's Day on May 5.

Japan's birthrate has remained low amid a lack of support for working women, who continue to face the burden of homemaking and other traditional roles, as well as excessively long working hours and high education costs.

With children making up just 12.1% of its population, Japan ranks lowest among countries with a population exceeding 40 million, followed by South Korea at 12.9% and Italy and Germany at 13.4%, according to the Statistics Bureau figures.

As of 2017, Japanese women on average gave birth to 1.43 children during their lifetimes. That compares with nearly 1.8 in the US and Britain.

According to the latest government statistics, the number of births in 2018 fell to 921,000, the lowest since Japan began recording such statistics in 1899.

Japan's total population fell by 448,000 people, a record decline, to 126 million.

The population is forecast to fall below 100 million by 2050, barring a huge influx of immigrants.

Japan last month started allowing more foreign workers to ease a labour crunch.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe has said ageing and the low birth rate are a national crisis. He has promised labour and other reforms to help alleviate the burden on families that discourage couples from having more children.

Longer life spans in Japan have added to rising costs for elderly care and social security.

Conservative legislators in Mr Abe's government have at times blamed the elderly or childless for long-term demographic trends.

Gaffe-prone finance minister Taro Aso earlier this year had to apologise for saying childless people are to blame for Japan's rising social security costs and declining population.
Indonesia made a stunning announcement this week that it will relocate its capital from Jakarta. The decision validates decades of warnings about the city's catastrophic flood risk due to sinking land and rising seas. While Jakarta is especially vulnerable to the threat of rising seas, it serves as a wake-up call for hundreds of major cities.

In making his decision, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the city can no longer support its massive population in the face of environmental threats, as well as concerns of traffic congestion and water shortages. Top of his concerns is surely the fact the city is subsiding. In the past 30 years, Jakarta sank more than three metres, a problem made only worse as the world's great ice sheets melt.

Jakarta is an extreme case, but by no means unique. Although Miami is often cited as the city most at risk, there are many highly vulnerable - and highly populous -cities around the world, including Mumbai and Calcutta in India, Shanghai, Lagos in Nigeria, Manila, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Tokyo, London, Houston and Tampa. In fact, thousands of coastal cities and rural communities globally are not only at risk, but already experience increased flooding during extreme high tides.

The swelling oceans demand we start designing for and investing in the future now. The latest projections for average global sea-level rise this century range from about one metre to as much as 2.5. Keeping it to the lower part of that range largely depends on extreme global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases far beyond current efforts. But even a 30cm rise in sea level can dramatically increase coastal flooding. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk.

Indonesia's decision to be proactive is something all coastal cities should do - what I call "intelligent adaptation". Instead of spending hundreds of millions on futile efforts to protect Jakarta from the dozen rivers which run through it - extending fragile walls never engineered to cope with the present threat - it will now start investing in a new capital city with a sustainable future.

Aggressively reducing carbon emissions could avert the worst scenarios, but sea-level rise probably cannot be stopped this century. The planet has already warmed 1C, meaning glaciers will go on melting for centuries.

Engineering for greater "resiliency" - the new buzzword - is a great idea to prepare for short-duration flood events such as from hurricanes. But preparing for rising sea level requires adapting to a new normal.

Coastal communities should be crafting 30-year masterplans to positively address the threat. For example, Washington is on the Potomac, a tidal river, and already experiences occasional flooding during extreme high tides and stormy weather. Rising seas will make that worse, but the city can probably protect itself with various forms of flood barriers.

Most vulnerable cities are not so fortunate. The sea is rising. We must rise with the tide.

 The Washington Post
Cyclone Fani is the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years (stock photo)

Three people died as the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years left a trail of destruction through the north-eastern coastal state of Odisha yesterday.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri with wind speeds exceeding 200kmh before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswar and forcing more than a million people to take refuge.

Arun Bothra, inspector general of Odisha police, described the damage in Bhubaneswar as "massive".

Winds were so severe that they ripped roofs off buildings and toppled industrial cranes, trees and double-decker buses.

At least 160 people in the town were injured. In Puri, a teenager was reportedly killed when a tree collapsed on him, while in Nayagarh district a woman died when she was struck by flying concrete. The third casualty was a woman (65) who died of a suspected heart attack after seeking refuge at a cyclone shelter.
Authorities in Curacao have boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440ft ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth told the Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

We will go on board and do our job, he said, adding that authorities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when were talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance.

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Authorities are concerned that people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Dr Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor on April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early on Saturday.

Dr Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it is a small ship.

This is what happens when we dont vaccinate, he said.

Symptoms include a runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in some cases.

Measles has affected more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

According to the Church of Scientology website, the ship is the home of a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling. It says religious conventions and seminars are also held aboard.
Candles are placed next to a photo of Madeleine McCann inside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2017, where a special service was held to mark the 10th anniversary of her disappearance. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Scotland Yard commissioned the last official age progression of Madeleine McCann in 2012.

MISSING: One of the last pictures taken of toddler Madeleine McCann

Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.

Scotland Yard passed information to Portuguese police about the apparent kidnap suspect, who was in Portugal in May 2007, the Lisbon-based Expresso newspaper reported.

The man had been investigated over alleged child sex offences at the time, according to the paper, which quoted a judicial source.

The reports come on the 12th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance as her mother Kate attended an emotional prayer vigil at her home village in Rothley, Leicestershire, marking the occasion.

Madeleine's father Gerry, a heart doctor, was reportedly in Italy on work business as Kate and her twins Sean and Amelie attended the service at a local Baptist church.

The girl was three when she vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz on the Algarve coast on May 3 2007.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Thursday the force was pursuing "active lines of inquiry" and has asked for more funding from the Home Office.

British police launched their own investigation, Operation Grange, in 2013 after a Portuguese inquiry failed to make progress.

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Force bosses have been applying for funding from the Home Office every six months to continue the inquiry, which has cost about 11.75 million so far.

Ms Dick said: "We have active lines of inquiry and I think the public would expect us to see those through.

"A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding."

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Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors and devout Catholics, have always pledged never to give up the search for their daughter.

In a statement on Friday, the 12th anniversary of her disappearance, they said: "The months and years roll by too quickly, Madeleine will be 16 this month.

"It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.

"Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief."
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the UK's Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

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The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

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Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The British Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the UK government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blair's humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago after they lost almost 1,200 council seats.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a voter backlash over Brexit.

On a night described as "brutal" by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live television interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents.

Labour, which had expected to profit from the Tories' failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful opposition leader of the past 40 years. Mrs May has been warned by her own ministers she must not now bow to Labour demands for a customs union with the EU ahead of fresh Brexit talks with Mr Corbyn, or she will face further electoral disaster.

In separate interviews, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt said the UK had to be in control of its own trade policy after it leaves the EU, rather than letting Brussels remain in charge.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the Tories faced an "existential threat" from Mr Corbyn, while Tory Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin said the party was "toast" unless it delivered Brexit.

As she addressed the Welsh Conservative Conference, Mrs May was heckled by a party member who shouted: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you!"

The Tory MP Michael Fabricant said "the cancer in the Conservative Party must now be excised" as he launched a vicious attack on Mrs May's leadership, saying "a new leader and a clean break from the EU" were needed.

With fewer than 10 councils still to declare last night, the Tories had lost control of more than 40 councils in a result that far outstripped their worst fears of an 800-seat reversal.

It was the party's poorest showing since 1995 when they lost more than 2,000 seats to a rejuvenated Labour Party that swept them from power in Westminster two years later and kept them out for 13 years.

The Tories were not alone in being punished for their Brexit failings, as Labour - which had predicted widespread gains - ended up with almost 70 fewer seats. Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, said the party had been "speaking with two voices" on Brexit and had been punished as a result.

The big winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained more than 600 seats, while the Greens won more than 160 extra seats on the back of recent climate change protests, and independents gained more than 200 seats.

If the results were replicated in a general election, Mr Corbyn would be prime minister if he could form a Labour-SNP-Lib Dem coalition, with neither of the two main parties coming close to winning a majority. Mr Corbyn hinted that a cross-party Brexit deal was in the offing as he said there was now a "huge impetus" on every MP to "get a deal done".

Downing Street has said it wants its Brexit talks with Labour to be wrapped up by the middle of next week, leading to speculation that Mrs May is about to cave in to Mr Corbyn's insistence on a customs union.

Mr Gove, the environment secretary, said a customs union was not "the best solution for Britain" because it was "critical" the UK maintained an independent trade policy.

Mr Hunt, the foreign secretary, said, "I am not a supporter of the customs union" and also said the UK had to be able to "negotiate our own trade deals".

At the Scottish Conservative Conference, Mr Javid said: "We are seen as a divided team. A divided party cannot unite a divided nation. The only winner from that is Corbyn."

 Daily Telegraph London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
After World War I and World War II, officials decided to dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of munitions into the oceans around Europe, which at the time appeared the most easily accessible disposal ground.

Some of the weapons - including mines containing mustard gas - were simply dropped into the Baltic and North Seas rather than being taken to faraway dump sites near the Arctic Circle.

But the hidden legacy of those world wars may come to haunt the continent for decades to come.

This week, Belgian newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported that officials have grown concerned one of the dump sites, close to the Belgian coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist, has started to leak. At the site, two out of 23 probed locations showed signs of contamination.

The revelation followed months of inquiries into what authorities fear could be a mounting public safety threat.

Used as a potentially deadly chemical agent during World War I, mustard gas can burn victims' skin, respiratory tract and eyes.

While mustard gas leaks from Europe's underwater weapons cemeteries were long considered a worst-case scenario, officials also are expressing alarm over leaks of explosives such as TNT from dumped land or sea mines.

While those substances have been contained inside metal cases for eight decades in the case of World War II, and about a century in the case of World War I, the metal has rusted and become porous.

Activists have blamed the leaks in part for decreasing biodiversity in the Baltic Sea.

More than 80,000 mines are believed to be lurking beneath the surface of the Baltic. Unlike the North Sea's mass dump sites, the locations of single mines are more difficult to track down. There are only vague maps of where the mines might be hidden, and most appear to be spread out across hundreds of miles.

Reminders of their potentially deadly impact have mounted. In 2005, three Dutch fishermen were killed after they accidentally caught an American-made World War II bomb in their fishing net.

Similar discoveries regularly trigger mass evacuations - last August in the Polish resort city of Kolobrzeg, for example, when three bombs were discovered in the nearby bay.

European navies help out with remote-controlled vehicles and clearance divers within their own territorial waters, but in some areas the density of explosives is believed to be so high that fishing is still prohibited there a century later.

Pipeline construction companies often hire private mine-clearance contractors to do the job if there is no way around it and when the explosives are found far out at sea, where European navies do not claim responsibility.

"It's unbelievable how many mines there still are," said Commander Peeter Ivask, the head of Estonia's navy. "Our mission here will last decades."

 The Washington Post
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has said President Nicolas Maduro's generals are willing to defect from his regime imminently, as Spain vowed to protect the politician.

Speaking from the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Mr Lopez said: "It's a crack that will become a bigger crack... that will end up breaking the dam."

Mr Lopez said he had spoken with senior members of the military who supported the end of Mr Maduro's socialist government amid a failing economy and nationwide blackouts.

Spain has refused to hand Mr Lopez, a leading figure in the country's opposition movement, over to Venezuelan authorities, saying: "Spain trusts that the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of the Spanish ambassador's residence."

The politician had been under house arrest for months but escaped to appear alongside his successor in the movement, Juan Guaido, on Tuesday as they called for a military uprising aimed at toppling Mr Maduro.

He later sought refuge in the Spanish embassy after the uprising stalled.

Mr Lopez claimed he had met generals who were committed to ending Mr Maduro's "usurpation" and helped him escape his house arrest.

"I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he said, adding he believed Mr Maduro's government would fall "in weeks".
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
John Ruszczyk, father of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, speaks after the verdict was announced that Mohamed Noor former Minnesota policeman was found guilty for fatally shooting an Australian woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Craig Lassig

Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million for the family and $2 million to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

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Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia's prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defense after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by U.S. police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Boom: A missile is launched from a Chinese submarine during a military exercise in Chinas Shandong peninsula. Photo: Reuters

Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon has said.

The assessment is included in the US military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June.

In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a "Polar Silk Road" - building on President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative.

China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland, starting on Monday, which comes amid concerns over China's increased commercial interests in the Arctic.

The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

The Pentagon report noted that China's military has made modernising its submarine fleet a high priority. China's navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The report said China had built six Jin-class submarines, with four operational and two under construction at Huludao Shipyard.

In a January report, the Pentagon's Defence Intelligence Agency said the Chinese navy would need a minimum of five Jin-class submarines to maintain a continuous nuclear deterrence at sea.

The US and its allies, in turn, are expanding their anti-submarine naval deployments across East Asia.

The expansion of China's submarine forces is just one element of a broad, and costly $175bn (156.5bn), modernisation of its military, which US experts say is designed largely to deter any action by America's armed forces.
There are almost too many Democrats to count in the 2020 primaries - but any of the top five leading candidates would beat Donald Trump in a general election, according to the latest polling.

Despite the majority of those surveyed saying the president is doing a good job with the nation's economy (56pc), each of the five highest-polling Democrats on the campaign trail beat Mr Trump in CNN's head-to-head polling conducted by SSRS.

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Beto O'Rourke bests Mr Trump by the highest margin, with 52pc of voters saying they would vote for him compared to 42pc who said they would vote for the president in a race against the Texas Democrat.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each beat out Mr Trump as well with a 6pc and 7pc advantage respectively, while Kamala Harris leads the president by 4pc.

Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg - who has climbed in the polls in recent weeks and proved effective at national fundraising despite little name recognition - also would beat Mr Trump by 3pc, according to the poll.

Elizabeth Warren appears to be the only candidate polled in the SSRS survey who did not beat out Mr Trump, though the two politicians are effectively neck-and-neck.

While Mr Trump holds 48pc in a race against the liberal Massachusetts senator, Ms Warren maintains 47pc of support if she were to secure the Democratic nomination.

Mr Trump's acting chief of staff suggested voters would effectively return him to the Oval Office in the 2020 elections during a talk this week in California, where he foreshadowed the economy would serve as one of the top factors in his re-election victory.

"You hate to sound like a cliche, but are you better off than you were four years ago?

"It's pretty simple, right? It's the economy, stupid. I think that's easy. People will vote for somebody they don't like if they think it's good for them," Mick Mulvaney said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday passed their first climate change bill since regaining control of the House of Representatives, ordering Mr Trump to renege on his move to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accords at the end of his first term.

It also requires the president to meet US obligations agreed to by the Obama administration under the Paris Agreement of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28pc below 2005 levels by 2025.

The bill passed 231-190, with just three Republicans crossing the divide.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, however, warns it shall not pass, dismissing the gesture as "political theatre".

Even if it were to be allowed to reach the upper chamber for debate and went on to secure an unlikely Republican rebellion, Mr Trump would simply veto it as soon as it landed on his desk - as he did the recent motion of disapproval against his national emergency declaration - rather than row back on a campaign promise.

But that's not the point. The move allows the Democrats to capitalise on the urgency introduced to the subject by progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal, dragging global warming back into the national spotlight in time for 2020 and placing renewed pressure on the Trump White House to revise its view before the last grains of sand tumble through the hourglass.

Attorney General William Barr's snubbing of the House Democrats has ramped up the tensions between the White House and Congress, pushing the House closer to holding the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress and prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to liken Mr Trump to ex-president Richard Nixon.

The almost daily confrontations between the two branches of government increase the pressure on Ms Pelosi to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, a politically fraught move that she has resisted in the absence of strong public sentiment and bipartisan support. Many Democrats argue that the 2020 election is the best means to oust the president. But Democrats are infuriated with Mr Barr, who refused to testify on Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled hearing on his handling of Robert Mueller's report, and Mr Trump's defiance in the face of multiple congressional requests for documents and witnesses. ( Independent News Service)
Authorities work at the scene of a plane in the water in Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Sheriffs Office via AP}

A charter plane carrying 143 people has ended up in a Florida river at the end of a runway, though no critical injuries or deaths were reported.

The Boeing 737 slid off the runway and into the St Johns River after arriving at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged. Everyone on the plane is alive and accounted for, the agency posted, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

While the crash certainly was not ideal, Capt Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

It is not known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Capt Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

Expand Close Base Commander Captain Mike Connor said it was a miracle no-one was seriously harmed (AP) / Facebook

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He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Liz Torres told the Florida Times-Union that she heard what sounded like a gunshot on Friday night from her home in Orange Park, about five miles south of NAS Jacksonville. She then drove down to a Target car park where police and firefighters were staging to find out more.

Ive never seen anything like this, she said.

Ironically, our Special Operations team trained for an incident like this today with the marine units.  THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) May 4, 2019

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene and monitoring the situation, with family members who were expecting the arrival of passengers instructed to stand by.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.

Capt Connor said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are already on their way.
A SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying a load of supplies lifts off from Cape Canaveral (Nasa/AP)

SpaceX has launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station following a pair of power delays.

A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500lbs (2,500 kilograms) of goods.

The recycled Dragon  which is making its second space trip  is due to arrive at the orbiting lab on Monday.

Expand Close The launch follows a series of delays (Nasa/AP) / Facebook

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The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceXs rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic.

Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.

Minutes after lift-off, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the launch site.

SpaceX could not resist the Star Wars Day connection  Saturday is May 4  with the phrase May the fourth be with you being a pun on the movie series famous line: May the force be with you.

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station! Capture by the @Space_Station crew set for early Monday morning pic.twitter.com/oGs4IrBW9h  SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 4, 2019

Dragon is now officially on the way to the space station, the SpaceX launch commentator announced once the capsule reached orbit and its solar wings unfurled.

Until next time, may the fourth be with you.

The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the accident on April 20 which destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.

Earlier this week, SpaceX vice president Hans Koenigsmann said the company still does not know what caused the empty capsule to burst apart in flames on a test stand.

The capsules SuperDraco launch-abort thrusters were just a half-second from firing when the blast occurred.

And we have LIFTOFF! @SpaceXs #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station. For updates, visit https://t.co/FRrjhINIvY. pic.twitter.com/GSNtBBEl9i  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This first crew capsule had completed a successful test flight, minus a crew, to the space station in March.

SpaceX intended to re-fly the capsule on a launch-abort test in June, ahead of the first flight with astronauts on a new crew Dragon. The schedule is now up in the air, as SpaceX scrambles to identify and correct whatever went wrong.

SpaceX has been restocking the station since 2012.

LIVE ROCKET LAUNCH! Tune in to see us send more than 5,500 pounds of cargo to the @Space_Station aboard @SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Watch the countdown to liftoff at 2:48am ET: https://t.co/w9kweKx0Tn  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This latest cargo Dragon  the companys 17th shipment  is carrying equipment and experiments for the six space station astronauts, including an instrument to monitor carbon dioxide in Earths atmosphere.

The California-based company is also under contract with Nasa, along with Boeing, to transport astronauts to the space station.

It is unclear whether these commercial crew flights will begin this year, given the Dragon accident and Boeings own delays with its Starliner capsule.

Astronauts have not launched from Cape Canaveral since the last space shuttle mission in 2011, instead riding Russian rockets at a steep cost to Nasa.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
A man in jail after being charged with the murder of a young Davidson woman was found with a weapon this week.

Joshua Wade Kennedy, 35, was charged with felony possession of a dangerous weapon in prison on Wednesday, May 1. WBTV reported that deputies found a filed down toothbrush they said had been fashioned into a weapon.

Kennedy is in jail under no bond after being charged in the murder of Lakyn Jade Bailey in January. He is a registered sex offender in West Virginia and had been living in Iredell and Rowan counties.

Back in January it was determined that Baileys murder was a result of a meth drug deal that turned violent. She was found shot to death inside a car parked at the Country Cupboard Store on Statesville Road in Salisbury.

James Christopher Rife is also charged with murder and attempted robbery in the case.

The toothbrush was discovered inside Kennedys cell and he admitted it belonged to him.

WBTV reported that Kennedy told deputies he was using the toothbrush to pack paper into an abscessed tooth and he wasnt planning to use it as a weapon.
The Catawba Nation settled its land claim against the United States almost three decades ago but the tribe has yet to reclaim the territory promised by Congress.

When the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act became law in 1993, the tribe had a 1,017-acre reservation, Chief Bill Harris said in testimony on Wednesday. Only 317 acres have been acquired since then, far less than the 4,200 acres that were promised by Congress.

To help move closer to the goal, the tribe is hoping to add a mere 17 acres to its land base. S.790 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acquire the land, located in North Carolina, and ensures that gaming can be conducted there.

"We are staying in our heartland," Harris told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the hearing, The Shelby Star reported.

Chief Bill Harris of the Catawba Nation testifies before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 1, 2019. Photo: SCIA

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for the site more than five years ago. But the BIA hasn't publicly issued a decision, which prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham R-South Carolina) to introduce S.790 in hopes of resolving any uncertainties regarding the 1993 settlement act.

"The tribe is locked in poverty and the tribe's understanding that it had negotiated to acquire land within its Congressionally-established service area in North Carolina has been disputed, largely due to poor drafting of the act," Graham said on Wednesday. He is not a member of the committee but was invited to present a statement during the hearing.

The 17-acre site is located in Cleveland County, which is within the service area defined by Congress. It's about 47 miles away from tribal headquarters in neighboring South Carolina.

"It's clear that the benefits that Congress intended for the tribe through the settlement act have not been realized and this has resulted in disparate treatment for this tribe, when compared to other federally recognized tribes," John Tahsuda , the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior , said at the hearing.

Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image: Catawba Nation Project Brief

Despite that favorable comment, Tahsuda did not outright commit the Trump administration's support for S.790. However, he did not present any major obstacles to passage of the bill and his written testimony merely offered technical suggestions that he said would ensure the land could be placed in trust for the tribe.

The committee did not hear from any opponents of the bill at the hearing. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has raised objections.

"The proposed casino off of I-85 in Cleveland County would encroach upon Cherokee aboriginal territory - territory ceded by the Cherokee by treaty, and territory recognized as Cherokee territory by the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. The Catawba have no valid aboriginal or historical claim to Cleveland County," Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement on Wednesday

Generally, land placed in trust after 1988 can't be used for a casino. But Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act contains an exception that applies for tribes with land claim settlements, such as the Catawba Nation.

The exception has only been utilized sparingly. Since 1988, only two tribes -- the Wyandotte Nation and the Tohono O'odham Nation -- have opened casinos in connection with land claim settlements and only after lengthy political, legal and regulatory battles.

S.790 seeks to avoid such uncertainty by outright confirming that the land acquired for the Catawba Nation in North Carolina can be used for a casino.

The tribe otherwise is barred from following IGRA on its lands in South Carolina. The 1993 settlement instead authorized bingo halls for the tribe, subject to a tax paid to the state.

The operation eventually closed in 2017 due to limited viability. In his written statement, Chief Harris said the state got $12 million in taxes.

"As a result, the tribe essentially paid for its own settlement," he said.

The Eastern Cherokees operate the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and the newer Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel . Both are in the far western part of North Carolina, more than 130 miles from the area in which the Catawba Nation is seeking to open its establishment.

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Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif share a sizzling chemistry on the big screen and the success rate of their films are proof. After Bharat, the on-screen pair might reunite again. Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar has confirmed that the story for the third installment of the Tiger franchise has been found and is being developed. He has also discussed the story with the producer Aditya Chopra.

The first installment of the franchise, Ek Tha Tiger was helmed by Kabir Khan while the second, Tiger Zinda Hai, was directed by Ali. Both the films featured superstar Salman Khan alongside Katrina Kaif.

The director says he is yet to put pen to paper and will only start working on the project once his upcoming Bharat is out of his system.

I will wait for Bharat to release first. But Ive discussed the idea with Salman and Aditya Chopra both. I think there is a great film there in the story.

The director, who is currently busy on his upcoming film Bharat, might just cast Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together in the third part of the film series. Just a few days ago, Katrina had the most dignified take on her friendship with him. She had said,

"The best thing about me and Salman coming together to work is that theres no sense of us taking it for granted. We dont go to the sets thinking, dekhte hai. He knows that Im going to come after putting 1000% of my time and effort behind finding the character, doing my prep. He has that confidence in me and I know when he comes, hes going to come up with something unique. However, well, I know him or whatever our equation is, when we come on a set, we both come respecting that this is the producer and directors place and not a playground. Its not about fun and games but a professional territory. We come and we do our scenes and rehearsals. Thats how we work well together. Theres no sense of taking anything easy or for granted."

Bharat, a remake of the 2014 Korean drama Ode to my Father is scheduled to release on 5 June.
Director said, Only Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. Thor in this movie couldnt do it. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresees, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap. People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldnt feel too sad or angry about it.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Producer Boney Kapoor still finds it tough to come to terms with the death of his wife and actress Sridevi, and says it is impossible to forget her. At a recent talk show, Boney is seen opening up about how he is still trying to cope up with the loss.

Seeing the terrible situation in the country, slew of Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Riteish Deshmukh have prayed for the safety of those who have been affected by the cyclonic storm Fani. Here's what Bollywood celebrities have tweeted.

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport.
Years ago, he did a film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra that was a dramatic commentary on the socio political situation of the country. Actor Siddharth played a crucial role in Rang De Basanti that released in 2006, which is 13 years ago!

Screengra

Who would have thought that in 2019, he would be the one moral-policing and taking hilarious jibe at people? From taking a dig at PM Modi for his biopic to targeting Akshay Kumar for his so-called non-political interview with Modi, Siddharth is one actor who is using social media aptly!

People love him for his take on things around him and no wonder he has a large social media following.

After calling him the 'most underrated villain', Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his non-political interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Twitter

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Hey @realDonaldTrump since you're getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality. I have an Indian passport. DM me please.  Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) May 3, 2019

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added, "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots. One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time." Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others." Here are some of the most funniest responses to Siddharth's tweet:

Obviously. One needs to pay tax amounting to trillions, serve in Army for 150 years, Donate billions in natural calamities to ask very crucial questions like whether The President of USA eats mango.   Jack (@RoflJack_) May 4, 2019

Sorry Sid! The #Canadian may beat you to it!

Shorter flying time   Shazia Bakshi  (@Shazia) May 4, 2019

But dont forget to ask him whether he brushes from RtoL or LtoR...  Praky (@Praky18cool) May 3, 2019

Just one day ago, Akshay Kumar had clarified every speculation that raised questions around his citizenship. "I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport,"Akshay had tweeted.
After witnessing continued set of allegations and speculations around his citizenship, actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said his aim is to make India a stronger nation even though he holds a Canadian passport.

The actor, who recently made headlines for his candid and completely non-political chat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the subject of intense speculation about his citizenship after he did not vote in Mumbai on April 29 in the fourth round of the seven-phase polls.

Agencies

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport. His statement reads:

"I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others."

He also assured and added that he will continue contributing in his small way to causes he believes in and to "make India stronger and stronger".

Agencies

On Tuesday, a day after the elections, reporters tried to attack him during the special screening of the film "Blank"

Faced with questions on why he hadn't voted, the actor walked off, saying "Chaliye chaliye (let's go, let's go)."

Akshay is not the only one who has been in the spotlight for citizenship speculations as Deepika Padukone too was under a similar radar. But Padukone had cast her vote in Mumbai and shared a picture of her where she made her point loud and clear.

"Never has there been any doubt in my mind about who I am or where I'm from. So for those of you confused on my behalf... please don't be! Jai Hind! Proud to be an Indian go vote," Deepika wrote in her tweet.

In a video online, Deepika was also seen battling a tricky question on her citizenship at a press event. She said, "I hold an Indian passport... from where do you get this information anyway." Later, when she was cross-questioned about having been born in Denmark, Deepika said,

"But I still have an Indian passport. There's a lot of complication and I am very much an Indian, a proud Indian citizen."
Getting adequate sleep helps us lead a healthy life and now researchers claim to have figured out why lack of sleep increases susceptibility to heart diseases.

According to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Physiology, chronic short sleep is associated with increased risk of clogged arteries, heart disease, and thus increased morbidity and mortality.

Doctors have also identified the patients who might need to change their habits before they develop the disease. Heart diseases causes due to many reasons, but it is said that if you do not take adequate amount of sleep then it might affect your heart.

unsplash/representational image

In adults who regularly slept fewer than 7 hours per night, the levels of certain microRNAs (molecules that influence whether or not a gene is expressed) were lower.

These molecules play a key role in regulating vascular health and thus their levels are now recognised to be sensitive and specific biomarkers of cardiovascular health, inflammation and disease.

In other words, a lowered level of these molecules is associated with heart disease, so they could be used as a biomarker to determine who is more susceptible to disease.

unsplash/representational image

Researchers tested sedentary, middle-aged adults without heart disease then they were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to accurately estimate average nightly sleep and a small amount ofblood was taken from each subject after an overnight fast.You can always try new methods if you have a problem in sleeping like sleeping music.

Jamie Hijmans, one of the authors of the study, said: "The link between insufficient sleep and cardiovascular disease may be due to, in part, changes in microRNAs. These findings suggest there may be a "fingerprint" associated with a person's sleep habits, and that fluctuations in microRNA levels may serve as a warning or guide to disease stage and progression."

(With agency inputs)
Karishma Arora, 18, student of a Muzaffarnagar school, topped the country in the recently declared CBSE results by scoring 499 marks out of 500.

But she is the topper with a difference. Fond of dancing, Karishma travels to Delhi along with her father every week to receive training in Kathak from famous Kathak dancer Gitanjali Lal.

During spare time, she has also been training specially-abled children in the dance form. She aspires to become a psychologist in future.

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Karishma, who topped the exam with humanities stream, has also joined a unique school where she is trying to learn how to communicate with hearing impaired and mentally challenged kids as she teaches them Kathak.

The Arora family lives in an apartment in the citys New Mandi area and her father Manoj Arora runs a business.

Karishma said she would study for 20 hours on a few days but she never expected to be the topper. However, she said if she had scored just one mark in economics, her result would have been cent percent.

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An avid reader, Arora likes reading autobiographies of renowned people and says that her favourites are those of Malala Yousafzai and APJ Abdul Kalam. Reading autobiographies of successful people helps me get an insight into their lives which motivates me, Karishma said.

Her father, Manoj Arora, said, I got the information when I was out for some work. As I rushed back home, I was crying all along. I have got no words to express how much she has done me proud.
A 10-year-old, Mohammed Abrar from Pakistan is the worlds heaviest boy weighing 196 kg, and needs a life-saving surgery before it's too late. He is unable to stand after meals, that can be served to four people, his parents said.

His doctors claim that he is the heaviest boy in the world and weighs even more than Indonesias Arya Permana. Abrars mother, Zareena said that she couldnt change his nappies alone and had to get a specially-made bed to take his weight.

Caters News Agency

According to LadBible, Zareena said, "He weighed eight pounds (3.6 kg) at birth but his weight never stopped growing. He used to drink two litres of milk when he was only two years old. It was like his stomach never filled up. He always cried for more food."

"It was very difficult for me to even carry him. We had to make a special swing and a bed for him to change nappies," she added.

Due to his size, Abrar is unable to play with his siblings and has never been to school. The operation that he will undergo will reduce the size of his stomach and will involve the insertion of a gastric band.

Caters News Agency

Zareena said, "We struggled a lot finding the right treatment for him. We never lost hope of getting medical help. I am happy that finally Abrar will get the operation he needs to help him live a normal life."

Dr Maaz - Abrars doctor - said that he has an 'endless appetite'. Dr Maaz said, "When he came to us he could not even take three steps at a time. He is an obese child although there is no history of obesity in his family. His parents and the two siblings are perfectly normal. He has an endless appetite and his parents said he ate a lot for his age."

Caters News Agency

The doctor added, "We are going to perform a laparoscopic sleeve surgery on him as it is best for people under 25 years of age. Although I usually take 30-40 mins to carry out the surgery on him we are expecting it to last for an hour."

We wish a healthy life to Abrar!
Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha Coast on May 3 and it is being considered extremely severe. Locals along with the Indian Armed forces and police force are helping people who are stuck or need to be rescued.

It made landfall in Puri after Odisha received heavy rain and storm that started around 8 am, said the Indian Meteorological Department. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are on stand-by and more than 11 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in less than 24 hours.

In these hard times, local police forces have shown utmost courage and dedication towards their work. One such lady police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara is making headlines for her commitment towards work. Her picture is going viral on social media, where she can be seen evacuating people to safety.

In action: Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara !!

Braving all odds and adversaries, our officers are making all the possible efforts to evacuate each single person to the safety. #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/jbHRUYauRy  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 2, 2019

After this, people started lauding the lady police officer:

1.

Hats off to this Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara. Helping the Locals just before the Extreme Severe Cyclone, Fani. The women in Odisha are strong enough.

#MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/gTicdvZGjo    (@Th3Snehasish) May 2, 2019

2.

Salaaaam! Thats our officers work and dedication to save every life. We are with you.  #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani https://t.co/Z5DsqKhmiw  Nila Madhab Panda (@nilamadhabpanda) May 2, 2019

3.

Many of time we fight, argue, blame with police personnel but when there is any tragic they stand with us each and every time. They have also families but duty comes first for them. I salute all police personnel. Without you we are nothing. Be with us always. Jai Hind.  Deba Prasad RTI Activist (@DPS_RTI) May 2, 2019

4.

Respect  CA Binod Parida    (@B1nodP) May 4, 2019

5.

Good job odisha police  sanjib subudhi (@sanjibsbdh4) May 3, 2019

6.

Salute Her  Tushar Kranti (@Tushar__Kranti) May 3, 2019

7.

good job sister  Rajesh (@Rajesh_490) May 3, 2019

8.

Inspirational... made my day  Sushree (@spriyadarshin10) May 3, 2019

9.

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming pic  Ratikant Satpathy   (@Ratikant70) May 3, 2019

10.

Salute to your brave Team .#FaniCyclone  Laxmi (@LAXMIPRADHAN3) May 3, 2019

There are more such pictures where local police officers can be seen helping people out, making sure they are able to evacuate safely.

Carrying few injured people in #Cuttack to the nearest medical facility where doctors are attending them with required medical care. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/HrS6N6z04S  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Moving people to safety, sensitizing people in cyclone shelters and clearing out the roads @spkendrapara and his team is putting in all possible efforts to help and calm people in this difficult time. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/247GBdCrfo  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals from Kendrapara where our officers are carrying infants and guiding children, women, and other locals to safety.

Nothing deters our personnel's determination! #DutyAvoveElse #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/Uo2GTIZ0lR  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Relocating people to safe zones, clearing roads and providing drinking water and essential food items to the needy. @DCP_CUTTACK and his team under the guidance of @DGPOdisha carry-on its sincere efforts in helping and assisting people at this crucial hour. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/75yU0gt6ne  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals of our officers in Balasore making all possible efforts to move elderly people and children to safe designated cyclone shelters! pic.twitter.com/Dxfjxknitn  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Odisha on May 6 to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Till now three people have lost their lives in the cyclone. A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district. Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her. In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after a suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter.
Remember the ugly naked guy from FRIENDS? He used to be naked all-day in his apartment where there were windows and people could obviously see him. Dont know if this man was ugly or not but he was definitely, naked.

A bizarre photo from the pre-wedding photoshoot of a couple from San Diego is doing rounds on the Internet. The couple was getting some pictures clicked at a beach for their wedding invite, when an elderly man, butt naked, walked into the frame.

Amy Sefton and her fiance Jake, visited the San Elijo State Beach with their photographer Austin Whitesell on March 14 to get some candid photographs clicked. As the couple started posing on the beach, the photographer suddenly noticed that an elderly naked man with his back facing the camera had photobombed their picture.

While speaking to the People Magazine, Sefton said, I was shocked at first glance. But then I found the moment hilarious and began to laugh.

What is more interesting is that the beach was a family-friendly beach and the couple had not expected the naked old man to be there.

Any other photographer would have waited for the old man to move, but Whitesell found it amusing. Describing it as "comical, random and very California", the photographer said that he asked the couple to lean back to capture the moment.

He captured their photo as it is - the couple holding hands and looking at the old man who is photobombing.

The couple further said that the photo added to the major milestones in their relationship that happened at the beach.

That lifeguard tower in the back of the photo with the naked dude is actually where I asked her to be my girlfriend, says Jake, and then also where I proposed.
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Indian American actor Vinny Chhibber, currently seen as Liam Bhatt, an openly gay Muslim high school teacher in the new CBS show, The Red Line, has also booked a recurring role in the TNT drama, Animal Kingdom. (Sela Shiloni photo)
Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is  well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star...
Abdulrauf Modibbo, the APC member elected to represent Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State at the National Assembly has been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to reports, Justice Inyang Ekwo nullified Modibbos victory, over certificate forgery.

Modibbo was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress primaries that was held back on October 7, 2018, in Yola and went on to represent APC in the 2019 general elections, where he also won the election.

However, Mustapha Usman dragged Modibbo to court after the elections, on grounds that the latter forged his age making him not qualified to contest the APC primaries.

Usman asked that the court disqualifies Modibbo as the APC candidate for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency.

Justice Ekwo in his judgement declared that Modibbo was not qualified to contest the APC primaries, as well as the 2019 National Assembly election while declaring Usman as the lawful winner of the October 7, 2018, APC primaries.

The judge further held that Usman also proved that Modibbo did falsify his age in order to contest the election by submitting forged certificates so he could contest in the partys primaries.

It was also revealed in court that Modibbo was still a Corps member when he contested the primaries, saying this action breached Section 4 of the NYSC Act, 2004.

A person who is a lawbreaker cannot be a lawmaker. This illegality is one that cannot be wished away.

Justice Ekwo then declared that Usman, who polled the second highest number of votes in the October 7, 2018 primaries, be declared the winner of the Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State and ordered that his name be replaced with Modibbos as the lawful candidate of the APC and winner of the election.
Popular social media commentator and media personality, Dr Joe Abah, has joined millions of Nigerians in reacting to the now-viral news that police boss, Abayomi Shogunle, has been transferred to Nkalagu, Ebonyi state.

Dr Joe Abah in his reaction advised Yomi Shogunle to note the following when he gets to Ebonyi state.

Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi in Ebonyi state.

He added that he would not be posted to the state capital.

Also, he would be busy with serious issues and wont have time for controversy on Twitter.

And lastly, younger boys in his new work station would address him as punish and not police.

What he said:

https://twitter.com/DrJoeAbah/status/1124438409005686785
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has come for Prince Ifeanyi Dike, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, after the body threatened her with a sanction following her outburst on social media with her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Tonto Dikeh who spoke through her Instagram page labelled the Chairman of the body a stupid fool who has not sanctioned actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside.

Her post;
Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has fired heavy shots at fellow Nollywood colleague, Anita Joseph, for supporting Tonto Dikehs media outrage on ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Uche who spoke through his Instagram page said it is unimaginable that Anita Joseph would support Tonto Dikeh for coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child.

His words:

If you cant advise your friend to GROW up spiritually, keep quiet @anitajoseph8 is it possible to give something you dont have? Please, which Counsellor or psychologist told you that people can HEAL emotionally or psychologically by coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child? Is that healing process only exclusive to radical for Jesus actresses? Because Ive never seen where someone can RISE or heal by pulling down another. Can you imagine, youre allegedly saying if your FRIEND wants to talk from now till next 2 years, let her talk, wait, is that the kind of advice you two give yourselves? @anitajoseph8 Even a primary school girl has enough wisdom to know that such kind of attitude is only causing more harm to her child in FUTURE, by constantly mocking the father, let us fear God oh @anitajoseph8 Listen, Ive gotten the attention of @chrissyteigen an A-List American celebrity, my dear, before you or your friend gets such international attention, it would take more hard work and years, but my only advice to you is this, King will grow up, and definitely ask you this same question, if you dont advice his mother correctly.

His words:
A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has decried the state of security in Nigeria especially banditry and kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Speaking on Saturday at a conference on migration, themed Action against irregular migration of Nigerians in Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan asked those without any knowledge in education and security not to go into politics.

If you have no idea of how to develop Nigeria through education, security, amongst others then, do not go into politics, he said.

This same kidnapping issue happened along Lokoja-Kabba road some years back; I could not travel then. I could not understand that 30km of the road cannot be policed. It just gives you a very sad impression that we are really at the mercy of the criminals. So you get ready to pay them, this is not the way to live.
The Sharia police (Hisbah) has announced that people who eat outside during the Muslim fasting period (Ramadan) would be arrested and prosecuted according to Islamic law.

This was made known by the commander-general of the security operative, Nabahani Usman, who stated that people would only be released if they can provide proof that they are ill and present a medical report from a government hospital.

He added that these are the only categories of people exempted from participating in fasting.

His words:
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle has earned himself the mockery of Nigerians on Twitter after it was announced that he has been posted to Nkalagu in Ebonyi state.

Nkalagu is in Ishielu Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, Nigeria. It is the town where the defunct Nigerian cement company (NIGERCEM) is located.

Nkalagu is known to have a large deposit of limestone which provided the raw material for the large cement plant of the Nigerian Cement Company (Nigercem).

After making countless insensitive remarks on Twitter, earning the wrath of Nigerians severally  Most recently was his statement on the Abuja women raid  which caused them to sign a petition against the police officer.

The satisfaction from Shogunles redeployment couldnt be missed in several tweets by Nigerians since his transfer to Nkalagu was announced.

See reactions

We might all rejoice at yomi Shogunle's transfer to Nkalagu(and it's a small victory to be celebrated especially if it'll make him shut up) but the truth is public officers need to know that they can loose their jobs when they make statements like that. He should have been fired  Dr. Anita Mudiaga (@fav_eyedoctor) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Omobaadewunmi/status/1124417428564389888?s=19

https://twitter.com/harvardsport/status/1124636962630008832?s=19

I wish the redeployment of @YomiShogunle was to Zamfara state. The Criminals in Nkalagu have human face and understand English but in the other end, only God will help him do interrogation  Mike Jonah (@mikejonah247) May 4, 2019

Ebonyi welcomes @YomiShogunle to Nkalagu. Please note:

1. Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi here.

2. You will not be in the state capital.

3. You will be busy with serious issues and should not have time to mis-yarn on Twitter.

4. Small boys will call you Punish, not Police.  Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Adeola0503/status/1124428753633972224?s=19
An incoming member of the House of Representatives, Akin Akabi says he doesnt know why Nigerians on Twitter are celebrating Yomi Shogunles transfer.

The Nairabet owner in a few tweets on Saturday afternoon said if the Assistant Commissioner of Police, did badly in his position in Abuja  a transfer wouldnt stop him.

Yomi Shogunle had sexually earned the backlash of Nigerians over some insensitive statements he makes on Twitter concerning the plight of Nigerians.

From the #EndSars campaign and recently to the #AbujaWomenRaid, Shogunles statements seem to always up Nigerians in a bad mood.

Therefore his transfer yo Nkalagu in Ebonyi state was a sort of victory for many.

He tweeted: I dont understand the celebration over @YomiShogunles transfer to Nkalagu. Looks like some people think life starts and ends on twitter.

I dont know what his new positions are all about. Maybe its even a promotion, I dont know. My problem is if he is as bad as Twitter says, will he stop being bad now that he is in Nkalagu?

Or are we saying? now he can no longer do anything to us on Twitter. He can go ahead and do nonsense in Nkalagu? Isnt that being a typical Nigerian? As long as my people & I are safe, the rest can go to hell. We are happy because those of us on twitter is no longer affected.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched "#MoreFunForever," a campaign aimed at promoting sustainable tourism for the present and future generations.

What use is growth and progress if it doesnt trickle down to the grassroots? Tourism Assistant Secretary Howard Uyking said during the campaign's launch in Boracay on April 29.

It makes sense to launch the initiative in the birthplace of its framework, seeing as just last year, Boracay was shut down amidst apprehensions of escalating degradation in its water quality, waste management, and general environmental impact. Its annual Labor Day celebration brought in a whopping 1.7 million tourists on an island whose carrying capacity is well below 100,000 people. A decision was made to close off the islands to tourists entirely for six months. The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) was formed, comprised of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DOT among others. The BIATF was designed to create solutions for the current problems within the island, from long-heeded infrastructural improvements from the locals to managing the excessive influx of tourists and their succeeding noise pollution and material waste.

Local business owner Victor Sacdalan recounts his personal experience as both a businessman and a resident during the closure, saying, I could not imagine closing our business for six months because our employees are the soul of our business. Rebuilding Boracay was really a struggle for the stakeholders, residents, workers, and families. A lot of struggles, financially and emotionally. But I think the idea of the rehabilitation was to prepare us to be stronger and better stakeholders. He adds that seeing the island fully cleared of tourists reminded him of what Boracay could be. As a businessman, I forgot what the island has given me. Boracay needed intervention.

Rebuilding Boracay

Boracay reopened in October of 2018 with a slew of new regulations. The Labor Day parties had officially become extinct. A 25+5 easement had been established, where a previously established 25-meter no-build zone had been extended with an additional 5 meters where establishments and roving vendors were not allowed to block with stalls or any sort of materials. Ordinances had been put in place, allowing local enforcers to penalize guests and locals for smoking or drinking within the easement as well. Fines run anywhere from 1,000 pesos to 2,500 pesos per violation. The Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG, formerly BIATF) notes that DPWH has reported a significant progressive decrease in violations over the last few months, which not only determines compliance, but a possible greater understanding among both tourists and residents of what the regulations serve to protect.

The ocean clean up also saw a decrease in algal bloom, and a cleaner shoreline has been aesthetically pleasing to many who come to the island. The movement in waste management has been manifold, educating locals and business owners on the need to decrease the use of single-use plastics and investing in eco-friendly solutions. BIARMG Deputy Commander Al Orolfo says, We are bringing in big suppliers of green technology so that businesses here will have access to the supplies.

In terms of infrastructure, there is still much work to be done, which is part and parcel of the #MoreFunForever campaign. Whereas Rome wasnt built in a day, the task of rehabilitation also takes time, and BIARMG is setting its sights on the islands interior.

Theyre optimistically looking at finishing the road work by the end of the year or early 2020. Parallel to that, the drainage system which the DOT, through its infrastructure arm TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority), is investing in," DOT Undersecretary Art Boncato said, "In addition to completing the roads, theyre laying down the drainage system to accompany that so that the whole island is covered. Thats where we are in this phase of development and we are continuing what we started.

Boncato adds that ensuring the progress isnt just in material improvements, but in the alignment of all concerned. Were ensuring that local communities are integrated in the tourism sector, tourists are following our regulations, and the government agenciesthe task force here, the local government in the province, the national government agenciesare on the same page each time so were able to move the development forward faster and more efficiently.

Forever Fun

With all these changes in mind, the DOT aims to move forward with its #MoreFunForever campaign holding up Boracay as its standard bearer. The agency may have launched the campaign in Boracay, but its scope goes at scale; a nationwide rally that encourages Filipinos, from businesses to tourists down to communities, to put forward and choose sustainability wherever they are.

The department has since established three tenets for sustainable tourism as seen from the islands progress in rehabilitation. First is responsible tourism, which relies on the ordinances put forth by the DOT to secure the natural environment, creating a culture of accountability among residents and guests. Second is environmental compliance, where local businesses are subject to a no accreditation, no operations policy following an assessment of sustainable and environmentally sound business practices.

Last but not least is inclusive growth, which encourages the hiring of locals, especially with the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). DOT hopes to adopt this framework towards the rehabilitation and preservation of other local destinations, starting with El Nido, Panglao, and Manila Bay.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explains the true depth of #MoreFunForever, saying, Were privileged because we have many natural wonders like those here in the Philippines. And as the globe learns more about our other attractions and makes us a top-of-mind destination, its opened up a host of opportunities. As people, weve been recognized as hospitable, friendly, and warm still, its a great and serious responsibility that we share as stewards of these special, wonderful destinations. Its on us to ensure all our natural wonders stay more fun, forever.
Washington's move is expected to face pushback from major importers

The initial 180-day waivers that the United States granted to buyers of Iranian oil expired on Thursday. Experts argued that Washington's intention to cut off Iranian oil exports completely might backfire both at home and abroad, Xinhua News Agency said in an analysis.

The White House announced on April 22 the US sanctions would be reimposed on all countries that import oil from Iran from Thursday on.
Brazil Court - Large

Brazils Federal Revenue Office published normative instruction No. 1862 on December 28 2018, addressing the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax responsibility, the situation where a taxpayer and third party may be jointly and severally liable for a tax obligation.

Among the novelties addressed, those related to the moment and procedure deserve more attention. According to the normative text, the tax authorities may now establish liability of third parties before judgment by the first instance and once the administrative proceeding is concluded, as well as in cases discussing tax compensation claims.

In this scenario, according to the text of the normative instruction, when the establishment of liability occurs during the tax administrative proceeding (before the first instance decision), and in cases of tax offsetting, the third parties may present their defenses according to the procedure established in Decree No. 70.235/72. In these cases, it is also possible to appeal to the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF).

In cases where such an establishment takes place after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, the third party shall file a request for reconsideration to the same tax auditor who made the establishment. In case it is not upheld, the request may also be considered by the officer of the Internal Revenue Service unit and by the Regional Superintendent.

It is important to observe that these new procedures brought by the normative instruction challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, which is express in assigning the tax authority to identify the taxpayer and the parties jointly and severally liable for the tax obligation through tax assessment notice (i.e not along or upon conclusion of the tax administrative procedure).

In cases where the establishment of liability is made after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, and there is a clear violation of the right to contest, they will have to defend themselves through an internal procedure of the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service, and are not granted access to the procedure of Decree No. 70.235/72 (and to the judgment by the CARF, which is a technical and joint body council).

Notwithstanding the considerations, normative instruction No. 1862/2018 also set forth provisions aimed at assigning more transparency to the taxpayers and to the administrative and judging authorities regarding the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax liability.

As noted in Article 1, the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service explains that the tax liability established to a third party, who is not a taxpayer nor a tax substitute, presupposes the existence of a specific rule, and is different from the one that gives rise to the tax.

Furthermore, the normative opinion clarifies the requirements that must be included in the tax assessment notice in order to establish tax liability. These are qualification of the third party, description of the facts that give rise to the establishment of liability, and the legal classification and the delimitation of the tax credit to be ascribed to the responsible party.

In conclusion, the new rules regarding the establishment of joint and several tax liability after the issuance of the tax assessment notice, especially after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, deserve attention since they challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, and the right to contestation and a full defense of the responsible third parties.

On the other hand, it has also brought new rules that should assign more certainty regarding the procedure of establishing tax liability.



Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto

Leonardo Fernandes Rebello

This article was written by Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto and Leonardo Fernandes Rebello of Mattos Filho.

The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ.

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So thats Friday nearly wrapped up. Heres some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

TO INFORM

Ana Kriegel: A dog walker has told the trial of two teenagers, charged with murdering Anastasia Kriegel, that he saw a schoolboy make a beeline for the abandoned farmhouse where shes alleged to have been murdered half an hour later.

An order restricting the reportage of Ana Kriegels murder trial until its conclusion has been lifted for all but one publisher.

Ruth Morrissey: Terminally ill Ruth Morrissey may have won her landmark High Court action and been awarded a total of 2.1m against the HSE and two US laboratories over the testing of her CervicalCheck smear slides, but there was little to celebrate as she left the Four Courts.

NI elections: The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay election candidate has been elected.

Theresa May: British Prime Minister Theresa May was confronted with anger from her own party after local election results which she admitted were very difficult for the Conservatives.

Sterling: Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Munster fan banned: Munster Rugby have banned the supporter who appeared to confront Saracens player Billy Vunipola after the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at Coventrys Ricoh Arena.

TO ENGAGE

Mary-Lou McDonald: You dont need much self-awareness to realise that if youre making the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, sound reasonable, youre in trouble.

Cork on the Rise: The prioritisation of the car and poor land use have polluted and ghettoised our cities, but a sustainable approach can change all that, says Abhas K Jha.

TO ENTERTAIN

Eco-friendly bathrooms: Just a little thought is all it takes to make a big  and almost effortless  improvement in bathroom eco-friendliness without compromising personal hygiene and housecleaning.

Chewbacca: Star Wars fans have paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew as they gathered in Ireland for the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Most read story today

Madeleine McCann: Scotland Yard apply for more funding as local police reportedly have 'new suspect'.
A man who found sensitive patient data on a city centre street and who highlighted his concerns in the media has been accused by the HSE of a data breach.

Luke Field, who found data containing patient names and details of surgical procedures on the pavement of South Terrace, Cork City on Friday, April 26, attempted to report his find to the appropriate data protection officer in the HSE South the following day. However, the office was closed over the weekend.

He then contacted Cork University Hospital (CUH) as the data related to patients attending its plastic surgery department, and was advised by a staff member to return the data to reception in a sealed envelope, and that it would be processed after the weekend.

Mr Field, a Labour candidate for Cork City South Central in the upcoming local elections, said he held off on returning the data as he wanted to hand it back to someone with direct data protection responsibility. He decided to contact the media to highlight the delay he encountered when trying to report his find to the appropriate official, as there was no out-of-hours contact service.

However, the HSE said because Mr Field voluntarily disclosed the data to a third party  the Irish Examiner  this constituted an unauthorised disclosure of personal data and that Mr Field is now obliged to report his own disclosure as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Irish Examiner contacted the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to inquire if a breach had occurred, as there is an exemption when processing personal data for the purpose of exercising the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes.

The commission said it understands that there are data protection issues in relation to this, however we cannot comment further as we would need to examine the details in full.

Mr Field said that as far as he is concerned, he doesnt believe there is any merit in the suggestion that he has committed a data breach, but he is happy to co-operate with the Data Protection Commission in their investigation of the HSE breach.

He said he is disappointed with the HSE response because the real story is that there have been two major HSE breaches in patient data in the space of a week [the other related to patients attending Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda] and this seems like an unfair attempt to divert attention away from that.

The HSE said CUH is taking the data breach very seriously and is currently investigating the incident.

The breach was reported to the Data Protection Commission and all data subjects will be contacted in line with HSE policy, the statement said.

The statement also said the deputy data protection officer was subsequently made aware that the data was shared with a third party (journalist), either prior to or after returning the data to the HSE.

The person who discovered the data and voluntarily disclosed it to the third party has been advised by the HSE that as this constitutes an unauthorised disclosure of the personal data, there is now an obligation on that person to report this as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commission.
The passenger jet that crashed into a river in the US last night is leased from an Irish company and visited Shannon earlier this year.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 jet ran off the end of the runway at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida while trying to land in a thunderstorm.

There were 143 passengers and crew on board the flight which was arriving from Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station in Cuba, when it slid off the runway into the St. Johns River at 9.42pm local time (2.42am Irish time).

All 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued during a massive operation and while 21 people were transported to hospital, their injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening.

It has emerged that Miami Air International leases some of its 8-strong fleet of aircraft from two Irish leasing companies including the jet at the centre of this incident.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

The aircraft, (registration N732MA) listed as being leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon, also visited Shannon Airport on March 12 this year.

The airline is one of a number of civilian carriers that undertake charter flights for the US Department of Defence and use Shannon Airport for refuelling stops.

On March 12, the same jet landed at Shannon while en route from Athens to the US while other aircraft in the fleet have also visited Shannon in the past and as recently as last month.

According to records, the incident jet is leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon which lists Miami Air International as one of its 150 customers worldwide.

The airline has leased at least two aircraft from Avolon along with two others from another Irish company, AerCap.
Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire at a house in Blanchardstown in Dublin this morning.

The two people in the home managed to escape unharmed.
Victims of the CervicalCheck scandal are pleading for other women to be spared the ordeal that a terminally-ill cancer patient was put through, to win her landmark compensation case.

They called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to honour his promise that no woman would be dragged through the courts, and urged him to reconsider the terms of a planned compensation tribunal which they say will operate just like a court, but behind closed doors.

Their calls came after Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul, of Monaleen, Co Limerick, were awarded 2.1m in damages against the HSE and two laboratories that failed to spot problems with her smear tests in 2009 and 2012.

The 37-year-old mother of a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and has been told she is unlikely to survive beyond two years.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Kevin Cross said her life had been ruined.

The HSE, which runs the CervicalCheck screening programme, and the two companies, MedLab and Quest Diagnostics, which analysed her smear tests, denied responsibility and fought Ms Morrissey for 37 days in the High Court, but Mr Justice Cross held them jointly and equally liable for what happened.

A relieved and emotional Ms Morrissey left court saying: I just want to move on and spend whatever quality time Ive left with my daughter.

Yet just hours later, MedLab issued a statement welcoming the determination that its lab was not negligent in its review and interpretation of Ms Morrisseys 2012 slide, and said it would be reviewing the judgment in full with a view to appeal.

Solicitor for the Morrisseys, Cian OCarroll, said the companys statement was poorly judged.

Its amazing how they can be so delighted when the court said that they are equally responsible with the HSE and Quest Diagnostics for the full value of 2.16m in damages for costing a woman her life, he said.

If an appeal is lodged, it need not necessarily delay the payout of damages.

Mr OCarroll said it would be at the judges discretion to direct full or partial payment or a stay on payment when the court resumes to consider the matter next week.

Ms Morrisseys case is the first to go to full hearing since screening blunders emerged when Vicky Phelan took her case last year, followed by the late Emma Mhic Mhathuna.

Both of their cases were settled, so the significance of Ruth Morrisseys win is that it establishes firmly that the HSE bears responsibility for the failings of the companies it contracts to carry out work, so that in future, women should only have to take on the State instead of preparing cases against multiple defendants.

Ms Morrissey, standing with the aid of a crutch, held back tears as she thanked her extended family, medical and legal team, and especially her husband Paul, my rock.

The couple kissed to mark the end of their long legal battle which began last summer, but Ms Morrisseys thoughts were with the other women whose fight is only beginning.

I did not think I would be in this position because our Taoiseach told us none of us would have to go through this, but unfortunately I am the one who had to do it, she said.

I hope thats a positive thing, so the women who are left, they dont need to do this and fight for their right to have a good life of what theyve left.

She also encouraged all women to continue getting smear tests. Its very important. Even though it failed me, it does save many many lives.

More than 200 women developed cancer after CervicalCheck failings, and dozens have lodged papers with the High Court, though they may opt for the tribunal whenever it begins.

Reminded of his pledge last year that women would be spared court trials, Mr Varadkar said he had genuinely hoped that no woman would have to go to court, but it was clear that not all cases could be resolved without litigation.

He said he was working with Health Minister Simon Harris and the attorney general to finalise the arrangements for the tribunal as soon as possible.

Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died after her tests were misread, urged them to hurry, describing what Ms Morrissey had been put through as inhumane.

The 221 Plus advocacy group also criticised the court process.

Cases like this are a no-win situation for all involved. It highlights our deepest concerns about the raw and needless cruelty of forcing women, who it is accepted have already been wronged by the State, into an adversarial public legal process that makes them feel like they are on trial just to establish the profile or the extent of that wrong and how it happened. This is simply unacceptable, it said.

A better and more compassionate mechanism is required as a priority to enable those involved establish the basis of the wrong done to them in private, without being put through that adversity.

Reservations have also been expressed about the planned tribunal, which will also be an adversarial forum. The tribunal is not to settle cases  it is the High Court behind closed doors, said Mr OCarroll.

Vicky Phelan said she was also concerned that women opting for the tribunal would still be required to take a stand and argue their case, just without publicity.

The State can do something here, she said. The State can go ahead and intervene so that these cases can be settled faster, in a more conciliatory way.

She pointed out that the State did not have to be at a financial loss, as under an indemnity clause, it could pursue the laboratories for losses due to their failings.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed the Taoiseach's apology for his comments about the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford.

Leo Varadkar issued a statement earlier saying 'this is one he got wrong'.

He said there were conflicting accounts about the mortuary last week and he didn't want to jump to conclusions - but he now accepts subsequent statements support the consultants' claims about conditions.

Deputy McDonald said the consultants deserved an apology - but it should now be followed by action.

She said: "The Taoiseach now, having apologised, needs to make absolutely sure, as head of Government, that the full facts surrounding the complaints made by the pathologists are set out in a clear fashion.

"I think it's also necessary for the hospitals to come before the Oireachtas and for elected representatives to have an opportunity to ask questions."

Leo Varadkar issues apology over mortuary claims

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised unreservedly for failing to treat seriously the concerns about mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford.

Mr Varadkar admitted he got it wrong after claiming there was no evidence to back up allegations that dead bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys at the hospital.

Four consultant pathologists wrote to the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year stating the pressing need to have inadequate facilities at the hospital mortuary addressed.

The consultants said bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys and that it had led to closed-coffin funerals in some instances.

It also emerged last week that dead bodies had been stored on the floor of the mortuary at the hospital.

In a letter dated March 26 to the South/South-West Hospital Group, the four consultant pathologists reiterated their concerns about unacceptable mortuary conditions at the hospital.

They described body storage on the floor of the mortuary following a surge in activity.

Earlier this week, the Taoiseach claimed there was no evidence to back up the claims.

However, in a statement issued on Saturday the Fine Gael leader said he made the comments because of conflicting accounts.

He said: On the one hand, a letter from four consultants making deeply disturbing claims about conditions in the mortuary and on the other hand, a statement from hospital management saying there was no evidence or supporting complaints to back up the claims.

I did not want to jump to conclusions or to side with one group of staff against another without knowing facts or before an investigation was carried out.

Thats why I said that I did not know if the claims were true or not.

Over the course of the week, corroborating statements have come to light and complaints have been made that I believe support the views expressed by the four consultants. This is one I got wrong.

I want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels that I did not treat this issue with the seriousness or sensitivity it deserved.

As I have said before, my over-riding concern is for the dignity of patients in life and in death.

It has never been in dispute that the mortuary is sub-standard and needs to be replaced.

He added that planning permission has been granted for a new mortuary at the hospital while temporary measures are being put in place in the interim. - Press Association
Two Irishmen arrested in Melbourne over an Irish roof scam spent the cash on high-end Rolex watches and designer clothing, police allege.

The pair were arrested as part of Operation Gentium, an investigation into travelling conmen who are operating such alleged scams in Melbourne.

It is alleged the two Irish nationals illegally obtained AUD$260,000 (162,000) from one of their victims.

A police statement alleges the funds were used to purchase luxury Rolex watches and expensive designer clothes.

One of the men, 28, was arrested and charged with ten counts of obtaining property by deception.

The second man, 29, was charged with six offences against the Migration Act.

The pair were arrested after a series of raids were carried out by the Eastern Region Crime Squad, with assistance from the Australian Border Force across Melbourne on Thursday.

Both men have appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court and will re-appear at later dates.

Acting Inspector Scott Dwyer said the alleged scam targets the most vulnerable members of society with pensioners often the victims.

He said: This investigation demonstrates the lengths police will go to find the people involved in these types of crimes and the partnerships that we have with other law enforcement agencies.

These strong relationships allow us to apprehend people even when they are outside Victoria.

He urged people to make sure tradesmen are legitimate before engaging them for work.

He said: We know that travelling conmen predominantly doorknock or letter-drop homes and businesses offering to do maintenance and repair work, such as asphalting, roof cleaning/tiling, painting or tree lopping.

If you want work done on your property, we ask that you don't just use a flyer to make a decision, make sure you shop around for more than one written quote.

These types of deception offences can have a significant impact on peoples lives and are often targeted at more vulnerable members of our community. We dont want to see anyone else fall victim to travelling con men.

We strongly encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of travelling conmen or fake tradies to report it to their local police as soon as possible.

Investigators believe a number of people may have been affected by the alleged scams and further enquiries are still being made by police.

In March, police were forced to issue a warning about a group of conmen with Irish accents who said they were from a business called First Choice Home Solutions, which was a fake company.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Conor Kane, and Elaine Loughlin

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must apologise directly to families whose dead relatives were treated appallingly at University Hospital Waterford after it emerged that two families have made formal complaints.

Opposition parties demanded Mr Varadkar meet with anyone affected after he twice rejected calls to apologise for his dismissive approach to four doctors who first raised the concerns.

Despite a week of denials from the Government and the HSE, the hospital confirmed yesterday that two families have made formal complaints  including relatives of one person who, the Irish Examiner understands, was buried in a closed-casket funeral.

While declining to comment on specific cases, a UHW spokesperson said the facility is currently engaging with the families concerned, that it will always take complaints very seriously, and treats deceased patients with respect and dignity.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, Labour health spokesman Alan Kelly said despite the hospitals claim, the fact that two families have made complaints over the treatment of deceased relatives means Mr Varadkar must now apologise to anyone affected.

The Taoiseach has either lost the plot on this or been sold a pup by the HSE. He is being very badly advised on this. I dont care what he has said, he should meet with and apologise to the families involved, said Mr Kelly.

Asked about the issue yesterday, Mr Varadkar twice declined to fully apologise for his response to date.

While accepting he regrets the tone of his comments questioning if the doctors who first raised the concerns are right, he stopped short of a full apology, saying:

I didnt question what they said, I just pointed out that there are different accounts from different members of staff at the hospital and I dont think its for me to adjudicate on that.

I have always encouraged people to raise issues and if people have issues about the services they work in, bringing them to the attention of management is absolutely the appropriate and right thing to do.

It has separately emerged that the four consultants who first raised the mortuary concerns warned management in March they may remove their services after being left to wait for six months for any response to their concerns.

Sinn Feins Waterford TD David Cullinane released a letter outlining the warning yesterday, alongside a separate letter from a senior HSE official warning HSE financial officials of the appalling standards at the morgue last July.

David Cullinane.

The Government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry, saying the hospital and the Health Information Quality Authority could examine the case.

However, Hiqa said last night that the morgue concerns are outside its remit.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people have turned out for a parade in Cork city to show support for the Defence Forces.

The 'Respect and Loyalty Parade' has ended for the day - the aim was to highlight dissatisfaction over pay and conditions.
There are many simple steps to help green tourism without limiting your horizons, says Thomas Breathnach

Green tourism, eco-friendly, carbon-footprints. Theyre the travel buzzwords of our generation.

However, while many cultural campaigns tend to trend and fade, theres a real stand-out factor when it comes to the sustainable travel movement. The truth is: its here to stay. Today, global tourism accounts for almost 10% of all carbon emissions, meaning the planet has never needed its globetrotters to be more green when they travel. And just like with the food and fashion industries, slow-tourism is now starting to emerge as a strong sector  with immersive travel in one area in, country-ticking for Instagram bragging rights out. Thats not to say you need to staycation in Ireland for life  but whether youre holidaying in Bantry or Bora Bora, little choices can make a big impact.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles

As islanders, we need to get places but once you do get to your base, consider train travel. While the industry may have gone off the rails with the advent of low-fare airlines, trains are making a comeback  allowing travellers to engage with a world better than flying at 30,000 feet. Need inspiration? Interrail (interrail.eu) offer myriad packages for over 30 countries across Europe  think a month pass for Italy from 95 or for Turkey from 46.

Once in your destination, shared bike schemes like Citi Bike in New York or Bycyklen in Copenhagen make a fun way to feel the pulse of a city without fumbling for underground fares. And if you are hiring a motor, Hertz (hertz.ie) now offer a green fleet of hybrid and electric cars  perhaps a good way to take a test-drive on your next holiday?

Choose your Airline

Theres no escaping the impact flying has on the environment, and while the airline industry is largely embracing the green-race, electric jets are not predicted to emerge from the hangars for another decade. For Irish consumers, thanks to its modern fleet of Dreamliners and 737s, Norwegian has been voted most fuel-efficient long-haul airline by the International Council of Clean Transport, with Aer Lingus sitting mid-table and BA almost brexiting the standings. There is good news for the majority who fly economy, however  youre actually flying more efficiently than those sipping prosecco in business.

Support a greener Ireland

According to a 2019 survey by travelcounsellors.ie, 57% of Irish consumers dont consider sustainability when booking a trip  but that pendulum swings when it comes to our younger travellers.

The point? Irish tourism needs to tap into emerging green trends as much as the consumer needs to support those who do. Fortunately, many Irish regions and businesses are already going the extra (carbon-reduced) mile to protect the environment.

The Burren (burren.ie) has positioned itself as perhaps the leading sustainable destination in the country with its own eco-network of tourism businesses. And elsewhere, there are scores of pioneering outfits going green: Ard Nahoo (ardnahoo.com) is a yoga retreat in Leitrim created with locally salvaged wood, Cool Planet Experience (coolplanetexperience.org) in Wicklow is a new climate change museum for kids, while in Wexford, the stunning Hook Lighthouse attraction (hookheritage.ie) run a zero-plastic policy.

Theres immense opportunity for Ireland to harness its potential as the leading eco-friendly destination. After all, we already have the green branding down  we just need to own it.

Location, location.

When travelling overseas, you should support countries and destinations with strong sustainability game. Norway, for example, is the first country to ban deforestation, Namibia is the only nation in Africa which protects the environment in its constitution, while Costa Rica has almost built its entire tourism industry on the eco-travel niche.

But amid all the recent cloud bursts of eco-friendliness, do be aware of greenwashing when it comes to businesses marketing as green with token gestures: sometimes it takes more than not washing your bath towels to really make a difference. Take the Bali Diving Academy in Indonesia who add an genuine element of conservation to their tours by leading underwater and beach plastic clean-ups. (scubali.com).

Pack Light

Heres a way to save the planet  and your coffers too. Extra baggage increases fuel consumption massively, which explains why we pay for it so handsomely nowadays. And while only MEPs might be expected to get by with emerging laptop bag allowances, perfecting your carry-on technique for European and even long haul getaways is a smart and surprisingly adaptable move.

Need the gear? Samsonite (samsonite.ie) now offer a new eco-range of carry-ons and backpacks made from 100% recycled water bottles.

For toiletries, soap is your friend. Kilkenny company myskin.ie creates all-natural, durable bars which save you dipping into your hotels micro-bead toiletries when you land. For on the go, invest in the likes of food-containers, bamboo sporks (thats a spoon/fork hybrid) and a re-useable water bottle from thelittlegreenshop.ie. Both Dublin and Cork airports offer hydration stations or water fountains beyond security, so you no longer have to purchase water on the fly.

Fair Food

From finding a farm-to-table restaurant in New York to opting for meat-free Montag in Berlin, making mindful decisions with your food when travelling can make a world of difference. So whats the recipe? Opting for organic produce, supporting artisan traders and yes, reducing meat, are all effective ways to reduce your footprint. As is shopping local  after all, what better way to immerse yourself in a new area than with a visit to a public market (note: dont forget that tote bag).

Vegans need to take stock too. While avocado toast looks great on Instagram, try to opt for fair trade options which are kinder to farmers in what is often a sinister industry. Going dairy-free? Be aware of water-guzzling milk alternatives like almond and soya while at the breakfast buffet  so use oat milk for your granola where possible.

The demand for local is even taking off in the skies. Aer Lingus are currently reviewing their menus to increase sustainability, Singapore Airlines launched a new a farm-to-plane agreement with the Aero-Farms company this month while Virgin Atlantic have removed unsustainable ingredients like beef and palm oil from their inflight menus.

Love Nature

Biodiversity is vital to Mother Natures natural balance, so the planet needs flora and fauna as much as you need a reusable coffee mug. And theres ways to protect that when travelling. Rule of thumb is if youre riding or kissing a creature youre likely to see on National Geographic, youve inched too close. When overseas, avoid buying animal products like sea-shells or exotic feathers, resist the likes of camel-riding and exotic monkey selfies, and dont be that guy on Facebook posing with a tranquillised tiger in India. These practices often have unsavoury back-stories and can fuel an illegal animal trade. They aint cool.

If you really want to get up close with animals in an impactful way, consider activities like walking rescue dogs in the BARC shelter in Brooklyn (barcshelter.org) or volunteering at an ethical elephant orphanage in Thailand (elephantvalleys.com). If the elephant is painting, chances are youve gone to the wrong one.

Go Camping: Leave no trace!

When it comes to going green, theres no more sustainable holiday than a camping trip  particularly when it comes to pitching up in Ireland.

For camping overseas, remember that most airport security wont permit tent poles in your hand- luggage, so youll need to purchase check-in luggage beforehand. But just think what youll save once on terra firma! Camping in Europe opens up a catalogue of otherwise pricey destinations - from sleeping on the foothills of the Swiss Alps (campingjungfrau.ch 18pp) to a cool summer in Scandinavia? Sweden  famous for its right-to-roam freedoms  has such a liberal camping policy, theyve even listed their entire country on Airbnb.

You can drop your price filter for the USA, too. Overnighting in epic locations like Yellowstone National Park (nps.gov) costs as little as $15 per night, while new start-up Hipcamp (hipcamp.com) allows you to book dream tenting spots across America from back yards to vineyards. Sustainable travel might not limit your horizons  it could just broaden them.
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Nama is 10 years old. Brian Lenihans brainchild to fix our collapsed banking system is about to reach its due completion date, but does so under a cloud of controversy which has dogged it since day-one.

It also bears a highly mixed legacy, to say the least, with calls this week that Nama more than anything else is responsible for the countrys housing crisis.

Nama and its defenders will say it will return a profit of 3.5bn back to the State; that it has been a success in cleaning up bad loans and distressed property assets; and it has done it efficiently and well.

Established in April 2009 by Lenihan as a means of stripping all of the bad debts from the bailed-out banks and restoring credit back into the system, Nama has been engulfed in mystery and treated with suspicion from many quarters.

Nama has destroyed the property market. The minister should call the people from Nama into his office and tell them to put 2bn or 3bn of property on the market at fire sale prices.

"These may be sold too cheaply but at least that would establish a floor in the property market and people would start again.

"Currently, everybody is watching prices continually falling and nobody will get into the market. They believe prices will fall further and are waiting for the bottom, is how Michael Noonan viewed Nama in 2010 just months before he would become finance minister.

As leading Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, put it: Namas structure and objectives create negative value, destroying incentives that can hurt... the economy.

Namas plan was to take loans, good and bad, with a book value of more than 72bn off the bailed out banks, paying just 32bn for them. It was given 10 years to work out those loans in order to return as much money as possible to the taxpayer.

We will chase developers to the ends of the earth, was Namas rallying cry in its early days.

Its job was to rid the busted banks of their toxic development loans and recapitalise them so they could lend again. Secondly, to restore a functioning property market.

Nama will ensure that credit flows again to viable businesses and households by cleansing the balance sheets of Irish banks. This is essential for economic recovery and the generation of employment.

"It will ensure that we avoid the Japanese outcome of zombie banks that are just ticking over and not making a vibrant contribution to economic growth, Lenihan said.

Its own mission statement read: Nama will conduct its activities in a way which assists the property market to operate efficiently and in a way which achieves longer-term sustainability.

Certainly, in the first five years of its existence, Namas record on both fronts was extremely dubious, and the availability of credit within the system has only fairly recently returned to a more normalised situation.

Bank lending remained unnaturally low, the property market went from a moribund wasteland to one where chronic shortages of adequate housing exist, particularly in the greater Dublin region.

Having said it would chase the reckless developers to the ends of the earth, Nama became engulfed in controversy when it was revealed that it was, in fact, working with same said developers and allowing them salaries of up to 200,000 a year.

Then along the way, it was decided that rather than chase and seek to recoup as much of the 72bn book value of the assets taken over by Nama, its remit was to merely break even on what it spent on the loans, ie the 32bn.

By doing so, Nama was crystalising a whopping 40bn loss to the taxpayer.

But it was not couched in terms of a loss  we have been told repeatedly by Namas bosses Frank Daly and Brendan McDonagh, the Department of Finance and even the Comptroller and Auditor General that it will make a profit.

Even Michael Noonan, who had demonised Nama in opposition, came to be one of its strongest supporters in Government and fell into line on the profit spin.

This very topic was the subject of pertinent questioning by Fine Gaels Michael Darcy of NUI Galway economics professor Alan Ahearne at the Oireachtas banking inquiry in 2015.

As Mr Lenihans special adviser from March 2009, Mr Ahearne was a key player in Namas development.

Here is how the exchange proceeded.

Mr DArcy: Would it be fair, then, to say, according to the Nama numbers, that therell be a loss of 41bn in the entire figure, on the 74bn?

Mr Ahearne: The banks would have lost 41bn on the loans that they made during the bubble, yes on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Yeah. So the conversation about Nama making a 1bn loss can I ask you your view on that? Is it a 1m  sorry, a 1bn profit, or is it a 41bn loss?

Mr Ahearne: The banks have made losses of 40bn off it  on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Which is the fairest? Is it Nama making a 1bn profit or the banks losing 41bn?

Mr Ahearne: Well, you can say both of them.

Mr DArcy: Well, Im asking you. Mr Ahearne: Because theyll both be true.

Mr DArcy: Im asking you which is yours.

Mr Ahearne: Id say both.

As Nama looks to the end of its original projected lifespan and its legacy will be examined, it must start being honest with itself and the public about the basic facts of its

existence.

I am not saying it lost this money. The idiot greedy bankers, along with their Fianna Fail cheerleaders and their developer clients, did the damage.

Namas job was to clean up the mess and it has managed to make progress.

But given how secretive Nama is about its dealings, it is difficult to make a considered judgement on its work as of now.

Aside from its secretive modus operandi, Nama has been engulfed in various controversies.

In 2016, ex Nama official, Enda Farrell, pleaded guilty to eight charges of leaking potentially commercially sensitive information to third parties between May and July 2012, some months after leaving Nama.

Reports from the time state that Farrell sat stony-faced in the dock as the sorry tale of his misdeeds dating from 2012 was explained to Judge Karen OConnor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

These actions breached two sections of the Nama Act 2009 which underpinned the establishment of the agency, gave it extensive powers, and made Farrells actions a criminal offence.

More serious than that, is the still yet to be concluded Commission of Investigation into the sale of Namas Northern Ireland loan book, given the title Project Eagle, following months of controversy.

The Commission of Investigation into Project Eagle has asked the Government for a six-month extension to the end of June for a final report to be completed.

The Government appointed retired High Court judge John Cooke in June 2017 to investigate Namas 1.24bn (1.38bn) sale in 2014 of the portfolio to US distressed-debt firm Cerberus.

Independent TD, Mick Wallace, had alleged in the Dail that 7m in fees related to the transaction had been lodged in a bank account in the Isle of Man that was reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or party following the transaction.

It is also under investigation by British authorities.

Former Cabinet minister-turned-broadcaster, Ivan Yates, has accused Nama of continuously licking themselves in terms of their public relations machine.

He added bluntly that its holding of so many properties, making it, at one time, the largest property portfolio in the world, has precipitated the housing crisis.

Nama are responsible for the housing crisis because they got all this land and turned development land into a commodity, they sat on the land.

"They were asleep at the wheel and they should have been building houses, said Yates.

So, as we reach this 10-year milestone, it might be noted that it has had some success, but Namas bib is far from clean.
For the journalist Gauri Lankesh, railing against Indias right-wing nationalism was a birthright and a calling. In an increasingly intolerant country, it was also a death sentence, writes Rollo Romig.

Gauri Lankesh usually worked late on Tuesday nights. The exuberantly leftist weekly newspaper she edited, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, went to press on Wednesdays, and she had to finalise the articles.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, she drove home early, around 7:45 pm; she had an evening appointment with a repairmen to fix her TV. The last person she spoke to before leaving the office was Satish, the papers information-technology manager (who goes by a single name).

At its peak, Gauri Lankesh Patrikes circulation numbered only in the high four digits, and Lankesh mostly wrote in Kannada, a regional language understood by only 3.6% of Indians (though in hyper-populous India, that is 48 million people, more than the population of Spain).

However, her political activism and her lively social media presence extended her reach far beyond the papers print run.

At a time of intense vitriol against the press in India, she was a fearless, sometimes reckless critic of the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which has held power in India since 2014.

Her paper was a tabloid in every sense, gleefully sensational and indifferent to decorum.

However, the vehemence and humour of her polemics in defence of pluralism and minority rights had made her a beloved figure to an increasingly embattled opposition.

She was more vulnerable than she sounded on the page. She reminded one friend of a sparrow: her head topped with a feathery whorl of short gray hair, bursting with noisy argument but fundamentally gentle.

At 55, she was 5ft and a half-inch tall  she always insisted on the half-inch, her ex-husband, the journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, said  and skinny, possibly because of her heavy smoking and her tendency to work through mealtimes.

She lived alone in an unusually quiet pocket of Bangalore, the capital city of the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Her lone concession to friends and family concerned about her safety was a few closed-circuit TV cameras she installed half a year earlier  cameras that captured some of what happened on the night of September 5.

Just after 8pm she parked her car, a compact white Toyota, at an indifferent angle, then jumped out to open the gate. From the camera footage, it appeared that she hadnt noticed the motorcycle with two riders that had followed her home.

The moment she got her gate open, the motorcycles passenger rushed up and shot her with a crude pistol. Two bullets hit her in the abdomen, one passing through her liver.

Lankesh turned to run, and the third shot missed her and struck a wall. A fourth bullet hit her in the back, passing through a lung and grazing her heart before exiting through the left cup of her bra.

The whole encounter lasted about five seconds. Within a minute, the repairmen pulled up and found her splayed across the entryway to her house in a pool of blood.

About 20,000 people attended a Bangalore rally in her honour a week later. Her friends marvelled not only at the number of supporters but at their variety: writers, students,

activists, members of the marginalised Dalit and Adivasi communities, transgender women, rickshaw drivers, landless farmers, Muslims, Christians.

Large I Am Gauri demonstrations arose nationwide in outrage at the increasing attacks, rhetorical and physical, on Indian journalists.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, routinely tweets condolences after aeroplane crashes in foreign countries but made no comment about Lankeshs murder.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has been keeping track of 35 cases of Indian journalists murdered specifically for their work since 1992, and only two of these cases have resulted in a successful conviction.

Indias newspaper culture has long been among the most varied and vigorous in the world, which the countrys free-speech laws help enable.

However, India has no explicit constitutional protection of freedom of the press, and the laws that do exist are easily curtailable in the interest of security, public decency or religious sentiment.

The situation has unquestionably deteriorated over the past several years  a fact that owes much to the ascent of the BJP. In the 2014 elections, the party won 282 of the 545 seats in the lower house of Indias Parliament, which determines the prime ministership.

The Congress Party, which has led nearly every Indian government since independence, won only 44. Political pressure on journalists is nothing new in India, but the current government is the first in many years to treat them as an ideological enemy. Since he took office in 2014, Modi has not held a single news conference in India.

Among BJP politicians, a popular term for journalists is presstitutes. A dispatch on Indian journalism last year by the Committee to Protect Journalists described an unprecedented climate of self censorship and fear, reporting, the media is in the worst state India has ever seen.

By the end of May, national elections will determine if Modi and the BJP are elected to another five years. Hostility toward journalists and opposition figures is intensifying as voting day approaches.

The investigative journalist Rana Ayyub, best known for her investigation into BJP complicity in religious riots (which Lankesh had published in a Kannada translation), wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year that she has been the target of an unrelenting online assault by right-wing activists: Her face was grafted on a pornographic video; her home address and phone number were circulated; there were threats of gang rape.

Lankeshs murder seemed to fit what was by then an unmistakable pattern of assassinations of intellectuals who opposed the fundamentalist-Hindu ideology that animates the BJP, all of which remained unsolved.

Between 2013 and 2015, three religiously freethinking Indian writers and activists were shot dead near their homes by assailants who escaped on motorcycles: the doctor Narendra Dabholkar, in Pune; the politician Govind Pansare, in Kolhapur; and the scholar MM Kalburgi, in Dharwad.

After Kalburgis murder, scores of Indian writers returned their awards from the National Academy of Letters to protest both the lack of progress in the murder investigations and the BJPs silence over rising intolerance,

to no effect.

There was much anxious speculation over who might be the next writer to die. However, few thought it would be Lankesh, in part simply because she lived in Bangalore.

Situated on a plateau at the centre of Indias southern triangle, Bangalore has a reputation as an easygoing, tolerant place. It reflects Indias diversity  its melange of cultures, languages, religions and histories  more than most places.

It is a city that attracts migrants from all over the country. Indias science-research efforts have centred on Bangalore for more than a century as has, in recent decades, its information-technology industry, and the city consequently has one of the worlds most educated workforces.

According to the Karnataka Police, a year can pass in Bangalore without a single instance of a gun used in a crime. To many Bangaloreans,

Lankeshs murder felt like the violent announcement of the end of an era  an era that had arguably sprung from the imagination of Lankeshs father, P Lankesh.

A commanding figure with huge eyeglasses and a generous moustache, Lankesh was a compulsively productive, endlessly quarrelsome English professor, fiction writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker, essayist and journalist.

He dominated the cultural and political discourse in Karnataka for the 20 years in which he edited Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid he founded in 1980.

Gauri Lankesh grew up in her fathers shadow. When he died in 2000, it was unthinkable that anyone could fill his shoes  least of all his daughter, who was then barely literate in Kannada. However, her family legacy proved irresistible, and she moved back to Bangalore to serve as the papers editor.

Lankesh found she loved it. She never approached her fathers literary talents in Kannada but was his equal in pluck. Her immersion in Karnatakas problems transformed her into a leftist and an activist, and Lankesh Patrike transformed with her.

Its new direction led to an ideological rift with the papers owner and publisher, her brother Indrajit. In 2005, she left the paper, and the next week she started a new tabloid of her own: Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

There are two main rival ideas of India. One idea is the pluralist, multi- religious, multicultural vision on which the country was founded in 1947. The other is known as Hindutva: a fundamentalist, majoritarian movement that seeks to codify and enforce orthodox Hinduism and to define India as an explicitly Hindu country (despite the fact that India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world).

The most important Hindutva organisation is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a powerful Hindu-nationalist paramilitary group that was founded in 1925 and reportedly has millions of members.

The Hindutva groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are known collectively as the Sangh Parivar. One of them is the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress Party, whose politics are generally secular and social democratic, has undoubtedly been guilty at times of suppressing the press and of condoning the mass slaughter of religious minorities.

However, many Indian liberals fear that the BJPs overwhelming victory in 2014 marks the most profound threat to Indias democracy and pluralism since its founding.

The BJP had controlled the prime ministership before, for six years, after breaking the Congress Partys longtime hold on the office in the 1998 elections, but only as part of a coalition government that required it to tamp down its hardline positions.

A BJP re-election this year would be seen as a mandate to fully implement the partys ideology. In the BJPs rhetoric, being Indian is equated with being Hindu, and religious minorities are spoken of as if they were foreigners. Critics are branded as anti-national.

Advocates of a secular Indian state  which the Indian constitution calls for in its very first sentence  are called sickulars.

Such talk has already emboldened a surge of vigilantism. Since the BJP took power, what is known as cow protection has become increasingly a matter of national politics  the cow holds religious importance to many Hindus  and lynch mobs have murdered scores of people, largely Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or selling cattle.

In July last year, a BJP minister invited to his home eight men who had been convicted in such a lynching and presented them with garlands and sweets.

By the time the BJP won in 2014, Lankesh had, for nearly a decade, been using her own newspaper to thrust herself into the centre of local debates over Hindu nationalism. She sometimes got death threats at the office, either by phone or by mail. She would ignore it, her colleague Satish said.

She would say, who will shoot me? We didnt take it seriously. Like her father, she often treated political argument like sport.

She loved it, Lankeshs sister, Kavitha Lankesh, said.

She loved fighting, she loved voicing her views, she took great pleasure in standing up for people. She would make a joke, saying, I am on the hitlist, and she felt proud to say that.

More than once, her subjects reported her to the police for criminal defamation and libel.

Such charges rarely hold up in Indian courts, but they are effective in harassing journalists because the accused must show up in court wherever the charge is filed. Lankeshs opponents would file cases all over the state.

Her lawyer, Venkatesh Bubberjung, would advise Lankesh to be more careful in her words.

Shed say: I am going to call a scoundrel a scoundrel! Its your job to defend me, he said.

In November 2016 she was finally convicted in a criminal defamation case over a story she published eight years earlier claiming that several BJP leaders had defrauded a jeweller and was sentenced to six months in jail. (The sentence was immediately suspended, and when she was killed, she was awaiting appeal.)

I asked Venkatesh if Lankeshs rhetoric went overboard at times.

Frequently, not at times! he said.

In one example that particularly offended her opponents, in response to a campaign to mail sanitary napkins to Modi to protest a new tax on menstrual hygiene products, she suggested on Twitter that women mail napkins that had already been used.

However, Lankesh had defenders among mainstream Indian liberals too, like the historian Ramachandra Guha.

There is no such thing as overboard, he insisted, pointedly paraphrasing an adage that had been a favourite of the former BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

The answer to a piece of writing is another piece of writing. Its not murdering someone.

For nearly six months after Lankeshs murder, there were no arrests. However, in May, the Karnataka Polices special investigation team filed a charge sheet against a Hindutva activist named KT Naveen Kumar.

Fifteen more suspects have been arrested and charged in the months since then; all are in jail awaiting trial and are expected to plead not guilty. Police are still searching for two more.

The accused include a young utensil salesman named Parashuram Waghmare, who the police say confessed to pulling the trigger. The police also say that Waghmare wasnt familiar with Lankesh when the conspirators asked him to kill her, so they showed him YouTube videos of her speeches to persuade him to commit the murder.

They gave him 10,000 rupees, or around 140. The police suspect that the accused are part of an apparently nameless, multi-state right-wing assassination network with at least 60 members.

Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has kept his silence. He has never publicly mentioned Lankeshs name or referred to her case.

In the months since Lankesh was shot, some of her friends and colleagues have grown more cautious about what they write and say and post to social media, even as this years unusually fraught and uncertain Election Day approaches.

Others have found themselves speaking out where they wouldnt have before. Prakash Raj, a popular film actor and friend of Lankeshs who had previously been quiet on politics, is now running for office on what could be called the Gauri platform.

When we buried Gauri, we were actually sowing her, he said at a literary festival in January.

They thought she could be silenced, but she lives through us. And if I end up in the parliament, it will be Gauris voice that will be heard there.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in The New York Times Magazine 2019 The New York Times
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 (12:01 am) - Score 2,110

Broadband is no longer a luxury good, but flows through households and businesses as freely as running water. Quality broadband allows us to live better and more fulfilling lives, and it is a lifeline for businesses to connect with the rest of the world.

In the thirty years since the launch of the world wide web, the world has gone from sceptically regarding the internet as a niche invention to being totally dependent on it. If you look at how broadband speeds have become faster and faster over the last few years, it is clear that technology is improving at a quicker rate than ever. This makes you think, if broadband already plays such a big part in our lives, then how much more dependent are we going to be on broadband over the next thirty years?

NOTE: This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ). The views of this author are their own and may not represent those of this website.

Encouragingly, the UK Government understands the positive economic value of broadband, and has rightly set out its ambitions to provide full fibre broadband nationwide by 2033. ISPA fully supports this ambition, and our members have been working tirelessly to design, build and fund broadband rollout to make this vision a reality.

However, the simple truth is that unless the Government takes a more active role in facilitating the rollout of broadband, it runs the risk of not achieving its ambition of full fibre availability by 2033. As I will outline, this vision is still achievable, but it will require direct action from the Government to mitigate a series of barriers prohibiting the efficient rollout and delivery of broadband.

Government Funding

The first hurdle the Government ought to look at is whether its commitment to funding this project actually matches the lofty ambitions it has set out for itself? To be clear, broadband investment is primarily funded through private investment with some public support through the various Government initiatives (e.g. Digital Investment Fund and LFFN).

In order to be cost effective, the focus of ISPs is often on prioritising the rollout and delivery of broadband in areas where it is economically viable. This conflicts with the Governments ambition, which is to provide nationwide full fibre access. There are firms willing to address these areas, but they need to have a regulatory framework that is both light touch and supportive.

ISPs are constantly criticised by rural communities and their MPs about insufficient broadband access in these areas. Considering it is the Governments ambition to provide nationwide access to full fibre broadband, surely it is right that they put their hand in their pocket to do more to fund the rollout and delivery of broadband in these rural areas?

Of all the projects that the Government has committed to in recent years, which will deliver the most benefits for greater connectivity and for the UK economy in the long term? It is not hard to come to the conclusion that nationwide broadband rollout tops this list. So, the Government should be far more willing to match its lofty ambitions with the necessary funding to provide broadband access for these hardest to reach areas.

Barriers to broadband rollout

Although insufficient Government funding will impact the long-term vision of broadband availability, there are a set of immediate challenges that are preventing ISPs from rolling out broadband effectively, and urgently need addressing. These barriers divert resources, waste time and ultimately hinder the progress of delivering broadband infrastructure.

Burdensome business rates are a significant barrier because they limit how much ISPs can invest into rollout and takes away the very funding that Government provides elsewhere. ISPA believes that if these rates are relaxed  or at the very least reformed to be equitable, transparent and simpler  then ISPs would be allowed to focus more of their funds and attention on delivering broadband infrastructure.

Additionally, there are several more physical barriers that have proven detrimental to our mission. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, ISPs are often forced to devote time and resources to navigating layers of red tape. Whilst the Government have begun work to ease these pressures with upcoming legislation around granting access to buildings, there is a still a need to engage with and upskill local authorities to ensure that these infrastructure projects are properly prioritised, and implemented consistently, across the country. The administrative burden of complying with these barriers inevitably causes delays, impacts operational efficiency and increases costs. ISPs should be building networks, not jumping through hoops.

There is also an unnecessary obsession from Ofcom and consumer groups such as Which? about the price of broadband. This culture of price obsession has encouraged a race to the bottom for the broadband market, where value for money takes precedence over the quality of service, and the provider who offers the lowest prices is often seen as the most appealing. This is counterproductive to the rollout and delivery of broadband, as it simply means that ISPs have less revenue to invest in our mission.

Online Safety

It is important to highlight that in addition to rolling out and delivering broadband, ISPs also have a responsibility to ensure online safety. This is a responsibility that ISPs take extremely seriously, and our members have continually worked with Government and other stakeholders to help make the internet a safer place. There are also technical changes such as DNS over HTTPS that could bind the hands of ISPs to tackle online safety effectively.

The recently published Online Harms White Paper was significant because the only proposal relevant to our members was for ISPs to block non-compliant websites and apps. The Government has recognised the good work that our members are doing in this area, and it is clear that the onus is now on social media sites and other parts of the internet value chain to step up and take more responsibility for the content on their platforms.

We believe that this is a positive step to combat online harms, but one that should be handled carefully. ISPs already have to divert enough resources and funding to tackle the administrative burden that is created by the regulatory spaghetti of multiple regulators and government departments making demands of our members.

By highlighting that additional measures to tackle online safety must be implemented by online platforms instead of ISPs, it allows ISPs to focus on the rollout and deliver of broadband nationwide.

Conclusion

To conclude, the message here is simple. If the Government wants to achieve its ambition of providing nationwide full fibre coverage by 2033, then ISPs desperately need a more accommodating framework to work under. The challenges that we face are serious, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the barriers that prevent the nationwide rollout of full fibre broadband. It is encouraging that the Government did not target ISPs for extensive further responsibilities in the Online Harms White Paper, but it needs to go much further to create a regulatory and practical framework that will unleash broadband rollout.

We should not underestimate the value of this project. It is perhaps the single most important infrastructure project that the UK will undertake in our lifetime to guarantee the long-term economic health of the UK. Failure to achieve this vision risks the UK falling behind other countries that have prioritised innovation and technology as the foundation of their economies. Our industry is united in our call to the Government to work with us to get on with the job of rolling out full fibre and 5G for all.

 Andrew Glover, Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
May 4, 2019



POCATELLO  Idaho State University graduates were encouraged to continue their Bengal roar as they head out into the world at ISU spring commencement ceremonies May 4 in Holt Arena.

After graduation you will have the right to forever to call yourself a Bengal. The right to tell the world, proudly, that you are a graduate of Idaho State University. That is your right, said Kevin Satterlee, ISU president. Now, here is your responsibility, and I charge and task you with this, right here and right now  go out in the world and make us proud. Live that better life and never forget your roar.

Graduate and Associated Students of ISU President Logan Schmidt, spoke about the challenges he and other students met on the way to earning their degrees and thanked those who supported them.

I want to challenge all of you to continue your roar, and be a mentor, a leader or a hero for someone else now, Schmidt said. Give them the love and support your family did. Show them the possibilities a college degree can provide for them. Show them the path of excellence and bring as many individuals up in this world as you can, because that is what Bengals do.

A total of 2,553 graduates received 2,714 degrees and certificates. One hundred fifty-nine students received multiple certificates and/or degrees.

The breakdown of graduates included 38 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 11 Doctor of Education degrees, four Doctor of Arts degrees, six Doctor of Audiology degrees, 14 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 25 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 78 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, 11 Educational Specialist degrees, 508 masters degrees, 53 academic certificates, 1,259 bachelors degrees, 472 associate degrees, and 235 certificates from the College of Technology.

ISU student Tara Cluff performed the national anthem. The faculty mace was placed by the 2019 Distinguished Teacher, Marco Schoen.

Satterlee greeted the audience and conferred the degrees.

ISU Executive Vice President and Provost for academic affairs Laura Woodworth-Ney recognized the distinguished faculty who are Schoen, Distinguished Service Cindy Seiger and Distinguished Researcher Kathleen Lohse.

Presentation of graduates was by the University deans.

Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2019 are: Doug Butler, Dallas, Texas, College of Arts and Letters - Social and Behavioral Sciences; Stefanie Pemper, Annapolis, Maryland, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Brent J. Stacey, Idaho Falls, College of Science and Engineering; Rick K. Eskelson, Pocatello, College of Technology; Dan and Barbara Fuchs, Twin Falls, College of Pharmacy; Kelly Rae, Reno, Nevada, College of Education; Dan Mills, Salt Lake City, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Heidi Halverson, Missoula, Montana, College of Health Professions; Joan Agee, Nampa, College of Nursing; Larry Bird, Boise, College of Business; and Bruce Kusch, Salt Lake City, Graduate School.

Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2019 are Kirby Kinghorn, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions; Cassandra Smith, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions  Dental Hygiene; Trager Hintze, Purcell, Oklahoma, College of Pharmacy; Jenna Strop, Boise, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Whitney Heuer, Idaho Falls, College of Nursing; Eighdi Aung, Yangon, Burma (Myanmar), College of Science and Engineering  Engineering; McKenzie Mangun, Caldwell, College of Science and Engineering  Natural and Physical Science; Brittany Garrett, Riverton, Utah, College of Education; Logan Schmidt, Pocatello, College of Business; Jessica Hamway, Boston, Massachusetts, College of Technology; Rachel Godin, Eagle, College of Arts and Letters  Social and Behavioral Sciences; William Veloso, Meridian and Gold Beach, Oregon, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Alyssa Millard, Merrill, Wisconsin, Graduate School  Masters Recipient; and Omid Heidari, Ghaenshahr, Iran, Graduate School  Doctoral Recipient.

Graduates are encouraged to share their memories on social media at #isugrads.

Photo information: ISU President Kevin Sattterlee addressing graduates and guests at commencement.
The company is conducting its own review and has taken remedial and improvement measures based upon this review, including replacement of a number of employees in China and enhancements of company policies and procedures in China.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey called the two legal and regulatory issues significant overhangs following Herbalife successfully fending off in 2018 the multiyear attack of billionaire hedge-fund activist Bill Ackman.

It would be super nice to put these matters to rest and would make the next debt deal much easier, Ramey said.

Yet, one has to say that the risk profile of Herbalife is perhaps the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Ramey said Herbalife may be preparing for another Dutch auction of its stocks after Aug. 19, which could allow its largest investor, billionaire hedge-fund activist Carl Icahn, to sell off more shares.

Companies use the Dutch auction method to repurchase a predetermined value of shares within a set price range in a relatively short amount of time, typically one to two months, according to analysts with SeekingAlpha.com.
The next day, he filled out another Healthcare Request where he wrote I have Asthma and I take steroids. They have ran out and its really affecting my breathing.

That same day, he filled out a grievance form: I feel that my life is in jeopardy because I have severe asthma and I cant get my inhaler when needed. I have asked over and over that something be done to no response. My next step is to bring someone of a higher power... He told jail staff to call his doctor to explain his condition and repeats his need for steroids.

Please someone respond, Coley said, according to the lawsuit.

Surratt, a licensed practicing nurse, saw Coley the next day at 2 a.m.

He was audibly wheezing, with crackles in both lungs, grunting, using accessory muscles to breathe, and leaning forward to breathe, commonly referred to by medical providers as tripodding, the lawsuit said.
UNCSA awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 246 students. More than 1,000 people, including their parents, friends, children and spouses, attended Saturdays ceremony.

John Russell of Greensboro was among the students who received a masters degree in filmmaking. Russell pursued his graduate degree while he worked full time as a library specialist at Winston-Salem State University.

This means everything to me, Russell said of his diploma. It took a long time and a lot of energy.

During her speech, Campbell advised the students to keep a realistic outlook on life as she congratulated them.

There is no person, no relationship, no job, no reward, no outfit, no body type, no material possession and no amount of money that will make you happy forever, Campbell said. So stop looking outside yourself for it because it does not exist.

Set goals, dream big, make improvements upon yourself, she said. Work hard, be kind, show up, love yourself and what makes you different and amazing things can happen for you. ... Now get out there and make the world a better place for all of us.
President Trump last week tried to justify his defense of the 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville by invoking the memory of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. The demonstrators, argued the president, doubling down, were indeed very fine people because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.

Lee was indeed a great general. But so what?

For more than 100 years, Lee and other generals of the Confederacy have been invoked to justify the cause of segregation and Jim Crow bigotry. Their statues  including the one of Lee in Charlottesville  were erected in the South when the federal government abandoned Reconstruction and allowed Southern whites to disenfranchise, and then terrorize, the newly freed African Americans living among them. Those statues, and the romanticized memory of the Confederate cause that they are intended to evoke, serve a bad cause. Last week, Trump again identified himself with that bad cause.

We already have a better way to look at Robert E. Lee. Not an angry way, but a just one.
Sasses bill  recently blocked by Senate Democrats  does precisely what its unwieldy name implies. It deals only with the case of an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a child born alive. And it does not mandate medical care even in these cases. Instead, it requires doctors to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Cases in this category are admittedly tiny in number. The only remotely authoritative figures I have seen come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (by way of FactCheck.Org). In the period from 2003 to 2014, the CDC recorded 143 cases in which children were born alive after attempted abortions. (Because it is sometimes difficult for the CDC to distinguish induced from spontaneous terminations, the overall number is probably a bit higher.) In 2017, for example, Minnesota had three reported cases of attempted abortions that produced infants born alive. In one case, according to the state Department of Health, the infant was given comfort care until it died.
Part of our history

Our Dixie fairgrounds are at issue. I think our thinking should be fair! Slavery was horrible, but that was then. We live in the South and we have our traditions and history.

I was not upset with Silent Sam being on the UNC Chapel Hill campus because it was a part of our history. I was not upset with our statue at the old courthouse. This was a part of our history. Should we move the Washington and Jefferson memorials in Washington, D.C. because George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? How can we erase part of our history? We can learn from it, however.

Bob Matthews

Winston-Salem

Negotiations

It doesnt bother me that the U.S. pledged to pay North Korea $2 million to free American hostage Otto Warmbier. Nor does it bother me that we wont pay North Korea (though considering President Trumps habit of lying, its not going to surprise me if we learn that we did pay North Korea).


remaining of

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Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.

The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the states governor Hashim Khalid.

About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp but it they soon unleashed violence on a unit of armed forces, in Nyala, Khalid said.

Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left critically wounded, he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.

After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the regions military headquarters and organised by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.

The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.

It called to reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala.

Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum since weeks.

Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the countrys army rulers hand over power to civilians.

A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudans western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoums Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.

Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.

In recent years Darfur has seen an overall fall in violence, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
Ankara on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for the bombing of a building housing the Turkish state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

We condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms for targeting a building in Gaza, in which the @anadoluagency office was located, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidencys chief communications director, said on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone, he said.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff had been evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a tyrant after Netanyahu called him a dictator and a joke.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  A mother from Grants Pass accused of eluding police as she absconded with her kids during a custody dispute was later tracked down in Las Vegas, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS).

On April 12, police officers visited 33-year-old Tiffany Gallego in an attempt to serve her with a court order. Her 4-year-old son's father had been granted full custody of the child. Instead, GPDPS said that Gallego fled in her vehicle with three of her children in the car, leading officers on a short car chase.

"Officers terminated the pursuit due to the reckless driving behavior of Gallego and the risk of harm to the children and the public," the agency said.

Detectives came to believe that Gallego was trying to leave the state with the 4-year-old child. It took cooperation from a number of agencies between the Rogue Valley and Nevada, but Gallego was eventually located in Las Vegas on May 2.

According to GPDPS, officers took Gallego into custody without incident, finding the 4-year-old in the motel room "safe and sound." The 4-year-old is being returned to his father, and officers found one other of Gallego's children in the room who is now in the care of the Department of Human Services. GPDPS did not mention the third child that was supposedly with Gallego at the outset.

Gallego has been charged with two counts of Custodial Interference 1, three counts of Reckless Endangering, Felony Elude, Reckless Driving, and Interfering with a Police Officer.

"An AMBER Alert was not utilized in this investigation as it did not meet the requirements, as there were no facts to indicate the child was in any danger of harm," the agency said. "Amber Alerts have specific criteria in place to prevent overuse of the system. Detectives utilized several other resources and partner agencies in order to attempt to locate Gallego and ensure the safety for all involved."

GPDPS was aided by the Pacific Northwest Violent Task Force (Medford), Las Vegas Metro Police, Henderson Police, and the Las Vegas Sex Offender Predator Apprehension Team and Vigilant Solutions.

"Grants Pass Department of Public Safety want to express their appreciation to the agencies that assisted in the safe recovery of the child and the apprehension of Gallego," the agency said.
MEDFORD, Ore.  For decades, the nonprofit Sparrow Clubs has seen burgeoning participation and popularity with their programs in Oregon, making heart-warming pairings between kids in medical need and young students who become their biggest champions. Now the organization is spreading its wings and bringing the same programs to other states.

Sparrow Clubs announced that it had established a new chapter at Boise High School in Idaho on Thursday, sponsored by Black Rock Coffee Bar. A post from Sparrow Clubs showed the students of Boise High welcoming their first Sparrow, Jorge.

"Jorge is 16 and is fighting bone cancer now for the third time. This show of support was just what this courageous teen and his family needed today in the midst of this battle," the organization said.

Meanwhile, Sparrow Clubs has been making inroads in Arizona since 2018. The nonprofit recently received support from Black Rock and the Arizona Diamondbacks to establish more programs in the Phoenix area, and there have been several Arizona Sparrows already.

The Sparrow Clubs programs have become deeply rooted in the Southern Oregon community. Every Sparrow sponsored represents a partnership between a child who might otherwise be considered an outsider, the students of a local school, and community partners looking to make a difference. While the partners commit funds to help pay for a Sparrow's medical bills, the students commit to acts of service as a way of showing their support.

For more stories on Sparrow Clubs from NewsWatch 12 from past and in the future, you can visit our Sparrow Clubs page here.
The prosecution noted that the mens cooperation in the investigation and testifying at Quinns trial was valuable. The prosecution stated that these men did make terrible decisions, but each of the men had minimal criminal history before this case and were at low risk to offend again.
You stride purposefully into the living room and then, your mind goes blank. You cant remember what you planned to do. Or you memorize a short grocery list. But when you arrive at the supermarket all you can recall is yogurt. What else were you supposed to buy?

Then there are those times you bump into whats-his-name at work. Or struggle to dredge up the title of that book you wanted to buy or movie you saw last week.

Such lapses are presumed to be a normal feature of the aging brain. They cant be helped.

Or can they? Researchers at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine and Boston University report tantalizing progress in related experiments to boost short- and longer-term memory. The first type is working memory. Thats whats used to remind yourself of a phone number you just heard, or to take your medication. Then theres longer-term memory that helps you recall something that happened weeks or years ago.
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions, which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out, and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic Cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send all questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Father Tom Hartman.

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All throughout Kenosha County, you may begin to notice a blue, plastic shopping bag delivered to homes soon.

This signifies that the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is almost upon us.

Food will be collected Saturday, May 11, at the time your mail is delivered.

This food drive allows all of us in the county the ability to contribute to our very own community without needing to leave the comfort of our homes ... or rather I should say only having to go as far as the mailbox.

NALC Food Drive

Many years before the official start of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive in the early 1990s, a number of mail carriers at branches throughout the nation collected food for those in need as part of community service efforts.

A coordinated event was initially piloted in 1991, with such success that bringing the food drive nationwide came soon after.

The event was tweaked after consultation with food banks and pantries, ultimately bringing the food drive to its home on the second Saturday in May.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive continues to be present in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam and is the United States largest single-day food drive. Stamp Out Hunger is carrying out its 27th annual event this year.

Kenosha Countys Stamp Out Hunger

This year, the food collected will be distributed by local food pantries: 1Hope, Salvation Army, Shalom Center and Sharing Center.

This four-legged network of pantries has worked together to acquire the donation bags, coordinate advertising, assemble volunteers and ensure distribution.

Kenosha County post offices participating in the event include Bristol, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Salem, Silver Lake, Trevor and Wilmot.

Good news: If you forget to place your donations by your mailbox on May 11, they can be dropped off at the local participating post offices or food pantries by May 13.

Even better news: If you misplace the official bag between now and then, you can place donations in any bag and place it near your mailbox on May 11.

Food donation tips

Barbara Ingham and Jennifer Park-Mroch of UW-Madison Division of Extension offer guidelines in ensuring safety and quality of food donations:

Avoid donating items with high amounts of sugars, salt or that would be difficult to incorporate into a nutritious meal.

Inspect the package to ensure products are not opened, damaged or leaking.

Check the Better if used by/expiration/pull by date on food.

Preferred donations:

Canned vegetables (ideally without added salt).

Canned fruits in juice or unsweetened applesauce.

100 percent fruit juice.

Dried fruit.

Canned meats and fish.

Whole grain pasta, rice, crackers or popcorn.

Canned beans.

Peanut butter.

Whole gran, low sugar cereal or oatmeal.

Soup or broth (reduced sodium).

For more information about the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive visit https://nalc.org/food and for information about Kenosha Countys efforts visit https://www.facebook.com/events/565959597235635/.

Mary Metten is health and well-being educator for Kenosha County University of Wisconsin-Extension.

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Tremper High School will be adding more staff to monitor doors during arrival and dismissal, according to district officials, after a former student entered the school earlier this week and made threats to kill people.

Tanya Ruder, Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman, said the decision was made after a debriefing with school officials and Trempers school resource officer from the Kenosha Police Department.

Student and staff safety is a top priority of the district, and we are confident that things were handled very well by our staff and students in this situation. In addition, we greatly appreciate the support and prompt response of our local law enforcement, Ruder said Thursday.

According to Ruder, protocols and procedures were correctly followed in the incident and that the increased staff presence would bring added security.

On Monday, the former student showed up at the high school and walked into the building, speaking with other students in the commons area, according to a Kenosha Police Department report.

Witnesses said the former student began talking about committing homicide, pulling a Confederate-flag bandana over his face and announcing he was ready.

Students reported the incident around 7:30 a.m. Officials reviewed video surveillance which showed the former student leaving the campus at 7:22 a.m.

The student was expelled in December and was not supposed to be on campus. He was referred to police for trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. He was placed in juvenile detention.

According to police, he had already been on an ankle monitor for other pending charges. No weapons were found in his home.

It is important to note Wisconsin Act 143 requires that any exterior door left unlocked during the school day, from student arrival to dismissal, must be monitored by a dedicated staff member, Ruder said in a statement.

Accessible doors

In fall of 2018, all KUSD schools underwent a safety assessment led by our facilities team and building leadership to determine any gaps in safety protocols. At this time, it was discovered that Tremper had more doors accessible than necessary, and they immediately adjusted their procedures and protocols to allow only two doors near the commons area to be open for arrival and dismissal periods. These doors are monitored by dedicated staff members during this time, she said.

In addition, one or two other doors may be utilized as needed for students with special needs, but they also are monitored by dedicated staff. After the arrival period ends, all visitors are required to enter through the locked and monitored main entrance.

We are extremely proud of our students who immediately reported the incident and concerns to administration and the swiftness in which the administration and the Kenosha Police Department handled the incident, she said.

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Its not typical for us, as elected officials, to make public recommendations for or against the release of a prison inmate.

But given the crime he committed, premediated and without a real motive, we do not believe Eric S. Nelson is a typical prison inmate.

Last month, we joined the family of the late Joseph Vite in calling for the Wisconsin Parole Commission to deny Nelsons release. Now, as the commissions May 14 hearing date is nearing, we would like to reiterate our request that the community join us in signing a petition opposing parole for Nelson.

Nelson is the man who fired the shot to the head that killed Vite, after lying in wait to attack in Vites Bristol home, on Jan. 16, 1985. Nelson was acting alongside Daniel Dower, Vites foster son, who spent months planning the murder.

On the evening of Vites murder, Nelson was in violation of a court-ordered curfew, set just two days before the murder, for a separate case in which he was charged with the armed burglary of another victims private residence.

Its important to note that Nelson had apparently never met Joseph Vite before committing his murder. And thats why we believe it is imperative that he remain in prison.

Most people who commit murder have an ax to grind with the victim, or theyre in it for significant personal gain, monetary or otherwise. Nelson does not fit that profile.

Nelson was willing to adopt someone elses feud, just for a few guns and a small amount of money. He was willing to end someones life for little more than a thrill and a road trip in a stolen car.

We believe in rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Kenosha County demonstrates that principle through our commitment to programs such as the criminal diversion treatment courts, which place an emphasis on turning over a new leaf and starting a new life, rather than spending a life behind bars.

Nelsons actions years ago give us pause. His brutal slaying of Joseph Vite devastated a family, and demonstrated a character that cannot be trusted to be free in our community.

If Nelson and Dower had committed this crime a few years later, Wisconsins Truth in Sentencing Law may likely have precluded their release from prison. But under the law in place when they were convicted in 1985, they are eligible to apply for parole. Nelson has made numerous attempts at release, but only recently came as close as he is today, in a minimum-security, pre-release facility near Green Bay.

The Vite family, which has fought for years to keep Nelson in prison, are not taking this lying down.

Last month, they launched an online petition drive that the public can sign at http://bit.ly/NelsonParolePetition. Theres also a blog with more information about the case at https://keepamurdererbehindbars.home.blog.

We strongly encourage you to read up on the case, and sign the petition in advance of the Parole Commissions hearing on May 14. This is about keeping our community safe.

Jim Kreuser is Kenosha County executive. Michael Graveley is Kenosha County district attorney.

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Attorney General Josh Kaul wants to strengthen Wisconsins efforts to combat human trafficking, calling for six new positions at the Department of Justice to help with investigations.

Theres both sex trafficking and forced labor, Kaul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ... Its in my view an outrage that this is a crime that still exists. Its important we raise awareness of it.

Kauls remarks came just a few days before our stories today about a community effort to open a safe house in Kenosha County. It would be the largest house operated by Selah Freedom, a Florida-based nonprofit with a mission to end sex trafficking.

The house will be staffed 24 hours a day and provide a safe residential program for survivors. Kenosha County was chosen as the location because of its proximity between Chicago and Milwaukee.

When the girls walk through our house, we want them to feel valued, Jennifer Skanron, a Selah Freedom board member and Pleasant Prairie resident, told reporter Jeffrey Zampanti. Their lives were not made to be trafficked. They are a person of value and theyre important. All of this is for them. There are people here who are ready to help them transform their lives.

Sex trafficking is the second-largest organized crime behind drug trafficking. Every year, over 300,000 American children are trafficked.

Its everywhere, said Neal Lofy, a nationally recognized investigator of the Racine Police Department, told Zampanti. These are people that live in our community that were either thrown away by their families or stuck in a lifestyle that theyve been groomed by a trafficker. Theres not a shiny sign on them that says Im a human trafficking victim ...

The state Department of Justice holds training for law enforcement, both in how to conduct human trafficking investigations and teaching about the signs of trafficking. One of the problems with this issue is its been under-reported, Kaul said. We dont think theres as much awareness as there should be, and so making sure that people in law enforcement know what to look for  and know the signs of trafficking  is an important part of combating it.

Kaul said four of the positions hes requesting would join the DOJs digital forensics unit, which focuses on recovering evidence from electronic devices. They would assist law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin.

People involved in all sorts of crimes use electronic devices, just like everybody else, Kaul told the Journal Sentinel Being able to recover evidence from those devices helps with all sorts of investigations, including human trafficking investigations.

The other two positions would join the Internal Crimes Against Children Task Force and help ensure prompt referral and investigation of tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He said they would help with case follow-ups.

Gov. Tony Evers has included the new positions in his budget plan. Heres an area where the Democratic governor and the majority Republicans in the legislature should agree.

Our community, by rallying to help get the Selah Freedom home open, has shown the urgency required. Legislators on both sides should too.

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Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

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The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Childrens Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day.

Its an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your childrens lives with all of us. Speaking for the staff of the childrens hospital, thank you for letting us care for your family.

Im awestruck to be in the company of all of you today. Because its always a little bit intimidating to meet your heroes, and when I think of our patients and their families, the word that fits is just that: heroes.

In medicine, it is always our greatest hope that patients who come to us for treatment leave better  cured of their disease, recovered from their trauma, grown large enough to feed themselves and breathe on their own.

But as you know too well, sometimes our patients dont respond to treatment. Some have injuries that are too severe to survive, some are too young or fragile for medical technology to support. Too often, the medicine we need to help a child get better hasnt been invented yet.

As a doctor, helping children get well means everything to me. When we lose a child, all of us who have supported your child and family along the way  doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers, therapists, environmental services  feel that loss, remember that child, and recommit to making medicine better in their memory.

In those memories and that recommitment, your child has left a profound legacy. Because its the children we cant save who push us to develop new therapies and try new techniques. They are the patients who do the most to make medicine better, who make it more likely that the next child will survive.

It wasnt so long ago that medical care looked pretty barbaric. Your barber was your surgeon, and your internist was prone to cover you in leeches! I like to tell my residents that if we do our jobs right, our grandchildren will think we were barbarians, just the way we look back on the medicine of 100 years ago and wonder, What were they thinking?

But really, I think we know what they were thinking, which is the same thing I think when I see a patient for whom we have no good answers: were going to do our best. Were going to try everything we know, then were going to push the boundaries, and were going to honor our patients and families by learning from their experience to make care better for the next kid.

Ive been interested in medicine and surgery for as long as I can remember. And its remarkable to think about how far weve come in what I still like to think is a pretty short lifetime.

I remember learning as a kid that there was simply no way for babies to survive before a gestational age of 26 or 27 weeks. As I progressed through my training, that number dropped. 25 weeks. 24 weeks. 23. 22. Now, 26 weeks isnt even considered extremely preterm.

In the 1970s, less than one in ten kids with acute myeloid leukemia survived. 80 percent of patients with brain tumors or neuroblastoma died. We have a long way to go, but those numbers keep getting better.

When I was a kid, children born with common congenital anomalies like esophageal or duodenal atresia almost all died. Now surgery on newborns is routine and death is rare.

That happened because of a lot of hard work in labs and hospitals, and because of new technologies and techniques. But fundamentally, it happened because those children that exceeded our abilities at the time  and their families  pushed us to get better.

The reason we go to work every day committed to making medicine better is because we have the faces of your children  the kids we couldnt save  in our heads every day when we walk into work in the morning to try something new, and every night as we go to sleep  or dont go to sleep  thinking of what to try tomorrow.

Im so sorry that your childrens journeys were cut short. Im so sorry that we havent yet found a way to fix all the bad things that can happen to kids. Its the extraordinary honor and privilege of medicine that we get to care for every child and family that comes through our doors. But its a special honor to care for a patient who dies, because they and their families are the ones who do the most get us closer to the day when we can find a cure. They are the heroes who have created the medicine we have today, and who make the world better for children tomorrow.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

Jonathan Kohler is a pediatric surgeon.and founder, RxCreative.com. He can be reached on Twitter @jekohler.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3)  The 2018 Bar topnotcher is not shy about his sexuality.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, 2018 Bar Exams topnotcher Sean Borja said that he is a proud member of the LGBT community.

"I'm a very proud member of the LGBT Community," said the Ateneo Law School graduate.

And while the patriarchal society might provide a lot of challenges, Borja said that the LGBT community can be a source of greatness.

"I want to show through my accomplishments that people like me, people from my community can also be great if given a chance to do so," he said.

Borja currently works in a law firm that handles public-private partnerships in government infrastructure. He also has his sights set on litigation.

Meanwhile, the De La Salle University College of Law finally has a bar topnotcher in Kathrine Ting, who ranked 8th in the 2018 exams.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Ting said that she wants to be a great lawyer.

The law has often been quoted as having the role of the "great equalizer." And perhaps that can be more than just a quoted statement with these two new lawyers.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 51F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
RTHK: Thais await first coronation since 1950

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be crowned Saturday in an elaborate show of pageantry, marbled by Hindu and Buddhist ritual, two years after ascending the throne following his father's death.

At the auspicious time of 10.09 am the public will be given a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation begin.

King Vajiralongkorn is known as Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

Saturday's ceremony will begin with sacred water from across Thailand anointing the white-robed king inside the Grand Palace.

Hindu Brahmins and Buddhist monks will attend the ceremony which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to divine figure.

Then he will take his seat under the nine-tiered umbrella of state where he will be handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3 kilogram headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

For most Thais it will be the first time they have witnessed a coronation  the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Late on Friday, the new king arrived at a hall in the Grand Palace in his favoured cream Rolls-Royce along with his new wife  now Queen Suthida  a former air hostess turned royal bodyguard.

Their marriage was unexpectedly announced on Wednesday.

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible.

Thailand's normally hyperactive social media has been subdued in the days leading up to the coronation.

But enthusiasm bubbled on the streets around the Grand Palace where hundreds bedded down for the night on Friday to get a prime spot for the weekend's royal event. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Canadian government has offered to ship back to its country tons of decaying garbage that have been staying in Philippine ports since 2013.

This was confirmed by the Canada's environment department in a statement sent to CNN Philippines on Saturday.

"The Government of Canada remains committed to working with the Government of the Philippines and has made an offer to repatriate this Canadian waste," Environment and Climate Change Canada said. "Canada hopes to finalize an agreement with the Philippines shortly to return the waste to Canada for appropriate disposal."

There is no official statement from the Philippine government yet, but Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. on Friday said the two countries are in "delicate negotiations."

When asked by a reporter for an interview on the Canadian waste, Locsin tweeted, "Let me ask the Canadian ambassador; we're in delicate negotiations."

Meanwhile, Malacanang has been mum since reports of Canada's offer made headlines on Friday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he has "no info" on it yet.

On Wednesday, Locsin said the garbage "will be on ship in 15 days," but did not elaborate on how this would happen.

The illegally dumped garbage was brought back to the spotlight as President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go to war against Canada if it would not take the trash back. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quick to clarify that the President did not really mean war, but was just expressing his "extreme displeasure." The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines responded that Ottawa is "strongly committed to shipping the trash back. Malacanang was not satisfied with Canada's statement and warned that further delay in the repatriation of trash could result in severed diplomatic ties.

Benny Antiporda, Environment Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns, told CNN Philippines the only thing blocking the return of the garbage to Canada was the expenses. The Manila Regional Trial Court in May 2017 already ordered the return of 50 container vans carrying Canadian garbage, to be paid for by the Canadian private company that had it shipped.

A total of 103 container vans containing trash weighing over 2,000 tons were shipped to the Philippines in several batches from 2013 to 2014. Canadian-based firm Chronic Plastics, Inc., which exported the vans, declared their contents as plastic scrap materials. The Environment department in 2014 found that the shipments contained municipal solid wastes, which should be immediately disposed and cannot be recycled. In 2015, some of the garbage were dumped in a private landfill in Tarlac while the remaining wastes stayed at the country's ports.
The Taste of Lake Geneva festival is coming to an end after 10 years of showcasing Lake Geneva's local eating establishments.

Organizers at the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District have announced that they will not be bringing the outdoor food festival back in 2019.

Bridget Leech, executive director of the downtown business district, said the Taste of Lake Geneva no longer meet her organization's mission.

"The event was always a great day, and we appreciate every restaurant that has taken part in it," Leech said. "This event is not one that brought the greatest value to the organization."

Started about 10 years ago, the food festival was held in September for many years, but organizers last year moved it to June to coincide with the kickoff for Lake Geneva's Restaurant Week. Last year's festival included about a dozen restaurants along with live music in the city's downtown Flat Iron Park.

Leech said she hopes another organization will bring back the food festival in the future.

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The Hilal committees in various countries and across the globe are on the lookout for the crescent moon on the final day of lunar calendar month, which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Namibia and other places have been told to testify if they spot the Crescent moon on Saturday. The month is also known as Ramazan in the Indian subcontinent. Stay tuned above for the live news updates on Ramadan 2019 moon sighting.

The sighting of the crescent moon will mark the beginning of the Holy Ramadan across the globe and in Southern African countries. The Holy Ramadan would begin as and when the Hilal committees testifies or the citizens and individuals confirm that they have spotted the moon. The Holy Ramadan would begin and fasts will be observed from tomorrow, Sunday, May 5. Muslims all over the world are duty bound to abstain from food and water between dawn to dusk throughout the next 29 or 30 days.

In the Western Hemisphere, it is expected that the crescent moon will be cited today on Saturday or tomorrow, Sunday. In the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes the Indian Subcontinent, the crescent moon marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan or Ramazan is expected to be spotted tomorrow, Sunday, or day after on Monday.
Chuck Kinder, the novelist who became known for inspiring the central character in Michael Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys, has died. He was 76.

Kinder, whose death was confirmed by friends and associates, died Friday of heart failure in Miami.

A literary force with a larger-than-life personality, Kinder published his first novel, Snakehunter, in 1973, followed by 1979s The Silver Ghost, 2001s Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale and 2004s Last Mountain Dancer: Hard-Earned Lessons in Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life.

Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, set mainly in the Bay Area in the 1970s, was perhaps his most famous work and became something of a myth to those who knew him, as the author is believed to have struggled with it for more than a decade. It tells the story of two bad-boy American writers and is based on Kinders real-life friendship with short-story author and poet Raymond Carver.

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"[Kinders] work was and remains outstanding and fresh. He was a born storyteller with an instinct for myth, which was not exactly in favor compared to pared-down modernists like John Updike, said novelist and screenwriter April Smith via email.

Smith first met Kinder in 1972 as a graduate student in Stanford Universitys creative writing program and added that his work is important for its bold original voice and synthesis of elegant literary style with genuine feeling and down home observation.

The novelist was known for creating a safe harbor for other writers, and often threw parties for fellow writers and other creatives with his wife of more than 40 years, Diane Cecily, at their home. As a teacher and mentor, Kinder fostered the writing careers of authors including Chuck Rosenthal and Gretchen Moran Laskas.

Kinders most famous writing student is Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whom Kinder taught as an undergraduate in the 1980s. Kinder is thought to have inspired the fictional Grady Tripp, the disheveled, pot-addicted writer and professor at the center of Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys. The novel was adapted into the 2000 film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Michael Douglas as Tripp.

Born in 1942 in West Virginia, Kinder grew up writing poetry and listening to the great storytellers in his family  his grandmother and his aunts. He began honing his craft at West Virginia University, where he earned a masters degree in English and wrote the schools first creative writing thesis. In the 1970s, Kinder lived in San Francisco and was awarded a fellowship followed by lectureship in fiction writing at Stanford University.

Kinder took positions as the writer-in-residence at UC Davis, and the University of Alabama, before settling in Pittsburgh, a city he called the Paris of Appalachia. For more than 30 years he taught at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a reputation as a generous, gregarious professor.

On Saturday, former students paid tribute to Kinder on social media.

When I first came back to Pittsburgh for what I thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical, I met a great teacher/writer/human being named Chuck Kinder who embraced me so warmly, it was one of the reasons I felt like staying, wrote Carl Kurlander in a blog post.

He gathered together people who loved words and storytelling and by his very nature, weeded out the pretentious and those of self-importance, Kurlander continued.

After suffering several health challenges in recent years including two strokes, a heart attack and triple-bypass surgery, Kinder retired as director of the creative writing program in 2014 and settled in Key Largo, Fla., with Cecily.

There he returned to his early love of poetry, publishing several collections including last years Hot Jewels.

He is survived by Cecily.

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster
Stirring photography, music inspired by the Silk Road and everything you needed to know about the Tony Award nominations but were afraid to ask. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks essential culture news, plus some words about the unexpected death of former art and music reporter Mike Boehm.

Poetry in ordinary life

At the Underground Museum, a new exhibition by the late Roy DeCarava, writes Times contributor Leah Ollman, dwells in photography as any everyday act  a ritual not that different from prayer in its assertion of purposeful connect between individual and wider world.

Ollman also reviews Arlene Shechets recent sculptures at Susanne Vielmetters new downtown L.A. space  an absolute jawbreaker of a show, she reports  and the stark photos of Simon Norfolk at Gallery Luisotti, which show the feeble ways humans are attempting to keep Switzerlands Rhone Glacier from melting.

A detail from Simon Norfolks Shroud (8), 2018, at Gallery Luisotti. (Simon Norfolk)

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Tony, Tony, Tony!

The Tony Award nominations have landed! Musicals Hadestown, Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations and Tootsie are in first, second and third place respectively, with 14, 12 and 11 nominations. Times culture reporter Ashley Lee breaks down who got what, who got snubbed (a lot of high-profile names) and what industry peeps have to say about it.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty analyzes what the nominations mean in an eclectic and erratic season. Old formulas proved unreliable and a few long-shot experiments yielded unexpected rewards, he writes. The nominations sent a message of support to artists with fresh and forward-leaning sensibilities, no matter if these endorsements occasionally came at the expense of recognizing worthier work.

Andre De Shields in a memorable, Tony-nominated performance in Hadestown. (Matthew Murphy / DKC O&M Co.)

Contributor Josh Getlin looks at how Tootsie adapted a 1982 movie for the post-#MeToo age. Reporter Ashley Lee talked with featured actress nominee Amber Gray about her Hadestown audition from hell. And contributor Stuart Miller chatted with Laurie Metcalf, who nabbed her sixth nomination for playing Hillary Clinton in Lucas Hnaths Hillary and Clinton. I have no interest, frankly, in doing Shakespeare, she tells him. Im interested in contemporary pieces.

Plus, McNulty sat down with Aaron Sorkin, whose adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird was conspicuously snubbed in the best play category, but nevertheless received nine Tony nominations, including one for star Jeff Daniels. McNulty turned his Sorkin conversation into a screenplay: Zoom out as Critic asks how our divisive political environment has affected the cultural reception of this new Mockingbird. Sorkin, squinting at the hazy question, says he could write a 5,000 word essay on the subject. Paging CAA. I think Charlie is ready to option

Aaron Sorkin, writer of the adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. (Marc J. Franklin)

Because we are handy that way, The Times has the full list of Tony noms.

And if youre looking for some local Tonys action, Jessica Gelt reports that Heidi Schrecks What the Constitution Means to Me  nominated for best play and lead actress for Schreck  will land at the Mark Taper Forum, as part of the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere on the Stage

F. Kathleey Foley reviews Gay Walshs The End of Sex  a nuanced comedy-drama about the battle between the sexes  at the Big Victory Theatre in Burbank.

Contributor Lisa Fung looks at the ways in which the public setting of theater can instigate the private act of crying in connection with Nia Vardaloss Tiny Beautiful Things, currently at the Pasadena Playhouse.

At REDCAT, Margaret Gray checked out performance artist John Kellys autobiographical one-man show Time No Line, rich in biographical detail  a bit too rich, she notes. But as a survivor of the AIDS pandemic, he has taken on the responsibility of representing his lost generation.

John Kelly in Time No Line at REDCAT. (Steve Gunther)

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Classical notes

Yo-Yo Mas Silkroad Ensemble performed at Santa Barbaras Granada Theatre, the Soraya in Northridge and Costa Mesas Segerstrom. After 20 years, the cross-cultural ensemble is at a thematic and professional crossroads, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Yet there were seductive moments, like the natural way of using instruments and musical techniques from one culture to express something about another one.

Silkroad Ensemble performs Kayhan Kalhor and Hamid Rahmanians The Prince of Sorrows. (David Bazemore / UCSB Arts & Lectures)

Swed also checks in with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, soon to be led by Spanish conductor Jaime Martin. Swed says a rousing program at UCLAs Royce Hall bodes well for the orchestras future.

The Times Makeda Easter reports on the Long Beach Operas adaptation of Philip Glasss 2000 opera, In the Penal Colony, featuring formerly incarcerated Cal State Long Beach students in starring roles. For some of the actors, it was a role so deeply familiar, writes Easter, that things got surreal.

In the Penal Colony director Jeff Janisheski, center, with Irene Sotelo and John Pizzini. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Essential Image

When the late Paul R. Williams designed a botany building for UCLA in the 1950s, it included plans for a 285-square foot mosaic lobby mural echoing the banana leaf print wallpaper the architect had installed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. When L.A.-based firm CO Architects undertook a remodel of the La Kretz Botany Buildings lobby last year, they came across Williams remarkable drawing (see below) for the never-built mural and decided to install it. See the final results on the firms online journal.

A 1957 drawing of a mosaic mural for UCLAs Botany Hall by architect Paul R. Williams. (UCLA)

Egg-cellent

Little Tokyo is home to a gallery in a kiosk: the artist-run 123 Astronaut has been around for five months. I spent some quality time with the current exhibition, which features a hypnotic video about a cultish, corporate egg, courtesy of the mysterious Wong Group.

Spectators check out The Auspicious Egg, by the Wong Group at 123 Astronaut (Collin LaFleche)

Ready for the Weekend

Margaret Gray rounds up whats doing in L.A.s 99-Seat theaters, including Nilo Cruzs Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics.

Ive got all the latest art happenings in my weekly Datebook, including a show by Daniel Gerwin that puts parenting on canvas.

Plus, Matt Cooper has the week ahead in art, dance, theater and classical music, as well as his weekend picks, including the Los Angeles Master Chorales Great Opera & Film Choruses.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Grant Gershon. (Marie Noorbergen / Tao Ruspoli)

In other news

 San Diegos Cassirer family has spent a decade trying to secure the return of a Nazi-looted painting that once belonged to their family. On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ruled against them.

 Venice Beach may lose a landmark sculpture by Mark di Suvero.

 ArtCenter College of Design is taking over the downtown L.A. space once occupied by the Main Museum, which shut down abruptly last year.

 Why cant we have passports as cool as Norways? Or currency as cool as Canadas?

 A trove of historic assessors photos of San Francisco has been made available to the public.

 A new documentary examines how and why, in the 70s, the Bronx burned.

 Union Station is turning 80. There is reason to celebrate, but the buildings history  well, its complicated, writes David Ulin.

 A great long read: Sam Bloch on how Los Angeles isnt providing equitable access to shade.

 The Instagram aesthetic is getting messier.

 As Sarah Whiting becomes the first woman to lead Harvards Graduate School of Design, Mimi Zeiger examines the womens expanding role in architectural academia.

Last but not least...

This week, I got the news that former Times art and music reporter Mike Boehm had died unexpectedly from a cardiac condition.

Mike and I only intersected for two years, but in that short time, he was a tremendously generous and good-natured colleague. He was also a dogged reporter, writing up major stories about MOCAs financial troubles in 2008, and turning the 990 tax forms of various L.A. nonprofits into his bedtime reading. (There probably isnt a culture publicist in SoCal who hasnt been on the receiving end of a late-deadline call from Mike, asking about finances.)

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Boehm in 2013. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Even after he left The Times in 2015, Mike remained engaged, sending me notes about some of my stories and offering tips on others he thought I should be pursuing. He remained engaged with other subjects too. Last month, he took issue with The Times criticism of rock music (which he loved) and fired off a tart letter to the editor on the subject: If your critics think rock is a pox on todays musical landscape, and needs to be ignored and forgotten, it would be far more interesting and useful to see them argue the case in full-length commentaries backed by examples and evidence.

The world will be a less-informed place without Mike. In his honor, I may have to download some 990s  and start making calls.

carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah
Pastry chef Shelly Acuna Barbera has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York and now bakes at Little Bread Pedlar in London, but her sweets are rooted in her Los Angeles upbringing.

Barberas parents came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, and her mom used cooking, baking and eating as ways to share stories of her heritage with her children. As Barbera and her brother grew older, her mom realized that many of the Mexican celebrations in California, most notably Cinco de Mayo, bore little resemblance to what she knew from her own upbringing. Cinco de Mayo is an important date  its when the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862  but its not considered as significant as is the countrys independence day on Sept. 16.

Rather than ignore Cinco de Mayo, Barberas mom used it as an opportunity to teach her kids more about it. Barberas mom remembered traveling to Puebla as a small child and enjoying the tortitas, which originated in that citys Santa Clara convent. Barbera said, My mom knew Cinco de Mayo was more than just tacos and margaritas  even though theres nothing wrong with that!  so she started to make tortitas de Santa Clara so we could experience a traditional food from Puebla to commemorate Mexicos victory in that city. The confections are a cross between cookie and candy with a small buttery shortbread shell and a chewy candy-like pepita filling.

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Barbera remembered, I love this cookie because it reminds me of growing up in L.A. and baking with my mom. Tortitas de Santa Clara are not commonly found in L.A.  or at least they werent while I was growing up  so we came up with our own version. Every time my mom and I made them together, we adjusted the recipe. First, we swapped lard out for salted butter and then we changed the shape. The tart reminded me of a large thumbprint cookie, so we eventually started shaping them as thumbprints.

Barbera carries on her family tradition of tortitas de Santa Clara now that shes on the other side of the Atlantic  a remembrance of her roots in each batch.

Tortitas de Santa Clara

View this recipe and more in our California Cookbook 

1 hour plus chilling and cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

12 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Spread the pepitas on an unlined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool completely on the sheet. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl and turn the speed to low. Gradually add the flour and beat just until incorporated, then beat in 1 tablespoon milk until smooth.

4. Divide the dough into 24 even pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using your thumb or the handle end of a wooden spoon, make a round indentation in the center of each ball. Press the tines of a fork against the edges of each round to imprint decorative lines. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, puree the cooled pepitas in a food processor until they become a soft, smooth paste, about 5 minutes. While the pepitas are processing, combine the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally to evenly cook the sugar, until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees, about 5 minutes. (Tilt the pan if needed for the thermometer to register the temperature.) Remove from the heat and carefully add the pepita paste. Stir until smooth. When the mixture stops steaming, stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons milk. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. Put a tablespoon of the pepita filling in the thumbprint center of each cookie and spread into an even round. Let stand until the tops of the filling are dry to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Make Ahead: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Here we go again, tumbling down the shaft and into a bizarro world in which school libraries lock out students who need them most.

L.A. Unified elementary school libraries are on the chopping block once again, and library aides, many of whom could lose their jobs, are screaming for justice.



For the record: Pacoima was misspelled Pacioma in a previous version of this column.

Some L.A. Unified board members, meanwhile, have made passionate pleas to keep the doors open.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, said board member Scott Schmerelson, who has introduced a resolution calling for the district to come up with the necessary funding.

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But just a few months after the L.A. Unified teachers strike drew strong public support for better pay and more resources for the struggling district, budget woes are forcing miserable choices that will hit students hard.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, said Meredith Kadlec, a second-grade parent who has been writing letters in the campaign to ward off cuts. Imagination is born from books, and what about the kids who dont get that enrichment at home? I feel like were going the wrong way in America when libraries are at risk.

Theyve been at risk for years now in L.A. Unified. Many years ago, every school had a fully funded librarian. But as budget problems became more severe, teacher-librarians gave way to library aides, who then got laid off by the hundreds before being rehired. In the recent past, some libraries have been locked up despite the district having spent millions on new books. Typically, elementary school libraries are open only every other week as it is, and aides split their time between two schools.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, Scott Schmerelson, L.A. school board member

The strike settlement earlier this year resulted in teacher raises and promises of eventual reduced class size, nurses on every campus, and a commitment to have a teacher-librarian on every middle and high school campus.

But elementary schools got no commitment on library aides. In recent years, those positions  which used to be directly funded by the district  became optional expenses made at the discretion of principals. But those principals have to make gut-wrenching decisions with limited discretionary funds at their disposal. And the needs, in a district in which 80% of the roughly 600,000 students live in poverty and 90% are minorities, always exceed the available money.

At Pacoimas Telfair Elementary School, where nearly one-quarter of the students have been categorized as homeless in recent years, Principal Jose Razo said he has decided to fund a library aide on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Tuesday. To do so, he has cut two teacher aide positions from six hours daily to three hours.

Thats typical of the Sophies Choice decisions made by principals who need social workers, janitors, office aides, tech support, assistant principals and other positions, but cant afford to pay for everything.

L.A. Unified officials say there is no less money budgeted for elementary schools in the coming year. But the district recently indicated it would no longer cover the health and welfare benefits of teacher aides, as it had in the past. That was seen as an added expense for principals as they drew up their budgets, and they also had to factor in the cost of small raises given teacher aides in the current contract.

By the time complaints led to the reinstatement of district coverage of benefits for the coming year, some principals had already eliminated those positions. Library aide Franny Parrish, union rep for the California School Employees Assn., said a districtwide survey indicated that 132 elementary schools have not budgeted for a library aide in the coming year, although most elementary schools would still have at least part-time aides.

Im in [the library] every day and I know what the students want, Parrish told me at Dixie Canyon Community Charter in Sherman Oaks.

A first-grade teacher joined the conversation to plug Parrishs contribution.

Miss Franny reads expressively and brings story time to life, he said. She has her own special touch, and the library cant function if its left to other staff. You need someone whos qualified, and trained, and loves the library.

Not long ago, in the endless funding uncertainty, Parrish was laid off four times before building up her seniority. You establish relationships with the students, she said, and learn how to nurture individual curiosities. And then youre gone. She said shes been in touch with library aides sure to lose their jobs because of low seniority.

It just makes me want to cry that 10 years later were still fighting the same stinking battle, Parrish told board members at the April 23 board meeting.

L.A. Unified has a $7-billion budget. Library aides make about $11,500 a year, plus benefits, and cost somewhere in the $15-million range.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, Meredith Kadlec, parent

District Supt. Austin Beutner told me that with limited funds available, he wants local school communities rather than the central bureaucracy to make decisions on what will best serve their students.

All of us believe we should have teacher-librarians and teacher aides in all the schools. All of us. Theres nobody in the community that doesnt want that, he said. But with money in short supply, he said, awful choices have to be made.

Beutner said the parcel tax measure on the June ballot, which would help fill part of the budget gap, is a chance for those who spoke up in favor of public education to weigh in again.

I believe its time we joined the ranks of Oakland, San Francisco, Torrance, Burbank and Santa Monica, where communities have  provided a measure of local funding for schools, Beutner said. Not more money to Sacramento. More money to fund local schools. If we have that funding, we will not be left with a series of poor choices.

Board chair Monica Garcia spoke to that very issue at the April 23 meeting.

I appreciate your frustration and your tears, she told library aides, but she added that compelling arguments could be made by advocates for every job classification thats underfunded.

Adequacy is not available in L.A. Unified, Garcia said, noting that Californias national ranking in per student funding is near the bottom.

For me, said board member Richard Vladovic, a library is a core unit of any educational facility. We need to have libraries. Thats where kids dream.

The choices are tough, for sure, and they may get even tougher.

But the mere possibility of locking up books in a state that ranks as the sixth-largest economy in the world is an obscenity and a gross disservice to students whose potential we cant afford to fritter away.

That is the first and last chapter on school libraries, and keeping them open is not an option, but a moral responsibility.

@LATstevelopez

steve.lopez@latimes.com
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent to John Sanders, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.

This has led to catastrophic and unwarranted results, she wrote.

Feinstein (D-Calif.) cited the fact that Border Patrol chases have resulted in 22 deaths and 250 injuries from 2015 to 2018, figures first revealed as part of an analysis published by ProPublica and The Times on April 4.

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Reporters from both publications mined more than 9,000 federal criminal complaints filed against suspected human smugglers from 2015 to 2018 to build a database about Border Patrol pursuits and tactics. The documents described agents reasons for initiating a pursuit, whether there was a crash and how it happened. The database is almost certainly an undercount, as it does not include cases in which the driver got away or died, because the complaints are filed only after arrests.

In those four years, Border Patrol agents engaged in more than 500 pursuits in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Of those, 1 in 3 ended in a crash. The number of people hurt in Border Patrol chases increased by 42% during President Trumps first two years in office, compared with the final two years of the Obama administration.

The deadly trend has continued into 2019. Two people died and six others were injured in a pair of Border Patrol chases that took place on the same night near San Diego in February. Last week, another Border Patrol chase left one person dead and four others hospitalized near Chula Vista, authorities said.

In her letter, Feinstein cited three chases that left seven people, including a child, dead in San Diego County in 2017 and 2018. She also asked Sanders whether Border Patrols pursuit policies are in line with what the U.S. Department of Justice considers to be best practices regarding car chases.

Many major American policing agencies have tightened restrictions on when their officers can engage in pursuits, while some have invested in technology that is likely to reduce the risk of injury during a chase.

ProPublica and The Times reviewed the pursuit policies of police departments in the five largest cities in the U.S., as well as a dozen jurisdictions in the states that touch the border. All but one policy were more restrictive than the Border Patrols.

The analysis found agents repeatedly deployed spike strips against vehicles fleeing at extremely high speeds, a tactic heavily criticized by experts on high-speed pursuits. Geoff Alpert, a criminal justice professor at the University of South Carolina who has authored national reports on pursuit tactics, previously said he was asked to help reform the agencys pursuit policies during the Obama administration, but his warnings went unheeded. He has questioned the agencys habit of engaging in potentially deadly car chases solely on the basis of a suspected immigration violation.

The Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Times spoke earlier this year with Border Patrol agents in El Centro who said agents feel compelled to chase vehicles suspected of smuggling for fear of what those vehicles might contain.

But in the cases examined as part of the analysis, agents never recovered caches of weapons and only rarely found drugs. In 504 pursuits over four years, agents found drugs in nine cases and personal guns in four.

Surana is a former ProPublica staff writer.
An Orange County infant too young to have been vaccinated and a Long Beach man are the latest confirmed cases of measles in Southern California, officials said Saturday.

The baby, who is younger than 1, is being treated at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a statement. The child has no history of international travel. It was Orange Countys second reported measles case this year.

The Long Beach man, a graduate student at UC Irvine, had been vaccinated and also had no recent history of travel outside the country, said Emily Holman, a spokeswoman with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

The man had been on campus on three days while suffering from the measles, exposing others there to the highly contagious disease, authorities said. Health officials are investigating how he contracted it.

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The two incidents come as cities across the nation grapple with the largest outbreak since 1994 of a disease that was declared eradicated in the U.S. as recently as 2000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 704 cases in 22 states this year, according to the most recent statistics ending April 26.

In Los Angeles County, seven residents have been afflicted with the illness as well as five nonresidents traveling through the region, according to a May 2 statement from the countys public health department.

UC Irvine is not the only Southland college campus affected. The disease has touched students and staffers at UCLA and Cal State L.A. as well.

Orange County officials warned Wednesday that a woman with measles had exposed a Fullerton theater full of moviegoers.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing, but the virus can linger in the air for two hours after the sick person leaves the room. People can spread measles for four days before they develop a rash.

About 90% of people who have never been immunized against measles will become ill seven to 21 days after exposure, according to the Long Beach Department of Health.

Most cases of measles in the U.S. begin with people who have traveled to countries where the disease is prevalent.

A small percentage of vaccinated people can still become affected, as was the case with the UCI student, Holman said. Their symptoms are usually milder, and they tend to experience fewer complications from the measles, she said.

The UCI student attended classes Monday and Tuesday before seeking medical care at the Student Health Center on Thursday. A day later, he was confirmed as Long Beachs first reported case of measles since 2015 and the third known exposure this year in Orange County.

The man visited multiple locations in Orange and L.A. counties, including restaurants, shops and the AMC theater in Long Beach, where he most likely saw Avengers: Endgame, according to showtimes and length of stay. Coincidentally, the audience in the Fullerton theater saw the same film.

Hes now recovering at home, officials said.

On Saturday, in an open letter, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman identified four buildings the student visited: the Humanities Instructional Building 100, Krieger Hall, Humanities Hall 112 and the health center.

Those who were in the affected areas described above are encouraged to determine their measles immunity through their health records or medical provider, Gillman said.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.
A new investigation into how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Californias 11 other Roman Catholic dioceses handled sex abuse cases could uncover more disturbing details of misconduct and institutional failures. But its an open question whether it would lead to more criminal charges.

News of the statewide investigation brought new hope for some victims of abuse, along with caution.

The California attorney generals office this week asked church officials at each of the dioceses to preserve an array of documents related to clergy abuse allegations. Among other things, prosecutors are examining whether church officials adequately reported allegations of sexual misconduct, as required under Californias Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act,

Former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who as the countys top prosecutor charged two dozen priests and used a grand jury to extract records from the archdiocese, said the probe may generate more information, but criminal charges are much harder to lodge against the church hierarchy.

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Cooley said that because the Los Angeles Archdiocese delayed and blocked disclosure, the efforts to hold church officials accountable have been stymied.

Conspiracy charges are based on the last overt act. The statute for conspiracy is based on the underlying crime, Cooley said. Here that could be obstruction of justice, and that is just a few years.

The L.A. Archdiocese has paid a record $740 million in various settlements to victims and pledged to better protect its members. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez succeeded longtime Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the scandal that undercut his moral authority as one of Americas most important Catholic leaders. In the wake of the settlement, the church imposed a series of reforms.

For nearly two decades, the archdiocese has been roiled by allegations that church leaders mishandled abuse cases, sometimes moving clergy suspected of wrongdoing to other parishes rather than punishing them and informing law enforcement. Individual priests have been criminally prosecuted, but investigations of church leaders ended without charges.

Attorney Anthony De Marco, who helped secure the $740 million in settlements, said its encouraging that the attorney general is investigating but too soon to tell what will come of it.

I am a little more measured, as time and time again law enforcement agencies have talked of actions and nothing has come of it in terms of the churchs higher-up figures and their behavior, he said.

The people I represent and survivors in general are just thrilled, added another victims attorney, Joseph George of Sacramento. I love the idea that law enforcement would come in with warrants and subpoena power and really get things done.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in a letter to the dioceses requested records that include all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors received from 1996 to the present, regardless of when the misconduct took place, along with any actions taken against any individual who was accused or who failed to report allegations to law enforcement.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said the Los Angeles Archdiocese had not yet received the letter but planned to respond cooperatively as we have with the past three Grand Jury investigations of the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to transparency and has established reporting and prevention policies and programs to protect minors and support victim-survivors in our parishes, schools and ministries, the statement said. The Archdiocese was one of the first dioceses in the nation to publish a comprehensive report in 2004 listing accused clergy both living and deceased, and released clergy files as part of a 2007 global settlement.
Dr. Eric Scott Sills, a successful Orange County fertility specialist, told investigators he awoke early on a November morning in 2016 to find his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs of their $1-million San Clemente home.

Initially, it appeared that 45-year-old Susann Sills had fallen to her death, but prosecutors say an investigation that has spanned more than two years suggests more sinister circumstances.

Orange County prosecutors on Friday charged Eric Sills, 54, her husband and business partner, with murder in connection with her death. Authorities have not released how the woman died or how they connected her husband to her demise. He has not yet entered a plea.

Sills defense attorney declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

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Orange County sheriffs deputies began investigating Susann Sills death after they were called to the couples home on Via Cancion on Nov. 13, 2016. The Sheriffs Departments homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unknown nature of the death, prosecutors said this week.

Based on the investigation and autopsy, authorities determined in 2017 that she had been killed. Over the next year, homicide detectives and the district attorneys office continued to investigate, and last month, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for the physician.

The warrant, filed in Orange County Superior Court, is sealed, which shields it from public view.

Eric Sills was arrested April 25 on his way to work. He was booked into the Orange County Jail and released four days later after posting $1-million bail, according to jail records.

Sills graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1992 and received a doctorate from the University of Westminster in London in 2013, according to his online resume.

The couple had been married for more than a decade and had two children. They also went into business together, according to public records.

Susann Sills, who earned an MBA from the University of Miami in 2000, was the co-founder of Center for Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic in Carlsbad, according to an obituary published in the Los Angeles Times. Eric Sills serves as medical director at the clinic.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet. Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, however, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families stay in the workforce. So as the economy improved, lawmakers and former Gov. Jerry Brown slowly pieced the states safety net back together again.

But some important benefits have yet to be restored, a full decade after the recession ended. A good example is the subsidy Medi-Cal eliminated for eyeglasses. The program will pay when poor Californians visit an optometrist to find out how bad their vision is, but wont help cover the cost of the glasses or contact lenses they may need to drive a car, operate a machine or read a manual  in other words, things they may need to do in order to hold a job.

Similarly, Medi-Cal no longer covers speech therapy, audiology, podiatry or incontinence supplies  the sort of treatments and supplies that can enable people living at or below the poverty line to be more productive and, potentially, start climbing up the income ladder.

Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families.

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In the big scheme of the state budget, these are not expensive programs. Plus, if they were added back, the federal government would cover roughly two-thirds of the tab. Restoring vision coverage would cost the state about $22 million a year, and restoring all of the lost benefits would be about $34 million.

On the other hand, those are annual expenses, not one-time costs. And the state has other, expensive healthcare needs and wants. Two of the biggest are proposals aimed at achieving universal coverage in California by making health insurance more affordable for moderate-income Californians and extending Medi-Cal to immigrants living in the state illegally.

Make no mistake  universal coverage would be good for all Californians, including those who already have insurance. Beyond the strong moral argument for providing treatment to everyone who needs it, there are good economic and public health reasons for bringing every resident under the insurance umbrella and providing timely, efficient care.

The steps required to make coverage available and affordable to all Californians, however, would cost the state $6 billion or more per year. And while Sacramento has been riding a wave of budget surpluses, the state cant afford to have its obligations grow faster than its economy. Thats a recipe for disaster in the next downturn. As Gov. Gavin Newsom warned on Wednesday about the current extended economic expansion: What were experiencing right now is simply without precedent in modern American history and it is not a new normal. Any time people talk about the new normal, thats when things collapse.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

So it makes sense for the state to continue to advance cautiously on the healthcare front, restoring cuts before offering new benefits and looking for ways to pay for expanded coverage. One good idea on the revenue front is Newsoms proposal to impose new state tax penalties on adult Americans who dont sign up for health coverage, replacing the federal penalties that Congress eliminated in 2017.

Thats a twofer: The penalties would encourage younger, healthier Californians not to go uninsured, and they would raise money to help pay for premium subsidies to moderate-income families who would otherwise have to spend too high a percentage of their monthly income on insurance. Its not clear, however, that Newsoms proposal would generate enough money to cover the full cost of the subsidies.

One possible answer is to renew the tax on managed-care organizations that is set to expire at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1. The tax, which generates money for Medi-Cal that the federal government then matches, raises about $1.5 billion a year. When combined with the state funds Newsom has proposed to spend, that would be more than enough to cover the subsidies cost and help extend Medi-Cal to more Californians. The Trump administration had pushed back on such taxes, and Newsom didnt seek to renew the states version for fear of jeopardizing other healthcare-related assistance the state is seeking from the feds. But with the administration approving Michigans proposal for a tax similar to Californias, the door seems open for the state to continue the levy, as it should.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
If this country is ever going to disentangle from the Trumpism thats choking the life out of it, were going to need escape routes.

Weve heard plenty from self-congratulatory Democrats, cerebral #NeverTrumpers and aloof European historians who warn about the perils of authoritarianism in our naive nation.

What we need is advice from people who have been fully enchanted by President Trumps racism, corruption and assault on the rule of law.

People like Atty. Gen. William Barr, Trumps latest fixer, though Barr seems prepared to go to his grave in Trumps harness.

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But really, we dont have to wait for Barrs white-light conversion. We have three extraordinary examples of figures who broke free of Trumpism and the man himself. Trumpism is such a totalizing belief system that the country is going to require a thorough, even spiritual, metamorphosis.

Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

The first heretic is Michael Cohen, Trumps formerly slavish Guy Friday. The second is James Comey, the self-righteous former director of the FBI, who wrote an op-ed this week that probed Barrs and former Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosensteins appalling submission to Trump  as well as his own.

The third is Katie McHugh, a former avatar of the alt-right and suck-up to the Trump family. According to a riveting profile by Rosie Gray in BuzzFeed News, McHugh has renounced what she now sees, in a rigorous religious framework, as her sins.

Two months ago, Cohens testimony to Congress about his fall into Trumps clutches also had a religious note. Swept up in Trumps nonstop bellowing, Cohen felt complicit, intoxicated; he began to lie for him. Now hes especially ashamed of enabling Trumps florid racism, which he sees as an affront to his father, who escaped the racist genocide in Nazi Germany.

Reaffirming his commitment to the values he shares with his family  and facing prison  Cohen had to hit bottom to clear his mind.

Comey had to just about bottom out too before he caught himself. After he lost Trumps support and was dramatically fired as FBI director two years ago, he discovered that he had bent his carefully cultivated Methodist rectitude to the pressure to back-slap with the president.

According to his op-ed, when Trump raved to him about his fever dreams  largest inauguration crowd in history  Comey stayed silent, too cowed to challenge him.

Trump eats your soul, said Comey, and you end up making various deals with yourself and the devil. You cant say this out loud  maybe not even to your family, he wrote.

Like Cohen, Comey felt that in standing by Trump he was betraying not just his conscience but his family.

The far-right blogger McHugh, a onetime protege of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon, has a more tragic story than either Cohen or Comey, but shes also the one who has done the most to make amends.

Lost and isolated at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, the conservative McHugh, according to Grays profile, moved from supply-side economics and family values to hotter niches, like, say, Holocaust denial. Her undergraduate antics drew the attention of the alt-right godfathers, including Bannon, who gave her a job at Breitbart News.

While boosting Trump, her posts helped pioneer a scrappy, reckless new kind of Twitter-optimized racism. Then she went too far even for Breitbart in a tweet about Muslims and had to ply her wares at seedier and seedier joints, pushing the far-far-far-right boundaries of white supremacy.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Finally, without health insurance and suffering from diabetes, McHugh found that her strategy of moving further right to get attention and jobs failed her. It was the 5th century works of St. Augustine that brought her back. If she renounced her misdeeds and recommitted herself to a dignified life, she, too, could be forgiven.

McHugh did more than that, though. She turned over to Gray emails showing former Department of Homeland Security official Ian Smiths ties to white nationalists, and Grays resulting article helped get Smith fired.

This is how escapees from Trumpism can help break its spell for the more casual devotees: Expose what the high-ranking Trumpers espouse in order to enlighten the members of the fabled base about their mistakes.

At the very least, Trumpites seem to recognize that they will need to atone. Even Trumps mouthpiece lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani may see the writing on the wall. He told a reporter, I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.

To all Trumpites  rank-and-file or highly public  who likewise may be starting to grapple with what will happen to them when they meet their makers, Cohen, Comey and McHugh offer guidance: Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

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To the editor: As a 95-year-old Jew, I would love to accept the upbeat assessment about the support Jews have in America despite the April 27 attack on the synagogue in Poway, Calif. But the vicious attacks on minorities lately, including Jews, bring back memories of the not-too-distant past.

When I read about President Trumps edicts on those fleeing their home countries so they can make a better life for them and their children in the United States, I am reminded of the 1930s, when a boatload of German Jews seeking safety in our country were turned away. All of the passengers were returned to Europe, where many of them were murdered in the Holocaust.

People who are ready to kill others out of hate are empowered by the likes of Trump and the groups that support him. Its not just Jews who are at risk; just about anyone who has a different view of the world, people of different colors or ethnic backgrounds and even journalists also face danger.

We must all speak out against hate. When one minority suffers, all minorities are at risk.

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June Sale, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Although Eshman paints an optimistic portrait of Jewish life in America, he fails to mention two of the greatest threats facing Jews, one internal, the other external.

The internal threat is Jewish secularism. According to a Pew Research Center study, 62% of American Jews say that being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture. With that, 79% of married Jews of no religion have a spouse who is not Jewish, and nearly 40% of intermarried Jews who are raising children say they are not raising those children Jewish at all.

An external danger is the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel permeating our universities. A 2016 study by the AMCHA Initiative found a strong correlation between anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses and the following: the presence of anti-Zionist student groups, the presence of faculty who have expressed public support for an academic boycott of Israel, and BDS activity on campus.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spewing historically anti-Semitic tropes and the New York Times publishing an admittedly anti-Semitic cartoon post greater dangers than a few fringe neo-Nazis.

Jack Saltzberg, Valley Village

The writer is founder and president of the Israel Group.

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To the editor: My neighborhood is home to a well-known Jewish temple. The complex is on a large property enclosed by a tall iron fence that, although attractive, serves an obvious purpose.

Eshman may be correct that Jews have more allies than enemies in standing up to hate, but the sight in my neighborhood of a security guard carrying a conspicuous firearm is heartrending.

Babette Wilk, Valley Village

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To the editor: As a professor and student of Jewish history, I can list the many differences between the recent attacks on Jews in this country and the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the Holocaust. The number and ferocity of these attacks do not approach the heinousness of previous, systematic and institutional acts of anti-Semitism  except, of course, to the individual victims.

We have a saying in Judaism that can be paraphrased as this: If you save one life, its as if youve saved the entire world. Similarly, for the family and friends of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who died in Poway, all historical comparisons are irrelevant.

Circumstances change, but Jews continue to be hunted down, even here, even now.

Michael Davidson, Altadena

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To the editor: Nadra Widatalla is right that the term people of color erases black people, but I would retire it for a different but related reason: It privileges whiteness.

Obviously, the terms black and white are metaphorical when applied to human skin, whose actual color range is more like pale peach to dark greyish-brown. (And, of course, black and white are loaded words with deeply ingrained negative and positive connotations, at least in Western languages).

Calling non-Caucasians people of color posits Caucasians as colorless, as a default from which other colors are a variation, like the white canvas that other colors are applied to. It does not locate Caucasian skin colors as equal points along the continuum of humanity.

We need to change our thinking and our language to reflect reality, which is why its time to retire people of color.

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Kay Gilbert, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: I was about to be persuaded by the authors eloquent plea to get rid of the term people of color, but then I noticed on the same days op-ed page a piece by columnist Virginia Heffernan, who uses that exact phrase to end her evaluation of former Vice President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign kickoff: His savior complex, in particular, is in danger from the women and people of color who are his rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Then I saw a photograph, also in Sundays newspaper, of Trump supporters greeting him at an April 27 rally in Green Bay, Wis., none of whom appeared to be, well, people of color.

Apparently, the term people of color still has some value and is not ready to be retired yet.

Dienyih Chen, Redondo Beach

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During his short career in the California Assembly, Joaquin Arambula has worked to persuade Fresno voters to believe in him. Now the Democrats political fate could hinge on whether his legal team can convince a jury that his 7-year-old daughter didnt tell authorities the truth.

In an unusual case that has dominated news in the Central Valley, the Democratic legislator is standing trial on a misdemeanor count of willful cruelty to a child after his daughter told police in December that Arambula struck her in the face. Photos showing a 1-inch bruise on the childs right temple were shared with jurors this week.

The girl, at times clutching a stuffed animal, told a packed Fresno courtroom on the first day of the trial Friday that the assemblyman pinned her down on her bed and grasped her head, his ring hitting her by accident. She said she remembered telling authorities that he slapped her face, but now believes the appropriate word is grasp.

Fresno County Assistant Dist. Atty. Steven Wright told the jury that Arambulas children have alleged a history of abuse at the hands of their father.

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Youll hear the other instances of him being upset, losing his temper and committing other acts of violence against his children, such as squeezing, such as kicking, such as hitting, such as elbowing, Wright said.

The 7-year-old girl later said on the stand that her father had also squeezed her to the point where she struggled to breathe.

Arambula, who maintains his innocence, has offered no explanation for his daughters bruised face. According to court records, the girl originally told her teacher that she fell when she was playing with her sister but later walked into the campus administrative office, asked for an ice pack for the bruise and said her dad slapped her on the face.

Arambulas defense attorney said in opening statements that evidence would show inconsistencies in the girls statements and an inclination toward fantastical details.

You will see that [Arambulas daughter] has an answer for everything, said Margarita Martinez-Baly, Arambulas defense attorney. Those are the kind of things we ask you to look at. Does it all make sense? Is she credible?

Fresno police arrested the assemblyman Dec. 10 at his daughters elementary school after Child Protective Services reported that the girl said her father struck her on the face. In the four months since, Arambula and his attorneys have publicly sparred with the police chief and the county district attorney as the case unfolded.

Arambula defended himself in a round of interviews with reporters two days after police took him into custody. The politician and his defense attorneys have sought to cast Arambula as a devoted father who acted within his legal right to spank his child and as the victim of a politically motivated attack by local officials.

After Arambulas media interviews, Police Chief Jerry Dyer publicly disputed the legislators account and told local news outlets that the girls injury was not consistent with a spanking.

When Fresno County Dist. Atty. Lisa Smittcamp filed the charge against Arambula in March, the assemblyman responded in a statement that said politics may have motivated the decision and called the allegation false and unthinkable. Arambula didnt elaborate on the alleged political motivation.

Smittcamp, who typically refrains from commenting on open cases, disputed Arambulas assertion in an interview with the Fresno Bee and said she based her decision on facts alone.

Arambula, a 41-year-old physician and member of a prominent Fresno political family, won a special election in 2016 to represent the western part of the city in the 31st Assembly District, a seat held by Democrats for more than a quarter of a century. He has headed a budget subcommittee on health and human services for the last three years. Some political supporters in Fresno have mentioned Arambula as someone who could eventually rise to become Assembly speaker like Cruz Bustamante, a former lieutenant governor who held Arambulas seat in the 1990s, or run for Congress.

Arambulas father, Juan, started his political career on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees in the late 1980s before winning an election for county supervisor and later the same Assembly seat his son now holds. A Democrat often at odds with leadership, the senior Arambula famously renounced his party membership the year before he termed out of the lower house.

But the younger Arambulas decision to blame local officials and evidence of the bruise have led some political observers to question whether the familys time in politics could end with the misdemeanor trial.

Democratic legislators from the region declined interview requests about the case, and none has publicly come to Arambulas defense. The sensitive nature of the case, involving a young child and a family, has made it a delicate subject across the political spectrum.

Youve seen cases of politicians in Fresno with DUIs, maybe even some accusations of spousal abuse, or bar fights, said Thomas Holyoke, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I cant remember anything like this.

Local politicians are already eyeing a run at Arambulas seat, should the lawmaker be unable to return to his post in Sacramento. Arambula took a voluntary leave of absence from the Legislature in March, a move Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said at the time he supported.

If it turns out that [a jury finds] he genuinely hit his child, hes probably politically dead at that point, Holyoke said.

Arambula and his daughter tell two different versions of what took place in the familys home on a Sunday evening when his wife was out of town.

In separate interviews, the girl told a social worker and a police officer that her father hit her on both sides of her face in her bedroom after she made her 6-year-old sister cry. She said his ring caused the bruise, according to court documents.

In a later conversation with a specialist trained to interview child witnesses, Arambulas daughter said her fathers ring finger hit her twice, describing one of the blows as an accident after he slipped on a toy. According to court documents, the child also alleged that her father had kicked, squeezed and struck her in the past, and said her mother sometimes spanked her with a stick.

Two days after his arrest, Arambula told The Times that he spanked his daughter with his hand to discipline her for acting out. He denied that he hit the childs face and said he saw no physical marks on her body.

Ive never hit someone in the face  man, woman or child, Arambula said in December. Im literally struggling to figure out how to reconcile the situation that were in now.

Spanking a child is generally legal under California law unless the act is considered excessive or unjustified. This week, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense grilled potential jurors about their beliefs on corporal punishment.

Arambulas attorneys offered a more detailed version of the events in a motion filed with the court last week. The lawyers assert that he tripped on a toy on the floor that night as he entered a dimly lighted room shared by his daughters. He said his daughter jumped off the bed to get away from him and he caught her, turned her over and spanked her twice on her bottom.

The assemblyman has said his daughter was angry that evening and the next day when she went to school.

Defense attorneys say Arambula does not know how the injury to his daughters head occurred. The lawyers have focused their attention on what they say are inconsistencies in the childs statements, saying the child is embellishing, making up stories and not a reliable witness.

I think shes a really smart kid and she wants her way, Arambula attorney Martinez-Baly said in an interview Thursday. She was angry that she was spanked. She was angry that she felt that her dad wouldnt listen to her side of the story and they always side with her sister.

Regardless of the trials outcome, political experts say the allegation alone has damaged Arambulas political prospects, and future opponents could raise questions about Arambulas decision to allow his attorney to cross-examine his daughter at trial.

I think thats definitely a line of attack in the future, said Jeffrey Cummins, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I think it does permanent damage to his reputation.

Martinez-Baly acknowledged that Arambula is in a no-win situation. She said he feels strongly that hes innocent and wants to clear his name.

Its going to be his word against hers, she said. Im sure some people out there wont like that and think he should have taken a deal to spare his daughter. It was his decision, and I cant say I blame him. I would want to defend myself.

Arambulas three daughters were taken from his home by Child Protective Services the evening after the incident and were placed in the care of his parents for two days. After conducting an investigation, CPS allowed the girls to return home and closed the case in March, citing insufficient evidence of physical abuse, according to the defense.

Smittcamp, who declined an interview request, decided to charge Arambula with a misdemeanor. The prosecution has argued that striking a 7-year-olds head hard enough to leave a mark is excessive and unreasonable.

John Myers, an expert on child abuse cases and a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, said the decision to prosecute in such a case is uncommon.

In a case like this where you dont have very serious physical injuries, it would be more common for CPS to get involved and work with the family to help them, and for the D.A. to decline to press charges, Myers said. But he noted that prosecutors and Child Protective Services have different roles in such cases; district attorneys focus on whether a crime has been committed, while CPS bases its decisions on whether a child would be in danger if allowed to remain in the home.

More stories from Taryn Luna 

taryn.luna@latimes.com

Follow @tarynluna on Twitter.
The 53rd annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition will bring together 135 artists who will display 245 works of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center on 100 Civic Center Drive.

The variety of works, which will be for sale, come from people ages 18 to 85 who responded to the exhibitions call for artists earlier this spring.

We typically have regional artists who participate but also artists from all over Southern California and afar, said Arlene Greer, a Newport Beach City Arts Commissioner. One year, we had an artist from as far away as the south of France.

The free one-day show is organized by an exhibition committee and members of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, which consults with the City Council on artistic and cultural matters within the city.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from art sales will contribute to the citys Arts Commission programming.

Cow sculptures in the Civic Centers Cows4Camp exhibit will also be up for a silent auction during the event, with a majority of those proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House and a small amount going toward Newport Beach arts programming.

The bids for Cows4Camp Saturday will coincide with online bids for the works on biddingforgood.com, which will close July 13.

Curator and art advisor Dana Yarger will lead tours of the sculptures on Saturday.

The event at the Civic Center will also include live music and $9 box lunches from The Bungalow in Newport Beach.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. will honor participating artists with awards presented by Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon.

This years juror David Kiddie, a faculty member from the Wilkinson College of Arts at Chapman University in Orange, will determine the winners for categories in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and the jurors choice.

Visitors will also be able to submit ballots for a peoples choice winner at the exhibition.

[The exhibition] is a great opportunity for artists who have exhibited elsewhere or artists who have never exhibited before, Greer said. The most significant benefit of this is that it brings people from all seven districts and afar to the Civic Center to enjoy a one-day exhibit where they can meet, mingle and make new friends.

For more information on the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, call the Cultural Arts Office at (949) 717-3802.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Pete Truxaw, founder and owner of Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach and Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails in Los Alamitos, has opened his third Mamas eatery in Newport Beach.

Newports Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails is a casual restaurant and bar offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with Thrifty ice cream served by the scoop.

After a three-month renovation of the former Pizza Nova/Josh Slocums restaurant building at 2601 W. Coast Hwy. along Newports Mariners Mile, Truxaw and partner Robert Corrigan opened Mamas doors last weekend. The restaurant has 250 feet of exclusive docks available for guests who visit by boat.

We are thrilled to bring Mamas to such a historic Newport Beach restaurant location, Truxaw said in a statement.

The restaurants interior decor features beach-style colors, exposed brick walls and a photo wall featuring hundreds of pictures of local moms.

Truxaw founded Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach in 2011. Mamas Comfort Food opened in Los Alamitos last year.

Tony Hawk and former Playmate open GuacAmigos in Newport Beach

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk recently opened Mexican restaurant GuacAmigos in Newport Beach with former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

GuacAmigos, a new restaurant by pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly, opened recently in Newport Beach.

The restaurant at 2607 W. Coast Hwy. replaces a Joes Crab Shack.

GuacAmigos features Mexican fare, tequila drinks and local seafood with a spicy twist.

Its April 27 ribbon-cutting featured Hawk and guests doing a skateboarding demonstration that raised money for Hawks foundation.

GuacAmigos also displays several action-sports artifacts: a surfboard from Kelly Slater, a snowboard from Shaun White, a skateboard from Lizzie Armanto and the BMX bike that Mat Hoffman used to break a high-air record, according to a news release.

H.B. businessman named California Small Business Person of the Year

The Orange County/Inland Empire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration will honor Jeff Perry, president of All Industrial Tool Supply in Huntington Beach, as California Small Business Person of the Year in the agencys annual Small Business Week awards program.

Perry and other honorees will receive their awards June 7 during a program at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Were celebrating manufacturers, young entrepreneurs, technology firms, businesses that help build our infrastructure, not to mention critical collaborators such as cities and chambers of commerce, because they all play a role in the success of the region, Christopher Lorenzana, the SBA Orange County/Inland Empire districts deputy director, said in a statement.

Hoag debuts new 7D surgical technology

The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach recently added a 7D surgical system used in spinal procedures, making it the first West Coast hospital to do so.

The system contains the same technology found in self-driving cars, according to a news release, enabling a surgeon to have an unprecedented level of surgical navigation for radiation-free placement of spinal implants.

The technology allows for faster, safer surgery with a reduced recovery time for patients, according to Hoag.

H.B. man recognized with womens advocacy award

A Huntington Beach man recently won the Catalyst for Change Award presented by the Orange County chapter of Connected Women of Influence.

Kevin Walton, a Boeing systems engineer, was recognized for his advocacy, mentorship and recruiting efforts for women at Boeing.

Walton, an Air Force veteran, also is an ambassador for the Foundation for Women Warriors, advocating for women veterans in their transition to corporate America, according to a news release.

Digital marketing to be topic of Costa Mesa event

Small Business Sales Intelligence and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a presentation Thursday covering the details of a digital marketing campaign, including costs, how to determine whether a campaign is working and tips for cutting costs.

The event, featuring guest lecturer Matt Zimmer, creator of StackTek, will run from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at CrashLabs, 234 E. 17th St., Suite 117, Costa Mesa.

Registration is required. To sign up or for more information, visit meetup.com/salesintelligence/events/260945018.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
In the Christian Era, Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not Moses 5/04/2019 Christianity , Jesus Christ 12 Comments





It is quite frustrating that even if we are already in the Christian dispensation lots of people are still affected by the laws of Moses, to the point that if they find the said law to be inconsistent with the state of things, in reality, their tendency is to question the authenticity of the Bible.

For example, under the law of Moses, the hare had been classified as unclean and, therefore, should not be eaten because it ruminates and it is not cloven-footed. In line with that prohibition, somebody asked me if such a pronouncement would not jeopardize the authenticity of the Bible inasmuch as, in reality, hares are cloven-footed and they do not ruminate.

First of all, allow me to give you an insight about the laws given by God, through Moses, to the Israelites  they being the first people who served God.

In the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, one of the important things he wrote concerned the prohibitions on what they should and should not eat or ingest.

HEBREWS 9:10 says,

Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

There were ordinances regarding meats, drinks, and diverse washing, or cleansing of the body that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, implying that there was an appointed time that these laws would be reformed. There was an appointed time set by God that these laws would be superseded by another set of laws. And that appointed time had come, according to the Apostle Paul in HEBREWS 7:12 , which says,

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

So, it was necessary for the law to be changed because there had been a change in the priesthood. HEBREWS 3:1-3 says,

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

The verses clearly tell us that the high priest that had been replaced was Moses, and his replacement was the Lord Jesus Christ. In those verses, the Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews who were converted to Christianity during the first century of our era, and not to the Hebrews who remained in their Jewish religion. He was telling them that our Apostle and High Priest of our profession is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was found to be more glorious than Moses as a priest. So, He was called the High Priest of our profession.

When the priesthood was changed, there was a necessity to also change the law. And the law that was replaced was the law that was administered by Moses. It had been replaced by another law.

ACTS 13:39 says,

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

The law of Moses was found to be insufficient for the justification of believers in the Christian era because, in the Christian era, justification rests on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the faith of Christians must be based on the law of Christ, and not on the law of Moses.

Let us be definite. What is being referred to as the law of Moses?

MALACHI 4:4 says,

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

So, it was the law given by God to Moses in the mountain. Specifically, what was that law?

EXODUS 31:18 says,

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

They were the laws that were contained in the two tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God. And those laws included statutes and judgments.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13 says,

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Therefore, the law of Moses being referred to was the ten commandments. And these laws, together with the statutes and judgments, were meant for the Israelites. For instance, there were statutes regarding what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink which the Israelites had to observe.

But in our dispensation, we do not have problems about what to eat and what not to eat. In the New Testament, there is another law that was explained by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In MARK 7:19, it says,

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the type of food that the Israelites had been forbidden to eat did not go to the heart, but only to the belly. And He had purged, or cleansed, all of those. The Apostle Paul explained in 1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 ,

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

So, even if it is pork, which was regarded as unclean during the time of the Israelites, in the Christian dispensation, when the priesthood had been changed from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, those meats that had been declared as unclean had been purged, or cleansed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sanctified by the word of God, by the decree of God, and by prayer. Through the power of prayer and by the word of God, those things which had been considered abominable then are cleansed. Therefore, there is no longer any problem with eating pork, or any meat from those that do not chew the cud, or from those that have no cloven feet.

Bear in mind that we are in the Christian era. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, and not Moses. If we are truly Christians and we believe that we are living in the Christian dispensation, we have to refer to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not of Moses. Moses is no longer our high priest but the Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation that the Lord Jesus Christ carries with Him is the revelation that we must receive now.

HEBREWS 1:1-2 says,

1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God had spoken to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son. So, if we want to know about Gods words and teachings we will learn them through His Son, not through Moses. But if you keep on observing the laws of Moses, you are at the wrong track. You are out of time; you are out of place.

LEVITICUS 11:1-7 says,

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

If you are a meticulous reader of the Bible, as early as verse 2 , you will realize that, if you are an American or a Filipino, you are not a concerned party because those words were only meant for the Israelites.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

At this point, allow me to give some clarifications concerning verse 6 because this is the part being questioned by one reader of the Bible. According to him, what the verse states is a challenge to the authenticity of the Bible because what it said is contrary to reality. It stated that the hare should not be eaten because it chews the cud and is not cloven-footed when in truth, hares have cloven feet and they do not ruminate or chew the cud.

Let me make it clear that what the Israelites were forbidden to eat were animals, or beasts, that ruminate and are cloven-footed. Those two characteristics must be present in one particular beast. If one characteristic is absent, then, it should not be eaten. In the case of a hare, its hooves are divided but they do not ruminate, so the Israelites were forbidden from eating it.

But, granting that Leviticus 11:6 should have described the hare the other way around, that is, it does not chew the cud and it has cloven feet, still, that would not make the prohibition wrong. It, still, should not be eaten because one of the characteristics of a beast or animal that should be eaten is absent.

Indeed, there are people who challenge the authenticity of the Bible. They are those who do not consider human error. They always blame the Bible for errors which could have been committed by the people who did its translation.

Actually, people who question the authenticity of the Bible would never run out of issues to raise against the Bible. Let me cite an example. The Bible classified bats as birds because birds fly by their wings, and bats fly because they are also winged. So now, people who try to discredit the Bible accuse the Bible as speaking of lies because, according to them, bats are not birds but mammals. Let us accept that a bat is classified as a mammal, the question is, who did the classification and when was the classification made?

Remember that when the Bible was written there were no classifications yet as to whether a creature is a mammal, or a reptile, or a bird. The classification happened only very recently, specifically, thousands of years after the Bible was written. And the classification was made by man only. Who knew about mammals during the time of Moses? The word mammal was coined by Linnaeus only in the 18 th century, whereas the book of Leviticus was written more than 3,000 years ago (1512) by Moses at the wilderness of Sinai. So how would you expect the Bible to classify bat as a mammal when the word mammal was coined only in 1758? So, that time, the Bible was absolutely correct when it classified bat as a bird because it flies.

But whether or not there were pronouncements in the law of Moses which do not jive with the actual characteristics of certain animals in reality, like the case of hare, for me they are immaterial. Still, the hare was rightfully included among the animals that the Israelites should not eat because its characteristics fail to meet the qualities of a beast or animal that they could eat. Although the hare is cloven-footed, yet, it does not chew the cud, so the Israelites should not eat it.

But inasmuch as we are not under the law of Moses but of the law of Christ, there is practically no need for us to be troubled about the kinds of food that the Israelites had been prohibited from eating. First, we are not among the Israelites that Moses led so the prohibition does not concern us; second, Christ had cleansed all that were regarded unclean during the time of the Israelites; and third, through the power of prayer, our food could be sanctified.
The Costa Mesa City Council will consider adopting a new policy Tuesday that would potentially clear the way to fly commemorative flags such as the pride flag at City Hall.

Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds asked city staff last month to draft a resolution for council consideration that would authorize displaying the rainbow banner at the seat of local government.

As proposed, the pride flag would be unfurled at City Hall annually from May 22 to June 30.

May 22 is Harvey Milk Day, which honors the man who became the first openly gay elected official in state history when he took his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated in 1978, less than a year after taking office, and is widely recognized as a pioneering gay-rights activist.

June is LGBT Pride Month  an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and commemoration of the history, contributions and sacrifices of those who comprise them.

While Costa Mesa has traditionally raised city, California and American flags, as well as the POW-MIA flag, at municipal facilities, there is currently no formal policy on the books regarding such displays.

The proposed language up for the councils review outlines the procedures and standards for the display of flags at city facilities, including the display of commemorative flags at City Hall, according to a staff report included in Tuesdays council agenda.

Commemorative flags would only be flown if the council authorizes them as an expression of the citys official sentiments, that report continues. So, should council members adopt the overall flag policy, they would still need to specifically sign off on displaying the pride flag.

The citys flagpoles are to be used exclusively by the city, where the City Council may display a commemorative flag as a form of government expression, the staff report states. The city will not display a commemorative flag based on a request from a third party, nor will the city use its flagpoles to sponsor the expression of a third party.

Additionally, the city could not place a pennant that shows religious preference or encourages a specific vote in a particular election, according to the staff report.

As our community has re-engaged in human relations efforts and honest conversations about inclusion and diversity, Ive been heartbroken to hear the experiences of people who are afraid to express who they are or who feel unwelcome by their peers, Reynolds said Friday. Honoring Pride is an important and valuable expression from our city to let our LGBT community members, especially our young adults, know: we care about you, and we welcome you.

However, Councilman Allan Mansoor expressed some concerns in a public Facebook post Friday, writing that the pride flag may mean different things to different people.

To some, it may mean that we should treat everyone with respect  which, if that were the sole symbolism of the flag, I would support it, he wrote. To some, however, it may mean intolerance or hostility to anyone who morally or due to religious conviction does not support some of the things in the LGBTQ agenda, even though they do not support harassment or violence.

Do we want to play into division on such a controversial issue? he added.

Tuesdays council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St.

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A street dog from Thailand has found her fur-ever home in Huntington Beach.

Dr. Lisa Chong and Tara Austin spotted the year-old Thai Bangkaew dog dragging its body on its two front legs across a busy street while they were there last December to volunteer at Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai.

The tale began to unfold after dinner one night during their stay. During the meal, Austin shared with Chong her admiration for Frida Kahlo, an artist who remained dedicated to her art despite becoming bedridden after a bus accident.

On their way back to their hotel following dinner, the two childhood friends spotted the dog. Without consulting each other, they both walked onto the street to stop traffic and to shepherd the dog to safety. While Chong used dog treats to gauge the dogs friendliness toward humans, Austin flagged down a cab to take them back to their hotel.

Austin also asked people at nearby businesses if they knew the dog, but no one claimed her. Austin and Chong, who gave the dog the name Frida after the famed Mexican artist, believe she might have been dropped off at a nearby temple where other stray dogs congregate.

She had this fighter spirit, Austin said, referring to Fridas attitude on the drive back to their hotel. The dog, she said, calmly sat in the car and looked out the window.

Chong, an OB-GYN, said they didnt realize the extent of Fridas poor condition until they took her back to their hotel room. Ticks covered the dogs body and her paws were covered in dirt as a result of dragging her body, she said.

An X-ray at a 24-hour hospital just outside Chiang Mai later revealed Frida had a lumbar fracture and is missing several bones in her paws. She didnt have any fur on her paws at the time.

23. Lisa Chong poses for a photo with Frida in her kennel cage while boarded at the vet. Tara Austin created a watercolor painting for Frida, which is placed above her kennel. (Photo courtesy of Tara Austin)

She was really infected, Chong said. You could just feel the heat coming out of her legs, thats why she was panting. She didnt even know how to drink water. She had been a street dog for so long she only understood how to drink water off the pavement. She didnt understand the concept of a cup of water.

Chong said hospital staff recommended amputating Fridas hind legs, but Chong wanted that option to be the last resort. She said they had hoped Frida would one day walk again.

The two visited Frida in the hospital for several hours every day during their trip. They noticed a slow shift in the canines behavior. It was apparent to them she was gaining more confidence. Fur started to grow on her two injured paws.

Chong said the decision to formally adopt Frida was gradual. They realized the dog likely wouldnt be the first choice for adoption by a family. They also didnt want to financially burden the animal sanctuary by lodging Frida there, she said.

Before they left Thailand to head home, they purchased a dog collar with a tag embossed with Fridas name as a promise they would soon return for their four-legged friend.

Chong brought Frida home on a first-class flight from Thailand to Los Angeles last week. Frida is currently lodged at the Two Hands Four Paws Foundation, a animal rehabilitation facility in L.A. where shell learn how to walk again before moving into Chongs home in downtown Huntington Beach.

Chong and Austins shared love for animals has led them to spend more than $13,000 to give Frida a second chance at life. Fundraisers are being planned to pay for medical costs as they see if doctors can help Frida use her two hind legs to walk again.

They created an Instagram account to document Fridas journey and a GoFundMe page to gather donations.

Part of me is sad knowing [Frida] is leaving her homeland and shes leaving everything shes ever known but I think she has a bright future ahead of her, Chong said.

To help Frida, visit gofundme.com/meet-frida-our-paralyzed-thai-street-pup.

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Superheroes will be busting out of a telephone booth and geometric shapes will be casting dancing shadows on the City Hall lawn in Laguna Beachs latest round of temporary art installations.

On Monday, the red telephone booth on Forest Avenue will transform into a Super Hero Changing Station under the hand of local artist Robert Holton of Drizzle Art. Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman costumes will drape from clothes hangers inside the booth, above a replica of Captain Americas shield and Thors hammer.

One side of the booth will be lined with superhero quotes, such as Flashs Life doesnt give you purpose, you give life purpose and Batmans Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

Holton said he hopes the installation will inspire small acts of kindness and an overall awareness that you dont need superpowers to be a superhero, as one of the quotes reads.

A giant gloved fist punching through the top of the booth in superhero-like triumph is meant to represent all superheroes, heroes in all of us, the artist said.

What Im trying to say is, normal people can be heroes, said Holton, a six-year resident of Laguna Beach and a presenter at the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival. In a minute way, whether its helping somebody through the door, walking the dog. I think we need more of that in the world.

The city Arts Commission will hold a dedication for the new installation at the phone booth at 5 p.m. May 14. Holton said he plans to invite children and families to show up in their favorite superhero costumes.

Im hoping people will step up and be a superhero, Holton said. You dont have to do something death-defying or something to be a hero.

Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl said the tradition of putting an art display in the red phone booth dates to 2013, a year after the public phone was deactivated.

Poeschl said the city chose Holtons work, which will be on display for two years, from among 25 proposals.

The exhibits are part of the Arts Commissions temporary sculpture program, which is funded by lodging establishments and the city of Laguna Beach.

This past Monday, an exhibition called The Shape of Light appeared on the lawn outside City Hall from Oakland-based artists Yelena Filipchuck and Serge Beaulieu, who make up the married art duo Hybycozo. The couple designed the trio of geometric sculptures from laser-cut metal and LED lights that cast shadows on the lawn at night.

Filipchuck said each piece has a distinct shape, but together they celebrate the universality of math and the beauty of proportion.

The hexagonal sculpture was inspired by physicist Garrett Lisis TED talk about E8, a theoretical mathematical explanation of everything. The way Lisi mapped the mathematical concept onto particle physics made for beautiful visualizations, Filipchuck said.

It was this resonant feeling, like, of course the structure that makes up the universe would feel beautiful to us, she said. Its an innate beauty.

The two quadrilateral sculptures in the exhibit also stem from mathematical concepts, Filipchuck said, such as ancient Islamic geometry and the way math emerged from intricate drawings.

Back then, there was not really a distinction between an artist, an artisan and a mathematician because they were kind of the same thing, she said. The way that they represented like a higher kind of understanding of the universe was through proportion and through what they thought were rules sent from beyond. When you divide a 9 by a 3 and it creates these amazing proportions, they thought that was divine intervention.

To us, that is what is harmonious and beautiful about this type of art  it is almost meant to be created in these rules.

The polyhedrons will be on display in front of City Hall through July 31, Poeschl said.

In March, the city brought Michigan-based artist David Zinn to scatter chalk art in various rocks and crevices around the city. Artist Scott Froschauers The Word on the Street exhibit of five road signs offering affirmative messages will be on display until May 15.

We have really diverse programming and installations in process and reflects the commitment of the Arts Commission and City Council in elevating and evolving the public art experience, Poeschl said.

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The last night of Wendi Millers life was spent doing things she loved.

On April 19, Miller went with a friend and her son to a Dana Point church to celebrate Good Friday. She sat with the friend, Dayna Camarena, who was struggling with a personal crisis, and held her hand throughout the service and prayed for her and Camarenas son.

They went out for a pasta dinner before spending the evening dancing to 80s music.

We did three things Wendi loved all in one night, Camarena said. Usually we only have the energy to do one.

Camarena spoke as an overflow crowd gathered at Mariners Church in Irvine on Friday to remember Miller, 48, who was found slain the night of Easter Sunday in a Newport Beach condominium.

Man and woman found dead in Newport Beach condo are identified; police conduct homicide investigation 

Friends said they last saw the Costa Mesa resident at about 1:45 a.m. April 20 before leaving the Sandpiper bar in Laguna Beach. She was giving Darren Partch, whom she had met that night, a ride home to the Newport condo.

When Miller didnt show for Easter festivities, friends and family members launched a search for her on social media. Just after 9:30 p.m. April 21, the owner of the condominium returned home after being away for the weekend and found Miller and Partch, 38, dead inside. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, the Newport Beach Police Department said. Authorities believe they died April 20.

A Huntington Beach man was arrested April 25 and has been charged with their murders.

H.B. personal trainer charged with special-circumstances murder in Newport Beach slayings 

If Wendi were here, she would have invited all of us on a bike ride to the beach, friend Niki Wetzel said Friday.

Miller was the kind of joyful person who made friends with everyone, friends and family said.

We were strangers for about 90 seconds, Wetzel said, recalling their introduction.

Joy is a gift  remember, its the foundational emotion that leads to contentment, peace, fulfillment and happiness, Wetzel said. And my sincere hope is that whenever we remember Wendi we remember joy.

Eric Boogie Rose, a college classmate of Millers and a leader at Branches Church in Huntington Beach, described her as fearless and too big for one church, noting that she was involved in many churches in the area.

There werent enough people for her to pour into, Rose said. He didnt realize how widespread her involvement in his congregation was until the community was mourning her loss.

She jumped in and impacted everyone, and because of that, everyone is mourning, Rose said. If you knew her, you would know she would want you to have this life, and this life to the full.

Neighbors and friends memorialize Costa Mesa woman found dead in Newport Beach condo 

Millers daughter, Cambria Carpenter, said her mom would have loved the gathering held in her honor because she loved talking to people.

She was the light of my life completely, she said.

Mourners throughout the room wiped tears from their eyes as Carpenter sang Carrie Underwoods See You Again in remembrance of her mom.

The week she learned of her mothers death, Carpenter was set to perform in a school musical, she said. Despite her director and family urging her to consider withdrawing from the show in light of the tragedy, she remembered that her mom had bought tickets, and she decided she had to perform.

Performing was a way to heal, Carpenter said. The director dedicated the show to Miller.

She changed so many peoples lives, her daughter said.

Miller was born in Long Beach and grew up in Cerritos. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She lived in Michigan, Colorado and Texas before returning to California.

Miller was a vibrant, bubbly person who always made you feel like you were her best friend, said her mother, Mary Lu Miller.

Wendi Miller was chief executive of the Newport Beach-based nonprofit Wings of Justice, which advocates for children and parents in the family court system. She also was an advocate for people who have experienced domestic violence.

To you, no one was a stranger, just a new friend in waiting, Millers son, Luke Carpenter, said as he read a letter addressed to his mom, whom he credited for inspiring him with her amazing spirit of light and positivity.

The huge turnout at the afternoon service overwhelmed the venue, which was prepared for 600 guests. Extra seating was arranged around the perimeter of the multipurpose hall, which was filled with banquet tables and flower arrangements prepared by Millers family.

Its a testimony to her, Millers sister Tracy Dawson said of the large crowd.

Relatives organized an online fundraiser titled Wendi Miller Celebration of Life Memorial Fund that has brought in more than $17,000 since it was established April 23.

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In case Crescenta Valley High School student Lyron Co Ting Keh needed validation he was, indeed, young and innovative, the senior will soon receive more than his share of confirmation.

Co Ting Keh, 17, was named one of five Young Innovators to Watch from the United States and Canada by technology and lifestyle event producers Living in Digital Times, and is heading to Las Vegas to be honored at a giant consumer electronics show produced by Living in Digital Times on Thursday.

Im honored, humbled and I didnt expect any recognition for my work, in general, Co Ting Keh said. Its surprising.

Co Ting Keh and his mother, Rowena, father, Edmundo, and older sister, Lace, are all flying to Las Vegas for the honor.

Along with airfare and a hotel stay, theres $500 in prize money, Lenovo computer equipment, a tour of the show, which is closed to minors, and three minutes to pitch his product to industry professionals.

Im looking forward to seeing what other innovators and other peoples opinion of my work is, Co Ting Keh said.

The teen created a machine-learning algorithm model called HICCUP, which stands for Hierarchical Classification of Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Cancer of Unknown Primary, or CUP, is defined by the American Cancer Society when, cancer is found in one or more metastatic sites but the primary site cannot be determined.

The American Cancer Society estimates 31,810 cases were diagnosed in 2018, which accounts for 2% of all cancer cases.

Co Ting Keh has calculated that his model is roughly 18% more accurate than industry standards in diagnosing CUP.

HICCUP requires a blood sample to track DNA released by a cancerous tumor into the bloodstream, a test he contends is considerably cheaper and less invasive than other industry procedures.

Current methods to carry out the diagnosis, like MRI and biopsies, are often costly, inaccurate or harmful, Co Ting Keh said. Thats what drove me to develop HICCUP.

Co Ting Keh created HICCUP while at Stanford Universitys Alizadeh Lab, where hes been working on and off the last two years in between attending Crescenta Valley High.

Every summer, I go up there and work there pretty much full-time, Co Ting Keh said. I go up there for Thanksgiving break and winter break and fly up and work whenever I can.

Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, said the selection of Co Ting Keh was a no-brainer after committee members who eventually chose him did a little research.

What kind of kid works at a lab at Stanford? Raskin said. We thought, Well, maybe hes just regurgitating what theyre teaching or talking about at the lab? We called up the lab, and they said he was the brains behind many of the algorithms they were using. We were amazed.

Co Ting Keh was selected out of a pool of 100 candidates and is one of two winners from California, joining Cupertino Highs Kumaran Akilan.

While Co Ting Keh has already been accepted to Yale University, hes still waiting to make an official collegiate decision until hes received word from all prospective schools.

Until graduation, hell continue his work at the lab during breaks and also via remote access.

The recognition is nice, Co Ting Keh said, but the work continues.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
The Arcadia Unified School District family offers our deepest condolences to the Lin family, their friends and loved ones. We are beyond saddened to learn of the death of the Lin brothers, William and Anthony, who attended Arcadia High School. The loss of William and Anthony will be felt by the thousands of students, staff, friends and family that loved and knew them well in our tight-knit community. We know our community will stand united as we go through this unthinkable tragedy together. We ask everyone to please respect the Lin familys privacy during this extremely difficult time.

While this tragedy did not happen on campus, it will undoubtedly have an enormous impact throughout all our schools. We will provide additional counselors and support services this week when students return to school, and for as long as they are needed. Arcadia Unified prides itself as being a positive leader in this great community, and will continue to make the well-being of our students and staff a priority. We appreciate the many condolences and support for the Lin Family. We know this will continue, and we thank you all.

Ryan Foran

Public Information Officer, Arcadia Unified School District
This years Kentucky Derby, at least on paper, is one of the most competitive in many years.

Youve got Bob Bafferts trio of Game Winner, Roadster and Improbable, all within half-a-tick of each other on the morning line.

Youve got undefeated Florida Derby winner Maximum Security and Wood Memorial winner Tacitus, who jumped to first and second in early betting.

Youve got the always present buzz horse, who this year is By My Standards, winner of the Louisiana Derby.

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And, youve got Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor getting some second looks after Mike Smith replaced Corey Lanerie as the jockey.

But the real deciding factor of who wins the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday could be, to steal a line from the Masters, a tradition unlike any other: lots of rain on Derby Day.

A vicious torrent of rain soaked Churchill Downs on Friday morning, subsided in the afternoon, but is expected to return just in time for the races Saturday.

Last year was the wettest Derby in history with around three inches of rain falling during the day. While it doesnt appear as if Saturdays totals will be record worthy, the past few years have had their share of precipitation.

Justify (2018) won over a sloppy track, Always Dreaming (2017) over a wet fast surface and Orb (2013) also over a sloppy track. Historically 44 Derbies have been run over a surface that was not listed as fast, leaving the other 100 on a fast track. Of course, when determining how to label a surface, most tracks tend to err on the side of making things sound better.

A track is labeled muddy if the water seeps into the dirt to create a mixture, which most people know as mud. A sloppy track is one that has usually been sealed  pressed down hard to keep the water from entering the dirt  keeping the water on top of the surface.

I think Ive got three nice horses, but its still a very wide-open race, Baffert said. There are 10 horses that I think are within a length of each other. Its whoever gets the trip. And especially now that its going to rain, we dont know what is going to happen. Its too bad the weather is not going to work with us. Well just have to deal with it.

Most trainers can figure a way to make it sound as if their horse would be undeterred by a wet track. But the bettors tend not to listen.

Game Winner, who was the 9-2 early morning-line favorite, slipped to the fourth-most bet horse in early wagering, no doubt because he has never run on an off surface.

Tacitus and Maximum Security were one-two in early betting, probably because they have won on a wet track. Maximum Security won by 6  lengths on a muddy track under a hand ride.

He won on an off-track, trainer Jason Servis said of Maximum Security. Hes checked a lot of boxes. He won a major prep  the Florida Derby. He won in the mud. He lay third and came off the pace. Hes undefeated. His mare is a half to Flat Out, who won the Jockey Gold Cup twice at a mile-and-a-quarter.

It doesnt matter what you like or dont like, hes checking a lot of boxes.

Vekoma, whose pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, trains in the rain Friday morning. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

An almost all-the-box-checker is Vekoma, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. If you throw out a third in the Fountain of Youth, losing to Code Of Honor, hes undefeated, winning at three different tracks. But he hasnt run on an off surface.

He is bred to handle it, trainer George Weaver said. I always thought [Churchill Downs] is one of the best when it was wet. He should be forwardly placed and hope he doesnt have to eat too much mud.

Vekomas pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, which along with Game Winner is the highest in the field. Vekomas mother, Mona De Momma, won the Humana Distaff at Churchill in 2010 in the mud.

I told him that his momma liked it, Weaver said.

In a neglected cemetery lie black jockeys who helped create the Kentucky Derby 

During Fridays exercise, Plus Que Parfait, winner of the UAE Derby in Dubai, seemed to have an easier time over the slop than many of the other horses.

I barely asked him to do anything, said Tom Molloy, an assistant to trainer Brendan Walsh. He didnt mind the mud one bit as all.

As difficult as it to predict how a horse will do on off tracks, there seems to be some compelling evidence on how horses do when they ship from Dubai to run in the Kentucky Derby. In 13 tries, the best a Dubai runner has finished was a fifth by Master Of Hounds in 2011.

I would think that running any after Dubai on just 35 days is a little quick, but sometimes they surprise you, Peter Miller said of his colt Gray Magician, who finished second in the UAE Derby. I thought initially he would need 60 days because Ive had some that even needed 90 days off, but with him I think it felt like a trip up the 405.

If that is correct, then you can expect the race to be run in a very, very slow time.
I broke my own cardinal rule by asking Josie out during the holidays. (In college I had determined that any guy who asks a girl out in November comes across as desperate for someone to spend Christmas with.)

But this was different. I was coming out of a crumbling, 10-year relationship, and adjusting to life back in the U.S. after a tour of duty in Iraq and three deployments to South Korea. I had no plans on making a new love connection. My single objective was to get her on the back of my chopper and take her to an annual spring motorcycle rally in La Puente. I had attended the same rally earlier that year with friends. I had decreed right then and there that if I came back the following year, I would have a date on my arm. Josie was perfect.

She wasnt some groupie who worshiped guys with immaculate bikes. She was from the Midwest and had moved into my northeast Los Angeles neighborhood to make it as an actor. Id met her at my American Legion club room. She was a hasher  you know, a member of that drinking club with a running problem. They were having drinks in our bar after a run. I was the post commander and offered a tour. By the end of it, I asked to add her on Facebook, rascal that I am. My date to the rally was nearly secured.

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

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Even though it was the middle of November, I messaged Josie to ask if shed like to go out to dinner. The rally was still months away, but I figured if I didnt act fast, I ran the risk of being forgotten by the time the rally rolled around. She agreed, so long as it was platonic. I assured her that it was. Came to find she lived not far from me in Highland Park.

I picked her up just two days before Thanksgiving on my fully-customized 2005 Harley-Davidson Softail, raked and stretched with a purple metal flake paint job and an all-chrome torqued out S&S engine. We rode to Little Tokyo to a sushi spot I knew. The trees at Tokyo Village were already adorned with holiday lights and we took two empty seats at the bar. After a shared rainbow plate, we were hitting it off quite handily.

I explained my situation. I was just ending one relationship, and faced with starting all over again, not sure of my next step. She was receptive, understanding and gorgeous. Toward the end of dinner I admitted that my only goal that night was to not fall on my face. She assured me I hadnt.

More L.A. Affairs columns

The next day she invited me to join her as she checked out a new drinking-and-running route for her club. We plotted a trail, visited a few watering holes, and high-fived our success when we were done.

Soon, we were spending nearly every day together, at my place or hers. We would walk to Maximiliano for pastas and red wine. We caught up with GLOW on her iPad. She traveled home for Christmas, but upon her return I made her tacos. She made meatball sandwiches for us a few days later.

I had been daunted at facing reentry back into the dating scene, but she was making the transition easy for me. That is, until she told me she was worried things were getting too serious. For me, it was still too early to say that. So when she said she needed more room to spread her wings, I gave it to her and told her I was OK with just being friends. Truth be told I felt accomplished. Like I had nothing more to prove.

A few weeks later, when her theater troupe needed someone to do tech in L.A. for a play she was in, I volunteered. It meant I got to see her every Thursday for the shows run. For the first show, we drove over together in my car and sang along to the Smiths How Soon Is Now? By the second show, Josie drove herself. She said we could still hang out, but that she still had feelings for her ex. Dutifully, I completed my volunteer tech work but cringed on the nights she departed without me. She was beautiful in her part in an adaptation of Reservoir Dogs. By the fourth show she was applying dramatic pauses at key scenes, capturing my heart.

A few weeks after the last show, I texted Josie and reminded her about the rally, which was then just a few days away. She admitted that she had forgotten about it but was still willing to go. I was proud to have her on my arm. There, she pulled me out to the dance floor and we freaked like high school kids until the music ended. We came back to my place and cuddled, but that was all. Josie said we could only be friends and neighbors. I walked her home.

You already know the end of the story. Despite my own insistence to not let it happen, I had developed feelings for that girl.

The contest of love is the only one where it doesnt matter who comes in first. What matters is who finishes last.

I cant be unhappy over the outcome, however.

I overcame my expectations, and got myself back out there. She reminded me of all that was good about being back in the United States. And she got me through the holidays after a bad breakup.

A couple weeks later, I left good-bye flowers on her doorstep.

All in all, not a bad run.

The author is a writer and Army reservist. His website is la1news.com.

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: 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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North Korea has apparently fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast, in what could mark its first missile launch in nearly a year and half, according to the South Korean military.

North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017 and has since refrained from launches amid unprecedented diplomatic talks between President Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

There is a possibility North Korea has fired multiple short-range missiles, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency quoted a military source as saying.

The South Korean militarys joint chiefs of staff later adjusted their wording from missiles to projectiles, saying they were still working to determine what exactly was fired. The shift in wording may reflect South Koreas concern over how news of the test is received by Washington.

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The launch, if verified, would probably mark a continued return to low-level provocations from North Korea, expressing its displeasure at the stalled talks with the U.S. since a summit between Trump and Kim over the Norths nuclear program ended without a deal in February.

Saturdays launch comes after Kim last month oversaw a test of a new unspecified tactical guided weapon capable of carrying a powerful warhead.

Kim said in April 2018 that North Korea had completed its missile program and no longer needed to conduct nuclear or ballistic missile tests. Recent military actions by the North stop short of violating that self-imposed ban but nonetheless are a reminder of what a North Korean official has warned would be undesired consequences should nuclear talks collapse.

Trump has touted the missile moratorium as a sign that his engagement with North Korea was working, saying Kim pledged to him in Hanoi that the moratorium would stand.

North Korea test-fires new tactical guided weapon, with Kim Jong Un there to observe 

In a speech before the North Korean legislative body last month, Kim said he was willing to wait until the years end for a breakthrough in talks with the U.S.

As blowing winds create waves, the more explicit the U.S.s hostile policies toward North Korea become, we will act accordingly, he said in the speech.

Trump administration officials have said the ball is in North Koreas court after the talks in Vietnam fell apart because Kim was willing to discuss only a portion of the nations nuclear arsenal while seeking large-scale sanctions relief.

Representatives for Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they were monitoring the situation.
This month ushers in an era of new beginnings for royal families in Japan and Thailand.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, Thailand is crowning a new king. Maha Vajiralongkorn took the throne when his father died 2 years ago. On Saturday he was officially installed as king as part of a three-day ceremony drawing on Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

In Japan, Crown Prince Naruhito became the countrys 126th emperor on Tuesday, after his 85-year-old father, Emperor Akihito, stepped down.

Dozens of countries still have royal families. Some monarchs go by the title of king or queen while others are referred to as emperor, sultan or emir.

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The level of power they exert depends on the country.

In Norway, Spain, Britain and Sweden, the royal positions are purely ceremonial. Several countries in Africa and Asia have similar figurehead monarchs, among them Lesotho, Cambodia and Malaysia.

In Thailand, the king has the power to pardon criminals and is viewed as a force for helping unite a deeply divided nation.

Then there are royals who continue to rule like monarchs of old.

Saudi Arabias King Salman also serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power. (Fethi Belaid / Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, a kingdom ruled by one person. In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud took on that role. In addition to being the king, he serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power.

Key support positions, such as the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, are given to members of the royal family.

King Salmans son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is next in line to the throne.

Since taking power, Salman and others in the royal family have taken measures to tighten their grip over their subjects. Once seen as a reformer, Crown Prince Mohammed has faced international condemnation after Octobers grisly murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

In April, King Salman ratified a royal decree to behead 37 Saudi citizens, most of them Shiite Muslims  a minority in a country ruled by Sunni Muslims. Officials said those condemned had engaged in terrorism-related offenses, allegations questioned by human rights advocates.

The monarchy has also ordered the arrest of womens rights activists, including protesters of the nations since-lifted ban on women driving.

Swazilands King Mswati III rules Africas last absolute monarchy. (Paballo Thekiso / AFP/Getty Images)

Swaziland

Swaziland, home to 1.3 million people, is Africas last absolute monarchy. The small country in southern Africa has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.

A majority of the population in Swaziland live in poverty in rural areas.

In 2006, the ruling family introduced a new constitution that included a bill of rights. But human rights activists say the monarchy has continued to restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association.

In 2018, Mswati announced that he was renaming the country the Kingdom of eSwatini, meaning the land of Swazis, though the name change has not been embraced by most of the rest of the world. The announcement was made on the countrys 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

Monacos leader, Prince Albert II, shares legislative power with the National Council. (Julien Warnand / EPA/Shutterstock)

Monaco

Monaco is a hereditary constitutional monarchy led by Prince Albert II. It was established in 1911.

Tourism drives the economy in the postage stamp-sized nation of 39,000 people.

In 1962, the countrys constitution was reformed to provide independence to portions of its judicial and legislative bodies.

For instance, legislative power is now shared by the prince and the National Council  a group of 24 members elected by popular vote every five years. The prince proposes laws and the National Council votes on them.

The prince also appoints a president to the seven-member Crown Council, which advises the prince on domestic and international issues, such as ratification of treaties and the granting of amnesty and citizenship.

In 2002, Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa changed Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom and gave himself the title of king. (Ludovic Marin / AFP/Getty Images)

Bahrain

The small Persian Gulf island has been ruled by the Khalifa family since 1783. Members of the royal family control the ministries of Defense, Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

The countrys political system has undergone shifts over the last three decades.

Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa, who took power in 1999, turned the emirate into a kingdom three years later and gave himself the title of king.

Human rights groups have criticized the monarchy for its clampdown on dissent. According to a 2018 Amnesty International report, authorities arrested activists and political opponents who criticized the monarchy ahead of parliamentary elections in November 2018.

Bruneis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, right, shown with Malaysian Sultan Syed Sirajuddin in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, has ruled the tiny oil-rich Asian kingdom for more than five decades. (Jimin Lai / AFP/Getty Images)

Brunei

For more than five decades, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has reigned over the tiny, oil-rich Asian kingdom.

The monarchy, which has been around for hundreds of years, has endured turbulent times. In the late 19th century, Britain intervened in the countrys affairs, and Brunei became a British protectorate in 1906 under a treaty that allowed the ruling dynasty and its line of succession to remain intact.

During World War II, between 1941 and 1945, Japan occupied the country.

As head of state, Bolkiah also serves as prime minister, in charge of the countrys armed forces and Finance Ministry.

The monarchy sparked international outrage when it announced in April that it would begin stoning those charged with adultery or homosexuality under a new penal code based on sharia law.

Celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John quickly condemned the crackdown and called for a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and seven other hotels in Europe owned by the sultan.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
Palestinian militias launched more than 250 rockets into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, in the latest escalation of violence in the long-simmering conflict.

An Israeli man in Ashkelon died in the bombardment when his apartment suffered a direct hit. Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that five Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The circumstances under which they died remained unclear.

The Israeli army said its retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire struck more than 120 targets belonging to Hamas, the Islamist paramilitary group that controls Gaza, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ, a rival group that joined Hamas in the cross-border attacks.

The army also said it destroyed a PIJ tunnel connecting southern Gaza and Israel that was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack inside Israel.

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Air raid sirens blared in the city of Beer Sheva, a major Israeli metropolitan hub in northern Negev. The spread of violence to the city represented a significant escalation in the conflict.

The latest round of violence began with gunfire during Fridays Gaza border protests, in which two Israeli troops were wounded by a PIJ sniper, the Israeli army said.

According to the army, several dozen rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israel killed two Hamas operatives in airstrikes Friday, and two Palestinian protesters died in the border clashes.

An army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said that five or six Hamas and PIJ terrorists were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

The renewed fighting threw the south of the country onto war footing, sending Saturday beachgoers into shelters and marring weekend plans for some 2 million people. School was canceled across all of southern Israel Sunday.

Conricus condemned the reckless and coordinated rocket fire effort.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Qanou said the militant group will continue to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow Israel to shed the blood of our people. He said Hamas was committed to defending and protecting the Palestinians in Gaza.

The escalation between Israel and armed factions in Gaza comes at a delicate moment  less than a week ahead of Israels memorial and independence days, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who retained his post after a close race last month, tries to form a coalition for his next government.

In addition, Israel has been gearing up for the Eurovision Song Contest, a marquee event that will be broadcast around the world.

Former army chief Benny Gantz, Netanyahus principal rival in the elections, blasted the prime minister.

When a lack of policy and consistency meets acquiescence to Hamas blackmail over the past year, we are met on a Saturday morning by heavy barrages on Israel and another round of extortion [by Palestinian terror groups], he said, at a public event.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Saturday called on Hamas and PIJ to end the attacks.

The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel, Ortagus said. We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks.

Before the latest intensification of clashes with Gaza, the city of Tel Aviv had heightened security preparations in anticipation of thousands of incoming Eurovision fans.

According to Israeli analysts, Hamas may hope that the pressure of the upcoming public events will improve the chances that the escalation will lead to a compromise and greater concessions for the Palestinian factions.

While the fighting was underway, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and PIJ leader Ziad Nahala were in Cairo, where Egyptian intelligence officials have spent months attempting to negotiate a long-term cease-fire with Israel.

Criticizing Israels tacit participation in the negotiations, Gantz said the Israeli government must reassert deterrence and only then seek a long-term agreement, without security compromises and without extortion.

More than a year after the regular Friday border protests began, with close to 200 Palestinians killed and with few tangible benefits, Hamas is eager to show Palestinians it made some strides against Israel ahead of Sunday night, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of family gatherings, festivities and spending.

Instead, the Israeli army announced the return to a stricter blockade of Gaza, which has been isolated by Egypt and Israel since 2007, when Hamas, which Western countries have listed as a terrorist organization, took power.

In a joint statement, Hamas and PIJ warned Israel that its response would be stronger and more widespread if Israel continued its strikes on Gaza.

Special correspondent Abu Alouf reported from Gaza City and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem.
- Atiku Abubakar has again condemned the claim by APC that he is not a Nigerian

- The PDP presidential candidate for the 2019 general election said the ruling APC is full og hypocrites

- Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the home to hypocrites who speak from both sides of the mouth.

Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians.

Vanguard reports that Atiku's spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, in reaction to the claim that the PDP candidate is a Cameroonian said the APC is chasing shadow instead of substance in an election they massively rigged to profit themselves.

Afegbua said: "At first, they said Atiku Abubakar was not a Nigerian. Again, they said we hacked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC server.

When Atiku Abubakar was donating money to them in the APC, they decorated him with golden ornaments; when he was providing logistics, they were all swarming around him, calling him the great Waziri," Afegbua said.

READ ALSO: Countries with the lowest minimum wage in 2019

He also said that those who preached integrity suddenly joined the hypocritical chorus, sheer double standards and a character profiling that exposes the dubiety of those APC chieftains.

Suddenly they remembered that Atiku is no longer a Nigerian, a former Vice President at that, a business tycoon whose productivity is not in doubt. A man who has impacted positively on thousands of Nigerians by way of employment.

But we will not be distracted by their double speak. Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar won the election and even the APC knows that in the hearts of Nigerians, they didnt win the election, but we will shock them with further proofs at the tribunal.," he noted.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Atiku had commended the appointment of Kaycee Madu as the first Nigerian elected member of the Parliament in Alberta, Canada.

Atiku Abubakar said upward mobility and local and international successes, of the type displayed by Madu who was appointed minister of municipal affairs in Alberta go a long way in changing the international narrative of Nigeria.

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In a statement released on Thursday, May 2, Atiku said seeing Nigerians prosper in Nigeria, and around the world, has always been the cornerstone of his vision.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
- A Nigerian student schooling in Canada has cried out over racist experience

- The student revealed that she has been a victim of racism and discrimination

- Ife also revealed that many of the black students in her school have also been victims

Legit.ng has come across the sad story of a Nigerian graduate schooling in Canada. The lady identified as Ife had taken to popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter, to share her experience of racism and discrimination.

The young lady explained that she is a student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she claimed to be a victim of racism and discrimination.

Ife called on Nigerians and the world to come to her aid. She also explained that many of the black students in the school also experience the same racist attacks.

READ ALSO: Student, 22, overcomes struggles, obtains 21 distinctions at DUT

According to the chemistry student, some people in the school who discriminate against them are working together. She also claimed that they all work on covering their tracks.

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Nigerians had replied to her tweet, sharing options on how she can solve the problem. They also showed support to her, praying that God continue to keep her safe and protect her from any threat.

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READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian man had accused University of Nigeria, Nsukka of bribery. The man claimed that the university normally collects N800k bribery for acceptance to study medicine in the school.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Top 3 World Universities And Their African Students - on Legit TV

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Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We cant leave; this is our home. We cant express an opinion with some family members because wed get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didnt think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; its a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where were coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter dont mind and those who mind dont matter.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
A comprehensive plan is underway concerning 10 municipalities in the Nazareth area.

Members of the Nazareth Area Council of Governments have agreed to update their multi-municipal comprehensive plan.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission will work with the Nazareth Area COG to create the plan, which will focus on strategies to address growth, infrastructure and community needs.

Funding comes from a $40,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant.

Nazareth Area COG members include, Bath Borough, Bushkill Township, Chapman Borough, Hanover Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Moore Township, Nazareth Borough, Stockertown Borough, Tatamy Borough and Upper Nazareth Township.

Among the members, there is a combined population of about 49,900 people living in an area totaling 96 square miles.

The beauty and the benefit of having communities work together is they can coordinate transportation, identify where to share, and govern things like land use, housing and jobs, LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said.

The current Nazareth Area COG multi-municipal plan was completed about 10 years ago. Bradley said the new plan will consider the increased development and other changes that have occurred in the last decade.

In most cases, state law requires every municipality to allow for every type of legal zoning use. However, Lower Nazareth Township Manager Lori Stauffer said, with a multi-municipal plan, those zoning uses can be distributed across all participant municipalities.

Instead of each municipality providing every type of use, we can plan regionally, Stauffer said. A certain type of use can go wherever it is most appropriate.

Stauffer said a Nazareth Area COG committee consisting of elected and other municipal officials will begin meeting on the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Upper Nazareth Township municipal building to draft goals and create the plan.

Meetings are open to the public. The goal is to complete the plan by the spring of 2020, Stauffer said.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com.
The trial of a woman who lives in Laois and is accused of murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him in the chest has heard that a garda found the deceased lying on his back with blood around his left armpit when he arrived at the scene.

The jury was also shown CCTV footage of the accused, who was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, arriving at a garda station at 2.30am on the morning of the incident.

Sergeant Tony Hanrahan was giving evidence on Friday in the Central Criminal Court trial of Inga Ozolina (48), who is charged with murdering her boyfriend Audrius Pukas (43) over two years ago in her Co Tipperary home.

Ms Ozolina, originally from Latvia, but with an address at Old Court Church, Mountrath, Co Laois has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Pukas at The Malthouse, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on November 20, 2016.

The trial has previously heard that the accused and deceased were in a tempestuous and volatile relationship which was violent at times and the prosecution contends there is no question of self-defence in the case.

Giving evidence today, Sgt Hanrahan told prosecution counsel Paul Murray SC that he was on duty in Roscrea Garda Station on the night in question when Ms Ozolina came to the door.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that his colleague spoke to the accused. Following this, Sgt Hanrahan and two other gardai went to Ms Ozolinas home in Roscrea.

The witness said he was brought by the accused to the rear door of her apartment at The Malthouse, where Ms Ozolina gave him her keys. The witness unlocked the door and entered the property while the accused stayed outside.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that he saw Mr Pukas lying on his back on the floor of a downstairs bedroom when he opened the door. He was wearing only underwear and there was no movement, he explained.

The witness said he approached Mr Pukas body and felt for a pulse but could not detect one.

There was blood around his left armpit as well as on the bed sheets, he said, adding that his body was still warm.

Following this, Sgt Hanrahan went outside the apartment and noticed blood on Ms Ozolinas calf muscle on her lower leg. The witness asked his colleague to bring the accused to the patrol car.

Paramedics later arrived and advised Sgt Hanrahan that the injuries sustained by Mr Pukas were incompatible with life, the court heard.

Ms Ozolina was arrested on suspicion of murder at 3.43am that morning and brought to Nenagh Garda Station.

Under cross-examination by Caroline Biggs SC, defending, Sgt Hanrahan agreed that he had previously made a statement that Ms Ozolina was in a very distressed state at the time.

The witness further agreed that a yellow blood-stained t-shirt and dressing robe were located adjacent to Mr Pukas body in the bedroom.

Paramedic Ronan Wall gave evidence that he arrived at the scene at 2.50am and found a male lying in the bedroom of the apartment. No pulse was found and he noted a wound to his left armpit, the court heard.

Mr Wall said he asked Ms Ozolina if she required medical assistance and she replied no.

Earlier, CCTV footage was shown to the jury of Ms Ozolina arriving at Roscrea Garda Station on November 20 at 2.30am.

Sgt Hanrahan agreed with Mr Murray that Ms Ozolina can be seen alighting from her car and making her way in a hurried fashion to the front door of the garda station.

Ms Ozolina is wearing a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, the court heard.

The witness pointed out in the footage that Ms Ozolina speaks with Gda Diarmaid OConnor before she followed him and another garda outside.

Sgt Hanrahan said that Ms Ozolina got into her car and drove in the direction of The Malthouse. She is followed by two gardai in their patrol car, the court heard.

The trial continues on Tuesday before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury of seven men and five women.
A High Court judge has ordered the extradition a man who absconded to Ireland after spending 31 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was a child.

Roy Norman Kenyon came to Ireland in 2003 while serving his sentence for the murder of Margaret Potts, an elderly shopkeeper, whom he beat to death with a poker in 1971. Having lived in Ireland under an alias for 15 years, the 64-year-old will now be returned to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The court has previously heard that Kenyon lived in Tullamore under the alias Alan McPherson, before being arrested in the village of Eyeries, Co. Cork on May 2, 2018. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly today rejected Mr Kenyon's points of objection and made an order to surrender him to the UK authorities within 25 days.

Outlining the facts of the original trial, Ronan Kennedy BL for the State told the court earlier this year that Kenyon was 16 years old and had been drinking alcohol on the night of his crime. He left the pub to purchase more alcohol from Mrs Potts, got into an argument with her and hit her two times in the head with a poker while she sat in an armchair.

Opposing the application for his surrender to the UK last month Sean Guerin SC said his client is not a risk to society. The barrister said his client is now an adult but was sentenced as a child and was considered to be at greater risk to society than the average prisoner because he had spent a longer time in custody. The lawyer said this logic was "fallacious" and unsupported by the evidence placed before the court.

Counsel said Kenyon has been at liberty for a long period of time and did not appear to have exhibited a risk to the public.

Mr Guerin pointed out that his client was eligible for release in the 1980s when he completed the punitive portion of his sentence. However, he will now serve an "indeterminate" sentence if he is surrendered to the UK. There is no evidence in terms of his behaviour to suggest that he poses an "unacceptable risk" to the public, he added.

Mr Guerin also submitted that there is no commitment from the UK authorities that Kenyon's case will be reviewed at anytime before 2021. He said that his client is likely to find himself "back in the twilight zone" of having his life sentence reviewed every two years and further conditions being imposed.

Ms Justice Donnelly said it is not "egregious" for a person sentenced to life as a child for murder to be held in prison and pointed out that his continued detention in the UK was a result of parole hearings which assessed the risk to the public of granting his freedom.

On surrendering him, she said, he will be entitled to seek release and his case will be reviewed within two years. This, she said, complies with his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. She added: "It cannot be egregious as a matter of law to require a person who has absconded while serving a life sentence to return to the issuing state where they will have the full panoply of the European Convention on Human Rights available to them."

Justice Donnelly further noted that this was not Mr Kenyon's first time absconding from custody after being placed in open prisons. On previous occasions, he was caught trying to leave the country and when returned to prison he was put "at the bottom of the penal ladder". This behaviour, she said, shows he does not want to be monitored and raises concern about his risk to the public. Justice Donnelly said it has not been established that he is no longer a risk or danger to the public.

She also noted that there was no "professional evidence" of his rehabilitation and said the Court does not accept his claim that he forgot about a previous time when he absconded from custody for some months. She also rejected his claim that he had not engaged in the use of controlled drugs.

The Court further rejected a claim that Brexit posed a risk that he would no longer be able to rely on the rights and entitlements guaranteed by EU law.
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Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, Irelands premier provider of research-based consultancy services in Ireland, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region. In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Leitrim. Key findings from the report from a Leitrim perspective included:

-27% of overseas visitors who visit Leitrim are holidaymakers-

- Overseas visitors spend an average of 7 nights in Leitrim when visiting the region

- Those who visit and stay in Leitrim spend the most time there and the most money there on their trip to the region

- Natural landscape and the outdoors the most popular reasons for visiting Leitrim

Hiking, Cross Country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Leitrim with over 75% of overseas visitors surveyed partaking in these activities

Visitors to Leitrim through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 45% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a Hotel or B&B during their stay in Leitrim whilst visitors to Leitrim estimated they spent on average 708 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Leitrim and the entire region

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region. The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Leitrim economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism.

Speaking at the airport during last weeks local authority update, Joseph Gilhooly, Deputy Chief Executive, Leitrim County Council, said Leitrim County Council are very happy to be involved in the Local Authority partnership with Ireland West Airport. The Airport provides a key piece of infrastructure for the continued development of the region. Leitrim County Council would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the Airport Board, Directors, Management and Staff in continuing to grow the business of the airport and to secure investment for the continuous programme of development of the airport facility
THE PROBLEM with drink driving is the mourning after say Limerick Macra who have been praised by the CEO of the Road Safety Authority.

On the morning after their Easter Ball, attended by over 300, they took the innovative approach of setting up a breathalyser stand.

Limerick Macra PRO Brian OShaughnessy said they did it so people could ensure that it was safe to begin the journey home.

It was very popular and weve got a lot of positive feedback. We took 140 readings that morning in the Woodlands House Hotel. Everybody wanted to check themselves and see. Even people who werent driving wanted to see out of curiosity, said Brian, who came up with the idea with Limerick Macra chairperson Vanessa Crean.

Brian has his own breathalyser so they purchased two more. They ran the stand from 9.30am to 1pm.

There was a couple of people who thought they should be all right but they were told, No, youve another hour to wait. Everybody gave themselves an extra hour after what the breathalyser said to be on the safe side, said Brian.

One man wasnt allowed to drive until 6pm.

He knew he was going to be well over. He wasnt driving anyway, he had someone coming to pick him up, said Brian.

It is the first Macra event or, indeed, event of any kind that has had a dedicated breathalyser station that he is aware of.

As well as saving lives, the Limerick Macra PRO said it is in response to the drink driving law change. Since the end of October anyone caught with 50-80 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood will be disqualified from driving for three months and receive a 200 fine. Previously, they would have received three penalty points and a fine for a first offence rather than an automatic ban.

It is mainly rural people we are dealing with and if you get put off the road in rural Ireland there are no buses around for you, said Brian, who is from Kilcornan.

The breathalyser stand didnt take from the Easter Ball which he said was a fantastic night. Coincidentally the band was called Traffic.

Brian says they will bring the breathalysers to every future Macra overnight event to promote their message of, Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Caption above: Louise Crowley and Vanessa Crean, Limerick Macra Chairperson, promoting the initiative

Moyagh Murdock, CEO in the RSA, said she welcomes any initiative which aims to promote or further the interests of road safety.

The use of breath alcohol testing devices is of value once alcohol consumption has ceased for several hours, such as in a morning after situation, remembering that even very low levels of alcohol can impair driving, said Ms Murdock.

Investigation files for fatal collisions, by the RSA, shows that 11% of fatal collisions in which a driver had consumed alcohol, occurred between the hours of 7am and 11am.

Read also: County Limerick farmer over the limit on the morning after Munster final

Drink driving at any time of the day or day of the week is drink driving, which is why you must take extra care the following morning if you have been drinking the night before.

While many people accept the dangers associated with drink driving, some people often overlook the potential dangers of driving the morning after drinking the night before. Its important to remember that if youve been drinking the night before, there could still be alcohol in your system the morning after, said Ms Murdock.
A GROUP of women who have devoted countless hours to making clothes and other items for the less fortunate in Limerick and around the world, have been honoured with the Limerick Person of the Month award.

Crafty Angels, a group of 30 ladies, meet every Monday in the Millennium Centre in Caherconlish for two and a half hours. They combine a chat, a cuppa, and an interest in all forms of craft with charity work.

Liz Stanley, from Caherline, set up the Crafty Angels with the late and much missed Maureen Kenny towards the end of 2013.

We had a group there previously and that was coming to an end and we wanted to keep the people together. Its more of a social group than anything else - its like Mens Shed for women, Liz explained.

One of the charities to benefit greatly from their work is KidzCare which provides care, education and love to underprivileged and orphaned children in Tanzania. The group made the connection with the charity through their friend Imelda O'Riordan who lives in Bruff.

The first time we joined up with Imelda we learned of little children who couldnt go to school because they didnt have a uniform, Liz explained. One of our members had died and her husband had given me a bale of black fabric - 25 yards of black fabric. He handed it to me and said, you might be able to do something with that.

About three weeks later Theresa Riordan from Meanus rang me up asking if we still had the black fabric and she told me about Imeldas girls needing skirts.

The Crafty Angels, around 17 of them, gathered together one Monday with their sewing machines. Theresa had made patterns in three sizes for them to follow.

We cut and we sewed and in three hours we made 65 skirts. Imelda then packed them up and took them off with her and she brought back pictures of the little girls. It was lovely.

Imelda, who joined a number of the Crafty Angels, at the Person of the Month presentation in the Clayton hotel this Monday, transports the items to Tanzania in huge suitcases.

 I take a lot of things out each year so Im taking six 23 kilo bags of baby clothes, school supplies and things the group make, Imelda explained.

The group also made around 220 toiletry bags this year for secondary school students in Tanzania who lost everything in a fire and had to go to the river to wash.

Another charity to benefit from their selfless deeds is ACER in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

A friend of ours, Rose Little from Castleconnell, goes out there and she started up, with a friend of hers, a project for women who had no way of making extra money for themselves. She taught them to sew cushion covers and things to sell and now they help to pay for their children to go to school.

Incubator covers, tiny little caps and snuggle blankets were given by the group to the neonatal ward in University Maternity Hospital Limerick and therapy dolls and Freddy bags for the Ark Unit in University Hospital Limerick.

The Crafty Angels hail from Kildimo, Murroe, Doon, Caherconlish and Mitchelstown.

Speaking on behalf of the entire group, some of whom couldn't attend the presentation, Liz said it was a real honour to receive the person of the month award. Its tremendously exciting, she smiled. When I heard the news I couldnt gather my thoughts. I sat down and realised I was shaking. We are absolutely delighted to be recognised.
A CROWD estimated to be around 300 people marched on the local HSE offices in protest at the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The march, organised by Solidarity, drew widespread support, as frustration and anger at the dozens of people waiting on trolleys in the emergency department at UHL boiled over.

The trolley figures, published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reached a 63 in the last week. But last month, a new high of 81 patients on trolleys was recorded.

And the Limerick Leader this week revealed how a 92-year-old woman had been left waiting on a trolley in the emergency department for 105 hours.

Addressing a rally held at City Hall immediately prior to the march, Derek Cromwell, who works as a nurse in the emergency department said: Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures, and it destined to get worse. This isnt just now. Its been consistent over the last five years. Absolutely nothing has been done. The senior management dont seem to care, the government dont care. All they are worried about is their pensions, their next job and making themselves look good.

'University Hospital Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures. These numbers are just going to rise and rise': Staff nurse Derek Cromwell addresses the #EnoughisEnough hospital protest in the city. pic.twitter.com/ZtFIfFQuOb  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

'Healthcare is a human right, give it back or we will fight': A crowd of around 300 people are marching on the @HSELive offices at Catherine Street in protest at the UHL overcrowding crisis. #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/rxRyKDZVHL  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

There was criticism of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over his decision not to visit UHL and see the overcrowding for himself when he was in the city on Thursday, with members of the crowd chanting Leo, Leo, time to go.

Solidarity councillor Mary Cahillane, who organised the demonstration through Facebook, said: Leo Varadkar with his full complement of spin doctors has visited Limerick not once, but twice in the last two months. The first time he came he had the cheek to tell Fintan Walsh of the Limerick Leader that we need a different approach. Nothing happened. Seventeen beds had been closed by then, not once did Leo Varadkar say open them up. On Thursday, he took part in the most cringeworthy street busking event and at the end proclaimed he doesnt do bullshit.

Well Leo, all I can say to you is you are not fooling us and we call bullshit on your spin, your arrogance and your lifes, she added to cheers.

After the rally, the protestors marched around the city streets up to the HSEs offices in Catherine Street.

The Limerick Leader is running a major campaign to highlight the continuing overcrowding crisis in University Hospital Limerick. For more information, click here.
SENATOR Maria Byrne has been appointed as Fine Gaels director of elections ahead of the plebiscite on proposals for a directly elected mayor.

Senator Byrne, who served as Mayor of Limerick in 2010/11 will oversee the partys campaign ahead of the vote on Friday, May 24  the same day as the Local and European Elections.

As a former Mayor of Limerick, I believe cities can benefit from strong, visible leadership and international standing that a mayor, elected with a clear mandate, can bring, she said.

Around the world, including in London, a mayor has become a vital part in ensuring that a great city has a strong voice and can attract investment from home and aboard. We need a strong voice in Limerick to create a strong city to drive the region, she added.

Senator Byrne will be one of a number of speakers who will address a town hall meeting at Thomond Park this Thursday.

The Fine Gael event will be hosted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Rose Hynes, chair of the Shannon Group and John Moran of Liveable Limerick will also speak on the night.

Mr Varadkar will canvass members of the public for a yes vote in Limerick ahead of the town hall event. Senator Byrne, who will contest the next general election in the Limerick city constituency, says shes in favour of the proposals for a directly elected mayor.

This plebiscite is about the people of Limerick giving a mandate to a political leader, enabling them to create a new vibrant Limerick.

All the key ingredients will soon be in place  a deep sea port, an international airport on our doorstep, and a motorway link to Dublin and Cork.

Having previously served as a councillor I know how fundamentally important it is for joined up thinking at local government level, she continued.

The mayor will be paid an annual salary of around 130,000 and will be entitled to hire two advisors.
A Twitter user has shared her first chat with a man on LinkedIn and where it ...




Former Mr Nigeria, Bryan Okwara has made a joke out of an interview that Tonto Dikeh recently granted to address her failed marriage to Churchill.

During the interview, Tonto alleged that her ex-husband suffers premature ejaculation and only lasts "40 seconds".

Web users quickly turned this into a joke and Bryan Okwara has now joined in.

Sharing a photo of himself getting out of a car, he wrote: "She called me and I came in 40 seconds. She was shocked i keep to time."
Later in his career, Leonardo da Vinci's ability to use his right hand appeared to be hampered  a problem long thought to have been caused by a stroke. But a new analysis suggests that it was nerve damage to his hand that instead caused this paralysis.

In the paper, published today (May 3) in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, two Italian doctors argued that Leonardo's hand paralysis may resulted from traumatic nerve damage that occurred after the artist fainted. Their conclusion is based on an analysis of a 16th century portrait of Leonardo.

Leonardo was left-handed, but previous studies, including a new handwriting analysis, have suggested that he was also adept at using his right hand. Though he mostly wrote and drew with his left hand, evidence suggests that he typically painted with his right, according to the paper. [5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Leonardo da Vinci]

The portrait at the center of the new analysis, drawn in red chalk sometime in the 16th century by Italian artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino, depicts an older Leonardo. In the drawing, the famous polymath's right arm is wrapped up in a bandage-like cloth and his right hand is "suspended in a stiff, contracted position," the authors wrote in the paper. In other words, his fingers are slightly bent inward.

But the hand drawn in the portrait doesn't depict the "clenched hand" typical of patients with muscle contractions caused by stroke, they wrote. Rather, "the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand," co-author Dr. Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, said in a statement.

Ulnar palsy is a condition in which fingers become bent like an animal's claw due to damage to the ulnar nerve  a major nerve that runs from the neck down to the fingers and gives the lower arm and hand sensation and the ability to move.

Lazzeri and his co-author Dr. Carlo Rossi, a neurologist at the Hospital of Pontedera in Italy, suggested that his ulnar palsy could have resulted from a trauma, such as fainting and falling down.

What's more, because Leonardo didn't also experience cognitive decline or any other movement issues, a stroke was not likely the cause, Lazzeri said.

Ulnar palsy "may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter, while he continued teaching and drawing," Lazzeri said.

Originally published on Live Science.
In 1980, The New York Times featured a full-page ad from an animal rights group, which lambasted a prominent cosmetics company for testing its products on the eyes of rabbits. The campaign was so effective, it led to several beauty companies pledging hundreds of thousands of dollars toward research to find alternative testing methods that didn't involve animals.

Almost 40 years later, what are some of these alternatives, and how much progress have we made?

Before we delve into the answer, there's one important distinction to make: although "animal testing" usually conjures up the image of defenseless rabbits being prodded and poked in the name of beauty, the use of animals in research  and the search for alternatives  stretches far beyond the cosmetics industry. Animals like mice and rats are widely used in toxicology, the study of chemicals and their effects on us. Animals are also a crucial to drug discovery and testing. In biomedical research, animal models are the foundation of many experiments that help researchers investigate everything from the functioning of circuits in the brain to the progression of disease in cells. [Do Animals Get Seasick?]

Despite their importance in these fields, there are now efforts to reduce the number of animals used in testing. That's due, in part, to ethical concerns that are driving new legislation in different countries. But it also comes down to money and time.

"In theory, non-animal tests could be much cheaper and much faster," said Warren Casey, the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, which analyzes alternatives to animal use for chemical- safety testing.

Another concern is that in some types of research, animals are too different from humans to successfully predict the effects that certain products will have on our bodies. "So we've got ethics, efficiency and human relevance," Casey told Live Science, the three main factors driving the hunt for alternatives.

So, what are the most promising options so far?

Data, data, everywhere

One approach is to replace animals with algorithms. Researchers are developing computational models that crunch huge quantities of research data to predict the effects of certain products on an organism.

"This is a very applicable approach. It's very cheap," said Hao Zhu, an associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Zhu is part of a research team that has developed a high-speed algorithm that extracts reams of information from online chemical databases, to compare thousands of tested chemical compounds with new, untested ones by identifying structural similarities between them. Then, it uses what we know about the toxicity of the tested compounds to make reliable predictions about the toxicity of the untested varieties with a similar structure (assuming that this shared structure means the compound will have similar effects).

Typically, identifying the effects of a new compound would require scores of expensive, time-consuming animal tests. But computational predictions like this could help to lessen the amount of animal research required. "If we can show that the compound we want to put onto the market is safe, then I think these kinds of studies could be a replacement for current animal studies," Zhu said. A similar study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland showed that algorithms could even be better than animal tests at predicting toxicity in various compounds. [How Psychedelic Drugs Create Such Weird Hallucinations]

Miniature organs

In recent years, scientists have started growing cultured human cells on scaffolds embedded on plastic chips, forming tiny structures that mimic the functioning of our heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. Known as organs-on-a-chip, these could provide a novel way to test the effects of new compounds or drugs on human cells.

Testing on these simplified, miniaturized versions of our physiology could deliver more human-relevant results than animal experiments. Crucially, the tests could also replace the use of whole animals in the exploratory stages of early research, when scientists don't necessarily need to test on whole systems. Organs-on-a-chip "for the most part address a single output or endpoint," Casey said  because all that may be required at this early stage is to test the behavior of one cell type in response to a drug or a disease, as a way to guide future research.

This could "help in most cases to reduce the amount of animal tests researchers are planning within ongoing projects," said Florian Schmieder, a researcher who is working on that goal by developing miniature kidney and heart models at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, in Germany. As well as lungs, livers and hearts, some companies are developing artificial 3D structures that replicate human skin. That's particularly important in toxicology, where animal skin tests have long been a baseline for understanding the effects of new, untested compounds.

Replacing this with a harm-free model is now a reality, Casey said: "Skin tissue models have really proven to be pretty effective. They can provide insight on the acute changes  whether something's going to be corrosive and damage skin."

Human studies

One idea that's frequently raised as a counter to animal testing is that if humans want to benefit from new treatments, drugs and research, we should instead offer ourselves as the test subjects. That's quite a simplified and extreme view  and in most countries animal tests are required by law before drugs are given to humans, for instance. So it isn't necessarily practical, either.

But, there are carefully controlled forms of human testing that do have the potential to reduce animal use, without endangering human health. One such method is microdosing, where humans receive a new drug in such tiny quantities that it doesn't have broad physiological impacts, yet there's just enough circulating in the system to measure its impact on individual cells.

The idea is that this cautious approach could help eliminate nonviable drugs at an early stage, instead of using thousands of animals in studies that may only establish that a drug doesn't work. The approach has proved safe and effective enough that many major pharmaceutical companies now use microdosing to streamline drug development. [Why Do Medical Researchers Use Mice?]

"There will of course be ethical concerns, but these could easily be outweighed by the potential gains in bringing safer and more effective medicines to market more efficiently," Casey said.

Where are we now?

So, what do these alternatives mean for the future of animal testing? In some areas of research like cosmetics testing  where so many existing products have already been proved safe through animal studies  there's a growing recognition that testing new products is something we really don't need to advance this industry. That's borne out by regulations like the one put forward by the European Union, which now bans animal testing on any cosmetic products that are produced and sold within the EU.

We're also seeing advances in toxicology research. Toxicologists have long relied on six core animal-based tests that screen new products for acute toxicity  checking whether a product causes skin irritation, eye damage or death if consumed. But in the next two years, these baseline tests will likely be replaced with non-animal alternatives in the United States, Casey said. The reason for this progress is that the "biology underlying these types of toxicity is much simpler than other safety concerns that can arise after [an animal is] exposed to a chemical for an extended period of time, such as cancer or reproductive toxicity," Casey said.

But in other areas of research, where the questions being investigated are more complex, animal models still provide the only way we currently have of fully understanding the varied, widespread, long-term effects of a compound, drug or disease. "Physiology is really, really complex and we still don't have a handle on it"  nor anything that legitimately mimics it aside from animal models, Casey said.

Even despite the most promising advances like the development of organs-on-a-chip, that's still a long way from anything representing a connected human body. "The major problem in developing artificial organ systems is to gain the whole complexity of a living organism in vitro," Schmieder said. "The problem here is to emulate the kinetics and dynamics of the human body in a really predictive way."

While organs-on-a-chip and other inventions might help answer simpler questions, right now whole-animal models are the only way to study more complex effects  such as how circuit functions in the brain are linked to visible behaviors. These are the types of questions that help us understand human disease, and ultimately lead to lifesaving treatments and therapies. So, the animal experiments that underlie those discoveries remain crucial. [Do Animals Have Feelings?]

It's also worth noting that some of the most promising non-animal tests we have today  like algorithms  work only because they can draw on decades of animal research. And to advance in the future, we will need to continue this research, Zhu said.

"We can't use computers to totally replace animal testing. We still need some low-level animal testing to generate the necessary data," Zhu said. "If you asked me to vote for a promising approach, I would vote for a combination of computational and experimental methods."

So, are there alternatives to animal testing? The short answer is yes  and no. While we have several options, for now they're not sophisticated enough to eradicate animal testing. Crucially, however, they can reduce the number of animals we use in research. And with new regulations, and ever-smarter alternatives, we can at least be hopeful that in the future, the number of animals will continue to decline.

Originally published on Live Science.
Ramadan, which lasts a month and requires Muslims to fast all day, begins this year at sundown Sunday. Thousands of observant Muslims in the Capital Region will fast along with millions around the world with the aim of cleansing their bodies and spirits.

Fasting is mentioned in the Quran. "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so you may learn self-restraint." (Chapter 2, verse 183) The Quran was revealed in Ramadan. Muslims consider it the word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad by means of the angel Gabriel.

Charity is encouraged during Ramadan and Muslims donate generously believing their reward will be manifold. They also focus on prayer and self-accountability.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five "pillars" of Islam, the other four being faith in one God, daily prayer, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are physically and financially able.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This is year 1440. Since it is a lunar calendar, Ramadan starts about 11 days earlier each year. Those observing the fast get up early to take a pre-dawn meal called suhoor. Once the sun rises, a complete fast begins, with no food or drink, not even water until after sundown. The evening meal is called iftar.

Shakira Baig and Zarina Chaudhry are both longtime congregants at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. They are involved in volunteer and interfaith activities and are part of the team that organizes the annual ICCD interfaith community iftar.

Shakira Baig was born in Chennai, India, and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in botany from Karachi University.

She emigrated in 1979 to New Orleans with her husband. They moved six months later to Houston where she worked at Eckerd, raised two children and then owned and managed a Pakistani restaurant for five years.

Her husband's employer eventually transferred him to Albany in 2001. He has worked mostly in Hyatt and Hilton hotels.

She worked at Albany Med as a phlebotomist for eight years. She and her husband, Mirza, live in Guilderland. They have two grown daughters, Sadaf and Shazia.

Zarina Chaudhry was born and raised in Hyderabad, Pakistan. She has a master's degree in botany from Hyderabad University. There was no girls school in her area then, but her father was a staunch believer in education for girls, so he sent Zarina and her sisters to a school where she and her sisters were the only girls in their classrooms.

She came to New York City in 1973, where she was married and had three children. The family moved to Albany in 1979. She was a substitute teacher for 14 years in the Cohoes School District, teaching classes from elementary through high school. She retired in 1999 and then worked in the former Caldor's store in Latham for 10 years. She and her husband, Ashraf, live in Niskayuna and have three grown children, Sofia, Saadia and Amir.

You are both active members of the Islamic Center of the Capital District.

Baig: We joined ICCD when we moved here 18 years ago. Our younger daughter attended the weekend school there and I began to do some volunteer work with the children. Then I arranged for Friday fundraiser lunches by getting meals from local restaurants or asked people to cook. Volunteers helped sell the boxed meals after the Friday prayers to benefit the AnNur Islamic School.

For the last two years, I have been involved with the food pantry at the Islamic center  shelving, cleaning, organizing, arranging, distribution.

During Ramadan for four years, I also arranged for daily evening meals for 25 people, mostly students and newcomers to this region. Now we serve about 60. I still help but am not in charge.

Chaudhry: I have also been involved with the food pantry since it began in February 2017. It is held the second Saturday of every month. I go a day earlier to help set up. On that Saturday, I am there most of day.

I am a member of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady and attend meetings and events.

How would you describe the observance of Ramadan?

Chaudhry: The prophet said, "Fasting is a shield against the fire of hell." We fast from dawn to sunset. We give a lot of charity, pray more and try to get close to Allah. It is a month of building patience.

In the evening, we break fast together with friends or family. Our Islamic center hosts Saturday dinners during Ramadan, as do most Islamic centers in North America.

Almost 400 people attend our community iftar on Saturdays. We do it on a smaller scale daily and arrange the evening meal for about 50 people.

During Ramadan, we sleep less and try to eat less too but often we eat more.

Baig: We give generously of charity, including zakat (an annual payment made, compulsory for Muslims, on some property. Zakat is used for charity or and religious needs). We get more reward for charity during Ramadan.

We have special nightly prayers, called taraveeh. They start after the nightly isha prayers, which will start at 9:30 on the first night of Ramadan and will start at about 10:15 on the last night of Ramadan.

So, after attending them, we reach home after midnight.

How different is Ramadan in the Capital Region compared to how you experienced it growing up?

Chaudhry: I enjoy Ramadan here. Growing up, women didn't go in the mosque.

Baig: We used to cook food at home in Pakistan and send it to the mosques. There are lot of poor people there who deserved the homecooked meals.

At most offices in Pakistan and in many Islamic countries, workdays are shortened. During the last week of Ramadan, school and colleges are closed so people can go home and enjoy the holiday with their families.

Here, there are no shorter days, neither for school nor work. Also, we use personal time here for religious holidays.

School calendars, including ones in the Capital Region, have been acknowledging Ramadan and Islamic holidays for many years now.

Muslim kids who are fasting during school can be excused from gym and can go and rest in the library or do some reading.

For several years, the ICCD has been hosting an interfaith community iftar.

Baig: About 50 to 60 people from different faiths attend our annual event, even though it is rather late in the evening. They are Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian. We save a table for our Hindu friends and order vegetarian for them. We start with a program, then break our fast with sweet dates, which is how Prophet Muhammad used to. The Muslims pray maghreb, the sunset prayers, and our guests watch us. Some join us. After that, we all sit down and enjoy dinner. Our guests love the food. It is a popular event and many people like to be invited again.

ahaqqie@timesunion.com  518-454-5651
WHARTON - Wharton resident Alicia Flores couldnt be happier about her daughter Juliet being accepted into the Realizing Our Academic Reward (ROAR) Academy. After all, Juliets older sibling, Jazmine, was in the inaugural program and is now studying at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Coming through ROAR really helped her focus on her studies and helped her stand out when it came to getting scholarships, Flores said. This is a great program.

Through ROAR, Juliet and 24 other Wharton High School freshmen this fall will get the opportunity to begin earning college credit while seeking their high school diploma. A collaborative effort of Wharton Independent School District and Wharton County Junior College, ROAR enables students to earn up to 60 college credit hours during high school. The program begins freshman year and is offered free of charge to participating students. Books, supplies, and an electronic device like a laptop or a tablet are provided at no cost.

On March 28, Wharton ISD officials held a lottery at WCJCs Wharton campus to determine the newest ROAR Academy class, which is the fifth one since the programs inception. Chosen by random selection were 25 students. The ROAR Academys Class of 2023 includes Venicio Aguilar, Christian Avalos, Melanie Callejas, Cherish Evans, Juliet Flores, Lucy Garcia, Jazir Guajardo, Jason Guzman, Zarion Jones, Kateria Knight, Trayvion Levatino, Shaylynn Longoria, Litzy Martinez, Kameron Mitchell, Ali Pabani, Evelyn Pereyra, Bobbie Richards, Angel Riojas, Alaija Sanders, Janaesia Sanders, Ariana Thompson, Isabell Vargas, Leilani Veazey, Seth Velasquez and Miguel Zarate.

Wharton ISD Superintendent Tina Herrington expressed her thanks to WCJC for helping the district offer such a rewarding program. The inaugural class was launched in 2014.

I want to begin by thanking WCJC for beginning this partnership, she said. WCJC is such a valuable resource and its really exciting for the students to have this opportunity.

Herrington noted that last summer seven students from the ROAR class of 2018 graduated with their high school diploma and an associates degree at the same time. Many others such as Jazmine Flores completed enough college hours to transfer to a university as a sophomore or junior.

The point of ROAR is to provide students - some of whom are the first generation in their family to go to college - with the resources and support needed to further their education.

Its going to be hard. Its going to be tough. But with our support and with your parents support, we have no doubt you will succeed, Wharton High School Principal Olatunji Oduwole told the new class.

I congratulate you on taking on this endeavor, added Bryce Kocian, WCJCs vice-president of administrative services.

Wharton students Ariana Thompson, Janaesia Sanders and Kateria Knight admitted after the lottery ceremony that they are nervous about taking college classes. But they each recognize the unique opportunity they - and their families - have been provided.

I feel like this is going to be a great experience, said Knight, who plans to become a pediatrician.

Im looking forward to seeing how it feels to take college classes, added Sanders, who wants to go into business.

Thompson has intentions of being a lawyer and said she was most nervous that her name would not be called and she would miss out on the program.

I am so happy that I feel like Im going to cry when I get home, she said.
Tammy Jackson was ushered into an empty jail cell by sheriffs. Then one morning, she was there with someone else: her newborn baby.

According to a letter dated May 3, written by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein, the full-term, mentally ill 34-year-old began complaining to officers about contractions around 3 a.m., April 10, the Miami Herald first reported.

More than four hours later, members of the sheriff's office spoke to the on-call doctor, who said "he would check when he arrived," according to Finkelstein. And when the physician clocked in, he did.

That was around 10 a.m.

For the seven preceding hours, Jackson was locked in a jail cell, alone. She was bleeding, in labor, and then forced to birth her baby on her own - conduct which Finkelstein called "outrageous" and "inhumane" treatment.

"It is unconscionable that any woman, particularly a mentally ill woman, would be abandoned in her cell to deliver her own baby," he wrote in the scathing letter, excoriating the Sheriff's Office. Although Jackson and the baby are both healthy, he wrote, "Not only was Ms. Jackson's health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk."

Finkelstein says Jackson was obviously pregnant and the child came at-term - something the Sheriff's office would have known, given they placed her in infirmary care specifically so she could receive proper medical attention. After her arrest a month earlier, Jackson was placed on medical monitoring for the pregnancy, precluding the possibility that those charged with her custody - employees of the Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Jail - were unaware.

When Jackson began contractions and called for help, guards did not take her to a hospital, where she could have given birth safely. Instead, they attempted to contact an on-call doctor. It took four hours for guards to reach the doctor, Finkelstein said, and then it took the doctor another hour and a half to get to the jail. In all, it took 6 hours and 45 minutes for Jackson and her newborn to receive care after initially asking for help.

"Medical records indicate her baby was born at term; the birth was not premature or unexpected," Finkelstein wrote. "Yet in her time of extreme need and vulnerability, [Broward Sheriff's Office] neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve."

The North Broward Bureau, where Jackson was held, is a "special needs detention facility" that houses "mentally ill, medically infirm and special needs" inmates among its 1,200 person population, according to its website.

Prison births have been scrutinized in recent months. The First Step Act, the criminal-justice-reform bill that Congress approved in December, addresses the use of restraints on prisoners during birth. Several states have similarly begun revising their policies surrounding the use of solitary confinement and handcuffs during pregnancy and labor.

Finkelstein demanded an "immediate review of the medical and isolation practices in place in all detention facilities."

The Post could not independently reach a spokesperson from the Sheriff's Office or North Broward Bureau for comment, however the Herald reported that the Sheriff's Office's internal affairs unit launched an investigation into Jackson's treatment.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The kaleidoscope of Kentucky Derby weekend escaped year-long closets again Friday and flooded the Kentucky Oaks racing day long adored by Louisvillians. Women wore shoes of daredevil heights. Churchill Downs brimmed with attire of the greenest greens, the yellowest yellows and the pinkest of that official color, pinks. Some dudes wore horse hats.

Soldiers and police patrolled here and there. Dogs sniffed beneath vehicles. An announcement near the gate prohibited bringing in a drone. (OK.) People outside sold flip-flops and ponchos for $10 in case the rain returned - it didn't - while others sold tickets and religion.

Everything seemed as ever.

Yet the 145th Kentucky Derby, the biggest annual event for a niche sport that takes its national attention in fleeting bites, might carry a tad more importance than usual. Saturday's edition will be horse racing's first nationally spotlighted event since the dreadful winter at Santa Anita Park, the California track where 23 horses died between Dec. 26 and March 30 before the track shut down for eight days to investigate and make adjustments to the course's dirt racing surface.

"You bet, yeah," trainer Wayne Lukas, the 83-year-old winner of 14 Triple Crown races, said in the paddock Friday. "Nobody here is worried about that now. That's history. This is the one that picks everybody up every year."

"For the sport, period," said Mike Smith, the jockey who won the Triple Crown last year aboard Justify for trainer Bob Baffert and who on Friday rode McKinzie to victory for Baffert in the Alysheba Stakes. "It's always good for the sport. You know, good Lord willing, we'll have a great, clean and safe day, all the horses will return happy and healthy and sound, and then our sport will thrive after that."

As to whether this weekend constitutes something of a recovery, Smith said, "I think it will, definitely. Without a doubt. I know it will."

It matters a tad more.

"It was so unusual and horrible, what happened at Santa Anita," said Kenny Rice, in his 20th year broadcasting horse racing for NBC. "I don't know anyone who remembers anything like it."

Rice noted the number of contenders at Saturday's Derby who race at California's most famous track. "What's interesting, even with all the problems Santa Anita had, Omaha Beach has scratched now, but coming into this Derby, probably the top four horses were all based in Santa Anita: Baffert's three (Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster), and Omaha Beach," he said. "Probably the best filly, Bellafina, running in the Oaks today, was based at Santa Anita. How strange is it for the catastrophe that they had out there with the fatalities, that they would have five horses of this crop come out of Santa Anita? And that's kind of the interesting part about it all that really isn't mentioned all that much."

Rice considered the various factors that might have contributed to the horse deaths, including a dirt track that some theorized suffered during unusually rainy winter weather, increasing stress on the animals' legs.

"It's important because there's so much confusion about what all went on. And it's easy to say it was just the track," he continued. "I think there's other things involved, not in a cryptic way, but maybe some of it's medication, maybe some of it's breeding. A lot of the horses that broke down were in the morning during training, so it really isn't an issue about using the whip or about race conditions. So there's still that cloud of getting exactly what happened and trying to pinpoint that. Santa Anita and all of racing needs to know, if they can find out exactly."

The ongoing mystery at Santa Anita and scrutiny from lawmakers and animal rights advocates appeared to nudge the sport toward a new, transitional paradigm.

Yet nobody protested Friday at Churchill Downs, if two walks around the edges of the giant premises were any indication.

David Peele, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in an email that the organization held off on protesting this year because its senior vice president, Kathy Guillermo, "spoke at the recent Churchill Downs shareholder meeting and the company agreed to look at all the issues that she raised, so we are giving them a chance to take appropriate action."

As Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported, Churchill Downs has lost 43 thoroughbreds to racing injuries since 2016, or 2.42 per 1,000 starts, 50 percent higher than the national average. Some of the proposed changes at both Santa Anita and Churchill Downs involve a phasing-out of Lasix, the diuretic and anti-bleeding medication long used in horse racing. Others wondered if the sport needed to change anything other than the Santa Anita track surface.

"Well, Santa Anita, they lost the racetrack, and they blamed everything - motherhood, apple pie, whips, Lasix - but the blame was [on] what they were standing on," Lukas said. "You know, they just had to fix it. They got bad weather. To their credit, they tried to Band-Aid it, I think, a little bit, and if they had just taken a stand and said, 'Look, we're going to fix it, and racing will be back to normal, I think it will be all right.' Instead, we got a lot of bad publicity, and we tried to, like with anything like that, throw the blame somewhere else."

In the run-up to the ninth race Friday, a few hours before the feature Kentucky Oaks with its 2-year-old fillies, Baffert, 66, the trainer of the moment, came over to Lukas, who previously had a long turn as trainer of the moment. The friends, titans of the sport, chatted. Each had a horse in the race. Lukas would say he still gets excited about his 2-year-old crop, still gets a little pit in the stomach in pre-race.

Neither titan's horse won that one, but the scene of the two of them here did have its unmistakable normalcy.
CARACAS, Venezuela - In the intoxicating early hours of Tuesday morning, Venezuela's opposition saw a historic goal within reach: President Nicolas Maduro, they were certain, was about to step down. But by noon, a dull panic began to surface. A plan rife with intrigue and betrayal had begun to go south.

Leopoldo Lopez - the country's most famous political prisoner and mentor of opposition leader Juan Guaido - helped broker a deal. While still under house arrest, he'd met in secret with top Maduro loyalists - including the defense minister - inside Lopez's cement compound in eastern Caracas. The agreement: The loyalists would give Maduro up, and retain their positions inside a new interim government headed by Guaido.

"We moved forward out of trust that the top ranks [of the government] would make announcements against Maduro," said Freddy Superlano, a senior opposition lawmaker and the architect of Guaido's Operation Freedom to "liberate" the nation. "Maduro was going to respond by leaving. We agreed, because he depended on them, nothing else but them sustained him."

The plan was rushed into action a day early, opposition officials say, after chatter surfaced of Guaido's possible arrest. Just hours after Guaido's call for an uprising of the military, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.

This account provides previously undisclosed details of the plan to oust Maduro and is based on interviews with seven opposition officials with direct knowledge of the developments. Most spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Promised declarations of support from Maduro's inner circle never came. Instead, Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Maduro's defense minister and one of the key loyalists meeting with the opposition - went on national television to denounce what he called a "coup." Suddenly, the dashing Leopoldo Lopez - who had escaped house arrest with help from Maduro's own intelligence police - was forced to scramble to the Chilean, and then the Spanish embassy, to seek protection. For hours, Guaido disappeared. Maduro's spy chief - a senior conspirator - fled the country.

U.S. officials have claimed that Maduro was en route to the airport to flee to Havana, before being stopped by the Russians. Senior opposition officials say they never received that information.

A plan meant to end two decades of Venezuelan socialism had collapsed, signaling a pivotal twist in the campaign to oust Maduro.

But if the failed plot illustrated the lack of a tipping point in Guaido's military support, it also underscored Maduro's fundamental weakness. While Maduro has called Guaido an outlaw, his forces have yet to attempt to arrest Guaido.

On Saturday, the opposition is poised to push again, calling a large-scale march toward military instillations even as it seeks to pick up the pieces of the most pivotal week in their effort to oust Maduro

"It's not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out," said Superlano. "We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesn't it make sense to take it, especially if you don't have another tangible plan?"

"If that's naive," he said, "then let critics crucify us."

- - -

At 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Superlano, a senior lawmaker at Guaido's National Assembly, arose early and sped in his beige Toyota to the military base where Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez had already arrived.

In a country teetering on economic collapse and suffering from fast-spreading hunger, Guaido, Venezuela's self-declared interim president, has called Maduro an "usurper" for claiming to have won elections last year that were widely discredited. That morning, Guaido stood with members of the armed forces and Lopez.

"Guaido was serene, as always. Leopoldo tends to be more effusive, but he was calm that morning," Superlano said. "The environment was tense. But at that point, I think they both expected the bid to succeed."

Lopez, outside the residence of the Spanish ambassador on Thursday, said that he had met with senior generals to hatch a plan. But, Superlano said, Lopez and other senior opposition operatives had also been negotiating with Defense Minister Padrino Lopez and high court head Maikel Moreno.

At first, the talks were exploratory. But eventually, the opposition began to see "trustworthy" signs that the Maduro loyalists were ready to turn. In fact, they were showing passive support.

Guaido was being permitted to move freely across the country, and no effort was made to arrest him even though he violated a travel ban by going to Colombia in February to help lead an effort to bring in humanitarian aid.

To close the deal with senior Maduro officials, Lopez offered to let them stay on as part of a transitional government, and guaranteed they would not be prosecuted.

One key mystery remains why Padrino Lopez and two others senior loyalists backed out at the last moment. Some have suggested that Leopoldo Lopez's public appearance may have spooked them, describing his arrival in front of the cameras immediately after being freed as an act of grandstanding. Still others suggest they were double agents who remained loyal to Maduro.

Superlano insisted they had not backed out because the plan was launched a day early. "Padrino knew it would happen on the 30th," he said.

Yet in a country where security forces have used violence to put down street protests - leading to four deaths just this week - keeping former Maduro officials in a transition government could be highly unpalatable to a significant segment of the population. But opposition officials say they have to remain focused on a single goal: to get Maduro out.

"We have to offer them a role in the transition, and give them more than just amnesty or guarantees," said Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's designated "ambassador" to the United States. "The discussions are centered on ousting Maduro, and calling for elections to achieve progress."

But within a few hours after their arrival at the La Carlota air base, the expectations of the opposition leaders sank, especially after Padrino Lopez and the other top Maduro officials did not come forward.

At that point, key opposition figures left the La Carlota base and headed to the city's eastern Plaza Altamira. Guaido spoke from the roof of a car before leading a march to the west, in which protesters encountered security forces wielding tear gas and rubber bullets.

"It was around noon that we decided that [Leopoldo] Lopez had to seek protection at the Chilean embassy," Superlano said. Manuel Figuera, Maduro's spy chief who had aided in Lopez's liberation, had fled - Superlano believes to the United States.

Both he and Vecchio pushed back against the narrative of a bungled opportunity. What some hoped would happen in one day, would still be achieved, opposition officials insist. Superlano said negotiations with members of Maduro's inner circle "are still happening," and claimed that the regime is "collapsing" from within.

It may simply take longer than hoped.

"Maduro will not sleep calmly a single night of his life," Vecchio said. "He knows he can trust no one."
SEBEWAING  Strides continue to move forward to revitalize downtown Sebewaing.

The village of Sebewaing will host a community meeting 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sebewaing Township Library, located at 41 N. Center St.

During the meeting, there will be a presentation on the progress that has been made and information on some of the future projects being planned.

Special guest speakers during the event will be Christopher Germain and Charles Donaldson from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Carl Osentoski, director for the Huron Economic Development Corporation.

Since the effort began, several of the empty storefronts in the downtown area have been filled with businesses, and some others are works in progress.

The community has done a variety of things to generate interest in business development.

Village leaders worked with the Michigan State University do to a study. For the study, representatives from Michigan State University visit a community and do an assessment of their first impression of a community as a first-time visitor. Their assessment helps a community learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Sebewaing also gained broadband Internet service.

The village will host a spring clean-up week from May 6-10.

Village residents may haul their own grass clippings and leaves to the compost pit at 145 W. Main St. at the DPW garage. Brush may be hauled to the village brush pile south of town on Liken Road, but building materials are not allowed there.

Brush must be placed in separate piles along the street. Grass and leaves may be placed together on the edge of the street, but no vines or brush can be in the grass and leaf piles. The DPW will pick up those items.
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar police had two Reuters journalists behind bars, but they wanted more.

The reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were lured into a meeting with police in December 2017 and arrested on claims of violating state secrecy laws as they reported on atrocities against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The journalists' detention was quickly condemned by media-freedom groups and rights activists around the world. Myanmar authorities, meanwhile, were not swayed by international pressure. As a next step, they wanted to comb the reporters' cellphones, according to court documents and an attorney for the journalists.

Authorities turned to a cellphone-breaching technology from an Israeli company, Cellebrite, according to the documents and a defense lawyer's account.

Cellebrite - which has since left the Myanmar market - was one of numerous technology companies that rushed into Myanmar as the country opened to greater foreign investment in recent years.

The deals made at the time did not bring any complaints of violations of international laws.

But the case against the journalists laid bare the potential risks of making deals with governments that could use the foreign forensic and surveillance technology in hard-line crackdowns and prosecutions.

In the case of the journalists, the files pulled from the phones later became a core element of Myanmar's accusations.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting last month - were found guilty in September of possessing state secrets and intending to share them and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The two journalists were left out of a mass prisoner amnesty held annually during Myanmar's traditional new-year celebrations in April. Of the thousands of people freed, just a handful were political prisoners, rights groups said.

Later that month, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the two journalists, effectively ending their bids to overturn their sentences through the legal system.

Last year, Cellebrite halted new sales in the country and stopped servicing equipment that was already sold, its Myanmar distributor said in an interview.

Cellebrite does not comment on "specific incidents, customers or territories," the company said in a statement.

"Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements," the statement added. "We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrite's values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements."

Myanmar has received substantial third-party assistance to train and equip its police in recent years.Activists say that companies and donor countries are providing advanced tools to help police further repress perceived dissent. Proponents argue the work is needed to help professionalize the police force.

The police worked alongside the armed forces during its August 2017 crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, according to U.N. investigators who say the minority group was targeted by security forces with "genocidal intent."

The Myanmar military and the civilian government lead by Aung San Suu Kyi have dismissed evidence of abuses as biased and unfounded.

Other than journalists, the police continue to detain peaceful protesters and critics, including a prominent filmmaker, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was recently arrested for criticizing the military on Facebook.

Cellebrite's technology is widely used by law enforcement around the world. The company began selling its products in Myanmar in 2016 through MySpace International, a Yangon-based cybersecurity and digital forensics firm, MySpace officials said. The company has no relation to the U.S. social media website Myspace.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, MySpace's chief executive, said Cellebrite stopped its dealings with the country late last year.

Police in Myanmar, however, still have the technology at their disposal, said the MySpace CEO.

In a July motion to dismiss charges against the two Reuters journalists, attorneys for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo noted the police officer who carried out the search of the reporters' phones had an expired training certification from Cellebrite.

"They said that he was a technical expert, that he is well trained by Cellebrite, but his Cellebrite certificate was out of date," said Than Zaw Aung, an attorney for the journalists.

Thandar Moe, an officer in the commercial and information section of Israel's embassy in Yangon, said the embassy was unaware of Cellebrite's business in the country and declined to comment further.

Cellebrite equipment pulled documents from the reporters' phones including itineraries for Pope Francis' visit to the country and the vice president's travels, as well as details of the military's campaign in Rakhine, according to the court documents and the defense lawyer.

A judge deemed the information to be secret. Defense lawyers argued that the information was already widely available to the public and that the reporters were set up by police.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, who served in the military, said the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military-controlled ministry overseeing the police, is a major customer.

The company had a "very close" relationship with Cellebrite but was informed four or five months ago by the company that it would stop business in Myanmar, he said.

In a statement, Interpol, the international police organization, said it also provided digital forensic equipment manufactured by Cellebrite and three other unnamed companies to the police. The software licenses for the tools provided by Interpol ended in early 2018.

Two PowerPoint presentations by the Myanmar Police Force showing crime data from 2016 and 2017, reviewed by The Washington Post last month, said authorities acquired a range of Cellebrite's Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) equipment used to hack smartphones. This included the UFED Chinex Kit, used to extract data from Chinese mobile phones, and UFED 4PC, a software system that Cellebrite promotes as "flexible and convenient."

A spokesperson for the police did not respond to requests for comment.

Reseda, California-based MediaClone, which produces data collection and cellphone extraction tools, confirmed that it did a deal with MySpace in 2016. Company CEO Ezra Kohavi said that he did not know which ministry received its equipment, but Kyaw Kyaw Htun said it was being used by the police.

Business, however, has slowed considerably in recent months because of "the Rakhine state situation," Kyaw Kyaw Htun said, a reference to the Myanmar military's August 2017 campaign against the Rohingya, which sent some 730, 000 people fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh after militants claiming to represent the minority attacked police posts.

"It's very tough for us, you know," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Aung Naing Soe in Yangon and Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced a program Friday that deploys state-licensed volunteer reserve deputies to protect worshipers in churches, synagogues and mosques in Bexar County.

Salazar recalled the scene of the 2017 shooting at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs that claimed 26 lives in neighboring Wilson County, and said he never wants to see a repeat of that in his career.

Providing extra security will enable clergy and church members to focus on worship, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Sheriffs Office to provide reserve deputies at schools

You want people to feel comfortable concentrating on that, and not have to worry about watching the exits, Salazar said.

Since September, a similar program has put reserves at schools in the East Central and Southwest independent school districts, providing 1,700 hours of additional security, valued at roughly $51,000, at no cost to taxpayers, Salazar said.

Churches, school officials and prospective reserve trainees can call Deputy Fred Feliciano at 210-372-5879 about the programs. To help sponsor reserve training, call San Antonio College, 210-486-1692.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
What a jerk you were to let me dump you.

Thats the message the Trump administration is sending to some of our closest allies and most important economic partners. The most recent target is Japan, whom our U.S. ambassador berated last week for not giving us a favorable deal that Japan actually did give us  before we abruptly ripped it up.

The United States spent eight years negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This 12-country Pacific Rim trade pact was partly designed to build an economic and diplomatic alliance that would keep China, which had been excluded from the deal, in check.

But the United States objective was also to open up new markets for U.S.-made products, especially U.S. agricultural goods. A 2016 analysis from the International Trade Commission found that agriculture and food would be the U.S. sector that saw the greatest percentage gain in output growth as a result of the TPP.

Greater access to the Japanese market was particularly enticing to U.S. farmers and ranchers. Japan is a wealthy, mature economy  where high-income consumers can afford high-end U.S. beef and high-quality U.S. grains  but its also an economy that has had high barriers to agricultural trade.

And so, as part of the TPP talks, the U.S. trade team spent about a year negotiating one-on-one with Japan about agriculture, with the understanding that whatever concessions the United States won would be granted to the other TPP member countries as well.

This allowed us to design the shape of a package that catered to U.S. priorities, explains Darci Vetter, then the chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Of course, some of those priorities overlapped with those of other TPP countries. Both the United States and New Zealand were eager to sell more dairy and wine to Japan, for instance. Both the United States and Canada wanted Japan to lower tariffs on wheat. Which is why other countries were more than happy to let us push for as many concessions as we could.

Japan determined that the overall pact would be so valuable that it made the politically contentious choice of agreeing to our requests. Incidentally, the agricultural terms wed negotiated in the TPP also became the template for a trade deal that Japan would separately negotiate with the European Union.

President Barack Obama signed the TPP in 2016. But Congress dragged its feet in ratifying it. Among President Trumps first actions after his inauguration was to pull us out of the deal, with generally incoherent reasons for doing so.

Disappointed that wed reneged, the remaining 11 TPP countries nonetheless decided to continue without us. Their new deal, sometimes called TPP 2.0, formally went into effect on Dec. 30, 2018. Just over a month later, Japans new trade deal with the European Union became effective.

This means that dozens of other countries now benefit from changes we persuaded Japan to make. And our farmers are about to lose out, big time.

Japans beef imports were already up 25% in the first two months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported. The biggest beneficiaries were Canada and New Zealand. This makes sense: As members of TPP 2.0, they have a huge price advantage. U.S. beef is tariffed at 38.5%, and TPP 2.0 countries beef is now at 26.6%, with further reductions slated for coming years.

Even before then, these other countries advantages will widen. If frozen beef imports surpass a certain threshold, as is expected soon, a safeguard tariff will automatically kick in and raise tariffs on our products  but not TPP 2.0s members  to 50%.

With U.S. farmers quietly freaking out, pressure is mounting to seal a new bilateral trade deal with Japan. But rather than coming to Japan hat in hand, were scolding it for keeping its word when we could not be bothered to do the same.

By implementing these agreements before addressing our bilateral trade relationship, Japan is effectively redistributing market share away from its strongest ally, the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, told Nikkei.

I asked Vetter what she made of Hagertys remarks. She noted that the whole point of the TPP was to deepen member countries economic and diplomatic ties. From that perspective, then, the Trump administration is just angry that its working.

Frankly, she said, you cant leave someone at the altar and then be surprised or upset that theyve moved on.

crampell@washpost.com
Since the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump has insisted on the need for a border wall in the face of a crisis at our southern border. Until recently, the numbers indicated we were nowhere near a crisis; the number of immigrants crossing the border was quite low compared to previous years.

Recently, the numbers have spiked, including the number of families. However, even at the current levels, they do not approach those seen in the early 2000s. In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, changed course from detaining as many families as possible to releasing families at the border to appear in court in the future.

As we recently learned, the president has advocated for busing recently arrived migrants to sanctuary cities, those deemed to be welcoming to immigrants and/or hostile to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It certainly raises the possibility that the release of large numbers of families on the border is intended to provoke backlash from the communities that have fought the crisis narrative.

Those striving daily to help the migrants provide a vital dose of hope during trying times.

It is important to note that numbers dont tell the whole story. The families entering the United States are not trying to evade detection. They are entering in plain sight of CBP and turning themselves in because that is the only alternative to waiting for days, weeks or even months in Mexico to be processed at the port of entry for asylum.

With the recent departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security and Ron Vitiello from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we are braced for another crackdown as both reportedly left because they were not tough enough on immigration and border enforcement.

Being an immigration lawyer in the age of Trump is challenging. It is filled with uncertainty, frustration, injustice and rapid change. While I know that more bad policy awaits, I have managed to find hope because my fellow immigration lawyers and activists are not fighting these policies alone. The reactions of average Americans give me hope because I see that they value the contributions immigrants make in our country. No matter the rhetoric or who is in power, the response to harsh policies and inhumane treatment shows that there is little support for these policies outside the minority of the presidents base.

When the travel ban was enacted and travelers were stuck in airports or prohibited from boarding U.S.-bound flights, protesters and lawyers showed up at airports, courts intervened and the president was forced to revise the ban, greatly diminishing the number of those impacted. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a revised version of the travel ban, Congress introduced legislation seeking to repeal it.

When children were ripped from their parents arms, the outcry was immediate and sustained by lawyers, physicians, mental health professionals and, most important, Americans with no unique knowledge or experience, driven by the sheer inhumanity of the actions. Nearly a year later, grassroots efforts to support reunited families with travel funds, housing and legal representation continue across the country.

When asylum-seekers were illegally made to wait in Mexico, sometimes for months, to apply for asylum, again Americans (and many Mexicans) responded by organizing, gathering donations and providing the humanitarian aid that should be the responsibility of the government or the international aid community, like the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

From San Diego to Brownsville, Americans from all walks of life have responded with open arms and so much more. From the Angry Tias & Abuelas group organizing at bus stations in the Rio Grande Valley to the underground network of volunteers who provide food and shelter to released migrants in Arizona, Americans are demonstrating that we are still a nation of immigrants, a nation that embraces your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free  those who seek safety here.

We are the people who will step up to provide help where it is needed when our government fails to do so. Citizens have donated millions of dollars to support bond funds to help people leave detention and to organizations fighting anti-immigrant policies in court.

Should it be this way? Should it fall on the rest of us to make up for the cruelty of our elected officials? Certainly not, but the fact that at each turn there is resistance, sometimes outspoken and other times peaceful and almost unnoticed, suggests that this cruelty, too, shall pass.

Where immigration officials bring inhumanity, San Antonio shines. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition, San Antonio Sanctuary Network, Catholic Charities, American Gateways, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, San Antonio Mennonite Church, Travis Park Church and, most important, people from all walks of life have shown over and over again that we will not be complacent in the face of injustice.

We will find ways, formal and informal, to help. Students from elementary school to law school have organized blanket and backpack drives to make sure that migrant families have some comforts for their long journeys.

As border cities and even San Antonio have seen large numbers of families released from CBP custody, they have stepped up to provide emergency services. San Antonios resource center is just one example of city officials providing support to local nonprofits whose capacities have been stretched to the limits.

Despite the Trump administrations efforts to find new ways to limit immigration, each initiative has been met with resistance that demonstrates that most Americans want us to be that beacon of hope for those fleeing harm. The restrictionists are vocal, but they are not the majority.

There will be countless challenges ahead as new political appointees seek to implement the presidents anti-immigration agenda, but I believe the actions of the American people will speak louder than the words of those who demonize immigrants.

The recently arrived migrants have long and difficult roads ahead. Navigating the bureaucracy that is stacked against them is daunting. Attaining their American dream will be fraught with hardship. But for a moment, when they were weary, strangers welcomed them. Strangers fed them. Strangers sheltered them.

Most important, these unsung heroes living among us treated them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve. That is what makes American great.

Erica B. Schommer, J.D., is a clinical associate professor of law and immigration law expert at the St. Marys University School of Law. The views presented are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of St. Marys University.
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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After many years of dedication to the Irish League of Credit Unions and to the local Credit Union network, Gerry Thompson of Ballyleague has been elected the new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions.

Gerry was formally elected at the AGM in the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Sunday, April 28, having previously served as chairman of Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union.

Gerry is the son of Pete Thompson, who was a founding member of the Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union in 1965.

Gerry takes on the role from outgoing president, Charles Murphy, and will be helped out by newly elected vice president, Mr Eamonn his late father Pete Thompson and he also acknowledged the support of his wife Martha and his family.



Speaking of his new role, Mr Thompson said: I am proud and humbled to be elected to this position and very much look forward to working with all our affiliated credit unions, and the broader credit union movement, as they continue to engage in the further development and diversification of services.

As a firm believer in the massive potential of credit cooperation to improve peoples lives worldwide, I will work to ensure the unique credit union model of cooperative financial services continues to prosper across Ireland. I am proud of the ILCUs all-island remit, and aspire to see credit union services ultimately become the first financial choice for all our citizens, both North and South.



Mr Thompson will now lead a board of 12 other directors over the course of a two year term.
Cavan Older Peoples Council take a new play entitled The Best Years of Our Lives Are Yet to Come to the Corn Mill Theatre stage on Friday, May 10.

This moving and hilarious play is co-written by the members and theatre practitioner Maura Williamson who also directs the play.

This drama captures the richness of older peoples experiences and allows the audience to understand the issues they face in negotiating a range of everyday situations.

The performance takes us through several scenes, giving us an insight into their perspective on life as an older person in todays society.

The age-friendly social commentary uses humour to point out instances of older peoples unique perspective on the world.

Bob Gilbert, Chair of the Older Peoples Council said, I believe that drama is one of the most effective vehicles for exploring and raising awareness of issues affecting our society.

This drama project explores several issues encountered by older people in their daily lives. The issues raised were suggested by the participants and the scenarios were created by them.

This is proof of the enormous contribution that older people are making to our society.

The end product was all made possible by our marvellous Maura Williamson who encouraged our creativity and collated the various contributions into a cohesive final script.

Catriona O'Reilly, arts officer complimented the group for their commitment to the project and the work over the past months with the guidance of Maura Williamson, which has culminated in a really successful production.



This theatre project is an initiative of Cavan County Council Social Inclusion Office and the Arts Office and is supported by the Arts Council.

This Older Peoples drama project won the 2019 All Ireland Community and Council award for Best Community Initiative and is on tour also to Ramor Theatre Virginia on May 17 the Civic Centre Belturbet on May 24.

Doors at 8pm at Corn Mill and booking at 0872570363 bookings@cornmilltheatre .com.
The saga of what the media has dubbed the fall of the taikun", or the "the fall of the titan", began on November 19, 2018. On that day, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet at Tokyo airport. Since his arrest, a successive series of charges and legal cases have been brought against him. Ghosn was released on a $ 9 million bail on March 6, 2019 after serving 108 days at Kosuge Detention Center (north of Tokyo), only to be re-arrested on April 4. He was later released from jail on April 25 after posting a multimillion-dollar bond for the second time in two months. Already facing three charges for underreporting his pay and on aggravated breach of trust, the former chairman was indicted for allegedly misappropriating Nissan company money.

Carlos Ghosn was presented as guilty from the very first moment said Francois Zimeray, the Ghosn familys French lawyer, in an interview with LOrient- Le Jour.

Zimeray specifically denounced Ghosns April 4 arrest on additional legally dubious charges, saying he was previously detained for more than 100 days under unfair, cruel, and unjust conditions in an effort to coerce a confession before ultimately being released on strict bail conditions, with which he has scrupulously complied.

The conditions under which he was re-arrested, at dawn, with twenty agents rushing in[to] his home, [and] the media informed ahead of the re-arrest, clearly show a desire to humiliate him Zimeray added.





"Wrongly accused"

Upon his re-arrest, 65-year-old Ghosn was questioned about money transfers made by Nissan to an auto dealer in Oman. In total, Ghosn allegedly used $5 million of the transferred funds for personal enrichment, according to the Japanese prosecutors office.

The former Renault-Nissan boss is suspected of having used a Lebanese company, Good Faith Investments, to divert some of the money paid by Nissan to Suhail Bahwan Automobile, the Renault-Nissan dealership in the Sultanate of Oman, between 2012 and 2018. According to excerpts from Nissan's internal investigation as reported by news agencies, a portion of these funds ended up in the accounts of a company called Beauty Yachts headed by Ghosn's wife, Carole Ghosn, and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Based on sources close to the case cited by AFP, the allegedly misappropriated sum was deposited through a company in Lebanon into a fund called Shogun Investments LLC controlled by his son Anthony in the United States.

Asked to comment on these new accusations, Zimeray simply responded Mr. Ghosn has said that he is innocent of all the charges held against him. He is adamant, he is wrongly accused and unfairly detained on unfounded charges. We will therefore concentrate our efforts for Mr. Ghosn to have a fair trial.





"Treason"



In a video recorded before his second arrest and broadcast a few days later, Mr. Ghosn stated that he was innocent of all charges brought against him, claiming to be a victim of "a plot, conspiracy and treason".

Emails reveal the true story (...). Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was working with Nissan executives to block the formal merger of Nissan and Renault favored by Carlos and to preserve Nissans autonomy at all costs, Carole Ghosn claimed in a column published in mid-April in the Washington Post, adding What should have been settled in the Nissan boardroom has been turned into a criminal affair.

Last week, The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan Motor Co. will reject a management integration proposal from their French partner Renault and will call for an equal capital relationship.

Nissan's management feels that the Japanese company has not been treated as Renaults equal under existing capital ties, and that a merger would make this inequality permanent, the Nikkei quoted sources as saying.

In its proposal, Renault has argued that integration would maximize synergies within the French-Japanese alliance, according to the Nikkei.

Asked about a possible plot by high ranking Nissan officials, Zimeray replied that media outlets had reported that Ghosns plan to merge Renault and Nissan before his arrest was a deal that Nissan and the Japanese government were looking for ways to block.

Moreover, the lawyer said it has been reported that Mr. Ghosn reflected on the Nissan dismal performance, recent profit warnings and emissions scandals.

Knowing that they were in danger of losing their jobs because of Nissan's declining performance, he believes that some Nissan executives collaborated to prepare a case against him, under the cover of an internal investigation, Zimeray remarked.

In his video, Ghosn named those who, according to him, were behind the "plot", but his lawyers decided to edit the information out "due to legal repercussions" in case the identities of the people in question were made public.

Mr. Ghosn is committed to revealing the truth. We are confident that if tried fairly, he will be vindicated, Zimeray told lOLJ.





"hostage justice"

Zimeray, who was a Human Rights Ambassador under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2008 to 2013, and then became the Ambassador of France to Denmark, said that, for him, this case is not only a fight for one man, but a fight to defend universal principles: the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right for dignity in all circumstances.

The detention of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, which appears neither necessary nor reasonable and which occurs under harsh conditions, illustrates the Japanese hostage justice system for the purpose of obtaining forced confessions, Zimeray noted. He further revealed that a petition has been initiated by renowned figures of the legal world, academics and practitioners in Japan to end this hostage justice system.

In March, the Ghosn family, represented by Zimeray, decided to appeal to the United Nations, claiming that Ghosns "fundamental rights" were not respected.

According to Zimeray, Mr. Ghosn was interrogated for hours each day without the presence of his attorneys during his detention. The interrogations used to go until 10:00pm, and his access to counsel was limited, according to Zimeray. He was confined to an unheated cell with three meals of mainly rice and given 30 minutes to exercise daily excluding weekends and bank holidays. His visits were limited to 15 minutes of conversation with the presence of a guard and separated from him by a glass window.

He further added that while in detention, Ghosn was denied his medication and did not receive appropriate medical care for his chronic health issues, warning that these health issues were exacerbated by the deliberately harsh conditions of his detention.

Carlos Ghosn suffers from high cholesterol levels and the treatment he is following has caused both chronic kidney failure and rhabdomyolysis, a disease that causes muscle cells to break down, his lawyers said in a document seen by Reuters.





(This article was originally published in frenc in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 25th of April. The interview was done before Ghosn was freed and the article has been consequently slightly modified in its english version?)




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was unfair for an independent poll watcher to claim the upcoming midterm elections was vulnerable to attack.

This, after the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has withdrawn its accreditation as the citizens' arm of the Comelec, after the government poll body declined to provide voters' data.

In a manifestation submitted to the Comelec on April 30, Namfrel said, "Without open access to information and data, Petitioner (Namfrel) is unable to participate in the RMA (random manual audit) because the inaccessibility diminishes the verifiability of data separately provided during the RMA."

Speaking to CNN Philippines Saturday, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said, "Medyo harsh naman yata 'yon. Just because sila hindi nabigyan, vulnerable na 'yung elections? Samatalang, up to the point na humihingi sila niyan, bahagi sila ng proseso sa paghahanda para sa random manual audit  isang proseso na sinalihan nila nung nakaraang halalan at naging bahagi sila ng paghahanda para doon. So ngayon sasabihin nila, just because hindi nila nakuha yung gusto nila, medyo vulnerable na. That's a little unfair, I think."

[Translation: That seems to be a bit harsh. Just because they weren't given what they want, the elections are automatically vulnerable? But up to that point, they were involved in the preparations for the random manual audit  a process they were part of during the last elections. And now they will say, just because they didn't get what they want, they say it's vulnerable. That's a little unfair, I think.]

Jimenez added the Namfrel's claim was "a stretch," and that it was "inappropriate" to say those things at this point in time.

The Comelec spokesperson said the Namfrel submitted two documents: one for accreditation as a poll watcher, and another for access to the data.

Jimenez said he has not seen a denial of Namfrel's request for data access.

"It's simply at this point, all I can say really, is that it hasn't been granted," he told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.

Jimenez said there was no danger of the elections being compromised, as an extensive source code review was conducted "internationally and locally" where political parties participated, as well as representatives from the joint oversight committee.

Namfrel said it would continue to "perform its mandate to endure free and honest elections."
Imagine the dread that took a hold of Cherie Scalf after learning that her husband, Master Sgt. Bill Scalf, had suffered two strokes while serving with the military in Afghanistan and was being airlifted to a hospital somewhere in Germany.

She had no passport, it was late on a Friday, and most of the government offices that could help her get to her husband were already closed for the weekend.

Add to that the fact that dealing with the United States military can involve a lot of red tape and hoop jumping.

Yet, before it all sunk in, she was on a plane headed for Germany to be with her husband.

Obviously this was a situation where we werent going to sit around on our hands for a weekend, said Brig. Gen. John Slocum, who transferred the command and care for the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base this Saturday to Col. Rolf Mammen in a news release from SANG. Fortunately, we knew who to call.

Answering his call for help was U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, whose district includes the Harrison Township base. After Slocum called Mitchell, the Congressman called the White House, and by Sunday, he had an appointment at the U.S. State Department office in Chicago. There, a passport was issued for Cherie so she could travel abroad to be with Bill.

This is one of the most important things we do, Mitchell said, shortly after a visit he had with the Scalfs at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where Bill continues his recovery. Our servicemen and women give their all for this country and it is our highest duty to support them and their families in a time of need.

Slocum said he wasnt surprised by the Congressmans quick response.

Part of what makes the 127th Wing such a special organization is the support we have from our elected leaders at the local state and federal levels, Slocum said.

Also no surprise was the quick action of Bills squadron.

He and several hundred Selfridge Airmen and their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft were deployed to a base in Afghanistan. On Jan. 30, after he and his fellow crew chiefs from the 191st Aircraft Maintenance had been there for about a month, Bill suffered the first of two strokes.

He was out working on the aircraft, said Cherie. I guess he was getting it ready for the next days mission. One of the other guys, Mike Campbell, saw Bills flashlight moving around in a way that wasnt normal and went to check on him.

Bill, who has been a crew chief on Air Force aircraft for about 30 years, is very dedicated and when Campbell suggested he take Bill to the base hospital immediately to get checked, Bill said he wanted to get the aircraft ready to go first.

But the guys insisted that he get checked. If they hadnt, I really dont know if he would be here today, Cherie said. Each of the people in his unit, they were just amazing at making sure he got the help he needed.

Hospital staff immediately administered a drug known as the clot-buster used to treat stroke patients. After that he appeared to be fine and back to his normal self. But the military doctors in Afghanistan decided he needed to be airlifted to a major U.S. military hospital in Germany for further care. Once he arrived, he was able to reassure Cherie, who was still at home in Warren, in a Facetime chat that he was fine.

But he wasnt fine. Shortly after his arrival he had a second, larger stroke. It was then that doctors in Germany decided to quickly transport him to a local civilian hospital staffed with specialists who were better equipped to deal with his condition, and things really got serious.

Thats when Selfridge kicked into high gear in support of Bill, Cherie and their three children Rebecca, Emily and William.

One of his commanders called me, Cherie said. The next thing I know, Im at Selfridge and having a meeting, and I counted and there were 14 people in the room. It was Gen. Slocum and all the top people. I dont even know who everyone was. But they, each one, were there to help.

Historically, the Air National Guard is known for its Citizen-Airman concept. That means that people in the local community are the ones who also serve in uniforms. Bill as with many members of the Guard enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school but after being discharged and home for a few years missed it. So, he joined the Air National Guard, which allowed him to stay in Michigan with his family and still serve his country. Eventually, he was hired on as a civilian technician at Selfridge.

I have to admit that I really didnt know how the military system worked, but thats where everyone has been so helpful, Cherie said.

After Bills second stroke Slocum appointed another 191st crew chief, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Wolford, to serve as the familys advocate including having him travel to Germany to help Cherie navigate her way through the militarys red tape and other processes along the way.

Honestly, without Erik, I think I would still be stranded at the airport in Frankfort (Germany) trying to figure out what to do next, Cherie said.

After spending about a month at the hospital in Germany, Bill was transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital near Washington D.C. In April he was moved to U-M, where his recovery is supported by his medical team along with his military team and family.

It has been a long road, but they are a great family. Everyone who knows Bill, like him, so we are all in his corner, said Wolford, who has remained as the familys chief liaison. The deployed Selfridge Airmen have all since returned home, and are among the many members of the military who check in on Bill regularly.

This kids and I know what kind of guy Bill is. But to witness his co-workers have rallied behind him, it has really been something to see, Cherie said.

So much for red tape and hurdles  according to Slocum taking care of airmen and their family is a foundational element of service in the 127th Wing.

We count on our Airmen to do their part in a very important mission, being a part of the defense of this great country, said Slocum. To be able to do that, we want their families to know they can also count on us. Master Sgt. Scalf is an important part of our family, so we are doing all we can to let his family know we are there for them.-It is believed that after his recovery Bill will retire from the military, although he recently told his commanding officer that hes anxious to get back to Selfridge, check in with his co-workers, and, most importantly, give his aircraft a thorough check-up.

Im still a crew chief. Im not retired yet, Bill said, to his recent visitors who included Slocum and Mitchell.

 Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily
Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming appreciates Southwest Virginia modesty as much as the next guy, but he says that can have drawbacks for a technology scene making a name for itself.

He listed some of the local technology industry wins over the past year ahead of his keynote address at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Councils 20th annual TechNite awards ceremony Friday night. 1901 Group is adding 580 workers. Block.one has planted its flag in Blacksburg. Auto giant Daimler Trucks acquired a majority stake in his own company.

I dont think we do as good of a job as we should do in celebrating and promoting these wins, Fleming said. The downside of being humble is sometimes its a little challenging to promote yourself. Humility is not being passive.

Fleming spent his time on stage at the Hotel Roanoke highlighting his companys story, from the time a group of Virginia Tech students decided to start an autonomous vehicle company in 2005.

Torc Robotics grew over the next decade to around 100 employees as it built an international reputation. And then in April a subsidiary of Daimler, the German company behind brands like Mercedes-Benz, acquired a majority stake in Torc.

The news marked one of the biggest acquisitions for a local technology company in years, and also the entrance of a billion-dollar industry giant to the burgeoning technology hub in Southwest Virginia.

But Fleming said its not a coincidence that this happened in Blacksburg. Torcs story couldnt have happened anywhere, as he said the companys hometown has been a key ingredient all along.

Employees in this region stick with the companies for the long term, he said before the event began. They dont job hop. Great things are just not accomplished in short order.

Flemings remarks kicked off the RBTCs annual award ceremony, an event designed to serve as the kind of celebration he said he would like to see happen more often.

The 2019 TechNite Award Recipients:

The Rising Star award was presented to Block.one, a blockchain software company that launched one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in 2018 and raised over $1 billion. The companys growing Blacksburg office is led by Dan Larimer, a Virginia Tech alum considered a cryptocurrency thought leader.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is Michael Fleming, CEO of Torc Robotics.

The Innovator of the Year is Luna Innovations, a publicly traded company with offices both in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Luna struggled for years, but the companys stock price climbed through 2018 as it returned to consistent profitability and completed several acquisitions.

Two Regional Leadership awards were presented to Carilion Clinic CEO Nany Agee and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. The pair have been instrumental in the growth of a medical school and research institute in Roanoke.

The Company of the Year is 1901 Group, a Reston-based IT services company that is building a new operations center in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. That office will employ 580 new workers, the company has said.

The Ruby Award went to Heywood Fralin, who gave a record $50 million gift to Virginia Tech to expand research at the recently named Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke.

In addition to the awards, the RBTC inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame Kenneth Ferris, President of Brookewood Management Advisors and member of the RBTC advisory board, and Marty Muscatello, President and CEO of FoxGuard Solutions and previous member of the RBTC board of directors.
Authorities have identified the Allston man killed in a quadruple shooting in Dorchester Wednesday evening as 33-year-old Kevin Brewington.

Brewington and three other men were shot in the area of 32 Windermere Road around 6:26 p.m., police said. Three of the men were taken to local hospitals with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening while Brewington was pronounced dead at the scene.

Boston police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
A mans body was found following a three-alarm fire in Chelsea Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes tweeted that the deceased man in his early 30s was found in a small room at the back of 48 Watt St., where a three-alarm fire had broken out earlier in the evening.

The fire, which began in the two-family home around 5 p.m., quickly spread to a neighboring house at 109 Highland St. About 30 people were displaced and damages were estimated at $150,000.

Authorities told The Boston Globe that the mans body, which was found on a rear enclosed porch, was only discovered after the fire was knocked down and crews began opening up ceilings to check for additional hot spots.

Residents of the house told the newspaper that they had not seen the man in several days.

He has not been publicly identified.

The fire remains under investigation by fire investigators and state and local police.
Authorities have identified the 43-year-old woman allegedly stabbed to death by her husband in an attempted murder-suicide in Stoughton Friday night as Telma Bras.

Police forced their way into the couples apartment on Bennett Drive after receiving a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found Bras dead of an apparent stabbing in the living room, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

Her husband, 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues, was laying nearby and suffering from self-inflicted cuts consistent with a suicide attempt, authorities said.

Mr. Rodrigues was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries, Morrissey said.

Authorities said the couples children, a 17-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy, were home at the time of the stabbing.

Morrissey said the teenager called a relative after hearing the commotion, who in turn called 911.

Both this children at this hour are safe, he said. They have a significant bit of trauma to overcome.

Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned from his hospital bed or in Stoughton District Court as soon as possible, the district attorney said. He is expected to face a murder charge.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department has no history of calls from the couples apartment and Rodrigues does not have a criminal record.

She commended the police officers who responded to the call, saying they did not know what they would face on the other side of the door.

They showed both bravery and extreme compassion last night on that scene, she said.
Very likely qualifying as "the greatest restaurant show on earth," the National Restaurant Association Show 2019 will open on May 18 and run through May 21. Held at Chicago's McCormick Place exposition center, the Show offers something for everyone interested the restaurant industry.

The show floor itself at the 2019 Show will be featuring some 2,300 exhibitors. The layout will be so vast that show organizers suggest two days minimum will be required to adequately explore the entire exhibit space.

Supplementing those displays of food, equipment, and supplies is an extensive program of seminars, demonstrations, and themed exhibit pavilions.

This year marks the shows 100th anniversary, a milestone that will be marked by an evening gala on Monday, May 20 as well as by daily celebrations on the show floor itself.

Among the many presentations at the this year's show will be a panel discussion focusing on "The Future of Dining," which will take place on Sunday, May 19. Another high-profile presentation, "The Future of Restaurants" will offer an in-depth focus on how technology and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the dining out experience.

Information on the National Restaurant Association Show 2019, including details about show registration, lodging, and transportation arrangements, can be found at nationalrestaurantshow.com. The Show's customer service number is (800) 439-2968.

Side dishes

Its commencement season in the Pioneer Valley, a happy time when restaurateurs find their reservation books full and their dining rooms populated by newly minted graduates and their proud families.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst will be holding its Undergraduate Commencement on Friday evening, May 10, with the Graduate Commencement to follow on Saturday morning.

Coupled with Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12, restaurants in Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton will most likely be running at capacity all weekend, and the traffic in all three communities will be, to put it charitably, "challenging."

It's thus a good opportunity to expand one's gastronomic horizons by seeking out restaurants in other locales, where a less frenetic dining experience will most likely be on offer.

Smith College in Northampton and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley will be observing their Commencement Weekends on May 18 and 19, making those two days into "reservations a must" occasions in the host communities of those two institutions.

Belle Rita Novak, the manager of the Farmers' Market at Forest Park, sent along a reminder to all those who crave "locally grown."

The Market begins its 2019 summer season on May 7 and will continue weekly through the month of October. She says that many long-time vendors will be returning; several new growers and producers are also joining the line-up.

With the Sumner Avenue access to Forest Park closed for culvert repairs, Novak reminds all that the Farmers' Market can be accessed through the Park's Trafton Road entrance.

May is National Burger Month, and b Restaurants (formerly known as Plan B Burger Bars) in Massachusetts and Connecticut will be celebrating with a number of promotional events.

A "Build-a-Better-Burger" contest is already underway; last month b Restaurant locations solicited burger recipe ideas from guests. Each restaurant subsequently picked their two favorite recipes and posted them on Facebook, where they will be visible starting May 7. Fans of b Restaurants can vote for their favorite recipe until May 13, at which time a "fan favorite" will be chosen.

In order to make the voting more interesting, some b Restaurant locations will be giving away samples of the burger recipes they are sponsoring in the contest.

The winning "better-burger" will be featured on the menus of all b Restaurants for the rest of the month of May, and the customer who originally submitted the winning idea will be awarded a free burger a week for the rest of 2019.

"Free Mini Mondays" will be another part of the National Burger Month celebration, with b locations giving away free mini burgers on specific Mondays throughout the month.

For the b Restaurant location in Springfield, May 27 will be "Free Mini Monday." To register for the event, go to Facebook and download a "free mini" coupon via email. The printed-out coupon can then be used at the b Restaurant at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue.

For more details on these promotions, go to burgersbeerbourbon.com/burgermonth.

Three Franklin County restaurateurs are being honored with Franklin County Community Development Corporation's 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year award. Jim Zaccara, Maggie Zaccara, and Evelyn Wulfkuhle, who operate Hope & Olive in Greenfield, will be honored on May 9. The ceremony, which will be held at Hawks & Reed in downtown Greenfield, will begin at 5 p.m. Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served, and live music will be featured.

To mark the occasion, Jim Zaccara has created a special cocktail he's dubbed the "Franklin No. Nine"; the drink will be served by the occasion's celebrity bartender John Howland, whose "day job" is President of Greenfield Savings Banks.

Suggested donation for the event is $10; those planning to attend can RSVP at bit.ly/May09_5pm.

The Franklin County Community Development Corporation answers at (413) 774-7204.

On Sunday, May 19 Figaro Restaurant in Enfield, CT will be hosting "Wild Heart," a tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Seating for the evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner of Italian-American classics will be offered. The show will begin at 7 p.m.

Charge for the buffet is $21.95 and tickets for the "Wild Heart" performance go for $25. Reservations for this event can be made by calling Figaro Restaurant at (860) 745-2414.

In celebration of the chain's 50th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations have introduced Southern Fried Chicken to their menus. Authentically prepared and served as a dinner-style entree, the portion of chicken includes breast, thigh, leg, and wing, all a double-breaded with a custom blend of spices. Two sides and biscuits or cornbread are included; the suggested menu price is $10.79.

Starting May 20, the fried chicken will additionally be available as a "Picnic Box" 12-piece family meal, a package deal that can be supplemented, for an additional charge, with iced tea, lemonade, banana pudding, or cookies.

There are Cracker Barrel locations on Whiting Farms Road in Holyoke, on Route 20 in Sturbridge, and in East Windsor, CT.

IHOP locations have introduced two new International Pancake offerings as a limited-time only menu additions.

Italian Cannoli pancakes come three to an order; they're made by rolling and filling the chain's signature buttermilk pancakes with ricotta cream and chocolate morsels. Cannoli shell crunch, chocolate morsels, and whipped topping garnish the creation.

IHOP's Mexican Churro pancakes are stacked with cinnamon spread, decorated with crunchy mini-churros, and drizzles with cream cheese icing.

There are IHOP locations at 270 Cooley Street and 640 Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
Two Boston men have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to working with nine other men to transport large quantities of methamphetamine to Greater Boston for distribution, then laundering the cash proceeds from the sales.

Mario Castro, 50, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston to 57 months in federal prison. Jorge Grandon, 49, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months.

The two were part of a group of 11 people indicted following a two-year investigation into trafficking of methamphetamine from California to Massachusetts. Once the drugs were sold on the Eastern Seaboard, the proceeds were shipped back to California, where the cash was laundered.

Prosecutors said agents in December 2015 seized about 75 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine that was hidden in Castros pants. The drugs had been ordered by Grandon, prosecutors said.

Castro and Grandon appeared before Judge George A. OToole Jr. He sentenced each on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The two were also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

All of the group have pleaded guilty to charges. One other defendant has been sentenced. Christopher Halford appeared before OToole on April 29 and was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison.
HOLYOKE  A drug raid resulted in seizures of approximately 5,000 bags of heroin, $7,000 in cash and the arrest of a city man.

Members of the Hampden County Narcotics and the Holyoke Police Department executed search warrants at three separate locations in Holyoke, resulting in seizures and the arrest of Kenneth Torres, 23, of Holyoke, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gullini.

Police raided an apartment at 140 Essex St. at about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and found approximately 500 bags of heroin, a quantity of cocaine and about $7,000 in cash. At simultaneous raids at 125 and 127 Beech St. authorities seized 4,500 bags of heroin, 100 grams of cocaine and an untraceable 9mm firearm with an extended magazine.

It was the second large confiscation on Wednesday, Gullini said. Several addresses in Holyoke were raided late Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after a trafficking arrest had been announced at another Holyoke site.

Torres was arraigned in Holyoke District Court Thursday on charges of possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute and possession of a Class B substance with the intent to distribute. He was released on $300 cash bail pending a July 9 court date.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, authorities announced a raid on an Essex Street location where some 5,000 bags of heroin and about $112,000 in cash was confiscated and another Holyoke man, 25-year-old Tahge Pedrosa was arrested and charged with trafficking in heroin. He was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.
Two verification pharmacists were found guilty in the last trial of employees and owners of New England Compounding Center, the epicenter of a fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 that sickened hundreds of patients and killed over 100.

Kathy Chin, 47, of Canton And Michelle Thomas, 35, of Cumberland R.I., were each found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Boston Thursday of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription with the intent to defraud or mislead government regulators. Chin was found guilty of two counts while Thomas was convicted of four counts.

The two will be sentenced on Aug. 8 and 9 respectively.

At the end of Thursdays trial, 13 former NECC employees, including Chin and Thomas, have been convicted of 178 charges.

New England Compounding Center was shut down after regulators found it was the source of fungal meningitis among patients who used its medications. Reuters reported that hundreds of people were sickened and prosecutors said more than 100 died.

In addition to unsanitary conditions in the prescription compounding areas, regulators found widespread fraud and company-wide steps to prevent the FDA from conducting effective oversight.

Chin and Thomas were accused of issuing bulk prescriptions to accounts in the names of various celebrities as well as fictitious names such as LL Bean, Filet OFish, Rug Doctor, Squeaky Wheel, Coco Puff and Harry Potter among others.

Prosecutors said the fake prescriptions approved by Chin and Thomas allowed the company to operate as an unregulated drug manufacturer.

At the same time Chin and Thomas were convicted, another verification pharmacist was sentenced for her part in the fraud.

Alla Stepanets, 38, of Framingham was sentenced to one year of probation. She was convicted of six counts of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription.
An adult male was found shot and stabbed on High Street early Saturday morning, Springfield police said.

Department spokesman Ryan Walsh said Springfield police officers located a man on High Street at about 1 a.m. who was seriously injured with one gunshot and several stab wounds.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Walsh said the departments Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene of an afternoon shooting that sent a Springfield man to the Baystate Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound.

Authorities were called to 192-194 Dickinson St. at about 3:40 p.m. There they apparently the victim, reportedly a male in his late 20s or early 30s. Neighbors said the man lives on the first floor of the two-family home located at the intersection of Dickinson St. and Crystal Avenue.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center where his exact condition is unknown. However, police at the scene said they believe his injuries are non-life-threatening.

Investigators believe the man was shot inside the home but are dealing with conflicting information from some witnesses.

A Massachusetts State Police ballistics technician arrived at the scene to aid the city investigation, police said.
Jack Nicholsons famous line in A Few Good Men, still echoes at movie trivia contests today. You cant handle the truth! his character bellowed from the witness stand.

The real truth today is that Americans cant handle the misinformation and sort out whats real. The acclaimed Information Highway, which was supposed to put access to unprecedented news and knowledge at our fingertips, is instead littered with lies, half-baked theories and disingenuous campaigns that batter us daily - threatening our outlook on politics, institutions and each other, and now our very health.

At a time our technology is hurtling forward, we seem to be hurtling backward and revisiting demons we thought we had beaten for good. The latest is measles, which are being reported at their highest clip in 25 years - in large part by unfounded fears being peddled by self-appointed authorities, who say the vaccine leads to autism.

This alarmist claim has been disproven and debunked by medical science, over and over. So whats the problem? Its that we dont trust the scientists or medical people, because we no longer trust anybody.

When respected scientists warn about climate change, citizens who wouldnt know a neutron from an electron laugh at them. We dont trust educators, politicians, business executives and certainly not clergy. The only people whose word is treated as fact seem to be entertainers, whose qualification to analyze complicated things is usually limited not to informed insight but to their access to a public platform and well, how much they care.

Much of this mistrust of qualified advice is the result of abuse of that trust. Medical people urging families to take the simple step of getting a shot are not among the guilty. Our ability to control or eradicate frightening diseases is one of our proudest 20th Century accomplishments, and should be among the most unquestioned.

Until just recently, it was. Only a small number on the fringes protested. But today, the fringes control the dialogue on most issues, increasingly including this one.

The measles outbreak is not so much a questioning of expertise but a protest against all expertise. If Jonas Salk were around today, he wouldnt be accepting honors and gratitude, hed have to endure public ridicule.

There were 704 reported measles cases as of May 1, the most since the official removal of its designation as a contagious disease in the United States in 2000. It looks certain the 1994 total of 963 will be passed, possibly before 2019 is half done.

About 75 percent have come in the state of New York, primarily in two Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities and most involving non-vaccinated people. Religion has always been a factor (and often an obstacle) in promoting mass vaccinations, as it was in 2014, when 383 cases were reported in the Amish communities of Ohio.

Center for Disease Control officials say the incidence of non-vaccination is spreading, though. Its not just an Orthodox Jewish issue: most Ultra-Orthodox rabbis do not oppose the vaccine and urge inoculation, but there is pushback from individuals both inside and outside those communities as social media, hotlines and material from outcast sources pepper parents with fear.

Reported cases in Massachusetts have tripled from 21 to more than 60 in the comparable time period.

If you want to believe your kid doesnt need that many shots, theres plenty of places to find people who agree with you. Its not so easy to discern what is real and what is not, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, former head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Its easier to disbelieve, because in modern America, thats what we do. Alternately bombarded by untruths and crestfallen upon learning weve been duped and deceived by people we trusted, we are turning into a culture that not only doesnt know whom to trust, but chooses not to try.

Since the measles vaccine was made available to the general population in the 1960s, there has never been any sound reason to dispute its effect or fear the consequences. If mistrust and misinformation are turning people away from this vaccine, its only a matter of time before chickenpox, rubella and bacterial meningitis make a comeback, too.

That would be a frightening price for misguided mistrust by selfish people who think my own decision has no effect on the health and lives of those around them. We dont have to trust everybody in a world where hallowed institutions have abused that trust. But medical officials urging families to get the vaccine are not among those people. We should trust them, the way we once did.
CHICAGO  Eduardo Nunez will be activated from the injured list Saturday (tomorrow). Tzu-Wei Lin is headed to the IL.

Lin suffered a sprained knee sliding into second base during Fridays game against the White Sox here at Guaranteed Rate Field. Lin will undergo testing back in Boston.

Hopefully its nothing that serious, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. Well see what happens.

Cora said head trainer Brad Pearson said its too soon to tell how serious.

Early it was bothering him on the outside, Cora said. Now its bothering him on the inside. So unplug him, send him to Boston and see what weve got.

The Red Sox initially placed Nunez on the injured list April 19 because of mid-back strain. He has gone 2-for-15 in four rehab games for Pawtucket.
The Red Sox have signed infielder/outfielder Cody Asche to a minor-league contract, according to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Boston purchased Asches contract from Sugar Land and assigned him to Portland.

Another day, another contract purchased.



Congrats to Cody Asche, who is heading to the Red Sox! He becomes our third player in 2019 to have his contract purchased by an @MLB organization!



FULL STORY: https://t.co/xNPwp20hye pic.twitter.com/IQbVfD41H0  Sugar Land Skeeters (@SL_Skeeters) May 3, 2019

Asche was Philadelphias fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft and hit .240/.298/.385 with 31 homers over four seasons with the Phillies from 2013-16. He has bounced around since hitting free agency after the 2016 season, appearing in 19 games for the White Sox in 2017 before short minor-league stints with the Royals, Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.

Asche, who turns 29 next month, hit .220/.304/.399 with 11 homers in 105 games at Triple-A last season and signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early February. He was released in late March and started the regular season with Sugar Land.

Asche has played both corner infield positions and left field in the majors, so hell provide an option in the high minors for the depleted Sox. Tzu-Wei Lin will join Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt on the injured list Saturday with a left knee sprain while Eduardo Nunez is being activated.
SPRINGFIELD  State legislators toured the Springfield Science Museum on Friday and learned of plans to update, refurbish, and add more interactive exhibits to the popular destination.

The museum has adapted in order to meet the interests of contemporary and diverse audiences, said Springfield Museums President and CEO Kay Simpson. We have been incorporating new technologies and experiences that complement the many curiosities and old favorites cared for in the museum.

Plans are currently underway for more positive changes, especially in our outreach to children and youth, she said.

The greatest impact of a revitalized Springfield Science Museum is as a vibrant, adaptable resource which will inspire generations of youth," said Dave Stier, director of the museum.

The hope is that new interactive exhibits and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, programing will help nurture interest at a young age and steer more people toward the helpful and lucrative STEM workforce.

Curator of Astronomy, Michael Kerr, told the legislators about hoped for updates to the planetarium, which houses the oldest starball in the United States.

We will retain the starball for its historic significance, Kerr said, And we will add digital machinery that will greatly increase the planetariums programming capabilities.

Kerr also noted the addition of an International Space Station exhibit with live-feed from the International Space Station and a hands-on STEM maker space where visitors can solve challenges with inventive solutions they dream up and assemble.
The American Antiquarian Society, a national research library for pre-20th Century American history and culture, recently completed a significant renovation to its 109-year-old Antiquarian Hall in Worcester.

On Saturday, the organization held an open house to celebrate the opening of the three-story, 7,000-square-foot addition that includes a new Learning Lab and state-of-the-art conservation studio.

The society boasts an impressive collection of documents, photographs, books and cartoons that includes the first book printed in British North America, the only surviving copy of the first modern novel published in America and the first Bible published in this country.

All but two of Paul Reveres engravings are among 200,000 graphic arts and ephemera items in the organizations collection, which also includes political cartoons, maps, lithographs, portraits, photographs and paintings.

Visitors to the Antiquarian Societys open house Saturday learned about its preservation efforts and enjoyed a number of exhibits, including historic childrens books, the Isaiah Thomas printing press, marbled paper displays and more.
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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 3, 2019

Microsoft Advertising may have purged several businesses in the past few years, only to regroup and rebuild, using the latest technology based on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For the past four years, Microsoft has been increasingly building intelligence into the Microsoft Advertising platform, formerly known as Bing Ads, said Steve Sirich, general manager at Microsoft.

Everything were doing around predictions and matching, we now have the capabilities and sophistication to bring back our ability to monetize a lot of the supply previously transitioned to AOL, he said. Much of that supply manifests in the Microsoft Audience Network.

In 2015, Microsoft sold its display inventory to AOL, allowing it to drive a more programmatic approach. The company transitioned the selling model for display. The move let Microsoft rebuild many of its platform on artificial intelligence.

Now, the Microsoft Audience Network allows the company to use the intelligence behind the Microsoft Advertising platform and the search signal to serve native ads in domains outside of a search-engine results page, such as MSN Outlook and the Edge browser.

advertisement advertisement

Microsoft now offers search through Bing, as well as native advertising and image ads through the Microsoft Advertising Network, which operates like a programmatic auction.

It is part of the reason were moving past a search-engine results page, he said.

Microsoft Advertising is testing video extensions, with a thumbnail that displays in the corner, but is not generally available.

Sirich said Microsoft continues to keep an eye on ecommerce ad products and the way Amazon monetizes Sponsored Products. Theres a lot of unmet opportunities in retail, he said.

Microsoft is rebuilding its Edge browser on Google Chromium, For advertisers, Sirich said it unhooks the browser innovation from Windows 10 innovation, making it easier to release more frequent browser updates.

It will allow us to innovate more quickly and drive demand for Edge around privacy and secure browsing, he said. We have a strong precedence and history in browsing, and on Chromium can build a very competitive product.
According to a new study, intensive treatment for high blood pressure may reduce the risk of death from any cause, including cardiovascular disease, in people with type 2 diabetes.

Share on Pinterest New research suggests that intensive blood pressure treatment may help those with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the most common and costly chronic conditions in the United States. Over 100 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the 2017 report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body processes glucose. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease, reduces the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When this occurs, blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of [the] arteries as the heart pumps blood. Hypertension happens when this force against the artery walls is too high.

Doctors measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The first number, or the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. The second number measures the diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart rests between beats.

Doctors define prehypertension as 120139 mm Hg for systolic pressure and between 8089 mmHg for diastolic pressure. They consider a pressure of 140/90 mmHg as high.
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The microfluidic device is an automated and small chip with a highly sensitive fluorescence sensing unit embedded into the device. Physicians take patient samples and add them into the device where Ebola RNA can be seen by activating the CRISPR mechanism. Du is also developing a device that could detect multiple virus strains from Ebola to influenza and zika, for example.The article "Rapid and Fully Microfluidic Ebola Virus Detection with CRISPR-Cas13a," features an international and multidisciplinary team assessing the use of CRISPR technology gene editing technology--to improve virus detection. The group members are from University of California, Berkeley; Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (China); Dong-A University (Korea); Texas Biomedical Research Institute; and Boston University."For this work, we are trying to develop a low-cost device that is easy to use especially for medical personnel working in developing countries or areas where there are outbreaks. They'd be able to bring hundreds of these devices with them for testing, not just one virus or bacteria at one time, but many different kinds," he explained.Researchers have tried for the past 40 years to develop an effective Ebola vaccine. Early detection remains an important strategy for controlling outbreaks, the most recent in the Congo, where more than 1,000 individuals have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control."If you look at this like influenza, and people don't look at it as a virus which also can kill people each year. Some strains may not be as deadly as Ebola, but we know that infectious diseases, regardless of the type, are problems that can threaten the public," Du said. "I grew up in China and experienced the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. I have seen many people lose their relatives and friends because of infectious diseases. If we can have early detection systems to help screen for all types of diseases and patterns, this can be very useful because it can provide information to medical doctors and microbiologists to help develop the vaccines, and early detection and identification can control and even prevent outbreaks."Source: Eurekalert
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The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London."This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition." The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments."IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine. The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier."I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."Source: Eurekalert
UPPER THUMB  Mid Michigan College is expanding access to educational opportunities in Huron and Tuscola counties.

Were excited to increase the number of courses, programs and training opportunities available to the residents of Michigans Thumb region, said Scott Mertes, Vice President of Community Outreach & Advancement at Mid. Students are now able to launch their higher educations with dual enrollment or short-term training and complete associate degrees. From start to finish, the ability to begin and complete an affordable education is now possible in the thumb.

For the fall 2019 semester, Huron Intermediate School District (ISD) is offering Mid Michigans medical assistant associate degree program along with Phlebotomy and CDL-A Truck Driving Short-Term Training. Both Huron and Tuscola ISDs will offer online and face-to-face courses, along with dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.

Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses  giving them a jump start on their college careers and equipping them with skills that help them succeed as they continue their educations, said Mertes.

Parents who want to learn more about dual enrollment can attend a free informational meeting from 6 to 7 p.m., Monday, May 6 at the Tuscola ISD. In just one hour, parents and students can learn how dual enrollment works, how students benefit, and how to get started.

Registration for all fall semester offerings is currently open and complete information, including courses and schedules, can be found online.

At Mid, we strongly believe in increasing access to educational opportunities that develop knowledge and ability within individuals and communities, shared Mertes.

Mids main campuses are located in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant, with satellite locations in Alpena, Huron, Mecosta, Osceola and Tuscola counties.

For more information about Mid offerings in the Thumb region, visit midmich.edu/thumb or contact Scott Mertes at smertes@midmich.edu or 989-386-6614.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  A photo of President Rodrigo Duterte watching a show on Netflix at home on Saturday broke what would have been a six-day absence from the public eye that fuelled speculation about his health.

In the photo sent to CNN Philippines by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, the President is seen on his bed, watching a movie from streaming service provider Netflix with a bunch of today's newspapers on his side. The photo was sent to her by someone from Duterte's team.

Puyat is in Fiji for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors. The President has called her to ask about her recent meeting with the Civil Aeronautics Board regarding the carrying capacity of Boracay Island.

She then told the President that some journalists who were with her wanted to know his whereabouts, and was sent the photo in response. The President's prolonged absence, like in the past, revived speculation that he is gravely ill. Duterte has refused to allow the Palace to issue medical bulletins on his health.

In another photo sent to Malacanang reporters, the President is seen reading the April 30 issue of a national broadsheet.

The President was last seen last Sunday at the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa in Davao City. He had come home last April 27 from his trip to China where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the Second Belt and Road Forum. During that trip, the 74-year-old President reportedly skipped a gala dinner due to a migraine.

Before he left for China, Duterte had attended major campaign sorties of the ruling PDP-Laban party. Administration candidates have dominated senatorial surveys weeks ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
HARBOR BEACH  When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health concern, sometimes its a lot to handle.

Its important to remember that mental health is essential to everyones overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.

May is Mental Health Month was started 70 years ago by national organization, Mental Health America (MHA). Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is joining this years national campaign to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone.

A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health.

That is why in 2019 the hospital is expanding upon last years theme of 4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level, as it explores the topics of animal companionship, humor, work-life balance and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

It is important to really look at your overall health, both physically and mentally, to achieve wellness, said Susan Rochefort, RN and program director of Senior Life Solutions. Finding a reason to laugh, going for a walk with a friend, meditating, playing with a pet or working from home once a week can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy  its all about finding the right balance to benefit both the mind and body.

MHA has developed a series of fact sheets  available at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may  to help people understand how their lifestyle affects their health.

We know that living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy, but it can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes, said Rochefort. Finding the balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both 4Mind4Body.

Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is an intensive outpatient group therapy program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression often related to aging.

For more information, call the Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program at 989-479-0200.
ELKTON  Comcast and The Village of Elkton Parks and Recreation recently assembled volunteers made up of employees, their families, friends and other community members, to assist in the beautification of Ackerman Park on Mullen Street.

The project was one of 28 service opportunities across Michigan during the 18th Comcast Cares Day. Projects began on April 18 and culminate on May 11.
PIGEON  Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker seniors Andrew Smith and Clara Tait will soon be figuring out what to take with them to Michigan State University this fall, but they already know they'll be bringing something very special with them that no other incoming student will have  the Gordon W. and Loyse B. Hueschen Science Scholarship.

This scholarship, available only to qualifying Laker seniors who are going into a science program at MSU, covers full tuition and board for four years. Seven seniors interviewed for the scholarship this year, and Smith and Tait feel very fortunate to have been selected for the prestigious award.

It was a big shock to me. I started shaking and crying, Tait said about finding out she was selected. It was a very happy time. I'm excited.

Smith also said he was shocked when he heard the news.

(Im now) able to progress toward the dream Ive had ever since I first stepped foot on the MSU campus in 8th grade for the FFA state convention, he said. As soon as I saw that huge open campus and all the FFA members and the energy I witnessed there, it was engrained into my head that this is where I want to be in my future. It's a huge honor to finally be able to live that dream.

Smith, son of Jeff and Sandy Smith, is the 2019 valedictorian. At MSU, he will major in agriculture, food and natural resource education. He plans to go into a career in agriculture policy, working with an agricultural-based organization in policy advising. He also has aspirations to run for state office someday and represent the agriculture industry.

Smith said multiple experiences have inspired him to go into the agriculture policy field. His family has been in agriculture for generations, and his FFA involvement has opened his eyes to the many facets of agriculture. He said government courses in high school and his involvement with the World Food Prize competition through FFA piqued his interest in the policy-making side of agriculture.

While at Lakers, Smith has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. Hes in FFA and has served in various leadership positions, such as president of the Laker chapter, regional secretary and treasurer for the state FFA association. He is the president of the Laker National Honor Society. Hes been involved in cross-country, track, Science Olympiad, Michigan Youth Leadership Conference and Rotary Interact. Smith also has served in many community service activities.

Smith said his experiences at Lakers have prepared him for college. Through the FFA, hes tried new things and taken on various challenges, such as leadership roles, which have all boosted his confidence.

Teachers have encouraged me along the way, he added. (Lakers has provided) an environment to facilitate my academic growth throughout the years. It's been really influential and very inspiring and it helped me get to where I am today.

Smith named ag teacher/FFA adviser Haley Schulz and former ag teacher/FFA adviser Don Wheeler as two very important inspirational teachers in his life.

They've pushed me to try new things over and over again, he said. They've both facilitated the growth I've had as a leader and an individual.

He also named English teacher Julie Stoyka as a great inspiration.

She's always believed in me so much, and it helps to have someone on the academic side of things to see my potential and stimulate that growth throughout the years, he said.

Tait, daughter of Michael and Mary Tait, will major in biochemistry at MSU. Her plans are to be a pharmacist. She said some of her science classes at Lakers inspired her to go into this field.

I really enjoyed Mrs. Hasselschwert's chemistry class, and before that, I enjoyed Mr. Lebsack's bio class, she said. I wanted to find a good happy medium. I did some soul searching, and that led me to biochemistry.

Tait has been involved in FFA and has served as a region officer and local chapter officer. Shes a co-captain of the Science Olympiad team and Laker Media chief editor. Shes also been in band, Academic Games, Rotary Interact, National Honor Society, VEX Robotics and the MDOT Bridge Challenge. Tait also has served in a variety of community service activities.

All of her extracurricular involvement will help her adjust well to college life, Tait said.

It has taught me very good time management, she said.

Tait said science teacher Deb Hasselschwert has been a big inspiration.

(Mrs. Hasselschwert) is not afraid to show her inner love for science and geek out about things, she said. That inspired me to show my love for science and not be ashamed of it.

Both Smith and Tait have been involved in the Mid-Michigan Community College dual enrollment program, which is offered at the Huron Area Technical Center. Smith was in the program for two years and will graduate high school with 42 college credits. Tait was in the program for one year and will have 20 college credits.

Tait and Smith have advice for underclassmen that aspire to be future Hueschen recipients.

Before you get to your senior year, do community service. Other than that, in the interview, be true and be passionate in your answers, Tait said. Don't make up some silly story about why you love science. Be honest.

Smith said students should try every opportunity they come across and not shy away from new experiences. He said this has truly helped him be successful.

You get so much growth by trying new things and going out of your comfort zone, he said. It also will help you set yourself apart from other (Hueschen) candidates.

The Hueschen Scholarship is awarded each year to one or more Laker seniors. The recipients are chosen based on academic performance, test scores, awards and honors, the number of science classes taken and the difficulty of all classes taken. Recipients need to be accepted into a science program at MSU.

The scholarship has been awarded since the mid-1990s.
MIDDLETOWN  Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry, the duo behind the Boston-based documentary film company The Film Posse, will join Wesleyan Universitys renowned film studies faculty this fall and will launch the Wesleyan Documentary Project, an initiative to teach, support and produce non-fiction film and video.

MacLowry, a 1986 Wesleyan alumnus, and Strain will also relocate their production company to Middletown, where they will continue to produce films for PBS and other outlets. Together, The Film Posse and Wesleyan Documentary Project will support filmmaking on campus, according to a press release.

Strain, a two-time Peabody Award winner, and MacLowry, a Peabody Award winner and two-time WGA Award winner, have produced over 20 documentaries, many through The Film Posse. Strain most recently produced, wrote and directed, and MacLowry produced and edited, Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017), the first feature documentary about African-American author and activist Lorraine Hansberry.

Sighted Eyes received the prestigious John E. Connor Film award from the American Historical Association, an NAACP Image Award for Strains directing, and a 2018 Peabody Award. MacLowrys recent film The Swamp, a riveting history of the Everglades, aired on PBS American Experience in January, the release said.

Through the Wesleyan Documentary Project, we aim to expand opportunities on campus for non-fiction filmmaking and study. Our world needs creative and diverse documentary storytellers more than ever. We are committed to helping them find their voices, Strain said in a prepared statement.

The Film Posse has a long history of selecting Wesleyan students as interns. Were excited to further integrate students into our professional activities, and aim to provide students with real-world professional experience tailored to a liberal arts setting. Our projects are well-suited to students intellectual interests and strengths, MacLowry said in the release.

In addition, the Wesleyan Documentary Project will institute a documentary hotline, a mechanism through which graduates can seek advice about writing grants, and producing and distributing their work. It will also host an annual event centered on fact-based storytelling with new works by leading artists.

We are thrilled to welcome Tracy and Randy to Wesleyan. They bring the professional excellence and teaching strength to reinvigorate the film departments already robust offerings in documentary filmmaking and study, Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image, the Charles W. Fries Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives, said in the statement.

Wesleyan has offered instruction in documentary making and study from the earliest days of its film program. In recent years, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Sadia Shepard has taught a popular documentary course in which students delve into the lives of ordinary local residents, and screen the resulting short films at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown.
"War Chief of the Crow Indians" isn't a title that's just randomly thrown around to any jackass who happens to own a gigantic, awesome-looking headdress and a really awesome traditional-style wooden bow made out of the bark of dead Treants.

You don't become a War Chief just because you're the oldest dude in the tribe, or the most badass hunter, or the only guy in your zip code capable of bench-pressing an automobile. It's an ancient, prestigious honorific bestowed only upon the bravest, the strongest, and the most hardcore asskickers around, and the only way to attain this hallowed title is by proving yourself in combat and unlocking the four achievements the Crow believed to be the most insanely-difficult things a warrior can attempt in battle -- leading a successful war party on a raid, capturing an enemy's weapon, touching an enemy without killing him, and stealing an enemy's horse.

None of this s--- is easy, and pretty much all of it requires you put your life on the line by voluntarily bringing yourself face-to-face with at least one warrior who is presumably in the process of actively trying to rip you limb from limb with a bowie knife and then splatter your corpse across the countryside with a well-placed headbutt. It's like the Crow Indians' way of making sure they don't have any suckass weaklings leading their tribe into combat.

Related:

At 102 years old, Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was the last surviving War Chief of the Crow Indians when he died in 2016. He is a hardcore, fearless, neck-snapping warrior who has accomplished all of these tremendous feats of bravery in combat and has proven himself a step above the majority of humanity on the badassitude scale.

And he did it in World War II.

Joe Medicine Crow was born on a reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana in 1913. Raised in the illustrious warrior tradition of the Crow, this dude had some pretty hardcore badasses to look up to as a young man -- his step-grandfather had been a scout for Custer at the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn (the Crow had a generations-long blood feud with the Lakota Sioux), and his paternal grandfather was a dude named Chief Medicine Crow who was like the Michael Jordan of Crow war heroes.

So, naturally, young Joseph was drilled into a tough warrior capable of handling himself in any situation. The majority of this young warrior's childhood was spent undergoing hardcore Spartan-style feats of strength, piledriving buffalo, riding horses bareback, swimming through mighty rivers, punching things, and running barefoot through snow-covered plains uphill both ways. He was taught to control his fear in the face of imminent peril, learned to hunt dangerous animals by himself, and trained his body to survive prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures.

He was also taught the war history of his tribe, and in addition to honing his body to the ultimate wilderness survival machine he also became the first member of his tribe to graduate with an advanced college degree, receiving his MA in Anthropology from USC in 1939.

Medicine Crow was in the process of working on his PhD when the United States entered World War II. Never one to back down from the opportunity to put his powers of mass destruction to good use, Crow enlisted as a scout in the 103rd Infantry and was sent to the beaches of Normandy to wreak havoc on the forces of European Fascism. Despite serving in a war dominated by automatic weapons, heavy artillery, and gigantic tanks armed with 88mm cannons, Medicine Crow held on to the time-honored practices of his tribe -- he always wore bright red war paint into combat, and he strapped a sacred yellow-painted eagle feather to his helmet for good luck.

He also counted the four coups required to distinguish himself as a Crow war chief, which is no small f------ task when one of those tasks involves stealing a horse from the enemy.

As an infantry scout, you probably don't get too many opportunities to lead a group of men into combat, but Pvt. Medicine Crow got the opportunity to do just that in snow-covered battlefields of Western France while the Allies made their push from Paris towards Berlin.

The border to Germany was a heavily-fortified wall of impenetrable machine gun bunkers, tank traps, trenches, moats and artillery positions known as the Siegfried Line, which was basically like a functional, not-worthless version of France's Maginot Line.

Well, during one particularly nasty portion of the battle for the Rhine, Medicine Crow's commanding officer ordered the Native American warrior to take a team of seven soldiers and lead them across an field of barbed wire, bullets, and artillery fire, grab some dynamite from an American position that had been utterly annihilated, and then assault the German bunkers and blow the ass out of them with TNT. This was basically a suicide mission, but, according to Medicine Crow, when he got the mission his CO's exact words were, "if anyone can do this, it's probably you."

That's not exactly a phrase that inspires tremendous confidence, but Joe Medicine Crow didn't give a s---. He charged out, evaded an endless rain of fireballs, shrapnel, and misery, grabbed the TNT from a supply crate while tracer rounds zipped past his head, and then charged balls-out towards some German machine gun nests while carrying an armload of ultra-high explosives. He somehow reached the wall in one piece and blasted a hole in the Siegfried Line so the infantry could advance. Medicine Crow received a Bronze Star for this action, and his squad did not lose a single man in the battle. I'd call that a win.

Shortly after moving through the Siegfried Line (I read in one source that Joe was photographed leading the charge and leaping through the breach he'd created in the wall, thus making him the first American soldier to set foot on German soil, though I wasn't able to verify this fact or locate the photo), the 103rd was ordered to capture a nearby town that was being staunchly defended by the enemy.

While the main elements of the 103rd moved into the well-defended main street of the village, Joe Medicine Crow's scouts were ordered to flank around through a back alley and get behind the German fortifications. Well, as this s--- was going down, Medicine Crow got separated from his unit, and while he was in the process of sprinting through some German family's backyard a random Nazi jackass stepped out from behind the wall with his rifle at the ready.

Joe didn't see this dude until the last second, and ended up running right into the guy

like the Juggernaut from the X-Men.

The two guys smashed helmet-to-helmet in a maneuver that would probably have netted Medicine Crow a 15-yard penalty in the NFL, and the force of the running mega Indian flying headbutt sent that Nazi jackass (and his rifle) sprawling across the lawn.

Joseph Medicine Crow, however, still had his rifle firmly wedged in his kung fu grip.

Joseph Medicine Crow now found himself standing rifle-to-face with an unarmed German soldier, but gunning down an unarmed man wasn't this guy's style -- he was much more of an "honorable combat" sort of badass, and he wasn't about to let this Nazi douchebag feel the sweet release of death without getting a nice red, white, and blue knuckle sandwich or two beforehand.

So Joe Medicine Crow threw down his rifle and hit him in the face Batman-style.

The two guys started going at it, and at one point the Nazi almost flipped the tables and pinned Joe, but the Native American warrior freaked out, grabbed the German dude by the throat, and started squeezing. Just as he was ready to choke the life out of his enemy, the German, sensing imminent death, started calling out for his Mom.

That kind of put the kibosh on Joseph's kill buzz. So he let the guy live, taking the German (and his rifle) as a prisoner of war and knocking out two War Chief prerequisites with one well-placed face-punch.

Of all the s--- on this borderline-impossible list, this is the one that seems like it would trip up the most people these days. But in early 1945 Joseph Medicine Crow stole 50 horses from a group of German officers.

The story starts with Joe and his men on a scouting mission deep behind enemy lines. While surveying the landscape for enemy troop movements, Medicine Crow's small team of recon experts just happened to come across a small farm where some senior members of the German officer staff were holed up -- along with a group of awesome thoroughbred race horses.

So, naturally, Joe had to steal them.

In the early hours of the morning, Joseph Medicine Crow, dressed in his U.S. Army uniform, snuck past the sleeping guards armed only with a rope and his Colt 1911 .45-caliber service pistol. He found the best horse in the group, tied the rope into a makeshift bridle, mounted the horse bareback, and then gave a super loud Crow war cry as he tried to herd as many goddamned horses out of the corral as possible before the Nazis started firing bullets at him. Hauling ass through though the German countryside in the dead of night, Joseph Medicine Crow sang a Crow war song while German officers ran outside in their underwear taking potshots at him with their Lugers.

This s--- is so crazy you couldn't even make it up.

In the last days of the war, Joseph Medicine Crow helped liberate a concentration camp in Poland (he and his commanding officer drove a jeep through the front gates and the SS guards immediately dropped their s--- and ran away without a fight) before finally heading home to his tribe in Montana. When the Crow elders heard about his through-the-roof Gamerscore they made Joe an official War Chief in the Tribe -- a post he now holds by himself. He was also made a Knight in the French Legion of Honor, received three honorary PhDs, authored nearly a dozen books on military history, stayed married to the same woman for over 60 years, and has been the official historian for his tribe for the last fifty years.

In August of 2009 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor awarded to American civilians -- for his combined military service and all the work he has done to help improve the lives of the people of the Crow people. The 95 year-old Medicine Crow personally led the ceremonial dance after the ceremony.

Links:

Billings Gazette

Joe Medicine Crow

Crow Nominated for Congressional Gold Medal

Wikipedia

Sources:

Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony. Penguin, 1999.

Robinson, Gary and Phil Lucas. From Warriors to Soldiers. iUniverse, 2010.

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Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier...
A second Marine commanding officer has been fired for allegedly driving drunk, just two weeks after another senior leader was also arrested and ousted from his job for the same reason.

Col. Douglas Lemott Jr., commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group, was relieved of his duties on Friday, five days after he was arrested in Virginia for allegedly driving under the influence.

Lemott, who could not be reached for comment, is at least the second commanding officer to be picked up in Virginia on drunk driving charges in the last month.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, carried out the latest relief after losing trust and confidence in Lemott's ability to command, Capt. Amanda Anderson, a Marine spokeswoman told Military.com.

"Underlying allegations are being investigated by the appropriate authorities," she said, referring additional questions to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office, where Lemott was arrested.

Lemott, 49, will head back to Fauquier General District Court on June 21, according to court records. He was released on bail following his arrest.

It's Lemott's first alleged drunk driving offense. If found guilty, he could have his driver's license revoked for a year and face a fine of at least $250.

Col. John Atkinson, commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion based in Quantico, Virginia, was relieved on April 26, two weeks after he was picked up for allegedly driving under the influence in Prince William County.

Atkinson is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Commandant Gen. Robert Neller earlier this week called out Marines' alcohol use as it relates to another crime: sexual assault. Neller has pushed long pushed for Marines to curb their alcohol use, launching a campaign encouraging them to protect the career they've worked hard to build.

"Marines ... know that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to a significant number of these incidents and other aberrant behaviors," Neller wrote on Twitter.

Col. Wendy Goyette, the former commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group has taken over for Lemott.

The unit, based in Fort Meade, Maryland, falls under Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command, whose mission it is to protect the service's critical infrastructure from attacks. The command includes about 800 personnel.

In February, Lemott received the 2019 Stars and Stripes United States Marine Corps Award. He was recognized as a leader shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and math, and for "serving with distinction while supporting the Marine Corps' efforts in mentorship, diversity and value-based service to the nation," according to a Marine Corps news release.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
The creator of "Terminal Lance" is back to writing about the heavier side of military life with a new graphic novel that follows Marines in Afghanistan's frigid mountain ranges.

Max Uriarte is taking an all-new cast of Marine characters to Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province in his upcoming graphic novel "Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli." The full-color, feature-length story follows Sgt. King as he leads his Marines in a fight against the Taliban in the province's cold, snowy mountains.

Uriarte, who served as an infantry Marine in Iraq, wanted to do something different from his last book, "The White Donkey," which follows the main "Terminal Lance" comic strip character to Iraq and back. Sgt. King, a young black infantryman, and the rest of the "Battle Born" characters are all new.

"I had never really seen a military infantry story with a black main character and thought that would be really cool," Uriarte told Military.com. "They would say you should make the story that you want to see, so I had decided to just go for it."

Uriarte also wanted to take Marines out of the desert. When he read about the Taliban illegally mining lapis lazuli, the blindingly blue, sought-after gemstone once popular with Egyptian pharaohs, he got the idea to send Sgt. King and his Marines into the valley where the group had taken hold.

Afghanistan has been one of the main sources for lapis lazuli for thousands of years, and the Taliban saw an opportunity in the gem. The group took over a mine once used for generations by an Afghan family in the import-export business, The New York Times reported. In 2014, the lapis trade was valued at about $125 million a year, according to the Times.

"I thought that was super fascinating stuff and a really cool setting for the story," Uriarte said. "And I found that the whole story, much like how I centered 'The White Donkey' around the donkey that sort of becomes a theme, I've centered it around the lapis lazuli, which is where the title comes from."

With an all-new location and set of characters, Uriarte set out to do his research. He was familiar with how Marines operated in the desert, but not the cold. So he embedded with an infantry battalion at the Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

"It was honestly so much worse than Camp Pendleton or Twentynine Palms. Everybody was miserable," Uriarte said. "... It gave me a good refresher on why I left the Marine Corps because you get really nostalgic, right? Then you get back into it, and you're in the field eating [tray rations] for a few days."

"Battle Born" is a more visual story than "The White Donkey," he said, with about a third more pages but half the dialogue. It's also illustrated in full color, a change from the "Terminal Lance" black-and-white style.

"I wanted it to be a beautiful book," Uriarte said. "One that you'll open, and it will kind of take you in, so I went full color. ... And I just wanted a story that was less dialogue, less talky and more, just sort of beautiful to look at.

"I really just wanted to make a war story that was beautiful because I hadn't really seen one."

"Battle Born" touches on serious topics such as colonialism and racism, which Uriarte describes as a very personal journey for Sgt. King. Its not without some of that salty "Terminal Lance" humor though.

"You'll find all your favorite Marine Corps staples like standing post and other bull---t," Uriarte said.

Overall, however, it's about a well-functioning small unit hard at work downrange. Given the author's longstanding tradition of celebrating junior Marines, it's perhaps only fitting the story doesn't include any pesky gunnys or first sergeants yelling at Sgt. King and his Marines.

"I didn't put a single staff NCO in the story," Uriarte said. "Sgt. King is the highest-ranking enlisted guy, and there's background to why that is in the story. But he basically just talks directly to the lieutenant, the only officer around and it's great. You take all the staff NCOs out, and everything works great."

"Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli" will be published by Little, Brown and Company this winter. It will be available in hardcover and in the Kindle Store.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.

Though the injury isnt said to be serious, its a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the leagues third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the leagues best.
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.

Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so its not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesnt start producing  though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.

Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.

In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
FLINT, MI -- A Genesee Circuit Court judge has given prosecutors a little more time to review what they say could be new information related to the Flint water crisis --- but not as much time as they requested.

Judge Joseph Farah on Friday, May 3, denied a request from prosecutors to wait six months until issuing his decision on whether the case against former state Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon can move closer to a jury trial, but said he would wait until June 14 before ruling on the most serious charges that are pending.

Its time for the midnight pizzas and Coca-Colas, Farah told Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud in making his ruling. It is time ... for everybody to roll up their sleeves (and) redouble their efforts ... Its time for that.

Before Hammoud filed a motion requesting a stay in court proceedings in the Lyon case, Farah had been expecting to rule by May 17 on a separate request from Lyons attorneys that the four criminal charges against him be dismissed because of errors during his preliminary examination in Genesee District Court.

The judge said Friday that his only consideration in deciding the motion to quash -- or dismiss -- the charges against Lyon is determining whether District Court Judge David Goggins abused his discretion in binding Lyon over for trial.

Farah said if prosecutors find information that helps or hurts their case against Lyon, it wont effect his decision on the dismissal question but could result in the case being sent back to district court.

Hammoud asked for a six-month delay after the discovery of what prosecutors described as a trove Flint water documents -- amounting to millions of pages earlier this year in the basement of a state-owned building.

That discovery, the solicitor general told the judge, led to the detection of a deeply flawed system for reviewing records turned over by state agencies in response to investigative subpoenas issued by former special prosecutor Todd Flood, who Hammoud fired just last month.

Flood agreed to a procedure for how those records would be reviewed that was deeply flawed, Hammoud said, resulting in prosecutors reviewing themselves only about 1.5 million of about 20 million discovery documents.

Among the problems, she said, was the involvement of a law firm that has been paid to represent former Gov. Rick Snyder in the record review.

We dont know what we dont know, Hammoud said of the need to do more work the records. We have an obligation to investigate."

Attorneys for Lyon argued against Farah delaying his decision, contending Hammoud was stalling as a new group of prosecutors acclimate themselves to eight criminal cases related to Flint water that are still pending.

They are simply saying, Give us time to figure out what (this) case is about, said Lyon attorney Chip Chamberlain. Thats something they can do on their own time -- not on Mr. Lyons time."

Lyon, 50, was arraigned on Flint water charges nearly two years ago.

As a member of Snyders cabinet, he was the highest-ranking figure in state government to have been charged with crimes related to the water crisis and was bound over to stand trial by 67th District Court Judge David Goggins on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office.

Farah said he will still make a decision whether to dismiss the misdemeanor charge against Lyon -- neglect of duty -- within two weeks.

Prosecutors have claimed Lyon is responsible for the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, two Genesee County men whom prosecution experts say likely died of Legionnaires disease, which spiked throughout Genesee County while the city used the Flint River as its water source in parts of 2014 and 2015.

The former director, who has pleaded not guilty of the charges, was among city, county and state officials who were aware of outbreaks of Legionnaires here and suspicions that Flints water was connected to them a full year before residents were told.

Lyon had a duty under state law to warn citizens of the outbreaks and to protect their health, according to the charges against him.

Water prosecutors claims of a flawed discovery process in the Flint water cases hasnt just caused fallout in the Lyon case.

Hammoud said shes spoken to attorneys for the seven other current and former city and state government employees also facing charges and is requesting delays in those cases as well.

Even though the un-reviewed water documents came from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the records or review process could still be relevant to those cases, Hammoud said Friday.

Court records show Genesee District Court Judge Nathaniel Perry has already agreed to delay preliminary examinations for former emergency manager Darnell Earley and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft until November.
SCIO TOWNSHIP, MI  Special needs education leaders in Washtenaw County are proposing a 0.37-mill tax increase to demolish and rebuild a school just outside Ann Arbor.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District is considering putting the $53.2 million bond proposal before voters to fund the project at High Point School, 1735 S. Wagner Road in Scio Township. The special needs school shares a campus with Honey Creek Community School and serves students across the county.

The school board will consider the proposal in a 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 meeting at 1819 S. Wagner Road.

If OKed by the board, residents would vote on the ballot measure Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Maneuvering through a maze of narrow hallways and tight corners on the campus has been difficult for staff and students, many who use mobility devices that need extra hallway space, Superintendent Scott Menzel said.

The building is almost 50 years old. It opened in 1975. There are significant limitations in terms of the infrastructure, Menzel said. (There are) a lot of exterior doors, which from an exit standpoint  makes sense. From a school safety and security point in the 21st century, thats not a really good model at all.

Here are five things to know about the proposal:

1. Conceptual plan

The proposed school would be 27,000-square-feet larger than the current building.

It would include 30 to 35 classrooms on one side of the building; additional rooms for use by physical therapists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other special needs workers; new equipment and furniture; storage space, technological improvements and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Classrooms would be nearly 1,000 square feet with individual bathrooms.

Supplemental rooms would be added for meetings or future classrooms, and ramps would be built across the campus. The plan is to create a structure that would accommodate the programs growth for the next 30 years, Menzel said.

The schools bus drop-off area is currently uncovered and stretches away from the main entrance, causing difficulties for staff to assist wheelchair users during rain and snow. The district wants to add heated sidewalks with an overhead shield.

The school would accommodate students ages three to 26, with fenced-off playgrounds for different age groups. Every classroom would have windows for daylight.

Update: an earlier version of this story reported the school would accommodate K-8. It was changed to reflect the accurate age group.

A life skills area, cafeteria, media center, music room and art room are also planned.

2. How much it would cost homeowners

The 10-year, 0.37-mill tax increase would cover the demolition and new construction, costing the owner of a $300,000 home about $55.50 annually, or about $4.63 a month.

The district could set aside funds from a special education millage as an alternative, but it would not fully cover the costs needed, Menzel said.

3. How the money would be spent

The proposed $53.2 million in bond funding would pay to demolish the current structure and construct a new building, while keeping the gymnasium and pool in place.

Mechanical, electrical, technological and infrastructure development alone would cost $18 million, Menzel said.

The funds would also purchase new equipment and furniture, new information technology systems, refurbishment of the pool and gym, new playgrounds and landscaping.

4. Who can vote

The proposal would not appear on every Washtenaw County ballot, Menzel said. Rather, its a constituent district vote of (Washtenaw Intermediate School District).

Residents in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti school districts would vote for it on Aug. 6.

5) How long it will take

Moving staff and students out and beginning work by January 2020 is the goal, which would involve relocating programs.

The ideal scenario would be to move back in fall 2021, Menzel said.

Options for relocation include using empty school buildings the district may lease for an 18-month period, possibly in Ypsilanti.

Gretchens House, a private childcare center that uses a few classrooms in the same building, would not move with the High Point and Honey Creek schools during the temporary period. It would operate in an alternate facility, Menzel said.
HILLSDALE, MI -- A part of Hillsdale history is being restored, as renovations to the century-old Dawn Theater are set to begin later this year.

A $1.4 million Michigan Economic Development Corporation Community Development Block Grant is helping to restore the currently vacant building at 97 N. Broad St., according to a news release.

The old theater will become a new venue for movies, special events and private rentals.

Given its history and what it means to the community now -- and 100 years ago -- it was important for us to try restore it, Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie said.

Planned repairs in the $1.7 million project include restoration of the original brick facade and windows, floor replacement, roof work and making the theater handicap accessible, the release said.

Expected to open in fall 2020, the new venue will create 27 new jobs, Mackie said.

The building is owned by the Hillsdale Tax Increment Finance Authority, Mackie said. The project is receiving $400,000 for the rehabilitation and $200,000 in TIFA funds for building acquisition and pre-development project costs, the release said.

The district and city administration are working together to improve the community, which the grant allows us to do, Mackie said. We are reinvesting in the structure, and hopefully secure it for another century.

The Dawn Theater has become a key fixture of downtown Hillsdale since opening as a single-screen theater in 1919, Mackie said.

The theater struggled with the rise of multiplexes and was turned into a nightclub in the 1990s. The nightclub closed in 2004 and the building was vacant until 2010, when it began hosting events until closing again in 2013.

Re-opening the theater will provide the town a much needed community space, Mackie said. State Rep. Eric Leutheuser. R-Hillsdale, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, praised the grant allocation and the restoration of the theater.

This is a tremendous opportunity to honor and preserve our rich local history while starting a whole new chapter in the story of our town, Leutheuser said.
JACKSON, MI  A city workshop held earlier this week to discuss Jacksons 2019-2020 budget proposal fell within a gray area of Michigans Open Meetings Act, according to a legal expert.

During workshops, city council members cannot deliberate toward or make decisions on future agenda items, said Jennifer Dukarski, deputy general counsel for the Michigan Press Association. Its up for debate as to whether Jackson City Councils Thursday, May 2 workshop fell within those perimeters.

The council invited the public to attend the workshop, but did not allow for public comment, angering many of the nine residents in attendance.

Cities arent required to have public comment during workshops, Dukarski said. The question is whether Thursdays get-together can be considered a workshop, rather than a meeting  in which public comment is required by law. The event was initially billed as a special meeting with public comment.

"This gets into a gray area, when the full board is there and they start asking questions," Dukarski said. "There's a very fine line between education and asking questions that will help you deliberate and make a decision on public policy."

Wheres the agenda and whens the citizen comment? resident John King said, interrupting the workshop. By law there has to be.

Officials didnt explain why public comment was being barred.

Mayor Derek Dobies and Councilman Jeromy Alexander agreed Thursdays gathering helped inform their decision on the budget vote, but both said they dont believe the talks could be considered deliberations.

A second budget workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 will include deliberations, Dobies said, and therefore will also include time for public comment. Theres also a public hearing scheduled for May 14 before the council votes on the budget May 28, Dobies said.

Whether public comment was necessary or not, Alexander said they absolutely should have had it during the first workshop.

"Even if public comment wasn't required, there's nothing that can stop us from having additional public comment," Alexander said. "I'd always rather have more input, more feedback from constituents."

Public comment was skipped because the workshop was purely informative, Dobies said Friday. Its the same way the council has done budget workshops in past years, he added.

We wanted to make sure we had time to be able to have that presentation, Dobies said.

The workshop ran about two-and-a-half hours.

Penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act are minimal, Dukarski said. Decisions made during the meeting could be invalidated  although there were no votes during Thursdays workshop. If taken to court, the act says an official intentionally in violation can be charged with a misdemeanor and $1,000 fine.

Jackson City Council typically allows for three minutes of public comment per person near the beginning of all meetings. Council efforts to alter the policy last spring were tabled, after citizens rebuked the new plan during public comment.
MUSKEGON, MI  After 73 years, World War II hero William Naill finally got his medal.

At age 91, Naill had essentially given up on the idea he would ever get a medal recognizing his service. He was just 16 when he signed up to fight, winding up on the island of Guam in the South Pacific struggling to stay alive even though the war was technically over.

He returned to his home in 1946 and carried on with life, working a variety of jobs, settling down and having a family.

On Friday, May 3, Naill finally got the overdue recognition he deserved. The U.S. Navy Occupation Service Medal was presented to Naill during a ceremony at the SKLD nursing facility in Muskegon, where his wife Betty now resides.

Im kind of overwhelmed by it, Naill said. I havent had this much attention since my mother had me.

Humor is second nature to Naill, who peppers his memories of war with quips.

Naill tried three times to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but couldnt because he was under age. Finally, he convinced his parents to vouch for him so he could follow in the footsteps of his older brother who had already joined the war effort.

They said I was born in September, and my brother was born in January, Naill said, a grin spreading across his face. Its possible -- thats nine months  though it would have been tough on my mother.

His reason for joining was simple: I wanted to win the war.

In 1945, he was sent to the Atlantic on a destroyer escort and soon, the European conflict ended following Adolf Hitlers suicide. Naill then was sent to the Pacific, and soon after Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered. That was on Aug. 15, 1945.

But fighting continued on Guam even after the surrender. Naill, who had been a fireman 2nd class and a gunner onboard ship, was one of two crew members dropped off at Guam, according to Naills son, Ed Naill of Muskegon. It was on the island where Naill switched from being a sailor to being a combat solider.

I served on ship and on land, Naill said. I couldve been an amphibian.

For the most part, he glosses over the horrors of war, saying he simply was doing his duty. But he provides glimpses of what he encountered fighting the Japanese when he was just a teenager.

They were killing us, he said. And we were killing them.

When he arrived back in the United States in 1946, Naill first went to work as a sign painter, later driving big rigs and working other jobs.

He was from Maryland, but his son was in Michigan and Naill followed, finding churches to pastor in Eaton Rapids and Ionia, later settling in Muskegon. He continues to preach at the Church of The Brethren in Muskegon.

When his wife fell ill and moved to SKLD, Naill began spending his days at her side. Hes at the nursing facility every day for seven to eight hours.

That was where he met Stephanie Jenkins, who works as a cook for the nursing facility. One day, noticing the veterans hat Naill was wearing, Jenkins thanked him for his service. He expressed surprise that anyone actually remembered the war that was fought so long ago.

That set the wheels in motion, and Jenkins reached out to her pastor, the Rev. Wesley Spyke, for help getting Naill the Occupation Service Medal he never received. Spyke and Jenkins husband are among a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who provide escorts for the remains of soldiers who die overseas. They show up at other veterans events as well, and four rode to the nursing facility on Friday to show their respects to Naill.

Spyke read excerpts from a letter of thanks Naills commander had written him so many years ago.

As family, friends, residents and SKLD staff watched, members of the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs gave him a certificate and pinned the medal Naill waited 75 years to receive onto the lapel of his suit.

I havent the faintest idea, Naill said when asked why it took so long for him to get the recognition.

His son, Ed Naill, said he thinks it was simply an oversight brought about by the chaos of the wars end and the return of thousands of the nations heroes.

Its just the way bureaucracies go, Ed Naill said. There were thousands and thousands of men coming out of service  and this was at the end of the war.
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SAGINAW, MI - Both Heritage High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA) hosted their proms at The Horizon Conference Center on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Around 400 Heritage juniors and seniors attended their prom, which was themed fiesta toda la noche which means party all night long in Spanish. They were set up in a large conference room, and pinatas, Mexican flavored sodas, and several different themed backdrops were some of the highlights. They also played a highlight video for the seniors that displayed photos of the class of 2019 and their four years at school.

SASAs prom was in a more intimate space, and their students dressed up to a Masquerade theme for the evening. Their DJ was a hit, getting almost every student on his or her feet to dance. They also had a miniature studio set up where a photographer took their photos with a themed backdrop.
ESSEXVILLE, MI - Bay City All Saints High School celebrated the school year with their prom at The Grand Banquet and Conference Center in Essexville on Friday, May 3, 2019.

A Masquerade theme had some of the 41 students who attended to bring along their masks and even their Crocs.

Senior Caitlyn McDonell brought her bright yellow Crocs and switched out her heels to show them off. She said that they wear them each day to school and they actually began a trend.

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Family members flooded the backyard of the venue to snap all the photographs possible of the students. Inside offered them dinner, professional photographs, soft drinks, desserts and of course dancing.

All Saints took fifth place in the Bay City, Midland and Saginaw 2019 Prom of the Week poll.
Months of insistence in Washington that the people of Venezuela stood by the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido basically went up in smoke when his Operation Liberty fizzled. The question now is whom to blame.

Senior US officials like National Security Advisor John Bolton and special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams expressed confidence in regime change in Caracas on Tuesday, named top Venezuelan officials ready to defect, and even spoke of signed documents to that effect.

Yet literally none of this happened, and by the early evening on Tuesday, the handful of Guaidos armed supporters were seeking sanctuary in foreign embassies.

Also on rt.com Coup fizzles? Guaidos mentor takes refuge in Chilean embassy as 25 military seek asylum in Brazils

Then came the spin. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on CNN and Fox News to claim that Maduro was getting ready to flee to Cuba, but the Russians talked him out of it. Bolton claimed Maduro was hiding in a bunker even as video evidence from Caracas showed him addressing supporters numbering in the thousands on May Day. The truth was inescapable, though: Guaido had failed.

The opposition took a step backward with the military, Rocio San Miguel, president of the Colombian NGO Control Ciudadano, told Bloomberg on Thursday. Guaido appearing with [his mentor Leopoldo] Lopez at a single point in the city with a few dozen soldiers and no major firepower showed their weakness.

So what happened? Several US media outlets have since sought to explain, citing anonymous sources allegedly privy to US government plots. These sources told Bloomberg they believe Maduro got wind of the coup on April 29, and Guaido rushed it ahead of schedule or it would all collapse.

Lopez was released from house arrest because the head of the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, General Manuel Christopher Figuera, had defected to Guaido, the anonymous and entirely unverifiable sources claimed, adding that it was Lopez resurfacing that might have spooked other senior officials  defense minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno, and military intelligence and presidential guard head General Ivan Hernandez.

According to these sources, Figueras wife left Venezuela on Sunday for the safety of the US, and the general left the country as well after he was sacked on Tuesday night, though his whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, AP published a long speculative piece about missed opportunities to turn senior Venezuelan officials, from Hernandez being denied a visa in 2017 for his 3-year-old sons brain surgery, to Padrino reaching out to the US government in early 2016, after a troubled Venezuelan election.

Padrino in particular has been seen as a potential white knight, being a graduate of the School of the Americas. Apparently, very little US influence in the Venezuelan army had survived what the AP described as thorough scrubbing by Former President Hugo Chavez.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

Theres a theory thats gaining ground, and I think theres some credence to it, that it was all part of a big rope-a-dope operation, whereby the Maduro officials pretended to go along with this coup to smoke out the opposition, Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, told RT.

Thats one possibility, the other is that Pompeos lying about Maduros attempted flight to Cuba, McAdams said, adding that neither reflects well on the US.

Whatever the truth, there is no escaping the fact that Washington has pushing for regime change in Caracas for months with sanctions and other forms of pressure, and openly since recognizing Guaido in January, to absolutely no avail. All the hot air coming from Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams and other high officials pushing the regime change narrative has had far more effect in the US than in Venezuela.

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President Trump took to Twitter to declare his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula, after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea, meanwhile, test-fired short-range missiles.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted on Saturday. But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Trumps tweet came after he spoke with Putin by phone on Friday. The two leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including nuclear arms control and the Korean peace process.

The president touted the success of the call on Saturday, heralding the tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. After the phone call, certain media outlets chided Trump for not pressing Putin on supposed Russian election meddling.

Despite Trumps insistence that a deal will happen with North Korea, results thus far have been lacking. A much-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year ended with a vague promise from Kim to work towards denuclearization, while a follow-up summit in Hanoi, Vietnam this year collapsed with no agreement when Trump found Kims demands untenable.

Kim has since broadened his horizons, meeting with Putin in Vladivostok last month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also reportedly considering a meeting with Kim, according to a Friday report in the Shankei newspaper.

Also on rt.com North Korea fires short-range projectiles eastward  S. Korea

Diplomacy aside, Pyongyang has reportedly reversed its dismantling of missile and rocket test sites in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit, and on Saturday morning fired a salvo of short-range projectiles out to sea from the city of Wonsan, on its east coast.

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Julian Assanges father John Shipton has blasted the US for seeking vindictive revenge on his son for WikiLeaks exposing the US destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria and the millions killed in wars.

Assange is being punished for exposing the grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century, Lipton told protesters at a rally in Sydney, Australia, on Friday.

Also on rt.com UN rights experts lambast Assanges disproportionate prison sentence in UK

The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge, he said.

Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison on Wednesday for breaching bail when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London seven years ago. He faces extradition to the US where he is accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for allegedly trying to help whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The war logs and cables leaked by Manning in 2010 revealed potential US war crimes and shocking details about foreign policy and civilian casualties.

Also on rt.com 'A testimony of evil': How Mannings 'Collateral Murder' revelation changed history

Part of this resentment against Julian revealing these crimes is manifested by the English magistrate judiciary," Lipton said, pointing to bizarre statements being made against Assange in court, like that he is a narcissist.

Lipton also took aim at Ecuador, telling the crowd that in order to get a loan, they sold an Australian citizen for money, referring to the recent $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan Ecuador secured before Assange was removed from the embassy.

He called on the Australian people to give the government the courage to stop assisting this by doing nothing, and help to bring Assange home to his family.

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Palestinian health officials said that at least one person was killed and several injured after Israeli military responded with force to a barrage of rockets coming from Gaza Strip this Saturday.

Four Palestinians have been injured in an Israeli airstrike around the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Palestines health ministry, was quoted by RIA Novosti. Later in the day, AFP reported that the Israeli strikes had killed at least one person in the area.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli armed forces said as many as 90 rockets were fired from inside Gaza Strip into Israel. Dozens of them were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense system. There were no immediate reports on casualties.

Also on rt.com Heavy barrage of rockets: IDF says 90 missiles launched from Gaza, dozens intercepted

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
The only gold ingot Estonias central bank has in storage is not pure enough for financial operations and is more suitable as a museum piece, the bank has revealed.

The piece of gold weights 11 kilograms and is valued at around 500,000, the head of the financial market division of the Bank of Estonia, Fabio Filipozzi, told Terevisioon, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). The gold bar is 97 years old  three years younger than the bank, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday.

Also on rt.com Russia tops global gold buyers list as it turns away from US dollar

The rest of the countrys gold reserves amount to 256 kilograms, but it is stored in foreign banks, and in the US in particular. The tradition stems from the first half of the last century, before World War II began, when the country decided to transfer the precious metal to keep it safe.

Tallinn sold most of its gold reserves in the 1990s and invested money in other liquid assets, such as bonds and equities, according to the bank official.

Estonias gold reserves are the second lowest among European countries, behind Albania by 1.35 tons, according to Trading Economics website data.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Europe would not enjoy the same level of peace and security that it does today if it werent for Turkeys willingness to host waves of refugees pouring in from numerous countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed.

If European countries are living in peace today, it is thanks to Turkey for hosting 4 million refugees, Erdogan said on Friday, as quoted by Anadolu.

In 2015, the EU agreed to pay Turkey 3 billion ($3.3 billion) in exchange for housing refugees and preventing them from entering the bloc. A year later, a formal deal was reached between Ankara and Brussels, stipulating that all migrants arriving illegally on European shores would be returned to transit country Turkey.

In exchange, the EU promised to speed up deliberations over Turkeys bid to join the bloc. As part of the deal, Ankara requested an additional 3bn to help cope with the humanitarian crisis.

Also on rt.com Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE owe their existence to Iran  Rouhani

The two sides have squabbled over exactly how many refugees Turkey hosts  and how much money Ankara needs to care for them. For example, last year the EU claimed that Turkey was holding less than 2 million refugees, while the Turkish government insisted the number was closer to 4 million.

Despite Turkeys best efforts, in the last few years Europe has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks, with some attributed to extremists who entered the bloc posing as asylum seekers.

While Ankara and Brussels have locked horns over issues ranging from visa-free travel to press freedoms, some European states have expressed gratitude to Turkey for its role in containing the influx of refugees trying to enter the bloc.

Also on rt.com Macron suggests shrinking Schengen zone because EU migration policies 'do not work'

Europes security today begins in Turkey, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto acknowledged at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday.

More than 1 million migrants poured into Europe in 2015. Although the influx has slowed considerably, the crisis has strained relations within the bloc and breathed new life into right-wing and anti-establishment parties across Europe, which are poised to make gains in the upcoming EU elections.

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A heavy barrage of rockets has been launched at the territory of southern Israel, the countrys defense forces (IDF) said in a tweet, claiming the projectiles were fired from Gaza.

Warning sirens blared in Israeli border communities on Saturday morning amid reports of multiple projectiles being launched from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack lasted for 10 minutes.

Residents in the towns of Ashkelon and Ashdod reported hearing blasts in the area. Meanwhile, several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome above Ashkelon, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing local authorities. The IDF also posted footage apparently showing the incoming missiles.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Indias space agency wants to touch down its rover on the Moons south pole, an area on the Earths natural satellite where no one has gone before. The launch is scheduled for July.

All the [ISRO] missions, whatever we have had till now [to the moon], have all landed near the moons equator. This is a place where nobody has gone, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, told the Hindu.

Indias second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, seeks to gain access to some new science and information, the chairman said. For example, one of the goals of the probe is to find water on the Moon.

Also on rt.com Greetings, Earthlings! 20,000 Russians snatch up land plots on the Moon

The space agency earlier said all three modules of the mission, Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyan), are set to lift off aboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket between July 9 and 16, with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The launch was initially expected last year, but it was delayed several times to conduct further tests.

India is not the only country attempting to reach the uncharted south pole of the Moon. China has recently announced plans to build a lunar research station in the same area. However, it will not happen in the near future, as Beijings mission is to be launched in about 10 years, according to Xinhua.

What they [China] are going to do, we dont know. The main reason [why India is going there] is nobody has gone [to] that side till now, Sivan said.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for resistance against US restrictions on its energy sector by boosting production and exports, as Washington tightens its sanctions grip on Tehran.

America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves... We have to increase our foreign exchange earnings and cut our currency expenditures, the Iranian leader stated on Saturday as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Rouhani said Iran has managed to reduce some imports and become self-sufficient with products and commodities, like wheat gasoline, and now can export them. Last year, the countrys non-oil exports stood at $43 billion, according to the president.

Also on rt.com OPEC likely to collapse thanks to some members unilateralism  Irans oil minister

We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist Americas plots against the sale of our oil, he added.

The statement came shortly after the US announced sanctions against Irans nuclear power plant at Bushehr and a ban on exports of heavy water and any further uranium enrichment.

In April, the Trump administration said it would not renew exemptions granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil in line with its plan to bring the Islamic Republics crude exports to zero. Tehran said the mission will fail, with its oil minister stating that Washington made a bad mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon in the fragile state of the market.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Hamas has vowed retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, that killed two people and injured two others. The strikes are seen as payback for two Israeli soldiers being wounded by sniper fire during clashes on Friday.

Although each Israeli serviceman suffered non-threatening injuries and was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital, the Israeli Air Force then attacked a Hamas outpost in the Gaza strip.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions remain at an all-time high, amid the ongoing weekly Great March of Return protests that erupted in late March last year. The protests have claimed more than 200 Gazan lives as Israel continues to use live fire to quell the Palestinian discontent.

At least four Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded, including 10 children, during the latest Friday protest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Three paramedics and a journalist are among the wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Source : RT - Daily news
Cuba vowed to protect its property and international business ties just as ExxonMobil began suing two Cuban companies for $280 million over assets seized after the revolution.

Cuba will protect Cubans and foreign entities operating in the country and will render void any claim filed under this law which is a miscarriage of justice, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted after the American oil giant became the first US company to take legal action against Havana.

Cimex Corporation SA, a Cuban state-owned business group, and the Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) are being sued over their use of an oil refinery, gasoline stations, and other properties that once belonged to the American multinational.

Also on rt.com Trump threatens Cuba with 'full embargo and highest-level sanctions' over Venezuela

The lawsuits, which seek $280 million in damages, were filed after Washington started enforcing a provision of a 1996 law known as the Helms-Burton Act that allows so-called victims of the Castro regime to sue companies that have used their previously held property on the island.

The Helms-Burton Act is illegal and in violation of international law, Rodriguez noted, stressing that it is inapplicable and has no juridical value or effect for Cuba.

Also on rt.com Contrary to intl law: Mogherini slams US full activation of Cuba embargo law, vows counter steps

This week, Canada and the EU agreed with Havanas assessment, claiming that the Helms-Burton Act has no jurisdiction over them and vowing to take up the issue with the World Trade Organization.

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America's most trusted talking heads are in meltdown mode, once again accusing Donald Trump of taking orders from Vladimir Putin, after the US leader was seemingly too soft with the Russian president in a recent phone call.

Rachel Maddow, Jake Tapper, and other spirited Russiagate promoters suffered full-on meltdowns upon learning that Trump apparently hadnt properly' discussed the issue of election meddling in his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since the Mueller report's release.

Rather, the two leaders spoke about "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, nuclear arms control" and "the Russian hoax" during the hour-long call, according to Trump's tweet.

Scandalously, the US president failed to press Putin about the most critical, life-and-death issue facing the United States  a massive flub-up that did not go unnoticed by the intrepid Washington press corps.

"Did you tell [Putin] not to meddle in the next election?" an unseen reporter asked the president during a Friday press conference.

"We had a good conversation about many different things," Trump replied. "We didn't discuss that."

As for Venezuela, Trump had the audacity to suggest that the Russian president "is not looking to get involved at all, other than that he'd like to see something positive happen" in the South American nation. Trump then showed his true collusion colors, admitting that he "feels the same away" about the ongoing political crisis in Caracas.

His comments were received with predictable hysteria.

CNN's Erin Burnett expertly deduced that Trump was "kowtowing" to Putin  on both "election meddling" and Venezuela.

"'Not looking to get involved' is just blatantly false  according to Trump's own top team," she sniffed, incredulous that Trump would contradict his more hawkish secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Earlier this week, Pompeo claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee to Cuba and was only persuaded to remain in Caracas because Russia allegedly convinced him to stay.

Also on rt.com We lied, we cheated, we stole: Pompeo offers honest, if disturbing admission about CIA activity

Burnett's colleague, Jake Tapper, was inconsolable as he attempted to wrap his head around the apparently unforgivable contents of a routine telephone conversation.

"He is giving Putin's point of view, almost as if he is the spokesman for the Kremlin!" the CNN anchor fumed, referring to the Russian president as "the man who led and continues to lead cyberattacks on the US." Not missing a beat, Tapper then proceeded to accuse Trump of "continuing to say things about the Mueller investigation that weren't true."

True to form, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow came close to suffering an on-air stroke over the phone call. Still reeling from her post-Russiagate ratings slump, Maddow looked at Bolton and Pompeo as similarly unmoored kindred spirits.

The MSNBC host addressed them directly during her broadcast: "Hey, John Bolton, hey, Mike Pompeo, are you guys enjoying your jobs right now?"

"How do you come to work anymore if you're John Bolton?" she added.

Also on rt.com Fixated on collusion, Dems seeking (again) to subpoena interpreter present at Trump-Putin meeting

Western media outlets have repeatedly expressed indignation over any attempt by the world's two largest nuclear powers to engage in dialogue. A meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, Finland was described as constructive by both parties, but the US president was still hounded for not excoriating Putin to the media's liking.

Likely anticipating similar hysteria over the phone call, Trump stated on Friday morning that "as I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing."

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President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked nuclear arms control in a phone call Friday. But what can be achieved when the US shreds treaties and Washington stays hostile to any communication with Russia?

Discussing disarmament is a step in the right direction, but the US recently pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, an arms-reduction pact signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The pullout stoked fear of a nuclear buildup in Europe, unseen since the Cold War, and is one of several international arms treaties shredded by the Trump administration.

Gorbachev himself penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late last month, lamenting the return of nuclear deterrence between the two great powers, and calling for increased communication between Moscow and Washington.

Also on rt.com Anything is possible: Trump talks North Korea peace after phone call with Putin

Gorbachev is exactly right, journalist Chris Hedges told RTs Rick Sanchez. This inability on behalf of the worlds two largest nuclear powers to speak and negotiate rationally is very, very dangerous.

There are various flashpoints, Syria being one, where this conflict could go wrong really quickly, so you want communication, you want discussion, Hedges continued.

However, detente, which was negotiated so successfully by the Republican administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, seems an alien concept when Trumps cabinet is staffed by war hawks like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and security adviser John Bolton.

Even post-Mueller, the current climate of hostility to Russia in American discourse only hinders disarmament efforts further.

Now the very word detente, as soon as Trump utters it the national security state goes berserk, Hedges said.

Nobody has to love Vladimir Putin or love Russia or anything else, he told Sanchez, but whats kept the world from committing acts of massive self annihilation has been forms of communication, which figures like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have no interest in doing. I think theyre probably incapable of speaking to anyone but themselves.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Trump said on Friday that himself and Putin discussed entering into a new nuclear arms treaty, this time a three-way deal with China. However, with an arms industry making billions of dollars refitting former Eastern Bloc countries with NATO gear, with a cabinet of war hawks, and with a Democratic party choosing to blame Russia instead of tackling the social issues that gave rise to Trump, Hedges concluded that a new age of detente is a long way off.

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Journalists covering the standoff at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC have been harassed by a group of Juan Guaido supporters, who demand that the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective vacate the diplomatic building.

Members of a Telesur crew covering tensions outside the diplomatic compound were verbally assaulted on Friday afternoon by a member of the Venezuelan opposition, who, in a tirade of perfect Spanish, insulted their looks.

Harassment, taunts, banging in their ears, [and] blocking cameras, appears to be an acceptable way to treat the media they do not think is on their side, the anti-war A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition pointed out.

Ive covered lots of protests over the years. Never seen more racism vocalized than what Im seeing from the Venezuelan opposition in DC. Not even in Charlottesville, independent journalist Alex Rubinstein, who has been living in the embassy, tweeted on Friday, in response to a harassment incident.

The US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela in February and told the diplomats representing Maduros government to leave the country. Activists opposing US interventionism in the Latin America have occupied the diplomatic compound for weeks, refusing to surrender the property to Guaido's supporters.

On Tuesday, at the height of Guaidos failed attempted coup in Venezuela, opposition supporters gathered en masse in front of the diplomatic compound. Chanting and waving Venezuelan flags, protesters immediately verbally engaged a group of anti-war activists being led by Code Pink.

Also on rt.com Guaido supporters confront anti-intervention activists at Venezuelan Embassy in DC (VIDEO)

That group is one of the organizations of the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective who have been holed up inside the Venezuelan compound in order to prevent diplomats loyal to Guaido from taking control of the building. The activists say they were invited in by embassy staff.

Amid the tense standoff Secret Service and police officers stood between the Maduro and Guaido protesters.

Unable to force the activists to leave the premises, the pro-Guaido protesters began to stop people, food, and supplies from getting into the building. Three activists, including Code Pink's national co-director Ariel Gold, were briefly detained on Thursday. Gold was charged with throwing missiles, after trying to throw bread, salad boxes, and tampons at those inside the embassy.

On Friday afternoon, Gold streamed a video showing an elderly gentleman getting booked by police for delivering food brushes to the activists. Venezuelan Embassy in DC is more wild, violent, racist, unlawful than my times in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine," she tweeted.

Video of the contraband consisting of basic necessities was shared by Alex Rubinstein online.

While the State Department on Thursday called on the trespassers to leave, claiming that Guaido has legal authority over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC, the anti-war lobby is committed to holding the fortress, even if it means arrests.

On Friday, Republican Congressman from Colorado Scott Tipton wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him to intervene to kick out the Collective from the embassy.



The opposition, meanwhile, continues their efforts to penetrate the compound.

Opposition continuing their aggressive & potentially deadly tactics, Rubinstein tweeted late on Friday evening, after the pro-Guaido crowd began flashing strobe lights, considered extremely dangerous to people with epilepsy and spectrum disorders. A man was arrested in the US for sending a GIF to an epileptic reporter yet cops do nothing to stop this. Its increasingly clear they are on State Dept. orders to let the oppo escalate.

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Rocket attacks on Israel continue into the night, even after the Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes and tank bombardments against Hamas and Islamic Jihad Targets in the Gaza Strip.

Sirens wailed and a rocket barrage rained down on the city of Beer Sheva just after 11pm local time on Saturday. The largest city in southern Israel, Beer Sheva is usually out of range of all but Hamas longest-range projectiles. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Source : RT - Daily news
Russias Federal Agency for Tourism has issued a special warning to tourists traveling to Mongolia after two fatal cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in the country.

Two Russians have died of the highly contagious disease, and reportedly became infected after eating contaminated marmot organs. The married couple from Siberia are believed to have come into contact with at least 158 people before they died. These people have been quarantined.

Also on rt.com BUBONIC PLAGUE scare puts Mongolia on high alert

The tourism agency said the deaths were recorded in the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ulgii, according to the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).

The agency asked tourists to take this information into account when planning trips to the region.

Rospotrebnadzor has taken steps to prevent infection at the border areas, including quarantine control and more than 90 percent of the population has been vaccinated. The agency is also in communication with health institutes in Mongolia.

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The phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was very important as Russia and US must maintain dialogue, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president and one of the signatories of the INF treaty, has said.

The two leaders talked on the phone of Friday, discussing nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine and bilateral trade among other things.

This isnt yet how relations between such powers as Russia and the US must be shaped like. But its important. Its dialogue, Gorbachev told RIA Novosti, as Moscow and Washington are going through the roughest period in their relations since the fall of the USSR.

In 1987, then-Soviet President Gorbachev and his US counterpart, Ronald Reagan, signed the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned the two countries from having ground-based missiles with a range between 500km and 5,500km.

The deal remained one of the cornerstones of international security for decades, until the Trump administration announced the unilateral withdrawal by the US from it in early February. The Kremlin said that one of the things that Putin and Trump discussed on the phone was the possibility of reaching a new version of the INF agreement that would also incorporate China.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Gorbachev markedly pointed out that the phone conversation had been initiated by the US.

Whats also important is the public statement made by Trump that relations between our countries have great potential. This is certainly the case.

Trump was very positive in his comments about the phone call with Putin, which he described as long and very good.

Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media, the US leader tweeted.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Gorbachev has been internationally praised for his liberal reforms and for his efforts to end the Cold War and improve relations with the US. Reagan acknowledged that his Soviet counterpart deserves most of the credit" for the drastic changes that happened in the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Also on rt.com US is going to trade a lot with Russia, Trump says, after long & very good phone call with Putin

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the Israeli military of targeting a building housing the Turkish Andalou news agency in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The agency shared a video on Saturday purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building. Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty, the minister added.

Israel launched air strikes and tank bombardments against the Gaza strip earlier on Saturday, after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants fired 200 rockets into Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces did not admit to targeting the Andalou Agency building, claiming instead to have struck 120 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, including an underground Hamas rocket factory, military intelligence and security offices, and other weapons manufacturing sites. The IDF also said it destroyed a terror tunnel used to smuggle Islamic Jihad fighters into Israel.

Also on rt.com 2 killed, including infant, several injured as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza - officials

Although the IDF claims it struck military targets, the Palestinian health ministry reported a pregnant woman and her one-year-old child among the deaths. A 22-year-old man was also killed, although it is unknown whether he was a Hamas operative or a civilian.

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel for hitting the office of Anadolu Agency during its airstrikes in Gaza, saying that it wont prevent Turkey from reporting on atrocities committed by the Jewish state.

Turkey and the Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, despite such attacks, Erdogan vowed on Twitter.

The Turkish news agency shared a video on Saturday, purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building which had hosted its bureau.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Also on rt.com Turkey FM accuses Israel of targeting Anadolu Agency news bureau building in Gaza (VIDEO)

The ministry called on the international community to to act swiftly in order to reduce the tension in the region with Israel's disproportionate actions.

Also on rt.com 3 killed, including infant & pregnant woman, as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza  officials

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The Washington Posts lengthy examination of Bernie Sanders much reported-on trip to the Soviet Union 31 years ago is being mocked online for repeating old news and attempting a new Red Scare.

The WaPo details a trip Sanders took to the then-Soviet Union in 1988, and starts describing the then-mayor being bare-chested, towel-draped, sitting at a table lined with vodka bottles, as he sang This Land Is Your Land.

The trip was made to establish Yaroslavl as a sister city for his hometown of Burlington soon after Sanders wedding and he joked it was a very strange honeymoon.

Also on rt.com Bernie Sanders stuns establishment with Fox News town hall success

Sanders apparently stood on Soviet soil and criticized the cost of healthcare and housing in the US, then stunned someone at a banquet by criticizing US foreign intervention. I got really upset and walked out, the delicately dispositioned David F. Kelley recalled. He admits later in the article that Sanders was right.

Sanders told a press conference upon his return to the US that he thought his criticism of the US made the Russians more appreciative of our criticisms we made of their own society.

Social media users were quick to mock the Post for its article, with many claiming it was a sign that the socialist smears against Sanders were being employed once again.

Sanders trip to the Soviet Union is old news, and was trotted out during the 2016 primaries to cast an ominous communist shadow on the Vermont senator, with many mediaoutlets, including the Post, reporting on it. Sanders was smeared as a dangerous socialist by a number of Democratic operatives.

He was questioned by CNNs Anderson Cooper about his honeymoon in Russia, and Lindsey Graham mentioned it in the Republican debates.

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Lawmakers had plenty of questions for US Attorney General William Barr about his assessment of Robert Muellers report on the 'Russia collusion' probe, but some seemed at a loss as to how to address him.

Thus, he was often called General Barr during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the special counsels Russiagate investigation and about his release of a redacted version of Muellers report.

Also on rt.com Mind-bendingly bizarre: Barr hearing shows Russiagate still has hold on US politics

Who is general Barr? And what army does the attorney command? One might ask. If he is not a commanding officer, which he is not, then what is the proper way to address an individual of such stature? A simple Google search would tell you that the correct way of calling a person holding the office is simply Mister or just as Attorney General.

RT Americas news host Rick Sanchez offers his take.

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Three days after clashing with police at May Day demonstrations, Yellow Vests protesters marched in Paris and across France, in the 25th straight weekend of anti-government anger.

According to the Interior Ministry, 18,900 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, the lowest turnout since the movement began as a protest against a planned fuel tax hike in November. However, the Yellow Vests have regularly disputed the figures released by the ministry, accusing officials of downplaying the scale of the protests.

In Paris, protesters demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Castaner had accused Yellow Vests protesters of staging an attack on a hospital in the city during Wednesdays May Day protests. Social media footage told a different story, with the protesters seeking refuge in the hospital to avoid police batons and tear gas.

Droves of protesters beat drums and chanted Liar Castaner.

Protesters in Toulouse also jeered at Castaner and demanded his resignation. The march in Toulouse quickly became violent, however, and clashes broke out between the Yellow Vests and police. Tear gas was deployed, and riot police at one point violently charged protesters.

Tear gas was also used by police in La Roche-sur-Yon, while protesters in Lyon joined a more peaceful youth march against global warming.

Although turnout on the streets was lower than on previous weekends, many Yellow Vests have not been pacified by President Macrons promise of tax breaks, with one dismissing the presidents offering as rubbish last week.

In the wake of Castaners hospital attack claim, 1,400 French artists, celebrities and creatives including movie stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart signed an open letter of support for the Yellow Vests, printed in left-wing newspaper Liberation on Saturday. In it, they slammed the French government and media for attempting to discredit the citizens movement.

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the complete review - fiction

Bellini and the Sphinx



by

Tony Bellotto



general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

Portuguese title: Bellini e a esfinge

Translated by Clifford E. Landers

Bellini e a esfinge was made into a film in 2002, directed by Roberto Santucci

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Our Assessment:



B : fine, light PI tale

See our review for fuller assessment.

Review Summaries Source Rating Date Reviewer Publishers Weekly . 26/11/2018 .

From the Reviews :

"(S)tarts off strong but falls flat in its overly familiar execution. (...) (T)he dialogue lacks the sharp grittiness of the hardboiled fiction of Hammett or Chandler -- Bellottos obvious influences -- and the ending feels pulled out of thin air." - Publishers Weekly

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review 's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.



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The complete review 's Review :

Bellini and the Sphinx is the first in a series of novels narrated by Remo Bellini. In his early thirties -- he celebrates his thirty-third birthday over the course of the novel --, he had initially followed in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer but abandoned that field and is now a private eye in Sao Paulo, working for Dora Lobo for the past year. He's also been married, but that, too, didn't work out and he's now been divorced for a couple of years. Among his other baggage is his name, which he detests, and the story behind it, his father having named him and his twin brother after the mythical Rome-founding twins, Romulus and Remus -- only for Romulo to die after just two days.

Each chapter in Bellini and the Sphinx covers one day, from 17 May through 7 June. The case he is presented with by his boss seems fairly straightforward: a pediatric surgeon, Dr.Rafidjian, is desperate to find a young woman, Ana Cintia Lopes, a dancer at a nightclub who apparently disappeared a few weeks earlier. But there's no trace of her -- indeed, no one recalls anyone by that name. Bellini and a colleague follow up with dancers who left the club around the time in question who might be the missing woman, under a different name -- but things take a turn when Dr.Rafidjian is found brutally murdered.

With their client dead there's nothing left to investigate -- for a while. But when his widow hires Dora Lobo they're back on the now expanded case again -- still looking for the mystery woman, and wondering what straight-laced family-man Rafidjian might have been up to.

Dora Lobo is particularly pleased to get a chance to investigate this puzzling case -- it's the sort of thing that is right up her alley:

"You're going to hit the street looking for hidden connections in Rafidjian's life. Start by finding out what the police learned. Boris will be glad to know we're back. He and I have solved some lovely cases. Difficult, intricate, magnificent case --"

"What makes a case magnificent ?" I cut in.

"A case that can't be solved by either logic or science. A case solved almost by accident."

I don't have any problem with sex. Just the opposite, I love sex. My pain is more serious. Deeper.

- M.A.Orthofer, 26 April 2019

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:

See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers

See Index of Latin and South American literature

See Index of Portuguese literature

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About the Author :

Brazilian author Tony Bellotto was born in 1960.

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Within two weeks of the Class 12 board examination results being declared by the board of intermediate education in Telangana, 20 students have taken their lives. The board officials have admitted to a 'technical glitch' that lead to erroneous marks being awarded to students. One student reportedly got 0 in a subject which was later corrected to 99 marks.

Though there has been a huge public outcry in the state over the matter, the board authorities seem lax in the investigation process, blaming the external examination partner instead. Due to the error, thousands of students have been failed as per the score-card. The board has now begun the process of revaluation.

As per government statistics, 9,474 students committed suicide in India in 2016. This was compared to 8,068 in 2014 and 8,934 in 2015. In 2016, a total of 2,413 students committed suicide after failing in an examination.

Board examinations in India are no less than a period of panic for both parents and students. Since future career choices, as well as the choice of the higher education institute, is purely dependent on the marks scored in the board examinations of classes 10 and 12, there is immense pressure on students.

No doubt that parents want the best education for the child. However, this is no excuse to push the child to score above a certain percentage, which depends on multiple factors. In the Telangana case, for instance, students who had topped in the past examinations ended up scoring less than 40 percent in subjects which was a software error.

Higher educational institutions like the Delhi University (DU) end up having unattainable cut-offs for admission. Those scoring below 90 percent don't even stand a chance to make it to the first list at some of the colleges under DU.

Schools are now going to the other extreme by ensuring that students literally slog it out last year. Uma Dhatre, whose son has just been promoted to Class 10 is upset that he does not have any summer vacations this year.

His school will be open all Saturdays and will conduct classes even in the humid summers of May. The reason? Board examinations are important.

Examinations are important, no doubt. They help analyse the knowledge of the student so that he/she is prepared for their future careers. But an often repeated fact needs to be drilled down; marks are not the only criteria. Former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had also tried to make Class 10 board examinations optional, however, that system was scrapped later.

Top corporate houses have stated that students passing out of institutes with the highest marks are not skilled enough for the job. Rote learning and aiming only for the highest marks will not surely get you the corner office role.

While all board examination results are being declared, it is time to sit back and introspect. If you have scored very well, congratulations. If not, do not worry. Life will present many more opportunities.
Here's a peek into the life of a successful trader. His work is over by 10 am, after which he sits and reads a journal or a book or watches the TV series  Billions. At the end of the day, the trader goes to the gym. Fridays are compulsorily meant for friends, and he takes about 2-3 road trips with his family and friends in a year. Not to mention watching most of the movies as soon as they are released.

Meet Kirubakaran Rajendran from Chennai who designed Trading Bots  An automated program which trades using a given set of rules  to do his trading. His current lifestyle was achieved after years of back-breaking work and learning from every possible mistake one can do and probably more.

However, Rajendran is not a conventional trader. He is among the few option traders who trade on an intra-day basis, more so without looking at option Greeks or technical charts. A student of statistics, Rajendran is in his 'zone' when surrounded by numbers. He has not only broken the code of successful trading, but also automated it with bots, which can be used by retail traders.

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Kirubakaran Rajendran talks about his humble beginnings, his years of struggle to become a successful trader and his various trading strategies.

Q: Can you walk us through your journey to the market.

A: It was my inquisitiveness that brought me to the market. It was during the 2007 boom when I just glanced through the news that Mukesh Ambani was among the richest person in the world because of his stake in the Reliance Group of companies. The news somehow stuck with me and got me thinking that if the owner of the company is among the richest persons in the world, surely his shareholders would also be rich. That got me started in looking for ways to participate in the market.

My humble beginnings only helped me in my resolve to chase my dream. I come from a middle-class family from Chennai. My father, a government office clerk and my mother, a tailor, had a tough time in providing for my basic education. After my schooling, I joined Loyola College for a graduation course in Statistics.

It was a good 30 minutes bus ride from my home to college. I utilised this travel time reading. This was in 2007 and all the papers were talking about was the wealth generated in the markets.

In South India, there was not much of an investor awareness in 2007. No one in my family knew anything about the market, there were no workshops back then, no Quora to help with information. The only way I could manage to get some help in my education on the market was through a small Indian community group on Orkut.

After reading a bit about the market, I decided to take the plunge at the beginning of January 2008. But just before this, I had noticed that the stocks that were in news used to go up for a few days. This was my 'strategy' of making money in my earlier days. I started off with a small Rs 5,000 account, money that I managed to save from my scholarship. But then by January 21, 2008, in less than a month, I was back to square one, thanks to the lower circuit in the market.

Q: How did you come back to the market?

A: My next tryst with the market was after I got a campus placement in Infosys with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. I used to work in the night shift in those days. I did not have an IT background and was tasked with doing a routine job.

I decided to automate the work so that I can get more time to read on markets. But in order to automate, I had to learn to compute, as my background was in statistics, and I had very little computing knowledge. I looked up ways to learn to code and automate my office work. As a result, a work which would take two hours was completed in 10 minutes giving me enough time to read.

In the beginning, my boss did not know about it, but when he did, he appreciated the work and got me transferred to mainstream computing.

Nonetheless, I kept on gaining as much knowledge as I could on the market from books, sites, and forums. I also started trading again. In those days I continued to trade in the way I did in early January 2008  on the news.

Buying stock on news and then holding it for a few days and selling it. I was making money in some trades and losing in others. This was when I was lured by options. I heard people say that it was the fastest way of making money. You put in Rs 100 and make Rs 1,000 in a few days.

I read a bit on options and then decided to trade long strangles  buying both Calls and Puts. I had seen and read that stocks generally move sharply after results, so I decided to take such a trade. Ironically, I decided to take a long strangle trade in the company I worked, Infosys.

A day before the result, I had built a position of Rs 1.5 lakh in Infosys strangles. I remember that I couldn't sleep that day with such a huge position. The next day, results were announced before market hours and when Infosys opened that morning, the value of my strangles had come down to Rs 20,000. I had lost more than three months of my salary in a single day.

This was a big lesson. Rather than running away from the market, I dove deeper into reading and researching what makes a successful trader click. This is when I decided to move from news-based trade to rule-based trade.

This was also the time when I read the book 'How I made $2 million in the stock market' written by one Nicolas Darvas, who was a ballet dancer by profession. It acted as a trigger that set me off into the fascinating world of trading. I realised that if a person with no background can make a good amount of money, then even I can. There is no closely guarded secret to trading success.

Q: How did you move after this enlightenment?

A: I put my computing knowledge to use and started building rules-based trading systems and testing them. Over the years, I may have tried and tested hundreds of trading systems. I have automated these strategies which would eliminate emotional decision making. If I found that they were working well in back-testing, I tested them in the market.

This was when I made my next big mistake. I borrowed money to trade in the market.

When my trades were profitable, there was no issue. But, even when there was a single loss, I would relate it to some day-to-day expenditure and weaken myself psychologically. So high was the positional leverage, that a single day fluctuation in my trading account was equivalent to a month's salary. It was taxing to trade in those days. I was trading Nifty futures but the lot size was more than what one would call comfortable.

In such a case, if there were three to four consecutive losses, I would change the strategy. It is said that algo trading takes emotions out of your trading, but with consecutive losses on a leveraged position, you start doubting yourself and your trading system. You will bring back discretion in your trading and move around in circles.

I somehow traded this way with bouts of profits and losses for a few years until I read a story which changed me from a normal trader to a consistent trader.

It was about a Greek wrestler named Milo who lived many years back. He was one of the greatest wrestlers from Greece who had won six consecutive Olympic medals. Everyone wanted to know what his secret was and how he managed to be so strong and successful.

The story takes us to his village where Milo started his training by lifting a newborn calf while his competitors were trying to lift bulls in their practice sessions. Now anyone can lift a calf, even you and I can do that, there is nothing great in it. So how did Milo become great by doing that?

Milo used to carry his calf everywhere he went. Over time, the calf put on weight but Milo was still carrying him around. Milo's body and mind were getting used to lifting the calf even as it slowly grew. By the time the calf became a bull, Milo could lift it effortlessly, while his competitors were still struggling to lift the bull.

This story opened the concept of position sizing for me.

I realised that it was not only the trading system but the trader who, by putting in various checks and balances in his trading system, makes money.

I realised that instead of putting all my capital or more specifically the borrowed capital, I should have started by trading with one lot. This way I would get used to the trading system without letting the daily market fluctuations affect my mental peace.

I followed this and progressively increased my lot size, as a result, I stuck to my system. After that, everything started falling in place.

Q: What are the strategies you trade?

A: I trade multiple strategies, all of which are automated. I trade in the weekly Bank Nifty in the options market and stocks in the cash market.

Many traders approach a strategy as trend following or one that is a reversal to the mean and then try to fit the back-tested data to the strategy. I, because of my statistics background am more comfortable dealing with data and deriving a strategy based on the output.

In Bank Nifty, I trade by selling options. It is known that selling options lead to money making two out of three times. So, I decided to work around options because of this bias.

I downloaded around 14 years of data from the NSE site and got down to designing my strategy. I am basically a day-trader, so I was looking to design a system where I would make money in most days and lose only a small amount in days where I am wrong.

I looked at the daily range but slightly different than how it is conventionally viewed. Rather than looking at the difference between high and low of the day, I looked at the difference between open and low and open and high. I plotted the data to get a normal distribution curve.

What I found out was that in most cases, Bank Nifty does not move beyond 1 percent from their open. The data corroborated with the conventional wisdom that says that the market stays in a range 70 percent of the time. Using this information as the basis I designed my options strategy around it.

I also found out that I will make money by selling call and put options if I select strike prices beyond these one percent range. However, there was a problem. If the Bank Nifty goes in one direction and beyond the range, the strategy would lose 2-3 months of profit in one day.

I looked for other data points to protect myself. I looked at open interest data to see where there is a position build-up and sell my options around them.

In this strategy, which I currently trade, I have three stop losses conditions which take me out of the trade if I lose around 1.5 percent of the capital. Using these stop losses, the strategy is now posting around 30-35 percent annualized return. Drawdown has never extended beyond 15 percent. Irrespective of the volatility level, the strategy has made money.

The period when this strategy is making losses is when there is a volatility shift from a low volatility phase to high volatility.

I start off the week with strangles but as the week progresses I take short straddle trades  selling call and put options at the same strike price. I do not use option Greeks for my entry or exits, nor do I do any adjustments to my original position as that would require me to sit in front of the screen. What I have observed is that when Bank Nifty moves beyond one of my extremes, it can continue to move in the same direction. It is better to accept it and exit rather than firefight it.

In the case of stocks, I trade in stocks which are in the derivative list. This way I do not have to worry about circuit filters preventing my exits.

Here, my data analysis has gone against conventional wisdom. What I have found is that if a stock gaps up at the opening, irrespective of the trend, the price tends to come down. Similarly, if there is a gap down, its price tends to go up, irrespective of the trend.

There is, however, a caveat here. I optimize the gaps  for example, I will weed out stocks where the gap opening is only 0.5 percent or if it is too large  say 4-5 percent.

Another strategy that I trade is by looking at the volatility file that is updated by NSE on its site during trading hours. I look for stocks where the volatility has gained the most but the stock is among the top losers. Such stocks tend to give explosive moves the next day or within a few days. It is better to trade in these stocks than a fixed set of stocks.

In positional trades in the cash market, I trade by buying high and selling higher. Here I look for stocks that are touching new all-time highs or 52-week highs.

I run a query at the end of the month to check out for such stocks. I then rank them based on the distance between the month end close and the 52 high levels. Suppose a stock made a high of 520 but closed at 500, I divide the two to get a ratio of 1.04. I calculate the ratio of all such stocks and buy the five strongest ones and balance them on a quarterly basis giving them enough room to perform.

This strategy is similar to the ones where relative momentum is used but here I enter a stock only when they were making 52-week highs. When the market crashed in 2008, there were no stocks touching 52-week highs from February 2008 to April 2009. Relative momentum would have given some whipsaw trades.

Q: And how are the returns?

A: The Bank Nifty option strategies I trade have generated an average return of 30-35 percent, without including the liquid bees which I use as margin. Including Liquid Bees, the return moves up to 40 percent. In positional stocks also, the return is between 30-35 percent. The trades are generally profitable 55 percent of the time and the average loss to win ratio is between 1:1.5 to 2. The gap based strategy has a slightly higher return.

Q: Can you tell us about your Trading Bots

A: My team and I have automated trading using the mobile app  Telegram. This way it becomes simpler to use for a retail trader. My site www.squareoff.in has multiple trading strategies that a retail trader can use.

When you subscribe, you get a trading bot which essentially does the trading for you. These are Black Box strategies. Rather than following the advisory method, we decided to use the trading bot route. When you buy an advisory service and get trading advice, by the time you enter the trade along with many others, you notice that price has already moved up.

In the case of trading bots, you will get a link at 09:30 am which you have to click, and enter your login and password. Then, one needs to enter his trading capital, risk percent, and profit percent and send the message to the broker. Say if someone has a trading capital of Rs 1 lakh, he can enter that and mention a risk or stop loss level of 1 percent and a profit target of say 1 percent. The trade will be executed and if any of the two levels are hit, the trade is closed. Our trading bot is presently connected to two brokers  Zerodha and Upstox.

The Bots are available at a nominal one-time charge, plus there are many free trading bots available on the site.

We have a team of five members who support the site. Subash Hundi, who heads the technology part of the business, used to be a branch manager with Karnataka Bank, which is just across the road from our office. A BITS-Pilani graduate, he is very strong technically and offered to work for free in order to learn the market. That's the level of passion in our team which works on something new continuously.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: We are working beyond price and volume by using alternate data sets. In a developed market, some large funds are using satellite images of the car parks outside Walmart to get an idea of how the company is doing.

We have started using machine learning in our trading. Presently, we scan the stock exchange announcements. A company in India has to first notify the stock exchange before it is released to the media.

Recently, we saw that the breakup between Amararaja Batteries and Johnson Controls put up on the exchange and was covered by media after a lag. The stock plummeted only after the news was flashed on TV channels. If you are attentive and manage to do it faster than when it is made public there is a good opportunity to trade profitably.

Q: You are among the few traders who use Quora more often than Twitter, why so?

A: I prefer Quora over Twitter because it helps in explaining a concept clearly without having word count restrictions. Further, the Twitter world is too crowded and noisy.

In Quora, I get the benefit of the experience of other traders and experts. There are occasions when famous authors have come and corrected me or helped in clarifying my doubts.

On Quora, I post strategies that I have back-tested. Even the ones that do not work have been posted so no one wastes their time behind it. I have posted over 700 articles on Quora which has seen 5 million views.

Q: Any words of advice to an aspiring trader?

A: For an aspiring trader, I would say always have a clear set of simple rules. Do not trade if you cannot explain in two lines. The more you complicate, the less likely the strategy would work.

People generally go for strategies which give higher returns without looking at the drawdowns. For example, if a strategy gives a return of 40 percent per annum with a drawdown of 15 percent, it is certainly better than a strategy giving 90 percent returns but having drawdowns of 40-45 percent. Chose the ones where risk is lower.
Rushabh Maru

The crude-oil market has turned quite uncertain and vulnerable. On the one hand, OPEC is committed to tightening the crude oil market. US President Donald Trump's unpredictable behaviour and ambivalent attitude, however, have led to sharp volatility in crude-oil prices. With his latest action, crude oil has entered uncharted territory.

The Trump administration recently announced that it would not renew the exemption granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil. Earlier, expectations were that the US would extend the waivers. Trump wants to bring down Iran's crude-oil exports to zero. As a result, crude-oil prices have been rising sharply.

However, Trump has now asked OPEC to raise crude-oil production in order to bring prices down. With the recent Trump googly, the crude-oil market has been plunged into a dicey situation. On the one hand, Trump is eager to cut out Iran's crude-oil production from the global oil market. Simultaneously, since the US presidential election is scheduled next year, Trump wants lower crude-oil prices in order to maintain his popularity.

The latest update shows that OPEC's crude-oil production in March further declined to 30.02 million barrels a day, from 30.56 million b/d the previous month. Steep declines in production in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iraq led to the price drop.

Saudi Arabia has signaled that it is determined to do whatever it takes to rebalance the market. It has cut production by more than it agreed to under the pact. According to the IEA, OPEC's compliance jumped from 94 percent in February to 153 percent in March. Venezuela's crude-oil production continues to fall due to US sanctions and a string of blackouts.

The IEA put Venezuela's crude-oil output as having fallen to 870,000 b/d. The US may impose additional sanctions in the future. The Trump administration has been pressurizing India and China to cut out oil purchases from both Iran and Venezuela. Hence, the situation in Venezuela is becoming even more difficult.

Renewed militant activity in Libya is a matter of concern for the market. Escalating tension might have an impact on crude-oil production. The situation is much worse than it was in 2011 during the civil war. Fears of a global economic slowdown persist.

The European countries' manufacturing PMI is declining sharply. In the US, the Treasury yield curve inverted in March, for the first time since 2007. This indicates an imminent threat of a recession. The US and China have shown tremendous progress in trade talks. However, given the nature of Trump, there are doubts about the sustainability of the deal, if it comes through.

The market expects OPEC to extend its production-cut deal till this year-end. OPEC's bi-annual meeting is scheduled for 25-26th June, at which it may decide to extend the deal or not. Since January, OPEC and its allies have been cutting production (by 1.2 million b/d) for six months to tighten the market.

The EIA has raised its Brent crude-oil price forecast for 2019 to $65 a barrel, up from its earlier projected $63 due to the tighter global oil market. Overall, much uncertainty prevails in the market. Hence crude oil is likely to be volatile in coming sessions.

The Author is Research Analyst, Currency and Commodity at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
E-commerce in India is growing at a rapid pace owing to the convenience it offers. Sellers sitting in a smaller towns are now able to sell their products across India and globally through these platforms.

Amazon India on April 30 said that it saw 56 percent rise in the number of local merchants selling to international markets through its global sellers programme. The export sales from India have hit $1 billion, the company said during a media interaction.

With over 140 million products on its platform and 50,000 sellers, mostly from small and medium sized vendors since the launch of the programme in 2015, the company is confident of reaching the $5 billion by 2023.

Gopal Pillai, Vice President of seller services, said that more than 80 percent of the company's current export vendors were from small towns and cities.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal on April 30 told media persons that the platform gives sellers from across the country, including tier II and III cities, and access to the global market for their products. Agarwal pointed out that small sellers from smaller towns such as Namakkal, Tamil Nadu were able to sell their product in Amazon and increase their reach. He gave an example of the tea brand Vadham that Opera Winfrey has said she loves.

As rosy as its sounds, the story is far from that for sellers, say trader bodies and other media reports. Even in India, which is one of the key markets for the company, sellers have not been a happy lot and have raised issues in the past.

The e-commerce giant was criticised by associations such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an association for small traders and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an RSS affiliate organisation. The backlash is primarily for promoting the fulfillment platform Cloudtail and Appario, which it partially owns through a joint venture and is know for deep discounting. A few have claimed that they do not provide its sellers a level playing field.

As per industry estimates, Cloudtail and Appario make nearly 50 percent of the daily volumes on the site. However the company has made some restructuring by selling its stake in Cloudtail over a revision of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. Some reports said that the company is doing similar restructuring in Appario as well.

Though Flipkart is the market leader with revenues up to $3.8 billion as opposed to Amazon India's $3.2 billion, the latter is catching up faster.

Praveen Khandewal, General Secretary, CAIT, said, the platform lacks transparency. So far the company has not divulged their business model in India like the business figures here. But at the global level they are doing it at a large scale.

While selling products that are made in India globally is good, Khandelwal pointed out that there is no regulation in place to scrutinise what kind of products they are promoting in the global sellers initiative. Responding to this reporters question of sellers claim, Agarwal, Amazon India head, did not respond directly. He said that while there will always be a section of sellers who will complain, there are many others who have been benefitted and that is where the focus should be.

at a recent seller conference held in India, Pillai, Amazon India's VP for seller services further added that the company has not gotten any complaints from sellers so far.

Despite this assurance, there have been concerns from sellers globally . Roomy Khan in her article in Forbes, said, While the growing Amazon Marketplace is attracting new sellers every day, it is also creating an unruly, frenzied out of control e-commerce environment. The bigger the marketplace gets, the harder it is to monitor the sellers and the products they sell.

Khan argues that while the opportunities are huge, Amazon has become a cesspool of unvetted merchants and unqualified products from all over the world, with fake products and paid reviews leading consumers astray.

Though there are guidelines in place, Khan said that it is unclear whether Amazon has any mechanism to enforce, verify or audit compliance with the published guidelines. The company mostly relies on the sellers to comply with the rules and has a laissez-faire approach towards enlisting new sellers, it added.

Another issue is the profitability for sellers. While Amazon provides a platform to sell products, Spencer Soper from Bloomberg said in a media report that Amazon has evolved from being a partner to competitor. That means that sellers have to shell out more to sell their products.

Citing the story of one merchant Jason Boyce, Soper explains how Amazon is making money at this merchants expense. The company now makes products similar to that his but is placed prominently and is less expensive.
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Cyclone 'Fani' has caused extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Puri, Bhubaneswar and some other areas of Odisha, while rail and air connectivity to the state is getting restored Saturday, the Centre said.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, reviewed rescue and relief operations in cyclone-hit areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, a day after the 'extremely severe cyclone' made a landfall in Odisha.

"Odisha informed that extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure had been caused in Puri, Bhubaneswar and other areas. However, due to advance precautionary measures taken and large scale evacuation, the loss of human lives was minimal," an official statement said.

The West Bengal government has reported mild impact of the cyclone, while the Andhra Pradesh government informed about heavy rainfall and some damage to crops and roads in Srikakulam district.

The railways has cleared the mainline and would start part of operations using diesel operated locomotives by Saturday. Flights to Bhubaneswar also resumed operations this afternoon, according to the statement.

The cabinet secretary directed the Ministry of Power and Department of Telecommunications to immediately assist the Odisha government by providing electrical poles, gang workmen and diesel generator sets of varying capacities for quick restoration of power supply. The transmission line supplying power to Bhubaneswar is expected to be restored by Saturday.

The Department of Telecommunications indicated that mobile services would also be restored partially. No damage to ports and refinery installations was reported, the statement said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has moved 16 additional teams, comprising about 45 personnel in each, for rescue and relief work in Odisha and has removed fallen trees and other obstacles on most of the roads.

The Union Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET exam in Odisha scheduled for May 5 based on the advice of Odisha government. It is also moving teams of public health experts to assist the state government in preventing outbreak of any epidemic.

Reviewing the relief efforts, the cabinet secretary directed that officials of central ministries and agencies should remain in close touch with the Odisha government and provide all required assistance expeditiously.

Enough supplies of food, medicines, drinking water and other essential supplies have been kept in readiness to be airlifted as per the requirements projected by the states.

The Railways and Civil Aviation ministries have made arrangements for free transportation of relief material to the cyclone affected areas, the statement said.

The chief secretaries and principal secretaries of the Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal governments participated in the NCMC meeting through video conference.

Senior officials from the PMO, ministries of home, defence, shipping, civil aviation, railways, petroleum, power, telecommunications, steel, drinking water and sanitation, food processing, health, fisheries, IMD, NDMA and the NDRF also attended the meeting.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was reportedly slapped on May 4 during a roadshow in the national capital.

According to multiple media reports, a man dressed in a maroon coloured shirt climbed on top of the AAP chieftain's car and slapped him while he was carrying out a roadshow ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls in the Moti Nagar area of New Delhi.

The man has since been taken into custody by Delhi Police, reported CNN-News18.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

Since entering politics, Kejriwal has been attacked several times.

He was previously attacked on November 20, by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani, who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal after his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Another incident took place in April 2016, when a man identified as Ved Sharma threw a shoe at the Chief Minister while he was addressing a press conference.

A month before the shoe incident, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Ludhiana. The attack broke Kejriwal's car windshield.

While the AAP has already declared its seven candidates in the state, they had not filed their nominations.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Delhi on May 12 , in a single phase.
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The Jharkhand government issued an advisory on May 3, asking all district deputy commissioners to set up control rooms to meet any exigency in the wake of the cyclonic storm 'Fani'.

An official release, quoting the regional meteorological department, said from the afternoon of May 3 to May 4, widespread rains accompanied by strong winds will occur in all the 24 districts of the state.

Several districts are already experiencing rains, officials said.

Meanwhile, a woman died after a wall of her house collapsed, following a sudden storm at Sajwan village in Palamau district, they said.

The woman, identified as Muni Kumari, died on the spot after the mud wall fell on her, the officials said.

The storm was not under the impact of 'Fani', they added.

All educational institutions in Palamau district will remain closed on Saturday, the release said.

Earlier on May 3, cyclone 'Fani' barrelled through Odisha, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people.
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on May 4 said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."

The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on May 3 that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.
Union minister Mahesh Sharma was on May 3 issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission for allegedly referring to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as "pappu" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as "pappu ki pappi". While giving the BJP MP 24 hours to respond, the commission reminded him of a provision in the Model Code of Conduct which states that politicians must refrain from making remarks on private lives of rivals.

A portion of the remark was reproduced in the notice. Sharma had allegedly said on March 19 in Sikandrabad, "Now that Pappu says that he wants to be the prime minister. Now, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Pappu ki pappi have also come...whether that Priyanka was not the daughter of the country ... what new has she brought..."

The Congress had moved the Election Commission with a complaint against Sharma.
Intensifying his attack on the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) will give rise to 'mahabhrashtachar' (grand corruption)'. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party and it will soon witness its "downfall".

"See its (Congress) downfall," he said, as he made a no-holds barred attack against party president Rahul Gandhi, warning him that he will succumb to "ahankaar" (self pride).

Modi said while a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the Samajwadi Party, an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi who was present at an SP meeting in Raebareli this week, the BSP is attacking the grand old party.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the grand old party," he said at an election meeting here, apparently to drive a wedge between the two allies.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said the "Mr Clean" image of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi became "corrupt number one".

He also recalled how the Congress had withdrawn support from governments at the Centre in the past leading to political instability.

"Only the BJP can give a stable government," he said, as he led the gathering chanting "phir ek baar ...Modi sarkar (once again, Modi government)".
Britain's two main parties suffered a drubbing on May 3 in English local elections, with Prime Minister Theresa May's governing Conservatives bearing the brunt of voter frustration over the prolonged Brexit deadlock. May's Conservatives lost control of several local authorities and well over a thousand seats, performing far worse than even the gloomiest predictions.

But the main opposition Labour Party also lost ground, with voters instead turning to smaller parties and independents in Thursday's polls.

"There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit," May said.

Britain's bitterly-divided MPs have been unable to agree on a divorce deal with the EU, with the two main parties in talks on breaking the impasse that have produced little fruit so far.

"This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that," May told the Welsh Conservative Conference, having faced down a heckler calling for her to quit.

The results raise the pressure on May and Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn to strike a deal and avoid having to hold European Parliament elections on May 23, where they face being wiped out by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which did not compete in Thursday's vote.

Corbyn said that he was "very sorry" for the party's losses, adding there was now "a huge impetus" for the talks to succeed.

May later said that her government and Labour were locked in "constructive talks".

After voting in June 2016 to leave the European Union, Britain was meant to depart on March 29 this year. However, its exit date has been postponed until October 31 due to the wrangling.

According to figures reported by the Press Association, the Tories lost over 1,269 seats, while Labour had lost 63.

Labour was expected to pick up seats as voters typically give the sitting government a kicking in such elections.

It will also be concerned about losing seats in its traditional heartlands, which voted heavily to leave the EU and which it would need to win in order to beat the Tories in a general election.

The party's Brexit position is described by some commentators as constructive ambiguity.

It is also losing support over the issue of anti-Semitism, which flared again this week when it emerged leader Corbyn had written the foreword to a book containing what the party called "offensive references".

If results were replicated nationwide, pollster John Curtice calculated that both the Conservatives and Labour would each get only 28 percent of the total vote, saying the days of two-party domination "may be over".

The centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens -- both anti-Brexit -- were the big winners, along with independent candidates.

Voters went to the polls in mainly rural and suburban areas of England, with more than 8,000 seats up for grabs.

All 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland were also contested among the province's own parties.

"The key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is 'a plague on both of your houses'," Curtice told the BBC.

They lost votes most heavily in the wards where they were strongest, he noted.

The council elections decide who sets local tax rates and runs community services but are often swayed by the national picture.

The Greens appear to have been boosted by the recent climate protests in London, which brought environmental issues to the front-pages.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said voters "no longer have confidence in the Conservatives, but they are also refusing to reward Labour while the party prevaricates on the big issue of the day." The problems for the two main parties could worsen at the European elections when they will also face two newly-formed forces: the Brexit Party -- which leads in the opinion polls -- and pro-EU centrists Change UK.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told BBC radio that if the centre-right party "doesn't mend its ways pretty quickly, the Conservative Party is going to be toast".
The Election Commission on May 4 gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Patna speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot. This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the EC's decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said that Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturday's decision, the EC said, "...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted."

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of "consequences" if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said that the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.
Taking umbrage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that the Congress is lying about surgical strikes under the UPA government, the party on May 3 said it has never used the strikes as election fodder and the statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers.

"Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party.

"The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said.

"I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters, "My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?"

He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

"In the Congress, we have always said that such operations were conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added.

The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure.

"The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces. The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told the reporters, "Fifteen commandos died in Gadchiroli. Will the PM and Maharashtra CM answer why they are not giving funds, which forces asked for in 2014, to purchase special equipment that could have stopped the IED blasts?"

Fifteen policemen and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle in Jambhurkheda area of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Talking about the 11 complaints filed by the Congress against the PM and BJP president Amit Shah, Sharma said that the Election Commission is ignoring even the reports filed by the chief electoral officers of the states where the speeches were made.

"These decisions in the EC are not unanimous. There are two opinions even in the EC itself," he said.

According to a media report on Friday, the EC's decision to give a clean chit to PM for his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes in Latur on April 9 and his "minority-majority" speech at Wardha on April 1 was not a unanimous one.

"The prime minister and the ruling party's president are continuously violating the code of conduct. No action is being taken and because of this, it can be said that the EC is not capable of fulfilling its constitutional responsibility," Sharma alleged.
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As the latest, greatest election in the world rolls along, we have now completed 5 out of 7 phases, I think. Were almost at the playoff stage where teams...wait, thats the IPL. Theyve both been on for so long that Ive lost track.

Anyway, the 2019 election. Protracted as it is, this years election allows us the opportunity to examine our political landscape in a bit more detail. In todays podcast, we will examine the role that women are expected to play in this years lok sabha election - as voters, and as the leaders.

Women voters

Okay, Ill admit that the phrase women voters is more than a little ungainly. Because women dont vote en masse. In fact, they average over 65% in voting percentage for parliamentary elections, compared to 67% for men. Almost neck-and-neck there. If the recurring promises by politicians to declare prohibition in their states are any indication, women voters are even addressed directly by leaders across the spectrum. One gentleman by the name Nitish Kumar did so not too long ago. What Im getting at is, women tend to vote differently than men. And in 2019, estimates claim that around 430 million women are eligible to vote in India. Women voters have, over the course of years, taken an increasingly active part in the electoral process.

Women in India were granted voting rights in 1950 by universal suffrage, which is enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian constitution. Remarkably, women in the United States had been allowed to vote for just 30 years at the time, following a landmark ruling that granted women citizens of the US the right to vote in 1920, after a gap of 113 years. Given the literacy levels in India in the 50s and 60s, its probably doesnt come as a surprise that there was a big gap in the voting percentages between the two genders. A Times of India report claimed that the gap in turnout between men and women was 16.7% in 1962, but that gap fell to around 4.4% in 2009, and just 1.79% in the 2014 lok sabha polls. According to the book The Verdict, which is written by Indias veteran news anchor, and head of NDTV, Prannoy Roy along with election researcher Dorab Sopariwala, In 1962, womens turnout was 15% lower than mens turnout; but by 2014 womens turnout had almost reached parity with men, short by only 1.5%. In a rough estimate, if earlier it was three women to every 10 male voters, now the numbers are up to seven women voters for every 10 men.

That progress notwithstanding, Roy and Sopariwala speculate that 21 million women did not get to vote in 2014 because they were not registered. They said Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar ranked the worst in terms of women turnout while West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha were among the best, as were smaller regions like Lakshadweep, Nagaland, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

An analysis in Scroll put forward an interesting conjecture, that is perhaps not unfounded - There are a variety of reasons for women going out and exercising their franchise in bigger numbers than ever before...political fortunes can swing on the basis of just a single percentage point increase in vote share(that) appears to have encouraged parties to focus more specifically on appealing to women voters and ensuring they make their way to the polling stations. That analysis claims that in 2019, Indias female voting-age population is expected to be around 97.2% of the total male population. One would expect the same proportion for voters, except women voters are just 92.7% of the male electorate. That is a 4.5% shortfall, or 21 million people.

Roy and Sopariwalas book claims that the 21 million number is equivalent to every single woman in any one of the states like Jharkhand, Haryana, Telangana, Kerala or Chhattisgarh not being allowed to vote at all. Alright, hyperbole aside, the NDTV analysts claim, 21 million missing women translates to 38,000 missing women voters in every constituency in India, on average. There are a large number of Lok Sabha constituencies  more than one in every five seats  that are won or lost by a margin of less than 38,000 votes.

Kill your stereotypes

According to Business Insider, the proportion of women who stepped out to vote surpassed that of men in the assembly elections held in 2017 and 2018. It was as high as 70% for women in the last two years, compared to 43% among men. That data set addresses the six states that went to polls in the last two years - Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In fact, several districts in Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Sikkim have closed the gender gap and, in some of them, more women are voting than men. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, women voters outnumbered their male counterparts. About 63.26 per cent of women voters in the politically crucial state went to the polling booths as against 59.43 per cent of the men. In Karnataka, the number of women voters increased by 13% following the revision of electoral rolls in 2018. In Kerala, women voters outnumber the men and no political party can afford to ignore their preferences.

All political parties are paying attention to this change on the ground. Theyre tweaking their political messaging campaign strategies to appeal to women voters since there is enough empirical evidence to suggest that women voters can swing elections. India Today claimed that In December 2018, the Congress carried out a survey of approximately 40,000 women in Karauli, Rajasthan, to understand their voting behaviour. The survey asked about their access to information, political choices (were they different from those of their husbands, brothers or fathers). The findings were striking - nearly 75% of the respondents said they get information independently of the men and are independent in their political choices, a near complete reversal of their responses after the 2008 assembly election, when most said they voted for whoever the family voted. Karauli, incidentally, has a lower literacy rate than the national average and is classified as an under-developed district.

Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, whose research focus is the political economy of India, believes this moment belongs to the ladies. He said, "For the first time in history, we are seeing the gender gap close. Women are coming out to exercise their franchise, which makes them swing voters. These are people you can convince to join your side. We have seen it in 2014, in places where women's turnout increased, the BJP benefitted more." Roy and Sopariwala claim the BJP-led NDA had a lead of 9% among women voters, compared to a lead of 19% among men.

An analysis in India Today claimed that women vote on very different issues compared to men. While more men are likely to vote on the lines of caste, religion, nationalism and identity, women are more likely to focus on economic issues which have a direct bearing on the quality of their life. A congress party analysts observed that "For the female voter, it is about the present and future, while for the male voter it's about identity." Women are likely to vote over job opportunities for themselves or their children, as well safety and security.

And politicians are paying close attention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech recently, Our country is moving from women's development to women-led development. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal said, I want to give 10 crore toilets to my sisters and mothers so that they get dignity of life. That programme cannot wait even if it means I have to borrow a little more. Platitudes aside, as per an analysis by India Today, The importance of the Indian woman voter is reflected in the political rhetoric across parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship schemes-whether it be Ujjwala or the sanitation campaign of building toilets or prioritising ASHA (centred around maternal health)-are all focussed on women as key beneficiaries. Politicians are also extolling the virtues of women as better money managers and homemakers.

The opposition isnt far behind. The India Today piece also noted that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made a fervent poll pitch, saying if voted to power his party would ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, which proposes to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Bringing Priyanka Gandhi to a crucial, strategic position in the party is also a move to directly reach out to women voters. Praveen Chakravarty, chairman, data analytics department of the Congress party, explained that the old concept of a 'household vote' is all but gone. He said, "I think in a household now, there could be four different votes...The year 2019 will be an information election. There's been a dramatic change in the way political parties are viewing this election."

Much of this change is owed to the increasing ease of access to information. While we wince over what our mothers and fathers receive and forward on WhatsApp, the fact is that with over a billion mobile connections cutting across social sectors, access to information has become easier than ever before and Indian women are consume it fervently. Shamika Ravi, director of research at Brookings India, cited a study she conducted on Bihar's two assembly elections in 2005. With no clear winner in February, president's rule was declared, with re-elections eight months later in October-November. Her comparative analysis of electoral outcomes for the 243 constituencies showed that the winning party changed in 87 constituencies, meaning 36% of the previous winners were voted out. She explained, That brought an end to the RJD rule of 15 years and led to the emergence of JD(U) as the single largest party. There were no new policies in these eight months. The explanation for the changed result was the voter turnout of women in Bihar. More women came out and voted against the previous winners the second time. The beneficiary of that increased turnout by women voters, current CM Nitish Kumar, paid heed to the winds of change in his state. Ever since, many of his programmes, from the bicycle scheme to liquor prohibition in the state, seem to suggest that he recognises the power of those voters.

Here is another interesting observation by Shamika Ravi that I must include here. She explains that the results of her study indicated that a spurt in female voter turnout reduced the re-election chances of a party, while the rise in the number of male voters improved it. When women exercise their vote independently, they show that their interests are distinct from the other half of society.

Women and political leadership

Women, who vote for different reasons, require representatives who reflect their own ideas and aspirations. But that change has been slow to come about. The current union cabinet has 9 ministers, the most in independent Indias history.

A recent analysis by Narayan Ramachandran of InKlude Labs in Mint explained that India ranks 153 out of 190 nations in the percentage of women in the lower house of world parliaments. India had 65 women out of 545 members of Parliament elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014, for a 12% representation. According to a list compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Rwanda ranks first with 61% of its lower house representatives being women. Nordic countries, as a region, are the leaders in this regard, with an average of about 40%. The UK and the US are relative laggards with 32% and 23%, respectively. Pakistan, with 20% participation from women, is also ahead of India. Prior to the 15th Lok Sabha, that number was stagnant at 9% for decades.

But the tide is turning. Women now account for 46% of elected representatives at the various levels of panchayati raj institutions, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Bidyut Mohanty, who heads the Womens Studies division at Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences, told Scroll, Nearly a million women have gone through the panchayat system as elected leaders and another two million have contested the elections and lost. They are very aware voters, aware of development and other issues of their villages.

This change at the grassroots is heading upwards as well. Two political parties - Naveen Patnaiks Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress in West Bengal - announced they will be fielding a significant number of women for the 2019 elections. That is a welcome change in a country where women comprise 48.1% of the population but hold only 12.1% of Lok Sabha seats. Patnaik famously announced he will earmark 33% (or 7 out of 21) of the BJDs parliamentary election tickets for women. As of now, only 3 out of the 21 MPs representing Odisha are women. In the 147-strong state assembly, women account for just 8% of all legislators, less than the national average of 9%. Another surprise here: Haryana has the highest proportion of women MLAs at 15% of the total Assembly strength. In Kerala, womens representation peaked at 9.3% in the 2001 election but has steadfastly remained below 6% ever since.

In Odishas neighbouring state West bengal, TMCs firebrand chief Mamata Banerjee released a list of party candidates to Parliament for 2019. Of these, 41% are women, which is unprecedented for any election ever in the history of Indian democracy. Womens voter turnout in Bengal exceeded that of men even in the 2011 assembly election - the election that saw Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress end 34 years of uninterrupted Marxist rule in a communist bastion. Scroll noted that In the next assembly election, while womens voter turnout remained higher than that of men, more women also contested the election as candidates. The results were proof Mamatas popularity was unparalleled in Bengal. The Communist Party of India-Marxist was relegated to number three in the state while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition, signalling a new era in the states politics.

However, the two national parties are yet to fully throw their weight behind this change. Of the 184 candidates announced in the first list by the BJP, only 23 were women, making that 12.5%. In the Congresss list, 17 of 143 candidates, or 11.9%, were women. Shaina NC, party spokesperson and treasurer of the Maharashtra BJP, has been vocal about her disappointment with this state of affairs. She said, The BJP has already earmarked 33% to women within the organisation. But that is not sufficient. Fighting elections is most important. She also tweeted, Upset and appalled to know that other than @MamataOfficial...and @Naveen_Odisha...all other parties only pay lip service to our cause...What is worrisome is that we are still having dialogues and discussions on the most basic rights that any human being should be entitled to. That's why a 33 per cent reservation must be a collective, concerted, conscious effort of all women in public life...Here on, I will champion the cause of reservation even if I have to fight the male chauvinistic mindset in my part(y)...(and) in all other parties too.

That said, lets not forget that this is the year Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra enters the fray as a game changer, and Smriti Irani is expected to upset Rahul Gandhi in the constituency of Amethi. The final world on this subject goes to the trenchant analysis by India Today: The 2019 election promises to be one in which the rules of engagement will change further as will the political discourse. As women come out in greater numbers, they will seek more accountability and are more likely to vote for development than caste and identity. If that happens, the country will be (so much) the better for it.
As Congress turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the Congress and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on May 4.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the Congress a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."

Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."

Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if Sonia Gandhi loses."

Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."

Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as cyclonic storm 'Fani' barrelled into Bangladesh on May 4, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, media reports said.

However, Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry officially confirmed four deaths -- two in Barguna and one each in Bhola and Noakhali -- on the basis of "initial reports" from the three coastal districts and said it was yet to compile the details of the casualties and damages caused by the cyclone.

"The detailed information from all the affected districts is yet to reach us," State minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman told reporters here.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the sky in several parts of Bangladesh remained overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds continued to lash the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of electricity and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel 12 flights, the report said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.
In the aftermath of the devastation caused by severe cyclone 'Fani', the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy has launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation effort in Odisha.

Two Maritime Recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy revealing widespread destruction localised around the temple town of Puri, according to an official statement.

The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command personally undertook aerial survey of the cyclone affected area Saturday morning and visited INS Chilka to review the relief efforts, it said.

The 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, officials said.

Based on the aerial surveys, the Eastern Naval Command is undertaking a three-pronged rescue and rehabilitation effort centred around Puri and its suburbs in coordination with the state government and the district administration.

"Relief and rehabilitation 'bricks' and 'pallets' (Naval parlance for containerised relief stores) comprising food material, essential medical supplies, clothing items, disinfectants, repair material, chain saws for removing damaged trees, torches and batteries, etc have been sent to the INS Chilka, a naval establishment at Odisha, closest to Puri," it said.

The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) is centrally coordinating distribution of these relief materials and a community kitchen is being planned to be set up.

Simultaneously, three eastern fleet ships are undertaking rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Indian Navy ships Ranvijay, Kadmatt and Airavat with three helicopters are presently operating off Puri and coordinating aerial survey and immediate response through their integral helicopters.

As the first responders, helicopters from the ships have been able to provide immediate support. In order to coordinate the relief efforts, the Eastern Naval Command has pre-positioned Liaison teams in the cyclone affected areas around Puri, who in turn are directing the rescue and relief efforts being undertaken by the ships, the statement added.

"With the likely opening of the Bhubaneswar airport today, Chetak and UH3H helicopters are being positioned there by the Navy to launch rescue efforts and air-dropping of relief material to the inaccessible and remote areas.

"The deployment of the helicopters at Bhubaneswar would enable aerial rescue of stranded personnel to safer areas as well as access to areas without road connectivity," it said.

The statement said in order to sustain the rescue and relief work over the next few days, the Eastern Naval Command has additional ships with standby relief material.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding that detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command made an urgent Disaster Assesment and On site Review in the wee hours of 04 May 19, post striking of Extremely Severe Cyclone FANI' at Indian Naval Base, INS Chilka, the premier training establishment of the Indian Navy, said Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma

"The Flag Officer took an on ground stock of the situation and damage to the assets, men and material during his approximately one-hour long visit to the location. The Admiral commended the Staff for their proactive preparatory activities to mitigate effects of the cyclone. He was happy to take note of the various Relief Operations and Medical Assistance being rendered by the unit to the neighbouring villages such as Gadadwar, Amritpur, Kharibandh and Athrawati," he said .

Singh also expressed confidence that the Naval Base would make an early come back to normalcy in the next few days.

"He also hoped that the Indian Navy's efforts in providing assistance would augment the efforts of other government agencies to bring solace to the affected people of Odisha. He also shared that Naval Ships were already at sea off Puri to render any Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance, as necessary," Sharma said.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of Indian Navy. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) East, will be the first helicopter pilot of the Indian Navy to become Chief Naval Staff.
Indonesia and Egypt have been making the headlines over their decision to shift their respective capital cities to a new location. However, this is not an unprecedented trend. Read on to know which countries have shifted their capital cities. (Image: Reuters)

Indonesia | The government had announced its decision to relocate its capital outside of the main island of Java as it is one of the fastest sinking cities in the world. It is also Southeast Asia's most polluted city, with snarling traffic jams being the norm on its streets. (Image: Reuters)

The Philippines | The capital city Manilla has seen its fair share of flooding, which prompted the central government to build another city named as New Clark City as a back-up in the event of Manila being destroyed by a natural disaster. (Image: Reuters)

Nigeria | The Nigerian government shifted the capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 due to overcrowding and public safety issues. (Image: Reuters)

South Korea | In 2012, it was announced that the capital of South Korea would be shifted from Seoul to Sejong City. Fertility rates in the country's new administrative capital shot through the roof after the announcement, making it the city with the highest fertility rate among 17 Korean provinces and cities. The country is known for having some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. (Image: Reuters)

Egypt | Congestion and overcrowding have plagued Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is why the foundation stone of the new capital city was laid in 2015. The new administrative capital will cover 700 square kilometers and is modeled to be a smart city in the desert with high-rises, luxury housing, wide roads and lush greenery. (Image: Reuters)

Russia | The former superpower's capital city, for close to 200 years, was St Petersburg. The year World War I ended in 1918, the new Bolshevik government, led by Vladimir Lenin, shifted base to Moscow. (Image: Reuters)

Brazil | Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, was designed by Lucio Costa, who planned it out in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. The city officially took its mantle from Rio de Janeiro in 1960, with Oscar Nimeyer, its head architect, having designed several of its iconic administrative and civic buildings. (Image of Brasilia: Reuters)

Pakistan | After its partition from India, the government of Pakistan decided to change its administrative capital from Karachi to Islamabad in 1959. It was a new planned city, and work began only in 1961, taking many decades to finish. (Image of Islamabad: Reuters)
Facebook is taking stern action against those propagating violence and hatred on its social media platform. The company is also banning pages, groups and events associated with the banned individuals, from its core social media network and photo-sharing app Instagram. Take a look at a few prominent people who have been banned by Mark Zuckerberg's company. (Image: Reuters)

Louis Farrakhan | The leader of US-based Nation of Islam was banned for preaching black separatism and making anti-Semitic remarks. (Image: Reuters)

Milo Yiannopoulos | A far-right British public speaker, political commentator, and writer who is known for talking against Islam, atheism, feminism, social justice, and political correctness was banned by Facebook. (Image: Reuters)

Paul Joseph Watson | Known to promote conspiracy theories on YouTube as a radio host, Watson describes himself as part of the "New Right". He has been accused of spreading fake news and conspiracy theories such as the claim that 9/11 was an inside job. (Image: Paul Joseph Watson Youtube image)

Paul Nehlen | An American politician who is an avowed white supremacist. He ran for Congress in 2018. (Image: The Rebel Media Youtube)

Alex Jones | An American radio show host and far-right conspiracy theorist, Jones runs the website, Infowars.com. He has been accused of circulating fake news and conspiracy theories including accusing the US government of planning September 11 attacks, and falsifying some details regarding the first moon landing. (Image: Reuters)

Laura Loomer | A far-right American political activist who was previously a reporter for Canadian far-right website The Rebel Media, has been banned by the social media platform. (Image: The Rebel Media YouTube)
Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that your phone is eavesdropping on you?

Perhaps you were talking about a holiday you want to take, or a pair of jeans youve been looking at buying, only to receive oddly specific advertisements for the rest of the week.

Sure, sometimes it can be useful. The product youve been considering buying is now right at your fingertips, following you around digitally and teasing you to purchase it. Aside from the fact its mildly psychologically manipulative, it can be very convenient.

However, most of us have had that disconcerting feeling that our privacy was being invaded. And that our phones, instead of sitting idly in our pockets like theyre supposed to, are perhaps the stealthiest spies to ever exist.

In fact, if you actually take the time to read your mobiles user agreements, youll find that your suspicions arent completely unfounded.

Most modern smartphones are equipped with AI assistants that are responsive to voice commands like Hey Siri and OK Google. And unless you disable those functions, the reality is that theyll always be switched on, waiting with bated breath for you to mention a product like a seagull waits for you to drop a hot chip.

If you have the right permissions enabled, third party apps like Instagram and Facebook can then take that information and target you with a level of nuance that was never before possible.

Although Facebook and other applications deny exploiting the microphone feature, cyber security consultant Dr Peter Henway believes otherwise:

Whether its timing or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically.

However when it comes to your privacy, the sneaky marketing techniques used by media conglomerates are the least of your worries.

As weve learned recently, the most powerful spy you need to watch out for is the government.

Aussie government taking notes from the Chinese

According to an article recently published by the ABC, both the Labor and Liberal parties, the Greens, and lobby groups like GetUp and Advance Australia had tracking devices in the campaign emails they sent out to the public.

The tracker is in the form of a tiny pixel image, which upon opening the email is downloaded and has the potential to compile an array of details about the recipient.

According to data law expert David Vaile, in the past emailing was a relatively safe system that wasnt crawling with surveillance and tracking tools. And tracking devices remained confined to the real of online marketers and news organisations. But for this federal election, the government is stepping up its game.

The tracking pixels allow the sender to see if youve opened the email, and what links youve clicked on. And as such, theyre able to discern what marketing techniques are effective on you personally.

As James McDonald, head of digital marketing firm Audience Group explains, the intention behind this technique is to create more nuanced political campaign strategies:

If youve got your base divided by swinging voter, by issue, by seat or by polling booth, all of a sudden, if you analyse that correctly, youve got talking points for the local member when he turns up at the bowls club, which will be different from when you go to the shopping centre.

This extra data could be the difference between an election victory and loss. But thats not the governments only method of gathering data on the public

Lets say, for example, youre an undecided voter who wants to make an informed decision with the federal election coming up later this month.

With all of the propaganda coming from all sides, and innumerable policies to consider, most people find it hard to garner to motivation and time to sort through all the information. As an undecided voter myself, I can attest to that.

Which is why services like the ABCs Vote Compass are so popular. Essentially, through a series of 30 questions which discern your opinion on topics ranging from refugees to economic policy, the compass places you on a political scale and suggests which party would best align with your views.

At time of writing, Vote Compass has 861,392 responses  belying how popular the service is. However as Sam wrote in Money Morning earlier this week, the compass may have a more sinister agenda:

After all this the survey asks about your voting preferences, who you voted for previously, your gender, year of birth, if youve been a student, your occupation, religion, language, whether youre Australian or not, your cultural background, how many people live in your house, your income, if youre politically left or right, and a few more very detailed personal questions.

The compass now has almost one million responses, which all potentially contain information that was completely irrelevant to the original service being offered. And considering the ABC is government-owned, who knows what that information, along with your IP address and your email data, could be used for

Of course, the election process is just one example of an area that is becoming increasingly more data-driven year after year. The sheer mass of data floating around the interwebs (2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every single day to be exact) is only going to keep growing to numbers which exceed human comprehension.

This absolutely has implications for privacy. But a more pressing issue is bandwidth and internet speed. A problem which 5G technology promises to solve.

Already this technology is being rolled out across the globe and our own nation. And the wealth of opportunities for investors are sitting there waiting to be pounced on.

This week in Money Morning

There is a lot of media attention on the water buybacks by the government in the MurrayDarling Basin over the last few years. Which is why on Monday, Murray decided to cover the state of water markets in Australia and whether there was a way to invest in the rising value of water. His findings could be of interest to you.

To read his full article, click here.

If you have ever traded any positions in the past you probably know the mental anguish that can arise as prices fly around. Whether you are in the money or out of the money, there are plenty of things to worry about. Which is why on Tuesday, Murray outlined his strategy for keeping your emotions out of your trades.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Wednesday, Murray covered the latest from the US Fed. After 10 years of pumping the markets higher to escape the GFC, Murray honestly thought that we had finally reached the point where the powers that be would attempt to normalise rates. If only in fear of creating a larger monster down the track if they didnt act. But as weve seen recently, thats not the case. And the repercussions could be sweeping

To learn more, click here.

Are you socially conservative or socially progressive? Are you economically left or economically right? Do you see yourself as left leaning, far right or are you centrist? Well, with the ABCs Vote Compass tool you can find out easily. But as Sam wrote on Thursday, the data being collected to determine your political position could be doing more harm than its worth.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Friday, Phil wrote about the birth of reality television. Or to be more exact, the reality-style show that is currently occurring in the White House. If you pay enough attention, you can see the tactics Trump is using to stay on the air and in favour with his fans.

But for how long will this be effective? Click here to find out.

Until next week,

Katie Johnson,

Editor, Money Weekend
(Bloomberg) -- As oil workers struggle to find affordable housing in the booming Permian Basin of West Texas, thousands of abandoned pets are also in need of new homes.

An animal rescue group in Midland, the fastest-growing U.S. city, is in the process of raising $3 million to build additional shelter facilities as the region struggles with a large number of pets left without owners.
After months of speculation about her political future, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has decided to stay local.

Gaspar put to rest rumors she may mount a second bid for Congress when she announced late Thursday, May 2, that she will seek a second term on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Its never an easy decision, but San Diego is a place Ive grown up and Ive always said from the outset I appreciated the opportunity to serve here, she said, "...and having the opportunity to really dig into the work over the past year made the decision to run for re-election a lot easier.

Her supervisorial district, District 3, includes part of San Diego and the cities of Encinitas, Escondido, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Gaspars announcement positions Republicans to unify behind a single candidate ahead of what is expected to be a competition that will shape the Board Supervisors future with the boards majority at stake.

New Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Jim Desmond, a Democrat and Republican respectively, will have two years left on their first terms after 2020, but San Diegos two longest serving Supervisors, Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, both Republicans, will leave office at the end of 2020 due to term limits.

Coxs seat representing the South Bay is a safe bet to flip for Democrats, given that partys more than 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration in the district. Jacobs East County seat is likely to remain in Republican hands because there is a Republican advantage in her district by about 17,000 voters, although Democratic registrations are trending upward there while Republican registrations are trending down.

That leaves the District 3 seat, which Gaspar currently holds, as the swing seat in 2020 and a battleground for a serious fight.

Gaspar, who lives in Encinitas with her husband and three children, has a few things working to her advantage as she mounts her re-election bid.

Shes an incumbent, and prior to last year it was rare for incumbents to lose any office in San Diego barring a serious scandal. She also can point to her experience on the board and time as chair, advancing such programs as The Other Side Academy, which is planned as a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts.

Gaspar said the program is an example of a proactive community solution.

Im excited about where that work is heading and this new approach to homelessness and incarceration, she said in an interview Friday, May 3.

However, the former mayor of Encinitas also faces several obstacles that didnt exist when she unseated scandal-plagued incumbent Dave Roberts in 2016.

When Gaspar won there were about 2,500 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. Today that Democratic edge has grown to more than 17,000.

Gaspar will also face off against more formidable Democratic opponents this time, including Terra Lawson-Remer, an economist and attorney who was a former senior adviser in the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration; Olga Diaz, an Escondido City Council member and interim Dean of Counseling at Palomar Community College; and Jeff Griffith, a fire captain and member of the Palomar Health Board of Directors.

I always have the philosophy that I always run like Im running from behind and as always Ill give this race everything Ive got, Gaspar said.

Gaspars biggest challenge may lie in her connection to President Donald Trump, who is unpopular with many in the district and lost it to Hillary Clinton by 20 points in 2016.

Some of her opponents already are fundraising and enlisting volunteers based on her Trump connection. The county Democratic party immediately pushed a news release labeling her a Trump Republican in the wake of her announcement.

Gaspar was a big supporter of the county joining the lawsuit the Trump Administration filed against California over so called Sanctuary policies. She also has met with the president at the White House and was the lone supervisor to oppose the countys decision in February to sue the Trump Administration over its handling of asylum seekers.
James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Crude futures dipped Friday but ended the week with a 1.8 percent gain. Concerns about the deepening U.S.-China trade war impacting economic growth outweighed concerns about heightened tensions in the Middle East impacting supplies.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 11 cents to close the week at $62.76 a barrel, up $1.10 from last Friday's close. The posted price ended the week at $59.25 a barrel.
Midland Crime Stoppers

Midland Crime Stoppers needs help identifying two suspects involved in an aggravated robbery.

Two people walked into a business -- Burrito El Aguaje -- located at 700 E. Florida. Ave. at about 3 a.m. April 27. The subjects were armed with guns and made the employee lie on the floor while they searched him for his wallet or anything else of value. The suspects took his wallet, pistol-whipped him in the head and kicked him while he was on the floor. A customer walked into the business, saw the robbery and ran out of the business. The suspects caught up with the customer and also assaulted him.
Muhlenberg Joins Liberal Arts Diversity Officers Consortium

The College is the newest member of the consortium, which promotes best practices and innovative strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro Friday, May 3, 2019 01:48 PM

Muhlenberg is now one of 32 institutional members of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers (LADO) consortium nationwide. LADO provides opportunities for chief diversity officers at liberal arts colleges to collaborate and provide leadership in implementing and publicizing effective diversity strategies at their home institutions.

Founded in 2007, LADO member institutions are private, selective colleges with a focus on undergraduates. They must also have a staff member serving in a diversity leadership role.

This is an opportunity that came with the creation of Muhlenbergs diversity leadership position, says Vick, (pictured left), who joined the College last fall in the new administrative role of associate provost for faculty and diversity initiatives.

I was impressed with LADOs goals, and this will be a great partnership for us as we continue to develop our capacity to recruit, retain and support underrepresented faculty, staff and students, she added.

As a member of LADO, Muhlenberg will also now partner with the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), which is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. C3 develops, disseminates and promotes new strategies for fostering the full participation of diverse students and faculty. In doing so, it serves as an incubator of innovation for institutional diversity and equity.

The C3 Undergraduate Fellowships program, for example, provides underrepresented students from LADO colleges the opportunity to do paid and mentored graduate-level research, plus helps open doors to graduate schools and internships. This includes training about applying to and succeeding in graduate school.

LADO and C3 representatives also make over a dozen visits to top research universities a year to meet with underrepresented graduate students and encourage them to consider faculty positions at liberal arts colleges. This includes providing information about specific teaching opportunities and the faculty job search process at liberal arts institutions.

Citing the benefits of an effective consortium, Vick says, There are things we can do better together than alone, including developing collaborative solutions to shared challenges. LADO will help us do this.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Anti-smoking advocates with the American Cancer Society want Illinois lawmakers to hike the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

It is a proposal backed by Democratic senators who pushed to raise the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, and comes as legislators are seeking sources of revenue in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker initially introduced a 32-cent tax increase in his February budget proposal, which would change the current rate from $1.98 to $2.30 a pack.

The Governors Office of Management and Budget estimated that increase would generate an additional $55 million to be used toward Illinois Medicaid program and schools.

But Shana Crews, government relations director for the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, said bumping up the Democratic governors idea by 68 cents would be a win-win solution for the state.

Not only would a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase prevent 28,700 Illinois youth from becoming adults who smoke and help 48,700 adults who smoke quit, but its also expected to generate more than $159 million in new annual revenue, Crews said. Thats money that could be put toward public health programs and help Illinois pay down its high deficit.

Language for the tax bump has not yet been filed but is expected to appear in the Senate next week.

Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, sponsored legislation in 2007 to ban public smoking and was a proponent of the Tobacco 21 initiative. He said Illinois is a long way from ending its campaign to end smoking.

We know that were saving lives by stopping people from smoking and stopping e-cigarette [use] in the state of Illinois, Link said. If this $1 a pack doesnt start sending [smokers] another message, I dont know whats going to, but weve got to make sure that people do not start smoking.

Crews said lawmakers should consider implementing a tax on all other tobacco products to avoid pushing people toward those goods when the price of cigarettes increases.

The Cancer Society recommended hiking the tax on cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco by 64 percent of the wholesale price.
The governor made a disaster proclamation for dozens of counties Friday as flood fighting efforts continue and more rain is forecast to arrive before the Illinois River is expected to crest next week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation Friday afternoon for 34 counties, including Brown, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler and Scott.

River levels are rapidly rising and with more precipitation in the forecast, many communities will need additional assistance, Pritzker said in a statement. The state of Illinois is ready to help our communities as they work to protect our residents and critical infrastructure.

Flood fighting operations started late this week and will continue through the weekend in Meredosia and in Scott County, while Cass County has been making preparations.

Major flooding is expected along the Illinois River into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

At Meredosia the river is expected to crest by Thursday morning, reaching 27.5 feet, and at Beardstown its expected to crest by Wednesday evening, reaching 28.5 feet. The water was over 21 feet Friday morning at both points on the river.

The National Weather Service is predicting more rain is on its way, with the chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday through Thursday of next week.

More Information VOLUNTEERS Scott County  To help at Big Swan Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 395 Big Swan Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday.  To help at Bloomfield Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 496 Bloomfield Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday. Morgan County  To help in Meredosia, volunteers should go to the sandbagging location on the south side of the Meredosia Boat Dock. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if possible. See More Collapse

The state is already reporting record river crests, residential evacuations and flood-related infrastructure damage are already affecting some areas along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

Among the state agencies and organizations that have been directed to assist in flood fighting efforts, the Illinois Department of Corrections has activated around-the-clock work crews to help with sand bags, according to the governors office.

Corrections crews arrived in Meredosia Friday morning and were hard at work all day.

With the help of the inmates and volunteers with at least a half dozen utility vehicles, layers of sand bags were laid along the north levee in Meredosia.

Village Trustee Ernie Gregory was moving sand bags to where the inmates and volunteers needed them. He said they would work all day and get as far as they could.

Its going really well. These inmates are doing a really good job. Without them, wed be in trouble, he said.  And weve got a pretty good crew of volunteers. Weve all done it before.

William Smith used to live in the area  both before and after the levee was built  and was helping move sand bags Friday.

Well, its a civic duty, man, he said over the sound of his vehicles motor. Its a small town. Youre supposed to help.

Morgan County Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty said the predictions on the rivers crest would put it 1.5 to 2 feet above the top of the levee the crews and volunteers were working on Friday. The river is already above the National Weather Service flood stage in Meredosia, but McCarty said when the river reaches 24 feet, that is when officials become concerned and the water begins to put pressure on the levees.

The sand bags should reinforce the levee and hold back the water to protect about 75% of the town.

The 75% number is not an exact science, but we know that it would critically impact the community if it flooded, he said, adding efforts to protect the town have been successful over the years.

McCarty said they will work through the weekend and hope to be done on Monday  and stay ahead of when the river is expected to crest.

Flood fighting is also ongoing at the Big Swan and Bloomfield drainage and levy districts in Scott County and emergency management staff was evaluating the river in Naples on Friday evening, Scott County Emergency Management Director Justin Daws said.

Cass County sent out a meeting notice Friday for the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District, which is set to meet every day next week.

Scott and Morgan counties were seeking volunteers to help with flood fighting efforts over the weekend and McCarty said donations can be sent to the Praireland United Way and American Red Cross. People and local retailers have also donated water bottles and supplies to support volunteers.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is reminding people in affected areas to be prepared to evacuate if floodwaters reach their homes by packing essentials and planning for all family members, including pets.
It's not every day you see one of the world's biggest rock stars hanging out right near where you're out to eat.

But Daniel Poe was in that position on Wednesday night when he spotted Dave Grohl at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler.

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"It's always a pleasure to meet people you admire, especially someone of Dave's caliber. He was just as warm and friendly as you would hope him to be," Poe, a Tyler resident, told Chron.com.

Grohl was the drummer for the legendary Seattle grunge band Nirvana, later forming his own group, Foo Fighters.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston Barbecue Festival wows smoked meat lovers

"It was surreal to have such casual conversation with someone who has shaped the face of rock and roll the way he has. This man has had his hand in several of my favorite records, from the Foos, to QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age), to McCartney. All the better to visit with him at my favorite BBQ joint."

Grohl is in East Texas to film a documentary about mothers of musicians, Stanley's owner Nick Pencis told KLTV.

Round two: Find out which international music sensation is already returning to Houston on HoustonChronicle.com

The multi-talented artist told the station he is planning to interview the mother of award-winning musician Miranda Lambert. the country music legend grew up in Lindale, a town located just north of Tyler.

Of course, much like her son, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, isn't afraid to let people know what's on her mind.

In 2017, she published "From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars."

So what does a rock legend at at Stanley's? "He had a whole tray of ribs in front of him at one point ha ha," said Poe.

It's unknown how long they lasted.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | 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.
A 10-year-old boy is dead and his 12-year-old sibling has been charged with murder after a shooting Saturday in Conroe, authorities said.

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constable's deputies were the first to respond to an emergency call at about 2:40 p.m. in the 10700 block of Stidham Road near Fenley Road, followed by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, Lt. Scott Spencer said in a statement on Twitter.
Converse police arrested Eduardo Gonzalez, 61, Thursday on suspicion of indecency with a child stemming from an alleged groping incident of two girls at a family Mother's Day celebration in 2017.

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No one enjoys getting impeached, and if it happens to him, Donald Trump will be no exception.

On the other hand, its hard to imagine any potential target of impeachment in Anglo-American history relishing the fight more than Trump. Hed rather be done with the Mueller investigation in all its permutations, but theres no one better suited to being at the center of a harshly partisan, deeply personal political and legal donnybrook that will ultimately be just for show.

Trump famously told top aides at the beginning of his administration that he wanted them to view each day as a TV episode. Impeachment would be a helluva season, matching a momentous process of American government with low political melodrama.

This may feel like a devolution from the buttoned-up Mueller probe, but the House should have been the locus of the Trump investigation in the first place.

Because Justice Department policy says a president cant be indicted, Robert Mueller was never going to reach a legal conclusion about alleged obstruction. The question was whether the presidents conduct constituted an abuse of power that Congress would deem impeachable; in other words, it was a political question.

Congress, then, was always the most appropriate venue for the investigation and disposition of this matter, not the office of the special counsel.

But our habit of transmuting broad political questions into narrow legal ones and Rod Rosensteins panicked appointment of Mueller  after the firing of FBI Director James Comey that he participated in  ensconced the probe within the Department of Justice.

Instead of being out in the open, it was behind closed doors. Instead of being nakedly political, it was clothed in thick legal analysis. Instead of being a struggle between the branches, it was a struggle within the executive branch.

Trump was deeply conflicted. He hated the investigation and came up with schemes to crimp it, all of which came to nothing. At the same time, the White House cooperated with Mueller. It was a twilight struggle between the president and the special counsel, with Trump not able to fully fight what was, in effect, an impeachment inquiry because any wrong move would be interpreted as yet another alleged act of obstruction.

Now, the battle is truly joined. The body that is going to make the ultimate decision of what to do about Trumps conduct, if anything, is on the hook. It has to decide what goes too far and not far enough. Should it subpoena Trumps children? How much time should it devote to investigations as opposed to its policy agenda? And, of course, should it impeach?

For his part, Trump is liberated to fight like a caged animal, asserting executive prerogatives vis-a-vis the legislature and engaging in flat-out partisan combat.

Trump would prefer a world in which hes universally praised, but short of that, this is his element. Despite all the press coverage over the past two years saying hes on the verge of some sort of breakdown, hes handled every controversy or fight  no matter how personal or treacherous  with the same straight-ahead aggression.

Trump is almost certainly better prepared and temperamentally suited for thermonuclear war with a Democratic House than he was to get substantive achievements out of a Republican House. He obviously hadnt thought through an actionable populist-conservative policy synthesis, but he has a lifetimes experience resisting and belittling enemies and extemporizing his way from one crisis to the next.

It may be impossible for him to stop impeachment, certainly not if Nancy Pelosi supports it. But hell be the focus of a historic drama that will rate  or at least be remembered and analyzed  for a very long time. He will have succeeded in making the Democratic House majority all about him, and if not getting convicted by the Senate counts as a victory, he will win in the end.

The post-trial tweetstorm will be something to behold.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The basis for congressional oversight of the executive branch is in the implied powers the Constitution grants Congress. But dont let that word implied throw you. The Supreme Court has upheld House and Senate oversight powers  deeming them guaranteed by the Constitutions necessary and proper clause. This means Congress is empowered to do what is necessary and proper to execute the express powers spelled out in the Constitution.

Congressional oversight of U.S. presidents is part of a broader system of checks and balances.

President Donald Trump, however, says he intends to resist all subpoenas from Congress.

As if on cue, Attorney General William Barr  after appearing before a Senate Committee the day before  refused to testify before a House committee on Thursday, objecting to the format because it will include questioning from a committee lawyer  as Christine Ford was interviewed during the Kavanaugh hearings. He now is subject to being held in contempt.

Consider the sweeping nature of Trumps refusal. Hes not saying  as past presidents have  that he will challenge each request individually on their merits (usually invoking executive privilege) or that he will negotiate whether aides will testify or whether requested documents will be provided. Were fighting all the subpoenas, he said last week. Period. No negotiation. A simple stone wall, though he did relent in one case after a plea from a fellow Republican.

This is dangerous, even with the single partisan accommodation. No matter how you feel about impeachment, this refusal threatens a system of checks and balances necessary for a functioning democracy.

Yes, other presidents have challenged congressional oversight  and have generally been slapped down by the courts.

President Barack Obama resisted congressional oversight of his administrations Operation Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation. The courts said the administration had to comply, and it did.

But presidents  in accordance with the Constitution  have generally complied with requests in other instances. Thats because oversight authority of Congress has been acknowledged as early as George Washingtons administration.

And then theres Trump, who has claimed an exoneration that doesnt exist in the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Congress is fully empowered to investigate any and all allegations contained in that report, which didnt rule out obstruction of justice. And while saying there was no coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, it also laid out many contacts between the two and campaign eagerness to receive and benefit from any information provided by the Russians. And no one in the Trump campaign picked up the phone to report a foreign effort to subvert the election for Trumps benefit.

This is troubling.

We have counseled against immediate impeachment proceedings. And we continue to. But the House still has a responsibility to investigate possible presidential wrongdoing. This is true even if the special counsel didnt recommend criminal prosecution  especially because the Justice Department said he couldnt seek the indictment of a sitting president in any case.

Congress cannot ignore the Mueller report and must exercise its oversight powers if the public is ever to have any confidence in the investigation or in Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

There will certainly be legal challenges to the presidents refusals. And this could run out the clock before Election Day in 2020. The rationale for the presidents refusals go something like this: House Democrats are acting purely out of partisan spite or seeking partisan advantage.

Well, we would not be a bit surprised by partisan motivations from Democrats, though there is, in fact, a split in the party on impeachment  and still there is that Mueller report full of items worth investigating and the congressional responsibility to do so, even if impeachment is ultimately off the table.

But the charge of partisanship is hollow coming from folks who cheered the incessant investigations of Hillary Clinton. The offenses alleged in the Mueller report are at least as bad as what Clinton allegedly did (those investigations substantively coming up empty). And we note that Barr appeared before a GOP led Senate committee but refused to appear before a Democratic controlled House committee. So, whos partisan?

The president should relent. A stone wall has all the signs of merely being a convenient hiding place. The public is ill-served by lack of knowledge. Texas congressional delegation should buck the president on this.
I was recently running in Monte Vista and noticed a police car go by, then circle back around twice. I waved, kind of puzzled, then I rounded the corner to Temple Beth-El and realized that it was Passover, and because of the recent attack in Poway, Calif., there was a heightened police presence.

I still thought it was odd how the officer circled around me three times, then I realized that as a white male of a certain age, I fit the profile of the recent attackers on Jewish Americans.

It was a chilling thought, but unlike other groups who shout to the rooftops about being profiled, I had zero issue with it. As a police officer, why wouldnt you have a heightened awareness of certain groups who are committing certain crimes? Profiling is just intelligent police work.

My deepest condolences to members of the Jewish faith, who have given so much to American culture and deserve our love, not our hate.

Shannon Deason

How much better?

Re: The future of Pre-K 4 SA rests with voters in 2020 election, by columnist Gilbert Garcia, Metro, Sunday:

Mr. Garcia tells us taxpayers spent $47.6 million on 2,000 children. That is $23,800 per child. By how much have the attendeesperformed better than their peers? Guess that metric doesnt matter. How much of the money went to staff salaries versus teacher compensation? Guess it doesnt matter either.

Steve Weakley

No powdered booze

Re: Push Legislature to keep powdered alcohol out of Texas, by Nelson Wolff, Another View, Tuesday:

For once I have to agree with County Judge Nelson Wolff. We already have enough serious traffic accidents caused by overindulgence in alcohol.

While I don't drink now, I used to. I am not anti-alcohol, just against overdoing it and then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The last thing we need in Bexar County or Texas is concentrated powdered booze. While I am not in favor of legislating morality in broad-brush fashion, I believe that this is an instance where our Legislature needs to act appropriately.

William Barone
A powerful cyclone has slammed into Indias eastern coastline, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 200 km/h (125mph).

Cyclone Fani, one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent years, made landfall at 08:00 local time (02:30 GMT) on Friday.

More than one million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha.

A state official said two people had been killed.

Flooding has also been reported in several areas, and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m (5ft) could threaten low-lying homes.

The cyclone made landfall in the tourist town of Puri, which is home to the 858-year-old Jagannath temple.

It is expected to hit 15 districts in Orissa, one of Indias poorest states, before weakening on Saturday.

Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said $140m (106m) was being allocated for emergency relief.

Numerous flights and train services in and out of the state have been cancelled, while schools and government offices are shut. Operations at three ports on Indias eastern coast have also been shut down.

Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The countrys National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.

Indias National Disaster Management Authority has warned people along the east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are phenomenal.

The agency said the total destruction of thatched houses was possible, as well as extensive damage to other structures.

I can confirm two deaths for now, Orissa special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told AFP news agency.

[A] man in one of the shelters died because of a heart attack. Another person went out in the storm despite our warnings and died because a tree fell on him, he said.

The cyclone is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

It coincides with high tides in the country, which may exacerbate potential flooding issues there.

 BBC

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Jacob Ngarivhumes Transform Zimbabwe dumps MDC Alliance.

TRANSFORM Zimbabwe (TZ) has pulled out of the MDC Alliance pact, choosing to go it alone than to dissolve and be part of the grand MDC, whose congress is to be held later this month.

Seven political parties came together on August 5, 2017 to form an electoral pact for the 2018 harmonised elections with an understanding that they would continue with the partnership in forming a government in the event that they won the elections.

An amalgamation process of the political parties is underway and two parties, Peoples Democratic Party formerly led any Tendai Biti and the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, have since dissolved and integrated into the Nelson Chamisa-led mainstream MDC.

We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision. said Ngarivhume.

The party urged its members not to participate in the upcoming MDC congress.

During the alliance tenure, many TZ officials were left disappointed after some of their allocated seats in the agreement were taken up by the mainstream MDC on the basis that the party had no numbers.

Its leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, and another official in Harare South were left competing with their alliance partners in the fight for parliamentary seats.

Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.

Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue.

I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status, he said.

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How vanishing lizards in Madagascar led to a troubling discovery about deforestation and climate change Yale Climate Connection

How a Lone Norwegian Trader Shook the Worlds Financial System NYT. Interesting article systemic issues with central counterparties (see Auerback today), despite the finger-pointing clickbait headline. Also a carbon emissions permits debacle.

If This Is a Tech Bubble in Stocks, Its the Expansionary Phase Bloomberg

Why Tesla is taking a different approach to self-driving cars FT

The smart diaper is coming. Who actually wants it? Vox

Could a popular food ingredient raise the risk for diabetes and obesity? Harvard School of Public Health

Brexit

Devolution at 20 Institute for Government

Venezuela

China

North Korea

RussiaGate

2020

Why Universal Health Care, Higher Wages, and Free Public Education Are Crucial Issues for Black Women Vogue

Health Care

Boeing 737 MAX

Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe USA Today. A ***cough*** civilian charter ***cough***.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

None of Your Business The Nation

Everything Was Done To Make Julian Assanges Life Miserable (interview) Der Spiegel (GlennF).

The Racistand High TechOrigins of Americas Modern Census Yasha Levine, OneZero. A must-read.

Class Warfare

Make Debt Service You Jacob Bacharach, Hmm Daily

Hiring surge pushes US jobless rate to 49-year low FT

With a Simple Twist, a Magic Material Is Now the Big Thing in Physics Quanta. A new type of superconductivity.

Between Worlds Orion Magazine

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here
Lambert here: Dont look back. Something might be gaining on you. Satchel Paige

By Franck Portier, Professor, University College London and CEPR Research Fellow. Originally published at VoxEU.

Business economists argue that the length of an expansion is a good indicator of when a recession will hit. Using both parametric and non-parametric measures, this column finds strong support for the theory from post-WWII data on the US economy. The findings suggest there is good reason to expect a US recession in the next two years.

This summer, the current US expansion, which started in June 2009, is likely to break the historical post-WWII record of 120 months long, which is currently held by the March 1991-March 2001 expansion. It is already longer than the post-WWII average of 58 months. Should we be worried? Is the next recession around the corner?

Yes, according to business economists. For example, according to the semi-annual National Association for Business Economics survey released last February, three-quarters of the panellists expect an economic recession by the end of 2021. While only 10% of panellists expect a recession in 2019, 42% say a recession will happen in 2020, and 25% expect one in 2021.

No, according to the conventional wisdom among more academic-oriented economists, who believe that expansions, like Peter Pan, endure but never seem to grow old, as Rudebusch (2016) recently argued. As he wrote, based only on age, an 80-month-old expansion has effectively the same chance of ending as a 40-month-old expansion. This view was also forcefully expressed last December by the (now ex-) Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen, who said  I think its a myth that expansions die of old age. I do not think they die of old age. So the fact that this has been quite a long expansion doesnt lead me to believe that  its days are numbered.

My research with Paul Beaudry and Dana Galizia tends to favour the former view, that we should be worried about a recession hitting the US economy in the next 18 months.

There are two reasons why we reach this conclusion. The first relies on a statistical analysis that uses only the age of an expansion to predict the probability of a recession. The second digs deeper into the very functioning of market economies.

First, we estimate in Beaudry and Portier (2019) the probability of the US economy entering a recession in the following year (or following two years), conditional on the expansion having lasted q quarters. This can be done in a parametric way based on the Weibull distribution, or non-parametrically using Kaplan and Meiers estimator of the survival function. Regardless of the method, and using post-WW2 US data, there is consistent evidence of age-dependence, as shown in Figure 1. For an expansion that has lasted only five quarters, the probability of entering a recession in the next year is around 10%, while this increases to 30-40% if the expansion has lasted over 35 quarters. Similarly, if looking at a two years window, we find the probability of entering a recession in the next two years raises from 25-30% to around 50-80% as the expansion extends from five quarters to 32 quarters (the exact probability depends on whether we use a parametric or a non-parametric approach).

Figure 1 Probability of an expansion ending in the next year, next year and a half, or next two years (parametric and non-parametric approach)

Notes: the dots are the non-parametric estimates. The thick lines are smoothed version of the dots. The dashed lines are the parametric estimates. Estimation is done using quarterly NBER data for expansions and recessions for the post-war sample (September 1945 to January 2019). The age of the expansion is in quarters.

The non-parametric estimates suggest that duration dependence is minimal for expansions lasting up to 25 quarters. But after 25 quarters, the duration becomes very apparent. For example, when an expansion ages from six years to nine years, the non-parametric estimates suggest that the probability of a recession within a year almost triples. If one looks in more detail at the initial phase of an expansion  up to eight quarters  there is also some evidence of positive duration dependence, reflecting the possible occurrence of double-dip recessions. Then from eight to 25 quarters, there appears instead to be negative duration dependence as the expansion takes hold, that is, during this phase the probability of entering a recession appears to decrease as the expansion ages. Finally, after 25 quarters the probability of entering a recession increases rapidly as the expansion gets old. This suggests that, when they are older than six years, expansions may be favouring the growth of certain vulnerabilities that may make the onset of a recession more likely. In other work (Beaudry et al. 2016), we have shown that US real and financial series tend to follow a cycle of length about ten years. Of course, this does not mean that there are deterministic cycles of ten years, but such a statistical regularity makes a recession all the more probable when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Obviously, we recognise that all our calculations are based on a small sample of data since recessions are rather rare. Our results are the best inference possible given this limited data.

Second, our recent work (Beaudry et al. 2016, 2017) has shown that a market economy, by its very nature, may create recurrent boom and bust independently of outside disturbances. This idea is well captured by the statement that a bust sows the seed of the next boom. Although, such an idea has a long tradition in the economics literature (e.g. Kalecki 1937 or Hicks 1950), it is not present in most modern macro-models. According to this view, the economy builds up sources of vulnerabilities in expansions. Those vulnerabilities could be of a financial nature (for example the accumulation of debt/leverage or the concentration of risk or collateral among small sets of agents) or of a real nature (for example the excessive accumulation of durable goods or investment in housing). Because of such a build-up, one need not expect a bad shock to trigger a recession. Such a mechanism creates the type of duration dependence we have seen in the data, namely that as an expansion grows old, eventually the probability of a recession should increase.

To conclude, let us emphasise that the evidence and theory we are bringing forward do not imply a deterministic view of the business cycle. We shall not expect a recession to happen with probability one when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Analysts might find reasons to be concerned (Chinese slowdown, yield curve inversion, etc.). What we suggest is that, even in the absence of a sudden adverse shock, a recession is most likely to happen in the next one to two years, and that this risk is higher than what it was two years ago.

References available at original.
Yves here. To add to Marshalls tally of ticking time bombs in finance-land: another source of systemic risk is central counterparties for derivatives. They were supposed to reduce risk by shifting clearing and settlement of many types of derivatives out of banks and over to entities that would be well capitalized and at arms length to the banks. Weve written how the central counterparties are new TBTF entities, since charging high enough margin and other loss reserves to provide for enough liquidity to handle a serious shock would make many derivatives uneconomical.

We summarized some of the failings in a 2018 post, which included key points from a recent Bloomberg op-ed by derivative maven Satyajit Das:

First, oversight is fragmented. Second, the system assumes traders can meet margin calls at short noticeIn practice, volatile market conditions require higher margins, which exacerbate systemic cash needs, force mass liquidation of positions and increase the central counterpartys risk. Third, initial margin-setting relies on risk models  based on assumed price behaviors and historical volatility and correlation data  that have repeatedly failed in the real world.the ability of non-defaulting members to bear losses may be lower than expected. Even single counterparty limits, designed to avoid concentrated exposure, are imperfect, as Norways case highlights. Fourth, central counterparties have adverse incentives. To gain market share, they might undercut each other on margins or default fund contributions, thus undermining the stability of the system itself. The default waterfall also entails moral hazard: Strong firms, forced to bear the liabilities of the weak, have little motivation to become clearing members.

By Marshall Auerback, a market analyst and commentator. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute

Judging from the public conversation were having as we head into the early stages of the 2020 presidential election, bankers no longer appear to be public enemy number one. Big tech appears to have that title.

Still, lets not forget that the actions of several large financial institutions in the run-up to 2008 were largely responsible for catastrophic job losses of millions of households, the repossession of their houses, the destruction of their retirement savings, the collapse of a multitude of businesses, an ongoing stranglehold into myriad forms of debt, and a relentless lobbying machine that exonerates it from any kind of oversight with real teeth.

The legislative response to this fiasco, the Dodd-Frank Act, is being undermined every which way, and wasnt all that strong to start with. It was passed in order to promote financial stability, lift our economy, and end too big to fail, argued financial observer Tyler ONeil, and the bill has achieved none of those goals. In fact, it created a host of perverse incentives that have likely made our problems a whole lot worse. Financial reform might be yesterdays news, but we are inching closer to another economic crisis, in which the old news might very well become new and relevant again.

Why is that? For one thing, Dodd-Frank did not structurally alter the banking system (in contrast to the aftermath of the Great Depression via Glass-Steagall). The big too big to fail (TBTF) banks got bigger. And by bigger, were talking about a sizable ownership stake over 60 percent of GDP.

One prominent example is the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPBan Elizabeth Warren proposal that actually initially proved to be one of the few effective reforms introduced by the new banking legislation). The CFPB has been largely gutted by acting head, Mick Mulvaney. Likewise, the oversight provisions for big banks have been watered down by the appropriately named Crapo Bill, and Dodd-Franks detailed rule-making injunctions have largely been left to the discretion of bank-friendly executive agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all of which have historically shown themselves to be prone to regulatory capture.

Even one of Dodds contributing architects, Lawrence Summers, in a piece co-authored with Harvard Ph.D. candidate Natasha Sarin, found no evidence that markets regard banks as substantially safer today than they were in the pre-crisis period. Many of the same practices that led to the collapse of the financial system in 2008 are as prevalent today as they were in 2007. These include the revival of some of the most toxic products that contributed to the last crash, such as the synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and the related collateralized loan obligation (CLO), along with an ongoing regulatory culture that still expresses itself in policy preferences that favor industry interests over those of ordinary citizens.

Given the Democrats renewed enthusiasm for antitrust (at least as it applies to big tech), the question is whether break em up to foster greater competition is the way to go with banks, or whether a more function-centric approach to regulation makes more sense going forward. On big tech, Ive written beforethat size per se may not be the best benchmark to establish optimal regulation. The same might be true for banks.

Simply mandating a breakup in the sector, married to free market competition and other market-based reforms, is unlikely to do the trick (that criticism applies as much to GOPers as it does to Democrats). As professors Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia have observed, greater competition could be a good thing in industries producing, say, widgets, since the lower the price that could potentially ensue as a result of lower profits and greater productivity that would be impacted by the competition would have positive welfare benefits for the community at large. But Lavoie and Seccareccia also recognize that banking is not only about profit for profits sake or competitive free markets; therefore, applying these principles of competition to the banking sector, where there exists tremendous externalities, could be disastrous.

One of those externalities arises from the fact that the banking sector has a unique social dimension that in many respects does not readily lend itself to all of the dictates of a competitive free market system. There is a reason why our government made a conscious policy decision after the Great Depression to guarantee the liabilities of the banking system via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It was to protect the integrity of the payments system, the lifeblood of an economy, as well as the businesses and consumers who relied on the provision of credit provided by the banks.

A controlled oligopoly that disincentivizes banks from embracing risky speculation is one way to go (it works reasonably well in Canada, for example) because it focuses the regulatory thrust on function and outcome, rather than size alone. However, the U.S. banks are much bigger in asset size. Too big to fail (TBTF) is relevant here because Dodd-Frank has done nothing to stop the banks from getting bigger, even though they pursue many of the same reckless policies that caused their banks to blow up in the last cycle. In fact, the implicit TBTF safety net has virtually guaranteed that bankers would continue to take on excessive tail risk (i.e., too high a risk of ruin), argues Professor Edward Kane.

It is in that sense that size matters: much as the costs of a massive environmental cleanup increase in proportion to size, so too are the social and economic externalities much higher when associated with a big bank. But at the core, it is function married to TBTF that creates the root problem; simply using antitrust to foster competition is unhelpful if all such competition does is to drive banks, regardless of size, to embrace increasingly reckless activities that augment their respective bottom lines, and do so in a way that ultimately compromises the integrity of the payments system. There are some things banks should not be allowed to do, period.

So whats the right approach: do high levels of concentration in the banking sector promote greater financial instability, or is it a question of function? In truth, they are interrelated, but function matters more.

Ask any neutral observer today whether Goldman Sachs or the Japan Post Bank (the worlds biggest deposit holder) poses a greater threat to financial stability and virtually all will agree that it is the former. That is because systemic risk is largely engendered via function, and interconnectedness, rather than asset size. In contrast to Goldman Sachs (or virtually any large American commercial or investment bank), the range of activities of the Japan Post Bank is limited to a fairly mundane roster of traditional banking functionsit is primarily a savings institution. As its Wikipedia page notes, its only loan products are overdraft lines secured by time deposits and Japanese government bonds on deposit with the bank. This makes it highly stable, despite its massive size.

Nobody is realistically suggesting that we restrict our banks functionality to the degree of the Japan Post Bank. We cant turn back the clock that far. But the Japan Post Bank example is an important illustration that a simplistic focus on size isnt enough.

The corollary also applies: a group of relatively small institutions that act in a correlated fashion can be just as dangerous to the payments system as one large entity if the underlying activity in which they engage collectively is unsafe. Lehman Brothers activities were being replicated elsewhere (the interconnectedness problem), by others. Had it just been one small bank, the problem could have been better contained. Again, function supersedes size in terms of regulatory priority.

By the same token, its too pat a conclusion to argue that the collapse of a small institution such as Lehman Brothers somehow absolves the big banks. The root cause of Lehmans failure was that it was a relatively small institution struggling to compete with the TBTF banks, whose massive balance sheets gave them a built-in advantage over the smaller competitor. Working to match the returns of the bigger banks, Lehmans smaller balance sheet forced management to undertake further riskier activities (as well deploying dangerous levels of leverage). The resultant toxicity of their balance sheet made Lehman unsalvageable, leading the government to let it go bust.

Let it go bust is harder to do with a bigger bank. The externalities can be catastrophic. At the same time, the public instinctively understands the benefits of the implicit TBTF backstop accorded to big banks and hence continues to vote with its deposits. Which is to say that banking customers have increasingly migrated to these very same behemoth institutions precisely because the government has repeatedly shown that it will not let them go under (in contrast to smaller institutions like Lehman). Americas three largest banks by assetsJPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargohave added more than $2.4 trillion in domestic deposits over the past 10 years, a 180% increase, according to an analysis of the regulatory data conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2018. (In the case of Wells Fargo, this ongoing deposit growth is truly incredible, given that the bank has seen its already low reputation decline further, in light of the scandalsthat have recently been uncovered.)

The same WSJ report goes on to note that this deposit growth represents an increase from 20% of the countrys total deposit base in 2007 to 32%, an amount [that] exceeds what the top eight banks had in such deposits combined in 2007. Add Citi to this group, and you have four banks holding almost half of Americas total deposit base.

The WSJ article also points out that 45% of new checking accounts were opened at the three national banks, even though those lenders had only 24% of U.S. branches [whereas] regional and community banks had 76% of branches but got only 48% of new accounts. That matters because new checking customers, who tend to be younger, are valuable to banks because they often provide more business later on by, for instance, taking out a mortgage or opening a brokerage account. Rapid, unchecked business expansion, combined with regulatory laxity and TBTF bailouts, has therefore given banks an enormous incentive to get as big as possible. Dodd-Frank hasnt changed that. In fact, a working paper commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia by authors Elijah Brewer III and Julapa Jagtiani has furnished multiple examples of banks paying significant premiums to ensure that they would be over the asset sizes commonly viewed as the requisite thresholds to become too big to fail.

But TBTF is even worse than that, because in many cases, it can actually sustain the lifespan of an otherwise insolvent bank, what Professor Ed Kane calls zombie banks: Insolvent Living-Dead firms whose creditors would force them into bankruptcy were it not for various governments implicit TBTF guarantees (Deutsche Bank is one example that immediately springs to mind). That matters because if youre a bank CEO and you know that in reality your bank is already insolvent, whats the disincentive from continuing to speculate with the banks balance sheet? TBTF enhances reckless moral hazard.

Although banks consistently lobby the government when an attack is made on their profit-making activities, the focus of those lobbying efforts obviously shifts to bailouts, the minute they are about to blow up. All of a sudden government-led socialism doesnt seem so pernicious. It is not unreasonable to restrict the banks activities, especially when deposit-taking institutions are in a position unique to virtually any other business. The government underwrites their main liabilitiesi.e., their deposit basevia the FDIC. No other business is afforded this level of protection.

Likewise, regulation has become increasingly complex and cumbersome in direct proportion to the complexity of the activities undertaken by the banks themselves. Thats often used as an excuse to minimize regulation, when in fact it should provoke a different response: namely, restricting the range of systemically dangerous activities/financial innovations, so that the regulation accordingly can be simplified, and easier to enforce. (Parenthetically, a function-centric approach is better here than simply focusing on boosting capital buffers, which many bank reformers have advocated. To be sure, capital buffers do constitute an important insurance policy for a bank in the event of a financial calamity, but regulation optimally should tackle the activities that give rise to the need for the insurance policy in the first place.)

If banks persist in undertaking a proscribed activity via regulatory arbitrage, or some other form of legerdemain, the challenge for policy makers/regulators is to contain the resultant fallout so that it does not endanger the financial system as a whole (as well as jailing the offending bankers so that too big to fail doesnt morph into too big to jail, as clearly occurred in the 2008 crisis aftermath). At a bare minimum, the goal should be, as Keynes argued in Chapter 12 of the General Theory, for finance to act as a handmaiden of industry (or productive enterprise) rather than the other way around, since the latter condition results in an overly financialized system that is dominated by largely unfettered rentier speculative activity.

Unfortunately, Keynes aspirations remain unfulfilled. Banks dominate industry and work in ways that derogate from broader public purpose. The tolerance of TBTF doctrine illustrates that we dont yet have the political will to curb the speculative activities of the large deposit-taking institutions (again, another byproduct of their size, as it gives the banks more lobbying muscle to resist such changes). But if we dont come to grips with this problem, there will inevitably be another crisis. In fact, its almost certainly too late to avoid that eventuality. But at a minimum, lets hope we do better when the next banking crisis hits, as it surely will, much as night follows day.
(Natural News) Without warning, Facebook on Thursday unilaterally banned several people from its platform that the speech Nazi has deemed controversial and, as such, not worthy of being heard.

In an effort to make it seem as though the lifetime bans were bipartisan, Facebook booted conservative pundit Alex Jones along with well-known anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan in what can only be described as the most draconian measure yet taken by a social media behemoth.

In addition to Jones and Farrakhan, former Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson, former Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, conservative Jewish activist Laura Loomer, and others were also shown the virtual door by Facebook after the platform labeled them extremists and dangerous.

Few people were fooled by the appearance that Facebook was banning Left and Right. (Related: President Trump must seize and shut down the techno-fascists, journo-terrorists and domestic enemies who are censoring conservatives and patriots.)

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more, writes senior Breitbart News tech correspondent Allum Bokhari on Twitter  before he, too, gets banned.

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more.  Allum Bokhari (@LibertarianBlue) May 2, 2019

The deplatforming of Jones goes much further, however. Facebook says its censors will remove any Infowars content and could even move to ban/deplatform people who share it.

Journalist Nick Monroe noted: Read my lips. This is WORSE than the usual sorts of bans. Facebook/Instagram: will remove ANY content containing Infowars videos, radio segments, or articles, and Facebook will remove any Groups set up to share Infowars content Thats TOO MUCH power to give Facebook.

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/1124075733859688453

For his part, Watson, who recently launched his own website, Summit News, lamented that Facebook did not give him any reason as to why he was banned nor did he break any of the companys rules.

Can government fix this?

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit Summit.news while it still exists, he tweeted.

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Naturally, authoritarian Leftists are celebrating the deplatforming of Jones and others because they are of like mind and agree that censorship ought to be employed against anyone with whom they disagree. What they cant understand and dont yet see is that when an entity is allowed to wield the kind of power Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been given, they almost always wield it tyrannically. Allies today who somehow fall out of favor with the gods at a later date will eventually be victimized as well.

But conservatives believe the banning of anyone is harmful to our country and a major insult to our Constitution.

Mike Tokes, CEO of YukoSocial, tweeted, Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries [sp] PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.

Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.  Mike Tokes (@MikeTokes) May 3, 2019

As in, Congress and/or the Trump administration will have to step in at some point and impose new regulations on the the social media behemoths to ensure that people cannot be persecuted for their ideas and their speech, even if such speech or such ideas are not mainstream or offend even a majority of Americans.

The solution to this problem isnt going to come from government, however. It will have to come from the free market. The Facebook disaffected and banned will simply have to find a social media platform of their own that they can build into an entity just as large and influential  but without the political persecution.

Read more bout how the tech giants are practicing widespread censorship at TechGiants.news and Censorship.news.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) Blocking payments to individuals or groups by financial service firms impedes freedom of speech in a free society, journalist Ben Swann has told RT, following reports that MasterCard is allegedly on course to censor the far-right.

(Article republished from RT.com)

The New York-based firm is reportedly being forced by left-leaning liberal activists to set up an internal human rights committee that would monitor payments to white supremacist groups and anti-Islam activists.

The problem is that everyone has their own views and, in a free society, the idea of a free society is that you are free to have your belief systems, as long as youre not harming anyone else physically, Swann told RT America. But your belief system belongs to you and you have the right be wrong. White supremacists have the right to be wrong.

MasterCard is not the only holder of purse-strings that is mulling the selective banning of individuals from their services and funds. Patreon and PayPal have previously barred individuals from receiving payments using their platforms, due to their extreme views.

But unlike crowdfunding platforms, being cut off from one of the leading American multinational financial services corporations will, most likely, have a much greater impact on the financial stability of an individual or a group, especially after the US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly blessed MasterCards undertaking. By doing this, Swann believes the government granted big corporations the ability to control what voices are heard.

The issue with such an approach, the investigative journalist argues, would lead to a wider crackdown on financial payments to anyone who the government would see as unfavorable.

The fact that the SEC has given a green light to this essentially says the SEC supports the idea of censoring these groups in order to freeze out essentially anyone you dont agree with, the journalist said.

It is such a dystopian 1984 world view and yet were living through it right now, the journalist observed.

Watch the entire interview.

Read more at: RT.com or Orwellian.news.
(Natural News) When it comes to milk, you generally have two choices: You can get fresh milk and consume it quickly before it goes bad, or you could get UHT milk that can stay on the shelf unopened for months on end and accept the compromise in flavor and potential digestion problems this option brings.

Soon, however, consumers may not have to make this choice as an Australian company has announced a new technique that can extend the shelf life of fresh milk to more than 60 days.

The company, Naturo, doesnt rely on the high heat used in pasteurization, and the resulting milk is said to retain its natural color and taste just like it came right from a cow.

Although the company hasnt released a lot of details, likely due to confidentiality reasons, they have said they based their process on existing technologies and it does not involve the addition of additives or preservatives. The companys CEO told ABC Australia that they dont use the aggressive pasteurization process of heating to 162 degrees Fahrenheit followed by homogenization.

The treatment has already gotten the stamp of approval from Australias Dairy Food Safety Victoria, and it meets the standards for killing any pathogenic microorganisms that could be present in the milk. In fact, they say it kills off even more pathogens than pasteurization does, including Bacillus cereus, which isnt always removed in pasteurization. Best of all, it does this while retaining vitamins and enzymes.

The same company also came up with an air pressure process that can preserve avocados and prevent browning, and it is possible the milk procedure works on a similar principle. Naturo CEO Jeff Hastings said: It is safer, better for you and lasts longer. The primary difference between our milk and pasteurized milk is the fact that we dont cook the milk to make it safe for human consumption. Our milk is much closer to milk in its original state and is independently proven to be nutritionally superior.

New possibilities for more environmentally-friendly milk

The process could help dairy farmers expand their reach dramatically as theyll be able to export milk to more far-flung locations without having to deal with the possibility of it going bad in the meantime. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also means that more environmentally-friendly and slower methods of transportation can be used to distribute the milk.

The Queensland government is fully onboard, committing $250,000 to scale their operation, and sites are being scouted for a production facility. Theyre hoping to be able to produce 10 million liters of milk a year using the new process, which they say can be applied to milk from goats, sheep and camels in addition to that of cows.

The plan is to find export opportunities to places in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, China and Singapore that havent historically had good access to fresh milk.

The new process, which took five years to develop, could be the biggest breakthrough in the dairy industry since pasteurization came about in 1864. Although considered groundbreaking in its time, pasteurization is believed to destroy vital nutrients in milk that protect people from certain sicknesses and allergies. This invention could help people around the world gain access to healthier, longer-lasting milk.

Read FoodScience.news for more daily coverage of breakthroughs in the realm of food science.

Sources for this article include:

ABC.net.au

ScienceAlert.com
A woman is still looking for answers after her 13-pound poodle was lost while she flew American Airlines from the San Francisco International Airport to Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this week.

Amber Dalton said that though the pup is alive and well, it took the airline a while to figure out where they sent her.

"I was pulled out of line at boarding and told that the flight that was going through Chicago, was not safe for pets," she said.

Dalton had checked her poodle Beast into the cargo hold because he was too big to fly with her at her seat. So instead of flying through Chicago, they would have to fly through Dallas.

However, Beast and the rest of her luggage went through Chicago anyway and the pup didnt get to Raleigh that night.

It took gate agents a few hours to track him down.

"They actually did not know where he went," Dalton said. "Then at about 10:30 they let me know that he had been put on a flight to Philadelphia."

American Airlines has since apologized for the mishap, issuing a statement that read, "A conflict in our customers routing and policies caused us to keep their pet overnight in Philadelphia at a local pet hotel."

Dalton had to leave Raleigh and head to Roanoke, Virginia so American Airlines flew the dog to Raleigh then drove him to Roanoke where they were finally reunited a day and a half after they left San Francisco.

Dalton said she appreciates the airline gave her a free flight voucher and waived her luggage fees.

"Thank you, but how did you do this?" she said. "And what are you going to do to make sure this doesnt happen to another dog?"
Teslas security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who will do anything to see us fail are targeting employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists.

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

-Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

-A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

-Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

-Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

-Teslas beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the companys recent accomplishments including:

-Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

-The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

-Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

-CEO Elon Musks promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So its not surprising that Teslas security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

---

Heres the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges.

As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day.

When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish any of Teslas confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted].

If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted].

The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary.

We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization.

Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information.

If youre unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences:

* This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day.

* A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information.

* A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets.

* Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations.

* In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Teslas Communications policy.

Its every employees responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Teslas mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com More from CNBC:

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Chickens, moon cycles, herbal tea and a bulls horn. What might sound like the ingredients in a witchs brew is the newest trend in winemaking as Bay Area vintners embrace biodynamics as a way to ween off pesticides in favor of natural methods for grape growing.

It seems like there can be a lot of hocus pocus, said Griffin Beemiller, winemaker at Nella Terra vineyards in the Livermore Valley, but I think theres a lot of factual evidence behind some of these things.

On a recent day, Beemiller stirred up a batch of horsetail tea on the bed of his pickup truck, even taking a sip to demonstrate it was in fact  regular tea. He dumped the brew into a sprayer and began dusting his vines with the concoction.

That essentially acts as a fungicide, Beemiller said, as well as other things in the vineyard.

Biodynamic winemakers such as Beemiller have also recently turned to teas such as chamomile and nettles to control weeds and pests in their vineyards. Its a trend that is sweeping across the winemaking world as farmers seek natural ways of improving soil quality and wine quality.

Biodynamic winemaking expert Tommy Vanhoutte, who serves as a consultant to a number of Bay Areas wineries, said another tenement of the practice is farming according to cycles of the moon and stars.

According to this configuration of the moon phases, Vanhoutte said in a thick French accent, some days would be preferable to plow, some days would be preferable to work on the trunk or on the vines, or on the fruit itself.

Dane Stark, owner of Livermores Page Mill Winery said it makes sense that moon and sun cycles would impact grapes since their polarity also affects ocean tides and other bodies of water.

They also have an effect on the lifecycles of the plants and the mildew and everything thats growing in the soil, Stark said.

Another implement of biodynamics seemed to tip the scale even further toward science fiction as Vanhoutte picked up a bulls horn to demonstrate how he makes fertilizer. He described filling the horn with manure and burying it in the ground for six months. Once dug up, he said, the horn contains a concentrated fertilizer so potent it can cover multiple acres of vineyards.

Vanhoutte said hes tried replicating the experiment with ceramic vessels but according to scientific analysis on the final product, has yet to to find something that works as well as the horn.

So the horns matter, Vanhoutte said. We dont know why very honestly, theres something that happens in this horn that science cant explain.

Vanhoutte acknowledged skeptics might find his methods a bit of new age theatrics  and once counted himself among their ranks .

And then you start speaking about the horn and then the people like me about 15 years ago, he said, Im just like, ok Ive got to go.

Now approaching his thirty-first vintage, Stark is all-in on biodynamics, enlisting chicken and sheep to live among his vines to eat weeds and bugs while providing their own method of fertilizing. Stark said he covers the ground beneath his vines with plants to infuse more nutrients into the soil.

Rather than treating the vineyard like it provides us with what we need, Stark said, we treat it as an organism.

Stark said the winery, which his parents founded in 1976 originally in the Santa Cruz mountains, recently made the shift from organic farming to biodynamic means. Since making the switch, he said last years crop was the cleanest hed ever seen. While his first batch of biodynamic wine is still a couple years from the shelf, he has tasted other makers products.

So when you taste this biodynamic wine, Stark said, the difference is they bring this longevity, this extra balance, and this ethereal nature.

The techniques of biodynamics are already well entrenched in other parts of the world. Hundreds of wineries, including many prestigious French wineries, are now certified biodynamic.

Beemiller said hes experimenting by growing a biodynamic plot of grapes astride one that uses more conventional methods. The true test, he said, will come in a few years when he can compare the Pinot Noir wines made with each technique.

Were constantly striving to make our wine better, Beemiller said standing among his hillside of vines. So anything that can help us in that well give it a shot.
Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.

Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.

Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.

The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.

The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.
On Wednesday, the High Speed Rail Authority released its latest project update which scales back the original route going from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in favor of building a 171-mile stretch of regular speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. As the estimated price tag to connect the Bay Area and Southern California balloons north of $80-billion, the Authority believes this new "building block" approach will give the state more time to raise funds and expand the system. But critics and even supporters of high speed rail are less convinced, saying this isnt what the public signed up for.

HIGH SPEED RAIL AND PROP 1A

Environmental attorney Stuart Flashman has litigated several cases against the High Speed Rail Authority on behalf of municipalities, preservationists, and rail industry professionals. He believes the Authoritys latest proposal violates both the spirit and the letter of Prop. 1A, the $10-billion high speed rail bond measure approved by voters in 2008.

"[In 2008] voters were very skeptical and the legislature knew they were very skeptical. So [the legislature] said here's what we're going to do, we're going to put in a lot of protections to make sure this isn't a boondoggle," Flashman said.

One such protection in the bill authorizing Prop. 1A states, "The planned passenger service by the authority in the corridor or usable segment thereof will not require a local, state, or federal operating subsidy."

According to the Authoritys report, rail service from Merced to Bakersfield would not have enough riders to cover operating costs, requiring a monthly subsidy to the tune of millions. Flashman believes this is a clear violation of Prop. 1a and potentially illegal if the state goes through with the plan.

"Its certainly not what the voters thought they were voting for," Flashman said. "Theres very strong legal exposure here and I dont think the legislature can get [the High Speed Rail Authority] out of this."

Flashman said he and government watchdog groups will be watching closely to see if the state proceeds as planned.

"We have to talk to the clients. Its worth [filing another lawsuit] but we have a case thats currently pending."

BRINGING HIGH SPEED RAIL TO THE BAY AREA

State Senator Jim Beall [D-San Jose] serves as an Ex-Offio board member at the High Speed Rail Authority. Beall disagrees that the new plan violates Prop. 1A, but he still calls the proposal unacceptable because it leaves out Silicon Valley.

"I'm not too happy with [the update]. They're going to build from Merced to Bakersfield and I think that's what the Governor wants to do. But I want him to do this stuff in Silicon Valley too, Beall said. I think if we do that, we'll make the project closer to reality."

Beall believes he can still salvage the project and bring high speed rail to the Bay Area by 2030. He wants to extend the state cap and trade program through 2050 and apply for additional federal grants to help finish the job.

But getting more money from the feds could be a challenge. In February, the Federal Rail Authority revoked a $900-million grant to help lay rail in the Central Valley due to the Authoritys inability to build on schedule.

 Bullet Train Delays Jeopardize Funding for Other Projects

Longtime critic Assemblyman Jim Patterson [R-Fresno] is calling for Californias Attorney General to investigate how this massive project got derailed.

"The problem I have with the way high speed rail goes about this is that they change definitions. This is a shell game," Patterson said. "The final nail in the coffin here was [NBC Bay Areas] exhaustive investigative reporting."

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-8477, or you can reach us via email at TheUnit@nbcbayarea.com
Former Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes died early Saturday morning at age 80, officials said.

Hynes serves as president of the Illinois Senate and served as county assessor for 19 years starting in 1978.

"Due to his 18 years as Cook County Assessor, his 8 years as Illinois State Senator and 25 years as 19th Ward committeeman, there can be no overestimating the influence of Tom Hynes on city, county, and state politics," read a Cook County Assessor's Office Facebook post. "His impact was felt even decades after he held office."

With his passing, Tom Hynes leaves behind an outsized legacy for the people of Illinois, issued Governor Pritzker in a statement.

On top of his many accomplishments, including his early support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Tom raised a family of committed public servants who are making a difference that will endure for generations. Every parent hopes that will be the mark they leave. Im proud to call two of his sons, Dan and Matt, my dear friends, and the values of service, decency and hard work that they learned from their father live on in them.

Similarly, Mayor Emanuel also released a statement Saturday.

From his earliest days in the Illinois State Senate, including serving as Senate President, through his years as Cook County Assessor, Tom Hynes was a dedicated public servant and a true gentleman who represented his constituents and residents across Illinois with consummate class and dignity. A lifelong Chicagoan, his personal life exhibited a devotion to his cherished friends and family, in whom he instilled the same recognition of the value and promise of public service.

Tom leaves a special mark on our city. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hynes family during this difficult time.
A "ground shaking" explosion that occurred in Waukegan, Illinois, Friday night has resulted in at least two deaths, and two more workers at a cosmetics plant are missing and presumed dead.

On Saturday night, the Lake County coroner confirmed that rescue workers have recovered one body at the scene, and that another person who was transported to a local hospital in the aftermath of the explosion has died.

Two more individuals are missing in the building, and are presumed dead, according to authorities.

Authorities said early Saturday morning at a press conference that they found the structure too unstable and thus unsafe for crews to continue the search, though three missing bodies were unaccounted for at the time.

Nine people were inside the building at the time of the incident, the company's spokesperson Anthony Madonia said.

Authorities held a press conference early Saturday morning to release new details on the Waukegan explosion that took place at an industrial plant on Friday night.

The identities of the individuals affected have yet to be released, police said.

A Twitter user posted video of what appeared to be the massive blast which occurred in the 3700 block of Sunset Avenue in Waukegan shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.

A fire official said the decimated structure was home to a business called AB Specialty Silicones. Waukegan fire Chief Steven Lenzi said four people were sent to the hospital but did not provide their conditions. Two were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center and the other two were taken to Vista Medical Center-East, he said.

Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said a search and rescue operation was underway for other second-shift workers who may have been in the plant. There is no hazardous material concern for the debris scattered across the streets and in the air, officials said.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

"If you have first-hand knowledge of the incident please call your local law-enforcement," the Lake County Sheriffs Department said. "If youre not in danger and dont have info, please dont call 911."

STAY OUT of the area of Sunset Avenue from Green Bay to Delany, Waukegan!! Please allow first-responders to conduct operations!! Area first-responders are on the scene of an explosion/building fire.  Lake County Sheriff (@LakeCoILSheriff) May 4, 2019

Before official information trickled out, Twitter users from all over the Lake County area were vexed by the "sonic boom," as one person described it. Users from as far away as southern Wisconsin reported feeling the shockwave.

Emily Laughlin, who lives in the area, snapped photos of the large emergency response near the Waukgean/Gurnee border. She said authorities near Northwestern and Sunset avenues were telling cars to turn away from the burning husk of the silicone facility.

"Something exploded," she said in a phone interview. "It looked like it was a building but they stopped everyone from getting closer."

Nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were without power and viewers calling NBC 5 said windows in homes were shattered throuhgout the area.

No other information was immediately available.
Power utilities around the world are supersizing their solar farms, with a collection of more than 5 million photovoltaic panels in southern Egypt set to be globe's largest, NBC News reported. The $4 billion Benban solar park near Aswan will cover an area 10 times bigger than New Yorks Central Park when completed next year and generate the equivalent output of two nuclear power plants combined.

There are huge savings for larger projects, said Benjamin Attia, a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Logistics, transport, construction and installation all benefit from scale economies."

A challenge with solar farms is that typically they are located in remote locations. The grid around new solar or wind farms will not be very strong," Daniel Kirschen, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, said. "So youre going to need to reinforce the grid, and that can get quite expensive.

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share, NBC News reported.
A Bridgeport veterinarian is accused of animal abuse and theft after police say he performed an unnecessary procedure on a dog and then left the dog without proper feeding for days.

Dr. Amr Wasfi, who worked at the Black Rock Animal Hospital, faces charges of animal cruelty and third-degree larceny.

The arrest warrant shows that police received at least two complaints about Wasfi.

The arrest warrant details one complaint regarding the treatment of a dog named Monster. According to the warrant, Monsters owner brought his pet to Black Rock Animal Hospital on February 14 with a limp. The owner said he was told that Monster had a sprained knee and was sent home with pain medication. One week later Monster was still limping and so they returned to see Wasfi.

According to the arrest warrant, on March 2 Wasfi told the owner that Monster had a fractured pelvis and needed surgery. The owner was told Monster would need to stay until March 7.

The owner told police that he contacted the vet on March 7 and was told Monster had to stay a few more days for monitoring. The victim began trying to visit his dog and was refused. According to the warrant, he finally contacted Animal Control and got Monster back on March 25.

According to the document, Monster went in originally weighting 63 pounds, and when he was released to his owner, he weighed only 46 pounds.

The owner took Monster to the emergency room at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. The veterinarians there determined Monster never had a fracture and that the surgery, which included putting a screw in his pelvis, had been unnecessary. One of those veterinarians also told police that Monster was being treated for refeeding syndrome and dehydration, which happens when an animal is without proper food or water for at least 10 days.

The owner told police Wasfi charged him $3,330 for the surgery.

In another complaint, a former Black Rock employee reported that she witnessed Wasfi hit a kitten that was under anesthesia so hard that the kittens intestines popped out of an incision. She also said that Wasfi was agitated and threw surgical tools around the room, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, the complainant said she raised her concerns to another employee and said she was going to file a complaint. She told police she planned to resign the next day, but when she showed up for work the employee she confided in met her at the door and handed her a box of her belongings, telling her she had been fired.

Wasfi was arrested Wednesday and released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.

Ernest C. LaFollette, who is representing Wasfi, told NBC Connecticut that Wasfi has been in business since at least the 1980s.

"Many people speak highly of him as having been their veterinarian for many years. All kinds of peoples bring animals with many different problems," LaFollette wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut.
A Connecticut mayor is seeking community input in the search for a new police chief amid controversy over a shooting involving two police officers who opened fire on an unarmed couple.

Hamden Mayor Curt Leng announced late Friday that he has formed a committee to see what residents want in a new chief.

Deputy Chief John Cappiello has served as acting chief since Chief Thomas Wydra left the department last fall to take a state job.

The April 16 shooting in New Haven sparked several protests and remains under investigation.

Authorities say a Hamden officer and Yale University officer fired at a car when the driver got out abruptly during a traffic stop related to a reported attempted robbery in Hamden. A woman in the car was shot but survived.
A Bristol credit union employees harrowing experience was detailed on Dateline.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt.

NBC Connecticuts Caitlin Burchill sat down with him Friday to check in.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt. He sat down with NBC Connecticut's Caitlin Burchill to reflect on the experience and how it's changed his life.

Yussman said things will never be quite the same for him since the events of Feb. 23, 2015, but he chooses to talk about what happened to heal, and the help other people.

They picked the perfect house because you know my neighbors house right there have no windows there, Yussman said.

There was no way anyone was going to see anything and that year was so much snow.

Four years ago February, Yussmans home was a crime scene. Two masked men held him and his mom hostage in her attached in-law apartment.

I literally spent that whole night in her apartment, blindfolded, zip tied, he told NBC Connecticut.

In the morning, police said Yussman was tasked with robbing the bank where he worked in New Britain with what he thought was a bomb strapped to him.

Longest minute of my life is when Im sitting there and Im staring at my phone and its saying 10:59 and you think youve got one minute to live. That was pretty awful, he said.

In a moment that played out like a movie, police intercepted Yussman, and the suspects left the state.

Yussman said while he knows police had a job to do, it was the months following that fateful day that were the worst.

The 12 hours were just awful, being held at gun point, seeing my mom held at gun point going through all the trauma was just intense, but it was over in 12 hours. For the next nine months I was considered a suspect, Yussman said.

Two men were eventually convicted and connected with an extortion and robbery spree spanning several other states.

They had told me kiss my mother goodbye and I refused to do so, he said.

You know four years later and I still dont want to give in to them. Im not giving them the satisfaction of making me scared.

The suspects sought out his daily routine by stalking him on social media. While hes not scared, Yussman says hes more careful now, and tries to stay aware of his surroundings.

While he still works at the same credit union, he now also speaks to folks around the country about safety after his experience.
A Cedar Hill pastor whose body was found inside his burning home last February died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. The pastor's two daughters and wife died in the fire, whose origin remains unclear.



At about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28, a Cedar Hill police officer was the first to arrive outside a burning home at 705 Lovern Street. The officer spotted several people on the second floor trying to escape the flames and drove his squad car onto the lawn to use as a makeshift ladder to help pull them to safety.



Firefighters arrived a short time later and began attacking the fire. Once the fire was out, the bodies of three people were found inside -- Pastor Eugene Keahey, his wife Deanna Keahey and their 15-year-old daughter Camryn Keahey. Keahey's 17-year-old daughter, Darryn Keahey, was hospitalized after the fire and died of her injuries more than a month later, on April 1.



The Keahey's lived in the home with two other family members, both of whom escaped the fire without serious injury.



On Friday, the medical examiner said Eugene Keahey died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while his daughters and wife died of burns and smoke inhalation.

For neighbors here on Lavon street, news of the medical examiner's report is difficult to accept.

I was shocked, I really was, I didn't know what to think I was shocked, said King.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's report paints a clearer picture of what happened inside of the home by revealing that Eugene Keahy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

I think it is going to answer a lot of questions for a lot of our community members who were trying to determine why or what happened. and now we have another piece of the puzzle, said Chief Eli Reyes, Cedar Hill Police.

Neighbors say the Keahy family kept to themselves but news of their death hit the community hard...

I still look at it and think people lost their lives in there, and they could have had a well long life if they had just reached out, said neighbor Chihauna Hunter.

The cause of the fire, considered suspicious, is also still unknown. The Cedar Hill Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office are waiting on laboratory results from samples submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory to determine how the fire started. Meanwhile, the Dallas County Medical Examiner has classified the deaths of the pastor's teenage daughters and wife as homicides.



The pastor's cause of death being ruled a suicide by gun gives credibility to reports from neighbors who said they heard gunfire before seeing smoke and flames coming from the home. Cedar Hill police initially discounted those reports suggesting neighbors may have heard aerosol cans exploding or windows breaking.
A transgender woman said she was assaulted in downtown Denver last week by two men who targeted her because of her identity. The Denver Police Department is investigating the attack, NBC News reports.

Amber Nicole, 23, said she had gone out to enjoy Denver's nightlife and drink and dance with friends last Saturday, when she was assaulted outside her friend's car after leaving a downtown bar.

A Denver Police Department report said that an unidentified male suspect struck "the victim three (3) times in the face with a closed fist causing a suspected broken jaw." "We're still investigating it as a normal assault, but our bias-motivated crime unit is involved in the investigation," Carlos Montoya, public information officer for the Denver Police Department, told NBC News.

Nicole said she woke up the next morning with her jaw resting on her neck because it had been dislocated. It had also been broken in three different places, requiring it to be wired shut, she said. Blood vessels burst in her left eye, she said, adding that doctors told her she may not recover from the nerve damage on the right side of her face.
One convicted killer has been accused of beheading another in what authorities call an exceptionally sadistic torture slaying at a California prison.

Corcoran State Prison inmate Jaime Osuna removed several body parts from his cellmate, Luis Romero, Assistant Kings County District Attorney Phil Esbenshade said Friday. Charges accuse Osuna, 31, of repeatedly cutting Romero last month using what the prosecutor called a sharp metal object wrapped in string and attached to a handle.

It's not clear how much happened while Romero, 44, was still alive or whether anyone heard the overnight assault, but "we do believe that the victim was conscious during at least a portion of the time," Esbenshade said in an email. "This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying."

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is conducting an internal investigation, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Officials wouldn't provide more details on how prisoners are overseen overnight.

Osuna pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at his first court appearance Thursday. They include several special circumstances that could bring the death penalty, including that the slaying "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity."

Defense attorney Melina Benninghoff was appointed to represent him but was home sick Friday and did not respond to telephone and email requests to comment on his behalf.

Osuna also is charged with torture, mayhem and weapons possession. The torture charge alleges that he acted "with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose."

The state corrections department said guards found Romero dead in his cell about 7:30 a.m. March 9 at the prison, which houses more than 3,300 inmates about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of Sacramento.

Romero bled to death from "multiple sharp force trauma injuries," and his body was mutilated, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Osuna was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty in 2017 to killing Yvette Pena, 37, at a Bakersfield motel in 2011, according to media reports at the time.

Romero also was serving a life term for a Los Angeles County slaying, but with the possibility of parole.

Osuna has been transferred to a Stockton prison for inmates needing medical or mental health care, though officials wouldn't say why, citing privacy laws.
An Illinois judge set bail at $5 million each for the parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund one day after the Crystal Lake couple was charged with murder in the death of their 5-year-old son.

Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, appeared separately on Thursday morning at the McHenry County Jail during a hearing in which a prosecutor told Judge Mark Gerhardt that Freund allegedly beat Andrew "AJ" Freund and forced him into a cold shower.

Read the full complaints against them (Warning: disturbing details)

Authorities dug up a body Wednesday later confirmed to be that of AJ, who was reported missing a week ago. The McHenry County Coroner's office on Thursday identified the body as AJ's and said the cause of death was "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries."

Cunningham cried as the judge read the charges against her while Freund Sr. sat silent. Prosecutors initially called for $10 million bonds for each parent.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

The judge's order means the parents would each have to post 10%, or $528,000, to be released from jail and would be subject to electronic monitoring. They were told they cannot contact each other or anyone under the age of 17 and must surrender any firearms and consent to random drug testing, should they post bond.

Prosecutors had originally asked for a bond of $10 million. The two were next expected to appear in court April 29.

Crystal Lake police said Wednesday that investigators located a body wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave in a remote area of Woodstock, just a few miles from the family's Crystal Lake home.

The discovery came a week to the day since AJ's parents said they last saw the child after putting him to bed around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report AJ missing, telling a dispatcher they'd checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere,"in the house to no avail, according to the 911 call released Tuesday. But investigators quickly knocked down the possibility of a kidnapping.

LISTEN TO THE 911 AUDIO HERE

Police said both parents were questioned overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. After investigators confronted them with cell phone data evidence "both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," said Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.

Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's Dolve Avenue home.

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.

"To AJs family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said Wednesday. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heavens playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."

Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was removed from the family home following AJ's disappearance and is in custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Democrats are splintered by calls to impeach President Donald Trump. But they have found another common enemy and an alternate political foil in Attorney General William Barr.

Calls for Barr's resignation erupted across the Democratic Party this week after he testified before the Senate and rebuffed the House twice, first by denying Democrats a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, and then by skipping a hearing to review it. In response, Democrats threatened to hold Barr in criminal contempt of Congress  a lengthy legal process that could go on for months.

The feud with Barr has animated Democrats and temporarily shifted attention away from impeachment  and by extension, the party's divisions over whether to pursue it. But with Trump resisting other congressional investigations, and testimony from Mueller likely on the horizon, the impeachment question seems unlikely to subside for long.

For now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead impeachment proceedings, are putting their emphasis on investigating Trump, his business dealings and his administration. If Democrats do decide to impeach the president, they will have already made part of the case through oversight. Trump's refusal to comply with their requests  with Barr just the latest example  will only strengthen the case.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there? I don't agree with that," Pelosi said Friday at an event in Medford, Massachusetts.

Pelosi hasn't held back in her criticism of Barr, accusing him of committing a crime by lying to Congress about his communications with Mueller. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Pelosi's accusation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Other members of Pelosi's caucus are going after the attorney general in even stronger terms.

"This is serious misconduct, this is a serious effort by the administration to prevent Congress from doing its oversight, and in fact could form the basis by itself of articles of impeachment," said Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, a member of the Judiciary panel, after Barr skipped the hearing Thursday.

Republicans say the Democrats are focusing on Barr as a substitute for impeachment, to avoid the political backlash that would come with official proceedings against Trump.

Nadler "can't try to pacify his liberal base by pretending to do impeachment without actually taking the plunge," said Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called the strategy "impeachment in drag."

The Barr saga appears destined to end up in court. Nadler threatened Friday to hold Barr in contempt if he did not comply with a final request to turn over the Mueller report and the relevant investigative materials. The Justice Department is unlikely to comply, likely prompting a vote of contempt in committee and then the full House.

"The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department," Nadler wrote to Barr. "But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse."

The Justice Department declined to comment on Nadler's latest threat of contempt. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes "at no point will it ever be enough" for Democrats.

While a contempt vote would send a message, it wouldn't force the Justice Department to hand over the report. Nor would it guarantee criminal charges against Barr: House approval of the contempt citation would send a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department official who is likely to defend the attorney general.

But if the U.S. attorney declines to prosecute, Democrats have other methods to force compliance with witnesses, like hefty fines for witnesses who fail to appear.

Even as Democrats struggle with Barr, they are in hot pursuit of Mueller's testimony. Nadler said the panel was "firming up the date" for Mueller's testimony and hoped it would be May 15. Trump signaled he won't try to stop it. During a brief Oval Office session with reporters Friday, Trump deferred to Barr, saying, "I don't know. That's up to the attorney general, who I think has done a fantastic job."

It's possible that Barr could block Mueller from appearing, since the special counsel is still a Justice Department employee. But Barr has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says he doesn't need Mueller to testify to his panel. But he is willing to hear Mueller out on one, narrow matter. On Friday, he offered to let Mueller provide testimony "if you would like" as to whether he felt Barr misrepresented Mueller's views at the Senate hearing.

Barr testified Wednesday that Mueller didn't challenge the accuracy of his memo summarizing the principal conclusions of the special counsel's report, including when they spoke on the phone. Barr made that assertion despite a letter he received in March from Mueller complaining Barr's summary didn't fully capture the "context, nature and substance" of his nearly 400-page report.

Graham invited Mueller to provide testimony "regarding any misrepresentation by the attorney general of the substance of that phone call." He did not specify whether he wanted Mueller to appear in person.
While candidates were focused on campaigning in 2016, Russians were carrying out a devastating cyber-operation that changed the landscape of American politics, with aftershocks continuing well into Donald Trump's presidency.

And it all started with the click of a tempting email and a typed-in password.

Whether presidential campaigns have learned from the cyberattacks is a critical question ahead as the 2020 election approaches. Preventing the attacks won't be easy or cheap.

"If you are the Pentagon or the NSA, you have the most skilled adversaries in the world trying to get in but you also have some of the most skilled people working defense," said Robby Mook, who ran Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. "Campaigns are facing similar adversaries, and they don't have similar resources and virtually no expertise."

Traditionally, cybersecurity has been a lower priority for candidates, especially at the early stages of a campaign. They need to raise money, hire staff, pay office rents, lobby for endorsements and travel repeatedly to early voting states.

Particularly during primary season, campaign managers face difficult spending decisions: Air a TV ad targeting a key voting demographic or invest in a more robust security system for computer networks?

"You shouldn't have to choose between getting your message out to voters and keeping the Chinese from reading your emails," said Mook, now a senior fellow with the Defending Digital Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

Mook has been helping develop a plan for a nonprofit to provide cybersecurity support and resources directly to campaigns.

The Department of Homeland Security's cyber agency is offering help, and there are signs that some Democratic campaigns are willing to take the uncomfortable step of working with an administration they are trying to unseat.

DHS has had about a dozen initial discussions with campaigns so far, officials said.

Its focus has been on establishing trust so DHS can share intelligence about possible threats and receive information from the campaigns in return, said Matt Masterson, a senior DHS cybersecurity adviser. The department also will test a campaign's or party's networks for vulnerabilities to cyberattack.

"The challenge for a campaign is they really are a pop-up," Masterson said. "They have people coming in and coming out, and they have to manage access."

It's unclear how much campaigns are spending on cybersecurity. From January to March, 12 Democratic campaigns and Trump spent at least $960,000 total on technology-related items, but that also includes technology not related to security, such as database or website services.

Former congressman John Delaney, the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for president , said he viewed cybersecurity as a fixed expense.

"It's not supercomputers cracking through your firewalls," he said. "It's really tempting emails that people respond to and give away information."

Candidates can get some advice from the Republican and Democratic national committees, which are in regular contact with Homeland Security and focus on implementing basic security protocols.

Republican National Committee press secretary Blair Ellis said the group also works with state Republican parties and emphasizes training. The organization is also developing an internal platform to share real-time threat information with state parties.

"Data security remains a top priority for the RNC," she said.

The Democratic National Committee last year hired Bob Lord, formerly head of Yahoo's information security. He has created a checklist that focuses on basics: password security, web encryption and social media privacy. This is a bigger priority than talking about the latest network protection gadget.

"What's new and interesting is fine, but it's really just about being incredibly single-minded about the basics," Lord said. "It's not glamorous, but neither is the advice for staying fit."

The 2016 attacks were low-tech, with Russian agents sending hundreds of spearfishing emails to the personal and work emails of Clinton campaign staffers and volunteers, along with people working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

After an employee clicked and gave up password information, the Russians gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's networks and eventually exploited that to gain entry to the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, fell for the same trick on his personal email account, which allowed Russians to steal thousands of messages about the inner workings of the campaign.

But it wasn't as if the Clinton campaign ignored cybersecurity. Mook said training was extensive on cyber threats, two-factor authentication was mandatory, and multiple fake emails were sent to test staffers' ability to detect phishing attempts.

The relative ease with which Russian agents penetrated computers underscores the perilous situation facing campaigns. Clinton has been talking about this with Democratic presidential candidates.

"Unless we know how to protect our election from what happened before and what could happen again ... you could lose," Clinton said in a MSNBC interview. "I don't mean it to scare everybody. But I do want every candidate to understand this remains a threat."

California Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign said it also was preaching the basics of cybersecurity with staff, such as requiring two-factor authentication and using encrypted messaging.

"All staff is being trained on threats and ways to avoid being a target," Harris spokesman Ian Sams said.

Others running in the Democratic primary avoided discussing the topic. Some campaigns, including those for Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, would not comment. The campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trump's re-election campaign wouldn't talk either.

The president has often downplayed Russia's interference in 2016. And his staff told former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen not to bring up election security during her meetings with him  saying she should focus on border security, his signature issue, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Administration officials insist election security is a priority.

"We're all in in protecting 2020," Chris Krebs, head of DHS' cyber efforts, told lawmakers Tuesday at a House committee hearing-. "I'd ask, each of you: Do you know if your campaign is working with us?"

Associated Press writers Chad Day, Zeke Miller, Juana Summers, Will Weissert, Meg Kinnard and Sara Burnett contributed to this report.
A Vista, California, Fire Department captain and lifelong Star Wars fan who famously dresses up as Chewbacca on his days off was hit hard by the death of actor Peter Mayhew, a man he said was everything, for everyone.

"It's hard to put into words what Chewbacca meant to the ['Star Wars'] community, Vista Fire Dept. Capt. Samuel Craig told NBC 7 earlier this week. He was the passion; the teddy bear; the loyalty. He was everything, for everyone."

"When something bad happened on screen, you got the visceral reaction from him, Craig added. You got to see the raw passion and he really reflected what you saw.

Mayhew, 74  best known for his iconic role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars series  died April 30 at his home in Boyd, Texas. The 7-foot-2 actor was the man inside the Wookiees furry suit in five Star Wars films beginning with the original trilogy released from 1977 to 1983.

Mayhew put the Chewbacca suit on again in 2005 for Revenge of the Sith, and in 2018 for The Force Awakens. The actor also voiced the character in cartoons and video games, and attended countless conventions, meeting fans at every turn.

One time, one of those fans was Craig.

Everywhere he goes at Comic-Con, a Vista Fire Department captain turns head with his huge Chewbacca costume and impersonations. NBC 7s Steven Luke has more on the costumes surprising origins.

For the fire captain, it was one of those moments in life that never leaves your heart.

Craig was wearing a life-size Chewbacca costume when he met his hero. Mayhew was impressed by the get-up and humbled to see the impact of his character on Craigs life. They took a few photos together.

He was so gracious, Craig recounted. It was a really great moment.

Craig said he was raised on the magic of Star Wars. In fact, it was the very first movie he ever saw in a theater.

My dad took me when I was young, on opening day, in 1977, he said. I still dont know why he took someone that young to see the movie. Growing up, my entire life was about Star Wars and Chewbacca was just always a favorite. He stands out; he was everything  he was the friend.

Craig passed down his love of Chewbacca and Star Wars to his own son. He was able to take his son to the movies in 2015 to see The Force Awakens.

He also involved his son and wife in the making of his Chewbacca costume, which he has famously worn to San Diego Comic-Con International.

In 2015, the costume was a showstopper among Comic-Con fans who lined up to take pictures with Craig.

Our whole family has a connection to the character, he added.

The costume took the Craig family 18 months to make. His son was only 5 and 6 years old at the time of the crafty undertaking. Each strand of hair was painstakingly placed on the costume and colored to match Chewbaccas appearance.

When Craig donned the costume at Comic-Con, he walked on 15-inch stilts, making him 7-foot-8  pretty close to the height of the real Chewie.

"[My] Chewbacca costume is as close to screen-accurate as my family and I were able to make it," Craig explained.

Today, when hes not wearing his fire captain uniform, Craig continues to suit up in his Chewbacca costume, wearing it to community and charity events around San Diegos North County.

In fact, he was on the phone setting up his next gig as Chewbacca earlier this week  for May the 4th, of course  when he heard news of Mayhews death.

He was crushed.

His son, knowing Craigs love for Chewbacca, was worried about his dads feelings.

[NATL] In Memoriam: Influential People We've Lost in 2019

Although Mayhew is gone, Craig finds solace in the fact that the actors legacy and all that Chewbacca stands for will never fade.

All fans need to do is turn on a Star Wars movie to feel the powers of Chewie.

Peter Mayhew was this wonderful man, and that really comes out in the character of Chewbacca. If you watch the performances carefully, you can occasionally see when its a stunt person in the costume. Peter Mayhews personality really came out, Craig explained. That couldve so easily been a character in a furry costume. So many of the mannerisms  so much of the heart  he really created a character where I dont really even know if it was meant to be.

Thats what made it an endearing character, he added. It wasnt the costume, it was the man inside the costume. For me, he was loyalty. He was this friend who stuck with Han Solo through everything. He really showed the best of what that world could be, which really had a lot to do with the actor that was inside that costume.

Craig is far from alone in his love for Mayhew. The "Star Wars" universe is grieving.

Earlier this week, Star Wars cast members and devoted fans of the franchise mourned the loss of the gentle giant, and the joy his footprint left on their lives forever.
The body found in a car in El Segundo was identified Thursday as that of a 19-year-old woman from Guatemala.

Karla Cristina Morales-Escobar was found dead at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of California and East Elm streets, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An autopsy was pending.

Famiy members in Los Angeles said she had been in the United States for about a month. They are making plans to bring her body back to Guatemala.

Someone had called to report an abandoned car, and when officers arrived, they found her body.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were assisting El Segundo police in the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
The family of a Claremont man who was murdered in Mexico have recently found a new clue in the case.

Almost exactly 6 months to the day since he was murdered in Mexico, Taylor Meyer's father, Kris, says he stumbled upon a lead during a trip to the bank and it took this investigation to Oklahoma City.

For months, Kris Meyer feared the investigation into his son Taylor's murder was going nowhere.

"I don't wish this on anyone, it's absolutely horrific," Kris Meyer said.

Now, nearly six months later, detectives release security photos of a man and a woman at an atm drive through trying to use his son's credit card in Oklahoma City.

Kris Meyer talked to NBC4 describing the moment he saw the footage.

"Seeing the person that could potentially either he could have been involved in the murder or has connections to the people who were involved in the murder, it gave me a very eerie feeling," Kris Meyer said.

Authorities say Taylor was murdered while vacationing with friends in Playa del Carmen in November.

His father believes he was killed shortly after he withdrew money from an atm there. Months later, as Meyer was closing out his son's bank account back home he noticed something suspicious.

"It also showed 2 other transactions on December 7th, from banks in Oklahoma City," Kris said. "The bad guys may have forced him to give up his pin number."

It's unclear how the two seen in the security footage are connected to Taylor's murder, but this break could be what investigators need to solve the case.

"I think it was a cruel thing obviously, I would like justice, but i really don't want anyone else murdered in mexico," Kris said.

Kris says he forgives his son's killer, or killers, but does want them to be brought to justice.
A stretch of road in Los Angeles has been renamed after former President Barack Obama.

A concert and ceremony Saturday unveiled Obama Boulevard. The street replaced Rodeo Road, a 3 -mile street that runs across the city's historic black neighborhood. It also intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and further establishes a "presidential row" that includes Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti noted at Saturday's ceremony that Obama Boulevard is in a section of the city that has a number of other streets named after presidents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"As we drive through this city and we see past presidents on Adams, on Washington, on Jefferson, now we'll have one that was in our lifetime, who was a president for everybody: Barack Hussein Obama," Garcetti said.

A couple who proposed the name change told the Times they wanted to raise the profile of the road, attract more funding for the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood and honor the 44th president.

"With this change, we are publicly documenting what Obama's legacy as our nation's first black President means to our city and our South Los Angeles community," City Council President Herb Wesson said in a statement.

"For every child who will drive down this street and see the President's name, this will serve as a physical reminder that no goal is out of reach and that no dream is too big."

While residents were receptive to having a street named after Obama, some believed organizers should have chosen a more prominent street. Wesson argued Rodeo Road was symbolically important: The road is home to Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president in 2007.

For decades, discriminatory practices, including the use of racially restrictive covenants on deeds to keep people of color from buying homes, kept the area off-limits to non-whites.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed housing discrimination, and segregation was scaled back, black residents moved into the formerly white enclave of Baldwin Hills and established the first of L.A.'s black middle- and upper-class neighborhoods.

Black-owned businesses and cultural activities once thrived on Crenshaw Boulevard. But over the years, they struggled and there are ongoing efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and author who has lived in the area for 50 years, said he hopes the name change will lead to more investments in the neighborhood.

"The area needs not just street name change, but also fresh programs, initiatives and spending on jobs, education, and housing programs for the mostly black and Hispanic low-income residents that live on or near Obama Boulevard," Hutchinson said. "This will truly be the greatest way to pay tribute to Obama."
Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
What to Know After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead.

The estranged husband of the Weston mother of three, who was found murdered inside her home earlier this week, killed himself following a standoff with police in Central Florida, officials confirmed.

Broward Sheriffs Office officials said that 39-year-old Angel Sanchez was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an incident inside his home in Highlands County on Thursday evening.

According to their report, SWAT officials from the county went to the home of Sanchez  who 34-year-old Carolyn Espinosa had begun the process of filing for divorce from  shortly after Espinosa was found dead inside her San Simeon Circle home on Wednesday.

After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead. Officials did not release additional details on that portion of the case.

Neighbors told NBC 6 Espinosa was a mother of two boys and one girl and had moved to Weston from New Jersey. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay several bills, including funeral expenses.

Anyone with additional information in either case is asked to call Broward CrimeStoppers.
Florida's U.S. senators are increasing pressure on the Trump administration to act on the crisis in Venezuela, calling it a national security matter.

After a Friday discussion with Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles, Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio chastised Cuba for aiding socialist president Nicolas Maduro in a standoff with U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Cuban government denies accusations that it has troops in Venezuela.

The U.S. and more than 50 nations view Maduro's re-election last year as illegitimate because of fraud.

Rubio mocked reports that Maduro was defeating Guaido three days after the opposition leader called for a military uprising on Tuesday that failed to push Venezuela's military into rebellion.

"This notion that Maduro is winning is ridiculous," he said. "This is a peaceful movement of civil disobedience."

Rubio said there are no questions there's a real threat to the U.S. Rubio said the U.S. government must be prepared to face Venezuela, and suggested the militant Hezbollah group is present in the South American nation. The leader of Lebanon's militant group has denied the claim.

Scott said the U.S. military must deliver humanitarian aid to stop what he called a "genocide," caused by shortages of food and medicine. He warned Venezuela could become the next Syria.

"You look at all the bad players and see what happened there. You got Russia, you got Iran, you got Hezbollah. They are all there," Scott said. "To think that we are not going to have Syria in this hemisphere if we don't deal with this now. It's going to happen, it's just when it happens."

The lawmakers met with Romy Moreno, the wife of Guaido's chief of staff Roberto Marrero. Marrero was jailed last month by Venezuelan authorities, who accuse him of being involved in a scheme to overthrow Maduro.

Also on Friday, the Trump administration ended a week of pointed but vague threats of a military response to the Venezuelan political crisis with a meeting at the Pentagon to consider its options, though there was still no sign any action was on the horizon.




By Town Hall, May 01, 2019





A number of Democratic lawmakers are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign from office over his handling of the Mueller report's release, and his answers before Congressional committees on the subject. These demands are baseless, partisan nonsense. Barr has comported himself properly and honorably, fulfilling the two core promises he relayed to Senators during his confirmation hearings: First, that the Russia probe would be permitted to play out without interference, and second, that he would make Mueller's findings available to the public in the most transparent way possible. He's betrayed neither of these promises. Mueller completed his work without any limitations, and 92 percent of his final report has been accessible to the American public for weeks. The balance of the document is blacked out with uncontroversial redactions, made in concert with Mueller's team, with certain members of Congress having access to an even less-censored copy.
North Korea insisted the U.S. agree to pay $2 million in medical costs in 2017 before it released detained American college student Otto Warmbier while he was in a coma, a former U.S. official said Thursday.

An envoy sent to North Korea to retrieve the 21-year-old student signed an agreement to pay the $2 million on instructions passed down from President Donald Trump, the former official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter.

The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the situation, first reported the demand and that the envoy signed the agreement.

The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained  unpaid  throughout 2017, the newspaper said. It is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump's two summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump on Friday said on Twitter that "No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else." He went on to criticize the Obama administration for its $1.7 billion payment cash payment of Iranian assets that had been unfrozen. That January 2016 payment came on the day Iran released four American prisoners.

Trump also criticized the Obama administration for the 2014 prisoner trade with the Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had deserted his post in Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said the administration does not comment on hostage negotiations. U.S. policy is to refuse to pay ransom for the release of Americans detained abroad.

While the majority of Americans detained by North Korea have been released in relatively good condition, Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, died in June last year shortly after he was flown home comatose after 17 months in captivity.

Warmbier was seized from a tour group while visiting North Korea in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

North Korea, which has denied accusations by relatives that it tortured Warmbier, has said he was provided "medical treatments and care with all sincerity."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the United States doesn't owe North Korea anything.

"Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused," Portman said. "No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything."

Parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier are from suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robert Lewis, a spokesman for the law firm that filed suit against North Korea on behalf of the Warmbier family, declined comment.

Yun told CNN on Thursday that he could not discuss details of his diplomatic discussions. He said his orders from Trump were to "do whatever" he could to get Warmbier back.

Asked if it would be unusual for the U.S. to pay medical costs of detainees, Yun said: "There was some expectation the North Koreans might raise hospital costs." He said that in past instances not involving Warmbier "some money could have been handed over, yes."

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
It looks like Keira Knightley will soon become a mother for the second time.

On Thursday, the British actress appeared to debut her baby bump while stepping out for a Chanel-hosted cocktail party in Paris, France. Keira, 34, was joined by husband James Righton.

Dressed in a Grecian-inspired, empire waist gown and chunky gold heels, the A-lister lovingly placed her hand on her belly as she made her way past photographers.

In 2015, the notoriously private couple welcomed their first child together, a baby girl Edie Knightley Righton. Two years prior, Keira and James tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the South of France.

Last year, the Pirates of the Caribbean star spoke candidly about the impact motherhood has had on her acting career.

Celebrities Who Managed to Hide Their Pregnancies

"There's that sense of, like, I don't give a f--k," Knightley joked to Harper's Bazaar.

She continued, "Once you've had that whole experience of leaking breasts everywhere and the messiness of it--there's no control, it's animalistic. I feel that in a funny way with acting it sort of helps; there is no embarrassment any more."

Knightley also penned a controversial essay about her childbirth experience, in which she critiqued Kate Middleton's postpartum actions and compared them to her own. The actress would later clarify her remarks.

She's already instilling her feminist beliefs within 3-year-old Edie, recently revealing to Ellen DeGeneres that there are a few Disney films that the toddler is "banned" from watching.

[NATL] Celebrity Baby Boom: Christian Slater u0026 Wife Welcome Daughter

As Keira described, "Cinderalla" is a big no-no "because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don't! Rescue yourself. Obviously! And this is the one that I'm quite annoyed about because I really like the film, but 'Little Mermaid' [is banned, too]. I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello! But the problem with 'The Little Mermaid' is I love 'The Little Mermaid!' That one's a little tricky--but I'm keeping to it."

E! News has reached out to her rep for comment.
A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News.

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
Employees at a New Jersey White Castle are credited with helping to save a man who staggered into the restaurant with stab wounds.

The 34-year-old victim sat down in a booth in the White Castle in Clifton early Saturday and workers saw he was bleeding badly. A pool of blood was forming at his feet.

"It was very bad there was a lot of blood," said Romie Foster, who works at the restaurant.

Employees called 911 and first responders arrived minutes later.

"Most times people turn their heads and walk away but there are good people," customer John Richard told NBC 4 New York.

The victim, who lives in Passaic, was hospitalized in critical condition, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

It's not clear where he was stabbed, Valdes said. No one has been arrested.

Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutors at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Clifton Police Department at 973-470-5900.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchy's power after the October 2016 death at age 88 of Vajiralongkorn's revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued his post-coronation royal command, which is supposed to set the tone for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father's first command.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said, according to an unofficial translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since assuming the throne. On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed the crown atop his head. The "Great Crown of Victory," said to date from 1782, is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high, weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces of royal regalia, including the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, presented in homage to his power.

Absolute rule by kings ended with a 1932 revolution in Thailand that ushered in a constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, Thai kings are regarded as almost divine and have been seen as a unifying presence in a country that has seen regular bouts of political instability as it rotates between elected governments and military rule.

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has tightened control over royal institutions and acted to increase his influence in his country's administration. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Like kings before him, Vajiralongkorn is protected by one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, which makes criticism of him and other top royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison and has dampened open debate about the monarchy's role in society.

Vajiralongkorn began Saturday's coronation proceedings wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony, completed the consecration portion of his coronation, giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king. Vajiralongkorn  having changed into gold-embroidered royal vestments  was seated on an octagonal throne, with the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass, and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy water over the king's hand, along with a ninth representing the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his full consecration.

"This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation," said Naowarat Buakluan, a civil servant. "If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, it's because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king."

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, "doesn't like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper." When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn "insisted that everything had to be done properly."

"Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesn't mind the expense, but it has to be done properly," Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country's queen. His father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just a week before his own coronation, at which he named her his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the 2  hours of ceremonies ended, Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person, civil servants in uniform and members of the public wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside the Grand Palace to pay their respects.

"I feel glad and hopeful that the king ascends the throne after his father, King Rama IX, to be a guardian and the hope of the Thai people," said onlooker Amornrat Wangpan from Uttaradit province, 433 kilometers (269 miles) north of Bangkok. "It will be a civilized era having many things. I feel that Thailand is now opened to the light and now civilized."

Later Saturday, the king held an audience for members of the royal family, the Privy Council and the Cabinet, among other senior officials, where they vowed their allegiance to king and country, and he promised to work with them for the nation's benefit.

Some carefully vetted members of the public admitted to the palace grounds got a thrill later when Vajiralongkorn was carried on an ornately decorated palanquin to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha  usually considered Thai Buddhism's holiest site site  by a specially trained contingent of soldiers dressed in colorful ceremonial uniforms who marched in strict precision. The king, like his predecessors, made the short journey to vow to defend the Buddhist faith, the religion of more than 90% of Thailand's people.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, in which the king will again be carried on his palanquin through nearby city streets to visit four important temples and allow the public to pay homage to him.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.

Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders return to Omaha every year to learn from Warren Buffett and celebrate the company he built through acquisitions and investments.

But with the 88-year-old Buffett and 95-year-old Charlie Munger leading the company, it's hard for shareholders not to wonder how much longer the revered investors will be in place. And the fact that Berkshire is holding more than $114 billion in cash and short-term investments raises questions about what Buffett might buy next.

Shareholder Stephen Teenois, 30, made his first trip to this year's meeting on Saturday after owning the stock for several years because he wanted to experience the event where Buffett and Munger spend hours answering questions.

"I just want to soak in everything I can and learn from him," said Teenois, who is from Houston.

Buffett has said that Berkshire has a succession plan in place for whenever it is needed. Neither Buffett nor Munger has any plans to retire. Two longtime executives, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, have been promoted to vice chairmen to help oversee Berkshire's businesses. One of them will likely eventually be Berkshire's next CEO.

Buffett said Saturday that both Abel and Jain have done a great job since they were promoted into the new roles in early 2018, and both earned about $18 million last year. Jain oversees the conglomerate's insurance businesses while Abel oversees non-insurance business operations.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit," Buffett said.

Jim Weber, CEO of Berkshire company Brooks Running, said the transition from reporting directly to Buffett to reporting to Abel has gone smoothly.

"I've enjoyed working with him. He's incredibly smart," Weber said about Abel.

Berkshire's eclectic collection of more than 90 businesses includes a variety of industries. Previously, Abel oversaw Berkshire utility businesses.

Shareholder Bill Laub, 67, of Moline, Illinois, said he wasn't worried about Buffett's successor or the future of the company because he has faith in the team behind him.

"If something happened to Warren, there would be the shock and the blip, and then it will all be over," Laub said.

Laub said he hopes there is another big acquisition in Buffett and Berkshire's future. Buffett has said that he has had a hard time finding acquisitions selling for reasonable prices in recent years because the market has soared.

"I hope he finds something good to buy," Laub said.

Buffett faced several questions about whether relatively recent deals, including Kraft Heinz, were paying off for Berkshire:

Buffett said he's happy with Berkshire Hathaway's partnership with the Brazilian firm of 3G Capital. The companies worked together to buy Kraft and Heinz, but recently the combined food giant had to write down the value of its brands by $15 billion.

"I'm pleased that we are partners, and it's conceivable that something else could come up," Buffett said.

Buffett said the main problem with the Kraft investment is that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for it. Buffett also said that he and 3G underestimated the challenges branded foods face from retailers and the growth of private label products.
What to Know A bill in Pennsylvania would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary race.

Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years,.

Pennsylvania: Land of Disenfranchisement?

It's not the state slogan, but Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly and sparks a debate in Pennsylvania's Legislature for the first time in memory about opening up party primaries.

It helps that it is led by a high-profile backer, the top Republican in the GOP-controlled state Senate, Joe Scarnati, who has his own story about switching his registration to independent in 2000 to get elected.

"As I look at extremism that takes place in primaries today and lack of participation, I want to increase that participation in the primary process," Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in an interview Wednesday. "And I think it is a start, it's not a solution, but it is a start to start getting some moderation in our primary process."

Scarnati's bill, which would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary, received a hearing this past week in the Senate State Government Committee as part of a broader election reform package.

It has the support of the committee chairman, Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, as well as backing from the Senate's ranking Democrat, Jay Costa, Gov. Tom Wolf and good-government groups Common Cause and the Committee of Seventy.

Costa, of Allegheny County, said he sees the bill as a way to get more voters engaged.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years, reflecting national trends that are fueling activism around the cause of opening up primaries.

Here's the catch: researchers don't find that open primaries have much, if any, effect on increasing turnout or moderating politics.

One paper, published in 2011 by researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California, Princeton University and the universities of Denver and Chicago, found that "we should expect little from open primary reform in the modern political age."

"In fact, most of the effects we have found tend to be the opposite of those that are typically expected: the more open the primary system, the more liberal the Democrat and the more conservative the Republican," it said.

Many independent voters don't pay close attention to politics and are among the least likely to vote, researchers say. Meanwhile, independent voters are not necessarily moderate, and are just as likely to have party-aligned ideologies as party-registered voters, researchers say.

"Most people who call themselves independent or unaffiliated actually vote pretty consistently with one of the major parties," said Seth Masket, who chairs the University of Denver's political science department and helped author the paper. "They just prefer not to call themselves a member of that party or be identified that way."

States have a hodge-podge of primary election laws, and Pennsylvania is among the most closed states, along with heavily populated New York and Florida, analysts say.

There is movement, albeit slow, among states to open up primaries, say researchers from the National Conference on State Legislatures.

Pennsylvania, since at least 1937, has had closed primaries, and researchers say primary elections were originally created as a way to smash the influence of party brass over picking nominees.

Now, a constellation of advocacy groups want to open primaries for a similar reason: to smash the influence of parties over the political process.

Jen Bullock, a Montgomery County psychotherapist and registered independent, said this is the most traction she's seen 15 years after founding the group Independent Pennsylvanians.

An open primary system can erode the outsized influence of political parties over a system of elected government that doesn't address issues of concern to ordinary citizens anymore, Bullock said.

"I don't think the parties should be gatekeepers to our voting rights," Bullock said.

Party officials are keeping a low-profile on the issue. Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills said she would leave the matter to the party's elected officials, while Scarnati said Republican Party officials have told him "they're not happy about it."

But, he said, he has come to the conclusion after 19 years in office that he is right, and that willingness to compromise is badly needed in the state Capitol.

"The upside for political parties," Scarnati said, "is far greater than the downside."
President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed what Trump again dismissed as the "Russian Hoax" in their first known phone call since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election meddling. Putin chuckled about Mueller's findings, Trump said.

During their conversation on Friday, which the White House and Kremlin said lasted more than an hour, they also discussed a possible three-party arms control pact with China, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Ukraine and the crisis in Venezuela, where Moscow is propping up the current government over the U.S.-backed opposition.

"We had a good conversation about many things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said the two leaders were considering a new nuclear agreement "where we make less and they make less. And maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now." He said they had discussed the possibility of including China in the deal and that China would "very much would like to be a part of" it.

But more interesting, perhaps, was what was left unsaid.

Trump said that, at no point, did he warn Putin not to meddle in the next election. And while he and Putin did discuss Mueller's findings, they appeared to gloss over Mueller's description of the extensive efforts Russia took to interfere in the 2016 election, including the 25 Russians indicted for that effort.

"We discussed it," Trump said of the report. "He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that, 'It started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse,'" Trump said of Putin. "But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. So pretty much that's what it was."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said Trump didn't tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election because he's made that clear in the past. "He doesn't need to do that every two seconds," she said.

Mueller's report concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "sweeping and systematic." Ultimately, Mueller's investigators did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, but they found multiple contacts. Indeed, the report concluded that "the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."

Trump tweeted after the call that the two had discussed topics including the "Russian Hoax."

"As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing," he wrote.

Trump said he and Putin had instead focused on other topics, including the possibility of the new nuclear arms deal between the U.S., Russia and China. He said U.S. officials had broached the idea with the Chinese during ongoing trade talks and that China was "excited about that, maybe even more excited than about trade." Discussions on a new nuclear deal, he said, would likely begin shortly between the U.S. and Russia, with China potentially added "down the road."

Trump did not say which arms control agreement he and Putin had discussed, but the Russian state news agency Tass reported that they talked about the New START treaty, the last major arms-control treaty remaining between the U.S. and Russia.

The treaty, which was signed in 2010 and expires in 2021, restricts both the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on a maximum of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

"There was a discussion about having  extending the current nuclear agreement  as well as discussions about potentially starting a new one that could include China as well," Sanders said.

Trump earlier this year announced that he was pulling the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Trump accused Moscow of violating its terms with "impunity" by deploying missiles banned by the pact. Moscow denies violating it and has accused Washington of being in non-compliance.

Trump's decision to exit the INF treaty reflected his administration's view that it was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. China's military has grown mightily since that treaty was signed, and the pact had prevented the U.S. from deploying weapons to counter some of those being developed by Beijing.

"The world has moved on from the Cold War and its bilateral arms control treaties that cover limited types of nuclear weapons or only certain ranges of adversary missiles," national security adviser John Bolton told The Associated Press last week. "Russia and China must be brought to the table."

A Kremlin readout of the call said the two presidents confirmed their mutual desire "to intensify dialogue in various fields, including on issues of strategic stability," but gave no details about a possible arms deal.

Trump said the two also spoke extensively about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last week to meet with Putin. Sanders said Trump said several times that it was important for Russia to continue to help put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

The statement released by the Kremlin after Friday's call said Putin stressed that "Pyongyang's conscientious fulfillment of its obligations should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce sanctions pressure on North Korea."

On Venezuela, Trump insisted that Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela." That's despite the fact that Russia has forged a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

The U.S. and about 50 other nations take the position that Maduro's re-election last year was irrevocably marred by fraud and he is not the legitimate president. In January, the administration took the unusual step of recognizing Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, as interim president.

The Kremlin said that during the call, Putin stressed that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine the future of their country. The statement said that outside interference in internal affairs and attempts at forceful regime change in Caracas undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis.
A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.

John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy after 15 days of jury deliberations. Four ex-employees of the Chandler, Arizona-based company, including the former exotic dancer, were also convicted.

Some of the most sensational evidence in the months-long federal trial included a video of employees dancing and rapping around an executive dressed as a giant bottle of the powerful opioid spray Subsys, and testimony about how the company made a habit of hiring attractive women as sales representatives.

The case threw a spotlight on the federal government's efforts to go after those it views as responsible for fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.

Opioid overdoses claimed nearly 400,000 lives in the U.S. between 1999 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illegal drugs such as heroin.

Kapoor and the others were accused of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys and misleading insurers in order to get payment approved for the costly drug, which is meant for cancer patients in severe pain. The bribes were paid in the form of fees for sham speaking engagements that were billed as educational opportunities for other doctors.

The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.

"We will continue the fight to clear Dr. Kapoor's name," defense attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. She said the long deliberations prove it was "far from an open-and-shut case."

A former sales representative testified that regional sales manager Sunrise Lee once gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to a doctor whom Insys was pushing to write more prescriptions. Lee's lawyer said she will challenge the verdict.

Jurors also watched the rap video meant to motivate sales reps to push doctors to prescribe higher doses of the drug.

The company's former CEO, Michael Babich, pleaded guilty and testified against his colleagues. He said Insys recruited sales reps who were "easy on the eyes" because doctors didn't want an "unattractive person to walk in their door."

Kapoor's attorney sought to shift the blame onto the company's former vice president of sales, Alec Burlakoff, who also pleaded guilty.




By Israel Hayom, May 01, 2019





It turns out that the Islamist terrorists who slaughtered more than 350 people in Sri Lanka came from one of that countrys wealthiest families. This news will surely come as a surprise to those who have become accustomed to hearing political leaders and pundits claim that poverty is what drives young Muslims to become terrorists.





The whole premise behind the more than $10 billion that the United States gave to the Palestinian Authority from 1994 to 2017 was that Palestinian unemployment will lead to Palestinian terrorism  so we better give them money, and lots of it.
A vigil was held for a 13-year-old boy who died Friday night after getting hit by a car in a tragic accident in Lemon Grove.

The boy has since been identified as Trevon Harris, by his mother, Tanya Harris, who spoke to NBC 7.

Dozens of people attended the vigil held Saturday night, including Mayor of Lemon Grove Racquel Vasquez. Many brought balloons, flowers, and even stuffed animals to leave at the scene.

Trevons mother said she wants the community to remember her sons love for life, his love for his little brother, and his dreams of becoming a basketball player.

We ought to celebrate his life today, said Tanya.

Tanya shared that Trevon dreamed of making it to the NBA as he was a big Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry fan. He was on The Lemon Groves recreational team called, The Young Bulls.

Tanya Harris/NBC 7

She shared the last moment she spent with him at the hospital saying that when she held his hand, she felt his spirit saying, Mom, Im ok.

The tragic accident happened in front of San Miguel Elementary School at around 6:19 p.m. Friday night, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department.

Witnesses told NBC 7 Trevon ran from his front yard between two parked cars, slid on loose gravel, and fell forward into the street as a car was coming by.

Tanya was turning the car around to pick him up when the collision happened, witnesses said.

Trevon was then taken to Rady Childrens Hospital with severe head injuries. He was pronounced dead a short time later, said SDSO.

On Saturday, the Lemon Grove School District released a statement saying:

"On Friday evening, a 7th grade Lemon Grove Middle School student was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Lemon Grove. On behalf of the Lemon Grove School District, we want to extend our deepest and most profound sympathy to the family, friends, and community during this most difficult time.

"The mental health and well-being of our staff and students will be at the forefront for the foreseeable future. District staff will have counseling support in place at Lemon Grove Middle School and San Miguel Elementary School Monday morning. Please contact your school principal if your child is in need of additional support. Over the coming days, in particular, we ask staff, students, and the Lemon Grove community alike to seek support if needed."

Trevons family has organized a Go Fund Me page to help pay for funeral expenses.

The accident is under investigation but officials do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors. The driver remained at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators. Witnesses said the driver knelt on the side of the road and prayed for the victim.

Anyone with information on this incident can call the Lemon Grove Station at (619) 337-2000.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the boy was 14 years old. NBC 7 has since spoken with the boy's mother, who told NBC 7 the boy had just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago.
Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wife's ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called "marital rape exemption" or "spousal defense" still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

"No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books," Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. "The concept of a pre-existing relationship defense should have never been part of our criminal statutes."

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as "appalling and archaic."

"Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force," she said. "You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and it's not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and it's not a crime. It was really troubling."

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by women's rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states' marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victim's capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for "smacking the other's behind" during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

"If your religion believes if you're married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption?" he asked.

"No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment," replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But that's no place for the General Assembly."

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hale's premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses can't be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isn't serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the state's marital rape exemption.

"I was beside myself," she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

"I thought if I can't have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it," she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teeson's advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

"She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story," Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. "Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Let's do the right thing. Let's right this wrong."

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said she's not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

"In the past, I know that there's been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth," Tobin said. "But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for."

Boggs' bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohio's criminal code. Her argument in favor of it is straightforward.

"Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldn't give you permission to rape them," she said.

Associated Press writer Brian Witte and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.
Washington, D.C. has a well-known rat problem. Rodent complaints to the citys 311 line have been steadily increasing over the last few years and the citys mayor has now led two rat walks in an effort to track the growing rodent infestation. The District is even trying birth control on rats.

But for the last few years, the Humane Rescue Alliance has been spearheading a creative, though not exactly unheard of, way to fight the rat kings and queens of the District of Columbia: pairing local businesses and communities with feral, unsocialized cats to hunt and kill their natural prey.

First developed in 2017, the HRAs Blue Collar Cats program takes stray, feral cats that end up in its care, spays and neuters them, and then matches them to businesses or homes to catch and deter unwanted rodents, HRA Vice President Lauren Lipsey told News4.

Our original goal was to do a handful in the first year, but we didnt recognize the number of property owners that would be interested, Lipsey said.

The program started off with a bang, with 20 feline placements around the city and a waiting list more than 40 people long, Lipsey said.

We had an initial boost with great publicity, Lipsey said. It became attractive to cat aficionados and people who previously did not have an interest in cats.

Now, Blue Collar Cats are at work in the most populous area of the city, prowling the streets of Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Petworth and Shaw for those squirmy tails and furry shadows that haunt D.C. residents.

Lipsey also said that she and the HRA were surprised to see how many homeowners were interested in sponsoring a Blue Collar Cat in their neighborhood, given that they marketed the program as a way for businesses to deal with pests.

We anticipated mostly businesses, and then homeowners contacted us, which was not necessarily how we marketed the program, Lipsey said. But there was also excitement to see properties accept pairs of cats together.

To assign a pair of cats together is a big accomplishment, Lipsey said, because their feral nature makes them fearful of humans and other animals. By definition, feral cats are unsocialized, usually wandering cities lonelily and scavenging for food.

If we get two cats and we can match them together, they can be social with each other, Lipsey said. It works with cats because unsocial cats can wander alone when they are spayed and neutered.

And 2018 was another year of success for the program, Lipsey said. The HRA was able to place 110 cats around the city, with 17 businesses taking 25 cats and 62 homes taking 85 cats.

One of those businesses is D.C.s own Right Proper Brewing Company in Northeast Washington.

At this Brookland facility, co-owner Thor Cheston said his feline staff member does his fair share in keeping the barley and hops fermenting.

There is a theory that links the domestication of cats to the development of brewing, that the reason why cats were domesticated in the first place was to guard grain, Cheston said. Cats were following the food source, rodents, and the rodents were following their food source, grain.

Cheston said this history drew him to want to recruit a Blue Collar Cat.

Breweries having or employing a cat or multiple cats goes back centuries, Cheston said. So when I learned about the Blue Collar Cat program, I jumped all over it. It just seemed so natural.

Right Proper Brewing has had two rat-hunting cats, Cheston said. Their first employee, named Barley, worked for the brewery for six months before running off in 2017. The brewery now has a younger cat, named Oats, who joined the team in 2018.

Barley was great. He was a little bit older so he didnt grow as attached to us as our current cat is now, so eventually he did run away, Cheston told News4. But he was very effective at his job.

Still, though Oats, is more energetic and relatively more friendly, he still keeps his distance, Cheston said.

He still doesnt let us touch him, we cant pet him, he does not care too much for that interaction but its almost like we have an understanding, Cheston said. We have a professional courtesy I would say.

Lipsey said Right Proper is a perfect example of the kind of relationship between cat and partner that succeeds.

Theyve been huge supporters and they are a good member of the community, Lipsey said. They really serve as an example to other businesses.

And Cheston said the presence of a cat is often enough to scare away rats.

We had an issue with this one rat that was eating through installation and working his way through drywall and barley and he nixed that. I think the word got out very quickly, Cheston said.

And Cheston said he has no intention of letting Oats go.

We havent seen any activity since hes been here, Cheston said. Hes our guy.

Learn more about the Blue Collar Cats program here.
A Maryland man faces a felony charge for attempting to have sex with a horse and has been ordered to stay away from all animals while he awaits his day in court, authorities said on Friday.

Officials say 67-year-old James Von Dundas from North Potomac, Maryland, was charged with attempted carnal knowledge of an animal after soliciting an undercover Loudoun County Animal Services officer on Thursday for the opportunity to have sexual relations with a horse.

Police arrested Von Dundas at Balls Bluff Park in Leesburg, Virginia, where he "indicated his intent to engage in the illegal activity" to the animal services officer, police said.

He has been charged and was released on $2,500 bond.

April is "prevention of cruelty to animals month." News4's Sheena Parveen talked to Chris Schindler from Humane Rescue Alliance to find out how the organization handles animal cruelty.

Loudoun County has zero tolerance for criminal acts that include cruel and heinous behavior towards animals, Animal Control Chief Chris Brosan said in a news release. We routinely conduct investigations to protect all animals in Loudoun.

Von Dundas is also prohibited from being in contact with any animal species before his court appearance on May 6, officials said.

Under Virginia law, crimes against animals are a Class 6 felony, which can lead to a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In January, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld Virginia's ban on bestiality, saying that animals are not able to provide consent.

We recognize that proactive investigations are one of the best ways to ensure the community is safe, said Department of Animal Services Director Nina Stively in a news release. We do not want to wait for crimes against animals to happen, we want to prevent them.
If ever there was a topic that might easily lend itself to bipartisan agreement in Massachusetts it would be lobster, the tasty crustacean that's long been both a staple of New England cuisine and a vital part of the region's economy.

Democratic and Republican leaders on Beacon Hill are moving toward consensus on legislation that seeks to expand lobster processing, in turn growing markets and giving consumers a wider selection of lobster products at restaurants and local supermarkets. The plan received a major boost from the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, which in a recent report concluded it would deliver "economic benefits throughout the state's seafood supply chain," along with "greater access to desirable seafood products."

Pending final approval from the lawmakers, the state's lobster regulations would change to allow for in-state processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell _ claws and tails, for example _ and permit seafood dealers to import shell-on lobster parts for further processing.

Current law is more limited. You can, of course, sell whole lobsters cooked or uncooked, and the meat can be sold canned or at restaurants; think lobster rolls. In 2013, the Legislature amended the statute to allow frozen shell-on tails that weigh at least 3 ounces to be sold, as well.

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has for several years pushed to further expand legal lobster processing in Massachusetts, citing figures that show about 80% of the state's lobster catch now being shipped to Maine or Canada for processing.

"This legislation modernizes those lobster laws to bolster the fishing industry and give consumers, including local restaurants and food stores, more choices while sustainably supporting coastal fishing communities," Tarr said in a statement.

The Republican represents the coastal city of Gloucester, the state's No. 1 lobstering port. Massachusetts as a whole boasts the nation's second-largest lobster harvest, about 11% of the U.S. total. Maine, which liberalized its processing laws about a decade ago, is far and away the largest catcher, with 83% of the domestic haul.

Relaxing the current regulations would create new business opportunities in Massachusetts, Tarr and other supporters contend. One company, Topsfield-based East Coast Seafood, has already told state officials it would look to expand its processing facilities and create new jobs if the bill becomes law.

The measure easily cleared the Senate last year with support from key Democrats in coastal districts, including Sens. Mark Montigny, of New Bedford, and Michael Rodrigues, of Westport. But the House wasn't quite ready to fully embrace the idea.

First, House lawmakers sought assurances from the Division of Marine Fisheries that easing current restrictions wouldn't harm lobster conservation efforts and that regulators would be able to prevent the illegal breaking apart of juvenile lobsters that are below minimum state and federal size limits.

The agency's report, issued in December, foresaw no negative effects on Massachusetts' largest fishery.

"This is because the existing regulations and processing requirements provide multiple opportunities for law enforcement to monitor and enforce against violations of lobster conservation regulations," the report said, citing Maine's experience among other factors.

As for consumers, the availability of shell-on lobster parts such as tails and claws fits a trend toward foods that are quicker and easier to prepare and eat, the study noted. Anyone who has wrestled a live lobster into a pot of boiling water and struggled to crack shells or pry meat out with tiny forks might agree.

Encouraged by the report, House backers including Democratic Rep. Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, successfully attached language similar to Tarr's bill to a state budget that cleared the chamber last month, boosting chances of it eventually becoming law either through the budget process or separate legislation.

Peake pointed to potential benefits in coastal communities, where restaurants and seafood markets do booming business selling live lobsters during the summer tourism months, only to struggle the rest of the year.

"As the fall starts to roll in and the lobsters are still abundant, you have fewer of those clam shacks that are open and you have an overabundance of lobsters that are being landed and not enough consumers still interested in consuming the whole lobster," Peake told House colleagues. "This bill will help stabilize that and provide markets for Massachusetts lobstermen that currently don't exist today," she added.
Saturday is Green Up Day in Vermont  one of the state's longest-running and most iconic annual traditions.

For 49 years now, volunteers have fanned out across the state on the first Saturday in May, picking up litter across some 13,000 miles of roadway.

Friday, some Vermonters got a head-start on the work.

Employees of the Winooski soap manufacturer TwinCraft Skincare picked up litter on streets surrounding their headquarters.

Participant Jason Smith found an old vacuum dumped in the woods and hauled it out.

"I've done these [clean-up efforts] before in other areas, but it's amazing just across the street in the woods there how much trash we pulled out," Smith told necn. "There was probably four bags, just across the street!"

Last year, the effort reached 240 towns statewide, with 23,000 people collecting 225 tons of trash, according to Green Up Day organizers.

"That's a lot," Twincraft's Lisa Ashley said. "I think when the snow melts, everyone's a little surprised at what's hiding underneath."

Gov. Phil Scott did his part Friday, along with members of his administration, by picking up litter along Route 2 in Middlesex.

The governor calls Green Up Day key to Vermont's reputation as a good place to enjoy the outdoors.

"To have our roadsides cleaned up is really a statement about who are, and I think it's inviting to a lot of our tourists that come to the state," Scott said at a press conference Thursday promoting Green Up Day.

This year, Green Up Day is going high-tech, with a new app available to help volunteer groups figure out which parts of their cities and towns need attention.

Lisa Ashley said she hopes the spirit of Green Up Day lasts throughout the year in Vermont.

"I feel like we can all do our part, and if you walk by something, just pick it up so it's not just once a year," she said. "Everyone has to go out and be cleaning this up."
Massachusetts State Police diverted traffic on Route 1 in Chelsea after a tractor-trailer jackknifed Saturday morning. Officials cleared the scene around 10 a.m. and reopened traffic.

Police said the incident occurred on the northbound side and traffic was temporarily diverted onto Route 16 in Chelsea.

Chelsea firefighters responded to the area, assisted by MassDOT, when the fuel tanks ruptured.

Initial reports did not indicate any injuries in the crash, which was reported about 7:20 a.m. Reporter Nia Hamm said the highway reopened at 10:09 a.m.
Results and reaction as they come in

ELECTION results for Newbury and Thatcham town councils, plus some parish councils, will be announced today (Saturday).

Yesterday saw the Conservatives maintain control of West Berkshire Council with 24 councillors, holding on with a majority of five.

It was a historic day for the Green Party, who saw three of their candidates elected to the district council for the first time.

The Liberal Democrats took the 16 remaining seats, including six of Thatcham's seven and seven of Newbury's 12.

There are 23 seats up for election on Newbury Town Council, split between five wards  Clay Hill, East Fields, Speenhamland, Wash Common and West Fields.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 17 councillors to the Lib Dems six.

The Conservatives are fielding 22 candidates, the Lib Dems 21, Labour five, Greens two, UKIP one, while one independent candidate is standing.

In Thatcham, there are 18 seats up for grabs on the town council, split between four wards  Thatcham Central, Thatcham Crookham, Thatcham North East and Thatcham West.

Five candidates each will be elected to represent Central, North East and West, and three to Crookham.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 14 councillors to the Lib Dems four.

The Conservatives are fielding 18 candidates, the Lib Dems 15, Greens two, UKIP two and Labour one.

Elections for a number of other town and parish councils across the district will also be held today. These include Burghfield, Inkpen, Stratfield Mortimer, Theale, and Woolhampton.

4pm

Thank you for following our live blog. Don't forget to pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News next Thursday for all the results, in-depth reaction and photos from a dramatic couple of days.

Theale Parish Council results, elected were Clint Rolfe, Becky Williams, Alan Clark, Zoe Fenwick, Paul Clifford, Stuart Coker, Dan Baker, Lisa Cox, Iain Hopcroft, Jan Richardson, and Katie Leanne Gash

3.50pm

An incredible day for the Lib Dems, who have won 19 out of the 23 seats on Newbury Town Council and 15 of the 18 seats on Thatcham Town Council.

The party also took 16 seats on West Berkshire Council yesterday (a gain of 11).

Lib Dem Jeff Brooks said that a "yellow tide had swept away the blues".

3.05pm

The full results for Newbury East Fields are as follows:

Billy Drummond Liberal Democrats 896 Elected

Olivia Marie Elizabeth Lewis Liberal Democrats 820 Elected

Erik Pattenden Liberal Democrats 819 Elected

Jon Gage Liberal Democrats 809 Elected

Vaughan John Miller Liberal Democrats 794 Elected

John Henry Bennett Conservative Party 362 Not elected

Norma Murray Conservative Party 359 Not elected

George Paterson Conservative Party 337 Not elected

Archie William Denison-Smith Conservative Party 332 Not elected

Dave Joseph Mbawa Conservative Party 300 Not elected

Malik Kamail Pasha Azam UK Independence (UKIP) 179 Not elected

2.59pm

What a day for the Lib Dems. They have taken five more seats on Newbury Town Council after a clean sweep of the Newbury East Fields ward.

2.55pm

A flurry of results as three wards come in quick succession.

The Lib Dems have taken back control of Thatcham Town Council with 15 of the 18 seats. Stark contrast to four years ago when the Lib Dems had three seats to the Conservative's 15.

The Tories have been reduced to two seats, while the Green Party have their first councillor on Thatcham Town Council.

Deputy mayor Richard Crumly loses his seat, while his wife Ellen Crumly retains her seat in Thatcham Central. Steve Ardagh Walter is the other surviving Tory.

Former headteacher Paul Field is elected for the Greens.

Elected to Thatcham Central were: Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, 1050), Jennifer Walker (Lib Dem, 971), Nassar Kessell (Lib Dem, 951), Paul Field (Green, 695), Ellen Crumly (Con, 585).

Not elected: Janet Cover (Con, 577), Richard Crumly (Con, 564), Robert Denton-Powell (Con, 522), Marigold Jaques (Con, 480), David McMahon (UKIP, 321).

Elected to Thatcham West were: Jeff Brooks (990), Keith Woodhams (869), Mark Lillycrop (811), Simon Pike (808), and David Lister (755).

Not elected Helen Picken (Con, 435), Ian Causer (Con, 430), Karen Manley (Con, 427), Gary Clarke (Con, 417), Jane Livermore (Green, 366), William Russell (Con, 325), Gary Johnson (UKIP, 290), George Rattray (90)

2.10pm

Some big name casualties for the Conservatives in Wash Common, with Newbury Town Council leader Adrian Edwards and three former mayors - Howard Bairstow, Anthony Pick and David Fenn - all losing their seats.

The results in full are as follows:

Roger Hunneman Liberal Democrats 1828 Elected

Chris Foster Liberal Democrats 1809 Elected

David Ralph Marsh Green Party 1779 Elected

Sarah Collette Slack Liberal Democrats 1773 Elected

Tony Vickers Liberal Democrats 1749 Elected

Gary Arthur Norman Liberal Democrats 1697 Elected

Adrian Arthur Walter Edwards Conservative Party 1112 Not elected

David Robert Fenn Conservative Party 1061 Not elected

Howard Martin Bairstow Conservative Party 1010 Not elected

Lorna Holmes Conservative Party 918 Not elected

Anthony Corbett Pick Conservative Party 879 Not elected

Mark Anthony Jones Conservative Party 817 Not elected

Andy Wallace Labour Party 306 Not elected

Peter Charles Tullett Labour Party 257 Not elected

2.05pm

The Lib Dems take five of the six available seats on Newbury Wash Common ward, with the Green Party taking the other.

After taking 14 seats, the Lib Dems have now regained control of Newbury Town Council.

Full results to follow.

1.45pm

The results are in for Newbury West Fields ward and the Lib Dems have taken all five seats.

Mary Martha Vickers Liberal Democrats 1268 Elected

Andy Moore Liberal Democrats 1263 Elected

Martin Eric Colston Liberal Democrats 1244 Elected

Elizabeth Rosemary O'Keeffe Liberal Democrats 1219 Elected

Nigel Peter Foot Liberal Democrats 1178 Elected

Richard Gordon Willis Conservative Party 620 Not elected

Edward John McDonald Amies Conservative Party 567 Not elected

Joseph Alvin Clarke Conservative Party 547 Not elected

Philip Charles Gilbart Witheridge Conservative Party 514 Not elected

Mark Andrew Wilson Conservative Party 488 Not elected

1.30pm

Green councillor Steve Masters tells us: "As a student of history Speenhamland was a very attractive area ward to stand in. It's a great privilege to represent it. I'm looking forward to it, we have got some fabulous green spaces in Newbury like Victoria Park and the allotments and part of the tenure of the town council is to maintain this for the public, and I look forward to being involved in that."

The results in full for Newbury Speenhamland are as follows:

Stephen Michael Masters Green Party 513 Elected

Jo Day Liberal Democrats 354 Elected

Jeanette Clifford Conservative Party 309 Not elected

Mauline Lucy Akins Conservative Party 274 Not elected

Bert Clough Labour Party 95 Not elected

Paul Pugh Labour Party 73 Not elected

1.23pm

The results for Newbury Speenhamland are in and its another historic moment as the Green Party gain their first ever seat on Newbury Town Council after Steve Masters is elected.

Lib Dem Jo Day has taken the other seat.

Its been an unbelievable 24 hours for Steve Masters after being elected to West Berkshire Council yesterday.

Conservative Jeanette Clifford has just lost her town council seat having also lost her district council seat yesterday.

1.21pm

The results for Burghfield Parish Council are in. 22 candidates battled it out for the 19 available seats.

Elected

Royce Longton, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Margaret Gallagher, Jane Ansell, Tim Ansell, Nick Morse, Ian Morrin, Ian MacFarlane, Bill Neilson, Alison May, Graham Harris, Tricia Hipwell, Libby Sharp, David Godwin, Daniel Kellaway, Maureen Cresser, Andrea Hales, Paul Lawrence, Christopher Greaves, Duncan Godding





191

Not elected

1.13pm

The Lib Dems take two of the three seats in Thatcham Crookham. Conservatives take the other.

John Boyd (Lib Dem, 471), Richard Foster (Lib Dem, 452) and Steve Ardagh Walter (Con, 489) are elected.

Julie Goode (Con, 389) and Paul Mather (Con, 425) miss out.

12.51pm

The Lib Dems have taken all five seats in Thatcham North East.

Lee Dillon (1046 votes), Mike Cole (1041), Jeremy Cottam (990), Christine Rice (930), and Lourdes Cottam (916) all elected.

Town council leader Jason Collis loses his seat along with former mayor Sheila Ellison.

Jason Collis (673), Simon Carr (Con) (652), Carla Denton-Powell (Con, 603), Sheila Ellison (Con) (594), Iain Murphy (Con) (487), Lou Coulson (Lab) (208)

12.35pm

Here are the results for Newbury Clay Hill in full:

Jeff Beck Conservative Party 594 Elected

Pam Lusby Taylor Liberal Democrats 579 Elected

Phil Barnett Liberal Democrats 574 Elected

Sue Farrant Liberal Democrats 533 Elected

Jeffrey Graham Cant Conservative Party 505 Elected

George Kenneth Charles Davis Liberal Democrats 496 Not elected

Margo Payne Conservative Party 492 Not elected

Sarah Elizabeth Lowes Liberal Democrats 484 Not elected

Anthony Vincent Stretton Conservative Party 459 Not elected

David Goff Conservative Party 423 Not elected

Gemma Elizabeth Lowe Labour Party 272 Not elected

12.32pm

The results are in for Newbury Clay Hill and the big news is Newbury mayor Margo Payne has lost her seat. So has the council's former Conservative leader Tony Stretton.

The Lib Dems took three of the five seats, with the Conservatives taking the other two.

12.09pm

Green councillor David Marsh, who was elected in Wash Common ward yesterday, said: "We have only got two candidates standing in each of the town councils, but I am pretty confident about Newbury if you look at what happened in Wash Common and Speen yesterday we ought to get those two seats."

Mr Marsh and Steve Masters, who won a seat in Speen yesterday, are both standing for Newbury Town Council. The party is fielding Paul Field in Thatcham Central and Jane Livermore in Thatcham West.

11.50am

The results for Inkpen Parish Council are in. A total of 13 candidates battled it out for seven seats.

Claire Jane Jones 212 Elected

Simon David Hanna 181 Elected

Bob May 177 Elected

Mark Christopher Bates 165 Elected

David Hamilton Thomas 163 Elected

Jennifer Lou Edwards 145 Elected

Moira Ghislaine Eileen Marriott 145 Elected

David Peter Lester 142 Not elected

Alex Popplewell 122 Not elected

Andrew Christopher Mario Zollo 118 Not elected

Vanessa Maria Philomena Tomlinson 115 Not elected

Anna Bidwell 107 Not elected

James William Ashley Jones 89 Not elected

11.33am

UKIP candidate for Thatcham West Gary Johnson says he was feeling confident last night of being elected to the town council.

Mr Johnson beat Green candidate Jane Livermore by one vote in yesterday's district council result. Both seats were taken by the Lib Dems.

Mr Johnson, a former Lib Dem mayor for the town, said: "It's a little bit difficult to know whether I will have the opportunity but I'm looking forward to the result anyway, and I hope that I will qualify to be a councillor for Thatcham West."

11.07am

Thatcham's deputy mayor Richard Crumly, who lost his seat on West Berkshire Council yesterday, said he was "disappointed that we weren't able to get our message across. The Brexit blues have served to undermine us on the doorstep along with the green bin, that's still floating around, and we tried to say 'this is not about Brexit or the chaos at Westminster', this is about local services and local people.

"We think we Tories have been doing a good job since 2005, please give us another four years, but in challenging times to rearrange local government finances."

11am

There's optimism in the Liberal Democrat camp. Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) tells us: "We had a very good day yesterday and we expect to take both the town councils today. That will give us the ability to employ some of our policies and show people how we can be ready to run West Berkshire Council in four years' time."

On the Lib Dem surge yesterday he said: "Clearly there's a national issue but we worked very hard locally and there was a sense among the population that it was time for a change."

10.13am

Counting is underway
The Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business Scene May 16 in New Milford and a seminar, How to Grow Your Business, May 21 at the Apple Store in Danbury.

The Business Scene, an informal networking opportunity, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cookhouse at 31 Danbury Road.
Cervical cancer is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of adequate screening such as routine Pap smear testing. These countries have high incidences of cervical cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Due to lack of resources for cancer screenings, these countries account for 85% of all cervical cancer cases.

A group of researchers from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, have introduced an inexpensive DNA-based testing protocol for HPV in Honduras. The team found that of 1,732 women screened, 28% were positive for a high-risk HPV type and of those, 26% had more than one HPV infection. Results also showed that the most common HPV genotypes detected during testing were different than those commonly found in the United States. Their findings, "Screening for Human Papillomavirus in a Low- and Middle-Income Country" are newly published in ASCO's Journal of Global Oncology.

"We have shown that cervical cancer screening can be implemented in low-resource settings using this method, and that women are very interested and engaged in testing and follow-up clinic visits when necessary," says Tsongalis. "This study also identified something we were not expecting and that is a very significant difference in the types of high-risk HPV that we were detecting."

Such findings could mean profound implications for vaccination programs. "The causes of cervical cancer, while viral in nature, are not always the same type of virus and that could impact aggressiveness of disease, vaccinations and therapies," says Tsongalis.

The team would like to use their findings to guide studies of actual cervical cancer tissue and also to formulate therapeutic vaccine trials. "Being able to screen individuals who have never been tested before and studying the impact of the testing on their healthcare as well as our understanding of the biology of the disease is most exciting," says Tsongalis.

Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, as well as Director of Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology and member of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Research Program at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. His research interests include development of advanced diagnostic technologies and disease biomarker discovery.
To model human health and disease, organ-on-a-chip technology mimics the human body's organ structure, functionality and physiology in a controlled environment. These miniature systems, which serve as accurate models of various organs from the heart and lungs to the gut and the kidneys, can use a patient's own cells to test drugs and understand disease processes to help determine the right treatment for the right patient.

For 10 years, Hyun Jung Kim, a biomedical engineering assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and assistant professor in the Department of Oncology in UT's Dell Medical School, has been developing organs-on-chips, specifically examining inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer. In 2018, Kim led the first study to determine how an intestinal disease develops using human organ-on-a-chip technology, confirming with his "gut inflammation-on-a-chip" system that intestinal barrier disruption is the upstream initiator of gut inflammation.

Now, thanks to a new $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Kim will apply his technology to better understand Crohn's disease -- an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe adnominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and malnutrition. He and his research team will develop their Crohn's disease-on-a-chip system to gain greater insight into what can cause and exacerbate the disease, with the goal of developing new treatments.

"I am humbled by the generosity of the Helmsley Charitable Trust," Kim said. "I am also excited by the opportunity to help find answers to the root cause of a disease where much more research is needed."

It is estimated that half of the 3 million Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease have Crohn's disease. While the cause of the disease is currently unknown, doctors and researchers believe that genetic, immune and environmental factors contribute to disease onset and progression.

"Crohn's disease is an extraordinarily complicated disease to figure out," said Declan Fleming, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at the Dell Medical School who will work with Kim on this project. "We believe this research can lead to a new tool to help us address the complexity of this disease. This could lead to improved treatments or possibly even to reverse the progression of Crohn's disease altogether."

Helmsley has made Crohn's disease one of the top priorities in their focus on developing programs that improve life in the U.S. and around the world. With the number of people around the world affected by Crohn's disease steadily rising, the organization sees an urgent need to prevent, diagnose early and reconcile the most effective and appropriate treatments for patients.

"There is a pressing need for more effective treatments for Crohn's disease, and Helmsley is committed to finding more personalized options for patients," said Garabet Yeretssian, director of Helmsley's Crohn's Disease Program. "This innovative 'gut-on-a-chip' technology has the potential to uncover triggers of Crohn's disease, which will lead to improved therapies and ultimately better health outcomes."

Source: https://www.engr.utexas.edu/news/archive/8801-gut-on-a-chip-research-aims-to-find-personalized-treatment-for-crohn-s-disease
American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

The i-HOPE Study, led by Luci Leykum, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., of UT Health San Antonio, sought to give patients, families and other stakeholders a voice in setting priorities for improving hospital care. Eight hospitalist researchers and their patient partners conducted the study, in which 499 patients, caregivers, health care providers and researchers stated their priority unanswered questions to improve hospital care. Respondents included 244 patients and caregivers. Forty-seven organizations partnered with the Society of Hospital Medicine to conduct the study.

Out of nearly 800 submitted questions, 11 were identified as top priorities. Topics included shared decision-making, patient-provider communication, care transitions, telemedicine and confusion about medications. "If answered, these questions could lead to significant improvements in hospitalization," Dr. Leykum said.

Two-way communication

The top-ranked question is, "What interventions ensure that patients share in decision making regarding their goals and plans of care?" Studies before i-HOPE showed that while physicians were skilled at providing health information, they were less skillful at seeking feedback from patients, assessing patients' level of understanding, or meaningfully incorporating patient preferences into treatment plans.

Communication between physician and patient is crucial throughout a patient's hospital stay, from discussing treatment options to making joint decisions to knowing who to call after discharge, the study authors wrote. "Relationships between patients, caregivers and providers are critical for effective solutions and represent an important area for improvement," Dr. Leykum said. "i-HOPE showed this."

Committed team of diverse voices

The study has limitations. For example, although patients, caregivers and patient and family advisory councils were included from across the country, they may not be representative of all patients because the i-HOPE group of investigators is already engaged in improving health care delivery.

The study also has strengths. Questions were identified and prioritized by "a diverse group of voices and perspectives that typically are not included when prioritizing hospital research and improvement efforts," the authors wrote. The innovative partnership between researchers, patients, caregivers and stakeholders ensures the relevance of the results.

Driving the national conversation

"We hope that patients and caregivers will use our results to advocate for research and improvement in areas that matter the most to them," the authors noted. They also hope the results will drive a national conversation about how best to address the priority areas. Details on how the study was conducted are available at i-HOPE Study. The Twitter handle is @iHOPEstudy. The 11 priority questions are listed here.

"We invite patients and caregivers to have their seat at the table," Dr. Leykum said.
Author Meredith Battle revives the layered history and traditions of the Blue Ridges forcibly displaced population in her recently published debut novel, Go Down the Mountain.

The 224-page book is believed to be the first fictionalized version based on the true story of the people whose land was taken by the state and federal governments in the 1930s to make way for Shenandoah National Park, formed from eight counties, including Greene, Madison and Rappahannock.

I thought the most exciting part about writing this novel would be getting to hold the book in my hand, but it was actually hearing from descendants of the displaced, said the 46-year-old writer, who lives in Loudoun County. I have received so many messages thanking me for writing this story and photos of their family members from back in the 1930s before they left the park. It has been very moving.

Though fictional, Go Down the Mountain is very much rooted in documented truth. It is set in mythical Lovingston Hollow, inspired by the real-life Corbin Hollow of Madison County. The books main character is a nervy mountain teen named Bee, whose father suddenly dies in a snake-charming accident, leaving her to live with an abusive mother.

In the books first chapter, A Deal that Would Make the Devil Flinch, they get a visit from a government agent intending to take their land.

A state man called Rowler was the cause of it. He came by our place and said the state had given our land to Uncle Sam for a park. We were to be out in five months or be considered at odds with the law. Mama told him wed sell. Our land was worth fifteen dollars an acre, she said. She made a big speech about how we wouldnt take any less for it.

While she talked, Rowler looked me up and down and licked his lips like I was a slice of scrapple fresh from the frying pan. He was the kind of husky white man who had a layer of pasty fat on him from sitting on his ass in a desk chair, his cheeks flushed pink from sneaking sips of whiskey. His brown mustache twitched even when he wasnt talking, until I thought it might jump off his face and scurry into a hole in the floorboards.

He told Mama we wouldnt get squat since Daddys people never filed papers with the county courthouse. I figured as much. Daddy always said the Livingstons didnt need papers when a handshake and a mans word would do. Seems like we didnt need a deed when the whole goddamned Hollow was named for us, Battle writes.

As a girl growing up in Fairfax, the author regularly visited Shenandoah NP and the mountains, calling it her happy place. Battle said she never once learned in school about the thousands of people who were displaced from its storied hollows or the hard path ahead they faced. As an adult, she came across stone walls and a bit of a chimney in her Shenandoah hikes.

I was just shocked. I had no idea people had lived there. When I started to look into the story, I just couldnt let it go, Battle said.

The more she learned, the more she had to know. The author started digging into the history while living in California two years ago, when her husband was stationed there with the military. The research helped her feel closer to home and it was eye-opening, she said.

The more I researched, the more I found these people could have been my people, Battle said, mentioning her own father grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama. They look like my dads family, they lived like his family, I felt like I knew them and understood their stories.

Digging deeper, the author was shocked at the notion of how the government took their land or purchased it for meager Depression-era prices. Some of the poorest hollow folks, Battle recounted, were taken to an asylum, and in some cases, medically sterilized without their consent, based in part on filmmaker Richard Knox Robinsons first-person interviews.

The Charlottesville area filmmaker said in an email nearly a dozen Corbins were taken after they were moved from the Park (and later forcibly sterilized) to Amherst County, outside of Lynchburg, to a place known as The Colony or Central Virginia Training Center.

More than his interviews, Robinson said, it was court documents unearthed in the Madison County Courthouse that revealed the institutionalization of the Corbins.

"Aside from my interview of Mary Francis Corbin who was born in the Park, this was largely unknown even by former residents of the Park," the filmmaker stated. "The commitments and sterilizations have been confirmed by recently released documents at the Virginia Library and the 1940 US Census."

The sociologists and journalists who arrived to see the mountain people for themselves seemed singularly focused on the dirt-poor residents of Corbin Hollow, writes Battle in her afterword.

In their book, Hollow Folk, sociologist Mandel Sherman and journalist Thomas Henry referred to unlettered folk, living in mud-plastered log cabins. They described them as almost entirely cut off from the current of American life.

A letter from a visiting social worker was equally ill-informed, describing hollow folk as steeped in ignorance and possessed of little or no ambition, little sense of citizenship, little comprehension of law, or respect for law, these people present a problem that demands and challenges the attention of thinking men and women.

The misrepresentations helped the government market the proposed assimilation of these people into modern society as a humanitarian effort, Battle writes.

Rejecting this mischaracterization, the author got to know the real mountain people in her research, including listening to hours and hours of recorded interviews done in the 1970s through James Madison University. They talked about things like hog killing day and picking apples and all their traditions and way of life, Battle said.

These people were intelligent, successful business peoplesome had large orchards earning thousands of dollars. They were tenacious people, beautiful storytellers with such a strong culture and families, she said. With this book, I hope I have been able to reclaim some of that for all of those who lost their homes.

About 500 familiesmore than 2,000 peoplewere removed by the state of Virginia from counties spanning the future national park over a period of 10 years. In 2013, the Blue Ridge Heritage Project formed with a mission of establishing stone chimney monument sites in each of the counties where people were displaced. To date, seven have been established, including the first in Madison County in 2015. A committee is now being formed in Augusta County complete the last monument, according to Project Founder Bill Henry.

At the time the Shenandoah National Park was proposed in the 1920s, more than 3,000 people lived in this part of the Blue Ridge. The mountains were alive with small communitieshouses, farms, churches, schools dotted the landscape. Some of the families had resided in these mountains for over a hundred years, according to Blue Ridge Heritage Project.

In addition to establishing chimney monuments, the Project aims to preserve the history and culture of the people of the Blue Ridge, Henry wrote in an email to the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

"We are beginning to organize and sponsor events that help the public learn the human history of SNP. Our Mountain Homecomings - annual pot luck lunches open to anyone - feature traditional music and displays of storyboards of family histories and photographs,: he stated. "Our monument sites, when completed, will have interpretive displays telling visitors unfamiliar with the formation of the Park how the land was acquired and will help give context to the chimney and the names."

In addition, a Mountain Heritage Book Discussion Group formed in Rockingham County focused on books related to the people who once lived in the Blue Ridge, an idea Henry said he hoped would spread to communities around the park. He punctuated the importance of preserving the stories of the mountain folk.

"If this story does not continue to be told it will very soon die out as those who learned it from their parents and grandparents pass on," Henry said. "The rich culture of the mountain people could quickly be lost as younger generations lose interest in the stories."

Knowing the backstory of Shenandoah National Park, he added, will give visitors from around the world a deeper understanding and appreciation of the park and its past, as well as providing some context for the artifacts, foundations, cemeteries, etc. that hikers find while walking the park trails.

Released Tuesday through publisher Mascot Books, Go Down the Mountain is also available at Amazon.com.
Thumbs up to Bryan Baine, who announced hed be opening a third location of the popular Baines Books and Coffee in the Second Stage building in the town of Amherst. It will be his third shop  the original location is in the town of Appomattox and the second is in Scottsville in southern Albemarle County.

Second Stage is a nonprofit arts and community center that operates out of the old Amherst Baptist Church facility on Second Street. It hosts numerous events throughout the year, rents studio space to artists and small businesses. Theres also a farmers market every Thursday from May through October.

Baine told our sister newspaper, the New Era-Progress in Amherst, that he had been scouting locations in the town for several years. The Second Stage location was just perfect for what he wants to do with the business.

The shop, obviously, will sell coffee along with a wide selection of books, but there will also be bagels, baked goods and sandwiches on the menu, too. It will be a smaller version of what we do in Appomattox, Baine said. The Appomattox location opened 15 years ago, while theyve been in Scottsville for seven years.

Congratulations to one and all.

* * *

Thumbs up to the folks in Nelson County who have successfully launched the countys second craft beverage trail for locals and tourists alike.

Nelson 29 Craft Beverage Trail is modeled on a similar trail on Virginia 151 in the western half of the county in the Rockfish Valley. Known as Nelson 151, it includes six wineries, threw breweries and two cideries. Its been up and running for about 10 years, growing in popularity and recognition throughout the state.

Nelson 29 traverses about 20 miles from Blue Mountain Barrel House in Arrington all the way up U.S. 29 to DelFosse Vineyards and Winery in Faber. In between are Lovingston Winery, Virginia Distillery Co., Brent Manor Vineyards and Wood Ridge Farm Brewery.

Sarah Craun, an employee at the Virginia Distillery Co., broached the idea to Maureen Kelley, the director of the Nelson County Tourism and Economic Development Office, and the two ran with the idea from there.

On Sept. 7, Nelson 29 will hold a festival to officially introduce itself to the community and celebrate the launch of the countys second craft beverage trail. Mark your calendars now!
(Newser)  David Green was out of sick days when he learned just how much his colleagues cared, CNN reports. The Alabama history teacher's daughter, Kinsley, is receiving cancer treatments 100 miles away from their Huntsville homebut he had no more sick days to visit her. So his wife went on Facebook and asked if other teachers would donate one day each. All the Greens needed were 40; little did they know. "I could not imagine having a child and being away from the child," says Wilma DeYampert, an elementary-school assistant principal who has breast cancer. "So, I just thought it was the right thing to do. My mom always said, 'You don't have to be rich to bless someone.'" DeYampert is undergoing chemo herself but still gave two sick days, per WHNT.

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Before the Greens knew it, they had 100 extra days. "We were blown away with the response that we received with the sick days." says Kinsley's mother, Megan Green. "It is a huge blessing and we can't wait until we are in the position to give back and help others." The story highlights American teachers' low pay, which keeps them from dealing with emergencies, and lack of paid leaveusually just one sick day a month. It's also about a 16-month-old daughter's lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis, which entails months of inpatient treatment and two more years of treatment after that. The Greens have started a GoFundMe page to pay for medical costs and other needs, per People. (Another teacher posted her salary. Then came the Amazon boxes.)
(Newser)  An early weekend surprise emerged out of North Korea on Saturday: the launch of a "barrage" of short-range "projectiles," which flew for up to 125 miles before landing in the East Sea, per the Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the "multiple rounds" originated in the eastern coastal town of Wonsan between 9:06am and 9:27am local time. Fox News notes that South Korea initially said the North fired short-range "missiles," but then changed that simply to "projectiles." If confirmed they were missiles, it would be the first such launch out of North Korea since November 2017, though ABC News notes that was a long-range Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. "Korea and the United States are working closely together to maintain their ready preparedness," the JCS said in its statement.

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The White House weighed in as well. "We are aware of North Korea's actions ... [and] will continue to monitor as necessary," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. The AP notes that the launch is "a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington." The fact that the projectiles fired were short-range ones has kept concern somewhat tamped down. "I don't think we should get too excited about a short-range test unless someone can tell us that it was a long-range test that failed," ex-State Department official Stephen Ganyard tells ABC. "A short-range test is Kim demanding attention, not making a statement." (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  A Washington state man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and charged with making interstate threats, including against President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Seattle Times and Washington Post report that 27-year-old Chase Bliss Colasurdo of Kent was detained six weeks after federal agents were first alerted on March 16 to threatening posts he apparently made online. On Feb. 27, a pic on Instagram from Colasurdo's account appeared to show him holding a handgun, along with the caption, "I made a death threat against [J.K] yesterday and have not been arrested yet." That threat he seemed to have been citing was found in a cyberstalking investigation of his Gmail by the Los Angeles Police Department, turning up a Feb. 26 email that read: "I'm going to personally execute [White House Senior Advisor JK] for his countless treasonous crimes."

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That email was sent to five different media outlets. Another online post, on March 4, took aim at Donald Trump Jr., noting, "I would like to let the secret service know that I am going to Execute this [expletive]." His social media also contained anti-Semitic posts. Someone from the public contacted authorities after seeing one or more of the threats, and for six weeks the FBI says it kept tabs on Colasurdo. An affidavit notes that during that time, he started accumulating ammo, bulletproof attire, and a concealable gun holster; he also tried to get his hands on a semiautomatic pistol but was rejected because he'd been flagged in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. "When [federal agents] became aware of his attempts to purchase firearms, they quickly moved to arrest him," a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle said. If convicted, Colasurdo could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  At least four people were sent to the hospital after what police are calling a "catastrophic" explosion at a factory in Waukegan, Ill. CNN reports the blast at AB Specialty Silicones, which authorities say happened around 9:30pm local time, also left others unaccounted for. Waukegan's fire marshal, Steven Lenzi, says at least three people are missing, with rescuers sifting through the rubble at the Lake County factory to see if they can find other victims, per NBC News. It's been reported those who were hurt suffered moderate to serious injuries.

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The Lake County Sheriff, which initially received reports of "a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area," asked locals to stay away from the scene while firefighters, cops, and paramedics tended to it. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all involved in this horrific incident," Lenzi said in a statement. "Our personnel worked tirelessly through the night to control this scene with help from many neighboring agencies. This was a very large-scale team effort." After assessing the scene, authorities say they don't believe locals need to worry about air quality issues. (Read more explosion stories.)
(Newser)  Florida police were surprised to find a couple having sex on the sidewalk outside the station Monday night, the Smoking Gun reports. "I'm horny," alleged copulator Gary Hill told an officer when confronted outside the Key West Police Station, per a police report. "She was giving it up to me right then and there." His pants still down, Hill described it as "a Key West moment." The 46-year-old was charged with indecent exposure and held on $7,500 bond, while companion Crystal Frances was taken to a hospital for over-intoxication. She was also angry and unwilling to comply with police, NBC Miami reports. Seems the pair downed a pint of vodka before following nature's call. (Read more police stories.)
(Newser)  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with a white nationalist rally in Virginia and political rallies in California, the AP reports. Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot. Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques. Two other members of the groupCole White and Thomas Gilleneach previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

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All four men admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. Prosecutors said photos and video footage showed the men attacking counterprotesters in Charlottesville and also participating in violence at political rallies the same year in Huntington Beach and Berkeley, Calif. Each man faces up to five years in prison on the charge, but defendants often get less than the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.

(Read more white supremacist stories.)
(Newser)  Angry pilots have prompted the US Navy to draft new guidelines about UFO sightingsbut it seems that information will be kept from the public, Newsweek reports. "There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air spaces in recent years," says the Navy in a statement, per Politico. "The Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities." Until now, an official says, possible UFO sightings were "treated as anomalies to be ignored." But in the future pilots will have a formal procedure for documenting unexplained encounters, per the Washington Post.

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Intrusions have been spotted several times per month since 2014, with pilots describing spherical or Tic Tac-shaped objects that move quickly and have no exhaust, wind, or air intake. For example, a 2017 New York Times article included Navy video of unknown objects that reportedly appeared at 80,000 feet, plunged to 20,000 feet, hovered, then either vanished from radar range or flew back up. "At a certain point there ended up being multiple objects that we were tracking," said a petty officer stationed on the nearby USS Princeton, per Slate. "That was towards the end of the encounter and they all generally zoomed around at ridiculous speeds, and angles, and trajectories and then eventually they all bugged out faster than our radars." (Pilots spotted UFOs over Ireland.)
(Newser)  They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol. Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation, the AP reports. This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversightand Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do sois testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding an unredacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge. Nancy Pelosi noted this week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Nixon. Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt. They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jailing people on Capitol Hill, but the House and Senate say stories of jail facilities existing on the Hill are innacurate.

(Read more Capitol Hill stories.)
(Newser)  A helicopter plunged into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and triggered a desperate search for survivors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Per eyewitnesses and officials, the two-seater hovered over a nearby farm before turning toward the bay and crashing about 3/4 of a mile out. The Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived at roughly 12:30pm at Bloody Point, known as the "The Hole," the bay's deepest area at 174 feet. The Coast Guard has sent out search boats from its Annapolis station, per CNN, while WBAL-TV notes that fire officials are joining Queen Anne County authorities with a dive team and boats. Two people were said to be on board. (Read more helicopter crash stories.)
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New Delhi:

A 32-year-old man and his 33-year-old childhood sweetheart were arrested for allegedly killing the formers wife and trying to project it as a suicide in southwest Delhis Kishangarh, the police said. The accused, Rahul Kumar Mishra is a mechanical engineer and Padma Tiwari, who works at an MNC in Gurugran, were arrested on Wednesday, they said. On March 16, the Kishangarh police station was informed by Fortis Hospital that one Pooja Rai was brought to the hospital by her husband and she was declared dead there, police said.

Since Pooja died within seven years of marriage, the Mehrauli executive magistrate was informed an enquiry was initiated. Her autopsy was conducted at the Safdurjung Hospital and the reports showed that her death was homicidal. Pooja was found to be strangulated and had injury marks on her occipital bone. Her fathers statement was recorded and a probe initiated to ascertain the cause of death. Her husband, other family members and his friend Padma, who was said to have visited Rai on the day of her death, were kept on technical surveillance, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

On Wednesday, the accused were interrogated and confronted with the discrepancies in their statements. During inquiry, it was revealed that the childhood lovers had hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Pooja in order to re-unite, he added. The accused told the police that they were schoolmates in Padma and Rahul had studied together in Jharkhands Sindri Dhanbad and were in a relationship but eventually lost touch.

They reunited in 2015 and wanted to get married, however, their parents opposed the relationship citing different castes. Rahuls marriage was fixed to Pooja, who also belonged to Sindri, Jharkhand, in January 2017. Rahul told Pooja about their relationship with the hope that she would refuse to get married to him but she didnt and they got married in April that year.

Meanwhile, Rahul and Padma continued their relationship. Eight months ago, Rahul asked Pooja to take Padmas help in securing a job. Pooja allegedly taunted Padma over her relationship with Rahul. They then hatched a plan to kill Pooja, the officer said.

On the day of the killing, Padma went to meet Pooja at her house in Kishangarh as per plan. They had breakfast together, but Padma had to wait to execute the plan as the domestic help was still present there, he said.

Later, Padma overpowered Pooja and hit her head on the ground several times and smothered her. Then, she kept a letter close to the body to mislead the police. In the evening, she told Rahul on phone that she had murdered Pooja, the police said.

In the four-page fake suicide note, Padma mentioned that a man had committed suicide because of Pooja, which is why she was committing suicide. "The fake suicide note written by Padma spoke about how Pooja had 'cheated' a man, which led to him committing suicide. The note mentioned how this has affected her badly and prompted her to take the extreme step, the police said. The accused wanted to make it seem like Pooja had committed suicide out of guilt and wanted to defame her.

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New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted something that most people have been missing so far  the difference in the approach of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its Uttar Pradesh ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Congress. Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh, the prime minister said that while the Samajwadi Party uses soft approach when it comes to the Congress, the BSP takes on the Grand Old Party in a more blistering way.

Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in their rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend, Modi said during the rally.

While both the Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party and Maywatis BSP are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance, their approach against the Congress, who could not be part of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance despite several efforts, has been a little different and it was quite evident.

During their joint rallies, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav centres his attack around the BJP and PM Modi, the BSP chief equally takes on the Congress as well as the BJP. Mayawati has even threatened the Congress of pulling out her partys support from its government in Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks of the prime minister are also significant in view of recent statement from some of the BJP leaders praising Mayawati. BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy had recently said that in case the BJP-led NDA fails to get full majority, Mayawati could become the prime minister and wont support the Congress.

Mayawati has been in alliance with the BJP in 1995, 1997 and 2002. And experts believe that there are chances that the BSP, despite their anti-BJP alliance with the SP and the RLD, could again go with the saffron party.

During his rally, the prime minister also said that the Congress party, which was staking claim to the PM post before the first round of polling has now become a Vote Katua (vote cutter) party.

He was referring to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis remark that the Congress has carefully chosen its candidates to eat up the votes on the BJP where the party thinks its chances of winning are bleak.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during an election roadshow in Moti Nagar area on Saturday. The attacker, identified as Suresh who is a resident of Delhi's Kailash Park, has been arrested. He being interrogated at a police station. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when the man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

The AAP quickly condemned the incident, calling it the aOpposition-sponsored attacka.

aAnother negligence in the security of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi,a AAP tweeted.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi. a AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

Kejriwal has frequently been the target of attacks ever since he entered public life. In February,A the Delhi government claimed that Kejriwalas vehicle was attacked by BJP workers in the presence of police personnel in Narela. Kejriwal had gone to Narela to attend an event when BJP workers gathered in front of his vehicle and held a protest.

In April 2016, a man, who identified himself as a member of a breakaway faction of the Aam Aadmi Party threw a shoe at Kejriwal while he was addressing a press conference inside the Secretariat.A The man shouted something about a sting operation on a CNG scam before he hurled the shoe which fell on the table in front of Kejriwal. The attacker was whisked away by Secretariat officials before being detained by police.A

In November 2013, while the AAP was holding a press conference in Delhi, Nachiketa Vaghrekar, who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, attacked Kejriwal with black ink.



In March 2014, a similar attack took place in March 2014, when Kejriwal was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi, some unidentified people threw ink at him. The agitated people even threw eggs at the open vehicle in which Kejriwal was travelling.

In the same year, Kejriwal was heckled and attacked physically. He was attacked during his roadshow in south Delhias Dakshinpuri area. While Kejriwal was shaking hands with his supporters, a person punched him on his back and even tried to slap him.



In April 2014, four days after Dakshinpuri incident, Kejriwal was slapped by an auto driver, Lali, during his roadshow in Sultanpuri area of Delhi.




New Delhi:

Congress leader Sam Pitroda on party president Rahul Gandhis citizenship issue said how can someone sit in parliament for 15 years if he is not an Indian citizen. He has been member of parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate intelligence of Indian people, news agency ANI quoted Pitroda as saying.



Chief of Indian Overseas Congress Pitroda said the Congress party is winning the elections. Based on our assessment we believe we are winning. We are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi Govt did not deliver, he said.



Reacting to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati speech where they slammed Congress, Pitroda said that there is nothing to worry about. I dont think there anything to worry, they will all come together at the right time, I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal, they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace, he said.



Pitroda had earlier Rahul Gandhi has experienced the trauma of terrorism and those questioning him in the matter should feel ashamed. The remarks come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders had often attacked the Congress president on the issue of terrorism and national security in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.

In an interview to PTI, Pitroda had said Rahul Gandhi lost his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) and father (Rajiv Gandhi) to terrorism and that the leader understands the trauma and suffering associated with it. He said those doubting Rahul Gandhi's nationalism should be ashamed of themselves.

Seven-phase elections, which began on April 11, will end on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.
New Delhi:

Ahead of the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Polls on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh and Basti and at Valmikinagar in Bihar today. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today. Today is the last day for campaigning before the fifth phase of polling.

Here are the latest updates:

21:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our policy is clear, if Pakistan hurls bricks, we will throw mortar: BJP chief Amit Shah at Delhi rally

21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

#WATCH Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Akhilesh Yadav in Gonda says, "Mukhyamantri ji ne (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chillam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chillam wale" pic.twitter.com/4rVeAwAWxU

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul baba says, Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap Sedition Law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail?: Amit Shah

17:38 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

CM Yogi Adityanath: 2017 mein Uttar Pradesh ke iss mahan janata ne pradesh ke do ladko ke jodi ko khariz kiya tha. Kaha tha ki do ladko ki jodi nahi hoti, jodi toh bailo ki hoti hai. pic.twitter.com/sAZvHr84OD

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



17:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person: P Chidambaram

17:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie & only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?: P Chidambaram

16:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work & provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji & his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs: PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar.

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been 5 years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye: PM Modi in Bihar's Ramnagar

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In During Atal Ji's tenure three states were formed. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh&Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. These three states were separated cordially: PM Modi in Ramnagar

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji and BJP is winning here in this elections. Opposition will stop making any claims after the result, BJP will form govt with massive majority: Amit Shah

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In For the first time Amethi is feeling that development is possible here as well. Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came: Amit Shah in Amethi.

14:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda on Congress's claim '6 surgical strikes were carried out during UPA tenure: Call it surgical strikes, call it cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of exact dates & areas that have been brought out.

14:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our work culture is to decide a goal and work towards fulfilling that. The working culture of the "Mahamalivati aacoalition" and NDA is quite different from each other. We want to take the government out of Delhi, while the Mahamalivatis are desperate to come to Delhi in the greed of the power: PM Modi

14:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chandigarh Nodal Officer has issued show-cause notice to BJP's Kirron Kher, stating'you have shared video on Twitter account which shows children being used for campaign through slogans 'Vote for Kirron Kher'&'Abki baar Modi sarkar.' Admin has demanded reply within 24 hrs.

14:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In I want to thank you for supporting us in 2014 and now we want your blessings for the next 5 years, says PM Modi in Basti.

12:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Narendra Modi in Pratapgarh: Na main gira aur na meri ummeedon ke minar gire, par kuch log mujhe girane mein kayi baar gire. (neither i fall, nor the minrates of my hopes but some people fell in their attempt to fall me.)

12:54 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Modi accuses Rahul Gandhi of favouring his former business partner in getting defence offshore contracts.

"Today I read that during UPA one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

12:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

12:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

PM in Pratapgarh: Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter.



12:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

10:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In As per our internal assessment, BJP losing in LS polls: Rahul Gandhi.

10:14 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army.



10:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, says Rahul Gandhi in press meet.

07:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi adityanath will address several rallies in the state.

07:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sunny Deol to hold roadshows in Allahabad, Rae Bareli and Phulpur.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP president expected to participate in a roadshow in Amethi to garner support for Smriti Irani.

07:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today.
New Delhi:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday cornered Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a media report claiming that the latters former business partner got defence offset contracts under the UPA regime.

Addressing a press conference, Jaitley alleged that Rahul and his sister Priyanka were directors in the UK firm Backops Private Limited, which associated with Congress chiefs former business partner Ulrik Mcknight and received defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Jaitley said Ulrik Mcknight, at Backops Ltd in the UK, had got offset defence contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011 during the UPA rule.

"It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge," said Jaitley, referring to Rahul Gandhi.

Jaitley's reference was to a Business Today report on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

Ulrik Mcknight was 35 per cent co-owner of Backops UK, in which Rahul Gandhi owned a majority 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

"On May 28, 2002, a company is formed in India named Backops Private Limited. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka become companys director. In 2003, a company with the same name is formed in Britain. Rahul, along with a US citizen, become companys directors," he said.

"This company, Backops Pvt Ltd, doesnt have any manufacturing unit. This is kind of a liasoning firm. This means we will get your work done and will charge you for it," the Finance Minister added.

Jaitley further alleged that Rahul "became part of a corporate group which had no business except pushing transactions."

"Now Rahul Gandhi is going to be judged by the standards and level of proof he's laid down," he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah too cited the media report to launch a scathing attack on Rahul and Congress.

"With Rahul Gandhis Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," he tweeted.

On the other hand, Rahul, refuting the charges, said that he was ready for any kind of investigation. "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale," he said.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's had allaeged links with the Scorpene deal and stated reports that mentioned how Gandhi's former business partner benefited from the deal. The PM was addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. PM Modi was referring to a report which stated that the co-promoter of UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets during the UPA regime. According to filings made by the Backops UK, Rahul Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. Ulrik McKnight was the 35% owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. McKnight was later director in a company ythat acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

Rahul Gandhi has also been associated with a company with similar name Backops Services Private Limited where his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as a co-director.

On April 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. "Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read. The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, it a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had 65% stake while McKnight had 35%.

In 2004, in his election affidavit, Gandhi had declared moveable assets belonging to Backops UK. The company was subsequently dissolved in February 2009 along with the Indian entity Backops Services Private Limited.
Dehradun:

Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence. In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said. An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man during his roadshow in Delhis Moti Nagar area. Ever since he entered politics, this Aam Aadmi Party chief has been a target of public attacks. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

Kejriwal, who now has a Z-plus security, has been attacked several times since 2013. Here is a look at the previous incidents:

February 2019: Kejriwals car was allegedly attacked by a mob armed with sticks in Delhis Narela. A group of about 100 men tried to stop Kejriwal's car and attacked it with sticks. The incident occurred when Kejriwal had gone to the outer Delhi locality to inaugurate development works in 25 unauthorised colonies.

November 2018: A man flung chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. The accused was targeting the bespectacled chief ministers eyes, according to police. After throwing red chilli powder on the Delhi CM, the accused threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail.

April 2016: An Aam Aadmi Sena member hurled a shoe at Kejriwal while he was announcing details of the second phase of the odd and even road rationing scheme.

Barely a minute after the CM began reading details, man identified as Ved Prakash shouted that an odd even scam was being done by giving away CNG stickers through illegitimate means, following which he hurled a show towards Kejriwal but failed to hit him.

March 2016: A mob pelted Kejriwals vehicle with stones and broke its widnscreen at Punjabs Hassanour village. Kejriwal escaped without injury though the shattered glass fell on him.

January 2016: In first attack on him since he became the chief minister of Delhi, Kejriwal was attacked by a woman who threw ink on him alleging a CNG scam in the national capital.

April 2014: During his roadshow in Delhis Sultanpuri area, Kejriwal was attacked by an auto rickshaw driver who slapped him twice after garlanding him.

Delhi Assembly elections 2014: Holding a roadshow in Delhis Dakshinpuri area, Kejriwal was punched on his back by a man while the former was shaking hands with his supporters.

March 2014: Some people threw ink at Kejriwal and even threw eggs at his open vehicle when he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi.

November 2013: A man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare, threw ink at Kejriwal when he was holding a press conference in Delhi.
New Delhi:

Game of Thrones fans is yet to recover from the shock of the last episode, the one which fans loved for its unexpected turn of events and hated for its gloomy scenes that were hard to decipher.

As the rest of the world prepares to witness some mind-numbing war strategies, plotting and unmasking, end moment revelation of characters in the final game of earning the Iron throne, creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss spilt some beans on the HBO's popular fantasy drama's future episodes.

The duo recently made an appearance on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and answered three most pertinent questions that gives birth to fan theories and unending debates about the state of the final season.

Without digressing, here are the three questions asked and their answers .

Will someone take the Iron Throne? Answer: "Possibly."

Did Bran know that Arya was going to kill the Night King? Answer: "Possibly."

Have we seen the last of the White Walkers? Answer: "Yeah, we're not going to answer that."

Meanwhile, Vladimir Furdik, the man behind the mysterious and terrifying character of Night King, who was killed by Arya, has spoken out for the first time about his death.

"It was a very emotional day and night," Furdik told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was so strong. I spent all my energy playing it, and (Williams) as well. It was not an easy day. It was cold. There was rain. She was on a wire, in a harness, jumping many times. It wasn't just the one time; it was maybe 15 times. When I have to hold her under the jaw and it looks like she dies, we had to spend a lot of energy on that particular scene. It was very, very difficult. We are very good friends. We know each other. It wasn't easy for me to (pretend to) hurt her. When I grabbed her under the jaw, it wasn't easy (on a practical level). If you make a bad move -- if you don't grab her well -- she could have an injury. So I was under pressure and she was under pressure. It was not an easy day."

Jason Momoa aka Khal Drogo also made a brief playful appearance on Kimmel as he announced that he doesnt care that his character was killed off in GoT anymore as he is Aquaman now.

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New Delhi:

After much speculation about who will play the female lead in Irrfan Khan starrer Angrezi Medium, it was confirmed that Kareena Kapoor has been finalised for the project. The actress will reportedly start the shooting from May 15 and then fly to London in June where a major part of the film will be shot.

Mumbai Mirror quoted a source saying, ''Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative.''

On Kareena Kapoor joining the cast of Angrezi Medium, film's producer Dinesh Vijan had said in a statement, "Kareena is a great addition to our franchise. Angrezi Medium is a very special film and I'm excited that she's going to be a part of it. We wanted to introduce this character who would be taken forward in the franchises to come and she's perfect for it," reported news agency IANS.

Kareena and Irrfan are coming together for the first time in Angrezi Medium. However, Kareena will not be romantically paired opposite Irrfan. The film, directed by Homi Adajania, went on floors recently and also stars Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal, among others. Irrfan plays Champak from Udaipur who is in the mithai business for 'Angrezi Medium'. Radhika Madan will play the role of Irrfan's daughter who wants to go to abroad for studying. Kareena will be seen playing the role of a cop in Angrezi Medium.



Soon after Angrezi Medium, Kareena will begin shooting for Karan Johars Takht.

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New Delhi:

Asaram Bapu was much in news after he was convicted for rape in April 2018. A year after his conviction, the author of a book investigating the case announced a movie adaptation of it.

Ushinor Majumdar has penned "God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu" -- which will be cinematically adapted by filmmaker Sunil Bohra for his latest biopic on the disgraced godman and the women who took him down reported IANS.

"We've seen a lot on the godman both in print and television. This is the first book of its kind reporting on every aspect of the criminal empire of a bogus godman.

"I hope that the world now gets to see the story of three courageous women who fought for justice -- the gutsy survivor who was a minor when she took on the larger-than-life godman, and two efficient women police officers who exposed father and son for what they are," Majumdar said in a statement released by the book's publisher Penguin India.

The film will be made by the producer of "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Tanu Weds Manu" will not tell the story of his rise to stradom and becoming a popular 'godman' but and will focus on people who played significant roles in the fight for justice against the self-styled godman and facts as relayed in the book.

The book introduces Asaram Bapu as someone who presided over a politically influential empire built on blind faith for decades.

"Along with his son and heir, Narayan Sai, he has now become an example of everything that is wrong with self-styled godmen and the cults they spawn.

"The two stand accused of sexual assaults on vulnerable devotees, land grabbing, money laundering, intimidation, exploitative black magic rituals and the horrific murder of witnesses who testified against them," it says.

The publisher, while maintaining that the book is a stellar example of investigative journalism, looked forward to its movie adaptation.





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New Delhi:

Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark of Game of Thrones fame surprised all her fans with her private wedding at a Las Vegas Chapel without any lavish ceremony, elaborate wedding list and official announcement. Heads turned not because the 23-year-old actress married secretly but how low profile it was considering the extravagance of her sister and brother-in-laws, Priyanka and Nick Jonas wedding in December last year.

Well, with every passing minute, more and more information about the close-knit ceremony is coming to light. According to a report in E Online, the newly married couple like any other regular couple opted for $675 package deal. The wedding package includes 36 digital photos, a bouquet, boutonniere, complete footage of the ceremony and a limo service before 10 p.m.

What looks like a last minute decision, was actually planned much ahead, as a source close to the couple spilt beans To People magazine that they had planned for a Europe wedding but had to be officiated in the States first.

Sophie ditched the traditional white wedding gown for a silk white Bevza jumpsuit for the ceremony. Now with deets pouring in, its being said that the jumpsuit along with the Loeffler Randall mules cost $650 and $395 respectively. So if you tally it all then her outfit costed more than the entire wedding combine. Groom Joe Jonas, on the other hand, stuck to a sober light grey suit.

According to People, the two after the wedding returned to Los Angeles in a private jet and spent a honeymoon night at the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood.

As their fans wait for an official announcement, photos and wedding footage, it would take some time to sink in that at the times of lavish wedding a high profile couple whose love story was always on the limelight choose to be a part of such an intimate, pocket-friendly affair.

However, according to sources, the newly married couple that got engaged back in 2017 with a whopping $30,000 engagement ring will host a lavish ceremony in Paris later this summer.

On work front, the Jonas Brothers  Happiness Begins has been set for a June 7 release while Sophie is gearing for the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on the same date after from the finaal episode of Game of Thrones that airs on May 19.

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New Delhi:

A BJP worker, identified as Gul Mohammed Mir, was on Saturday shot dead by terrorists in Verinag area of South Kashmir's Nowgam village. The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and a search operations is underway to locate the terrorists.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

This comes two days after a former BJP worker was shot at and injured by unidentified gunmen in Tral area of south kashmirs Pulwama district. The injured was identified as 40-year-old Abdul Rashid Bhat alias Madan Lal, son of Ghulam Ahmad of Kuchmulla village in Tral.

On April 9, two days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected militants killed a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader and his personal security officer (PSO) inside a hospital in the Chenab Valleys Kishtwar district.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version.

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New Delhi:

After killing at least 16 people in Odisha on Friday and leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, the "rarest of rare" summer cyclone Fani on Saturday claimed another 14 lives while leaving 63 others injured in Bangladesh.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing on Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas.

The storm unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal.

Around 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and one lakh officials, were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, spoke to Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of Fani's landfall, is likely to visit the affected areas either on Sunday or Monday, CMO sources said.

The prime minister has assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.

The districts of Puri and Khurda were the worst-affected, the chief minister said, adding that Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh were also hit by the cyclone.

West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as Fani weakened on Saturday morning before moving towards Bangladesh. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed.

With the cyclonic storm moving away, flight operations resumed at Kolkata and Bhubaneswar Airport on Saturday. On Friday, the equipment and infrastructure at the Bhubaneswar airport was considerably damaged due to the cyclone 'Fani'.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. According to the Meteorological department, the extremely severe cyclonic storm relatively weakened after entering coastal Odisha and transformed into avery severea as it approached Bengal.A The cyclone has weakened and is heading towards Bangladesh.

aThe severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishaas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph,a Regional Meteorological Centreas Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

aIt is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains,a Bandyopadhyay said. The storm is now lying close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

SCS aFANI over Coastal Odisha at 2330 hrs IST of 03rd May, 2019 about 45 km north-northeast of Balasore (Odisha), 60 km southwest of Midnapore (West Bengal) and 140 km west-southwest of Kolkata . It is very likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/cIxcNpKaNH a India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019

Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai. Parts of Kolkata and the suburbs also received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The effects of the storm could also be felt in cities like Kharagpur and Burdwan as trees were uprooted and metal hoardings collapsed.A The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad where the cyclone passed through has experienced rainfall since Friday night with light winds.A

The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph. A aThe rains will continue till early morning on Saturday, and the weather will start improving by evening,a he said.

The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts.A Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani entered Bangladesh at noon on Saturday after hitting West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon. The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. The Indian Railways will run special trains for helping stranded passengers.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, Regional Meteorological Centres Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

Catch all the LATEST updates here:

17:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India (AAI), North Eastern Regional Headquarters, today announced that 81 flights have been cancelled across parts of Northeast India because of Cyclone Fani.

17:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

IMD: MeT analysis&numerical model guidance suggests widespread rainfall activity across NE states on 4 May, fairly widespread rainfall activity over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, widespread rainfall activity over Arunachal on 5 May & reduction thereafter pic.twitter.com/aqELQr57vH

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



16:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In NDRF: 65 rescue and relief teams of the NDRF are pre-positioned in various parts of the vulnerable states. Odisha (44 teams), West Bengal (nine teams), Andhra Pradesh (three teams), one team each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and two teams each in Jharkhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

16:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India, North Eastern Regional Headquarters: 59 flights cancelled in Guwahati, 8 in Agartala, 2 in Dimapur, 2 in Lilabari, 4 in Dibrugarh, 6 in Imphal.

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik: A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers. According to our latest reports, deaths are in single digit.



A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers: #Odisha CM @Naveen_Odisha

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



12:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded due to Fani in Odisha. A flight for Delhi from Bhuwaneswar will be operated at 3 pm and another one at 5.45 pm. Passengers who have valid Air India tickets may reach the airport, the airlines said.

12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Pradeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations,NDRF: Cyclone Fani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal.



#CycloneFani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of @NDRFHQ are present in Bengal: Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations



(ANI) pic.twitter.com/Mpn5DZeQyz

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," PM Modi said in a tweet.

10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.



Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.

 Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

10:15 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governor of the state, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centres readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani, Modi said in a tweet.

10:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India: To re commence operations at Kolkata airport at 09.45 am.

08:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In IMD: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 5.30 am of May 4. It will weaken into a deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.



IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



08:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear.



08:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Metro trains in Kolkata still running at half capacity as mentioned on Friday.

08:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Trains are still being tied to railway tracks. Other train services like local trains have resumed (some trains only).

08:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am. Airport authorities will have to bear the backlog of cancelled and rescheduled flights for the next 24 hours of flights.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts. (Photo: PTI)



08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph.

08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. (Photo: PTI)



08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha.

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New Delhi:

Earthquake in Assam: A moderate intensity earthquake tremors measuring 5.4 magnitude jolted Guwahati, other parts of Assam and Northeastern states on Saturday evening. The epicentre of the quake was Sagaing region in Myanmar. There has been no reports of any casualty or damage to property so far. Many users took to social media to express their concern over the tremors.

According to reports, the tremors were felt around 4.32 pm in Assam and several parts of the Northeast.

On April 24, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Assam region, the US Geological Survey said. The quake's epicentre was located 114 kilometres northwest of the town of Dibrugarh, at a very shallow depth of 9 kilometres, the USGS said. The quake struck at 1.45 am on and could also be felt across the border in Tibet, the USGS said. The Assam tea-growing area near the Brahmaputra river is close to the border with China and is sparsely populated.

Aarthquake 'forecasting' website Ditrianum had recently reported that a huge earthquake with potentially a high 7 to 8+ magnitude could strike the Earth on Friday and if it does then the massive destruction was inevitable. Described as critical geometry in the solar system could cause widespread destruction on Earth, a conspiracy theorist has warned. According to Ditrianum, Neptune, Venus, Mercury and the Sun were all positions in specific places in the solar system which could effect Earth.

This was because a gravitational tug of war could build tension in the tectonic plates of Earth, which could be unleashed in a devastating fashion. In last week, Frank Hoogerbeets, who runs Ditrianum, had predicted that a potentially civilisation ending tremor can strike Earth between April 30 to May 3.

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New Delhi:

In the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take stock of the situation that claimed at least 10 lives across the state.A The PM spoke to the Odisha Chief Minister and assured all necessary assistance from the Centre in restoring normalcy across the cyclone-hit state.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani. a Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

He also spoke to the governor of Odisha Professor Ganeshi Lal on the situation in the state. The PM assured all possible help from the Centre to the people of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.

Puri, where the cyclone made landfall, was the most hit by the severe cyclonic storm, which enteredA West Bengal post-midnight and unleashed heavy rainfall in the state.

The Prime Minister also spoke to the governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centreas readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm.

aAlso conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani,a Modi said in a tweet.

Fani barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, officials said.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans are likely to be hit by the storm that would then move towards Bangladesh and taper off.

CM Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state on Friday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Patnaik said that in the past 24 hours, over 12 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts to safer locations.

"Just now, I reviewed the cyclone situation with the state's Chief Secretary and other senior officers. Our first priority is to evacuate people living in vulnerable areas, including kutcha houses. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters. As we speak, Fani is still passing through Odisha, and an assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state," he said.A

"Restoration of electricity is a challenge. Electricity supply will be restored in Ganjam by Saturday. Restoration of communication has been completed in Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Patnaik added.A

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New Delhi:

Consumer Electronics maker Sony India expects audio segment to be one of its growth driver, which will contribute around 20 per cent of revenue in next 3-4 years, said a top company official. Sony India is encouraged with the growth in segments such as headphones, sound bars and party speakers.

The audio market is growing very fast. We can expect around 18-20 per contribution coming from the audio segment, Sony India Managing Director Sunil Nayyar told PTI Friday.

When asked about the time frame, he said: It could happen in next 3-4 years.

Presently, Sony India gets its 65 per cent revenue from TV segment, 15 per cent from audio, 10 per cent from camera and rest 10 per cent from other verticals.

According to Nayyar, Sony India had registered around 50 per cent growth in the fast-emerging headphone categories.

Besides, it also has plans to introduce some more products in the segment to maintain its lead.

Strengthening its portfolio in the segment, Sony India Friday introduced new outdoor party speaker GTK-PG10.

Priced at Rs 19,990 the company is targeting the young and millenial segment with features like wireless connectivity and a long battery life.
New Delhi :

The attackers involved in the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka had travelled to Kashmir, Kerala and Bangalore in India possibly to receive training, the Island nations Army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said. In an interview with the BBC published on Friday, Senanayake said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us. It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country."

As many as 257 people, including foreign tourists, were killed and over 500 others sustained injuries in the April 21 serial blasts in three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. The ISIS took the responsibility for the worst attack in the history of Sri Lanka.

India had warned the Sri Lankan authorities through diplomatic channels about the attacks well in advance but due to the lack of coordination between the countrys security agencies, the attacks could not be stopped.

So far, there was no immediate response from India on the Sri Lankan Army chiefs claims but a Union Home Ministry source, on the condition of anonymity told the The Hindustan Times: "Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation."

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New Delhi:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has now been engaged to her long-time partner Clarke Gayford, her spokesman said on Friday. Ardern was seen at a ceremony on Friday wearing a diamond ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Her spokesman then confirmed that the pair got engaged over Easter. Last year, Ardern and Clarke gave birth to a daughter named Neve Te Aroha. "I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility because he's a parent too, he's not a babysitter," Jacinda Ardern had told this to told Radio NZ.



Jacinda Ardern is the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.





Ardern and Gayford became a couple after he approached her about a constituency issue in her Auckland electorate of Mount Albert about five years ago. Gayford's television show, "Fish of the Day," has been sold to 20 countries.



The 38-year-old Ardern was widely praised for the compassion and leadership she showed after a gunman killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.

Time magazine last month included Ardern on its list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.

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Washington:

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistans unwavering support to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate as team per the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for hard decisions by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas, he said.

We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added. Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood, said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Washington :

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence on Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not break his promise, following what if confirmed would be North Koreas first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it, he added.

He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last months test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making foolish and dangerous comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the Norths demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the USs insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But a statement from South Koreas presidential Blue House said it was greatly concerned, calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearization action if it wants sanctions reliefthe issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles, according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-inwho brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leadershas tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyangs state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase, criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturdays launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seouls nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyangs latest launch, the Souths foreign ministry said.

Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day, said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday called for moves to strengthen the national front by deepening the international partnership and enhancing cooperation among media, educational, cultural, religious and human rights institutions.

This is necessary amid the ongoing regional and global upheavals, increasing attempts to fuel sedition, sow division and incite hatred, enmity and terrorism, said HM the King adding: Especially in light of the current digital era and rapidly growing social media networks.

HM the King was speaking on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and 80 years since the issuance of the first newspaper in Bahrain. HM the King stressed that the Bahraini national media has throughout its long history, promoted noble principles, raised awareness and played its cultural and cognitive enlightenment role.

It is a source of pride that our celebrations of this international event, this year themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation coincide with the success of the Kingdoms democratic march to a new phase of progress, HM the King said. HM King Hamad affirmed that the national media has proved its outstanding ability in supporting the reform and modernisation process and pushing the nation-building and sustainable development march forward.

We extend our thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Information Affairs and all its affiliates for the efforts they are exerting to develop the sector. HM the King further expressed his pride in womens participation in the media work. We strongly believe that journalists and media personnel are the cornerstone for building and promoting a democratic society in which security, peace and justice prevail, HM the King said.
A Bangladeshi man agreed to smuggle around 2,400 narcotic pills in return for a free trip to Bahrain, the court heard. This was unveiled during the trial of the man before the First High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to five years of imprisonment, to pay BD3,000 and permanent deportation.

According to court files, the defendant was arrested on December 22, 2018, upon his arrival at the Bahrain International Airport, coming from Dhaka. At the airport and while at the airport security check queue, an officer of the Customs Department turned suspicious about the defendants luggage, as the officer reportedly noticed unusual objects in the pull handle and bars of the mans suitcase.

Further inspection of the handlebar of the suitcase showed that the defendant had concealed 2,379 narcotic pills. Laboratory examination of the pills proved that the pills consisted of Methamphetamine. He was immediately referred to interrogation and later to the Public Prosecution.

He told the interrogators that he smuggled the pills for a fellow Bangladeshi man, who allegedly paid for the mans flight tickets and gave him an amount in cash (not specified).
The Kingdom yesterday hailed its press strides in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as it marked the World Press Day in great fervor.

Media experts and journalists highlighted the successful role of the media in taking the Kingdom forward. Article 23 of Bahrains constitution guarantees the right of opinion and expression. Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused, the article says.

The National Institution of Human Rights (NIHR) yesterday acknowledged the prosperous media strides as the Kingdom joined other nations, in celebrating the freedom of the press. This year, the day was marked under the theme Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

The World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCOs General Conference to endorse the Declaration of Windhoek. Speaking to Tribune, Ahdeya Ahmed, President of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), said: On May 17, the BJA will host an event to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Our role as journalists is to see what is wrong and criticize. Its also our responsibility to maintain the security and stability of our nation.

Moreover, our leaders have always encouraged us to have a free press, which means that we are strongly supported by the leadership of the country and it also means our leadership is entrusting the journalist with a very important tool.
Batelco yesterday announced several executive appointments in line with the separation requirements and the companys strategic vision. The 4th National Telecoms Plan requires turning Batelco into two main entities, one for the Retail and Enterprise operation and the other for the New National Broadband Infrastructure. Batelco named Mikkel Vinter as the CEO for Batelco Bahrain, which will be responsible for the retail and enterprise operation.

Among his previous roles, Vinter founded Virgin Mobile, Middle East & Africa in 2006 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. Before setting up Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, he held senior roles with Nawras in Oman, TDC in Denmark and Singtel in Singapore. The newly formed National Broadband Network entity will be responsible for the Kingdoms broadband network and providing telecom services to all licensed operators.

Mohamed Bubashait takes on the role as CEO of the National Broadband Network. He lead the separation programme since he joined Batelco as CEO of the Bahrain operation in October 2017, to implement plans for the legal separation of the Company. Ihab Hinnawi was named as the CEO of the Companys International investments and will assume new responsibilities. He will oversee the restructuring of Batelcos international operations. Hinnawi held the role of Group CEO since December 2015.
The United Nations is celebrating World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 under the theme Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. World Press Day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The UN position is that media freedom and access to information feed into the wider developmental objective of empowering people.

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain control over their own lives. This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby participating in the active life of the community. The United Nations also believes that the media plays a critical role in supporting public dialogue and enhancing knowledge on ways to support sustainable development and achieve the SDGs.

Taking this into consideration, the UN launched the SDG Media Compact to raise awareness of the Goals, to help galvanize further action, and to help support governments to achieve the Agenda 2030. The United Nations considers media as one of the effective tools to disseminate and raise awareness about development concepts, particularly regarding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their main pillars: People, planet, prosperity, peace, partnership. The focus of peace is what the media can support and strengthen; Media can mobilize the international community to end conflicts and wars. Development cannot be achieved without peace, and vice versa.

This is underlined by SDG 16, which aims to promote universal access to justice; and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and to ensure that the public has access to the right information which is instrumental in protecting their fundamental freedoms. The press corps - with all its institutions and journalists - has a major role to play in delivering information or news to all of us. It is required to provide the community, local and national government, the private sector and civil society and parliaments with sound and accurate information and analysis.

Any misinformation will have a negative impact. As we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, the world is still facing two main persisting challenges exists: first, the freedom of speech to reveal the facts and the right to access information, and second, journalists safety and protection. According to UNESCO, almost one hundred journalists were killed in 2018, while hundreds more are imprisoned. When media workers are targeted, societies pay a price. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed his deep concerns at the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity.

The role of the press cannot be carried out without the support of governments, in line with national legislations and international conventions. In this context, we in Bahrain witnessed the great role of the media during the 2018 elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the governmental facilities provided to the workers in this field; the wide coverage of the events locally, regionally and internationally, especially as it recorded a historic achievement for Bahrain where 6 women secured seats in the Parliament. Social Media also played a great role because of the popular interest in the event, and the candidates social media platforms were used very effectively to provide all needed information to all.

Sharing of information in Bahrain during the election period has been characterized by equal and balanced media coverage for female and male candidates, as well as sharing of information and analysis which helped the electorate to identify their candidates in a transparent and fair manner and to give the electoral the ability to choose. Here we quote the UN Secretary-Generals when he said: No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information.

It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power. On this day I would like thanks the journalist and media personal in Bahrain for their work and dedication and wish them and their families a blessed Ramadan.
Hillsborough couple Bruce and Davina Isackson are the first parents to plead guilty in taking part in a college admissions bribery scheme  and their plea could signal more indictments are on the way.

The Isacksons pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson also pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States for deducting those bribes from their taxes as charitable donations.

The couple left the courthouse without commenting. They are the only parents who have agreed to cooperate with investigators, and it was recently revealed they will testify against others if asked.

Former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon says their cooperation also likely means there will be a new wave of indictments, as the pair may name other people who participated in the scheme.

12 other parents have made agreements with prosecutors to plead guilty, including Felicity Huffman, however, they are awaiting court dates.

ALSO: Lori Loughlin reportedly wants to stand trial, sees it as a path to 'redemption'

The Isacksons are accused of paying $600,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. Authorities say the Isacksons paid to rig the entrance exam score for one of their daughters and get both girls admitted to school as fake athletic recruits.

Among their falsified accolades, one daughter's athletic profile touted her as a "Varsity 8 stroke" for the Redwood Scullers. Another daughter, Lauren, was identified by the Los Angeles Times as a former UCLA women's soccer player, despite never playing competitive soccer before. The Times reported she did play on the practice squad in 2016, but a school spokesperson said she was no longer on the team.

Bruce Isackson, who works as a real estate developer, transferred over 2,100 Facebook shares to pay for his daughters' guaranteed college admission, according to the Department of Justice. In a conversation with scam coordinator Rick Singer transcribed in the affidavit, Isackson allegedly said, "I think we'll definitely pay cash this time, and not, not  not run it through the other way."

"No words can express how profoundly sorry we are for what we have done," the Isacksons wrote in a statement earlier in the month. "Our duty as parents was to set a good example for our children and instead we have harmed and embarrassed them by our misguided decisions. We have also let down our family, friends, colleagues and our entire community. We have worked cooperatively with the prosecutors and will continue to do so as we take full responsibility for our bad judgment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday acknowledged errors made in attempting to stir a military uprising, and he did not discard a U.S. military option in Venezuela alongside domestic forces - saying he would take any such offer from Washington to a vote in the country's National Assembly.

After a dramatic week that saw a clandestine plan to oust President Nicolas Maduro fall apart on Tuesday, Guaido conceded that the opposition had miscalculated its support within the military.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Guaido suggested that he expected Maduro to step down amid a groundswell of defectors within the military. Instead, Guaido's call for the rank and file and senior brass to abandon Maduro did not produce mass defections. Maduro's security forces then quelled street protests and left Guaido's U.S.-backed opposition on its heels.

"Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution," Guaido said. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."

Guaido - the head of the National Assembly who in January declared Maduro a usurper and claimed the legitimate mantle of national leadership - did not back unilateral U.S. military intervention. He made clear that any American military support must be alongside Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro, but gave no further specifics on what would be acceptable.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table, and its hawks have pressed the Pentagon for possible military involvement. But the administration has not clearly signaled whether it would favor intervention against Maduro.

Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: "Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If it's necessary, maybe we will approve it."

The remarks were among the strongest Guaido has issued yet on the delicate subject of U.S. military assistance - an option that remains largely unpopular even among Venezuelans opposed to Maduro.

Guaido said he welcomed recent deliberations on military options in Washington, calling them "great news."

"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the U.S. are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it."

He added: "I think today there are many Venezuelan soldiers that want to put an end to [leftist guerrillas], and help humanitarian aid get in, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end usurpation. And if that includes the cooperation of honorable countries like the United States, I think that would be an option."

Yet after Tuesday's failed uprising, Guaido may now be fighting a two-front battle: both to oust Maduro and keep the opposition united.

Guaido, a 35-year-old industrial engineer and former student leader from Venezuela's Caribbean coast, has ignited new hope in the opposition's ranks since he emerged as the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly - a body stripped of its powers by Maduro in 2017 but widely recognized internationally as the country's only democratic institution.

Guaido's claim to be Venezuela's rightful interim president has been recognized by more than 50 nations and strongly backed by the Trump administration. Guaido said he had been in contact with U.S. officials during the week.

Yet the unraveling of a carefully laid plan to oust Maduro, including negotiations with his senior loyalists, has generated rifts within the opposition. Some of its senior leaders have issued recriminations over what went wrong. The sniping risks robbing the opposition of what became its single strongest asset in recent months: unity.

Some frustrated opposition members are blaming Leopoldo Lopez, Guaido's mentor, who escaped house arrest and appeared with Guaido on Tuesday morning, for upending the plan.

Lopez was one of the key architects of secret negotiations with government loyalists who were supposed to turn against Maduro on Tuesday. But his triumphant public appearance after escaping a military base, insiders say, was not expected. Some argue that it may have disrupted a carefully laid plan in which some of Maduro's senior loyalists were poised to force him out.

What actually persuaded Maduro's inner circle to close ranks instead remains a mystery. And Guaido would not discuss the negotiations nor the specifics of the opposition's plan. But the internal sniping poses a new challenge for an opposition that before Guaido's rise in January was largely seen as ineffectual and divided.

"The event shook Venezuelan politics," said Carlos Romero, a Venezuelan political analyst. "People are confused, wounded, unmotivated."

"I have heard some politicians call it a "Leopoldada," he continued, using a word that in Spanish suggests a maverick act by one person. "And the most affected one is Guaido, who has been selling himself as a unitary leader. To appear with Leopoldo in a position like that one may have reduced some leaders' trust in him."

Guaido offered a brief and lukewarm defense of the actions of Lopez, his political mentor.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I don't have information of that."

Guaido sought to downplay internal divisions in the opposition, however, saying "there's absolute unity. As always there are some differences in specific things. But I think a single cause unites us, not only as opposition but civil society too."

Asked if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had damaged opposition negotiations by mentioning the names of the alleged conspirators who were willing to turn against Maduro - including his defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Guaido said Pompeo had not. Rather, he called Pompeo's move a demonstration of "important support."

The plan moving forward, he said, remains a combination of international pressure, attempts to woo Maduro loyalists, and street action. But Guaido is confronting the additional challenge of exhaustion and frustration in the Venezuelan street.

Corruption, mismanagement and failed policies have brought Venezuela to its knees, sparking hunger, a mass exodus of migrants and the collapse of the public health system as well as the electricity and water grids In addition, anti-government protesters have confronted violent repression from Maduro's security forces - including four deaths during the past week.

A march on Wednesday - immediately after the failed uprising - drew many thousands. But by Saturday, a march called by Guaido to military installations largely fizzled, drawing nowhere near the crowds of previous protests.

"We have been doing this for 20 years," Guaido said, referring to the rise of the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 after naming Maduro as his anointed successor. "Getting frustrated and tired is part of it, but Venezuelans have demonstrated that they always take the fight again when they have to."

He tacitly acknowledged that the plan put in place by the opposition did not work, and said that his camp was seeking to do outreach with Maduro's military and senior civilian backers. But he did not suggest that the opposition was close to another breakthrough.

"Because the fact that we did what we did and it didn't succeed on the first time, doesn't mean it's not valid," he said. "We are confronting a wall that is an absolute dictatorship. . . . We have recognized our mistakes - what we didn't do, and [what] we did too much of."

International calls are rising for the opposition to sit down in official talks with Maduro's camp. But Guaido reiterated his opposition to talks without the precondition of negotiating Maduro's departure.

"Sitting down with Maduro is not an option," he said. "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017. . . . The end of usurpation is a precondition to any possible dialogue."

Yet if the week's events underscored that the opposition's hand is not yet quite as strong as it hoped, he said it also showed that Maduro is weaker than many had anticipated. He suggested that Maduro's spy chief - who disappeared on Tuesday - had defected, though he would not elaborate. And despite Tuesday's call for a peaceful uprising, Maduro has not ordered Guaido's arrest.

Why?

Because Maduro, he insisted, "is scared."
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.
WALLINGFORD  Two town residents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on I-691 West in Meriden Saturday morning, according to state police.

The two residents, one a 42-year-old man, the other a 41-year-old woman, were traveling down the highway on a motorcycle at approximately 6:48 a.m. when the man lost control of the vehicle, state police said in a release.
NEW HAVEN  Cooperative Arts and Humanities sophomore Lihame Arouna, 15, was elected Friday to a two-year term as a nonvoting student member of the Board of Education.

Lihame won 64 percent of the vote in a race against New Haven Academy sophomore Sofia Morales. In total, 2,389 votes were cast.

Id like to thank the student body for advocating for me, and Id like to advocate for them, Lihame said after the votes were counted.

Lihame said one of her key issues will be improving communication between the Board of Education and students. Throughout the year, she said, many students have been unclear about whether their teachers will stay in their classrooms and whether their schools will stay open, as the district continues to battle a budget deficit, considering several cost-saving options.

This weeks election nearly did not happen, as one of the two candidates initially came one signature short of making the ballot, before the Student Elections Committee decided that an initially discounted signature from a local charter school could be counted, as there is a petitioning process for charter school students to run for the position.

Lihame will join Nico Rivera, a rising senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, on the board.

Fridays election marks the fourth student election for a seat on the Board of Education since the citys charter was revised.

The student elections committee has spent months trying to drum up student interest in the race after Rivera was the lone declared candidate in 2018. After a majority of school board members voted to hire current Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks in late 2017 against the wishes of many in the community including student board members Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, students in the Citywide Student Council began to express their concerns that the adults on the school board use student board members as window dressing.

In the last competitive race in 2017, Dawkins  who graduates from James Hillhouse High School this year won 48 percent of the 3,287 cast ballots for four candidates.
NEW HAVEN  The administrator of the Democracy Fund has decided to follow earlier protocols and match all qualifying funds 2-to-1 for Justin Elickers mayoral campaign.

Elicker is challenging Mayor Toni Harp for the Democratic nomination for mayor as she seeks a fourth term in office.

Alyson Heimer, who runs the Democracy Fund, had excluded the first 200 donations of at least $10 from New Haven residents from the match.

But she said she researched the actions of her two predecessors in the administrative post and said she would follow their lead. I didnt want to break with their protocol, she said.

The overall purpose of the fund is to help candidates who show broad support be competitive against opponents who take donations up to $1,000 from individuals, as well as money from PACs and lobbyists.

The goal is to limit the influence of bigger donors.

Aaron Goode, one of the members of the board of the Democracy Fund, said both Robert Wechsler and Kenneth Krayeske agreed that all the qualifying donations to candidates participating in the fund should be matched.

Wechsler was in charge from 2008 to 2009, while Krayeske administered the funds for years afterward.

Elicker is participating in the publicly financed fund that provides for a 2-to-1 match for donations between $10 and $30, with top contributions capped at $370 per individual. He submitted 609 donations from New Haven residents to Heimer to review.

He already has received $16,180 from the fund and qualifies for a $19,000 grant, which he can collect once he has obtained ballot access. Heimer said Elicker will pick up just about $11,000 now that all his qualified donations can be matched.

Whoever loses the Democratic Town Committee nomination in July will have two weeks to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot.

Before the 2020 election, Heimer would like to see the Democracy Fund ordinance amended so campaign finance filings could be done electronically, as well as clarify some provisions. She said the section on matching the first 200 donors  needed to get the basic $19,000 grant  is really vague. It is gray.

Goode said the board gave Heimer the ability to check future donations to Elicker as he turns in the paperwork and then submit it to the citys finance office for the matching money. She will present a report to the board monthly.

At its May meeting, Goode said there will be a discussion on the decision to match all qualifying donations as it was not clear at the April meeting that it would become an issue.

Elicker had raised $117,692 in the first quarter through March 30, to $26,392 taken in by the Harp campaign in the same period.

The mayors campaign still has to update its 2017 election filings to show who made between $80,000 and $100,000 in contributions to that race. The State Elections Enforcement Commission voted to investigate a complaint made by Elicker about the missing information.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
Mary Anne Hardy is carrying on what she calls a family legacy by hiking, researching and writing to compile the new, sixth edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut.

The cover of this 320-page paperback guide (The Countryman Press, $21.95) lists only Mary Anne Hardy as the writer. But when you turn to the main title page within, the credit goes to: Mary Anne, David, Gerry and Sue Hardy.

Mary Anne is the daughter of Gerry and Sue Hardy, and is Davids sister. The dedication page makes it wistfully clear two of them have died: In memory of Gerry and David Hardy, who so loved the woods and contributed richly to its preservation and enjoyment.

Her parents wrote the first edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut in the mid-1970s. Four subsequent editions were published through the efforts of Gerry and Sue Hardy and their son.

Now the mantle has been passed on to me, Mary Anne wrote on the acknowledgments page of the new edition. She said its a privilege to celebrate my family and love of the outdoors.

When I came upon Hardys book at the Barnes & Noble in North Haven (where she will give a talk May 18 at 1 p.m.), I looked through the (revised) 50 choices, especially those in the New Haven area. I was surprised to see a write-up on Peters Rock in North Haven.

Peters Rock? I recalled only hearing the name once in a passing reference from somebody. I had never been there.

Well, as Hardys book showed me, Peters Rock is only about a mile from the New Haven Register office: directly north up Route 17 (Middletown Avenue), shortly after you cross from New Haven into North Haven. Yet, virtually none of my work colleagues I consulted nor, I would bet, the general public know about this pleasurable public expanse of nature.

This is a real hidden gem, Hardy said when we met at the gazebo marking the entrance to the park last Wednesday afternoon. Its an odd little tucked-away place. But were only minutes from downtown New Haven.

In her book, Hardy provides directions to each of the 50 sites. But if youre seeking an address for Peters Rock, you could use the one for First Fuel Oil, 133 Middletown Ave., which has an adjacent driveway to this park.

Hardy begins each of her 50 chapters with a brief history of the site. She wrote that Peters Rock has had many names over the centuries. During colonial times it was called Indian Rock, as it was reported to be a Native American look-out post. She noted it has also been called Rabbit Rock because there were so many hopping around the property.

Hardys history includes much of what you can read in an account by the Peters Rock Association posted near the gazebo. It tells us: Peters Rock was named for Peter Brockett, a crippled Revolutionary War veteran who lived on the north slope of the summit.

The associations history continues: In the late 1800s a group of young businessmen leased the land from North Haven and used it for outings and recreation. They built a one-room building called the Hermitage, with an observation deck.

Those lucky businessmen enjoyed a panoramic view from the summit, where they had erected their lodge. But the association account adds: The Hermitage was destroyed in the early 1900s by a fire caused by a cooking accident.

Informational write-ups near the gazebo state the park is owned and maintained by a small land trust in North Haven, which is the association. There is also this heads up for hikers: Peters Rock offers several trails of varying difficulties. All are under one mile in length but can be walked in different combinations to create longer hikes. The red trail to the summit is steep and difficult but rewards the hiker with serene views.

This summit is 373 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in North Haven, Hardys book tells us. Peters Rock contains 22 acres, the largest parcel of open space in the town.

Hardy lives in North Haven and teaches math at North Haven High School. This park is only five minutes from my house, she said as we began our hike up to the summit.

During our outing up there and back, which took about 90 minutes, we encountered only two people, each of them walking a dog. Jordan Brandon of New Haven, who was walking his dog Loki, said: I love it. I can take my dog for a walk and we can be in nature.

A few minutes into our hike, we heard a woodpecker; Hardy perked up at the sound of it drumming into a tree. Shortly afterward, she pointed out the lush leaves in a collection of skunk cabbage. When I was a kid, wed stomp on it and release the skunky smell. I love the green of that cabbage because its the first green you see coming up in the spring.

As we followed the red blazes (painted markers) on the trees, we came upon a footbridge spanning the Little River, a bubbling treat. Eagle Scouts built the bridge in 2008.

While we walked, I asked Hardy why East Rock and West Rock parks didnt make it into her book. She said East Rock is not well-marked as to where to go. She said West Rock was included in an earlier edition but my understanding from my parents was it became not all that safe. There was a lot of vandalism.

Because Hardy will bump a site out of her book if the trails arent maintained, she is able to replace them with new places. The new edition includes Peters Rock for the first time as well as Osbornedale State Park in Derby. Another one in our area is Westwoods in Guilford.

Sleeping Giant State Park is among the books 50 hikes but Hardy told me in advance we could not meet there for our hike. The devastation caused by last Mays tornado was so severe that the park remains closed. Hardy quoted a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official who said Sleeping Giant will open sometime before the summer. Until then, Hardy said, you could be arrested if you try to hike there.

Hardy said she likes Peters Rock because, unlike Sleeping Giant before the tornado, You dont see a lot of people here, which is refreshing.

On our way upward, Hardy paused to take a photo of mushrooms growing out of a tree. At another point, she called out: Oh look! Violets!

Soon afterward, following a tough patch where we scrambled up a rocky trail, we reached our destination, an area of flat rocks overlooking miles and miles. This is the summit! Hardy announced. We beheld Sleeping Giant, East Rock, the Quinnipiac River, wetlands and the traffic on State Street.

As we headed back down on the same trail, Hardy said, Its great to be out in the woods. Its healthy and its beautiful nature. It settles your mind. Its stress-reducing.

She said re-doing the book took her about seven months because she re-hiked every site. Its not a money-maker; its a family legacy.

Hardy said her brother became too ill to help with the latest edition. She added, My dad died last year but I was able to talk with him about this new one. He was very excited it was coming out and staying in the family. And my mom went to my first book talk.

When I asked Hardy if shell be willing to do a seventh edition, she replied: Oh yeah! Probably every four years. I think my (three) kids would be interested in doing it. They all love to hike.

When we made it back to the gazebo, she showed me the first edition of the book. It had an inscription from her parents, saying they were glad she had rejoined their hikes. In the early years, you were always out in front.

Contact Randall Beach at 203-680-9345 or randall.beach@hearstmediact.com.
It was a night to remember for Buena Regional High School students as they celebrated their prom at Massos Crystal Manor in Glassboro on Friday night.

Prom-goers arrived dressed to the nines as they socialized, posed for photos and danced the night away.

Check back at nj.com/south for other local high school prom coverage. And be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

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Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Lori on Instagram at @photog_lori and Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Once he understood what a doctor does, Timothy Malone knew thats what he wanted to do with his life.

The kid from Mahwah was only 5, maybe 6-years-old when he made that decision.

Malones thinking wasnt challenged -- until his health tilted out of control in 2010.

Constant headaches came out of nowhere in high school. He lost 30 pounds, thinking that was normal for a 16-year-old teen getting in shape. He had a pale complexion and itchy skin that bled from his scratching. Doctors thought he had allergies. A chest x-ray saw something else.

Thats when they found the tumors," Malone said.

He had Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymph system, turning his life upside down.

I wanted nothing to do with hospitals," Malone said. It made me want to run in the opposite direction."

But Malone, now 25, is sprinting back toward his childhood dream. Hes a first-year medical student in Grenada at St. Georges University, which has a teaching partnership with the Bergen County hospital that helped him beat cancer.

Meridian Healths Hackensack University Medical Center has been in Malones life ever since. After nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2010, Malone stayed in touch with the medical center through the Tomorrow Childrens Fund, a program started by parents to help their children and others like them with cancer and serious blood disorders.

Timothy Malone, left, a cancer survivor is with staff at Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center. To his right are Jill Brooks, Judy Solomon, Hope Castoria and Dr. Michael Harris. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media

Malone volunteered in fundraisers, participating with tricky trays and 5K runs. His involvement, however, didnt lead him back to the profession, not even on follow-up visits.

Malone was tired of the hospital and treatment regimens, even though he had a positive attitude about ridding cancer from his body. He willingly signed up for clinical trials and new drug combinations, anything that was available to treat his disease.

Whatever God has in store for me, it must be some reason why he gave it to me to overcome," he said.

With a new outlook, Malone returned to high school after he was cancer free. He focused on perfecting his percussion skills as the drum line captain in the high school band. Instead of becoming a physician, Malone figured hed be a music teacher, or so he thought when he majored in music education at William Paterson University.

But Malone missed the sciences and math classes, and traditional academia. Music was great, just not satisfying. The bug to be a doctor was surfacing, and the desire was sealed when Malone became an emergency medical technician in Mahwah.

That steered me into medicine again," he said. I loved it." His family did, too. Theyve been in the emergency services field for 50 years either as firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

Malone shadowed a physician, then sat in meeting rooms with other doctors who treated him at HackensackUMC. On his checkup visits, he talked about his goals with Dr. Michael Harris, who is chief of the Cure and Beyond Program, for childhood cancers survivors.

Harris said Malone is an intelligent young man with compassion and empathy, character traits that that will help him treat patients.

I think the experience of going through Hodgkins gives him a unique perspective on what patients go through," Harris said. He wants to learn what it is to be a doctor, and (will) continue to go into that direction, but will always be a physician I believe, who will do good by his patients."

In January, Malone started medical school on a full-tuition City Doctors scholarship that he received from St. Georges University on behalf of Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center.

Malone will spend two years in Grenada, then return to HackensackUMC, where hell train to see what area of medicine he would like to pursue. Hell do rotations in different specialties from internal medicine and surgery, pediatrics and psychiatry, obstetrics and family practice. Malone would love to practice pediatric oncology, considering his personal experience with cancer.

After the rotational tour, his residency follows for another two years. That assignment, ironically, could be at HackensackUMC if he gets accepted.

There are no guarantees. Malone has to apply, but he is excited about the unique possibility. The hospital in which he was treated for cancer will teach him how to be a physician, and it could be the place where he works one day.

Its one thing to have a dream as a child that you want to be a doctor, but how many of them actually make that happen?" said Dr. Fred Jacobs, who is also executive vice president of St. Georges University. When you actually see someone doing it and getting it done, its an inspirational story."

The disease that made him turn away from medicine has brought him back to where he wants to be in life.

If had to do it again, Ill accept and beat it (cancer) again."

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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A 26-year-old man was found stabbed to death Friday morning in Camden, authorities said.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office said Gloucester City resident Ryan Harter was found by police unconscious with multiple stab wounds shortly before 11 a.m. near the 1000 block of South 5th Street in Camden.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made at this time, authorities said, and no additional information about the incident was immediately available.

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Michael Cohen, former fixer for President Donald Trump, will report to prison on Monday. When he arrives, two New Jersey celebrities will already be there.

The Associated Press confirms that Cohen, 52, will start his sentence on May 6 at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, where both Mike The Situation Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame and Billy McFarland, a co-founder of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, are incarcerated.

In December, Trumps former lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to not paying $1.4 million in taxes and admitted to lying to Congress about Trumps business ties in Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen also admitted to breaking campaign finance laws when he set up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Sorrentino, 37, graduated from high school in Manalapan and lived in Long Branch before he reported to prison in January. In October, the reality TV star, who shot to fame in 2009 on MTVs Jersey Shore, was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. His sentencing and the fallout will be a part of the upcoming third season of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

McFarland, 27, is from Short Hills. In 2017, his canceled music festival left concertgoers stranded in FEMA tents in the Bahamas. In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for Fyre Festival fraud and selling fake tickets to other events. According to a recent report from New York Magazine, McFarland, who is writing (and plans to self-publish) a memoir about the music festival and his other ventures, plans to organize a second Fyre Festival, despite his fraud convictions.

The reality TV personality and the Fyre guy have gotten friendly during their time living in the low-security area of the prison, located in Orange County, New York, about 20 minutes from the New Jersey border.

They play Scrabble together, Sorrentinos Jersey Shore Family Vacation" castmate, Paul DJ Pauly D DelVecchio, told Jenny McCarthy in April.

In the same interview, another of Sorrentinos Jersey Shore friends, Vinny Guadagnino, pointed out that the two New Jersey-connected celebrities also share space in the prison with George Garofano. He was one of four hackers implicated in a 2014 phishing scheme that leaked nude photos from various celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and McCarthy herself.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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Some New Jersey school officials are kicking out students who commute into their town to attend their public schools.

Woodbridge Township announced last month that it caught dozens of students illegally attending its 25 schools. The township has sought to expel the students and fine their parents  and so far, they have recouped $100,540 in unpaid tuition, township officials announced.

A joint task force of the Office of School Security team and the Woodbridge Police Department reviewed over 1,800 cases, finding that 89 students were illegally enrolled in its schools, which educate nearly 13,600 kids, officials said.

After school, some students would walk straight to the train station or catch a cab, Mayor John E. McCormac said.

That is pretty much a dead giveaway, he said.

While many of the students were older, they seemed to live in several surrounding towns, officials said. One parent lived an hour away but worked in Woodbridge and would drop the child off on the way to work, he added.

Tuition costs about $1,300 per student a year, said John Hagerty a township spokesperson. In some cases, the township has taken their parents to court in an effort to get tuition dollars back.

Hagerty said no extra employees were hired by the school district or the town for the investigation, officers were just re-routed from other tasks. An estimated cost of those employees hours, or court costs associated with recuperating the money from parents, was not immediately available.

The township, officials said, started the crackdown to protect Woodbridge taxpayers money, and they are continuing to investigate cases.

It is unclear how often districts crack down on out-of-town students, Janet Bamford, director of communications and publications for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said. But, she added, most districts have discretionary policies that allow them to kick non-resident students out.

Some districts allow non-resident students to attend their schools if their parents work for the district, or if they choose to foot the tuition bill, she said.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom . Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips .

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Dear Annie: I just turned 39 and am freaking out about my next birthday, when I will go from being a young person to a middle-aged person. I remember when I was a child everyone making such a fuss over my parents turning 40. And now here I am turning 40. Do you have any suggestions for coping with this monumental change of life? -- Scared of Aging

Dear Scared: Its as monumental as you make it, and try not to make a molehill into a mountain. Your actual age is nothing but a number, and, as they say, 60 is the new 40. And if you keep a good mental attitude and take care of yourself physically, you could feel even better at 60 than you do at 40.

Dear Readers: Many of you wrote in about Deeply Hurt in Florida, who was offended by the way she was addressed on the invitation to her grandsons wedding. Here is a sampling of comments and advice:

Dear Annie: My husband and I enlisted the help of friends to address our wedding invitations nearly 17 years ago. I remember that day making last-minute changes to names, and Im sure we made some mistakes. I also remember feeling stress because it was the first big project my fiance and I had ever tried to manage together.

I hope Deeply Hurt in Florida will offer grace, much grace, to her grandson and his fiancee. Many weddings are needlessly stressful times for the bride- and groom-to-be. -- Offering Perspective to Deeply Hurt

Dear Offering Perspective: Thank you for sharing your story. The fact that your fiance is still your husband is what really counts when it comes to wedding planning, and I agree that much of the stress involved is needless. Brides and grooms frequently will have other people write the invitations. Whatever the cause, it is nothing to be alarmed about, as the next letter, from a grandmother and great-grandmother, points out.

Dear Annie: I could not believe the grandma in Florida was so upset by her correct name being on the invitation. It could be that others were helping write the invitations and did not know her preferred name.

As a grandmother of 21 and great-grandmother of seven, I would not let anything so minor affect my going to a family wedding. You were right. Ask that the placecard be corrected and enjoy the occasion.

I have not written to a columnist before but could not believe the grandmother could be making such a mountain out of a molehill. Isnt she fortunate to see a grandson married? -- Grandmother and Great Grandmother

Dear Grandmother and Great Grandmother: Youre the best! I love your attitude, which, as you can see, is shared by a reader from New Hampshire who wants nothing more than to have grandchildren.

Dear Annie: Regarding Deeply Hurt in Florida, I find it sad that she may not attend her grandsons wedding over such a minor detail as being addressed as Judy instead of Chris.

Does she know how fortunate she is to have her grandson in her life? Many of us dont have the pleasure of having grandchildren or great-grandchildren in our lives, and how heartbreaking that is. We have so much love that we cannot share with them. --Heartbroken in New Hampshire.

Dear Heartbroken: You address the real issue, which is love.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
A New Jersey native admitted in court Friday he duped the U.S. government out of millions of dollars by taking federal rebates for solar panels he never installed.

Charles E. Kartsaklis, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden to one count of wire fraud.

Kartsaklis, who previously lived in Erial but now resides in Davenport, Florida, was the president of now-defunct Code Green Solar LLC. He falsely claimed Code Green installed solar panels at five different New Jersey businesses and obtained more than $3 million in federally funded rebates, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Kartsaklis submitted proposals to the five businesses in 2011 and 2012, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Those businesses rejected the proposals, but Kartsaklis applied for the rebates anyway, authorities said.

Authorities allege he created phony documents and sent them to the U.S. Treasury Department, including applications for the money, Solar Power Purchase Agreements" emails verifying the installation of the panels and five annual reports, which claimed the panels were still generating electricity.

Kartsaklis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kartsaklis agreed to make full restitution by paying $3,081,938.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, 2019.
A former YMCA employee was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping girl and filming a boy who was using the bathroom.

Jermaine Ward, who worked in after school programs for the YMCA of Burlington and Camden counties, was arrested in June 2018 and pleaded guilty in December to aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a release.

Wards crimes occurred between the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018.

The girl was asleep during the assault, which happened in Maple Shade, and the boy was not aware that he was being recorded when the crime occurred in Pennsauken, Coffina said.

Ward knew the girl he assaulted and her family, as well as the boy he filmed, officials said.

The names of the young victims and other details about the incidents were withheld by the prosecutors office to protect their identities.

Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time, but this defendants heinous actions threatened to destroy that oasis for these young kids, Coffina said. Our Office will continue to do everything within its power to make sure that anyone who harms a child is brought to justice.

Ward will serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, a facility which houses sex offenders.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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By Tom Malinowski

When I visit a synagogue or Jewish community center in my congressional district, I usually pass by armed security. Inside, people sometimes share heartfelt concerns about boycotts of Israel or the controversy over remarks about Israel by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. But those aren't the reasons for the guard at the gate.

From time to time, I also attend Friday prayers at local mosques. Recently, there have been state police officers standing watch outside.

Political debates in the United States can be untethered from facts, but threats to life focus minds on reality. The reality today is that when it comes to organized violence, Jewish and Muslim Americans, as well as members of other minority groups, face the same threat: white-supremacist terrorism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the overwhelming majority of terrorist killings in the United States since 2009 have been committed by white people motivated by a specific ideology: the belief that America belongs to them, and must be protected from "globalist" (read: Jewish) elites and immigrants of all kinds.

Over the past two years, white supremacists have plainly been emboldened. The evidence can be seen in the crackpot conspiracy theories spreading virally on social media, the Unite the Right marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and swastikas suddenly appearing in schools. (Summit, New Jersey, a city inside my district, has had six such incidents in the past five months). Anti-Semitic incidents, including bomb threats, assaults and cemetery desecrations, rose by 60 percent from 2016 to 2017.

If the threat came from outside the United States, these facts would be enough to galvanize Americans around a plan of action. But this threat comes from within. And because it originates on the political right, describing it accurately can be difficult to do without sounding partisan, without making one side feel uncomfortable. So we blame the violence on vague boogeymen of intolerance and hate - which we acknowledge exist on the left as well as the right.

Anti-Semitism does, indeed, come from both sides. But this new wave of terrorism does not. The accused killers have clearly announced who they are, and we have to understand their inspirations and motivations to know how to stop them. The alleged shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last October was obsessed with migrant caravans from Central America, and blamed a Jewish aid organization for bringing "invaders that kill our people." The alleged shooter who gunned down Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March also said he acted to stop immigrant "invaders." The suspected gunman in San Diego last month said in a manifesto that he was inspired by the terrorists in both Pittsburgh and Christchurch, and that he had tried to torch a mosque before attacking a synagogue.

In the past, every authoritative voice in the country would be communicating to these people that they are isolated in their crazy beliefs. Now, they find validation in the president of the United States, who, on the day of the New Zealand attacks, referred to an immigrant "invasion" of the United States, and who seems incapable of calling white-supremacist attacks terrorism. These bigots hear politicians and cable-news hosts attacking the FBI, alleging "deep state" coups and calling fact-based journalism "fake news," reinforcing their mistrust of authority and conspiratorial thinking.

What would we do if we could forget politics and just focus on keeping people safe?

Congress would be considering a domestic-terrorism statute, which would make it easier to arrest suspects before they can carry out murderous plots. Democrats and Republicans would be working urgently together to elevate the offices at the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security that combat domestic terrorism, and to give them more resources. Given white supremacists' transnational links, we'd be encouraging U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share information about them with allies around the world, as they do with information about backers of the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Wed be telling social media companies not just to put out fires by banning extremists from their sites, but to make their product less flammable by changing the algorithms that suck users into extremist bubbles.

We in Congress would also react with bipartisan revulsion when an American leader employs words and ideas that mirror those used by terrorists.

That doesn't mean Americans can't respectfully debate immigration policy, or support Trump's border wall. But talk of immigrant "invasions" or of immigrants as killers and rapists - reinforcing the delusions of the people responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks against Americans today - should be intolerable. I recently introduced a resolution in the House that condemns this language, while embracing President Ronald Reagan's belief that "if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." Surely, we can still agree on that.

Tom Malinowski, a Democrat, represents New Jerseys 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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By Salaam Ismial

Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgroves resignation doesnt come close to addressing the departments racist history and current approach to policing the community..

Cosgrove came into the city with a hard line approach and refused to institute community policing, which would have required officers to use more understanding and to work with the community and not against it.

Black people were brutalized and more than twice as likely to be shot in Elizabeth, according to NJ Advance Medias police use of force data. Of the more than 4,600 cases where force was used against people under 18, slightly more than half the subjects were black, though they represent only 14.5 percent of the child population in New Jersey.

Ive lived here for decades and know that Elizabeth has a racist past. In 1967, then-Mayor Tom Dunn ordered police officers to shoot anyone who attempted to riot the summer that Newark and other cities rebelled. In the 1980s, Dunn once ordered that all city businesses must Speak English Only, and angered many in the Hispanic community.

Cosgrove had to go after he used the n-word to refer to black officers and the c-word to refer to women. He resigned only after constant community protest, 1,000 signers on a petition and calls by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for him to resign.

Other blatant forms of racism exist in the staffing of the Elizabeth Police Department. Currently, there are approximately 340 officers, of which only 28 are black. Of the only supervisors, there are only five black sergeants, and three of them came by way of a discrimination lawsuit.

The departments Juvenile Division is comprised of six detectives who concentrate on the gang problem, and yet not one of those officers is black. The departments swat team/emergency services division has about 30 officers, yet not one is black. There are zero blacks in the departments special narcotics division.

The DARE Division, which comprises of three officers who focus on elementary school children regarding drug awareness, has no black officers. In the Community Policing Division, which purposes to build ties and work closely with members of the communities, only two of about 25 officers are black. But mostly the department fails when it targets and arrests mostly black people.

The city of Elizabeth paid out hundreds of thousand of dollars in police brutality cases including a 2018 payout of $250,000 to Jerome Wright, who was beaten by a number of cops after a traffic stop. Wright was sprayed with Mace, kicked and punched by as many as four police officers. The city of Elizabeth paid Sharif Tankard $750,000 in 2017 after he was shot and critically injured by a police officer at Oakwood plaza apartment complex. Police say they were there to investigate an incident at the location but the grand jury rejected charges against Tankard and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

While Cosgroves offenses are clear and blatant he wasnt the only person to let racism fester in the department, which is why the Union County Prosecutor has taken over the departments internal affairs division and is reviewing the departments policies and practices.

While Chief John Brennan, the top cop responsible for the day-to-day operations, was quick to file a complaint about Cosgrove's racism, he did nothing to stop constant abuse by his rank and file officers. The Internal Affairs Department is widely known in the black community for its lack of investigation into police abuse. In addition, patrol officers with the Union County Sheriff Department carried out their abusive "Stop and frisk" policy on innocent young black men and had confrontations that ended in unwarranted arrests.

The initial investigation by former Union County Prosecutor Michael Monahan was seen by many in the black community as not trustworthy and lacked transparency. Some believe Monahan was too close to the local and county Democratic Party. Also, the Union County Prosecutors Office has its own problem with diversity, where out 70 prosecutors none are black men. Yet, they arrest and prosecute a large number of black males in the county.

The only way to resolve this racist system is to completely overhaul the department. We must identify all the problems and ills and move fast to move racist staff and policies out and move reform in. All the divisions, departments and special units should be reviewed by the State Attorney General and Union County Prosecutor offices.

The community must be a major part in advising Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and law enforcement officials about what the community needs. There must be transparency and trust, and we must move fast, because the citizens are fed up.

Salaam Ismial lives in Elizabeth and is the founder of the National United Youth Inc.

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It has been established that William Barr has a snitty relationship with the truth, and that his misrepresentation of the Mueller Report was an insult to the author himself.

We know this because Robert Mueller said so, though this was already plain to anyone who had read the Special Counsels magnum opus. Where the country sought elucidation on potential criminal behavior by the president, the Attorney General offered mostly obfuscation, legal mush and sophistry washed down with weak tea.

So hours before Barr played dodgeball with the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Mueller released a letter from March 27 that disclosed how he felt about Barrs whitewashed interpretation of the report last month: The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Offices work and conclusions, Mueller wrote to his boss.

He was especially concerned that Barrs mischaracterization threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

After that, anything out of Barrs mouth required a laugh track.

Garrett Graff, who authored a book about the FBI under Muellers magisterial leadership, said his jaw became unhinged when he read the rebuke.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published, Graff said. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison.

In other words, Mueller expresses contempt only for the jailers of the Lockerbie bomber and the Attorney General of the United States.

So it hardly mattered what Barr said during his duplicitous performance Wednesday. It only matters that the country hears Mueller speak for himself before Congress, which thankfully is under negotiation, because he didnt dedicate 22 months on an investigation just so an operative like Barr can repackage it as a political cudgel for Donald Trump.

In earlier testimony, Barr also misrepresented Muellers assessment about the AGs four-page summary. He told Congress he had no knowledge of how Mueller felt about it, even though Muellers snitty missive had landed on his desk weeks earlier. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasnt wrong when she called Barr a liar for that.

We can agree that hes a master of the Q-and-non-A format, a champion at parsing words such as suggest and summary.

Time would be better spent reviewing the substantial evidence in the report that detailed the presidents habitual obstructive behavior. The problem is that Barr is ill-equipped to discuss it: Sen. Kamala Harris got Barr to admit he never looked at the underlying evidence before exonerating Trump of obstruction. He did that despite Mueller affirming it does not exonerate the president.

An objective reading of the report shows obstruction is prima facie. Mueller needs to testify and speak plainly about whether charges are warranted. At least we know he read the report.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison. https://t.co/DorCXEgzIG  Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) May 1, 2019

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A LaPlace woman is accused of forging insurance documents for her driving school and creating a fake email address to support the fraud, Louisiana State Police say.

Detectives discovered that the policy listed by Gemyra Williams, 37, for her Safe Driving Academy LLC was cancelled, police said. When asked for an updated policy, Williams created a fake email address purporting to be a legitimate insurance company and emailed ... a fraudulent certificate of insurance in an attempt to show coverage. Detectives determined that Williams created the fake information on a computer belonging to her, police said.

Williams was booked Wednesday (May 1) at the St. John the Baptist Parish jail with forgery of a certificate of insurance and computer fraud
Police are searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting the father of his girlfriends children as he waited for the children to return from school Friday afternoon (May 3) in Kenner.

Lyndell Alford, 34, of Kenner is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing, reported about 4:30 p.m. on Phoenix Street, according to the Kenner Police Department.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the victim, identified as 30-year-old Remus Lambert of New Orleans, seated in his vehicle in the 2600 block. He had been shot more than once and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Michael Cunningham said in a news release.

Alford and Lambert have had an ongoing dispute involving Alfords girlfriend, with whom Lambert has children, Cunningham said.

Man shot dead in Kenner Friday afternoon

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Lambert was parked near the home of Alford and his girlfriend when the shooting occurred. Investigators believe he was waiting for his children to return home from school, officials said.

According to Kenner police, Alford and the girlfriend drove past Lambert and parked in front of their home. Alford got out of the vehicle and walked into the home  but then, minutes later, came back outside and confronted Lambert. Investigators believe Alford then took out a handgun and shot Lambert before fleeing the scene in a green Infiniti G35 with Louisiana license 290BZI.

Alford has a criminal history and is currently on parole for illegal use of a weapon, distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Anyone with information about the homicide or the whereabouts of Lyndell Alford is asked to call the Kenner Police at 504-712-2222 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The Vermilion Parish public school system, ranked fourth of 71 in Louisiana, is the latest to consider going to a four-day academic week. The School Board plans to debate the idea Wednesday (May 8), according to public records.

Vermilion would hold classes Tuesdays through Fridays under the proposal. Proponents say it might help save money.

The school system received a 90.2 performance score on the states 150-point scale in 2018. That gave it an A grade, one of only four in the state. By Louisiana standards, its an average-sized system with 9,676 students across 20 schools.

Four-day school week? Avoyelles Parish is trying it

More than 500 U.S. school systems have switched to four-day weeks, with some in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico and South Dakota making up the vanguard, according to a June report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education. They drop one day and lengthen the instructional time on the others. Research into the effect on academic performance has been mixed.

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In March, the Avoyelles Parish School Board voted 7-2 to switch its C-graded system to a four-day week, eliminating Monday classes for students beginning in August. The Caldwell Parish school system, graded B in 2018, already operates on a four-day week.

4-day school week? Denver area system goes there in cost-cutting move

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1.
As a scientist at LSU, Dr. Catherine O'Neal knew the COVID-19 vaccines had undergone rigorous safety testing before they were made available for children. But when the time came to sign her own kids up for the jab, the mother of three experienced 
OMAHA  Online retailer Hayneedle is laying off 239 workers in Omaha as part of a restructuring, company officials said Thursday.

The jobs being eliminated are in the Omaha-based companys corporate office as well as its call center, and they represent a sizable portion of Hayneedles workforce in the city. The company has recently employed nearly 700 workers in Omaha at three sites, including its corporate office near 90th Street and West Dodge Road.

According to the Nebraska Department of Labors layoff notification web site, 180 workers were in the firms call center in Sarpy County and 59 in its headquarters building.

This is a difficult decision in a business, and were focused on taking care of the people who are affected, said Tiffany Wilson, a spokesperson for Hayneedles parent company, Walmart. And we remain committed to our hometown of Omaha and our vision to be the best specialty online home retailer.

Hayneedle was founded in Omaha in 2002 merely selling hammocks online. But it expanded into a wide range of home furnishings and housewares, posting sales in 2016 of more than $500 million.

The company is now an affiliate of Walmart, having been bought by another online retailer in 2016 that was subsequently purchased by Walmart. But Hayneedle has continued to operate as an independent business unit with its own president.

Wilson, the director of communications for Walmart, said that the layoffs in Omaha on Thursday were due to changes specific to the Hayneedle brand and that the decisions were made at the Hayneedle level.

This was not a Walmart decision; it was a decision made by Hayneedle, she said.

Wilson said both companies do share the same approach of evaluating strategy, structure and operating costs to find ways to grow. Hayneedle, she said, decided to invest in some new areas, create new roles and restructure in ways that help the company move faster.

Hayneedles parent company has been known for paying close attention to costs. Walmart uses a zero-based budgeting strategy, asking managers to justify costs regardless of previous spending levels.

Workers said they began being notified of the layoffs with 9 a.m. phone calls and group meetings. Some workers were terminated immediately, while others will still have jobs until May 17.

Hayneedle is offering assistance to the workers who lost their jobs, Wilson said.

Each worker will get a 60-day paid period to search for new work. If they do not find work in that time, they may be eligible for severance based on years of service. Employees are also being offered help in finding new work inside or outside the company.
After a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant lost out on a new Audi due to a technicality -- even though she answered the puzzle correctly -- the car company said it would gift her the vehicle instead.
Jesse Shea, project manager of Titan Roofing and Exteriors in western Iowa, has an opportunity to for the public to support a local veteran as he introduces his company to the area.

Sponsored by Titan Roofing and GAF, which is a roofing materials company, a local veteran will be chosen to receive a new roof with their choice of GAF Timberline HD shingles.

Based in Des Moines and operated by veterans, Titan Roofing and Exteriors mission is to provide superior customer service and honesty through the restoration process  which includes philanthropic contributions to veterans in need through the Titan Project, a nonprofit organization that provides support to veterans and their families.

The partnership is giving away a free roof to a Pottawattamie County veteran in need. The winner will be announced around Memorial Day and the roof installed in June.

Nominations can be submitted by a veteran or someone else and should include a paragraph on why the award is deserved. Titan Roofing will inspect all the houses submitted and a nonpartisan group will grade each applicant on the condition of the house and story submitted. Being a veteran who lives in Pottawattamie County is the only requirement to be eligible for the award.

Having a new roof provides the veteran with a piece of mind and protects all that is important to them, just like how their service protected all of us, Shea said.

The free roof work will be done by soldiers from the 168th Infantry Regiment.

Applications are due by May 22. Shea said they are willing to extend the deadline if needed. Applications can be submitted online at https://bit.ly/2DMiWx6.

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Hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges is a tradition that dates back to the early 1900s. Today, more than 370 refuges are open to the public for hunting and more than 310 are open to sportfishing.

Here in the Midwest, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas are a huge part of this tradition. Both Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges are proposing to update their hunting programs. Refuge staff are seeking public comment on the changes.

Area residents are invited to review draft documents related to these changes, including the draft hunting plans, draft environmental assessments and draft compatibility determinations for each refuge.

The documents are available through May 31.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, near Missouri Valley is proposing to expand turkey hunting to include the fall archery season.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 14 at the refuge headquarters, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide your comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, is proposing to open up portions of the refuge to archery spring and fall turkey hunting and archery deer hunting opportunities.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 15 at the Fort Calhoun Library. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Draft documents are available from the refuge office. You can contact the refuge at 712-388-4803 or peter_rea@fws.gov to request either printed or electronic copies. Alternative formats are also available.

For more information, contact 712/388-4800 or email the refuge at desoto@fws.gov. Go online to fws.gov/refuge/desoto or fws.gov/refuge/boyer_chute for refuge updates.
The new ThinkBook S models may replace the 13 and 14-inch Ideapad S-series models, at least in China. They appear to have updated designs with improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table, while the specs include Intel Core i7-8565U CPUs, up to 16 HB RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs. The more expensive variants may integrate discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPUs.

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The EEC just issued certificates for ThinkBook 13S-IWL and 14S-IWL models, so the new brand is essentially confirmed to be official in Europe.

Lenovo may be preparing to launch a new brand of laptops, as Notebook Italia spotted a pair of 13 and 14-inch models going by the ThinkBook S moniker at a recent trade show in China. These models are also mentioned in a few European online retailer listings, and it looks like they could be shipping by late May for around 1,000 Euros.



According to a video posted by Notebook Italia, the new ThinkBook S-series might replace the 13 / 14-inch models from the Ideapad series, but it is unclear if regions outside of China will be getting these models under the new moniker. The new models also come with updated designs, including improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table. The only difference between the two models is the screen size, as both come with a 1080p IPS displays, shuttered 720p webcams, and backlit keyboards featuring a fingerprint sensor on the power button.



Spec-wise, both models feature the Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake CPUs coupled with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSD storage. The more expensive variants will also include a discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPU. The battery should last for around 11 hours and the connector suite includes 3 x USB-A + 1 x USB-C, and HDMI out and an audio jack.
The wet, snowy weather over late winter and early spring kept LCCDC from holding a formal groundbreaking for its latest duplexes, Bodeen said while contractor John Lee pushed dirt with a small bulldozer behind two recently prepared foundations.

They sit behind the first pair of North Sheridan Estates duplexes finished and rented out in 2017. Site preparation has begun on the third pair of duplexes, which will be built just north of the second pair now being built.

The third pair has not yet been funded, and a timetable for building that pair is not known, Bodeen said.

Regarding the second pair, we have people calling (and) wanting to know when these are going to be done, she told onlookers including LCCDC board members, Nebraska Department of Economic Development staff members and leaders of the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corp.

Bodeen said grants of $177,160 from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and $159,750 from the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund helped make possible the North Sheridan redevelopments four-duplex second phase. LCCDC, Great Western Bank and First National Bank of North Platte also have provided funds.
The United States Steel Corporation announced on May 2 that it will invest more than $1 billion in constructing cutting edge facilities in western Pennsylvania, drawing praise from President Donald Trump.

The company said the new investment will improve its environmental performance and energy conservation with a new sustainable endless casting and rolling facility at its Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock and a cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant. Both facilities will be part of the companys Mon Valley Works.

Trumps tariffs on imported steel and other efforts to boost American manufacturing have helped to revitalize a steel industry that has been in decline for decades. The billion dollar investment comes as the White House on May 3 touted a number of positive economic indicators, including a strong jobs report for April with the addition of 263,000 new hires and a declining 3.6% unemployment rate.

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working, Trump wrote in a May 2 Twitter post. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING!

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING! https://t.co/XPXjxli6uc  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

The new technology will make Mon Valley Works the first facility of this type in the United States, and one of only a handful in the world, the company said.

This is a truly transformational investment for U. S. Steel, said David B. Burritt, president and CEO of U. S. Steel. We are combining our integrated steelmaking process with industry-leading endless casting and rolling to reinvest in steelmaking and secure the future for a new generation of steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania and the Mon Valley.

The steelmakers cogeneration facility will feature an emissions control system that can convert some of the coke oven gas generated there into electricity to power other parts of the plant.

Tens of thousands of American workers have faced layoffs and dozens of factories have been shut since 2000 due to imports, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a nonprofit organization formed by manufacturers and United Steelworkers. With the recent tariffs on imports, the steel industry is starting to seeing some positive signs.

Over the past few decade, steel imports have steadily increased, comprising nearly 33 percent of the U.S. steel market in 2017. The majority of U.S. steel producers have been taking losses since 2009, losing their ability to invest in new technologies and labor.

The Pittsburgh-based company expects the first coil production facility to be operational in 2022. Its the second major operational upgrade U.S. Steel has announced this year.

In February, the company announced it was restarting construction on an idled manufacturing facility in Alabama, crediting Trumps trade policies. U.S. Steel said Trumps strong trade actions were partly responsible for the resumption of work at a plant near Birmingham.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports last year. The company reported adjusted earnings of $957 million in 2018.

The United Steelworkers trade union said in a statement that they welcomed the new investment. The unions international vice president Tom Conway said the proposed improvements will not negatively impact employment, but will instead bolster the long-term job security of the employees at the companys new facilities.

Together, these projects will reduce U.S. Steels carbon footprint significantly and improve regional air quality by reducing emissions of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, Conway said. Just as importantly, these investments will provide much-needed job security for current employees and future generations of Steelworkers at this historic and soon-to-be much more modern integrated steelmaking complex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

From The Epoch Times
The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), a San Fraancisco, CA-based sustainability-focused early growth stage investment firm, closed its third fund, at $100m.

EIF III has made six investments towards Series-A and B rounds for high-growth, early-stage cleantech, electric vehicle and other sustainability-focused companies and has a signed term sheet for a seventh.

Investments include:

 EV Connect (EV charging);

 eMotorWerks (EV charging demand management, acquired by Enel);

 Pegasus Solar (solar mounting);

 Opti (water management);

 Flying Embers (probiotic adult beverages) and

 Bluon Energy (efficient HVAC).

Fund III will make up to eight investments targeting companies with proven technology and commercial traction.

Led by Managing Partners James Everett and Devin Whatley, and Partners Geoff Eisenberg and Sasha Brown, EIF is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. The firm has raised over $175 M for sustainability-focused investment.

The firm is responsible for five of the most successful venture exits in sustainability-related companies, led by ZepSolar in 2013. EIF Fund I launched in early 2011, manages $19.6M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies. It has had two exits to date. As of September 30th, 2018, Fund I had a net to LP IRR of 34.4% and a DPI of 1.84x, placing Fund I as the #1 ranked 2011 venture fund Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Benchmark Index, Q3 2018).

EIF Fund II launched in 2014, manages $57M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies.

FinSMEs

04/05/2019
"U.S Steel is special and you know this," Burritt said during the conference call. "U.S. Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the U.S and the only U.S.-headquartered steel company that can mine, melt and make steel in USA. Thats the fact. We have world-class safety performance, you all know that. Thats the fact. And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry. We understand cash is king. Thats the fact."
The board unanimously approved a motion to send a cease and desist letter to Sips & Stones and look into whether the restaurants promotion violated campaign law.

Were happy to be rightfully exonerated, Panczuk said of the outcome. We look forward to getting on with the campaign.

Blazak said the Barenie groups complaint was a late attempt by the St. John Republican Party to undermine the campaigns of disfavored candidates.

We did nothing wrong, Blazak said of the Facebook posts. This is them just trying to give us a hard time.

Lake County Councilman Christian Jorgensen, who doubles as the chair of the St. John Republican organization, had a different take on the outcome. He noted that the boards decision to probe the origins of the Sips & Stones promotion could reveal the restaurant did not come up with the idea for the promotion on its own.

The owner of Sips & Stones is going to get an order to appear before the elections board, and they are going to ask if these candidates had anything to do with it, Jorgensen, who is backing Barenie and the other petitioners for re-election, told The Times.
WOODSTOCK, Ill.  Video that police recovered from an Illinois woman's cellphone showing her bruised 5-year-old son prompted the boy's father to lead investigators to the child's body, according to newly released court records.

JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. of Crystal Lake are charged with murder in Andrew "AJ" Freund's death. Investigators found his body April 24. The court records offer details about the investigation into the boy's disappearance and death.

The video, dated March 4, shows AJ lying naked on a mattress, covered in bruises and bandages, according to an affidavit from McHenry County Sheriff's Detective Edwin Maldonado. Freund told investigators his role in AJ's death when they confronted him with the video, which police recovered after it had been deleted from Cunningham's phone. Maldonado wrote that a female voice "consistent with Joann's is holding the phone and videotaping. She is berating AJ for urinating his bed."

Freund led police to the boy's body near Woodstock, wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave covered with straw, records show. Cunningham and Freund had reported AJ missing April 18, three days after he died.
INDIANAPOLIS  Part of a nearly $1.3 million state grant will go toward converting an old railroad bridge into pedestrian use along a northern Indiana city's recreational trail where two teenage girls were hiking when they were killed two years ago.

The project will include the addition of decking and safety rails for Delphi's Monon High Bridge, which rises more than 60 feet over Deer Creek.

It was among $25 million in grants for 17 trail projects across the state announced Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Most go toward new paved trails, with the largest grant of $4.9 million going to the Marion County town of Speedway.

The grant money comes from a $1 billion payment from the Indiana Toll Road operator in a deal allowing fee increases for large trucks.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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INDIANAPOLIS  Indianapolis police say they have two suspects they're searching for in connection with the shootings of two southern Indiana judges attending a judicial conference in Indiana's capital.

Police on Friday released surveillance video showing the two suspects getting out of an SUV outside a downtown restaurant where the shootings of Clark Circuit Judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams occurred early Wednesday. Police asked for the public's help in identifying the two suspects.

Police say an argument between the suspects and the judges escalated to the shootings. They say they've found no evidence to suggest the judges were targeted because they're judges.

Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael says both Jacobs and Adams remain hospitalized in stable condition.
Rafael Hernandez Colon, a three-term governor of Puerto Rico who argued for the preservation of the islands commonwealth status while others were calling for either statehood or independence, died on Thursday at his home there. He was 82.

Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Ricos current governor, announced the death and declared a 30-day mourning period. Mr. Hernandez Colon had been undergoing treatment for leukemia.

Mr. Hernandez Colon had led the Popular Democratic Party, assuming the mantle from its founder, Luis Munoz Marin, in the early 1970s. He was governor from 1973 to 1977 and, in two consecutive terms, from 1985 to 1993.

He made some bold decisions in his first term, seeking to increase the islands autonomy in its complex relationship with the United States.
In the 1930s, when students, supported by underground operatives of the C.C.P. (which was illegal then), took to the streets to demand that Chiang Kai-sheks ruling Nationalist Party do more to protect China from Japan, they invoked the May Fourth spirit. The Nationalist Party also claimed that it best exemplified that spirit. The contest to appropriate the legacy of Wusi was on.

Come 1989, it was the leaders of the C.C.P. themselves  by then long in power  who were targeted by a fresh generation of students calling for a New May Fourth Movement.

Once again, the most important site of protests was Tiananmen. In the 1950s, the area in front of the gate had been turned into a square filled with monuments, including one at the center honoring Chinas revolutionary heroes. A frieze at the foot of that central structure depicts young men and women taking to the streets in 1919. It was in front of it that the students of 1989 set up their main base of operations.

On May 4 of that year, as the C.C.P. commemorated the 70th anniversary of Wusi inside The Great Hall of the People, to one side of Tiananmen Square, the protesters held a competing event on the plaza. Once again, two opposing political camps were both claiming the mantle of the 1919 movement. Exactly one month later, the Peoples Liberation Army rolled in, killing hundreds, probably several thousands, of demonstrators and residents.

What are widely known in the West as the Tiananmen Square protests are called Liusi Yundong, or the June Fourth Movement, in Chinese  a reference to the day of the massacre in 1989, of course, but also an echo of the uprising of 1919.

And yet today, while Wusi appears in many online and print publications across the Chinese mainland, Liusi is taboo.

Under President Xi Jinping, the C.C.P.s efforts to control the meaning of the Wusi protests have continued unabated. The movement holds a revered place in official chronologies, as a turning point and the start of modern times in China. The party, playing on the kind of national pride extolled back in 1919, boasts today that China no longer appeases, but leads, on the international scene.
In other words, its a cynical exercise in abdication dressed as an act of responsibility. Knock a few high-profile bigots down. Throw a thick carpet over much of the rest. Then figure out how to extract a profit from your new model.

Assuming thats Facebooks deeper calculation  its hard to think of another  then it may wind up solving the companys short-term problems. But it might also produce two equally dismal results.

On the one hand, Facebook will be hosting the worst kinds of online behavior. In a public note in March, Zuckerberg admitted that encryption will help facilitate truly terrible things like child exploitation, terrorism, and extortion. (For that, he promised to work with law enforcement. Great.)

On the other hand, Facebook is completing its transition from being a simple platform, broadly indifferent to the content it hosts, to being a publisher that curates and is responsible for content. Getting rid of Farrakhan, Jones and the others are the easy calls for now, because they are such manifestly odious figures and they have no real political power.

But what happens with the harder calls, the ones who want to be seen publicly and cant be swept under: alleged Islamophobes, militant anti-immigration types, the people who call for the elimination of Israel? Facebook has training documents governing hate speech, and is now set to deploy the latest generation of artificial intelligence to detect it.

But the decision to absolutely ban certain individuals will always be a human one. It will inevitably be subjective. And as these things generally go, it will wind up leading to bans on people whose views are hateful mainly in the eyes of those doing the banning. Recall how the Southern Poverty Law Center, until recently an arbiter of moral hygiene in matters of hate speech, wound up smearing Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz, both champions of political moderation, as anti-Muslim extremists.

Facebook probably cant imagine that its elaborate systems and processes would lead to perverse results. And not everything needs to be a slippery slope.
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Is Donald Trump an aberration? If he is, Joe Biden is the perfect Democratic candidate to defeat him next year, the steady hand that can restore decency, steer a middle course between Wall Street and Main Street, and reinvigorate the shaken liberal democratic order.

I dont think Trump is an aberration. On the contrary, hes the face, however duplicitous, of a revolution against the Party of Davos, the network of elites whose economic and cultural prescriptions came to be seen by myriad voters across the United States and Europe as camouflage for a self-serving heist. Biden has been a regular attendee at Davos.

Trumps brilliance lay in seeing that he could become the perfect impostor, the wealthy and highly visible figurehead of a 21st-century movement of the dispossessed and the invisible. He could be their voice. He could say the unsayable. He could disrupt. He could restore violence to a wan political stage of PowerPoint slides. He could take on the China that had put millions of people to work on the cheap in its factories and so, from the Midwest to the British Midlands, de-industrialized much of the West.

If people felt like nobodies, felt abandoned, felt there was not only growing inequality in wealth but inequality of recognition, felt their very language had been anesthetized by all-knowing elites more at home in global capitals than in the provinces of their own countries, then somebody could speak for liberalisms disappeared  and maybe even win. Steve Bannon saw this. Trump grasped this and did win, not as the creator of a movement but as the media-savvy messenger of a groundswell.
MAGAZINE

An article on Page 64 about the acquisition of Remington by Cerberus misstates the birthplace of Stephen Feinberg, a founder of Cerberus. He was born in the Bronx, not Spring Valley, N.Y., which is where he grew up.



An article on Page 54 about Meow Wolf, an art collective that creates immersive and interactive experiences, refers imprecisely to Creative Startups. It is a start-up accelerator, not a business incubator.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Monday about the former United States senator Richard G. Lugar referred incorrectly in part to his service in the Navy. He enlisted in 1956, not 1957, and he was commissioned an ensign, not a second lieutenant. It also misstated when he married Charlene Smeltzer. It was after he studied at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, not before. In addition, the obituary referred incorrectly to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, a program to help destroy surplus stocks of nuclear weapons. Congress passed it shortly after it was proposed by Mr. Lugar and Senator Sam Nunn in 1991; it did not take almost a decade to persuade Congress of the need for the program. The obituary also mistakenly included one item on a list of issues addressed by the Lugar Center, which Mr. Lugar established after leaving office. The center has not sponsored studies of education.



A picture caption with an obituary on Friday about the fashion designer Corinne Cobson misstated where she was in the photograph. She was in the center, not second from the right.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.


How did your family react to the news that you would be out in the bush without any guns or weapons?

My husband was very positive about this. He said, You are going to make a change in our communities and in our kids and in our future generations.

My mother was scared. She said, These people are going to kill you! I explained that its not only for me but for future generations. They need to see wildlife in real life, not in postcards.

She is not scared anymore because she realized how great a job we are doing. My life is not in danger. These poachers are not in the reserve for the human beings, they are there for the animals. If they see us they dont come after us. They just run away.

I know how to interact in the bush. So, I dont feel in danger when Im in the bush. I dont go alone. We work in a group.

What was your scariest moment?

In 2014, I was with two of my colleagues patrolling the fence. There was a car parked next to the fence. They were outside the reserve and we were inside. If we see cars we greet them with smiles, but these people did not want to speak to us. They were poachers. I was scared. But we were not going to leave them there. We needed to show them that we are here with pride and we know what we are doing. They saw us try to take their number plate. We managed to scare them. They drove away.
Even Mr. Schumer conceded that Ms. Abramss decision came as a blow, though he tried to put a positive spin on it.

Stacey Abrams would have been a great candidate, and shed be a great senator, he said. But the good news is twofold: We have other good candidates, the polling data shows that Georgia is very winnable and Stacey is going to go all out in terms of registering voters, so that we can win in 2020.

Just who those other candidates are, however, is unclear. After Ms. Abrams bowed out, Teresa Tomlinson, a former mayor of Columbus, jumped in. Chuck Clay, a former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, called Ms. Tomlinson a strong and viable candidate. But the national party has not embraced her, and Mr. Schumer is said to be looking for other contenders.

Still, many strategists say the outlook for the party is not all bad. Democrats have had strong success in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is challenging the Republican incumbent, Senator Martha McSally. Ms. McSallys hold is tenuous; she lost to Senator Kyrsten Sinema last year but was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator John McCain. And Mr. Kelly already has an advantage of $1 million cash on hand.

Democrats are extremely enthusiastic about the candidacy of M. J. Hegar, a motorcycle-riding, Purple Heart-winning woman who is a former Air Force helicopter pilot and who is challenging Senator John Cornyn in Texas. Ms. Hegar narrowly lost a House race in November, and some party strategists say Democrats can coalesce around Ms. Hegar now that Mr. Castro has decided not to run.

This is a really great environment for Democrats, and in key races we have really strong candidates, said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster whose firm advises Senate candidates. How can you argue with Mark Kelly and Ben Ray and Hegar? he added, referring to Representative Ben Ray Lujan, who is seeking to succeed Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, who is retiring.

And while the map, as Ms. Duffy said, may not be as friendly to Democrats as the numbers suggest, it does look better for them in 2020 than it did in 2018, when the party was defending 10 seats in states won by Mr. Trump. This election cycle, Democrats are defending only two seats in those states: Alabama and Michigan, where Senator Gary Peters so far has no credible Republican challenger.
More than a year has passed since the resignation of Jorge Dominguez, a Harvard government professor who was accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen female students and junior faculty members over decades.

But his case has continued to prompt soul-searching and angry questions from students about a university culture that allowed him to stay employed and even get promoted, despite repeated complaints about his behavior.

Now a committee formed by the government department has joined a growing number of students and faculty members calling for an external review of Harvards response to complaints against Dr. Dominguez. The committee issued a 52-page report detailing recommended changes  including hiring more female professors and creating an anonymous reporting system for harassment  to ensure that such a case does not happen again.

Generations of students warned one another about Dominguezs behavior and developed coping strategies for interactions with him, the committee wrote in a letter delivered on Wednesday to the university president, Lawrence Bacow. Some students changed the focus of their research  at great cost  in order to avoid such interactions. This deplorable situation went on for more than 20 years.
Experts thought the settlement was necessary for the city. A jury could give $100 million, so they wanted to avoid that, said Walter Signorelli, a lawyer who represents clients suing the police, who is also a former deputy inspector of the New York City Police Department.

But social justice advocates, who have already noted what they see as troubling racial dimensions of the case, said the unusually large settlement further illuminates the difference between white and black victims of police violence.

[Read more about reactions to the Noor verdict and its racial components.]

The fact that this is the largest known case of a police abuse settlement in the history of Minneapolis, and that its on behalf of an affluent white woman, reinforces that there are two systems, said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and activist in Minneapolis. There are many people of color who have not received a dime from the city in the aftermath of their loved one being shot by the police.

Ms. Levy Armstrong said that government leaders were sending a signal that a white life is more valuable than a black life. She pointed to the $3 million settlement for the family of Philando Castile, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in a suburb of St. Paul during a traffic stop in 2016, as a prime example of the inequity. (The officer in that case was Latino; he was acquitted of manslaughter charges but left the police department.)

Chicago has paid two of the largest previous settlements in police shooting cases: $16 million to the family of Bettie R. Jones in 2018, and an $18 million settlement with the family of LaTanya Haggerty in 1999. The latter was believed to be the highest settlement in a fatal police shooting until Friday. Both of those victims were African-Americans.

But nationwide, the vast majority of families who lose someone in a questionable police shooting get nothing, experts said, and many cases are dismissed before trial. Last year, a Florida jury awarded $4 to the family of a man who was killed when the police fired through his closed garage door after a dispute in which they said he was holding a gun.

Another expert said the attention on the Noor case and on the large settlement reflected how significant police shootings have become in the public eye.
Cynthia Warmbier, the mother of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died in 2017 after being imprisoned for months in North Korea, said on Friday that diplomacy with its leader, Kim Jong-un, was a charade and likened Mr. Kims regime to absolute evil.

Its obvious to the world that were on to him, she said of Mr. Kim. But unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change, and Im very afraid that we are going to let up on this pressure.

She added: Theres a charade going on right now. Its called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? Thats what I want to know. Im all for it, but Im very skeptical.

She made the comments at the Hudson Institute in Washington, where she sat on a panel during a seminar on the abduction of Japanese, South Korean, American and nationals of other countries by North Korea, according to the institute.
RIO DE JANEIRO  President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil decided on Friday to cancel a trip to New York this month following weeks of controversy over the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerces decision to honor the far-right leader at its gala this year.

The chamber has been scrambling to keep the event on track since it announced last month that Mr. Bolsonaro had been selected to receive its person of the year award.

The honor set off outrage among environmental groups, gay activists and New York politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called Mr. Bolsonaro a dangerous man whose overt racism, homophobia and destructive decisions will have a devastating impact on the future of our planet.

The pushback began when the American Museum of Natural History, which had agreed to host the event before the honoree had been announced, reacted with dismay to Mr. Bolsonaros selection.
His work with these exceptionally talented musicians, who receive coveted fellowships lasting up to three years, has already had a lasting impact on classical music: Many alumni now play with major professional orchestras and ensembles.

That the current roster is inspired by Mr. Thomas was evident on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall, when he led the first of two New World programs to conclude his Perspectives series this season. The concert opened with the New York premiere of Julia Wolfes Fountain of Youth, all rumbling percussion, spiraling riffs and eerily cresting sustained sonorities, swirling in a musical melange with hints of indie rock and Minimalism.

Then the pianist Yuja Wang, also concluding her Perspectives series at Carnegie, was a fearless soloist in Prokofievs seldom-heard Piano Concerto No. 5. Completed in 1932, this compact, five-movement piece shows Prokofiev in his neo-Classical vein, though doing everything possible to disrupt the musics neo-Classical niceties. A stretch will start out sounding like some jovial toccata, then break into fractured phrases, brutal rhythms and gnashing harmonies.

The program ended with a freshly imaginative performance of Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. Mr. Thomas and his players conveyed the voluptuous colors and wildness of the music, but also, and more unusually, its refinement and delicacy, as in this excerpt from the waltzing second movement. (The video begins with the smoldering conclusion of the Prokofiev concerto, and the entire concert is available for viewing on medici.tv for three months.) ANTHONY TOMMASINI
BAKHITA

A Novel of the Saint of Sudan

By Veronique Olmi

Translated by Adriana Hunter

Veronique Olmis novel retells the story of a strong young woman who was exploited and dehumanized before finding herself in more merciful and hopeful circumstances. In Bakhita, fraught personal experiences intersect with historical and political events and time-honored religious practices, all encompassed within the span of the protagonists own life  which moves from a village in late-19th-century Sudan to a convent in post-World-War-II Italy, and from slavery to sainthood.

Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter into clear and affecting prose, Bakhita unfolds a distinctive array of timely concerns  the subjugation of women of color, human trafficking, female solidarity, personal and institutional conflicts that knot together issues of race, class, gender and religion  and explores them through the suffering, willpower and undiminished dignity of a small frightened girl turned resolute young woman turned gentle old nun. The novel also joins a much larger tradition of accounts of holy women and men that have been compiled over the centuries, including the Storia Meravigliosa (marvelous or wonderful story), a 1931 chronicle of Sister Josephine Bakhitas life that was disseminated by the Italian religious order she had joined.

To be sure, there is nothing wonderful in the first half of the novel, never mind the evidence for the meaning of Bakhitas name, lucky one in Arabic, which she is caustically assigned by one of the slave traders who sell and resell her and subject her to unspeakable barbarity. She never replaces it because she cant remember her real name or that of her village and family, all destroyed when she was first captured at about the age of 7, in the mid-1870s.

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Olmi traces out the childs successive captivities and introduces us to the fellow slaves she befriends and loses while being marched in chains from Darfur to Khartoum. In excruciating detail, Olmi describes whats done to Bakhita and what she sees done to others  women, children and babies  along a vulture-shadowed slave route and as an urban house slave. This could come across as gratuitously lurid, not least because the narrative is focused on and through Bakhita, whose psychological scarring is outpaced only by her physical scarring. On occasion, however, Olmi shifts into a cooler, more documentarian perspective that emphasizes the factual basis of both the individual story and its larger historical events. This prevents us from becoming either desensitized or cheaply fascinated by the otherwise relentless chronicling of Bakhitas misery-filled Sudan days.
Flowing next to and around these security and economic crises, Kershaw traces several positive, long-term trends in European history from 1950 to 2017 that are downright miraculous. Most important, most of the Continent lived in peace during the Global Age, a sharp contrast to the horrific atrocities chronicled in Kershaws previous volume in this series, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949. Second, partly as a consequence of this first achievement, Europeans on average became richer than at any time before. In Kershaws estimation, the period between 1950 and 1973 was especially prosperous  a golden age or an economic miracle for the western part of the Continent, and even a silver age for the Communist bloc. Eventually, as Kershaw celebrates, almost every European country embraced democracy, starting with transitions from authoritarian rule in Greece, Portugal and Spain, and following with an explosion of new democracies in Eastern Europe after the collapse of Communism in 1989. As Kershaw sums up, Europe is more peaceful, more prosperous and more free than at any time in its long history. Alongside these three positive trends of peace, prosperity and democracy, cooperation among European countries expanded dramatically, culminating in the creation of the European Union and the euro.

To be sure, all of these amazing trends have slowed or stalled. Europe has yet to fully recover from the 2008 financial crisis; autocratic restoration looms threateningly on the E.U.s borders in Turkey and Russia, and even inside the union in Hungary, while liberal democracy has yet to consolidate in several countries in the post-Communist world. With the departure of Britain, the European Union is, for the first time, retracting in size. And war returned to Europe in 2014 in Ukraine, where Russian annexation and intervention have sparked a military conflict that has already led to 10,000 lives lost and millions displaced. It would be premature, however, to predict a new negative trajectory. Peace, prosperity and democracy in Europe still have serious momentum.

Europes future is especially hard to predict, as Kershaw emphasizes, because it is easy to underestimate the role of contingency in historical change. Refreshingly, and against the grain of some current intellectual fads, Kershaw allows for the possibility that individuals  not just innate structural forces  can shape history. For instance, Kershaw assigns a pivotal role to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in transforming Germany from a Continental menace to an anchor of stability and prosperity. Khrushchev gets a big role in Kershaws narrative, too, for reducing repression in the Communist world. And Kershaw reminds us that Prime Minister David Camerons decision to hold a referendum on Brexit underscores how the tactical decisions of individual leaders can have strategic consequences. Kershaw ascribes the greatest agency of all to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The magnitude of Gorbachevs personal contributions to the dramatic change, not just in the Soviet Union itself but throughout Eastern Europe, can scarcely be exaggerated. This is not to say that Kershaw highlights only the role of political leaders  for good and for ill  in his narrative. He also brings in the masses, recounting how mobilized citizens destroyed Communism; an entire chapter is devoted to Power of the People.

Kershaws theory of agency in the making of history allows for a range of possibilities about the Continents future. European leaders should read The Global Age to be reminded of the incredible progress of the last 70 years  and told that such progress is something they have the power to sustain through their individual actions. American leaders should also read this book to learn how much better off we have been and could continue to be in concert with a continent of free, secure and prosperous allies.
Dr. Bridget Catherine Dowd and Dr. Samuel Joseph Kiernan were married May 4 at the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, N.J. The Rev. James J. Grogan, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony.

The couple met at Georgetown, from which each graduated cum laude.

The bride, 31, who is taking her husbands name, is a fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. In July, she is to begin an advanced clinical and research fellowship in nutrition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She received a medical degree from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

She is the daughter of Susan Clark Dowd and Charles J. Dowd of Fair Haven, N.J.

The groom, 32, is a resident in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He completed his premedical post-baccalaureate program at Columbia, and received a medical degree from Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

He is a son of Lisa Edmondson Kiernan and John S. Kiernan of Pelham, N.Y.

The groom is a paternal great-great-great-grandson of Thomas F. Gilroy, the mayor of New York City from 1893 to 1894.
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If the questions that were asked of prospective jurors are any indication, the racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Keith Raniere, founder of the cultlike group Nxivm, may require not only stamina from the jury, but also the ability to listen to potentially uncomfortable testimony.

Before choosing a jury on Monday morning, a judge in federal court in Brooklyn winnowed the pool of possible jurors with a questionnaire appeared to ask, among other things, whether they can be fair to someone with multiple sexual partners and how they feel about sexually explicit images and possibly skin modifications (such as tattoos and branding).

They also may have been asked if they had ever taken Scientology courses or participated in self-help groups like the Landmark Forum or EST, according to a draft of the juror questionnaire.

Mr. Raniere stands accused of running Nxivm, which billed itself as a self-help group, like a cult, subjugating and abusing women who joined, and former members said, punishing those whose disobeyed his orders to have sex only with him.
Richard A. Brown, the Queens County district attorney who in almost three decades in that office prosecuted police officers accused of committing unjustified killings, robbery defendants who executed potential witnesses and a doctor convicted of murder for fatally botching an abortion, died on Saturday in a hospice care facility in Redding, Conn. He was 86.

The cause was complications of Parkinsons disease, his son, Todd Brown, said.

In January, after seven terms in office, Mr. Brown announced that he would not seek re-election. In March, with his seventh term in office scheduled to end on Dec. 31, Mr. Brown announced that he would step down on June 1, the 28th anniversary of my first assuming this office.

He said he had hoped to finish out the term, but given his health issues, it had become increasingly difficult to fully perform the powers and duties of my office in the manner in which I have done since 1991.

Mr. Brown, a former judge who left the calm of an appellate court for the pressures of a big-city prosecutors office, was known in his early years on the job for showing up at crime scenes, an unusual practice for the citys district attorneys.
But his efforts had caught the attention of San Diegos city attorney at the time, John Witt. Mr. Witt called Mr. Gwinn to his office and told him it was going to be difficult, but he understood what Mr. Gwinn had tried to do. He told me to go out and figure out how to win these cases, Mr. Gwinn said.

Mr. Gwinn began ordering 911 tapes in all domestic violence cases. He asked the police to take pictures of everything: the crime scene, the victims, even the perpetrators raging in the backs of police vehicles. Any possible shred of evidence that existed, Mr. Gwinn wanted. He began to go out to local police departments to enlist them in his mission. When one sergeant told Mr. Gwinn that he was never going to prosecute these cases successfully, Mr. Gwinn created a messaging system to let the police know how their cases were resolved. It gave the officers a sense of agency, learning their efforts could actually make a difference.

Mr. Gwinn tried 21 cases in a row, all domestic violence misdemeanors. All without the victim testifying.

He won 17 of them.

By the mid-1990s, Mr. Gwinn had become a national leader in evidence-based prosecution; he and a colleague trained thousands of lawyers around the country. He believed fervently that if we could prosecute murderers without a victims cooperation, we could prosecute batterers.

The movement gained momentum across the country, particularly in left-leaning states and states with stricter domestic violence laws. Still, there were many rural and conservative areas where it hadnt gained much traction  places like Montana.

Could evidence-based prosecution have saved Michelle Monson Mosure and her children? In addition to her affidavit, had anyone investigated further after she recanted, they might have learned how Rocky had threatened his family once with Michelles grandfathers gun, or how hed sometimes take the children as leverage to coerce Michelle into obeying him. They might have learned he was stalking his wife when she left the house, isolating her from friends and family  all of which could have come together to paint a picture of a family in serious danger.

In the end, its impossible to say whether Michelle could have been saved. But three years after her death came Crawford v. Washington, the case that nearly crushed two decades of progress.
After searing investigations by journalists and patient advocates, the F.D.A. has promised to make transformative changes to medical device regulation. But so far, the agencys suggestions have been meager at best. And in the meantime, regulators have accelerated the device approval process, not slowed it down.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of the agency office in charge of device regulation, has suggested that the benefits of bringing innovative products to market quickly are worth the increased risks.

Its true that devices have restored hearing, vision and the ability to walk and have provided many other benefits to millions of people. But the drive to innovate does not justify the growing catalog of medical device disasters. Patients should not have to wonder whether devices will save their lives or destroy them. Reasonable changes could greatly improve the current system.

Image Credit... Sofia Pashaei

Tighten approval standards. Regulatory loopholes  some of which date to the dawn of device regulation and were not meant to be permanent  enable companies to bring new or updated medical devices to market without testing them in human trials first. Companies need only to convince regulators that their products are similar to ones that are already approved, even if the other products are decades old or were subsequently pulled from the market. Eight years ago the Institute of Medicine advised the F.D.A. to abolish at least one of these loopholes, whats known as the 510(k) pathway. Its past time for the agency to heed that advice, and to ensure that no medical device intended for permanent residence inside a human body is used on patients without first being rigorously tested.

Fix post-market surveillance: Industry proponents say that medical devices can be brought to market quickly and safely by having companies conduct rigorous testing after products go to market instead of beforehand. But companies often fail to complete such studies, even when theyre ordered by regulators. Whats more, device makers frequently skirt rules requiring them to report publicly all incidents of malfunction, injury or illness  often through mechanisms that the F.D.A. itself created. And after years of wrangling, the industry and its regulators have still not fully put a system in place to better notify patients of product recalls and other safety issues.

The F.D.A. has vowed to fix some of these lapses. Theyve promised to abolish reporting exemptions  as detailed by Kaiser Health News  that keep safety issues hidden from the public and to promote breast implant registries that monitor patient outcomes.
The second explanation involved forgetting or obliviousness. A mother in Illinois said: My husband is a participatory and willing partner. Hes not traditional in terms of I dont change diapers. But his attention is limited. She added, I cant trust him to do anything, to actually remember.

A dad in San Francisco said that many of the tasks of parenting werent important enough to remember: I just dont think these things are worth attending to. A certain percentage of parental involvement that my wife does, I would see as valuable but unnecessary. A lot of disparity in our participation is that.

Finally, some men blamed their wives personalities. A San Diego dad said his wife did more because she was so uptight. She wakes up on a Saturday morning and has a list. I dont keep lists. I think theres a belief that if shes not going to do it, then it wont get done. (His wife agreed that this was true, but emphasized that her belief was based on experience: We fell into this easy pattern where he learned to be oblivious and I learned to resent him.)

A father in Portland , Ore., confirmed that his wife takes on more but said: It has to do with her personality. She always has to stay busy. No matter what day of the week it is, she has a need to be engaged, to be doing something.

Many mothers told me they had tried to change this and had aired their grievances with their partners, only to watch as nothing changed. A mother in Queens said she spent three years trying to get her husband to do more before coming to terms with the fact that maybe it was never going to happen. He notices the unfairness, but he just accepts it as something we have a disagreement about, she said. How much convincing of the other person can you do?

All this comes at a cost to womens well-being, as mothers forgo leisure time, professional ambitions and sleep. Wives who view their household responsibilities as unjust are more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not, one study says. When their children are young, employed women (but not men) take a hit to their health as well as to their earnings  and the latter never recovers. Child-care imbalances also tank relationship happiness, especially in the early years of parenthood.

Division of labor in the home is one of the most important gender-equity issues of our time. Yet at the current rate of change, MenCare, a group that promotes equal involvement in caregiving, estimates that it will be about 75 more years before men worldwide assume half of the unpaid work that domesticity requires.
They calumniated the dignified professor in front of her parents, calling her a liar, a fantasist, an erotomaniac and a vengeful scorned woman. I remember chasing Arlen Specter, the usually moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, down the hall of the Russell Senate Office Building after he slandered Hill as a perjurer.

Priding himself on his comity with his Republican colleagues, Biden set up the rules to favor Thomas.

First, Hill says, he reneged on a promise to let her testify first. Then he agreed to go along with Republicans contention that the judges behavior outside work was not relevant, which prevented testimony about Thomass taste for porn.

Yet Biden let Orrin Hatch, the Republican Savonarola from Utah, imply that Thomas could not possibly know the vocabulary of porn and suggest that Hill had gotten the pubic hair line from The Exorcist, which she had never read. (This, even though reporters had Thomass list of porn rentals from a local video store.)

Biden was striving to be fair to his vicious, duplicitous Republican colleagues who were jamming an arch-conservative liar onto the Supreme Court.

Comey also got tangled up on the issue of fairness, with disastrous results. Afraid that he would be blamed if it was discovered that the F.B.I. had been secretly investigating the woman expected to be the next president, the then-F. B.I. chief violated his own agencys norms to announce that he was reopening the inquiry into Hillary Clintons emails on the cusp of the election.

But he did not tell the public that the F.B.I. was also looking into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. As The Times has now revealed, the F.B.I. was worried enough to set up a honey trap, sending a comely government investigator posing as a research assistant to draw out George Papadopoulos , a Trump campaign adviser, in a London bar.
Over the last week, weve been focused on Attorney General William Barrs distortions of the Mueller Report, but many years ago he did something even more damaging. In his first stint as attorney general, Barr in 1992 issued a report called The Case for More Incarceration. He was one of many politicians and officeholders, Democrats as well as Republicans, who led the United States, with 5 percent of the worlds population, to hold almost 25 percent of the worlds prisoners.

Finally, America is beginning to unravel this historic mistake.

The best thing the Trump administration has done so far is its backing of the bipartisan First Step Act on criminal justice reform. The act, signed into law by Trump in December, marked a turning point away from mass incarceration, and small numbers of federal offenders have been released early since then.

I saw the new mood on criminal justice while moderating a panel the other day at the Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles. Beside me was Republican Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi, a conservative with whom I agree on nothing else, but he has worked heroically since 2014 to reduce Mississippis prison population by 11 percent. This has saved the state $46 million, he said.

Bryant also argued in the panel discussion for ending Americas system of de facto debtor prisons, in which poor people end up jailed because of an inability to pay fines. This is a problem in many states: One day when I visited the Tulsa county jail, 23 people were locked up simply for failure to pay government fines and fees.

Another conservative on the panel, Mark Holden of Koch Industries, spoke eloquently about how our criminal justice system traps people in poverty when they need second chances. He said that the system is so flawed that it needs to be blown up, quite frankly  in a nonviolent way.
When Dr. Courtwright met with the patients wife to recommend another procedure, she surprised him with her response: You need to look me in the eye and tell me youre recommending that because you think he is going to get better, not just because you want to keep him alive for another three months. Dr. Courtwright did believe that his patient could ultimately improve, but he could understand her worry. Thats where the one-year mortality metrics really create some paradoxical incentives, and the impression of paradoxical incentives, he said.

In response to these concerns, the Department of Health and Human Services called for comments on a proposal to do away with the one-year metric for transplant program C.M.S. reaccreditation, though the metric will remain in the initial accreditation process. And we continue to know relatively little about how patients are doing beyond whether they are alive or dead. I could get anyone to a year, said Dr. Formica.  But do you get back to work? Do you get back to being with your family? We dont know.

Indeed, despite all the clinical data that transplant programs are required to report to regulatory bodies, there is no similarly rigorous tracking of health-related quality of life. One reason is that mortality is easier to measure; the level of functioning that is important to an individual varies from person to person and changes over time.

Perhaps there is no single metric that defines success, said Dr. Hilary Goldberg, who heads the lung transplant program at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Sitting with patients in the transplant clinic, trying to help them imagine life after this momentous surgery, she hopes for a more fluid system of reporting that is able to weigh factors based on what different people need.

The question for me becomes, Who is the audience we are trying to satisfy with these metrics? she said. Patients, regulators and doctors might all value slightly different measures, which is challenging. But if we wanted to define the perfect system, it has to be more malleable.

Its been almost a year and a half since Ms. Favazzas transplant. She said it seemed as though she spent all her time returning to the hospital for a clinic visit, a new scan or a procedure. But she can run her daily errands without carting around her oxygen. She no longer needs to worry when she cant find a parking spot near a store entrance. After years without travel, she is planning a trip to Florida.

Her surgery is a success story by any metric, not just by the one-year mortality measure.

Its about being able to breathe and to do what you need to do, she told me. Then she paused. No  not just what you need to do, but what you want to do. Being able to do the little things, kids birthday parties, Easter. For me, its being able to do all of that again.

Daniela J. Lamas is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

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Im Emily, a lucky wife

and mama to 5 little ones

whos always striving to live life to

the fullest. My goal is to uplift and inspire as I share that life with you. Thanks for stopping by!




Q: I rent a market-rate apartment on the Upper West Side. About two months ago, moths started appearing in my closet, destroying my sweaters. The building has sent an exterminator twice, but the problem persists. Do I have grounds to break my lease?

A: Your landlord must provide you with a habitable apartment, one that does not endanger your health, safety or well-being. However, it is unlikely that a judge would let you out of your lease because of moths, even if they are decimating your wardrobe.

While certainly an annoyance, Im not seeing how this particular situation adversely impacts the units habitability, said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate attorney and adjunct professor at New York Law School.

If you simply break the lease and move out, you could be on the hook for the balance of the lease and any legal fees the landlord assumes  a sum that could be quite substantial, Mr. Ferrara said.
James: When he talks about the past, he looks at me.

Charles: Im just so relieved. I thought that I was the oldest one here, but then I saw you and, thought, Oh, thank God.

Jack: I was rereading the Sontag essay in preparation for this, and I do think that camp is a sensibility, an aesthetic sensibility. I would imagine it really derived from gay culture, gay male culture initially, and then has widened through every different group. Sontag starts with Oscar Wilde, which is a reasonable place to start because he was such a funny commentator on the unnatural.

At the time, people wouldnt have necessarily expressed their antipathy to same-sex sexuality through what we call homophobia, but they would have said, This is unnatural. And so, you could say that one of the foundational gestures of camp is to say, Its unnatural? Absolutely.

Zaldy: The term was in black and white in the dictionary in the last century, but camp and its queer roots have been there as far back as it goes. Its just  camp. I mean, imagine Roman orgies  thats camp! That is full-on camp.

Charles: If we were back at the Roman orgy, itd be our perception of it as opposed to somebody elses. Maybe a heterosexual person at the Roman orgy might just be going at it from purely the sex angle, but if we were there, wed be amused at the look of it, or the person whos posing and looks foolish because they want to be something that they actually are not. I think an element of camp is what the truth is and what the perception is, when theyre two different things. Thats where often the humor comes in.

Carmelita: I also think that its really important to put women in. I came from the 80s, but women were also dressing up and were also acting out in cabaret around that time. Maybe they were not as visible.
Any settlement will also be looked at as a measure of the Trump administrations willingness to penalize one of the countrys most valuable and influential companies. The administration has whittled away regulations in many industries, but President Trump has repeatedly said tech giants like Facebook and Amazon have too much power.

Many Democrats have led efforts to rein in Silicon Valleys power.

This is a hugely important decision because it will be watched by all these big companies to see if there is actually going to be a new day on the enforcement front, said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed for Mr. Zuckerberg to be held personally liable in any settlement.

Rohit Chopra, one of the two Democrats on the commission, has publicly urged stronger punishment of repeated offenders of F.T.C. rules.

But Mr. Simons has appeared unwilling to force the issue and drag the case to court, which could be a risky move. He has recently intensified his efforts to get at least one of the two Democrats on his side, according to one of the people with knowledge of the talks. But the internal disagreements have held up a final agreement.

In addition to the fine, Facebook has agreed, as part of a proposed settlement, to create new positions that would be focused on privacy policies and compliance, two of the people said. The agency, in coordination with the company, would set up an independent committee to oversee Facebooks privacy efforts. That committee and the F.T.C. would appoint an outside assessor to monitor the companys handling of data.

The company has also agreed to assign an executive as a privacy compliance officer, making privacy oversight a job within the top ranks, the people said. Mr. Zuckerberg could be given the job, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, although another person expressed doubts.
MIAMI  For Darwing Silva, the first sign that something was amiss when his flight landed in Jacksonville, Fla., during a thunderstorm late on Friday was that it seemed the jet did not brake after hitting the runway.

Lights zoomed by the window. He traded worried glances with other passengers.

Then came the jolt.

It was just the biggest impact Ive ever felt in my life, Mr. Silva said on Saturday. Like an explosion, almost.

He lurched forward in his seat  14B, the middle seat in an exit row  and hit his head on the seatback in front of him.

Seconds later, Mr. Silva felt water. Up to my ankles, he said. And there was water coming in from above the roof of the plane.
It seemed no accident that Mr. Biden quickly took his deal-making case from the swing state of Pennsylvania to Dubuque County, which flipped from the Democratic column to Mr. Trump in 2016, and sits in the middle of the densest stretch of counties in the nation that made the same shift to Mr. Trump.

Yet many on the left believe that Mr. Bidens nostalgia for a bygone era of comity, compromise and civility  while appealing  is misplaced, or even naive. They question whether historic pragmatism can even be considered pragmatic anymore in an era of norm-busting hyperpartisanship.

Joe Biden knows better, said Brian Fallon, a former top spokesman for Hillary Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer, because Joe Biden was the wingman for Barack Obama, who in his first year in his presidency had Mitch McConnell say his No. 1 objective was that Barack Obama wasnt re-elected.

Mr. Fallon acknowledged the political temptation to be less partisan sounding, by condemning only Mr. Trump in an attempt to appeal to disaffected Republicans. Im not saying a candidate needs to go around preaching doom and gloom, he said. But for the good of the country  beyond the short-term political calculus  we need someone who is cleareyed about the situation they will be inheriting if they win the White House.

Some Democratic strategists point to Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a candidate who grasps the challenges to bipartisan deal-making. While he has offered rhetorical gestures to Republicans  casting himself as a consensus-seeking executive in a red state, Indiana  he has embraced more radical ideas that would help Democrats bypass the opposition party, such as eliminating the filibuster and stacking the Supreme Court with additional justices.

It took Ms. Warren only two days after the 2016 election to cast Mr. Trump as an outgrowth of an electorate demanding change. The final results may have divided us  but the entire electorate embraced deep, fundamental reform of our economic system and our political system, she said then.
WASHINGTON  Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said on Saturday that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term, the third Republican senator to do so ahead of the 2020 campaign.



Mr. Enzi, 75, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, has held his seat since 1997, making him the longest-serving Wyoming senator in modern times. Speaking at a news conference in his home state, he said he planned to spend the rest of his tenure focusing on budget overhaul.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, Mr. Enzi said. I want to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt.

I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign, he added.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, praised Mr. Enzis time in the Senate, calling him a respected moral leader.
Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling author who challenged conservative Christianity and gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville. She was 37.

Her husband, Daniel Evans, said in a statement on her website that the cause was extensive brain swelling. During treatment for an infection last month, Ms. Evans began experiencing brain seizures and had been placed in a medically induced coma.

I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake, Mr. Evans said in a statement. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all, and her work will long survive her.

An Episcopalian, Ms. Evans left the evangelical church in 2014 because, she said, she was done trying to end the churchs culture wars and wanted to focus instead on building a new community among the churchs refugees: women who wanted to become ministers, gay Christians and those who refuse to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith.
KINSHASA, Congo  More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the countrys health minister said on Friday, the second-worst outbreak of the disease in history behind the West African one in 2014-16 that killed more than 11,300.

The toll came as hostility toward health workers continued to hamper efforts to contain the virus.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that four deaths in the outbreaks center, Katwa, had helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo. The outbreak was declared almost nine months ago.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the spread of the disease in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have been repeatedly attacked, leaving government health officials to run clinics in the hot spots like Butembo and Katwa.

International aid organizations stopped working in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the World Health Organization was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
JOHANNESBURG  The war room for the African National Congress candidates running in local elections three years ago was an elaborate operation with new computers, wall monitors, lodging for volunteers and catered food three times a day.

But the A.N.C., the party in power for the 25 years since the end of apartheid, did not fund its own war room. A South African company named Bosasa paid for everything, including the wages of the so-called volunteers, according to recent testimony at a government inquiry on corruption.

Now as South Africans prepare to vote in a pivotal general election on May 8, the public does not know where the A.N.C. and the opposition parties raised the tens of millions of dollars needed to run rallies, print posters, buy television ads and perform myriad other tasks as part of their campaigns across a vast land of 57 million people.

Though South Africa has long been held up as a model of democratization, revelations at the inquiry indicate that the financing of its elections appears to be riddled with the same kind of corrupt practices that have consumed the nation in recent years.
Campaign for European elections : Demonstrations at AfD event in Bonn

Bonn On Friday, a hundred police officers secured an AfD event at the Haus der Bildung in Bonn and counter-demonstrations. Employees of the Volkshochschule protested against the use of their rooms by the political party.

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According to the German Constitution, everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely. All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully without permission. Two opposing camps made use of those two fundamental rights on Friday. The police showed a strong presence and reported in the evening: No violence, no special incidents.

The municipal House of Education used the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for an election campaign event for the European elections on May 26, almost 80 listeners accepted the invitation of the opponents of the Euro and immigration. Outside, on two sides of the completely closed Mulheimer Platz, several hundred people gathered for a counter-demonstration called by various left-wing groups, church organisations and trade unions.

It was necessary to "oppose the racist party at every point", but also to talk to those who, out of pure dissatisfaction, were looking for a political alternative, said Diakonie chief Ulrich Hamacher, one of the speakers on the stage of the group "Bonn crosses the line". In the passage between Karstadt and Cassiusbastei, mainly young counter-demonstrators chanted slogans against the AfD. Their visitors were led by the police via Munsterstrae to the Haus der Bildung.

Compared to the outside scenes, the atmosphere was quite calm and concentrated inside the hall. Hans Neuhoff, deputy AfD district chairman, spoke about the "construction errors of the EU" before the external guests, Christian Loose and Sven Tritschler, members of the state parliament, also had the opportunity to speak. In the beginning, Neuhoff thanked the Haus der Bildung and the city for making the event possible.

As reported, there had already been discussions in the run-up to the event about the young right-wing party, which represents the largest opposition faction in the German Bundestag and hopes for a two-digit election result in the European elections. At first, the AfD criticised the city administration because of alleged unequal treatment with the letting of urban areas. Mayor Ashok Sridharan (CDU) rejected the accusations: "Of course the city of Bonn treats the AfD like all other admitted parties", the Mayor told the General-Anzeiger.

While the case seemed solved for the time being for the administration due to the neutrality obligation, the controversy went on. Still, on Friday a group of lecturers of the adult education center expressed their protest against the AfD meeting in the rooms in which they teach regularly German and which they use themselves with much commitment for tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and integration. Values which the AfD stands programmatically against. They expressed their concern in a letter to the VHS management. But there were also other voices in the debate about the event. CDU Council member Nikolaus Kircher, for example, clearly rejected the call for the closure of municipal buildings to selected parties: "The dispute should be conducted politically and not by denying rights", said the Christian Democrat.
SHANCHONG, China  China has made your iPhone, your Nikes and, chances are, the lights on your Christmas tree. Now, it wants to grow your cannabis.

Two of Chinas 34 regions are quietly leading a boom in cultivating cannabis to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating compound that has become a consumer health and beauty craze in the United States and beyond.

They are doing so even though cannabidiol has not been authorized for consumption in China, a country with some of the strictest drug-enforcement policies in the world.

It has huge potential, said Tan Xin, the chairman of Hanma Investment Group, which in 2017 became the first company to receive permission to extract cannabidiol here in southern China. The chemical is marketed abroad  in oils, sprays and balms as treatment for insomnia, acne and even diseases like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. (The science, so far, is not conclusive.)
They agreed that the partys attempt to rout out black money by invalidating most of Indias currency, known as demonetization, had not really worked.

But the question of whether Mr. Modi was responsible for his governments more polarizing moments divided them.

Ms. Khichi, a senior who plans to work for the consulting company Deloitte after graduating, said bad people in Mr. Modis party were taking advantage of his popularity to insert religion into politics.

It is not Modi who is promoting Hinduism, she said. It is the people behind him.

Mr. Parmar raised the case of Gauri Lankesh, an Indian journalist and critic of the government, who was murdered in 2017 by members of a militant Hindu group.

After her death, a man who described himself on Twitter as a Hindu nationalist wrote: One bitch dies a dogs death all the puppies cry in the same tune. Mr. Parmar pointed out that Mr. Modi was following that person.

It means Modi is supporting him, he said.

The third person in the classroom, Mr. Kirar, 23, said he was still undecided. Choosing between the B.J.P. and the Indian National Congress, he said, was like picking one of two snakes.

Regardless of which gets chosen, he said, they are both going to bite you anyway.
JEJU, South Korea  When North Korea launched a volley of projectiles off its east coast on Saturday, it sought to escalate the pressure on President Trump to return to the negotiating table with a compromise on easing sanctions, analysts said, by signaling that it could scuttle his biggest diplomatic achievement with the North.

Saturdays weapons tests were the most serious by the North since the country launched its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017. Although North Korea has not gone so far as to renege on its moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests, which its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced last year, the Saturday launch indicated that Mr. Kim was toying with the idea of lifting the moratorium, analysts said.

[Update: North Korea fired a projectile on Thursday. The launch was its second weapons test in less than a week.]

Mr. Trump has repeatedly described the moratorium as his biggest achievement on North Korea, citing it as proof that his diplomacy with Mr. Kim has been working. The leaders have met twice: first in Singapore in June and again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February.
After Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China talked over a steak dinner in December at a Group of 20 meeting in Argentina, the administration decided to shelve the proposed sanctions, according to the American officials. The two leaders had set a deadline of March 1 to reach a broad trade agreement, and American officials decided the sanctions could wait until after that deadline. But trade negotiators failed to reach a deal by that date, and talks are still continuing.

China has cracked down on ethnic minorities like the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking group of mostly Sunni Muslims, who form the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang. For decades, many Uighurs have resented Communist Party rule, saying Chinese officials suppress their culture and religion and practice widespread discrimination.

Officials in Beijing say they fear terrorist ideas have taken root among the Uighurs and point to outbursts of violence in recent years, particularly a deadly riot in the capital of Xinjiang in 2009. A vast internment program began soon after, largely under the orders of Chen Quanguo, who became party chief of Xinjiang in August 2016, after a stint in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Of the majority-Muslim nations, only Turkey has strongly denounced the recent mass detentions and surveillance in Xinjiang, though Ankara maintains strong economic ties to Beijing.

Beijing hasnt significantly changed its policies in Xinjiang, said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch. So its still appropriate the United States go ahead with the sanctions.

As a last-ditch effort, activists are now pushing American officials to insert the humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang into the trade talks, which may wrap up next week in Washington, or to impose sanctions to pressure China to end persecution in the region.

On Friday, a group of about a dozen demonstrators, many of whom are Uighurs living in the United States, gathered in Washington outside of a conference focused on sanctions policy to pressure Treasury Department officials to take action against Chinese officials involved in the Xinjiang abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act.
In the weeks before North Korea fired rockets and guided weapons on Saturday, President Trump countermanded the Treasury Department, reversing an announcement that it was tightening economic sanctions against the country.

The reason, his press secretary declared, was that President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

Now, nearly a year after beginning a bold experiment in the power of personal diplomacy, Mr. Trump has run headlong into its limits. He has discovered that friendship between leaders of bitter nuclear rivals may produce good television, but that it is not a counterproliferation strategy.

After gaining few tangible economic benefits from two summit meetings, the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, is now turning to a well-worn playbook written by his father and grandfather. On Saturday, the North fired a volley of projectiles off its eastern coast in a move that analysts said was intended to escalate the pressure on Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table. And as Mr. Trump heads into the 2020 election, that strategy may threaten what the president has trumpeted as a signature diplomatic initiative, depriving him of the stump-speech moments to declare he brought peace where his predecessors failed.
Empty beer cans found : Police stop drunken bus driver in Bonn

Bonn A bus driver apparently drove under the influence of alcohol on a scheduled route from Rheinbach to Bonn on Thursday evening. A passenger had reported the 51-year-old. Police found three empty beer cans in his pocket.

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A passenger called the police late on Thursday evening at 11 pm on his way from Rheinbach to Bonn because of the unsafe driving style of a bus driver. The officers then stopped the bus on Rochusstrae in Duisdorf, according to the report. A breathalyser alcohol test showed that the 51-year-old driver was behind the wheel with a 0.5 alcohol level per mille in his breath.

Three empty beer cans were also found in the man's pocket. Because of the special responsibility for passenger transport, bus drivers are subject to an absolute ban on alcohol. The driver had to leave the bus and accompany the officers to the station. There, a blood sample was taken from him because of the suspicion of the endangerment of the road traffic by driving under the influence of alcohol. His driving licence was seized.
Jain suggests researching where you are going by checking for travel warnings and outbreaks in the area. Other factors to take into consideration are whether your baby was born full-term and is healthy.

"I think you have to think very, very hard about it," Jain said. "Common sense would be critical." Jain has a 6-week-old and has decided to not travel outside the United States this summer.

If a child has not been vaccinated, is older than 12 months and international travel is planned, the initial MMR shot and a booster can be given within 28 days of each other. Traces of immunity are detectable within a few days, according to the CDC, and a person can be fully protected within two to three weeks.

If a child cannot be vaccinated due to an immunosuppression, the CDC says, travel should be delayed because the child is more likely to experience severe complications if they get the measles.

Protecting your child when travel is necessary

Vaccination is the easiest way to protect your child before traveling, but if the baby is too young to receive the vaccination or wasn't able to as an infant, there are a few things you can do to help minimize the risk of infection.
Its almost summer, and that means one special thing in my house  traveling!

I think the best education comes from travel. As a kid, I learned the importance of seeing and experiencing the world around me. I swam in the ocean, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate giant hamburgers in Pittsburgh, drove through the Midwest pretending I was in a covered wagon, spent the 4th of July on the levy in Louisiana, road a ferry in Seattle, saw the beauty of Oregon's Crater Lake and the history of South Dakota's Mount Rushmore. As an adult, I have been fortunate to add many others to that list.

My travels throughout the years created a lot of enjoyment and memories, but they also taught me extraordinarily important lessons I couldnt have gotten anywhere else. That's something I think is imperative for my kids, as well. I am passionate about the role travel can play in the educational development of children. Here are 7 reasons why its important for kids to travel.

1. Youll learn about other cultures. Whether here in the U.S. or abroad, traveling is the best way to get to know what other cultures are all about. What people wear, how they speak, their customs and cultural norms, hobbies, manners and etiquette.
A shareholder asserted that Berkshire would have expanded its cash pile to $155 billion from $118 billion if it had kept the cash in a stock index fund versus U.S. Treasury bills.

Its a perfectly rational observation, Buffett said.

Buffett expressed a willingness for Berkshire to change its investment strategy around its excess cash in the future. He said the change would be something his successor might wish to employ.

Buffett said he and Munger have liked having a lot of money to be able to make big moves fast. Opportunities tend to come in clumps when other people dont want to deploy cash, Buffett said. The two believe the capital on hand will be well-deployed and be better than an index fund.

Munger said its not a sin for such a large company to be strong on cash. Were not going to change.

Online competition for Berkshire retailers

Buffett said the jury is still out on how rapidly growing online retailers will do over time. Investors so far, he said, seem willing to look at losses as OK as long as sales are increasing, hoping better days are ahead.
The Bookworm bookstore in Omaha has a booth at the annual meeting displaying books approved by Warren Buffett for sale at the meeting.

More than 45 books are on the approved list, including many about Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway and investing as well as more general-interest books.

The two new books Buffett requested to be sold this year are:

Letters to Doris  One Womans Quest to Help Those with Nowhere Else to Turn. Doris Buffetts vision sounds simple: Provide people and families who have fallen on hard times with a place to be heard and match them with resources to help address whatever challenge they face. This effort is difficult, sometimes messy, and a constant reminder of the limitations to truly changing someone elses circumstances. At the same time, the stories contained in this book present a slice of the community that Doris created with the Letters Foundation.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

For the last 20 years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. Melindas unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention. She writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world  and ourselves.
A Douglas County jury on Friday ordered the Elkhorn Public Schools to pay a developer $4.6 million for land it acquired for a new high school near 180th Street and West Maple Road.

Jurors found that a board of appraisers $2.6 million award to the developer was not a fair market value for the 43.6 acres along the heavily traveled road.

The school district seized the land through a condemnation proceeding.

The extra $2 million takes into account the value of the land and the decrease in value of the adjacent 30 acres that the developer is left to work with, according to the jurys verdict.

The school district chose the land as the location of Elkhorn North High School. The school is slated to open in August 2020.

According to court documents, the land was owned by Tribedo, a Nebraska limited liability company. Arun Agarwal, a real estate developer with White Lotus Group, is listed as Tribedos registered agent in state government documents.

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Members of a Hamburg, Iowa, family returned to their flood-damaged home on Easter morning to discover that it had been looted.

After almost two weeks of investigating, police have arrested two suspects from Omaha.

A joint investigation by the Omaha Police Department and the Fremont (Iowa) County Sheriffs Office led to a man and woman in Omaha.

The pair were arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief.

When the family returned to the home to gather belongings on April 21, they discovered that it had been forcibly entered and that thousands of dollars worth of property was missing, police said. The driveway and yard were also damaged.

Both suspects were arrested in Omaha and are being held at the Douglas County Jail.
The writer is the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants and author of The Capitalist Comeback. This appeared in the Washington Post.

Some may question the economic acumen of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination is clearly no slouch when it comes to the art of politics. So, when Sanders says, as he did during an April 15 Fox News town hall, that illegal immigration has become a serious problem that merits government action, Democratic legislators should listen. Or pay attention to a Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday indicating that Democratic voters concern about a crisis at the southern border has jumped 17 points since January.

Maybe Democrats in Congress should work with Republicans to resolve the crisis before the 2020 election.

The recent surge of Central American migrants  more than 100,000 were apprehended or denied entry in March, the most in one month in a dozen years, according to the Washington Post  is beginning to play right into President Donald Trumps hands, and experienced politicians such as Sanders know it. Thats why he called for sensible immigration reform to accommodate an overflowing immigration system.
Personal finance decisions can have a far-ranging impact on ones life. Able management can provide long-term security or, at a minimum, help one cope with short-term financial stresses.

Draft standards for Nebraskas social studies curriculum call for helping young people develop financial literacy. Its a worthy goal the State Board of Education should include.

Nationally, most of the U.S. students participating in an annual financial literacy test by the National Financial Educators Council dont fare well. The average score was 66% last year for the 5,647 students nationwide, ages 15-18, who participated. The figure for Nebraskas 213 participating students was 66%; for Iowas 372 participants, it was 61%.

About 210 of Nebraskas 244 school districts offer a personal finance class. Of these, 95 districts, representing about 60% of the states students, require completion of a personal finance class for graduation.
Winning chances of crorepatis and candidates with criminal background in Delhi elections

SC tells political parties to upload on website, why tickets were given to criminal candidates

West Bengal elections: 35 constituencies to go to polls in final phase, fate of 283 candidates to be sealed

189 with pending criminal cases, 311 crorepatis contesting 6th phase of Lok Sabha polls

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: 189 candidates with pending criminal cases and 311 crorepatis will battle it out in the 6th phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms states that 189(20%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.

146(15%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

4 candidates have declared convicted cases against themselves. 6 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section -302) against themselves.

25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves.

5 candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping (IPC Section-363) and Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364), against themselves.

21 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354), husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A) etc and Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509) against themselves. Among these 21 candidates, 2 have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376) against themselves.

11 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

Among the major parties, 26(48%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 20 (44%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 19(39%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 34(11%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 18(33%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 12 (26%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 17(35%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 27(9%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Just 12 per cent of candidates are women in 5th phase of LS polls

34 out of 59 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those constituencies where 3 or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Financial:

There are 311(32%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more.

Among the major parties 46(85%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 37(80%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 31(63%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 6(50%) out of 12 candidates from AAP and 71(23%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 election is Rs. 3.41 crores.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 54 BJP candidates is Rs. 12.70 crores, 46 INC candidates is Rs 22.37 crores, 49 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 6.93 crores, and 12 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 3.01 crores.

Other details:

340(35%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 465(48%) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 153(16%) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. 7 candidates have not given their age. 2 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years.

83(9%) female candidates are contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:32 [IST]
AgustaWestland: Court pulls up ED for chargesheet leak

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: A Delhi Court pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged leak of a supplementary chargesheet in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case to the media, saying the denial given by the agency did not inspire any confidence and was not worthy of reliance.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar further directed ED's Director to ensure that no such incident like the leak of the documents is repeated in future in any matter.

The court was hearing a plea by Christian Michel, alleged middleman arrested in the case, seeking an enquiry into the leak in the money laundering case.

Michel had accused ED of politicising the case by passing the documents to the media.

AgustaWestland case: Advocate Gautam Khaitan granted bail by court

The ED had refuted the allegations of handing over the documents to the journalists and had filed a status report claiming there was no leakage of the chargesheet on its part and "most likely" the leak to the media was caused from an extra copy that was left with the court staff.

The court staff had denied receiving any extra copy from the ED.

In the order, the judge said the status report was "not worthy of reliance" as he noted that there was no direction from the court to the ED to file any additional copy, neither did the agency mention earlier that it had submitted an extra copy.

"Even if the version of ED is believed, it was totally uncalled for and negligent on the ED official to leave a copy with the Ahlmad (court staff)."

"The allegations made by the ED, on face of it, appears incorrect. The version of the ED is not inspiring any confidence and is not worthy of reliance," the court said.

The court refused to go into the issue regarding the media getting the access of the supplementary of the chargesheet and whether giving it to the scribes was a deliberate act or a result of negligence or carelessness.

"However, I deem it fit to direct the Director, ED, to take necessary steps to ensure that no such incident is repeated in future in any matter whatsoever. Further, this court does not find any contempt of court being committed (on part of ED)," the court said.

Earlier during the arguments, the ED had told the court that there was nothing wrong if the media published or broadcast its contents as the court has already taken cognisance of the case and only the fresh accused had to be summoned.

The agency had told the court that the charge sheet was a public document and there was nothing wrong if someone accessed it.

Michel's lawyer had told the court that there was a media trial due to the leakage of the chargesheet.

Michel, currently in judicial custody, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year after his extradition from Dubai.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the chopper scam by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

Production warrant issues in AgustaWestland chopper case

The agency had earlier told the court that Michel received 24.25 million euros and 1,60,96,245 pounds from the AgustaWestland deal.

The ED told the court that it had identified Michel's properties purchased with the proceeds of the crime.

The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:04 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

BJP leader shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir: Report

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 05: Gul Muhammad Mir, a BJP worker, was on Saturday shot dead by suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The party has alleged that his security was recently withdrawn by the state administration, currently run by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Mir, who was BJP's vice district president of Anantnag district, was hit by bullets on chest and abdomen. He had unsuccessfully contested Assembly Elections for Dooru assembly segment in 2008 and 2014.

Unidentified terrorists fired at the BJP leader at Nowgam Verinag, a police official told PTI.

Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

He was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he died of his injuries.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the attack.

"Ghulam Mohd office bearer of the BJP in South Kashmir has been shot & killed in Nowgam, Verinag. I condemn this dastardly act of violence & pray for the soul of the departed. May his soul rest in peace," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has also condemned the killing.

"I strongly condemn the killing of BJP leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

The area has been cordoned off.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:59 [IST]
Can you party on New Years in Karnataka? Here is what you should know

BJP will try to 'destabilise' Karnataka govt if it replicates 2014 LS feat: Minister

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, May 04: Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."

"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 19:14 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet

Congress, Samajwadi Party betrayed Mayawati: PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

"Congress leaders happily share stage with the Samajwadi Party in the rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati is attacking the Congress, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP, Modi said.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at a Samajwadi Party meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," he said.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party for cutting the votes of other parties and it will soon witness its downfall.

Attempting to draw a wedge in the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Modi claimed that BSP chief Mayawati has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a "big game" with her.

"Now, this is clear that the SP has derived mileage from Mayawati through the gathbandhan. She was kept in dark. There were talks about respect. It was said that you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now Behenji has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said there are dangers of corruption, opportunism, casteism, dynastic politics and non-governance from this alliance.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

"The panja (hand) of mahamilaawat is very dangerous," he added.
EC clears Shah of Wayanad-Pak remark but the decision was not unanimous

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president, Amit Shah were cleared in four complaints of alleged poll code violation by the Election Commission of India.

Of the four decisions, one was not unanimous and there was disagreement within the poll panel. The complaint related to Amit Shah's speech in Nagpur on April 9 where he likened Wayanad to Pakistan. This is the second seat on which Congress president, Rahul Gandhi is contesting the elections.

The final decision on this complaint was taken by a 2:1 majority. Shah had said Rahul baba for the sake of an alliance had gone to such a seat in Kerala, where when a procession is taken you cannot make out if it is India or a Pakistan procession. He made the comment in an apparent reference to the Indian Union Muslim League flags that were seen during the procession.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

In its reply to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, the EC said that the matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and after examination of complete transcript of speech of six pages sent by DEO, Nagpur, Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of MCC or ECI's instructions is made out.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:06 [IST]
Mamata to join hands with BJP again in case of hung assembly in Bengal: Sitaram Yechury

Yechury says India now an electoral autocracy

Yechury raises suspicion over EC decision to put on hold poll to RS seats in Kerala

Sitaram Yechury's son Ashish dies of Covid-19 at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram

Decision to bring in new faces in LDF cabinet taken in CPI(M)'s long term interest: Sitaram Yechury

This is daylight highway robbery of national assets, Sitaram Yechury on Air India returning to Tatas

FIR against Sitaram Yechury for hurting hindu sentiments

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 04: Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechury's statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating "Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata."

It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

Sitaram Yechury lashes out at EC over clean chit to PM Modi

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

"What is the logic behind saying there is a religion which engages in violence and we Hindus don't," Yechury said.

Yechury also attacked the BJP for fragmenting the society for votes through its divisive policies.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 23:14 [IST]
Foni, Mala, Nargis: How are cyclones named

Feature

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, May 04: Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer are some of the biggest names in Bollywood. However these are also names of cyclones, most of which have been lethal.

As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as 'Foni', means a snake's hood. But how are cyclones named? The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its twenty-seventh session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.

Cyclone Fani that killed 8 hits West Bengal with wind speed of 90 kmph

The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically -- Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested 'Onil' the first in the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named 'Vayu', suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised. Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

"A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly.

"If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria," a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

Baby born amid fury of the storm named after Cyclone Fani

"The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning," it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD. According to the IMD, in the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily.

Laxman Singh Rathore, a former director general of the IMD, said the practice of naming the storm first started in the United States. This helped identify it and also aided the researchers. Earlier, the storm was named after the coast it hit, Rathore added.

"Then the mid-1900s saw the start of practice of using feminine names for storms. In the pursuit of a more organised and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alphabetically," the IMD said explaining the genesis of the naming process. "Before the end of 1900s, forecasters started using male names for those forming in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Centre. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation," the IMD added. Storms over South Pacific and Indian Ocean are known as cyclones. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used.

The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon, according to the National Ocean Service of the US' National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Has the Islamic State tied up with PFI? NIA probe on

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The raids conducted at 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu in a PFI related case could paint a larger picture.

The National Investigation Agency is now examining the possible links to the Islamic State. The NIA is questioning several persons in connection with the case and is trying to ascertain if there were links between some members of the PFI and the ISIS.

NIA officials say probing this link is necessary as the ISIS is known to tie up with regional outfits. This was seen during the Sri Lanka blasts, where the ISIS had aligned with the National Towheed Jamath.

On Thursday the National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became India's most radical outfit

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:49 [IST]
It slipped out says Jiten Manjhi after Masood Azhar saheb remark

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Patna, May 04: Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi courted controversy by addressing Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar as Saheb, drawing sharp criticism from BJP.

Later, Manjhi retracted and termed the remark as "slip of tongue."

Manjhi, an important leader of mahagathbandhan in Bihar which comprises Congress and the RJD, made the comment Thursday while replying to mediapersons query on United Nations declaring the Pakistan based terror mastermind Masood Azhar as global terrorist.

PM does branding of everything which is wrong the efforts were on to get Masood Azhar Saheb designated as global terrorist since Manmohan Singh's time but it was just a coincidence that the decision has been taken now. I think that this is not correct for BJP or Narendra Modi to take credit of the issue", Manjhi said.

Video of the Manjhi's comment that has gone viral showed him saying that "Had Vajpayee government not taken Masood Azhar Saheb to Kandhar in plane his game was over then only."

The HAM chief is the second grand alliance leader to address Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief as Masood 'saheb'.

Earlier, in the first week of April, RJD Baisi (Purnia) MLA Abdus Subhan, while addressing an election rally at Kishanganj had addressed Masood Azhar as Saheb.

Not returning to NDA says Manjhi

Manjhi, a BJP ally in 2014 general election as well 2015 Bihar polls, had switched sides to mahagathbandhan on the eve of the ongoing Parliamentary election.

While, BJP pounced on Manjhi's use of honour for the Pakistani terrorist, leaders of his party as well some from alliance partner RJD came in his defence.

By addressing Masood Azhar as Saheb, Jitan Ram Manjhi has proved that Congress and its allies have soft corners and special honour for terrorists. Is it in their political agenda to glorify those who bleed our innocent people of the country. Please reply Manjhi Saheb," Bihar BJP leader and states health minister Mangal Pandey said in a tweet in hindi.

HAM spokesman Danish Rizwan,however, made a defence of Manjhi in a release issued on behalf of the party.

Jitan Ram Manjhi ji always addresses people with respect but he has clarified his position before the media with regard to his comment on Masood Azhar. Jitan Ram Manjhi ji has clearly said that it was a 'slip of tongue'. He also said that probity and dignity in politics also does not warrant anyone to abuse anyone which the BJP has been doing, Rizwan said in the release.

Rizwan said that NDA leaders were trying to flare up the issue witnessing their imminent defeat in the four phases of polls held in the state so far.

RJD leader and MLA Vijay Prakash said that the issue has nothing to do with Bihar.

This is an international issue. It has nothing to do with Bihar, rather it has to be dealt on international level. The issues which are related to Bihar are corruption, jumlebazi, unemployment, price rise etc. Why BJP does not offer any reply on these issues, Prakash said.
JNU situation is "disaster" by VC: Former faculty member

Parliament panel 'anguished' at shortage of faculty in IITs, IIMs

Faculty cannot pursue full time course while teaching says HC

Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President gets death threat for banning veils

India

oi-Vikas SV

Thiruvananthapuram, May 04: Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President Dr PA Fazal Gafoor has reportedly filed a police complaint stating that received a death threat for a circular issued him which banned female students and faculty on its campuses from wearing niqab, the face veil.

The decision to ban the face veil had invited condemnation from some Muslim groups. Some fundamentalists accused the MES of interfering in the religious practices of students and faculty.

Even within the MES, Gafoor faced a backlash for circular disallowing veils. The Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoor's father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

Muslim education body in Kerala bars female students from wearing face veil

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses.

From 2019-20 academic year, heads of institutions and local managements must ensure that female students do not come to classes with their faces covered, the circular said.

We must discourage all undesirable tendencies in campuses the circular signed by Dr P A Fazal Gafoor said.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 13:39 [IST]
Maha govt challenges HC order saying no to EBC, Maratha quotas in PG courses

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: The Maharashtra Government on Saturday challenged the order by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay Court which had ruled out reservation for the Educationally Backward Classes and Marathas in some Post Graduate courses.

The Maharashtra Government reportedly filed a Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court today.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court had held that the decision of implementing 16 percent Maratha quota to PG medical admission process this year as "arbitrary". The HC noted that the PG medical admission process had already commenced at the time when the quota came into force.

Maharashtra approves 16% Maratha quota in jobs and education

The division bench of honourable Justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had ruled in their order that the March 8 notification about the implementation of the new 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community, under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) quota; shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier, reported PTI.

On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra Legislature had passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs. In November last year, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed bill giving 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in jobs and education. This was separate reservation from existing OBC and SC ST reservations already in place.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 14:04 [IST]
Going slow on Hafiz Saeed, looking up to Azhar, Pak is only worsening its case at FATF

Did Pakistan ever act against Azhar? Intel reports show, he remained protected always

Masood Azhars life in danger, ISI shifts him to a safe house in Rawalpindi

After hearing an October 2018 Azhar speech, Dar offered himself as Pulwama bomber

From plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much

Masood Azhar: How additional evidence led China to cave in

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: China was given a set of additional evidence about Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's involvement in terrorist activities, days after it blocked a fresh proposal at the UN on March 13 to designate him as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council declared him as a global terrorist after China removed its technical hold on a proposal moved by the UK, France and the US. Following the UN announcement of Azhar's listing, China said it took the decision after carefully studying the "revised materials".

Sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on Azhar's involvement in terror strikes in India including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack in the UN notification banning Azhar.

With Azhar banned, Pak will use Mohammad Rauf, Athar Ibrahim to run JeM

France, the UK and the US had moved the fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, China put a technical hold on the proposal on March 13, blocking it for a fourth time to designate Azhar.

Initially, China felt it was not provided with sufficient evidence about Azhar's involvement in terror activities, sources said, adding additional evidence was given to Beijing after it put a technical hold on the proposal to list him as global terrorist.

Asked about the impact of India's strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, sources said there was no reason to doubt it.

The diplomatic sources also said that the European Union is likely to conclude the process soon to designate Azhar as a terrorist although the UN ban on him will cover member countries of the grouping.

Germany initiated the move at the European Union, days after China blocked the proposal at the UN to ban him in March.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.

An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

Behind the scenes: How India's relentless push ensured Masood Azhar was banned

In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a global terrorist.

In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 -- the US, the UK and France -- in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again.

However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 04: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Centre to declare a ceasefire in the state like last year in view of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Sunday.

"Request GoI to cease crackdowns, & search operations during Ramzan this year so that people aren't subjected to harassment & can observe the holy month in peace. Last year's ceasefire helped in providing a huge sense of relief. Hope electoral compulsions are put aside," Mufti wrote on Twitter.

The PDP chief also asked militants to stop attacks on security forces. "I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attack in this month," PTI quoted her as saying.

Last year, the Centre had directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". At that time, Mehbooba was heading a PDP-BJPcoalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 21:04 [IST]
#MeToo: Court likely to pronounce verdict today in MJ Akbar's defamation case against Ramani

#Metoo: Feel vindicated on behalf women who spoke against sexual harassment, says Priya Ramani

Me Too: Timeline of events in Priya Ramani-MJ Akbar case

MJ Akbar cross examined in Priya Ramani case

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Former Union Minister MJ Akbar who appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in connection with his defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, was on Saturday cross examined by Ramani's lawyer.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John appeared for Priya Ramani while Akbar was represented by senior Advocate Geeta Luthra. MJ Akbar's cross examination will continue on May 20.

Court had in April framed defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

MJ Akbar's statement disappointing, ready to fight defamation complaint: Journalist Priya Ramani

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 12:20 [IST]
Modi has abused bravery of soldiers: Congress comeback on Modis surgical strike jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Congress party hit back after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the party was lying about the surgical strikes carried out under the UPA government.

In a statement, the Congress said that Modi's statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers and it has never used the strikes as election fodder.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers."Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party."The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! The Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said. "I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters,"My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?" He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

EC gives clean chit to Modi for Nanded, Varanasi speeches

"In Congress, we have always said that such operations have been conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added. The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure. "The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces.

The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:22 [IST]
Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media

Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh

'Do you work for govt?' Rahul Gandhi asks reporter; BJP calls him entitled brat

Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi

Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi

Nurse who witnessed Rahul Gandhis birth questions Swamys nationality jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Kochi, May 04: Rajamma Vavathil, a retired nurse and a voter in Wayanad, says forcefully that no one should contest Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's citizenship status -- after all she was one of those on duty at Delhi's Holy Family Hospital on June 19, 1970 when he was born.

The 72-year-old, who was still in training to be a nurse at the time, said she was among the first to take the infant Rahul in her hands.

I was lucky as I was first among the few who took the newborn baby in my hands. He was so cute. I was witness to his birth. I was thrilled... we all were thrilled to see the grandson of prime minister Indira Gandhi, Vavathil told PTI over phone from Wayanad.

Rahul takes offence to 'videogame jibe', hits back saying Modi insulted Army

Forty-nine years later, the "cute baby" is Congress president and a contestant from Wayanad. And Vavathil, who now describes herself as "nearly a housewife", said she couldn't be happier.

She remembers the day well.

Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi and uncle Sanjay Gandhi were waiting outside the labour room of the hospital when Sonia Gandhi was taken for delivery, Vavathil recounted.

It's a story she has often told her family.

The retired nurse said she is saddened by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's complaint questioning the Congress president's citizenship status.

According to Vavathil, no one can question Rahul Gandhi's identity as an Indian citizen and Swamy's complaint about his citizenship is baseless .

All records about Rahul Gandhi's birth would be there at the hospital, she said.

Vavathil, who completed her nursing course from Delhi's Holy Family Hospital, later joined the Indian military as a nurse.

A Wayanad voter is a retired nurse who witnessed Rahul's birth; says he was "cute baby"

After taking VRS from service, she returned to Kerala in 1987 and is now settled in Kalloor near Sulthan Bathery.

Vavathil expressed the hope that she would be able to meet Rahul Gandhi when he visits Wayanad next time.

Wayanad, which came into national prominence after Congress chief's Rahul Gandhi's candidature, registered record polling of 80.31 per cent in the polls held on April 23.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 11:56 [IST]
Govt schools in Punjab are in bad shape, seek people's support for improving them: Arvind Kejriwal

Uttarakhand polls 2022: Kejriwal promises Rs 1k to women, Rs 5k to jobless youths monthly if voted to power

Kejriwal to launch AAP's UP poll campaign from Lucknow on Jan 2

Opposition leaders condemn attack on Arvind Kejriwal

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 05: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Several opposition party leaders also tweeted to condemn the "attack".

Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu denounced it as a dastardly act.

Taking to twitter Naidu wrote: "After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a Twitter post wrote, "Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point".

Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point. https://t.co/9oFmcpcq3j  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien also came out with a scathing remark directed at the BJP in which he said that the act only goes to prove the saffron party's defeat in Delhi.

"They are desperately creating incidents to try and find 'game-changer'....Modi is OUT," he said while referring to a separate controversy around a "doctored" video of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Former BJP leader and a vocal critic of the Modi government, Yashwant Sinha, also condemned the "cowardly attack" on the Delhi CM.

Condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack on CM Delhi.  Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) May 4, 2019

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:46 [IST]
Shatrughan Sinha likely to join TMC, may be sent to Rajya Sabha

Stood by wife Poonam, done my 'pati dharma': Shatrughan Sinha

India

pti-PTI

Patna, May 04: Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' (duty as a wife) and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma (duty as a husband), she will also play her patni dharma once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."

When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Lok Sabha 5th phase election 2019: Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha richest candidate

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the "one-man show" and the "two-man army" will not return.

PTI
Top naxal with Rs 16 lakh reward behind Gadchiroli attack

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, May 04: The police have named a top naxal leaders among others in its FIR that was filed in the aftermath of the Gadchiroli attack which claimed 16 lives on Wednesday.

The police said that it has named Bhaskar, the North Commander of the CPI (Maoist) and 40 others in its FIR. They have been booked for murder and conspiracy, the police also said. The police have also invoked the provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the naxalites.

Bhaskar is a top naxal and is on the most wanted list. He has been active now for 15 years and also carries a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head. He was behind both the planning and the logistics relating to the attack.

Lack of intel led to Gadchiroli naxal attack

Investigations show that after a lull of three years, the naxalites were aiming to make a comeback in Gadchiroli. The police say that the explosive material recovered from the site has been sent for forensic examination.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:28 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Why is Ladakh seat important for BJP?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 04: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in strategically important Ladakh parliamentary seat in 2014 general elections by winning it for the first time.

In 2014, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang had defeated an Independent Ghulam Raza by a margin of only 36 votes. Chhewang had also won the seat in 2004 as an Independent. However, Chhewang had resigned from both the BJP and the Parliament last year.

The BJP is also worried because it performed very poorly in the Kargil and Leh civic body elections in October 2018 when it failed to win even a single seat.

Phase 5 elections: The seven seats that the BJP would be worried about

The BJP had promised in 2014 to grant Ladakh the status of Union Territory, but didn't fulfil it. It's notable that the demand of UT status to Ladakh predates the Telangana movement.

After sensing the discontent in Ladakh and its repercussions on the electoral politics, the Narendra Modi government made Ladakh a separate Division in February with Leh as its headquarters.

The leaders from Kargil district opposed the decision of Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik tooth and nail.

Muslim-majority Kargil fears that the decision to make Buddhist-majority Leh the seat of governance for the new division would give the Buddhists the upper hand in administration.

Kargil continues to oppose the Buddhist demand for Union territory status for Ladakh.

According to 2011 census, Ladakh's population is 2.73 lakh, including 1.26 lakh Muslims, 1.07 lakh Buddhists and 0.36 lakh Hindus, mostly soldiers and their families from other states.

According to the sources, Ladakh is more than a parliamentary seat for the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"The saffron leadership wants to have political control over Ladakh because of its strategic importance as well as to counter alleged Love Jihad, " says a source.

It is notable that Ladakh Buddhist Association's president PT Kunzang in an interview to a news portal had claimed that a systematic Love Jihad is being carried out in Ladakh to change the religious data of the area.

He had said in 2017 that around 97 Buddhist girls have been converted to Islam in the last four decades.

Reports suggest that as many as 45 Buddhist girls married Muslim men in Ladakh since 2003.

The BJP hopes that making of Leh as headquarters of Ladakh division will help its candidate in the upcoming polls.

BJP has fielded 33-year-old Jamying Tsering Namgayal, who is the current Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

Congress candidate Rigzin Spalbar is the former Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC, Leh.

The two main regional political parties, National Conference and People's Democratic Party, did not field their candidates and decided to extend support to Independent Sajad Kargili, who also enjoys the support of the influential Islamic School, Kargil.

Another Independent Asghar Ali Karbali, a former Congress party lawmaker, has also served twice as the CEC of LAHDC, Kargil.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 18:44 [IST]
In Rohtak, PM warns voters, asks them to take note of Sam Pitroda's 'Hua So Hua' remark

Why talk about Rahul's citizenship now, he has been MP for 15 years: Sam Pitroda

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Exuding confidence that the Congress is going to win the elections, Sam Pitroda asked why the BJP is raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi's citizenship now when he has been ' member of parliament for 15 years'.

"Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he added, and further said that the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Pitroda said there has been a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years.

"Based on our assessment we believe we are winning , we are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi government did not deliver," he said.

Pitroda, Gandhi family confidante and Indian Overseas Congress Chief, made headlines last month when he questioned death toll in Balakot air strike

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Sam Pitroda questions death toll in Balakot air strike

When asked about BJP's Subramanian Swamy approaching the court over Rahul Gandhi's citizen ship, Pitroda questioned its timing.

He has been member of parliament for 15 years ,you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament.Why did you wake up today with lies?You think people are stupid? Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he told ANI.

Swamy had reportedly alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

On asked if the opposition which seems scattered would come together after polls, Pitroda said all are clear on the common goal.

"No, do not think there anything to worry ,they will all come together at the right time , I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal ,they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace," he added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:12 [IST]
'Will thrash them like dogs': BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh threatens TMC workers

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, May 05: BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh, who used to call Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "mother" on Saturday courted controversy after threatening TMC workers saying that she would pull them out of their houses and "thrash them like dogs".

Ghosh said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Cyclone Fani: Mamata Banerjee cancels rallies, asks people to stay indoors

Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nominated for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less

important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:29 [IST]
With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became Indias most radical outfit

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places has seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI. Let us take a look at the journey of the PFI from when it was set up and how it turned out to be one India's most radical outfits.

PFI as an organisation came into existence in 2006. However, it dates back to 1993 when an organisation called the National Development Front was formed to protect the interests of Muslims in Kerala following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.

Sword, knife, documents among incriminating material seized by NIA in PFI related raid

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu. By 2009 more organisations merged with the PFI.

They were Goa Citizen's Forum, Rajasthan's Community Social and Educational Society, West Bengal's Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samithi, Manipur's Lilong Social Forum and Association of Social Justice, Andhra Pradesh.

The PFI has often been accused of associating with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. Most of the office bearers of the PFI have been associated with the SIMI in the past. They have held positions in the SIMI before it had been banned.

The Intelligence Bureau has said that the PFI is violent in nature. They one point agenda is to attack the Right Wing. They preach to their cadres that attacking those who oppose Islam would earn them religious rewards. the PFI has been accused of chopping off a professor's hand who had allegedly hurt religious sentiments in Kerala. 37 PFI cadres were arrested. In an affidavit before the Kerala High Court, it was submitted that the PFI was involved in 27 murders. In another report, the Kerala government said that there was 87 attempt to murder cases against PFI cadres.

The NIA speaks about the killing of RSS worker Rudresh in Bengaluru. Further, it details the professor's hand chopping case at Idukki. While giving details about a Kannur training camp from where country-made bombs and swords were seized, the NIA report to the Home Ministry also speaks about an Islamic State module case.

The NIA says that the approach of the PFI is radical in nature. It speaks about recruiting only committed Muslims into its fold. It also states that the cadres train with clips of the Babri Masjid demolition and this is clearly a sign that it is trying to radicalise its cadres. It is trying to run a parallel administration the NIA states.

It speaks about the Darul Khada an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. This was set up in 2009, by SDPI national chief E Aboobacker.

The NIA says that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a host of issues. The NIA dossier also states that in July 2009, a Kerala level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Malappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but get all issues sorted out by it.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:44 [IST]
Romance fraudster of Indian origin jailed for 6 years

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

London, May 04: A 32-year-old Indian-origin man, dubbed as a "romance fraudster" by UK police, has been jailed for six years and one month after he was found guilty of conning six women he met online and luring them to invest huge amounts in non-existent companies.

Keyur Vyas, from east London, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of a four-year-long investigation by Scotland Yard into his fraudulent activities.

The recruitment agent would befriend women online with the pretense of building a relationship with them by wining and dining them. The Metropolitan Police investigation found he had committed fraud against six different women, with his overall fraud estimated at over 800,000 pounds.

Indian origin habitual prank caller sentenced to 3 years prison in Singapore

"Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies," said Detective Constable Andy Chapman, from the Met Police's Central Specialist Command.

"He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money. Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them," he said.

The Met Police began an investigation into Keyur Vyas' activities in October 2014. They found that between 2014 and 2017, he was employed as a recruitment agent who would befriend women online under false pretenses.

The court was told that he would romance them and trick them into believing he was an affluent man working in finance. He would use commonalities with the victims, such as religion and his wish to start a family, to build trust with them.

Once he had gained their trust, Vyas would encourage them to invest in various business ventures for a large return. However, these ventures did not actually exist and he would use the money to gamble.

Vyas would also put pressure and be abusive to the victims to continue to invest more money in order to get the promised returns. He also used fear tactics and warned his victims that if they went to the police, they would lose all their money.

Man sentenced for 10 years for attempting to murder a teenage girl

"Unfortunately, we see cases like this fairly often and my advice to anyone in an online relationship whatever the nature is never to send personal details or money to someone who you have never met in person," said Detective Chapman.

It was only when they did not receive their money back that the women began to report their concerns to the police.

Vyas pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation in March this year, while the remaining two charges will lie on his file. The total loss for all the charges is approximately logged at 808,942 pounds.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:17 [IST]
Sri Lanka won't be allowed to be used for 'any activity' against India: President Rajapaksa

Sri Lankas Easter bombers travelled to Bangalore, Kerala and Kashmir

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Sri Lankan bombers had travelled to various parts of India, the chief of Sri Lanka's army said. The comments were made by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke in an interview to the BBC.

They had gone travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala according to the information available, he said. When asked about the purpose of the visit, he said it was for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

Indian agencies are hot on the trail of several Islamic State linked operatives since the past few weeks. The agencies are trying to ascertain the Indian connection to the Easter bombings. Indian officials have learnt that at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

Colombo bombings: Photographs of suspects released

An Indian intelligence official tells OneIndia that there is not much information on the travels by the Sri Lanka bombers. The information shared with us by Sri Lanka is not much as of now. We are conducting our independent investigations and will have more information soon, he also added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:52 [IST]
BMC decides to reopen schools in Mumbai from this date

Mumbai schools to reopen for Classes 1 to 7 from December 15

Maharashtra: Fire at a Thane building

Mumbai

oi-Vikas SV

Mumbai, May 04: A massive fire broke out at a building in Maharashtra's Thane this morning. The flames engulfed a building in Patlipada area, said reports.

No injuries or casualties have been reported as yet. The fire fighting operations are underway.

On April 22, a massive fire broke out at a factory in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtras Thane district and the firefighters managed to control the blaze after five and a half hours. The fire had broken out at a paintbrush and colour manufacturing factory-godown in Jai Mata Di compound in Kalher. At least 40 workers were asleep on the terrace of a nearby under construction building when the building caught fire.

[Massive fire at chemical factory in Delhi's Naraina]

On April 30, a fire broke out in housing in Big Bazaar outlet in the Mumbais Matunga West area. Five fire engines, a Quick Response Vehicle, one ambulance, and several Fire Brigade personnel were rushed to the site for operations.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:01 [IST]
+17% CAGR will Achived By Closed System Transfer Device Industry by 2025 | Major Market Players: Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc

Closed System Transfer Device Industry

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The Closed System Transfer Device Market is expected to reach USD 2,432.4 Million by 2025 from USD 921.2 Million in 2018, at a CAGR of 17.57% from 2019 to 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of 17.57% amid the gauge time of 2019-2025. The market development is predominantly determined by the rising number of patients requiring medicinal treatment and particularly developing therapeutic research exercises. Expanding medications production, better accessibility of cytotoxic medications at the work environment or at the clinic, along with progressions in the field of restorative devices are additionally responsible for the exponential development in the market. Further, as of late rising instances of malignant growth, to endorsement for the oncology drugs is additionally anticipated to drive the demand for such Closed System Transfer Device.Ask for Sample of Closed System Transfer Device Industry:The market is examined crosswise over four geographical regions, in particular, North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and RoW (Latin America, Middle East and Africa). North America region holds the most elevated market about 85% of absolute market share in 2018. Further, Asia Pacific market is considered as one of the quickest developing regions with the CAGR of 28.8%. Increment in the frequency rate of disease, implementation of better administrative rules is the key elements energizing the development of the Closed System Transfer Devices (CSTD) market amid the anticipated period crosswise over the globe. It is normal that at a national level, the U.S represents the biggest offer of income by 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is segmented on the basis of Component, End Users, By Types and by Region. The two Component types in this Market are, Vial Access Devices, Syringe Safety Devices, Bag/Line Access Devices, and Accessories. In which Vial Access Devices holds the %% of market share. And is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of %% in the anticipated period.Key companies profiled in the report are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc, Caragen Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Corvida Medical, ICU Medical, Inc. The continuous research & development activities to address changing demand of the industry companies spend heavy on the R&D expenses.Directly Purchase this Report USD 2990 atClosed System Transfer Device Market Segmentation:Closed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By ComponentVial Access DevicesSyringe Safety DevicesBag/Line Access DevicesAccessoriesClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By TypesMembrane-To-Membrane SystemsNeedleless SystemsClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By End UsersHospitalsOncology Centers & ClinicsOthersClosed System Transfer Device Industry Overview, By RegionNorth America USA CanadaEurope Germany U.K. France Italy Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW Latin America Middle East & AfricaAsk for Customized Report As per Your Business Requirement:Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction1.1 Industry Vision1.2 Limitations1.3 StakeholdersChapter 2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Process2.1.1. Secondary Research2.1.1.1. Key Data from Secondary Research2.1.2. Primary Research2.1.2.1. Key Data from Primary Research2.1.2.2. Breakdowns of Primary Interviews2.2. Industry Size Estimation2.2.1. Bottoms-Up Approach2.2.2. Top-Down Approach2.2.3. Annual Revenue Process2.3. Data Triangulation2.4. Research Assumptions2.4.1. Assumption3. Executive Summary4. Industry Overview4.1. Introduction4.2. Strength4.3. Weakness4.4. Opportunities4.5. Threats4.6. Regulations4.7. Supply Chain/Value Chain Analysis4.8. Patent & Standards5. Industry Trends5.1. Introduction5.2. Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2.1. Threat of New Entrants5.2.2. Threat of Substitutes5.2.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers5.2.4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers5.2.5. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry6. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Component6.1. Vial Access Devices6.2. Syringe Safety Devices6.3. Bag/Line Access Devices6.4. Accessories7. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By End Users7.1. Hospitals7.2. Oncology Centers & Clinics7.3. Others8. Global Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Type8.1. Membrane-To-Membrane Systems8.2. Needleless Systems9. Geographical Analysis9.1. Introduction9.2. North America9.2.1. U.S.9.2.2. Canada9.2.3. Mexico9.3. Europe9.3.1. Germany9.3.2. France9.3.3. U.K.9.3.4. RoE9.4. Asia Pacific9.4.1. China9.4.2. Japan9.4.3. India9.4.4. RoAPAC9.5. RoW9.5.1. Latin America9.5.1.1. Brazil9.5.1.2. Argentina9.5.1.3. Rest of Latin America9.5.2. Middle East and Africa10. Company Profiles10.1. Becton10.1.1 Company Overview10.1.2 Financial Overview10.1.3 Product Overview10.1.4 Current Development10.2. Dickinson and Company10.3. Equashield, LLC10.4. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd10.5. Corvida Medical10.6. ICU Medical Inc.10.7. B. Braun Melsungen AG10.8. JMS Co. Ltd.10.9. Yukon Medical10.10. Victus Inc10.11 Caragen Ltd.11. Competitive Analysis11.1. Introduction11.2. Industry Positioning of Key Players11.3 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading Players11.3.1. Investments & Expansions11.3.2. New Product Launches11.3.3. Mergers & Acquisitions11.3.4. Agreements, Joint Ventures, and Partnerships12. Appendix12.1. Questionnaire12.2. Available Customizations12.3. Upcoming Events (Trade Fair, Exhibitions, Conferences)About Global Reports StoreGlobal Reports Store firm produces its customers equation for growth, whether you need to determine potential opportunities, understand the market dynamics or proliferate your profitability. We give the most recent altered and syndicated explore alongside counseling administrations. Our immense extent of administrations helps you in arranging your development in the predefined showcase industry, as well as the system and innovation required for the predictable achievement.Contact Us:JonManager [Business Development]Global Reports Storesales@globalreportsstore.comMob: +91-739-102-4425
Ureteroscopes Market Development Industry 2019 Featuring with Major Players Medical Industry & Trade, AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM , Prosurg, SOPRO-COMEG

Ureteroscopes

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Ureteroscope is a device, which is used for examining upper urinary tract and the technique is called ureteroscopy. Ureteroscope works similar to a cytoscope, however, it is longer and thinner than cytoscope, and is passed through the urethra to the bladder and then into the ureter (the tubes, which carry urine from kidneys to bladder). Ureteroscope has illuminating light and lens for capturing images of urinary tract organs for presence of tumors and calculi. This device helps to find the position of stone in ureter and is also used for the removal of kidney stone. Ureteroscopy is less harmful and less time consuming procedure to remove kidney stone and shows high accuracy and less complications than conventional methods such as percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).Ureteroscopes Market DriversIncreasing approvals and launches of new ureteroscopes devices is expected to be a major factor for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. For instance, in 2016, Boston Scientific Corporation launched its new LithoVue single-use digital flexible ureteroscope in the U.S. and Europe market. LithoVue is used in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of kidney stones and other conditions of the kidney, ureter, and bladder.Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel the market growth. For instance, according to the data published by National Kidney Foundation in 2016, globally, over half a billion people suffer from kidney stone annually. According to data published by National Institute of Health, in 2016, globally, total prevalence of chronic kidney disease is around 14.0% of the general population.Request For Sample Copy:Moreover, prevalence of kidney stones also increases with increasing age. According to the data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2017, in Mainland China the prevalence of kidney stone was 5.96% in the people aged between 30-39 years, while the prevalence was around 9.68% in people above 60 years of age. Hence, rise in geriatric population is also expected to increase incidence of kidney stone, which in turn is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel market growth in the near future. For instance, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2016, around 547 million people were aged above 60 years in Asia Pacific and the number is projected to reach around 1.3 billion by 2050.Ureteroscopes Market Regional AnalysisNorth America is expected to hold the dominant position in global ureteroscopes market, due to presence of key players in the region and high success rates of ureteroscopy. For instance, according to data published by Department of Urology, New York Medical College, in 2016, after a single procedure, around 37% of patients who had undergone flexible ureteroscopy were stone free as compare to only 21% of the patients who were treated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Moreover, Boston Scientific Corporation and Stryker Corporation are the two U.S.-based major players in this market. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone in the U.S. is also expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes, which is turn is driving the market growth in North America. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2014, according to survey done by National Health and Nutrition Examination in 2012, around 10.6% of men and 7.1% of women in the U.S. are affected from renal stone disease and there is a rapid increase in prevalence of urinary tract stone disease. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit significant growth in the global ureteroscopes market, owing to increasing incidence of kidney stone disease in population in India and China. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2017, the prevalence of kidney stone in Mainland China was estimated to be around 10.34% in males and 6.62% in females.Ureteroscopes Market RestraintHigh cost of ureteroscopy procedure is expected to be a major restrain for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. The average cost of ureteroscopy in the U.S. can go up to around US$ 3,000. Such high cost procedures are not easily affordable by everyone and hence it restrain the market growth.Ureteroscopes Market Key PlayersKey players operating in ureteroscopes market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Stryker Corporation, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, Richard Wolf GmbH, PENTAX Medical, Elmed Electronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM Inc., Prosurg, Inc., SOPRO-COMEG GmbH, and others.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didnt see the lurking snake  until it bit a toe on her right foot.

I was really scared, Oakley said. I thought that I could either get paralyzed or could actually die.

Her camp counselors suspected it was a copperhead and knew they needed to get her medical attention as soon as they could. They had to keep her as calm and motionless as possible  the venom could circulate more quickly if her heart raced from activity or fear.

One counselor gave her a piggyback ride to a van. Others distracted her with Taylor Swift songs and candy as the van sped from their location in a beautiful but remote part of the Shawnee National Forest toward help.

First responders met them and recommended Oakley be taken by air ambulance to a hospital.

The helicopter flight transported Oakley 80 miles from a school parking lot just outside the forest to St. Vincent Evansville hospital in Indiana, where she received four vials of antivenin and was then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for observation.

Her parents, Josh Perry and Shelli Yoder, were already in bed that night when they got the call about what had happened to Oakley. They jumped in the car and arrived at Riley about two hours before their daughter. Once she made it, doctors closely observed her condition, her toe still oozing and bruised. By lunchtime, Perry said, physicians reassured the parents that Oakley would be OK.

It was a major comfort for me to realize, OK, were getting the best care possible, said Perry, who is a health care ethics professor at the business school at Indiana University Bloomington. Less than 24 hours after the bite, Oakley left the hospital with her grateful parents.

Then the bills came.

Patient: Oakley Yoder, now 10, of Bloomington, Ind. Insured through Indiana University Bloomington, where her father and mother work as faculty.

Total Bill: $142,938, including $67,957 for four vials of antivenin. ($55,577.64 was charged for air ambulance transport.) The balance included a ground ambulance charge and additional hospital and physician charges, according to the familys insurer, IU Health Plans.

Service Providers: St. Vincent Evansville hospital, part of Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic health system. Riley Hospital for Children, part of Indiana University Health, a nonprofit health system. Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance provider.

Medical Service: The essential part of Oakleys treatment involved giving her four vials of snake antivenin called CroFab.

What Gives: When someone is bitten by a venomous snake, there is no time to waste. If left untreated, a venomous bite can cause tissue damage, hemorrhaging and respiratory arrest. Children tend to experience more severe effects because of their relatively small size.

CroFab has dominated the U.S. market for snake antivenin since its approval in 2000. When Oakley was bitten, it was the only drug available to treat venomous bites from pit vipers. (Oakley probably was bitten by a copperhead snake, a type of pit viper, the camp directors told her parents.)

In short, the drugmaker, London-based BTG Plc, essentially had a monopoly.

The average list price for CroFab is $3,198 per vial, according to the health care information tech company Connecture. Manufacturing costs, product improvements and research all factor into the drugs price, said Chris Sampson, spokesman for BTG.

A Mexican version of snake antivenin can cost roughly $200. But it couldnt be sold in the U.S. (More about that in a moment.)

Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute, a venom research center at the University of Arizona, acknowledges that some of the price in the U.S. can be attributed to strict Food and Drug Administration requirements for testing and monitoring.

But more than that, she added: Its a profitable drug, and everyone wants a piece of it.

She should know: Funded by government grants and at times working with colleagues over the border in Mexico, her group was instrumental in developing CroFab.

Antivenins were first developed more than a century ago. Although CroFab is safer and purer than antivenins of the past, the process  while labor-intensive  remains fundamentally the same. Snakes, spiders and other creatures are milked for their venom, then a small amount of the toxin is injected into animals like horses or sheep. They then make antibodies without falling ill, and the protective molecules are extracted from their blood and processed to make antivenin.

Despite the longtime use of antivenins, CroFab and other such products remain a lucrative prospect for manufacturers. Who wouldnt pay top dollar for an antivenin when their child has been bitten by a venomous snake?

What patients pay for CroFab can widely vary. Treatment may require a few vials or dozens of them  it depends on factors like the size of the patient, the potency of venom in the bite and how quickly the patient is treated. The more antivenin needed, the higher the cost.

But hospitals also jack up the price, even though some of these facilities purchase the drug at a discount, said Dr. Merrit Quarum, chief executive officer of WellRithms, a health care cost containment company.

In Oakleys case, St. Vincent Evansville hospital charged $16,989.25 for each unit of CroFab, according to the facilitys bill. Thats more than five times as high as the average list price.

WellRithms analyzed Oakleys bill from St. Vincent Evansville at Kaiser Health News request and found providers generally accept $16,159.70 for all four vials of the drug.

In a statement, St. Vincent Evansville noted that the family was not responsible for that full tab and instead was expected to pay less than $3,500. But the facility appears to have since lowered its price for CroFab. According to its price list  posted online to satisfy a recent federal requirement  the drug now costs $5,096.76 per vial.

And the snake antivenin market now has another drug competing for patients: Anavip. The Mexican product  launched in October  has a list price of $1,220 a vial in the U.S, a fraction of what Latin Americans pay for it, according to Rare Disease Therapeutics, which distributes the drug in the U.S.

Anavips arrival was stalled by a lawsuit filed by BTG in 2013 that claimed the drug infringed on its patent.

The drugs true effect on the market remains unclear. CroFab and Anavip are not entirely interchangeable. (The FDA hasnt approved Anavip for copperhead bites, for instance.) And, as part of the legal settlement, Anavip makers must pay royalties to BTG until the CroFab patent expires in 2028.

Resolution: The insurer, IU Health Plans, negotiated down the antivenin and air ambulance charges and ended up paying $44,092.87 and $55,543.20, respectively. After adjustments to additional bills, IU Health Plans paid a total of $107,863.33. Oakleys family did not pay a dime out of pocket for her emergency care, but such high outlays contribute to rising premiums.

Secondary insurance offered through the summer camp covered $7,286.34 in additional costs that otherwise would have come out of Perry and Yoders pockets for their deductible and coinsurance. The policy covers up to $25,000 in damages.

Oakleys foot is healed, but her toe bends slightly downward and is sensitive to pressure. She intends to return to the same camp this summer.

Perry teaches a course on the ethics of the health care industry, and yet he said the cost of Oakleys care shocked him. But he is aware of how rarely a patient ends up paying nothing for health care. I know that in this country, in this system, he said, that is a miracle.

Takeaway: Hospitals and insurers can negotiate; snakes dont. If youve been bitten by a snake, take care of your injury, said Boyer. Dont wait while you worry about the cost.

When you get a bill, compare what the facility charged against other health care providers prices using their public charge lists online. Cost estimation tools like Fair Health Consumer or Healthcare Bluebook allow you to see how your bill compares with the average.

Momentum is growing for government action on drug prices. In states and in Congress, various proposals have been floated, which include: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, tying the U.S. price of expensive drugs to the average price in other developed countries and allowing the government to inject competition into the market when there is none  such as by speeding generic drug approvals or allowing imports.

Consumers should keep an eye on these proposals as they move through the political process.

NPR produced and edited the interview with Kaiser Health News Elisabeth Rosenthal for broadcast. Jake Harper of WFYI in Indianapolis provided audio reporting.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPRthat dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!
The owner of Portland bar Cider Riot is suing Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson for $1 million, claiming Gibson and several other right-wing protesters showed up at the business on Wednesday and fought with customers, causing mayhem and physical injury to at least one person.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong, who owns Cider Riot, is suing the Patriot Prayer organization as well as Gibson, Ian Kramer and 25 others who he says were involved in the incident. The claims include negligence, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On Wednesday, Cider Riot hosted a May Day celebration, at which people who had participated in demonstrations earlier in the day gathered to listen to live music. About 20 right-wing protesters, including Gibson, arrived at the business, and a clash between them and patrons of Cider Riot ensued. Video of the incident shows people deploying pepper spray, and several people fighting. According to the lawsuit, Kramer, a frequent Patriot Prayer rally participant, hit a female patron of Cider Riot on the head with a baton and knocked her unconscious.

On Friday, Goldman-Armstrong said he couldnt comment further on the lawsuit. The organization representing him, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, issued a statement saying that Goldman-Armstrong had the right to operate his business in peace, and that Portland residents had been terrorized by Gibson and his associates for too long.

Our community is suffering and we must respond to the seriousness of the threat posed by the actions and words of white nationalists, white supremacists and the alt-right, the group said. We need to send a message that their brand of hate is not welcome in Portland.

In response to the suit, Gibson said he was the one who was assaulted while standing on a public sidewalk.

I walk into dangerous situations, I never fight back, he told the Oregonian/OregonLive. He said his intention in going to Cider Riot that day was to take video and show the event that Cider Riot was hosting. He said the event was co-hosted by Rose City antifa.

To me its very odd that a place serving alcohol has 80 people masked up, he said.

He said when he got there, people were drinking on the patio and wearing masks, and several had cans of bear spray. He says neither he nor the people he came with had spray or any sort of weapons, although video footage shows people from both groups deploying bear spray, and members of the group that came with Gibson throwing projectiles at the bar patrons.

Warning: Video contains graphic language.

breaking: far-right protesters and Proud Boys have arrived at Cider Riot. Cider Riot has done benefits for antifa and has also been vandalized in the past. RIOOOT. huge fight! pic.twitter.com/PKeRdYCF6d  Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) May 2, 2019

Goldman-Armstrong said this is not the first time Gibson and Patriot Prayer have targeted his business. He said they have sprayed graffiti on his building and stolen a flag that hung in front of the business.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Portland police are looking into reports of a shooting near Northeast Portlands Gateway shopping center on Friday afternoon, but so far have not found any victims.

Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 10000 block of Northeast Halsey Street around 4:15 p.m. Friday. They found shell casings at the scene but have not found any victims.

According to a Portland Police Bureau news release, several parked cars had bullet strikes, and witnesses reported seeing multiple males, including at least one with a gun, running after another group of males.

The area is also near the Gateway Transit Center. Officers are investigating the incident, and asked anyone with information or video of the shooting to call 503-823-3333.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Oregon softball rallied to tie but Utah took the series opener in walk-off fashion and put the Ducks in must-win mode for their remaining five games.

BreOnna Castaneda went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including the walk-off RBI single to give Utah a 4-3 win over Oregon in Salt Lake City Friday night.

In desperate need of wins and run support for ace Jordan Dail, Oregon couldnt score with the bases loaded and no outs in the first.

In the bottom of the inning, Utah (16-32, 5-14 Pac-12) loaded the bases and scored on a hit by pitch and Castaneda singled to make it 2-0.

A passed ball made it 3-0 after three innings.

The Ducks (21-26, 4-15 Pac-12) rallied with four straight one-out hits in the fifth.

Allee Bunker and Shaye Bowden hit back-to-back singled and after a pitching change Rachel Cid singled to put Oregon on the board and April Utecht tied at with a two-run home run. Bunker, Bowden, Cid and Utecht each had two hits for Oregon, which must win its last five games to finish .500 and be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Dail got the Utes to strand the bases loaded in the fifth and two more in the sixth but couldnt get out of the seventh as Castaneda hit a two-out single up the middle to score Alyssa Barrera.

Dail (17-14) allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and five walks and struck out seven over 6.2 innings.

Sydney Sandez (9-8) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings while earning the win for Utah.

The teams will play game 2 of their series at 11 a.m. PT Saturday.
When Oregon voters approved a 2016 measure to bolster funding for programs that prepare students for life after high school, the millions of dollars doled out by the state Department of Education were meant to come with strings attached.

School districts would apply for Measure 98 grants and outline how theyd use the money to accomplish the laws three mandates. The Oregon Secretary of States office would then perform audits to ensure the cash was properly used.

Toya Fick, one of the measures authors and executive director of education nonprofit Stand for Children, said those steps were meant to hold districts accountable for funding they received.

What we really wanted to see was a new way of doing education funding in Oregon, she said. We wanted to make sure the programs that schools are adding and the resources theyre adding are moving the needle on student success.

Her determination to make sure the money delivered the biggest possible payoff for students sounds similar to speeches lawmakers have made during debate over a much bigger cash infusion from a $2 billion corporate tax package making its way through Salem.

It would put more than $500 million a year in the hands of school boards who would have wide latitude to choose how its spent.

Measure 98 and the $2 billion tax package both include accountability provisions. Rather than give school districts carte blanche to spend state money, there are guidelines for how the money is to be used. Both include an auditing component meant to determine whether districts are using the cash to produce the desired outcomes.

But in the case of the measure passed by voters in 2016, state oversight has so far been so light that district spending has been almost entirely self-policed.

Districts identify their own goals, explained Laura Foley, director of the states high school success team. They are also left to decide whether to raise their own red flags if their schools are struggling to comply.

The Education Department disbursed the first batch of the Measure 98 money  $83 million split across 193 districts  just before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Portland Public Schools, the states largest district, received $6 million.

The state handed out $86 million more for this school year.

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, center, chats with Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, during a House floor session in 2016. Smith Warner is one of the architects of the $2 billion corporate tax package for K-12 funding making its way through the legislature.Oregonian file photo by Denis Theriault

But state auditors are unlikely to release their findings on how those funds were spent until late 2020, nearly 3  years after districts first received Measure 98 money. In fact, officials in the Secretary of States audit division told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they havent even begun drafting plans to comprehensively check how the money was used.

Thats the way the law was written.

The measure as passed by voters requires the Secretary of States office to audit initial spending by Dec. 31, 2020. The Measure 98 audit is one of 13 performance audits the agency aims to launch by June 2020.

That means financial reports on money intended to raise graduation rates by expanding career-tech offerings, college-level courses and anti-dropout efforts may not be published until after districts receive the much bigger cash infusion from the $2 billion corporate tax deal.

If its approved, districts that apply for the first round of that cash will likely get the money in July 2020.

That huge bump-up in funding for Oregons 1,300 schools is not just school advocates pipe dream. Oregon lawmakers struck a surprise deal with the states largest business group Monday to pass the tax plan to do just that, House Bill 3427, out of committee. The House approved it on a party-line vote Wednesday, and the Senate could vote on it as soon as Tuesday.

The legislation would impose a so-called gross receipts tax equal to 0.57 percent of sales for Oregon businesses with at least $1 million in sales.

It would raise more than $1 billion a year, and more than half of it would go to school districts to double Measure 98 spending, reduce class sizes, add instructional time, broaden course offerings and improve student safety and well-being.

The way House Bill 3427 is written, the state Department of Education would be responsible for assessing whether districts used their share of corporate tax money properly, the step the Secretary of States audits division is charged with for Measure 98 funds.

The Education Departments oversight of Measure 98 suggests it is a soft-touch money monitor. It mostly relies on district officials to contact their regional point person if they struggle to implement their plans. And site visits have yet to occur.

There are reasons to think some school districts dont always make smart choices about how to deploy their money. In 2018, the audits division dispatched four officials to Portland Public Schools for one year to audit the districts spending and render an opinion on its equity work.

The resulting report, released in January, described inefficiencies in the way educators used spending cards and concluded Portland students of color were routinely short-changed by a district that did not take sensible steps to place excellent principals in high-need schools or work to retain them.

But auditors with that agency wont know how long it will take them to audit Measure 98 spending until they begin an evaluation of the projects scope, always their first step when performing an audit.

Then, auditors will request information from the states many school districts.

At that point, were giant sponges trying to gather as much information as we can in a quick manner, Jamie Ralls, an audit manager in the Secretary of States office, said.

The simplest type of audit the agency performs are financial checks that require little else than an auditor cross-checking contracts and spending reports. Did a district or contractor spend money on the things they claimed they would?

Even those relatively simple audits take three weeks, possibly more, Ralls said. A staffer works under the direction of a lead auditor, who then reports to a manager in the Secretary of States office.

Thats because the math needs to be checked and double checked nearly constantly as auditors compile their reports.

We want to be right. We want to be accurate. Thats our bread and butter, Ralls said.

Oregon high schools are currently spending the second dose of Measure 98 funding they received in summer 2018 and can expect a third dose later this year. The money has strict spending requirements.

All but the smallest districts must spend it on three separate initiatives: career-tech offerings, anti-dropout efforts and college-credit-level courses. And each school must have added those offerings, not merely maintained classes or programs it offered prior to 2017.

There are signs around the state that districts are using those cash infusions to great effect. In Lincoln County, district officials used a portion of $750,000 received in grant funding to open a daycare center in one high school and raise the percentage of freshmen who are on track to graduate from 55 percent to 75 percent. In John Day, the local school district applied for and received grant money to set up an automotive shop at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School that has students revved up to learn more.

A fraction of the money can be spent to bolster services to eighth-graders, but that cant exceed 15 percent of a districts windfall. Another 4 percent can be spent on what Education Department officials call indirect costs, like equipment or software necessary to implement the new programs.

But no one in state government has checked schools spending yet.

Fick said the audit timeline for Measure 98 was constructed with the idea that districts would have time to implement the plans laid out in their applications for funding.

It would allow the Secretary of States office to publish a report on the first three years worth of program funding in time for the Legislature to consider those findings as lawmakers discuss funding and program rules for the 2021-23 biennium, she said.

We wanted to make sure there was a cycle of full funding, Fick said. We wanted to make sure there was a little bit of time for the measure to be fully implemented.

Meanwhile, Education Department officials intermittently check in with school districts as they build out those programs, Foley said. Most of those check-ins have so far been initiated by the districts themselves.

She oversees six people who review Measure 98 grant applications and also act as regional ambassadors to the districts awarded that funding. Every request is reviewed by at least three employees in the Education Department, she said.

The state hasnt rejected a single application outright, Foley said. Instead, if team members arent certain a proposal meets requirements, they work with districts to refine their plans and ensure they meet the spending requirements set forth by state law, she said.

Districts decide which outcomes they want to chase and report back to the Education Department if they need help reaching their goals, she said. The agencys regional ambassadors will begin doing site visits in the coming school year.

The timelines are meant to ensure districts have time to evaluate their own programs and check in with the Education Department as they tinker with them in response to students needs. And the more data the state has to work with, department officials say, the better.

We want to make sure every student has the opportunities to succeed as they look forward to their next phase of life, whether thats going into the workforce or a post-secondary education, Foley said.
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We can't leave; this is our home. We can't express an opinion with some family members because we'd get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didn't think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; it's a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where we're coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."

"Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie" is out now! Annie Lane's debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
The family of a 32-year-old climber who died in 2017 after falling hundreds of feet down Mount Hood and then waiting hours for a helicopter rescue has settled a lawsuit against Clackamas County for $25,000.

The family of John Thornton Jenkins had originally sought $10 million -- faulting the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and Clackamas County 911 for a series of missteps that the familys lawsuit says contributed to a more than four-hour wait before Jenkins was rescued off the mountain.

The suit had been scheduled to start trial Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court, but a settlement was reached in recent weeks.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a written statement this week that he hadnt wanted the county to settle even if it was for a nominal sum to avoid the costs of litigation.

Death is an inherent risk any climber takes, especially in an environment as dangerous as Mt. Hood, Roberts wrote. I was surprised and deeply disappointed to be sued by the deceaseds family after our search and rescue teams made every effort to save Mr. Jenkins' life. Tragedy can happen without fault.

Roberts said the settlement sets a troubling precedent for all Sheriffs Offices required by law to conduct search-and-rescue operations in their counties.

Roberts offered his condolences to Jenkins family.

The county, through its spokesman, also offered condolences.

This was a tragic accident and a reminder of the dangers of climbing Mount Hood or any of our iconic Cascade peaks, said county spokesman Tim Heider.

Jenkins, an experienced climber, tumbled about 600 feet from the area near the mountains summit at about 10:40 a.m. on May 7, 2017, according to the lawsuit and news reports at the time.

The lawsuit states that eight minutes later, another climber reached Jenkins and called 911 for help, but an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter didnt arrive until 3:11 p.m. As rescuers tried to secure Jenkins in a basket to lift him off the mountain, he stopped breathing, lost his pulse and ultimately was pronounced dead at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, according to the suit and news reports.

The lawsuit described an alleged bungled response to repeat calls for help -- stating that the first 911 caller was transferred by a dispatcher to the Sheriffs Office, which told the caller to contact Timberlines ski patrol. Thats even after being told Jenkins wasnt a skier and had fallen outside the ski area, according to the lawsuit.

The ski patrol called the countys 911 center, which again transferred the call to the sheriffs office, the suit states.

The helicopter was requested about 1 hour and 40 minutes after the initial 911 call, and arrived 2 hours and 40 minutes later, according to a timeline laid out in the lawsuit.

At approximately 11,239 feet, Mount Hood is Oregons most attempted climbing peak.

The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote extensively about the fall and rescue attempt.

Under the terms of the settlement, the county will make a $5,000 donation to Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer nonprofit search-and-rescue organization that responded to Jenkins fall. A team leader from the organization was by Jenkins side as he was loaded into the helicopter.

The settlement agreement also calls for more training and refined communication procedures for the countys emergency responders. Among those changes:

-- Sometime in the next year, the sheriffs office will hold a mountain search-and-rescue training conference dedicated to the memory of Jenkins. The conference will train the countys team members, along with other groups that respond to calls for rescue on Mount Hood.

-- Search and rescue coordinators with the sheriffs office shall be promptly notified of all search and rescue calls for help in their service area.

-- County officials will meet with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Portland Mountain Rescue, Timberline ski patrol and other groups to make sure everyone is familiar with best practices for requesting helicopter rescues on the mountain.

-- The county will create a plaque in memory of Jenkins and place it somewhere on county property.

Jenkins lived in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. He is survived by his two parents, who live in Kansas.

Jane Paulson, the Portland attorney representing Jenkins estate, said Jenkins family sued to determine what caused the delays and to prompt changes in the system.

This case has never been about money for the family, Paulson said in an email. Now that the county has agreed to make the necessary changes regarding how search and rescue operations are conducted, the familys goal of making Mt. Hood safer for others is complete and is the best method for the family to honor the memory of their son.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Menlo Park, CA, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young women in high school, community leaders and Silicon Valley executives had a lively discussion today about gender inequity in tech and how to inspire the next generation of women to lead the industry. The third annual Girls @ The Tech Luncheon by The Tech Museum of Innovation featured a lively discussion with Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo and Autodesk, and PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young, recently named one of Americas Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.



"Intelligence and hard work and talent are widely distributed, but (the tech industry) only looks like one type of person, Young said, encouraging young women to persist in their path to leadership. We are literally missing out on some of the smartest people in the world solving these problems. It is our responsibility to make sure more people pursue these careers.



"You have to get them started early and not be afraid of failure, Bartz told the parents in the room. What's a failure? A failure in one person's mind is success in another. Get rid of that criticism and fear.



Students from high schools across Silicon Valley attended the luncheon, a key event supporting The Techs initiatives to build a pipeline of young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Many were grateful to hear about some of the challenges and opportunities women encounter in these professional fields. Leonela Villalobos, a sophomore at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, said she felt inspired by the event to pursue a career in more male-dominated fields.



The best piece of advice was not to take criticism from people you wouldnt take advice from, Villalobos said. I think thats so important and hadnt thought about that before.



Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil also spoke about how young girls are leading the way in creating technology that will help humanity solve some its biggest challenges.



"The people who are going to solve these problems are the next generation, Patil told the young women in the room. We can set the framework. But you're going to be the ones developing genomic therapies, using data in dynamic ways and figuring out creative ways to make AI work for everyone."



The event also featured remarks from Jessica Garrison, technical marketing engineer at Juniper Networks; Gretchen Walker, vice president of learning at The Tech; and Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech.



I hope The Tech can be a place where young women can be inspired to look for problems to solve, be irreverent, be courageous, risk failure and be OK with asking for help, Ritchie said.



The Girls @ The Tech initiative launched in 2015 to build a pipeline of opportunities for girls that nurture their interest, boost their skills and solidify their confidence in STEM. The initiative supports a series of Girls Days @ The Tech that engage girls and their families in STEM activities and mentor them to pursue STEM careers; girls participation in the annual youth engineering program The Tech Challenge, which has a high percentage of female participants; and professional development for educators focused on inclusion and engineering design.



Girls @ The Tech is made possible by the generous support of The Junior League of Palo Alto - Mid Peninsula, Gilead, eBay, KLA Foundation, Milligan Family Foundation, NetApp, Arm, EY, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Hitachi Vantara, Intel, Trine Sorensen & Mike Jacobson, PayPal, United Airlines, Cisco Systems, Cooley, Dr. Myriam Curet, Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, Gregory P. Luth & Associates, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Marvell Semiconductor, Mayfield, Qualcomm, Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Silicon Valley Bank, Zoom, and additional assistance from Cushman Family Foundation, Mauria Finley and Greg Yap, Fossil Group, Bev Huss, Janie and Wayne Lambert and Cindy and Randy Pond.





About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum  located in the Capital of Silicon Valley  is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech for Global Good, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

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Controversial Judge Charles Bailey sent a blistering email lambasting a colleague that touched off what sources described as a courthouse investigation before he stepped down as Washington County Circuit Courts presiding judge.

Bailey criticized the character of Judge Eric Butterfield and copied the email to all 13 other Washington County judges.

A day earlier, Butterfield had put his name in the running to become the next presiding judge  an administrative leader whose duties include assigning cases to other judges.

In his email, Bailey implied that Butterfield was vindictive, lazy and shirked his workload in favor of riding his motorcycle. Bailey said he planned to tell the chief justice why you would be an absolute disaster as a presiding judge.

The Oregon Judicial Department released the email Friday after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The email illustrates what players in the justice system say is yearslong infighting and disagreement among members of the Washington County bench.

The email also depicts what many lawyers who have practiced in Baileys courtroom say is his abrasive style.

Two sources with knowledge of the inquiry told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Baileys email led at least one judge and possibly others to contact Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Lee Walters with concerns about Bailey. They said Walters in turn launched an investigation into Bailey. One source said every judge in the courthouse was questioned.

Bailey announced a week ago that he would resign as presiding judge, even though his term wasnt supposed to end for another eight months. His resignation from the leadership position becomes effective May 10. Bailey will remain a judge for the court and continue to hear cases.

In the email, sent in December, Bailey wrote he doubted Butterfield would be selected as his successor.

Even if you got it you wouldnt last more than a month before you would quit or make life difficult for everyone around you like you have done many times in the past, Bailey wrote.

Butterfield declined to comment on the email.

The history of what led Bailey to write the email isnt clear but he appeared to reference history with Butterfield.

You cant start something and quit it after a short period because it is too hard or too much work, Bailey wrote. ...You cant tell another judge to F off. ...You cant get to work just before your docket begins.

Bailey wouldnt comment publicly about why hes resigning from his presiding judge position, but the Judicial Department released his resignation letter Friday in response to the public records request. Bailey wrote in that letter that he believed the chief justice and other judges were discontent with him.

Although my time as the Presiding Judge in Washington County has been, for the most part, satisfying and productive during the last four plus years, over the last few months I have become unsatisfied with the work situation, Bailey wrote.

More importantly, I believe you and a few judges in Washington County are also not satisfied and have lost confidence in my ability to run the Washington County Court, he continued.

Bailey also implied that he felt closely watched by Walters, who appoints presiding judges in her role as chief justice.

(Y)ou deserve to have a Presiding judge that you have faith in and will not feel the need to micro-manage, Bailey wrote to her.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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UPDATED Nov. 8, 2019: Gerald Bruce Newman was convicted Thursday of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records. KPTV reports he was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

***

Clackamas County Sheriffs deputies have arrested a 59-year-old man on accusations that he tried to kill another man by shooting him in the chest in the parking lot of a bar in Boring on Friday night.

Deputies booked Gerald Bruce Newman into jail under accusations of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon at the Not So Boring Bar & Grill at 28014 S.E. Wally Road.

The victim was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for treatment, and his current condition isnt known, said a sheriffs spokesman in a news release Saturday morning. He is expected to survive his injuries. Authorities identified him as Dustin Schaffer.

Gerald Bruce Newman, 59, is accused of attempted murder stemming from a shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019, at a bar in Boring. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office).

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019. (CCSO)

Deputies were called to respond to a possible fight at the bar at about 11 p.m. Deputies then received more information that a man had been shot.

Upon arrival, deputies detained Newman without incident, according to the news release. They also confiscated a pistol as evidence.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Police on Friday said they no longer consider the death of a man found collapsed in the doorway of his Northwest Portland home to be suspicious.

They received the results of an autopsy and would release nothing further, they said in a statement. They didnt disclose what the autopsy revealed and a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiners Office referred questions to police.

Police responded Saturday morning to reports of a person stabbed with a weapon in the 9900 block of Northwest Hoge Avenue in the Linnton neighborhood, dispatch records show.

A pair of mail carriers found the man unconscious and covered in blood in the doorway of his home just before 10 a.m., neighbor Catherine Magasich told KATU News.

Homicide detectives completed an on-scene investigation that day. Police provided no additional information afterward, leaving those living in the area rattled and wondering how their neighbor died and whether there was an ongoing public safety threat.

Neighbors and the deceased mans employer identified him as 53-year-old Jon Kennith Ford. He had worked at Bridge City Steel on Northwest St. Helens Road since 2006, owner Chris Gaylord said.

He was our best employee ever, Gaylord said. He never missed a day of work. Never once.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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The Oregonian/OregonLives examination of medical decisions for Derrick Dahl led the newsroom to compile basic background material on Alternative Services-Oregon, the nonprofit operating the group home where Dahl receives care.

The search revealed an interweaving of family and financial interests within a nonprofit that gets $17 million a year from the state to care for adults with developmental disabilities.

Five relatives of Alternative Services executive director have worked for or contracted with the nonprofit, publicly available records show. Two board members personally own properties that they lease to the nonprofit.

The arrangements are not illegal, according to an expert in nonprofit tax law. But they do sound like potential conflicts of interest to me, said Sen. Sara Gelser, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Human Services.

Alternative Services officials said the nonprofits board ensured all individuals who benefited from hiring or rental decisions were walled off from participating in them. Company officials said all family members were highly qualified for their jobs.

Gelser predicated her comments by saying she doesnt know full details about Alternative Services. Gelser also said its common for family members to become passionate about developmental disability causes.

But Gelser said the amount of money flowing from Alternative Services to the same family raises a number of questions. Gelser added that board members ethically should not financially benefit from their own nonprofits by decisions that were made when they were on the board, even if they recused themselves from a vote.

Gelser said she believes the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section should review the matter.

The information is very concerning, said Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat. I think somebody should be looking into it.

After this story published online Saturday, state officials announced that the Department of Justice had recently taken an informal look into the nonprofits arrangements and did not indicate any specific concerns.

Alternative Services operates 37 adult group homes statewide under its contract with Oregons Department of Human Services. Their capacity is about 150 residents. The state pays Alternative Services for the cost of providing care to individuals. But it does not not cover room and board, which is typically paid to a group home through an individuals supplemental security income.

Tax filings for 2012 through 2016 cumulatively show Alternative Services paid a total of $2.4 million to family members of Pat Allen-Sleeman, the nonprofits longtime executive director. Her husband Scott, the clinical director, received compensation averaging $200,000 annually. Two daughters and a son worked in roles with compensation ranging from about $45,000 to $90,000 a year. A company run by Allen-Sleemans son-in-law was awarded $825,000 in construction contracts over the five years.

Thomas DLuge, Alternative Services board secretary since 1989, said the construction work was board-approved and covered major renovations. DLuge said Scott Sleeman worked at the nonprofit before the couple married and his salary is set by the board. Neither played roles hiring their children, reviewing their performance or setting their compensation, DLuge said.

All have college degrees, and a relative has a developmental disability, DLuge said. Family is held to a higher standard than other employees, he said, adding: It is unlikely that any candidate for any position held by one of Pat or Scotts family is more qualified.

DLuge and his wife, meanwhile, purchased a Portland home that the nonprofit leases for its clients who are developmentally disabled.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services approached the nonprofit two decades ago to see if it could buy homes to expand services, DLuge said.

But Alternative Services had trouble finding landlords willing to lease suitable properties for use as group homes, DLuge said. The nonprofit also found itself unable to secure financing in those years, DLuge said.

In 1998, the people who owned one of the homes Alternative Services leased wanted to sell. DLuge said he and his wife bought it to keep residents from having to move.

Alternative Services board approved the new lease with DLuge without his involvement, Allen-Sleeman said. DLuge said hes never increased Alternative Services rent.

Records show DLuge received $25,005 from Alternative Services in lease payments for the 2012 tax year. DLuge said he didnt know why subsequent tax filings dont disclose the payments.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services, also bought property in Portland between 1997 and 1999 that the nonprofit leases.

DLuge said that like him, Mack has never raised the rent on the three homes and Alternative Services board approved the leases without Macks involvement.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services-Oregon, personally owns three homes that he leases to the nonprofit. This is one in east Portland. Mack reported receiving $76,800 from the nonprofit for the leases in the 2012 tax year.

Records show Mack received $76,800 from Alternative Services in lease payments for three homes for the 2012 tax year. Payments are not disclosed in subsequent tax years.

DLuge said his mortgage is paid off, and property records say Macks were scheduled to be paid off last year.

DLuges property is now worth $438,000, or about $228,000 more than its purchase price, property records show. Macks three properties are valued at nearly $1.4 million combined, or about $805,000 above their purchase prices, according to records.

DLuge said he has spoken with a board member about offering the home he and his wife own to Alternative Services at a significantly reduced price when they decide to sell. Mack declined to respond to written questions.

The nonprofits board has a conflict of interest policy, according to tax filings. The policy says that when board members do business with people affiliated with the nonprofit, they should exercise due diligence and see if a better deal is available. If its not, the policy says, members should vote on whether the arrangement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Alternative Services.

As long as Alternative Services followed its conflict of interest policy at the time and paid fair market rent, Mack, DLuge and the rest of the board have likely satisfied their legal fiduciary duties and met relevant tax law requirements, said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at Notre Dame and an expert in nonprofit tax requirements.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services say they are not concerned by Alternative Services hiring practices or lease arrangements. In fact, property records show the state long ago gave Mack forgivable loans to make safety improvements at some properties.

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt
A Portland State University Board of Trustees committee voted Friday to consider increasing student tuition by 11 percent and cut about $10 million from its academic and student support budgets.

The full university board is scheduled to vote May 13 on the proposal.

The university outlined the proposal Friday in a news release, which stated the moves would be necessary unless state lawmakers set aside more funding for higher education. The proposals would be necessary to address cost increases totaling $18.6 million, according to Kevin Reynolds the universitys vice president of finance and administration

We need a commitment of additional revenue support from the state to cover significant cost increases, particularly those that arise as a result of the underfunded Public Employee Retirement System, Reynolds said. Otherwise, we will need to make another painful round of reductions and require that PSU students  58 percent of whom are on financial aid  will have to face a double-digit tuition increase.

Even if the PSU board approves the proposal, it would need the nod from Oregons Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The commission must approve any public university tuition increase of more than 5 percent.

Oregon lawmakers proposed to fund universities at roughly 5 percent above the governors flat-line budget as part of a broad spending outline released in early March. But university leaders from across the state have said that $777 million proposal wont be enough.

Oregon State Universitys board of trustees voted in early April to increase tuition by 4.29 percent for full-time Oregon resident undergraduates. The tuition hike also could be paired with a decrease in spending.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill said in early March that he plans $11 million in budget cuts to address a $12.9 million budget shortfall next year. He said he would also consider layoffs and a tuition increase if state lawmakers dont come through with more funding.
A Salem man was sentenced to more than six years in prison and a permanent revocation of his drivers license Thursday after driving drunk last July in Beaverton and causing a crash that killed his passenger.

Jonathan Guzman, 22, pleaded guilty April 19 in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants related to a July 2018 crash that killed 36-year-old Ariana Salgado-Guadarrama.

A judge sentenced Guzman on Thursday to six years and three months in prison, ordered his license be revoked for life and that he pay nearly $16,000 in restitution and fines. Guzman had no prior criminal history, according to Oregon court records.

A 2018 photo shows the aftermath of a crash in Beaverton which led to the death of a car passenger and the arrest of the driver. (Beaverton Police Department)

Prosecutors said Guzman was driving about 100 mph around 2:50 a.m. when he crashed into a light pole and tree along Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Several beer cans were found near the crash, and Guzmans blood alcohol level was found to be 0.16 percent, twice the state legal limit.

Beaverton police said at the time of the crash that the impact caused the engine of Guzmans Mazda M3 to be separated from the rest of the car and slide across several traffic lanes.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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TORONTO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MTC Growth Fund-I Inc. (MTC or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding letter agreements (collectively, the Letter Agreements) with: (i) shareholders of Medic Plast S.A. (Medic Plast or MP), a Uruguayan entity engaged in the pharmaceutical and medical device business, and Yurelan S.A. (Y), a Uruguayan entity engaged in an agricultural related business, to acquire MP and Y in exchange for common shares of MTC (the Resulting Issuer Shares) as it exists after the completion of the RTO (as hereinafter defined) (the Resulting Issuer); and (ii) Ramm Pharma Corp. (Ramm), a private Ontario company, and creditor to MP and Y, pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTC (Subco) will amalgamate with Ramm (the Amalgamation) on the terms and conditions of an amalgamation agreement to be entered into among MTC, Subco and Ramm.

Medic Plast is a leader in the field of cannabinoid pharmacology and product formulation for cannabis-based pharmaceuticals and other cannabis-based products. Founded in 1988 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Medic Plast is a well established pharmaceutical and medical product business and amongst the first and only companies in the world to have developed medically registered and approved plant derived cannabinoid pharmaceutical products. Medic Plast currently has multiple approved and registered products that have been authorized for sale in several Latin American countries, as well as a robust pipeline of new products in various stages of approval and development. Medic Plast is also in the process of finalizing a state of the art GMP certified cannabis extraction and formulation facility. With Yurelans large scale cultivation facility, the combined operations are expected to provide for complete vertical integration. Further to its industry leading activities in the cannabis sector, Medic Plast operates a successful pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical product development and medical services business which has been servicing the local market for 30 years.

We are very pleased to announce our plans to go public which marks an important milestone for our company. Years of global research, drug development, and physician education have positioned Medic Plast as a leader in the field of cannabis-derived prescription drugs and products, stated Armando Blankleider, President of Medic Plast. The company is comprised of industry leading experts and is backed by some of the most successful pioneers in the cannabis sector. The public listing and capital raised will help to accelerate our growth strategy as we continue to expand our distribution to meet the extensive and growing demand for cannabinoid-based prescription drugs and products globally.

The Letter Agreements outline the general terms and conditions pursuant to which the Corporation, MP, Y, and Ramm have agreed to complete a series of transactions (collectively, the RTO) that will result in a reverse take-over of the Corporation by the shareholders of MP and Y, and the shareholders Ramm, and holders of convertible debentures of Ramm (the Convertible Debentures). On completion of the RTO, each of MP, Y, and the entity resulting from the Amalgamation will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Resulting Issuer, and the Resulting Issuer will focus on the current business and affairs of MP and Y. The Letter Agreements were negotiated at arms length.

Completion of the RTO is conditional on the Corporation reorganizing from an investment fund issuer to a corporate issuer, effecting a subdivision (the Stock Split) of its issued and outstanding shares on the basis of 4.76648 new Resulting Issuer Shares for each one (1) MTC Share (as hereinafter defined), and the filing of articles of amendment to: (a) change the Corporations authorized capital to an unlimited number of common shares; and (b) change and reclassify all of its issued and outstanding redeemable shares into common shares (collectively, the Corporate Reorganization). The Corporate Reorganization must be approved by not less than 66% of the votes cast by holders of redeemable shares of MTC at a meeting of shareholders. It is expected that the Corporation will call and convene an annual and special meeting of the holders of its redeemable shares to approve, among other items, the Corporate Reorganization.

Concurrent Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that Ramm will complete a non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$1.35 per Subscription Receipt (the Issue Price). Each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration, one (1) common share of Ramm (an Underlying Share) upon satisfaction or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions (as hereinafter defined), with each Underlying Share to be exchanged, without further consideration, for one Resulting Issuer Share upon the completion of the RTO. MTC may sell subscription receipts having similar economic terms to the Subscription Receipts except that on conversion a holder will receive Resulting Issuer Shares (the MTC Subscription Receipts) in connection with the RTO. The sale of Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts are anticipated to raise aggregate gross proceeds of at least C$24,000,000 (collectively, the Offering).

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts and the MTC Subscription Receipts will be held in escrow (the Escrowed Proceeds) by an escrow agent acceptable to Ramm and MTC (the Escrow Agent) (the Escrowed Proceeds, together with any interest and other income earned pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, are referred to as the Escrowed Funds). The Escrowed Funds will be released from escrow to Ramm or MTC, respectively, upon the satisfaction of conditions which include the following (the Escrow Release Conditions) on or prior to September 30, 2019 (subject to extension to no later than October 31, 2019) (the Escrow Deadline): (a) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the completion of the RTO, including, without limitation, the conditional approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the Exchange) for the RTO; (b) shareholder approval of the Corporate Reorganization; and (c) Ramm or MTC, as applicable, having delivered a direction to the Escrow Agent confirming that the conditions set forth above have been met or waived.

If (i) the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before the Escrow Deadline, or (ii) prior to the Escrow Deadline Ramm or MTC, as applicable, announces to the public that it does not intend to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, the Escrowed Funds shall be returned to the holders of the Subscription Receipts or MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, on a pro rata basis and the Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, will be cancelled without any further action on the part of the holders.

In connection with the Offering, a cash finders fee of 6.0% of the gross proceeds sold by each finder may be paid, and common share purchase warrants (the Finder Warrants) representing 6.0% of the number of Underlying Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Subscription Receipts (or Resulting Issuer Shares issuable upon conversion of the MTC Subscription Receipts) sold by each finder may be issued, to qualified finders. Each Finder Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Underlying Share or one (1) Resulting Issuer Share, as applicable, at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months after the completion of the RTO.

Terms of the RTO

In connection with the RTO, MTC will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of MP and Y in exchange for an aggregate of 59,820,000 common shares of MTC (the MTC Shares) on a post-Stock Split basis, and then complete the Amalgamation. Under the Amalgamation, the name of MTC will be changed to Ramm Pharma Corp..

Following the RTO, an aggregate of 750,000 Resulting Issuer Shares will be held by the former holders of MTC Shares. After conversion of Convertible Debentures, Ramm will have an aggregate of 14,000,000 common shares outstanding which will be exchanged for Resulting Issuer Shares in connection with completion of the Amalgamation on a one-for-one basis.

Upon completion of the RTO, and assuming that the Offering results in the issuance of C$24,000,000 of Subscription Receipts, it is expected that, on a non-diluted basis, the current shareholders of MTC will hold approximately 0.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, purchasers in the Offering and holders of common shares of Ramm and Convertible Debentures will hold, in the aggregate, approximately 34.4% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, and the former shareholders of MP and Y will hold, collectively, approximately 64.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares.

Insiders, Officers and Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer

Upon completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of five directors. It is expected that Jack Burnett will serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Resulting Issuer.

Set out below are the names and backgrounds of all persons who are currently expected to be considered insiders of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the RTO.

Jack Burnett  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a Director

Mr. Burnett is a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years experience in capital markets and international corporate leadership roles. Mr. Burnett has led companies from inception to acquisition in multiple industries including real estate, insurance and telecom. His deep global business relationships span both private and public markets where he has been a director, officer and majority shareholder of successful multinational companies.

Dr. Armando Blankleider  Director

Dr. Blankleider is a Medical Doctor and the founder and President of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider has directly led Medic Plasts initiatives for the design and introduction of new products, as well as the design and monitoring of teams for the development of production processes and the general management of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider also has a depth of experience in Quality Management ISO Standards, has acted as a delegate to develop the Rules of Good Manufacturing Practices for medical products for the private sector within the MERCOSUR and is an active participant in international conferences for the medical and pharmaceutical products industry globally.

Daniel Augereau  Director

Mr. Augereau is a seasoned executive who has held senior leadership and board-level positions at companies spanning a diverse mix of industries over a 50+ year career. Since 2005, Mr. Augereau has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Synergie SA (Euronext: SDG), the French leader of temporary work and human resources management services for the industrial, tertiary, logistics, medical, building and public works sectors.

Conditions to RTO

The RTO is subject to receipt of the required regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, the approval of the Exchange, the execution of definitive documents giving effect to the RTO, and standard closing conditions. In addition, the RTO is subject to customary conditions including, without limitation, the following:

Each of MTC, MP, Y, Ramm and Subco will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the RTO.



MTC will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving, among other matters: (i) the Corporate Reorganization; and (ii) the approval of the RTO, if required by the Exchange.



Minimum gross proceeds of C$24,000,000 are raised pursuant to the Offering.

The ultimate legal structure for the RTO will be determined after the parties have considered all applicable tax, securities law, and accounting efficiencies and may change from what is described in this news release.

About MTC

The Corporation is an un-listed Canadian mutual fund corporation that was established under the laws of the Province of Ontario by a declaration of trust dated October 1988, with its registered and head office in Toronto, Ontario. MTC and is a reporting issuer within the meaning of the Securities Act (Alberta), Securities Act (Ontario) and Securities Act (Quebec).

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the proposed RTO; the terms and conditions of the proposed Offering; the ability of MTC to complete the RTO and the ability of Ramm to complete the Offering, respectively, on the terms described herein or at all; use of funds; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed RTO. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, neither MTC, MP, Y nor Ramm assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

For further information please contact:

MTC Growth Fund-I Inc.

Joseph Chiummiento

Tel: 905.851.8180
The Kirtland's warbler -- one of the rarest nesting migratory songbirds in the United States and Canada -- now has additional support, thanks to the establishment of an avian ecologist position geared to executing conservation activities on the bird's wintering grounds in The Bahamas. Scientist Bradley Watson has been hired by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) as part of the plan to keep the Kirtland's warbler population growing after its expected removal from the U.S. endangered species list this spring.

Watson, who is Bahamian, holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, along with a bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston. Prior to accepting the new position, Watson worked with the Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation. He has contributed to multiple studies on terrestrial ecology, while his graduate research focused on carbon sequestration in prairie systems.
McLaren Bay Region on Thursday recognized several nurses for exemplifying excellence in nursing during the 14th Annual McLaren Bay Region Nursing Excellence Awards.

"The Nursing Excellence recipients are nominated by their peers based on professionalism, excellence in nursing practice, education, leadership and community involvement," said Sandy Garzell, McLaren Bay Region director of Quality Improvement and Organizational Excellence. "They advocate for patients and families to provide a holistic plan of care."

Awards are given to individuals who regularly assist with process changes, education and teamwork within their departments to continually improve the care provided to patients.

The 2019 award recipients are:

 Brooke Getty, RN - Nursing Excellence. Getty has been a registered nurse for 12 years, and has earned her Clinical Ladder IV achievement. She works in the emergency department and is a member of the Nursing Practice Council and serves as a member of the stroke workgroup at McLaren Bay Region. Getty is known as a team leader within her department as she works to provide evidence-based care to her patients.

 Lisa Kukla, RN - Nursing Excellence. Kukla has worked at McLaren Bay Region for over 27 years after obtaining her BSN degree in 1993, and has achieved Clinical Ladder IV status. She works in the OB/women's health department, and her commitment to quality care is evident by her active participation in Michigan Hospital Association/Keystone Obstetrics. Kukla is known for her passion for nursing care changes that lead to improved patient care outcomes.

 Charlene Mayotte, RN - Nursing Excellence. Mayotte has been with McLaren Bay Region for over 40 years, where she has worked in neurology/urology, inpatient rehab and as a case manager. She is the first person nurses go to for the latest evidence-based information and is well respected by the medical staff. Mayotte is known as a caring, compassionate nurse who regularly advocates on behalf of her patients.

 Adam Kusz, Certified Surgical Tech - Nursing Support Excellence. Kusz has been on the McLaren Bay Region team since 2007 and works in the operating room. As a member of a unit-based team, he gives regular input on work flows to improve efficiency. Kusz is known for being a knowledgeable team player with a solid work ethic who is well respected by physicians and staff.

"We have a team of exceptional nurses and nursing support staff, and we celebrate their dedication all year long," said McLaren Bay Region Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Talbott. "We are proud to host this special event during Nurses' Week to highlight a few individuals who were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond."
Just as ripples may start small, but continue to expand, the Midland 100 Club has positively affected the community for the past decade. The group's generosity has helped students, the arts community, those with disabilities, foster kids, shelter animals and countless other lives. The club celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday night at Midland Center for the Arts.

"It's not a social club. It's a get-it-done club," stated member Julie Nunn, also the executive director of Cancer Services.

Midlander Bobbie Arnold developed the idea in 2009 after attending a party in Albion. At that time, societies were still dealing with the effects of the Great Recession in 2008.

"All the women were talking about the ability to get together as a community and put together 100 women, each willing to give $100 four times a year. The impact on the community would be amazing if we could do that," Arnold said.

The first meeting of the Midland 100 Club was held at Emerson Park. Since then, membership has expanded from 10 to 476 ladies. The group moved its location to Midland Center for the Arts, initially meeting in the Lecture Room, then moving to the Founder's Room and now to the Auditorium lobby due to the ever-increasing membership. Its next meeting will take place in the Little Theater.

"Here's the challenge: let's outgrow that. And then we have the 1,500 seat auditorium," Volunteer Chair Tina Van Dam addressed the club.

Membership is open to any woman who is able to give $300 annually. The club meets three times a year, in January, May and September. Each meeting is run like clockwork due to the efforts of Van Dam, and lasts only an hour.

"The very best thing that happened to the club was Tina Van Dam. She is truly the heart and soul of the Midland 100 Club," Arnold said.

Six local organizations get a chance to speak at the meetings, each for no more than five minutes. The first four are nominated by members to present while the other two are those who received funds from the last meeting. Over the past 10 years, the Midland 100 Club has given $835,420 in cash contributions, including matching grants, to 47 organizations, according to Van Dam.

"One of the things that's hard is there are so many great organizations in this community that you can't go wrong pulling any name," observed member Jennifer Heronema, president and CEO of the Legacy Center for Community Success.

To be eligible to receive funding, an organization is required to have a current and valid 501(c)3 designation, be located in the Great Lakes Bay Region and benefit Midland County. No political or religious groups are eligible. A group may be qualified to receive additional funding after three years; there have been a handful of local groups who have received support more than once.

One of those groups is Cancer Services. Started in 1948, its goal is to provide support to cancer patients and caregivers in terms of their physical, financial, emotional and spiritual needs.

"Most of our clients are with us for about a year. Some stay and just do monthly support groups," Nunn said. "We don't take a penny for anything that we do."

The Midland 100 Club first helped Cancer Services in May 2014 by giving $12,250, which helped provide over 41,000 miles of transportation for cancer patients. Cancer Services then received $18,500 in September 2017. This time, the finances purchased wood, propane and covered Consumers Energy heating bills for 63 families.

"We were fortunate. It felt like we were just eligible and then we were picked again," Nunn said.

The following May, the Midland 100 Club gave $19,700 to Fostering Hope in Michigan, formerly known as Royal Family Kids and Teen Reach of Mid-Michigan. Founded in 1995, the organization serves foster children through camps and mentoring services. Fostering Hope used the donation to fund a year of monthly Teen Mentoring Club meetings as well as two Teen Reach Adventure Camps where teenagers learn how to respond to life's challenges in a positive way.

"All of our campers and mentees attend our programs free of charge to the child/teen, their families, and the Department of Health and Human Services," explained Fostering Hope Board Chair Bill Clarkson. "The funds provided 'camperships' (scholarships for room, board and supplies), and funded activities such as our challenge course, zip line, and climbing wall experiences."

Clarkson has seen the camps' attendance double as well as the individual growth in campers; one camper with unique needs transformed into a positive role model for the rest of the participants.

At the following Midland 100 Club meeting in September 2018, one of the recipient organizations was the Legacy Center, which received $23,000 to support the Barton Reading and Spelling System. With Barton, pupils with dyslexia who are at least one grade level below where they should be receive one-on-one tutoring.

"Just being honored by that group with that much money at one time, you're just in awe for two or three days," stated Director of Student Reading Programs Kristi Kline.

"It was like we won the lottery," Heronema added.

Unlike most of the Legacy Center's programs, the Barton System doesn't have a steady funding source and must raise its own money. Due to the financial contribution, Barton served 140 to 150 people -- a record breaker for the Legacy Center -- and the staff was able to concentrate on other matters that needed attention.

"It just takes a lot of the pressure off," Kline said.

On Wednesday night, the Midland 100 Club met for its May meeting, but time was allowed to celebrate the group's accomplishments and acknowledge Midland's continuous support.

"If it's a good project, they find a way to get it done. It's an incredible community," Arnold said.

Both Arnold and Van Dam hope to see more growth in the club's future -- including younger members -- and are eager to increase their impact in Midland. Van Dam gave a virtual toast to the members at the end of the meeting before they withdrew to the reception.

"May your generous and kind heart reflect the better community we continue to build together," she said.

Those interested in joining Midland 100 Club can email midland100club@hotmail.com.
HUDSON, N.H., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GT Advanced Technologies Inc., the parent of GTAT Corporation (collectively, Company), has entered into a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to an investigation into events leading up to the Companys bankruptcy filing in 2014. The Company welcomes the conclusion of this matter which allows it to focus its efforts on its ongoing business.



Michele Rayos, who became the Companys Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in November of 2017, said that the Company is committed to operating its business with the upmost integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those relating to record keeping and financial reporting. We have implemented and continue to review our internal controls to ensure best practices in this area. Greg Knight, who became the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer in September of 2016 after its emergence from bankruptcy earlier that year, stated that we are pleased to have the investigation behind us, allowing us to focus all our efforts into expanding the availability and use of silicon carbide and sapphire into current and future markets. Our technical expertise in crystal growth technologies enables us to be a game changer in advanced materials and we are dedicated to continually improving our products while exploring new opportunities. We believe that we will make a difference in the markets that we serve.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is a privately held company. Its current shareholders are private equity firms and financial institutions, most of which were former creditors in the bankruptcy.



About GTAT Corporation
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sunday, May 5, the Fraser Institute will release the Report Card on Ontarios Secondary Schools 2019, the go-to source for measuring school improvement.



It offers parents information they cant easily get anywhere else by showing which Ontario secondary schools have improved or fallen behind, based on indicators derived from provincewide test results.

A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on May 5 at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

The complete results for all 738 secondary schools will also be available at www.compareschoolrankings.org .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela MacLeod

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duncan Park Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (TSXV: DPH) announced today that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") has approved its previously announced application to voluntarily delist (the "Delisting") its common shares from the TSXV. Delisting will be effective at the close of business on May 10, 2019 with trading on the TSXV to end as of the close of trading on that day.



Shareholders should refer to the Company's press release dated April 29, 2019 for an explanation of certain consequences of the Delisting and other related matters.

For further information, please contact:

David Shaddrick

Acting President and CEO

Duncan Park Holdings Corporation

Tel: (775) 746-2071

david@duncanpark.com

www.duncanpark.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 release.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Thursday, May 2

10:37 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 7000 block of Eastman Avenue.

9:53 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to Lee Township for a cow in the roadway. Deputies made contact with a man who said he was the owner of the cow. He transported the cow back onto his property, and refused to give any further information.

9:23 p.m. -- A 43-year-old Colorado man was arrested for a child support warrant following a traffic stop conducted in Jerome Township.

3:15 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Wackerly Street.

2:31 p.m. -- Officers responded to a retail fraud in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

1:41 p.m. -- A Larkin Township homeowner discovered an injured deer on their property and called 9-1-1. A deputy arrived and determined the injury was related to a car crash. The deer was put down, and Central Dispatch located an individual who would come pick up the deer.

12:12 p.m. -- A 38-year-old Shepherd man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Geneva Township. The man was stopped for a driving violation. He was cited for no insurance. The man's vehicle was towed by Coles Towing. The passenger was released to a friend who arrived on scene.

11:21 a.m. -- A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Mount Haley Township.

10:05 p.m. -- Officers responded to a crash resulting in property damage in the area of East Park Street and Sayre Street.

9:36 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a possible drug overdose at a location in Warren Township. Deputies made contact with a 48-year-old man and his 41-year-old wife at MidMichigan Medical Center in reference to their 18-year-old son who had overdosed. Deputies made contact with the son and completed a mental health petition. His parents planned on staying with him at MidMichigan Medical Center.

8:37 a.m. -- Deputies responded to a failure to pay for $53 in gas from a Warren Township service station. No license plate information was obtained. The vehicle was identified as dark SUV last seen heading west.

2:36 a.m. -- Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and Oakhaven Court.

12:40 a.m. -- A deputy struck a deer with his vehicle in Larkin Township.

12:09 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to an Ingersoll Township home for a possible breaking and entering in progress. The 22- and 27-year-old female residents said they heard some odd noises outside, and thought someone was attempting to gain entry. The deputies checked the area and the home, but did not find any evidence of an intruder or trespasser.
To the editor:

Noah Webster said in 1832, "The principles of all genuine liberty and wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man or woman who weakens or destroys the divine authority may be accessory to all public disorder which society is doomed to suffer."

George Washington said, " It is impossible to rightly govern the world without the Bible and God."

Our nation is reaping the consequences of ignoring their wise counsel and principles. Today religion, especially Christianity, is viewed as anathema by government, most of the media and the courts. Legislation seeks to isolate and cripple Christian influence. The result is moral chaos.

For example, about 50-60 years ago, when the Bible and prayer were still welcome in our education system, the major problems in school were: talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of line, wearing improper clothing.

But our government took a stance against the Word of God, and took the Bible and prayer out of schools. As a result, today's problems in our schools, and society in general, are: profanity, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, assault, murder, rape, suicide.

At Colorado Mesa University, Karissa Langner planned to tell classmates a humorous story about her nursing school experience, then briefly talk about overcoming adversity and acknowledge the role faith plays in her life. One school official said that speeches should be free of any one religious slant, and another threatened her with "repercussions" if she refused to change her speech. Karissa contacted Alliance Defending Freedom, and they took swift action, making sure that the school knew that censoring her speech was unconstitutional. As a result, the university changed its stance.

This issue was recently highlighted by President Trump, when he signed an executive order stating that public colleges and universities will lose federal research funds if they violate students' rights to free speech.

Taxpayer-funded colleges and universities will, without consequences, continue to trample on Christian students' rights, unless we all join together to fight the censorship and persecution.

LARRY ADAMCIK

Midland
To the editor:

The Midland Daily News website published an article called Social media: How good is this really for us? on March 17. It is wonderful to see mental health and the impact technology can have on us being talked about.

Tatiana Flowers brought up multiple important points, such as how there is a correlation between anxiety and social media, how people arent gaining valuable social skills, and also how technology may be becoming an addiction. There has even been talk about adding a form of technology/internet addiction to an updated Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM).

It is important to raise awareness about mental health and work to erase the stigmas associated with mental illness. Our community can create a positive change by talking about mental health and illnesses. People can also take steps to improve their own mental health by exercising, eating right, getting enough sleep, having a positive cognitive mindset, and promoting a good self-care routine.

Many people do not realize how seriously we should take our mental health, as it can have an even stronger impact on our lives than some physical ailments. We need to be more aware of who is vulnerable to the negative impacts of technology. Teachers, parents, and guidance counselors can help children by discussing how to use social media positively. By teaching humankind to care about their mental health, we give it value and can help break down some of the stigmas associated with mental illnesses.

MEGAN HERRON

Midland
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy. High 66F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA)  The terrorist organisation, Daesh, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a barrack that accommodates the Battalion 160 under the general commandment of the Libyan National Army in the city of Sebha (800 kilometers south of Tripoli), which left 9 dead
Paris, France (PANA) - The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored the violence that engulfed Benin's political circle after the parliamentary elections and regretted that the vote, which took place last Sunday, was not "inclusive and competitive "
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Deadlock seems to prevail in this deadly war that broke out since 4 April to conquer Tripoli, getting stuck as significant progress has not been made on the ground while the differences between countries involved in the Libyan issue have increased this blockade, whose double military and political effect reveals the tragedy suffered by civilians, the first victims of these clashes
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal's Minister of Culture and Communication Abdoulaye Diop on Friday highlighted the harm caused by social networks, and urged journalists to be vigilant and rigorous to safeguard the image of their profession
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - A three-day workshop to Validate Report on the Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming and Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the ECOWAS region, ended in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, with the validation of the Report and wide ranging recommendations, including a call on all EMBs to set up Gender Units
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington cellphone store was robbed at gunpoint Friday night, police said. No one was injured.

Officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to Boost Mobile, 603 S. Center St., just south of downtown Bloomington.

An employee described the robbers as three men wearing masks and said two of them displayed guns.

An undisclosed number of phones were taken from the store and the suspects fled in an unknown vehicle, police said Saturday.

No injuries were reported. Further details, including descriptions of the suspects, were not available Saturday.

This was the third armed robbery reported in Bloomington in the last month and the eighth in the Twin Cities this year.

In the two most recent business robberies, which involved Six Points Food and Liquor and Subway, two suspects were reported. Fridays was the first to involve three people.

Bloomington police have not indicated the robberies were connected, but after Six Points was robbed Monday, Public Affairs Officer John Fermon said the department is considering all possibilities in the investigations.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BLOOMINGTON  A newly-formed jury in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial went home without reaching a verdict Friday four hours after they were forced to restart deliberations because a juror was dismissed for violating a court rule.

Zimmerman is accused of killing his ex-wife, Pam Zimmerman, who was found dead with four gunshot wounds in her east-side Bloomington office on Nov. 4, 2014.

A woman was removed from the panel before lunch after she admitted she read a story in The Pantagraph two days ago. Jurors are barred from reading or viewing media accounts of the proceedings.

A male juror reported unspecified misconduct in a note to Judge Scott Drazewski. When called into the courtroom, the juror said the woman had disclosed reading the paper during a discussion of the spelling of a witness name.

Every day since the trial opened April 1, Drazewski has required jurors to sign a statement confirming their compliance with the order. All jurors have signed the form.

In her meeting with the judge and lawyers, the woman said she reads The Pantagraph daily for obituaries and the Dear Abby column. The woman acknowledged she read a story two days ago in The Pantagraph to determine the spelling of the name of witness Merrie Seip, who testified she heard what she thought was gunfire on Nov. 3 as she sat with a client in her counseling office near Pam Zimmerman's office at 2103 E. Washington St., Bloomington.

The article, she said, was the only time she strayed from the judges order.

The jurors admission spurred a request for a mistrial from defense lawyer John Rogers who argued the juror may have shared with other jurors additional information from Pantagraph coverage of the trial. The stories, he said, have included material from pre-trial hearings.

The judge denied the motion.

The first alternate juror, also a woman, became part of the jury before talks started over at 2 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, jurors requested video and documents to review during their second day of deliberations.

Drazewski granted their requests to see three video clips of Zimmermans visit to the Four Seasons health club on Nov. 3, 2014.

The judge also allowed jurors to see cell tower mapping from an expert who traced Zimmermans travel around Bloomington, and a trip he allegedly made to Indiana. A digital timeline of the defendants use of electronic devices also was provided. The exhibits were removed from the jury room when the deliberations started over but returned after the jury made a second request after all 12 jurors were involved in deliberations.

The new jury also asked to see the phone records of Scott Baldwin, the victim's fiance, and several satellite images of the parking lots area outside the victim's office and the location of several items from the victim's office located by police near Robinson Street.

The jury will not see a sample kit police use to collect gunshot residue from the potential evidence.

The jury deliberated about two hours late Thursday afternoon before going home and returning Friday morning to the Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington. The panel will resume talks Monday morning.

Photos: Closing arguments in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial
BLOOMINGTON  Several Central Illinois residents approved to use medical marijuana favor legalization of adult recreational cannabis, arguing it would give people another way to deal with diagnosed or un-diagnosed health problems.

But the medical community urges caution.

"It's about giving people another option in addition to pharmaceuticals," said Tyler Jon Hargis, 27, of Bloomington, a marijuana advocate and member of the Central Illinois Cannabis Community (CICC). "If cannabis can provide people with a helping hand, it's worth it."

Legalization of recreational marijuana is being considered by state legislators and has support from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It would allow legal access for people with un-diagnosed issues  such as sleepless nights or anxiety  who could benefit from marijuana, said Eric Chance of East Peoria, also a CICC member.

"We don't view cannabis as a cure-all," said Chance, 36. "But it definitely helps alleviate some symptoms. People need to find out what works for them."

But Dr. Paul Pedersen, vice president and chief medical officer of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center and an internal medicine physician in Bloomington, is concerned about reports of increases in traffic crashes in Colorado related to marijuanas use and reports of people with psychosis (disconnection from reality) coming to emergency departments after ingesting the drug.

He also is concerned about legalization of recreational marijuana exposing more children and teens to cannabis. "Certainly, nobody in our state is interested in having our children exposed," Pedersen said.

Illinois allows patients diagnosed with 40 debilitating conditions to be eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card. Conditions include HIV/AIDS, cancer, Crohn's disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), rheumatoid arthritis and seizures.

From Sept. 2, 2014, when the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications for the registry, through April 9, IDPH had approved 61,231 patients.

Hargis  who has suffered from anxiety, depression and migraines since age 13  began having seizures at age 22; fear of seizures resulted in PTSD.

He was approved for a medical marijuana card and takes different forms of cannabis along with pharmaceutical medicine. He believes the combination, along with exercise, have helped to reduce the intensity of his seizures, anxiety and PTSD.

Health systems' statements The Pantagraph asked several health systems for their position on potential marijuana legalization in Illinois. Here are their statements:

Chance injured his neck in a fall with a knife when he was 10 years old, resulting in 30 stitches, neck numbness and in night terrors and anxiety. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2017 and approved for medical cannabis. He uses a variety of ingestion methods.

"It has helped me to reduce anxiety and it has dulled my dreams and reduced my night terrors so I can sleep through the night," Chance said.

Kelley Theisen, 31, of Bloomington, was diagnosed in 2016 with autoimmune hepatitis, meaning her body started attacking her healthy liver cells.

She was placed on an immune-suppressing drug that caused her anxiety and stomach issues. She lost 70 pounds.

She was approved for medical marijuana that has helped to reduce anxiety and nausea, meaning her appetite has returned.

"We Americans like to talk about freedom," Hargis said. "Well, decriminalizing would help some people to find a better future. It would help to build community."

"Cannabis increases empathy," Chance said. "I think the world needs that right now."

"You would be getting it from a trusted dispensary who would get it from a trusted growth facility," Theisen said. "You would know what you're getting."

But Pedersen, in his role as president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said "This is a delicate issue within our state, to balance the potential financial gain from taxation with the potential substance abuse issues."

Dr. R. Scott Hamilton, a psychiatrist with OSF HealthCare Medical Group Behavioral Health in Normal, said he has certified 10 to 20 patients with PTSD for a cannabis card after they tried conventional treatments.

"Several have reported their overall levels of anxiety are better," Hamilton said. "A few did not have a good experience so they quit using it."

"I do think it helps in some of the conditions." he said. "It's not a panacea. Some patients do feel better using it. It is something useful to have. It's safer than opioids."

But Hamilton also opposes legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use because that would make it more accessible for children and teens.

Brains are developing to age 25 and regular marijuana use by adolescents could impair their memory and result in learning problems and psychosis, he said.

"Their brain will look for artificial rewards, which can result in bad things happening," Hamilton said.

"I hope there will be more research," he added. "There are hundreds of chemicals in marijuana. Some may be of benefit. Some may not. If we can isolate the ones that help, that could be good."

Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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Educators at Bloomington-Normals three nursing programs had to improvise and get creative when a worldwide pandemic shut down not only classrooms but the clinical sites. But they see some silver linings.
CHICAGO  The Crystal Lake father accused of murder and concealment in the death of his 5-year-old son, Andrew "AJ" Freund, was assigned a public defender Friday morning, hours before AJ's wake.

Andrew Freund, 60, a former local attorney, entered the McHenry County courtroom in jail-issued clothing and handcuffs attached to a leather waist belt. He told Judge Robert Wilbrandt he had $50,000 in credit card debt and owes $2,200 on a Chrysler. He also said his home on Dole Avenue is in foreclosure.

Wilbrandt assigned Henry Sugden as special public defender to represent him. He set Tuesday for the attorney to file motions.

A special public defender is often assigned to a case when there is a possible conflict within the county public defender's office.

Freund and the boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, who also is charged with murder and other crimes related to her son's death, are due in court May 10. Both are being held in the county jail with bail set at $5 million each.

Cunningham, 36, is being represented by Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof.

On the morning of April 18 Freund reported his son missing. After nearly a week of searching and questioning, the boy's parents were charged with murder and the boy's body was found in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic in a field near Woodstock.

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CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday he's reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce.

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldn't be issued until May and July 2020, the governor's office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal "starts righting some historic wrongs" against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

"This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for "social equity applicants." Those applicants would include people who have lived in a "disproportionately impacted area"  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

"The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth," said Kevin Samet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state."

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He's said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governor's office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the state's general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that "have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies."

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

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Theres a passage in a new book about Holocaust scholar and survivor Elie Wiesel that is at once frustrating and satisfying in its ambiguity and anger. It happens when the author, Howard Reich, amid many conversations with Wiesel, asks Wiesel the inevitable suite of questions: Why? Why is human history in part a story of anti-Semitism? Why did the Holocaust happen? Why are Jewish houses of worship targeted for violence today?

Why do they hate us? Why? Wiesel replies. So I know all the answers. In the beginning it was religious reasons. Other times, it was social reasons. They hate us either because we are too rich or too poor, either because we are too ignorant or too learned, too successful or too failing. All the contradictions merge in the anti-Semite. And yet, one thing he knows: He hates Jews. He doesnt even know who Jews are. In general, I say, the anti-Semite  let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Wiesels answer glides quickly past the obvious historical and cultural antecedents, and avoids the pat, poetic explanations a lay reader craves, to make a point the lay reader must confront: There is no rational reason for hating the Jewish people, or any people, because they exist. And no justification for the Holocaust or countless other acts of violence and bigotry against Jews, stretching from enslavement in ancient Egypt to last Saturdays mass shooting at a synagogue in Poway, Calif. In short, Wiesel provides both no answer and the right answer: Let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Reich, a Tribune critic whose parents survived the Holocaust, wrote The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel, as part of his own exploration of a dark past he didnt experience personally. Reichs parents were deeply scarred by their suffering under Nazi persecution yet sought to shield him from the details. They couldnt, of course. Reichs paranoid mother would spend nights in their Skokie home peering out the living room window, scouting for enemies who werent there. His father would his share happy, violent nightmares of revenge. I was killing Nazis good, he told young Howard. I was shooting them down.

Reich interviewed Wiesel for a 2012 Tribune event, which led to hours and hours of taped conversations over four years. As Reich says, the book is about two generations of Holocaust survivors speaking to each other from opposite perspectives of this cataclysmic event. One experienced the horror, the second was raised amid the active memory of its terror. The significance is that, even if there are no easy explanations to genocide, or solutions, the topic of the Holocaust must be broached, studied and passed down or it risks being forgotten, or refuted.

Wiesel, who died in 2016, wrote more than 60 books, including the acclaimed memoir, Night. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Reich tells us that Wiesels interest in cooperating with Reich  Wiesel was an eager interviewee  reflected his commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Wiesel said the Holocaust was about the Nazi desire to kill the past and future. What they really wanted to kill was the children because they carry the Jewish identity forward, Reich tells us.

Wiesels life is a testament to his defiance of the Nazi aim. He wrote about the Holocaust so future generations will understand what happened. In Wiesels words, To hear a witness is to become a witness.

Anyone who reads Reichs book will become a witness too.

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In 2008, when Sarah Palin entered the stage to debate her fellow vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, she asked him first thing: "Hey, can I call you Joe?"

It was a charming moment. In Palin's aw-shucks manner, she not only neutralized Biden as a formidable foe but reminded folks watching at home that she was just a gal from Wasilla, Alaska, who liked to keep things simple and personal. It may have been the only brilliant line to come from the then-governor of Alaska that night.

In reality, the reason she asked to call him Joe was because during debate preparations, according to her memoirs, she had called him "O'Biden." Obama, O'Biden, get it? Finally, her team advised her to just call him Joe.

A couple of years later, I asked Biden how much he had held back during the debate, figuring he had been instructed to treat her gingerly, to avoid appearing the bully or a show off.

He laughed and said, "A lot!"

But the truth is, Biden wouldn't have had to try very hard to be generous with Palin. Notwithstanding his handling of the 1991 interrogation of Anita Hill while chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Hill testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, Biden is naturally kind. And, as we've recently been reminded, affectionate.

Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Biden's well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasn't that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

I'd never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Biden's explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.

That Biden isn't a cauldron of raging hormones, or shouting slogans of radical change, is likely more comforting than not to many Americans, including baby boomers who aren't dead yet and who tend to vote. Moreover, he's a longtime populist and activist for America's working class, thus perfectly positioned to woo back some of the almost 40 million white working-class Americans who voted for Trump.

Unlike Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders  72 and 77, respectively  Biden isn't a grumpy old man. He's got a mega-watt smile and doesn't hide it behind a pout. He's imperfect, yes. But his malaprops and his too-affectionate ways are endearing compared with the boasts and bloody bombast of The Current Occupant.

Finally, age confers some privileges: Joe won't have to chop wood, shoot a gun or perform any of the other "manly" stunts male candidates often do, presumably to convey strength, stamina, virility or whatever. Really, hasn't this gimmick run its course? The presidency hardly requires that one mount a rough steed and spear an antelope for din-din. Besides, we've all witnessed Biden's suffering and profound grief. He doesn't have to prove a thing.

Come primary season, Biden may well be the only Democrat for whom Republicans could vote and, later, the only one who could graciously show Trump out. But all factors considered, he's not otherwise the obvious candidate. That person is a male veteran, a former Navy intelligence officer, who studied at Harvard and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Well-rounded, in other words. At 37, he's very young, but he speaks engagingly in ways that wouldn't strike fear in the elder heart.

Pete Buttigieg, who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, is the Barack Obama of his generation  a composite of opposites generated by an anti-Trump algorithm  and today's quintessential candidate. The country may not yet be ready for a gay man and his husband in the White House, but Buttigieg is in my view the most significant voice in the presidential race.

And, hey, you can call him Mayor Pete.

Contact Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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A new report by Law360, that came to light late last month by the Sophos news site called Naked Security, reveals that Massachusetts federal district judge Judith Dein gave agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the right to press a suspects fingers on any iPhone found in his apartment in Cambridge that law enforcement believes that hes used, in order to unlock the devices with iPhone Touch ID.

The ATF agent wrote in the requested warrant that "The suspect, Robert Brito-Pina, is suspected of gun trafficking. Hes a convict, which makes gun possession illegal. The phone is likely to contain a lot of evidence. In fact, the investigation that led agents to Brito-Pina was in large part enabled by information gleaned from other peoples phones, including text messages, drop-off locations stored in the Waze navigation app, and photos of illegal guns taken by people on their own phones  often featuring them posing with the guns.

In addition, ATF special agent Robert Jacobsen added that a web of illegal, interstate gun trafficking led to Brito-Pina. ATF agents have to get into any phones that he may have used, he said, given that theres a window of time to use to unlock iPhones with Touch ID before they require the passcode.

Attempting to unlock the relevant Apple device[s] is necessary because the government may not otherwise be able to access the data contained on those devices for the purpose of executing the requested search warrants. For more on this, read the full report here.

Last October Patently Apple posted a report titled "With a legally obtained Warrant, the FBI Forced a Suspected Child Pornographer to Open his iPhone X using his Face," based on a Forbes report.

The report noted that "The case marks another significant moment in the ongoing battle between law enforcement and tech providers, with the former trying to break the myriad security protections put in place by the latter. Since the fight between the world's most valuable company and the FBI in San Bernardino over access to an iPhone in 2016, Forbes has been tracking the various ways cops have been trying to break Apple's protections." The report goes into some depth about the ongoing battle between law enforcement and Apple. You could review that report here.

On the flip side, many liberal judges have denied warrants requesting the search of an iPhone using Face or Touch ID. The legal battle of law enforcement being able to override security features on smartphones via warrants will continue to be an issue for many years to come.





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The driver of a van involved in a reported child luring attempt at a Mechanicsburg school bus stop has been identified, according to local police.

On Saturday afternoon, a Mechanicsburg officer said he could not confirm whether an arrest had been made.

The reported attempted child luring took place about 7:40 a.m. Thursday at a school bus stop near the area of West Simpson and South Frederick streets, police said.

There, a gray or silver full-sized van approached the stop, where a group of middle-school aged children was waiting, police said.

Police said the vans driver  a gray-haired white man with a larger build  told a group of middle school students that he was working with the Mechanicsburg Area School District, and he was there to pick them up.

The man eventually drove away from the stop, police said, adding that none of the students got into his vehicle.

On Saturday, police announced in a news release that the driver had been identified, adding that an investigation is ongoing.

In the release, police also thanked members of the public for providing information that led to the identification.

A message left Friday afternoon with school district officials was not returned.
Our pattern of above-average rainfall shows no sign of slackening.

For the sixth straight month and the 14th month in the last 16, precipitation for Harrisburg finished above normal. Judging by the forecast for the next couple days, it doesnt appear that the trend since 2017 is close to ending.

Precipitation for April 2019 was 3.24 inches, only slightly above the norm of 3.10 inches. Still, it topped the average, maintaining a series of months that began with the rainiest November ever in 2018 and a stretch that goes back almost a year before that.

While AccuWeather is predicting hot temperatures and below-normal rain for the next three months, the National Weather Service (NWS) isnt fully ready to commit to the overhead spigot turning off. Meteorologist John Banghoff, talking from the State College office of the NWS, said Thursday that a look at the Climate Prediction Centers short-term forecast calls for a higher probability of above-average precipitation at least for the next couple weeks. Certainly, Friday nights cluster of storms that moved through much of central Pennsylvania with torrential rains gave some support to that prediction. More rain fell throughout the region Sunday.

He said that longer-range forecasts that stretch through July hint at average to above-average rainfall. At the same time, he said that summer rains can be so much more unpredictable because they bubble up as compared to the more organized systems that are commonplace fall through spring.

Banghoff noted that the amount of precipitation recorded through much of the first half of last year was not significantly above average until really mid- to late July. Thats really when the rains started and didnt stop, he said. So, you know, we were above average for the early part of last year, but not by a significant margin, as we were in the second half. . . . So far, 2019 is a very similar pattern to what the first half of 2018 was. Certainly were hoping it doesnt end up the way 2018 did, but right now its pretty comparable.

Pa. Governor Tom Wolf tours the heavily damaged section of River Road in York that was hit hard by flash flooding last September. Ten inches of rain fell in a little over 2 hours causing 1/4 mile of the road to be washed away. Above-average rainfall has continued into 2019. September 05, 2018 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

Heres a look at the monthly totals vs. average since the start of 2017, along with the day the most rain fell each of those months.

April 2019

Rainfall: 3.24 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 0.71 inches, 4/14

March 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

February 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

January 2019

Rainfall: 3.56 inches

Normal amount: 2.88 inches

Most on single day: 1.13 inches, 1/24

December 2018

Rainfall: 5.70 inches

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.16 inches, 12/28

November 2018

Rainfall: 8.56 inches, record

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.96 inches, 11/02

October 2018

Rainfall: 2.39 inches

Normal amount: 3.27 inches

Most on single day: 0.95 inches, 10/27

The flooding Yellow Breeches Creek causes the closure of Zion Road in South Middleton Township in September 2018. A stretch of above-average rainfall that began in 2018 has continued into the new year. September 10, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

September 2018

Rainfall: 6.91 inches

Normal amount: 4.07 inches

Most on single day: 2.54 inches, 09/09

August 2018

Rainfall: 5.28 inches

Normal amount: 3.20 inches

Most on single day: 0.96 inches, 08/01

July 2018

Rainfall: 12.09 inches, record

Normal amount: 4.61 inches

Most on single day: 3.26 inches, 07/23

June 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 3.60 inches

Most on single day: 0.88 inches, 06/10

May 2018

Rainfall: 5.71 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

April 2018

Rainfall: 3.98 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 1.59 inches, 04/16

March 2018

Rainfall: 2.97 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

February 2018

Rainfall: 5.44 inches

Normal amount: 2.39 inches

Most on single day: 0.87 inches, 02/07

January 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 2,88 inches

Most on single day: 2.06 inches, 12/23

Heavy rains flood Route 772 near Colebrook Road in Manheim. Above-average rainfall began in 2018 and has stretched four months into 2019.

Over the long haul

Average precipitation for the Harrisburg area has been 40.74 inches. Heres a year-by-year look at precipitation since 1990, to give you an idea of just how plentiful last years total was.

2019: 14.90 inches (11.86 is normal through April)

2018: 67.03 inches

2017: 44.52 inches

2016: 40.97 inches

2015: 42.05 inches

2014: 43.65 inches

2013: 42.63 inches

2012: 45.22 inches

2011: 73.73 inches

2010: 39.32 inches

2009: 45.33 inches

Swatara Creek covers part of Rt. 743 at the intersection with Lingle Avenue in Derry Township. Rainfall this year is about the same through April as it was last year. That all changed last July. July 25, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

2008: 46.26 inches

2007: 42.63 inches

2006: 46.08 inches

2005: 38.78 inches

2004: 53.34 inches

2003: 54.63 inches

2002: 40.84 inches

2001: 25.76 inches

2000: 42.23 inches

1999: 38.32 inches

1998: 45.96 inches

1997: 32.32 inches

1996: 52.43 inches

1995: 35.51 inches

1994: 46.16 inches

1993: 48.40 inches

1992: 35.52 inches

1991: 31.12 inches

1990: 44.12 inches
FRACKVILLE, Pa.  Ask Steven Blazer what kind of employee hes looking for, and the staffing agency manager rattles off a list:

Someone who will show up on time with a positive attitude. Someone who's physically fit. Someone who can work full time.

In today's tight job market, fueled by Pennsylvania's lowest unemployment rate in almost two decades, Blazer, of Surge Staffing in Schuylkill County, is having a difficult time finding workers who fit his list. With hundreds of warehouse positions to fill, he's looking in an unusual place for new hires: behind bars.

"We understand that people deserve a second chance," said Blazer, one of more than a dozen vendors at the Frackville state prison's recent career and reentry fair. "If a person wants to work, we want to talk to them."

The fair, held last week at the maximum security facility in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, about 60 miles northwest of Allentown, is part of a state Department of Corrections push to get inmates ready to return to their communities. More than 90 percent of the estimated 46,000 people in state correctional facilities return home after serving their sentences.

The job fairs, which began last year and are held annually at each of Pennsylvania's 24 state prisons, give inmates nearing their release date a chance to talk face-to-face with potential employers, as well as representatives from community colleges, religious organizations and self-help groups.

Gathering handfuls of flyers from companies such as Walmart, FedEx, Hershey and Lowe's, prisoners walked from table to table, chatting with sales reps and each other.

"I'm looking for something different," said Pete, a 49-year-old Philadelphia resident who worked in construction before coming to prison in 2004. Citing protocols, prison officials declined to release the last names of inmates interviewed for this story.

"I've looked at quite a few brochures today, and when I get out, I'm going to call quite a few people and see where it leads," Pete said.

A job fair inside a prison would have been unheard of just five years ago, said Jeff Cutler, a teacher at the prison. But a combination of criminal justice reforms and a shrinking labor pool has made employers more willing to consider former inmates.

"It used to be very hard for an ex-offender to get a job," Cutler said. "Everything has changed now."

Nationwide, nearly 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Pennsylvania's state prisons release about 19,000 people annually.

FBI statistics show that about 73.5 million people ? nearly 30% of the adult U.S. population ? have some kind of criminal record.

People who've been in prison are about five times more likely to face unemployment than the general public, according to the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative. But a raft of new laws in the past two years, mostly aimed at sealing old criminal records or requiring employers to interview potential hires before asking about criminal records, is chipping away at that statistic.

As they give more former felons a chance, employers are learning that many have learned things in prison that make them an asset to companies, Cutler said.

"A lot of the people on the streets don't want to work hard, and don't have any skills, while these guys are eager to work and have had training. They know they're on their second chance and they have something to prove," he said.

Like more than 80 percent of the people who enter Pennsylvania's prisons, Andre, 28, of Wilkes-Barre, did not have a high school diploma when he was sentenced nearly five years ago. He'd also never held a job.

During his prison stay, Andre earned his GED and OSHA certification, and completed training to work as a flagger, directing traffic around road construction crews. He came to the job fair hoping to talk to companies hiring near his hometown.

"It makes me feel better about myself, knowing that I did something to get ready for the future," Andre said.

Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons can earn certifications for a range of vocations, including barbering and cosmetology, truck driving, welding, Microsoft computer applications and eyeglass manufacturing.

They can also earn a high school diploma and some college credits. Leslie Bartholomew, director of returning adult and veteran services at Lehigh Carbon Community College, was at the fair to talk to inmates about enrolling in classes before and after their release.

"If they have a desire to learn, we can help them become a valuable member of society," she said.

One of the most popular tables at the job fair was a demonstration of new virtual reality goggles that allow inmates to "visit" places on the outside to prepare for release. Through the devices, prisoners headed to halfway houses can take a virtual visit to those facilities. Soon, the views will be expanded to include neighborhoods and places inmates who have been behind bars for decades may soon have to navigate for the first time.

"Walking into a place like a Walmart (Supercenter) can be very disorienting for someone who has been incarcerated for most of their life," said Lacosta Mussoline, a re-entry administrator.

A majority of the companies represented at the fair were from Schuylkill County. That's something organizers hope to change, Cutler said, because more than half of the inmates at Frackville come from urban areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Businesses from those areas sent flyers and brochures to the prison job fair, but few managers were willing to drive into coal country to attend.

Kathy Brittain, the prison's superintendent, said she was pleased that businesses near the prison were getting involved.

"It's excellent that, with the community's help, we're able to provide more resources," she said.

If the economy stays strong, Pennsylvania employers will likely continue to struggle to fill positions. The state's unemployment rate dropped in March to the lowest rate on record, as payrolls hit a record high and the number of people unemployed shrank to its lowest level since 2000, the state Department of Labor and Industry said.

Blazer, the staffing agency manager, thinks former inmates could help a lot of businesses keep up with production.

"So far, I have been really pleased with the people who've come up to talk to me today," he said. "They seem like they have a real desire to work."

___

Laurie Mason Schroeder, of The (Allentown) Morning Call, wrote this story.

Online:

https://bit.ly/2WbWZyz

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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
It took more than half a century, but one Steelton veteran finally received the honor his family has been seeking after he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Reuben Garnett Jr. was killed on March 4, 1966, when trying to help his platoon leader who was shot in combat, WITF reported.

Now, 53 years after his death, a bridge was dedicated to Garnett on Friday, in front of his family and fellow veterans.

Pennsylvania Rep. Patty Kim helped with the dedication, saying in a Facebook post that Garnett was never properly honored for his sacrifice.

This was long overdue, and a wonderful moment for his family to finally see him recognized, Kim wrote to the page.

I was grateful to be able to help dedicate a bridge in honor of Reuben Louis Garnett Jr., a Steelton native who was... Posted by Rep. Patty Kim on Thursday, May 2, 2019

Garnetts family spoke to how it has been minority veterans who are often overlooked by dedications and appreciation ceremonies, WITF reported. Army representatives at the ceremony spoke to how hard Garnetts family worked to have the dedication happen.

Reuben Garnett Jr., 23, was killed in action while trying to help a fellow soldier during the Vietnam War.

The sign stays Specialist 4 Reuben Garnett, Jr. Memorial Bridge and will be placed on a bridge at the northern tip of Wildwood Lake, WITF reports.
Akeem Davis (left) and Anthony Lawton in "The Christians," through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Read more

Bristol Riverside Theatre closes its season with Lucas Hnaths The Christians, on stage through May 19. Area theatergoers will be familiar with the young playwrights oeuvre, which includes productions at the Arden (A Dolls House, Part 2), Theatre Exile (Red Speedo), and Philadelphia Theatre Company (Hillary and Clinton, now on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow). The Wilma staged The Christians in 2016.

Throughout his still-young but prolific career, Hnath has shown a keen interest in disrupting theatrical expectations. The Christians is no exception. Set in an unnamed megachurch (rendered authentically by set designer Paige Hathaway), it features a full choir that punctuates the action with spiritual songs and shouts. Hnath also has his characters speak nearly all of their dialogue, including private asides, into handheld microphones, resulting in a disquieting dissonance.

The play addresses how people handle challenges to their deeply held beliefs. Hnath depicts a church where congregants adore their leader, Pastor Paul (Anthony Lawton), and uphold his principles without question. So when Paul announces his newfound conviction that Hell doesnt exist, he effectively renders it doctrine  a move that forces his flock uncomfortably to abandon its core theology.

Paul holds a direct line to God, and, as Hnath presents it, he comes to hear a new note of mercy in the Lords voice. The bounty of His love envelops all; even Hitler could be saved by it. Paul no longer conceives Hell as a literal place, but rather as a metaphor for a soul in torment.

If the question of faith rests on a schism between the sinners and the saved, this radical view of Gods clemency surely unsettles many believers. Under Matt Pfeiffers precise direction, it even seems to subsume the man who professes it.

Lawton communicates the inner turmoil that causes Pastor Paul to cleave his congregation  his sunken, searching eyes burn with the assurance of his righteousness, but they also brim with vulnerability. He presents a person who understands the risk he takes in speaking his truth, and who maybe regrets putting himself on the line, but he acts in the only way he feels can align with Gods plan.

A sense of absolute clarity comes in the form of associate pastor Joshua, played with rock-ribbed rectitude by Akeem Davis. He belongs to the fire-and-brimstone tradition, the kind of faith that cannot abide wishy-washy concessions to doubt. He believes, with total conviction, that his backsliding mother suffers eternal damnation due to her rigid refusal to accept Christ.

Hnath allows enough backstory to suggest that unyielding faith is a life raft for Joshua, and it is a testament to Davis talent that this character never feels like a cartoonish caricature of dogmatic pomposity.

Paul faces challenges from all sides, including his wife (an affecting Susan McKey) and a well-meaning parishioner (K. ORourke) who clings to the church for a sense of purpose in her troubled life. Ultimately, The Christians introduces more questions than it answers, leaving its audience many avenues for extended dialogue about spiritual sustenance. Bristols fine production starts a conversation that should continue long after everyone leaves the theater.

THEATER REVIEW

The Christians

Through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol. Tickets: $10-50. Information: 215-785-0100, brtstage.org.
Stock image showing how tiny needles are used in acupuncture, an alternative medicine prevalent in China. Read more

Back pain. Headaches. Allergies. Arthritis. Anxiety. Morning sickness. Acupuncture practitioners claim their centuries-old school of alternative medicine can treat dozens of medical problems  with few side effects or risk of complications.

Some health-care providers see acupuncture as a possible tool to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic, which largely was brought about by legal prescriptions of painkillers. Recently, the American College of Physicians released a recommendation to use acupuncture as one of the first treatments for low-back pain. The Pain Management Standards from the Joint Commission  a nationwide nonprofit that accredits health-care organizations  now includes acupuncture as a non-pharmacological strategy for managing pain.

Western medicine proposes several theories on how acupuncture works. One premise: It releases the bodys own painkillers, or endorphins. Research finds that needle insertion prompts the flow of adenosine, a chemical that reduces inflammation. Another hypothesis, the Gate Control Theory of Pain, argues that the body shuts down pain receptors in response to acupunctures needling.

In Eastern medical lingo, ailments are described in terms of an excess of or deficiency in yin or yang, forces that are connected and interdependent. Energy, or qi (pronounced chee in Chinese), flows through the meridians or pathways of the body. These pathways connect via acupuncture points that relate to internal organs; acupunctures specialized needle placements restore the balance of yin and yang by reducing disruptions along the meridians, improving the flow of qi and promoting healing.

Although theres much evidence that acupuncture often alleviates pain and successfully treats a range of symptoms and diseases, theres no clear answer as to acupunctures true value. Clinical studies aimed at measuring its effectiveness are limited. Many skeptics argue that any benefits of getting stuck probably derive from a placebo effect.

Thats because its difficult to test the efficacy of acupuncture. In double-blind studies, the gold standard for testing effectiveness of drugs or treatments, neither participants nor experimenters know which group is getting which treatment. Typically, one group receives the conventional drug or treatment while another group receives a placebo. The problem is, there are no good placebo substitutes for acupuncture  even when testers use sham needles, patients typically know they arent really being poked.

Another problem in assessing acupuncture (and other treatments) is that ailments often simply resolve themselves. Back pain, Bells palsy, or insomnia may go away during a course of acupuncture treatment, but these problems might also have healed or disappeared on their own.

But because it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks, and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldnt overthink it.

After all, thousands of drugs and procedures are prescribed to treat conditions at enormous cost every day, often without a precise understanding of why they work, or whether they are effective compared with other approaches or doing nothing. Unlike acupuncture, these approved treatments often pose serious risks to patients.

And its clear that patients who try acupuncture love it. A recent study by American Specialty Health Inc. surveyed 89,000 patients who received treatment for chronic pain. It found a vast majority (87 percent) of patients rated their acupuncturists favorably (9 or 10 on a 0-to-10 scale), somewhat more favorably than patients rated conventional health-care providers (76 percent to 80 percent). Nearly all (99 percent) of the surveyed acupuncture patients rated their providers good or excellent, and almost none reported minor or serious adverse effects.

If youre looking for an acupuncturist, talk with your friends and physician for recommendations. The nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook regularly surveys local patients on their experiences with health-care providers, including acupuncturists. Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of acupuncturists to Inquirer readers through this link: Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Acupuncture. Ratings are available free of charge until June 8.

If the acupuncturist is a physician, look for certification by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (www.dabma.org). Alternatively, consider a physician who is a member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (www.medicalacupuncture.org).

If the acupuncturist is not a physician, check for certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (www.nccaom.org). NCCAOM-certified acupuncturists can add Dipl. Ac. after their names.

Here are some questions to ask:

How long has the acupuncturist been in practice?

What training, licensing, and certifications does the acupuncturist have?

Does the acupuncturist have experience treating your type of condition or problem?

What techniques does the acupuncturist use? Some acupuncturists use a wide range of complementary techniques such as tu nai massage, moxibustion, and cupping; Others use just one approach.

Is the treatment covered by your health insurance plan? Do you need a referral from your physician?

As there are many qualified acupuncturists, and other consumers tend to be satisfied with them, pay attention to prices. Checkbooks undercover shoppers called a sample of area acupuncturists for private treatment of arthritic knee pain and were quoted prices ranging from $60 to $260 for an initial session.

Checkbooks shoppers also asked about prices for community acupuncture, which is a growing trend  acupuncturists treating multiple patients in the same room. Prices quoted to its undercover shoppers for community acupuncture were far lower than those for private sessions, ranging from $15 to about $60 per session.

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Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates.
A 26-year-old Gloucester City man was found stabbed to death in Camden, Camden County police said Saturday.

Officers responding to reports of an unconscious male near the 1000 block of South Fifth Street in Camden shortly before 11 a.m. Friday found Ryan Harter lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests had been made, police said Saturday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042, or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
When it launched in New York three years ago, the smartphone app called Vigilante quickly sparked controversy. Its creators lauded it as a way for users to get and receive real-time notifications about crimes in their neighborhood.

Critics were wary, not just about the aggressive-sounding name but aspects like its report incident" feature that encouraged users to alert authorities to crimes in progress and a record button enabling them to upload photos or videos. The New York Police Department panned it, issuing a statement pointing out that crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cellphone.

Apple removed it from its app store.

So its creators rebranded it in 2017  as Citizen  and tried again. And now its come to Philadelphia.

Citizen sends users real-time alerts intended to keep everyday people informed with real-time notifications about nearby crime, emergencies, and ongoing incidents," according to J. Peter Donald, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who now serves as Citizens director of policy and communications.

He acknowledged the early struggles but said: Now we have a new name and a new mission.

Philadelphia is the companys fifth market, joining New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. It claims to have more than 600,000 users.

Heres how it works: A group of 50 employees  including former journalists, former first responders, and an ex-English professor  monitors 911 calls and dispatcher responses, mainly public-safety issues, and translates them in real time for its users. They send out about two million notifications per day across the five cities. Each alert is marked with a corresponding dot tacked onto a localized map.

The company says it instructs its app users to avoid these marked areas, but the app also includes a Record button, which would enable users to upload a live video or photos of an active crime scene. It says users have uploaded more than 100,000 videos, which the company wont sell but has shared with news organizations.

Donald said the company has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department, as well as local anti-crime groups and neighborhood watchers, but has not heard back from Commissioner Richard Ross. (The Inquirer also reached out to the Police Department for comment but messages were not returned.)

Despite the rebranding, its not clear that Citizen will receive a warm reception in the City of Brotherly Love. John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the officers union, wasnt convinced of the apps usefulness.

We have one already, its called the 911 app, he said. We got a police department that is very good at what they do, and for people to get into taking matters into their own hands, that could be a disaster. Somebody is trying to make money off people getting hurt and people being victimized, and its crazy."

Hans Menos, executive director of the Police Advisory Commission, cited issues that have cropped up with other apps such as Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused gossip forum, which encountered blowback when messages were labeled as racist.

One of the things that concerns me about these citizen-involved apps or platforms is they have a high potential for misuse, he said. But, in general, I like the idea that people can be more aware of whats going on in their neighborhood.

In San Francisco, where the app debuted in fall 2017, the reviews have been mixed.

Users have reported issues with its sources of information. The app developers do not have access to the 911 radio channel, but rather monitor scanner chatter. And the chatter is based on civilians who call 911 and their initial reactions to incidents, which are subject to interpretation.

But there have not been any reports of overeager app enthusiasts intervening in crimes in progress.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said police officials met with representatives of the app in 2017, but the department is not directly involved with the App or its developers. Officers dont need the video; they already have their own body cams, he noted.

We are still evaluating the pros and cons of the product, Andraychak said, but it doesnt factor into our day-to-day operations.
A teacher at a Burlington County middle school can keep his job despite having fathered a child with a teen when he was a Catholic priest decades ago in Connecticut, according to a labor arbitrator appointed by New Jersey.

Joseph M. DeShan, 59, faced the same controversy early in his career with the Cinnaminson Township School District, when it was revealed in 2002 that he made a 16-year-old girl pregnant while he served as a priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

DeShan was suspended for three weeks, but reinstated after the district concluded that he had violated no rules or laws as a teacher.

His past resurfaced last year when parents complained to the board of education.

A parent told the board, This man should not be here. Please protect our children, the Cinnaminson Sun reported in November.

In December, the district filed charges against DeShan with the New Jersey commissioner of education seeking his removal as a sixth-grade reading teacher at Cinnaminson Middle School for conduct unbecoming a staff member.

The district cited DeShans record as a priest and a recent incident in which he allegedly told a female student, Look at me. Let me see your pretty green eyes. You dont see them too much anymore.

The student said the comment made her uncomfortable and that he said it in a weird voice, according to the district.

In his April 2 decision, Walt De Treux, the arbitrator, ruled that the alleged comment was unsupported hearsay. He also ruled that the district, barring any new evidence of inappropriate conduct, must live with its 2002 decision.

The fact that some parents now demand his removal from the classroom does not give the [board of education] a second opportunity to revisit pre-employment conduct of which it has been long aware, De Treux wrote.

De Treux ordered the district to reinstate DeShan to his position with full back pay and benefits.

DeShan could not be reached for comment Friday.

Stephen Cappello, Cinnaminsons superintendent of schools, said Friday night in an emailed statement: Our district policy limits my capacity to comment about ongoing personnel and legal matters. We are certainly disappointed by the ruling, and we are currently working with counsel to determine our next steps. We will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and educational community.

The revelation that DeShan had gotten a teen pregnant while he served as a priest was first reported by the Hartford Courant in 2002, and gained national attention because it involved Edward M. Egan, who had been the bishop of Bridgeport and later became the archbishop of New York. Egan died in March 2015.

The newspaper reported that Egan failed to notify police when he learned about DeShans sexual relationship with the girl.

Egan allowed him to leave the priesthood and begin a new life as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey  with no record of sexual misconduct, according to the article.

The teen became pregnant in September 1989, two months after her 16th birthday, the newspaper reported. That same month, DeShan revealed his relationship to church officials and requested a leave of absence.

It was a consensual relationship that didnt work out, DeShan told the newspaper in a brief interview outside the school where he was then teaching fifth grade. He had since married a doctor, and they had two children.

The teen went on to raise their daughter as a struggling single mother, the Courant reported.

DeShan started his new career as a teacher in 1997.

The 2002 article led to DeShans suspension, but he enjoyed popularity in Cinnaminson and that made his return easier, the New York Times reported.

He did come back today," then-superintendent Salvatore J. Illuzi told the Times, and he was very positively received by his students and colleagues.
A screenshot of the video uploaded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Read more

A national Muslim group says it will conduct an investigation into an event at a Philadelphia Islamic center last month during which a group of youngsters sang songs it said were not properly vetted, calling that an unintended mistake and an oversight.

Youngsters at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in North Philadelphia are shown in video footage speaking in Arabic during a celebration of Ummah Day, said the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Middle East monitoring organization. One girl says "we will chop off their heads to liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to the MEMRI.

An English translation of the Arabic is included on the video. The Inquirer has not independently verified the translation.

Ummah is an Arabic word that can mean community or nation.

While we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and languages, not all songs were properly vetted, the Muslim American Society, based in Washington, said in a statement issued Friday. This was an unintended mistake and an oversight in which the center and the students are remorseful. MAS will conduct an internal investigation to ensure this does not occur again.

The statement was also posted on the Facebook page of MAS-Philadelphia Center late Friday night.

MAS has more than 50 chapters throughout the United States, according to its website.

As a faith-based organization dedicated to moving people to strive for God-consciousness and a just and virtuous society, we affirm our long-standing position on our shared values of humanity. We stand resolutely in our condemnation of hate, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and all the illnesses of hate that plague our society, MAS said in its statement.

In a subsequent statement late Saturday night, MAS said it has been informed that the person in charge of the April 17 event has been dismissed and that the organization in charge of it will form a local commission to aid in sensitivity training and proper oversight for future programs. MAS said it owns the property where the program was held and leases it to the schools operator.

According to MEMRI, one girl reads: We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture."

In other videos, students sing songs about the blood of martyrs and Rebels, rebels, rebels. The videos were posted on the centers Facebook page, the media monitoring group said, but the videos included in the MEMRI report appear to have been taken down from the centers page.

The Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia called the incident extremely disturbing.

Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace, the statement read.

The ADL called another report about the event misleading. An Arutz Sheva/Israel National News story includes a photo of children in front of what the ADL describes as a bazooka-wielding extremist, an image that does not appear to have been taken at the Philadelphia event, the ADL statement read. The article also implies that the event occurred at a Philadelphia school when it occurred at a private religious institution.

Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article.
Medics and protestors move a serious wounded girl, who was shot in her head by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, into the treatment room of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. Read more

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt.

The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.

Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.

The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.

The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator aged 31 had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.

Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.

Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Smoke rises from buildings after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants launched about 200 rockets and mortars into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian coastal territory. Read more

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired more than 250 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, and Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, ending weeks of relative calm and threatening efforts to forge a long-term truce.

Palestinians said at least four people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, were killed by Israeli strikes.

In Israel, rocket sirens blared, and thousands of Israeli civilians - as far as 30 miles from Gaza - spent the day in or close to bomb shelters. Rocket fire and airstrikes continued into the night.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its Iron Dome air-defense batteries intercepted dozens of the rockets. Israeli emergency services said an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel during the rocket barrage and a 50-year-old man was treated for moderate wounds.

In Gaza, health authorities said two men, aged 22 and 25, a 37-year-old pregnant woman and her 14-month-old daughter were killed as Israeli jets carried out airstrikes. An additional 18 people were injured. Israeli officials said they hit dozens of "terror targets" inside the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Saturday's violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.

However, the Israeli military said Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second-largest militant group, which is also involved in the negotiations, was responsible for the rocket fire.

It also said tanks and military jets targeted sites in the northern and eastern sections of Gaza, including an Islamic Jihad tunnel and Hamas military intelligence and general security buildings. The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, met with senior security officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to be briefed.

The Turkish news agency Anadolu said its Gaza office had been hit in an Israeli strike.

U.N. peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov called for calm.

"Continuing down the current path of escalation will quickly undo what has been achieved and destroy the chances for long time solutions to the crisis," he said in a statement. "This endless cycle of violence must end, and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Israel would "respond forcefully and swiftly to any attack on the security of our people."

Israeli authorities said schools in the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod would be closed Sunday.

In a joint statement, Gaza's militant factions said the rocket fire was in response to the "targeting and assassination" of their militants a day earlier. "Our response will be tougher and larger and broader in the face of aggression," they said in a statement.

The Israeli military reported on Friday that two soldiers were lightly wounded in a shooting incident along its border with Gaza. In response, Israel struck sites belonging to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, killing two fighters.

Also on Friday, two Palestinian protesters were killed taking part in ongoing weekly demonstrations at the border fence with Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"It's a reply to the Israeli targeting of peaceful civilians yesterday by Israeli snipers during the 58th Friday of Great March of Return," said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's bureau for international relations, referring to the weekly protests staged in Gaza since last year. "Also, to the procrastination policies of the occupation toward lifting the siege on Gaza."

Gazans have been holding weekly demonstrations along the border, protesting the dire humanitarian situation in the strip that worsens daily and the ongoing land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas forcibly took power in 2007. Egypt opens its border with Gaza only sporadically.

Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Qanoua said the group would continue to "respond to the crimes of the occupation" and "not allow the blood of our people to be shed."

Musab al-Buraim, spokesman of Islamic Jihad, said in a short statement that it too was committed to "resistance."

Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad visited Egypt this past week to discuss the understandings reached with Israel to reduce tensions. The Egyptians have spent months trying to forge a long-term truce between the sides in an effort to bring calm and ease the dire humanitarian situation for 2 million Gazans.

But Saturday's unrest, disrupting the lives of so many Israeli citizens, could impact attempts by Netanyahu to form a coalition after being reelected for a fifth term. His last government began to unravel after a similar flare-up with Gaza, when then-Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned after calling for a tougher approach to the rocket fire.

Standing down from his post in November, Liberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that agreeing to the cease-fire with Hamas was "surrendering to terror." He proposed firmer military action against Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza, even if that risked a wider conflict.

In March, Netanyahu's trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and speak at the annual AIPAC policy conference was cut short after a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a house in central Israel.

Rocket fire and airstrikes similar to Saturday's happens periodically.

In 2014, a 50-day deadly war between Israel and Hamas saw hundreds of rockets being fired into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv, and massive Israeli aerial bombardments, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians. More than 70 Israelis and one foreign national were also killed.

There were worries in Israel that unrest could disrupt preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, an international singing event taking place in Tel Aviv this month. Contestants from across Europe are already in Israel to prepare for the event.

- - -

Balousha reported from Gaza. Morris reported from Tel Aviv.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." Read more

(Bloomberg)  President Donald Trump brushed off news of a possible weapons test by North Korea  confirmed Sunday by state media in Pyongyang  and vowed that his long-sought denuclearization deal with leader Kim Jong Un will happen.

KCNA said in a statement early Sunday local time that Kim had supervised a strike drill  essentially, a test of combat readiness  of defense units in direction of the the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. The tests were done to assess the accuracy of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, the state media agency said.

South Korean authorities on Saturday flagged numerous short-range projectiles fired off North Koreas eastern coast. The move was seen as Kims most provocative signal of frustration over talks with Trump following the pairs failed summit in Vietnam in February.

The significance of the test was difficult to assess as South Korea revised its account of the nature and scale of the weapons discharged from the eastern port of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. Saturday local time. After first calling them missiles, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff later changed its description to projectiles, saying greater clarity would require more analysis.

The details are key since Trump has cited Kims self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue negotiations with the North Korean leader. South Koreas descriptions of the incident suggested shorter-range rockets or artillery that would be less likely for the U.S. to interpret as a violation of Kims pledge to refrain from testing.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. National Security Adviser John Bolton briefed the president about the launch, according to a senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter.

The weapons were fired from the Hodo Peninsula, which has been the site of past live-fire artillery exercises, and traveled 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles), the joint chiefs said earlier Saturday. The Yonhap News Agency later reported that the weapons fired were not missiles, citing unidentified lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials.

Missiles are projectiles, but South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff might be using projectile to imply an unguided rocket, like one of North Koreas older rocket artillery systems, said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. This could also be a politicized attempt to make the word missile not so prominent, in case that creates the kind of news cycle that Trump doesnt want.

The weapons test was nonetheless Kims most significant provocation since he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, declared his nuclear weapons program complete and opened talks. South Korea President Moon Jae-ins spokeswoman condemned the incident, saying in a statement that they go against a military agreement the two Koreas reached in September to halt hostile activities.

Kim has expressed increasing frustration since Trump refused his demands for sanctions relief and walked out of their second summit in Hanoi in February. After a year of talks, Kim has made only a pledge to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without defining the phrase.

The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of bad faith during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok last week. He had earlier told North Koreas Supreme Peoples Assembly that he would wait with patience till the end of this year for the U.S. to make a better offer.

A shorter-range test could also signal displeasure with South Koreas participation in joint military drills with the U.S., despite Trumps decision to scale down those exercises. North Korean state media has repeatedly complained about the drills in recent weeks and Kim pledged corresponding acts during his speech last month to the rubber-stamp parliament.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed Saturdays incident with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone, the ministry said in a statement. Nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon made a separate call to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Japans defense ministry said Saturday that the country had not detected any missiles entering its exclusive economic zone and as such there was no immediate impact to its national security.

Although Saturdays launch was the most significant since Kims detente with Trump, North Korea has announced more limited weapons tests in recent months. Kim personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon last month, which South Korea later said appeared to be a system intended for ground combat and not a ballistic missile.

Descriptions of the current incident suggested weapons ranging from rocket-propelled artillery to multiple rockets fired from launchers, analysts said. Firing such a weapon could serve a range of goals from pushing back against South Korea, to reassuring Kims domestic audience of his leadership.

The range they have would only be really good for hitting targets across the border in South Korea, said Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher. It could be seen that this was a signal to the ROK that the DPRK is losing patience, referring to South Koreas and North Koreas formal names.

With assistance from John Harney, Justin Sink and Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE - In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. Read more

(Bloomberg)  North Korea fired at least one short-range missile toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea said, the countrys first major weapons test since November 2017.

The test occurred around 9:06 a.m. local time from North Koreas eastern port of Wonsan, according to South Koreas defense ministry. The weapon was fired toward the East Sea, the ministry said, describing the water body also known as the Sea of Japan.

The test involved numerous missiles traveling 70-200 kilometers (45-125 miles), the Yonhap News Agency said, citing South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It was the first major weapons test since November 2017, when Kim Jong Un successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the entire U.S. Kims subsequent pledge to halt tests of nuclear-capable weapons has underpinned his negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

While a short-range missile wouldnt necessarily violate that pledge, it signals Kims frustration with talks since Trumps decision to walk away from the last summit in Hanoi in February. Top U.S. nuclear enjoy Stephen Biegun is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Last month, Kim also personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon. That test was the first announced by North Korea since Kims February summit with Trump ended abruptly ended without a deal.

Last week, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, and accused the U.S. of bad faith in nuclear talks.

Saturdays launch took place on Wonsans Hodo Peninsula, home to a live-fire training site for artillery exercises, according to a description by 38 North.

With assistance from Justin Sink and John Harney.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net;Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net
Black Horse Pike Regional Board of Education School Board President Bill Murray (2nd from right) speaks during a board meeting at Triton High School in Runnemede, NJ on May 3, 2019. Kevin Bucceroni, vice-president is to his left. South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned whether the two men had recruited a "phantom freeholder candidate" to clutter the ballot and confuse voters in the Camden County Democratic primary on June 4. Read more

Progressive Democrats who are trying to beat the entrenched Camden County Democratic Committee in the June primaries  under the hashtag of unplug the machine  are not just running against the endorsed candidates who have been in office as long as a decade.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats say they must also compete against phantom candidates who dont campaign but were recruited by the party establishment to clutter the ballot and confuse voters.

I dont know who they are, said William Tambussi, an attorney who represents the Democratic Committee and its unofficial leader, George E. Norcross III, when asked about the six so-called phantoms who filed petitions to run for two open seats on the freeholder board.

He apparently isnt alone, though the progressives say these candidates have ties to several elected members of the Democratic Committee. Democratic Committee Chairman Jim Beach did not respond to numerous calls for comment.

None of these freeholder candidates has a website or a Facebook page to tout accomplishments and make campaign pledges. None replied to numerous phone messages, texts, and emails when The Inquirer reached out to each of them to find out about their platforms and why they are running.

Two of the six candidates were Republicans until days before their petition to run for office was due last month, and two had never voted before in New Jersey.

Randall McGinnis Jr., the only candidate The Inquirer could reach for comment, said during a brief phone call: OK, no problem, but Im driving right now and can I give you a ring back? I dont want to get pulled over, so please call me back. He then hung up and didnt respond to further calls.

McGinnis, 50, of Clementon, was a Republican who switched parties a few days before he submitted his petition to the clerks office. His running mate, Steven Panarello, 28, of Gloucester Township, had never voted before and hastily registered around the same time, in late March.

Dori Larm, 58, of Gloucester Township, took an extra measure to stay in the background. She scrawled Do not publish phone # or email" on her petition. A few weeks later, her phone was disconnected.

Larm and her running mate, William Etymow, 26, of Mount Ephraim, were later disqualified because their petition fell short of the 100 signatures of registered voters a candidate must gather to run. Larm last voted in 2004, in a school board election. Etymow was a registered Republican until late March.

The partys picks for local, county, and state office  including incumbent Freeholders Ed McDonnell and Carmen Rodriguez  appear on Column One of the ballot. They are running together in a solid line.

Column Two and Three each contain the names of a pair of so-called phantom freeholder candidates. They are not aligned with any other candidates. McGinnis and Panarello are in Column Two, while Jason Witte, 60, of Bellmawr, and Amanda Semple, 26, of Glendora are in Column Three.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats, who are fielding an unprecedented 100 challengers for seats in all levels of government and in the party, all appear in Column Four, on the far right edge of the ballot.

The group could not participate in a drawing for a favorable spot on the ballot because only slates with freeholder candidates are eligible. The progressives two freeholder candidates were knocked off the ballot in April after Tambussi challenged their petitions, saying about 11 signatures that one of the candidates gathered were forged. He also argued that both candidates should be disqualified along with a proposed replacement candidate after one resigned.

Judy Amorosa, a lawyer and founder of the progressive group, which was organized in Cherry Hill two years ago, also challenged some petitions  those filed by the little-known freeholders in Column Two and Three. One petition didnt have the candidates names filled in, and just had signatures of voters who support them. Another contained signatures that also appeared to be forged.

But the County Clerks Office, run by Democrat Joseph Ripa, who is running for reelection as an endorsed candidate, dismissed the complaint as having no merit. Ripas office asked the county prosecutor to investigate Tambussis claim of forgery, but not Amorosas claim.

Ripa did not respond to calls for comment. Amorosa declined to comment.

Matt Friedman, a reporter with Politico New Jersey, reached Witte a couple of weeks ago, and asked what he would do if he was elected. Just stuff like parks and stuff like that, how kids dont really have anywhere to go or anything like that. ... I dont know, I didnt really think it was going to be taken as seriously as its being taken," he said. Witte also did not know his running mates name.

Then, Witte explained that Bill Murray, president of the Black Horse Pike Board of Education, recruited him and said he would put him in touch with his buddy, Kevin.

Murray and Kevin Bucceroni, the boards vice president, have both signed petitions of the so-called phantom freeholder candidates. And Bucceroni is an elected member of the Camden County Democratic Committee.

On Thursday, several members of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned Bucceroni and Murray during the public portion of a school board meeting in Runnemede.

Does this have anything to do with the school district? Bucceroni asked after Chris Emrich questioned his role with the phantom candidates. When pressed by Emrich, a Collingswood lawyer who is working with the progressives, Bucceroni said: Im allowed to have personal business.

Bucceroni, whos been on the Democratic Committee for years, has signed the petitions of several so-called phantom candidates, including the one filed by Larm and Etymow, though they were challenging the partys endorsed candidates. He also has received thousands of dollars for election work" and BBQ expenses" from the party organization in recent years, according to state election records.

After the meeting, he told The Inquirer: Obviously if you see my name on a petition and it matches my signature, I must have signed it. ... Someone asked me to sign a petition and I signed it.

Murray, the board president, told Emrich that Witte was bending my ear and I said, Then run for office and make the changes. I didnt recruit him, because he was complaining to me about these things and I said, Well run for office.  Afterward, he declined further comment.

Kate Delany, who accompanied Emrich and who is running as a progressive for the Democratic Committee in Collingswood, said she attended the meeting to follow up on the phantom candidates and find out why this was occurring. ... We were shut down and got no answers.

One reason phantom candidates are used by parties is to create clutter and mislead voters, said Yael Niv, a Princeton University professor who heads the nonpartisan Good Government Coalition of New Jersey. The solid party line of endorsed candidates on a ballot gives the appearance that these are serious candidates, Niv said. The rest of the candidates are strewn around the ballot and they look like kooks, not a person running a serious campaign.

The phantom candidates are often "family members or cronies of the political machine. ... They dont intend on winning, theyre just there to pad the ballot with names, so the contestors are just one out of 10 or more people running against the party, Niv said.

Rena Margulis, a founder of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats and a candidate running for county clerk, said another problem is the phantoms use the word progressive in their slogans and voters cant distinguish them from the candidates affiliated with the progressive group. So, this year the progressives are running together under the banner of Democrats of Camden County.

The Camden County Democratic Committee has been using phantom freeholders in order to prevent local candidates who are running against the machine from having a chance and a fair ballot position, she said.

(The story was updated to correct the spelling of the last name of Yael Niv.)
A MAJOR NEWS STORY in the international press this week concerned Thursdays announcement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be heading to Finland to participate in the 22nd annual meeting of the Arctic Council on May 7.

Some fear that the Council, which is largely planning to discuss issues relating to global warming, will have these concerns dismissed by the US delegation, who would rather discuss military strategy in the region in the light of a looming threat from Russia.

In other news, Finland is about to become one of the first countries in the world to have an official governing body regulating cryptocurrency transactions. The Act on Virtual Currency Providers comes into force next week and will force coin exchanges to submit to strict regulatory standards.

Meanwhile, the BBC has released a short documentary on a group of schoolchildren from the town of Ii in northern Finland, who they have dubbed the next generation of climate heroes.

Pompeo headed to Finland, Greenland to discuss Arctic policy

Axios

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit two places in the Arctic in the coming days, where it could be extremely difficult to ignore or downplay the reality and consequences of human-caused global warming.

Why it matters: The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the globe, setting in motion a transformation of a once-frozen region into a new state. Melting sea ice is quickly making the Far North more accessible, and marine traffic from container ships and cruise vessels is becoming more common, particularly in Russian and Canadian waters. As one of 8 Arctic nations, the U.S. plays a key role in setting policy for the region.

The big picture: On May 7, Pompeo will be in Rovaniemi, Finland where he will join foreign ministers from other Arctic nations to discuss issues of concern in the region within a forum known as the Arctic Council. Finland, which is hosting the meeting, has set an agenda that puts climate change high on the list of priorities.

But, but, but: Pompeo is likely to be more interested in regional security issues, given a recent Russian military buildup and growing interest in Arctic oil and gas resources. China, too, has been increasingly eyeing the Arctic.

"There has been a sustained effort by US military and Coast Guard officials to re-frame the issue of climate change in the Arctic as a security challenge," says Malte Humpert, the founder and senior scholar at The Arctic Institute.

"This avoids the political pitfalls of having to talk about climate change and jumps straight to talking about security implications."

The U.S., Humpert says, wants to demonstrate that it will "not surrender control over the region to Russia and China," as sea ice melts and the world heads toward a newly accessible Arctic Ocean each summer, and much thinner ice cover at other times.

The context: The U.S. under President Trump has vowed to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and has been pursuing policies aimed at boosting its production of fossil fuels that lead to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. has also deemphasized Arctic diplomacy by eliminating the position of a special envoy for the region, while also seeking to boost its military presence in the region.

Original article appeared in Axios on 02/05/19 and can be found here.

Finland begins regulating crypto service providers

Bitcoin News

Finlands president has approved a law to regulate cryptocurrency service providers including exchanges, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of cryptocurrencies. The law will enter into force next week. Crypto service providers will need to register with the countrys Financial Supervisory Authority and meet statutory requirements.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA), responsible for regulating Finlands financial markets, independently announced Friday:

The Act on Virtual Currency Providers enters into force on 1 May. In accordance with the act, the Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) will act as the registration authority and supervisory authority for virtual currency providers.

The Fin-FSA explained that registration is required for virtual currency exchange services, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of virtual currencies. These providers must comply with statutory requirements. For example, they must be reliable and able to hold and protect client money. They must also segregate client money from their own funds and comply with AML and CFT regulations

The Fin-FSA noted that these new requirements are based on the May 2018 amendments to the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the Fifth Money Laundering Directive), adding:

All EU member states must include services related to virtual currencies within the scope of AML/CFT legislation by 10 January 2020.

Further, registration with the Fin-FSA does not allow the service provider to operate in another EU country as each member state has its own law that must be followed.

Prior to the president approving the law, Helsinki-based crypto marketplace Localbitcoins announced that it had been working on improvement measures to conform to the new regulation and had launched a new account registration process where users can verify basic information already during sign-up.

Original article appeared in Bitcoin News on 28/04/19 and can be found here.

Finlands new generation of climate heroes

BBC

The town of Ii in northern Finland wants to be the world's first zero-waste community.

They stopped using fossil fuels - and the municipality is reducing CO2 emissions faster than any other community in Finland.

Their target is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2020, which is 30 years ahead of the EU's target.

Since 2012 they've invested heavily in geothermal, solar and wind energy projects that have paid off: they now generate a profit of half a million euros a year.

They believe the key to successful climate action is education from a very young age. So how is Ii raising an environmentally conscious generation?

Original article appeared on BBC on 28/04/19. You can watch the full documentary video here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@HelsinkiTimes)

Image Credit: Lehtikuva
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts for children in struggling families,...
Curtis

"Yo dawg, I heard you like brazing."

It's no secret the Brits have a penchant for anodized bits and the blue co-ordination on this bike is super satisfying.

Mawis Bikes

Starling

400 [Failed to load instagram embed]https://instagr.am/p/BuqJpSUlsv2&maxwidth=1000&hidecaption=1

Prova Hardtail

The purple to raw fade is gorgeous

Vywokrs Sequence Downhill Bike

I forgot to get a picture of the full bike so here's one from Crankworx last year.

That link will soon be matching the rest of the frame in carbon too.

Moulds ready to go for round 2.

Push Suspension

Butcombe

Craft beers are no strangers to events like Bespoked. Cheers!

The Curtis Thumpercross seemed to go down so well we thought we'd include the XR-650 in here too. It's fairly similar in design but the execution is what makes these bikes so special.Germany's Mawis Bikes turned up with this wild titanium hardtail. Up front is an old Cannondale Fatty fork that has been tinkered with to provide 80mm of travel and fit 29 inch wheels.Starling showed up with more than just the Spur prototype that found a spot on the homepage earlier. Not wanting to be left out in a show largely filled with road bikes, Joe has built himself up a commuter klunker.Ben Boxer, a student at Bristol University, has been working with Starling on his dissertation project and this is the result. His aim was to refine the yoke and upright region of the swingarm using generative design software from Autodesk. It's a pretty funky final result and you can see what it would look like on a bike in the Instagram post below:The Prova hardtail was flown around the world from the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia to the UK just for Bespoked and it's going to be flown right back around the world again afterwards. Now that's commitment.Vlad Yordanov was at the show with his Sequence Downhill bike. This is still the first generation model but apparently some updates are on the way including a carbon linkage and a new layup to reduce the weight. He was battling to get it ready for the show but unfortunately just missed out, so expect to see an update soon - probably Fort William.Push suspension are now distributed by Saddleback in the UK and had brought some cutaways along to show off.
Six Remain in 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event; Riess, Loeser Still in Contention

May 03, 2019 Yori Epskamp

The penultimate day of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour 5,300 Main Event saw a field of 30 hopefuls being reduced to the final six. Each of these six will look fondly back after all is said and done, with 152,800 already locked up for their efforts, but the grand prize of 827,700 and the title of EPT Champion awaits the eventual winner to be crowned on Saturday, May 4.

Starting from pole position is Nicola Grieco from Italy. Grieco is looking to become the first Italian EPT winner since Antonio Buonnamo in 2014 and with 7,160,000 in chips, he's the odds-on favorite to do so. The passionate Italian will certainly be hugging the spotlights tomorrow and isn't afraid of a personal vendetta at the tables. Conor Beresford was one of the players to fall to Grieco after some personal back and forths, and the Italian also pulled off a bold three-barrel bluff on German pro Manig Loeser to help him secure the overnight chip lead.

Big Names Chasing EPT Main Event Title

Loeser and Ryan Riess are the two biggest names that will return at noon to the Salle des Etoiles in the Monte-Carlo Sporting. Loeser jumped into the chip lead in the middle levels of the day, courtesy of a big cooler against Nicolas Chouity. Loeser turned a straight while Chouity turned a set, and the former EPT Monte Carlo champ wasn't able to get away from it. From there on out, it was smooth sailing for the German high staker, who will return fourth in chips with 4,005,000.

2013 WSOP Main Event champion Riess could become the first-ever player to win both the WSOP Main Event and an EPT Main Event, and he has a shot to accomplish the improbable coming into the final day with 3,585,000 in chips. While that places him fifth out of six, it's still sixty big blinds, plenty to work with.

Rounding out the final table are Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000), a 27-year old Maltese transplant from Hungary whose bread and butter are normally cash games, recreational player Wei Huang (5,690,000) who spun it up from the shortest stack at the start of the day, and Luis Medina (1,105,000), the only real short stack at the final table. One of them will walk away with the coveted prize and will be nearly a million USD richer.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 4 Action

While the aforementioned six made it to the final table, 24 others fell along the wayside and missed out on the opportunity for EPT glory on Day 4. One of the most notable to drop was Iranian beauty queen Melika Razavi, who had been tearing it up in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for two days straight.

After a strong start to the day, Razavi's bid came to a screeching halt when she flopped flush-under-flush against Huang, one of the few players in the field that had her covered. With no time banks left, there was no escape and Razavi bowed out before the final two tables.

Iranian star Melika Razavi had to settle for 17th place in the EPT Main Event.

Several of poker's greatest tournament stars, such as Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford (11th - 50,930), Sam Greenwood (12th - 45,570), Christoph Vogelsang (18th - 32,150), James Romero (21st - 27,680), and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (22nd - 27,680) all busted on the penultimate day, as did former EPT champs Nicolas Chouity (16th - 36,620), Paul Michaelis (25th - 23,210) and Remi Castaignon (26th - 23,210).

Another high stakes phenom, Timothy Adams, did make the final table but ended up busting in eight place (78,030) after running his pocket queens into a turned flush of Katzenberger. Last to bust out on the day was Rustam Hajiyev (7th - 109,510), who shoved ace-ten into Loeser's pocket queens and didn't improve.

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Payouts

Place Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 827,700 $925,949 2 503,960 $563,780 3 353,880 $395,886 4 265,620 $297,149 5 206,590 $231,112 6 152,800 $170,937

The animated Nicola Grieco leads the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo final table.

Be sure to check back regularly to PokerNews on Saturday, May 5, the final day of the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo as the Main Event plays down to a winner. Action will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and coverage will follow along with the live stream.
After ten quick levels of 30 minutes each, Day 1 of the 25,000 No-Limit Holdem has come to an end with 17 players bagging up chips out of 39 entries. The tournament clock showed 41 entries in total with 11 reentries even though two of those entries didnt take their seats during the day. So at least 19 players will return for Day 2 tomorrow, Saturday, May 4 as the registration period is open until the start. Claiming the Day 1 chip lead is Spains Adrian Mateos with 186,500.

Mateos hasnt had much luck in the events here during the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino EPT as he hasnt cashed yet and this might be the last chance for the Spaniard to save the week. Trailing Mateos is Seth Davies with 176,000. Davies has cashed three times already over the past days, two of them were earned while reaching a final table, the biggest for finishing in eighth place in the 50,000 Single-Day High Roller. Third on the podium is Jean-Noel Thorel with 165,000. The Frenchman has already reached two final tables this week and will be looking to add a third to his results here in the Monte Carlo Bay Resort & Hotel.

Ivan Leow, Isaac Haxton, Steve ODywer, and Joao Simao all used three bullets with the latter the only one to not survive in the end. Foxen, Kazuhiko Yotsushika and PokerStars Ambassador Andre Akkari were responsible for the other reentries in the tournament. Both Foxen and Akkari have made it through to the final day of the event and the festival.

Sam Greenwood was eliminated from both the Main Event and this tournament

Sam Greenwood joined the field after beingeliminated from the Main Event in 12th place for 45,570 and spent some of his prize money buying into this tournament. Unfortunately for him, he was eliminated during the night but might be back before the start of Day 2. Kristen Bicknell and Hideki Izutsu both min-cashed the 25,000 EPT High Roller earlier on the night and decided to jump into the tournament too. They both made it through but with a below average stack, there is some work left for them to do to make the money stages in this event.

Some of the players who were eliminated during the evening who might return to the felt included Andras Nemeth, Chin Wei Lim, and Mikita Badziakouski. If they return, Day 2 will resume at 12:30 PM local time in the Salle des Etoiles with Level 11 which features a small blind of 1,000, big blind of 2,500, and a big blind ante of 2,500. Play will continue until a winner has been crowned so make sure to return for the final day of the live coverage by the PokerNews live reporting team.

Day 2 Seat Draw
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Rep. Gregory Meeks who serves on the Financial Services Committee said that Democrats could subpoena Deutsche Bank employees who have seen Trumps tax returns.

Rep. Meeks responded to Bloomberg report that Deutsche Bank had seen Trumps tax returns on MSNBCs The Beat with Ari Melber,  My reaction has been the Congress along with the ways and means committee, as we know, that our chair there has subpoenaed the IRS for those records. And what we have done on the committee, subpoenaed the banks for those records. If it comes to it, we could subpoena individuals with the bank who have seen the records to come testify.

Video:

Congress will follow the money and get Trumps tax returns

There is too much information in too many places for Donald Trump to be able to keep it all hidden. The power of the presidency is immense, but Trump cant stop witnesses from testifying about what they saw in his tax returns. The president is scared because Deutsche Bank is complying with subpoenas. Congress will eventually get Trumps tax returns. The efforts to get the tax returns are too vast to be stopped. Someone is going to get Trumps tax returns to Congress, and when they do, those Deutsche Bank witnesses will be able to testify to the potential fraud and crimes of Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Donald Trump continued to praise brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Saturday, saying, I am with him hours after it was reported that the country fired more test missiles.

In a bizarre tweet, the president said, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea & will do nothing to interfere or end it.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

As CNN noted on Saturday, If confirmed, the test is understood to be the first missile launch from North Korea since late 2017  and the first since US President Donald Trump began meeting the countrys leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump had previously bragged that North Korea was no longer firing test missiles because of him, even going as far as saying he prevented a nuclear war.

Trump is being played by dictators

Trumps praise of Kim Jong Un on Saturday, even after the North Korean dictator is starting to show more aggression, is just the latest example in recent days of the president bowing down to an authoritarian.

The president has also returned to his habit of publicly conspiring with Vladimir Putin, speaking by telephone with the Russian leader on Friday and agreeing with each other that Robert Muellers investigation was a hoax.

As PoliticusUSAs Sarah Jones also pointed out, President Trump failed to bring up Russian President Vladimir Putins meddling in our elections when they spoke for an hour. He also failed to tell Putin not to meddle in the upcoming election.

Throughout his two years in office, Trump has repeatedly elevated Kim Jong Un on the world stage while simultaneously checking off Russias wishlist and bowing down to Vladimir Putin  all while straining relationships with American allies.

Americas adversaries have the United States exactly where they want it.

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Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance blasted Donald Trump on Saturday for licking Vladimir Putins boots during a phone call this week.

Nance compared Trumps behavior on the phone call  from attacking the special counsel investigation to letting Putin off the hook for Russian election meddling  to a famous movie villain.

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor, he said. What we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump.

Video:

Nance said:

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor and you know Darth Vader is evil, but so the emperor is a higher evil power. And what we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump. It was a disgraceful display that he would go on there and literally talk to the person who attacked the United States and the fundamentals of our democracy and praise him and work with him to call this a hoax. Worse than that, he dropped a hint that very soon Russian sanctions will be lifted.

Trump is completely owned by Russia

As Robert Muellers Russia investigation has concluded and Trump and attorney general William Barr push the false narrative that there was no collusion, the president is once again returning to his usual habit of heaping praise on Vladimir Putin.

But as Malcolm Nance pointed out last week, the special counsel probe investigated criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice, but it largely overlooked the question of whether Trump is compromised by Russia.

Through his behavior, and his refusal to release documents that show his financial conflicts, Trump is answering that question for us. He appears to be completely owned by Russia and he feels as emboldened than ever to show that publicly.

And as Nance has said, each day Trump remains in the White House bowing down to foreign adversaries, America will be in a national security nightmare.

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Trump called for MSNBC and other outlets to be banned from social media after some of his biggest alt-right supporters were banned for hate speech.

Trump called for MSNBC to be banned

Trump responded to some of his biggest alt-right supporters being banned by tweeting:

When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen! Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Trump wants some of the most prominent free press outlets banned from Twitter and Facebook, but pro-Trump propagandists, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech peddlers should have an amplified platform. The presidents demand is in line with an authoritarian view of the press. Trump does not believe in press freedom. He wants a media does not challenge or investigate him.

The media is supposed to push his propaganda, brainwash the citizens, and glorify him.

Trump wants the United States to become North Korea.

The free press is democracys weapon against Trump

Trump conflated hate speech, conspiracy theories, and propaganda getting peddled by the banned alt-right Trump supporters, with the role of the free press in investigating his administration. The press did not get the collusion story wrong. The president lied in his tweet.

The notion that Trump was cleared of collusion which isnt a crime that exists in the criminal code is a falsehood that has been pushed by Trumps attorney general, the president and his defenders.

The Mueller report found lots of conspiracy between Trump and the Russians, but as the report noted, key witnesses suddenly developed memory problems when it was time to provide essential details to Mueller.

Trump is trying to destroy the free press because this nation needs the Fourth Estate to save the country from his endless pit of lies.

Donald Trump is losing. His hate speech spewing supporters are being banned, and the institutions that safeguard freedoms are prevailing over this president.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
[Editors note: Correction and clarification. This version of the story corrects the reference to B92, the fact that in functions today mostly as a web portal. We also clarify that the publication Nedeljnik carries a Russian state media advertising insert that runs in many media outlets].

Sputnik Srbija leads the ratings for political disinformation among Serbian-language foreign media operating in the Balkans, according to an upcoming report by the fact-checking organization Raskrinkavanje.ba, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The report, which will be released on May 13, found that the Belgrade-based Russian government-owned international broadcaster is part of a disinformation hub that targets Serbian language audiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje.ba (Disclosures). In contrast, the Serbian language services of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and the BBC did not even show up in the disinformation algorithm.

According to President Vladimir Putin, when the Russian government designed its foreign broadcast media project back in 2005, it intended to try to break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.

In the Serbian-speaking part of the Balkans, Putins strategy seems to have succeeded.

Few people in the Balkans appear to know that Sputnik and Russia Today are Russian government-owned broadcasters, as their information is widely republished by local news outlets. Sputnik Srbija presents itself as a local media outlet that claims to cover topics others do not. In addition to producing original stories, it transmits content from RT, which does not broadcast in the Serbian language.

As Polygraph.info has frequently noted, Russia Today and Sputnik are far from being regular media outlets. According to media watchdog organizations, they were created to serve as the Kremlins information arm abroad.

Polygraph.info video by Nik Yarst.

More problematic, however, are the means these two organizations use to serve Moscows goalsnot through independent journalistic reporting, but mainly through disinformation. By mixing fact and fiction, playing on popular sentiments among foreign audiences and trying to sway public opinion in a particular direction that serves Moscows interests, these two organizations systematically pursue the Kremlins geopolitical goals, while discrediting journalistic principles in the process, according to Precious Chatterje-doody of Manchester University in the U.K.

Sputnik in Serbia

Sputnik set up a sizeable operation in Serbia in 2015, which continues to expand. It just moved to bigger premises in Belgrade, hiring more journalists  allegedly, even reporters who used to work for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Its editor-in-chief, Ljubinka Milincic, served as Serbias cultural attache in Moscow in the early 2000s, where she developed a fascination with President Vladimir Putin and subsequently dedicated several books to him. One of them, titled Vladimir Putin - Moja Bitka za Kosovo (Vladimir Putin  My Fight for Kosovo) was published in Serbian in 2007, while another, titled Fenomen Putin - Covek Koji Je Stvorio Sam Sebe (The Phenomenon of Putin - the Man Who Created Himself), was published in 2011.

Under the slogan Sputnik Tells the Untold, the Moscow-launched news portal and radio program reaches large Serbian-speaking audiences as well as people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo, who understand Serbian.

The well-funded Kremlin media effort benefits from the predicament of Serbias cash-strapped news outlets, which are ready to republish free content to save money. And Sputniks stories, though widely seen as biased and misleading, are readily available for free distribution through numerous radio and TV stations throughout the Balkans, according to Jelena Milic, director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS) in Belgrade.

Serbia has too many media outlets that are not financially viable, Milic told Polygraph.info. Some of them serve as fronts for political influence and it suits them to have free-of-charge media production that favors Russia. Others simply dont pay attention to the accuracy of Sputniks stories. This allows the content of Sputnik and RT to proliferate in all Serbian media, turning it into a disinformation hub.

Disinformation Proliferation

Milic said that the most underestimated problem with Russian influence and disinformation in the region is the high-level of penetration of Sputnik Srbija in the local media environment, especially through popular radio stations. Sputniks news production has replaced all news broadcasts at the top of the hour as well as the main daily news and analysis broadcast of Radio Novosti and other stations in Serbia. In reality, there is no original news reporting by these stationsit is outsourced to Sputnik Srbija.

One of Sputniks main platforms is the B92 web portal, the successor of once-legendary Serbian radio station that earned awards for independent broadcasting during the final years of the Milosevic regime. RTV B92 today functions mostly as a web portal and operates Play Radio and O2.TV.

Another one is Studio B, which found itself in a difficult financial position after Western media assistance dried up. The radio station re-broadcasts Sputnik programs, along with those of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Germanys Deutsche Welle. This creates confusion among Studio Bs listeners: they can receive two completely different versions of the same event depending on the hour of the day they listen to the radio.

You have two diametrically opposed points of view, said Ivana Vucicevic, editor-in-chief of Studio B, in a May 2017 Reuters article. That way we can satisfy the broad spectrum of people who listen to us.

For example, on the 20th anniversary of NATOs military operation in Yugoslavia to prevent Slobodan Milosevics regime from killing and ethnically cleansing the Kosovo Albanians, Sputnik portrayed NATOS intervention as an act of aggression against the Serbian people. Sputnik is currently running a 79-days campaign to commemorate each day of NATOs intervention, under the slogan Serbia Remembers. The production uses a multimedia platform, combining online writing and graphics with audio and visual materials for a stronger effect.

This content has been widely broadcast by many local news outlets, amplifying Sputniks influence on the Serbian public. As a result, even if the countrys leadership wanted to move on from the painful spring of 1999, improve relations with Kosovo and join the European Union, the popular opinion shaped by the local outlets transmitting Sputniks content could become an obstacle, according to Milic.

Ready to Rectify

The media in Serbia and Republika Srpska have been compromised by political and economic pressure and they have become susceptible to Sputniks influence, said Ivana Cvetkovic Bajrovic, Associate Director for Europe at the National Endowment for Democracy. The political environment created by the leaders is not conducive to critical thinking about what that influence might mean.

Bajrovic told Polygraph.info that on the other side is the economic pressure -- the need to drive traffic to media websites. It is all about attracting visitors to the websites, often by packaging fake news to increase traffic and revenues. But when confronted about publishing disinformation, many news outlets seem ready to rectify the situation and take down the post. This has been the experience of the Bosnian fact check website Raskrinkavanje.ba https://raskrinkavanje.ba/, Bajrovic said.

The study by Raskrinkavanje.ba has identified a disinformation hub that targets the Serbian-speaking populations in the Balkans and covers Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje (Disclosures). The group has identified 30 outlets, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as sources and carriers of disinformation. One of them  Sputnik Srbija  is foreign, but two of the key local sources of disinformation are funded by the government of the BiH entity Republika Srpskathe Radio Television of Republika Srpska and the News Agency of Republika Srpska (SRNA). Moscow has long supported the government in Banja Luka, with the cooperation intensifying lately in the defense sector as well.

Apart from direct disinformation practices, Sputnik has had a clearly biased reporting of BiH politics, our analysis showed,Brkan told Polygraph.info. It is mostly demonstrated through a positive attitude toward the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), the ruling party in Republika Srpska, and its president, Milorad Dodik. Sputnik was also one of the media outlets advocating for the SNSD party during the election campaign in 2018.

Sputnik Narratives

According to Jelena Milic, the Russian broadcasters key mission in Serbia is to deconstruct the established narratives concerning Serbias responsibility for war crimes committed during the Yugoslav conflicts, and thus negate the rulings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It also aims to deepen the sense of victimhood that is deeply rooted in the Serbian society with the purpose of alienating it from the West.

The narratives offered by Sputnik and multiplied in the local media include:

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians.

Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians. Depleted Uranium Pollution. Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002.

Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002. Kosovo is Serbian Land. This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction.

This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction. Denying the Rulings of The Hague . Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague.

. Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague. Anti-EU Rhetoric. Sputniks anti-EU rhetoric is more careful, as Belgrade has repeatedly stated that it intends to join the EU while remaining Russias partner.

Moscows Influence - an Advertising Insert

The Russian government also spreads its influence in the print media in Serbia, as it does elsewhere in the world, by placing paid supplements or inserts in local media. One of them is R Magazin, is an 8-page paid insert, included in the widely-read weekly Nedeljnik ten times a year.

The supplement is funded by the Russian government and prepared by Russia Beyond the Headlines, a multilingual resource on Russian politics and culture sponsored by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia's state newspaper.

The insert, or similar ones, appear in other newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post as RT noted, at time in 2006. More recently, Western publications, including the New York Times, have faced criticism for publishing the broadsheet inserts published by the same entite

The operation ultimately failed. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport.

New York-based journalist Marija Sajkas reported for the Committee to Protect Journalists that all material appearing in R Magazin, including Serbian language articles and photographs, are delivered from Moscow and that the management of Nedeljnik has no influence over the supplements content.

Nedeljnik Managing Editor Marko Prelevic stated that, in the print edition, the supplement is clearly identified as sponsored content and so his editors do not verify the R Magazine content, but that most of the issues of R Magazine have almost no political content.

However, an insert featured a March 29 interview with Russian paratrooper Alexei Dogadin from the 2nd Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Kosovo crisis in 1999, who participated in the famous march on Pristina in June 1999 when his battalion made its way from Tuzla to Kosovo in an attempt to seize the Pristina airport.

The attempt ultimately failed, because Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria closed their airspace for Russian airplanes heading to Pristina to complete the takeover. This critical fact is omitted in the article. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport in Pristina.

The article was visible in the online version of the newspaper, initially, but appeared later to have been taken offline. Prevelic said R Magazine articles "are seldom published on our website."

Prevelic said he believes the insert was actually promoting the popular Russian movie that featured some Serbian actors. He said that (Russia Beyond) offers the most interesting reading materials on Russia and its rich history, the science breakthroughs and technology, the culture and the reportage from the largest country in the world.

However, Sajkas said the March 2016 issue included analysis about why Russia is the winner in the Syrian war and a memoir by a Russian war correspondent on the 1999 NATO bombing campaign that hit civilian targets in Serbia.

The Responsibility

Russian disinformation is burgeoning in the Serbian-language media space because of the lack of critical thinking among many politicians and some of the Serbian-language audiences about the sources of news and the implications of false narratives, according to Bajrovic.

Adnan Huskic, president of the Center for Election Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says that the absence of a strong media makes it easier for political elites to use disinformation in order to maintain control. When you dont have properly developed media systems in your country that are supposed to provide an unbiased and professionally ethical journalism then we have a huge problem, he said at a recent Atlantic Council event.

Milic argues that Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are particularly vulnerable to fake online information as their democratic systems are still fragile, including the rule of law and independent media.
The Carroll Building at the corner of North Market and East Bay street downtown is up for sale. Before Hooked Seafood opened in the building's corner storefront earlier this year, the Noisy Oyster had its downtown restaurant there. File/Wade Spees.
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The bones were to return to the ground. But not before they made one last journey.

They were the skeletal remains of six people. Two women, two men and two children. Held in white boxes, wrapped in indigo-colored blankets and riding in a horse-drawn hearse.

The bones were headed to what is now the site of Charleston's performing arts building, the Gaillard Center. It was near that same dirt, six years ago, that workers found them, more than 250 years after they were first buried. Saturday's solemn ceremony wasn't just for them: It also served as a civic act of remembrance for many, many like them.

The 36 whose remains were uncovered mostly had roots in west and central Africa. Others were from the Caribbean and South Carolina.

Coins found in graves Long-held traditions apparently followed at Gaillard burial site Copper pennies meant to cover the eyes of the dead were discovered with two individuals at the Gaillard grave site, an indication that one of 

Led by the hearse, dozens of followers crossed George and King streets in downtown Charleston. Many wore flowing robes, shirts and pants of golds and purples. Whites and yellows. Browns, oranges and greens. Onlookers gathered as the swell of people, some children and others up in years, passed by.

For a city still grappling with its dark and unequal racial history, the celebration of the remains presented a moment. The walkers' clothing, the metronomic drumming that guided them and the chanting that lifted them was purposefully rooted in Africa, in honor of the enslaved ancestors forced to toil its land.

In death, those same people were often forgotten in grave sites that were later covered up, forgotten or destroyed. The 36 people were found in what was another of those unmarked burying places.

As the walkers crossed Anson Street to join the 30 other remains already inside an open burial vault, a hundred or so people packed in close under towering oak trees. Crowding around the vault, they took pictures of the remains inside and the top that was about to seal them.

The rectangular top featured the names given, at an earlier ceremony a week ago, to each of the people found in the burial ground.

Each name was a nod to their African heritage. Written above them, on the top, were the words: "Into heaven your spirits we now release, we bless you and we thank you and pray your souls may know peace."

One by one, pallbearers clutching white wooden carriers moved the remaining boxes from the hearse toward the vault, near a freshly opened grave.

Dr. Ade Ajani Ofunniyin, founder and director of the Gullah Society, helped bring them through an opening in the crowd, placing each of the boxes inside the vault with the others. Ofunniyin followed by placing cards on top of the indigo blankets that covered the boxes, with messages written for the dead.

"To my beloved ancestors, thank you for life and making your journey to Charleston, SC," offered one person. "You are honored and may God bless your souls." It was signed "with love."

The drumming paused as the Rev. Willie Hill, from the nearby St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, gave a brief sermon. The bones of the people in the boxes in front of them were free, he said. Nothing could set them in bondage again.

Ofunniyin, followed by reading each of their names listed on the vault, which people repeated in response.

Coosaw. Risu. Kwabena. Kuto. Talata. Nina. Lisa. Pele. Ganda. Kidzera. Ajana. Nana. Rere. Juba. Kiana. Jode. Anika. Daba. Babatunde. Zimbu. Welela. Fumu. Amina. Leke. Lima. Tima. Pita. Banza. Ola. Omo. Mbangi. Isi. Wuta. Ulume. Yawo. Ori.

The drumbeat, singing voices in unison and swaying bodies continued as the final clods of dirt later thumped on the sealed vault, after it was lowered into the earth.

With names anew, they were returning to the Charleston soil once again.
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.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
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.
Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune.
St. Marks resumes community suppers

St. Marks Episcopal Church in Lake City, will resume its community suppers on May 8. The suppers run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Beginning this season, everyone is invited to join St. Marks for a special program, an organ presentation by Coleen Fowler, beginning at 4:15 p.m. in the church sanctuary. Enjoy a John Phillip Sousa march and, with audience participation, several patriotic anthems or American folk songs with improvisations in the accompaniment.

At the end of the performance the audience will write a song! The program is free; however, donations are accepted to start a music fund for future events. Please enter at the historic red door or handicap side entrance into the sanctuary. Everyone is welcome to join the community supper in McNairy Hall following the organ program.

The supper will include Tri Hotdish  tater tot, Italian or chicken rice  salad, dinner rolls, desserts and beverages. Coleen will provide piano selections during the supper. Audience participation is welcome. The Lake City Girl Scouts will be there to help prepare, serve and clean up to earn their community service badges. Please enter McNairy Hall at the parking lot side entrance for the supper.

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St. Marks is located across from Patton Park at 110 S. Oak St., Lake City.

Sunday-morning church services are at 10 a.m. The first four Sundays of the month, the service is held at St. Marks. The fifth Sunday of the month, service is held at the Mayo Clinic Health Care Center and everyone is welcome to join us there, as well. The Episcopal church invites everyone to receive Holy Communion.

Womens Connection hosts May luncheon

A May Flowers luncheon will be put on by Rochester Christian Womens Connection, 11:45 a.m. May 14 at the Rochester Eagles Club, 917 15th Ave. SE.

Dress Barn of Rochester will present the special feature, a spring fashion show. Nancy Bridges, of White Bear Lake, will speak on "The Challenges of New Beginnings," how to cope with lifes changes.

Cost to attend is $15 per person. Reservations are required by May 11. Call Jan, 507-288-1144, or email mploetz@hbcsc.net.

Cowboy Church is May 5 at Cherry Grove

Cherry Grove Cowboy Church will be held at Cherry Grove United Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. May 5. Singing starts at 5:45 p.m. Jim Pries will be providing special music.

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Cowboy Church is nondenominational and another way of spreading Gods message through music. The service includes a mix of country, Christian country, cowboy and Southern gospel, and bluegrass music.

Musicians are welcome, and should contact Cindy Seabright at seabright.cindy@gmail.com or 507-272-1682 one week prior to the service. Cowboy Church services are held the first Sunday each month.

Cherry Grove United Methodist Church is at 18183 160th St. in the small community of Cherry Grove, rural Spring Valley. The church is handicap accessible.

You dont have to be a cowboy to visit!

Artists will share lives, work

Artist Ann Riggott will be speaking at Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester, for A Time for Women, 6:30 p.m. May 9.

Her devotion is titled "Life as an Artist." Also on the program is a demo by Ardis Souhrada called "Stitches in Time." Souhrada is well known for her beautifully embroidered and quilted creations, which she will be talking about and showing.

Refreshments will be served. All women are welcome to attend.

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For questions or more information call or text 507-269-7653. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/a.time.for.women .

Calvary hosts six-week yoga event

Join a yoga and meditation event for six weeks this spring at Calvary Episcopal Church.

The series, "Sacred Circle Yoga and Meditation Spring Series: The Yamas of Yoga," begins May 21 and continues each Tuesday through June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the churchs Crawford Hall.

The yamas are the ethical principles that guide the physical practice of yoga and encourage a "right way of living." Patricia Barrier, a Rochester registered yoga teacher, will begin each class with instruction on a yama that will inform our gentle yoga practice and end with a short meditation helping us to apply that principle to our daily life. In this way, we move from the physical practice to a living yoga that informs our actions and helps us live compassionately and in harmony with all other people, creatures and our environment.

The class is suitable for beginners as well as those experienced in yoga who wish to deepen their practice. All aspects of the practice are adaptable to a chair or can be done with assistive devices. Yoga equipment is provided or bring your own mat.

The cost of the entire series is $90, payable upon registration. Please register by calling Linda in the church office, 507-282-9429. Payment accepted by cash/check, credit card or PayPal.

Calvary Episcopal Church is at 111 Third Ave. SW.

Program compares Luther, St. Francis

A program at Assisi Heights in Rochester, "Francis of Assisi and Luther of Wittenberg," has been rescheduled to 6:30 p.m. May 13.

The program compares the lives of two Christian historical figures.

Francis of Assisi preceded Martin Luther by 300 years. Both were shaped by the monastic life and both were concerned with bringing the "Good News" to the people in ways they could understand. This presentation will explore some of the things that Francis and Luther shared, as each left an indelible mark on the life of the Church.

Our presenters participated in the pilgrimage programs to Assisi, Italy. Dr. Phil Quanbeck II, Professor of Religion at Augsburg University in Minneapolis Minnesota, gives this presentation with Dr. Ruth Johnson, Consultant in Internal Medicine, who also serves in the Executive Health Program and in Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine.

Admission is $10 preregistered/prepaid, or $15 at the door.

Register online, tinyurl.com/y6eqrrfe , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.
DENVER

Jerry Burton has lived in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood here for the past few months, in an orange tent pitched on a sidewalk. He and the other homeless campers on the block  Burton proudly calls the encampment "Jerr-E-Ville," and has declared himself the unofficial mayor  are defying the citys urban camping ban, which means they are always bracing for a visit from the police.

A caseworker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to find permanent housing for the 57-year-old Marine Corps veteran whose tent is surrounded by his belongings neatly arranged in small plastic bags. In the meantime, Burton is hoping that Denver voters next week will overturn the citys camping ban, thanks to an initiative he and others petitioned to get on the ballot.

The ballot question, dubbed the "Right to Survive," would declare that everyone has the right to rest, eat and shelter in public places without being harassed. Supporters say it would shield people experiencing homelessness from unfair citations and arrests.

But business, environmental and social service organizations fear it would proliferate dangerous encampments in parks and on sidewalks without helping to house people.

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"I find Initiative 300 to be one of the most frightening and heinous initiatives that Ive witnessed in my career," said Jeff Shoemaker, a former Republican state representative and executive director of the Greenway Foundation, a nonprofit that works to revitalize the South Platte River and its tributaries.

First of its kind

The Denver initiative is the latest front in a campaign advocates for homeless people have been waging at the state level for years. Lawmakers in California, Oregon and Colorado have repeatedly introduced bills that, by articulating a "right to rest," would override local ordinances that penalize people for living in public spaces. Lawmakers in Washington state proposed similar legislation this year. None of the bills passed.

So Denver Homeless Out Loud, an advocacy group that backed the Colorado legislation, decided to take the issue to voters. If the first-of-its-kind "Right to Survive" ballot initiative is successful  a late January/early February poll taken by the opposition campaign suggested it could be approved  its supporters are likely to try to pass similar initiatives elsewhere in Colorado and across the West.

"If it passes, we hopefully may not have to run another statewide initiative," said Democratic Rep. Jovan Melton, sponsor of the Colorado Right to Rest bill. "We may be able to go just city by city to deal with this."

About 552,000 people in the United States are living on the street, in emergency shelters or in transitional housing, according to the latest count from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most people experiencing homelessness are clustered in expensive cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.

In Rochester, attention has come recently to an emerging issue of homeless people living and sleeping in public skyways. First-year Mayor Kim Norton convened a group of advocates, public officials and other citizens to find permanent housing for those homeless people.

Laws against lying down

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Cities nationwide have laws on the books intended to keep destitute people moving and out of sight. One-third of 187 cities surveyed by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, prohibit camping in public. About a quarter of cities surveyed prohibit sleeping in certain public places, and almost half prohibit sitting or lying down in public.

Even if a person is just sitting outside or sleeping in a clean tent, they can be told to either move on or be issued a fine, said Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney at the law center. "Even those activities are treated as public health and safety threats, when they are not."

The Denver City Council in 2012 passed an urban camping ordinance that prohibits people from pitching tarps and tents or even covering themselves with a blanket in public places. Other city ordinances ban aggressive panhandling, public urination, and sitting or lying down in a public right of way, among other activities.

Other Colorado cities have passed similar laws, said Nantiya Ruan, a law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. "In our largest cities, we disproportionately cite and jail those who are homeless for these types of ordinances, and it costs the city a lot of money to do so," she said.

A lot of sleep deprivation

But enforcement is spotty. Denver police officers typically tell people violating the camping ban to move rather than throwing them in jail. Under the ordinance, police officers are required to give offenders a warning and try to connect them to assistance, such as addiction treatment, before making an arrest.

The camping ban still has an effect, said Terese Howard, an organizer for Denver Homeless Out Loud.

"The impact is a lot of sleep deprivation, its a lot of stress and mental health struggle, for constantly not knowing where you can go; its physical health problems," she said. "Its safety risks, people being raped and assaulted after being forced to move into unsafe areas."

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Many people have no choice but to sleep outside, Howard said, because the city of Denver doesnt have enough shelter beds for the estimated 3,445 people who need them.

Even when beds are available, theyre not open to everyone. People cant enter shelters when they have alcohol or drugs with them. And some people dont want to stay in a noisy, crowded shelter, separated from their partner and their pets.

Julie Smith, director of marketing and community services for the Denver Human Services Department, said theres sufficient space in city shelters to handle demand. The Denver Animal Shelter can temporarily shelter pets and at least one city shelter will take people regardless of substance abuse, she said.

Some prefer it

Sitting in the sunshine outside Impact Humanity, a Denver store that gives away clothes, a young man with sandy hair who declined to share his name said hes been homeless for two years and prefers to sleep outside in good weather.

On winter nights, he said, homeless people may have to trespass to curl up in a sheltered place, such as an abandoned stairwell. "I notice a lot of people who freeze to death  you cant just throw up a tent and all the gear it takes to stay warm," he said.

Debbie Hyatt, 67, was also waiting for her turn to enter the store. She sat under an awning that cast a cool shadow on the pavement, shaping her nails with a pink nail file. She said she sleeps in a shelter now but slept on the sidewalk for a while after getting bedbugs from a shelter mattress.

Sleeping outside isnt ideal for anybody, she said. And it could be safer. "There needs to be a designated ground area," she said, protected from dangers such as cars skidding off the curb.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and other legal aid groups have successfully sued various cities to change policies that disproportionately affect people experiencing homelessness.

For instance, Denver recently pledged to give homeless people more notice prior to cleaning up camps and to offer more storage lockers, toilets and trash cans as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the citys homeless population.

Fierce fights

But when advocates take their civil rights arguments to state lawmakers, they face serious opposition. The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a San Francisco-based organization, has tried and failed for almost a decade to get "right to rest" legislation passed.

City leaders, law enforcement and business groups have pushed back every time, said Paul Boden, WRAPs executive director. In Colorado, Rep. Melton said, his Right to Rest bill was opposed by city leaders who didnt want the state to interfere with their ordinances.

The political fight in Denver, if anything, has been fiercer than the state battles that preceded it. The campaign against Initiative 300 has raised over $1.5 million, about 19 times the amount raised by the campaign backing the initiative.

The opposing campaign, funded primarily by business groups such as the National Association of Realtors and the Downtown Denver Partnership, says the initiative would stop the city from enforcing laws that protect public safety without helping people access housing.

"We do not believe this policy helps support those experiencing homelessness  or the broader community," said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, in an emailed statement. "We know that we can do better and believe we must work to expand upon services that support the dignity of people who are experiencing homelessness in our community."

The measure would supersede a host of local ordinances, including park curfews, according to city officials interpretation of the broadly worded measure. The city says it could make police officers, park rangers and outreach workers reluctant to help people living on the street, as doing so could be considered harassment.

The ordinance also could make it more difficult for city staff to address health threats such as hepatitis A, rodents, feces, urine and discarded needles, the city said.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has said he doesnt support either the Right to Survive initiative, or the state Right to Rest bill.

Trash, sanitation problems

Trash discarded by homeless people is already a problem along the South Platte River, said Shoemaker of the Greenway Foundation. Before taking kids on outdoor excursions, he said, members of his education team scour the area for drug paraphernalia and human waste. An explosion of encampments in the city would further threaten the rivers health, he said.

Denvers Right to Survive initiative has even been criticized by groups that supported the Colorado Right to Rest bill.

"I wouldnt necessarily say that were opposed to the measure, because we understand the need for this conversation," said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a housing, health care and supportive services provider.

But her organization worries that the initiatives language is vague, and that it doesnt allocate resources to address homelessness. "If it does pass  theres still no additional resources put into the system to make sure we dont have the need for something like Right to Survive," she said.

Ruan, the law professor, said courts would decide how to interpret the statute and noted that after six months the city council could step in to modify it. "It can be corrected by the city council, but it will force them to do something about this issue," Ruan said of the councilmembers.

Howard, of Denver Homeless Out Loud, said concerns about human waste and trash are distinct from the camping ban. "Absolutely, theres a desperate need for porta-potties, for trash services, and so on," she said. "But thats true regardless of whether we have the right to sleep or not."

People who live on the streets dont want the city to be overwhelmed with trash, either. "I dont know how comfortable I feel about the parks turning into wastelands and dumps and stuff," said the sandy-haired young man outside Impact Humanity. Maybe the city could do more to clean things up, he suggested.

They also want permanent solutions. "Hopefully, they will build housing that people can afford," Burton said.

Regardless of the May 7 election result, the people behind the initiative and the state bills like it say theyll keep fighting. "We understand that were going to hear no. And were really good at getting our asses kicked," WRAPs Boden said. "But were going to keep coming back."

Voters in Denver will cast ballots on Ordinance 300, the so-called "Right to Survive" initiative.

This is the text of the ballot question:

"Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt a measure that secures and enforces basic rights for all people within the jurisdiction of the City and County of Denver, including the right to rest and shelter oneself from the elements in a non-obstructive manner in outdoor public spaces, to eat, share accept or give free food in any public space where food is not prohibited, to occupy one's own legally parked motor vehicle, or occupy a legally parked motor vehicle belonging to another, with the owner's permission, and to have a right and expectation of privacy and safety of or in one's person and property?"
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 1, 2019 - Back in 2013, Timothy Koeth, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland, received a rather extraordinary birthday gift: a little cloth lunch pouch containing a small object wrapped in brown paper towels. As Koeth peeled back the layers, his eyes grew wide with astonishment. He immediately asked, "Where did you get that?"

Inside he found a heavy metal cube and a crumpled message, a provocative note wrapped around a stone that came crashing through the window of history. It read, "Taken from Germany, from the nuclear reactor Hitler tried to build. Gift of Ninninger."

Koeth's friend grinned, picked up the 5-pound block of uranium metal and handed it to him. Though modest in size, the cube was heavy, dense and steeped in lost history. Koeth accepted the cube and its note as an invitation to the adventure of a lifetime.

In the May 2019 issue of Physics Today, Koeth and Miriam Hiebert, a doctoral candidate working with him on this project at UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, describe what they've discovered while exploring the German quest and failure to build a working nuclear reactor during World War II.

Uranium is weakly radioactive, and this particular cube measures about 2 inches on each side. "It's surprisingly heavy, given its size, and it's always a lot of fun to watch people's reaction when they pick it up for the first time," said Hiebert.

A Chandelier of Nuclear Elements

This cube represents one of 664 uranium metal components that were strung together in a form reminiscent of a chandelier to comprise the core of a nuclear reactor experiment that a team of German scientists attempted to build toward the end of the World War II, including Werner Heisenberg -- a theoretical physicist and one of the key visionaries of quantum mechanics. The chandelier was submerged in heavy water to regulate the rate of fission.

The Germans' experimental lab was small and located underground in the town of Haigerloch -- it's now the Atomkeller Museum, which the public can visit. "This experiment was their final and closest attempt to create a self-sustaining nuclear reactor, but there wasn't enough uranium present in the core to achieve this goal," said Koeth.

One of the most surprising things Koeth and Hiebert have discovered so far is that while the 664 uranium cubes at Haigerloch weren't enough to build a self-sustaining reactor, an additional 400 cubes were located within Germany at the time.

"If the Germans had pooled their resources, rather than keeping them divided among separate, rival experiments, they may have been able to build a working nuclear reactor," said Hiebert. "This highlights perhaps the biggest difference between the German and American nuclear research programs. The German program was divided and competitive; whereas, under the leadership of General Leslie Groves, the American Manhattan Project was centralized and collaborative."

How Close Did the Germans Get?

How close did the Germans get to a working nuclear reactor? This is difficult to answer, but "it's been calculated that the reactor experiment in Haigerloch would have needed about 50% more uranium to run," said Koeth. "Even if the 400 additional cubes had been brought to Haigerloch to use within that reactor experiment, the German scientists would have still needed more heavy water to make the reactor work. Despite being the birthplace of nuclear physics and having nearly a two-year head start on American efforts, there was no imminent threat of a nuclear Germany by the end of the war."

Another important aspect of Koeth and Hiebert's work is an effort to track down the cubes recovered from Haigerloch that ended up being shipped to the U.S. "Cubes were distributed to various individuals around the country," Hiebert explained. "We don't know how many were handed out or what happened to the rest, but there are likely more cubes hiding in basements and offices around the country, and we'd like to find them!"

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

"We hope to speak to as many people as possible who've had contact with these cubes," said Hiebert. "As much as we've learned about our cube and others like it, we still don't have an answer about how exactly it ended up in Maryland 70 years after being captured by Allied forces in southern Germany."

Koeth and Hiebert are also trying to learn more about the fate of the other 400 cubes that ended up on the black market in Europe after the war.

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MIAMI  Why let the rising sea sink your Miami lifestyle when you can go with the flow aboard the Arkup houseboat?

Arkup features the ingenious engineering feature of four hydraulic pilings that stabilize the vessel on the sea bottom or allow it to lift like a house on stilts above floodwaters, king tides and hurricane-whipped storm surges.

South Florida sea levels are projected to rise 6 to 12 inches by 2030, 14 inches to nearly three feet by 2060, and 31 inches to nearly seven feet by 2100, according to the Southeast Florida Climate Change Regional Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group. Miami Beach and the Keys may be inundated first, but the entire region is recognized as one of the most vulnerable on the planet.

In this brave new waterworld, Arkup wants to keep you high and dry on your floating home.

Noah, who constructed his ark to withstand 40 days and 40 nights of apocalyptic rain and Biblical flooding, would approve. He probably could not afford the modern version, which has a sticker price of $5.5 million, but he would like the comfort, spacious bathrooms and retractable swimming platform.

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Arkup, solar-powered and equipped with a rainwater-collecting-and-purifying system, is a self-sustaining home, a green adaptation for our blue future.

"Its more like a house than a boat, but you never lose the unmistakable feeling that youre on the water," said Nicolas Derouin, managing director of Arkup.

Arkup was designed and built in Miami by Derouin and Arnaud Luguet, two French engineers who live here and have a passion for the oceans and environmental preservation.

They have witnessed the impact of climate change and sea level rise in their adopted hometown and around the world. On Monday, Indonesia announced it will move its capital out of Jakarta, a swampy, flood-prone and drowning metropolis of 30 million people.

"It is happening before our eyes," Derouin said. "Coastal areas are the most desirable but also the most at risk. Miami is implementing resiliency measures. We hope Arkup can be a small part of the solution."

Derouin and Luguet were inspired by the Dutch floating communities of IJburg and Schoonschip.

"In the Netherlands, one third of the country is below sea level," Derouin said. "They want to develop housing alternatives. Instead of fighting the water, live on it."

Lake Union in Seattle has 500 permanently docked houseboats. Paris has restaurants, a hotel and is building a 2024 Olympic venue on the River Seine. Dubai has floating vacation homes. In San Francisco, where Sausalito has a houseboat community, the Danish firm BIG has proposed building an archipelago of floating villages connected by ferries on the bay. The Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club in Weehawken, N.J., which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, may reinvent its marina as a houseboat haven.

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"We decided to design a boat that looks and feels like Miami, is compatible with a subtropical climate and gives the owner the freedom and flexibility to move," Derouin said.

Their ultimate goal is to create an affordable model, develop floating neighborhoods and partner with island hotels to build eco-bungalows on surrounding waters.

"We want to design small apartments on the water for students, townhouses for families," Derouin said. "We want to create housing solutions for a broader audience. Thats the vision behind Arkup."

Derouin and Luguet collaborated with Dutch firm Waterstudio and pioneering aqua-tect Koen Olthuis, who has designed a floating mosque, floating prison, floating spa and floating resort and helped conceptualize a proposed development of 29 private islands with lavish sustainable homes  a villa flotilla  on Maule Lake in North Miami Beach.

"He is an advocate of urban planning on the water," Derouin said.

Fom the outside, Arkup looks like a glass box. On board, it doesnt look or feel like a boat. No rocking, for one thing. It has two air-conditioned levels, with 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and 8-foot ceilings on the second. There are three bedrooms upstairs with three full and roomy bathrooms  no cramped and tilting heads on this boat  and two balconies.

Downstairs, theres an inviting living room, kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and a small room with a Murphy bed that could be an office or guest quarters. Interior design is by Brazilian company Artefacto. A sliding outdoor deck adds 500 square feet of floor space when fully extended.

At the stern, the swim platform can be lowered into the water to create a mini pool. Theres a boat lift for your kayak or amphibious vehicle.

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The bow deck has an outdoor kitchen and console controls for navigation and operating the 136-hp rotating electric thrusters, which emit no noise and require no diesel fuel, and the anchoring system, which allows adjustments of each piling to level the boat.

Arkup has a maximum speed of 7 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles that can be increased with additional battery banks or a backup generator.

"We cant match the navigational capacity and speed of a yacht," Derouin said. "You couldnt cruise around the world, but you could use Arkup in the Bahamas or British Virgin Islands, for example.

"Our vessel is 75 feet long and 32 feet wide and we have the same livable space as a yacht that is 110 feet long. Arkup is for people who prioritize space and comfort over speed and range."

Arkups steel hull and superstructure is built to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds (up to 156 mph). The 40-foot long pilings, or spuds, enable the boat to anchor in up to 25 feet of water and elevate above the waves. The draft is five feet. Its got a 4,000-gallon freshwater tank and an equal-sized tank for waste water. The 2,400-square-foot roof is covered with 36-kilowatt capacity solar panels that recharge the battery.

"A motor yacht is the opposite of sustainable," Derouin said, pointing to a gigantic yacht parked behind Arkup and to passing motorboats that pause while curious passengers take a look at Arkup. "Large engines. Massive fuel consumption. Pollution. On Arkup you can live completely off the grid with no bills for energy or water. It is zero emission, carbon neutral. In this house, you dont need to rebuild your seawalls or move your air conditioner to higher ground. Compared to the costs of a waterfront home, Arkup is competitive."

Plus its got panoramic views of the downtown skyline and dolphins swimming by the side deck.

So far, the partners have one buyer and a waiting list of potential buyers who want to take the boat for a test drive.

"Weve had an amazing response," Derouin said. "Our clientele includes owners of private Caribbean islands who think Arkup is better than building a beach house. Or people who live full or part time in Miami and want a toy for the weekends, to take friends out on the bay. We have people who live elsewhere and Arkup would be their second or vacation home. And people who see it as their primary home, docked at a marina. Its a luxury product for a niche market but our dream is to develop affordable versions with the same principles."

Miamians who dont want to flee could take to the sea. As oceans swell and coastlines shrink, trade house for houseboat.

"We need more entrepreneurs and scientists developing innovative ideas because climate change is not slowing down," Derouin said. "Heres one new way to live in harmony with the water."
The newest addition to the Med City restaurant scene started serving dinner this week.

Le Petit Cafestarted serving dinner on Thursday in the under-renovation historic Avalon building at 301 N. Broadway.

The European-style restaurant is the creation of Chef Deirdre Conroy, known locally for her food cart of the same name at the Rochester Farmers Market.

When asked to describe Le Petit, Conroy said, "We call it elegant dining. No TVs. Open and simple. Never rushed. I want people to feel as they would as guests in my house sitting by the fireplace."

Dinner, which includes two courses, costs $31. Diners have five entree choices as well as five starters and five desserts from which to choose.

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After selling food and drinks at the Farmers Market for the past two years, Conroy has a lot of contacts with local farmers to source pork, vegetables and milk. Eggs and other ingredients will come from her own farm.

"Everything will be as regional as possible," she said.

In addition to serving dinner, Le Petit also has a coffee and pastry counter thats open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Le Petit is ramping up to its full vision due to the ongoing construction as part of owner Angela Martins renovation of the 100-year-old building. The partially complete dining area now seats 50. That will grow to 73 once the sunroom addition to the southwest corner is complete.

On May 11, Conroy will add lunch from noon to 2 p.m. to Le Petits offerings. On Mothers Day, she will introduce a three-course Sunday afternoon tea.

"I hear some people are already buying hats for it," said Conroy with a grin.

Eventually, Le Petit will add an 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily breakfast into the mix.

Conroy feels the old brick building, arguably the most historic Rochester building without a direct Mayo connection, is the perfect setting for her restaurant.

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It was built in 1919 by a Jewish man named Sam Sternbergas the Northwestern Hotel, a place where Jews could stay at a time when most Minnesota hotels refused them.

Verne Manningbought the building in 1944 and changed the name to the Avalon.

It was the first hotel in Rochester to accept black guests, as well as white. Well-known people, such as Duke Ellington, stayed at the Avalon Hotel.

By the 1980s, the building was unused and run down. Myrna Hamiltonpurchased it in 1987 and renovated it to house her Hamilton Musicstore.

When Hamilton retired in 2008, Stephen Lalamabought it and moved in his Rochester Pro Music.He changed the name to Avalon Music, to honor the buildings history.

"Shes a dear of a building, bless her," said Conroy of it.
Three years ago, Craig Nelson was so close to graduating from Crossroads College that he had already lined up a pastors position at a Black River Falls, Wis., church.

But then the Rochester Christian college closed, and Nelsons employment situation looked as bleak as Crossroads future. When Nelson explained his predicament to the leaders of the church, they asked him to stay on as pastor anyway.

"Please, stay on as our pastor," Nelson recalled the leaders saying. "We dont want you to leave just because you dont have a degree on the wall."

Now, a happier ending may be beginning to unfold for Crossroads College as well.

Three years after suspending its operations, the college is being resurrected as a satellite of Hope International University, a private Christian university based in Fullerton, Calif.

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It is a modest beginning for the new entity, now called Hope International UniversityMinnesota, compared to what it once was. Unlike the plush, pastoral, 37-acre campus the college once occupied in southwest Rochester, its new home will be rented space at Rochester Community and Technical College.

And its first class, which started earlier this year, is made up of a mere three students. It has one faculty member.

Still, the opening of the Hope satellite is seen as the restoration of Christian, nondenominational education in the region, an official said.

Hope plans to grow enrollment to 20 students when the school officially launches this August  and then to between 50 and 100 students in the years ahead, says Todd Looney, the schools director of admissions and marketing. The school is also opening a satellite in Las Vegas.

Crossroads and Hope had earlier tried to work out a deal that would put Hope in charge of the campus, but Crossroads debt proved to be a stumbling block too big to overcome. Last year, Crossroads agreed to sell the campus to Bear Creek Christian Church for $3.95 million to clear its debt.

Yet hope for a rebirth of Crossroads never died, Looney said. Even after Crossroads closed its doors, the board of trustees never disbanded, ever hopeful of the possibility of a partnership with Hope, Looney said.

"This relationship goes back 20 some years. We were probably talking to Hope about partnering in 1998-99, but it never came to fruition," he said.

There is no reference to Crossroads in either the new schools name or logo. And new students may not be aware of the back story. But Hope is seen as carrying on the work and legacy of Crossroads and will benefit from the relationships and network of churches that has supported Crossroads over the years, Looney said.

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Crossroads started as Minnesota Bible College in 1913, and its first campus was in the Twin Cities. It moved to Rochester in 1971, where it later changed its name to Crossroads.

Hope offers a two-year Associate of Arts degree, which includes a certificate of Christian ministry. The program is a mix of online learning and traditional classroom work. Once completed, students can pursue Christian-based bachelor degree programs online via Hope or transfer to a secular four-year institution, Looney said.

Nelson, the pastor whose plans were almost upended when Crossroads closed, has a unique perspective on the schools history. He was one of its students when the school closed. He is now one of Hopes first three students.

Nelson said he was heartbroken when Crossroads closed. Family members had been attending the school back when it was a Bible college in the Twin Cities. So when he was offered a chance to complete his degree at the new school, he seized the opportunity.

"When I was approached, I said, Oh, absolutely. Sign me up," Nelson said.
Want to know whats being done to protect water in Rochester?

Troy Erickson, the citys water resources manager, will discuss the latest efforts in stormwater management at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Marys University of Minnesota  Cascade Meadow, 2900 19th St. NW

The 90-minute presentation is part of the citys Stormwater Presents Speaker Series, which presents free quarterly programs on topics related to stormwater management.

On Tuesday, Erickson will discuss the basics of the citys stormwater management program, as well as action taken in 2018 to meet Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements. He will also discussion plans for future efforts aimed at improving stormwater quality throughout the city.
BYRON  A pungent odor coming from a barrel on a rural Byron property resulted in an investigation Thursday by public safety officials.

A property owner called the Olmsted County Sheriffs Office Thursday afternoon to say a strong odor was coming from a barrel that had been on his property for several years. He noticed the odor after moving the barrel, which had caused a small amount of liquid to leak out.

The Rochester Fire Department Chemical Assessment Team assisted the Byron Fire Department in analyzing the liquid. It was determined that the substance is baling acid, which is used by farmers to reduce the potential for spontaneous combustion in hay. It is not a hazardous substance in its current state.

Also assisting at the scene were Byron First Responders and the Minnesota State Duty Officer. There were no injuries.
A Rochester man was arrested and will likely be charged with assault following an altercation Thursday afternoon.

The case began when an 18-year-old Rochester man went to the apartment of 49-year-old Gene Johnson in the 1900 block of 8-1/2 Street Southeast to collect a debt of $30, according to Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

The suspect had allegedly been "too high" on the first visit, Moilanen said, so the victim returned later. At that point, Johnson allegedly confronted the victim with a knife and chased him around the parking lot threatening to kill him.

When police arrived, Johnson was inside his apartment, where he was arrested. A knife was found in the residence, Moilanen said.

Johnson is expected to face charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats.

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The victim was not injured.
Without a new pretrial services program offered through Olmsted County Community Corrections, Douglas Ray Howard says he would have likely sat in jail, unable to make bail, awaiting trial on drug charges.

"It would have been majorly different outcome because I wouldnt have had a chance to take care of anything," he said. "A man who has nothing takes care of things differently than a man who has something, and this is a result of this program."

In the four months that the program has been an option, judges have referred more than 200 people to it. The program is for people who have been charged with a crime, but are assessed as not posing any public safety threat. Program participants are assigned a pretrial services agent who, at a minimum, reminds them of upcoming court dates but can also do required check-ins and help a person connect with the services they need. It gives judges a non-monetary option to better ensure a defendant will return to court.

Howard, with another program participant, Anne Marie Jessen-Ford, both spoke highly of it in a recent interview. On that day, Jessen-Ford officially finished her time with the program after being convicted and sentenced on the charge for which she was arrested.

Jessen-Ford said that without pretrial services agent Niles and one of her colleagues, she doesnt know where the couple would have been.

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Howard said: "It gives people a chance to show they are not all about what they have been charged with."

Knock on wood

While it is still too early to tell how successful the program is, many stakeholders have had positive things to say about it.

Cautious not to jinx the program, Travis W. Gransee, director of Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted Community Corrections, knocked on wood before saying that, overall, the program is going well.

"There are certainly people that have been returned to the community that have then struggled with some of their release conditions and that have been returned to custody, so I dont want to give the impression that things have gone super, super," Gransee said.

For those low- and moderate-risk clients and even high-risk clients who would have previously sat in jail, unable to make bail, Gransee said the program has been able to manage them in the community.

"The percentage of those that have been returned to custody is still pretty small," Gransee said.

There has been some anecdotal feedback from clients who have been through the criminal justice system before but this time recognize the program as something different, Gransee said.

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The pretrial program was created to address multiple issues  including a jail nearing capacity and a push nationally for pretrial reform.

"There should be another alternative for folks who cant afford to make bail," Gransee said. "We had a problem, we had a solution and, oh, by the way, the solution is also a solution for about three or four other things."

How it works

On Monday morning, Nikki Niles and her colleague Jamie Gascho went through the days arraignment list in advance of heading down to the Adult Detention Centers gym to meet with individuals who had been arrested over the weekend.

A few red lines crossed out the names and charges of those would be ineligible for the pretrial services program. If the person is in custody on a probation or family matter, they would be ineligible. The same is true if its a child support issue or a criminal charge that is low enough to not warrant any sort of monetary bail/bond amount.

As Niles and Gascho arrive to the gym at the ADC, a stack of completed pretrial assessment forms await them. One by one, the men and women waiting in the gym are called to sit with Niles or Gascho and go over the questionnaire. If one hasnt been done, they fill it in for the person as they ask each question. If the person has filled out the form, they still get asked each question again and are given a chance to expand on their yes or no answers. Notes are written on the sheet that will help Niles or Gascho once they go back to their offices to input the assessments.

Sitting with a client, Niles introduces herself and explains briefly what will happen in the coming hours.

"You will go to court," she said. "Recommendations will be made about your release."

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That could mean monetary bail/bond is set or the person could be released to the pretrial services program without monetary bond.

The Pretrial Services Program, Niles continued, is not probation and has two goals  making sure a person appears in court and ensuring public safety.

The questionnaire is used to create a report that is then given to the defendants attorney, prosecutors and the court, and it can be used to make arguments over the persons release.

Heading back up to her office, Niles will use the assessment in addition to information on the persons criminal history, conversations with someones probation officer if they are currently on probation and details from the brief conversation with the person that dont fit in a yes or no checked box.

The end of bail?

Lawsuits have been filed across the country alleging that setting cash bail unattainably high is unconstitutional. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union would prefer to entirely do away with a cash bail system.

"We abolished debtors prisons in this country decades ago, and the notion that somebody would sit in jail because they do not have financial resources is just anathema to our sense of justice in this country," said Teresa Nelson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

Historically, the only tool prosecutors have had to ensure a defendant returns to court is bail, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. But bail, he said, can sometimes be onerous.

"The idea behind this whole pretrial services program is really to try and remove that monetary condition and still give the court and all the participants some satisfaction that the defendant will be back and we can monitor their public safety," Ostrem said. "We are not trying to supervise these people but we are trying to, lets say, use some gentle reminders that they are supposed to be back in court. There are other tools we can use to ensure their public safety but we dont need to force some sort of a monetary condition on them to ensure that they come back."

Steps have been taken to make Minnesotas court system more uniform. The Minnesota Pretrial Assessment, which is modeled on an assessment created in Hennepin County and has been "statistically validated," is now required to be completed in all jurisdictions. The assessments goal is to look at an individuals risk factors through a series of questions. But some find the questionnaire problematic.

"The idea of having a tool that is statistically validated is a good instinct, but unless you are cognitive about the limits of data and the limits of algorithms in eliminating racial biases, you are going to be replicating systems of oppression for people of color," Nelson said.

Individual circumstances

She said it was important to look at the individual circumstances of a person.

Olmsted County commissioners approved approximately $290,000 to fund three employees to run the pretrial services program. All three pretrial services agents have been with Olmsted County Community Corrections for a number of years.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said the hard costs to house one detainee is $200 per day. If a detainee is being housed in Olmsted County for another county or for the Department of Corrections, they are invoiced for $55 per day, Torgerson said. The vast majority of those at the Olmsted County Jail are there pre-trial, meaning they have not been convicted of a crime and are therefore, not serving a sentence.

The daily average number of people has gone down since it spiked in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to 155 people per day, Torgerson said it was too soon to say how big of an impact the program has had on jail population numbers.

The conversation about alternatives to incarcerating people who cant afford bail began more than five years ago when the jail noticed a spike in numbers, according to Torgerson.

Getting some people out during pretrial might allow them to keep their jobs, Torgerson said.

"The charge doesnt go away but at least being able to get them out, maintain some sort of lifestyle, hopefully it would be a positive one," he said. "Get them out, get them home and yet still keep track of them and make sure they arent causing more trouble out there, we are all better for it."

The program doesnt just benefit those charged with crimes but also benefits the wider community.

"Any time people are in the community, working on their sobriety, working on gainful employment," said Lauri Traub, managing attorney for the Rochester office of the Public Defender Third Judicial District, "those are good things for the community."
Thumbs up to Soldiers Field track plan

Initial plans to pave the running track at Soldiers Field with asphalt met with resistance from local runners. Rather than push ahead anyway, Rochester city officials wisely held off on their plans and waited for the Save the Track citizens group to offer an alternative.

As a result, the track will be paved with a more comfortable running surface, and in turn, the Save the Track group will help fund upkeep of the track.

That qualifies as a win-win for everyone involved. Credit goes to city officials who took into consideration input from the community. It preserves a valuable resource in the hart of the city.

Now, the hope is we'll see more people make use of the track when all work is completed next summer.

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Thumbs down to winter driving

It's getting closer, whether we like it or not. This week's dusting of snow is a reminder that with November comes the need to refresh ourselves on safe winter driving practices.

First and foremost, of course, is to reduce your speed on icy and snowy roads. Along with that, increase the distance between your vehicle and the one you're following. Accelerate and decelerate gradually. Make sure your windshield wipers are in good working order, and that your windshield washer reservoir is full.

All of this is second-nature to most Minnesotans, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that winter driving is as much an art as it is a science.

By the way, don't forget to familiarize yourself with Rochester's new even-odd street parking plan for winter.

Thumbs up to Minnesota's ACT scores

Minnesota students have maintained their best-in-nation average score on the ACT college entrance exam -- at least among those states where the majority of graduating seniors take the test.

Minnesota's graduating seniors achieved an average score of 21.4, a slight improvement from last year's average score of 21.3, according to results released this week. By comparison, the national average is 20.7.

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In most states, a majority of students take the SAT college entrance test. In the Upper Midwest, though, the ACT is more popular. Wisconsin's average score was 20.3 and North Dakota's was 19.9

While improvement should always be a goal, Minnesota's schools are obviously doing a good job of preparing graduates for college success.
Every now and then we get the itch to travel. We want to leave Guam and see the world. Read more
With only 51 known reef manta rays off Guams shores, the death of a male ray named Streaker in Tumon is impactful, said Julie Hartup, executive director of the Micronesian Conservation Coalition.

He is one of our main males, Hartup said. So to have him gone is definitely going to be felt within the population.

Streaker was found dead in April after it appeared he had been hit by a Jet Ski or boat, according to Hartup, who was able to identify him from video taken by divers in the area. Hartup said that unfortunately, Streaker's remains could not be located.

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Hartup said while the reef manta ray is not on the endangered species list, MCC is working to change that because of their micropopulation.

The value of Streaker could be priceless, according to Hartup, who said studies have shown a single ray is worth about $5 million in ecotourism or potential tourism.

Rays such as Streaker, who Hartup estimates was at least 10 years old, can live for up to 30 or even 40 years and reach a length of up to 3 meters long. Female reef manta rays give birth to an offspring every three to five years, she said.

The rays are targeted in Asia and Indonesia for their gills, which are used for medicinal purposes in some cultures.

Hartup said the community can help keep the rays safe by not chasing them. Let them come to you, she said.

The reef manta rays are found primarily on the leeward side of the island, she said.

For those looking to do more to help the plight of the manta ray locally, the Micronesian Conservation Coalition offers an Adopt a Manta program where individuals or businesses can pledge money to help support and fund the study of the animal. More information on the program can be found on the MCC website at micronesianconservation.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
POTTSTOWN  Pottstown Police held a community meeting Thursday night to address the recent wave of violent crime in the borough.

Concerned residents were spilling out of the meeting room at borough hall looking for seats at the forum. A table outside offered handouts on this years crime statistics as well as pamphlets on making the community a safer place.

Im not trying to make Pottstown sound like its a crime-ridden town but I want you to know what the statistics are, said Pottstown Police Chief Michael Markovich holding a graph illustrating calls for service and crimes for Pottstown Police Department. The sky is not falling in Pottstown. This has been occurring in Pottstown my entire career.

To say violent crime has gone down over the past five years is just not true. Violent crime has gradually been going up in Pottstown over the past five years, specifically firearms, said Markovich.

Markovich noted that a majority of the crimes listed on the handout were thefts and that over the last five years, thefts have gone down, explaining the decrease.

He added that those numbers are likely related to incidents about five years ago in which he said the borough experienced a rash of thefts by young teenagers.

Markovich linked those incidents to current gun violence, stating:

About five years ago we had a bunch of young kids breaking into cars, breaking into houses and garages and sheds. We would come in in the morning and find out that 20 vehicles were broken into  what we had was a gang of 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds breaking into cars and houses for thefts. Fast forward five more years, now we have a problem with 17-year-old, 18-year-old and 19-year-old kids shooting people.

The discussion sparked a lot of responses from the community.

While some stated that there needs to be some accountability for the parents of these children, others noted that the problems are multifaceted.

While few younger people were present at the meeting, one 14-year-old addressed the group, reminding attendees that many children struggle at home with parents who are dealing with their own issues and, as a result, may resort to crime as a means of survival or for other reasons.

A lot of us are talking a bout helping the kids and everything but once they go back home, theyre in situations with parents who are addicts or cant read, they cant write. Im not saying they get an excuse for everything but some of them dont know how to come to a meeting or get support for their kid or get their kid the help that they need, said one attendee.

Everyone has said very similar things. We know that there are problems but unfortunately, you cant pinpoint all of the issues and name it as this is the reason, said Katina Bearden, Pottstown School Board vice president. Its a summation of several factors, including mental health, including family issues, including peer pressure. You can have five kids from the same family and not all five are going to turn out the same way.

A few in attendance had suggestions for how police could improve their relationship with residents in the community. While one resident suggested more contact with patrolling officers, such as a knock on the door to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, another posed questions about how to make citizens more aware of positive events happening in the borough.

Markovich added that they will be adding more officers to patrols over the next few months.

One of the common ideas shared among many of the attendees at Thursdays meeting was the need for developing a community relationship with youth.

We as a community have an opportunity right now to engage with the young people in the middle school. Young people need to know that you care about them, look in their eyes and talk to them, said David Charles. Theres students in the middle school that need you to connect with them. They are the now, theyre not the future.

To help kickstart community efforts, several attendees mentioned meetings planned to help improve Pottstown.

For all of you here this evening who are feeling encouraged to become more involved in the community, I want to invite you to our PCA meeting. It stands for Pottstown Community Action. It is being held this upcoming Monday the 6th at 6 p.m. at the Victory Christian Life Center on Washington Avenue. We are working really hard at getting involved at making this community our community, said resident Wendy Cangialosi.

Mayor Stephanie Hendricks also added that they are currently working on implementing a block captain program. The program would designate a person on a neighborhood block who will field issues, questions and help with communication in the borough. The hope is to help the community unite and to provide a person on each block that neighbors can trust.
NEWLIN  To environmentalists, preserving open space from development makes good sense. To economists, doing so makes good dollars and cents.

That is the message that a study commissioned by Chester County officials and completed, with input from a myriad of sources, concluded. That finding was highlighted during Thursdays event here marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the countys open space preservation program.

As part of the summit held at the Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Land Preserve, the county commissioners unveiled the results of the study, Return on Environment: The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Chester County.

The detailed report closely followed a similar survey conducted in 2011 by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Both studies argue that saving land from development has economic, environmental, and public health benefits. Its all not just maintaining pretty views for the tourists, the message is.

A video shown to those attending the event Thursday highlighted those benefits, illustrating that open space preservation has provided the county not only environmental but also financial benefits for the past three decades.

Chester County was the first in the region to formally set aside funds for a rigorous open space preservation program, and has now determined the economic value of the existing open space, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline while speaking to the crowd. Green fields, preserved farms and community parks are more than just pretty places that contribute to our quality of life  they are true assets that generate significant economic value for the county.

According to a county press release about the report, homes in the county are valued at over $11,000 more when they are located within a half-mile of preserved open space, according to the study. In total, its a gain of more than $1.65 billion for the countys homeowners and economy.

Protected open space is a major factor in planned growth of a community and contributes to the positive health of those who live there, Kichline said in the release. In fact, recreational activities on open space account for over $170 million in avoided medical costs every year.

There are also environmental benefits associated with open space preservation. If protected lands were lost to development, the county would need to spend about $97 million a year to replicate vital services such as flood control and air and water pollution mitigation through costly alternative methods, according to the report.

Open space is a big part of the cultural character of Chester County, stated commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone. Chester County conservancies are respected and strong  historically and in numbers. We appreciate all the work that the 11 land trusts in Chester County do to maintain the high quality of life here.

The study also notes that it is less expensive to preserve land than to develop it. Residential development often costs more through community services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance, sewer systems, and new schools. In contrast, farms and protected open space provide more tax revenue for local governments and school districts than they require back in service expenditures.

Open space creates jobs and attracts people who spend in the community. Each year open space accounts for $238 million in spending and $69 million in salaries. Protected farmland puts about $135 million back into the economy each year, and preserved open space accounts for roughly 1,800 jobs in the county, according to the report.

Steps taken by Chester County 30 years ago have more than paid off, noted Commissioner Terence Farrell. The investment is providing a great return and one that is unique to Southeastern Pennsylvania. Its impressive that nearly half  or 45 percent  of all conserved land in this region is in Chester County.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Alex Acosta, still somehow the Secretary of Labor, apparently wants us to believe that, if anything, he pushed too hard in prosecuting sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney generals office, and not because we werent doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive, Acosta told the House Education and Labor Committee in response to questions from Rep. Frederica Wilson.

Really? A federal investigation of Epstein revealed that he had engaged in sex-trafficking and the abuse of dozens of women, many underage. Yet, Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, allowed Epstein to plead to only two state prostitution charges, one involving a minor.

Consequently, Epstein served just 13 months in state prison. He was housed in a private wing at the Palm Beach County jail and allowed work release privileges. Epsteins year of incarceration reportedly included trips to New York and the Virgin Islands.

In addition, a federal judge found that the Epstein plea deal violated the Crime Victims Rights Act because of the decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility. The Department of Justice is currently investigating whether Acostas actions as U.S. attorney amounted to professional misconduct.

If the Epstein prosecution was too aggressive, what would an appropriate prosecution have yielded? An apology from the government and payment of Epsteins attorneys fees?
Advocates of abolishing the death penalty claim that innocent defendants have often been executed. Im not sure whether these advocates have been able to show that this has ever happened in modern times, but a New York Times piece by Nicholas Kristof makes a pretty good case that Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate, is innocent of the murders he was convicted of committing.

Cooper, an African-American, was convicted of murdering four people in 1983. The victims, all White, were a couple, their daughter, and a boy who was sleeping over at the couples house.

The couples son, who survived the attack, told police that the assailants were White. Hairs found in the victims hands seemed to confirm this account. In addition, a woman told police that her White boyfriend, a convicted murderer, was probably involved in the attack. To support this statement, she gave deputies his bloody overalls.

The deputies, says Kristof, threw away the overalls and arrested Cooper. He awaits execution.

Kristofs lengthy article is worth reading in full. I want to focus on the role of Sen. Kamala Harris, a candidate for her Partys presidential nomination, in the long legal battle that followed Coopers conviction.

Readers will recall that Harris was Californias Attorney General before she became a Senator. By the time of her involvement in the Cooper saga, DNA testing had become available for use in cases like this one. The availability of such testing is part of what gives supporters of the death penalty a high degree of confidence that the innocent wont be executed

Harris, though, refused to allow the use of DNA testing in Coopers case. Indeed, according to Kristof, she showed no interest in the case.

Its almost as if Black lives dont matter to Kamala Harris.

Harris did become interested in the case after the online version of Kristofs article appeared. She emailed him to say I feel awful about this.

Harris also put out a statement saying:

My career as a prosecutor was marked by fierce opposition to the death penalty while still upholding the law and a commitment to fixing a broken criminal justice system. Ive long been an advocate for measures to improve and make our system more fair and just. As a firm believer in DNA testing, I hope the governor and the state will allow for such testing in the case of Kevin Cooper.

Harris did not explain why, as a firm believer in DNA testing, she refused to allow it in Coopers case. Nor did she explain why, if shes a fierce opponent of the death penalty, she couldnt be bothered to look into whether a man who faced that penalty was innocent.

As for fixing a broken criminal justice system, a good start would be not electing grandstanding opportunists like Harris to positions as prosecutors.

Harris should feel awful. She is a hypocrite and a disgrace.
Justines family filed a civil lawsuit against former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis Police Officer Matthew Harrity, the Minneapolis Police Chief and the City of Minneapolis in federal court here this past July. On Thursday evening the city settled the case for $20 million, $2 million of which the family will donate to a Minneapolis Foundation fund to fight gun violence in the city, as the Star Tribune puts it in its article on the settlement. The MPR story is here.

The family retained Robert Bennett to bring the civil lawsuit. Bob is Minnesotas go-to attorney in police misconduct and excessive force cases. When I spoke with Bob after he filed the lawsuit this past July for Notes on the Damond Complaint, he told me the use of deadly force in this case was the worst [hes] seen since he took his first such a case in 1980. He paused to do the arithmetic for me: Thats 38 years. That remains true now that its 39 years.

As one might have anticipated from Bobs evaluation of the case, the settlement sets a new city record for the settlement of such cases. It is over four times as large as the citys previous record ($4.5 million). Bob also represented the plaintiff in that case.

Minneapoliss race hustlers are having another field day with the settlement. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could not bring himself to contradict them or say that the size of the settlement reflected the egregious facts of the case. He could not bring himself to deny that race and institutionalized racism in the police department had anything to do with it. At his press conference after the guilty verdict Frey yammered on about historical and ongoing racialized trauma.

Mayor Frey would only allow that the circumstances of this case were unique. He asserted that he could not say whether this was the worst [case] or not. If that is true, however, it is true only in a political sense. See Bob Bennetts July 2018 evaluation of the case quoted above.

The civil case had been stayed on the motion of the city while the criminal case against Noor was pending. It was settled at a previously scheduled mediation. Now that the case has been settled when the stay might have been lifted  I dont know whether it would have continued pending appeal  I think one can reasonably infer the city did not want Bob to conduct discovery in this case. At his own press conference following the settlement, Bob alluded to the policies that had allowed Noor to make it onto the force in the first place.

It occurred to me during the Noors trial that the price the city would pay in the civil case regardless of the outcome in the criminal case represented an especially appropriate form of justice. The citys taxpayers should rightly pay the piper for putting former Mayor Betsy Hodges and her handpicked police chief in positions of authority. That is one way of looking at the resolution of the civil case.
Frances Yellow Vest movement began as a grassroots protest movement with legitimate grievances, especially one over a government tax on fuel. For quite some time, though, the movement has been dominated by assorted thugs, including political extremists and anarchists, who get high on smashing windows and damaging property.

On Wednesday, May Day, the thugs once again took to the street, and not peaceably. In one incident, demonstrators entered the Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital. About 50 of them forced open a locked metal gate at the rear of the hospital and entered the grounds. Some ran up a stairway and tried to enter the intensive care department. Medical staff blocked the door.

Demonstrators claimed they were just trying to escape from the tear gas the police force had used to disperse them. Maybe. But I doubt that anyone needed to burst into the intensive care unit to avoid tear gas. Moreover, if the protesters hadnt thrown chunks of pavement at the police, they wouldnt have had to worry about tear gas and the hospital wouldnt have had to worry about an invasion.

When it was all over, Christophe Castaner, the French Interior Minister, said that protesters had attacked the hospital. The protesters called this fake news, saying that there was no attack, just an attempt to escape from tear gas. They demanded that Castaner resign.

Castaner is a crony of President Macron. Before the Yellow Vest street protests began, I wrote that he is not qualified to be in charge of French internal security. His failure to come to grips with the violent protests has confirmed my view.

However, the controversy over Castaners characterization of events at the hospital seems overblown. Attack or not, the protesters had no business disrupting a hospital. And they have been attacking shops and setting fires for months. If Castaner hurt their feelings, thats tough. They deserve no sympathy.

Castaner, while insisting that the demonstrators are generating fake controversy, has backed off from the word attack. He now describes what happened at the hospital as an intrusion, which it certainly was.

Can everybody go home now?
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Bone Marrow Processing System Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy are usually performed on the back of the hipbone, or posterior iliac crest. An aspirate can also be obtained from the sternum (breastbone). For the sternal aspirate, the patient lies on their back, with a pillow under the shoulder to raise the chest. A trephine biopsy should never be performed on the sternum, due to the risk of injury to blood vessels, lungs or the heart.The need to selectively isolate and concentrate selective cells, such as mononuclear cells, allogeneic cancer cells, T cells and others, is driving the market. Over 30,000 bone marrow transplants occur every year. The explosive growth of stem cells therapies represents the largest growth opportunity for bone marrow processing systems.Europe and North America spearheaded the market as of 2016, by contributing over 74.0% to the overall revenue. Majority of stem cell transplants are conducted in Europe, and it is one of the major factors contributing to the lucrative share in the cell harvesting system market.Get More Information About Bone Marrow Processing System Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3184 In 2016, North America dominated the research landscape as more than 54.0% of stem cell clinical trials were conducted in this region. The region also accounts for the second largest number of stem cell transplantation, which is further driving the demand for harvesting in the region.Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period, owing to rising incidence of chronic diseases and increasing demand for stem cell transplantation along with stem cell-based therapy.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3184 Japan and China are the biggest markets for harvesting systems in Asia Pacific. Emerging countries such as Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa are also expected to report lucrative growth over the forecast period. Growing investment by government bodies on stem cell-based research and increase in aging population can be attributed to the increasing demand for these therapies in these countries.Major players operating in the global bone marrow processing systems market are ThermoGenesis (Cesca Therapeutics inc.), RegenMed Systems Inc., MK Alliance Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG, Harvest Technologies (Terumo BCT), Arthrex, Inc. and othersReport Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/bone-marrow-processing-system-market View More: HEALTHCARE, PHARMACEUTICALS & MEDICAL DEVICESAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
Trends Market Research (TMR) has launched the report titled, Forage Seed Market : Research Analysis, Trends, Competitive Share and Forecasts 2018 - 2025: Trends Market Research.

Forage Seed Market

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The global forage seed market is expected to witness a stable growth during the forecast period. Owing to, increasing demand for forage feed from various agricultural farms and livestock farms the demand for forage seed is expected to increase throughout the forecast period. In addition, increasing number of poultry birds and cattle is also expected to boost the demand for forage feed. Increasing global meat consumption and demand for dairy products are also fueling the demand for forage seed. Livestock farmers in order to improve productivity are focusing on good quality of forage goods in order to meet changing customer requirements. The scope of the global forage seed market also provides an insight into value (USD Million) and volume (Kilo Tons) of forage seeds across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world.Forage feed manufacturers use legumes and grass seeds to plant pastures and hayfields. Based on product types, the forage seed market is categorized into alfalfa, clover, chicory, ryegrass, lablab, and fescue among others. Increasing meat consumption is one of the major factors driving the demand for forage seeds globally. Nowadays, consumers are very health conscious, and they prefer to consume organic food and meat products. To meet consumer requirements, producers are focusing on using high-yielding forage crops for feeding livestock instead of using additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Forage feed producers prefer to avoid additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Owing to these factors, the demand for forage seeds is expected to boost the demand for forage seed in the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3589 In addition, high yielding, forage seeds also help agricultural producers in crop rotation and risk diversification by enhancing the soil quality. These forage seeds are used for feeding livestock including poultry, cattle, swine, and aquaculture animals. Farmers prefer to use forage seeds for feeding purpose, as these are available at lower prices and cultivation of these seeds generates some economic benefits such as crop rotation, risk diversification, and improve soil structure and prevention of soil erosion.The global forage seed market, by livestock type is segmented into  poultry farms, cattle farms, pork or swine farms among others. Due to increasing demand for poultry meat and eggs, poultry farms are focusing on providing good forages to the poultry birds that increases the demand for forage seeds. In addition, the growing dairy industry is further contributing to the growth of forage crops that helps to increase the demand for forage seeds. Increasing livestock size helps to increase the demand for forage seed that are used for animal feeding.Request For Report Table of Contents@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3589 In this report, the market has been segmented into by product type, by livestock type and by geography. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), and supply chain of the forage seed market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2018 - 2025. We have also covered the current market scenario for forage seeds and highlighted its future trends that will affect the demand for forage seed.By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. The present market size and forecast till 2025 have been provided in the report.Geographically, the U.S. in North America is expected to experience robust growth in the coming years followed by France and China in Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. Currently, the market for forage seed in India and China are comparatively smaller as compared to other countries, but the forage seed market is expected to witness a decent growth in forecast period with a high CAGR growth rate.The report also analyzes different factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the forage seed market. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help the agricultural and livestock farmers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their business strategies accordingly.Report Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/forage-seed-market
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Liquid Applied Membranes Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Liquid Applied Membrane (LAM) is a lowly thickness waterproofing film that is employed in the form of a liquid covering to vertical along with horizontal surfaces. The LAM is, in addition, believed as a cutting-edge waterproofing chemical as well as its solid, consistent property, in addition to the ability to comply with each setup is making its need increase in the worldwide construction industry. Utilization of terrible value construction material before, trailed by poor support of the building construction is making a solid market for restoration as well as the repair that may possibly be settled by liquid applied membranes. Around 40-45% of the requirement for LAM originates from restoration and repair ventures. LAMs are additionally effective in lessening splits in the concrete, as a result driving its requirement all over the world.Governments of several emerging and emerged nations have covered the dual requirement for infrastructure evolution together with sustainability and durability. This is boosting the need for green buildings, subsequently bringing forth a strong market prospect for liquid applied membranes. The requirement for enlargement of the infrastructure industry in the emerging economies together with the high center on investment is likely to enhance the expansion of the market all through the years to come. The government is likely to take various activities relating to the sector that is likely to emphatically influence the market. All-inclusive research is being led by the makers with the end goal to create innovative products.The market players have been concentrating on item separation that is probably going to fuel the development over the approaching years.Get More Information About Liquid Applied Membranes Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3186 Expanding usage of bio-based and eco-friendly products is considered to boost the demand all over the years to come.Its properties, for example, environment-friendly nature, low viscosity, as well as low odor are probably going to encourage an expansion in the use of the product in the infrastructure industry. In addition, these have simple application over complex surfaces and are financially savvy when contrasted with waterproofing sheets. The product has a long time span of usability and is anything but difficult to re-apply which is foreseen to fuel the development throughout the following years. Also, LAMs are being favored for enhancing the general structure of industrial, residential as well as commercial buildings. They could be utilized related to high-performance polymers and materials with the end goal to improve their waterproofing properties.In terms of region, Europe and North America were the foremost markets for the product during 2016 on account of encouraging government policies in addition to recovery of the construction sector. Enhancing infrastructure in addition to expanding infrastructural expending combined with increasing disposable income of normal buyers is likely to fuel the market for the liquid applied membrane in North America.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3186 The Asia Pacific regional market is considered to be a standalone of the most attractive markets for liquid applied membrane because of higher economic expansion in China & India. Because of developing urbanization as well as industrialization in emerging nations, for example, China and India, development in the Asia Pacific are likely to be the most noteworthy in the following couple of years.The foremost worldwide market players active in this market comprise Pidilite Industries, Sika AG, BASF SE, Chembond Chemicals, The Dow Chemical Company and Fosroc International. During February 2013, Paul Bauder brought in BauderTEC SPRINT DUO, a novel bitumen waterproofing product with a self-adhesive coating. Likewise, several market players are incorporated all over the value chain that alleviates uninterrupted raw material supply in addition to less production expenditure.Report Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/liquid-applied-membranes-market View More:CHEMICALS & MATERIALSAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
The MTN Group has announced that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, will resume as a member of its board on July 1.

A statement released by the group also said another Nigerian, Aisha Abdulahi, was also appointed as a member of the International Advisory Board whose operations will commence in July.

While Mr Sanusi served as the governor of Nigerias Central Bank, Ms Abdullahi was the former African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs.

According to the statement, the IAB would be chaired by a former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, while a Kenyan national, Vincent Rague, will also join the board.

The Board has resolved to establish an international advisory board of prominent persons of considerable and wide-ranging experience, the group said in the statement.

The primary purpose of the IAB will be to counsel, guide and support the MTN Group from time to time in fulfilling its vision and objective of being one of the premier African corporations with a global footprint in telecommunications, contributing to increased digital inclusion in Africa and the Middle East, a pivotal aspect of the fourth industrial revolution, the statement added.

The group said the restructuring had become necessary in view of recent challenging regulatory environments and competitive trading conditions.

Meanwhile, over the next 12 months, the company said a significant change will see to the stepping down of the Chairman of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, from his position on December 15, 2019. He is expected to facilitate a smooth operation of the board and the establishment of the IAB.

In the meantime, the group said Mcebisi Jonas has been appointed Chairman-designate and would assume the position of Chairman of MTN Group effective December 15.

Similarly, the group said Khotso Mokhele would assume the responsibilities of Lead Independent Director while Alan Harper, Jeff Van Rooyen and Koosum Kaylan would step down from the Board after an orderly transition and handover to incoming directors.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday gave reasons why a civil society group has called for the immediate removal from office of its deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy Directorate, Joseph Nnanna.

The CBN said the call was part of a thicker plot by the immediate past management of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) to get even with Mr Nnanna over his order for a probe of allegations of fraud.

The immediate past management of the bank led by Robert Orya was in office till February 2016.

Since Mr Oryas exit, there have been reports of fraud linked to his management.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently confirm the allegations, as it has not been able to reach the former NEXIM Boss since he left office.

On Thursday, media reports credited to the Awareness for Good Governance Group (AGGG) called for the removal of the CBN deputy governor over allegations of fraud at NEXIM.

The group did not give details of the allegation.

Corruption fighting back

But the CBN, which described the group as faceless, said its call for the removal of Mr Nnanna was nothing, but corruption fighting back.

Mr Nnanna is the Chairman of the Board of NEXIM.

The CBN said in a statement that the call for Mr Nnannas removal might not be unconnected with the forensic audit commissioned by the new Board under his Chairman.

According to the CBN, the audit exposed different levels of procedural abuses by the former management of NEXIM fraught with high level of fraud in the disbursement of the loans.

Findings from sources within the Bank and those close to the audit firm, Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PwC), which conducted the audit, indicated there were several violations of laid down procedures the CBN said.

The CBN said such abuse of procedures increased the risk burden of NEXIM to the extent that its non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to about 91 per cent of loans it granted.

Prior to Mr Nnannas assumption of office as chairman of NEXIM Board in March 2018, the CBN said NPLs of the bank stood at about N48.9 billion out of a total loan portfolio of N53 billion.

This, the CBN noted, negated the corporate governance pursuit of the bank to have NPLs at a maximum level of 10 per cent.

The CBN said following alleged wrong doings by the former company secretary of NEXIM, the audit revealed that about 181 of the 191 loans granted before the assumption of the Nnanna-led Board were non-performing.

The CBN said as many as a third of the documents tendered in respect of the loans did not have supporting or verifiable evidence to justify the loan applications and subsequent disbursements.

That level of fraud within the NEXIM system is perhaps why the CBN is yet to activate the N500 billion Export Stimulation Fund set up to promote non-oil exports in Nigeria, the CBN said.

On its part, the management of NEXIM, in a statement, said allegations of corruption and fraudulent against the Chairman of its Board by protesters last Monday were not only false and misleading, but a mischievous attempt at tarnishing his good reputation.

The allegations are designed to divert attention from an on-going efforts by the Board to address a case of gross mismanagement and poor state of affairs of the Bank under the old management which had since been sacked by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, NEXIM said.

According to NEXIM, prior to the appointment of a new management for NEXIM in April, 2017, it had become almost insolvent with huge non-performing loans.

It said the situation was exacerbated by gross abuse of process, insider related loans and lack of professionalism in loan administration, amongst other issues.

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This led the Bank to commission a forensic audit to establish the true state of affairs before the new management came on board.

With two years of the new management, NEXIM said its fortunes under Mr Nnanna-led Board has changed remarkably for the better, with significant improvement in key prudential ratios.

The Bank is honouring its obligations and is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage two intervention funds, amounting to N550 billion, towards increased support to the non-oil export sector, it said.
Popular Kannywood film actress, Binta Kofar Soro, is dead.

Kofar Soro usually played motherly roles in Kannywood movies. She died on Saturday and has since been buried in Kano.

Kannywood actor and a close ally to the deceased, Nuhu Abdullahi, confirmed the death of the actress to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Abdullah said the Kannywood movie industry is shocked over the demise of the actress.

Hajiya Binta Soron Dinki is one actress that we all like to work with. Her role has always been motherly. Apart from just acting, she is always there to correct you as a mother. The whole Kannywood is mourning, Mr Abdullahi said.

Nigerian actors have changed their social media profile pictures, replacing them with the late actress picture, especially on their Instagram pages.

Rahama Sadau, Ali Nuhu, Fati Mohammed and others wrote short tributes praying for the repose of her soul.
Tonto Dikeh has reacted after the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threatened to sanction her over her continuous outbursts on social media.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga. If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA, Tonto said in response to the threats.

Ifeanyi Dike, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria threatened to sanction the controversial actress if she continues to exhibit bad behaviour, portraying the motion picture industry in a bad light.

This comes as the actress vowed to continue to fight dirty with her ex-husband and father of her son, Olakunle Churchill, because she has no shame.

Speaking to Newstimes Africa on Saturday, Mr Dike was quoted as saying, Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.

Issues like that is private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in a bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions do not speak well of the industry.

We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.

Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.

Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.

Meanwhile Tonto on Friday also revealed the only reason why she might consider getting back with her husband.

She said, Am I hurt? F*ck yes! (dont use me then come out to the world and lie on me. Use me and keep walking. Do I want him back? Even he knows the answer, Only maybe to KILL him( which I will never DO cause my baby gonno Holdup on me + Im better than Murder).
Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has formally declared his intention to vie for the presidency of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Mr Muhammad-Bande made the declaration at a cocktail party attended by world diplomats and delegates in New York on Friday evening.

This came barely eight days after the current UNGA president, Maria Espinosa, announced him as the first candidate for the position.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that election of the president of the 74th UNGA will hold at the UN headquarters on June 4.

In a statement on its website, UNGA said the presidency of the 74th session was zoned to Africa in full respect of the established principle of geographical rotation, among other reasons.

The current president, who is the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, was elected on June 5 and assumed duty on September 18, 2018.

Thus she will step aside on September 17 as the UNGA presidency runs on a one-year tenure

According to the statement, an informal interactive dialogue with Mr Muhammad-Bande is scheduled for May 13, in line with UNGAs resolution 71/323 titled Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly.

At the session, the Nigerian permanent representative will have the opportunity to respond to questions from other stakeholders.

Addressing guests at Fridays event, the candidate pledged to make the organisation stronger and work better for its member states and their citizens.

He said as president of the 74th Session, he would focus on the effective implementation of existing mandates, and make a contribution in all defined follow-up areas.

The candidate promised to promote international peace and security, prevent conflict, strengthen global action to tackle climate change, ensure inclusion, human rights, and the empowerment of youth and women.

He also pledged to ensure that the decisions reached and resolutions passed at the general assembly were implemented for the benefits of citizens.

Mr Muhammad-Bande, who hails from Zagga in present-day Kebbi State, has had an outstanding career as a scholar and diplomat.

He holds M.A in Political Science from Boston University, USA, in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987.

Between January 2000 and February 2004, he was the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco.

CAFRAD is Africas premier institution with responsibility for training and research in public administration and management.

Besides other positions both locally and internationally, he was the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) between 2010 and 2016.

He served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during the 71st session and remains active in several fora, including as Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34); Member, Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, and Chair of the ECOWAS Group (2018-2019).

Mr Muhammad-Bande has also been an assessor for the National Merit Award (Nigeria) and for professorial positions in universities.

He has won merit awards and honours from institutions and governments, including the United States and China.

Most notably, he is a recipient of Nigerias Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of the countrys highest national awards.

(NAN)

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Three separate queries bordering on allegations of travelling without permission, financial impropriety, among others, have been issued to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by the institutions Registrar, Oladejo Azeez.

The registrar acted on the instruction of the chairman of the universitys governing council, Wale Babalakin.

The universitys former Registrar, Taiwo Ipaye, also received three letters of query bordering on similar allegations, while the immediate past vice-chancellor, Rahamon Bello, was also issued one. The immediate past bursar of the university, Lateef Odekunle, and his successor, Lekan Lawal, was also queried.

Others affected in what some stakeholders in the university have tagged; harvest of queries, also include two incumbent deputy vice-chancellors- Folasade Ogunsola and Oluwole Familoni; a former deputy vice-chancellor, Duro Oni; former directors of works, Niyi Ayeye and Adelere Adeniran; head of the universitys procurement unit, James Akanmu; dean of students affairs, Ademola Adeleke; director of academic planning, L.O Chukwu and the director of the institutions foundation programme, Timothy Nubi.

The quartet of Ogundipe, Ogunsola, Familoni and Chukwu are also members of the governing council like the registrar and Mr Babalakin.

But the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has kicked against what it described as the dictatorial action of the council chairman, accusing him of flouting laid down procedures.

ASUU, in its letter to the affected union members, signed by its chairman, Dele Ashiru, said a purported report the council chairman is acting upon is yet to be submitted to the council for deliberation.

This arbitrariness and one man show is repulsive and unacceptable to our union as it smacks of vindictiveness, ASUU said.

Registrar Accuses ASUU Of Double Standard

In his reaction, the registrar, Oladejo Azeez, condemned ASUUs position, saying it shows dishonesty and inconsistency on the part of the union.

Titled; The Need to Tell the Truth, Mr Azeez, in his statement, challenged ASUU to cite specific sections of the institutions law that is flouted by the councils action. It accused the union of telling lies about various issues in the past, saying the union had always been defeated with logical argument and facts of history.

The statement is reproduced below:

The attention of the Registry has been drawn to the circular issued by Dr Dele Ashiru, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Branch, on 2nd May 2019. In the said release, the Union accused the Council of the University of tyranny because Council sought explanation of certain activities and expenditure in the university.

The notice did not identify any specific laws or regulation of the university that was violated by the Council. The office of the Registrar would be glad to receive the specific law or rule of the university that was breached to enable us pass it to Council.

It is noteworthy that on previous occasions within the tenure of this Council, ASUU has issued notices criticizing the Council for taking certain steps, and all these occasions ASUU was not right. For example, when ASUU issued a statement that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. It turned out to be wrong because previous Councils under Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Deacon Gamaliel Onosode had also had similar meetings with the Senate.

Similarly, ASUU issued a statement condemning the non-confirmation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a Distinguished Professor as an unprecedented violation of the academic autonomy of the university. Again, the statement turned out to be very wrong as it is clearly provided in the University of Lagos Act 1967 that the Council is the approving authority for all honours to be conferred by the university.

Wale Babalakin

It is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached/and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council had taken a decision to step down his appointment in plenary is now making a case that the Chairman of Council cannot act for Council outside plenary. A paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency.

We urge ASUU to remember that the University of Lagos is a centre of learning where the pursuit of knowledge is very paramount. There is nothing worse than the tyranny of ignorance.

Vice-Chancellor Queries Registrar

In a swift response and what looks like supremacy battle, the university Vice-Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has queried the authority of the registrar, to issue such a statement without his consent.

Mr Ogundipe, in his internal memo titled; Re: The Need to Tell the Truth: Request for Explanation, accused the registrar of usurping his power, and asked him to provide reasons behind his action.

According to the vice-chancellor, the communication unit of the institutions corporate affairs directorate, through which the information was disseminated, is under the office of the vice-chancellor.

The statement reads in part; In light of the foregoing, you are expected to explain the reason for the publication, bearing in mind Section 3 (1), 6 (1) of the University of Lagos Act (1961), as amended, which states inter alia- There shall be a registrar, who shall be the administrative officer of the university and shall be responsible to the vice-chancellor for the day-to-day administrative work of the university

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The VC also requested the registrar to provide approval for his released memo alongside his response to the query within the next 24 hours.

ASUU Fires Back At Council Chair, Registrar

In a scathing reply to the registrars statement, ASUU attacked both the council chairman and the registrar, describing them as liars.

ASUU said it had never attacked or condemned the council but that it would not allow an individual to usurp the power of the council.

The unions statement is also reproduced below:

The attention of our Union has been drawn to a most disparaging circular titled The Need to Tell the Truth signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq. the University Registrar. Ordinarily, our Union would not have dignified the voice of the Pro-Chancellor in the handwriting of Oladejo Azeez Esq but for the barefaced lies and falsehood characteristic of the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin. For the avoidance of doubt, the said circular indicated that our Union did not identify any specific laws or regulations of the University that was violated by Council. The correct position is that our Union has no problem with the University Council and has never accused it of any wrongdoing. Our grouse is the crude usurpation of Councils powers by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin.

The Registrar also claimed that at previous occasions, ASUU claimed that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. The Registrar should be reminded that Council is not the same as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. Our contention has always been that the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin cannot approximate the Council of the University of Lagos. Furthermore, the mere fact that an illegality has occurred in the past does not mean that it cannot be corrected when such is pointed out. All the fears expressed by this same Dr Ashiru as the said Senate meeting which the Pro-Chancellor shamelessly denied are now manifesting.

For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU is not bothered about whether the stepping down of Professor Olowokudejos appointment was unprecedented. Our unequivocal position is that Councils decision to step down Senate recommendation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a distinguished Professor is obnoxious, draconian and vindictive. It is shocking that the Pro-Chancellor and his puppet Oladejo Azeez Esq can assert that it is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council has taken a decision.. a paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency. This assertion of Oladejo Azeez begs for some questions; was Oladejo Azeez at the meeting where ASUU made this request? What were the circumstances surrounding ASUUs appeal to the Leviathan and tyrannical Pro-Chancellor? What eventually happened to Professor Olowokudejos appointment? At which plenary meeting of Council was Prof, Olowokudejos appointment ratified? Our Union wishes to state categorically that we shall continue to stand against the Pro-Chancellors tyranny and recklessness.

For the incompetent and willing inconsequential tool called Oladejo Azeez, who was smuggled into the office as lame duck Registrar and Secretary to the Pro-Chancellor, he should be reminded that there is a limit to sycophancy and flunkey bootlicking. Oladejo Azeez should get familiar with the function(s) of a seasoned University Registrar and stop deploying the paraphernalia of his esteemed office in the service of a brutish leviathan.

Other Governing Council Members Keep Mum

PREMIUM TIMES Efforts to get the reaction of other members of the universitys governing council have been unsuccessful.

When our reporter called on phone the representative of the Federal Ministry of Education in the council, Anne Haruna, she declined to comment.

She said as a civil servant, she is not expected to speak to journalists.

You know I report to the permanent secretary. So the permanent secretary is in the best position to talk to you, she said.

In a similar development, another council member, Alli Hussein from Katsina State neither picked calls to his mobile line nor replied a text message sent to him as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, on the part of another council member, who was identified simply as Soyombo, a professor, the matter is too sensitive to be discussed on phone.

He said; You know I dont know the identity of who am talking to. So I cannot speak to you on this matter except I see you physically. Thank you.

When PREMIUM TIMES spoke to those who have received copies of their queries too, including the former registrar, former vice-chancellor, among others, they also declined comment. They said they would talk at a time they consider appropriate.
The Nigeria Police have sacked the head of its public complaints unit, a senior official told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Yomi Shogunle, a controversial officer who at times rattled social media users with his posts, was removed from the Police Complaints Response Unit and posted to Ebonyi State.

The assistant commissioner of police was transferred on Friday morning to head the police area command in Nkalagu, Ebonyi State.

He was transferred on Friday morning after the Force Headquarters received too much complaints about his conduct, a police chief told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday afternoon.

Messages about the transfer first spread on social media Saturday morning, eliciting reactions. Many of his critics, however, suggested that only an outright dismissal would be sufficient for Mr Shogunles alleged misconduct.

Mr Shogunle was named as the pioneer head of PCRU after it was created to receive complaints against police officers in late 2015.

The department achieved initial credits by following up on allegations of misconduct against officers.

Social media also played a heavy role in amplifying the units activities and response time. But Mr Shogunle soon found himself consumed by social media distraction. He began to exchange regular insults with citizens online, especially on Twitter.

Some commentators said Mr Shogunles conduct undermined his units successes, and demanded his removal. Several petitions were filed online for his removal, but it seemed the latest one was what eventually did him in.

Amidst outrage over police clampdown on women in Abuja, Mr Shogunle justified the discriminatory arrests in a manner many considered too objectionable.

Since 2017, Mr Shogunle had also faced online scorn for his frequent ridiculing of #ENDSARS, a nationwide campaign to end police brutality. He described the movement, which has helped many citizens obtain justice against errant police officers, as a scam.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Saturday that the Force Headquarters had been observing the controversies being courted by Mr Shogunle, who has been based in Lagos.

We decided it was time to take him out of that important office because he had become an embarrassment, a police chief said. We wish him good luck in Ebonyi.

The senior official, who spoke under anonymity because he was not the polices spokesperson, said Mr Shogunles transfer signal was dispatched on Friday morning.

Police spokesperson Frank Mba could not be reached for comments Saturday afternoon.

Ebonyi police commissioner, Awosola Awotunde, told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday he had not received the signal. Depending on its urgency, a police signal usually take three to four days to reach recipients.

Mr Shogunle, too, did not respond to calls.
The Nigerian Army has said some unpatriotic elements, in collusion with their foreign collaborators, are planning to derail the swearing in of newly elected government on May 29 in order to scuttle the nations democratic process.

Some of these mischievous elements thought that we would not have a safe and successful general elections but were proved wrong, hence they want to derail the scheduled handing over later this month and to scuttle the democratic process in the country, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Musa alleged that the unpatriotic elements plan to do that by causing mischief and exacerbating the security situation in the country in particular and West African sub-region.

He further alleged that the group is making concerted efforts to further induce ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists and bandits with funds and other logistic supports.

Their body language and unguarded utterances seem to be in tandem with above and imply tacit support for the criminals.

For example, credible source has shown that some individuals are hobnobbing with Boko Haram terrorists, while others are deliberately churning falsehood against the security agencies with a view to set the military against the people and the government.

They are also demoralising troops and security agencies through false accusations and fake news, Mr Musa said.

He warned them to desist as the consequences of their intended actions would be calamitous to themselves.

We also noted that foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group, to resurrect, he said.

He, however, expressed confidence in the Federal Governments efforts at sustaining and reinvigorating the MNJTF to continue its good work.

Mr Musa also restated that the Nigerian army would not relent in clearing the visages and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers.

The Nigerian army is a stakeholder in our national security and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

Additionally, we are making this statement because the military, particularly the Nigerian army has always been called upon to intervene in conflict situations in order to resolve crises in most cases when they get worse, while the public expect miracles.

We will like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we are determined more than ever before, to continue to uphold the constitution and defend the territorial integrity of this nation from both external and internal aggression.

Nigeria is a sovereign country with clearly established judicial system, therefore all aggrieved persons and groups should take advantage of that and resolve their differences amicably, he said.

(NAN)
The need for protection of freedom of the press and opinion dominated speeches at an event to mark the 2019 World Press Freedom Day at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Various speakers took turns to decry the growing dangers to press freedom around the world, calling for action against those responsible.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply troubled by the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity targeted at media workers around the world.

Almost 100 journalists were killed in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned, says the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),

This brings to a total of 1,307 the number of journalists killed between 1994 and 2018, according to the organisation.

The UN chief noted that when journalists and other media workers are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price.

Mr Guterres emphasised that a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights.

On the theme of this years commemoration, Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation, he stated that democracy was incomplete without access to transparent and reliable information.

At a time when disinformation and mistrust of the news media is growing, a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights, he said.

In her statement, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), Maria Espinosa, said she was marking the day with a heavy heart, citing the UNESCOs statistics.

Ms Espinosa noted that the media space was shrinking across the world, as restrictive laws and policies are enacted, and media workers and their families are subjected to threats and reprisals.

Women are disproportionately affected, contending with sexist abuse and sexual harassment online, as well as physical sexual violence, including rape. Too often, these attacks go unpunished, she said.

The PGA said that high-quality journalism and diverse media was needed more than ever at a time when extremism, hate speech and lies spread like wildfire.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, said it was important that freedom of opinion was guaranteed through free exchange of ideas and information based on factual truths.

Ms Azoulay said societies that valued a free press needed to be constantly vigilant, adding that nations must act together to protect the freedom of expression and safety of journalists.

The Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists also noted that freedom of expression was indispensable for good governance, informed decision-making, democracy, free and fair electoral processes and accountability of governments.

The event, which featured a panel discussion on the theme of the day, was organised by the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO. (NAN)
An assistant professor at Howard University, Jennifer Thomas, has said the need for focused fact-checking and balanced story-telling with great accuracy has become very important for journalists around the world.

Ms Thomas spoke Friday at a World Press Freedom Day event organised by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Lagos.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Day was themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

My basic advice: be sceptical, consider the source, check the URL, look at the byline and quotes, review the photo. Be a curious journalist  question everything, said Ms Thomas, who teaches at the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film.

Today, there are websites dedicated to separating fact from fiction and even quizzing readers to see how savvy they are at detecting such information.

Even with these measures in place, we know that a tweet can become world headlines before a spellcheck is even conducted and a rant on a blog post may be repeated as a lead story on a newscast, without the news outlet doing its due diligence.

Ms Thomas said disinformation or fake news and the subsequent demonising of the media have created a climate for the news industry synonymous to a thunderstorm.

Add the unpredictability of social media and it becomes the perfect storm. In order to quell this tempest, journalists must ride out the storm and steady the ship through adhering to the fundamental principles of the profession.

In turn, journalism professors must be vigilant at teaching media history, literacy, and ethics while underscoring excitement for the profession. It is a daunting, yet surmountable task.

Ms Thomas noted that while the relationship between the U.S president and the American media had traditionally been a frosty one, the recent verbal attacks had led to increased incidents of intimidation and, sometimes, even violence against journalists by citizens.

Let me be clear  journalists are not the enemy of the people; we are the advocates for the people. Yet, the constant barrage of the term fake news is apparently having an impact on the publics perception of the industry, she said.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Russell Brooks, the U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, said the goal of the U.S. Mission is to promote democracy, to strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria and all over the world.

We believe, as it has been said many times, that the media represents the fourth estate of any democracy. It is crucial that the media play a significant role in holding the other three branches accountable, Mr Brooks said.

Its also been said that the most important element of any democracy is the citizens themselves and their right to vote. And while that is true, for citizens to exercise their votes in a responsible way, in an informed way they need the media to provide them with accurate information that will allow them to do so, to vote in a responsible fashion and ensure that their representatives are serving their needs in the fashion that they wish.

Mr Brooks said the media in Nigeria, the United States, and around the world is under enormous pressure around the world.

Whether its a matter of economic pressure, physical intimidation, violence  some cases have resulted in the media paying the ultimate price, for that reason we deserve to honour them at least once every year.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has begun a 28-million-euro project, sponsored by the Netherlands, to accelerate the fight against child labour in Nigeria and four other African countries.

This was announced by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, on the sideline of a two-day workshop on the project in Abuja on Friday.

The project, Acceleration of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL), was also being carried out in Mali, Malawi, Cote dIvoire, Egypt and Uganda.

The ambassador said the project was a long term one which focuses on the causes of child labour.

Netherlands is financing this project; it is actually a project that is going to be undertaken in five different countries in Africa; Nigeria is one of them.

The total funding for this project from the Netherlands for these five countries is 28 million euros.

It is a long-term project and is expected to take at least five years to reach the results that are expected.

We think that a child should have the opportunity to go to school, to be a child but we also understand, we had the same situation in Europe two centuries ago, that it is not just child labour.

It has to do with the whole of the economy, with the social situation, the economic situation of the parents and so forth, she said.

She said that ILO was trusted by the government of Netherlands to facilitate the project in African countries.

It is a complicated project; that is why we are happy that the ILO is taking this up. They have a good track record on joining employers, employees and state authorities to work together, she said.

Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, said the organisation had been working with the federal government to develop a policy on child labour.

Mr Zulu explained that the project would focus on the supply chains in cocoa and mining in the country and work with local authorities to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Now this project which is kindly being supported with funding from the Netherlands government will be looking at the supply chain in cocoa and artisanal mining.

This is because those are some of the supply chains where there is quite a high level of child labour.

So basically, the project will work with the local communities and support the provision of alternative livelihoods.

It will also withdraw children from child labour and support them by placement in schools.

So we will be working with local authorities and local governments to see how the children who are withdrawn from child labour can be placed in schools, providing some means of support to the families.

It is really working in a number of areas to ensure that Nigeria works towards the achievement of the SDG goals by 2030, he said.

The director added that the ILO was working with stakeholders to ensure opportunities of child labour in the cocoa and mining production processes were reduced or possibly eliminated.

We are trying to work with the communities to educate them but also to ensure that those who depend on child labour families are given alternative livelihoods so that they do not rely on children.

We are working with different stakeholders from the local communities we are working in and we will build the capacities of these stakeholders including law enforcement agencies and the communities where the children come from.

Addressing journalists, ILO Chief Technical Adviser, ACCEL Africa, Minoru Agasawara, said the project would work with stakeholders according to the priorities identified in the different countries.

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We are looking at legal framework, policy framework, capacity building, awareness raising, community mobilisation and also working with employers.

In addition to the employers and workers organisation, we also have the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ministry of Mines because they are working in the artisanal mine area in Niger State and Ministry of Agriculture because they are working in the supply chain of the cocoa in Ondo, she said.

The project is a four-year one, starting from November 2018 and would end in October 2022.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has released the statement below, detailing modalities for the sighting of the new moon to signal the commencement of this years Ramadan fast.

The statement also detailed the contact telephone and email addresses of 30 personalities across the country that should be contacted by anyone who sights the new crescent.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General (Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad) enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH.

If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

See full statement and contact details of the personalities below

FELICITATION AND MOONSIGHTING FOR RAMADAN 1440 A.H.

The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. present at his home), he must observe fasting that month (Q. Al-Baqarah 2:185)

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, felicitates with the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming Ramadan, 1440 A.H. The Council prays that Allah spare our lives to this and many more Ramadan on the surface of the earth and give us the ability to carry out good deeds as much as possible in the Month because of the multiple abilities of its virtues and the blessings of Allah.

In the same vein the Council hereby beseeches all Muslims to be prayerful unto Allah, especially in the Month (Ramadan), to help our Nation in general and our leaders in particular to be able to overcome, once and for all, the seemingly intractable security challenges as epitomized in the Boko Haram insurgency and the upsurge of armed banditry, kidnapping and related crimes.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

In addition to the established and traditional Islamic leaders in each locality, members of the (NMSC) who can be contacted for information and clarification are as follows:

S/N NAME PHONE NO. E-MAIL 1 Sheikh Dahir Bauchi 08036121311 Sayyadibashir26@yahoo.com 2 Sheikh Karibullah Kabara 08035537382 malamkabara@yahoo.com 3 Mal. Simwal Usman Jibrin 08033140010 simwaljibril@yahoo.com 4 Sheikh Salihu Yaaqub 07032558231 Salihumy11@hotmail.com.com 5 Mal. Jafar Abubakar 08020878075 Jaafaraa1434@gmail.com 6 Alh. Abdullahi Umar 08037020607 waziringwandu@yahoo.com 7 Prof. J.M. Kaura 08067050641 Jmkaura56@yahoo.com 8 Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar 08036509363 Baumar277@gmail.com 9 Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory 08023126335 habibelilory@ymail.com 10 Malam Nurudeen Ibrahim 08027091623 Nurudeen.a.o.ibrahim@gmail.com 11 Muhammad Rabiu Salahudeen 08035740333 muhammadrabiusalahudeen@gmail.com 12 Sheikh Abdur-Razzaq Ishola 08023864448 08051111063 hustaz@yahoo.com sheikh@al@abrartravels.com 13 Sheikh Abdur Rasheed Mayaleke 08035050804 jentleasad@yahoo.com 14 Dr. Ganiy I. Agbaje 08028327463 08057752980 Ganiy.agbaje@nasrda.gov.ng gagbaje@yahoo.co.uk 15 Gafar M. Kuforiji 08033545208 kuforijiabdulwasiu@gmail.com 16 Prof. Usman El-Nafaty 08062870892 elnafaty@gmail.com 17 Mal. Ibrahim Zubairu Salisu 08038522693 zubairusalisu@yahoo.com 18 Dr. Usman Hayatu Dukku 0805 7041968 udukku@yahoo.com 19 Imam Manu Muhammad 08036999841 limaminmisau@gmail.com 20 Qadee Ahamad Bobboy 08035914285 adamawaemiratecouncil@yahoo.com 21 Prof. Z. I. Oboh Oseni 08033574431 oseni@unilorin.edu.ng wazzioseni@gmail.com 22 Nurudeen Asunogie D. 08033533012 hamdallah1999@yahoo.com 23 Sheikh Bala Lau 08037008805 08052426880 balalaujibwisnigeria@gmail.com 24 Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir 08065687545 ustaznasirabdulmuhyi@yahoo.com 25 Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad 08023141752 aahmadimam@yahoo.co.uk 26 Muhammad Yaseen Qamarud-Deen 08055322087 crescentgroup2000@gmail.com 27 Sheikh Lukman Abdallah 08052242252 abuyatamaa@gmail.com 28 Sheikh Sulaiman Gumi 08033139153 ssgummi@gmail.com 29 Sheikh Adam Idoko 08036759892 imamidoko@gmail.com 30 Alh. Yusuf Nwoha 08030966956 08026032997 yusufnwoha@gmail.com

We wish all Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts all over the world happy Ramadan in advance.

Allahuma Baligna Ramadan! Amin

Signed

Prof. Salisu Shehu

Deputy Secretary-General

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
Days after his return from vacation, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has not been seen in public, sparking a heated debate over his health status.

The governor has avoided public appearances, and people were reportedly barred from taking his pictures at the airport when he arrived on Tuesday after many weeks of holiday. Up till now, no picture of the governor returning to the state has been made public.

The governor has also cancelled many public engagements since he arrived.

Rumours

There are rumours that the governor is ill. This could not be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES.

The governor has been avoiding public appearances and engagements since his controversial return to the state. We wanted to receive him at the airport but we were barred, but nevertheless, we wish him quick recovery, said a senior public servant, who requested not to be named.

Hundreds of workers who converged on the Jolly Nyame stadium for the workers day celebration were disappointed as the governor did not show up.

The governor is also yet to meet with the striking lecturers of the state university, though his aides had earlier assured that the governor would ensure university students return to the classroom, 24 hours after his return from vacation.

Our hope is dashed, because we were assured by the governors aides sometime last week, that as soon he arrived, His Excellency Governor Darius will meet with our leaders but we are yet to hear anything, said a lecturer who does not want to be named as well.

Sources said a traditional chief, who sought an audience with the governor, was not allowed after waiting for hours at the government house, Wednesday evening.

An online newspaper in the state, Taraba Truth and Facts had earlier reported that even the deputy governor, Haruna Manu, is yet to meet his boss since his arrival.

Manu has been making several calls to some of the governors aides and top members of his kitchen cabinet who told him the governor needs some rest after a long flight back to the country.

Another close watcher of event in the government house Jalingo told our reporter that the governors return from vacation was shrouded in secrecy, only few politicians were carried along, in fact his deputy was informed of his coming, but was not at the airport to receive him, the medium quoted a source.

The deputy governor did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone seeking comments.

But, an aide of the deputy governor, who did not want to be quoted as he did not have the permission of his principal to speak, said his boss met the governor yesterday. He did not disclose further details.

Governor full of life

The governors aide on political matters, Abubakar Bawa, dismissed rumours of his principals ill-health.

There is no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds in the state and beyond that Gov. Ishaku is either sick or dead, Mr Bawa said.

His Excellency is healthy, energetic and full of life, going about his official duties for the betterment of the state. I wonder why political detractors and enemies of progress would want him dead.

It is obvious that the Almighty God will give the Governor long life and good health to continue to serve as a pillar of support to his people, he said.

But when pressed further on the governors absence from public functions, he said: Must he be at all events? He is being represented by his deputy. During the workers day, he was represented by the deputy, so why must you people ask for his public appearance? I think some are out for mischief, he said.

Abigel Tor, a resident in the statem said it is unfortunate that politicians forget that holding public office means you are the peoples servant.

We are all human and can be sick, there is nothing to hide about it. If he is not feeling fine, we wish quick recovery but the people should be carried along so that they can all join in praying for him, he is our governor, she said.

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A public commentator, Musa Maraneyo, recalled how former Governor Suntais associates held Taraba to ransom for three years while he was sick.

On August 25, 2013, 10 months after his medical trip abroad, Suntai returned amidst reports that he could not talk, he said.

He was carried out of the plane by his aides because he clearly could not walk at the time. Umar, his deputy, was blocked from receiving him in Jalingo. Still, the people around him all claimed he was fit to return to his duty post. In fact, one even said at the airport that Suntai was mentally alert and lucid.

While we pray for his speedy recovery, we should also avoid a repeat of Suntais saga, he said.
The management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report which detailed the complaints of students on a shortage of toilets.

This newspaper reported how students decried the absence of clean and adequate toilets on their campus.

Many of them said they now resort to open defecation and in places where there are toilets, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that these are not well managed.

Some female students also narrated the difficulties they face during their menstrual circles.

Last week, the universitys Dean of Students Affairs, Wole Adebayo told PREMIUM TIMES he could not confirm whether there are toilets or not on campus for students use except he reaches out to the work department of the institution.

University Officially Reacts

Following the report, the Head of Information & Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, in a statement on Friday said there are seven blocks of toilets constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use.

For the information of the general public, seven blocks of toilets had been constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use. One block of toilet contains ten toilets each, with five allocated to male students, while the other five were allocated to female students.

These toilets are strategically located for easy access by the students and measures put in place for their regular maintenance. For the avoidance of doubt, these toilets are located in the Faculty of Engineering, Directorate of GST (beside the main library), Directorate of Continuing Education Programme and the University Health Centre.

Mr Olofinmuagun also said that the University, under the present leadership of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Olubunmi Ajayi, takes the welfare of both staff and students as priority and would ensure that nothing erodes its enviable track records that it has over the years.

Students Kick

Reacting to the university defence, a student of the university, Israel Paul told our correspondent the toilets are locked down and not in use.

Another student in the Faculty of Engineering, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that dysfunctional toilets cannot be count(Ed) as toilets.

Seven dysfunctional toilets! I could recall, as a fresher, that every fresh student who went for Urinalysis was given a test-tube for urine and asked to go to the back of the building (bush) and do their thing. A toilet is a decent and reasonable place to carry out such an act.

Also, Durotimi Aribisala, the President of Association of Campus Journalists, in EKSU said: The one opposite the security operations unit is not working. They just built it and abandoned. I pass through that side every day but I have never seen anyone making use of it. As far as I could remember, those toilets had been built during the time of the former VC, Prof Oye Bamidele and since then we havent seen or heard anything about again.
MAYS LANDING  An Egg Harbor Township man linked to the April Kauffman murder trial may face a year less one day in prison after pleading guilty to witness tampering, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced Friday.

John Kachbalian, 55, exchanged his plea for a recommended sentence of probation conditioned upon a 364-day sentence in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, a statement said.

Kachbalian, a retired Pagans motorcycle club member known as Egyptian, was arrested Aug. 30, 2018, following an investigation by the Prosecutors Office Major Crime Unit and a search warrant executed at his Spray Avenue home. He was charged with witness tampering, invasion of privacy and cyberharassment after posting on social media a seminude photo of one of the witnesses, purported to be Beverly Augello, and calling her a lying rat, as previously reported by The Press.

Kachbalian was held in the jail but granted release in October due to health issues. He was ordered by Judge Bernard DeLury to return to his home in Egg Harbor Township with a 24-hour curfew.
As the primaries approached, one Democrat after another announced campaigns for president. Most were senators. Some were governors. One came from a university town in Indiana. They spoke of a need to clean up an executive branch they said was riddled with corruption.

No, this isn't a description of the 2020 campaign. It was 1976 - the most crowded Democratic presidential field in modern American history, until the current election cycle, which boasts 21.

And, despite worries about a bruising intraparty battle, the little-known peanut farmer who won the primaries also won the White House. His name was Jimmy Carter.

How many Democratic candidates were there in 1976? One historian put the number at 17, though it depends on how you count them. Let's just say the race was remarkably fluid right up until to the last primary.

The first to announce was Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona in late November of 1974, almost a full two years before the election. The longtime congressman came from a famous political dynasty. (Four generations of Udalls have served in various elected offices across the American West.)
ATLANTIC CITY  Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White grew up here, rented his first apartment and bought his first home here.

But in 1998, he moved his family to Galloway Township, he said.

It was nothing to do with the city. Thats a part of me, said White, who still has many family members here, thinks highly of Atlantic City High School and spends virtually every day of the week here. We wanted a bigger home and yard, when the kids were little.

You can get more house and property for your money on the mainland, he said.

Two of his three grown sons have purchased homes in the city and live there. One is a teacher, the other a police officer, White said.

He would like to see more home ownership in the city because of the stability it brings.

Any time you can bring more middle class families back to the city, it helps, said White.

Low home ownership rates are associated with poverty, social problems and a lack of engagement with the community. In Atlantic City, where only one out of four homes are owner-occupied, increasing the level of home ownership is vital to the success of both the city and the county.

One of the fatal flaws is Atlantic Citys atrociously low percentage of people living in a unit they own, said 6th Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, a Republican who grew up and still lives in Chelsea.

A healthy neighborhood should have a mean of about 65 percent owner- occupied housing, Kurtz said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2013 to 2017, only 26 percent of homes in Atlantic City were owner-occupied, compared with 67 percent countywide and 64 percent statewide and nationwide.

Kurtz, a member of the citys Housing Authority board, would like to see the city increase its home ownership program and set a goal to get the city up to 40 percent owner-occupied housing in the next 10 years and 50 percent longer term.

Such an effort could go hand-in-hand with raising the number of residents here from the current 39,000 to about 50,000 over the next decade, as suggested by Mayor Frank Gilliam and others.

When people dont own where they live, there is a lack of investment in the city, Kurtz said.

That has played out in Atlantic City, where residents have not cared over the years about how public money has been spent.

Fiscal responsibility is the new hobby in town, whereas it should just be a part of the life of the town, said Kurtz.

The simple fact that some people prefer a more suburban lifestyle, like Chief White, has meant many successful people have left the city.

That has left a disproportionate number of poor living here, leaving the prospects of owning a home remote.

More than 40 percent of the citys population is poor, compared to 14.4 percent in Atlantic County and 10 percent statewide, according to 2018 U.S. Census figures.

A rate of 40 percent or above puts it into the category of extreme poverty, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Communities where poverty is so highly concentrated are associated with disadvantages for households living there over and above those disadvantages that might be expected because of the households limited resources, according to a 2009 Federal Reserve study on Atlantic City.

Those disadvantages include growing up with few positive role models, a poor quality of public services, and more.

The federal government defines poverty as an income of $25,465 for a family of four; or $17,242 for a single person under age 65.

A lot of (poor or modest income) people have problems it will take time to work out, said Mosheh Math of Home Initiatives Inc., a nonprofit that runs home ownership classes in Atlantic City. They need to get their credit score up, and do all the things to qualify for home ownership.

James Sonny McCullough recently moved back to the Chelsea section of the city from the Seaview Harbor section of Egg Harbor Township. He had a large home on the bay overlooking Longport, along with a $34,000 property tax bill.

Now, he has a bedroom condo high up at the Ocean Club, pays $7,000 a year in property taxes, plus a condo fee of $850 a month.

His southeast-facing balcony looks out at the ocean, the shuttered Atlantic Club and over to Bader Field. His unit is so high, he can read the faint outline of the name of Atlantic Clubs earlier incarnation as the Hilton casino at its very top.

But McCullough, a longtime mayor of Egg Harbor Township before stepping down last year, has no illusions about the difficulties ahead for the city and how that may discourage people from choosing to live here.

His reasons were varied. His wife Georgene (McCabe) grew up in Chelsea, he said, and wanted to be close to the beach and Boardwalk. His roots are deep here. His grandfather Anthony Ruffu was mayor when Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall opened in 1929.

I moved back because I care for city, said McCullough.

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Press Meteorologist Joe Martucci will be the featured guest at the New Jersey Coastal Coalitions weekly Tidal Flooding Talk broadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.

The Facebook Live event will take place at the Irish Pub on St. James Place in Atlantic City. Previous Press Meteorologist and current meteorologist for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dan Skeldon will host the talk alongside Palma Accardi, technical assistant construction official in Margate.

As Fall weather settles into South Jersey, Joe will answer any weather questions on your mind and talk with Dan and Palma about the upcoming winter.

The New Jersey Coastal Coalition is a nonprofit that seeks to build more resilient communities at the Jersey Shore by developing policies and practices that will anticipate future concerns and to create solutions to be shared by all participants. The group includes county offices of emergency management and local governments.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




PHNOM PENH, April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - "The rule of law and human rights are two sides of the same principle: the freedom to live in dignity" (United Nations). It is with dignity and with respect for the rule of law that the Asian Vision Institute invites you to take note of how Cambodia continues to evolve in the area of human rights.

In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords brought an end to decades of strife and ushered in what is referred to as a "negative peace" - the absence of armed struggle. In 1998, a full and lasting positive peace came to pass under the "win-win" policy of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia has since sought to focus on the future, to build state institutions and social cohesion and to adopt alternatives to violence based on the culture of dialogue and national reconciliation. Landmine and weapons reduction campaigns and conflict resolution programs are prime examples of these efforts. In addition to being one of the founders of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre, Cambodia has actively participated in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and demining operations. Some 6,000 Cambodian peacekeepers have been deployed in many parts of the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cambodia's liberation from the brutal genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge. This came in the wake of several years of brinkmanship by foreign powers. Forces once hailed as heroes became enemies overnight and a battered nation sought peace and stability. In 1979, it was with an unshakable resolve that the government of this nation committed to protecting its citizens from armed struggles and crimes against humanity.

Respect for this most basic of human rights and all others, remains a priority for Cambodia. Our nation is a party to eight core UN human rights treaties and is the only country in Asia to host a field office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nearly 80 percent of recommendations from the "Universal Periodic Review" of human rights records were accepted by Cambodia, following its most recent review cycle. The Cambodian Human Rights Committee disseminated these recommendations among relevant ministries and institutions and prepared an implementation report for the next review cycle.

With respect to labour and trade union rights and freedom of assembly and association, Cambodian garment workers, for example, are very well represented via some 2,500 unions present in about 1,000 factories. A national committee for review of international labour conventions and the Ministry of Labour have consulted with stakeholders to improve trade union laws. More than 80 percent of Cambodian exports originate with the textile, garment and footwear industries, where wages have more than doubled since 2013. These wages are untaxed, as are non-salary allowances and benefits. Employers contribute to the National Social Security Fund which provides for maternity leave benefits, workplace insurance and health care. A pension for workers in the garment sector will come into effect later this year and a similar program will be expanded to other sectors.

With respect to freedom of the press, Cambodians have access to 439 newspapers, 194 magazines, 20 bulletins, 171 news websites, 48 online TV channels, 40 press associations, 21 foreign news agencies, 83 radio stations, 137 provincial radio stations, 19 analogue TV stations, 8 digital TV stations and 210 provincial cable TV stations. Cambodians also enjoy freedom of expression via a variety of social media.

With respect to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Cambodia hosts one of the higher numbers of aid organizations per capita in the world. More than 5,000 NGOs operate in the country and provide social and economic development and environmental protection aid in accordance with applicable rules and norms. These NGOs operate freely and exercise their rights to play a complementary role in national socio-economic development, climate change adaptation and environmental governance.

Cambodia is home to the largest youth and adolescent population in Southeast Asia; "bamboo shoots" as they are called. "Youth for Peace" and the "Alliance for Conflict Transformation" are examples of initiatives that are designed to help a new generation to move forward.

The national election in July of 2018 was conducted in a free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner. Twenty political parties were in the running. Despite a call for boycott, a significant majority of registered voters expressed their will to see this nation remain on a staunch path of peace, stability and progress. As in any democracy, those who would violate the rule of law are subject to prosecution and they may defend themselves in keeping with their rights as guaranteed under the constitution.

Private land governance in Cambodia is in gradual recovery. Policy and legal frameworks are being refined in accordance with individual rights and land use guidelines. Efforts are being made to curb illegal occupation of land by those who would seek to pervert regulations for their gain. Pending disputes are being reviewed and addressed. Nationwide land registration procedures are to be completed by 2021. Concession procedures are in place to allocate acreage to the land poor for residential settlement and / or family farming. Communal land registration programs for indigenous communities and affordable housing projects are underway.

This is but a sampling of the measures that the Royal Government of Cambodia has put in place to promote and to improve human rights on its soil. These achievements derive from mutual respect for authority, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We firmly believe that concerted constructive engagement among stakeholders and government is the most viable option for strengthening and sustaining a foundation for peace, harmony, democracy and prosperity.

The Asian Vision Institute (AVI) https://www.asianvision.org/ is an independent think tank based in Cambodia.

SOURCE The Asian Vision Institute (AVI)

Related Links

https://www.asianvision.org/


HOUSTON, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), today announced that KIPIC has awarded McDermott a technology contract for the basic engineering, technology license and catalyst for an integrated Low Pressure Recovery (LPR) and Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) unit at KIPIC's Petrochemical Refinery Integration Project (PRIZe) in Al Zour, Kuwait. Once complete, this unit will produce 330,000 metric tons per annum of polymer grade propylene using refinery by-product streams.

"This award marks the 50th OCT unit that Lummus Technology has licensed, and we are honored to celebrate this milestone with KIPIC," said Leon de Bruyn, Senior Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "This is a significant achievement that highlights the trust that our customers have in our industry-leading technologies."

The Petrochemical Refinery Integration project (PRIZe) will add a gasoline block, an aromatics block, OCT unit, polypropylene units, associated utility and offsite facilities to the existing refinery site. The new units will be closely integrated with the ZOR Refinery and LNGI projects which will be operated as an integrated facility once complete.

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

About KIPIC

Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) is responsible for operating and managing the integrated complex for refining, petrochemicals manufacture businesses and liquefied natural gas import facilities at Al-Zour complex which is located about 70km south of Kuwait City. KIPIC planning to implement a world scale petrochemicals and gasoline manufacturing facility adjacent to the Al Zour refinery and LNG import facilities which are currently under construction.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 32,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about backlog, to the extent backlog may be viewed as an indicator of future revenues or profitability, and the expected value and scope of the award discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit markets, our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog, changes in project design or schedules, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties, changes in industry norms and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Scott Lamb

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 832 513 1068

[email protected]

Global Media Relations

Gentry Brann

Global Vice President, Communications

+1 281 870 5269

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mcdermott.com/


Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent. Funds raised through the event support PanCAN's critical pancreatic cancer research as well as its services and resources for patients and caregivers.

Trebek, who announced his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis in early March, inspired the crowd of survivors, caregivers and advocates when he took the stage during the event's opening ceremonies. "What we have heard from today's speakers is that there is always hope. I have now been a cancer survivor for sixty days and my hope is that I get to match their accomplishments."

Trebek was joined by a contingency of close to 200 family, friends and staff from his TV game show "Jeopardy!" as well as "Wheel of Fortune." Editorial Supervisor Michele Loud of "Jeopardy!", along with Supervising Producer Rocky Schmidt and Executive Producer Harry Friedman, created "Team Alex" for PurpleStride Los Angeles to raise money for PanCAN and to support their friend Trebek. "Team Alex" quickly became the No. 1 friends & family fundraising team for PurpleStride Los Angeles. To date, "Team Alex" has raised nearly $60,000.

"Alex is family to us," Friedman said. "Our goal was to raise $35,000 to symbolize the 35 years that Alex has been the greatest host of the greatest quiz show on television. And to quote him again, 'We will get it done!' Please help us continue to raise money to fight this disease."

Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN, praised Trebek's positive attitude and his decision to be on hand to personally address the crowd. "Pancreatic cancer does not discriminate. Having Alex here today gives survivors so much strength and positivity and will undoubtedly greatly amplify our urgent call to raise money for critical research on early detection and for better treatment options."

Since 2003, PanCAN has invested more than $56 million in research, led the effort to pass the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, created a grassroots army with 60 affiliates across the country, and is on track to launch its own clinical trial that will more quickly and more efficiently improve treatment options for patients.

"We have made tremendous progress since my own father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 20 years ago," Fleshman added. "There is hope for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

PurpleStride Los Angeles participants enjoyed the 2.2-mile walk throughout the Los Angeles Zoo. CBS2 This Morning co-anchor Suzanne Marques and Los Angeles Kings Radio Commentator Daryl Evans served as co-emcees for the event.

PurpleStride Los Angeles was supported by national presenting sponsor Celgene , presenting sponsor Kathryn Naficy Pancreatic Foundation, national gold sponsors AbbVie and Ipsen , gold sponsors Cedars-Sinai, Halozyme, Harry's Berries and Pom & Associates, gold media sponsor CBS2/KCAL9, and silver sponsors Crescent Capital Group and Cancer Care Institute.

To make a donation, visit pancan.org/teamalex.

To learn more about PanCAN and its signature walk PurpleStride, watch the PurpleStride PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfqCmz_4uY&feature=youtu.beand the History of PanCAN. Follow PanCAN on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is dedicated to fighting the world's toughest cancer. In our urgent mission to save lives, we attack pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy. Our effort is amplified by a nationwide network of grassroots support. We are determined to improve patient outcomes today and to double pancreatic cancer survival.

Media Contact:

Julie Vasquez

Public Relations Manager

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Direct: 310-706-3311

Cell: 310-697-9129

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Related Links

http://www.pancan.org


SAO PAULO, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, a corporation (sociedade anonima) duly organized under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), today announced the expiration and results of its offer to purchase for cash (the " Tender Offer ") any and all of its outstanding 4.750% Notes due 2024 (the " Notes "), guaranteed by Votorantim S.A. (f/k/a Votorantim Industrial S.A.).

As set forth in the Company's Offer to Purchase, dated April 26, 2019 (the " Offer to Purchase ") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (together, the " Offer Documents "), the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2019 (the " Expiration Deadline ").

According to information received by D.F. King, the information and tender agent for the Tender Offer, as of the Expiration Deadline, holders of the Notes had validly tendered and not validly withdrawn $263,021,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes (representing approximately 65.8% of the outstanding Notes).

Holders who (i) validly tendered their Notes and did not validly withdraw on or before the Expiration Deadline or (ii) delivered a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and all of the other required documents on or before the Expiration Deadline and tender their Notes prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 7, 2019, will receive for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted by the Company, a cash payment of U.S.$1,040.00 (the " Tender Offer Consideration "). The Tender Offer Consideration and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes accepted for purchase (including those tendered through the guaranteed delivery procedures) from the last interest payment date of the Notes up to but excluding the settlement date will be paid in cash on the settlement date, which is currently anticipated to be May 10, 2019.

The Company retained Banco Bradesco BBI S.A. (" Bradesco BBI "), HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (" HSBC ") and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (" J.P. Morgan ") to act as dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") in connection with the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to Bradesco BBI at +1 (646) 432-6643 (collect); HSBC at +1 (212) 525-5552 (collect) and +1 (888) 478-8456 (toll free); and J.P. Morgan at +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect) and +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll free).

Neither the Offer Documents nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer Documents or any related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase. The Tender Offer was made solely pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Company made the Tender Offer only in those jurisdictions where it was legal to do so. The Tender Offer was not made to, nor did the Company accept tenders of Notes from holders in any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdiction.

NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company and its affiliates that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to the Company's management, the Company cannot guarantee future results or events. The Company expressly disclaims a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
"Chris has a lot of talent, and he looks great the past two competitions that I've seen him at. I saw him at the Governor's Cup and again at the LA Grand Prix, and I could see how much a competitor he was, and that he had what it takes to make it big in this field," said Whitaker following a recent photoshoot outside Boston. "I am definitely looking forward to his next competition in San Antonio this summer."
Washington, May 4 : US President Donald Trump has said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an hour-long call, covering issues including the "Russian Hoax".

"Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin," the US President tweeted, the BBC reported on Friday.

Trump rebuked a reporter who asked whether he had warned Putin against meddling in the 2020 elections.

It was their first conversation since the Mueller report cleared Trump of colluding with Russia on the 2016 vote.

The Kremlin confirmed in a statement the two had spoken, saying the call had been initiated by the White House.

Trump and Putin last spoke informally at last December's G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, after Trump cancelled the two leaders' official meeting.

Trump tweeted on Friday about their latest conversation: "As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing not a bad thing."

When asked in the White House on Friday whether he had warned Putin that Moscow should not interfere in the next US presidential election, Trump told the reporter she was "very rude".

"We didn't discuss that," he said.

"Getting along with countries is a good thing and we want to have good relations with everybody."

But the White House said the matter of alleged Russian meddling had been broached in the call.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Very, very briefly it was discussed, essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place."

Sanders also said Trump and Putin had briefly discussed the investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The White House press secretary described the call as an "overall positive conversation".

A redacted version of the special counsel's report was made public last month. It did not determine that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, but it detailed repeated efforts by Trump to thwart an investigation he feared would end his presidency.

Mueller concluded his inquiry could not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice, noting Department of Justice guidance that a sitting president cannot be criminally charged.
Seoul, May 4 : North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.
Bangkok, May 4 : Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Watch Cyclone Fani hits West Bengal to continue further north east:

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone is about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people affected by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said.

"What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

-- With inputs from IANS
Mohali, May 4 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chasing 184, KKR rode on the unbeaten half century from Shubhman Gill as they easily crossed the line with 12 balls to spare at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night.

Gill, who opened the batting with Chris Lynn, remained unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls, his innings laced with five fours and two sixes.

After the match, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik praised the 19-year-old, saying the Punjab batsman, who has been promoted to open in the innings in place of Sunil Narine in recent matches, has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.
History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)
Brasilia, May 4 : Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.
Mohali, May 4 : Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.
Mumbai, May 4 : "Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.
Miami, May 4 : At least 21 people were injured after a Boeing 737 charter jet arriving at a naval air station in Florida from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off the runway into a river, authorities said.

All of the 136 passengers and seven crew members had been rescued by early Saturday morning, a Navy spokeswoman said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the plane had never been submerged. Photos showed it floating on the St. Johns River, The New York Times reported.

The accident occurred at about 9.40 p.m. on Friday as the pilot attempted to land the jet at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville amid thunder and heavy rains.

"I think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael P. Connor, the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at a news conference early Saturday. "We could be talking about a different story."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the White House had called to offer its assistance.

The flight was operated by Miami Air International, a charter company that shuttles military service members from the base in Guantanamo Bay to naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia.

The flights run every Friday and every other Tuesday, said Susan Brink, a Navy spokeswoman.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to start an inquiry. Boeing said it also was investigating, but did not provide any other details.

Friday night's accident comes as Boeing has been under intense scrutiny following two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX jet within months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March of this year.

The two accidents killed a total of 346 people and led to a global grounding of the aircraft.
Washington, May 4 : After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.
San Francisco, May 4 : Hackers have hit open source software development platform GitHub, removing code repositories and asking ransom from developers in order to restore their source codes.

According to a report in ZDnet late on Friday, hundreds of developers have had their source code repositories wiped and replaced with a ransom demand on Microsoft-owned GitHub.

"What is known is that the hacker removes all source code and recent commits from victims' Git repositories, and leaves a ransom note behind that asks for a payment in Bitcoins," the report added.

The hackers claim all source code has been downloaded and stored on one of their servers.

"To recover your lost code and avoid leaking it: Send us 0.1 Bitcoin (BTC) to our Bitcoin address and contact us by email at admin@gitsbackup.com with your Git login and a proof of payment," read the ransom message.

"If you are unsure if we have your data, contact us and we will send you a proof. Your code is downloaded and backed up on our servers.

"If we don't receive your payment in the next 10 days, we will make your code public or use them otherwise," the hackers' message read.

A GitHub search revealed that at least 392 GitHub repositories have been compromised.

Kathy Wang, Director of Security for GitLab, was quoted as saying that they immediately began investigation into the issue.

"We have identified affected user accounts and all of those users have been notified. As a result of our investigation, we have strong evidence that the compromised accounts have account passwords being stored in plaintext on a deployment of a related repository," Wang told ZDnet.

Jeremy Galloway, a security researcher at Atlassian, which owns BitBucket, told Motherboard that the company has seen a lot of users' repositories getting hit by these hackers.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and thpportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
Mumbai, May 4 : A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The "Khiladi" star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement. It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?"

His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as "Kesari", "Baby", "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" and "Airlift", with patriotism as the theme.
San Francisco, May 4 : Suggesting that the soon-to-open Apple Store at Washington DC's Carnegie Library will do much more than just selling iPhones and other products, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the outlet will focus on community and creativity, the media reported.

Due to open on May 11, Apple has spent an estimated $30 million in renovating the 116-year-old Carnegie Library into an Apple Store, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Carnegie Library store will utilise Apple's "town square" concept, making it one of the company's 13 high-profile locations across the world where each local staff offers a bevy of classes to help users to maximise their Apple products for photography, video editing or producing music.

"Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something," Cook told the Post in an interview.

People come to explore new products, but also get training and services for iPhones or iPads they already own, he said.

"We should probably come up with a name other than 'store,'" he said, "because it's more of a place for the community to use in a much broader way."

Reconstituting the Carnegie Library according to its original design standards was Apple's "most historic, ambitious restoration by far in the world", Cook claimed in the interview.
New Delhi, May 4 : The Centre on Saturday filed a fresh affidavit in Rafale deal in the Supreme Court seeking the application of review of the deal "ought to be dismissed with exemplary costs" as it signifies "complete misuse and abuse of the legal process".

The Centre expressed its commitment to provide the top court any document, which is required to read in detail.

The Centre informed the apex court that it had submitted access to all files, notings, letters etc., related to procurement "including the full pricing details" to the Comptroller an Auditor General (CAG).

The affidavit cited the CAG report on the deal, "...the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits, which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

The Centre also told the court that monitoring of the progress by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of this -- government to government process -- "cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations".

The Centre expressed its commitment on the transparency regarding the deal.

"The government remains committed to provide to this court any document or file, which it desires to peruse," said the Centre in the affidavit.

It also slammed the review petitioners' attempt "to call for production of the documents and in the process try and attempt to get a roving or fishing enquiry ordered" as gross abuse of the legal process.

The Centre also informed the court that "the Government of India has no role in selection of Indian Offset partner, which is a commercial decision of OEM."

The Centre said that the top court judgment passed on December 14, 2018, was well-reasoned, wherein the court gave a clean chit to the government on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and it could not be re-examined merely on the ground of stolen documents, revealing incomplete file notings.

This affidavit was filed, after court issued a formal notice to the Centre on the review petitions filed on its December 2018 judgement.

The Centre said the information submitted before the top court in terms of various orders passed from time to time while hearing the main writ petition "was based on contents of official documents and produced before this court with the approval of competent authority".

The Centre said the submissions of the applicants -- Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie, and Yashwant Sinha -- were bereft of any "particulars much less particulars; they are scandalous and false and baseless to say the least".

Earlier, the top court had said that it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the pricing of the fighter jets.

The Centre contended in the affidavit that "statements by the applicants (review petitioners) that the judgement being a fruit of poisonous tree must be recalled, brings this court to disrepute and lowers its image and majesty of law".

The Centre buttressed it is decision on the deal, and stated the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) -- the highest decision making body in defence matters -- and also Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) -- the highest decision making body in Ministry of Defence --, have made the decision "keeping in view all the facts of the case and the critical operational necessity of Indian Air Force".
Amethi, May 4 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of giving Rs 20,000 bribes to people in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

While addressing a gathering here, Gandhi said: "This is wrong... While the Congress is distributing its election manifesto, the BJP is sending Rs 20,000 each to the village heads."

She said that the BJP is under the misconception that it can buy the people's love and the practice of truthful politics in Amethi.

She said: "The BJP's intentions are bad and their policies are limited to benefitting some industrialists. They don't waive off farmers' debt, but in five years the party has waived off the Rs 5.50 lakh crore debt of these industrialists."
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against a Saudi Arabia-based businessman in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed the Enforcement Directorate's (EC) plea seeking issuing of the open-ended non-bailable warrant against Omar Al Balsharaf.

The ED told the court that it issued Balsharaf multiple summons to join the probe, but neither did he appear before it, nor provide it the information sought of him.

According to the agency, Balsharaf's questioning was required to unearth the conspiracy related to some suspected transactions.

The ED said its investigation revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius transferred $5,303,471 to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai, but the amount was maintained under the ledger head Balsharaf.

This transaction raised many questions and it needs clarification, the agency told the court.

The ED said that Balsharaf was evading the process of law and therefore a non-bailable warrant should be issued against him to secure his presence immediately.
Washington, May 4 : Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while PakAisAtan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to lawyer Gautam Khaitan's wife Ritu Khaitan in a money laundering and black money case.

Ritu Khaitan appeared before Special Judge Arvind Kumar in pursuance of summons issued against her.

The court asked her to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

Meanwhile, the court issued fresh summons to two companies -- Ismax and Windfor -- to appear before it as accused in the case through authorised representives on August 7.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed the money laundering case against Gautam Khaitan and others based on a case lodged by the Income Tax Department.

He was arrested on January 25, a week after the I-T Department searched his offices and other properties in Delhi and the National Capital Region. He was later granted bail on April 16.

Gautam Khaitan was earlier arrested in September 2014 for his alleged involvement in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

He received bail in January 2015 and was re-arrested along with Sanjeev Tyagi, another accused in the case, on December 9, 2016, by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He later secured bail.

The CBI chargesheet had described Khaitan as the brain behind the AgustaWestland deal.
Kolkata, May 4 : Shantanu Thakur, the BJP candidate from West Bengal's Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency, sustained head injury after his car collided head on with a vehicle bearing a police sticker on Saturday, party officials said.

The saffron party termed it a "staged accident" and claimed that there might be a conspiracy to kill Thakur ahead of the elections.

"Shantanu Thakur suffered serious head injury while on his way from Jagulia to Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district after his car was hit by a police vehicle coming from the opposite direction. He has been hospitalised," state BJP Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

"We suspect there is a conspiracy behind this accident. The way a government vehicle with just the driver collided with Thakur's car, it seems that the car was waiting for Thakur's arrival. It is possible that the accident was staged to kill him," Majumdar added.

The police said the car which collided with the BJP candidate's vehicle was hired by the state administration for ferrying central force personnel within the constituency. They also said the injury sustained by Thakur was "not severe".

"The vehicle was hired for ferrying central force personnel. However, only the driver was present in the car during the accident. The BJP candidate suffered head injury as he was on the front seat. The drivers of both the cars also sustained minor injuries," an officer from Gaighata police station told IANS.

He also alleged that Thakur's supporters agitated and vandalised a police vehicle when it reached the spot.

"His (Thakur's) injury was apparently a minor one. No stitches were required. However, when our officers reached the spot, the BJP supporters attacked us and vandalised a police car. We have lodge a case against them," he said.

The Bongaon parliamentary constituency will go to the polls on May 6. Thakur, the grandson of the late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakur, is locking horns with his aunt and sitting Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur.
Srinagar, May 4 : Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants here on Saturday implored External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help them obtain travel documents.

Dozens of Pakistani spouses of Kashmiri militants who came to Kashmir encouraged by the Jammu and Kashmir government's rehabilitation policy addressed a press conference.

Scores of these women who came with their surrendered militant husbands told the media their demand to get travel documents to see their parents (in Pakistan) were genuine and this should not be treated as part of politics.

They requested Swaraj and Governor Satya Pal Malik to help them get the necessary travel documents.

They claimed to have been running from pillar to post during the last decade to get travel documents for visiting Pakistan.
Chandigarh, May 4 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former state unit Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into the party.

The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, Amarinder Singh said.

Natt, who joined the Congress along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards Amarinder Singh for this opportunity.

A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga assembly constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and from Maur in 2017.
Gurdaspur : , May 4 (IANS) Amid blistering heat, a sea of people thronged actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol's roadshows vying for a selfie with their favourite candidate. True to star gesture, the Gadar star is also not missing an opportunity to get off from his vehicle to meet children.

It's star power in Punjab Lok Sabha elections again, literally.

The BJP-Akali Dal has fielded the 62-year-old from Gurdaspur, the seat represented four times by yesteryear actor Vinod Khanna, who died in April 2017 due to cancer.

Khanna, a native of Punjab, was a sitting MP at that time of his death.

Son of veteran actor Dharmendra, Deol, who does not have any direct connection with Gurdaspur city -- though his father hails from Sahnewal town near Punjab's industrial town Ludhiana, has a strong Punjabi appeal. He is a Jat Sikh.

Deol, whose main priority is creating employment for the youth, entered the Hindi film industry with "Betaab" in 1983 and his best hits include "Border", "Damini" and "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha".

Deol's unforgettable dialogue from 1990's Hindi film "Ghayal": "Jab yeh dhai kilo ka haath kisi pe padta hai na, toh aadmi uthta nahi... utth jata hai" (When this hand weighing 2.5 kg is kept on some person, they don't get up, they go up (they will die) echoes through out his meandering campaign trail here.

One of his fans handed him a hand-pump at a roadshow, a scene in his 2001 blockbuster movie "Gadar..." in which Deol uproots a similar pump to fight off a crowd, who were trying to attack a woman.

Deol is unfazed by the criticism and despite being dubbed an "outsider" by the Congress, the actor says: "I'm Punjab da puttar (son of Punjab) and farming is in my blood."

Landing here on Wednesday straight from Mumbai, Deol met families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation at a border village in Dinanagar area.

"I am not a hero as I only acted as a soldier. The real heroes are those who sacrificed their lives for the country," he told a family.

Gurdaspur lies in the north of Punjab, sharing an international border with Pakistan and the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is not as developed as other areas in Punjab.

Deol, who is not missing an opportunity to pay obeisance to Sikh shrines and Hindu temples during his campaigning, is pitted against Congress state unit President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election with a margin of 1.92 lakh votes.

The bypoll was necessitated with sitting MP Vinod Khanna's death.

The BJP did not give the ticket for the bye-election to Khanna's widow, Kavita Khanna, a strong claimant for the seat.

With the fielding of Deol, Kavita Khanna expressed her disappointment, saying she felt "betrayed" by the party.

The Gurdaspur constituency, which has 14,68,972 voters, including 72,6363 women, has nine assembly constituencies. It has a high number of serving and retired defence personnel and the BJP is trying to woo them by using the 'fauzi' image of Deol.

The former members of Parliament from Gurdaspur are Sukhbuns Kaur Binder of the Congress, who won the seat five times in a row till 1996 when she faced her defeat from BJP's Jagdish Sawhney; from BJP's Khanna (1998 to 2009) and Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa from 2009 to 2014.

Khanna got elected for the first time in 1998, followed by wins in 1999, 2004 and 2014.

He lost the poll in the 2009 general election to Congress leader Bajwa with a slender margin.

In 2014, Khanna had again won by a thumping margin of over 1.38 lakh votes. A local BJP leader told IANS: "Khanna won his last election not due to his stardom but because of Modi wave. This time too his magic will work here. Moreover, Deol is known for playing nationalist."

Locals believe the Modi wave might work for Deol, too. "Deol, who is a Jat Sikh, will help winning the state as the constituency is dominated by the Jat Sikhs," a senior BJP leader said.

A confident Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, though, said: "I have been a Dharmendra fan. I like Sunny Deol as an actor. The people will prefer a local than an outsider (Deol). I wish him all the best."

"He is unaware of the issues of Punjab and Gurdaspur. He should share his vision for Gurdaspur. What is his agenda for the people here?" asked Jakhar.

The Gurdaspur constituency has seen two major militant attacks by Pakistan-backed militant outfits in the recent past.

It is believed by the BJP that terror attacks and Deol's stardom will trigger the BJP magic.

"As Modi has sent the air force to destroy terror camps in Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, so is Deol who has thrashed militants with iron hands in movies. So people in Gurdaspur like both Modi and Deol. His stardom will catch votes for BJP," a local BJP leader said.

Tough road for Congress Hindu candidate Jakhar to retain the seat.

Jakhar, who started his campaigning well ahead of Deol, won the seat when the Congress government in the state just came at the helm. Now after two years, the government has anti-incumbency. This factor will make Jakhar's victory tough, admitted a senior Congress leader.

In 2017, most of the state ministers had campaigned for him. Now, even Jakhar doesn't enjoy a good relation with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The BJP in the state has an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. It is contesting three Lok Sabha seats (Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur), while the Akali Dal is contesting the remaining 10 seats.

Punjab will vote on May 19.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Mumbai, May 4 : Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Watch Akshay Kumar breaks silence over Canadian citizenship, issues statement:

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

-- With inputs from IANS
Pune, May 4 : An Indian family, including a set of 10-year old twin boys, have set a new record for family skydiving, as they jumped out of a plane over Amsterdam.

They are Shital Mahajan-Rane, her husband Vaibhav Rane, both professional skydivers, and their twins Vrushabh and Vaibhav.

"We have set two new records - first time ever an Indian civilian family has skydived together, and our two sons becoming the youngest twins doing their first tandem jump," Shital, a recipient of the Padma Shri, told IANS from Amsterdam on Saturday.

They accomplished the feat on Friday from a Super Caravan 206 aircraft flying at a height of around 13,000 feet above The Netherlands, she added.

"Our sons celebrated their 10th birthday on April 26 and it was their desire to make their first skydiving jump. So we came to Amsterdam last week and fulfilled their birthday wish," Shital said.

Shital has notched some 750 jumps all over the world while Vaibhav has 57 skydives till date.

To mark the 389th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shital performed skydiving jumps over the Great Pyramids of Giza on February 19.

First she jumped in a traditional Maharashtrian ;nau-vari' sari and then went for a repeat jump sporting the royal costume of the legendary ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, who ruled around 3,700 years ago, earning accolades from the Egyptian authorities.

She shot to global fame on April 18, 2004 when she became the first woman in the world to make her maiden jump - without practice dives - on the North Pole from a Russian MI-8 helicopter from 2,700 feet in minus 37 degrees.

On December 15, 2006, she made the world's first Accelerated Free Fall Parachute Jump on the South Pole in Antarctica, jumping out of a Twin Otter aircraft from a height of 11,600 feet on the icy continent.

That made her the first - and youngest (at 23) - woman in the world to accomplish successful skydives on both the poles.

She has now set her sight on two targets - skydiving over Mount Everest and above Agra skies, home to the monument of love, the Taj Mahal.
Gaza, May 4 : Israeli Army warplanes, drones and artillery continued striking militants' facilities in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to the firing of barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, the media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were wounded in the Israeli airstrikes on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said the Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli Army spokesman said in a statement that their warplanes struck with missiles over 10 targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations -- comprising the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the Israeli Army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and injured 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the "Great March of Return" and "Breaking the Israeli Siege".

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday was a response to an attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen in which two Israeli soldiers were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians has been taking place as two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
New Delhi, May 4 : Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.
New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) As curtains came down for the fifth phase of voting for 51 parliamentary constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in a TV interview slammed the principal Opposition party Congress and said that the people who commit irregularities must fear.

'Yeh dar achhe ke liye hai. Yeh dar achhon ke liye hai ((This fear is for the good. This fear is good for those who are innocent), Mr Modi said on being asked why he was creating fear in the minds of the likes of Robert Vadra, P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi.

In his interaction with senior television anchor Rajat Sharma, who is also Editor in Chief of India TV, the Prime Minister said: "You may remember, I had said in 2014 in Aap Ki Adalat show that people who commit irregularities must fear. 'Darna chahiye' . Yeh dar achha hai (When wrong doers fear, it is good).'

Mr Modi ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his tweets on government of India's China policy.

"Kya aap Kapil Sharma ke show ke script likhtey haen (Do you write for script for Kapil Sharma show)," , Mr Modi suggested that it was for the Congress party to see why such statements or tweets come from their leader.

Asked what he 'thought' on such missives on the micro blogging sites wherein Rahul Gandhi had taken potshot on Mr Modi for being over friendly to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister shot back in his irreplaceable style : "oos party ko sochne chahiye (This is an issue best left for the Congress party)".

Asked how India persuaded China to agree to the UNSC resolution declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist', the Prime Minister replied: "I think experts should slightly correct their analysis. What is the reality today? What was the situation earlier? Whenever Pakistan's terrorism issue cropped up, Kashmir used to become a stumbling block. Russia used to be the only country that used to support us, and the rest of the world used to side with Pakistan.'

This is the record of last 40 years, he said and pointed out - 'In the last five years, you might have noticed, only China supports Pakistan, and the entire world is with us. This is a very big change".

Mr Modi further said: "On terrorism, we had a consistent policy and there was no world forum where India did not raise the issue of humanity and terrorism".

'Experts will say that the force of this victory is greater than that of the surgical strike or air strike. The UNSC resolution will have a lasting impact."

Asked why the Opposition is seeking evidence of damages caused by IAF air strike on Balakot, the Prime Minister replied: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence, political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself".

Had there been no elections in India and bickering among leaders, Balakot air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world, Mr Modi said.

Asked about former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh claiming that Indian army had carried out several surgical strikes in the past, Mr Modi replied: "The Congress has only one ex-PM left. Earlier, they used to run the government through remote control, and now they are using remote control in order to make them such statements."

The Prime Minister said that he had made friendly gestures to both the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan and one former PM Nawaz Sharif but the biggest problem in dealing with Islamabad is that nobody knows who is running that country.

"The biggest problem with Pakistan is that nobody knows who is running that country and whom we should talk to," said the Prime Minister in the freewheeling interview in a packed audience of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come on the backdrop of the Pakistan Prime Minister's letter to Mr Modi, in which he had written that "resumption of bilateral dialogue is important to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir."

Mr Modi said he has struck a good personal rapport with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada. The latter had served him tea in special teaware when they visited India.

Similarly, he said, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife took him to an Indian restaurant in the city where they had South Indian dishes.

During the interaction, he said described at length how US President Donald Trump spent nine hours with him in the White House.


New Delhi, May 4 : India has raised its concerns with Pakistan over harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month and asked it to conduct an inquiry and prevent recurrence of such incidents, sources said here on Saturday.

It also conveyed its concerns regarding security of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Sources said that the concerns about the security of the mission were conveyed to Islamabad in a demarche.

India also sent a note verbale last month protesting about the harassment of two of its diplomats and their being locked up in a room for over 20 minutes at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The two Indian diplomats, who were at the gurdwara to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were also threatened and asked never come to the area again.

They were locked up in a room by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, their bags were searched and they were questioned.

India had earlier this year also raised concern over harassment of its diplomats with Pakistan.
New Delhi, May 4 : Yet another speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got clearance from the Election Commision, which said on Saturday that it did not violate the model code of conduct.

Modi in his speech in Gujarat's Patan on April 21 had said that his government kept Pakistan on its toes to secure safe release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

This is the sixth speech of the Prime minister, which has been cleared by the poll body. The EC has found nothing wrong in Modi's speech in Nanded, Maharashtra, in which he reportedly referred to the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

In his Nanded speech, Modi reportedly likened the current status of the Congress to the sinking Titanic ship. He reportedly said that people on the ship are either sinking or jumping off to escape.

Referring to Modi's Varanasi speech on April 25, where he had gone to file his nomination for Lok Sabha elections, the poll body said a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, has been obtained.

Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi and reportedly said that he had a selected a seat using a microscope to take on the BJP. Modi was apparently referring to the Wayanad seat in Kerala which Gandhi is contesting, besides Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi had reportedly said that the seat in Wayanad is a constituency where the country's majority is in a minority.

Earlier, the poll body had not found anything wrong in the Modi's speech at Wardha on April 1. He attacked Gandhi for selectively contesting from minority-dominated seat in Kerala.

The EC also cleared him for the appeal to first-time voters where he raised the Balakot air strikes; and Pulwama martyrs in Latur on April 9.
Gurugram, May 4 : In an attempt to dent the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote bank, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, here on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises, like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people and creating over 2 crore jobs.

"In last Lok Sabha elections, Modi had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people and bring 'ache din'. What happened to them," he asked.

Ridiculing Modi's claim on development, he said was the BJP responsible for growth of cities like Gurugram? "It's the people of the country who are responsible for this development," he said.

He also raised the issue of Rafeal jet purchase deal, demonetisation and the goods and services tax GST fiasco. Gandhi was addressing an election rally in support of Congress candidate Ajay Singh Yadav.

In his 30-minute speech, Gandhi said, "He is 'chowkidar' but not for the poor. He is the 'chowkidar' of his corporate friends, like Anil Ambani, Mehul Chowksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya."

The Congress President also criticised the Modi government for helping Anil Ambani's company secure a deal with the France-based Dassault Aviation and the French government in the purchase of Rafale jets, ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. "The entire exercise was done to benefit Anil Ambani," he said.

The Congress President said the NYAY scheme would definitely do justice to the people.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress has filed 10 complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the party says it is the highest number of complaints faced by any Prime Minister in a Lok Sabha election.

The Election Commission has given a decision on six of these complaints so far, giving a clean chit to the Prime Minister in all the cases. Sources said in two of these cases the decision was not unanimous with one of the two election commissioners registering his verbal dissent with the matter having been decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The complaints, which cover a period from March 20 to April 30, relate to several speeches of Modi including those in Maharshtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There is also a complaint about "illegal" roadshow in Gujarat on April 23.

On Saturday the poll panel gave Modi clean chit on compliant concerning his election speech at Patan in Gujarat on April 21.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said Modi has made history in terms of complaints filed against him with the Election commission and no other prime minister from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru has "violated" the election norms in this manner.

"No other prime minister has shown this disregard to constitutional authorities whether it is CBI, RBI or Election Commission. That shows his mindset. A Prime Minister should lead by example, should be a role model. But here we have a person who is acting worse than a commoner. If he had fulfilled one of his promises, he would not have needed to do this," she said.

Varun K, Chopra, an advocate representing the party before the commission, said the poll panel has taken decision in some cases. "For the remaining indecision is also a decision. Being watchdog of free and fair elections in the country, ECI should prudently exercise parity and level-playing field," he said.

He said only about 180 of 543 Lok Sabha seats are left to vote.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi had on Saturday morning accused the poll panel of being "biased" against the opposition and said that "capturing" of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," he said.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday directed the Election Commission to decide on the remaining complaints made by the Congress against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah for allegedly making hate speeches or violating the Model Code of Conduct.
Kolkata, May 5 : Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.
Washington, May 5 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.
Lee Spirits Company, a leading distiller of gin, fine liqueurs and blended North American whiskey, is pleased to announce its Co-Founder Ian Lee traveled to Hong Kong this week as part of a collective with the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association who is led by the US Department of Agriculture.

The envoy traveling to Hong Kong will spend five days meeting with regional distributors and manufacturers during Asias leading food and hospitality tradeshow HOFEX. Each attendee will work in conjunction with the United States Embassy in Hong Kong. Lee Spirits mission during the five-day event is to meet with importers to help increase dialogue around importing and exporting between the two nations.

This is a great honor for Lee Spirits Company to join the US Department of Agriculture, the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association, the US Embassy in Hong Kong and several US-based manufacturers on this trip, said Ian Lee. We are proud to join this effort for the second year in a row as a representative of the United States spirit marketplace. We are hopeful this effort will lead to increased trade between our two nations while opening advanced dialogue for Lee Spirits products to be distributed internationally. I am proud to say that we uncovered many distribution options in Singapore from last years envoy trip and look to make a significant announcement by the end of 2019 on this front. I am very confident the same results will develop from this years visit to China.

Lee Spirits Companys products are available throughout five states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

About Lee Spirits Company:

Lee Spirits Company is an award-winning Colorado-based distillery whose mission is to create the finest gin, liqueurs and blended North American whiskey to empower spirit-lovers to make authentic pre-prohibition classic cocktails.

In 2013, Lee Spirits Company founders and cousins Ian and Nick Lee had an idea to develop and manufacture the finest Gin in Colorado and the United States along with accompanying liqueurs that would fit into classic cocktail recipes exactly as originally written. To connect with Lee Spirits, visit their website or social media page.
This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members." said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. "I look forward to our continued partnership."

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has announced the promotion of Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan to the role of President. Daniel A. Nissenbaum will retain the CEO role, working with LIIFs board of directors to develop the vision, industry leadership and strategic direction that will achieve LIIFs mission. This change will enable LIIF, which has invested more than $2.5 billion to serve more than two million people, to achieve further growth and continued success.

Kims vision and drive over the past 11 years have spurred much of LIIFs programmatic and geographic growth, including launching our fresh foods, health, and housing initiatives, as well as the opening of our offices in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members. Our recent investment grade rating from S&P was driven in large part by the strong performance by Kims teams. I look forward to our continued partnership.

Kim has been a strong leader at LIIF, with a remarkably entrepreneurial spirit, which will position LIIF for success in its next phase of growth, said Derek R. B. Douglas, LIIFs board chair and vice president for civic engagement and external affairs at the University of Chicago. The Board is thrilled to have Kim in this role to build on her track record of success and commitment to LIIFs mission.

As CEO, Mr. Nissenbaum will continue to lead LIIFs strategy, sustainability and people. As President, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan will implement LIIFs strategy and grow its business, including continuing to oversee LIIFs lending activities and programmatic growth and developing new lines of business.

Ms. Latimer-Nelligan joined LIIF in 2008 and previously served as its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Community Investment Programs. Ms. Latimer-Nelligans background in community development is extensive. Prior to LIIF, she worked with Citibank for more than 20 years, most recently as the Managing Director of National Lending and Investments, overseeing a $3 billion business within Citibank Community Development. During Ms. Latimer-Nelligans tenure at Citibank, Citis national lending, structured finance and equity investments for community development were consolidated under her leadership.

While at LIIF, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan has overseen lending activities that reached a high watermark of $300 million deployed in underserved communities last year. She has also led the expansion of lending programs in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., and has worked to expand LIIFs national early care and education work, which has created 271,000 spaces in childcare facilities. Ms. Latimer-Nelligan received her B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her M.B.A. from Columbia University. She serves as the board chair of the Community Reinvestment Fund and on the boards of Raza Development Fund and the National Affordable Housing Trust.

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) invests capital to support healthy families and communities. Since 1984, LIIF has served more than two million people by providing $2.5 billion in financing and technical assistance. Over its history, LIIF has supported efforts to create and preserve 78,000 units of affordable housing; 271,000 child care spaces; 98,000 spaces in schools; and 36 million square feet of community facilities and commercial space. LIIFs work has generated $65.1 billion in family income and societal benefits. LIIF has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. http://www.liifund.org
We are thrilled to celebrate nurses week by recognizing health care professionals and educators. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care.

In celebration of the proclamation of Utah Nurses Week, Nightingale College invites the public to join them in thanking nurses on Monday, May 6 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the west side of the Salt Lake City and County Building's Washington Square. Thank you cards and notes will be provided for anyone wishing to express gratitude for nurses in the community or a specific nurse who has made a positive difference in their life.

We are excited to celebrate Nurses Week by recognizing health care professionals and educators," said Blake Halladay, Senior Manager of Partnerships. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care."

National Nurses Week was established by the American Nurses Association and proclaimed a national celebration by President Regan in 1982. Nurses Week remains a permanent celebration of the dedicated professionals who have become nurses or are pursuing a career in nursing.

The theme of this years National Nurses Week is 4 million Reasons to Celebrate, commemorating more than 4 million nursing professionals nationwide. The College has partnered with Compass Outdoor, Saunders Outdoor and Lamar to post billboards raising awareness for Utah Nurses Week. Nightingale College will also provide Thank You cards at Hub locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, for patients and family members to express gratitude for nurses who have made a positive difference in their life through compassionate care.

Each year, Nurses Week begins with Student Nurses Day on May 6 and concludes on May 12 to honor the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. As the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale is commemorated by those who carry her flame through to the next generation of nurses.

For more information about Nurses Week, please visit nightingale.edu/nurses-week/.

Nightingale College improves access to professional nursing education with its fully accredited distance education associate and bachelors degree nursing programs. Supporting the growing need for nurses and providing strategies to combat the nursing shortage, the Colleges programs work to not only grow but maintain homegrown nurses with the help of local health care systems. Nightingale College emphasizes graduating future nurses who are confident, competent and compassionate. Since its establishment in 2010 in Ogden, Utah, the College has graduated learners and contributed to strengthening the registered nurse workforce in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about the College, its mission and programs, please visit nightingale.edu.
Oral Surgeons Near Me in San Francisco Oral Surgery San Francisco has announced a post for residents entering oral surgeons near me' on search sites. The post cautions that proximity should not be the only factor in selecting the best oral surgeon.

Oral Surgery San Francisco, led by oral surgeon Dr. Alex Rabinovich, is proud to announce a blog post concerning how to choose the best oral surgeon near me' during an online search. Bay Area residents might desire to find a top-notch oral surgeon, yet be concerned about proximity. Oral surgery can require beyond-average skills to fix a broken mouth. Meeting with an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon could be worth traveling a few more miles.

"When planning any surgery in the Bay Area, people normally consider how long it will take to drive to, and park near, a facility. It can add extra time and money to a person's day, and we understand that," commented Dr. Rabinovich. "Our new post talks about weighing the benefits of driving a little further for a first-class oral surgeon vs. settling for just an average oral surgeon."

Bay Area residents can review the new post at the following URL: https://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/2019/03/some-of-the-best-oral-surgeons-in-the-world-are-in-san-francisco/. Surgical procedures for the mouth including maxillofacial, jaw repair or dental implants can require a first-rate surgeon to manage it successfully. A Bay Area local might find driving a few extra miles to meet an A-1 oral surgeon worth the extra effort. To learn more about oral procedures including dental implant surgery, please go to https://www.sfdentalimplants.com/. Dr. Rabinovich and staff are committed to a no-obligation consultation for patients.

LOCALS FIND ABOVE AVERAGE RESULTS FOR ORAL SURGEONS NEAR ME' IN SAN FRANCISCO

Here is the background for this release. San Francisco is a densely populated area, and people can consider travel time if deciding on a service. Choosing a great pizza place based on proximity to home might be the right decision for a local. If a Bay Area commuter needs to drop off dry cleaning, choosing a business close to the office can be significant. Proximity to home and work can play a part in selecting common services. If a San Francisco resident searches online for oral surgeons near me' the best choice might require driving a few extra miles.

For these reasons, San Francisco Oral Surgery has announced a new blog post. A few miles can make the difference between mediocre' and first-class' if a person searches online for oral surgeons near me.' A person suffering from a broken jaw or missing, unhealthy teeth might consider picking the best vs. the closest oral surgeon. Choosing a skilled, highly-trained surgeon to fix painful mouth problems can be key to a successful surgery. Planning to drive a few extra miles for first-rate oral surgery could result in a lifetime of oral health.

Bay Area locals searching for oral surgeons near me' are urged to read the new post and reach out to Dr. Rabinovich for a consultation.

ABOUT ORAL SURGERY SAN FRANCISCO

Oral Surgery San Francisco (http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/) is located in the Financial District of the City. Under the direction of Dr. Alex Rabinovich, a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon specializing in the field of oral surgery. This additional training, along with his years of experience, sets Alex Rabinovich MD DDS apart from the growing number of general dentists offering oral surgery and other dental procedures. Procedures include wisdom teeth extraction, Orthognathic or jaw surgery, sleep apnea mouth appliances, and dental implants. Dr. Rabinovich can be available as an emergency oral surgeon in San Francisco also. Oral Surgery San Francisco serves all neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco including Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Noe Valley.

Contact: Media Relations

Tel. (415) 817-9991
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller IIIs two-volume Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is not an easy readnot unlike those manuals that come boxed with easy to assemble multipart childrens toys on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, considering the exceedingly damaging effects Russiagate has had on America at home and abroad for nearly three years, the report will long be studied for what it reveals and does not reveal, what it includes and does not include.

Because of my own special interest in Russia, I read carefully the first volume, which focuses on that countrys purported role in the scandal. I came away with as many questions about the report as about the role of Moscow and that of candidate and then President Donald Trump. To note a few:

 Mueller begins, on Page 1, with this assertion: The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Maybe so, but Mueller, who is not averse to editorializing and contextualizing elsewhere in the report, gives readers no historical background or context for this large generalization. In particular, was the interferenceor meddling, as media accounts characterize itmore or less sweeping and systematic than was Washingtons military intervention in the Russian civil war in 1918 or its very intrusive campaign to reelect Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996or, on the other side of the ledger, the role of the Soviet-backed American Communist Party in US politics in the 20th century? That is, what warranted a special investigation of this episode in a century of mutual American-Russian interference in the others politics? Put somewhat differently: Readers might wonder if, had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election, there even would have been a Russiagate and Mueller investigation.

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 It has occasionally been suggested that Russiagate was originated by high-level US officials who disliked candidate Trumps pledge to cooperate with Russia. This suspicion remains unproven, but throughout, Mueller repeatedly attributes to Trump campaign members and Russians who interacted in 2016, potentially in sinister or even criminal ways, a desire for improved U.S.-Russian relations, for bringing the end of the new Cold War, for a new beginning with Russia. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have wanted reconciliation between the United States and Russia. (See, for example, pp. 5, 98, 105, 124, 157.) The result is, of course, to discredit Americas once-mainstream advocacy of detente. Mueller even brands American pro-detente viewsas Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan held in the 20th centuryas pro-Russia foreign policy positions (p. 102). Does this mean that Americans who hold pro-detente views today, as I and quite a few others do, are to be investigated for their contacts with Russians in pursuit of better relations? Mueller seems to say nothing to offset this implication, which has already adversely affected a few Americans mentioned and not mentioned in his report.

 As reflected in the text and footnotes, Mueller relies heavily on reports by US intelligence agencies, but without treating the recorded misdeeds of those agencies, particularly the CIA under John Brennan, in promoting the Russiagate saga. He also relies heavily on contemporary media accounts of Russiagate as it unfolded, but without taking into account their journalistic malpractices, as abundantly documented by Matt Taibbi, who equates the malpractice with news reports leading up to the US invasion of Iraq.

 Nor does Mueller consider alternative scenarios and explanations, as any good historical or judicial investigation must do. For example, he accepts uncritically the Clinton/Democratic National Committee allegation that Russian agents hacked and disseminated their emails in 2016. Again, maybe so, but why did he not do his own forensic examination or even mention the alternative finding by VIPS that they were stolen and leaked by an insider? Why did he not question Julian Assange, who claimed to know how and through whom the emails reached WikiLeaks? And how to explain Muellers minimal interest in the shadowy professor Joseph Mifsud, who helped entrap George Papadopoulos in London? Mueller reports that Mifsud had connections to Russia (p. 5), although a simple Google search suggests that Mifsud was indeed an agent but not a Russian one, as widely alleged in media accounts.

 Though he may do so in the second volume of the report, Mueller oddly does not focus in the first volume on the Steele dossier, where it surely belongs as a foundational Russiagate document and whose anti-Trump information is now widely acknowledged to have been salacious and unverified. At one point, however, Mueller delivers a telling report: Trump would not pay for opposition research (p. 61). Can this be anything other than a damning, if oblique, judgment on the Clinton campaign, which is known to have paid for the Steele dossier?

 Toward the end of the first volume (pp. 144, 146), Mueller produces a truly stunning revelation, though he seems unaware of it. After the 2016 US presidential election, the Kremlin appeared not to have preexisting contactswith senior officials around the President-Elect. Even more, Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.

So much for all the shameful Russiagate allegations of Trump-Putin collusion, conspiracy, even treason. Surely it means the United States needs another, different investigation, one into the actual origins and meaning of this fraudulent, corrosive, exceedingly dangerous, and still unending American political scandal.

Stephen Frand Cohen is an American scholar and professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University. His academic work concentrates on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and the country's relationship with the United States.

This commentary is based on Stephen F. Cohens most recent weekly discussion with the host of

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Peace and joy
Vasily Grossmans novel Stalingrad, newly translated from the Russian by husband and wife Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and publishing in June from New York Review Books, is a book of three parts and 959 pages. It has an introduction, an afterword, and a pleasant forest-green spine. These markers of being are all the more remarkable given the fact that an original Russian edition of this translation of Stalingrad doesnt exist.

In truth, the Chandlers translation of Stalingrad draws on three published Russian editions of Grossmans novel, which are all different from one another, plus several typed drafts and handwritten notes. The new translation is the result of the Chandlers detailed comparison of the three versions, and of their determination to prove that the novel can stand up to its better-known sequel, Life and Fate, which has long been recognized as Grossmans masterpiece.

The idea that Stalingrad must be Grossmans lesser book is a legacy of Soviet censorship, Robert says. Grossman wrote the novel in the late 1940s and early 50s, when all literature in the Soviet Union had to follow the tenets of socialist realism. Official doctrine demanded a historically specific depiction of reality, in which characters would undergo ideological rework... in the spirit of socialism.

Writing that was judged insufficiently socialist realist by censors would remain unpublished, and its author might be sent to a labor camp or killed. Given these possibilities, Robert explains, no writer in the Soviet Union ever wrote without an awareness of how the authorities would react, and every editor was, in effect, a censor.

For Grossman, a sense of danger seems not to have been intuitive. Born in Ukraine in 1905, he studied chemistry in Moscow and then worked in a Donbass mine as an engineer. But writing drew him, and he returned to Moscow and published two novels and a short story praised by Maxim Gorky, then the Communist partys favored writer. During Stalins purges, Grossmans second wife was arrested by the NKVD, a forerunner of the KGB. Daringly, Grossman wrote a letter arguing for her innocence, and she was released. And when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Grossmana 35-year-old Jewish intellectual who couldnt shootvolunteered for the Red Army. He was sent to the front as a journalist for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

Elizabeth speaks of the emotional balance and steadiness of imagination characteristic to Grossmans prose. It was perhaps this equanimity, and his knack for getting a good interview, that made Grossmans articles the newspapers most popular pieces. In August 1942, he went to Stalingrad.

Grossmans evocation of the inner life of young men who know they are certain to die within the next 24 hours is remarkably convincing, Robert notes in his introduction to the novel. For much of the five-month Battle of Stalingrad, in which two million people died, Grossman lived alongside the Soviet soldiers fighting to take back Stalingrad from Axis forces. He spent hours talking with snipers, nurses, and divisional commanders; he saw them crossing the Volga under fire to enter the bombed-out city. Sometimes he traveled with them.

Writing of this wartime crossing in his novel, Grossman describes a sublime steppe landscape that becomes riddled with the corporealwith corpses: Millions of stars gazed down at the city and the river, listening to the murmur of water against the shore.... Some dark object slid down the river, painfully slowly, and there was no way of knowing whether it was a boat without oars, the swollen corpse of a horse or part of a barge destroyed by a bomb. Grossmans characters also embody this strange wartime synthesis: some are terrified while others sit calmly in their fired-upon barges and boats, making plans to read the days paper.

Like Grossman, the Chandlers also became interviewers as they worked on Stalingrad. Specialists and scholars, including Yury Bit-Yunan, Brandon Schechter, and Pietro Tosco, were particularly helpful, and there are dozens of other peopletranslators, writers, friends, military historians, historians of the coal mining industrywho have read drafts, Robert says. These readers helped the Chandlers accurately render details of life in the Soviet Union in the 1940s.

Under the title For a Just Cause, Grossmans novel was finally published in 1952 in a heavily censored version, Robert says. Two somewhat less censored editions followed in 1954 and 1956. The English translation of Stalingrad restores Grossmans preferred title and follows the third edition for the general plot and the ordering of the chapters.

It also includes, as the Chandlers often emphasize, several hundred of the vivid, comic, and surprising passages that were published in only some of the Russian editions, and passages that were never published, such as those describing a Red Army commander reminiscing about making his wife a dress, a doctor complaining about overcrowding at a hospital, a roach scuttling across a map of military operations, mentions of a postwar future, and a woman with a tomato.

The censors struck out anything that wasnt politically on-message, as well as any details that werent elevated enough, Robert says, to be mentioned in connection with the venerated Red Army. Men sewing, crowded hospitals, bugs, the future, and errant vegetables were, inconveniently, just realnot socialist realism.

In Grossmans reality, people were struck out too. He was one of the first journalists to write about the Holocaust, in which his mother was killed. But after the war, he signed a document giving credence to Stalins anti-Semitic purges. Its possible that Grossmans momentary lapse came because he feared that his next novel, Life and Fate, would be censored. He was right: Life and Fate, the sequel to Stalingrad, was clearly no longer bound by the strictures of socialist realism. The KGB confiscated the manuscript in 1961. Grossman died in 1964, and the book remained unknown until it was published in Switzerland in 1980.

It was through this Swiss, Russian-language edition, 40 years ago, that Robert Chandler first encountered Grossman. The art historian Igor Golomstock suggested that Robert take it on as a translation project. At the time, Robert was just starting out as a translator, and his immediate reply was that he did not read books as long as Life and Fate in Russian, let alone translate them.

The chapter that Robert eventually translated interested the British publisher Collins Harvill, who bought the book and published it in 1985. And the Chandlers collaboration began when Elizabeth retyped several chapters of Roberts full translation of Life and Fate and then offered to type his translation of Andrey Platonovs novel Happy Moscow. We gradually got into discussing, and improving, more and more passages, she says. Theyve continued this way of working through subsequent translations of Grossman, Platonov, and Pushkin.

Robert, who is the fluent Russian speaker, prepares drafts he reads aloud to Elizabeth. Whenever either of us feels that something is unclear or that the tone is wrong, we discuss that sentence, batting different versions between us, until we feel we have got it right, he says.

If translations fail, this is very often not because they are inaccurate but because they fail to convey an authors voice, Elizabeth says. With time, one gets a sense of what words a particular writer would or wouldnt use. Grossman, for example, is often extremely funny, but he is seldom mocking.

Life and Fate is the achievement of the broad, lucid view of Soviet life toward which Grossman had been working, and in which both humor and deep pathos have a place. But this view was already apparent in Stalingrad. In the novel, even Grossmans worst-tempered characters are afforded moments of insight and clarityand, Elizabeth says, unlike nearly all his Soviet contemporaries, he treats even his German characters with respect.
Deal of the Week: Montlake Pays Seven Figures for Sylvia Day Anh Schluep, editorial director of Amazon Publishings Montlake imprint, gave a big welcome to Sylvia Day with a seven-figure deal for Butterfly in Frost, Days first new book since 2016. It will be released this August. The deal for world rights was brokered by Kimberly Whalen of the Whalen Agency. Sister imprint Amazon Crossing will publish the book in translation in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to the publisher, the 203-page novella follows Dr. Teagan Ransom and artist Garrett Frost on their passionate journey to find redemption, hope, and, ultimately, each other. We are so pleased to welcome Sylvia Day into the Montlake Romance family, Schluep said. Sylvia is a powerhouse author with legions of worldwide fans, and were excited to bring Butterfly in Frost to them.

FROM THE U.S.

Atria Dons Another Pair of Jewells

Atria couldnt wait for more from Lisa Jewell. Ahead of the August paperback publication of Watching You and the October publication of The Family Upstairs,editorial director Lindsay Sagnette bought Jewells next two novels, which are not yet titled. In what the publisher described as a major deal, Sagnette picked up U.S., Canada, and open market rights, along with audio and first serial from Deborah Schneider of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners.

Public Affairs Buys Impact

Colleen Lawrie, executive editor at Public Affairs, preempted Impact: What to Do When You Want to Change the World but Dont Know Where to Start by Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts, founders of the nonprofit Shes the First, which provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries. It is one of the organizations with which Michelle Obamas Global Girls Alliance collaborates. Kathy Schneider of the Jane Rotrosen Agency sold world rights to the book, which will pub in fall 2020.

Abi Dares Debut Goes to Dutton

In her second deal since she joined Dutton earlier this year, executive editor Lindsey Rose preempted Abi Dares debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, inspired by the authors childhood in Lagos. Set for a spring 2020 release, the book follows a Nigerian girl who fights to get an education in the face of many obstacles, according to the publisher. The North American rights were brokered by Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown.

Post Hill Takes Bill Boggss Humor Novel

Anthony Ziccardi, publisher of Post Hill, picked up comic novel The Adventures of Spike the Wonder Dog from Bill Boggs, a four-time Emmy Awardwinning TV host of shows including Midday Live, NBCs Weekend Today in New York, and the Food Networks Bill Boggss Corner Table. The story, the publisher said, follows the exploits of Spike, an English bull terrier and TV and social media sensation with a heart of gold and a wickedly politically incorrect sense of humor. The deal was unagented. Publication is planned for May 2020.

Atria Battles Fatigue with Amy Shah

In an exclusive submission from Heather Jackson of her eponymous agency, Sarah Peltz at Atria bought world rights to Amy Shahs Why Am I So F*cking Tired? Shah is a medical doctor who received her training from three of the top schools in the country: Cornell for nutrition,

Harvard for internal medicine, and Columbia for allergy immunology. The publisher said that in Tired, she offers a solution to unexplained fatigue and explores other issues related to womens health. The book is scheduled for spring 2021.

Citadel Picks Up Fertility Nutrition Title

Denise Silvestro, executive editor at Citadel, won an auction for What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant by Nicole Avena, assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton. According to Linda Konner, who has an eponymous agency and brokered the deal, Silvestro paid high five figures for U.S., Canada, open market, and audio rights to the book, which offers a four-week science-based program to boost fertilityin women and menthrough nutrition.

GCP Signs Feminist Debut

Millicent Bennett at Grand Central preempted North American rights to A.E. Osworths 80085, a debut about a self-taught female video game coder who reports a workplace sexual harassment incident only to find herself fighting for her life in a game of cat and mouse against a violent stalker, according to the publisher. Christopher Hermelin of the Fischer-Harbage Agency, who negotiated the deal, described it as a feminist page-turnerThe Virgin Suicides meets Ready Player One.

Behind the Deal

Penguin editor Sam Raim won at auction world English rights to Rollo Romigs Two or Three Murders in South India, a true crime narrative that Raim said is centered on the 2017 murder of activist/journalist Gauri Lankesh in the South Indian city of Bangalore. Romig also touches upon other murders that share what Raim described as the irresistible elements of the criminal underworld, corrupt police, political controversy, shadowy religious groups.

But what is even more compelling, he added, is Romigs complex, empathetic portraits of Gauri Lankesh and the way he uses this story to illuminate a larger, urgent question: will India remain a country for all Indians, or will it come to be dominated by Hindu nationalism? Raim noted that through Lankeshs story, Romig explores many pressing global issues, including the decline of democracy and the attendant threats journalists face.

Romig is a journalist, critic, and essayist whose works have appeared in New York magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, and Travel + Leisure, among other publications. Im so excited we could land this brilliant journalist, who has been drawing wide accolades for his reporting on South India, Raim said. Sarah Burnes of the Gernert Company brokered the deal.

MOVIE DEALS

 Netflix has optioned feature rights to Jason Rekulaks YA novel The Impossible Fortress, according to Deadline. The author will adapt the novel, which was published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Aggregate Films and GoldDay will produce.

 TaleFlick, an online service that provides authors with a direct way to showcase their works to movie and television studios, announced two new deals via the platform: Robert Gatelys South of Main Street and Michael Bowkers French Affair: A Paris Love Story. The former was optioned by the Traveling Picture Show Company, the latter by Passage Pictures.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS

 According to the Bookseller, Democratic mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigiegs memoir, Shortest Way Home, found a home across the pond at John Murray, where it will be published in June. Joe Zigmond, who acquired the U.K. and

Commonweath rights, told the Bookseller, At a time when global politics have become so chaotic and negative, this book genuinely appeals to our shared wisdom and humanity.

 In another deal reported by the Bookseller, Hodder & Stoughton picked up U.K. and Commonwealth rights to Amy Engels second adult novel, The Familiar Dark, from Dutton. The book will be published by both houses in March 2020.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.

Correction: This article initially identified Sylvia Day's new book as a novel. It is a novella.
Report from the Field

The #2 book in the country is Scribners edition of The Mueller Report, which includes an introduction by Washington Post reporters Rosalind S. Helerman and Matt Zapotosky; other editions include Melville Houses mass market paperback and Skyhorses trade paperback, introduced by Alan Dershowitz. Though the report was an East Coast favorite, other titles fared better elsewhere. Jeff Kinney continued his reign across much of the country; E.L. James was on top in the East South Central U.S., and pastor Mark Driscoll did well in the region that includes his native North Dakota.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Sleeper Hit

Economist Emily Oster lands at #5 in hardcover nonfiction with her second book, Cribsheet, a data-driven take on parenting. Our review said, Parents new and old will find reassurance in this commonsense approach; in an interview with PW, Oster reinforced that sentiment by explaining her books big takeaway: Not everyone is going to make the same decisionsand thats okay. The book sold almost twice the number of print units in its first week as her debut, Expecting Better, sold in its entire hardcover run. The trade paper edition of that title has sold 62K copies.

New & Notable

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

#2 Hardcover Nonfiction

Gates delivers a thoughtful and empathetic treatise that demonstrates how empowering women can change the world and lift families from poverty, according to our review. Among those whose work she cites: Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, Dutch human rights activist Mabel van Oranje, and Gatess husband, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Machines Like Me

Ian McEwan

#14 Hardcover Fiction

Set in an alternate 1982 London, McEwans thought-provoking novel, our review said, is about the increasingly fraught relationship between a man, a woman, and a synthetic human. For a look at the real-world influence of AI on business and finance, see  Alexa, Balance My Portfolio. 

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid Jeff Kinney Amulet 46,928 2 The Mueller Report  Scribner 41,987 3 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 37,852 4 Neon Prey John Sandford Putnam 35,878 5 The Mister E.L. James Vintage 32,035 6 Redemption David Baldacci Grand Central 26,329 7 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 21,641 8 Oh, the Places Youll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 19,204 9 Educated Tara Westover Random House 16,751 10 The Moment of Lift Melinda Gates Flatiron 15,882

All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.
This years BISG annual meeting, held April 26 at the Harvard Club in New York City, surveyed a range of trends across the publishing supply chain. A daylong series of panels examined printing and paper capacity, the rights market, workflow and workforce issues, and book sales, and it featured an entertaining and thoughtful keynote address by Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn.

Tamblyns address, titled Leaving Money on the Table, combined wit and wisdom for a lively presentation focused on increasing book sales. Rakuten Kobo, he said, has focused on a global strategy, and the company has more than 35 million customers outside the U.S. He challenged the conventional wisdom that e-book sales are declining, saying that 25% of e-book sales are outside of traditional publishing. Publishers are in competition with platforms such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube for consumer attention, he stressed, adding, It is a war of books vs. everything else.

Tamblyn advised publishers to localize the timing of book releases overseas (Use a sensible local time); localize prices (Straight currency conversion doesnt work); test price elasticity (Pricing matters; indie authors tweak prices constantly); offer e-book rights aggressively (English sells everywhere); and use consistent and accurate book series data (Series are 52% of our sales).

Janet McCarthy Grimm, a v-p at Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, and Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturing Institute, kicked off the meeting with an update on challenges related to paper and printing capacity. McCarthy said 2018 was a perfect storm, combining a resurgence in demand for print books with a dramatic decline in paper capacity that caught the industry by surprise.

Grimm described a domestic paper market in transition, as mills shift production away from paper for books to growing demand for paper for packaging. And the business is facing a general shortage of labor that prevents expansion.

Baehr identified similar challenges in printing capacity, pointing to a lack of investment in new facilities and a labor shortfall.

Grimm and Baehr called on the publishing industry to begin a group dialoguewith participation from BISG and the Book Industry Guild of New Yorkon ways to address ongoing challenges facing printing and paper supply.

In a discussion on the rights market, panelist Debbie Engel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt v-p, director of sub rights, said that the biggest changes in the field relate to audio rights. At one time, she noted, audio rights were no big deal, but interest in audio has spiked.

Ginger Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown, cited the popularity of podcasts and the rise of podcast deals as evidence that consumers are moving from reading books to listening to books. Theres growth in demand for audio rights from foreign markets as well, she added, pointing to China and Poland as examples.

Technology hasnt necessarily created new kinds of rights, but it has changed how rights work is done, according to panelist Lance Fitzgerald, v-p and director of sub rights at Penguin Random House. We can get materials out quickly, and its easy to access every book ever published.

Clark emphasized the continuing need for face-to-face relationships among rights market players, despite the impact of technology. We need to go to book fairs and connectnot everyone has docuSign, she said.

The rights panelists all expressed a general wariness about the subscription access model. We dont understand the financial model, Fitzgerald said. The panel also called for a better way to share rights data, suggesting a UN or BISG for data sharing and alluding to the need to develop an industrywide rights platform.

On the panel examining workflow efficiencies, Michelle Yu, HMH director of business operations, gave a presentation on the houses use of robotics process automation, AI-driven technology, such as Automation Anywhere, aimed at automating repeatable mundane tasks. Yu emphasized that HMHs use of RPA is not trying to get rid of jobs; its purpose is to save employees time and allow them to do more with less, freeing people up to do more interesting tasks. HMH began using the software last year to scrape online data about production shipment schedules and to automatically generate emails about scheduling and delivery.

Dennis Abboud Jr., senior director of sales at Readerlink, was part of a panel focused on sales that featured Margaret Harrison, director of digital services at Ingram Content Group, and Bradley Metrock, executive director of Digital Book World. Abboud pointed to a reemphasis on books by the distributor and cited data showing that the demand for physical books is strong.

The panel emphasized the continuing importance of good metadata and the growing popularity of audio and voice technology, such as Alexa. Voice technology, Metrock said, is not a fad, though he acknowledged consumer concerns over privacy issues and data breaches.
At the beginning of the decade, American law enforcement received repeated warnings of how the improvised explosive devices (IED) employed by al Qaeda affiliates might soon make their way to the United States. The IED warnings proved correct. On January 17, 2011, police officers in Spokane, Washington, narrowly averted a disaster by re-directing a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march away from a remote detonated, shape charge loaded with shrapnel coated with a substance meant to keep blood from clotting in wounds. It wasnt al Qaeda or even an al Qaeda supporter that planted the most sophisticated IED to then appear in the United States. Instead of finding an international terrorism connection, the FBI, on March 9, 2011, arrested Kevin Harpham, a former member of the U.S. Army who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.

Not long after the election of President Barack Obama, all indicators pointed to a dramatic rise in domestic terrorism in the U.S. White supremacist threats mounted after America elected its first African-American president. Online conspiracy theories regarding the presidents citizenship and religion helped fuel a rise in racism intertwined with domestic politics. Alongside race-based groups, anti-government groups rose as well, powered by erroneous beliefs about abortion, repealing of the Second Amendment, or declaration of martial law.

Still, the U.S. focused its counter-terrorism efforts on al Qaeda and its spawn, the Islamic State. Homegrown extremists inspired by the groups were a more vexing problem at that moment. The Obama administration crafted policy and programs to develop community-oriented approaches to counter hateful extremist ideologies . . . including domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists in the United States. Years of conferences and outreach sessions commenced, but the focus remained on preventing jihadist terrorism and not domestic terrorism. Muslim communities saw law enforcement-led interventions, and Id spoil these discussions by asking, Where is the outreach to domestic extremists? Id point out that Kevin Harpham arose from Eastern Washington, not far from where FBI Agents in 1992 became embroiled in a disastrous standoff at Ruby Ridge with an alleged, anti-government group. Why dont we send some teams out to northern Idaho and eastern Washington to counter domestic terrorism? Id ask. No one responded, and the conversation would die because we all knew the answers. Domestic extremists have guns; al Qaeda wannabes generally dont. Domestic terrorists vote; international terrorists dont.

A decade of neglect and turning a blind eye to the rising current of white supremacist movements, combined with the rise of political divisiveness built on racial, religious, and ethnic divides, has brought an unprecedented modern wave of domestic terrorism. An African-American church became the scene of a horrible atrocity in South Carolina, and others recently burned in Louisiana. Mosques are attacked abroad and desecrated in the States. American synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego have become the site of mass shootings. White nationalist terrorism has long been on the rise. Why doesnt America do something about it?

A Big White Nationalist Terrorism Problem

The summer of 2016 brought an unprecedented global wave of Islamic State terrorist attacks. My commentary consisted of several articles and interviews describing how the Islamic State directed foreign terrorist attacks, relied on its network of affiliates and former foreign fighters to conduct others, and spawned as a result a contagion of inspired attacks as their successes rippled through global media. Cascading terrorism, as I referred to it, resulted in one attack begetting another attack, where the frequency and scale of each incident reflected the power of a global jihadi extremist movement.

While the Islamic State stole the headlines, behind the scenes though, my colleagues and I watched Russias disinformation storm build heading into the 2016 presidential election. Advancing anti-government conspiracies and amplifying racially charged divides in America represented one of the Kremlins principal avenues for infiltrating the electorate. Having stumbled onto the Russian trolls in early 2014, I only became convinced of Russias effectiveness in undermining American democracy after watching them elevate the Jade Helm military exercise conspiracy alleging the U.S. military would take over Texas.

After publishing our assessment of Russian influence headed into the election, I did not worry much about the outcome of the vote, but instead worried about domestic extremist groups turning to violence at polling places based on conspiracy theories of election rigging and voter fraud. Shortly after the election, such a scenario occurred when an armed man fired shots at a pizza place in the nations capital. The PizzaGate incident showed the power of online conspiracies to propel violence in right-wing circles.

For the last decade, Ive concluded counter-terrorism courses with a forecast comparing and contrasting the threat of international and domestic terrorism in the U.S. Four variables offer perspective as to where each category of extremist group might be headed. (Figure 1)

Similarities and Differences between International Terrorists and White Nationalist Terrorists

From 2001 to the summer of 2016, the threat of international jihadists far outpaced domestic extremists. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their legions of inspired supporters knew who they wanted to attack and why. They were highly motivated to commit violence to advance their agendas. The challenge for jihadists came down to whether they could gain access to high-profile targets and whether they had the weapons, bombs, skills, and experience to pull off an attack. For domestic extremists in America, nearly all had or could acquire weapons; some even had training, but few were focused on who and where to attackand almost none were willing to commit violence.

Today, domestic extremist violence outpaces Islamist extremism, and the character of the threat has changed dramatically in the last three years. Right-wing extremists and international jihadists from the last decade have many parallels and some differences. Al Qaeda networked its supporters on websites, YouTube, and in web forums. The Islamic State followed suit on Facebook and Twitter before being kicked off those platforms, and then descended on the lesser-policed app Telegram. Today, white supremacistshaving been largely pushed off mainstream social media platformsuse obscure sites like Gab and 8Chan to network, radicalize, share philosophies, and celebrate attacks. At the groups height, the Islamic States social media posts traveled widely and were empowered by global legions of supporters who further distributed the groups message. Today, white supremacists have grown so highly networked online that the Facebook Live video posted by New Zealand mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant was removed 1.2 million times at upload, and then another 300,000 copies were removed after posting. The Islamic State never achieved such an intense and capable network of online support.

Al Qaeda and Islamic State supporters looked to group leaders such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for targeting guidance, and to jihadi clerics such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Anwar al-Awlaki for religious justifications of violence. The global white nationalist terrorist movement today has its own heroes in Anders Behring Breivik, Dylann Roof, and now Brenton Tarrant, who inspire others to commit violence and establish their ideological direction through terrorist manifestos.

Both extremist movements have advanced through the inspirational contagion of successful attacks, which raise the respective ideologys profile, garner media attention, attract recruits, and inspire further plots. The difference between the inspired attacks of international jihadists and white nationalist extremists comes in the direction by which they coalesce.

Al Qaeda and the Islamic State formed as named groups that directed terrorist attacks on specified targets. Each group then used violence to recruit, train, and indoctrinate international foreign fighterscreating a global web of supporters and affiliates and launching networked attacks in coordination and under their banners. Directed attacks and networked attacks then cascaded into waves of inspired attacks by those believing in jihadi ideology, but often having no direct connection to the international group. The strength of al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the global movement that the two groups inspired could be felt by the breadth and frequency of this full spectrum of directed, networked, and inspired attacks under the banner of jihadreaching its violent zenith in the summer of 2016. (For reference, see, Inspired, Networked & Directed  The Muddled Jihad of ISIS & al Qaeda post Hebdo and Figure 2.)

White supremacist terrorism appears to be following the inverse model of international jihadists by forming from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. White supremacists live and operate largely in Western countries hosting substantial law enforcement. Adequate policing prevents the formation of named groups and squelches the organizing, training, planning, and preparation jihadist groups enjoyed in failing states like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or the Sahel.

Lacking a central core leadership, white supremacists emerge from grass roots, online organizing. Each attack inspires another one leading to a global network of online supporters spreading the ideology and offering technical and tactical assistance when possible to further additional attacks. Whereas jihadists needed money, training, weapons, and access to targets, white supremacists have easy access to African-American, Jewish, Muslim, LGBT, and other minority group targets; enough money to self-finance attacks; and plenty of weapons at their disposal. Continued successful attacks and online networking, if not addressed holistically by Western law enforcement, will likely lead to further in-person networking at rallies, movement to compounds domestically, or even regional or international white supremacist enclaves that could lead to the formation of named, global white supremacist groups. If left unabated, the pattern of jihadists (Top-down, Directed-Networked-Inspired) will reverse itself for white nationalist terrorists as they grow in strength (Bottom-up, Inspired-Networked-Directed). A good current example of this right-wing terrorist formation is Atomwaffena Neo-Nazi group linked to multiple murders in the U.S.

The West should now worry equally about the global networking, state sponsorship, and facilitation of right-wing extremists. Russias state-sponsored disinformation system amplifies racial divides in America, boosts anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment globally, and helps act as connective tissue linking like-minded white nationalist movements across the West. In Sweden, two of three bombers from the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement received military training in Russia before returning home to attack left-wing activists and a refugee home in Gothenburg. The Balkans and in particular Serbia, home to a long history of ethnic strife, surface regularly in white nationalist terrorism discussions, appear routinely in extremist circles, and may become an attractive hub for like-minded extremists seeking a new home abroad over time. A reminder, the Christchurch mosque attacker, Brenton Tarrant, was not from New Zealand, but Australia.

Signs already suggest the spike in white nationalist violence will likely lead to reprisal terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists and left-wing movements. Sri Lankas defence minister said that a preliminary investigation into the Islamic State-linked Easter bombings found the attacks to be in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch. New Zealands foreign minister later disagreed with this assessment and noted the Islamic States claim of responsibility didnt mention the Christchurch attack. But even the suggestion of such a reprisal attack points to the growing risk of reciprocal Islamic extremist attacks and left-wing inspired attacks in response to right-wing aggression. Literally, the name Antifa comes from anti-fascists, as a countermovement to right-wing extremists. This past week, the FBI disrupted a plot by a U.S. Army combat veteran to bomb a white nationalist rally. In sum, unchecked violence begets more violence.

Why the U.S. is hamstrung in the Fight against White Nationalist Terrorism

Americanswhether its the government or the mediatreat domestic terrorism different than international terrorism. Inside the FBI, international and domestic terrorism investigations employ different rulebooks. Cases against international jihadists generally follow the National Security Guidelines and if a nexus to a foreign power, foreign terrorist organization, or designated foreign terrorist surfaces, investigators can request searches via the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to preempt impending violence.

Domestic terrorism investigators use the U.S. Criminal Code to guide their investigations, and have a higher bar to hurdle for investigative approvals, far fewer resources at their disposal, and no formal domestic terrorist organization designation to power preemptive looks into extremist networks. There is a definition of domestic terrorism in U.S. code, but there is no specific criminal statute for domestic terrorism tied to that code. Domestic terrorism investigations thus often result in what appear to be one-off, reactive pursuits after violent attacks, as no legal avenue for upending domestic terrorism exists. As former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Gomez has explained over the years and in discussions with me, Absent a fully approved investigation into a designated domestic terrorism group, FBI agents are left with investigating dozens or even hundreds of individuals for conspiracy to commit a specific crime.

Short of violence or a full FBI-designated domestic terrorism investigation, preventing white nationalist attacks becomes nearly impossible for investigators. The First Amendment protects their speech, and the Second Amendment protects their access to weapons. The FBI, however, despite these challenges, should be applauded for successfully thwarting several domestic extremist plots in recent months suggesting those inside the federal law enforcement agency recognize the threat and currently pursue them to the best of their ability despite so many constraints.

The White House and Capitol Hill stymie aggressive policing of domestic extremists. Whether it is Richard Spencers rallies in Charlottesville, Congressman Steve Kings comments and actions, or even this past weekends white nationalist demonstration at a Washington, D.C. book talk, white supremacists and their law-abiding supporters represent a constituency, and Congress doesnt like to talk about them. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried in 2009 to warn of military veterans becoming right-wing extremists, Congressional Republicans admonished the agency, and the assessment was withdrawn. (Reminder, Kevin Harpham in 2011 was a military veteran). A decade later, DHS disbanded its domestic terrorism intelligence unit as part of a reorganization to eliminate federal redundancy.

What Can Policymakers Do to Fight White Nationalist Terrorism?

Elected leaders could do something more than offer their thoughts and prayers to challenge the growing threat of white nationalist terrorism. Our nations legislators could and should enact a federal crime for domestic terrorism (explained best by Mary B. McCord here at Lawfare). Another option for Congress would be to create a law for designating domestic terrorism organizations and domestic terrorists equivalent to the process conducted by the U.S. State Department for international terrorism. However, I have no confidence in our Congress during this time to enact such legislation and then fairly conduct oversight of such a designation process. Current legislative debates place equal emphasis on Black Identity Extremism and anarchists. There have been remarkably few violent incidents by Black Identity Extremists; according to the FBIs estimate, Violence has been rare over the past 20 years and there is sparse evidence of any convergence. The FBI and DHS assess that anarchists and Antifa principally target property, not people. FBI Director Wray has publicly called white nationalist terrorism a persistent, pervasive threat, and America has watched white supremacists kill and wound hundreds of its citizens. To place Black Identity Extremism and Antifa/anarchists on equal footing is simply silly, and shows gross negligence by our elected leaders and great weakness by our institutions.

Since our lawmakers cant pass laws designed to deal with the most pressing threats to American security, their committees could start by informing themselves and the public through a series of public hearings on domestic terrorism requesting the following information from the FBI and DHS:

Homeland Security & Judiciary Committees: The deaths, crimes, incidents, and estimated number of adherents for each category of domestic terrorism Summary of each incident resulting in casualties at the hands of a domestic terrorist Assessment of each domestic extremist ideologys threat to people and property A breakdown of resources dedicated to international and domestic terrorism by category An outline of how investigators will handle fringe social media platforms (8Chan, Gab) acting as hubs for domestic terrorists

Foreign Affairs & Intelligence Committees: Threat of foreign countries working to coordinate, infiltrate, and influence domestic extremist movements Summary of foreign intelligence collection related to: U.S. persons traveling abroad for ideological indoctrination and training in support of all extremist ideologies Suspected foreign agents inside the U.S. connecting with extremist groups

Armed Services Committees: The prevalence of domestic extremism, by type, in the ranks of the Armed Forces Foreign influence operations targeting current and former U.S. military personnel



White nationalist terrorism arises from individuals in a loose network, and the FBI can do something about it. The U.S. just went through a similar period with al Qaeda and Islamic States homegrown violent extremists. The FBI Director, ideally with the public support of the Attorney General and the president, should open a nationwide domestic terrorism case for White Nationalist Inspired Terrorism. Designating this case would allow for investigators and analysts to conduct assessments for detecting violent plots before they occur. In recent years, a similar case designation for al Qaeda and Islamic State-inspired, homegrown violent extremists helped the FBI catch up to the international jihadist threat.[1] In short, the designation will help the FBI dedicate more resources and personnel to white nationalist terrorism, may help them detect violent plots earlier, and increase the amount of information for sharing with state and local partners who may be better informed and positioned for thwarting extremist violence.

These small, simple steps can help stem the rising tide of white nationalist terrorism, but one thing above all could dramatically reduce domestic extremism: leadership. Offering thoughts and prayers via tweets accomplishes nothing. Elected leaders must acknowledge white nationalist terrorism now, publicly refute the divisive ideology, and affirm their commitment to protect all Americans against threats foreign and domestic. Until this happens, these elected leaders fail in their duty to lead our country, and all Americans will remain vulnerable to the violence of a growing strain of white nationalist terrorism.

Clint Watts is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. @selectedwisdom

Notes:

[1] See, the FBIs Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) for the difference between Assessments, Preliminary Inquiries, and Full Field Investigations.

This article appeared originally at Foreign Policy Research Insitutute (FPRI).
The trade negotiations with China provide an opportunity to advance human rights in China. A key strategy to do so is to free the Chinese internet market. Unfortunately, the current trade negotiations with China are missing this critical component. We argue that this must change. U.S. internet companies must have equal access to China that they are now denied. This is only fair based on the principle of reciprocity. Additionally, it will provide the United States with invaluable political and economic opportunities. There are three reasons why this is so.

First, the internet has changed not only how people buy things and entertain themselves, but also how they obtain information and communicate with each other. The free flow of information can promote Chinas democratic transition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is well aware of this threat to its power, as Xi Jinping's expressed in his January 2019 speech to the Politburo's 12th Study Group meeting. Xi argued, "Without cybersecurity, there is no national security. If we cannot overcome the internet barrier, we won't be able to hold power for a long period of time. The internet is a double-edged sword: a photograph and a video can become viral and spread explosively through all media outlets in a few hours." Moreover, he recognized that "It has a great impact on public opinion. If correctly used, this power of influence can benefit the country and the people; otherwise, it will bring unimaginable harm." Xi wants the CCP to have absolute control over the internet to win this invisible war on "the battlefield without guns." The U.S. should not let him get away with it.

The Chinese regime fully comprehends the double-edged sword of the internet. China wants the internet to promote economic growth. China's digital economy has experienced massive growth over the last decade under the regime's protectionist policy. According to a McKinsey report, ten years ago China accounted for less than one percent of the global e-commerce market; today its share is 42%. In comparison, the United States' share of the market is 24%, down from 35% in 2005. Furthermore, the Party leadership views suppression of internet freedom as the key to its perpetual totalitarian rule over China and its people, so it uses its vast state apparatus to censor, block, and restrict the ability of Chinese citizens to get or share information and opinions. According to internet NGO GreatFire, China currently has blocked over 10,000 domain names and 80,000 URLs under the country's internet censorship policy, which prevents users from accessing proscribed websites from within the country. China's vast censorship apparatus is also using a new technique for rooting out banned contents, phrases and words. At the same time, its immense and potent propaganda machine uses fake news and spreads lies to incite ultra-nationalism and hatred towards the U.S.

China is not content with controlling information within its own borders. Under Chinas policy of cyber sovereignty, China has used technology to censor content on non-Chinese websites, including many attacks on American websites for content it dislikes. China also exports its digital totalitarianism, destroying democracy and the free world as we know it.

Second, while asserting tight control over the internets ideological and political sphere, the Chinese regime has used the pretense of national security to protect its internet market and block companies such as American competitors. It sets insurmountable barriers for the American internet companies to enter the Chinese market as equals, thus creating a de facto ban on American companies such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Chinese Wikipedia, Mobile Wikipedia, Pinterest, Dropbox, Reddit, Bloomberg, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Twitter, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Blogspot, Flickr, Tumblr, and many others. Some American internet companies have gained limited access to the Chinese market, but only after they submit to demands such as back doors on their technology to permit access by the Chinese government. As a result, China's denial of its internet market costs trillions of dollars to the American advertisers, bankers, manufacturers, farmers and service providers. For example, the Chinese mobile payment market has grown many folds to today's $30 trillion in the past decade and is projected to grow to $97 trillion in 2023 according to Frost & Sullivan, but none of the American companies benefit from this growth, and Tencent and Alibaba have monopolized the market.

Third, while China hinders access by U.S. firms to their market, Chinese internet companies have been taking extraordinary advantage of the free U.S. market. The Chinese internet company giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, all came to the U.S. and were given full and unrestricted access to the American markets, including capital markets. In 2018, thirty-three Chinese companies went public in the U.S. and in 2018 raised over $9 billion, most of the companies are internet tech companies. China refuses to grant the U.S. any true reciprocity in the internet arena. This unfair and detrimental trade practice should be a priority in the current trade negotiations with China.

Ensuring internet freedom and the free flow of information must be a core component of U.S. foreign policy and trade policy concerning China. Washington must use the leverage it possesses to foster a genuine opening of the Chinese internet market. If there is a free internet market in China, it will become an open political space that inevitably will undermine Xi's rule. The Communist Party leadership understands this, and it is time the U.S. did as well.

Bradley A. Thayer is the coauthor of How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics.



Lianchao Han is a human rights activist, Vice President of Initiatives for China, and Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute.




Ray McGovern calls out the void of evidence at the heart of the Senate hearing with Attorney General Barr on Wednesday.



By Ray McGovern

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - G

eorge Orwell would have been in stitches Wednesday watching Attorney General William Barr and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spar on Russia-gate. The hearing had the hallmarks of the intentionally or naively blind leading the blind with political shamelessness.

From time to time the discussion turned to the absence of a legal predicate to investigate President Donald Trump for colluding with Russia. That is, of course, important; and we can expect to hear a lot more about that in coming months.

More important: what remains unacknowledged is the absence of an evidence-based major premise that should have been in place to anchor the rhetoric and accusations about Russia-gate over the past three years. With a lack of evidence sufficient to support a major premise, any syllogism falls of its own weight.

The major premise that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee and gave WikiLeaks highly embarrassing emails cannot bear close scrutiny. Yes, former CIA Director John Brennan has told Congress he does not do evidence. In the same odd vein, Brennans former FBI counterpart James Comey chose not to do evidence when he failed to seize and inspect the DNC computers that a contractor-of-ill-repute working for the DNC claimed were hacked by Russia.

Call us old fashioned, but we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) still do evidence  and, in the case at hand, forensic investigation. For those who can handle the truth, the two former NSA technical directors in VIPS can readily explain how the DNC emails were not hacked  by Russia or anyone else  but rather were copied and leaked by someone with physical access to the DNC computers.

We first reported hard forensic evidence to support that judgment in a July 2017 memorandum for the president. Substantial evidence that has accumulated since then strengthens our confidence in that and in related conclusions. Our conclusions are not based on squishy assessments, but rather on empirical, forensic investigations  evidence based on fundamental principles of science and the scientific method.

Bizarre, Medieval

All serious members of the establishment, including Barr, his Senate interrogators, and the mainstream media feel required to accept as dogma the evidence-free conventional wisdom that Russia hacked into the DNC. If you question it, you are, ipso facto, a heretic  and a conspiracy theorist, to boot.

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Again, shades of Orwell and his famous two plus two equals five. Orwells protagonist in 1984, Winston Smith, imagines that the State might proclaim that two plus two equals five is fact. Smith wonders whether, if everybody believes it, does that make it true?

Actually, the end goal is not to get you to parrot that two plus two equals five. The end goal is to make it so youd never even consider that two plus two could equal anything other than five.

During the entire Barr testimony Wednesday, no one departed from the safe, conventional wisdom about Russian hacking. We in VIPS, at least, resist the notion that this makes it true. We shall continue to insist that two and two is four, and point out the flaws in any squishy Intelligence Community Assessment that concludes, even with high confidence, that the required answer is five.

Doubtful Dogma

Wednesdays Senate hearing brought a painful flashback to a similarly widely-held, but evidence-free dogma  that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. attacked that country. It gets worse: Many of the same people who promoted the spurious claims about WMD are responsible for developing and proclaiming the dogma about Russian hacking into the DNC. The Oscar for his performance in the role of misleader goes, once again, to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whose credits go back to the WMD fiasco in which he played a central role.

Before the war on Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put Clapper in charge of analysis of satellite imagery, the most definitive collection system for information on WMD. In his memoir, Clapper admits, with stomach-churning nonchalance, that intelligence officers, including me, were so eager to help [spread the Cheney/Bush claim that Iraq had a rogue WMD program] that we found what wasnt really there. [Emphasis added]

Last November as Clapper was hawking his memoir at the Carnegie Endowment I had a chance during the Q and A to

on that and on Russia-gate. I began:

You confess [in Clappers book] to having been shocked that no weapons of mass destruction were found. And then, to your credit, you admit, as you say here [quoting from the book], the blame is due to intelligence officers, including me, who were so eager to help [the administration make war on Iraq] that we found what wasnt really there.

Now fast forward to two years ago. Your superiors were hell bent on finding ways to blame Trumps victory on the Russians. Do you think that your efforts were guilty of the same sin here? Do you think that you found a lot of things that werent really there? Because thats what our conclusion is, especially from the technical end. There was no hacking of the DNC; it was leaked, and you know that because you talked to NSA.

Evidence

Back to the Senate hearing on Wednesday: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), during a line of questioning about evidence of obstruction of justice, asked the attorney general if he personally reviewed the underlying evidence in the Mueller report.

No, said Barr, We accepted the statements in the report as factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate.

Harris: You accepted the report as evidence? You did not question or look at the underlying evidence?

Barr: We accepted the statements in the report and the characterization of the evidence as true.

Harris: You have made it clear that you did not look at the evidence.

It was crystal clear on Wednesday that Barr had bigger fish to fry, as well as protective nets to deflect incoming shells. He is likely to be preoccupied for weeks answering endless questions about his handling of the Mueller report. It is altogether possible, though, that in due course he plans to look into the origins of Russia-gate and the role of Clapper, Brennan and Comey in creating and promoting the evidence-free dogma that Russia hacked into the DNC  and, more broadly, that, absent Russias support, Trump would not be president.

For the moment, however, we shall have to live with The Russians Still Did It, Whether Trump Colluded or Not. There remains an outside chance, however, that the truth will emerge, perhaps even before November 2020, and that, this time, the Democrats will be shown to have shot themselves in both feet.

For further background, please see:

VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal to Interview Assange

VIPS: Muellers Forensics-Free Findings

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years, with special expertise on Russia, and prepared The Presidents Daily Brieffor Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

This article was originally published by " Consortium News " -

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It is hardly an auspicious time for geostrategic adventures for Turkey. The governance mess after the country's transition to an executive presidency system, a worsening economic downturn and mounting political tensions since the March 31 local polls require Turkey to focus on its domestic woes. Yet, on top of its Syrian stalemate and soon after landing in the losers' club in Sudan, Ankara is cruising into another regional crisis  the one in Libya.

Turkey came back into the spotlight in Libya's conflict after Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive on Tripoli April 4, having taken control of two-thirds of the country, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, has pinned high hopes on Turkey. Sarraj, who has mounted a counter-operation to defend Tripoli, asked Ankara for support in an April 28 phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/turkey-russia-ankara-double-down-in-libya-game.html#ixzz5mxe7vAjO
(FPRI)  After three days of talks in Turkey, representatives from Washington and Ankara failed to reach agreement on the terms of a proposed safe zone in northeastern Syria. The two sides, treaty allies since 1952, share such widely divergent interests in Syria that compromise appears exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The reasons for these divergent interests are often described as an outcome of a half-hearted American intervention in Syria, where a small and limited military operation to oust the Islamic State resulted in a military partnership with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliate in Syria, the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is the core component of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia that Washington depends on to hold the territory taken from Islamic State. This is only half the story and does not capture the nuance of the slow and painful deterioration of Turkish-American relations.
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By Brett Wilkins

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - As is all too often the case when the United States sets its sights on its next target for war or regime change, the corporate mainstream media  which supposedly exists to speak truth to power  is once again marching in lockstep with the government as it beats the drums of war, this time against Venezuela.

The media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has just released a survey of US opinion journalism on the Venezuela crisis which found that in the three-month period between January 15 and April 15, not a single voice in what it called the "elite corporate media" opposed regime change or supported Venezuelas democratically elected government. FAIR analyzed coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour and the Sunday morning talk shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. Of the 76 articles, opinion pieces and TV commentator segments focusing on Venezuela, 54, or 72 percent, explicitly supported removing President Nicolas Maduro from power. Only 11 pieces took no position on the matter.

The Times published 22 pro-regime change commentaries, three ambiguous ones and only five that took no position. The nations paper of record published a January 30, 2019 opinion piece by coup leader Juan Guaido calling on the entire world to stand behind his effort to usurp the Venezuelan presidency. The Post also ran 22 pieces supporting Maduros ouster and only four that were neutral. Not to be outdone by its main competitor, the Jeff Bezos-owned paper also ran an opinion article by Guaido in which he had the temerity to call Maduro "a usurper." Even the normally measured PBS NewsHour got in on the act, featuring a lengthy interview with Guaido in which he called the possibility of violent confrontation "worth it" and dismissed the possibility of negotiating with Maduro.

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FAIR called corporate news coverage of Venezuela nothing short of "a full-scale marketing campaign for regime change." Indeed, it noted that the Times produced an April 1, 2019 opinion video featuring Joanna Hausmann, a Venezuelan-American writer and comedian, which praises Guaido without disclosing that her father, Ricardo Hausmann, is his envoy to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a Washington, DC-based international financial institution dominated by the interests of banks and corporations in the US and other wealthy nations. Hausmann is a neoliberal economist who played a key role in devising policies that enabled the exploitation of Venezuelas economy in the late 20th century. These policies, while friendly to multinational corporations and international capital, devastated and impoverished millions of Venezuelans, sowing the seeds for the backlash manifested in the Bolivarian Revolution.

Despite the glaring breach of the papers own editorial standards, Times video producer Adam Ellick shrugged off criticism of his failure to disclose Hausmanns ties to the coup regime. We were aware of her fathers biography before publication, Ellick said, but Ms. Hausmann is an independent adult woman who has built a popular following on her own, by producing a portfolio of argued videos about Venezuela via her own YouTube channel.

FAIR has previously noted what it called the "corporate medias willful erasure of vast improvements to Venezuelan life" since the Bolivarian Revolution began with the election of former president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The watchdog also took the media to task for ignoring US-imposed sanctions, which according to economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have caused tens of thousands of premature deaths in 2017 and 2018.

"Its obvious that the corporate media has been following US policy," Venezuelan sociologist Edgardo Lander told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! during a Thursday morning interview. Lander, who is a member of the Citizens Platform in Defense of the Constitution, a leftist group opposing US intervention and calling for a popular referendum to decide Venezuelas future, added that "this isnt new."

"I mean, it happened during the Iraq War. Its happened in Libya. Its happened in all over the place," he said. "Papers like the New York Times turn to be critical after the facts. Maybe 10 years from now, theyll be critical of their position in relation to whats happening in Venezuela."

Indeed, while the Times did reflect critically upon its reporting during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion  which too often consisted of little more than parroting Bush administration talking points and even outright lies  and also in 2017 lamented "Americas forever wars," the paper has never acknowledged the role it has played in building and maintaining support for those wars.

In one 2017 opinion article, the Times editorial board repeated that most commonly-heard myth, deeply rooted in the notion of American exceptionalism, that "at least in recent decades, American presidents who took military action have been driven by the desire to promote freedom and democracy." Even the most cursory examination of events unfolding in Venezuela instantly belies this claim, which comes from a country whose government has supported nearly every right-wing dictatorship in the world over the past 75 years, and which has waged or backed wars costing millions of lives in order to crush popular liberation movements around the globe.

Brett Wilkins

This article was originally published by " AntiWar " -

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==See Also==

Venezuelan Coup Fails & So Does CNN - Jimmy Dore Show

Rick Sanchez & Chris Hedges explain media decay

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Glen Greenwald reams media for Collusion coverage Watch



May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Tucker Carlson, Its been a bewildering couple of months for Bill Barr. Barr first served as attorney general in the George HW Bush administration. That was 1991. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just turned two years old at the time. Thats how long ago it was. Then, this February, by process of elimination, Barr became attorney general again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job.



Barr probably didnt expect to become a major figure in the Russia story. He had nothing to do with it. As far as we know, Barr never met with secret agents in Prague. He never texted Vladimir Putin on his blackberry. He never managed a Macedonian content farm. If Barr betrayed his country for a sack or rubles and a case of vodka, nobody has ever proved it. But it doesnt matter. The Russia story cannot die. CNN, The Washington Post, and the Democratic Party have too much invested in it.



The fact its been proved a hoax is irrelevant to them. Bill Barr is a handy way to keep the Russia in the news. Watch todays talking point in action. Somewhere in the basement of the DNC, some a messaging consultant has decided that credibility is the most effective line of attack: Greenwald Reacts to "Rage" against AG Barr after Senate Hearing Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter ==See Also== What Are The Stakes Of Russia Sensationalism? Glenn Greenwald and Sam Seder discuss Russiagate. Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Every week, we select the best police reports from Athens and the University of Georgia for our website and newspaper. Today, were selecting the best of this year so far. From alien abductions to a nude dude, here are our favorite blotters from January to now.
The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market.

Demand for pre-owned cars remained strong in the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), crossing the 4-million unit mark, even as sales of new cars were in slow lane, according to a report.

The used cars segment is expected reach 6.7 to 7.2 million cars per year and be valued at Rs 50,000 crore by FY22, according to IndianBlue Book, the pricing and valuation arm of Mahindra FirstChoice Wheels (MFCW), the pre-owned unit of Mahindra and Mahindra.

The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market, according to the third edition of the report on IndianBlue Book.

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India advanced by a mere 2.7 per cent to 3.3 million units in FY19 - the slowest in five years as buyers deferred purchase amid high finance costs and uncertainty.

Encouraged by the growth prospect in the used car space, MFCW envisages selling 350,000 PVs in FY20, against 250,000 units in FY19.

It is also hoping to become a profitable company by the end of FY20 on the back of volume growth, Ashutosh Pandey, managing director and chief executive officer officer at MFCW, told Business Standard.

To tap into the growth opportunity, the company plans to step up the number of dealerships from the current 1,100 to 1,700 by FY20-end.

What drives the used car market is the migration up from the two-wheelers, said Pandey.

The pool of people willing to migrate from a two-wheeler is significantly large, he said, pointing out that the trend is being fuelled by the second-hand market getting increasingly organised, which in turn gives greater confidence to the buyers to opt for used cars.

The report said the number of consumers paying for an expert evaluation has jumped three times from 10 per cent to 29 per cent between FY09 and FY19, indicating the opportunities for the organised certified pre-owned market.

Some of the other trends, which the report highlights, include a strong preference for entry-level hatchbacks and sedans.

Seven of every ten cars bought comprise hatchbacks and sedans, similar to the new car market.

Typically, the cars bought are pre-dominantly from first owners, with 72 per cent of them being less than five years old.

The report also highlights the buying behaviour unique to pre-owned car buyers.

A pre-owned car buyer tends to be steadfast, with over 40 buyers sticking to a preferred model from research to purchase.

Hence, availability of the preferred model becomes the key enabler to choose the purchase channel.

A similar unwavering persistence is seen in the budget-to-purchase segment, with over 55 per cent buyers tending to stick to and limit the options within the budget.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

Calling for an "unconditional" withdrawal of its legal case, sued potato growers in Gujarat on Friday said that they have sought compensation from PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd (PIH) for harassment caused to them due to the lawsuit.

In a press briefing on Friday, three of the potato farmers sued by PepsiCo along with farmer union leaders and farmers rights activists asserted that Indian farmers' seed freedoms were non-negotiable.

With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

"PepsiCo should withdraw the cases unconditionally. The also company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through even though the law is clear on the subject," said Bipin Patel in a media briefing on Friday. Patel is one of the four potato growers against whom PepsiCo had filed a suit.

"We would like the state government to reveal the full details of the ongoing discussions with the company since we are demanding an unconditional withdrawal based on a reiteration of Sec. 39 (1) (iv) of PPV&FR Act 2001, and anything else is not acceptable," the sued potato growers said.

PepsiCo had earlier on Thursday said that it has agreed to withdraw cases against potato growers in Gujarat after discussions with the government.

The company had sued nine potato farmers in Gujarat, including five last year and four this year, for allegedly buying seeds and selling potato of the FL 2027 variety registered by PepsiCo.

The said variety is used by PepsiCo for making 'Lays' chips.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers.

"We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection.

"The company remains deeply committed to the thousands of farmers we work with across the country and towards ensuring adoption of best farming practices," the PepsiCo India spokesperson had stated.

The sued potato farmers also called for increased awareness of the legislation around plant varieties among farmers across the country.

"The court proceedings came as a shock to us, including the amount of damages that the company was claiming.

"It was clearly trying to intimidate and harass us. Its real intention might have been to wipe out competitors from the market, but it chose to harass farmers.

"The company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through," they said.

On the other hand, Maganbhai Patel of BKS said that it was possible to get a large multinational company to back out very quickly, given that the PPV&FR Act 2001 was clearly on the farmers' side.

The potato growers and farmer activists also sought support from the government for pressuring PepsiCo to agree to their demands for compensation.

"We are not going to approach courts for compensation but shall take a call as and when PepsiCo files for withdrawal of cases in the courts," the farmers said.

On Friday, farmers and activists also announced forming of a new outfit called Bij Adhikar Manch (Rights for Seeds Forum). A meeting of 30 members under the new entity, comprising farmers, farm leaders, civil right representatives, lawyers and scientists, was also held on Friday in Ahmedabad where the forum decided to call for a nation-wide boycott of PepsiCo products.

The forum will now continue to fight for farmers' sovereign rights seeds, said its co-ordinator Kapil Shah.

Friday also saw PepsiCo India officials hold a meeting with Gujarat government officials including chief secretary of the state and additional chief secretary for agriculture, Government of Gujarat in the state capital Gandhinagar.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting in Gandhinagar, Jagrut Kotecha, vice president snacks, PepsiCo India said, "We had come to update the state government about the statement we had issued earlier on Thursday and are looking forward to an amicable solution for everyone."

When asked about withdrawal of cases against the potato growers, Kotecha told mediapersons that PepsiCo India would withdraw the cases as and when the matter came up for hearing before the court.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for June 12 at a commercial court in Ahmedabad.

Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Narendra Damodardas Modi has upset the comfort zone of the secular cartel that represented a precipitated hate for the assertive Indian.

Still, the highly politicised and opinionated 'secular' media is able to speak falsehoods and hit hard at newly emerging assertive Indians and their spokespersons.

Their last battle to shield the 'bachaa-khucha' -- whatever is left -- of their empire is climaxing in mocking missiles on right-wing followers.

Their practice of ideological apartheid was so strong and overpowering that a journalist in her arrogance tweeted from her pedestal, 'We donated land to Yogi Adityanath's ancestors to build the Gorkahdham temple'!

Some cheek they have. They donated to us. Who are they? They align with the invaders. Who are we? They say we are the beggars, the vanquished people who received donations from the conquistadors. And then the same discredited Aryan invasion theory is projected.

Like the political Opposition, they believe if a blatant lie is spoken a thousand times, it gets registered as the truth in public perception.

The Yeti episode and the loud laugh by the chatterati 'secular class' at the Indian Army and my reply underline a mindset that is resisting the change. I saluted the Indian Army, felt proud about its achievement.

The Yeti has been an area of my study since my college days and I undertook two journeys to Tibet, that included visiting Yogi Milarepa's cave in the Ngari prefecture in my pursuit to gain more knowledge about the Abominable Snowman. But that's another story.

The falsification of my tweet is not a new thing -- the seculars are past masters in the Stalinised transformation of the truth into their convenient versions.

A clear divide is to be seen in the media, like in pre-Partition days. The secular class, against Ayodhya, Article 370 removal, common civil code, cow protection and Ram Setu is a consolidated, organised, sector in the media.

They must write against the armed forces, assertive Indians, celebrate Kashmir insurgents, befriend jihadis, publish columns by pronounced beef-eaters, and fulfill secular obligations by hitting us, whatever the occasion, whatever the time or matter.

They must raise their voice against assertive Indians, seeing absolutely nothing positive in us even if a larger part of the nation supports us and votes us.

They think all those supporters are wrong till they convert to the secular class's faith.

Proselytisers of another hue, these seculars have become more venomous and harsher than the Portuguese Jesuit harvesters of faith who used excruciatingly painful inquisition methods to convert Hindus in Goa.

They are the secular extra space leg people, whose daily life depends on doles from foreign agencies and NGOs, and have been spoilt by the likes of Nurul Hassan to Arjun Singh.

They have convinced themselves that they are the lone torch-bearers of Indian voices, whom the India desk on Capitol Hill and the European parliament, Amnesty, Unesco, and public diplomacy department of the MEA and Alliance Francaise de Delhi gave shelter, fat fees for new books and video films -- which none read or saw -- and invites.

With Modi's rise, their space has shrunk, their Siberias and Gulags on news desks are questioned, fellowships gone. Hence the hurt.

The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing. Nothing new.

The abuses and use of choicest bad words, against us, our leaders, was a creation of this left-Congress gang. They are now getting it back with interest added and that's shocking them -- oh, they know some English also?

Their eyes would squirm, their lips stiffen and eyes show an unmistakable charge of intense hate whenever they saw us in the holy precincts of their monopolised domination like the India International Centre or the Editors Guild.

Once I had lunch at the IIC and saw a known left journalist. I went to his table to greet him. He was shocked, and for a second looked frozen in disbelief. And the first sentence he uttered was, 'Arre, you are a member here? Who gave you membership?'

I returned to my table with sadness. We were supposed to eat in a dhaba, speak against reforms, against Muslims and Christians, against social amity and wear a shikhaa -- which they called head-tail.

To get their approval and acceptance we must support the invaders -- or at least show them as economic reformers who came from Ghazni to Somnath in pursuit to increase employment opportunities for poor, enterprising Afghans and free Hindus from the shackles of the priests.

For secular baptism, we must read Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, attend Sahmat meetings, buy Audrey Truschke's books and show them off to friends too, and write columns on how as god's special messenger in academics Wendy Doniger is once again civilising the Hindus through her masterpiece.

This was considered to be the first signature of a civilised, cultured, secular Indian.

The armed forces too have received their contempt and an unusual dose of verbal missiles. Never would we see a rally, a Jantar Mantar candlelight vigil, a jhola chhaap silent march in support of the Gadchiroli or Pulwama martyrs, or against the terrorist gangs of Naxals, and Kashmir jihadis.

These well-fed and well-paid mediapersons find it easy to hit us, but would not find the time to report on polling in Tawang and the fear enveloping Changlang. Or a report from Hebron, for obvious reasons.

They will never even try their investigative skills to report how the Church is openly funding and supporting the NSCN-IM and K and their idea of a greater Nagaland for religious expansionism.

For the Indian media, specially the secular class, anything that corrodes the boundaries of Hindu faith, and hurts the people who profess an assertive Indian dharma -- through the tricolour and the Constitution -- must be welcomed and if Islamists, the PFI, Jesuits or any section of the proselytisers hit at us collectively, that is secular tehzeeb and well within their rights.

Modi has punctured their fraud, their tirade of lies and falsification.

One must never forget that just before the 2014 election came to an end, an influential magazine published a cover story with the title, 'God of Hate', with a Modi picture.

Modi must not stop, and decimate this gang.

The only fear is that assertive Indians often fall prey to the same old Prithviraj Chauhan syndrome.

Not this time, please.

Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP, was the chief editor of the RSS weekly, Panchjanya, for 20 years.
Retired Lieutenant General D S Hooda said on Saturday that cross-border operations had happened in the past too but disapproved of politicising the matter.

Responding to a question on the Congress party's claim that six surgical strikes had been carried out during its rule too, Hooda told reporters in Jaipur, "Certainly cross-border operations have been carried out by the Indian Army in the past too. I am not aware of exact dates and areas."

The Congress on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during the United Progressive Alliance rule, asserting that it never tried to take political advantage from military operations as was being done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress released the list at a press conference after BJP leader Arun Jaitley took a jibe at the opposition party, saying its surgical strikes were "invisible and unknown".

The former chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command said it was not good to politicise the army.

"It is not a good thing to bring the Army in poll campaign by political parties. The Election Commission too has said this. Ultimately, it's the institution which suffers damage in long term," he said.

Hooda was in Jaipur to attend a dialogue on India's national security.

"Protecting our people is one of the most important aspects in the national security strategy we prepare," he said in the function.

Hooda, who recently headed a Congress panel on national security and submitted a report, also said that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is an important challenge being faced today.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.

Ajai Shukla reports.

The Indian Air Force has been told to keep on hold the findings of a court of inquiry that has conclusively determined that an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter was shot down by an Indian missile battery that was guarding the Srinagar air base.

A senior helicopter pilot, of the rank of air commodore, heads the CoI.

Six IAF personnel and a civilian on the ground died in that 'friendly fire' incident on February 27.

Top IAF sources say the incident occurred after officers from the ground missile battery misidentified the IAF chopper as a Pakistani aircraft on a mission to attack Srinagar.

The disaster took place the day after IAF fighters had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Pakistan to retaliate against a JeM suicide bomb attack 12 days earlier, which killed over 40 Indian troopers in Pulwama, near Srinagar.

The CoI has found that, with IAF and army units across Jammu and Kashmir in a state of hair-trigger alert against expected Pakistani retaliation, two crucial omissions led to the missile battery opening fire and downing their own helicopter.

First, to guard against misidentification of aircraft in the prevailing state of alert, all IAF aircraft coming in to land in Srinagar were required to approach the air base only through a designated air corridor.

Ground missile units would know that the aircraft approaching through the narrow 'funnel' was a friendly aircraft.

For reasons that remain unclear, the Mi-17V5 helicopter was not in the safe corridor as it approached from the direction of Budgam, to the south of Srinagar.

The ground missile units assumed the radar track they picked was that of a hostile aircraft.

Second, IAF aircraft are equipped with an electronic device called an Identification Friend or Foe system, which beams out a coded signal that identifies the aircraft as a friendly one to all IAF radars and IFF receivers.

The IFF system is required to be switched on, especially in a situation where ground missile units are on high alert.

For unclear reasons, the CoI has found that the ill-fated helicopter's IFF system was not switched on that day.

IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses. However, they are held back by a 'go-slow' order.

On February 27, the downing of the helicopter was obscured by the media attention on the downing of an IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's capture.

The IAF has declined to comment, stating: 'The CoI is still in progress.'

Asked specifically about the delay in finalising the findings of the CoI, the IAF said: 'The time line of any CoI cannot be predicted.'

It is learnt that the missile that was fired was an Israeli short-range surface to air missile (SR-SAM), which can engage incoming targets at ranges out to 20 kilometres.

While engaging targets at those ranges, there is no scope for visual identification. Aircraft are merely a blip on a radar.

The incoming helicopter was engaged with the permission of the base air defence officer at Srinagar, who was required to satisfy himself that a target being engaged is indeed hostile.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.

IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate an election victory. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

For the first time in the history of Indian elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting more seats than the Congress.

The BJP is contesting elections in 437 constituencies this election while the Congress is contesting 14 seats -- 423 -- fewer.

1984 was the first Lok Sabha election the BJP contested after it was born in 1980.

The BJP fielded 224 candidates in 1984 and won just 2 seats! The party won only 7.74% of the votes polled.

The Congress won 404 seats -- its highest ever -- and 49.10% of the vote in an election held weeks after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The two BJP MPs elected were Dr A K Patel, who won from Mehsana in Gujarat, and Chandupatla Janga Reddy, who won from Hanamkonda in Andhra Pradesh.

IMAGE: Lal Kishenchand Advani who rebuilt the Bharatiya Janata Party as a formidable election winning machine. Photograph: PTI Photo

In 1986, Lal Kishenchand Advani took over as BJP president from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a lot changed for the party when Advani was at the helm from 1986 to 1996.

The BJP won 85 of the 225 seats it contested in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.

Its vote share rose to 11.36%. The Congress won 39.53% of the vote, a nearly 10% drop from the election five years earlier.

The Congress won only 197 of the 510 seats it contested and lost power at the Centre.

In the 1991 Lok Sabha election, the BJP contested 468 seats -- the second highest it has fought since its founding -- and won 120 seats.

It also increased its vote share to 20.11%.

The Congress won 232 of the 487 seats it contested -- recovering ground after its leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the election campaign.

But its vote share dipped further -- the Congress won 36.26% of the votes.

1991 was the last election the Congress won a vote share of 30% and above.

The election to the 11th Lok Sabha were held in 1996. The BJP contested 471 seats -- its highest ever till date -- and won 161 of them.

The party vote share was intact at 20.29%.

The Congress won 140 of the 529 seats it contested, getting 28.80% of the vote share.

The mid-term 1998 election again produced a fractured mandate with the BJP winning 182 of the 388 seats it contested.

The Congress saw its seats decline to 141 seats.

The BJP equalled the Congress vote share for the first time.

While the BJP won 25.59% of the vote, the Congress vote share declined to 25.82% per cent.

Another mid-term election was called after Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government lost a vote of confidence -- when the AIADMK withdrew support -- by just 1 vote.

The 1999 general election saw the BJP making further inroads in the Congress support base.

The BJP won 182 of the 339 seats it contested though its vote share saw a marginal drop to 23.75%.

The Congress won just 114 of the 453 seats it contested, but its vote share saw a marginal rise to 28.30%.

The BJP cobbled up a coalition with regional parties and the National Democratic Alliance was born with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister.

The 2004 general election was a contest between the NDA and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

Despite its India Shining campaign, the BJP won only 138 of the 364 seats it contested.

The Congress won 145 of the 400 seats it contested.

The BJP vote share declined to 22.16%; the Congress vote share declined to 26.53%.

The Left -- which supported the UPA from outside -- made substantial gains, winning 60 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress formed the government for the first time since May 1991 with Dr Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 116 of the 433 seats it contested.

The Congress managed its best showing in the new century, winning 206 of the 440 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

The Congress increased its vote share to 28.55% while the BJP's vote share declined to 18.80%.

IMAGE: Narendra Damodardas Modi, who has restored and enhanced the BJP's electoral glory. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

For the first time since the 1984 Lok Sabha election, a party won an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha with the BJP winning 282 of the 428 seats it contested.

The BJP's vote share crossed the 30% mark for the first time -- under Narendra Damodardas Modi's leadership, it won 31.34% of the vote.

The Congress suffered its worst election defeat, winning a mere 44 of the 464 seats it contested.

The Congress vote share shrunk to 19.52%, its worst till date.

How many of the 437 constituencies will the BJP win this Lok Sabha election?

Can the Congress improve its dismal 2014 tally in the 423 seats it is contesting this time?

Text: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com. Graphics: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com. Data Source: Election Commission of India.
Some 1,100 years ago, Uthiramerur had an election system similar to what India has today.

T E Narasimhan reports.

IMAGE: The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Tucked away in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, 90 km from Chennai, is the small temple town of Uthiramerur.

It is located along national highway 45, running south-west of Chennai. A tight right straightens out on to the road that leads to this busy small-town market.

The 25-km road runs in the middle of the dry agriculture land on both sides slightly dotted by industrial establishments and education institutions

There are three famous temples in Uthiramerur -- The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple, dedicated to Vishnu; the Subramanya temple, for Muruga, and the Kailasanatha temple, for Shiva.

Besides, Uthiramerur has another rich institution it prays to, and that is 'democracy'.

Some 1,100 years ago, this town had an election system similar to what India has today -- including references to how elected members must be subjected to the right of recall.

Around the Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple there are about ten traditional houses. 82-year old Srinivasan lives here, as does Sridhar.

Their families have lived in Uthiramerur for many decades now, and they have many stories to tell.

Image: Tamil inscriptions, dating back to the 10th century AD, on qualifications required of candidates standing for election, at Uttaramerur.

The Paranthaka Cholas ruled this area and introduced systems of governance that were the precursors of today's governance.

There is also evidence of a perfect electoral system and a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections in the forms of inscriptions on the walls of the village assembly hall (grama sabha mandapa), which is a rectangular structure made of granite slabs.

"This inscription, dated to 920 AD during the reign of Parantaka Chola is an outstanding document in the history of India," says a representative from the Archaeological Survey of India at the site.

The inscription gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates contesting elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of elections, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of the committees and the power to remove the wrong-doers.

"On the walls of the mandapa are inscribed a variety of secular transactions of the village, dealing with administrative, judicial, commercial, agricultural, transportation and irrigation regulations, as administered by the then village assembly, giving a vivid picture of the efficient administration of the village society in the bygone era," the ASI official says.

As per the inscriptions, a huge mud pot (kudam) was placed at a central location of the town or village, which served as the ballot box.

The voters wrote the name of their desired candidate on the palm leaf (panai olai) and dropped it in the pot.

The leaves were taken out from the pot and counted. Whoever got the highest number of votes was selected the member of the village assembly, notes Ganesan, a former MLA.

The entire village, including the infants, had to be present at the village assembly mandapa at Uthiramerur when the elections were held. Only the sick and those who had gone on a pilgrimage were exempt.

According to the inscriptions, the village was divided into 30 families, and one representative was elected for each family.

Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest. The essential criteria were age limit, possession of immovable property and minimum educational qualification.

Only those who owned land, that attracted tax, could contest. Another interesting stipulation was that such owners should have a house built on a legally-owned site.

A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the three terms, each term lasting a year.

Elected members, who suffered disqualification, were those who accepted bribes, misappropriated others' property, committed incest or acted against public interest.

If one was proved corrupt during his tenure, he, his family members and even his blood relatives could not contest elections for the next seven generations.

A 10th century record, which was in the form of inscriptions at this site also reveals how the fines imposed on the wrong-doers of the village were administered.

Those who were fined for wrong deeds were called 'dhushtargal' (criminal).

The fines were imposed on them by the village assembly and the sitting elected members.

The fines imposed were to be collected from the 'dhushtargal' and settled by the village administrators through the assembly within the same financial year, failing which the assembly would intervene and get the matter settled.

Delayed payment of penalties had late fee attached to them.

Measures in place ensured that elected members of the village assembly do not escape fine or punishment using their influence. They were dealt with severely, if found guilty.

T Venkatesan from this panchayat town says even today candidates from the political parties visit this temple during election time to seek blessings.

The deity in the Vaikunta Perumal temple is referred to as 'Election Perumal' or the god for elections.

A DMK follower Kamala Kannan, a resident, points out another interesting factor -- whichever political party wins this constituency comes to power in the state.

Today, the temple town remains largely decrepit, dependent on sugar cane and rice farming, with just a few industries producing steel, cement and sugar.

When then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was touring Tamil Nadu, along with his wife Sonia Gandhi, he visited the temple and enquired about the history and how democracy was practised here.

Seshadri, who knew some English, was to do the explanation. However, before he could do so, Sonia Gandhi interrupted and explained, for about 10 minutes to Rajiv Gandhi, the significance of the place, recalls Seshadri.
Hong Kong: James Lau attends ADB meeting

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau today continued attending the Asian Development Banks 52nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji.

At the Business Session which closed this years annual meeting, he said uncertainties over international trade and economic prospects over the past year had rendered reliable partnerships all the more important at this juncture.

Mr Lau called on the banks members to work together to get the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time, adding it would be the key to sustainable growth in Asia.

As an international financial centre with deep and liquid financial markets in the region, Hong Kong would continue to play an active role in supporting and promoting infrastructure investment in Asia, he said.

Mr Lau also met Director General of the Department of International Financial & Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance Zhang Wencai, and Executive Director for China to the Asian Development Bank Cheng Zhijun to discuss Hong Kongs contribution to the banks long-term development.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - A new report provides information on which corporations are profiting from the private prison industry.

The report (pdf), which was released by criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, is based on a database run by the organization that lists a total 3,900 companies in 12 sectors that make money off of the prison industrial complex.

The scope of the income taken in by these companies, the report says, is in the tens of billions.

Today, more than half of the $80 billion spent annually on incarceration by government agencies is used to pay the thousands of vendors that serve the criminal legal system. They are healthcare providers, food suppliers, and commissary merchants, among others. And many have devised strategies to extract billions more from the directly impacted communities supporting their incarcerated loved ones.

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The database was first published last year, with 3,100 companies. Tuesday's update adds another 800 corporations to the list.

Bianca Tylek, the executive director for Worth Rises, said in a statement that the report will make it harder for prison profiteers to operate without scrutiny.

"Before this report, many of the companies involved in the prison industrial complex flew below the radar, often intentionally to avoid the headline risk that comes with profiting off mass incarceration today," said Tylek. "This data brings these companies to light and equips advocates with the information needed to challenge them."

The report presents the data mostly in raw form as a research service. The download link is in the report.

Adding more corporations to the list is part of a push to expose the predatory practices of the for-profit prison industry, Tylek said.

"This year's edition expands on our original report with the addition of more than 800 companies," said Tylek. "In publishing this report, we continue to expose the multi-billion-dollar industry built off the vulnerable communitiesdisproportionately black, brown, and cash poortargeted by the criminal legal system."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

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China and Russia: Whoopin' Uncle Sam at His Own Game

By Mike Whitney

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Your Geopolitical Quiz for the Day:

Two countries are embroiled in a ferocious rivalry. One countrys meteoric growth has put it on a path to become the worlds biggest economic superpower while the other country appears to be slipping into irreversible decline. Which country will lead the world into the future?

Country A builds factories and plants, it employees zillions of people who manufacture things, it launches massive infrastructure programs, paves millions of miles of highways and roads, opens new sea lanes, vastly expands its high-speed rail network, and pumps profits back into productive operations that turbo-charge its economy and bolster its stature among the nations of the world.

Country B has the finest military in the world, it has more than 800 bases scattered across the planet, and spends more on weapons systems and war-making than all the other nations combined. Country B has gutted its industrial core, hollowed out its factory base, allowed its vital infrastructure to crumble, outsourced millions of jobs, off-shored thousands of businesses, plunged the center of the country into permanent recession, delivered control of its economy to the Central Bank, and recycled 96 percent of its corporate and financial profits into a stock buyback scam that sucks critical capital out of the economy and into the pockets of corrupt Wall Street plutocrats whose voracious greed is pushing the world towards another catastrophic meltdown.

Which of these two countries is going to lead the world into the future? Which of these two countries offers a path to security and prosperity that doesnt involve black sites, extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial assassinations, color-coded revolutions, waterboarding, strategic disinformation, false-flag provocations, regime change and perennial war?

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Chinas Belt and Road Initiative: A Tectonic Shift in the Geopolitical Balance of Power

Over the weekend, more than 5,000 delegates from across the world met in Beijing for The Second Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation. The conference provided an opportunity for public and private investors to learn more about Xi Jinpings signature infrastructure project that is reshaping trade relations across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. According to journalist Pepe Escobar, The BRI is now supported by no less than 126 states and territories, plus a host of international organizations and will involve six major connectivity corridors spanning Eurasia. The massive development project is one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, .including 65% of the worlds population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. (Wikipedia) The improvements to road, rail and sea routes will vastly increase connectivity, lower shipping costs, boost productivity, and enhance widespread prosperity. The BRI is Chinas attempt to replace the crumbling post-WW2 liberal order with a system that respects the rights of sovereign nations, rejects unilateralism, and relies on market-based principles to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth. The Belt and Road Initiative is Chinas blueprint for a New World Order. It is the face of 21st century capitalism.

The prestigious event in Beijing was barely covered by the western media which sees the project as a looming threat to US plans to pivot to Asia and become the dominant player in the most prosperous and populous region in the world. Growing international support for the Chinese roadmap suggests that Washingtons hegemonic ambitions are likely to be short-circuited by an aggressive development agenda that eclipses anything the US is currently doing or plans to do in the foreseeable future.

The Chinese plan will funnel trillions of dollars into state of the art transportation projects that draw the continents closer together in a webbing of high-speed rail and energy pipelines (Russia). Far-flung locations in Central Asia will be modernized while standards of living will steadily rise. By creating an integrated economic space, in which low tariffs and the free flow of capital help to promote investment, the BRI initiative will produce the worlds biggest free trade zone, a common market in which business is transacted in Chinese or EU currency. There will be no need to trade in USDs despite the dollars historic role as the worlds reserve currency. The shift in currencies will inevitably increase the flow of dollars back to the United States increasing the already-ginormous $22 trillion dollar National Debt while precipitating an excruciating period of adjustment.

Chinese and Russian leaders are taking steps to harmonize their two economic initiatives, the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This will be a challenging task as the expansion of infrastructure implies compatibility between leaders, mutual security guarantees, new rules and regulations for the common economic space, and supranational political structures to oversee trade, tariffs, foreign investment and immigration. Despite the hurtles, both Putin and Xi appear to be fully committed to their vision of economic integration which they see as based on the unconditional adherence to the primacy of national sovereignty and the central role of the United Nations.

It comes at no surprise that US powerbrokers see Putins plan as a significant threat to their regional ambitions, in fact, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted as much in 2012 when she said, Its going to be called a customs union, it will be called the Eurasian Union and all of that, but lets make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it. Washington opposes any free trade project in which it is excluded or cannot control. Both the EEU and the BRI fall into that category.

The United States continues to demonize countries that simply want to use the market to improve the lives of their people and increase their prospects for prosperity. Washingtons hostile approach is both misguided and counterproductive. Competition should be seen as a way to improve productivity and lower costs, not as a threat to over-bloated, inefficient industries that have outlived their usefulness. Heres an excerpt from an article that Putin wrote in 2011. It helps to show that Putin is not the scheming tyrant he is made out to be in the western media, but a free market capitalist who enthusiastically supports globalization:

For the first time in the history of humanity, the world is becoming truly global, in both politics and economics. A central part of this globalization is the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region as compared to the EuroAtlantic world in the global economy. Asias rise is lifting with it the economies of countries outside Asia that have managed to latch onto the Asian economic engine.The US has also effectively hitched itself to this engine, creating an economic and financial network with China and other countries in the region The supercontinent of Eurasia is home to two-thirds of the worlds population and produces over 60 percent of its economic output. Because of the dramatic opening of China and the former Soviet Union to the world, almost all the countries in Eurasia are becoming more economically, politically, and culturally interdependent.  There is huge potential for development in infrastructure, in spite of some formidable bottlenecks. A unified and homogeneous common power market stretching from Lisbon to Hanoi via Vladivostok is not necessary, because electric power markets do not function in that way. But the creation of infrastructure that could support a number of regional and sub-regional common markets would do much for the economic development of Greater Eurasia. (Russian newspaper, Izvestia, 2011)

Keep in mind, the article was written back in 2011 long before Xi had even conjured up his grand pan-Asia infrastructure scheme. Putin was already a committed capitalist looking for ways to put the Soviet era behind him and skillfully use the markets to build his nations power and prosperity. Regrettably, he has been blocked at every turn. Washington does not want others to effectively use the markets. Washington wants to threaten, bully, sanction and harass its competitors so that outcomes can be controlled and more of the worlds wealth can be skimmed off the top by the noncompetitive, monopolistic corporate behemoths that diktat foreign policy to their political underlings (in congress and the White House) and who see rivals as blood enemies that must be ground into dust.

Is it any wonder why Russia and China have emerged as Washingtons biggest enemies? It has nothing to do with the fictitious claims of election meddling or so-called hostile behavior in the South China Sea. Thats nonsense. Washington is terrified that the Russo-Chinese economic integration plan will replace the US-dominated liberal world order, that cutting edge infrastructure will create an Asia-Europe super-continent that no longer trades in dollars or recirculates profits into US debt instruments. They are afraid that an expansive free trade zone that extends from Lisbon to Vladivostok will inevitably lead to new institutions for lending, oversight and governance. They are afraid that a revamped 21st century capitalism will result in more ferocious competition for their clunker corporations, less opportunity for unilateralism and meddling, and a rules-based system where the playing field is painstakingly kept level. Thats what scares Washington.

The Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union represent the changing of the guard. The US-backed neoliberal model of globalisation is being rejected everywhere, from the streets of Paris, to Brexit, to the rise of right wings groups across Europe, to the unexpected election of Donald Trump in 2016. The Russo-Chinese model is built on a more solid, and less extractive, foundation. This new vision anticipates an interconnected multipolar world where the rules governing commerce are decided by the participants, where the rights of every state are respected equally, and where the new guarantors for regional security scrupulously keep the peace. It is this vision of revitalized capitalism that Washington sees as its mortal enemy.
United Nations Special Rapporteur David Kaye speaks to the media about the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.

Governments and state media in Southeast Asia touted improving media liberty on World Press Freedom Day Friday, but critics were swift to point out limits on expression and the jailing of many journalists across the region.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye said in a statement that celebration alone to mark the day would be an insufficient way to observe a day created by the UN General Assembly in 1993 to assess the state of press freedom worldwide, defend the media from attacks on independence and pay tribute to journalists who have died in the line of duty.

Autocrats and demagogues too often denigrate the press, with dire consequences for safety, for democracy, and for the publics right to know, Kaye said in the statement.

Today more than ever, we need not just generic celebrations, but concrete steps to improve press freedom worldwide, he said.

The UN statement highlighted the case of two Reuters reporters in Myanmar, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who last month were denied their final appeals and must serve the remainder of their seven-year-sentences.

They were arrested in December 2017 while pursuing a story about the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during a brutal military-led crackdown in western Myanmars Rakhine state. Authorities detained them shortly after two policemen with whom they had dinner in Yangon handed them state documents related to the atrocities, in what was widely viewed as a police setup.

The statement indicated that press freedom in many parts of Asia is severely lacking, including in China where basic rights to seek, receive and impart information hardly exist.

The theme for this years World Press Freedom Day is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

Cambodia

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, currently in the midst of an 11-day visit to the country, posted her thoughts about the state of press freedom under Hun Sens regime.

I am concerned that Cambodia has slipped further one point to 143 over the last year, after falling 10 points from 132 the previous year in the Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedoms Index, she wrote.

She also gave advice to Cambodias government on ways to improve.

I encourage the Government to provide the space for a free media, both offline and online, including through the adoption and implementation of the draft Law on Access to Information, she wrote.

I also repeat my encouragement to lift the charges against the two former RFA journalists, she added, referring to Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta, who were arrested in November 2017 on suspicion of continuing to provide news about Cambodia to RFA after the U.S.-funded media outlet closed its office in Cambodia that September.

Cambodias fall one spot in the RSF index to 143, was matched by those of neighbor Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, which each fell one step. In a year-on-year comparison for 2018, Laos fell one spot from 170 to 171, Vietnam fell one spot from 175 to 176, and Myanmar fell one spot from 137 to 138.

Meas Sophorn, a spokesman for the countrys Ministry of Information told RFAs Khmer Service that Information Minister Khieu Kanharith held a press conference to mark the day where he said that press freedom is getting better each day within the kingdom.

The spokesman added that broadcast and print media are on the rise, and the country is showing how it respects human rights and press freedom, offering the press conference itself as an indication that press freedom is important to the regime.

But Long Kimmaryta, a journalist for a bilingual newspaper in Phnom Penh disagreed, saying that reporters and the press must now self-censor, after the government arrested reporters.

She said writing criticism about the government is risky in the current climate.

If we were to write positive stories about the government, then sources within the government are happier to talk to us, she said, adding that journalists in Cambodia can only write stories if they feel their safety isnt threatened.

Laos

Meanwhile in neighboring Laos, the deputy editor of the government-published Vientiane Times told RFAs Lao Service, I think we have all kinds of freedoms because we have media laws guaranteeing those freedoms, including the freedom to write news and freedom of expression.

We want to improve and upgrade our reporters knowledge and skills and we also need to diversify the way we [source] content for our news stories, said Deputy Editor Phonekeo Vorlakoun.

Of course, as reporters, we want to respond to the needs of our people, he said.

The deputy editors comments were contradicted by a local reporter stationed in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province who is covering the lasting damage caused by last years disaster at a nearby dam which claimed the lives of hundreds and has been described as Laos worst flooding in decades.

All news stories, even those on technical matters, must be approved by the leadership of the district and the province before we can publish anything, said the reporter.

An official of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism agreed with the reporter saying, The government will never force us to do anything, or order us how to do this or that, but if they say we cant publish the story, we cant publish it.

A citizen of Vientiane gave insight on how the people gain access to reliable news in the country.

If we need to speak out or want to know whats going on, we use Facebook. We cant rely on state TV, radio or newspapers because its too slow, inaccurate and restricted, said the citizen.

Facebook in Vietnam

But Facebook has also been the target of criticism, particularly for bowing to the whims of governments looking to restrict the publics access to information, such as in Vietnam.

According to an open letter to Facebook from 10 free expression and human rights organizations in Vietnam, the social networking behemoth has been blocking access to content on the request of the Vietnamese government.

The letter said that Vietnams 64 million Facebook users use Facebook as their primary news source, citing the absence of independent media within the country.

On January 1, a restrictive cybersecurity law went into effect in Vietnam but the desire of Vietnamese to stay connected and build community has not changed, said the rights groups in the letter, signed by Reporters Without Borders, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Viet Tan and other groups.

The Vietnamese government may want foreign companies to set up local data servers, censor content, and turn over private user data  but its up to Facebook to ultimately decide whether it will uphold human rights or not, they said.

The letter cited Facebook as saying that blocked content was based on local legal restrictions, but urged the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg to not become complicit in the human rights violations of authoritarian governments such as Vietnams.

Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur, States must move beyond words, beyond resolutions and take immediate and sustainable action to ensure safety of journalists, the independence of the media, the plurality of voices.

That is the challenge of the coming year: translating celebration into action, stigmatizing and penalizing those that attack journalism, and devoting resources to the great project of media freedom.

Additional reporting and translation by RFAs Lao and Khmer Services.
Myanmar military medics attend to a civilian wounded in an shooting this week in Rakhine state, May 3, 2019.

Injured survivors from a shooting this week in western Myanmars turbulent Rakhine state on Friday rejected the Myanmar armys account of the incident that killed six detained civilians and wounded eight others.

Four witnesses from Kyauktan village interviewed Friday by RFAs Myanmar Service rejected the account presented a day earlier by Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, who said villagers attacked security forces who were interrogating them and tried to take their weapons and the troops fired as a last resort.

Government forces had been holding 275 civilians in a school compound Rathedaung townships Kyauktan village since Tuesday to interrogate them about possible links to an alleged training camp of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine group that is battling Myanmar forces for greater autonomy.

A 48-year-old man who was injured in the shooting told RFA that the incident was sparked when a mentally disabled detainee started yelling loudly at 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

There was a mentally disabled man among the detainees. We asked the security forces to take care of him separately, he told RFA. They said, He is not mentally disabled. He is fine. He is just pretending.

The man started yelling run, run, run in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. The security forces didnt shoot at him. Instead, they shot at the crowd of other people. So, many people sleeping at the time died, the witness said.

A second witness who was present near the school supported the statement.

Some people tried to run at that time. But most people were lying on their chest. People who run away were not shot. But those who were sleeping got shot, the witness said.

No food or bathing

Another injured patient said the shooting lasted around 20 minutes.

A fourth injured witness said the military did not feed the 275 detainees or allow them to bathe.

We were not allowed take a bath. They didnt give any food the first two days. They only gave us a meal for dinner Tuesday. They said they would shoot and kill us if we tried to leave the school.

RFA has confirmed the identities of the witnesses but has withheld their names to protect them from possible reprisals by the military.

RFA asked Colonel Win Zaw Oo, commander of the Myanmar military's Western Command, about inconsistencies between the militarys announcements and the witnesses accounts.

What we have announced so far is the truth. We said it yesterday. The crowd was aroused to a dangerous situation. We responded with necessary measures to control the situation, he said.

They have their own accounts. But we have plenty of evidence to back up our accounts, Win Zaw Oo said.

At a military news conference at the Military History Museum in the capital Naypyidaw, army spokesman Zaw Min Tun denied the allegation that the security forces withheld food and drinking water from detainees at the school.

We have been interrogating 275 villagers in Kyauktan village. This morning, we have released 126 villagers who were found to have no connection with AA, he told the news conference. He said the others deemed to be associated with the AA would be charged under the law, but did not elaborate.

Some villagers were killed in the 2 a.m. incident, added Zaw Min Tun.

We have returned the bodies of the deceased villagers to the families at 9 a.m. this morning, he said, adding that family members of the dead villagers were given 300,000 kyats (about $200).

Campaign to 'instill fear' in Rakhines

AA spokesman Khine Thukha repeated his rejection of the militarys account of the shooting.

We can give a very clear answer: All the villagers they detained in Kyauktan village are just local civilians. They have no connection with AA, he told RFA.

We think it is the militarys strategy to instill fear among the Rakhine population by terrorizing a previously peaceful Rakhine village with violent detention and interrogations. Besides, their detention of the civilians is unlawful, said Khine Thukha.

They give an excuse that the detained villagers tried to attack them, cheering and taking the guns. This is unacceptable excuse, added the AA spokesman.

Political analyst Maung Maung Soe said the government should form an independent commission to probe the case.

In order to reveal the truth, the government should form an independent commission to investigate the case, he said. If such a committee is assigned to do investigations to find out the truth, I think we will have an account acceptable to all of us.

Win Zaw Oo, however, said the military would investigate its own.

Whenever there is an incident, we, the military, always have investigations as regular procedure. If it is necessary, we are going to conduct our own investigations, he told RFA.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said allowing media access to Rakhine would shed light on the dispute.

If the Burmese military genuinely believes that they are doing the right thing for Rakhine people, they should be giving full media access to Rakhine state. We welcome the media and guarantee the security of the reporters in AAs controlled areas, he said.

If the government is confident in their actions, give open access to media. Then, people will know what they have done and what we have done.

The eight injured villagers were receiving medical treatments at Sittwe General Hospital in the Rakhine state capital, while the six slain detainees were buried at Kyauktan cemetery on Friday.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Human rights activist Bach Hong Quyen arrived in Canada from Thailand On May 3, after narrow escape in Bangkok from being extradited to Vietnam for his role in helping a dissident blogger apply for asylum in Bangkok before he was abducted by Vietnamese agents. Truong Duy Nhat, an RFA contributor, disappeared in Bangkok in late January, and two months later was revealed to be in a Hanoi jail, a secret rendition that legal experts said was a violation by Vietnam's police of the country's criminal procedure laws. Quyen had fled to Thailand in May 2017 after Vietnamese police issued a warrant for his arrest for organizing a protest march on the anniversary of a 2016 waste spill that that polluted the coast of central Vietnam. Quyen, his wife Bui Huong Giang and the couples two daughters are in Canada under a refugee program funded by the Canadian government. He spoke to RFAs Vietnamese Service about avoiding the fate of blogger Nhat, who is in Prison T16 in Hanoi and as of late April had not been allowed visits from his wife. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: During your two weeks in the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, who came to see you?

Quyen: On the third day, the Vietnamese embassy asked IDC for my information: When I went there as well as my IDC number. A week later, last Tuesday, a Vietnamese embassy representative met me in the IDC for about one minute, then a U.N. High Commission for Refugees at the IDC took me to the UNHCR office. A UNHCR staffer asked me why the Vietnamese Embassy representative came and what questions he asked. He asked me how I lived in that cell and when I would go to the West.

RFA: When you were in the IDC, the Vietnamese government asked Thailand to extradite you to Vietnam. What do you think about this?

Quyen: It was not only when I entered the IDC that the Vietnamese side wanted to cooperate with the Thai side to take me back to Vietnam. Friends, staff at human rights organizations had already told me that before. When I came to the IDC, I was really worried about being extradited to Vietnam. I knew in advance that when you enter the IDC, the chance of immigration to a third country versus extradition to Vietnam is 50/50. By the time I got there, I learned that the Vietnamese embassy had asked the police at IDC about my information and after the meeting, I felt like I was even in more danger of being extradited to Vietnam. I was really worried. The UN gave me a notice from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on May 2 that I was scheduled to leave Thailand announced on May 29. Fortunately, due to the concern about my being extradited to Vietnam, IOM as well as the UN pushed hard my case for emigrating to a third countryCanada--and I am now in Canada.

RFA: Before going to the IDC, did you have to hide, especially after publicizing the urgent call for helping Nhat in that letter?

Quyen: I had to escape on March 1, after Thai police came to my house to ask for my information, not when the letter for help was issued on March 8. I had to constantly change the condos I rented to avoid Vietnamese security searches as well as some corrupt police in Thailand. When youre in hiding like that, the situation is really difficult. I had to find ways to disguise myself. Luckily I am now in Canada and I have been able to come to this country freely, and I don't have to worry like that anymore.

RFA: At the time of blogger Nhat's detention at T16 camp was confirmed by his family and friends in Vietnam, what did you think about how he was taken back to Vietnam?

Quyen: There has been a history of Vietnamese secret agents doing things like kidnapping (former head of PetroVietnam Construction) Trinh Xuan Thanh in the center of Berlin. So it is no surprise that secret Vietnamese agents would come to an ASEAN nation to abduct Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who revealed social injustices and internal information on the Vietnamese government. Such abductions will affect the reputation as well as the face of a police state, a dictatorial country. I see the Vietnamese government is willing to defy everything to achieve its goals. I found my escaping abduction and being safe today is a matter of me being luckier than Truong Duy Nhat. Truong Duy Nhat was unlucky. He ran to Thailand to seek asylum and while waiting for resettlement in a third country, he was abducted by the Vietnamese government.

Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen.
At least seven Afghan policemen were killed when suspected Taliban militants stormed checkpoints overnight in western Badghis Province, officials said.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said on May 4 that three other security personnel were wounded during the attack in the Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

Elsewhere, the Afghan Defense Ministry said two separate coalition air strikes on May 3 killed at least 43 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern Kunar Province.

In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted suspected IS militants in Chapara district. It said an unspecified number of Uzbek and Pakistani nationals were among those killed.

Analysts say both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan.

The reports of fresh violence come a day after an Afghan grand council convened by President Ashraf Ghani ended with a demand for an immediate cease-fire.

The council -- known as the Loya Jirga -- brought together more than 3,200 politicians, tribal elders, prominent figures and others to hammer out a shared strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban.

"I want to say to the Taliban that the choice is now in your hands," Ghani said at the closing ceremony in Kabul. "Now it is your turn to show what you want to do."

Ghani said the message of the five-day gathering was clear: "Afghans want peace" and offered a cease-fire, though he stressed it would not be unilateral.

Ghani also vowed to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which starts next week.

In a statement on May 3, the Taliban rejected a cease-fire, saying attacks will continue during Ramadan but said "fighters are very careful of civilians during any operation."

The group has rejected cease-fire proposals saying U.S. and NATO troops must withdraw from the country first.

The grand council produced a 23-point list for peace-talks with the Taliban, including a truce for Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn till dusk.

The Loya Jirga also urged the government to form a strong negotiating team and said at least 50 of its members should represent victims of wars.

The council also backed women's rights, in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters
An Iranian newspaper says one of its reporters was arrested by police earlier this week while covering a May Day protest, during which dozens of activists were detained.

The pro-reform Shargh newspaper said on May 4 that Marzieh Amiri was detained at a demonstration outside the Iranian parliament in Tehran.

The paper said authorities detained some 30 protesting workers, including two workers' leaders, Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reports that the detainees will be released soon, citing the general prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

Iran has witnessed protests over the past two years sparked by the country's worsening economic situation.

In 2018, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran after pulling out a 2015 nuclear deal that provided Tehran with sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Nationwide protests in 2017 led to 25 deaths.

Based on reporting by AP and Mehr
Stevo Pendarovski, backed by North Macedonia's ruling party, appears headed for victory in a presidential runoff vote that will be ruled valid after the minimum participation threshold was reached.

With just over 95 percent of the votes counted in the May 5 election, Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, had 52 percent to 44.4 percent for his challenger, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Just as important, the Central Election Commission said that turnout was 46.2 percent, erasing fears that the 40 percent participation threshold needed to make the balloting official would not be met.

Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova battled to a virtual draw -- 42.8 percent to 42.2 percent respectively -- in the first round on April 21.

That close outcome has put a spotlight on the Balkan nations ethnic Albanian minority, who strongly supported Blerim Reka in the first round, giving him 10.6 percent of the vote.

WATCH: Presidential Candidates Vote In North Macedonia's Runoff

With Reka out of the runoff race, many feared his supporters would boycott the runoff, which could have kept turnout below 40 percent. About one-quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, and overall turnout in the first round was just 41.8 percent.

The campaign itself was rather low key by Macedonian standards, with virtually none of the violence, dirty tricks, and sharp nationalist rhetoric that has marked previous votes.

While the president has a largely ceremonial role, the position does have some powers to veto legislation and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had warned the outcome of the runoff could trigger early parliamentary elections.

The race between the two academics was dominated by debate on issues such as integration into Western structures and a struggling economy, plagued by stubbornly high unemployment at more than 20 percent.

Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, has strongly supported the so-called Prespa deal signed with Greece last year to change the country's name, while Siljanovska-Davkova, the country's first female candidate and a university professor, has been critical of it, though the opposition has said it will not cancel the accord.

"I expect a massive victory in the run-off," Pendarovski told reporters after casting his ballot. "I expect the election day to be calm and that we -- the country which is expecting to get the date to start the EU membership talks -- are capable of organizing free and fair elections," he said.

Siljanovska-Davkova, who unlike her opponent opposes the name change, instead has tried to focus on the government's failure to implement much-needed economic reforms.

"I expect big turnout and I expect to win," she said after voting, adding that she will respect the fact that the country has a new name, "but I will never use it."

The signing of the historic agreement with Greece changed the country's name to North Macedonia and ended a decades-long dispute that had blocked the Balkan state's path to NATO and the European Union.



Pro-Western Pendarovski is supported by the ruling Social Democrats. Siljanovska-Davkova, 63, ran as an independent but is now backed by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Voter apathy has been fueled by a lack of jobs, which has forced many Macedonians to move abroad to find work.

One of the poorest countries in Europe with an average monthly salary of about $470, many voters say they're fed up with politicians on both sides of the legislature and voting for a president won't change their situation.

"I'm not going to vote because my ID is in my wallet and my wallet is empty. So when I look at it, it reminds me that I shouldn't vote," one voter said wryly.

If turnout fails to reach the minimum requirement, constitutional experts say a completely new vote must be called within 40 days.

During the interim period, the head of the National Assembly, Talat Xhaferi, would assume the function of president.



Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive five-year term.

Once a part of Yugoslavia, North Macedonia left Belgrade's umbrella when it seceded peacefully in 1991.



But it veered close to civil war in 2001 when ethnic Albanians launched an armed insurgency seeking greater autonomy, and subsequent elections have been stormy.

The election commission said that voting on May 5 went without any major incidents.

With reporting by AP and AFP
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg.

Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice Department.

"To the extent there was overreach, what we have to be concerned about is a few people at the top getting it into their heads that they know better than the American people," said Barr.

Barr will also review whether the infamous Steele dossier - a collection of salacious and unverified claims against Donald Trump, assembled by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign - was fabricated by the Russian government to trick the FBI and other US agencies. (Will Barr investigate whether Steele made the whole thing up for his client, Fusion GPS?)

"We now know that he was being falsely accused," Barr said of Trump. "We have to stop using the criminal justice process as a political weapon."

Muellers report didnt say there were false accusations against Trump. It said the evidence of cooperation between the campaign and Russia was not sufficient to support criminal charges. Investigators were unable to get a complete picture of the activities of some relevant people, the special counsel found. Although Barrs review has only begun, its helping to fuel a narrative long embraced by Trump and some of his Republican supporters: that the Russia investigation was politically motivated and concocted from false allegations in order to spy on Trumps campaign and ultimately undermine his presidency. -Bloomberg

As Bloomberg notes, Barr's review could receive a boost by a Thursday New York Times article acknowledging that the FBI sent a 'honeypot' spy to London in 2016 to pose as a research assistant and gather intelligence from Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos over possible Trump campaign links to Russia.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

The Trump re-election campaign immediately seized on the Times report as evidence that improper spying did occur. "As President Trump has said, it is high time to investigate the investigators," said Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale in a statement.

During Barr's Wednesday testimony, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told Barr "It appears to me that the Obama administration, Justice Department and FBI decided to place their bets on Hillary Clinton and focus their efforts" when it came to investigating the Trump campaign.

Depending on what Barr finds, his review of the Russia probe could give Trump ammunition to defend himself in continuing congressional inquiries -- and in a potential impeachment for obstructing justice. Barr told senators that Trumps actions cant be seen as obstruction if he was exercising his constitutional authority as president to put an end to an illegitimate investigation. Barrs efforts follow two years of work by a group of House Republicans who have been conducting dozens of interviews regarding the FBIs and Justice Departments conduct in the early stages of investigation of Trump and his campaign. -Bloomberg

On Thursday, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) issued a criminal referral for Nellie Ohr - a former Fusion GPS contractor who passed anti-Trump research to her husband, then the #4 official at the DOJ.

On Thursday, Meadows said that Barr's "willingness to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation is the first step in putting the questionable practices of the past behind us," and that the AG's "tenacity is sure to be rewarded."

The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign after a self-professed member of the Clinton Foundation, Joseph Mifsud, fed Papadopoulos the rumor that Russia had "dirt" on Clinton. That rumor would be coaxed out of the former Trump aide by another Clinton-connected individual - Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, who would notify authorities of Papadopoulos' admission, officially launching the investigation.

Barr says he wants to get to the bottom of it.

His review will examine the above chain of events that set the investigation into motion, and whether any US agencies were engaged in spying on or investigating the Trump campaign before the probe was officially launched.

Barr said hes working with FBI Director Christopher Wray to reconstruct exactly what went down. He said he has people in the department helping me review the activities over the summer of 2016. Notably, Barr said his aides will be working very closely with the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael Horowitz. Horowitz is conducting his own investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation and whether there were abuses when the FBI obtained a secret warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October 2016 to spy on another foreign policy adviser to the campaign, Carter Page. -Bloomberg

Barr will also investigate when the DOJ and FBI knew that the Democratic Party and Clinton was Steele.

More subterfuge, or is this really happening?

Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here

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Wildlife officials are investigating poisonings from a toxic pesticide that has killed seven bald eagles and a great horned owl along Marylands Eastern Shore  incidents similar to an unsolved case three years ago that left 13 bald eagles dead.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Natural Resources Police announced Wednesday a $10,000 reward for information about the latest incidents in Kent and Talbot counties.

Investigators said last week that on March 1, they found several dead or sick bald eagles and a dead great horned owl in Chestertown, Md. Officials initially had found three dead bald eagles at the location, then returned to find three more dead eagles.

About a month later, authorities said they found three more bald eagles that showed signs of being poisoned at a Talbot County farm. One died at the scene, and two were taken to a rehabilitation center and eventually released.

The birds all showed signs of having ingested carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide used on farms to get rid of insects until its granular form was banned in the 1990s.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and political rallies in California.

Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot.

Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques.

Two other members  Cole White and Thomas Gillen  each had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

All four admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 704 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. between Jan.1 and April 26. Thats the largest measles outbreak in this country since 1984. Most cases  88%  originated in small, close-knit communities with low vaccination rates. This is unacceptable. The CDC declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. On top of ensuring that every child who can be vaccinated is, doctors now are recommending that adults who were vaccinated between 1958 and 1986 speak to their doctors about receiving a booster shot. The protections of one of the measles vaccines administered during that period might have waned over time. Only a blood test can confirm your immunity. While youre at it, please make sure all of your vaccinations are up to date.

Human-borne illnesses arent the only diseases threatening Americans this summer. According to a news story by Cathy Dyson in The Free Lance-Star, health and pest-control officials are predicting that this summer is going to be doozy for ticks. Not only are the regular homegrown varieties, such as deer ticks and American dog ticks, going to be out in force, there is a new menace in town. According to Dyson, Last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started warning about a new invasive species called an Asian longhorned tick. It first surfaced on a New Jersey sheep in 2017. In just two years since that discovery, it has been found eight other states. Yes, Virginia, we are one of those. Here are some creepy statistics about the ugly little bugger: It can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time and is capable of reproducing without a mate. Imagine stepping on a nest full of newly hatched, hungry young ticks.
McDonald, who is African American, said voters here worry about health care and education. That is what is important to me as well, he said. That is why I am supporting Biden already.

The same goes for 22-year-old Hannah OToole, who sang the national anthem at the Workers Memorial Day celebration in Pittsburgh ahead of Bidens visit along with her father, 60-year-old Marty OToole, who is the business manager for Plumbers Local 27. Joe Bidens been a big part of the way we think and want to go and he has always been a front-runner for us here in Pennsylvania, said Marty OToole, who is personally supporting the former vice president.

Hannah OToole also is leaning toward Biden. Ive liked him since Obama, she said.

Darrin Kelly, president of the powerful local labor council here in western Pennsylvania and a city firefighter, said the party has drifted too far left. And this is the state where, not just in the general but mostly in the primary, that will be decided.

Today is an important reminder of what is important to voters in Pennsylvania in a Democratic primary and we expect the Democratic Party to truly start listening to what our message is, stop polarizing us and start welcoming us back, we want FDR-style politics, Kelly said. If our strength is truly our diversity, then the party has to start listening to the working class, they have to welcome us back and our voice will be heard in the primary in this state and that the message we want about job creation, health care and pension security is what will bring us out in a general.
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Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Cancun airport set to land one of its largest planes

Cancun, Q.R.  Air control personnel at the Cancun International Airport are set to land one of its largest clients, an A350.

The large evelop! plane is set to land at the Cancun airport May 6 from its origin city of Madrid. The plane, which has a seating capacity of 432, is covering the new Madrid-Cancun route. Although the route has been in operation already, this is the first time an A350 from that city will be landing at Cancun.

The Spanish charter Evelop Airlines took possession of their first A350 plane March 28 of this year and anticipate an A350-900 wide-body aircraft next year. The company, which is based in Madrid, uses the planes for routes to various Caribbean destinations.

Dario Flota Ocampo, director of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo, explained that the aircraft will cover the Madrid-Cancun route, and although this route is already operating, the significance of the occasion is the size of the plane, adding that a reception is being prepared at the Cancun airport.

Evelop belongs to the Barcelo group which allows us a greater number of seats arriving at the destination from Europe, he said. The Spanish market into Cancun has grown by 4 percent year-over-year for the last three, with nearly 184,000 Spanish tourists landing in Cancun last year.

Evelop Airlines are a subsidiary of Barcelo Group and operates short and long-haul flights on behalf of tour operators, mainly out of Spain and Portugal. They make two flights per week into Cancun.
New Colombian Consulate opens in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  A new consular headquarters has been opened in the city of Cancun where immigrants of Colombian nationality can go for assistance.

The new Colombian Consular office was inaugurated in Cancun, adding another facility to those already existing in the the region.

Margarita Manjarrez, Director of Migratorios Consulares y Servicio said that this new headquarters is added to the consular offices in Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as the honorary consulates in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

In these five states we have a very high rate of transient populations that need analysis. Cancun was identified as a gap that needed to be filled and fortunately was achieved with of the ministry of foreign relations who opened the consulate in Cancun, she explained.

Manjarrez said that the Colombian population figures throughout these five states are quite modest, totaling around 6,000 Colombians who reside legally or regularly, although they have evidence that there are many more, approaching the 25,000 mark.

However, the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Patricia Cardenas Santa Maria, says that Colombians are not illegally entering Cancun because since 2012, Colombians do not need a visa to enter Mexico.

Colombians cannot enter undocumented because we do not need a visa to enter Mexico since in 2012, the visa was abolished. We are working with the authorities and with the governments of Mexico to try and see how we can reduce the presence of that community that stay in Mexico illegally, she said.
The rom-com has officially been revived, and with new releases hitting theaters and flooding Netflix, the best ones always seem to turn out to be a twist on the genre. Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, puts the rom into the com of Machiavellian, Washington, D.C., political machinations. Its Veep, but less absurdly acid-tongued, and a lot more swoony. Still, the incisive cultural and political commentary cuts deep, and Theron and Rogen turn out to be a winning pair.

Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, the film follows a journalist for a Brooklyn alt weekly, Fred Flarsky (Rogen), who reconnects with his middle school babysitter, Charlotte Field (Theron), who has become the youngest secretary of state ever  and an eligible, workaholic bachelorette. She taps the newly unemployed Fred to punch up her speeches as she embarks on a worldwide tour touting a new environmental initiative and embellishing her public image for a future presidential run. The unlikeliest  or perhaps likeliest, considering the context  of flings blossoms along the way.

There is of course, pop nostalgia, and a whole lot of drug humor, because, well, Seth Rogen, but its a treat to see him back as the unlikely romantic lead, and to see the softer side of Theron, even as she remains in a powerful role. Sterling and Hannah put this particular gender dynamic  with a powerful female politician and a male Marilyn (as Fred dubs himself)  to work, upending regressive beliefs about politicians and sex. Why should sex be shameful? Politicians are people, too. The film also carefully threads the needle on the ways in which Charlottes gender informs her work (and her compromises), and unpacks the sexist beliefs that permeate society and systems of power.

What makes Long Shot work is the writing, which takes place in a heightened, almost fantastical reality, but always feels character-driven and grounded. This on-screen relationship is #goals, not because of grand gestures (though there are those) or steamy sex scenes (those are more funny than anything else), but because its clear the two characters know and like each other so well just as people. Astonishingly, one of the most romantic scenes of the year could be the two pogoing in a Parisian club, high out of their minds, yelling, I really like you!

Its just fun to spend time with these characters, and there a few incredible supporting turns by Ravi Patel as Charlottes bag man Tom, OShea Jackson Jr. as Freds bestie Lance and a deliciously witchy turn from June Diane Raphael as Charlottes aide Maggie, delivering lines and reactions so icily it makes one lament that she didnt have a meatier role on Veep.

But, speaking of TV, director Jonathan Levine for some reason has chosen an aesthetic for the film that can only be described as a very beige episode of some forgettable prestige drama. Long Shot is dim, dark and visually bland. Would it have killed cinematographer Yves Belanger to switch on a light or two? It just seems a shame, because this delightful comedy deserves a brighter style to match its undeniable romantic fireworks.
Virginia Tech is dedicating $400,000 to improving accessibility on campus, the university announced last week.

The university will make a number of improvements around campus, including around the April 16 Memorial on the Drillfield.

Its important to make all of Virginia Tech accessible, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said. This is a commitment we have in terms of accessibility. We cant be an open campus if we dont remove these barriers.

Tech will add points of entry around the memorial, widening them. The university will also add a new accessible bench, relocate handicap parking spaces and install curb cuts for people approaching the memorial.

The memorial improvements will be made in the next two to four weeks, Owczarski said.

Techs master plan calls for the accessibility improvements at the memorial as well enlarging the plaza in the coming years. However, there are no immediate plans to enlarge the plaza, Owczarski said.

Over the course of the summer of 2019, the university will also improve the entrance to Patton Hall by adding handrails and ramps, add a fully accessible path from the veterinary school and animal hospital to its nearby parking lot, and provide an accessible pathway to a Goodwin Hall courtyard, which offers picnic tables.

Improved signage pointing toward accessible routes around campus will also be added to the projects and across Tech, Owczarski said.

This is our effort to be mindful of accessibility issues that people are bringing to our attention, he said.

Ashley Shew, a Tech professor of science and technology in society and co-founder of Techs Disability and Alliance Caucus, said shes pleased with the moves. Theyre a lot of the changes that she and the rest of the caucus have called for in the past.

Im happy about this, Shew said. A lot of these things are things weve pushed for.

Shew said theres more work to do, though. She said she hopes that Techs leaders will listen to the needs of disabled people as the university continues its planned expansion. She and the rest of the alliance have pushed Tech to add more signs for three years, she said.

Signage is incredibly important for disabled visitors to campus who dont know how to get around hilly Blacksburg, Shew said.

Better planning in the past wouldve made these changes unnecessary and less expensive now. So better planning in the future for disabled people will be important, she said.

Shew, her colleagues and allies will continue to be vocal in pushing for awareness of the difficulties disabled people face around campus, both in the present and in the future.

Im happy that theyre listening to disabled people, she said. But theres more work to do.
CULPEPER  The Virginia Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multiyear battle over the 2013 condemnation his land for a new road.

In its decision, the court said Richard Dwyers legal appeal of this ongoing fight with the town of Culpeper was not filed in a timely fashion.

The local circuit court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in just compensation for the property in 2017 through eminent domain to build a new commuter route, called Col. Jameson Boulevard, in an area Dwyer envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, his estimate for its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.1 to $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, and in September the states high court issued notice it would hear the appeal.

After considering arguments, the court issued a notice of dismissal in the case in March, agreeing with the towns position that Dwyer filed his appeal after a legal deadline to do so.

Lawyers for Dwyer, meanwhile, argued the 2017 order was not final for purposes of appeal because it contained the language, the court shall retain jurisdiction.

We find Dwyers argument unpersuasive, the states high court found, according to the three-page dismissal order, citing legalese and state code related to condemnation actions being two-stage proceedings.

The court continued, The first stage addresses the confirmation, alteration, or modification of the report of just compensation  The second stage deals with the distribution of the funds paid into the circuit court, and any controversy pertaining thereto 

In addition, The Sept. 11, 2017 order confirming  the report of just compensation was the final order for purposes of appeal. Dywer did not make a timely appeal from that order. Accordingly, the Court dismisses the appeal in the case.

Dwyer said Wednesday he would rather hold my comments. Generally speaking, he added, I think it is a bunch of incompetent people in this world making a lot of decisions.

Asked why the appeal was not filed in time, the landowner said, Thats a good question, referring it to his attorney Steve Clarke with the Norfolk eminent domain firm of Waldo & Lyle.

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Clarke said the Virginia Supreme Court order in the matter was the final say, concluding many years of conflict in the land grab.

I dont think there is anything more we can really do, the lawyer said. The high court of Virginia has ruled on the issue. There is nowhere we could go from here.

Clarke said he disagreed with the court that the appeal was not filed in a timely fashion, referencing a new rule for eminent domain cases related to the final order, which sets the clock ticking for appeal. Inclusion of the phrase the court shall retain jurisdiction in the 2017 order was not enough to stop that clock, he said.

That phrase formerly meant it was not the final order, Clarke said, and therefore did not start the time-frame.

In dismissing the case for not meeting the appeal deadline, the Virginia Supreme Court did not reach any substance of the issue related to eminent domain and property values, the lawyer said.

Instead, Clarke added, the court punted on the procedural issue. Mentioning that the court did hear legal arguments in the matter, he said, it seemed like there was initial interest to hear the legal issues.

Eminent domain is a really difficult piece of law, Clarke said, noting the town of Culpeper spent considerably more than it wanted to defending itself in the suit.

Richard Dwyer feels like he was not made whole and he wasnt, he said.

Culpeper Public Services Director Jim Hoy was lead executive for the town throughout the long proceedings.

An important part of the story for people to understand is we dont go into right-of-way acquisition with the intention of having conflict with landowners, Hoy said. We do our best to reach a reasonable agreement and a lot of times we will go to extraordinary efforts to do that. But in spite of all of our efforts, we were not able to reach an agreement with Mr. Dwyer  thats why we went to court.

Hoy, acknowledging high legal fees to the town in the case, said it could have been worse, mentioning Dwyer wanted a jury award of $4.5 million for the land, far less than the more than the towns legal expenses.

The towns litigation expenses will be covered as part of the $10.1 million budget for Col. Jameson Boulevard  a joint project between the town and VDOT  and the rest from the general fund, Hoy said.

Because it was a jointly funded project, he added, the town was bound by state standards in offering compensation for Dwyers land based on an appraisal of fair market value.

At one point early on as the apartment project was progressing, Hoy said, Dwyer felt the land was worth $8 million. There are limits as to what we can offer a landowner, he said.

Did the town and VDOT get a fair deal? I think we did, Hoy said .

He added town motorists got a good deal with Col. Jameson Boulevard as well in that it has effectively alleviated traffic at the junction of East Evans and Main streets. It also provides an easier route for the many commuters living on the towns west side.

Dwyer said Wednesday he had no immediate development plans for the rest of his land in the area.

He previously stated the town took the prime part with development potential when they built the road through it.

Bottom line is I just got to deal with whats left, he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Yes, yes, we realize thats like saying President Trump said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Whats new, right? Peas. Pod. Two. Peggy Noonan, the former Republican speechwriter who is now a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote recently that Ocasio-Cortez is simply modeling behavior shes learned from another New Yorker  Donald Trump. Both are contributing to the coarsening of our civil discourse.

Usually, we try to tune all that out. If we wanted to hear white noise, wed buy an ocean machine to help us sleep at night. But Ocasio-Cortez has some local connection, at least indirectly, so lets parse it.

Heres what she said. It came in the form of a Twitter exchange over various policies. At one point she tweeted: True. Its been GOP vs. the people of the United States for almost my entire life.

Really? Really?? We flag this because this is a curious  but often popular use, misuse actually, of the phrase the people.

If its really been Republicans vs. the people for the past 29 years, how have Republicans been able to win any elections during that time?

Who have been voting for Republicans all that time? Aliens? Animals? Potted plants? Or is she saying that Republicans arent really people? OK, were being intentionally obtuse, of course, to make a point. The Ocasio-Cortez use of the people reflects a very specific mindset of just who the people are and what they want.

In some ways, this is just harmless rhetoric. What politician hasnt claimed to be for the people? Just about all of them at some point, both left and right. A quick run through websites of the 2020 presidential contenders (thats the year, by the way, not a count of how many candidates there are) shows Kamala Harris: For The People and Tulsi Gabbard  Fighting For The People. Theres a Facebook page called The People For Bernie Sanders. The people seem to be a very sought-after constituency.

John Lennon sang Power To The People. In some states, criminal cases are styled The People vs. . . . on the theory that the people, embodied as the state, were the victim of whatever crime is alleged. Our own Constitution begins with the grand words: We the People . . . In legal terms, thats been defined to mean all citizens of the United States. The candidates who claim to speak for the people may claim that all-encompassing rhetoric but are really referring to their preferred subset of the people.

Ocasio-Cortez won election in her New York City district with 78 percent of the vote, so perhaps it can be fairly said she represents the people there  although that raises the question of what the other 22 percent are, if not people. But what about Bland County, Virginia, which in 2016 gave Trump 82 percent of its vote, the highest percentage of any locality in the state? Who are the people there, in Ocasio-Cortez view of the world? If its really the GOP vs. the people, how can we explain the overwhelming numbers that the same GOP wins throughout most of rural America?

The Marxist answer is that those voters have been deluded by false class consciousness and dont realize they really should be on the side of their fellow proletariat and not the side of their capitalist oppressors. Communist regimes have often styled themselves The Peoples Republic, which made it awfully inconvenient for those rulers to explain why the people were rising up against their Peoples Republic  in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and all of eastern Europe in 1989. Simply saying you are for the people does not make it so.

This is one of many reasons we wish Ocasio-Cortez would accept the proffered invitation to speak at Liberty University, and use that as a springboard to visit rural Virginia. Shes unlikely to win many converts at Liberty but she might find a side trip to Bland County, or anywhere else in Southwest Virginia, educational. The world is more complex  dare we say, more diverse  than she realizes. Of course, shes not the only one who wrongly claims to speak for the people. Trump darkly refers to the news media as the enemy of the people, an ominous phrase because it was also a favorite of Nazis and Soviets alike. Ocasio-Cortez hasnt used that frightening formulation but may as well have if shes going to claim that its the GOP vs. the people  sort of the same thing. She and Trump surely cant be talking about the same people because theyre so politically different, but in some ways they are: Both portray the people as some virtuous, aggrieved underclass fighting against some malign and powerful other. And thats where harmless words become something more dangerous. When politicians claim to be for the people, they are effectively dehumanizing and delegitimizing the other side. We know what happened when the Nazis and the Soviets started branding people as enemies of the people.

So did Shakespeare, even long before the gas chambers and the gulags. Coriolanus tells the story of the Roman general-turned-politician Caius Marcius Coriolanus. The opening scene sets the dark tone:

First Citizen: First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people.

All: We knowt, we knowt.

First Citizen: Let us kill him, and well have corn at our own price. Ist a verdict?

Spoiler alert: That story does not end well for anyone.

In 2008, Sarah Palin  John McCains worst political mistake  went to Greensboro, North Carolina, and extolled small towns as the real America. On the one hand, a nice shout-out to rural voters. On the other hand, that was also effectively a declaration that everyone else may not be a real American. Umm, thats not the way it works. Were partial to small towns and rural areas because of where we live. But were all real Americans, no matter who we are or where we live. Were all the people, and sometimes we disagree. Even in Bland County, nearly 1 in 5 voters did not vote for Trump; in Ocasio-Cortezs district, more than 1 in 5 voters didnt cast a ballot for her. The people dont all speak with one voice, so perhaps politicians should refrain from trying to speak of them in the singular, when really the people are plural.
The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said. Only minor injuries were reported. Fire and rescue crews were at the scene. Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation, NAS Jacksonville said in the statement. 21 people were transported from the scene and taken to local hospitals in good condition. There were military personnel and civilians connected to the military in some way on board and there were families with young children on the plane.



Boeing in the St. Johns River

The plane is owned by Miami Air International, which operates charter flights from Guantanamo to Naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said authorities were working to control jet fuel that had leaked into the water and that his office received a call from the White House. The plane landed during a rainstorm with low visibility. An investigation is underway.
Captain Amarinder Singh welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt

Chandigarh, May 4: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into Indian National Congress (INC) family here. The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, said Captain Amarinder while urging him to put in his best towards completion of Mission 13.

Natt, who joined Congress alongwith his supporters expressed his gratitude towards Captain Amarinder Singh and thanked the Chief Minister for this opportunity. A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga MLA Constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and 2017.
Exxon Mobils first-quarter profit fell by half to $2.35 billion, its worst quarter since late 2016, as the company spent more on oil production and was hit by lower margins in its refinery business.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell in afternoon trading Friday.

The refinery side of the business posted a loss of $256 million after earning $940 million a year earlier. The company blamed lower margins due to high gasoline inventories, and an increase in refinery maintenance.

It was a tough market environment for us this quarter, Senior Vice President Jack Williams said on a call with analysts. Refining margins were the lowest Exxon has seen in a decade  historically low levels, and our results were in line with that margin environment, he said.

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Citi analysts said Exxons complex refining network was a disadvantage, as was the pace of maintenance activity. The refining and chemicals businesses are lagging the 2019 potential that Exxon laid out just a year ago, they wrote in a note to clients.

Earnings also fell by half in the chemicals business on weaker prices due to an increase in industry capacity.

Exxons exploration and production business was less profitable than a year ago both in the U.S. and overseas.

During the quarter, Exxon continued to build its operation in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico. That helped drive a 42% spike in spending on exploration and production, to $6.89 billion.

Production rose 2% to the equivalent of 4 million barrels of oil a day, with a contribution from higher output in the Permian.

Oil prices increased during the first quarter following an agreement by OPEC and allies including Russia to limit production. More recently, prices also rose after the U.S. announced it will end waivers from sanctions for countries that import oil from Iran, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Prices for natural gas, however, were hurt by warmer winter weather.

Exxons profit for the first three months of the year worked out to 55 cents per share, well below the 70 cents per share average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Exxon Mobil Corp. does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales, and in last years first quarter the company posted a gain from the $744 million sale of its 50% stake in a gas field off the coast of Australia.

Revenue fell to $63.63 billion from $68.21 billion a year, compared with the FactSet estimate of $63 billion.

Shares of the Irving-based oil and natural gas giant were down $2.48, or 3%, to $79.74 in afternoon trading.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A onetime Palmdale resident who had been couch-surfing in Sunland before camping in Griffith Park the past few weeks has been arrested and charged in the Jan. 16 fatal shooting of three men and the wounding of another on a remote, unlit road in Palmdale.

Jonathan Paul Misirli, 35, was arrested on the afternoon of April 30 as he walked out of Griffith Park on North Vermont Avenue near Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz, said Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Misirli was arrested without incident, Alfred said.

Investigators found the gun they believe was involved in the shooting inside Misirlis abandoned car in the Sunland area about two months ago, he said. Detectives believe Misirli had contacts in the Sunland area and had been hiding out, couch-surfing in their homes, until he left for Griffith Park sometime in April, Alfred said.

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Misirli had been camping in Griffith Park for at least the last two weeks, but he often walked into town to charge his phone or buy food, Alfred said.

Alfred said he couldnt reveal the suspected motive for the shooting that killed three Los Angeles-area men that cold, rainy night of Jan. 16 on Ranch Center Drive and 40th Street West in Palmdale.

The dead men were identified as Olukayode A. Owolabi, 27, of the South Bay community of Westchester; Sean B. Cowen, 24, of Van Nuys; and David Adalberto Hernandez-Licona, 24, of Boyle Heights. Investigators wont say why the men were together or whether they knew one another.

A fourth man was shot in the face but survived his injuries and was able to call 911 for help. That man has provided information that was helpful in identifying the suspect, Alfred said.

Misirli was charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery May 2. He is being held in lieu of $3,040,000 bail.

The shooting wasnt random, Alfred said, but he wouldnt say whether the five men drove to the location together that night, or what was taken in the suspected robbery.

Misirli is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Lancaster.

The case is still under investigation, but Misirli remains the only suspect in the shooting, Alfred said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

jeanette.marantos@latimes.com

@jmarantos
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said Friday that it is investigating a series of overtly racist messages shared in a private Instagram group chat that included students from Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.

In a statement sent to parents and the Newport Harbor community, the district stated that though these online interactions are not school-related, we address them as they come to our attention and when they impact the school. We are in the process of gathering information.

In a screenshot of one exchange that a student shared with the Daily Pilot, a participant in the conversation asked others if they wanted anything from alabama/mississippi? Ill get you a real confederate flag.

One person wrote back, Omfg yes plz, while another wrote, What do you want? Do they still sell black people down there?

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The first participant replied, If they do, Ill get everyone a new plantation worker.

One person who saw the exchange wrote on social media that Newport Harbor is really the home of some sketchy ... people. [T]hese are Newport students.

Another responded to criticism of the posts by writing, First of all, we are not racist people at all; the people who posted this literally dont like us and are trying to make us look bad for everything. Im tired of people always attacking us.

The incident comes two months after a highly publicized incident in which students from Newport Harbor, Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools were pictured on social media at an off-campus party gathered around a swastika made from plastic cups with their their arms outstretched in a Nazi salute.
The last of 24 bodies was pulled from the wreckage in the early hours of Easter morning.

Firefighters and soldiers had searched for more than 200 hours through what was left of the two Muzema neighborhood apartment buildings that collapsed on April 12, the end of a work week that saw Rio de Janeiro pummeled by torrential storms and severe flooding.

As the number of bodies continued to mount, so did the questions. Why did the buildings, home to blue-collar families thrilled to finally own their own apartments, come down? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy? And did the faceless paramilitary groups which have largely taken armed control of Rios working-class west end communities, known as favelas, bear responsibility?

Since first cropping up in the late 1990s as an antidote to drug gang violence and government corruption, the shadowy militias, said to be run mainly by current and former police officers, soldiers and prison guards, have charged residents and businesses on the periphery of the city for pirated TV and Internet connections, as well as water, gas and electricity  all under the guise of providing security services.

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Some are also believed to have a hold on housing in the communities where they operate, clearing land through evictions for construction companies they control, experts say. They also are thought to collect payments through agents who sell or rent out units in newly erected buildings, many of which have not been properly inspected because of threats made to authorities.

Arrest warrants have been issued for three men suspected of taking part in the construction and sale of the apartments in the buildings that collapsed last month. The organized crime unit of Rios civil police is investigating their possible involvement with the militia operating in Muzema, according to the municipal government.

Rios municipal government knew the buildings were unsafe long before they crumbled. The lot where they were located, part of a condominium complex called Figueiras do Itanhanga, is on a designated Environmentally Protected Area and was first embargoed by the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism (SMU) in October 2005. At the time, it was noted that the complex did not have proper drainage, sewage and water systems, and that the area was unpaved and without curbs.

Before the collapse, the SMU had issued 17 infraction notices for irregular construction and the Municipal Civil Defense condemned the buildings on Feb. 8 because of a risk of landslides and falling rocks caused by improper excavation. According to the citys Geotechnical Institute Foundation Slip Susceptibility Map, the area is classified as mid-high risk for landslides and mudslides.

Since the tragedy, Rios mayor Marcelo Crivella has announced that another 16 buildings in Muzema will be demolished because of the risk theyll collapse. The action, he said, follows an edict to identify buildings with structural problems.

Since 2017, when I signed this decree, we have run the entire city of Rio de Janeiro, handing out notifications to several construction sites, he said. There are embargoes, there are notifications of demolitions. Many of them were suspended by court decisions. Now, after this tragic accident that we had with the victims of Muzema, the justice system has ordered the demolition of several buildings.

The first of the 16 buildings came down on April 24, and work has begun on another that neighbored the two that collapsed.

The demolition process is slow. Because the buildings are close to others that still house tenants, explosives cant be used. Instead, technicians from the Municipal Secretariat of Conservation are manually disassembling the imperiled building.

In an unusual show of authority, police are providing security as the crews work, with military officers stationed at the communitys access roads and civil police surrounding the work site. Because of their presence, city workers have been also able to enter Muzema and do proper clean up and repairs that were needed after the storms.

Little remains clear, however, about the identity or size of the militia that has controlled Muzema or other favelas in recent years. Any data authorities do have on militias is kept tightly under wraps, which some view as a means for city officials to save face for having lost control of Rio neighborhoods.

Rare arrests and prosecutions of militia members became front-page news in May 2008 when a team of local journalists was kidnapped and tortured by the militia running Batan, another favela in the west end of Rio. That event led the states legislative assembly to create a parliamentary inquiry commission, which resulted in the indictment of 226 militia members, as well as affiliated politicians and businesspeople.

The commissions recommendations to dismantle Rios militias, however, were largely ignored. The focus on the paramilitary groups faded, only to reemerge last year after the assassination of City Councilwoman Marielle Franco, a vocal opponent of violence carried out by the militias in her community.

In March, two suspected militia members arrested for Francos murder were linked to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. One of the men lived in the same gated community as the president, and police also confirmed that Bolsonaros son had dated the suspects daughter.

Bolsonaro has played down the connection, saying he didnt remember either of the men, and tried to justify previous statements he made in support of the vigilante groups.

Back then, people applauded [militias], he told reporters.

Some did. In the beginning, the paramilitary groups sold themselves as a positive alternative, promising safety to the families who lived in favelas.

But according to Ignacio Cano, a sociologist and coordinator of Rio de Janeiro State Universitys Violence Analysis Laboratory, militias ended up being more similar to drug trafficking gangs than not. And because of the positions of power that members have often held in politics and on police forces, dismantling the organizations has proven even more difficult.

As members of the state, as police officers, they know how the state operates, can protect themselves, and sometimes they know when a police operation is going to happen, Cano said. The state has to  not return, because it was never there  but become the main actor in those areas for those groups to disappear.

Langlois is a special correspondent.

In Brazils slums, residents band together to protest police shootings 
Installed on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The long awaited coronation  the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades  melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a scepter, gold-embroidered slippers, a sword that belonged to his 18th century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

The daylong spectacle  the start of three days of ceremonies  was aimed at reasserting the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life.

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Far from a figurehead, the Thai king has veto power over key government decisions, such as executive appointments and constitutional changes, and is legally protected from criticism. Since taking over for his late father 2 years ago, Vajiralongkorn has sought to exert greater royal authority during a period of deep political and social divisions.

Five days from now, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of the gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

1 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn is transported on the royal palanquin by royal bearers Saturday in Bangkok. (AP) 2 / 13 Royal Guards attend the coronation in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 3 / 13 King Maha Vajiralongkorn, front right, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during the annointment ceremony Saturday in Bangkok. (Thai Royal Household Bureau / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida at the Grand Palace for his coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 13 People hold portraits of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn as they wait near the Grand Palace during the royal coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn sits on the throne and performs rituals as Queen Suthida pays homage at the Grand Palace. (AP) 7 / 13 People pray near the Grand Palace during the coronation. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 8 / 13 People watch a large screen outside the Grand Palace showing the coronation ceremony of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in Bangkok. (DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX / DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX) 9 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (HANDOUT / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, center, performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Thai people watch the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a large screen outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 12 / 13 Thai royal guards march outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 13 / 13 Royal Guards march during the coronation of King Rama X in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images)

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile to the royal establishment. On the eve of the election, Vajiralongkorn issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people  which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist Buddhists [who] revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signaled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide sat together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

Ubolratana, meanwhile, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony with another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Ubolratana pose for a photo in the Grand Palace on Friday. #coronation



nichax Instagram account pic.twitter.com/IxNVAUfPB9  Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) May 4, 2019

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity  it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The death of Vajiralongkorns father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seven decades, drew masses of tearful Thais into the streets of Bangkok and prompted weeks of official mourning. Vajiralongkorn, who lives much of the year in Germany, is a much more private and mysterious figure and far less well known to Thais despite efforts by the palace to portray him as a benevolent, youthful ruler keen on education and bicycling.

Crowds were sparse in the streets surrounding the palace, with few Thais braving security checkpoints to show their support for the new monarch. Police sources said only a few thousand people had come out, though they declined to be named lest they be seen as criticizing the king, a criminal offense.

Kittipawan Noenyai, 54, waited four hours to catch a glimpse of the kings vehicle arriving at the Grand Palace, carrying a portrait of him in military uniform as she stood along the route his car would take.

Finally, the car appeared shortly before 10 a.m., a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number 1. As Vajiralongkorn rode past, Kittipawan saw him waving from the back seat.

I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long live the king, hoping he would hear me, she said.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida for his coronation. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

Arriving at the cream-colored palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. Uniformed men knelt as he strode past along a red carpet, his new wife, Queen Suthida, following close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn performs a ritual with sacred water during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP/Getty Images)

Back inside the palace, the king changed into his royal vestments  an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches  and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, the king was handed the crown, created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him  just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son and presumed heir, Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

As the king walked out of the room, the royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet, an announcer said on Thai television.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The scale and pageantry reflected not only time-honored rituals but also the growing wealth of the monarchy, which controls tens of billions of dollars in banking and real estate assets that the king brought under his personal control after his father died. The government said the coronation would cost about $30 million.

The lavishness of the coronation indicates the association of the monarchy with material wealth that has become so pronounced during the past 30 or 40 years, said Michael Montesano, coordinator of the Thailand Studies Program at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Modern Thailand is a wealthy country, and in that sense there is little contradiction between Thai visions of modernity and the extremely lavish re-creation of putatively ancient rites.

The three-day coronation ceremonies of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn are estimated to cost $30 million, according to the government. (Associated Press)

Much of Bangkok, however, ignored the proceedings. A 28-year-old sales representative, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

On Sunday, in temperatures forecast to approach 100 degrees, soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin along a nearly four-mile route to a series of Buddhist temples. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

Special correspondent Wilawan Watcharasakwet contributed to this report.
I cant anymore, its too heavy.

Those were the chilling last words of a beautiful Canadian bride who drowned in a river during a photo shoot last week after her wedding dress became soaked and dragged her under, a friend told a Canadian news agency.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, was having a photographer take shots for a trash the dress photo series when she waded into a river near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Quebec, at around 2 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Maria Pantazopoulos via Facebook

Meant to evoke high-glamor fashion shoots, trash the dress photos feature brides posing in gritty or natural settings like beaches, forests or city streets.

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Pantazopoulos was married on June 9, but wanted to immortalize the moment with a collection of playful snapshots, a friend said.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, who was swept away in the current near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon. (Maria Pantazopoulos Via Facebook)

Her husband, Billy, wasnt there for the shoot.

Shes a really fun girl, and she just didnt want her wedding dress sitting in a box in the closet, family friend Leeza Pousoulidis told the Montreal Gazette.

She said I want to have fun with my wedding dress. I want to have great pictures and memories of me in my wedding dress.

Louis Pagakis, her photographer, was taking some shots near the edge of the river when Pantazopoulos said she wanted to go in.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her wedding dress got soaked and she was dragged into the river near a rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

At one point, she told him, I want you to take some photos of me floating in the water, Anouk Benzacar, the photographers wife and a friend of the bride, told Canadas QMI Agency.

CTV

The garment quickly became soaked, and the deceptively quick tides swept the young bride downstream.

Pagakis jumped in to try to save her, but the water-logged garments pull was like an anvil and pulled them both under, local police told QMI.

She was screaming and scratching and trying to stay above water, Benzacar told the agency. "[Louis] tried to swim with her, but she was pulling him down.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her dress got wet and she was dragged into the river near a violently rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

She was too heavy. He couldnt breathe anymore, she said.

Pantazopoulos body was found four hours later by a local scuba diver, who joined rescuers after hearing about the incident, CBC News reported.

Pagakis and his assistant were treated at a local hospital for shock.

Family members didnt speak to the media after the accident, but Pousoulidis, the friend, told the Montreal Gazette they were destroyed.

Trash the dress photo shoots are intended to look like high-fashion magazine spreads. (Robert Vos/Afp/Getty Images)

Pantazopoulos was a real estate agent and had recently bought a house with her husband in Laval, near Montreal, The Gazette reported.

The two were looking forward to starting a family.

Local authorities told QMI that swimming was forbidden at the spot where Pantazopoulos drowned because the tides were too strong.

Mario Michaud, a wedding photographer in Montreal, told CTV that a bride he photographed at the river in May nearly suffered the same fate.

Brides think they are going to get a beautiful picture, but they dont realize how heavy a wet wedding dress can be, he said.

ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images

pcaulfield@nydailynews.com
In a story May 4 about Illinois marijuana legalization efforts, The Associated Press erroneously reported the last name of the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Illinois governor announces plan to legalize marijuana

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year

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By

Associated Press

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce (30 grams) of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce (15 grams).

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldnt be issued until May and July 2020, the governors office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal starts righting some historic wrongs against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed war on drugs, said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for social equity applicants. Those applicants would include people who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth, said Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state.

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Hes said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governors office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the states general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies.

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

___

Follow APs complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana

___

This story has corrected the last name of the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Physicist Tracy Northup is currently researching the development of quantum internet at the University of Innsbruck. The American citizen builds interfaces with which quantum information can be transferred from matter to light and vice versa.

Over such interfaces, it is anticipated that quantum computers all over the world will be able to communicate with each other via fiber optic lines in the future. In their research, Northup and her team at the Department of Experimental Physics have now demonstrated a method with which visible light can be measured non-destructively. The development follows the work of Serge Haroche, who characterized the quantum properties of microwave fields with the help of neutral atoms in the 1990s and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012.

In work led by postdoc Moonjoo Lee and PhD student Konstantin Friebe, the researchers place an ionized calcium atom between two hollow mirrors through which visible laser light is guided. "The ion has only a weak influence on the light," explains Tracy Northup. "Quantum measurements of the ion allow us to make statistical predictions about the number of light particles in the chamber." The physicists were supported in their interpretation of the measurement results by the research group led by Helmut Ritsch, a Innsbruck quantum optician from the Department of Theoretical Physics. "One can speak in this context of a quantum sensor for light particles", sums up Northup, who has held an Ingeborg Hochmair professorship at the University of Innsbruck since 2017. One application of the new method would be to generate special tailored light fields by feeding the measurement results back into the system via a feedback loop, thus establishing the desired states.

In the current work in Physical Review Letters, the researchers have limited themselves to classical states. In the future, this method could also be used to measure quantum states of light. The work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and the European Union, among others.
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Those who have visited the Sahara Desert is struck by how vast, sunny and hot it is and just how clear everything can be. There is little vegetation and it is said that the Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide significant solar energy on Earth.

Statistically speaking, if Sahara Desert is a country it would be the fifth biggest in the whole world. It is larger than Brazil and it is a bit smaller than the United States and China. Each square meter gets between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy every year, according to NASA. Sahara covers 9m km2, that is the total energy available, but that is only if every inch of the desert uses every single sun energy, then it will be more than 22 billion gigawatt hours every year.

This estimation means that a hypothetical solar farm that will cover the entire Sahara Desert would produce at least 2,000 times more energy than the largest power stations could in the world, as they only generate 100,000 GWh a year. The output of this hypothetical solar system is equivalent to 36 billion barrels of oil per day, that is five barrels a day per person. In this situation, the Sahara Desert could produce more than 7,000 times the electricity that is required in Europe with little to no carbon emissions.

Over the past few years, scientists have looked at how a solar system in a desert could help meet the increasing local energy demand and power Europe as well, and how this might work in the long run. There have been academic insights made to provide plans for this project. The closest attempt was Desertec, a project that was announced in 2009 that needed a lot of funding from numerous banks and energy firms before collapsing after investors pulled out after five years. Projects like these are held back by different commercial, political and social factors, including the lack of fast development in the region.

There were recent proposals for this project, the TuNur project in Tunisia which aims to give power to more than 2m European homes, and the Noor Complex Solar Power Plant located in Morocco which also aims to provide energy to Europe.

Just a small part of the whole Sahara Desert is enough to produce energy that could support an entire continent. As the solar technology improves through time, it will get cheaper and it will be more efficient. The Sahara Desert may be inhospitable for animals and most plants, but it could provide sustainable energy to people across North Africa.
Coxe said as things stand, he just about runs out of product before the next year's crop come in, and he likes it that way.

"We don't store years' and years worth of rice and sell rice that's years old," Campbell told those in attendance at the tour. "It's all news, fresh  it's all that year's crop. When it runs out, the next year's crop comes in within a month of the old."

"I like to say we sell smell," Coxe said. "It's the tasty aroma that makes this rice so special, and it starts to wane after about a year. Just like Cinderella, it turns back into white rice, and you can't have anything special about white rice."

Coxe grows five varieties of rice on the farm with most of the heirloom varieties that were bred to grow in this area. A new variety, Charleston Gold, was bred through the heirlooms, he said.

Rice is a water-intensive crop, and Coxe said he has no lack of water for his field.

"We're very fortunate to be on a huge water source, the Great Pee Dee River. It's the same water they used in Georgetown," Coxe said. "We've had it tested. We're very fortunate to have an abundant, good supply of water."
FLORENCE, S.C.  In its first year competing, the city of Florence has been named one of South Carolinas top workplaces.

On Thursday evening, the leadership of the city of Florence traveled to Greenville to receive an award for being the fourth-best large company to work for in the Palmetto State. The city also received a direction award.

Among those traveling were Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, City Manager Drew Griffin, General Services department director Scotty Davis, utilities director Michael Hemingway, Fire Chief Randy Osterman, public works director Chuck Pope, planning director Jerry Dudley, development director Clint Moore, and office administration manager Amanda Pope.

It doesnt stop here, an email to city employees said. City staff is appreciative of each of you who took the time to complete the survey and provide comments. The information you provided will help staff focus on areas of refinement as we strive to continually improve and be a model workplace. Thank you for demonstrating collaboration, professionalism and ownership as you serve the Florence community and advance it Full Life. Full Forward.  FLORENCE!
Designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps  which Middle East expert James Phillips describes as the sword and shield of Irans Islamic revolution  as a terrorist organization is entirely appropriate. The Guard not only crushes political opposition to the revolution at home, it supports Irans wide network of foreign terrorist proxies.

More than 600 American servicemen in Iraq have died at the hands of proxy forces enabled by the Revolutionary Guard, which also controls Irans ballistic missile program.

In short, the Guard is a dangerous and destabilizing organization that specializes in murder and mayhem. Designating it a terrorist group is more than just a fitting moniker, though: It gives the U.S. government additional tools for applying sanctions against the Guard and all foreign entities that do business with it, its subsidiaries and its front companies.

These added sanctions will drain away resources that could be used to export terrorism, thus helping bolster the security of the U.S. and its allies, Phillips writes. This will also benefit the Iranian people, who are the chief victims of the Revolutionary Guard.
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Northwestern Universitys successful free college access program for underserved, high-achieving students at Evanston Township High School has been renamed Northwestern Academy  Evanston.

Formerly the Project Excite high-school initiative, Northwestern Academy  Evanston is a four-year high school program that helps academically-motivated students from low- to modest middle-income backgrounds at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) successfully enroll in  and graduate from  a college or university that best meets their needs and interests.

A sister college access program, Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools, began in 2013 and was built around the same mission. The Chicago program serves students from homes with limited financial means who dont attend one of CPSs selective enrollment schools.

Both programs are offered at no cost to participating families and are "aligned around the same objectives, design, and the students we are trying to support, said School of Education and Social Policy Dean David Figlio.

Using a comprehensive approach, the program offers personal academic advising, college test preparation, college visits, summer classes and enrichment programs, one-on-one tutoring with Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students, and opportunities for personal development. Northwestern Academy  Evanston also supports families during transitions from middle to high school and high school to college.

To be eligible for Northwestern Academy  Evanston, students must be willing to participate in formal and informal learning experiences, take advantage of academic supports, and meet program criteria.

The first group of students that received four years of support from Northwestern Academy  Evanston graduated in 2018. The eight students all went to four-year private or public colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the University of Redlands (two students), Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Holy Cross, the University of Arizona, and the University of Iowa.

For more information, visit the Northwestern Academy - Evanston website.
The heated competition between two Bay Area school lunch companies allegedly took a criminal turn after authorities say a top executive at one company hacked into the others website in an attempt to expose flaws in online security.

Keith Wesley Cosbey, the chief financial officer of Choicelunch in Danville, was arrested in April on two felony counts related to illegal acquisition of student data on the website of The LunchMaster, a San Carlos company.

If convicted of the charges  identity theft and unauthorized computer access  Cosbey, 40, would face more than three years in prison. He is accused of accessing information about hundreds of students from his competitors online site, including names, meal preferences, allergy information, academic grades and more, said Vishal Jangla, San Mateo Coun ty deputy district attorney.

Jangla said Cosbey anonymously sent the data to the California Department of Education and claimed LunchMaster wasnt doing enough to protect student privacy in an apparent attempt to discredit or disparage the company.

Someone whos an executive, thats surprising, Jangla said. Its a first for me.

Cosbey did not respond to a request for comment, but a company representative responded to the allegations in an emailed statement.

Choicelunch is aware of the allegations and is awaiting more information before we can make a substantive comment, the statement said. In its 15-year history serving California schools, Choicelunch has always endeavored to provide excellent service to its school lunch customers and will continue to do so while we await resolution of this matter.

The case highlights the cutthroat world of feeding students, a nearly $14 billion-a-year industry across the country, with 30 million children served daily.

Competition can be fierce, with businesses bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts to provide the school meals.

The two Bay Area companies have tangled in the past, with Choicelunch suing LunchMasters parent company, Nob Hill Catering, in 2014 over alleged copyright infringement in its online ordering system.

Then Choicelunch got Amazon Web Services to take down LunchMasters website, and tried to get its replacement site pulled, as well.

A federal judge intervened and chastised Choicelunch for broad interpretation of copyright laws. The judge ordered that LunchMasters second website remain active.

We try to serve school lunches, but its so complicated sometimes, said Ted Giouzelis, founder of LunchMaster.

But with the alleged hacking, Giouzelis said, the competition went too far.

He learned of the problem after the Department of Education confronted the company about the security concerns.

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Giouzelis said his staff investigated and traced the breach back to an IP address in Danville, among other locations.

Giouzelis son Michael, who works with the company, said he believed the breach occurred after the hacker ran an automated program that bombarded the site and revealed the student information at one Peninsula school.

LunchMaster contacted the FBI and county sheriff in April 2018. A yearlong investigation resulted in the arrest of Cosbey, who is out on $125,000 bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in court on May 22.

This week, investigators allowed LunchMaster to notify families affected by the breach, which the company has been doing, Giouzelis said.

He went to the extreme this time, Giouzelis said of the competition. Its ruthless.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
A rally to denounce the perceived censorship of politically conservative views and speech by social media drew dozens of right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters to San Francisco City Hall on Friday.

Dubbed the Demand Free Speech rally, the event was intended to underscore the belief among many conservatives that companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter discriminate against right-wing viewpoints. Big tech companies have shown a clear bias against conservatives, they argue, as evidenced by the suspension or outright banning of right-wing users accounts.

The rally marked the end of a 48-hour social media blackout protest, that began on April 30, during which conservatives were encouraged to stay away from their social media apps for everyone who has been silenced and censored by big tech companies, according to the organizers website.

In recent months, right-wing media personalities and provocateurs have been banned from numerous social media sites for using their sometimes massive followings to encourage violence, for exhibiting bullying behavior or for using hate speech.

Now Playing: Inside the Demand Free Speech rally in San Francisco Video: San Francisco Chronicle

On Thursday, Facebook removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, among others, from its platform for violating its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

Companies are wielding those policies, conservatives argue, to tamp down right-wing voices and amplify those of liberals.

You cannot shut me up. Youre so weak, you cant even have civil discourse, Bernadine Barber screamed to a crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall, eliciting waves of supportive cheers. Barber posts a range of conservative political and lifestyle videos on YouTube and other social media channels.

Hate speech is still free speech! Barber said. Hate speech could mean a million different things to a million different people. Ban it all, why dont you?

Marco Gutierrez, a right-wing activist and a co-founder of the group Latinos for Trump, said tech companies behavior has gotten to the tyrannical side. This is about freedom of speech. Theyre telling me what I can say and what people can hear. Theyre burning books, basically.

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The conservative rally brought about an equally vocal backlash.

Across Polk Street in Civic Center Plaza, a scrum of bitterly opposed demonstrators sneered at one another, called each other fascists and racists, waved signs and jammed smartphones and cameras in one anothers faces.

Chants of Build the wall! and Its OK to be white! were met with No border, no wall, this regime has got to fall!

Reiko Redmonde led a group of counterprotesters, urging them to stand against this fascist regime led by Donald Trump, which she said was unleashing these street thugs.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
California Sen. Kamala Harris got to be a prosecutor again during her grilling of Attorney General William Barr, winning the day in Congress and acquiring a nasty label that no amount of presidential campaign money could buy.

Theres no debate that Barr misrepresented the contents of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether Donald Trumps campaign conspired to help and whether the president himself obstructed the investigation. The question for Democrats was how to get that message across to the public.

When Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, none of the Democrats could lay a glove on him  until it was Harris turn.

Harris opened by asking how Barr had concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the president had obstructed justice. Rather than debate the merits of his decision, Harris zeroed in on whether the attorney general or his staff had actually read the underlying evidence in the report before making his decision.

Barr said no, and that we accepted (Muellers report) as accurate.

Harris then ended the line of questioning by saying, I think youve made it clear, sir, that youve not looked at the evidence and we can move on.

While Barr has every reason to accept Muellers report without reading every interview transcript and underlying email, Harris direct up-or-down question was a great theatrical gotcha moment.

And it was a moment that Harris presidential campaign needed. Since her highly orchestrated rollout in January, shes made missteps on everything from universal health care to voting rights for people in prison.

She needed to re-establish her serious credentials as a prosecutor for the people, and Barr gave her the opportunity to do just that. Her campaign wasted no time using the confrontation as a fundraising ad.

But the real reward came when Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Harris had been probably very nasty to Barr  and thus gave us Nasty Kamala.

That could well be a huge boost for Harris among the Democratic base. Of course, you need more than the base to get elected  just ask Hillary Such a Nasty Woman Clinton.

When Irish eyes: Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke came to town and packed the United Irish Cultural Center out in the Sunset. They came from all over California to see the progressive phenom from Texas.

But if you can find a single member of the Irish cultural community who attended the rally, have them give me a call.

Flintstone fun: Coming back from George and Judy Marcus annual Greek Easter party in Los Altos Hills, I decided to hop off Interstate 280 at Hillsborough and swing by the Flintstone house.

The hilltop house is owned by my longtime friend Florence Fang, who is about as prim and proper a person as you will find. But her creation is a riot of color and nonsense, complete with dinosaur statues.

I loved it.

Yes, its right out of a comic book, but its not offensive at all.

There were no crowds or long lines of cars, a la Lombard Street. In fact, nothing that I saw rose to the level of the public nuisance Hillsborough officials claimed the place to be. Its just a bit of fun for people to look at.

And these days, we need all the fun we can get.

Movie time: Avengers: Endgame. It took in $1.8 gazillion in its first five minutes of release, including my $12.

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Actually, I waited till the 7:30 a.m. Sunday show, at a theater in the Westfield mall. The place was packed. I did not know people could munch on a bucket of popcorn for breakfast.

This movie was so intense that in the three hours of running time, I saw only two people head out to the bathroom.

They say this is the end of the Avengers franchise. If you believe that, you probably believe William Barr is telling the truth.

Muni madness: A letter to the editor published in The Chronicle touted me as a candidate to run Muni.

For all of you who have gone on social media to lament such a possibility  forget it.

Mayor London Breed is looking for competence, and I have already proved, with my ill-fated vow as a mayoral candidate to fix Muni in 100 days, that I am grossly unqualified to run anything that involves wheels.

Wedding bells: Overheard at the Vault restaurant in the Financial District:

Man: Will you marry me?

Woman: Yes. You name the date, and Ill name the year.

Thats one way to say no and still enjoy the meal.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Blame it on Rosie.

The Jetsons robot housekeeper was witty, adroit, useful and very human-like. As she rolled around the sci-fi familys home in Orbit City, she effortlessly tidied up, dispensed bons mots, helped the kids with homework and cooked dinners.

Rosie set too high a bar for real-life robots. Many startups have tried to create a robot that Americans would welcome into their homes, but so far the only success has come for Roomba and similar robotic vacuum cleaners.

The biggest challenge is unrealistic expectations driven by movies and television, said Ken Goldberg, a robotics expert and professor of engineering at UC Berkeley. A lot of jobs around the house are actually very, very subtle and require a dexterity level far beyond what robots can achieve. Its important to let people know that Rosie is not just around the corner.

The latest failure was San Franciscos Anki, which abruptly shut down last week, sounding the death knell for its home robots Cozmo and Vector. Thats despite having raised more than $200 million in funding and generating about $100 million in revenue in both 2017 and 2018.

Ankis gerbil-size, cloud-connected roaming robots offer similar features to countertop devices such as Amazons Alexa and smartphone assistants like Apples Siri, but with an extra serving of personality. (Alexa and Siri are considered bots, not robots, because they dont move.) Vector exhibited more than 1,500 animations to express emotions, programmed by former film animators from Pixar and DreamWorks.

Ankis demise follows those of several other consumer robotics companies: Jibo, which made a social robot; Frances Keecker, whose multimedia robot facilitated watching moves and listening to music; Tokyos Seven Dreamers, whose cabinet-size Laundroid folded laundry; Boschs Mayfield Robotics, whose Kuri was part smart pet (it could sing and dance), part robot butler.

All not only fell short of the lofty expectations set by Rosie, but also failed to prove their usefulness.

Americans have lots of ways to entertain themselves, said technology forecaster Paul Saffo. A robot has to be blazingly essential or to do one thing really, really well.

While home robots have yet to take off, industrial robots are flourishing, accounting for more than $2 billion in North American sales last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation.

At auto assembly plants, electronics factories, Amazon warehouses and elsewhere, robots designed to handle defined tasks over and over offer a quick return on investment, said Bob Doyle, a spokesman for the trade group. Industrial robotics sales continue to break new records. Robots are also making new inroads in retail  restocking Walmart shelves, for instance  and as security guards.

But homes remain the last frontier.

Were still a long way away from one robot that can do everything for you from clean your house to cook to help an elderly person, Doyle said. Before we get there, we may have many robots in the home each geared to do one specific thing like Roomba.

While early adopters will always pounce on fun new ideas, thats a far cry from mass acceptance. Our goal is working toward a robot in every home, Anki co-founder Mark Palatucci told The Chronicle last year.

And although various pet-like robots have found acceptance at some times Hasbros Furby, Sonys Aibo, the handheld Tamagotchi, the Paro therapeutic seal  they were more novelty items than indispensable helpmates.

Unlike U.S. consumers, Japanese audiences are more willing to open their homes to robots, which some experts ascribe to cultural differences.

Japan is fascinated by robots, Saffo said. Japanese live in much smaller homes and its harder to have pets, so theyre more used to the idea of a virtual pet. Conferring a lifelike personality onto objects is deep in Japanese culture, back to Shinto and the idea that the whole world is enchanted and there is spirit chi in everything.

So what will it take to get robots into U.S. homes?

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One first step might be acclimatizing Americans to robots that come to their doorsteps  via the new generation of cooler-size delivery robots that bring restaurant meals and e-commerce orders.

For instance, Kiwi Campus, a startup based at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, has dozens of robots delivering food from local restaurants on the Berkeley campus. Weve seen that people have adopted the Kiwibot as part of their community, said Sasha Iatsenia, head of product. The robots have expressive faces that can wink and smile, plus were fulfilling a basic human need: to eat, he said.

(Still, at least one local resident resented the robots so much that he kidnapped one. Berkeley police rescued it when Kiwi gave them its GPS coordinates and then turned it on remotely so it could be heard banging against the thiefs car trunk, he said.)

Another possible use for home robots is helping elderly people.

Seattles Hoaloha Robotics is building a robotic companion for seniors. The embodied personal assistant, which is at least a year off, will go far beyond the likes of Alexa in carrying on conversations  not just reporting the weather but commenting on it, for instance, said CEO Tandy Trower. It will be able to carry items and help people manage and plan daily activities. To reduce up-front costs, Hoaloha will offer it on a subscription basis.

Despite its closure, robotics experts said that Anki still helped blaze trails.

Anki helped demonstrate how appealing imbuing an embodied agent with the right level of social characteristics can be, bringing us one step closer to personal robots, Trower said. Where it failed was in delivering a sufficient value proposition, which is also essential for success. However, like the Commodore PET and Apple II, it clearly points the way for what is to come.

Anki had passion and commitment to bring robotics out of research labs and into living rooms, said Peter Nguyen, an Anki spokesman, in an email after its closure: We tried our best to move the consumer robotics industry forward and give people a glimpse into a life where we can peacefully coexist with robots.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Pacific Gas & Electrics accounting for its losses related to three years of wildfires in Northern California, the utility reported to shareholders Thursday.

PG&E told investors that it learned in March that investigators from the SECs San Francisco regional office had begun the review of public disclosures and accounting by the utility and its parent corporation for the 2015 Butte Fire as well as wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The fires killed scores of people, and the Camp Fire, which ravaged the town of Paradise last year, was the most destructive wildfire in California history.
The band U2 might want to live Where the Streets Have No Name, but for some residents of an unnamed street smack in the middle of San Francisco, its been hell getting an Uber, a pizza delivery or an ambulance. And its especially hard trying to sell a home that potential buyers can barely find.

Thats why some residents  and one enterprising real estate agent  have been trying to get Google, Apple and the city to get their street, informally named Johns Way, on the map. Theyve had some luck with Google and Apple, but you know what they say about fighting City Hall.

The street is really a private dead-end alley in between Market Street and Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. The alley has garages and parking spots for residents.

The six residents on the Market side of the alley have Market Street addresses and front doors facing Market. But finding and getting to them is extremely difficult because of a unique set of circumstances. Theres no parking or sidewalks beneath them, and they sit atop a giant retaining wall accessed by a steep zigzag ramp.

Tam Duong Jr./The Chronicle

Its much easier to access the homes from the alley, so they use their back doors as front doors. Visitors, delivery people and house hunters would have an easier time finding them if they had a Johns Way address, but they cant get one because its not on city maps.

The homes on the other side of the alley have Corbett Avenue addresses and most of their homes face Corbett, which is easy to find and relatively accessible. But there are two apartment complexes and one home on the alley that have Corbett Avenue addresses but no direct access to either Corbett or Market. Their only access is Johns Way.

Greg Tarbox lives in that home. It was awkward at first, Tarbox said. He has found ways to direct delivery people to his home, although some still get lost. Whenever he needed an Uber, hed give an address on nearby Clayton Street and wait there.

Its a unique setting, Tarbox said. Its a little like Barbary Lane, the fictional street in Armistead Maupins Tales of the City, he said. Its that spirit. People cooperate.

The alley is jointly owned and maintained by 17 property owners whose land touches it. Each year the city sends one property tax bill for the alley and the owners divvy it up. Unlike the owners of the infamous Presidio Terrace, an upscale private street that was auctioned off by the city for nonpayment of property taxes but later returned to owners, the owners have never been seriously delinquent.

In 1985, John Pletz, an owner who has since died, asked a deputy in the tax collectors office what would happen if the taxes werent paid. In a letter to neighbors he wrote, As unbelievable as this sounds, he replied, The property will be sold at auction and probably a developer will buy the property and build an apartment or condominium units.

In 2015, his wife, Barbara Pletz, called the San Francisco Fire Department to discuss getting emergency services to homes on the alley. On two occasions, ambulances called for Pletz and her husband had trouble finding their Market Street address. Before retiring, she was director of San Mateo Countys emergency medical services.

The Fire Department had no idea the alley was there. They were happy to find out about it, Pletz said. They had each shift come down the alley, see how it was laid out, howd they get a hose to it. They thought it was a really good idea to give it a name.

On behalf of residents, Pletz asked the city how they could get the alley named and put on the map. She was told it would cost $2,500 to apply for a name and the Board of Supervisors would have to approve it. Installing a street sign would cost extra.

However, even if you go through the trouble of naming this alley it will not appear on our maps since it is a private lot, and only the fronting property owners have easement access rights, Javier Rivera of the Department of Public Works wrote in a 2015 letter to Pletz. He added, How these two landlocked parcels (the apartment complexes) were allowed to be developed is beyond me.

Taking matters into their own hands, the residents named the alley Johns Way in memory of John Baumann, San Francisco architect who developed the two apartment complexes and lived there for more than 50 years. They had two signs made that say Johns Way and posted them on a house and a retaining wall at the top of the alley, but the entrance is still easy to miss.

In November, Greg and Wendy Antipa put their home on the Market Street side up for sale. But their open houses attracted a sparse crowd. People would get there and say, I couldnt find it, or I almost got hit by a car walking up Market Street, said their agent, Jennifer Rosdail of Keller Williams.

You can drive right to the house from Johns Way, where the Antipas own a one-car garage and parking pad. But she couldnt put it into the Multiple Listing Service with an address on Johns Way because its not on city maps. Rosdail decided it would help if she could get the street on the map.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

We put it in as a trouble ticket through Google Maps a whole bunch of times, she said. We did it with Apple Maps too. Rosdails assistant had a friend whose boyfriend works at Google on the Maps product, and they talked to him. Rosdail checked the maps every day and, one day in March, found Johns Way labeled on Google Maps with a single red marker in the middle of the alley. A little later, Apple had one too.

Asked what led to that appearance, a Google spokeswoman said the company used a number of different sources to accurately model the constantly changing real world, including contributions from users.

Although residents still dont have addresses on Johns Way, they can now tell visitors to put that name into Google or Apple maps and then look for their house numbers, which some have displayed on their back entrances. Having it identified on Google Maps was wonderful, Pletz said. I had a Lyft come. That was the first time.

Rosdail also contacted San Francisco Public Works about getting the street on the city map.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the department said it cant put the alley on the map because the city has not declared it a private street, which requires a minimum of 20 feet. Our initial review shows that the width is 14 feet. There also is a tight turn on the stretch, which we believe would be difficult at best for emergency vehicle access.

She said the residents could hire a private surveyor to provide detailed information about the site, prove there is no problem with flooding and install a new fire hydrant. Then theyd have to submit an application for review, pay $2,500 and we would circulate the proposal to other city agencies, with police and fire paramount. If there are no concerns and it meets the minimum requirements, it could become a designated private street and put on the official map.

Meanwhile the Antipas, who have moved to a retirement community in Oakland, are still waiting for a buyer for their home at 3352 Market. Now listed at $2.1 million, the home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and spectacular city views. The websites Redfin and Zillow estimate its worth about $2.7 million. But they dont know the unique story of Johns Way.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The investigative arm of Oaklands Police Commission has exonerated four officers accused of using improper lethal force in the 2018 shooting of an armed homeless man who was killed just after waking up.

The Community Police Review Agencys findings, released Friday afternoon, contradict those of Oakland Police Compliance Director Robert Warshaw, who found that the four officers had violated lethal use-of-force policy. Warshaws report additionally blasted the departments use-of-force board and Chief Anne Kirkpatricks review after both cleared the officers of wrongdoing.

In short, the CPRA sided with the Oakland Police Department over Warshaw.

But because Warshaws findings override Kirkpatricks, the CPRAs report sets up a scenario never seen before in Oakland. Per City Charter, when the CPRAs disciplinary decision differs from that of the department, a three-member committee of Oaklands Police Commission is tasked with making the final call on whether to clear the officers.

Officers William Berger, Brandon Hraiz, Craig Tanaka and Sgt. Francisco Negrete, who all fired their weapons, were placed on leave after Warshaws report was released in March.

The CPRA also cleared Officer Josef Phillips of wrongdoing, after accusations that he used improper nonlethal force by deploying a beanbag gun. Warshaw had sustained the violation against Phillips.

The CPRA report did find fault in the supervisors overseeing the incident, saying that Negrete failed to properly supervise and that Lt. Alan Yu failed in his command role.

On March 11, 2018, 32-year-old Joshua Pawlik, a homeless man with mental health issues, was found unconscious with a gun between two houses in West Oakland. Pawlik woke up after officers were on the scene for roughly 45 minutes, but failed to respond to officers repeated commands that he take his hand off the gun. Police said he raised the gun and pointed it at them just before they opened fire.

Warshaw said video evidence contradicted these claims.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The Oakland Police Commission was created in 2017 to help restore trust between the community and the Police Department. The civilian commission is tasked with shaping policy, and has the authority to discipline officers. Its companion, the Community Police Review Agency  also comprised of civilians  probes incidents involving use of force, in-custody deaths, racial profiling and demonstrations.

The Oakland Police Department declined to comment.

Mayor Libby Schaafs spokesman Justin Berton said it is critical for the community to have a voice in this process.

Were grateful the civilian police commission will play an important role in this issue, he said.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A man was fatally shot by San Jose police Saturday after he drove into an officer while trying to flee in a stolen car, police said.

Officers were responding to reports of a stolen vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. near Kollmar Drive and Story Road. When they arrived, they found a man inside a car in the rear carport area of an apartment complex, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department, in a statement.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
I first chatted with Ellen Tauscher over lunch at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was impressive: thoughtful, substantive, determined. She was taking on a two-term Republican congressman, Bill Baker, in her first race for elective office. She was a decided underdog, but her center-left politics proved in sync with the changing dynamics of a suburban district that covered central Contra Costa County and stretched south into the Livermore Valley.

We endorsed her, she won, and thus began a succession of interviews with her over the years. They were always enlightening, always civil and always laced with good humor  even when the subject was uncomfortable, such as her support of Steny Hoyer over Nancy Pelosi for the No. 2 position in the House Democratic leadership in 2001. At the end of that interview  which led to an editorial critical of her position  she thanked me again for the 1996 endorsement. I keep it framed on my office wall, she said. We both laughed at her obvious attempt at a tension breaker to close the conversation. That interview was classic Tauscher: impassioned in her viewpoint, eager to defend it against challenge and ever aware that there will always be another day when combatants of the moment will be allies.

She visited our editorial board in 2010 to talk about her new job as an arms-control negotiator for the Obama administration. My last exchange with her was two years ago at the City Club of San Francisco, when I moderated a discussion with Tauscher and Democratic strategist Katie Merrill on how their party could take back the House of Representatives in the midterms. Her analysis was detailed, upbeat and spot-on. Sadly, Tauscher died Tuesday at 67, the nations loss.

American politics and policy would be so much better off if more folks of Tauschers uncommon intellect and determination to find common ground were willing to apply their skills and values to public service.

She will be missed.

 John Diaz, editorial page editor
Toronado is known to attract many beer fans the world over, but there's one very famous patron who returns regularly: Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell.

Rockwell, who was born in the Bay Area and grew up in San Francisco, is a serious craft beer fan, as the New York Times noted in 2015. At the time, he was living in New York, and in an interview with the newspaper, he said that on his trips to California, "I run to the nearest place where there's a Pliny the Elder (double IPA)."
Investing in companies or organizations that make a positive change on society can be a bit like indulging in a vice: A lot of people might enjoy it privately, but theyre not comfortable talking about it publicly.

When asked about this strategy, known as impact investing, investors typically give a lukewarm response or sidestep the topic altogether, researchers have found. A common refrain is to raise concerns about an investments influence and how any trade-offs with returns are measured.

But recent research geared toward individual investors, financial advisers and fund managers has found that impact investing is more broadly popular than advisers believed and that this may be a golden age for measuring the financial and social returns on such investments.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans have moderate to high interest in sustainable investing, according to new research by the financial services firm Morningstar. That interest, the study found, is broad and deep. It also runs contrary to a common belief among advisers that interest in this type of investing is confined to Millennials and women.

The study used a technique from experimental economics called revealed preferences, said Ray Sin, a senior behavioral scientist at Morningstar who conducted the study with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at the firm. Most surveys that study impact investing rely on stated preferences: You answer the question youre asked. The Morningstar survey gave people either/or choices between two stocks with varying differences of the financial returns and sustainability ratings of each stock.

Youre inferring their preferences through trade-offs, Sin said. In doing that, were able to tell how much theyre willing to trade off, and then we tied it back to the question: Do people care about sustainable investing?

The answer, overwhelmingly, was yes. That opened up a second line of inquiry: Are the investments having an impact and still generating a solid return?

That is a difficult question to answer in a meaningful way. Many organizations offer metrics for measuring an investments impact, but they are generally not all measuring the same thing. The best ones, though, are at least evaluating all the investments using the same criteria.

Theres been a pretty significant proliferation of metrics and data in the last 20 years, said Lily Trager, director of investing with impact at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She said that what had started as a way of avoiding risk caused by the actions of companies had evolved into a more complicated assessment of positive performance.

Yet putting that information together in a meaningful way has proved to be complicated. Youre seeking to define the most useful of material factors, Trager said. That is nuanced and challenging for clients to understand.

Here is a look at four metrics that either are being introduced or have been overhauled in an effort to simplify the process for investors.

The Global Impact Investment Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, has operated the IRIS rating system for the past decade. It has contributed to metrics that evaluate impact investments, with the intention of creating a commonly used method, similar to the generally accepted accounting principles used by the Securities and Exchange Commission. IRIS is set to be reintroduced this month.

The new version, IRIS Plus, is meant to translate impact investing goals like gender equity, climate change and affordable housing into results, said Amit Bouri, the chief executive of GIIN. He said the new system would help investors know exactly which metrics to track if they hoped, for example, to bring clean energy to rural areas.

The revised IRIS system is also an acknowledgment that impact investors want more ratings they can act on, he said.

Before, the people doing impact investing were do-gooder organizations by design, Bouri said. When I fast-forward to today, and I have a conversation with the chief investment officer of an investment fund or the chief executive of an asset manager, they all want to talk about impact investing. But they want to know how they can best understand their performance.

Bouri hopes that IRIS Plus can serve as a one-stop shop for investors seeking to understand how a particular goal can, or cannot, be accomplished through a particular investment.

The Global Impact Investment Rating System was created a decade ago to apply sustainability criteria to private investments made through venture capital and private equity funds. It was the brainchild of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that strives to redefine business success and administers the B Corp certification.

GIIRS (pronounced gears) was meant to evaluate both the investments themselves and the overall quality of the funds. It focused on the impact of a business model, the impact of a companys policies and the intent of the fund to make an impact.

The system is now being retooled to bring it more in line with the B Corp system of rating companies themselves. That system measures a company on social and environmental metrics as they relate to its business and employees, and then assigns a score from 0 to 200 points. A company needs a score of at least 80 to receive the B Corp designation.

As GIIRS has evolved, the organizations leaders realized that investors were interested in analytical data, said Andrew Kassoy, managing partner of GIIRS and a co-founder of B Lab. So impact investments will now be put through an analytical screening process and assigned a series of scores in areas like the affect on the environment or treatment of workers as well as a total score, the way companies seeking B Corp certification are scored.

Kassoy said that applying this methodology to impact investments would help them strive for constant improvement.

The whole idea of the 200-point scale is aspirational, he said. Its easy to identify things that can be done quickly and easily as well as things that would take more time with a plan for improvement. That leads to really important conversations with investors.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board was modeled on the Financial Accounting Standards Board with the goal of doing for sustainable investing what FASB has done for accounting.

Last fall, after seven years of work, the organization released its framework for analyzing 77 industries along a consistent range of environmental, social and governance metrics.

The groups overarching goal is to focus on sustainabilitys financial impact on a company and what that means to investors.

General financial information for most companies is available online, but the same cannot be said for a companys approach to using environmental, social and governance measurements, said Bryan Esterly, the sustainability boards director of standards research. Even companies that provide their own sustainability reports do not do so in a standardized way as they do with accounting measures.

What we produce are standards, Esterly said. We dont produce ratings. Our view is, the ratings could be more accurate and robust if there was a market standard out there.

One drawback: So far, only about 60 companies have used the boards standards.

Erika Karp, the chief executive of Cornerstone Capital, which manages money for wealthy people, came to impact investing through equity research at top global investment banks. She said she saw environmental, social and governance analysis as a critical investment discipline, akin to quantitative or fundamental research.

But assessing an investments impact has been difficult to do in a way that is meaningful and understandable to the high-net-worth clients she serves. Using the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals, Cornerstone created the Access Impact Framework to apply those goals to companies in different sectors.

The end result for investors is a heat map that shows in colors from pale to deep blue how their money measures up to their goals, whether it is invested in individual companies, funds or the portfolio overall.

Were sorting through a lot of data and noise and getting to a signal for regular human beings  not quants, not financial experts, Karp said.

With the heat map, clients who want to improve access to education in the world can see if their investments are actually doing that. They can also screen managers to see, for example, which ones are invested in opportunities that provide access to clean water.

Karp said the company purposely avoided using a numerical scale because she hoped the heat map would reach people on a more human level.

Its so easy to be bummed out when you think of the damage thats been baked into the climate, she said. We really have to get going now, and if youre going to get going now it has to be visceral. Numbers dont let things be visceral.

Paul Sullivan is a New York Times writer.
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick.

That, of course, was nothing new. When Khosrowshahi took over as Uber CEO in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in the Bay Area, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the San Francisco companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future.

Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would become wealthy and the public could buy a piece of an indisputably world-changing company. The problem for Khosrowshahi, according to two people briefed on the matter, was that Kalanick wanted to be there.

As a former CEO and current board member, Kalanick had asked to take part in the hallowed New York Stock Exchange tradition of ringing the opening bell on May 10, the day Uber shares are due to begin trading. He also wanted to bring his father, Donald Kalanick. It would be close to the second anniversary of the accidental death of Travis Kalanicks mother and of the dramatic boardroom coup that ousted him as boss. His presence on the exchanges balcony could make both Kalanick and the corporation appear resilient.

Khosrowshahi wasnt having it. The original plan was to fill the rafters with Ubers earliest employees and longest tenured drivers. Moreover, some people at the top of the company felt that Kalanick was still a toxic liability and that Uber should keep him at maximum distance as it tried to convince constituents that employees truly abided by a new motto: Do the right thing. Period. Kalanicks appearance would unavoidably rekindle public memories of just how much of a disaster his final year was.

Besides, Khosrowshahi had bigger things to worry about than IPO pageantry. Uber is losing billions of dollars annually, and he needs to convince investors that it is a promising, long-term company  even if it wont be turning a profit anytime soon. He didnt need the distraction at Ubers financial coming-out party. For now, according to the two sources, Khosrowshahi has asked Kalanick to stick to the floor of the exchange.

Khosrowshahi is still mulling the matter, the people say. The CEO wants to prove that the startup has evolved past Kalanicks raucous, tech-bro culture  and his strategy of setting barrels of money aflame in the pursuit of growth above all else. But Ubers past, to state the obvious about a company that is only a decade old, is simply not that far gone. Almost every instance of Kalanicks bare-knuckled approach to capitalism illuminates something about Ubers viability as a business today. (Citing the quiet period before an IPO, representatives for Uber, Khosrowshahi and Kalanick all declined to comment.)

The company has little good will with consumers or regulators in multiple jurisdictions. And Uber still loses money on nearly every fare, using venture capital to subsidize rides, invest in new areas and beat back a set of global competitors that offer an essentially identical service.

Kalanicks heavy reliance on venture funding could be problematic for a public Uber in at least two ways. Arguably, it instilled habits of indiscipline, because executives could simply ask for more money whenever they wanted it, like rich kids with no cap on their allowance.

Second, and more troubling for retail investors, the bulk of investment returns might have already been realized. Uber acknowledged in a recent filing that its growth is slowing, fueling concern that venture firms, private equity shops, sovereign-wealth funds and other elite insiders have not left much upside for mom-and-pop investors.

The last big beneficiary of Ubers private-market gains might have been SoftBank. The Japanese mega-conglomerate bought existing shares from Uber investors at a nadir, when the company was valued at roughly $42 billion. Just months later, as Uber recovered from its string of scandals, those shares had nearly doubled in value.

All IPOs are by nature unpredictable, but with Uber the possible outcomes seem especially extreme. Is it a juggernaut that, like Amazon before it, will someday flip the switch to profitability? Or is it something more like eBay, a well-known but puttering giant with its best growth long since behind it?

For now, Khosrowshahis job is to execute a drama-free public offering. He was able to use the chaotic events of Kalanicks departure and his own hiring to secure a lucrative incentive. If he is able to attain a valuation of more than $120 billion for Uber over a period of 90 consecutive days, according to two people familiar with the matter and language included in Ubers IPO prospectus, Khosrowshahi will personally net stock bonuses of more than $100 million.

After parachuting into a profoundly fractured board, the CEO has managed to make a kind of peace among the companys directors, a group that includes Kalanick. Leaks about internal issues have largely stopped flowing to the press. Backbiting among executives has subsided. And Khosrowshahi has refrained from the kinds of extravagances Kalanick was known for.

Khosrowshahis admirers say the calm is a result of his long experience with corporate distress. After years of running InterActive Corp.s mergers, acquisitions and finance divisions, Khosrowshahi was tapped to lead Expedia as chief executive in 2012  a time of intense political drama inside the online travel company. Khosrowshahi stabilized some of the internal tumult, according to Neha Parikh, the president of Hotwire, who worked alongside Khosrowshahi at the time. No matter who you are, she said, Dara makes you feel heard.

At Uber, Khosrowshahi hired a slew of lawyers to plumb and correct years of the companys legal deficiencies. He also edited Kalanicks list of 14 cultural values. Ranging from Always Be Hustlin to Super Pumped, they read like Amazons leadership principles run through a bro-speak translation engine; now they have been made into a blander set of eight platitudes. (Among them: We persevere.) Investors who had billions riding on Ubers success have been happy to see a constant stream of negative headlines shrink to a trickle.

While Khosrowshahi has seemed to successfully reform many of Ubers cultural issues, skeptics note that the companys business fundamentals remain much the same. Uber lost nearly $2 billion in 2018, the first full year under his leadership. That comes even after a retreat from a number of costly battles with ride-hailing competitors in China, Russia and Southeast Asia.

On Ubers roadshow to pitch itself to institutional investors (theres no homeshow this time around), Khosrowshahi has broken with Kalanicks worldview that Uber is competing in a winner-take-all market. Ride-sharing will be a winner-take-most game, as Khosrowshahi puts it, according to people familiar with his presentation.

He has also embraced the idea that his company is like Amazon  a logistics giant in the making. His pitch casts Ubers sustained losses as both an attempt to defend its existing market share from competitors and an investment in Ubers growth.

That story seeks to frame Uber as a technology platform. Ride-hailing, the thinking goes, is a mere jumping-off point for other markets, like bikes and scooters, food delivery, long-haul trucking  even flying cars. Just like Amazon sells third-party goods, we are going to also offer third-party transportation services, Khosrowshahi said in an interview last year.

Still, Uber has no clear path to turning a profit in the next few years, and the risks section of its registration statement runs to 48 pages, out of 285 total. Shares of Lyft, its nearest competitor, have fallen about 13 percent from their offering price.

Ubers bankers seem to have internalized the doubts. After initially targeting an IPO opening range of roughly $48 to $55 per share, Uber reduced expectations to roughly $44 to $50 per share at a valuation of $80 billion to $91 billion  significantly lower than the $90 billion to $100 billion range it originally sought.

Despite all Khosrowshahi has done to distance Uber from its founder, Kalanick remains intimately connected to the company he built. He remains on Ubers board, and Khosrowshahi has shown no signs of agitating for a shake-up of the group in the months following an IPO, as some had expected he would.

Friends of Kalanick say that he feels unfairly targeted by Ubers IPO paperwork and its implicit criticisms of his leadership. According to people briefed on his thinking, Kalanick hopes that his successor will use the IPO to bury the hatchet between the two men and mark a new chapter in Ubers history. Even former enemies on the board, like Matt Cohler of Benchmark, have spoken in favor of Kalanicks involvement, according to a report from Axios.

No matter where he stands when Uber shares begin to trade, Kalanick will have the consolation of making on paper several billion dollars. That is 600 times what Khosrowshahis stake will be worth. Not that hes one to let that bother him.

Hes like Teflon. You cant scratch him, said Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Khosrowshahis cousin and the chief operating officer of Kobalt, a music startup. But its a positive way, not robotic. Thats why hes such a good choice for this role, because you have to be  especially from where he started.

Mike Isaac is a New York Times writer.
HARTFORD  Connecticut schools have one of the highest immunization rates in the country, but according to the state Department of Public Health, 116 public schools reported immunization rates for measles, mumps, and rubella that were below 95 percent last year.

That included six schools in which less than 80 percent of the kindergartners were vaccinated.

The vaccination data, which was for the 2017-18 school year, was released following a series of requests by CTNewsJunkie as well as members of the General Assembly. The state DPH updated its data over the course of the afternoon Friday, including removing from the lists that they originally uploaded all the schools with enrollments of less than 30 students. The DPHs original data also reported vaccination rates for kindergartners and seventh-graders separately for the same schools in some cases.

Measles outbreaks, like the nine in New York, California, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia and New Jersey, are less likely to occur at schools in which a large number of students are immunized to achieve herd immunity.

Herd immunity is described as a vaccination rate high enough to protect unvaccinated children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number is 95 percent.

Dr. Jody L. Terranova, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a vaccine advocate for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the data will help the academy reach out to schools with low numbers to see what education they can provide to improve vaccination rates in order to protect students who cannot be vaccinated based on medical conditions. Terranova said the data may be eye-opening for parents whose children have compromised immune systems, because if their school falls below 95 percent then there is no herd immunity and they face an increased risk of an outbreak.

We clearly have a false sense of security when using the overall state vaccination rate and can now see areas throughout the state where our residents are vulnerable to preventable diseases, Terranova said.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Connecticut State Medical Society said they were alarmed by the startling Department of Public Health School Immunization Report released Friday.

The facts dont lie, Connecticut State Medical Society President Claudia Gruss said. We know that immunizations are proven to be safe and effective, they are one of our best lines of defense to protect the publics health.

The lowest percentages of Connecticut kindergartners immunized with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were at schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford and East Hartford last year. At least six schools in those towns had kindergarten immunization rates below 80 percent.

There were at least 36 schools where the MMR vaccine rate for kindergarteners was under 90 percent. Those schools were in Groton, Norwich, New Haven, Bloomfield, Hartford, Bridgeport, South Windsor, New Canaan, Waterbury, Redding, Mansfield, Milford, Westport, Canterbury, Stafford, and Stamford.

The DPH also provided vaccination data for seventh-graders across the state. Five schools had MMR vaccine rates under 90 percent, including schools in Norwich, Newtown, New Haven, Hartford, and Killingly.

Seventh-grade immunization rates between 90 percent and 92 percent were recorded at schools in Greenwich, Guilford, Stamford, and Bridgeport.

The overall number of schools with MMR vaccine rates under 95 percent was 116 when kindergarteners and seventh-graders were included, but there are still many unanswered questions about the data released Friday morning.

Why did some schools with low immunization rates report zero exemptions?

Kathy Kudish, head of the Connecticut Department of Healths Immunization Program, said that children without the required number of doses of vaccines do not necessarily have an exemption on file.

She said all data was reported by the schools, and a handful of schools had reached out Friday following the publication of the data to let the DPH know there may have been errors.

Kudish said the DPH is addressing those issues and will correct the database as the updates come in, with plans to release the updated information in about a week.

She admitted its possible that updated information could change the immunization rates at a handful of schools.

The information released included the percentages of children in kindergarten and seventh grade who are vaccinated against measles and other diseases as recommended. The DPH also includes the percentage of children in any grade who have an immunization exemption, which is based on what the schools report to the state.

Democratic legislative leadership in the House and the Senate said the data proves what they feared.

The immunization level is dangerously low in a significant number of schools and communities, putting the publics health at risk. This is a matter of grave public health concern, Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, who has not been shy about his desire to end the religious exemption for vaccines, said the numbers were shocking.

The release of the data provided ammunition for lawmakers who are advocating to end the religious exemption for vaccinations for students who want to attend public schools in the face of a vocal group of parents who have been lobbying hard to keep it.

Public health is always top priority, and when there are signs it is being compromised, it cant be ignored, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said.

LeeAnn Ducat, founder of Informed Choice USA, said she believes some of the information DPH released is inaccurate.

Recently, Matt Ritter clearly said that releasing this data will identify hot spots likely for infection and that hopefully releasing this data will increase immunization rates. The only way I can see for that to happen is by harassment, peer pressure and pressure on those towns/districts to create an unfavorable environment to exemption users, Ducat said.

She said the state violated its own law by releasing the data.

Sec. 10-204a-4(c) states that all immunization information collected by the department shall be confidential. So we believe that DPH is violating the law and we are looking into possible legal action, Ducat said.

This is the first time the department has released the information about the immunization rates for various vaccines on a school by school basis. Schools with low immunization rates also have higher rates of religious and medical exemptions. The corrected data provided by the DPH does not include schools with fewer than 30 students and it does not include childcare centers or preschools.

DPH Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who moved back to Connecticut from the state of Washington  which had with a measles outbreak  wrote to to school superintendents earlier this week to let them know she was releasing the information.

While Connecticuts immunization rate for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination of kindergarteners remained high last year at 96.5 percent the number of fully immunized students, upon kindergarten and seventh-grade entry, is trending lower, Coleman-Mitchell wrote. A disease outbreak is less likely to occur at schools where high numbers of students are immunized.

Coleman-Mitchell said Friday that the goal in releasing immunization data for each school is to increase public awareness of vaccination rates in local communities. Hopefully, this will lead to more engagement and focus on increasing immunization rates to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

At a Capitol news conference Friday, Ritter said they had expected a handful of schools to be at risk for an outbreak, but they didnt expect as many schools to report immunization rates under 95 percent.

The magnitude of this problem is why youve seen the comments youve seen, Ritter said. Nobody saw this coming.

Ritter said he expects the public to start asking lawmakers what they plan to do about it.

But Ritter said they want to wait until Attorney General William Tong releases his opinion on the constitutionality of the religious exemption and then decide where to go from there.

We have literally dozens of schools that are not one point below but double digits below the CDC recommended level, Ritter said.

Tom McMorran, superintendent for Easton, Redding and Region 9, said the states exemption rate data was inaccurate for Redding Elementary School. The states data showed the school had an exemption rate of more than 41 percent.

However, McMorran said the school has a 4.7 percent exemption rate with 22 of the 469 students claiming an exemption.
LOS ANGELES  Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent Friday to John Sanders, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein, D-Calif., said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.
John Starks / Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald

WAUKEGAN, Ill.  An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory claimed a second victim Saturday when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed, and the official death toll is expected to rise to four as authorities suspended the search for two other bodies believed to be in the rubble.

Crews suspended their search amid concerns about the stability of the structure, and Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said they would not resume searching until what remains of the plant is torn down.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 59F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 28F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
SAN JOSE (BCN)



San Jose city officials will host a memorial on Saturday evening for Ly Tong, a South Vietnamese Air Force veteran who escaped Communist labor camps and participated in local activism.



Tong died on April 5 at 74 years old and is known for his work battling communism during and after the Vietnam War. He famously hijacked a plane and dropped leaflets over Vietnam calling for democracy in 1992.



"For millions of Vietnamese around the world, Ly Tong is always the 'Eagle Hero' in their hearts," former councilmember Tam Nguyen said in a news release.



Tong also participated in a 28-day hunger strike in 2008 when San Jose city officials attempted to rename "Little Saigon" as the "Saigon Business District."



A banner will be flown over Little Saigon on Story Road for 10 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. and City Hall at 4:41 p.m., weather permitting. The memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the San Jose City Hall rotunda at 200 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose.





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 CARLOS (BCN)



State officials on Friday partially catalogued and removed radioactive material found in a shed behind a vacant San Carlos home, fire officials said.



The California Department of Public Health and other agencies were at the home in the 1000 block of Cedar Street, where the material was discovered Thursday afternoon in the backyard shed, said Redwood City Fire Chief Stan Maupin, whose department serves the city of San Carlos.



The home was formerly occupied by Ronald Seefred, a retired scientist who had worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Menlo Park.



Seefred died in January at age 82. The radioactive materials were discovered while the home was being prepared for sale, Maupin said.



Fire officials said the materials discovered include Cobalt 57 and Radium 226, and were in several small vials in very small quantities. But Ephrime Mekuria, a physicist with the state public health department, said they found Radium but not Cobalt.



Friday afternoon the materials were being taken to a lab in Richmond where Mekuria said they'll determine exactly what was found. Then the materials will be stored in a radioactive storage facility in the city.



The material is not considered to be a threat to the community, and the challenge is sorting through the material and cataloguing it, in order to remove it to the proper locations for disposal, Maupin said.



It's not known how it came to be at the property, or why it was brought there.



Mekuria said, "A lot of scientists like to tinker" and added that this is not the first time radioactive material has been found in someone's home.



Cedar Street from Brittan to Arroyo avenues has reopened, San Mateo County sheriff's officials said. No evacuations were ordered.



City officials said on Friday that no radiation has been detected outside the shed and there is no threat to residents in the immediate vicinity.



Mekuria said the material "was stored appropriately."



"The containment was good," he said.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



An attorney for Ghost Ship warehouse creative director Max Harris filed a motion on Friday asking a judge not to allow the prosecution's first witness to testify in the trial for the deadly fire at the warehouse in Oakland in 2016.



Harris, 29, and Ghost Ship warehouse master tenant Derick Almena, 49, are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the warehouse at 1309 31st Ave. on the night of Dec. 2, 2016, that killed 36 people.



Alameda County prosecutors and lawyers for Harris and Almena presented their opening statements in the high-profile case on Tuesday and Wednesday and testimony is scheduled to begin on Monday.



Prosecutor Casey Bates told Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson at the end of Wednesday's session that the first witness he plans to call to the stand is Carol Cidlik, the mother of fire victim Nicole Siegrist, 29, of Oakland.



Bates said in his opening statement that at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, Siegrist sent a text message to her mother saying, "I'm going to die."



Tyler Smith, one of two lawyers for Harris, wrote in his motion, "The testimony of Ms. Cidlik is inadmissible because it does not tend to prove or disprove any fact that is in question" in the trial.



Smith said, "The danger of undue prejudice (against Harris and Almena in jurors' minds) is extremely high and vastly outweighs any probative value that Ms. Cidlik's testimony might provide."



The defense attorney wrote, "The fact that they (the prosecution) want to call Ms. Cidlik as their very first witness betrays their true motive of having her testify: they wish to use a grieving mother's testimony to tug at the jurors' heartstrings in the hopes that jurors will look at Mr. Harris and Mr. Almena to seek retribution for Ms. Cidlik's heartbreak."



Smith also asked Judge Thompson not to allow fire survivor Samuel Maxwell to testify.



Smith said Maxwell was in a coma for five weeks after the fire, spent four more months in the hospital, is now confined to a wheelchair, requires care around the clock and relies on his mother to interpret what he is saying. Maxwell is scheduled to testify later this month.



Smith wrote, "The prosecution clearly wants to use Mr. Maxwell as a demonstrative exhibit to the jury, to appeal to their emotions with the hopes they will misdirect those feelings with a guilty verdict" against Harris and Almena.



Smith said, "To have Mr. Maxwell's mother act as an interpreter would be highly inappropriate and prejudicial. On top of not being a certified interpreter, she is undoubtedly prejudiced against both defendants because she will want retribution for her son's condition and will see the trial as her opportunity to help her son."



Bates said in his opening statement that Almena and Harris are criminally liable for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at the party to escape since the warehouse didn't have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs.



Bates also said Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse's lease by turning it into a living space and hosting underground music parties there.



But Harris's lead attorney Curtis Briggs and Almena's lawyer Tony Serra alleged in their opening statements that the fire was an act of arson that Harris and Almena couldn't have prevented.



They also alleged that the warehouse's owners and Oakland firefighters and police officers are responsible for the fire because they say they knew about the safety issues at the warehouse and didn't take action to remedy them.





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SAN RAFAEL (BCN)



More than 200 residents and a dozen agencies in Marin County will gather Saturday at the Marin County Wildfire Forum.



The free public education event on fire prevention in the county's neighborhoods is from 10 a.m. to noon at the ballroom of Embassy Suites at 101 McInnis Parkway in San Rafael.



Paradise resident Shannamar Dewey will share her first-hand account of the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County in November.



Fire chiefs and other experts will address the importance of vegetation management projects on open space lands and emergency preparedness in communities.



Fire chiefs and other officials in Marin County developed a "Lessons Learned" report in late 2017 after the North Bay wildfires, and county residents cited emergency preparedness as their most important priority in a recent survey.



The Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, the Marin County Fire Chief's Association, County of Marin and Firewise USA are hosting the forum.



This is the first coordinated event that takes a countywide approach and includes stakeholder agencies from all over Marin County.



"A wildfire knows no boundaries," Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber said.





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A high-speed chase on Interstate Highway 680 in Contra Costa County on Friday morning ended with the arrest of four suspects, Danville police said.



The incident began around 10:24 a.m. when the California Highway Patrol reported that it was pursuing a red 2019 Dodge Challenger, according to Danville police Lt. Doug Muse.



A witness reported to police that, after the CHP lost contact with the Challenger, the vehicle had exited the freeway at El Cerro Boulevard in Danville and parked on the side of the road. Four individuals abandoned the vehicle and fled into the neighborhood at Adobe Drive, according to a police news release.



Officers from the Danville and San Ramon police departments and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office located and arrested the suspects following a search of the area.



Tyreon Lang, 20, of Oakland and Jamont Baldwin, 19, of Oakland, were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, probation violation and resisting arrest. Tyetiana Radford-Chandler, 18, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and probation violation, and Saree Lindhurst, 18, of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.



The four were booked at the Martinez Detention Facility. They may face further charges once the Berkeley and San Leandro police departments complete their investigations, police said.





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SAN JOSE (BCN)



Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.



Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.



Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.



Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.



The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.



The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.





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BERKELEY (BCN)



A person was robbed of his laptop Thursday night in a University of California at Berkeley parking garage, university police said Friday.



The victim told police that at about 9:45 p.m. he was walking in the Ellsworth Parking Structure when he touched the hood of a Toyota sedan.



Police said three men got out of the car and confronted him. One man pushed him against the vehicle and took his laptop from his backpack. All three men were in their early 20s and drove away in the Toyota, which was mint green in color, police said.



Several more robberies or attempted robberies have occurred in the UC Berkeley area in the last two weeks. Last week three robberies occurred over about four hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Two involved a gun.



Then two more armed robberies occurred Thursday morning near campus. City of Berkeley police said Thursday that it's too early to say whether the robberies last week and Thursday are related.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



A man who was fatally shot in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon was identified by police on Friday as 21-year-old Anthony Nhep of Oakland.



Nhep was shot multiple times in the 1900 block of 17th Avenue, near San Antonio Park, at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and was pronounced dead at the scene.



No one has been arrested for the fatal shooting and police haven't disclosed a motive.



A GoFundMe site seeking to raise $10,000 to pay for Nhep's funeral and burial expenses had raised $1,740 as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday.



The site says Nhep is survived by his mother, sister and 3-year-old son.



The website says Nhep's mother fled from Cambodia to the U.S. in the 1980s "to escape the devastation, tortures and torments of the Khmer Rouge" regime.



The site is at www.gofundme.com/f/AnthonyNhep.





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A police cadet accidentally shot two other cadets when his loaded handgun went off in the middle of their law enforcement class Thursday night in Texas City, according to authorities.

The cadets were attending a class at the College of the Mainland Law Enforcement Training Academy when the weapon fired around 7:40 p.m., Texas City police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said in a written statement.
There is major movement at the top of the betting markets for who will win the 2020 presidential election, with Joe Biden emerging as the betting favorite to win the Democratic Party primaries.

OddsShark, a betting resource that tracks odds across a number of online betting sites, still gives Trump the best odds at +115 to win the election (meaning a $100 bet would win $115), since it is all-but-assured he will be leading the Republican ticket in 2020, and it is still unclear who will lead the Democratic ticket.

Trump's odds are noticeably better than the +175 odds he received last month, likely due to special counsel Robert Mueller finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government during the 2016 election.

MORE 2020: Biden to test appeal among black voters in South Carolina

Last month, California Senator Kamala Harris, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden were tied at +650 apiece to be the next president of the United States, and were followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke at +900.

Biden is now the frontrunner among Democrats at +450, and is followed closely by Sanders at +500. The former vice president officially announced his candidacy in late April, and has seen a substantial polling bounce as a result.

In third place among Democrats and fourth place overall is South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at +900. This is a massive surge, since Buttigieg was sitting at +2800 at this time last month.

ALSO: Biden's rise tests Trump plan of casting foes as socialists

Harris has tumbled down to +1300 behind Buttigieg, and O'Rourke is now tied with entrepreneur Andrew Yang at +2000 behind Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence previously had odds of +4500 to win the 2020 election, but following the release and fallout out the Mueller report, he's dipped all the way down to +6600.

Click through the slideshow above to see updated betting odds for the 2020 election.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eric.ting@sfgate.com and follow him on Twitter

Start receiving breaking news emails on floods, wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news.
In route news, El Al paints a plane in honor of its new SFO flights; Southwest Airlines kicks off a new Hawaii route from San Jose this weekend; Thomas Cook adds seasonal SFO-Manchester service; Delta will join United in offering non-stop service to India; American, Lufthansa, Alitalia and Norwegian begin new Europe routes; and American starts a new California Corridor flight along with several other domestic routes.

May 5 is the launch date for Southwest Airlines' newest Hawaii route, from Mineta San Jose to Honolulu. The SJC-HNL service will be followed on May 26 by new Southwest service from San Jose to Kahului, Maui. Southwest's new San Jose-Honolulu flight departs SJC at 8:20 a.m.; the return leaves Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at SJC at 8:40 p.m. (San Jose also has Hawaii service from Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu and Maui, and Alaska Airlines to Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Kona.)

The airline is also going inter-island in Hawaii for easy connections from Honolulu; it recently started Honolulu-Maui flights and on May 12 will begin flights from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. In March and April, Southwest started Oakland-Honolulu and OAK-Maui service.

On Monday, May 13, El Al launches new nonstops between San Francisco SFO and Tel Aviv using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In honor of its inaugural flight the carrier had artists Shay Vadal and Amir Assayag create a special livery that includes images of the Golden Gate Bridge. (See more photos in the slide show.) Las Vegas, another new El Al destination, is featured on the other side. Stay tuned for more about this historic flight in coming weeks.

Fiji Airways announced this week that it would be getting two new Airbus A350 jets to serve its long haul routes. It currently flies from SFO and LAX using an Airbus A330. The new jets are expected to enter service in November and December, each with with 33 fully lie-flat business class seats, all with direct aisle access and 301 economy seats.

The Bay to the U.K.: On May 4, Thomas Cook Airlines resumes seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester in the U.K., with A330-200 departures on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays.

Last winter, United announced plans to start seasonal service from San Francisco to New Delhi, India, on December 5, 2019, and now Delta will launch a new route to India as well. The carrier plans a December 22 start for year-round, non-stop daily flights from New York JFK to Mumbai with a 777-200LR. "Demand for flights between the U.S. and India has increased significantly in the last decade, and New York is the largest U.S. market to India with the largest base of corporate customers," Delta said. Another likely factor in the route choice: India's Jet Airways, which recently stopped flying, had code-sharing agreements with Delta and its partners Air France and KLM. The grounding of Jet ended the option for customers to book a Delta-coded flight from the U.S. to India via connections in Europe.

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Several airlines are kicking off new transatlantic service this week and next as the peak summer travel season approaches. On May 2, Alitalia started flying from Washington Dulles to Rome five days a week, and Norwegian Air introduced Boston-Madrid service three days a week. May 3 was the launch date for Lufthansa's new Frankfurt-Austin route, which will use an A330-300 to operate five days a week. Also on May 3, American Airlines began seasonal Chicago-Athens service with a 787-8, continuing through September 28.

American Airlines also introduced intra-California seasonal service on May 3, with daily E175 flights between Santa Rosa's Charles Schulz Airport in Sonoma County and Los Angeles. Other AA routes that started May 3 include daily Miami-Santiago, Cuba service; daily seasonal flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; year-round daily E145 service from New York LaGuardia to Columbia, South Carolina; and daily year-round service from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to Phoenix. And on May 4, American begins twice-weekly seasonal E175 flights from Washington Reagan National to Melbourne, Florida, and from LaGuardia to Asheville, North Carolina and Daytona Beach, Florida.

We're not sure why it's only for a month, but Routesonline.com reports that Southwest Airlines plans to operate six flights a week from Sacramento to Nashville from May 5 through June 7. We suspect that this might have to do with 737 MAX issues.





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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.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants fired more than 200 rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israels existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flareups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. The ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was also killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was lightly hurt as he ran for cover.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territorys ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel.

Fares Akram is an Associated Press writer.
CARACAS, Venezuela  The critical role of the Venezuelan military in the countrys crisis was on display Saturday as President Nicolas Maduro sought to keep its support and opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to woo the armed forces to his side.

Days after Guaido called in vain for a military uprising, national television showed Maduro as he shook hands and exchanged fist bumps with security forces during a visit to a military base. Loyal forever, Maduro bellowed to a crowd of cadets in green uniforms.
BEIRUT  Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the countrys northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the rebels.
ISLAMABAD  The Taliban said Saturday that the gap is narrowing in talks with Washingtons special peace envoy over a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The two sides are continuing to meet in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.

The Taliban spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, said both sides have offered new proposals for drawing down U.S. and NATO forces. This would be a significant initial step toward a deal to end nearly 18 years of war and Americas longest military engagement.
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In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. AP-Yonhap



North Korea fired several short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.



The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.



Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.



The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017,before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.






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The Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) individual mandate is unconstitutional now that there is no penalty against those who don't get health insurance, the Justice Department argued in a brief submitted to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 in support of a lower court's finding. The department said the rest of the law should be struck down.

The case will be heard this summer.

The Justice Department noted that when the Supreme Court upheld the ACA's individual mandate in 2012, the high court ruled that the requirement was a valid exercise of Congress' taxing power. In reaching this determination, the high court relied on the law's penalty on those who do not buy health insurance, characterizing the penalty as a tax. But Congress reduced the penalty to zero in the 2017 tax reform legislation.

Last December, a federal district court in Texas decided that the individual mandate is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' authority now that the mandate no longer raises any revenue. The district court also struck down the entire law, reasoning that the individual mandate is essential to the rest of the ACA. Democratic state attorneys general, led by California, appealed the ruling to the 5th Circuit. We've rounded up articles from SHRM Online and other trusted news sources on the litigation.

Hearings Expected This Summer

The 5th Circuit is expected to hear arguments in the case in July. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has defended the individual mandate as constitutional and said that even if it isn't, the rest of the law should be upheld. He has called the district court ruling an "assault on 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions." The U.S. House of Representatives also is now defending the law in court.

(CNN)

Texas Files Its Own Brief

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, led the Republican state attorneys general challenge against the ACA. The Justice Department had said some portions of the law should be upheld prior to changing its mind in March. Paxton filed a brief on May 1, saying, "Congress meant for the individual mandate to be the centerpiece of Obamacare. Without the constitutional justification for the centerpiece, the law must go down."

(The New York Times)

Millions Could Be Affected

Approximately 20 million Americans get health insurance through the ACA. The law's protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions covers millions more. If the 5th Circuit issues a decision before January, the Supreme Court might choose to review the case and publish a decision in the middle of the 2020 presidential election.

(USA Today)

Who Else Does the Law Benefit?

A ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional would affect more than those who get insurance through exchanges and individuals with pre-existing conditions. The law lowers the costs of Medicare coverage and prescription drugs for the elderly, lets children remain on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26 years old, and allows many Americans to get birth control, mammograms and cholesterol tests for free. President Donald Trump has asked Republican senators to develop a new Republican health care bill but has said that congressional Republicans will wait until after the 2020 election to vote on an ACA replacement.

(Fortune)

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with and Leveraging the Affordable Care Act]

ACA Still Applies

In the meantime, all ACA coverage and reporting obligations for employers remain in place. Employers still have to offer health care coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and properly report offers of coverage, so they are not penalized.

(SHRM Online)


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When is overtime pay owed to part-time employees in Europe? In some countries, such as Germany, overtime is now due as soon as part-timers work any extra hours beyond those set out in their contracts. This is true, regardless of whether they have worked as much as full-time employees, because of a so-called principle of equal treatment between full- and part-time workers. Elsewhere, such as in the United Kingdom (U.K.), part-time employees don't earn overtime just because the employer extended their schedule.



A recent German Federal Labor Court decision clarified how employers should pay overtime compensation to part-time workers to avoid treatment that would be unequal to treatment shown to full-time employees. Austria and Hungary prohibit unequal treatment as well, but the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland give employers more leeway.

What's Unequal Treatment?

What is meant by unequal treatment in the payment of overtime?

Assume there is a collective bargaining agreement that provides for the mandatory payment of a 20 percent bonus for overtime hours exceeding the work-time limit for full-time workers. So a full-time employee who works 40 hours a week and 10 hours of overtime receives, in addition to normal pay for the 10 hours of overtime worked, an overtime premium of 20 percent for those hours. In contrast, a part-time employee who works 25 hours per week according to his or her employment contract and 10 hours of overtime per week is paid for the additional hours worked but does not receive overtime pay at an enhanced rate.

Until recently, the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court had always denied that this constitutes unequal treatment because the same total compensation was paid for the same number of work hours.

But on Dec. 19, 2018, the 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court issued a decision abandoning its long-standing case law: There will be equal treatment only if an employer pays the enhanced overtime rate for work time that exceeds the worker's contractually agreed work hours. This means that in the example above, the employer must pay the part-time employee for all 10 hours of overtime worked at the enhanced rate.

Austria

Under Austrian law, part-time workers must not be placed in a worse position than full-time employees because of their part-time employment. Part-time workers who work more than their contractual hours must be paid a 25 percent premium.

Hungary

In Hungary, part-time employees cannot be excluded from their employer's pay and benefits system and cannot be denied benefits that would otherwise be due to a full-time worker performing equal work. This means that employers must pay overtime pay rates to part-time employees in compliance with the principle of equal treatment. But employers can reduce the amount in proportion to part-time work hours.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

United Kingdom

U.K. employment law has taken the position opposite to the German Federal Labor Court's. The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations [of] 2000 provide that part-time workers are not considered to be treated less favorably with respect to overtime pay if they are entitled to overtime only after they have worked the same number of hours a full-time worker would have to work to receive such pay.

This means that, for example, if a full-time worker normally works 35 hours per week and gets premium rates for hours in excess of this, and a part-time worker normally works 21 hours per week, the part-time worker would have to work at least 14 hours of overtime before he or she is entitled to the same premium rates as the full-timer.

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the position on overtime pay for part-time workers is similar to that in the U.K. So overtime compensation is not immediately payable to part-time employees for additional hours that exceed the individual's work hours.

Finland

Finnish law requires that less-favorable employment conditions must not be applied to part-time employment relationships without a proper and justified reason. But the former case law of the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court reflects current Finnish practice.

Ius Laboris is the world's largest global HR and employment law firm alliance. Contributing members to this article include Dr. Elke Platzhoff from German firm Kliemt in Dusseldorf, Germany; Natalie Hahn and Lisa Hittinger from Austrian firm Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtanswalte GmbH in Vienna; Dr. Nora Ovary-Papp from Hungarian firm CLV Partners in Budapest, Hungary; Colin Leckey from U.K. firm Lewis Silkin in London; Erik Deur from the Dutch firm Bronsgeest Deur in Amsterdam; and Laura Parkkisenniemi from Finnish firm Dittmar & Indrenius in Helsinki.
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A former employee who was not rehired when a position became available following her layoff could not pursue her family and medical leave discrimination lawsuit because the company hired a better-qualified candidate, a California appellate court ruled.

The plaintiff, who claimed that she was not rehired because of her prior use of family and medical leave, failed to show that her qualifications were "substantially superior" to those of the person hired, the court found.

The plaintiff worked for Abbott Laboratories from 2004 until 2013 as a specialist in diabetic supplies. In September 2013, she was let go, and in March 2014, the same specialist position became available.

The plaintiff applied for the role, but it was offered to another candidate. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit claiming that Abbott refused her the job because of medically related leaves of absence she had taken while employed.

[SHRM members-only resource: Managing Medical Leave in California]

The trial court granted Abbott's motion to dismiss the lawsuit before trial, and the plaintiff appealed.

No Evidence of Pretext

To establish a discrimination lawsuit, a job candidate must first show that he or she is a member of a protected class, is qualified for the position, and was not hired or promoted into the position. The plaintiff must also show "some other circumstance suggesting discriminatory motive," according to the court. The employer then has the opportunity to show that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for choosing another candidate. Then, the plaintiff may demonstrate that the employer's asserted reason was actually a pretext for discrimination.

In this case, even if the plaintiff met her initial burden of proof, the court said, Abbott had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not hiring her, because it chose to hire a better-qualified candidate.

And, the court said, to show pretext in this case, the plaintiff needed to show that her qualifications were at least substantially superior to those of the applicant who was hired.

Evidence of the plaintiff's competing qualifications "does not constitute evidence of pretext unless those differences are so favorable to the plaintiff that there can be no dispute among reasonable persons of impartial judgment that the plaintiff was clearly better qualified for the position at issue," the court said.

In this case, the plaintiff had several things going for her, the court noted: She was a registered nurse, she had a master's degree, and she was certified as a diabetes educator. However, the applicant who was hired had worked for another big pharmaceutical firm for the same length of time as the plaintiff worked for Abbott, and during that time, she won an international sales champion award and five regional champion awards.

In a job involving sales, the hired applicant "brought a proven track record of what any objective observer would have to conclude was a series of stellar sales performances," the court said.

This sank the plaintiff's pretext claim, the court ruled, affirming the trial court's dismissal of the complaint.

Villacreses v. Abbott Laboratories, Calif. Ct. App., No. G054983 (April 18, 2019).

Professional Pointer: Courts generally defer to the legitimate business decisions of employers in deciding which applicant is best qualified for a job. However, employers should carefully evaluate the qualifications of the candidates for a position and document the reasons for the successful applicant's selection.

Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island leaders lauded Richard A. Brown, 86, who died on Friday after a long and distinguished career as a Queens district attorney, justice of the Appellate and Supreme courts and advisor to a governor.

The native New Yorker served as district attorney of Queens for nearly 28 years after he was appointed to that post by then Gov. Mario Cuomo on June 1, 1991.

During several decades of public service, Brown had the ear of governors and legislators from New York City to Albany and this judicial influence was felt throughout the state.

In January, Brown announced that he would not seek re-election and planned to step down in June due to increasing health problems associated with Parkinsons Disease, according to a statement from Chief Queens Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan.

Together with his law enforcement colleagues throughout New York City, Judge Brown contributed greatly to making this city the safest big city in the nation, Ryan said in the statement. His district attorneys office created one of the states first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court - all very successful over the years and their models duplicated across the country."

"Many programs followed - a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and most recently the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP) created to address the scourge of opioid addiction by providing a second chance for addicts to avoid criminal prosecution and to literally save lives, he added.

Judge Brown was one of the most brilliant, ethical and dynamic public servants I ever met," said Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. "But he was also approachable, humble and sincere. He was my role model, a prosecutors prosecutor, a visionary and problem solving justice innovator, and a wonderful family man. They dont make them like him anymore. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Brown earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hobart College before graduating from New York University School of Law in June 1956 and being admitted to the bar by the Appellate Division in October of that same year, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Brown spent much of the 1960s and early 1970s in various administrative positions for leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly. He served four years as New York Citys legislative representative in Albany where he managed the citys Albany office and supervised its legislative program, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Becoming a member of the judiciary in September 1973, he served as a judge of the Criminal Court for less than two years before being appointed supervising judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court and then acting justice of the Supreme Court.

In November 1977, Brown was elected a justice of the Supreme Court in Queens County. At the end of the following year, he returned to Albany as counsel to then Gov. Hugh L. Carey.

On March 3, 1981, Judge Brown returned to the Supreme Court and the following year was appointed by Gov. Carey as an associate justice to the Appellate Division. Carey designated Brown to the court two more times before he assumed the top post at the Queens District Attorneys Office.

His many professional affiliations included: past president of the New York State District Attorneys Association; member of the New York State Bar Association; member of the New York City Bar Association; member of the Queens County Bar Association; chairman of the Albany-based New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

He is survived by his wife, Rhoda, their three children Karen, Todd and his wife Monica, and Lynn and her husband Bruce. Funeral arrangements are pending.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island charter school is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond, including a church built in 1853, from the Archdiocese of New York for $3.75 million, according to school officials and court documents.

New World Preparatory Charter School -- which has been leasing two school buildings from the Archdiocese since the school opened in 2010 -- is in contract to buy the property, according to Eugene Foley, the schools president.

It will enable us to have personal responsibility for the property rather than having to go through a landlord, said New World Prep President Eugene Foley. This way, we can make the improvements that we want to make and do it directly through our board of trustees making the decisions.

New World Prep has been leasing its school building located on 26 Sharpe Ave. and a separate gym/cafeteria building.

Along with those two buildings, New World Prep would acquire the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church, a former convent and a former rectory that is being used as an administrative building.

Below is a photo that shows the five buildings that New World Prep is in contract to purchase.

New World Preparatory Charter School is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond from the Archdiocese of New York, including the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church. (Courtesy of Google Maps)

The St. Mary of the Assumption Church -- located at 2230 Richmond Terrace -- was established in 1853 and closed in 2015, as part of the Archdioceses initiative to merge Staten Island parishes.

The parish was merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta -- now known as St. Mary of the Assumption-Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta R.C. Church.

The Archdiocese for New York declined to comment on the purchase.

While the school has not finalized any plans with what it will do with the property, Foley said it was looking to upgrade some of the aged buildings.

We havent finalized any plans, Foley said. We want to upgrade some of the buildings since theyre elderly in terms of electricity and plumbing.

The school -- which currently serves fifth- through eighth-graders -- announced in February that it would expand to become a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

Kindergarten and first grade will be added in September, located off-campus at Moore Catholic High School, Graniteville. By 2021, the transition to include kindergarten through eighth grade will be complete.

Students are chosen by lottery, with special allowances for siblings of current students, and students who come from homes where English isnt the primary language.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio was in the backseat of his official SUV when the vehicle was involved in a collision back in 2015, according to reports.

The perfect teaching moment for the architect of New York Citys Vision Zero program, right?

Wrong.

According to the Daily News, the mayors NYPD security detail hushed up the accident. They hustled the mayor from the scene. There is no record of the accident with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The NYPD has yet to release the police accident report about the incident.

The police apparently thought that publicizing the accident would be bad optics given the mayors Vision Zero policies. The NYPD has denied that there was any coverup of the collision.

Well cut de Blasio some slack here. He wasnt involved in the actual hushing up of the accident, according to reports.

But de Blasio loses that credit because he punted when asked about the collision, telling reporters that he wasnt familiar with how the crash had been handled. He said he didnt know enough about his security details protocols to speak to any of it.

This from a mayor who has demonstrated such a deep interest in the minutiae of crashes all over the city. Hes got nothing to say about a collision involving his own vehicle?

And since when is a public figure of de Blasios stature unfamiliar with how his personal security detail operates? He wont have that excuse if he actually does become president of the United States.

When the story broke, de Blasio should have just come clean. Mistakes were made in how this was handled, he should have said, well make sure those mistakes are never made again. Heres that police report youve been asking for.

Dont hold your breath.

But were familiar with the mayor saying one thing and doing another.

This is the same mayor who takes an 11-mile drive to the gym just about every day, security detail in tow, while at the same time admonishing the rest of us to cut carbon emissions.

Do as I say, not as I do.

The citys approach to the homeless shelter proposed for Tompkinsville is another example of the administration talking out of both sides of its mouth.

The city decided that the shelter would go at 44 Victory Blvd. without consulting anybody here.

When the predictable blowback came, City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services said that they were willing to work with elected officials and community members to discuss alternate sites. A piece of land in Clifton that was once part of the Bayley Seton Hospital campus was in play.

On second thought, the city said, forget about it. Were going with Victory Boulevard.

So much for consultation. The whole thing has been top-down from the beginning.

And the city so much wants the community to be involved that the administration wont put the project through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Not needed, according to de Blasio. This is an emergency facility. That means the shelter project can do an end-run around ULURP.

De Blasio knows best. Weve seen this all before.

He shrugs off fundraising controversies and accusations of pay-to-play. De Blasio has never been charged with any wrongdoing, but theres been plenty of smoke. Were just supposed to ignore it when people whove donated to de Blasios campaigns or PACs appear to get a leg up in their dealings with the city. Nothing to see here. City & State recently had a good roundup if youve forgotten the highlights.

I cant decide if this makes him more qualified to be president of less. But its going to stick to him if he really does take the expected plunge and run for the White House.

De Blasio says he never talks with lobbyists, then he acknowledges that he does. Just not about whatever the lobbyists are lobbying for. Then again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo the other day said he doesnt know whos a lobbyist and who isnt when he sits down with people. So maybe this is a common thing for elected officials.

Maybe its our fault for expecting too much of them.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers a reporter's question during a meeting with members of foreign media in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2019. AP-Yonhap





In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies during a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC. AFP-Yonhap



The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed Saturday to "prudently" handle North Korea's launch of short-range projectiles during their telephone talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone hours after the North fired the projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of growing impatience over stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington.



"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.




A major network of bars on the high-profile Chapel Street strip has been significantly underpaying staff, leaked documents and pay records show.

La La Bar Group - which runs popular bars on the inner south-east Melbourne strip including Wonderland, Electric Ladyland, Lucky Liquor, Blue Bar and Holy Grail - has been paying workers in envelopes stuffed with cash.

Payslips, documents and interviews with workers show that staff and supervisors have been regularly paid a flat rate below the minimum rates of the award, the wages safety net.

Current and former staff said the practice has been going on since at least the start of the decade. They were regularly not paid penalty rates or even superannuation, they allege.
Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The mother of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained in North Korea, made a plea Friday for continued pressure on the regime.



Cindy Warmbier spoke at a seminar alongside family members of South Korean, Japanese and U.S. citizens who are believed to have been abducted by North Korea in past decades.



"Unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change," she said at the event co-hosted by the Hudson Institute, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, and the Japanese government.



"I am very afraid that we're going to let up on this pressure. So I need everyone here to keep the pressure on everybody you can. There are still a lot of families here that deserve to see their family members," she said.





Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The Warmbier case has received renewed attention since The Washington Post reported last week that the North Koreans had demanded US$2 million from the U.S. government to cover his hospital fees.



The University of Virginia student fell into a coma shortly after he was detained in Pyongyang in early 2016 for allegedly trying to take down a political poster.



He spent the next year and a half hospitalized there before he was released and returned to the U.S. in June 2017, only to die several days later.



"North Korea to me is a cancer on the earth," Cindy Warmbier said. "And if we ignore this cancer, it's not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us. We don't even know we have this cancer, so that's why I talk. There is a cancer, I can tell you."



U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that any money was paid to North Korea for Warmbier's release.





Otto Frederick Warmbier, center, a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Reuters-Yonhap
This year, Dan Wilson added roasted chickpeas and fava beans to the snack menu at his network of North Shore primary school canteens. These healthy options have not proved popular with his pint-sized customers, who prefer to buy sweets at the petrol station after school.

Since Mr Wilson complied with the new healthy canteen guidelines, which require "everyday foods" to make up 75 per cent of the menu, his revenue has dropped by 20 per cent. "If it doesn't turn out to be viable, I am probably not going to continue doing it," he said.

Karin Von Specht, right, and Nina Wilson serve healthy food at the St Mary's Primary School Canteen in North Sydney. Credit:James Brickwood

He would not be alone. The industry expects higher costs and lower sales will cause many small operators to leave the business after the new guidelines become compulsory next year, forcing some schools to close their canteens.

Since the 2017 launch, only a quarter of the state's 1800 canteens have been accredited. The deadline for mandatory compliance across the public system is December, but insiders privately believe many of canteens will not meet it.
Daniel Taylor with his father John Ibrahim. Credit:Instagram According to friends the 28-year-old is trying to distance himself from his headline-making family and travelled to Peru, seeking out ayahuasca as a tool for personal growth. Traditional healers have been using ayahuasca for centuries as a medicine and the tea is also used in religious ceremonies in South America where the drug is legal. The drug has become more popular with Westerners who are seeking to expand their consciousness. Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Emerald City. In December Taylor was cleared of charges that he illegally handled $2.25 million. The cash was connected to an illegal tobacco smuggling ring. His father was back in the news again last week when a heavily-tattooed man stood outside the Ibrahim Dover Heights mansion filming himself yelling abuse. Daniel Taylor, son of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim. Credit:AAP Harrolds' celebrity loan crackdown

Loading High-end fashion retailer Harrolds has set tongues wagging amongst Sydney celebrities and influencers after cracking down on the loan of designer garments for media events. Emerald City was told by a television personality that the store accused them of returning a faulty garment days after the personality sent the item back. "They called me five days later and accused me of wrecking the dress and requested it be paid for, the personality confided at a recent race day. It was dry cleaned and returned in the same condition I received it. If there was an issue, it should have been addressed upon return. However, a publicity manager for Harrolds said that while they do limit their loans to influential party-goers there is no ban in place. As it's coming to the end of the SS19 season, we always limit the amount of PR loans we facilitate due to our communications strategy," the PR said. Radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson and her former husband Lee and daughter Catalina. Credit:Instagram

Jackie O's man-ban It's been six months since KIIS breakfast co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson announced she was separating from her photographer husband Lee Henderson and next Sunday will be her first Mothers Day as a single mum. Speaking to Emerald City at Westfield Parramatta's Mother's Day high tea on Friday Henderson said that while she and Kitty, 7, have no plans as yet, they will do something special together. Henderson is currently renting in South Bondi while her ex-husband remains in the family home in Vaucluse. However, she insists dating is not on her agenda at the moment. "No, I'm not dating, definitely not," she said, adding that her KIIS co-host Kyle Sandilands has been a constant support since her marriage broke down. "He's incredibly protective of me and sometimes when listeners phone to ask if I'm dating he tells them to get lost," she said. Roll call of heavyweights at STC's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Any Sydney Theatre Company opening night begins with a traditional welcome to Gretel Packer and Cat on Hot Tin Roof was no exception. Artistic director Kip Williams was on hand at pre-show drinks to pay his respects to the donors present, including Packer, and investment bank UBS, which was represented by marketing boss Caroline Gurney. Theatre lover Gretel Packer is one of the STC's biggest donors. Credit:Paul Jeffers Packer is one of the companys biggest donors at a time when the cost of putting on large productions is rising steeply. Its not called the Roslyn Packer Theatre for nothing. The Sydney Theatre Company's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof stars Pamela Rabe, Zahra Newman and Hugo Weaving. Credit:Rene Vaile Fellow board member and former Liberal premier Mike Baird was there along with ANZ chairman David Gonski and recently-demoted state member Gabrielle Upton to see Hugo Big Daddy Weaving, Pamela Big Mamma Rabe and the cast knock it out of the park.
There was no pouty duck-face, Instagram, hair extensions world when I was at school, says radio host Jane Kennnedy.

We werent stereotypically feminine; we wore v-neck jumpers and cords and we loved comedy movies. There was a natural bent towards humour and itd be great to see more of that with girls now.

Telling jokes might have gotten Kennedy in strife at as a teenager but today, this skill attracts more than 1 million listeners across Australia.

Were in the Triple M studio she shares with on-air partner Mick Molloy; the decor a suitably rock n roll mix of black walls and exposed brick.
But the mood in Australia was quite different - it turns out we were relatively relaxed about political disagreement. Only 20 per cent said political divisions were dangerous for society, one of the lowest shares among the nations surveyed. Double that proportion - 40 per cent - said political differences were actually healthy for society. Another 19 per cent said that, while political differences were present, they were not having a significant impact. When international public opinion surveys are conducted Australia's results are often quite similar to those in the US and Britain. But that's not the case when in comes to attitudes to political divisions. Loading

In the US, where the political success of Donald Trump has roiled politics and stoked partisan rivalry, more than half of respondents said political divisions were a danger to society. In Brexit-riven Britain the share was almost a third. Ipsos pollster Jessica Elgood said voters in Australia were much less ruffled by political disagreements than in those two English-speaking nations we are so often compared with. "We're not feeling nearly as torn," she said. "There's an element of political calm in Australia." In another sign that Australians are relatively comfortable with a diversity of opinions only a third said the majority of their friends had similar views to them on climate change (31 per cent), immigration (32 per cent) and feminism (33 per cent). A quarter said their friends had similar views on religion.

Australia also had an above average share who considered it important to listen to people who have different views from themselves. "The data suggests we are comfortable with a breadth of opinions in our society," Elgood said. "There's a real tolerance for those differences." Four in 10 Australians (43 per cent) said they had a conversation at least once a month with someone with opposing views to their own on issues such as politics, climate change, immigration or feminism. One in five said they had a weekly conversation with someone holding different political views. But overall, politics remains a thorny subject for Australians. We seem less inclined to discuss it than people in many other parts of the world.

The share of Australian respondents who said they feel comfortable sharing their political opinions with those who might disagree was well below the international average. "There are various points in the data that suggest there's an element in Australian society where it's not quite polite to ask people about their politics in a way that's not the case in Europe, for example, or North America," Elgood said. "We don't necessarily know our friends' political views or how they vote  you may never have asked because it's not a socially acceptable thing to ask about and also because we don't use it to define each other." This trait was underscored by a survey question about attitudes to immigration, which is a controversial issue in many nations. In Australia, 36 per cent said they did not know their friends' views on immigration, the highest proportion among the 27 nations in the survey. (Australia also stands out for its positive attitude towards immigration - 46 per cent said it had a "generally positive" impact on the country, which was nearly double the international average and the third highest share among the nations surveyed.) Will Australia's tolerance for political differences last?
Malcolm Turnbulls son Alex, who went rogue on twitter shortly after the political coup that took down his father, and has continued since  mostly criticising hard-right Liberal politics  was particularly engaged last week.

The issue has been whether, as reported, he has or has not donated money to independents Zali Steggall and Kerryn Phelps. Alex Turnbull denied that he had donated a cent to either, but makes no bones about where his political sympathies lie  and they are not with the right wing of the Libs.

Malcolm and Alex Turnbull. Credit:AAP

When I asked him what his hope was for this election, he said: My hope is for a Labor minority government with moderate independents holding the balance. And Id like [Gosford rector] Father Rod Bower and [ACT independent candidate] Anthony Pesec to get seats in the Senate.

How much have you donated in this election? Six figures.
It was Peter*, a 41-year-old married dad of three, who works in construction and admires Clive Palmer, who really encapsulated the election campaign in a sentence. Education, health and all that, the big picture stuff... he said of the politicians election pledges thereof. Its white noise.

Peter (not his real name), who was one of the participants in a Parramatta focus group I observed this week, said what I have been subversively suspecting for much of the campaign. That is, that the giant funding figures the parties are throwing around like confetti, not to mention the economic modelling on those figures, and the brain-boggle of the various tax thresholds the parties are going to fiddle with, are not absorbed by many voters.

This is always the case, and experienced politicians know it, but it is particularly so in this election, where so many voters are disengaged, bored or too jacked off with politics to tune in with any conscientiousness.

There is much speculation about whether the large numbers of voters who have turned out to pre-polling booths is a good sign for Labor, or a good sign for the Coalition. Thats asking the wrong question: the only solid conclusion to be drawn from the avid pre-polling is that many Australians see voting as a nuisance task they would rather dispose of quickly so they can get on with their real lives, out of the shadow of politicking.
Activist group GetUp will spend up to $4 million intensifying its election advertising over the next two weeks as it officially endorses key independents on 800,000 how-to-vote cards.

Escalating a clash with the Coalition in the final fortnight of the campaign, GetUp will this weekend confirm it will throw its support behind independents, Labor and the Greens in the closest races at the May 18 election.

The group will mobilise 1750 members at 335 polling booths in 29 electorates to urge Australians to vote for candidates who will act on climate change, relegating the Liberals and Nationals to lower positions on ballot papers.

GetUp chief Paul Oosting defended the strategy in the face of Coalition accusations that the group is only an arm of Labor and the Greens and should be treated like a political party rather than an independent movement.

In terms of our advertising the big spend will be coming in the next few weeks, which is the key period when well be handing out these how-to-vote cards, Mr Oosting said.
Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words "right wing facist (sic)" have appeared on posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong.

Textas were used to deface a number of posters of the Jewish MP in Hawthorn overnight.

Prime minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Saturday the vandalism was "appalling", and called for anyone with information about the matter to cooperate with authorities.

"This is about crimes and hate ... this should have no place in our elections, absolutely no place," Mr Morrison said.
Bill Shorten will offer workers a $1500 wage gain from a tax plan designed to help employers grow, as he intensifies his pitch to voters on the economy in the final fortnight of the election campaign.

The Opposition Leader will outline an economic plan that could also create thousands of jobs from a $3.4 billion policy to give companies stronger incentives to invest in expansion and hire new staff.

Jobs: Bill Shorten with a worker at Direct Edge Manufacturing in Burnie. Credit:AAP

As the election race tightens, Mr Shorten will also pledge $500 million to fix waiting times at hospital emergency departments while accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of starving the health sector of federal funds.

Global companies such as Facebook will also face a crackdown by tax authorities in a Labor policy to curb the use of licensing agreements to shift profits offshore.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has nominated Japanese leader Shinzo Abe as a guiding light who he would continue to turn to for counsel on foreign policy should he remain in government after May 18.

And he has promised to "manage carefully" the relationship with China, given its economic significance for Australia, and the fact that more than a million people living in Australia have Chinese heritage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:AAP

Speaking exclusively to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on a flight from Darwin, Mr Morrison recalled having dinner with Mr Abe and his wife the last time he was in the Northern Territory capital.

"It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had ...and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period, because I became Prime Minister and went pretty much into the summit season" he said.
This combination of file photos created on January 16, 2017, shows US President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida and Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2016 in Berlin. AFP-Yonhap



U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to help keep pressure on North Korea until it dismantles its nuclear weapons program, Trump's spokeswoman said.



The two leaders spoke by phone and discussed nuclear agreements, trade, and the political situations in North Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.



"They spoke about North Korea for a good bit of time on the call and reiterated both the commitment and the need for denuclearization," Sanders told reporters at the White House.



"And the president said several times on this front as well the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," she said. "And that was again the focus of the president's comment on that front."



Putin held his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Russia's Vladivostok last month.









The meeting was widely regarded as part of North Korea's push to secure sanctions relief from other major powers following the breakdown of the second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in February.





Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, greet North Korea's delegation prior to their talks in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. AP-Yonhap
Samantha Flores was having a tough time getting through the airport. The signs were hard to see, the announcements were hard to hear, and the people rushing by made her feel unsteady on her stiffened knees. Finally, with relief, she made her way to a bench to sit down, catch her breath and take off her "age simulation suit."

Flores is director for experiential design for architecture firm Corgan, and the nearly 14-kilogram suit was meant to help her, a 32-year-old, experience the physical challenges of navigating the world as an older person. Goggles and headphones "impaired" her sight and hearing. Gloves reduced feeling and simulated hand tremors. Weighted shoes, along with neck, elbow and knee movement restrictors, approximated mobility limitations.

The percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050. Credit:Peter Braig

Using the suits is one way designers who work with airports and the travel industry in general are starting to look at creating spaces for different groups of people. And older people are one group whose numbers are growing.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050, rising to 22 per cent from 12 per cent.
After enthusiastically walking to work each morning, Tommy impatiently waits for the office door to open as smiles break out on the faces of his co-workers.

Tommy is the director of first impressions at Kidney Health Australia and part of a growing group: office dogs.

Tommy, the English springer spaniel, is the office dog at Kidney Health Australia. Credit:Eddie Jim

Dogs have always played a significant role in human life, from hunting in fields to service dogs. Therapy dogs are found in nursing homes, hospitals, universities and courts. Now dogs are entering the office with increasing frequency.

This growing trend is based on the belief that dogs improve human wellbeing and productivity. And it is not hard to find evidence to verify the claim that dogs reduce stress. A Harvard Medical School special health report found that just petting a dog can reduce the petter's blood pressure and heart rate.
There's no menu. Regulars  and that's most people here  know to come in, choose a soft roll or crusty ciabatta from one of the baskets on the floor and use tongs to put the roll on the counter. There it will be taken in hand by Louise McQueen or one of her trusty sandwich sidekicks to turn from mere roll into a Rocco Roll, a legendary western suburbs lunch.

There is an art to making a sandwich. Anyone who thinks it's just slapping stuff between bits of bread should come to Rocco's, an Italian deli in the backblocks of Yarraville. Rolls are made to order with care and flair, every element added with judicious attention, like a painter lovingly daubing a canvas.

Let the ladies decide for you (recommended, they nail it) or create your own combination of antipasto, cheese and meat. Most of the deli goods are made here: roasted capsicum, pickled olives, chunky basil pesto and tomato tapenade, grilled eggplants, maybe some artichokes. The cheese is usually Dutch maasdam and the meats celebrate the pig in prosciutto, capocollo, hot salami, ham and pancetta, a quality selection from Australia, Italy and Spain.

Rocco's cannoli. Credit:Jason South

You won't be surprised to learn that the quality of all these ingredients is key to the rolls' success. A less obvious factor is the way the cheese and meat are sliced: they're cut to order and shaved very thin. Paper-thin slices allow the cheese and meat to be furled over the vegetable elements, giving each roll such height and lightness that the bread lid fairly floats on the fillings. It's a beautiful thing, a terrific example of the simple turned into the sublime. And this magnificence costs $6.50. Six dollars fifty!

Rocco's has been serving the community since 1977. Founder Rocco Ida still comes into the deli every day but the business is now owned by Christopher McQueen, who bought the deli for his mother, Louise, born Louisa Torresin in San Marco di Treviso in the Veneto. Needless to say, this Italian woman has strong views on good food. In the two years they've owned Rocco's, they've been building the business  grazing boxes (order ahead) are going great guns, Louise's cannoli fly out the door, and there's a new lunchtime offshoot in Seddon  while maintaining a charmingly old-school operation for customers, many of whom are greeted like friends.

Most people take their rolls away but you can sit down at one of a few little tables with a copy of the local paper and a chinotto. This is no cafe: they'll stretch to an espresso but you'll need to take your caffe latte desires elsewhere.
In my last column, I looked at how low-means aged care residents can pay more for their accommodation than those who are market-price payers, which led one reader to ask but what if you were Australias richest person?" What a great question!

The cost of aged care is split into the amount you pay for accommodation and the amount you pay for your care.

Paying the market price for retirement accommodation can be expensive. The highest Refundable Accommodation Deposit at the exclusive Mark Moran Vaucluse is $2.2 million.

The majority of residents are not eligible for government funding towards their accommodation and pay the advertised price  or an amount up to this.

All residents, regardless of means, pay a basic fee of $51 a day towards their cost of care and, beyond that, a means-tested care fee, based on their assets and income.
The state government has ditched plans to retire Sydney's nine First Fleet ferries, instead deciding to upgrade them and extend their working life for at least another decade.

While the city's renowned Freshwater-class Manly ferries face retirement, the First Fleet vessels  perhaps best known for their Australia Day race on Sydney Harbour  will each undergo a $1.3 million refit, including work to improve passenger accessibility.

The First Fleet ferries race on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day. Credit:Rick Rycroft

The decision to upgrade the First Fleet ferries is a U-turn on the strategy detailed in internal government documents obtained by the Herald under freedom-of-information laws.

They reveal a four-stage "ferry fleet replacement" plan 18 months ago was to retire the First Fleet ferries as part of "tranche three", as well as seven RiverCat and two HarbourCat vessels.
After months of uncertainty, the Wangchuk family of Queanbeyan in the state's south-east has been told they will not be deported and can stay in Australia.

Immigration Minister David Coleman intervened on Friday and the family was granted permanent residency.

The family's visa had expired in mid-April after an application for permanent residency was rejected because their son Kinley, who is deaf, did not meet the health requirements set out by immigration laws.

Jangchu Pelden, Tenzin Jungney, Kinley Wangchuk and Tshering can now remain in Australia. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

A petition urging Mr Coleman to allow the family to stay was signed by more than 51,000 people.
Sydney's first driverless metro train line is expected to be opened to passengers on May 26, a week after the federal election.

Starting passenger services almost five years after construction started, the $7 billion Metro Northwest line from Rouse Hill to Chatswood will be the city's first privately operated suburban line, along which single-deck trains will run every four minutes.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Andrew Constance on a driverless metro train undergoing testing in March. Credit:Nick Moir

May 26 is understood to be the most likely date for the start of regular passenger services  to be operated by Hong Kong's MTR  partly because of time needed to inform commuters ahead of the resulting changes to rail and bus services in the city's north west.

The 36-kilometre line is the first stage of the Berejiklian government's plans for multiple metro train lines in Sydney. The second stage under construction comprises a line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and onto Sydenham and Bankstown, which is scheduled to be opened by 2024.
World-renowned conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall passed the baton onto the next generation of conservationists at Taronga Zoo on Saturday.

Speaking to Taronga Zoo Sydneys Youth at the Zoo (YATZ) and the Jane Goodall Institute Australias Roots and Shoots youth volunteers, she told them that "every single one of you can make a difference".

Dr Jane Goodall has passed the baton over to the next generation of conservationists. Credit:Steven Siewert

"Every day you get to make a decision on how the world can be better."

She said it was important to involve young people in conservation because otherwise "its a pretty grim outlook for the future".
A One Nation candidate in a key marginal seat used a member of the anti-immigrant extremist group True Blue Crew as a volunteer organiser while praising the nationalistic ideology at one of the groups events.

The right-wing group True Blue Crew marching on the streets of Melbourne during an Australia Pride March in 2017. Credit:Chris Hopkins

One Nation has now forbidden candidates from associating with True Blue Crew, which was banned from Facebook after posting Islamophobic messages in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

But a former state secretary of the party is acting as a spokesman for the group, orchestrating events with a range of right-wing politicians.

The Brisbane seat of Petrie, one of the federal elections tighter contests, is held by a 1.6 per cent margin by the Liberal National Partys Luke Howarth, who has admitted he needs One Nation preferences.
Queenslands corruption watchdog has urged public sector organisations to make sure their officers know there are serious consequences for inappropriately accessing restricted information.

Following a number of incidents of public officers, including police and corrective services officers, accessing information inappropriately, the Crime and Corruption Commission has highlighted one case which it says illustrates the scope of the problem.

The CCC has urged all public sector departments to lift their game when it comes to information security.

Lan Phuong Le was a case manager with Queensland Corrective Services, in charge of supervising people subject to court orders.

She had access to two restricted databases - the QCS Integrated Offender Management System and the Queensland-Wide Interlinked Court System.
President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, April 15. Moon's right is National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong. Yonhap



South Korea's presidential office said Saturday that North Korea's firing of short-range projectiles is contrary to the purpose of inter-Korean military accords last year.



It urged Pyongyang to stop acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, briefing media on the results of an emergency meeting of top security officials held hours after North Korea fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea.



Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, presided over the session, according to presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung.



Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon joined the meeting, along with some other officials in charge of national security.




The coffee and lunch was good too. And then I learnt that for $10 ($8 concessions) there is a bus tour to hear the full story  and its fascinating. It's worth getting the full story. Credit:Brismania. As Peter, the guide, who has worked there for so long he has an excited sense of ownership, recommends, come and look at your own backyard. The facts and figures are staggering.

Firstly, there are new cars, lot and lots of them  250,000 a year in fact  fresh from the production lines of China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe. Toyota is No.1 followed by Hyundai and Mazda and the average stay here is one month. They are picked up by trucks and delivered all over Queensland as well as to northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory. The port hosts 250,000 cars a year. Credit:Brismania. The ships, which Peter describes as ugly but functional, discharges 500 vehicles in eight hours, and two arrive each day. This big floating car park will be gone by tonight, Peter says.

There are 30,000 brand new cars in the port as he speaks. Brisbane also has Australias smallest export coal terminal - Newcastle is the biggest. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Ten coal trains a day, each with two locomotives hauling 41 graffiti-covered carriages, come in from Ipswich and Oakey. The black thermal steaming coal is export-only and used for electricity generation, mainly in Japan. Each carriage opens up to drop 3000 tonnes of coal an hour on to conveyor belts that take it straight to the ships hold.

Nearby is the woodchip terminal. Pine plantation timber from south-east Queensland and northern NSW is cut into 12-metre poles to fit into containers bound for China. The offcuts go into a woodchipper and the bulk loaded into ships to make cardboard in Japan. There are round containers for oil, gas and fuel. An oil tanker that arrived full yesterday will leave tonight empty, its crude deposited at the Caltex Refinery at nearby Lytton. The grain terminal at the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. The grain wharf is a temporary cruise passenger facility until the new terminal opens. It is used by only about 40-50 cruise ships a year. These are the ships that cant get under the Gateway Bridge, are longer than 270m so they cant turn in the river, or if two arrive the same day and theres no room upstream at Hamilton.

For the second time since its opening in 1987, the grain terminal is importing grain. Loading Rather than wheat and barley going out, 100,000 tonnes of grain a month is coming in from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria to rescue drought-stricken farmers. Sitting in various allotments around the port are components for 123 wind turbines from Malaysia, China and Europe as AGL builds Australias biggest wind farm at Coopers Gap north of Dalby. Each turbine has three 65-metre carbon fibre blades and it takes one cargo truck to carry each. They have to be hauled up the Toowoomba Range in the early hours of the morning, so it will be a while before they are all gone.

Containers are used for things that wont fit on a conveyor belt or pipeline. In one yard, three huge tyres for mining equipment stick out the top of a container. Giant cranes in the white, red or black livery of their owners line the wharves. Cranes dot the skyline. Credit:Brismania. The mind boggles at the logistics that so many containers can be so carefully monitored to see them move around the world and a small shipment will still arrive at the right place to find its owner. Brisbane is leading the way here too. When Patricks opened its Brisbane AutoStrad Terminal in 2007 it was the first automated container terminal in Australia.

It uses microwave radar from Finland to move its containers. They are like robots running around almost one kilometre of quayline. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Nearby DP World has 16 automated container stackers, two in each of eight working bays with 500 metres of rail line. They glide up and down rails, lifting containers between the coming and going trucks and ships. Among all this industry, the Port of Brisbane has left 12 hectares for a roosting lake where there are viewing points for birdwatchers to observe the pelicans, ducks and migratory birds. With 3000 employees, this is a busy world of its own.
Curtin researcher Adam Cross dropped down to his hands and knees, yelling in excitement, as he realised he had just discovered a population of thousands of extremely rare carnivorous plants in the Kimberley.

The finding was the largest Australian population of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, an aquatic venus flytrap, ever discovered and the first one found in the Kimberley in 20 years.

Dr Cross said he was still pinching himself.

Curtin researcher Adam Cross holding a sample of the rare carnivorous plant at the site of the discovery.

An eager botanist from the age of six, he had spent the last decade unsuccessfully searching for the plant in swamps and billabongs across northern Australia.
The states first Public Spaces Minister plans to create half a billion dollars of public value from his $150 million budget to increase open space in Sydney.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes told The Sun-Herald he would buy up forgotten land across Sydney to create new parks and playgrounds, linkages between green space, and cycleways to meet the needs of the growing population.

Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said planning for open space had been "ad hoc" in the past. Credit:Wolter Peeters

I effectively have $150 million dollars in capital that I've been given as part of this portfolio, Dr Stokes said. I'm keen to turn that into more than half a billion dollars worth of value to the community by working with councils and collaborating with landowners to make sure I eke every last little bit of value out of that money in the interests of current and future generations. Its a lot of money, but I know that if we're smart about it, we can make it go a lot further.

He plans to reclaim bits of land choked with morning glory and lantana such as gaps between development sites and riparian corridors set aside for drainage and find an interim use for public land set aside for utilities like water pipelines or future motorways. Most of that land was already owned publicly and the priority for acquisition would be sites that connect areas of green space.
College Park, Maryland: A Florida man is facing up to 20 years in jail on charges of defrauding Australians and other clients who hoped to become parents, via a company that offered to locate and financially support pregnancy surrogates.

Gregory Ray Blosser, 37, was arrested on Monday in Florida on a wire fraud charge, according to federal prosecutors.

Blosser has operated The Surrogacy Group since 2012, with offices in Annapolis, Maryland, and Tampa, Florida. Clients paid Blosser tens of thousands of dollars to find surrogates and support them during pregnancies.

A British couple's baby born to a surrogate mother in Anan, India. Credit:AP

Blosser failed to either locate suitable surrogates or pay for their fees or medical expenses after clients deposited money into escrow accounts, a criminal complaint says.
Minneapolis: The City of Minneapolis will pay $US20 million ($28.5 million) to the family of Australian Justine Damond Ruszczyk , who was unarmed when she was shot and killed by a police officer after calling to report a possible crime, city leaders have announced.

The civil settlement comes comes just three days after the former officer was convicted of Damond's murder.

Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis in 2017. Credit:Start Tribune/AP

The settlement reached with the family is believed to be the largest stemming from police violence in the state of Minnesota. It's believed that Mohamed Noor is the first Minnesota officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Asked about the amount and speed of the settlement, Mayor Jacob Frey cited Noor's unprecedented conviction, as well as the officer's failure to identify a threat before he used deadly force.
POND ISLAND:---Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day. Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.



The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation. With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the cornerstone of democracy for any functioning society.



Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.



Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.



I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.



In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.



According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
A week ago a report on the lack of governance and integrity of the Prosecutors Office in the Netherlands which was requested by Het College van Procureurs Generaal has been completed and published by Commission J.W. Fokkens. This rapport was sent on 25th April 2019 ref: 2579192 by Minister of Justice and Safety Ferd Grapperhaus to the Chair of the Second Chamber in the Netherlands for further debate and handling, expect serious consequences. Not surprising Chapter 4 from the report was excluded due to confidentiality and sensitivity findings of the Prosecutors leadership.

Based on the rapport of ANP (Algemeen Nederlands Pers Bureau) on the 25th April 2019 Minister of Justice Fred Grapperhuis mentioned that the findings of the Commission revealed a conclusion which was very critical not only breaches of integrity behavior of two senior officials of the OM but also the way in which the top of the organization has dealt with the issues  was stated.

As a follow up however more alarming reports are now surfacing on Prosecutors work methods and ethics surrounding high profile and complex cases. Both the magistrates and judges in the Netherlands have already warned Prosecutors arm of Justice to tackle the breaches of integrity and clean up its mess internally which was published by Marcel Haenen on 24th April 2019 in the NRC.

In Curacao and St.Maarten certain prosecutors have been identified in cases and much has been published in the past

Mink Case (source: report Volkskrant 20 July 2007 ANP)

Prosecutor Saskia de Vries carried witnesses whose reliability and hardly found to be ascertained. The court discussed all of the witness statements as having no relevance. The dossier was 120 ring binders with possible new evidence provided by De Vries however the court declined all.

The witness statements, which were deliberated in the courtroom for many hours, did not prove to be useful as evidence. The suspect was acquitted after 10 years investigating work. She was also the prosecutor on the Saffier case of the former president of the CBCS (Central Bank) Tromp who was also acquitted.

Report VU (source : Klaagschrift Vrij Nederland published 22 September 2009 ; report included)

A complaint was launched by 5 prosecutors to the Board of Journalism in Netherlands against VU for publishing their wrongdoings which wrote about the behavior of several prosecutors including Mevr.mr Saskia.Devries. The klaagschrift strongly disagreed again with the two journalists who wrote the articles, and not applying hoor weder hoor (listening to both sides) principle. The findings from Commission Fokkens however challenges that VU findings become relevant and more credible. In the article on page 10 it explains the dispute of the accusation was about changing and converting information ,pre- lying to judges, manipulation of information and withholding vital evidence. In 2009 de Board of Journalism concluded that accusations were not accurately publicised and that the integrity could not be questioned, however Independent Commission Fokkens report now concludes differently about the integrity of the OM-organization .

Holleerder Case and Yugoslav murder Case (source page 5 of 11 : Sjoemelen Loont ; fiddling rewarded Harry Lensink en Marian Husken, August 2009)

As published Prosecutor Saskia de Vries withheld important evidence from the defense. She lied in an appeal, the court judged. De Vries is still a prosecutor on behalf of the National Parquet. In 2006, she made the case against drug trader Mink Kok and lost due to manipulation with witness files. They also withheld information from them. In Two Recent cases  Holleeder and a Yugoslav murder case  again the lawyers complained about the manipulation of the evidence.

The fact is that lawyers should take these breaches seriously and once these are exposed during a trial it will lead them to the Inadmissibility of the case by the court. Consequence the waarheidsvinding (truth finding) principle of a case is lost and a costly police investigation is wasted. The state/country sometimes ends up in millions-damage claims because of this behavior especially withholding of valuable (ontlastend; unburden)information.

The process which is currently taking place in the Netherlands with independent Commission Fokkens deserves some credit which is just the beginning to expose noncompliance by the prosecutor's organization not only in the Netherlands but in Kingdom. Any further feedback for any relevant information the independent Commission can be reached This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact BIOM (Bureau Integrity OM) online or call +31-(0)6-11 03 11 32) if closed call +31-(0)88-3713033 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Having an example function and upholding democratic law with integrity is vital for any country. End of the day no one is above the law, not even the prosecutors. Even though the findings from the Commission Fokkens report (identifying a lack of proper governance and integrity by the OM-organisation) is worrisome it eventually will force Prosecutors to be more transparent or face consequences. The question now is should critical OM-functions be mandatory screened by an independent body?

Click here to view original articles used as sources.




South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has met with Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and agreed to work together to expedite their economic exchanges and cooperation, Lee's office said Saturday.







During the meeting held in Lisbon on Friday (local time), the two officials discussed ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields including the economy, energy and science, according to the prime minister's secretariat in Seoul.







Pointing to Portugal's stable economic situation and marked growth, Lee called for "the continued expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries by boosting corporate investment in each other."







Expressing high interest in South Korea's auto industry, Costa asked for Korean firms' active investment in its auto parts technologies.







Moving on to geopolitical issues, Lee expressed gratitude for Portugal's "constant support for peace of the Korean Peninsula," and Costa reaffirmed his country's constant backing for such peace initiatives, according to Lee's office.







The Portuguese prime minister also expressed his president's willingness to invite President Moon Jae-in to his country, the officials said, while noting that Costa is scheduled to visit South Korea in July.







Lee was in the European country on his way to Colombia from Kuwait. He embarked on the overseas trip on Tuesday, which will also take him to Ecuador before he returns home on May 10. (Yonhap)


The black fragment of Almahata Sitta meteorite number 15 shows up black against the lighter colored rocks of the Nubian desert in northern Sudan.

How do I spot thee, asteroid? Let me count the ways.

in a series of presentations Monday (April 29), the first day of the 6th International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference, scientists from different Near-Earth Object (NEO) monitoring systems discussed their successes and what the future might bring.

First up, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Davide Farnocchia talked about a system that holds information about potential space-rock candidates. During his presentation, Farnocchia said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Scout Hazard Assessment system had worked well when the boulder-size, near-Earth asteroid called 2018 LA entered Earth's atmosphere as a bright fireball over the Botswana-South Africa border in June 2018.

Related: Diamonds in Meteorite May Hail from Our Ancient Solar System

Space rocks are designated with the year they are first spotted. This asteroid was spotted not only the same year it descended toward Earth, but also just 8.5 hours before it hit Earth's atmosphere.

Scout's goal is to continually monitor the objects listed on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCRP). This webpage lists unconfirmed objects, keeps tabs on details like an object's trajectory (called the ephemeris) and gathers information related to the object's hazard potential. Instead of providing a rigorous probability assessment, Farnocchia said, Scout's automated system produces impact ratings and scores to identify interesting objects to stay ahead of an object's sometimes short observation arc, or the time between an object's first observation and its most recent one.

An object gets removed from the system when the Minor Planet Center gives it an alphanumeric classification after more observations pour in. Eventually, if time passes and an object remains unclassified, it, too, is removed from NEOCRP and Scout.

3122 Florence is a triple-asteroid system. The radar capabilities of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico were able to detect the small satellites around the larger object. (Image credit: IAA/Patrick Taylor/Arecibo Observatory/NSF)

In space and on the ground, there are other projects dedicated to watching for big rocks in the sky.

Next came a presentation on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently in progress. From the Cerro Pachon ridge in north-central Chile, the LSST mission plans to spend 10 years surveying the sky to achieve ''achieve astronomical catalogs thousands of times larger than have ever previously been compiled,'' according to the LSST website . Las Cumbres Observatory in California also has something in the works: presenter Tim Lister brought up a software tool kit called Target and Observation Manager (TOM) , which is designed to facilitate astronomical observing projects. As of January, this software toolkit now contains a module for importing targets from the Scout NEOCP Hazard Assessment system.

Astronomer Joseph Masiero shared recent results from the NEOWISE mission, the asteroid-hunting portion of the polar bear-sized Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. NEOWISE has spotted over 190,000 small bodies in space by collecting infrared information as it orbits Earth, and the mission's most recent release of data went public on April 11, 2019.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico offers a powerful method for scientists to narrow down how an asteroid moves in space, and what size and shape it is. Researcher Patrick Taylor said during the conference that by making radar observations, the observatory can determine properties about small bodies. For instance, Arecibo's radar revealed that there are in fact two small moons orbiting the asteroid 3122 Florence , the last object observed before Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017, said Taylor, adding that optical instruments would not have been able to make that detection.

Hurricane Maria damaged Arecibo and the island at large, but the facility is back up and running. In addition to facility repairs, staff at the observatory worked with the local community to support their recovery process, too.
The many faces of Lego Luke Skywalker. (Image credit: Lego)

20 Years of Lego Star Wars Minifigures

The annual "Star Wars Day" holiday, May the Fourth, is a wonderful time to look back at the 40-plus years of franchise history that has inspired fans throughout the world. We now have three sets of Hollywood movies, several television shows, and countless comic books, costumes and other merchandise to inspire us.

And of course, there are the Lego Star Wars building sets and minifigures  dozens upon dozens of them. Just like the Lego Millennium Falcon has changed with time, so have the minifigures that represent Luke Skywalker and his fellow characters from a galaxy far, far away.

Click through this gallery to see how some of the most iconic Lego Star Wars minifigures have evolved over the last 20 years.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline
It may not be the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but a SpaceX "Falcon" launched into space today just in time for Star Wars Day.

The Falcon 9 rocket (which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk named in honor of the fictional Millennium Falcon from "Star Wars") launched a Dragon resupply ship filled with NASA cargo from Florida's Cape Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning. By coincidence, the mission launched on May 4, or May the Fourth, as fans of the "Star Wars" film franchise call it.

"May the Fourth be with you," SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said while signing off the company's live launch commentary, a callback to the "May the Force be with you" phrase of the Jedi in the "Star Wars" films. NASA spokesperson Jennifer Wolfinger also echoed those words in the space agency's own broadcast.

Related: The Best 'Star Wars Day' Deals for May the Fourth!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA lifts off from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

SpaceX has developed three types of Falcon rockets over the years: the small Falcon 1, the workhorse Falcon 9 and the heavy-lift Falcon Heavy. And while they don't look anything like the iconic Millennium Falcon flown by Han Solo and his Wookie pal Chewbacca in "Star Wars," there are some striking similarities between the two space vehicles.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA streaks into the predawn sky after launching from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

A Reusable Cargo Freighter

Just as the Millennium Falcon is a Corellian freighter haul payloads (and sometimes passengers) across the galaxy, SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters are built haul payloads into orbit. (SpaceX no longer flies Falcon 1 rockets. The last one flew in 2009.)

The first stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are also reusable, just like the Millennium Falcon. In the "Star Wars" universe, Han Solo and other characters regularly refuel and fly their Falcon over and over again.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline

During today's Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX returned the booster's first stage to Earth with a pinpoint landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast of Florida. The booster will eventually fly again, launching more NASA cargo to the station on at least one more mission, and possibly a third, said Kenny Todd, NASA's manager for international Space Station operations and integration, after the successful launch.

Elon Musk has said that eventually, SpaceX hopes to fly a Falcon 9 rocket twice within 24 hours. That would put SpaceX's rockets on par with the Millennium Falcon, which appears to have made the trip from Tatooine to the Death Star (near the former site of Alderaan), only to escape the Empire and reach the Rebel base on Yavin 4 all in the same day in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope."

Related: Our Favorite 'Star Wars' Ships from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Millennium Falcon isn't the only fictional object SpaceX has named its vehicles after. The Dragon spacecraft, for example, are named after Puff the Magic Dragon, Elon Musk has said. The company's drone ship landing pads, "Of Course I Still Love You" and "Just Read The Instructions," are named after the giant sentient starships of "The Culture" series by science fiction author Iain M. Banks.

It's only sheer coincidence that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the Dragon cargo mission for NASA on "Star Wars Day."

The mission was originally scheduled to launch April 26, but was delayed several times to allow time for extra vehicle checks, await optimal orbital mechanics conditions for flight, as well as fix a minor helium leak at the launchpad and electrical issue on the drone ship.

Dragon is carrying more than 5,500 lbs. (2,495 kilograms) of experiments and supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station. It will arrive at the orbiting lab early Monday (May 6).

You can watch Dragon's arrival live here, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Monday.




Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il called for thorough protection of the basic rights of the people on Saturday, reaffirming his clear opposition to government-led judiciary reform bills.







He made the remarks upon arriving at Incheon International Airport after cutting short his four-country trip, as he caused controversy earlier this week by openly criticizing the bills that call for the expansion of the independent investigative authority of police.







"I also agree with voices for changes in the prosecution's way of carrying out its duties ... But the fundamental rights of the people cannot be compromised at any cost, and there should not be any confusion in executing the investigative rights," Moon said.







Speaking of simmering discontent from the prosecution over the bills and its growing confrontation with police, Moon said he will "assess (the situation) and respond accordingly" after full consideration.







The bills, which were among President Moon Jae-in's key election promises, are designed to curb prosecutors' authority by establishing a special agency to be tasked with looking into allegations of corruption by senior public officials and redistributing investigative powers between the prosecution and police.







Prosecutors have said the envisioned arrangement, where the police would be empowered to initiate and close cases without approval from the prosecution, may end up giving the police excessive power without any measures to keep them in check.







A package of the bills has been fast-tracked in the National Assembly after a brawl among rival parties.







The top prosecutor had been on a tour through Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Ecuador since Sunday for talks on extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance treaties. (Yonhap)


NEW HAVEN  If the city police union had accepted the most recent contract offer by the city, its officers would have been the lowest paid among a group of 12 departments in lower-income municipalities, union President Florencio Cotto Jr. said Friday at anews conference, standing in front of dozens of plainclothes officers outside police headquarters.

According to information distributed at the event at 1 Union Ave., the citys April 18 offer of 2 percent increases this year and next, with no retroactive pay, would mean the top salary would be $71,056 in 2020. The officers have worked without a contract since 2015. The starting salary now is $44,400. The cost of health insurance also has been a point of contention in negotiations.

Well be the lowest of the lowest of the lowest in the state of Connecticut, Cotto said. He said the union had asked Mayor Toni Harp for the citys last, best offer before it would trigger arbitration. Before we go to arbitration, give us the best you can do, Cotto said the mayor was told. The union then overwhelmingly rejected the 4 percent increase through 2020.

We took her at her word, when our membership rejected that offer ... we were in arbitration, Cotto said. The union voted to go into arbitration in July 2018.

Contrary to the mayors suggestion, the union is again willing to sit down and settle this contract as it always has been, Cotto said.

Mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Friday, As far as the city is concerned, the Elm City Local can pursue one of two strategies. Either they can continue with the arbitration process, which has been going on now for over a year, will take several more months, and seems to be frustrating union leadership, or they can return to the table with a counteroffer that is more than a year overdue.

At a news conference Thursday, Harp said the union had not made a counteroffer to the citys April 18 offer and asked for a reasonable proposal. She said the union, Elm City Local Inc., would have done better negotiating with the city directly rather than going before an arbitration panel.

This years top base salary is $68,297 in New Haven. Of the 12 lower-income towns and cities with populations above 45,000, top pay ranges from $71,480 in Hartford to $87,316 in Hamden.

All of the offers made to settle this case were off the record because the two sides are in arbitration, said Stephen McEleney of Manchester, attorney for Elm City Local. There is a hard and fast rule in negotiations that you do not discuss  what are termed off-the-record proposals.

McEleney did not provide the unions last pre-arbitration offer but said it included retroactive pay.

Cotto also disputed the mayors contention that the department is not losing minority officers for better-paying departments at a rate that reduces the diversity of New Haven police. Harp, responding to a union statement that black and Hispanic officers were leaving the city in higher numbers than white police officers, said those who have left in the last five years mirror the percentage of those that have been recruited, hired and trained during that time. She said 60 percent of those who have retired since 2014 have been white.

McEleney provided a list of officers who this year have retired or resigned to take jobs with other departments, including the FBI, Torrington, Hamden, Meriden, Clinton, Stamford and Danbury. He said seven of the 10 were black and Hispanic. However, according to the printout provided, it appears that five were white, three were black and two were Hispanic. One is a woman.

Three of the resignations take effect Saturday and one on Tuesday.

Cotto said he called the news conference in response to Harps, which he called a personal attack on myself [and] union leadership.

He said the union was preparing a new offer Thursday and that negotiators would attend the next session with Harp.

Cotto said the mayor invited us back to the table on Thursday.

Both sides in previous statements asked the other to follow the example of Bridgeport, where police and the city agreed last month to a five-year settlement, with retroactive increases of 1 percent for 2016, 2.5 percent for 2017 and 2 percent in each year through 2020. That will bring the top base salary in Bridgeport to $75,163 in the last year.

According to policeapp.com, starting salaries in other Connecticut towns range higher than in New Haven, Hartford or Bridgeport, including $63,375 in Torrington, $68,944 in Norwalk and $67,184 in West Hartford.

As of early February, there were 377 officers on New Havens force, which is budgeted for 495 sworn positions.

According to information provided by the union Friday, 28 officers have left the force this year or will next week through resignation or retirement. Seventeen of them are white, six black and four Hispanic. All but one is a male.

Justin Elicker, who is challenging Harp in this years Democratic primary for mayor, attended the news conference and said that when he talks to police, Universally, officers say to me that they love their job but they havent had a contract in three years and that creates uncertainty thats led to the loss of so many officers to the suburbs. Morale in the police force is at a low.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
NORWALK  A tractor trailer car carrier fire Saturday afternoon on Interstate 95 caused a traffic nightmare when the highways northbound lanes were shut down for an hour and a half while crews battled the blaze.

Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to Interstate 95 north for a reported car carrier fire just before 2:30 p.m.

The first fire unit on scene reported a tractor trailer car carrier with a cab on fire, as well as three vehicles on the carrier fully involved with fire and a fire in the passenger compartment of a fourth vehicle, officials said.

Once firefighters realized the extent of the fire, Norwalk firefighters called on Darien Fire Department to help. Then police and fire units shut down I-95 north between Exit 13 and Exit 14.

The highway was shut down while crews battled the heavy blaze, allowing firefighters to have unobstructed access to the fire and to allow units ease with shuttle water to the tankers from the nearest available hydrants.

The I-95 north on-ramp from Scribner Avenue in Norwalk had been closed while crews worked to put out the fire. Police officials said the ramp reopened at 3:43 p.m.

As drivers realized the traffic build up, scores of vehicles exited the highway, crowing local roads  mainly Route 1 in Norwalk.

Just before 4 p.m., the left lane of travel on the highway was reopened while the center and right lanes remained closed. At that point, the DOT reported that traffic was congested for about 7 miles leading up to the area of the fire.

Fire units cleared from the site of the fire at 4 p.m. and all highway lanes were reopened soon after.

There were no injuries reported, fire officials said.

The Norwalk Fire Marshal Division is investigating the cause of the fire.
President Donald Trump has shown a disturbing willingness to adopt measures pushed on him by his favorite Arab dictators, even when they contradict standing U.S. policies and the judgment of seasoned national security professionals. At the urging of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, he tweeted his backing in 2017 for a boycott of Qatar, a key U.S. ally that hosts a huge U.S. air base. More recently, he signaled support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli - and was opposed by the United States until Trump was lobbied by Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Now the White House has disclosed that it is seeking to implement another one of Sissi's asks: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sissi, who in 2013 led a coup against a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government, has been seeking such a U.S. action for years. He has been rebuffed until now for good reason: Such a designation, especially if broadly cast, probably would be found illegal by U.S. courts and would greatly complicate relations with half a dozen countries where Brotherhood groups participate in parliaments or government.
Is the Met Gala 2019 the most extravagant yet? At Monday night's Met Gala, guests embraced the ball's camp theme - based on the Met Costume Institutes Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition.

While the event always brings in donations worth millions for the Costume Institute, the amount of hours, money and people it takes to pull it off is eye-watering.

It's a process Sylvana Durrett, the planner of numerous Met Galas, has finessed over the years. Speaking in 2017 to Fast Company on how the event has changed, she said, We do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests, so in the past few years, weve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people. We also wanted to be mindful of budgets. We are constantly evolving and learning from all sort of things.

Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

You cant please everybody. We always like to think theres not a bad [seat] in the house, which really there isnt. You have to come away confident in the notion that you are doing your best, and that inevitably not everyone will be happy. But we have a pretty good track record, she continued.

Weve broken down all the key numbers, from how much a ticket costs through to how many people will be on the Met Gala's guest list this year.

Beyonce and Jay-Z at the 2014 Met Gala / Getty Images

$35,000

The price of a single ticket to this year's Met Gala.

$200,000 - $300,000

The price of a table at this year's Met Gala.

$0

How much it costs to attend the Met Gala if youre a celebrity being dressed by a fashion brand with its own table.

$3 million

How much Yahoo reportedly paid for two Met Gala tables in 2015.

$3.5 million

How much it costs to put on the Met Gala.

$13 million

The amount raised at last years Met Gala for the Institute.

500,000

The number of real roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase

250,000

The number of silk roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase.

71

The number of times the Met Gala has been held.

Zendaya at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

1946

The year the first Met Gala took place, held by publicist Eleanor Lambert - though it wasn't called the Met Gala, back then it was a fundraiser for the Costume Institute that was held each year in a smart New York location outside of the museum.

Gucci's Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto at 2018's Met Gala / Getty Images

May 6, 2019

The date the 2019 Met Gala will take place. It is always held on the first Monday in May.

7pm

The time that red carpet arrivals to the Met Gala begin.

George and Amal Clooney at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

1.6 million

The number of people that attended the last years Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit at the Met Costume Institute.

24

The number of years Anna Wintour has been chairwoman of the Met Gala.

1995

The first year Anna Wintour hosted the Met Gala as chairwoman.

Anna Wintour at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

18

The minimum age you have to be to attend the Met Gala, which is deemed not an appropriate event for people under 18.

600 - 700

The number of guests who typically attend the Met Gala.

5

The number of co-chairs for this year's event, including Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Harry Styles and Gucci's Alessandro Michele (whose brand is also sponsoring the accompanying exhibit).

Lena Waithe at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

183

The number of A-listers on the hosting committee.

48%

The percentage of actors on the benefit committee, including Blake Lively, Lupita Nyongo, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe and Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at the Met Gala in 2017 / Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

32%

The percentage of fashion designers on the benefit committee, including Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, Valentinos Pierpaolo Piccioli, Givenchys Claire Waight Keller and Tom Ford.

20%

The percentage of guests from miscellaneous backgrounds on the benefit committee, including philanthropists Wendi Murdoch, Annette De la Renta and athletes Venus Williams and Cam Newton.

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala / Getty Images

$820 - $910

The price of a hotel room at the Carlyle, where stars frequently get ready for the Met Gala.

Tracee Ellis Ross leaving The Mark for the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

3

The number of courses served at the Met Gala.

P. Diddy at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

70,000 square yards

The length of the Met Galas carpet in 2016.

200

The number of photographers and media people approved to cover the event.

Getty Images

325

The number of bottles of champagne that 2016s guests drank (there were 610 attending that year).

50,000

The total number of hours that go into preparing for the Met Gala.

Cara Delevingne at the 2013 Met Gala (Splash News)

200

The number of items in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit.

1964

The year that Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag - the essay that inspired this years exhibit - was published.
W hen Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett met at primary school, something instantly clicked.

Rachel taught me about Manet, Picasso, and Kruger, while I taught her an appreciation for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Mobb Deep. The first time I saw her she was wearing a Winnie the Pooh tee shirt and bike shorts - so weve been through a lot together, Burnett recently told the Standard.

Burnett went on to study art while Rachel studied fashion, and the pair launched their fashion label Twenty-Seven Names soon after.

Those early days were all hustle - Rach and I did everything, Burnett said. Over the years weve built a small but dedicated team to help us, but our vision is still the same. We make beautiful clothing, and we put our heart and soul into it. Whats important to us now and for the future is that were contributing in a positive way to the lives of the people who make, sell and wear our clothes.

The result for the New Zealand-based brand is a luxury label made both ethically and sustainably  on each garments page you can find where the item was cut and made along with the provenance of the fabric, lining and trims.

Twenty-Seven Name designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett / Twenty-Seven Names

We recently spoke to Burnett about her travels below.

All-time favourite holiday

The first time I went overseas I was 25, and Rachel and I went together. We went to London, Paris and Japan. It was before the internet was a thing - definitely pre-Instagram. My mind was completely blown. I had a spiritual experience at Musee Dorsay in front of Manets Olympia. I dont think anything will ever compare to the first time I left New Zealand.

Favourite country to visit

Japan. It is such an easy place to travel. Everyone is so kind, and the food is amazing.

Anjali and Rachel in Japan in 2012 / Supplied

Favourite city

Ive only been to Rome once, but I would love to go back there, I think its such a cool city. Its so trippy - you walk around the corner and theres the Pantheon! Theres such a wealth of history there. And well, pasta.

Favourite beach

I live at the beach - Lyall Bay in Wellington. The water is a bit brisk but youll find me there most weekends.

Favourite restaurant

Rita, a small but perfectly formed restaurant in Aro Valley, Wellington. The food is perfect. Its a set menu, so theres no faffing around with what to order, and it feels like youre in someones home. Its my favourite place to eat in the world.

Packing essentials

Jeans, sneakers and stripy tees. Silk yoryu is a great fabric to pack for a trip - you never need to iron it and it always delivers.

Carry-on beauty essentials

I run a pretty simple ship on that front - but lip balm and moisturiser are essentials.

Anjalis top picks from the Twenty-Seven Names collection:

Twenty-Seven Names

Cannonball jacket, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Balloon skirt, 315. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Mana dress, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Ngahuia dress, 240. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Tidal dress, 240. Shop here.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in a north London hair salon.

In February, 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was chased into the salon, in Wood Green, where he was cornered and stabbed to death.

Sheareem Cookhorn, of Park Lane, Tottenham, has now been charged with murdering Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man.

He appeared in custody at Highbury Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Police in Wood Green after the stabbing / PA

It comes after Tyrell Graham, 18, of St Helens Place, Leyton, was charged on Monday with the murder of Mr Gabbidon-Lynck as well as attempted murder and robbery.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on July 11.

Police were first called to reports of a group of people fighting in Vincent Road on the evening of February 22.

Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the 20-year-old were found suffering from stab wounds. Mr Gabbidon-Lynck died in the hospital in the early hours of the next day.

The 20-year-olds condition is no longer life-threatening.
Two Australians carry an ROK soldier to safety. Tolkien wrote: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness  nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



By Amanda Price



On April 25 every year, silence surrounds almost every Australian city and town. It is profound silence that articulates a collective grief words cannot express. In the silence, we remember and are thankful for the men and women who defended us and those who defend us today.



In some strange way, the wars that tear us apart evolve into recollections that unite us. This is not an Australian phenomenon. Around the world, nations scorched by the fierce injustices of war find solace in collective grief and gratitude.



Despite these moments of solidarity, the ugliness, cruelty and depravity of war remain unchanged.



There is no glory in war. There are no moments that outshine the carnage, the brutality and the deaths of innocents; no redemptive events that make the killing less horrific, or the destruction less devastating.



Those who have lived through wars, who fought in wars, or lost loved ones during wars, are consoled only by fleeting moments of humanity; occasions in which individuals were not conquered by the evil that surrounded them.



When the North Korean Army poured over the 38th Parallel into South Korea, no one was prepared for the sheer scope and force of the evil that would engulf the Korean Peninsula. No one anticipated that cities and villages on both sides would be razed, or that millions would lose everything they had, including their lives.



The war demonstrated that ideologies can be excuses for wanton bloodshed, that political agendas could justify all manner of horrors, and that innocent men, women and children could be executed on nothing more than a suspicion.



More than a territorial struggle, the Korean War grew to resemble an utterly chaotic genocide where no one knew who to kill or who to save.



To find even a faint silhouette of goodness during the Korean War was, understandably, beyond the grasp of many. Yet, amid the sulfurous clouds and charcoal smoke, such moments did exist.



None of these moments, even collectively, have the power to expunge atrocities and erase fears, but that does not mean they should be forgotten.



Remembrance, after all, is not our attempt to justify or make sense of war, but our attempt to uphold the value of life, and remember those who did the same.





"Many children have forgotten how to smile," wrote a young nurse during the Korean War. Two officers from the RAAF's 77th squadron visit the Children's Hospital in Seoul (1951). Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



A British war correspondent in Incheon wrote about Chung Ha-joon, a young man he had shared a shelter with during a storm. Chung was an elementary school teacher who resisted the Japanese occupation. As Kim Il-sung's troops sought to occupy South Korea, Chung decided to resist by gathering children and continuing classes, albeit in bombed-out buildings. As enemy forces pressed southward, Chung abandoned his classes but not his pupils. Chung saved over 60 children from ransacked villages, before being caught himself.



Song Ji-won volunteered to become a nurse when she was 12 years old. At the time, she was an orphan living in a church-run orphanage. When children her age were outside, she was shadowing Korean doctors watching how they treated the sick and wounded. She had an aunt somewhere, and sent letters with soldiers in the unlikely case they found her. She wrote with wisdom beyond her years: "Many of the younger children have forgotten how to smile, they don't remember anything before the war. I help feed them, clean them, play with them but to make them smile again, that is what brings the greatest joy."



Near the end of the war, Ji-won was informally adopted by a German medical unit in Seoul, where she trained as a nurse. According to the clinic's records, Ji-won later became a pediatric nurse and continued to work in orphanages.



George Drake, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, arrived at Incheon and, within weeks, had volunteered with a dozen other U.S. soldiers to work in the few orphanages that could be found. Many were run by courageous Korean doctors, nurses and ministers, many of whom had lost family themselves.



When Drake and others saw the desperate situation of the children and their carers, they realized they had to do more than give up their time and rations. Almost immediately, Drake and other soldiers began writing home to their families, to churches and Rotary clubs, asking them to send clothes, food, books and as many supplies as possible.





U.N. war correspondent Douglas Bushby and the director of the Hope Orphanage.? Bushby worked side by side with Korean aid workers and leaders to help orphans, refugees and POWs. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



As donations for the children began to pour in from individuals and organizations, the U.S. Army was compelled to hire a freighter to ship all the supplies to Incheon. In just over s year, 12 tons of supplies had been shipped in and handed out to Korean orphans.



Assisting with the work of war orphans and protecting children became a secondary role for many Korean, U.S. and Allied soldiers. Nationality was irrelevant and soldiers took on a new sense of duty to those whose lives were inextricably changed because soldiers were there.



At a battle in Chongju, Ian Robertson, an Australian sniper, recalled that he and a mate spotted five terrified children. "I called to them in Japanese, 'Come here!' and they ran over to where our mortarmen were. The mortarmen got them to hop into our gun pits and gave them their own helmets to protect them. There wasn't enough room for all of them so two of the mortarmen jumped out and took their chance in the open without protection."



William Chrysler, from the Canadian light infantry, tearfully explained: "We'd get our rations but nearly everybody would go over and give it to the kids. You wouldn't eat and watch those little wee kids there without any food  they had nothing, we had to do something."





Sergeant Suleyman and Ayla (Turkish for Halo). The Turkish soldiers found 20 orphans on the battlefield and built a makeshift orphanage out of tents until the Ankara Turkish orphanage was built for them. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



Sergeant Suleyman, a 25-year-old Turkish soldier, was in a fire battle when he found a five-year-old girl huddled in the bushes. Her family had been killed and her whole village destroyed. Unable to get her to an orphanage, Suleyman became her surrogate father and cared for her for a year and a half. Though he was forced to leave her with a Turkish-sponsored orphanage when the war was over, they found each other years later.



Chaplain Terence Finnigan reported that many soldiers, seeing orphans near starvation point, simply picked them up wherever they were found and brought them to barracks, orphanages, churches or army chaplains.



It became quickly apparent that the need for more orphanages was critical, so military headquarters in Korea issued a request for funds. "The response was extraordinary," Finnigan wrote. Korean and Allied soldiers from almost every unit and force sent in donations. Because of the soldier's actions, literally thousands of orphaned children were saved from death.



William Asbury, director of field operations during the war for the Christian Children's Fund, described the soldiers as "an army of compassion" and calculated that of the 400 orphanages in Korea, over 90 percent operated with the financial and practical support of soldiers and military officials.?



In an interview with British media, light infantryman Reginald Bentley explained: "The faces of those Korean kiddies were like a healing balm after we'd returned from a bloody battle. Spending time with them, giving them what we could was the least we could when homes were bombed by our side  it didn't soothe our conscience, but it helped our souls."



Though caring for children is a basic human responsibility, never in previous history have thousands of soldiers united with such resolve and open-handedness to save and protect the lives of thousands of children. Never have soldiers worked so cohesively alongside Korean doctors and nurses to build, support and sustain orphanages and medical clinics specifically for children.



With the support of Korean nationals, many military units bought rice paddies and established small businesses that would help fund orphanages after soldiers withdrew.



William Asbury explained: "The soldiers involved in this support were not exceptions, they were examples."



Compassion, however, could be found even among the enemy lines.



Col. Hess worked with Korean pilots and air force officers to evacuate 1,000 war orphans from Seoul using 15 transport aircraft. He also worked with Korean doctors to build an orphanage in Seoul. Yonhap
T raders at the historic Smithfield Market believe there will be a profound impact on their businesses if plans to move the site to east London go ahead.

The centuries-old meat market is expected to leave its Farringdon site after plans were put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporations main decision-making body.

Under the new proposal Billingsgate Market and New Spitalfields Market would also move to the Barking Reach site.

There has been a livestock market at the Farringdon site for over 800 years but the redeveloped Victorian buildings where Smithfield now resides were officially opened in 1868.

The redeveloped market, which celebrated its 150th birthday almost a year ago, is the only one of the three to remain at its original site in the heart of the City.

The City of London Corporation said the move will allow for more modern facilities and space for traders to grow.

The market is 800 years old. / Associated Newspapers

One independent trader, who did not want to be named, said tenants have been told there are no concrete plans but if there eventually is a move, it will have a big impact.

I think it will have profound impact on all the businesses once Smithfield is moved to a site like that, he said.

I don't think we're going to have the room to do what we do as wholesalers now.

Oliver Absalom of Absalom & Tribe said the company has been trading at Smithfield since 1976 and new regulations brought in by Transport for London is making things complicated for customers.

Smithfield still works very well, he said.

But he conceded there will be some benefits to the move.

If and when we move we would benefit from being with the fish and the fruit and veg companies in one big market - that we're interested in.

But as it stands right now it still works right now what we're doing.

Cathy Calkine, who trades with Abbijoe, said she is likely to retire if the move goes ahead.

Ive been here for 32 years so I wont go when it goes, (the location) is a long way away for me now, she said.

It is sad because it is taking a little bit of London away really isnt it.

Smithfield Market is currently located in a Grade II listed building in Farringdon by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones who also designed Tower Bridge.

It opens at 2am every weekday morning, with most of the trading completed by 7am.

After the announcement of the new plans to move the site, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, said the City is committed to keeping the historic markets in London.

She said: The City's three world-leading wholesale food markets at Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield have been serving our citizens for hundreds of years, and we are committed to their future for London.

In order to secure their continued success, and after careful consideration of a number of options, Barking Reach has been agreed as the preferred site for consolidating the City Corporations wholesale markets. We intend to use this new site to offer more modern facilities and space for traders to grow so that they can continue to support the capitals food economy.

We will soon be launching a public consultation on our preferred option. As part of this process, we will continue to engage with market tenants, traders and their customers, and other key stakeholders across London.
T heresa May has told MPs that the disastrous local elections give a "fresh urgency" to breaking the Brexit deadlock.

The PM made the rallying call for breaching the impasse as the Tories reeled from losing more than 1,300 council seats.

"We have to find a way to break the deadlock - and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this," she wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

It comes as both main parties attributed their struggles in the elections to Brexit.

TODO: define component type apester

Labour also lost more than 80 seats and party figureheads said a resolution needed to be found for Britain's departure from the European Union.

Cross-party talks on the matter so far appear to have delivered little results, though the PM vowed these will continue.

"We will keep negotiating, and keep trying to find a way through. Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about," she wrote.

"The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line."

Theresa May is negotiating with her Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn / Getty Images

She had previously said the elections as a whole carried a "simple message" for both the Conservative and Labour parties: "Just get on and deliver Brexit."

Commenting on the discussions with Labour she said: "I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either."

Mrs May also took the opportunity to promote the deal she had already agreed with the EU, though admitted she sees no sign of it being passed by the Commons.

TODO: define component type apester

"I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK - a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws," Mrs May wrote.

"The free movement of people will end - giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades.

"However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing."

Prime Minister Theresa May said the local elections showed a need to move on with Brexit / Getty Images

However, earlier in the day environment secretary Michael Gove issued a renewed plea for MPs to back Mrs May's deal.

In a speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference, Mr Gove said: "(Mrs May's deal) enables us to leave the EU while safeguarding essential interests and liberating us to enjoy new opportunities."

The call from the PM comes after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer claimed Cabinet ministers place more importance on the next Tory leadership contest than Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer the shadow Brexit secretary / EPA

He made the comments in a swipe at foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt's warning that a customs union would not be a "long-term solution".

The Labour frontbencher tweeted: "This is yet more evidence that for many in the Cabinet the most important thing right now is the next Tory leadership contest."

Despite there appearing to be disagreements, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said a deal between Labour and the Tories could be done in the new few days.

She told reporters at her party's conference in Aberdeen: "We are getting closer and closer.

"There's not that much between the two parties as I understand it from people in the room."

While Mr Hunt also spoke of his desire to get a Brexit resolution, warning that if politicians do not resolve the issue then they will have "failed as a political class" in doing what Labour and the Tories promised at the last general election.

Following the poor local election showing, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith earlier said Mrs May must set an "immediate date for departure" following the party's disastrous performance at the local elections.

Mr Smith said she appears to be a "caretaker" Prime Minister, urging her to either set a date for her exit or for senior Tories to do so.

With talks between Labour and the Tories expected to resume early next week, the Sunday Times reported Mrs May was prepared to give ground in three areas.

These were customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.

The paper said the Prime Minister would put forward plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU.
H ardline Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois today predicted Theresa Mays time as Prime Minister will be up if the Conservatives suffer a dreadful night in the upcoming European elections.

Mr Francois, Jacob Rees-Moggs deputy for the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs, said the patience of the partys 1922 Committee could finally snap if  as has been forecast in polls  it is humiliated in the May 23 elections.

It comes after the Conservatives suffered significant losses in Thursdays local elections.

Labour also lost seats, while the Lib Dems, Greens and independents make gains.

In an interview with the Standard in his Westminster office, the former minister, who has so far been part of two attempts to oust Mrs May, also refused to sympathise with her on a personal level: Her heart has never been in leaving the EU no, I dont feel sorry for her.

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And asked about his partys European prospects later this month, Mr Francois was just as forthright: Let me be very clear: I am going to vote Conservative in the European elections. Let there be no confusion about that. But if we believe the bookies, they say we are going to have a pretty dreadful night.

Self and Francois in TV stare-off

"The door knocking I did for the local elections seems to confirm that. We are going to have a very tough night on May 23.

If the Conservatives do have a very bad night, that will increase the pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.

Mark Francois in conversation with anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray in Westminster last month / Yui Mok/PA

Last month, Mr Francis wrote a letter entitled enough is enough to 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady, calling for an indicative vote of confidence in Mrs Mays leadership. It ultimately failed after the committee voted by nine votes to seven against this.

But he insisted: It was extremely close, and I believe the committee might well review that decision after the European elections.

Mr Francois, though, didnt raise the Prime Ministers Brexit woes when he last spoke to her in the lobbies a few weeks ago: We just had some pleasant chit-chat. I dont think we spoke about Europe.

There has even been chatter about the Rayleigh and Wickford MP taking over Mrs Mays job after he bet 10 on himself taking over as Tory leader.

Mr Francois at the 'March to Leave' protest in Parliament Square on March 29: the original scheduled Brexit date / Kirsty O'Connor/PA

I did it as a joke with a friend," he said. "I got 200/1. But another friend of mine put a bet on this week, where my odds had been slashed to 100/1.

I think there might well be an ERG candidate in the leadership election, but realistically its unlikely to be me.

Pressed on whether he would like to stand, he would only say: Well, I did it [the bet] for a laugh.

Lets see who emerges. But I suspect somebody might. You may not have long to wait to find out.

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Francois Brexiteer standing is such that a new brewery in his constituency named a beer after him. It is called Special Place in Hell, mocking European Council president Donald Tusks inflammatory tirade against Brexiteers in February.

Proudly producing a bottle of the four per cent ale in his office, he beamed that its going absolute gangbusters in the brewerys taproom.

But he said he was deeply unhappy at how the ERG has been portrayed in the Brexit debate: We have had all sorts of name-calling. David Lammy said we were Nazis. The Chancellor called us extremists, Chris Patten [former Tory chair] called us vermin and Donald Tusk sent us all to hell.

Davids comments were utterly ridiculous and he demeaned himself by making them. At the end of the day, we want Britain to leave the EU, and thats what 17.4 million UK citizens voted for. Does that make me a Nazi? No, of course it doesnt.

I think there are many people in the establishment  and I would count David Lammy as part of that  who cant stand the ERG because they desperately want to remain in the EU and we want to leave. Because we are so determined to fight for that, they dont like us."
G avin Williamson branded the enquiry into a leak that led to his firing "shabby" and a "witch hunt" as he criticised the PM's handling of the situation.

His comments come after Scotland Yard deemed the disclosure of information from the National Security Council meeting was not sufficiently serious to warrant a criminal investigation.

In a new statement, former defence secretary Mr Williamson said: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill."

Mr Williamson was fired earlier this week after being linked to the leak of information regarding Huawei's potential involvement in building the UK's 5G infrastructure.

Signage at the Huawei offices in Britain / REUTERS

Reports last month suggested Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the PM overruled five ministers who expressed concern the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying.

They also said it could undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Prime Minister Theresa May previously insisted sacking Gavin Williamson was the right decision / Getty Images

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary and the PM said there was "compelling evidence" he was behind the leak.

He strenuously denies any involvement in the information being shared.

Earlier on Saturday, the Met Police's assistant commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting.

However, he was "satisfied" that the details disclosed to the media did not "contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He said: "I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police."

Mr Williamson previously said he would welcome a police probe, believing it would "absolutely exonerate" him.

Theresa May previously said firing Mr Williamson had been the right decision.

Mrs May told ITV News: "I did take a difficult decision.

"This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table."
A Cabinet minister has branded crushing local election losses a "punishment" for the Tory's response to Brexit as senior ministers called for unity within the party.

Calling the outcome disappointing, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the result would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the party needed to listen to the results and "be in a mood for compromise"

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said "purists" in the party were putting the Brexit "in peril".

AFP/Getty Images

Mr Gauke said it was time to address the "big issue" of Brexit.

He told BBC Breakfast: "What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit. We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Minister's meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

"I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation."

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said that the message from voters was to get on, deliver Brexit and then move on as he said MPs need to be in a mood for compromise.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The electorate... right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration."

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock / AFP/Getty Images

He indicated that he was prepared to back compromise with Labour's call for a post-Brexit customs union arrangement with the EU.

"I think the Prime Minister's deal is a better arrangement than a permanent customs union, but I think we need to be in a mood for compromise," said Mr Hancock.

TODO: define component type apester

"We need to be listening to these results from these local elections which are about 'deliver Brexit', not 'deliver this particular form of Brexit'."

He suggested both sides in cross-party talks would have to shift on their Brexit stance: "I think we do need a mood for compromise, but compromise often involves looking at the different positions of different groups and coming up with something in-between."

The Foreign Secretary pointed the finger at "purist" Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories' drubbing.

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Asked who was responsible for the losses, Mr Hunt told reporters in Africa: "You can look at lots of different groups of people - you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

"You can for sure look at Government - I'm sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently."

Conservatives dropped more than 1,300 seats

In a speech to Scottish Conservatives, Mr Javid emphasised his "one nation" credentials and warned delegates a divided Tory party would usher Mr Corbyn into Downing Street with the support of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

He added: "It's clear our union, our country and our party are all at a crossroads. And we know that it's in times of uncertainty that the seeds of radicalism are sown.

"There are three different revolutions seeking to exploit this situation: Corbyn's socialism. SNP-style separatism and far-right populism."

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you."

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as Prime Minister and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was "the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters".

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was "always going to be difficult" at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

She said: "Because we haven't delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties."

Labour lost 82 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.
M uslims across the world are welcoming the holy month of Ramadan.

Observed as the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan sees Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset in order to devote themselves further to their faith and ultimately bring them closer to Allah.

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the presence of a new moon signals the start of a new month.

Ramadan began on the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that Monday May 6 is the first official day of fasting.

Heres everything you need to know:

When is Ramadan 2019 in the UK?

Why does a moon sighting committee signal the start of Ramadan?

Muslims observe the start of the new moon / Getty

The moon sighting committee is responsible for watching the moon and announcing the start of Ramadan.

The committee will be searching for the moon after Maghrib prayers on the 29th day of Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

If adverse weather conditions make it difficult to see the moon on this day, sightings can also be considered on the 30th day.

But if the moon is spotted, then the process is repeated at the end of the holy month and the start of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan.

When will Ramadan start in the UK?

The UK follows guidelines set by the UAE committee to determine the start of Ramadan.

This year, the moon was spotted the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that fasting has been confirmed to start on Monday May 6. It will continue for 30 days until June 4.

Does Ramadan start on the same day in all Muslim countries?

All adult Muslims are expected to fast over the month of Ramadan / Getty Images

No. Some Muslim countries such as Oman opts to call Ramadan independently of the rest of the Gulf, with the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia celebrating the holy month on the same dates.
A n earthquake hit Surrey overnight with residents reporting how an "explosion" shook local homes.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) received dozens of reports from people disturbed by the quake, which hit the region at 1.19am on Saturday.

It is the latest in a series of tremors in the area.

Preliminary information indicated a 2.5-magnitude quake, centred on Newdigate near Gatwick, had struck at a depth of 2.3km (1.4 miles), the BGS said.

"Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience," a BGS spokeswoman said.

"Typical reports described 'windows and doors shook', 'felt like some sort of explosion' and 'a loud bang woke me up'."

The BGS is asking residents to fill in a questionnaire on its website to record what they experienced.

Several people commented on social media that they had felt the tremor in the Crawley area.

One Twitter user said: "Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!", while another added: "Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up..."

The quake hit after a sequence of seismic events in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were "keeping an open mind", there was "still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities".

He said: "It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural - due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean."

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
B rits are braced for a wintry Bank Holiday weekend with temperatures set to plummet to -4C.

Parts of the country will see temperatures almost ten degrees lower than average for this time of year as forecasters warned of widespread frosts and hail during the weekend.

It will also be much colder than the same time last year, when the mercury hit 28.7C in Northolt, west London, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday weekend since records began.

Forecasters warned some parts of the UK will only reach highs of 2C on Saturday.

The UK will experience widespread frost over the Bank Holiday weekend / Jeremy Selwyn

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said there will be "plenty of sunny spells for the majority of the country on Saturday but the further east you go the more likely you are to see showers, with hail quite likely."

He told the Standard: "Temperatures to start the weekend could reach 13C maximum, most likely in south and south-west of the UK but if youre exposed it will feel like 2C, with a very cold feel down the east coast.

"Overnight it will be cold with clear skies, showers in the east gradually easing off. Widespread frost is likely, we could see as low as -4C in western parts of the UK."

Temperatures will be slightly warmer on Sunday, with dry spells and temperatures of up to 14C after a frosty evening.

"For Sunday it's a fairly similar picture, much of the UK will be dry with sunny spells. Late showers are possible but very few and far between," Mr Partridge said.

"Overnight into Monday the forecast remains largely the same, light winds with clear skies, showers continuing in the far northeast but plenty of clear skies mean it will be another frosty night to come."

Forecaster Richard Miles added: "Saturday will be the worst day of the Bank Holiday weekend in terms of chilly showers and possible hail on the east coast, though Sunday and Monday will be a lot more settled.

Frosts are expected across the UK next week / PA

"Sheltered, hilly areas in the north and Scotland could see colder and wintry weather in the evening from a northerly direction.

"The west should escape most of the colder weather, in Wales it could actually be quite nice, normal weather and the same in parts of Northern Ireland, as most places go to double figures during the day."
I slamic State bride Shamima Begum would face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she went to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

Ms Begum's family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out "what is obvious to all".

"Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladesh's problem," he said.

"What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping - taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

"The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamima's citizenship.

"This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be."

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
N orth Korea has fired several short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, according to reports from South Korea.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analysing the details.

If it is confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from US president Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported on Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 125 miles before splashing into the sea toward the north-east.

An intermediate range Hwasong-12 launched by North Korea in 2017 / AP

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter-range nuclear-armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Korea's actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

In a sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticised national security adviser John Bolton.

North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified "tactical guided weapon".

During the diplomacy that followed the North's weapons tests of 2017, Mr Kim said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

These short-range projectiles do not appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Mr Kim's displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

The South's presidential Blue House had no immediate comment on the launches.

The country's liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.

Japan's Defence Ministry said the projectiles were not a security threat and did not reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Mr Kim.
Seonkyoung Longest



This is the first in a series of interviews telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned into social media success stories. -- ED.



By Jane Han



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When Seonkyoung Longest began cooking Korean food out of her small Mississippi kitchen with little to no fresh Korean ingredients, she didn't dare to dream that, in just a few years, she would become a YouTube celebrity chef.



''I still remember the first day I stood in front of the camera,'' Longest said in an interview with The Korea Times. ''It was a very cheap digital camera that my husband owned and I had it awkwardly propped on top of a salt container."



That was 2010 and the beginning of her wild journey on social media that now brings her more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million followers on Facebook as well as 250,000 followers on Instagram.





Bulgogi



Since debuting her first video on YouTube, Longest has cooked up everything from traditional Korean bibimbap and bulgogi to the staple American Chinese dish chicken chow mein and popular Vietnamese pho noodles.



Her humorous and upbeat YouTube show ''Asian at Home'' began with a focus on Korean cuisine, but quickly expanded to cover a full range of Asian dishes.



''I think that was the turning point for me,'' Longest said, as she recalled her expansion four years ago. ''It was leaving my comfort zone and experimenting with and embracing other cuisines, and that alone enabled me to reach a much bigger audience.''



For the 35-year-old, this wasn't the first time to leave her comfort zone.



Fresh from Korea in 2009, starting a new life in Mississippi after marrying her husband who was, and still is, in the U.S. military was already a life-changing event.



''I was lonely and depressed. I didn't have a job, friends or family and all I did was wait for my husband all day,'' Longest shared of her past. ''I thought I spoke decent English, but the southern accent was a whole new level for me. All in all, I was struggling.''









She remembers watching the Food Network most of the day, getting inspired by famous chefs and TV personalities like Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray and trying to replicate some of their dishes in her own way.



''Believe it or not, I only started cooking after I moved to the U.S.,'' said Longest. ''Because if I didn't cook, I didn't get to eat any Korean food. We didn't have much money to eat out so cooking at home was a necessity.''



And being creative with her ingredients was also a necessity.







''There was only one other Korean person in the entire town I lived in and the closest Korean grocery store was a five-hour drive away. You get the picture,'' she said. ''So I was able to shop for fresh Korean ingredients maybe only once or twice a year.''



That was for more than five years, which gave her plenty of time to get acquainted to and learn to use everyday ingredients in American grocery stores.



The self-taught chef's experience and flexibility show in her 10- to 20-minute videos as she is generous in allowing ingredient substitutes.



But before taking any of her recipes public, Longest makes sure she experiments it in her own kitchen a countless number of times.



''There's a reason why people trust my recipes,'' she said. ''I don't share a recipe just to fill up posts on social media. If I don't have one ready to share, I just don't because I'd rather not share than share a bad recipe. I have very high expectations.''





Wasabi Shrimp Spaghetti
F our Palestinians including a pregnant woman and her baby daughter have been killed while three Israelis have been wounded amid rocket fire.

Palestinian militants have fired more than 200 rockets into Israel and this has drawn dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip.

The round of intense fighting has broken a month-long lull and the Israeli military said it struck 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit her home.

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike / EPA

Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded in east Gaza City and died later in hospital, while another child was injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door.

Another Palestinian was killed in the northern Gaza Strip and officials identified the victim Saturday as Khaled Abu Qlaiq, 25.

Southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara / AFP/Getty Images

Local media reports said he was travelling on a motorbike when a drone missile hit him.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire and a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel.

A teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Previously, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip / AFP/Getty Images

Air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence.

It said this was done by the shooting and wounding of two Israeli soldiers on Friday.

Meanwhile, leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators.

These were aimed at preventing a fraying ceasefire from collapsing.

It is a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week.

It will also be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in the middle of the month.
A funeral has been held for three children of Denmark's wealthiest man, after they were killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, was seen comforting his wife and their surviving daughter at the service.

The coffins of his three children, named Alfred, Alma and Agnes, were seen covered in flowers outside Aarhus Cathedral on Sunday.

It has previously been suggested Mr Povlsen was hurt in the blast, at the Shangri La Hotel in Colmbo, himself but it is not clear to what extent.

A funeral service for the three children of Anders Holch Povlsen (R) and his wife Anne (C) is held at Aarhus Catherdral in Aarhus / EPA

Denmark's prime minister and members of the Danish royal family were in attendance at Saturday's service.

Povlsen, 46, is behind the fashion brand Asos and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

eDanish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (r) arrives for the funeral service / AP

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsen's wholesale fashion business Bestseller, previously confirmed the couple lost three children in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Nine bombers co-ordinated blasts targeting churches and hotels frequented by foreign tourists.

One suicide bomber reportedly educated in the UK was radicalised after leaving Britain, his sister said.

It is believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals and the group has claimed responsibility.

In an update on investigations into the attack, Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena said: "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers."

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks, which shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.
T housands of yellow vest protesters took to the streets of France for the 25th weekend in a row.

The activists, who began by speaking out against a fuel tax and have since taken wider issue with President Emmanuel Macron's policies, demonstrated in Paris and elsewhere across the country.

Some 18,900 protesters took part in the latest marches nationally, the Interior Ministry said.

This figure, compared with 23,600 a week earlier, was the lowest turnout since the action began.

Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures 1 /28 Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures A Yellow Vest protester gestures behind flames rising from a barricade AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester wearing a mask depicting the French President on which is written 'psycho' AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protester walk past flames rising from a barricade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on March 16 AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester destroys a shop window during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters gather near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images A news stand burns during a yellow vests demonstration on the Champs Elysees AP Protesters next to a burning barricade during a demonstration REUTERS A Yellow Vest protester writes a graffiti on the wooden fence outside of the restaurant "Le Fouquet's" AFP/Getty Images A yellow vest protester walks past a fire on the Champs Elysees avenue AP Yellow Vest protesters look at the destroyed window of a Hugo Boss shop AFP/Getty Images Flames rise from a newsagent set alight by protesters during clashes with riot police AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces stand behind a burning barricade AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces walk past a scooter seen in a broken store window AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest holds a flag during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS protester wearing a yellow vest attends a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest shouts at police as he attends a demonstration REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest holds up a flare during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS There were chaotic scenes in the French capital REUTERS A man blasted by water from a water cannon in Paris AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest throws a stone AFP/Getty Images

In Paris three protests had a turnout of 1,460 against 2,600 last week.

The weekend protests came days after a wider May Day rally was marked by violent clashes in Paris.

"Many of them were shocked by the behaviour and repression of last Wednesday," Herve, a protester in Paris, told Reuters.

"So it's not surprising to see that it's lagging behind a bit regarding the turnout."

The decrease in numbers will be a relief to President Macron, who last week made a series of policy proposals to address the issues raised.

In addition some yellow vests joined a rally against climate change in the northern city of Metz.

They gathered in the city as G7 environment ministers were meeting and the demonstration gathered 3,000 participants, the ministry said.

In contrast, tens of thousands of labour union and yellow vest protesters had taken to the streets across the country on Wednesday.

Those demonstrations that saw clashes between anarchists and police, especially in Paris.

The protests, named after motorists' high-visibility jackets, have been marred by violence, in what is seen as a revolt against politicians and a government they feel are out of touch.
H ollywood star Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving.

This comes after after his arrest for failing a drunken driving test last year.

On Friday an attorney for the 49-year-old "Wedding Crashers" star entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor count in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Vaughn was arrested June 10 at a sobriety checkpoint, in the upscale community of Manhattan Beach.

Police say the Dodgeball actor repeatedly refused to get out of his car.

He then failed a field sobriety test and a blood alcohol test.

Vaughn was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation while also being ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program.

He has been told that if he drives drunk and kills someone he could be charged with murder.
The faculty at Yonhee University, circa 1956.



By Robert Neff





Fred Dustin and some of his students, circa 1957.

In 1955, Fred Dustin, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, returned to Korea after completing his degree in the United States. He had been recruited by The Asia Foundation and was the first English teacher to arrive.



Dustin was assigned a teaching position at Yonhee (now Yonsei) University but, in the beginning, there was no housing available on campus, so he was forced to stay the first couple of weeks at the Bando Hotel.



Seoul at this time was a shattered city and ruined buildings were the norm. The Bando Hotel was the tallest building and, as Dustin recalled, was the center of sophistication. It was a popular place for the foreign community to live and was equally popular with Koreans wanting to learn or practice their English.



"It was almost impossible to sit down for a cup of coffee or a meal, especially without an elderly Korean gentleman suddenly materializing seemingly from out of nowhere and introduce himself."



Dustin was later given quarters on campus at a building commonly known as the White Russian House. One of his roommates, for a short time, was Edward Wagoner  the founder of the Korea Institute at Harvard University. They both joined a group of expats who formed the Koryo Club where they shared ideas and experiences over beers. Very little scholastic work was accomplished but a lot of beer was consumed.





Fred Dustin and his class at Yonhee University in July 1957.



Like the rest of Seoul, the university had suffered during the war. Dustin recalled:



"The school had returned from Busan a year or so before and there was so much damage. The first fall of 1955 was difficult. Many of the classrooms still had no windows and some were missing doors so it was terribly drafty."



Dustin, however, soon found the lack of windows to be a blessing as they provided "enough ventilation to keep the smell of kimchi in continuous agitation." He later complained of the smell to Horace Underwood who, with the wisdom of a sage, suggested the only solution was to eat kimchi. Dustin followed his advice and soon found himself to be a fan of the spicy Korean dish.





Looking out from the campus, circa 1957.



Dustin was impressed with his students. They studied diligently, despite the cold and the hardships. Supplies and teaching materials were scarce and the teachers often had to make do with whatever was on hand or they could create. The students had a "real fervor for education" and would "sit bundled up in those frozen classrooms" all day with nary a complaint.



Perhaps the most difficult obstacle was love.



Two students in his class  a male and female  soon found themselves in trouble. "They were the famous 'campus couple' and earlier in the spring had almost been kicked out of school for openly smooching on campus [and] holding hands  even in class."





Fred Dustin and two of his students.





Edward Wagner and Fred Dustin in front of the White Russian House, circa 1957.

Most of the students from his classes graduated and rose to high positions in the government. "I remember reading The Korea Times and seeing names I knew," recalled Dustin. "[They] would rise up and then tumble down." Some were victims of politics while others suffered from their own greed.



Dustin went on to teach at several universities. He was an entrepreneur who dabbled in many different businesses  many failed but a few were successful and prospered. The most successful is, undoubtedly, the Kimnyoung Maze on Jeju Island.



He was a caring man with a weakness for cats  the maze is filled with them. He believed in helping those around him and actively supported the Jeju community both financially and in spirit.

Dustin died on May 5, 2018. Jeju and Korea lost a great supporter and I lost a great friend. I like to think that his spirit lives on within the maze  nourished by the sound of children's laughter, the lazy purrs of cats and the recollections of those who knew him, as they munch popcorn and drink grape juice in his memory.



Rest in peace my old friend.





The guard's hut near the White Russian House. It was there to guard the Underwoods' berry patch.





Looking west toward the Han River, circa 1955.





Dustin's teaching assistant, circa 1957.
It is a supportive learning environment, Cherry said.

She, too, was not to fond of the exams. She thought they were tough and the overall atmosphere in class was high pressure.

It is high pressure, but it should be because peoples lives are in your hands, Cherry said.

The sisters never set out to have 4.0s. Their goal was to be as good as possible. Once they neared graduation, they couldnt believe they had done it.

It was something that just happened, Paula said. It was nice to have Cherry with me because it made us a little more competitive, but we were also there to encourage each other.

Helping one another

Paula said she couldnt have done it all without Cherry. She was up for the adventure, but she began right after she was divorced. There were days she thought she could not do it.

Cherry was there to carry me through those times and boosted my morale, Paula said. She was there saying, You got this and Its going to be amazing.
On Friday morning, as the students enjoyed 15 minutes of recess, they waived at Benzel and Wright while asking them how they got up on the roof and how they were going to get down.

Several students thought they were not going to sleep on the roof all night.

I was thinking they were telling us lies and werent going to stay up there, DeSantos said.

Student Owen Lathan echoed DeSantos comment.

At first, I didnt think they were going to sleep on the roof because nobody actually thought they were going to go up on the roof, he said. When I did see them on the roof and saw their flashlights when I was driving around the school just to see where they were, I was surprised.

During a morning assembly Friday, Wright and Benzel entered wearing their robes and slippers. While Benzel shared that he did not feel well-rested, it was worth it to celebrate the students achievements.
SCOTTSBLUFF  The Scottsbluff City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 6, at 6 p.m., at the Scottsbluff City Hall Council Chambers, 2525 Circle Dr.

Items on the agenda include an acknowledgment of a contract offer from Riverside Discovery Center and an update from the City Manager on collective bargaining negotiations with fire, police and public works employees with a brief explanation of the negotiation process.
What changed? Asking that question -- especially in an era of scandal and pain -- leads to doctrinal questions that are just as troubling as the hellish puzzles linked to decades of reports about sexual abuse among Catholic clergy.

Here is one reality that must be discussed, according to Lawler. Many parishes began shrinking when Catholic families began shrinking. At the same time, many Catholic schools began to decline. Smaller families produced fewer priests and nuns.

The general appreciation of our Catholic heritage began to lag at roughly the same time that the American birth rate went into a steep decline, he wrote. Is it surprising that we, as a people, stopped thinking so much about what we would pass along to our children, during the same years that we stopped having so many children?

While many Catholic leaders focus on Mass attendance, Lawler said he thinks that its just as important to note how many Catholics are going to confession -- ever. Courageous bishops may even want to ask how often their priests go to confession.
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By Hwang Jae-ho





Nishino Junya
It just seemed like for the most part, they didnt want to have a conversation with us, they wanted to inform us more of things that were already pretty informed about, so they were just telling us things that we already know, and lecturing at us, to an extent, instead of having a conversation with us, Megan Skouby, South Iredell High School teacher and ISAE building representative said. We were hoping to go in with an ideal of being able to sit down and have a conversation. We brought a good base of representatives from the school district to try and cover all the bases, and not everyone was able to speak due to some of the time constraints, but also because they (representatives) sort of took over that conversation.
A new coffee shop in Statesville is making sure it strictly sticks to the idea of being local.

See more photos at the bottom of this article

The Coffee Lodge, which had a soft opening April 27, is working to be a place for locals to embrace their community. It embraces its customers with a rustic, log-cabin feel by using wood throughout the interior and exterior designs of the building, an electronic fireplace and deer heads mounted on the wall.

This homey shop is catering to the country at heart with a modern twist thanks to the unique style of the owners. Chris London and Heidi Goodheart, a couple whose love brought them to Statesville, came up with the idea of a coffee shop after being at Cedar Stump Pub in Troutman during a snowstorm. The couple didnt want to leave, not because of the snow but because of the community.

Later, they stumbled upon the location of what is now the coffee shop and they thought it would be a great spot to make their mark on the town.

I always fancied having a coffee shop, Goodheart said.

The rest is history.
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Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, accompanied by Health Minister Sorina Pintea, Labour Minister Marius Budai and Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici went to the city of Hunedoara on Saturday, where they visited the Municipal Hospital, the Corvin Castle and the pedestrian area of the city, investment objectives on governmental and European funds.

At the Municipal Hospital in Hunedoara, the government delegation visited the Intensive Care ward. The hospital's management requested support for the rehabilitation of the Emergency war, a context in which Health Minister Sorina Pintea said that this ward can benefit from a 5-million-lei funding for modernization, agerpres.ro informs.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the accompanying ministers visited several departments of Deva County Hospital on Saturday, the new building benefiting from government financing worth 8 million lei.

The official delegation continues its visit to Hunedoara County in the Brad area, on the Mintia-Brad gas pipeline construction site, an objective also financed from government funds.
The international conference "Future of Europe. Perspectives of Contemporary Developments" will be held in Sibiu from Wednesday to Friday, organized in the context of the EU Summit of 9 May.

The event is organized by "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, in collaboration with the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Bucharest, agerpres.ro informs.

According to the program posted on the conference's website, President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Ambassador of Lithuania to Romania, Arvydas Pocius and the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering were invited to participate in the event.

Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba, Minister of National Defense Gabriel Les, Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca, as well as political leaders such as Victor Ponta, Dacian Ciolos, Dan Barna and Eugen Tomac are also expected to attend the conference.

According to a release of the organizers, the panel that prepares the opening of this event is dedicated to education and research and is titled "Education and Research Where to?" This panel will be attended by representatives of Romanian academic education, researchers and students.

The event will take place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union.
President Klaus Iohannis, currently in Florence, on Saturday morning laid a wreath at the commemorative plaque dedicated to Alexandru Ioan Cuza, located next to the residence where the ruler spent the last years of his life.

The event was attended, among others, by the Romanian Ambassador to Italy George Bologan, Vicar Bishop Atanasie de Bogdania of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy and members of the Romanian community in the Tuscany region, agerpres.ro informs.

The head of state was accompanied by his wife, Carmen Iohannis.

On this occasion, the Romanian priests officiated a prayer of thanks in the memory of Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Representatives of the local government in Florence were present at the event, telling the head of state that there are about 8,000 Romanians in this city - the largest community of foreigners in the area.

''I think that this meeting is an emotional one, even if my visit here in Florence is a short one. Maybe you know that I was yesterday at the European University where we had a very beautiful event. We wanted to give a sign to our Romanian community in Florence (...), and in this respect I am very glad that you have come with me to this wreath laying," Iohannis told those present at the event.
PMP senator Traian Basescu, the former president of Romania, said on Saturday that Premier Viorica Dancila would not be invited to attend the European Council Summit in Sibiu, taking into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, but she can be invited to the reception and presented by President Klaus Iohannis, with a brief laudatio, to the other members of the European Council, agerpres.ro informs.

"There is lack of knowledge about the European Union in the public space. Journalists and politicians are lamenting that Ms. Dancila has not yet been invited to Sibiu. Folks, she will not be invited either to the works of the European Council for the following reasons:

1. During each rotating presidency, an informal European Council is organized in the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This time it is Romania - Sibiu (I participated in 19 such informal Councils during the 10 years of activity in the European Council).

2. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, each member state has one seat in the European Council, a place reserved for the one that, under the national Constitution, has the mandate of representing the country, in this case President Iohannis. The European Council also includes the President of the European Commission and the Permanent President of the European Council," Traian Basescu wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He points out that in this case, Premier Dancila and President Iohannis preside over two European institutions with completely different attributions, and the prime minister cannot be invited to the European Council works at the informal Summit in Sibiu, but she can be invited to the reception organized on its sidelines and presented to the other members of the European Council.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the summit of 9 May, dedicated to the future of the European Union and the future strategic agenda of the leaders for the period 2019-2024, will bring together the heads of state and Government of the EU member states in Sibiu, 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking guests, about 900 journalists and 100 translators.
He asked me one blunt question  I forget what it was  but I know I could only give a terse and unnuanced response, Marty said by email. I recall that he regularly quoted that unmemorable sentence or two.

From my distance, he added, I observed him enjoying too much the polemics of church fighting. He went out of his way to pick fights, always battling toward what seemed to me to be destructive ends.

The all-by-itself-condemning feature of Ottenism, Marty said, was its anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Christian News, the current name of Ottens newspaper, has been on the radar of the Anti-Defamation League for decades.

I feel confident in saying that Herman Otten was an unrepentant anti-Semite and Holocaust denier until the end of his life, and his beliefs are prevalent in Christian News, both in his own writings and in the works of other authors he reprinted, Aryeh Tuchman, associate director of the leagues Center on Extremism, said Friday by email.

He said recent content supported his comment, including a March 25 reprint in Christian News of Charles E. Carlson, which claimed that Israeli Zionists were among those responsible for the terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
ST. LOUIS  Last year, the citys top prosecutor hand-picked a former FBI agent to investigate the loftiest of targets: a Missouri governor.

That investigator, William Don Tisaby, interviewed the woman whose accusations of sexual misconduct and blackmail led to Gov. Eric Greitens downfall.

But the transcript of a six-hour deposition recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch reveals deep questions about Tisabys work. Under examination by Greitens defense team, Tisaby changed his testimony numerous times, stumbled over basic questions and seemed confused about major pieces of evidence.

Tisabys conduct now leaves Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office under investigation by a special prosecutor and a grand jury. It puts her law license and her political future at risk.

What happened during the Tisaby deposition is absolutely critical for the grand jury to see, the special prosecutor, Gerard Jerry Carmody, told a judge on Monday.

Greitens lawyers have long claimed that Tisaby lied in that March 2018 deposition, covering up inconsistencies in witness statements and crippling Greitens defense. Two months later, charges were dropped and Greitens resigned.

Greitens lawyers have said that Tisaby committed perjury and that Gardner allowed him to do it. Worse, they said, she encouraged it by asking Tisaby questions that elicited answers she knew were false.

The governors lawyers filed an ethical complaint against Gardner with the agency that investigates and disciplines lawyers. They also filed a complaint with police that led to the special prosecutors investigation.

Tisaby did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer said his client would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called by the special prosecutor to testify.

Gardner has called the investigation a fishing expedition and shameful overreach. She and her staff have repeatedly denied the perjury claims in court and in court filings. A spokeswoman did not make Gardner available to discuss the Tisaby deposition, citing a judges gag order that prevents lawyers on both sides from discussing the investigation.

Gardners supporters have called for the removal of the judge and special prosecutor in the grand jury probe, calling it a racist and sexist witch hunt meant to destroy the citys first elected black circuit attorney.

Its the intent of the special prosecutor to produce something similar to the (Robert) Mueller report that will do as much damage as possible to the credibility of the Circuit Attorneys Office and the circuit attorney herself, said Adolphus Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP. I firmly believe that all of this is retribution for the circuit attorneys unwillingness to turn her back on the Greitens investigation.

This spring, black religious leaders held several rallies to support Gardner. At one in March, Gardner said, No matter how much disdain they have for me, I refuse to kneel down and kiss the ring of the good ol boy system.

No questions, no notes

In January 2018, the same day Greitens gave his second State of the State address, news broke that he had an affair with his hairdresser as he was preparing to run for office. The womans ex-husband claimed Greitens threatened to release a nude or semi-nude photo of her if she exposed their affair. Greitens denied that.

Gardner began an investigation that month. On Jan. 18, Gardner hired Tisaby. On Jan. 24, Gardner interviewed Greitens accuser without Tisaby. Five days later, Tisaby interviewed the woman, with Gardner present. In February, a grand jury indicted Greitens.

One month later, Greitens defense team deposed Tisaby, seeking to attack his investigation. Gardner, who was present at the deposition, frequently interrupted to head off questions about Tisabys investigation of matters unrelated to the invasion of privacy charge. The defense team deposed Tisaby again in April, but he refused to answer questions.

During jury selection for Greitens trial, defense lawyers sought to question Gardner. That same day, Gardner dismissed the invasion of privacy charge against Greitens.

Greitens lawyers then went to police to ask for a perjury investigation, and St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Mullen granted the police departments request for a special prosecutor. Mullen picked Carmody to lead the investigation in June. A grand jury was convened six months ago.

At the heart of the investigation is whether Tisaby deliberately lied during his deposition. Defense lawyer Jim Martin repeatedly asked Tisaby whether hed taken notes during the two interviews at issue. Tisaby said he didnt and also claimed he asked no questions  he wanted her to tell the story  and had no advance knowledge of Greitens accusers claims, because he wanted to conduct an independent review.

Tisaby told Martin in the deposition that during his FBI career, he never took notes and committed the details, including direct quotes in the Greitens case, to memory. He said he was able to recall nearly every detail of the interview weeks or months later.

I have no handwritten notes for the interview itself, he told Martin.

Changing answers and confusion

Martin repeatedly challenged Tisabys answers. He asked Tisaby if he was embarrassed with the number of omissions defense lawyers had identified in his report.

As best  as best as I can recall Im not embarrassed, Tisaby responded. Thats as best as I can recall  .

Tisabys deposition also reveals inconsistencies in the writing of his report: Tisaby first said he started typing the report on his laptop. Then he said he didnt have the laptop with him when he wrote the report.

I might have at the time as I think back, Tisaby replied to Martins inquiries.

Do  do you see that youre changing your story again, Mr. Tisaby? Martin asked.

Tisaby told defense attorneys he went back to his hotel room at a lunch break during the deposition to check his laptop for notes. Later, he later admitted that he didnt bring it with him to St. Louis and had his wife check their home computer instead.

Tisaby stumbled repeatedly when asked if Gardner had told him that defense lawyers filed a motion seeking all his notes and reports from the case, saying late in the deposition that he missed telling defense lawyers that he and Gardner had discussed it.

You missed a lot of things during this deposition, didnt you? Martin asked.

Yeah, Tisaby replied. And we can come back and talk about them again now  now that I recall and I can gather my facts again.

A video surfaces

Gardner and Tisaby recorded their interview with Greitens accuser. But Tisaby told the defense in the deposition that the video camera hadnt worked.

Gardners office later turned over a copy of that video. Not only did it show Tisaby taking notes, but it also revealed an outline Gardner had prepared for Tisaby, defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum said. The outline hadnt been mentioned by Tisaby or Gardner previously and hadnt been turned over to defense attorneys.

A transcript of the interview shows Tisaby repeatedly asking the woman questions.

Moreover, Rosenblum said, Tisaby left out details from the interview that would have helped Greitens defense, including the womans belief that Greitens had feelings for her; their continued relationship after she said Greitens took the explicit photo; and her ex-husbands attempt to out Greitens alleged actions.

During Tisabys deposition, Gardner for whatever reason, chooses not to say anything, Rosenblum said. She could have stopped the deposition and counseled Tisaby or revealed the errors, Rosenblum said.

Martin told St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison during one pre-trial hearing, We have a multitude of lies, straight-out perjury, lies under oath by Mr. Tisaby. After the lawyers allegations, Burlison cautioned Gardner that he considered her answers to the defense allegations to be under oath and told her that she had a right to an attorney.

Gardner later admitted that Tisaby was wrong when he testified that he took no notes but said his error, along with defense claims of perjury and withholding evidence, failed to undermine the case. She also said she hadnt seen Tisaby taking notes.

Gardners chief trial assistant at the time, Robert Dierker, said in a court filing that Tisaby testified untruthfully, but agreed with Gardner that it didnt matter.

Perjury prosecutions rare

Gardners office now faces an aggressive grand jury investigation into Tisabys actions.

Still, prosecution of perjury during a deposition is rare, legal experts say. Several lawyers and judges contacted by the Post-Dispatch could not recall any similar cases.

For the most part, that never gets reported to anyone, Peter Joy, a professor at the Washington University School of Law, said of lies told during depositions. A lie in a civil case more likely would be used to impeach that lying witness at trial.

In criminal cases, its often a defense lawyer deposing a witness for the prosecution team, Joy said. Even if a lawyer thinks they caught a witness lying, there is typically little interest by the government to pursue perjury charges.

Moreover, false testimony is not perjury without someone having the intent to deceive, Joy said. And when it comes to someones faulty memory? Thats an absolute defense, he said.

The lie also has to be material, he said, meaning that it could influence the outcome of a case.

Lying about your age would not necessarily be important to a case, for example, unless it was a sex case that turned on the age of the victim, Joy said.

Gardner remains locked in a bitter fight with the special prosecutor, her political future on the line.

On Monday, a judge ordered Gardner to comply with a search warrant, and police seized a computer server from her office. The special prosecutor believes the truth of his investigation may be found there.

But he may only have this week to make his case. The grand jurys term ends on Thursday.

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Robert Patrick Robert Patrick is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Robert Patrick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
May 10, 2016  The St. Louis County Port Authority awards Rallo a sham $100,000 marketing contract to promote the region in the wake of the Ferguson unrest. A month later, Sweeney tacks on $30,000 without board approval in order to pay off political operative John Cross, a close associate of Rep. William Lacy Clay, for his work on Stengers 2014 election. The Post-Dispatch reports on the contract in February 2018.

June 21, 2016  St. Louis County Council introduces legislation to move several county offices to Northwest Plaza, which the Stenger administration says will save $10 million over the term of the 20-year lease. It is one of the first deals to raise eyebrows about Stengers relationship with his donors and one of the biggest in his tenure. The owners of Northwest Plaza, Robert and David Glarner, have given at least $365,000 to Stengers campaign account. A Post-Dispatch investigation in February 2018 shows that the lease deal could end up costing money, and council members say they were misled about the deal.
(A police department spokeswoman later clarified that the year-to-date homicide rate is down 22 percent in 2019, not overall crime.)

Hayden said the city would have ended 2018 with nearly 30 fewer homicides than the previous year except for a two-day burst of violence that saw 11 people killed.

Last year, we went 363 days with 29 fewer homicides but for two days; one in which there were six homicides within a 24-hour period and another when there were five, Hayden noted.At the same time, he said, crime incidents of one day can affect peoples perception, so we cant let our guard down for the rest of the year.

Hayden noted that Chicago, a city with a land area thats about 3 times the size of St. Louis, has 30,000 cameras monitoring its streets that police can use. By comparison, St. Louis has fewer than 1,000.

Nobody knowingly buys or sells drugs on camera, he said. It would be great if we could have a high visibility camera and an LPR (license plate reader) at every major intersection. But people dont want the police to have cameras. Everyone has a camera on their doorbells, but dont want the police to have them.
DR. SAM PAGE

Age: 53

Family: Married to Dr. Jennifer Page; three children

Medical degree: University of Missouri-Kansas City

Medical experience: Past President of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists and the Missouri Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

Political career: City councilman, Creve Coeur, 1999-2002; Missouri House of Representatives 2003-08; Elected to St. Louis County Council in August 2014 after death of Kathleen Kelly Burkett. Served as chairman, 2017-2019.

Of interest: Served as the Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 499, and currently is a Merit Badge Counselor for Citizenship in the Community for the Greater St. Louis Areas Boy Scouts.
Mayor Rick Eberlin of Grafton, Ill., said he was surprised by the speed of the flooding.

Were seeing some things weve not seen before. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we witnessed a three-foot raise. I had a gentleman come into City Hall  85 years old  hes been through it all. He shook his head, he said, Mayor, Ive never seen anything like whats going to happen today.

And it happened. Kind of caught us off guard. As a matter of fact, the prediction graph was a couple days out. We thought we had more time to vacate the businesses along the river side of Main Street.

Eberlin said most of the roads to Grafton are now closed, with the only accessibility from the north, from Route 3.

Mayor Phil Stang of Kimmswick, which is on the Mississippi near the confluence with the Meramec River, said the town is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water.

On Friday morning, trucks carrying clay, rock and sand were rumbling past his home.

We've closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub, Stang said.
In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993 (Source: VNA)

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3rd./.
(CNN) -- Mount Everest is covered in trash.

Decades of climbing on the world's highest mountain have turned it into a very tall garbage dump, strewn with rubbish, human waste and even bodies.

But a dedicated -- and impressively fit -- team of volunteers are tackling the problem by carrying out one of the world's most ambitious clean-ups, and it's seeing immediate results.

Three metric tons (6,613 pounds) of garbage have been collected from the mountain in just the first two weeks of the scheme, according to AFP. That's about the weight of two SUVs, or a large male hippo.

The task is being carried out by a 14-member team, which has been set the task of recovering 10 metric tons within 45 days, the agency reported.

Waste recovered on the Everest Cleaning Campaign includes empty cans, bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear. An army helicopter has assisted in removing the garbage, and the team is set to ascend to higher camps to collect more.

Four bodies have also been located on the 8,848-meter (29,028 feet) mountain, officials said.
Innovation holds the promise of improving our lives in many respects and has been a defining feature of St. Louis for generations. This characteristic remains just as strong today as the city stands as a model for transforming from an older, industrial city into one driven by a new tech economy and a demonstrated openness to innovation.

It is this history of innovation that has led a national organization that advocates for autonomous vehicles as a way of reducing U.S. oil dependence to select St. Louis to launch an important national discussion on how this new technology might impact communities in the Midwest.

For generations, American prosperity relied on the industrial foundations of our nations heartland. Embracing cutting-edge technology, the Midwest powered growth on the domestic front and exported products worldwide. Yet, in the absence of competition, some of the very companies that led St. Louis growth in the last century ceased to innovate or increase productivity  and are no longer growth engines for our region.
Missouri Senate Bill 293 is an unnecessary proposal to further criminalize nonviolent civil disobedience at facilities deemed critical infrastructure. Under the proposal, a person could be charged with a Class C felony for applying graffiti to a telephone pole, egging an above-ground pipeline, or putting a sticker on a water intake facility  offenses that could carry up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The increased penalties apply to critical infrastructure that is operational or under construction.

The bill also establishes conspiracy charges for organizations that assist individuals in nonviolent civil disobedience. If enacted, an organization could be fined 10 times the amount charged to someone found guilty under this law. An organization like Missouri Coalition for the Environment could organize a legal protest where a person engages in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Even if the coalition did not know this act would occur, that may not stop a business or prosecutor from filing conspiracy charges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dave Brady

Title: VP of Sales

Phone: 937.415.1715

Date: May 1, 2019

ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS HONORS DAYTON FREIGHT AS A PLATINUM AWARD WINNER

DAYTON, Ohio  Dayton Freight Lines, Inc., a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, was recently honored with the Regional LTL Carrier Platinum Award from Echo Global Logistics, Inc.

This is the second consecutive year Dayton Freight has received this award which honors superior performance in on-time service, claims ratio, and customer service metrics such as communication and technology. Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Echo offers freight brokerage and managed transportation solutions for all major modes.
Sam Meech's ambition at the start of each regatta is to put himself in contention to finish on the podium going into the medal race and invariably he achieves that which is why he's the world's top-ranked Laser sailor.

The 28-year-old will once again race for a medal tonight (NZ time) and goes into the top 10 medal race at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres in second.

He can't win gold, with Australia's Matthew Wearn having established an unassailable 23-point lead over Meech, but the New Zealander has a handy five-point buffer over another Australian, Luke Elliott, in third. Olympic champion Tom Burton (yes, he's Australian, too) is another five points back in fourth.

Two other Kiwis will be in the medal race, with George Gautrey presently in ninth and Tom Saunders 10th to round out a good week for the New Zealand Laser squad.

The fifth day of racing saw plenty of action as winds in excess of 20 knots hit the coast off Hyeres which tested the sailors, especially as the Laser fleet got in three races. Meech banked scores of second, second and third to move up from fourth overall at the start of the day.

"It was good, fun racing," Meech said. "It was pretty exciting [in the strong winds] and there were definitely times when we were holding on downwind with a very short chop.

"I was in the top three in all of the races, so that was quite nice. Unfortunately, Matt Wearn was going really fast and it kind of sucks so he ended up winning the last two races fairly convincingly. By the last race I was really just hanging off the side of the boat trying to get around the course. The body is pretty tired now."

Medal races are much shorter and sharper than regular racing and feature only the top 10 sailors in a double points format.

No New Zealanders will feature in the Laser Radial medal race but Olivia Christie and Annabelle Rennie-Younger are showing good progress early in the new Radial programme.

The pair competed in both Palma and Genoa before Hyeres and will round out this block by competing at the Laser European championships in Portugal.

Laser Radial coach Rosie Chapman has been encouraged by the development of the youngsters.

"It has been great to see their progression," Chapman said. "There is a really good team ethic between them and they are working really hard.

"They are focusing on process goals and really going into every day with a goal they are trying to achieve on the water and this is really showing with some promising results. Both of them are regularly placing inside the top 10, top 15 in races, so not only are the results improving but, most importantly, they are improving all round."

Christie was 12th in two of her three races overnight to finish the regatta in 16th overall and Rennie-Younger achieved her third top-10 result of the event to finish 23rd.

Results and standings after the fifth day of the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres:

Laser (69 boats)

1st: Matthew Wearn (AUS) (7) 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 - 14 points

2nd: Sam Meech (NZL) 1 1 9 3 2 1 (13) 13 2 2 3 - 37 pts

3rd: Luke Elliott (AUS) 3 8 3 1 1 2 1 6 4 13 (17) - 42 pts

9th: George Gautrey (NZL) (22) 3 10 2 4 3 9 9 9 18 12 - 79 pts

10th: Tom Saunders (NZL) 21 2 11 6 12 5 3 11 (36 UFD) 6 5 - 82 pts

24th: Josh Armit (NZL) 19 18 4 16 9 7 24 27 10 (29) 25 - 159 pts

Silver fleet

60th: Luke Deegan (NZL) 26 30 28 25 30 24 21 16 (35 UFD) 12 - 212 pts

Laser Radial (50 boats)

1st: Maria Erdi (HUN) 1 4 (11) 5 5 1 8 (15) 2 1 4 - 42 pts

2nd: Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) 17 6 1 1 1 3 (19) 7 5 5 5 - 51 pts

3rd: Emma Plasschaert (BEL) 5 22 (26) 2 4 4 22 6 1 2 2 - 70 pts

16th: Olivia Christie (NZL) 31 11 21 9 12 37 (45) 28 12 12 17 - 190 pts
Bay of Plenty

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Waihi Gold Mine operator, OceanaGold, has expressed extreme disappointment at the decision by the Minister of Land Information to not allow the company to purchase two farms on the outskirts of Waihi.

Waihis Senior Community Advisor, Kit Wilson, said the company had only just received notification at the same time the media release went out.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Eugenie Sage, Minister of Land Information, announced on May 3 that Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Ltds application under the Overseas Investment Act to purchase 178 ha of rural land for a new tailings reservoir near Waihi in Coromandel has been declined.

The minister and Associate Finance Minister David Clark considered the application and formed different views as to whether the substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand test in the Act was met.

The Overseas Investment Act determines that when Ministers form different views on an application it is declined.

Minister Sage does not believe using productive rural farmland to establish a long term tailings reservoir of mining waste creates substantial and identifiable benefits.

Associate Minister Clark believes that the proposed investment is likely to create substantial and identifiable benefits.

We are disappointed by what we have heard but have not had the opportunity to read the decision in full. We will review the decision and consider our next steps, says Kit.

The purchase of these properties would allow us to plan for the future and extend our investment in Waihi beyond the current life of the mine and our significant economic contribution locally, in the Hauraki region and nationally.

We operate in New Zealand in a responsible way and in line with community expectations and believe we have done that for thirty years at the Waihi, Reefton, and Macraes gold mines.

Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki welcomes the decision by Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage to decline an application by Oceana Gold to purchase an area of rural land for a new tailings dam.

"We agree with Minister Sage that there are far better uses for our productive land than to be used as a dump for toxic waste," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "The existing dam was built on productive farmland, that's more than enough area dedicated to storing this toxic sludge."

Coromandel Watchdog has always argued that one of the most negative elements of industrial gold mining is the toxic legacy left, including the vast stores of toxic waste from the extraction process.

"Many of the most toxic sites in Aotearoa have been mining tailings dams that have been abandoned or failed, says Augusta. This is not the sort of legacy that we should be leaving future generations, and it is not the sort of this we should be allowing multinational companies to create and then leave in our country.

The Waihi area also sits on a significant fault and the ongoing storage of toxic tailings in the area is of real concern from that perspective also.

"Another reason not to allow such a purchase for this purpose, the risks far outweigh the benefit."

OceanaGold Corporation is a multinational gold producer with operations in New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. OceanaGold has been operating in New Zealand for 29 years with mining operations at Waihi in the North Island and New Zealands largest gold-producing operation, Macraes, in the South Island. The company is also rehabilitating the former Globe Progress Mine at Reefton. The company say they account for around 1 per cent of the countrys exports, with gold in the top three exports to Australia.

OceanaGolds assets also include the Didipio Operation on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, the Haile Gold Mine, in South Carolina in the United States and a significant pipeline of organic growth and exploration opportunities in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2019, the Company expects to produce between 500,000 to 550,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper at All-In Sustaining Costs ranging between US$850 and US$900 per ounce sold.

On Friday the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved a separate application from Oceana Golds application to buy four residential properties in central Waihi. The residential land is being acquired for purposes incidental to mining activities.

Oceana Gold is considered to be a significant employer in the Waihi region and has undertaken a number of previous investments that are of benefit to New Zealand.

The OIO is satisfied that the investment is likely to benefit NZ.

Further information about this will be published next week. The OIO has proactively released information about the decision on the LINZ website.
Doreen McNeill opened her latest exhibition called XCbition on the same day as her 90th birthday.

Artists, friends and family turned out to wish Doreen a big happy birthday, with her cake decorated in a truly abstract style. The exhibition launch and party, held at The Incubator Gallery, was abuzz with music and conversation as people enjoyed the atmosphere.

After speeches and the cake cutting, the curtains were pulled back to reveal Doreens works hanging on walls. An excited rush of people quickly moved to apply red dots, signifying a sold painting.

The Roman numerals XC are for 90, so XCbition is a play on exhibition and highlights her 90th year  a rather clever combination of letters and numbers.

Im having a lovely day, says Doreen. Its lovely having so many friends here, all the artist friends from the art community of Tauranga.

With the collection of new works, she hasnt painted to any particular theme.

I was just painting, says Dorren. I love painting. Ive just been enjoying myself. I dont feel like doing any housework, I just paint and let them accumulate. I dont paint to any theme or end result, I just wait until I have a collection then put them together.

At the opening of the exhibition Doreen had about ten original works hanging, and about 20 unframed works on paper for people to cash and carry.

Doreen has been painting seriously for about 30 years.

She started her artist career draughting navigational charts for aircraft in the 1950s, which included time spent in Venezuela, the USA, Canada and Australia.

She lived in Bermuda from 1961-64 working as a surveyors assistant, and then from 1965-84 in the Bahamas doing architectural draughting. This is where she began to take painting seriously.

Her paintings have been exhibited in Hong Kong, where five works were selected to hang in the VIP Lounge of Cathay Pacfic; Taiwan, and in many exhibitions and collections in NZ.

Her friend and artist Jimi Colzato has filmed a documentary about her work titled Beyond Boundaries  a meeting with Doreen McNeill. This can be viewed on her website https://www.doreenmcneill.co.nz/documentry

The XCbition exhibition runs at The Incubator Gallery at the Tauranga Historic Village until May 15.
Fish & Game says theres been a healthy start to the new game bird hunting season, with the rosiest reports so far from the South Island.

Thousands of the more than 40,000 people licensed to hunt birds like mallards and paradise shelduck turned out early this morning for the start of the season.

On the West Coast, hunting conditions were ideal with low cloud, a moderate breeze and rain holding off, says Fish & Game Officer Baylee Kersten.

"Hunters had good success with the experienced getting close to their bag limits and novice hunters managing to bag a few."

Mr Kersten says hunters bag were very diversified with plenty of paradise shelduck harvested alongside greylards (hybrids from mallards and grey ducks), and the occasional shoveler and swan.

No compliance issues were detected by rangers on duty, he says.

Fish & Game officers in mid Canterbury say there were lots of birds around along with plenty of hunters in the fine clear conditions.

Up north, in Taranaki hunters spoken to had been happy with their morning although the number of mallards harvested had not been large.

However in the north of the region hunters on maize paddocks had done quite well with paradise shelduck, says Fish & Game Officer Allen Stancliff.

A Fish & Game spokesman says SAFE claims about the number of birds left injured are completely false, "fake news in the extreme."

"Most hunters use dogs to recover birds and wounding rates are low in New Zealand," he says.

"It is pleasing that so far there have been no reports of any firearm incidents and "we hope that things stay this way - it appears at this stage at least, that hunters have taken safety messages to heart."
Any move to rationalise port ownership in the Upper North Island is not likely to be welcomed by business says the EMA.

EMA Chief Executive Brett ORiley says suggestions coming out of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy that perhaps the three main ports Auckland, Tauranga and Northland could be rationalise their ownership to create a monopoly in the region are misguided.

Our members like the competitive tension between the ports and benefit from it, says Brett.

For some reason we seem to like creating monopolies in New Zealand when the best result for customers usually results from at least three competitive players in a market  look at the telcos.

The EMA is the largest business membership organisation in New Zealand and its base covers the region from Taupo to the Far North. Both major ports are members of the EMA.

Brett acknowledged that the issues around moving large volumes of empty containers created by the imbalance between imports and exports at the two main ports were a concern.

"But the ports and the freight distribution sector in general are already working on ways to minimise this issue. Collaboration between the ports and the freight sector, including coastal shipping, is the likely answer here, not forced amalgamation of ownership, says Brett.

Those distribution issues are exacerbated by the lack of investment in road and rail infrastructure, particularly around access to the Auckland and Tauranga ports."

As the report notes lack of infrastructure investment also hampers the case for greater volumes of freight or a dedicated car import hub at Northport.

"There is a strong political push to invest massively in rail from Northport to South Auckland to address this lack of infrastructure but we have to be very careful to ensure there is a strong business case to support this massive investment - especially when there is already a four-lane highway that goes almost half-way to Northport.

"Perhaps that is something the about to be formed National Infrastructure Commission could investigate before committing to massive investment in either or both the road and rail options."

Port of Tauranga has responded to the interim progress report on the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy released.

The Chief Executive of New Zealands largest port (handling 43 per cent of New Zealands total export volumes), Mark Cairns, says the progress report raised a number of themes and issues in the port industry and New Zealand freight network.

The progress report identifies well-known issues such as the need for increased investment in road and rail networks and the historic financial under-performance and inconsistent reporting by some ports, he says.

We challenge some of the facts, assumptions and implications in the interim report, and were hopeful these will be addressed before the next report due in June. For example, the report states that the Bay of Plenty and Waikato have benefitted from rail infrastructure and investment provided by the Government at no capital cost to the end user. This ignores the $267 million in rail costs paid by Port of Tauranga since 2010.

We look forward to hosting the working group on their first visit to Port of Tauranga in the coming months, says Mark.
ONONDAGA NATION -- Two people were taken into custody Saturday after a car linked to an armed robbery at the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop was stopped on Interstate 81.

The robbery at the 3951 Route 11 store was reported at 7:44 a.m.

Two masked men dressed in dark clothing walked into the smoke shop and threatened an employee, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman. The robbers -- one of whom was armed with a handgun -- demanded money from the stores safe, he said.

After stealing cash, the men climbed into a white Volkswagen and fled south on Route 11, Seeber said.

The amount of money stolen was not disclosed. No one was hurt.

Deputies and New York State Police troopers found the Volkswagen on Interstate 81 south near the LaFayette weigh station, Seeber said.

Two people were taken into custody. Their names have not been released.

This is still an active investigation, Seeber said.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Veteran Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury he suffered in spring training, will cap off his recovery with a short stay in Syracuse.

Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco confirmed that Lowrie, 35, will be in the lineup at least Saturday and Sunday when the Mets host Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at NBT Bank Stadium. Lowrie has played 1,109 with Boston, Houston and Oakland. New York signed Lowrie as a free agent in the off-season.

DeFrancesco managed Lowrie with the Astros in 2012.

"(Hes a) professional hitter. (Can) play all over the infield, a switch-hitter. Had some great numbers over the last couple of years. A great addition to the Mets. Once he gets healthy I think hell definitely lengthen out their lineup,'' DeFrancesco said.
Students of John C. Birdlebough High School in Phoenix celebrated at their junior-senior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Embassy Suites by Hilton on Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

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Students of Nottingham High School in Syracuse celebrated at their junior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

More prom photos

See all photo galleries from proms, senior balls, and other formals around Central New York.

Want to buy a photo?

As youre browsing the gallery, look for the BUY IMAGE link to order high-quality reprints and other products.
This week, the news broke that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been identified as the source of a leak from the National Security Council, and had been fired from the government.

The BBC reported on Theresa Mays decision to axe her Defense Secretary of 18 months having found compelling evidence suggesting [his] responsibility for the unauthorized disclosure. Subsequent to his sacking, and facing calls for a full inquiry into what happened, the Prime Ministers de facto deputy, David Lidington, has said the PM considered the matter closed.

But this matter is far from closed.

Mr Williamson denies that he leaked anything, and said in his response letter to the PM, I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position. He continued, I have always trusted my civil servants, military advisers and staff. I believe the assurances they have given me.

This is a situation that needs some close examination. The first thing to note is the difference between the accusation and the defense. May says there is compelling evidence suggesting Williamson did it. Williamson says hes confident neither he nor his staff did it. Why is Williamson mentioning his staff, when May does not?

Then theres also Mays use of the word suggesting Williamson was responsible. She was not so bold as to say she had definitive proof, and so this is not a move based on facts beyond reasonable doubt. Now, it would be incorrect to say that removing someone from Government should require the same standard of proof that a court would need, but its interesting nonetheless.

But this situation is far bigger than a single leaked sentence from a National Security Council (NSC) meeting. This situation is part of an extraordinary series of events that show a deeply concerning pattern of behavior from the British government, as they seek to court favor from the totalitarian and authoritarian Chinese regime.

Gavin Williamson

Mr Williamson has been an MP since 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Defense since November 2017. His voting record is largely in line with the Tory party as a whole. Heres an outline of his voting record to give you a sense of who Gavin Williamson is:

He has almost always voted against equality, human rights, and particularly gay rights. Hes against the right-to-die movement. He voted against investigations into the Iraq War. He voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in the UK. He voted consistently for more bombing of ISIS. Hes voted for the bedroom tax, for reduced welfare and disability benefits. Hes voted for increasing taxes on alcohol, not taxing bankers bonuses, restricting trade union activity and increasing university tuition fees.

This piece is not really about Williamson or an attempt to exonerate him. I have no idea whether or not Williamson was the source of the leak. This is about the UK Government cosying up to a despotic regime, ignoring security services across the Western world and prioritising its relationship with China above national security. Its a grim irony that its a leak from the NSC that confirms all this.

Alarm bells ringing

What should tell you that something fishy has happened is the fact that Williamson was just dismissed. If he shared information from the NSC, he has breached the Official Secrets Act, which is a criminal offense. If he didnt do it, he should keep his job.

Put another way, either hes committed a very serious crime and losing his job isnt enough, or hes innocent and should have the chance to clear his name. Firing him and saying thats the end of it isnt enough in either case.

What seems instead to be the case is that the Prime Minister doesnt like Gavin Williamson. In her letter she states that the other NSC attendees have all answered questions, engaged properly, provided as much information as possible to assist with the investigation, and encouraged their staff to do the same. Your conduct has not been of the same standard as others. (emphasis my own).

If this sounds vaguely sinister its because it is. Im reminded of the enforced clapping culture of North Korea, and the news that shortly after ascending to power, Kim Jong-Un had his uncle assassinated in order to shore up his own position. Strong and stable May has certainly looked in recent months like shes in need of some shoring up, and a move to rid herself of a half-hearted cheerleader may well simply be theatrics to show shes a tough leader.

We had a Defense Secretary who had never really broken ranks, who was well liked by the armed forces, who vehemently denied being the source of the leak and backed his whole team (unprompted), but didnt throw his heart into the investigation with the fervor required  and so has gotten the chop.

The leaked information and why it matters

The thing is, this whole Williamson sham is distracting the country from the much more important point. Lets remember what was actually leaked. The leak all-but confirmed that Huawei will play an integral role in providing telecommunications infrastructure for the U.K., most notably in delivering new 5G networks. According to the BBC, a decision on this matter was due at the end of spring.

Our 5G network will be a big deal. Smartphones have become ubiquitous. For the vast majority of people, their smartphone is hardly ever out of arms reach and is always connected, whether by Wi-Fi or 4G. These networks are powerful. Your 4G connection sends and receives data at incredible speed  every call, text, web visit, app download, everything is handled by encoded data being sent back and forth between your phone and your network provider. But more than that, using methods like triangulation from phone masts, your wireless carrier can track your location even when your GPS is turned off. 5G will be even more capable than current 4G infrastructure, and is therefore an even greater risk.

This leak and the confirmation of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G infrastructure are therefore big news, and for two main reasons. First, the decision flies in the face of advise from allied governments across the Western world, including the US which is lobbying the world to ditch the Chinese phone-maker from any upcoming infrastructure projects. Given President Trumps current schlong-off with China and the trade war/vanity project hes implemented, you may take that with a grain of salt. But its not just the US that is against Huaweis involvement. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Australia and more  the list of countries banning the companys involvement in projects is ever growing.

But secondly, and more importantly, its the latest confirmatory piece of evidence that shows just how far the UK is willing to go to cosy up to China.

China has been a major investor in the UK for the last decade. Did you know, for instance, that Heathrow, Thames Water, Harvey Nichols, Pizza Express, Hamleys, House of Fraser and even the National Grid  all ostensibly British operations  are owned or part-owned by Chinese investors?

China between 2005 and 2015 invested 30 billion into the UK. In 2017 it invested another 30 billion in a single year.

Former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne famously sought Chinese investment for just about everything going, and that trend has only continued under the present Conservative government.

Enough context, whats the problem

This all matters because the issue at hand is an actual issue of national security. Many of Britains allies have raised concerns that Huawei is, behind the scenes, putting countries at risk of spying and sabotage. The allegation is that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government. Huawei denies this, but realistically in China everything is controlled by the government.

Lets not lose focus on what China is. China is the nation of the ill-fated Tiananmen Square protests. It has strict censorship on information with the Great Firewall of China. It has the largest network of facial recognition technology on the planet, and is using it to implement a social scoring system to automatically punish citizens for non-criminal offenses. Most egregiously, China currently has tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims held in internment  sorry, re-education  camps. People in China can go missing for referring to President Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh.

This is not normal. This is not the behavior of the kind of regime we want to be inviting to build crucial infrastructure in the UK, especially against the advice of allies like the US and Canada.

Cyber warfare, whether its direct hacking or more indirect tactics like election meddling, is commonplace in the modern world. Its the main form of antagonism between super powers in the modern era. So allowing a foreign power with a history of egregious human rights violations to build vital infrastructure is like handing over the keys to businesses and citizens data.

This is all information that the National Security Council of all entities will be very aware of. The public should be demanding answers over and above the veracity of the allegations against Gavin Williamson. We should be demanding a full and independent inquiry into the depths of the UK governments relationship with China. Are we allowing Huawei unfettered access to the UKs personal and commercially sensitive information so as to appease their government and continue to generate investment? Is this a reactionary panic move to try and keep foreign investment in the UK buoyant in the face of Brexits already damaging effects?

The public need answers. Sadly, this government seems less than willing to give them.
After decades of extensive research, scientists have finally discovered a way to observe neural electricity in an actual living creature.

Adam Cohen, professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics at Harvard, first author Dr. Yoav Adam, and their cross-disciplinary research team have managed to transform neural electrical signals into sparks visible through a microscope by shedding light on the brain.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday, May 1.

Busy Brain

According to scientists, observing a real live session of neural electricity is just like watching a live broadcast of the brain. Since neurons are responsible for every thought and sensation living creatures feel, they send and receive massive amounts of information, which is still mostly incomprehensible to scientists until recently.

Electrical signals can travel from cell to cell at up to 270 miles per hour. At that kind of speed, trying to see neural electricity inside a busy brain is just like trying to see the electricity inside a telephone wire, which no naked eye can achieve.

So for scientists to observe firsthand how neurons turn information into behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, they created a particular procedure for them to see.

Talented Protein

Cohen got the inspiration from another study made by the researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. In the study, the MIT researchers introduced the protein Archaerhodopsin 3 to a brain and caused it to light up using a special tool. The tool then converted the light into electricity.

Archaerhodopsin 3 and its host organism was discovered by an Israeli ecologist in an ecological survey in 1980s. The organism is able to convert sunlight into electrical energy in a primitive form of photosynthesis because of the protein.

After years of studying, Cohen and his team found a way to reverse the organism's trick and use the protein to convert the electrical activity of neurons into observable flashes of light.

Red And Blue Light

Cohen and his team were able to manipulate Archaerhodopsin 3 to turn voltage into light when illuminated by a red light. According to the study, in that way, the protein will act as an ultra-sensitive voltmeter that changes with an electric jolt.

The team then paired Archaerhodopsin 3 with a similar protein that sparks electrical impulses in the neurons when illuminated with blue light. According to Adam, that particular process is vital for recording and controlling the cells' activities.

The red light is responsible for recording, and the blue light is responsible for controlling. Although the paired proteins work well in a dish, it was a real challenge for Cohen and his team to make the process work inside a living brain.

Making A Little Movie

It was five years of intensive research and interdisciplinary collaboration between statisticians, physicists, biochemists, computer scientists, molecular biologists, and 24 neuroscientists before the whole team managed to perform the experiment successfully in the brain of a living mouse.

By tweaking the proteins to work in a mouse brain, positioning the proteins carefully with genetic manipulation, and making a new microscope with a video projector specific for the whole process, they were able to glean positive results.

"You basically make a little movie," says Cohen.

The study is just the first step of many, according to Cohen and his team.

"A mouse brain has 75 million cells in it. So depending on your perspective, we've either done a lot or we still have quite a long way to go," added Cohen. The rest of the team is working on improving their software and tools to record the process clearer and on a broader scope.

According to Adam, he's positive that further study could help them reach maximum results.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a landmark move, FDA announces their first approval of a dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, which is produced by French pharmaceutical Sanofi Pasteur.

Dengvaxia is the first dengue vaccine approved to prevent all the virus serotypes of the mosquito-borne virus.

While FDA has given the go signal for the use of Dengvaxia, the agency stressed in a news release that the vaccine should only be used on individuals aged 9 to 16 years who have previously had dengue infections and live in endemic areas.

The virus is endemic in the following United States territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dengvaxia Provides Protection Against Severe Dengue

The first infection of the dengue virus is typically harmless with no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. Subsequent infections could be much more serious, possibly leading to severe dengue, such as the potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Ninety-five percent of all severe or hospitalized cases of dengue are already a second infection.

According to Peter Marks, M.D., the director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, getting infected by one serotype of the dengue virus will give an individual immunity against that specific serotype. However, if an individual gets a subsequent infection by any of the remaining three virus serotypes, he or she is at increased risk of developing severe dengue disease.

"As the second infection with dengue is often much more severe than the first, the FDA's approval of this vaccine will help protect people previously infected with dengue virus from subsequent development of dengue disease," Marks continued.

Dengvaxia Effectivity, Controversy

Sanofi's vaccine has already been approved for use in 19 countries and the European Union.

Previous studies have determined the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, with researchers finding Dengvaxia is approximately 76 percent effective in preventing dengue disease in people 9 to 16 years old who have already previously contracted a first dengue disease.

However, the vaccine is not without controversy. In the Philippines, which is the first country to approve the vaccine back in 2016, Dengvaxia has also been banned over safety concerns.

FDA says that Dengvaxia acts like a first infection in people who have not been previously infected by any senotype of the virus. Thus, if people who have never been infected by any type of dengue are given the vaccine, a subsequent infection can lead to severe dengue disease.

About Dengue

CDC reveals that over one-third of the global population lives in areas vulnerable to the dengue virus with 400 million cases annually. The virus causes dengue fever, which is a leading cause of illness in populations living in the tropics and subtropics.

"Dengue disease is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world and global incidence has increased in recent decades," said Anna Abram, FDA deputy commissioner for policy, legislation, and international affairs. "While there is no cure for dengue disease, today's approval is an important step toward helping to reduce the impact of this virus in endemic regions of the United States."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung no doubt championed the curved display tend, and although there have been complaints about these screens being more prone to damage than their flat-screened siblings, the company might go all out and unveil an even more aggressively curved variant.

According to noted tech insider Ice Universe, Samsung will be using a curved display on its next phone that's far more curved than past Galaxy handsets.

"[E]specially in the second half of the year, you'll see a very superb curved design, a more aggressive curved display than Note7 will appear," Ice Universe tweeted. Apparently, other manufacturers might also release a handset with this type of screen, not just Samsung.

Curved Displays

The Galaxy Note 9, S9, and S9+ all have curved displays, but they're subtle and serve more to accentuate their extremely thin side bezels. Years ago, curved screens wowed many consumers, but nowadays that initial luster is gone, replaced with frustration over these displays not lending particularly well to screen protectors or cases.

Given that, it's interesting to see what Samsung will do with the Galaxy Note 10. Perhaps that device's curved factor will have more going for it instead of just aesthetic value. If it's going to make the display more curved, hopefully Samsung has a clearer idea of how to enrich the user experience. When it first launched the Galaxy Note Edge, the phone was entirely different from anything else on the market, but excitement over curved screens has largely waned in favor of more straightforward bezel-less designs.

Centered Selfie Camera

Apart from a more aggressively curved display, the Galaxy Note 10 will apparently rock a centered selfie shooter. That's also courtesy of Ice Universe, who tweeted somewhat cryptically last month that "Da Vinci is symmetrical." The Galaxy Note 10 is codenamed Da Vinci. His tweet could be hinting that the phone will get a symmetrical design, which would mean the selfie camera being at the center, unlike the Galaxy S10 lineup's design.

Consider everything mentioned above as still rumors, though, so take them with a grain of salt. One thing is confirmed, at least  Verizon said Samsung will launch a 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 this year. The carrier failed to share any more details beyond that. Samsung is expected to launch two different Galaxy Note 10 models, including a smaller variant. Recent rumors also suggest that each version will be 5G-capable.

As always, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more. If you have any thoughts, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cocaine and other illegal drugs and even banned pesticides were found in shrimps in British waterways, according to a study.

Cocaine-laced Shrimps

Freshwater shrimps across 15 sites in the Suffolk River were found contaminated with various micropollutants such as cocaine, recreational drug ketamine, banned pesticide fenuron, and other chemicals. This is a cause for concern as these pollutants may pose risks to wildlife in rivers.

Even the researchers from King's College London and the University of Suffolk were astonished at the occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife in a rural county.

"We might expect to see these in urban areas such as London, but not in smaller and more rural catchments," said Leon Barron, a forensic science lecturer at King's College London and the study's coauthor.

A hundred percent of the Gammarus pulex shrimp samples tested positive for the presence of cocaine. The samples came from the Alde, Box, Deben, Gipping, and Waveney rivers.

Impacts Of Invisible Pollution

A total of 107 compounds of contaminant classes were found in the shrimps. Out of this, 67 compounds belong to pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs, and drugs of abuse while 56 compounds were detected with traces of cocaine and lidocaine. In addition, some banned pesticides also were present in the samples.

The concentration of the said substances are low and the potential effects on creatures were also likely minimal.

"Environmental health has attracted much attention from the public due to challenges associated with climate change and microplastic pollution," said Professor Nic Bury from the University of Suffolk.

The researchers said that the impact of "invisible" chemical pollution, such as drugs, on wildlife health needs further probing in the UK because studies such as these can often inform and influence the crafting of policies.

Water contamination is a rising problem as residue from insecticides, and recreational drugs are finding their way into rivers and water system. As to how the pollutants reached the bodies of water, still, remain unclear.

Water Pollution Affecting River Health

River health is said to be one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises. In 2017, at least 55 percent of the rivers in the UK are polluted by sewage or wastewater. There are more than 18,000 sewer overflows across England and Wales. Out of these, an estimated 90 percent discharge raw sewage or wastewater mixed with rainwater directly into the rivers.

Other river pollutants include wastes from agricultural pollution, oil pollution, loss from storage facilities, and spillage during delivery and deliberate disposal of waste oil to drainage systems. Radioactive substance is also polluting rivers. River dumping and marine dumping are also significant causes of water pollution.

The study is published in the journal Environment International.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google will hold its I/O Conference next week, May 7, where it is expected to make a few announcements, one of which are the two Pixel 3a smartphones: the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL.

While avid fans are excited about the alleged midrange price tags, nothing has been made official just yet.

However, a tipster may have just spotted the first units of the Pixel 3a XL in a Best Buy store. According to reports, the man was passing by a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio when he came across the packaged smartphone.

Just Waiting For It To Be Official

While the Pixel 3a XL was enclosed in a glass, it was left out there in the open for everyone to see. The two rumored color variations were both confirmed: one comes with a purplish tint while the other is the standard black.

Looking at close-up pictures of the merchandise, some of the earlier leaked specifications have been somewhat proven to be true. The Pixel 3a XL has a 6-inch screen and 64GB of internal memory. Other leaks say it will pack a 2,220 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 710 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and the famed Pixel Visual Core cameras.

On the other hand, the smaller Pixel 3a boasts a 5.6-inch display with 2,160 x 1080 resolution, and a Snapdragon 670.

Further leaks have gone as far as giving the two Pixel 3a smartphones their price tags at $399 for the regular Pixel 3a, and $479 for the XL.

Google Goes Midrange

Google's path to the midrange market is mainly attributed to the current models subpar performance against other top-tier mobile devices. Nevertheless, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he is confident that the company will regain its composure in the hardware department of smartphones. He also said Google is committed for the long term in its hardware efforts.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The second man to walk on the surface of the Moon is urging the human race to journey to Mars and stay there.

In an op-ed published on The Washington Post, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin commended the current administration for committing to send a manned mission to the Moon 50 years after he and colleague Neil Armstrong made that historic first time.

Buzz Aldrin Talks Mars

He is also urging the United States to make launching humans to the Red Planet a priority to ensure the ultimate survival of the species.

"Americans are good at writing fantasy, and incomparable at making the fantastic a reality," he said. "We did it with Mercury, Gemini, Apollo  and in thousands of other ways. It is time we get down to blueprints, architecture and implementation, and to take the next step  a sustainable international return to the moon, directly charting a pathway to Mars."

Moreover, the 89-year-old added that the goal should be to open the door for the "great migration of humankind" to Earth's neighboring planet and, eventually, farther into the universe.

"All of this is within reach for humans alive now, but it stars with a unified next step in space," he stated. "The nation best poised to make it happen is the United States."

This is not the first time that Aldrin has spoken about setting up a permanent human settlement on the surface of Mars. In an interview with Fox News last year, he discussed ideas to make the barren Red Planet more hospitable to human. He said that there is feasibility to the plans put forward by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson.

NASA's Mars Plans

NASA is already on its way to Mars, but it would take a bit more time before the first human makes the first step on a different planet. The U.S. space agency's current plans have a focus on getting American astronauts back to the moon and then setting up a base on Earth's natural satellite.

However, farther into the future, NASA also wants to send a manned mission to the Red Planet by 2030s.

In the meantime, a new rover that will study the Martian environment and identify the challenges that future human expeditions might face will be launched in July 2020. It is expected to arrive in Mars by February 2021.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is renewable energy on track to dethrone coal energy as the main source of energy for Americans? This Aprils energy production shows that it might be, but the battle for cleaner energy is still ongoing.

April 2019 Energy Production

Last April, for the first time ever, the production of renewable energy in the United States surpassed the production of energy from coal. This is bad news for the coal industry, but good news for the planet as energy production moves toward cleaner sources of energy.

According to the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the trend will likely continue in May, sporadically throughout the year, and in 2020 as well. This is despite the many setbacks experienced by the renewable energy sector, with politicians calling for more investments in coal and Federal subsidies for renewable energy being cut in half.

However, it is also important to consider that coal plants do tend to shut down during springtime for repairs, at the same time when hydrogeneration is at its peak. That said, this is still a momentous achievement in the cause to move toward renewable energy.

Road To Cleaner Energy

Does this mean that the United States is on the way to transitioning from coal to renewable energy? The road is still long on the journey toward renewable energy, but the movement is constant. In fact, in Texas, renewable energy sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar are steadily pushing coal out, with wind and solar energy topping coal energy production in the first quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, states such as Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and many others have also pledged to make aggressive clean energy plans, which will likely push the clean energy movement even faster.

Evidently, the coal sector does not find these movements to be important, but it does indicate the steady movement toward cleaner energy and away from coal. Whats more, the changes are said to be happening even faster than forecast. In fact, according to IEEFA research analyst Dennis Wamstead, this transition was not close to occurring five years ago.

Carbon Emissions

That said, the battle toward reducing carbon emissions is still under way. Last year, the United States carbon emissions rose instead of declined, primarily due to the carbon emissions of the transport sector rather than power plants.

This shows perhaps that apart from making the transition to clean energy, there are also many other aspects that need to be dealt with if we are to truly cut down on carbon emissions.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Meat

Short Story

Sagar ki lehare utthee hein, girti hein; Baat beeti raat beeti, Kehat lokvaasi, abhi raat baaki.

It was a job and I was lucky to have one. My father had been a peasant and toiled for rupees five a day. Most days the zamindar gave him wheat with the chaff and chafed if my father pleaded with his hands folded,Hazoor! Some cash...

What for? he would scoff, the scorn curling his upper lip and invading the look in his eyes as he puffed at his hookah.

Gaihu is enough, he spat.

Then my father would beg with hands folded, Hazoor, I have a wife, four children and need to cook with some oil and spices on firewood.

Firewood? spluttered the zamindar between his hookah, Bewakoof! and spitting on the ground he ordered: Use uppalas.

That is why my mother always called the cow our mother; as she gathered the cow pats and shaped them with her hands into oblong sheaves, drying them on the roof of our hut and then using them on the fire to cook, all the while coughing and spluttering over the fumes, she would exclaim, Our cow gives us everything! Milk for all of you and my teaor else I would have to drink it blackand look at her she is so benign and giving, that is why she is called gaumata. And I swear, they both had a look of understanding in their eyes, which can be called love.

Watching my father sweat by his brow, his shirt soaked in perspiration and then meted out daily humiliation for his wages between smoke and spit while my mother cooked over a fire on uppalas, I figured I would be free if I had a joba real jobwith the Sarkar which would give me wages without pleading and an uniform that would clothe me and my family with respect, removing the shroud of uncertainty and indignity.

I wanted to be unlike my father; no one feared my father, they just pitied himI have seen the look in my mothers eyesbut everyone feared the zamindar when he was around they lowered their eyes to the ground and called him Mi Baap and Hazoor.

If I wore the police uniform the people would respect me and wipe out the centuries of degradation that my family had lived under: toil, spit, dung and smell, all the while paying obeisance to the tehsildars under the British and then the zamindars. I hated the way he eyed my adolescent sisterwhose blouse was bursting at the seamswith impunity. I wanted to smash his hookah and have him hand over my father his wages with due respect.

When my father was born, India had just got her freedom, the people were learning that if someone folded their hands you did the same, in return. The condescending nod of the burra sahib, his colonial mansion overlooking a flight of steps, their memsahibs twirling their fine gowns over polished wooden dancing floors resting on the upholstered arms of a sahibwho complained of ruling the bloody natives in the heathad gone at the stroke of the midnight hour. Gone was the barking of their dogs accompanying them for a shikar with servants carrying them in palkis, as they assumed valour in shooting a tiger that had been set up for them.We had to carry the white man andhis burden! They left only after tearing us asunder into two countriesthey called it a double dealbut we were free at last.

I dont know how free my parents were, though my father still toiled under the zamindar and borrowed money at rates that made Shylock look generous. While my mother always looked patient and long sufferinga milked cowserving her in-laws and family, supplying and catering to our needs, never her own.

One day she told me, Sukhdev. I was lying on the charpoy half asleep and mumbled Haan.

I am getting old. How long will I go on milking the cow, making uppalas, cooking for all of you? she coughed, Trying to make do with the little your father earns? I listened feeling ashamed and helpless.

I want you to get a pucci naukria permanent jobnot something on the whims and fancies of anyone. I agreed with her fervently but didnt say anything. Nothing, they say in our part of the world, is in our hands, its all with the upparwala. So I studied, passed my school and college and then sat for the entrance exams to be a policeman and got shortlisted for the interview.

My mother prayed, my sister went to the temple, how fervently everyone wanted me to get the job. They asked me at the interview why I wanted to be a policeman and I replied, I want to serve my country. This amused the board member who raised his eyebrows at the chairman, who smiled, Lets see, he said, noting something down.

When the results were announced my mother was so proud she made besan ke ladoos and despatched them to the entire village with a declaration: Voh vardi pahenega and as I donned my uniform and left for the training she engaged me in absentia to a girl from another village. When I protested, I dont even know her, what to speak of love, she responded, Oh, but you will grow to love her. Just look at her photograph, she is so fair, like our cow. Revathi was indeed fair and beauteous and after the whirlwind of our marriage, we lived as we have always livedlike millions of couples before us.

I was conscientious in my job and rose to be an investigating officer. One day I got a call from my boss. A man has been killed. Go and check, he ordered.

I drove down in the police vehicle with the red light flashing. AsI reached the village, I saw a group of people that dispersed as soon as they saw the police vehicle approaching, but I put that down to the standard apprehension people have of the police, they now see us as oppressorsthe new Raj.

The man as I entered his kitchen was bleeding profusely. He had been hit on several places and as I felt his pulse, I realised he was already dead. He had obviously been eating as I saw the half-eaten food on his thalilentils, chapattis and some meat andan overturned glass of waterthen I noticed a strange light shining on his face. I looked around for the source and saw the refrigerator door open. I walked towards it and looked in. It had the usual stuff: eggs, vegetables, butter and in the freezer some thanda gosht.

I took photographs of the dead man from different angles, but I still could not figure out the angle behind the murder, for this was not a murder but a lynching. A mob had entered as I could see from the commotion inside, many people had attacked the man and several things in his kitchen had been smashed: the matka that kept the water, utensilswhich one by one had been thrown at him and the refrigerator door had been wrenched open with such force that its handle had come off. Village enmity I had reasonedhad his son run off with someones daughterbut even then this was too extreme, it didnt warrant so much violence.

I asked my colleagues to take his body for a post-mortem. The post-mortem revealed death by injuries which were several: on his head, arms, legsbut most were mainly on his stomach. It was there that he had been dealt severe blows. In his stomach they had found some food, not unusual as he had been eating when the crowd entered.

Then my boss called me, Go to the refrigerator and get the gosht he ordered. I thought he had gone off his rocker, with the stress of this job it is quite normal. Then he asked me to get the gosht sent for forensic examination. I did. After a few days I got a yellow envelope from the lab, with the words:

Meat. Putrified. Foul smelling.

Meanwhile the press was rocked with the lynching. They reported that a cow had gone missing in the neighbourhood and the priest of the local temple had announced over a loudspeaker that the missing cow was being eaten in the mans kitchen. The villagers were incensed and as they invaded the mans kitchen he had leapt up in alarm - which explained the half-eaten food in the thali and the overturned glass of water - and had been beaten.

The forensic report did not state what meat it was. So I asked.

They sent me a terse reply:

Mutton

I told the intrepid reporter doing her beat that it was just that and she quoted me in the daily. I got a whiplash from my boss, Bewakoof! he yelled, you mutton-headed fool! I was used to the zamindar mouthing abuses at my father, but didnt expect this in my line of duty.

Who told you, it was mutton?

The lab, Sir, I replied dutifully.

Its beef.

But...

Dont but me, he said, from now on you say, its beef.

I noted down that my superior said it was beef and I did not tamper with the lab report; I was not going tobe part of a rebuttal controversyI took my job seriouslyafter all I was the investigating officer.

Then a strange thing happened, the murdered mans daughter made a statement to the press, If the meat in our fridge is proved not to be beef, will you get my father back? I felt as if a cow had butted my stomach as I realised with a wrench,I knew what that beef really was. The case soon turned from a beefy story to the nations headlines and the village became a stop where politicians of every hue came and exhorted the youth to stand for unity with the cow or otherwise, depending on their political affiliation.

Meanwhile I arrested the main accused, Nathuram along with a few other known offenders. They were largely unemployed vagabonds who made it a point to stop any vehicle carrying goods and search it. If it contained cattle - whether it was a milch cow or not - thetravellers were dealt blowsall in the name of gaurakhsha. Then Nathuram died in the lock-up. I admit the police do get a trifle feisty but when they draped his body in the tricolour and asked the people to pay homage to a hero, I was stunned; if they had taken his urine sample they would have known he was a confirmed alcoholic who had a bout of jaundice.No one bothers about erstwhile deaths in police custody but mine is not to question why, but to go on with my duty.

Then they asked Zabardast Zohra to step down from a movieshe was PakistaniI was desultorily watching her desi substitute, who just didnt have the breast- shaking, hip-swiggling oomph of Zabardast. The film ended with the national anthem which was now mandatory and I saw an old man who remained seated. A bunch of young men yanked him up, you got no respect for the flag they yelled. He kept protesting he had a problem with his knees and they kicked him on his knee caps! I kept pretending I was not there; it was dark and easy to exit but I was wondering if the law was to be maintained by the derelict and the unemployed was my uniform even worth its laundry?

Outside a woman threw her shoe at a man who was selling biryani. He kept pleading Buffallo only, maam, but we were all moving in a herd, so no one quite heard his piteous cries. The poor fellow did not realise thatnamaz could not be offered in a public park and if a cow strayed before a bullet train, it was the driver who would be mowed down. You had to now cow down before a blinkered, manoeuvred people; someone was driving the cattleus.

Once upon a time we used to argue till the cows came home, but now we spoke in one voice. One day I dared to ask for leave for my silver anniversary, but my boss responded with a terse No; I always knew he was thick-skinned but he had now developed a hide. My bushy moustache quivered with rage, but I was silent. Then he explained, There is a build-up of tension over the temple issue, just in case reinforcements are needed... Had they seen the delivery of Ram to call thatspot his precise birthplace thousands of years later? Oh! How I wish someone would deliver me from the banalities I was condemned to serve under.

Revathi had said she wanted a washing machine and a dryer, the last was what dried my juices. Whats wrong with the clothes line? I had asked rather dryly.

Why should everyone in the village know the colour of my underwear and bras? Am I not entitled to my privacy? she had interrogated me. Privacy! Had she forgotten that when we had got married she and I had shared the one room we had and my old parents had slept out in the cold with an extra quilt for cover? Then she said if I bought her one set of cultured pearls she could get two for the price of one and when I raised my eyebrows, she explained with a flourish ofhands around her neck, it was the Deck Her Sale.

I was numb with the cold consumerism and the ease to do business that had swept my land while most were still doing their morning business by the roadside, as the trees had been felled for the malls and public toilets if any,were kept locked. I felt my country had become a roadside rodeo show with the cows having mounted; but I kept my feelings close to my heart, its the way of us men in uniform, we maintain a starched silence.

Tension bahut rakhte homy colleague had said, when I confided in him that on an honest policemans salary, this was not possible.

You should learn to compromise and everything will flow.

Compromise?

Han bhai, become a word-changer.

Whats that? I asked curiously.

His voice dipped, Take out mutton and insert b...

His words chilled me to the marrow. I did not become a police officer to be a word-changer. I was the son of a peasant and loved my job because it gave me respect, I was not going to trade that for anything.

Then my wireless buzzed.

I.O, I answered.

Car, spluttered the other side remotely and trailed off. Ever since the wireless tender went to the company that paved the middle ground for jets, both our planes and words take flight and get grounded in mid-air.

Car crashes, I deciphered helpfully.

Where?

Burrashahr district.

Village?

Durbudhi. And then he went off.

Burrashahr was located near the place they wanted to build the temple and had got every child in the surrounding area to send a brick, with the slogan:

Bacha Bacha Ram ka Janmboomi ke kaam ka -- every child is of Ram of use to his birthplace.

But why should there be car crashes in Durbudhi village, I wondered. I got into my vehicle and drove. Driving by the desolate countryside at night I did not feel forlorn; I had the stars overhead for company and felt I was on a chariot going to do my righteous duty; I felt like the God Ram himself.

When I reached the police station a mob surrounded my vehiclethey were displaying cow carcasses and stoning my jeep as if I had done it. I stayed calm; there were a hundred mouths screaming and they were hurling bricks, notstones. I steadied myself as one hurledthrough the windshield. I took out my revolver, I knew one shot in the air and this crowd of carcass waving derelicts would scatter  I summoned the courage of my uniform and its long line of duty.

Then in the melee something whizzed past and lodged itself in my chest. I was frozen; just then my phone rang. I knew it was my boss calling. Bewakoof! he would say. I tried my best to take the call but my hand would not obey my command. I wanted to say, Sir, situation under control. There will be no riot but no word came out of my mouth.

Then the door was wrenched open and I heard a quiet, dangerous snarl, Is he thanda gosht?

The other shoved a slab under my nose, roughly. I recognised thesmell; I swear it was putrified beef. I passed out; then he placed very carefully, the beef on the nape of my neck and said, Double-decker.

Sagari Chhabra is an award-winning author and film-director.
Sprint may start selling the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, and Pixel 3 XL in the foreseeable future.

Pixel phones have been an exclusive to Verizon ever since they were released back in 2016, though the unlocked version has always been available at the Google Store too. Now it seems things are changing up a bit as more carriers seem to be getting the green light to carry the devices.

Pixel Phones On Sprint

Android Police obtained an image that's alleged to be Sprint's plans to put at least three Pixel phones on display in one of its stores. If this turns out to be the real deal, then the Pixel 3 XL is guaranteed to be available from the carrier soon. At that, it's not a stretch to think that the smaller Pixel 3 is going to be included in the mix.

As for the other two, they're listed down as "Google S4" and "Google B4." These could be referring to the Pixel 3a's and Pixel 3a XL's code names "sargo" and "bonito," respectively. There's a good chance that these are just a coincidence, though.

Google is scheduled to officially unveil the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL on May 7 at its 2019 I/O developer conference. The event is just a few days away, and that makes the timing of the image outlining Sprint's Pixel display plans turning up all the more believable.

Expanding Availability Of Pixel Phones

Back in April, a report said that T-Mobile will be carrying Pixel phones soon. According to the source who divulged the info, the carrier is adding not only the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL to its lineup but also the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. It's even said to have plans to support Google's next-generation smartphone, which will presumably be called Pixel 4.

Assuming the reports are all accurate, then the only major carrier in the United States that's left is AT&T. On that note, it won't be surprising to see a report pop up out of nowhere, saying that the carrier will sell Pixel phones too.

Recently, Google admitted that sales of its Pixel hardware were slow, saying it was because of "year over year headwinds." The introduction of a more affordable midrange phone and wider availability could turn the tide. The word in town is the Pixel 3a will start at $399, while the Pixel 3a XL at $479, though those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Eddie and Ann Palmer, owners of Antiques on the Avenue in Rayne, were named Business Person of the Year by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce. The Mississippi natives have been married for 52 years.

Ann and I met when we were both in grammar school in Tremont, Mississippi. We were childhood friends then (beginning in 1951), dated in high school (classes of 62 and 63) and were married in 1967, just after I finished a bachelors degree at Mississippi State and just before entering a masters program there. Ann and I began picking during that time in order to supplement meager wages and also began going to nighttime and weekend auctions where we would buy furniture and collectibles, take those items to another auction and sell them through that auction on consignment.

After finishing a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, we moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1975 where I began teaching sociology at Texas Tech. Ann enrolled in and finished a bachelors program in housing and interiors and then opened a draperies and interiors business in Lubbock. We appreciate the smooth surfaces, curves, lines and moderne features of streamlined art deco furniture and continue to collect these pieces for ourselves and for our shop in Rayne. We joke about bonding with the inventory when we locate pieces we fall in love with and occasionally ask for visiting rights to a clients home to see the piece when it is moved from our shop.

We moved to Lafayette in 1985 when I was offered a job at (then) USL. Ann closed her business in Lubbock, and we moved many of our favorite pieces to Lafayette, having to store many pieces because we had too much to fit into our town house. Even after moving into a larger house, we were still cramped and eventually decided to sell off excess pieces. Ann outlined a plan to downsize by taking pieces to antique stores and outdoor markets and quickly found buyers for some of our pieces. Deciding to go back in business, the move to Lafayette allowed us to continue our passion for collecting, refinishing, stocking and selling on a part-time basis. It is hard to get treasure hunting out of ones blood.

Periodically making good finds is what motivates much of our treasure hunting behavior. One of our finds happened a few years ago, after I had retired from UL and after we bought and opened our antique business in Rayne, when we bought a warehouse filled with hundreds of old foundry mold patterns, some about 100 years old. These patterns are often rough, dirty and scarred but are beautiful and attractive after sanding several times, hand waxing and being staged in attractive settings (many are used for center pieces on tables or for wall hangings). Many customers are seeking unique decorative pieces, and these are perfect for their tables, rooms and offices.

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We found a vacant building in Rayne in 2007 that met our needs. We bought the old Peoples Drug Store building, which dates back to 1884. It is on a corner lot across the street from the famous Mervine Kahn building and is adjacent to The Warehouse, another building of historical significance. The Peoples Drug Store was a gathering place for many of Raynes citizens for years, and we love being regaled with things that happened in and around the store in the past. We encourage people to visit with us, sit around the table for coffee and reminisce.

I chair and serve along with Ann and 12 others on the Rayne Old Spanish Trail Committee, a group sponsored by the City of Rayne and The Rayne Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway (U.S. 90) is considered by many to be the Route 66 of the South. The roadway runs from Saint Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California. Under the auspices of the OST100 organization located in San Antonio, Texas, Rayne became the first Official OST City in the nation in 2016. Crowleys annual car show contains an OST component with an OST motorcade.

When we were informed by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce that we had been selected as Business of the Year and Business Persons of the Year for 2019, we were totally surprised and completely humbled. We are so appreciative of this honor, especially because we are much smaller than many other businesses in Acadia Parish. The award validates some of our activities and provides an incentive for us to continue to work through our business to make more friends, satisfy more customers and network through the parish to increase commercial activity where possible.
Before the first shovel of dirt has been dug, the future $29.6 million Ascension Parish courthouse proposed for Gonzales is already $4.6 million over budget.

The cost estimate for design, engineering and construction of the three-story courthouse is at least 18 percent higher than what parish officials had hoped two years ago. The judges, Clerk of Court's Office and Sheriff's Office have agreed to cover the difference out of their own funds.

Clerk of Court Bridget Hanna, who relies on self-generated fees, is covering the bulk of the cost overrun at $3.2 million.

The parish originally incurred $25 million in bonded debt for the project, to be repaid from a $150 increase in fees for lawsuits and $30 increase for other civil court filings.

The Legislature approved the fee increases in 2017, but court officials said this week that as they got into the design of the building, the cost was much higher than the $20 million to $25 million an initial feasibility study estimated. That study was the basis of the project's financing.

Safety, space prompt plan for $25 million courthouse in Gonzales; civil filings fees would go up GONZALES  The judges of the 23rd Judicial District and other court officials are eyeing a new Ascension Parish Courthouse, saying overcrowdin

The more than 90,000-square foot building will have eight courtrooms and cost an estimated $27.4 million to build. As a cost-saving measure, only seven courtrooms will be fully finished and trimmed out, Hanna said.

Parish government won't pay for the building's construction, court officials said, but will take ownership responsibility after it is built on East Worthey Street next to the parish Governmental Complex.

At the urging of the judges, the clerk of court and the sheriff, parish government agreed to pursue $25 million in new debt in 2017 to finance the building. Court officials said then that demands from an increasing docket and troubling security concerns at the 16-year-old Courthouse Annex in Gonzales required a new building.

One of the major worries has been that the Courthouse Annex on South Irma Boulevard doesn't have a way to sequester prisoners easily and separate them from the judges and other court personnel, all of whom must use the same back hallways to enter the courtrooms.

+2 Ascension courthouse project inching forward GONZALES  After Ascension Parish and judicial officials spent last year gathering support and lining up funding for a new parish courthouse, 

Judge Jason Verdigets said court officials tried to model the Ascension courthouse on Livingston's and it is actually smaller than the courthouse in the town of Livingston.

"It was just total building prices as things go up," Verdigets said.

The latest construction estimate of $27.4 million came after trimming about $1 million in costs off the bid from builder The Lemoine Co., but another $2.1 million in engineering, architectural, testing and management fees bring the total cost to $29.6 million.

Long-term financing for new Ascension courthouse annex in Gonzales inches forward; court fees may increase GONZALES  Jason Verdigets, senior judge of the 23rd Judicial District Court, said Tuesday the court's judges and other local officials are se

Gasper Chifici, the courthouse project manager, suggested the early estimate was too low, noting that architect GraceHebert, which has experience designing courthouses, told parish officials from the start that the building couldn't be built for $25 million.

"I think had the original price been reasonably correct, I think it would be about where we are," said Chifici, who became project manager after the feasibility study and finance deal were completed.

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Mike Rice, vice-president of The Lemoine Co., said he could not speak to the past feasibility study but noted all owners start with a number.

"I would think through the final design of everything, they found some things that they need to have and found ways to pay for it and the final budget was ($27.4 million)," Rice said.

+6 Ten-plus years in the works, new $20M Livingston Parish courthouse almost ready to open After more than a decade of planning and nearly two years of construction, the new Livingston Parish courthouse soon will open its doors for b

Earlier this decade, parish officials in Livingston ran into similar problems with the total cost of their 110,000-square foot courthouse north of Interstate 12. The building came in about $3.2 million more than the $17.2 million debt that parish had taken out for the new courthouse. The local government agencies involved in that project also had to split the overage but also made up some of the extra cost with sales tax savings on materials purchases.

Judge recuses himself from Matassa's bribery case, cites work with him on new courthouse GONZALES  Judge Jason Verdigets recused himself Thursday from presiding over the election bribery case against Ascension Parish President Ken

The significantly higher cost for the Ascension courthouse only emerged in public Thursday as court officials were before the Parish Council seeking approval for a maximum construction price of $27.9 million.

The courthouse project has been designed and will be built through a process known as "construction management at risk," in which the architect and contractor work together from the start. The builder agrees to a maximum price upfront.

The $27.9 million maximum price has a built-in contingency that could be returned to the government agencies if it isn't needed.

Parish Council members had few questions about the increased costs but were in a more congratulatory mood as their vote to back the maximum construction price and for a related agreement with the court officials set the stage for construction to start.

Later, after the necessary votes, the court officials and council members posed for a photograph in front of the new courthouse renderings, which rested on an easel in the council chambers at the historic red brick Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville, Ascension's west bank courthouse.

One area of focus from the council Thursday were the future east bank courthouse's drainage impacts in Gonzales. The building will go up near East Ascension High School, an existing Clerk of Court building, the parish Governmental Complex and medical offices.

Chifici, the project manager, explained to Councilmen Bill Dawson and Daniel "Doc" Satterlee that a drainage study found that the fill used to raise the bottom floor of the courthouse will be offset by a large, existing pond that is part of the future courthouse property.

Chifici said the pond will be excavated to hold more water. The pond and other drainage works have been shown to improve drainage in the area up through a 100-year rainstorm, he said.

Drainage around the courthouse has been a point of concern since last summer. East Ascension Drainage Chairman Dempsey Lambert, who is also a parish councilman, had linked the future courthouse with a delay in new rules that would limit how much dirt can be used to raise homes and businesses, even when the flooding-effects of added dirt is counteracted with detention ponds.

Lambert said then that the courthouse, which will be near a small ditch, may have to be raised up on dirt more than 3 feet high.

But Chifici said Thursday the studies now show the courthouse will need dirt piled, on average, no more than 1.8 feet high, though some lower areas could require more.

At that height, he said, the courthouse will be level with East Worthey and the adjacent parish Governmental Complex. Chifici said that after agreements are signed and some initial planning happens, demolition and dirt work could begin soon.
An attorney for one of the teachers seen restraining a student in a video that went viral from Ponchatoula Junior High School in March said the school superintendent capitulated to pressure from public opinion when she fired him earlier this week.

My client got fired because he happened to be a white teacher breaking up a fight between two black kids. Period, attorney Tony Clayton said in an interview Friday.

Clayton is representing English teacher and school disciplinarian Rusty Barrilleaux.

Both teachers seen in the video were dismissed, Mona Icamina, a representative from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, confirmed Friday.

Report: Video of teachers restraining student is 'disturbing,' Tangipahoa schools leader says The Tangipahoa Parish schools superintendent said the video that circulated on social media last week showing two teachers physically restrain

Superintendent Melissa Stilley declined to speak on the issue, saying in an email, "We cant comment on any specific personnel actions for our employees at this time. She previously called the video disturbing but said a full investigation needed to be done.

"Anyone that watched that video, if they're honest, would say it was very disturbing and upsetting to see that and the things that were said to the student," Stilley told Action News 17, a local television station in the Florida Parishes in a video posted April 2.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The school system had been conducting an investigation since March 28 when the students mother posted the video to Facebook. It shows two teachers trying to pin down the girl on the concrete, with one of the teachers cursing the student as the other teacher drags her by the leg.

The video sparked outrage across social media.

Authorities said the video shows the aftermath of a fight between two students that the teachers were trying to break up.

In defense of his client, Clayton pointed to a video he says captures the moments before the two teachers intervened. That video shows two girls grabbing at the others shirts and punching each other in the head as more students stand by in the courtyard. At the end of the 11-second clip, a teacher Clayton identified as Brett Chatelain can be seen pulling one of the girls away from the fight.

The other kid let her go, and she and Mr. Chatelain went down to the ground, which put Mr. Chatelain on top of her torso, Clayton said.

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Barrilleaux can be seen in the widely shared video pulling the girl by the leg on the concrete. Clayton said he grabbed the girls leg to keep her from kicking Chatelain.

Rusty Barrilleaux merely came in to help control the situation, Clayton said, adding later, Any man worth his salt wouldve stopped those kids from hurting one another.

Efforts to reach Chatelain, a physical education teacher, were unsuccessful Friday.

Clayton said Barrilleaux was vindicated by an evaluation of the incident from Bruce Chapman, president of Handle With Care, a company hired by the school system to train school staff on appropriate discipline.

In an email shared by Clayton, Chapman says his opinion based on the two videos is that the two teachers used a minimal degree of force to control this student; in a manner consistent with a reasonable person standard.

Be also advised that training in effective physical intervention strategies and methods prior to this incident would have allowed them to use even less force, Chapman wrote.

Clayton is also claiming that Barrilleaux was tenured and thus should have had a due process hearing before he could have been terminated. In an April interview with ActionNews17, Stilley said both teachers were tenured, although Clayton said Stilley later denied that Barrilleaux had tenure.

In the weeks since the incident, Barrilleaux has received threats and had to move his family to an undisclosed area for safety, Clayton said. But Barrilleaux stands by his actions, Clayton said.

Ponchatoula Police investigated the fight and submitted their findings to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who has not yet said whether he'll seek charges against the teachers or the students. Clayton said police wanted to arrest the student who had been restrained but Barrilleaux told officers "he didn't want her to endure this."

John Williams, an attorney for the family of the girl seen in the viral video, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Three weeks after the incident, the girl seen restrained on the ground and her mother, Althea Abron, were both arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office on an unrelated investigation. Authorities searched the house regarding burglaries allegedly committed by the girls older brother. The girl was arrested for interfering in a police investigation and held for six days at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. Abron was arrested on an outstanding warrant for identity theft, as well as new counts of child endangerment and drug possession after deputies found some marijuana in a Pringles chip can.

Williams previously said he believed the arrests were retaliatory.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Tagore and Gandhi

by Jayanta Kumar Ghosal

The following article is being published before Rabindranath Tagores 158th birth anniversary which falls on May 9, 2019.

This year being the sesquicentenary of Mohadas Karamchand Gandhi, it is important to have a focus on the two great personalities like Tagore and Gandhi. It is now very much pertinent to have an account of their relation-ship in a nutshell. Because it is really amazing to observe that India with her many back-wardness produced two such mighty men in the period of one generation.

Gandhi was younger to Tagore by eight years and when he first met Tagore, he was yet to attain a national stature in the country, though he was widely known to Indians for his great work in South Africa. And actually for this work Tagore came to know Gandhi. C.F. Andrews and W.W. Pearson acted as the catalytic agents here. And the relationship between the two deepened.

As early as on February 1915, we observe Tagore referring to Gandhi as Mahatma and Gandhi immediately adopted the form of addressing Tagore as Gurudev. But theirs was not a friendship based on just mutual admiration. They differed on fundamental philosophical questions which led to differences about many political, social and economic matters. Both were unsparing in their debate and it must be remembered that neither of them succeeded to convince fully the other. Each accepted cordially the others right to differ.

There were many striking contrasts between the two personalities and, as Romain Rolland wrote his observations in a letter to Tagore in 1923 on the noble debate between the two, that it embraces the whole earth, and the whole humanity joins in this august dispute. Yet the two found some common chord and there began a friendship which lasted till Tagores death in 1941.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was close to both of them, with great astonishment commented on the relationship of the twoThe surprising thing is that both of these men with so much in common and drawing inspiration from the same wells of wisdom and thought and culture, could differ so greatly. No two persons could probably differ so much as Gandhi and Tagore in their make up or temperament. Tagore even raising a question on the honesty of the works of Gandhi saidI wonder whether you are being quite fair to our people, Gandhiji or quite honest with them?(Quoted in Poet and Plowman by Leonad Elmhirst)

To compare and contrast them is very interesting. Tagore, basically an artist, was of strong democratic temperament with great sympathies to proletariats, represented the cultural tradition of India in the truest sense, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness and going through it with songs and dance.

Gandhi was more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant. In Gandhi we see the other side of the ancient Indian tradition which was of renunciation and asceticism. Tagore was primarily an intellectual, a man of thought while Gandhi put great emphasis on concentrated and ceaseless activity.

Both Tagore and Gandhi took much from the West and also from the East. This was more so in the case of Tagore. The two at the same time refuted narrow nationalism. Their thoughts and messages were for the whole world towards achieving the emancipation of global mankind. At the same time both were cent per cent Indias sons. They have inherited and represented the age-old culture of Indiatheir motherland.

Tagore looked upon Gandhi as a liberated soul who according to him .... is a great man, a great soul and ... wields tremendous power over the teeming million of India. And the secret of Gandhis success, as Tagore observed, lies in his dynamic spiritual strength and incessant self-sacrifice. He also said that Not because of his political prudence, but for his spiritual influence the people believe in him and they are ready to die for their faith and always ready to suffer. And to Tagore, It is a miracle that these people, downtrodden for centuries, are coming out; and without doing any injury to others they suffer and through suffering, conquer. And Gandhi, as Tagore observed, also greatly influenced Indian women folk who only the other day ....were secluded in their own inner apartments. They, too, have come out to follow this man, this leader.

Analysing Gandhi, Tagore wrote on February 28, 1939when Mahatma Gandhi came and opened up the path of freedom for India, he had no obvious medium of power in his hand, no overwhelming authority of coercion. The influence which emanated from his personality was ineffable, like music, like beauty. Its claim upon others was great because of its revelation of a spontaneous self-giving.

Prior to this Tagore, on December 1, 1930, wrote: We have been waiting for the Person, such a personality as we see in Mahatma Gandhi.

And Gandhi after Tagores demise wrote in the obituary on August 7, 1941In the death of Rabindranath Tagore, we have not only lost the greatest poet of the age, but an ardent nationalist who was also a humanitarian. There was hardly any public activity on which he has not left the impress of his powerful personality.

Refrences

1. Mahatma Gandhi : Rabindranath Tagore.

2. The Mahatma And the Poetedited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya.

3. Gandhi number : The Visvabharati Querterly, Vol-35, No. 1-3.

The author is a social activist associated with literacy movement.
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In 1979, 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. was in manufacturing, the backbone of the American economy. But as technology advanced, manufacturing evol
The year was 1991, and the only way to enter Louisiana's Old State Capitol was by climbing a tower of scaffolding and going through a second f
After a pipe burst today caused heavy flooding and a boil water advisory in parts of Uptown New Orleans, City Councilwoman At-Large Helena Moreno made a renewed call for New Orleans to review all of its tax dedications.

A water main break in the Freret neighborhood resulted in flooding that led at least a dozen Uptown schools to close. The pipe was more than a century old, according to the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB).

A cautionary boil water advisory was then announced for parts of Uptown from Carrollton to Napoleon and Claiborne to the Mississippi River and is still in effect.

This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

The break came at the end of a week of tangled negotiations between Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Gov. John Bel Edwards and hospitality industry leaders over increased funding to the S&WB from new hotel and short-term rental taxes.

Cantrell and Edwards were scheduled to give a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the deal but the Cantrell administration abruptly cancelled it Tuesday night.

The deal  which is contingent on a package of bills in the state legislature  would give New Orleans $27 million a year for infrastructure and $48 million upfront to the S&WB. Those totals are down from the initial $40 million a year and one-time payment of $75 million Cantrell sought.

New Orleans tourism and infrastructure deal back in negotiations after tumultuous 24 hours A deal to raise hotel taxes to help fund infrastructure repairs in New Orleans saw a tumultuous 24 hours, with Mayor LaToya Cantrell agreeing 

Moreno said that the agreement alone would not be enough to fix the citys pressing infrastructure problems.

I am hopeful that negotiations in Baton Rouge will lead to a boost in funds, but unfortunately, much more is needed and we must act quickly, Moreno said.

Moreno said she plans to bring a motion before City Council May 9 to create a committee to review all dedicated taxes in New Orleans, in hopes that funds can potentially be freed from other areas and used to improve the citys infrastructure. The goal is to complete a full report by early 2020, she said.

"We can not live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure," Moreno said.
As if to re-emphasize Mayor LaToya Cantrell's continuing call for more money to upgrade the city's aging infrastructure, torrents of water from a broken main on South Claiborne Avenue gushed into the area near Soniat Street for hours Friday, leaving much of Uptown New Orleans with weak or no water pressure before Sewerage & Water Board crews were able to plug the leak.

The broken pipe, which was installed in 1905, placed a wide swath of Uptown under a boil-water advisory until at least Saturday, swamped cars and threatened homes.

It cut off the water supply needed for necessary medical procedures at Childrens Hospital and caused problems at other medical facilities in the area.

+2 New Orleans boil water advisory might be lifted Saturday as repairs to broken water main begin The broken water main that was gushed water onto Claiborne Avenue and neighborhoods near Soniat Street for more than 12 hours is being repaire

Broken pipes and boil-water advisories are nothing new in New Orleans. But the length and severity of Fridays leak  which left many places with such little water pressure that their taps were dry  and its impact on medical treatments highlighted the potentially dangerous effects of the citys long-standing problems with its ancient infrastructure.

The pipe burst sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Friday, spewing water into the streets nearby. By 4:30 a.m., pressure in the pipes had dropped below the threshold that triggers a boil-water advisory, which is called when there is too little pressure to ensure the water delivered to homes and businesses is not contaminated.

Emergency repair crews from across the city were dispatched immediately, S&WB spokesman Rich Rainey said. But they struggled throughout the day to get the leak under control.

The water from the pipe flooded into the streets for several blocks around the break, deep enough in some areas to flood cars that had been parked or whose drivers tried to drive through the water.

One driver, T.J. Bush, found himself stuck after driving to Isidore Newman School, only to find that, like many others in the area, the low pressure had forced it to close for the day.

+2 While trying to get to school, New Orleans student gets stranded in floodwaters from busted water main T.J. Bush thought he was taking just a quick detour, cutting through a neighborhood to get around the Sewerage & Water Board roadblocks su

Verna Ellzey, who was driving through the neighborhood, said she had seen water everyplace and cars just floating on the water.

The city needs to do better by their residents, she said.

One reason the leak could not be closed quickly was the difficulty crews encountered in determining which of two pipes that run alongside each other was leaking, Rainey said. In addition, many of their shut-off valves were so old that they didnt work properly, keeping the workers from fully cutting off the water supply and forcing them to move onto the next valve in hopes that it would work, Rainey said.

Because of those issues, the water pressure could not be restored and the actual repairs could not begin until late afternoon. At that point, the S&WB collected samples to be sent to Baton Rouge for testing  a process that normally takes 24 hours.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The boil-water advisory remained in effect overnight for the area from South Carrollton Avenue to Napoleon Avenue and from South Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River. Residents and others in that area were advised not to ingest unboiled water  from drinking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing food  until they receive an all-clear. Water should be boiled for a full minute to ensure its safety.

Residents in the affected area whose immune systems are compromised were advised not to wash hands, shower or bathe with tap water.

Beyond the normal annoyances brought by boil-water advisories, this one affected hospitals including Childrens and Ochsner Baptist.

The problems at Childrens were particularly serious: Water pressure that is normally at 40 pounds per square inch dropped to 3 psi, too low to feed pediatric hemodialysis equipment that for some children is their only option for treatment in the state.

Going too long without treatment, which must be done on specialized machines that are different from those used for adults, can have life-threatening consequences, said Dr. Diego Aviles, chief of pediatric nephrology at Childrens.

Children who were supposed to come in for dialysis on Friday had to be rescheduled for Saturday, and officials began making contingent plans for more serious steps, such as moving the large machines to another hospital where they could be hooked into its water supply, said Evie Freiberg, senior director for patient care services at Childrens.

Fortunately, pressure was restored to the hospital at mid-morning and such steps were not necessary.

Its so important to try to make the community and the city aware that when theres a loss in our water pressure, it has a tremendous impact on our patients and can put them in a really bad place, Aviles said.

The problems on Friday led to renewed calls for more infrastructure funding in New Orleans, something Cantrell has made a priority of her first year in office.

The bottom line is we have pipes that are over 100 years old, City Councilman Joe Giarrusso said. Those pipes continue to function, but we have to be mindful that at a certain point even the best of infrastructure thats over 100 years old is going to have issues. We need to have a constant eye on fixing that and replacing that, and the way we do that is through having adequate funding sources.

The S&WB wont know what caused the rupture until repairs are complete and engineers get a chance to examine the broken pipe.

+6 As New Orleans streets flood, a second pipe, ancient valves could be to blame, S&WB says The Sewerage & Water Board is still trying to fix a water main that broke on Claiborne Avenue early Friday morning, leaving streets floode

A major factor, however, likely was the age of the water main; such pipes are supposed to last only 30 to 50 years before they need to be replaced.

Its a 114-year-old pipe. Its amazing it lasted that long, Rainey said. It should have been replaced two or three times over by now.

The utility repaired other sections of the main in the same area last week.

Asked whether Fridays break could have been related to the previous work, Rainey said that was possible. When a pipe is repaired and leaks are plugged or compromised sections are reinforced, it can put more pressure on other weak points, causing new leaks to spring up.

Its not clear yet whether that contributed to Fridays problems, however.

Cantrells administration is currently negotiating with the hospitality industry for more infrastructure money, largely from increased hotel and short-term rental taxes. Bills that are part of that effort, which could raise an additional $27 million a year for infrastructure repairs, are expected to move forward in the Legislature next week.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno responded to Fridays flooding and pressure drop by commending Cantrell for the effort but saying the city needs to go further.

In a statement, Moreno called for the creation of a special committee to review what entities in the city are now getting tax money and make recommendations about possibly changing how the money is distributed.

Moreno calls for review of New Orleans' dedicated taxes after pipe burst causes floods This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

We cannot live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure, Moreno said. Let's have a serious conversation about where our money should go."
Sydney's popular northern beaches pub, Hotel Steyne at Manly, has been sold by John Singleton and his business partners for a price understood to be in the mid-$60 millions to private hotel group Iris Capital.

Along with ad man Mr Singleton, the imposing three-level hotel, on almost 2000 square metres at 75 The Corso, was owned by investment banker Mark Carnegie, well-known investor Robert Whyte and hotelier Arthur Laundy.

Manly's Hotel Steyne.

The high-powered consortium paid a reported $27 million for the 160-year-old hospitality venue when they bought it from Sydney bookmaker Bruce McHugh and his family in 2010. At the time, the group included retail billionaire Gerry Harvey.

Iris Capital founder Sam Arnaout said he was "delighted" to have bought the pub.
The first gig Little May ever played was in 2012 at a pizza restaurant in Bathurst called Church Bar.

Guitarist-vocalist Liz Drummond recalls using a percussion instrument called a stomp box and thinks that former guitarist Annie Hamilton may have been playing a banjo.

Little May's Liz Drummond and Hannah Field have adopted a more full-bodied, indie-rock sound.

"It was in the phase of Mumford and Sons. That was the vibe."

Fast forward to 2015 and Little May were onstage in New Jersey supporting  wait for it  Mumford and Sons, having been invited on their Gentlemen of the Road touring festival.
If the craft beer drinkers of Sydneys Inner West had their way, Australia would be a few short weeks away from replacing prime minister ScoMo with Albo.

Anthony Albanese, Labors spokesman for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, was given a rousing cheer by the large crowd as he cut the ribbon on the renovated premises of Willie the Boatman Brewery on Saturday.

Anthony Albanese received a warm welcome from drinkers at Willie the Boatman Brewery in his electorate of Grayndler in Sydney's Inner West. Credit:Steven Siewert

Many drinkers including Ben Suggate, who was celebrating his bucks party, were drinking the Albo Corn Ale, named after Mr Albanese, who has been the member for Grayndler in Sydneys Inner West since 1996.

Its not too heavy. Its easy to drink. Its quite pleasant, Mr Suggate said. Its actually a pretty good beer. Id drink it again.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Nato 70 Years and Expanding  Differences with Russia Aggravating

by R.G. Gidadhubli

On April 4, 2019 the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) celebrated the historic occasion of the 70th anniversary of its existence in Washington, when Foreign Ministers of 29 member-states attended the function. US President Donald Trump and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg addressed the delegates highlighting the achievements, issues and challenges facing the organisation. The NATO was formed on April 4, 1949 in Washington with 12 members of the USA and European states in the aftermath of the Second World War to counter the military power of the former Soviet Union and other communist states which had formed a military bloc known as the Warsaw Pact. Hence the major objective of NATO countries was to come to each others defence if any of them was attacked. Subsequent to that prevailing scenario, most unexpected major changes have taken place in that region during the last few decades that were not visualised when the NATO was formed.

Hence several questions arise. What is the relevance of the NATO considering the fact that the USSR disintegrated in 1991 and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1989? Why has the NATO expanded from the original 12 to 29 members? What is the NATOs approach towards Russia? What are the major tasks and objectives of the NATO? An effort has been made to analyse some of the issues.

Firstly, looking back into history there was a short period in the early 1990s when there were formal cordial contacts and cooperation between Russia and the NATO in the prevailing context of the end of superpower rivalry, no ideological conflict and evolution of the concept of Partnership for Peace. Hence in June 1994 both Russia and the NATO signed a Founding Act on Mutual Relations. It was significant that a roadmap was also laid on lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Fall of Berlin Wall further added to the end of the threat perception of the Cold War era. But this era of cordiality, cooperation and hope between Russia and the NATO did not last long.

Secondly, much to the disenchantment of Russian leaders who expected that the NATO might also cease to exist as there was no threat from Moscow and the Warsaw Pact bloc was dissolved, the NATO leaders pursued the policy of Eastward Expansion with the admission of several East European countries after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Apart from that it is a matter of reality that primarily due to the strained relations between Russia and some former Soviet Republics, namely, Georgia and the Baltic States and the impact of Coloured Revolutions which made them to seek support of the West the relations between Russia and the NATO were affected and the latter took advantage of increasing its membership, relevance and strength.

Thirdly, the United States has been a dominant player and is by far the largest contributor of funding to the NATO, followed by Germany, Britain, and France. Being the largest contributor of defence expenses of the NATO for decades and hence to reduce its own burden, US President Donald Trump has urged all members to contribute their share of military spending. In fact during the previous NATO meeting held in 2018 Donald Trump chided the NATO leaders for failing to meet their commitments of spending two per cent of the GDP on defence. He was candid in stating We are protecting countries that have taken advantage of the United States, since the United States pays for a disproportionate share of NATO, and we just want fairness. In fact the issue of defence expenses has become quite serious and hence this has also been reiterated by the NATO chief, Stoltenberg, when he was addressing delegates during the occasion. At the same time he was fair in stating that there is some progress in members stepping up their spending but added there is more work to be done.

Fourthly, during the last over a decade apart from defence issues, it is appreciable that the NATO has been involved in other global social and economic issues concerning the interest of member-countries. For instance, as opined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the world has entered a new era of great power competition. He was specific in stating: We must adapt our alliance to confront emerging threats whether thats Russian aggression, uncontrolled migration, cyber attacks, threats to energy security, Chinese strategic competition, including technology and 5G, and many other issues. But these are complex and complicated global issues which are challenges the NATO will face in the years to come.

Fifthly, as opined by some Western analysts, Trump has openly questioned the most important aspect of Article 5 of the NATO alliance as to whether an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. This is a crucial issue and might assume significance in the context of, say, growing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. But notwithstanding these issues it is appreciable that the NATO chief has stated that the organisation has made progress in its objectives and vision to ensure Freedom and Peace in the world.

Nato-Russia Differences Persisting

Notwithstanding several positive developments, differences between the NATO and Russia persist. These are evident from the contentions made at the Washington meeting. Firstly, there is an allegation made by the NATO that Russia had violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as a part of a pattern of destabilising behaviour. The INF Treaty was signed by the United States and Soviet Union in the last years of the Cold War. Russia has denied this allegation. Moreover, Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman was highly critical and hence reiterated in stating that the two-day gathering in Washington on April 4 showed that the NATO had no intention of abandoning its plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Secondly, issues concerning Russias ongoing conflict with Ukraine and allegation of annexation of Crimea in 2014 assumed significance at the NATO meeting. The NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned the Black Sea situation and urged Russia to release Ukrainian vessels and their crews. But Russia is bent on contending that due process of law was being followed. Russias response was candid and Russias Foreign Ministry said on April 4 that the two-day gathering in Washington shows that the NATO has no intention of abandoning plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Thirdly, at the NATO meeting, some members insisted that Germany should not import oil and natural gas from Russia and not enter into a deal of Russias pipeline project from the Adriatic Sea to Germany. But this does not seem to be rational and not in compliance with the basic principles of international trade; and it is against WTO rules which promote global trade. Hence it will not be fair on the part of the NATO to restrict economic relations between Russia and Germany which are close and cordial for several years. Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to Germany and to many European countries and for Russia this has been a major source of earning petrodollars. Hence the argument and contention that Germany should not enter into a deal with Russia on the energy pipeline issue amount to hitting Russia below the belt. In fact this Nord Stream 2 project is scheduled to be completed in 2019, and this pipeline would run directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing several European transit countries including Ukraine. While this will help Russia to avoid transit-fee payment and other disputes, there is contention that it will also increase Western Europes dependence on Russian natural gas and give Moscow more negotiating leverage over unrelated political issues.

Fourthly, Turkey is a member of the NATO and it has also cordial political and economic relations with Russia which is also helping the country to face problems of terrorism and security issues in the region. Hence Turkeys President has entered into an agreement with Moscow to purchase surface-to- air missile S-400 which is cheap and effective. But the USA is critical of Turkey. Now the USA and other NATO countries have demanded that Turkey should cancel its deal with Russia, which is not compatible with the NATO systems and is considered a threat to the US F-35 aircraft. In fact the US Vice President, Mike Pence, was candid in stating: Turkey must choose. Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?. In fact the Pentagon spokesperson has stated that it has suspended dialogue with Turkey for selling F-35 even as the United States and other NATO countries have demanded that Ankara should call off its deal with Russia to purchase the S-400. The issue persists since Ankara is keen on going ahead with the deal.

Thus in lieu of conclusion it may be stated that the NATO has emerged as a successful global organisation and has diversified its activities apart from security issues even as problems of funding need to be considered. The USA has been a dominant player in funding. The NATO chief,Jens Stoltenberg, has every reason to be content in stating: We have experienced an unprecedented period of peace. So the NATO alliance is not only the longest-lasting alliance in history, it is the most successful alliance in history. But as stated above, problems persist and hence there is need for the NATO to have a fair deal with Russia rather than aggravating differences.

Dr Gidadhubli is a Profesor and former Director, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai.
Childcare workers with university degrees could be paid more than school teachers under Bill Shorten's plan to use a taxpayer funds to boost wages, with Labor refusing to rule out applying its subsidy on top of any Fair Work Commission increase.

Such a two-stepped increase would push some childcare workers' salaries as high as $122,120 if the Independent Education Union, which represents those with teaching qualifications, wins its long-running pay equity case in the commission in June.

The union demands pay increases of up to 49 per cent to set salaries for its most experienced members at $101,767, arguing they should be paid similarly to primary school teachers.

Bill Shorten has refused to rule out giving child care workers seeking $122,120 salaries a taxpayer wage subsidy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A Shorten campaign spokeswoman would not say whether Labor's promised 20 per cent increase would come on top of any wage hike won by childcare workers in the case, saying only: "We will not pre-empt the Fair Work Commission".
To have one child with an eating disorder would be hard enough, but Kim Coffey has spent nine "heartbreaking" years caring for three daughters with anorexia nervosa.

"I was always a pretty laid-back sort of person and now Im more stressed now than I used to be. I get more anxious, some of these days I feel like I'm not coping, sometimes I cry a lot, it's just been a whole gamut of emotions," said Ms Coffey, from East Killara on Sydneys upper north shore.

Kim Coffey with her daughters Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Ms Coffey is one of an estimated two million carers in Australia of people with eating disorders, who are described by Butterfly Foundation chief executive Kevin Barrow as "unsung heroes". Her eldest two daughters, Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21, are now in recovery while the youngest, Nicola, 20, is still sick.

"I remember being in the psychiatrist's office in tears because we had just realised our third daughter was unwell and the psychiatrist explained that she thought we had just been terribly unlucky that we obviously had a strong genetic predisposition for eating disorders. I, however, was asking myself 'how did we let this happen?' We were initially so focused on one daughter and it just snuck under our radar and hit the other daughters."
A nurse and elderly woman were stabbed when a female patient allegedly attacked staff with a pair of scissors at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Saturday night.

Police say the nurse called for help after the patient, 29, grew agitated and began hitting the walls of her room on the Camperdown hospital's renal ward shortly before 8.30pm.

The patient allegedly grabbed hold of the nurse and ripped the scissors from her pocket. She stabbed the nurse twice in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.

Two other nurses rushed to help their colleague before the woman slashed at their arms with the scissors.

She then went into another room where she stabbed a female patient, 77, in the face, police say.
A rider has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a two-vehicle crash in Brisbane's north-west.

Emergency services were called just after 1pm on Saturday after a motorbike and vehicle crashed near the corner of Inverness Street and Canvey Road in Upper Kedron.

The patient was taken to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital after being treated by a high acuity response unit and critical care paramedics.

A police spokesman said the forensic crash unit was on scene investigating whether speed could have been a factor.
Residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night as suspicious fire engulfed a community hall in Melbourne's south-east.

The blaze began around 3.15am in Whatley Street, Carrum. While police do not believe anyone was inside the building at the time, surrounding houses have been evacuated due to flying embers coming from the fire.

The smoke billowing from the hall caused the CFA to issue a community warning during the night.
An off-road motorbike rider is fighting for life after a crash in Lancelin on Saturday morning.

The rider, a man in his 20s, was riding in the sand dunes when he came off, receiving life-threatening injuries, according to a St John Ambulance spokesman.

The man was found unconscious at the scene.

An RAC rescue helicopter was dispatched to Lancelin oval just before 11.30am to take the man to Royal Perth Hospital.

More to come
One participant, Kenneth, a director of a milk company, said he felt Shorten had a few strong policies - "I don't really like him, but I appreciate his policies" - and added that he'd brought leadership stability to the Labor Party. Jennifer, an architect from Albert Park, thought Shorten seemed "quite approachable", and from what she'd seen and heard on TV and radio, he seemed to have a sense of humour. "He's not necessarily charismatic, but I think he's quite strong," said Richard, an archivist of Elsternwick, who had remained quiet for most of the evening. But then a man we'll call Stewart, a pharmaceutical manager, chimed in. "He's someone you'd like to punch in the head, really," he said.

The comment was greeted with knowing laughter and nodding. "I think he fits the bill as a union leader better," said Kenneth. Clive Palmer scored worse. "He'd send the country broke and take all the money," said Carol, who owns a hairdressing business. Geoffrey, who works in apprenticeship training, had some sympathy for Pauline Hanson, because "she sticks to her guns and stays true to her word". Ursula, a designer, was less forgiving. "She wants to print money," she declared of Hanson.

The group was gentler on The Greens. Ursula and Kenneth felt they would be happy to listen to Greens candidates, and Susan felt Greens were more approachable than representatives of the big parties. Loading All but one of the participants were from inner Melbourne suburbs: East St Kilda, Fitzroy, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Pascoe Vale: the sort of places that aren't particularly happy territory for conservative parties. Only Bentleigh East, where Kenneth the milk company man lives, could be described as anything further out than "inner". All but Geoffrey will vote in the new electorate of Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports). It will be a tight battleground between Labor, the Greens and Liberals. Geoffrey is from Wills, a traditional Labor seat once held by Bob Hawke and now by Peter Kahlil, who is under pressure from the Greens.

All participants of our focus group had voted Labor at the last election. All now described themselves as undecided about the coming election. Only Geoffrey, however, declared outright that he was considering voting Liberal. Carol was grappling with Shorten's policy to cap negative gearing, though this - along with franking credits for retirees, which attracted little criticism - turned out to be among the few policies raised by any of the participants. The big promises of the campaign had not yet made an impression. Annoying campaign advertising got an airing, with Jennifer furious that candidates would interrupt her "catch-up" television viewing to try to tell her how to vote. And where did most of the group encounter campaign advertising? Facebook and billboards, they agreed.

Apart from their views about the current leaders' attributes - or lack of them - the group displayed a distinct nostalgia for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. "I'm very angry what they did to Malcolm Turnbull," said Ursula. Stewart also condemned the "far right influence in the Liberal Party" declaring "the religious right is starting to scare me". Most of the eight made clear they liked and missed Turnbull. He was described variously as "well-credentialled (Geoffrey)", "progressive" (Stewart) and "better-looking" (Susan) than the current leaders, though two of the women, Jennifer and Carol, weren't so impressed with Turnbull criticising those in his old party, "even when he's been overseas". Most of the focus group participants were nostalgic for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Geoffrey and Carol agreed former Julie Bishop was "very smart" and would be missed, leading to nods around the table.

This yearning for former Liberal luminaries seemed odd among those who had voted Labor when Turnbull led the Liberal-National Coalition and Bishop was his deputy. Puzzling, too, was the initial response when the group was asked whether they felt there was a mood for change. No, they agreed: they couldn't detect real need for change. Loading This, at first blush, appeared to be good news for the Morrison government and poor bodings for Shorten's Labor. It was not clear, however, what these voters perceived to be the "change" under discussion : they had earlier agreed the regular change of prime ministers seen in Australia over the past decade had to stop. Carol described both parties' willingness to ditch leaders as "disgraceful", and the word "shambles" was used.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's handpicked cybersecurity tsar Alastair MacGibbon is quitting his role and has declared cyber attacks "the greatest existential threat we face".

Mr MacGibbon has been the face of cybersecurity for federal authorities for the past three years, handling the public response to the cyberattack on the national census in 2016 and the hacking earlier this year of the Parliament and the major political parties.

Outgoing head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alastair MacGibbon, speaks to the media at Parliament House in February. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The announcement of Mr MacGibbon's resignation from the role of national cyber security adviser comes just two weeks before the federal election, but he stressed he was not stepping down because of any possible change of government.

While saying he didn't downplay the seriousness of threats such as terrorism or long-term challenges such as climate change, Mr MacGibbon said the sheer scale and rising likelihood of major cyber attacks made them the most pressing threat a country like Australia faces.
London: A paedophile wanted by police in Australia for almost 10 years was free to commit a series of crimes against teenage boys in the UK, it has emerged.

Barry Radford, 53, a spray painter based in Northumberland, north-east England, was jailed for 12 years on Friday for a series of grooming offences, taking indecent images of one of his victims, and possessing more than 1000 images of other children.

Paedophile Barry Radford has been jailed for 12 years in the UK.

His offending came to light last year when one of the boys came forward to police.

It later emerged Radford had been wanted by NSW Police in Australia for sexual offences said to have been committed in 1999.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Chowkidar allowed Hate Crimes under his Watch

by Neha Dabhade

In the build-up to the general elections, the BJP has intensified its campaign to seek support for the elections. One such step is the campaign, main bhi chowkidar. This campaign has seen the Prime Minister prefixing the word chowkidar to his name in his Twitter profile. The trend caught on with many of his Cabinet and party colleagues following suit. This is a PR manoeuvre to promote the narrative/impression amongst the general public that the BJP Government is fighting against social evils and corruption.

Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying#MainBhiChowkidar, he wrote on Twitter. (Sharma, 2019) The claim of this campaign translates into the impression that the PM is a shining example of someone who is meticulously and diligently guarding the countryprotecting the law and order and rule of law in the country as expected of the highest authority in the country. This campaign is critiqued from many quarters due to the poor state of Indian economy, rising unemployment, the easy escape of defaulting businessmen like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi who were allowed to leave the country after defaulting on loans worth hundreds of crores. The picture on the social front is not encouraging either. Though the campaign has soared in the public imagination and boosted the popularity of PM Modi, this exalted self- proclaimed righteous chowkidar was silent when the law of the land was violated. He failed to check the hatred spewed by his own colleagues and party members through the rising instances of hate speeches.

The focus on hate speeches is urgent given the rise in the number of hate speeches. NDTV reported that as compared to the UPA II period (2009-2014), the NDA Government (2014 to April 2018) witnessed a rise of hate speeches by 490 times. During the NDA period, a total of 45 political leaders made hateful comments. Of them, 35 politicians, or 78 per cent, are from the BJP. 10 leaders, or 22 per cent of the offenders, are from other political parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal. (Jaiswal, Jain, and Singh, 2018)

While this jump in the quantum of the hate speeches is alarming, what makes it more menacing is that most of these hate speeches are made by high-ranking officials who have sworn by the Constitution to protect all citizens equally. Thus its a matter of deep concern that under the leadership which swears by vigilance to rid the country of social evils, its own party members who are high-ranking officials like Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers at State level etc. are violating the law and the chowkidar is found napping! No action or little action was taken against them when they blatantly violated the law by indulging in hate speeches to demonise the Muslims and incite enmity and hatred along religious lines. Under the Indian Penal Code, there are definitions and punishments mentioned for those who promote enmity based on religion.

153 A of the IPC states, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities is a punishable offence.

Initially, at the beginning of the NDA rule, hate speeches were trivialised by dismissing them as banter made by fringe elements non-state actors who didnt enjoy political authority. But the hate speeches made by the elected representatives and persons enjoying political power and equal measure of responsi-bility mark a new low in the political discourse of the country and also significantly in the law and order situation where they enjoy immunity to openly indulge into hatemongering. These hate speeches now dont come from the so-called fringe elements but the mainstream setting a new normal in the socio-political landscape of the country. These speeches have spelled out further polarisation and strengthening of prejudices against the Muslims. This has culminated in fuelling the process of their othering and marginalisation. Below are some such statements though these are only a few examples. There are many such statements reported but for the limitation of space only the very glaring speeches, which clearly violate the law, are stated below.

Starting with Union Ministers, there were speeches made by Ministers which sought to entrench the prejudice that Muslims are terrorists in the social imagination. Referring to Deoband, which is a Muslim-majority city, Giriraj Singh, who is the Union Minister of State for Small and Medium Enterprises, said, Earlier Deobands name was Deovrant. I dont know what is it about this place that it produces people similar to (Islamic State founder) Baghdadi and (Pakistan terror ideologue) Hafiz Saeed. This place is not a temple of knowledge. It is a hub of terrorism. (Rai, 2018) Extending this argument, in another speech he also encouraged the myth and almost a hysteria that the Muslim population is increasing at a faster pace than that of Hindus in India thereby aiming at fanning the fear of the minority overtaking the majority and deepening this binary. In the same breath he associated Muslims in India with Pakistan, insinuating that their loyalty and affection lies with Pakistan. He said: Hindu ka do beta ho aur Musalmaan ko bhi do hi beta hona chahiye. Hamaari aabadi ghat rahi hai. Bihar mein saat zila aisa hai jahan hamaari jansankhya ghat rahi hai. Jansankhya niyantran ke niyam ko badalna hoga, tabhi hamaari betiyaan surakshit rahengi. Nahi toh hamein bhi Pakistan ki tarah apni betiyon ko parde mein band karna hoga.(Singh, 2016)

Similarly, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also strengthened this misplaced connection which implies Muslims are not natural citizens of India by saying, "Those who are dying without eating beef, can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available. (Hindustan Times, 2015) Cow, as suggested by Naqvi, is enforced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Meneka Gandhi as a sacred symbol of nationalism. The people indulging in cattle trade are thus targets of hate and violence. She went on to say: Money earned is going into terrorism, it is going into bomb making. (India Today, 2014)

These narratives about Muslims being terrorists, beef-eaters, anti-nationalists, growing at a fast pace are on the one hand demonising the Muslim community and on the other hand used as a justification for the agenda of establishment of a Hindu Rashtra which in essence is steeped in exclusion and hierarchies. The officials, who are sworn to protect a secular India as enshrined in the Constitution, are openly and stridently espousing for a Hindu Rashtra. Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Paras Jain said: Whoever was living in India, irrespective of their religion, should consider it a Hindu Rashtra because a majority of people follow Hinduism here. (The Indian Express, 2015) On being asked about saffronisation of education, the MP from Agra and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ram Shankar Katheria said: Yes, there will be saffronisation of education and of the country. Jo acha hoga, woh hoga (Whatever is good for the country will certainly happen) be it saffronisation or sanghwaad (propagation of the RSS ideology.) (Rashid, 2016).

The most alarming implication of Hindu Rashtra is also the secondary citizenship of non-Hindus. The message is always that other religious communities will be inferior to Hindus and Hindu symbols, and as Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister for State for Food Processing Industries, suggested even illegitimate. During campaigning for BJP before Delhi polls she said, Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (You must decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately). (The Indian Express, 2014) Such speeches have altered the whole discourse of citizenship in India that is now linked to religion. Shiv Sena leader (ally of BJP) and MP while advocating for disenfrancement of Muslims said: Balasaheb had said 15 years ago that if the voting rights of Muslims is taken away for a few years, then the lobbying for their votes will stop. (Gupta and Mehta, 2015)

The Constitution vests immense power in the post of the Governor who is expected to be non-partisan and protect equality enshrined in the Constitution. The Governor of Assam, P.B. Acharya, violated this norm utterly when he said: They (Indian Muslims) are free to go anywhere. They can stay here (in India). If they want to go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, they are free to go. Many of them have gone to Pakistan. But if they are persecuted there.. Taslima Nasreen was persecuted there, she came here. If they come, we will give them shelter. (Kashyap, 2015)

The Chief Ministers of States were not to be left behind in their hatemongering. Some people raise slogans about breaking the country into pieces. Political parties should refrain from making heroes of them. If people are unwilling to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, they have no right to stay in India, said Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. (Sonawane, 2016) Mr Fadnavis knows fully well that chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai is not demanded in the Constitution and not legally enforceable. But there is insistence on chanting it since Muslims consider the slogan offending the essence of monotheistic Islam that forbids the deification of anything, including God or Muhammad, the Prophet. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, in response to the Dadri lynching said: Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau. (Subramanian and Bhatia, 2015) He justified the gory lynching by upholding cow as a scared national symbol.

The BJP, which is the ruling party, as a political party, is indulging in hate-mongering by deepening the idea that Muslims naturally belong to Pakistan and India is the country for Hindus. The BJP chief leads by example here. He said: Agar BJP galti se bhi Bihar me haarti hai to jay-parajay to Bihar me hogi, pataake Pakistan me chhutenge (If BJP loses in Bihar by mistake, then victory-defeat will be in Bihar but crackers will be burst in Pakistan) (The Indian Express, 2015) Another BJP member, Aseervatham Acharya, said: I will tell you this, Indian Muslims have their bodies in Tamil Nadu, but their hearts are in Pakistan. (The News Minute, 2015) This is a new low in the trend of jingoistic under-standing of nationalism.

Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act makes canvassing for votes in the name of religion a punishable offence. During the Assembly election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, local BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg said: You will have to fire bullets, you will have to take up rifles, you will have to wield knives. Elections are approaching in 2017, begin showing your strength from now onwards. The crowds chanted, Jis Hindu ka khoon na khaule, khoon nahin wo pani hai (The Hindu who doesnt get angry isnt Hindu enough). (Bharadwaj, 2016) The party candidate, former RSS Pracharak Rampal Singh Pundhir, asserts his agenda: restoration of Hindu pride vis-a-vis Muslims. This election has become a fight between Hindus and Muslims because Hindus are unsafe. The honour of mothers and daughters is threatened. Hindu traders face theft, dacoity. They are murdered. Deoband mein kisi Hindu ki himmat nahi hai ki kuch bol jaye (No Hindu has guts in Deoband to speak out), says Pundhir (Bhardwaj, 2016). Local BJP leader Kundanika Sharma called other parties jackals for seeking votes of traitors. But we want the heads of these traitors. This is not the time to sit quiet. Chhapa maaro, burqa pehno, lekin inhen gher-gher kar le aao. Ek sar ke badle dus sar kaat lo (Raid them, wear burqas, but corner them. Behead ten heads for one head). (Bhardwaj, The Indian Express, 2016)

It cant be a mere coincidence or a weakness of the PM who is otherwise toxically masculine in his rhetoric about national issues cant check his own party members violating law and setting his house in order. The Prime Minister was deliberate in his silence and lack of action though he is portraying himself as a chowkidar. In his silence, the hate spewed and impunity with which laws were broken got normalised. The Constitution and constitutional values, which he should have protected, were delibe-rately trampled upon while the PM chose to turn a blind eye. This silence amply demons-trates that main bhi chowkidar is a mere election campaign gimmick devoid of any sincerity and in fact the chowdikar has allowed social evils and lawlessness to perpetrate.

(Courtesy: Secular Perspective)

The author is the Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip to the Netherlands next week, as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex.

Harry will stay in England in the coming days, amid "logistical challenges" surrounding the trip.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watch children playing football at a school in the town of Asni, in the Atlas mountains, Morocco, in February. Credit:EPA

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours beforehand, Buckingham Palace has cancelled the first day of the two-day trip scheduled for May 8 and 9, leaving observers wondering.

The decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife Meghan a little longer while she is either significantly overdue or enjoying her first few days with their newborn baby.
Prague: Security officials from 30 countries have hammered out a common approach to wireless network safety, responding to concerns over equipment made by Chinese company Huawei Technologies.

The non-binding proposal warns governments against relying on suppliers of fifth-generation networks that could be susceptible to state influence or based in countries that haven't signed international agreements on cyber security and data protection.

An employee walks past a logo in the reception area of the Huawei Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels, Belgium. Credit:Bloomberg

"The customer - whether the government, operator, or manufacturer - must be able to be informed about the origin and pedigree of components and software that affect the security level of the product or service," read the Prague Proposal document handed out at the end of the conference in the Czech capital.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.
A Boeing 737 commercial charter jet with 136 people on board slid into the St Johns River near Jacksonville in Florida after landing on Friday, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville says.

There were no reports of fatalities but local television station WOKV-TV said that at least two people suffered minor injuries and that the plane was attempting to land during a heavy thunderstorm.

The office of the sheriff said 21 adults were transported to local hospitals and all were listed "in good condition, no critical injuries". Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officers attended.

The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9.40 pm local time (11.40am AEST), the air station said.
Three people missing after an overnight explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone plant are believed dead, authorities said on Saturday.

Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said crews suspended their search for three employees due to concerns about the stability of the structure.

Lenzi said it's "not likely" that the three survived the Friday night explosion at AB Specialty Silicones in the Waukegan, about 80 kilometres north of Chicago. The coroner was on scene and crews are classifying the search as a recovery, he said.

"The conditions are really rough in there," Lenzi said. "There's a lot of damage. There was a lot of fire throughout."

Nine employees were inside the plant when the explosion occurred. Four were taken to hospitals and two declined treatment. Authorities have not identified the employees.
2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid Limited Review by David COLMAN - It's E15 Approved +VIDEO

A Green-vehicle review for car shoppers concerned with fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and gasoline and diesel exhaust emissions

A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

By David Colman

Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

Hyundai offers three distinct versions of their Prius beater, the Ioniq. At the lower end of the price range, the Hybrid retails for $21,400. Moving up to a Plug-In Hybrid Ioniq will cost you $25,350. The Limited version of the Plug-In that we spent a week driving carries a base price of $29,350. Here's the equipment the Limited adds over and above the base model Plug-In: auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, smart cruise control and driver attention warning - which has been added for 2019. If you desire a completely electric Ioniq, Hyundai offers one with a base price of $30,315. All versions of the Ioniq qualify for a federal tax credit of $4,453 plus additional state tax breaks. It's worth noting that the lithium ion polymer battery pack of the Ioniq carries a lifetime warranty. The powertrain comes with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, and the rest of this vehicle carries a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. It's encouraging to note that Hyundai also provides free roadside assistance for 5 years as well.

The two Hybrid versions of the Ionic carry identical horsepower (139hp) and torque ratings (125lb.-ft.). The all electric model offers less horsepower (118hp) but much greater torque (218lb.-ft.). The bottom line here is whether you can live with the all electric's limited range of just 124 miles on a full charge. The Ioniq Limited we drove offered a stupendous full tank range of 630 miles. After driving the Limited on many missions during our week, we still managed to return the car to Hyundai with 230 miles showing on the range estimate. For green buffs, the downside of the Plug-In we drove is its limited pure electric range: a full charge yields just 29 miles of travel. Replenishing the battery of the Plug-In requires 9 hours at 120 volts (Level 1) or 2 hours and 15 minutes at Level 2 (240 volts).

Our test vehicle rated 52 MPG overall rating from the EPA. With its 10 out of 10 EPA rating on fuel economy and greenhouse gas, the Ioniq will save you $3,750 in fuel costs over 5 years when compared to the average new vehicle. Best of all, this exceptional frugality does not require you to make concessions to outlandish green lifestyle design cues. About the only idiosyncratic styling feature of the Ioniq is the horizontally split rear window of the hatchback. In every other respect, the Ioniq is delightfully free of the bizarre flourishes other manufacturers use to distinguish their green cars. In fact, the classically proportioned Ioniq is one of the best looking small sedans on the market today in any price range. Ditto for its interior treatment, which utilizes recycled material to create a waffle-weave dash that is clean, different, and visually appealing.

the Ioniq is something of a surprise in the operation department. Instead of the usual unpredictable Hybrid brake feedback, the regenerative 4 wheel discs of the Ioniq offer firm pedal feel. There's a baby deer in my neighborhood who will testify to the stopping power of this Hyundai. When the deer jumped in front of the Ioniq, which was travelling 40mph, the disc brakes helped me do a great job of keeping avoiding a collision. Very impressive stopping power, indeed. Credit should also go to the Ioniq's Michelin Green X Energy saver radials (205/55R16). Mounted on Oh-So-80's looking white "Eco-Spoke" alloys, the Michelins provided decent cornering power and very good braking traction. You'll also appreciate their TW 480 tread life longevity.

I wish I could lavish the same high praise on the performance of the 1.6 liter inline 4 cylinder engine. Even with the 125lb.-ft. torque boost from the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, acceleration from a stop is less than scintillating. It takes a little longer than you would like to get this 3,070 pound sedan motivated. To help in the cause, Hyundai provides the Ioniq with a very useful 6 speed sequential gearbox which can be manipulated manually via the provided paddles behind the steering wheel. At low cruising speeds, snatching 2nd or 3rd gear with these paddles will provide the kind of immediate propulsion you crave in heavy traffic.

The Ioniq, with 119 cubic feet of cabin space, and 23 cubic feet of cargo volume, is decidedly larger inside than the Toyota Prius Prime, Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf. In addition to this abundance of interior space, Hyundai has chosen to equip the control panel with easy to use buttons and switches that will see to your every need without forcing you to remove your eyes from the road. Thankfully, Hyundai engineers have eliminated all traces of Buck Rogers from the interior as well as the exterior.

2019 HYUNDA IONIQ PLUG-IN HYBRID LIMITED



ENGINE: 1.6 liter Gas Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Inline plus 44.5kH Electric Motor

HORSEPOWER: 139hp

TORQUE: 125lb.-ft.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 119MPGe/52MPG Gas Only

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,335

HYPES: A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

GRIPES: Needs More Power

STAR RATING: 8.5 Stars out of 10
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Winding up the End-game in Afghanistan

by Apratim Mukarji

The Great Game in Afghanistan, in which the United States has acted as the leader of the team and involves mutually adversarial players like Pakistan and Iran as well as consensually competitive Russia and China, is now converted into an end-game under President Donald Trump. The President has repeatedly declared his firm resolve to get out of the country as quickly as he can manage, and the course of events over the last two years or so confirms this reading of his words.

The reason why the US is in such a hurry is clear to all.To quote an American analysis, by any reasonable estimate, the monetary and human costs of the US-led war on terror has been considerable. As found out by political scientists at Brown University, the numbers have been astronomical. The universitys Cost of War Project calculates that Washington will be spending approximately $ 5.9 trillion between 2001 (when the Al-Qaeda-Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan) and 2019, the current year.A break-up of the expenditure includes over $ 2 tn. in overseas contingency operations, $ 924 billion in homeland security spending, and $ 353 bn. in medical and disability care for American troops serving overseas conflict zones. The conclusion is that when the interest to be paid on the borrowed funds is taken into account, the American people will be shouldering the cumulative debt for decades to come.(Daniel R. DePetris, The War on Terrors Total Cost : $ 5,900,000,000,000, The National Interest, January 12, 2019)

The world knows only too well that this massive expenditure is being borne by the US Administration not because the worlds most powerful nation has lost sleep over the Afghans continuing tale of horror at the hands of the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) plus a plethora of splinter terrorist groups but because the Americans were living in terror in their home country. Thus, the test of the enormous and frightfully expensive exercise lies in making the United States homeland security fool-proof.

And what is the score on that account? Taking a hard look at the terrorism problem over many decades, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Transnational Threats Project discovered that the number of Salafi-jihadist fighters has increased by 270 per cent since 2001 (the year the Al-Qaeda-Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan). In 2018, there were sixty-seven jihadist groups operating around the world, a 180 per cent hike since 2001. The number of fighters could be as high as 280,000, the highest in forty years. Moreover, quashing the claim of many authorities in the US claiming success for the anti-terror operations, many of these jihadists reside in countries, such as, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, which have been invaded by the US and/or bombed over the last seventeen years.

Are the Americans feeling safer than before? Not by a long shot. An October 2017-dated Charles Koch Institute/ Real Clear Defence survey found that a plurality of American (43 per cent) and war veterans (41 per cent) believe that the US foreign policy over the last twenty years has actually made the counry less safea result not really conducive to what US policy-makers are looking for.

There is no other way to describe the American decision (followed by haste) to vacate Afghanistan than by reemphasising a virtual and unacknolwedged defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But the United States internal assess-ments have been quite candid. For example, the US Defense Departments own metrics suggest that Afghanistans insurgents are nowhere near losing. The percentage of the countrys 407 districts under government control has declined from 66 per cent in May, 2016, to 53.8 per cent by by the end of March, 2019. (Al Jazeera, Explosion, Taliban attack kill dozens across Afghanistan, March 30, 2019)

It is important to note that control of territory in the prevailing Afghan military environment does not connote a complete and unshakable authority, for control switches quickly, some-times as swiftly as the following day or week. There have been scores of instances when Afghan soldiers, trained and armed and, sometimes led by, American and (earlier NATO officers) have displayed exemplary courage and strength and won back lost territories. It should also be acknowledhed that a major boost for the Afghan Army and police is the massive air support the Americans provide to government operations.

Nevertheless, it is now beyond debate that the Taliban have achieved an overall military dominance,a position of strength from which it cannot be easily dislodged. When one reads this conclusion in conjunction with the other, that the cost of waging the war has become prohibitive, one can begin to appreciate the logic behind the American decision. This has been put succinctly in the following comment, Districts have been retaken (by both the sides) only to be lost shortly thereafter,largely resulting in the conflicts current relative stalemate. However,since the US drawdown of peak forces in 2011, the Taliban (have) unquestionably been resurgent. (FDDs Long War Journal, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, created by Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowsky, www.longwar-journal.org/) Another way of understanding the methodology of this assessment is the term coined for the purpose, contested. A contested district is one the centre of which is controlled by government forces and the fringes by the Taliban or it may be one which is taken by one side and then re-taken by the rival and the process continues, putting the lives of the civilians to extreme peril in the process. But this also helps us realise the cardinal truth of the present-day Afghanistan, that there is a stalemate in the military situation with the Taliban on the ascendance, and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Reading the situation correctly nearly a year ago, Gen. Joseph Votel, leading the US Central Command, said that the Taliban cannot win militarily despite an uptick in attacks. The message I would send to the Taliban is that they cannot win militarily. The international coalition, led by the United States, is focussed on providing the military pressure,in conjunction with social pressure and diplomatic pressure, that will force them to come to the table. He also urged the militants to accept the very generous offer made by the Afghan President Ashraff Ghani who offered unconditional peace talks accom-panied by a cease-fire, recognition of the Taliban as a political party and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. However, when the preliminary negotiations bagan later in the year, the Taliban did not care for the ceasefire offer (implying their confidence) and attacks on government forces and civilians, including foreigners, have continued well into the current year. In the midst of all these disruptions and negativity by the insurgents, the talks between the Taliban and the Americans have continued,with the telling absence of the Afghan Government on the insistence of the winning side.

Perhaps the most significant statement issued since the talks began came from the Taliban, who said on March 8, 2019, that Everyone is aware that detailed discussions are taking place in the Qutari capital of Doha between the negotiation team of (the) Islamic Emirate (Taliban) and the United States regarding the complete indepen-dence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland Afghanistan. Since the issue of Afghanistan has two aspects with one being foreign and the other internal, the current negotiations concern the foreign aspect which is related to the United States. This phase is about fleshing out the details of the two issues which were agreed upon in the last round of talks in January, the withdrawal of all occupying forces from Afghanistan and not allowing Afghanistan to harm others. Comprehensive discussions are taking place about these two subjects. Other issues that have an internal aspect and are not tied to the United States have not been held under discussions. As some individuals and circles are trying to connect other topics to these discussions, they are either unaware or are pursuing an agenda. No one should pay any heed to the rumours of these self-interested circles.

As we have already noted, the present negotiations have the backing of a number of countries that hold high stakes in the future of Afghanistan, such as, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, and the Central Asian republics, apart from other global investors in the country like Australia and Japan. The situation is so much conditioned by the Talibans undisputed ascendancy in the last few years that nobody is questioning the legitimacy of the talks despite the forced absence of the Afghan Government, which is recognised by the international community and elected democratically. Even though unspoken, there are deep concerns over the future of the massive, far-reaching political, economic, social reforms and development already functional and also in the pipeline if and when the Taliban join in the governance. But the consensus is that peace has become imperative before other necessities and once peace is achieved, these can be addressed in a conducive atmosphere.

In these developments, the Taliban are the clear winner irrespective of what transpires eventually. But there is another winner as well, Pakistan, which is playing its hand expertly. Current reports say that after ensuring that the United States is forced to enter talks with the Taliban on an equal footing, Islamabad is now so subtly guiding the rebels in negotiating with American diplomats that its imprint is not visible to the outsider. A Reuters report said that while Pakistan is keen to avoid any overt display of influence on them, the Taliban are also careful to avoid any sign of such a connection. But, perhaps the truth was spoken by a US diplomat who commented that the talks would not have been possible without Pakistans help.

Apratim Mukarji is an analyst of South and Central Asian affairs.
College Station police are searching for a woman who is wanted on three felony burglary charges.

According to police, Lisa Kathryn Salazar, 23, was arrested with a man on March 31 on charges the two broke into Hobby Lobby on Texas Avenue. She has made bail and is now wanted on additional charges of burglary of a building. CSPD posted notices to social media on Friday afternoon, urging the public to provide information on her whereabouts.

Anyone who harbors or conceals Salazar, provides Salazar any means of avoiding arrest, or warns Salazar of an impending arrest commits the offense of hindering apprehension, the official statement reads.

Burglary of a building is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and $10,000 in fines. Those with information are asked to call CSPD at 764-3600.
The Brazos Valley received a significant amount of rain throughout the day Friday, causing some roads to flood.

According to KBTX-TV meteorologist Shel Winkley, between Monday and Friday evening, Bryan-College Station had received more than 3.3 inches of rainfall, while some areas of the Brazos Valley received up to 6 inches. Late Friday, more rain continued to drench the area, adding to the numbers. Rains today will probably be measured at 1 to 3 inches, though in spots some residents of the Brazos Valley could see as much as

5 inches of rain, Winkley said.

Though rain is not unusual for this area during May, Winkley noted that rain does not usually fall in such a high quantity at once this time of year. The storms seen over the weekend likely will affect Austin and San Antonio more than the B-CS area, he said.

According to the National Weather Service, while there is a 40% chance of heavy rain today, tonight is expected to be mostly clear. Sundays forecast is a high of 85 and mostly sunny skies. Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Washington counties were placed under a flash flood watch through 1 p.m. today.
Air Force Col. Bea M. Marin, a Bryan native, is remembered for her valor while serving in the Vietnam War and for her molding of minds as a faculty member with Tarleton State Universitys School of Nursing.

Her image has now been immortalized in bronze with a near life-sized statue unveiled recently at the nursing building on the Tarleton campus in Stephenville.

Born in Bryan in 1939, she attended Ibarra Elementary School, Lamar Junior High School and was a 1957 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School. She was raised in a time when women were not allowed to attend Texas A&M, despite her dreams to become an Aggie. According to her cousin, Dora Moncivais-Garcia, who spoke at the statues unveiling on April 26, Marins father told her not to give up on an education.

She elected to attend Texas Womans University in Denton and earned a nursing degree and registered nursing license before eventually receiving a masters degree. She eventually was inspired by her male relatives World War II service to join the military, and she was accepted into the Air Force as a lieutenant.
Surely everyone is familiar with the saga of George Bailey, who think he doesnt matter to the residents of Bedford Falls, New York. An angel  Clarence  takes Bailey on a look at the difference he has made in the town and finally convinces him that life is good and that Bailey should embrace it. A small cast will re-create the story on stage, as it would be during a live radio broadcast.

 Little Women adapted by Thomas Hischak, directed by Micaela Eagle, Feb. 6-22.

Louisa May Alcott wrote the novel of the four Marsh sisters: Meg, Jo  based on Alcott herself  Beth and Amy. The lives of the sisters has captured the heart of generations of women since it first was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Although there are many stage versions of Little Women available, Hischaks take on the classic story is considered by many to be the best.

 Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrew Roblyer, April 2-18.
April 29, 2019 - April 29, 2019

Beautiful Hannah Victoria Palasota was born in love on April 29, 2019 at 3:25 am. She was baptized into the Church at 4:00 pm and entered Heaven's gates at 6:00 pm. Never leaving her side, Hannah's parents, Corey Anthony Palasota and Ashley Deatherage Palasota, held her little tiny hand and encouraged her to be strong as she underwent the most critical care treatments.

While her parents had many plans for Hannah, God's plans were different. Hannah's spirit lives in the warm hearts of her parents, grandparents, James and Bec Deatherage of Bryan, TX and Joe and Diane Palasota, of San Antonio, TX, aunts, uncles, cousins and large extended family. Hannah reminds us of the fragility of life, the immediate loving bond of parent and child, and the enigma of God's divine providence.
The raw gender gap by itself doesnt tell us much about the amount or type of discrimination against women in our economy.

Rather, it simply tells us that women, on the whole, earn less money than men. It doesnt tell us why.

Its just a comparison of averages, not a comparison of women and men in the same jobs with the same experience, education, hours and labor-market conditions.

Often, these factors  education, hours worked, etc.  are the result of personal choices that workers have made and they often break down along gender lines.

Men simply are more likely to value higher pay, while women  particularly mothers  are more willing to trade high pay for other benefits, such as flexibility.

A recent Harvard Business School survey shows that 64 percent of highly qualified women value flexibility as extremely or very important compared to 42 percent who value its role in earning a lot of money.

If lawmakers really want to combat pay discrimination further, they should look for ways to do so that dont unnecessarily burden employers  many of whom are women  by removing disincentives to the flexible careers that women workers want.
Many employers require applicants to provide current salary information and then can use that information to lowball lower-paid applicants  typically women and people of color. Or even more insidiously, they may justify paying a male employee more, if his previous salary was higher. Banning salary history questions forces employers to determine what the job is worth, not the person.

 It prevents employers from banning salary conversations with coworkers.

Pay discrimination can flourish in workplaces where salaries are a highly confidential secret and known only to a handful of people.

Without transparent salary information, you may have no idea about salary differences among people doing the same job. Some companies even threaten to punish employees who discuss this information. While having an explicit policy can violate federal labor laws, employers now count on workers being too intimidated to risk discipline or termination. Its hard to fight unequal pay without knowing what others are making, so the he Paycheck Fairness Act clarifies that companies cant ban these conversations or punish employees who have them.

 It fixes current problems with how the Equal Pay Act has been interpreted in court.
New Delhi : In a shocking report, the Sri Lanka Army chief has revealed that some of the suicide bombers who carried out a series of blasts in Sri Lanka had traveled to Indian cities o train in terrorism activities.

"They had gone to India, Kashmir, Bangalore, Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said in an interview to BBC World.

At least nine suicide bombers were responsible for the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka in a decase on April 21. The National Investigation Agency ( NIA) had carried out several raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to unearth Indian links with the Sri Lanka blast.
11 Million Pounds of Chicken Strips Recalled Over Possible Contamination

Tyson Foods issued a nationwide recall of over 11 million pounds of chicken strips.

The Arkansas-based company produced chicken strips that could be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The chicken strips were shipped to retail and Department of Defense locations nationwide. They were also being used in institutions across the country.

Two consumers found pieces of metal in their Tyson chicken strips and alerted the service, which said that its now aware of six complaints and three injuries from the issue. The health risk for the alert is listed as high.

The products were produced from Oct. 1, 2018, to March 8, 2019, and have Use By Dates on the packages of Oct. 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020. All of the products bear the establishment number P-7221 on the back of the package.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Tyson Foods Consumer Relations at 1-866-886-8456. In a statement, the company said it was issuing the recall in the interest of public health even though the vast majority of the products have already been consumed without any reported incidents. It wasnt clear whether the company had been informed of the three illnesses.

We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plants existing metal-detection system. We will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification, said Barbara Masters vice president of regulatory food policy, food, and agriculture for Tyson Foods, in a statement.

The products recalled include the following:

Tyson Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Strips, Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat, frozen in 40-ounce plastic bags.

Tyson Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Flavored Chicken Strips Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat and Honey BBQ Style Sauce Smoke Flavor Added, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Food Lion crispy chicken strips fully cooked chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken fully cooked microwaveable, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Giant Eagle Crispy Fully Cooked chicken strips chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Other brand names include Meijer, Publix, and Kirkwood. For a full list, (pdf).
Picacho Peak Park in Arizona, where a boy scout died on April 27, 2019. (CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

16-Year-Old Boy Scout Dies After Troop Runs out of Water in Arizona Desert

A 16-year-old boy scout died when his troop ran out of the water while hiking in the Arizona desert on April 27.

According to Pinal County sheriffs officials, a Scouts BSA group was hiking at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday when the boy had no water and fell unconscious, reported KGUN-TV.

The troop had water but by the time they reached the top of the peak they ran out and on their way back, the boy started showing signs of dehydration.

A member of the hiking group called 911 for help but by the time the responders reached them he had fallen unconscious.

PCSO: 16-year-old dies during hike at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday.https://t.co/GiiPEhlblh pic.twitter.com/7aTYyLSETM  KGUN9 On Your Side (@kgun9) May 2, 2019

A team from Avra Fire Department and a park ranger tried to revive him but he was declared dead on the scene.

Its not yet clear if his death was caused by dehydration and officials are now investigating the possible causes.

In another hiking-related death at a coastal park near Big Sur, an 18-year-old teen who fell into a blowhole was presumed dead after a four-day rescue ended in January this year.

The victim was identified as Braxton Cooper Stuntz of Carmel, Calif. Stuntz and his friends had been hiking at Garrapata State Park Beach on Jan. 12 when they found a blowhole near the cliffs along the Pacific Coast, according to the Monterey County Sheriffs Office.

View this post on Instagram the 1 A post shared by @ braxtnn on Jan 10, 2019 at 9:55pm PST

Stuntz slipped and fell through the hole down to the rocky beach inside while exploring the marine geyser and trying to have a closer look.

The blowhole is flooded with waves measuring 14 feet high every nine seconds.

Sgt. Dave Murray told KSBW Stuntzs friends saw the teen making a thumbs up signal right after the fall. However, after a few waves, his friends were not able to see Stuntz anymore.

Authorities said the waves filled the blowhole, dragged Stuntz out, and pushed him underwater into the sea.

Stuntzs friend immediately sought help from a passerby, who called the police. First responders were not able to find Stuntz. As a result, members of the MCSO Search and Rescue, Mid-Coast Fire, Cal-Fire, California State Park Rangers/Lifeguards, and CHP Helicopter all joined the search effort for Stuntz.

California Teen Presumed Dead After Falling Through Monterey Beach Blowholehttps://t.co/b64Ohg8JOy pic.twitter.com/ZE2CnVMNXG  Pam Wright (@pamwrightmedia) January 16, 2019

The United States Coast Guard boat from Monterey sector and helicopter from San Francisco sector arrived and conducted search patterns well into the night, Monterey County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

MCSO drone operators returned the next day to continue the search for Stuntz and attempted an underwater search. No sign of Stuntz was detected in the following days.

At this time the young adult is classified as a missing person. However, operations have shifted into a recovery mode, sheriff officials said.

Although warning signs can be seen across the area, concerned citizens say signage is far from adequate.

Its shocking how dangerous it can be out here. For people who dont know the risks, it can be really alarming. You can slip and fall and be in big trouble, local resident Jared Sandman told KION.

The Garrapata State Beach Park is 15 miles north of Big Sur, which is one of the most popular destinations in California, connected by the iconic Highway 1.

Epoch Times reporter Zach Li contributed to this article.
JT Borofka, 7 months old, of Salinas, Calif., was diagnosed with triosephosphate isomerase deficiency just 2 months after birth. (Help JT Beat TPI Deficiency/GoFundMe)

7-Month-Old Baby Diagnosed With Rare Disease With No Known Cure

A California baby has been diagnosed with a rare disease that only 59 others around the world are known to have.

Doctors havent been able to find a cure or treatment for the disease, triosephosphate isomerase deficiency (TPI).

According to the Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center at the National Institutes of Health, the deficiency is a severe disorder characterized by a shortage of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), neurological problems, infections, and muscle weakness that can affect breathing and heart function.

TPI deficiency is the most severe form of a group of diseases known as glycolytic enzymopathies, which are rare genetic diseases that lead to the degeneration of the red blood cells. Signs and symptoms include anemia, fatigue, pallor, yellowing of the skin and the white of the eyes (jaundice), and shortness of breath, it stated.

Other symptoms are muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy), movement problems (such as involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), tremors and weak muscle tone), seizures, cardiomyopathy, and diaphragm weakness which may cause breathing problems and lead to respiratory failure, it added.

JT Borofka of Salinas, 7 months old, was diagnosed with the rare disease shortly after birth, his parents told KSBW.

We believe, and the doctors believe, that hes the first person to be detected with this very rare disease before the neurological and major symptoms start, Jason Borofka, JTs father, told the broadcaster.

The boy is Jason and Tara Borofkas only child. When he was 2 months old, he was sent to Stanford Childrens Hospital after his pediatrician detected low iron and oxygen levels. It was the first TPI case ever documented in California.

Our doctors at Stanford and their team are scrambling to come up with a cure or some type of treatment for our son, Jason Borofka said. The doctors gave him 2 to 5 years to live, and he said its going to be very tough on us and that it was going to be horrible. We cried for a solid week, for sure, but now were holding on tight and were going to try and beat this.

The couple wanted to share the babys story in the hopes of raising awareness about the rare disease. They hope that doctors will be able to find a cure.

In addition to TPI, the parents said on a GoFundMe fundraising page that the infant also has the hemolytic anemia disorder.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, hemolytic anemia is a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made. The destruction of red blood cells is called hemolysis.

Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. If you have a lower than normal amount of red blood cells, you have anemia. When you have anemia, your blood cant bring enough oxygen to all your tissues and organs. Without enough oxygen, your body cant work as well as it should, it added.

Hemolytic anemia can be inherited or acquired: Inherited hemolytic anemia happens when parents pass the gene for the condition on to their children. Acquired hemolytic anemia is not something you are born with. You develop the condition later.
Amazon employee Heather Redman works to pack products for shipment at an Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky on June 10, 2009. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Amazon Dismisses Idea Automation Will Eliminate All Its Warehouse Jobs Soon

BALTIMOREAmazon.com Inc. dismissed the idea of running a fully automated warehouse in the near future, citing the superior cognitive ability of humans and the limitations of current technology.

Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, said technology is at least 10 years away from fully automating the processing of a single order picked by a worker inside a warehouse.

There is a misperception that Amazon will run fully automated warehouses soon, Anderson said during a tour of Amazons Baltimore warehouse for reporters on April 30.

The technology for a robot to pick a single product from a bin without damaging other products or picking multiple products at the same time in a way that could benefit the e-commerce retailer is years away.

Amazon is exploring a variety of technologies to automate the various steps needed to get a package to shoppers, Anderson said.

In the current form, the technology is very limited. The technology is very far from the fully automated workstation that we would need, Anderson said.

The tour came at a time when the company has come under fire from labor groups and other Amazon critics for allegedly poor working conditions in its warehouses and for increasingly automating jobs and reducing its dependence on human labor.

The largest online retailer is also not employing robots in its warehouses that handle fresh food, said Derek Jones, global director of environment, health and safety, who oversees Amazons fresh food offerings like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.

Just imagine if you want bananas. I want my bananas to be firm, others like their bananas to be ripe. How do you get a robot to choose that? he said.

Amazon runs 110 warehouses in the United States, 45 sorting centers and about 50 delivery stations. It employs 125,000 full-time warehouse workers in the country.

The warehouses that employ robots mostly handle general merchandise, which includes everything from lamps and clothing to kayaks and bikes.

The company said it is not changing the level of productivity at its warehouses to catch up with its recent one-day shipping announcement. It is instead making changes to the transportation and delivery process.

Last month, Amazon said it plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club, Prime, in just one day instead of two.

Anderson said Amazons current target is four hours from the time a product is ordered to the time it leaves the warehouse, and the company is sticking with that.

The e-commerce company did not share details on how the decision to raise its minimum wage to $15 had impacted workforce turnover.

However, it said applications for seasonal jobs doubled to 850,000 at the end of October last year from the record number of applications the company received in August 2017, when it held a national job fair.

Amazon raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour for U.S. employees in November, giving in to critics of what they said was poor pay and working conditions.

By Nandita Bose
Bear Spotted in Tennessee Cabins Hot Tub

A bear was captured on camera taking a bath in a Tennessee rental cabins hot tub.

Elizabeth Strickland posted photos of the bear on the back porch of their cabin in Gatlinburg, WBIR reported.

I just had to share with yall. I was in that same seat 14 hours ago! she said of the bear in the hot tub.

There were also three bear cubs, she told the station.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency warns that bears might be cute or friendly, but people should be cautious.

They have been called a charismatic mega-fauna and for good reasoneveryone from non-hunters, to hunters, to wildlife watcherswe all love bears in our own special ways, the website says. For these reasons, it is everyones responsibility to keep them wild and keep them alive.

PHOTOS: Couple vacationing in Gatlinburg spots bear relaxing in their hot tub https://t.co/NIGlbdqqYo pic.twitter.com/q0Jm7QiOBQ  WKRN (@WKRN) May 3, 2019

According to the agency, there are several ways to deal with bears, which applies to black bears in any state:

-Never feed or approach bears!

-If a bear approaches you in the wild, it is probably trying to assess your presence.

-If you see a black bear from a distance, alter your route of travel, return the way you came, or wait until it leaves the area.

-Make your presence known by yelling and shouting at the bear in an attempt to scare it away.

-If approached by a bear, stand your ground, raise your arms to appear larger, yell and throw rocks or sticks until it leaves the area.

-When camping in bear country, keep all food stored in a vehicle and away from tents.

-Never run from a black bear! This will often trigger its natural instinct to chase.

-If a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively and do not play dead! Use pepper spray, sticks, rocks, or anything you can find to defend yourself. If cornered or threatened, bears may slap the ground, pop their jaws, or huff as a warning. If you see these behaviors, you are too close! Slowly back away while facing the bear at all times.

Bears Rescued

In another part of the country, in Arizona, three bear cubs were rescued after their mother died.

Arizona Highway Patrol troopers were responding to the crash near Dudleyville on April 29 when they stumbled on the cubs, and managed to load two into the back of their patrol car.

Pictures released by the Department of Public Safety show the 4-month-old cubs clambering on the seats in the back of the vehicle, while an officer from Arizona Game and Fish Department tracked down and caught the third cub.

AZGFD Tucson & Mesa responded today to three bear cubs orphaned and recovered by the AZ Hwy Patrol after a rare auto-on-bear accident on State Road 77 south of Winkleman. Their mother was likely killed instantly. The cubs are en route to the SW Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale. One first responder rescuing the cubs was scratched on the forearm by one, is seeking treatment at Oro Valley Hospital and likely will be released. Posted by Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson on Monday, April 29, 2019

Sergeants Tarango and Marquez, with assistance from DPS and a concerned citizen, arrested these three bandits, charged with raiding picnic baskets! wrote the Hayden Police department in a statement on Facebook.

Bears are incredibly smart animals, he said. They need to be challenged. Our bears here are given games to play and puzzles to do.

Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
Beluga Whale Allegedly From a Russian Military Facility Appears in Norway and Refuses to Leave

A beluga whale allegedly from a Russian military facility has mysteriously appeared on the coast of Norway. While the marine experts hope that it will swim away to where it has come from, it has till the last reportsrefused to leave.

The last days the whale has still been observed in the same area. Hopefully, it will swim away further north in the Arctic where it belongs and join a pod of white whales, Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine expert and an inspector for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement.

A few fishermen saw the beluga whale and sent pictures to Norways Institute of Marine Research. These photos were shared with three inspectors sailing in a Sea Surveillance Service patrol vessel.

To our surprise, we saw that the whale had a harness around his body clearly put there on purpose, said Wiig.

The team arrived with its disentangling gear and lured the whale with a cod filet. The whale was totally habituated to humans and we could touch it, he said.

The team had to work together to free the whale from the harness. First we thought that the rope had been ripped apart, but then we saw the most enjoyable thing in the water: The whale was free from the harness. It was a cheerful moment to see the whale going his own way free from the harness as we turned back to our regular assignment, said Wiig.

He told ABC News that it is very unlikely for the whale to have been trained by the Russian military.

Maybe [he] was trained to recover things people lose in the sea, as he is always looking for a boat to come close to, Wiig said.

We are in discussions with the Norwegian government about options for the beluga. He could just stay here, he could wait for other belugas when they make their summer migration through Norwegian waters and continue on with them [or] he could get transported to a whale sanctuary in Iceland.

Since being freed from its harness, the whale has moved only 30 nautical miles and Wiig said that they are looking for whatever best suits the young adults survival.

Its appearance, however, continues to be a mystery and Martin Biuw, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, told ABC News that the whale looks trained.

One of the videos shows the whale bobbing its head out of the water and opening its mouth. This is a clear sign that the animal is trained, as this behavior is usually associated with begging for food from the trainer, Biuw said.

There are speculations that the beluga is from a Russian Military facility. Biuw said that both Russian and American militaries had active marine mammal programs earlier but he had no detailed knowledge about it.

I would assume that harnesses are generally only used for short-term deployments, as they may cause chafing and other discomfort over longer time periods. What I can say for almost certain is that no researchers in Norway, and almost certainly not in Denmark/Greenland, use this method of attachment for any research-related work. Whether scientists in Russia do, I have no idea, he said.

The Russian military has denied running a sea mammal special operations program, reported the Guardian.

The investigations are done by Norways special police security agency (PST) and it has yet not given any conclusions.

The beluga whale is an Arctic and a sub-Arctic species.
Can Media Be Prosecuted for Being Unregistered Foreign Agents?

Jesse Liu, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and John Demers, head of the Department of Justices (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), unsealed a grand jury indictment of Gregory Craig, who served as White House counsel to Barack Obama, on April 11.

Its the NSD that is tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law passed by Congress that requires all persons working on behalf of a foreign government or entity to disclose that by registering and affirming they are representing foreign and not U.S. interests in their influencing activities.

Written by Brian Cates @drawandstrike

Hosted by Gina Shakespeare

Produced by @EpochTimes
Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canadian Lawmaker Condemns Pro-Communism Rally

Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper has a personal connection to the horrors of communism: His maternal grandparents escaped Soviet-occupied Lithuania, and his great grandparents died in the gulags of Siberia.

Thats why the St. AlbertEdmonton member of Parliament says he felt compelled to speak out in the House of Commons against a communist rally held on May 1 on the grounds of the Alberta legislature.

Disturbing to see people protesting with the Communist hammer and sickle in front of the Legislature. This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is the home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology. https://t.co/YciQn8F764  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 2, 2019

One might say well, this is just a small fringe group, but the fact is that this is an incredibly dangerous ideology that has resulted in more bloodshed around the world than any other ideology, Cooper said in a phone interview. Its a movement, an ideology that has led to the deaths of more than 100 million people.

On May 2, Cooper said in a statement in the House of Commons that the disturbing pro-communist rally should shock the conscience of all Canadians of goodwill, and that the promotion of this evil and murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly.

The legacy of communism includes mass violence, oppression, the dislocation of hundreds of millions, and the deaths of more than 100 million people. Its legacy is an ocean of blood, he said.

My statement on the disturbing pro-Communist rally at AB Legislature. The promotion of this evil & murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly #cdnpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/fqE6wK2jdS  Michael Cooper, MP (@Cooper4SAE) May 3, 2019

Cooper wasnt the only politician speaking out against the protest. Albertas new premier, Jason Kenney, also tweeted about the rally, saying he found it disturbing to see people protesting with the communist hammer and sickle in front of the Alberta legislature.

This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology, Kenney said.

According to Stephane Courtoiss The Black Book of Communism, communist regimes are responsible for close to 100 million deaths: 65 million in China, 20 million in the Soviet Union, 2 million in North Korea, 2 million in Cambodia, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, 1.5 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Vietnam, 1 million in Eastern Europe, 0.15 million in Latin America (mainly Cuba), and 10,000 due to the international communist movement and communist parties not in power.

The Epoch Times special series How the Spectre of Communism Is Ruling Our World states that communist regimes force the general population into obedience by killing their victims openly and deliberately.

In just one century, since the rise of the first communist regime in Russia, the evil spectre of communism has murdered more people in the nations under its rule than the combined death toll of both world wars, the series states.

The remaining officially communist countries in the world today are China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos.

According to another special series by The Epoch Times, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which focuses more specifically on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the primary belief of the communist party is struggle, which is used as a tool to gain and maintain political control.

For instance, a famous quote from MaoWith 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?reveals the logic of survival of the fittest, the series says. Repetitive use of force is an important means for the CCP to maintain its rule in China.

The series adds that the goal of using force is to create terror, so that people become afraid and submit to the terror, and gradually become enslaved under the CCPs control.

Cooper says the fact that there are still communist countries in the world suppressing human rights, and the fact that such pro-communist rallies are being held in Canada and other parts of the world, demonstrate that while in Canada communism is a fringe movement, it hasnt been completely stomped out, and it must not be allowed to gain any momentum.

He says Canada is a free country and people are free to hold rallies, but if they do, they need to be called out, and they should be made a little bit uncomfortable.

Its important to unequivocally condemn [communisms] promotion, Cooper says.
HOLLYWOODEric Le Van enjoys transmitting and learning about traditions. Being a classical concert pianist who has performed internationally and is currently teaching students, he understands the importance and beauty of preserving traditions.

Theres something about a tradition that is timeless, Le Van said. So it can be very relevant to our culture.

Le Van was invited to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on May 3 by one of his music students. New York-based Shen Yun tours the world with the aim to bring back Chinas 5,000 years of semi-divine culture through performing arts, something the pianist was able to appreciate.

I got, overall, from the show this desire to reach back to the spiritual roots of Chinese culture, going back thousands of years, Le Van said. And I was actually very happy and since delighted to see that theres that effort by others in exile to revive what was unique to the culture, because I know a lot of it had been suppressedthat was an interesting message.

Le Van, who is based in Los Angeles, is known for his performances of the music of Brahms and Scriabin. He has performed as a guest soloist and recitalist in many major venues and festivals in the United States and Europe like the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany and Fetes Romantiques de Nohant Festival in France. He has also released several recordings of his performances, which have been well-received.

He said he was particularly touched by the last piece, The Final Moment, which is a story-based dance depicting modern Chinese society and real-life human rights abuses under the communist regime.

The final dance I think was touching on that theme of how modern culture can clash with these traditional ones. I think we [need to] become better people and we become in touch with that culture. So in that respect, I thought it was a very compelling moment, he said.

Shen Yun performances are comprised of about 20 vignettes of dance, solo music performance, and stories. Many of these stories are based on historical events, inspired by myths and legends passed down generation after generation, and reflect modern-day China under the communist regime.

Some of these stories that portray traditional themes and values that encourage self-reflection and inspire audience members to observe the world around them.

Interesting Combination

Le Van said he was surprised to see a Western orchestra playing Chinese music. He said, That was an interesting combination, adding that they blended quite well.

I was not that familiar with the traditional Chinese instrument.  The [erhu] is quite intriguing. I think Ive heard it before, but it is the first time I had actually heard it in person in concert, he said, referring to the Chinese two-string violin.

Along with dance, Shen Yun performances are accompanied by a live orchestra that combines Eastern and Western classical instruments that create a distinct yet harmonious sound. A Western orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies, according to Shen Yun.

The erhu, also known as the Chinese violin, is just one of the many Chinese instruments that play in the orchestra. This year, audience members were fortunate to experience it in its own solo piece.

Le Van said he commends the effort of [Shen Yun] to really bring back traditions, which is so vital.

Especially in a time when I think pop music and Western pop music has become so widespread everywhere in the world and its almost drowning out diversity and its like a generalized youth culture and I think it can become basically a business. So I think that its so important to preserve these things that had lived with us for so many thousands of years, Le Van said.

We dont want to get lost in the wave of pop culture, and especially for young people, if they can somehow experience and see [the traditional culture] that is part of a heritage, and its beautiful, he added.

With reporting by Michael Ye.

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.
A Congolese health worker prepares to administer Ebola vaccine, outside the house of a victim who died from Ebola in the village of Mangina in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 18, 2018. (Olivia Acland/Reuters)

Congo Ebola Deaths Surpass 1,000

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo/GENEVAThe death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, April 3.

The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Congos Health Ministry said on Friday that 14 new Ebola deaths had been recorded, taking the toll to 1,008 deaths from confirmed and probable cases.

Only the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa has been deadlier. More than 11,000 people died then out of 28,000 who were infected.

Despite significant medical advances since then, health officials have struggled to control the current outbreak because of the violence and community mistrust in eastern Congo, where dozens of militias are active.

Militiamen attacked a hospital treating Ebola patients two weeks ago, killing a senior WHO epidemiologist and wounding two others.

The numbers are nothing short of terrifying, said Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease specialist and director of the global health charity the Wellcome Trust.

This epidemic will not be brought under control without a really significant shift in the response, he said. Community trust and safety, as well as community engagement and ownership of the response is critical.

There was an attempted assault on an Ebola treatment facility in the city of Butembo on Thursday, but nobody was injured and the assailants were captured, the WHOs Ryan said.

By Fiston Mahamba and Stephanie Nebehay
At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh (Photo: VNA)



Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th./.
Trump Trade War Is Widening, Not Ending

Almost every day brings comforting news on the trade front. Theyre talking! Someone went to Beijing! Someone else is optimistic!



The problem is, thats just talk. The longer it goes on, the more tariffs damage the economy.



Lets call tariffs what they are: import taxes. Maybe then the people who oppose all other taxes will stop thinking tariffs are somehow helpful.



There are better and less harmful ways to achieve our goals. But what you or I think doesnt really matter.



President Trump likes tariffs, and current law lets him use a national security pretext to impose them.



So they will continue until he changes his mind, and theres no sign he will.

Caught in the Middle

One thing even President Trump cant stop is the calendar. The days keep ticking by, each one bringing the end of his term closer.



That matters because Trump cant make any permanent trade agreements unless Congress agrees. Thats a long process he hasnt even started.



Instead, Trump is using executive authority, which lasts only as long as he is president. Any promise he makes to China will expire on January 20, 2021, just 21 months from now, unless he is reelected.



The Chinese know this.



Thats why they are in no hurry to make the kind of deals Trump wants. He might encourage them with threats and maybe even higher tariffs. But then he risks crashing the markets.



So, Chinas best negotiating strategy is to wait, which they do very well.



They may think Trump will get more flexible if the economy weakens next year, which is likely. Or possibly, theyre betting his successor will be friendlier to them.



In either case, Beijing has little incentive to give Trump what he wants unless he wins reelection, and maybe not even then.



The US agriculture and technology sectors are caught in the middle. Farmers are losing real money. Time isnt on their side.



But politically, Trump needs Midwest support. So if China keeps rejecting him, look for the rhetoric to turn ugly again.

We Will Reciprocate!

One problem with trade disputes is they escalate so easily. Country A raises tariffs on Country B, which then fires back.



If it stops there, everybody adapts and moves on. Trade wars happen when one side ups the ante, forcing a greater response from the other one. Then it spirals and gets much worse.



With that in mind, consider this April 23 presidential tweet.







Note that closing threat: We will Reciprocate! Thats funny because the tariff that so upsets the president is reciprocation for the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed on the EU last year.



Did Trump really think they would let him put European workers out of their jobs and do nothing at all? That was never a possibility. Yet hes surprised the EU is not surrendering.

Everyone Loses

Now, we dont know if Trump will actually do anything.



He often makes threats without following through. But if he does add more tariffs, the EU will respond again. Thats how trade wars pick up.



This one shouldnt happening in the first place. It springs from the Trump administrations contrived conclusion that EU-made steel somehow threatens US national security.



Thats obviously false, but World Trade Organization (WTO) rules give countries a lot of latitude in defense matters or used to.



Last week, a WTO tribunal ruled that the security clause applies only to actual armed conflicts. The particular case involved Russia and Ukraine, but its logic would seem to cover the Trump tariffs too.



Trump will likely ignore this decision and even try to withdraw the US from WTO membership. But it may give other countries a legal justification to raise tariffs on US goodsand get worse from there.



The president is right on one thing: the US has legitimate trade grievances with China and others. We need to resolve them. He would have a much better chance if he involved Congress instead of relying on contrived national security threats.



For whatever reason, he chose to go it alone, even when his party controlled both sides of Capitol Hill. And with the WTO possibly letting other countries retaliate more aggressively than they have thus far, the odds favor more tariffs.



That wont be good for US companies that depend on imported supplies, or US consumers who buy them, or US workers who produce goods for export including those Midwest farmers.



In other words, pretty much everyone will lose.



So dont believe the spin. The trade war isnt ending. It may only be beginning. Beware if your investment strategy presumes otherwise.

The Great Reset: The Collapse of the Biggest Bubble in History

New York Times best-seller and renowned financial expert John Mauldin predicts an unprecedented financial crisis that could trigger in the next five years. Most investors seem completely unaware of the relentless pressure thats building right now. Learn more here.

By Patrick_Watson

 2019 Copyright Patrick_Watson - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico, on Aug. 28, 2018. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

Elderly Couple Were Stunned to Receive $7,000,000 Worth of Meth in the Mail

An elderly Australian couple Wednesday signed for a package containing 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million) worth of methamphetamine, which had accidentally been shipped to their house, police said.

The couple, who live outside Melbourne, called police after opening the parcel and discovering it contained bags of white substance.

They asked each other if they had ordered anything, and it was quite clear that they hadnt, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Matthew Kershaw told reporters on Thursday.

The authorities determined the substance to be 20 kilograms of the illegal drug.

(Its) quite incredible to comprehend that someone could be that sloppy, Kershaw added.

Hours after the couples alarming discovery, a 21-year-old man was arrested in the nearby town of Bundoora.

A further 20 kilograms of methamphetamine were found at the address where he was arrested.

Zhiling Ma, who appeared Thursday in Melbourne court, was charged with trafficking and importing a marketable quantity of a border patrol drug, CNN affiliate Nine News reports.

Its quite a large find to take off the streets, really, Kershaw said of the drug haul. Thats 800,000 hits off the street that weve intercepted yesterday which is quite significant.

Breaking Bad for Real for Self-Taught Chianese Meth Maker

A real-life version of Breaking Bad that was playing out in China has witnessed its own series finale. A self-taught man, with only a middle-school education, was described by police as surpassing the skills of some organized gangs in manufacturing methamphetamine.

A man surnamed Lei was arrested Jan. 5 after establishing a methamphetamine laboratory under the stairs of his first-floor apartment in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, according to the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Leis method was perfected through trial and error, including by sampling his own drug. Just as his production hit high levels of purity, the police found him.

Lei told a court hearing that, after being laid off from his leather factory job, he found that he could make easy money cooking meth; he taught himself chemistry over a four- to five-year period.

The operation was discovered when the anti-drug division of the districts public security bureau noticed chemicals being delivered to Leis residential districtchemicals that could be specifically used for drug production.

The police described a pungent odor emanating from the room as they prepared for an arrest. Meth labs have a variety of odors, including that of cat urine or rotten eggs.

What they discovered inside Leis apartment was a fully functional lab, over 180 grams (6.3 oz.) of methamphetamine, and more than five liters (1.4 gallons) of liquid that was reported to contain drugs. Police also found 20 notebooks filled with notes from his self-taught education process, and 10 chemistry-related books.

The police described the earliest notes as relatively rudimentary, but his later methods were advanced, with knowledge of five different ways to produce the drug.

In China, drug-related charges often carry heavy sentences. A Canadian citizen was sentenced to death on Jan. 14 for charges of smuggling 222 kilograms (490 pounds) of methamphetamine to Australia from China.

While illegal drugs from China, including precursor chemicals used in Mexican meth, have been finding their way into the United States, the drug thats currently devastating U.S. communities is the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Chinas export of fentanyl to the United States a form of undeclared warfare, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to crack down on fentanyl production, a drug similar to, but much more potent than, heroin.

In August last year, two Chinese citizens from Shanghai were charged in the United States with operating a fentanyl production ring. The drug was responsible for the deaths of two people in Ohio, according to prosecutors. On Jan. 13, one individual died from an overdose of fentanyl, with more than 10 others hospitalized in Chico, California.

Chinese companies have also made minor modifications to fentanyl recipes, likely to dodge legal implications within China.
A helicopter crashed near Kent Island, Md., on May 4, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Helicopter Crashes in Maryland, 2 People Reported Missing

A helicopter crashed into Chesapeake Bay off Kent Island, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, May 4.

The authorities responded to a report at around 12:30 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed, Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert told the Baltimore Sun.

The brother of an onboard passenger was boating in the area and saw the incident happening, and notified authorities CNN reported.

The Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that volunteers were currently responding to a helicopter down in Chesapeake Bay and asked drivers to move over for responding units.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department sent a dive team to the scene to locate the missing passengers.

BREAKING: There are reports of a helicopter down in the Chesapeake Bay off of Kent Island, Md., more specifically Bloody Point. Private boats report seeing wreckage floating in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders are currently scrambling to the scene. pic.twitter.com/QPTMHznDeu  Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) May 4, 2019

Brandi Colbert, a witness who works in the Kent Point Marina, told the Baltimore Sun that the helicopter went over the marina and disappeared.

Volunteers are currently responding to a helicopter down in the Chesapeake bay. (9-62 Box). Please move over for responding units. Posted by Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, May 4, 2019

Its not clear by the time of the publication if anyone was hurt in the crash.

This is a developing story, please check back for more information.
The moment of an explosion in the the suburb of Chicago is captured on camera. (Lake County Sheriff)

Industrial Plant Explosion Rocks Chicago Suburbs, 4 Injured

A massive explosion leveled an industrial plant, shook houses over 15 miles away, and left a fire raging in a Chicago suburb.

Four people have been hospitalized, according to the Chicago Tribune, after an explosion at a silicone factory in Gurnee, a suburb to the north of Chicago.

We have fire and structural damage indicative of an explosion, Steve Lenzi, spokesman for the Waukegan Fire Department, told the Tribune. There is very heavy damage.

The blast went off on May 3 at AB Specialty Silicones, a silicone plant in an industrial facility, according to Waukegan fire and police officials, reported WGNTV.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

The explosion was felt and heard in many neighboring towns and suburbs, according to reports and videos on social media which captured the moment of the explosion at around 9:30 p.m.

Around 10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriffs Office issued an alert via Twitter: We are aware of a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area. We are working to determine the cause.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

Even many miles from the scene, the explosion was loud enough for residents to believe there had been a crash or explosion in their neighborhood.

I live in Antioch, 17.1 miles away and it shook my entire house, wrote one person on social media. I called police

Eyewitness Megan Hener told the Tribune she went down to the scene of the explosion and posted pictures on social media of the plant was now flattened.

It was leveled. Its right across from the emission testing station, she said, in reference to a state of Illinois facility.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

According to NBC, nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were left without power.

Many pictures on social media show the fire burning, and the moment of the explosion was caught on various cameras, such as porch cams, and posted to social media.

What was that massive explosion? Ive never heard anything so loud, wrote Lori Taylor on Twitter. Our house shook in Wadsworth.

One on-the-spot witness told Chicagos WLS-TV that she saw debris and sparks flying everywhere after hearing a large boom.

She saw a building engulfed in flames and heard another large boom.

The fire department said that they do not believe there is cause for concern about air quality or need for a shelter-in-place order, according to Local State Representative Joyce Mason.

According to WGNTV, police said late on May 3 that an active search and rescue operation was still underway at the site.
MS-13 Believed to Be Behind Body Found in Washington

The infamous MS-13 gang is believed to be behind the murder of a male who was found in Washington with one hand severed and the other barely attached.

Detectives believe the body found on April 27 is Eberson Guerra Sanchez, a ninth-grader who attended Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland, law enforcement sources told WUSA on May 3.

The body, found beneath the Chain Bridge near the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, was badly beaten and hacked with what detectives believe was a machete.

One hand was completely severed while the other was barely attached.

MS-13 suspected in body found with severed hand, believed to be Frederick teen https://t.co/4BBjPM72e5 pic.twitter.com/iGZ29Eu7VI  WUSA9 (@wusa9) May 4, 2019

Tuscarora High School Principal Christopher Berry said in a letter (pdf) to students and parents on May 2 that Sanchez had died. The Metro Police Department, though, said that the identification of the body hasnt been completed yet.

I know what theyre saying, but its too early to make a positive identification, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham told NBC 4. The victims face was so badly beaten, a positive identification will take more time.

Blue and white bags were tied to trees marking a trail to an enclave in the woods where the body was found. The colors are used by the transnational gang, which is known to favor beheadings and other brutal execution methods to send messages to the families of victims and others. Investigators removed the bags as forensic evidence.

A student who chose to stay anonymous told NBC 4 that Sanchez had only attended the school for a few months and believed the teen was from El Salvador.

Eberson Guerra Sanchez, un alumno de Tuscarora High School, fue reportado desaparecido la semana pasada y hallado muerto durante el fin de semana https://t.co/l8PYBZwcks  Telemundo 44 DC (@Telemundo44) May 2, 2019

Berry said in the letter that officials didnt think there was a threat to other students. We have no reason at this time to believe the circumstances are connected to Tuscarora High School or other students who attend here, he wrote.

The suspected MS-13 murder of Sanchez came just three days before three men believed to be members of the MS-13 gang were indicted for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a rival gang member in Nevada. The three men, all illegal aliens, allegedly restrained the victim and stabbed him while holding a gun to his head. When he tried to run, they shot him. The men then chopped up his body.

The gang, also known as Mara Salva 13, originated in Los Angeles but spread to El Salvador as members were deported from the United States. The transnational criminal organization is believed to have more than 10,000 members and regularly conducts gang activities in at least 10 states, including Maryland, and across Central America and Mexico.

In late March, six MS-13 members in New York, including two from Maryland, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to murder a fellow gang member who they thought was cooperating with law enforcement.

Our intelligence shows that their plan was to kill him by shooting him with a firearm they planned on purchasing, butchering him with a machete, or by burning him to death, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a press release.

This goes to show how ruthless this gang is and is part of their [modus operandi]: They conspire to kill rival gang members but they also conspire to kill their own when they allegedly violate the rules of the gang.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea Fires Short-Range Projectiles: South Korea

South Koreas military said that North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on May 4 local time. It initially described it as a missile launch but later gave a more vague description.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Koreas presidential Blue House is analyzing the situation, a Blue House official said without elaborating.

The South Korean military said it will, together with the United States, analyze the latest launches.

Japans Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the countrys coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

A Missile?

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

If North Korea really did fire banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first launch since it fired a test of ICBM back in November 2017.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas action would send a message to the United States.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure, said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the Norths nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts, Sanders said in a statement back on Feb. 28. No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.

Trump said at a press conference later that North Koreas insistence on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return proved to be the sticking point.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee. Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly. With reporting by AP, and The Epoch Times staff.
An injured demonstrator is helped during a May Day rally in Paris, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (Francois Mori/AP)

Paris Officials Question 30 Over May Day Ruckus at Hospital

PARIS (AP)  Authorities in Paris questioned 32 people May 2 about May Day marchers who scaled a fence and tried to enter a hospital, while questions remained over whether the group intended trouble or was trying to flee police tear gas.

By the end of the day, there was still no answer. The suspects detained for questioning were let go, an official with the Paris prosecutors office said.

The director of the Paris public hospital system had said he planned to file a complaint with police about the intrusion at Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital during an annual International Workers Day march organized by labor unions.

Dozens of people scaled the fence leading to a courtyard and tried to storm an emergency exit in a post-surgery ward on the afternoon of May 1, Martin Hirsch, the Paris public hospital system director, said. Doctors and nurses kept the door closed before police arrived, Hirsch said.

Computer equipment in another part of the hospital was damaged, and the consequences could have been very serious, Hirsch said.

Confusion surrounds the alleged actions of the May Day marchers.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called the incident an attack. But activists with the yellow vest movement, a left-wing politician and some news outlets suggested march participants were trying to escape tear gas fired by riot police.

The questioning of the 32 suspects brought no clarity, and they were released.

The investigation is continuing to shed light on the circumstances of the intrusion within the health facility, the official in the prosecutors office said. The official wasnt authorized to speak publicly about ongoing investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Paris May Day rally was disrupted several times by clusters of anarchists, supporters of the anti-government yellow vest movement and troublemakers who threw rocks at officers and set vehicles and trash cans on fire.

French officials deployed 7,400 officers to police the event.

French broadcaster BFMTV aired a video that showed dozens of people clamoring up steps that led to a glass door leading to the post-surgery unit and nurses and other staff members blocking the door from the inside.

BFMTV said the video was recorded by a nurses aide.

During a 2016 demonstration against labor reforms, another Paris hospital sustained damage after troublemakers hurled paving stones and other objects at the building.

By Elaine Ganley
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, May 2, 2019, in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Pelosi Calling Barr a Liar Is Beneath Her Office, White House Says

The White House on May 3 issued a rebuke against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for accusing Attorney General William Barr of lying during a hearing over special counsel Robert Muellers report earlier this week.

The fact that the speaker would take it upon herself to call him a liar is really, really inappropriate and beneath her office, deputy press secretary Steven Groves said on MSNBC.

Mueller wrote a letter to Barr complaining about his summary of the Russia investigation dated March 27. During testimony in April, Barr was asked whether he knew about the frustrations from Muellers team over his summary. Barr said No I dont and suspected they wanted more put out from the full report.

Although Mueller wrote that Barrs interpretation of his report did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions a Department of Justice representative told The Washington Post Mueller did not believe Barrs conclusions were inaccurate. Instead, Mueller was worried about the medias coverage of Barrs summary.

The special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading, the spokeswoman told The Washington Post. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsels obstruction analysis.

The Washington Post also reported that Mueller told Barr in a phone call that the concern of his summary was not about the accuracy of his letter.

Barr later confirmed the existence of the letter and phone call and clarified that Mueller didnt think his letter to Congress was inaccurate in testimony on May 1. Barr also said he believed Muellers letter was not written by him, stating that it was a bit snitty, and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people.

On Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob, the letter thats just put into the record, and I called Bob and said, Whats the issue here? and I asked him if he was suggesting the March 24 letter was inaccurate? And he said no, but that the press reporting had been inaccurate, and that the press was reading too much into it, he testified.

A number of top Democrats have since called for Barr to resign, claiming he was not truthful during testimony before House and Senate panels recently.

What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. Thats a crime, Pelosi told reporters previously at a press conference. He lied to Congress.

After Pelosi made the accusations the Department of Justice (DOJ) slammed Pelosis comments as baseless.

Speaker Pelosis baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible and false, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told Fox News.

Groves on May 3 defended Barrs comments, arguing the attorney general may have not wanted to reveal the private exchange he had with Mueller.

In that moment, that was private correspondence between Attorney General Barr and special counsel Mueller, Groves said. I mean, I dont know what was going through his head, but one of the things might have been, Hey that was a private exchange, maybe Im not going to reveal that on national television. 

He continued, The idea that he would be called a liar or accused of perjury is just so outrageous that I dont even know how to react to it.

Others have also defended the attorney general, pointing out that Mueller had admitted Barrs summary was accurate.

Rep. Mark Meadows said, 1) Mueller criticized Barrs letterexcept Mueller admitted letter was accurate. Pathetic spin. 2) Barr made the full report public 2 weeks agowhy in the world is his letter even relevant? Its like complaining about a movie trailer 2 weeks after the full movie comes out.

Liz Wheeler, the host of Tipping Point, made similar comments.

The article literally says Mueller CONFIRMED that Barr told the truth in his letter, she wrote.

Janita Kan contributed to this report
A woman during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 23, 2019. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

Persecution of Christians Worldwide Near Genocide Levels, Says Report for British Government

The persecution of Christians around the world is a near genocide levels, according to a report for the British government.

Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world, according to the report for the British Foreign Office, with acts of violence and intimidation becoming more widespread.

The British foreign secretary said he was shocked by the findings, and that a culture of political correctness in Western nations had left them asleep on the watch.

Christianity faces extinction in parts of the Middle East where it first blossomed, according to the report findings.

Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution but also its increasing severity, said the report, which was commissioned before the suicide bombings targeting Christians in Sri Lanka that left more than 250 dead last month.

The report author, Bishop Philip Mounstephen, said in a statement, Through my previous experience of the global church in Asia and Africa I was aware of the terrible reality of persecution, but to be honest in preparing this report Ive been truly shocked by the severity, scale, and scope of the problem. It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?

It is also ironic that many Western secularists, Islamic extremists, and authoritarian regimes share a common erroneous assumptionthat the Christian faith is primarily an expression of white Western privilege. In fact, Christianity is primarily a phenomenon of the global south and the global poor.

The report notes that in some regions, the level and nature of the persecution is close to meeting the United Nations definition of genocide.

The main impact of those genocidal acts is an exodus, according to the report.

Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria, the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today. Christianity is at risk of disappearing, representing a massive setback for plurality in the region.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt noted that the persecution of Christians happens for different reasons in various parts of the world, but said that they had gone unchallenged due to a broader culture of political correctness.

I think weve all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians, he told reporters in Addis Ababa, reported ITV. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into to as colonizers.

That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issuethe role of missionaries was always a controversial one and that has, I think, also led some people to shy away from this topic, continued Hunt. What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.

The report states that Christian women are more likely to suffer persecution.

The full findings of the report will be published in the summer.
Invited guests for the world premiere of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are reflected in the fuselage of the aircraft at the 787 assembly plant in Everett, Washington, on July 8, 2007. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)

Pilot Forced to Call Police on Disruptive Passenger, Drags Him Out of Bathroom

Seventy-five minutes into its 11-hour flight from New Zealand to Chile, a LATAM Airlines plane had to turn back because of a disruptive passenger.

The flight was 466 miles in the air on the night of May 3 when the decision to turn around was made in an effort to protect the people on board, Stuff reported.

The troublesome passenger was detained by using the Immigration Act, according to the news outlet. Police stated that there was an incident during the flight involving only the passenger in question.

A LATAM spokesperson said that no one on the plane was harmed.

He did not want to say what it was that the disruptive passenger did to make the pilots call the police and make the decision to go back.

The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it left Auckland about 6:30 p.m. and returned three hours later.

Flight LA800 from Auckland to Santiagohttps://t.co/yRxdpfcswl Inbound from Auckland to Santiago delayed ETA2242Z pic.twitter.com/veXQEy87Z2  Kenneth Brown (@spotter_scl) March 7, 2019

Airways spokeswoman Emma Lee said that the pilot had requested police approach the plane upon arrival. She said it would not be appropriate to comment further on the occurrence.

Some passengers were complaining of the delay and lack of communication So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? said one Twitter user who seemed to have been on the 787 Dreamliner.

So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? @AKL_Airport Coming up to four hours since landing on flight LA800. #aucklandairport needs to learn communucation skills. pic.twitter.com/unAdTJb7GN  Anthony (@workingnomad) December 8, 2018

Andrea Bastos was also on the flight. Her son, Fabrizio Farra, spoke to The Herald on behalf of his mother.

He said that the passenger was out of his mind. He didnt want to go, then he said he did. Flight attendants had to break into the bathroom, then they dragged him to the kitchen area and tried to calm him down.

Farra said his mother felt they could have been informed better. She felt the airline could have been more honest., he said. The flight was already late two hours so she was really tired of the whole situation by the time she got to Auckland.

Media have published updates as they have become apparent or more information has come to light.
This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows a policeman gesturing as Muslims arrive at the Id Kah Mosque for the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

Police Surveillance App in Xinjiang Targets 36 Types of Problematic People, Report Says

A surveillance app used by Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang designates 36 types of people who may be tagged for investigation and sent to internment camps as part of the regimes suppression of Turkic Muslims in the region, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

In a report published May 1, Human Rights Watch analyzed a mobile app used by Xinjiang authorities to collect personal information from Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities, file reports on activities they find suspicious, and carry out investigations on people the system flags as problematic.

The app is linked to the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), one of the main systems the regime uses for mass surveillance in the region. According to the report, the IJOP system surveils and collects data on the millions of Xinjiang residents through CCTV cameras, some of which have facial recognition or night-vision capabilities, a vast network of checkpoints, and through Wi-Fi sniffers, which collect unique identifying addresses of computers, and smartphones.

With data mined in this system, the IJOP can then identify problematic people for investigation and detention in the regions sprawling network of internment camps, the report said.

The U.S. State Department and rights groups estimate that more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being detained in such camps, where they are forced to undergo political indoctrination and renounce their faith. Former detainees have recounted torture, abuse, and rape in the facilities.

The Chinese regime has justified the detention and mass surveillance using the pretext of combating terrorism.

IJOP App

The rights organization said it was able to reverse-engineer the IJOP app to allow it to examine the type of personal information it collects, and identify the kinds of behavior and people the authorities target.

The app collects a wide range of personal information, including a persons blood type, height down to the precise centimeter, and the color and make of their car, the report said. The information then is fed into the IJOP system and linked to the persons national identification card number.

The report also found that the app identifies 36 types of people considered suspicious. These include seemingly innocuous behavior such as returned from abroad, does not socialize with neighbors, seldom uses front door, collected money or materials for mosques with enthusiasm, or household uses an abnormal amount of electricity.

The app also alerts authorities to carry out investigative missions into people flagged as problematic, which involves gathering even more personal information.

During one such mission, an official may be required, for example, to check the persons phone and log whether they use any of the 51 suspicious internet tools, including Virtual Private Networks, and foreign messaging apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

In Xinjiang, authorities have created a system that considers individuals suspicious based on broad and dubious criteria, and then generates lists of people to be evaluated by officials for detention, the report said.

Cases

Human Rights Watch interviewed several Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities who shared their experience being monitored by the IJOP platform.

A former detainee identified only as Ehmet was released in 2017, but soon found out that he was banned from leaving his local area. When I tried going out of the region, my ID would [make a sound] at police checkpoints.I was blacklisted.

Alim was released from a police detention center after spending several weeks there on charges of disturbing social order. Alim told Human Rights Watch that while visiting a mall, a nearby alarm went off. The police escorted him to the local police station right away. The police told me: Just dont go to any public places.

For Nur, his status as a foreign national upon fleeing Xinjiang means his family members back home are also implicated: [My family] said their ID cards have been making noise when going through the checkpoints ever since I was taken away [by police].

The IJOP platform is itself against the Chinese constitution and laws. The constitution guarantees peoples privacy of correspondence, while laws stipulate that only criminal investigators can collect suspects DNA samples and phone numbers upon obtaining a search warrant.
Public Prosecutor Takes Aim at SNC-Lavalins Court Bid for Remediation Deal

OTTAWACanadas director of public prosecutions is firing a new volley at SNC-Lavalin that could hobble the companys ongoing legal fight for a special settlement agreement over alleged corruption in Libya.

The prosecutor wants the Federal Court of Appeal to strike out a key element of the construction and engineering firms challenge of a ruling that went against the company.

Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin faces corruption and fraud charges related to business deals in Libya from 2001 to 2011. A conviction could bar the company from receiving federal contracts for 10 years.

SNC-Lavalin unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement, an alternative means of holding an organization accountable for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

In a March ruling, a judge tossed out the firms plea for judicial review of the 2018 decision.

SNC-Lavalin is appealing the judges ruling, pointing to recent revelations from parliamentary committee testimony from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and others to bolster its arguments.

The company says new and deeply troubling facts that came to light in the political saga show that checks and balances intended to ensure accountability was critically circumvented, amounting to a clear abuse of process.

However, the director of prosecutions is asking the appeal court to prevent SNC-Lavalin from ever supplementing its original arguments with the new information. If the directors motion succeeds, it would represent another legal setback to the companys bid for a remediation agreement.

SNC-Lavalin has been embroiled in a high-profile political storm since February when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that prime ministerial aides leaned on Wilson-Raybould to ensure a remediation agreement for the company. She resigned from cabinet days later.

Wilson-Raybould told the House of Commons justice committee in late February she faced a campaign of relentless pressure to secure an agreement for SNC-Lavalin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies officials acted inappropriately.

The director of prosecutions formally told SNC-Lavalin on Oct. 9, 2018, that negotiating an agreement would be inappropriate in this particular case, prompting the company to ask the Federal Court for an order requiring talks.

In its March ruling, the Federal Court said prosecutorial discretion is not subject to judicial review, except for cases where there is an abuse of process.

In its filing with the Court of Appeal, SNC-Lavalin contends the process of determining whether to pursue a remediation agreement was completely flawed.

The company says testimony before the justice committee made it clear that on Sept. 4, 2018, director of prosecutions Kathleen Roussel provided Wilson-Raybould with a memo that apparently outlined the prosecutors case against a remediation agreement.

By Sept. 16, Wilson-Raybould told the committee, she had formed the view it was unnecessary to intervene in the prosecutors decision.

However, SNC-Lavalin stresses in its filing that a dialogue with the prosecutors office was still unfolding.

In early September 2018, the public prosecutor agreed to receive additional SNC-Lavalin information addressing concerns, the company says. Its subsequent submissions came in letters to the prosecutor Sept. 7 and Sept. 17.

SNC-Lavalin notes Wilson-Raybould made no mention of these developments and was likely not aware of them. As a result, her conclusion not to intervene was based on incomplete information, the company says.

SNC-Lavalin argues Roussel failed to advise Wilson-Raybould that she had agreed to receive additional information from the company and neglected to update her Sept. 4 memo to the then-attorney general.
Rolls-Royce May Power Boeing `797 If Max Crisis Delays Jet

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. could re-enter the competition to power a medium-sized jetliner under development at Boeing Co. if the U.S. planemaker pushes the project back to help cope with the 737 Max crisis.

Rolls, which exited the New Midsize Aircraft program earlier this year saying a new engine wont be ready for the plane to enter service in 2025, may return to the contest if the timetable slips, Chief Executive Officer Warren East said May 2 at the companys annual shareholder meeting in Bristol, England.

We said to Boeing, we cant produce something that we are confident will be sufficiently mature, East said. If Boeing change their timescales then obviously we can reassess. We think technically we have a good solution.

Rolls had initially regarded the NMA, also dubbed the 797, as a potential launch platform for the new Ultrafan engine that will form the basis of its turbine offerings for the foreseeable future. That was before East said in February that it would be wiser to withdraw than screw up the launch of the plane and create service issues for customers.

Boeing put back a decision to select an engine for the NMA even before the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airways Max on March 10. The subsequent worldwide grounding of the 737 has led some analysts to suggest that the company may need to suspend work on the new plane to focus its full attention to getting the narrow-body workhorse flying again.

Milestone

Whatever the decision on the NMA, East said Rolls intends to bid to power the next generation of single-aisle planes expected to succeed both the Max and Airbus SEs A320neo jets from 2030. That would represent a milestone for the company after it quit the narrow-body market in 2011 to focus solely on bigger planes, leaving the sector to General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney.

The cautious approach on the mid-size Boeing has been motivated by a desire to avoid any glitches with the Ultrafan that could color the view of airlines and planemakers on the engine. Thats especially so given the issues Rolls has had with its Trent 1000 turbines that power the American firms 787 Dreamliner.

The NMA aside, the first available application for the Ultrafan could be a re-engined version of the Airbus A350 that the European company is studying for introduction toward the end of the 2020s.

A330, 787 Engines

East said that the company had caught up delays on Airbuss newest widebody, the A330neo, after falling behind last year, adding that the low number of deliveries of that aircraft in the first quarter was unrelated to engines.

The company has also managed to draw a box around the Trent 1000 issues that have affected some 787 operators, which has helped it secure new orders this year after a sales drought in 2018. Rolls has finalized claims with effectively all operators of the engine, with more than half of the 1.5 billion pounds ($1.95 billion) in costs associated with fixing the program earmarked for compensation payments.

By Benjamin Katz
A Scandanavian Airlines, known as SAS, Airbus A320-200 aeroplane takes off from the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, July 29, 2018. (Paul Hanna/Reuters)

SAS, Unions Close to Deal to End Pilot Strike: Reports

OSLOScandinavian airline SAS and unions are close to reaching a deal to end a pilot strike that has grounded 380,000 passengers over the past week, Norwegian media reported on May 2.

The airline, the Norwegian and Danish pilot unions, and the Norwegian employer organization were not immediately available for comment. The Danish and Swedish employer organizations and the Swedish union declined to comment.

Since pilots went on strike on April 26 over wages and conditions, SAS has canceled more than 4,000 flights.

Parties involved in the dispute have been negotiating in Oslo since May 1 to try to resolve it.

The will is there to solve the situation, Norwegian Pilots Union President Yngve Carlsen told reporters earlier in the day on his way into the Norwegian state mediators office, where the parties talked overnight.

I am more optimistic now than I was yesterday, Carlsen added but declined to offer a timeline as to when the strike could end.

Close to bankruptcy in 2012, SAS sold assets and cut wages and thousands of jobs in return for a life-saving credit facility. It has been profitable in the last four years but fuel costs are rising and overcapacity is still squeezing the sector.

The Swedish union has said pilots were seeking around a 13 percent pay hike, to make up for the 2012 wage cuts.

SAS, which is part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said that would entail significant cost increases that would seriously damage competitiveness.

The aviation industrys employer body in Sweden says pilots already have high wages, averaging 93,000 crowns last year. The Swedish pilots union disputes the figure, saying salaries start at 34,000 crowns, rising over 25 years to 98,000.

Analysts estimate the stand-off over wages and other demands by pilots in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark could cost SAS as much as $10.5 million a day, threatening to wipe out the airlines annual profit in short order.

By Gwladys Fouche
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to media about the Mueller report at the Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Lindsey Graham Invites Robert Mueller to Testify About Phone Call With Barr

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) invited special counsel Robert Mueller to testify about any potential discrepancies between responses Attorney General William Barr provided during a recent Senate hearing and the contents of a phone call between the two men.

In a letter (pdf) dated May 3, Graham offered Mueller the opportunity to provide testimony regarding any misrepresentation by the Attorney general of the substance of that phone call if the special counsel disagreed with Barrs account of the exchange.

Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC writes to Special Counsel Mueller regarding Attorney General Barrs testimony:https://t.co/B8eaSaOhTC pic.twitter.com/bHhQMUIoOj  Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) May 3, 2019

The phone call in question came days after Barr sent a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 containing the bottom-line conclusions of Muellers report.

The special counsel initially complained to Barr in a private letter sent on March 27 about the characterization of the reports findings in Barrs memo, saying it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of the probe. Barr subsequently called the special counsel to ask him about the March 27 letter.

During the call, Mueller told Barr that he did not think the attorney generals summary was inaccurate, but that the media coverage surrounding the investigation was misleading.

At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 1, Barr told lawmakers that he thought Muellers letter was a bit snitty, adding that he thought it was written by one of Muellers staff members.

He also refused a request by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to turn over the notes of the phone conversation with Mueller about the letter, reported the Washington Examiner.

Graham wrote in his letter to Mueller that, In response to questions by Senator Blumenthal, the Attorney General testified in essence that you told him in a phone call that you did not challenge the accuracy of the Attorney Generals summary of your reports principal conclusions, but rather you wanted more of the report, particularly the executive summaries concerning obstruction of justice, to be released promptly. In particular, Attorney General Barr testified that you believed media coverage of your investigation was unfair without the public release of those summaries.

During a press conference on May 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said he was going write to Mueller and give him a chance to correct the record if he thought Attorney General Barr in any way misrepresented the findings of his report but has no plans to bring in Mueller to testify about his investigation, telling reporters, Enough already. Its over.

Muellers Letter to Barr

The existence of the March 27 letter was leaked to the Washington Post and reported on a day before Barr was scheduled to appear at the Senate hearing.

The letter outlined Muellers concerns about the content of Barrs memo:

The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.  There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

BREAKING: Letter from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Attorney General Barr. pic.twitter.com/oDJm6coP8G  House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) May 1, 2019

Mueller also requested Barr to release the introductions and executive summaries of each volume of the report, according to the letter.

Sources familiar with the discussions told the Post that Muellers letter had shocked senior Justice Department officials because the officials believed the special counsel was in agreement about the process of reviewing the report and the need for redactions.

After the Attorney General received Special Counsel Muellers letter, he called him to discuss it, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. In a cordial and professional conversation, the Special Counsel emphasized that nothing in the Attorney Generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the Special Counsels obstruction analysis. They then discussed whether additional context from the report would be helpful and could be quickly released.

House Committee in Negotiation with Muellers Team

According to multiple reports, members of the House Judiciary Committee are currently negotiating with Muellers team about whether he would appear before the committee to provide testimony about his Russia probe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony, according to NBC News Alex Moe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony  Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) May 2, 2019

An ABC News reporter and producer also reported similar details about the talks.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized, ABC reporter Ben Siegel wrote.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized.  Ben Siegel (@benyc) May 2, 2019

Barr was scheduled to testify at a House hearing on the Mueller report on May 2 but canceled as he did not accept the questioning format proposed by the committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). In particular, Barr was strongly opposed to allowing staff lawyers to participate in the questioning.

Barr said questioning witnesses before congressional committees is the responsibility of elected senators and representatives.
The top of a replica Crew Dragon spacecraft is show at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2018. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test Accident

CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaNearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap.

Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an anomalyscience jargon for when something goes wrong.

The April 20 accident occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as SpaceX was about to test eight emergency thrusters designed to propel the capsule, dubbed Crew Dragon, to safety from atop the rocket in the event of a launch failure.

Just prior, before we wanted to fire the (thrusters), there was an anomaly and the vehicle was destroyed, Koenigsmann told reporters on Thursday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. There were no injuries. SpaceX had taken all safety measures prior to this test, as we always do.

The news conference was called ahead of Fridays scheduled launch of an unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station using a cargo-only capsule built by SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Leaked Video

When pressed about the accident, Koenigsmann declined to say whether an explosion or fire was involved. NASA has likewise declined to describe the mishap.

A leaked video of the accident, which a NASA contractor has acknowledged as authentic in an internal memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, showed the capsule blasting into smithereens. A pall of smoke was also widely observed from a distance at the time of the ill-fated test.

SpaceXs reluctance to describe in plain terms what happened to the capsule was at odds with NASAs long history of transparency surrounding accidents involving its human spaceflight program.

The Crew Dragon had been scheduled to carry U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station in a test mission in July, although Aprils accident, as well as some vehicle design hitches, are likely to push that launch to later in the year or into 2020.

Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover, Koenigsmann said.

The destroyed vehicle was one of six such capsules built or in late production by SpaceX, and the first flown into space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched it without a crew to the space station in March for a six-day visit before returning to Earth, splashing down safely in the Atlantic for retrieval.

Koenigsmann said initial data from the accident showed the mishap occurred during activation of the emergency thrusters, which SpaceX calls the SuperDraco system.

We have no reason to believe there is an issue with the SuperDracos themselves, Koenigsmann said, adding that the engines have been tested nearly 600 times in the past.

NASA has been awarded $6.8 billion to SpaceX and rival Boeing Co to develop separate capsule systems to fly astronauts to space, but both companies have faced technical challenges and delays.

By Joey Roulette
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is hoisted onto a ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast after it returned from a mission to the International Space Station on March 8, 2019. (NASA via AP, File)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in Ground Test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX finally confirmed on May 2 its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago and conceded that the accident is not great news for the companys effort to launch astronauts this year.

Hans Koenigsmann, a company vice president, told reporters its too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the crew Dragon capsules test flight in Marchminus astronautscontributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the testing area at Cape Canaveral for safety reasons, according to Koenigsmann. The company does not want to disturb any evidence that could provide clues to the failure, he noted.

The company has concluded, meanwhile, that the smaller, simpler cargo version of the Dragon capsule is safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX was on track to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early April 26, although approaching storms threatened yet another delay. Earlier in the week, the flight was postponed by a major power shortage at the space station.

Because the April 20 accident occurred so close to SpaceXs landing site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the booster for the cargo launch cannot return there following liftoff. Instead, the first-stage booster was aiming for a barge stationed about 12 miles offshore, much closer than usual.

The cargo and crew versions of the Dragon capsule are considerably different. The cargo Dragon does not have the SuperDraco thrusters that are embedded into the side of the crew Dragon. Those thrusters would be used to push a capsule off a just-launched rocket in an emergency. They werent used during the test flight to the space station in March.

Koenigsmann said he does not believe the thrusters themselves caused the accident. The system had been activatedwhich involves opening and closing valves, and pressurizing systemswhen flames erupted.

SpaceX was going to launch the newly returned crew Dragon in another test this summer, to see how the SuperDraco thrusters work in an aborted flight. More crew Dragons are being built and can be used for this test, according to Koenigsmann.

Koenigsmann remains hopeful SpaceX can launch two NASA astronauts to the space station this year. The impact to the schedule will depend on the results of the accident investigation, he said.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX and also Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, instead of having them hitch expensive rides on Russian rockets.

Before the accident, SpaceX had been shooting for a summertime crew launch.

I dont want to completely preclude the current schedule, he said. Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover.

Koenigsmann said the company has been in touch with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnkenwho will be on board for the crew Dragons next test flight to the space stationand that the two have offered encouragement and motivation.

Boeing also has encountered recent delays with its Starliner crew capsules. The company is striving to launch a Starliner without astronauts to the space station in August.

By Marcia Dunn
An empty Tesla showroom stands in Brooklyn on April 25, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tesla Expects Global Shortage of Electric Vehicle Battery Minerals: Sources

WASHINGTONTesla Inc. expects global shortages of nickel, copper and other electric-vehicle battery minerals in the near future due to underinvestment in the mining sector, the companys head of minerals procurement told an industry conference on May 2, according to two sources.

The company, a major minerals consumer, has rarely talked publicly about its views on the metals industry. Copper, nickel, lithium, and related minerals are key components used to make electric-vehicle batteries and other parts.

Sarah Maryssael, Teslas global supply manager for battery metals, told a closed-door Washington conference of miners, regulators, and lawmakers that the automaker sees a shortage of key EV minerals coming in the near future, according to the sources.

Tesla did not immediately comment.

The copper industry has suffered from years of underinvestment, and it is now working feverishly to develop new mines and bring fresh supply online as the electrification trend envelops the global economy. Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the worlds largest publicly traded copper producer, is expanding in the United States and Indonesia.

Electric cars use twice as much copper as internal combustion engines. So-called smart-home systemssuch as Alphabet Incs Nest thermostat and Amazon.com Inc.s Alexa personal assistantwill consume about 1.5 million tonnes of copper by 2030, up from 38,000 tonnes today, according to data from consultancy BSRIA.

All that will make the red metaland other mineralsscarcer commodities, which worries Tesla.

Maryssael added, according to the sources, that Tesla will continue to focus more on nickel, part of a plan by Chief Executive Elon Musk to use less cobalt in battery cathodes. Cobalt is primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and some extraction techniquesespecially those using child laborhave made its use deeply unpopular across the battery industry, especially with Musk.

Maryssael told the conference, hosted by commodity pricing tracker Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, that there is huge potential for Tesla to partner with mines in Australia or the United States, according to the sources.

The conference, attended by more than 100 people, featured speakers from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy, as well as Standard Lithium Ltd., ioneer Ltd. and other companies working to develop U.S. lithium mines.

By Ernest Scheyder
Trucker in Deadly Colorado Crash Charged With 40 Criminal Counts

DENVERA Texas truck driver who police say caused a fiery multi-vehicle crash near Denver last week that killed four people and injured four was charged on Friday with 40 criminal counts including vehicular homicide, prosecutors said.

Police in Lakewood, Colorado said they arrested 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos after he lost control of his tractor-trailer truck during the evening rush hour on April 25 and caused a crash on Interstate 70 that involved at least 28 vehicles.

The district attorney for Jefferson County, where the crash took place, charged Aguilera-Mederos with 40 counts on Friday, including four counts of vehicular homicide, six of first-degree assault and 24 of attempted first-degree assault.

A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 11. Aguilera-Mederos is being held on a $400,000 bond.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying lumber, rammed into several cars, causing a pile-up that became a raging inferno, authorities said. The four men who died were all single occupants in their vehicles, according to a local TV station.

The carnage was significant, police spokesman Ty Countryman said at the time. Just unbelievable.

Lakewood police spokesman John Romero described it as a chain reaction of crashes and explosions from ruptured gas tanks. It was crash, crash, crash and explosion, explosion, explosion, he said.

There was no initial indication that Aguilera-Mederos intentionally caused the crash, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Countryman said.

Aguilera-Mederos told police his brakes had failed, but cell phone video from a witness showed his truck veering across several lanes of traffic and forcing another vehicle off the road before the crash, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

I-70 is Colorados vital east-west highway that connects the mountains with the plains and traffic has grown worse as the states population has boomed. The crash happened just after the highway descends from the mountains, where signs warn drivers to check to make sure their brakes are cool and working after traveling down the steep grades.

Rob Corry, a lawyer for Aguilera-Mederos, said last week that the crash was an accident caused by an equipment malfunction.

This is a massive unprecedented overreach by the prosecution  on a vehicle accident, Corry told reporters on Friday.

Footage from the Crash

Video footage from a news helicopter showed flames whipping off the vehicles and what appeared to be lumber spilled across the interstate.

Local YouTuber Joshua McCutchen, who goes by the name Burger Planet, captured the moment the semi sped by him moments before crashing into stationary traffic ahead.

He also captured footage from the scene of the crash and interviewed an eyewitness.

Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. greets supporters of US President Donald Trump before he speaks at a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Trump Jr. Takes to Twitter to Criticize Social Media Censorship

Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. criticized big techs censorship and is asking people to realize its seriousness and take a stand against it.

On May 3, he wrote on Twitter, The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone, he stated, It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level, he wrote, adding, Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.

The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level. Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 3, 2019

A conservative African-American woman with a MAGA hat on her avatar picture responded, Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.

Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.  Melissa A. (@TheRightMelissa) May 3, 2019

Both President Trump and his son on Friday sent Maria Bartiromos post again that had a screenshot of Breitbart article titled Facebook Blacklists Prominent Conservatives Including Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, she said she thinks that the topic of silencing conservatives will be bigger and bigger as the 2020 election approaches.

President Donald Trump also sent Paul Joseph Watsons tweet and video again where he talks about the censorship he and other commenters that had been crucial for Trumps campaign have been subjected to.

Dangerous. My opinions? Or giving a handful of giant partisan corporations the power to decide who has free speech? You decide.https://t.co/cTCoLs0Op2  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Paul Watson mentions in the video that the Big Tech also banned Louis Farrakhan along with people with conservative leanings obviously to give the excuse that this wasnt political, Watson said It was totally political, he said, This is nothing less than election meddling.

Platform access should be a civil right! Retweet if you agree.https://t.co/RYblEBfUyj@realDonaldTrump  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 4, 2019

Donald Jr.s tweet on Saturday afternoon seems to indicate that Google is kowtowing to leftwingers and blacklisting hunters from advertising on their platform.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump Still Confident Deal Will Happen After North Korea Launches Short-Range Projectiles

President Trump expressed confidence that North Koreas leadership will not jeopardize the economic prosperity of their nation and that a denuclearization deal will be struck, after several short-range projectiles were launched from its east coast.

North Korea is currently under strict economic sanctions imposed by the international communitylead by the United Statesafter Kim Jong Un ramped up a nuclear weapons program in 2017.

Those sanctions brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table for a historic meeting with President Trump last year, when the North Korean leader promised to pause the nuclear weapons development program and stop testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

On May 4, South Korean officials said that missiles had been fired 40-125 miles out to sea from the coast of North Korea. It later downgraded the description to projectiles.

President Trump responded on May 4, writing on Twitter, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it.

He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

The projectiles fired on May 4 do not appear in violation of North Koreas promises and are a far cry from the long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea was test-firing before sanctions were tightened.

However, according to some analysts they are something of a warning shot.

Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough, Harry J. Kazianis, the director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said in a statement Friday night, reported The Hill.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure.

In February, President Trump walked away from the second talks without a deal, after North Korea insisted on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. local time before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the U.S., the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump walk out of the Oval Office during a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 2, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump: The Power of Prayer. Its the Most Powerful Thing There Is

Speaking to about 100 religious leaders and Trump administration officials, President Donald Trump said prayer is the most powerful thing there is in which many Americans still believe.

America will be a nation that believes forever, and we certainly believe, more than anyone, the power of prayerits the most powerful thing there is, Trump said at a White House dinner on May 1, the eve of the National Day of Prayer.

In attendance at the dinner were representatives from various faithsChristians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus. There, Trump stressed the importance of protecting religious freedoms.

Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God, and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religionall of us, he said, according to Life Site News.

In a proclamation on National Day of Prayer 2019, the president stated that The United States steadfast commitment to upholding religious freedom has ensured that people of different faiths can pray together and live in peace as fellow American citizens. We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace, and we condemn all hate and violence, particularly in our places of worship.

Trump also condemned the recent anti-religious hate crimes that occurred in America and abroad, including the recent shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego.

All of us in this room send our love and prayers to the Jewish Americans wounded at the Chabad of Poway shooting in California. And our hearts break for the life of Laurie Gilbert-Kaye who was so wickedly taken from us, Trump said at the dinner, according to CBN.

We mourn for the Christians murdered in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and grieve for the Muslims murdered at their mosques in New Zealand, he added. Here at home, we also remember the three historically black churches burned recently in Louisiana and the horrific shooting last year at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Trump then reiterated the importance of prayer in his speech at the National Day of Prayer Service on May 2.

He began his speech by sending a prayer to the people of Venezuela. The socialist South American country has spiraled into humanitarian, economic, and political chaos after illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro refused to step down despite mounting international pressure.

In mid-January, Venezuelas duly elected National Assembly declared Maduros presidency illegitimate due to a fraudulent election, and swore in Juan Guaido as interim president. But Maduro has refused to give up control.

Id like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom. The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end and it must end soon. People are starving. They have no food. They have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So we wish them well. Well be there to help, and we are there to help, Trump said.

Later in his speech, Trump said he will be doing everything he can to make it better than ever before for the American peopleand especially for people of faith.

On this Day of Prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. And we give thanks for those wondrous lands of liberty. And this is truly the greatest of all lands of libertyour country. Our country is special. It will always be special. It will be greater than ever before, he said.

On this day of prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. We give thanks for this wondrous land of liberty, & we pray that THIS nation  OUR home  these United States  will forever be strengthened by the Goodness and the Grace & the eternal GLORY OF GOD! pic.twitter.com/RtSI3j1GWH  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

Were doing things that will make it better than ever before, and especially for churches and synagogues and mosques and everyone elsepeople of faith. We pray that this nationour home, these United Stateswill forever be strengthened by the goodness and the grace and the eternal glory of God, he added.

Protecting Conscience Rights for Health Care Groups and Individuals

During his May 2 speech, Trump also announced his new rule that would protect health care groups and individuals from mandatory provision or participation in services they object to for religious or moral reasons.

And just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities. Theyve been wanting to do that for a long time, he said. Together, we are building a culture that cherishes the dignity and worth of human life. Every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule promises to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty. It specifically protects providers, individuals, and other health care entities from having to provide, participate in, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for, services such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide, according to the statement.
Volkswagen Earnings Upbeat Despite Diesel Scandal Charges

FRANKFURT, GermanyGerman automaker Volkswagen saw its profit slip in the first quarter as the company set aside 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for legal risks related to its 2015 diesel scandal.

The company nevertheless showed that it was holding its own against the headwinds buffeting the global auto industry, reporting improved earnings at its main Volkswagen unit and stronger profit margins across the groups 12 brands. A strong sales mix, with more-profitable vehicles taking a bigger slice, boosted earnings.

After-tax profit fell to 3.05 billion euros ($3.41 billion) from 3.30 billion euros in the same quarter a year ago. Group sales revenue rose 3.1% to 60 billion euros even though the total number of vehicles sold declined.

A key measure of profitabilitythe profit margin on salesrose to 8.1% from 7.2% in the year-earlier period. The figure exceeds the companys targeted margin range of 6.5% to 7.5%.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said it was a very strong first quarter and to an extent better actually better than we expected.

I think the key drivers were obviously the operational performance even though volume declined, but we were able to offset that with price and mix effects, Witter told The Associated Press.

Shares in Volkswagen rose almost 4% in Frankfurt as investors seemed to welcome the figures.

Auto companies are facing multiple challenges, including slowing sales in China, the worlds largest auto market, tougher emissions requirements and trade disputes. They are also under pressure to invest in new technologies to compete against tech companies pushing into auto-related areas such as ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles.

Witter said that earnings were under pressure from high outlays for the companys future lineup of battery vehicles, but said that was without alternatives. The company is pivoting to vehicles that produce no emissions locally to meet lower EU limits on greenhouse gases. Volkswagen expects to begin production this year of the battery-powered ID hatchback at its plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany.

The Volkswagen brand saw operating profit rise 5% to 921 million euros as cost control and a more profitable model mix compensated for lower volumes.

Earnings fell at two of the companys chief moneymakers, its luxury Audi and Porsche divisions. Audi saw profits fall to 1.1 billion euros from 1.3 billion euros because of model changes and higher spending on new products and technologies. Porsches operating profit fell 12% to 829 million euros.

Volkswagen faces legal risks from its 2015 scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions test, including pending suits from investors who say the company didnt inform them of the emissions issue in time. The company says it met its disclosure requirements. It didnt specify May 2 which diesel legal matter led to the new set-asides. The deduction brings total costs for the diesel scandal to 30 billion euros.

Last year Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, was the worlds largest carmaker by volume, selling 10.8 billion vehicles.

It said May 2 it was sticking to its forecasts for sales and profits this year, predicting that sales revenue could increase by as much as 5% over the prior year and that returns on sales would be between 6.5% and 7.5%.

By David McHugh & Pietro DeCristofaro
We Will Chop Off Their Heads for Allah, Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society Say: Reports

Disturbing footage has emerged from an Islamic Center in Philadelphia, showing children reportedly lip-syncing to songs and reading poems saying they would sacrifice themselves and kill for Allah.

The Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) uploaded videos on April 22 to its Facebook page. The videos show children singing lyrics that appear to call on the next generation of Palestinian youth to embrace terrorism and glorify suicide bombers, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The boys were shown to be lip-syncing a song, during which several of them held up a copy of the Quran.

The blood of the martyrs is calling us. Paradise, men desire it, they mouthed to the song, according to IPT. Revolutionaries, Revolutionaries  Sword and Text, oh free men.

The song continues: Until we liberate our lands, until we reach our anchorages, and we crush the traitor  Oh, the winds of Paradise. Oh rivers of the martyrs, lads. My Islam calls whoever responds. Stand up, O righteous ones.

IPT Exclusive Video: Children at a Muslim school run by @mas_national in #Philadelphia sing about the "Blood of Martyrs" and fighting #Israel pic.twitter.com/Rw9dTEfaqm  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The videos were shot on April 17, when MAS Philly held an annual Ummah Day. The theme of the event was advertised as focusing on the Golden age of Islamic science.

But IPT commented that instead of focusing on the scientific achievements of the Islamic world, part of the day was instead showcasing children forced to embrace radical Islamist culture.

Imam Mohammad Tawhidi shared a video of the incident online and wrote on Twitter: We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation.

We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation: https://t.co/3zeU2PFSfa  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 3, 2019

Tawhidi is a Muslim who lives between Washington D.C. and Australia. He uses social platforms like Twitter and Facebook to warn about the dangers that radical Islam can bring to the world.

We Will Chop Off Their Heads

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a watchdog group, translated a poem a young girl was reading that praised martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Palestine.

Our martyrs sacrificed their lives without hesitation. They attained Paradise, and the scent of musk emanates from their bodies. They compete with one another to reach Paradise. Will Jerusalem be their capital city, or will it be a hotbed for cowards? she said, according to MEMRIs translation.

Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society: We Will Sacrifice Ourselves for Al-Aqsa; Will Chop off Their Heads, Subject Them to Eternal Torture pic.twitter.com/6ySfz0Ylel  MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 3, 2019

Another girl read a violence-filled poem that appeared to encourage violence to remove Israels presence around Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque.

We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation, she said, according to MEMRI. We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling His promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture.

Earlier, the kids reportedly sang: The land of the Prophet Muhammads Night Journey is calling us. Our Palestine must return to us.

MEMRI told Fox News in a statement that such occurrences are not isolated incidents; they are happening in major centers of the countryincluding in Pennsylvania.

Fox News reported that MAS had not responded to a request for comment about the video.

MAS Philly belongs to the Muslim American Society (MAS), which has 42 chapters in the United States and one chapter in the United Kingdom.

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated MAS as a terrorist organization mainly because of their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. According to IPT, several MAS leaders have been linked to the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in northern Virginia, which serves as [an] incubator of hate and [has a] long track-record of radical and terrorist associations.

Read More The Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization With Socialist Roots

The MAS website says that its mission is to move people to strive for God-consciousness, liberty and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity, and that its vision is a virtuous and just American society. MAS did condemn the recent anti-Semitic white nationalist terror attack against the synagogue in San Diego, California, and the organization also condemned the Islamic terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Christian churches on Easter day.

Anti-Israel Songs

The Israel National News called the songs anti-Israel, and noted how one song had promised to liberate the Temple Mount from Zionists and to crush the traitor.

Israel controls security on the Temple Mount, but while Muslims have full and constant access to the mount, Jews are rarely allowed to ascend and banned from praying at the site. The Jordanian Waqf manages the site, the Israel National News reported.

IPT Exclusive Video: Philadelphia #Muslim school students sing song with violent anti-Semitic pro-terrorist lyrics pic.twitter.com/5tPSqypd2V  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based international Jewish NGO that is against anti-Semitism, released a statement condemning the apparent indoctrination.

If the translation is accurate, this incident is extremely disturbing. Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel, the statement read.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace. In a time of elevated anti-Jewish hate, all people must forcefully reject anti-Semitism wherever and whenever they see it.

From NTD.com
Terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi is seated in an FBI vehicle after being arrested by the FBI in Aurora, Colo. on Sept. 19, 2009. (Chris Schneider/The Denver Post via AP, File)

Would-Be NYC Bomber Gets 10 Years in Foiled Al-Qaida Plot

NEW YORKA man who plotted to bomb New York Citys subways, then switched sides after his arrest and spent nearly a decade helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists, was rewarded for his help May 2 with a sentence of 10 years in prison, effectively time he has already served.

Najibullah Zazi, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who became radicalized and received explosives training from al-Qaeda after traveling to Pakistan in 2008, faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges.

The subway plot sent shockwaves through New York and the federal law enforcement community, underscoring the continuing threat of terrorism years after 9/11. But federal prosecutors said Zazi, after his 2009 arrest, provided extraordinary assistance to U.S. counterterrorism authorities, implicating his closest friends and offering a window into the inner-workings of al-Qaeda.

U.S. District Raymond J. Dearie described Zazis cooperation as unprecedented, referring in part to federal investigations that remain ongoing. Details of those cases were blacked out of a court filing that prosecutors made public this week in light of concerns for national security.

I have no doubt you saved a life, Dearie said, adding he believed Zazi had undergone a compelling transformation during his years in custody. Your obvious intelligence served you well.

Zazi apologized and asked for forgiveness. He said he is not the same person he was more than a decade ago, when he became radicalized in part by listening to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda propagandist.

Im sorry for all the harm I have caused, Zazi said, referring to the subway plot as a horrific mistake.

Zazi will remain on supervised releasefederal probationfor the rest of his life. The sentence also requires he continue to cooperate with federal authorities.

The 10-year sentence means Zazi could be released from prison within days, said his defense attorney, William J. Stampur. Zazi has been in custody for nearly a decade.

Justice was definitely served, Stampur said. He has unequivocally disavowed radical Islam in no uncertain terms.

Stampur declined to comment on where Zazi plans to live after his release.

Zazi spent his teenage years and young adulthood living in Queens. Al-Qaeda recruited him and two of his best friends to carry out a martyrdom operation on U.S. soil after the three traveled to Pakistan in 2008.

The mission called for rush-hour suicide bombings on packed subway lines, timed to occur during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The plot, foiled by federal authorities, represented one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since 9/11, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Zazi to spend the rest of his life behind bars after his 2010 guilty plea. But prosecutors credited Zazi for cooperation that included implicating his co-conspirators in the subway plot and providing critical intelligence and unique insight regarding al-Qaeda and its members.

Zazis cooperation included meeting with the government more than 100 times, viewing hundreds of photographs and providing information that assisted law enforcement officials in a number of different investigations, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Zazi testified at the 2015 trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani national convicted of leading an al-Qaeda plot to bomb a shopping mall in Manchester, England, and against one of his co-conspirators in the thwarted subway plot, Adis Medunjanin, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Zazis assistance came in the face of substantial potential danger to himself and his family, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Pravda wrote in the court filing. By aligning himself with the government against al-Qaeda, Zazi assumed such a risk.

The third man charged in the subway plot, Zarein Ahmedzay, offered similar assistance to federal authorities and was sentenced in December to 10 yearsessentially time served.

By Jim Mustian
Millennials can be a fickle group to market to. While many companies manage admirably to market to this age cohort, others try to pry open millennial wallets -- and fail catastrophically.

Related: 4 Strategies to Use When Marketing to Millennials

Include McDonalds in the latter group. The fast food giant's Create Your Taste campaign failed when the company decided that young people would jump at the opportunity to create their own sandwiches online. That assumption was oh, so wrong, and the result was that many millennials lambasted the very notion of sharing their failed creations with their friends.

Some of those deliberately bad creations included The Nihilist, containing no food at all, and The Bag of Lettuce, containing only ... lettuce.

With that failure in mind, lets take a look at the marketing channels that are available, and examples of some (mostly) bootstrapped successes.

Social media

Social media channels arent going anywhere. The average U.S. resident spends about 142 minutes per day on social media. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities for you to promote your products/services. However, being too direct can often be counter-productive.

Take a look at the Lokai brand's campaign for its bracelets. The company heavily targeted millennials, encouraging them to send in content from around the world, and posting their pictures of Lokai bracelets in far-flung locations. Combined with a socially responsible message, this campaign caught the imaginations of young people, and they flooded social media with hash-tagged pictures.

If youre on a tight budget, you may find it worthwhile to join appropriate groups and pages before launching a campaign. Get involved with conversations as they occur, by regularly checking your feeds. By having a primed group of friends, not followers, you will be better positioned to launch a campaign like Lokai's.

Related: 3 Essential Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an area where companies are less vulnerable to the millennial ridicule other channels sometimes inspire. Simply put, if people actually like the person who is promoting a certain product or service, they are unlikely to make fun of the promotion.

While influencer marketing is not something you're likely to wade into if you are a bootstrapped startup, assigning any budget you do have to this strategy will be a sensible first move for the right kind of product. For example, look at Daniel Willington. This Swedish watch company has been around only since 2011 (often, longevity is a good sign for watchmakers); but with help from influencer Kendall Jenner, the company offered discount codes for a limited period, providing a big spike in both its sales and brand awareness.

Another good example: Samsung's launch of its new Note 7 product, with the help of CyreneQ. That artist used her Snapchat account to document the launch event, and using its 10-second video format, showcased some of the new device's features.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a great way to reach niche audiences. A company that has successfully targeted millennials via podcasting is MeUndies. It targeted a multitude of smaller podcasts like My Favorite Murder and Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast and paid the presenters to actively pitch the "world's most comfortable underwear" at the start of their shows.

Having a podcast host actively promote your product is one thing, but offering your services as a guest is another. As an entrepreneur, you likely have unique business insights that could be worth sharing with a wider audience. So, look out for podcasts that you could potentially be featured on, and make yourself the selling point. Not only is this cost-effective, but it can also provide great exposure to your business, as podcasts often turn up in Google search results and can help improve trust in your business.

If you dont have time to devote to outreach to podcasts, companies like Task Drive can do the outreach for you, building up lists of potential targets. You can also use sites like Fiverr to find part-time outreach specialists.

Native advertising

If you're determined to avoid the potential ire of millennials in the first place, you might wish to try native advertising. This is a form of paid ads, where your ads are designed to match the style of the host content. Native ads are common in social media and blog feeds or as recommended content on certain webpages. In contrast to other types of web advertisements, native ads are designed to look more natural and not be overly sales-y.

A good example is the native advertisement that Altran engineering did by producing a video on the Financial Times. The video told the story of university students competing in a competition run by Elon Musks company SpaceX. The students are helped by Altran staff, which is how the company gets to advertise itself. What is ingenious about this effort is the way the video is presented. It's more of a news story with a compelling narrative than a direct advertisement. The viewer might actually mistake who is being promoted: Altran or SpaceX?

Sponsoring YouTube videos

Video is some of the most heavily consumed content online, and in this context YouTube has become an advertising behemoth. Running a YouTube channel isnt easy, however; and recently, YouTube has made it harder for content creators to earn a substantial income from their advertisements on the site.

Therefore, creators are looking toward corporate sponsorship to generate revenues. LootBox is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous YouTube video sponsors (although not without controversy).

YouTube video sponsorship is a one-off commitment and you can find willing partners on sites like Collabspace. By finding a video creator that suits your niche, you can grow awareness of your brand and target people who fall into a very specific age band.

Conclusion

Selling your products or services to millennials comes with a unique set of hazards. By being sincere with your message, and experimenting with different channels, until you can dig into one that works, you just may find yourself growing your business without the need for vast marketing budgets.

Related: Hitting the Marketing Email Sweet Spot With Millennials (Infographic)

And those millennials? They'll be more than happy to help promote your product if they think its worth their time.

Related:

5 Ways to Market to That Fickle Group Called Millennials

Indian Hospitality Woos Destination Wedding Industry

Managing a Team of Millennials? The Top 5 Things You Must Know



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
He makes Donald Trump's stance on immigration seem moderate and has been dubbed a "professional troublemaker" by Marine Le Pen. In Denmark, he's just passed the threshold to become an official candidate for elections due to be held by mid-June.

Rasmus Paludan is a convicted racist who has spent months provoking local adherents of Islam by marching into their neighborhoods and burning the Quran. He says he's exercising his freedom of expression.

He had been largely ignored by the Danish media until Easter, when his antics sparked riots in the streets of Copenhagen. Since then, local newspapers, celebrities and political commentators have all weighed in to figure out how the development has altered the political landscape in Denmark.

Paludan, who's appealed his conviction, says it's not about race.

"I reject the whole concept of putting people into race categories. There's nothing in our politics based on race or the color of your skin. Most of our politics is based on the behavior of people," Paludan said in a phone interview in Copenhagen. "If they behave in ways that are not compliant with Danish values, we detest that."

Almost 15 years after grappling with the Muhammad cartoon crisis (in which Denmark's biggest newspaper became the target of Muslim anger across the globe for publishing caricatures of the Prophet), the home of Lego and Lurpak again finds itself caught in a tense debate about how to weigh religious dignity against freedom of speech. This time, the international context has grown far more populist, with anti-immigration agendas dominating elections across much of the world.

Paludan, a well-spoken lawyer, is now exploiting his newfound notoriety to gain a foothold in national elections. He got the requisite 20,000 signatures after taking advantage of a legal loophole to get his group, Hard Line (Stram Kurs), onto the official list of parties up for election. He declines to reveal his age beyond saying he's in his "mid-to-late-30s." His goal is a government that supports "a mass exodus where we send hundreds of thousands of people back to their home countries."

Support for Hard Line was estimated at 2.7 percent in a poll published on Thursday. That's above the 2 percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. The newspaper that published the survey, Politiken, emphasized that the Megafon poll carries a margin of error of 1.1 percentage point and noted there was greater uncertainty than usual because it was the first poll to include the party. But history offers a cautionary tale against underestimating such anti-establishment outsiders. From the Brexit movement in the U.K., to Matteo Salvini's League in Italy and Trump in the U.S., the list of affronts to conventional wisdom in political forecasting is long.

There's much to embolden Paludan in the current climate. And with the aid of social media, his message is making its way to a broader group. Salvini and Le Pen have been reaching out to like-minded politicians ahead of the European Union's May 23-26 elections, which could see the far right challenge make significant gains in Brussels and Strasbourg.

In Denmark, the fact that Paludan will be guaranteed a podium during the country's televised election debates is forcing voters to confront some uncomfortable truths about their society. His Hard Line group is now one of two that have overtaken the anti-immigration Danish People's Party from the right. Many policies of the DPP, on which the current center-right government has relied to stay in power, have been adopted by the biggest opposition party, the Social Democrats.

"What's happened over the last 20 years is that anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant views have become almost mainstream," says Carina Bischoff, an associate professor of politics at Roskilde University. "We now see plenty of public figures who agree more and more with these points of view, and that opens the ground for extremists."

Denmark's shift in attitudes toward foreigners can be traced back to the start of the millennium, when then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who later became NATO secretary general) put an end to the pariah status of the nationalist DPP by accepting its support in parliament. Since then, the DPP has played a crucial role in toughening Denmark's immigration policy, rising to become the second-biggest political presence in the process.

The DPP has capitalized on the refugee crisis of 2015, when more than one million asylum seekers and illegal migrants, mostly from the Middle East, made their way into Europe. Professor Kasper Moller Hansen of Copenhagen University says the turning point came with televised images of Syrians walking along the country's western motorway, which shocked many Danes.

The center-right government of Lars Lokke Rasmussen has since made international headlines because of its treatment of foreigners, including confiscating their jewelry and imposing draconian family re-unification laws that drew criticism from the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Denmark is suffering from a shortage of labor that many business leaders have argued could be addressed by allowing more skilled immigrants into the country.

Paludan has been disavowed by his family and has exasperated the police, who have imposed restrictions on his provocations to avoid exposing the public to the risk of riots. His Youtube channel is up again after being temporarily banned, and Paludan continues to have thousands of followers on Facebook.

Back in 2005, most Danes rushed to the defense of Jyllands-Posten after the paper published its controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, politicians and media operators are less sure.

"Paludan is an extreme phenomenon that successfully exploits today's digital media," said Michael Dyrby, the editor in chief of B.T., Denmark's best-selling tabloid. But "Danish democracy is strong and will probably survive Hard Line and its crazy leader."

- - -

Bloomberg's Christian Wienberg contributed.7
NORWALK  School administrators say a new schedule for Kendall Elementary School could improve test scores and help to close the achievement gap. But many parents and teachers are wondering at what costs those developments might come.

The year-round school model, the concept for which was first discussed by the Board of Education in August 2018, was presented to Kendall parents Thursday night in the schools cafeteria by Superintendent of Schools Steven J. Adamowski, Chief of Digital Learning and Development Ralph Valenzisi and Kendall Principal Zakiyyah Baker.

Over the course of two sessions  the first in Spanish  the administrators sought to explain the rationale behind the schedule change, which would add five days of schooling, shift the timing of school breaks and limit their duration to no more than three weeks and extend the school day. The result would be an additional 300 hours of educational time per year.

We have a couple pieces of research that we made this decision off of. One is specifically if students are in school for an additional 300 hours a year, just in school, actually aligned to their academics, with those additional 300 hours, we actually see an increase in their academic achievement, Valensizi told the crowd, which seemed to oscillate between genuine intrigue, confusion and anger during the course of the roughly 45-minute presentation.

Aside from concerns about how their elementary-aged students would handle an extra hour of school, or how the new configuration of time off might impact child care, family vacations and summer camp attendance, several parents alleged that the process of implementation was opaque.

We shouldve been told about this and parents shouldve had a little more input before its implemented and (then) thats just the way its going to be, said Dana Ross, whose daughter is in third grade.

If approved, the schedule change would go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year. But Ross and other parents were expressing a sense that they were being invited to join the conversation too far along in the process.

Adamowski first informed the Board of Education last summer that investors were interested in funding the year-round model. In December, Adamowski named Kendall, Jefferson and Brookside as three finalists for the model, based on their large number of high-needs and free- and reduced-lunch students. He named the Grossman Foundation of Greenwich and the Heidenreich Family Foundation of Stamford as interested donors willing to fit the bill, which Adamowski said would cost roughly $5 million over a three-year rollout. After the three-year period, the cost would shift back to the city.

On Thursday, parents were told that Kendall was now the sole finalist for the year-round model, though many didnt realize they had been competing for the distinction.

This is an unusual situation for our school system, because normally when we do something, we involve everybody, we ask their opinion, and people come up with something thats very close to their comfort zone, because they know what they know and theyre used to doing what theyre doing, Adamowski said. This is a more significant change and it is not about adult involvement or adult convenience, its really about raising student achievement to a much higher level that would ever occur if we dont do these things.

I would expect, like any change issue, that there are going to be adults who are not going to like this, or are going to see themselves in a more traditional setting which they would have the option to pursue, Adamowski added, referring to teachers who feel the year-round mode would not work with their schedules. Hes said they will have an option to transfer elsewhere in the district.

In fact, a vast majority of teachers have weighed in on the issue and have confirmed Adamowskis expectation. According to Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, more than 80 percent of teachers responded that they had reservations about the shift on a survey administered by the union. Yordon said the survey was presented to Adamowski in March.

This has not been a collaborative process, Yordon said. There are many teachers who have arranged their personal lives and their careers around this schedule that currently exists and it appears about ready to be changed. So it is upsetting to have to find a new job if your circumstances dont allow you to work year round.

Some in the crowd Thursday felt Adamowski was evasive when pressed about teachers opinions.

The question was asked, what do the teachers think of it, and you didnt give us an answer. The teachers are the ones who teach our children. Whats their input? said Scott Mccoy, whose grandson is in fourth grade, prompting a response from Baker.

Right now, as a team were mixed in our thoughts, not just with certified staff, with our non certified staff. Change is hard. I think thats why our superintendent went to, What do the kids need first, Baker began, before Mccoy interjected.

But the students you talk about are our children. We should have a say from the start, not when its just about implemented. And that didnt happen. We got informed yesterday, Mccoy said.

Several parents expressed having only found out about the meeting by chance. Ross said she happened to run into a Kendall parent at the grocery store earlier this week, who informed her of the meeting and proposed change. Tory Ferrara, who has a son in kindergarten and two younger children who she expects will attend Kendall and whose husband, Tony, is a member of the School Governance Council, complained that the meeting was hidden in a Kendall newsletter under the heading Above the Bar Grant  the name given to the pledged investment  and that many missed it.

Tony Ferrera said the School Governance Council was never given an opportunity to vote on the plan and expressed similarly that the school and district has been slow to provide information. Valenzisi said a parent survey would be distributed by the end of May.

The whole tone is, Yes, were doing this, no matter what the input is, Ferrara said, following the meeting. It almost feels like theyre doing an experiment with the school. Weve already shown improvement. If its not broke, dont fix it.

We love this school. We live a quarter mile away. Our son loves it, Ferrara said. We would be very sad to transfer.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
This year's Homefront Day campaign made life-changing repairs to the homes of 60 older adults on fixed incomes, single-parent households, persons with disabilities and families in transitional crisis due to illness or job loss. More than 2,000 volunteers from 50 faith groups, civic organizations and corporations joined in this hands on celebration of true community.

Area statistics underscore the increasing importance of this effort with more than 40% of older adults today still burdened with a mortgage balance. Hundreds of thousands of local residents live paycheck to paycheck, a demographic described by the United Way as A.L.I.C.E.: Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed.
Herzberg said that when Botts and Cornelius first approached him about the idea of an outdoor classroom, he did not hesitate to say yes.

I said, Lets do this. The next step was figuring out a good place for it, he said. I think we have a good location for it on the west side of our building. It is easy access in and out and protected by the tree line and the school building itself. We found a spot for it, went for it and it was the boys who made it all happen.

Botts and Cornelius said they had to draw up a plan, turn it in and get it approved. Once it was approved, they began working to construct the outdoor classroom.

The two began building the outdoor classroom last school year. They said it took them until last month to complete it. Botts said the long winter caused some delays in completing the project. His part of the project was setting up poles, painting them and setting up the sails around it. Cornelius said he helped pour the cement foundation and worked on the landscaping.

Cindy Johnson, president of the chamber, said she was impressed with the Boy Scouts efforts.
A hearty Saturday Salute goes this week to all those who helped make this years Go Big Give successful.

Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties came together to raise $1,065,354 by the end of the 24-hour Go Big Give event Thursday.

The proceeds of this online fund drive benefit 131 nonprofit organizations in the four-county area served by the Heartland United Way. This was the sixth annual Go Big Give organized by United Way and the Grand Island Community Foundation.

Each year, the amount raised and the number of organizations benefiting have increased. But this year the organizers went big in setting a goal of raising $1 million. And the people of Central Nebraska came through, surpassing that goal.

In addition to raising money, the event also helps its participating organizations get their names and their missions out in front of the public. Many of them have been quietly providing services without much publicity, but Go Big Give provides a means to increase community awareness.

In addition, Go Big Give organizers have been working with the nonprofits on their techniques, such as social media skills and donor engagement.
ALTON  Despite a brutal winter and soggy spring, construction is moving along on the Moeller Cancer Center on the OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys Health Center campus in Alton.

OSF Project Manager Charles Miller says construction is 75 percent toward completion and despite the weather, the new state-of-the-art cancer center will open in early October. The building will allow patients to receive comprehensive cancer care from the regions only full-time oncology team in the Riverbend/Alton area.

New, cutting edge equipment will provide individualized treatment for an expanded variety of cancers and new cancer specialists will enhance services and targeted treatment options. Among the new providers is Dr. Raman Kumar, a surgeon with specialized training in colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States for both men and women combined. Colon and rectal surgeons are experts in the surgical and non-surgical treatment and Dr. Kumar can offer community screening for early detection, treatment, and follow-up care.

Impact of Weather

Winter came early in November and rain has been an issue according to Miller. But, he says the building will be substantially complete in July, allowing for installation of high-tech equipment, artwork, furniture, and supplies. However, Miller adds River City Construction has been working overtime, including adding weekend crews to meet deadlines.

Youre starting to see what the building is going to look like, Miller offered. He points out brick work is complete on the 2,000-foot long walkway connecting the free-standing center to the hospital. The connection will make for easy access to therapy, treatment and support services. Structural steel is in place for the front entry facing Central Avenue. Inside, there are areas with completed drywall and painting where fixtures have already been installed.

OSF Saint Anthonys Health Center CEO and President Ajay Pathak is excited the community is so close to having expanded capacity for the highest quality care and outcomes. The new center will offer convenient access clinical expertise and support services all under one roof.

Its a blessing to have dedicated physicians and Mission Partners embedded here in the care and journey of our patients from detection and diagnosis through survivorship. We look forward to advance this as we approach our opening this fall, said Pathak.

New Space for Collaboration and Education

The 15,500-square-foot building will have new spaces, including conference rooms for collaboration between medical staff along with opportunities for prevention screenings and education. Patient consultation rooms will offer a place for in-depth, confidential communication involving personalized care teams, patients and their families.

Medical Oncologist and Chief of Staff for OSF Saint Anthonys Dr. Manpreet Sandhu, believes a lot of oncology work is communication. We focus on how we communicate with the patient  how were able to give hope to a person who may not have hope. Her approach emphasizes making a connection with the patient and instilling confidence about the care they are receiving.

If the patient needs radiation and medical oncology, we are going to be able keep them in the same area for direct communication between doctors in front of the patient.

Community Support is Strong

The Riverbend has already responded in a way that convinces OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys leaders the community is eager to help re-imagine how to defeat the most relentless enemy of this generation. With its connection to OSF Innovation and one of the Top 10 Simulation and Education Centers in the U.S., the new Moeller Cancer Center will be able to utilize new tools, techniques, and devices for oncologists and others on the care team for treatment that improves outcomes.

OSF HealthCare has committed $11.5 million toward the $14 million cancer center. As evidence of the strong community support, the $2.5 million capital campaign is already at 80 percent of its goal.

I believe the communitys dedication and commitment to the Moeller Cancer Center campaign demonstrates the Riverbends belief in the need for a unique, patient-centered facility to provide the highest level of care, said Mark Kratschmer, former OSF Saint Anthonys Foundation Board member and is current Chair of the Community Board.

Healing Art Flows In

The local artist community responded overwhelmingly to a request for submissions of photography, paintings and three-dimensional art to add to the healing environment. The pieces will reflect the beauty of the Riverbend and will feature themes of hope, renewal and re-birth. The review committee received an astounding 522 submissions.

Most were in the form of photographs but artists put forward 81 paintings and 17 works in the 3D category.

We are very excited about the engagement, talent, and heart shown by members of the Riverbend community in all of the submissions, said Sister M. Anselma, chief operating officer for OSF Saint Anthonys.

It gives me great joy and peace to know that we will create an environment that is not just generic in form, and is created by the community, for the community, and reflects the community. This is home, and the OSF Healthcare Moeller Cancer Center will have the comfort and familiarity of home and family!

There is an online donation option to take cancer care to the next level in the Riverbend or donations by phone are available at (618) 463-5168.
Godfrey  A select group of women dedicated to their community and improving the lives of others was honored Thursday at the Alton YWCAs Women of Distinction Award event, now in its 29th year.

Selected by a volunteer panel of judges from who the names of each years nominees are withheld, the 10 honorees represent a diversity of achievements and include business owners, mentors, teachers, school administrators, caregivers and community leaders, among others.
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Linkedin Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019 09:56 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360d44a 1 Lifestyle #fashion,#fashion-designers,#FashionShow,#Muslim,#Jakarta,#Malang,#Muffest Free

Eight designers from Malang, East Java, have joined the countrys top Muslim fashion designers to present their collections at the fourth Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST) in Jakarta.

The eight designers, who are members of the Malang chapter of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, presented four pieces each in a showcase event ahead of their main presentations at the fashion festival, which runs until Saturday.

Agus Sunandar said their collections used the theme nerdypan". "Nerdy is said to represent the freedom and simplicity of their designs, while pan is taken from Jodipan, a kampung in Malang where the roofs of houses and walls are painted with a myriad of colors.

In designing his collection, Agus, one of the eight designers, was inspired by fashion trends among punk youngsters who hang out in and around the streets of Malang.

He created red-and-black tops with checkered motifs mixed with black leather accessories. The hats are designed to resemble the Mohawk hair style to complete the overall look, he said.

Designer Alfatir Muhammad, who was the first designer to showcase his designs in the catwalk during the showcase in Malang, took inspiration from the vibrant colors found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with models strutting the catwalk in stylish sunglasses. He also accentuated his designs with embroidery.

Designer Noor Umer came up with burka-like pieces, with edgy cutting dominated by white and stripped skirts or pants, while Ajeng Cahya took inspiration from Jodipans colorful and geometric-shaped murals.

Agus said it had taken the eight designers around two months to prepare their new collections for MUFFEST, with each scheduled to present eight pieces at the festival.

We require [the designers] to work together with batik and tenun makers in Malang to create their designs, in the hopes that Malang can become an important player in Indonesias fashion industry," he said.
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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019

Visiting outlying islands in this sprawling archipelago reveals an unease felt about Java, the denominator of Indonesia. From Aceh to West Papua live citizens who see the nations largest ethnic group as oppressive colonialists.

First President Sukarno used a common language, universal education and the non-denominational Pancasila philosophy to create the unitary state.

When these did not work, persuasion turned to force.
A recent field survey conducted by environmental organization Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, in collaboration with the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) and supported by Chevron, has spotted 10 endangered Javan leopards in Guntur Papandayan conservation forest, West Java.

The leopard sightings were caught on 60 camera traps previously set up by CI Indonesia for a two-year field survey, from 2016 to 2018.

Eighty-three images captured by the cameras show that the leopards roam the conservation forest in the morning from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and at night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Read also: How you can help conserve Indonesia's endangered species

CI Indonesias terrestrial program division senior manager, Anton Ario, said his organization and the BBKSDA had spent a considerable amount of time monitoring the Javan leopards to accurately record the number of the animals left in Guntur Papandayan.

Each individual leopard can be identified based on its distinctive body size, sex and pattern, Anton said in a statement, adding that the field survey had identified three male adults and seven female adults around Guntur Papandayan.

He went on to say that images from the field survey had shown Guntur Papandayan as a passable habitat for Javan leopards, despite recent reports of illegal logging.

In addition to Javan leopards, Guntur Papandayan is also home to other endangered species such as the Javan gibbon, the Javan surili (grizzled leaf monkey), the Javan hawk-eagle and the Javan slow loris. (rfa/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sat, May 4, 2019 12:04 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873610488 2 Art & Culture Arc-de-Triomphe,Paris,monument,restoration Free

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was ransacked during a "yellow vest" protest last year, will be entirely restored for next week's VE Day celebrations, the French government said Friday.

The monument, which contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier, was vandalized during an anti-government demonstration in December that ended in rioting and looting.

Culture Minister Franck Riester said 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) was spent restoring damaged statues and equipment inside the landmark at the top of the Champs-Elysees.

As well as spraying its walls with graffiti and breaking equipment, rioters smashed artworks, including a 1930s copy of a famous sculpture of "The Marseillaise" by Francois Rude representing Victory, which was molded from the 19th-century original.

The mould of the 'Genie de la patrie', which was damaged by protestors on the sidelines of the 'yellow vest' (gilets jaunes) demonstrations on December 1, 2018, is seen in a gallery of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on May 3, 2019, following renovation works. The Arc de Triomphe, ransacked and vandalised in December during a demonstration of the 'Yellow Vests', has been completely restored just in time for the May 8 ceremonies that mark the end of the Second World War in France, the French government announced on May 3. Martin BUREAU / AFP (AFP/Martin Bureau)

"The restoration has been done in only a few months, which is very fast," said Riester, while praising the work.

He said everything would be ready Wednesday when VE Day celebrations mark the 74th anniversary of Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies on May 8, 1945.

Read also: Arc de Triomphe to reopen after Paris protest damage

The monument, which was built by Napoleon to commemorate his many military victories, reopened less than a fortnight after rioters broke into it on December 1, though some areas remained cordoned off.

Each year, more than 1.5 tourists visit the Arc de Triomphe, mostly to take in the view down the Champs-Elysees.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo last month announced that he had received permission to wrap the world-famous landmark next April in the signature style he developed with his late French wife Jeanne-Claude.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873613e69 4 Entertainment Chrissy-Teigen,David-Chang,Hulu Free

Model-cookbook author Chrissy Teigen is to team up with American restaurateur David Chang, who is famous for establishing Momofuku restaurant group, to host a cooking show that marks the birth of streaming platform Hulus first food-focused program.

Independent reports that the content of the show will be co-created by Vox Media Studios, Changs Majordomo Media and Teigens Suit and Thai Productions.

Chang was quoted by Independent as saying that he hoped to keep integrating new perspectives into the content, sharing stories about culture and bringing change to the current idea of a food television shows capability.

Since opening his first Momofuku Noodle Bar in a no-frills East Village storefront in 2004, David Chang has become renowned as a chef who shakes things up. (Bloomberg/-)

I think theres an audience out there that understands and celebrates the world through food, and theyre hungry for shows that feed their sense of curiosity in new ways, said Chang.

Hulu is reportedly confident about securing a multi-year deal with the model and the restaurateur.

Read also: Anthony Bourdain wins posthumous Emmy for 'Parts Unknown'

The first show to be produced will be named Family Style, which will revolve around the ways in which people express their love for friends and family by cooking and eating together, Glamour reported from a media release.

Besides the cooking show, Teigen curates and produces original programming from scripted drama series to talk shows, Hollywood Reporter wrote. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, May 5, 2019 03:34 964 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873619e29 4 Parents lying,children,children-development Free

Almost all children invent lies for some inexplicable reasons. According to a study, this behavior is absolutely normal and is even an important and healthy step in their development, Parents reported. The research revealed why and how lying becomes a social skill.

The study, led by Kang Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, examined the "lying skills" of young children.

Read also: Being born poor affects a childs brain activity

According to the study, the tendency to lie starts quite early and increases over the years. In the study, 30 percent of 2-year-old toddlers started inventing lies. Later at age 3, half of all analyzed children lied, while even more children at the age of 4, about 80 percent of them, told lies. Moreover, almost all of those between the age of 5 and 7 lied.

However, Lee said that this behavior was normal and an important milestone in a childs development.

He conducted a study in which a group of pre-school children in China were divided into two groups. The first group of children were given theory-of-mind training, while the remaining half were taught skills for number and spatial problem-solving.

In theory-of-mind training, children are taught to understand what goes on in somebody elses head, to know what they know and what they dont know. The better a child is at theory-of-mind, the more sophisticated their lies. Subsequently, the child will develop executive function abilities, which is the power to plan ahead and curb unwanted actions.

Lee told Parents that the 30 percent of toddlers who could lie had higher executive function abilities. This was a sign of cognitive sophistication he said, adding that the young liars would utilize it to gain more success in school and in their interactions with other children during playtime. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Chicago, United States  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:05 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873617dfd 2 People YouTube,child-porn,child-pornography,YouTubers,sexual-harassment Free

A YouTube musical celebrity was sentenced Friday in a Chicago courtroom to 10 years in prison for enticing girls as young as 14 to produce sexually explicit videos of themselves.

Austin Jones, who posted online videos of himself performing songs for a fan base of primarily teenage girls, was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of child pornography.

As part of his plea, Jones admitted to a total of six identified victims and approximately 30 attempts to persuade other girls to send him child pornography, according to prosecutors.

A federal judge on Friday imposed a 10-year prison sentence on the 26-year-old, who could have gotten as little as five years or as many as 20, according to sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors, pointing to text messages, alleged in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court that Jones targeted young girls under the pretense of "auditions" for modeling and other opportunities.

Read also: Indonesia a haven for child pornography

"I'm just trying to help you! I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else," Jones told one 14-year-old victim via Facebook messenger, according to the court filing.

Prosecutors said Facebook tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Jones's conversations with 14- and 15-year-old girls using the social media service's private messaging feature.

Jones's defense lawyers had asked that he be sentenced to five years on the basis of mitigating circumstances having to do with the man's childhood.

"Austin was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse by his father from age six until age 10. He was young, helpless and scared," his attorney's wrote in a court filing.

They claimed Jones suffered from severe depression and other mental health problems.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019

Amid heightened competition, news media companies must find new business models if they want to thrive without neglecting their responsibilities as the press, a Press Council member has said.

The idea was conveyed by Press Council member Imam Wahyudi during a panel discussion held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day -- which falls on May 3 -- in Jakarta on Friday.

"This is not only a challenge for news media companies themselves, but also for the academics to help find new business models so the press can survive," Imam said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361372d 1 Business Angkasa-Pura-II,Airport,soekarno-hatta-airport,Terminal-3,Indonesia,Hotel Free

Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (APII) signed on Thursday an agreement with construction company PT Wijaya Karya Tbk and Wika Gedung to build a second hotel at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

The new hotel will be constructed in the domestic area of Terminal 3, right next to the parking lot. The three-star hotel will consist of 150 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2020.

AP II director Muhammad Awaluddin said the operator had allocated Rp 300 billion (US$21 million) to construct the hotel, which is part of a wider strategy to boost income.

The world-class airport operator should be able to take advantage of its business potential. We target to generate Rp 500 billion in income from our [non-traditional] business area, Muhammad said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Aside from a planned hotel at Soekarno-Hattas domestic terminal, construction for a four-star hotel at the international area of Terminal 3 is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in November. (dpk/swd)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali  Sat, May 4, 2019 11:27 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360fca6 1 National NgurahRaiAirport,shuttle-buses Free

Travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali can now ride on a public shuttle bus connecting the airport and other parts of the resort island, after the service was previously suspended for months.

The Trans Sarbagita public bus service was relaunched on Thursday, after a one-week trial.

"This is a good thing. [Affordable] public transportation is extremely needed nowadays," airport general manager Haruman Sulaksono said during the relaunch.

The bus will serve two routes, the airport to Nusa Dua via Jimbaran and the airport to Batubulan in Gianyar via Kuta and Denpasar. The bus stops are located in the pick-up zones of both the domestic and international terminals.

As there are currently only six buses serving the two routes, the shuttle service will run three times a day. The route to Nusa Dua departs at 9.15 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. local time, while buses to Batubulan will depart at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. Buses depart according to the same schedule from Batubulan and Nusa Dua to the airport.

The cost of a trip is just Rp 3,500 (25 US Cents), while students with a valid student ID can use the service for free.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster welcomed the relaunch of the service, promising more transportation innovation.

"In the future, we should build and expand transportation [infrastructure] in innovative ways," he said.

The Sarbagita public bus service was first launched in 2011 by then-governor Made Mangku Pastika. Then, Sarbagita connected Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan. However, the service was suspended due to the low number of passengers. (swd)
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Sat, May 4, 2019 20:24 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361696d 1 National KPK,judge,corruption,bribery Free

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested on Friday five people in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, as part of a bribery case related to a trial that involved businessmen Sudarman as the defendant and Balikpapan District Court judge Kayat.

In addition to Sudarman and Kayat, the three others arrested were Balikpapan District Court clerk Facrul Azami, lawyer Jhonson Siburian and Jhonsons staff member Rosa Isabela.

"The operation was conducted at the Balikpapan court on Jl. Sudirman at around 5 p.m.," said East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ade Yaya Suryana on Friday night.

The antigraft body said it had caught Jhonson and Rosa red-handed giving Kayat bribe money inside the Balikpapan District Court compound in exchange for clearing Sudarman in a case Kayat presided in 2018.

KPK investigators confiscated a total of Rp 227.5 million (US$16,018) from different places, including Kayats car and Jhonsons office.

"The judge was bribed to release the defendant, said KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif.

According to the KPK, Kayat offered to release Sudarman, a defendant in a document forgery case, in exchange for Rp 500 million. Sudarman, through his lawyer, agreed but delayed the payment until after he was declared not guilty and released.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah suggested that investigators had been watching Kayat for some time.

"[The arrest] was not based on one case only," Febri said without elaborating.

Kayat was also a judge in the trial of an oil spill in Balikpapan Bay last year.

He sentenced MV Ever Judger captain Zhang Deyi to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 15 billion in February for causing an oil pipe leak that triggered a massive fire and led to the death of five people.

Meanwhile, Jhonson is also known as an activist and chairman of the National Corruption Watch (NCW), which also advocates land issues in Balikpapan. (ggq/swd)

Topics : KPK judge corruption bribery
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, May 4, 2019 19:32 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8736160c4 1 National electric-pushbike,Medan,North-Sumatra,HKBP-Nommensen-University Free

State-owned electricity firm PLN in cooperation with HKBP Nommensen University (UHN) in Medan, North Sumatra, launched on Thursday its first becak motor or betor (electric tricycle) during a National Education Day celebration.

The electric tricycles can travel at high speeds with 2,000 watts of electricity, said Parulian Siagian, head of the UHN School of Technologys electric pushbike innovation team.

He added that they can reach up to 40 kilometers per hour with a passenger, and 50 km to 60 km per hour without a passenger.

The becak motor has been thoroughly tested, so it is ready to be operated, Parulian said.

Development on the vehicles began in December 2018 and was inspired by the need for green transportation.

UHN rector Haposan Siallagan said the tricycles were designed to be energy efficient and promote the unique cultural characteristics of North Sumatra.

According to North Sumatra PLN finance manager Jhon Horas Tobing, electric charging stations have been established across the province, so that users would not have to worry about running out of power.

PLN has built 15 public electric charging stations [SPLU] in North Sumatra, so [users] shouldnt worry, he said. (swd)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4 2019

Political bigwigs supporting incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo may be getting ready to welcome the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) into the ruling coalition.

That does not mean, however, that the two will find it easy to get strategic positions in the upcoming Cabinet.

The possibility of the Democrats and PAN joining the incumbents camp became the talk of the town after the President met with Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at Merdeka Palace on Thursday.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:08 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873618365 1 National correctional-facility,Nusakambangan-prison,NusakambanganPrisonIsland,Indonesia,prisoners,prison-officers Free

Human rights activists have slammed the correctional officers of Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java after a video of them mistreating inmates went viral on social media.

The footage was posted on Instagram account @lambe_turah and showed prison guards dragging bound and handcuffed inmates across the dirt, some of whom could be seen with wounds across their back.

According to Kerobokan Prison warden Tony Nainggolan, some of the inmates in the video had been transferred from Kerobokan in Bali to Nusakambangan on March 28.

They were healthy when we handed them over to the [Bali] police, who then took charge of their transfer to the Nusakambangan Police, Tony said as quoted by tribunnews.com. I can make no further comments on this matter.

In response to the video, the Law and Human Rights Ministrys corrections directorate general has removed the Nusakambangan Narcotics Prison warden.

We are condemning the violent act [and] inhumane treatment of inmates, as per the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [UNCAT], which has been ratified by Indonesia, Anggara, executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The institute encouraged the Law and Human Rights Ministry, as well as its corrections directorate general, to launch an investigation to address the issue.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 10:45 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360e861 1 City suicide,suicidal,death,North-Jakarta,police,depression Free

A woman, identified as CV, died after allegedly jumping from the fourth floor of a mall in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.

"The woman allegedly committed suicide. Her body was rushed to the RSCM Hospital [Central Jakarta]," head of Penjaringan Police Reskrim, Comr. Mustakim said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mustakim revealed that CV was eating with her family at a fast food restaurant in the mall before she reportedly excused herself to go to the toilet.

"But after 30 minutes, she still had not come back, Mustakim said.

A witness reportedly saw her step on the railing on the fourth floor and then jump.

[Her family] became aware after seeing the crowd," Mustakim said.

Mustakim said that CV allegedly committed suicide because of private matters.

The police are currently questioning witnesses and the parents, although CCTV footage shows the victim jumping from the mall's fourth floor. (das)
HIV and Aids was first discovered in 1981 when an unusual outbreak of pneumonia in gay men was announced in the US.

101,600 people living with HIV in the UK' There are now an estimated '(2017). However, science is fighting back and the second person in the world has recently been reported as cured from the disease.

Image Credit: CDC and PHIL on Wikimedia Commons



This breakthrough came in 1996 when ART was first introduced to HIV patients. Now science is taking an even bigger step, with the second person in 12 years recently being cured. The man known only as the London patient was, like Timothy Ray Brown (the first man to be cured from HIV), suffering from cancer at the time of treatment. The New York Times spoke to the London Patient, who said that it was surreal" and "overwhelming" learning that he could be cured of both HIV and cancer.

Image Credit: Greta Hughson on Flickr

Unfortunately this cure is still very much a trial. Predictably, it causes a huge strain on its patients, with Mr Brown nearly dying in the process.

mutation in a protein called CCR5 which rests on the surface of certain immune cells. HIV uses the protein to enter those cells but cannot latch on to the mutated version, The process involves undergoing a bone marrow transfer to cure the cancer. The transfer has to be from a donor with athe New York Times said. This is then followed by harsh immunosuppressive drugs which can cause some long-term effects. The transfer, in both these cases, cures the cancer and the transplanted immune cells now resist HIV and have replaced the old cells. Thankfully the drugs that are currently being used are less intense than when the 'Berlin Patient' was undergoing his transplant.

virus-free After having his transfer in May 2016, the London Patient stopped taking his anti-HIV drugs in September 2017 and is the first person since the Berlin Patient to remain '' over a year down the line.

Image Credit: Rick on Wikimedia Commons

Princess Diana made the real change Not only has the science changed but the stigma surrounding the disease is also rapidly shifting. HIV is very much present in the media now.when she was seen touching a patient, something that people once believed could give you the disease. She abolished a lot of fear and stigma surrounding AIDS and HIV through the endless amount of charity work she took part in, and her sons continued this after her.

History is currently being made through these changes. The fact that there have been two people to be cured from a disease that has been around for 38 years and was once fatal to most is quite frankly ground-breaking. This research is giving people hope that not only can they live with HIV but they can now be free from it completely. There is still a long way to go before this is a common occurrence and the process is still very difficult and comes with complications. However the fact that it has now been done twice stands people in good stead. Hopefully there will be many more people who can join the Berlin and London patient in being cured in the near future.
His Majesty the King grants royal pardon to categories of convicts ahead of coronation

THAILAND: To mark the coronation and allow convicts the chance to be good citizens for the national interest, His Majesty the King has granted pardons and commuted sentences for many categories of prisoners, including some on death row and offenders on probation.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:50AM

Convicts attending a religious ceremony before their release in 2015. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

The Royal Gazette published a royal decree on the royal pardons on Friday (May 3), effective today (May 4). Those who receive pardons include convicts in confinement, offenders performing public service instead of fines, those on probation, inmates with a year or less remaining on their sentence, or with serious disabilities and illnesses, such as terminal cancer and Aids.

The royal amnesty also applies to women jailed for the first time who have served at least half their sentence, those aged 60 years and over with remaining terms up to three years and prisoners aged 70 and above.

Other beneficiaries include first-time prisoners younger than 20 years who have served at least half their sentence and model prisoners with up to two years of their sentence remaining.

Those on death row face life imprisonment instead.

Jail terms were commuted for those sentenced to life imprisonment and drug offenders sentenced to eight years or longer, or life imprisonment, or who are aged 70 years or more.

Recidivists and inmates who are not model prisoners or have been badly behaved are not entitled to the pardon.
His Majesty the King performs first royal function, promises prosperity

THAILAND: His Majesty performed his first royal function this afternoon (May 4) after being crowned by granting an audience for royal family members and other dignitaries.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 05:59PM

His Majesty the King grants an audience to royal family members and other distinguished guests at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. Photo: TV Pool/Public Relations Department

The King hosted the audience in what was his first function at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace hours after he was formally crowned. (Read more here).

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn represented the royal family members in delivering a speech on their behalf. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public. Privy councillors also attended the function.

Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative branch and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon spoke for the judicial branch. All paid homage to the King on the occasion of his coronation.

Diplomats and other foreign dignitaries were invited to the audience.

HRH Princess Sirindhorn commended the King for his kingship and promised loyalty to His Majesty: On behalf of the royal family members, we are determined to show loyalty and perform our best for the Chakri Dynasty, she said.

The King, in his return message, invited all people to perform to the best of their ability to help the country and pledged further prosperity for Thailand.

His Majesty formally designated Queen Suthida as Her Majesty the Queen after he completed the coronation rites on Saturday morning.
History preserved: Rare footage gives glimpse into the royal coronation of King Rama VII

Before the reign of King Rama VII of the Chakri Dynasty, royal coronation ceremonies had never been filmed. As of now, the footage from the ceremonies of King Rama VII and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are the only two existing coronation motion pictures available in Thailand.

HistoryCulture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:00AM

In light of the coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on May 4, the rare historical footage of King Rama VIIs coronation was recently screened by the Thai Film Archive whose experts did a marvellous job preserving the film shot almost 100 years ago. The oldest surviving motion picture of the age-old royal ceremony, the footage is of great historical significance not just among historians but also all Thai citizens.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation is an extremely valuable historical asset especially when it comes to the study of the history of the Rattanakosin period as it is the unprecedented detailed filming of coronation rites and rituals. The ceremonies of King Rama I up to King Rama V were recorded but only in written chronicles and archives and only in summary, said historian Asst Prof Dinar Boontharm from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. Dinar specialises in royal coronation ceremonies and sacred rituals in the royal court.

According to Dinar, filming coronation rites was first done during the reign of King Rama VII or around 1925. Prior to that, the ceremony was first photographed during the reign of King Rama V. Even so, only the post-ceremony coronation portrait was captured  rather than the entire process  with the new king dressed in full. Such a coronation portrait was to be distributed to newspapers as well as heads of state in foreign countries.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation recently screened at the Thai Film Archive was shot by the Film Department of the State Railway of Thailand on 35mm nitrate film, an antique format that still preserves the detail and quality of the images even after nearly a century. After being digitalised by the Film Archive, it was made accessible to the public so that they could see those rare historical moments ahead of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkuns coronation, which will be held, according to Dinar, based on the ceremony of the late King Bhumibol.

Former director of the Thai Film Archive and film historian Dome Sukhawong recalled his discovery of the coronation footage in an old building in Bangkoks Rong Muang Road in 1981. Back then, Dome was in search of footage of Nang Sao Suwan (Miss Suwanna Of Siam), thought to be the first Thai feature film, made with support from the State Railway of Thailand.

During his quest, he ended up at a residence previously owned by a railway staffer. There he found over 500 rolls of old films, most in decayed condition. All the films were later found to be events during King Rama VIIs period, along with deleted and edited scenes from the full version of the coronation footage.

That [King Rama VII period] was the first time all detailed processes of the coronation ceremony were allowed to be filmed from inside the palace, explained Dome. Although filming could be practised too during the time of King Rama VI, the King did not give royal permission for the coronation to be shot from inside the palace. Private filming crew or locals who then owned 16mm cameras could film the coronation events but only from outside.

King Rama VII, on the contrary, allowed the Film Department under the State Railway to shoot the entire coronation.

The then Film Department functioned just like the Government Public Relations Department of today, Dome added. In the past, movies were the only means mostly accessible by the general public regardless of gender, age and social status. Newspapers were available only in big cities and were read only by the upper- and middle-class. Broadcast radio wasnt available. So when there were important events, people saw them through public cinemas, which served as a television for the neighbourhood.

As with other momentous events, King Rama VIIs coronation was filmed and screened before the public. This outdoor theatre screened the 35mm full-version of the coronation footage, which was over an hour long. The audience had to pay a fee to see the film.

An abridged version was later created by the Film Department to sell to any Thais who wished to purchase the footage as a meaningful memorabilia. The 500 film rolls Dome discovered were neither of these two versions, but outtakes out of the full, final version. The official hour-long footage was lost to time. Even though they are just segments edited out of the final version, the footage provides significant, in-depth knowledge of the royal ancient rite.

The footage was also an inspiration for the late British archaeologist Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, a state officer in the reign of King Rama VII, to complete his thesis  with much of the material obtained while serving his post in Siam. In 1931, Wales  a professor in archaeology and Southeast Asia history at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  published a book titled Siamese State Ceremonies, which was later translated into Thai and is now available for purchase at leading bookstores.

At the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama I ordered that all details and knowledge about the coronation be revised and recorded in a coronation reference book, which compiled all the coronation rites and processes as practised during the Ayutthaya period. Information in the book was obtained from conversations with royal family members and state officers that lived during the Ayutthaya period.

Several elements and practices adopted from the West were added to the coronation of King Rama IV. The United Kingdom was the country that most influenced the coronation given that the coronation of Queen Victoria was held only 13 years before King Rama IV.

Thailand and Western countries have different coronation concepts. As influenced by Indian civilisation together with Brahmin and Buddhist beliefs, coronation in Thailand puts more emphasis on a water-related process such as purification and anointment. In the West, the crowning ceremony is the highlight.

Before the reign of King Rama IV, the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut or the Great Crown of Victory  one of the royal regalia  wasnt worn by the King at the coronation. Adopting coronation concepts from the West, King Rama IV was the first to change this and had the King actually wear the crown at the coronation. He also sent a court officer to purchase the diamond from Calcutta, India, and put the crown jewel at the top of the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, just like Queen Victorias crown.

The coronation of the late King Bhumibol in 1950 followed the practice of King Rama VII after the country survived World War II and the Siamese revolution of 1932. However, certain steps of the ceremony were removed.

To see the footage of King Rama VIIs coronation, visit https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/1662792/king-rama-7-coronation-ceremony

 Arusa Pisuthipan
Merit-making ceremony held at Wat Phra Thong to pay respect to His Majesty the King

PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung led a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phra Thong in Thalang today (May 4) to pay respect to His Majesty the King ahead of the Royal Coronation.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 04:09PM

Government officials, civil servants and local residents gathered at 7am to pay respect to the Kings image and take part in alms-giving ceremonies  donating food and other goods to the 99 monks who also attended, and receiving blessings from them in return.

Attendees were dressed in yellow, the Kings heraldic colour. The government has urged the public to wear yellow until the Kings birthday in July.

From 9am, attendees watched a live broadcast of the coronation ceremony as the King took part in a purification bathing rite with consecrated water, was presented with the royal regalia and was crowned the King of Thailand. (Read more here).

A live stream of the ceremony is available to watch here.
Royal Coronation: Ancient ceremony steeped in tradition

The Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will be conducted today, witnessed by millions of people either present in person attending the historic event or through the live broadcasts to 170 countries worldwide. The ceremonies to be witnessed today are steeped in Thai tradition and history, as explained in this article provided by the Thai Ministry of Culture.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 09:00AM

The Primary Royal Ceremonies

Preliminary ceremonies to the Primary Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of the chanting of prayers by monks, the arrangement of sacred water within the circle of holy thread, and the lighting of auspicious candles.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I), the Preliminary Ceremony started on the eve of the previous day when His Majesty lit the candle to pay homage to the Threefold Refuge as monks chanted prayers. On the next morning, His Majesty offered morning food alms to monks, the first of three days of offerings.

The custom has been practiced to the present. Although the Brahman ceremonies may have been practiced since the early period of Rattanakosin, there is little evidence to confirm it.

In the reign of King Rama V, there was a mention of the ceremony of raising the royal seven-tiered umbrella onto the Atha Disa and the Bhadrapitha Royal Thrones inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

Also, ablation offerings to deities were generally conducted at the Brahman shrines in Bangkok. Furthermore, there was an additional ceremony of offering a sacred ceremonial object to His Majesty the King, such as, the conch shell used for pouring water of blessing, the bael leaf to be worn behind his ear, the bundle of auspicious of leaves called Samit, composed of three kinds of leaves: mango, Bai thong and Indian plum. These leaves are believed to prevent harmful things from approaching the King. His Majesty ritually brushed himself with Samit, on the head and hair, to symbolize purification.

When finished, he gave them back to the Chief Brahmin, who then ceremonially burned each of the leaves in a Brahman ceremony of purification by fire. After that, the King went to his residential bed to listen to the chanting of Paritra prayers that continued for three days.

The preliminary ceremonies from King Rama V continued to be practiced in the reigns of King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), there were some practical changes in the ceremony. It limited the religious ceremony in the Preliminary session to only one evening of the previous day of the Royal Coronation Ceremony, held on Thursday, May 4, 1950.

The process included the chanting of prayers by monks seated on a pedestal. For the Brahman ceremony, three dais are placed in descending order. Each is enshrined with wooden icons of deities for use in the royal Augurs prayers. The ceremony is completed on that day and the pedestals are removed on the next day.

An offering is given to pay homage to the great royal tiered umbrella of the five Halls: the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall, the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall, the Chakri Maha Prasad Throne Hall, the Ananta Samagom Throne Hall and the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall. Offerings were given to another 13 monuments and important places in Bangkok also.*

On Thursday, May 4, 1950, at 10:00 am, the scribe moved the ceremonial tray of the Royal Golden Plaque, the Royal Horoscope and the Royal Seal of State from the ubosot of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram. These were placed on a royal palanquin that was waiting on the pavilion platform behind the temple. Then the royal palanquin moved slowly in a procession to the ceremonial stage at Baisal Daksin Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is composed of:

the Ablution or Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek,

the Anointment Ceremony or the Offering of the Abhisek Water from the eight representatives of the eight cardinal directions of the compass, at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, and

the Presentation of the Royal Throne and the Royal Regalia in the Crowning and Investiture Ceremonies, at the Bhadrapitha Throne inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

The Royal Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek

Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the king, called Ablution. This holy water is called the Muratha Bhisek Water. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person.

According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution. The water used for ablution in the Purification Ceremony will flow out from under a canopied shower head.

The sacred water is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand. In Thailand, they were collected from the five important rivers, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, and from the four Sacred Ponds. They were combined with purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom. Also added was the prepared holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session from the day before.

For the Purification or the Song Muratha Bhisek Ceremony in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty sat in the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne at the pavilion constructed for the Purification Ceremony. Then the presiding official turned on the shower sending water of purification over His Majesty for the Ablution.

After that, the Supreme Patriarch came forth to bestow benediction by sprinkling water onto His Majesty the Kings back. He then presented the Nophakhun Yantra into the hands of His Majesty. This was followed by Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Rangsit Prayurasakdi Krom Khun Jainad Narendra, offering His Majesty holy water from Phra Tao Bencha Khap, or the water vessel, into His Majestys hands.

Then, the royal Augur presented the holy water from the nine deities to His Majesty, who upon receiving them, poured them onto his left and right shoulders.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni (Sawat Rangsibrahmanakul), presented His Majesty with holy water from the great conch shell, the deity-blessed holy water from the Phra Tao Bencha Khap or water vessel, and the bronze water container.

Later, His Majesty was presented with the bael leaf, which he put behind his ear and the Kathin leaf, which he held in his hand. Then, Phraya Anurak Ratcha Mondhien (Kat Wacharothai) presented His Majesty with the sacred conch or chank shell (Turbinella pyrum.)

During the ceremonial procedure, while monks chanted prayers of benediction, officials played music from conch shells with music from a bugle, bronze drums and a Thai musical ensemble.

The guards of honor stood in salutation and the brass band played the royal anthem of Thailand. The artillerymen shot cannons for an auspicious victory to honor His Majesty the King.

The Royal Anointment Ceremony or Abhisek

After His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) performed the Purification ceremony, he changed into the Regal Vestments. He left the Ablution ceremonial pavilion to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

There, he sat on the Atha Disa Throne, with the seven-tiered umbrella or Saweta Chatra placed above it. A representative of the Parliament presented His Majesty with the Anointment Water.

The chief Brahmin presented him with eight vessels of the Brahmin holy water from each of the eight cardinal directions of the compass. As he was presented with each vessel, the King turned to its corresponding direction, and ended sitting in the direction facing east once again.

The ceremony proceeded with Chao Phraya Si Dhamadhibes (Chit Na Songkhla), the Chairman of the Senate, presenting the honorarium address to His Majesty in the Bihari language, and then, he also presented the Water of Anointment to him.

Formerly, the King was presented with the Water for Anointment from the Royal Pandit and the Chief Brahmin. However, for the Anointment Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty was the first King to receive the Anointment Water from members of Congress who were representing the eight cardinal directions of the compass. This was to signify that he was the first King in the democratic system.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, gave his address of benediction to His Majesty in the Bihari and Thai languages. Then he presented His Majesty with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State, Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra. During this procedure, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, officials shook small drums used in Brahmin rites, gongs were struck, bugles blown, and Thai musical ensembles were playing throughout the ceremonial area.

After His Majesty the King received the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State from the Chief Brahmin and gave officials, he left the Atha Disa Throne for the Bhadrapitha Throne in a royal procession, led ceremonially by the Buddha image, Phra Chai Nava Loha, and the Lord Ganesh Image, followed by the officials bringing the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra (Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State.)

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) donned the official Regal Costume for the Royal Coronation Ceremony and left the Sulalai Biman Chapel to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This ceremony took place on May 5, 1950.

The Crowning and Investiture Ceremony

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra proceeded to another throne, called the Bhadrapitha Throne, which is on the opposite side of the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This throne is under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella, or the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra. There, the chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, chanted the prayer to pay homage to the Kailasa Heaven.

He then presented the King with the Royal Golden Plaque or Phra Suphannabat, upon which is inscribed the Royal Official Title of His Majesty the King. He also presented the Royal Regalia, the Ancient and Auspicious Orders, the Royal Utensils, and the Weapons of Sovereignty.

After this moment, His Majesty the King crowned himself with the Great Crown of Victory. It is the most important procedure in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. However, what is considered the most important part of the ceremony may vary from one reign to another, depending on differing conditions.

In the ancient times, the most important part of the whole ceremony was considered to be the Anointment Ceremony. It denoted accession to power throughout the eight cardinal directions of the compass and by extension, to reign over all regions of the land.

At present, the Crowning is accepted as the highest ceremony, according to the example set in the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV). Throughout the process of the Crowning, all monks are chanting prayers of benediction, the official ensemble are blowing conch shells, beating drums, gongs and other instruments and every temple bell in the area is ringing loudly.

After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony at the Bhadrapitha Throne, the Brahmins offered blessings to His Majesty the King, and the newly crowned King presented the First Royal Command in the Thai language.

In 1873, at the time of the Second Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), His Majesty gave an instruction that the First Royal Command be spoken in the Bihari language too. From then on, it was a tradition that the First Royal Command be issued in both the Thai and Bihari languages, and continued during the reigns of King Rama V, King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) the practice was adjusted. After the Brahmins recited the prayer of benediction to His Majesty the King, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, recited his prayer of benediction in the Bihari language, after which he addressed His Majesty in Thai.

His Majesty responded by issuing his First Royal Command in Thai vowing to provide righteous protection to the people of Thailand. The Chief Brahmin accepted the First Royal Command in the Bihari language, followed by the Thai language. Next, His Majesty the King performed the gesture of pouring water as an offering to the Goddess of the Earth to ratify his responsibility of ruling righteously over the Royal Kingdom.

The Final Royal Ceremonies

The final procedures of the Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of these ceremonies: the Granting of an Audience, the Installation of the Queen, the Formal Declaration of Faith, demonstrating his willingness to become the Royal Patron of Buddhism, and by Paying Homage to the Royal Relics of previous Kings and Queens.

In addition, there is the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, and the Procession of Circumambulation around the city, Phra Nakhon, which symbolically represents the entire realm of the Kingdom.

The details of the final session of the Royal Coronation Ceremony have been adjusted to be appropriate for circumstances in each reign. The previous procedure of Granting an Audience was to allow the royal families and high officials, both military and civilian, to pay homage to the new King.

After that, the King would proceed to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall to have another audience with the royal ladies of the court, whereupon he would have been presented with twelve maidens, but this detail was revoked by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV).

Therefore, there remained only the procedure to grant an audience to civilian and military high officials and royal courtiers to pay homage to His Majesty. King Rama VI added a ceremony, the Declaration of the Royal Patronage of Buddhism into the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its addition continued in the reigns of King Rama VII and King Rama IX. Under these kings, the ceremony of the Installation of the Queen was included into the complete Royal Coronation Ceremony too.

The Assumption of the Royal Residence is another important part of the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its explanation was given by Somdetch Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab (Prince Damrong). The full Royal Coronation Ceremony is divided into two main sections: first, the Coronation Ceremony, for the glorification of the royal official title, and secondly, the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, for the King to reside in the palace. These two ceremonies do not need to be conducted together, as it was reported in some chronicles they were sometimes conducted on two separate occasions.

The royal accessories taken for the Assumption of the Royal Residence at Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence are the Royal Auspicious Items and the Royal Utensils.

The Royal Auspicious Items are the cat or Wila, the mortar stone, auspicious seeds, green gourd, golden key and a gold blossom of the betel palm. More objects were later added such as the whisk, which is made of the tail of a male white elephant and white rooster. It is carried into the ceremony by the person who bears the sacred royal staff, and is one item of the royal regalia.

Traditionally, only persons belonging to the royal family could be responsible for the bearing of the Royal Auspicious Items. In the old days, the bearers of these auspicious articles for the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony are only the women of royal families. In the Rattanakosin period, only women from royal families who held the rank of Mom Chao participated.

After the Ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, the next ritual to be held was for monks to preach to the new King at the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall.

This ceremony is not the ordinary religious service of listening to a recitation of a discourse by monks. Instead, the Supreme Patriarch and a group of Phra Racha Khana monks are invited to preach the sermon while they are seated on a special pedestal with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella overhead, and not on an ordinary pulpit.

The content of the sermon has varied from one reign to another, and first took place in the reign of King Rama V. The ceremony where the King listens to a discourse of monks is the finale of the procedures for the Royal Coronation Ceremony that take place inside the Grand Palace.

The final ceremony is outside the Grand Palace in the form of a Royal Procession to encircle the city, both by land and by water, affording people the opportunity to attend and pay homage to their new King.

During the reigns of King Rama I to King Rama III, the Royal Procession only took place by land, but in the reign of King Rama IV, the Royal Procession was conducted both by royal palanquin and by royal barge. In the reign of King Rama V, the Royal Procession was conducted only by land.

The Royal Procession was conducted again both by land and by water in the reign of King Rama VI and King Rama VII. However, the royal procession did not take place in the reign of King Rama IX. The Royal Procession on the royal palanquin or royal barge marks the conclusion of the Royal Coronation Ceremony as it was traditionally practiced in the Rattanakosin period.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is an immensely important event in countries where the monarchy remains as the core institution, and this is especially true in the Royal Kingdom of Thailand.

In Thailand, the institution of the monarchy holds all the hearts and souls of the people together. The Royal Coronation Ceremony is the formality that reveals the glory of the ascending King to the throne, assures that he holds love for all his people and accords recognition from international countries.

Most importantly, it is the ceremony that shows the stability and unity of the people as the nation.

All materials for this article are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by Ministry of Culture.
Royal Coronation: Sacred waters

The historic ceremonies of the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun that will unfold today began months ago. The earliest process in the preparation for the Royal Coronation Ceremony was to collect waters from different important sources and then consecrate and combine them for use in the Royal Purification and Anointment Ceremonies during the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 10:00AM

Governor Phakaphong carries the Kan Tor royal ceramic urn containing the sacred water, which was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong on April 6.

On April 6, 2019, across the nation was the gathering of waters to be blessed and used for the sacred water in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. This process took place in all 76 provinces, with consecration rites for the collected waters held at major temples in respective provinces for the following two days.

In Phuket, sacred water was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong, officially called Wat Chaiyathararam, because the temple well was dug during the time when the deeply revered Phra Visutthiwongsajarn Yanmunee (better known as the historical figure Luang Por Chaem) was abbot.

Many local people believe that the well is sacred and that its water is able to heal people. This same well was also used for the Royal Coronation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

At 11:52am that day, Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana led the ceremony by drawing water from the well and pouring it into a five-litre golden bowl called a Kan Sakon.

The Kan Sakon lid was then closed and covered with a blessed white cloth tied with a white ribbon. The water was then carried by procession to Wat Prathong in Thalang.

The water remained at Wat Prathong for two days of blessing ceremonies, until 1pm on April 9. During the ceremonies, the Governor decanted water from the Kan Sakon into a Kan Tor  a royal ceramic urn handmade especially for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

At 5pm that day, the Governor and his entourage and police escort departed the temple by motorcade, accompanying the water all the way to Royal Palace in Bangkok. Governors in other provinces performed the same rituals and departed their respective revered temples at the same time, though arriving in the capital over the next two days (April 10-11).

On April 12, from 1pm to 2:09pm, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration performed a water consecration rite at Ho Sattrakhom in the Grand Palace and transferred the consecrated water to the Ministry of Interior to combine it with waters from the provinces.

On April 18 at 5:30pm, the waters from 76 provinces and Bangkok were combined and taken from the Ministry of Interior to be blessed through another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkoks oldest and most important temples.

On April 19, at 7:30am, the sacred water was taken by procession from Wat Suthat to be kept at the ubosot of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, awaiting its use in the performing of Royal Ablutions

The Royal Purification Ceremony is called the Song Phra Muratha Bhisek. Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the King, called Ablution. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person. According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution.

The water used for Ablution is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, as well as water drawn from four Sacred Ponds, or Sa in Thai: Sa Ket, Sa Kaeo, Sa Khongkha and Sa Yamuna from Suphanburi.

The Bencha Suttha Khongkha river waters, or the Five Pure Streams of Ganga, are used so as to follow the belief in the use of the sacred water from the five main streams from South Asia or Chomphu Thawip in Thai.

The five rivers in Thailand from which water is drawn are the Bang Pakong River in Nakhon Nayok, the Pasak River in Saraburi, the Chao Phraya River, Ratchaburi River in Samut Songkram and the Phetchaburi River.

They are combined purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom, including Phuket, for use in the ceremony.

Also now used in the Ablution Ceremony is the holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session prepared yesterday (May 3).
Royal Coronation: The Royal Regalia

The offering of the Royal Regalia to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony today carries with it deep significance unto itself as part of the Royal Coronation ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 12:00PM

The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The offering of the Royal Regalia to the King as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony is a traditional practice from Brahmanism. The chief Brahmin, or Phra Maha Ratcha Khru, gives the address offering the Royal Regalia to the King. The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

According to the book of protocol concerning the Royal Coronation Ceremony of the King, it states the ceremonial articles to be used consist of: the Great Crown, the Royal Clothes made of red wool, the Sword, the Tiered Umbrella and the Golden Slippers.

Each item holds a symbolic meaning. The Great Crown refers to the high heavenly abode of Indra; the Red-wool Cloth represents the Khanthamat Mountain of the Sumerumat Range; the Sword represents the wisdom to cut through misunderstanding; the Six-tiered Umbrella refers to the sixth level of heaven; and the Golden Slippers are a reference of royal support to all subjects living in the royal kingdom, just as the earth is a support to the Sumerumat Mountain.

The Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State

or the Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra

The nine layers of the tiered umbrella are made of white cloth; each tier hangs into three layers trimmed with gold bands. The umbrella is topped with a finial. King Rama IV ordered the Great Tiered Umbrella to be covered with white cloth, instead of tash cloth (silk woven with threads wrapped in gold or silver thread.) It is the most important article of the whole set of Royal Regalia. His Majesty King Rama IX ordered it to be presented while he was at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, after the Anointment Ceremony.

The Royal Scepter

or Than Phra Kon

The original scepter was made during the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I). Its staff was made of Javanese Cassia wood. The finial was in the form of a trident and was gilded with gold, as was its iron hilt inlaid with gold. The scepter itself was named Than Phra Kon, but originally was named Than Phra Kon Ratchaphruek, or Royal Staff made of Javanese Cassia wood.

In the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV), His Majesty ordered a new scepter to be made of pure gold. The staff was designed to hide a sword within and it had the figure of a deity on its finial. The scepter was called Phra Saeng Sanao, and also called Than Phra Kon Thewarup or The Royal Staff with a Deity. This scepter is more a sword than royal staff, and His Majesty preferred using this new scepter than the old one.

However, His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), due to his royal admiration of heritage objects, brought back the original scepter for use again in the Royal Coronation Ceremony, and the Than Phra Kon Thewarup was not included in the ceremony of that period.

The Great Crown of Victory

or Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut

The crown was made by the royal command of King Rama I and ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. The whole crown is 66 centimetres high and weighs 7.3 kilograms. King Rama IV later ordered the Phum Khao Bin tip of the crown replaced with a large diamond, bought from Kolkata, India. The diamond was named Phra Maha Wichian Mani.

In previous days, the crown was considered the next most important item in the whole set of Royal Regalia, following the Nine-tiered Umbrella in importance.

Upon receiving the crown, the King only placed the crown next to himself. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries and reviewed their royal procedures, Siam changed the status of the crown.

In Europe, the status of Kingship is bestowed when the King puts on the crown. Therefore, when King Rama IV was coronated and presented with the crown, His Majesty placed the crown upon his head and gave an audience to the foreign diplomatic corps while wearing it.

From then on, the Great Crown of Victory was reconsidered as the most important article of all the Royal Regalia and every King will wear this crown in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The Royal Fan and Fly Whisk

or Walawichani

The Walawichani made in the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) was the form of a fan made of a palm leaf, and was so-called a palm-leaf fan. The rim of the fan was trimmed with gold and the rod was made of enamelled gold.

Originally it was called Phatchani Fak Makham or the Fan in the shape of a tamarind-pod.

The meaning of its name was reconsidered by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) who recognised that for the name Walawichani, taken from the Pali language, use of a palm leaf fan may not be the correct interpretation. It referred more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, as the word Wala meant the hair of one type of a cow, an animal that Thais called Chammari.

Hence, His Majesty King Rama IV ordered a fly whisk to be made with the hair of a yak and to be included in the Royal Regalia. In a later period, yak hair was replaced with the hair from the white elephants tail, and the name was changed to the White Elephant Fly Whisk. But as it would be deemed inappropriate not to use the original royal Palm-Leaf Fan, His Majesty ordered the use of both the Palm-Leaf Fan and the Chammari Fly Whisk, and together had them called the Walawichani.

The Sword of Victory

or Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri

This sword was presented to His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) from Chao Phraya Abhai Bhubes (Ban) brought by an official sent from Battambang, then a vassal state to the Kingdom of Thailand, in 1784.

His Majesty King Rama I ordered a cover to be made for it. The hilt and sheath were ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems. It became part of the Royal Regalia in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 1785.

The length of the blade itself is 64.5 centimetres, and 89.8 centimetres when it includes the hilt. It weighs 1.3 kilograms. When enclosed with the sheath, it is 101 centimetres in length and weighs 1.9 kilograms.

The Royal Slippers

or Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon

King Rama I ordered the making of a pair of gold slippers as a part of the Royal Regalia, following an ancient Indian belief. They were made of colourful enamelled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony, they are offered by the Chief Brahmin who puts them directly onto the feet of the King.

* All materials for this publication are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by the Ministry of Culture.
In a little more than two weeks, Pennsylvanians will once again go to the polls.

Or at least some of us will.

Actually, the majority of us will not.

There are several reasons for that. None of them good enough to throw away our most basic and prized constitutional right, the right to vote.

May 21 is the statewide Primary Election, when residents exercise their franchise to nominate candidates for a variety of local elected positions. In this region, seats are u[ for grabs on county commissioner councils, township boards of supervisors, school boards and borough councils.

Voters in suburban counties also will select candidates for district attorney, as well as seats on Courts of Common Pleas.

Locally, a slew of jobs are up for grabs among local borough and township ruling bodies, as well as your local school board. You know, those folks who set the hated property tax.

And yet with all this on the line, the public will stay away in droves. Just as they routinely do in nearly every primary election. They conjecture that no one is actually elected on Primary Day (except in Philadelphia where winning the Democratic Primary is akin to winning in November in a city where Dems hold a massive, unchallenged edge in voter registration). They say they will cast their vote in November, when it really counts.

They could not be more wrong. In fact, the decision on who will appear on the ballot  in effect who you will vote for  is made in the Primary, when nominations are secured.

If you forfeit your vote in May, you are in effect surrendering the ability to decide who you will vote for in November.

But there is another reason why some people stay away in droves come the Primary Election.

Some voters dont have a choice.

That would be the states Independent voters. They dont get a say on Primary Day.

Pennsylvania has what is referred to as a closed primary. That is, its closed to anyone who is not registered as either a Republican or Democrat. Democrats nominate Democrats; Republicans nominiate Republicans. Voters are limited to voting for those in the same party.

And if youre registered Independent? You dont get to vote for either partys candidates. In fact, you are for the most part limited to casting a vote in any special election that may be on the ballot, as well as referendums.

How many people does this affect? By the last count from the Pennsylvania Department of State just a few weeks ago there were 785,579 registered voters on the rolls in Pennsylvania who were not aligned with either party. Thats out of a total of 8.4 million registered voters.

More than 785,000 voters with no voice.

But that may be about to change.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, has proposed legislation that would throw open the doors on Primary Day. Scarnatis measure would allow registered voters not aligned with either party to simply make the choice of what ballot they would like when they report to their polling place. The legislation has bipartisan support from a group of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa.

The winds of change of starting to rattle the dark, musty halls of the Capitol in Harrisburg.

Maybe, just maybe, our elected representatives are getting the message that Pennsylvanians want change. And changing the archaic way we vote sits fairly high on the list of the to-do list.

Scarnatis bill was part of a major flurry of bills pushing election reform that blew through the Capitol Tuesday. Just the day before, a group backing election reform, appropriately named Open Primaries PA, put down roots in Harrisburg. The coalition is made up of some familiar names. Micah Sims is executive director of Common Cause PA. The Committee of Seventy also is represented. Its a veritable whos who of good government groups.

Sims pointed out one of the basic ironies of state election law when it comes to independent voters. They pay taxes to support primary elections, but they cant vote for most of the candidates.

Scarnati is taking a bit more pragmatic view. He knows numbers, and when it comes to Primary Elections, the numbers dont lie. They dont exactly paint a picture of an engaged electorate, either.

People are staying away in droves.

In our most recent primary election, only 18 percent of Pennsylvanias registered voters went to the ballot box to cast a vote, Scarnati said in a statement. The low turnout can be in part attributed to voters feeling disenfranchised by both major parties, who have taken control of our primary process. Allowing more people the opportunity to have a voice in their representation is an important step toward ensuring democracy.

We have become accustomed to waiting in long lines during Presidential races in November.

And then taking a rain check until four years later and then next run for the White House.

But the truth is the people on the ballot in a few weeks seeking to hold local offices very likely have more direct effect on the everyday lives of residents. They are the people who set your taxes, make sure your trash gets picked up, your street gets plowed in the winter, and your kids educational needs are met.

The state cant make people vote. Those who stay away from the polls have to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are fulfilling the basic responsibilities of citizenship and forfeiting the right to complain about the results.

Any move to increase voter participation is a good one.

Open Primaries? Bring em on. Its not like there isnt room at our local polling places.
Environmental groups were cheering a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling on carbon pricing that legal experts say strongly affirms the federal governments essential role in the fight against climate change.

I cannot hide my joy, Isabelle Turcotte of the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank. This is such great news for climate action in Canada.

Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation, which intervened in the case, said the 3-2 decision is a step toward a consistent national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its a historic day. This decision helps pave the way for a really strong, fair and unified approach to tackling climate change across the country.

Legal scholars says that despite the two dissenting opinions, the majority ruling is a powerful endorsement of the notion that the provinces and the federal government share jurisdiction over environmental issues. Ottawa has the right to set national standards, while giving the provinces leeway to decide how to meet them.

The federal government can assert jurisdiction over a consistent federal price for carbon and then the provinces can still do a ton of work within their own jurisdictions if they want, said Martin Olszynski of the University of Calgary.

He said the court sidestepped the issue of federal intrusion into provincial spheres by limiting the federal role to setting a minimum national standard.

That approach is consistent with how other aspects of Canadian federalism operate, said Stewart Elgie of the University of Ottawa.

This is essentially the approach Canada has taken to health care and social programs. Provinces are free to flesh out and apply their own legislation to meet their own needs provided they meet the minimum standards.

It recognizes that greenhouse gases, while theyre an international problem, also have significant provincial and local impacts, as were seeing with the (Ottawa) flooding right now.

Joshua Ginsburg, an Ecojustice lawyer who argued in the case, pointed out the rulings strong language indicates the court took the urgency of the issue seriously.

They agreed with us that climate change is an emergency, he said. They said Climate change is doubtless an emergency in the sense that it presents a genuine threat to Canada.

Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University, said that whatever the legal arguments, climate change is an issue that has to be addressed at levels above the municipal or provincial.

Its a global problem. You want the most senior level of government to solve it, he said.

You need national governments around the planet to be able to contribute to a global governance effort.

All agreed that the Saskatchewan ruling isnt the end of the game. Ontario has argued a challenge before its Court of Appeal and Manitoba has done the same in Federal Court.

But Olszynski said the arguments in Ontario were similar to those used in Saskatchewan.

The issue is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court.

Until it does  months if not years down the road  environmental groups hope Fridays ruling will quicken Canadas response to climate change.

There is no time to be wasted in fights to fight climate action, Turcotte said. This is a call to unity and working together because we cant delay action.

 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to Cuba to help resolve the crisis in Venezuela, calling for free elections as President Nicolas Maduro holds tight against a U.S. campaign to replace him.

With U.S. President Donald Trumps administration leaving the option of military force on the table, Trudeau joined a group of 14 Latin American countries in turning to Venezuelas closest ally to try to move forward from a standoff thats also drawing in Russia.

Trudeau underscored the desire to see free and fair elections and the constitution upheld in Venezuela in a call with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel late Friday, according to a Canadian statement. They discussed ways they could work together to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Tension is running high after a failed attempt this week to overthrow Maduro. The so-called Lima Group, meeting Friday in Perus capital, decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to turmoil that has pitted Maduro against Juan Guaido, whom more than 50 countries recognize as Venezuelas interim president.

Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, is signalling deepening concern. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to meet his Venezuelan counterpart in Moscow on Sunday, a day before planned talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Europe. Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton were briefed on Friday on a wide range of military options for Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.

Cubas Many Roles

The U.S. blames Cuba for propping up Maduro, whose re-election in a rigged presidential ballot last year prompted a backlash in and outside Venezuela. Cuban agents are alleged to run Maduros security apparatus.

While Cuba has previously rejected the Lima Groups support for Guaido and its allegations of Cuban interference in Venezuela, a senior diplomat recently cited Cubas mediation in past regional conflicts.

Dialogue is what will help, Josefina Vidal, Cubas ambassador to Canada, said in an interview. If there is willingness, solutions can be found.

Vidal was the key liaison to the U.S. for the normalization of relations under the Obama administration. Canada hosted some of the secret talks that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana.

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EDMONTONPolice Chief Dale McFee apologized to Edmontons LGBTQ community Friday for a history marked with discrimination and marginalization by police.

Addressing a crowd gathered at police headquarters, McFee said the apology was part of a reconciliation process with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Edmontonians.

Many people in this room will immediately recall the raids, the mistreatment during arrests, and even public shaming  these are just a few known and visceral examples, he said.

We know there is much more in the history of our service that is unnamed, unheard and underground. That we dont fully understand the full extent of our impact on this community is a statement in itself.

McFee said instances where police were indifferent or ignorant to harassment, discrimination, bullying or violence were also greatly damaging, and acknowledged the Edmonton Police Services own members have been affected.

He said discriminatory actions have caused pain, eroded trust and created fear, leading members of the public and the police service to feel unsafe on the streets, in their workplaces, and in their homes.

Read more:

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Calgary police chief apologizes for services history of LGBTQ discrimination

Edmonton Queer History App aims to fill gap left by textbooks

This is not just a history. It is a legacy, McFee said.

We know this is still happening today. Perhaps not as actively or intentionally as in the past, but it is a systemic part of our structure and practices that demands our vigilance to address.

As we try to understand our biases toward sexual and gender minorities, we need to be mindful of the compounding impact of factors such as race, economic status, mental health or ability in this communitys experiences with the police.

In July, Calgarys police chief at the time, Roger Chaffin, formally apologized for the Calgary Police Services role in the marginalization of and discrimination against LGBTQ Calgarians.

Edmonton police have had a similarly complicated history with the LGBTQ community, but former chief Rod Knecht had declined to follow Calgarys lead on an apology before McFee was sworn in as chief in February.

Former police commissioner Murray Billett, who co-founded the EPS Sexual and Gender Minorities Community Liaison Committee in 1992 after police arrested gay men in a river valley park and released their names to the media in what he characterized as a sting operation, has called on EPS in the past to make an apology.

On Friday, he said he was brought to tears.

Im disappointed it took this long, but it was worth waiting for, Billett said.

He said the apology was clear and inclusive and will set an important tone, not only for LGBTQ Edmontonians, but for the city and province at large.

The most infamous example of police discrimination against Edmontons LGBTQ community was the Pisces bathhouse raid in 1981, when officers arrested dozens of gay men who were outed when their names were published in newspapers, sparking the citys early Pride movement.

Shelley Miller represented most of the men in court as a young lawyer, and said the way they were treated shook her faith in her profession.

It was heartbreaking. Their lives were completely upended, their privacy was completely eradicated, their names were ran on television, which is something Id never seen or heard of before anywhere, Miller said Friday.

Some of them lost their jobs, some of their families were very upset because they hadnt known that they had this quality in their lives. And Im not sure if any of them have ever recovered from the pain of being treated like a serious criminal.

Miller said McFees speech was comprehensive, heartfelt and meaningful.

I was completely gratified and consoled, she said.

McFee said EPS has already selected consultants to organize meetings with LGBTQ community members and intends to start the work immediately.

He wants to hear from community members to better understand the impact of past discrimination and get advice on moving forward. McFee said the success metrics of that work will be developed by community members  not by police.

He said the apology is not an accomplishment in itself, but the beginning of a continuous journey.

We will listen intently, he said. We cannot just rely on institutional knowledge.

But the citys LGBTQ community is divided in the wake of recent controversies, and some are skeptical police can repair eroded trust.

At the Pride parade in June, a group billing itself as a coalition of queer and trans people of colour blocked the floats on Whyte Ave. to make a series of demands, including halting all police and military from marching in future parades.

Festival organizers agreed to comply and launched a series of community consultations that grew heated, and ultimately ended up cancelling the 2019 festival.

Shay Lewis, who identifies as non-binary, was one of the 2018 protesters. They said the apology seems like a positive step, but whether it means anything will depend on what programs come out of it and how consistent those programs are.

While Lewis is tentatively hopeful about the promise to reach out to the community, they pointed out that its not necessarily that simple.

The folks who run queer organizations in this city are traditionally the folks who support the police force, just because those individuals tend to be part of institutions that have positive relationships  or are part of groups and communities that have better relationships  with the police force. So they can find those organizations to pair with, Lewis said.

The issue is the communities that directly feel affected, and more often than not dont trust the police force, have no real incentive to engage with them, because theyre being welcomed into a bureaucratic system that doesnt seem to offer much change.

Activist groups RaricaNow and Shades of Colour brought a list of seven demands to the Pride Festival Society in March, including $20,000 for each of their organizations to create well-funded QTIBPOC specific spaces at Pride.

The festival society invited representatives from the two groups to its April 4 board meeting, but the groups brought at least 20 more people with them for support, and when they refused to leave, police were called.

Days later, festival organizers announced the cancellation.

Adebayo Katiiti with RaricaNow, a group representing LGBTQ refugees, said his group accepts the chiefs apology but needs urgent action to address social justice issues.

He said RaricaNow is eager to work with EPS to discuss advocating for changes to federal policies that are hurting community members, some of whom are facing deportation.

Katiiti, a transgender man from Uganda, said he does not personally trust police, but other RaricaNow members are optimistic that change is coming.

We are looking for actions, Katiiti said. Because weve seen people apologizing and nothing happened.

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HALIFAXHome can be a place of comfort and refuge, but it can also be used as a tool for exploitation.

Perpetrators of human trafficking often control their victims by controlling their access to shelter and other basic survival needs.

Thats why, according Charlene Gagnon, offering victims and survivors a safe place to live is an essential part of supporting their exit from the exploitive cycle, and its why the YWCA Halifaxs latest program will be a milestone in the fight against human trafficking in Nova Scotia.

Gagnon manages anti-trafficking initiatives at the YWCA Halifax and says human trafficking is not a new issue to Nova Scotia, but the attention afforded to it has been gradually changing, both locally and across Canada.

In 2005, a trio of amendments to the Criminal Code prohibited human trafficking, specifically, for the first time. Further legislative changes have continued to trickle in since then, and Gagnon says that as laws have emerged to address human trafficking, public awareness has grown.

By shedding more light on the issue, front line workers  like social workers, police, school guidance counsellors  are better able to identify victims. A few years ago, YWCA staff started identifying more and more human trafficking victims, but Gagnon said there was no real system in place to fully respond.

Particularly when it came to safe housing.

We kind of knew it right from the very beginning, there has been a lack of housing that is specific to this kind of victimization.

In 2016, the non-profit applied for and was granted federal funding to take a closer look at the issue in Nova Scotia and develop a plan for filling the service gaps. That research wrapped in March 2019 with a plan for a pilot program called Safe Spaces.

The YWCA is aiming for a fall 2019 launch of the program, which will offer emergency housing to youth between 13 and 24 who are fleeing trafficking. As with other trafficking services at the YWCA, police, community agencies and child welfare services anywhere in the province will be able to refer to Safe Spaces.

Its pretty critical in those first three to six months of making that transition out for their housing to be really safe and secure, Gagnon said.

The program will be non-gender-specific, although most trafficking victims are girls and women.

Safe Spaces has funding for four years, part of which was secured earlier this month when Ottawa committed $4.7 million to the Nova Scotia government through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund.

Despite the name, more than half of the funds for the first two years of the investment are going to human trafficking initiatives. Of more than $820,000, YWCA is receiving more than $183,000 and Nova Scotia RCMP are receiving $243,000 for seconding officers to human trafficking work.

When making the funding announcement in Halifax, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey acknowledged that gun violence has been declining in Nova Scotia, and federal Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said gangs are less common in Nova Scotia than elsewhere in Canada.

Human trafficking, on the other hand, has been on the rise, according to Furey, and in 2016, Nova Scotia recorded the highest number of trafficking incidents of any Canadian province or territory.

Simultaneous to the research and preparation for the safe housing program, Gagnon and her YWCA colleagues have been leading the Nova Scotia Trafficking Elimination Partnership (NSTEP) with more than a dozen other non-profits, police and the local and provincial governments.

NSTEP started in 2016 and is slated to continue until 2021. Gagnon said that at the end of the partnership, the collaborators intend to table a strategy for addressing human trafficking for the province. In the meantime, support programs have already stemmed from of NSTEPs work.

Since 2018, the YWCA has added front line workers to directly support youth who are either at risk of being exploited or who are exiting trafficking situations, and a family outreach worker.

Gagnon said collaboration  like the kind seen in NSTEP  is an important part of addressing human trafficking, as theres a wide variety of perspectives and experiences. When in conflict, they can stymy progress.

Human trafficking and sex work are often conflated, and some members of NSTEP support complete abolition of sex work while others support it as a means of independence and survival.

Consensus on a definition for human trafficking poses a problem for fighting it. A 2018 federal justice committee report on human trafficking recognized the absence of a common and consistent definition among stakeholders, and said it can contribute to under-reporting and challenges in collecting evidence for court.

The members of NSTEP, however, did arrive at an eight-point common definition of sexualized human trafficking and exploitation. It acknowledges a spectrum of opinion when it comes to the concept of choice, but unequivocally calls trafficking a form of slavery and a human rights violation.

Gagnon said isolation and control are the hallmarks of trafficking that everyone in the partnership agrees on.

She said the definition is important because perpetrators have their playbook, and members of the partnership have to know what theyre targeting.

Correction - May 5, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the name of the YWCA program was Safe Landings. In fact, it is called Safe Spaces.

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MONTREALQuebecs order of social workers says its members need more time and less pressure to properly do their jobs.

Order president Guylaine Ouimette held a press conference Friday in reaction to the death of a seven-year-old girl who had a long history with the provinces youth protection system.

Local police found the girl shortly before noon Monday at a home in Granby, Que., about 80 kilometres east of Montreal. She died a day later in hospital.

Two adults  identified by people close to the family as the girls father, 30, and his partner, 35  were arrested in connection with the death.

Ouimette did not want to comment directly on the girls case because it involved members of the order.

But she says social workers are often in conflict between fulfilling their job descriptions and properly caring for young people and families.

She says her members work in an industrial-like atmosphere where sometimes half their time is spent on bureaucratic tasks.

News of the girls death prompted swift reaction from the public and Quebecs political class, who immediately demanded to know how the girl was seemingly failed by a system designed to protect her.

Ouimette is calling for a public commission that will look into systemic problems in the social services system.

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Torstar took home three prizes at the 70th National Newspaper Awards, one of the highest honours in Canadian journalism. The Toronto Star received one award and sister papers the St. Catharines Standard and Waterloo Region Record won one each.

Daniel Dale, the Stars Washington bureau chief, won the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting for his exhaustive coverage and fact-checking of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Grant LaFleche, a reporter and columnist with the St. Catharines Standard, won the George Brown Award for Investigations for his yearlong probe that uncovered a political conspiracy to manipulate the hiring of Niagara Regions top bureaucrat and a secret contract worth more than a million dollars.

Greg Mercer of the Waterloo Region Record won the award for Local Reporting for his coverage of the health problems that afflicted workers from the regions once-booming rubber industry, and the apparent reluctance of safety officials to accept compensation claims.

Celebrating the importance of journalism is something we rarely pause to do, said Irene Gentle, Editor of the Toronto Star. The work of the winners and nominees across Torstar is deep, meaningful and made a difference. It is a privilege to work in newsrooms with such talented and committed journalists. Congratulations to them and all the journalists honoured tonight.

In total, Torstar received 12 National Newspaper Award nominations, including six for the Toronto Star.

The other nominees included Rachel Mendleson, Diana Zlomislic, Robert Cribb, Marco Chown Oved, Andrew Bailey and Emma Jarratt in the Project of the Year category for the Medical Disorder series, an 18-month investigation on the discipline records of doctors permitted to practise on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

A team of 42 journalists were nominated in Breaking News for the Stars coverage of last years Yonge St. van attack, which left 10 dead and 16 injured.

Cameron Tulk, David Schnitman, Tania Pereira and Fadi Yaacoub were nominated in the Presentation category for a project in which the Star fact-checked every question and answer over five days of question period in Parliament.

Feature writer Mary Ormsby was nominated in the Sports category for her reporting on new information about Ben Johnsons positive drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and for another story about boxing legend George Chuvalo.

Photojournalist Carlos Osorio was nominated for his photo essay accompanying a story about a senior forced to move out of her longtime home in a public housing building when it was deemed unsafe.

The Globe and Mail won 10 awards, the most of any publication. Other winners on Friday included the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and The Canadian Press for their coverage of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and its aftermath.

It was also announced Friday that Karyn Pugliese, executive director of news and current affairs at APTN, was awarded the 25th Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

The fellowship is funded by an endowment in memory of Martin Wise Goodman, the late president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

Pugliese will join 26 other journalists in the 82nd class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard. The fellowship covers a stipend for living expenses and payment of fees to Harvard.
MONTREALWater levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

Read more:

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In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners, they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels havent dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.

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Sylvia Consuelo, a slight 34-year-old woman with long, dark hair, was found dead on the floor of her Etobicoke apartment in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2016. A bunch of unopened condoms had been scattered over her body and she had been sexually assaulted with an object.

Three years later, a jury is set to decide whether Najib Amin, 31, murdered Consuelo because he believed  wrongly  that she was HIV-positive and had given HIV to three people through unprotected sex.

There is no DNA evidence in the case, no fingerprints or an eyewitness to the murder.

In closing arguments on Thursday, the case against Amin was described as entirely circumstantial and based mainly on two pieces of evidence: security footage from Consuelos building that shows Amin and the alleged murderer on different days wearing apparently identical clothing and secretly recorded conversations between Amin and undercover police officers during a months-long operation to see whether Amin would confess to killing Consuelo.

Amin was captured on surveillance cameras entering the Kendleton Dr. apartment complex  three Toronto Community Housing buildings joined together by basement tunnels  on Jan. 24, 2016.

On Jan. 30, 2016, three hours before Consuelo was found dead, a man enters the complex wearing what appear to be the same grey shoes, jeans, black leather jacket, black hat with white writing on it, and same striped shirt as Amin days before. Before entering the building the man pulls a scarf up over his face that the Crown argues is remarkably similar to one worn by a woman who was with Amin on Jan. 24. The man left the building just over an hour later, his face still covered.

Did someone break into Mr. Amins residence and raid his closet that day and just happen to steal and choose to wear these five, specific, distinctive pieces of clothing and then that person just happened to walk over to Sylvia Consuelos apartment, said prosecutor Scott Arnold in his closing address. It defies any coincidence.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Penman argued the clothing Amin was wearing  including the blue jeans with a white seagull-like pattern on the back pockets  are extremely common and that, as Amin told the undercover officers, his friends often borrowed his clothes.

Penman also argued there is no way to know the masked man is the same person who murdered Consuelo. There are no cameras in the building hallways or elevator and therefore no video showing whether the man went up to Consuelos floor or entered Consuelos unit. The jury heard about plenty of illegal activity occurring at the Kendleton Dr. complex, she said, suggesting the masked man could have been concealing his identity for another reason other than murder.

Once police identified Amin as a suspect, an undercover police operation was launched in April 2016. The plan was to have an officer befriend Amin and for them to become business partners with another officer posing as a wealthy businessman with the ability to make legal problems  even murder  go away.

The identities of the two undercover officers are covered by a publication ban.

The operation began when police arranged for Amin to win a $100 shopping spree at Square One mall after filling out a marketing survey about a shisha bar. An officer known to Amin as Ryan was made a fellow winner and the two men struck up a friendship after spending the day together. After the shopping spree, Amin, his girlfriend and Ryan were treated to a free meal by the marketing company at a nearby shisha bar where Amin was introduced to an undercover officer posing as Raz, a big-shot businessman hoping to open a shisha bar in London.

On one occasion Amin, his girlfriend and some other undercover officers went to Ripleys Aquarium to look at the sharks because Raz wanted to install a shark tank at his cottage, court heard.

Ryan and Amin continued to spend time together including at various strip clubs and Ryan began complaining about an ex-girlfriend called Jessie who had taken a gun he was keeping for his cousin.

While sitting in the parking lot of Albion Mall, Ryan asked Amin how he would kill a woman, hypothetically.

Amin said he would do it by jumping on top of her and using his hands to smother her mouth.

Like how long you leave it there for? Ryan asked about the hands.

Until she stops moving and after she stops moving keep holding it forfor another two minutes just to like confirm it, Amin responded.

The Crown argues this description is consistent with Consuelos cause of death  manual asphyxiation  and the internal injuries she suffered. The defence said the scenario described by Amin was generic and pointed out that he suggested other murder methods as well.

At one point the officer and Amin discuss Consuelos murder. Amin said Consuelo was a sex worker and that she had been strangled to death, beat up and brutally raped because she was f-king guys and shes not telling them to wear a condom, so she was spreading the disease.

Consuelo did not have HIV, the jury heard, and the close friend Amin named as having been diagnosed HIV-positive testified that hed been tested twice and did not have HIV.

As the police operation progressed Amin was told that Ryan killed his ex-girlfriend Jessie and that Raz was going to get rid of a witness by sending him to Florida.

By June, Ryan and Amin were planning to become business partners with Raz and they set up a meeting.

During the meeting Raz presented Amin with faked police documents that made it appear Amin was a suspect in Consuelos murder and that police were offering a $50,000 reward for information.

Raz offered to help Amin using his connections in the police force but said he needed to know what really happened first.

This is the circle of trust. OK, honesty, trust, loyalty, we move forward, he said.

Amin responded that he could not remember what happened that night.

I dont know everything was a blur like I wasI was s-t-faced that day, he said. I cant really recall nothing to be honest.

He said his friends had found out they had HIV.

I was just wrong place, wrong time, Amin said. He said again that he was blacked out I dont know what happened but I know they had to do something you know.

He said he needed to talk to the four other men with him that night, two of whom were now in jail, and that he doesnt know the true story.

Amin never did confess and eventually denied killing Consuelo.

He was arrested in November 2016 and charged with first-degree murder.

In her closing argument, defence lawyer Jennifer Penman, said that he fell completely for the police plan and would have confessed if hed done it. Amin did not testify during the trial.

Prosecutor Scott Arnold argued Amins answers revealed his motive to murder Consuelo. He said the jury should consider that Amin did not immediately deny he killed Consuelo when the officers presented him with the faked police information  instead replying that he didnt know what happened that night.

Penman said another man who lived in the same building as Consuelo was seen threatening her in the days prior to the murder over money that she owed him  a fact she said should give the jury enough basis for reasonable doubt about Amins guilt. One witness said she saw the man yell at Consuelo: Wheres my f-king moneyIf you dont give me that money now I will kill you.

The man, Lawrence Hibbard, was investigated by police as a potential suspect but was never charged. He testified Consuelo had owed him $250 but said she paid him back $150 the day before she was killed. He said he was friends with Consuelo and often fed her when she couldnt afford food.

Hi, this is Sylvia, said a handwritten note dated Jan. 29 that Hibbard said Consuelo left for him. This is what I can just afford for what you know that I owe you OK!!! So so next month will be a hundred dollars okiely.

In the note she offered to buy some stew meat the following Friday that Hibbard could cook for them.

Hibbard admitted that he could not recall where he was the night Consuelo died, exactly who he was with or if he had gone to her apartment that night. Everything was a blur, he said noting his addiction to crack cocaine at the time. But Hibbard said he was absolutely certain he did not kill Consuelo and repeatedly expressed shock at the brutality of her murder.

Likewhat kind of monster, he exclaimed during cross-examination before being interrupted by the judge.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Monday.
Toronto police have arrested a 41-year-old man for allegedly accessing, possessing and making available child pornography.

On Wednesday, April 24, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Bloor St. W. and Bathurst St., police said in a news release on Friday.

Jose Lopez Reyna, 41, of Toronto, has charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of access child pornography, one count of making child pornography available.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Thursday, April 25.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers in anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
Toronto police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly possessing and accessing child pornography.

On Tuesday, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Richmond St. and Spadina Ave., police said in a news release on Friday.

Mehdy Chaillou, 29, of Toronto was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of access to child pornography.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
BANGKOKInstalled on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The coronation the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a sceptre, gold-embroidered slippers, a legendary sword that belonged to his 18th-century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The daylong spectacle the start of three days of ceremonies that have closed streets, snarled traffic and festooned one of Asias most frenetic capitals with yellow bunting, the colour of the king was marked by an extravagance rarely seen in the modern age.

Its purpose was clear: To reassert the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life at a time of deep political and social divisions.

Read more:

Thai king is officially crowned, boosting his regal power

As coronation begins, Thai kings future plans still unclear

Thai king appoints consort as queen ahead of coronation

In five days, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

Although the king has ruled since shortly after the death of his long-serving and much loved father 21/2 years ago, the coronation was seen as an attempt to end the political crisis and help move the country forward under a democratically elected government.

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile. On the eve of the election, the king issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist, Buddhists (who) revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signalled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide were together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

The kings sister and ex-candidate, Ubolratana Mahidol, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony showing her alongside another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity, it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The rites broadcast nationwide began shortly before 10 a.m. when Vajiralongkorn, riding in the back of a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number one, arrived at the Grand Palace, perched on a bend of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.

Some Thais had gathered along the route wearing yellow, a few holding portraits of the king, others displaying bank notes with his face on them.

The king an intensely private monarch who rarely appears in public and lives much of the year in Germany waved as he drove past.

Im so delighted and impressed, said Kittipawan Noenyai, a 54-year-old woman who had been waiting four hours. I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long Live the King, hoping he would hear me.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Arriving at the cream-coloured palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. He walked along a red carpet, shielded from the piercing sun by an umbrella carried by a burly uniformed attendant in silk pants.

Men in military uniforms knelt as the king passed. His new wife, Queen Suthida, followed close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests at temples across the country, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist. The water dripped from the kings eyes and chin, the ablutions lasting several minutes as horns played in the background.

The king was then handed a white bathrobe and walked back into the palace trailed by the white-robed priests, many of whom were visibly sweating in the 97-degree heat. Inside the long hall, statuettes of Buddha and Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god who symbolizes auspicious beginnings, were placed side by side on a gilded stand.

Nearly half an hour passed before the king re-entered the ornate hall, now dressed in his royal vestments an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, it was time for the key moment of the ceremony.

Sitting under the nine-tiered umbrella, his polished black shoes resting on a golden footstool, Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned by a priest kneeling before him. The priest handed the king the crown created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty and the other royal paraphernalia.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

The royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet as the king left the room, an announcer said on Thai television.

Criticizing the royal family is a criminal offense in Thailand some international news channels have been partially blocked in recent days to prevent the airing of potentially critical stories but not everyone was interested in the proceedings.

A 28-year-old sales representative in Bangkok, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

The ceremonies would continue Sunday with a procession to a series of Buddhist temples, in which soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin in temperatures that could approach 100 degrees. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

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BENGHAZI, Libya - Islamic State militants on Saturday killed at least nine soldiers in an attack on a training camp for the self-styled Libyan National Army in the countrys southwestern desert, officials said.

The militants drove their vehicles into the recently established training camp and clashed with guards near an air base seized earlier this year by the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, in the town of Sabha, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The medical centre in Sabha confirmed the death toll.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying at least 16 soldiers were killed or wounded.

Sabha is 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli, where Hifters forces are currently fighting to take control of the city from militias affiliated with a weak U.N.-supported government.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Friday that the month-long assault on Tripoli has displaced nearly 55,000 people.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said that at least 23 civilians have been killed since the LNA launched the offensive to take Tripoli on April 5.

The World Health Organization said the toll as of Thursday was 392 dead, including combatants and civilians. It said at least 1,936 were wounded.

The battle for Tripoli could ignite a civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Since Gahdafis ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

Hifter, who in recent years has been battling Islamic extremists and other militias across eastern Libya, says he is determined to restore stability to the North African country. His opponents view him as an aspiring autocrat and fear a return to one-man rule.
JOHANNESBURG - At 24, Abetse Mashigo was born a year after South Africas brutal apartheid system was dismantled. Yet she still feels frustrated by what she sees as continued economic inequality for its people.

And that will be on her mind as she and others vote May 8 to elect a president and parliament.

South Africa is a great country, but it has many shortfalls, Mashigo said, flicking her dreadlocks back with a flourish . Seeing the spectrum of both wealthy and poor, its a constant everyday struggle.

Many of the countrys young voters never directly experienced apartheids racial oppression and segregation that was ended in 1994 under South Africas first black president, Nelson Mandela, and his African National Congress. But they and others say they want to see more drastic change, and leaders of opposition parties are hoping to win their support.

Mashigo said she is angered by apartheids legacy, which keeps many blacks in poverty. She said shes impatient for change, and thats why she backs the Economic Freedom Fighters, known as the EFF, one of the three main parties among dozens vying for power in the election.

Im part of the Red Sea, she said, jokingly referring to the bright red clothing worn by supporters of the opposition party. I like the EFF because it is radical and different. Its rebellious, and I like that.

The party has pledged to seize white-owned land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks.

Mashigos 59-year-old father, Thamsanqa, watches with pride as his daughter voices her outspoken opinions. He shares many of her beliefs but has a more cautious approach, saying he is still undecided which party will get his vote.

Many older South Africans among the 26 million eligible voters still support for the ANC, which has governed for a quarter-century. But they also say they are disgusted by widespread corruption blamed on the party. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to root out corruption in the country. A former trade union representative, he came to power in February 2018 after Jacob Zuma resigned amid mounting scandals.

The elections are taking place amid growing pessimism. About 64% of South Africans are dissatisfied with the countrys democracy, an increase from 34% who described themselves as unhappy in 2013, according to a Pew Research poll released Friday.

I have voted in every election (since blacks could vote) and Im not going to miss this one, Thamsanqa Mashigo said. Ive never had doubts in my mind about who to vote for, but this time ... Im still deciding. ... There is doubt in my mind.

He described a frightening life under apartheid, when people disappeared. I think some families even today dont know what happened to their loved ones.

When apartheid ended, we were really excited about that. ... We had a black government and Mandela was president. That was progress! ... We said freedom at last was arriving in our lifetime!

Mashigo, who works in information technology, said he is now disappointed with the ANC.

The gap between black and white has just grown bigger and bigger. And by 25 years, I expect it to be much better. The gap should have closed, not totally, but at least be on the right track, he said, adding that the ANC should have focused on education and health care.

Like his daughter, he complained about rampant corruption and the high unemployment rate of 27%.

Unemployment is an even more pressing among the young, with nearly 40% of those under 34 without jobs, according to the governments Stats SA.

Although disillusioned with the ANC, Mashigo is suspicious of the Economic Freedom Fighters that his daughter supports.

He said he doesnt trust the EFFs firebrand leader Julius Malema because he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Malema was kicked out of the ANC after allegations of corruption surfaced.

These guys are disgruntled, thats all, Mashigo added.

Nor is he convinced by the other major opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It was started by white liberals but has attracted considerable black support, winning control of city councils in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It now has a black leader, Mmusi Maimane.

I dont think he controls the party the way a leader should control his party, Mashigo said, leaving him still undecided about how to vote.

There are 5.6 million registered voters between the ages of 18 to 29, nearly one-fifth of those eligible to cast ballots.

They could boost support for the Economic Freedom Fighters, which got about 6% of the vote in the 2014 election and is widely expected to improve on that number.

These elections are exciting for young voters, said Lwazi Khoza, a 22-year-old university student and project manager for YouthLab, a youth advocacy group.

The EFF are appealing to many young voters. The EFF leaders present themselves as rebellious and non-conformist, she said.

Khoza, who will be finishing her degree this year, said many young voters want change.

As a young black woman living in post-apartheid South Africa, I am frustrated by the slow pace of change. Yes, things have improved since the apartheid days, but not enough. Things have become stagnant, she said.

Are we free? Really? Or are we still being held down because of the past? she said. We cannot say we are on an equal playing field, educationally or economically. Thats why many young voters want to see change.

Makhumo Kwathi, an unemployed 25-year-old who lives with her parents in Soweto, Johannesburgs largest black township, said she is looking forward to voting.

I want my voice to be heard, Kwathi said. To be quite honest, Im not going to vote for the ANC, because the ANC has been giving us all these false hopes till now. ... All these scandals ... Now we can see where our money is going. The ANC is promising us the opposite of what they have been doing.

Kwathi, a high school graduate who is looking for work as a bank teller, would not say which party she will vote for but said she wants a new government that will create more jobs.

I want to see change. More youth need to be employed, she said. How can we, the youth, be the future of the country when we are unemployed? How can we go forward as a country?

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
A slow-simmering political crisis that has gripped Venezuela for months appeared to be coming to a head this week as opposition politicians issued a direct challenge to the authority of President Nicolas Maduro.

The leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido, called for a military and popular uprising to oust Maduro from office, triggering a day of protest that turned violent but later fizzled. Maduro characterized the action as unconstitutional, while Guaido maintained it was a necessary move to restore legitimacy to the presidency.

Both sides now seem to be scrambling for control, with Maduro appearing alongside troops Thursday to reaffirm his status and Guaido admitting he does not have the necessary support.

This weeks attempted uprising failed to change the status quo. But the confrontation has been years in the making, driven by an economic downturn and political discontent. Heres what you need to know to understand how Venezuela came to this moment.

Venezuela is a country made rich by oil, and has seen that wealth evaporate.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and the countrys economy is largely tied to its oil wealth. This oil wealth once made the nation one of the richest in Latin America and helped stabilize its democracy, although the riches were not equally shared. But the past few years have seen the economy spiral toward collapse.

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The International Monetary Fund predicts that Venezuelas inflation rate will reach 10 million per cent in 2019, becoming one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in modern history. Experts say government mismanagement and corruption is the source of the countrys economic woes; Maduro blames damaging U.S. sanctions.

The legacy of Hugo Chavez looms large in Venezuela.

The legacy of President Hugo Chavez  Venezuelas former leader and founder of the countrys modern socialist system  still hangs over the nation more than six years after his death.

Chavez came to power in 1998, elected after a failed coup. He quickly rose from political outsider to popular figurehead, bringing in a socialist ideology that redistributed the countrys oil wealth and created a robust social welfare program.

His government seized private factories, mines and fields, and founded state companies and co-operatives. High oil prices contributed to a short-term reduction in inequality and poverty as social programs made food, housing and health care more widely available.

Within the country, the notoriously charismatic leader proved popular, but not universally so. During his years in office  he was re-elected in 2006  his leftist ideology and bombastic approach to foreign relations proved polarizing.

While his programs drew broad support from poor Venezuelans, they also alienated some of the countrys wealthy elites.

Maduro is Chavezs chosen heir.

Before his death from cancer in 2013, Chavez hand-selected his heir  Maduro, the current president. Adherents of his left-wing political ideology are known as Chavistas, and the group makes up the majority of Maduros current support base.

Like his predecessor, Maduro increased the executive branchs control of the country.

He has made strides to dismantle the countrys opposition-led legislature. And he oversaw a redrafting of the constitution that consolidated power under the presidency, steering the country toward autocracy, and moved to quash all dissenting voices through violence and intimidation.

The move drew reprimands from opposition politicians at home and from leaders internationally.

Two men  Maduro and Guaido  are now vying for control.

In January, Maduro was sworn in for a second term in office after an election that was widely denounced as fraudulent.

Two weeks after the inauguration, Guaido, then a little-known 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president, pointing to the constitution to declare Maduros presidency illegitimate. He vowed to hold new national elections.

The announcement brought tens of thousands of supporters to the streets, catapulted him to the international stage and saw the United States, Canada, and many Latin American and European countries recognize him as the legitimate head of state.

As a result, Maduro cut off the few remaining diplomatic ties with the United States.

The months since have been a tug of war between the two sides for popular support and control of the military.

Maduro still has the backing of the countrys top generals, a loyalty that Guaido may have underestimated as he called for the military to throw their support behind him. Maduro believes Guaidos effort to oust him is part of a coup engineered by the Trump administration.

The power struggle has played out in competing street demonstrations and with dual messaging to the population.

Last month, Guaido and his foreign allies tried to bring large amounts of aid into Venezuela from neighbouring countries, but Maduros forces sealed off the borders with Colombia and Brazil, saying the country didnt need the support.

His government later agreed to allow Red Cross aid into the country, which is suffering from a widespread humanitarian crisis triggered by the economic downturn.

The countrys humanitarian situation is dire.

While the political confrontation continues to play out, Venezuelans are struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis unseen in the countrys modern history.

In the once prosperous nation, people now find themselves unable to provide for their most basic needs. Hunger is widespread, and children are dying of malnutrition. The countrys public health care system has collapsed, and prolonged electricity outages are common.

The crisis has also triggered a vast regional migration as Venezuelans flee the countrys dire conditions, straining the resources of neighbouring nations.

Some 3.4 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations immigration authority, the majority settling in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. And as the political stalemate continues, little has been done to rectify the situation for everyday Venezuelans.

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BHUBANESWAR, INDIAFlights were cancelled.

Train service was out.

And one of the biggest storms in years was bearing down on Odisha, one of Indias poorest states, where millions of people live cheek by jowl in a low-lying coastal area in mud-and-stick shacks.

But government authorities in Odisha, along Indias eastern flank, hardly stood still. To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop, in local language, in very clear terms: A cyclone is coming. Get to the shelters.

It seems to have largely worked. Cyclone Fani slammed into Odisha on Friday morning with the force of a major hurricane, packing 120 mph (193 kph) winds. Trees were ripped from the ground and many coastal shacks smashed. It could have been catastrophic.

But as of early Saturday, mass casualties seemed to have been averted. While the full extent of the destruction remained unclear, only a few deaths had been reported, in what appeared to be an early-warning success story.

The most vulnerable people, it seemed, had gotten out of the way.

Experts say this is a remarkable achievement, especially in a poor state in a developing country, the product of a meticulous evacuation plan in which the authorities, sobered by past tragedies, moved 1 million people to safety, really fast.

Few would have expected this kind of organizational efficiency, said Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer and head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, a research organization. It is a major success.

The storm also hit neighbouring Bangladesh, but there, too, large numbers of casualties were avoided by evacuating more than 1 million people to shelters.

This is so different from 20 years ago, when a fearsome cyclone blasted into this same area and obliterated villages, killing thousands. Many people were caught flat-footed in their homes. Some of the dead were found miles from where they had lived, dragged away by raging cascades.

After that, the Odisha authorities vowed to ensure a disaster like that never felled them again.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, said Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

One of the first steps taken after the 1999 disaster was the construction of hundreds of cyclone shelters up and down the coast. The shelters were built up to a few miles from the shore.

They arent picturesque  picture a bare, two-story, peeling paint cement block rectangular building on stilts, almost resembling a crab. But the structures, designed by the faculty at one of Indias elite universities, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, have proved storm-worthy.

Over the past week, even when Fani was hundreds of miles away, Indian authorities had been closely watching. They had first picked up a large swirl on meteorological radar screens barrelling up from the equator, deep in the ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It was not yet a cyclone, but rather what meteorologists call a deep depression  a spiralling low-pressure storm that sucks in warm air. As it moves across warm waters, like those in the Bay of Bengal, the storm strengthens.

By mid-week, Fani had become a cyclone. Meteorologists accurately predicted its path. For days, they had been saying it would head straight up the Bay of Bengal and make landfall in Odisha.

The state of Odisha has around 46 million people, about the population of Spain, but many times poorer. The average income is less than $5 a day. The majority of people are farmers.

Along the coast, many men work on wooden fishing boats. As Fani approached, the boats were ordered ashore.

On Thursday morning, Odisha government officials released a five-page plan. They seemed to have left nothing uncovered. The most important part was to get people to the shelters. Since Odisha has been hit by many killer storms, state emergency officers said, they had drilled on their evacuation plans many times.

All emergency personnel were ordered to district operation centres. Government workers drafted lists of people in vulnerable houses, particularly the elderly and children.

Tourists at coastal hotels were advised to leave, and an enormous amount of equipment was readied to deal with the storms aftermath, including 300 power boats, two helicopters and many chain saws, to cut downed trees.

At the same time, truckloads of food and bottled water were delivered to the shelters.

As the sea turned frothy Thursday afternoon and the rain began to fall, the loudspeakers blared messages telling people to go to the nearest shelter as soon as possible.

In some areas, there was no choice. Police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, exhorting people to leave. Packed buses chugged up and down the roads around Puri, a coastal town that was predicted to get walloped. Each shelter could hold several hundred people. They quickly filled.

We moved here because it is safe, said Sabakali Mason, a man in his 50s who waited inside a shelter with his wife. Our house may collapse.

By Thursday night, most shelters were bustling concentrations of humanity, full of men, women and slightly dazed children. Some people had walked there; others had been scooped up by the free government buses. Families sat on the floors, eating together, listening to Fanis winds pick up speed.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, Fani screamed ashore, the eye passing near Puri, as predicted. In Bhubaneswar, Odishas state capital, about 40 miles north, huge tree limbs snapped in the lashing rain. No one ventured outside.

In Puri, the winds wrecked just about all the roadside kiosks. Officials said the gusts reached at least 100 mph (161 kph). They will never know, they said, because the gusts knocked down the machine that measures the wind.

The Odisha authorities said more than 100 people were injured. Indian news media reported several people had died, including some killed by flying debris.

But as the storm weakened and the worst seemed over, there was little doubt that the high level of preparedness had saved lives.

The government is usually dysfunctional in cases like this but the whole mobilization was quite impressive, said Singh, the former naval officer. Evacuating a million people in three or four days and providing them with not just shelter but also food is a big achievement in such a short time.

Krishan Kumar, an officer in the Khordha district of the Odisha government, said the governments success reflected an accumulated wisdom.

Every small cyclone or tsunami teaches you how to deal with the bigger ones, he said. If you dont learn from the past experiences, you will drown.

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KABULTaliban insurgents killed seven Afghan policemen after storming security checkpoints overnight in western Badghis province, a provincial official said Saturday.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said three other security forces were wounded late Friday during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry also said Saturday that 43 militants from the Daesh group, including foreign fighters, were killed in two separate coalition airstrikes during the night in co-ordination with Afghan forces. The statement said the airstrikes targeted Daesh in eastern Kunar provinces Chapadara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Among those killed was a prominent Uzbek militant leader identified in the statement as Ismail, who had previously co-operated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network but had recently joined Daesh.

Both the Taliban and Daesh are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

In eastern Ghani province, dozens of people carried eight bodies to the governors office in a protest Saturday, saying the dead were civilians killed during military operations.

The governors spokesperson, Arif Noori, confirmed that at least five civilians had been killed Friday night by Afghan and international forces, which were conducting operations against the Taliban in three areas in the province. Noori said 22 Taliban fighters were killed, including their group leader.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports the groups fighters were killed. He said several civilians were killed and wounded during the operations by Afghan and coalition forces in Ghazni.

The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, and despite ongoing peace talks with the U.S., the insurgent group refuses to stop fighting until U.S. and NATO troops withdraw.

In August last year the insurgents overran parts of Ghazni, leading to days of intense fighting before they were driven out.

Ghazni was the only one of Afghanistans 34 provinces where parliamentary elections did not take place in October. Voting there has been postponed for a year, according to the Election commission plan both presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on September 28 in the province.
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of Frances National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliaments Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian partys rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us.

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity.
LONDON - Britains Metropolitan Police force says a leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei does not amount to a crime.

Counterterrorism head Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Saturday he was satisfied the disclosure did not breach the Official Secrets Act. He said no crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

The government launched an investigation after media reports that a National Security Council meeting had agreed, against the advice of the United States, to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, saying there was compelling evidence he was to blame. He strongly denies responsibility.

Opposition politicians have called for police to investigate the leak.
KABUL, AFGHANISTANOn the second day of a traditional Afghan assembly this week, a delegate rose to speak on the topic at hand, peace in Afghanistan.

A bearded man from Kandahar ordered her to shut up.

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! recalled Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

The assembly, known as a loya jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organizers proudly pointed out that 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalized or patronized. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries. Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under Shariah, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which Shariah law, the Taliban Shariah law or ISIS Shariah law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to Daesh.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

For many women, the jirga got off to a dismaying start when Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights. Things quickly went downhill when a female delegate complained directly to Sayyaf and was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television, RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator. Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the all-encompassing garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

And on Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said a delegate, Taiyaba Khavari.

Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with arch commentary from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off while other Afghans fumed over blocked roads and security sweeps. Taxi drivers complained that they were cut off from fares. Shopkeepers moaned that customers could not reach them.

The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organizers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organizers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organized the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus-building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

Among other recommendations accepted by Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

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The MOU was signed by ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites. Under the agreement, Indonesia and Timor-Leste will take actions to reduce barriers to cross-border land and air transportation and harmonize procedures at border crossing points. It also seeks to reduce animal health barriers to livestock trade and bolster tourism promotion in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Timor-Leste through joint marketing and itineraries. ADB will provide USD1 million in grant resources to support implementation of the MOU.

ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left), and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites (right) at the signing in Nadi, Fiji, on May 4th 2019. (Source: ADB)

Regional cooperation and integration is critical for sustained and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific, said Mr. Nakao. This MOU represents a small but important step in our support for cross-border cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Supporting livelihoods in lagging border areas is critical to tackling inequality and ensuring our regions growing prosperity is shared by all.

The MOU builds on a Scoping Study on Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which ADB conducted at the request of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments. The study identified a variety of challenges and opportunities for cross-border cooperation and identified tourism and livestock as key sectors for short-term benefits through cooperation.

The Indonesian government is committed to reducing regional disparities in Indonesia, and Nusa Tenggara Timur is among the countrys lesser developed regions. This is being done through improvements in connectivity, accessibility, and capacity as well as cross-border economic collaboration. Ms. Indrawati signed the MOU as a complement to their existing national strategies and welcomed it as the next step in their relationship with ADB for support to border areas, and an additional collaboration with friends and colleagues in Timor-Leste.

Ms. Brites said, Timor-Leste has made significant strides since independence but if this is to continue, we must integrate more closely into ASEAN and the world economy as well as diversify our economy. Reducing barriers to trade and cooperation with our closest neighbors is an essential step in achieving this goal. We welcome the MOU with ADB and Indonesia as the start of an enduring and mutually beneficial partnership for growth./.
CAIRO - The Sudanese protesters who succeeded in driving President Omar al-Bashir from power say their revolution wont be complete until they have dismantled what many describe as an Islamist-dominated deep state that underpinned his 30-year rule.

That has already escalated tensions with the transitional military council, leading to the resignation of three Islamist members last month after the protesters refused to meet with them. An Islamist political party said protesters attacked one of its meetings , wounding more than 60 members in clashes, and a hard-line preacher cancelled a march in support of Islamic law over fears of violence.

The conflict between the pro-democracy protesters and Islamists could further stall the transition to civilian rule, already the subject of tense negotiations between the protesters and the military. It could also draw in regional powers as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look to counter Islamist factions across the region and Qatar and Turkey lend them support.

The 1989 military coup that brought al-Bashir to power was orchestrated by Hassan al-Turabi, a charismatic intellectual who founded the countrys modern Islamist movement. Fearing a Western backlash, al-Turabi disguised his Islamic revolution as a military coup, even having himself briefly detained in an effort to conceal his role.

Under al-Turabis guidance, the government imposed a harsh version of Islamic law in the 1990s that included amputations and stoning as punishment for some crimes, and which heavily restricted womens rights. It conscripted self-styled mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to battle rebels in Christian and animist south Sudan, and created an array of Islamist militias to impose its edicts. The government also welcomed Islamic militants from around the world, including Osama bin Laden, before expelling him in 1996 under international pressure.

Al-Bashir and al-Turabi later had a falling out, but even as al-Bashir adopted a more pragmatic stance in the 2000s, he remained committed to political Islam.

Al-Bashir and the Islamic movement went to great lengths to create an Islamist deep state, by establishing multiple security forces and shadow party militias, said Rosalind Marsden, an expert on Sudan at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank .

They politicized the army and other state institutions and enabled regime insiders to take control of key sectors and companies within the economy, she said. This Islamist deep state constitutes a formidable barrier to real change.

Its unclear how much support Islamists have outside the government. The last time Sudan held free elections, in 1986, al-Turabis National Islamic Front came in a distant third behind two long-established mainstream parties. The poor showing may have been behind al-Turabis decision to embark on a top-down Islamic revolution three years later.

The Popular Congress Party, established by al-Turabi after his falling out with al-Bashir in 1999, was part of the opposition for years before joining al-Bashirs government in 2017, a year after al-Turabis death. It did not officially support the protests against al-Bashir but criticized the crackdown against the protesters, which killed nearly 100 people. Abu Bakr Abdel Razek, a senior member of the PCP, said the group had martyrs among the protesters killed in the crackdown, and had threatened to withdraw from the government if al-Bashir forcibly dispersed the main sit-in.

The party held a meeting last week that it said was attacked by protesters. Both the military council and the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir, condemned the violence. But the protesters often chant slogans against Islamists at their rallies, referring to them by the slang word keizan.

The PCP and other Islamists have gravitated toward the military council in the weeks since al-Bashirs April 11 ouster.

Most of the Islamist groups have been supporting a strong role for the military in the transitional period, probably because they see them as a potential shield against secularists in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change, said Willow Berridge, a professor at Newcastle University who has written a book about al-Turabi and Sudans Islamists.

In a Friday sermon in late April, Abdel-Hay Youssef, an ultraconservative preacher in Khartoum with a wide following, accused the protest movement of seeking to dictate their own will on the people.

Did you take to the streets to impose laws that contradict peoples identity and to divorce Gods Shariah (Islamic law) from the government? he asked. Youssef rejected the blueprint for transition to civilian rule suggested by protesters and called upon the military to protect the role of Islam in the government. He later called for a mass rally in support of Shariah, but cancelled it after saying he had received assurances from the military council that Islamic laws would not be abolished.

The military council is led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, a rare non-Islamist among the top military brass. Three Islamist members of the council resigned last month after the protesters complained that they were too close to al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum along with several other top officials.

The two sides have yet to agree on a blueprint for the transition, and the protesters have vowed to stay in the streets until the military hands power to civilians. At a mass rally on Thursday, protesters chanted: Dirty Burhan, who brought him? It is the Islamists.

Any clean break (with the former regime) would require dismantling the shadow Islamist militias and comprehensive security sector reform under civilian oversight, said Marsden, the Sudan expert. This process is likely to take some time as the deep state has been created over a period of 30 years.

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Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lovers wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victims husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victims home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favour of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-calibre handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, We are indeed pleased that release has been granted. He said Warmus legal team would be busy putting the particulars of her future in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
HUGO, Okla. - Authorities in Oklahoma on Friday identified two police officers present when at least one of them shot into a pickup truck last week and wounded three children and a man suspected in a robbery.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman confirmed that Hugo police detectives Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were placed on paid leave after the April 26 shooting that hurt 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith and the children, ages 5, 4 and 1. All have been released from the hospital.

Smith is suspected in an April 11 armed robbery of a Pizza Hut in Hugo, about 180 miles (290 kilometres) southeast of Oklahoma City and near the Texas state line. He is being held in the Choctaw County Jail on a pending robbery charge.

OSBI says Smith and the children were in a truck outside a Hugo community centre that serves food when police fired. Its unclear whether Smith had a gun.

Local police have not said how they connected Smith to the restaurant robbery. Calls to the Hugo Police Department went unanswered Friday, and the department Facebook page was no longer available.

Residents and others have demonstrated in Hugo as they await more information. State Rep. Justin Humphrey, whose district includes Hugo, said he has met with community leaders is pushing authorities to be open about the investigation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defence attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9-11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to ... contain any type of fuel.

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Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES - The Latest on California reviewing how Catholic dioceses handled sex-abuse allegations (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how all 12 Roman Catholic dioceses in the state handled allegations of child sex abuse.

A spokesman for the Sacramento diocese tells the Sacramento Bee that Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent letters out Thursday asking the dioceses to preserve documents relating to clergy sex abuse. One letter indicated the disclosure would be voluntary.

The Sacramento diocese and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles indicated that they will co-operate.

Dioceses around the country have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.

The LA archdiocese alone has paid out about $740 million in settlements to victims. Several dioceses around the state have released lists naming dozens of priests that over the years and decades had been credibly accused of sex abuse.

Last November, Becerra urged victims to submit complaints of clerical sex abuse to his office.

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4:34 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled allegations of child sex abuse.

The Los Angeles Times says Attorney General Xavier Becerra notified Archbishop Jose Gomez of the review in a letter Thursday asking the archdiocese to preserve documents relating to clergy abuse allegations.

In a statement, the archdiocese says it continues to fully co-operate with all civil authorities.

The archdiocese has paid $740 million in settlements to victims. Last year, it raised its tally of accused priests to 323.

Its one of many around the country that have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pences visits to Louisiana and Kentucky:

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8:20 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence has made a stop in Kentucky, speaking to employees at an equine feed company where Gov. Matt Bevin also appeared.

WKYT-TV reports Pence stopped at Hallway Feeds in Lexington on Friday on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Pence campaigned earlier this year for Bevin in Lexington, supporting Bevins re-election race. The primary in May 21.

Pence was also expected to attend a gala in Frankfort.

The White House said earlier that Pence would meet with employees at the small business to talk about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. Trade policies are a big issue for Kentuckys business sector. The states renowned bourbon industry has been hit with retaliatory tariffs in some key markets as part of broader trade disputes.

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2:50 p.m.

Speaking in front of the remains of an African American church in Louisiana torched by an arsonist, Vice-President Mike Pence says attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent.

Pence was meeting with parishioners and pastors of the three churches that were burned in March and April. He spoke Friday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

He praised the church members for their response to the blazes  particularly the forgiveness offered to the man accused of setting the blazes  and said their faith and courage has inspired the nation.

A local sheriffs deputys 21-year-old son, Holden Matthews, has been charged with offences including arson in burnings. He has pleaded not guilty.

A crowdfunding campaign for the churches restoration has raised more than $2.1 million.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, received an honorary doctorate degree Friday from the university where her presence brought mobs of protesters in 1956.

The Tuscaloosa News reported that Foster, 89 received the degree during graduation ceremonies. She enrolled at the all-white university in 1956. However, she was expelled three days later after her presence brought protests and threats against her life.

Foster received a standing ovation Friday, news outlets report.

Before receiving the honour, she remarked on the difference in seeing smiling faces instead of frowning and displeased at my being here.

I sat down last night, and when I thought about it, I was crying. The tears were just rolling down my eyes because it is so different and so unique for me to be able to come to such a university as this. That is a wonderful campus out there, Foster told the newspaper.

Her brief enrolment came after a lengthy court battle. She had first applied to the university in 1952 after earning a degree in English from Miles College, but her acceptance was rescinded because she was not white.

African American students did not return to the campus until 1963 when Gov. George Wallace made his infamous stand in the school house door.

Foster earned a masters degree in education from the university in 1991, more than 35 years after attending her first class. She waited until 1992 to graduate to share the moment with her daughter, who is also a UA alumna.

The university recognized Foster in 2017 with a historic marker in front of Graves Hall which houses the college of education. The university also named the clock tower at Malone Hood Plaza after Foster.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - When Jean Tsigonis leaves Tanana Valley Clinic after nearly 38 years of working as a family physician, she doesnt think of it as retiring. She is just repurposing.

This has been my ideal job, said the lifelong Fairbanks resident. I want to leave it while Im still loving it.

A family practice physician, Tsigonis grew up in Fairbanks, and attended schools here, including Lathrop High School. She thought maybe shed like to be a veterinarian, then changed that goal to physical therapy. She wound up graduating from Stanford with a degree in micro-biology and applied to med school, enrolling as a students in the first year-round WWAMI program at the University of Washington.

WWAMI is a medical school program that allows students to train in their home states, through collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine and University of Alaska.

All those years ago, she and her classmates pondered what medical specialties they might pursue.

I dont know, she recalled thinking, but Im sure I dont want to be a psychiatrist.

Of course 30% of our practice is psychiatry. She laughed. I love every aspect of medicine. Every rotation I loved. But the only one where you can do everything in is family practice.

As her schooling continued, she accepted a residency at Dartmouth in Maine but was able to come home to Fairbanks to complete some of her medical electives. During one of those visits, she accepted an unexpected job offer and sealed the deal with a handshake.

She loaded up her old Datsun and headed back to Alaska, from Maine. She has been here ever since, providing medical services for friends and family and many new friends.

I just cant describe it, Tsigonis said. I am leaving at a high point. I was Doctor of the Year last year. Im chairman of the Physician Wellness Program and that is my new passion.

After turning 60, Tsigonis went back to school and earned a masters degree in public health.

At some point, I thought individual practice would lose its pizazz, and at some point, I want to take care of the greater good, she said.

Plus, new positions were added to the hospital called hospitalists. These are people whose sole job is to take care of patients who are hospitalized. Physicians still can visit patients, but their care is the prime responsibility of hospitalists.

Tsigonis needed a new passion to get through that change. So it made sense to go back to college. She chose the University of Alaska Anchorage.

My thesis was Physician Burnout: Did We Have It? I proved we had it, Tsigonis said.

College today is totally different from the last time she attended college.

I hadnt written a paper in 40 years, she said. It was extremely difficult for me, as far as anxiety.

Online classes were challenging because they were so depersonalized.

I would turn stuff in, and I didnt know if they could feel my passion for the subject, Tsigonis said.

As for the math? Tsigonis was used to using a slide rule, not a calculator.

Now, with her new degree in hand, Tsigonis wants to put what she has learned into action and has already produced a power point of solutions for physician burnout, which she considers a public health problem.

Other than that, she has no specific plans for the next stage of her life. She figures it will just become obvious as the days go by.

My son, my daughter and my daughter-in-law are all in medicine, so I feel like Ive passed a baton, Tsigonis said. I have five kids, theyre all gainfully employed. Its a good time to retire.

Her family is more excited than she is, she said. She plans to spend lots of time with her four grandchildren.

Instead of fitting them into my schedule, theyll be my schedule, Tsigonis said.

Her future repurposing will likely include community service work to foreign lands and maybe filling in for local physicians. Her license remains current, she said. She hopes to help mentor new physicians.

One thing is for sure, she wont be binge watching any television shows. She got rid of the family television set about 10 years ago.

She has already signed up to teach a class at OLLI and to take a photography class.

For her retirement party, she has invited all of her patients to the event from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Birch Hill Ski Area.

She wanted a chance to tell them what they mean to her.

I have several four-generation families, and theyre going to hear what I have to say, Tsigonis said.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
ATLANTA - The University of Georgia has barred a longtime math professor from campus as investigators review several sexual misconduct complaints against him.

The university confirmed in a statement Friday that its Equal Opportunity Office is investigating the professor, William Kazez, whos been a faculty member at UGA for about three decades, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At least seven women  students and faculty  have come forward recently with complaints of unwanted touching, groping and sex acts by Kazez, said Decatur attorney Lisa Anderson, who represents two of the women who filed the complaints.

Anderson said the accusations from the women go back at least to 2014.

The university statement says Kazez has been banned from campus and isnt teaching while the investigation is underway.

The university said it would not discuss the specifics of its probe, but stressed it will vigorously investigate and impose sanctions on faculty and employees found to have engaged in sexual misconduct.

An attorney representing Kazez told the newspaper Kazez denies acting unlawfully toward the students. He also said Kazez had not had any prior Equal Opportunity Office complaints against him in his UGA career.

Dr. Kazez has empathy for the accusers, however, some of their assertions have changed over time, and others could not have happened as alleged, said his attorney, Janet E. Hill. At this point, no violations have been proven. The University of Georgia has a process to investigate allegations such as these which is designed to protect the rights of the accusers and the accused. Dr. Kazez looks forward to resolving this matter through the established legal processes rather than in the court of public opinion.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wifes ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called marital rape exemption or spousal defence still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. The concept of a pre-existing relationship defence should have never been part of our criminal statutes.

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as appalling and archaic.

Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force, she said. You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and its not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and its not a crime. It was really troubling.

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by womens rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victims capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

If your religion believes if youre married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? he asked.

No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment, replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But thats no place for the General Assembly.

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hales premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses cant be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isnt serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the states marital rape exemption.

I was beside myself, she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanour charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

I thought if I cant have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it, she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teesons advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story, Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Lets do the right thing. Lets right this wrong.

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said shes not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

In the past, I know that theres been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth, Tobin said. But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for.

Boggs bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohios criminal code. Her argument in favour of it is straightforward.

Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldnt give you permission to rape them, she said.

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Karnowski reported from St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth and Steve Karnowski at https://twitter.com/skarnowski
STOUGHTON, Mass. - Police in Massachusetts say a man stabbed his wife to death and tried to kill himself while their two children were in the familys home.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara identified the woman Saturday as 43-year-old Telma Bras and the man as 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues.

Authorities responded to their home in Stoughton late Friday after their high school-age daughter called a relative, who contacted police. Officers say they found Bras dead with apparent stab wounds and Rodrigues with life-threatening injuries consistent with a suicide attempt.

Police say Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned on a murder charge when doctors clear him for the proceeding.

Officials say arrangements have been made for the care of the daughter and an elementary school-age son.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. You see it, he said Saturday. You got Jim Crow sneaking back in.

The former vice-president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be aggressive in making sure it doesnt happen. Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target mostly ... people of colour.

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

___

5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice-president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the Souths first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Bidens son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. Joe and I love South Carolina, she said.

The former vice-president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Bidens first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesnt endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Bidens event, but Biden noted one of Clyburns daughters was at the rally.

___

2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains at risk for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump puts us squarely in trouble with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Muellers report demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump.

She says Trump then turns around two weeks later and says were all good on this? Were not all good on this.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia.

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

___

2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, then I need to buy more ammunition.

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesnt just save ammunition. It saves American lives.

Under his presidency, Moulton said, we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department.

___

1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsels report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didnt warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. What I would say when Im president to Vladimir Putin is that weve got your number, Ive got the FBI after you, Ive got the CIA looking at all of this, Ive figured out what you guys are up to and were going to protect our elections and were going to put increasing sanctions on against you.

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators havent been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as the witness we need to go after Russia so that they dont attack our elections again.

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

___

1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke says the legacies of slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression are alive and well today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. Hes spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says the work is far from over.

Hes previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

ORourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

___

1:30 a.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto ORourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
STERLING, Va. - President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

Trump, who tweeted and re-tweeted complaints Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.  He has previously asserted that social media companies exhibit bias against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

The presidents comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals. The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply both to Facebooks main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

Facebooks move signalled renewed effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism. The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said Woods will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Rosborough said.

Trump, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.

The president had more than social media on his mind Saturday. Trump also tweeted that he was holding out hopes for a deal with North Korea on its nuclear program, as well as improved relations with Russia, now that he feels the special counsel investigation is behind him.
Its a little hard to remember now, but there was a time when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple of school lunch bags, not cause to dial 911.

That was back when the student with asthma that everyone worried about in gym class might well have been the only kid in school with asthma. Playground equipment was designed for fun, not just safety, kids played in the dirt with their grubby siblings and even grubbier dog, and office buildings and malls werent littered with vats of antibacterial hand-sanitizing gel.

Now, by and large, kids are kept clean and safe, our houses are sparking with special products for every room, and hygiene-related marketing urges us to sanitize anything and everything we can. Along with all that, though, its now estimated that one Canadian in 13 is allergic to at least one type of food.

Thats about two children in every classroom. Other types of allergies are also rising, along with autoimmune conditions such as asthma and eczema.

It seems our obsession with cleanliness and health is actually making us less healthy.

How ironic is that?

Now we seem to be having second thoughts. Scientists are conducting research that (sort of) revives that old five-second rule for how long food can be dropped and still acceptably consumed. Others are contemplating the possibility of developing a barnyard dust vaccine to give urban kids some of the stuff that results in their farming counterparts lower allergy rates. And Canadian microbiologists are published authors under the catchy title, Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Our Children from an Oversanitized World.

As with anything, all this comes with the usual caveats: its complicated, there are multiple factors for everything, and research is still ongoing.

But its increasingly clear that being exposed to microbes, especially in childhood, makes for a healthier immune system.

Humans evolved to survive our environment. Now were sanitizing it. And our bodies just dont seem to be handling that well.

When the immune system isnt properly trained it can overreact to normally harmless things. Cue the rise in allergies.

This phenomenon is getting an increasing amount of attention  nut bans and EpiPen shortages have a way of doing that. But its not new. A British physician studying the rise of hay fever as long ago as the 1880s wryly noted: Summer sneezing goes hand-in-hand with culture, we may, perhaps, infer that the higher we rise in the intellectual scale, the more is the tendency developed.

Certainly the medical and scientific community is not suggesting we abandon modern progress. Water treatment is great; so too are vaccines for once deadly and debilitating diseases. In lots of ways, were far better off than we used to be.

But our push for health and cleanliness and perfection in all things is giving rise to a different, more modern kind of unhealthiness.

Antibiotics kill bacteria, both the good and the bad, leaving us with less of the beneficial stuff in our gastrointestinal tracts and increasing our susceptibility to allergies and illness.

And the dangerous bacteria thats not killed with the inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics is rebounding with a vengeance.

The United Nations has declared antibiotic-resistant superbugs to be one of the biggest threats to global health. Britain's chief medical officer, Sally Davies, has called these superbugs a threat as serious as terrorism and natural disasters.

Thats awfully scary and drives people to pump the hand sanitizer like their life depended on it. Which, of course, is the opposite of what were now learning is good for us and the environment.

We became so scared of germs that we raced to embrace products full of chemical compounds we cant even pronounce. How does that make any sense?

But amid all this doom and gloom there was a spot of good news this past month.

A new Canadian study, by the University of British Columbia and B.C. Childrens Hospital, suggests most preschoolers who are allergic to peanuts can be safely treated with small amounts of peanut protein.

While oral immunotheraphy  where patients are directed to eat small amounts of an allergenic food to gradually build up tolerance to it  isnt new, this study led by pediatric allergist Dr. Edmond Chan is the first to show it can safely be offered as a practical, routine treatment.

That, along with a recent recommendation by pediatricians urging parents to introduce common allergy-causing foods to high-risk babies as soon as they are ready to eat solids, may help roll back the dramatic increase in food allergies.

So theres new hope for kids who already have food allergies, and hope for reducing the number who develop them. And possibly, someday, even hope that well get back to a place where a PB&J sandwich can again be a lunchtime favourite.

Economist and journalist Tim Harford argues for the power of messiness. Disorder, he says, is good for our brains. When conditions arent perfect it forces us to be more resilient and creative in problem-solving.

But messiness isnt just good for the soul; its good for the body, too.

We cant all grow up on family farms surrounded by elder siblings, livestock and big hairy dogs. But we can pet them when we see them, go easier on the hand sanitizer, and generally embrace a little dirt.
Canada has a new disruptor  with a difference.

Move over, Doug Ford!

Jason Kenney is back. First stop, Ontario.

Days after being sworn in as Albertas new premier Tuesday, sweeping to power with a 55-per-cent majority unrivalled by any politician in Canada today, Kenney wants to win over Ontarians.

Direct and in person.

Best known as a savvy Harper-era federal minister, officially responsible for immigration and multiculturalism, but unofficially assigned to wooing and winning the 905 vote, Kenney has reinvented himself as a fiery prairie populist.

Read more:

Premier Doug Ford hosts Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in love-in for carbon crusaders

Albertas Jason Kenney warns of separatist angst in first visit to Ottawa

Ottawa can impose carbon pricing on provinces, Saskatchewan court rules

All these years later, the Oakville-born Alberta premier still has an eye, and an ear, for the GTA.

Now he wants to be heard.

Not just by the Bay Street crowd who rewarded him with standing ovations during a lunchtime speech on Albertas energy woes, or from the smiling Ontario premier who pledged his support Friday (after bearing a private grudge against him for years  more on that later).

The new premier is getting his message out any way he can, not least in the pages of the Toronto Star. Which is why he sat down for a wide-ranging interview about Albertas plight, his political fight, and his plan to disrupt Canada even if it means talking up disunity in a country that still frets about national unity.

Ontarians, he says, should hear him out.

Obviously, Ontario is sort of the elder brother of the federation, and I think it can play a role, he tells me. The response at Fridays business lunch showed they get what Alberta is going through.

Many politicians lay claim to a 100-day plan of action. Kenney, however, has unveiled a 100-hour agenda of disruption that he has spent years mapping out.

And he is just getting started  threatening B.C. with a fuel blockade and confronting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a constitutional challenge over control of energy resources.

Never mind that the first provincial legal challenge against a federal carbon tax, led by Saskatchewan, but emulated by Ontario and promised by Alberta, fizzled on Friday with a court decision backing Ottawas authority.

Like Ford, Kenney isnt giving up: We want to coordinate our legal strategy on this.

While the premiers of Alberta and Ontario can both be described as disruptors, there is a difference.

Kenney is a populist with a plan.

Unlike Fords follies, there is method to Kenneys madness. He knows how to pick fights, but he also has the political smarts to win an audience, whether in the press or the public service.

He wants all Ontarians to know how bad it is: Albertans are so frustrated that they are flirting with separatism as Quebecers once did.

A country that once worried about Two Solitudes is now facing several solitudes squabbling on multiple fronts, with Kenney at the locus of loquaciousness  confronting British Columbia, countering Quebec, and condemning Ottawa for either standing in the way of Albertas interests, or not standing up for them.

Alberta feels politically landlocked, and will do what it must to break out.

My message today is, Lets be partners in prosperity in responsible resource development, which means pipelines and market access. 

How can he get Ontario onside?

By working with your government, which does want to help us, he says.

Yet Ford is today less popular than Kenneys predecessor as premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, and hardly has the hammerlock on public opinion that Kenney has at home. Ford Nation cannot deliver the province.

Which is why Kenney wants to speak directly to Ontarians by being here and communicating the message  its not a coincidence, here I am, in downtown Toronto, three days into being premier of Alberta, he says. And youll be seeing a lot more of me . I look forward to my first editorial board meeting (as premier) with the Toronto Star. Im not kidding.

Kenney is at home in Ontario, as if he never left. He worked the banquet circuit hard as minister of multiculturalism, turning up at public events across the 905, and at party fundraisers in most ridings.

Ive been away, but I do understand the 905, I think, and the GTA and Ontario pretty well, he muses.

Now he wants to be sure Ford understands what Alberta is up against: I wasnt sure the degree to which he was aware of that.

They emerged earlier Friday with Ford beaming about their bond in the fight against a carbon tax. Even if their populist play may soon peter out, they cast themselves as comrades in a shared battle.

I cant even wipe the smile off my face, Ford said in his Queens Park office as he posed with his Alberta visitor. What a great ally!

But as Kenney acknowledged in our interview, it wasnt always smiles between the two politicians.

Yes, you recall, Kenney mused, when asked about his public denunciation of Fords late brother Rob in 2013, in which he called on the younger Ford to step aside as then-mayor of Toronto as he became increasingly erratic in his public antics: I think there is a dignity in public service and elected office and he is doing, regrettably, dishonour to that high office, Kenney told reporters at the time. I personally think he should step aside and stop dragging the city of Toronto through this terrible embarrassment.

He was the first Harper minister to speak out, clearly disturbed and offended by the then-mayors behaviour.

It left the mayors defenders furious, not least Ontarios present-day premier.

We had a tense . He had some choice words for me six years ago, Kenney said Friday, choosing his words carefully. But I think both of us implicitly just allowed bygones to be bygones, and there was no discussion Friday of that unfortunate incident.

Kenneys decision to speak out at the time was a reflection of how seriously he takes Canadas governing institutions, notwithstanding his populist rhetoric and partisan cloak. Perhaps its because he has seen politics from different perspectives and provinces; he was born in Ontario, raised in Manitoba, settled in Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta, all the while shifting from the Liberal Party to Reform, the Canadian Alliance, the federal Conservatives, and now Albertas United Conservative Party.

It underscores how he cultivates the bureaucracy, rather than bulldozing it, as Fords Progressive Conservatives do in Ontario.

In Ottawa, Kenney tapped into the civil service expertise to undertake major immigration reforms, a point he stressed after his new cabinet was sworn in by inviting his former federal deputy to an orientation session in Alberta: I expect our ministers to work collaboratively with the public servants, and I walked them through my very productive, symbiotic relationship  to do good policy.

While some populist premiers tout the unrivalled power of social media in bypassing mass media, Kenney prefers to reach the biggest audience.

Its still important to communicate through the mainstream media; most people still get most of their information, I think, from it, he says.

I try to be accessible, probably more than most in my walk of life.

Read more about:
ORESTE P. DARCONTE is a former publisher of The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.
GODFREY  A womans house just off Great River Road was saved from rising floodwaters Saturday morning when a Facebook post seeking help attracted a brigade of volunteers.

It took them just 90 minutes to pack and stack 1,000 sandbags around the home of 86-year-old Stevie Salas, a woman most of the volunteers had never met.

It all started Saturday morning when Salas Clifton Terrace home appeared to be in peril. The river had covered Great River Road and was lapping up mere feet from her back porch.

Mark Ellebracht, News Director at WBGZ radio in Alton, heard of her situation and sent out a Facebook post early in the morning that read:

Foot of Clifton Terrace Road in Godfrey. Home of a soon to be 86-year-old lady. Trying to keep water out of her lower level. Just had her house painted by Bucket Brigade last week. Bring a shovel, gloves, bottle of water and old shoes, boots and clothes. Parking limited so carpool if possible. Whoever can help, were starting at 10:30 am today till 1,000 bags are filled. DONT DRIVE INTO THE WATER! Thanks in advancesee you there! Please share!

By 9:30 a.m., 40 or so people showed up at her door  many of them youngsters from Alton and Marquette High Schools, Alton Middle School, St. Marys Youth Group, the St. Ambrose Youth Group and the Encounter Youth Choir.

Tyler Atkins said he was helping out at the Methodist Village flea market with a friend when they heard the news, and decided to answer the call.

Olivia Ellebracht, 14, also showed up to help.

I needed to do it, she said. Something tugged at me.

A large showing of area church representatives also heeded the call. There were Tim Anderson, Elder Wright and Elder Seeley from the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ in Godfrey, the Oblate Fathers, who Salas cook for, and Father Paul from St. Marys, wearing his collar and dressed in black shirt, pants and rubber boots.

Alton Memorial physical therapist Sue Heinz came to support her former patient. As did firefighter Lieutenant Ben Hamburg and Selina Hamburg,

Stevie had a host of family members come to help, as well, including grandsons Tim Carbol of St. Charles and Dan Preston, a first responder from St. Louis.

Its the power of social media, Sharon Godfrey, of Godfrey, said.

She had seen the Facebook post just as she was starting laundry and cleaning house. Flood fighting, so she reasoned, trumped household chores.

Christopher Sichra. Godfrey Public Safety and Emergency employee, said that when the State of Illinois declared a state of emergency, he ordered the sand and 1,000 bags to be delivered to Salas house, knowing there was potential for trouble.

In less than two hours, the sand pile went from five feet high to a mere inch of leftover.

Salas addressed the crowd afterward, calling the volunteers a godsend. There was applause and hugs all around then the volunteers were gone, a tearful Salas waved as they drove off.
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man who was arrested wearing a clown suit Sept. 11 on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to time served in custody.

Ron Singleton, 55, was pleaded guilty after spending 216 days in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Singleton had been declared unfit to stand trial after an examination by a court psychologist, but Circuit Judge Kyle Napp declared him fit Friday after a report from IDHS and after speaking with him briefly.

Authorities said Singleton appeared intoxicated Sept. 8 when he dressed in his clown suit and went to the rear of a home in the 1800 block of Central Avenue and took a bat to the property of the resident.

The day before that, he entered a vacant house Friday in the 2500 block of Washington Avenue, a witness told The Telegraph.

Once inside, Singleton put on a colorful red, white, blue and yellow clown costume he found inside, came outside and began kicking the door of a second empty building that formerly housed a law office, the witness said. He also carried a complementing, multi-colored umbrella.

The witness, an employee of a nearby business, called police and they arrested Singleton about a half block south on Washington Avenue, still dressed in the costume. Singleton had left the umbrella behind on the steps of the second building, which is just north of James H. Killion Park at Salu.

He has convictions for 98 previous misdemeanors, including several disorderly conduct charges.
In his first days as an official candidate, former vice president Joe Biden has opened a significant lead in national polls, posted the top one-day fundraising total and showcased his ability to rattle President Donald Trump.

His surprisingly strong debut has set off alarms in opposing camps, prompting his rivals to recalibrate their strategies for the next phase of the primary fight.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has taken the most dramatic action, making a personal decision to contrast his policy record with Biden's. Sanders' advisers said he plans to continue that thrust, and his campaign manager is calling out candidates standing on the sidelines.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised money off Biden's entrance by whacking him for soliciting checks from wealthy benefactors and separately noted under questioning that he sided with credit card companies in a key legislative battle.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., seized on Trump calling her "nasty" by turning it into a rallying cry in social media ads that sought to demonstrate that Biden is not the only candidate who can provoke the president.

"He's had a gravitational effect on the other candidates," said James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.

Biden has benefited from the dynamic of the 2020 primary season: Democrats have put forth the most diverse slate of candidates in history, generating excitement across the party, as measured by crowds massing at their events and donations flowing to their campaigns. But no standout has emerged with staying power, creating the vacuum into which Biden, who is well known and attached to the last Democrat to win the White House, has slipped.

Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William Barr. Warren's suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.

It is not yet clear whether Biden himself will be able to maintain his tentative hold on the race; statewide polls in early states show him in a weaker position than national surveys, and his first events demonstrated his limitations as a candidate. His speeches were often meandering and his aides sharply limited access to him - he took no questions from voters - a style of campaigning that can backfire in states where people are accustomed to taking the measure of their options up close.

"People know him and there's a comfort level with him," said Rob Hogg, an Iowa state senator. "But I don't think it's a done deal for Joe Biden." He added, "There's a lot of interest in somebody new, in the next generation."

The candidates fresh to the national stage have been blunted to some extent by the presence of Sanders, the second-place finisher to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic contest and, like Biden, a septuagenarian. For reasons both strategic and ideological, he has become Biden's sharpest critic.

Sanders jumped at the chance in recent days to compare himself with Biden on far-reaching free trade agreements and the Iraq War - which he opposed and Biden supported. The strategy is similar to the approach he took against Clinton in 2016, when he mercilessly pounded the establishment front-runner on their policy differences and exposed the leftward turn of many Democratic voters.

Sanders' advisers say he is just getting started.

"Senator Sanders has had a lifetime of consistency around the issues that he's raising," said Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir. "And quite frankly, on many of those issues . . . Biden has been wrong on the first instance."

When it comes to the rest of the field, Shakir said, "I'm not sure many of them are all that different" from Biden. He added, "If you're not interested in drawing the contrast, right, it certainly makes it less clear to us that there is any distinction."

The Biden-Sanders split embodies a broader Democratic divide. While some believe the path back to power lies in the political revolution Sanders is urging, others feel a better bet for defeating Trump is Biden's pitch for a restoration of more conventional Obama-era politics.

Biden and Sanders represent the same side of another Democratic divide - both are running against a crop of younger candidates who are newer to elective office and whose racial and gender diversity better reflects the changing country. Yet despite coming from different ideological tracks, the two are competing for some of the same voters - white, working-class people in upper Midwestern states Trump won.

After an impressive start of his own, Sanders has dipped a bit in public polls. His crowds have diminished in recent weeks. He's had some trouble attracting nonwhite voters. And a sizable chunk of the Democratic Party does not like him or doubts he would beat Trump.

"He's an old, angry guy running against Donald Trump, who's an old, angry guy," said Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina. "That's not a contrast."

The added pressure of having Biden in the race was apparent at a rally Sanders held at Iowa State University on Saturday. Ron Craig, 62, an undecided voter there, said he was leaning toward Biden.

"He might be able to get more of the swing voters, you know, that might be leery of voting for somebody who's really far left," he said. Craig's main goal? "To beat Trump."

All of the candidates besides Sanders are taking a lower profile in the post-Biden period, wagering that if he falters they will be well-positioned to inherit voters up for grabs.

Sanders's allies are watching Warren, whose similar platform makes her a competitor for the mantle of a more liberal alternative to Biden.

Pressed by a reporter after Biden's entrance whether he was "too cozy" with Wall Street to regulate it as president, Warren said she had defended struggling families in past battles over bankruptcy matters, whereas "Joe Biden was on the side of credit card companies."

Since then, however, she has been judicious about taking him on.

Asked about Biden in a brief interview, Warren declined to speak about him or his record. "I can't speak to anyone else's campaign," she said.

Warren is focused on outlining policy proposals; her mantra is "I have a plan" and T-shirts with the phrase have become her campaign's fastest-selling new item.

Part of what appears to be propelling Biden in his campaign's early days is his strength among different sets of voters, including not only white, blue-collar voters but also African-Americans. Multiple candidates are also competing for that support.

Harris, who is making a vigorous push to win black voters, will address the Detroit chapter of the NAACP on Sunday.

"I adore Joe Biden," Harris said when he joined the race.

Buttigieg began the past week by lunching with the Rev. Al Sharpton and ended it on the cover of Time magazine with his husband, Chasten.

Buttigieg's campaign believes it needs to establish deeper relationships - and policy credentials - with voters who know little about the South Bend mayor. His team is also working to scale up its presence in early states including South Carolina, where he is campaigning Sunday and Monday, immediately after Biden's own visit there.

While the other candidates for the Democratic nomination have taken on Biden in differing measures, the former vice president has focused solely on a contrast with Trump. He announced his run in a video highlighting the president's remarks about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, prompting Trump to rehash his comments.

"I understand the president's been tweeting a lot about me this morning. I wonder why the hell he's doing that!" Biden said on recent swing through Iowa, practically giddy. "I'm going to be the object of his attention for a while, folks."

He has also worked to appear in step with the current electorate. On Wednesday night, during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, a half dozen protesters in penguin masks raised signs that read, "Climate is a crisis."

"Don't worry, I'll get to climate change, I promise," he said. "And by the way, I got there before any of the other candidates did, I might add." Perhaps unintentionally dating himself, he noted, "I'm one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in '87, OK?"

Biden is also seeking to expand his financial advantage over many in the field. While some of his opponents have sworn off wooing big donors amid rising Democratic concerns about the influence of the wealthy, Biden is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Wednesday where donations range from $2,800 to $10,000, according to the invitation.

He also is delivering constant reminders of perhaps his biggest selling point: his connection to the 44th president, who remains popular among many Democratic voters.

"I think there is a lot of excitement about him simply because he has served under President Obama," said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who represents a swing distinct in the suburbs of Atlanta and has not made an endorsement. "People kind of believe, you know, he's probably one of the more experienced presidential candidates."

That sentiment so far is echoed by many voters. While they acknowledge he is not a perfect candidate, voters say he seems authentic and represents what they crave: a return to normalcy.

"As soon as he announced, I thought: Yes. Someone is coming to our rescue," said Hope Phillips, a 52-year-old financial industry worker from Des Moines.

Andrew Lietzow, a 67-year-old from Des Moines who is executive director of the Iowa Landlord Association, is the kind of voter Biden's rivals need to worry about. If Biden weren't in the race, Lietzow might be supporting one of them.

"Cory Booker is strong. Elizabeth Warren is strong. So is Kamala Harris. But compared to Joe? Not even in the hunt," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Annie Linskey, Chelsea Janes, Amy B Wang and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
EDWARDSVILLE  With the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing coming up on July 20, a new student organization at SIUE is doing its part to honor the spirit of Apollo 11.

Cougar Rockets, which was formed last fall, is dedicated to designing, building and flying rockets.

On Nov. 8, the group successfully launched its first high-powered rocket on SIUEs campus near Korte Stadium.

Another SIUE organization, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), collaborated with Cougar Rockets on the launch.

Last summer, a few of the students got together because they felt a rocket club at SIUE was something that was really lacking, said Dr. Michael Denn, an instructor of mechanical engineering at SIUE and the faculty advisor for Cougar Rockets. They approached me because I have had experience in the aerospace industry prior to being an instructor here.

The long-term goal for Cougar Rockets is to participate in the 2020 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), which is held every year in New Mexico. It is also known as the Spaceport America Cup.

Rockets are interesting, but there the students were a little uncertain as to what they wanted to do, said Denn, who worked for Boeing for 18 years. You are usually most successful if you have a goal and we found out about the intercollegiate rocket competition. For at least the next couple of years, thats our primary goal for our organization. The rocket launch that we had last semester was the first step.

The November launch for Cougar Rockets was a 63-inch rocket that reached 5,000 feet before its parachute deployed and it landed safely.

The IREC competition consists of launching a rocket with an 8.8-pound payload and target altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet above ground level.

That is considered high-powered rocketry (HPR), which is defined by the size and the thrust of the rockets. Some of the Cougar Rocket team members will earn National Association of Rocketry certifications in order to purchase HPR motors and ensure they are complying with safety codes.

Our objective is to make our own rocket and engineer our own rocket, Denn said. The first rocket was a large kit, but it was still a kit, Denn said. The objective is to pick up more and more of our own technology to take to the competition.

Charter members of Cougar Rockets included 33 students studying mechanical engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering and physics. The organization is open to all SIUE students.

This year we also have somebody from chemistry as well, and when we start doing things with fuels, were going to want people like that to be part of the club, Denn said. It really has a broad appeal and thats the objective.

Egemen Erten, the founding president of Cougar Rockets, obtained a bachelors degree in industrial engineering last year and is now working on a masters degree in mechanical engineering.

Aviation and the aerospace industry have always been my passion and I felt there was something missing regarding that field at SIUE, Erten said. We made our first high-powered launch last semester in November, which was a really short time period. All of our members have great passion and theyre really dedicated.

The practical experience gained by the members of Cougar Rockets goes beyond designing and launching rockets.

Ive always said that Cougar Rockets is kind of like a start-up, but the only difference is I dont invest any money into it, Erten said. Its more than an engineering organization because were learning management organization skills, finance, marketing and other things.

Denn currently has some students in his senior design class who are working on a modular rocket concept with solid-fuel or liquid-fuel engines that can be swapped in and out of the same rocket.

A diagram on the board in Denns office depicts the path that Cougar Rockets will take to prepare for the IREC event in 2020.

What we did in November was a demonstration launch, so the next step for this semester is to take the same rocket and put a little oomph to it with bigger engine charges, and get certification so we can go to the competition.

Meanwhile, the group wants to test some of the smaller rockets with altimetry (measurement of altitude), GoPro (action cameras) and high-altitude parachute deployment, telemetry (measurement transmission of data) and other technologies.

Instead of risking a big rocket, well use a little rocket, and then when you demonstrate on that, we want to roll it the technologies into a rocket with what we call a modular engine for the senior design project, Denn said. Well test that with a couple levels of technology and take those lessons to the next step, which is the competitive rocket.

Andrew Patterson, who will graduate this spring with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, is the lead designer for Cougar Rockets.

The large red rocket was our first step and we needed to test the waters in terms of our design philosophies, Patterson said. We took a high-powered rocket thats capable of flying up to two miles with the appropriate hardware, but we scaled that down a little bit because were not going to launch that high yet.

We have to get certified to launch that high by the FAA and a couple other external organizations. They dont like people launching that high that dont know what theyre doing. Theres a different safety protocol for large rockets like this compared to the smaller rockets you can get at a hobby store.

Pattersons senior design group likes the versatility that is offered by a modular rocket.

The way rockets are usually built is that the engineers develop a motor and then they build the rocket around it, Patterson said. By having a modular rocket engine bay, it adds a constraint to the design process, but you dont have to build a new rocket every time and that saves money.

The scale of the Cougars Rockets first high-powered launch, or even the IREC rockets, is tiny compared to a NASA mission, but the dedication of its participants is much the same.

Since Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 and the final lunar landing, Apollo 17 on Dec. 11, 1972, there has been an ebb and flow of interest in the U.S. space program.

Denn hopes that some students involved in Cougar Rockets could help provide the spark that leads to a resurgence of interest in space.

Were seeing a transition from an exclusively government-run space program where everybody is subcontracted (to NASA) to having companies like SpaceX who are doing a lot more on their own, Denn said. I think that can only help the space industry because it broadens the base and its not quite so tied to government policy or NASAs budget allocations.

For the second straight semester, Denn is teaching an engineering course with a recurring theme  the Apollo project.

The reason is that Apollo is an exemplary example of systems engineering, Denn said. Its big, its bold and its complex and it was done on a schedule.

Back in 1961, President Kennedy said were going to the moon by the end of the decade and we did it. I was young then, but I was alive and remember it generated so much excitement. The Apollo program still resonates and its still an outstanding example of engineering that can be perpetuated for generations to come.

For Denn and his students, it doesnt take too big a leap of imagination to picture a rocket launch on the SIUE campus as a small step toward a future mission to Mars or a return to the moon.

If you look back over the past several presidential administrations, almost all of them at some point have tried to reignite the space program to go to Mars, but and it really hasnt gone anywhere, Denn said. As soon as we as a society decide we want to go to Mars, 10 years later, we will be there.

We clearly had the will to do that back in the 1960s and the consensus with Apollo to go to the Moon. We can do that again, but we have to get to that point.

Reach reporter Scott Marion at smarion@edwpub.net
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected Friday to announce a sweeping plan to cut down on carbon pollution coming from America's cars, buildings and utilities - a major policy rollout for the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has made combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign.

Inslee, 68, one of the lesser-known candidates in a crowded Democratic field, will sketch out a vision for using the federal government's regulatory power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, according to a version of the plan reviewed by The Washington Post.

The plan calls for zero-emission futures in three sectors of the economy - transportation, electricity, and residential and commercial buildings - that in 2017 accounted for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

By 2030, Inslee wants all new cars, trucks and buses to be "zero-emissions," relying instead on battery power or renewable fuels. He also wants utilities to be weaned off coal - which produced 28 percent of American energy last year - and for new buildings to be built in a more energy-efficient way.

"Those goals are scientifically necessary and are absolutely required if we're going to protect our families and country from the ravages of climate change," Inslee said in an interview. "These are concrete actions. They're not ephemeral. These are not unicorns and rainbows."

During Inslee's campaign, he has toured flood damage in the Midwest and visited wildfire survivors in California, as well as made stops to highlight solar power and electric cars. He's expected to announce the climate policy in Los Angeles.

The eight-page plan is aimed at raising Inslee's profile and setting him apart from his rivals with a point-by-point plan that draws on his success passing climate legislation in his home state.

In the past presidential election, climate change received little attention. This time, amid worsening wildfires and floods, the issue has gained more traction, energizing Democrats and young voters, such as those who call for the Green New Deal.

Inslee's team hopes that enthusiasm, as well as momentum from the climate bills, could help lift his polling numbers early in the campaign. So far, he has lagged behind at about 1 percent in national polls in a crowded Democratic field.

But in a sign of the difficulty he faces, Inslee was preempted by former congressman Beto O'Rourke, another Democratic presidential hopeful. On Monday, O'Rourke declared climate change "the greatest threat we face" and put out his own climate plan as he toured Yosemite National Park.

O'Rourke proposed spending $5 trillion over the next decade and set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero over the next 30 years.

Inslee has described O'Rourke as a newcomer to the issue and someone who once allied with oil companies in his native Texas.

"I welcome anybody following my leadership," Inslee said. "Even if you discover climate change late, it's better late than never."

His plan, he said, has "much more specificity. It is much more robust. It is much more comprehensive. And I'll get it done."

O'Rourke said Wednesday he will not accept campaign donations of more than $200 from executives of fossil fuel companies, joining a pledge signed by Inslee and other Democratic candidates.

Inslee has spent much of his long political career - 15 years in Congress, starting in the early 1990s, before becoming governor six years ago - talking about the dangers of climate change and urging a transition of the U.S. economy to cleaner sources of energy. He co-wrote a book on the topic, "Apollo's Fire," more than a decade ago.

Washington state relies heavily on hydroelectric power; coal accounts for about 15 percent of the state's energy, much of it imported. The state's lone coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close in coming years.

Many note that meeting these clean-energy goals will be more difficult in other parts of the country. Although coal-powered electricity has declined steadily over the past decade, it still produces the second-most electricity of any source, behind natural gas.

Inslee's political opponents in Washington state who have opposed his pro-climate push warn of rising gas prices and lost jobs.

"A lot of these policies they push will simply drive the means of manufacturing out of state or offshore," said state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R), a Trump supporter. "We're still going to use gasoline. We're still going to use many of these products, but if you make it too expensive to manufacture them, you create a tax structure that forces them out, that just means you're going to import them from China, India, Taiwan."

Supporters, however, say the goals and timelines Inslee set are ambitious but not unrealistic. The movement to more energy-efficient buildings, electric cars and utility companies is taking place in many states across the country.

"These are in some ways the things we have the highest confidence we're able to do because we're already doing them," said KC Golden, a longtime climate and energy advocate in the Pacific Northwest who has known Inslee for many years.

"The governor obviously has made a very strong commitment to responding to what climate scientists say we have to do to avert catastrophic climate change," Golden added. "Those timelines are not negotiable. If we think that it's unrealistic to live on a planet that is in constant cascading climate chaos, then we have to accelerate our timelines for making this green energy transition."

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, said the economic transition that Inslee is calling for is "both realistic and necessary, and it will save money and create jobs."
Jacksonvilles El Rancherito restaurant recently closed its doors without warning.

The restaurant, in the Lincoln Square shopping center on West Morton Avenue, did not have a sign on the door but has been closed and no longer can be reached by its listed phone number.

Linda Day, food coordinator at Morgan County Health Department, said the restaurant did not close because of a health inspection.

The restaurant had received poor inspection scores in the past, but more recently had received high scores from the health department. The restaurant failed under-age alcohol checks in 2017 and 2015.

The restaurant underwent a major renovation in 2015 to give the space a facelift.

An owner of the restaurant could not be reached for comment.

According to Illinois Secretary of State records, the business was incorporated in 1997 and is not in good standing with the state for 2019.
HARTFORD  Captain Meriwether Lewis wrote on May 14, 1804 that The Mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered the Point of Departure. The 215th anniversary of the Departure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Illinois Country, thus beginning their historic 2 1/2-year journey to the Pacific Ocean and back.

The Riviere a Dubois, or Wood River Creek, located today near Wood River and East Alton, marks the approximate location of where Lewis and Clark built their first winter encampment, Camp River Dubois. It is here where Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark selected the 40-plus men that would comprise the Corps of Discovery. Here they gathered the remaining supplies and information necessary for their voyage to the Western Ocean.

Illinois was the westernmost territory in the United States in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson changed that with the purchase of the Mississippi River and Louisiana Territory from Napoleons France for $15 million dollars. The western border pushed across the continent and the United States more than doubled in size. The Louisiana Purchase stretched the U.S. boundaries north into Canada, south into the future states of Louisiana and Arkansas, and west all the way to the Rockies.

Yet much of it remained completely unexplored by American or European travelers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition received a mission to explore and map this vast expanse of land. They were charged with meeting and establishing trade with the numerous American Indian nations that occupied the region. Finally, the captains were ordered to describe and catalog the hundreds of species of yet unknown flora and fauna that lived within the bounds of the western lands.

The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on Dec 12, 1803. Upon being denied permission by the Spanish lieutenant governor in St. Louis to move any farther west, the expedition established their winter camp across from the mouth of the Missouri River, along the Wood River Creek.

While Meriwether Lewis spent much of the winter in Cahokia and St. Louis, it was up to William Clark to assemble a team that was capable of making the arduous journey ahead. Despite early issues of discipline and conflict, the captains and soldiers came together, and they soon grew anxious to begin in the early spring. The Day of Departure finally arrived on May 14, 1804, when Captain Clark wrote Set out from Camp River a Dubois at 4 oClock P.M. and proceded up the Misouris under sail  men in high Spirits. [sic]. The expedition would not return to Illinois until September 23, 1806, having covered over 6,000 miles and losing only one soldier, Sergeant Charles Floyd.

Though often associated with St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark expedition in fact began their journey from the eastern banks of the Mississippi in the Illinois Country. It is in Illinois where they recruited many of the members of the expedition at Fort Massac on the Ohio River and Fort Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River.

Illinois is where the men came together for the first time as the Corps of Discovery. It is in Illinois where they gathered the final supplies that would carry them through their journey.

Most importantly, Illinois is where the men came to learn trust for each other and the leadership of their captains that ultimately led to their incredibly successful expedition. Illinois is the Point of the Departure for the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford celebrates the Lewis and Clark Expeditions monumental expedition each year with the Point of Departure Weekend. Dozens of re-enactors and artisans in period dress demonstrate the various craftsmanship and lifeways of the Corps of Discovery and early Illinois settlers.

This free event includes artisans exhibiting historic basket making, fiber spinning, leatherwork, woodworking, and candle making. Military life is shown through artillery demonstrations, musket displays, and encampments of soldiers. The event is put on by the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Lewis and Clark Society of America.

Anyone interested in the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and early Illinois can enjoy the Point of Departure Weekend on May 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information, call 618-251-5811.
EDWARDSVILLE  A license plate reader camera system installed on the Clark Bridge in 2018 has been quietly expanded throughout Madison County.

The system alerts police when specific vehicles pass by and was set up because of concerns about criminals coming over from Missouri, and stolen vehicles being taken across the river.

Since then additional cameras have been quietly installed at several locations around the county and more are planned, according to Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons.

Gibbons mentioned the expansion of the system at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday.

We are participating with local police agencies and in coordination with the DEA to expand the network of license plate readers around Madison County, he said after the meeting. Weve targeted and identified major corridors for drug trafficking and other crimi9nal activity, and are strategically working to place those cameras on bridges and on major thoroughfares where we think those things are happening.

He said the States Attorneys Office is budgeting $50,000 from drug forfeiture funds this year for the expansion.

Were using that money to support construction efforts, he said. The DEA is donating the cameras and IT infrastructure.

The goal is to eventually have all the bridges and major highways covered.

It allows to track flow of drug traffickers across state lines, through our county and on our interstates, he said. It gives us a better tool to push back on the tide of drugs that are flowing through Madison County. We have a heroin highway, but now it carries methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

The St. Louis region has long been known as a major intersection in drug trafficking, and over the years local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have routinely found drugs and cash being transported through the area.

Gibbons noted that the cameras on the Clark Bridge have been very successful.

We found in several of our murder cases the ability to pinpoint a specific vehicle and a person in a specific vehicle at a specific time on the bridge has allowed us to create a timeline and weve used that in trials, he said. Its been extremely helpful.

Part of the expanded system is in place.

We have two of the bridges covered, we have multiple truck stops covered already, he said. There are a whole bunch of projects in different stages of planning.

He declined to go into specifics about locations.

We want the public to know this is something were doing to help protect them, but we dont want to be too specific because we dont want to tell the criminals everything, Gibbons said. When our goal is reached it will be virtually impossible to mule drugs and drug cash through Madison county without being spotted.

He also noted that the same restrictions in place for use of the Clark Bridge cameras will apply to the others.

It doesnt tie in to registrations, it doesnt observe traffic violations, he said. These are for your high-end, serious crimes. But it does trigger on stolen vehicle alerts.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
ST. LOUIS (AP)  The latest round of Midwestern flooding claimed at least four lives, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of river towns to shore up threatened levees with sandbags as waters rose to and near record levels in some communities.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Friday along a large swath of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood watches for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after recent rounds of heavy rain.

Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said in a conference call that included the leaders of other river towns that roads are closing around the town and that its working to get businesses to move out as waters rise. The town, which is 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of St. Louis, has no flood walls or levees. He said water is beginning to encroach upon city hall.

We are at our wits end, Eberlin said. We are totally unprotected.

In Alton, the Argosy Casino Alton was forced to close on Friday as floodwaters crept higher into downtown. Altons mayor, Brant Walker, complained that the city is doing flood control every eight months and that the frequent business closures are hurting the citys finances.

We are barely keeping our head above water, he said.

In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch remains open, even as floodwaters pour over the road beneath it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday closed the Mississippi for a 5-mile stretch at St. Louis, citing both the high water and the swift current.

The Mississippi isnt the only river bulging out of its banks. Moderate flooding at Missouri River towns like Washington and St. Charles in Missouri was causing headaches like road closures, but few homes were impacted.

The Meramec River in suburban St. Louis is rising fast and will crest Sunday and Monday around 15 feet (4.5 meters) above flood stage in towns like Arnold and Valley Park, threatening several homes and businesses.

Historic flooding was happening elsewhere along the river, too. The National Weather Service is now projecting flood levels to reach the second- or third-highest ever at several Mississippi River towns in northeast Missouri  Hannibal, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield.

Kimmswick, Missouri, Mayor Phil Stang said the community is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water. Weve closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub.

Sandbagging efforts began Friday in Winfield, where the Pin Oak Levee was threatened. Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, was among many towns where volunteers were racing the clock to add sandbags to the tops of levees and around homes and businesses.

The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday afternoon in a swollen southwest Missouri creek. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff identified the man as 35-year-old Scott M. Puckett of Forsyth, Missouri. The body of his friend, Alex Ekern, 23, was found Thursday.

Puckett and Ekern were among three men who began paddling Wednesday afternoon in Bull Creek near the small town of Walnut Shade. The patrol said they were swept over a low-water bridge and caught in what is called a hydraulic, which creates a washing-machine effect that is hard to escape. One of the men survived.

Flooding also claimed the life of a camper found Wednesday after he was caught in waters from an overflowed creek near the town of Ava, also in southwest Missouri. And in northern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother drove onto a flooded road.

In Davenport, Iowa, concerns were that even after the Mississippi River reached a record height, the worst was far from over.

The crest inched above the 1993 record on Thursday, and forecasters are calling for up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of additional rain next week, meaning the high water will likely stick around and potentially get even higher.

Several blocks of downtown Davenport were flooded this week when a flood barrier succumbed to the onslaught of water. The river at the Quad Cities has been at major flood stage or higher for 41 consecutive days.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds visited Davenport Friday.
The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to tax and regulate adult use of recreational cannabis is answering some of the concerns raised by critics.

Some observers speculated that an amendment to Senate Bill 7 would be filed this week, finally revealing how exactly the state might go about making recreational cannabis legal for adult use. With the end of the session set for May 31, such an amendment has yet to be filed.

State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said she has concerns for her community.

I dont see where the community is going to benefit and quite frankly I dont see where the state is going to benefit, Flowers said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzkers budget proposal relies on $170 million from recreational cannabis licensing fees.

Flowers said shes worried about the possible social costs.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said Flowers concerns are legitimate. However, she said legalization isnt an endorsement.

What it does do is say, We know that people are getting a safe product and you know that theyre now going to card people or to make sure that theyre not under 21 [years old], so youre really limiting it, Steans said.

Pritzker said he wants to ensure that the industry is open to communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs.

One of my No. 1 focus areas for this has been equity and making sure that were addressing the fact that the war on drugs most ill-affected communities of color, we want to make sure that this bill addresses the historical discrimination thats existed and also give people a new opportunity to create new businesses, Pritzker said Monday.

Flowers said she doubted minorities would be able to secure a spot in the industry. She also said she doubted the black community would benefit at all.

Their lives have not been made better, nor have their families lives been made better, Flowers said. We havent even had that discussion.

Steans said there will be new license categories with cheaper licenses and certain funding mechanisms to help social equity applicants get both reduced application fees, but also to help get grants and loans to help to start up  and then we want to do expungement to help people expunge records that relate to cannabis.

Lawmakers are finding common ground on all of these issues and others with stakeholders, Steans said. However, the issue of whether to allow recreational marijuana to be grown in homes remains a point of contention.

Generally speaking, home grow is important, Steans said. Its going to be very expensive. We want people to have access at lower amounts, so were going to see if we can make home grow work at a very limited fashion.

Pritzker has said he supports limited home cultivation.

The law enforcement community has been opposed to any home-grow provision. Some ideas proposed include only allowing home grow for medical cannabis patients.

Lawmakers are back to session Tuesday.
MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho, Girls Track, Senior; Weeden won two events for the Chargers in the first meet of the season. Weeden was first in the high jump (5-0) and the long jump 15-1.

ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago scored 39 points in three games as Stonington started the season 1-2. Drago had 16 in a loss to Fitch, 12 in a win against Griswold and 11 in a defeat to Ledyard.

SYDNEY HAIK, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Haik scored 14 points as the Bulldogs opened the season with a victory over Cumberland. Haik had three 3-pointers, five assists and five steals.

ZANE BREWER, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Freshman; Brewer scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Lions season-opening win over Grasso Tech. Brewer followed that with 18 points and five rebounds in a loss to Hale-Ray.

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'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years but while some providers, such as Bulb and Ecotricity do provide renewable energy, others are accused of buying the right to slap a label on their deals at a cut price - and then charging customers more.

Nothing is quite straightforward when it comes to finding the right supplier and deal for your household energy.

Although switching is easier than ever before  helped in big part by the advent of companies happy to do all the hard work for you  and competition remains fierce (despite the demise of some small suppliers), the cards are still stacked heavily in favour of the energy companies. Profits uber alles.

Pay by direct debit for your energy  and invariably the best deals demand that you do  and it is highly likely you will end up handing over too much to your supplier.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas

Experts claim energy companies are currently holding on to some 1billion of our money as a result of direct debit payments being set too high.

A scandal. Plain and simple.

It is our money  and cash the suppliers should return without prompting or households having to go a proverbial six rounds with customer services in order to get it put back into their bank account.

Even measures seemingly designed to help customers fight rising bills end up enabling already profit-fattened suppliers to milk more out of the consumer.

This is the case with the energy price cap introduced early this year to protect some ten million customers from expensive standard variable tariffs  the default payment rate households end up on if they are not savvy and do not continually chase down competitively fixed priced deals.

According to website comparethemarket, last month's increase in the price cap  sanctioned by regulator Ofgem  has already allowed energy companies to generate an extra 148million of revenue at the expense of customers.

'The energy price cap has had the curious impact of providing an official licence to energy companies to hike their prices,' comparethemarket explained two days ago. 'It has potentially boosted energy companies' profits by millions.'

Bizarre. So much for pro-consumer intervention in the energy supply market by the Government whose idea the price cap was. Mad. Bad.

There is more  ineffective regulation that allows many energy suppliers to continually get away with unacceptable levels of customer service without fear of reproach or sanction. Third world.

Yet there is one area of the energy market where the current levels of confusion, deception and customer exploitation are stratospheric. It is in the supply of 'green' energy.

'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years as householders seek to do their bit for the planet.

In theory, such eco-friendly deals dovetail perfectly with Government ambitions spelt out last week to make Britain the first major world economy to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

The Government was responding to a report from the influential Committee on Climate Change, an organisation set up to advise it on how to respond to ever rising global temperatures. The committee said the country would have to stop using fossil fuels  oil, gas and coal  and quadruple the current number of offshore wind turbines.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas  an astonishing increase of 150 per cent in just one year  with most energy companies providing at least one green option. Customers have also seized on green electricity deals.

Yet the more you dig under the skin of many of these green tariffs, the less green (climate-friendly) they become. Indeed, the energy you are supplied with under such an eco-friendly deal is often anything but green. It's called smoke and mirrors  classic energy company deception.

As if that was not enough, many consumers are paying a heavy price for going green through higher energy bills. Surprise, surprise. Yet more unchecked profiteering from suppliers, often owned by overseas conglomerates.

Some of the gas sold by small supplier Bulb is biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure

THERE ARE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN

Anyone taking out a green energy deal would assume that the gas or electricity piped into their home would be derived from renewable sources  essentially energy generated by wind, water or the sun.

In some instances this is the case. Suppliers such as Bulb, Ecotricity (which bills itself as 'Britain's greenest energy company') and Green Energy ('100 per cent green gas, 100 per cent renewable electricity') have set themselves up to do exactly this.

Small supplier Bulb buys energy from independent renewable generators across the UK. It says 100 per cent of its gas is carbon neutral as a result of supporting carbon-neutral projects around the world.

Some 10 per cent of its gas is also biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure.

Green Energy chief executive Doug Stewart says: 'Our energy is green because it is gas derived fully from biomethane that comes from organic waste. So not only is the gas green but it uses waste that would otherwise rot and release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more toxic than CO2, into the atmosphere.'

But it means their tariffs are expensive. The annual average energy bill for a household using a truly green tariff from either Green Energy or Ecotricity is as least 50 per cent higher than the cheapest 'green' deal available in the market.

Yet these companies, in terms of green purity, are the exception, not the norm. Most other providers of 'green' tariffs  everyone from Centrica-owned British Gas through to German-owned Npower and eco-friendly brands such as Pure Planet  derive little or no energy directly from renewable sources.

Is your tariff really better for planet? All electricity customers contribute to Government subsidies for renewable energy through their energy bills. So to some degree all tariffs have a green element. But some suppliers go further than others in trying to change the composition of energy production in the UK. Thomas Rogers, of energy firm Switchd, says: Every supplier must state what percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. If youre really keen on going green, go for a supplier whose fuel mix is 100 per cent renewable, not just one using the word green in its tariff name. Fuel mix disclosures can be found on a suppliers website and will help customers find environmentally friendly energy tariffs. Rogers adds: This ensures the money youre spending on your energy goes to a company that at least believes in renewables, not one thats chucked in a green tariff at a premium. The Energy Savings Trust emphasises that signing up for a green tariff is no substitute for reducing individual energy use.

They simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a complex 'certificated' system. It's head-scratchingly complicated so clear your head and concentrate.

In very simple terms, companies that generate renewable energy  not supply it  are awarded so called 'Regos', certificates from regulator Ofgem.

Rego stands for Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin. These certificates can then be purchased by electricity suppliers, allowing them in turn to badge tariffs as 'green'.

One certificate represents one megawatt hour of renewable energy generated and costs a supplier anything between 10p and 30p (peanuts).

To put this into context, an average home uses about three megawatts hours worth of energy a year.

So the purchase of three certificates per household is enough for an electricity company to claim the tariff it is offering customers is green.

Just sit back and think about the maths. For the cost of less than 1, a supplier can stick a green label on a tariff and charge annual prices at least 100 more than the most competitive energy deal available in the market.

There are similar certificated systems in place for gas.

A single certificate costs from 7.50 and offsets one ton of carbon dioxide. For the average household, which emits about four tons of carbon dioxide a year, this would cost a supplier wanting to bolster their 'greenness' about 30.

For example, the Energy Plus Protection Green May 2020 tariff from British Gas matches electricity through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Gas is carbon-offset through the purchase of certificates relating to projects in developing countries.

Npower's Go Green Energy Fix April 2021 matches 100 per cent of electricity consumption and 15 per cent of gas consumption through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Small supplier Yorkshire Energy, which provides a 'Green Bunny' deal, offers 100 per cent renewable electricity also through the purchase of certificates.

How to save money and help the planet The way we spend our money can be a powerful driver in helping the environment. From buying products that create less plastic waste, to supporting companies that aim to improve working practices, or choosing those that try to reduce their environmental impact, consumer pressure works. So what are the big and small changes you can make - and can they save you money as well. Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look on the This is Money podcast. Press play above or listen (and please subscribe if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify and Audioboom or visit our This is Money Podcast page.

WHY THE EXPERTS ARE DEEPLY UNIMPRESSED

Not surprisingly, some energy experts are singularly unimpressed with the abuse of the green label.

Dustin Benton, of environmental think-tank Green Alliance, says: 'There is no environmental definition of what green actually means. Energy companies exploit this by using the label as a sales tool without having to do any real environmental good.' Damning.

Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy

Johnny Gowdy, of energy expert Regen, says: 'Some of the marketing that accompanies green energy tariffs is misleading.'

He adds: 'Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy.'

He concludes: 'There ought to be a clear distinction made to consumers between the energy that is directly sourced from renewable generation and energy labelled green through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.' Absolutely.

Many companies simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a 'certificated' system

A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS ON TARIFFS

The greener the supplier or tariff, the more expensive it will be. But there are signs that things are changing for the better.

Until recently the difference between the cheapest tariff and the lowest green tariff from British Gas was 230 a year. That has now been eliminated with all British Gas tariffs for new customers having a green component.

Rival suppliers npower and EDF Energy charge an annual green 'premium' of 70 and 35 respectively. E.On charges 2 a month for a 'Clean Energy' upgrade while ScottishPower's 'Go Green' bolt-on is 36 a year. Big Six supplier SSE does not offer a green tariff.

Research by energy regulator Ofgem suggests consumers can pay up to 300 a year more for a deal with a supplier that invests in renewable technology innovation, compared to one where the supplier simply buys certificates.

Do you think green energy deals are a rip-off? Email laura.shannon@mailonsunday.co.uk
Greening the economy is one of those transformations that we have to make. So lets try to do it well.

Over the next 30 years, every country will be moving to a lower carbon economy. The driving force, of course, is concern about the impact of carbon emissions on the climate, as last weeks report from the Committee on Climate Change highlighted.

But quite apart from political pressure, we will move in that direction because that is the way technology is developing.

By 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS

Part of this will be using less energy; part will be getting our energy from sources that do not emit carbon. The first part is obvious. All of us who have switched to LED light bulbs or turned down the central heating have cut our energy consumption.

Getting energy from non-carbon sources is trickier, because at a personal level we have very little control as to how power is generated. We can put solar panels on our roofs, but electricity drawn from the grid is drawn from whatever the power stations are feeding into it at that moment. So if this country wants to go truly green, we have to figure out ways of generating more power from renewable sources. That is not easy.

A cautionary tale. Those of us with long memories will recall our politicians heralding Britains nuclear power programme as the global leader.

When the worlds first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was switched on by the Queen in 1956, the overseeing Minister, Rab Butler, said: It may be that after 1965 every new power station being built will be an atomic power station.

Wrong. Calder Hall closed in 2003. By then the fire at nearby Sellafield, plus the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl had destroyed public faith. The UK is struggling to build new nuclear stations now, and can only do so with foreign help. As for our own supposedly world-beating programme, we abandoned it after a huge cost to taxpayers.

Being measured means taking lots of steps that together make a difference

Whenever you hear a politician boasting that the UK will lead the world to a carbon-free future, think of Calder Hall.

Two thoughts. We have to be honest, and we have to be measured. Being honest means being open about the reality of going green. Just focusing on what we do in the UK isnt enough.

Manufacturing uses a lot of raw materials and a lot of energy. So if we import a car from abroad instead of assembling it here, that cuts our carbon emissions. But it does not cut global emissions, and we achieve nothing overall.

Being measured means taking lots of modest steps that cumulatively make a difference. At a personal level, a cooler home seems to have health benefits  better sleep, clearer thinking  which is much more convincing than some expert urging us to set the thermostat at 19 degrees. Ditto, driving a bit less and walking a bit more.

At a national level? Well, a report last autumn by the Swiss bank UBS suggested that by 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free. If that is right, and we have found a cheap way to store electricity, then economic reality will reinforce political will.

Meanwhile, a lot can be achieved by applying existing good practice more widely, rather than having expensive ambitions. What about the environmental cost of cutting half an hour off the time it takes to get a train from London to Birmingham, huh?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaways famed annual shareholders meeting was taking place yesterday in Omaha, Nebraska, with the usual folk-wisdom. But I am more intrigued by what chairman Warren Buffett does than what he says.

So as we report here, the UK grid companies are clearly a smart investment  arguably too smart a one for those of us who pay the bills. The whole ethos of Berkshire Hathaway is that you invest for the long term in solid, well-managed businesses.

Over the past 40 years this value-investing approach has been very successful. But more recently performance has slipped. This year the S&P 500 index is up 17 per cent, but Berkshire Hathaway stock up only 6 per cent. For the moment fashion beats value. But fashion is fickle, so will it flip this year? I think it may.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

J.B. writes: I bought two car parking spaces at Gatwick Airport in 2016, as an investment offered by Park First Limited, and I am wishing I had not done so. In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority decided Park First was operating a Collective Investment Scheme which should have been regulated. The regulator instructed Park First to offer investors a different arrangement or their money back. I decided I wanted my money back, but getting it is a nightmare and the watchdog is of little help.

Return: Investors in spaces at airports make money through the charges

Park First sold car park spaces as an investment, with more than 6,500 investors promised a return on their money based on charges paid by people parking their car.

The only snag was that the scheme was illegal. In effect, this was like a unit trust. That meant the company and its bosses should have been vetted and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, but instead they were breaking the law and it took the watchdog three or four years to spot this.

The regulator's eventual response was not to shut down Park First, but to open negotiations with the offenders instead. At the end of 2017, the watchdog announced: 'Park First has agreed to stop operating and promoting the original schemes.

'They are now offering investors in the Gatwick and Glasgow car parks the choice of getting their initial investment back, or moving into a new lifetime leaseback scheme.'

The watchdog did not regard the leaseback scheme as a regulated investment, which meant it could wash its hands of the whole affair.

Mystery calls were to your voicemail Ms G.G. writes: Noticing that my mobile phone bill was higher than normal, I checked and saw that 07782 090091 appeared frequently and at odd times, so I rang it and a message said the number was unrecognised. However, Three Mobile insists that I made the calls and must pay. My first thought was that this was just another mobile phone scam. However, the answer is more technical. Your calls were actually to voicemail, which would normally show up as number 123, but a glitch meant the number on your bill was an internal one that is only used by Three to route voicemails and which cannot be called back. Officials at Three say the glitch lasted several months, which is why the number kept reappearing, but it has now been corrected and you have agreed the calls were yours.

You decided to reclaim the 50,000 you had invested in two parking spaces at Gatwick. But Park First was not keen to hand it over.

It seems the regulator had allowed the company to delay refunds, while the alternative leaseback scheme meant investors could lose parking space rental income yet have to pay ground rent. Why did the watchdog not simply shut the company down and prosecute its bosses? The regulator told me: 'Had we brought proceedings, there would have been a greater risk of loss to investors as substantial resources would have been expended on litigation.'

In other words, the watchdog did not try to close down Park First, because Park First would then have spent investors' money defending itself.

Park First offered you various options and I have the impression that you were under growing pressure to accept. After I contacted both the regulator and Park First, you were offered 10,000 now and a further 5,000 after 12 months.

You would keep the parking spaces and the company would guarantee you an annual yield of 10 per cent for three years. You have accepted this and received the initial 10,000. I can only say that I hope things work out well in the long term.

Park First itself has always argued that the watchdog is wrong and that it was never running an illegal investment scheme. I have been dealing with two of its bosses, Toby Whittaker and Ruth Almond, who were involved in negotiating the deal with the regulator. It would be nice to know exactly what that deal says, but Ms Almond told me: 'I will be very clear  the watchdog has required us to keep our agreement with them confidential. We are under a legal obligation to do so.'

But I do wonder how closely the regulator has investigated Park First, which is part of a much larger group. If the watchdog's representatives visit the group's headquarters at Padiham in Lancashire, they may come across Carl Baker.

Baker's role is vague. Ruth Almond told me: 'He has just provided ad hoc services to the group from time to time.'

She explained that he does not have a fixed job title, adding: 'Mr Baker will have used different titles, depending on the work he was doing for us at the time.'

But one title he is unlikely to have used is his real name, which is Carl Anthony Ballard. Under this name he was a major player in the land banking scandals of almost a decade ago.

The Mail on Sunday warned against his companies in 2011 and in 2014 he was banned from acting as a company director for the next 14 years after investigators found he was selling house-size plots of agricultural land as an investment, with false claims about development prospects.

The Financial Conduct Authority took years to decide that land banking came under its umbrella and that it should be regulated. By then it was too late and thousands of investors lost millions. Let's hope history is not repeating itself.

Sister firm Store First is wound up...but lives on

Court proceedings brought by the Government to wind up Store First Limited  a sister company to Park First  have ended prematurely in a messy deal which effectively allows the business to continue. Store First operates self-storage warehouses and sells units in them as an investment.

Warning: Motoring writer Quentin Willson fronted a video for the firm

I warned in 2013 that sales agents were making false claims, including in a promotional video fronted by motoring writer Quentin Willson.

Many of Store First's salesmen had previously been involved in mis-selling land, wine and carbon credits as investments. They raked in more than 200million for Store First, much of it from investors' pension savings. But complaints flooded in, with claims that promises of rental income and a guaranteed buy-back scheme were hollow.

In 2017, Business Secretary Greg Clark petitioned the High Court to wind up Store First. But last Tuesday, the court hearing in Manchester ended unexpectedly, with an out-of-court agreement. It means the company will be wound up, but its existing storage business will continue, with operations managed by a separate company, Pay Store Limited.

Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Office is investigating pension companies that poured cash into Store First, allegedly with false claims and with a huge slice of investors' cash disappearing as sales commission. Store First itself is not under investigation.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
UK water companies have long been tasked with fixing leaky pipes but more than 650million gallons of water is still lost through leaks every single day  enough to supply a quarter of households in England and Wales.

The problem is even worse in America, where trillions of gallons are lost through leaks in underground pipes, homes and commercial buildings. Leakages are not just wasteful, they are also incredibly expensive. In the US, for example, water-damage claims amount to $13billion a year (10billion).

Water Intelligence was set up to tackle this issue, using state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks with maximum efficiency and minimum fuss.

Water Intelligence uses state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks

The shares are 3.76 and should increase in value, as the business is growing fast and chairman Patrick de Souza is committed to delivering results for investors.

De Souza, 60, has an impressive pedigree. A graduate of Yale Law School, he completed a PhD at Stanford University and worked at the White House as a director on the National Security Council.

Today Water Intelligence is based across the road from Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, and de Souza uses his relationship with the Ivy League college to develop cutting-edge acoustic and infrared techniques for detecting and repairing leaks.

The collaboration has enabled Water Intelligence to earn a reputation for speed and success.

Most of the companys sales are generated in America, where it works with up to 250,000 households a year, finding and fixing leaks in and around the home. Swimming pool leaks are a strong source of income too, particularly in the southern States.

Originally, Water Intelligence derived most of its business from worried homeowners contacting the firm directly.

Recently though, de Souza has signed agreements with large insurance firms, who use his company whenever their customers make a water leak claim. Two such contracts were signed in the past two years and, last week, the company announced a third.

These deals have a meaningful impact on Water Intelligences business, generating 50,000 pieces of new leak detection work in 2018 alone. Insurers also help Water Intelligence to spread its wings to the corporate market, finding leaks in offices, factories and other large buildings.

Over time, de Souza is expected to gain more insurance-related business, as Water Intelligence establishes a name for itself among the top firms in the sector.

De Souza founded Water Intelligence when he bought the franchise operation American Leak Detection. Franchisees still generate around most of the companys sales but de Souza has been acquiring non-performing franchises from their owners and expanding into other areas of the water leakage sector.

The company works with utilities, for example, including Thames, Southern and Northumbrian in the UK.

Over the years, de Souza and his colleagues have developed clever kit that allows these water firms to pinpoint underground leaks faster and more accurately than rivals, a system that can save serious amounts of time and money.

The business is also working on techniques to fix spillage from sewerage pipes, a sanitation problem both here and in America.

Water Intelligence publishes 2018 results this week and brokers expect a 44 per cent increase in sales to $25.3million, with profits up 47 per cent to $2.5million.

Further strong growth is predicted this year and next, as the company adds new customers, boosts sales from former franchise operations and gradually expands internationally.

Midas verdict: Water shortages are a growing problem and leakages do nothing to help. Water Intelligence is at the forefront of its field and the opportunities for growth are substantial. At 3.76, the shares should gain ground. De Souza is a significant shareholder too, so he is highly motivated to deliver the goods.
Every week we give the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust in your attic.

A new Caledonian Sleeper train service made its inaugural trip between London and Scotland last week as part of a 150million carriage revamp.

Although it suffered teething problems  from a broken coffee machine to blocked toilets  it aims to capture the imagination of a bygone era of hotel on wheels travel as advertised on collectable posters.

This poster, illustrated by Robert Bartlett, sold for 12,000 last month

Last month, a 1932 London North Eastern Railway Scotland poster  The Night Scotsman, illustrated by Robert Bartlett  sold for 12,000.

Popular British holiday destination posters advertised by railway companies are always in demand.

Those illustrated with colourful art deco styles are most sought after.

A 1930s Come To Old World Cornwall poster by Great Western Railway  illustrated by SI Veale  can go for as much as 1,750.

And a 1950s Weston-super-Mare, The Smile In Smiling Somerset British Railways Western Region poster by the popular artist Harry Riley can sell for as much as 1,000.
The British whistleblower behind a legal action that could leave Standard Chartered facing a 1.5billion fine claims that he was ousted from the bank after he warned senior staff of a major loophole in its money laundering checks.

The former Standard Chartered executive filed a report in 2011, seen by The Mail on Sunday, which alleges that the way foreign exchange transactions were processed meant the bank could not tell who its clients were.

In the document, he alleges that the way the banks systems operated meant that there is no line of sight on the client.

Money laundering checks: The whistleblower claims he warned two managing directors

The whistleblower, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims he warned two managing directors in the Singapore arm of Standard Chartered, where he was working at the time, that it was possible to mis-spell the name of a client and still process a transaction.

He alleges that this meant there was no way of carrying out money laundering checks or working out whether a client was on an official blacklist of people or countries with whom the bank was forbidden from doing business.

Banking regulations typically state that firms must carry out strict identity checks to ensure that they are not offering services to criminals or fraudsters who wish to launder money.

In 2012, Standard Chartered was hit with a 415million fine for breaking US sanctions by working with clients linked to Iran. Then in April this year, the bank received a $1.1billion (835million) fine for continuing to conduct business with people linked to Iran and other nations, including Sudan and Cuba.

When the April fine was announced, chief executive Bill Winters said it marked the end of the saga and pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions. But The Mail on Sunday revealed last weekend that Standard Chartered could face a new 1.5billion fine after whistleblowers  including the Briton who raised the alarm in 2011  filed a civil case in America.

The British whistleblower alleges that after he alerted senior management, he was summoned to a meeting with an executive at Standard Chartered, where it became clear that he had to leave the bank.

[The executive] said, I heard you wanted to leave the bank. I said that was news to me and he said, I think its in the best interests of all that we part company, the whistleblower said.

He subsequently left the firm and alerted the US authorities. Under the US False Claims Act, which is designed to encourage people to expose corporate wrongdoing, whistleblowers in the US can receive up to 25 per cent of any penalties awarded against a company.

Chief executive Bill Winters pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions

The Standard Chartered whistleblowers have not received any money from the previous fines, but would benefit if they are successful with the civil lawsuit.

The Mail on Sunday understands that documents outlining the new case  which is being revived after the whistleblowers withdrew it in 2017  will be publicly available within days.

A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: We still have not been served with the lawsuit described, therefore we cannot comment on the specifics provided but they sound similar to claims made in a case that was filed against us by a private company and then dismissed in 2017.

If this case is the same or similar to the one previously dismissed, we believe it lacks merit.

The US authorities have been aware of the claims for several years and did not see fit to join the previous suit or include the claims as part of our resolution of historical sanctions compliance issues on April 9, 2019. Should we be served with the lawsuit described we will defend ourselves vigorously.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner could pocket 55m

Ocado boss Tim Steiner might feel slightly aggrieved by the shareholder revolt last week at his bonuses worth up to 100million over five years.

The Goldman Sachs banker-turned-tech-tycoon has made his investors several times their money in less than two years after striking partnerships with supermarkets abroad and signing a breakthrough deal with Marks & Spencer.

The grocery delivery firm has hurtled into the FTSE 100 and is on the verge of a 10billion valuation.

Ocado's chief executive probably won't be feeling too down about the broadside from shareholders at the annual meeting.

That's because from Wednesday he can cash in on a bonus scheme put in place in 2014 when the shares were worth a fraction of their current value. So he could pocket 55million.

Other executive directors will also be in the money. Finance chief Duncan Tatton-Brown and chief operations officer Mark Richardson are in line for 13.7million each.

Luke Jensen  in charge of its tech platform Ocado Solutions  will make 6.4million.

BT's new boss faces grilling

New boss Philip Jansen is likely to face a grilling this week over BT's Italian accounting scandal after it emerged that London-based managers may have been more closely involved than previously suggested.

That aside, Thursday's annual results are expected to show little improvement on last year. An anticipated 1.3 per cent fall in turnover to 23.4billion and adjusted profit down 2.1 per cent to 7.4billion underline the task facing Jansen to return BT to growth.

Intriguingly, Deutsche Telekom, BT's largest shareholder, reports results the same day.

No word yet about its intentions for BT, now that it is free to launch a takeover of the British telecoms firm.

Sainsbury's not in the money after all

Embattled Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe is probably best known for his vocal talents  namely singing We're In The Money after unveiling plans for the supermarket mega-merger with Asda last year.

Last week, he stumped up 230,000 to buy Sainsbury's shares as a show of faith after the Asda deal was officially blocked.

The shares have tumbled around 35 per cent since last August as the deal unravelled. Not including share options, it means the value of his stake in the company has fallen by about 1.8million in that time. So not in the money after all.

Imperial Brands to benefit from vaping

Wednesday could see relatively weak first-half results from Imperial Brands. Thats according to number-crunchers at Swiss bank UBS, who say the tobacco giant could take a 140million hit on operating profits, largely down to a 100million investment in so-called next-generation products  or vaping.

The tobacco giants are ploughing billions into these new products to counter slowing cigar and cigarette sales. That investment for Imperial could lead to a 4 per cent fall in first-half profit, UBS predicts.

A difficult first six months could put pressure on the FTSE 100 company to pick up steam in the second half.
The corporate raider targeting Barclays faces a fresh humiliation as his own shareholders prepare to grill him over a 27 per cent fall in the value of their investments.

Edward Bramson, who owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through his Sherborne Investors fund, suffered a hefty defeat last week in his bid to win a seat on the banks board.

He won support from just 3.9 per cent of Barclays shareholders, leaving him a long way short of the 50 per cent he needed, so he was unable to force Barclays to curtail its investment banking arm.

Corporate raider: Edward Bramson owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through Sherborne Investors

Now the New York financier is braced for a backlash from his own shareholders  many of whom did not back his bid for a board seat  at Sherbornes annual meeting on June 4.

The value of Bramsons fund, Sherborne Investors Guernsey C, has plunged 27 per cent since 2017, from 695.9million to 502.3million. In that time, the FTSE 100 has fallen 3.3 per cent.

The funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays.

The fall in the funds value has affected major institutions including Aviva, Schroders, Fidelity and Columbia Threadneedle  all of which own shares in Sherborne.

City commentator David Buik, of trading firm Core Spreads, said: Its all very well having a good track record, but when you slip up people are not loyal and they tend to leave these funds.

I suspect Bramsons going to plead with his shareholders to give him time.

At the meeting of Barclays investors, Bramson vowed to fight on in his bid to boost the banks ailing share price, which has fallen 20 per cent over the year, compared to a 2 per cent fall for the FTSE 100.

He said investors wanted to give the banks incoming chairman Nigel Higgins a chance to fix problems before putting an activist on the board.

If Higgins wants to take a shot at it himself, thats fine with us, Bramson said. The only thing wed say is having been given a chance to do that, were expecting to see results.

Bramson was not the only item on the agenda for Barclays shareholders. Many had expressed dismay at the high level of pay for its bankers and ongoing litigation issues.

Bramson's funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays

One shareholder said at the meeting: The reports of misbehaviour or excess are many and diverse.

And by excess, I mean wild overpayments of the staff and the board. Your annual report shows executive directors were paid about 7million. Theres another 3.5million for non-executive directors.

I put it to you that shareholders are not getting value for money, and the bank is repeatedly promising improvements in the future which are, to say the least, very slow in coming.

Responding to shareholder concerns at last weeks meeting, outgoing chairman John McFarlane said: Many of these go back a long time. PPI goes back a long time. Some of the larger litigation and conduct issues started in 2010 and its taken some time for these to come through the system.

I can assure you were not trying to deliberately create these any more. These are mistakes that do get made, and hopefully that we can draw a line under.

Sherborne declined to comment.
A company that counts Tory MP Priti Patel as a director is plotting a float on Londons stock exchange.

Accounting software firm Accloud, which targets firms in India, last week received a pledge for $30million (23million).

The finance from Australia-based fund manager Mayfair 101 in exchange for a larger stake paves the way for a listing on AIM, Londons junior stock market, which could value Accloud at tens of millions of pounds.

Deal: Software firm Accloud is paying Priti Patel 45,000 a year to work for 20 hours per month

Patel, a pro-Brexit former Minister whose parents are from India, was appointed a director of Accloud this year. She receives 45,000 a year for about 20 hours of work a month.

The MP for Witham in Essex is not listed by Companies House as a shareholder. But she could receive shares before the float, as is often the case. Patel was forced to quit as International Development Secretary in 2017 after revelations of unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers.

Mayfair 101 said Patels deep connections throughout India and other developing nations align with Acclouds go-to-market strategy.

The firm made an $18.8 million loss after tax for the year ending March 2018. However, its auditors BDO quit in December saying it could not conduct a proper audit. It said Accloud PLC, a shell company set up in 2015 to buy an operating company, Accloud Ltd, had not included financial statements for the firm it bought. BDO said in its resignation letter the issue had not been addressed.

Accloud did not respond to a request for a comment. Patel said: All declarations are with the Commons register.
It's been a landmark week for John Holland-Kaye  in more ways than one. On Thursday, the chief executive of Heathrow celebrated his tenth anniversary at the airport.

As is customary for long-serving employees, the company prepared a letter to congratulate him on his tenure. Usually, the chief executive signs them off  but not on this occasion, for obvious reasons.

There was a letter I was supposed to sign saying: Dear John. Congratulations. Signed, John. I havent signed it. I thought it was a bit weird.

Threat: John Holland-Kaye says expansion is urgent

But that came after a far more significant milestone for the boss of Britains biggest airport. On Wednesday, Heathrows ambitious expansion plans cleared another major hurdle as the High Court quashed a challenge from campaigners to halt the move. I think it will now go ahead, says Holland-Kaye. And I also think it needs to go ahead.

Under the plans, a third runway will be built at Heathrow that would boost passenger numbers from 78 million a year to 130 million.

Holland-Kaye, who took up the top job in 2014 after joining as commercial director in 2009, believes Brexit has added several degrees of importance to the expansion drive.

We cannot take for granted that the UK will be able to enjoy the same economic success we have done for the last decade, he says. Weve got to fight for our place in the world. It is incompatible to have Brexit and no expanded Heathrow.

This is now urgent, he adds, explaining that with Heathrow at full capacity, Paris and Amsterdam are sucking up new passengers as well as company headquarters ahead of the UKs departure from the European Union.

This is real competition happening, and the longer we delay expanding Heathrow, the more were handing competitive advantage to our rivals in Europe.

If the Heathrow expansion debate was about economic prosperity alone, it may have been won decades ago.

It is incompatible to have Brexit  and then not expand Heathrow

Unfortunately for Holland-Kaye, he has many other issues to contend with  not least growing concern about carbon emissions from air travel. Last week, former Labour leader and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband said Heathrow should not go ahead, while Justin Francis  the chief executive of holiday firm Responsible Travel  warned that a larger airport would be bad for the environment and called on the Government to divert expansion funds instead towards decarbonisation investment.

But Holland-Kaye insists that Heathrows growth  which will increase its capacity from 473,000 to 740,000 flights per year  can benefit the environment as well as the economy.

According to his theory, a bigger Heathrow means a better economy  and a better economy means more resources to invest in environmentally friendly technology.

The 54-year-old admits he does not currently possess all of the answers, but says he has already started decarbonising the airport, including by incentivising low-carbon planes and investing in the restoration of peatlands, which help offset emissions.

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to Heathrow expansion plans

The next step, which will require co-operation from the airlines, is to reduce carbon emissions from flights using new technologies  like electric planes  and biofuels.

I see this as being just a transitional phase until we get to net zero carbon, which is the next goal, says Holland-Kaye. Thats what we are now campaigning for. The solution will be a combination of electric flight, particularly for short-haul.

Electric planes will be able to serve distances of up to 500km, so large parts of Europe will be accessible by electric plane. And for long-haul, its probably some sort of hybrid solution  it will certainly involve some kind of biofuel or synthetic fuel. Those solutions are being tested at the moment. Its technology that exists, although it is not at scale and its not cheap enough yet to be economic.

Heathrow will play a big role, he says, by creating infrastructure for electric planes. We need to come up with a solution because I dont think its conceivable to any economy to not have flights, he says. [Without flights] wed have a much smaller economy, and we wouldnt be able to fund the kind of decarbonisation we want to have.

Despite Holland-Kayes optimism after the court victory, there remain several other obstacles ahead and naysayers believe the decades-long battle to expand Heathrow is far from won.

Were seven years from the runway but weve started training people

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to the plans  and is tipped by some as a future Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion.

Theyre going to need a healthy economy [if Labour wins power], Holland-Kaye hits back, claiming that Heathrow expansion will create up to 180,000 jobs. Some of these, he says as an example, will be for apprentices fitting insulated windows around Heathrow to block out flight noise.

Heathrow Airport Holdings office is already insulated, with barely any take-off and landing sound seeping through. And Holland-Kaye says the company is planning to spend 700million to offer the same treatment to its neighbours.

He says: Even though we are still seven years from opening the runway, weve started training people up and started installing double-glazing. So what that helps to do is not just show just what a prize there is to expanding Heathrow, but also what the price is.

Turning around to the apprentices whove started training up to do a job and saying, Actually, weve changed our mind, youre going to be out of work  that is the real price you pay for trying to turn things back.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion

Other groups less likely to be supportive of expansion include residents of boroughs in South-West London  Holland-Kaye himself lived in Fulham but moved to Oxfordshire a year before joining Heathrow  and those even closer to Heathrow, some of whom will be forced to sell their houses to the airport so it can build the runway.

In his decade at Heathrow, Holland-Kaye has helped his company overcome challenges from local politicians, a rival expansion bid from Gatwick and many other opponents.

But, even if nothing can now stop a third runway, Heathrow Airport Holdings still faces a stern challenge from a noisy neighbour.

Surinder Arora, a property investor who owns a large amount of land in the Heathrow area, is putting the finishing touches to a rival plan to expand the airport, which he claims will be far cheaper.

Aroras plan has drawn support from British Airways owner IAG, which is based in Heathrow and is unhappy about costs racked up by the airport and its foreign owners who have been paid dividends totalling 3.5billion since 2012.

Im not paying very close attention [to Aroras plans], says Holland-Kaye dismissively.

Weve got our plan, weve got a lot of work to do to make sure we deliver it successfully  so Im just focused on getting the expanded Heathrow open as quickly as possible. Because this country needs it  and we cant be distracted by anything else.
Polina Montano launched Job Today with co founder Eugene Mizin after needing to make a quick hire for one of the garages she managed in Luxembourg.

Polina Montano doesn't have any specific recruitment industry experience.

But, despite this, around six million people now make use of her employment app, Job Today.

It specialises in bringing together job seekers and employers in the retail and hospitality sector.

Polina is an unlikely candidate to have backed such a venture - she describes herself as a technophobe and says launching a technology company 'just happened'.

Before starting up Job Today with co-founder Eugene Mizin, she was managing six petrol stations in Luxembourg.

The successful entrepreneur says the Job Today app idea was borne at a time when she was in the midst of having dinner with friends and cooking.

She told This is Money: 'And just then my mobile phone rang that needed a replacement urgently for one of the petrol stations.

'And I said I wish there was mobile tech to connect employees with would-be employers.'

The app was initially launched in Barcelona, Spain, in 2015. Since then, the Luxembourg-based company has managed to gain respectable amounts in financial backing.

It raised $20million (15.39million) in November 2016 and topped it up with $16million (12.31million) extension in September 2018.

There are no plans to raise any further money for the business with Polina explaining that they're now focusing on executing on strategy, effectively doing the job and building the business.

Job Today launched in Britain three years ago and now has over six million registered users across both Spain and the UK.

Around 600,000 businesses make use of the app to advertise positions.

What makes the app different is that instead of making companies post an advert on a website, or asking prospective candidates for CVs, it connects employers with future staff, allowing them to message back and forth to discuss roles and speed up the hiring process.

This way of conducting a straightforward, instantaneous connection with a future employer has made it become a particularly attractive proposition for millennials.

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app, which can be downloaded, printed or shared easily

Polina says: 'Young people are early adopters of this technology. Around 70 per cent of our users are aged between 16 and 35.

'It's all about connecting millennials who want everything online and mobile and businesses who traditionally don't use online solutions that are either to slow, cumbersome or expensive.

'It also reduces time for those who don't have time to sit in front of the laptop.

'You can have instant communication and interaction rather than the traditional model of sending a CV. We decided to make it as fast and as easy as we can.'

Job Today is gaining in momentum. It says it is overtaking industry stalwarts like Gumtree in certain categories.

Instead of emailing your CV, you can contact prospective employers through the Job Today app and they, in turn, can view your profile

Polina says: 'We've been in the UK for three years and before we came to the market, people used Gumtree.'

She claims: 'We are now 170 per cent bigger than Gumtree's hospitality classified section.

'Another competitor is obviously Indeed and in London our hospitality section is also bigger than Indeed.'

The business uses a classified model and Polina reveals that it's only recently that the business has begun to monetise its offering.

British firms can trial the app for free for seven days but thereafter a 24.99 monthly fee applies.

Polina says: 'It's the business that pays to post the job and promote it and make listing more visible.

'For users it's a freemium model  charges only apply once you've exhausted your free options.'

Unemployment figures in Spain and the UK are about 14.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively according to reports -but Polina insists that unemployment rates have nothing to do with the company's success.

She explains: 'This proves the problem is universal. In the service industry there is a high churn of staff so just the rotation of staff itself fuels the need for hiring solutions for jobseeker and business owner.'

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app.

Polina explains: 'You can download your profile and use it on other platforms if you need to.

'Job Today takes the whole agony [out of creating a CV] out entirely and you can create a beautiful curriculum vitae.

'You simply answer questions and the app puts it all together.

'It's called a digital professional identity and it's bespoke for the world of casual workers out there.'

For entrepreneurs trying to burst onto the tech scene, she advises: 'Whatever solution you are developing you have to have a clear understanding of who you are doing it for.

'Your idea has to provide value and that's what it amounts to at the end of the day.'

She adds that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to try different things  even if they don't have experience in their chosen industry pointing out that her journey has taken her from fashion, to retail and then technology.

'If you are passionate about something and curious about it, don't let other people stop you. Or if you feel you don't have the experience or knowledge of a particular industry don't let it stop you.

'I know it sounds crazy but fear makes us stop great ideas and projects  it's a shame.'
By Giulio Piovaccari and Nick Carey

MILAN/DETROIT, May 3 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) said on Friday that new U.S. pickup truck models would help the automaker achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter.

That renewed forecast sent FCA's shares up 4 percent.

Nearly all - 98 percent - of the Italo-American automaker's first-quarter profit was powered by its Ram pickup truck. FCA's U.S. sales were down 3.1 percent in the quarter, but Ram sales were up more than 20 percent and outsold rival General Motor Co's Chevrolet Silverado.

"The whole quarter was powered by Ram (pickup trucks) while the rest of the company was lagging," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive, adding that FCA spent heavily on consumer discounts to outsell the Silverado.

"The question is whether the strong performance by Ram is going to be enough to give FCA a push moving forward," Krebs said.

Analysts and investors have worried about FCA's over-reliance on the U.S. market, given its loss-making operations in both Asia and Europe.

FCA expects new models such as the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck and all-new Ram heavy-duty trucks to help it meet full-year targets.

Chief Executive Mike Manley told analysts on a conference call most of the profit improvement would come in the second half of 2019.

The automaker posted a higher profit for the quarter in Latin America and Manley said the region's strong performance should continue. He said FCA's European region, which lost money in the quarter, would return to a profit with margins of around 3 percent by the end of 2019.

The carmaker has pledged to spend 5 billion euros ($5.58 billion) on new models and engines in Italy over the next three years to better use factories, plus boost jobs and margins in Europe.

Asked about potential partnerships, Manley said he expected the next two to three years to yield "significant opportunities" and FCA to play an "active role" in that environment.

FCA has been at the center of renewed merger speculation in recent months.

Chairman John Elkann - a scion of Italy's Agnelli family that is FCA's biggest shareholder - reiterated last month the family was prepared to take "bold and creative decisions" to help build a solid and attractive future for the carmaker.

FCA's North American margin fell to 6.5 percent from 7.4 percent a year earlier, below the first-quarter margins posted by Detroit rivals GM and Ford Motor Co.

The company's first-quarter operating profit fell 29 percent to 1.07 billion euros, below analyst expectations of 1.31 billion euros.

The operating profit at Maserati fell 87 percent, hurt by weakness in the Chinese market. CEO Manley said the performance of the luxury brand should improve in the second half of 2019.

FCA stuck to its full-year 2019 adjusted operating profit forecast of more than 6.7 billion euros.

"The numbers are pretty weak, but what's good is that they confirmed their guidance, and this is giving support to FCA shares," a Milan based analyst told Reuters.

In late trade in Milan, FCA shares were 4.2 percent at 14.11 euros.

($1 = 0.8965 euros)

(Additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for C5ISR systems and enterprise IT networks; and solutions and services to enhance the collection, analysis, and processing of data across the US civilian and military intelligence communities. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Farnborough, the United Kingdom.

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Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC is an investment company. The Company aims to maximize total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio of smaller quoted companies in the economies of Asia and Australasia, excluding Japan. The Company's assets are invested in a diversified portfolio of securities (including equity shares, preference shares, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities) in quoted smaller companies spread across a range of industries and economies in the investment region, including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand, together with such other countries in Asia (the investment region). It may also invest in collective investment schemes and in companies traded on stock markets outside the investment region. The Company's investment manager is Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited.

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China Green Agriculture, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, Yuxing, and Sales Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment comprises of compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly-concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The Sales VIEs segment comprises of subsidiary companies sales. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi'an, China.

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WASHINGTON  In its planning stages, the Erie Canal was derided as Clintons Big Ditch  a hopeless vision of a hapless governor, DeWitt Clinton, to build what was then about the boldest, most ambitious infrastructure project of its time.

But after it opened in 1825, the Erie Canal spawned a wave of commercial and business opportunity that helped put Albany and Buffalo  and the 363 miles of points in between  on the map.

In much the same way, the rebirth of the canal as a federal National Heritage Corridor has generated $1.5 billion in economic impact in a line of upstate towns  including places like Waterford, Schenectady and Cohoes  that had been in decline for decades. New apartments, kayak rentals, restaurants, trail markers, historic preservation, bike paths  all these are positive signs in the longed-for resurrection of upstate New Yorks once-thriving economy.

In addition to the economic impact, the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor supports 3,240 jobs and generates $34.9 million in tax revenue.

It's bringing a sense of pride back to these communities, said Paul Comstock, a kayaker and native of a canal town, Newark in Wayne County.

His grandfather was a Hoggee guiding horses along the towpath in the 1890s. When I paddle down the canal, people are jogging, riding bikes, walking," he said. "Its been a transforming experience, spiritually.

The Erie Canal heritage corridor is one of 55 such sites nationwide overseen by the National Park Service. It encompasses not one but four canals, connecting Albany by water to such far-flung locations as Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Oswego and Whitehall (in addition to Buffalo).

Generations grew up on the folk song 15 Miles on the Erie Canal, which recalls life on the waterway: We know every inch of the way, from Albany to Buffalo, and You'll always know your neighbor, and you'll always know your pal, if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Now the canal is less about hard work and more about having fun. The Erie corridor is sponsoring a Canalway Challenge that lets walkers, runners, cyclists and paddlers set mileage goals, including the 360-mile End-to-Ender.

Last year, more than 6,000 children from 85 schools went on class trips to learn about the canal and its history.

Federal money for the corridor stems from Congressional legislation that envisioned the U.S. planting seed money that would allow the corridors to grow and attract further investment from state, local and private sources. The Erie Canal is under a federal cap of $12 million  with $757,414 spent in fiscal 2018 and the balance of its $1.3 billion budget for the year made up by state and local funding, plus grants, contributions and sponsorships.

Federal support for the Erie Canal was set at $10 million, but raised to $12 million in 2017.

The Senate recently raised the caps for every site except the Erie Canal, in what Rep. Paul Tonko and 19 other House members called an oversight.

In a March 12 letter, the New York delegation  including Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck  asked that the cap be lifted to $14 million.

Tonko, who spoke out at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, said continuing a federal presence on the corridor is more than a matter of funding.

The federal designation is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, said Tonko.

The National Park Service signs along the trail lets visitors know the U.S. government stands behind the nations important history, he said.

Heritage areas around the country have proven that, with limited federal investments, we can do great things, said Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund inc., who testified at the hearing. It attracts visitors, gives to the community, and makes residents proud to be in (the) corridor.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Radliff added that it also gives him and other canal advocates the ability to leverage money from state, local and private sources.

Republicans at the hearing said the caps were put in there for a reason, and that the original legislation did not anticipate federal funding in perpetuity.

Tonko responded that federal funding for these corridors is an example of worthy stimulus for economic growth and revitalization.

If the president says 'Im for job creation,' well  this is job creation, Tonko said. This is a shot in the arm.

Tonko is sponsoring two bills: One would lift the cap for the Erie Canal to $14 million. The other would end caps altogether and essentially make federal participation a permanent feature of all the sites.

Those who live and work along the waterway say that without the rehabilitation, the historically shaky upstate economy would be in much worse shape than it is.

It would be a sad, sad circumstance, said Erin Tobin of the Preservation League of New York State. What theyve done is thread together historic and economic development, tourism, and boosting the main streets of the canal communities.

State Assemblyman John McDonald, who calls himself the river guy because his district winds through Cohoes  where he was mayor  as well as Albany, Troy and Watervliet, argued that funding historic heritage sites transcends political ideology.

You cant be far left or far right in running a business or government, said McDonald, a Democrat. You need use government assistance where it is appropriate. If government can prime the pump, it can inspire developer to take a chance.

Donna Larkin, who left a career as a paralegal to start Upstate Kayak Rentals, said the canal attracts visitors from Europe, Chicago, Florida  all over the place.

Without the resources and funding, people wouldnt be having this experience, she said.
ALBANY  A Rensselaer County man was arrested Friday on a charge of possessing unregistered firearms.

Thomas E. Ozga, 30, of East Nassau, is accused of possessing multiple, unregistered firearm silencers, according to a news release from United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Buffalo Field Office.

Ozga appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered Ozga released with conditions, the U.S. attorney's office stated.

If convicted, Ozga faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Jaquith's office.

This case is being investigated by HSI Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Albany, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily C. Powers.
Miami

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Trump cabinet member Friday in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described "prison-like" conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida.

"With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Van Dusen.

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space. It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Kelly first revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.
FINANCIAL

ALLIANT INSURANCE SERVICES INC.

Justin Riccio joined as senior vice president. Riccio, who previously served as senior vice president at a multinational insurance and consulting firm, has nearly 20 years of experience in claims, underwriting, brokerage, risk management and consulting.

HEALTH CARE

MVP HEALTH CARE

Bruce Himelstein was appointed chief medical officer. Himelstein has more than 25 years of leadership experience in clinical medicine, education, research and strategic program design, most recently serving as the senior executive medical director for government solutions at the Health Care Service Corp., a privately-held nonprofit Blue Cross plan in Chicago.

HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK

Ephraim Back joined the medical staff at Ticonderoga Health Center. Back is an experienced family physician and family physician educator whose clinical interests include full-spectrum primary care, maternity care and women's health, public health and opioid use disorder treatment.

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Kevin Kerwin joined as vice president for public policy. Kerwin previously served as the New York State Bar Association's associate director of government relations and as its deputy general counsel.

NONPROFITS

THE FRIENDS OF RECOVERY  NEW YORK

Angelia Smith-Wilson joined as executive director, effective May 20. Smith-Wilson, who serves as assistant director of local program operations at the New York State Office for the Aging, has more than 20 years of human service and addiction experience.

PROFESSIONS

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

CIOFFI, SLEZAK WILDGRUBE PC (CSW)

Cristine Cioffi has become of counsel. Cioffi, a founder of the law firm who has practiced for 40 years, will continue to maintain an active practice of trust and estate law and elder law, serving multiple generations of clients.

SERVICES

MVP RESULTS

Lissa D'Aquanni founded the community development consulting company. D'Aquanni previously served as director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region.

BOATS BY GEORGE

Tyler Moseman joined as marketing manager. Moseman is responsible for all company marketing initiatives.

 Jennifer Patterson
SARAH SILBIGER

Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that is just the start of it.

Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released Thursday.
Albany

The third and final person to be sentenced for contributing to the March 2018 overdose death of 24-year-old Keisha Richards was sentenced Friday, according to Albany District Attorney P. David Soares' office.

Jodi Noisseau was sentenced to one to four years for her part in the case before Judge Roger D. McDonough in Albany County Supreme Court. She had pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to manslaughter in the second degree.

On April 26, Tamale Harris, 44, who was convicted of manslaughter and concealing a corpse, was sentenced to nine and a half to 19 years in state prison for his role in Richards' death. A third defendant, Christopher Kondracki, 53, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor drug possession charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

On March 14, 2018, the lifeless body of Keisha Richards, 24, was found on a Kent Street sidewalk. Police determined she had overdosed and that she hadn't been alone.

Instead, those she was with neglected to call emergency services, leaving her without medical attention, before bleaching and dumping her body in a snowbank, officials said.

The trial involved one of the most high-profile deaths to occur since the Capital Region began to confront an ongoing opioid epidemic where deaths often go unnoticed to anyone beyond the families and friends of the victims. according to Soares' office, which noted that such deaths rarely lead to criminal charges.

During Harris' March trial, prosecutors said the Albany man had brought Richards, a Vermont resident, and Noisseau to the Capital Inn and Suites in Rensselaer for a party on March 13, 2018.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

According to prosecutors, the group drank, did drugs and had sex. Prosecutors said they believe believe Richards took heroin and laid down in the room while Harris and Noisseau continued their night.

Surveillance video from the next morning showed Harris carrying Richards' limp body to a car. The group drove to Noisseau's apartment and Harris left.

Prosecutors said that rather than drop Richards off at a hospital or call 911, the group left her alone for hours. Later, Noisseau noticed that Richards' pulse was slowing and that she was barely breathing so Noisseau called Harris, telling him they should call an ambulance, but he said no, prosecutors said.

Noisseau, who testified at the trial, said Harris directed her to clean Richards' body with bleach in an attempt to hide any evidence. Harris then borrowed a truck and dumped Richards' body.

"With the resolution of this case, it is our hope that community members understand the tragic consequences that can occur if we do not call for help," Soares said in a statement. "If you witness a friend, a loved one, or anyone in the community overdosing, do not hesitate to call 911. The New York State 911 Good Samaritan Law protects you. Make the call and save a life."
[May 03, 2019] FUSION CONNECT SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Fusion Connect, Inc. - FSNN

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 17, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fusion Connect, Inc. (Other OTC: FSNN), if they purchased the Company's shares between August 14, 2018 and April 2, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Fusion and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/otc-fsnn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 17, 2019.



About the Lawsuit Fusion and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On April 2, 2019, the Company disclosed that it had identified accounting errors that caused a material understatement of expenses, and as a result, its Q2 and Q3 2018 financial statements could no longer be relied upon and would have to be restated, and that it would not be able to file its 2018 annual report timely. On this news, the price of Fusion's shares plummeted. The case is Satarzadeh v. Fusion Connect (News - Alert), Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-3391. 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/20190503005540/en/

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[May 03, 2019] AT&T SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against AT&T, Inc. - T

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 (News - Alert), Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Company's 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 (News - Alert). 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. awyers 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&T's 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 (News - Alert) and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential. On this news, the price of AT&T's 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. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005545/en/

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[May 03, 2019] CONDUENT 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Approximately 96 Hours Remain; Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with large financial interests that they have only until May 7, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. (NYSE: CNDT). Investor losses must relate to purchases of the Company's shares between February 21, 2018 and November 6, 2018. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Conduent and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cndt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 7, 2019.



About the Lawsuit On November 7, 2018, the Company disclosed negative Q3 and Q4 projected operating results due to "continued suboptimal performance from an inherited legacy technology vendorstem[ming] from the vendor's inability to deliver on service level agreements, lack of responsiveness to Conduent's needs, and poorly structured contract which we inherited" Further, an "outdated and historically under-invested legacy IT infrastructure has caused major disruptions to our operations and impacted clients and delivery performance."

On this news, the price of Conduent's shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include 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/20190503005546/en/

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Six consecutive quarters. Thats how long the smartphone market has been in decline so far. And market leaders like Apple and Samsung are really feeling the pain. But not Huawei.

(Image credit: Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group at the P30 Pro launch event. Credit: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

On a tear in China but also coming on strong in Europe, Huawei saw 50 percent growth in smartphone sales in Q1 year over year, while Apple plummeted 30 percent, according to IDC. Samsung didnt struggle as much, but shipments were still down 8 percent, and that was before the Galaxy Fold debacle.

The scary part? Huawei phones arent even sold officially in the U.S. This is largely due to security concerns and reported links between Huawei and the Chinese government. Huawei has denied those claims and is suing the U.S. government. And yet Huawei is thriving anyway.

Huawei doesnt necessarily need to have a position in the U.S., said Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research. Working with the U.S. carriers can be expensive due to the need for extensive testing and then marketing support.

Huawei on a roll

Despite the political controversy, Huawei has been one of the most innovative smartphone makers over the past few years. For example, in 2016, the Huawei P9 was the first phone co-engineered with Leica with a dual-lens shooter. The Huawei Mate 10 in 2017 was the first phone with an embedded AI chip. And last years Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the worlds first phone to offer reverse wireless charging (way before the Galaxy S10).



(Image credit: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the first phone to offer wireless reverse charging. Credit: Tom's Guide)

For its most recent Huawei P30 Pro, the company literally reinvented the smartphone camera, delivering not only a 5x periscope zoom but a super spectrum sensor that delivers incredible low light performance with a crazy-high ISO of 409,600. As a result, the P30 Pro edged out Googles mighty Pixel 3 in a photo face-off, which has been our best camera phone.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried, said Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst for Techsponential. The perception that a flagship phone has market-leading advances is crucial to the value proposition.

Of course, it helps that Huawei is strongest in the Chinese market, which is not nearly as saturated as the U.S. or Europe, where more and more consumers are holding onto their phones longer. In Q1 2019, the company shipped 30 million of its 59.1 million smartphones in its home country, or about 50 percent, according to IHS Markit. The research firm said in its report that Huawei is competing on even footing with Samsung and Apple in the high-end, while expanding into other price segments.

Huawei vs. Samsung vs. Apple

If Huawei keeps this pace up, it wont be long before it surpasses Samsung, which has been the No. 1 smartphone maker for years. IHS Markit says that Huaweis market share worldwide was 18 percent in Q2, compared to 22 percent for Samsung. So if Huaweis growth rate continues, it could knock Samsung from its pedestal as soon as this year.



(Image credit: The Huawei P30 Pro's camera offers a 5x periscope zoom and 50x digital zoom. Credit: Tom's Guide)

In April, Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis consumer business group, said the company expects to be the worlds largest smartphone brand by 2020. And right now, its phones look quite favorable compared to Samsungs. For instance, the Huawei P30 Pro has a superior camera to the Galaxy S10, and the foldable Huawei Mate X has garnered more positive early reaction from critics than the troubled Galaxy Fold.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried. - Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst, Techsponential

Huawei also has its Honor brand, which offers more aggressively priced devices targeted toward younger audiences. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro will be introduced at a press event in London May 21. In addition to sporting a Galaxy S10-like, hole-punch display up front, the Honor 20 is rumored to offer Alexa integration and periscope camera thats very similar to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Add it all up and Samsung could be in trouble.

Huawei has invested a lot of money into its brand to help them grow presence on a global basis, said Tuong H. Nguyen, senior principal analyst at Gartner. Its also improved its quality on smartphones to be able to compete with tier 1 vendors like Samsung.

Where Apple and Samsung still win

While Huawei may have overtaken Apple as the worlds second biggest smartphone maker, it still trails Apple when it comes to ecosystems. Yes, Huawei phones offer Huaweis own EMUI interface, and the company offers a Mobile Cloud storage service. Huawei also has a music service in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as a video service in China, Italy and Spain. But it doesnt provide the breadth of services that Apple does  and thats unlikely to change given Apples push to beef up the services side of its business.



(Image credit: The foldable Mate X demonstrates Huawei's innovative design, but the company is behind on services. Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Samsung is ahead of Huawei in services, too, but also when it comes to offering a wide range of devices that work together, such as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds, smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch Active and also the way Samsungs phones can work with its TVs and other appliances.

If you think about Samsung, theyre traditionally very good at tech and hardware, but theyre also looking to deliver a holistic experience in terms of providing features and functionality to drive these experiences as well, said Nguyen. Think about Samsung Pay, Bixby, and the spectrum of consumer electronics devices offered by the company.

Of course, Samsung is not standing still on the phone front. The Galaxy Note 10 will launch this summer, and the company will be bringing its lower cost Galaxy A Series hitting the U.S. this year. Plus, Samsung is launching one of the first 5G phones on multiple carriers in the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung is building 5G launch phones at multiple carriers in multiple geographies - an astonishing feat of engineering and logistical innovation, said Greengart.

Nevertheless, it looks as though Samsungs reign as the king of smartphones could be coming to an end.
Warning: This story contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame isn't just the grand finale to the past 11 years of Marvel Studios films  it's also a celebration of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The time-travel heist that comprises most of the film quite literally goes back to previous MCU movies, allowing you to see iconic moments from new perspectives as Cap and crew try to acquire the Infinity Stones.

Plus, there are tons of callbacks and cameos that even the most die-hard MCU fans may have missed. If you're suffering from Endgame withdrawal or just want to dive deeper into the film's biggest references, here are the key Marvel movies you need to rewatch. Trying to figure out the best sequences to watch them? Check out our guide for how to watch the Marvel movies in order, which covers both release dates and storyline chronology.

Iron Man

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

After the heartbreaking ending to Endgame, the only way to pay your respects to Tony Stark is by rewatching the original Iron Man. The 2008 origin story got the Marvel movie franchise on the right footing and remains one of the best superhero movies to date. Iron Man shows how Tony Stark evolved from a cocky business magnate to a complex leader of superheroes and even introduces us to Pepper, who plays a larger role in Endgame than in previous Avengers movies. Not to mention, Stark's final words in Endgame are a callback to a key scene in the first film, and the first memorable moment in the franchise.

Iron Man kicked off the Marvel franchise with an exhilarating plot, wherein Stark is captured by prisoners in the Middle East. That's right, the first enemies in this franchise weren't supervillains, but terrorists. Stark, a genius engineer, crafts an arc reactor that would later become the heart of his superhero suit and the savior of many beloved characters over the last decade. If you can stomach it, Iron Man serves as a beautiful ode to our fallen hero. - Phillip Tracy

Captain America: The First Avenger

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

Captain America's arc comes to a pretty definitive ending in Avengers: Endgame. The team leader finally gets his hard-won happy ending, thanks to a judicious application of time travel. Yes, Cap decides to settle down in the past along with his S.H.I.E.L.D.-pioneering sweetheart, Peggy Carter, which means that it's worth revisiting Captain America: The First Avenger to see how their relationship began. (You can also rewatch the Agent Carter TV series, but it's a lot of investment for not much return.)

MORE: Upcoming Marvel Movies: Watch the new Spider-Man Trailer



Refreshing your memory of Cap and Peggy's relationship is the primary reason to rewatch The First Avenger, but not the only one. The Red Skull makes a cameo in Endgame as the guardian of the Soul Stone, and while it's not quite as memorable (or as shocking) as his appearance in Infinity War, it's still worth knowing where the villain-turned-guardian is coming from. There's also a small appearance from Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), who shows up again in Endgame, albeit in John Slattery form. - Marshall Honorof

The Avengers

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

There are so many reasons to rewatch The Avengers. For one thing, it's a really good film, chock-full of action and story. Joss Whedon, for all his faults, understands team dynamics and witty banter in a way that no other Marvel director has even approached. But if you've finished watching Endgame, The Avengers is especially worth rewatching, since a big chunk of the plot hearkens back to the MCU's very first team-up film.

If you've seen Endgame, you know the drill: The Avengers split into three different teams and revisit important events from the past. The most pivotal of these locations is 2012 NYC, mere minutes after the Chitauri attack. If you need a refresher on Loki's scepter, the Tesseract and a much, much angrier take on the Hulk, the first Avengers film is worth two and a half hours of your time. (Remember, too, that the post-credits scene is where we got our first-ever peek at the MCU's take on Thanos.) - Marshall Honorof



Iron Man 3

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

While Endgame is too big to focus on any one character's arc in particular, Iron Man is probably the closest thing the movie has to a single protagonist. In particular, Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) takes center stage. From Pepper's daughter, Morgan, to her surprise excursion in the Rescue armor, this is easily the most important role in a Marvel film since Iron Man 3.

But if you don't remember, Iron Man 3 is when Pepper started coming into her own as a character. In addition to fleshing out her romantic relationship with Tony, Iron Man 3 also saw Pepper taking superpowers for a test run  and she didn't do too badly, considering that she ultimately used them to defeat the film's main villain.

MORE: Avengers Endgame Spoiler-Free Review Roundup



Oh, and Iron Man 3 also introduces Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins): a tween who helps Iron Man rebuild his armor  and his life. He's the mystery teenager who shows up at the funeral in Endgame. You're welcome. - Marshall Honorof

Thor: The Dark World

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

I'm not sure why Marvel wanted to highlight Thor: The Dark World  generally considered one of the weakest entries in the MCU  but it plays a pretty key role in Endgame, so you may as well strap in for a rewatch. In Thor's second outing, the Dark Elves lay siege to Asgard, which ultimately results in the death of Thor's mother. This winds up being an important plot point in Endgame, as does the reality gem embedding itself inside of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

If you're already dreading another run through Thor: The Dark World, it's not all bad. This is the last film with eminently enjoyable sidekicks Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), both of whom are as funny here as ever. You may also have forgotten, but Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd) has a welcome cameo role, and the Ninth Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston, plays the villainous Malekith. - Marshall Honorof

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

One of Endgame's most hilarious gags is its tribute to the iconic elevator scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While revisiting the events of The Avengers, Cap once again finds himself in an elevator surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D." (aka Hydra) agents. But armed with his knowledge of the future, Steve Rogers simply whispers a quick "Hail Hydra" to secure Loki's staff and avoid another elevator brawl. Endgame also serves up a major character moment for Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, so it's worth rewatching The Winter Soldier to see why he's worthy of taking up Cap's shield. - Mike Andronico

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Guardians of the Galaxy still holds up as one of the funniest and most heart-filled MCU movies, and it's one of three films directly revisited in Endgame. In this film, Star-Lord, Gamora and crew defeat Ronan the Accuser and secure the Power Stone in Xandar, which is exactly why Endgame's Avengers need to travel back to 2014 to grab it. It's also the first film in which we see Josh Brolin's Thanos up close.

MORE: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Avengers: Endgame



Endgame delivers some great twists on classic Guardians of the Galaxy scenes, such as War Machine knocking out Peter Quill during his iconic opening dance bit. And given the circumstances of Infinity War and Endgame, we have a feeling 2014 Gamora is the one that'll be sticking around for future Marvel films. So you might want to refresh yourself on what the deadly daughter of Thanos was like before she developed a soft spot for Quill, classic rock and Kevin Bacon. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Endgame is packed with references to the second Avengers movie. As soon as he returns to Earth at the beginning of the film, a distraught Tony Stark insists to Steve Rogers that Thanos' wrath could have been avoided if Stark had gotten to build his "suit of armor around the world"  a direct reference to a conversation the two had in Age of Ultron. Also in Age of Ultron, Stark says, "We can bust arms dealers all the live-long day, but  that up there? That's the endgame, referring to his desire to protect Earth from interstellar threats while also unintentionally teasing the name of the fourth Avengers film.

But perhaps more important is that Cap's big moment during Endgame's finale  when he calls upon and wields Mjolnir  can be traced all the way back to this movie. When all of the Avengers try unsuccessfully to lift Thor's hammer during Ultron's party scene, Cap manages to nudge the weapon just a bit (much to Thor's unease). Was Cap intentionally not lifting the hammer on purpose to not make his buddy look bad, or was the nudge a tease of his growing worthiness? Either way, Cap does indeed eventually lift Mjolnir, and the results are glorious. - Mike Andronico

Ant-Man and the Wasp

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Scott Lang is the unwitting hero of Endgame, devising the time-travel plan that saved the universe, thanks to his time spent wandering the quantum realm. This microuniverse is first introduced in the Ant-Man films, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is the movie that really dives deep into how it all works within the MCU. Plus, the post credits to Ant-Man and the Wasp explain why Scott emerges from a strange quantum-tunnel van at the beginning of Endgame. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Endgame

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Yes, that's right, now that I finally saw Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel movie I want to see the most is  Avengers: Endgame. This is, primarily, to notice and enjoy all of the things and tidbits that I missed when I was too busy tearing up or ugly-crying through it the first time, as well as all of the lines in that epic final battle that I couldn't hear over the applause in the theater. Lastly, I need to see Endgame to prepare for all of the emotions that Tom Holland will be putting us through in the coming years (including in Spider-Man: Far From Home), as he comes to grips with the death of his mentor, Tony Stark. Oh, and Disney's announced that Endgame will be a streaming exclusive on Disney Plus.  Henry T. Casey
Never heard of RHA? Then it's time to get acquainted. This independent, Glasgow, Scotland-based company has released a string of highly regarded IEMs (in-ear monitors) in the past few years. Now, with the truly wireless TrueConnect ($169), RHA enters a space dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. Fortunately, in the TrueConnect, you get a compelling pair of earbuds that offer great audio quality and long battery life, all in a premium housing that you won't mind wearing in public.

While the TrueConnect buds lack certain features and struggle with treble-focused music, they still give the best wireless earbuds  the Jabra Elite 65t ($169) and Apple AirPods ($159)  a run for their money.

Design

The TrueConnect buds are some of the most stylish truly wireless earbuds on the market, even with the stems that hang below their lollipop-shaped housings. You've seen this design before, but it looks far less offensive on the TrueConnect than on the AirPods.

The TrueConnect's stealthy matte-black finish gives the earbuds a sleek, understated appearance, and their warm, soft-touch rubberized material feels comfortable in the ear.

Unfortunately, the matte coating on these buds collects fingerprints, and their dark-gray right and left indicators and RHA logo are practically invisible. I had to hold the TrueConnect up to the light to see these hidden markings on the earbud's stem and large, circular side buttons. A red dot on the right earbud is the only helpful marker to differentiate the two buds.

The TrueConnect's charging case is sleek, sophisticated and functional. The U-shaped case doesn't have a lid; it instead opens by rotating around a center hinge. A gray aluminum frame borders the top and sides of the soft-touch black case. The same plush finish on the outside coats the interior of the case, where the earbuds dock. On the exterior are a USB-C port and three small LED battery-life indicators.

At 2.9 x 1.7 x 1 inches, the TrueConnect's charging case is longer than the cases for the Elite 65t (2.8 x 2 x 1 inches) and the AirPods (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.8 inches).

Comfort

I didn't need to readjust the TrueConnect earbuds once I got a snug fit, at least, while I was stationary. I wore them at work from fully charged until they powered down, about 5 hours, and never felt any discomfort.

I couldn't maintain the same fit when I used the TrueConnect at the gym; the medium-sized rubber tips slid out once I worked up a sweat on the elliptical. One of the earbuds even popped out at one point, but I luckily plucked it from midair before it tumbled to the ground. Constantly readjusting the earbuds during my run was so frustrating that I removed them entirely and endured the pop music blasting in my gym. On the bright side, the TrueConnect earbuds are IPX5 sweat- and splash-resistant, so they can withstand a lengthy gym session at least.

I had fewer problems jamming and working out with the Jabra Elite 65t. Not only did these earbuds stay in my ears, but they were also so secure that I needed to readjust them only twice during a 30-minute cardio session.

MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music

In case the TrueConnect earbuds don't fit out of the box, RHA includes nine additional eartips at various shapes and sizes, including three pairs of Comply foam tips. If those don't work, then try inserting the TrueConnect earbuds at an angle and twist them so the stems go from a rear position to facing downward. I also suggest using the foam tips, but just remember to roll them between your fingers before you insert them into your ear canal.

At 0.5 ounces, the TrueConnect felt weightless in my ears, although competing earbuds, like the Apple AirPods (0.1 ounces) and Elite 65t (0.2 ounces), are even lighter. RHA ships the TrueConnect with an industry-leading three-year warranty.

Setup and Controls

Pairing the RHA TrueConnect to my OnePlus 6 smartphone was straightforward. To turn the earbuds on and initiate pairing, just press and hold the large circular button on either earbud for 5 seconds. A gong sound will indicate when they're discoverable. Then, open up your device's Bluetooth settings, select the RHA TrueConnect and follow on-screen prompts.

Once connected, I pressed both left and right buttons down for 1.5 seconds to wake up Google Assistant. After a brief pause, I was able to use voice commands to shuffle through one of my favorite albums: Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism." I then tapped the right earbud button once to pause "Tiny Vessels" when I saw my co-worker turn to speak to me. After our conversation, I pressed the right earbud again to continue with the music.

Once the album closed out, with the tender track "Lack of Color," I switched over to Thrice's "Beggars" album. I wasn't in the mood for the first few heavier songs, so I pressed on the left earbud twice to skip to the next track. When I needed to go back to the previous song, I pressed on the left earbud three times. The right earbud controls volume in the same manner, with two presses increasing volume and three lowering it.

The controls work well overall, but there's room for improvement. Since there aren't any voice guides, I had to remember each of these button controls, which took a couple of days and lots of frustrating trial and error. And while I appreciate tactile feedback, tapping and pressing the round buttons into my ears caused discomfort. For this reason, I prefer touch-capacitive controls, like those on the Samsung Gear IconX.

MORE: Buying Headphones in: Pros and Cons of Every Type

There's no accompanying app for the TrueConnect, which is something we've come to expect from premium, truly wireless earbuds. While not mandatory, it's nice to have a hub for monitoring battery life, customizing controls and fine-tuning audio via a digital equalizer.

Audio Performance

The TrueConnect buds have a fairly neutral sound signature, though an emphasis in the lower frequencies gives these earbuds a fun, dynamic sound. Conversely, the treble ranges could use some smoothing out, as cymbal-heavy songs sound raspy. Also, the TrueConnect earbuds don't support LDAC or aptX codecs, the latest audio-compression technology found on some of the very best Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

It's crucial that you get a tight seal in your ear; otherwise, music will sound hollow and thin. Once you get that tight fit, the TrueConnect will block most ambient sounds. In fact, I could barely hear the screeching of a New York subway car during my morning commute to work.

When I listened to Frightened Rabbit's "State Hospital," the TrueConnect started out strong, punching my ears with a thick, rich bass. The late Scott Hutchison's gentle vocals pierced through the drums with plenty of detail and clarity. But things took a downward turn once the hi-hats surfaced and I heard a graininess with each cymbal clash.

High frequencies weren't as harsh on the AirPods, but Apple's wireless earbuds didn't sound as forward and engaging as the TrueConnect. Bass hits were weaker and felt more artificial on Apple's earbuds. The Elite 65t has the best sound of the three. The Elite 65t generally pump out rich, crisp sound, like that on the TrueConnect, but without the metallic treble.

I recorded similar results when I listened to Hozier's song "Movement." On the TrueConnect, the thumping bass line at the top of the song sounded like a heart was beating in my head. Hozier's smooth vocals were so rich that I when I closed my eyes, it felt like I was at a concern. But again, high notes sounded sharp, so you might want to avoid these buds if you're sensitive to sibilance. I, unfortunately, fall into that group and was forced to turn down the volume when Hozier belted, "It's not the song, it is the singin'" on "Nina Cried Power," the opening track of the new "Wasteland, Baby!" album.

MORE: Best Music Apps for Rocking Out

While the TrueConnect brought me to a Hozier concert, the Elite 65t gave me VIP seats. Vocals sounded punchy and alive on the Jabras, while the pulsing drum rhythm gave new energy to the track. The AirPods didn't offer that same intimate, upfront listening experience, but they still sounded airy and clean.

All three headphones did a good job with Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower," but the TrueConnect and Elite 65t were the most fun to listen to, thanks to their slight bass bump.

Overall, the TrueConnect earbuds sound very good for most music, but songs with lots of cymbals or high-pitched vocals can be hard to listen to.

Battery Life and Bluetooth

RHA rates the TrueConnect's battery life at 5 hours, which is about what I got in everyday use.

I played a Frightened Rabbit radio station on Google Play Music at 11:15 a.m. When I checked back in at 1:15 pm, the earbuds were at 50%, according to the Bluetooth settings on my Android phone. The earbuds finally powered down at around 4:32 p.m., which adds up to a runtime of 5 hours and 17 minutes. It didn't take long to power these buds back up. The USB-C charging case uses fast charging to provide a 50% charge in just 15 minutes.

Speaking of which, the charging case carries an extra 20 hours of battery life, bringing the TrueConnect's total runtime up to 25 hours. Leading competitors offer around the same endurance. For example, the AirPods also last for 5 hours on a charge and gain another 24 hours from their floss-box-shaped charging case. The Elite 65t matches its rivals, with 5 hours of runtime, but its case can recharge the buds only twice, for a total of 15 hours of endurance.

The TrueConnect support Bluetooth 5.0, the latest connectivity standard, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy to improve battery life. While the wireless range is rated at a standard 33 feet, the TrueConnect held a stable connection when my smartphone was on the other side of my apartment, around 50 feet away. The TrueConnect stuttered slightly when there were multiple walls impeding the signal between the buds and my phone.

Microphone/Call Quality

The stems on the bottom of these earbuds may look goofy, but they do a great job improving call quality. When I called my fiancee, she told me my voice sounded just as good, if not better through the TrueConnect compared to my smartphone's microphone. She could make out everything I said, even as she waited for her flight in a crowded LaGuardia Airport.

MORE: I Spent More Than $200 on Headphones: You Should Too

The earbuds also effectively isolated my voice. My fiancee said she couldn't hear any wind noise even though I sat inches away from a space heater in fan mode. There was a brief breeze as I positioned myself in front of the fan, but that sound was quickly swallowed as I settled in. Without an app, I had no way of monitoring my voice. Fortunately, my fiancee said I came in loud and clear.

Bottom Line

The RHA TrueConnect earbuds make up for their underwhelming feature set with a premium design and reliable Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Battery life is also very good, at 5 hours plus an additional 20 hours provided by the earbud's sleek case. I was also impressed by the TrueConnect's audio quality, although a biting treble keeps them from rising above competitors.

If you want the best-sounding truly wireless earbuds on the market, then check out the Jabra Elite 65t. These earbuds get you comparable clarity and bass without the sharp high notes of the TrueConnect. Not only do the Elite 65t offer strong battery life, but they also come with a useful smartphone companion app.

Then there are the Apple AirPods, the most popular truly wireless earbuds on the market. While they don't sound quite as good as the TrueConnect, Apple's lightweight earbuds are extremely comfortable and offer a reliable connection.

Overall, if you're looking for premium, truly wireless earbuds with good sound quality and long battery life in a stylish package, then the TrueConnect buds are an excellent option.



Credit: Tom's Guide


KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) - The family of a veteran who died after an altercation with Veterans Affairs police at the Kansas City VA Medical Center has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The three children of Dale Farhner sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
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Chiefs cut three, sign one, plus other roster notes ahead of rookie minicamp The Kansas City Chiefs released three players and signed one ahead of rookie minicamp, which begins on Saturday, May 4. The Chiefs released wide receiver Josh Crockett, defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux and fullback Aaron Ripkowski and signed Old Dominion defensive end Tim Ward.

Show-Me Deep Dive For More Cash

River Town Mayors Nervously Watch Rising Water, Want More Funding For Flood Prevention Civic leaders along the Mississippi River are bracing for near-record flood levels in the coming days and weeks. Mayors in Missouri and Illinois say federal programs that aim to prevent flood damage need more funding to adequately support river towns that face evacuation and income loss.

Rock Chalk Democracy Switcheroo

Kansas Democrats join other states in scrapping presidential caucuses The Kansas Democratic Party is eliminating the caucus process and will switch to a presidential primary election method in May of 2020. Primaries are much simpler and more convenient for voters, said Ethan Corson, Kansas Democratic Party executive director.

Kansas City Hobo Party Prep

Hope Faith Ministries to host benefit ball Saturday to help homeless Hope Faith Ministries, which helps the homeless get back on their feet, will host a benefit ball on Saturday.

Local Soldier History Well Remembered

After 75 years, KCK World War II hero's remains returned Hide Transcript Show Transcript SAVING A FELLOW MARINE. NOW HE IS FINALLY HOME. AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS, THEY NEVER KNEW, IN FACT NOBODY KNEW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. WHERE WAS UNCLE NICK? IN THIS DAY AND AGE WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A HERO. HE WAS A HERO.

Kansas City Sasquatch Celebration

With respect to Jenny McCarthy's most iconic media moment, we share this smattering of local news that's worth a peek but maybe not debate. Take a look . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Source: Reuters



In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned USD167.9 million from banana exports. The figure dipped to USD112 million in 2018, but is expected to rise to USD168 million in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.





The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand.

The commercialisation policy on banana production benefits rural people. The most notable outcome of this policy has been the influx of investors to assist Lao banana growers in the country's northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Oudomxay which led to an increase in banana exports from USD46.6 million in 2015 to over USD197.8 million in 2016.

Other major agricultural exports of the country are expected to include cassava with sales reaching USD129 million, raw coffee at USD143 million, rubber at USD105 million, maize at USD34 million, and rice at USD25 million./.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 3

A fun trip turned tragic for 12 natives of Nepal when two of them drowned in the Ghaggar near Thapli village in Morni this afternoon.

The victims have been identified as Raj Kumar (28) and Chander (27), both residents of Daria opposite the Chandigarh railway station. Raj Kumar is survived by his wife and two daughters  one aged seven and the other three months old. Chander is survived by his wife and two sons, aged 12 and eight.

Inder Kumar, a survivor and elder brother of one of the victims, Raj Kumar, said he, along with 11 other persons, had gone to the banks of the Ghaggar near Thapli village this morning. He said all of them were related to each other and were natives of Nepal. They were working as cooks at eateries in Panchkula and Chandigarh.

He said they were carrying lunch with them as they had planned to hold a picnic at the spot. Around 2.30, six of them jumped into river to have a bath, but within minutes, they started drowning despite being good swimmers.

Raj Kumars elder brother was also among those who had jumped into the river. When he saw others drowning, he raised the alarm and managed to save the lives of four of them. However, by the time he pulled out Raj Kumar and Chander, they had fallen unconscious, but were breathing.

Inder Kumar said he called up the ambulance number, but it got connected to Himachal Pradesh as the village falls on the border with the neighbouring state. He again tried the number and finally an ambulance arrived at the site and they took the two to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 where they were declared brought dead.

Chandimandir SHO Naveen Kumar said inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC had been initiated into the matter.
Shiv Visvanathan

Shiv Visvanathan

Academic associated with Compost Heap

THE media reports were stark, bare and skeletal, claiming that PepsiCo had sued farmers in Gujarat for growing a variety of potato without its permission. The multinational sought damages up to Rs 1 crore from each of them and later decided to withdraw the cases. The narrative gets immediately caught in a stereotype which loses its deeper layers.

It is presented as a typical David vs Goliath story. One has to challenge the very makings of the story. The language is all wrong, the morality is worse as the very idea of law turns ownership and exclusive ownership into an obscenity. The fact that law schools speak this language emphasises its acceptability while banalising evil. Hannah Arendt used it as a concept to explain Adolf Eichmanns behaviour.

In a moral world, seed and food are part of the sacred. They embody life and define life. The modern market turns seed into a commodity. Science destroys the sacred to create idolatry around innovation. One sees it in a standard book of economics where Joseph Schumpeter praises innovation as a creative act of destruction. In cultural terms, the Schumpeterian innovator, especially in the world of food, was a cultural idiot, illiterate about traditional innovation. Before one considers the innovation of modern corporations, one has to be clear that even today all food we consume, from maize to rice and wheat, is a result of traditional innovation. Modern agriculture has not added any major staple to this collection.

The first bias we have to counter is the bias of modernity and science about agriculture, which sees traditional agriculture as static and modern agriculture as innovative. The second bias is that of law which fails to realise that in most societies, food and nature were part of the commons. Food was a gift sustained by myth and ritual, by traditional diversity. Food was also a form of trusteeship. One of the most brilliant examples of such a trusteeship is the Potato Park in the Andes. The park, as a micro centre for diversity, protects over 40 varieties of potato based on traditional philosophies of agriculture. One needs such a background to understand that the very language and format of media narratives forestall the possibility of justice.

Our law and media pay little attention to history, law, ethics or philosophy. It is not just the asymmetry of the battle that makes it amoral. It is the nature of law which allows for a certain form of intellectual property and patenting regarding food. The multinational realises it is right in law but wrong in publicity. It decides to withdraw the civil suit and settle the matter out of court, provided the farmers become exclusive sellers to the company. It this is corporate humanitarianism, the very idea of CSR (corporate social responsibility), which is an ethical oxymoron, needs to be reassessed.

The language is precise. The farmers are illegal dealers of a registered variety of plant which belongs exclusively to the multinational. The obscenity of language and ethics mars the entire case and the law in its technicalities deodorises it. The obscenity extends to the politicians who, without challenging the validity of the law, threaten the company amid the elections. There is no evidence that they have any understanding of the political economy and epistemology of food. Cheap populism meets bad political economy throughout this narrative. We have a mangled text which hides a deeper history and a complex context. One has to resume the real narrative by going back to Peru, to the Andean mountains, a great gene pool of diversity on the potato. One goes back to an organisation like PRATEC, a project on peasant technologies in the Andes. Anthropologist Fredique Marglin is one of its finest storytellers, a scholar and an activist as knowledgeable about the Chau dance as of Andean potatoes.

Marglin shows that the leaders of PRATEC realised that development as ontology, economy and epistemology had failed. They sensed that native agriculture was more adequate for the environment. The Andes had grown 3,500 varieties of potato, a part of the intellectual commons of the area. It would be obscene to patent such a living heritage. PRATEC leaders realised that to keep the potato with its stunning diversity alive one had to become trustees  in the Gandhian sense  of the world of the potato. One cannot imagine a multinational like PepsiCo or Monsanto engage in such an act of trusteeship as an act of cultural celebration. One has to realise what PRATEC is doing is not preservationist, museumising the potato, but the best of innovation within a cultural commons.

The Potato Park is another variant of this dream of diversity. Central to all these experiments is the way memory and wisdom about the potato is passed on to the next generation. From storytelling to dialogue, orality expands to create a different kind of expertise. While dealing with the PepsiCo case, we forget this broader cultural background of debate. The limits of our radicalism are seen in the illiteracy of our protests. We talk of politics stripped of cognitive justice, of epistemology and ethics. One has to go back to a Gandhian model of Satyagraha and boycott the multinational food company. One is not arguing this from a mere Left ideology but as an academic anthropologist, a citizen who wishes to create a dialogue between knowledge and democracy and feels food needs its sense of the sacred to stay food. One should be grateful that at least one of the lawyers of the farmers, Anand Yagnik, is conversant with such as tradition.

One needs to capture this narrative within a wider culture of storytelling. In doing so, we have to locate the bare-boned idea of law within a political economy which, in turn, has to be located within a wider history of science and ethics. The impoverishment of storytelling is part of the current impoverishment of democracy. By reaching into the unconscious of culture, into the folklore of diversity, India might create a more effective answer to the obscenity of intellectual property. Merely boycotting the multinational will not do. We need the scholarship to challenge it ethically and civilisationally and create new links between modern science and traditional agriculture.
harinder@tribunemail.com

The Class XII results declared by the CBSE on Thursday saw the highest percentages shooting through the roof, with two toppers scoring nearly full marks in the humanities stream  an astonishing 499 on 500; and an all-India joint second ranking with 498! All girls. For years now, girls have consistently defended their place in the sun. This year, too, they performed better than boys by 9 per cent. The pass percentage of girls is 88.70 per cent as against 79.4 per cent of boys. Of 13 lakh students who appeared in the board examination, 18 have scored 497 to claim the third pride of place.

Nowadays, 98-99 per cent marks are common in all streams. With these marks, the toppers will cut the queue to pursue a course of their choice. Some wish to study an honours course, while others have set their sights on civil services or higher studies abroad. But numbers are not always markers of success. This is just one battle won. The still bigger ones are entrance examinations for various colleges, or for professional courses like law, medicine and engineering. The constant pressure to keep up, either from parents or students themselves, does carry a real threat of a burnout.

There is another concern. While the incredible scores are inspiring and, indubitably, a consequence of immense hard work, they establish an unrealistic bar. Cut-offs across colleges will shoot up disproportionately. Full marks in languages and subjects like history were unheard of until not so long ago. A topper regretted losing one mark in English! The above-average student doesnt stand a fair chance in this high-stakes ruthless competition. Those out of the race should not be dejected, for success is the sum total of life, with all its facets. Albeit crucial, academics is only one part. A large number of global achievers were not toppers. Since the super-bright are a fraction of the total number, the education system, on its part, needs to figure out if the inflated marks are a real indicator of its own score.
shalender@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 3

The Haryana State Commission for Women today sought police action against a middle-aged woman allegedly instigating men to rape women in short dresses after a video of the incident went viral on the social media.

In a letter to the Haryana DGP, the commission sought details of the case and asked the police to book the woman under relevant sections as soon as possible.

The woman is apparently thrashing and using demeaning language against regular customers of a restaurant and commenting on their (group of girls) attire. She is seen inciting a sense of hatred towards those girls and specifically referring to men present there that these women who wear short clothes deserved to be raped, the letter read.

This is against the human spirit. The indecent remarks in public spaces outrage the modesty of not only the girls present at the restaurant but the entire community, it further read.

Meanwhile, after being trolled, the woman has uploaded an unconditional apology on Instagram after the video got 1.8 million views.

On April 30, she had asked seven men at a restaurant to rape the six girls as they were wearing short dresses. The group accosted the woman at a nearby store and demanded an apology. However, the woman refused to apologise and told the girl filming the video to go to hell.
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 3

Norms for meeting the Dalai Lama at his residence in McLeodganj would be changed. A decision to this affect was taken at a high level meeting held today keeping in view the age and health of the Dalai Lama. The meeting was attended, among others, by former PM of Tibetan government in exile and close aide of the Dalai Lama Samdhong Rinpoche and various secretaries of the office of the Tibetan spiritual head.

Sources here said that, henceforth, there would not be any receiving lines for meeting the Dalai Lama. Instead, the Dalai Lama would be giving group audience. In this new practice those seeking audience would gather in group and made to sit in hall. The Dalai Lama would come, sit on chair and give a small talk to the group.

The personal touch with the Dalai Lama and the photos clicked with him would be curtailed. However, limited personal one to one audiences as deemed fit by the mission of the Dalai Lama would be allowed.

Earlier, the Dalai Lama used to meet people seeking audience with in open terrace of his residence at McLeodganj. The people, who were cleared for getting audience by the personal security of the Dalai Lama as well as the Himachal police which provides security to the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj, were made to stand in lines. The Dalai Lama used to come and stand in porch of his guest room and meet the people. Generally, he used to hold hands of the people coming to meet him and deliver them a spiritual message. Everyone seeking audience used to get a chance to get a photo click with the Dalai Lama. The photos were clicked by the office of the Dalai Lama and were later soft copies were given to the people.

Sources here said that the decision has been taken keeping in view the health and age of the Dalai Lama.

In the recent past reports went around media regarding ill health of the Dalai Lama. Reports claimed that the Dalai Lama had been suffering from prostate cancer causing concerns among the Tibetans across the world.

The personal physician of the Dalai Lama Dr Tseten Dorjee had trashed the reports that the Tibetan spiritual icon was suffering from prostate cancer in last stage was terminally ill.
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 3

Even as Tashigang at 15,256 feet has the distinction of being the highest polling station in the world with 49 voters, truant weather and fresh spells of snow in May are giving anxious moments to the election officialsto ensure glitch-free poling on May 19.

The worries of the Election Department are not without reason. The higher reaches of the tribal districts in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur received fresh spell of snow on May 1, two days earlier. Though the weather has cleared but a backup plan to ensure that all voters can cast their votes has to be in place.

We have been assured that the Rohtang Pass will be thrown open by May 10 and much to our relief the 22 polling booths, located along the peripheral roads on the Pangi-Killar road, have all become accessible, said a relieved Chief Electoral Officer, Devesh Kumar.

All the Deputy Commissioners have been asked to be in regular contact with the Border Roads Organization and the Public Works Department to ensure that all roads are connected, he said. We have been assured that road linking Miar Valley in Spiti will be cleared within the next two to three days, he stated.

The Election Department has back up plans and the state government helicopter will remain at its disposal but the officials are hoping and praying that there will be no more snow. Seven auxiliary polling stations will be set up, especially for the old and invalid. This includes the one at Bara Bhagal in Baijnath area of Kangra where a majority of the population moves to Bir but the elderly stay back.

The other auxiliary stations are at the old age homes at Dari in Dharamsala, Kee in Lahaul Spiti, Sundernagar, Bhangrotu in Balh (Mandi) and Basantpur (Shimla) and leprosy hospital at Dharampur in Solan.

It is on account of most tribal and high-altitude areas in the state being inaccessible due to heavy snow and snow clearance operation still being underway that Election Commission of India (ECI) has fixed the polling date in Himachal on May 19, the last phase of polls in the country. Earlier, the polling in the three tribal districts of Kinnaur, Bharmour in Chamba and Lahaul Spiti used to take place separately after the assembly or parliamentary polls in case polling took place in the winters.

DCs to remain in touch with BRO, PWD
editorial@tribune.com

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

China had given a curt message to Pakistan that the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar had become more of a liability than asset for Pakistan as early as March before acquiescing in with other members of the UNSC to declare him as a global terrorist on Wednesday.

Highly placed sources, well informed about the Chinese leaderships working due to their frequent visits to Beijing for diplomatic assignments, told The Tribune that China was quite uneasy after the Pulwama attack in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.

China convinced Pakistan that Azhar is now more of a liability than asset, the sources said.

There were a series of telephone calls and meetings at quite a high level between the two sides. The issue was discussed threadbare many a time, but the diplomatic wrinkles were ironed out during Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshis visit to Beijing to attend the first Pakistan-China strategic dialogue on March 18  four days after China had blocked the blacklisting of Azhar as global terrorist and had advocated wider consultations and consensus before taking a call on the sensitive issue.

With Pakistan facing international heat over its soil being used for the terror activities against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, China was also drawing flak from the Western powers, USA, UK and France, for siding with Pakistan in defending the terrorist who was the brain behind so many acts of terror in India. Azhar had a tailor-made profile of the global terrorist that the UNSC Sanctions Committee 1267 had prescribed for the terrorists who spread hate and terror in the world.

Qureshi and other Pakistani delegates accompanying him were told that China could not risk its international credibility for the sake of a terrorist whose position, the sources said, China believed had become indefensible.

Sources also revealed that Delhi was in touch with Beijing all through and did not get provoked when Beijing did not allow the resolution moved jointly by the US, the UK and France to blacklist Masood Azhar to be passed on March 14. Its back- channel diplomacy and Chinas growing impatience with Pakistans terror activities yielded result in May. Things were made clear to Qureshi during his March 18-20 visit of China.

And, the message was finally delivered to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited China on April 25 apparently to renew the strategic relationship with Beijing. Imran Khan could not say no to Beijing.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

Even as only two days are left for polling, top leaders of all major political parties, barring the BJP, gave a miss to poll campaign in the countrys geographically largest parliamentary seat, Ladakh.

On the penultimate day of campaigning too, no top leader of the Congress, National Conference (NC) and PDP canvassed for their respective candidates. There are four candidates in fray from Ladakh seat, which will go to the polls on May 6.

The BJP, on the other hand, launched a spirited campaign in Ladakh with all senior leaders of the state unit and some top central leaders canvassing for candidate and incumbent Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Leh Council Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, a senior Buddhist leader, will address the Progressive Ladakh rally at Polo Ground in Leh on Saturday while winding up the campaign.

The factionalism-ridden Congress did not invite any central or state leader for campaigning as insiders said it would create more trouble for the party, given the religious differences between Kargil and Leh districts.

Like the 2014 parliamentary polls, no senior Congress leader visited Ladakh because he or she would have to hold rallies in both districts. The party posed trust in local leadership, a senior leader from Ladakh said.

Congress has given its mandate to senior Buddhist leader Rigzin Spalbar from Leh, which led to resentment in Kargil, where the partys former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai, who has been supported by powerful religious group Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Kargil, announced that he would contest as an Independent.

The NC, PDP and the influential Islamia School Kargil have jointly backed a consensus candidate, Sajjad Hussain Kargili, who organised an impressive rally in Kargil on Friday as a show of strength. NC leader Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have also skipped the election campaign, though they visited Ladakh several times before the polls. PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too avoided campaigning in favour of the consensus candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress unit organised a 20-km cycle rally from Leh to Thiksay and a 40-km bike rally from Leh to Kharu in support of the party candidate.

BJP still uses Chhewangs photos on posters

Jammu: Even as prominent Buddhist leader and former MP Thupstan Chhewang resigned from the BJP to protest the partys failure in granting the UT status to Ladakh, the BJP has been using his photographs on posters and hoardings to woo voters in the region. Chhewang recently refused to meet any leader of the party, but his photographs on the BJPs hoardings and posters remained visible during the poll campaign. He (Chhewang) has dissociated himself from all political activities, but the BJP is still exploiting his name for political gains, a senior Buddhist leader said. On April 16, Avinash Rai Khanna, BJP in charge J&K affairs, had claimed that the BJP had not accepted Chhewangs resignation.
editorial@tribune.com

ina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Jammu and Kashmir has topped the Panchkula region once again with the highest pass percentage of 95.16 in the Class XII results released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday.

The Panchkula region of the CBSE comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UTChandigarh.

However, there has been a slight dip of 0.31 per cent in the pass percentage of the state in contrast to the last years result, as the state recorded a pass percentage of 95.47 in the 2017-18 session.

In Jammu and Kashmir, 6,593 students appeared in Class XII examination exams and 6,274 students fared in the exam. In Jammu and Kashmir, girls outshone boys by recording a higher pass percentage.

As many as 2,901 girls appeared in the exam in the J&K region, out of which 2,812 passed. The pass percentage is 96.93, which is lower than the last years 97.09.

A total of 3,692 boys appeared in the Class XII exam in this region, of which 3,462 got through. Their pass percentage is 93.77, slightly less than last years 94.22.
shalender@tribune.com

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, May 3

Lateef Ahmad Dar, alias Lateef Tiger, the last of the militants still unaccounted for from the Burhan Wani group photo taken a few years ago, was among three militants killed in an early morning gunfight in Shopian district of south Kashmir today.

Several civilians were injured in clashes that erupted near the site in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district.

Dar belonged to Dogripora in Awantipora police district, while the other two slain militants were identified as Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, alias Tariq Molvi, of Moolu Chitragam in Shopian and Shariq Ahmad Nengroo, alias Shaheen Bhai, a resident of Chotigam village also in Shopian.

Dar, a carpenter by profession before he joined militant ranks, had been active since 2014. He was part of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanis 11-member group seen in the picture that went viral in 2015. The picture was described by many as the poster of the new-age militancy in the Valley.

While 10 of them, including Dar, have now been eliminated, the 11th, Tariq Pandith, is currently lodged at Srinagars Central Jail.

While Dar was one of the longest surviving militants in the area, Sheikh was instrumental in recruiting new militants, said IGP IG Pani.

He said there was no collateral damage during the operation. A senior police official said the operation was launched in Aadkhara village around 6 am. The exchange of fire continued for several hours before all three militants were killed, he said.

Clashes broke out near the site as protesters pelted security forces with stones. At least two dozen protesters were injured after security forces fired pellets, bullets and tear smoke shells. The bodies of the militants were handed over to the families.
editorial@tribune.com

Srinagar May 3

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the financing of secessionist activities in Kashmir, on Friday issued a fresh summons to the grandson of Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani.

Anees-ul-Islam has been asked to appear before the probe agency in New Delhi on May 6. He was earlier summoned on April 29.

Anees is the son of Altaf Ahmad Shah, who along with nearly a dozen separatists, is currently undergoing detention at Tihar jail in New Delhi in an alleged funding case.

The NIA is investigating the separatist funding case in Kashmir since May 30, 2017. It had carried out raids in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi in June 2017 to probe the chain of players behind the financing of secessionist activities.  TNS

Has to appear before probe agency on May 6
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, May 4

Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, on Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us, one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families, another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Pulwama, May 3

No banners, no buntings, not a trace of political activity just three days ahead of the election  Pulwama is living up to its image of a militancy stronghold. Activities related to the May 6 third-phase polling for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat are restricted to offices and residences of politicians, where security guards outnumber political activists.

The February 14 bombing, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war, still plays on the minds of people here.

Though the Pulwama attack has taken centrestage in the countrys politics, at ground zero, the focus is on peace, not the poll turnout.

Political workers feel the voting percentage may dip further as compared to Anantnag and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.

People are indifferent. Politicians know this and dont expect even a double-digit turnout We have seen the worst violence here. There is no question of voting. Pulwama may be a national issue, but for us, Kashmir is an issue that needs a solution, said Tariq Ahmed, a local resident.

Anantnag is the only seat where polling is being conducted in three phases owing to security concerns. The authorities have already made a string of arrests ahead of Mondays polling.

The twin south Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama are the epicentre of Kashmirs new-age militancy where 100 native militants are reportedly active. Two active operational commanders  Riyaz Naikoo and Zakir Musa  belong to Pulwama district. It was home to Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 triggered unrest. Pulwama district comprises four Assembly segments of Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora, while Shopian district has two Assembly segments of Shopian and Wachi. These two districts have been a stronghold of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the party is facing immense anger. The little political activity visible in Pulwama is inside offices of PDP and National Conference in Pulwama town in a high-security zone. At PDP office, over a dozen party workers were seen busy with preparing a list of polling agents. There is a lot of fear, but as a party worker, I am ready to take any risk, said an elderly worker at the office.

PDP youth president Waheed Parra, who hails from Pulwama, too does not expect any impressive turnout.

We dont expect much turnout. It may be less than 20,000 votes (less than 5%) in both Shopian and Pulwama, Parra said, adding that majority here felt that vote is against the sentiment.

Though PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is the Anantnag candidate, launched her campaign from Pulwama by leading a protest against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, she never returned to canvass.

A senior government official said holding polls was challenging due to the volatile situation. Militant threat is looming large and we are ready for this challenge. Our concern is not the turnout, but peaceful polls, he said, adding that law and order was also a concern.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka on the day of Easter left the entire world shocked. Recently, Jacqueline Fernandez, who is a Sri Lankan by birth, took to her social media and expressed her shock regarding the entire incident.

In a recent video which she shared on her Instagram, Jacqueline asked her fans to come together for Sri Lanka and help the victims.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, May 4

A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The Khiladi star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement.

"Toronto is my home, after I retire from this industry I will settle in Canada" pic.twitter.com/Ypet1U0oBJ  Tarique Anwer (@tanwer_m) May 3, 2019

It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?" His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as Kesari, Baby, Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and Airlift, with patriotism as the theme.  IANS
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

CONGRESS veteran, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and member of the Congress alliances committee Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to The Tribune reporter Aditi Tandon about issues confronting the nation ahead of the conclusion of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Congress prospects in Haryana, where he is AICC general secretary incharge. Excerpts:

Four phases of Lok Sabha polls are over, your assessment?

I am 100 per cent sure that the BJP or NDA is not forming the government because not a single section of society is happy with them. This government is run by few TV channels and not with peoples support.

Do you anticipate a Congress PM later this month?

I wont say that. Our target is a non-BJP, non-NDA government.

Are you concerned about BJPs focus on nationalism?

No. It is rather strange that a party with no role in the freedom struggle is talking of nationalism. Naye naye mullah bane hain zyada pyaaz khaate hain. We dont talk about nationalism because we are nationalists and we dont need to prove this. Post-independence, Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh sacrificed their lives for national unity. BJP people are neo-nationalists. This is a party without any history or geography of nationalism. Naturally, they have to create new history and geography with their utterances.

Masood Azhar has been designated a global terrorist after years. Will this help the BJP in elections?

Well, if the advantage on Azhar goes to the BJP, the disadvantage should also go to them. At the outset I am the happiest person about Azhar being listed a global terrorist because my state Jammu and Kashmir has suffered the most due to terror acts he perpetrated since the NDA released him in 1999. If people are now giving the BJP the credit for Azhars listing, they should also give the BJP the discredit for releasing him. He was captured during the Narasimha Rao-led Congress regime and released during the Vajpayee-led NDA rule.

Why is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not contesting from Varanasi?

Why should she contest at all? After all, who is going to campaign? She is doing more service to the party by not contesting herself. She can come to Parliament any time she wants. I am a very strong votary that top leaders who are the most sought after during elections should never contest Lok Sabha polls and should come to Parliament through Rajya Sabha. They should be kept free for canvassing during elections.

You are in the alliance committee of the Congress. Would a grand anti-BJP alliance not have been better?

Yes it would have been better, but it could not happen. We are blamed for being insensitive. But we have been more than sensitive in alliances. Over three-and-a-half decades since I became general secretary, I have been instrumental in striking many alliances. But with each passing year, new regional parties are emerging and they want to become national parties overnight. Look at UP with 80 Lok Sabha seats. The BSP had zero MPs in 2014 and got 40 seats to contest this time; SP with five MPs in 2014 got 38 seats and Congress with two MPs got just two seats. Can any mathematician in the world tell me how this distribution can work? In Tamil Nadu, Congress has nine seats and DMK 30; In Bihar, the Congress has nine seats and regional players have 31. See the proportion of seats with the national party and the regional parties. If we keep distributing seats, regional parties will become national parties and we will become a regional party.

Isnt your strategy of fielding candidates in UP damaging the anti-BJP BSP-SP front?

Again, why should the BSP and SP want us to contest only two seats? Do they want us to win only two seats? Why did they not accommodate us? Why did they form an alliance unilaterally without talking to us? No discussions were held. We were taken by total surprise.

AAP says Congress will be responsible if the BJP wins. Your take.

We also want to defeat the BJP but we have to be pragmatic. Others have to be pragmatic too. If AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was so responsible, why should he have ventured outside Delhi? Why should he have bothered about Parliament if he was so concerned about defeating the BJP? He should have supported the bigger party. But AAP wanted three seats in Punjab where it later gave up. It kept on insisting on four seats in Haryana where it has no presence. AAP is not a national party and Kejriwal is not a PM candidate. AAP should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing the Congress. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?

Haryana poll is on May 12, your expectations?

We are doing extremely well. In the beginning there was a perception that the Congress is a divided house in Haryana. But ever since we had a bus yatra with all the leaders over six days covering 10 Lok Sabha segments and 68 assembly segments out of 90, things changed. Also, our candidates are much more powerful than those of the other parties. They are all far ahead in experience and standing.

Why did you feel the need to field top guns BS Hooda and Kumari Selja in Haryana?

When I assumed the Haryana charge, I met over 500 leaders who were not ordinary leaders but those that had contested Assembly or LS poll since 1972. Since there were no block and district Congress committees in the state, I had to engage top leaders to understand who the most suitable candidates will be.

In Haryana, theres palpable Jat and non-Jat division. Is it harming you?

There was a division, but no longer. In my tour of Haryana I did not sense such a feeling. Among the 500 leaders I met, non-Jats gave names of Jat candidates and vice versa. This division is BJPs creation because the BJP, with nothing else to sell, continues to bank on social, religious and caste divisions.

What are the poll issues in Haryana?

Main issues in Haryana elections are the national issues. The first is agrarian distress and the second is unemployment.

AAP is 4, we are 134 years old

AAP is not a national party. It is a four-year-old party. It should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing us. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The CBI on Friday told the Supreme Court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case prime accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a bundle of bones has been recovered from a burial ground in the north Bihar town.

In an affidavit, the CBI also denied allegations of shielding the rich and mighty and asserted that it has carried out a thorough, fair, impartial probe into the case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday asked the agency to respond in four weeks to allegations of being soft on the accused and not invoking stringent provisions.

On behalf of the petitioner, advocate Shoeb Alam alleged that the CBI had not done proper investigation into the larger conspiracy and had not chargesheeted the accused under stringent provisions of law.

On behalf of the probe agency, Attorney General KK Venugopal denied the allegations and submitted that the CBI had already filed a reply to the petitioners application. The Bench said it will take up the matter on May 6.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur. The horrific incidents came to light after a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was made public. The top court last year transferred the probe of the cases from the Bihar Police to the CBI and decided to monitor it as well. The probe agency has chargesheeted 21 persons, including Thakur.

In an affidavit filed in response to allegations leveled by the petitioners, the CBI said statements of victims recorded during the probe threw up names of 11 girls who were allegedly murdered by Thakur and other accused. At the instance of one of the accused, a particular spot in a burial ground was excavated from where a bundle of bones was recovered, it said.

During investigation, from the statement of victims recorded by investigating officers and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences team, names of 11 girls emerged who were said to be allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices, the agency said.

Based on the facts revealed by one accused, namely Guddu Patel, during his interrogation, a particular spot in burial ground as identified by him was excavated and a bundle of bones were recovered from the spot, CBI said. Its expected to file a supplementary chargesheet after the probe.

Says probe fair, not protecting anyone

It is specifically denied that the investigating agency failed to conduct a thorough investigation or has left out any crucial leads... it is denied that the CBI is trying to shield the real perpetrators.  CBI in SC
gspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 4

Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said on Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near Sarai Kale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Indore, May 3

It is close to midnight, but Indores famous Sarafa Bazaar (jewellery market) is bustling. However, at this time of the night, people are not here to buy gold or silver, but tickle their taste buds with the culinary flavours of the financial city of Madhya Pradesh, also the cleanest city of India.

Though a couple of jewellery shops are still open. Who knows when someone, after relishing the food delights, may feel like spending a couple of lakhs on jewellery. The food street comes to life around 9 pm, when the jewellery market behind the Rajwada Palace of the Holkar dynasty, which is also now being restored, closes down.

No one is clear about the exact origin of this unique Sarafa Bazaar. But frequent visitors say it was encouraged by jewellery shop owners so that the hustle and bustle around food joints in the night would keep their shops secure even after they close down. Therefore, they willingly offered space in front of their shops to food vendors to set up their business in the night.

The late-night food street, a visit to which is a must if one is here in Indore, is the example of far-sightedness of smart business community who has made the city its home, turning it into an active hub of different trades, be it precious metals, cloth or grain.

Over the time new businesses have come up and the traditional city is as modern as any of the cosmopolitan cities like Pune, Hyderabad or Chandigarh with multi-brand top-end showrooms.

Largely the habitat of traders and business community, the city is known for its affluence. The mini-Mumbai as it is also called, Indore is home to traditional business Gujarati, Sindhi and Marwari communities and they are not happy with the Narendra Modi governments double whammy of demonitisation and GST.

Nitin Jain, a young professional in the field, calls the GST an excellent move but because it was not implemented properly, together with notebandi, it proved ghatak (deadly) for business here. While businesses are suffering, ruling the roost are tax consultants and chartered accountants.

This and the fact that these are the first elections in 30 years being fought without the favourite tai, Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan. Indore is seeing for the first time in many years a fight among equals. In the words of Arvind Tiwari, president of Indore Press Club: It is the first time in several years that the Congress is giving the BJP a good fight in the Malwa-Nimar region, and which makes the elections in Indore, if not as electrifying as Bhopal, but equally important.

The two main contestants, BJPs Shankar Lalwani and Congress Pankaj Sanghvi, are both local and belong to business community. Whether Singhvi gets the advantage of the prevailing anger among traders remains to be seen, but local BJP leaders here classify him as a habitual loser. He has fought many elections unsuccessfully, the only time he ever won was when he was in the BJP, says DN Tiwari, a local BJP leader

But then with Mahajan being benched, the saffron party is also struggling with a handicap. Over the years she has built her own group of supporters, who are feeling let-down over the way she has been treated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief Amit Shah, say Congress supporters. Singhvi, they say, is in a position to give Lalwani a scare.

In spite of many losses, Sanghvi cannot be taken lightly. He also contested against Sumitra Mahajan but lost with around 45,000 votes. She too acknowledged that Singhvi had given her a good fight, says Tiwari.

In 2014, Sumitra Mahajan got a whooping 8,54,972 votes against Satyanarayan Patel of the Congress, who polled 3,88, 071. There was also a BSP candidate then like there is one now. He, however, could manage just 7,422 votes.

Clearly the fight was and is between the BJP and the Congress. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won four of the eight Assembly constituencies here making it a more equal fight than any other elections in past three decade. Lalwani is also the only one from the Sindhi community contesting these elections

Indore will poll in the last phase. So there are still 15 days to go and many things can happen that can change the mood of the city that sleeps late, enjoys good food and believes in making money.

Its Shankar Lalwani vs Pankaj Sanghvi in mini-Mumbai
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4



Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP would not return to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha election and taunted the PM saying the Army is not his personal property.

The Army is not the personal property of PM Modi. The Army, Navy, Air Force are of the country and not of one person. The Congress never politicised the armed forces. Surgical strikes happened before and the Army did those, Gandhi said addressing a press conference.

He said more than half the election is over and there is now a clear sense that PM Modi is not returning to power.

We also want to ask the PM what his delivery on the 2014 poll promises is. Where are the two crore jobs? Where is Rs 15 lakh? Its is all well to talk of nationalism but he should also answer development questions, Gandhi said.

He said the Congress and other parties were one in fighting against terrorism, but he wanted to ask the PM as to who sent terrorist Masood Azhar to Pakistan. The Congress government did not release Azhar. Who released him from the Indian jail? The BJP government released him. The Congress will do a much better job with national security because we have a history, the Congress chief said, adding that the Army had won every war it had fought and it is unfortunate for the PM to politicise it.

Our Army has won all the wars. Its terrific. So the BJP should stop politicising the Army, Gandhi said, adding that the Congress had delivered on its poll promises in the states where it is in power and would also deliver on its Lok Sabha manifesto promises.

Nyay will be implemented and we will show how to implement it. It has percolated down. We will give 22 lakh jobs. I wont promise two crore jobs a year but we will give 22 lakh youth government jobs and ten lakh people jobs in the gram panchayats, he said targeting Modi on the Rafale deal and daring him to hold a debate with him.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 4

The Maharashtra police on Saturday said they have identified the brain behind the IED blast at Gadchiroli which claimed the lives of 15 security personnel and one civilian driver on May 1.

According to the police, the attack was masterminded by one Girdhar, 44, who is allegedly the chief commander of the North Gadchiroli unit of the Peoples Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). He already has a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head and has been underground for the last 15 years.

Girdhar is known to use a number of aliases including Nagsu, Mansu and Tumreti.

Police said Girdhar is a native of Gadchiroli and hails from the Javeli village under the Kasansur police station area. Girdhar is known to have risen fast in the Maoist hierarchy is part of the State Military Commission of the Maoists. He is also part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Maoist which administers the liberated zone which falls across Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, according to police here.

Citing intelligence reports, police said Wednesdays attack was carried out by one of the two companies under Girdhar. In all, some 60 men from six dalams may have participated in setting several vehicles belonging to a private road building company in order to lure the State Reserve Police personnel to the blasts site, officials said.

State government officials here admitted that the Maoists may have infiltrated the local units of the police in Gadchiroli and the attack may have been carried out using inside information.

Girdhar and his close associates may have already moved out of Maharashtra and may be even holed deep in the jungles, a state government official said.

Meanwhile, the police said they have named top naxal leaders in the FIR in connection with the Gadchiroli attack.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

A day after cyclone Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 16 persons, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing today across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas.

The Eastern Naval Command of the Navy launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation process. Two maritime recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy, revealing widespread destruction localised around Puri.

Nearly 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 1 lakh officials were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik said, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The NDRF deployed 44 teams in the worst-affected parts of Odisha and nine teams in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two each in Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The teams are working in collaboration with other state agencies to restore power supply, communication set up and clear roads by removing the uprooted trees, poles and debris. They are also assisting the local authorities in distributing relief material. The toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16. (With PTI inputs)

Barring Patkura, polls in state over

Barring the Patkura Assembly constituency under the Kendrapara LS seat, which is scheduled to go to the polls on May 19 following the death of the BJD candidate, polling in all 21 LS and 146 Assembly constituencies has been completed

NEET postponed in state: HRD ministry

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled for May 5 has been postponed in Odisha due to Fani, the HRD Ministry announced on Saturday. The decision was taken following a request from the Odisha administration
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 4

The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Gujarat speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot.

This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the ECs decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturdays decision, the EC said, ...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted.

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show-cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler today said more trouble was in store for the globally blacklisted Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as his blacklisting by the European Union was in the works.

Azhars blacklisting by the EU will mount more pressure on Pakistan to undertake visible and verifiable action of freezing his funds flow as well as limiting his public appearances. The EU blacklisting is a much more arduous process after a European court nullified the implementation of the sanctions regime against a similarly UNSC-blacklisted terrorist for violation of constitutionally protected rights.

To the UNSC blacklisting of Azhar, Zeigler said: Its very good news for the world community and India as well that the world reached a consensus.

France has been in the forefront of a push by three global powers, including the US and the UK, to arraign Azhar in the face of a determined pushback by China, a close Pakistani ally. France had adopted national sanctions much before the UNSC consensus to blacklist Azhar.

For many years, French diplomacy has been pleading for sanctioning Azhar, head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack, Zeigler had said after news broke on May 1 about China relinquishing its hold on Azhars blacklisting. France would be hoping to build on political proximity with India to advance strategic ties.
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The Supreme Court on Friday appointed retired Justice AK Sikri to look into the evaluation process of the main examination for 107 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Haryana, in which only nine candidates were shortlisted out of more than 1,100.

A total of 14,301 students took the preliminary examination on December 22 last year for 107 vacancies and 1,282 were declared successful to take part in the main examination held on March 15 and 17 this year. More than 1,100 candidates appeared, but only nine qualified.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to submit answersheets to Justice Sikri, who will examine if the evaluation was acceptable.

On Monday, the Bench had directed the HC Registry not to appoint any civil judge without its nod and summoned the Registrar General with the selection records.

The order came on a petition by 92 aspirants, seeking quashing of result of the main examination which was declared on April 11. They have challenged the selection process and evaluation method adopted, terming the entire exercise unreasonable, arbitrary and mala fide.

They alleged that RTI applications seeking disclosure of marks, copies of answer scripts, model answers and marking criteria were not answered and interviews were scheduled.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Jaipur, May 4

Not farmers income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram alleged on Saturday.

The Congress leader also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

Farmers income will be doubled (if the Congress comes to power). In the last five years, farmers income has not doubled but their debt has doubled, Chidambaram told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 4 lakh vacant posts in the government will be filled when the Congress comes to power, he said.

Chidambaram said another issue is farmers distress.

I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014, the Congress leader said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJPs alliances, he said.

The BJP won all the seats in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in Madhya Pradesh in the last elections, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of every citizen and two crore jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congresss election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people.

Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room, Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJPs manifesto, they are discussing the Congresss, he said.

On his partys proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise Indias economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, May 3

Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer may sound like the names of yesteryear Bollywood actors, but they are, in fact, lethal cyclones that have brought violent winds, heavy rains and wreaked destruction. As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as Foni, means a snakes hood. But how are cyclones named?

The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its

27th session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of

Bengal and Arabian Sea.

The naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004. The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically  Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list.

So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested Onil the first on the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named Vayu, suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised.

Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly. If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria, a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning, it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Lucknow, May 4

Actor-turned-politician and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha has said that he has done no wrong in campaigning for his wife Poonam Sinha, who is the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

Sinha, who has been facing flak for not campaigning for the Congress in Lucknow, told IANS in an exclusive interview here on Saturday, clarifying for the first time, I do not understand why this controversy is being unnecessarily stoked.

When I joined the Congress last month, I had told the party leadership that I would support and campaign for my wife and they had agreed.

He said he had been hearing about protests from Lucknow Congress candidate Acharya Pramod Krishnam but no one from the senior rank in the party has spoken to me on this issue because they all know the facts.

Even the Samajwadi Party has been informed that once the Lucknow polling is over on May 6, my wife Poonam will be campaigning for me in Patna and they have no objection. For me, it has always been family first, he added.

Moreover, he said: I have completed the pati-dharam; by campaigning in Lucknow and Poonam will undertake her patni-dharam by campaigning for me in Patna.

Sinha said he had been offered the Lucknow seat several months ago by the Samajwadi Party. But I had already made a commitment to the people that I would not change the location of my election which is Patna, he explained.

In Patna, Sinha is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the competition is said to be tough.

I will now be stationed in Patna which is my home. Even when I joined films in Mumbai five decades ago, I maintained my relations with Patna. I would visit the place regularly and people there treat me as family. For them I am the Bihari Babu, he said.

Asked whether he would campaign for the Congress too, the actor-turned-politician said: I have been campaigning across the length and breadth of the country for the Congress and will be available whenever and wherever required.

Talking about the tone and tenor of his campaign, Sinha said: Of course, I will place my side of the story about why I left the BJP after almost three decades because a lot of rubbish is on the propaganda machine.

I will also underline the need for change and the importance of my party Congress. I have never indulged in negative campaigning but if others throw mud at me, I have the right to wipe it off. IANS
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Khunti (Jharkhand), May 4

A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a Pathalgadi area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering dont strike a chord in Jharkhands Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or Pathalgadi, declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where gram sabhas, or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes dont recognise any authority and dont owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6  BJPs former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes, proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through Pathalgadi leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference, Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, It is no subject.

There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here, he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, No one has reached us. The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhands high-profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub-plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land).

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us.

Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat, added an elderly man. We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright.

To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Mundas home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Theni, May 4

A priest was killed and another injured allegedly by a masked robber gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said on Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying to break the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Failure to pick their passports before fleeing landed the two Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the police net after remaining fugitives for 33 days in the Rs 6.65 crore missing cash scandal that rocked Punjab Police and a Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

A team headed by IG PK Sinha tracked them down with the help of Kerala Police.

Sinha said the duo took away the money thinking it was part of a larger illegal amount and if they siphoned off some, there would not be any complaint. When the money was recovered during a raid, senior officers told the two to deposit it at the Khanna police headquarters, but the duo hatched a plan midway. They initially thought of taking a few lakhs from Rs 6.65 crore, but later thought of pocketing the whole amount, the IG said.

He said the duo thought it was ill-gotten money. But, the priests complained the next day, forcing the ASIs to flee. They later thought of leaving the country and tried to get their passports picked from their houses. It was then that our intelligence network caught them.

The ASIs stayed in Uttarakhand, New Delhi, Jaipur, Meerut and Mumbai.

Sent to five-day police remand
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Ropar/Chandigarh, May 4

Ending speculation over his desertion of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa finally joined the Congress in Chandigarh on Saturday. Sandoa was welcomed to the party by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the latters residence in Chandigarh.

Though CM Amarinder Singh has denied poaching AAP MLAs, this is the second legislator who had joined the Congress in the last 10 days. AAP MLA from Mansa Nazar Singh Mashahia had left the party for the Congress on April 25.

Welcoming Sandoa into the party fold, Captain Amarinder said the Congress had got a major boost as a result of the wave of exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state.

Sandoa who was a taxi driver in Delhi was fielded by AAP from his native place Ropar. After defeating SAD stalwart Daljit Singh Cheema and Congress candidate Brinder Singh Dhillon, he entered the state assembly after 2017 elections.

Sandoa, however, courted controversies when a woman in Ropar levelled allegations of molestation against him and later some locals roughed him up when he went to stop illegal mining near Nurpur Bedi in June last year.

Later, the alleged attacker had charged the MLA with pressuring them to give money in lieu of continuing the mining in area.

Though it was already in the air that the Congress was in talks with Sandoa to get him in party fold, he kept denying it and even continued to attend AAPs meetings at Chandigarh as well as in Delhi regarding the Lok Sabha election strategy.

Today, he left for Chandigarh in the morning along with Anandpur Sahib MLA and Punjab Speaker Rana KP Singh and with few of his confidants making it clear for the locals that he was set to join the Punjabs ruling party.

Sandoas joining would further bolster the Congress prospects in Ropar, where Manish Tewari was already making waves as the partys candidate, Capt Amarinder said. Exhorting Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state, Amarinder asked him to help Tewari at the grassroots level in the constituency.

Sandoa, who joined along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister and assured him that of his best efforts. He said he was feeling disenchanted in the AAP due to the top leaderships high-handed approach towards Punjab and had decided to join Congress as he felt aligned with the democratic and inclusive philosophy of the party.
editorial@tribune.com

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 3

In a jolt to two Mansa widows who took political plunge to highlight the deepening agrarian crisis in the state, one of them, Manjeet Kaur, who intended to withdraw her nomination in support of Veerpal Kaur, failed to do so apparently due to communication gap. Both had filed their nomination on April 29.

Talking to The Tribune outside the Deputy Commissioners office here today, Manjeet said, It has come as a setback to us as we had thought we would get back the security deposit (Rs 25,000) of one of us. We planned to use it in our campaign, but all our hopes have been dashed.

The Committee for Farmers and Families of Agrarian Suicide Victims convener, Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir, who is leading these widows in their battle, attributed their failure to withdraw Manjeets nomination to a phone call from the DC office in Bathinda. She claimed they were asked to reach Bathinda at 3.30 pm on May 2 for withdrawal as well as a meeting with poll officials. She said as they reached the office around 3.15 pm, they were told the withdrawal time was over.

She said they resorted to a dharna, which they lifted following an assurance from the staff to resolve their issue the next day. But when they reached the office today, no official was ready to meet them, she alleged. They again sat on a dharna after which Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan met them and told nothing could be done now as their hands were tied, claimed Kiranjit.

Not ready to give up, she said they would focus all their energies on Veerpals campaign. About managing the expenses, she said they would again bank on crowd-funding.

Came post deadline

They came after the 3 pm deadline. We had called them for a meeting of candidates with poll officials at 3.30 pm, but they mistook it as the time for withdrawal of nominations. Candidates were clearly told they could withdraw only by 3 pm on May 2. B Srinivasan, Bathinda DC
editorial@tribune.com

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi (Muktsar), May 3

Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today formally started canvassing in favour of his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Lambi Assembly segment in the Bathinda constituency.

His first public meeting was held at Burj Sidhwan village. Badal was earlier almost daily touring one or two villages to express grief with families in Lambi who have lost someone in the recent past. Even today he visited two villages for the same purpose, but held a public meeting that was organised by partys former district chief Dyal Singh Kolianwali.

In his first public address this election, Badal criticised the Congress terming it an anti-Punjab party.

I have seen a number of PMs in the last 90 years and those belonging to the Congress snatched the rights over our river waters and state capital. First Jawaharlal Nehru discriminated with Punjab, his daughter Indira Gandhi attacked Harmandar Sahib and later her son (Rajiv Gandhi) was responsible for the anti-Sikh riots. This Gandhi family is against Punjab, he said.

Praising NDAs Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, he said, Vajpayee gave us multi-crore petroleum refinery. Modi formed a SIT and sent former Union minister Sajjan Kumar behind bars in the anti-Sikh riots case. He also sanctioned the Kartarpur corridor.

Again striking a personal chord with the public, Badal said, I have visited your villages hundreds of times, even during my tenure as the CM. My effort has always remained to solve your problems. My bonding with you is not political, but we have familiar ties. However, Congress people always think that Badal family is a barrier for them to rule in Punjab and how to sideline us. Now, the Parliament elections are approaching and you have to decide whom to give the reigns of your fortune. However, he did not make direct comment on any of Harsimrats rival candidates.

Went to jail for opposing Emergency: Chandumajra

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from the Anandpur Sahib constituency Prem Singh Chandumajra on Friday said he had been fighting against anti-democratic and fascist policies of the Congress. He said he went to jail also for opposing Emergency which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

In all, 278 candidates are left in the fray for 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab as 12 nominees took back their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, S Karuna Raju said 385 candidates had filed their nomination papers for 13 parliamentary constituencies of the state. During scrutiny, 297 nominations were found valid.

He said after the withdrawal of papers, 15 candidates are left in the fray for the Gurdaspur seat. A total of 30 candidates are in the fray for Amritsar while 19 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Khadoor Sahib. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray for the Jalandhar (SC) seat as none of the candidates withdrew their nomination.

He said eight candidates were left in the fray for Hoshiarpur (SC) seat. After withdrawal of one candidate, 26 candidates are left in the fray for Anandpur Sahib. After withdrawal of one candidate, 22 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ludhiana while 20 are left in the fray for the Fatehgarh Sahib seat after withdrawal of one candidate. Further, after withdrawal of two candidates, 20 are left in the fray for the Faridkot (SC) seat and 22 candidates were in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ferozepur.

After the withdrawal of three candidates, 27 are left in the fray for Bathinda and after withdrawal of one candidate, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Sangrur. After withdrawal of three candidates, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Patiala, Raju added. The voting will be held on May 19 from 7 am to 6 pm.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 4

The SIT of Punjab Police on Saturday recovered more than Rs 2 crore in Patiala from two Assistant Sub-Inspectors who had fled with Rs 6.65 crore cash that belonged to Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

With this recovery, the total amount recovered from the duo has reached Rs 4.38 crore.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh had hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

SIT head PK Sinha, who camped in Patiala for the whole day, headed the operation to recover the cash. What is interesting is that the recoveries came after disclosures from the already arrested accused in the case.

Sources confirm that the police grilled the accused and followed their entire trail from the day the cash went missing to their arrests. The two ASIs have confirmed that they transferred some part of the cash out of country but are tight lipped on the channel they used for that.

Their questioning is still on, said an officer.

Interestingly Rajpreet had paid Rs 2 lakh cash to an immigration firm in Patiala to ensure IELTS and foreign visa for his wife. The immigration firm owner, Gurmant Singh, later approached police and told them about the payment made by Rajpreet.

The SIT also suspects that part of the missing cash was given as a reward to the informer, Surinder Singhwho is already under arrest in the case.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Sangrur, May 4

AAPs Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

In less than a week, the AAP in Punjab suffered another major jolt today as its sitting MLA from Ropar, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia had joined the Congress on April 29.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

Every day, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return, said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of jhadoo to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the unparalleled work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for ruining Punjab.

In Punjab, you have seen divisive politics in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues, he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state governments Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsidersHardeep Puri and Sunny Deolfrom Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections, he said.  PTI
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

WASHINGTON

A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.  PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

THE following press communique dated Ist May has been issued by the Punjab Government:In the Kasur case in which 11 accused were sentenced to death, the Commission made a recommendation to mercy as regards two of the accused, Chuni Lal and Kamal Din. These two men were among the leaders and the Commission in their judgment observed that so far as the actual offence of waging war is concerned nothing less than the capital sentence would be justified in the case of each of these accused. They were, however, they add, prevailed upon to spare Mr. and Mrs. Sherbourne and their children and eventually even assisted them to escape to a place of safety. For this reason and also on the ground of their youth (Chuni Lal is a contractor of 21 and Kamal Din is a student of 18) they recommend that the extreme sentence of this law should not be carried out. In view of the recommendation the Lieutenant Governor has commuted the sentence of the death case of Chuni Lal to one of ten years rigorous imprisonment and in the cause of Kamal Din to one of 7 years.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Dr Chiranjit Parmar

A few days ago, I happened to read an article about the plight of Jogindernagar-Barot tramway. I also travelled in the trolleys plying on this route about 7-8 years ago. This tramway is really in a much neglected state.

The trolleys running there were procured in 1930 during the construction of Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project. These are still in operation. But sitting and travelling in these is no different from travelling in a bullock cart. There is a small cabin in front with a wooden bench which can accommodate four persons. In the back, there is an open space for carrying material and passengers if required.

The trolleys are hooked to a metallic rope. Two trolleys are hooked on each end. This rope is moved by an electric motor and trolleys start going up and down on the railway line. This line gets bifurcated for a small distance in the middle to enable trolleys to cross. It is very interesting to watch the two trolleys cross each other, one going upwards and other going downwards.

There is no engine, no steering wheel, no gears or brakes. But of course, a driver is there. This driver has a long copper stick. Two wires fixed on poles like old time telephone lines, run all along the way. When the driver touches these lines with his copper rod one time, a bell rings once at the control room and the operator switches the motor off to stop the tram. To start it again, the driver touches the wires two times and the bell at the control tower rings twice, meaning the trolley should now move. The entire system, though working on 90-year-old technology, is very interesting and perfect.

Trolley starts from Jogindar Nagar. There are four stations up to Barot. One has to shift to another trolley at the second station, after which you reach Winch Camp, which is at the top of a hill at 9,000 ft. From there, one has to walk about 2 km to reach the third station called Head Gear. There is also a railway line connecting both stations, but is defunct at present. From Head Gear, you start going down and again change trolley at Kaphyadu to reach Barot. Between Head Gear and Kaphyadu, the slope at one point is 75 degrees. This stretch is called Khoonee Ghatee.

This entire journey is very exciting, enjoyable and I would say an unforgettable experience. There are steep climbs on the way. One passes through jungles, too! If this tramway is opened for tourists and promoted well, it will surely be a big hit. Tourists wont hesitate to pay even Rs 1,000 for a round-trip ride to Barot from Jogindernagar.

During my travels, I have seen such trolleys only at three places and everywhere these were very popular among tourists. The first was at Hong Kong, second at San Francisco, and third at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In Hong Kong, it runs on a straight climb to the hill called Victoria Hill. One gets a beautiful view of Hong Kong city and the harbour from there. People spend time, have something in restaurants and come back. But this experience is nothing in comparison to Jogindernagar Tramway.

The San Francisco trolley is called cable car. These go over the small hill from the Market Street and descend to the other side at Fishermans Wharf, which they have developed as an amusement area for tourists. There are many shops there that sell seafood and other eatables. These cable cars are a major attraction of San Francisco and are also promoted as a logo for that city.

The trolley that takes people to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer at one of the hill tops around Rio de Janeiro is also called cable car. Its route is a bit longer. It also passes through a jungle. From the top, one can get a breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro city and its beaches. As this statue is now included among the seven wonders of the world (modern), so thousands of people visit it every day. Though this drive is little longer than those at Hong Kong and San Francisco, yet travel on this route is still not as exciting as that on Jogindernagar-Barot route.

Our government must exploit the Jogindernagar-Barot tramway for tourism purposes. It will not require much effort. Infrastructure already exists. Only new cable cars are required. If done, it will be a great tourist attraction. A beginning can be made even with existing trolleys by sprucing these a bit.

(The writer is a senior fruit scientist based in Mandi)
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Kabul, May 3

A five-day summit on peace in Afghanistan ended on Friday with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

The Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, set out its recommendations and urged the government and the Taliban to announce an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the arrival of Ramadan, reports Efe news.

Asking the Taliban to shun violence, the council called on the warring groups to begin intra-Afghan talks.

President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the meeting on Monday. It saw about 3,200 ethnic, religious and tribal representatives and politicians from across the country gather in the capital city under heavy security cover.

At the end of the five-day consultations, the participants issued a 23-article resolution to Ghani and called on the government, the Taliban, the international community and regional countries to respect the recommendations of the peace jirga.

They said the constitution and the current political structure of the government should be maintained and protected and, if necessary, amendments be brought in only through legal ways.  IANS

Goodwill gesture: To set free 175 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture as a five-day summit on peace ended here with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country

30 militants, seven security personnel killed in clash

At least 30 militants were killed as the Taliban offensive to overrun Afghanistans Burka district in Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, officials said. A provincial government spokesman said a group of Taliban insurgents launched an offensive to overrun Burka district but the security forces killed 30 insurgents
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps, in some of the strongest US condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the US Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centres aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps, Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be closer to 3 million citizens. Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million. So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was reminiscent of the 1930s.

The US government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate in proportion against any US sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were the same as boarding schools.

US officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there. Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.



Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly alsowe discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal, the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

And China, Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that, Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

Were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about nonproliferation. Well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, May 4

A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups--the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups--the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to--and stayed with--JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, travelled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

Between 2013 and 2014 I travelled...around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahideen two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack, Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, in 1999 at the age of 15. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Colombo, May 4

Four foreign nationals, including one from Pakistan who violated immigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested are two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, News 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath for the attacks. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

President Donald Trump said he held very positive talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

It was a very positive conversation, Trump said. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduros days are numberedbut experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trumps positionthat all options are on the tableShanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

Im trying to avoid walking into We could do this or we could do that, he said.

What people should feel confident about is we have... theres depth to these plans.

We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and Im just going to leave it at that.

Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered outwith 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracassparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopezwho made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arresthas since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuelas military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesdays failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing a very confusion situation, a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united, he said.

There are cracks, but not in the military leadership, said the source. International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime. AFP
The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) says it intends to take action if Government fails to have proper consultation and come to an agreement regarding the jab or no job Covid policy for public sector workers.

The union has not disclosed what form of action it intends to take, but said it would come in early January.
Leaders make a difference to a vaccination drive. When they take a public vaccination, they send a message to their followers or employees that the vaccine is safe and the compassionate thing to do.

When leaders act responsibly in this way, others will follow. This behaviour modelling fits into a broader study that demonstrated that leading by example is effective (Tai Yaffe, et al, 2011).
Nothing is as entertaining as online beefs, especially between celebrities. These past few weeks have been filled with lots of tea and drama from the boss lady Zari and Mange Kimambi, a socialite from Tanzania. The two took to their Instagram pages to attack each other. This is not the first time the two ladies are at each others throats.

Image: Instagram.com, @mangekimambi, @zarithebosslady

Source: UGC

Zari and Mange Kimambi tore each other after Mange made it public that the boss lady was turning forty years old and not thirty-eight as she claimed. Kimambi went ahead to accuse Zari of having photoshopped her flat stomach, calling her an attention seeker who was only thirsty for celebrity status. The boss lady did not take this lying down as she retorted back at Kimambi, labelling her a gorilla tracker.

READ ALSO: Tanzania activist Mange Kimambi sensationally suggests Diamond's son Nillan was sired by the late Ivan Ssemwanga

Who is Mange Kimambi?

Kimambi is a Tanzanian socialite based in the US. Before her fame as an activist, she was a famous blogger, known for sharing little known gossips and details about celebrities. She would mostly write gossip about Tanzanian and diaspora celebrities.

Zari and Mange beef

The beef started last year when the boss lady shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram page dedicated to her late ex-husband Ivan Semwanga. In the message, she thanked him for supporting and providing for the family while he was alive. The boss lady completely snubbed Diamond Platnumz, an act that elicited mixed reactions from the online followers including Mange Kimambi. Kimambi inquired why Zari was ignoring Diamond, yet she was living in his house back in South Africa. She went on to challenge her to leave the house if she could not recognise the father of her two kids.

Kimambi's accusation irked Zari so much that she responded by saying that she lives in Diamond's house by choice. She also added that she owns four homes in South Africa and she could live wherever she felt like.

Kimambi has also been going in on the boss lady over her age and now her new flame. She recently accused her of sending flowers to herself and indicating that they were from a man.

How can a flower seller know your name, unless you are the one buying and sending the flowers to yourself?

She advised Zari instead of wasting the money on flowers, to save and buy herself a home.

Previously, Kimambi also had an ugly beef with Hassan and even claimed that Zari's children with Diamond were sired by her ex-husband Ivan. She even took to social media to tear apart Mobettos mum claiming that shes the one misleading her daughter.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan struggles to clear name again after raunchy bedroom video resurfaces

The leaked tape

The vicious online war did not end there; Mange decided to feed the netizens with an old tape of the boss lady pleasuring herself. This was after Diamond went on air, revealing that his ex-wife had been having extramarital affairs with a famous musician from Nigeria. Kimambi took advantage of this and rekindled her beef with Zari Hassan. Through several Instagram accounts, Kimambi managed to distribute the old tape to as many online fans as possible before pulling it down.

In her response to the leaked tape, Hassan shared beautiful scenery taken from the balcony of her beautiful home with a caption saying,

Where to watch a beautiful sunset, sio ghetto za Trump na usaidizi wa food stamps.

In an interview, the boss lady disclosed that the tape made its way online after her ex-lover recorded their intimate session. He then decided to leak it after Zari refused his blackmail. She accepts that the tape is real and she is not ashamed of her past. Zari and Mange Kimambi fight over the past few days came about when Kimambi accused Hassan of living a fake life and hiring cars to stunt for the gram. Zari Hassan, on the other hand, accused Mange of being a prostitute in the United States of America while still living in a slum. Mange decided to pull a fast one by leaking the video online before being forced to pull it down by Vanessa Mdee.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan in online shouting match Tanzania activist who claimed she was arrested for faking her age

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Margret Kamande was operating a chain of burglary operations within and without the country

- Detectives said she was wanted by Interpol and Zimbabwean authorities for similar charges

- Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was responding to an insecurity call at Blue Hut hotel

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have arrested a notorious female house breaker after she was captured on several CCTV cameras illegally gaining access into apartments and offices within Nairobi.

Margret Waithira Kamande was nabbed on Thursday, May 2, while trying to board a flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

READ ALSO: Kitale: Abducted 70-year-old woman rescued from pit latrine after 6 days of searching

READ ALSO: Uhuru's housing project receives KSh 25 billion boost from World Bank

According to DCI, the suspect was operating a network of burglary activities within and without the county, and was on the list of Interpol's most wanted persons.

She was reported to have jumped bail in Zimbabwe after being arrested and arraigned for charges relating to house breaking, burglary and stealing.

Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was shot at Blue Hut hotel while responding to an insecurity call.

READ ALSO: Betting board bans celebrities from advertising gambling

On Friday, Mach 22, sleuths arrested another notorious burglar identified as Michael Joseph Otieno whose burglary skills were compared to Spiderman, a popular movie character.

The suspect was reported to have carried his operations in Nairobi's posh estates of Kileleshwa and Kilimani.

He was arrested after being captured on CCTV cameras.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Untold Story of Wamama. The King of Kilimani Mums I Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Legendary Congolese musician Mose Fan Fan is dead.

The rhumba star died on the night of Friday, May 3, at the age of 75 of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment on Thika Superhighway, Nairobi.

READ ALSO: Man complains of girlfriend's demand for marriage after dating for 7 years

The rhumba star died of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment along Thika Superhighway in Nairobi. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan family re-unites on Ellen Degeneres' show, wins KSh 5 million

He is reported to have been on a recording tour in Nairobi when he collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Kasarani.

Mose's death was confirmed by his producer Tabu Osusa who noted he was to record a new song with vocalists based in Nairobi including Paddy Makani and Disco Longwa.

READ ALSO: Actress Omotola Jalade warns couples against sharing in-house issues on social media

"I regard him as one of Africa's finest guitarist and music writers," said award-winning Cartoonist Paul Kelemba porpularly known as Maddo

"He has been a frequent visitor to Nairobi from 2015 collaborating with Ketebul Music and Tabu Osusa," he added.

READ ALSO: Explosive investigative documentary Jicho Pevu to make comeback on TV

Mose played guitar on Dje Melasie with Franco's OK Jazz in 1972.

"We are still in shock and we are making arrangements to have him taken to a decent morgue as we reach out to relations," said Osusa.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Young Girl Surviving on an Oxygen Tank

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- The two had attended the funeral of Mombasa deputy governor's father in Malindi

- Area MP Aisha Jumwa was the MC who invited Edwin Sifuna to address mourners

- Hell broke loose when Sifuna started talking about ODM matters including ejection of Jumwa from the party

- The Irate Malindi MP snatched the microphone from him as mourners booed

- Those who talked later condemned the incident and Sifuna was given a chance to talk

Embattled Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa caused drama in a funeral at Jilore village in Malindi sub-county after she snatched a microphone from Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna who was addressing mourners.

Sifuna was conveying a condolence message to hundreds of mourners on behalf of his party leader Raila Odinga at the burial of Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingis father when the incident happened.

READ ALSO: Boeing 737 slides into river with 136 people on board

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi (right and in black cap) and Mombasa County Deputy Governor William Kingi (left) having a chat at the funeral. Photo: Onesmus Baraka

Source: Original

READ ALSO: The lavish lifestyle of Kisumu US-based woman who claimed she learned English by watching Ellen's show

While addressing the mourners, Sifuna begun to speak matters concerning ODM party and before he finished, Jumwa who was given the official duty of being an MC moved in and snatched the microphone from him.

The angry lawmaker started yelling at Sifuna while looking for the support from other leaders but she could not get it.

Stop bringing politics SG, we have come here for one reason, to mourn and condole with the family of the late, yelled Jumwa.

This is a funeral and we do not want politics around. If you want politics look for an ODM platform to talk on behalf of that party, she added.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna was left stranded and wordless as Aisha Jumwa snatched the microphone from him. Photo: K 24

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Vihiga: Gavana Ottichilo aanza kazi ya ujenzi wa viwanja 5 katika kila kaunti ndogo

Mourners immediately booed Jumwa after the incident and shouted her down but she could hear none of it.

Things seemed to turn against her when Mombasa Deputy Governor Kingi after making his final remarks invited Sifuna to speak.

William said the former prime minister had called him and informed him that he would wish to attend his fathers burial but unfortunately, he went to another burial in Siaya county but he sent the secretary general to represent him.

Sifuna stated ODM was still strong and would only reward those loyal to it, warning Jumwa that her days were numbered in the party.

READ ALSO: Papa Lolo composer Mose Fan Fan dies in Nairobi

Walk around but your days are very few, we need leaders who will respect their political parties despite their political views, he said

Sifuna said Raila had sent him to grieve with the family of the late Edward Kingi adding that the party leader was together with them.

You are among the people who have stood with the party and obeyed its principles and we shall reward you when that time comes, he said in reference to Kingis loyalty to ODM.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi wrapped up the whole drama with the native Mijikenda language expressing his anger.

The county chief said it was a big shame for visitors to be embarrassed and urged coastal leaders to respect mourners.

This is shameful, we have displayed our dirty linen in public and what should we expect our people to say about us out there? he posed.

He said lack of unity among local leaders had made people disrespect them saying that it was sad that such an incident occurred before his eyes.

Some of us have joined groupings and travel in upcountry areas shouting politics but when others come here, we are the very first to block them from talking. We should first of all work for our people and politic later, said Kingi in reference to Jumwa who has been doing rounds with team Tanga Tanga supporting Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential ambitions.

Among those present were Likon MP Mishi Mboko, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire, Lands CAS Gideon Mung'aro among other top leaders.

Story by Onesmus Baraka, TUKO correspondent - Kilifi county

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Alta Ben Pollard had a simple response to a reporters question: What is the secret to living to 100 years old?

I didnt die, Pollard said clearly and without hesitation.

Anyone who knows the newest centenarian would not be surprised.

I can tell you why, said Pollards daughter, Tomi Parisotto. Orneriness.

Whatever the reason, Pollard has seen a lot in her 100 years. From the birth of the auto to cell phones and air travel, Pollard has witnessed it.

Pollard was born April 30, 1919 in Utica, Okla., near Durant to Oscar and Ona Nancy Bush. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a homemaker. Pollard had two siblings who are both deceased.

She met Granville Pollard, Sr., and they married on Aug. 19, 1938 in Denison, Texas. They had 58 years together before Granville died in 1997.

Pollard has two children, Terry and Tomi; six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
On the video, Lee is shown confronting Ring and wrestling her for control of her handgun.

After taking the gun from Ring, Lee is depicted on the video as pointing it at Rings daughter and pulling the trigger as she crouched behind the stores counter. Ring and her daughter then managed to flee to safety.

Ring described to Frizzell how she purposely emptied the six-shot revolver at Lee while trying to keep him from wrestling the gun away from her.

The whole time he was taking my gun, I was pulling and pulling (the trigger) because I knew he was going to kill my daughter, Ring said. All I could think of was, He is going to kill Ashley. He is going to kill my daughter.

Ring said the ordeal has affected her and her entire family. He took a part of us, she said.

Frizzell denied the governments request for a longer sentencing range, instead opting for a range between that recommended by the U.S. Probation Office and prosecutors, or 121 months to 151 months in prison.
The message is to know your surroundings and what kinds of snakes might live nearby and to realize almost every area in Oklahoma is home to some kind of snake. In April and May snakes are more active not only because of the weather but also because its mating season, he said. Snakes are out looking for each other and that also can explain why people might see several in one area.

Just watch where youre walking, Goodwin said. Wear shoes that cover your toes, not flip-flops. Watch where you put your hands if youre doing things like moving debris or other things around your yard.

Of all the snake species in our state, most should be welcomed visitors as controllers of mouse and rat and insect populations. They will steal eggs, however, and some can take up residence in attics or under porches.

Only 5% of the snake species in Oklahoma are venomous, Goodwin said.

Venomous snakes in Tulsa County include the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and western pygmy rattlesnake. Western massasauga rattlesnakes have been found as near as Washington County and southern Osage County to the north; western diamondback rattlers are in rocky areas of southern Muskogee and Okmulgee counties.
The sewage samples in Tulsa were collected Friday. The Oklahoma State Department of Health didnt identify an omicron case until the agency announced it Tuesday afternoon, among the last states to detect the latest variant through genomic sequencing.
The Attorney General says he does not understand the position of the leader of the Joint Trade Union Movement who says he supports being vaccinated against Covid 19 but is not supporting the Government's plan for all public sector workers to be vaccinated or face being furloughed from mid- January.
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Hundreds of thousands of refugee youth in Kenya do not attend school because of lack of funding, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) cautioned today. UNHCR and SUPKEM are working together for the first time ever to launch a campaign during Ramadan calling on members of the public, including individuals, companies, and foundations to contribute funds to increase access to education for refugees in Kenya.

Kenya is host to more than 450,000 refugees, 77 percent of whom are women and children. The majority of refugee children living in Kenyas Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps only have access to primary education. Less than one third of refugee school-age children are able to attend secondary school and only 13 per cent of refugee youth have access to tertiary education.

These are distressing statistics revealing the disparagingly low number of refugees accessing education in Kenya. Behind these statistics are children and youth, boys and girls, aspiring to be teachers, doctors, business owners  but instead, they are sitting in limbo, waiting for a chance to fulfil their dreams, said Fathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR Representative in Kenya.

A funding shortfall for UNHCRs education programmes has resulted in the lack of basic infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teaching personnel essential to provide quality education to refugee children and youth in Kenya.

By joining efforts with SUPKEM in this holy month of Ramadan, our hope is that we can draw attention and support to this growing crisis. Members of the public, community and business leaders have an opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of refugees and the host communities in Kakuma and Dadaab camp by improving their access to education, said Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

UNHCR and SUPKEM will be hosting an Iftar fundraising dinner for leaders from the Muslim community, business community, government representatives and members of the diplomatic corps.

The holy month of Ramadan is a time where Muslims embark on a path of spiritual self-reflection and intensify our response to alleviate the suffering of others. Many refugees in Kenya have lived in forced displacement for over 20 years. With this campaign, we can help alleviate some of their suffering, said Yusuf A. Nzibo, SUPKEM Chairman.

The campaign will run during the entire month of Ramadan. To support this campaign, please visit: donate.unhcr.org/education

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Ukraine reduces trade in goods with Russia to US$2.3 bln in Q1

01:59, 04.05.19 1343

Meanwhile, trade with the EU grew to US$9.5 billion.
Kurz had a phone conversation with Zelensky.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged support to Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky in the reform process and the fight against corruption.

Kurz said on Twitter on Friday, May 3, that he had held a friendly telephone conversation with Zelensky.

Read alsoZelensky's adviser Danyliuk, U.S. Energy Secretary Perry discuss Ukraine's energy independence

"Ukraine remains an important partner for Austria and the EU. We will continue to actively support reforms and the fight against corruption," Kurz said.

"It is important to finally get progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements with respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," he added.
Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting.

Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Ukraine's parliamentary factions and President-elect Volodmyr Zelensky have discussed his inauguration, foreign and domestic policy, including the possibility of disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and the adoption of new election laws.

The meeting took place in the parliament's building on Saturday, May 4, leader of the Samopomich parliamentary faction Oleh Berezyuk told journalists after the event, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's President-elect: Date for presidential inauguration to be known on May 14

He outlined the issues discussed at the meeting with Zelensky, namely the newly elected president's vision of foreign and domestic policy, relations with parliament, in particular, "the possibility of disbanding parliament," as well as the adoption of new election legislation and the abolition of [parliamentary] immunity."

The lawmaker recalled that Zelensky had proposed his inauguration date for May 19.

"I personally do not see any problems in this. The sooner the president starts working, the sooner he takes responsibility for what he has promised," Berezyuk said, adding that the parliament "will formalize this proposal next plenary week."

"The faction will also formally take a decision," he added.

He expressed the hope that during the next plenary week lawmakers would decide on the date of inauguration.

"The fact that the newly elected president personally came to parliament and met with the leaders of the factions, discussing issues, is new in the history of the Ukrainian parliament and the leadership of the Ukrainian state," Berezyuk said.

Berezyuk said that outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting, while the parliamentary factions were represented in part by the chairmen of the factions, and in part by their representatives.
Horbatiuk says the Prosecutor General's Office needs to be reformed.

Chief of the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine Serhiy Horbatiuk says he is ready to head the PGO under Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency.

When asked on Espreso TV whether he is ready to become chief prosecutor, as he previously announced, he confirmed he is ready "if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide so."

Read alsoProsecutor snaps back at Poroshenko following criticism, says president "created problems" in Maidan probe

"The beginning of the answer will be the following: the Prosecutor General's Office needs changes. Because there are many instances of the violation of the law committed by the prosecutor general himself," he said. "This, in particular, is interference in criminal proceedings carried out by our department. And in view of ensuring law in the cases that our department has been investigating, I answered I would like these principles to be observed both by the PGO and all prosecutor's offices across Ukraine. And if there is trust, if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide, I'm ready to take on this."

When asked if any job offers came from President-elect Zelensky's headquarters, Horbatiuk answered in the negative. "There have been no offers from any political force during my work," he said.
The full list is available on the group's website.

Some 86 Ukrainians were behind bars in Russia-occupied Crimea for political or religious reasons as of May 2, 2019.

Sixty of them are Crimean Tatars, the Crimean Human Rights Group said.

The full list is available on the group's website.

Human rights activists profile them according to 13 criminal cases.

There are seven groups in the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case: the Yalta group (six people), the first Bakhchisaray group (four people), the first Simferopol group (five people), the second Bakhchisaray group (nine people), the second Simferopol group (24 people), the Krasnohvardiiske group (three people), and the Sevastopol group (four people).

Read alsoRFE/RL: HRW blasts Russia over 'escalating pressure' on Crimean Tatars

Thirteen people are in custody in the case of the so-called "Ukrainian saboteurs," three prisoners belong to the Sentsov group, three are on trial for involvement in the Noman Celebicihan Battalion, two persons have been brought to trial for involvement in Maidan [the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine], one for involvement in Tablighi Jamaat, a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement. Another nine people have been convicted in single criminal cases listed as one group.

The number of political prisoners in Russia has reached above 230 as President Vladimir Putin's government implements an "ever-increasing array of laws specifically designed to criminalize acts of everyday life," according to a new report created with input from the Moscow-based rights group Memorial, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

According to Ukrainian parliamentary commissioner for human rights Liudmyla Denisova, more than 80 citizens of Ukraine are held in Russian prisons for their political views. Among them are film director Oleh Sentsov, Stanislav Klykh, Pavlo Hryb, Roman Sushchenko, Kiazim Ametov, Mykola Karpyuk, and others.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded on May 3, there were no casualties on May 4.

There has been escalation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, as the number of Russia-led forces' attacks on Ukrainian positions grew to 21 instances on May 3; proscribed weapons  120mm and 82mm mortars  were used in nine attacks.

The enemy also opened fire from weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook in a morning update on May 4.

Read alsoUkraine's Defense Minister: Russian passportization could be used as pretext for large-scale war

Hot spots were the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, the villages of Novotroyitske, Berezove, Pavlopil, Pyshchevyk, Lebedynske, Mykolaivka, Zolote-4, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, and Shumy.

"Two members of the Joint Forces have been wounded in shelling," the press center said.

Ukrainian troops fired back in every attack. "According to Joint Forces' intelligence, one invader was killed and another four were wounded on May 3," it said.

Since Saturday midnight, the enemy has already attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka in the Skhid (Easter) sector twice, using various types of grenade launchers, larger-caliber machine guns, and small arms. They also shelled Ukrainian troops deployed near the village of Lebedynske, using large-caliber machine guns and small arms.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties on May 4.
The meeting is scheduled for the beginning of July.

The Holy See's Press Office said that the Pope has called the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in July, as a sign of his closeness to the community and his efforts to build peace in the troubled nation.

"Pope Francis is once more reaching out to the troubled spots of the world in his effort to bring about peace and harmony. This time, on the eve of his visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the Holy Father turned his attention to Ukraine," Vatican News said.

In his New Year address to the Diplomatic Corps in January, Pope Francis mentioned the "humanitarian initiative in Ukraine on behalf of those suffering, particularly in the eastern areas of the country."

Read alsoHoly See recognizes Orthodox Church of Ukraine  Kyiv Patriarchate

The Holy See Press Office released a statement on Saturday, May 4, saying the Pope has invited the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in Rome, July 5-6. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

"In the delicate and complex situation in which Ukraine finds itself, the Holy Father Francis has decided to invite to Rome, July 5 to 6, 2019, the Major Archbishop, the members of the permanent Synod and the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The meeting will also be attended by the Superiors of the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia responsible for the country," the statement said.

"With this meeting, the Holy Father wishes to give a sign of his closeness to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that carries out pastoral service both at home and in various places in the world," it said.

According to the statement, this meeting will also offer a further opportunity to deepen the analysis of the life and needs of Ukraine, with the aim of identifying the ways in which the Catholic Church, and in particular the Greek-Catholic Church, can dedicate itself ever more effectively to preaching the Gospel, contributing to the support of those who suffer and promoting peace, in agreement, as far as possible, with the Catholic Church of the Latin rite and with other Churches and Christian communities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a gathering marking the centenary of the May Fourth Movement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2019. Xi Jinping called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering held at the Great Hall of the People to mark the centenary of the May Fourth Movement.

The May Fourth Movement started with mass student protests on May 4, 1919 against the government's response to the Treaty of Versailles that imposed unfair treaties on China and undermined the country's sovereignty after the World War I. It then triggered a national campaign to overthrow the old society and promote new ideas, including science, democracy and Marxism.

Wang Huning presided over the gathering. Other Chinese leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, and Wang Qishan were also present.

Xi said the May Fourth Movement was a great patriotic and revolutionary campaign pioneered by advanced young intellectuals and joined by the people from all walks of life to resolutely fight imperialism and feudalism.

With its mighty force, the movement inspired the ambition and confidence of the Chinese people and nation to realize national rejuvenation, Xi added.

PATRIOTISM

Xi said the May Fourth Movement gave birth to the great spirit centered on patriotism, progress, democracy and science, with patriotism at the core.

"As long as the banner of patriotism is being held high, the Chinese people can unleash great powers in the endeavors to transform China and the world," Xi said.

The essence of patriotism is having unified love for the country, the Party and socialism, Xi added, urging young Chinese to follow the instructions and guidance of the Party, and remain dedicated to the country and the people.

Young people are also urged to establish belief in Marxism, faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as confidence in the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

NATIONAL REJUVENATION

Xi said young people always play a vanguard role in realizing national rejuvenation.

In the new era, the theme and direction of Chinese youth movement and the mission of Chinese young people, Xi said, are to uphold the leadership of the CPC, and work along with the people to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Xi said Chinese youth of the new era should bear their responsibilities of the times and carry on the spirit of arduous struggle.

He urged them to hone abilities and nurture fine morality.

Xi also encouraged young people to not only care about their family and country, but also have concerns for humanity.

YOUTH WORK

Xi said nurturing the young generation is the whole Party's political responsibility.

"We should listen to young people's views on social issues and phenomena, as well as their opinions and advices on the work of the Party and the government," Xi said.

"Even if they express harsh or partial criticism, we should correct our mistakes when we have made any and guard against them when we have not," he added.

Xi called on the Party to address young people's concerns and asked the Communist Youth League of China to unite and lead the young people to strive for the national rejuvenation.

"Young friends," Xi said near the end of his speech. "Let your youth shine even more in the sacrifice for the country, the people, the Chinese nation and humanity."

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[ Editor: WPY ]
New Statistical Technique Finds La Nina Years More Favorable for Mountain Snowpack Than El Nino Years

When there are multiple factors at play in a situation that is itself changing, such as an El Nino winter in a changing climate, how can scientists figure out what is causing what? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an advanced statistical method for quantifying and visualizing changes in environmental systems and easily picking out the driving factor.

In a new study published in the journal Climate Dynamics, they used their new technique to look at California winters. "A lot of people will describe a winter by how rainy or how cold it was," said lead author John P. O'Brien, a graduate student research assistant at Berkeley Lab. "Instead of asking each question individually, what we're doing is interrogating both at the same time as a function of some large-scale climate forcing, such as El Nino."

The new method allows researchers to account for variables whose statistics change over time - in this case, changes caused by El Nino/La Nina. They found that in northern California, La Nina and El Nino conditions result in nearly equivalent amounts of winter precipitation. However, La Nina winters tend to be much colder, resulting in conditions more favorable for increased mountain snowpack. So from a summer water supply perspective, contrary to common belief, La Nina winters may in fact be preferable to El Nino winters. The same, however, did not hold true for southern California.

Unique Synthetic Antibodies Show Promise for Improved Disease and Toxin Detection

Scientists have invented a new "synthetic antibody" that could make screening for diseases easier and less expensive than current go-to methods. Writing in the journal Nano Letters, a team led by Markita Landry of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley describes how peptoids - synthetically produced molecules, first created by Ron Zuckermann at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, that are similar to protein-building peptides - and tiny cylinders of carbon atoms known as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be combined to selectively bind a target protein.

The resulting nanoparticle assembly fluoresces under near-infrared fluorescence microscopy, thus allowing for target protein quantification just like a biologically derived antibody.

The researchers demonstrated that their peptoid-SWNT assemblies remain stably bound to their target when tested in samples with a wide range of pH, salt concentrations, and temperatures; and when exposed to various protein-digesting enzymes - conditions no conventional antibodies could be expected to function in.

"This new platform encourages us to look to synthetic chemistry and nanomaterials science to create molecules that bind biological markers for diseases like cancer or viral infections," said Landry. "The stability of purely synthetic recognition elements could facilitate easier disease diagnosis. They could also have safety applications by detecting hazardous chemicals in water or food."

Exploring New Ways to Control Thermal Radiation

Planck's Law, which describes electromagnetic radiation from heated bodies, forms the basis of quantum theory. However, with the advent of micro- and nanotechnology, it is easy to fabricate materials where Planck's Law will not hold.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Berkeley Lab set out to explore how deviations from Planck's Law could impact energy-related technologies based on nano- and micro-structured geometries.

"Nobody has explored the relative behavior of nano-geometries, particularly anisotropic nano-geometries--nanostructures that are rectangular in cross-section--in this way," said Ravi Prasher, one of the authors.

Imagine a thermal storage material that converts electricity to heat and then radiates it to a photovoltaic cell to get the electricity back when desired. The radiative emitter from the thermal storage could be made from nanostructures to maximize the performance.

The team of researchers from Berkeley Lab and UC San Diego used the radiation models available at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry to model the thermal radiation from rectangular nanoribbons of silica glass, a polar dielectric material. Practical applications for this early-stage energy conversion are important for many renewable energy applications, such as concentrated solar electricity production, water desalination, thermochemical reactions, water heating, and thermal storage.
A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men in the United States and the second most common cancer in Turkey. The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in industrialized countries.

The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge about prostate cancer, its diagnosis, and treatment among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

This study was performed from January to April 2015 with the patients applied to our clinic. A questionnaire that includes 10 questions was administered to the participants.

One hundred fifty-nine participants were included in this study. The participants' ages were between 40 and 82 with a mean age of 61.5  7.9 years. Patient awareness of prostate biopsy and prostate cancer were 21.37 and 71.06%. The main origin awareness of PSA testing is family and friends. On the other hand, if the doctor advises acout prostate biopsy, 47.16% of the patients would accept and 11.31% of them would refuse this invasive procedure.

Prostate cancer is one of the important health-related problem among men in the world. Additional researches are needed to investigate the knowledge of prostate cancer among men and the Ministry of Health may take preventive methods to increase the cancer knowledge level of people.

The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male. 2019 Apr 22 [Epub ahead of print]

Mustafa Sungur, Selahattin Caliskan

a Department of Urology , Hitit University Erol Olcok Education and Research Hospital , Corum , Turkey., b Department of Urology , Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul , Turkey.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31007118
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts []
A commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka was held at the United Nations in New York on May 3. Among several speakers who addressed the gathering was the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza.

By Robin Gomes

While reiterating its sincerest condolences to Sri Lankans for horrific terrorist attacks out against the innocent on April 21, the Holy See called for actions to eliminate terrorism, saying words of mere condemnation are not enough.

Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza, denounced Easter Sundays suicide bomb attacks on 3 churches and 4 hotels in the island nation and assured prayers for the victims and their families.

More than 250 people were killed, including foreigners, and over 500 were injured.

Listen to our report

Actions, not words

Words of condemnation, however sincere, are not enough, the Holy Sees diplomat told a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks held at the United Nations in New York on Friday. Actions, he stressed, are required to eliminate this scourge at its roots.

The Filipino archbishop reiterated Pope Francis words of profound human and spiritual closeness to the people of Sri Lanka as well as the assurance of his continued prayers for those who perished, those who survived the trauma, and all those who are grieving.

Christianophobia

Archbishop Auza pointed out that what happened in Sri Lanka is a deliberate attack against Christians.

To overlook the explicitly anti-Christian aspect of these attacks, he said, would do an injustice to the victims, the survivors and their families. He said that the international community is very forthright, and rightly so, in decrying rising anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. The same standard must be applied to attacks against Christians, he demanded.

He said that the recent General Assembly Resolution of April 2 was right when it condemned all terrorist attacks against places of worship that are motivated by religious hatred, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia.

Terrorist attacks are always and everywhere deplorable, but attacks on religious believers at worship, he stressed, are the most shameful and cowardly attack against peace imaginable. Thats what happened in Sri Lanka. And the whole world justly mourns, Archbishop Auza added.



Fear continues



Nearly 2 weeks after the terror attacks, Sri Lanka is still living in fear. Police Sri Lanka have requested members of the public hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police stations after hundreds of such blades were discovered in Mosques and homes during searches in the aftermath of suicide bomb attacks.

Police have asked people to hand over camouflaged materials similar to those worn by the military after large amounts of such material were uncovered in raids.

Sunday Masses and services in Catholic churches are being cancelled for a second weekend in Sri Lanka's capital after the government warned of more possible attacks by the same Islamic State-linked group that carried out the Easter suicide bombings.

The Associated Press reported Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, as saying he has received "foreign information" that attempts would be made this week to attack a church and another church institution.

Fr. Edmund Tillakaratne, spokesman for Colombo Archdiocese, said on Thursday that the cardinal had cancelled all Sunday services in the archdiocese.

Last week, all of Sri Lanka's Catholic churches were closed. The faithful followed a Mass and homily on television, celebrated by Card. Ranjith. Present at the televised service at his residence were the clergy and national leaders.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka has criticized the government for failing to act after security forces are said to have received warnings ahead of Easter Sundays attacks.
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State looks ahead to Pope Francis 29th Apostolic Journey abroad, which takes him to Bulgaria and to North Macedonia from 5 to 7 May.

By Linda Bordoni

During Pope Francis Apostolic Visit to the Balkan nations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says the Pope will be highlighting that which unites.

Speaking to Vatican News on the eve of the Popes departure, Cardinal Parolin pointed to the logo and motto of the trip to Bulgaria, which is Pacem in Terris - Peace on Earth - the title of an encyclical by Pope St. John XXIII, the first visitor and Apostolic Delegate to the country.

The Pope will be a bearer of peace, a witness to the Risen Christ, the Cardinal explained, and since we are in Easter time, we remember the apparitions of the Risen Jesus to his disciples when his first greeting was Peace be with you. Peace I leave you; my peace give you.

Parolin added that the theme of peace, which was central to John XXIIIs pontificate, will be built upon by Pope Francis with those attitudes of which John XXIII was a witness: the search for friendship, gentleness, amiability, encounter with the other, and the capacity to highlight what unites more than what divides.

These great features of the figure and the Pontificate of John XXIII had already emerged at the time when he was Papal Nuncio in Bulgaria; I believe that it is along these lines that the contribution of Pope Francis during this journey will be placed," he said.

Ecumenism

With an eye to the Popes schedule in Bulgaria that lists a moment of prayer before the Throne of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a meeting with representatives of different religious denominations, and a visit to Patriarch Neophyte - the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - the Cardinal noted that the visit shines the spotlight on some particularly significant figures of the present and past, such as those of the two Saints: the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

They were saints of the Church of the first millennium, the Cardinal said, a Church that was still undivided but where tensions were already being experienced and which would ultimately lead to fracture and division.

The witness they provide in their search for unity, in their desire to evangelize new peoples using new methods and new languages, Parolin said, adds meaning to the Popes encounter with the people of Bulgaria that is to take place in a dimension of ecumenical fraternity, recognizing each other as brothers in the one Lord, and at the same time striving to overcome the divisions and the tensions that still exist.

It speaks, he said, of the desire to pursue the Christian mission to bring the Gospel to the world, certain that the effect of this evangelization will be all the more profound and incisive the more united we are, proclaiming together the Word of salvation that the Lord has entrusted to us.

Migrants and refugees

Pope Francis is also scheduled to visit a refugee camp during his journey. Cardinal Parolin recalled the four verbs chosen by the Pope in calling for solidarity and action regarding migrants and refugees: Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate.

He pointed out that Pope Francis carries forward this teaching with concrete gestures and never tires of bearing witness to this important issue during almost all of his journeys and in many other situations and occasions as well.

Here, too, he wants to underline this aspect, taking into account that protecting also means defending and protecting the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a situation of vulnerability and often of marginalization, he said.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

In North Macedonia, the Pope will visit the city of Skopje, birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, focusing attention on the poor.

Together with John XXIII and Saints Cyril and Methodius, Cardinal Parolin said Mother Teresa is clearly a dominant figure of this journey.

When I was in Macedonia a few years ago, I was able to see how much affection and devotion there is towards Mother Teresa. Naturally, this attention towards the poor, the marginalized, towards those who find themselves in need, translates into something very concrete, he said.

Mother Teresa, he recalled, compared herself to just a drop in the ocean, noting however, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Cardinal Parolin said the Pope is bound to make that teaching his own and insist on asking the faithful to put charity into action.

Challenges and opportunities

I believe, Cardinal Parolin said, there are no challenges, but opportunities in this journey, especially taking into account the geographical and historical reality of Bulgaria, which, he said, is a crossroads of meetings and peoples, and the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in North Macedonia.

Once again, he concluded, it is an occasion to launch the theme of the culture of encounter and of the mutual richness provided by diversity.


Delmonico Steakhouse will commemorate the 20th anniversary of its opening at The Venetian with menu specials from May 3-12 and other surprises throughout the year.

The anniversary specials will highlight some of the restaurants most beloved dishes throughout the years, including house cured tasso and smoked mushroom cream over angel hair pasta with fresh chives; crab mirliton stuffed Gulf oysters with bearnaise sauce; BBQ salmon with andouille potato hash homemade Worcestershire sauce and fried onion crust; bananas foster ice cream pie; and lemon icebox pie with strawberry coulis.

Delmonico Steakhouse has also designed a special commemorative logo which will appear on menus throughout the rest of the year, as well as on the lapels of all service staff.

I opened Delmonico Steakhouse 20 years ago with the hopes of sharing the flavors of New Orleans with Las Vegas and to celebrate the art of dining, said Chef Emeril Lagasse. Im grateful for the ongoing support of our customers, the Las Vegas community and The Venetian, who share and support these intentions. We look forward to continuing to share our traditions, cuisine and service with all our guests for many years to come.

Delmonico Steakhouse is Chef Emeril Lagasses take on the classic American steakhouse with Creole influences. The restaurant brings back a time when cocktail hour was not to be missed and dinner with friends was a celebration. Located in Restaurant Row at The Venetian, Delmonico Steakhouse takes its name from the legendary, century-old New Orleans institution, Delmonico Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant has been a Grand Award recipient of Wine Spectator magazine since 2004, and named a four-star restaurant by Forbes Travel and a Top 5 Steakhouse in the Nation by National CitySearch. Chef de Cuisine Ronnie Rainwater has also been with the restaurant since shortly after its debut in 1999.

The anniversary celebrations will augment Delmonico Steakhouses current popular offerings, including Creekstone Farms steak selections, a rotating weekly chefs menu with original inspirations from the kitchen, the one-of-a-kind Kitchen Table experience, an award-winning wine list and the unparalleled whiskey library featuring over 700 whiskey bottlings from countries, including Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and India.
Most people are only familiar with the inconceivable, sinful nature of Las Vegas from the movies, and there are a lot of them. From Connerys Diamonds are Forever, Depps Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the now infamous The Hangover and countless others.

(Pictured: The Hangover Suite at Caesars Palace)

The irony is that while there is a wild element to many of these movies, the truth of Sin City is actually much more interesting and holds many more tales  most of which have been lost to the sands of the Mojave Desert.

More than Just a City

Anyway, it goes without saying that although Las Vegas is a gambling Mecca, its a lot more than that. There are a myriad of attractions both in and outside the city to cater to people of all levels of crazy. After all, the modern area as we know it has seen the likes mobsters like Bugsy Siegel (who died in a flail of bullets), the eccentric Howard Hughes (who reportedly spent more than $300 million buying up real estate), and many more. Here youll be able to do almost anything (including smoking the now state legal cannabis) your heart desires  unless it croaks of course. Here are a few fun facts for you:

Nuclear Sightseeing

In the decade spanning 1952-1962 there were more than 100 nuclear bombs detonated north of Las Vegas. This prompted a rise in atomic-themed tourism which even featured restaurants and other establishments adopting the theme. While the show was no doubt stupendous with always reliable sunny weather all year, the fallout is estimated to be responsible for around 11,000 deaths.

Lucky Travelers to Las Vegas

Those who have been fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas know exactly what we are talking about and have no doubt been somewhat dumbstruck by the sheer architectural audacity and magnificence of certain casinos. These include and are certainly not limited to the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, Delano Las Vegas, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, Wynn Las Vegas, or even the brilliantly designed Venice themed Venetian.

If youve yet to have the luxury or simply want to hold on to your bank balance a little longer before you visit, try out the prominent Canadian online casino Jackpot City with all new for 2019 exclusive bonuses and offers to play Vegas-style games but without leaving the comfort of your home.

Prostitution Actual Isnt Legal

Many people believe that prostitution is a given in the city of Las Vegas, but its actually illegal. However, any county in the state of Nevada with a population of less than 700,000 is allowed to license a brothel. Even so, illegal prostitution still thrives and what happens in Vegas

The Highest Jackpot Winner

Following on from the last veterans run of good luck, the highest ever jackpot won by someone in Las Vegas was $39.7 million by a 25 year old software engineer from Los Angeles. Its said he chose to be paid $1.5 million yearly instead of taking the lump sum.

No Income Tax

This might be reason enough to move there, let alone visit. Residents in the state of Nevada dont have to pay a single cent of personal income tax. There also isnt any corporation tax, although at present there is a 6.85% sales tax. By avoiding income tax on huge casino jackpots combined with so many competitive offers for legal NV online casinos and Las Vegas casinos, this factor is yet another solid justification.

Taking Betting Too Far

As if there was such a thing, back in 1980 betting went a little over the top when nurses from a Las Vegas hospital had to fire workers who were gambling on when patients would die. Its said one even tried to up the ante  if you catch our drift.

WW2 Veteran Elmer Sherwin Won the Jackpot Twice

Back in 1986 (at the age of 76), Sherwin won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot shortly after the Mirage opened. Even though he used his new found fortune to travel, he was determined to be the first man to win it twice and continued playing the slot often. When he was 92 he hit the same jackpot and won around $21 million  this time giving most of it away to charity. The odds of hitting that particular jackpot are reportedly in the region of 10 million to one.

The Rescue of FedEx

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO of FedEx, was on the verge of losing his company after initially inheriting $4 million and taking out a further $80 million in loans and investments to start the venture. Due to rising fuel costs, he was heavily in debt and almost sunk the company just two years later. After taking $5,000 to Las Vegas in a last ditch effort, he turned it into $27,000 playing blackjack. While this wasnt enough to get the company back up in the air, it was the spark that got the flame burning again.

Las Vegas was Originally a Trade Route

The name Las Vegas was given to the area by a Mexican merchant by the name of Antonio Armijo who was establishing a trade route to Los Angeles in 1829. The name is actually Spanish for The Meadows which might not seem appropriate, but his caravan was following a tributary of the Colorado river at the time. You might be more than surprised to find out what there is to see.

If Las Vegas wasnt on your bucket list before and youre still not 100%  the facts above are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In the meantime, enjoy the best online slots, of which we have put together the most lucrative bonuses for you to take advantage of, which often include free spins on top games. Who knows? Maybe youll be the next person to win a jackpot with your bonus and be on the next first class flight out to Nevada.


California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) will celebrate moms all Mothers Day weekend long, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas May 9-12* and a nationwide fundraiser Thursday, May 9** to benefit March of Dimes, the nonprofit organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies (Photo credit: California Pizza Kitchen).

To support the fundraiser on May 9, CPK guests can present the fundraiser flyer or mention to their server that theyre dining to support March of Dimes, and CPK will donate 20 percent of food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases from dine-in, takeout, curbside, catering and delivery orders placed directly with CPK.

Making a positive impact in our communities is an important part of what we do at California Pizza Kitchen. This Mothers Day weekend, we look forward to honoring moms, from our guests to our employees, and are grateful to partner with March of Dimes to support the care of moms and babies everywhere, said Adam Tabachnikoff, senior vice president of marketing at CPK.

Were grateful to California Pizza Kitchen for supporting the work of March of Dimes in communities across the country this Mothers Day, said Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Hampton. This campaign will go a long way to help us improve health outcomes and pave a healthier future for moms and babies.

In addition to the national fundraiser, CPK invites guests to share a delicious meal and a loving slice of pizza with mom, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas. Available Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12, guests can order any of their favorite CPK pizza varieties, like the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza or Spinach + Artichoke Pizza, on special heart-shaped crispy thin crust at no additional charge.
The press conference on Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Vietnam Advertisement & Fair Exhibition JSC (Vietfair) and related units held a press conference on May 2 to introduce Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019.

Vietnam Medi-Pharm is an important annual event where advanced technologies and products in the industry are showcased. With continuous success over the past 25 years, I hope that the 26th edition continues to provide good opportunities for participants to share experience, seek partners, and boost business and technology co-operation, thus contributing to the development of the healthcare market, said Nguyen Dinh Anh, head of the Ministry of Healths Communications and Reward Department.

During the four-day event, a number of activities such as seminars and conferences on the latest regulations on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as businesses networking and advisory events will be organised.

Vietnams healthcare market is now a magnet to multinational corporations. Looking forwards, the market is expected to become even more attractive when the landmark Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

Taisho spends $110 million on controlling stake in DHG Taisho Group, one of the five largest pharmaceutical firms in Japan, now officially holds a controlling stake in Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) after spending ...

GSK prepares to grasp opportunities from EVFTA The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is expected to take effect this year, is forecast to bring about more business and investment opportunities for ...
Fresh policies take effect since May 2019, illustration photo

False denunciations

Under Decree 31/2019/ND-CP, dated April 10, 2019, providing detailed regulations and measures for implementing the Law on Denunciations, civil servants shall be subjected to criminal charges if they make false denunciations.

The Decree shall take effect since May 28.

Support for human resources development of SMEs

Decree 05/2019/BKHDT of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on support for the human resources development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shall take effect since May 12.

Accordingly, the State budget will sponsor 100% of expenditures for students of the SMEs located at disadvantaged areas and owned by women.

Laborers and managers of the SMEs will be provided with accounts to join the online training courses on websites or smart phones.

New emission standards for second-hand vehicle imports

Decision No. 16/2019/QD-TTg prescribes the schedule of application of emission standards for vehicles used on roads and second-hand vehicle imports and shall take effect since May 15.

Secondhand vehicle imports with forced induction engines or compression ignition engines will be subject to the Tier-4 emission standard from the entry into force of this Decision.

If the date of registration of second-hand vehicle import declaration is the same as specified in the Law on Customs or second-hand vehicle imports have arrived at Viet Nam's ports or border gates before May 15, 2019, the schedule specified in the Decision No. 249/2005/QD-TTg dated October 10, 2005 will continue to be applied.

In particular, second-hand vehicle imports with forced induction engines and those with compression ignition engines will apply the Tier-3 and Tier-2 emission standards, respectively.

New regulations on border gates of import of passenger cars with less than 16 seats

Circular 06/2019/TT-BCT dated March 25, 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on border gates of importation of passenger cars with less than 16 seats.

Accordingly, passenger cars with less than 16 seats, including new-brand and second-hand ones, shall be imported into Vietnam only through the seaport border gates of Cai Lan -Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

This Circular shall take effect from May 8, 2019.

Expanding labor outsourcing activities

Decree 29/2019/ND-CP, dated March 20, 2019 detailing and guiding the implementation of Article 58 of the Labor Code on licensing labor outsourcing activities, payment of escrow deposits and the list of jobs in which labor outsourcing is allowed.

Accordingly, since May 5, enterprises shall be able to sublease labor if they meet the following requirements: (1) Being the manager of the enterprise; (2) Having no criminal records; (3) Having working experience in the field of outsourcing or labor supply of at least full 36 months during the last 05 years preceding the date of submission of the license application dossier.
"The Cell Door, Robben Island"  completed in 2002 by Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela  sold for $112,575.-AFP Photo

The Cell Door, Robben Island  completed in 2002 by the Nobel peace laureate  exceeded the top end of the estimated range provided by Bonhams, which put its value at $60,000 to $90,000.

The wax pastel crayon drawing shows a few bars of the cell door and a key in the lock, sketched in purple.

The work is one of the few that Mandela  who was jailed for 27 years in total and inspired the struggle against apartheid  kept until his death in 2013.

Mandela's daughter Pumla Makaziwe Mandela previously had the work in her possession.

South Africa's first black president did a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Giles Peppiatt, the auction house's director of modern African art. Some were reproduced as lithographs to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was jailed from 1962 to 1990. He was held at Robben Island off Cape Town from 1964 to 1982. Mandela served as South African president from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela's drawing was one of six works that surpassed $100,000 at the sale of African art on Thursday.

Another South African artist, Irma Stern (1894-1966), earned the highest price of the auction  $312,575  for Malay Girl, a portrait from 1946.
POR14 result causes difficult to Hung Vuong Corporation

According to the latest news from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), the US DOC has announced the final anti-dumping duties of POR14 for HVG at $3.87 per kilogramme.

Previously, under the DOCs preliminary results published on September 10, 2018, HVG was to be applied 0 per cent anti-dumping tariff.

The bad news pushed HVGs stock down to only VND5,570 ($0.24), and liquidity on the stock market was about 830,000 units. HVG fell for four consecutive sessions, decreasing 31 per cent compared to the peak in the last three months (VND8,150  $0.35 per share).

Beside HVG, Nha Trang Seafood will still have to pay $1.37 per kilogramme in antidumping tax. The other four tra fish exporters are C.P Vietnam, Cuu Long Fish, Green Farms Seafood, and Vinh Quang Corp., with a tax rate of $1.37 per kilogramme, an increase of 0.96 cents compared to the preliminary tax rate.

The national export tax of $2.39 per kilogramme still applies.

According to VASEP, in February and March 2019, the value of Vietnam's tra fish exports to the US decreased by 22.8 and 44.4 per cent, respectively. Vietnam has dropped to the third position (after the EU) as the US' tra fish import markets with $71.16 million of export turnover, down 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2018, accounting for 15.1 per cent of the total tra fish export value in the first quarter of 2019.

Tra fish exports to the US may continue to decrease in the second quarter.

Speaking at the 2019 annual general shareholders meeting (AGM), chairman Duong Ngoc Minhwas confident when talking about the company preparing for a long journey to take the crown back.

Minh plans to retire from HVG in 2021, giving way for the new generation. HVGs chairman also predicted that the corporation would reach the revenue of VND20 trillion ($869.57 million) in 2020.

The unexpected blow from POR14 may be a throwback to HVG's ambitions and could cause further difficulties in repaying the looming debts that VIR previously reported HVG has accumulated.
Russia has backed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (centre) against the US as analysts say Moscow aims to turn the crisis to its advantage in its global tug-of-war with Washington. (Photo: AFP/HO)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay".

Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Moscow has its reasons for standing behind Maduro - he's a rare ally in Latin America and Russia has poured billions into the Venezuelan economy.

But analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is also playing the long game, hoping to use Venezuela as leverage in his global tug-of-war with Washington.

"Russia is seeking to translate its influence over Maduro - which is in fact not absolute - into an opportunity to have dialogue with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a Paris-based analysis firm, told AFP.

"Maduro is a bargaining chip."

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido declared himself acting president in January, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

More than 50 countries led by the United States lined up behind the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, but Russia and China have backed Maduro.

Reeling from Western sanctions, Moscow has quickly sensed an opportunity, even if it meant locking horns with the United States in Latin America, Washington's traditional sphere of influence.

In a highly publicised move in March, Moscow sent two planes with around 100 soldiers and equipment to Caracas, where Russian mercenaries are also believed to be operating.

'CUTTING A DEAL WITH TRUMP'

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, its backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine and military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

But the audacity with which the Kremlin inserted itself into the Venezuela crisis has drawn gasps in Washington.

"Russia is making the next play in our hemisphere," Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, wrote last month.

"Vladimir Putin may be laying the ground for making Venezuela the defining foreign policy debacle for President Trump in the same way Syria became that for the Obama administration."

Russia and Venezuela enjoy a long history of ties and Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, known for his passionate tirades against the United States, was a welcome guest at the Kremlin.

After Chavez's death in 2013 the relationship with a country that boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves has continued to thrive.

Russia is the second largest lender to Caracas after China, with Moscow heavily investing in Venezuela's oil resources and Caracas acquiring Russian arms worth billions of dollars.

However that also means, analysts say, that Russia has a lot to lose from a change in leadership. But what it stands to gain from a possible deal with Washington may be more important for the Kremlin.

"Putin would cut a deal, if in agreeing to let Maduro leave he got something really big from Trump in exchange," said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.

He suggested that Moscow wanted Washington to lift the damaging sanctions, to allow Russian oil companies to freely operate in Venezuela and agree on "spheres of influence".

"I think they (the Trump administration) would be happy to cut a deal with Putin, where he gets his troops out of Venezuela, in return for the US turning a blind eye to developments in Ukraine," Ash said.

HIGH-STAKES MEETING

Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to discuss the Venezuela crisis on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting starting Monday in Finland.

In duelling statements this week, Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilising" Venezuela while Lavrov said Washington was a "destructive influence" in the country.

Analysts say both sides appear reluctant to consider military options and are likely looking to make backroom deals.

Events on the ground may matter more. After the military uprising in support of his bid fizzled out this week, Guaido has called for demonstrations at army bases.

Other experts doubt Russia's real ability to influence the crisis.

The Trump administration is "greatly exaggerating the role of Russia and China. I don't think that's a decisive factor at all," said Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington

"Maduro's base of power remains reasonably intact. The military will be the key power."
The Hanoi Peoples Court yesterday re-opened a trial involving 15 people who were charged with the falsification of stock trading documents, stock price manipulation and fraudulent asset transfers.-VNA/VNS Photo

The trial was suspended last March due to the absence of lawyers for defendant Vu Thi Hoa and a number of witnesses.

It was the first time the Peoples Court had opened a trial on stock price manipulation.

The accused include 35-year-old Tran Huu Tiep  former management board chairman of the Central Mining and Mineral Import Export JSC (MTM), 53-year-old Nguyen Van Dinh  former director of the mining firm Nari Hamico, and former officials of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Tien Phong Bank (TPBank).

Tiep, Vu Thi Hoa and Nguyen Le Truong were accused of fraudulent asset transfers.

Defendants Bui Thien Ly and Do Huu Tai were accused of manipulating stock prices.

Dinh and four other defendants were accused of falsification of stock trading documents.

Five other defendants were accused of forgery in the course of employment.

According to the courts indictment, Dinh bought the legal documents for MTM in 2010. The company had no charter capital and no business operation.

Dinh and Tiep collaborated with bank officials to falsify the companys portfolio, which showed MTM had 103 shareholders with 31 million shares  equal to VND310 billion (US$13.8 million)  in 2014 to meet listing requirements.

Bank officials in 2013-15 helped the two defendants counterfeit financial invoices worth VND485 billion to validate shareholders capital contributions and the firms business results.

While completing requirements to list MTM shares on the stock market, Dinh was put into custody and accused of counterfeiting business stamps and documents to avoid taxes and violating lending rules in another case.

Tiep and his partners continued to put MTM shares on the stock market in mid-April 2016 and he owned half of the companys total post-listing shares, worth VND155 billion of charter capital.

In June 2016, when the false trading of MTM shares was discovered, the company had had more than 1,150 investors, 71 per cent of whom had reported the case to the police for investigation.

MTM shares were immediately de-listed from the stock market.

According to the court, the accused caused a VND56 billion loss to the stock market, including VND53 billion worth of revenue from selling MTM shares to other investors.

The court summoned 1.065 victims, 107 people with rights and obligations related to the case and 10 witnesses. However, few showed up.

Some 20 lawyers participated in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the 15 defendants at the trial.

The trial will last until May 7.
Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday coalition airstrikes in an eastern province have killed up to 50 Islamic State militants, while Taliban insurgents have killed at least seven government forces in a western district.

The Defense Ministry said the overnight airstrikes were carried out in coordination with Afghan ground forces and they struck IS training centers in the troubled Chapa Darah district of Kunar province. It asserted foreigners, including Uzbeks and Pakistanis were among the slain militants.

The deputy provincial governor, Gul Mohammad Baidar, told VOA that a key IS commander of Uzbek ethnicity also was among the dead. He confirmed there was no letup in clashes in the district involving Taliban insurgents and IS militants.

U.N. humanitarian agencies have reported the fighting in Chapa Darah has forced thousands of Afghan families in recent weeks to flee to safety.

The Taliban and IS routinely attack each others positions in Kunar and parts of neighboring Nangarhar province in their bid to expand their influence. Both of the Afghan provinces border Pakistan.

Separately, officials in the western Afghan province of Badghis confirmed Saturday the Taliban late night stormed security check points in the Qadis district, killing seven police officers and injuring several others.

Authorities in the eastern Ghanzi province said airstrikes by Afghan forces and their international partners Friday night killed eight civilians, and the incident is being investigated.

US-Taliban talks

Meanwhile, American and Taliban negotiators resumed peace talks Saturday in the Qatari capital of Doha after a one-day break, although neither side has reported whether the discussions are making any headway.

Officials said the talks remain focused on when U.S.-led foreign troops will withdraw in return for Taliban assurances that Afghanistan will not be used by transnational militant groups, including al-Qaida and IS.

U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, emphasized the need for all parties involved in the Afghan conflict to reduce violence in order to support efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement.

All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process. All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready, Khalilzad tweeted Saturday.

In a statement Friday, though, the Taliban again refused to cease hostilities or engage in intra-Afghan peace talks until their ongoing dialogue with Washington produces an agreement on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

Khalilzad repeatedly has stated that a final deal with the Taliban on troop withdrawal and counterterrorism assurances would require the insurgent group to engage in intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire.
Azerbaijan is a small country, yet it makes a large footprint on the world stage in two areas: oil, of which it has much, and media freedom, of which it has little.



Azerbaijan's oil wealth gives the nation's president, Ilham Aliyev, an unusual amount of power on the world stage. World leaders such as Germany and the United States have protested the state of media freedom in Azerbaijan, but they also strive to keep good relations with the Caucasus nation on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Germany, in particular, has been discussing importing oil from Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian resources.



Khadija Ismayilova can tell you about media freedom in Azerbaijan from firsthand experience.



The 42-year-old journalist rose to international fame when she was jailed in 2015 for tax evasion and abuse of power. Since being freed after the Supreme Court amended her sentence, she remains on probation, which means she can't leave the country.



That has prevented her from accepting a job in Lithuania and an award in Sweden, and visiting her mother before she died in a hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Her assets have been frozen by the government to pay the taxes it says she owes.

Ismayilova says she has been subjected to government harassment because of the subject matter she covers: Her corruption investigations have exposed far-reaching illegal financial dealings in the Aliyev family.



Yet Ismayilova continues to investigate corruption through an international organization known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It is an investigative reporting platform that involves a number of nonprofit entities and major news organizations worldwide.



She also compiles records on political arrests and jailings in Azerbaijan  a practice that involves not just journalists but also political activists and human rights advocates. Lawyers, too, are in danger of retaliation from the government. Ismayilova says many lawyers have been disbarred because they defended people against the accusations of the government.



Convictions



Ismayilova has worked for Voice of America, and for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which closed its Baku bureau in 2014. That's where the tax evasion charges began.



"Right now my legal problem is that the government announced I have to pay the tax on behalf of Radio Free Europe. It's absurd," she says. "Radio Free Europe is nonprofit and should not pay any taxes. But the government demands it."



RFE has participated in her defense, but she says its response has been too slow and bureaucratic to do her any good. And tax evasion is not the only roadblock to her work.



"Another conviction that I have is illegal entrepreneurship. The government says that because I don't have international accreditation in Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, all the money I earn from foreign media is illegal." She says she even has been fighting to obtain the honorarium from a UNESCO award she won in 2016.



Her work today involves teaching young journalists to do investigative work. But she does not teach in a traditional setting.



"I'm not allowed in classrooms," she says, because universities must be licensed by the government. She works with nongovernmental organizations to find young journalists interested in investigative work, and then trains them in small groups in private settings.

Restrictive situation



Human Rights Watch says "the space for independent activism, critical journalism and opposition political activity in Azerbaijan has been virtually extinguished." RSF ranks Azerbaijan 166th out of 183 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.



Today, she says, the country has more than a dozen journalists who are banned from leaving the country. There also are five journalists in prison.



When asked what would be a marker of change in her country of 10 million, Ismayilova's answer is instant.



"Independent judiciary. When the judge will be able to say no to the political regime when he's being ordered to rule against [a defendant] for political reasons. That will be a solution for many things."



Still, Ismayilova says she wouldn't want to move elsewhere.



"I don't want to leave the country for good," she says. "I love my country. But ... when you know that you are trapped here, they make you feel that the country is not just motherland, it's also a prison."
Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

The right moment

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

A nation in political turmoil

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers _ though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said.

High point of coronation

A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
This story originated in VOA's Amharic service, with Salem Solomon contributing.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA  Ethiopias historic strides toward democracy and openness have given journalists in the country hope for greater freedom to report the news.

In a speech Thursday at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged journalists to seize the moment.

But he also cautioned restraint.

We need to ensure that the opening up of the media space does not facilitate misinformation, the spread of hate speech and fake news, Abiy said. The pivotal moment that Ethiopia is in right now to help into its true potential can only be realized when those who are tasked with a duty to inform are aware of the responsibilities that come with such freedoms.

Abiy spoke in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Events organized by UNESCO also unfolded at the United Nations Conference Center and the headquarters of the African Union, both in Addis Ababa, the capital.

A delicate balance

Last year, Abiy made worldwide news when he released all journalists held in Ethiopian jails. It marked the first time in 14 years that no journalists were behind bars in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.

Ethiopia also opened up internet access and unblocked about 260 websites.

Ethiopian journalists attending the event, organized by UNESCO, said working for more press freedom while dealing with the threat posed by irresponsible media is a difficult balancing act.

Tsedale Lemma, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent magazine Addis Standard, said the press must meet high standards and report with integrity in the wake of newfound freedoms.

For far too long, weve been asking the government to liberalize the media, to lift its pressure on the media, its suppression on the media. A lot of sacrifices have been paid by many, many journalists throughout the past many years, and now that that time arrived, it sort of caught us unprepared, she said.

Tsedale worries about the rise of what she calls populist media that sensationalize news and stir up ethnic hatred in the country. She said it is the job of the press to police itself, with government assistance.

It is a delicate balance that we need to diligently thread through, and the government needs to pay attention not in a way of bringing back its suppression but in a way of supporting genuine journalists who are trying hard to do professional journalism, she said.

Ethiopia offers hope

Worldwide, about 100 journalists were killed in the past year, and more than 300 remain in prison.

But some international attendees at the conference found hope in Ethiopias achievements.

Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist, told VOAs Amharic service that he did not expect to find Ethiopia hosting an event to commemorate press freedom.

It was a great surprise for me that, in just one year, in 2018, Ethiopia was a country where lots of journalists were behind the bars, he said. When the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power, he liberalized the media. He released all political prisoners, and many journalists they were also released.
Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.



The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the state's governor, Hashim Khalid.



About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp, but they soon unleashed "violence on a unit of armed forces" in Nyala, Khalid said.



Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left "critically wounded," he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.



After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to the armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the region's military headquarters and organized by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.



The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.



It called on supporters to "reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia, and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala."



Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks.



Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the country's army rulers hand over power to civilians.



A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudan's western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.



The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.



Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.



In recent years violence has dropped in Darfur, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see whether he is still fit to rule.



The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible," according to the ruling seen Saturday by AFP.



Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.



But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.



"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads one of the groups behind the bid, said.



Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered Oct. 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.



During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum. A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.



But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial inquiry into his state of health.



Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.



Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967.
Militants fired a barrage of rockets Saturday from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into southern Israel, the Israeli military said.

Israel retaliated with air strikes from Israeli aircraft and tanks. The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians died, including a pregnant woman and an infant.

One airstrike Saturday struck a building housing the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Turkey strongly condemned the strike.

Israel said at least 250 rockets were lobbed into Israeli territory and that dozens were intercepted by Israels air defense systems.

Four Israelis were wounded by the rockets.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, while two Israelis soldiers were wounded in weekly protests near the border.

The flare-up comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders are in Cairo trying to finalize a fragile agreement that was hoped to lead to a long-term cease-fire in Gaza.

The latest violent outbreak, the most intense along the Gaza in weeks, also comes days before Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

The Eurovision song contest is also to be held in Israel at the middle of the month.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
Nearly three months into his second tenure at the helm of the U.S Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr finds himself in a hornet's nest he once sought to avoid.

In June 2017, just as special counsel Robert Mueller was widening his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Barr, then a lawyer in private practice in Washington, was ushered into the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump was beefing up his legal defense team amid allegations that his campaign had colluded with Russia. Trump wanted to know whether the semiretired Barr was "envisioning some role here," but Barr said he wasn't.

"I didn't want to stick my head into that meat grinder," Barr recalled during his confirmation hearing in January.

The Republican attorney general faces a barrage of criticism and a possible contempt vote by House Democrats over his characterizations of Mueller's final report, including charges that he's acted more like Trump's personal lawyer than an independent broker.

Trump had a famously fraught relationship with his first attorney general, former Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom he publicly belittled for allowing the Justice Department to investigate him.

Critics say that in Barr, who first served as attorney general in the administration of former President George H. W. Bush, Trump has finally found a partisan willing to stick up for him.

"We have a chief law enforcement officer who is definitely the defense lawyer for the president," Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, one of Trump's staunchest critics in Congress, said during an acrimonious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report on Wednesday.

Hirono and some other Democrats have been calling on the attorney general to resign for failing to divulge, in earlier congressional appearances, that Mueller had complained that Barr had not fully conveyed the findings of his report critical of Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr had lied to Congress and called it a "crime."

Justice Department officials have called the allegations scurrilous and say the attorney general has no intention of stepping down.

The controversy gripping Washington started after Mueller submitted a 448-page report on his investigation to Barr on March 22. The report concluded that there was insufficient evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to support charges, but it left unanswered the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice despite citing 11 instances of potential obstruction.

Barr said he was puzzled by Mueller's indecision, so he and his No. 2, Rod Rosenstein, examined the evidence and concluded there weren't sufficient grounds to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.

Barr's legal determination, first outlined in a March 24 summary letter to Congress, outraged Democrats. Many worried that it enabled Trump to claim "total vindication" before the full report was released.

The attacks on the attorney general's actions reached a crescendo this week after it emerged that Mueller had complained in a letter to Barr that his summary to Congress "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance" of his conclusions.

Barr's defenders say the attorney general followed Justice Department regulations and had no choice but to make a legal determination about a question Mueller had left unanswered.

"He and he alone as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States was left with the burden and the responsibility to do something after he got that report," said Charles Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "I don't think Attorney General Barr was necessarily saying, 'I approve of the president's conduct here.' "

The attorney general, Stimson said, had made good on a pledge he made at his January confirmation that he would not interfere with the Mueller investigation and that he'd release as much information as possible to Congress and the public.

"I think what's really undergirding all of the angst and anger on the side of the Democrats is that the Mueller report did not find collusion," Stimson said.

Tim Flanigan, a former assistant attorney general under Barr in the early 1990s, rejected the Democrats' depiction of Barr as Trump's defense lawyer.

"I can understand why they're making that characterization for political purposes, but it has no basis in fact," said Flanigan, who is now the chief legal officer for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. "I'm very familiar with the way the independent counsel regulations function, and it seems to me that Bill has, in every step of the way, performed exactly the duties that he was required to do."
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he thought more troops would turn against President Nicolas Maduro during Tuesday's attempt to oust the embattled leader.



In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido said he expected Maduro to step down following major defections of members of the military. But, as Maduro and Guaido were vying for military support, there were no mass breakaways in the ranks.



Tension continues to run high in Venezuela since the failed effort to oust Maduro. The Lima Group, a 12-nation body formed in 2017 to help establish a peaceful end to the Venezuelan crisis, met Friday in Peru's capital and decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to the turmoil.



On Saturday, Maduro appealed to the military on state television.



"We're not a weak country but one with strong armed forces that has to show itself as united and cohesive as ever. Say no to traitors! Out, traitors! Unity and supreme loyalty to the constitution, the fatherland, the revolution and to its legitimate commander-in-chief!" he said, asking soldiers to raise their weapons in the air.

Later, Maduro visited a military base for a third straight day, hoping to garner support from troops. State television showed him walking with hundreds of uniformed soldiers after commanders briefed him on military issues. There were 3,500 soldiers at the site, according to state television.



Maduro wrote on Twitter Friday night that he'd met with generals and admirals who vowed to defend "national sovereignty with loyalty and patriotism."



Guaido is considered Venezuela's legitimate leader by the U.S. and 50 other countries. On Friday, he said supporters would hand out a letter to members of the military at a nationwide protest on Saturday, calling on them to support Maduro's ouster. But that did not appear to be a successful effort. One soldier took the memo handed to him and burned it.



A plot for some of Maduro's top aides to defect this week to the opposition appeared to have come apart at the last minute, according to several news reports.



Weeks of secret talks between the top aides and opposition leaders  including recently freed Leopoldo Lopez  culminated in a document that guaranteed Maduro loyalists like Gen. Ivan Hernandez, chief of military counterintelligence; Defense Minister Vladamir Padrino Lopez; and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno places in a post-Maduro interim government and a promise that they wouldn't be prosecuted, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

All three officials have remained publicly loyal to Maduro. A fourth top aide, who heads Venezuela's intelligence agency, Gen. Manuel Figuera, did break ranks and has since disappeared, according to the AP.



Lopez, a Guaido mentor who had been detained since 2014 and under house arrest since 2017 for organizing marches against Maduro, told the AP that he had been secretly speaking with top Maduro loyalists about their possible defection to the opposition for weeks.



One former U.S. official who spoke to the AP on background suggested that distrust between Trump administration officials and Maduro's inner circle contributed to top Maduro aides' reluctance to abandon the embattled Venezuelan leader.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that Egypt had mediated.



The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.



Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.



The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.



The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

50-plus injured



The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator, 31, had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.



Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.



More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.



Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.



Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Brazils far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled a trip to the United States, his office announced Friday, after sharp protests against his being honored as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaros past racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues in New York refuse to host the gala dinner, including the American Museum of Natural History.

Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week yanked their support for the event.

Bolsonaro spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros said in a statement the president would not be attending the dinner because of the resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups on its organizers and sponsors.

Delta said it would no longer be sponsoring the event, but declined to give further details.

The Financial Times also said it would no longer be a sponsor of the event while declining to give further details.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, Bain said. Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

The cancellation is seen as a blow for Bolsonaro, who has actively courted closer ties with the United States and particularly President Donald Trump, whom he has praised.

Bolsonaros rejection by corporate heavyweights also hurts his vow to grow foreign investment in Brazil.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all declined to comment on whether they would abandon the event.

On its website, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce said it had chosen Bolsonaro as its person of the year because of his intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro is loved by his supporters for his outspoken views on guns, family values and the military. But his critics accuse him of racism, homophobia and misogyny. He once said a female lawmaker was too ugly to rape, and said he would not be able to love a gay son.
Russia appears to be shifting its stance on Chinas Belt and Road development initiative in Eurasia, envisioning a bigger role for itself in the process, in what could be a sign that Moscow is worried about waning influence among its neighbors.

When Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing last month for Chinas Belt and Road Forum, he described Russia-China relations now as the best they have been in their entire history. He also said the Belt and Road initiative is intended to strengthen the creative cooperation of the states of Eurasia.

But Putins enthusiasm for participating came with a polite demand, asking China to accommodate Russias Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was originally meant to be a Russia-led alliance on political, trade and infrastructure construction issues in Eurasian countries. But the plan has suffered because of Moscows paucity of funds.

From Russia with love

In his speech, Putin indicated that Russian cooperation is essential to overcome challenges to BRI in the Eurasian region.

(Furthermore,) it is necessary to eliminate infrastructure restrictions for integration mainly by creating a system of modern and well-connected transport corridors. Russia with its unique geographic location is willing to engage in this joint activity, Putin said in his speech.

Putin proposed an integration between different programs and institutions like EAEU, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and One Belt, One Road (old name of Belt and Road Initiative).

Mohan Malik, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at Honolulu, said Putin insists on calling the Chinese plan by the old name to expose Chinas attempt to show that all roads lead to Beijing.

By drawing attention to Moscows own EAEU initiative and stressing the need for OBOR to partner with the EAEU, the SCO and the ASEAN, Putin is indirectly criticizing Beijings go it alone approach which is already facing global backlash, he said.

It is also a reminder from Putin that Russia still has a significant presence in Central Asia, especially on security issues but also in trade and investment, said Zach Witlin, senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

Analysts said Putin is engaged in political posturing and some amount of bargaining for Chinese investments, but he does not have the deep pockets to match Beijings clout and implement Moscows Eurasian initiative.

Bargaining game

It is a sign of just how little bargaining leverage he has that he has to make such a plea in public and lump Russia together with all the rest as supplicants, said Stephen Blank, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Implicitly he is also trying to induce China to invest in the Arctic and other major infrastructure and transportation projects in Asia, he said.

China included a road link passing through Russia when Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced the Belt and Road plan in 2013. It took six years of wrangling before Russia recently agreed to implement the project, which is the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway. The road is meant to link Chinas western neighbor Kazakhstan with Belarus.

But Putin did not mention the project in public discussions during his Beijing visit last month.

In Russia, the project has been given least importance with just one line being mentioned in the 110-page blueprint on National Projects published last February: By the end of 2024, the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway will be built.

The Chinese have been patient with Moscow for their own reasons.

Russia is very important for the Belt and Road, you need its cooperation to achieve success with Eurasian countries, Bloomberg quoted Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat and now professor at Renmin University in Beijing. You cannot bypass Russia.

But bargaining with Beijing for collaboration in other parts of Eurasia and South East Asia would not yield much result.

China will not cede primacy to Russia anywhere in the BRI, Blank said.

US role

The U.S. sent a relatively low-ranking delegation to the Belt and Road Forum meeting and issued a press release criticizing the BRI on several counts. Some analyst believe Washington is making a tactical mistake by allowing high-powered growth of the Chinese program in crucial areas like Eurasia.

Malik said the Obama administration had outlined its New Silk Road vision for joint investment projects and regional trade in the region.

However, Washington dropped the New Silk Road plan under pressure from Beijing, he said adding that the Obama administration largely ignored Chinas growing outreach in Central Asia.

In contrast, the Trump administration has reassessed the challenge that OBOR poses and turned extremely critical and hostile to it, Malik said.

U.S. officials routinely warn countries that Chinas infrastructure deals can carry long-term financial costs that countries can struggle to repay.

When Italy signed on to Beijings development plan in March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told U.S. lawmakers that such deals with China ultimately hurt the country signing onto them.

It may feel good in the moment: You think you got a cheap product or a low-cost bridge or road built. And in the end there will be a political cost attached to that which will greatly exceed the economic value of what you were provided, he said.
North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Koreas east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Japans Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Testing the moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang says. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was fully briefed by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Reports from Iran say a correspondent for a state-approved newspaper has been detained in a Tehran prison ward run by intelligence agents after she attended a rally by labor activists outside parliament.

In a series of tweets posted Thursday and Friday, colleagues of Marzieh Amiri at Irans Shargh Daily newspaper, which labels itself reformist, said she had been detained at Evin Prisons Ward 209. The ward is run by Irans intelligence ministry.

Shargh Daily correspondent Sudabeh Rakhsh posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri, whom she described as a friend, was arrested Wednesday at a rally held by thousands of labor activists outside Irans parliament to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day.

In a Wednesday report, VOA sister network RFE/RLs Radio Farda cited eyewitnesses as saying Iranian security forces arrested at least 35 people as they broke up the rally, beating some of those detained. Radio Farda said most of those detained were labor rights activists who had gathered peacefully to demand better working and living conditions.

In a report published Thursday, Irans Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) named Amiri as one of those who had been detained at the rally and transferred to Evin Prisons Ward 209.

The Shargh Dailys official Twitter account confirmed Amiris detention at the May Day rally in a Friday tweet, but said the newspaper still was trying to determine her location.

A reporter with another Iranian state-approved news outlet, Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Shahrvand newspaper, posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri had been arrested for doing her job as a journalist.

There did not appear to be any comments from Iranian officials about Amiris case in state media by late Friday.

In its annual report published last month, media rights group Reporters Without Borders said Iran slipped further toward the bottom of its World Press Freedom index because of an increase in arrests of Iranian journalists and citizen-journalists.

This article originated in VOAs Persian service.
South Korea called on North Korea to stop raising military tensions, after the North fired a barrage of projectiles into the sea off the east coast of Korea.



In a statement, a South Korean presidential spokesperson said the tests go against a September military agreement it signed with North Korea. Seoul said it expects Pyongyang to resume dialogue as soon as possible.



North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9:00 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.



It is North Korea's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the United States.



President Donald Trump said Saturday he still believes a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will happen. Taking to Twitter, Trump said Kim "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it." Trump added about Kim, "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen."



Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program.



North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirting his moratorium

Since November 2017, Kim has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.



Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



"Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."



After the launch, President Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.



"We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.



Measured escalation



North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.



Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.



Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.


Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.

The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday the results of elections for seats on local councils in England, the biggest of the UK's four nations, provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined the two biggest parties, Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

Meanwhile, support for Scottish independence has risen to its highest point in the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to remain in the European Union, according to a YouGov poll published in the Times last week.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We've had enough to last a lifetime," Davidson will tell delegates at the Scottish Conservative conference, according to advance comments.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years and part of the United Kingdom, rejected independence by 10 percentage points in a 2014 referendum. But differences over Brexit have strained relations with the government in London.

Davidson's straight-talking politics has made her a favorite of moderate Conservatives and given her high public approval ratings, while infighting has whittled away the authority of the prime minister and the standing of some of her rivals.

May addressed the conference in Aberdeen on Friday.

On returning to work this week after giving birth to baby Finn, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister but speculation continues to swirl  despite her currently not having a seat in the Westminster parliament but sitting as a member of Scotland's devolved assembly.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, she was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood and the kind of changes it has meant to her life, describing the effects of "bone-crushing" sleep-deprivation.

She said she had put her job before family and friends in the past, but being a mother had changed her priorities. "I don't think for one second (my job) will come before Finn."
Yulia Savchenko of VOA's Russian Service contributed reporting.



WASHINGTON  U.S. President Donald Trump applauded Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's announcement that his country plans to increase its military spending to 2% of its GDP in the next three years, as well as purchase U.S.-made F-16 war planes.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders after their White House meeting Friday said the U.S. and Slovakia "seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement."

Earlier, speculation about terms of a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, had stirred controversy in the Central European country. The Slovak foreign ministry described as lacking in knowledge and short on facts allegations that a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. would lead to encroachment upon Slovakias sovereignty.

In contrast to protests heard in certain quarters in Slovakia, a number of nations in Central Europe have shown an eagerness to enter into defense cooperation agreements with the U.S.

Last month, a bilateral agreement was signed between the U.S. and Hungary on the sidelines of events marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO, after more than a year and a half of negotiations.

In an interview with VOA, Laszlo Szabo, Hungarys ambassador to the U.S., described the agreement as both strategic and tactical in nature and as one that sets the terms under which American forces and other foreign troops can operate in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is negotiating an agreement that is quite similar, according to Hynek Kmonicek, the countrys chief diplomat in the U.S. Czechs regard the U.S. as the backbone of NATO, he told VOA, adding if you ask people how they feel about [the] 2% of GDP spent [on military expenditures], it usually has 80% [popular] support, which is quite extraordinary.

Among Central European countries, Poland is seen as the most enthusiastic when it comes to building ever-closer ties with the United States in military and security affairs.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in an interview with VOAs Russian Service that Poland realizes relying on its own defense forces will not be sufficient when it comes to a security guarantee, even as the Polish government is working to strengthen its military forces, including increasing the number of soldiers. The minister said the military presence of our allies on our soil is crucially important.

Not that Poland feels a direct military threat from Russia at the moment, said Czaputowicz, but from what Poland can see, Russia is prone to taking advantage of situations when it senses a weakness; like in Donbas, like in Crimea, referring to Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine. Poland, he said, plans to increase its defense spending to up to 2.5% of its GDP. The relative absence of an imminent military threat that Poland currently feels, as Czaputowicz sees it, is precisely due to Russias calculation of both how the country itself and its allies will react.

As negotiations between the U.S. and Slovakia on a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement unfold, Rachel Ellehuus, a former Pentagon official and current deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), cautions that the U.S. Congress has signaled that it will not allow funds from the European Deterrence Initiative to be spent in countries that have not signed a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. She also points out that the guarantee of assured access by U.S. military to signatory countries facilities could be a sticking point with certain allies.

That said, Ellehuus describes bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreements as pragmatic measures to enhance NATO deterrence and defense, while also ensuring needed protections for U.S. troops.

Think of them as legal agreements that strengthen the provisions in the NATO SOFA, she said, referring to Status of Forces Agreements among NATO member states.

From an operational angle, mitigating Russias time-distance advantages over the U.S. and allies, should conflict break out, is crucial to deterrence and defense, according to Billy Fabian, a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA).
Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.



Gen. Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years, and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.



The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.



There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.



Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.



The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.



He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.



Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Plot allegation



Algeria's army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.



In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief, whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.



Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state."

Tartag  described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother  was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.



Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."



According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.



Mediene said, "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudomeeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.



Algeria's former defense minister, Khaled Nezzar, meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.



Demonstrations continue in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
It's going to be a colorful election in the Rainbow Nation.

Whether you're a Leninite, a free-market capitalist, a right-winger, an outspoken lefty, a Shariah-law fundamentalist or just a dedicated pot smoker, South Africa's May 8 ballot spans the entire political spectrum, offering something for nearly every type of voter.

Forty-eight political parties are contesting this years national election, leaving voters spoiled for choice beyond the top three: the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters parties.

The smaller, newer parties have wildly different aims -- some, like the African Transformation Movement, are church-based and say their platform revolves around human rights. Others are aligned with more traditional political views, or have niche issues to push in national government.

But they all seem to share one thing: dissatisfaction with the political status quo. The head the ATM party, Vuyo Zungula, says they couldnt get the change they wanted through partnership with the ruling ANC. So they started their own party, through the South African Council of Messianic Churches in Christ.

The party, Zungula says, is pro-gay-rights and doesn't want to change existing laws that allow abortion. Instead, he says, the party wants to show South Africans the meaning of service.

We believe that what the people of South Africa truly need now, they need people who will genuinely serve them," the 31-year-old presidential candidate told VOA as about 100 of his followers packed into a hall in Soweto for the party's final rally.

While its likely the large, powerful ANC will dominate this election, analysts say the small parties play a valuable role in government. South Africas system of proportional representation means small parties dont need a large number of votes - as few as 50,000 are all it takes - to get one of 400 parliamentary seats.

That may include the scrappy Dagga Party - dagga is local slang for marijuana. The pro-legalization party was behind a widely celebrated, headline-grabbing Supreme Court ruling last year that saw the decriminalization of cannabis in South Africa. But the party missed the election registration deadline this year, so it instead joined forces with the brand-new African Democratic Change party, which is on the ballot.

Professor and analyst Ivor Sarakinsky says its this diversity that makes South Africas parliament great.

Those parties might be springboards to ask tough questions to the new parliament and the new administration after the election," he told VOA. "If they get support, they wont necessarily get big numbers, but their presence will add some real spice to the parliament thats going to be formed shortly.

Thats exactly what the tiny, six-week-old Capitalist Party hopes to do. The party is only fielding 10 candidates -- not enough to dictate terms on their own, but enough, their leader, Kanthan Pillay, believes, to play a valuable role in government because of their candidates' wealth of business experience.

All of the political parties out there are offering variations on the same recipe," he said. "Theyre all promising that government is going to create more jobs, theyre all promising that theyre going to cut back on government spending, and theyre all promising better levels of education. We dont believe that they have the capability to deliver on any of those things, simply because they lack the expertise to do so.

On the opposite side of that spectrum is another new entrant, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, which is part of the nation's largest single trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. Unions have traditionally backed the ANC, but spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says this party was born of frustration with the ruling party.

We are the only political party in South Africa that is fighting for the destruction of the capitalist system," she told VOA. "We believe that we represent the aspirations of the 23 million members of the working class of South Africa whose aspirations have, frankly, been ignored by the capitalist ANC government for the last 25 years.



At the end of the day, says analyst Angelo Fick, the ANC will win more seats than any other party. But the varied opposition, he says, is a reflection of a healthy democracy.

The plethora of choices in front of the South African electorate is not, for me, a sign of too much, too soon," he said. "It is, in fact, a sign of the vibrancy of the contestation around ideas."
Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the country's northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

On Saturday, government forces were sending new reinforcements toward Idlib, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of troops.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaida-linked militants attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week.

The command's orders were given to bring these big reinforcements to respond to violations, a Syrian officer who asked that his name not be made public told The Associated Press. We are waiting for orders to begin a military operation, God willing, soon.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said 22 civilians have been killed and more than 60 wounded in airstrikes and shelling since Friday morning.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported more than 115 strikes against rebel-held areas on Saturday alone. It said six civilians were killed on Saturday raising to 67 the number of civilians and insurgents killed since Tuesday when the government began its new campaign.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that government forces targeted positions of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the most powerful group in Idlib.

In violence in other parts of northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry announced one Turkish soldier was killed and one lightly wounded in northwestern village of Tel Rifaat when Syrian Kurdish fighters shot at Turkish troops. The ministry said Turkish troops launched a counter-attack.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization with links to Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

The attack came days after YPG militants carried out an attack in a Turkish-controlled region in northern Syria killing a soldier and wounding three others.
Top U.S. and Pentagon officials are considering options for Venezuela after calls for an uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaido apparently failed. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate interim president, called for members of the military to defect and for massive street protests. But Nicolas Maduro continues to cling to power, and some analysts say America's options are narrowing. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
Members of an Arlington, Virginia, mosque are being trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Worshippers are learning how to take security measures to protect themselves and save the lives of others. The training follows mass shooting at houses of worship around the world, including one in New Zealand that killed 51 people at a mosque, and another one at a Pittsburgh Synagogue that claimed 11 lives. VOA's Nilofar Mughal has more from Arlington.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa is promising a new dawn for Zimbabwe's media landscape. To mark World Press Freedom Day Friday, Mutsvangwa told VOA's Blessing Zulu that the govt is "working hard on the reforms, we certainly mean what we are talking about," referring to AIPPA and other laws.
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VOA Africa Division's Linord Moudou spoke to Melinda Gates about women's empowerment, work in Africa, the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and how men can benefit from women's empowerment.
SOUTHINGTON  A committee of town department leaders and residents tasked with reviewing town policies for inclusivity plans to meet for the first time next week.

The town policy diversity committee was formed by Town Council chairman Chris Palmieri following concerns from residents about minority inclusion and hiring.

Race issues came to prominence after a social media video last year in which a Southington High School student threatened black classmates. That led to residents and the NAACP urging the Board of Education to address a lack of teachers and administrators, as well as higher discipline rates for minority students.

Superintendent Tim Connellan formed a social justice coalition to propose solutions to those issues. Palmieri said he wanted a group that would look at what the town could do to improve inclusion.

Town Manager Mark Sciota will lead the committee. In addition to department heads, including Police Chief Jack Daly and Recreation Director David Lapreay, town employees were also encouraged to apply for a spot on the committee.

Town Council member Victoria Triano had originally suggested the idea for the committee and some of her picks for the group included First Congregational Church Rev. Ronald Brown and Southington Women for Progress member Dorie Conlon Perugini. Palmieri appointed them both to the committee.

Sciota said hell distribute policies for three departments: police, human resources and recreation. Members will then discuss them and any proposed changes then or at the following meeting.

The committee will also set goals and complete other organizational tasks.

Were going to introduce ourselves, get to know each other, Sciota said.

Conlon Perugini said she hopes that committee members can listen to and value diverse voices in town. Theres a collective responsibility to improve the town, she said.

Working towards equity isnt easy and is often times uncomfortable, but my hope for this group is that we commit to working together through the uncomfortable feelings so that we can achieve our goals, Conlon Perugini said. There are systems and processes that have been perpetuated for generations that continue to marginalize individuals and groups in our town.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m, Town Hall, 75 Main St.

Southington Town Policy Diversity Committee members

Mark Sciota, town manager and committee chairman

Ronald Brown, reverend of First Congregational Church

Elizabeth Chubet, Southington Public Library

Jack Daly, Police Chief

David Lapreay, Recreation Director

Jason Marquez, police dispatcher

Michelle Passamano, town and Board of Education human resources manager

Dorie Conlon Perugini, Southington Women for Progress

Jacqueline Santos-Villegas, town accountant

O.J. Shaw, Bristol NAACP

Christina Simms, Youth Services director
International

N Korea fires short-range missiles into Sea

Seoul, May 4 (IANS) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 12:04:59 PM IST

North Korea fired a barrage of unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9.06 a.m. and 9.27 a.m. on Saturday, Yonhap News Agency quoted the JCS as saying in a statement.

The missiles flew for a range of about 70 to 200 km, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details. Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, it added.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, reports CNN.

Japans Defence Ministry said there was no evidence the projectiles had landed in its territorial waters. Saturdays launch comes a few weeks after North Korea said it conducted a tactical guided weapons firing test, according to state media. In a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong-un praised that test as a great historic event in strengthening the combat capability of the Peoples Army. North Koreas missile programme made major strides in 2017, when Pyongyang claimed it had successfully test fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles. Rising international tension over Pyongyangs weapons programme eased in 2018 when Kim indicated his willingness to negotiate, and later met South Koreas President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.

After making some progress in 2018, talks appeared to stall this year when Kim and Trumps second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, abruptly ended with no agreement as Pyongyang pushed for more sanctions relief in exchange for denuclearization, while the US demanded greater evidence that the country is prepared to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
Central Texas radio talk show host Lynn Woolley will bring his The Lynn Woolley Show back to the air beginning Monday, with the show being carried by M&M Broadcasting stations from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

The conservative talk show hosts afternoon show will appear locally on sports-talk KLRK-AM (1590) and -FM (99.3). In the Killeen-Temple-Belton listening area, The Lynn Woolley Show will be carried on KTON-AM (1330) and -FM (93.9). A livestream can be heard at www.listencentraltexassports.com.

The talk show, which ran 23 years from Temple until last October, will feature news from Central Texas and across the nation with commentary and an audience call-in line.

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Waco attorney David Schleicher, Behrghundis attorney, said he will address the motion to dismiss.

This is the sort of response we expected and to which we will fully respond with citations to the pleadings and the law, Schleicher said.

The motion states the individuals named in the lawsuit, all current city council members, do not have standing to be sued under the claims. The motion claims the SOC group is a name of a Facebook page and is not an actual entity.

As shown on the site itself, the Save Our City Facebook page is used to promote community, city, school and church events, the motion states in part. The remainder of plaintiffs complaint amounts to political arguments between one citizen, other citizens and some elected and former elected leaders.

Witt, who now lives in Robinson but serves as chief planning officer and a consultant for Mart on a major overhaul of its water system, said Save Our City is meant to encourage a promising future for Mart. He said the group does endorse candidates in local elections but has chosen not to endorse Behrghundi.
MCAD officials are required to have 95 percent of the tax roll completed before they can certify the roll and give the numbers to taxing entities for budget preparations.

According to MCAD figures, the average homeowner saw a median increase in appraised market value of 4.8 percent this year, down from about 12 percent last year.

But its the accumulative effect over the last few years that have taxpayers flocking to MCADs office and galvanizing on social media in constant debate of MCADs methods.

MCAD has a $300,000 budget for legal matters this year, down from $450,000 the year before when MCAD officials thought they would be battling Sandy Creek in court again. MCAD also has a reserve fund of $400,000 to $600,000 set aside for litigation, Bobbitt said.

In 2018, MCAD spent $220,000 for legal costs, he said.

Most of the lawsuits are filed by businesses. If they sue MCAD, they are required to pay taxes on the undisputed amount. If they want to pay the entire amount, they get a refund if they prevail. If they just pay the undisputed amount and lose, they have to pay the remainder of the taxes, possibly with interest, Bobbitt said.
Police were told that the mother and a man had been in the home when the mother had fallen asleep around 1 p.m. She woke at 11 p.m., and the man and her children were gone, prompting her to call in the kidnapping report.

Law enforcement stated the day care reported that attempts were made to contact (the mother), but (were) unsuccessful and that an employee took the children home to be cared for, the CPS report states. Law enforcement stated the day care reported that this was the third time the day care had not been able to locate (the mother) at the end of the day.

The mother told police that she had been falling in and out of sleep and believed the children arrived home, the report states. She said she thought the man who was at the home at the time with her had her children, but she did not know him well.

(The mother) could not recall what happened on May 1, 2019 in regards to her children and could only remember the children being dropped off at day care that morning, the report states. (The mother) reported she informed the day care that she would not be able to pick the children up at the end of the day. However, the day care staff stated (she) did not notify them or provide alternative arrangements to have the children picked up.
Work crews with Webber LLC will begin removing the southbound exit ramp from Interstate 35 onto Fourth-Fifth streets Saturday, prompting the closure of University Parks Drive in both directions.

The work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. and University Parks will remain closed at I-35 all day.

Traffic on University Parks traveling west from Baylor toward downtown Waco will be redirected to Martin Luther King Boulevard. Eastbound traffic will be directed to 18th Street, according to a Texas Department of Transportation release.

The start of this work was postponed from Wednesday due to rain.

Only one lane on the southbound access road will be open Saturday, to provide a buffer zone between the demolition and the traffic in that area. The left and center lanes will be closed.

Demolition of the ramp will continue nightly through May 11.
One of the many hazards to look out for was sappers, who would often float down the river and attempt to attach lipid mines to a ship. As the Tutuila was permanently anchored, it made an easy target. Sentries were posted 24 hours a day, firing about 48 percussion grenades per watch, totaling more than 4,000 grenades a month, he said. A motor whale boat provided additional security, also firing grenades.

After two years, the Tutuila left Vietnam on New Years Eve in 1971. The ship would be turned over to the Chinese Navy at Keelung, Taiwan, later in the month. Fell was bound for another station in Japan, which would be his last ship: the USS Ajax.

Fell spent the next four years on her, coming aboard in Japan, and soon to be underway for San Diego. Fell, who was promoted to lieutenant commander during this time, went on the familiar WESTPAC tour. In January 1976, Fell married his sweetheart, Carol Evans, and she and her two sons joined him in July of 1976 at the Naval Magazine in the Philippines, where he was an ordnance officer.

They visited Korea several times and even went briefly to Hong Kong.
Following is the full Cambodian Government leaders message of homage to former President Le Duc Anh.

Since the first meeting at the Thong Nhat (United) Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in early 1978, he and the Vietnamese army and people have paid great help to the Cambodian people. Cambodia's United Armed Forces for National Salvation was formed with the direct support from him, the Commander of Military Zone 7 under the Vietnam People's Army at that time.

The Cambodian peoples liberation from the genocidal Pol Pot regime, the prevention of the return of the regime, and the national construction of Cambodia witnessed his contributions.

During the course of his mission in Cambodia, on behalf of the Vietnamese Party, Government and the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, he fully implemented the policy of respecting the independence and sovereignty of Cambodia as well as respecting Cambodian peoples choice on the political, economic and social system of the country.

In his capacity as President of Vietnam, he were one of the people, together with the Party, Government, the Army and people of Vietnam, enhancing the rapid development of the relations between the two countries in all fields.

From the first meeting until separation, he always paid attention to me and my wife and children, like father and son and like grandfather and grandchildren. I remember that when I faced the greatest difficulties in building the first army, he gave great support in any way possible so that the Cambodian army could grow up quickly.

He did not smoke, but never forget to send me cigarettes because he knew I smoked a lot. He always told me to take care of my health.

As a politician and Army Commander, I always regarded he as a genius military and political strategist, the likes of which I have never met in other countries.

Bidding farewell to General Le Duc Anh with great compassion.
State

Nagas are blessed with talents: Acharya

P.B. Acharya (DIPR)

DIMAPUR, MAY (NPN) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 11:34:09 AM IST

Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya said Naga people were blessed in every discipline, with talents and the ability to excel in whatever field they choose to embark on, a DIPR report stated.

Addressing the inter government college concert Constellation Music with the Stars organized by Higher Education department in collaboration with Music Task Force as part of the 1st Inter Government College Olympics 2019 at Kohima as principal guest, Acharya however expressed concern about the educational system in the state, and emphasized the need to change the system in order to encourage youths to pursue their academics in the state instead of pursuing outside the state.

He lamented that large number of educated Naga youths were serving outside the state due to lack of avenues and employment opportunities. For this, he urged the educated youths to be a job givers rather than job seekers in order to develop a strong and stable economy.

On resources, Acharya said Nagaland has enough natural resources both biotic and non-abiotic, besides rich in mineral deposits. Therefore, he urged the educated youths to give more importance on such untapped natural resources in order to develop a strong and vibrant society.

Higher & Technical Education minister, TemjenImna Along in his address welcomed and acknowledged the guests and invitees who had come from different parts of the country. He said Nagas are Indians and Nagas are proud to be part of this great country. Along expressed joy to introduce the reunion of the young youths in such a single platform, who one day will strive for the people of Nagaland and this great country with a vision to build a united India.

Special invitee, advisor for Skill Development, Labour & Employment, CAWD, Kazheto Kinimi in his address said though the state had high literacy rate, employment opportunity has become a major concern. Therefore, Kinimi encouraged the youths to avail various Central flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana for skill development. He also informed that the state was focused on skilling the youths to find gainful employment either as entrepreneurs or employees in the organized private and public sector.

Higher Education director, Dr. I. Anungla delivered the welcome note while director, Music Task Force, Dr. Hovithal Sothu proposed vote of thanks.

Artists likeMengu Suokhrie, Ayim Longchar, Alobo Naga & the band, Eastory and Kohima College choir also enthralled audience. Altogether, 13 government colleges took part in the event.
In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified.

Every year April 25th is Anzac Day which commemorates Australian and New Zealand troops that were lost in wars during the 20th century. The date commemorates the April 25, 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at what is known as Anzac Cove in modern day Turkey.

The name for the holiday is an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day was originally created in 1916 to recognize the casualties suffered by the Anzac troops during the Gallipoli campaign.

The day has since evolved into a holiday remembering the sacrifices of servicemen and women in all wars and conflicts that the two countries have been involved in.

Many New Zealanders gather in Central Otago on Anzac Day. This year, thousands of people attended services across the Otago Region, despite the close proximity to Easter and the school holiday which meant that attendance was lower than usual.

Most of the annual ceremonies in Otago take place at the many war memorials in the area to honor the dead whose names are inscribed onto them.

The memorials often contain the names of the soldiers that died in the war or the battle that the monument commemorates. But many of the names on the First World War memorials are incorrect, and no one has taken responsibility for making the necessary changes.

Gerald Cunningham worked as a volunteer for the Imperial War Museum in London. In 2018 Cunningham visited the Central Otago memorials with the task of cross-referencing the names on the monuments with locals who were known to have lost their lives during the First World War.

Once confirmed, the names were then added to the Lives of the First World War, the museums online database.

Cunningham discovered several name errors during his research. For example, he says that there is the name of a person who did not exist on the Clyde War Memorial, while incorrect names have also been found on a number of other monuments.

The authorities, including the mayor of Central Otago, the Central Otago District Council, and the local RSA were all notified of these inaccuracies over a year ago, yet no action has yet been taken.

With todays technology, the entire war records of Kiwi soldiers are now available online. The two major websites with this information are the Online Cenotaph (managed by the Auckland War Memorial Museum) and the New Zealand Army Service Records, which also includes copies of the original enlistment forms signed by the soldiers.

Cunningham says that the period of the First World War was a different time. Thousands of young men were conscripted in New Zealand and sent to Europe to fight in the war. The majority of those young men were single, poor, and had limited educated.

In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers were lost during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified. A further 41,317 young men were wounded during the war, and many more still suffered from mental health issues and were sent back home to try and survive as damaged civilians.

Read another story from us: ANZACS: The Australians & New Zealanders at Gallipoli, 1915

Erika Biddle, a representative of the Australian High Commission, spoke at the Memorial Gates during one of this years ceremonies. She said that recent events in New Zealand only further underlined the need for people to pause and spend a few moments reflecting on the sacrifices made by others so that the country could live in peace.

Central Otago was home to hundreds of those soldiers, with Cunningham continuing to state that they should be honored properly by accurately inscribing their names on the memorials.
Mexican security forces oversee the destruction of an illegal establishment used by drug dealers on the outskirts of Cancun. (Kevin Sieff/The Post)

The government, sensitive to several recent high-profile incidents, has deployed a Tourist Security Battalion to patrol Cancun, Tulum and the Mexican Riviera.
The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell (Oxygen at 7) This investigation into the case offers new insights and details.
The U.S. Secret Service arrested an individual at the Cameroon Embassy on Saturday. The agency did not release the persons name but said they were arrested around 4 p.m. for unlawful entry, simple assault and destruction of property.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington has set a May 30 hearing to decide the question, but in a 44-page brief, prosecutors said that Muellers appointment was valid and noted that the Justice Department has repeatedly paid other special counsels under the statute. The text, history, and long-standing practice, as approved by Congress, confirms that view, prosecutors for Justice argued in the brief.
By Express News Service

The quest to acquire the broadest possible user data is driving e-commerce and technology firms into strange waters. Early last month, one of the worlds largest technology companies -- Apple -- announced that it was launching a credit card in association with Goldman Sachs. A few months earlier, e-commerce giant Amazon had entered into a similar partnership with ICICI Bank in India to launch a co-branded credit. Now, reports say that Indian e-commerce players like Flipkart and Ola are likely to follow suit.

The diversification of consumer-focused internet platforms into financial services might seem strange, but experts and analysts like Ankur Pahwa of Ernst & Young say it is fairly intuitive and logical. Such associations give these companies access to one of the most valuable resources in modern milieu: data on customer spending behaviour.

E-commerce firms and technology platforms already have some of the largest repositories of such information, which they use to offer personalised offers to their users. What venturing into hard financial products like credit cards does, however, is open the door to acquire and use a wider range of information that is not limited to just their own respective ecosystems. If I have a credit card, Im not going to restrict myself to spending on just one platform. This gives the company insight they did not previously have: customer spending behaviour outside their ecosystems, adds Pahwa.

This insight is an invaluable resource because it enables them to maximise spending inside their own ecosystems. For instance, if someone purchases a holiday package on some other platform but uses this credit card, then the company can push associated products like travel insurance, car rentals etc from within its own, or its partners, portfolios.

Such products offer a platform for understanding user behaviour, which becomes a way to more effectively push your products to customers, Anand Ramanathan, partner, Deloitte says. Pahwa adds that this increases customer retention by increasing spending inside platforms.

Ramanathan also notes that financial services have become an important part of the product proposition and branching out into the segment offers natural synergies companies can exploit. You are reducing the total cost of ownership of your products with solutions like this, and therefore the number of people who can afford your product also goes up, he points out. Offering finance solutions is also one of the ways in which you are able stave off a potential customer being diverted to some other channel, thereby increasing the e-commerce pie itself, he concludes.
Brandi Colbert, assistant manager of the nearby Kent Point Marina, said she heard the helicopter fly over about noon. It did circle the farm behind us twice, she said. Then shortly thereafter it was gone.
The state filed the document with many of the passages and the chart blacked out. But in a subsequent response, Teva accidentally reproduced it without those redactions. The documents have since been put back under seal in the court file, along with tens of millions of other pages produced by the companies in the case.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has urged countries to "get real" on meeting the commitment of Paris Agreement on climate change, highlighting the need for effective carbon pricing.

At a panel discussion held by the Centre for Global Development, Lagarde on Friday said that global warming is an "existential threat", and called on countries not to waste the "small window of opportunity" to take the measures needed to combat the problem.

The IMF chief said that carbon pricing, charging for the carbon content of fossil fuels or their emissions, is "the most effective mitigation instrument" for climate change and it provides incentives to reduce energy consumption, use cleaner fuels, mobilize private finance and provide revenues to support sustainable and inclusive growth, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ | Book brings harsh reality of climate change closer

In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed on the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a way to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2017, prompting a strong backlash domestically and abroad.

The goal of the Paris Agreement would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around 70 dollars per tonne, whereas the current global average carbon price is only 2 dollars per tonne, according to a newly-released IMF paper.

ALSO READ | Climate change: Emperor penguins breeding ground destroyed, thousands of chicks die

Noting that carbon pricing can be politically difficult, the IMF chief encouraged countries to gradually phase in carbon pricing and smartly communicate policies.

Another panelist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Finance Minister, also stressed the importance of communicating with the people.

Okonjo-Iweala said that governments should explain policies clearly so that people at the bottom end of the ladder understand that they are not going to get hurt and resources will be used for their benefit.

"It is difficult to understate the urgency of this task as the window for containing global warming to manageable levels is closing rapidly," Lagarde said in a blog that she co-authored.

"Action is required by everyone, every institution, every country. Everyone can make a difference!"
Fiercely protected by the members of Congress through whose districts they run, the long-distance routes should have been trimmed long ago; unfortunately, Amtrak will once again face a difficult fight to trim them now. Perhaps even more significant, though, may be objections from the nations freight rail carriers, which own most of the tracks (outside the Northeast Corridor) over which Amtrak would have to run the passenger trains in its proposed more efficient, consumer-friendly system. Though legally bound to provide Amtrak preferential access to their track, freight companies have historically interpreted that mandate very narrowly, arguing that the passenger trains dont pay the true full cost of their track usage and interfere with the equally pressing needs of shipping and commerce. They have a point; even if its ridership were to double, Amtrak would barely dent congestion and carbon output, whereas freight rail takes the place of countless trucks that would otherwise spew diesel fumes into the atmosphere.
It is important to understand that transit agencies maintain complete and final control over all material aspects and operations of their rail cars. Regardless of the manufacturer, rail cars are designed and built to meet specific technical requirements. Once rail cars are delivered to a transit agency, the agency has exclusive operational control and rights over the rail cars.
The results are chilling. The system is tracking the movement of people by monitoring the trajectory and location data of their phones, ID cards and vehicles; it is also monitoring the use of electricity and gas stations by everybody in the region, the report says, adding: When the IJOP system detects irregularities or deviations from what it considers normal, such as when people are using a phone that is not registered to them, when they use more electricity than normal, or when they leave the area where they are registered to live without police permission, the system flags these micro-clues to the authorities as suspicious and prompts an investigation.
The juxtaposition of two Metro articles on April 28 was brilliant. William & Mary to memorialize enslaved people described the colleges honest effort to confront its past sins of slavery by remembering those enslaved people, many by name, and to honor them in a meaningful, heartbreaking and powerful memorial on campus. This is what we should be doing throughout the country, on all ground built on the shame of the enslaved labor of human beings. It left me feeling hopeful and moved me to tears. Just above this article appeared White nationalists interrupt authors book talk  a gut punch of the reality of how white supremacy flourishes still, poisoning the landscape of our nation. The two articles together presented the stark conflict that has arisen from the politics of today. We have the encouragement of white supremacy from the highest office in the country at the same time that many are making honest efforts to reconcile with the shame of enslavement on which this country was built.
Thats some reward for Mueller: Republican, former platoon commander in Vietnam, President George W. Bushs choice to run the FBI and one of our most honorable public servants. He was scrupulous and fair (the administration is now attacking him for failing to decide on whether Trump should be charged, even though Justice Department rules say a sitting president cant be charged), and his report was easier on Trump than many expected.
Attorney General William P. Barrs characterization of the Mueller letter criticizing his summary of the special counsels conclusions as snitty (meaning disagreeable, ill-tempered) was indeed curious [Barr denies accusations of deception, front page, May 2]. Even curiouser was the comment that it was likely drafted by a member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs staff, the implication being that it didnt reflect Mr. Muellers view. Someone, perhaps a member of Mr. Barrs staff, should inform the attorney general that when the person in charge signs a letter, regardless of who drafted it, it becomes that persons letter. If my letter to The Post is deemed snitty, that was my intent.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday informed Supreme Court that it will abide by the norms of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before fully launching its payments service in the country. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, appearing for WhatsApp, told the bench that they are only having a trial run, which is likely to be completed by July and that it wont launch payments services without complying with norms.

The companys statement came before the court when the bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, was hearing a petition seeking directions for the messaging platform to follow RBI norms for its payments service. In 2018, WhatsApp began piloting its payments service in India; it claims that almost one million people in the country are currently testing the feature.

But the formal launch, which was expected to happen at the start of June, has been repeatedly pushed back, pending regulatory approvals and over confusion on data protection laws. India is the largest market for WhatsApp, accounting for over 200 million user base. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that WhatsApp was not complying with data localisation norms, which is evident from the affidavit filed by the RBI.

To this, the bench said that if norms laid down by the RBI are not followed by WhatsApp, then it can be prosecuted. Dont worry our arms are long enough. They cannot escape the law, it said, adding that the issue requires detailed hearing. The matter was listed for July.RBI already had issued a circular directing the global payments service to store transaction data of Indian customers in the country itself. The idea was to have unfettered access to all payments data for supervisory purposes.

RBI slaps fine on Vodafone m-pesa, PhonePe

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India Friday said it has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, including Vodafone m-pesa and PhonePe, for violation of regulatory norms. Also, penalties have been imposed on Western Union Financial Services Inc and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, both US firms, for non-compliance of guidelines.
Electability is an elusive concept. It is not one of those that fits into the category of, I know it when I see it. It is born of individual biases and the conventions of history, often the search for something that seems to replicate something that was successful before. But a look back at presidential campaigns of the past suggests something else has been more powerful in determining who wins the White House.
After two years of [investigations] and being vindicated, and now in fact the tables are turning in that the investigators will be investigated, theres a certain amount of righteous indignation thats warranted, said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trumps reelection bid. The president has already shown that he wants to talk about it. Hes been tweeting about it. Im sure hell talk about it at rallies. Its something that the campaign will continue to point to.
Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William P. Barr. Warrens suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto ORourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.
Kelly, a retired four-star general, joined the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the first half of 2017. In that role, Kelly said he considered family separations as a way to deter mass migration to the United States. The policy was implemented once Kelly joined the White House team. A federal judge has ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 separated children with their families.
The Friday request, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that the injunction is needed to stave off the deadlines the committees set for the two banks to produce the requested documents.
Voters tend to see big funding proposals, or large tax cuts, as a giveaway to powerful interests, things that benefit others. It would take years for the new highway exchanges, bridges and refurbished dams to get approved by federal agencies, and by then constituents wont connect the dots to understand those projects came about because of congressional action a few years back.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: It was a step towards achieving her dreams for 23-year-old Jyothi, after a reputed degree college in the city accepted her application to pursue graduation recently.

It was after five years of giving up studies and working as a domestic help that this young woman completed her pre-university college education with 90.5 per cent marks and secured a seat in a degree college.

Aided by a BTM Layout resident and her employer Reetu Singh, Jyothi has been admitted to Jyoti Nivas College to pursue B Com, a first first step towards achieving her dream of becoming a banker.

It was in 2012 that Jyothi was forced to discontinue her education to cover the wedding expenses of her older sibling. She told The New Indian Express: I approached the owner of the house where I worked and she offered to put me through pre-university. Now, I am waiting to join college in a month.

For two years, she pursued her PUC in the Government PU College in Agrahara and will, for the first time, study in an English medium college, which was a challenge she took up.
Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements, the statement added. We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrites values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements.
Saturdays violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.
Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If its necessary, maybe we will approve it.
Its not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out, said Superlano. We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesnt it make sense to take it, especially if you dont have another tangible plan?
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Tripti Das (35), a public relations officer, had been planning her Sri Lanka trip along with her family of three for over a year. Post the attack, she immediately re-scheduled her tickets to Bhutan. Sri Lanka and Bhutan had been on our list since it was within our budget. So when the Lankan trip got cancelled, there was no question about our alternative plan. We checked the tickets, and with agencies giving us some concession, we made a quick turn, she said.

Das isnt the only one making last-minute changes to her trip. Bhutan, Thailand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam and Darjeeling are destinations that have emerged as new hotspots for those who have deferred or cancelled their travel to Sri Lanka. As mercury soars throughout central, western and southern India, the eastern destinations come as a respite owing to their pleasant climate. In addition, Indian tourists are attracted to the vibrant wildlife, intrinsic culture and delectable cuisine. Paro, Punakha, Thimpu, Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Kalimpong are the most preferred tourist sites at these destinations this season.

The postponement/cancellation also comes in the wake of special advisory released by the Government of India asking citizens to only undertake essential travels.

Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings, a travel agency, said, Travellers are shifting their choice of destination due to the situation in Sri Lanka. The travel advisory by the Indian government adds to the anxiety of the travellers.

Similar cost bracket is one of the significant factors influencing tourists in the city to choose Bhutan and North-East India destinations. Tourists can avail a five-night package to Bhutan for about `42,000 per person inclusive of airfare, and Sikkim along with Darjeeling for `38,000 per person for a six-night package that includes airfare. Cost to Sri Lanka is almost the same, said Anand.

We have received 10 per cent cancellations on pre-bookings from travellers who were planning to visit Sri Lanka. On the other hand, we also received around 15 new inquiries from the people who were already in Lanka when the attack happened, in order to look for secure ground transportation in Colombo, said Aditya Loomba, Jt Managing Director, Eco Rent A Car-EuropCar.

Increased accessibility via air and improved infrastructure are other factors encouraging tourists to opt for eastern destinations. While the land cost remains unchanged, many tourists seeking a last-minute change may have to shell out more due to the increase in airfare.

Several Indian tourists travel to island nations for its pristine beaches, a portion of whom can be seen flying to Maldives at a higher cost to ensure no compromise on the experience.
The president's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the United States had entered "a very strong and durable prosperity cycle". He gave all the credit to his boss: "He is president of the whole economy." By most measures, the US economy is in solid shape. It is expanding at a roughly 3 per cent pace, businesses are posting more jobs than there are unemployed workers and wage growth, long the economy's weak spot, has picked up. All these trends are helping lift a broader swath of the population than in the first five years or so after the Great Recession. Low-income workers are actually seeing healthy wage gains - larger than everyone else's. In March, the poorest one-quarter of workers were earning 4.4 per cent more than a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The richest one-quarter were up 3 per cent.

Lower-income workers had started to outpace their higher-paid counterparts in 2015, so it's not a Trump phenomenon. And part of the increase has occurred because of minimum wage hikes by more than two-dozen states. Loading The news isn't good for everyone. Workers in metro areas are still getting larger pay increases than those in smaller towns or rural areas, according to the Atlanta Fed's data. In fact, that gap that has widened since Mr Trump was elected. And overall income inequality hasn't narrowed. The richest 5 per cent of Americans earned 3.4 times a median worker's pay in 2018, according to the left- leaning Economic Policy Institute. That's up from 3.3 times as much in 2016.

Amid the largely positive news for Mr Trump, friends and foes alike question whether he can stay focused on the economy as the 2020 contest plays out. Blessed with similarly positive news in the past, he has veered into more controversial topics like immigration, the Russia investigation and personal attacks against his rivals. Democrats, in fact, are counting on him to change the subject. At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest. "The economic indicators would normally be incredibly positive for an incumbent president," said Jefrey Pollock, the pollster for Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand's presidential campaign. However, the pollster said hopefully and somewhat rudely, "He can't shut his mouth." At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest.

The latest CNN poll finds 43 per cent of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job as president. That's even as 56 per cent say they approve of his handling of the economy, marking a high for the President since he took office. He receives lower marks for other issues, including health care, immigration and foreign policy. Specific candidates aside, the General Social Survey, a respected nationwide survey, has found that the share of Americans feeling satisfied with their finances has returned to pre-recession levels. In 2018, about a third expressed satisfaction with their financial situation, up from 23 per cent in 2010. About 4 in 10 said their finances had been improving over the previous few years, while just 15 per cent felt them worsening. In 2010, more than twice as many said their financial situations were getting worse.

Last month, the government report said, the African American unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, up from a record-low 5.9 per cent last May. That's more than double the rate for whites. And in 2017, according to the latest data available, the black-white income gap widened, with the typical African American household earning $US40,258, while the equivalent white figure was $US68,145. Still, the Asian and Latino unemployment rates hit or matched record lows in April. By some measures, the job market has been better in the past. A much smaller proportion of Americans are working than in the late 1990s, the last time unemployment was nearly this low. Part of that is because the United States is aging and baby boomers are retiring. But even among workers aged 25 through 54, which filters out the impact of retirement and increased college attendance, a smaller percentage of people are working: in April 79.7 per cent had jobs. That figure peaked at 81.9 per cent back in 2000.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Gold smugglers have a new modus operandi  exploit unsuspecting domestic airlines operating on international routes to smuggle the yellow metal in and out of India. They also use the aircraft as a conduit or a channel to transfer gold and illegally hoarded US dollar transactions to bypass the customs.

A Mumbai-based syndicate, running an international network, has been found to be involved in this new modus operandi. Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have confirmed that the syndicate operates from all international airports in India, including Kempegowda International Airport.

On April 13, DRI officials intercepted two passengers, K Motwani and D Bhambani, arriving at KIA from Ahmedabad by Indigo airline, and recovered 2.5 kg of gold from them.

Their interrogation revealed a shocker: They told us that the flight - 6E58 - had originally come from Singapore to Ahmedabad before it came to Bengaluru, from where it was scheduled to return to Singapore. Their counterpart in Singapore had handed over the parcel of contraband gold to a passenger who had secreted it in the toilet cavity of the aircraft before he got off at Ahmedabad.

Motwani, Bhambani and their associate Pankaj got into the same aircraft at Ahmedabad, which was to return to Singapore via Bengaluru with $ 2 lakh (equivalent to `1.4 cr), which was meant to be paid to the handler at Singapore for the gold he had supplied.

At KIA, while Motwani and Bhambani got off the aircraft with the smuggled gold, Pankaj was supposed to continue with the same flight to Singapore on Indigo 6E73 with $2 lakh, which he would have retrieved from the aircraft before getting off at Singapore, said an official source.

The officer said the new modus operandi is used on other airlines operating international routes as well. The case also exposes the lacuna in foreign exchange rules, strictly governed by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI). In the last one year DRI Bengaluru has detected 15 such cases and seized 36.569 kgs of gold worth over Rs.11.30 crore.

Over 4 kg gold seized at KIA from Gulf returnees

In one of the largest seizures of gold at Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials on Thursday seized over 4 kg of gold worth T1.31 crore from two passengers coming from Muscat and Dubai. Both hail from Karnataka. In the first seizure, 3.678 kg of gold was recovered from a passenger hailing from Chamrajanagar, who was coming to the city by Emirates flight No EK-358 from Dubai. The gold was recovered from his check-in luggage after customs officials found his body language and response to queries suspicious, and decided to closely examine his baggage.

He was carrying a bench vice (a device used to hold a workpiece which is used in many woodwork and metalwork) inside which the gold was concealed. Two gold bars weighing 1 kg each and four cut pieces of gold bars were covered with black insulation tape and were packed inside a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice. In the second incident, a passenger travelling to Bengaluru from Muscat via AI-978 was found carrying 358.44 gm of gold valued at T11.75 lakh in his hand baggage. Gold was concealed in the handle of the trolley bag.
In McCredden's mind, Murray is irreplaceable. However, that doesn't mean his legacy won't live on. She points to young poets like Lachlan Brown, as well as more established ones such as Judith Beveridge, as Australians writing about sacredness. "In Beveridge's case [it's] Buddhism. Which was not Les' forte, of course, but I think they compare in the context of, 'What do we hold as sacred? What is beyond the material, capitalist present?' "Samuel Wagan Watson has also got a wonderful poem called Kangaroo Crossing which is about ... modernity but also Indigenous ancientness coming together in one, flashing moment." Beveridge, who was born in London, cemented herself as one of Australia's leading poets after winning a NSW Premier's Literary Award in the late 1980s for her collection The Domesticity of Giraffes. She has been a poetry editor for the prestigious literary journal Meanjin and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Sydney. Wagan Watson  a Bundjalung and Birri Gubba man based in Queensland  has several collections of poetry under his belt and last year won the prestigious Patrick White Award. His latest collection, Love Poems and Death Threats, explores songlines as well as ideas of injustice and resilience.

Neither Beveridge nor Wagan Watson disputed the idea that their work shares themes with Murray's. However, both were hesitant to compare themselves directly. "My spirituality is part of the fabric behind my lines," says Wagan Watson. "Whether something is perceived as sacred or not ... that's something else." Beveridge, meanwhile, describes Murray as an "intimidating" master of language. "What he gave me was a benchmark for really trying to get some intensity ... in one's own poetic language," she says. "I write about nature and the environment and human interactions with the environment. I think they're essentially sacred activities. If we don't open ourselves up to the beauty and wonder of the world, then we're not going to want to save it." One of the up-and-coming writers Murray helped inspire was Omar Sakr. Like Murray, the Sydney-based poet's work explores the downtrodden  but with a particular focus on Western Sydney.

Poet Omar Sakr at the Sydney Writers Festival. Credit:James Alcock Sakr says Murray had a "huge impact" on his writing, especially in the pieces exploring the gulfs and hollows of mental ill health. And just as Murray did several decades ago, Sakr is seeing the first glimmers of international success: his publisher, University of Queensland Press, recently sold the international rights to his second book, The Lost Arabs, to US-based publisher Andrews McMeel. So what other voices should people turn to now that Murray is gone? Beveridge's answer is simple: whatever catches your eye or ear. "Go to the anthologies, pick out the poets you find interesting," she said. "Anthologies are always a good place to start if you're not familiar with poetry. It's all done for you, more or less. Go out and explore." A fitting piece of advice given Murray's well-documented love of pluralism. "I have a very wide taste and I don't figure that any particular period should be dominated by any particular period of poetry," he told The Age in 2002. "'Let a thousand flowers bloom.' Mao didn't mean that when he said it."

Loading Indeed, award-winning poet David McCooey says it's possible to name "any number of poets" interested in the Australian landscape or what it means to be Australian. "There's a great diversity of voices in contemporary Australian poetry," he says. "They are working against national and transnational boundaries in interesting ways." The Age's former poetry editor, Gig Ryan, agrees. She says the proliferation of online publishing, the rise of creative writing programs and identity politics have all played a part in shaping the current Australian poetry landscape. "Poetry is now far more pluralist and inclusive, and has moved from that war between a conservative or internationalist stance."

Five of Les Murray's most beloved poems The Cows on Killing Day A chilling account of animals being slaughtered from the perspective of a cow. "Standing on wet rock, being milked, assuages the calf-sorrow in me." Corniche

A poem about the intersection between masculinity and mental health. "Back when God made me, I had no script. It was better. / For all the death, we also die unrehearsed." The Meaning of Existence As the title suggests, a meditation on life and the natural world. "Everything except language / knows the meaning of existence. Trees, planets, rivers, time/ know nothing else. They express it / moment by moment as the universe."

The Widower in the Country A piece about how grief stays with you. Nick Cave has said this is one of his favourite Murray poems. "I'll drive my axe in the log and come back in / With my armful of wood, and pause to look across / The Christmas paddocks aching in the heat." Equanimity One of Murray's finest, sprawling nature poems.
PS also hears Hadley's media chums have been valiantly trying - but without much success - to drum up some positive press lately. Indeed, the "good news" campaign appears to have been sparked by this column's on-going coverage of the Hadley sagas, not in the least last week's revelations that Andrew Moore was "filthy" over News Corp columnist and staunch Hadley supporter Phil "Buzz" Rothfield's glowing account of Hadley shaking Moore's hand during the first game at Parramatta's new stadium. Broadcast blue: ABC sport's Andrew Moore (right) believes Ray Hadley (centre), who he accused of bullying at 2GB, exchanged pleasantries for the benefit of Phil Rothfield's column. As Moore told PS, he felt "sick" by the report, and did not portray his true feelings about his former colleague. "Rothfield has been, as far as Im aware, the only one trying to find a positive story about the bloke," Moore told PS.

Fever pitch in Wentworth There's enough finger pointing going on between supporters of Liberal aspirant David Sharma and Independent Federal member Kerryn Phelps around the seat of Wentworth to rival The Saturday Night Fever show currently on at The Star. Things are getting personal on the campaign trail for Federal Member for Wentworth, Independent Kerryn Phelps,(centre), and her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps (left). Credit:AAP Campaign posters being ripped down, a candidate's wife taking on a political opponent at a public event, hateful and defamatory emails going viral, claims of anti-semitism and homophobia, unflattering social media posts mysteriously vanishing and embarrassing "blind" items about smelly artworks appearing - somewhat miraculously - in gossip columns. PS can hardly keep up, but on these pages we prefer to name names.

Phelps' wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps confirmed to PS she had approached Dave Sharma after a Holocaust memorial at the University of NSW last Sunday but denied Sharma's claims she was "angry and aggressive" when she spoke to him. She had joined around 500 others at the event and was there "honouring my own murdered Jewish family members". Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma hopes to win as a "modern Liberal". Credit:James Alcock Stricker-Phelps, a same-sex marriage campaigner and former school teacher, describes herself as a "public figure". She has been in the news ever since her calamitous departure from the exclusive Ascham girls school 20 years ago, when she quit after complaints were received when she revealed she was in a relationship with Phelps, a celebrity GP on national television at the time. Stricker-Phelps told PS she was upset with Sharma and "after the ceremony had ended, I went over to him and let him know we knew what he had done". Stricker-Phelps was referring to Phelps being approached last week by a reporter from The Australian to seek a response after Sharma had commented on a post in Phelps' Twitter feed.

Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, told The Australian: I was very concerned to see that my opponent has been retweeting endorsements from a prominent supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, one who has called on Australians to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Israel this month." However Phelps, who converted to Judaism in 1998 before she married Stricker at New York City Hall in 2011, had already deleted her retweet after being alerted to the author @Saints_Dragons' anti-Israel history. There was no mention of BDS or Israel in the Tweet, an endorsement of her re-election campaign by @Saints_Dragons, which Phelps had initially retweeted. Phelps pointed this out to The Australian, confirmed she was a supporter of Israel and made it clear she did not condone the BDS movement. The story, and Sharma's comments, were then binned. When asked about the story that never was, Phelps told PS: "It was a shameful attempt by Dave Sharma to discredit me and destroy my reputation within the Jewish community." Further fanning the flames was a ''Guess who don't sue'' item in The Australian's Rupert Murdoch-owned stablemate, The Sunday Telegraph, asking readers: "Which famously precious partner of one of our best-known politicians caused a scene at Potts Point restaurant Bar Rex on Tuesday night. First the airconditioning was too cool, then she complained that someone had brought a painting into the venue and the smell was making her feel sick."

The item was gleefully reproduced on the Potts Pointer's Facebook page, leading to a barrage of unflattering comments naming Stricker-Phelps, much of it from Sharma's staunchest supporters, before it was mysteriously taken down. Stricker-Phelps has labelled the story "fake news". For starter's the venue is called Bistro Rex. Bistro Rex owner Peter Curcuruto supported Stricker-Phelp's account, adding he had asked the artist if he could move the freshly painted work because of the fumes. "There was no issue, it was completely fine as far as I'm concerned ... I was just as shocked to see the item published. Absolute nonsense," he said. Stricker-Phelps told PS: "This is clearly an attempt to discredit me as Kerryn's wife," adding this was just the latest in an increasingly personal and toxic campaign, something with which Sharma is in agreement.

"I would be mortified if my wife approached another candidate. It was neither the place nor the time, though I actually did not hear what Jackie was saying to me," Sharma said, who also confirmed his comments to The Australian about Phelps' Tweet. Caped crusader to the rescue Chris Hemsworth's canteen duty days would appear to be numbered following the alarming events at Byron Bay Public School when a teacher was stabbed on Tuesday. Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky during the 2018 Australian Open. Credit:AAP While it has been widely reported that God Of Thunder Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky "came to the rescue" following the drama, PS has been informed that Hemsworth and his wife were actually on the grounds during the lock-down as police searched for the attacker.

Neither the school principal nor the NSW Department of Education would comment on Hemsworth's whereabouts on Tuesday, however within the school community talk has focussed on the big name Hollywood star being caught up in the ugly events that led to the school going into lock-down for four hours. Pataky later uploaded video footage of her hubby helping with the sushi rolls for that day's lunch on Instagram. The mood among the parents within the school canteen appeared pretty upbeat given the events which had occurred just hours earlier. Chris Hemsworth reports for canteen duty with wife Elsa Pataky. Credit:Nine The video is no longer on Pataky's social media feed. No doubt Hemsworth's Hollywood agents would be rather nervous about their big star being so close to danger, however the actor, his wife and their three children, have become deeply ingrained in the local community. Hemsworth is big property in Tinsel Town. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week Hemsworth was being paid between $21 to $28 million for playing Thor in each of the final two Avengers movies. That means movie studios fork out serious dough for "artist liability" insurance to help protect a production's bankrollers from financial damage in the event that the star, ie Hemsworth, is not able to complete his role. Meanwhile, Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is on the mend after receiving cuts to his face and arms after a female parent allegedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Birthday bash like no other Skye Leckie had her name up in lights for her two-day 60th birthday party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye in full flight as she serenaded husband David Leckie last Saturday night. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova She had been rehearsing her rendition of Gladys Knight and the Pips' You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me for months, but it was the dastardly smoke machine that Skye Leckie had not counted on last Saturday night during her grand soiree for her 60th birthday. As Leckie took to the microphone to sing:"I've had my share of life's ups and downs", the huge marquee began to fill with thick smoke.

Indeed it was a real "pea souper", and some of the 400-plus guests found themselves fumbling in the fog trying to work out where Leckie was. Who wore it best? Portia Turbo turned up in the same dress as Skye Leckie. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye Leckie in a rare quiet moment with her sons Harry and Ben. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova But once the ventilation kicked in, the tireless charity queen and doyenne of Sydney society was seen serenading her husband David, who appeared to grimace at the attention he was attracting, as "Skyzie" carried on, supported by her cheering sons Harry and Ben. However, former Channel Seven and Nine boss David Leckie could have been simply reeling from the size of the crowd that had descended on his Mulberry Farm for the evening, where a Versailles-sized marquee had been erected to create their own private country club.

Julie Bishop and David Panton at the Town & Country themed party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova PS hears Leckie had been told to expect around 150, but his wife has a lot of pals, and nearly three times that number managed to get into the joint. No wonder she had four outfit changes. Samantha Armytage and style blogger Melissa Penfold giving their own interpretation on the party theme. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Pol Roger poured all night and party pies fuelled the crowd, who mostly hit the dance floor. A New Year's Eve-sized fireworks display went off, and so did Skye. The likes of Graham Richardson (under a blanket and firmly seated), artist Tim Storrier, former model Deborah Hutton, Dial-A-Dump millionaire Ian Malouf, lovebirds Julie Bishop and David Panton, human headlines Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic, PR queens Deeta Colvin, Judi Hausmann, Naomi Parry and Sally Burleigh, newsmen Mark Ferguson and Michael Usher, a very single Anthony Bell, a very loved-up Samantha Armytage with her new man Paul O'Brien, billionaire Gretel Packer, fashion designer Jonathan Ward, Joh "Stretch and Burn" Bailey, Gai Waterhouse and comic Vince Sorrenti led the Southern Highlands charge.
We've heard barely a whisper about arts policy during the federal election campaign but that hasnt stopped one group of writers raising their voices in a novel way.

Inspired by Suzan-Lori Parks 100 Plays for the First Hundred Days, which was written during Donald Trumps first months as US president, seven Melbourne playwrights are collectively posting a play a day online as the Australian election unfolds.

"I thought it would be great  to offer a different take from the usual froth of politics  to try and get into the humanity of it and the drama of it," says Ben Ellis, who launched the project The Campaign & After Plays at voteplays.home.blog.

The parameters were simple: write a minimum of six lines, and ensure that some kind of change takes place.
Scott Morrison has secured a major statement of support from one-time rival Peter Dutton to ensure the Prime Minister keeps his position as Liberal Party leader whether he wins or loses the federal election.

The senior conservative MP, who is locked in a battle to keep his marginal Brisbane seat, also denied lying to voters about the arrival of sex offenders from Manus Island and Nauru and said the $180 million cost of reopening Christmas Island was worth it.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has represented the Brisbane seat of Dickson since 2001. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In a significant move to end years of leadership strife within the government, the Home Affairs Minister praised Mr Morrison for running a great campaign and dismissed the idea of another leadership contest after the May 18 election.

Scott Morrison should stay leader, win or lose, but my only focus is on him winning because weve got to save our country from Bill Shorten, Mr Dutton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Dark clouds threatened rain as schoolkids gathered outside the Sydney electorate offices of both Labor and Liberal politicians on Friday, but it didn't dampen their message on climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former prime minister Tony Abbott and Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese were among those targeted as part of the nationwide protest against climate change inaction by federal MPs.

School children at a climate change protest near the office of Tony Abbott in Manly. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The protest held extra potency in Manly, where Mr Abbott's 25-year grip on the seat of Warringah is under threat from independent candidate Zali Steggall in a campaign centred on climate change.

Armed with homemade signs, about a hundred students, parents and grandparents marched on Mr Abbott's Manly office, chanting the slogan favoured by Steggall supporters: "Time's up Tony".
(We do know of one amorous boyfriend who sent the object of his affection a picture of his object of affection. Sadly his fingers were as clumsy as his thought process as he sent it to her mother, whose number was next on his contact list. With Mother's Day just around the corner, this could be awkward.) When did private parts become public property? Under Section 19 of the Summary Offences Act, it states: A person must not wilfully and obscenely expose the genital area of his or her body in, or within the view of, a public place. Penalty: Two years' imprisonment. Another woman we know has been hit on by strangers through a professional online networking group - an activity she simply finds tiring rather than flattering. These sorts of events are annoying rather than threatening, but the dark underbelly of social media requires its own vocabulary. There is "swatting" - convincing emergency services to storm a persons home by faking a critical incident; "doxing" - publishing personal details of a target to place them in danger; and "revenge porn" - posting explicit images without consent to embarrass and humiliate. Tortoises know when to stick their necks out and when to withdraw to safety. Credit:AP

This reporter has been treated quite kindly as a rule by social media but as an old and slightly rancid-looking male I am probably not worth the effort to troll. It is rather like challenging a 100-year-old tortoise to a fist fight - the ancient combatant simply goes into the shell until the idiot loses interest. Female colleagues tell a different story, with one wisely refusing to have an online presence for she sees there is no benefit in reading bile. On May 17, as part of Law Week, the Victorian Law Foundation is to run a fascinating panel called "Stalking, Trolling and Bullying" with three expert authors: Rachel Cassidy, Ginger Gorman and Dr Emma Jane. They have discovered that the internet, designed to free us by providing instant communication and endless knowledge at the touch of a button, is being used to imprison by those who choose to live in a sewer of their own making. Those who justify their hate with the cloak of free speech do not address the problem that their end game is to intimidate and silence those who disagree.

Ginger Gorman, author of Troll Hunting. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos In her book Troll Hunting, Gorman reports on stalker/trolls who appear to encourage their perceived enemies to self-harm and use relentless harassment, including stealing people's identities, to destroy them personally and professionally. Women have disappeared from the internet, moved homes, changed jobs, altered lifestyles, lost friends or ultimately taken their own lives due to being stalked day and night by ex-partners, former workmates and total strangers. In her book Stalked: The Human Target, Cassidy talks to stalker James, who targeted a woman he met at a barbecue. She made it clear at the start that she had a partner, but I just didnt want to hear that, says James. He tracked her online and in person, learnt her movements and sent emails to her work colleagues: I thought if they sacked her she would come running to me.

His aim was to make her feel unbalanced so he could be the hero who rescued her. At one point he tricked a friend of his victim's into giving him his target's phone number and then rang her up to 60 times a day. It only stopped when he fronted and threatened her, leading to his arrest and incarceration, but even then the woman was forced to move to reclaim her life. Journalist and academic Jane is an expert in gender-based cyber hate and has been able to track how the online world has sent some off their rockers. Dr Emma Jane, cyberhate expert. She observes that her published opinions have always excited a response, often negative, but when she received feedback via posted letters the writers would criticise her views while sticking to the issue. Some threatened to cancel their subscription but none threatened her physical welfare. Since 1998 she has monitored how internet responses have become filled with hate and violence, with female commentators routinely told they are ugly, fat and/or sluts.

As she puts it in her book Misogyny Online: A Short (and Brutish) History, the tipping point in civility was the internet: The takeaway point here is that while many readers dislike me and my work very much, not once did any of them propose corrective gang rape as an intervention. She publishes a series of online posts sent to women that shakes your confidence in people and makes you wonder if humanity is heading at breakneck speed to some form of cliff. How could anyone not in need of immediate electro-shock therapy post something like "all feminists should be gang raped to set them right"? And that is tame compared to some of the posts she has received. She says British activist Caroline Criado-Perez received 50 rape threats an hour after having the audacity to campaign for more female representation on banknotes. The question with no answer is: how does an online dispute degenerate into an online sexual threat? Under Section 43 of the Crimes Act, a threat to rape is punishable by five years' imprisonment, and yet hundreds of these online attacks go unreported and uninvestigated. If you want to align the online world with the so-called real world, then we need to start locking up these offenders. Jane quotes the 2015 UN Broadband Commission's statement that 73 per cent of women have been exposed to some form of online violence and that women are 27 times more likely to be abused online than men.

One cancelled a speaking engagement when a harasser threatened "the deadliest school shooting in American history" and that she would "die screaming like the craven little whore she is". Jane is a perfectly reasonable person who spoke to us while trying to juggle parenting and professional obligations, which makes her matter-of-fact comments harder to comprehend. I had my first rape threat in 1998 and virtually nothing has been done since. I left journalism when the rape threats spread to my kid. Penalties for threatening people online need to be brought into line with stalking on the streets. Credit:Dominic O'Brien As part of her research she interviewed 52 women who have an online presence. Every one I spoke to said they had cut back on what they had said because of the backlash. There are topics that are just off-limits because of the reaction. She found a group online that was crowd-sourcing to look for plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She points out that increasingly employees are expected to engage online to promote their business and that if women are forced to withdraw, it impacts on their earning capacity: Organisations who want their workers to have an online presence have a duty to protect them from what is workplace harassment.
New polling commissioned by GetUp suggests former prime minister Tony Abbott is on track for a defeat by independent candidate Zali Steggall in his blue ribbon Sydney seat of Warringah.

A Lonergan poll of 805 Warringah voters shows Mr Abbott trailing Ms Steggall 56-44 on a two party-preferred basis. GetUp is campaigning against Mr Abbott in Warringah.

The poll also showed climate change and the environment is a top-order issue for Warringah voters.

Ms Steggall, an Olympic skier-turned-barrister, has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign and says the Morrison government has failed to act on emissions reduction or encouraging the renewable energy transition.
Bangkok: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn completed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn adjusts his crown at his coronation on Saturday. Credit:Thai TV

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married again.

His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.
London: It's chaos out there in Brexitland, formerly known as England, which has just finished counting the casualties of a local election bloodbath.

Well over a thousand local councillors lost their jobs as voters punished the Tories for their hapless, rudderless state.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after casting her vote at a polling station near her home in the Thames Valley. Credit:AP

And instead of reaping the spoils Labour was ruing its own losses: significantly fewer, but unexpected and humiliating.

Take it from plain-spoken Labour MP Jess Phillips, who complained on Friday: "Let the Tories play with the Brexit ball and let it wreck them. Why on earth are we allowing it to do the same thing to us that it's done to the Tories for 40 years?"
Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.
Jayanthi Pawar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two persons, including a woman, died after they were hit by a car at Villivakkam here on Friday morning. Police suspect the car driver, a realtor who also rents his car to travel agencies, was under influence of alcohol.Police identified the deceased as Mohanagopal and Sarasa. Eyewitnesses said a victim was dragged to nearly 100 metres. The driver got off the vehicle when he reached a street that had been blocked for Metrowater pipeline laying work.

daughter of victim Sarasa breaks down at the

accident site | DEBADATTA MALLICK

Police said the accident occurred around 7.30am. Deivendran was headed to his house at Villivakkam. Since, the service lane at Padi flyover was blocked, he took another route through Annai Sathya Nagar. As he entered the street, he lost control of the vehicle and first rammed a junction box. When he tried to reverse the vehicle, he knocked down a woman- Adhilakshmi, 55 and ran over her legs, said a police officer.

She was rushed to a government hospital.

Muthu, an autoricksaw driver, said Deivendran immediately took left and entered a narrow street, in which he first knocked down Mohanagopal and Sarasa who was caught under the car and was dragged for about 100 metres and fell off near her house on the same street, he said.The officer said that since Metrowater work was on, the stretch had been closed which was when Deivendran got off the car and tried to escape, but he was nabbed by the residents.

We handed him over to police and he was drunk, said Muthu.The accident was recorded on CCTV cameras installed on the street.A relative of Sarasa said the latter was heading to the shop when the car knocked her down and her body was found in front of her house. She is survived by three children who are all married and stay close by.Thirumangalam traffic investigation wing registered a case and arrested Deivendran.
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers.

Trump and Putin also discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on December 1, briefly talked about the report by special counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The report detailed widespread, persistant efforts by the Russian government to meddle in the US election by posting fake politicial advertisements on social media and organising political rallies.
Hilma Aysha By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The shock waves of the blasts that rocked Sri Lanka are being felt by the hospitality industry at Fort Kochi too. Due to the alerts and checks carried out by the Police, a lot of hotels and homestays in the region are seeing a drop in customer arrivals. According to Vineetha Willie, manager, Old Harbor Hotel, the reason might be the confusion among the public. She said, I live close by. The level of fear can be gauged by the instructions given by the priest of the nearby church. Because the attacks took place in the churches in Sri Lanka, we, as Christians, are especially scared. Last week marked the beginning of the Edappally church feast, but I was too scared to send my mother.

She added, "Though it is not the peak season, there has been definitely a drop in the tourist, both domestic and foreigners, arrivals. The hotels would have been fully booked by now for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram but the bookings are minimal this year. Many of the tourists, she says, arent aware of the situation. Some people keep themselves updated via media and other means. They regularly check with us about the current status.

The manager of the Park Avenue Hotel, Mohammed Jishad, claims the alerts have hit the hospitality sector drastically. He said, "both local and foreign crowds are afraid and dont want to take the risk. He goes on to say that the police should have carried out their searches in mufti and the media should have been kept out of it. On the whole, it is a divided house. However, the general consensus remains that the police in the region are efficient. The close proximity of the station and the goodwill of the police officers has been praised by most hotels and resorts.

Fleur Bernard, a citizen of France, vacationing in Fort Kochi said, The police of the region are very helpful. We didnt know about the alert and theyve been helping us with security and such throughout our trip. Their mere presence makes us feel safe, in spite of the apparent threat.

However, some of the hoteliers said they have not been particularly affected. According to Jerin Joseph, front desk manager, Hotel Forte Kochi, they havent been particularly affected by the alert, because the month of April is usually the off-season. "Also, the protocols enforced are not something new to our hotel. We used to carry these out even before the police notice them. There is not much change. However, he said, Of course, some people are scared. Theyd rather not risk their lives by coming to threatened zones.
Hong Kong: Michael Wong to visit Beijing

Secretary for Development Michael Wong will depart for Beijing tomorrow to meet officials of Mainland ministries.

On May 6, Mr Wong will call on the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources.

He will visit the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the following day.

He will return to Hong Kong on the evening of May 7.

Under Secretary for Development Liu Chun-san will be Acting Secretary during Mr Wongs absence.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
>>> State funeral held for former President, General Le Duc Anh



>>> Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hunsen pays respects to General Le Duc Anh

Freshnews - one of the websites with the largest readership in Cambodia - in its Khmer version, reported that former President of Vietnam Le Duc Anh died at the age of 99, stating that the former president was the commander of the Vietnamese army which helped Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot regime. The website also mentioned the contributions of former President General Le Duc Anh in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam and unify the country.

The daily English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post published an article about the passing away of former President, General Le Duc Anh, emphasising that the former Vietnamese leader was a prominent figure with a legacy in Cambodia. He was recognised for his role as the commander of the Vietnamese volunteer army in Cambodia, helping the Cambodian people to escape the 1979 Khmer Rouge genocidal regime.

According to the newspaper, during the 1980s, he played a major role in formulating the five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration and assisted in the development of the K5 Plan that attempted to seal guerrilla infiltration routes along the Thailand-Cambodia border between 1985 and 1989.

Meanwhile, Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia's largest daily newspaper, also published a biography on the life and revolutionary activities of former President, General Le Duc Anh.

In the US, the Washington Post also published an article about former President Le Duc Anh as a commander of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as a witness of the US and Vietnam establishing diplomatic relations.

According to the article, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam as a deputy commander and chief of staff of the Peoples Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam. In 1974, he became deputy commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, contributing to the launch of the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring 1975, completely liberating the South and unifying the country.

The article reiterated that General Le Duc Anh is best known for his role in supporting Cambodia to overthrow the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, the "architect" of the offensive that ended nearly four years of Pol Pots administration, and preventing the genocide from returning to Cambodia.

The Washington Post recalled that, during the period of General Le Duc Anh serving as President of Vietnam from 1992-1997, Vietnam and the US officially established diplomatic relations in 1995. In the same year, he became the first head of state from Vietnam to visit the US when he travelled to New York to attend the United Nations 50th anniversary.

The article affirmed that, as President, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in normalising the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US.
Steena Das By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever since the break of dawn, 76-year-old Martin has been on a tireless search along the coast; occasionally brightening up when sees a coin. Under the blazing sun, he doesn't stop unless he comes across something worth. With incessant cyclone warnings making life miserable for them, some fishermen at Shankumugham have become treasure hunters.

The rough seas pose an obstacle for fishing. The women fish vendors remain idle waiting for fishing rafts to bring fish to Vizhinjam. Despite the withdrawal of Cyclone Fani warning, the rough sea prevents fishermen to go fishing. "Therefore we collect valuables lost by tourists in the sea. If we are lucky enough we might get any valuables," says Martin.

Few fishermen, however, continue to fish despite warnings, to supplement their life.

In the absence of fishing, our families remain in poverty. The schools will reopen in a month. Funds are required for our children, said Joseph Jhonson, a fisherman at Shankumugham."Fishing is all I know. I'm unable to find another job but Im ready to struggle to let my children study as I do not want them to take up fishing, he said.

The Vizhinjam coast is usually crowded with fish vendors. But with less fishermen going fishing the coast remains deserted. With lesser fish available, fish vendors hope to receive at least a basket of fish. "Ill have to give C1,000 per day to the finance people from whom I took a loan of C1, 00,000. Im unable to pay the same as there is no fish available," said Victoria, a fish vendor at Vizhinjam.

After cyclone Ockhi the regulations on fishing have strengthened. Moreover, the memories of the same do not let us venture into the deep sea. We have no profit during most days. I have already borrowed a lot of money which I'm unable to pay back," said fisherman Bellarmin Kurishayya from Poonthura. He has two registered boats among which he uses one for fishing.

The boat I used during cyclone Ockhi to find fishermen was severely destructed. But Im yet to receive compensation from the government, he added.Fish prices have increased tremendously within two weeks. Mackerel that cost C 4,000 to 5,000 per basket two weeks ago has risen to C6,500 to 7,000 on Friday. Anchovy that cost C15,000 to 2,000 became C 3,800, said Lalamma, a fish vendor at Valiyathura.

However, fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said, Currently, we are providing ration to the fishermen family." Besides, she spoke on the sea erosion issue at Valiyathura. We have submitted a detailed project report to Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) regarding the of shore breakwater project. The works of the same will began as soon as we get approval from KIIFB," she added.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Some 1,200 tonne of garbage was removed from canals in Vijayawada and its outlying villages in the two-day cleaning drive Nenu Saitham Krishnamma Suddhi Sevalo, that concluded on Friday. Some 800 tonne of garbage was disposed on the second day of the drive. The drive, which saw the participation of officials of various departments, NGOs and students, ended with the formation of a human chain at Eluru Locks. They pledged to keep river Krishna free from plastic and garbage.

District officials commenced the second day of the programme with an awareness rally from Alankar Centre in the morning. District Collector Md Imtiaz, Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao, Joint Collector Kritika Shukla and Joint Collector-2 P Babu Rao took part in the rally along with other officials, citizens and students.

The second day cleaning drive took place at Eluru Lakulu on the banks of Eluru canal and areas such as Ramalingeswaranagar. The irrigation department cleared up 400 tonne of waste, whereas Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) disposed 350 tonne of waste. As much as 50 tonne of waste was removed in the gram panchayat areas.

Some 25,000 people took part in the drive in which 22 heavy load vehicles, 65 tractors, 11 earthmovers were used to clean the canals and dispose the waste in the dump yard. Addressing the public, Imtiaz said that such drives would be conducted every month in the future keeping in view public health and to restore the environmental balance.This is not just a two-day affair. We will organise such drives every month and involve people, officials, students, NGOs in this campaign. The goal of the campaign is not only cleanliness but also create awareness among the public about the need to keep the canals clean, he said.

Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao requested the people to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, in the canals and also completely stop the use of plastic. The garbage we removed today accumulated not only due to the negligence of the officials but also due to callousness of the public which resulted in transformation of Eluru, Bandar and Ryves Canals into dumping grounds. VMC has installed separate dry and wet garbage dustbins and people should segregate and dump the waste accordingly, he said.
By IANS

GUWAHATI: The authorities in Assam on Saturday deported 20 illegal immigrants to Bangladesh through Karimganj in Barak Valley.



They had illegally trespassed into Assam over a period of time from 2014. Nineteen of them were lodged in a detention centre in Barak Valleys Silchar Central Jail while another was lodged in a similar cell for the immigrants in Lower Assams Kokrajhar Central Jail.



The immigrants, including 14 Muslims and six Hindus, are from Sylhet and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh. The police said the pushback took place at 1:30 pm via Sutarkandi border checkpoint in Karimganj.



There was a woman among the 20 immigrants who were received by Bangladeshi authorities on the border. They had no complaints whatsoever, Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Manabendra Dev Roy who was at the site, told this newspaper over the phone. He said the Bangladeshi nationals had illegally entered Assam since 2014.

ALSO READ | Assam deportations: SC junks plea seeking recusal of Chief Justice

Some had entered in 2014. The others had entered from 2015 to 2018. Usually, after six months since the arrest of Illegal immigrants, they are sent to detention centres, the SP added.



Prior to their deportation, some of the immigrants told journalists that they had illegally entered Assam as they were too poor to spend money on travel documents including passport and visa. They said they had come to meet their relatives who live in India.



One of the immigrants, Ikbal Hussain Talukdar who spent five years in the Silchar detention centre, said he was delighted that he would go back to his motherland. I am very happy. I had come to meet my relatives who live in Barak Valley. As I am poor, I could not afford to arrange proper travel documents, he said.



Similarly, Alorani Das, who spent two and half years in captivity, said she had come to meet her sister. The next time I come to meet her, I will ensure that I am armed with proper travel documents, she asserted. In January this year, 17 other immigrants were deported to Bangladesh.
WESTPORT  A Bridgeport teen was charged Wednesday for his role in two overnight burglaries in town late last year, police said Friday.

Xavier Medel, 19, of Bridgeport, was charged on two different warrants Wednesday, stemming from two separate burglaries.

Police said on Dec. 18, 2018, officers responded to Oak Ridge Park for a reported overnight burglary. The victim woke up to several text messages from the fraud division of her credit card company, which told her her card was possibly used fraudulently at three places in Norwalk. The charges totaled up to about $170.

When the victim checked her house, she found that her laptop and purse  with multiple credit cards in it  had been taken from the family room of her home.

For that incident, Medel was charged him with first-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and two counts of credit card theft.

Two days later, officers were sent to a Brooklawn Drive home for another reported overnight burglary. The victim and his family had been asleep when two suspects went into their home and stole a key fob and a home surveillance camera from the kitchen.

The homeowner was able to remotely access the video and provide it to police.

The suspects used the key fob to steal an Audi from the driveway. They also went into and rummaged through two other unlocked vehicles in the driveway, taking two credit cards and other miscellaneous items, police said.

For this burglary, police charged Medel with first-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary from a motor vehicle, first-degree motor vehicle theft and third-degree larceny. Police said two juveniles were also identified. Their charges were not provided.

On Dec. 28, police responded to the home of one of the juvenile suspects and Medel was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for previous burglaries. At the home, investigators found the stolen Audi key fob and later recovered the vehicle.

While in custody for these crimes, a family member of Medel returned the other victims stolen laptop to police headquarters, police said.

Through the investigation, including a forensic check of Medels cellphone and the recovery of the victims items, detectives were able to secure an additional arrest warrant for Medel.

On Wednesday, he was arrested in Norwalk Superior Court by Westport detectives. Hes being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

Including the Westport case, court records show Medel has five criminal cases currently pending in the Connecticut court system. The other four cases also include burglary and larceny charges from Stamford in Novemeber and December of last year.

Medel is expected to appear in Norwalk Superior Court to answer to these recent charges from Westport police on May 13 at 10 a.m.
WESTPORT  A piece of leather, apparently from the back seat of the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, has been pulled from an auction in Dallas because of the sensitivity of the item, but remains for sale on a Westport companys website.

John Reznikoff, of Westports University Archives, is auctioning a piece of the limo seat from when Kennedy was killed in 1963.

Reznikoff has sold parts of the seat before, according to News 12 Connecticut, but this specific piece was set to be an item up for auction at a site in Dallas  where Kennedy was killed.

The piece can be viewed on the companys website. The description says its a small swatch of blood-stained blue leather upholstery removed from JFKs presidential limo after he was killed.

The piece was supposed to be auctioned through Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Out of concern for the sensitivity of the subject matter, Heritage Auctions decided to withdraw the lot from this weekend's Americana and Political Auction, Eric Bradley, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions, told News 12.

At Dealey Plaza earlier this week, some visitors told one local news station that the call to remove it from the Dallas auction was the right one.

It's kind of sad that someone's still trying to make a buck off of that, Dealey Plaza visitor Keith Fowler told KXAS-TV.

Still, the item remains up for purchase on Reznikoffs site.

There are rosy things that occur in history, and there are more macabre things that occur in history, but they're both part of history, Reznikoff told News 12. And history needs to be preserved.
News

Wherever you throw me, I will stand  an inspiring motto for those who feel tossed about by the uncertainties, fears and pain associated with two years of Covid
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

RAJASTHAN: The BSPs presence in the electoral contest could spoil the Congress prospects in many seats in Rajasthan, particularly in the eastern belt where Scheduled Castes, BSPs core vote base, have a significant presence. Political experts say candidature of the BSP in Dausa, Bharatpur, Alwar and Karauli-Dholpur will lead to a division of votes of Congresss traditional votebank.

Of the four seats in the region, three are reserved  Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur and Bharatpur (both SC) . The only unreserved seat is the communally senstive Alwar where the BSP has fielded Imran Khan. Muslims, a traditional vote bank of the Congress in the state, are in sizeable numbers in Alwar.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth says, Even if the BSP gets a single vote in these areas, it will be from Congresss vote share. Rajasthan is the only state in north India where SCs are considered closer to the Congress in comparision to the BJP. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also enjoys huge popularity among SCs.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The Dalits are upset with the BJP government over the alleged diluteion of the SC/ST Act. In Alwar, one Dalit was allegedly killed by police during a protest over the issue. Experts say another factor that makes BSPs presence felt in eastern Rajasthan is proximity of these areas with Uttar Pradesh which is the base of Mayawati. Sunil Mathur, a political expert based in Rajathan says, The BSP fielding candidates in Rajasthan is mere tokenism, except in the eastern belt. It has been campaigning dedicatedly in the region and its efforts reflected in the Assembly polls. Its vote share in the region increased and also translated into seats.

Of the six seats BSP won in the 2018 Assembly polls, five were from this region. It won two seats each from Bharatpur and Alwar districts, and one each from Karauli and Jhunjhunu. The only places in Rajasthan where Mayawati has been campaigning are in the eastern region.

In Bharatpur and Dholpur, Jatavs, the core vote bank of Mayawati, are a sizeable community. Both Bareth and Mathur say that because of polarisation by the BJP in Rajasthan, Muslims will largely stick with the Congress but Dalit votes may get split between the BSP and the Congress. Roughly, there are 4.13 lakh, 3.8 lakh and 3.27 lakh Dalits in Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Alwar constituencies, respectively.
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

DAUSA/BHARATPUR/ALWAR/KARAULI-DHOLPUR : It is 3:24 pm and a group of old men are playing choupad pasa (ancient chess), unmindful of the blazing 41 degrees outside in Ganeshpura village of Rajasthans Dausa constituency. Its a largely upper caste gathering, but there are three SC/ST men, too. The reference to politics suddenly changes the mood and an animated argument on the Modi governments promises and performance ensues. The upper caste men swear by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commendable work and cite Ujjwala and Swacch Bharat schemes. They also point to the cemented roads and electricity poles outside as examples of the development work done in Rajasthan.

But 70-year-old Bhagirath Mal, a Dalit, strongly protests. He believes the BJP has pushed the country back by decades and that caste hatred towards Dalits and minorities have increased. Mal, who holds a BSc. degree and was once a public servant, is not allowed to finish his argument. He is labelled a Pakistani and junglee by his fellow players. He finds no support but claims that had a farmer been around, he would have exposed the BJPs lies.

Mal lives in a Dalit colony, 10 minutes walk away, where broken roads and open drainage are telltale signs that the Swachh scheme hasnt reached.In the eastern belt of Rajasthan which comprises the reserved seats of Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur (SC), Bharatpur (SC) and the communally sensitive constituency of Alwar, Mals sentiments are shared by many from the SC, ST and Muslim communities.

Caste dynamics is crucial in the eastern belt. With SC/ST people angry with the BJP government and farmers dissatisfied over crop insurance and demonetisation, the Congress seems to have an edge. Not all from these communities are disgruntled, though. Some, especially youths, are in awe of the PM for teaching Pakistan a lesson with the Balakot airstrikes. However, most are upset that the government did not react in time when the Supreme Court diluted The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The caste equation seems to be working in favour of the Congress. In Dausa, people still recall the work done by Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, which he and his family represented for years in Parliament. In Khuri Kalan, Ram Krishan Gujjar, a farmer says, I voted for BJP in 2014, but Modi is a jumlebaaz. Rajesh Pilot and his family built roads, schools and colleges here. The BJP did nothing; Modi ruined our lives with demonetisation.

Both BJP and Congress candidates are women and from the ST Meena community. Infighting in the BJP, with Kirodi Lal Meena opposing the party candidate, could also benefit the rival candidate. Meena is upset that his wife was denied a BJP ticket. Many say he is working to defeat the party not only in Dausa, but also in adjacent Karauli-Dholpur.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

In Bari town of Dholpur, a gathering at a tea stall discusses GST, demonetization and price rise, but at the same time wonders if there is any better candidate for PMs post than Modi. Unemployment has increased in five years. We should vote on the basis of our candidate. Our MP Manoj Rajoria never did anything for the constituency. Modi destroyed the economy and is now seeking votes by dividing the nation, says government school teacher Hari Singh Meena. How can you forget that it is Modi who taught Pakistan a lesson? counters 27-year-old bank employee Sanjay Sahdawa.

The constituency where the BJP seems to have an edge is Bharatpur, where the Modi factor has played out well and BJPs nationalism plank has impressed people, irrespective of their backgrounds. There appears to be no mobilisation of SC-ST either, unlike the other seats. In Deeg village, Bhima Devi, a Dalit, says, Modi ji built toilets and gave gas connections in the village. Unemployment has increased but there is no better option.

In Alwar, there is a triangular contest between, with the BSP, which has fielded a Muslim candidate, also in the race. Polarisation seems to be the main factor here which has seen a lot of cow-related violence targeting Muslims, who are in sizeable numbers.
Associate Secretariat Officer, Manila

Organization: ADB - Asian Development Bank

Country: Philippines

City: Manila, Philippines

Office: ADB Manila

Closing date: Friday, 10 May 2019

Reference Number: 190279

Position Level: NS 1

Department: Office of the Secretary

Division: The Secretarys Office

Location: Asian Development Bank Headquarters

Date Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2019

Closing Date: Friday, May 10, 2019 11:59 p.m. (2359 Manila Time, 0800 GMT)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Close relatives (spouse, children, mother, father, brother and sister, niece, nephew, aunt and uncle) of ADB staff, except spouses of international staff, are not eligible for recruitment and appointment to staff positions. Applicants are expected to disclose if they have any relative/s by consanguinity/blood, by adoption and/or affinity/marriage presently employed in ADB.

Overview

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Manila, Philippines and is composed of 68 members, 49 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. ADB combines finance, knowledge, and partnerships to fulfill its expanded vision under its Strategy 2030.

ADB only hires nationals of its 68 members.

The position is assigned in the Office of the Secretary (SEC). SEC is responsible for providing strategic and operational support to the ADB, the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors.

Job Purpose

The Associate Secretariat Officer manages the administrative arrangements and procedural matters on management services, membership, and voting of governors resolutions. The incumbent reports to the Assistant Secretary and designated International Staff.

Responsibilities

Oversee the preparation for the Remuneration Committee meetings, including reports, statistical analysis, logistical arrangements.

Review reports, records and other documents relating to the election process and remuneration of the Management to ensure accuracy, clarity, and completeness of information; and conformance to the ADB established rules.

Work closely with the technical team handling the voting to make sure that Board resolutions are carried out.

Review requirements and other pertinent documents in relation to processing of ADB membership applications.

Evaluate procedures for Board committees and working groups, formulate recommendations and measures for administrative and procedural improvements; and monitor the implementation and conduct periodic reminders.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: Displacement is the word that polarizes voters in Hazaribagh, which is one-and-half -hour drive from Jharkhand capital Ranchi. The rich forests with natural hilly formations and lakes make it one of the most beautiful terrain. But there is turmoil within. Represented by Union Minister Jayant Sinha, Hazaribagh and its environs have witnessed several protests against the alleged forceful land acquisition for mining purposes and power projects. Four people died and 40 others were injured in police firing at Chirudih during a protest against land acquisition in October 2016.

While the issue dominates, the seat is shaping up for a triangular contest as besides BJPs Jayant Sinha and Congress Gopal Sahu, former MP of CPI Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehta, who represented Hazaribagh in 1991 and 2004, is also in the fray. The Left party had been demanding Hazaribagh as its share from the Mahagathbandhan, but failed.

Jayant, son of three-time MP Yashwant Sinha, does face criticism for his lack of political connect with the people of his constituency. But, he is largely banking on the government achievements and the projects worth Rs 25,000 crore which were brought on his initiative.Jayant is also seeking votes for being number 1 in implementing the centrally funded schemes properly in Hazaribagh and also promises to provide employment opportunities, better health facilities, double farmers income and preserve rights of locals.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is banking on elder brother Shiv Prasad Sahus reputation over two terms as MP of Ranchi in 1980 and 1984. Sahu is dwarfed by the BJP candidate. The contest could have come alive if it was a direct fight between Jayant and Mehta, said a local. Even Opposition leaders claim, that fielding Sahu is like to give a walkover to Jayant on a platter. We are still not able to understand why the Congress did this, said a JMM leader. Jayant, who won by 1.5 lakh votes in 2014, enjoys the support of AJSU party this time.
STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Presented Friday night at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the awards featured a cross-section of new and established authors exploring themes involving life in the city as well as decaying landscapes throughout the province.

The evenings top prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year award, went to Gordon Goldsboroughs More Abandoned Manitoba: Rivers, Rails and Ruins, published by Great Plains Publications.

The illustrated volume is a followup to Goldsboroughs 2016 book Abandoned Manitoba: From Residential Schools to Bank Vaults to Grain Elevators.

The slim graphic novel Surviving the City  written by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and published by Highwater Press  took home the most awards, nabbing three.

Spillett won Manitoba Indigenous author of the year, and the book won the Ellen Mactavish Sykes award for best first book by a Manitoba author as well as the best graphic novel award.

This years Margaret Laurence award for best fiction went to Jennifer Ilse Blacks Small Predators, published by Winnipeg publisher ARP Books. Blacks book also took home the award for best book design.

On the non-fiction side, Mary Jane Logan McCallum and Adele Perrys Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City (published by University of Manitoba Press) took top honours.

Owen Toews Stolen City: Racial Capital and the Making of Winnipeg, also published by ARP Books, nabbed two prizes  the Carol Shields Winnipeg book award as well as the Mary Scorer Award for best book by a Manitoba publisher.

Toews is the son of Governor Generals Award-winning novelist Miriam Toews.

Other winners on Friday night included David A. Robertson, who nabbed the McNally Robinson Book for Young People award for Monsters; Jackie Traverses IKWE: Honouring Women, Life Givers, and Water Protectors in the book design/illustration award category; Ginny Collins The Flats for best play by a Manitoba playwright; and Bertrand Nayets Lenfant rouge, which picked up the prix litteraire Rue-Deschambault.

books@freepress.mb.ca
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA:Josh is high perhaps still in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his high level and never-exhausting of energy. He has set a record of attending 200 programmes including rallies in last

four and a half months across 27 states and union territories included Bihar. On May 4, the Prime Minister would be addressing his fifth poll rally in Bihar's Valmikinagar besides attending other schedule poll rallies in UP and other states.

According to the website of Narendra Modi, PM Narendra Modi joined 30 programmes in Delhi itself, 14 in cabinet meetings since the start of the year.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

These numbers speak for themselves. They also offer a unique glimpse into the working style and multi-tasking abilities if PM Mdi, the website elucidates.

The website has brilliantly stated how PM Narendra Modi had toured in states and union territories and held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Valley in J&K also.

Through these programmes, PM Modi would have touched base with almost every Indian in 125 days, Modis website claimed. Meanwhile, BJP sources said PM Narendra Modi and the leaders of his party BJP would be doing at least 1000 rallies across the country for 2019 election rallies with the fifth rally scheduled to be held in Bihar on May 4 at Valmikinagar.

The PM has so far addressed rallies in Jamui, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Araria, and Valmikinagar on May 4.The BJP sources said that at least 8 to 10 rallies in total would be held by PM

Narendra Modi in Bihar throughout all the seven phases of elections.
For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

From Appalachia in the U.S. to Queensland in Australia and Chornobyl in Ukraine, solar and wind farms are being developed or built in places not normally associated with clean energy, and in some regions long resistant to it.

Slapping solar panels atop so-called brownfield sites, land that housed mines, emissions-belching power plants or were tarnished by nuclear disaster, can be cheaper than decontaminating the ground and turning it into parkland. At the same time, theres the prospect of turning environmental foes into friends.

"Were essentially turning these drains on a community into an asset," said Chad Farrell, chief executive officer of Encore Renewable Energy, a Vermont-based developer thats contemplating installing solar arrays at coal-ash ponds across Appalachia. "Youre not going to get a large revenue-generating asset on a former landfill."

Solar is already established within the nuclear zone of Chornobyl, at a massive former coal-fired power plant in Canada, and at landfills and other brownfield sites throughout New England, where renewables are popular but land is at a premium. Meanwhile, BHP Group, the worlds biggest mining company, is working on permits and engineering plans to turn legacy sites in Arizona and New Mexico into solar and storage facilities.

"Its emblematic of the transition from old forms of energy to new," said Jacob Susman, a vice-president at developer EDF.

Regions long dependent on traditional energy sources for jobs and tax revenue are increasingly turning to solar and wind power, cementing their push into the mainstream at a time when the coal industry is ailing. U.S. power produced from burning coal shrank by 6.3 per cent in 2018, as almost 13 gigawatts of coal plants were closed, according to BloombergNEF. Thats second only to 2015, when 15 gigawatts of coal-fired plants were shuttered.

"Its land no one else wants." said Jenny Chase, a Zurich-based analyst at BloombergNEF.

In Queensland, Genex Power is already producing enough energy for almost 26,500 homes from a 50-megawatt solar farm at the disused Kidston gold mine, where metal was discovered in the early 1900s and operations finally shuttered in 2001. Genex, which acquired the site from Barrick Gold Corp., plans to add a second, 270-megawatt solar array, a 250-megawatt pumped-hydro facility and a 150-megawatt wind operation.

The pumped-hydro plant will utilize two existing mine pits, using off-peak solar or grid power to move water from a lower reservoir to a second, higher-storage pool, and then release it during periods of peak demand to cascade over two turbines to produce power. During periods of generation, the site will provide enough power for about 280,000 homes, Genex executive director Simon Kidston said.

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In eastern Kentucky, active mining at the Bent Mountain site is slated to conclude in late summer, said Ian Krygowski, a development director at EDF Renewables, which is developing a 100-megawatt solar farm there. The site, tucked among wooded mountains, will undergo reclamation work to make it a series of plateaus hospitable for solar.

Next year, a modest 3.5-megawatt solar farm in southwest Virginia is slated to replace a mine that closed in 1957. Developer Sun Tribe Solar is collaborating with several groups, including regional environmental group Appalachian Voices, on the project in Wise County.

"The land is so scarred from the extractive industries that have been the primary economic driver," said Chelsea Barnes, a new economy program manager at Appalachian Voices. "Its an important visual to show the region that it can still be energy-producing, but in a way that doesnt degrade the land and pollute the air."

For the solar industry, building at sites of former power plants and some legacy mines is an opportunity to tap into existing grid infrastructure. But its also an acknowledgment of land limitations. Some places have limits on how much solar can be built in agricultural areas, said Chase of BNEF.

"The narrative has been that those green jobs are going someplace else," Krygowski said. "It doesnt have to be that way. We can bring good renewable-energy jobs across the country."

 Bloomberg
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In January, people were talking about Ariana Grandes tattoo.

The pop star got a pair of Japanese characters inked on her palm. They were supposed to read "7 Rings," after her hit single, but they actually read: "small charcoal grill."

TWITTER / ARIANA_JAPAN Ariana Grande's tattoo was meant to read 7 Rings, after her hit single, but actually reads: small charcoal grill.

Look, it happens.

We all know someone who knows someone who has a mistranslation, or a vague "tribal" symbol, or an unfortunate typo, or the name of someone they are no longer married to inked, forever, on their body. Tattoo regret is real.

Mary Wilson, 38, is an extremely good sport who was willing to talk to the newspaper about a decision she made on her 21st birthday.

"I decided I would get this, um, lower-back tattoo," she says, pausing. Ah yes, the lower-back tattoo, which has a very unfortunate nickname.

"I had honestly never heard it called a tramp stamp before," Wilson says. "I would like to think that even my 21-year-old self, had I heard that, would have known much, much better. Anyway, I was dating a guy at the time who had nicknamed me Foxy.

"So thats what I got tattooed," she says, pausing for emphasis. "On my back."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The coolness factor of Mary Wilsons lower-back tattoo hasnt been as permanent as the ink.

But wait, it used to be worse! "It used to be really orange and yellow Starburst colours, but theyve faded. Its pretty big. Its not a tiny little word. I remember going home and showing my mom, and she looked at it and laughed and went, Youre going to regret that one day. And of course, when youre 21 youre like, No I wont! This is who I am!

"Now that I am not the wife of the guy who gave me the nickname, and a mother, and Im 38 years old, yeah, I regret it."

My college friend Robyn Brown also has a regret story involving a lower-back tattoo (Im sensing a theme, here). Ill allow her to set the scene.

"Picture this: its 2002. To celebrate your 18th birthday, your boyfriend buys you a gift certificate for that tattoo youve been talking about. Your mother doesnt like it but you invite her along hoping shell come around and she begrudgingly picks a star on the wall that looks kinda nice. Knowing itll look supa-fly on your lower back, you book it in."

Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo. Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of.

And Brown was feeling supa-fly until two years later, when she showed up to work at her server job one day and the kitchen staff had trouble meeting her gaze.

Turns out the very same tattoo, in the very same location, was on the bikini-clad backside of that days Sunshine girl. As she points out, it was the era of painfully low-rise jeans. "So, yep, they knew it was the same one," she says.

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The sheer permanence of a tattoo increases the probability of regret. But there are ways to mitigate ink remorse.

"Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo," says Tesia Rhind, a Winnipeg tattoo artist who specializes in illustrative, fine-line, realism and florals. "Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind

Doing your research, she says, is key. Instagram is a useful tool that allows you to see an artists work (Rhind is @tesiacoil, by the way). If you find an artist you like but theyre booked for months, Rhind advises waiting it out or finding another artist who can execute what you want.

"Dont just walk into a shop that has availability and ask, Who can do this? without looking at their work," she says. "Thats what people often regret."

The consultation process can involve managing a clients expectations and providing design solutions.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rhind won't give teenagers tattoos of band logos.

"A lot of people have this vision that you can fit a lot of things into one small space," Rhind says. "But you have to tell them about how tattoos age, what its going to look like later, doing finer line tattoos  which is some of the stuff I do  some of it may fade faster in a few years than thick lines, but thick lines may blur out," Rhind says.

"People need to know that. People also need to know what looks good on certain parts of the body."

With that in mind, there are a few tattoos Rhind simply will not do.

"I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos," she says. "I have some 18 year olds come in and they want a rose on their hand and they have nothing else  I wont do that and dont think a lot of tattoo artists will do that. I dont like to do fingers because they dont age well and theyre basically a waste of money, but I will do them."

"Obviously, I wont tattoo any hate symbols," she says. "And I wont tattoo band logos on 18 year olds."

I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos."

This is probably a good time to bring up the skin I have in this game. I have a Pearl Jam tramp stamp. Its the stickman logo from the cover of the Alive single. I got it when I was 19. What Im saying is, we all have our Foxy.

While I definitely wouldnt get that tattoo now, I dont necessarily regret it. In fact, I usually forget I even have it, until I am reminded about it by a particularly chatty massage therapist. Regret and dislike are different.

We all have our Foxy.

"I have tattoos I dont like, but I dont regret them," Rhind says. "Cover-ups are usually always possible unless its super, super dark, then your only option is to cover it up very dark, or get it removed slightly so it can be gone over. If you regret your tattoo, theres ways around it. You just have to be more covered, basically, or pay for removal, which hurts and costs a lot of money."

Wilson has considered removal. "And Ive considered getting it covered up with something else thats more reflective of who I am," she says.

After all, it is possible to get a tattoo you love  whether the image is deeply symbolic, or only skin-deep. And even if you fall out of love, a tattoo can become something as immutable as your hands, or your knees, or your feet. Its part of you.

"Once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body."

"Its hard, because you say, Sit on something for a while  but Ive tattooed people who are in their 40s and theyll say, Ive wanted a tattoo for 20 years and I keep changing my mind," Rhind says.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind works at Red Ronin on McPhillips Street.

"But I find once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body. Its another extension of yourself."

Wilson has two other tattoos she doesnt regret. One is of her initials on the back of her neck, and wants to add those of her children.

The other is a tiny ladybug on her hip. Theres a story about that one: when she was 18, Wilson asked her mother what shed get if she ever got a tattoo, and her mother decided that a little ladybug might be OK. So thats what Wilson got.

"I wanted to get something she wouldnt be too mad about," she says, laughing. "I never regretted that one."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For IGM Financial Inc., 2018 was a year of transformation.

The Winnipeg financial services company made its commitment to change obvious to the market by rebranding its largest operating entity, Investors Group, to IG Wealth Management last fall.

The fact that global equity markets were rocked by widespread trade tensions, political uncertainty and concerns about a market slowdown proved to be challenging conditions for the company to embark on such change.

At its annual meeting in Winnipeg on Friday, company CEO Jeff Carney said, "Those conditions tested investor confidence. Yet during those challenging times, the strength of IGM was most evident. While the industry experienced net redemptions in long-term mutual funds of $7.4 billion, in 2018, IGM had net sales of $1.4 billion, the second-best in a decade, and the $20 billion in gross sales was the highest in the history of the company."

Its first-quarter results were released on Friday and Carney noted that the growth that took place in 2018 has carried into the first quarter of 2019, with record-high quarter-end assets under management of $160.5 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent in the quarter and 3.2 per cent from the prior year.

That also took place under tough market conditions. The companys IG Wealth Management division  it also owns Mackenzie Financial  posted its own all-time high for assets under management of $89.4 billion. But its investment fund net sales came out far below last years first quarter, posting net redemptions of $14 million, compared to net sales of $784 million a year ago. But Carney said more than $100 million has been parked in savings accounts.

The company transformation has a number of elements to it. Among other things, IG Wealth Management is looking to pick up market share in the high-net-worth segment of the market.

The company currently has two per cent of the of the Canadian mass-savings market (homes with less than $100,000 invested), five per cent of the mass-affluent market (between $100,000 and $1 million) and less than one per cent of the high-net-worth market (more than $1 million).

Carney said three per cent of Canadian households have more than $1 million to invest, and they represent two-thirds of all the savings in the country.

"Its the single most important market segment," he said. "We do a good job serving that segment."

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Assets under management for that segment have grown by more than $4 billion per year over the past two years.

Whereas in the past the company took great pride in continually growing its adviser network, those numbers are now coming down and the quality of the advisers is coming up (all IGM advisers must now obtain the certified financial planner, or CFP, designation).

The company has also been making significant investments in robo-advisers  companies that can address the needs of the mass-savings market more efficiently  like WealthSimple in Canada and Personal Capital in the U.S. Earlier this year, IGM Financial made another $67-million investment in Personal Capital and is its largest shareholder with a 25 per cent equity stake.

Carney said that despite the volatile markets in 2018, the volume of savings being accumulated in Canada  a total of $4.5 trillion in 2017, expected to grow to $7.4 trillion by 2026  clearly shows it is in a growth industry.

"That increase of $2.9 trillion has to go somewhere," he said. "The question is, which firm is best positioned to receive those funds? We think its IGM Financial."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

A patrol officer was travelling on Talbot when he heard a series of loud noises at about 9 p.m. and shortly after came across a vehicle that had collided with two houses.

At the same time, Gordon Buell was in the back yard of his mother's place having a smoke when he heard the same loud bangs. Buell ran into the front yard and saw the lone occupant, a woman, getting out of the car.

"She got out of the vehicle and in a panic just started running," he said.

One of the houses was unoccupied and there were no injuries to residents of the other.

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Buell and a few guys on the street gave chase but lost her. They gave a description to police who, led by A police dog, tracked the woman down within 20 minutes, Buell said.

"I think she was under the influence of something. I deal with kids all day. It was something," he said.

The K9 unit found the female in the 500 block of nearby Herbert Ave. where she was arrested. She was later transported to hospital for treatment of injuries.

The vehicle was determined to have been stolen from the Fort Frances, Ont., area on or about April 30, 2019.

The female faces charges for possession of stolen property under $5,000, operation of a vehicle while prohibited, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. She remains in hospital.
At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

There is a lot on his mind. In a few days, he will catch a flight to Central America, where he will stand on a stage and be honoured by some of the top global minds in his profession. So he has been thinking about what he wants to say, and as he settles into a chair at a coffee shop near the clinic, he seems a man on a mission.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson works at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, but has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations in Winnipeg.

Or maybe, to put it simply, hes just a veterinarian with a vision.

"My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care," Watson says. "Thats what we should all be trying to work towards. Its easy for cynics to say, Well, if you cant afford a pet, you shouldnt have one. Easy to say, but its not at all reflective of how things work in the world in which we live."

Thats a lofty goal, he agrees, with a knowing chuckle. As president of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, he understands the barriers. It costs a lot to operate a veterinary clinic. It costs a lot to get medical care of any kind to the people and places that most need it. But oh, imagine if you could find a way to reach everyone?

'My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care'

"Im not expecting to achieve it by the end of my career," he says. "But its certainly gratifying to work towards it."

Now, the global veterinary profession has taken notice. On April 29, at the World Veterinary Association Congress in Costa Rica, Watson was honoured with the WVAs Animal Welfare Award, one of six vets and one student to be so honoured; in the three-year history of the award, he is the second Canadian to win.

The prize, for which his name was put forth by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, recognizes, in part, Watsons larger vision. For years, he has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations right here in the city.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson  seen with rescue dog Karma, a five-year-old he saved from the meat trade in Thailand  recently received the Animal Welfare Award from the World Veterinary Association.

In collaboration with non-profit animal rescues, such as Save a Dog Network Canada, he has travelled to fly-in First Nations such as York Factory and Red Sucker Lake. He has set up temporary shop in Churchill, where the crew jokingly dubbed the mobile clinic "Tuxedo at the Treeline."

In the early days, he made the trips north as the lone veterinarian, hauling saline and gauze and surgical tools on cigar-box planes. The travelling clinics can be exhausting, a non-stop grind of snips and incisions, injections and treatments; Watsons all-time record was 60 dogs spayed and neutered in one deliriously long day.

"There may have been a couple 5-Hour Energy drinks consumed in the course of that day," he says with his customary dry humour. "Im not sure I even have it in me to try and beat that record."

'It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources. You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking'

Sometimes, this mission takes him even farther afield. In 2015, Watson joined a group of vets and technicians that flew to Madagascar, where wildlife biologists were worried about how domesticated animals were affecting highly endangered wildlife; on that trip, they neutered dogs and cats under tents and in rickety wooden shacks.

Come back home to your high-tech, "Mayo Clinic-style" urban animal hospital after that, he jokes, and you realize how spoiled you are. But it was eye-opening to see how you can adapt, with the right know-how and basic tools.

"It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources," he says. "You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking."

That includes right here at home, where Watson has also helped grow the innovative One Health Clinic series. The concept, which originated in Ontario, aims to connect vulnerable people to medicine for both themselves and their pets; a way of getting past barriers to health care, whether patients arrive on two legs or four.

"The human-animal bond is very strong, and is as alive and well as its ever been," he says. "Theres not as much educating we have to do around why its important to get veterinary care. Its more the case that there are large populations that just dont have access to it, but wish they did."

In May 2017, a team hosted the first One Health Clinic at Resource Assistance for Youth in West Broadway; 17 vulnerable youths came out, along with 23 pets. For the furry or scaly patients, there were medical exams and vaccinations; the humans received dental checkups and help connecting to other health services.

'Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the wellbeing of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them'

The formula was a hit. Organizers have since held several more, including at the Indigenous Family Centre on Selkirk Avenue. What Watson sees in those clinics is humbling: to many housing-insecure people, he says, pets are a "lifeline, their entire reason for existence." They often put their pets well-being before their own.

But they struggle to access veterinary care, and thats where Watsons broader vision  that dream of universal access  grew clearer. Because its not only about pets and their well-being; its also about understanding our fundamental relationship with animals as one of shared fates, and deeply woven interdependence.

"Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the well-being of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them," he says. "So this notion of one welfare really resonates with me, and really supports the elevation of veterinary medicine as a vital social service.

"We need animals just as much, and probably more, than they need us."

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With that in mind, Watson says, he sees animal welfare as being one of the biggest emerging social justice issues of the 21st century. Theres no doubt that awareness has been evolving; people are far more sensitive now to how animals live and thrive than they were even in very recent decades, he notes.

Still, there is a long way to go. And maybe it starts with just finding ways to honour and tend to the human-animal bond, in every place that it flourishes. Wherever humans are, they are, too. What happens to them affects us, too.

"In the same way we are stewards of the planet, we are stewards of the animals that live at our mercy, regardless of species," he says.

"And weve made some mistakes in the past, in terms of how we treat them, and there are still corrections yet to be made. But veterinarians are at the forefront of helping to make those changes.

"Hopefully an award like this one can serve as a way to highlight that important work. If we can raise awareness about this, thats as useful a thing as the World Veterinary Association can do."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

"Gratitude is profoundly counter-cultural," said Diana Butler Bass, author of the book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks.

For her, its when things are so tough that gratitude makes sense and is badly needed.

"Anyone can be grateful when things seem all right," she said. "Gratitudes real power is when you are up against a wall."

A self-described liberal Democrat, Butler Bass said she wrote her book on gratitude in the first hundred days of U.S. President Donald Trumps presidency.

"I was literally miserable when I started the project," she said. But by "living with a heart inclined toward generosity, abundance and gratitude," she was able to change the way she sees and experiences the world.

"I converted myself!" she exclaimed.

Butler Bass, an author, speaker and scholar specializing in American religion and culture, will be giving a free public lecture on the power and importance of gratitude on May 7, 7 p.m. at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall, University of Winnipeg.

Her presentation is part of Emerging Perspectives in Ministry II, a May 7-8 ecumenical event sponsored by Charleswood United Church, St. Johns College, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.

Butler Bass acknowledged being grateful isnt easy due to being "brainwashed by the myth of scarcity."

"We continually act as if there isnt enough, and that we have to get ours before someone else takes it from us," she stated.

The result of this lack of gratitude is an "unjust economic system, broken politics, social and religious divides, fear and a wounded earth. We gave in to the myth and betrayed the fundamental generosity of creation. It is a really sad."

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Gratitude, however, "literally undoes the myth of scarcity," she said. And the path to be grateful is by understanding and accepting the grace of God.

"Gods world is completely pro bono, gifts for free for the good for everybody," she said. "Thats grace... all are called to the table. All are seated. All are fed. Our only job is to pull up more chairs and pass the overflowing plates."

Emerging Perspectives II runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 7 and will feature TED Talk-style presentations by 12 ministry practitioners sharing what is exciting about their work. It concludes on May 8 with a followup workshop with Butler Bass from 9 a.m. to noon.

Cost for the event is $40.

For more information, or to register, visit cmu.ca/emergingperspectives.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

But dont expect Canadian politicians to quit the social media platform any time soon. Because, like Facebook relationship statuses, its complicated.

The platform is one of the strongest tools MPs have for keeping in touch with their ridings, and Ottawa now spends more on social-media advertisements than those placed in television, radio and newspapers.

The company itself says Canadians are "among the most engaged Facebook populations in the world," with 24 million residents using the site monthly  some 98 per cent of smartphone users in the country.

Facebook will undoubtedly play a role in the looming federal election, even as political parties call for beefed-up rules around privacy and propaganda.

"We are reliant on them," said Natasha Tusikov, a York University professor who studies technology regulation. "We're a big country. It's great to reach out to people, but it's come with a very high price."

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien wants to take Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files)

A changing tone

Last week, Canada's privacy watchdog announced hed be taking Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In March 2018, a whistleblower revealed the firm harvested personal data from millions of Facebook accounts without their consent, including more than 600,000 Canadians, and used it for political purposes.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty," privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said.

A Facebook spokeswoman wrote "there's no evidence that Canadians' data was shared with Cambridge Analytica," and argued the U.S.-based firm has taken strides to secure personal information. Yet, Therrien insists the company broke the law.

The Trudeau government has pledged some sort of action, and is slowly changing its tone.

Existing rules not enforced, advocate says OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. click to read more OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. This is about enforcement and applying the law where it exists, said Bernhard, head of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. The government seems terrified of governing when it comes to Facebook, Google, Netflix, Amazon (and) YouTube. To Bernhard, Facebook carries content like news outlets do, but avoids fines and sanctions a newspaper would face for allowing hate speech. Facebook claims absurdly not to be a publisher, and we seem to be letting them set the definition, he said. Meanwhile, Bernhard argues the privacy watchdogs probe into data leaks shows the federal Liberals arent interested in cracking down on violations of Canadian law. If they were really serious about dealing with this stuff, theyd find a way. The fact that the privacy commissioner seems to be going it alone suggest to me that the government has decided it's not interested in any form of confrontation, he said. People are pointing fingers at Facebook (but) the government is condoning this bad behaviour by allowing it to continue unpunished. Bernhard, who advocates for greater CBC funding, is critical of the Liberals getting Netflix to voluntarily fund Canadian content, instead of applying a tax and mandatory contributions to Canadian programming, both of which apply to television channels. "Netflix is Canadas largest private broadcaster and it has no such responsibility, he said. He noted Quebec managed to implement a provincial sales tax on Spotify accounts, Facebook advertisements and Netflix subscriptions, with none of those companies suing the government. This week, that province revealed the tax has brought in double the amount projected since coming into force in January. Quebec now expects to bring in $62 million this year. If the little government of Quebec  a subnational, minority-language government  can get Facebook and Netflix and Amazon, to follow its laws, then come on; surely the government of Canada would not have a problem, Bernhard said.  Dylan Robertson Close

Just two years ago, Ottawa worked with Facebook to craft its cultural policy, and an election-integrity initiative. But a month ago, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould suggested that had gone off the rails, with Facebook and other platforms not being upfront about how they plan to weed out disinformation during this falls vote.

"We're continuing to have conversations. They're not going as well as we would have hoped," Gould told the Free Press on Thursday. "That being said, we continue to look at the full range of options on the table. In order to ensure Canadians that we're taking a holistic approach to this."

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the Liberals have waited far too long to respond, but he admits Facebook is a lifeline for his job.

"We have a company telling a Canadian regulator, 'Yeah, well, too bad so sad, it will cost us a lot of money if we actually listen to the law of Canada.' So how is it possible we can have a government not say this unacceptable?"

Hes been part of a team of Canadian MPs meeting with counterparts from five other countries in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

"Theres been a real turnaround in how the world sees these companies since 2015," said Angus.

He notes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau built his brand on social media, and Facebooks top Canadian lobbyist, Kevin Chan, was a senior Liberal staffer. (Chan was not available Friday for an interview.)

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms have similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago. (David Vincent / The Canadian Press files)

"I don't think the government has recognized the need to change this comfy, cozy lobbying relationship," Angus said. "Its unhealthy for our economy, or for democracy."

Still, in Angus Northern Ontario riding, Facebook connects disparate towns and reserves, and he uses it to keep abreast of their concerns.

"Facebook has become the essential tool for communication, and Facebook can do extraordinarily good things," he said. "It shouldn't be take it or leave it."

Tusikov compares Facebook to a public utility, with small businesses depending on the platform for visibility. A sudden, unexplained change to what content Facebook or Instagram allows can make artists revenue source disappear overnight, she said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."  Conservative MP Bob Zimmer

Regulation elsewhere

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms had "eerie" similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago, when oil barons and communication firms held vast sways over society.

Without promising any specific policy, Freeland noted moves in the United States toward anti-trust legislation that would break up social-media giants.

Tusikov says its hard for politicians to exert that kind of change.

"Political parties are deeply embedded with social media, especially Facebook. They rely on Facebook to reach these targeted, key demographics to figure out how people might vote; to even float policy proposals by these key groups," she said.

"It makes it very difficult for politicians to then say 'we'll vote to restrict Facebook.' This is something where there's going to have to be a great deal of public pressure put on them."

Tusikov said the problem seems particularly bad in Canada.

"We're behind the ball," she said in an interview from Germany, where shes looking at how companies form their own rules.

In February, the country blocked Facebook from pooling data collected on numerous websites, saying the firm coerced users to give up too much data. Germany's hate-speech laws have also compelled Facebook to delete hundreds of posts, or face fines of up to $75 million.

Louis Farrakhan (left), the leader of the Nation of Islam, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were banned by Facebook this week for violating its ban against hate and violence. (The Associated Press files)

This week, Facebook platform banned American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but Tusikov said the platforms "incredibly opaque" process means its unclear what rules the platform used to justify that decision, how it interpreted them and whether Jones will be back on the website.

"The fine-grained nature of that makes people in North America very nervous, because they see it as a slippery slope. But at least this is put in legislation  it went through a process, it's public, it's transparent. We know exactly what's being blocked," she said.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty."  Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien

A month ago, the British government issued its Online Harms White Paper, which asking the public how the United Kingdom should regulate everything from targeted advertisements to taxes to hate speech and harassment. Britons have until July to weigh in on large themes that will shape the governments regulations.

Tusikov argues its time Canada had a similar thought-out debate.

She fears Canada will instead follow Australia, where a hastily drafted bill to regulate Facebook was passed ahead of this months election, in the wake of the New Zealand mosque shooting.

The bill  tabled and made law in just three days  threatens companies with jail time and fines if they dont remove violent content promptly, but experts say the criteria are so strict companies will likely rely on algorithms to indiscriminately remove content because they dont have enough time to vet between legitimate expression and threats.

'The new public square'

Gould, the minister in charge of ensuring the integrity of Canada's elections, admitted the thought of leaving the platform is daunting.

"When it first came out I was in my first year of university, and it was a very different platform than it is today," the 31-year-old said. "But we want to assure that whatever is happening today  or in the future  respects the values, the norms and the traditions that we've established for really important reasons here in Canada."

Facebook has become an essential communication tool, says NDP MP Charlie Angus. (Johannes Berg / Bloomberg files)

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer believes the Liberals arent taking social-media regulation seriously, but he admits its not easy to balance regulating against "a massive scale of surveillance" while keeping enough openness for digital innovation.

"Were all trying to get a handle on this," said Zimmer, who chairs the House committee investigating Facebook. "Every time we seems to catch up a little bit, (tech firms) are another five miles down the road."

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On May 28, Canada will host the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and "Fake News," which Angus said represents the best hope for some sort of co-ordinated, multi-national solution for Facebook. "In lieu of that, there may be a whole series of one-off decisions."

Like Angus, Zimmer said the platform is often the main way many of his northern British Columbia constituents reach him, but hes concerned about the platform breaching their privacy rights, and selling their data to advertisers.

Zimmers Facebook page is one of the first Google results. A single click allows users to send his office a message. He posts videos of visit to far-flung communities, and the comments have helped him shape how he votes in Parliament.

"Its the new public square; thats the reality for a lot of us. Do we want it to go away? No," he said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kaylie Tran demonstrates the work she and other research technicians do at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Halth.

Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

No such luck. Six-year-old Kaleb was bouncing off the walls raring to go to the open house of the national virology lab.

"I want to be a scientist," explained Kaleb, in his element among the microscopes, glove boxes and simulated disease cultures at the open house Saturday morning.

"He's always watching the Discovery Channel," said mom, Melody.

The open house marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg  the National Microbiology Laboratory is the better known human disease component.

It was a massive hit. The last open house five years ago attracted 1,700 people. This one had 500 people in the first hour.

Almost 3,200 passed through the doors Saturday. The Caluag family had to wait in line 20 minutes to get in, although the line dissipated later in the day.

It's a large undertaking by the laboratory. About 120 staff volunteered to oversee the event that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A committee of about 20 staff spent many months making preparations.

About 560 employees work in the lab.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ethan Olson, 8, peers into a petri dish during an open house Saturday marking the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health.

Inside, people got to see what bio-security looks like, including the equipment and uniforms of the people inside. In the kid zone, the little ones looked adorable in goggles and miniature lab coats.

"We've always known the lab holds a special place here in Winnipeg," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, senior medical advisor at the National Microbiology Laboratory.

"It has a bit of a mystique and to be able to open our doors and to see this many people here this early in the morning is great."

A Health Canada exhibit with information sign boards was on display to further people's understanding.

Poliquin said one of the highlights for the lab's first 20 years includes developing the Ebola vaccine that is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa. In newer work, teams of staff are going to Nunavut to combat tuberculosis.

Another highlight was its response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010. New technology allows the lab to find the entire genetic blueprint of a bacteria within hours, versus months previously. The lab was able to figure out how cholera started, where it was heading and how to control it.

Poliquin said that new technology will rapidly transform the lab's work in the years ahead.

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The centre has four levels of microbiologic security, with Level 4 the highest security level. Level 4 is the House of Horrors of pathogens, storing diseases dating back a century ago to the Spanish flu virus and more recent terrors like Ebola and H1N1. Others include Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever.

"Certainly some of the world's most dangerous pathogens are here," said Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director of the National Microbiology Lab.

"We try to understand how these organisms are causing disease. It gives us a lot of information on how things like influenza evolve."

A demonstrator glovebox from Level 4 was on hand for kids to pluck the pathogens off a Minion cartoon character. Staff were also on hand to demonstrate donning and removing the big and bulky Level 4 suits. It takes about five minutes to put on the yellow neoprene suit with a full body zipper and double gloves.

There are lots of showers afterwards, it was explained, including a chemical shower of the suit on the person. Then the clothes worn beneath the suit are heat sterilized and finally, the person takes a regular shower that is required to be at least three minutes in duration.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

Such thorny questions will be on the table for discussion today in downtown Winnipeg at Flora & Mama, a free event put on by female-oriented cannabis-lifestyle brand Van der Pop. (The discussion will be capped off by a flower-arranging workshop with local florists Oak & Lily.)

Event host Ashleigh Brown  founder and chief executive officer of SheCann, an online community for Canadian women who use medical cannabis  is a Winnipeg mother of two who uses cannabis to help manage a seizure disorder. She says she is no stranger to exploring parental perspectives on cannabis in the era of legalization.

"One of the biggest things that we hear people talk about is, from a medical patients perspective: how do I talk to my kids about this and explain to them how I use (cannabis) as medicine?" Brown said in an interview.

Saturdays dialogue will be about more than medical cannabis  she expects parents will want to trade notes on how to have the dreaded "drug talk" with teens and adolescents.

Brown favours an approach known as harm reduction, and endorses a youth education toolkit designed by the non-profit group Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

"Instead of taking a, Dont use it at all, dont touch it until youre of age in your province (approach), it takes a little bit more of a respectful approach to where the youth is coming from," she said.

"It encourages it to be a dialogue, instead of the talk  so, its an ongoing conversation that isnt just going to be sitting your kid down, slapping some information in front of them, and saying, Dont ever use this or touch it."

Even though the event  2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kinship Studio (70 Albert St.)  is aimed at mothers, Brown said fathers are also welcome. (No cannabis will be provided, but the event is for adults only.)

Brown anticipates participants will also discuss the image of cannabis users often presented in popular culture and the media, which she sums up as the "lazy stoner stereotype."

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"Because of the years, decades-long narrative around prohibition, this is something that were still working to overcome," Brown said.

"And I think that for women especially, that lazy stoner stereotype is right in striking contradiction to the idea of the super-mom, superhuman, ultra-productive, buttoned-up version of motherhood that we tend to present as being the ideal."

Talking openly about parental cannabis use "is something that really is fraught with a lot of emotion for people," Brown said.

"I think because anything that calls into question the integrity or intent of a parent is always going to be an emotional conversation. And when were talking about choice and personal freedom, those are things that sometimes women, especially as mothers, feel theyre not being afforded."

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel
Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

The northern Manitoba community  located 744 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the banks of Gods River  has a population of roughly 1,400 people.

Jason Small, Red Cross communications manager for Manitoba and Nunavut, said the non-profit agency hired a pilot to fly the bottled water into the community from Thompson on Friday.

The bottled water is believed to be enough for drinking and cooking for three days.

It remains unclear what led to the issues with the communitys water treatment plant or what exactly has gone wrong with it.

Small directed all questions related to the water treatment plant  including how long it has been out of service  to the First Nations tribal council.

Chief Eric Redhead, as well as the band office, did not answer or respond to multiple requests for comments on Friday.

It remains unclear if the water treatment plant is expected to be up and running again within three days.

When asked if there were plans to send a second shipment of bottled water to the northern community if need be, Small said no such plans were in place.

"At this time, the 14,000 litres is what weve sent," Small said.

Shamattawa First Nation is a remote, isolated community. Its only connections to the rest of Manitoba are by winter and ice roads, as well as its local airport.

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The community has faced significant, publicized hardships in recent years, including a teacher shortage in 2018 that resulted in hundreds of children going to school without proper instructors.

In addition, the community declared a state of emergency in 2016 after a fire burned down the local band office and store.

The community is also facing a serious housing shortage. It has a population of 1,400 people, but there are only 180 privately owned homes in the community, according to Indigenous Services of Canada statistics. Of the 180 privately owned homes, 40 of them are multi-family dwellings.

The assistance provided to the community from Red Cross Manitoba is part of an ongoing agreement between the federal government and the non-profit to provide disaster assistance to First Nations in Manitoba. The costs of the effort are covered by the federal government.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

AYODHYA/FAIZABAD: The eyes of Sripriya, 50, suddenly glitter with excitement when she is told by Ved Prakash, a vendor at the bookstall near Mandir Nirman Karyashala, that she can get Ram Mandir ka Sampoorna Itihas, the booklet she was flipping through, in Telugu also.

Sripriya, part of a group of pilgrims from Vijayawada, buys the book and turns towards the workshop housing stones, some raw and some chiselled with exquisite patterns, for the construction of the much-awaited Ram temple. The workshop, which is a prominent part of the visitors Ayodhya itinerary, evokes curiosity among them as it also has a model of the proposed grand Ram temple.

Even as the sculptors from Gujarat and Rajasthan are busy carving out motifs on huge shilas, undeterred by the soaring summer heat, the temple issue seems to have been drowned out in the poll cacophony in the land of Lord Ram.

Overpowered by the narrative of nationalism and caste arithmetic, the issue that catapulted the BJP to the pole position in Indian politics in the 90s is now discussed only when it's raked up by a scribe from outside in the town, which is going to the polls on May 6.

Have the VHP and RSS, who have been demanding an ordinance on the temple issue after the Supreme Court refused to take up the case on priority, been swayed by Modis discourse on nationalism? No, its not so. Temple can never be on the back burner for us. Since the Supreme Court has set up a panel for mediation and the process is on, its better to have a little patience. Moreover, Modiji is busy securing and building the nation. It is equally important. If the nation is secured, only then other issues will be addressed. Temple can wait for a while, says Sharad Sharma, regional spokesman of the VHP.

On the other hand, pained by Modi giving the makeshift temple a miss during his visit to Ayodhya for a rally on May 1, former BJP MP and Babri demolition accused Ram Vilas Vedanti feels that if at all any government could build a temple, it will be the BJP. Modi is going to be the PM again. Among all other political players, it is only the BJP and Modi who will facilitate temple construction in Ayodhya. People of Ayodhya will bat for a second term for him, he says.

Not only Vedanti, but also other saints and seers, including Nritya Gopal Das of Ramjanma Bhoomi Nyas, Dharam Das of Nirmohi Akhada and Satyendra Das, the head priest of the makeshift temple, all believe that PM should have had darshan at the makeshift temple.

He goes to every temple. Then why did he miss Ram Lalas janmabhoomi, wonders a seemingly miffed Vedanti but swears to be with the BJP all his life.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the litigants from the Muslim side in the Ayodhya title suit, feels the Modi government has followed the motto of sabka saath sabka vikas for the last five years. The Congress has betrayed Muslims for 60-70 years. Even the shrine was unlocked during the Congress regime and the mosque was also demolished when the Congress was at the Centre, says Ansari.

Modi might not have visited the temple because it would have sent a wrong message among Muslims, says Ansari.

His claim, however, is rejected by another litigant Haji Mehboob who feels that it was Kalyan Singhs government which facilitated the demolition. Kalyan Singh did not honour the affidavit he had submitted before the Supreme Court to safeguard the structure, says Mehboob.

Meanwhile, locals feel that only PM Modi can take effective measures to facilitate a temple in Ayodhya. He is the only leader who has the grit to build a temple. If he can allow the defence forces to finish terror camps deep inside Pakistan, he can bring a temple on the ground in Ayodhya as well. He will be voted back for a second term, says Ajay Arya, a grocery shop owner in Amaniganj area of the temple town.

However, other issues like development and unemployment have equal traction, besides the caste factor on which the SP-BSP alliance is relying heavily. Anurag Vaishya, a member of Spic Macay, feels that the coming government should focus on the development of Ayodhya, which is being projected as a major destination for religious tourism.

Though the proposed airport in Ayodhya will increase its connectivity with the world, industry, especially hospitality, institutions of higher education and other avenues should also be developed in Faizabad parliamentary constituency to improve the employment scenario for youth here, says Anurag, associated with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi who works against child labour.

Trader Giridhar Agarwal denies that demonetisation or GST had any adverse impact on businessmen. Even a new pair of shoes pinches initially. With time, it gets fixed on its own. Initially, there were some glitches as people were learning the nuances of GST, but now everything is streamlined and for honest traders, its a better option, says Agarwal, sitting in his footwear showroom in Chowk area of the temple town.

Refusing to divulge his choice, Ramesh Kumar, who supplies flowers to temples  over 4000 of them in the city -- believes that whoever is elected should pay attention to the restoration of dilapidated temples, the heritage of Ayodhya. He is backed by many others who are standing at his shop.

The temple town is part of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The district of Faizabad has ceased to exist, after being renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath government. With five assembly constituencies of Rudauli, Milkipur, Dariyabad, Bikapur and Ayodhya, the seat has not been a BJP bastion, though in the 90s, it elected firebrand saffron leader Vinay Katiyar thrice in the wake of the Ram Temple movement.

The present MP is BJPs Lallu Singh, kar sewak during the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, who has won the Ayodhya Vidhan Sabha seat five times in the past. He has been fielded against SPs Anand Sen  son of Mitra Sen Yadav, former Faizabad MP, and Congresss Nirmal Khatri, who has also won the seat twice, the first time as early as 1984.

Although Anand Sen has the support of the Yadavs and Muslims of Faizabad, and also the goodwill of his father, who became an MP on a CPI ticket for the first time in 1989, an old rape and murder case in which Sen was an accused keeps haunting him.

As one moves towards the famous Guptar Ghat along the banks of Saryu, around 50 labourers are busy restoring the place where Lord Ram is believed to have met his end by taking Jal Samadhi (watery grave).

People know Ayodhya only for being the birthplace of Lord Rama. Very few are aware that Ayodhya is also the place where he met his end. Guptar Ghat is that place. No earlier government paid attention to its maintenance and beautification. Only the Yogi government is working on it, says Anshul Tiwari, 28, a Faizabad university graduate, who runs a dhaba at Guptar Ghat.

Yahan log Modiji ko hi vote karenge sivay unke jo jaati adhar par vote karte hain. Modi rashtra ka nirman kar rahe hain. Jo rashtra premi hai woh kahin aur vote nahi karega. (Here people will vote for Modi as he is busy in nation building except those who vote on caste lines. Those who love the country will vote for him), says Ravindra Singh, who also owns a food joint at Guptar Ghat.

Ravindra is contradicted by Arshad, who has come to visit Guptar Ghat with his family. Those who dont vote for the BJP are also desh bhakts. During the Modi regime, the communal divide has increased, feels Arshad, saying the gathbandhan has brighter prospects.

As one moves towards Faizabad city, other voices start emanating from the ground. Where are the jobs? After completing our education from Faizabad university, if we have to look for a job, we are bound to leave our city owing to dearth of avenues. Nothing has been done in this direction during the last five years, says Santosh Yadav, who works in Noida and has come to vote for the gathbandhan, although he and many more gathbandhan supporters sounded unhappy with the criminal credentials of the candidate.

If the Modi factor seems to have a little edge on the ground in Ayodhya and Faizabad, the gathbandhan appears to be supported by the caste calculus. Yadavs constitute around 13% of the total voters - almost half of the total OBC voters in the constituency.

Muslims constitute around 15% and dalit voters are around 4%. Upper caste Hindu voters are around 29%. To counter the gathbandhan equation, BJP will eye the upper caste votes and also a chunk of the remaining around 13 per cent of other castes  non-Yadav OBCs and around 10% of the most backward caste voters.

The Congress, however, hopes that caste calculations will fail in front of its candidates image and the partys commitment to the NYAY scheme. We dont seek votes along caste lines. In 2009, people voted for Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri for the good work of the UPA government. This time again they will vote for the Congress to end the Modi governments misrule, says Ved Singh Kamal, general secretary, district Congress committee.

However, when asked how much traction NYAY has on the ground, Pratyush Pandey rejects it as another gimmick in the poll season. Where was the Congress for the last seven decades? Why are they worried about the poor now, he asks while opening his cloth shop in Faizabad. Modis welfare schemes can be seen on the ground. Congress candidate is always elusive. He is inaccessible. Why will anyone vote for him, asks Pandey.

While leaving Faizabad as the sun sets, one can find farmers in fields along NH 28 cutting and collecting wheat crop. They claim that politicians remember them only when elections are around. BJP walon ne vikas kiya. Gas, awas, shauchalaya diya. Pradhan mantri ne 2000 khate mein dale hain (BJP has done development. We have got gas connection, house, toilet. PM has transferred Rs 2000 into account) , says Ramadin, 50, of Baraspur village.

Asked if stray animals are destroying crops, the villagers of Baraspur say the problem is not as big in

Faizabad-Ayodhya as it is in other eastern districts because there are a number of cow shelters in the twin cities.
Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

For several months now, Pallister has unleashed a series of half-cooked half-measures that are strategically, if not a little awkwardly, aimed at plugging the chinks in his political armour.

To ensure no one could accuse him of ignoring the plight of impoverished Manitobans, Pallister released in March a hastily prepared, threadbare anti-poverty strategy. Entitled Pathways to a Better Future, the document was 15 months overdue and clearly out of date. Anti-poverty activists and social service providers were unimpressed.

"It's a strategy without its essential bones," said Sid Frankel, a University of Manitoba social work professor.

Then, in early April came the vaunted launch of the province's new Economic Development Office. The EDO is supposed to breathe life into the premier's Economic Growth Action Plan which, like the anti-poverty strategy, has been lauded repeatedly by the premier but has no concrete elements.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives have reduced the deficit and cut the provincial sales tax to seven per cent, fulfilling promises from the 2016 campaign. (David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press files)

This past week, we saw efforts made to check off two more boxes on the premier's list of things he must do before launching an election that almost nobody wants.

First, it was the release of a report by Winnipeg lawyer Michael Green, who was retained to study changes to laws on government advertising. In a surprise turn of events, we discovered Green was allowed to review a new and previously unseen bill that would completely change the rules for how and when a government can advertise, including in the sensitive pre-writ period.

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Right now, one of the biggest hurdles standing in Pallister's way of an early election is the 90-day blackout on government advertising before an election. The current law does include a loophole that allows a government to ignore the blackout period if an early election is called; however, that provision has never been tested and Pallister is vulnerable to attack for ignoring a law meant to ensure fairness in provincial general elections.

The proposed bill tucked into the appendix of the Green report on government advertising has no blackout period prior to an election. Given that the original 90-day blackout was a Tory creation  adopted by the NDP in 2006 as a concession to the opposition to ensure timely passage of legislation  this is a backhanded way of going about a major change in the laws governing fair elections in this province.

The next box to be checked on Pallister's list  perhaps the final box?  was the surprising announcement late this week that his government is re-thinking the closure of the Concordia Hospital emergency department.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen's sudden decision to reconsider  at least temporarily  the timing of the closure of Concordia Hospital's ER is yet another sign the Pallister government is in election-prep mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced on Thursday he will take a step back and re-assess the closure of Concordia ER. Dr. David Peachy, the consultant who first proposed the plan to cut the number of ERs in Winnipeg from six to three, will conduct a "quality assurance assessment" before any action is taken.

Friesen wouldn't commit to keeping the ER open, but neither would he fully commit to closing it as scheduled. He also suggested that at the very least, the closure could be delayed.

In the context of an early election, Friesen's strategy is transparent. One need only look at the dozens of Keep Concordia Open signs that line Henderson Highway to understand that it's a top-of-mind issue for voters there.

How surprising was this announcement? Earlier in the same week, the WRHA confirmed to the Free Press that the plan to close Concordia ER was on track for late June, and work at the St. Boniface Hospital to expand its ER, in large part to handle increased patient volumes created by the closure of ERs at Concordia and (in September) Seven Oaks hospitals, was "on time and under budget."

Given that the WRHA made no mention of a possible delay, Friesen's announcement has the appearance of a last-minute, last-ditch effort to defuse Concordia as an election issue. The decision to delay or reverse the closure may not make re-election any more difficult, but this announcement is certainly not going to make it easier, either.

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote half-measures as solutions to complex problems.

The possible closure of the Concordia Hospial ER is top of mind for people in the area. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote halfmeasures as solutions to complex problems.

The government does have significant accomplishments to celebrate, the kinds of things that can theoretically form the foundation of a solid re-election campaign. The deficit has gone down significantly under their watch, the result of a rigorous oversight on expenditures, and the provincial sales tax has been reduced to seven per cent, fulfilling Pallister's principal pledge from the 2016 campaign.

Beyond that, the results are mixed. Provincial civil servants are angry about a wage freeze imposed on them by sheer force of will. The construction industry is fuming about a dramatic reduction in government investment in infrastructure. Social services, health and education have all had to tighten their belts to deal with Pallister's austerity, and frontline services are suffering.

If he calls an early election, Pallister will be telling both his own party and voters in general that he sees no immediate threat to a second mandate; however, a comparison of the political landscape in 2016, when Pallister won a thunderous majority, with the one that faces him now should be cause for concern.

In the 2016 election, voters were more motivated to reject and punish the NDP than to embrace the Tories. The PC platform featured few signature pledges outside of Pallister's long-standing promise to cut the PST. He promised to slow the growth in government spending with no impact on front-line services.

Pallister knew he didn't have to promise much because the NDP had suffered a fatal, self-inflicted wound from the 2015 civil war that saw five cabinet ministers resign over then-premier Greg Selinger's refusal to step down.

The 2016 election was one Brian Pallister could not lose, and it's hard to see his party losing the next one with both the NDP and Liberals in rebuilding mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

As for the Liberals, their leader at the time, Rana Bokhari, had started strong but ultimately succumbed to her party's tradition of underperformance.

In other words, it was an election Pallister could not lose.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to reelection  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

In 2019, it remains hard to see the Tories losing. Still in rebuilding mode and poorly resourced, neither the NDP or the Liberals are poised to form government; however, both parties are starting to believe they can inflict some meaningful damage to the Tory juggernaut.

Their growing confidence can be attributed to problems Pallister cannot shed with hasty, empty promises or a hollow studies: the hospital reorganization, growing waiting lists for elective surgeries, the imposed wage freeze on civil servants, the gutting of infrastructure spending and the willingness to ignore legal provisions designed to ensure fair elections.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to re-election  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

If Pallister follows the precedent set by successful political leaders facing the same decision, the final box on his pre-election list should be a no-brainer: "Whatever you do, don't screw this up."

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Mourners gather over the body of Hamas militant of Alla Boubali, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike at Hamas militants post central Gaza Strip, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Israeli soldiers walk by a house hit by a rocket fired from Gaza in a moshav in Israel near the border with Gaza, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was travelling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

Relatives mourn Palestinian Raid Abu Tair, who was killed by Israeli troops during Friday's protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during his funeral in town of Khan Younis, Saturday, May. 4, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometres north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not co-ordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

Israeli air defense system Iron Dome takes out rockets fired from Gaza near the town of Ashkelon, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defence against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

Owners of stores at the building inspect the damage of their destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

Residents inspect the damage of the destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

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The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of Seba Abu Arar, 14-month-old, lies at the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli airstrike hit near their house. Abu Arar died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Trina Justman Reichert

Engagement Lead

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If any of these appeal to you, keep reading.

Extensive data from research proves that incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your daily eating habits can result in the above positive results. Eating with a plant slant is one of the Blue Zones Power 9 Principles, based on the habits of people who live the longest.

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Americans are bombarded by unhealthy food choices at almost every turn. Think about the last time you were inside a pharmacy, a place that could be viewed as a resource for wellness. Chances are, you walked by options of quick grab candy bars, sodas, and bags of chips before leaving.
JUNEAU  A local strip club will bring something a touch more G-rated to the stage Sunday.

Solomon, an exotic dance club at 112 E. Oak St. in Juneau, will host a Christian music concert sponsored by the Christian Leaders Coalition of Dodge County. The Siegmann Family, a band that originated in the Dodge County town of Rubicon, will perform.

The band describes its sound as a mix of bluegrass, Southern gospel, a capella and acoustic. Gene and Anne Schmidt will also perform at the concert.

Gene Schmidt, of the Christian Leaders Coalition, has lobbied for Dodge County or the city of Juneau to buy the Solomon building and convert it into a performing arts center. The building has been on the market for months and Schmidt said his goal is to prevent another strip club owner from buying it.

He said the purpose of the concert is to make the public aware of an alternative use for the space if another organization took it over.

We had the idea that it would be good to do something on a large scale with performing arts and music because thats the idea behind bringing people in, he said.
One man was taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation following a house fire in Fox Lake Thursday night.

Fox Lake Fire Chief Aaron Paul said in an email that the Fox Lake Fire Department was paged to the house fire at 208 E. Cherry St. at 8:48 p.m. Upon firefighters arrival, flames were coming out of two downstairs windows.

The two downstairs rooms are a complete loss and there is severe smoke damage in the rest of the house, Paul said. The cause is under investigation.

The man transported to the hospital was the only person inside.

The fire department was able to retrieve two containers of ashes belonging two recently deceased family members of the current occupant.

The Fox Lake Fire Department was assisted by Beaver Dam Fire Department, Horicon Fire Department, Randolph Fire Department and Waupun Fire Department. The Fox Lake Fire Department was on scene for about three hours.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.
Columbus chamber of commerce is hoping fun, new events will help breathe life into an annual celebration.

Redbud Days will return with a few new twists Friday, May 10 through Saturday, May 11. While the event features staples such as the city-wide garage sales and Redbud Prince and Princess Contest, this years celebration will have live music and Beer on the Boulevard. The band Funky Chunky, playing lively R&B hits, will perform from 11 a.m.  2 p.m. Funky Chunky has been hailed as Madisons finest R&B group.

Attendees will be able to sip craft beer from 11 a.m.  3 p.m. while listening to the band and exploring other events downtown. Cercis Brewing Company is working on a redbud beer, a hazy pale ale with pinkish coloring, an ode to the tree that provided Columbus moniker, The Redbud City.

There will also be a chalk walk art contest from 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Badger Antique Auto Show, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Kiwanis Brat Stand, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., and the Redbud Prince and Princess coronation beginning at 10 a.m. In addition, May 1-12, local businesses will be giving away red bud trees. Residents in Columbus and Fall River will have a chance to win one of 10 trees and five trees will be sold for spring planting.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries. The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir

in Verinag, South Kashmir.

My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul.  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 4, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

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"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven). Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."

Gul Mohd Mir was the District Vice President of the BJP state unit. May his family & loved ones find strength at this difficult time.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act".

He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.
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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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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: New factual evidence of Masood Azhars activities was provided by some countries which made China relent on the Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefs designation as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on the JeM chiefs involvement in terror strikes in India, including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack or Jammu and Kashmir in the UN notification banning Azhar, though the original resolution mentioned them. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler described the listing of Azhar by the UN Security Council as a very important political decision and said France has been an unconditional partner of India in dealing with the challenge of terrorism. For the first time the world has reached a consensus and it will have concrete consequences, Ziegler said.

France was a prime mover in pushing the last resolution on Azhar in March and escalating it with the US and the UK to the UN Sanctions Committee and bringing China to the table to lift its technical hold against declaring Azhar a global terrorist. Terming it very good news for India and the world community, Ziegler said, It was a bit absurd that the JeM was banned by the UN but not its chief.

The heightened Indo-French cooperation also reflected in the unprecedented scope of this years joint naval exercise Varuna that started last Wednesday. The exercises, which will extend to Djibouti at the Horn of Africa, close to a Chinese base, is significant in scale and size, involving the best ships in both navies.

Ban on travel

Pakistan on Friday issued orders to freeze assets of Azhar and impose a travel ban. An official of Interior Ministry said Azhar was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act and could not travel without police permission.
Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft engages in the manufacture and distribution of consumer goods in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Consumer Business and Tesa Business. The Consumer Business Segment offers skin and body care products. The Tesa Business segment provides self-adhesive system and product solutions for industries, craft businesses, and consumers. This segment offers its system solutions to the automotive, electronics, printing and paper, and building and construction industries. The company offers its products under the NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie, Elastoplast, Labello, Hansaplast, 8x4, FLORENA, Coppertone, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, SKIN STORIES, FLORENA FERMENTED SKINCARE, STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME, CHAUL, and TESA brands. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of maxingvest ag.

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Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.



Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.



The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.



In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.



President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.



Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.



Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.



Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.



Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.



On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.



A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.



Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.
By PTI

PULWAMA: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."

Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans.

In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.
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. Since then, FXI stock has decreased by 5.6% and is now trading at $36.63.

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Agilent Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that enable to identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment consists of activity providing active pharmaceutical ingredients for oligo-based therapeutics, as well as solutions that include reagents, instruments, software and consumables. The Agilent CrossLab segment includes startup, operational, training and compliance support, software as a service, and asset management and consultative services. The company was founded in May 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Ohio. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis, with bottom-up stock picking approach, to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor's Ohio Municipal Bond Index and Standard & Poor's National Municipal Bond Index. The fund was formerly known as Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund. Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund was formed on October 17, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address at least one press conference before the elections conclude saying it was looking terrible on the international level.

"Please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences also. Its really looking very bad," Gandhi told reporters at the party headquarters here.

"It is looking shameful out there. He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media leave the international media," he said.

"Its looking bad, so please tell him to do at least one before the elections are over," he said.

The Congress chief has been demanding a presser from Modi and keeps repeating it every time he meets the press.

'EC biased against opposition'

Rahul accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

READ | 'Chowkidar chor hai' remark stands, apologised to SC, not to Modi: Rahul Gandhi

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and everywhere else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

'Who let Masood Azhar out?'

Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Rahul Gandhi asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

READ | Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of disrespecting armed forces

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him. Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly", he said while asserting that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.


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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and accused the saffron party of compromising in dealing with terrorism, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the previous NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, he said the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi and alleged that the BJP was using the armed forces for political mileage.

Gandhi, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said Modi insulted the Army by saying UPA's surgical strikes were video games.

ALSO READ | PM Modi has insulted armed forces by comparing surgical strikes with video game: Congress

His attack on Modi came a day after the prime minister said the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games. It was a BJP government that had released Azhar and sent him to Pakistan, Gandhi said.

"Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

On the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

Gandhi also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress. "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property," he said.

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle. "It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added. Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
A Boeing 737 plane arriving from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went off the runway into the St. Johns River in Florida on Friday night, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said.

"I've been briefed that all lives have been accounted for," the mayor tweeted.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

The plane slid off a runway into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m. ET, a spokesman from the Naval Air Station Jacksonville said. It appears to have skidded off the airport runway while trying to land and ended up in the river, CNN affiliate WJXT reported.

The plane was arriving "from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville " and crashed into the river at the end of the runway, Naval Air Station Jacksonville

"Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation," it said.

David Soucie, a former inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, described it as a private jet charter. Curry had initially called it a commercial flight.

"The fact that they were all brought out of the aircraft safely and no one was hurt says a lot about how the crew reacted to this situation," he said.

Curry said fire and rescue crews were on the scene. "While they work please pray," he wrote.

President Donald Trump's White House called to offer help as the situation was developing, the mayor said.

Developing story -- more to come.
Utica, N.Y. - What a Friday night in Utica for a few hundred local residents who turned out to sample some of the finest foods our area has to offer.

From Utica Greens to Chicken Riggies, to Tomato Pie, all were on the menu at the annual Taste of The Mohawk Valley held at the Saranac Brewery.

Many local restaurants took part in the annual event put on by The Genesis Group.

Tickets were $25 and all of the proceeds will go to help the Genesis Group put on one its other big events of the year, the annual 4th of July Parade and Festival in Utica.

At the Taste of the Mohawk Valley, this year's 4th of July Grand Marshal was unveiled. Barry Sinnott, Assistant Vice President at Bank of Utica will lead the way.

Sinnott says he is proud to represent the city he and his family love so much, "It means a lot. Anyone who knows me, knows I focus on the positives. There's still a lot of challenges that every community has everywhere, especially in Utica, So we would really like to focus on the positives, and that's one of the things that has driven us business-wise and so it's really a great honor and I feel this is a great privilege to do this."

News Channel 2's Kristen Copeland was last year's Grand Marshal, so she passed the torch to Sinnott.
The same Herkimer County students who petitioned NASA for artifacts for a local memorial for 1962 Mohawk High School graduate, Gregory B. Jarvis, unveiled the flight suit NASA sent to be part of the memorial. Hundreds came to Herkimer College Friday for a moving ceremony, honoring Jarvis. NASA Astronaut, Dr. Stanley Love, Ph.D., spoke about Jarvis, and, exploration.

"Humans have an innate drive to explore. It's in our blood. We want to know what's over that next hill," said Love, hinting, too, at the inherent dangers of exploration. "There are unexpected events and conditions. By definition, explorers are far from help and unforunately, some explorers don't make it back."

Such was the fate met by Jarvis, a payload specialist, and six others, when the Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, on January 28, 1986. Love wanted local students to know that, no matter how small or rural their launch pad, they could still use it to reach for the stars.

"Even a kid who grows up out here in central New York and thinks that the rest of the world has never heard of him or doesn't care about him can grow up to fly in space," said Love.

Also honoring Jarvis during Friday's unveiling-1984 Frankfort High School graduate, Scott Wilson, who is currently building the Orion Spacecraft for NASA, Kennedy Space Center.

"When I was a little kid, I would write letters to NASA. I was kind of a geeky little kid. I would write letters, and to my amazement, they sent back patches or sent back pictures and I remember how excited I got and I never dreamed I'd be able to work there," said Wilson, adding that it's thrilling and rewarding to come home and inspire young students to reach great heights.

The flight suit revealed on Friday, along with other artifacts, including some from Jarvis' widow, will form a memorial that will be displayed in the Herkimer County Office Building.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  You can expect more construction in West Lafayette as Purdue prepares to begin work on the next phase of its $1 billion west campus project.

Purdue Research Foundation recently unveiled plans for a mixed use neighborhood Provenance. It's just one of many developments happening in the heart of Discovery Park.

"We're working to build a live-able, build-able, walk-able kind of community," said Director Jeremy Slater.

Provenance is the district's fifth major project announced in the past two years.

"We're looking at roughly 500 units of town homes, multi-family homes, single-family, condos," said Slater. The community will also have a fitness center, restaurants, retail, a day care and a preschool all in the heart of discovery park.

"It's about 400 acres -- it's about a 1.2 billion dollar development over the next 20 to 30 years."

Slater said as existing industries grow and new ones move in, the project becomes more important.

"A number of different corporate tenants who want to be apart of the community with them moving into the community to work now they have a place to live."

Living in Provenance won't be their only option though, Slater said 250 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of street-level commercial space along State Street is also in the works.

That's along with Aspire at Discovery Park, an $86 million, 835-bed apartment complex set to open in August.

"The moment that you turn onto State Street from 231 the entire frontage along state street is going to be under construction," said Slater adding those roadblocks will eventually lead to a more accessible community.

"Walk to work and drop your kids off at a daycare or pre-school and then for dinner walk and grab food or a coffee and just spend time with a community."

Work on the Luxury Apartments is set to begin this fall and will take roughly two years to complete. Provenance has a slightly different time line, developers are meeting with Tippecanoe County area planners to get through zoning regulations.

Following that, the plan is to begin infrastructure work including roads and landscape in the fall. Once that is in place, houses can start going up.

More information on Discovery Park as well as the master plan for the area can be found here.

Provenance is being developed by Old Town Design Group of Carmel. The group has developed a number of award-winning neighborhoods like this throughout central Indiana.
By PTI

The UN agency for disaster reduction has commended the Indian Meteorological Department's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri.

The powerful cyclone, strongest to hit India in 20 years, made landfall at around 8 AM in India's eastern state of Odisha, killing at least eight people.

Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state affecting about 11 lakh people.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified Fani as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm".

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The Cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm.

"India's zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the #SendaiFramework and the reduction of loss of life from such events," Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the Geneva-based UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said.

Mizutori was referring to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.

It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including the local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Highlighting the zero-casualty cyclone preparedness policy of the Indian government, a spokesperson for UNISDR, Denis McClean said: "the almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters".

UNISDR also tweeted about the advisory distributed by India's National Disaster Management Authority and local authorities days before Fani made landfall in an effort to minimise loss of life and injury.

Local authorities are accommodating evacuees in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed to withstand cyclones.

"Schools were shut, airports closed and transport suspended, and although damage to infrastructure was expected to be severe, there were no reports of any deaths," McClean said.

According to preliminary reports, eight people have been killed due to the cyclone, which has the potential to cause widespread loss of life.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN humanitarian agencies in India have met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures.

With Fani threatening devastation in India and Mozambique still reeling from Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones, UNICEF raised alarm about impact of climate change on children.

The UN children's agency said the cyclone currently hammering India and the back-to-back cyclones that tore through Mozambique in March and April have caused serious damage to the lives of thousands of children.

They should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders on the serious risks that extreme weather events pose to the lives of children.

In Odisha, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani, UNICEF said.

"Children will bear the brunt of these disasters," said Gautam Narasimhan, UNICEF Senior Adviser on Climate Change.

He said climate change is linked to rising sea levels and the increase in rainfall associated with cyclones, causing more devastation in coastal but also inland areas.

"In the short term, the most vulnerable children are at the risk of drowning and landslides, deadly diseases including cholera and malaria, malnutrition from reduced agricultural production, and psychological trauma  all of which are compounded when health centers and schools are impacted," he said.

Narasimhan warned that in the long term, cycles of poverty can linger for years and limit the capacity of families and communities to adapt to climate change and to reduce the risk of disasters.

According to the World Metereological Organization (WMO), the forecast on Friday was that Cyclone Fani "would move north-northeast towards Bangladesh where there were concerns about the effects of potential coastal flooding".

World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said the impact the cyclone is expected to be less severe in areas such as Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar which is home to the world's largest refugee camp, populated mainly by Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, said its India arm Americares India is preparing to deliver medicine and relief supplies to assist survivors, including tarps, water cans and water purification tablets for up to 3,000 families.

Americares India Managing Director Shripad Desai said: "We anticipate thousands of families will need shelter and medical care in the coming days".
Political and legal conflicts between the Trump White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are escalating in the wake of the decision by Attorney General William Barr not to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Barrs refusal to testify, as well as his declaration that he will not turn over an unredacted copy of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, led to numerous calls by congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential candidates for Barr to resign or be impeached.

In a formal letter to Barr on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a 9:00 am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to comply with a committee subpoena for the unredacted report as well as the underlying documents supporting Muellers 448-page narrative.

After that, the letter warns, the committee will cite Barr for contempt of Congress for failing to meet the committees May 1 deadline for delivery of the various documents.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to Nadler earlier in the week declaring that Congress was not entitled to the information because the committees request was not legitimate oversight.

The Trump administration has rejected a range of congressional subpoenas and document requests over the past two weeks, complaining that they were not related to a genuine legislative purpose or to congressional oversight of the executive branch, but were rather intended to expose Trumps private business dealings or the operations of his election campaignboth nongovernmental activitiesto public scrutiny.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was uncharacteristically blunt in a press statement Thursday, in which she said that Barr lied to Congress last month in appearances before the House and Senate to discuss the release of the Mueller report. In both hearings he made no mention of a March 27 letter from Mueller objecting to Barrs own letter notifying Congress of the completion of the report.

He lied to Congress, Pelosi said during her weekly news conference Thursday. Thats a crime.

Pelosi also appeared to soften in her opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Trump, telling a private meeting of House members, in remarks noted down and then leaked to the press, as she clearly intended, Ignoring subpoenas of Congress, not honoring subpoenas of Congressthat was Article III of the Nixon impeachment. Referring to Trump, she continued, This person has not only ignored subpoenas, he has said hes not going to honor any subpoenas. What more do we want?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler said the stonewalling by the Trump administration threatened democracy. The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a coequal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever to his most reckless decisions, he said. The very system of government of the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator, is very much at stake.

Another top House Democrat spoke in the same vein. What we are witnessing is the slow loss of our democratic republic and we can either allow it to happen or we can stand up against it, said Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. We are not going to allow the notion of a presidential dictatorship to take hold.

Trump has fired back against the Democrats, both in his Twitter rants and in legal motions filed in federal court. The House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Democrat Elijah Cummings, has subpoenaed business records of two lenders to the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Group, and Trumps accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trumps personal lawyers filed lawsuits this week opposing all three subpoenas.

Attorneys for the committee responded with a court filing Wednesday declaring that Trumps lawsuit would directly impede ongoing congressional investigations of national importance and threaten the constitutional system that separates and divides power between the branches of government The result would be to block probes into numerous and serious constitutional, conflict of interest, and ethical questions raised by the personal financial holdings of the president.

The first court proceeding in these cases will come May 14 on the subpoena of Mazars, which prepared unaudited financial reports for the Trump Organization that were used in obtaining bank loans.

In a partial climbdown, the White House permitted former security director Carl Kline to testify before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Kline discussed the general procedures for reviewing and approving security clearances for White House staff, but refused to discuss particular cases, such as Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, when asked by Democrats. Kline awarded a top-level clearance to Kushner over the objections of lower-ranking officials, but he denied that any White House official had asked him to award a security clearance to any individual.

Trump also declared Thursday that he would not allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify, claiming executive privilege, although he previously waived privilege in allowing McGahn to testify before the Mueller investigation for nearly 30 hours. White House attorney Emmett Flood wrote, in a letter made public Thursday, that Trumps decision to waive privilege for the Mueller investigation did not prevent him from invoking privilege in relation to a congressional investigation.

Flood sent a separate letter, dated April 19, to the Justice Department objecting in broad strokes to much of the Mueller report, claiming that it had provided far too much detail about the Trump 2016 campaign and about Trumps various responses to the launching of the Russia investigation. Ten separate episodes are examined in the report as possible instances of obstruction of justice.

The most confrontational response to the battery of Democratic investigations came from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Appearing at a Washington Post live event on Thursday morning, McCarthy declared that the FBIs launching of an investigation into the Trump campaign during the 2016 campaign was motivated by political hostility to Trump, citing email exchanges between FBI investigation leader Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, FBI attorney Lisa Page. Their actions are a coup, McCarthy said. I do not believe they were abiding by the rule of law.

Despite the rival claims of fighting against a would-be dictator and opposing a coup by the security agencies against an elected president, neither side in the conflict in Washington is defending democratic rights or constitutional principles. Both sides, the congressional Democrats, who are allied with the intelligence agencies, and the White House, supported by sections of the military, the police and fascist elements, are profoundly antidemocratic and politically reactionary.

The Democrats have not sought to remove Trump over his racist attacks on immigrants, his lavishing of favors on the corporate elite through deregulation and tax cuts, or his open consorting with fascistic elements, making him a political sponsor of such atrocities as the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego and on mosques in New Zealand.

The political axis of the Democratic campaign against Trump is opposition to any relaxation of the ferociously anti-Russian foreign policy adopted during the second term of the Obama administration, inaugurated with the 2014 US-backed ultra-right political coup in Ukraine.

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A Chinese negotiating team led by Vice Premier Liu He will return to Washington next week for what could be make-or-break talks on a trade agreement.

The upcoming talks follow a brief trip to Beijing this week by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that failed to come up with any significant advances towards a deal.

One of the main sticking points is agreement on the procedure by which US tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted if a trade agreement is reached. The Chinese position is that if a deal is done the tariffs should then be removed.

However, the US has insisted that at least some tariffs should remain. They would only start to be removed once it considers that China is complying with any agreement. From the outset, the US has made clear that there will be no agreement without an enforcement mechanism. It has also claimed the right to reimpose tariffs, without retaliation by China, if it deems the agreement is being abrogated.

Chinese negotiators have made it clear that any deal in which the US has the unilateral right to impose tariff sanctions is not acceptable. It would be akin to the unequal treaties imposed in the 19th and 20th centuries by the imperialist powers. Any enforcement mechanism must operate in both directions.

It appears at this stage that the Trump administration may be prepared to remove the 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but retain the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods that were its first shot in the trade war. China responded to these tariffs by imposts on $50 billion worth of goods, mainly agricultural products, that the US is demanding be removed.

This is a key question for the Trump presidency which depends on political support from agricultural regions that have been hit by the Chinese tariffs.

One option that has been explored, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, is a proportional reduction in tariffs. The argument is that the $50 billion represents about 10 percent of Chinese goods to the US. As China imports less from the US, it should leave in place tariffs covering 10 percent of its imports. This means China would reduce its tariffs so that they covered $13 billion worth of goods, rather than $50 billion.

Another point of contention is the issue of allegations of Chinese cyber theft and intrusion into commercial networks which the US insists must cease. A report in the Financial Times suggested the US has softened its initial position and that the Trump administration, anxious to secure a deal, is likely to accept a watered-down commitment from Beijing as an alternative.

Beijing maintains the accusations of state-sponsored cyber theft are baseless. It says that it has complied with an agreement reached with the Obama administration that neither government would engage in or knowingly support the theft of online intellectual property.

If the Trump administration does accept a verbal commitment from Beijing, this is likely to be opposed by key sections of the military-intelligence establishment, as well as anti-China hawks in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a speech delivered on April 26, reported by the Financial Times, FBI director Christopher Wray said: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation.  We have economic espionage investigations that almost invariably lead back to China in all 56 [FBI] field offices, spanning almost every industry.

The issue of intellectual property forms part of US demands for sweeping structural reforms in the Chinese economy, including an end to the state subsidies to key industries under the Made in China 2025 program.

Reporting on the discussions, the Wall Street Journal said the likelihood of China giving much ground on the contentious issue of subsidies to its state-owned enterprises is diminishing. This is because it sees government support as vital to helping Chinese firms move up the value chain and become leaders in next-generation manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other fields.

The article cited people close to the talks as saying Beijing would likely pledge to ensure that companies compete fairly, but not commit to provide the details of state subsidies being demanded by the US.

It is now five months since Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to negotiations on a trade deal, initiating a process that has involved countless hours of discussions and the production of thousands of pages of documents. However, this process will not continue indefinitely.

Speaking at a financial conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps acting chief-of-staff, indicated that the outcome would soon be determined.

It wont go on forever, he said. At some point in any negotiation you go were getting close to getting something done so were going to keep going. On the other hand, at some point you throw up your hands and say this is never going anywhere. Youll know one way or the other in the next couple of weeks.

Even if a deal is reached it will not bring about an end to trade conflicts. The Financial Times columnist Edward Luce published a comment this week entitled China, the US and trade in a dog-eat-dog world. He noted that any deal would trigger a rally in the markets with the spectre of a nosedive in China-US relations averted, but it would come at the expense of future stability.

This is because any agreement will be outside the framework of the World Trade Organisation, which has been the key mechanism for settling disputes carried out in a process at arms-length from the countries involved. That would no longer apply.

The coming deals enforcement mechanism will offer Democratic and Republican presidents an irresistible set of punitive tools to use against China. There will be no WTO to keep them honest. Nor will there be any natural breaks between trade policy and diplomacy. Mr Trump has cited US national security as grounds for tariffs on European and Canadian metal imports. Pretty much any Chinese activity can also be blocked on those grounds.

He also pointed to the weaponisation of the rule of law as exemplified in Canadas arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant last year, and the continued detention by China of two Canadian nationals.

At face value, Luce concluded, the looming trade deal will probably look like a victory for Mr Trump. Further reflection reveals how much damage the deal would do to the rules-based order that America created.
On Tuesday, several dozen students and workers gathered at Humboldt University in Berlin to protest the persecution of Julian Assange and discuss the political and historical background to the attack on the courageous journalist. The meeting was convened by the University Group of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).

The audience at Humboldt university

Christoph Vandreier, deputy chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP), introduced the event with an in-depth contribution, which was eagerly followed by the audience. He began by detailing the crimes WikiLeaks had revealed since its founding in 2006.

They range from evidence of torture in Guantanamo, to the uncovering of massive tax evasion by the super-rich and illegal surveillance measures, to comprehensive leaks of the war crimes of the NATO states in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Iraq war alone, WikiLeaks had evidenced 15,000 civilian killings previously hushed up by the US military. There were also countless details exposed about the armys brutal actions against men, women and children.

These revelations not only revealed the brutal nature of these colonial wars, Vandreier said, but also exposed the so-called journalists who first spread the lie about alleged weapons of mass destruction to justify the war, and then glorified it as a liberation with their embedded journalism. He added that the same hacks were now attacking Assange.

Christoph Vandreier

As a result of these revelations, the US Department of Defense had already stated in 2008 that WikiLeaks had to be discredited and its protagonists jailed. Consequently, the Wikileaks servers were attacked and blocked, the web address withdrawn and numerous ways to make donations cut off, Vandreier said.

The ruling elites had been particularly aggressive in their pursuit of Assange. Vandreier detailed how long-completed investigations were resumed because of alleged sexual offences in Sweden in order to create a pretext for his onward extradition to the United States. Even the United Nations Human Rights Council has stated that Assange was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom for a disproportionately long time.

Now he has been arrested under new pretexts and is threatened with extradition to the US, where, in secret, further charges under the espionage act are being prepared against him, which are punishable by death.

If Assange were delivered up to the US, that would not be a legal transfer, but an illegal rendition. He would not face a fair trial in the US, but a show trial, whose verdict is already fixed, Vandreier said, summing up the threat to Assange. If that comes about, it means the end of press freedom and basic democratic rights. It would be directed against all those who oppose illegal wars, mass surveillance and the enrichment of the super-rich.

Even more striking was the smear campaign now being conducted in the media against Assange, ranging from resurrecting the rape allegations, accusations of being a Russian agent, to ridiculing his physical condition after his ordeal at the Ecuadorian embassy. Vandreier also named many German media outlets which had either expressed their pleasure at Assanges arrest or legitimized it.

This showed there was no basis for the defence of democratic rights in the ruling elite, but the encouragement of authoritarian and fascist tendencies. This development should be taken very seriously, Vandreier explained, underlining this with the historical example of Carl von Ossietzky. The journalist had been imprisoned in the Weimar Republic for betrayal of secrets because he had uncovered the illegal rearmament of the Reichswehr [Imperial Army]. Two months after his release in December 1932, he was again imprisoned by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp, where he was tortured and mistreated.

Today, the actions against Assange show that those in power are heading back in the same direction, Vandreier said, adding that this was also happening at Humboldt University, where militarists like Herfried Munkler and right-wing professor Jorg Baberowski were teaching and were protected by the university management against any criticism.

The shift to the right this expressed, and the campaign against Assange, was a fundamental international development, Vandreier said. In the US, Trumps administration was increasingly taking on openly fascistic forms, and in Europe, far-right parties were already involved in government in 10 countries. The reason for this lies in the deep crisis of capitalism, which, as in the 20th century, leads to fascism and war, Vandreier explained.

He concluded saying, The only way to defend Assange and democratic rights is to mobilize the international working class on the basis of a socialist programme. That is the only social force that can oppose the campaign of the ruling elites.

Following Vandreiers contribution, a lively discussion developed, focusing primarily on this perspective and the significance of a Marxist understanding and socialist programme. At the conclusion of the meeting, the following resolution was unanimously approved by those present:

This meeting at Humboldt University Berlin condemns the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Assange, the whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and all the brave journalists who have revealed the extent of the brutal wars and crimes of those in power. We agree to support the international struggle for the freedom of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning with all our strength!
Japans Emperor Akihito abdicated his throne on Tuesday and his son Naruhito was installed as emperor the following day. Akihitos abdication has been interpreted as a rebuke to the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his far-right supporters. The imperial transition, however, will not alter the extreme right-wing trajectory of the Japanese government or the attacks taking place on the working class.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Naruhito gave his first address as emperor. As his father had previously, Naruhito referred to his position as the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan and pledged to act according to the constitution. He added, I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.

The media seizes on such remarks to portray Akihito and Naruhito as liberal and pacifist opponents of the Abe governments push for constitutional revision and remilitarization. By referring to the emperor as the symbol of the state and unity of the people, Naruhito adheres to the present constitution, which bans the emperor from intervening in politics.

Abe intends to revise Article 9 of the constitution, known as the pacifist clause, to specifically recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the formal name of Japans armed forces. This is not the only change the far-right has its eyes on.

In 2012, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a draft constitution that returns political power to the emperor by making him head of state, while also exempting him or a regent from obeying the constitution. This would pave the way for the emperor to assume the dictatorial role that he held prior to the end of World War II as the linchpin of the state apparatus that waged imperialist war abroad and suppressed the working class at home.

Abe paid lip service to Naruhito at Wednesdays ceremony, saying, Emperor, we are looking up to you as a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people, and we are filled with hope for peace and prosperity, a bright future of Japan. He then added, Everybody is uniting together in heart and building up our new culture in the future.

By a new culture, Abe means a thorough going revision of history to cover-up the crimes of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s and a rejection of the nominal pacifism of post-war Japan.

Japans ultra-nationalists, including Abe, desire a break with the current 1947 constitution, which was written by United States occupation forces following the war. These layers complain that the constitution is filled with too many Western concepts, including democracy and individual rights. They also complain that the constitution handcuffs their ability to pursue Japans imperialist interests by military force if necessary.

In writing the post-war constitution, the US hoped to eliminate competition in Asia. It was meant to gut the militarist components of the 1889 Meiji constitution. The maintenance of the emperor system, however, was a key part of the preservation of the capitalist state in Japan, as even before the war ended the US saw Japan as an ally against the Soviet Union.

Abe made similar statements about a new culture after the government announced April 1 the name of Naruhitos reign, Reiwa, saying the name meant a culture born and nurtured as peoples hearts are beautifully drawn together. While meaning beautiful harmony, Reiwa has drawn criticism. The character rei can mean cold or austere, as well as being found in words like meirei, meaning order or command. Wa, while meaning peace, is also part of Showa, the name of the wartime Emperor Hirohitos reign.

Reiwa is also the first name to be drawn from Japanese sources, rather than Chinese classics. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan, commented in the South China Morning Post, In explaining the choice and meaning of the  gengo (reign), Abe engaged in some dog-whistling to his conservative constituency, extolling Japans glorious cultural heritage, natural beauty and proud history.

The transition took place over nearly three years. In 2016, Akihito, then 82, first hinted at his desire to abdicate. His decision was not simply due to old age. Every move and word the emperor makes is carefully weighed. Because Japans legal system does not allow the emperor to step down, a special, one-off law had to be passed in 2017. Akihito exercised caution, lest he be accused of demanding such a law and thereby interfering in politics.

However, the emperor is not a neutral arbiter standing above classes or the state. He is a key component of the capitalist state apparatus, maintaining its unity even as contending factions of the ruling class disagree on tactical issues. Whatever Akihitos immediate desire, his intrusion into politics, both in requesting a new law be passed and over constitutional revision, objectively lays the precedent for an emperor taking on more of a political role in the future.

While more liberal elements of the political establishment look towards the emperor for support in their disputes with Abe, all factions agree on two points: First, Japan should, in one way or another, be able to send its military overseas to fight for its imperialist interests. Second, that the capitalist state must have the power to suppress the struggles of the working class for its social and democratic rights.

The disputes in ruling circles have centered on secondary issues such as whether or not women should be allowed to become emperor. Far-right organizations like Nippon Kaigi, which count Abe, most of his cabinet, and numerous lawmakers as members, demand adherence to traditional positions. These include eliminating equal rights for women and dragooning men into military service.

The so-called liberals and left in Japan have postured as progressive on the status of women and royalty, and opposed any substantive revision of Article 9the so-called pacifist clause of the constitutionin a bid to contain growing anger in Japan over widening social inequality and the dangers of war. None of this, however, has halted the growing gulf between rich and poor, nor the build-up of the Japanese armed forces and their dispatch to US-led wars.
One hundred years ago on May 4, 1919, thousands of students from 13 colleges and universities gathered in what is today Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to protest the outcome of the peace talks in Versailles following the end of World War I. They were outraged at the horse-trading between the major powers that handed Shandong Province to Japan and kept in place the unequal treaties forced on China. These had created British, French and International concessions, or enclaves, in cities like Shanghai.

The demonstration was the outcome of intense discussions and meetings throughout the previous day and night. These brought forward an already planned protest, following news about the complicity of the warlord government in Beijing in the outcome of the talks. Students handed out copies of a passionate Manifesto of All Students of Peking that called on the nation to rise up to secure our sovereignty in foreign affairs and to get rid of the traitors at home:

This is the last chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen: (1) Chinas territory may be conquered but it cannot be given away; (2) the Chinese people may be massacred but they will not surrender. Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren! [1]

The students marched through the streets chanting anti-imperialist slogans such as China has been sentenced to death [at the Paris Conference], Refuse to sign the Peace Treaty, Boycott Japanese goods and China belongs to the Chinese. They denounced pro-Japanese traitors who were government ministers.

Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles on May 4

One account described the public reaction:

The people of Beijing were deeply impressed by the demonstrators. Many spectators were so touched that they wept as they stood silently on the streets and listened carefully to the students shout their slogans. Many Western spectators greeted them with ovations and by taking off or waving their hats Boy scouts and students from elementary schools joined in and distributed leaflets. [2]

Prevented by police from entering the Legation Quarter to appeal to foreign representatives for justice for China, the students proceeded to the residence of one of the three pro-Japanese traitors. Students broke into the house and beat up several occupants. Clashes broke out with police. A number of students were injured, one later dying in hospital, and 32 were arrested and imprisoned in police headquarters.

The protest triggered a broad anti-imperialist movement, initially of students, which also drew in the working class and layers of intellectuals, merchants and the urban poor, triggering strikes, protests and a boycott of Japanese goods. Police repression and arrests only provoked greater resistance.

In early June, the government launched a massive crackdown on groups of students campaigning in the streets, handing out leaflets and urging people to buy Chinese rather than Japanese goods. After the first arrests on June 2, thousands of students took to the streets on the following days, some with bedding strapped to their back in preparation for jail. By the end of June 4, over a thousand were being held in makeshift prisons in the buildings of Peking University, surrounded by troops.

Protesters on May 4

The mass arrests in early June provoked indignation throughout China. On June 5, a commercial strike paralysed Chinas main industrial centreShanghaiin support of some 13,000 striking students. Strikes by workers spread throughout the city over the next days, with estimates of up to 90,000 workers involved. From Shanghai, the protests and strikes extended to other major cities.

Brought to its knees by the strike movement, the Beijing government first tried to conciliate with the students. The police and troops were withdrawn from the campuses, but the students refused to leave their campus prisons until their demands were met. The government and the police were compelled to apologise. Finally, students marched out of their prisons on June 8 amid firecrackers and cheers to a fervent mass meeting and parade of welcome given by their fellow students and the citizenry. [3]

On June 10, as the strikes and protests continued, the government announced the resignation of the three pro-Japanese ministers. However, the key demandthat China not sign the Versailles Treatyremained unmet. On June 24, the government instructed the Chinese delegation, even if its protestations to the major powers failed, to sign the document regardless. Faced with an outpouring of angry protest, the president was compelled to reverse the decision the following day. On June 28, Chinas representatives refused to join the major powers in signing the peace treaty with Germany.

May 4 demonstrators after their release from prison

The demonstrations and strikes were part of a broader intellectual and political ferment. The students who came onto the streets on May 4 had been influenced by the ideas of the New Culture movement, which asserted that ending Chinas subjugation required the modernisation of all aspects of society on the basis of democratic ideals and the scientific advances in Europe and the United States.

What was involved was a revolt against traditional Chinese ethics, customs, literary forms, philosophy and social and political institutions. The chief target was ossified Confucianism, which had the status of a quasi-state religion. It provided the ideological underpinning for Chinas elites by insisting on the unquestioning obedience of the ruled to the rulers, women to their husbands and sons to their fathers.

The New Culture movement had many diverse strands. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, a layer of intellectuals and youth turned decisively toward socialism, and, under the impact of the October Revolution in Russia, to Marxism and Bolshevism.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in July 1921, little more than two years after the first Beijing protest. Many of the founding members were youth who had been radicalised by the May 4 movement. The CCPs first chairman, Chen Duxiu, was a man in his early 40s who commanded respect inside and outside the party as a revolutionary and the chief intellectual leader of the New Culture movement.

One hundred years on, the CCP has long abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles on which it was founded and is resurrecting the stifling Chinese traditions against which the intellectuals and students had rebelled in the early 20th century. Today the CCP bureaucracy uses its police state apparatus to suppress any criticism or independent thought in schools and on university campuses, and is locking up students from Peking University and other campuses for the crime of supporting workers struggles.

Whatever ceremonies are organised by the CCP to mark May 4 will, above all, be designed to cover up and deny the crucial political lessons the anniversary holds for youth and workers today.

The roots of the May 4 movement

The roots of the May 4 movement lay in the failure of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, led by Sun Yat-sen. The movement overthrew the decrepit Manchu dynasty but could not implement its own aimsnational unity and independence, a democratic republic and social welfare for the people, including land for the peasants.

Sun Yat-sen

The outcome demonstrated the organic inability of the class that Sun representedthe emerging Chinese bourgeoisieto fulfil its historic tasks, tied as it was to the landlords in the countryside and subordinated to the imperialist powers on the world arena.

Chinese society had been wracked by crisis for well over a century, compounded by the corrosive influence of foreign invasions. Britain and France fought two Opium Wars, in 1842 and 1858, against the waning Manchu dynasty, which had attempted to block their huge sales of opium into China that were designed to ensure a permanent trade surplus in their favour. The European powers also established the treaty ports and the concessions, where extraterritoriality applied and foreigners were exempt from Chinese law and the payment of Chinese taxes.

The response of the Manchu court to these defeats and foreign exactions was to impose new burdens, chiefly on the peasantry that formed the vast bulk of the population and underpinned Chinas economy. The ruination of the countryside was compounded by a flood of cheap foreign goods, which all but destroyed the local handicraft industries. Oppressive conditions sparked rural revolts, including the Taiping Rebellion, which grew out of an obscure neo-Christian cult in 1850 into a storm that swept the country and was only finally crushed in 1865 with the assistance of foreign troops.

The defeat of China at the hands of Japanese imperialism in 1895 came as a shock. It intensified the debate over how to resist the foreign carve-up and subjugation of the country. However, attempts to reform the decrepit Manchu dynasty and transform the archaic machinery of government came to nothing. The so-called Hundred Days of reform in 1898, under the young Emperor Guangxu, was abruptly ended by the Dowager Empress Cixi. She imprisoned her nephew and executed or jailed his reformist advisers.

Boxer rebels in 1900

The days of the Manchu dynasty were numbered. At the turn of the century, the dowager empress attempted to manipulate a new revolt by a Chinese secret organisation, known as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, that erupted in northern China, and direct it against the foreign powers. The Boxer Rebellion was suppressed by foreign troops and new impositions were made on China by the victors.

Sun Yat-sen came to prominence in the wake of the failure of all attempts to reform the Manchu dynasty. While advocating revolution, however, he made no attempt to build a mass political movement, and engaged in conspiratorial activities involving small armed putsches or terrorist actions against individual Manchu officials.

In 1911, the Manchu dynasty virtually imploded. The imperial government was on the brink of bankruptcy after decades of plundering by the major powers. Politically, it was thoroughly discredited, as a result of the foreign annexation of Chinese territory in the form of colonies, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the extra-territorial concessions.

When the Manchu dynasty finally promised constitutional reform, it was too late. Significant sections of the Chinese bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and military had turned to Sun Yat-sen. On October 10, 1911, thousands of troops in Wuchang in Hubei province staged a rebellion and proclaimed a republic. The revolt rapidly spread across many Chinese provinces, but the lack of any genuine mass movement left vested interests untouched.

Sun was proclaimed the provisional president of a loosely federated Republic of China but, lacking any significant social base of his own, compromised with the old military-bureaucratic apparatus. Under pressure from the imperialist powers, he handed the presidency to the last prime minister of the Manchu dynasty, Yuan Shikai, who scrapped the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

The New Culture movement

In May 1915, Yuan provoked a wave of protests and opposition when his government accepted Japans humiliating 21 demands that gave it effective control of large swathes of China, including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Public hostility only intensified when, in December 1915, he had himself elected as emperor of China by his puppet National Peoples Assembly.

Most of Chinas southern provinces under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen declared their independence from the Beijing government and, as his supporters deserted, Yuan expressed his intention of abandoning monarchism. He died in June 1916, leaving a fractured China ruled by rival warlords, each backed by competing foreign powers.

Chen Duxiu (left)

In 1915, amid the political turmoil, Chen Duxiu, who had been active in the 1911 revolution and in a revolt in 1913 against Yuans regime, returned to Shanghai from exile in Japan. He established the New Youth magazine, which proved to be a powerful magnet for the new generation of students. It was one of the pioneer publications in vernacular Chinese, rather than in the scholarly classical Chinese that was largely inaccessible to the population.

New Youth sounded a clarion call. Chen proclaimed that the task of the new generation was to fight Confucianism, the old tradition of virtue and rituals, the old ethics and the old politics the old learning and the old literature. Mr Confucius, Chen declared, had to be replaced by Mr Democracy and Mr Science.

The extensive rural revolts in Chinaincluding the Taiping and Boxer rebellionshad been based largely on superstition, religious cults and secret societies. Sun Yat-sen espoused the ideals of a democratic republic, but exploited Han Chinese racialism against the Manchu, or Manchurian rulers.

However, Chen drew his intellectual inspiration from the European Enlightenment and the democratic traditions embodied in the 18th century revolutions in France and the United States. He wrote in New Youth in 1915:

We must break down the old prejudices, the old way of believing in things as they are, before we can begin to hope for social progress. We must discard our old ways. We must merge the ideas of the great thinkers of history, old and new, with our own experience, build up new ideas in politics, morality, and economic life. [4]

In his seminal work, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Harold Isaacs described Chens appeal to youth as the opening manifesto of the era of the second Chinese revolutionthe political upheavals and ferment that began with the protest and strike movement of 1919 and led to the nation-wide revolutionary upsurge in 1925, only to be tragically betrayed in 1927. Isaacs explained the impact of New Youth:

Chens magazine was eagerly snatched up by students in every school and college in the country. When it was published, wrote one student, it came to us like a clap of thunder which awakened us in the midst of a restless dream I dont know how many times this first issue was reprinted, but I am sure that more than 200,000 copies were sold. It nourished the impulsive iconoclasm of the young people. It gave direction to the mood of unease and unsettlement that pervaded all classes in the population. It was a call to action that awakened an immediate response. [5]

Li Dazhao

In late 1916, facing growing popular opposition, the government appointed the noted liberal educator, Cai Yuanpei, as chancellor of Peking University. Cai transformed the university from a bastion of conservative tradition into a hotbed of progressive intellectual thought and debate. Early the following year, he brought Chen to the university as dean of the School of Letters. Other intellectual leaders joined him, including Li Dazhao, who was appointed chief librarian in February 1918 and became a close collaborator of Chen. Mao Zedong, 25, was one of Lis assistants.

Chen and Li helped to foster a group of students who produced their own monthly magazine, New Tide, which first appeared in January 1919. Many were to become prominent student leaders in the protests that erupted on May 4. New Tide groups were influenced by many intellectual currents, but the Russian Revolution was already making its presence felt. One contributor to the first issue, Lo Chia-lun, declared that the October 1917 Revolution was the new world tide of the 20th century.

With the end of World War I in November 1918, all eyes were on the Versailles Peace Conference, which would decide the terms of the peace with Germany. In the first year of the war, Japan had seized Shandong Province from Germany, which had held the area since 1898 on a 99-year lease. Japans representatives in Paris made clear that Tokyo not only wanted to retain Shandong indefinitely but to extend its presence, as outlined in the 21 Demands that had been accepted by the Beijing government in May 1915.

China had a seat at the table as one of the victorious allies. At least 140,000 Chinese labourers had supported the British and French war efforts, as part of the Chinese Labour Corps, with estimates of the number of deaths as high as 20,000.

On November 17, 1918, a huge demonstration in Beijing of some 60,000 people had celebrated the end of the war. The speeches reflected the widespread optimism that the Allies represented democracy over despotism and would restore Shandong to China. When the Versailles Peace conference opened in January 1919, however, those illusions were shattered. Japan announced that Britain, France and Italy had signed secret treaties with Japan that supported its claims to Shandong.

Woodrow Wilson

Great hopes remained, however, that the United States would prevail. In his speech to the US Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson had outlined, in 14 points, the aims of the US in entering the war against Germany. The speech was, above all, aimed at countering the appeals of the Bolshevik leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, to the international working class to put an end to the war through socialist revolution.

Wilson called for the abolition of secret treaties, an adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of the native peoples, as well as of the colonial powers, and, most significantly from the standpoint of China, a League of Nations that would guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike.

The outcome of the Peace Conference in May 1919 came as a huge blow to Chinese intellectuals, students and the broader population. Their anger was not only directed against Japan and its immediate alliesBritain, France and Italyand pro-Japanese ministers in the Beijing government, but also against the US and its president. A graduate at Peking University later recalled:

When the news of the Paris Peace Conference finally reached us, we were greatly shocked. We at once awoke to the fact that foreign nations were still selfish and militaristic and they were all great liars We had nothing to do with our government, that we knew very well, and at the same time we could no longer depend on the principles of any so-called great leader like Woodrow Wilson, for example. Looking at our people and at the pitiful ignorant masses, we couldnt help but feel we must struggle.[6]

The protests and strikes that began on May 4, 1919 were accompanied by a feverish intellectual and political debate over the way forward. It included a multitude of contendersliberals and anarchists, democrats, syndicalists and socialists of different types. The American philosopher John Dewey arrived in China, literally on the eve of the May 4 protest, and developed a following, through his lectures and articles, over the next two years. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell also won followers after he was invited to lecture in China and remained for nearly a year from October 1920.

John Dewey (front right) in Shanghai, 1919

Marxism, however, had no strong established presence in China. It was identified with the Second International, which had been divided over the preoccupation of Chinese intellectualshow to end colonial domination. At the Internationals 1907 Stuttgart congress, which discussed the issue at length, some delegates openly expressed chauvinist attitudes, including toward the yellow race. The outbreak of World War I, an imperialist war for the division and revision of the world, precipitated the collapse of the Second International, as most parties and leaders sided with their own bourgeois governments and their predatory war aims.

Lenin and Trotsky, who had both opposed the betrayal of the Second International, expressed unambiguous opposition to colonialism and support for the struggles of the oppressed peoples of the colonies. In the wake of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, that message reverberated around the world. The manifesto of the founding congress of the Third International in March 1919 declared: Colonial slaves of Africa and Asia: the hour of proletarian dictatorship will also be the hour of your liberation.

In one of his first actions as Peoples Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky seized and published the secret treaties and papers of the Tsarist and Provisional governments, in order to expose the intrigues of the major powers. In July 1919, Leo Karakhan, acting for the Peoples Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, issued a declaration abrogating all previous secret and unequal treaties between the Tsarist regime and China, and relinquishing Russian claims in China, without seeking compensation.

When news of that declaration finally reached China in March 1920, it had a profound impact. It stood in stark contrast to the determination of the imperialist powers to maintain their colonial possessions and enclaves in China. Some 30 major organisations publicly expressed their gratitude to the Soviet government. Most newspapers demanded that the Beijing government, which had continued to recognise the Tsarist officials of the Russian legation, establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet government.

One of the first Chinese intellectuals to recognise the significance of the Russian Revolution was Chen Duxius close collaborator, Li Dazhao. In an essay published in New Youth in 1918, entitled The Victory of Bolshevism, he hailed the October Revolution as the beginning of a new era:

Although the word Bolshevism was created by the Russians, its spirit expresses the common sentiments of 20th century mankind. Thus, the victory of Bolshevism is the victory of the spirit of all mankind. [7]

Inspired by Trotskys work, War and the International, Li declared that World War I marked the beginning of the class war between the world proletarian masses and the world capitalists. The Bolshevik revolution was only the first step toward the destruction of the presently existing national boundaries which are barriers to socialism and the destruction of the capitalist monopoly-profit system of production. [8]

Societies for the Study of Socialism had proliferated following the protest movement of MayJune 1919. However, in March 1919, inspired by Li, students from Peking University established a Society for the Study of Marxist Theory. Early in 1920, the Third International or Comintern, which had closely followed the events of 1919 in China, sent Gregori Voitinsky from the Far Eastern Secretariat to Beijing to make contacts. He met with Li, who sent him to meet Chen in Shanghai.

Representatives of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Paris in 1924

Chen, who had been influenced by the philosophical pragmatism and democratic idealism of Dewey, was slower to embrace Marxism than Li. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, his political attitudes shifted rapidly. He had been arrested for his activities during the protests, and following his release, later in 1919, left for Shanghai, where he found layers of workers and youth who had been radicalised. By one account:

When Chen returned there, he immediately attracted a group of active intellectuals who joined him in Marxist study and activities Chen himself became active in promoting the labour movement, often making fiery speeches to the workers that reflected his Marxist thinking. [9]

When Voitinsky met with Chen in Shanghai the result was a decision to amalgamate a number of groups, which would form the basis for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, initially created in secret in May 1920. A draft party constitution was passed and a provisional central organisation based in Shanghai. Chen was elected as its first secretary. The party was formally established in July 1921, which is usually taken as the official date. [10]

The Chinese Communist Party today

A hundred years on, the Chinese Communist Party completely distorts the significance of the May 4, 1919 events. It has long repudiated the democratic principles of the New Culture movement and the socialist internationalism upon which the party was founded. The last thing that the CCP bureaucrats in Beijing want is for young workers and students today to draw inspiration from the youthful rebellion of 1919 by mounting their own revolt against the CCPs police-state apparatus and the stultifying intellectual climate it engenders.

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his speech this week to mark the May 4 movement to hail the virtues of nationalism and patriotism. Xi, who rests on a vast repressive apparatus, insisted that young people must avoid mistaken thoughts and obey the party.

Significantly, students from Peking University and other elite institutions have been detained since last year for the crime of assisting workers from Jasic Technology, in Shenzhen, in their struggle to form an independent trade union. The Marxist Society on the campus was threatened with closure, then taken over by CCP stooges. And this took place at the university that was at the very centre of the intellectual ferment of the New Culture movement, and whose students initiated the protest of May 4, 1919.

The CCP cannot tolerate the study of genuine Marxism because it raises far too many questions about its own history and practices. Its socialism with Chinese characteristics is an absurd formula, used to justify the processes of capitalist restoration, over which it has presided since 1978. The result has led to staggering disparities between the wealth and privileges of the CCP leaders and the super-rich oligarchs they represent, and the vast majority of working people. Incapable of making any appeal based on socialist principles, the regime has relied on whipping up Chinese nationalism and resurrecting backward Chinese traditions and superstitions.

This is epitomised by the CCPs revival of Confucianismthe chief target of the New Culture movement. It is promoted in schools, universities and through the fostering of Confucius Institutes in countries around the world. In a speech to an international conference in 2014, marking the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, President Xi declared that the Chinese Communist Party is the successor to and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. Undoubtedly, the rigid hierarchical view of society to be found in Confucianism dovetails with the bureaucratic outlook of the CCP apparatus.

The CCP long ago abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles embodied in Marxism and in the October 1917 Russian Revolution. The CCP bureaucrats today are not heirs of that tradition, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Moscow that usurped power from the working class under the reactionary nationalist banner of Socialism in One Country. Shortly after the CCPs formation, Stalin shackled it to the bourgeois Kuomintang (KMT), leading to a disastrous series of defeats of the Chinese working class in the revolutionary upheavals of 192527.

Mao with Stalin

Once again, the figure of Chen Duxiu looms large. He opposed the betrayal of the Chinese revolution in the 1920s, and sided with Leon Trotsky, who had warned that Stalins policies in China would lead to a catastrophe for the working class. Chen became the first chairman of the unified Chinese Left Opposition. Formed in 1931, it waged a courageous struggle for the founding principles of the CCP, despite being hounded and persecuted on all sides, including by the Stalinists.

In China, as internationally, the first stirrings of the working class are emerging in opposition to the oppressive conditions of work and life, and to the CCPs police-state apparatus, which seeks to suppress any form of opposition and independent thought. As in 1919, the main question that confronts Chinese workers and youth is on what basis a political fight can be waged against the CCP and the oligarchs that it represents.

The chief lesson from the May 4 movement is that the answers to these questions are not to be found in Chinain particular, in reviving the Chinese variant of Stalinism represented by Mao Zedong. In 1969, on the 50th anniversary of the May 4 events, Mao exploited and perverted the memories of that movement to justify the unleashing of gangs of Red Guards against the so-called capitalist roaders in the misnamed Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

In fact, Mao proved to be the capitalist roader in chief. No sooner had he set the Red Guards against his factional opponents, than the working class appeared on the scene, with the establishment of the Shanghai Peoples Commune in 1967. Maos response was to call out the army to bring the situation under control. By 1969, the disoriented youth in the Red Guards had become simply pawns in the factional struggles in Beijing.

Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon, 1972

The Cultural Revolution, however, could not and did not resolve the underlying economic and strategic crisis produced by the reactionary nationalist perspective of socialism in one country. There was no national solution: the only choices were world socialist revolution or reintegration in world capitalism. Having abandoned the former decades before, Mao reached a rapprochement with US imperialism in 1972 that opened the door for wholesale capitalist restoration.

Today, workers and youth in China confront the social catastrophe created by capitalist restoration, and the danger of war with the US, for which the CCP has no answer, other than an arms race that will inevitably end in catastrophe. As in 1919, the way out, again, is to be found on the international political and theoretical plane.

What is necessary is a return to the strategy of world socialist revolution and to build a Chinese section of the international party that fights for itthe world Trotskyist movement, today represented by the International Committee of the Fourth International. It alone embodies the necessary political lessons of the strategic experiences of the 20th century in the fight against Stalinism, including the courageous struggles of Chen Duxiu and the Chinese Trotskyists.

Footnotes

1. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China, Stanford University Press, 1967, pp 1067.

2. ibid, pp 109.

3. ibid, p 160.

4. Harold R. Isaacs, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Stanford University Press, second revised edition, 1961, p 53.

5. ibid, p 54.

6. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement (Intellectual Revolution in Modern China), Stanford University Press, 1967, p 93.

7. Benjamin I. Schwartz, Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao, Harper & Row, 1967, p 14.

8. Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism , Harvard University Press, 1967, p 68.

9. Thomas C. Kuo, Chen Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Com munist Movement, Seton Hall University Press, 1975, p 79.

10. Chow, op cit, p 248.
There is growing sentiment among Mississippi teachers for strike action against poverty wages, according to the results of a Survey on Teacher Action released by the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE).

The statewide poll of teachers reflects escalating anger among educators across the state. Of the 1,765 respondents to the survey, almost 80 percent identified themselves as classroom teachers. Sixty-three percent stated they would participate in a one-day statewide sickout; 61 percent stated they would rally at the state capitol on a Saturday before the end of this school year; and nearly 40 percent stated they would walk out on a specific day and refuse to return for an indefinite amount of time.

The results are significant and mark an increasing desire by Mississippi educators to oppose low wages and terrible working conditions, leading to low retention rates. There has been no strike in the southern state of Mississippi since 1985, after which state lawmakers passed punitive regulations against striking teacher groups, including massive fines and jail time. Mississippi teachers make the second-lowest salaries in the country, ahead of South Dakota.

The growing militancy, even in the face of draconian anti-strike laws, is developing within the context of teachers struggles across the globe which are increasing in quantity and scope. From Poland to Brazil, from India to North and South Carolina, teachers are waging a historic battle against decades-long reactionary measures imposed by all factions of the ruling elite to deprive the working class of the basic social right to a high-quality education.

On April 16, Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill purporting to provide teachers and assistant teachers a $1,500 pay raise, to go into effect at the beginning of the next school year. Both Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves praised the derisory raise as an achievement. According to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the current average salary for teachers in Mississippi is $44,459, more than $10,000 less than the national average, and $7,000 less than the regional average in the southeast. The minimum salary for assistant teachers is currently $12,500.

Adding insult to injury, it has since been learned that certain categories of teachers are excluded from the deal, including special education teachers, teachers for gifted learners, and some assistant teachers, although Bryant claims he will rectify this error.

Some school districts, such as Lee County and Clarksdale Municipal, have, in fact, confirmed that some teachers and assistant teachers in their schools have been excluded from the raise. Dennis Dupree, superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District, in the river delta county of Coahoma, stated that the raises allotted to some teachers are less than $1,500, with some being as low as $300.

In a state with the highest paid superintendent of education in the countryCarey Wright, whose salary is $300,000the legislature is dismissing the dire economic conditions of teachers.

The Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), the state chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), sponsored the Survey on Teacher Action. However, this was not in order to lead a struggle in response the growing mandate from its members, but is part of its effort to lobby the state legislature. In its statement released with the survey results, the MAE says: Actions such as informational picketing or having a rally are not the endgame.

An April 5 survey by WJTV News in Jackson reported an even higher proportion of teachers supporting strike action that in the MAE survey, with 79 percent of 981 teachers polled answering in the affirmative. Yet the union is opposed to even mild protests such as informational pickets and rallies.

The organizers behind the Facebook group Pay Raise for Mississippi pointed to the reasoning behind the MAEs strategy, stating in a post: Folks, if nothing else we have shaped the conversation. The media is questioning the candidates on our issues. We have made them hear us... The candidates know that going into this election the needs of educators cannot be ignored. We need to take this energy through the summer and into the fall and get the votes we need to elect the leaders we need. (Emphasis added).

While the legislature was running down the legislative clock, the union was stalling, working to exhaust the opposition of teachers and their supporters.

This was the intent all along. The MAE underscored the fact that it never advocate[d] or encourage[d] survey respondents to select any specific action, and said the options were listed only because they were being strongly considered by educators.

In other words, teachers are demanding a strike, but are being blocked by the MAE, which seeks to the use the anger of teachers as a bargaining chip in its relations with Democratic and Republican politicians. The union admitted as much, stating that the surveys findings will guide the drafting of an organizing plan that will be implemented now through the 2020 legislative session.

But teachers have different thoughts on the matter. As part of the WJTV poll, the media stated: [B]y state law, if teachers strike they will be breaking the law, which prompted one commenter to reply: Whats worse? Breaking a tyrannical law to hopefully improve our situation or sitting back and doing nothing while politicians continue to make our jobs more and more impossible?

Another educator, responding to the MAE survey results, stated: They cant get rid of or fire EVERY educator in the state. If EVERYONE joins, locks arms, protests, and marches we can be heard. We can make a change. Everyone can. Another said: Dont expect to see a change if you dont make one. For any positive outcome, it requires the MAJORITY of educators to stand united and unwavering. We cant expect positive change while cowering in the corner. To which another responded, Just look at SOUTH CAROLINA.

The record of the state legislature is more than clear. Mississippis education budget has declined over the course of the entire past decade, with a recurring shortfall of $2.3 billion. This has produced a drastic shortage in certified teachers, especially in more rural areas. In a paper published in the 2017 Mississippi Economic Review, Understanding the Nature of the Teacher Shortage in Mississippi, the authors state that among the economic hindrances to recruiting teachers in rural areas are low salary and benefits, state and national requirements for highly qualified educators, entrance requirements into teacher education, geographic isolation, and poor or limited housing options.

Some counties have been forced to lay off teachers to avoid budget shortfalls in their school districts. These cuts to the states school system have exacerbated the states overall population decline since the last census.

Expressing the general frustration, one commenter on the Pay Raise Facebook page stated, This is why the Legislature continues to do as they wish, because educators will not unite. This lack of unity, however, has nothing to do with teacherswho are demanding action from coast to coastand everything to do with the policy of the unions.

The Mississippi union, like the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers nationally, are doing everything they can to block strikes and prevent the unity of educators and all sections of the working class seeking to defend public education. In the service of their unholy alliance with the big business politicians responsible for the de-funding of public education and their defense of the capitalist profit system, there is no line the unions will not cross.
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Over the past two months investigations published by Unicorn Riot and the Huffington Post have exposed eleven members of Identity Evropa, an American neo-Nazi organization, operating freely within the US military. The latest exposure reveals the extent to which reactionary forces are allowed to cultivate, fester and recruit within the United States armed forces across all branches and ranks.

US snipers pose in front of Nazi SS flag in 2012 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

In March 2019, independent media outlet Unicorn Riot published more than 770,000 Discord chat messages from chat servers associated with Identity Evropa. Discord is a messaging service popular with computer video game players. Combing through the chat logs, Huffington Post reporters have so far been able to identify 11 members from the white supremacist organization who are currently serving in the US military.

The chat logs reveal that all of the participants are well versed in fascist ideology and are actively recruiting throughout the United States. Members of the group frequently shared anti-Semitic memes and glorified Adolf Hitler. Photos posted in the chat logs and on Twitter show members postering on college campuses with racist slogans, proclaiming to potential recruits, Its OK to be white.

One fascist exposed in the logs is currently a master sergeant in the Air Force named Cory Allen Reeve. Reeve lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was outed by anti-fascist activists in a flyer that was distributed throughout the community. Reeve frequently posted in the chat, encouraging members to pay more than the $10 monthly membership dues. He also shared photographs of himself at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center & Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, where he posted signs thanking the Gestapo-like border police for all that you do for our country.

Two Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) college students were also exposed in the chat. Jay C. Harrison, 20, is currently enrolled at Montana State University at Bozeman and is a member of the Army National Guard. In the logs, he espoused anti-Semitic lies, discrediting the veracity of the Holocaust, and commenting, I wish the Holocaust was real. Another ROTC recruit, 23-year-old University of Rochester student and Army reservist Christopher Hodgman, was identified as a member of the group. In the fall of 2018, Hodgman was responsible for posting Identity Evropa flyers and stickers throughout Brighton, New York, including on the Brighton Memorial Library and Town Hall.

Identity Evropa was founded in 2016 by Nathan Damigo, a former Marine who participated in two tours in Iraq. The Marines are the least racially diverse branch of the military, with over 80 percent of its recruits identifying themselves as white.

During Damigos two tours in Iraq, he became radicalized and suffered from PTSD following the loss of three close friends. In October 2007, one month after completing his second tour, Damigo, severely inebriated after celebrating the anniversary of the death of one of his fellow soldiers, robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint of $43 for looking Iraqi. Damigo was discharged from the military and convicted of armed robbery. He was then sentenced to five years in prison, where he was introduced to white supremacist literature, including Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes My Awakening.

Upon his release from prison in 2014, Damigo began attending classes at California State University at Stanislaus. While in college, he affiliated with various white supremacist groups before forming his own organization, dubbed Identity Evropa, in 2016.

Borrowing the reactionary language and methods of identity politics promoted on campuses by post-modernist professors and the pseudo-left, Damigo was able to cultivate a following with a small membership. He also began to affiliate with prominent racists, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer.

This relationship bore its terrible fruits in the culmination of the fascist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which 32-year-old Heather Heyer was murdered by a 20-year-old Hitler admirer who rammed his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators.

Following the fascist rampage in Virginia, Damigo stepped down from his leadership position within the group, which has since passed on to current leader Patrick Casey. In a rebranding attempt following the disclosure of the chat logs, the group is calling itself the American Identity Movement.

The exposure of this latest group of fascists within the military exemplifies a wider trend.

In November 2018, Pro Publica, in conjunction with PBS, exposed another neo-Nazi network, with members who are either active in the military or who previously served. This militant fascist organization calls itself the Atomwaffen Division and has focused its recruitment on college campuses and online message boards. The group gained prominence in 2016 by distributing flyers urging students to Join Your Local Nazis!

The Atomwaffen Division has been implicated in five murders dating back to 2017. Its members have also been tied to plots to bomb synagogues and nuclear power plants.

This week saw the Marines open another investigationthe second this yearregarding Marines posting Nazi iconography and slogans. Private First Class Anthony D. Schroader posted a picture on Instagram of himself and at least four other soldiers forming a swastika with their combat boots. Earlier this year, Lance Corporal Mason Mead was put under investigation by the corps after he posted images of himself in blackface along with a swastika he had formed with C-4 plastic explosives.

It is unknown exactly how many of the 2.1 million soldiers currently in the US military and reserves have fascist sympathies or are active members of a far-right organization. However, a 2017 poll conducted by the Military Times found that nearly 25 percent of service members surveyed stated they had encountered white supremacists within their ranks. That same poll found that 30 percent of those surveyed viewed white nationalism as a bigger threat to the United States than the wars in Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq.

The abundance of fascists within the US military verifies what white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, alleged earlier this year in his now censored manifesto. Tarrant travelled throughout Europe and Asia, openly meeting with neo-Nazis. Tarrant estimates that there are hundreds of thousands who hold similar views as he throughout the police and armed forces.

The cultivation and promotion of far-right forces within American society by President Trump, who hailed the rampaging white supremacists in Charlottesville as good people, marks a conscious and violent shift of the ruling elite to the right. Similar to disaffected German soldiers following World War I, American veterans and active duty soldiers returning from war who are physically and psychologically broken are being cultivated from the top to serve fascistic interests in the name of preserving bourgeois class rule.

The multi-billion-dollar US spy apparatus is more than capable of identifying and rooting out public and private communications. The fact that so many of these fascists have been outed by independent reporters speaks to the complicity of the US government in shielding these forces from exposure.

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By ANI

NEW DELHI: A Special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of lawyer-cum-businessman Gautam Khaitan in connection with a money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar while granting regular bail to Ritu directed her to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs. 25 lakhs and two sureties of like amount and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

Enforcement Directorate through its counsel opposed the Ritu's bail plea. Advocate Naveen Kumar Matta was representing the agency and advocate Pramod Dubey was appearing for Ritu Khaitan.

Special Judge Kumar also issued fresh summons to two firms - Windsor and Ismax Fresh Service after Gautam Khaitan who refused to accept the summons for it.

Last month, the court granted the bail to Khaitan in the case. The court also directed him not to influence the witness or hamper the evidence.

The ED on March 25 filed a 1500-page charge sheet (prosecution complaint) against Khaitan. The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Kumar under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In the charge sheet, the ED alleged that Khaitan deposited a huge amount of money in offshore accounts. He has also been accused of holding bank accounts abroad and having Rs 6000 crore which he didn't disclose in his income tax return.

The document was filed in connection with a fresh case lodged against Khaitan on the complaint of the Income Tax (I-T) Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
It took less than 24 hours for the Macron governments fabricated story about yellow vest protesters attacking the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital on May Day in Paris to collapse like a house of cards. It has been exposed as yet another lie to cast the protests against social inequality as criminal riots and promote Macrons build-up of a French police state against the working class.

The events in question occurred slightly after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, on the Boulevard de lHopital in Paris 13th arrondissement. The street was filled with thousands of protesters, a portion of the more than 40,000 people demonstrating in the city that day, when riot police fired tear gas into the densely-packed crowd and triggered a wave of panic.

A reporter for the right-wing daily Le Figaro, Wladimir Garcin-Berson, who was present at the scene, tweeted that there was a wave of tear gas, the air became unbreathable. Videos posted subsequently on social media show that protesters who were fleeing the choking gas forced open the metal gate of the hospital compound. Several dozen people attempted to take refuge inside one of the hospital buildings, but were turned away by staff, and then arrested.

Within a few hours, the incident had been transformed, in the words of French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, into an attack on the hospital by rioters. In a press conference on Wednesday evening, in which he sought to conflate the mass protests with small groups of black bloc anarchists, Castaner declared that people have attacked a hospital. The nurses were forced to defend the urgent care area. Our police forces immediately intervened to save the urgent care area.

An hour later, Castaner tweeted, Here at Pitie-Salpetriere, a hospital has been attacked. The health care staff have been assaulted. And a police officer sent to protect them has been injured. The tweet was accompanied by wide-angle and close-up pictures of a resolute Castaner shaking hands with riot police and walking through the hospital ward with health staff.

Photos Tweeted by Interior Minister Castaner on Wednesday night (Credit Christopher Castaner)

Macrons Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn called the event unspeakable and undignified.

Maybe there were people who wanted to take refuge, and others who wanted to steal, she said, without providing any evidence for the latter claim. As if to emphasize the alleged blood lust of the protesters, news reports emerged that a police officer was being treated at the same time in the same hospital for an injuryimplying that he or she could have been the target of a coordinated revenge attack.

Media in France and internationally immediately repeated and amplified the Macron governments lies.

The French edition of The Local published a report headlined: Unspeakable: Why did dozens of protesters burst into a Paris hospital during May 1st demonstrations? The Murdoch-owned Sun in Britain reported DANGER TO LIFE: Fury as Yellow Vest protesters storm Paris hospital where Princess Diana died. Le Figaro declared that dozens of black blocs had broken into the hospital.

The medias role as a mouthpiece for state propaganda was best exemplified by the public news channel France Info. Its report, headlined Intrusion at Pitie-Salpetriere: Discussion was not possible, hospital director says, featured a banner photo of a hooded man attacking a gate with a metal pole.

Banner photo published by France Info

Within hours of the articles publication, the photographer who took the picture, Geoffrey VdH, tweeted that the photo was taken the same day in a completely different location, outside a Paris police headquarters.

France Info subsequently removed the picture and replaced it with an image of a man threateningly brandishing a hammer outside a hospitalat a different building from where the incident occurred.

The updated picture published by France Info

As documented by Liberations CheckNews segment, the picture had been cropped at the bottom to remove dozens of yellow vest protesters who were angrily confronting the individual with the hammer and telling him they would not allow such a provocation. The original picture had been published by Le Parisien the same day.

The original image published in Le Parisien

The Macron governments lies had well and truly collapsed by Thursday, with the publication of numerous videos of the incident on social media. A video shot by one of the hospital workers shows a group of protesters running away from a column of riot police down a thoroughfare of the hospital compound, climbing the stairway to a building entrance, and standing on the upper platform, visibly terrified of being attacked by the police.

The staff inform the group that it is an urgent care area and contains ill patients, and refuse to let them in. The hospital workers can be heard speaking with one another inside the building. Theyre scared, theyre just afraid, one says, to which another responds: Yes, they [the police] have chased them. Another states: They didnt know [that it was the urgent care unit], they were just looking for a way out. Hospital workers have also given interviews adamantly insisting that they were never threatened.

The entire incident on the video is over within a few minutes. Police arrive and arrest the protesters without any clashes. With the collapse of the governments story, all 32 were released yesterday, the majority of them reportedly young university students. Castaner has angrily denounced all those who accused him of lying, absurdly declaring he may have misspoken and not used the word attack. Multiple parties have called for his resignation.

The affair underscores an essential political reality. The Macron government, like its counterparts and bourgeois parties internationally, led by the Democratic Party in the United States, utilizes the banner of fighting fake news to censor the internet and social media and prevent workers from accessing alternative news sources which the government and corporations do not control. The real purveyors of fake news, however, are the government and its mouthpieces in the corporate media.

The Macron governments lies about a non-existent hospital attack serve a definite purpose: to slander all left-wing opposition to the government as criminal and morally reprehensible and justify the ongoing unleashing of police state violence against the working class.

In February, a murky verbal confrontation between a yellow vest and right-wing Jewish commentator and Zionist Alain Finkielkraut was similarly used to slander the entire yellow vest movement as anti-Semitic.

Police were filmed looting stores during violent clashes on the Champs-Elysees in March, to which Macron reacted by blaming all the looting on the yellow vests and banning protests on the avenue. The government then ordered soldiers of the Operation Sentinel anti-terrorism mission deployed against the yellow vests, with authorization to shoot.

The collapse of this brazenly fabricated story about an attack on the Pitie-Salpetriere discredits not only the corporate media that peddled this story, but all the unproven allegations the Macron government has used to justify intensifying repression against the yellow vests.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, sponsored annually by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UNESCO holds the event, it avows, to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

Those claims are hollow and duplicitous, as the facts demonstrate.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains locked up in a high-security prison in London and faces the threat of rendition to the US. Why? Because he and his organization took seriously the fundamental principles of press freedom and actively shed light on both the daily corruption and criminality of governments and corporations internationally and the murderous activities of the American military in particular. As one of Assanges lawyers has observed, Washington is seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information.

Meanwhile, another UN body, its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, registered its disapproval Friday of the disproportionate sentence of 50 weeks imprisonment meted out to Assange for violating bail, which it noted was a minor violation. In 2015, the Working Group, part of the UN Human Rights system, expressed its opinion that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK and that he was entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation. That opinion was ignored by the British government, as Fridays will be.

In any event, no one associated with UNESCO or World Press Freedom Day made mention of Assange during this weeks events. Indeed, remarkably, one of the keynote speakers at the main celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia hosted by the African Union was the British foreign secretary, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt.

The right honourable Mr. Hunt was one of the British government officials responsible for the brutal seizure and incarceration of Assange on April 11. Following the WikiLeaks publishers arrest, Hunt said in a statement, What weve shown today is that no one is above the law. Julian Assange is no hero. He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.

In his address in Addis Ababa, Hunt, according to a press release, set out his vision to improve media freedom. We might be forgiven for suggesting that the foreign secretary, in presiding over the vindictive persecution of the globes most prominent investigative journalist, had already set out his vision, not with prepared remarks but with the rude violence of the Metropolitan Police Service.

In the course of his speech, a tissue of outright falsehoods and empty platitudes, Hunt told his audience in Ethiopia that the progress of humanity clearly shows that wisdom arises from the open competition between ideas when different viewpoints are given the oxygen to contend freely and fairly. Hunt might have added, As long as those different viewpoints sustain the official one. Otherwise, the supply of oxygen will be cut off.

The presentations in Addis Ababa were dominated by the fears of all the participants, imperialist and African bourgeois politicians alike, of growing popular discontent and the perceived need to suppress oppositional voices.

This gave the speeches by Hunt and othersand the general approach at present of authorities all over the world to the question of press freedomtheir contorted and dishonest doublespeak character. What governments actually want is freedom from press freedom. The ruling elites themselves want to be able to operate freely, that is, without the interference of dissenting and disruptive voices.

These concerns lie behind the systematic effort to censor and neuter the internet, justified by pious references to the dangers of hate speech, xenophobia, online harassment, concocted statistics, misleading media reports, the alleged manipulation of elections and populist" rhetoric. Of course, misinformation, deceit and the fomenting of every form of backwardness and prejudice have been the bourgeois medias stock-in-trade everywhere since time immemorial, about which no one in a position of authority has ever thought to complain. It is precisely the breakdown of the hitherto effective mechanisms of misinformation and deceit that has the powers-that-be up in arms and fuels the ferocity of Assanges persecution.

Along these lines, UNESCOs Journalism, Fake News & Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (2018) argues that authoritative sources and credible journalism have been damaged by what it terms, in an imperishable phrase, the current information disorder.

The authors argue that social media are undermining democracy by creating echo chambers, polarisation and hyper-partisanship, by converting popularity into legitimacy, and by allowing manipulation by populist leaders, governments and fringe actors.

The Handbook points anxiously to the phenomenon of news publishers struggling to hold onto audiences as barriers to publication are removed, empowering any person or entity to produce content, bypass traditional gatekeepers, and compete for attention. And it furthermore warns that in the high-speed information free-for-all on social media platforms and the internet, everyone can be a publisher. As a result, citizens struggle to discern what is true and what is false. Cynicism and distrust rule. Extreme views, conspiracy theories and populism flourish and once-accepted truths and institutions are questioned.

The vehemence of their conservative, antidemocratic and pro-establishment views and the depth of their desire to protect once-accepted truths and institutions help explain why the very respectable, well-spoken organizers of World Press Freedom Day hope that Assange and everyone like him rot in jail until the end of time.

If UNESCO and the rest of this crowd were serious about disinformation and misinformation, in any case, they would present as Exhibit No. 1 the American medias mendacious and calamitous campaign over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the greatest fake news operation of modern times by far, which has led to the death of more than one million people and the devastation of an entire region.

Leon Trotsky once observed that Every historical epoch has not only its own technique and its own political form, but also a hypocrisy peculiar to itself.

How is it possible for Hunt, on the one hand, to announce that he and other officials are launching a global campaign to protect journalists doing their job and promote the benefits of a free media, and, on the other, to do his utmost to muzzle and, if possible, silence Assange forever?

In fact, this goes beyond mere hypocrisy. English economist and social scientist John A. Hobson, in his valuable Imperialism: A Study (1902), argued that such official compartmentalizing, this genius of inconsistency, of holding conflicting ideas or feelings in the mind simultaneously, was no case of hypocrisy, or of deliberate conscious simulation of false motives. He contended rather that this was the condition which Plato terms the lie in the soula lie which does not know itself to be a lie. This, Hobson maintained, was the ethics and sociology of the imperialist stage of development, with its elaborate weaving of intellectual and moral defences.

The controlling and directing agent of the whole process, he wrote, is the pressure of financial and industrial motives, operated for the direct, short-range, material interests of small, able, and well-organised groups in a nation.

Assange is a class-war prisoner, being held on behalf of the wealthy and powerful, that small, able, and well-organised group, because he exposed some of their crimes against the oppressed.

Jeremy Hunt was right about one thing in Addis Ababa. If problems and tensions are bottled up then they are far more likely to boil over, he cautioned. Stopping journalists from reporting a problem does not make it go away The truth is that when governments start closing newspapers and suppressing the media, they are more likely to be storing up trouble for the future than preserving harmony.

He simply has no idea.

All over the world, workers are engaged in a growing strike movement in defense of their jobs, wages and social rights. It is this social force, not the corrupt representatives of the capitalist oligarchy, that form the real social basis for the defense of democratic rights.

On Saturday, the International Committee of the Fourth International will hold its sixth annual online May Day celebration. A central focus of the event will be the organization of the working class in defense of Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. We urge all readers of the WSWS and all those seeking to defend freedom of expression to register and participate.
Portuguese fuel tanker drivers have threatened further action, less than two weeks after a three-day strike over low wages and poor working conditions brought the country to a virtual standstill. Half of the countrys petrol stations ran dry, factories halted production, public transport routes were suspended and flights cancelled.

On Monday, following a meeting with the National Association of Freight Carriers (ANTRAM), Pedro Pardal Henriques, the vice president of the Union of Dangerous Goods Drivers (SNMMP)formed just over a year agodeclared that a new strike is most likely. ANTRAM had been given a deadline of one week to concretely pronounce on two main issues ... official recognition of the category of driver of dangerous substances and that the basic salary of these people should be equal to twice the national minimum wage. Miniumum wage is 700 ($780) a month.

At the end of this week we will see what forms of fighting we will use, Henriques added.

ANTRAM President Pedro Polonio, retorted, ANTRAM does not work with threats of strike and that it would stick to the calendar of negotiations [that] had been established until the end this year.

The calendar was one of the Socialist Party (PS) governments civil requisition measures, which also allowed it to impose minimum service operations, call in scab trucking companies and mobilise military personnel and security forces to secure supplies.

PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa, seeking to justify the emergency power, declared, The great lesson we have to draw is that, in the face of social conflicts, any kind of political exploitation is absolutely intolerable.

I also give a strong thanks to the security forces who were absolutely extraordinary, both in ensuring peace and tranquillity in all of this conflict, in the performance of the missions entrusted to them, and also in the replacement of civilians.

The fuel tankers dispute is the latest manifestation in Portugal of the eruption of the class struggle internationally. This year has seen an intensification of the strike wave that erupted last year, protesting the PSs failure to reverse 12 years of austerity that saw wages and pensions cut, careers frozen and a huge increase in precarious working. The number of pre-strike warnings issued in 2018 totalled 733, up 120 on 2017 and 245 on 2016.

Virtually all areas of the public sector have been involved, including nurses, teachers, firefighters, postal workers, court officials, judges, prison guards, oil refinery workers and dockers.

Half of all strikes have taken place in private sector companies including the Efacec Group, the Navigator paper mill in Setubal, Beralt Tin and Wolfram mines and Cerealto Sintra Foods, Petrogal Ferreira da Silva, Volvos Auto-Sueco subsidiary, Cinca, Hanon, Schmitt + Sohn, Randstad, Bosch, Delphi, Visteon, Meo and Carl Zeiss.

On May 1, workers from Portugals largest supermarket chain Pingo Doce went on strike.

Many of the strikes have been called by newly created unions such as the SNMMP, formed in response to the betrayals of the PS aligned General Workers Union (UGT) federation and the PCP-led General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP). Since the beginning of 2017, 24 new unions have appeared, with only two joining the UGT and none the CGTP.

Last year dockworkers organised in the Stevedoring and Logistics Activity Union (SEAL) at Setubal went on strike for a month in protest at the large number of casual workers. They paralyzed the port and prevented export of cars from the huge Volkswagen Autoeuropa plant. The Portuguese Association of Nurses (ASPE) has organised a series of militant strikes over the last two years over poor pay and job recognition.

The UGT attacked the new aggressive and uncontrolled unions. On May 1, UGT Secretary General Carlos Silva warned, It is necessary that the emergence of these more aggressive and uncontrolled processes make employers aware of the need to value traditional unions, which seek negotiation and dialogue. Lets hope that these new developments do not overwhelm parliament to restrict the rights of workers.

He warned the government, If in the last years the economic climate was of growth and recovery of confidence, and there was no condescension on the part of the government, what can we expect in the future in the face of a tendency for the economy to cool down?

In its commentary on the continuing strike wave, Portugals leading financial paper O Jornal Economico noted the duplicitous role of the Left Bloc (BE) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), which support the Socialist government [but] now have to distance themselves from it in order to capitalise on all the discontent at the ballot box.

Following the 2015 general election, the BE and PCP channelled mass disaffectionexpressed in a record low 57 percent turnout and the ousting of the pro-austerity right-wing coalitionbehind the PS and its claims that it would reverse austerity. Four years later, few of the promises have come to fruition.

Last month, the Financial Times questioned the claims, parroted by sections of the pseudo-left, that the PS government has created an alternative progressive economic model. In Portugal: a European path out of austerity? former Italian trade minister Ivan Scalfarotto, told the FT , Public spending has stayed under control, unit labour costs have been reduced, hence they have been able to attract more foreign direct investment and increase their exports. He added, Costa, also, is a good communicator: he stressed the idea that sacrifice was over and has been effective at keeping his left-wing coalition together.

Antonio Barroso, a director at risk analysts Teneo Intelligence, said, While Costas political acumen cannot be denied, it should not be forgotten that his government has faced very favourable macroeconomic conditions over the past three years, referring to the tide of a global recovery, falling oil prices, a tourism boom and a sharp fall in the cost of servicing one of Europes heaviest debt burdens through the Central Banks government bond-buying scheme.

The FT quotes PS Finance Minister Mario Centeno, rewarded for his efforts in Portugal with the posts of president of the Eurogroup and chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, who himself admits that the degree to which the PS has overturned austerity is not dramatic.

Economic growth in late 2015 was very poor and decelerating, Centeno continued. A change had to be implemented, [but] not a big change, before attributing the cut in the deficit to a sharp fall in the interest Portugal pays on its debt.

Elsewhere, Lisbon journalist Ricardo Cabral Fernandes explained that the alliance of the PS with the PCP and BE, dubbed the geringonca (odd contraption) was basically an exclusively tactical turn of the Socialist Party.

What happened was that the, so to speak, the socialist/left wing of PS very quickly learnt the lessons of PASOK [the social democrats] in Greece. So it turned its compass. And Antonio Costa was that compass. Yes, he broke the governance arc, made a parliamentary alliance with the Bloco and the PCP, but for all else, in policy terms, it keeps the same politics, Fernandes concluded.

Portugals economy has slowed down more than expected in 2019. The deficit has reached 1.4 billion, three times Centenos estimate of 409 million. The country has the third highest government debt in the European Union, hitting 245 billion or 121.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Public investment is the lowest of all advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Portugals monthly median wage is less than 900 per month, compared to more than 2,000 for the whole EU. Some 40 percent of workers are paid no more than 25 percent above the 700 minimum wage. A recent European Commission study revealed that Portugal and Ireland had the largest gaps between wage growth and productivity growth over recent years.

The proliferation of new unions expresses the initial recognition by workers that, under conditions of the globalisation of capitalist production, organisations created in a different era that are wedded to a pro-capitalist nationalist perspective are incapable of defending their basic interests. They have been transformed into direct agencies of the corporate-financial elite and the state, with both the PCP and CGTP calling for a patriotic left aimed at the sovereign development of our country, directly articulating the interests of the Portuguese ruling elite.

But the experience of the militant Matomoros strike in Mexico demonstrates the bankruptcy of union forms of organisations and the danger of accepting the political bona fides of organisations claiming to be independent without examining their programme and origins.

It is necessary for workers to build new, genuinely popular and democratic rank-and-file organisations of struggle. But these must be an essential component of a conscious turn to the building of an international socialist movement of the working class to fight for workers power and the reorganisation of economic life along democratic and egalitarian lines.
Vermont Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for remarks on China and trade. In language that would not be out of place coming from President Donald Trump, Sanders accused Biden of downplaying the economic threat represented by China and criticized him for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the normalization of trade relations with Beijing.

Biden, considered the early frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, said at a campaign event Wednesday in Iowa, China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. He added, Theyre not bad folks. But guess what, theyre not competition for us.

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates later stated that Biden had meant its never a good bet to bet against America and the fundamental strength, resilience, and ingenuity of its people.

In a response the same day, Sanders criticized Biden from the right, saying in a tweet, Since the China trade deal (in 2000) I voted against, America has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs. Its wrong to pretend that China isnt one of our major economic competitors. When we are in the White House we will win that competition by fixing our trade policies.

Sanders crude economic nationalism is not new. He has long linked his populist rhetoric to policies of trade war and anti-immigrant chauvinism. He fully supports the efforts of the trade union bureaucracy to pit US workers against their class brothers and sisters around the world and infect American workers with nationalismthe better to subordinate them to their corporate exploiters within the US.

Just four weeks ago, Sanders denounced open borders at a campaign event in Iowa, warning that decriminalizing undocumented immigrants would lead to impoverished people around the world flooding into the US.

Trump also criticized Biden for his comments on China. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, he hailed the tariffs that his administration has imposed on Chinese goods, while saying of Biden, But for somebody to be so naive and say China is not a problem, if Biden actually said that, thats a very dumb statement.

Like Trump, Sanders has hailed his anti-free trade record. This week he boasted of his votes against NAFTA and normalization of trade with China. On Monday, he released his trade platform, calling for renegotiation of all US trade agreements and demanding that China be labeled a currency manipulator, something Trump has threatened but pulled back from carrying out up to now. Officially naming a country a currency manipulator is tantamount to full-scale trade war. Such a declaration triggers a whole series of punitive trade measures against the targeted country.

Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has sought to outflank Trump from the right on trade issues. At an April 13 rally, he denounced Trump for being insufficiently aggressive in his trade war drive against China and other countries. For once in your life, he said, keep your campaign promisesgo back to the drawing board.

On Monday, after releasing his trade plan, he said: We need a president who will actually fight for American workers, keep their promises, and stand up to the giant corporations who close down plants to send jobs overseas.

By equating the defense of American jobs with economic attacks on countries such as China and blaming plant closures, layoffs and wage-cutting on trade policies rather than capitalism, Sanders aids the effort of the ruling class to create a war fever and prepare the way for military conflict with nuclear-armed powers such as China.

While he has tried to tap into anti-war sentiment by saying, I voted against the war in Iraq. [Biden] voted for it, Sanders has no qualms about using the military in pursuit of US imperialisms interests. During the 2016 campaign, he stated that he would use drones, all that and more.

Notwithstanding his rhetorical criticisms of big business, Sanders goal is to prevent the independent movement of the working class by diverting its struggles behind the Democratic Party. In this, he is aided by pseudo-left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The DSA functions as a faction of the Democratic Party, attempting to provide a phony left veneer to this party of Wall Street and the CIA. That is why it is dedicating its efforts to promoting the campaign of Sanders in the 2020 elections.
The Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) began bargaining this week with the San Diego Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) for a new three-year contract. The current contract is set to expire June 30.

SUHSD is the largest secondary school district in California. It is comprised of more than 1,500 teachers, 42,000 students, and 32,000 adult learners in southwestern San Diego County, near the US-Mexico border.

The initial bargaining began on May 2. The SEA is continuing discussions despite recent revelations that the district has yet again reported incorrect information about its finances and substantially underreported its debt, amidst allegations of fraud and mismanagement of funds.

According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) sent a letter to the Sweetwater district April 26 stating that the district will end the current fiscal year with $20 million to $23 million in interfund borrowing debt, an amount far above the $8 million reported last month by SUHSD.

Interfund debt refers to loan balances when money collected for one use, such as for facilities, is temporarily used for another use, such as operations. The letter from the SDCOE claims that Sweetwater is in violation of the states Education Code, which requires that it pay off all its interfund debt by the end of the fiscal year.

The updated totals are the result of an investigation initiated in December 2018 and a review of Sweetwater finances by an outside auditing firm appointed by the SDCOE.

The SDCOE outlined in the letter that Sweetwater under-reported its projected ending cash balance as $3.2 million. It will be closer to $609,000. Sweetwater also under-reported its payroll expenditures by $5.2 million, the result of poor and untimely accounting, according to the letter.

A spokesman for SUHSD, Manny Rubio, said the district disagrees with the updated estimate of $20 million to $23 million of debt. It has blamed financial incongruities on the districts supposedly outdated financial data system, TrueCourse.

SEA President Gene Chavaria expressed the unions loyalty to the district in a letter sent out to all members in April. He stated, I am pleased to report that the $42 million-dollar shortfall that we began the 2018-2019 school year has been reduced to $8 million dollars as a result of our collective efforts.

Chavaria and the SEA have used the threat of a state takeover to justify its collaboration with the district in imposing concessions on teachers. In the same letter released in April, he writes, Collaboration with the district and its bargaining units has prevented the State from directing the San Diego County Office of Education from taking over our district and has allowed us to maintain control over the decision making. This was one of our goals and we have been able to achieve it.

This collaboration between the SEA and SUHSD resulted in the immediate layoffs and cuts for the current academic year, which will continue.

Thursdays initial bargaining surrounded Article 6 of the SEA contract: calendars and work year. This portion of the contract includes the number of duty days for 7-12 grade school unit members.

The school year is comprised of 184 days total: 180 instructional days and 4 non-instructional days, previously allocated for professional development. The union and district are discussing a pay cut or the furloughs of between 1 and 4 non-instructional days.

Cuts to Special Education (SPED) and Article 7, class sizes, are of primary concern among educators. Educators are concerned that the district may force SPED students into standard classrooms, resulting in the layoff of SPED teachers, worse teaching environments for teachers and students, and the placement of moderate/severe special needs students with teachers who are already overwhelmed with their current workload.

An email sent to teachers by the SEA Friday morning had no information on the future of approximately 90 pink-slipped assistant principals, cuts to SPED programs, or the expansion of class sizes. It stated that the district proposed that SEA members take two furlough days, which will result in a savings of $4.5 million (half of the proposed shortfall for the 2019-2020 year).

The District Chief Financial Officer estimates that the 2019-2020 deficit is approximately $22.5 million, with a $10 million shortfall that the state requires to be paid off. The next bargaining session is set to occur on May 15.

Last October the district announced a $68 million shortfall. Investigations have pointed to millions of dollars missing under the former Director of Finance Doug Martens and Chief Financial Officer Karen Michel. Martens and Michel both retired from the district last summer.

Millions in cuts have already been pushed through by the SUHSD and the SEA, which accepts the fraud and/or mismanagement and has assisted in establishing the framework for carrying through the millions in cuts.

Layoffs and closures at the adult schools within the district have already taken place, as well as an end to credit recovery for students and cuts to after-school programs such as tutoring. Additionally, career technical education and extra support teachers, known as curriculum intervention specialists, have been terminated.

The SEA and the school board worked together to develop and pass a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) for older teachers just before the winter break. Arguing that the SERP would significantly offset the deficit, the SUHSD and SEA created the plan for teachers to retire early, and in the middle of the current school year.

Approximately 300 opted for the SERP, with 94 retiring in December, the remainder to depart June 2019. Also included in the SERP agreement were two unpaid furlough days for all teachers. The early retirement and furlough deal were sold to teachers by the SEA as a means of protecting everyones jobs.

While the SERP agreement contained wording that protects new teachers from getting pink slips for the 2019-2020 academic year, a clause in the contract states that this can be overruled in the case of a Reduction in Force (RIF) or renegotiation with the SEA, which is currently underway.

Sweetwater teachers should build rank-and-file committees independent of both the unions and the politicians to fight any budget cuts or layoffs and conduct an independent public inquiry into the fraud allegations with full transparency. As one educator pointedly remarked at a March SEA meeting, This board will likely be brought up on fraud chargeswhy should we bargain with them, why should we accept their numbers when theyre the ones who got us into this mess?

Sweetwater teachers should link up with their counterparts in the Carolinas, who engaged in mass protests this week, and study together the lessons of the Arizona, West Virginia, Colorado, Oakland and Los Angeles teachers strikes. These struggles resulted in austerity contracts, sold to the membership by the unions and district administrators tied to the budget-cutting Democratic and Republican politicians.

Just within the past few months, Oakland and Los Angeles austerity contracts were hailed by the unions as historic victories, though nearly one third of the public schools in Oakland are slated for closure, with $22 million in cuts agreed to by the Oakland Education Association.
The sacking of Gavin Williamson as defence secretary has only intensified the disintegration of Theresa Mays Conservative government, already mired in crisis over the UKs scheduled exit from the European Union.

Williamson was sacked after Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill announced an inquiry into who leaked to the Daily Telegraph the deliberations of the April 23 National Security Council (NSC) meeting at which it was decided to approve Chinese telecom giant Huaweis participation in the UKs next generation 5G data network.

The policy, which is yet to be formally announced, is strongly at odds with the demands of the United States and was only passed with the casting vote of May. This was the first occasion that the deliberations of an NSC meeting had been leaked. Williamson is the first minister to be sacked over a leak in 70 years.

NSC members are bound by the Official Secrets Act, which covers cabinet ministers and senior officials involved in foreign and defence policy, as well as representatives from the intelligence agencies and the armed forces.

Among the ministers known to oppose the deal with Huawei were Williamson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

On Wednesday afternoon, Williamson was sacked, with May informing him there was compelling evidence that he leaked details of the NSCs discussions. May confronted Williamson with the fact that an eleven-minute phone call between him and the journalist at the Daily Telegraph, Deputy Political Editor Steven Swinford, had been uncovered. Williamson has stated that he had briefed the Telegraph on the anticipated Tory leadership contest, Brexit and other minor issues. He refused to resign, saying May would have to sack him.

The Labour Party, having already called for an official investigation into the leak, followed up with a call by its Blairite deputy leader, Tom Watson, for a police investigation. Watson said of Williamson, The prime minister doesnt believe him... Now, if he didnt do it, that means that somebody else did it, which is why I think a criminal inquiry will get to the facts of this case. Thats why I think the logical extension of what the prime minister has alleged in her letter isa criminal act has taken place and the police need to examine the facts.

Mays attempt to stem an escalating crisis is in tatters, with Williamson fired the day before local elections in which the Tories suffered a massive collapse, losing over 1,300 council seats and over 40 councils.

Rejecting calls for a police investigation, Cabinet Secretary David Lidington said Thursday that May considered the matter closed and the cabinet secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police. This was after former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said there was certainly an argument for the matter being referred to the police.

Williamson, a leading representative of the partys hard-Brexit wing, is wreaking havoc. Replying to Mays letter, he wrote that a thorough and formal inquiry would clear his name. He added, I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case. Speaking to Sky News Thursday, he said he had been utterly screwed and was massively comfortable with the prospect of a police investigation into the Huawei leak.

He was backed by Tory MPs, including former minister Sir Desmond Swayne, who said, Natural justice requires that the evidence is produced so that his reputation can be salvaged or utterly destroyed. Hard-Brexit figurehead Peter Bone declared, This seems to have been a kangaroo court reaching a decision in secret which we have no evidence to base any decision on.

As a former chief Tory whip, the chair of Mays successful 2015 party leadership campaign and defence secretary, Williamson is described as someone who knows where the bodies are buried. Speaking on the BCCs Newsnight, political editor Nicholas Watt said, Make no mistake, Gavin Williamson is on the warpath... I spoke to a friend tonight who said he is thinking of delivering a speech on the level of Geoffrey Howes [1990] resignation speech, which famously precipitated the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.

Whether Williamson leaked the information or not, and whatever role he may play in Mays downfall, this row is only a symptom of the intractable crisis rending the British bourgeoisie.

Williamson held the Defence portfolio for less than 18 months, having replaced Sir Michael Fallon following his resignation. But he has staked out a claim to be the most bellicose advocate of the closest possible alliance with US imperialism, post Brexit, as it confronts Russia and China.

Just weeks after taking office, he provocatively declared that Russia was planning to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of Britons by seeking to control vital infrastructure.

As the crisis escalated over the March 2018 poisoning in Salisbury of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Williamson responded to Moscows demand for information linking them to what May said was an attempted assassination by declaring that Russia should go away and shut up.

In a speech this February, he insisted that the UK should be prepared to confront Russia and China on all fronts. He denounced Russia for rebuilding its military arsenal, and warned that China is developing its modern military capability and its commercial power.

Williamsons attacks on Russia, and more particularly on China, became increasingly unhingedplacing him in direct conflict with those sections of the ruling elite who view the development of commercial links with Beijing, including Chinas financing of imperative infrastructure projects in the UK, as critical.

In February, Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced to cancel a trade visit to China and attempt to repair the damage after Williamson threatened to send the UKs new aircraft carrier into the South China Sea to monitor Chinese naval activity.

Among those lined up against Williamsons intervention was former Chancellor George Osborne, who, under Mays predecessor David Cameron, forged close economic ties with China. Osborne warned, Youve got the defence secretary engaging in gunboat diplomacy of a quite old-fashioned kind, at the same time as the chancellor of the exchequer and the foreign secretary are going around saying they want a close economic partnership with China.

Tensions around the post-Brexit strategy of the ruling elite will remain centre stage with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Britain next Wednesday. Pompeo will meet May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, with the Daily Mail reporting that he will deliver a speech on the state of the UK-US special relationship. According to the Daily Telegraph, Pompeo will reiterate US threats that allowing Huawei access to networks could endanger US-UK relations. It cited a State Department source who said, What we want to do with friends, allies, partners on this issue is share with them the things we know about the risks that the presence of Huawei and their networks present.

The crisis over Huawei confirms that Mays dysfunctional government can only stagger on in office because it is being propped up by Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

Labour is continuing talks with the Tories in an attempt to reach an agreement that would see her EU withdrawal deal passed in Parliament, at the fourth attempt. How conscious this anti-working class agenda is was aired on the BBC Thursday, with Barry Gardiner, shadow trade minister, telling Tory Brexit Minister James Cleverly that Labour was in there [the talks] trying to bail you guys out.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

Rajasthans Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot is confident that the Congress will be judged positively on the basis of its performance in the state in the last six months and do far better in the Lok Sabha elections than in the Assembly polls. He also feels that Prime Minister Narendra Modis nationalism narrative will have no impact before the economic hardships people face. Excerpts from his interview with Rajesh Asnani:

There has been record voting in the first phase in Rajasthan and the BJP believes its to their advantage.

Thats a misconception. Three months ago, the Congress was voted in and our governments performance since then will be judged. I am quite confident that we will win a majority of the seats which voted in the first phase.

Do you think the Congress will fare better in the parliamentary elections than in the Assembly polls and what is the basis for it?

Sachin Pilot Deputy Chief Minister

of Rajasthan /EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

Traditionally, whichever party gets to form the government in the state does well in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2008, the Congress had formed the government in Rajasthan and swept the general elections in 2009. In 2014, the BJP won all the seats as they were in government in the state. Now we are in government and people have seen our work and read our manifesto. I am confident that not just in Rajasthan, in all the three states where we won the Vidhan Sabha elections, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we will do very well.

Modi and the BJP have created a narrative of nationalism. Do you feel it will make a difference?

This is an election to secure the future of young people who need jobs. This is an election for bread and butter throughout India. The agrarian crisis and the slowdown of the economy are major issues. The BJP can sidestep these important issues and go on appealing on emotional issues, but I do not think young people will fall into that trap.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has said the Congress can do no Nyay after anyaya over 60 years

Nyay (minimum wage guarantee scheme) will be a gamechanger for the rural economy. Anyaya has done been on Dalits, farmers and poor people who have suffered because of demonetisation and mob lynchings instigated by the BJP. Nyay will give the poorest families in India financial help of `72,000 annually and it will boost our economy.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

You had a say in chief ministers son Vaibhav Gehlot getting Congress ticket from Jodhpur. How do you see his prospects?

The entire party has been working hard to win all the seats. As party president, I and our Chief Minister, Ashok Ghelot ji campaigned hard for Vaibhav and we are confident t we will do well in Jodhpur and all the other seats too.

There is a feeling that there was wrong distribution of tickets by the Congress on some seats, which may not help its cause.

The BJP had to drop some of their sitting MPs despite winning all 25 seats since last time. They dropped a Central minister and four other MPs. It is they who feel threatened by our candidates. Gehlot ji and I sat together and made sure that good, winnable candidates get tickets on all seats.

Within the Congress, some people also say that if prominent leaders who are ministers in state government had been given tickets, it would have been better. What are the reasons they were not chosen?

Its the party that decides who contests and there was a consensus on all the seats. We have given tickets to who we thought were winnable candidates. Chief Minister, I and all the party leaders had unanimity when we gave ticket to the candidates on all 25 seats.

Some betting markets and media reports say the Congress will not win more than 8-10 seats. Do you feel this assessment is correct?

Its all BJPs propaganda and the betting markets are no indicators. The mood of the people is with us. We will be judged by our six-month performance and we will win the bulk of the seats in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress had promised to waive off farmers loans in just 10 days but it did not happen. Now the farmers are angry. Why do you think that is so?

e have done it. We waived off farmer loans worth Rs 18,000 crore of the Cooperative Banks. Before we could address loans from commercial banks, the Model Code of Conduct was imposed and we had to negotiate with the controller of the Finance Ministry. We are now in the process of negotiating with the commercial banks, too. As soon as MCC period is off, we will waive off rest of the farmers loans as well.

Rahul Gandhi has high expectations from Rajasthan and CM Gehlot had made a statement saying it was his, PCC chief thats you and party general secretary Avinash Pandeys responsibility to make sure the Congress wins big. How do you react to this?

That is true. Rahul Gandhiji expects all three state governments to deliver. Whether it is Kamal Nathji or Bhupesh Bhagel or Ashok Gehlot  they are all heads of government, but we are all working together to deliver the best possible results.

Why has Priyanka Gandhi not campaigned in Rajasthan? Political analysts believe if she had come, the Congress prospects would have improved.

We wanted her to campaign but she had to campaign in UP, Assam and other places. Timing was a big problem. So she couldnt make it to Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi, though, has made several trips to the state.

A slogan was coined in the Assembly elections, Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhara teri khair nahi. Because of this, many believe that people now would want to vote for Modi.

Vasundhara and Modi are two sides of the same coin. You cant detach the responsibilities that previous State Government did not discharge and think of the Government of India as separate. The BJP governments at the Centre and the state both are under scrutiny. They have been rejected in Rajasthan. I want to ask, how much infrastructure have they created that they seek votes? Modiji comes once in five years to seek votes. The BJP creates propaganda of development but the people of Rajasthan have felt let down by the Government of India.

Your final assessment about Congress: how many seats can the party win this time, given the fact that in 2014 it was wiped off completely with a 25-0 loss?

It will be a complete reversal and we are working towards Mission 25. We are hoping to achieve our mission.

If a Congress or opposition alliance government is formed at the Centre, what will be your preference between Rajasthan and Delhi?

I have been party president for the last five-and-a-half years. I have also been made Deputy CM. I am very content and honoured to be able to discharge my responsibilities. I am going to be in Jaipur and happy with the job that am doing.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: There is no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army chief of the island nation, officials of central security agencies said here Saturday.

One of the officials said immigration records were re-visited after the terrorist attacks and none of the bombers had visited Kashmir.

About a dozen Sri Lankan nationals had come to Kashmir Valley this year and their credentials have been re-checked after the April 21 bombings in three churches and three luxury hotels killed 253 people and injured over 500 others, he said.

However, there could be a possibility of the bombers visiting the state using pseudonym, the official said, adding if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence, it can be verified from the ground.

READ HERE | Sri Lankan police directs public to hand over swords, sharp weapons, police and military uniforms

Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers, who carried out the country's worst terror attack, visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, said, "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state.Those are the information available with us."

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out the series of blasts.

ALSO READ | Islamic State sympathisers in Kerala under lens after calls to Sri Lanka: NIA
By Online Desk

BASTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi at BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said. By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

PM Modi also accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a 'big game' against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP. The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh. He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about 'respect' towards her.

"It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now `Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

READ HERE | EC gives PM Modi 6th clean chit for Patan speech invoking IAF pilot Abhinandan

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
Gwen Adams sees a lot of the worlds darkness  and hears a lot of its darkest stories  and there is one story, if you ask, that she will always tell you.

The founder and executive director of Priceless Alaska, Adams has spent years combatting human trafficking: helping survivors heal, helping them adjust to lives of freedom and helping them bring their traffickers to justice.

But the success of her work, by its nature, is shadowed by tragedy.

Adams remembers one girl she was helping prepare for trial. She was sold into a life of tracking by her husband who beat her up, Adams says. At one point she became pregnant, but she was not free: Her trafficker kicked and kicked her until she delivered the months-old fetus, a boy, on the bathroom floor. His body was concealed in a landfill not far from Adams home.

The girl eventually got free but found she did not have the strength to face her abuser in court.

She told me, I wish I would have, but would you mind telling my story?  Adams recalls.

The girl worked with Priceless Alaska, Adams group, which provides a mentor team for each trafficking survivor. Together with her mentors, the girl was able to name her son: Bryan.

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She said, I just dont want my little boy to never have been known,  Adams says.  In order for his life and her life to have purpose, she just wants me to tell her story.

For her work and the work of her staff, Priceless Alaska was among the dozens of local groups around the country who were awarded the FBIs annual Directors Community Leadership Award.

The ceremony, held Friday at the bureaus headquarters in Washington, D.C., honored a range of groups.

Among them were Adams Priceless Alaska, fighting sex trafficking; Dolly Partons Dollywood Foundation, for its support of survivors of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, wildfires in 2016; Sandy Hook Promise, started by the relatives of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting; and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Program, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, helping native women out of abusive environments.

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Other honorees included Boston activist Deeqo Jibril, whose mission is to integrate the Somali community into American life while maintaining its culture, faith, and values, according to the FBI; Dallas Pastor Harry Lee Sewell, who is significantly involved in local community development and works with a mens shelter; and Soha Saiyed, of Louisville, Kentucky, who focuses on anti-human trafficking and civil rights efforts.

Your mission is a commitment to serving your communities. Youre showing people kindness when they need it most. Youre defending those who need a voice, FBI Director Christopher Wray told attendees at the Friday ceremony. Youre making sure no one gets left behind. Youre helping keep your neighborhoods safe. And youre putting in the work.

We need the support, understanding, and trust of the public, Wray said. And you are our bridges to them. Youre out in our neighborhoods. You see whats happening in our communities every day. And youre taking action to make things better.

For Lola M. Ahidley, director of the Mescalero Apache Tribes domestic violence program, the FBI recognition was just the boost her small group needed.

There are times that were so tired at the end of the day, and we have done so much, and were just exited to know that someone was actually watching what we were doing, she tells PEOPLE.

Ahidleys program in New Mexico is based in a small, native community, where it focuses on outreach, awareness and providing support to abuse survivors. Ahidley says she hears from grateful women whom she and her colleagues have helped: We have survivors texting me  my number is an on-call number, so they will text me and tell me, Thank you so much for your help. My son and I have been able to rest after being in a shelter. 

RELATED: The Amazing Way Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martins Mom, Is Supporting Her Fellow Grieving Mothers

But there is always more to do.

Were slowly expanding, and Im looking forward to getting a crew together so we can look at all the areas we need to work with: the elderly, the kids, [the] LGBTQ [community]. Theres just so much that falls under our umbrella, she says.

One focus will be providing counselors, on call and on site. As the programs profile has increased, Ahidley says, survivors have referred other people to them. Word of their work is spreading.

Our No. 1 goal [is] to make sure that our women are safe and not to judge, she says.

The domestic violence they face is a problem with all communities, not just here.

Adams, of Priceless Alaska, says her team of mentors helps trafficking survivors think about the future: what their freedom can look like going forward, with a support system to walk beside them and navigate life.

We pay a lot of attention to dreams and plan for the future, she says.

Seeing that future realized is its own reward.

Living in my world is so dark and so hard, she says, and so we cling to those stories when we hear them and theyre so beautiful.
Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark in Endgame

Robert Downey Jr deserves an Academy Award for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thats according to Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, who has heaped praise on the actor for both his work as Iron Man and for his impact on the cinematic landscape.

His cumulative body of work from these movies is staggering, Russo recently told The Washington Post. If you look at the work over just even the last four [Marvel] films hes done, its phenomenal. . . . He deserves an Oscar perhaps more than anyone in the last 40 years because of the way that he has motivated popular culture.

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Despite the huge popularly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has still been mostly ignored by the Academy Awards.

Black Panthers Best Picture nomination last year did change that, though, and Fandangos Erik Davis recently revealed that there was a big screening of Avengers: Endgame for Academy members this week, which suggests that Marvel believe it could follow in Black Panthers footsteps.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in Endgame

There has also already been early chatter about Robert Downey Jrs performance as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, with viewers eager to see the actor rewarded for his portrayal in the blockbuster with acting gongs come awards season.

However, Joe Russos comments could actually be interpreted to mean that Downey doesnt just deserve either a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film, but is actually more deserving of an Honorary Academy Award.

Read More: The Avengers: Endgame spoiler ban is being lifted after this weekend, say the Russo Brothers

Theres no denying the fact that Robert Downey Jrs casting for 2008s Iron Man laid the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has gone on to consist of 22 films that have grossed over $20 billion combined.

Of course, Downey Jr has been handsomely remunerated for his work in the MCU. In fact, it has been alleged that the actor has actually has been paid around 265 million ($350 million) in total for playing the character in 10 different movies.

So even if he doesnt land that Oscar, hes still done pretty well from it all.
Barclays Bank in London. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire

Barclays (BARC.L) made a 2.6bn (2.2bn) capital injection into its Irish bank over the past year, as it sought to prepare the newly expanded unit for its post-Brexit role.

New accounts filed with Irish authorities also show that Barclays Bank Ireland, which is now the banking groups main European Union base, received around 1bn in equity contributions in the 10 weeks between 1 January and 13 March of this year.

The Irish unit has also taken steps to strengthen its balance sheet. In 2018, it sold 200m in subordinated debt to its parent bank, and it again received some 500m in further subordinated debt investment in the first 10 weeks of 2019.

In terms of actual assets, the bank had indicated that the Irish unit would absorb around 224bn (260bn) of its total 1.17tn in assets by 30 March, making it the largest bank in Ireland.

Barclays also said it would move around 6,800 clients, mainly from the European Economic Area, to the Dublin unit.

This decision was based on the assumption that its London divisions would lose their passporting rights after Brexit. The passporting mechanism currently allows them to do business in other EU countries.

Barclays moved into its new Dublin offices close to Irelands houses of parliament in November 2018, and said it would expand its Irish workforce by around 200 people.

In February, the chairman of its UK bank, Sir Gerry Grimstone, said that Barclays had spent between 100m and 200m ($257m) preparing for Brexit.

Grimstone said that being regulated by the Irish Central Bank  and, because of the banks size, the European Central Bank  was a new adventure for Barclays.

Were impressed with the nature and scale of regulation, he said.

Grimstone also criticised the effects of Brexit on London, saying that the UK had gone from being one of the most predictable environments in which to operate to one of the least predictable.
The Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen (PA)

Christians are experiencing persecution so severe in some parts of the world that it amounts to genocide, according to a new report commissioned by the Foreign Office.

It states that Christians in the Middle East have been forced out of their homes en masse over the last 20 years, with many being killed, kidnapped and discriminated against.

Christians in south east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa had also been victims of discrimination, the report by the Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen, found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (PA)

The report says: The rise of hate speech against Christians in state media and by religious leaders, especially in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, has compromised the safety of Christians and created social intolerance.

It states that the inconvenient truth is that the overwhelming majority (80%) of persecuted religious believers are Christians.

It adds: The level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.

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Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - himself a Christian - described this oppression as the "forgotten persecution", and said that political correctness was to blame for a widespread failure to confront it.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on his week-long visit to Africa, he said: "I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

"I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.

"I think it is partly because of political correctness we have avoided confronting this issue. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers."

Dr Mounstephen said he had been "truly shocked by the severity, scale and scope of the problem.

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"It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?"

A final report based on this review will be published in the summer.

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Minhaz Merchant By

With Americas sanction waivers on Iranian crude oil ending on May 2, the battlelines in the Middle East are sharply drawn. On one side is Sunni Saudi Arabia along with its allies the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. On the other is Shia Iran, boxed into a corner by US oil sanctions that could cripple its economy.

But while the Sunni Arab powers have a powerful ally in Washington, Iran isnt friendless. It is backed by Russia and Turkey as well as Iraq and Syria, both with large Shia majorities. In this cauldron, a new entrant has quietly established its presence: China. Most notable is the Saudi-China axis based on a marriage of geopolitical and economic interests.

As The Economist reported recently: For decades the Middle Kingdom saw the Middle-East as a petrol station. About half of Chinas oil came from Arab states and Iran. Little went in the other direction. In 2008 the region got less than one per cent of Chinas net outbound foreign direct investment (FDI). Skip ahead a decade and Chinese money is everywhere: ports in Oman, factories in Algeria, skyscrapers in Egypts new capital. Last year it pledged $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states and signed another $28 billion in investment and construction deals.

Trade between China and the Arab world is lopsided. In 2017, Tunisia imported $1.9 billion worth of goods from China, nine per cent of its total imports. It exported just $30 million to China. The trinkets hawked to tourists in souqs are usually made in Chinese factories, not Arab workshops. In the occupied West Bank even the makers of keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian identity, cannot keep up with their Chinese competitors. A few Arab states hope that Chinas growing taste for olive oil will lower their trade deficits a bit. But China will not put millions of unemployed Arabs to work.

The business model the Chinese are following in the Arab worldfrom north African nations like Tunisia and Algeria to the sheikhdoms of the Middle Eastis eerily similar to its investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia. The common feature is high-cost, unsustainable debt and ghost infrastructure with empty buildings and deserted airports.

The Saudis dont seem to mind. They see the US as an unreliable long-term ally. US Congressmen are still deeply upset with Riyadh for complicity in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and former Saudi insider who had turned a bitter critic of the Saudi royals. The personal rapport between US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has kept the US on Riyadhs side. But for how long? The next US president, in 2020 or 2024, is unlikely to be as strong an ally of Saudi Arabia as Trump.

Enter China. The Saudis see China as a counter to an inevitable estrangement with Washington once Trump demits office. For now Trump and Kushner need Saudi Arabia in their bid to isolate Iran, Saudis sworn enemy. With the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Iraq, Russia will play an increasingly pivotal role in the Middle East. Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US are the worlds three largest crude oil producers with a combined output of over 30 million barrels a day.

A complication in the region is Qatar with whom a Saudi-led group broke all ties in 2016. Qatar is not only the worlds largest natural gas producer but closely involved in the fraught negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Afghan government. Qatar has, to Saudi anger, grown closer to Iran and Turkey. It also hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.

As the geopolitics of the region plays out, Russia will increasingly assume a dominant military role while China focuses on enlarging its economic footprint across the Middle East. As The Economist reported: Arab officials who once ignored China talk of it as a rising regional powera softer sort than America or Russia. An influx of Chinese tourists has led to hotels in Cairo teaching staff to speak Mandarin and cook Chinese dishes.

Diplomats from Beijing often have a command of Arabic that puts their Western counterparts to shame. When Lebanons PM formed a government in February after nine months of deadlock, his first visit came from the Chinese ambassador. But China seems to have little interest in sorting out the civil war just over the border in Syria. Mercantilism is its priority, not fixing the regions many problems.

Indias own role in the region is growing. Millions of Indians have long lived in the Gulfover three-and-a-half-million in the UAE alone. Indian entrepreneurs have a strong presence across the Middle East and Africa. The Indian diaspora has centuries-old links with the region, unlike China which has only arrived on the scene with money and men in the past decade. Airtel was an early investor in Africas mobile telecom market and runs a profitable business in dozens of African countries.

Geopolitically, Indias expanding security relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across the region could make it the fourth major player along with the US, Russia and China. A combination of soft power (Bollywood) and hard power (space technology) are formidable weapons. They now need to be deployed with care and precision.
Editors Note: On Friday, Netflix began streaming a biopic on serial killer Ted Bundy, titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The film, which stars Zac Efron as Bundy, captures the terror wrought by the man who kidnapped, raped and killed dozens of young women and girls in the 1970s across seven states.

Utah teenager Carol DaRonch was attacked by 1974  and managed to escape with her life. The following article about DaRonchs ordeal was originally published on Jan. 23, 2018.

It must have seemed, at first, just safe enough for Utah teenager Carol DaRonch to go off in a strange car with a strange man named Ted Bundy.

To start, hed told her he was a police officer  and he had the badge to prove it. Her car had been broken into while she was shopping at the mall, he said, and then he asked if she could come down to the station with him to make a complaint against the suspect?

The situation seemed a little off somehow to DaRonch, 18, and her instincts were right: Bundy was trying to abduct and murder her  a harrowing encounter she survived and then some, later going on to testify against him at trial, leading to his first conviction in his years-long spree of kidnappings, sexual assaults and murders.

DaRonchs story and others are recounted in Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a four-part docuseries on Netflix.

In an exclusive clip above, she recalls the moment it all went wrong in Bundys car, after she agreed to join him for a ride to the police station:

He headed down a side street and then he suddenly pulled over up on the side of a curb up by an elementary school and thats when I just started freaking out: What are we doing? And he grabbed my arm and he got one handcuff on one wrist and he didnt get the other one on and the one was just dangling. I had never been so frightened in my entire life.

DaRonch, without knowing who had targeted her, realized what fate could await her.

RELATED: Sheriff Who Caught Ted Bundy Recalls Chilling Details of the Investigation

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She says in the clip: I thought, My god my parents are never going to know what happened to me.

But she fought Bundy off  one of his few survivors and the first to be able to identify him afterward. Later, she told PEOPLE how she had tried to move on with her life.

Ive decided to try and block it from my memory, she said in 1989. You cant live in fear forever. (Perversely, Bundy went on from his encounter with DaRonch to kill that same day  17-year-old Debra Jean Kent.)

Ted Bundy | Getty

Conversations with a Killer includes interviews with DaRonch, the people who investigated, prosecuted and defended Bundy and Bundy himself, in the form of about 100 hours of never-heard audio recorded during death row interviews he gave in Florida while awaiting execution.

It was the fall of 1974 when Bundy tried to take DaRonch. Hed already killed over and over again, the women often vanishing from public spaces at night: a girl near her sorority house, another leaving a bar. Two others during the day in a crowded park.

His arrest in DaRonchs abduction was not the end of his story. He twice escaped from police custody, then went on to represent himself at the two murder trials for which he was prosecuted with rapt TV cameras recording.

He insisted until right before he was executed that he was innocent. He was articulate, he was handsome, he was a law school student. How could he be a serial killer?

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Docuseries director Joe Berlinger, who is also releasing a fictionalized account of Bundys crimes starring Zac Efron, tells PEOPLE its that incongruity about Bundys character that he wanted to explore.

Why is Bundy considered the serial killer that everybody seems to know something about and why he is a source of endless fascination? Berlinger says. Listening to tapes of Bundys prison interviews changed his perspective.

I wasnt sure until I started listening to the [tapes] and listening to the stuff, it burned and deepened some of the troubling aspects of Bundys story that I felt were worth putting on screen which I hadnt yet seen before, which is this deep dive into the mind of a killer and the personality of a killer, he says. Because I think the thing thats most chilling, interesting, fascinating to me about Bundy is that he defied many of the stereotypes of the serial killer.

The thing that I really wanted to drill into is: Why was he so believable?

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is available on Netflix.
Providing enough food to feed the nation is always a struggle for North Korea, which suffered a near cataclysmic famine in the 1990s (AP)

North Koreas daily food rations have been cut to a record low this year after experiencing the worst harvest in a decade.

The Hermit State has rations to 300 grams a day  or 11 ounces - with further cuts likely the United Nations said on Friday.

According to US organisation The Nutrition Centre, a good mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and dairy products weighs 2 kilos per day per person.

The UN conducted a food assessment between March 29 to April 12, at the request of North Korea.

Photo taken in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The organisation was given wide access to the country, including cooperative farms, nurseries, households and food distribution centres.

According to the survey, North Korean families were only consuming protein a few times a year.

The report also detailed how the countrys agricultural output of 4.9 million tonnes, the lowest since 2008-2009, had led to a food deficit of 1.36 million tonnes in the 2018/2019 marketing year.

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World Food Program spokesman Herve Verhoosel said. This new food security assessment ... has found that following the worst harvests in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest.

10.1 million people needed food aid, including 7.5 million of the 17.5 million North Koreans who depend on government rations plus 2.6 million collective farmers.

Mr Verhoosel said: Prospects for the 2019 early season crops of wheat and barley are worrisome, with communities at risk as the lean season gets underway in June.

North Korea is facing worrying food shortages (KCNA)

The effects of repeated climate shocks are compounded by shortages of fuel, fertiliser and spare parts crucial for farming.

The World Food Program is to hold another assessment between July and August in order to gain a better understanding of the crisis.

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The news is reminiscent of the famine that gripped North Korea in the mid 1990s that killed as many as 3 million people.

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The doctor shared the images to warn people of the dangers of sleeping with contacts still in. (Getty)

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: An eye doctor who was sick of encountering patients that sleep with their contacts in has taken stomach-churning measures to warn people about the dangers.

Dr Patrick Vollmer of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina, shared graphic photos of a bright-green eye that was being rapidly consumed by bacteria.

He explained that an ulcer had formed in the cornea as a direct result of sleeping [with] contact lenses still in.

While the fluorescent green colour in the eye was a result of dye, Dr Vollmer said the places where it had pooled showed the extent to which the cornea had been taken over by an ulcer.

This case did not take years to form. In fact, it took about 36 hours, as is characteristic of this strain of bacteria, he said.

I dont ever recommend sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses. The risks outweigh the benefits every time.

The patient's cornea has been almost consumed by an ulcer, highlighted by dye. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse...

Don't sleep in soft contact lenses.

The condition, called cultured pseudomonas ulcer can quickly lead to blindness, and despite the antibiotics and steroids he had treated the cornea with, the patient was still likely to have permanent scarring and vision loss, he said.

The patient will 'likely' have permanent scarring and vision loss. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

The graphic photos quickly went viral on social media, and within three days of the post it had been seen by more than 30 million people.

Some comments which accused the post of trying to scare people were met with the response from the clinic: Yes, this post is a scare tactic to get you to stop sleeping in soft contacts.

According Optometry Australia, soft contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed type of contact lenses, but the thin, lightweight plastic were making people complacent.

The infected eye before the green dye is added. The dye is used to pool in areas of corneal compromise  in this case, the ulcer bed. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

Contact lenses should not be worn at night because they prevent oxygen getting to the front of the eyeball and can cause damage if worn for too long, as was the case with Dr Vollmers patient.

"A very common thing we see in private practice is someone gets home late ... they're meant to throw their lenses out but they just fall asleep instead," Optometry Australia president Andrew Hogan told ABC Radio Hobart.

"They get up in the morning and without thinking too much they put a fresh pair of lenses on top of the ones they're already wearing."
More than 20 people were injured on Friday night after a Boeing 737 plane that had landed in Florida terrifyingly slid off the runway and into a nearby river.

The passenger plane from Guantanamo Bay had just arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station when it skidded off the runway and into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m., the air station confirmed.

Despite the scary circumstances, the plane was not submerged due to the shallow water, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office tweeted.

Miraculously all 143 people on board survived after the planes rough landing.

The Mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, initially asked for prayers on Twitter, writing, We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.

Curry then confirmed that all passengers were alive and accounted for, and that no fatalities were reported.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

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While everyone made it out alive, 21 people were taken to hospitals, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

We responded to NAS Jax to a plane incident tonight with a second alarm assignment of approximately 90 personnel, the department tweeted. 21 people were transported to local hospitals.

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In addition to writing that an investigation was underway into how the incident happened, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville detailed a full account of the event.

RELATED VIDEO: Weather Complicating Recovery Efforts In Alaska Plane Crash

At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville slid off the runway into the St. Johns River, the air station confirmed. There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for. Minor injuries have been reported, treated at the scene, and those requiring additional treatment were transported to a local hospital. There were no fatalities.

The air station also added that, just after midnight on Saturday morning, that Navy security and emergency response personnel were still on the scene and monitoring the situation.

Families members who were expecting the arrival of passengers should stand by until they are released, the air station advised.

The plane while a Boeing 737, is not believed to be a Boeing 737 Max. The 737 Max planes have been grounded in the wake of two fatal accidents in just five months.
The white beluga whale spotted off the coast of northern Norway wearing a harness appears to want to stay there (Picture: Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/Handout/NTB Scanpix via REUTERS)

A whale suspected of being a spy for Russia appears to have defected - seeming happy to stay in Norway.

The beluga whale, which was spotted in northern Norway with a harness appeared to be used for carrying a camera, seems reticent to return to Russia, sticking close to the harbour where it was found.

The whale has become so popular that Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has launched a poll to find a name for it.

Linn Sther, a resident of Tufjord on the Arctic island of Rolvsya, told the broadcaster: Hes so comfortable with people that when you call him he comes right up to you.

Linn Saether said the whale is so tame it allows people to pet it and performs tricks (Picture: Linn Saether via AP)

Sther said locals had been able to pet the whale and it also performs tricks, retrieving rings then swimming up to the dockside for praise.

It reacts when you call it or splash your hands in the water. You can see its been trained to fetch and bring back whatever is thrown for it.

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The beluga whale was found on Sunday wearing a harness fitted with a mount that was reportedly stamped with the words: Equipment St Petersburg, sparking speculation that it could be a Russian spy or may have escaped from a Russian military facility.

Russia has reportedly denied running a sea mammal special operations programme and Norways special police security agency (PST) has not yet reached a conclusion on where the whale came from.

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Shamima Begum is not our problem, said Bangladesh's foreign minister. (AP)

Bangladeshs government has said that Shamima Begum, the teenage Londoner who fled to Syria, is not their problem.

The countrys Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said the teenager is British, not Bangladeshi, and if she travelled to Dhaka she could be hanged for terrorism.

We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen, he told ITN.

She never applied for Bangladesh citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

Begum fled to Syria with London school friends (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule, there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She will be put in prison and immediately, the rule is, she should be hanged.

Begum, 19, was stripped of her British nationality by the current Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February.

She was one of three Bethnal Green schoolgirls who fled to Syria and joined Islamic State in 2015.

In her time with IS she was married and had three children, though all three have died.

There were allegations that she worked for IS morality police and she was discovered at a Syrian refugee camp in March.

The UK government's official reason for depriving Ms Begum of her British passport has never been made public, although it is against the law to make someone stateless.

Regardless, Mr Momen said she was not welcome in Bangladesh.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters fire on Islamic State militants (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

He said he would be "sad" if she was left stateless, but said it "nothing to do with us".

He compared the British government's decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship to the treatment of the Rohingya by the Burmese authorities, many of who have fled to Bangladesh.

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Torontos Mayor John Tory didnt mince words this morning when he spoke with the CBC, to discuss the continued encroachment of the Ontario government on the citys municipal affairs.

They are doing these things out of the blue that are going to effect peoples lives, said Tory, speaking on a recent decision by Doug Fords government to cut funding to Torontos child care, a move that will cost the city $84.8 million this year.

It will also jeopardize more than 6,000 daycare spots in Toronto.

Tory said hed call his relationship with Doug Fords government as uneven, unpredictable and volatile, as sometimes they have open communication, but other times decisions just come down the pipeline with no warning.

He said the child care decision came via a memo and was a surprise to his office.

It is about deep cuts to actual provision of child care to families in the City of Toronto, he said.

Why does this government insist on taking programs like this that are necessary for a healthy prosperous city....and just one after another, do these things?, said Tory, adding that the provinces cuts seem to disproportionately target Toronto.

Premier Doug Ford meets with Toronto Mayor John Tory at his Queen's Park office in July 2018. (Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Cuts to child care is one decision on a list of provincial policies that are set to impact Canadas largest city. Discussions about how to use the Ontario Place space and whether to include a casino ruffled feathers with Torontonians who want a public space, meant for those of all ages.

In April, the Ontario government announced $1 billion would be cut from Toronto public health over the next ten years. City councillor Joe Cressy said those cuts to funding would impact disease prevention, water quality testing, immunization monitoring and surveillance, prenatal support, overdose prevention, food safety regulation... and more.

At the time, Tory called the decision a targeted attack on Toronto.

Ontario is also currently in the process of uploading the Toronto subway expansion to the province, a negotiation that Tory says is going fairly well and where communication lines are open.

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At least were sitting at a table and were having discussions, he said.

In the case of these other cut backs....its out of the blue, said Tory.

In terms of child care and health care, Tory told Galloway that his government is currently trying to convince the province otherwise.

Its time to take a hard second-look at these things, he said. They are certainly trying to have their way on a number of issues.

Were not going to stand by and put up with this thing going on without any discussion.

As the battle continues for funding for city programs, do you think the Ontario government is correct in making these kinds of cuts? Share your opinion in the comments below!
Jim Cummings Winnie The Pooh

Legendary Disney voice actor Jim Cummings  known for characters like Tigger, Mickey Mouse villain, Pete, and Winnie the Pooh  is currently locked in a bitter war with his ex-wife and she is claiming years of abuse by the star, including sexual assault, drug addiction and animal abuse.

Jim and Stephanie Cummings were married in 2001 and divorced a decade later, in 2011. They have two minor daughters, Johanna and Lulu, and have been arguing in an L.A. County courtroom over alleged incidents of abuse that occurred between 2011 and 2018, after the couples marriage fell apart.

Allegations of Rape/Sexual Assault

According to documents obtained by The Blast, Stephanie claims that since her divorce from Jim, he has engaged in physical, sexual and emotional abuse including but not limited to death threats, rape, and various sexual deviant behavior forced upon me without my consent.

Stephanie also notes that Jim is a very successful voice over actor. He has provided voices for such films as Winnie the Pooh, Lion King,' and adds that he has done over 250 voices.

Disney

She claims to have obtained two separate domestic violence restraining orders against the 66-year-old star, including after an incident on August 31, 2011, when she says Jim came over to her home and slapped her on the buttocks and forced himself on her in front of their 4-year-old daughter.

He later came up behind me, she claims, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and forcefully put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me while holding me in place against the wall.

She says after the kiss, Jim asked if she could see him leaking, because thats what I make him do when he touches me. Stephanie says she felt humiliated and degraded in front of their child, and allegedly reported the incident to the L.A. County Sheriff, who advised her to get a domestic violence restraining order.

According to documents, Jim did not dispute the incident but remembers it differently than his ex. The Disney star said he was joking and laughing with Stephanie, and then I touched her slightly on the butt. He says Stephanie gave him a consensual hug and says the whole incident was happy. He added that his ex-wife, who is much taller than I am, and a large woman, made no objection to anything.

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Stephanie also claims that she was raped by Jim in 2013, and allegedly filed a police report over the incident but did not give more detail. In open court testimony, Stephanie describes how she entered rehab after the rape for co-dependency and Jim showed up to the facility unannounced and was asked to leave.

She claims that Jim would frequently without consent, would touch my buttocks, my groin, and my breasts. He would hold me in place attempting to kiss and fondle me. He would spank me in front of our daughters. He would then follow up by making sexual comments to me that I found repugnant.

Of all the inappropriate comments he allegedly made to the former couples daughters, Stephanie claims Jim commented that he was allowed to touch Mommys breasts since he had paid for them. Stephanie broke down in tears on the stand while recalling some of the comments made to her by Cummings.

In documents, Jim addressed the situation, writing in an email to Stephanie, Shame on you, youre [sic] distortions are obscene. forcing? Please, everyone, Gracie myself and especially YOU were all giggling and laughing, it was pleasant to have one moment of light-heartedness. We both erupted into laughterIm hardly the first person in the world to point out one catches more flys [sic] with honey than vinegar for you to overlay a reference to being a whore is little too telling, Lets get this over with for the love of God.

The ex-couple has also been fighting for custody and support payments and, in legal documents, Stephanie claims Jim would withhold payments of support and demand sex from me in exchange for meeting his support obligations.

In 2015, she claims Jim showed up to her home and confronted her while on a date with an off-duty police officer, and the man was forced to pull his gun to make Jim leave the scene.

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Stephanie says the constant harassment from Jim resulted in a decline in her health, so in 2017, she moved to Utah with their two daughters.

During a visit to see the children, she claims Jim asked to stay at the house and she allowed it. However, during the middle of the night, she claims Jim was standing over me with his erect penis in my hand. He was using my hand to stroke his penis while my youngest daughter was asleep on the other side of me. She was 10 years old at the time.

Stephanie explained, I told him to stop and get out of the house. He refused. He then came back and did the same thing, insisting I masturbate him or he would wake Lulu up. I did as he asked given his threat to wake up my daughter and my worry that I could not control what he would do in front of her.

After that incident, Stephanie says she obtained the second restraining order against Jim, which was filed in Utah. In 2018, both Stephanie and Jim testified in court and the restraining order was issued against Jim for two years.

Allegations of Drug Use

In the court documents, Stephanie says, The primary reason James and I separated was his abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and Adderall.

Stephanie says Jim has had a longstanding history of substance abuse, including a stint in rehab in 2005 and on June 10, 2010, he checked in again and stayed for four days before checking out. Stephanie says he ended up relapsing and returned to the facility for five days before getting kicked out because he was using Adderall.

She claims after the couple split, between 2012 and 2018, Jim has shown up at her home uninvited while intoxicated or high on Adderall.

Jim denied the allegations were as stated saying, I entered that rehab facility voluntarily. However, Petitioners claim that it was a binge on alcohol, marijuana and Adderall is another exaggeration as I have never taken Adderall Petitioner, however, has had a long standing [sic] history of drug abuse. On the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Petitioner and I mutually agreed to check into a rehabilitation facility. He claims the substance abuse consisted of primarily Vicodin as well as alcohol.

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Allegations of Animal Abuse

In her argument to get full custody of the two children, Stephanie claims Jim once abused the family puppy to the point where it almost died.

Stephanie says she and Jim had purchased a dog and the animal urinated in the house. As a result, Stephanie says Jim took the dog and placed it inside a metal bucket outside of the house on a day which it was over 100 degrees, then left it there for a long time, adding, The dog came close to dying.

In response to the animal abuse allegations, Jim admitted to the incident, but says, There was an incident where I put a tub (not a metal bucket) over a dog to isolate it briefly as a form of discipline to its behavior at our vets suggestion, and unfortunately I forgot the dog was there for a while, but then of course I released it.

Jim says he took the dog to the vet to get checked out and claims it was in fine health.

She also claims in another incident, Jim had taken a broom and hit the puppy so hard that he shattered the puppys hip necessitating surgery.

Ongoing Court Battle and Current Situation

Stephanie and Jim are currently giving dueling testimony in a Los Angeles courtroom about the years of allegations and ongoing incidents. Jim was actually on the stand for two days being questioned by powerhouse attorney Larry Bakman and giving his side of the story.

The Disney star says he has tried to work out things amicably with his ex-wife but says, She will have outbursts of hostility directed at me, and often change in her behavior and attitude comes without warning.

He has also alleged she may have a mental health disorder and says she has been taking medication.

Jim is also very worried about his future with Disney, claiming Stephanie has threatened to ruin his longstanding career. He claims she threatened, I will go and I will ruin your reputation  I am going to tell people Winnie the Pooh is a woman beating, drug addicted freak!

He says the recent alleged outburst by Stephanie came after he had refused to take her to the premiere of the Disney movie Christopher Robin in 2018.

Getty

Stephanie has also given testimony and is accusing Jim of currently living with a woman who was once a sex worker. The woman, Peggy Schinke, rose to fame as one of the prostitutes who worked with Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. During a 1990s sting operation, Peggy was one of four women who met with undercover vice officers for Beverly Hills PD. It was a pivotal moment in the Fleiss criminal case.

Winnie the Pooh lives with a whore, pays a whore to pretend to be his girlfriend, rapes and abuses the mother of his kids, Stephanie said. She also claims Jim has tried to get her to kill herself and has referred to his two daughters as n-word babies.

She says Jim is a much smaller version of Harvey Weinstein, who needs help for his alleged addictions. She is making it clear she believes her daughters lives are in danger around Jim and she wants full custody of the kids.

According to records, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has investigated the case and have been in contact with the couple.

The Blast reached out to Disney several times before publishing this story  so far they have not commented.

The post Winnie the Pooh Disney Voice Star Jim Cummings Accused of Rape, Animal Abuse appeared first on The Blast.
Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 21 taken to hospital originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue said 21 passengers were transported to the hospital, all in good condition. There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members.

(MORE: Small plane crashes in Long Island, all passengers survive)

There was no water inside the cabin of the plane when rescue personnel arrived, but passengers had come out onto the wing and were then escorted through the shallow water to land.

The flight is what is called "the rotator" flight that flies out of Guantanamo on Tuesdays and Fridays. Its a regularly scheduled charter flight that flies from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Jacksonville and then continues on to Norfolk, Virginia, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for Navy Region Southeast.

Passengers who use this aircraft pay a standard fare for the transportation to and from Guantanamo. The passengers can be military personnel, their families, civilian employees or contractors who work or live at Guantanamo.

PHOTO: A 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."

The NTSB is investigating the runway overrun of a Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 that overran the runway at NAS Jacksonville and came to rest in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. NTSB photo. pic.twitter.com/ueBeCa2OAt  NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) May 4, 2019

There were thunderstorms in the area during the accident, but an official said it was unclear if that was a contributing factor.

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The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."

(MORE: VIDEO: Survivor: Hawaii Plane Crash 'Like Instant Brakes')

"It think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at an overnight press conference. "It could have ended very differently."

Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.

The plane skidded off one of two runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The base specializes in anti-submarine warfare and training pilots. It is also home to Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

PHOTO: A Boeing 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"To say that I was wiping sweat off my brow would be an understatement," Tom Francis, spokesperson for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, said in response to the lack of serious injuries.

Curry said he was contacted by President Donald Trump to offer help in the wake of the accident.

(MORE: VIDEO: WWII plane crash kills 20 on board)

Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene, including members of the hazmat unit.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the accident.

ABC News' Luis Martinez, Matt Foster and Chris Donato contributed to this report.
Minnesota's repeal of marital rape exemptions highlights existing legal loopholes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The governor of Minnesota closed a legal loophole this week in the states marital rape law -- just one of what advocates describe as scores of legal loopholes still permeating state criminal justice laws from coast to coast.

Marital rape laws have been in place in all 50 states for more than a quarter century, but a number of those states -- like Minnesota -- have had exemptions in place which specified certain circumstances in which what would typically be considered rape if it happened between strangers, is not considered a crime between a married or existing couple.

Aequitas, a national non-profit that studies prosecution practices as they relate to gender-based violence and human trafficking, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of exemption to laws against marital rape of spouses who are drugged or otherwise incapacitated, according to an Associated Press report.

The change in Minnesota law was spearheaded by Jenny Teeson, who discovered video that showed that her now-ex-husband drugged and sexually assaulted her while they were married. During the case against her husband, she learned that Minnesotas marital rape law has an exemption that applied in their case.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson, center in white, of Andover, Minn., looks on as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs a bill at the Capitol in St. Paul, on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Steve Karnowski/AP)

The Minnesota penal code previously contained a statute that allowed people who were accused of sexual assault to justify the act if they had an existing relationship with the victim. That was used in Teeson's ex-husband's case, but will no longer be available to offenders in Minnesota.

In 2017, Teeson and her now ex-husband were going through a divorce when she found a flash drive containing videos of her husband allegedly sexually assaulting her with an object while she was drugged and unconscious  and turned them over to police, who initially charged the man with third-degree criminal sexual assault, the AP reported.

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Later the same day, Minnesota state prosecutors dropped that charge against Teesons ex-husband due to the loophole, and he ultimately pled guilty to invasion of privacy and served 30 days behind bars, according to numerous reports about the case

(MORE: Domestic violence plays a role in many mass shootings, but receives less attention: Experts)

"This exception should never have been part of our criminal statutes," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said after signing the bill repealing the pre-existing relationship defense on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. "It is reprehensible. And because of Jenny and other survivors, it is now repealed."

(MORE: Bus driver who raped 14-year-old girl gets no prison time, just probation and fees)

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Walz said.

The legal concept that a rape cannot happen within a marriage dates back to the 17th century English common law, when Sir Matthew Hale posited that marital rape is legally impossible because a marriage implies a womans ongoing consent to sex, according to the Associated Press.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson receives applause while speaking after Gov. Tim Walz signed into law a repeal of the state's pre-existing relationship defense at the Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Leila Navidi/Minneapolis Star Tribune via ZUMA)

Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men report having been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the AP reported  noting that national surveys place the percentage of women who say they were raped within a marriage at between 10% and 14%.

Yet despite the persistence of the #MeToo movement and ongoing efforts to update and reframe womens rightful roles in all aspects of American society, campaigns to close marital rape loopholes havent proven successful everywhere.

A recent bill in Marylands legislature to erase marital rape exemptions for all sex crimes died in committee, the AP reported. One skeptical lawmaker wondered whether one spouse could conceivably be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind. Another wanted to know if your religion believes if you are married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? The bill died in committee, the AP reported.

Other common arguments against erasing such exemptions from state statutes include notions of marital privacy as a constitutional right  as when spouses cant be forced to testify against each other in court, Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of Law told the wire service.

Aequitass data reports that a number of states have multiple forms of exemptions, but they describe the exemptions as generally falling into one of three categories. The first  and most common, occurring in 41 jurisdictions  is based on the age of the victim and the offender. The specific exceptions vary by state but tend to relate to the victim being under a certain age or the perpetrator being a certain number of years older than the victim.

Because of this exemption, actions that would generally be considered statutory rape if it occurred between strangers, may not deemed a crime if the individuals are married or have a pre-existing relationship.

The second type of exemption relates to the capacity of the victim to consent, either due to their mental impairment, physical or cognitive disabilities, or intoxication. In the context of this exemption, a sexual assault that may normally be criminalized as rape because the victim could not consent due to intoxication, for example, may not be considered a crime in states like Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut or Idaho, which are four of the 20 jurisdictions that have that exemption, according to Aequitas.

(MORE: John Bobbitt speaks out 25 years after wife infamously cut off his penis: 'I want people to understand the whole story')

The third exemption relates to rare instances when one spouse has legal authority over another, including instances in which one spouse is granted custodial or guardianship power over the other.

Holly Fuhrman, an associate attorney and adviser at Aequitas, gave the hypothetical examples of a prison guard and an inmate, or a caregiver and someone in their care as situations that could fall into this exemption.

The exemptions themselves are very complicated, Fuhrman noted to ABC News.

Beyond the legal loopholes, Fuhrman said that a number of other aspects of the relationship between the couple could prevent the victim from seeking legal justice.

She said that marital rape often happens in the context of a broader domestic violence relationship where there are dynamics of power and control at play.
The private sector is seen as a mainstay of Hanois economic development as the nearly 250,000 firms make up 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and generate jobs for over 50 percent of the labourers in the city.

Accounting for 97.2 percent of the capital citys total enterprises, the private businesses are affirming their leading role in the nation and citys development and construction. Favourable mechanisms and policies outlined by local authorities have helped the firms stabilise and branch out their business operation.

However, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association Mac Quoc Anh said that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance is still constrained by many factors, comprising both internal capacity and unfriendly external factors like shortage of capital and high-quality human resources, and narrow access to technology besides poor management and marketing capacity.

Therefore, SMEs would lose their competitive edge, especially when Vietnam is integrating deeply into the global economy, with various bilateral and multilateral free trade deals having been inked with the ASEAN, the US, Japan and the EU, he said.

In a bid to make SMEs become more conducive to local economy, Hanoi will create a sound business environment, ensuring that it serves as a launching pad for the firms to further develop, while supporting them in innovation, modernising technologies, and improving labour productivity.

It is necessary for the local authority to channel efforts to narrow gap with the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand) in terms of technology, human resources and competitive capacity.

The city is completing and implementing effective mechanisms and policies, contributing to finalising the socialist-oriented market economy in the country by 2030. Accordingly, economic growth will be promoted in tandem with sustainable development, environment protection, and climate change response.

Besides, it will continue shake-up in State-owned enterprises, targeting that most of the companies have international-standard quality management systems, and modern technologies and techniques equivalent to those of regional countries by 2030.-VNA
By Express News Service

SRIKAKULAM/VIJAYAWADA: People in Srikakulam and other two north coastal districts  Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram  heaved a sigh of relief, with extreme severe cyclonic storm Fani sparing them and moving towards southern Odisha coast.

However, under the influence of the cyclone, moderate to heavy rains lashed northern mandals of Srikakulam district. Some areas in Sompeta, Srikakulam and Kanchili mandals received around 19 cm of rains with high-velocity winds on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. But, since Friday morning, there were no rains in all the three coastal districts.

In Ichchapuram, which borders Odisha, winds at 140 kmph were registered and in some parts of Uddanam region, several coconut and palm trees were uprooted. Branches of the trees fell on the interior roads and NDRF and fire service personnel, deployed in the district as a precautionary measure, cleared them.

District collector J Niwas said that there were no casualties and damage was minimal. He said several electric poles in Kanchili, Kaviti, Sompeta, Ichchapuram and Palasa mandals were uprooted due to gales.

As many as 2,000 staff of Electricity department are engaged in restoration works and we expect to restore power to 70-80 per cent of the affected areas by Friday night. Superintending engineer-level officials in each mandal are supervising the restoration works. Power connectivity to rest of the district has been restored. As a precautionary measure, power connectivity was disconnected on Thursday night, he explained.

In the report submitted to the State government, district collector put the losses at Rs 38.43 crore in the district. As many as 162 houses were damaged, 12 sheep and nine cows were killed. Horticulture crop loss in 406 hectares was pegged at Rs 4.09 crore. Infrastructure damage in Palasa and Srikakulam municipalities was pegged at Rs 2.12 crore.

Energy department sustained losses to the tune of Rs 9.75 crore.

Around 20,000 people, who were evacuated from vulnerable locations and housed in 252 relief centres set up in the district, started returning home since Friday morning itself.

On the other hand, the Irrigation officials are in touch with their Odisha counterparts to monitor flood-levels in Nagavali, Vamsadhara, Mahendra Tanaya and Bahuda rivers. On Thursday, as a precautionary measure, all the 24 gates of Gotta Barrage on Vamsadhara river in Hiramandalam was opened, but on Friday morning, with no inflows or rains in the upper catchment areas, 18 gates were closed and water is being released from the remaining six gates.

According to officials, only when the flood levels cross one lakh cusecs mark, will the first warning of floods be issued. However, to be on the safe side, all the officials in the riverside mandals were put on alert.

In Vizianagaram district, not much damage to infrastructure and houses were reported. The horticulture crop (banana) losses in 326 hectares of land was pegged at Rs 5.08 crore.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who took stock of the situation later in the day, told newsmen that 2,129 electric poles and 218 cell towers in 12 mandals were damaged.
Photo credit: KOCO via YouTube

From Delish

A 28-year-old Oklahoma man suffered a stroke after popping his neck, reported ABC affiliate KOCO News. According to the outlet, Josh Hader's vertebral artery, which leads from the base of the neck to the brain, tore as a result of the common practice.

Hader explained to the outlet he immediately knew something was wrong.

The moment I heard the pop, everything on my left side started to go numb, said Hader. I got up and tried to get an ice pack from the fridge, and I remember I couldnt walk straight.



Hader was taken to the hospital by his father-in-law. X-rays revealed Hader's torn artery, and medical staff says the man's injury could have been life-threatening.

He could have formed more clot on that tear and had a life-ending stroke. He could have died, Dr. Vance McCollom of Mercy Hospital told KOCO.

Strokes in this region can leave patients incapacitated, according to McCollom.

They completely understand what's going on, but they can't communicate. They can't move anything. They can't speak. They can't breathe.

Hader's case was less severe, but the Oklahoma man experienced double vision and had to wear an eyepatch for several days. He also relied on a walker to move around and suffered from painful hiccups.

According to KOCO, Hader's wife frequently asked him to stop the dangerous habit.

His wife had been telling him, Don't pop your neck. You're going to cause a stroke, said McCollom.

Although strokes related to neck popping are rare, medical professionals say there are other risks.

New York-based chiropractor Patrick Kerr, D.C., tells SELF that popping your neck can make the area feel more stiff. This only makes you perform the habit more often.

"You know, on some level, that movement brings relief, so that leads to cracking," said Kerr. "But then you begin to discover that it takes more and more effort to get relief. It becomes a habit."

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For those of you who just can't stop, follow McCollom's advice:

If you want to pop your neck, just kind of pop it side to side. Don't twist it, he said.

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Photo credit: Withunmind Photography

From Woman's Day

Late fall can be a bittersweet time of year, especially in rural Texas. Live oak trees, once ablaze with orange and red leaves, begin to look bare. The sun descends from its summertime perch, putting an end to days that stretch luxuriously into night.



Still, theres plenty of magic to be had in autumn  a campfire crackling on a chilly evening, an apple pie spiced just right with cinnamon, or, say, a wedding.





Photo credit: Judy Tran

Tabatha Cash and Marlee Castillo tied the knot last fall at a park in Spearman, TX, on an overcast day that was warm enough for Tabatha, dressed in a long white sleeveless lace dress, not to catch a chill, yet cool enough so that Marlee felt comfortable in a three-piece suit.

Nearly 50 people  aunts and uncles, long-time friends  looked on as the women said their I dos. But Tabathas mother wasnt among them.

My mom doesnt accept that Im gay, says Tabatha. It was understood that she loves me and she loves Marlee, but she doesn't love us together.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Luckily, nestled in the beaming crowd, was Sara Cunningham, the founder of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that supports the queer community. As she had for several other couples, Sara had offered to act as a stand-in mother for Tabatha on her wedding day. Sara had helped Tabatha arrange a bouquet and get dressed. She dried her tears, blotted her makeup, and fussed over details of the reception.



To not be accepted by your own family is devastating, says Sara. Hopefully I made the day a little better for Tabatha.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

The Start of a Movement

Saras journey from religious Midwest mom to queer ally began with her son, Parker, who told her he was gay in 2011 when he was 21.



Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

I didnt take the news very well, says Sara, whose resistance was based on her churchs beliefs about gay people and its interpretation of certain Bible verses.

I was really wrestling with my faith, says Sara. I couldnt understand how to love my son, but not accept every part of him.

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After a lot of soul-searching, Sara parted ways with the church. She found solace in a private Facebook group for moms of gay children, all of whom felt alienated from their religious communities. The women shared advice for building new relationships with their children and supported each other during difficult times. More than one mother came to the group after her child died by suicide. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual youth.

By 2015, Sara was ready to embrace the queer community  literally. She pinned a homemade button that read Free Mom Hugs onto her sundress and went with Parker to the Oklahoma City Gay Pride parade. Anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, Can I offer you a free mom hug or high five? Sara says. The first woman who accepted a hug told her she hadnt been hugged by her mom for four years.



After the parade, as Sara got involved with local LGBTQ groups, she began to see the needs of community first-hand. She met a queer couple living in their car and a young man who had been kicked out of his house after telling his youth pastor he was gay. Sara and a few other moms began collecting donations for them and other struggling queer people  she bought bus tickets and tanks of gas and gave out Target gift cards. The next year Sara founded the nonprofit organization Free Mom Hugs, and extended her outreach even more. She began to officiate gay weddings.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

In talking with the couples before the ceremony, many told me that their parents wouldnt acknowledge their relationships and refused to come to the wedding, she says. It broke my heart.

Frustrated, Sara took to Facebook in July 2018 with a post that quickly went viral. It said, If you need a mom to attend your same sex wedding because your biological mom won't. Call me. I'm there. I'll be your biggest fan. I'll even bring the bubbles.



The response was overwhelming  dozens of couples reached out to ask Sara to attend their weddings as a stand-in. Even more people responded with their own offer to act as a proxy.

If you need a Mom, an Aunt, a Granny, or just a friend in Florida, Ill be there, one woman posted. Love is love. Period.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Tabatha and Marlees Texas wedding was one of the first ceremonies that Sara attended as a stand-in, and in 2019, she plans to go to at least three more, including the June wedding of Haley Myers-Brannon and Sam Hedrick. Sam grew up in Oklahoma City, in a conservative Christian family who refused to accept his identity.

Photo credit: Kate Donaldson Photography

When I came out to my parents as transgender, it was a big blow to them, he says. After Sam met Haley and he decided to propose, he reached out to his parents with the news. My mom texted and said, we do not believe this is Gods plan for you, Sam says.

Then Sara stepped in. Sam had met her through a friend and eventually asked her to attend his and Haleys wedding in place of his mom. Sara will help him get dressed and be there to talk before the ceremony.

Shes probably going to let me cry a lot and then help me pull it together, says Sam. Shell be in the front row where my family would normally sit.

Despite the expansion of Free Mom Hugs, which now has more than 40 chapters in the U.S. and beyond, as well as more than 50,000 Facebook followers, Sara still holds down a full-time job as a secretary for an architectural firm.

And yet, she plans to keep growing, helping transgender community members get their birth certificates changed to reflect their identity, filling prescriptions, providing housing for LGBTQ people who feel unsafe in homeless shelters, and more.

Says Sara, What we do is way beyond hugs.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

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Buying sunscreen used to involve choosing an SPF level and deciding if you wanted to smell like a coconut. Today, the descriptors on each bottle have multiplied, and there are far more decisions to make. Were here to help.

Sunscreen ingredients can already be a bit of a brain teaser for the average shopper  do you choose a formula with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, a combo of both, or something else entirely, like a non-mineral filter?  but when you add in other words from elsewhere on the label, the challenge of choosing the right protection multiplies exponentially. How much of the language is just marketing mumbo-jumbo, and which terms should be taken into serious consideration? And more importantly, what do they all mean?

Here, you'll find explanations of the most common words and phrases found on sunscreens so you can approach the shelves (or the websites) with the confidence that you're getting what you want and need, whether thats a formula that won't irritate your skin, one that won't harm the environment, one that won't budge when you sweat, or all of the above  and then some.

broad-spectrum

adj. brd-spek-trm

A sunscreen that offers protection from both UVB rays, which burn skin, and UVA rays, which cause damage like collagen breakdown, says Elizabeth Hale, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. For the best sun protection, use only sunscreens labeled "broad-spectrum."

chemical

adj. ke-mi-kl

A term used to describe a sunscreen that protects from UV rays by absorbing them with chemical ingredients, such as octocrylene or avobenzone (though its worth noting even "mineral" sunscreens are made in labs).

clinically tested

adj. kli-ni-kl te-std

Some brands test for distinctions like being good for sensitive skin, but seeing this term doesn't indicate which benefit they tested for, nor on how many people, says Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a board-certified dermatologist in Miami. So it shouldn't sway your choice.

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gluten-free

adj. glu-tn-fr

The Gluten Intolerance Group will place its GFCO seal on beauty products with 10 parts per million or less of gluten. (But gluten-containing ingredients, like wheat protein, are more common in hair care than sunscreen.)

hypoallergenic

adj. h-p-a-lr-je-nik

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate this term (see "Caveat Emptor," below, for more on that), and companies can use it whether or not they've formulated a product with a low likelihood of triggering allergic reactions. If you tend to react to sunscreens, look for a fragrance-free mineral formula, says Woolery-Lloyd.

mineral

adj. min-rl

These sunscreens achieve their SPF factor with physical blockers, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, says Steven Wang, a dermatologist in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. (They form a physical barrier between UV rays and skin.)

noncomedogenic

adj. nan-kam-d--jen-ik

There's no standard way to validate whether a beauty product is likely to cause comedones (pimples). But if you're acne-prone, choose sunscreens with drying salicylic acid and zinc oxide, and avoid ones rich in lipids, like coconut oil and cocoa butter.

oil-free

adj. i(-)l-fr

This means a product doesn't contain oil, but it doesn't indicate whether it has other occlusives, like silicone, that can cause breakouts and even heat rash, says Rachel Nazarian, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

If you're concerned, look for a sunscreen that skips both oils and silicones. You can find silicone by looking for names that end in "-siloxane" or "-thicone," says cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski.

organic

adj. r-ga-nik

While this can mean that a sunscreen's botanical ingredients were farmed organically (look for the USDA seal), no sunscreen can be 100-percent organic. Chemical sunscreens rely on lab-concocted compounds to protect from UV rays, and physical ingredients "are synthetically created  it is illegal to use mined versions of zinc and titanium dioxide since they are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals," says Romanowski.

reef-friendly, reef-safe

adj. rf-fren(d)-l, rf-sf

Either term should mean that a sunscreen doesn't contain any of these five ingredients: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, 4-methylbenzylidene, and butyl-paraben, says Woolery-Lloyd. Small studies suggest that these ingredients can affect coral's ability to reproduce by harming or killing coral larvae and even reduce its life span and immunity.

Still, these are unregulated terms, so double-check the label for any of the above ingredients if reef safety is a priority. (Reef-safe sunscreens may also be labeled "biodegradable," says Sonya Lunder, senior toxics adviser for the Sierra Clubs gender, equity, and environment program.)

sand-resistant

adj. sand-ri-zi-stnt

There's no standard for just how sand-repellent a sunscreen is, but some independent labs offer tests for sunscreen makers who want to make this claim. "It means that when the sunscreen was exposed to several different sands  fine, medium, and all-purpose  the SPF level didn't change. This is usually due to smoother, silkier textures that dont allow sand to 'cling,' " says Nazarian.

sensitive

adj. sen-s-tiv

You're better off looking at the back of the label than the front to determine whether or not a sunscreen is good for sensitive skin. Opt for physical sunscreens instead of chemical ones, since they're less likely to irritate skin, and look for options without "fragrance," another top offender, listed on the ingredient label.

spf

n. s-p-f

Stands for sun protection factor, specifically for UVB rays. The number next to it is a measure of how much solar energy is required to produce a sunburn on protected skin  as the SPF value increases, so does sunburn protection. (It's not a measure of UVA protection  another reason to choose broad-spectrum sunscreens.)

The FDA's standard for testing is to apply two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. Or, in medical terms: "A really thick layer," Nazarian says. "So the higher that number, the better."

She recommends a minimum broad-spectrum SPF of 30 year-round, and an SPF of at least 50 for beach days or outdoor activities in the summer. Reapply every two hours to stay protected.

sport

adj. sprt

Since there's no actual test to verify that a sunscreen is better for activities, any sunscreen that's qualified as water-resistant for 80 minutes will do the trick.

water-resistant

adj. w-tr-ri-zi-stnt

In the U.S., the FDA regulates this term via one standard test: A subject alternates between getting wet and drying off multiple times and is then tested to be sure the sunscreen is still on and in effect. All sunscreens that use the term "water-resistant" are required to undergo the test, so look for the stamp if you know youre going to be swimming or sweating.

The Australian government's Therapeutic Goods Association requires that sunscreens remain fully present on skin after four hours of water exposure. You can seek out sunscreens, like ones from TropicSport, that are sold in both countries and have passed both tests.

Caveat Emptor: At the end of the day, most of these terms are used at the discretion of the manufacturers, except select terms regulated by the FDA, like the SPF number, active ingredients, and "broad-spectrum" and "water-resistant" claims.

Now read more about sunscreen::

__Done reading? Take a tour of Chris Appleton's lavish bathroom: __

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Originally Appeared on Allure
Photo credit: Getty/Netflix

From Esquire

Ted Bundy brutally murdered dozens of women across the country in the late 1970s. Around the time he began his killing spree, he started dating a young secretary named Elizabeth. But it wasn't until years later that Elizabeth first realized her boyfriend might be connected to a string of unsolved kidnappings and murders. In 1974, she saw in a local newspaper a composite drawing of the primary suspect, a man who shared the name Ted with her boyfriend.



She wrote about her haunting experience with Bundy under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kendall in a little-known memoir called The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, which was published in 1981, years before Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 for his crimes. That book is the inspiration for the new Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile in which Zac Efron plays Bundy and Lily Collins plays Elizabeth.



Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

So, while we've known bits and pieces of Elizabeth's story, she and her daughter are now stepping forward to break their silence about their lives with the serial killer. The women are the subject of the new Amazon series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer, which premieres January 31 and takes the focus of the Bundy story off of the man and onto the victims and survivors he abused. Elizabeth and her daughter Molly are also sitting for an accompanying interview with Amy Robach on 20/20 which airs on the 31st, as well.

Heres what we know about the Elizabeth:



Elizabeth and her daughter broke their silence in January 2020.

After being out of print for decades, Elizabeth's memoir was rereleased on January 7 by Abrams Press with a new introduction, a chapter written by her daughter, Molly, and personal photos of the women with Bundy. "I still cared deeply for Ted when I wrote the original book," Elizabeth writes in the new introduction. "It took years of work for me to accept who he was and what he had done. I still felt lingering shame that I had loved Ted Bundy. It was healing for me when women started telling their stories of sexual violence and assault as part of the Me Too movement. I could related to keeping experiences secret for fear of being judged."

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It was for that reason, and because of the swirl of renewed interest in Bundy with the Efron film, that Elizabeth decided to participate in the Amazon series, as well.

She wrote under a pseudonym.

Elizabeth originally published her book under the name Elizabeth Kendall. But when Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile premiered at Sundance, the press materials said the story is told from the point of view of Bundys girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, though now, the credits Netflix is promoting read: Based on the book: The Phantom Prince; My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall, and the characters name is listed as Liz Kendall. In the 2020 re-release of her memoir, Elizabeth writes, "I hadn't gone by old married name of Kloepfer for years, not since Molly was a child. Unfortunately, some still link the name to Ted Bundy ... For these [new] projects, I have used my original pseudonym, Elizabeth Kendall, to spare Molly's father's family name further association with Ted's crimes."

She was the mother of a young daughter when she met Bundy.

Photo credit: Netflix

When they met, Elizabeth was recently divorced, working as a secretary at the University of Washington medical department, and raising her 2-year-old daughter Molly, who she calls Tina in her book. The 24-year-old had graduated from Utah State with a degree in Business and Family Life and had recently moved to Washington.

She met Bundy at a bar.

Photo credit: Netflix

Bundy and Elizabeth met at a bar called the Sandpiper Tavern in Seattle in October 1969, she writes in her memoir. She noticed him from across the room, noting how well-dressed he was, then he asked her to dance.

The chemistry between us was incredible. I was already planning the wedding and naming the kids, she writes. He was telling me that he missed having a kitchen because he loved to cook. Perfect. My Prince.

She brought him home that night, and he made her breakfast the next morning. The next weekend, they went on a weekend trip to Vancouver.

The relationship became serious quickly.

In her book, Elizabeth describes meeting Bundys parents after a few months of dating. She had dinner at Bundys childhood home with his father Johnnie Bundy, a cook at an army hospital, and his mother Louise, a secretary at their Methodist church.

I loved her so much it was destabilizing, Bundy told journalist Stephen G. Michaud about Elizabeth. Michauds interviews were recently released in the Netflix docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. I felt such a strong love for her but we didnt have a lot of interests in common like politics or something, I dont think we had in common. She liked to read a lot. I wasnt into reading.

They applied for a marriage license.

Photo credit: Getty Images

I had never been so happy, but it bothered me to be practically married to a man I wasnt married to, Elizabeth writes about their relationship. When I talked to him, he agreed now was the time to do it. They went to the courthouse for a marriage license in February 1970, but after a fight a few days later, Bundy ripped up the document. Kendalls book editor, Sara Levant, tells me she went to the Seattle courthouse to confirm the couple applied for the license.

In spite of that fight, Elizabeth and Bundy continued dating. And in early 1972, Elizabeth became pregnant, she writes in her memoir.

Both of us knew it would be impossible to have a baby now. He was going to start law school in the fall, and I needed to be able to work to put him through, she writes. I was distraught. I knew I was going to terminate the pregnancy as soon as I could. Ted, on the other hand, was pleased with himself. He had fathered a baby.

Bundy was abusive.

Throughout the book, Elizabeth describes Bundy being emotionally and verbally abusive. Once, after confronting him about his habit of stealing, he threatened her, If you ever tell anyone about this, Ill break your fucking neck.

Elizabeth suspected Bundy was involved in unsolved kidnappings in Seattle while they were dating.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Elizabeth began suspecting Bundy was involved in a string of disappearances when she read news reports that said the suspects name was Ted, drove a Volkswagon similar to Bundys and issued a police sketch which resembled him. Reports also said the suspects arm was in a castthough Bundy didnt have a broken arm, Elizabeth recalled shed once seen plaster of Paris in his desk drawer that he said hed taken when he worked at a medical supply house. "He said that a person never could tell when he was going to break a leg, and we both laughed. Now I keep thinking about the cast the guy at Lake Sammamish was wearingwhat a perfect weapon it would make for clubbing someone on the head, she writes.



Soon after, she found a hatchet in Bundys car. He said it was there because hed chopped down a tree at his parents cabin the week before.

She tried to alert the police.

On August 8, 1974, Elizabethcalled the Seattle Police Department to tell them her boyfriend matched the description of the suspect, who had used crutches to attack a victim. Shed noticed crutches in her boyfriends room, as well, she explained. But after she was told, You need to come in and fill in a report. Were too busy to talk to girlfriends over the phone, Elizabeth hung up. Two months later, after Bundy moved to Utah and the kidnappings began happening there, she called the King County Police, but she was told theyd already looked into Bundy and cleared him.

After Bundy was arrested, they communicated through phone calls and letters.

Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

Though Elizabeth had initially suspected Bundys involvement in the crimes, she believed Bundy when he told her he was innocent. He sent her passionate letters and she visited him in prison. She even sat with Bundys parents in the courthouse when he was on trial for the attempted kidnapping for Carol DeRonch in March 1976.

Bundy admitted he tried to kill her.

After Bundy was tied to more kidnappings and murdersand after Elizabeth became sober after joining Alcoholics Anonymousshe began distancing herself from Bundy. But while in a Florida prison, he called her to admit, There is something the matter with me  I just couldnt contain it. I fought it for a long, long time  it was just too strong.

Elizabeth writes in her memoir that when she responded by asking if he ever tried to kill her, Bundy told her that the urge took over one night when he was at her house, and he closed the damper so the smoke couldnt go up the chimney, then he left after putting a towel under a door so the smoke wouldnt escape. Kendall writes that she remembers waking up coughing after a night of drinking.

Elizabeth signed off the Netflix film.

Joe Berlinger, the director of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, says he sought Elizabeths permission before agreeing to make the film, and she hesitantly agreed. Berlinger and Lily Collins, who plays Elizabeth in the film, met with the real Elizabeth before filming.



She was willing and passionate about meeting meher and her daughter, too," Collins told E! News.

But Berlinger says that in spite of signing off on the film, Elizabeth still wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

She was very ambivalent, Berlinger told me. I think that's why the book continues to be out of print. She does not want the spotlight. For example, she didn't want to come to Sundance. She doesn't want to participate in the press. She wants to remain anonymous. She trusted us with her story. She agreed to do the movie, obviously, so it's not being done without her cooperation. I think she's very ambivalent because she doesn't want attention to herself today.

Elizabeth writes in the new introduction to her memoir that Efron and Collins "got it right," but in the dramatization, a lot was left out of the story, which is why they decided to speak out.

Bundy reached out to Elizabeth and Molly right before his execution.

After he was executed in 1989, Bundy's attorney reached out to Elizabeth to pass along a message.

"Ted had asked her to call us and make sure he knew that he loved us," Elizabeth says in the Amazon documentary series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer. "She also wondered why I never responded to his last letter." Molly explains she had intercepted Bundy's last letter from death rowand burned it. Molly says, "I could tell it hurt her heart that I had robbed her of this closure, of this last interaction. I'm not sorry at all. And I'm especially not sorry that he went to his death wondering why she never wrote back. Good."

Elizabeth talks about her life today in the documentary.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime

Elizabeth has been sober for 42 years, she explains in the Amazon series, crediting sobriety with saving her life. She talks about what it's like to be one of Bundy's few survivors, and says, "As much as I can, I've forgiven myself. I hope this is the end of my participation with anything related to Ted."

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If theres one thing that lawyers know about reading documents, its to pay attention to the footnotes. In fact, oftentimes the most important information is buried there. Americas entire 14th Amendment jurisprudence, for instance, came out of a single footnote in a 1932 case now know as the famous footnote. The Mueller Report is no different. Buried in the footnotes of the Special Counsels two-volume tome are some of its most important nuggets, many of which address and refute popular talking points emanating from the Trump White House. Even if you dont read the entire document, here are a few footnotes worth paying attention to  including one that seems to explain the possible results of Muellers findings. The devil is truly in the details.

Volume I

Footnote 465

This footnote addresses a question that has been raised time and again, and which was echoed by Attorney General William Barr in his testimony to Congress on April 10: What was the basis, or predicate, for the Russia investigation?

The White House has claimed that the investigation was based on the Steele Dossier, an intelligence report compiled by a former British spy and financed by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which alleged that there were ties between Trump and the Kremlin. But in this footnote, Mueller explains the sequence and timing of events that gave rise to a credible threat to national security, warranting an investigation. First, Mueller notes earlier in the report that in July 2016, Wikileaks began disseminating emails stolen from the DNC. A few days later, the U.S. intelligence community assessed with high confidence that the Russian government had orchestrated the hack of these emails. Within a week of that release, a foreign government informed the FBI that George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, told a representative of their government that Russia had offered to assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. Mueller states that this information is contained in the case-opening document and related materials. This means that it was these facts, not the Steele Dossier, which raised an open question on whether Russia had attempted or was trying to attempt to coordinate with members of the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and led to the official opening of an investigation.

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Footnote 1278

Here, Mueller explains that his team investigated whether the emails taken from the DNC would qualify as stolen property, as defined by the National Stolen Property Act. This has important implications for Muellers conclusions. Defining the hacked emails as stolen property could have increased the criminal liability of Wikileaks, which would have effectively acted as a fence  a legal term referring to a middleman who illegally receives and sells stolen goods. Further, if the hacked emails had qualified as stolen property, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, who sought dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, may have had to meet a lower standard of intent and even potentially face a violation of a federal statute which prohibits knowingly receiving stolen property. But based on his legal analysis, Mueller concluded that current law defined stolen property only as tangible goods, which would not include intangible information stolen by an unauthorized use of a computer. (Though Mueller also notes that Congress has considered amending the relevant act to include such information in the definition.) Thus Manafort, Trump Jr. and Kushner had to meet the higher intent standard required for campaign finance violations  and Mueller found the evidence insufficient to meet that mark.

Footnote 1282

This is a critical footnote that addresses the question, Why wasnt former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page charged with a crime, if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court felt there was enough probable cause that he was acting as an agent for Russia to warrant monitoring his communications via a FISA order? In short, the report states that while there was enough evidence against Page to warrant a FISA order, Muellers office did not have sufficient evidence to meet the higher and more exacting standard to bring criminal charges that would likely result in a conviction for the same. This is because of the difference between counterintelligence investigations and criminal investigations. Specifically, because FISA orders are based on gathering foreign intelligence, not on gathering evidence of a crime, the probable cause standard is lower: it requires only a fair probability, rather than certainty, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or [even] proof beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the target is knowingly acting as an agent of a foreign power. That said, Mueller does note that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found that the evidence against Page met the lower probable cause requirement on four occasions.

Volume II

Footnote 7

Critics of the Mueller report have noted that much of the narrative, particularly on obstruction charges, cites news articles or publicly available information. Critics have concluded this means that Mueller was unable to unearth evidence on his own, and is therefore relying on the media to support his claims. This footnote makes clear the real reason why Mueller cited these reports so often. The report states that he summarizes and cites news stories not for the truth of the information contained in the stories, but rather to place candidate Trumps response to those stories in context. In other words, the news stories in circulation at the time of Trumps actions show what Trump knew had been publicly reported  which offers additional evidence for his frame of mind when he attempted to refute or conceal the evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election underlying those stories. This helps to establish if there was corrupt intent behind Trumps actions, a fundamental element in establishing whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

Footnote 112

On June 8, 2017, then FBI Director James Comey stated in his testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that information contained in the Steele Dossier was salacious and unverified. Comeys words have since been interpreted as referring to the entirety of the raw intelligence provided in the Steele Dossier  and thereby tainting any portion of the investigation in which it might have been used. As noted above, there is no evidence that the Steele Dossier was used to open the investigation, and its not clear how much of the report, if any, was used to obtain things like FISA orders. But to whatever extent it was used, Mueller takes pains to note here that Comeys testimony referred to a specific piece of the Steele Dossier, namely the reportings unverified allegation that the Russians had compromising tapes of the President involving conduct when he was a private citizen during a 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant. This footnote makes clear that in his testimony, Comey was not characterizing any other portion of the dossier, other than those that refer to potentially compromising tapes on President Trump, as being unverified. This means that there may well have been portions of the Dossier that were verified early on in the Russia investigation (and much of it has been corroborated in public reporting since), and could have been a legitimate source of raw intelligence for the FBI in its investigation.

Footnote 1008

This footnote offers the nexus between Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the investigation in the Southern District of New York into campaign finance violations by Michael Cohen and, potentially, Trump himself. In particular, Mueller states that he was authorized to investigate Essential Consultants, LLC, the shell company used to make a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, because he had evidence that the entity received funds from Russian-backed entities. This suggests that the Daniels payment was discovered in the course of following the money from Russia, and that the payment became evidence of a separate crime beyond Muellers jurisdiction that was then referred to an outside U.S. Attorneys Office. This particular investigative thread opens the possibility that Mueller may have also followed Russian financial leads connected to Trump, including information contained in his tax returns (which the White House has said it assumes Mueller has seen).

Footnote 1091

This is perhaps the most consequential footnote in Muellers report. In this section, Mueller dismantles Trumps lawyers argument that the president cannot, legally speaking, obstruct justice. It is here, while forcefully making the claim that Congress indeed can hold the president accountable for obstruction of justice, that Mueller adds a telling a footnote emphasizing that [a] possibility remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office. What Mueller is saying here is that impeachment and criminal prosecution are independent processes which vindicate different interests. Therefore, even Congress removing Trump from office would not preclude the same evidence from being used in a criminal prosecution  which could result in a jail sentence for a former President of the United States.
Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images

ARLINGTON, Va.  Four years ago today, Donald Trump was poised to descend his golden escalator and begin a ride that would take him all the way to the Oval Office. As he prepared his campaign, Trump didnt have much of a team. Even weeks before the launch, Trumps braintrust was largely limited to four close associates who planned his White House bid from his Manhattan office. This time around, though, things are going to be very different.

In an office tower in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from the White House, there are already about three dozen people working in the headquarters of Trumps reelection campaign  and theyre ramping up. Trumps is also backed by a super-PAC that is planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into key states.

Trumps team is vowing to put together a more-than-$1 billion machine that will dwarf the guerilla operation he had early in the 2016 cycle. The president is also coming into the race with key structural advantages and experience running a powerfully influential Facebook advertising blitz.

Yet as the Trump reelection bid moves into high gear over the next few months, its staffers must balance trying to build a traditional campaign organization centered around an unconventional candidate. During a series of conversations with Yahoo News earlier this week, senior figures working on Trumps reelection effort discussed their strategy, which included leaning into some of the most controversial aspects of his record, such as immigration, and yet also pursuing unexpected targets, such as Latinos.

The blueprint also involves making no attempts to constrain Trump, even when his Twitter tirades or off-the-cuff comments upend the campaigns carefully made plans. In 2016, Trump won the White House as an outsider scoring a stunning upset. Now, he is the establishment and his team hopes they can combine a huge, professional infrastructure with a candidate they acknowledge is the ultimate disruptor. Its a volatile mix thats unprecedented in the political arena.

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Trumps team has already been growing for months. On Monday, five new senior staffers joined, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is also dating one of the presidents sons. And in an early indication of the plan to fight for votes from Latinos and other minority groups, the announcement included the news that Hannah Castillo, who previously worked on Hispanic outreach efforts for the RNC and Virginia GOP, will serve as the campaigns director of coalitions.

Donald Trump arrives at the press event to announce his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, in New York City. (Photo: Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Along with a much larger operation than his last campaign, Trump is set to enjoy major structural advantages in this election. As president, Trump has the unrivaled megaphone and majestic trappings of the White House, as well as the ability to promote legislation and executive orders to underpin his agenda. And there are more than 20 Democrats vying to challenge Trump, setting the stage for a divisive primary that could leave his eventual opponent badly bruised.

While Trump and his team are clearly watching the Democrats who are running for president, they dont seem too concerned with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who launched a campaign as a Republican last month. A senior Trump campaign staffer dismissed the idea that Welds primary challenge poses a threat, pointing to Trumps nearly ninety percent approval rating among Republicans. A Republican National Committee spokeswoman also cited Trumps support among members of the party to shoot down the notion he could face a serious primary rival.

The RNC and the Republican Party are firmly behind the president. Any effort to challenge the presidents nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere, the RNC spokeswoman said.

The lack of a major GOP opponent has helped Trump amass a sizable war chest. Last month, the Trump campaign announced it raised nearly $30 million during the first quarter of 2019, far outpacing any of the Democrats who hope to challenge the president next year.

Time is on Trumps side too. With Weld showing little sign of momentum, Trumps team can plot a national campaign while all his potential Democratic rivals have to focus on each other and key early primary states. Trumps head start was boosted by his unusual decision to officially launch his reelection bid on the day he took office in 2017.

The lights never went off.  The campaign never fully shut down, Trump 2020 deputy communications director Erin Perrine told Yahoo News.

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld speaks to the media in Bedford, N.H., in February. (Photo: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Of course, being president also comes with pitfalls. Trumps time in office has proved divisive and, while Democrats may not be united behind a single 2020 candidate yet, the congressional opposition has been aggressively investigating and attacking Trumps White House. But Trumps campaign is confident he can run on his record. In fact, theyre not planning to shy away from the most controversial moments of his presidency  the investigation into Trumps ties to Russia and his aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign, brushed off the continued legal wrangling between investigators and Trumps legal team over records related to the presidents real estate business as a distraction. The efforts by prosecutors and congressional Democrats to look into Trumps company is part of the fallout from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race.

The Mueller report, released last month, outlined a Kremlin operation that aimed to help Trump and hurt the 2016 Democratic contender Hillary Clinton. Mueller also detailed extensive contacts between Trumps inner circle and Russia, including business ties the president denied while he was campaigning. While Muellers investigation resulted in charges against several close Trump associates, he was unable to find sufficient evidence to prove Trumps campaign participated in a conspiracy to aid the Russian meddling.

Mueller also described several instances in which Trump could have been viewed as having obstructed the probe. Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, declined to charge the president with obstruction of justice based on Muellers findings. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about Barrs handling of the investigation and are attempting to gather further evidence.

William Barr, U.S. attorney general, left, speaks as Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, listens during a news conference. (Photo: Erik Lesser/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Trump and his allies have described Muellers report as a complete exoneration of the president and have focused on the fact there was no evidence of cooperation between his campaign and Russia. Murtaugh echoed that line and added that he would not be at all surprised to see Trump bring up the report regularly on the 2020 campaign trail.

You might hear a lot about the Russia hoax, the collusion hoax. The guy spent two years  two whole years  being called a Russian agent by the media and by  virtually every Democrat, whoever could find a television camera, Murtaugh said of Trump.

Murtaugh suggested it would be natural for Trump to push back against an attack.

He was being accused of being essentially a Russian spy as the president of the United States. Its about the most outrageous thing that you could say about the president of the United States, said Murtaugh, adding, All of it was untrue, so a little righteous indignation is to be expected.

The other major controversy of Trumps political career has been his focus on illegal immigration. Critics have said Trumps rhetoric is racist and argued his policies, particularly the separation of migrant children from their families at the border, are inhumane. But Murtaugh predicted immigration will be a positive point for the president even among Latinos, nearly two thirds of whom voted against Trump in 2016.

Democrats think erroneously that they can win the argument with Hispanic voters in particular simply by saying Trump and immigration, and they think that works. It has been our experience that it does not, Murtaugh said. If youre talking to Hispanic voters as we do, if they are themselves a legal immigrant who came through the process in the right way or have legal immigrants in their family in generations close to themselves they know they followed the rules and they think other people should follow the rules too.

Expanding his Latino support would provide a boost to Trumps hopes for a second term, and there is evidence the community isnt a monolithic bloc of opposition to the president. Trump received nearly 30 percent of the Latino vote in 2016 and more recent data has indicated he has retained the support of about 20 percent of the community. There is also data to suggest some Latinos are staunchly opposed to illegal immigration while a wide swath of the community doesnt see the issue as a priority.

But Trumps potential problems on immigration might go beyond opposition to his policies. There are questions about whether Trump has delivered on his signature campaign promise from 2016  a massive wall on the southern border. At times, Trump suggested this physical manifestation of his opposition to illegal immigration could be over 1,000 miles long, thirty feet high, made from concrete, and paid for by Mexico. As president, Trump has modified his position and suggested a fence would be adequate. And with Mexico refusing to pay for the project and Democrats opposing the effort, Trump has only been able to build a fraction of the wall he promised. Even more troublesome for Trumps record is data showing that illegal border crossings have surged under his presidency, reaching an eleven-year high.

President Trump speaks at a rally in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Murtaugh argued Trumps supporters will be satisfied with his work on the border. "By the time the election rolls around, about 450 miles of border wall will have been completed and this is despite Democrats refusal to give the president a dime for it, Murtaugh said. Thanks to his declaration of a national emergency the wall is being built, and its in progress.

Other issues the campaign plans to focus on include banking reform, Trumps efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, and most critically, a strong economy. In April unemployment fell to the lowest level in nearly half a century.

Trumps official campaign isnt the only part of his 2020 machinery. He is also being supported by the America First Action super-PAC. While presidential candidates sometimes have multiple political committees vying for supremacy among their supporters, America First Action has a quasi-official status, and multiple key members of Trumps inner circle are working with the PAC.

Last month, America First Action announced its chairman would be Linda McMahon, who had previously served in Trumps cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is a senior adviser to the PAC, and ex-West Wing aide Kelly Sadler is the groups communications director. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host who is dating the presidents son and recently joined his campaign, previously worked at the PAC. A statement from the Trump campaign that announced Guilfoyle had joined the team described America First Action as the preeminent Super-PAC supporting the President.

Like the Trump campaign, America First Action believes immigration can be a winning issue for Trump with Latinos. A source familiar with the committees operations said the PAC plans to raise more than the $200 million the various outside groups supporting Hillary Clinton hauled in as she faced Trump in 2016. America First Action will focus its activities in six target states that are costly to compete in and viewed by the PAC as crucial to a Trump victory: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In particular, the source said Florida is seen by the PAC as a must-win state for Trump.

All of the states being targeted by the PAC are ones where Trump won in 2016. According to the source, the PAC is concentrated on identifying additional voters who could swing to Trump in those states. Specifically, the PACs efforts are aimed at winning over new Trump voters by homing in on African-Americans, Hispanics, and suburban mothers and improving the presidents margins among these groups.

Under President Trumps administration, hes had the lowest unemployment in history for African-Americans and Hispanics. For women, its the lowest in 65 years. So, we feel we have a great story to tell here. Were the hottest economy in the world, Sadler, the PACs communications director, told Yahoo News.

President Trump (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

To make this strategy work, America First Action plans to buy attack ads on social media and in targeted local television programs, newspapers and ethnic dailies. Sadler said the PAC largely plans to stay out of the Democratic primary and will ramp up its activities when the opposition has thinned out. Like the campaign, America First Action hopes Trump will benefit from Democratic infighting.

Were going to keep our powder dry and let the Democrats do the hatchet jobs for us, Sadler said.

Its abundantly clear Trumps reelection effort is a completely different animal than the upstart crew that propelled his shocking victory in 2016. This more formalized, professionalized, and, frankly, massive iteration of the Trump campaign will still include some of the hallmarks of the presidents last run, including a hyper-focused Facebook advertising offensive and raucous rallies. The campaign also hopes that leaving the president free to tweet and speak his mind will help them hold on to the outsider appeal that was so crucial to Trumps rise.

Microtargeted Facebook ads were widely seen as one of the key factors behind the presidents surprising 2016 victory. Trumps presence on the social network dwarfed that of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Data from Facebook revealed Trump had about 5.9 million ads on the platform compared to approximately 66,000 for Clinton.

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, speaks during a campaign rally in Houston. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Early last year, Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps digital operation during the first race, was tapped to lead the entire 2020 campaign. Parscale and Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner, led the social media push that was an instrumental part of the presidents election. Parscales promotion is a sign of just how important the Facebook microtargeting remains for Trumps campaign. Its a point of pride for the team that some political insiders have verbed the campaign manager and referred to the maneuver of installing your digital chief at the top of your organization as pulling a Parscale.

Trumps 2016 campaign featured Facebook staffers embedded in an office near where Parscale was set up. A senior Trump campaign staffer who spoke to Yahoo News said they werent sure whether anyone from Facebook is working at the headquarters. However, the campaign is clearly open to the idea and plans to have a large team crafting Facebook ads.

If theres a Facebook guy around here somewhere, I havent met them yet. ... That would be interesting, the senior staffer said, adding, Were going to have a whole army of designers.

The campaign was willing to discuss its emphasis on Facebook microtargeting, something of a known trademark for team Trump, but reticent to divulge plans for other social networks and more traditional advertising venues such as television.

Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser, will also remain close to the campaign. Multiple sources said Kushner is the campaigns key liaison in the West Wing and has multiple daily conversations with Parscale. A Trump administration official said the pair have a great working relationship from 2016 and added, Jared was the person who suggested to the president that Brad be in charge of the campaign.

However, as he outlined the campaign managers role, Murtaugh, the communications director, made clear Parscale isnt the ultimate authority on the team. He gives direction, a vision. He gives goals, Murtaugh said, adding, Sometimes he says, This is what the president wants. And thats kind of non-negotiable.

Indeed, the other major piece that is still clearly part of the presidents team is the Let Trump Be Trump ethos that was established by former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. That meant not trying to curtail Trump as he veered off script at his marathon rallies or fired off blunt jabs on Twitter. Perrine, the campaigns deputy communications director, said this philosophy will absolutely remain in place for 2020.

The president has had an insurgent mentality, an outsider mentality the entire time hes been in DC, said Perrine, adding, We fully anticipate that will be the same mentality in this campaign, even in a larger structure.

Letting Trump Be Trump may lend the incumbent some rebellious sheen as he tries to recapture the magic behind his initial upset. However, giving the president free rein on the campaign trail can easily overshadow or topple more carefully laid plans. This risk was evident in the wake of former Vice President Joe Bidens entry to the crowded Democratic primary.

On Tuesday, the morning after Bidens kickoff rally, Perrine stressed that the campaign planned to avoid focusing on any individual Democrat in the race and instead would treat them as one homogenous group. As she explained it, this would allow the campaign to take advantage of Democratic infighting.

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally in Iowa. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Theyre all going to have to pass a purity of thought and a purity of policy test, Perrine explained, adding, That means things like Medicare for All, that means things like Green New Deal, voting for felons, basic income, impeaching the president. I mean, you name it.

In other words, as Perrine put it, tying the Democrats together means the larger field can be forced to answer for egregious liberal positions adopted by some of their colleagues. Along with providing a path to exploit infighting, framing the Democrats as a group allows the Trump campaign to avoid elevating any potential challenger.

But that effort to keep the Democrats as a pack was dealt a blow by Trump himself almost immediately after his team outlined the strategy. On Wednesday, the morning after his campaign talked with Yahoo News, Trump went on a Twitter tear and retweeted over 50 messages criticizing the firefighters union endorsement of Biden.

Even before Trump launched the offensive against the former vice president, his staffers seemed fully aware he would likely blast a tweet-sized hole in the plan to consolidate the opposition. Prior to the presidential tweetstorm, Perrine specifically acknowledged the need to let Trump be Trump when asked if the campaign might focus on Biden in response to his rising poll numbers.

You know, hes his best campaign manager, best surrogate, best communications director. So, we absolutely follow his lead, Perrine said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Hamas' leader in Gaza left for talks with Egyptian officials Thursday after a new outbreak of violence, as the militant group accused Israel of slowing down the implementation of Egyptian-mediated understandings aimed at easing the situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The visit by Yehiyeh Sinwar to Cairo came hours after the Israeli military struck several Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip late Wednesday. After the airstrikes, Palestinian militants fired rockets at southern Israel. No injuries were reported on either side.

The brief flare-up marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month of relative calm that followed the unofficial deal. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.

In a short statement, the Islamic militant group said that Sinwar will meet the director of Egypt's general intelligence to discuss "ways of alleviating the suffering" of Gaza's 2 million residents.

Hamas says Israel is not abiding by the deal. Under the agreement, Israel had expanded the permitted fishing zone off Gaza's coast to 15 nautical miles, but scaled back the area to its previous limit of 9 miles this week after a Gaza rocket was fired.

Officials from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza by force since a 2007 coup, say Israel did not honor other commitments, such as allowing the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza's cash-strapped public institutions and taking measures to further ease the territory's grinding power shortages.

During the lull, Hamas kept weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence mostly restrained and suspended the more violent forms of protest, including arson balloons and nighttime skirmishes. Witnesses say balloons were launched again Wednesday.

Hamas started the demonstrations a year ago to highlight Gaza's hardships more than a decade since Israel and Egypt blockaded the territory.

Over 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed during the marches, which sometimes grew into brief cross-border exchanges of rockets and airstrikes.

Over the past decade, Hamas and Israel fought three deadly and destructive wars.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Henceforth, school bags cannot weigh more than 10% of the average body weight of students, the state government stated on Friday.

The circular, issued by the department of primary and secondary education, issued clear guidelines on the upper limits that school bags can weigh. As per the circular, bags of students of Class I and II can only weigh around 1.5kg to 2kg while those of Class III, IV and V can weigh 2kg to 3kg.

Students from Class VI-VIII can have their bags weighing only up to 3kg-4kg and those of Class IX and X can weigh up to 5kg.

This direction is binding on schools across the state from this academic year, the circular read.

The move comes in the backdrop of a 2016-17 study conducted by the department of state education research and training in association with the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India

University, Bengaluru, on reducing weights of school bags in government, aided and unaided schools in the state. Opinions were also collected from students in this regard.

Bagless day

The order announced that students of Classes I and II should not be given homework. Also, their notebooks cannot exceed 100 pages. Also, schools are directed to observe every third Saturday of the month as Bagless Day. On this day, teachers are expected to engage students in educational extracurricular and cultural activities.

The order mandates teachers to keep their students abreast about the books required for the succeeding day so students could get only those books and avoid extra baggage. Schools have also been asked to

maintain adequate stocks of essential books such as Atlas and science dictionaries among others.

The order also directs schools to make provisions where students could drop their textbooks instead of carrying them home on a daily basis.




Multiple people were injured in Kiryat Gat when rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on May 4, Israel Police said. This video shows police officers responding to one of the scenes.

Approximately 150 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday, with the Iron Dome intercepting dozens, Haaretz reported.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on Gaza in retaliation for the rocket fire, according to their official Twitter account.

One Palestinian was killed, and seven others injured, in the attacks, a spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said. Credit: @IL_police via Storyful
CHICAGO (AP)  A judge is to rule next week on whether he will recuse himself from a request to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how Chicago's top prosecutor handled actor Jussie Smollett's criminal case.

Retired Illinois appellate judge Sheila O'Brien is pushing for the review of Cook County State's Attorney's Kim Foxx's office, which dropped charges against Smollett that accused him of making a false police report.

On Thursday, O'Brien asked Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. to recuse himself because his son works for Foxx as an assistant state's attorney. Cathy McNeil Stein, who represented Foxx's office, says there is no need for another judge. Martin says he will consider O'Brien's request and announce his decision May 10.

Foxx and Smollett did not attend Thursday's hearing.
The nauseating smell of death that infested the streets around Colombo's morgue after Sri Lanka's devastating Easter attacks has finally dispersed.

But forensic pathologists are still attempting to identify the remains of bodies blown apart by suicide bombers, the final pieces of a macabre puzzle.

While staff have so far returned 115 victims to their relatives, there are still some 50 bags filled with unidentified remains in the morgue's refrigerated rooms.

The fragments are a somber reflection of the brutal force of the bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State.

It also helps explain why the death toll from the blasts has fluctuated considerably. At first Sri Lankan authorities said 359 had died before slashing it to 253, and then raising it again to 257 this week.

In one bag "there are two parts of a cheek - one cheek with an ear, one with some scalp and an ear. That could be two people," said Ajith Tennakoon, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

"The proper management of dead bodies is to identify them and to give them respect and dignity."

He said the staff's "prime duty" is to hand back the bodies to relatives so they can say goodbye to their loved ones in accordance with different religious beliefs.

During the meticulous reconstruction, even the smallest clue is helpful: a piece of jewellery worn by the victim, a patterned piece of clothing or a distinctive scar.

Where possible, forensic pathologists examined teeth and fingerprints but DNA tests are the most reliable method of identification.

Among the last body bags could be the remains of six people still missing since the bombings, as well as the suicide bombers.

They could also include victims whose remains have been returned incomplete.

- Solving a crime 

The forensic doctors are also investigators. They may be able to find clues that identify the attackers or the types of explosives used.

From a drawer, Tennakoon pulls out a see-through plastic bag which holds a lead ball -- one of those used by jihadists as shrapnel to maximise the damage.

Story continues

"We also have to help to solve the crime, it is a crime, a man-made disaster," he added.

The work of piecing together bodies is more painstaking in Colombo than the other affected cities of Negombo and Batticaloa because of the nature of the bomb attacks.

"If the bomb takes place in a concrete-built structure, the damage is much worse," said Anil Jasinghe, Sri Lanka's director general of health services.

"That is what happened in the hotels, they were concrete buildings."

Although 102 people died in one church in Negombo, almost all the bodies were returned the same evening.

The blast blew the roof off the building, allowing the air pressure to escape through the top.

But in a confined space, a sudden rush of air causes considerable devastation.

"What counts more than anything are the shock waves, they move faster than sound and at very high velocity, which actually could tear bodies apart," said Jasinghe.

As forensic pathologists continue to puzzle over the fragments still lying in body bags, victims' relatives who had gathered outside the building in temporary marquees -- where they had the distressing task of identifying their loved ones through photographs -- have long since left and the tents taken down.
What Happened This Week:

Self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido gambled this week to try to force the ouster of de facto Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, calling on the Venezuelan people to join him in mass protests and military officials to defect to his side. People showed up to protestboth for and against Madurobut the military defections Guaido hoped for never quite materialized.

Why It Matters:

When it comes to politics, timing is everything. Guaido had real momentum in January when he announced that Maduros electoral win was rigged and illegitimate (correct on both counts), and that Venezuelas constitution empowered the head of the countrys parliament (read: him) to serve as president until free and fair elections could be held. The US backed Guaido immediately, a diplomatic victory which opened the door for other countries to follow suitmore than 50 countries now recognize Guaido as the countrys rightful leader. But none of those countries were willing to do much beyond sanctions and humanitarian aid. In fact, the one country that seemed committed to sending in military assistance of any kind was Russia, which had invested heavily in the Maduro regime. That effectively meant that while Guaido was an international cause celebre, Maduro was the one who controlled the countrys military and security forces on the ground. And without control of those forces, Guaido was just another Venezuelan opposition leader.

Guaido has thus spent the last three months trying to peel military supporters away from Maduro. At the beginning of this week, it seemed like he may have actually pulled it offin a video featuring Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader and Guaidos political mentor who had been under house arrest for the last two yearsGuaido announced that the final phase of Operation Liberty had commenced, and called for the Venezuelan people to join him in protests to force the ouster of Maduro once and for all. Lopez was released by dissident military officials that had switched loyalties to Guaido, a sign that Guaido was gaining traction among the countrys security apparatus. Combined with the strong rhetoric from US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, there was genuine hope that this was the beginning of the end for Maduro. But three key officials that the opposition hoped would switch to their sidethe countrys defense minister, the chief judge of the Supreme Court and the head of Maduros presidential guardremained loyal to Maduro. Maduro thus ends the week in a much stronger position than when he started it, and Guaido and Venezuelas opposition are now on the backfoot.

Story continues

What Happens Next:

Guaido just suffered his most significant defeat since storming onto the world stage a few months ago, and its not clear where he goes from here. Guaido needs to keep both the Venezuelan public as well as the international community engaged and on his side as developments in the country unfold, but the failed attempt to force matters to a head significantly hampers his ability to do both. Guaido managed to cobble together support from certain members of the National Guard and Venezuelas Secret Service, but was unable to show that he flipped any members of the armed forces with any operational relevance or with significant troops under their command. Its still unclear whether Guaido had bad intelligence, supposed-defectors got cold feet, or if Guaido just hoped that a daring gambit would swing things in his favor.

But now Maduro is emboldened. What he does with that remains to be seenhe could go after Guaido and try to get him arrested or exiled, but that runs the risk of drawing the ire of the international community and reviving support for Guaido. His smartest move might be to just let Guaido spin his wheels and wait for fractures in the countrys opposition to emerge as they argue over next steps.

Guaidos tough week also shows the limitations of US support, and makes US military intervention even more unlikely that it was before. Despite the strong rhetoric from Bolton and Pompeo, President Donald Trump has never been a fan of foreign interventions, and the prospect of taking on a Maduro who just showed that he still commands the loyalty of Venezuelas security forces is unlikely to change that.

The Key Quote That Sums It All Up:

I worry that this kind of semi-regular raising of expectations to very high levels wears  and makes the kind of internal pressure that needs to build harder to happen, Daniel Resrepo, NSC Latin America Advisor in the Obama administration.

The One Thing to Read About It:

Pompeo claims that Maduro was about to leave Venezuela this week until the Russians told him to stay put, which the Russians denied. To understand why Russians hold so much sway from half a world away, read this piece I put together a few weeks ago for Time.

The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:

and the winner of this political drama gets to preside over a sinking Venezuela. Not much of a prize if were being honest.
(Reuters) - Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday. St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement. "The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable but remain under surveillance by the ship's doctor," Frederick-James said, noting the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear. The St. Lucia Ministry of Health ordered the ship to be quarantined on Tuesday. The restriction comes as the number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2GJgoBt) Frederick-James said the doses of measles vaccines were being supplied to the ship free of charge. She gave no information about the ship or its origins. NBC News, citing a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, reported the ship is named Freewinds, which is the name of a 440-foot vessel owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. According to Reuters Eikon shipping data, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified as SMV Freewinds was docked in port near Castries on Thursday. The ship was headed next to the island of Dominica, the data showed. On its website, the Church of Scientology describes the Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion." It says the vessel's home port is Curacao. Church officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News reported that nearly 300 passengers and crew were aboard the vessel, with one female crew member diagnosed with measles. Public health officials blame declining vaccination rates in some communities driven by misinformation about inoculation that has left those populations vulnerable to rapid spread of infection among those with no immunity to the virus. The vast majority of U.S. cases have occurred in children who have not received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), officials said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's ruling and opposition parties agreed on Friday to give themselves six more months to form a unity government as part of a peace deal they signed in September, the regional group IGAD said in a statement. Also on Friday, President Salva Kiir lifted a state of emergency imposed in 2017 in five northern states of the country, South Sudan Radio reported, in a bid to help foster peace. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into a civil war two years later. After a string of failed agreements, a peace deal was signed last September between the two sides, represented by Kiir and his former deputy turned rival, Riek Machar. As part of the peace deal, the two sides aimed to form a national unity government by May 12. The parties met in neighboring Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Friday to seek a way forward on the unity government. "The Parties identified lack of political will, financing and time constraints as the major challenges that have delayed implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks and underscored the need to ensure that specific pending tasks are adequately funded within a clearly set out and reasonable timeframe," IGAD said in a statement. "In light of the above, the Parties unanimously agreed to extend the Pre-Transitional period by an additional six (6) months effective from 12th May 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks," the intergovernmental group added. While the peace deal has helped to reduce fighting and partly alleviated the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country, a U.N. panel of experts on South Sudan said in a report on Tuesday that the country still faces significant challenges. IGAD, which has been helping to mediate between the two sides, said the new agreement will be presented for consideration at its council of ministers meeting to be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba in South Sudan. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Hugh Lawson)
By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation. The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months. The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory. Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally. Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria. But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people. Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia. The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now. Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement. But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months. Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters. HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping. After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area. "Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added. The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed. Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said. Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly." UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed. Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented. The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn conducted final rituals on Friday in preparation for three days of ceremonies for his elaborate coronation, which will also be marked by the pardoning and release from jail of some prisoners. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. King Vajiralongkorn, 66, is also known by the title of King Rama X. He became a constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father in October 2016, after 70 years on the throne. On Friday, the king visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to pay respects to one of Thailand's most sacred Buddhist relics. "Long live the king," chanted a group of people dressed in yellow, an auspicious color in Thailand, as the king and his new queen walked on a red carpet to the Grand Palace, shielded from the hot afternoon sun by a big yellow umbrella. The king lit auspicious candles at 4:19 p.m. (9:19 GMT), a time that court astrologers determined was propitious, as 80 Buddhist monks chanted. Yellow is particularly significant as it is the color of Monday In Thai culture, which is steeped in astrology, the day the king was born, and also the color of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos. Thais have been urged to wear yellow until the end of July, the king's birth month. Earlier on Friday, a senior palace official transferred a golden plaque inscribed with the king's official name and title, his horoscope and the royal seal from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the Grand Palace in preparation for Saturday's events. The three items, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week, will be presented to the king by the chief Brahmin, along with five royal regalia, the symbols of kingship in Thailand. ROYAL PARDON Ahead of the grand ceremonies, the king said he would grant royal pardons to some prisoners to "give them a chance to become good citizens", according to the Royal Gazette. The order, which will take effect on Saturday, listed many criteria of prisoners eligible for the pardon, including those with disabilities, chronic or terminal diseases, or those within a year of completing their sentence. The king will also reduce sentences for some prisoners, including those imprisoned for life, and commute some death sentences to life. It is not clear how many people will qualify for pardons, and the Department of Corrections said it would finalize a list of eligible prisoners, and release them or commute their sentences, within 120 days. The order did not exclude foreigners, nor did it exclude prisoners convicted of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese-majeste, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a prominent student activist who was sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in jail for sharing a Thai-language BBC profile of the king is expected to be released next week, his lawyer told Reuters. Jatupat was the first person to be charged with royal insult after the king formally ascended the throne following the death of King Bhumibol. His full jail term will be completed on June 19. (Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
President Donald Trump said Friday after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin that Putin has no desire to involve Russia in the spiraling political crisis in Venezuela.

We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. And he is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way, Trump told reporters at the White House.

The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas rightful leader, while Russia supports President Nicolas Maduros socialist regime. The call between Trump and Putin was apparently their first conversation since Guaido launched an effort to overthrow Maduro earlier this week. A month ago, when Putin sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Venezuelas capital, Trump said that Russia has to get out. And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of convincing Maduro to stay in the country just as he was about to flee amid escalating tensions.

He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay, Pompeo said.

Guaido, the National Assembly president, this week called on the opposition to take to the streets to oust Maduro, but most of the military has remained loyal to Maduro thus far. Trump said Friday that the main U.S. concern was for the well-being of ordinary Venezuelans.

We want to get some humanitarian aid; right now people are starving, they have no water, they have no food, he said. [Venezuela was] one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago and now they dont have food and they dont have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis.

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By Express News Service

HUBBALLI: Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah has stated the Kundgol by-election is not about Kusumavati Shivalli, but about the pride of Congress party workers.

Addressing a mammoth rally held at Sanshi village near Kungdol on Friday, Siddaramaiah said in order to keep the legacy of Shivalli alive, party workers should reach doorstep and seek votes. He said he would camp at the constituency for four days from May 14.

Shivalli always cared for the poor people despite his poor health. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Siddaramaiah said, Modi has always claimed he has a 56-inch chest, but within that, he has no space for the poor. The BJP leaders are least bothered about the poor, he added.

Water Resources minister D K Shivakumar asserted the by-election is being fought not on the personality of Shivalli, but on the services he rendered to the poor. Further, he said he has taken the elections would be fought under the combined leadership of both Congress and JDS. Voters of Kungold and Chincholi would give a befitting reply to BJP leaders who are trying to destabilise the coalition government, he said.

KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao cautioned party workers not be complacent on the victory of the Congress candidate, and not to rely only on the sympathy factor.

KPCC Campaigning Committee chairman H K Patil, party leaders Satish Jarkiholi, Vinay Kulkarni and Anil Patil, JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti and others were present.

for first time, two ballot units in chincholi constituency

Kalaburagi: For the first time in Chincholi, voters have to check the names of candidates of their choice in two ballot units of their respective polling booths. The capacity of the ballot unit would be 16 candidates. In the by-elections to Chincholi constituency, scheduled on May 19, 17 candidates will contest, and it is mandatory to provide the NOTA option. This means election officials should arrange 2 ballot units, the first unit comprising 16 candidates and second unit comprising the last candidate and the NOTA button. Though there are 17 candidates in the fray, it seems like it will be a contest between Congress candidate Subhash Rathod and BJPs Avinash Jadhav.

Avinash jadhav has no political know-how: naik

Kalaburagi: A convention of different social organisations was held in Chincholi, under the leadership of minister Parameshwara Naik on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Parameshwara criticised previous MLA Umesh Jadhav, saying, Congress gave everything to Umesh Jadhav, but he left the party to join the BJP. Naik further alleged that BJP has only given a ticket to Avinash Jadhav because he is the son of Umesh. Avinash Jadhav does not have any political experience, while Congress candidate Subhash Rathod has been working for the development of the Banjara community for two decades, Naik said.
New York (AFP) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled plans to attend a New York gala in his honor after several companies withdrew their sponsorship and thousands of people demanded it be scrapped.

The gala, organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce for May 14, had attracted widespread criticism over the far-right president's record, with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio describing Bolsonaro as "a dangerous man".

Bolsonaro decided to cancel the trip due to "resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups" on organisers, a spokesman said in a statement.

The event had been due to be held at the New York Museum of Natural History, before it pulled out of hosting.

It was moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, where protesters have been gathering every night outside seeking the complete cancellation of the event.

On Friday, US airline Delta, British daily Financial Times and consulting firm Bain & Company all confirmed to AFP that they would not sponsor the dinner as planned.

Bolsonaro was to receive a Person of the Year award at the event.

Every year, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce awards the prize to a Brazilian and an American at a gala dinner, with famous guests on hand. The event -- which costs $30,000 a plate -- was sold out.

Elected late October with an ultraconservative agenda, Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his environmental policy.

Since taking office in January, he has reduced or eliminated funding for indigenous protection organizations.

He also placed them under the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina Dias, who is close to the massive agribusiness industry, which is accused of aggravating deforestation.
By Express News Service

KASARGOD: The Muslim Educational Society (MES), which issued a circular disallowing veils in its schools and colleges, is facing backlash from its own unit.

In a statement, the Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

We do not agree with Dr Gafoors views on women wearing veils. He should correct them, and the circular should be withdrawn, MES district president Dr Khader Mangad, general secretary C Muhammed Kunhi, and treasurer A Hameed said in the statement.

The circular - issued on April 17 and to be implemented from next academic year - was the personal opinion of Dr Gafoor and did not represent the official stance of MES, they said. The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoors father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

READ | Muslim Education Society bans face veils in colleges run by it in Kerala, sparks row

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses. Institution heads and office-bearers of the local management of the institutions should be vigilant... This should be implemented without giving way to controversy, it said.

The Kasargod district committee of MES said the circular could not be the policy of the organisation because it was not discussed by any committee. The matter was not discussed at the state general council meeting held at MES Engineering College, Kuttippuram, on March 30, or at the executive council meeting held at Perinthalmanna medical college on April 8, it said.

Gafoor was trying to impose his personal views on institutions and he should be cautious in expressing views on religious matters, it said. When contacted, Dr Mangad, the former vice chancellor of Calicut University, said the circular was a direct denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. My differences with Gafoors circular are more about denial of individual freedom than religious freedom. It is not about being progressive or regressive, he said. I am not a religious fundamentalist, he said.

READ | Burqa, ghoonghat are the same, ban both, says Javed Akhtar

Embattled MES gets support from various quarters

Meanwhile, The MES which came under attack from hardline Muslim groups following its decision to ban face veil in all its institutions, has got the firm backing of Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel. Jaleel said it was not the mafta (head scarf) that the MES intended to ban from campuses, but the niqab (full veil). The Minister said Islam has never insisted that women should cover their face and hands. It is for the Muslim organisations themselves to introspect if they need to continue with a dress code which has not been prescribed in Islam, Jaleel said.

However, the Minister also clarified the government did not want to enforce any decision regarding dress code on women. It is for Muslim organisations to reach a consensus on the matter, Jaleel said. Meanwhile, the MES decision has also got the backing of a prominent Mujahid group. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president T P Abdullakoya Madani said Islam does not insist on women covering their faces. Terming the ongoing controversy as needless, Madani said women do not cover their faces while performing Hajj.
What does the measles outbreak have in common with the cult that encourages drinking bleach? And what does it have in common with Netanyahu's immunity law initiative? The answer is the wisdom of the masses, one of maladies of our social media day and age.

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The idea of the wisdom of the masses is that no single individuals holds greater knowledge than a million ordinary people. Not even if that individual is a doctor who studied medicine for seven years and did an internship and residency for six to nine more. If one million people like or share a post about how measles vaccines are dangerous and should be avoided, their opinion counts more that that of 100 doctors who think otherwise. The masses know.





Netanyahu and Deri in a govenment meeting; both face an indictment subject to a hearing (File Photo) (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

The results for this kind of behavior are evident around the world nowadays with the measles outbreak. Not to mention the "trend" a hideous word in itself  of parents who give their children a mix of bleach and water to drink, only god knows why.

But how does this relate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's immunity law initiative, aimed to deny any option of charging him with crimes while he serves as prime minister?

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

It's simple. An army of lawyers, headed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, went through mountains of papers, discussions and testimonies, and concluded that there is supporting evidence to indict Netanyahu for serious offences of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing.

But now, after some 1,140,000 people voted for Netanyahu's Likud Party, and an equal number voted for his "natural partners", rightist leaders come forth and say that "the people have decided Netanyahu is innocent." "There is nothing, because there was nothing, and there will be nothing. Simply nothing", stated the prime ministers famous quote about the accusation against him.

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

And so, if people have determined that Netanyahu is innocent, there's no problem for his future coalition members to approve legislation granting him immunity from indictment. This would also be of use for other Knesset members who are facing prosecution, subject to a hearing. These are Interior Minister Arye Deri, Welfare Minister Haim Katz, and perhaps MK David Bitan, who stated that if Deri, who was already a convicted felon, can be minister, so can he, and he has a point.

Many Likud supporters believe Netanyahu is innocent, according to their vote at the polls. Others believe he is corrupt, but simply don't give a damn. If he knows how to take care of himself, he'll know how to take care of us, they say. That has nothing to do with the wisdom of the masses, but rather with the lack of moral values.

Most Israelis didn't go to law school and have never read white collar offences, judicial verdicts or transcripts of investigations. Nor did they read the papers describing the suspicions against Netanyahu. The materials are anyway undisclosed to us, despite Mandelblit's declaration to reveal them after the April 9 elections. But what does it even matter? The masses have decided, as they did with measles vaccines. This is the wisdom of the masses for you.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday he hopes Israel will take a hard look at President Donald Trump's upcoming Middle East peace proposal before proceeding with any plan to annex West Bank settlements.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed in the waning days of a re-election campaign he won on April 9 to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in a move that would be bound to trigger condemnation from the Palestinians and the Arab world and complicate the U.S. peace effort.

Jared Kushner (Photo: Reuters)

Kushner, speaking at a dinner of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Middle East peace proposal he has been putting together was close to release and that Israel and the Palestinians should wait to see it before making any unilateral moves.

He said the issue would be discussed with the Israeli government when Netanyahu forms a governing coalition.

"I hope both sides will take a real look at it, the Israeli side and the Palestinian side, before any unilateral steps are made," Kushner said, adding he had not discussed the issue of settlement annexation with Netanyahu.

Greenblatt and Kushner at UN with Israeli Amb. Danny Dannon

Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt have spent the past two years developing the peace proposal in the hopes it will provide a framework for a renewed dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinians have refused to talk to the U.S. side since Trump decided to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, all territory Israel captured in 1967.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is expected to unveil his proposals in June after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Kushner and Ivanka at embassy opening (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)

"What we will be able to put together is a solution that we believe is a good starting point for the political issues and then an outline for what can be done to help these people start living a better life," Kushner said.

"I was given the assignment of trying to find a solution between the two sides and I think what we'll put forward is a framework that I think is realistic ... it's executable and it's something that I do think will lead to both sides being much better off," Kushner said.

Political, economic components

Kushner has begun to take a more public role in the Trump administration since he emerged unscathed from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into whether the Trump presidential campaign in 2016 colluded with Russia.

Trump and Kushner in Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

Trump has relied heavily on the 38-year-old Kushner, who helped develop prison reform legislation and a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and is also working on a U.S. immigration proposal.

The Middle East proposal, which has been delayed for a variety of reasons over the past 18 months, has two major components. It has a political piece that addresses core issues such as the status of Jerusalem, and an economic part that aims to help the Palestinians strengthen their economy.

Kushner and Netanyahu (:  ")

Kushner has said the proposal is not an effort to impose U.S. will on the region. He has not said whether it calls for a two-state solution, a goal of past peace efforts.

On Thursday night, he called on critics to hold their fire until they are able to see the plan in its entirety.

Palestinians have voiced skepticism about the effort led by Trump's son-in-law, who was a real estate developer before joining his father-in-law as a senior White House adviser.

Arab officials and analysts believe the plan is likely to be decidedly pro-Israel since the Trump administration has taken a tough line toward Palestinians, cutting off aid and ordering the PLO's office in Washington shut.

Greenblatt has said U.S. negotiators expect Israelis and Palestinians will both be critical of some parts of the plan.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Unleashing its fury on coastal and adjoining districts of Odisha, extremely severe cyclone Fani made landfall at Puri coast close to Chilika on Friday morning.

The cyclonic storm hit Odisha land with a wind speed of 180 to 190kmph. India Meteorological Department said the process of landfall started at around 8am and part of the eye was on Puri land at around 8.30. Landfall process will continue till 11 am, the IMD said.

READ: Cyclone Fani Updates | Eye of storm crosses into land at Odisha coast, relief efforts begin

The life-threatening storm surge, strong wind and extremely heavy rainfall accompanied induced by the category 4 cyclone wreaked havoc in the Puri district causing widespread damage and destruction In around the district.

Hundreds of trees uprooted while asbestos and tin roof were blown away by the gusty wind blowing at a speed of around 140 to 150 kmph in many parts of the districts. Apart from Puri, heavy rains lashed many other parts of coastal belt such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Jaipur, Jagatsighpur, Cuttack and Kendrapara. The strong wind also caused partial damage to infrastructure in these districts.

Capital Bhubaneswar, located around 70km from the place of the landfall, also experienced heavy rainfall and wrong wind under the impact of the storm. Uprooted trees blocked roads in various parts of the city. The wind gusting up to over 100 kms posed serious threat to vehicles. Cars got damaged as a portion of boundary wall caved in residential area on Janpath road.

Billboards and dangling wires also increased the risk for the citizens in Bomikhal, Rasulgarh, Jaydev Vihar and other places. Many parts of the city also faced water-logging. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation with the help of fire service units pitched into action removing uprooted trees and clearing roads and drains.

As the landfall process continued Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said the situation is being monitored closely. As of now, Puri has remained the worst affected district. We are collecting information from other districts too, Sethi said.

Anticipating destruction, the state government had evacuated over a million people to safety in 13 districts since Thursday night. Besides, it had prepositioned 28 NDRF and 20 ODRAF units along with 550 fire service units in vulnerable areas of 18 districts to carry out relief and rescue operation. The SRC said keeping the situation in view 10 additional NDRF teams have deployed in the affected districts.

After landfall process is over the system is expected to enter into khurda and then move to Cuttack, Jaipur, Bhadrak, Jagatsingpur, Balasore before entering into west Bengal on May 4. Arrangements have been made to start free kitchens at the cyclone shelters.

Around 4,000 such shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres, are housing the evacuees. Over one lakh dry food packets have been kept ready for air dropping for which two choppers requisitioned, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) BP Sethi said.

No casualty has so far been reported from any part of the state, Sethi said adding the government is fully prepared to deal with the situation. A cyclone making a landfall implies that the first arm of the cyclone has reached the land.

The Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at different spots at Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata. It has also deployed four ships to handle any exigency. The Indian Navy has also deployed three ships with relief material and medical teams so that it can launch rescue operation after the cyclone hits the coastline of Odisha.

Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said several aircraft have also been kept on standby for immediate deployment to carry out aerial survey. "Helicopters are also kept standby for joining in rescue operation and for air dropping of relief material when required," Capt Sharma said.

Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to people to remain indoors during the period of the cyclone, and said all arrangements have been made for the safety and security of the people.

All shops, business establishments, private and government offices except those associated with relief and rescue operations will remain closed in 11 coastal districts as a precautionary measure. More than 220 trains on the Kolkata-Chennai route have been cancelled until Saturday. Aviation regulator DGCA announced that flights in and out of Bhubaneswar airport stand cancelled on Friday.

Consequently, the operations of various domestic airlines have been affected. The Central government has also made preparations. The Power Ministry has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with the least downtime.

The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry plans to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said it is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food. The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance.

It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs. The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS for cyclone-related messages and inter-operability of mobile networks by other operators. The Petroleum Ministry has ensured availability of sufficient petroleum and oil in the affected areas.

(With PTI inputs)
Some 50 sirens were heard in the southern city of Ashkelon Saturday morning, and the Iron Dome intercepted several rocket launches from the Gaza Strip.

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The cities of Rehovot, Sderot, Ashdod, and communities in the Gaza border region in the Sha'ar HaNegev and Eshkol Regional Councils were also targeted. In Ashkelon, public shelters were opened.

Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (Photo: Roee Idan)

No injuries or damages were reported so far.

The IDF retaliated with tank fire on a Hamas lookout post and an IAF attack on Hamas positions in the Strip.

The IDF closed Israeli civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip earlier Saturday, after clashes on Friday's weekly March of Return injured two IDF soldiers and killed two Palestinians, and an overnight IAF strike killed two more.

The events come after a relatively calm few months with no Palestinian casualties.

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to his thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

The overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

Hamas' deputy commander Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement that the organization was acting to push Israel to do its part in the arrangement negotiated between the sides.

"Israel is delaying in acting on some of the conditions that were agreed on. We wont let that happen, we have a schedule, and have many options. We know how to make Israel do what it said it will," said the official.

The Islamic Jihad terror group said in a statement that Israel is behind the recent "dangerous escalation".

"The Palestinian people is using its right to defend itself. The resistance is committed to this right as long as the aggression and the siege are ongoing," said the statement.

IDF forces evacuate wounded soldiers Friday

A joint headquarters for all militant groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement saying, "Israeli cruel aggression against our people leads us to call all militant groups to be ready to react to the enemy's crimes."

The Friday and Saturday events follow several firebombs launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli border communities that caused fires on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Islamic Jihad launched a long-range rocket into Israel Monday, which fell at sea, and signaled the beginning of this weeks' flare-up.
Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday as Israel was pounded by a massive rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday evening that some 200 rockets had been fired at the country during the day, and that it had responded with aerial bombardments across Gaza.

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The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.

Rocker hits the city of Kiryat Gat, 80 year-old women seriously wounded (Photo: Avi Rokah)

In Kiryat Gat, an 80-year-old woman was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket. In Ashkelon, a 49-year-old man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to the hands and legs.





Eyewitness footage of a rocket strike in Ashkelon

Also in Ashkelon, a 35-year-old man was moderately hurt when a rocket hit a home in the southern city. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that the man was wounded in the upper body and taken to Barzilai Hospital.

It was the not the first time Saturday that an Israeli home was hit by rocket fire. Other residences were damaged by rocket fire on Kibbutz Nahal Oz and in Hof Ashkelon regional council. The home's dwellers in the latter ran for their shelter and none were hurt.





A rocket launch from Gaza (Photo: AFP)

Several buildings were damaged in the city of Sderot and in several other Gaza border communities. One rocket landed near a kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev, close to the border with Gaza.

Rockets were continually launched from the Gaza Strip throughout Saturday, with long-range missiles targeting communities in the central region. Sirens blared through communuties in the south and center, as far as Rehovot, some 30km from Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, approximately 20km from Jerusalem.

House suffers direct hit in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza border

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets on Saturday, the arny said.

The military closed civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday.

Multiple Israeli local authorities opened public bomb shelters amid the ongoing rocket fire, including Mateh Yehuda, Yavne, Be'er Sheva and Ashdod.

Restrictions on the size of public gatherings has also been imposed in some areas, and the airspace up to 10 kilometers from the Gaza border was closed until Sunday. Activity at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport continued as scheduled.

A rocket strike on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (Photo: AFP)

Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri said Saturday that the southern city was on full emergency footing in the wake of the barrage of rockets.

"We are very experienced (in dealing with Gaza fire)," Lasri told Ynet, "our residents know how to act."

Truce efforts

UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, meanwhile, was working on reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid the escalating violence, foreign diplomatic sources said.

The ceasfire efforts also involve Egyptian mediators credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March triggered a burst of intense fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security assessment Saturday afternoon, arriving at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv to meet with senior defense and cabinet officials.

IDF hits Gaza

IDF jets and combat helicopters continued a wave of air strikes on what it said were terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon. The army said Saturday that it was preparing to expand its raids in the Strip.

The IDF strikes Gaza (Photo: AFP)

The IDF said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, including facilities used for the manufacturing of arms and a joint facility for both organizations.

A building used by Hamas' naval forces was also attacked. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army is "ready to go on as long as needed."

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike on Saturday.





Blue and White MK Alon Schuster (center) sits in a bomb shelter at Kibbutz Nahal Oz (Photo: Roei Idan)

The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. The Palestinian Education Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Hamas announced it is prepared to respond to "Israel's crimes" and "will not allow Palestinian blood to be shed." The announcement also said Hamas is committed to the protection of their people and the continuation of the March of Return.

A home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz is hit by rocket fire

Israel closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez Gaza border crossings Saturday as the violence spiraled. The army also halted fishing off the Gaza coast, which had been expanded as a gesture following the previous round of fighting in March.

Eurovision threatened

The flare-up comes days before Israelis celebrate Independence Day and Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

A fragment from an Iron Dome anti-missile battery falls on warehouse near Ashkelon

The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad released a statement directly threating the contest, vowing to "prevent the enemy from holding a festival whose purpose is to undermine the Palestinian narrative."

A home in a Gaza border community sustains a direct hit from a rocket (Photo: Reuters)

"The civilians (of Israel) are destined to hell for the continual expansion of the Israeli aggression towards our people and our resistance," said the statement.

"We say to the decision-makers in Israel: do not dream of having quiet while the Palestinian people pay the price. The resistance is committed to respond to the enemys aggression and to surprise him."

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to the thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

An overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.
The headquarters for all militarist groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement Saturday saying that "the next few hours will difficult and painful for Israel."

"The resistance will not stand by, it will react to the direct hits on Palestinian citizens," said the stamen.

"The Israeli communities near the Gaza Border are on our reach," they added.

Gaza officials said that talks with Egypt in an effort to contain the flare-up were held but that nothing was achieved.
The IDF says it is widening its air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip in response to massive rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave.

The army also says it has destroyed a tunnel dug by Islamic Jihad in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. According to the IDF, the tunnel was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack in Israel.
An unnamed source in the Gaza Strip told Ynet Saturday evening that negotiations between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza terror groups are ongoing.

The source added that talks between the sides are "moving in the right direction."
Gaza's health ministry says a Palestinian infant has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Seba Abu Arar, 14 months, died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry said. Another child was moderately injured.

There were no additional details immediately available.

The airstrike happened in east Gaza City, the ministry said, as Israel continued its aerial offensive in response to rockets that Gaza militants have fired throughout the day toward southern Israel.
At least four rockets were fired at the southern city of Ashdod on Saturday night, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad made good on an earlier threat to strike further distances from the Gaza Strip if Israel did not halt its air strikes on the coastal enclave. The Iron Dome missile defense system brought down the rockets.

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A short time later, rockets were fired at the southern city of Be'er Sheva. Iron Dome was also deployed in the area. A Ynetnews editor who lives in Be'er Sheva said rockets both fell in open areas and were brought down by Iron Dome. Two people were hurt by shrapnel in the Bedouin town of Laqiya, in the Be'er Sheva area.

Iron Dome in operation over Be'er Sheva (Photo: Avi Rokah)

According to the IDF, more than 250 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday. In Gaza, a mother and her baby were reported to have been killed in an IDF air strike.

Rocket fire from Gaza at Ashdod on Saturday night (Photo: Reuters)

Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday by rocket fire, and dozens more were treated for shock.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.





Iron Dome brings down rockets fied from Gaza at Sderot on Saturday (Photo: AP)

Egypt reportedly stepped up its efforts to halt the escalating violence between Israel and Gaza on Saturday evening, even as sirens and rocket barrages from Gaza continued unabated, and as the IDF continued to strike targets in the Strip.

A source in Gaza said that Egyptian efforts to end the violence, which also reportedly include UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov, were making progress.

"Even as the exchange of fire is worsening, the contacts in Cairo between the Hamas and Islamic Jihad delegations and Egyptian intelligence are becoming more intense," the source said. "There is progress in the talks and they are being conducted in a positive manner."

An Israeli security source said, however, that no such discussions on the issue were taking place.

As the violence continued Saturday, the Israel Air Force attacked more than 120 targets in the Gaza Strip and even escalated its operations Saturday evening by bombing a six-story building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City that housed the Hamas Prisoner Affairs Ministry, as well as the Hamas military intelligence building.

The IDF strikes the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs building in gaza (Photo: AFP)

The baby girl was killed during one of the Israeli attacks, and a few hours later, it was reported that her mother had also died.

Following the destruction of the Rimal building, the military wings of the Palestinian terror groups said that rocket fire at Ashkelon, Ofakim and Kiryat Gat was a response to the bombing. The groups also said that further air strikes would lead to greater rocket fire.

"If Israel continues bombing, we will increase the range to Ashdod and Be'er Sheva," the groups said.

A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip also said that the Islamic Jihad delegation to Cairo included the commander of the northern brigade of the organization's military wing, Baha Abu al-Ata.

He was invited to Cairo after the launch of a rocket from Gaza that exploded at sea earlier this week, and his identity was revealed by the IDF. He left the Gaza Strip with the delegation on Wednesday.

Earlier, a joint statement by the Gaza organizations' military wings said that they would step up the rocket fire should the IDF continue the air strikes.

"We are tracking Israel's movements and its commitment to end its aggression against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and we will respond accordingly to such aggression," groups said.

"We warn Israel that our response will be more extreme and broader if it continues its attacks. We will continue to serve as the defender and guardian of our people and our land."
The Iron Dome missile defense system is put into operation in the Be'er Sheva area following the start of rocket fire from Gaza.
One person is lightly hurt by rocket fire from Gaza in the Be'er Sheva area.

The rocket apparently fell in a Bedouin community close to the city.
YORK  York Middle School Principal Kenny Loosvelt has received a prestigious award, honoring his positive role at YMS.

Loosvelt was recently named Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) Middle School Principal of the Year for Region 1.

Its a nice honor, Loosvelt said. I totally share it with the staff and the kids.

A middle school principal in each of the five regions of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA)  the umbrella organization of NSASSP  receives the regional award. This honor then makes him or her eligible for the statewide award.

Nebraska educators who feel their administrator is deserving of the honor may nominate him or her. According to the NSASSP award rules: The NSASSP National Principal of the Year award program annually recognizes outstanding school leaders who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students. Each nominee is evaluated based on core elements. According to the NCSA The program honors school principals who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of: personal excellence, collaborative leadership, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization.
By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The death toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

READ HERE | Over a crore hit by Fani as battered Odisha looks at gigantic restoration

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit.

Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

READ HERE | UN agency praises India on minimising loss of life from Cyclone Fani

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone-affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure." An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected.

Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations.

The state has so far been able to reopen all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration.

READ HERE | Cyclone Fani: Air India waives charges for carrying relief materials for victims

Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work.

The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday.

Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

Barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express, all other trains would run as per schedule, the official added. There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, he added.
LANSING  State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, is advocating Houghton County acquire a closed prison facility in Painesdale and convert it into a regional jail for the Western Upper Peninsula.

Markkanen said he recently set up a meeting between county and state officials regarding the acquisition of Camp Kitwen, a low-security facility that closed in 2009.

It is my hope that Houghton County commissioners will consider purchasing Camp Kitwen from the state to use as a jail facility and provide for a long-term inmate facility for the Western U.P., Markkanen said in a statement.

He ar...
Today

Showers early, then clearing with ample sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 47F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.

Tomorrow

Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: If Fire Department officials are to be believed, the film set of megastar Chiranjeevis Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was meant to be burnt down. Sooner or later. Though Fridays mishap has come as a shock for many in the industry as well as the fans, it is learnt that film sets are often burnt down after the completion of shooting, a trend that is very much prevalent in Tollywood.

In Sye Raas case, lack of fire extinguishers or water tankers could have contributed to the mishap or rather advanced damage to the set.

According to Fire Department officials, film sets are torched by the production houses themselves, after completion of the shooting, to avoid costs of labour in dismantling the elaborate sets.

ALSO READ: Fire at Chiranjeevi's farmhouse as film sets of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy damaged

It would be recorded in official books as rubbish fire, the one that was caused to abandoned property due to unknown reasons, they said.

Like the massive Rs 3 crore movie set of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, several film sets are temporarily constructed by hundreds of labourers, under the guidance of an art director. From intricate details of how the set should be shaped to its sheer size, every aspect of a set requires artistry of several skilled persons.

But to take them down, a sizable workforce is required which is not usually employed by film production houses.

There are many film sets that are burnt by one of the persons involved in the production as they do not want to incur costs of deploying labour and dismantle or take them down in a safe manner, informed an official involved in the investigation.

A lot of film sets are erected in secluded places of the city or on large open areas as it is easy to burn the sets down without getting the attention of the public. In most cases, police complaints are not filed, said a fire services personnel.
Mumbai: A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".
Dantewada: Three Naxals were on Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

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Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.
Imphal: In what is being linked to severe cyclonic storm Fani, which unlashed mayhem in Odisha claiming at least 10 lives, the divers from Indian Navy have recovered bodies of two missing person from Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal.

According to news agency ANI, at least three members of a family went missing in the Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal following which the Navy divers were called in to locate their bodies.

As per new agency AN, the Navy divers had recovered the bodies of 21-year-old S Romen and 19-year-old N Rani on Friday, while the body of his elder sibling, 35-year-old S Rajiv was found on Thursday.

Manipur: Indian Navy Diving Team recovered bodies of 2 persons from Imphal River on May 3. 3 members of a family were reported missing at Mapithel Dam Reservoir; one body was recovered on May 2. Team will now be deployed in rescue&relief ops in West Bengal in wake of #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/cvQsEVwXg3  ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

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The three bodies will now be handed over to the Imphal district officials.

The team of Navy divers will be airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and it would be redeployed in the ongoing rescue operations in West Bengal.

It may be noted that Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummelled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday.

Though the cyclonic storm killed at least 10 people in separate incidents, it failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.

Ahead of Fani making a landfall in Odisha, millions of people from the coastal areas wee evacuated and moved to safer higher grounds.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight and is now moving towards North-East.
New Delhi: In a demarche sent to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India has asked Pakistan to beef up the security of its High Commission and its diplomats in Islamabad.

The move comes after a recent incident in which two Indian diplomats were harassed in Pakistan and also because of the attacks in Sri Lanka, in which Indian High Commission was said to be a target.

Two Indian diplomats were locked in a room in Gurudwara Sacha Sauda Sahib in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura in April. They were asked not to visit the gurudwara and were dealt aggressively by the Pakistani security agencies.

Last year in November, Indian diplomats were stopped in the same gurudwara by Gopal Chawla, a close aide of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

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During both the instances, the Indian diplomats were present to do consular duties for the Indian pilgrims visiting the gurudwara.

Since December, the Indian diplomats have been facing a number of problems at the place and have also been stopped and questioned or chased by Pakistan security agencies.

It may be recalled here that several incidents of Indian diplomats being harassed in Pakistan have been reported in the recent past, with India asking Pakistan to investigate the matter.

In March, India wrote twice to Pakistan saying that its agencies are continuing to harass and tail Indian diplomats in Islamabad. In the notes, India also mentioned that incidents of harassment of family members are against the Vienna Convention.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka nine suicide carried out a series of dastardly attacks that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.
Kharagpur: Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, reached Bangladesh on Saturday several hours after it unleashed a trail of massive destruction claiming at least 10 lives in Odisha from where it entered West Bengal late on Friday.

The severe cyclonic storm, which battered Odisha claiming at least 10 lives and unleashed a trail of destruction on its way, made landfall in West Bengal late on Friday. The cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm as it crossed Kharagpur and moved towards the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

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Here are the live updates about Cyclone Fani:-

-Navy launches massive rescue and rehabilitation effort after Cyclone Fani batters Odisha. Tap to read

-CycloneFani has damaged 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar affecting 30 lakh consumers; electricity supply will be restored in 25% area of the Capital city today, says State Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma.

-Indian Railways to run special trains to help passengers. Tap to read

-Four more persons dead in Jajpur due to Cyclone Fani, death toll reaches 15

-No more threat to West Bengal from Cyclone Fani as it has now reached Bangladesh.

-One more dead in Odisha's Bhadrak and one in Jajpur. The total count now stands at 12.

-IMD update: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.

IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- PM Narendra Modi speaks to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, assures full support from Centre. Tap to read.

PM Modi: Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to #CycloneFani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by cyclone in different parts (file pic) pic.twitter.com/8jnAs6XJe3  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-One more dead in Jaleswar. The death toll due to Cyclone Fani rises to 10.

-Death toll due to Cyclone Fani in Odisha: Kendrapara (Rajnagar) - 2, Puri (Sakhigopal) - 2, Nayagarh (Dashapalla) - 1, Mayurbhanj - 2, Jajpur- 2.

-The road network in several districts suffered extensive damage. The power distribution network and the telecom network has also been severely affected.

-Heavy to very heavy rains lashing the coastal districts since Thursday night.

-Thousands of trees and electricity poles have been uprooted under the impact of the cyclonic storm that made landfall in Puri, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur.

-Several trees have been uprooted in parts of West Bengal after Cyclone Fani entered the state late on Friday.

West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/xMg1mdpNdn  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopter deployed off Odisha Coast continue to look for marooned fishing boats at sea if any, Haldia dock operational as of now

-Post-Cyclone Fani, flight operations resume at Bhubaneswar airport

-Navy divers recover bodies of two missing persons from Mapithel Dam Reservoir. Tap to read

-Cyclone Fani triggers heavy rains in Kolkata.

Rain lashes Kolkata as #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/sP8ktKn2rR  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- Here are some visuals of the destruction unleashed by Cyclone Fani in Digha, West Bengal.

Digha, West Bengal: #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/5T90cjVvTu  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

-The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday.

-"It is likely to continue further in the north, northeast direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

--"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 AM through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told IANS.

-On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.

-A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

-Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

-The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

-In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

-It claimed at least 10 lives and left over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

-Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon.

-Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.
Bhubaneswar: The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) Under Graduate (UG) 2019 exam has been postponed in Odisha following the havoc unleashed by Cyclone Fani. The exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5. New dates will be announced soon.

The state government had requested to postpone the medical entrance test to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of the Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years.

"NEET exam scheduled for 5th May in Odisha postponed as per the request of State Govt working on relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of Fani Cyclone. Revised dates for the exam in Odisha will be announced soon," R. Subrahmanyam, Higher Education Secretary told news agency ANI.

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The National Students` Union of India (NSUI) had also written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, requesting to postpone the exam in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone `Fani` in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," wrote NSUI Goa president Ahraz Mulla in the letter, reports ANI.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry announced the cancellation of Bhubaneswar as a centre for the AIIMS PG 2019 examination, which was also scheduled for May 5, Sunday. "It is hereby notified that in view of the effects of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the AIIMS PG Entrance Examination for July 2019 session scheduled at iON Digital Zone, iDZ2 Patia, Koustuv Technical Campus, KISD/CEB, Plot No. 2, Sector-B, Near, Chandrasekharpur Police Station Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, PIN CODE: 751024 (Centre No.-OD0301) on Sunday, the 5th May, 2019 from 09:00 am to 12:00 Noon has been rescheduled till further orders," said a notice on the AIIMS website.

The death toll in Cyclone Fani reached 15 by Saturday afternoon. After leaving a trail of destruction in Odisha and West Bengal, the weakened cyclonic storm reached Bangladesh on Saturday.

"A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to pause crackdowns and search operations in the state during the ensuing Ramadan, as reported by news agency ANI. During Ramadan, the Muslims fast and pray for the entire month.

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Speaking to reporters, Mufti said that people in Jammu and Kashmir should be able to spend the one month in relief.

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the govt of India that just like there was a ceasefire during Ramadan last year, crackdowns, search operations should be stopped, so that people of J&K spend at least this one month in relief," said Mufti.

She also appealed to the terrorists to refrain from making any attacks during the period. "I would also like to appeal to the terrorists that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," said the PDP chief.
Out of the 51 constituencies across 7 states going to vote in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election on May 6, Amethi is perhaps the most talked about and high-profile seat. Amethi and Raebareli are the only two seats in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are locked in a direct fight.

Both the seats have been Congress strongholds for several Lok Sabha elections. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will contest for the fourth time from Amethi against BJP leader Smriti Irani while UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will be contesting from the Raebareli seat.

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However, the wind in Amethi this election is not blowing all the way towards the Congress chief and even he seems to have guessed it now.

Despite losing to Rahul in 2014 by a huge margin in Amethi, Irani has been very active for the last five years in the constituency thus making this election a tough battle for the Congress chief.

While Rahul toured the entire nation ignoring his constituency, Irani snatched the opportunity and introduced several welfare schemes for the people in the area. In several Amethi villages, Irani claims to have constructed toilets, homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) and made solar lights available to the people.

Irani has also tried to make a dent in the traditional Congress vote bank. Generally, the votes of the Brahmins are cast for the Gandhi family but this election the mood of the community is not so clear.

The electoral mood in Amethi speaks volumes about Rahul's decision to contest from Kerala's Wayanad seat. In the last 15 days, Zee News travelled to the interiors of villages in Amethi and the people have questions on their mind asking if Rahul is indeed losing from Amethi. The decision of Rahul to contest from Wayanad seems to have put the Congress on the back foot in Amethi.

The people ask if they had not given enough love to him or if his trust no longer lies in the people and so he is running to Wayanad. On the other hand, 'Modi magic' seems to be gripping Amethi thus helping Irani mount a stronger challenge in the seat.

However, one also has to consider the strongest point of Rahul which is that he is a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family. The ambience in Amethi also has love and respect for the Gandhi family.

After speaking to the people the important aspect that they highlighted is "if our ancestors voted for them, then why should we not go with Rahul Gandhi?" They opine that Amethi is known only because of the Gandhi family. This indicates that the traditional vote bank of the Congress still stands strong with Rahul Gandhi.

In addition to this, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also held rallies in Amethi. From the booth workers to the voters, she has campaigned for her family highlighting the development works. There is still a wave of sympathy for the Gandhi family.

The strategy of both the BJP and Congress in Amethi focusses on the Gram Pradhan and Block Development Committee (BDC) members. Both the parties are trying to get the village heads on their sides.

The BJP has set up an army of its workers in Amethi, including Sanjeev Baliyan and several other ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday held a rally in Amethi campaigning for Smriti Irani.

From the Congress, Priyanka is holding the rein in Amethi. The chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states have also visited Amethi.

Only May 23 will reveal if Amethi stays with Rahul Gandhi or Smriti Irani will have the last laugh.
New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde" slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"

"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition," Shah said.

He said for 70 years, the people of the country had been waiting for a prime minister who could deal with issue of terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"Forty of our soldiers were killed in Pulwama. The entire county was angry. Pakistan also rushed troops, tanks and cannons to the border anticipating another surgical strike, but Modi asked the air force to scramble its jets this time," he said.

Our fighter aircraft entered Pakistan, dropped bombs (on terror camp) in Balakot, blew terrorists to smithereens and came back.

"A wave of rapturous delight swept the entire country but a pall of gloom descended on Pakistan and the offices of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi," he said.

"Kejriwal and Gandhi were worried about their vote bank but the Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they fire a bullet at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Gandhi and Kejriwal to make their stand clear on National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for a separate prime minister for Kashmir.

"I have been asking them for 22 days if there should be a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir. They're mum because they think their voters will desert them," he said.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one takes it away from India till the BJP is there," the party chief said.

He appealed to the electors to vote for Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, and Hans Raj Hans, its Northwest Delhi nominee, so that the party can "return to power and remove Article 370".

Delhi, which has seven Lok Sabha seats, goes to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
By IANS

TOKYO: Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.
New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his alleged link to a defence firm that got offset contract when the UPA was in power and asked the opposition party to respond to what it said is a very serious charge.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cited a media report and gave more information that he said he had found out to take a swipe at Gandhi, saying it is story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and is now aspiring to be prime minister.

Rejecting the charge, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it is an allegation that needs to be proved.

Jaitley told a press conference that Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd. Registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an "influence for cash" company, Jaitley alleged, adding that Mcknight was married to a Congress leader's daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhi's "social gang".

Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan.

In 2009 Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, he said.

Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an Indian Navy deal to build submarines, he said.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Jaitley asked, "The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract."

In an apparent reference to Gandhi's constant attack on the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said he himself is a "beneficiary" of an offset contract.

"What was his (Rahul) own role? Did he want to start off as a defence dealer. It is a very serious subject and we will want top Congress leadership to respond at the earliest," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress president, he wondered if it would have been better had he remain in the defence business and not joined politics.

Seeking a response from Gandhi, Jaitley said the right to silence belongs to accused in criminal cases not to political leaders, especially those aspiring to be prime minister.
JAIPUR: Hitting out at Congress and its leadership, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi claimed that the grand old party just wants a Prime Minister on contract.

Congress wants a contract Prime Minister while we and the country want a perfect Prime Minister, said the senior BJP leader at a public meeting at Jaipur BJP office on Saturday.

Rahul Gandhi has become very desperate. He can see his defeat very clearly, he added.

Taking shots at the Opposition alliance, the Minister of Minority Affairs said, Even before Congress' Mahagathbandhan has expired even before it could be formed.

Naqvi was campaigning for Ramcharan Bohra, the BJP candidate from Jaipur.

Today addressed public meeting in favour of Shri Ramcharan Bohra, @BJP4India candidate from Jaipur. Large number of people from Jaipur and nearby areas were present. #ModiJahanVikasWahan @BJP4Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ZM7p6QcxFx  Chowkidar Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) May 4, 2019

Speaking on the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi said, PM Modi has put 'Corruption on Ventilator' and 'Development on Accelerator' in the last five years, which has made Champions of Corruption feeling suffocated in this atmosphere of honesty and transparency.

Providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice, has been a major achievement of PM Modi's government in the last five years.

No section of society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on basis of caste, religion, region or state. All sections have been provided equal opportunities of socio-economic-educational development by Narendra Modi Government, he said.

PM Modi has restored dignity and stability of the Government in last 5 years. Modi Government has proved to be a Government of Iqbal (authority), Insaaf (justice) and Imaan (integrity).
LUCKNOW: Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav said that anyone getting injured because of a bull in the state should file a case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

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If stray bulls injure anyone, then a case should be registered against Yogi Adityanath," said the former UP chief minister while speaking at a rally in Barabanki.

What FIR will the police register if the bull attacks people. Under which section will it be filed, he further questioned.

Akhilesh's comment comes days after a bull entered the SP-BSP 'gathbandhan' rally held in Kannauj on April 25.

At the time, Adityanath had said that even the bull is now unwilling to forgive the criminals



I was recently there in Kannauj where the people told me that a bull had entered the venue of `gathbandhan` rally, probably to find out which of the slaughterhouse operators were there and to treat them accordingly," he said."I prayed to the bull to keep doing his job while we take care of the ones who mistreat the poor, put roadblocks in the state`s development and have forced the youth to leave the state," he said at an election rally, reported ANI.
Lucknow: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive politics and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."\

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Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."

"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...For development to take place in real sense."

Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then."
THANE: A massive fire broke out in a high-rise building at Patlipada in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday morning.

Fire fighting operations are underway. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, said news agency ANI.

Billows of grey smoke were seen in the area.

The blaze broke out at around 5:45 AM on the third floor of a building at Rutu State, said the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

"MSEDC official, RDMC and fire brigade are sent on site with one fire engine, two rescue vehicle and one water tanker. There has been no injury or casualty and the situation is under control," a civic official told ANI.

A total of 22 residences were evacuated safely by RDMC and fire brigade official.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, who was last seen in Veere Di Wedding, will now be seen as a cop in Irrfan Khan's comeback venture 'Angrezi Medium'.

A few days ago, Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to confirm that Kareena will be a part of the film. He wrote, IT'S OFFICIAL... Kareena Kapoor Khan in #AngreziMedium... She plays a cop in the film... Stars Irrfan Khan... Directed by Homi Adajania... Produced by Dinesh Vijan... #AngreziMedium will be filmed in London this June.

However, now we hear that the actress will start shooting for the film in May. "Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative, " Mumbai Mirror quoted a report as saying. The report also stated that although Kareena has a short role in the film, she is very excited to share screen space with Irrfan for the very first time.

'Angrezi Medium', which is the sequel to 2017 hit film 'Hindi Medium', is special in many ways. The film marks Irrfan's comeback into Bollywood as the actor was on a break from the filmy scene after being diagnosed with NeuroEndocrine Tumour  a rare form of cancer.

It was in 2018 that Irrfan shared the news of his illness, leaving everybody in shock.

The actor returned to Mumbai earlier this year and the film went on floors on April 5.
London: The UK`s Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex`s scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby`s arrival.
Actress Keerthy Suresh and the team of her 20th film are going to fly to Europe very soon for the next schedule of their film.

The film is being directed by Narendra Nath, a debutant director and produced by Mahesh S Koneru of 118 fame under East Coast Productions.

The film went on floors in February and the first schedule happened in February 10, then Kerala, and now they will be flying to Europe to shoot for an extensive schedule of 45 days. Producer Mahesh took to Twitter to share the news update and wrote, #Keerthy20 Update- Major 45 day schedule will begin in Europe in a few weeks of time, (sic)

Adding to it, he revealed that a few more names from the cast list will be unveiled soon. Will reveal some big name additions to the film soon#Keerthy20 is being directed by Narendranath and produced on @EastCoastPrdns banner. (sic)

For now, the films cast comprises names like Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Bhanushree Mehra, Kamal Kamaraju and Nadhiya.

Apart from this film, the beautiful actress is also part of Nagesh Kukunoors upcoming film which is yet to go on floors and hasnt got a title till now. The pre-production work of the film is going on at a brisk mode. The cast is yet to be finalised.

It is also said that the actress is making her Bollywood debut in which she might pair up with Akshay Kumar. Her recent hit Mahanati has taken the actor to heights and very soon, the film is going to be screened at Shanghai International Film Festival. Mahanati is the biopic of late actress Savithri.
Last week, a soft-spoken and uncharacteristically serious Felix 'PewDiePie' Kjellberg  a far cry from his usual loud and brash ways  broke his silence on the Christchurch shootings and called for an end to the Subscribe to PewDiePie campaign.

In a short video, he distances himself from the horrific New Zealand attacks, the negative rhetoric and racism associated with his name.

The immensely popular and controversial YouTuber, whose channel was locked in a bitter battle with T-Series for the most subscribed channel on the video platform, seemed remorseful, hurt.

Something I learned and something and hopefully something people can understand is that when you have 90 million people riled up about something, youre bound to get a few degenerates, he explains. But then something happened that I dont think anyone would have predicted.

He goes on to explain his silence, saying, I didnt want to give the terrorist any more attention. I didnt want to make it about me.

On March 15, 2019, terrorist Brenton Tarrant opened fire and killed 51 people inside two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch. The 28-year-old Australian mercilessly shot dead people gathered for prayers inside a mosque in an otherwise peaceful locality. Before carrying out the attacks, he said on FB live stream, "Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie."

At the time, Kjellberg shared a single tweet, distancing himself from the entire episode. Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy, he tweeted.

Speaking about the incident, more than 45 days after the attacks, PewDiePie says in the video, To have my name associated with something so unspeakably vile, has affected me in more ways than Ive let show.

He also talks on the war with T-Series, says the two diss tracks against the brand was just for fun, adding that he will continue to block those videos as per Indian high court orders.
After wreaking havoc in Odisha, claiming 10 lives and unleashing massive destruction on its way, Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday. The weakened cylonic storm, downgraded to 'severe cyclonic storm', has crossed Kharagpur and is currently moving in the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour. The storm now lies close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

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"It is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards during next 12 hours and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 105 kmph by the early morning of May 4," said the India Meteorological Department in a statement.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday. No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told news agency IANS. "It is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

The most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, Cyclone Fani pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies. The death toll touched 10, with over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said. A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.
By AFP

GAZA CITY: Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

- Visit to Cairo -

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

- Eurovision looms -

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly.

Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.
New Delhi: The Afghanistan foreign ministry on Saturday summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires in Kabul, in the aftermath of April 30 and May 1 incidents, in which Pakistan forces launched an attack in Afghan territory killing four civilians.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a release, tweeted by the spokesperson Sibghatullah Ahmadi condemned Pakistani forces violating the "Afghan airspace and launching rockets".

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The Afghan government again asked Pakistan to act on terror. Afghanistan and India have repeatedly asked Pakistan to take steps against terrorism.

The statement said, "Afghanistan once again encouraged Pakistan to honestly fight these groups without distinction."

The Pakistani government has also confirmed that a summoning took place. The Pakistani forces started shelling at 9 pm local time on April 30 and according to Afghanistan media reports, targetted Sarkot, Pakha Mela and Afghan Dubai villages in Spera district in Khost Province that borders Pakistan's restive North Waziristan.

Pakistan had summoned Afghan's Charge d'Affaires on May 1 to protest about the incident. While Islamabad maintains, "terrorist" from the Afghan territory launched an attack on its forces killing three Pakistani soldiers in the incident, Kabul urged Pakistan to take immediate action against the elements on its territory and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

This is not for the first time a Pakistani diplomat has been summed this year. Afghanistan summoned Pakistan diplomats many times in the last few months after Pakistani prime minister made comments about the Afghan peace process which Kabul saw as interference.

In March, speaking at a public gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "A good government will soon be established in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has also complained to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Islamabad due to its engagement with the Taliban and attempts to subvert the Afghan peace process.
Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million (Rs 138 crore) settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million (Rs 124 crore) for the family and $2 million (Rs 13 crore) to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia`s prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defence after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by US police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Colombo: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

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Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links. "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kashmir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the national security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security". He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the Army chief added.
BANGKOK: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

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The king sat on a golden throne under a nine-tiered umbrella to receive royal regalia including a gold-enameled, diamond-tipped crown in ceremonies that mixed glittering pomp with solemn religious rites.

The monarch was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time. His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said in his first royal command.

Traditionally uttered after a king is crowned, the king`s first command serves to capture the essence of his reign. The king`s command was similar to that of his father`s. Late in the afternoon, the king was carried in a royal palanquin in a procession from the Grand Palace to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where yellow-clad Thais awaited his arrival, repeatedly chanting, "Long live the king."

After 80 Buddhist monks chanted, the king proclaimed himself the Royal Patron of Buddhism: "I will rightfully protect Buddhism forever." Later, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence in the Grand Palace where they will stay the night, as previous kings have done, ending the first of the three-day coronation ceremonies.

In his first speech earlier on Saturday to members of the royal family, the Privy Council, and top government officials, among others, the king called for national unity. "I invite everyone here and all Thai people to share my determination and work together, each according to his status and duty, with the nation`s prosperity and the people`s happiness as the ultimate goals," he said.

Military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, the speaker of the army-appointed parliament and the chairman of the Supreme Court - representing the three branches of government - also spoke to express "gratitude" to the king. Prayuth is seeking to stay on as an elected prime minister after the first elections since the military seized power five years ago. Final results of the March 24 vote will be announced after the coronation.

DIVINE MONARCH

Thai coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782. Saturday`s rituals were about transforming him into a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods.

The king received the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week. He also received and put on five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

The high-reaching crown, which weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb) symbolises the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra`s heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch`s royal burden.

King Vajiralongkorn put the crown on his head himself with the help of court officials, and adjusted it several times during the ceremony. Before the crowning ritual, he appeared dressed in white robes as he underwent a purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The country`s Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the king, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members. During the ceremonies, the king gave alms to saffron-robed, barefoot monks.

The monarch also granted Queen Suthida, a former Thai Airways flight attendant and head of his personal bodyguard regiment, her full royal title. Outside the palace walls, people in yellow polo shirts sat on roadsides, holding up portraits of the king and the national flag as 19th-century cannons fired to announce the new reign.

Yellow is the colour of Monday, the day the king was born, and the colour of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos, according to Thai culture. One onlooker, Kanjana Malaithong, told local media she had traveled since 1 a.m. from northern Thailand to witness the ceremony, shown live on big screens outside the palace. "I`m so overjoyed ... There`ll never be another chance like this, it`s a once-in-a-lifetime event," she said.

During 18 months of his reign so far, King Vajiralongkorn has moved to consolidate the authority of the monarchy, including taking more direct control of the crown`s vast wealth with the help of Thailand`s military government. Thailand ended absolute rule by its kings in 1932, but the monarchy remains highly revered as the divine symbol and protector of the country and Buddhist religion.
By AFP

LONDON: The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

ALSO READ | US lobbying against Huawei in India: CEO Jay Chen

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police. The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

READ HERE | China's Huawei sues US over federal ban on its products

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself." He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The US is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
Imagine yourself as Abraham-Louis Breguet in his workshop on Paris Quai de lHorloge at the turn of the nineteenth century. In the relentless pursuit of timekeeping precision, you are drilling microscopic holes in each tooth of the escape wheel. Tooth by tooth. Why? To trap miniscule quantities of oil for lubrication at the point of contact between the escape wheel and the lever. Next to you on the bench is the balance wheel and its spring. You have done your best to form the spring and you have bestowed upon it your groundbreaking invention of the overcoil (which you cannot possibly know at the time, will two hundred years hence still bear your name, universally called by future watchmakers a Breguet hairspring). Although this timepiece will be sold as a Garde Temps, your highest grade movement, these solutions, the drilled escape wheel and the formed spring, are not perfect. Your technological tools, the best for your era, cannot carry you to the pinnacle of perfection.

Conjuring the future, Jules Verne in 1865 may have penned the tale of a journey to the moon a century before Neil Armstrong, yet not even the wildest flights of fancy in the Quai de lHorloge atelier could have envisaged some of the solutions which technology has conferred upon todays watchmakers in Breguets Vallee de Joux manufacture. A word of caution, or better said, an important perspective on technologys role at Breguet: todays material advances are never adopted simply because they are there or for flash and advertising talking points. For Breguet there must be both a tangible benefit to the performance of the timepiece delivering value to the owner and, in addition, compatibility with the traditional practices and skills of watchmaking hand craft. Guided by these principles, Breguets movement developers, working in tandem with research scientists, have brought cutting edge materials to todays movements to achieve levels of precision and performance unimaginable in even the recent past. Bestowed upon todays movements are components utilizing silicium, titanium, liquid metal, diamond-like carbon and special alloys for the mainspring.

Breguet introduced its first timepieces incorporating silicium components in 2006 with the reference 5197. After five years of experience during which all of the performance expectations were met, Breguets CEO, Marc A. Hayek, true to the philosophy of his grandfather, Nicolas G. Hayek, reached the decision to incorporate silicium broadly throughout the collections. As of this writing, ten years after the initial introduction, there are less than a handful of legacy references which do not feature silicium springs and there are many references utilizing the material in areas in addition to the spring. It is a propitious moment to step back in order to summarize and highlight what has proven to be a revolutionary advance going to the very heart of a mechanical watch. In future issues of Le Quai de lHorloge we will spotlight other modern materials and how they, too, have enriched the art of watchmaking.

Balance wheel with silicon spring and tourbillon cage with silicon escape wheel and lever from the Marine Chronograph, Ref. 5837.  Breguet

The three key timekeeping elements of a watch are its balance wheel, including its spring, the escape wheel and the lever. It is in these fundamental components that the properties of silicium have opened up new frontiers.

Ever since Dutch mathematician Huygens developed the spring balance spring in 1675, this has been one element invariably common to all mechanical watches. Its contraction and expansion, which many describe as breathing, is central to the timing of the back and forth oscillations of the balance wheel and, thus, the running rate of the watch. In the more than three centuries following its invention, watchmakers have struggled to perfect the performance of the spring. Indeed, one of Abraham-Louis Breguets key inventions, the overcoil, was aimed at just that. By bending the outside portion of the spring upwards and over the remaining portion of the spring, Breguet was able to improve the centering of the spring around its axis and to make the spring breathe more evenly, that is to say, maintain a shape closer to the ideal of perfectly round, than was being achieved with the then existing spring shapes.

Balance wheel with its two silicon springs from the Chronometrie, Ref. 7727.  Breguet

Springs in this era of watchmaking were formed by hand, which meant there were inevitable imperfections and, even with the improvements enabled by the Breguet overcoil, performance could not be idealized. Today, however, modern spring production machines have enabled great advances over the vintage hand formed springs. Shapes can be more perfectly formed. Thickness can be more precisely controlled. However impressive those innovations, the use of silicium for the spring leapfrogs even the finest predecessors in the pursuit of precision.

Springs fashioned in silicium can be produced with essentially perfect shapes, on the order of below one micron. But that is just the beginning of what silicium makes possible. Pre-existing methods for fabricating metallic springs progressively roll the alloy until it is in the form of a fine wire, flatten it into a thin rectangular profile, and, finally, wind it into a coiled shape. With this kind of process, introducing variations along the length of the springs is not feasible. Silicium springs, on the other hand, are fabricated from wafers where material can be removed as desired. Thus, it becomes possible to engineer precise variations in thickness or coil spacing into the fabrication process. Movement designers using computer simulations can determine the exact characteristics of thickness and shape along portions of the spring that will optimize its performance in the movement. An easily visible example is found in Breguets Chronometrie. Its balance wheel is fitted with two silicium springs that not only are thicker at their outer attachment points, they have been fabricated to be essentially rigid for a portion of their lengths, thereby moving the flexible location to a predetermined ideal location.

Balance wheel, spring and balance bridge from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

One of the important considerations in the design of a watch movement is how the running rate will be affected as the watch barrel unwinds over time. The torque delivered by the barrel is, of course, at its maximum when fully wound and drops as it unwinds, as for example after 24 hours, 48 hours or more, depending on the movement. This drop can change the running rate. The term isochronism is used by watchmakers to express this aspect of performance. Silicium helps to optimize isochronism performance in two ways. First, the shape can be idealized when it is fabricated to address isochronism. Second, and a bit of a simplification to state it this way, a spring made of silicium is less affected by the dropping of torque than pre-existing metallic alloys.

Lightness is another prized property of silicium. To understand how this improves the performance of the spring, a brief tutorial on one of watchmakings challenges. In an idealized world, a mechanical watchs spring would be perfectly centered on its central axis and remain so as it breathes inward and outward. This would place its center of gravity upon the axis. Unfortunately, that idealized vision cant be attained, so that the center of gravity of the spring will inevitably be displaced somewhat from the center since, after all, it must be attached to the balance staff. This causes what watchmakers term the Grossmann effect, which is used to describe errors which result from changes in vertical position. Because the center of gravity of the spring is displaced from the center, depending upon the position of the watch, the force of gravity creates a torque which, acting upon the spring, will have an effect on the frequency of the balance wheels swing; in some positions adding to it, in others subtracting. Naturally, this changes the running rate of the watch. Because silicium is lighter than pre-existing metallic springs, this Grossmann effect is diminished.

One of the enemies of traditional metallic springs is magnetism. When exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field, there is a risk that sections of metallic springs can become magnetized. When this happens, these miniature magnets in the coils can either attract or repel each other. This changes the characteristics of the spring which, in turn, changes the running rate of the timepiece. Indeed, responding to this risk, it became common throughout the industry to equip watches, principally in the diving arena, with a soft iron inner case to shield the spring from magnetism. The drawbacks of this approach were many as it made the watches both thicker and heavier and essentially prevented incorporation of a clear case back. As it is naturally amagnetic, silicium is not subject to this risk of being magnetized and renders unnecessary older shielding methods while at the same time protecting from magnetism to an equivalent degree. As well, for Breguet there is a further benefit from the amagnetic properties of silicium, as it has enabled beneficial uses of magnets within the heart of its movements without risk to the running rate. Two examples: the Chronometrie that features magnetic pivots for the balance wheels staff and the magnetic regulator for the Musicale. Both of these inventions have been patented.

Silicon lever from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

Not to be overlooked are the effects of age on the characteristics of springs. Over time, with traditional spring ma- terials one may witness changes in stiffness which may negatively manifest itself in both the running rate and isochronism. In contrast, silicium remains stable and is not subject to metal fatigue as the watch ages.

The list of positive attributes is long and thermal compensation also merits a prominent place. It was discovered that silicium oxide coated onto the hairspring not only minimizes the effects of temperature changes to a degree, for example, well below the Swiss chronometer COSC standards, but as well allowed Breguets movement designers to tailor the compensation to match the particular characteristics of the material used for the movements balance wheel. This is important as, according to the movement, Breguet uses both Glucydur and titanium for its balance wheels which have different thermal properties.

All of these attributes represent major advances in watchmaking which has led Breguet to adopt silicium for the springs in nearly all of its movements. In certain movements, Breguet has used silicium for other components central to timekeeping. In the Type XXII, in addition to the spring, both the lever and the escape wheel are in silicium. The Type XXII was Breguets first timepiece built to run at a frequency of 10 Hz or 72,000 beats per hour. With the watchmaking norm falling between 2.5 and 4 Hz, the movement in the Type XXII broke new ground both for mechanical movements in general and chronographs in particular. Two properties of silicium recommended themselves for the lever and escape wheel: lightness and improved frictional properties (recall the painstaking drilling of holes two hundred years ago to battle friction). Lightness not only reduces the energy consumption of the movement, vital if one wants to achieve high frequencies, but, related, it also contributes to lower inertia of the components, important when they are oscillating so rapidly.

The silicon lever from the Type XXII, Ref. 3880.  Breguet

The Type XXII is not the only Breguet timepiece with silicium components beyond the balance spring. The Chronometrie has been outfitted with a silicium escape wheel whose lightened form allowed the movement to achieve its 10 Hz frequency. References 5177 and 5837 all have silicium escape wheels and levers.

It is not an overstatement to say that for movement designers, watchmakers, watch connoisseurs and, of course, every owner of a timepiece fitted with silicium components, silicium represents no less than a major advance in the art. The full range of its desirable physical properties justifies placing it amongst the ranks of the most important watchmaking innovations in history.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 59F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 51F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed Cairos support for efforts to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis in a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday.

In an official statement, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from Conte.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypts support for a political settlement in Libya under the countrys position on the unity of Libyan territory, support for its national institutions, and respect for the will of its people.

This will contribute to the return of stability and security in the Middle East, the statement added.

They also exchanged viewpoints on a number of regional issues of common interest, as well as on bilateral ties.

Conte affirmed his keenness to boost bilateral cooperation with Egypt in various fields as part of fruitful cooperation witnessed by the two countries in the past years.

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Government says all schools will open this week, including those in areas affected by Cyclone Idai.





indications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all. There are alsoindications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all.





Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education secretary Dr Tumisang Thabela told The Sunday Mail that schools had indicated readiness to open this Tuesday.





She added that some schools, especially in Chimanimani and Chipinge, affected by Cyclone Idai, were still being refurbished, but that would not prejudice learners from taking lessons as makeshift structures were being put in place.





We have not received any complaints, so far, and we are able to say that schools are ready for opening, she said.





On the issue of schools seeking an increase in fees Dr Thabela said her office had not received any applications to that effect adding that the process does not entail schools dealing direct with her office.





She, however, said she was aware that some schools had made such applications which were now being reviewed by provincial offices, as per procedure.





What I am aware of is that issues of school fees increase are still at provincial levels and we have not yet received any application, but we are aware that some schools, especially boarding, have made applications, she said.





But generally schools will open and we are working on ensuring that also those in Chimanimani and Chipinge open this week.





Indications from Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Manicaland Province, are that all schools will conduct normal lessons this week.





Repairs for damaged schools that started early last month are currently underway with a number of alternative learning spaces being created.





The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also chipped in with tents and learning materials.





To date treasury has availed $4 million towards the rehabilitation of at least 61 schools whose infrastructure was destroyed by the heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds.





Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba said efforts were being made to ensure that all schools in Manicaland open this week to avoid losing more time, particularly for examination classes.





Most of the schools that were affected are in Chimanimani and these will be opening. Chipinge and Buhera also have schools that were affected, but the damage was minimal, he said.





Repairs are in progress at various schools and in other areas where repairs have not started, tents have been provided by United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund.





We are also making sure that we have enough learning materials and teachers.





School fees review, unform prices





The Sunday Mail also understands that most school development committees had submitted applications for an upward review of school fees to the Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees (ZSDA/C).





ZSDA/C President Claudio Mutasa said there were opposed to schools charging fees in foreign currency.





We understand that most Government schools do not have foreign accounts, therefore, parents should only pay fees in the local currency or RTGS through the banks,





Meanwhile, a snap survey by The Sunday Mail in major shops selling school-wear showed that most prices were pegged in United States Dollar or the obtaining parallel market rate in bond notes or RTGS.





Latest RTGS prices in shops such Nargaji and Bays pegged a pair of trousers between $40 and $60 while a blazer was between $100 and $200, shirt ($26), jersey ($50), a pair of stocks ($10) and a tie ($25).





Informal traders were selling a blazer at $110, jersey $40, trousers $25, shirt, $25, tie $25 and a winter set of gloves, scarf and a woollen hat was pegged at $30.





Before the price increase last year second term, a pair of school shoes was priced at $16 while a satchel was pegged at $11, with a shirt and short selling for $14, dress ($15), trousers ($20) blazer ($30), hat ($6), pair of socks ($3) and a tie $5. Sunday Mail








Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High -9F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low -9F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday that a renewed state of emergency comes under the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism, nearly a week after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi extended the measure, in place since 2017, for a further three months.

In an address on Saturday to the House of Representatives to justify the renewed state of emergency, Madbouly said that implementing the state of emergency is part of supporting state institutions in completing developmental plans nationwide.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

He said that, due to such efforts, the country has achieved major steps in accomplishing the stability required for development.

According to Madbouly, the country has achieved the aspired balance between protection of freedoms and the demands of national security, to complete the armed forces' efforts in combating terrorism.

Following the premier's address, the speaker Ali Abdel-Aal has referred the government's address to the House for review, with a vote expected on the state of emergency in its evening session.

The state of emergency was implemented in April 2017 following deadly twin attacks on two churches which killed dozens. It has been renewed ever since.

Last week, El-Sisi issued a further three-month renewal, starting on 25 April.

The decision allows security forces to take [measures] necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country, read a presidential decree published in the official state gazette last week.

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Footprint From left, Ben Potter (dissertation chair), Charles Holmes (field adviser) and Gerad Smith (instructor).

A team of archaeologists with the University of Alaska has discovered a footprint at a site in the Interior, providing evidence of prehistoric family life in the area.

This is the only human footprint that has been found in the North American subarctic anywhere, said Gerad Smith, a doctoral candidate working at the site, and that includes Canada also.

Smith and the other researchers recently published the finding in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

He is the instructor of record at Swan Point, an archaeological site near Big Delta. Reaching the area requires passing through a bog, but once there, he said, its a wide space from which the Alaska Range is visible to the south.

Smith has been working at Swan Point for a few years in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Anchorage.

Swan Point was discovered by Charles Holmes, an affiliate research professor with UAF, in the early 1990s. Initially, he and the students who discovered it found lithic artifacts, or stone tools, indicating human activity.

The site has a very long record of human activity there starting 14,000 years ago, Holmes said. So we can see a lot of the environmental changes that took place over that time. And we can see how the people changed their toolkit in adapting to the changes.

Smith has noticed that finding the footprint seems to get a different response than when they discover tools or bone scraps.

Theres something kind of cool about footprints that strikes us in a very personal way, he said.

In 2005, according to Smith, three surface features in the area were tested to see if it had a cultural origin, and it looked like it might have been an ancient house.

Smith first came to Swan Point in 2012, when Holmes was looking for graduate students to help with work in the area.

We planned out and organized a return in 2017 and 2018 to excavate that site, he said.

Discovery

The footprint was discovered in 2017 by a UAA student, Steve Schoenhair, by carefully plotting out the area with the house and digging through the layers of sediment.

When they initially saw it, Smith said he knew we were really going to have to work hard to prove it was a human footprint.

Holmes, who was at the site upon the discovery, agreed.

I think its very interesting, he said. At the time I was a bit skeptical on how we were going to really show that it was a real human footprint.

However, given the measurements Smith took, Holmes said people believe the footprint is that of a human.

Using carbon dating, Smith and the team concluded the footprint was left around 1,840 years ago. By measuring the ball of the foot, then comparing it to the length, they were able to create a biological profile of the walker, who they believe would have been a pre-teen child.

Statistically speaking, when footprints are this small, they tend to match children that are about 8 to 11 years old, Smith said.

Smith said he also conducted a comprehensive literature review to confirm this is the only print that has been found thus far in the North American subarctic. The metrics of the print, according to Smith, match tracks left in Jaguar Caves, Tennessee, where prehistoric adolescents are also believed to have visited.

The data gathered on the print has allowed the team to date it and determine the approximate age of the person who left it, although some things remain a mystery.

I always wonder why theres just one of something, Holmes said, laughing. One single footprint, OK. Theres a story behind that, I suppose.

The team was able to create a model of the footprint using a process known as photogrammetry. Using multiple pictures taken around the entirety of the print, Ted Parsons, a graduate student with UAA, was able to make a digital model. Smith also plastered the print to create a cast of it.

The big picture

The whole excavation is part of a large project in the Shaw Creek area, looking at how humans in prehistoric times adapted to the environment and, vice versa, how human presence impacted the environment.

What were doing now is weve been working on a long-term project looking at a particular region around the Shaw Creek area, and this is where Swan Point is located, Holmes said.

Joshua Reuther, curator of archaeology at the UAF Museum of the North, has been working with Holmes and the other archaeologists on the project. Reuther initially worked in the area under Holmes as a geology student. Now he is a co-principal investigator.

My role has always been trying to establish what the environment was like and the landscape was like over that 14,000 years that humans have been out there using plant and animal resources, Reuther said.

He explained some of the research in Swan Point has involved taking lake cores, examining the sediment in the area and some other geological work determining what the landscape looked like at different times.

One interesting aspect of the changing environment Reuther notes is the change in staple foods. Moose and salmon, for example, are considered staple Interior foods, he said, but going back a few thousand years bison and elk would have been abundant in the area.

The presence of these animals, Reuther noted, can explain the human presence.

So if you think about an archaeology site you can have several periods where people occupy the same landform, he said. And they can be doing the same thing like just hunting, or they could be hunting and camping or they could set up a home there.

The prehistoric home with the footprint inside of it is just one part of the whole area, which continues to be explored and excavated.

Smith was able to remove the footprint from the site and preserve it. It is in Anchorage but will be brought back to the Interior.

Eventually, when we are done with this project, it will be curated at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, he said.

Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7572.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is considering an initial public offering of its $100 billion Vision Fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The fund was set up in 2017 and has become the world's largest technology investment fund. Its investments include ride-hailing pioneer Uber, chip designer ARM and shared workspace firm WeWork.

The company has publicly stated it plans to set up a second investment fund. The senior banking source said SoftBank was now talking to banks about helping it raise money, confirming an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

SoftBank has spoken to half a dozen banks over the last month about a potential listing of the Vision Fund but has yet to start a formal process, the source said, adding he was not expecting such a process in the near term.

SoftBank is also in talks with Oman for an investment in the fund, which has raised nearly all of its funding so far from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, according to the WSJ report.
The government is considering granting amnesty to criminals in honor of new Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October, sources close to the matter said Friday.

If realized, it will be the country's first pardon since 1993, when then Crown Prince Naruhito married Crown Princess Masako. But only a certain number of petty offenders may be given the pardon, as the government is concerned that a large-scale amnesty can trigger criticism from the public, including crime victims.

Amnesty has usually been granted upon national events as well as celebrations and funerals regarding the imperial family. After Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died in 1989, more than 10 million people were given amnesty. The enthronement of former Emperor Akihito in 1990 led to pardons of some 2.5 million.

The government did not issue pardons in the wake of Emperor Akihito's abdication on Tuesday, the first by a Japanese monarch in 202 years.
Related Egyptian court sentences Salafist figure Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to 5 years in prison

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a five-year prison sentence former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is serving for organising a violent rally at a Cairo court in 2012.

The court also upheld the five-year terms of five other defendants convicted in the case, rejecting the appeal presented by them and the Salafist leader.

In 2017, a Cairo court sentenced Abu Ismail and others to prison terms following convictions for inciting the besieging of a Nasr City court in December 2012, the use of violence against prosecutors, and preventing state employees from carrying out their duties.

The events took place when Abu Ismail, a popular figure among Salafists, marshalled his supporters to surround a court where some of his followers were being tried.

He is currently serving a seven-year term, which was upheld in 2014, for forging the documents he submitted to run as a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

The once-popular TV preacher and prominent supporter of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was convicted of forging documents to conceal his late mother's US citizenship, an action that led to him being disqualified from the race.

He has also been given two separate one-year jail terms for insulting the judiciary and contempt of court, offences which occurred during his trials.

Authorities arrested Abu Ismail days after the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

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The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning...

The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning state funds in his last days in office through an alleged contract spree to his friends and family members.





Akeem Olatunji, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, made the accusation in an interview with the New Telegraph.





He also corroborated the allegation of Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor-elect, that Ajimobi has awarded a N30billion contract to create hiccups for the incoming administration





He said: We dont make allegations when there are no evidence. In actual fact, we know that government is a continuum and we are not trying to stampede the incumbent government. Nevertheless, due process has to be followed in whatever is done. For the governor to just wake up one day and start to dash out contracts to cronies, is more or less a way of syphoning the funds of the state. About 33 excavators were recently bought with almost N10bn for local governments.





Aside from this, a situation whereby within two months, more than N50billion projects were awarded by the government calls for worry. Has the government completed the projects on ground? When workers and retirees are being owed, where did they get the funds to execute those projects? If it were an ongoing project that funds were released for, no one will suspect any foul play.




Egypts parliament on Saturday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency, in place for two years, for a further three months.

The House of Representatives held an extraordinary session on Saturday to discuss President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decree (208/2019) last week to extend the state of emergency, beginning on 25 April and concluding on 24 July.

The parliament vote was preceded by an address made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who said that the renewal was part of the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism.

The vote on the decree was passed by a comfortable majority.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.

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The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his fai...





The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his failing health.





There were reports that President Buhari is undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom and may not return to the country today as was originally planned.

Reacting to the report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a chat with Punch, said the claim was totally rubbish, absolutely shameful and disgraceful.




The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within t...

The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within the ruling All Progressives Congress and governors elected on its platform.









Recall that the president will be officially sworn-in for a second term on May 29.









It was gathered that President Buhari deliberately kept members of his kitchen cabinet, close associates and outgoing ministers in suspense with regard to those who will be in his new team.









The President has opted to go solo in choosing the new set of ministers. Some members of his inner power circle, popularly called The Cabal, who went to London during the week to see him, were denied access on the basis of Buharis strict instructions. Only a minister (name withheld) was allowed to meet with the President in London. It was, however, not clear whether the minister took some documents to him.

At press time, the President had not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party. Many of the outgoing ministers have been running to the governors of their states, asking that some words be put in for their return to the cabinet. The President himself was said to have expressed surprise at the high number of names dropped in some states for ministerial slots.





According to findings, the President has adopted a tough approach to the formation of his cabinet unlike in 2015 when some members of his kitchen cabinet hijacked the privilege of assisting him to source for good hands to impose their friends/allies on him. It was learnt that all those who wanted to influence appointments into the cabinet were shut out in London. A top source said: It seems Buhari has realised that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.









Even those who should know have been fenced off. His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London. Those who went to London came back empty handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).









We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.









Investigation also revealed that the President has not demanded any ministerial nomination list either from the APC or the governors in the ruling party. A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015? He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.









Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us. Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.









I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President. We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended. The section reads: There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.









Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.









Meanwhile, the presidency last night dismissed the rumour of possible extension of the Presidents 10-day vacation on health grounds. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, simply said: This story on the Presidents return is absolutely shameful and disgraceful. Disgusting.
Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x w...





Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x workers by some policemen.





In April, a joint task force raided Caramelo, a popular strip club, in the nations capital, and arrested some strippers.





The task force also arrested suspected sex workers in different parts of Abuja. Some of those arrested were allegedly raped by police officers.





In response to the allegation, the FCT police command said it had set up a high power team to probe the allegations.





But the protesters stormed the command on Saturday, demanding that the culprits be punished publicly.





They also held placards which read Sex for bail is rape, To be a woman is not a crime, You should protect us not harm us, among others.





The protesters

Addressing reporters in front of the command, Rebecca Umar, leader of the protest, said police are supposed to defend women and not rape them.





We are here to tell the police that you. The police is supposed to be our friend. We are women, we should be free to wear whatever we want to wear without being arrested, Umar said.





It is not a crime to be a woman. We will not be silent, we are here because of the recent happenings at Utako (Caramelo) and other places.





The police is supposed to defend us, not rape us.





Also speaking, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, said it is the right of a woman to dress the way she wants.





I have the right to wear a hijab and another has the right for mini and not wear anything. It is our fundamental human rights, you do not a right to label a woman a prostitute because of the way she is dressed, Yesufu said.





The Nigerian police, you are all out here with your guns, why are you not on Abuja-Kaduna road?





S. Umar, deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations, FCT command, assured the protesters that the officers found wanting will be punished.




The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constitu...

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constituting his next cabinet.





Afeniferes spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, in a chat on Saturday, said Buharis next ministers should be picked on the basis of what they can deliver.





He stated that Buharis next set of ministers should be those who understand the situation of Nigeria.





According to Odumakin: Really, I cant tell the type of men or women Buhari should pick on his next cabinet but those to be picked should be about what contributions and agenda they want to implement as ministers.





If we are still down with this Miyetti Allah and cattle route thing and you pick the best of Havard and Oxford, we are going nowhere.





Unless we are ready to start afresh to put Nigeria on the path of development and productivity and if the country is still about Miyetti Allah and cattle routes, no matter who you pick, the country will go under.





Odumakin also pointed out how to resolve the issue of insecurity across the country.





He said: We cant dissolve this issue of insecurity by this fire fighting brigade approach we are doing now. Where the president is in London on a private visit the IGP is running up and down, in Birnin Kebbi today and before he gets to Kaduna he has forgotten what happened in Birnin Kebbi. With all these, we are going nowhere.





There is no way you can police Nigeria from Abuja and still get results. First of all, you must delegate power, allow every part of the country to police their land, crime is cultural.





You cant pick a policeman in Oyo State now to go and fight bandits in Zamfara even if he sits among bandits he may not understand what they are saying, he does not know the route around in the area as such effect police should be at the state units.





Secondly, we must go back to productivity, who ever knew there was a large deposit of gold in Zamfara State that they are fighting over now. We must make every part of Nigeria a reproductive centre, move away from oil and gas. When this is done millions of young people will go back to work.




Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, ...

Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, Alph Lukau and Prophet Bushiri were his children in the spiritual realm.





Obinim said the acclaimed men of God were not his equals when it comes to spiritual affairs.





I respect Pastor Chris, TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, and the other prophets but in terms of the Spiritual aspect, they are my children.





They are my children. Go and ask them, they know me spiritually. Talking about spiritual ways, they know me.





Benny Hinn is a healer, he can heal you; Benny Hinn is a preacher, he can preach, and deliver you but in terms of spiritual ways, hes nowhere close to me.





He went on to explain that when he places a curse on someone, no one can lift it.





He said TB Joshua or Benny Hinn cannot reverse a curse he has placed because they are nothing compared to him.





He said he can attest to TB Joshuas teaching, prophetic and healing prowess, however, when it comes to spiritual affairs, the Nigerian prophet is a toddler.





Obinim disclosed that he is capable of doing anything including orchestrating a car accident that can terminate the life of his enemy.




Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-hu...





Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat. Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat.





In her reaction, Tonto Dikeh took to her Instagram page to condemn the Chairmans threat, calling him a stupid fool.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA #THANKS

According to her: I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga .If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA



Tontos Dikehs utterances. Chairman of the AGN BoT, Prince Ifeanyi Dikeh in an interview condemnedTontos Dikehs utterances.





According to him: Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.





Issues like that are private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions does not speak well of the industry.









We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.









Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.





Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.




The speaker of Egypts parliament Ali Abdel-Aal held a meeting with the head of the World Bank Group David Malpass in Cairo on Saturday.

"The speaker praised the current distinguished relationship between Egypt and the World Bank, and the efforts of Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr for its role in pushing cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank to a very prestigious level," said a statement from Abdel-Aals office.

The statement said the speaker had gave Malpass an overview of the performance of Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  in terms of its make-up and roles.

"The House comprises 596 MPs representing different political forces, not to mention that it includes the biggest number of female deputies (90 women) and Copts (39 MPs) and nine representing the physically challenged and expatriates," said the speaker, adding that "parliament began its first legislative season on 10 January 2016, and following the two revolutions of 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013."

"This parliament came at a very critical stage of Egypt's history, shouldering the burden of issuing new laws translating economic and fiscal reforms into facts on the ground, a fact which led to a marked improvement in economic growth rates," said Abdel-Aal.

Abdel-Aal also spoke about the economic reform laws that have been passed since 2016.

"We cooperated with the government to issue laws on investment, bankruptcy procedures, bidding and tender procedures, the stock market, and legislation on companies and the one-person company," he said, arguing that "all of these laws send a very positive message to foreign investors, encouraging them to inject more investments into the local market."

"These laws help secure high levels of transparency, abolish all forms of discrimination in the labour market, give priority to micro and small-scale enterprises, and help young people tap the market and set up their own projects."

Abdel-Aal indicated that parliament is currently working on laws that aim to achieve "financial inclusion" and is keen that all of these laws observe social dimensions.

Malpass, who took over as president of the World Bank Group on 5 April and is on a two-day visit to Egypt, said that the two laws issued in Egypt on investment and regulating industrial licences are the most important investment-friendly laws passed in recent years.

"Egypt decided to meet the challenge of modernising its economy, and as a result the World Bank will be always keen to support projects in Egypt," said Malpass according to the statement, adding that "Egypt has a lot of good opportunities in the coming period to achieve success in the area of digital economy."

"In addition to promising opportunities here in the two areas of industry and agriculture, we are also working to upgrade education in Egypt," said Malpass, praising the policy of encouraging a number of high-profile international universities to set up branches in Egypt.

He also praised the Investor Service Center at the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation which he visited earlier on Saturday, which aims to facilitate the setting up of companies and projects in the country.

Malpass also stressed the importance of transparency and good governance in attracting investment to Egypt.

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Egypt is following with deep concern Turkeys announced intention to start drilling operations in Cyprus exclusive economic zone, off its western coast, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement warned that any unilateral action would have implications for security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. It also stressed that any action by countries in the region must abide by international law and its provisions.

The 2013 maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Cyprus, their coordination and closeness have raised concerns in Turkey in recent years, in light of Ankaras tense relations with both Cairo and Nicosia.

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Hong Kong: HK economy at a crossroads

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said Hong Kongs economy is at a crossroads and the Government will spare no effort to reinforce the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme today, Mr Yau said the first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.5% year-on-year suggested there are a lot of uncertainties ahead.

I think the first quarter figures revealed that we are at the crossroad, i.e. while sentiment towards the general economic situation has slightly improved with easing of tension between the US and China over the trade dispute, export figures remain negative, we are still in the negative trend.

He said economic performance depends on whether the Mainland and the US will come to an agreement on the trade dispute.

Even if there is an agreement, whether that would bring a sharp return of economic performance would depend on (handling of) tariffs and on whether more fundamental issues between China and the US are being resolved by further trade negotiations or agreements.

Hong Kong is currently suffering from the impact of the trade dispute, but it is also carefully looking at the way forward, Mr Yau said.

For Hong Kong in particular, I think there should be no sparing of efforts in reaching out and going out and reinforcing the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

On tourism, Mr Yau said visitor arrivals might impact the livelihood of the community.

There is room for Hong Kong to improve its capacity for receiving tourists, he added.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, without identifying the assailants.

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A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Imad Naseer, 22, was killed by a strike in northern Gaza, the ministry said, without saying if he was affiliated to any militant group.

Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Saturday, with the army retaliating with air strikes and tank fire.

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Islamic State militants and Chadian opposition fighters were responsible for an attack on the forces of eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in the southern Libyan city of Sebha, a military source said on Saturday.

Eight soldiers were killed earlier on Saturday in the attack on a training camp in Sebha, the head of the local municipality said.

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Ashton Kutcher is expected to testify against Michael Gargiulo  the alleged "Hollywood Ripper" serial killer who is currently on trial for the 2001 murder of Kutcher's then-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Kutcher is one of nearly 250 potential witnesses for a case against Gargiulo, which is related to an alleged, 15-year-long killing spree that left two California women and an Illinois teenager dead. According to CNN, Gargiulo was finally apprehended in 2008 after he accidentally cut himself during an alleged attack against a fourth victim, Michelle Murphy.

However, Kutcher's testimony will reportedly be related to the death of 22-year-old fashion student and stripper Ashley Ellerin, whose body was found by a friend the day after Kutcher stopped by her Hollywood Hills home to pick her up a Grammys afterparty. LA Weekly notes that Kutcher's testimony will help establish the time of Ellerin's murder, as she apparently never answered the door when he came by. Kutcher also allegedly spotted what he assumed was spilled red wine on her carpet when he peeked through her back window.

Gargiulo reportedly worked as an air-conditioning repairman who lived next door to each of his purported victims. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder in California court, though he faces a separate charge in Illinois for the third alleged murder.

Read all the details, here.
Famed British designer Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with the cult shoe brand, Buffalo London, to create two new shoes with platforms standing miles above cool. Combining iconic aspects of both labels in the hybridized styles, the shoes reimagine brand history like the first Classics platform sneaker released in 1995, and its subsequent Hightower Platform, that's now merged with Westwood's Pirate boot to create the Pirate Boot Platform. The boot comes over the knee in soft leather printed in red and black, then fastens to the top with tan buckled straps.

Debuting in the Fall 1981 Vivienne Westwood show, the Pirate Boot was part of an entirely unisex collection with the alternative, layered ragamuffin look of pirates dressed in swashbuckling clothes. The look has endured throughout the years and is now back for a remix with Buffalo London's timely collaboration.

The other style in the latest drop is The Connected Sandal Platform, which is pale tan leather and with ankles straps on a black platform inspired by Westwood's original Everything is Connected Sandal from the spring 2014 collection.

Get into the shoes that are stacking up on style in the new campaign, shot by Jurgen Teller.
The NPP Communication Director, the Honourable Yaw Buaben Asamoah, is absolutely right for calling on the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu to keep Ghanaians updated on the progress of the corruption fight.



The appointment of Mr Martin Amidu to the position of the Special Prosecutor with a mandate of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from greedy and corrupt public officials, is, arguably, the most important appointment by President Akufo-Addo so far.



Ghana, so to speak, has been losing billions of dollars since the adoption of the Fourth Republican Constitution to the remorseless nation wreckers who take delight in swindling the state to the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians, and yet the methods employed by the successive governments in fighting the apparent canker have been extremely disappointing.



Despite the pernicious effects of corruption, the successive governments and their Attorney Generals have woefully failed to cooperate with other interested stakeholders to investigate, prosecute and retrieve the stolen monies from the stubbornly impenitent nation wreckers.



It is for this reason that some of us are most grateful to President Akufo-Addo for showing seriousness and commitment towards the fight against corruption by establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor with the responsibility of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from the corrupt public officials.



Notwithstanding the seeming inaction for well over a year now, some of us are of the firm conviction that the introduction of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is a pragmatic way of tackling the rampant bribery and corruption cases head-on.



Indeed, it would be somewhat refreshing if the justice system descends heavily not only on the goat, cassava and plantain thieves but as well as the hardened criminals who hide behind narrow political colourations.



It was against such backdrop that some of us were extremely livid over the vineyard news which spiralled through the airwaves some time ago that Mr Amidu had not been resourced adequately by the government and therefore planning to quit the job.



But lo and behold, the Finance Minister announced in his 2019 budget presentation that President Akufo-Addo has decided to give a staggering GH180 million to Martin Amidu to fight the canker of corruption.



I have always insisted that despite the widely held notion that Ghanaian politics is full of inveterate propagandists and manipulating geezers, we have many selfless, morally upright and forward-thinking politicians like Mr Martin Amidu in our midst.



In fact, I hold a firm conviction that a fantastically corrupt public official is no less a human rights abuser than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.



This is because while the enigmatic Adolf Hitler went into a conniption-fit and barbarically exterminated innocent people with mephitic chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on suffocating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.



Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up facing untold economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early graves.



In Ghana, it would appear that political criminals have the licence to steal.



Dearest reader, if that was not the case, how come the offending politicians and their accomplices often go scot free?



Elsewhere, though, the laws and regulations are strictly enforced, and as such, the vast majority of the citizens and denizens prefer the observance to the stringent fines and the harsh punishments.



Corruption, as a matter of fact, impedes economic development by distorting markets and collapsing private sector integrity.



Corruption also strikes at the heart of democracy by corroding rule of law, democratic institutions and public trust in leaders. For the poor, women and minorities, corruption means even less access to jobs, justice or any fair and equal opportunity (UNDP 2016).



There is no denying the fact that the revoltingly cyclical corrupt practices amongst the political elites have resulted in underdevelopment, excessive public spending, less efficient tax system, needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities.



The fact though, remains that Ghanas transgressed and incompliant politicians and other public officials often get away with murder.



If the wanton bribery and corruption, dubious judgment debt payments, stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation?



The all-important question discerning Ghanaians should be asking is: will the day come when Ghanas political criminals find they have nowhere to hide?



We should, therefore, not expect Mr Martin Amidu to dampen our excitement by leniently asking the suspects to return their loots without the essential prosecutions.



Obviously, the benign and somewhat lenient approach would not circumscribe the widespread sleazes and corruption which have been retrogressing Ghanas advancement thus far.



How on earth would individuals turn away from their crimes if the only available punishment for stealing the public funds is a mere plea to return the loot?



Let us be honest, much as the paradox of exposure is somewhat relevant in the fight against the canker of corruption, it is not an isolated tool, it goes hand in hand with prevention and deterrence.



Well, if we are ever prepared to beseech the fantastically corrupt public officials to only return their loots without any further punishment, we might as well treat the goat, plantain and cassava thieves same. For after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.



It is absolutely true that reported cases of political offenders misdeeds often leave concerned Ghanaians with a glint of bewilderment.



However, when it comes to the prosecutions of the political criminals, we are often made to believe: the wheels of justice turn slowly, but it will grind exceedingly fine.



Yet we can disappointingly recall a lot of unresolved alleged criminal cases involving political personalities and other public servants.



Where is the fairness when the political thieves could dip their hands into the national purse as if tomorrow will never come and go scot free, while the goat, cassava and plantain thieves are incarcerated?



I will dare state that there is no deterrence for political criminals. For, if that was not the case, how come political criminals more often than not, go through the justice net, despite unobjectionable evidence of wrong doing?



I bet, the democratic country called Ghana, may not see any meaningful development, so long as we have public officials who are extremely greedy, corrupt, and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians, and would often go scot free.



Going forward, we must not and cannot use the justice net to catch only the mobile phone, plantain, goat and cassava thieves, but we must rather spread the justice net wide to cover the hard criminals who are often disguised in political attire.



Let us humbly remind the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu that the right antidote to curbing the unbridled sleazes and corruption is through stiff punishments, including the retrieval of all stolen monies, sale of properties and harsh prison sentences.









Source: K. Badu/ [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The United Nations on Thursday asked for restraint in Benin after controversial elections led to violence.



"We are closely following the unfolding developments in the Republic of Benin in the aftermath of the April 28 legislative elections, in which opposition parties were barred from participating," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.



"We note with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, resulting in the destruction of property and high-handed response from the security forces," he said.



The United Nations called on all Beninese stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and to seek solutions to their differences through dialogue, he told a regular press briefing.



The secretary-general's special representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas is in contact with colleagues in the Economic Community of West African States, as well as with Beninese stakeholders, with a view to encouraging a consensual and peaceful solution to the situation and preserving peace and stability for the country, he said.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Four Nigerian rescue workers kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country were released unhurt after several days in captivity, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday.



An official of NEMA told Xinhua in Abuja that the four victims, who work for the agency, were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment after they were freed on Thursday.



The rescue workers were kidnapped on April 23 by gunmen in Ahoada area of the southern state of Rivers. They were working on the National Food Security Intervention program in the state when the gunmen struck.



"Though it's a security issue, the NEMA, as a responsive agency of government, did all it could to make sure that they were released unhurt," said Vincent Owan, a director of risk management at the agency.



After an initial medical examination, doctors said that the workers were physically weak but basically in good health condition.



Rivers state is located in the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta where there have been many incidents of kidnapping.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court has granted an application by lawyers for De Eye Group, the company at the centre of a recent documentary by Multimedia Group journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure to serve him by substitution.



After a ten-day period, it is deemed he has seen the summons and therefore duly served.



The Administrative Director for the group, Nana Kegya through a press briefing encouraged his members to never be disheartened or discouraged from creating employment for the youth of Ghana, neither should they be worried of the court proceedings because they are not at fault".



He added that the core aim of the De-eye group is to coordinate the youth of Ghana into various working institutions that will help them generate income at the end of work for proper conditions of life as expected.



Nana Kegya urged every unemployed youth to visit their various centers to fill registration forms to be a member of the De-eye group who will at every time link them up to employment opportunities of their specification when the need arises.



Background



De-Eye group Limited, the company at the centre of the recent documentary by journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure has sued Multimedia group of companies and Manasseh Azure Awuni over claims made in the documentary.



In the documentary, Manasseh Azure alleged that the company was training a pro-government militia group operating from the Osu Castle, a former seat of government.



Both the government and the De-Eye group have denied the allegations, insisting that the company is a recruitment agency which is not a threat to Ghanas security.



De-Eye group in its writ indicated that the company is not a militia group as suggested in the documentary.

















Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Ghana Education Service (GES) has made minor adjustments to the 2018/2019 academic calendar, particularly for double-track schools.



This is to ensure that the SHS 1 students in Double-Track schools will complete the end of second semester together and allow schools that wish to have their SHS 1 students write the same end of semester exams flexibility to do so, a release to all regional directors of education indicated.



According to the release on Thursday, May 2, Green Track students will begin their mid-semester break on Friday, May 10 as scheduled.



This means Gold Track students will also begin their second semester on Saturday, May 11 as scheduled.



SHS 2 students will also complete their second semester on Friday, July 5 as scheduled.



The adjustment involves the reopening for Green Track students.



Instead of returning on Saturday, June 15, they are now scheduled to return on Saturday, July 6.



This is to allow them to complete the semester together with the Gold Track students on 6th September 2019.



The multiple-track system under the Free SHS Policy was introduced ahead of the 2018/2019 academic year.



It goes into its second year this September, which will mark three years into the governments flagship education policy.







Source: 3news.com









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North Korea has tested several short-range missiles, according to reports from South Korea, its neighbour.



They were reportedly fired from the Hodo peninsula in the east of the country, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. This will be the first missile launch since Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.



Last month Pyongyang said it had tested what it described as a new "tactical guided weapon". That was the first test since the Vietnam summit between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and US President Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.



Firing a short range missile would not violate North Korea's promise not to test long range or nuclear missiles, but Pyongyang appears to be growing impatient with Washington's insistence that full economic sanctions remain until Kim takes serious steps to dismantle his nuclear weapons programme, says the BBC's Laura Bicker.



"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary" said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.









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The Methodist Church Ghana (MCG), has entreated the government to stay focused and work diligently towards achieving its vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.



Economic emancipation is a reality if we begin to set our development priorities right, the Right Reverend Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, noted.



Having chalked 62 years as an independent country, he said, the leadership and people ought to demonstrate the zeal of taking their destiny into their own hands, to ensure economic liberation.



Rt. Rev. Andam, who was addressing the 58th annual synod of the Kumasi Diocese of the MCG at Old Tafo, lauded the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration for the implementation of many policies, initiatives and interventions for the wellbeing of the people.



He explained that programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One District, One Factory and One District, One Warehouse, as well as efforts to enhance infrastructure growth and related development projects, would help to open up the economy for job and wealth creation.



Intensifying our Teaching Ministry towards Disciple Making - the Wesleyan Mission, was the theme for the synod.



Rt. Rev. Andam said it was appropriate that the leadership of the nation did something more proactive to tackle youth unemployment to reap its resultant benefit of increased economic growth.



He hinted of an on-going girls empowerment programme, being pursued by the Methodist Womens Fellowship, to equip school drop-outs with relevant employable skills.



The Methodist Bishop advised the various societies within the MCG to throw their weight behind the programme, since women played a critical role in the nations development processes.



Speaking on the theme, he urged the various societies in the Diocese to live godly and exemplary lives, as that could be a form of evangelism to bring more people to the Church.

Source: GNA









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Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.

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Mr Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a human rights activist, has urged the Government to set national targets to reduce the number of people in jail.



He noted that the Nsawam Prison, for instance, was built to house about 800 inmates, but currently had more than 2,000.



There was, therefore, the need to roll out measures to address the issue of the high prison population.



Mr Foley said the move, however, needed to go hand-in-hand with very concrete crime prevention measures, particularly within crime-prone areas.



He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra during a media workshop on decriminalising petty offences in Ghana.



The workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), was to expose media personnel to the ACHPR Principles to enhance reportage and give visibility to regional instruments that promote criminal justice reforms.



The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), under its Principles on Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa, defines petty offences as minor crimes for which the punishment is prescribed in law to carry a warning, community service, low-value fine or short term of imprisonment, often for failure to pay the fine.



Mr Foley said security agencies, particularly the Police, knew crime flashpoints in the country and, as such, Ghana should start using social intervention measures to get people in those communities moving away from a life of crime.



So, it is not just speedy justice to get people out but also a concerted programme alongside to prevent re-offending or offending, he added.



He said Ghanas high prison population was way above global standards and promoted significant human right violations because of a penal system that was essentially punitive.



He noted that research had shown that there were a number of petty offences for which people need not go to jail.







Source: GNA









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Former Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Enin has alleged that Politicians and chiefs are thwarting governments effort to fighting galamsey.



According to him, with the level of corruption going on in the galamsey business, it will be difficult for government to win the fight against illegal mining.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that those involved in the fight against galamsey have become corrupt such that they are being bribed with huge sums of money by the galamsey operators.



You see, you will need people with honesty and integrity who are willing to help fight galamsey.



Until these things are done, Politicians, MMDCEs security officers will make the fight against galamsey difficult, he said.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his decision to wage war on illegal mining, known as galamsey, is one he does not regret and is prepared to see through till the end.



He said he is fortified by the positive response from the many Ghanaians who believe that the move is right and until the desired results are achieved, there is no giving up.



The President noted that Ghanas mineral wealth is an important attribute of the nation and mining has been ongoing since the 15th Century, but until our time, that wealth has been exploited, but it did not prejudice the safety of our environment."



In our time, it has come to prejudice the safety of our environment. Our water bodies have been polluted, forests have been decimated because of this mad rush for gold.



And I was told that doing something about it will cost me my political career, but well, that is a choice that we have to make always in life. Whether you are going to pander to the whims of the moment or do the things that you think right.







Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Former Ghanaian leader, John Dramani Mahama, has, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, commended Ghanaian journalists for the role they play in deepening democracy in the country.



The theme for the 2019 World Press Freedom Day marked on Friday, 3 May 2019 is: Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.



Commemorating the day on Facebook, Mr Mahama, who is seeking to lead Ghana again, said: This years global theme for the World Press Freedom Day couldnt have been more appropriate. The reaction of governments to the work of journalists and the impact of inaccurate news reports by journalists are issues that have dominated journalism over the last few years.



I am in Addis Ababa today where UNESCO, the AU and the Ethiopian government have been hosting three days of activities discussing the relationship between the media and democracy.



As has been asked by UNESCO, 'How can journalism rise above emotional content and fake news during an election? What should be done to counter speeches demeaning journalists? To what extent should electoral regulations be applied to the internet?'



On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, I say ayekoo to all journalists and urge governments and security agencies to guarantee their safety in the discharge of their work.



I also wish to encourage the Ghana Journalists Association, media men and women and bloggers to consider deeply and discuss how to remain relevant to society within the framework of the 2019 theme, Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.















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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

Talks stalled after a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

Security Guarantee

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Cautiously Respond"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If local elections down south tell us anything, they remind us that referendum verdicts must be honoured," the environment minister, Michael Gove, told a conference of Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen.

Health minister Matt Hancock gave a similar message in a BBC radio interview. "I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Labour has demanded guarantees on workers' rights and a permanent customs union with the EU as a condition for supporting an EU withdrawal deal.

May's government has opposed a customs union, preferring a looser arrangement that would allow Britain to strike its own trade deals with countries outside the EU.

Hancock suggested there could be greater willingness to compromise following the election losses.

"(Thursday's vote) wasn't about 'deliver this particular form of Brexit!' There was no door that I knocked on and the person said: 'I would like a slight change to paragraph 5 of this agreement in this particular way'."

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that a compromise was possible, but said Labour's customs plans could not be a long-term solution for Britain.

Customs Union

May said on Friday that the message for both the Conservatives and Labour from Thursday's elections was that voters wanted parliament to deliver Brexit.

In a rare agreement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there was now a "huge impetus" on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

Complicating the picture, however, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

Buzzfeed News reported on Saturday that May was optimistic she could reach a deal with Labour soon, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said one source had told it "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement preferred by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

Buzzfeed's sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European elections due on May 23 to maximise damage to the Conservatives.

And even if May and Corbyn agree, there is no certainty they could convince enough lawmakers in their parties to ensure a majority for the deal.

Many Conservative eurosceptics fear the newly launched Brexit Party of veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage will cost them support in the European elections.

That has encouraged some to call for the government to take a tougher stance on Brexit and demand a clean split with the EU.

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British police said they will not probe a leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei that cost Gavin Williamson his job as defence minister this week, as no criminal offence was committed.

Williamson strenuously denied being responsible for the leak, but May said she had lost confidence in him, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported discussions from within Britain's National Security Council.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said on Saturday.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

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Al-Sabaeen, Al-Sitteen Road is out of service as aggression raid: Traffic Department SANA'A, Dec. 23 (Saba) - The General Directorate of Traffic announced on Thursday that traffic on Al-Sabaeen Square and Al-Sitteen Streets in the capital Sana'a was suspended due to an air raid by the US-Saudi aggression.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would eradicate terrorism following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism, Sirisena told Reuters.

The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election.

We have already identified all active members of the group and its a case of now arresting them, Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 active members linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: Its crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

ATTACKERS ON LOOSE

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done.

There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

Sri Lankas security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

This is not a Sri Lanka issue, its a global terrorist movement, Sirisena said. Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together havent been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.

Sri Lankas leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas, he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lankas economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a big blow by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

Its a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry, Sirisena said. For the economy to develop its important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.

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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/03/2019 -- The global sodium sulfate market is fragmented in nature on account of the presence of numerous global and local players. The market is being primarily driven by the soap and detergent industry. Apart from that, an ever-growing automotive and construction industry is also serving to catalyze growth in the market by driving demand for glass, which requires sodium sulfate as a fluxing agent in glass refining.



Hampering demand in the sodium sulfate market, on the flipside, is the emergence of substitute compounds such as zeolites, sodium silicates, emulsified sulphur and caustic soda, and sodium carbonate (soda ash) in various end-use industries.



A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global sodium sulfate market to attain a value of US$2.62 bn by 2025 from US$1.89 bn in 2016 by rising at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2017 to 2025.



Read Report Overview @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sodium-sulfate-market.html



Natural Sodium Sulfate Dominates Market



Sources of sodium sulfate can be broadly divided into synthetic and natural. At present, about half the sodium sulfate in the world is produced from natural mines and the remaining half is recovered from industrial processes. Current reserves of natural sodium sulfate are sufficient to satisfy the required demand for several centuries because of the current rate of production. Between the two, sodium sulfate derived from natural sources dominates the market with a leading share both in terms of volume and value. In the years ahead too, the segment is expected to hold on to its leading share by expanding at a CAGR of 4% during period from 2017 to 2025.



Sodium sulfate finds application in making soaps and detergents, kraft pulping, textiles, glass, carpet cleaners, and others such as food preservatives, oil recovery, etc. Of them, the detergent and soaps, in which sodium sulfate is used as a diluting agent and fillers, generate maximum demand. However, the demand has begun to decline due to the trend towards concentrated liquid detergents instead of bulkier powder formulations.



Powered by Record Consumption in China, Asia Pacific Leads Market



From a geographical standpoint, Asia Pacific runs the show on both counts of size and growth rate. In 2016, it held about half the share in the market and in the years ahead too is predicted to retain its dominant share. The market in the region is being driven primarily by China, which surpasses all other countries in terms of sodium sulfate consumption. This is also because of the cheaper cost of sodium sulfur in the nation on account of lower manufacturing costs resulting from abundance of labor and expanding end-use industries. By registering the maximum CAGR of 4.0% in the forecast period, the region is projected to grow its revenue to US$1.55 bn.



Request Report Brochure @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16742



In terms of growth rate, Latin America is another key region that is expected to outshine North America and Europe in the next couple of years, on the back of Mexico, which has enormous reserves of sodium sulfate. The market in Europe and North America is expected to rise a slower pace  a CAGR of 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively  due to liquid detergents supplanting powder detergents at a rapid pace.
Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soldiers took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim.

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Press Release

May 5, 2019 PRIB: Binay pushes for education of homeless children, youth Homeless children may soon be given an opportunity to go to school regardless of their previous school records if a bill Senator Nancy Binay is working on will be enacted into law. Binay said Senate Bill No. 2028, otherwise known as an Act to Improve Access to Preschool, Primary, and Secondary Education of Homeless Children, seeks to authorize the Department of Education to provide funds to the local government units for the education of homeless children and youth. "Education is a fundamental human right of every Filipino, especially for the helpless and homeless children and youth. It is imperative that the government improve the accessibility of preschool, primary and secondary education for homeless children and youth," Binay said. Binay said the education of homeless children and youth are often neglected because they either lack a fixed or adequate residence, live in emergency or transitional shelters, share house with other persons due to loss of housing and economic hardships, abandoned in hospitals or await foster care placement. She said children and youth who live in cars, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, train stations or similar settings should be given access to education so they can uplift their lives. Under the proposed measure, the secretary of education shall grant funds to eligible local government units for the improvement of the identification of homeless children and youth and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school, including early care and education programs, particularly in prekindergarten and preschool programs. It also calls for the establishment or designation of an Office of the Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. The funds shall also be used to improve the provision of comprehensive education and related support services to homeless children and youth and their families and to minimize education disruption as well as coordinate activities and collaborate with educators, special education personnel, child development and preschool program personnel. The bill also proposes that all public elementary and secondary schools shall immediately enroll the homeless child or youth, even if he or she is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, including previous academic records, records of immunization and health screenings and other health records, proof of residency or guardianship or other documentation, has unpaid fines or fees from prior schools or is unable to pay fees in the school selected. The enrolling school shall also immediately contact the school last attended by the child or youth to obtain relevant academic and other records. Information about the homeless child's or youth's living situation shall be treated as a student education record, and shall not be released to employers, law enforcement personnel or other persons or agencies not authorized to have such information under laws and administrative issuances. "Local governments shall identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment and increase their enrollment and attendance in early care and educational programs, including reserving spaces in preschool programs for homeless children, conducting targeted outreach to homeless children and their families, waiving application deadlines, providing ongoing professional development for staff regarding the need of homeless children and their families and formulating strategies to serve the children and their families," Binay said.
Cyprus expects initial natural gas production from the Aphrodite field will begin between 2024 and 2025, Cyprus Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday, after negotiations with operators and an ownership squabble delayed output.

Cyprus Aphrodite was first discovered in 2011, but production has been delayed since as stakeholders Noble Energy , Israels Delek Drilling and Royal Dutch Shell renegotiate a production-sharing agreement with the government.

There have been a flurry of successful exploration efforts in recent years that identified natural gas plays in the eastern Mediterranean, where gas output has begun to soar.

Eastern Mediterranean countries including Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy have formed a partnership to deliver more natural gas to Europe and transform the region into a major energy hub.

Lakkotrypis said he will meet with Aphrodites stakeholders next week to discuss the revenue sharing mechanisms between the government and the companies, infrastructure plans and the price at which companies will sell the gas.

We are now in discussions with the Aphrodite partners about what the optimal way to develop the Aphrodite field is, and it involves commercial terms as well, Lakkotrypis said in an interview in New York. He said he was confident those discussions will conclude in a few weeks.

He said they will likely transport the gas from the Aphrodite field via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and exported.

The field is estimated to produce about 800 million cubic feet per day in the first production phase, according to Delek.

Tensions have risen in the region in recent months as Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, and Greek Cypriots are in a dispute over natural gas drilling revenues.

Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinians recently formed the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in an effort to create a regional gas market, cut infrastructure costs and offer competitive prices.

Cyprus is positioning itself to become a hub ... and the natural market is the European Union (EU) Lakkotrypis said.

In February, ExxonMobil Corp discovered a gas reservoir off the Cyprus coast with an estimated 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet in gas resources (tcf), similar in size to the Aphrodite and Calypso gas finds also in Cypriot waters.

Exxons discovery is unlikely to come online until the late 2030s due to inadequate liquefaction capacity, Rystad Energy said in March.

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According to sources, the deal is worth $800 million and as per the deal, Vodafone Idea has given IBM a five-year technology outsourcing contract, which will supplement its targeted Rs 8,400 crore annual operational cost savings by 2021. Vodafone Idea and IBM, however, did not mention the deal amount.

New Delhi: Information Technology major IBM on Friday announced a multi-million dollar deal with Vodafone Idea for engagement in the telecom, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) segments.

"IBM announced signing a multi-million-dollar five-year agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India. In addition, this engagement will also contribute to Vodafone Idea's merger synergy objectives by reducing its IT related costs," a statement by IBM said.

The collaboration will provide Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable more intimate engagement with its subscribers, enhancing business efficiency, agility and the scale along with simplification of its business processes, it said.

The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.
Cooperation among fishers can improve fish stock in coral reefs

Cooperation within a group of people is key to many successful endeavors, including scientific ones. According to a study published in Nature Communications, cooperation among competing fishers can boost fish stocks on coral reefs.

The study analyzed the social relationships among competing fisheries, the species they collect, and the local reefs from which these species are extracted.

The results suggest that even though they are considered business rivals, fishers communicate and cooperate in addressing local environmental issues, which can lead to improvements in both the quality and quantity of fish in their local reefs. In the end, this cooperation could translate into further economic gain and more sustainable business, explains Orou Gaoue, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and coauthor of the study.

The research team was led by Michele Barnes, senior research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia.

For the study, Barnes and her team--which in addition to Gaoue included researchers from Conservation International, Lancaster University in the UK, and Stockholm University in Sweden--interviewed 648 fishers and gathered data on reef conditions across five coral reef fishing communities in Kenya.

They found that in places where fishers communicated with their competitors about the fishing gear they use, locations for hunting, and fishing rules, there were more fish in the sea--and of higher quality.

"Relationships between people have important consequences for the long-term availability of the natural resources we depend on," Barnes says.

"Although this study is on coral reefs," says Gaoue, "the results are also relevant for terrestrial ecosystems where, in the absence of cooperation, competition for non-timber forest products can quickly lead to depletion even when locals have detailed ecological knowledge of their environment."

###

CONTACT:

Andrea Schneibel (865-974-3993, andrea.schneibel@utk.edu)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
World Bank Group President David Malpass toured the Investor Service Center at Egypts Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Saturday, accompanied by the minister, Sahar Nasr, and praised the diversity of investment opportunities available in the country.

"I am very impressed by the centre and emerging companies," he said during the tour, adding that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has made major legislative reforms to facilitate investors work.

The Investor Service Center includes representatives from more than 65 Egyptian entities and is responsible for issuing all licences relating to investing, and responding to investor inquiries.

Malpass thanked Nasr for establishing the body, which he said "eliminates bureaucracy and simplifies the procedures for establishing new companies."

He also applauded the diversity of investment opportunities in Egypt.

"Egypt has great investment opportunities in small and medium enterprises alike. It has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen its economy by expanding the private sector  including energy, tourism and agri-business  to create more jobs and higher living standards, he said.

"Egypt's success is critical for the stability of the region," Malpass added.

Malpass arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first to the country since becoming president of the international organisation last month.

He is scheduled to meet with government officials and MPs to discuss the progress of the Egyptian governments reform programme and the contribution of the World Bank.

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It said the petitioners, in the garb of seeking review of the verdict and placing reliance on some press reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, cannot seek to re-open the whole matter since the scope of review petition is "extremely limited".

New Delhi : The Centre has told the Supreme Court that "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded by the top court in its December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale deal case has no apparent error warranting its review.

The Centre's reply came on pleas filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking review of the December 14 verdict by which their plea seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the multi-crore Rafale fighter jet deal was dismissed.

Two other review petitions have been filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and advocate Vineet Dhandha.

All the review petitions are scheduled to be taken up for hearing next week by a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

"The review petition...is an attempt to get a fishing and roving inquiry ordered, which this court has specifically declined to go into based on perception of individuals. A non-existent distinction is sought to be created between an inquiry by the CBI and the court by playing on words," the Centre's affidavit said.

It said the apex court had come to the conclusion that on all the three aspects -- the decision making process, pricing and choosing Indian offset partner -- there is no reason for intervention by the court on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

The Centre said media reports cannot form the basis for seeking review of the judgement since it is well settled law that courts do not take decision on the basis of media reports.

It said that internal file notings and views contained therein are mere expression of opinion or views for consideration of the competent authority for taking final decision in the matter.

"It cannot form the basis for a litigant to question the final decision. Therefore, there is no ground made out either for entertaining the review petition on this ground either," the Centre said.

It added that the review petitioners were relying on information which are based on unsubstantial media reports or part of internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner which cannot form the basis for a review of the verdict.

Referring to the April 10 order of the apex court, by which the Centre's preliminary objection to placing reliance on leaked documents was rejected by the top court, the Centre's reply said the order "would imply that any document marked secret obtained by whatever means and placed in public domain can be used without attracting any penal action".

It said, "This has happened in the case of Combat Aircraft which the Court has upheld by its Judgment dated 10th April, 2019. This could lead to the revelation of all closely guarded State Secrets relating to space, nuclear installations, strategic defence capabilities, operational deployment of forces, intelligence resources in the country and outside, counter-terrorism and counter insurgency measures etc."

"This could have implications in the financial sector also if say budget proposals are published before they are presented in Parliament. Such disclosures of Secret Government information will have grave repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State," it said.

It said that the April 10 order "opens the window for any person making the request not only to seek papers from Ministry of Defence but from other Ministries and Departments dealing with subjects mentioned above if they are stolen and placed in public domain by the Press or a Website."

The Centre pointed out that all papers and files have been made available to the CAG who has given his report "concluding that the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

It said that waiver of sovereign or bank guarantee in government-to-government agreements or contracts is not unusual.

"Furthermore, assuming that Dassault Aviation or MBDA France meet difficulties in the execution of their respective supply protocols and would have to reimburse all or part of the intermediary payments to the Government of the Republic of India, the Government of the French Republic will take appropriate measures so as to make sure that said payments or reimbursements will be made at the earliest," it said while seeking dismissal of the review plea.

In an another reply to an application filed by review petitioners, the Centre said that "monitoring of the progress by PMO of this government-to-government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations."

"It is submitted that in the garb of seeking review of the judgement, and placing reliance on some media reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, the petitioners cannot seek to re-open the whole matter by asking for production of documents in review petition since the scope of review petition itself is extremely limited," the reply said.
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POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten  Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day.

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.

The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the corner stone of democracy for any functioning society.

Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.

Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.

I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.

In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





by Eric S. Margolis





Sure. Lets invade Venezuela. Another jolly little war. Its full of commies and has a sea of oil. The only thing those Cuban-loving Venezuelans lack are weapons of mass destruction.





This week, leading US neocons openly threatened that if the CIAs latest attempts to stage a coup to overthrow Venezuelas Maduro government failed, Washington might send in the Marines.





Well, the coup was a big fiasco and the Venezuelan army didnt overthrow President Maduro. The CIA also failed to overthrow governments in Moscow, Tehran and Damascus. Its only success to date has been in overthrowing Ukraines pro-Moscow government and putting a bunch of corrupt clowns in its place at a cost near $10 billion.





The US has not waged a major successful war since World War II - unless you count invading Grenada, Panama and Haiti, or bombing the hell out of Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya. Thats a sobering thought given the Pentagons recent announcement that it is cutting back on little colonial wars (aka the war on terror) to get ready for real big wars against Russia and China, or even North Korea.





Venezuela is in a huge economic mess thanks to the crackpot economic policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments - and US economic sabotage. But my first law of international affairs is: Every nation has the absolute god-given right to mismanage its own affairs and elect its own crooks or idiots.





Now, however, the administrations frenzied neocons want to start a war against Venezuela, a large, developed nation of 32.7 million, at the same time we are threatening war against Iran, interfering all around Africa, and confronting Russia, China and perhaps North Korea. Large parts of the Mideast and Afghanistan lie in ruins thanks to our liberation campaigns.





Invading Venezuela would not be much of a problem for the US military: half the population hates the current government and might welcome the Americans. Venezuelas military has only limited combat value. Right-wing regimes in neighboring Colombia and Brazil might join the invasion.





But what then? Recall Iraq. The US punched through the feeble Iraqi Army whose strength had been wildly exaggerated by the media. Once US and British forces settled in to occupation duties, guerilla forces made their life difficult and bloody. Iraqi resistance continues today, sixteen years later. The same would likely happen in Venezuela.





There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





Yankees Go Home is a rallying cry for much of Latin America. Blundering into Venezuela, another nation about which the Trump administration knows or understands little, would stir up a hornets next. Their ham-handed efforts to punish Cuba and whip up the far right Cuban-American vote in Florida would galvanize anti-American anger across Latin America. Beware the ghost of Fidel.





Talks over Venezuela are underway between Washington and Moscow. Neither country has any major interest in Venezuela. Moscow is stirring the pot there to retaliate for growing US involvement in Russias backyard and Syria. Both the US and Russia should get the hell out of Venezuela and mind their own business.





Instead, we hear crazy proposals to send 5,000 mercenaries to overthrow the Maduro regime. How well did the wide-scale use of US-financed mercenaries work in Iraq and Afghanistan? A complete flop. The only thing they did competently was wash dishes at our bases, murder civilians, and play junior Rambos.





For those who dont like the American Raj, a US invasion of Venezuela would mark a step forward in the crumbling of the empire. More aimless imperial over-reach, more lack of strategy, more enemies generated.





The big winner would, of course, be the Pentagon and military industrial complex. More billions spent on a nation most Americans could not find on a map if their lives depended on it, more orders for counter-insurgency weapons, more military promotions, and cheers from Fox News and wrestling fans.





Worst of all, the US could end up feeding and caring for wrecked Venezuela. How did we do with storm-ravaged Puerto Rico? Its still in semi-ruin. Few want Venezuelas thick, heavy oil these days.





Venezuela could turn out to be a big, fat Tar Baby.




Despite the current heat wave in Egypt, local and international journalists and photographers flocked to the Giza Plateau on Saturday to witness the announcement by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany of the discovery of an Old Kingdom cemetery.

El-Enany said that the announcement of the most recent discoveries and archaeological projects by the ministry not only have a scientific and archaeological value but are also good promotion of Egypt, showing the world the countrys true image, its culture, or soft power.

Zahi Hawass, a former antiquities minster, was also in attendance, and expressed his happiness that he was invited to attend the announcement, as the area where the cemetery was found is very close to his heart because it neighbours the pyramid-builders cemetery, which he considers a very important site.

The discovery of the pyramid-builders cemetery shows to the whole world that the pyramids were not built by slaves, but that their builders built their own tombs beside their kings, he said.

He told Ahram Online that the discoveries that the ministry have been announcing are the best way to promote Egypt abroad, because the news enters homes worldwide through the international media.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Egyptian Archaeological Mission team that made the discovery of the Old Kingdom cemetery, told Ahram Online that the team discovered several tombs and burial shafts, with the oldest a limestone family tomb from the fifth dynasty (circa 2500 BC) which retains some inscriptions and artwork.

The tomb belongs to two people. The first is Behnui-Ka, whose name has not previously been found in the Giza Plateau. He has seven titles, among them the priest, the judge, the purifier of the kings Khafre, Userkaf and Niuserre; the priest of goddess Maat, and the elder judicial official in the court.

The second tomb owner, Nwi Who, had five titles, among them the chief of the great state, the overseer of the new settlements, and the purifier of Khafre.

Many artefacts were discovered in the tomb; among the most significant is a fine limestone statue of one of the tombs owners, his wife and son.

Ashraf Mohi, director general of Giza Plateau, said that the cemetery was reused extensively during the Late Period (from the 8th century BC). Many Late Period wooden painted and decorated anthropoid coffins were discovered on site. Some of them have hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Many wooden and clay funerary masks were also found, some with colour.

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North Korea fires short-range missile : Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched an "unidentified short-range missile" towards the East Sea -- also known as Sea of Japan -- on Saturday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Pyongyang "fired a missile from its east coast town of Wonsan to the eastern direction at 9:06 am (0006 GMT) today," the JCS said in a statement.

South Korea and the United States "are analysing details related to the missile", it added.
North Korea fires short-range 'projectiles' into sea: Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today", the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."

The White House said it was "aware of North Korea's actions tonight".

"We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was "no confirmation of ballistic missiles" entering its territory.

"At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security," the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.



- Hodo peninsula -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used as a training area for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles" since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that a "formal training area" was established in the region, and Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing" during the last 10 years, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and Trump in February, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Kim slammed the South in a speech to his country's rubber-stamp legislature last month, saying it should not "pose as a meddlesome 'mediator'" between the US and Pyongyang.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
Three Turkish soldiers killed in Kurd mortar attack from Iraq: ministry



Istanbul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.
Boko Haram seizes military base in NE Nigeria: sources



Kano, Nigeria, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Boko Haram jihadists have seized a military base in northeast Nigeria, days after an attack left five troops dead and 30 missing, security sources and residents said Saturday.

A column of fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks and on motorcycles stormed into the base in the town of Magumeri, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri late Friday.

The militants overran the base, hauling away weapons before they were forced out.

"The terrorists dislodged troops from the base after an intense fight," a military officer told AFP.

"We lost weapons and equipment to the terrorists but it is not clear if there was any human loss," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

The jihadists arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight before they "gained the upper hand and chased the troops away," militia leader Gremah Kaka told AFP.

"The insurgents overpowered the soldiers and forced them to flee into the bush," he said.

Kaka said the jihadists stayed in the base for "more than four hours" before they were dislodged by reinforcements from another base in Gubio, 46 kilometres away.

Last week, the jihadists raided a military base in Mararrabar Kimba, 135 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are listed as missing.

ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that saw the jihadists kill scores of soldiers.

The military authorities have always denied any casualties.

Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria.

The conflict has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group.

However, the Nigerian army on Saturday said some "foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)."

Army spokesman Musa Sagir said in a statement the plot was "to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group to resurrect".

He said the military would continue to fight the remnants of "Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers".
Envoy says US ready for 'all sides' to lay down arms in Afghan war



Doha, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.



- 'Failed strategies' -



The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Trump says still confident in Kim after N.Korea test launch



Washington, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
EU concerned about added US sanctions on Iran



Brussels, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.
Maduro rallies military as Venezuela opposition marches on bases



Caracas, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."

"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest."

National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation."

This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.



- 'Something bigger' will happen -



"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go."
Nine killed by regime, Russian strikes in Syria's Idblib: war monitor



Beirut, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.

lar/on/dwo/del
N.Korea says tests rocket launchers after firing projectiles



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea said Sunday it had tested long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, a day after Pyongyang appeared to have launched its first short-range missile in more than a year.

The announcement on the "strike drill", which the Korean Central News Agency said took place Saturday and was overseen by Kim Jong Un, came after US President Donald Trump voiced confidence that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise" even as nuclear talks have been deadlocked.

KCNA said the tests in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, aimed to "estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance" of the weapons.

Kim was also evaluating "the combat performance of arms and equipment," according to KCNA.

Kim urged his troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength," it added.

On Saturday, the North also fired "a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) toward the East Sea.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.



- Broken promises? -



"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted in reaction to the launches announced by the South Koreans.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The launches followed last month's test-firing of very short range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

"North Korea's recent missile launches are a provocation at a time when the international community is awaiting concrete steps from North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile program," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said.

"We welcome President Trump's declaration that he is ready to continue to support the negotiations process despite this provocation."

On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where the projectile firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

The launches come just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke with Biegun to discuss the launches, the South's foreign ministry said.
Hemas Travels bags two awards at ATM View(s):

Hemas Travels, the outbound arm of Hemas Leisure Travel and Aviation Group was recognised for two prestigious awards at Asian Travel Mart (ATM) this year, a media release by the company stated.

Ottila Worldwide, Indias largest travel wholesaler recognised Hemas Travels as Sri Lankas Top Agent at ATM and the award was accepted by Hussain Habeeb  Chief Operating Officer for Hemas Travels along side Ms. Chamila Wijethunghe  Senior Manager  Service Excellence.

Meanwhile, Travel Boutique Online (TBO) Group; one of worlds largest Bed Banks also awarded them for Exceptional Sales Contribution for 2018 at TBO Annual Awards, held alongside ATM in Dubai on 29th April 2019, the release said.
Hotels in Sri Lanka go empty By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas hotels are still reeling from the shock of the attack by Islamic extremists on Easter Sunday with occupancies crashing to a mere four per cent in Colombo and 10 per cent islandwide.

Even as the tourism industry remained concerned about the security situation in the country some hotels like the Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and the Kingsbury have already adopted new measures like the installation of scanners at points of entry to carry out security checks on persons visiting the hotels.

Security in hotels is also provided by armed personnel posted in front where the numbers manning these posts could increase from eight to 20.

Colombo City hotels occupancies have come crashing down to about 4 per cent while the number of persons staying in hotels was down at about 10 per cent for hotels islandwide, City Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times.

There has been over 80 per cent of cancellations, he also said and this has been confirmed by a number of reports that similarly stated how hotels both in the city and the resorts were found to lose bookings although a handful of travellers were positive about touring the destination.

Even Sri Lankans are not patronizing the hotels and this has caused a further downfall in revenues for the hotel industry as most hotels have gone empty. While some hotels in the city remain open for business others provide limited services.

Staff today outnumbers tourists as travellers are unlikely to visit the destination unless their countries assure them of their stay in Sri Lanka. Numerous travel advisories from the UK, US to Israel, Spain, and even China have caused a direct hit on the number of bookings for the next few months.

In fact, some in the industry complain that winter bookings were also getting cancelled already in addition to all other bookings.

Authorities were asked to be in touch with the respective embassies in the country to ensure a relaxation of the travel ban to Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, the tourism industry and in particular the hoteliers were assured of a moratorium on their loan repayments. Most hotels were said to have obtained dollar loans and this had even prior to the attacks caused concern resulting in a request to tour operators to carry out transactions in dollars. This came in the form of a budget proposal.

However, this seemed to be taking a back seat for now and in the wake of the suicide attacks on three luxury hotels in Colombo the industry has been assured by both the President and Prime Minister of a moratorium on their loans and a further capital infusion. Another plan of action that has taken a back seat is the much-awaited global promotion campaign without which the industry and authorities are now planning on short term immediate publicity campaign promoting the destination. This campaign that should have ideally been given a cabinet nod last week is still pending approval.

Mr. Shanthikumar noted that they were yet to arrive at a decision on banning the burqa in hotels but observed that if there was a law to ban it then all should adhere to it.

Staff in hotels is also feeling the pinch. He said that although there was no staff leaving hotels, those keenly dependent on the service charge may look for other opportunities.

An industry that is always positive inspite of the crises they face has repeatedly told authorities to ensure they talk in one voice so as to send out the correct message to the international community.

Tour Operators Association President Harith Perera told the Business Times that they informed authorities of the need to regularise the shuttle bus service at the airport to ensure convenience of passage to travellers; and also to make necessary arrangements to assist visitors at the airport could stay without hassle.

Tourism authorities and industry at the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai facing the world for the first time in a public gathering were able to act positive and communicate a clear message to partners and tour operators. Most tour operators and agents have insisted that they need to wait and see as travel advisories issued by a number of countries was a deterrent to marketing Sri Lanka.

However, tour operators were said to have been very encouraging as they had pointed out that they were fond of the destination and were keen to sell it to bring the tourist back to this friendly nation.
InterContinental brand goes ahead with Sri Lanka plans By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which has announced its comeback to the island in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening at the site at Bambalapitiya junction in Colombo.

This super luxury, 42-storeyed hotel will consist of 346 rooms of different categories.  Presidential Suite, Deluxe Suites, Executive suites, Junior Suites, King Club Rooms, King Rooms, Twin Rooms etc and it will be the second InterContinental branded hotel in the island after the Ceylon Intercontinental established in 1973, and later pulled out.

In a letter of confirmation, David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, recently noted that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible to do their part in supporting affected communities by bringing the beauty of Sri Lanka to international audiences.

In partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, IHG said it looks forward to offering world-class amenities, excellent service and consistent, luxurious experiences to the guests visiting the beautiful city of Colombo and exploring other cultural hubs in proximity to the hotel, he pointed out.

He is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly to discuss the overall strategy and plan for the opening of Intercontinental, Colombo towards the latter part of the year/1st quarter of 2020.

The development of Intercontinental, Colombo is being carried out under the Pearl Group of Hotels family owned business conglomerate headed by the Chairman of the group, A.L.M. Faris.

Sri Lanka needs globally renowned brands in hospitality industry to project the destination image and to position it on the global map as a destination of quality, he told the Business Times.

He pointed out that his efforts to join hands with the IHG group and bring back a world renowned brand such as Intercontinental to Sri Lanka was with the industry interest as well.

The hotel development work is done in conformity with Intercontinental Brand Standards, acclaimed to be the highest in the industry including guest comfort, safety, security, adaptation of high tech superseding all local authority and other agency standards, he said.

We will muster greater strength from the setback to forge ahead. Tourism was about the only sector that was indicating year on growth over the last nine to 10 years in Sri Lanka, he said.

It can make a greater contribution towards the economy in the years ahead, he said adding that his other properties which were maintaining around 80 per cent occupancy and had good bookings for the next few months is currently down to under 10 per cent occupancy.

He noted that this was a temporary setback and the government needs to step in to assist the industry with a proper understanding.
O Sri Lanka By Tissa Jayaweera View(s): View(s):

Ceylon was known as the Pearl of Indian Ocean. We failed to take it as a Tourism Promotion Tagline and lost it to another country. After many years of being in limbo a professional who developed tourism for Singapore as the Lion City was hired as Chairman Tourism. Many debates took place and a Tagline Sri Lanka the Small Miracle was incorporated and publicity given. Then as usual in this country after some time a Minister of Tourism did not like the tag line Sri Lanka the Small Miracle. By this time other countries had come up with attractive taglines such as Incredible, Truly Asia, Wonder of Asia etc in their tourism promotion

Recently the Ministry of Tourism hired an international advertising agency to come up with Promoting Sri Lanka Tourism at great cost. They came up with a tagline So Sri Lanka. At the launch I stated that this is not a good tagline as attractive as Incredible or Truly Asia or Wonder of Asia. The word O is as in Despair. O God or O my heavens, etc. I was laughed at by most present and the theme So Sri Lanka was launched.

The Islamic extremist attack on April 21 made 90 per cent of the population of Sri Lanka and the world say So Sri Lanka I cry for you.

I had many calls from friends, relatives and business associates from around the world. One of them, a Chairman/MD of a company that manages 5,000, 3  5 Star Hotel Rooms in India and Africa told me: Sri Lanka has got the best publicity after 10 years. It was the LTTE that gave publicity but it was local. Now it is Muslim Extremism International.

Sri Lanka being a small island nation, if all security systems are de-politicised and independent, Muslim extremism can be completely wiped out in a few days. This is the time to give visa free entry. Unfortunately our politicians thought otherwise.

Discount inbound travel on SriLankan Airlines by 40 per cent: Anyway Sri Lankan is operating at a loss. This may increase in a load factor to 95 per cent from the current 65 per cent and result in SriLankan breaking even. Discount hotel rates by 40 per cent: This will increase hotel bookings to 90 per cent during the next season. Give international publicity and visitors who take the challenge to come. Travel agencies around the world will give adequate publicity as Sri Lanka being a great destination to be in at attractive prices. International websites have already given publicity to the attractions in Sri Lanka and what a great holiday destination Sri Lanka is. This will encourage new visitors who are looking for an affordable holiday. Their Facebook, Twitter sites will do the needful after a great holiday in paradise.

All those involved in tourism, big or small should be given a grace period to settle loans to banks and other financial institutions. All lenders act as leaches in the recovery of their loans not taking in to consideration the plight of their borrowers other than showing an impressive bottom line to shareholders and a big bonus to staff.

I trust the authorities will start to give our tourism a boost without having sad faces and crying tourism has been hit by $1.5 billion. We may make $2 billion if this is done.

Make use of this opportunity. Nothing is lost. We are known globally now even better than what LTTE did for us.

(The writer is a veteran business leader, Managing Partner at TJ Associates and can be reached at tissaj2009@yahoo.com).
Political leadership should set aside differences in this crisis:CCC View(s):

Sri Lankans need to be assured that the government machinery to safeguard its people from acts of terrorism is effective, that national security will be accorded the highest priority and that the political leadership of this country has the capacity to work together setting aside political differences to accord the highest priority to national issues, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has said.

It is unfortunate but true that the recent events and the mishandling of security have contributed to the erosion of confidence in the political leadership to keep this country safe and to ensure that its economy which is challenged also due to external factors is further embattled due to domestic issues which are avoidable, the CCC said in a letter to President and the Prime Minister on the countrys security situation following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The chamber said it sought meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss matters relating to security concerns and national revival efforts. In response, the Prime Minister met with the leadership of the Chamber on Monday during which several action points were discussed.

Here are excerpts of the letter sent by CCC Chairperson Rajendra Theagarajah:

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned that the events that resulted in the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of so many people were able to be carried out due to the negligence of the Government machinery.

While terrorist activities aimed at achieving ideological objectives can never find justification, what is deeply saddening is that there was a failure on the part of law enforcement to prevent this attack despite being in possession of intelligence that warned of impending threats. The available information points to a serious lack of coordination, incompetence and ineffectiveness in handling national security. It is also abundantly clear that petty divisive political differences among the political leadership have contributed to a situation where interests of the country are subordinated to political agendas.

The events of October 2018 were also an indication of this sorry situation, which was fortunately corrected by an independent judiciary. On that occasion too, it was the people that suffered.

While the immediate victims of the Easter attacks were those that lost their lives and their families, the consequences will impact millions more whose dependence on sectors that are seriously adversely affected will impair their livelihood prospects for a considerable period. This is unfortunate.

We also condemn the utterances of elected representatives of the people and other political personalities of all parties who are continuing to engage in the blame game in an attempt to make political capital of the current situation. This is indeed a pathetic display of a lack of sensitivity to current national issues which should be addressed by all political parties collectively and in a spirit that accepts that theres a national crisis. To engage in such narrow political pursuits is to demonstrate an inability to appreciate the true role of leaders of the people.

The need of the moment is for statesmen not mere politicians. In these circumstances, we urge that the following be actioned:

1) National security.

While we appreciate steps taken after the Easter attacks, adequate measures should be sustained to handle national security. The National Security Council mechanism should be activated and used with seriousness.

For this purpose, the portfolios of Defence and of Law and Order should be placed in the hands of those who have the capacity to provide leadership to handle current and future challenges with foresight and wisdom and devoid of political aspirations.

The President, the Prime Minister and Government should speak with a unified voice on the current and future actions after considered decisions are taken together.

A 24 hour Media response centre should be established to respond to false reports that create fears and concerns among the general public.

The current legal provisions available (ICCPR Act) should be used to deal with hate speech.

2) Revival of the economy.

Its vital to fast track a revival of the economy.

Formulate a national policy for the revival of the major sectors (such as tourism) that are currently affected. For this purpose, adopt an inclusive process that secures inputs from all stakeholders.

3) Decision-making in Government.

To ensure speedy and sensible decision-making in important areas, persons of competence should be appointed to key positions.

Identify key positions in Government relevant to implement the development agenda and re-examine the capabilities of current holders of those positions. Its important that government functionaries should have the capacity to take decisions speedily and without fear. If necessary, invite private sector leaders to handle those key positions.

4) Overall revival

Take appropriate action to inspire persons of all political parties to unite in the revival processes.

This is a time to unite for the good of the country. We will condemn the actions of those who seek to stifle a resurgence for narrow political gains.

Ethnic unity should be consistently called for and extremism of all kinds should be abhorred and acted against, by the political leadership.

The elected representatives of the people should be required to comply with a code of behavior when making public comments. Theyre opinion makers and must act with responsibility.

The media should be required to comply with the need for responsible reporting.

5) Effective communication and management of perceptions.

In our efforts to recover from this situation, it is vital to inspire confidence in the people of this country as well as internationally. Such an effort if effectively carried out will result in our ability to reinforce the pursuit of vital targets such as attracting investment, attracting tourists and being held out as a country that has systems and processes in place to deal with vulnerability to terrorism and the resilience to overcome such threats.
Sad times-Part 2 View(s):

Kussi Amma Sera was angry. I hadnt seen her like this before.

Seated under the Margosa tree with friends-for-life Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu, she said: Balanna  apey manthrivarun hasirena vidiya. Ee-gollanta meka loku vihiluwak waa-ge (See how our parliamentarians are behaving. Its like a big joke for them).

She was referring to the special session in Parliament discussing the Easter Sunday bombings, particularly scenes of a few MPs amused and laughing when former army commander Sarath Fonseka spoke.

Owunge aarakshawa gena vitharie vadime unandu-wenne (They are more interested in their own security), said Serapina.

Their conversation occurred in the backdrop of a sombre neighbourhood, for the second week, after the Easter Sunday incidents. Except for the loud choon-paan karaya driving down the lane in his three-wheeler, there was silence and even the usual blaring of music from the radios was missing.

The trio then discussed everything under the sun including the cost of living, the difficulty in some of their sons getting jobs and other issues.

As I sat down in the sitting room, sipping a hot cup of Kussi Amma Seras tea, the morning silence was broken by the ringing of the landline. It was Pedris Appo, short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert who does farming. I hadnt spoken to him for a while and thus was glad he was calling.

Hi  the Easter Sunday attacks were very demoralising to all of us, he said, to which I replied, Absolutely.

The impact will be devastating, Appo, who also likes to discuss economic issues, said, adding: Tourism will be the worst hit.

Would we be able to recover from this crisis? he asked. We have to. We have had similar crises like this before and recovered though the recovery will be slow, I said.

We then discussed the cancellations by tourists as reported by several hotels, the postponement or cancellations of tourists coming for conferences and incentive trips, the losses that would be incurred by SriLankan Airlines due to the drop in traffic, among other matters.

As our stories last week and today reflect, tourism is the first casualty from the current scenario, more so because of travel warnings by several countries including India, China, the UK, the US and Canada, urging their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka. There is no way Sri Lanka can achieve the ambitious target of three million tourists this year (compared to 2.3 million in 2018) with conservative estimates showing that there would be a 30 per cent drop in arrivals. Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector and the third largest earner of foreign currency after worker remittances and garments exports, and the authorities were banking on a good year in 2019. Not anymore.

While the macro-economic fundamentals are strong, according to the Central Bank, lower earnings from tourism and more subdued FDI (foreign direct investment) would be the biggest hits to the economy. Until potential investors are convinced that the security situation is under control along with consistent policies, they wouldnt choose to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas debt is also likely to rise with an increase in government spending on the military particularly in the procurement of equipment necessary to meet the new threat from terrorism and rebellious religious fundamentalists.

The cost to purchase metal detectors and other security equipment by hotels to ensure the safety of guests would also hit the bottom line of hotel companies.

Slower-than-expected tourist arrivals and foreign investment would affect economic growth which was set to grow by four per cent in 2019 from 3.2 per cent in 2018.

Tea prices are likely to fall, the import bill would rise owing to increased spending for the security forces, which is needed of course, and urgent structural reforms are likely to be put on hold. These are some of the issues that the economy would face in the coming months. Whether elections  provincial, presidential and parliamentary  would be held in the next six to 12 months remains to be seen given the current security crisis though any postponement would depend on an interpretation of the Constitution.

(PS: As I write this the choon-paan karayas tune can be heard blaring down the lane)

The latest Central Bank 2018 annual report released last week also focuses on many challenges facing the economy. Primarily it speaks of the impact on the economy owing to delayed structural reforms.

It said for Sri Lanka to succeed as a higher income economy and improve the well-being of its people, it is essential that the root causes for the continued low economic growth are addressed.

While the postponement of much needed structural reforms has moved the Sri Lankan economy to a modest growth path, delays in addressing barriers to growth and introducing growth enhancing reforms in the areas of export promotion, attracting FDI, reducing budget deficits and debt levels, reforming factor markets, strengthening public administration and ensuring the rule of law have largely contributed to Sri Lankas economic stagnation, the report said.

A key point that it makes is that Sri Lanka is unable to succeed despite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and the potential to support a high economic growth path.

The lack of coherent policies is clearly seen during the reign of the Maithripala-Ranil administration, with both ruling parties working at cross-purposes, often one party proposing a policy only to find the other party dismantling it. The government also falls short in resolute and firm decision-making with the recent example of the Presidents call to the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police to resign, initially being ignored by the parties concerned.

Sri Lanka has so much more to offer more than economies like Vietnam. FDI in 2018 was a record US$2 billion with expectations of raising $3 billion in 2019, though that is most unlikely owing to the current security situation.

In contrast, FDI in Vietnam, which has much less attractions than Sri Lanka particularly in the case of a skilled labour force with a good knowledge of the English language, rose to $19.1 billion in 2018, up by nine per cent from 2017.

Vietnams success is also owing to increased foreign investment in high-tech industries, rather than labour-intensive sectors and much needed structural reforms in the economy.

As I prepare to wind up todays column with the usual parting shot, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with another cup of tea (which I had requested), saying (with a sad face): Mokak-da wunay apey rata-ta (What has happened to our country?).

Dukai  hari dukai (Sadvery sad), I reply, reflecting on a nation that was touted as the most peaceful nation on earth for tourists to visit, after the end of the 1980-2009 civil conflict.
SLT, Asiainfo Intl. sign MoU to facilitate provision of innovative digital solutions to Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national ICT solutions provider, recently entered into a partnership with Asiainfo International Pte Ltd, a leading IT solution and service integrator in the global communication industry, to introduce digital products and solutions to the Sri Lankan market.

The agreement will facilitate SLT to develop viable digital solutions to consumer, SME and enterprise segments in the country, and will make a significant contribution towards Sri Lankas journey of digital transformation. The agreement was signed by CEO/SLT, Kiththi Perera and Vice President and Regional Head / Asiainfo, Michael Chan at SLT office in Colombo.

Commenting on the new partnership, SLT CEO Mr. Perera said: The SLT Group remains passionate and committed to driving the digital revolution of Sri Lanka, and to transforming lives into digital lifestyles. This partnership with Asia Info International is one key step that we are taking towards realizing this vision.

Vice President and Regional Head of Asiainfo International, Mr. Chan, said: The digital revolution is totally changing life as we know it, even as we speak. It calls for a total transformation of business models. We are excited to partner with SLT in Sri Lanka with its long and impressive history that spans over 160 years.
Spicy trade between India and Sri Lanka View(s):

In December 2017, the Indian government introduced a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on imported black pepper as Indian Rs. 500 per kg. The target was the increase in Sri Lankas exports of low-quality and cheap pepper to India, which have pushed down the domestic pepper prices there.

It was reported that within that year alone the domestic pepper price has fallen by 35 per cent. Consequently, there was a growing discontent among Indias pepper growers and traders, which had become a political issue.

The MIP, however, did not crack down on the issue; Sri Lanka continued to dump low-quality and cheap pepper to the Indian market. This time the exporters used to split their large pepper consignments into smaller quantities and, transported many times to India through many different ports.

I take this issue today, to discuss not necessarily the pepper trade, but the difference between free trade and free trade agreements. The two essentially differ from each other, while there is no way to replace free trade with a free trade agreement.

I was also inspired by the fact that the issue has paved the way for bribery and corruption at high levels. And there are alleged links as revealed last week, even to finance terrorism through corrupted spice trade.

Distorted trade

Under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sri Lanka can export 2,500 Metric tons (Mt) of black pepper to India without import duty, and any amount above that at 8 per cent import duty. India also imports pepper from Vietnam and other countries which is subject to 54 per cent import duty.

Sri Lanka is known to produce high-quality pepper and other spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. India paid US$6,000 per Mt of Sri Lankan pepper, while Vietnam pepper is about half of that price. When Vietnam pepper was re-exported to India after mixing with Sri Lankan pepper at high price and low duty, India was said to have lost $2,700 per Mt.

FTAs can promote corrupted trade practices. Pepper from Vietnam can enter the Indian market via Sri Lanka and make unwarranted profits through corrupted business practices; with such business practices, traders can avoid higher import duty through the Indo-Lanka FTA on the one hand, and claim higher market value applied to high-quality pepper under the Sri Lankan label on the other hand.

Sri Lankas infamous trade

Apparently the above practice seems impossible without bribery and corruption entering Sri Lankas trade under the FTA: First, pepper should enter Sri Lanka through the customs, and then for exporting to India it should receive the certificate of origin as stipulated in the FTA.

The Hindu newspaper in India in its business section  Businessline  on January 8, 2018, reported that the bribe in Sri Lanka to re-label Vietnam pepper with a fake certificate of origin is $1,000 per Mt; it makes Vietnam pepper eligible to be exported under the Indo-Lanka FTA.

Thats how Sri Lanka became infamous for exporting low-quality cheap pepper to India.

By the way, the government also needs to employ people to deal with all above malpractices, carried out by the people of the government itself  a source of job creation and job multiplication!

A world full of criss-cross FTAs looks like a spaghetti bowl resulting in costly complications, according to economist Jagdish Bhagwati. And to manage that complicated trade as well as to combat bribery and corruption associated with that trade, the government should create and multiply jobs which the nation has to pay for.

Sri Lankas pepper miracle

Until 2016 for most of the years, Sri Lankas exports of pepper to India were around 5,000 Mt, according to International Trade Centre (ITC) data. In 2017 and 2018, it more than doubled, exceeding 10,000 Mt.

India has always been the main export market for Sri Lanka to export pepper, while more than 80 per cent Sri Lankan pepper was sold to India. But for India, Sri Lanka wasnt the main source of pepper supply until 2017; it was Vietnam.

In 2016 India imported over 40 per cent of its pepper from Vietnam, while Sri Lanka supplied 20 per cent only. By 2017 Sri Lankan pepper exports surpassed the Vietnam exports; but dont think that Sri Lanka did a miracle by doubling pepper production within one year! It was simply the Vietnam pepper that was re-exported via Sri Lanka.

Hot products

Since the time of implementing the Indo-Lanka FTA in 2000, free trade in some products between the two countries became hot at both ends, and continues to be so to-date.

In the early days it was about items like copper products that Sri Lanka started exporting to India. I dont think Sri Lanka had copper mines at all. But at that time Sri Lankas fastest-growing export item to India under the FTA was the copper products, until it was cracked down! Then, we heard similar stories regarding many other products such as marble, granite, florescent bulbs and plywoods.

Among minor export commodities, it was about mixing cheaper cloves and cardamom imported from Indonesia with Sri Lankan products, and re-exporting to India under the FTA. After that it was about Vanaspati  palm oil which Sri Lanka didnt have a known history of producing here on a large scale.

Another export racket was the re-export of Indonesian areca nut to India through Sri Lanka; if it was directly from Indonesia, areca nut was subject to 100 per cent import duty at the Indian port.

Question that confuses us

Finally, there is an important and confusing question that we have to answer: Do all these things mean that we should impose import barriers? I am sure, at least some might take it to bring about an argument against open economy and to justify protective trade regime.

The whole issue is due to bogus business practices which were made possible by bribery and corruption at high level. It is the regulatory regimes more than the open economy that open up opportunities for bogus business practices, bribery and corruption.

Secondly, it is the lapses in law enforcement that enable bogus businesses. For example, there is free trade among the member countries within the European Union. But it does not mean that someone can engage in bogus business practices; there is law enforcement on the one hand, and there are technical and quality standards applicable on the other hand. If goods and services that enter into trade do not meet the required technical and quality standards, that business is highly unlikely to succeed.

Overall policy environment

Finally, the underlying economic factor is the difference between micro matters and the overall trade environment. Even if Sri Lanka adopts import controls on a couple of commodities as the government actually did in some cases, what matters most is the overall trade policy; does it create an open economy that supports trade expansion or protect the environment that impede it?

Exports of all of the spices account for only 3 per cent of the total $12 billion exports in 2018.

Sri Lankas overall economic progress through trade expansion would never depend on a couple of minor export crops or individual export products under FTA. It might be important for a couple of individuals, but not for the nation.

The overall economic progress would depend on the successful integration of the country with the global economy through trade in manufactures and services.

Countries, however, enter into FTAs for different reasons, while some of these reasons are not even economic. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), there are 291 spaghetti bowl trade agreements in force in the world by January 2019. Nevertheless, it is not these trade agreements, but the overall trade policy reforms which have contributed to the economic success of the nations. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk).
SriLankan Airlines faces flood of cancellations View(s):

While Sri Lankas national carrier has seen a flood of cancellations and expects to lose at least US$100 million in revenue, MICE experts say confirmed bookings of events including weddings have been cancelled after the Easter Sunday carnage.

With tourists arrivals likely to see a 30-50 per cent drop this year, SriLankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka told the Business Times that as at Tuesday, cancellations in May was 17 per cent compared to May last year, 12 per cent in June and about 18 per cent in July. We expect the figures to go up, he said, adding that a new 5-year business plan for 2019-2024, which was announced to the media earlier this month, would be re-visited.

Noting that the worst affected routes are London and Tokyo, he said that they were awaiting a message from the authorities as to when the situation would return to normal.

The moment we have some clarity from the Government we can work (with the authorities) on relaxing the travel advisories. Without this clarity and assurances there is no use in targetted marketing and special promotions, he said, adding that they would then examine how traffic could be increased (or restored) from India and China (Sri Lankas main tourist source markets).

According to officials at the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, at least 90 per cent of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) bookings in Sri Lanka have been postponed, cancelled or put on hold in the next two months (May/June).

We have been informed of several postponements, cancellations or events placed on hold, said a worried senior official, who added that three Indian weddings, each bringing around 500 guests from India and the rest of the world, had been cancelled for this month. A 1000-pax event by a local operator due to be held in July has been put on hold.

Meanwhile tourism industry companies are seeking a moratorium on loans, a specialised PR to handle promotions and for the government to speak with one voice to the international community on the measures taken to strengthen security.

Amidst the gloom at least two under-construction hotels were going ahead with plans to open in late 2019 and early 2020.

The 164-room Next Hotel Colombo is slated to open in November 2019 within the Colombo City Centre, the Singapore-based Next Hotels & Resorts said, responding to a query by the Business Times. We are still working towards the scheduled opening date and will continue to monitor the situation, it added in an email comment.

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which in returning to country in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening. David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, has said that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible.
33 language blunders in emergency notification View(s):

With questions being raised on how the state agencies handled prior warnings about the Easter Sunday bombings, there are also concerns over more blunders and blunders. One such case is the ongoing Emergency Regulations, introduced just a day after the dastardly incidents.

This was followed a day later by another gazette notification to correct as many as 33 mistakes in the original gazette.

Some of the mistakes were clearly seen as ones which could have been avoided only if the officials were more attentive on a document which deals with national security.

Here are some of the mistakes that were corrected. The corrected version with the erroneous words within brackets follows:

The Commander of the Army (Commissioner of the Army ), Use (sue), Offence (office), Police station of his area (police of his are), Not exceeding (after exceeding) to incite (to incine), not less than five thousand rupees and not exceeding ten thousand rupees (not less than five hundred rupees and hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees), shall be guilty of an offence (shall be of an offence) acts or omission (acts or commission). In addition, several regulation numbers too were corrected.

Only few weeks ago, a textual mistake occurred in a gazette notification was corrected. A gazette notification issued by the Secretary to the President was rectified with a mistake being about the name of an officer appointed to a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Rajitha says he and seven ministers on terrorists hit list

When religious leaders were rejecting bullet-proof vehicles and requesting more security for the people, politicians were concerned more about their own security. One of them was Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who said that eight ministers, including himself, were on the hit list of the extremist terrorist groups.

My security told me to stay put at home as we are targets of the terrorists. Therefore, on April 28 and 29 I stayed at home. We cant endanger our lives so we take our own measures to create our own security. He explained that he survived both the JVP uprisings and LTTE terrorism because he took the security advice given to him seriously.

He divulged one of the security steps taken by him. He said he used to get himself dropped at his Ministry by the visitors who came to his residence.

If the visitors were going past my ministry, I hitch a ride in their vehicles, he said. Having now revealed this secret, he will have to change his strategy.

Last week, more than hundred Government and Opposition MPs sought more security from the government.

JVP wants national security plan

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will not hold any political rallies until the security situation returns to normal, spokesperson Vijitha Herath MP said yesterday.

He said the party would extend its full support if the government formulated a national security plan to bring about normalcy.

Clarification on burqa ban

President Maithripala Sirisena has agreed to make amendments to the Gazette notification banning the niqab and the burqa.

The move follows representations made to him by a Muslim group. The change relates to covering the ears.

Army seeks help from ex-LTTE cadres

The services of one-time LTTE cadres were sought this week in the North  that was to help in keeping an eye on suspicious movements in the area after the Easter Sunday bombings.

On Tuesday, some former cadres were asked to be present for a meeting at a Jaffna Army camp where senior Army officers explained how the ex-cadres could play a role in ensuring national security and requested their assistance.

In return, the ex-cadres who have been marginalised socially and politically by their own community  for whom they said they took up arms in the past  assured they would extend their support to the Forces in their efforts to maintain security.

Only one passenger on Swissair flight

The number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka has dwindled in the past two weeks.

A Swissair flight that landed in Colombo on Friday had only one passenger getting off.

Cardinal raises questions about security measures

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which security operations were being conducted against ISIS terrorists.

He said that only one layer was being probed whilst other aspects were not being focused upon.

His remarks came when a delegation from opposition parties led by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met him on Friday night.

The Cardinal, who is also the Archbishop of Colombo, said some politicians had been given ministerial positions which they had abused. Such persons have not been probed for the multitude of allegations for fear that they would lose votes.

The Cardinal said opposition parties, if they were to form a government, should not take such persons into the Cabinet. Instead it would be better for them to form a government with a stable major party than opt for such unscrupulous persons from smaller minority parties.

The Catholic Church has been co-operating with many state agencies and passing on information it receives about matters relating to the Easter Sunday carnage. In one instance, it gave the name of a foreigner who had come to Sri Lanka with US$ 100,000. He was arrested and investigators had revealed that his account balance had since increased. Further questioning is under way.

Archbishops House sources said Cardinal Ranjith was alluding to the role of a Muslim minister who is alleged to have extended support to the IS terrorists and their local counterparts. He is alleged to have been responsible for obtaining empty copper artillery shells and passing them down to a factory owner who is in the thick of terrorist activity.

At the meeting with the Cardinal, among others who took part were Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, G.L. Peiris and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.

Another case of warning being ignored

Its unbelievable but true. A hotelier on a visit to a European capital met a Sri Lankan diplomat, a former bureaucrat.

He claimed that he had taken a report when he was in Colombo to a political leader. That was about the activities of an extremist Muslim group which was bent on violence.

The politician, he complained, snubbed him and declared Just be. Dont do anything to offend the Muslim community.

Army chief blames politicians

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is indeed outspoken and appears to be disturbed about the Easter Sunday massacre.

He told the BBC during an interview that politicians should take the responsibility for the bombings.
Rajapaksas Joint Opposition ready to support him in security measures to tackle IS terror, but no political support

Evidence emerges that IS chose Sri Lanka because of its close military ties with US;latest agreement runs into 80 pages

UNP leadership crisis grows; Wickremesinghe faces party revolt to oust him ahead of presidential election Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was in a multi-color handloom shirt and sarong, not his white national dress with the maroon satakaya (shawl) around his neck, when he greeted President Maithripala Sirisena at the latters residence on Thursday night.

He said he did not have time to change clothes for Sirisenas meeting with leaders of Opposition political parties. He had been at the wedding of onetime Minister, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenes son. Looking dapper, the President replied that he too was at a wedding of the son of former Minister Vijith Vijithamuni de Soysa MP. It was to be held at the Shangri La Hotel. Due to its closure after damage caused by the Easter Sunday carnage by pro-IS terror groups, the reception had been shifted to Temple Trees, now the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As a result of the IS-inspired attacks by local terror groups, there were hundreds of cancellations of wedding receptions at hotels. This was so for hotels that were damaged and those not affected. Many families shifted the venue to their homes and chose to invite only an immediate circle of relatives and friends. Others postponed the weddings. This is what prompted Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) architect Basil Rajapaksa to ask President Sirisena how Temple Trees became the venue after there was a public declaration by the United National Front government that Temple Trees would not be available for weddings any more. This was after Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne gave his son Chatura, an MP, in marriage at a Temple Trees ceremony with the catering being done by a five star hotel.

Politicians make the laws, give pledges and break them. In this case, it is with disregard to the reality that a nation is mourning the brutal massacre of more than 250 men, women and children. There are over 480 injured, some of them seriously. Schools are closed and children cannot attend for fear of attacks. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, wants to assign at least one police constable for each school to protect children. For the same reason, Sunday mass cannot be held in churches, Friday Jumma prayers in mosques and even poojas at Buddhist or Hindu temples. But a hallowed public institution, heavily secured by armed Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos becomes a wedding hall for the privileged. Replying to Basil Rajapaksa, President Sirisena explained that giving Temple Trees was inevitable. Former minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa would be unable to find an auspicious hour for the next one year or more. For the vast majority in Sri Lanka it was inauspicious not due to their own fault. Their political leaders, a Defence Secretary, a Police Chief and intelligence officials, who lacked common sense, had failed in their duty. Yet, not for ministers and MPs are those inconveniences. Not when state resources are so easily available. Some even sought enhanced security.

Significant enough, Sirisena sat down alone for the 50-minute meeting with the Opposition delegation. There was no one from his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The delegation comprised Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, G.L. Peiris, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Dullas Alahapperuma from the SLPP. Others were: Dinesh Gunawardena (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya) and Tissa Vitharana (Lanka Sama Samaja Party)

Ahead of the meeting with President Sirisena, the Opposition party leaders met at the Wijerama Mawatha residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Munching sandwiches, they discussed strategy over what should be discussed with the President. It was Weerawansa who remarked jocularly, Puluwang tharam kanna. Ehey (meaning the Presidents residence) mokuth denney nehe or eat as much as you can  you will not get anything to eat there. What he said came true. Weerawansa was heard telling a colleague that they were not even given a cup of tea or a glass of water as he forecast.

Presidential committee report

President Sirisena was to reveal at the meeting that he had already received an interim report from a three-member Committee that is probing the Easter Sunday carnage. It is headed by serving Supreme Court Judge Justice Vijith Malalgoda and comprised N.K. Illangakoon, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), and Pathmasiri Jayamanne, a onetime Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order. The committees broad mandate is to investigate causes and background for the national catastrophe that occurred on April 21 in Sri Lanka, according to the Presidential Secretariat. Sirisena, however, did not tell the meeting the findings contained in the interim report. Other sources revealed that the interim report has made damning strictures against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera.

The two of them together with retired DIG Sisira Mendis (a retired crime investigator), now Chief of National Intelligence (CNI)  the top most official in the intelligence hierarcy  were subject to intense questioning by members of the Committee. Their interim report has now been forwarded to Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera. President Sirisena is now awaiting his recommendations including opinion on laws they may have violated as a prelude to court action. Ahead of that, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives will record their statements.

In high security circles, serious concerns have been raised over a turf war that is going on particularly within the State Intelligence Service (SIS). It is the premier national intelligence agency. As reported earlier, a plethora of so-called intelligence reports warning against actions by Sri Lankan pro-ISIS terror groups were released to the social media. Then came reports saying that the SIS Director DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had a meeting with President Sirisena to personally brief him on the threats  a claim strongly denied by Sirisena. Now, tape-recorded mobile phone conversations have been selectively leaked, raising the all-important question whether elements within were endangering national security interests, whilst engaged in a game of pointing the finger at the highest levels of the government. In the process, they are also baring the fact that mobile phones are also being snooped on with new equipment. One need hardly say this is an extremely dangerous situation. The question is whether this would also be ignored much the same way intelligence warnings were.

The matter transpired at the discussion President Sirisena had with leaders of the Opposition parties. He named the person behind one English website operating from London and declared they had reported that he received a personal warning from SIS Chief DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. This so-called exclusive account, the President claimed, was a fabrication. A loquacious UNF minister also made reference to the claim at a news conference on Tuesday saying it was true, but added the remarks were off-the-record. Yet, what he said has been tape recorded by many who attended the event. President Sirisena then referred to another Sinhala website, also operating from London and named the person behind it. He said he was being maligned in obscene language by the website. This website is banned in Sri Lanka. No action was possible since they were operating with impunity from Britain often violating Britains own laws.

That such leaks are occurring in the countrys premier intelligence agency is not at all conducive to public safety. It is in President Sirisenas own interest to clean up the institution and ensure there is professionalism. Of course, the criteria of having people who offer personal loyalty in return for remaining in the post would have to be re-examined. At present there is no one to mind the minder and nowhere else could it be disastrous than in the national intelligence service.

Sirisena said the website about the SIS boss DIG Jayawardena personally warning him has been translated into Sinhala. With added vituperative and malicious remarks against him, more than 1000 copies were detected at the Central Mail Exchange. It has been brought there for posting by two staffers (with identity cards) who had worked for a leading UNF minister. The letters were addressed to Buddhist temples countrywide. He charged that the move was intended to cause communal strife.

This prompted SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera to allege at a news conference on Friday that Minister and Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella was behind the move. The objective, he said, was to destroy the Presidents image which had improved in recent months. He claimed that it was three officials from the ministers media division who have been arrested. Police said they were Sampath Kumara, Danusha Priyadarshana and Thaksala Weerasena.

Minister Kiriellas spokesperson Sameela Wanigasekera said the Minister would not comment to the media. However, the Kiriella issued a statement saying he had made inquiries about the website account. There is no intention to sling mud, incite racial tension or spread anti-government feelings. It only raises the question whether intelligence officials had alerted those responsible, the statement added.

G. L. Peiris, the nominal SLPP leader, told the meeting with President Sirisena that the Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka had told him that he had warned the government about possible attacks. Turkey has been the victim of a number of attacks and was the first country to proscribe IS. The envoy had said that a group of 50 had come to Sri Lanka and were operating under cover. President Sirisena undertook to go into the matter. Throughout the session, he was seen writing notes over matters raised by Opposition leaders.

Wimal Weerawansa said that one of the biggest shortcomings had been the appointment of unqualified and inexperienced persons to the Intelligence community. For the past four years, they have remained complacent. He said a large number of persons from different countries were in Sri Lanka without valid visas. They should be deported immediately, he noted.

Basil Rajapaksa declared that the Opposition delegation had come to extend their unqualified support to President Sirisena to combat IS terrorism. This was what the Opposition was willing to do without in any way joining President Sirisenas or his party. The first step he should take, he pointed out, was to withdraw the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill. On May 7 it will go before the Parliament Oversight Committee headed by Mayantha Dissanayake, UNF MP.

President Sirisena replied that the Cabinet had approved the draft bill on the strict understanding that changes would be incorporated during different stages. He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was pushing hard for the passage of the Bill on the grounds that the UN Human Rights Council was pressing for it, President Sirisena revealed. Mahinda Rajapaksa urged that a Parliamentary Select Committee be appointed to go into the matter and review the controversial provisions in the draft. Sirisena agreed that it would not be passed in Parliament in the present format. We are in the Opposition. We will not change that position but this is a national crisis. We will support on account of this. That does not mean we support you per se, said Basil Rajapaksa. G.L. Peiris added that the draft Counter Terrorism Bill badly affected individual freedom, media freedom and even violated the rights of trade unions. He said purely to appease UN body, we should not compromise on our national interest. He said that was not a good move for Sri Lanka and urged President Sirisena to be vigilant over this.

President Sirisena told Opposition party leaders that he blamed Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera for failing to bring the intelligence warnings to his attention. Mahinda Rajapaksa referred to the comedy of errors after the Easter Sunday carnage. Casualty figures were being changed at will. An unrelated Muslim lady living in the United States had been made an accused. We offer our unconditional support. Yet, it is our supporters who are being harassed and victimised, he declared. He was alluding to the arrest of an Opposition MP over public remarks he had made. Wimal Weerawansa echoed the same sentiments.

US agreement with Sri Lanka

Rajapaksa said that he had commissioned a group of retired military officers to formulate a report identifying the causes that led to the carnage. He asked Sirisena whether he could come with them or by himself and hand over that report. The President replied that he would give him a time.

Weerawansa also raised the issue of a purported request by the United States Embassy in Colombo to provide diplomatic status to US officials and personnel who have come here following the Easter Sunday massacre. At this point, Sirisena reached out to his telephone and spoke to Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha. He asked him whether such a thing had happened. Obviously, there was a miscommunication. Sirisena had to re-iterate, I am asking you; did you agree to this? Aryasinha said he would have to check and report to him. Besides US intelligence personnel, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team is among those in Sri Lanka.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised issue over the presence of Britains Mi-5 (intelligence) personnel on Sri Lankan soil and asked how many had come. President Sirisena replied there were ten or twelve. Weerawansa noted that there were more than 40 such foreign personnel in Sri Lanka. We did not invite them. They came on their own. My people are complaining that they cannot go ahead with their work since each group is asking them for briefings. We cannot listen to all of them. We will only listen to India at this moment, the president added. That appears to be an acknowledgement of the intelligence warnings India gave including one this week. Those remarks would also mean that President Sirisena is not too happy with the foreign intelligence presence and their advice to local counterparts. This was manifest in some of the concerns expressed by senior personnel.

Not surprisingly. The elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was featured in a video released on Monday April 24  only his second ever -

to show he is alive, by speaking about the recent fall of his groups stronghold in Baghouz, Syria, while praising terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.

In an 18-minute video featuring both audio and video, Baghdadi, seated on a floor with masked IS lieutenants, said the April 21 Sri Lanka attacks, which killed at least 253 people, were revenge for the siege and fall of their last redoubt in Baghouz, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi propaganda. It added:

As for your brothers in Sri Lanka, they have put joy in the hearts of the monotheists with their immersing operations that struck the homes of the Crusaders in their Easter, in vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz, Baghdadi said, chuckling over the high number of casualties. This is part of the vengeance that awaits the Crusaders and their henchmen, Allah permitting. Praise be to Allah, among the dead were Americans and Europeans, he said. The statement about Sri Lanka appeared in an audio portion of the video that did not show Baghdadi. This may have been tacked on after he was filmed following the fall of Baghouz, according to SITEs director Rita Katz. Baghdadi appeared healthy in a black headscarf, khaki fishing vest and with a bushy grey beard. By his side was a Russian AK-74U assault rifle.

President Sirisena confirmed links between the Islamic State and terror groups in Sri Lanka. He told CNNs Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley on Tuesday in his first interview since the massacre that there is a connection between the Sri Lankan suicide bombers and the ISIS. It is clear they obtained training from the ISIS, according to international and domestic intelligence agencies, he said. He insisted that I was not informed of information pertaining to the attacks.

At the conclusion of the CNN interview at the Presidential Secretariat, I spoke with President Sirisena. I asked him why he had made accusations against me at a cabinet meeting. I said last week, After the Easter Sunday massacre, the first special cabinet meeting saw some heated exchanges between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. The President named some newspapers of supporting Wickremesinghe. In the process, he named the Political Editor of the Sunday Times and said he (the Political Editor) was angry with him for the President did not leak secret information. Very strange indeed. One would have to be insane to ask the President of any country, leave alone Sri Lanka, to leak secret information President Sirisena replied Mama ehema deyak kivvey nehe. Meka UNP karayenge pracharayak. Prevesam wenna or I did not say such a thing. It is UNP propaganda and I should be careful he exhorted. However, I did ask three different ministers and they confirmed that the remarks were indeed made. It was during a heated argument Sirisena had with Wickremesinghe.

IS leader al-Baghdadis remarks confirms what was revealed in these columns last week  that the increasing military role of the United States in Sri Lanka, the result of successive bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry unhesitatingly heeding one concession after another to the United States. This was the cause for IS building a military machine with Muslim extremists and carrying out bombing attacks in Sri Lanka. One example is the seemingly innocuous Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) renewed with the present government by then Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. He is now Sri Lankas Ambassador to Germany. Signing for the US was then Ambassador Atul Keshap. If the previous agreement was only a handful of pages, the new one by this government runs into over 80 pages.

The Sunday Times has seen the agreement between by the US Defence Department and the Ministry of Defence. The applicability of the agreement begins with a preamble which says This Agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the parties (US and Sri Lanka) to be used during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other co-operative efforts, or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need for Logistic Support, Supplies and Services.

This Agreement applies to the provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services from the military forces of one party to the military forces of the other Party in return either for cash payment or reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services to the military forces of the Supplying Party. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard is considered part of the military forces of the Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Significantly, it allows every single security or military apparatus in the United States access to Sri Lanka. All those security commands are listed one by one and the Point of Contact (POC) defined. If as made out, this is routine and the US has such arrangements with many other countries, this agreement has never been tabled in Parliament. At least one UNF minister, known for his heavy American leanings, has helped in this and a number of such other arrangements. So much so, in security circles the name referred to this aspect is M..a doctrine. At least to re-assure the people of Sri Lanka, it is not still too late to table it in Parliament so a debate could follow. Sri Lankans would then know whether the country has been compromised or not. Some of the contents would very clearly highlight the dangers that portend and ensure a healthy debate whether all the military deals with US have been in the best interests of Sri Lanka or heavily weighted in favour of the US.

Like most other countries, that the US has etched a strong security footprint in Sri Lanka was all too well known. And that expedited IS terror preparations although recruitment and training have been going on for years. Like in the intelligence community, lack of professionalism together with high levels of bureaucracy having a lack of knowledge (even on the basics of foreign policy) had led to this catastrophe. How long one of the key sectors of the economy the tourism ministry would take to recover also remains a critical issue. Many hoteliers complained to President Sirisena during a conference last week that they were heavily indebted to banks and would find it impossible to pay their dues. Sirisena said he would appoint a Cabinet Sub Committee to decide on relief measures.

The move came as Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote to Speaker Karu Jayasuruya seeking a full day debate on the Easter Sunday carnage. The matter is expected to be taken up when the Speaker chairs a party leaders meeting tomorrow, just a day before Parliament sittings commence. Speaker Jayasuriya has put in place new security measures where MPs and their vehicles will be subject to checks outside the Parliament complex.

Sirisenas political future

This weeks developments once again bring to the fore the question whether Sirisena has become a loner both in his fight against terror and has much publicised campaign against drug abuse. The latter move was his ambitious effort to make a comeback at the presidential election. He has remarked at discussions overheard by senior security officials that he would contest the presidential election this year. Some opine it was only a message to demonstrate to those concerned that he would remain in power lest they pay less attention if he spoke of retirement.

On the one hand, Sirisenas relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has grown into a point of no return. Both are trading accusations at each other and firing one salvo after another over the Easter Sunday carnage. The finger pointing has reached deplorable levels. UNF Ministers are holding news conferences and launching their own campaigns against Sirisena. That is to place the blame for the attacks entirely on his shoulders. This is whilst the silence of Muslim ministers has been deafening. They formed parties and parroted for years that they were the sole guardians of Muslim interests. If the community did not benefit, these ministers have immensely reaped the harvest from their official positions. Some have travelled often to West Asian countries for aid for the community and returned with sacks so to say. On Friday, Rishad Bathiuddin, Minister of Industry and Commerce left for Oman thought the reasons are yet unknown.

On the other hand, the Joint Opposition parties which met Sirisena on Thursday night have made clear they will support him unequivocally in his drive against terror. Other than that, they have made clear there was no political support for him. Nor would they join a government which Sirisena may wish to form or extend other support. Significantly, it was all by himself that he met the leaders of the Opposition parties.

This clearly means that President Sirisena has to clear the gigantic mess he has created by appointing mediocre, inefficient and unqualified persons to top positions. Recent events have shown that his writ as President did not extend even to the Police Chief. It took him days to send him on compulsory leave. His priority will have to be to replace those yes men if he is to make a start and make up his mind that those men being good to him is not enough. If he does not, he will continue to face mounting issues. If he does, that will still not draw him wider support to become even the lonely Sri Lanka Freedom Partys candidate at the presidential election. The party is dissolving slowly but surely with most MPs distancing themselves from current issues.

The lone warrior Sirisenas fights may end up with the President becoming a political orphan or be overtaken by fast developing events. That does not mean manna from heaven for the UNP. It is in an equally poor state, if not worse, with signs of a leadership crisis erupting once more against Ranil Wickremesinghe. There were clear signs this week with ouster moves gaining momentum. He has survived them in the past. It has to be seen whether he could now. This is why Sri Lanka is at the crossroads.
Nation demands answer: Who are the guilty men? View(s):

Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away. Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away.

Who are the guilty men?

And the whole nation calls, in the midst of their grief and shock, to exhume from the grave of Lankas gross negligence and complacency upon which Muslim fanatics were allowed to dance in wild abandon to find their passage to heavens door, the moribund carcass of responsibility; and to find as to who were really responsible, singularly or collectively, for the catastrophe that was waiting to happen; and which could have been averted if not for the negligence and even the collusion of its political masters.

The question nags and tests a nations credulity. How come that, with such a wealth of intelligence as to the formation, funding, and the rise of NTJ from obscurity to national prominence  from smashing Buddha statutes in Mawanella to bombing Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and blasting seven-star hotels in the city  no one in the know of the flood of information available, was moved to act to avert Easter Sundays holocaust?

Its not merely that the three warnings delivered by the Indian intelligence service to their Colombo counterparts went largely ignored. The litany of lapses go far beyond in time and smacks not merely of criminal negligence as it surely is but, worse, of active collusion considering how the authorities, both in this Government and in the previous regime, naively allowed the NTJ to be born, boom and flourish and bring the nation to its knees swathed in tears and stricken with fear.

Who are the guilty men that brought Lanka to this sad, calamitous pass? Perhaps we will never know. But lets ask the men at the helm, what they have to say in their defence. And lets start at the very beginning. And a very good place to start is right at the top.

THE PRESIDENT

Like a duck takes to water President Sirisena swiftly moved to renounce all knowledge of the impending threat. He passed the buck to his defence secretary, whom he had employed just five months before. He, the President of the country, in charge of defence and law and order, had been kept in the dark, estranged from even a tit bit of intelligence the Indian intelligence service had communicated to their counterpart in Colombo. Not only did he deny prior knowledge but even stated he was ignorant that the attack had taken place until someone showed him on a cell phone the carnage that had occurred.

He said in his May Day address to the nation: I got to know of the carnage when I was in Singapore on the 21st around 10 am. The moment I got to know it, the first thought that came to mind is the question that many in Lanka ask now. How did it happen? At noon that day I phoned the defence secretary and told him to immediately appoint a presidential commission to probe how it happened. I even gave him the names of who should be appointed to the commission. On the 23rd the commission became active and all of you have the right to make your suggestions to it now.

Wow! A presidential commission to probe the affair appointed within forty-eight hours of the carnage? And the orders given from Singapore where the president was holidaying. Hows that for immediate action? Impressive, isnt it?

Then the Minister of Defence and Law and Order, President Sirisena, went onto say: The IGP and the defence secretary could have easily averted this great carnage. They had all the means to do so. But they did not discharge their responsibility.

Now for the tear jerker: He said: I do not love my life. I am a person who has died and been resurrected five times. The LTTE came with their suicide bombers to kill me. They got killed. I have seen on Facebook extremists stating that soon I will be destroyed. I am not afraid of death. I will discharge my responsibility to protect the nation.

Good. And hopefully the public can have a peaceful night of sleep, and rest assured that their lives are in safe hands. For the common people on the streets do not have the security he is fortunate enough to have. And look up to him from the carnage for protection. Those who died two Sundays ago, unlike cats who have nine lives to waste, had only but one. One may live nine times but die only once.

And for the record, the President said: I must specially state that the intelligence received by the responsible intelligence chiefs have not been communicated even to me.

As the President told at the meeting of the editors last week, he was simply clueless. Before and after.

He said: After the attack, the persons with me informed me that they had got messages to the effect that an attack had been carried out in Sri Lanka. An hour later they showed me reports on social media that there has been an advance warning about the possible attacks. The warning was reportedly received on April 4, but I left the country only on April 16, but I was not alerted.

Tells a sad tale of good governance, does it not?

THE PRIME MINISTER

If the President passed the buck to his defence secretary and to the Inspectors General of Police, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the blame to the entire Parliament, specifically to those in the Opposition for blocking enactment of his Counter Terrorism Bill, set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Monday, Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if the new Counter Terrorism Bill had been passed in Parliament.

He said: No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision.

We have included this provision in the new Counter Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if this legislation was passed, he said.

If Maithripala Sirisena expressed that view he could have, perhaps, been forgiven. He is, after all only a diploma holder in Agriculture and all at sea with the law. But coming from the lips of the Prime Minister who is a law graduate from the University of Colombo and an attorney-at-law, to boot, it leaves much to be desired.

Consider this for example: According to the prime ministers statement that a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could not be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found, then Lanka for these last five years would have been the ideal safe haven for international terrorists to have found refuge in. Had he been alive, Al Qaedas Osama Bin Laden would not have had to sweat it out in some Pakistan dinghy flat when he could have enjoyed paradise on Lankas beaches sipping a mocktail of his choice and giving orders on his cell for others of his kin to enter heaven by blasting infidels.

The Prime Minister also stated that it is not even in the Penal Code. Perhaps he read the wrong law book.

According to him a foreign terrorists could have lived and operated freely in Lanka, and the forces and the police could have done nothing about it merely because the Counter Terrorism Bill was blocked by Parliament.

Funny isnt it that while laws are there to deport a young British girl who is found to have a Buddha image tattooed on her arm is arrested at the airport, produced before the magistrate and then remanded and deported as happened three years ago, a known foreign terrorist could come to Lanka and live unmolested without fear of arrest and deportation? No one is saying that a foreign terrorist should be tried here and imprisoned here? That is not this countrys business. Deportation from Lankan soil of such manifested evil would have sufficed.

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi who had gone missing for the last three years and had suddenly surfaced to comment on the Easter Sunday carnage and praise his cadres, must be ruing his ignorance of not being aware that Lanka was a safe house for him and his demons of death to take safe refuge in.

But the law was and is there. And has always been there for the last so many years. It was just that it was not enforced. Perhaps the Prime Minister should revisit his law books and find in the Extradition Act, the right to deport undesirable aliens, the same Act he used this week to order the deportation of 600 Muslim teachers who had been teaching at Madrasa schools in Lanka. If he could have used that general law of the land to do so, what on earth made him say that there was no law to arrest, question, detain and deport a foreign terrorist?

The Prime Minister also said, informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks.

Then why on earth must this nation have to spend billions every year on politicians, if the whole security and defence of the realm could be delegated to the military and allow them do as they please under permanent martial law? And condemn the nations security to be permanently under the jackboot of a dictator? Life may be more secure but, sans ones fundamental freedom, where is lifes quality?

Ranil Wickremesinghe further added: There has been no breakdown in the intelligence services but the issue has been that the Defence authorities had not acted upon the warnings.

Exactly. That is why a political leadership is vital in a democracy. To supervise, to direct, to give leadership and be held accountable to the people. The whole concept of ministerial responsibility is based on that. That the Minister takes the responsibility for the commissions and omissions of the civil service under him. Not for him to wash his hands of and blame it on them. If any minister does so, he makes himself redundant. Its the minister who was voted to public office by the people. Its the Minister who is responsible to the people. Not the public servant. He is only responsible to his minister. And the political master responsible to the people. Thats what the system is all about. Its whats called Democracy. Something thats closely akin to the Lichivy system he knows so much about.

EX DEFENCE SEC

If the President made his lame duck excuses and, like a duck taking to water, blamed his underlings for the carnage, his Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was akin to a fish out of water.

He had been the original recipient of the information provided by the National Intelligence Chief that according to information received from Indias intelligence sources that churches were targeted for attack by identified Muslim terrorists on Easter Sunday.

But what did he do with it? Like pearls thrown before swine, he did not realise, it seems, its intrinsic value and merely passed it on to the Inspector General of Police. He did not bother to follow it up. He failed to inquire what action had been taken. And he, in what must tantamount to a criminal dereliction of duty, failed to inform his boss of all bosses, namely his defence minister, the president, in whose palms the security of the nation ultimately rests.

And worse, he flapped his mouth off to the international media. And with his seeming nonchalance and boorish swagger, sealed his own fate.

He said, without realising the gravity of what he was saying that he knew of the threat but that he never expected an attack of this magnitude to take place. I though it will be an isolated instance in certain places, he squeaked.

Speaking to the media, Fernando said, Intelligence never indicated that its going to be an attack of this magnitude. They were talking about isolated incidents. Besides, there is no emergency in this country. We cannot request the armed forces to come and assist us, we can only depend on the police.

Worse was to follow. And it was his callous approach, even after two hundred people had died due to his failure to take the matter seriously and gauge, without experience of any kind, what the magnitude of the attack would be when he casually observed that Sri Lanka had experienced similar tragic situations, despite security checks in place. Its not the first time a bomb went off in this country. Why are you trying to isolate this unfortunate incident?

But even worse was to follow. To add insult to injury, this mediocre administrator, elevated from his bureaucratic desk to be the civil servant in charge of the nations defence, overlording the nations triple military guarding deities, by President Sirisena for no apparent reason based on any qualification or experience, he had the insensitivity to state: Many countries have faced similar security issues in the past. It happened in New Zealand, unexpectedly. We need to make sure that similar things will not take place in the future.

And then he went onto say, I cant say with confidence anything about with terrorism. No country in the world can assure that its not going to happen. But were trying our best.

But even before he had finished his interview with the media, it became clear that his number was up. And the question was asked by all: Why did he not tell the President?

The President duly asked for his resignation. And Hemasiri Gernando, having no choice, duly handed it over.

But does resignation alone absolve one from all responsibility?

Especially when the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) President Sheik M.I.M. Rizwi Mufti said: I am the first to reveal the presence of IS terrorists in Sri Lanka way back in 2014. I informed the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa about it but nothing was done.

Can one be responsible for such a terrible tragedy which has killed so many, brought the nation to a halt, destroyed its economy and nullified all the efforts taken to promote tourism, led to the introduction of emergency law and tolled back the tide of democracy and placed civil life in peril  can one be responsible for all this and more merely resign and simply walk away free into the sunset without facing charges of criminal negligence? Unless, of course, he was the scapegoat  this five month presidential mascot  led before the public to slaughter and reprieved by presidential fiat at the eleventh hour.

THE IGP

The presidential axe also fell on the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera last week when Maithripala Sirisena asked for his resignation as well. He had been one of the first recipients to have received notice of the threat as sent by the national Intelligence Chief who had received it from Indian intelligence sources. He read it and merely passed it down to his DIGs. His offence: No follow-up action. He has still not resigned and has placed his fate in the hands of the Constitutional Council which will no doubt deliver the chop in the coming week.

Odd, isnt it, when one thinks about it, how so many in the services knew, including the civilian Hemasiri Fernando the Presidents own defence secretary but none thought it fit to inform the political leadership of the threat?:

The then defence secretary says he thought the attacks would be no big deal, the President says no one informed him of the threat before the event and even after the event, the Prime Minister says that informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks, the IGP passes the letter to his DIGs and thinks of it no longer, out of the DIGs only one takes the trouble to write to the Director of VIPs Security Detail tasked to protect VIPs  not churches, mind you  and none of them informs those they are charged to protect, Mahinda Rajapaksa states that though his security detail knew, he did not  it would have been so funny had it not been so tragic.

Perhaps senior UNP Minister John Amaratunga summed it up best to reflect the prevailing political mood and insouciance when he declared at a news conference last week: What has happened has happened, we have suffered loss, the damage has been done.

Hopefully, in deference to the memory of those who lost their lives and the families they left behind to grieve their irreplaceable loss, he was not implying that the nation should not be crying over spilled blood?

One question for Maithri and Ranil Did Indian High Commissioner alert them? As the SUNDAY PUNCH stated last week, the Indian intelligence warned their counterparts in Colombo not once, not twice but thrice. The first warning, it is said, was given on April 4 the second the day before the attacks, the third hours before the attack. And it was thrice ignored. Indian intelligence was not a general warning. It was what is called actionable intelligence. It did not merely state that there would be attacks but specifically stated that churches and the Indian High Commission would come under attack on Easter Sunday. Is it unreasonable to assume that the top most concern and priority of the Indian intelligence service would have been the safety of its own High Commission in Colombo and its consulate in Kandy? They would, no doubt, have informed the Indian High Commission of the potential threat, they had extracted from an ISIS suspect in Indian custody. In such a situation, wouldnt the Indian High Commissioner have called on the President and or the prime Minister and requested protection for the premises? True, there is an Indian contingent within the premises to guard it from terror attacks even as the US Embassy has a contingent of US marines. But they cannot step out of the premises but has to remain within the sovereign territory of their own country, namely the diplomatic premises. The question posed to both the President and the Prime Minister is: Did the Indian High Commission approach either and apprise them of the terror threat to the Indian High Commission and to the churches on Easter Sunday? The Indian High Commissioner would not have talked to the defence secretary directly since its against diplomatic protocol to talk to a public servant. Perhaps, its best, to clear the foul air, that both the President and the Prime Minister issue an unambiguous statement whether or not the Indian High Commissioner made such a request for Lankan police or troops to guard its entrance and act as a bulwark against the threat its own intelligence service had provided. A simple yes or a simple no will do. Or did the Indian High Commissioner, too, even with his own High Commission under threat, keep the President and Prime Minister of Lanka in the dark? Cardinal Ranjith: Man of the hour Pope phones Cardinal to bestow blessings His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has risen immeasurably in the eyes of his fellow men to be the true shepherd of Lankas Catholic flock to lead them from despairs darkness to Gods own comforting heavenly light. And as things would have it, it has taken the worst of times to bring out the best in him. And, no doubt, he is seen in the Holy See as a rising star in the papal firmament. On April 24, three days after the Easter carnage, His Holy Father Pope Francis sends him a letter. He writes: Conscious of the wound inflicted on the entire nation, I likewise pray that all Sri Lankans will be affirmed in their resolve to foster social harmony, justice and peace. With these sentiments, I affectionately commend you and your Brother Bishops. And the cardinal on May 2 writes to his His Holy Father. He says: Your presence with us on this sad occasion strengthens me and our community. At 11 am that same day, Cardinal Ranjiths phone rings at the Bishops House in Colombo.. It is from Pope Francis. He gives him benediction, praising him for the tremendous work done by his to uplift the spirit and souls of those who had suffered greatly in the tragedy. And, like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, who knows  for the church works in mysterious ways  whether at the appropriate hour at a future conclave of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope, white smoke will emit as the signal to herald the advent of the worlds first Asian Pope? Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Ad Multos Annos!
Political egotism helps spawn new terrorism View(s):

Ever since the LTTE was militarily crushed finally in May 2009, Sri Lanka has been wallowing in triumphalism. This is not to belittle the achievement of the countrys security forces which were dismissively discarded particularly by so-called western experts and analysts as incapable of militarily defeating the LTTE.

Western media were not remiss in propagating these views and adding their own condescending expertise and denigrating the armed forces for violating international humanitarian law.

One cannot believe there has ever been a war where no violations of law ever occurred. In October 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon jointly announced that in any conflict henceforth UK will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect its frontline troops from spurious legal claims.

It was the same British Government that in 2015, sponsored along with other western nations an anti-Sri Lanka resolution before the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the Sri Lankan armed forces of war crimes and of violating international humanitarian law.

If I remember correctly President Mahinda Rajapaksa defending the Sri Lankan armed forces once said that our soldiers fought with a weapon in one hand and the human rights law in the other.

That might sound rather hyperbolic but it was a signal that the then government was determined to defend the armed forces against those who wanted to criminalise the soldiers and label them as instruments of viciousness that should earn the derision of the civilised world.

In standing up for the military, the government was not only paying the soldiers a tribute, the administration was also making a political point that would earn it the gratitude of the people as the government that saved the nation from division and collapse.

After he became president in 2015, President Sirisena did not take the same stance. His political promises were tuned to another station. He was determined, he said, to end corruption and punish those who had robbed the nation of its assets. He was also committed to abolish the executive presidency.

Valuable goals indeed! But, as the days turned into months and years, his interests veered in a different direction. The pursuit of power became an end in itself. His stated commitment to spend only one term in office was increasingly jettisoned and staying on longer turned into an obsession with the judiciary also being asked for advice on whether he could continue for six years.

One important objective, if he intended to stay on, was to strengthen his hold on power which led him to clash with the Rajapaksas and SLFPers who were committing their support to the former president.

At the same time, President Sirisena was increasingly at loggerheads with his prime minister and the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP, his main coalition partner whom he began to contest in cabinet and thrash in public.

The Presidents strategy was to short-circuit UNP-initiated legislation and blame it for all the woes, to which the UNP graciously contributed. He was also intent on holding on to his diminishing power in the original SLFP and containing the growing influence of the Rajapaksas, one of whom was a likely challenger at the presidential election.

So he was fighting on two fronts  inside the government and the Rajapaksa-led opposition on the outside, a task beyond his capabilities as has been shown. Instead of governing the country based on the promises he made to the people, fighting for survival turned into an obsession.

But blaming others was not enough to win over the people. He had to project himself as a patriot and a leader who cleansed the country of evil. So he, too, pledged to protect the armed forces and ensure that its officers were never dragged before foreign tribunals for alleged war crimes.

Not only was he competing with the Rajapaksas to win the affection and loyalty of the tri-forces, he went further. He committed himself to rid the country of the drug menace and hang a few drug- dealing convicts to show the country his determination.

To vigorously pursue this goal, he needed the full backing of the forces of law and order. This made Sirisena and the top layers of the law enforcement agencies take their eyes off the ball. They turned their attention away from national security to fulfill the Sirisena aim and earn his gratitude.

Whether the Rajapaksa boast that terrorism had been eliminated and would not rise again was a political ploy to keep him forever in the national conscience or whether he truly believed that he had ended terrorism will remain a matter of debate.

The fact is that such thinking permeated the upper echelons of the forces and further down. They seemed to believe their task was done and they could now relax as there was no perceivable enemy in sight.

Generals with multiple chips on their shoulders were telling tales of derring-do as though they, like David, single-handedly slew the mighty Goliath. Such self glorified popinjays threw themselves into political movements doubtless expecting future rewards.

So with current political leaders praising the men in uniform or those who have hung up their boots, there has been for some years an aura of complacency in the political arena and in the defence/military establishment.

This cock-a-hoop attitude seems to have penetrated the thinking of those who should keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut. But Sirisenas choice of staff at the highest levels seems to be as curious and absurd as Donald Trumps appointments to the White House and elsewhere. This rapid turnaround does not allow appointees time to settle and look beyond their allocated tasks making them appear like subject clerks.

Those whose primary task is security/defence intelligence gathering and analysis appear to have turned their attention to other matters like tracking the work of political foes and even government allies.

Indian media reported the other day that intelligence passed on by India about an impending attack by Islamic extremists was pushed aside as probable attempts by New Delhi to assign the blame to Pakistan to create a rift between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The media were citing high officials in Colombo.

Did those officials, whose thinking this was, even consult the Foreign Ministry on this interpretation of events or seek the advice of foreign policy analysts who work in government posts?

What expertise did those officials who came to this conclusion have with regard to foreign affairs and current bilateral/multilateral regional developments? Surely these were extremely important pieces of intelligence that should have been passed on to high political authorities but so cavalierly discarded as seems to have happened.

If those who are mandated to follow developments around the world should study modern-day terrorism, especially changes in the modus operandi of modern terrorist organisations, they would know that increasingly terrorist cadres or those attracted by todays extremist ideologies associate with such organisations and even fight for them in wars and conflicts as has been repeatedly mentioned in reports and media despatches.

Were our intelligence services aware that one of the Easter suicide bombers studied in the UK and had links with the British national popularly known as Jihadi John who was a fighter for the IS and executed several hostages including a journalist? If so, did they keep an eye on him after he returned to Sri Lanka or just forget about him?

Some Muslim organisations have claimed that 11 dockets of information relating to the activities of extremist Islamic preacher Zahran considered to be a leader, if not the leader of the Suicide bombers, had been passed on to officials starting in 2017. Officials included the then Defence Secretary, IGP and the Attorney General. Apparently Zahran had begun to preach against the government, the courts and other religions. Did they track his activities or just throw the documents away. Or maybe they are gathering dust on some shelf like those annual assets declarations nobody ever glances through.

A mosque trustee of who was involved in preparing the documents was quoted as saying that all the efforts fell on deaf years.

It is the political complacency bred by a political class more interested in safeguarding their own interests and the route to wealth that appears to have created the same lackadaisical attitude among officials some of whom are inclined to follow the same route as politicians with bloated egos.
The fiendish terrorism of a few over the many View(s):

As Sri Lankans are besieged by daily if not hourly reports regarding the rounding up of suspected islamist jihadists in the wake of last months Easter Sunday atrocities, it is crucial to recognise that the terrorism of a barbaric few cannot and should not be allowed to taint an entire Muslim community. Sadly but inevitably, Muslim Sri Lankans who were as appalled at the attacks as their Sinhalese and Tamil neighbours may face random and increased hostilities from the ignorant or the racially motivated. This is a trend that must be unequivocally and roundly rejected.

Misleading arguments on the insufficiency of law

This time around and as differentiated from conflicts over land and power which had gripped Sri Lanka in its savage toils for decades, the fight concerns an ideology that is perverse and violative of the very fundamentals of Islamic teachings. In other words, the fight is over the territories of the Sri Lankan mind or to put it more correctly, what remains of that as twisted and beaten down by ceaseless political propaganda of the most sordid kind. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the counter-narrative to a jihadist doctrine of pure hate must not be trapped in a self-defeating terror mentality. In that context, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes claim this week that the Easter Sunday barbarities may been prevented if the Counter Terror Bill was passed in Parliament is as disengenous as it is dangerous.

There is a wholly misleading rationale to this reasoning. As appears to be this Governments wont, the blame is passed from an unpardonable failure of political and bureaucratic leadership to a specious argument that existing law is not enough to deal with jihadists having links to international terror groups. As Sri Lankans wriggled in acute embarassment, this was the same excuse trotted out to international news journalists who interviewed the Prime Minister in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But the second part of that argument is where it gets interesting. As a result of this seeming lacunae, the Counter Terror Bill now before a parliamentary oversight commitee needs to be, (apparently in the Prime Ministers mind), passed post haste as he urges parliamentarians in uncharacteristically pithy Sinhalese to stop grating coconuts (pol ganne nethuwa) and pass the Bill.

First, this claim that the law is not enough could not be further than the truth. Several Sri Lankan laws, from the Prevention of Terrorism Act (1979, ( PTA) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (2007, ICCPR Act) to the more mundane Penal Code may have been utilised. Secondly, the Governments very actions since the attack give the best and most persuasive lie to this claim. Investigations have uncovered the connection between the islamist jihadists that carried out the Easter Sunday attacks and the damaging of the Buddha statutes at Mawanella along with the killing of two policemen in Vavunitivu. Why was this link not pursued earlier? Or was it not taken seriously due to political expediency of the Eastern vote bank and the Governments courting of Muslim politicians? This is, by far, the more credible explanation, apart from hair raisingly amusing conspiracy theories being regurgitated in every corner.

Rejecting hostility towards the Muslim community

The same question applies to never-ending discoveries of explosives, swords, guns and knives with a few being discovered in mosques. And if assets of the identified terrorists and their families are being frozen under prevalent law as the public has been informed, why could not this have been done earlier? But as we are getting to know in excruciating detail, the fault does not lie in the law. Even though intelligence officers on the ground knew the situation, political leaders and bureaucrats were running in opposite directions like headless chickens.

The few in the know vacillated and chewed their fingers, hoping that even if some incident occurs, it will be a little one as the former Defence Secretary so incautiously spluttered when questioned. If the Government had not been grating coconuts during the time that it should have been vigilant, Sri Lankas Catholics might not be now labouring under a horrific sense of revulsion as flesh and blood of victims still stick to the walls of their churches and Muslims would not be cowering in fear.

Meanwhile, the culpability of Muslim politicians in instigating the radicalisation of their voter bases is clear. The silence of the Easts Muslim Ministers in particular as jihadism grew under their feet as it were and the active support of others to that destructive growth is striking. This mirrors the manner in which Tamil and Sinhala politicians benefitted off the extremism of segments in their own societies to the eventual detriment of those very communities. Indeed, the responsibility goes deeper than political culpability

Pursuing a dishonest narrative

Post 2015, a deliberately dishonest narrative in force framed Muslim radicalisation in Sri Lanka purely as a reaction to Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism aggravated by post-war Rajapaksa triumphalism. Moderate Muslims hesitated to reflect on worrying changes in their societies due to cries that this will bar Sri Lankas reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Now as our expectations of reconciliation, let alone normalcy in daily life fade, certain truths must be realised. We must acknowledge that anti-Muslim rhetoric by radical Buddhist monks was not the trigger for the Easter Sunday attacks by Islamic State fighters, though this may well have been part of the backdrop to the alienation of communities. Irrefutably, attacks on churches could not have been the chosen plan of offense if that was the case. At least now, young Muslim writers have started speaking out candidly about dilemmas of community, religion, violence and radicalisation.

Nonetheless, this leaves the larger question of political accountability in issue. Why is it that only pawns are captured in this game while politicians are left untouched? While the arrest of one Municipal Councillor here and another one there and the arrest of drivers, secretaries and so on of prominent politicians is well and good, those higher in the political ladder need to be held to account. This is where the deficit of trust persists. So while a new counter-terror law may be this Governments pet project, the Prime Minister and Ministers need to explain themselves to a suspicious public rather than airly waving their hands and uttering vapid nonsense.

Indeed, time limited emergency regulations subject to Parliamentary control and constitutional review by the Supreme Court is a far better tool to deal with what we have in hand rather than a permanent counter-terror law which, once the Speakers seal is put, passes out of the scrutiny of court. Swift, surgical strikes are needed rather than an embedded state of counter-terrorputting legitimate criticism at risk.

Despite the UNPs clever games amidst ludicrous confidence that it will win the electoral day, a Counter-Terror Bill which undermines civil liberties in its present formulation will pave the way for a security state run by smiling Rajapaksa strongmen. We will be projected into an entirely hazardous reality of international and regional counter-terror chess games having the potential to undermine hitherto strategically won gains of the Rule of Law. What calamity next awaits us? Fundamentalist Christians bursting into mosques or temples with guns akin to what New Zealand and the United States has experienced?

If care is not taken even at this definitively late stage, unmitigated and unchecked terror stalking the land will be the sole and dismal legacy of the yahapalanaya victory of 2015.
In the tangled web of terrorism View(s):

The chilling video released this week by the leader of the purported Islamic State (ISIS) congratulating the inhumane suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka raised eyebrows in world capitals. Believed to have been killed during battles in his make-believe Caliphate in West Asia, the video has been confirmed to be that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, not seen since 2014.

That Sri Lanka has been flagged as part of the global nexus of ISIS activities is a pity, to say the least. The negative publicity generated around the world by the actions of a fringe group against the minorities in Sri Lanka has crucified the nation as one where Buddhist majoritarianism prevails, not as a peaceful Buddhist country. Western news agencies and NGOs did Sri Lanka no favours in conveying that message around and helped attract the evil eyes of ISIS, even though their global enemy was the crusaders (Christians) and the non-believers.

ISIS was a creation of the Wests illegal and immoral intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria in the post 9/11 era. Baghdadis utopian Caliphate has been crumbling on the battlefield in recent months. But his movement is not dead  yet. Its weapon of mass destruction is not nuclear bombs, but the internet; not conventional warfare but social media.

ISIS exploited the worldwide web to recruit cadres around the world. It shows gruesome videos and photographs of dying children and atrocities committed in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen  everywhere the West has upturned the status quo and waged war in the name of world peace. They mix these pictorials with the deadly cocktail of emotive scripture interpreted to suit their cause. The influential US-based Foreign Policy publication went to the extent of comparing that modus operandi to how certain Western charitable organisations use graphic videos of starving children in Africa to get donations for their work.

It was the Governments of the US, Britain and their Western allies which upset the hornets nest in West Asia. Their indiscriminate bombings and collateral damage on civilians have not gone unchallenged. The crazed bees are stinging people in Europe, and now Asia in tit-for-tat campaigns also targeting the European (Christian) way of life. These countries viz., Iraq, Libya, Syria etc., had excellent relations with Sri Lanka in the years gone by. Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was wowed and greatly respected by the Arab people. Today, some of these very people have turned against Sri Lanka, even to the extent of harming this country.

Whether one likes it or not, this unholy holy war between the West and the Islamic nations of West Asia has come to Sri Lanka. The knee-jerk reaction in banning the burqa and other attire identified with one faith has become a debatable issue, and it might have been wiser to implement such a step through a voluntary exercise rather than by law. In West Asia, Islamic dress has now been turned into a multi-billion dollar (US$ 60 billion in 2017) fashion industry for Western designers.

Those who however dismiss the security aspect of the ban ignore the fact that flushing out the terrorists in our midst will necessitate the checking of identities, including those of persons in such attire. This in turn could bring accusations of scandalising the modesty of women and lead to a breach of the peace.

Whether the ban is a temporary one or not is a decision for later, one might think, but hopefully the authorities who are coming out with figures of more and more arrests, are not doing so to cover up for their colossal lapse in preventing the Easter Sunday massacres. One can only hope that these arrests are being clinically executed to sweep the terrorists from their hideouts.

While monks and priests are advising the Security Forces whom to arrest and of the need to search empty houses, a Colombo-based foreign ambassador, probably with the ghost of Benghazi hanging over, issued warnings of further attacks, adding to the fear-psychosis. Despite Sri Lankans being almost anaesthetised to terrorism not so long ago, the decade-long period of peace has not only propelled people back to that era, but thrown them off their usual tranquil complacency into a state of extreme anxiety.

Many remain on edge, partly due to the publicity around the possibility of further strikes coupled with a lack of confidence that the Government is on top of things. The only redeeming feature is that the Security Forces can handle the situation. In the circumstances, it is crucial for the Government to realise that there are numerous case studies that show that persons in police or judicial custody, or even at rehabilitation centres can get radicalised within these confines if they are not involved in terrorist activity in the first place.

It is hoped that Intel reports will, on the one hand, be made available only on a need-to-know basis, but equally shared with the relevant authorities. Sharing tip-offs should not be stymied because agencies do not want to share the credit. One-upmanship is a trait in the Intelligence community. On the other hand, writing down a mere minute on a piece of information, and passing the buck as it were, caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people on Easter Sunday.

This is the month of Vesak to be followed by Poson next month. The people need to have the confidence that the Government and its Security Forces have got a grip on the situation. The Christian community is still reeling from the Easter Sunday attacks. The UNP-SLFP coalition Government is still haggling over who should run the Law and Order Ministry. There still is no apex persona handling national security. The Muslim community is caught between the terrorist and the deep blue sea. The move to ask foreign religious teachers overstaying their visas to leave the country is a step in the right direction. The statistics revealed this week of the number of madrasas and Arabic schools in the country are alarming. The competition among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran for influence has rent the Muslim world asunder. And that sectarian division has been exploited by the West.

A few years ago, this newspaper highlighted the audacity of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen asking the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan directly for monies, ostensibly for the resettlement of displaced Muslims following the northern insurgency. This was a flagrant violation of the countrys laws that require these funds to be channelled through the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry. The then President ignored the matter; the Minister dumped him and joined the new Government.

So, it all comes back to the political leadership that salivates for votes at the expense of national security. The silence of Muslim political leaders since Easter Sunday is deafening. World powers mouthing platitudes on fighting terrorism are backing terrorists if they are on their side of the fight against other terrorists. Oh what a tangled web they weave
Kids World * View(s):

Myself

My name is Umar Rushdie.

I am six years old. I study at

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo. I live in Dehiwala. I like to eat chocolates and ice-cream. I have a big sister. I like to play with cars and construction vehicles.

Umar Rushdie (Grade 2)

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo

Our Prefect Day 2019

Our Prefect Day was held on March 15, 2019 in our school premises.

It started at 8.30 a. m. Our Chief guests were the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara and the Branch Director Mr. Nalaka Bandara.

All the parents of the prefects came to this occasion.

First we started by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Before the awarding of badges, we worshipped our parents and teachers. Then our school CEO

Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara gave badges to all the prefects. I was also a prefect who was awarded a prefect badge.

Then after that Mr. Jayasekara made a presentation. He explained to us the meaning and responsibilities of a prefect, who is a leader, how can we recognise a leader and showed us examples for good leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai, We all liked that presentation and

we learnt many things.

I thank our Madame Principal, Deputy Principal, Teacher in charge of Prefects, all our teachers and our parents for organising this programme in a successful manner.

Dimuthu Mihiranga (Grade

JMC Int. College, Maharagama

My best day

My family planned to visit another country for a week. We had packed our bags and my father booked a PickMe to take us to the airport. We said goodbye to our grandparents and left home.

It took us about an hour to reach the airport because there was a lot of traffic. I was really impatient until we went to the airport.

It was a Friday and there were so many people at the airport. After my father handed over our bags we checked in and we went to the lounge to wait for our flight. We were going to Singapore and it was a Singapore Airlines flight. My sister and I watched the planes landing and taking off. I was extremely excited because this was my first trip overseas.

After almost one hour, our flight was announced. Then the four of us boarded the plane. My sister and I got two window seats. We were asked to fasten our seatbelts. I was so scared when our flight was taking off, but I soon settled down and fell asleep.

We had a tasty meal and I watched a nice movie. It was a five hour flight and was very exciting to fly through the clouds. It was such a comfortable journey and I felt sorry to get off the plane.

That was my first trip to another country and the best day in my whole life.

Rovinu Deshapriya (11 years)

S. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia
Bollywood political thriller amidst Indian election View(s):

While the Indian election is on the run, The Tashkent Files political Bollywood thriller about the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, which creates box-office records, is now being screened in Sri Lanka.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film stars two Indias ever-popular stars Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty in the lead.

The Tashkent Files revolves around the mysterious death of Indias 2nd Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and attempts to uncover if he had actually died a natural death, or, as alleged, was assassinated.

On June 9, 1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of India. According to the Media reports Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.

He tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage, Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous Green Revolution. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastris stint as Prime Minister.

After the Chinese aggression of 1962, India faced another aggression from Pakistan in 1965 during Shastris tenure. Shastri showing his mettle, made it very clear that India would not sit and watch. While granting liberty to the Security Forces to retaliate, he said, Force will be met with force.

The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 after the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The Russian Prime Minister, Kosygin, offered to mediate and on 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.

But on the following day Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966.

Shastris sudden death immediately after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan raised many suspicions. His wife, Lalita Devi, alleged that Shastri was poisoned and the Russian butler serving the Prime Minister was arrested. But he was released later as doctors certified that Shastri died of cardiac arrest. The media circulated a possible conspiracy theory hinting at the involvement of CIA in the death of Shastri.

The RTI query posted by author Anuj Dhar was declined by the Prime Minister Office citing a possible souring of diplomatic relations with the US.
Documentary film on the division of Germany Train to Freedom View(s): View(s):

German documentary film Train to Freedom set against the backdrop of the fall of Berlin Wall will be screened at 7 pm on May 10 at Goethe Hall, Colombo.

Directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias Schmidt, this documentary talks about an incident where hundreds of East German refugees fled to the West German Embassy in Prague. In the film, some of these refugees share their experiences; other witnesses report the difficult negotiations that ultimately lead to the departure of the refugees.

The wall, created after the Second World War, was a symbol of the political and economic division of Europe throughout the Cold War. Following numerous peaceful revolutions, the wall came down and Germany became unified.

Prague 1989, September 30th. The West-German Embassy in Prague finds itself the center of the worlds political stage. For weeks refugees from East-Germany have been streamed on the premises of the Palais Lobkowitz and the surrounding streets. Within days the fenced embassy compound transformed itself into a vast refugee camp.

This film is part of the film series Film Macht Geschichte, organized by the German Changes and Upheavals  Crises and Conflicts  this film focuses on the film series Film Macht Geschichte. The selected films focus on the topic of failed states. The term originated in the early 90s and referred directly to the changes and upheavals in the former Eastern Bloc. Within the film series, the breakdown of the GDR is described in particular.
LANKA CHALLENGE 2019: THE TUK TUK ADVENTURE ROUND 14 View(s):

On Saturday 27 April, despite the devastating events in Sri Lanka, the Tuk Tuk Warriors successfully finished their 1000 km adventure around Sri Lanka at Suriya Resort in Waikkal.

The group was camping in the middle of a forest in Mannar when the unfortunate incidents of Easter Sunday first occurred and even though the group was shocked and saddened all the participants came together with the intention of completing the challenge as planned.

This year, Large Minority (www.largeminority.travel) in partnership with Connaissance de Ceylan, SriLankan Airlines and Ministry of Tourism, organized the 14th edition of Lanka Challenge; this edition explored the wild and less travelled territory from Tamerind Tree in Minuwangoda, Kalpitiya, Wilpattu, Mannar, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Sigiriy, Riverstone, Kandy and Waikkal. Participants rode approximately 150km per day over nine days and covered more than 1000km in total.

The self-drive Tuk-Tuk Challenge gave 53 participants in 20 tuk-tuks, from 10 countries, an up close and personal experience of some of the most fascinating historical sites and views of this island, all the while raising money for local charities, environmental organisations and above all not giving in to terror.

In this edition, the participants faced some unusual challenges from tasting the hottest chilies to selling fish at the local market to (probably the most comical for us locals) taking groceries to a random home in a village and getting the home dwellers to cook for them. Other challenges included, the elephant dung put shot challenge, memorising Buddhist chants and offering flowers at a village temple. While still being fun, the tuk-tuk challenge offered participants a way of interacting with daily life in Sri Lanka.

It was important that The Lanka Challenge event was seen through to the end especially given the existing climate here in Sri Lanka, as the event supported local partners such as the Red Cross Society of Sri Lanka and Land Owners Restore Rainforest in Sri Lanka (LORRIS). A total of 10 percent of each teams entry fee was given directly to charity partners.

Julian Carnall of Lanka Challenge added Last year we collected over US$ 8,000 which was used for different charitable projects including donating textbooks, musical instruments and planting more than 200 indigenous trees to offset our carbon emissions. In 2019 we raised even more funds in Sri Lanka and were able to touch many more lives.

We are grateful to this years brave participants and Large Minority who decided to stay and see their 1000km challenge through to its completion. A special mention must be given to the Police, Army and Ministry of Defence along with Connaissance de Ceylan and Sri Lanka Ministry of Tourism, who went the extra mile to provide the additional infrastructure and security needed for our visitors complete their mission post-Easter Sunday attacks he added.
600 visa violators deported; among them Islamic preachers View(s):

More than 600 foreigners, including Islamic preachers who have come on tourist visas, have been deported during the past week for violating visa regulations.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena, under whose purview the Immigration Department comes, told the Sunday Times that at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a directive was issued to the Immigration Department higher-ups to deport all persons violating visas.

Accordingly all those people arrested for violating visa regulations have been deported.

An Immigration Department official said that at present, at least 200 foreigners were in involved in Islamic preaching in Sri Lanka. They were issued visas on the recommendations of the Muslim Affairs Ministry.

He said that at the prime ministers meeting, senior Immigration Department officials submitted a list of foreign Islamic preachers in Sri Lanka.

He said that his Department issued them visas after obtaining security clearance from the Defence Ministry, in keeping with the usual procedure.
Country raises its guard in face of violent extremism By Kasun Warakapitya View(s): View(s):

Nearly a decade after Tamil terrorism was ended, checkpoints and increased protection of people, schools, hospitals, and public and private premises have returned to Sri Lanka after the mass murder by Islamic suicide killers in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.

Long queues form outside buildings because of security checks. Parking is restricted in public places, government departments, and religious places. Eateries are employing their own private security, while the military is guarding some tourist hotels.

Private hospitals have bolstered security, while the military is looking after perimeter protection. The police and the army have put up roadside checkpoints, at junctions and bridges as well as entry points to Colombo. Vehicles are throughly checked. The military is guarding government offices, the Fort Railway Station and the Petttah bus stand.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has strengthened security. There are Civil Defence Force (CDF) and Army Commandos patrolling the pavement around the building preventing illegal parking. The police are checking identity cards and taking notes. People are not allowed to carry bags, helmets, and jackets inside. The CDF officials ask people to place their bags, hats, caps and jackets on the two racks at the sides of the main entrance.

Mohomad Nilam, 44, who works in a private company, said he feels safe after seeing the increased security at the IRD. Checkpoints are needed to counter terrorists. We must not allow terrorists to attack more people, he said.

Sujith Kumara Weerasinghe, 45, a messenger, who was at the IRD, said he is subjected to checks at other government offices. There are a lot of military officials in the building, we feel secure, he said. He feels obliged to co-operate with security checks.

Security at the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been increased. Military officials check bags and pat down everyone at the entrance.

Colombos port and its environs are being heavily guarded by the navy. There are more than 15 navy officers at the vehicle checkpoint at the port entrance. Other navy officers continue to check parked vehicles near the port wall. More security has been introduced in schools and hospitals.

But not everyone is pleased. The ban on parking near government offices is a major hindrance to those operating three-wheelers for hires.

P Krishna, a trishaw driver who parks near the IRD, said he cannot stay for long at the location. He had not been able to run hires in the past week. It is a struggle to make a living.

Most shops still remain closed at the Pettah market. Shops that are open attract below average crowds. The red mosque, which attracted tourists, is only open for worship.

Mohomad Shafrath, 24, who sells electronic items, phone chargers, power banks as well as pen drives, said business dropped. We started our business a few months back. Now, no one comes. We are victims of terrorism too. How could we do business like this, he said.

Anusha Willarachachi, 42, a government employee, said she was at the market with a friend to buy essentials. She fears violence more than the bombings. She added that people have continued to live their lives despite the fear.

Gothatuwa resident, Shanai Ranasinghe, said that she still comes to Pettah to buy supplies for her online cosmetics business. She said she is indifferent to who the vendors are.

The merchants are affected as they were forced to close shops for a week and since opening, few people have come, he said.

Chandrajeewa Liyanagamage, the treasurer of the three-wheeler association, said hires have dried up, even by foreign visitors. Even the railway authorities wont allow us to park outside the station despite paying Rs1,150 for a three-wheeler. All our 80 three-wheelers are registered and pay taxes to the municipality, he said.

He said they are unable to pick up hires as the three-wheelers block the vehicle park entrance.
Ministers Oman bound for talks on Hambantota refinery project View(s):

Petroleum Resources Minister Kabir Hashim and Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama have left for Oman for discussions on the Hambantota oil refinery project. They are to be joined by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who was a key participant at earlier talks on the controversial venture.

Minister Samarawickrama said yesterday that he and Minister Hashim were invited by the Government of Oman but said he had no knowledge of Minister Bathiudeen (who was already abroad yesterday afternoon) also being there. I dont know if hes also coming there because its about petroleum and other industries, he said.

It was announced in March that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in a US$ 3.8bn (Rs 685.5bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota. It later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International.

Three of Silver Parks four directors are Jegathrakshagan Sundeep Anand, Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya. They are the son, daughter and wife of S. Jagathrakshakan, a DMK stalwart.

In Hambantota, hundreds of acres of land have been allocated to the project. There has been no EIA and there are still no investors. It is feared now that Sri Lanka will give a long-term purchase guarantee to Omani oil interests in order to secure their participation.
Over 1000 asylum seekers ejected; UNHCR helpless View(s):

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relocate more than 1000 asylum seekers, who were ejected from their places of residence after the Easter Sunday bombings.

Many refugees, including Pakistani Christians and Ahmadis, were taken out or sent out from their rented houses by mobs or by house owners. They are now housed at two Ahmedi mosques and in the Negombo police station.

The UNHCR has had little or no success in finding them alternative rented accommodation as no house owners Muslim, Christian or Buddhist Sri Lankanswant to give them space, said a source familiar with the process. Therefore, they are still in their areas of displacement in cramped conditions with limited toilet facilities. Food is provided to them.

The UN agency is now relying on the Government to assist in relocation with security guarantees. The Government is willing to consider it, the sources said. The police and military have provided security to the refugees thus far. The Negombo police say that it is at great inconvenience that they are giving shelter to about 150 displaced people.

There has been a positive effort by the State to help. This is not a long-term solution or should not be a long-term thing. All efforts are being made on two fronts. One is to make them as comfortable as possible where they are and the second is to look for an option for relocation, the source said.
President rejects Ravis power purchase proposal View(s):

A five-member subcommittee headed by President Maithripala Sirsena to re-evaluate Cabinet papers submitted by Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the electricity crisis has decided not to approve the purchase of an additional 200 megawatts of emergency power outside tender process as recommended by the Ministry and some Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials.

A quantity of 170mw has already been bought from existing private power producers such as Asia Power in Sapugaskanda, ACE Power in Matara, ACE Power Embilipitiya and Northern Power. Minister Karunanayake and the Ministry along with the CEB maintained that a further quantity of emergency power was needed. And one of the ways they wanted to meet that requirement was through a 200mw barge-mounted plant contracted without tender.

But the subcommittee at a meeting on May 1 decided after heated arguments that there would be no procurement without tender. The subcommittee also includes Mr Karunanayake, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne and Non-Cabinet Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva.

It also wanted the Power and Energy Ministry to submit a report on the feasibility of the first 200mw barge that was approved by Cabinet on the basis that electricity would be bought at the lowest price and for six months. Minister Karunanayake had wanted a contract of two years.

The report was due on Friday and is expected to demonstrate whether Minister Karunanayakes claim that the cost of unit of emergency power was going to be Rs 28 (which was the maximum approved by Cabinet) or higher.

This is the second subcommittee to be set up on the matter. Earlier, a three-member ministerial committee which was also tasked with making urgent recommendations to end the power crisis was disbanded after Minister de Silvawho was also a member of that teamwrote to the President threatening to resign after minutes of their meeting were altered by a high-ranking Power and Energy Ministry official.

That committee had specifically recommended the purchase of 200MW of power for six months from a private supplier operating a barge-mounted plant. But the Ministry official had slipped in other barge-mounted power projects after applying tippex. He had also included two different contracts to separate companies for LNG projects, a subject that had not come before the Committee. It was not clear whether the official was acting on his own or at the behest of political masters.

The first subcommittee was headed by Mr Karunanayake and included Highways Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister de Silva. The second one was appointed by President Sirisena after Minister de Silva threatened to resign and brought matters to the notice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. When it met on May 1, President Sirisena left after maintaining that Mahaweli, Moragahakanda or Rantembe water will not be released for power generation.

The committee looked into a CEB letter that says around 470mw of emergency power is required. Minister Ranawaka reportedly maintained that a further 200mw is sufficient because 170mw has already been secured from existing private power producers. He, too, insisted that there must be a tender to buy this.
SriLankan requests SLAF to deploy sky marshals on flights View(s):

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is planning to deploy sky marshals on SriLankan Airlines flights to enhance air transportation safety and security .

The Air Force has responded to a request by the Airlines authorities and are evaluating the existing regulatory framework and international legal obligations on the matter, Air Force spokesman Gp. Capt Gihan Senevirathne said.

The SLAF has also beefed up security measures in and around BIA.
UN expresses collective grief over victims of terrorist killings View(s):

The United Nations expressed its collective grief over victims of the terrorist killings in Sri Lanka when the 193-member General Assembly extended its condolences to the families and renewed its commitment to combat violent extremism and terrorism.

Maria Fernanda Espinoza Garces, President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly, expressed her solidarity with Sri Lanka during these trying times. She said she was moved by Sri Lankans coming together following the attacks, opening the doors of mosques and temples for Christian services, and providing assistance to victims and their families.

I hope that we can use todays commemorative event to express our solidarity with Sri Lanka, strengthen our resolve to combat violent extremism, increase multilateral cooperation on security and tackle the financing of terrorism. We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote and do not harm human security, she said.

The meeting, described as a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, was co-organised by the office of the President of the General Assembly, along with the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

The meeting was chaired by the President of the General Assembly with Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General in attendance.

Ms. Mohammed expressed sorrow that places of worship have become the playground of terrorists. The world is seeing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, she said, highlighting the work of the UN to combat terrorism and extremism, including through addressing hate speech and ensuring safety of religious sites.

Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, in his statement noted that these inhuman and cruel acts on the holiest of days for Christians were debased in their cruelty and in their locations  carried out when devotees had closed their eyes in prayer and as tourists were enjoying a celebratory breakfast. Yet, against this carnage, as a nation, we became one, and the sorrow that the Christians underwent became the collective sorrow of an entire nation.

He pointed out that it is vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are utilised as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism. It is time for us to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework, Dr. Perera said.

I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now, that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining steps to conclude the Convention on Terrorism and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism. Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue, the Ambassador said.

A large number of member states, UN officials and special invitees attended the event with states taking the floor to express condolences and extend their support to the government of Sri Lanka.

Among the states delivering statements were Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada China, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Guyana (on behalf of CARICOM), Holy See, India, Ireland, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mauritania (on behalf of the Arab Group), Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA, and Kazakhstan.

Apart from national statements, the five main regional groups at the United Nations, namely, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western Europe and other states made statements on behalf of each group.

An elegy, specially composed by eminent Sri Lankan composer and conductor Dr. Lalanath de Silva, was played during the event. The United Nations Chamber Music Society performed a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace sung by David Yardley of Australia and Mahalya Gogerly-Moragoda from Sri Lanka/USA, in honor of the victims.
Unions pay silent tribute to labour in shattered capital View(s):

Every year, thousands from the provinces board buses provided by political parties and leave for Colombo for May Day rallies.

But there were no labour chants this year in the capital and elsewhere, except for symbolic gatherings.

There is no normalcy yet following the bloodbath in churches, for which the political leadership is being called to account. The Catholic church hierarchy and Buddhist religious leaders have bemoaned the weak, unsatisfactory response, so far.

Islamic extremists blew them up in teams and slaughtered scores of worshippers, including dozens of children, in Catholic churches, and locals and foreigners in hotels on Easter Sunday.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held its May Day meeting at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, where President Maithripala Sirisena joined, while Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) gathered at Kotte Municipal Council with Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. The United National Party (UNP) did not organise any public meetings.

UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a meeting with tourism stakeholders to discuss industry concerns and respond.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) gathered at the party office in with Jaffna lawmaker, Mavai Senathirajah.

Trade unions also held symbolic meetings, while adopting some regulations with regard to labour rights.

The Ceylon Mercantile Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU), one of the largest comprising 23 unions, also marked May Day.

CMU, general secretary, Sylvester Jayakody told the Sunday Times that even though there were difficulties in getting government approval for even a small meeting, at least 500 members gathered to adopt resolutions such as a demand to withdraw the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), and ensuring labour rights through proper checks and balances at the Employee Provident Fund (EPF).

This is not the first time we were asked by the government not hold any march or rally in view of May Day. Successive governments since 1971 time to time have called for such bans due to political reasons. However, we are aware of the current situation and took the decision to hold a small scale meeting considering public safety, Mr Jayakody said.

Joseph Stalin, the general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union echoed public concerns over government failures to ensure public safety following the mass murders and merely halting labour day rallies.

In the north, trade unions such as the Non Academic Employees Union of University of Jaffna had low key labour day meetings.
Upcoming Vesak: Buddha Sasana Ministry to consult Mahanayakes on pandals and dansal By Kasun Warakapitiya Minister urges people to mark the event with religious activities in temples View(s): View(s):

The upcoming Vesak celebrations, a security nightmare after the Easter Sunday terrorist massacre, have set a poser for the Government.

The decision has been placed in the hands of the Buddha Sasana Ministry. It will consult the Mahanayake Theras on how to evolve arrangements, Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said yesterday.

He told the Sunday Times that the ministrys Advisory Council will on Tuesday discuss matters relating to the checking of clergy and lay people, deploying security personnel and restricting the celebrations to religious observances.

He said they had already advised the chief priests of temples and viharas to appoint Dayaka Sabha members to form a civil defence committee at village levels.

We have plans to use military personnel and Dayaka Sabha members to check people who enter temples while Buddhist monks would be requested to check the clergy, the minister said.

The ministry would also submit an advisory, requesting devotees to avoid bringing bags to temple premises, he said. The minister said meals and drinking water must be provided at temple premises for those observing sil. The ministry would issue a circular, announcing the decisions taken at Tuesdays Advisory Council meeting.

The minister said that President Maithripala Sirisena, at a National Security Council meeting, had directed police and armed forces chiefs intensify security measures at Buddhist temples.

Mr. Jayawickrema Perera also advised the people to avoid erecting pandals, setting up vesak zones and dansal, as the extremist groups might target such places. He said even the mahanayakes and other monks had requested that Vesak be marked with religious observances in temple premises. If people wished to erect pandals and dansal, they should discuss the matter with the area police.

I cannot take the responsibility if the terror group strikes a gathering near a pandal, danasala or in a Vesak zones. Even the Mahanayakes advice is not to have such activities. They wanted people to participate in religious activities in temples, he said.
Experts talk on Sri Lankas wildlife conservation View(s):

Where is wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka today?  A series of presentations by renowned research scientists / conservationists followed by a panel discussion will be held on Thursday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH.

Held in celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) this special interactive edition of its monthly lecture series will have short presentations (15 minutes each) by four experts in their field covering four major issues affecting conservation in Sri Lanka today.

The WNPS hopes that all those interested in the future protection of the wild animals and wild places of Sri Lanka will attend, and actively contribute to this most important discussion.

The panel of experts will comprise:

Moderator  Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya

Dr. Pilapitiya, a former Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), in the short time he was in office introduced a practice of good governance that was greatly appreciated by all of the stakeholders in conservation apart, of course, by Government. He is currently a Consultant to the World Bank for its conservation projects in the South Asian region, including its ESCAMP project in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of leopards  Rukshan Jayewardene

Immediate Past President of the WNPS, Rukshan Jayewardenes name has become synonymous with that of the study of wild leopards. He has co-authored a book on these fascinating creatures, particularly those in the Yala National Park.

Human  elephant conflict  Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando

For the last quarter of a century, Dr. Fernando has extensively studied the Asian Elephant, especially the Sri Lankan elephant, and is currently Chairperson of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) that conducts research for mitigating the human-elephant conflict and conserving elephants.

Marine conservationDr Nishan Perera

Dr. Perera is a Marine Biologist and underwater photographer with an interest in coral reef ecology, fisheries and marine protected area management.

Conservation of birds  Dr. Sampath Seneviratne

The current President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), Dr. Seneviratne has made the conservation of Sri Lankas birds a mission of his life.
Facing the many challenges of burqa ban By Smriti Daniel View(s): View(s):

Nadeesha* has worn a burqa for 15 years, and the abaya for twice as long. Last week, when she heard that a ban on face-covering was in place, she knew there was a difficult time ahead. This is a lovely country, it is my country. It has been a paradise on earth, and we have practised our religion freely, she said, her voice catching. We are so sad about what happened, I feel like crying. It is uncomfortable but we will adjust to the countrys law.

Nadeesha is talking about a gazette notification which was issued on April 29 under Emergency regulations which banned all full face coverings in public spaces including roads, public transport and buildings. Authorities said it was implemented in order to enable easy identification as they attempt to disband a network of terrorists who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. The law should enable security forces to better monitor terrorist movements, identify suspects and track risks in public spaces.

However, in the wake of the gazette fierce debates rage. Though it did not specifically name the niqab or burqa, it is clear the ban will adversely affect some Muslim women. Arkam Nooramit, an Executive Council member of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said that even though it brought clear challenges, Muslims were embracing non-violence and non-provocation and would accept it as the need of the hour.

As the minority we must not disturb the majoritys culture and thinking, while preserving our own culture and preserving our rights. That balance has to be struck, and that can only happen by engaging both sides, he added, explaining that the ACJU was encouraging all Muslims to be as open and cooperative as possible and not isolate themselves.

However, while few would quibble with the need for greater watchfulness, critics are worried that the burqa ban conflates conservatism with extremism in way that risks the safety of women and could feed tensions between communities. Simultaneously, there are heated debates ongoing within the Muslim community itself on whether the garment represents their Sri Lankan identity, with some even calling for the ban to be made permanent. Subsuming all these concerns is the pressing one of ensuring national security.

For clarification, a hijab is a veil which usually covers the head and chest while a niqab is a veil that covers the face. A burqa is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

For those critical of the ban, a key part of the problem has been how it served to reinforce issues already existing in the community, such as the side-lining of womens voices. In particular, activists such as Shreen Saroor who founded the Mannar Womens Development Federation (MWDF) are questioning why the authorities opted to consult with only the ACJU which has no women in its leadership and has previously issued fatwas declaring that Muslim women should conceal their faces in public. The ACJU is part of the problem, Shreen contends, arguing that the conservative group does not represent all Muslims in this country.

I see the ban as such a deflection of what really needs to happen, Ermiza Tegal, an attorney-at-law, told the Sunday Times. Noting that Muslim women have been fighting within their community for change on issues including reforming the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, Ermiza said: We have confronted violence, discrimination and oppression, and in the midst of this terrible tragedy, to see the opportunity being taken to reinforce all that again without taking women into considerationThis is an extremely short-sighted and knee-jerk response by the State.

Speaking on behalf of the ACJU, Arkam acknowledged these concerns. We have met many womens organizations, he explained, adding that they were aware of the issues raised by the latter. We know we have to work on it and get their consensus in this matter. We have to engage with women on this, he said.

Meanwhile, online many Muslim women have come forward to dismiss the garment as a foreign import alongside Wahabism. Some like Shreen will admit readily that they are not big fans of the burqa.

Our grandmothers did not wear this and we lived amicably with other communities, Shreen points out. She says that the community can no longer evade a self-reckoning. We have come to this stage not because terrorism came from the outside, but because we let it grow, she says holding leaders and politicians accountable for ignoring the warning signs. However while urgent action is called for, she strongly believes meaningful change cannot be legislated and should instead come as a result of dialogue. To ignore this is to marginalize Muslim women, already among the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, even further, Shreen warns.

You have to understand that some of these women have been wearing the burqa since they were 13 years old. For them to show their face is now like being asked to show their private parts. Shreen describes a conversation in which one woman told her that being asked to leave off the burqa was like being asked to walk down the street without a blouse. It is a profound humiliation, she says.

Reports of covered women being bullied on the street and turned away from places like supermarkets have fuelled concern that the ban makes targets of conservative Muslim women by cementing a connection to terrorism in the minds of the public, increasing the likelihood of women facing harassment and adding to the atmosphere of fear in the country even after the ban is lifted.

Emergency laws have a tendency to outstay their welcome, Ermiza notes, emphasising that these should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still essential and are not being misused. Her deep worry is that this will be the excuse to deprive women in already conservative homes of their rights and that the ban allows those with pre-existing agendas to further curtail the freedoms of women.

The ban is serving to reinforce the sense of alienation at a moment in time when we are trying to send out a message of unity, when we are trying to reach out to each other and say we are of one country, we have to find some way to respond to this catastrophe together, says Ermiza. Sadly, the message just seems to have gone the other way on this one.

In the end, for those working on these issues, there is an acknowledgement that this is a complex challenge that requires nuance and sensitivity, both of which can be extraordinarily hard to muster in the face of the violence and terror Sri Lanka has had to contend with in the recent weeks. However, they feel that at a time when the public is justifiably scared and on edge, the State has an even greater responsibility to ensure that all citizens feel safe.

*name changed to protect the interviewees privacy.
Katuwapitiya: Alone in their grief, after the shock By Kumudini Hettiarachchi View(s): View(s):

We went back to Katuwapitiya on Wednesday.

Except the heavily barricaded St. Sebastians Church, where armed security forces personnel as well as priests are refusing to allow anyone to enter, the beleaguered village is sans much security.and the people are upset about it, as also the way the monies promised by the government are being disbursed.

Unlike the previous time (that too on a Wednesday), just three days after the Easter Sunday bombings, the weather too has turned nasty. Where earlier, the full force of the sun was beating down on the hapless people, now heavy showers are drenching the village, leaving some areas under water.

Vociferous are those who are mourning the dead about the disbursement of funds for the funerals and as compensation and how politicians are walking around handing over cheques and also capturing all in photographs.

The authorities said they would give Rs. 100,000 for the funeral rites of each victim and Rs. 1 million as compensation for each victim, but now they are deducting the Rs. 100,000 from that Rs 1 million and giving only Rs. 900,000 as compensation, said some of the bereaved. They feel this is adding insult to injury as it was the authorities themselves who had not provided security to the people even though they had prior warning of such an attack.

Both my parents died, laments Roshica Wimanna, saying she told those who came with the money what she felt. First they gave us Rs. 200,000 and now they are telling us that three of us will get Rs. 1.8 million. Roshicas father and mother, Rohan and Shanthi Wimanna, were killed instantaneously as the suicide-bomber had blown himself up after standing next to them in church.

As we walk around the village, there is also serious concern about security with the feeling uppermost being that they have been abandoned by the authorities. In each home, where family members have been buried the week before, a few kith and kin gather before a priest and sometimes a few nuns, in front of the photographs of the dead, to say mass and continue to shed tears.

There is a family where both parents, Dr. Sanath Fernando and Wales Indira, have left their three beloved children, while the grandmother had been found in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the previous Thursday.

Explaining that the eldest girl is studying medicine in China, wishing to follow in her fathers footsteps and the two younger boys are still in school, with the middle one in the Ordinary Level class, a relative says that they have got a lot of support from the boys school. Teachers, parents and children have streamed into this house and been with us, she says, as the daughter is being helped by a relative to fill numerous forms and the pet dog lies at her feet silently as if realizing the trauma that the family is undergoing.

The daughter came back home only on Monday, the day after the blast, after hearing the tragic news, says the relative, adding that they had to break open the door to the family home as the grandmother had the key.

In another half-built home, it is husband, Dinesh Suranga, who has rushed back from his kamkaru rakshava in Italy to be there for his wife and two daughters. His mother and little son of eight months perished in the blast.

On this rainy May Day when the whole country is on holiday and even boutiques have put up their shutters, we meet a group clad in white from the Negombo Law Society headed by Attorney-at-Law Nishendra Ekanayake who too is going from door-to-door to help the families fill the detailed forms and offer legal advice all for free on how to obtain death certificates and go about testamentary cases.

We hear that even when tragedy strikes, there are the vulture-like humans who are ready to make a quick buck and have been moving around Katuwapitiya charging Rs. 1,000 for an affidavit.

When we step into Dineshs home, a Buddhist monk is talking to the family, consoling them.

Dinesh and his whole family, wife, two daughters and son had been in Italy but the latter had come back because they wanted to put the elder girl to school here. That fateful day, Easter Sunday, his wife Disna had taken the three children along with her mother-in-law to church. Eight-month-old Dinuj, like any little one, with face wrinkled up was showing in no uncertain terms that he was tired and unhappy. Giving him a feed, Disna handed over her podi putha to her mother-in-law and went for communion. When she came back, Dinuj was fast asleep and she did not want to disturb him.

The mass was over but a politician wanted to give a kathawa. Otherwise, the people would have left the church, says Dinesh.

He cannot deal with the aftermath, as he looks at us mutely and murmurs like so many others.this is like a mala gama (dead village).

The shock is wearing off now that they have buried their dead. The reality is sinking in slowly as they face a bleak future without their loved ones.
Minding Sri Lankas Parliament for 35 years On the eve of launching his memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces in Sinhala, Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

In a Havelock Town house packed with memories and mementos- a veritable gallery where tasteful East blends with gracious West- an octogenarian is enjoying a well earned rest. For 35 long years he was minding the Sri Lankan Parliament- for 13 of which he acted as the Secretary General of that august house, having stepped up from being Second Clerk Assistant and Clerk Assistant.

His memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces, modestly concise and fitted into a 100 page but engrossing demi-autobiography, dwells most fondly and lingeringly on the days spent in the grand British neo-Baroque pile at Galle Face, the first Parliament, overlooking a dreamily cerulean Indian Ocean, and then in the landmark building that Bawa raised forth from the marshes of Diyawanna, probably the most dignified of tropical- (or regional-) modern edifices. Published in 2017, this cache of unique experiences and memories will be joined by a Sinhala translation, which will be launched tomorrow, May 6 at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo.

Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants, says he wanted to share the most interesting episodes of his life and times with a wider Sri Lankan readership, and the Sinhala translation appears in the same format as the original book, titled Galumuwadorin Diyawannawata (From Galle Face to Diyawanna).

Having joined Parliament as Second Clerk Assistant, after turning his back on a freshly-offered American scholarship to study international law (which would have culminated in a diplomatic career), it was a steady climb and one peppered (as well as bullet-holed) with remarkable events- a rich melange of the tragic, the comic, the flabbergasting, the profoundly moving and downright horrifying.

The most remarkable amongst them would be the case of The Hand Grenade Within the Parliament. Now forgotten under the folds and debris of later drama, this attack in the Parliament followed the controversial Indo-Lanka pact that President J. R. Jayewardene signed with the Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi.

Early that August in 1987, the President had called a meeting for the Government Parliamentary Group (i.e. the UNP) to expound the reasons for signing the pact. Scarcely half an hour after the meeting had begun, Seneviratnes peon had come rushing in to his office, to say with faltering breath that the President wanted him.

Downstairs where the meeting was, Seneviratne found Prime Minister R. Premadasa, his sarong slightly raised. A bomb had exploded within the committee room and (luckily) a piece of shrapnel only had hit the Premiers foot. Rushing in, Seneviratne found the President being escorted out hurriedly. However Akmeemana MP Kirthi Abeywickrema succumbed to his injuries while Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was pulled through only by the surgical skills of Dr. K. Yoheswaran.

How was the bomb thrown into a room, now splattered with blood and with a crater of one foot in the floor, which was carefully inspected by presidential security only moments ago? Before the calamitous blast, members remembered seeing a hand with a white sleeve throwing an object in. Luckily the bomb, intended for the President, had ricocheted off the main table to explode in the middle of the room.

It was a day later, when a housekeeping assistant was reported to have evacuated his home overnight with his family, that the mystery began to unravel. Ajith Kumara, the sweeper, was later caught, but Mr. Seneviratne came under a cloud, momentarily, and was summoned before Cabinet.

I walked in nervously like the Christian being thrown to the wolves, he records, but it was revealed, after a haranguing interrogation, that he was in no way to be blamed.

It later transpired that a few weeks after getting clearance from police screening (imperative for all Parliament employees) and having joined the staff of the Parliament, the JVP had secretly recruited (Ajith Kumara). The JVP was then very vociferous against the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact signed by the President, and they had found Ajith Kumara working in Parliament the best possible person to assassinate the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs of Government.

Also happening during JRJs time was the shifting of the Parliament from Galle Face to Kotte. Mr. Seneviratne had to oversee the shift of all that lined the interior of the colonnaded temple to democracy to their new offices, thoroughly modern but also harking back to Kandy and previous kingdoms- without as well as within. A convoy of lorries, buses, vans and cars were used to transfer a treasure accumulated over 53 years: records, files, photographs, paintings, furniture and the entire library.

The book, beguilingly slim, is really a rich ore of the Parliaments history of over 35 years, ranging from events of major global importance to the most pithy of witticisms in the House- in an age when MPs knew to use humour with debonair eclat.

One thing the former Secretary General bemoans in the last pages of these memoirs are the abysses into which Parliamentary standards are continuously falling. Never for a moment being a snob about it, he digs out patiently and with professional industriousness the causes- which- if paid enough attention- can be used to make things much better. The book does not stop at being anecdotal- it is a magisterial record and also an antidote.

Wearing his 84 years with a boyish but gentle suavity, Mr. Seneviratne has much to busy himself with in retirement. As a vice president of the Royal College Union, he was instrumental in founding the Loyalty Pledge- offering scholarships to the less privileged boys from rural areas at Royal.

You will find him a regular at the Lionel Wendt and other Colombo auditoriums, as a lover of music from classical to jazz or swing. Having grown up in the flamboyant lined roads of Colombo that Geoffrey Beling painted, the delightfully mordant Aubrey Collette having been his very first form master at Royal College, he has great fondness for the 43 Group. But just as prized on his walls are the bright, buoyant tinsel artwork of his three granddaughters who loom large in his life: Sehanya, Aleyha and Taheli.
Moved by what she saw, a returnee from Dubai reaches out with Auxilia By Ranjan Abayasekera View(s): View(s):

The Auxilia story begins with a Sri Lankan working in Dubai. While on holiday in December 2004, she saw lives and livelihoods destroyed by the tsunami.

In 2009 she heard about a new housing estate developed in Digana, a place unknown to her and purchased a house online, without seeing it! In 2010, she decided to come back home, and joined an organisation which was involved in ensuring the rights of children.

This involvement took her to rural areas of the Central Provinces plantations. The scale of poverty shocked her. She worked in an orphanage with 65 children, and saw the trauma children, parents and staff faced. She was unsuccessful with a proposal she submitted for quality education, which she thought was key to breaking the poverty cycle.

The voice within did not leave her  posing the question What can I do to combat this tragic situation and help marginalised people. She was a single woman, with only a small amount of savings, and the task seemed too big. She was however determined to start a pre-school for the poorest folk.

With the blessing of the Buddhist priest, the Grama Sevaka, community leaders and Welfare Officer she drove around in the Ambakotte village, meeting people. The newly elected Provincial Councillor assisted by finding an old community hall. It was donated by the Ambakotte Village Society rent-free!

With renovations, installing two bathrooms, water tank and colour washing, the old hall was transformed. Her Dubai contacts, friends and relatives assisted her. The funds to commence building work came from her own savings, and within two months a well equipped pre-school stood there!

The achievement is quite remarkable, considering that Digana captured headlines when violence targeting the Muslim population broke out in February 2018. The new free pre-school, named Auxilia opened its doors on May 15, 2018. It has no religious affiliation, no biases  political, ethnic, caste or gender.

Twelve children  aged 3-5 years  first gained admission. Their parents too had been children in July 1983 when anti-Tamil violence forced their families to flee their homes. Now their children were being admitted to a new school located close by!

Providing quality education the school aims to increase self-esteem. Each child is given three uniforms, a pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, five underpants, a lunch box and drink bottle. The pack costs Rs 5000. A morning snack inclusive of Milo/Nestomalt is also provided three days of the week.

The medium of education is English. Teacher, Rebecca Perera was discovered by the founder. Having an AMI Diploma, English teaching experience and a love for children, Rebecca was the last piece of the jigsaw.

In early 2019 since the number of children in the school had doubled to 24, Manori Nanayakkara was added to the staff.

Aylanee Ameresekere, the schools founder, is assisted by Joe Rayen and Nelum Weerasinghe. They are supported by donors who provide school materials, cash donations, meals, toys, clothes, gift packs etc and others who donate time. Currently the operating cost per child is Rs 3000 per month.

The vision for the project is to break the poverty cycle. With expert help from Suki Heringe, in August 2018, the Auxilia Womens Society was formed comprising unemployed mothers and community women. Volunteers teach the women their responsibilities as mothers and wives.

Two projects were launched through sponsorship to enhance the income of families  making compost and hand-made slippers. More than commercial value is the increased sense of well being gained by participants. A third project tapping into sewing skills is planned.

The long-term goal is to run income -projects employing parents, so they could pay a subsidised school fee. The profits from the ventures will be ploughed back into the school to reduce donor dependency.

The organisation is non-profit earning, and has received a temporary licence from the Early Childhood Development Unit of the Provincial Council. An appeal has been made to the Mahaveli Authority for land since a play area for the children is needed.

This little community and their children now have hope for a brighter future thanks to Auxilia, which means Helping Hand.
Two weeks on, the world hasnt forgotten us By Sashini Rodrigo and Joshua Surendraraj View(s): View(s):

Two weeks on from the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka gradually strives to get back on its feet. In a show of unity the world continues to send its love and support to the country through many vigils that were organised this week.

Melbourne

The atmosphere at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia was a calming and supportive one last Sunday (28), as people gathered together in a silent rally for Sri Lanka. It was beautiful. The whole purpose was to show the victims and their families that we support them 10,000km away, chief organiser Sharan Velauthan tells us.

Throughout the day, passers-by stopped to write messages for Sri Lanka. It doesnt matter, your race or religion, where youre from, who you believe in. Were all united as one, Lauren Sandeman shares. We will all rise together and were all with you. We hope and pray that everything will be okay again, Vidushi Rambukwella adds.

Amongst the crowd was also Mohammed Ahamed Yaseer, who stood holding a single candle. Im a Muslim, a Sri Lankan Muslim and Im from Kandy, he said. Mohammed strongly condemned the Easter Sunday attack and urged people to respect humanity and love.

United Kingdom

Individuals of different faiths, gathered at the St Bernadette Catholic Church in Withington, South Manchester on Sunday (28) to pray for Sri Lanka. Emotions were high as people shared their sentiments with the crowd, amongst a sea of lit candles.

Children and adults alike from the British Muslim communities also stood in silence carrying slogans such as Not in the name of Islam and Muslims and We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Christian faith.

Midland, Michigan, USA

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. The famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr was the underlying theme at an interfaith vigil organized by the Interfaith Friends Group (IFG) on Sunday (April 28) at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland Michigan.

The evening full of love, compassion and togetherness, Umbareen Jamil, a member of the Islam Center of Midland and the IFG said.

Bishop Monte Searle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was quick to emphasise on the need to show compassion towards ones neighbours, friends, and colleagues. We should show them Christ-like love through service, he said.

Our place of worship should be a safe place, no matter what you believe, Debbie Ballard, a member of the IFG shared. Debbie was also one of the key organizers of the event, along with Umbareen, and Barb McGregor.

Cornell University Ithaca New York, USA

Nearly 100 students of Cornell University prayed together for Sri Lanka at Ho Plaza, Ithaca, New York on Wednesday (May 1).

The vigil was organised by students Nilanthi Nagasinghe, Ishini Gammanpila and Amanda Pathmanathan.

At the centre stood a poster with the outline of the tear-shaped island, lit up by lights placed on it by all those present and adorned with their hand prints.

Ishini shared an eulogy written for 11-year-old Keiran, who was killed while having brunch with his family at Cinnamon Grand.

The eulogy, which was written by Jekhan Aruliah, describes Keiran as a boy with a quizzical confidence and sparkling smile that instantly marked him out as a special guy.

Fiji

A letter writing vigil to spread messages of hope was hosted in Lautoka, Fiji by Sabrina Iqbal Khan, a Human Rights lawyer. The vigil was attended by several members from different faiths, and expatriates from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, USA and Bahrain also sent in their letters. All of the letters were sent directly to the churches affected by the blasts, where they will be read out to the respective congregations.

The writers gathered at a cafe in Tappoo City, Lautoka and those who could not attend wrote letters from their homes. Amongst those who turned up were many who were still processing the Christchurch Mosque shooting, we are told.

It was amazing to see so many people reaching out this way, Sabrina says.
Sri Lanka attacks: By Sanjay Perera Did the political deadlock, attempt to carry political favor with Muslim and Tamil political leaders, the West and the UNHRC and lack of responsibility of the Government lead to this carnage? View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka is still in a state of shock and confusion, trying to understand how a little-known Islamist group may have unleashed the wave of coordinated suicide bombings that resulted in the Easter Sunday carnage  the worst since the end of the separatists war a decade ago.

The island nation has experience of such attacks  suicide bombers were used by Tamil Tiger terrorists during the 30 year old war. But the ruthlessness of the new atrocities and the refusal to accept responsibility by its Government leaders has stunned the nation anew.

Eventually, the government came out and blamed the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), a home-grown Islamist group, for the suicide bombings. There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded ,senior Ministers have mentioned in various addresses to the nation and media. It may be in order to remind these Ministers that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) was in fact a terrorist group with a massive international network and named as one of the most ruthless and largest terrorist networks in 2004 by the FBI and mentioned in their report that the LTTE may have inspired other terrorists networks including Al Queda.

The excuse of NTJ being linked to IS or another extremists terrorist organization does not explain or does not provide provision for the government and top officials to shun away or refuse to accept responsibility, how a group that has been blamed for promoting hate speeches over a number of years, destroyed Buddhist statues on a number of occasions and accused by the Buddhist clergy and Opposition party politicians as Islamic groups responsible for fueling civil commotions in the past 3 years on many occasions  may have been able to scale up its capacity so monumentally.

Reliable information confirms that two weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage over 40 sleeping Islamic terrorists cadres are still at large in the country. With IS claiming that their men carried out these deadly attacks, it is yet to be known how many home grown terrorists were trained and equipped by IS with probably thousands following the ideologies of IS in Sri Lanka. At this point we should also keep in mind that IS was given birth to, by the West.

In no way can the Government and its leaders and top officials cannot in anyway refuse taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday Carnage giving the IS connection as an excuse as strong accusations of an extremist Islamic group or groups blossoming in the country with Sri Lankans engaged in IS activities overseas was made by a senior cabinet Minister of the Wikramasinghe government Prof. Wijedasa Rajapaksha Presidents Council.

This claim was immediately shunned and ridiculed by the Wikramasinghe allies as way back as 2016. Senior Minister Rajitha Senarathna was among them who ridiculed this accusation stating that this was a claim to fuel disharmony in the country.

Buddhist clergy and members of the joint opposition and certain Islamic sectors in the country have time and again indicated the need for the Wikramasinghe government to investigate the possible incidents and actions of suspected extremist Islamic groups including known Schools and Mosques preaching fundamental ideologies. Loyal allies to Wikramasinghe including former President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga did not waste time in calling these accusations baseless to create racial tension and hatred among Sri Lankans, instigated by the Rajapaksas.

It is now revealed that over 400 fundamentalist mosques are in existence in Sri Lanka and are or Caliphate cults. Ironically following the Easter Sunday suicide attacks Former President Kumaranatunga accused the Wikramasinghe Government of permitting extremist schools and Mosques to be established in the country following the bombings on Easter Sunday.

Another emerging factor is that the LTTE did not purposely target foreigners and tourist fearing the sympathy they received from the west and the financial support flowing from the Tamil diasporas living in the West would come to a complete halt. The Easter Sunday attacks however specifically targeted hotels and catholic churches drawing western interests into the equation.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks the Archbishop of the Sri Lankan Catholic church Cardinal Malcom Ranjith was joined by the Buddhist Maha Sanga and Hindu and main stream Islamic religious leaders politely accusing the Government and its top officials for failing to protect citizens of the country having been given prior intimation by the local intelligence agencies and 2 other international intelligence agencies of the possible Easter Sunday attacks and fingers were pointed at the Ranil Wikramasinghe government for commencing a witch hunt post 2015 of capable intelligence officials and security forces personnel including senior armed forces officers and relaxing of security measures in the North, East and the South put in place post LTTE era by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government. This matter was reiterated by President Maithreepala Sirisena and former Army Commander / Government MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka following the attacks on Sunday.

A point to note was the very casual speech made by Ranil Wikramasinghe the PM of Sri Lanka in parliament at a special gathering of parliamentarians following the Easter Sunday carnage. Instead of speaking from his heart to the people of Sri Lanka who depend on its government for security, prosperity and peace his speech robotically constituted of passing the buck and was based around an international involvement by the NTJ and the need to obtain assistance from the West. His continued insistence of obtaining international intervention to solve this terrorist issue has been a controversial topic with a majority of politicians, religious leaders of all religions and the nation believing that Sri Lanka has sufficient knowledge and a dedicated force to deal with this terror.

Contrarily the speeches made by the Deputy Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and Opposition Leader former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was touching and emotional with both accepting responsibility as politicians of the country for the terror attacks, which they both categorically stated - could have been prevented. One could feel the sincerity and pain they shared with the families killed and wounded in the terror attacks, which was clearly the need of the hour and not an analysis to sneak away from accepting responsibility, which in fact was a failed attempt to prove these attacks were not avoidable because of its suspected international connections and need for international intervention by the Prime Minister.

At this point it is paramount that we understand who or what IS is who are suspected of having hand or is directing these terror attacks or is involved in any other form with the home grown NTJ as claimed by the Wikramasinghe Government. IS or Islamic state is also known as ISIS (Islamic State Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State Iraq and Levant) is accused of been formed and being controlled by the USA and MOSAAD. Coincidentally ISIS also stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service.

IS is suspected to have been funded and created by the US and Israel. When US wishes to move to a country for economic or political gain, we have seen IS commencing terror operations in those countries to pave a path for US intervention. We have seen this happen in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and now probably Turkey as well. With failed attempts to establish an extremists government in Syria due to Russia backing the Syrian Government it could be possible that IS under the possible direction of vested interests targeted Sri Lanka, which has been militarily weakened by the Wikramasinghe Government since 2015.

Sri Lanka is a strategic location for the Road and Belt initiative. The West specially the US sees the growing Economic co-operation between China and Sri Lanka as a huge advantage to the Road and Belt Initiative and a threat to the master plan of the US. Further the possibility of Petroleum in the Mannar basin and the possible deposits of natural minerals in the sea basins of Sri Lanka coupled with the strategic positions of the main ports around the Island makes it vital for the US that China is halted in any further investments or partnerships in the economic and infrastructure development of Sri Lanka,

The high level of corruptions and state frauds which have been prominent since 2015, the lowest ever GDP in the country resulting in severe economic hardships, a divided government, betrayal and weakening of the Military machine and mistrust among communities is thought to bring a change in Government and leadership in the next election and when this change happens China and Russia along with India is geared to gain most.

In this context, the Wikramasinghe Government should be aware that as claimed by them if any IS connections are proven it could backfire on the ruling United National Party as this will justify the claims by the opposition and intellectuals that Wikramasinghe who is known to be West savvy, is a party to a possible coup plotted by the US, which includes

Pressuring its western allies to show the need to penetrate Sri Lanka to stop an international terror network. Convince American tax payers of the need to have US boots on ground level in Sri Lanka Silence any UN debates and bypass any UN approvals. Fulfill the strategic need to have a US base in SL.

We have already seen international agencies arriving within a few hours on the grouse of helping the Island Nation. As indicated before, Sri Lankas security was weakened by the Wikramasinghe government including visa on arrival for over 40 countries making Sri Lanka easily accessible to all and sundry including terrorists. It is learnt that among those who have entered under the Visa on arrival status are trainers from Arabic countries, Syria, Turkey and Pakistan as teachers.

Any possible US and Western help would ultimately result in the control of elections and appointment of leaders who would support the US led new world order masters. For the Western savvy Wikramasinghe who is now being pressured to step down as party leader by his own party members, outside support to change the inevitable at this stage could be seen as a blessing in disguise. It is also strange that USA has granted USD 480M to the Wikramasinghe Government within 48 hours of the tragedy.

As investigations continue, it is now clear that the Easter Sunday debacle was totally avoidable had the government and its leaders paid more attention to the country needs than bickering among themselves to retain power in the parliament and continue governing the country with the help of Tamil, Muslim and certain Sinhalese political parties (JVP)., which by 2017 was already battered with economic woes and massive financial frauds.

The witch hunt of intelligence officials and forces personnel and top officers including the Brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa  Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the defense secretary up to 2014 and relaxing of strategic security measures by the Wikramasignhe Government inspired by a hand full of his political allies is widely thought to be for the purpose of pleasing the minority Tamil and Muslim politicians in anticipation of the Tamil and Muslim votes in Sri Lanka and to carry favor with the western countries and UNHRC under the guise of up holding democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. In order to justify this statement lets journey back to post 2005  the start of the end of the 30 year old war against the LTTE terrorists and separatism in the country.

Between the years of 2001 and 2004, Sri Lanka had a joint party government with Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga as its Executive President and Ranil Wikramasingha led United National Party holding cabinet positions. We see similarities in the actions of the Wikramasinghe government in which a peace accord was signed between the LTTE and the Wikramasainghe government under the mediation of the West and weakening of the military machine in Sri Lanka. This led to a collapse in moral and betrayal of the security forces and a majority of citizens showing displeasure. This peace accord led to not just weakening of the security machine in the country but provided a window for the LTTE to strengthen themselves and expand their network locally and Internationally.

Chandrika Kumaranatunga subsequently realizing the precarious situation the country had been dragged into with Wikramasinghe as its PM, dissolved the Government which led to Rajapaksa becoming the fifth Executive President of the country. This same course of action was followed by current President, Maithreepala Sirisena in October 2018 wherein he took the bold but failed decision of sacking Wikramasinghe as the PM in the volatile joint government and has been openly critical of Wikramasinghes management of the economy and security of the country. Ironically Kumaranatunga played a major role in bringing Wikramasinghe back into power in 2015.

High ranking officers of the armed forces (now retired) I spoke to, said that the moral of the forces and police by 2005 was at its lowest. The LTTE given 3 years of battle free breathing pace had strengthened themselves and the LTTE leader even stated that the LTTE is so strong that they could take Colombo the capital city in a battle if needed.

When Rajapaksa took over in 2005 the moral of the armed forces and police was at its lowest point with forces personnel willing to sacrifice their lives during a LTTE attack instead of fighting or firing back, knowing well that they would be strongly reprimanded by if they retaliated with the peace accord in effect. One wonders if the witch hunt of the armed forces commenced by the Wikramasinghe government in 2015 led to the lethargy and doubt among the defense mechanism in the country to take the required counter measures that could have prevented the Easter Sunday carnage.

One of the first and crucial steps taken by President Rakapaksa and his brother Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was to change the security culture in existence prior to making any battle plans against the LTTE. A nationwide national culture was created where the Soldier and policeman became a proud guardian of the nation and the entire nation started to support and stood behind the armed forces. The sentiments were so strong that the armed forces and police became the Nations Pride.

The nation which felt the genuine determination of the Rajapaksa government to eradicate the LTTE, understood that National Security is the responsibility of the entire nation and the entire nation went to war against the LTTE following the Mavilaru incident. The ruthless and Internationally spread LTTE was defeated in 2009, because the Government and the entire nation took over the wellbeing of the forces and their families. This national culture was kept alive by the Rajapaksa government until 2015.

The defeating of the LTTE terrorists which had led havoc and chaos in Sri Lanka for over 25 years was no cake walk. It took the toll of over 30,000 Sri Lankan lives and the capability, unbreakable spirit and will of the 3 forces and the police wholeheartedly supported by the entire Nation under the defiant and unshakable leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the commanders and senior officers of the 3 forces and police backed by a number of intelligence unit second to none who gave their lives and limbs to completely rid the country from the LTTE and bring secured peace to the Island nation.

While the country rejoiced and was given a new lease of life of  hope and prosperity in 2009, I was among the many along with the then Rajapaksa Government and security forces that understood  we only defeated a ruthless terrorist organization, the threat of terrorism remains unless precautions and steps are taken to curtail such possible terrorist activity from commencing or gaining momentum once again.

Following the complete eradication of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government and security forces put in place an unseen security blanket covering the entire Island and its citizens. Islamic fundamentalists were monitored and as a result there was no room for extreme fundamentalism to escalate. Cyber security systems were put in place and were carefully monitored by Intelligence units. Ethnic Muslim enclaves in the coastal belt was monitored. The Rajapaksa government and the security forces, police and intelligence units were aware of the extent fundamentalists are brain washed in giving up their lives for heavenly pleasures.

Unfortunately many, including the present government did not care or were not capable to understand or realize that the war we won, was against a terrorist organization known as the LTTE and not against terrorism. Had the Wikramasinghe government taken a cue from Singapore who have the regions largest defense budget despite known as the most secured and lawful country for the past 30 years in S/E Asia, they would have understood the imperative need to have an unseen and un-noticed, strategic security blanket in place in all parts of the country during peaceful times in order to ensure secured peace to its people and visitors. it is no secret that terrorists strike when one is at its weakest and when least expected.

It is very unfortunate and sad that these officers who monitored these extremists which enabled the Rajapksa government to keep these fundamentalists in check have been taken in to custody by the Wikramasinghe government under the guise of upholding democracy and more importantly to please the Tamil and Muslim politicians allied with the Wikramasinghe government, the West and the UNHRC. It is now obvious that the result of these actions and the bickering and the split government which has weakened the government machinery and the intentional weakening of the Military caused the death and suffering of the helpless and innocent on Easter Sunday.

The country can breathe a sigh of relief that President Maithreepala Sirisena has now declared emergency rule giving powers to the armed forces and police. The appointment of a proven and battle hardened General Shantha Kottegoda as the Defense Secretary a relief to a nation that is still in shock and yet unsure about their safety. President Sirisena, the new Defense Secretary have to now take direct and take action to eradicate these Islamic fundamentalists speedily if the shocked nation is to get back to normalcy.

Regardless of position or power all known persons who have in any form supported extremists and fundamentalists need to be taken to task. As long as persons holding position and power in the Government known to have supported or had affiliations with these extremists are at large due to political gain, the Nation will remain skeptical. This has been reiterated by religious leaders and politicians over and over.

There is no doubt the newly appointed and capable defense secretary General Shantha Kottegoda along with the experienced and battle hardened armed forces and police can eradicate these fundamentalists and extremists speedily provided there is no political intervention and interference in them discharging their duties. It is also to be seen how President Sirisena will curtail and limit the developing involvement and meddling in this matter by the West, specially the USA in the coming weeks.

It will be also interesting to see if the Wikramasinghe government will democratically join other political parties to uphold the democratic right of the nation by facilitating pending and forthcoming elections. The Election Commissioner has categorically stated the terror attack on Easter Sunday or terrorism in Sri Lanka is no excuse to delay any elections being conducted.

The Nation hopes and prays that President Sirisena will call upon all political parties to unite under one intention of eradicating the Islamic extremists and fundamentalists and fundamental ideologies with limited intervention and with NO interference by the US and the West.

The writer is former Director at Maharajas and former Director/CEO at EAP networks)
The need to identify the enemy within View(s):

April 21, Easter Sunday 2019: Some Christians dressed in their Sundays best and yet some others trying to enjoy their late breakfast in hotels didnt live to tell the tale of what they saw and experienced. The video footage of the mass murderers only showed how cruel and inhuman they could be. No amount of reasoning can convince any human being what could motivate a man to resort to terror of that nature.

The trail of terror

Much is being said about how the threat developed and who is responsible. However, to understand the threat, it is important to track the trail of terror and the pattern. This is how the story unfolds.

May 26, 1996: Wahhabis attack a meditation centre of the Tarikatul Mufliheen (TM) in Kattankudy.

October 31, 2004: About 500 Wahhabis, organised as Jihadis, set ablaze the meditation centre again. One Sufi follower is killed and business premises are attacked. Police arrest eight suspects, but release them later. No charges are framed.

Dec 01, 2006: Wahhabis forcibly exhume the body of Sufi leader Rah.

Dec 06, 2006: Wahhabi Thowheed network clerics and supporters incite Jihadis armed with weapons to go on the rampage in Kattankudy.

Dec 13, 2006: Kattankudy Urban Council (UC), with the persuasion and backing of Wahhabis, tries to dismantle the meditation centre. Three rioters are killed, a police post and vehicle were damaged. Note the involvement of UC is clearly seen. Possibly, the UC was Wahhabi dominated.

Dec 17, 2006: More than 100 houses of Sufism followers destroyed by fire; Wahhabis are the suspects.

2007: A stream of overseas Muslim preachers and activists visit Kattankudy.

2008  A Sufi festival is prevented by Kattankudy Wahhabis.

2009: Unconfirmed reports state that Muslim homeguards desert with their weapons and join the Thowheed movement.

Feb 2009: The threat spreads with the Wahhabis destroying a mosque at Ukuwela in the Central Province.

May 2009: A mosque is attacked in Thihariya.

July 2009: Two people are killed and 40 injured in Kattankudy, when clashes erupt between Sufis and Wahhabis.

July 2009: A Sufi cleric is killed at Valachchenai in the Eastern Province.

The trail of terror actually, is too long to document, as such, the more recent ones are not being documented.

The phenomenon of fundamentalism and Islamic terror has been there for some time now. With what is known to an ordinary civilian, the politics of religion and the pattern of terror distinctly bring out four important factors:

Division within the Muslim community; polarisation into Orthodox/Sufi and Wahhabis

Evolution and growth of terror

A threat not confined to any particular area in the country

A new leaf and stage in the cycle of terror has just been unleashed

Religion, Ideology and Fundamentalism

The initial reaction to the terror attacks was that they were perpetrated by the ISIS. This was the belief of many, including those at the highest level, as the ISIS was the easiest to think of. So the ISIS is here. Partially true. Although some say the ISIS claimed responsibility and Zaharan the alleged lead suicide bomber was an ISIS member.

My questions are, whether he was actually a trained ISIS member who engaged in combat? Why did he not live to carry on with the legacy? If he was a suicide bomber, whether he actually fits the profile of an ISIS leader? Because, this is normally not their style. I have read in places that he is an ISIS member. At this point, I tend to think that he is a strong supporter, but not actually a hero with combat training and experience. More than the immediate ISIS threat, I further the argument that the larger issue seems to be the threat of Wahhabi ideology or Salafism. This is what has motivated men and women in Sri Lanka to resort to such extremism; of course, with links and support from ISIS, and other terror groups. I will not discuss the origin of Islamic terror. This is history and long gone.

Any religion or belief is extremely difficult to define or explain easily, be it Buddhism, Islam or Christianity.

In the early seventies, many Sri Lankan Muslims, mainly Sufi followers, left for Saudi Arabia for employment or studies. Mostly, they were youths from modest and simple backgrounds. Thus, with their stay, exposure, education and return, the concept of Wahhabism which originated in Saudi Arabia started to gain recognition. The Wahhabis main movement in Sri Lanka, thus, originated as Thowheed or Monotheism and took root in the East. Gradually, the Wahhabis began to consider the Sufis as Kafirs or disbelievers. Some of the aggressive Wahhabi or Salafism sentiments could be summarised as:

Revive Islam worldwide

Reestablish the past Muslim glory

Restore authentic Islam

Advocate a strategy of violent jihad for Islam

Defeat of Western powers that prevent the establishment of an Islamic State

Expand dar-al-Islam (house of Islam)

Living within a just political social order

Sanction fatwa against infidels

Attack the land of infidels

Therefore, the new order of terror based on the former will evolve throughout the world without being confined to the Middle East or West

Give a new explanation and definition to terrorism

Have wide use of social media providing remote but easy accessibility

Include physically alienated youth (by religion)

Comprise fanatics looking to be martyrs

Kill without distinction

Rely on group dynamics like kinship, friendship, worship and discipleship

Want to succeed and be flexible

Baring the octopus

The octopus is a soft bodied species. It has eight limbs and is so venomous that it can kill many human beings. So the threat of Wahhabism, Salafism, Jihadism or whatever you name it, is identical to the features of the octopus. So many measures to control the threat have been brought out by the military, the police, politicians, civilians and journalists. Perhaps, in depth analysis and the situation being addressed rationally is lacking.

The active and passive measures being adopted at present, both by the ground forces and intelligence will not be discussed. However, some counter terrorism features currently being practised in the world are being highlighted.

Eliminate hubs: As we experience now, we are aware that there are little hubs spread all over the country. Although few areas were identified, the hubs are sure to have spread though silent at present. Monitoring telecommunications with modern equipment, analysing tower records, cyber security with flagging ability and surveillance become important in breaking down networks. Since it is not practical for this activity in all areas, vulnerable areas need to be prioritised. These measures breakdown hubs, restrict travel and activity, prevent storage of contraband. Once hubs are neutralised, satellites die a natural death.

Delegitimisation and regulation: This is applicable to organisations, banking systems (already there are about 26 Islamic banks) charities and cultural organisations, dress codes, teaching methods and practices. This prevents recruitment, denies sanctuary and training, while restricting indoctrination.

Intensive penetration: Focusing on friends and relatives of identified Jihadis. This will also identify those who are sympathisers, who normally do funding and propaganda. This could be done with the help of Sufis who have suffered at the hands of the Salafis.

Systematic approach: A scientific, coordinated and centrally controlled mechanism has to be well documented as is done in more advanced countries. Unlike the LTTE threat, the current threat is common to most countries and some are well experienced and competent in managing the threat. Ad hoc, piecemeal, disjointed political measures may be disastrous. Muslims: The first line of defence

We see that it was the most affected Sufis who provided information about the growing threat from the late nineties. Although they were not taken seriously for obvious reasons, they knew what they were talking about. There will not be anyone better than a Muslim who would be able to explain the dynamics of religion and terror, as the religious interpretation is so complex and diverse. So obviously, the first line of defence would be the Muslims themselves. Alienating them or branding them as terrorists will be a monumental mistake by the Sinhalese community. This would be a case of not learning from history. 1983 and beyond is the standing example. We will create the time and space for a hot breeding ground to a fast growing threat.

International support: The need of the hour

During the last conflict, some of us know the support in general and intelligence in particular, both technical and human, that was shared by our international friends. On the front of global knowledge and information technology which is flooded online, is mostly shared by the international community, be they scholars, writers, analysts, journalists or any other.

Few Sri Lankans have shared any research material on these developments. I personally have only read what Dr Rohan Gunaratne has written in depth. Even today, world leaders are pledging their support to share whatever they have about the threat. On the economic front, it is on record that we will be losing 1.5 billion US dollars on tourism alone. However, those who know and love Sri Lanka are promoting the country even at this moment. So the sad lacuna, of international isolation with wrath and anger will only hurt us. So its time to reach out and win them over when they are with us. True, every country will have its own agenda, vis-a-vis others  that is reality, which we need to come to terms with.

Art and culture: Mightier than the gun

Art appeals to the emotions and senses of human beings. Thus, it is not only a strong weapon but a medium to effect change. Art is a variety and range of human activity that can spur the desired change. Although we do not use this medium in our day-to-day professional activity, we definitely use it to relax and reinvigorate. So there is room to see how this weapon can be used for positive engagement.

I saw on TV, Brother Charles talking about this aspect by mentioning the names of Mohideen Baig and Tony Hassan. This is very true, but the reverse has not been visible at all. Many are of the opinion that Sri Lankan Muslims are dull uninteresting people who are anti-social or less social. This is a myth.

Thus, there is the need to reverse this situation through proper use of art and culture. It is difficult but possible. The Muslims need to play a role in directing art and culture targeting the religiously and culturally alienated youth, who might be the suicide bomber of tomorrow. Post 9/11 United States has been able to do it with young men and women. Men and women who were inspired to work across cultures. Challenge the stereotype and broaden the knowledge of the other. Ali Abbasi, Ilhan Omar, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh are just a few to name. This is the clarion call for the youth to change the tide.

Conclusion

As much as the attitude and response of the Cardinal and the flock was commendable, the same was seen from the Muslim and the majority Buddhist community. The All Ceylon Jamaiyythul Ulama has taken a step in the right direction. The lesson to all religious leaders will be to, have the courage of conviction, to do what is right, be apolitical in approach and attitude. As the ISIS is losing its foothold in places such as Syria, more easy targets emerge in places such as Sri Lanka. Possibly the next level of terrorism could be cyber terror which we have no clue about but the terrorists are very savvy. The struggle continues.

(If I have hurt the feelings of any Muslim by erroneous facts or half-truths, it is much regretted. The purpose was not that.)

(The writer could be contacted on para.stormsat@gmail.com)
Hong Kong: HK embraces art and culture

Chief Executive Carrie Lam

It gives me great pleasure to join you tonight for the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival, one of Hong Kong's largest and most anticipated annual events, and certainly the most ambitious international showcase of arts and culture in our creative calendar.

Nothing underlines that more than the exhibition featuring the works of the late Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the highlights of this year's festival. As the first female Chief Executive of Hong Kong, I naturally admire Niki, one of the most significant female and feminist artists of the 20th Century. Opening here at the Exhibition Gallery alongside the festival itself, I am happy that the exhibition features nearly 100 works of art, including some of the artist's monumental Nanas sculptures - as famously flamboyant, original and utterly unforgettable as the artist herself.

The same might be said of the festival as a whole, which turns 27 this year. Despite its "May" title, it actually runs through the month of June, showcasing everything French from film and animation to theatre and music, including a spotlight on Hector Berlioz by the Paris Mozart Orchestra in honour of the 150th anniversary of the great French composer's death. There's the usual avant-garde French music, fashion and food in this edition, even an exhibition of French-inspired cheongsams. And speaking of fashionable food, Le French GourMay returns this year with an appetite and a thirst for the blessed bounty of the Loire Valley.

In all, more than 120 events will be staged by the talent and artistry of some 350 performers and artists under the theme of "Voyage". It will, I have no doubt, prove a remarkable, and remarkably creative journey, once again enabling the people of Hong Kong and our many tourists and visitors to experience and indulge in authentic French culture.

I'm equally grateful for Le French May's commitment to education and outreach. With the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Outreach & Arts Education Programme, the festival offers internships and apprenticeships, while presenting guided tours, workshops, master classes, public rehearsals and post-performance events. It will provide participants with an invaluable opportunity to see, hear and learn from world-class artists.

I should just add that my Government places a high priority on arts and culture as well, on creating here in Hong Kong an international cultural hub, a city that embraces art and culture, East and West, at every level, for every sector of our community. I would say we are getting there thanks to exciting recent developments, including the opening last May of Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage & Arts and the Xiqu Centre in January this year, as well as the continuing progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the face-lifting of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Thanks, too, to such major events as Le French May, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the International Film Festival, the World Cultures Festival and a great deal more.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival 2019 on May 4.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

Princess Mikasa wears a diamond kokoshnik-style tiara for a state banquet at the Imperial Palace in honor of President Lubke of the Federal Republic of Germany, November 1963; Princess Mikasa, who recently turned 95, wore the tiara this week at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
As the 2018-19 school year draws to a close, teachers and school administrators have begun the process of making sure the 2019-20 school year and beyond is focused on the goal of our children getting the best school experience possible through bargaining negotiations. These negotiations are commonly narrowly and inaccurately painted as budget discussions, and yes much of this is about money, but for our educators the prime focus is making sure we continue to have a valued voice in how our schools operate and how they perform.

While a number of administrative budget initiatives in past years have focused on increased technology, we strongly believe its the people in our schools and their impact on our students, who provide the most long-lasting benefit for our community. There is no technology, whether it be new software, computers or iPads which can replace the invaluable relationship our educators have with our children.

Utica Community Schools (UCS) teachers have personally given back to the administration more than should ever be expected of the professionals who have such a direct relationship to a childs education. We have sacrificed $39 million in earned pay ($45 million when furlough days are counted), lending itself to a district reputation discouraging young talented teachers from working here and leading to a situation where veteran teachers are retiring early and moving to neighboring schools or starting second careers. As the President of Michigans second largest teachers union, representing over 1,400 professionals, I can tell you first-hand that this environment is not good for our schools and community.

We are working hard on proposing measures which are student-focused such as smaller classes, making sure state mandated professional development hours are relevant to all educators from music and gym to calculus, an action plan which supports students who teachers identify as severely dysregulated and language assuring we have enough educators for our children with physical and special needs. UCS is drastically understaffed with only 13.5 social workers and six school psychologists available to meet the needs of 27,000 students. We are also adamant that our children are able to read by the third grade, as mandated by the state, and have proposed a detailed plan which supports parents and families in meeting this important goal.

We are ever optimistic and sincerely hope that the UCS administration and the community we serve, agrees with our student-focused bargaining agenda.

Liza Parkinson is President of the Utica Education Association.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High -7C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early followed by periods of snow showers late. Low -13C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%.
Sir,



This letter serves as a notification to all who call themselves Christians yet they are self-seeking of the things of this world. They have befriended the world. The Word of God says; Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy them; for the temple of God is holy. Which temple are you?



Let me assure my brothers and sisters in Christ that this is not an attack to any of you nor do I judge you. However, walk in holiness, keeping the temple pure. May the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord.



Distance



A true Christian would at all cost distance himself/herself from body embellishments and beautification, for whosoever does these things is building another image of himself/herself. The worldly attachments in the form of gold, make-up, artificial hair and nail polish create a door for the demons to have a legal right to your life. Jesus does not recognise them. People, especially women, dress in fashion clothes, while adorned with all vanity; jewellery, artificial hair and nail polish.



Difference



What is the difference between the people who frequent clubs and bars and those who beautify their bodies? This is the state of people in Gods Church today. You cannot tell the difference from those who are in the world (clubs and fashion shows) and the ones saved by the Blood of Jesus.

They call themselves Christians but they have sealed themselves with heathens and pagan accessories, doing the will of the devil which was done by Jezebel.

Women should wear natural hair, not any artificial long hair.

Embellishment of the body corrupts the heart and exalts the flesh. You become lifted up because of thy beauty. Every hairstyle takes away the symbol of God. The Lord says from a bad source fresh water does not flow. Friendship with the world is an enmity with God. The Lord wants us to be different from the world.



Lastly, the devil has so far succeeded in using these types of attachment, embellishment and adornment in order to outsmart and win the souls of the believer to hell. Leaders of churches have ignored these attachments and defilements in churches. They have peddled the Word of God for money. They have destroyed households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. It is time we please God and Him alone, not flesh and not the people we live with.



Take heed that you do not pave a way that leads to death. The Lord God spoke about the consequences of disobedient children who wear make-up, who paint their hair, who put on jewellery, their dress-code, the way they walk once these adornments have been attached to them and so forth.

He pointed out their rewards in the next life. The Holy Bible says the lost will be like the sands of the sea. Brothers and sisters please work out your salvation while there is still time and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.



Ndoda Nkambule
MANZINI  Once again, Manzini was painted red as organisations fighting for democracy held another peaceful march to table seven demands to Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini.



The march was organised by Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), which is an umbrella organisation for associations fighting for democracy in the country and it was attended by about 1 000 people.



Among their demands, the organisations demanded multi-party elections in 2023, arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today and creation of at least 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years.



They also demanded land legislation and policy reform to give full ownership over land to emaSwati so as to stop the rampant evictions of people in communities and in farms. Again, they called upon the PM to ensure that there was free secondary and high school education by 2020 and that all deserving students in tertiary institutions of learning were given study loans.



Furthermore, they said even though they applauded the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act of 2018, gender inequalities remained a matter of concern in society. On that note, they demanded increased protection and support for women and the girl child guaranteed by relevant legal tools.



They also called upon government to ensure that textile workers and security guards were accorded safe and conducive working conditions and competitive salaries so that they could lead dignified lives.

Regarding the demand for multi-party elections, the organisations said they wanted a government that would be elected by them, responsive to their needs and accountable to only the people.



Tinkhundla



They argued that they had observed that the Tinkhundla system of governance was not a government for the people of Eswatini.

Their argument was that as it were, it would be striving to take into consideration the needs of the general people of Eswatini above anything and everything else.



What we have witnessed on a daily basis even now during your tenure always confirms that the government is only for a special type of emaSwati, the organisations said in the petition directed to the PM.



On another note, they said almost every election year, the nation lived in fear of being killed for ritual purposes by people who believed in such to be successful.

To begin with, they said this was a traditional belief that had been perpetuated to this far by the insufficiency of the countrys electoral system and the criteria by which people were appointed to positions of power.

It is saddening that while so many people have been killed over the years, the statistics are not matched by arrests. Some of these people are now supposedly in Parliament and live in our society. We therefore demand the arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today, reads part of the petition.



unemployment



Furthermore, they argued that the rate of unemployment in the country was shocking; at a staggering 42 per cent and at 55 per cent for the youth. They said this was because the government was allegedly failing to invest in job creation and to provide an enabling environment for investment. We therefore demand 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years, they said.



Again, the organisations said the poverty statistics of the country were to the effect that over 63 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. They said this was because the country had a high number of young people who derived support and guardianship and they formed the majority of the poor.
LOBAMBA  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants lifestyle audits for managers of the Public Works and Transport Ministry because they are filthy rich.



The Members of Parliament (MPs) said the officials had amassed wealth while government projects suffered due to underfunding.

Deputy Chairperson Musa Kunene was particularly not pleased with the rate of unfinished projects by companies that later filed for liquidation.



One such company, Khula Construction, was awarded a tender to construct the eBuhleni Police Station when it later filed for liquidation. This was after the contractor had already been given an advance payment of over E6.2 million.



The PAC said this could be a result of officials colluding with the contractor to cash in on the irregular payments.

I ask the Accountant General (AG) to do lifestyle audits of the managers at Public Works, because there is no way the country could lose such amounts of money without hope for recovery, he said.



Corruption



Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe said the matter had also been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission, which had since collected information from the ministry in their quest to get to the bottom of the matter.



He said Khula Construction was awarded a tender after all due processes were followed; including that it was approved by the Construction Industry experts.

He said when the company filed for provisional liquidation, government had taken steps to seize some assets on site, but then the exercise was futile when the liquidation became a legal exercise whereby all other creditors had to be taken into account.



When the PAC said the ministry was reckless when issuing advance payments to Khula, the PS said there had been bond payments made by the company to cushion government from the advance payment.

MP Stewart asked for previous references for Khula to show that it qualified for the tender.



It was easy for them to submit cars, equipment and get a bank loan just to qualify for the tender. We want to see projects that they built before being awarded tenders for the Lubombo, Big Bend and eBuhleni projects, MP Stewart said.

MP Roy Fanourakis said the Ministry had turned into a puppet show, especially after reports that over E20 million had been lost in fuel discrepancies.



taxpayers



You must get people who are seriously looking for work, not people who sleep on the job, while taxpayers money is lost.

MP Oneboy Zikalala said the Public Works Ministry was over-staffed will negligent people, who should be reduced because they were too many.

Kuyagangwa kulelitiko he sa- id meaning corruption was rife in the ministry.



Buthelezi said: Government has lost millions in the fuel scandal at CTA and there are officials who are millionaires in this ministry. They have double stories in their homes, which are built in just six months. Millions have become mere cents at the Works Ministry.



The PAC instructed the ministry to recover monies paid to the contractor, which has since filed for liquidation.
MANZINI  All eyes are on government, the Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini to be precise.



This comes after Education International (EI), through its Secretary General David Edwards, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, demanded that the authorities of Eswatini take all necessary measures to ensure that union leaders could fully exercise their trade union rights.



On that note, it demanded that the charges against the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Ernest Dlamini, be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



In the letter which was written by Edwards last Tuesday on behalf of EI, he said he did so to condemn the harassment of Mbongwa, who was the President of SNAT. The letter was directed to the PM and it was copied to the offices of Secretary to Cabinet, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Standards Department.



On that note, Edwards reminded the countrys authorities that SNAT was affiliated to EI.



Representing



He then explained that EI was a global union federation representing over 32 million teachers and education workers in more than 170 countries.

He said they had noted that the SNAT leader had been charged with professional misconduct for unauthorised absenteeism from his school on January 31, 2019. On that note, the global union federation said it had learnt that Dlamini was attending union activities in which SNAT on that date in question was preparing for a strike action over the cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA) for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.



The fact of the matter is that the head teacher of Mhubhe High School, who is Dlaminis direct supervisor, had authorised his absence so that he attends union duties that day, reads part of the EI letter to the PM.



Furthermore, Edwards said other alleged breaches by the SNAT president, of the Teaching Service Regulation concerned, referred to events from 2016 and 2017 that were processed and put to rest at that time.



On that note, he said EI deplores the victimisation of the SNAT president as yet another example of trade union persecution by the Government of Eswatini. He said the right to organise trade union activities, including meetings, was recognised under Eswatini and international laws.



Lawful



Section 14 (b) of the Constitution (2005) guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and Section 99(b) is of the Industrial Relations Act stipulates that trade unions have the right to plan and organise lawful activities, Edwards said in the letter.



Again, he said as the authorities of the country knows, Article 3 of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association states that trade unions should have the right to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes and that public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right.



On that regard, he said tactics to intimidate unionists from holding a legitimate trade union meeting constitute a serious violation of both national and international laws.

Therefore, he emphasised that as EI they invite the authorities of Eswatini to take all necessary measures to ensure that union officials could fully exercise their trade union rights. He added that as EI they request that the charges against the SNAT president be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



I thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, the EI secretary general said in the letter.

It is worth noting that the SNAT president is facing a total of 15 charges. This is because initially, he was asked to show cause why he should not be slapped with four charges but after responding in writing, 11 more counts were preferred against him. The charges are for absenteeism, failure or neglect or refusal to submit official school records for inspection and misconduct.

On another note, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said they had already reported the matter to ILO.

He added that there were other issues of union bashing which they would be taking to ILO soon. Some of the issues he mentioned include that of SNAT members Maxwell Zondiyinkhundla Myeni, Mcolisi Ngcamphalala and Njabulo Njefire Dlamini.

Chucked

Another one is that of Sibusiso Lushaba, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), who was chucked out by government when he was representing workers in salary talks.

Meanwhile, Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane said he wants to believe that if Mbongwa had been charged already, he would have his day in court and would present his case freely and a ruling would be made.

He said Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach were misplaced. However, he said the government of Eswatini was open to advice and not orders.

I want to believe that if Mbongwa Dlamini has been charged already he will have his day in court and will present his case freely and a ruling will be made. Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach are misplaced. The Government of Eswatini is open to advice and not orders.
MBASHENI  When a womans anger reaches boiling point... An allegedly abused mother let rip and scalded her abusive son with boiling water at Mbasheni, in the Nothern Hhohho Region.



Isabel Nxumalo had just boiled water to take a bath when she was suddenly compelled to instead, splash the water on her son, a 24-year-old pupil of Ntfonjeni High School on Saturday, April 27.



Nxumalo said her son, Simiso, commonly known as Mahlosana, had returned home from a local family gathering, and disturbed peace at the home, while making demands for food.



Recounting the events that led to the incident, Nxumalo said Mahlosana had initially left home for the Kings Birthday celebration at Buhleni on April 26 and had returned home inebriated.



He was carrying his favourite traditional brew, umcombotsi, stored in a two-litre container.



Inebriated



Due to the inebriated state, Mahlosana had retired to his room, which is outside the main house where the rest of his family  mother, sister, grandchildren sleep.

Then in the morning he went to a Ndwandwe homestead where there was a family event and spent the whole day, only to return home allegedly drunk at about 8pm, raising hell for his family.



He is said to have first insisted on sitting on the couch yet he was too dirty, to the extent that he was greased with meat fat on his clothes. However, his elder brother is said to have taken him out of the house.

He demanded food, as usual and we gave it to him, but he fed it to the dogs and demanded food again.



He then came back, banging the windows, demanding another plate of food, but we had none at the time, so I asked my daughter to make two eggs and porridge for him just to calm him down. I do not know what he did with that meal because he came back demanding more food, she alleged.

Insults

She said while demanding food again, her son had gone on his usual rant and hurled insults at her, calling her a harlot and witch.

He started banging the windows and caused a lot of commotion at the home, until his elder brother tried to contain him and pushed him away. However, he was relentless as he continued insulting me and wanted to force entry into the house. Since on previous occasions, he had carried a knife and threatened to stab me, I feared the worst.

Dangerous

She said she had tried to ascertain what her son was carrying that would be dangerous to the family but it was too dark for her to see anything.

When he tried to push his way into the house, I lost control and grabbed a jug with the water I was about to bath with and poured it on him. From that time he ran into his house and stopped abusing us, she said.

Paramedics

Nxumalo said the following day she called paramedics and asked them to take her son to hospital.

The paramedics asked to speak to him over the phone, but he told them not to come because he did not want to go to hospital. The paramedics said they would not spend money on fuel for an uncertain emergency because it was clear that he did not want to go to hospital. My son then left the home for a popular drinking spot known as Kadandane, still in pain from the scald wounds.

She said she then called a member of the community police, Bheki Gwebu, and reported that she had scalded her son with water and he did not want to go to hospital.

She said it was Gwebu who called the Royal Eswatini Police Service, who responded promptly, picked him from the drinking spot and took him to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital.

Nxumalo said doctors had intended to admit him for the scald wounds but after he was bandaged, he sneaked out.

Nxumalo spots a cast on her left foot, and said she had sustained injuries during one of her sons abusive moments.

She said he had arrived home, demanding food and had started vandalising her cupboard, breaking its doors.

Breaking

I gave him his food, but he had insisted on taking meat from the plates of all the other childrens food, something that I objected to because his plate had meat too. He was breaking the cupboard until I tried to push him away. In the scuffle, I then kicked an iron bar and fractured two of my toes, she alleged.

Her daughter, Lomawa, confirmed that her brothers behaviour was unruly, though she said this did not warrant the discipline he eventually suffered.

I cannot say he deserved this, but I can attest to the abuse my mother and the rest of the family suffered in the hands of my brother. When he is not drunk, he is fine, but after taking alcohol he becomes unbearable and embarks on his insultive rants, while abusing us.

He is responsible for my mothers injuries, she said pointing at her mothers leg. He calls her with terrible insults and this pains us as a family.

She showed Swazi News several windows of her mothers house, which she alleged had been broken by Mahlosana, while demanding food.

This is not to say we starve him. He is just fond of breaking windows and abusing the family when he is drunk, she said.

Nxumalo said at one time she had taken her son to the Piggs Peak police and asked that they give him counselling to stop his abusive behaviour. Despite these efforts, she said he had not stopped his habit.

Chaotic

Meanwhile, Gwebu, the community police member, confirmed that Mahlosana had a chaotic behaviour in the community.

At one time he stole umcombotsi belonging to a drinking spot and had also stolen chickens from a certain homestead. His family has called me to assist on numerous occasions when he starts abusing them, he said.

Abused

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the mother had not been arrested by yesterday because police were still reviewing the merits of the case after learning that she was abused by the child.

We are, however, pursuing the matter and will advise accordingly as investigations are ongoing, she said.
By Trend

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.
More than two-thirds of high-net-worth individuals are keen on investing in cryptocurrencies over the next three years, according to a new global poll conducted among 700-plus respondents who are clients currently residing in the US, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany and South Africa.

Carried out by deVere Group, one of the worlds largest independent financial advisory organisations, the survey shows that 68 per cent of poll participants are now already invested in or will make investments in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, before the end of 2022.

High net worth is classified in this context as having more than 1 million ($1.3 million or equivalent) in investable assets.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, said: "The research shows that wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies."

"There is growing, universal acceptance that cryptocurrencies are the future of money  and the future is now. High net worth individuals are not prepared to miss out on this and are rebalancing their investment portfolios towards these digital assets," he stated.

Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail. Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat, added Green.

Besides Fomo  the Fear Of Missing Out - Green believes there are five main drivers for high-net-worth individuals surging interest in cryptocurrencies.

"First, cryptocurrencies are borderless, making them perfectly suited to an ever globalised world of commerce, trade, and people. Second, they are digital, making them perfectly suited for the increasing digitalization of our world, which is often called the fourth industrial revolution," he explained.

"Also they provide solutions for real-life issues, including making international remittances more efficient, and help bank the worlds estimated two billion unbanked' population," stated Green.

Another reason is demographics are on the side of cryptocurrencies as younger people are more likely to embrace them than older generations.

"And finally, institutional investors are coming off the sidelines and moving into cryptocurrencies, bringing their institutional capital and institutional expertise to the crypto market," he added.

The deVere CEOs optimism comes as Bitcoin, the worlds dominant cryptocurrency, has registered a five-month high on Friday, reinforcing the view put forward by its recent upswing towards bullish territory.

Green recently told the media that he believes that Bitcoin will imminently test the crucial $6,000 price support, building confidence on the wider cryptocurrency market.

Once this confidence is in place, the sky is the limit for cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly accepted by both retail and institutional investors as the future of money, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai-based specialist international private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare has joined hands with Ukraine's Kozyavkin Medical Group to set up a new venture that will offer specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

The new company, Vivus Medical Rehabilitation Company, will bring The Kozyavkin Method - a specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) - to international markets across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

The investor syndicate led by TVM Capital Healthcare will be holding a majority share in the business for the start-up investment. The Kozyavkin Medical Group includes Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic in Truskavets (Ukraine).

The Kozyavkin Method was created by Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin more than 30 years ago in Ukraine and has received inclusion in the encyclopedic edition of child orthopaedics as one of the four most effective approaches to the rehabilitation of patients suffering from CP and other CNS disorders.

The treatment method is recognized by the European Medical Association (EMA); more than 70,000 patients have been treated at medical institutions in Ukraine, the UAE and Cyprus, including around 17,000 from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the US, remarked Prof Dr Volodymyr Kozyavkin, the general director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and Dr Helmut Schuehsler, CEO and Chairman of TVM Capital Healthcare in Truskavets, Ukraine.

Dr Schuehsler said: "As a healthcare private equity investor we are dedicated to making high-quality healthcare services more accessible to patients worldwide. Our portfolio company, Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center, has been cooperating with the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and is already successfully offering the method to patients in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

"With this joint venture, we plan to grow this method globally. We are very much looking forward to working with Professor Kozyavkin and his team to help more patients benefit from their immense medical and clinical expertise," he stated.

Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin, General Director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic (part of Kozyavkin Medical Group) said: "We are proud to have won an internationally renowned and experienced healthcare investor who is supporting our innovative method of treating patients with Cerebral Palsy."

"We are very much looking forward to cooperating with the team of TVM Capital Healthcare to make this method available for patients worldwide," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The U.S. has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China's government could force the company to give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei, the world's biggest maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, has denied the allegations.

The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the security of new 5G networks.

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China's Huawei.

The proposals reflected security concerns, with some wording that also appeared to be aimed at raising the bar for Chinese suppliers. The document said "security and risk assessment of vendors and network technologies" should be taken into account, as well as "the overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country," especially its "model of governance."

"Security and risk assessments of vendors and network technologies should take into account rule of law," it said.

U.S. officials have urged their allies to take into account the laws and legal system of a country where a 5G supplier is based, saying that China's lack of independent judiciary means companies have no legal options if they don't want to comply with Beijing's orders.

The European Commission has also recommended that EU countries factor in the legal systems of the countries where 5G suppliers are headquartered.

At the meeting in Prague, the cybersecurity officials came mainly from countries that are strategic allies, including European Union member states, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies including Australia, Japan and Korea and Singapore. NATO and European Union officials also participated but China and Russia were not present.

Europe has become a key battleground in the war over whether to ban Huawei, with countries gearing up to deploy the new networks, starting with the auction of radio frequencies this year.


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New Year's Eve still on in Times Square, but with smaller crowd
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 04, 2019 | 08:52 AM | CAPE GIRARDEAU

Persistent flood conditions on the Mississippi River show no signs of abating, as the river is expected to approach record levels at Cape Girardeau this week.The upper Mississippi is already at near-record levels, anywhere from seven feet above flood stage at St. Louis to 12 feet above flood stage in Iowa. On Thursday, a historic record high water mark was set at the Quad Cities.All of that water will make its way through southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and western Kentucky by midweek and push the river gauge at Cape Girardeau to more than 45 feet. Flood stage at Cape is 32 feet.Cape's record high flood level is 48.86 feet, set in January of 2016. This week's crest is anticipated to be the 8th-highest ever for the city.Downstream at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Cairo is experiencing moderate flooding with slowly falling levels on the Ohio at 48.1 feet. The surge on the Mississippi is expected to hold back Ohio waters enough to raise Cairo's gauge to 51.5 feet by Thursday. This is not close to Cairo's record level of 61.7 feet in May of 2011.The rest of the lower Ohio could see minor flooding resume this week. At Paducah's riverfront, levels will rise from 36.8 feet as of Saturday, to 40 feet this Wednesday through next weekend. Flood stage at Paducah is 39 feet.Smithland will see a similar rise from 35 to 39 feet.

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By Rep. Chris Freeland

May. 03, 2019 | BENTON, KY

By Rep. Chris Freeland May. 03, 2019 | 06:13 PM | BENTON, KY

Education Bills Approved During 2019 Session - By Representative Chris Freeland



With the school year coming to an end in just a few short weeks, I know many of you are looking forward to graduation celebrations, field days, spring recitals and the promise of summer vacation. This is a fun and hectic time of the year for those of us with school-age children. For many of our educators, the end of this school year means planning for the next. I would like to take a moment and discuss some of the important education initiatives that we passed this session.



Without a doubt the most important bill we passed this session is the School Safety and Resiliency Act, SB 1. This measure came out of the work done by the School Safety Working Group. This group traveled across the Commonwealth and met with stakeholders in law enforcement, education, and the mental health field to come up with a comprehensive school safety policy. We took what we learned from these meetings and took action to combat increasing school violence, an effort driven by the tragic shooting at Marshall County High School last year. The measure is aimed at strengthening both our schools and our children. Not only does it call for steps to harden the target and make our facilities harder to breach, but the bill also focuses on building stronger school communities in an effort to reach troubled children with services. This measure establishes a state goal of providing more School Resource Officers and school counselors.



The School Safety Act is the first step in our commitment to protecting our children and we will look at funding the measure in the budget we pass next session. We have many partners in this work, and I am pleased to see that the Kentucky School Boards Association has wasted no time. The KSBA reached out to its members just last week with a survey asking them to detail their facility needs and anticipated costs associated with SB 1 standards. The survey responses are expected back by September 1, giving us time to include them in the budget process next session.



Another important education initiative we tackled was expanding resources available to Family Resource and Youth Service Centers (FRYSCs). These centers, in schools across the state, offer important programs and services to meet the needs of the population being served, available resources, location and other local characteristics. FRYSCs have established a record of success based on improved student performance in class work, homework and peer relations as reported by teachers. HB 21 allows them to accept private donations to provide resources for children in need. This measure comes on the heels of an increase in FRYSC funding that the legislature prioritized in last years budget. This will mean more students are able to benefit from the educational resources that FRYSCs offer.



Kentucky high school graduates may choose to pursue a post-secondary degree, job training, or a military career. No matter the path that students chose to go down, the General Assembly is working to ensure that they have all the resources necessary to be successful. A bill we passed that would help those interested in a military career. The bill, HB 250, requires schools to provide students in grades 10-12 the opportunity to take the ASVAB test annually, offer counseling based on the ASVAB test results, and excuse meetings with a military recruiter. Many students are excused from school to visit and register for college, and this bill simply gives the same allowances to students pursuing a military career after graduation.



We also prioritized opportunities to aid in a students pursuit of workforce training upon graduation. One of those bills, HB 61, was aimed at improving access to educational opportunities that lead straight into the workforce. HB 61 would allow Kentucky students to apply earned KEES scholarship money toward a qualifying apprenticeship or qualified workforce training program that are in a high demand work sector. This bill will ensure high school students have the opportunity to use earned scholarship money to pay for workforce training. This will ensure a greater accessibility to these programs, and will aid in our statewide effort to recruit more workers to these in demand fields.



Another bill geared toward access to work force training and education was SB 98. SB 98 establishes the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. The program ensures that Kentuckians have affordable access to an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or associate of applied science degree. The scholarship is available to eligible dual credit high school students or eligible workforce students who have not earned an associate's degree. This bill again prioritizes the varying needs of students, and the needs of a growing workforce in Kentucky.



We also approved HB 46, which makes Kentucky the 20th state to require public elementary and secondary schools to display the national motto In God We Trust in a prominent location. The motto can be displayed in the form of student artwork or through other affordable means. I supported this measure because I agree with the positive message and patriotic display of our nations national motto.



Before finishing, I want to share that we expect the Governor will call the legislature into special session in the next few days. You may remember that he rejected an agreement that provided financial relief for quasigovernmental agencies  including local health departments, mental health agencies, and rape crisis centers  and our regional universities participating in the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Last week he provided members with a copy of his proposal to replace this agreement. I am reviewing it, as well as reaching out to both the organizations and the employees impacted by this issue and will give it careful consideration. Timing is extremely important to this issue, as all of the regional universities and some of the quasigovernmental agencies have June 1 budget deadlines. However, we must make sure we provide the very best solution.



I will be including the pension and other issues we are working on in my next columns. In the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime, or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. If you would like more information, or to e-mail me, please visit the legislature's website www.legislature.ky.gov.



Chris Freeland is from Benton in Marshall County. He was elected in November to his first term in the Kentucky Legislature. Freeland serves on the following committees: Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation, Small Business & Information Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology.




MP urges residents to visit unmissable Penley Polish Hospital exhibition

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A local MP is urging local residents to visit the Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales exhibition at Wrexham Museum.

International events and local history come together to tell the story of Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales, which opened back in March.

Eighty years ago the Wehrmacht and the Red Army swept across the borders of Poland setting in motion a train of events that would lead to the establishment of three Polish hospitals in the Welsh countryside near Wrexham, in the village of Penley and the grounds of two country houses, Iscoyd Park and Llannerch Panna.

The hospitals were staffed by Polish medics and nurses whose job was to care for the thousands of Polish servicemen and service women displaced from their homes, battle worn and weary, and now living in post-war Britain.

The hospitals became the focal point of a Polish community whose story is told in this new exhibition.

Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said: This tells an important part of our Wrexham County Borough history. The exhibition is unmissable, and the artefacts and recordings are superb. Huge tributes should go to Wrexham Museum, Wrexham Council and all the volunteers who made this wonderful exhibition possible.

The story begins in World War Two when Polish Camps were established in our country by British and American service personnel.

Polish medics then ran hospitals that would care for our Polish allies and their families. Subsequent Soviet annexation of Poland meant that few could return home.

By 1956, the three North East Wales Polish hospitals combined in Penley and over the next half a century, more than 25,000 people were cared for at this excellent community hospital.

Today, this amazing legacy lives on in work of the Penley Rainbow Centre and the lives of many local residents. The links between our area and Poland are really deep.

The exhibition runs at Wrexham Museum until June 22nd 2019. Admission is free. Wrexham Museum is open Monday  Friday 10am. to 5pm. and Saturday 11am to 4pm. Courtyard Cafe is open 10am. to 4:30pm.
Publisher gives students tips on finding creative freedom in the magazine industry

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A publisher who creates a celebrated design, photography and culture magazine has spoken to students at the Regent Street campus about his work.

Les Jones, the creator of Elsie magazine, delivered a two-hour lecture in the morning and then facilitated an afternoon workshop with the students at the universitys Regent Street campus.

The vision behind Les individual magazine is creative freedom  the ability to explore creative themes without any outside influence or interference. This approach, which takes in design, photography, illustration and typography gives the magazine its unique, eclectic feel.

Elsie has been praised by actor Tom Hanks who wrote a letter about the magazine after a friend of Les sent him a copy which name-checked him.

Mr Hanks subscribed and said: Elsie is a gorgeous magazine. I am now all in favour of one-man (or one-woman) magazines, as they will make the world a little more lovely of a place.

In his lecture, Les explained how, while traditional magazine publishing may seem stuck in a series of conventions, the world of niche magazine publishing can open up all kinds of possibilities  and that having a big idea which inspires them and fires their creativity was key to developing students work if they wanted to publish their own magazines.

Speaking afterwards, he added: It was a pleasure to talk to and work with the students at Wrexham Glyndwr University  hopefully they took away some ideas and inspiration from the day. I wish them all the best as they come to the end of their final year.

His visit followed an invite to the university by lecturer Lisa Evans, who said: Im delighted Les was able to come along to inspire our students, particularly as we were only one of five UK universities he has chosen to visit.

The independent magazine sector is growing year on year, with dedicated shops beginning to pop up to cater for the growing appetite for these publications.

Independent publishing is a great way for our students to apply and develop their creativity and Id like to thank Les for his time, his inspiration  and his visit.

You can find out more about Elsie magazine here and Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology here.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 14:05:52|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on March 28, 2019 shows Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia , in his office in Canberra where he accepted interview with Xinhua before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA). "You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. (Xinhua/Pan Xiangyue)

by Bai Xu, Pan Xiangyue, Zhou Zihan

CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA).

"You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month.

"The opportunity to share ideas is always one in which you learn, and you'll say your ideas get better," he said.

GETTING CLOSER BY SHARING STORIES

NMA had its permanent home by Lake Burley Griffin in the center of the Australian capital Canberra in 2001. Trinca joined NMA as a senior curator in 2003, and became director of the museum in 2014.

He noted that NMA had strong connection with China. "Since the National Museum opened its doors here in 2001, we've been three times with major exhibitions to China: to Guangzhou with our first exhibition ever overseas in 2002, again in 2010 the National Art Museum of China, and now first to the National Museum of China and then other museums throughout China."

"There is no doubt that our relationship to China and to the Chinese people is one of the most important for the Australian people, indeed for the Australian nation," said Trinca. "So it's no surprise to me that the first place we went with an exhibition overseas was to China, and I think it signified something deep and enduring about our relationships."

NMA signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of China in 2011, where a 150-piece "Old Masters" art exhibition with Australian indigenous artists was launched last July.

As an exchange, an exhibition namely The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China opened in NMA on April 5. Consisting of more than 100 objects from China, including a rare 20-meter-long replica of the first scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour, it explores the grand historical sweep of Chinese art and calligraphy traditions.

"I think there's a deep truth in all human life that when we share our stories with others, we learn about ourselves in the act of sharing with others," said Trinca, adding that by exchanging exhibitions with the Chinese museums, he hoped that Australian people and the Chinese can learn about stories of each other.

"When two nations come together and their peoples come together, and they're prepared to exchange stories, they learn about each other," he said. "They develop relationships in ways that otherwise, I think would be impossible. And that's really what's going to hold us together as two nations whose history has been intertwined. And I think our future is going to be similarly linked."

DIFFERENT CULTURE, STRONG CONNECTION

Due to his tight schedule, Trinca is not able to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, but he attended an international forum of museum directors in China.

"You know, in Asia Pacific, the value of creative industries here in this region is greater than anywhere else," he said.

Talking about the cultural features in Australia, Trinca believed that the aboriginal culture was definitely an important part.

"This is a land of long human history reaching back 65,000 years," he said. "So many First Nations have lived on this continent for centuries, for millennia. That story is a big story, not just for Australians, but for the world."

At the same time, Australia is also known as a multicultural country with immigrants from across the world. "Over the course of the last 100 years or so, we've welcomed people from all around the world to these shores. Now we have more than two hundred languages spoken here in homes across the nation."

"It connects us to the global history in a way that the movement of people around the world have changed our lives over time, and from them the Australian gained very strong foundations of the modern society," he said.

China is the biggest single source of immigrants. "Chinese is the most spoken language in this country, apart from English," Trinca said. "More than 1.2 million Chinese people live in Australia at this point of time."

In spite of the difference of culture behind China and Australia, Trinca said that cultural connection between the two countries is close.

"(We now have) the third exchange in the space of 20 years," he said. "I can't think of that having been replicated with any other nation around the world. It's a sign of how strong the connections are between our two countries."

He is now thinking of something new "for where our relationship might go next". "Working together, to make a show together," he said. "It would be wonderful if we move into a new phase where we actually make an exhibition together that then travels the world."

Looking into the future, Trinca is optimistic. "Our future is going to be even brighter than our past."
"I was so nervous because it was my first film, but the script was so interesting and it was so much fun," said the TV heartthrob who was a member of defunct boy group ZE:A.

Park Hyung-sik shared his thoughts on finishing his first feature film at the media preview of "Juror 8" in Seoul on Thursday afternoon.

"The character is a very curious person who is determined to see things through until the end. He resembles me a lot, so I really wanted to do it."

Park is due to start his mandatory military service in military police on June 10.

"I don't have any special wish that somehow this should leave a lasting impression on viewers just because it will be my last project before the draft," he said. "But I hope people enjoy watching it and the warm message the film conveys makes them happy."

"Juror 8" is about eight ordinary people who are randomly selected for jury service in Korea's very first jury trial in 2008.

It will be released on May 15.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:22:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The 34th edition of the Singapore Book Fair (SBF) will return to the heart of Singapore's historic Civic District for the second consecutive year, according to a press conference held here Friday.

The annual fair, which is organized by Singapore Press Holdings'(SPH) Chinese Media Group, will run from May 31 to June 9 at Capitol Singapore with the theme "Encounters @ Reading City". It will be officially opened by Chan Chun Sing, minister for Trade and Industry, on June 1.

More than 30 publishers will be offering a selection of English and Chinese books, including established publishers, which have participated in SBF for many years, such as Union Book, Maha Yu Yi, Fables and the Linking Publishing Company.

Apart from books, the 10-day fair will offer a variety of programmes, including seminars, literary and heritage tours, workshops, movies and music performances.

One of the highlights of SBF 2019 is the writers' sharing sessions and forums, featuring a line-up of prominent authors and personalities who will be sharing about their writing and creative process.

A book exchange area has been set up for the public to bring their pre-loved books to exchange with others. Book donors can pen their reasons for recommending their pre-loved book so that there will be an exchange of thoughts and feelings with other book lovers.

On the basement level of Capitol Singapore will be a Kids Zone, which will feature storytelling sessions by National Library Board volunteers, children's art and craft workshops, coloring competitions and photo opportunities with beloved children's book character Geronimo Stilton.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:43:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MINSK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A second runway was opened on Friday at Minsk National Airport in the capital city of Belarus following three years of construction.

The construction was carried out by Belarusian construction companies without foreign funds, the Belarusian transport and communications ministry said.

The new runway is 3.7-km long and 60-meter wide, costing more than 188 million U.S. dollars.

The runway has been assigned the operational category 4F, which allows the airport to handle all types of aircraft without restrictions in adverse weather conditions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko and General Director of Minsk National Airport Dmitry Melikyan attended the official opening ceremony.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:08:39|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has granted amnesty to an unspecified number of inmates on occasion of coronation ceremonies, scheduled over the weekend.

A royal decree for the amnesty of inmates, issued on April 21 and declared in the Royal Gazette on Friday, was for the freed prisoners to behave themselves and return as good members of society.

Corrections Department Director General Narat Sawettanan announced on Friday that a number of inmates will be freed under the royal decree from 143 prisons nationwide.

The Department of Corrections will organize a ceremony for the freed inmates to express their allegiances to His Majesty the King upon their release from prisons, Narat said.

However, committees consisting of judges, public prosecutors and provincial governors are yet to take a 120-day time to decide which inmates will be pardoned and freed under the royal decree, Narat said.

Those who have been convicted on charges of perpetrating critical crimes such as human trafficking, drug dealing, murders and corruption will have less opportunity for freedom than others, according to the department chief.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:18:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WUHAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Police in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, dressed as delivery men, seized a parcel containing drugs, according to local authorities.

The police with the anti-drug team of the public security bureau of the Jiang'an District received a tip late April that someone had mailed a box of suspicious objects from south China's Yunnan Province to a residential community in the district.

The police combed through the piles of parcels and found one of them giving off an odd smell. The police, disguised as delivery men, then waited for the suspect to fetch the parcel.

The police caught the man who came to take the parcel and seized 3 kg of magu, a stimulant composed of methamphetamine and caffeine, from the boxes in the parcel.

An initial investigation showed that the suspect, surnamed Xia, is a local of Wuhan. He bought drugs from Yunnan and attempted to sell them to earn money. Further investigation is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:49:00|Editor: ZX

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Aerial view of unloading operation of the first crude oil shipment to Hengyi Industries'oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, May 3, 2019. After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries said on Friday. (Xinhua/Hengyi Industries)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, a senior Hengyi official said on Friday.

Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries that built the plant told Xinhua that with a total investment of some 3.45 billion U.S. dollars and a crude oil refining capacity of eight million tonnes per year, Hengyi's PMB project is expected to run into full operation in the third quarter of this year.

"Part of the crude oil needed for PMB project comes from Brunei's own oil production, while the rest will be imported from neighbouring oil producing countries," Chen said.

Haji Mat Suny, the country's minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry said in February that after full operation, the PMB project is expected to increase Brunei's GDP by 1.33 billion dollars in the first year and create more than 1,600 jobs.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings -- a wholly owned subsidiary under Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund -- owning 70 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Hengyi's investment into PMB is the largest foreign direct investment into Brunei from China so far, which is due to help the southeast Asian country to upgrade its industries, alleviate its dependency on oil export and also to boost economic and trade cooperation between Brunei and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 01:49:29|Editor: Li Xia

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A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 3, 2019. At least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua)

GAZA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic Hamas movement militants were killed on Friday evening in an Israeli army airstrike on a military training facility that belongs to the movement in central Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that Abdulla Abu Mallouh, 33 years old and Alla Boubali, 29 years old from al-Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that Israeli aircrafts struck a military training facility that belongs to Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades in central Gaza Strip, not far from the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said that the Israeli airstrike on the military training facility of Hamas was a response to an earlier gunfire attack on an Israeli army force, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The spokesman said that one Israeli soldier was moderately injured and was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment, adding that another female soldier was slightly injured in the shooting attack.

Meanwhile, at least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

At least 50 Palestinian demonstrators were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza Strip, including 10 children, two women, one journalist and three paramedics.

Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans and threw stones at the soldiers in several areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Field paramedics said that the soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators, adding that many of them were injuries and suffered suffocation after inhaling the Israeli tear gas.

Local media sources said that activists of the Great March of Return released several arson balloons from eastern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli media reports said that several demonstrators climbed on the fence of the border.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that an Israeli army tank fired at least three tank shells on eastern Gaza Strip targeting military facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement and no injuries reported.

The Israeli media reported that the tanks shelling on eastern Gaza Strip was an immediate response to opening fire by Palestinian gunmen at an Israeli army force stationed on the border, adding that one soldier was moderately injured.

The Highest Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege had earlier called on the populations of the Gaza Strip to join the weekly rallies and protests, which started in March 30 last year in eastern Gaza.

The commission said in a statement that the protests on Friday are against the United States' decision to consider the Syrian Golan Heights under Israel's sovereignty.

Gaza Health Ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests, the Israeli army shot dead 273 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others who were officially referred to the hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, two delegations representing Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad headed to Egypt for talks in Cairo with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on a possible calm with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Khader Habib, a senior Islamic Jihad leader had earlier told Xinhua that the visit of the two delegations to Cairo aimed at discussing the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the calm understandings with Israel.

The group's official accused Israel of not being committed to the understandings, mainly lifting an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Egypt and the United Nations have been mediating for several months a calm understanding between the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel trying to ease the hard living situation in the coastal enclave.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:04:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally, the Italian-American automaker reported on Friday.

FCA's Q1 net profit was 508 million euros, or 568 million U.S. dollars, with its worldwide combined shipments down 14 percent to 1,037,000 vehicles.

The slowdown in delivery was primarily due to "non-repeat of overlapping all-new and prior generation Jeep Wrangler production and planned realignment of commercial strategies in Europe," said the automaker.

The combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, including the successful negotiation of a labor agreement in Italy, continued implementation of cost-containment actions in all regions, and progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

They hope that the streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," said FCA.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:19:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Friday that more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced despite the military defeat of Islamic State (IS) militants since late 2017.

The remarks came in a statement by UNAMI after the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Hennis-Plasschaert visited Hassan Sham IDPs Camp and met with the camp's management and residents, who "explained the problems they face in their daily lives as well as the obstacles that prevent them from returning to their hometowns," the statement said.

She also met with Governor of Dohuk Farhad Atrushi to discuss the challenges that the provincial government is facing to continuously host large numbers of IDPs, many of whom are Yazidis, who fled their homes in Sinjar area, some 100 km west of Mosul, according to the statement.

It said that Yazidis are facing "a range of serious obstacles to their return to home such as an unstable security situation including clashes between armed groups and checkpoint harassment, damaged and contaminated houses, inadequate basic services, as well as discrimination."

"Obstacles are varied and often complex, painfully resulting in stalled returns on the ground," the statement quoted Hennis-Plasschaert as saying.

"The Yazidis have suffered immensely during the reign of Daesh, who committed untold atrocities in their attempt to annihilate the community," she said.

"I was shocked to see that now, nearly five years after the capture of Sinjar by Daesh and the area's subsequent liberation, many people are still living in tents, on the very mountain top they fled to at the onset of the terror campaign," she said.

She warned that continuing failure in removing obstacles of returning the IDPs to their homes creates the perfect breeding ground for a new wave of violence and instability, according to the statement.

To avoid the return of violence and instability, she called on the Iraqi federal government and the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to "consult with the local leadership in Sinjar and to establish stable governance and security structures without delay," it added.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:20:19|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows the United Nations General Assembly holding an event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said.

The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. And today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet, she warned.

The United Nations continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, said Mohammed.

She noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set in motion two initiatives. He has asked his special representative on genocide prevention to devise a plan of action to mobilize the UN system's response to tackling hate speech, and his high representative for the alliance of civilizations to explore how the world body can contribute in ensuring the safety of religious sites.

Mohammed expressed the United Nations' solidarity with the people and government of Sri Lanka and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:35:22|Editor: Li Xia

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by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States' decision to end waivers that allowed a handful of countries to buy oil from Iran is more likely to have geopolitical implications than to affect Italy's energy supply, analysts said.

The White House said on April 22 that special waivers given to Italy and seven other countries to continue to import oil from Iran without endangering their trade status with the United States would not be renewed after they expire this month.

The waivers were granted in the wake of the United States' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal last year.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said that the decision not to renew the waivers was "intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero".

According to information from the United States Department of State, Iran had earned around 50 billion U.S. dollars per year from oil sales before sanctions were put in place.

The energy impact on Italy will be limited, however, because Italy never used its waiver once the sanctions were put in place.

"Italy didn't want to take a risk, knowing the waivers would likely be removed at some point," Andrea Dessi, a researcher focusing on Middle Eastern issues with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), told Xinhua.

"Italy produces very little of its own energy and so it has to be careful what countries it buys from in order to maintain a reliable stream of energy."

Dessi said Italy imports oil from around two dozen countries, and that if the ending of the Iran waivers does not push worldwide petroleum prices higher the impact on Italy would be small.

But according to Alessandro Lanza, an economist at Rome's LUISS University, former chief economist with Italian energy giant Eni and principal administrator at the International Energy Agency, there are larger geopolitical issues at stake.

"I think a question here is the extent to which a major power like the United States should be able to tell another country, a fellow member of the Group of Seven like Italy, which countries it can and cannot buy energy from," Lanza said in an interview.

Dessi said that Iranian officials were likely disappointed that Italy did not use its waiver when it could, and that the country didn't stand up for Iran in the face of sanctions from the United States.

"Italy is well positioned in Iran and well thought of in the country," Dessi said. "Iranian officials have made official visits to Rome and the countries have made statements of support. But when it came to the sanctions, Italy didn't want to stick its neck out."

Lanza said one potential benefit from the developments could be the creation of new incentives for the domestic production of renewable energy like solar or wind power.

"Italy has the target of producing 20 percent or more of its energy from renewable sources by the end of next year," Lanza said. "Surpassing that should be a priority."
Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program. North Korea has not commented on the test.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyang's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

 Testing the Moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests. Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Kim has stated [the moratorium] only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official. "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

 Measured Escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down. Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:06:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday raised alarm over the impact of extreme weather events on the lives of children.

Such disasters should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders, UNICEF said in a press release.

"We are witnessing a worrisome trend," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF's executive director. "Cyclones, droughts and other extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity. As we have seen in Mozambique and elsewhere, poorer countries and communities are disproportionately affected. For children who are already vulnerable, the impact can be devastating."

More than 120,000 children were affected by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest storm Mozambique has ever recorded. At least 400 schools were damaged or destroyed, affecting over 40,000 schoolchildren. A cholera outbreak has been declared in the affected area of Cabo Delgado, said UNICEF.

The April 25 cyclone came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai pummeled the country, affecting 1 million children. Nearly two months on, close to 25,000 people continue to live in shelters, said the fund.

In Odisha, India, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani. Some 1 million people have already been evacuated in preparation for what has been described as India's strongest cyclone in more than 20 years, it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:16:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting in southern Tripoli, including airstrikes and rocket barrages, has taken a toll on civilians and structures alike, forcing more than 50,000 people to leave their homes, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"We continue to be concerned about the heavy fighting in southern Tripoli," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "There are reports of extensive use of airstrikes and rocket shelling causing more civilian casualties and destruction, and forcing thousands more civilians from their homes."

As fighting continues, the International Organization for Migration said more than 50,000 people have now been displaced, Dujarric said. Most are finding shelter with families or in other private arrangements, while 29 collective shelters are now in operation, housing an estimated 2,750 people.

Humanitarians are providing assistance at these collective shelters, and other areas of displacement as access is allowed, the spokesman said.

More than 3,400 refugees and migrants are estimated to be trapped in detention centers already exposed to, or in close proximity to, the fighting, he told a regular briefing.

The availability of food, water and healthcare has been severely restricted in the facilities for refugees and migrants, Dujarric said. Some 32,000 people impacted by the crisis have been able to receive some form of humanitarian assistance to date.

The secretary-general's special representative in Libya, Ghassan Salame, continues his outreach to representatives of different Libyan factions in an effort to de-escalate the situation, said the spokesman.

On Wednesday, Salame met with the president of the Government of National Accord's Presidency Council, Fayez Serraj, and with a group of elders, officials and tribal leaders from the western region of Libya, Dujarric said. Salame offered the United Nations' full support to help civilians affected by the fighting, including internally displaced people and host communities.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:21:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUDAPEST, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Hungary sees Turkey as a strategic ally and a friend, and appreciates the role Turkey plays in guaranteeing European security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told here Friday at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"Without adhering to the EU-Turkey agreement on halting migration, sizable migratory pressures should be expected from the South, this is why security in Europe today begins in Turkey," Szijjarto stressed.

The minister explained that 4.5 million migrants were being cared for in Turkey and were not allowed to move towards the EU.

"Hungary also appreciates Turkey's role in the international fight against terrorism," Szijjarto underlined, adding cooperation in the area needs to be strengthened.

The Hungarian chief of diplomacy concluded by saying that relations between the EU and Turkey needed to be built on mutual respect and honesty.

"Hungary is an important ally, a good friend and partner, and although political relations are great, economic cooperation is good, there is much place for improvement," Cavusoglu said, adding that bilateral trade volume between the two countries needed to be increased.

He also thanked Hungary for standing by Turkey on many international forums, and for supporting Turkey's EU accession.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:51:36|Editor: ZX

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A visitor tries traditional Chinese costume at a Huangshan tourism promotion event at World Trade Center in New York, the United States, on May 3, 2019. A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination. The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination.

Featuring photo displays, local opera performances and a Chinese tea ceremony show inside the Oculus, a transportation hub and shopping mall of the new WTC, the event made a comprehensive presentation of the scenery and cultural connotations of Mount Huangshan.

Located in east China's Anhui Province, the mountain range is famous for its magnificent scenery of granite peaks, rocks, pine trees, sunrise and sunset amid clouds.

Travel brochures and local style cookies were handed out to passers-by, who were also encouraged to try on traditional Han Chinese costumes and have a taste of this year's fresh tea from Anhui.

Mayor of Huangshan City Kong Xiaohong told the media that more than 2.62 million foreign tourists visited Mount Huangshan in 2018, and the number of U.S. tourists is growing steadily year by year.

As a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site, Mount Huangshan aims to attract more tourists worldwide, said the mayor, who came to New York to promote his hometown.

The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:01:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Side II, a sculpture made by British sculptor Antony Gormley in 2017, is seen on display on Delos island, Greece, May 3, 2019. An exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, kicked off on the Delos island recently. (Xinhua/Li Xiaopeng)

by Yu Shuaishuai, Li Xiaopeng

MYKONOS, Greece, May 3 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a modern art exhibition is being held on Greece's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, the Delos island, once a flourishing trading center in the middle of the Aegean Sea near Mykonos.

The site-specific exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, is presented by the Greek nonprofit organization NEON in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, a regional service under the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

This project, entitled SIGHT, exhibits 29 life-size iron body sculptures made by the artist during the last twenty years, including 5 specially commissioned new works, both at the periphery and integrated amongst Delos' archaeological sites.

The sculptures are being placed in various parts of the island, with the visitors being invited to discover them with the help of printed material. Two sculptures stand in the sea close to the shore, while some are on the Kynthos hill, in the Agora of the Competaliasts, at the entrance of the Stadium, on the Stage of the Theater and in other monument.

The exhibition, which will last until Oct. 31, also marks the first time a contemporary art installation has been unanimously approved by the Greek Archaeological Council to take place in Delos, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The tiny island of Delos is revered in Greek mythology as the sacred birthplace of twins Apollo, god of light, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Nowadays, it is usually inhabited by just a handful of archaeologists and scientific researchers, with its ruins stand devoid of human presence.

Gormley, an award-winning sculptor who is acclaimed for creating sculptures and installations that explore the relationship between the human body and space, told Xinhua it's an honor for him to exhibit his art works on the island.

"It's a huge honor, a huge responsibility and a huge challenge, to be the first artist to touch the island in 2,000 years," Gormley told Xinhua Friday at the site of his exhibition.

"I am hoping this exhibition will reanimate in a way that make people look differently with great alertness, think about the nature of the island, about its relations to the other islands, and maybe more generally about the human presence," he said.

Gormley admitted Buddhism has an important influence on his art creations, which he studied in India in early 1970s, "it taught me the body itself is an extraordinary teacher."

"We use the body as a machine, but in fact the body is a very sensitive receiver of not just information but feelings," he explained.

Gormley's works have been on show in many countries worldwide and his recent show in China was in 2017, when his works "Critical Mass II" were exhibited in Shanghai and Changsha.

He had been to China for many times since 1995 and told Xinhua that in his view, China is becoming more and more open-up.

"China is changing, is doing a lot to promote the cultural exchanges between China and the West," he said.

He recalled his exhibition in Changsha of China's Hunan Province as a show dealt with modern history as the city is a very important place for China's recent history, and for this current exhibition on Delos island, "it deals with ancient history."

For Demetrios Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, the extensive ruins within the unspoilt natural beauty of uninhabited Delos offer the visitor an unique experience.

"Antony Gormley's sculptures give the visitor the pleasure of wandering amid this Delian anasynthesis which is ideally suited to reflecting on our identity and exploring our cognitive and aesthetic ties with the past," he said in a press release.

"This exhibition is an exceptional opportunity for a wide audience to engage with Gormley's work and be reminded how central art is to the human story. I hope visitors will leave Delos feeling that his contemporary sculpture and this site belong to us all," Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON, said in the press release.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- European heads of government, ministers, commissioners and political experts gathered in Florence, Italy, for the 9th annual State of the Union conference on Friday.

Titled "21st-century Democracy in Europe", the conference explored democracy and European Parliament elections to be held at the end of the month, the rule of law and the legal powers of the EU, disinformation and fake news, immigration, the next generation of EU citizens, and the single market.

THE FUTURE IS FEDERALISM

Among the high-level speakers on Friday was Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi. He reviewed the achievements of the EU in creating prosperity and stability and keeping the peace in Europe for its over 500,000 citizens, and painted a picture of what he sees for its future, namely, a European federation.

European integration generated "a feeling of European affiliation" that is not "that false feeling of supremacy which for centuries accompanied Europeans" but rather "the birth of a spontaneous European identity: everyone who lives within the European space naturally and simply assimilates that feeling", he said.

"Everyone who has come to Europe or been born in Europe after the 1970s has a radically different vision compared to those from preceding generations," he added. "They don't see citizens of other European countries as real or potential enemies."

"Even those who criticize and are skeptical of the Union develop European ways of thinking," Moavero Milanesi said.

According to GlobalStat data released by conference organizers, 70 percent of European respondents in 2018 said they see themselves as European citizens, compared to 62 percent in 2010.

The minister also cited Eurobarometer data showing that "seven in 10 Europeans declare they are enthusiastically in favor of the free circulation of people, and believe we should preserve the free circulation of goods and services."

However, the EU needs to make some changes if it is to survive, the minister said.

The current system doesn't allow Europe to fully and successfully enter into the globalization process, he said. The continent is slipping in terms of the ability to develop new technologies.

Europe has been slow to tackle issues such as migration, and Moavero Milanesi cited more Eurobarometer data showing that 50 percent of respondents identify migration as a big issue, another 50 percent focus on economic growth and youth unemployment, and a good 40 percent is concerned with the threat of international terrorism and security, and the possible consequences of climate change.

The minister made several proposals for a stronger, more inclusive Europe: endowing the European Parliament with lawmaking powers, giving the Union powers to issue eurobonds and to levy European taxes on big economic players such as multinationals, giving Europe a common stance on migration, asylum, and border control, and changing the current rule that foreign and defense policy decisions must be unanimous.

"I think we could ask governments to agree among themselves on a pact that foreign policy decisions should be taken on a majority basis," he said. "It's revolutionary but it's feasible."

"Clarity of objectives is essential to maintaining citizen consensus," Moavero Milanesi said. "The architecture of the EU must be simplified and completed, and brought closer to citizens" with the ultimate goal of achieving true federalism, he said.

A NEW EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Also on hand was French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who delivered a high-level address on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron and the French government in which he called for "a new European Renaissance"

"Europe is at a crossroads," said Le Drian. "The real dividing lines between those who wish to stop Europe and those who wish to make it advance will come out into the open (at the upcoming European Parliament elections)."

The French minister went on to list potentially fatal threats to the EU: that of division and what he described as "the ill winds" that fan the flames of populism and are "calling into question the values of the rule of law."

"As we learn our lesson from Brexit, we should consider the increase of populisms in Europe for what it is -- a symptom of a deep malaise over the distance between institutions and citizens, over globalization, which affects our people in full force, over inequalities within and between our societies and yes, the threats of terrorism, the spectre of trade war and the prospect of a climate catastrophe," Le Drian said.

"It is not too late to act, as long as we are aware of these dangers," he said. "The lessons of the British withdrawal should not be a signal of alarm condemning us to repeat past errors and allowing the bonds between us to be broken."

Like his Italian counterpart, Le Drian called for a consolidated border policy, a European asylum bureau, and a return to "the fundamentals of the European project" based on social progress and "a real social shield -- a minimum threshold for protection to the benefit of workers and all European citizens".

EUROPE MUST RETHINK ITSELF

In his conference closing address, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that "Europe must rethink itself."

"In recent years, Europe has abdicated its fundamental role of representation and failed to intercept the needs, hopes and fears of its citizens," said Conte, who leads a populist-rightwing coalition government.

"It has been perceived as oligarchic and out of touch with the real lives of citizens, while social and economic in-qualities have excluded parts of the population, exacerbating feelings of abandonment and loss, especially in the younger generations," Conte said.

"Europe must urgently take courageous steps to change course from the current path, which has proven to be a failure."

Like Moavero Milanesi, Conte called for giving more powers to the European Parliament as a way to "finally overcome the idea that European policies are being decided by remote bureaucrats in inaccessible places".

Conte went on to call for European salaries and unemployment protections, investments in the circular economy to fight climate change, and a change in EU competition rules in order to allow state aid to ailing national companies.

Taking place ahead of the May 23-26 elections in which European citizens will choose their representatives in the European Parliament, this edition of the State of the Union also featured a debate amongst the lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission, which was broadcast across the continent.

The event, which kicked off on Thursday, will conclude on Saturday, with an Open Day of cultural, leisure and art activities open to the public.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 07:45:35|Editor: Li Xia

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Members of the police motorcycle unit participate in the motorcycle season opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on May 3, 2019. More than 2,000 motorcyclists and 7,000 guests attended the ceremony, opening the suitable season for riding motorcycles in Moscow. (Xinhua/Maxim Chernavsky)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 08:09:27|Editor: ZX

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Visitors pick roses at the Xianglian rose valley in Anning City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 3, 2019. Large scale of edible roses in Xianglian rose valley has attracted thousands of visitors during the Labor Day holiday. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:12:44|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unidentified short-range missile off its east coast Saturday morning, multiple local media reported citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missile was launched eastward from the east coast city of Wonsan at about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT).

Details on the missile were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States, the JCS was quoted as saying.

It was the first missile launch by the DPRK in about 17 months since the country test-fired Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:27:47|Editor: Li Xia

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SYDNEY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Tooth decay levels are three times higher among indigenous children, with consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and irregular brushing of teeth forming major factors behind the global dental condition, according to latest Australian research.

The findings, which also showed that low household income and living in an area with non-fluoridated water offered significant dental risks to non-indigenous youngsters, suggested that cutting the intake of sugary drinks could help everyone but indigenous children required "additional focus on oral hygiene", the University of Adelaide said in a statement on Saturday.

The researchers analyzed data from Australia's national child oral health study and included nationally representative samples of both indigenous and non-indigenous children aged 5 to 14 years.

Indigenous children in Australia "experience profoundly greater inequalities on almost every indicator of health and well-being" compared with their non-indigenous peers, including "higher prevalence of nutrition-associated stunting" and "nonoptimal blood pressure growth outcomes", with the inequalities extending to oral health, according to the researchers. Their findings were published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal.

Dental caries is a global public health problem and the condition forms the most widespread non-communicable disease, according to the World Health Organization.

"The association of modifiable risk factors with area-based inequalities in untreated dental caries among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian children differed substantially. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with dental caries for both groups, and irregular tooth brushing was also significantly associated with dental caries for indigenous children," according to the latest study.

"Efforts by the dental profession - as well as policymakers and health professionals more generally - are required at both national and international levels to reduce barriers to access to and the availability of preventive and rehabilitative oral health services for indigenous groups  reducing oral health inequalities among and between indigenous groups needs to be a public health priority at a global level," the researchers said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:28:09|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRKs east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT), the JCS said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

It was originally reported that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into several short-range projectiles.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRKs possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as ballistic missile.

It came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The last ballistic missile test was conducted by the DPRK in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:48:16|Editor: Li Xia

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WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday night that it has known the latest action of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will monitor the situation.

In a statement, the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that "we are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier on the same day that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on the situation, according to U.S. media.

There is no comment so far from the DPRK on the issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:43:51|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday had telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch of short-range projectiles, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions over phone about the DPRK's short-range projectile launches. They agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications.

The phone talks came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea from the DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonsan Saturday morning.

The projectiles traveled between 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each side at every level about the issue.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered to monitor current situations and closely share information on it with the U.S. side, according to the presidential Blue House.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:58:56|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Students practice the console for China's high-speed train CRH380B driving simulation system at the Luban Workshop in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Technical College in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Feb. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou)

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- "Now the train moves forward," said 20-year-old Arthitaya Sapkum who was attentively looking at a screen that simulates the window in the locomotive of a high speed train, while her classmates were operating the control system on a panel.

The China-sponsored training platform for simulated driving, an eye-catcher to students and visitors, sits on the second floor of the Luban Workshop in Thailand.

The project, which is named after Lu Ban, a legendary Chinese carpenter from the 4th century BC and launched by China's Tianjin Municipality, provides state-of-the-art technical and vocational training to serve various aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

FOSTER TALENT

"Studying here is good. We can easily understand how a train system is formed and how trains work," said Arthitaya, who was on a short-term training program with her classmates from Thailand's Ko Kha Industrial and Community Education College.

She is one of the over 2,000 students who received training at the workshop after it was established in March 2016 in Thailand. On the second floor of the workshop lies Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College Center, China's first overseas technical center for high-speed railway training. It is equipped with modern teaching equipment and remote education facilities for long-distance learning.

Since there is no high-speed rail in Thailand, all teaching materials and equipment in the center are provided by the Chinese side.

In the past three years, the workshop helped Thai students learn subjects from new energy car development and the internet of things to high speed trains. The Tianjin Municipality also offers scholarships through the workshop for study in China.

"In order to promote the Belt and Road construction, the Lu Ban Workshop provides academic education and skills training for partners in other countries. This is a bridge connecting China's vocational education with that of the world," said Lv Jingquan, deputy director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.

Jarun Youbrum, director of the Thai vocational school, is proud of the workshop, saying that the courses provided here can nurture talent for the future development of Thailand's high-speed rail system.

"We are the only one in Thailand and I think we should be a good example of Thailand-China cooperation on education and the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Thailand," Jarun said.

Arthitaya and Jarun are among those who have been building support for China-Thailand cooperation within the BRI framework, which has achieved tangible results through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Thai government is committed to the progress of the Thai-Chinese high speed rail project and hopes the project will be finalized as soon as possible, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told Xinhua last week before attending the second Belt and Road Forum of International Cooperation held in Beijing.

"As the Chinese proverb says, 'Unity Makes Everything a Success', we are pleased that the project has made good progress, and have taken the opportunity to learn more about high-speed railways and related technology," the prime minister noted.

CLOSER TIES

Since 2016, eight Luban Workshops have been set up in Asia, Africa and Europe, and have trained more than 4,000 people in 17 majors covering mechanics, new energy, automobile, communications, catering, and others.

The program is not just a unilateral education provider, but involves two-way exchanges that help enhance ties and cultural links between China and other countries.

Two years ago, the Tianjin School of Commerce, sponsored by the Tianjin Food Group Co., Ltd., set up a workshop in Britain's Chichester College and succeeded in incorporating its professional training standards into Britain's national vocational qualification framework.

Earlier this year, students from the workshop put their culinary skills to the test when doing catering for the British prime minister and her guests.

It was the last day of January. At Number 10 Downing Street, London, Prime Minister Theresa May was hosting a Chinese New Year reception.

Steamed vegetable dumplings, crispy duck, eight types of canapes and dishes of exquisite quality impressed some 150 guests with a taste of Chinese delicacies.

Chances are rare for students taking a course on Chinese culinary arts at Crawley College of Chichester College Group (CCG) to put their learning into practice at the highest level, and they handled the challenge with flying colors with the help of Chinese master chefs from Tianjin.

"Many Chinese guests at the (10 Downing Street) event said they haven't had such authentic dishes for years," said Wu Zhengxi, who teaches culinary skills at the school in Tianjin and represented Chinese chefs at the reception. "I proudly told them we're with the Luban Workshop."

CCG, the largest further education provider in South East England, was identified as a course partner for the British Luban Workshop. The success attracted more intention to cooperate from British business and vocational education sectors.

"The future for Chinese cuisine in the U.K. just got a whole lot brighter," said celebrity chef Ching He Huang.

The workshop program, stressing the pillars of the BRI, promotes connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education, business and culture.

Chinese authorities have pledged to enhance cooperation within the BRI framework by setting up more Luban Workshops, including 10 programs to offer vocational training for young Africans. The first one in Africa was launched in Djibouti in March, aiming to boost the country's overall development through the training of its youth.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

In less than six years, 127 countries and 29 international organizations have joined the initiative, through which China has made investments of more than 90 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) gathered around 6,000 participants from 150 countries and 92 international organizations, including heads of state and government, for three days in Beijing.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said at the BRF that the BRF can be "a building block and a role model of" an advanced pattern of global cooperation that should be more sustainable, more inclusive and more collaborative.

The BRI "is now growing up into a mature initiative that can have even more impact," Schwab added.

(Video reporters: Xu Jian, Ma Chen, Zhang Hao, Guo Xinhui, Yang Zhou; Video editor: Lin Lin)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:04:17|Editor: Li Xia

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CARACAS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- This year, political unrest has been haunting Venezuela as opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro vie for power.

The international community, including the United Nations, calls on restraint and dialogue to solve the problem.

Some major countries have different positions on Venezuela, with the United States and its allies such as Israel backing Guaido, while Russia, Cuba and other countries in support of Maduro.

The following are a string of major events related to the political crisis in Venezuela:

-- On Jan. 23, Guaido, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of the country.

-- On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president." Thereafter, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States

-- On Jan. 28, The United States slapped sanctions on a Venezuelan oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or known as PDVSA, to pile up pressure on Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

-- In March, Venezuela suffered two rounds of widespread blackouts after the country's main Guri hydroelectric plant was sabotaged, followed by schools and offices shutdown.

Guaido was under investigation for his alleged involvement in the sabotage against the national electricity system.

-- On April 6, supporters of Maduro and Guaido respectively held rallies nationwide, as rifts in Venezuela stayed wide open.

In the northwestern city of Maracaibo, two opposition politicians were temporarily arrested and some demonstrators were injured in clashes with the police, local media reported.

-- On April 30, Guaido called on civilians and military to act against the government and urged Maduro to step down.

He also tweeted that "the end of the usurpation began, and at this moment I am meeting with the main military units of our armed forces, beginning the final phase of Operation Freedom."

Maduro said via twitter that military commanders from all regions and defense areas of the country have "expressed their loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the country."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:19:21|Editor: ZX

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LANZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras in a nature reserve located in northwest China's Gansu Province captured nearly 30 images of leopards from January to the end of April.

Researchers from Longdong University recently collected videos and photos caught by 30 infrared cameras they set up at the Ziwuling nature reserve.

"Based on the size, hair color and patterns of leopards in these images, we conclude that there are about 10 leopards roaming in an area of 120 kilometers in the reserve," said Zhou Tianlin, head of the college of life science and technology of Longdong University.

Two adult leopards were caught walking together, which is quite rare as the big cat usually walks alone, he added.

Leopards are under China's highest national-level protection and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

"The images show that there might be a leopard population in the reserve that is on the rise thanks to an improving ecological environment after years of efforts," Zhou said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 16:25:01|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian military factions on Saturday fired a number of rockets at Israel, Palestinian security sources said.

The security sources told Xinhua that successive explosions were heard in Gaza. The Israeli air defense system intercepted the fired rockets.

The Israeli army announced that its war planes raided two platforms used to launch the rockets.

"At least three Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli attack," Palestinian sources said.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and 51 others injured during clashes with the Israeli army forces in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Israeli army said two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire from Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:20:36|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of causing death of a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) man, has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.

"We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam. This outcome was contributed by the continuous efforts of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong," said spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

"We also acknowledge the positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time," the spokeswoman added.

After being set free on Friday, Huong took a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on the same day.

On April 1, a Malaysian court sentenced Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of the DPRK man at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder.

The prison term was calculated starting from the time Huong was detained in February 2017. Her lawyer said Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behavior.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:25:40|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces thwarted a major plan for the Islamic State (IS) militants to regroup in the country, while killing a prominent IS leader in northern Iraq, an Iraqi official newspaper reported on Saturday.

An Iraqi intelligence team, named al-Suqoor Cell, thwarted IS plot which tried to form new terrorist groups in Iraq and managed to kill a number of IS militants who infiltrated from neighboring Syria, the state-run al-Sabah newspaper said.

"The operation came after several months of tracking Daesh (IS group) militants by the intelligence team and their sources as part of their efforts to eliminate the infiltrated Daesh militants from Syria," the newspaper quoted the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Chief of Intelligence Abu Ali al-Basri as saying.

The intelligence team also killed Abdul Ghafour Abdullah Karmoush, also known as Wahid Amniyah, who is a leader of the terrorist group in northern Iraq, and is responsible for killing dozens of innocent people in Mosul and Tal Afar areas in the northern province of Nineveh, al-Basri said.

He said that Karmoush was killed in an ambush by security forces in north of the town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, and one of his aids blew himself up during the battle.

The Iraqi intelligence will reveal more details about the operation of dismantling the IS regrouping later, according to al-Basri.

The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants late in 2017, and the Iraqi forces tried to seize the whole border areas with Syria and nearby desert in western Iraq.

However, small groups or individuals of Islamic State (IS) militants repeatedly tried to infiltrate into Iraq from neighboring Syria through the roughly 600 km long border with Iraq with vast rugged areas and desert land in an attempt to regroup in Iraq again.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:30:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House expressed deep worry Saturday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launches of short-range projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a statement that the South Korean government was deeply worried about the DPRK launches, which went against the purpose of the inter-Korean comprehensive military agreement.

The spokesperson urged Pyongyang to stop such launches that escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

The statement came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning.

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRK's east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT) Saturday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered at the national crisis management center to closely monitor situations and assess why the DPRK fired the projectiles.

The military authorities of South Korea and the United States currently shared detailed information on the launches, precisely analyzing what type of projectiles were fired, according to the Blue House.

The Blue House spokesperson said South Korea paid attention to the launches that came at a time when dialogue on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula came to a lull, calling for the DPRK to actively join efforts to rapidly resume the denuclearization negotiations.

She added that if necessary, South Korea will closely communicate with neighboring countries.

The projectile firings came as the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as a ballistic missile.

It was originally alleged that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into short-range projectiles. The last ballistic missile test by the DPRK occurred in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRK's possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha exchanged opinions over phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the DPRK's projectile launches, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications. Kang also held phone talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each other at every level about the issue. Lee also had telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:10:58|Editor: Xiang Bo

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NADI, Fiji, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should uphold multilateralism and foster a development environment in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said here on Saturday.

Speaking at the business session of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors which is being held in Nadi, the third largest city of Fiji, Liu said that ADB should uphold multilateralism and foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific.

"At present, one of the major risks that threatens the endeavor of international development is the skepticism about multilateralism and departure from the spirit of cooperation. We would like ADB to act as a multilateral platform to coordinate and spur all parties to strengthen international development cooperation and jointly foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of the Asia and the Pacific region," Liu said.

Liu encouraged ADB to formulate differentiated assistance strategies according to the specific development situation of its developing members, saying that ADB should seek for the common interests of all parties, expedite the reform of global and regional economic governance, as well as promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and help accelerate the process of regional integration.

The development practice and historical experience in Asia and the Pacific region have shown that the development and prosperity of regional economy depend on cooperation and mutual support of all parties, Liu said, adding that the theme of this year's meeting "Prosperity through Unity" which reflects the world's development trend, responds to the call for building a community with a shared future for mankind and aligns with the global governance view of "consultation and contribution for shared benefits".

Over the past 50 years, ADB has made great contribution to poverty reduction and development in Asia and the Pacific. Last year, ADB formulated Strategy 2030, which sets out its medium and long-term development roadmap and operational priorities and enables ADB to better fulfill its mission and serve for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

The Chinese minister hoped that ADB should implement Strategy 2030 to lay a solid development foundation and promote innovative development to help sustain the driver of prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

China welcomes ADB to support regional cooperation as it has always been doing, and strengthen the synergy between regional cooperation programs and initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to promote the benefits of connectivity, he said.

Describing ADB as a significant platform for all parties to cooperate, build consensus, mobilize resources and tackle challenges, Liu said that China stands ready to work with all parties to support the development cause of Asia and the Pacific region as what China has been doing.

"We will continuously deepen the all-round cooperation with ADB and make contribution to the inclusive and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world," he added.

The five-day ADB's 52nd annual meeting has attracted finance ministers, central bank governors, government officials, private sector representatives, development partners and media from the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:16:04|Editor: ZX

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Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts speaks at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance, in Omaha, the United States on May 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts on Friday hailed the state's healthy relationship with China, adding that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal soon.

China is Nebraska's second largest trading partner, and while Nebraska exports such agricultural products as beef, corn and soybeans to China, China also invests in the state, Ricketts said at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance.

"It's a pretty healthy, robust relationship," said the 54-year-old governor.

State governor since 2015, Ricketts has made fostering business ties between Nebraska and China a priority.

During his tenure so far, Nebraska and China's Shaanxi Province established a sister states relationship, an agricultural demonstration park was set up near Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, and Tongji University in Shanghai and the University of Nebraska Medical Center fostered a partnership.

"We've been over to China to help introduce our folks to folks over there, develop those relationships," Ricketts said. "So we really look to see how we can foster that relationship in many ways," he said.

The governor mentioned in particular Nebraska's beef exports to China, which went up 86 percent in a year.

Nebraska is one of the major beef-producing states in the United States, making up about half of all U.S. beef exports, he said.

"So we are very pleased with where things are going, and we want to continue to see that go that way," he said.

With respect to the ongoing trade talks and a potential trade deal between China and the United States, Ricketts, who was appointed in December 2018 as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, said he hopes to see the U.S.-China trade deal get "wrapped up."

The governor said he and other officials from agricultural states gave feedback to President Donald Trump about "how important that relationship with China is."

"China, for example, is a large destination for our soybeans. That's a big deal here in Nebraska," Ricketts said.

"And so when we see the trade relationship be disrupted, it has an impact on our farmers," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:21:13|Editor: Li Xia

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GABORONE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Officials and experts from southern Africa gathered to address the escalating challenge of protecting the region's elephant population.

Southern Africa is home to 250,000 elephants with the majority in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA).

It is estimated that 60 percent of elephants exist outside the protected areas in the KAZA-TFCA, according to officials.

Heads of state in the region will gather for a summit on May 7 themed Towards A Common Vision for the Management of Our Elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:31:19|Editor: ZX

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LIMA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strengthened ties between Peru and China, an expert told Xinhua.

The MoU, signed during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last week, will boost bilateral relations through "greater investment," said Carlos Aquino, head of the Asian Studies Center at the National University of San Marcos in Lima.

After the signing, the two countries are poised to step up cooperation on several key fronts, including infrastructure, investment and trade, Aquino told Xinhua.

With an increase in infrastructure investment, "economic activities will improve," because it will cut down on "the cost of transporting products to the ships heading overseas," said Aquino.

The cost of importing goods may also drop as given their quicker arrival in Peru faster, he said.

According to Aquino, China and Peru have already begun modernizing Peruvian ports.

In January, Peruvian mining firm Volcan and China's COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd reached an investment agreement for the design, construction and operation of the Chancay Port Complex megaproject in northern Lima.

The project "should alleviate the existing trade congestion at the port of Callao," said Aquino.

In terms of investment and trade, the MoU will also help expand the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect in March 2010, said Aquino.

"The FTA covers not just trade but also investment -- facilitating investment by eliminating the obstacles to Chinese companies coming to Peru and, of course, Peruvian companies going to China," Aquino pointed out.

"Many factors indicate that the good ties we have with China are going to get much better with the signing of the memorandum ... and with the renovation of the free trade agreement," Aquino said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:41:24|Editor: Li Xia

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YANGON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department Saturday warned people in the hilly areas and near small rivers to be aware of flash floods and landslides accompanied by the strong wind and heavy rain due to the influence of the severe cyclonic storm "FANI".

"FANI" weakened into deep depression and it was forecast to move North-Northeasternwards, according to the department's measurement at 13:30 local time (0700 GMT).

Rain or thundershowers were forecast to be widespread in Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady regions and Kachin, Chin, Kayin, Mon, Shan and Kayah states.

Occasional squalls with rough seas were forecast to be experienced off and along Myanmar coasts with 40 mph surface wind, the department's release said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:41:05|Editor: ZX

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Zhou Xin (R, front) picks up his son at a primary school near Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 16, 2019. Professor Zhou Xin is the deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan. He is interested in ultrasensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments, techniques and methodology as well as biosensors for medical imaging. In 2019, his group, which consists of about fifty members, independently designed and developed the hyperpolarized lung gas MRI instrument, providing an effective method of lighting up the lungs. Core indicators of the system have reached world leading level in the industry. This quantitative, accurate and visualized lung disease detecting method, without the side effects of invasion and radioactivity, has offered a new imaging technique for the diagnosis of early lung diseases. Back in 2009, Zhou was selected by the "Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Instead of accepting the opportunity of high-paying jobs in the United States, Zhou returned to China to carry out research alone on human lung MRI instrument in cramped conditions. Zhou, who was born in the same year when the reform and opening up was launched in 1978, said he made the right decision to return to China after reviewing his life and work in the past decade. Born in the right time and striving for one's aspiration can achieve a great life, said Zhou. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:51:28|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a white safety helmet, 26-year-old Egyptian engineer Ahmed Mansour works outdoors eight hours a day, braving temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in Egypt's southern province of Aswan.

Checking the running state of all holders and recording data from solar inverters, Mansour has been dedicated to maintaining solar panels in Aswan since 2017 when the photovoltaic power (PV) generation project he works on started its trial run.

"It is meaningful that we are using environmentally friendly ways to produce precious electricity," Mansour said.

The project is part of the overseas solar development of China's green energy company TBEA Sunoasis Co., Ltd., which officially started building four solar power stations last year at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan.

The stations, with an output of 186 megawatts, are part of the giant Benban Solar Plant which aims to generate up to two gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity through a total of 40 projects.

So far, three of the four stations have been completed.

Mansour said he was impressed by TBEA's measures to protect the environment. "During construction, waste such as garbage and sewage were disposed of by adhering to strict standards," he said.

The project is estimated to help cut the emission of more than 23,000 tonnes of dust, over 86,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than 2,600 tonnes of sulfur dioxide annually.

As the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advances, the country has been committed to making BRI a green cause of sustainable development.

China and the United Nations Environment Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016, focusing on enhanced collaboration to build a green Belt and Road.

It has also signed cooperation agreements concerning ecological and environmental protection with more than 30 countries participating the BRI.

"The building of a green Belt and Road can help countries achieve the environmental goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Zhai Kun, a professor with Peking University.

Last Thursday, China officially launched the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road, which could serve as an international platform for Chinese and foreign leading agencies to work closely together to conduct research and make policy recommendations on key issues as well as facilitate international dialogue.

"In the near future, the establishment of this coalition could raise the visibility and importance of green infrastructure and facilitate deeper cooperation between BRI partners," said Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute.

The country has also made clear its commitment to incorporate green strategies into the BRI by releasing the Guidelines on Promoting Green Belt and Road and the Belt and Road Ecological Cooperation Plan. These documents outline a vision for sustainability.

China is willing to launch cooperation on ecological and environmental protection with countries along the Belt and Road, expand the International Coalition for Green Development and promote a coalition of sustainable cities under the BRI, according to a report released last Monday.

"The building of a green Belt and Road needs joint efforts, which could also bring win-win results to all parties involved," said Xue Li, researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:56:30|Editor: Li Xia

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KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia began on Saturday a five-day live-fire military exercise at a training ground here in southwestern Kampot province.

Lieutenant General Hun Manet, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAFs) and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said the annual drill was crucial to strengthen the capacity and expertise of troops in defending territorial integrity.

"I'm strongly confident that after this drill, the participants will get new knowledge and experience, and will share them with other soldiers at their units," he said at the opening ceremony of the Golden Hanuman Exercise 2019.

Lieutenant General Mao Sophan, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said a total of 1,326 soldiers from various divisions, headquarters and units took part in the exercise.

He said many types of heavy weapons including artilleries, BM-21 rocket launchers, RM-70 rocket launchers, tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters were used in the exercise.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:11:37|Editor: Li Xia

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan navy on Saturday said it rescued 161 illegal migrants on two rubber boats off the western city of Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"A Coast Guards patrol spotted two rubber boats with 161 illegal migrants on board, including 141 men, 15 women and 5 children," the Libyan navy's spokesman Ayob Qassem said in a statement.

The migrants were rescued 82 km west of Khoms, the statement added.

The migrants have been provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and taken to a reception center in the city, the spokesman said.

Western Libya, particularly in and around Tripoli, is witnessing violent clashes since early April between the east-based army and the UN-backed government over control of the city.

The fighting has killed 392 people, injured 1,936 others, and forced more than 50,000 others to flee their homes away from the conflict areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Thousands of illegal migrants choose to cross the Mediterranean toward European shores from Libya because of the chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:21:44|Editor: Li Xia

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RABAT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's net foreign exchange reserves amounted to over 24 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, down 1.2 percent year on year, the central bank said Saturday.

According to the bank's statistics, the reserves dropped by 0.7 percent from the end of 2018 and 2.1 percent month on month.

In mid-January 2018, Morocco started the gradual floating of its currency, raising the official band of dirham's fluctuation to 2.5 percent above or below the official rate from the previous 0.3 percent.

The dirham is pegged to a two-currency basket weighted 60 percent to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Moroccan authorities to take the next step, but the Moroccan authorities remain cautious about the next phase of floating dirham.

In a joint letter to the IMF director in January, the Moroccan monetary authorities said they will move to the next step "for preventative purposes as soon as economic conditions allow them to do so."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:46:52|Editor: Li Xia

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TEHRAN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that Iran will "defeat" the United States through unity of the nation, official IRNA news agency reported.

"We should solidify our unity and strengthen hope in (the Iranian) society," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The United States aims to "disappoint the Iranians and sow discord between the people and the government by exerting the sanction pressures," he said.

The president stressed that the United States seeks to lower Iran's oil income, and has targeted Iran's independence and sovereignty through economic pressures.

"We have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," he added. "We have no other way but to unite and resist."

The 180-day U.S. waivers for major importers of Iran's oil formally expired on Thursday, announced by the White House, which aggravates the impacts of tough pressures on Iran.

Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, an Iran international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

Following the withdrawal, Trump's administration returned the sanctions on Iran's oil exports in November, which had been lifted under the JCPOA.

Iran has vowed to bypass the U.S. sanctions and continue to export its oil.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:12:01|Editor: Li Xia

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By Zhang Jianhua, Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua

VIENTIANE, May 4 (Xinhua) --"The Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Tian'anmen Square ... everywhere we have been to are beautiful!"

Six students from China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School gathered in their classroom in the Lao capital Vientiane on April 28 and shared their impressions of China during a recent trip. They were part of a sub-forum on people-to-people exchanges during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held on April 25-27 in Beijing.

On the eve of the forum, the teachers and students of the village school in the north of Vientiane, wrote in a letter to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Chinese Dream and the Laotian Dream are connected together through the Belt and Road Initiative, and that they hope to take the Laos-China Railway to Beijing as soon as possible.

"You may not know that Grandpa Xi has received and read our letter and the album of your paintings," Lin Jieyu, a Chinese volunteer teacher at the school, told the kids. "In his reply, he also wishes our China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School will grow better and better, and welcomes you an early trip to Beijing by taking the train on the China-Laos railway!"

"China's train is the most beautiful. I saw it on the way to Badaling!" the 9-year-old Khamphet said loudly. "We will have the same train soon in our country."

Khamphet is correct. In last December, the first China-Laos Railway T-shaped concrete beam was successfully erected at the site of China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2), just dozen kilometers north of the Nongping Village, marking a milestone in the history of the construction of China-Laos railway.

"I love China," echoed the 9-year-old girl Phonephivanh. "I also hope that I can take the train to Beijing in the future."

Different from the excitement of the children, responsibilities are added to the 56-year-old Bounmy, the Nongping Primary School principal.

Principal Bounmy has witnessed the tremendous changes of the school with the aid from the China Foundation for Peace and Development.She also represented the school to express sincere gratitude to President Xi at the sub-forum in Beijing.

"On receiving the reply letter from President Xi Jinping, I feel grateful and thankful for his kindness. In the letter, President Xi encouraged students to pay attention to their studies and catch a chance to get a scholarship to study in China," Bounmy told Xinhua. "I see that President Xi is generous and very kind to us. He wants us to improve in a better way."

"We benefit a lot from joining the Belt and Road construction. We must bring our children up well and strive to help them realize their dream of studying in China soon," she added.

Amphouvone, a resident of the Nongping Village, felt surprised and glad after hearing that the Chinese president wrote back to her village school.

"This reflects the importance that Chinese leaders and people attach to the Lao government and people, and also shows that the relationship between the two countries is becoming more and more intimate," she said to Xinhua.

The Nongping Primary School is a demonstration project of China-Laos friendship in recent years, which is funded by the China Foundation for Peace and Development in 2012. Since then the foundation has been sending volunteer Chinese teachers and offering teaching materials to the school.

"We are encouraged by President Xi's reply letter, feeling warmness and kindness," said Yao Changhua, a volunteer teacher at the school. "I will try my best to do my job well, hoping to teach children more knowledge, introduce Chinese culture, and promote the continuous development of China-Laos friendship."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:28:41|Editor: Li Xia

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People dressed as Star Wars characters participate in the Star Wars Day in a mall in Taguig, the Philippines, May 4, 2019. The Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 every year by the fans of the sci-fi movie series in different parts of the world. (Xinhua/ROUELLE UMALI)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:07|Editor: ZX

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SHENYANG, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Railway authorities in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, said Saturday that they have launched 94 additional trains to tackle the rush of travelers heading back to school and work on the last day of the May Day holiday.

Train stations under the jurisdiction of China Railway Shenyang Group Co. Ltd., such as those in Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian, all reported peak traffic Saturday.

The group said it would have about 1.12 million passengers on Saturday.

China's extended May Day holiday this year is expected to see a "tourism craze" with an estimated total of 160 million trips, according to the country's biggest online travel agency Ctrip.

The State Council, China's cabinet, announced in March that this year's May Day holiday would be extended to four days, from May 1 to 4.

To meet the demand of growing travelers, the China Railway Corporation has prepared more trains. The railway operator expects some 68.2 million railway passenger trips from April 30 to May 4, a growth of 10.9 percent year on year.

Chinese tourists made 147 million domestic trips during the three-day long May Day holiday last year, up 9.3 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:08|Editor: ZX

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OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

by Wang Zichen

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology company Huawei is again making headlines in the UK, which is in a heated debate over the development of the UK's 5G network and whether the company represents a security threat.

The UK has "arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei," according to Ciaran Martin, a top British intelligence official. It is home to a dedicated Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) for eight years, and has published five detailed reports scrutinizing Huawei, notably its source code -- the crown jewel of any technology company.

One key question underplayed in the media storm over Huawei, however, experts told Xinhua, is that while Huawei came under the microscope in the UK, its non-Chinese competitors -- Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung -- are not equally tested, leaving the public in the blank as to how they would fare under the same set of rules.

Absent that knowledge, the push to shun Huawei in networks rings hollow on a central premise: its competitors' gears would be more secure than the Chinese company's.

DEFECTS IDENTIFIED WITH HUAWEI TECHNICAL

The latest UK report, formally known as the HCSEC Oversight Board Annual Report 2019 and published on March 28, detailed concerns about Huawei's software engineering capabilities, but stated that the "NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) does not believe that the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference."

It is a conclusion that's been repeated by the UK intelligence agency in charge of cyber security that the security defects identified with Huawei are technical.

"As we said then, and repeat today, these problems are about standard of cyber security; they are not indicators of hostile activity by China," said Martin, the CEO of the NCSC, in a public speech in Brussels on Feb. 20.

"The NCSC report provides an insight into the Huawei products under review and has highlighted that Huawei's software practices need to improve to meet the NCSC review recommendations. The NCSC report indicates that it does not believe the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference but are due to basic engineering competence and cyber security hygiene," Mark Gregory, Associate Professor focusing on network engineering at Australia's RMIT University, told Xinhua.

HUAWEI PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE TESTED

Nevertheless, the report's findings of problems in technicality made damaging publicity for Huawei, which has said it is "the most scrutinized company in the world."

What the reports didn't cover was if Huawei's products and softwares were less secure than those of its competitors, and that's because these vendors were not subject to the same scrutiny as Huawei, at least in the case of the UK oversight regime, experts said.

"I don't think any of the other vendors have been on such level of scrutiny to find out whether or not security risks exist in their software. Unless I missed something, I'm not aware of anyone else going through this process," Stephane Teral, technology fellow and advisor for Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at the consultancy IHS Markit Technology, told Xinhua.

As part of a thorough due diligence analysis in the vendor selection process, all products, software and hardware are evaluated by telecommunication services providers who are clients of vendors like Huawei, said Teral, who has three decades experience in the Western telecommunications industry.

"What's unique in the Huawei case is that the software was evaluated by a third party, as I say above, no other vendor has gone through this process and had they gone, I believe some bugs would have been found too," Teral added.

"As Huawei is the only company that has agreed to submit its products for review it would be wrong to assume that other vendor products don't have similar issues, especially when the number of patches being issued by other vendors to fix security problems are taken into account," said Gregory, who also serves as managing editors of academic journals in telecommunication technology.

A VOLUNTARY, TOUGH PROCESS

Huawei recognized the need of foreign governments for more insight into the Chinese company and entered into the British rigorous oversight regime on a voluntary basis, a Brussels-based spokesperson told Xinhua.

"Although painful and somewhat humiliating, I consider this exercise very valuable for Huawei because they have now a new list of issues to address to make their product even stronger. In the end, Huawei will emerge even stronger from this tough process," said Teral.

Neither Ericsson nor Nokia, when contacted by Xinhua, commented on the British oversight regime or if they were subjected to similar oversight arrangements. Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ericsson said in a statement: "In all our manufacturing and software development facilities globally, Ericsson ensures that strict security controls are in place. In addition, we undertake close quality controls, tests and verifications to ensure compliance to our security standards and overall specification of our network solutions. Security audits of all our factories are done on a regular basis, where the sites are assessed, and risks reviewed."

Nokia provided a statement that read: "Nokia follows a strict 'design for security' process. Regardless of geographical location where Nokia's products and services are manufactured or made, the same criteria are applied to ensure security and integrity. We carry out extensive independent internal and external verification on security status and compliance."

CALLS FOR A COMMON APPROACH

The lack of a common approach that covers all vendors have led to calls for a security assurance scheme by the industry and experts.

GSMA and 3GPP, two industry bodies, have proposed a voluntary scheme. If applied, it would involve an external auditor of vendors' security related development and product lifecycle processes, and a competent test laboratory's security evaluation of the vendors' equipment.

"There is a global need for a telecommunications security assurance capability, something that the telecommunications industry has not embraced, yet there is mounting evidence that this capability is desperately needed," Gregory said.

"A telecommunications security assurance program should be embraced that encompasses telecommunications equipment in networks irrespective of which vendor supplied the equipment," he said.

Teral said he supports "a fair process to treat everyone equally."

"In the end, we are all on the same page: the world wants a robustly secured 5G network," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:37:16|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday afternoon granted an audience with royal family members and officials in the Grand Palace, and asked all Thais to work together with him for the kingdom's prosperity and people's well-being.

King Vajiralongkorn has received holy water during the "Muratha Bhisek" and "Abhiseka" rituals according to Thai tradition and he was then offered the Royal Regalia and formally crowned.

On Saturday afternoon, he with the crown on his head granted an audience with royal family members and officials, who congratulated him on this occasion at the Amarindra Vinijaya Mahaisuraya Biman Throne Hall of the Grand Palace.

His sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, represented the royal family to offer their congratulations.

The royal family will be devoted, honest and royal, and they will work hard according to each's responsibility, Princess Sirindhorn said to the king.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public while Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative institute and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon the judicial branch.

They all paid homage to the king on the occasion of his coronation.

The king thanked all the participants and asked all Thais to work hard together with him according to each's job and responsibility for the national prosperity and the well-being of the people.

After the audience, the king walked to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha inside the grounds of the Grand Palace, where he was named Upholder of Buddhism, which is another ritual of the coronation ceremonies on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn ascended the Thai throne in 2016, becoming King Rama X.

His coronation ceremony lasts for three days from Saturday, and all importance ceremonies would be televised throughout Thailand.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:07:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Tourists visit the Shanghai Garden of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing in Yanqing District of Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2019. Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday. Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday. With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday.

Lei Lei, an official with the organizing committee, said the Chinese Pavilion, the International Pavilion, the Life Experience Pavilion, the Botany Pavilion and the Guirui Theater were among the most popular destinations, which have received a total of over 734,000 visitors during the holiday.

Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday.

With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:17:41|Editor: Li Xia

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VIENNA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for a renegotiation of the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon, citing new challenges that have emerged since the foundational treaty entered into effect in 2009.

Speaking to the Austrian media on Friday, the centre-right Austrian People's Party leader said "many things have changed in Europe" compared to 10 years ago, such as the "debt crisis, euro crisis, migrant crisis, climate crisis and Brexit chaos."

He argued that the EU has never managed to transit out of "crisis mode," and is left with an outdated treaty that must be made current.

"A new treaty is needed with clearer sanctions for members who run up debt, penalties for countries who do not register illegal migrants and wave them off, as well as tough consequences for breaches of rule of law and liberal democracy," the chancellor said.

He also called for the bloc's institutions to be streamlined, including a reduction in the size of the European Commission, such as through ending the practice of automatically giving each member state a commissioner post.

In addition, he would like to see a greater emphasis on foreign and security policy.

The chancellor also called for the EU to be based solely in Brussels, rather than having MEPs shuttled back and forth to Strasbourg.

This is unlikely to please French President Emmanuel Macron, with France having always opposed giving up the parliament location in Strasbourg.

Kurz also stressed that far-right populist parties are no allies, saying he wished to "make Europe better, not to disrupt it or entertain exit fantasies."

In addition he called for a "generational change" in the leadership in Brussels, that would involve both a change in personnel as well as a new policy orientation.

This should happen "as soon as possible" following the European parliamentary elections later this month, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:27:44|Editor: Li Xia

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by Surasak Tumcharoen

BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally ascended the throne on Saturday in magnificent ceremonies in the Grand Palace.

People across the country watched the rituals broadcast live by Television Pool of Thailand, while a large number people in yellow shirts showed up at Sanam Luang ground across the Grand Palace and elsewhere near the palace to witness the historic event.

As part of the royal rituals, the king took a purification bath and anointment with sacred water, which had been brought from sacred ponds and other water resources in all provinces across the country, and was presented Royal Regalia and a golden pad inscribed with his name and seal to mark his ascension to the throne.

Following the rituals, the 66-year-old king ceremonially named 40-year-old Queen Suthida, whom he earlier married in legal and traditional fashion in Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

On Saturday afternoon, the king granted an audience with members of the royal family, privy councilors and high-level government officials, at Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.

The monarch then proceeded on board a royal palanquin carried by soldiers in traditional costume from the throne hall to Emerald Buddha temple in the compound of the Grand Palace to pay homage to the Buddha image in the presence of 80 blessing monks.

He then proceeded to Phra Thep Bidorn Throne Hall and Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to pay homage to the statues and relics of former kings and queens of Siam (the former name of Thailand).

In his first speech to the public upon the ceremonial ascension to the throne, the monarch pledged to preserve, develop and hold the reign with righteousness and for benefits and happiness of the Thai people.

He practically assumed the throne in late 2016 after his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passed away.

On Sunday, the new monarch is scheduled to bestow royal titles to members of the royal family and lead a royal procession from the Grand Palace to three royal temples, namely Bovorn Nivet temple, Rajabopit temple and Phra Chetupon temple, passing several roads in Rattanakosin Island area. Many yellow-shirted people are expected to view the procession along the route.

On Monday, the king is scheduled to show up on the balcony of Sutthai Sawan Prasat Throne Hall to greet palace and government personnel and other people and receive best wishes from them.

King Vajiralongkorn is also scheduled to grant an audience with diplomats at Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace on Monday.

Thailand's last coronation rituals were conducted for the late King Bhumibol in 1950.
Army pushes for higher speeds in future tiltrotor aircraft

HAMPTON, Va. -- The U.S. Army is developing a new wind-tunnel testbed that will help future tiltrotor aircraft attain higher speeds, improved stability and enhanced safety.

At a massive wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center, Army researchers are readying a unique tiltrotor model to support analysis and design of advanced tiltrotor aircraft, a possible key to achieving Army modernization goals for Future Vertical Lift.

"Tiltrotors are like the V-22 Osprey aircraft that the Marines currently use," said Matt Wilbur, a senior aerospace researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory. "Their benefit is they have very high flight speeds. They can transition from a helicopter configuration to a forward flight configuration that looks more like a turboprop aircraft and can go at much higher flight speeds than typical helicopters."

Current state-of-the art tiltrotors provide Army researchers with a baseline of what is possible. In the future, aircraft designers will leverage new materials, advanced propulsion and supercomputer modeling -- validated by physical experiments -- to deliver new combat capabilities to the Army.

"The data we're going after is completely new; it doesn't currently exist," said Dr. Jaret Riddick, director of the lab's Vehicle Technology Directorate. "We want to be able to model whirl-flutter stability, which will help us to overcome a critical limitation for tiltrotor aircraft."

Tiltrotor designs require a compromise between a spinning helicopter rotor for efficient hovering flight and a fixed wing for forward flight in airplane mode, he said. Interactions between this unique combination of rotor and wing can lead to instability at higher speeds.

"ARL researchers are bridging a scientific gap by providing underpinning research that will validate modeling for tiltrotor aircraft of the future," Riddick said.

Using foundational aerodynamics research and computational models, Army engineers will shape Future Vertical Lift with analysis of new tiltrotor designs. Their goal: to increase reach, enhance protection and lethality, and deliver agility and mission flexibility. With an advanced tiltrotor design, the Army can get there, stay there and dominate what officials call "Multi-Domain Battle."

Army researchers are working with an industry partner to fabricate the Tiltrotor Aeroelastic Stability Testbed, or TRAST. The apparatus is a scaled-down tiltrotor engine assembly and partial wing loaded with sensors and designed to be attached to wall of the wind tunnel. The Army hopes to take delivery in September.

"TRAST is focused on accelerating knowledge products that will provide critical information for the Army Modernization Priorities within the Future Vertical Lift program regarding tiltrotor technology for whirl-flutter suppression to enable higher speed forward flight," said Elias Rigas, the lab's Vehicle Applied Research Division chief.

The project has the potential to provide researchers with terabytes of data, which will enable the underpinning research the laboratory can share with the aviation community responsible for the design and fielding of Future Vertical Lift.

"When it comes to a flight vehicle, it all comes down to lift," said Army researcher Dr. Robert Thornburgh. "You still have to produce lift and whether it's through a wing or through a rotor, basically lift is produced by moving air and so those fundamental physics haven't changed since the Wright brothers and so there are some limitations on what you can do with rotorcraft technology as far as performance goes."

Army researchers are working on complex flight problems. They partner with NASA because of shared interest in basic research into future tiltrotor technology.

"We may be looking at different missions for different vehicles, but as we drill down into the technology needs, they become common and so we can work very closely with the Army on some very fundamental basic research areas," said Susan Gorton, NASA's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology lead. "What we're always looking for is how to improve things and how to make things faster, make them quieter and how to make them more economical to operate."

The relationship between the Army and NASA is very special, Gorton said.

"We've had this relationship for over 50 years where we've had co-located laboratories where Army people are assigned and working at NASA centers and they work hand-in-glove with us and day-to-day our research tasks are very intertwined and is a very strong relationship and I think it will remain strong in the future," she said.

As a part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Program, private companies like Bell, created a tiltrotor concept demonstrator aircraft, the V-280 Valor, which successfully achieved first flight in 2017. ARL researchers visited the company in January to see the demonstrator up close and talk with Bell engineers.

Riddick said the JMR-TD Program Office informs the requirements for the Future Vertical Lift program-of-record and has provided significant funding for the fabrication of TRAST.

"They're depending on the laboratory to deliver the foundational research to enable future tiltrotor aircraft to attain higher speeds and greater stability," Riddick said. "This is a truly joint effort between the laboratory's research scientists and its partners to produce knowledge and understanding for future decision making. It also highlights the level of collaboration across the Army science and technology community to deliver on the Army's modernization priorities."

NASA has unique facilities that the Army does not have, but with a cooperative, collaborative relationship they use the facilities and work with NASA researchers to attain Army goals, Wilbur said. The wind tunnel lets researchers push the envelope in dynamic testing by producing winds of Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.

"Obviously a rotorcraft does not fly that fast; however we do have unlimited flight velocity range for a rotorcraft, and the rotorcraft of the future will be flying faster and faster and this is one of the only facilities in the world in which rotorcraft are consistently tested that already meets and exceeds the flight range that rotorcraft are expected to fly," Wilbur said.

In addition to higher speeds, Army researchers said they are confident that advances in tiltrotor design will save lives.

"The faster you can fly, the faster you can get somebody off the battlefield and into a hospital and that could potentially save their life," said Army researcher Andrew Kreshock. "One of the biggest impacts may be on how the Army operates because a lot of bases are staged around the range of aircraft and how fast they can get to the front line and save Soldiers' lives."

The TRAST program will provide critical experimental data to enable the validation of existing engineering analysis tools and the development of new and improved analysis tools. Together, the experimental data and the improved analyses will be used to identify a tiltrotor aircraft's strengths and weaknesses.

"Where that benefits the future warfighter is that allows us to push the technology faster, farther so that they will have a tiltrotor aircraft that is significantly improved," he said. "We're always looking 20 years out into the future in terms of the technologies that we're trying to develop, but it's very rewarding when we can make good things happen and we know we've developed a viable technology for the Army."

###

The CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our Nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Courtesy St. Lucia Times(NEW YORK) -- The Church of Scientology cruise ship Freewinds that was quarantined on the island nation of St. Lucia for three days because of a measles case is on its way to its home port, where authorities plan to quarantine it again.

The ship is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curacao, around daybreak Saturday, according to officials on the island and Albert Elens, managing director of Maduro Shipping, the Freewinds' agent in Curacao.

When it arrives, a team of local health officials will assess those on board before consulting with international health agencies on a disembarkation plan, the head of the Epidemiology and Research Unit at Curacaos Ministry of Health, Izzy Gerstenbluth, told ABC News. The vast majority of those aboard the ship were crew members, including the woman who had tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth, said.

The ship is expected to arrive around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the Curacao Ports Authority. There are about 300 crew members and passengers on board, according to Elens.

On Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, chief medical officer in St. Lucia, announced that a cruise ship had docked on the island and was being quarantined as health officials investigated a possible case of measles aboard the vessel. By Wednesday, St. Lucia police had confirmed the ship was the Freewinds and belonged to the Church of Scientology.

The Freewinds website describes the ship as "a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom."

St. Lucia's Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement Thursday that its investigation aboard the ship had confirmed that one person had measles.

Gerstenbluth, who is a public health physician and epidemiologist, said he had been in touch daily with the ship's doctor, who originally thought the woman with measles had a cold. The woman had been in Europe "for a while" before boarding the ship on April 17, he said. The ship's doctor said she exhibited cold symptoms on April 22, developed a fever the next day, and three days later developed a rash, according to Gerstenbluth, who said the ship's doctor isolated the woman from the start.

When the ship stopped in Aruba on Monday, the ship's doctor took a blood sample that, two days later, tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth said. At that point, Gerstenbluth consulted with the ship's doctor about isolating the woman and taking an inventory of those on the ship, as authorities in St. Lucia -- the ship's next destination -- were notified.

"On the ship, you have to be a bit more broad-minded and consider the entire ship to have had contact," Gerstenbluth said.

In St. Lucia, both police and the health ministry said that no one had been allowed on or off the ship until it departed Thursday night over fears that others on the ship may be infected.

"Measles, we know, is a highly infectious disease. So because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark," Fredericks-James said. "The Ministry of Health continues to work with all authorities."

St. Lucian authorities did not disclose any information about the woman and Gerstenbluth said he did not know her nationality.

The woman, as well as other crew and passengers, were "stable" and under surveillance by the ship's doctor, the St. Lucian health ministry said Thursday.

"Continued surveillance is necessary as the incubation period for measles ranges from 10 to 12 days, before symptoms in exposed persons occur," the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it had also provided 100 doses of the measles vaccine, free of charge, at the request of the ship's doctor.

When Curacao authorities investigate Saturday, they will also seek out information about people who had been in contact with the infected woman in the days before she tested positive for measles and who had already left the ship, Gerstenbluth said.

"Thats another group that were trying to make an inventory of," he said. "Who are these people, where do they live, and where do they come from?"

Gerstenbluth said those still aboard who had been previously vaccinated or who had previously had the measles would likely be allowed to disembark after authorities investigate Saturday.

Before the ship's departure from St. Lucia Thursday night, authorities there were in contact with their counterparts in Curacao and shared information with them, St. Lucia's health ministry said. It also said local officers who boarded the ship while it was in St. Lucia would continue to be monitored. St. Lucia confirmed Friday that the ship had departed Thursday night "for its home port in the Dutch Caribbean."

An adviser to Dominica's prime minister told ABC News Thursday that the ship had intended to come to Dominica for an event but that the event had since been canceled and the ship was not coming.

The ship was scheduled to depart to Aruba on Sunday night but Elens said the health-inspection team and Aruban officials would determine whether the ship would stay in Curacao or continue onward as planned.

"[We] will have to wait and see," he said.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

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Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:37:50|Editor: ZX

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ZHENGZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Police in the city of Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, have detained 75 suspects in an alleged telecom and online fraud case concerning a fake stock trading platform.

A total of 88 computers, 110 mobile phones, nine cars and hundreds of bank cards were confiscated, according to the city's public security bureau on Saturday.

According to the police, the suspects, disguised as online stock brokers, added victims on social media platforms, dragged them into group chats entitled "stock investment" and recommended promising stocks regularly in the group.

They would provide a fake stock trading platform through which money of the victims would go to their accounts instead of the stock market.

After manipulating stock prices on the fake platform, the suspects would tell the victims that they have suffered huge losses or just blacklist the victims.

Further investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:01|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:05|Editor: ZX

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SHANGHAI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found that a lack of circular RNAs may spin the immune system out of control and lead to lupus, suggesting new thoughts in lupus treatment.

A research team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and doctors from Renji hospital of the school of medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University found that people with lupus have lower-than-normal levels of circular RNAs, triggering an immune reaction meant to fight viruses.

Lupus is a condition whereby the immune system becomes too active. The pathogenesis of lupus and its radical treatment have so far remained unknown.

Raising levels of circular RNAs in cells taken from lupus patients restored the normal activity of a protein involved in rousing one arm of the immune system, according to Chen Lingling, researcher of the team.

"The findings provide new thoughts in possible therapeutic strategies for lupus treatment," said Shen Nan, researcher of the team.

The results have been published in the world's top journal Cell.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:07|Editor: Li Xia

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MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- One soldier was killed and four other servicemen were injured on Friday after ammunition went off at a shooting range in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, TASS news agency reported Saturday.

The soldiers, acting in violation of safety rules, lighted a campfire that caused the explosion, TASS said, quoting the press service of Russia's Central Military District.

The wounded servicemen were promptly taken to the garrison's hospital.

A criminal case has been initiated for breaching the rules of handling ammunition.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:11|Editor: Li Xia

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CANBERRA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) revealed a billion-dollar plan on Saturday to protect the environment if it wins the general election on May 18.

The ALP released its full plan for the environment, pledging to spend 50 million Australian dollars (35.1 million U.S. dollars) to establish the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) in what would be a first for Australia.

The party will also spend 100 million Australian dollars (70.2 million U.S. dollars) in protecting native species.

The ALP said in a statement that the suite of new measures would cost 1 billion Australian dollars (702 million U.S. dollars) and would "reshape Australia's approach to caring for our unique natural assets."

"Labor will call on all states and territories, business and civil society to join in a national effort to protect our iconic animal and plant species."

The native species fund will be tasked with prioritizing the restoration of plants and animals facing "the most pressing" extinction issues.

A Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis in April warned that Australia's current approach to conservation is "incapable" of stopping the current rate of extinction, calling for a "complete overhaul" of legislation.

"We're the extinction capital of the world," Tony Burke, Labor's environment spokesperson, told Fairfax Media on Saturday.

"This plan would see us start to turn the corner rather than accelerate towards a cliff. When a species is gone, it's lost forever."

Many of the initiatives will be funded by the ALP's pledge to recover a controversial 443.3-million-Australian dollar (311.3-million-U.S. dollar) grant given to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation by the LNP.

The grant has come under scrutiny since it was revealed that the foundation, which had only six full-time staff and annual revenues of 10 million Australian dollars at the time it was awarded, did not ask for the funding and that it was not subject to the usual open tender process for government grants.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, May 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were moderately wounded in the Israeli airstrikes that were waged on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that Israeli Army air forces warplanes struck with missiles more than ten targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians and wounded 51 others on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said on Friday that the Israeli army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and wounded 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli siege.

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday evening was a response to a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen, where two Israeli soldiers, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip, were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians have been taking place while two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:17|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China saw a total of 195 million domestic tourist trips made during the four-day May Day holiday, up 13.7 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Tourism revenue reached 117.67 billion yuan (about 17.48 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday which lasts from Wednesday to Saturday, up 16.1 percent, according to the ministry.

Statistics show that family trips have become the highlights of the tourism sector, boosting cultural, recreation and catering consumption.

Tourists stay an average of 2.25 days at their destinations, according to the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:19|Editor: Li Xia

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TALLINN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A citywide beach action day Clean Beach was held on Saturday in the Estonian capital as part of the program of the Urban Maintenance Month from April 14 to May 15 to raise environmental awareness of citizens.

The event of the communal work day includes cleaning the beach area and the seaside park, various recreational games, prize drawings and environmental discussions.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev told Xinhua that "the event started 11 years ago in 2008. It was a big campaign, not only in Estonia".

Similar beach cleaning events are held in Helsinki and Turku in Finland on the same day, according to the Tallinn city government.

Belobrovtsev expected Tallinn to become the European Green Capital city in the future through such environmental campaign efforts.

The deputy mayor also talked about the importance of China's role in environment protection.

"It's very important for China as well to become one of the environment protective countries. China, as such a big country with the huge number of population, is ready to take care of the green environment, the impact to the whole world will be huge," he said.

Dmitry Krutoy, Head of the Sector for Environmental Projects of the St. Petersburg city government, was present at the Tallinn Clean Beach campaign. He told Xinhua that the traditional international environmental campaign devoted to well-being of the Baltic Sea environment is scheduled to be held on May 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"We cooperate together the Russian Federation, Estonia and Finland. This action takes place in different cities of St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Turku. Since 2014, it is already the sixth such action to join our forces in an environmental way to fight against the problems of waste in the water areas in the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea. Only together can we solve it," said Krutoy.

Krutoy also praised China's efforts in environment protection, saying "I understand that China pays more and more attention to environment these days compared to several, 10, 20 or 30 years ago. There are more and more transports environmentally friendly, more and more environmental technologies are also implemented in China".

Under the slogan "Let's burnish our city!", the 28th Maintenance Month campaign in Tallinn includes cleaning days, communal work and hazardous waste collection campaigns, focusing on raising public environmental awareness. The campaign first started in 1991, said the Tallinn city government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:23:25|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued an alert Saturday for mountain torrents in a vast part of the country.

From Saturday night to Sunday night, areas in the southern provinces of Hunan and Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are likely to receive mountain torrents.

Southwestern China's Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region and the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai were also warned of such a natural disaster occurring.

Northwestern Guangdong and eastern Guangxi have a high possibility of mountain torrents.

To guard against disasters, the agencies told local authorities to step up real-time monitoring and flood warnings and stand ready for evacuation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:29|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement al-Quds Brigades threatened on Saturday that it would expand the range of rickets fired into Israel and will target strategic posts and locations.

The group published a 45-second video, showing its masked militants and members of the group's rockets unit fixing long-range rockets that would reach central and northern Israel.

The video also showed pictures of strategic places and their names in both Arabic and Hebrew, including Dimona nuclear reactor, Ashdod Seaport, Ben-Gurion Airport, and Haifa oil refineries.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamic Hamas movement.

Israeli Radio reported that the Israeli army air forces warplanes struck by missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip was a response to firing more than 150 rockets and projectiles from the coastal enclave into Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:30|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Nighttime consumption in Beijing during the four-day May Day holiday has been on the rise, as the capital continues to drive economic growth with what it calls "nighttime economy."

The nighttime economy refers to business activities between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the service sector. It appeared in Beijing's latest government work report, which urges malls, supermarkets and convenience stores to stay open later at night.

Revenue in 60 key retailers and restaurants monitored by the municipal commerce bureau reached 3.22 billion yuan (478 million U.S. dollars) during the holiday, up by 6.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the bureau.

Restaurant consumption in mall-clustered Wangfujing, Sanlitun and Qingnianlu surged 51.3 percent during the nighttime hours compared with the same period last year.

A total of 24 shopping centers have registered nearly 40 percent more visitors during the holiday, the statistics showed.

Beijing sees a big market for late-night spending. Data released by Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing in 2018 showed Beijing had the largest number of travelers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:33:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SARAJEVO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The 17th international meeting of old-timer cars that have marked the past century opened on Saturday in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo.

The event brought together owners of old cars from Hungary, Germany, Austria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, organizer of the event and president of "Oldtimer" club Nedim Husic told Xinhua.

There are a total of 50 cars presented, and the oldest car is Ford produced back in 1917.

The special attention of visitors was taken by a replica of the car which was used by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty in 1896, who was killed on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo and whose death triggered the First World War.

Edo Kapetanovic, maker of the replica told Xinhua that the replica was finished in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of Ferdinand's assassination. It took exactly 100 days to make the car.

He explained that he traveled worldwide to find parts for the car, and the majority of them he made by himself, and that car is made for driving on any kind of terrain.

Small blue car of "Fico" brand used by police in former Yugoslavia also attracted the attention of visitors and brought memories of nostalgia and of 1970s.

Owner of the car, Radovan Sibanic, said that Fico has a special soul and that there are more and more people who are emotionally connected to Yugoslavia.

"When I was around 20 years old, I drove to Sarajevo with my Fico car, and several decades later, here I am again," Sibanic concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israel decided to close borders and sea coast of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the flaring tension with the Palestinian militants, Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Raed Fattouh, head of the committee to coordinate the entrance of goods into Gaza, told reporters that the Israeli side informed his office that the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom will be closed on Sunday until a further notice.

The Palestinian Authority liaison office also announced in a press statement that Israel informed that Erez crossing on the border between northern Gaza Strip and Israel will also be closed on Sunday.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Fishermen Association in Gaza Nizar Ayyash said in a statement that the Israeli authorities decided to close the sea coast of the Gaza Strip and prevent fishermen from fishing starting from Saturday night.

"The Israeli decision of closing the land and the sea of the Gaza Strip is unfair," said Ayyash.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven others wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement.

Israel Radio reported that the Israeli army Air Forces warplanes struck with missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes were a response to over 150 rockets and projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli airstrikes and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:19:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed "confidence" in an ultimate "deal" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), despite reports that Pyongyang fired projectiles.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that "anything in this very interesting world is possible...Deal will happen!"

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

In a short statement, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "We will continue to monitor as necessary."

For its part, South Korea's presidential Blue House has expressed great concern over the DPRK's firing of projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun "will travel to Tokyo May 7-8 and Seoul May 9-10 to meet with Japanese and R.O.K. officials to discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The second summit between Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in late February failed to reach a deal on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Choe Son Hui, vice minister of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, has said recently that Pyongyang's determination to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged if Washington takes a new stand in future negotiations.

"When the time comes, we will put it into practice. But this is possible only under the condition that the U.S. changes their current method of calculation and formulates a new stand," Choe said.

"We could wait until the end of this year to see whether the U.S. makes a courageous decision," Choe said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:44:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday morning praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for U.S.-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump added.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax.'"

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un last week, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on the DPRK.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:34:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Proficiency Competition "Chinese Bridge" for school and college students was held here in Vilnius on Saturday.

Eleven contestants of five high schools and two universities from Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, second largest city Kaunas and port city Klaipeda participated in the competition staged at the Aula Parva Hall of Vilnius University.

Titled "Learning Chinese, Creating Brighter Future", the first part of the contest for school students gathered eight students, who were required to demonstrate their Chinese language skills by making a free speech in Chinese, going through a quiz on the knowledge about China and Chinese culture and talents show.

Austeja Oboleviciute, a 17-year-old student from Vilnius Jesuits Gymnasium won the competition, and the second place was secured by Auguste Daugelaite from Klaipeda Azuolyno Gymnasium. They will later represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign secondary school students in China.

Under the theme of "One World and One Family," five contestants from two leading Lithuanian universities competed in the second part of the contest for college students featuring also "free speeches," "Q&As" and "Chinese talent show".

The winner was Vaidotas Bacianskas, a fourth year student at Vilnius University. He will represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign college students to be held in China with Kristina Burdryte from the same university, who secured the second place.

Burdryte, who started self learning of Chinese at the age of 15, told Xinhua, that he's satisfied with his performance during the competition. "I am quite satisfied with my performances today. To me winning does not matter so much, I value this event as a platform to improve my knowledge, make friends and express myself," said the second place winner.

The Chinese Bridge competition series includes those for foreign secondary school students and foreign college students. Launched by China's Confucius Institute Headquarters in 2002 aiming to encourage foreign students to learn Chinese, the competition has drawn more than 300,000 contestants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:54:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) plans to hold a major regional economic conference for eastern African countries to foster peace and promote sustainable development in the region, an EU diplomat said Saturday.

Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, the EU charge d'affaires to Somalia, said the conference, organized jointly with the World Bank and the Ethiopian government, will be held in July in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"The focus will be to address regional infrastructure in the energy and transport sectors; trade, including the development of the financing sector, value chains and the regulatory environment; and human capital development through the improvement of education and skills," Ruiz said in Mogadishu during celebrations marking Europe Day.

Ruiz said the planned conference comes amid good progress in relations between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, paving way for even greater cooperation.

The thawing of relations among Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea has seen restoration of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea re-opening embassies in each other's capitals.

Ruiz said the historic agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the tripartite bringing both countries together with Somalia offer unprecedented opportunities and open a pathway to a new era of cooperation.

"Transforming the region will not only require political commitment and leadership, but also sound economic strategies to keep pace with the expectations of the people of the region," he said.
File Photo: U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, visits an exhibition on his invested companies before the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States, on May 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:40:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NICOSIA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Saturday strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades branded Turkey's move as unlawful and added that actions are being taken to counter it. He did not go into details, though, saying that the foreign minister who coordinates this action will make a briefing on the issue.

Anastasiades noted that Turkey's actions came as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

"Turkey's actions can't help this dialogue and it is time for everyone to understand that unfortunately there are obstacles that reasonably can't lead to the resumption of dialogue despite our political will," Anastasiades said.

Shortly after Anastasiades's statement, Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a strongly worded statement deploring Turkish actions as illegal.

In the statement, she called on Turkey to refrain from "illegal actions" and added that there would be EU response "in full solidarity with Cyprus."

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini's statement read.

According to the statement, in March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the statement noted.

Turkey said on Friday it has issued a notice to mariners blocking entry into a sea zone about 60 kilometers off the western city of Paphos, saying it has sent there its drilling ship to carry out offshore exploratory drilling, according to media reports.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:45:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ALGIERS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Security services in Algeria on Saturday arrested a number of former senior intelligence officials, local media reported.

The arrested officials include Mohamed Medien (alias Toufik) and Bachir Tartag, two former intelligence chiefs, and Said Bouteflika, brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, quoting security sources, TSA news website reported.

The three officials were accused publicly by Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah of plotting schemes against the army and the nation to thwart the popular protest movement that erupted across Algeria to demand political change.

Toufik served as Algeria's intelligence boss from 1990 to 2015.

Tartag is considered as close member of the presidential clan. He resigned as chief of intelligence on April 2, the same day of former President Bouteflika's resignation.

Said Bouteflika took advantage of the illness of President Bouteflika to take key decisions that harmed the nation's interests, Salah said.

Algerians have been protesting since Feb 22 across the country to demand the departure of the regime.

The military institution pledged to work for meeting the people's aspirations, as a series of arrests were launched against several prominent state and military officials as well as businessmen, who are prosecuted over corruption charges.
Supporter of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido clash with forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro on April 30, 2019. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza will hold talks here on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.

Lavrov and Arreaza will discuss the pressure exerted by a group of countries on Caracas and Washington's threats to use force against the incumbent government, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

According to the Russian media Sputnik, Ryabkov said it is necessary to curb street chaos that the opposition incited for provocations, and Russia advocates inclusive dialogue, which the Venezuelan government is ready for.

He underlined that Russia and Venezuela are "reliable partners."

The meeting with Arreaza will take place just one day ahead of Lavrov's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Venezuela among other issues in Finland on Monday.

In a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country."

External interference does nothing but undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the current crisis, Putin told Trump.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

The attempted coup was later frustrated by security forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:10:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The intricately-carved orb of a magical pumpkin glows a vibrant green as if suffused with life, a crystalline baby sleeps curled in sweet repose, and a forest of ruby-red flower petals yearn skyward from illuminated stems. Riots of colors swirl and dance - from the pristinely transparent, to luminous white, to electric blues and sunny yellows - all captured in stunning Liuli (colored glaze) sculptures that draw admiring crowds and the whir of press cameras.

It's all happening at an ongoing art exhibition in the U.S. city of Costa Mesa in southern California on Thursday, entitled "Goodbye Movies, Hello Liuli -- The Liuli Art of Loretta H. Yang and Chang Yi."

The show that kicked off on Thursday and will last until May 12 at South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center on the U.S. West Coast, coincided with the plaza's Asian heritage month festivities.

Three blonde ladies who had gone through the exhibit together were enthralled. "It's beautiful!" said one. "So natural and spiritual," said the second. "It's one of the most amazing exhibits South Coast Plaza has ever had. Very Zen. Very special," said the third.

Loretta H. Yang, an award-winning film actress from China's Taiwan, co-founded with her husband Chang Yi, a renowned film director, the first contemporary Liuli art studio in Asia in 1987. Yang is a two-time winner of the Best Leading Actress award at the Golden Horse Awards and winner of the Best Actress prize at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. They were at the height of their film careers in the late 1980s when they gave it all up to answer the siren call of a very different artform: Liuli.

The couple told media at the opening ceremony that they have been committed to the research and revival of the Liuli pate-de-verre technique that dates back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

"It was important to us both to convey the profound essence of the Chinese culture and celebrate their artistic expression through the rich medium of Liuli," Yang told Xinhua.

"Our focus is not just pure artistic creation as modern artists. We want to connect more with the people by integrating traditional elements as well," added Chang.

Chang told Xinhua, "We are happy to have this exhibit in California. We would like to share the love and the wisdom behind Liuli with American audiences too."

The Shanghai and Taipei-based collaborators have exhibited their work in such prestigious institutions as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Bowers Museum in California, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The entire display, including the curved wall enclosures and intricate pedestals and lighting effects were carefully designed by the artists themselves to an environment that does not just showcase the work, but becomes a holistic and integrated part of it.

Carmela Spinelli, a fashion historian visiting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, was astounded by the intricate beauty of the exhibition.

"I got chills walking through it," she told Xinhua. "The sense of tranquility, the exquisite glass sculptures, the videos, the matching Haiku poetry, the lighting, and even the bases the sculptures rest on are all finely conceived and integrated into an astoundingly complex, multi-faceted cohesive whole without a single jarring note. That makes your spirits soar."

One of the centerpieces of the exhibit, "Delivered to Great Love," is a red, 70-inch glass flower resting on a base that weighs over a ton with a Buddha's eye closed in meditation. In a nod to China's deep belief in the power of the collective, they crafted the flower not as one large sculpture, but as 17 distinct, sculpted petals and stems, which, when clustered together, create a single flawless bloom.

"This is a harmonious and mutually-beneficial relationship that does not focus on the self but on the greater good of everyone involved," explained the artists.

The exhibit gives art-lovers a much-needed sense of tranquility and peace. Thomas, an American man whose wife had owned an art gallery near San Francisco for years, said of the work, "We gravitated to Liuli as an artform. It has a strong spiritual element."

Marilyn, an acupuncturist and U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization, said of the work, "It has revived a type of artwork in China that has been lost for many centuries. In Western glass, only Lalique and Baccarat still survive. Liuli is a magnificent style of art that is based on the Chinese culture, which has so many layers to it - philosophically, spiritually, Feng Shui...It's all there."

Peter Keller, President of the Bowers Museum, told Xinhua, "We were the first museum to exhibit Loretta Yang in the United States. Now, you can see how far she's come and how well this work resonates with American audiences."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:20:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Greece condemned on Saturday Turkey's decision to proceed to drilling for oil and gas in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We call on Turkey to immediately stop its illegal activities, to respect the inalienable rights of the sovereign Republic of Cyprus that it exercises for the benefit of all the Cypriot people and to avoid further actions that undermine stability in the region as well as the resumption of talks for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem," said an e-mailed press statement issued from the Greek Foreign Ministry.

Athens is in constant communication and coordination with the Republic of Cyprus and European Union (EU) partners regarding the next steps, said the statement.

Ankara announced lately its intention to conduct exploratory drilling operations in the area in the coming months.

Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement on Saturday, expressing "grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus."

In March 2018, Mogherini's statement read, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," it noted.

Turkey rejected Mogherini's statement later on Saturday, saying "Turkey's hydrocarbon related activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law."

"Having the longest coastal line in the region, we will protect our own rights and interests within our continental shelf, as well as those of the Turkish Cypriots around the Cyprus Island," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It blamed the Greek Cypriot Administration for not having abstained from "irresponsibly jeopardizing the security and stability" of the region, "by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots, who are co-owners of the Cyprus Island, on the natural resources, refusing every proposal of cooperation and insisting on its unilateral activities in the region despite all our warnings."

Turkey asked all other actors outside the region to "acknowledge the fact that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot be excluded from the energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean and they should stop providing unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot Administration."

Earlier on Saturday, Cyprus strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot EEZ, saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:31:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian capital is hosting the International Puppet Theatre Festival, with theatre troupes from 12 countries and regions around the world participating.

Puppet theatre troupes from Russia, Brazil, Belgium, UK, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Albania and Kosovo will showcase for one week their original works.

The Albanian troupe started the festival with the show Three Pigs on Friday evening.

"Our first aim is cultural exchange, to take the world's experiences on how a puppet theater is developed, and to introduce other troupes to Albania," said Erion Isai, director of the Puppet Theater.

Shegushe Bebeti, an actress from the Albanian Puppet Theater, said the program of the festival will include a variety of different puppet shows for kids, families, adults, which will help all the troupes not only to gain experiences, but also to learn from each other.

From May 3 to 9, children and adults alike will have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of puppet shows at the Puppet Theatre of the capital.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkey killed 28 Kurdish militants on Saturday in retaliation to an attack which left three Turkish soldiers dead, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, three Turkish soldiers were killed and one was injured in a mortar attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey southeastern Hakkari province.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat.

Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire both in Turkey's Hakkari and Syria's Tel Rifaat, the ministry said.

The PKK, regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday that Lebanon has around 136 illegal borders on its territories which should be shut down to protect the Lebanese market from the smuggling of foreign products.

"These illegal borders are killing our economy and industry and we need a political and security decision to shut them down and to stop protecting those who smuggle products from nearby countries," Bassil was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

The minister's remarks came during his meeting with industrialists in Jbeil, Mount of Lebanon.

Bassil assured that there is a need to protect certain kinds of industries which will generate revenues for the government.

"But this subject was never tackled in the council of ministers because there is a political decision not to protect local industries. We should stop these policies and commit to protecting our industries," he said.

Over a month ago, Lebanese industrialists announced a state of industrial emergency in Lebanon, calling upon officials to take quick measures to save the sector from further deterioration.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:26:18|Editor: ZX

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Smokes and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, May 4, 2019. Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

GAZA/RAMALLAH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll on Saturday increased to four and more than 20 others were wounded during the ongoing Israeli army airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the attacks targeted military posts and facilities that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He said that a 25-year-old Palestinian young man was killed by the shrapnel of an Israeli airstrike as he was driving a three-wheel motorcycle in northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

A pregnant mother and her 14-month-old female toddler were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military post which is close to their house in eastern Gaza city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the escalating Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).

According to the report, President Abbas called on the international community "to ensure an international protection of the Palestinian people."

"The current silence toward the crimes of Israel and toward its violations of the international law is encouraging Israel to carry on committing more crimes against the children of the Palestinian people," said Abbas.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, called on Egypt and the United Nations to stop the assaults on the Gaza Strip and restore calm.

He called on the international community to intervene immediately and halt the Israeli attacks, adding "the authority of the occupation should be accountable for committing crimes against our people."

Gaza militant groups fired more rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday night, while Israeli warplanes continued striking on military facilities and posts that belong to militant groups.

The Gaza Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises various Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement, warned Israel on Saturday of escalating its aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The chamber of military operations said in a press statement that "the response of the factions will be bigger, larger and tougher in case the occupation (Israel) expands its assaults and aggression."

"The armed wings of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip will be the defensive shield for our people and our lands," said the statement, adding "the joint chamber of operations will keep an eye on the Zionist enemy's behavior on the ground."

It claimed responsibility for launching dozens of projectiles and rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, adding "launching rockets was made in the frame of responding to the Zionist enemy's violations and shedding our people's blood."

Tension between Israel and the Palestinian factions' militant groups has been flaring since Friday.

More rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli warplanes and Israeli army artillery continued launching strikes on militants' facilities and posts all over the coastal enclave.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli army spokesman announced that its warplanes destroyed an underground tunnel that belongs to the Islamic Jihad and goes from the town of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip into Israel.

More than 30 military posts and training facilities that belong to various factions' armed wing were hit by Israeli warplanes missiles all over the Gaza Strip, while militants fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The Israeli cabinet decided on Saturday night to expand its strikes on militant groups in the Gaza Strip, while Gaza militants fired more rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel.

Leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad are currently in Cairo holding talks with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on defusing the growing tension in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday held the east-based army responsible for the return of Islamic State (IS) to southern Libya, following a deadly attack carried out by the terrorists in the southern city of Sabha against an army training center.

"The (government's) Presidential Council holds Haftar (army commander) directly responsible for the return of IS to its activity, after the services of government of national accord managed to eliminate the organization and pursue its remnants and sleeper cells," the government said in a statement.

"Haftar left his forces in chaos in the south, after he claimed that his war there aimed to eliminate terrorism," the statement added.

The government also condemned the attack, offering condolences to the families of the victims.

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, since January.

The army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thanassis Theocharopoulos, leader of the Democratic Left (DIMAR) party in Greece, was sworn in on Saturday as the country's new tourism minister in a ceremony here at the Presidential Mansion, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Theocharopoulos was appointed to the post after his predecessor Elena Kountoura resigned earlier this week in order to focus on her campaign for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Several MPs and mayors have resigned in recent weeks from their posts to concentrate on the campaign for the European ballot slated for May 26 in Greece.

Theocharopoulos, 40, holds a MSc in Agricultural Engineering and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics.

Tourism, a traditionally strong pillar of the Greek economy, has been a key driver in Greece's efforts to deal with the debt crisis in the past decade.

Greece welcomed more than 30 million visitors last year, setting a new all-time record, and the trend is positive also this year, according to experts from the tourism industry.

"We are working together to promote realistic Left solutions for society's problems. We are moving forward with decisiveness and boldness," Theocharopoulos told Greek national broadcaster ERT outside the Presidential Mansion, commenting on his party's decision to cooperate with the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA ahead of the European elections.

Currently DIMAR, a small social democratic party, holds one seat in the 300-member strong Greek parliament. Theocharopoulos is the party's only MP. The next general elections in Greece will be held in October 2019, as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:01:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Amid a global slowdown in auto sales, General Motors (GM), Ford, and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) have accelerated model changeover and restructured their joint ventures in China, the world's biggest auto market.

In their recently released first quarter results, all the "Big Three" from U.S. auto industry hub Detroit reported decreased worldwide deliveries. Their volumes in China slid as well at a time when China's auto sales in the first quarter of 2019 were down 11.3 percent year over year.

As the three leading U.S. automakers strive hard in their home market, they are wasting no time in rolling out new models in China, in a bid to revitalize their performance there.

GM and its joint ventures in China delivered nearly 814,000 vehicles in China in Q1, down 17.45 percent from the same period of 2018.

Under increasing pressure from fierce competition, GM has planned a major model changeover in China this year, with a pledge to continuously improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles and broadly apply its global technologies on models built and sold locally.

In the first quarter, GM's Chevrolet brand launched new Monza and Onix sedans in China.

In April, 15 new or refreshed Chevrolet vehicles were shown at Auto Shanghai 2019, this year's leading automotive event in China.

During the auto show, GM unveiled the all-new Chevrolet Trailblazer compact SUV and Tracker small SUV, as part of its effort to further strengthen the brand's presence in China.

"Chevrolet is bringing to China world-class vehicles that leverage GM's global resources and target our customers' specific needs," said Scott Lawson, general director of Chevrolet for SAIC-GM, a joint venture between the U.S. automaker and its Shanghai-based partner.

Cadillac, the luxury brand of GM, brought its six-seat SUV XT6 to the Shanghai auto show, the first time in Asia. It will also be the first localized global large luxury SUV in the market, said GM, and will be available later this year.

Buick, another GM brand, debuted its all-new Encore and Encore GX, two small/compact SUVs at the Shanghai auto show.

Buick also unveiled Velite 6, the brand's first all-electric vehicle, joining other global competitors in China's rapidly expanding new-energy vehicle market. Buick plans to introduce eight new and refreshed products this year and more than 20 new and refreshed models between 2019 and 2023 in China.

Another leading U.S. automaker Ford has also announced that it will launch more than 30 new vehicles tailored to Chinese consumers in the next three years, in order to make a quick turnaround in China.

During an April event in Shanghai, Ford said that among the new Ford and Lincoln vehicles to be introduced in China, at least 10 will be electric cars.

More importantly, as part of "Ford China 2.0" strategy, Ford will set up four centers in China, focused on innovation, design, products and new energy vehicles respectively.

"China is leading the world with smart vehicles, and is a key part of Ford's global vision for the future. We are excited about seeing more products developed in China, for China and from China," Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett was quoted as saying.

"Ford is deeply committed to China, and with our new China leadership team and vision, we're investing in the future -- a future that starts today," he added.

At the "Ford China 2.0" conference recently held in Shanghai, Ford launched SYNC+, a new in-vehicle infotainment system co-developed with China's IT giant Baidu for Chinese consumers.

Since July, Ford has taken urgent measures to address underperformance in China after it suffered a sharp decline in overall profits in the second quarter of 2018.

The sale of Ford-branded -- import and domestic -- vehicles totaled 74,651 in Q1 2019, down 48.4 percent year over year, a harsher reality Ford has to face in China than its Detroit peer GM.

The blue oval now tries to improve cost competitiveness with aggressive fitness actions, localize more products in China, as well as recruit more local talent to key management positions.

Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American automaker, suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally. Its combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said on Friday that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, and underlined the progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

The streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," FCA said in a statement.

Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said that with such a deeper integration of the business between FCA and GAC, and the next steps in improving competitiveness in China, they will be able to "better react to the demands of the Chinese market."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:06:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday condemned the deadly attack carried out by Islamic State (IS) militants on an army training center in the south Libya's Sabha city.

"The UNSMIL strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sabha, which was claimed by the IS in the Levant and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties. Perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," the mission said in a statement.

"This attack serves as a strong reminder to all Libyans, as well as to the international community, that terrorist groups will exploit every opportunity, including the ongoing fighting in Tripoli, to expand their presence in Libya," the statement added.

The mission called on Libyan parties to "to refrain from further military escalation and focus their efforts instead on combating this common enemy."

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the eastern-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar.

The army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting has so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
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- Former national leader of the National Liberal Party (PN), major at rule, Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday that settling the ongoing political and governmental crisis is a national emergency that has to happen immediately, with the option of rebuilding the coalition around PNL ointly with the Save

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- Prime Minister Florin Citu stated that the allotted budget for this year for Healthcare, up to this time, was by 5.7 billion RON bigger than last year and mentioned that the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta benefited from European funds worth 22.6 million RON, allotted for the management
From the beginning of the day, May 4th, the pro-Russian militants violated the ceasefire nine times and used weapons of prohibited calibers in Donbas conflict zone. This is reported by the JFO headquarters.



In the Luhansk sector, the militants fired at Ukrainian positions six times.



Mariinka, Novomykhailivka, Pisky, Talakivka and Lebedynske got under fire from grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms.



In the Donetsk sector, the occupants fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine three times.

Zaitseve came under fire from 120 caliber mortars, Luhanske - from 82 caliber, and Zolote-4 was shelled from automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.



No casualties among the Joint Forces were reported.



Losses of the enemy are being specified.

Earlier Ihor Kolomoysky, the Ukrainian businessman and oligarch said there's a civilian conflict going on in Donbas, and Russia has been supporting one of the sides in it.

When asked about the belligerents in this war, Kolomoysky replied that 'Ukrainians fight against Ukrainians'.

The Ukrainian oligarch believes if it was not for Russia's support, the conflict would have been settled a long time ago. The businessman is convinced that Russia provoked and organized these hostilities in Ukraine.

Kolomoysky is known for his close business ties with Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.
A portable ground control complex Kredo-M1, which is arms of the Russian Army, was spotted on the occupied territories of Donbas near Pervomaisk village. The Special Monitoring Mission OSCE in Ukraine reported this on May 3.

On May 2, 2019, the drone of small radius of action recorded the portable ground control observation station PSNR-8 Kredo-M1 - in the western outskirts of Pervomaysk settlement (58 km west of Lugansk), the report said.

This week, the sappers examined the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and destroyed 18 explosive devices in the Donbas conflict zone.



State Emergency Service specialists examined 73.6 hectares. In this area, 18 explosive devices were discovered, which were subsequently destroyed. The survey was conducted at the Donetsk filtering station, in the area of the underground high-pressure gas pipeline in Mariupol, on the territory near the water supply network in the settlement of Nyzhnya Olkhova, in Toretsk and Novhorodske. Rescuers also worked at the cemeteries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
PrivatBank has increased the net commission income almost twice, up to 571 billion 257 million dollars, which made the highest record. The annual report of the company E&Y outlined this, as the press service of PrivatBank reported.

The increase of active users of the bank up to 10% and the number of transactions both in offices and online allowed net commission income to increase up to 49% in comparison to 2017, the report said.

According to the report, the increase of the net commission income in 2018 made 14.7 percent in comparison with 2017.

Commissions form a great part of the income of the bank is the important factor of the stability of the business model: the net commission income covers the administrative expenses over 109%, the report said.

Thus, PrivatBank appeared to be one of the best banks in Ukraine, the revenues of which exceeded over expenses in 2018.

In addition, according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, PrivatBank is the leader at the market of retail cashless transactions and it provides 42% of the commission income of the entire banking sector.

Earlier, on April 18, Kyiv-based court ruled that the nationalization of Privatbank in late 2017 was 'conducted with multiple law breaches.' The court, thus, granted the motion by Ihor Kolomoysky, the oligarch who appealed against the nationalization of the bank he had owned. District Administrative Court of Kyiv granted the claim of Kolomoysky, as he appealed against the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukraines Government on nationalization of PrivatBank.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, Zelenskys Advisor, former Finance Minister of Ukraine Dzerkalo Tyzhnia

Advisor to the president-elect of Ukraine, former Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk discussed the diversification of energy supplies to Ukraine on a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in Brussels. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky's team on Facebook.



During the meeting, we talked about attracting investments to increase natural gas production in Ukraine, possible ways of supplying American liquefied natural gas, as well as reforming the gas market in Ukraine, including Naftogaz Company, the message said.



Danyliuk noted that the role of the United States in diversifying energy supplies is important for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.



According to him, this reduces political risks and the cost of energy for consumers.

As we reported, uring a visit to Brussels, advisers to the president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of meetings with European officials and agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. Zelensky's press service reported this.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Oleksandr Danyliuk, Zelensky's adviser. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.
Open source

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has resumed sanctions threats against German companies that are participating in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline across the bottom of the Baltic Sea. FOCUS reported that.



From the American point of view, the gas pipeline will provide not only gas, but also an increased risk of sanctions, Grenell said.



He warned that European countries would become dependent on Russia because of the pipeline.



Among the German companies participating in the Nord Stream-2 project are the Uniper energy group and the oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea.



It is not the first time that Grenell has publicly demonstrated the position of the United States regarding the Nord Stream-2. In January, he even sent a letter to a number of German companies, in which he declared "a significant risk of sanctions" in connection with the implementation of the gas pipeline project.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the final defeat of the Islamic State militants in Syria, reports Reuters. "Trump has said Islamic State no longer holds territory several times over the past few weeks. But U.S. officials told Reuters that fighting still continued late into Thursday between U.S.-backed forces and Islamic State militants in the last remaining territory it holds," the report said.As reported, Acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said to President Donald Trump that the territory of Syria was freed from the control of the Islamic State militants.Earlier it was reported about the storming of the settlement of Baguz on the border with Iraq, which was the last point, control of which was maintained by ISIS in Syria. The success of the assault should be a signal for the withdrawal of American troops from this country, as announced by Donald Trump. Now there are about 2,000 U.S. servicemen there, about 400 will remain to secure the local security forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president elect Open source

Advisors to president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky came to Brussels and held a series of meetings with European officials. The latter agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Olexander Danyliuk, Zelensky's advisor. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka, during their visit to Brussels, held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament registered the bill on holding the solemn session of the parliament devoted to the making an oath to the Ukrainian people by President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk, Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBK, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Five trucks deliver products and hygiene kits to citizens of Donbas

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 95 tons of humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas, as Ukraines State Border Guard Service reported.

According to the report, five trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

Their baggage is 95 tons of products and hygiene kits. The humanitarian aid is sent for the residents of Donetsk occupied territories.

As we reported earlier, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

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 representatives of the illegal armed formations did not let three trucks carrying humanitarian aid onto the occupied territory of Donbas.
The press service of the Presidential Administration published the order of the President

Yuriy Fedorov, Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine State Security Service

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, as is written in the order  179/2019.

Yuriy Fedorov is Major General, born in Boyarka, Kyiv region on March 12, 1975. He has been serving in the State Guard of Ukraine since 1995. He was appointed as the Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine in 2014, replacing dismissed acting head Konstantin Kobzar by the order of Olexandr Turchynov.

Earlier, Oleg Gladkovsky was dismissed from his post of First Deputy Chairman of the National Security and Defence Council.

He added that his goal is to create conditions which could make people believe in the impartiality of the investigation.
uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations

In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the controller cannot provide any meaningful ADS-B performance information.

The best way to verify the correct functioning of ADS-B equipment is by requesting a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR)  which Larry also mentioned. This is what the FAA and ATC prefer.

I really enjoyed the article, by the way.

Paul Von Hoene

Folks, really not happy with your article yesterday regarding the uAvionix ADS-B wing-tip beacon. Your articles are usually very accurate and un-biased, but this one was the worst-case scenario!

I have helped or done 20+ installations using this device and the comments about it taking 4 hours are simply not normal or accurate. The vast majority that I have done or assisted with are installed in 15-20 minutes, and the setup or configuration using a phone or iPad rarely takes more than 20-30 minutes.

Then the comments about the 337 paperwork and such extending the time needed to 4 hours is sad to see as well. uAvionix have a long list of air-frames that are on their STC list and one of those requires a simple logbook entry then the validation flight.

I have no association with uAvionix other than I am one of their Qualified Installers and an A&P/IA. Hope that in the future you can re-address this and tell aircraft owners the truth and not the worst-case scenario as was done in this case.

Joe Abrahamson

The (Im)possible Turn

Finally, this argument is getting addressed with logic. For example, sailplane training includes tow rope break response. At 200 AGL in most trainers, options were 30 degrees or so left or right. Above 200 a return to the airport was not only possible, but sometimes required full air brakes and slips. To cement the idea, students call out 200 during the tow, they practice returns from this elevation, and the turn-around callout and a surprise release is part of the practical exam. Why not make it a part of normal takeoff chatter along with airspeed alive? Of course sailplanes have glide ratios that can approach 60:1 and your mileage in a C152 may vary, but the point is that a decision should be based on plane/pilot combinations that have been practiced and proven (at altitude) so that at some callout altitude a return to the runway becomes not just possible, but the best option.

As my CFI said, the best response to a lot of flying questions is: It depends.

John Lerchen

Undoing An Upset

All that talk about upsets with definite emphasis on spins, but NOTHING on spiral departures, which evolve rapidly into big descent rates and nose down one hole crashes too.

Bill Simpson

I must take issue with your use of the term deep stall in reference to doing a falling leaf. In a deep stall you lose effectiveness of all or a portion of your rudder and/or elevator. In a falling leaf both remain effective (except at the moment of stall break), otherwise you would not be able to perform the maneuver.

Bill Post

Reporting Fires In The Air

Here in Southern California we have two seasonswet and dry. Our dry season is also called Fire Season. Last year in late fire season I noticed smoke coming from one of our local hills. This is where a fire had developed and extinguished. However, I could see the fire had reignited.

I didnt know how to report the fire so I tried calling Riverside tower (KRAL) and gave them the position of the fire. I was flying from my home airport KAJO to KHMT for a breakfast flight. KHMT is also the base for firefighting tankers. Within ten minutes of my report I could see a flight of three fast moving aircraft at my twelve on my ADSB screen and same altitude. I descended and I could see three fire bombers flying toward the fire.

A week later while flying to Riverside Airport the controller heard my aircraft ID and asked if I was the one who reported the fire. He said the fire fighter wanted to thank me for the early warning. My report was the first they knew of the re-burn.

It is my belief that many pilots may see smoke and either think someone already knows about it or they dont know how to report it. Pilots could help during fire season if we were trained on how to spot fires and how to properly report them. It made me feel that my flying that day was a benefit to our firefighting efforts and not just another breakfast flight.

John Miller
This order was published on the website of the Presidential Administration

Open source

President of Petro Poroshenko dismissed Yuriy Artemenko from the post of the member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. The order was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.

According to the paragraph 13 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I resolve: to dismiss Artemenko Yuriy Anatoliyovych from the post of a member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, the report said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, reads the order  179/2019.
Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25

U.S. leader Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federatiom Vladimir Putin had a long-lasting phone call. They discussed the current crisis in Venezuela, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nuclear treaty with the possible participation of China and settling down the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The White House published this, as Deutsche Welle reported.

The call, which aides said lasted more than an hour, also included topics like a possible three-party arms control pact with China and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It should be noted that the heads of states discussed the current crisis in Venezuela and the nuclear weapons treaty.

The Kremlin said that the U.S. party initiated the call.

The presidents discussed the economic cooperation, in particular, the development of mutually beneficial trade and investment ties, the press service of the Kremlin said.

Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25.

Also, they discussed the report of the Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, who directed the investigation into Russia's possible interference into the US elections in 2016.

In addition, the issue of a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine was raised as well.
Leonid Zalyubovskiy, Oksana Zolotaryova and Andriy Tarasov will join the delegation to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea concerning the capture of Ukrainian sailors

Open source

The head of the delegation from Ukraine in International Tribunal will be Olena Zerkal, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration. The court will hold the hearing in the case against Russia on captured Ukrainian sailors. This is mentioned in the order 182/2019 of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenk, published on May 3.

To form the delegation of Ukraine for participation in the hearings of the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation concerning the immunity of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 members of the crew, the document said.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olena Zerkal is appointed the head of the delegation.

The delegation also included Leonid Zalyubovskiy, the Assistant Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Legal Affairs, Oksana Zolotaryova, the Deputy Director of the Department and the Head of the Department of Temporary Occupied Territories of the Department of International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andriy Tarasov, the Chief of Staff and the First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy.

Earlier, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held public hearings on Russia capturing Ukrainian sailors.

'President of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea defined dates of hearings in the case of temporary measures against the Russian Federation, as it violated the immunity of three Ukrainian Navy vessels and 24 crew members. The public hearings will take place on May 10 and May 11, 2019,' reads the message.
Open source

The Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine registered the bill on holding the solemn session devoted to the President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky making an oath on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk from the Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBC-Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Reading, Screening and Performance. Smith reading from his latest book, Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera (Eyewear Press, UK), based on his award-winning column in the Tucson Weekly; a screening of the festival-winning documentary short, TUCSON SALVAGE, based upon it; and live performance.

The book Tucson Salvage introduces readers/viewers to people and places on the margins of US society with great empathy and lyric, understated prose. While based in the Southwest, these are universal stories of everyday people struggling below the poverty line in Trumps America.

The documentary Tucson Salvage is a meditation on several humans living on the margins and below the poverty line, in Tucson, Arizona. All these individualsman, woman and transhave suffered at the hands of traditional society and have had to escape the mental or physical imprisonment of their bodies, their attitudes and their spirits. Many are literal ex-cons, recovered junkies, but none are passive victims. First-time director Maggie Smith has created an intimate, unflinching look at stories rarely seen on the big screenas much about fighting as suffering, transcending as falling prey to their own pain. Gritty, raw and emotionally challenging, TUCSON SALVAGE brings you close to people not usually seen or valued in society, and in doing so, holds a mirror to us all.
A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS. After the EAEU Intergovernmental Councils meeting in Yerevan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan held a joint press conference. Nikol Pashinyan and Tigran Sargsyan made statements for the press and answered journalists questions, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Below is the full text of the press conference.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan:

Dear mass media representatives,

Dear Tigran Surenovich,

I want to express our satisfaction with the todays session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Commission. We hope that this session, as well as other initiatives held under Armenias presidency within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, will help us further the integration process and record practical results first of all for the citizens of our countries. Armenia is interested in increasing the effectiveness of integration processes within the Union and is ready to make the necessary efforts to reach that goal.

13 issues were on the agenda of todays meeting. Many of them are important in terms of achieving deeper integration. In particular, I mean the implementation of one of the priorities of the Digital Agenda. We have discussed ways of shaping a digital eco-trading system within the EAEU, which is crucial for developing online trading.

The use of electronic digital signatures in contacts between the executive authorities and business entities in Armenia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan was discussed during the meeting. This issue was raised the Armenian side, and we are glad that our partners expressed readiness to support the motion.

We also discussed the Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer Eurasia Network project. Its main purpose is to create an ecosystem of partnership formation, involve small and medium-sized enterprises in major chains of manufacturers, as well as stimulate innovative processes through technology transfer.

Our agenda also comprised the elimination of the conditions impeding the activities of the Eurasian Economic Unions internal market. I would also like to highlight the decision concerning the one-stop-shop mechanism in streamlining foreign economic activities.



EAEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan will probably give more detail on the decisions passed in the Union, and I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of todays session for efficacious proceedings.

I would like to state our readiness to host other EAEU events in Yerevan.

We will be pleased to welcome the Heads of State at the forthcoming regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to be held in Armenia this October.

Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan:

Thank you, Nikol Vovayevich. Dear mass media representatives,

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we usually discuss issues where a consensus and the prime ministers approval are required in order to adopt political decisions. And we can state today that we have agreed on all 13 items. Now, I would like to refer to some of the problematic issues that we had on the agenda.

The first problematic issue consists in the barriers and restrictions on the way to forming common markets. We submit quarterly reports to the prime ministers on the situation that is developing in our common markets in order to create more favorable conditions for business, so that they do not encounter obstacles in cross-border areas. Unfortunately, we reported that this problem has not been solved so far, and political will is needed on the part of the prime ministers in order to remove the barriers, about 65 altogether. We have developed roadmaps to overcome these barriers, but it is necessary that all governments take control of these issues so that we can remove them.

The second aspect, which is important for our business, is the anti-dumping investigation function, which is carried out by the Board. In particular, we conducted such an anti-dumping investigation in order to protect the interests of herbicide producers in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. Several European companies used to apply dumping policies n an effort to take control of our home market. An anti-dumping investigation was carried out, but there was a veto that prevented us from exercising this right. We are pleased to note with satisfaction that today we managed to come to a consensus on the matter at hand, and the Boards relevant decision will soon come into force.

The next problematic issue concerned sugar, which is imported into free economic zones, and then the goods that are produced in these zones enter our common market in breach of competitive regulations. Here, too, we managed to come to a consensus today, and there is an agreement that, starting from January 1, 2020, sugar will be in the list of goods that should not go into free economic zones. That is, we create equal competitive conditions.

Another veto was exercised by our Russian partners on the Boards decision on whether we should close the domestic markets for individual producers if we encounter any problems. The Board made a decision that the Russian milk market could not be closed if there were any entities in breach of our common technical standards. After discussions, a consensus decision was reached, stating that Boards approach was correct: we have no right to close the domestic markets unilaterally, and any decision to ban imports should target specific companies. These examples suggest that the format of the intergovernmental council is effective, because it allows us to handle sensitive issues like that and come to a consensus.

As Nikol Vovayevich mentioned, the second group of questions seek to develop the Union, In particular, the initiative of the Republic of Armenia on electronic documents was supported by the Board and by the Commission of the Eurasian Union, and is being processed by our digital office. That is, Armenias experience is scaled to the entire Eurasian Union.

Today we approved a reference scheme for one-stop-shop services. This is crucial for business. If the five member nations form this single window in accordance with this model, our countries will provide services in a more comfortable and business-friendly manner, and there is also an agreement on this issue. Including, of course, the launch of the first digital project, which solves the problem of cooperation.

First of all, the digital platform being formed will protect the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, because a huge amount of operating expenses for small businesses are removed, and through this digital platform they can sell their services and goods and at the same time find clients for themselves. So this is quite a serious breakthrough.

And concluding my speech, I would like to note that todays decisions on the digital agenda of the intergovernmental council allow us to state that within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union a digital ecosystem is being established for the first time that will allow our countries to exercise their digital sovereignty. We will not only be users of transnational digital platforms, we will have our own digital Eurasian platform.

Thank you.

Armenia TV channel - Mr Prime Minister, what are our priorities within the framework of the EAEU, since we are presiding over the Union? And a question for Tigran Sargsyan: with which countries will the EAEU sign an agreement on establishing free trade zones, and does the sanctions position of Iran affect the implementation of said agreement with this country?

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Thank you for the question. As I said in my speech, one of the Eurasian Economic Union-related priorities is the formation of a common market for natural gas, oil and oil products, as well as a common electricity market  in the near future. Discussions are underway both in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and in the bilateral format, and I hope that this process will achieve its goal because, as I have repeatedly said, this is a very important moment for the Eurasian Economic Union as you may know that gas and energy prices have a very specific impact on the cost of goods, and this is a nuance that is very important for a common economic territory.

Another priority is the digital agenda, and I think that digitization will really bring our economies together and will create real opportunities for direct cooperation between the economic entities of our countries.

There are, of course, many more important issues, but these ones seem to be the most important from the perspective of the Eurasian Economic Unions development and further expansion, and in terms of increasing the Unions attractiveness for its members and third countries. Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan: The situation in the free trade zones is as follows: we have a valid agreement with Vietnam, which has been effective for two years because trade with Vietnam is increasing every year in double digits, and this indicates that free trade zone is a real stimulator of increased trade. Thus, this means that there is at the same time a potential for economic growth as the Vietnamese market is too large and dynamically developing, that is, it is also exciting for Armenian producers.

The second agreement is a temporary arrangement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran. This agreement has already been ratified in almost all member countries. In Kazakhstan for instance, it is pending the Presidents signature. After that, our Iranian partners will ratify it, and the agreement will come into force.

The following agreement is on the creation of a free trade zone with Serbia. This agreement is relevant for Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, because three countries - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan - have free trade zone agreements already signed with Serbia, and now we need to make one for the entire Eurasian Union. We are close to completing this agreement.

The following agreements that we are currently working on are the agreement with Singapore, the formation of a free trade zone with India and Egypt. Negotiations are underway with them and with Israel as well.



I listed seven areas regarding which the Supreme Council has instructed us to work through, negotiate and prepare appropriate documents. So we will gradually submit these agreements for approval.

As for Iran, of course, the situation here is complicated by the fact that when we were negotiating, there was no new sanctions package against Iran. This, of course, will make certain adjustments for economic entities, because we see that this seriously affects the technology of trade and transactions, financial transactions with our Iranian counterparts, but at the same time it is clear that the sanctions that are applied to Iran create additional opportunities, especially for Armenia, because Armenia can use its geographical position and offer a certain set of tools that could contribute to trade turnover with Iran. Thereby, Armenia may exercise its function of a bridge between Iran and the Eurasian Union. I think it should be tapped. Thank you.

Interfax N/A - I have a question for Mr. Sargsyan. There is a lot of talk about a technical dialogue initiated between the European and Eurasian Economic Commissions, which was not there before, but the essence has not been revealed. Please reveal what this dialogue is about and what it is like?

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan - Thank you, this is an important question, because the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Commission, and the Union, in general, is pursuing this policy.

Integration policy means that we have to establish contacts not only with the ASEAN, but with other associations as well, including the European Union, because the European Union was until recently the main partner of the Eurasian Union, but due to some political decisions that are beyond our authority there is a serious advance in the Asian direction. For the first time last year, trade with Asian countries exceeded the volume of trade with the European Union. Nevertheless, the European Union remains our main trading partner, and we are interested in creating normal interaction mechanisms, primarily aimed at creating a comfortable environment for economic entities. And from this point of view, first of all the standards, technical regulations, regulatory documents, anti-dumping investigations are concerned.

We managed to be recognized as a standalone entity, and there was such a political statement by the European Union about the beginning of a technical dialogue with us, which suggests that we have the first step in this direction. This will allow us to work with the European Commission on the aforementioned issues at a technical level, at the level of our ministers and at the level of heads of department.

This is due to the fact that the interests of those European business entities exercising activities on the territory of the Eurasian Union are often ignored for lack of a dialogue. Our European partners have stated their interest in such a dialogue, but as of yet there are no full-scale contacts due to political considerations. Nevertheless, I can say that the dialogue with the European Union will be promoted as far as the Eurasian Economic Union becomes stronger. Thank you.
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. My Step For Ararat Province investment-business forum has kicked off on May 4 in Ararat Group water company of Artashat town.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Governor of Ararat province Garik Sargsyan deliver welcoming remarks.

During the event a film showing the opportunities and attractiveness of the province will be screened. The successful enterprises operating in the province will be presented.

The forum aims at attracting businessmen operating in Armenia and abroad to the development processes of the economy and communities of the province. Investment programs aimed at developing tourism, agriculture, industry and a number of other fields in the province will be introduced.

The event is attended by ministers and other high-ranking officials.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. During the period from April 28 to May 4 the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 250 times by firing more than 3000 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The Defense Army forces of Artsakh continue fully controlling the situation in the frontline and confidently fulfill their military duties.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk assesses the Armenian-Belarussian relations as positive with receiving a new impetus.

I would assess the Armenian-Belarussian relations as receiving a new impetus as every year we record growth of volumes of import of Belarussian products to Armenia and export of Armenian goods to Belarus. An active process is underway, and we will also carry out major works in the future, the Ambassador told ARMENPRESS.

According to him, the next meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will take place in Kazakhstan as the two countries are preparing for the meeting at the moment.

I think that meeting will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming event in Kazakhstan. In any case both the Armenian and Belarussian sides are preparing for this meeting. I think that meeting will take place in a very positive environment, he said.

The session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will take place in Kazakhstan on May 29 which will also be attended by the Armenian PM and the Belarussian President.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. The relations of Armenia and Kazakhstan continue developing steadily like in the previous years, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told ARMENPRESS.

Our relations remain stable as they were for many years. There are no great changes, even after the events that have taken place in Armenia last year. That is the domestic issue of Armenia, which neither affects the trade turnover nor the diplomatic ties between the two states because Armenia and Kazakhstan have very stable political and national interests which are not afraid of the changes taking place in the internal life, the Kazakh Ambassador said.

Speaking about the upcoming presidential election in Kazakhstan scheduled on June 9, the Ambassador said the citizens of Kazakhstan living in Armenia will also have an opportunity to vote in the election.

Presidential election will be held in Kazakhstan on June 9. Our citizens living in Armenia will be able to vote at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yerevan, he said.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on March 19.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Israel have great potential to develop the bilateral relations, Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview to the Jerusalem Post, adding that the two countries have a great history and civilization.

We have an enormous sense of national identity and pride, so we can work together in so many fields of economy, agriculture, hi-tech, tourism, direct flights, health culture, education and so on and so forth, FM Mnatsakanyan said.

The Armenian FM also touched upon Israels selling weapons to Azerbaijan and noted: It has been and remains an issue of great concern for us on several counts. Israels arms trade is a weapon of death for our people. We have been witnessing the use of such weapons against our people. We are a security conscious nation and are highly confident in our capacity to defend ourselves, and you will understand very well what that means. At the same time, we are dedicated to developing peace and security in our region. The arms race in our region does not contribute to building peace and security.

In response to the journalists view that Armenia has good relations with Iran, which is an enemy of Israel, the foreign minister said Armenia is very insistent that building relations with one partner will not be at the expense of another partner. But we also expect that all our partners will do the same. We are also very sensitive to the sensitivities of our partners, he added.

Asked whether he is surprised and disappointed about Israels position refusing to recognize what happened to the Armenian people in 1915 as genocide, the Armenian FM responded: Its not a matter for me to be surprised. I represent a nation that still faces the pressure of justice denied over 105 years. My people are victories because we were supposed to be wiped off the face of the earth. The question of denied justice is about humanity. It is for Israel to decide whether to recognize [the Armenian Genocide] or not. It is not about Armenia, it is about Israel. It is our collective duty nowadays to reduce the risk of genocide and atrocities.
The court rejected legal action brought by the PNG government to try to wrest control of the Singapore-based PNG Sustainable Development Program.

A court ruling in Singapore on 5 April means one of Sir Mekeres more intriguing legacy items has survived the latest attempt on its existence.

Some parts of that legacy have fared well, like the privatisation of the countrys state bank. Others, like political party reform, have fallen over in the face of legal and political challenges.

SYDNEY - In the three years Sir Mekere Morauta was prime minister of Papua New Guinea, from 1999 to 2002, he pursued an ambitious reform agenda.

The company holds an estimated US$1.4 billion that it is charged with distributing to benefit the people of PNG. Its a substantial amount of money: equivalent to around one-fifth of PNGs government debt at current exchange rates.

This latest legal round will not be the end of the battle, but as Sir Mekere described it after the court ruling: This win means PNGSDP is free...to carry out its objectives.

The PNG Sustainable Development Program emerged as the endgame of BHPs ill-starred involvement in the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in PNGs Western Province.

Environmental disaster caused by the mines tailings had BHP wanting to close it down by the early 2000s. But the cash-strapped (and shareholding) PNG government was keen to keep it operating. The SDP was the compromise.

It took on BHPs stake and the big Australian was released from environmental liabilities. The plan was for future earnings of the SDPs shareholding in Ok Tedi to fund community development in PNG for nearly half a century after the mines eventual closure.

And, with an eye to the realities of corruption and political mismanagement in PNG, the new entity was designed to withstand whatever local politics could throw at it  as Sir Mekere says, to protect it from sticky fingers.

The SDP was established as a company domiciled in Singapore. PNGs government couldnt have full control of the new entity, and neither could BHP.

It was designed to keep delivering, using the dividends from Ok Tedi to be invested in short- and long-term funds. But by the early 2010s, the SDP was in political trouble.

First as treasurer and then as prime minister, Peter ONeill fixed the SDP in his sights. After elections in 2012, ONeill stepped up his criticism.

The SDP was accused of poor transparency, failing to meet its goals and letting BHP off the hook for its environmental damage. In short, ONeill wanted the government to have more control over how the SDPs billions would be spent.

SDP chair Ross Garnaut, who also chaired Ok Tedi, refused O'Neill's entreaties; after a standoff he was barred from entering the country, and eventually quit as chair of the mine and head of the SDP.

Then in 2013 PNG controversially expropriated SDPs majority shareholding in Ok Tedi and launched legal action in Singapore to get control of the company.

That action is what Singapores High Court has now ruled on.

It is a humiliating defeat for Mr ONeill, Sir Mekere said after the ruling. And an expensive exercise in futility by him.

It is time he stopped lamenting his defeat and turned his attention to save our struggling country. He should focus on solving the problems he has inflicted on Papua New Guinea.

Sir Mekere took pains to point out he was commenting as an opposition MP and not as the former chair of the SDP, a role he took on after deciding not to contest the 2012 election.

Despite the court defeat, ONeill isnt backing off. In advertisements taken out in the countrys newspapers he vowed to continue the legal fight in Singapore.

The State remains very concerned that the current directors of PNGSDP have ran, and are continuing to run, PNGSDP in a highly unsatisfactory manner, ONeill said.

He said the government would argue for a stay on the fund spending any money until the court action is resolved.

They have clearly failed to provide any level of improvement to the lives of people in Western Province. This is despite purported expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on development projects.

But ONeill isnt winning support from MPs from the province most affected by Ok Tedi.

All four local politicians including governor Taboi Awi Yoto have called on the government to let the company get on with delivering its programs.

The government should accept the decision and stop wasting money on further legal action which will not only be fruitless but will also continue to costmillions of kina in legal fees, they said.

Sir Mekere says more court action  or a Commission of Inquiry that ONeill has also threatened  would be futile. I know the company has nothing to hide and will take whatever Peter ONeill throws at it in its stride.

SDP hasnt been without controversy. From its foundation in 2001 through to 2012 it became the second-largest aid donor in PNG.

Some of its business dealings left it open to criticism, and its corporate structure led to complaints of over-spending on its board and operations.

It did leave some lasting investments, including the establishment of communications towers throughout Western Province, and stakes in microfinance and property concerns.

In 2013, after the expropriation and legal challenge, SDP was mothballed. Staff were retrenched and its development programs ended.

In 2018 it relaunched. Its now positioning itself as an impact investor, looking to partner with others in projects that must be of lasting value to the people of Western Province and must be delivered efficiently.

SDP no longer has an income stream from Ok Tedi dividends. It can use only the income from its long-term fund to spend on development, and says its focus is on education, health, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Sir Mekere, who returned to parliament at the 2017 election, says he hopes the court ruling means SDP can consider its legal options as regards the state taking over its Ok Tedi shareholding.

With ONeills appeal also looming, the courts will be part of the SDPs future for a long time yet.
It became clear yesterday that prime minister Peter ONeill was in serious trouble holding on to his job. The key moment was when health minister Sir Puka Temu told a press conference that he, defence minister Solan Mirisim and forests minister Douglas Tomuries had decided to quit ONeills Peoples National Congress (PNC).

And as for who will be the Alternative Government's contender for prime minister, well, according to camp follower former Manus MP Ron Knight (@pontuna2run) writing on Twitter, that will be determined by secret ballot, and "the door is still open".

This is likely to be tested in a vote of no confidence originally set down for Wednesday 15 May but which may be brought on earlier, as parliament is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

It was a climactic moment, as the combined group numbered a claimed 57 parliamentarians, exceeding the critical number of 56 required to command a majority in PNGs Haus Tambaran.

NOOSA  Yesterday morning Papua New Guineas opposition (which had rebadged itself as the Alternative Government) left camp at Port Moresbys Sanctuary Hotel and arrived at the Laguna Hotel to be greeted by former finance minister James Marape and his supporters.

Sir Puka Temu (left) at the media conference where he Mirisim and Tomuries quit - "We have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles"

Mirisim said Temu had asked ONeill to resign because he had lost the confidence of cabinet. O'Neill's negative response to this statement, said Mirisim, led to further defections and resignations from PNC. Temu told the media conference that there were disagreements in cabinet about how PNG was being managed.

I have made the decision [to resign] as a senior leader and I am very proud that seven other young leaders have also made the decision, he said. We know that PNC still has the numbers, but we have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles.

Gabriel (@GomisRanger) riposted on Twitter, Did someone hit him in the face to make him realise his principles? Did he even have principles? This was a reference to Temus health portfolio being identified as a hotbed of corruption and inefficiency in PNG. Gabriel's comment was reinforced by social media that Temu's move was opportunistic rather than principled.

As this situation was unfolding, Canberra-based political reporter for The Australian newspaper, Ben Packham, reported that Australian officials were closely watching developments in Port Moresby where public movement had been restricted and an extra 1,000 police deployed ahead of the resumption of parliament.

The instability has placed a $16 billion gas deal at risk and could force a reframing of one of Australias most important bilateral relationships, Packham wrote.

Meanwhile, ONeills backers were saying the opposition probably had only 40 votes, not a majority, and that the prime minister will fight hard to hold onto his job. Which I'm sure is true. Despite O'Neill being significantly weakened, he will use his considerable political skills and astute use of the courts to try to weave his way through a strengthened and motivated opposition.

Last night both camps (and the media) had given up waiting for a statement from deputy prime minister Charles Abel, who had been expected to call on ONeill to resign but had not done so.

However, O'Neill's official website was delivering a puzzling error message. Hawk-eyed J Smith (@equanimity500) wrote on Twitter: When I go to the PNG prime minister's website, I get a message saying, Failed to exec. See http://www.pm.gov.pg."

As more government politicians flocked to his 'camp', opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch told journalists that all agreements signed by the ONeill-Abel government will be reviewed if it loses office.

We will put PNGs interest first, Pruaitch said. For any major agreements concluded recently, we want to assure our country that they will be reviewed. In so far as benefits are concerned, I think its time the government took a bold stand.

But Port Moresby based academic, Dr David Ayres (@davidayres71) offered a reality check on what any new government may bring, tweeting, Unfortunately it will be same snouts, just a different trough. Its hardly a recipe for positive transformation.

Back in Canberra, head of the Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings told Ben Packham that ONeill was a mixed blessing for Australia. He has certainly been a tough PM to deal with at times, and there has been a sense of worry that he has allowed himself to get too close to China which clearly is a concern to us, Jennings said.

But dealing with PNG is always going to be complicated for Australia - there is historical baggage there, and they are a country that will make decisions according to their interests, which dont necessarily align with ours.

Lowy Institute research fellow Shane McLeod told Packham that Australia had invested heavily in its relationship with ONeill. There would be uncertainty over what comes next, but Australian officials are "familiar with a lot of the players in this situation, he said.

McLeod said momentum appeared to be with the opposition but ONeill wont be giving up... [He] is in the fight for his political future right now, he said.

On Twitter, Ali Kasokason (@ConfigGuyPom) quipped, Next ground breaking ceremony by ONeill and crew will be at Bomana! Which is the notorious prison just outside Port Moresby.
Martyn Namorong - "This is my small shot for the people I've met and the country I love"

MARTYN NAMORONG | Linked In

PORT MORESBY - On Thursday at 9 am, I got a call to go into camp at the Sanctuary Hotel with Papua New Guineas alternate government.

Its been an eye-opener and a great learning experience about the machinations of PNG politics.

Its an experience I will always treasure.

Beyond the politics, for our members of parliament is the hard work of running a country.

I have been privileged to have been invited into the opposition engine room to help set the agenda and work plan for a new government to save PNG and rescue our great nation from corruption and debt.

I hope my little contribution to public policy leads to the improvement of lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Paddy Power has suspended bets on the royal baby after believing he/she is already here. Photo: Getty Images

Have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex already welcomed the royal baby?

Thats certainly the belief of a bookmaker who has suspended all bets on Meghan Markle already having given birth.

UK bookmaker Paddy Power claimed the flurry of bets placed on the couple already having welcomed a baby girl suggested someone knows something.

The surge of Brits having a flutter has now forced the firm to close the books.

Weve suspended betting on which day Harry and Meghans baby will arrive following a huge increase in wagers this evening which indicate to us that someone knows something  and perhaps the child is already born, a Paddy Power spokesman said.

That, combined with the rumours and speculation has us convinced that the royal arrival has already happened and if the betting is anything to go by, its almost certainly a baby girl.

The betting suspension follows further speculation earlier this week that Prince Harrys diary reveal could have hinted that the royal baby is already here.

The Duke of Sussex has just cancelled a trip to the Netherlands originally set for the 8th  9th of May, sparking rumours that he may already be a father.

And royal fans on Twitter have even suggested that Baby Sussex might have already made an appearance and snuggled up with his parents at Frogmore cottage.

However, Buckingham Palace revealed to Yahoo UK that the Duke is planning on going to the Netherlands, but a decision will be made closer to the time because they dont know when the baby will arrive.

Bump watchers also believe the Queens visit to Forgmore House over the Easter weekend could have been another hint that the baby is here, and was meeting his or her great grandmother for the first time.

Story continues

Meghans make-up artist Daniel Martin also fuelled speculation about the imminent arrival of Baby Sussex with a recent Instagram post.

People think Meghan Markle may already have given birth [Photo: Getty]

He announced that he will be appearing at The Makeup Show in New York on May 5, 2019.

Though it is believed that US-based Daniel paid a visit to the UK, after posting photos of scenes around Windsor on his Instagram Stories.

If he is set to head back to New York before May 5, it could suggest that the baby is either already here or could be any day.

Fans also pointed to Meghans mum Doria Raglands arrival in the UK as a sign the couple may have already welcomed their baby boy or girl.

While Kensington Palace have never revealed a due date, Meghan told well-wishers in Birkenhead in January that the baby was expected to arrive at the end of April or beginning of May.

So news of the birth could be announced any minute now.

Buckingham Palace announced last month that Meghan and Harry have taken the personal decision to keep details around the birth private and would like to spend time with their little one before sharing images with the world.

Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private, the memo read.

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.

Royal reporters have been assured that they will be kept informed of any news and since no confirmation has been given by Harry and Meghans reps that theyre already parents, royal baby watch continues.

Watch this space

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A funeral was held for the three children of Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday. Photo: Mega

Denmark is mourning the loss of three of its citizens, the children of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings last month.

A funeral service was held at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark at the weekend, and was attended by Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Australian-born Mary and her children were moved by the service, and stood with their heads bowed as Anders, his wife Anne, and their only surviving child Astrid, farewelled the three siblings.

At one point, Mary put her hand to her eldest daughter Princess Isabellas face to comfort and console her.

Alfred, Alma and Agnes Povlsen were killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks while their family was holidaying in Sri Lanka. Supported by her parents, Astrid released a bunch of balloons in their honour.

The Danish royals attended the service, with Princess Mary seen comforting her children. Photo: Getty

Anders, Denmarks richest man, CEO of fashion company Bestseller and the largest shareholder of fashion website ASOS, described losing three of their four children as completely incomprehensible in a separate memorial service held last week.

His words were read out by a priest at the memorial held in the town of Brande.

The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred is completely incomprehensible, he said.

With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.
Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women who would have once gotten pap smears. Photo: Getty Images

Women may soon be able to provide urine samples instead of undergoing for a smear test to be screened for cervical cancer.

A trial has found that a urine test is just as accurate at detecting the HPV virus - with the virus presence often seen as one of the main factors associated with cervical cancer.

Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women, with the number of people attending their cervical screenings lower than ever.

Bigger trials are still needed, but this is a big step forward.

Recent figures from the UK have shown attendance is now at just 71 per cent across the country.

Reasons for the lack of uptake vary, with some women feeling embarrassed and nervous and others finding the experience painful and uncomfortable.

Whilst many women may find it uncomfortable, a smear test's early detection of abnormal cells prevents 75 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Women between the ages of 25 and 64 are advised to attend a screening at least once every three years.

Lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described a new test as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening." Photo: Getty Images

The urine test trial was led by researchers at the University of Manchester.

They asked 104 women, who were attending a colonoscopy clinic, to take the urine test as well as a smear test.

The urine test performed equally as well as the smear test in detecting HPV, BMJ Open has reported.

The lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described it as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening."

She continued: "Campaigns to encourage women to attend cervical screening have helped. The brilliant campaign by the late Jade Goody increased numbers attendance by around 400,000 women."

"But sadly, the effects aren't long lasting and participation rates tend to fall back after a while. We clearly need a more sustainable solution."

As larger trials of the urine test will still be needed before it can be recommended to the public and Dr Emma Crosbie recommends: "In the meantime, women must continue to book their screening appointment when they're called. It's a life-saving test."

Story continues

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On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making. Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe. It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises. - Dating back to Napoleon - Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages. A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes. In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation. Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons". The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later. In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build. Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side. But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons. - Bridge or tunnel? - After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus. A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel. Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option. It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986. - Breaking through - Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain. AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres. Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up. An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk. Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British. - Queen and president - "Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel. "We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said. After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent. Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh. During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported. Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey. Philippe Cozette (L) and Graham Fagg dug the last metres of the Channel tunnel 25 years ago French workers greeted their British colleagues in May 1991 at the link-up of the north end of the tunnel Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand made an inaugural crossing in the royal Rolls-Royce
Israel's military carried out waves of retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Palestinian rockets hit Israeli cities as a deadly escalation showed no signs of slowing, raising fears of war. Gazan authorities reported nine Palestinians killed, including at least three militants, by Israeli strikes in the fighting that began Saturday with massive rocket fire from the strip. Israel however disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant woman and a baby, blaming errant Hamas fire. Three people were killed in Gaza rocket strikes on southern Israel on Sunday. One was confirmed as Israeli, but police had not released the nationalities for the other two. The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas's armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military "to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip." He said he had also ordered "tanks, artillery and infantry forces" to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza. The flare-up came as Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire. Israel said its strikes were in response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing more than 450 rockets or mortars across the border since Saturday, with Israeli air defences intercepting more than 150. - 'Immediately de-escalate' - In addition to those killed and injured, the rockets repeatedly set off air raid alarms in southern Israel and sent residents running to shelters while also damaging houses. The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 260 militant targets in Gaza in response. It targeted mainly militant sites and in some cases militants themselves. Targets included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were also destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices. The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby's mother, but the family clarified on Sunday that she was the aunt. Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that based on intelligence "we are now confident" that the deaths of the woman and baby were not due to an Israeli strike. "Their unfortunate death was not a result of (Israeli) weaponry but a Hamas rocket that was fired and exploded not where it was supposed to," he said. Islamic Jihad's armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. On Sunday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their armed wings had targeted an Israeli army vehicle with a Kornet missile. It was unclear if it was hit. Israel closed its crossings with Gaza for people and goods, as well the fishing zone off the enclave's shore, until further notice. Egyptian and UN officials held talks to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza. The UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on "all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months." The United States said it fully supported Israel's "right to self-defence against these abhorrent attacks." Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel, urged it to "end its aggression against the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law." - Visit to Cairo - The escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier. Israel and Gazan militants have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election. But recent days saw a gradual uptick in violence, placing the ceasefire at risk. A Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar visited Cairo Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials. The truce has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, paying salaries and financing fuel purchases to ease severe electricity shortages. Israel has several reasons to seek calm. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following April's election and the country celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday. Israel is also due to host the high-profile Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18, expected to attract thousands of spectators. On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead. A Palestinian girl climbs on the remains of a building destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 5, 2019 An Israeli surveys the damage to a house near the port city of Ashkelon from one of the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza Smoke billows over Gaza City after Israel carries out an air strike in response to a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants Gaza militants fire a barrage of rockets at Israel, drawing retaliatory air strikes and tank fire, as the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas seek more concessions from Israel as part of a fragile ceasefire Friday's protests along the Gaza-Israel border were the most violent in weeks Sawsan Abu Tair mourns her brother Raed who was killed by Israeli fire during one of Friday's protests at the Gaza-Israel border
The Jaguares survived a tense finish to defeat the Western Stormers 30-25 in Buenos Aires Saturday and chalk up a fourth consecutive Super Rugby victory. Success lifted the Argentine outfit two places to sixth in the combined standings, keeping them in contention for a top-eight finish and a play-offs slot. Despite losing, the South Africans also moved up the table, replacing the ACT Brumbies from Australia in eighth position on points difference. It was a close call in the end for the home side after they looked set for a comfortable victory when a penalty try seven minutes from time gave them a 30-18 advantage. The Stormers, who had not looked like scoring a try at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, suddenly clicked and a Justin Phillips break led to a try by fellow substitute Seabelo Senatla. Damian Willemse, who inherited the goal-kicking duties when Jean-Luc du Plessis was substituted, converted to leave only five points between the teams. A couple of penalties after the full-time hooter sounded brought the Stormers within a few metres of the Jaguares tryline and a converted try would have given them victory. But the Cape Town outfit conceded possession at the lineout and the relieved Jaguares booted the ball into the grandstand to end the round 12 match. It was a scrappy, penalty-riddled affair that included two late yellow cards with JJ Engelbrecht of the Stormers and Pablo Matera of the Jaguares watching the climax from the touchline. The Jaguares led from the fourth minute when Matera scored and the hosts were 13-9 ahead by half-time with the rest of the points coming from the boots of Domingo Miotti and Du Plessis. Ramiro Moyano scored a second Argentine try on 51 minutes, but the goal-kicking accuracy of Willemse kept the Stormers in touch. Recent Super Rugby debutant Miotti contributed 13 points from two conversions and three penalties off five shots at the posts. Apart from the Senatla try, Du Plessis slotted four penalties and Willemse a conversion and two penalties for the Stormers. The Jaguares start a four-match Australasia tour next Saturday against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin while the Stormers have a bye. South Africa's Stormers fly half Jean-Luc du Plessis (C) vies for the ball with Jaguares hooker Agustin Creevy (L) and prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro during their Super Rugby match at Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires, on May 4, 2019.
Julian Assange's father has addressed a rally in Sydney, calling for the Australian government to be courageous and fight to bring the WikiLeaks founder home.

John Shipton, Assange's biological father, addressed a small group of protesters at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday, two days after his son was sentenced to almost a year in prison for skipping bail in London.

Mr Shipton said his son was being punished for exposing the "grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century".

Julian Assange's biological father John Shipton spoke at a rally at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday. Source: AAP

"The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge," Mr Shipton told the sodden crowd of less than 50.

Mr Assange was sentenced on Wednesday to 50 weeks prison for breaching bail seven years ago, when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He was carried out of that embassy in April after Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno withdrew his country's asylum offer, describing Assange as a "spoiled brat".

Protesters rally in Sydney on World Press Freedom Day to protest for Julian Assange. Source: AAP

The 47-year-old is formally contesting an American extradition request over a charge of conspiring to commit computer intrusion with former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange told Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday he did not wish to surrender himself to extradition for doing journalism that had "won many, many awards and protected many people".

He also appealed for Australian diplomatic protection.

Mr Shipton described his son's jailing as "an outrage" and said more needed to be done to bring him home.

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A Kiwi man has been shot dead and his family attacked after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Panama.

Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed at close range in the dark on Thursday night while his wife, Derryn, and 11-year-old twin daughter were attacked with a machete, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Ms Culverwell received a wound to her shoulder from a machete blow before the hooded pirates fled the vessel.

Alan Culverwell was shot dead in the attack. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The mother and daughter have since left hospital and it is understood the girls twin brother was uninjured in the attack.

The family had sold their home in New Zealand and had purchased a 65-foot yacht in the US and had just embarked on a trip to sail the vessel back to their home nation.

Local authorities say those responsible, who stole an outboard engine in the attack, remain on the run.

The altercation occurred when the family heard footsteps on the roof of the yacht and Mr Culverwell, a former paua diver, went to check outside, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The man's horrified family watched the attack unfold. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The attack took place off the coast of the Guna Yala region in the Central American nation.

Mr Culverwells sister, Derryn Hughes, released a statement on behalf of the family, confirming Mr Culverwells death.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this family statement on behalf of the Culverwell and Fisher families regarding the death of Alan Culverwell, she wrote.

Alan was a dedicated, loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend to all. His family were his everything!

The family pictured in 2016. Source: Facebook/ Derryn Culverwell

She said Mr Culverwells death had come as a huge shock and that his children were understandably traumatised.

I speak for the whole family when I say that we are devastated with what has happened.

She confirmed a handful of friends and family members are en route to Panama to be with the family.

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Cyclone Fani weakened to a depression as it barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India, although a major human disaster looked to have been averted. Press reports said 12 people had died in India and police in Bangladesh put the death toll there at the same number -- a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones, earning authorities praise from the United Nations. With 1.2 million evacuated in India's Odisha state, more than 1.6 million people were taken to shelters in Bangladesh, officials told AFP, with at least 36 villages flooded by a storm surge and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. "Six people died after they were hit by falling trees or collapsed walls, and six have died from lightning," Bangladeshi disaster official Benazir Ahmed told AFP. In the coastal town of Banishanta, where embankments burst and some 250 families were marooned overnight, most houses were semi-submerged under water while a few straw huts had been washed away. "We are now trying to fix the dam otherwise we will have to pass the night outside," villager Sanjay Mondol told AFP. Ferries on large rivers remained out of action but those on smaller waterways resumed operations, and many people were beginning to return home with the wind still strong and skies overcast. India's Meteorological Department posted to Twitter Saturday that Fani had weakened to a depression over Bangladesh. But the storm was still packing a punch, with winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battering the Indian state of West Bengal, its capital Kolkata and the Sundarbans mangrove forest area overnight and on Saturday morning. "It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister. "Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled." In Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people, 5,000 residents were removed from low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings. "Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place." Kolkata's airport was meanwhile reopened, as was that of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, the Indian state whose 46 million people are among India's poorest and who bore the brunt of Fani. - Flying trees - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to secure a second term in India's ongoing election, tweeted that he would visit the state on Monday. Fani made landfall in Odisha on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications. Twelve people were killed there, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris. "It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident. "The wind is deafening." As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities on Saturday battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services. Aerial pictures showed extensive flooding. Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his family collapsed. "I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP. Eastern India is regularly buffeted by cyclones off the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 people killed in Odisha alone in 1999, mostly from a storm surge bringing flooding and debris many miles inland. This time better forecasting and mass evacuations helped to prepare Odisha, while no major storm surges were reported. "Almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. "Now the technology has improved vastly," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private weather forecaster, told AFP. "The administration got enough time of around eight days to prepare and allocate disaster response teams." The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised India, saying the accuracy of early warnings and "effective evacuation" of people in Odisha "saved many lives". burs-str-stu/rma Aerial photographs showed the extent of the storm damage in Puri in India's eastern Odisha state, after Cyclone Fani hit the region Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall Indian and Bangladeshi officials said at least 36 villages had been flooded by a storm surge Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Odisha were working to remove fallen trees and to restore phone and internet services
North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of the second Trump-Kim summit US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to agree on sanctions relief for Pyongyang during their Hanoi summit
Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand. The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio. Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him. Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions. "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha." For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor. - 'Unbureaucratic' - Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads. But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm? "One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger. "But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said. Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm. Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies. - Investing in tech - On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon. Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today. Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google. "We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up." But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple. On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars. Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp). The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists." Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money. Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater. Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip. He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing. "It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal. Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958. Warren Buffett arriving at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2019 Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world, at the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire The annual shareholder meeting of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire draws tens of thousands to Omaha, a small city in the American heartland Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed a 'Woodstock for Capitalists' Shareholders seen queueing to enter the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 4, 2019
A group of passengers flying to a music festival were arrested as soon as the plane landed after downing bottles of alcohol.

The group of Ryanair passengers flying from Dublin to a music festival in Malta on April 30 were inebriated before the flight even took off, according to journalist Kieran Dineen who was on the same flight.

It wasn't until I was on the plane that I realised that of the 180 passengers, I guess around 150 were all going to this dance festival," he told RTE's News at One.

The intoxicated passengers delayed the flight from taking off for half an hour and, as someone blasted music through their phone speaker, the scene allegedly deteriorated.

"We were late taking off because people kept jumping out of their seats, some would even shout back at the air stewards or give them a hand signal to let them know they didnt care what they had to say," Dineen said.

"Huge groups congregated at both bathrooms mainly because the drinks carts were there and they bought many, many drinks and there was huge bottles from duty-free opened."

The passengers were allegedly downing bottles of alcohol during the flight. Source: Getty/file

One generous man on his way to the Lost and Found music festival even walked the aisle with a bottle of vodka and gave people sips.

"It was terrifying, I have never been more scared in my life. It was like a rave, they had a boom box going full pelt," a female passenger told The Irish Sun.

"There was mayhem up there. One passenger asked for the flight to be diverted. He was as terrified as was the rest of the tiny minority who weren't drunk out of their minds.

The passenger claimed a fight even broke out at the toilets.

"Cops arrived when we landed and around half a dozen of the worst offenders were taken away after being pointed out by airline staff, the passenger said.

"The staff were very slow in dealing with the problem, they seemed to think there was little they could do except tell people to turn down their music.

The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Malta. Source: Getty/file

The passenger also claimed the flight stopped selling alcohol halfway through but the damage was already done.

Story continues

Ryanair said in a statement to Yahoo the crew requested police assistance upon arrival after several passengers became disruptive.

The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals, the statement said.

We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as a limited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces' support. The small turnout for the Saturday marches -- with participants in the hundreds, not the thousands -- is another setback for opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed military uprising earlier in the week. Maduro on Saturday instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth." Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in the presence of more than 5,000 troops. The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although it so far has limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions. Guaido's cause gained renewed support on Saturday from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now." "You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes. But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces. "I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech from the military base. Maduro also mourned the loss of "seven worthy officers of the country" who were killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to the base for military exercises seen as a show of strength against Guaido. - 'No confrontation or provocation' - On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government. In Barquisimeto in the northeast, the National Guard pushed back marchers with tear gas. "The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation," added Guaido. This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. The effort triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured. In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido appeared to admit that he had overplayed his hand with the failed military uprising, saying that "we still need more soldiers to support it, to back the constitution." - 'Something bigger' will happen - "I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising. Small groups of protesters marched on four military bases in Caracas. In Barquisimeto, a group of women unsuccessfully attempted to pass on to National Guard troops a document containing Guaido's proclamation to the military to abandon Maduro. "We're asking the armed forces to help us end the usurpation and join the people," unemployed 53-year-old Dina Alonso told AFP. Jose Aparicio, a 67-year-old lawyer who said he had been to several events organized by Guaido, said that he would "continue to protest in the street until the end." Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president. As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela's, said on Twitter he had spoken to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and "stressed the need for dialogue with President Maduro and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and international rights without threats or outside intervention." While the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (C-R) and military commanders at a training center in El Pao, Cojedes state on May 4, 2019 A woman demonstrates in front of a line of riot police outside the Venezuelan Navy command headquarters in Caracas on May 4, 2019 A man with his body painted in the Venezuelan national flag's colors demonstrates in front of riot police near La Carlota Air Base in Caracas on May 4, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a direct appeal to the Venezuelan people, urging them to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power and telling them "the time for transition is now"
Diplomats and scientists from 132 nations wrapped up six days of negotiations in Paris Saturday over the wording of a landmark report on the dire state of Nature and its impact on humanity, a UN official told AFP. The bombshell executive summary of a 1,800-page tome crafted by more than 400 experts -- the first UN global assessment of the natural world in 15 years -- will be unveiled Monday. Drafts of both documents obtained by AFP leave no doubt that the final Summary for Policymakers will paint a picture of widespread destruction wrought by man, some of it irreparable. The report is likely to reveal that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million species face extinction, many within decades. Many scientists have concluded that the planet has already entered a period of so-called "mass extinction," the first since the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and only the sixth in half-a-billion years. The draft reports also details the ways in which humanity's growing footprint and appetites have deeply compromised Earth's capacity to renew resources upon which civilisation depends, beginning with fresh water, breathable air, productive soil and the natural pollination of food crops. "The evidence is incontestable," Robert Watson, chair of the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told delegates as the meeting got underway. "Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change." The heavily negotiated text does not make explicit policy recommendations, but will serve "as a basis for redefining our objectives" ahead of a key meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in China next Fall, said co-author Yunne Jai Shin, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles. (FILES) In this file illustration made in Paris on November 8, 2015 shows a figurine with a globe next to a miniature shopping cart.Scientists and diplomats from 130 countries are meeting from April 29, 2019 in Paris to adopt the first global assessment of ecosystems for nearly 15 years, a dark inventory of nature vital to humanity
U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi and John Katko want to know what the International Joint Commission is doing to prevent flooding along Lake Ontario.

Brindisi, D-Utica, and Katko, R-Camillus, co-authored a letter to Lana Pollack, U.S. section chair of the commission, requesting information about the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board's plan to address high water levels.

Federal, state and local officials are concerned that rising water levels will cause flooding in communities along Lake Ontario. The congressmen represent Oswego County, which was one of the counties that dealt with flooding in 2017.

Two years ago, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration due to Lake Ontario flooding.

As of Tuesday, Lake Ontario was at 247.38 feet  slightly below the 2017 level of 247.74 feet. The lake is more than a foot above its historical average for this time of year.

In their letter to Pollack, Brindisi and Katko ask the IJC chief to "outline the expected course of action for outflows through the Moses-Saunders Dam, as well as efforts that will be taken to ensure the interests of our coastal communities are reflected in actions taken by the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board."

It's the second letter Brindisi and Katko have sent to the IJC. They wrote a letter in March to urge the commission to prevent flooding.

"As constituents in our districts take necessary steps to prepare for severe flooding, the IJC and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board must take substantive action to address the serious threat that currently faces coastal communities," the congressmen said Wednesday.

Katko has criticized the IJC in the past because of the commission's adoption of Plan 2014, a water level management strategy. Some officials, including Katko, have blamed Plan 2014 for the flooding two years ago and the rising water levels this year.

Record rainfall was the main factor that led to flooding in 2017. The other Great Lakes drain into Lake Ontario, which makes rising water levels more likely when there is heavy precipitation.

Katko and other officials have urged the IJC to maximize outflows. The commission maintained high outflows for two months, but lowered them due to major flooding along portions of the St. Lawrence River.

The commission said Tuesday that outflows are now 215,400 cubic feet per second, down from 307,600 cubic feet per second in mid-April.

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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The Skaneateles Lake Association has hired a new executive director to replace its first director, the group announced in a press release Friday.

Frank Moses, who previously served as director of community engagement and organizational advancement for FOCUS Greater Syracuse, will start in the position on May 15.

Current director Rachael DeWitt, who was hired last year as the association's first executive director, is leaving to study at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California-San Diego.

Moses received an undergraduate degree from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry with an emphasis on environmental policy and management. When Moses went on to Paul Smith's College to study water and lake ecology, his researched focused on the impact of aquatic invasive species on lakes in the Adirondacks.

Moses also previously served as the director of the Montezuma Audubon Center in Wayne and Seneca counties, and helped establish the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

Members of the public will be able to meet Moses on May 26 at the lake association's Legacy Fund kickoff event Memorial Day weekend celebration at the Skaneateles Country Club.

Staff writer Ryan Franklin can be reached at (315) 282-2252 or ryan.franklin@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @RyanNYFranklin

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The supposed anti sex trafficking law FOSTA/SESTA passed by Congress last year staged a direct attack on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, but this week in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Section 230the law that establishes the basis for free online communicationreceived a solid vote of Constitutional confidence, in the courts opinion issued in a lawsuit over guns.

Section 230 established that the operator of an interactive computer service such as an internet provider, social media platform or blogging site, among others, cannot be held legally responsible for content published online by third parties on the service.

Thanks to Section 230, service providers and platforms are not forced into the impossible task of strictly policing all content on their services, allowing users to post whatever they wantand take responsibility for it. Because of Section 230, the internet has no gatekeepers, and information can be shared freely online.

But FOSTA blew a hole in Section 230, creating an exception that makes service providers responsible for any activity deemed to promote sex trafficking, even if posted by third-part users without the site-operators knowledge or input.

The Wisconsin case also appeared poised to blast another hole in the internet freedom law, and in fact, that is exactly what happened when the case of Daniel v. Armslist went to a state court of appeals last year.

In the case, Yasmeen Daniel, the daughter of a woman slain by her estranged husband, sued the site Armslist, a service that connected gun buyers with sellers. Daniel said that because the homicidal ex-husband purchased his gun via Armslist, the site should be held responsible for her mothers death. Because Armslist allows sales by private gun-sellers, who are not required to run federal background checks on purchasers, the ex-husband was able to purchase a firearm even though, due to a domestic violence restraining order, he was legally prohibited from buying a gun.

A Wisconsin appeals court agreed with Daniel in April of 2018, ruling that she could get around Section 230 by suing Armslist not as a publisher, but over the design and operation of its site. Daniel argued that flaws in the sites design allowed what should have been a banned gun purchase.

Lawsuits have frequently attempted to use the design and operation tactic as a way around Section 230, most recently in a case involving the gay dating app Grindr, a case on which AVN.com reported. But in the Grindr case, as in previous cases, a court rejected the attempt to sue a site as a defective product, rather than as a publisher.

The Wisconsin appellate court, however, failed to follow that precedent, and on Tuesday of this week, the states Supreme Court reversed the appellate decision, reaffirming the power of Section 230, as the site TechDirt reported.

There is always more at stake than just the case at hand, wrote TechDirt journalist Cathy Gellis. Whittling away at Section 230's important protection because one plaintiff may be worthy leaves all the other worthy online speech we value vulnerable.

Though FOSTA may have created a Section 2309 exception for sex trafficking, it did not create one for gun trafficking, according to the court, which wrote in its opinion, Because all of Daniel's claims for relief require Armslist to be treated as the publisher or speaker of information posted by third parties on armslist.com, her claims are barred by Section 230.

Photo By Daderot / Wikimedia Commons
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Senate Republicans are again pushing State Treasurer Dale Folwell's request to limit risk in the underfunded state pension plan by narrowing the number of retirement options.The Repeal Risky Retirement Payments Act, as Senate Bill 374 is titled, divides Republicans against Democrats, and pits the N.C. Association of Educators against the State Employees Association of North Carolina.The Senate Pensions, Retirement, and Aging Committee S.B. 374 Thursday, April 11. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take it up Tuesday.The bill would repeal two unpredictable retirement payment methods after July 1, 2020. Bill sponsors say those complicated alternatives make it difficult for the Treasurer's Office and General Assembly to determine how much money to set aside each year to cover the retirement system's future costs. Opponents say courts consider the benefits a property right and the benefits offer an incentive for people to work for the government.North Carolina's $94.2 billion public employees retirement system is one of the best funded in the nation. But it lost $4.1 billion in 2018, and has $17 billion in unfunded liabilities. National bond rating agencies increasingly frown on state pension deficits. Left unresolved, they could lower a state's bond rating, causing higher interests rates when borrowing money for projects.said Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba. He and Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, are primary sponsors of the bill.Wells said.Under the bill, Social Security leveling would be dropped. It provides higher initial pension payouts to those choosing early retirement. Pension payments are reduced when the retiree collects Social Security benefits. The object is to keep the early retiree's income stable before and after receiving Social Security.Sam Watson, Treasurer's Office general counsel, said Social Security leveling has complex administrative challenges. He cited recent audited accounts of 41 retirees who received $6.1 million in collective overpayments due to administrative errors.State Treasurer Dale Folwell said the pension's assumed rate of return is unrealistically high. The rate has failed to hit its target over the past two decades, and won't achieve it in the next 20 years. Repealing two "pop-up" retirement options would help stabilize the pension.Pop-ups allow pensioners to designate a spouse or child to receive some or all of their retirement benefits. If the designee dies before the retiree, the retiree reclaims full benefits. Folwell supported a similar reform last session in Senate Bill 117 , but the measure didn't pass.Folwell said.Committee Democrats said the changes would be unconstitutional. They would lead to court challenges similar to earlier ones which said defined pension benefits were a property right. Democrats also noted Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 1055 last year over concerns about constitutionality and costs. That omnibus bill contained a provision similar to S.B. 374.Sen. Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg, said it would be a mistake to take away the early retirement option from teachers. They aren't paid well, and that option is an incentive for them to enter the profession, she said.Teachers lobbyist Marge Foreman said it is unfair to penalize educators for lawmakers' failure to fund the retirement system, and for treasurers making bad investment decisions.But SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley said the employees association leadership diligently studied S.B. 374, and supports it. Making compromises to keep the pension plan sustainable may be necessary, Beasley said.
Early Friday evening a a two-vehicle crash backed up traffic on a busy Billings West End street and sent three people to a hospital, said Billings Police Department Sgt. Clyde Reid.

The wreck at 24th Street West and King Avenue West occurred after 6 p.m. One vehicle remained on its roof after the crash. Extent of injuries is unknown at this time, Reid said.

Police advised the public traffic near the wreck would be slow while they investigate. Portions of King Avenue were blocked to traffic as of 7 p.m. The public was encouraged to use alternate routes to avoid the intersection.

The Billings Police Department is investigating.

BPD officers also responded to a second rollover accident in the Heights Friday night.

Just before 9:30 p.m. a vehicle crashed with a U-haul truck on the 2200 block of Main Street. The car was left resting on its hood. It's unknown if there were injuries at this time.

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RED LODGE  The Red Lodge Carnegie Library recently announced the third program in its weekly Lunch and Learn public-speaker series, which takes place at the library on the third Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, May 21, Caroline Patterson, author and teacher at the University of Montana, will present Montana Women Writers, according to an email from the library.

The community is invited to join Patterson as she provides a survey of Montana women writers, from early Native American writers through homesteaders and settlers such as Mary Ronan and Nannie Alderson. Patterson will also discuss Mary MacLane of Butte, a writer in the mining days, and writers of the progressive era of Montana, Frieda Fliegelman and Grace Stone Coates. Patterson will conclude with contemporary women poets, memoirists and fiction writers who have helped to reinterpret and re-envision the American West, such as Judy Blunt, Sandra Alcosser, Melissa Kwansy, Maile Meloy, Deirdre McNamer and Tami Haaland.

The Lunch and Learn events begin at noon with a homemade lunch of soup, bread and dessert for $5 (payable by cash or check at the door). The free programs start at 12:30 p.m.
Along with the Moss Mansion grant, the foundation last month also awarded grants to two projects in Lavina.

It gave a $5,000 grant to the Golden Valley Community Foundation that will help restore the exterior of the Lavina State Bank Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also awarded a $3,500 grant to the Friends of the Historic Adams Hotel to repaint the exterior siding of the building. The 22-room hotel was built in 1908.

Charlene Porsild, president and CEO of the foundation, explained that the goal was not only to help fund these small projects, but also to spark further development.

"We leverage private dollars," Porsild said. "We raise money and then we go out to these communities and say, 'How can we help you?'"

Along with the grants, the Montana History Foundation offers training on grant writing to the small organizations they help. That training allows these groups to apply for bigger grants that ultimately lead to greater financial support for their projects.
The DEQ has 60 days from April 26 to do one of three things: issue a letter to the company requiring more information; approve the permit; or extend the review period an additional 30 days, after which the DEQ must either issue a deficiency letter or approve the permit.

The public may continue to comment during the review period.

Concerns

The decision follows a packed public meeting held April 17 in Shepherd.

A citizens group called Saving Shepherd has produced a website outlining concerns ranging from water pollution of Crooked Creek  a tributary to the Yellowstone River  water depletion in the areas aquifer, noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution and the threat of decreased property values. It also encourages residents to comment to DEQ.

A lot of our concerns are valid, especially the water table is very high out here, said Kati Grove, who lives about a half-mile from the proposed pit.
A car crashed into a power pole on Hallowell Lane causing a power outage to about 240 customers on Billings South Side late Friday.

A customer service representative from NorthWestern energy confirmed the cause of the outage. A technician was on scene at 12:15 a.m. Power was restored just before 2:15 a.m., according to a NorthWestern energy spokesperson.

The 19-year-old female driver from Billings lost control of the car when she took a corner too fast and overcorrected, Billings Police Department Sgt. Shane Winden said.

Winden did not know how fast she was going. She was not intoxicated, he said.

She was cited for careless driving, driving without insurance and driving while suspended. She did not have a valid driver's license, he said. She had a minor injury, he said.

A Subaru Outback remained on Hallowell Lane after the wreck. American Medical Response and Billings police and firefighters responded to the scene.

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An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline got blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

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The so-called Montana Born Alive Infant Protection Act is nothing more than a political gimmick designed to elevate a nonexistent problem into a wedge to use against supporters of abortion rights.

There is no such thing as legislatively protected infanticide in Montana  or anywhere else in the United States. The myth that doctors are murdering newborns following a failed abortion is a cynical, dishonest and fear-mongering tactic designed to get headlines. This is a junk science bill that wont protect any mothers health or save any infants life.

The bills sponsor, state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, knows this, but he and his colleagues are rushing to make Montana central to the campaign to pass harsh and unconstitutional legislation that would join the numerous legal cases seeking to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade via a Supreme Court ruling.

We dont need this kind of spotlight. Women in Montana have other, more pressing needs. Despite ranking fourth in the nation in publicly funded womens health services needs met, Montana, ranks 41st in uninsured women.
In North Dakota, travel matters. From families that frequent local ice cream parlors to tour groups immersing themselves at vibrant art venues, to new residents calling North Dakota their forever home, to the brewery down the street, travel and tourism are vital elements of our states legendary story.

More than 2,900 businesses classified as tourism make up the third-largest industry in the state, contributing billions of dollars to our economy. National Travel and Tourism Week is a time to share the stories behind the travel; stories grounded in people who find passion in their work and its impact on the industry.

Gov. Doug Burgum has proclaimed Sunday through May 11 as Travel and Tourism Week in North Dakota. For 36 years, communities nationwide have united around a common theme to laud travels contributions to the economy and American jobs. This year, we celebrate why Travel Matters each day by stimulating economic growth, personal well-being, hometown pride and connecting us all.

To honor travel and tourisms role in developing and sustaining dynamic communities, North Dakota Tourism launched its own Travel Matters series last year to introduce prospective visitors to our states greatest resource -- North Dakotans. By showcasing stories and videos of our remarkable people and destinations, visitors, job seekers and residents alike can discover why we call North Dakota home and why North Dakota allows all to be legendary.

With spring and summer travel on the minds of many, be sure to include the experiences found here in North Dakota. Search "ND Travel Matters" on NDtourism.com to view the growing videos of our neighbors who invite you to come meet my North Dakota. After all, when we are curious, we learn and explore the countless opportunities North Dakota has to offer, which reminds us why travel matters.

Sara Otte Coleman is the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism director.

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"Ultimately, this bill is not in line with interstate commerce law, and it's going to be litigated. We believe that litigation will prevail against the state of Washington."

-- Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, on a likely legal challenge to a Washington state bill that would reduce the volatility of crude oil shipped by rail.

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"We could come to a point where we have $1 billion in earnings, and that's why the conversation and the information is so important because a plan really has to be set in place. I think that the people of North Dakota are expecting a plan."

-- State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt, on the need for a study on how to use the Legacy Fund.

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"People just came and worked hard and did their job."

-- Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, on the legislative session.

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"Certainly at the end, it feels like there is a lot more cooperation and collaboration between the House and Senate this go-around."

-- Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, evaluating the legislative session.

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"It's going to have impact longer than a generation. It's going to have impact that goes beyond a city or a region, and it's going to be a national and international impact."

 Gov. Doug Burgum, on the importance of funding the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

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"It's very, very confusing. It's a very odd loophole. It's putting a criminal proceeding standard into a civil proceeding with no trial."

-- Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, criticizing changes in his civil asset forfeiture reform bill. The bill was passed by the House, 55-37, and the Senate, 43-4.

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"The job of the auditor is to keep people out of trouble, not to go out there looking for trouble."

-- Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, voicing support for a measure that requires the state auditor to receive approval from the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee before conducting performance audits.

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"Our nation mourns with all those who held a special place in their hearts for this sacred place."

-- Chairman Mark Fox of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, after the historical Memorial Congregational Church burned.

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"The problem we're running into in Bismarck and Mandan is ... if we reduce service by very much, we run the risk of losing one or two of those increments of (federal) funding that we've received in 2019. This starts to put us in that quintessential between a rock and a hard place.'"

-- DeNae Kautzmann, on the challenges facing Bis-Man Transit.

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"Motorists were noticing the settlement ... you were starting to get the famous bump at the bridge that nobody really likes and takes out mufflers all the time."

 Ron Farmer, a representative of Short-Elliott-Hendrickson Inc., on the problems with the East Century Avenue Bridge approach embankments.

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Im kind of tired of In re Tam also. But I have been a bit surprised that there has not been a more discussion, or as far as I can... The post 43(a)? It...

19 hours ago
On May 1st, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a Catholic church named after the saintly carpenter and foster father to Jesus, tragically burned to the ground in Phoenix, Arizona.

On the very same May 1st in Europe it was a state holiday. It was International Workers Day, also known as Labor Day, when the workforce traditionally enjoys a day of non-work.

As Europeans picnicked and leisured, in the dark Arizona desert hell broke loose in the form of a fiery blaze to St. Joseph Churchs roof. Though only 50 years old, its demise seemed all too eerily similar to the inferno that devastated Frances Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral only a few weeks ago.

I have always had strange pangs about enjoying any genuine non-work time on Labor Day, as a Catholic American living and working in Rome. I inevitably will find some excuse to get some work done, even if it is sweaty yard work. The Phoenix tragedy reminded me of my own spiritual and worker proclivities.

May 1st is not a day to navel gaze about our glorious work-related personal achievements. Much less is it a day to celebrate the public system nor a day to worship our laborious collective efforts within it. We are not supposed to celebrate ourselves as 9-to-5 heroes laboring Monday to Friday toward a semi-divine societal cause. It is what Marxist propagandists, who originally established the public holiday to commemorate the bloody Haymarket Square Riots of May 4, 1886, wanted their valued workers to think and feel. They wanted them to be honored as precious cogs in the wheels of their centrally planned and utopia-creating machines.

The burning down of St. Josephs Church in Phoenix may not be a symbolic coincidence after all, but rather a purposefully planned crime to desecrate Christianitys supreme patron of work.

It conveniently falls along a sad trajectory of Christian bloodshed set in motion in the 20th century (like never before in human history) when collectivist dictators like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, sent millions to death for having a competing religious belief. They were murdered and worked to death in labor camps primarily for believing in a God who is the independent Author of their inalienable human rights and liberties. They did not fit into in the unbending homogeneous rules created by an Almighty Autocratic State with little respect for their individuality. So they were gotten rid of like rodents.

In brief, on May 1st, or any any other day, Christians are not supposed to celebrate heaven on earth or to worship their own work, but rather pay homage to a great saint in heaven. They are called to venerate the most exemplary human worker, St. Joseph, who dutifully labored for God, His Son, and to maintain His Holy Family. St. Joseph the Worker was the very antithesis of an impersonal State which seeks to replace family love and charity through public doles and welfare.

As Bishop Robert Barron, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reminds us in a recent article Violence against Christians and the Warnings of Reason, we are to never forget  especially on May 1st, that it was State-worshiping communist and socialists leaders of our recent past who systematically executed the greatest number of Christians since the Church was founded.

There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in all of the previous nineteen centuries combined. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and many of their lesser-known totalitarian colleagues put millions of Christians to death for their faith in that terrible hundred-year period, Barron writes.

If the Phoenix church burning is, in fact, result of arson, it will go down in history as part of a series of unstoppable and intensifying global persecutions of Christians, their lives, and their houses of worship over the past few years. As we just witnessed with martyrs slain in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings, crosses painted in excrement on church walls and a murdered elderly priest in France, and just a few days ago in Cesena, Italy, as inebriated vandals entered yet another sanctuary to destroy its precious artifacts.

The question is will it ever cease? One of the saddest features of the still-young twenty-first century, Barron concludes, is that this awful trend is undoubtedly continuing.

The good news is there was hope seen when the flames were finally doused at St. Josephs Church in Phoenix. Just as in the aftermath of the Notre Dame fire, there stood tall and bright through the hot steam and smoldering embers a miraculously well-preserved Cross. It was an auspicious oracle to all those who follow God, the only Author of their rights: He and His Church will never perish at the hands of evil.

(Photo credit for featured image: Screenshot from YouTube)
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
News / National

by newzimbabwe

A pre-election political marriage of convenience, between the Nelson Chamisa led MDC and Transform Zimbabwe fronted by Jacob Ngarivhume has ended.The union was part of a pre-election pact cobbled by opposition parties to form the MDC Alliance in a bid to unseat Zanu-PF but was unsuccessful.While former MDC secretary generals Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti have successfully been integrated back into the MDC, the situation has been different with Ngarivhume confirming he was going solo, at least for now."We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organization and then work with the alliance in 2023," said Ngarivhume.The other members of the coalition were faction of Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP), Ncube's MDC, Zanu Ndonga led by Denford Musiyarira, Multi-Racial Christian Democratic Party and Zimbabwe People First fronted by Agrippa Mutambara.Ncube is now Chamisa's deputy while Biti currently serves as vice national chairperson. The two are angling to be vice presidents at the upcoming congress set for this month.While Ngarivhume was unwilling to be dragged into the reasons for his leaving. Relations between him and Chamisa took a nosedive when he had an MDC candidate fielded in a constituency he had been allocated in the run-up to last year's general elections.The Transform Zimbabwe leader however said his party could still go into another pre-election coalition with the MDC in the next election."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organisation and then work with the alliance in 2023," he said.Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue."I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Special Anti-Corruption Unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's office has opened a fresh probe into Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) senior managers over multi-million dollar vehicle insurance tender fraud, it has emerged.The probe is targeting former Zinara acting chief executive officer Moses Juma, finance director Simon Taranhike and director for human resources and administration Precious Murove.The trio allegedly flouted tender procedures by directing insurance service providers to work with a company known as ICEcash which had not participated in a tendering process to issue electronic vehicle insurance cover notes.The Special Anti-Corruption Unit's chair Thabani Vusa Mpofu, an experienced prosecutor, confirmed the investigation, but declined to give further details, saying pre-empting via the press would "jeopardise investigations".The case has been dragging on since September 2016.Information at hand indicates that the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) called for a tender to recruit and select a provider to develop a third-party electronic cover note issuance system for vehicles.A lot of companies responded to the tender invitation and a shortlist drawn from the applicants had Courteville Solutions from Nigeria, Agilies from India, Westchase from Zimbabwe and Emali from South Africa.Courteville won the tender, prompting the ICZ to sign an agreement with Courteville Solutions.However, sources close to proceedings said the deal was hijacked by ICEcash which is related to Emali."How Zinara comes into the picture is through the fact that for the electronic cover note system to achieve its biggest objective of stopping fake insurance, enforcement had to be computerised. This would be achieved by having a data sharing agreement between the insurance industry and Zinara. This meant both bodies would be able to access the same database for the purposes of issuing the insurance cover and Zinara issuing road licences. So all Zinara agents would do before issuing a licence would be to go into the system and check if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to buy the licence for," a source said."The insurance industry would create a portal that would allow Zinara to access insurance information of the vehicle that wanted to purchase road licence and if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to licence the vehicle for, go ahead and issue it. Because both the insurance and licensing systems are cloud based, the former arrangement was better, given the connectivity issues of Zimbabwe. So whilst the insurance industry was trying to complete the arrangement for the complete process through a data-sharing agreement with Zinara, Serge was busy sabotaging the whole thing through several ways that included writing a letter to Zinara discrediting Courteville."Eventually Zinara issued a directive to the insurance industry asking them to all sign with ICEcash for the purposes of issuing electronic cover notes. ICEcash are one and same company with Emali."According to the sources, the order instructing companies to engage ICEcash came from Juma, who claimed he was acting on behalf of the Transport ministry.ICZ chief executive Oliver Guni declined to comment on the matter."The ICZ is unable to comment on the matter at this stage as it is still under investigation," he said.It also emerged that Courteville Solutions made spirited efforts to save the deal but to no avail.A letter by Courtville Solutions executive director Oye Ogundele, who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, dated September 26, 2016 and addressed to the then Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) chief executive Cletus Chitambira indicates that the company made frantic efforts to have the deal implemented."As you are aware, there is an ongoing mediation by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on the stalled process of deploying the ICZ/Courtville system for electronic cover note after our appeal letter to the minister following our inability to reach an amicable conclusion at the meeting with Zinara. To this effect, a meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 and the following resolution was reached at the meeting; that Zinara shall henceforth deal with ICZ directly for anything that has to do with electronic cover notes and that Zinara shall not in any way form or deal directly with individual insurance companies. With immediate effect, Courtville can activate its system to allow members of ICZ to issue electronic cover notes on the platform but without interaction with Zinara's system until the security clearance for Courtville is done," the letter, which sources say was ignored, reads.ICEcash officials could not be reached for comment as their mobile number was unreachable while Juma is currently serving a prison term for a related offence.
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE have busted a four-man-syndicate that was producing fake national identity cards, drivers' licences and defensive drivers' certificates among other documents countrywide. Police did not release the names of the accused persons but they reside in Harare.The syndicate's activities, police said, had far reaching consequences as companies nationwide may have engaged people to positions of authority and trust on the basis of forged qualifications.Speaking during a ZRP Crime Watch programme on ZBC TV, Officer-in-Charge Harare Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) Inspector James Chimombe said the suspects are being charged with 15 counts of fraud and 48 counts of unlawfully possessing national identification cards."Police from the CPU received information from the public that there were criminals who were going around town supplying citizens with fake driver's licences, national identity cards, defensive driver's certificates and skilled worker certificates."The team managed to arrest the accused person who led them to the office of the perpetrator who was arrested in his office while he was busy producing some certificates. The team conducted a search and managed to arrest four accused persons," he said.Insp Chimombe said police recovered the materials that they were using to make the documents and have since taken the case to the commercial crime unit Harare province for investigations.He said the criminals were also forging certificates of skilled worker qualifications duping many corporates and employees."We have since checked with the manpower planning and development board who confirmed that the certificates are forged documents which poses a risk to our manpower in the country," Insp Chimombe said.Officer-in-Charge of the Harare Crime Control Unit (CCU) Assistant Inspector Blessing Mutumbi said the suspects took original national identity cards and defaced them, leaving only the security features appearing on the actual identity card."They then superimpose them with information printed on paper such that one cannot notice that it's a fake document. These criminals even use the same font used on actual documents," he said.Officer-in-Charge CCU Insp Ngoni Kutadzaushe said police are engaging the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and the Registrar General's office in investigating the case."This case has a national impact and many companies and individuals might have fallen victim to such activities hence we are intensifying investigations," he said.Harare Central and Suburban districts Officer-in-Charge Insp Joshua Kadungu said the arrest was a milestone achievement for the police."We are expecting a decrease in crime as perpetrators have been held accountable. Anyone who knows people producing such documents should report to their nearest police station," he said.Police urged service providers who will be issuing documents to members of the public to educate them on the security features that are found on actual Zimbabwean documents to reduce crimes of this nature."We also urge members of the public to go to relevant offices to access documents because they are duped at unregistered service providers. Do not to consult any agencies in matters concerning identity particulars," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

IT is the battle of the titans in the MDC as party bigwigs vying for the three vice presidency posts defied the National Council to withdraw from the race ahead of the party's congress later this month in Gweru.Eight candidates, namely Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi, Lilian Timvoes, Lynnette Karenyi Kore, Paurina Mpariwa and Tracey Mutinhiri are all vying for the party's three vice presidency slots.Party's spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that none among the bigwigs have withdrawn from the cluttered race to deputise Nelson Chamisa who is now waiting to be anointed when the party congregates from the 24th to the 26th of this month."We are still waiting for people to make withdrawals but so far no one has withdrawn maybe because Wednesday was a holiday. But if there is no consensus then there will be elections," said Mafume.After a national council meeting last weekend, the MDC resolved that candidates who had been nominated were supposed to build consensus among themselves and minimise friction."All nominees had been given up to Tuesday (last week) to accept nominations or to withdraw. Where more than two candidates accept the nomination, they are encouraged to discuss in the spirit of consensus building," read part of the resolutions.However, the die is cast as all the candidates start to campaign for a fight that will either prop them up the political ladder or completely off the radar if they lose.Mafume said as things stand the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has already started the process of producing ballots."Since there are no agreements we are now going for contestations which will be superintended by the ZCTU. The Electoral Commission shall then produce ballots on every position where more than one candidate decide to contest. The positions to be contested include the president, vice president, national chairperson, secretary-general and treasurer-general," said Mafume.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Condolences are pouring in from all corners following the passing of EFF leader Julius Malema's grandmother, Koko Sarah Malema.Malema on Saturday tweeted a tribute to his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday morning."Our pillar of strength has fallen, the great tree that provided cooling shades of comfort, love and stability have been uprooted, forever, from our lives. I love you, my confidant..." Malema said.The ANC sent a message of condolences to Malema and his family."The ANC has learnt with sadness about the passing of Koko Sarah Malema, the grandmother to Mr Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF. The ANC conveys its deepest condolences to the Malema family."Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during their moment of grief. Koko Sarah Malema's life must be celebrated. She was a pillar of strength for her family. May the soul of Koko Sarah Malema rest in eternal peace," said the ANC.President Cyril Ramaphosa has also conveyed his message of support."This bereavement is felt more sorely because of the special relationship Mr Malema enjoyed with his grandmother. I too have fond memories of Koko Malema following an opportunity I had to speak to her when she was in hospital. It is my hope that Mr Malema will draw strength from his beloved grandmother's values and her presence in his life."DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: "To my fellow Brother, Leader of the EFF @ Julius_S_Malema I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the passing of your grandmother. We all know very well how much your grandmother meant to you and as such I pray with you and wish you strength.Other politicians and public figures also paid their respects on social media.
Opinion / Columnist

In his message to workers on the eve of the Workers' Day President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, and I quote "we must no longer merely survive, now is the time for us to blossom, thrive and prosper as a nation, as a people" and indeed as the Zanu PF Youth League we are confident that this will be a reality sooner than later.President ED Mnangagwa has opened up Zimbabwe for investment, removing bottlenecks that impended economic growth and opening himself to public scrutiny and engagement with stakeholders.Every minister, civil servant and business should religiously complement the President's efforts. His leadership style is reflective and a constant reminder to the model of Servant Leadership, it is a style he executes so well and with brilliance that slowly, even the naysayers are now appreciating that there is light at the end of the tunnel.Unfortunately, while our President has been an exemplary leader, traversing the globe and almost abandoning his roles as a father, it is of major concern to us that some in civil service including some businesses are either sleeping on the job or they are pulling in the opposite direction.We would like to call ministers, and other stakeholders in key sectors of the economic, be it service delivery or economic players to open up and appraise the nation on the progress they have made if any, and the challenges they face in executing their roles.It is trite that the party is supreme to government, but, and worryingly so, some civil servants view the party with disdain and a condescending attitude, forgetting that they are in a Zanu PF Government.We challenge ministers to open up, just as "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" and periodically inform the nation through various forms of the media what they will be doing, their failures and success.They are some senior civil servants who are now living in the lap of luxury, smug in their comfort zones they forget the reason why they are in Government, sometimes such officials, declare reckless statements that sadly are not a reflection of the thinking in Zanu-PF or the President.Yes, there are some public officials we are not even proud to associate with as the Zanu-PF Youth League, these people are in the habit of starting fires that they cannot douse, these people, soon, we will name and shame them and ask the party to recall them from whatever posts they are basking in.We want accountability in all sectors and that should start in ministries that remain closed to public scrutiny and engagement even when the President himself is accessible. The following sectors and players should update the nation periodically.Energy in particular fuel sector Food sector industry Monetary Authorities Transport Information Parliament Anti Corruption Justice System Our people deserve better from all public and private institutions as both are designed to serve the people of Zimbabwe not the other way round. Some pronounce policies that are inconsistent with the President's thrust to turn around the economy while others have become saboteurs to the President's vision.That must stop now. All those who receive foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) should be audited and the results must be publicised. Those who abuse the foreign currency allocation scheme should go to jail and banned from future allocations.All those breaking the country's laws should be brought to book. Violent characters and sponsors of anarchy should face the full wrath of law. Non governmental organisations sponsoring regime change should be banned immediately.We cannot continue to be romantic with those interfering with our politics, leaving their mandate. We would like to see all corrupt elements at whatever level going to jail whatever their social standing.Parliament should also play its part and enact laws that protect the general public from economic saboteurs. We do not expect double standards from parliamentarians and any corrupt legislator has no role in the august House, but rather a place in Chikurubi.MPs cannot expect good perks from Government while at the same time supporting sanctions that hurt the general public and Government, it is high time we enact laws that address the issue of sanctions and authors of Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA).While we are appreciative of the liberalisation of the media and enjoyment of civic rights we are appalled by the abuse of the media especially the social media, which is causing unnecessary suffering among the people of Zimbabwe through misinformation.At a major cost to the country's image dangerous information is being spread and hurting national interests. Equally, irresponsible media houses should be dealt in terms of the law. Because their actions or rather distortions are hurting the country especially its image and we cannot afford to stand akimbo while our Great Country is dented by surrogates of imperial powers.Those playing politics of the stomach and also who are into rent-seeking should be stopped forthwith. Licence of such businesses should fall while responsible players should be supported through licences and loans.The time to confront those working against the President's vision is now. We want answers now otherwise these purveyors of doom will destroy the hope created by the New Dispensation.
Person using calculator next to charts and graphs

When it comes to investing like the worlds best, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to have the worlds biggest bank account.

You just have to follow the same simple guidelines: invest for the long haul.

Beyond that, investors should look for stocks that have strong brand power, low cost of production compared to their peers, and can repeat the same sales for years to come.

If youre looking into new stocks to invest in, you dont necessarily have to be looking for high-risk, high-reward options. Instead, even during an economic peak or valley, your investment should continue to do well if youre planning to hold onto it for years to come.

Right now is actually a great time to be doing this, and there are some companies out there that some of the biggest investors in the world are starting to put their money on.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) may not be what it once was, but thats likely a good thing. The company that brought you BBM created a trend, and trends die; as did this company, frankly. But BlackBerry is now back from the dead and investing in an entirely new stream of production.

BlackBerry is now an enterprise software company, with a current focus on cybersecurity, the company acquiring Cylance in early 2019. While acquisitions like this will bring the companys top line down in the short term, over the long term is the start of real a real growth opportunity. The stock may only reach $16 per share by the end of the year, but that leaves plenty of room to grow.

Brookfield

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN)(NYSE:BIP) is on the opposite spectrum, currently at an all-time high at $55.75 per share at the time of writing. But again, if youre looking for a long-term buy, this one provides an excellent opportunity.

The biggest clue for investors should be the companys share split announcement back in 2016, when the company issued new shares to shareholders turning, say, 100 shares to 150 shares overnight. Since then, a share-repurchase plan was also put in place for 13.82 million shares, which management only does when they believe shares are undervalued.

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And frankly, it likely is. This company has been one of the most reliable on the TSX for years, outpacing its market average. That isnt set to change as the company has a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline (pardon the pun) for years to come and cash flow continuing to come in from literally around the world.

Royal Bank

Another company at an all-time high is Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY). Now, as Ive recommended in the past, you could wait for this stock to drop before buying, which its likely to do. A housing crisis will certainly hurt Royal Bank, and an incoming recession will definitely provide a buying opportunity in the near future.

But again, if youre planning on purchasing for the long haul, it shouldnt scare you that youre not buying at drastically low prices. Honestly, any dramatic dips have quickly rebounded within a month or so if you look at this stocks historical performance, so I wouldnt fret all that much.

Instead, look at how this bank has managed to rebound after any catastrophe, and its room to grow. After the Great Recession it fared as one of the best banks in the world coming out of 2008, and its recent focus on growing its wealth and commercial clients in the U.S. should provide the company with some serious growth coming out of next year. In fact, analysts predict the stock could rise to $130 in the next 12 months.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of BlackBerry. BlackBerry and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 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
Two hands holding champagne glasses toasting each other with Paris in the background

Finding the perfect investment mix that can offer growth and income-earning opportunities while still adhering to having a somewhat diversified portfolio can be a daunting task, as many times those great investments are clustered around one particular segment of the market, such as banking or utilities.

For those investors looking to diversify their portfolios with several unique and promising investments, here are three companies worthy of consideration.

Canadian Western (TSX:CWB) is not a bank that we often hear about, but investors wanting to add a bank to their portfolio would be wise to take a look at the Edmonton-based bank. Why should you consider investing in Canadian Western? That would come down to a slew of strong results, a healthy dividend, and strong growth prospects.

First, the bank reported strong results in the most recent quarter, which runs contrary to the weak quarter that many of the big banks recently reported. Specifically, net income registered a 7% uptick, while revenue saw an increase of 10%, coming in at $66.5 million and $212.4 million, respectively. While those amounts may pale in comparison to the big banks, Canadian Western also managed a phenomenal 10% loan growth and 13% term deposit growth during the quarter, which is something that long-term investors should take into consideration.

Finally, theres the dividend. Canadian Westerns quarterly dividend offers a yield of 3.73%, which, while lower than some of the larger banks, continues to see strong growth year after year, with the bank now boasting 27 years of consecutive growth  a feat that beats many of the Big Banks.

Canadian Western trades just shy of $30 with a P/E of 10.42.

Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is one of the big telecoms in Canada, offering subscription-based TV, internet, wired and wireless service to customers across large parts of the country. Across all of those segments, Teluss wildly popular wireless service is what investors should be looking at most.

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In a little over a decade, wireless devices have gone from being seen solely as communication devices to being vital to our daily lives. We are on our cell phones for longer periods of time, consuming more data with each passing year on a greater variety of applications that are steadily eliminating single-purpose devices we no longer have a need for, ranging from alarm clocks and cameras to pens, notepads, music players, and maps.

In terms of results, Telus boasted strong revenue growth of 6.3% in the most recent quarter, while EBITDA growth registered an equally impressive 4.3%. The company also added 112,000 net additions to its wireless network, while improving customer retention to an industry-leading 0.91% churn. Across the company, Telus registered 164,000 new customers across all of its segments, including some of the best quarterly figures in half a decade.

Teluss quarterly dividend is reason enough for many to consider investing. The current 4.41% yield is respectable, but what really makes the stock shine are the long-term growth prospects for that dividend. Telus has maintained a CAGR of over 7% over the past several years, providing investors with annual or better upticks that have kept the company as an attractive pick for dividend investors. Turning back over a decade, the dividend has more than doubled, and theres little reason to doubt further increases will continue.

Telus currently trades just under $50 with a P/E of 18.50.

Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) is a final pick that will power any portfolio to riches  literally. As one of the largest utilities on the continent, Fortis has a massive customer base that includes parts of Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Part of the reason that Fortis is so large today is thanks to the companys incredible appetite for expansion, which has seen the company take on increasingly larger acquisitions over the years, allowing it to expand to new markets.

That growth has helped Fortis continue to provide annual growth to its quarterly dividend, which currently provides a 3.63% yield and boasts nearly four decades of annual, consecutive dividend hikes. Throw in the stable, if not lucrative business model that utilities operates under and Fortis emerges as the must-have investment for nearly any portfolio.

Fortis currently trades near $50 with a P/E of 19.56.

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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
FILE - In this May 7, 2017 file photo, Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was in blatant violation of rules set out by the federal government restricting how the drug can be promoted, according to a leading expert on cannabis policy.

Deepak Anand, CEO and co-founder of the cannabis supply and distribution company Materia Ventures, and a renowned industry consultant, took to Twitter on Thursday with a screenshot of the provinces online cannabis store.

The image, which was also captured by Yahoo Finance Canada, shows the title Leafs By Snoop appearing above cannabis products.

Snoop Dogg promotes cannabis products under the name Leafs By Snoop. Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO), a longtime partner of the famous rapper, introduced the LBS branding a day before recreational legalization in Canada last year.

The title on the page has since been changed from Leafs By Snoop to LBS.

A screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website showing products endorsed by rapper Snoop Dogg on Friday, May 3, 2019.

The Cannabis Act, the federal legislation legalizing recreational use in Canada, states that it is prohibited to promote cannabis or a cannabis accessory or any service related to cannabis . . . by means of a testimonial or endorsement, however displayed or communicated and by means of the depiction of a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional.

This is a blatant violation of the Cannabis Act by a provincial government, Anand told Yahoo Canada Finance. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations that they have developed.

Cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser said the issue at hand is what exactly constitutes a depiction of a person and testimonial or endorsement under s.17(1) of the Cannabis Act.

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OCS spokesperson Amanda Winton said the Leafs By Snoop reference was posted due to a technical error and was corrected as soon as it was noticed.

Health Canada is tasked with monitoring regulated parties to verify compliance with the Cannabis Act.

Health Canada is aware of the issue you have raised and followed up with Ontario Cannabis Store yesterday, Health Canada senior media relations advisor Maryse Durette said in a statement to Yahoo Canada Finance. Ontario Cannabis Store informed Health Canada that they were already aware of the issue and had corrected their website.

Shortly after recreational legalization last October, Health Canada found New Brunswicks province-run online cannabis store ran afoul of the rules by displaying images of a woman doing yoga and a group of people smiling and taking a selfie.

In addition to rules on depictions of people and endorsements, the act forbids brand elements that evoke glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.

Cannabis NB said it made adjustments to its website.

The Wild West

The apparent disconnect between Ottawas rules and the influx of celebrity interest in the cannabis industry is causing confusion for companies looking to establish brands.

Anand, the former vice president of business development and government relations with the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance Inc., said advising clients on how to stay within the bounds of the law has been challenging.

While the rules expressly forbid celebrity promotion, many licensed cannabis producers have recruited star power to their brand.

Canopy works with Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Seth Rogan. The OCS sells a line of bongs, pipes and other accessories named after Bob Marley. OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI.V) has partnered with the Trailer Park Boys to develop a line of cannabis. The list goes on.

We see people every day asking if things are compliant, Anand said. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations, or else we are going to see the wild west.

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A Buffalo Airways aircraft made a forced landing off the runway in Hay River, N.W.T., on Friday.

According to Katherine Defosse, Buffalo Airways communications director, the cause was a mechanical issue. She said the two crew members on board are safe.

The incident happened at about 8 a.m. Friday. Buffalo Airways 169, flying a DC-3, took off from Hay River to Yellowknife at 7:41 a.m., and then turned back toward Hay River. The aircraft headed for the airport but didn't make it.

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information to decide whether it will send investigators.

It confirmed that moments before the landing the pilots told air traffic control they were "unsure" if they could make it back to the airport.

The pilot made a "forced" landing five nautical miles (nine kilometres) from runway 32.

Emergency crews, rangers dispatched

The town of Hay River dispatched emergency crews as close as possible to the crash site, said Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer.

Fire crews were notified of the crash this morning and were on standby roughly three kilometres from the plane, which is not available by road access.

RCMP and Canadian Rangers dispatched all-terrain vehicles to retrieve the two people from the crash site, she said.

Ross Potter, the director of protective services for the Town of Hay River, said he was pleased to see RCMP, rangers and the town's first responders work together.

Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways, which operates World War II-era aircraft, was featured in History Television's Ice Pilots NWT. The airline operates passenger, charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting and fuel services, according to its website.

Buffalo Airways has a history of hard landings and other incidents. The company's licence was suspended by Transport Canada back in 2015; it was reinstated the following year.
Caitlin Brady speaks of socialism as though it's the only rational response to 21st-century America.

"I work full time, I work 40 hours a week, and I qualify for food stamps," the 31-year-old said, explaining why she volunteered for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) campaign in Chicago's municipal elections last month.

To get food stamps in Illinois means Brady makes no more than $1,670 US a month. She pays no income tax on that  but neither did tech behemoth Amazon pay tax on the reported $10.8 billion it made last year.

"The richest country in the history of the world," Brady said, "and I'm not able to put a roof over my head and eat."

Like many toiling in the trenches of the DSA campaign, Brady is a millennial. Born between the early 1980s and 2000, theirs is the biggest generation since the baby boom and the most likely to think the American Dream  success equals prosperity  is dead.

Chicago is a historically big "D" Democratic city, and for years it has operated a bit like a one-party state. Republicans don't figure much in its politics. Political offices are sometimes passed between generations of the same Democratic families.

But in recent years, the socialists have spotted weaknesses on the Democrats' left flank: unaffordable urban housing and unkept promises of rent control. They struck, painting the Democrats as sellouts to big real estate developers.

Caitlin Ochs/Reuters

On election night, the media clucked and fussed over Democrat Lori Lightfoot, the openly gay black woman chosen to replace Chicago's unbeloved Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But underneath that headline was the news that the socialists running for a handful of city council seats had won them all. Granted, that's only four. But it means they now have six spots out of 50 in the government of the third-largest metropolis in the country  socialism's biggest victory in modern American history.

There are varieties of socialism around the world, but in the American context, it is fundamentally about ensuring that the health and welfare of the people does not depend on the incentives of capitalism.

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"People over profits" was a popular rallying cry among Chicago's DSA. But the DSA did not insist that workers should control the means of production and promise to take over Amazon. They ran on affordable housing, universal health care and returning government to the people.

'It's back'

The results in Chicago were preceded by a tsunami of speculation about the resurrection of the American left why and where in the land it might or might not pop up.

In March, New York magazine churned out several thousand words trying to answer its own question: When did everyone become a socialist? On the right, The Weekly Standard (just before it folded in December) took aim at what it called "the illusory dream of democratic socialism" in a piece called "Up from the Grave," which began: "It's back."

In between, countless think pieces have analyzed what's going on, usually making a link to the unexpected successes of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (a.k.a. AOC). But the truth is the warming trend for socialism began before any of that.

CBC

Nearly a decade ago, the Pew Research Center reported that American millennials, a generation with growing political clout, saw the world differently than their forebears. A 2010 Pew study found that, as a whole, Americans strongly favoured capitalism over socialism, but millennials slightly favoured socialism over capitalism.

Perhaps because they had no memory of the Cold War, they didn't see socialism as a bogeyman. They were open to it.

A few years later, the political scientist and writer Peter Beinart took the Pew study and contextualized it in a widely read essay in the Daily Beast. Under the headline "The Rise of the New New Left," he tried to unpack how a promise to make the rich pay for universal childcare turned lefty Democrat Bill de Blasio into the mayor of New York. Priorities were disrupted, thought Beinart.

Response to 'fail decade'

With a hat tip to the sociologist Karl Mannheim, Beinart argued that only certain generations disrupt the status quo, and they do it because something irregular and meaningful happens during their formative years  late teens, early twenties  that forever colours their worldview.

The political coming of age for the first American millennials wasn't at all like the decades that preceded it. The 21st century opened with the catastrophes of what some describe as "the fail decade"  as Beinart wrote, "the decade of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis."

With striking prescience, he warned that both Republicans and Democrats had something to fear from a maturing generation that believes government should play an expanded role in their lives, and that status quo politics had failed.

More than three years ahead of the fateful 2016 election, Beinart predicted that in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton would be "vulnerable to a candidate who can inspire passion and embody fundamental change, especially on the subject of economic inequality and corporate power."

Beinart saw Senator Elizabeth Warren as that candidate. The eventual challenger turned out to be Bernie Sanders, but other than that, it seems Beinart was right.

Both Warren and Sanders are vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination saying corporate power needs stronger guardrails. Sanders describes himself sometimes as a socialist, sometimes as a democratic socialist  probably to avoid persnickety arguments about whether there's a difference between them.

Tiffany Foxcroft/CBC

Warren eschews both labels and claims that ideologically, she's "a capitalist to my bones." But her skepticism about unrestrained markets is as defiant as Sanders'. She's against what she calls "shareholder value maximization ideology."

For instance, she has proposed an "Accountable Capitalism Act" about corporate governance. If it were law, it would force certain big corporations to have federal charters and allow their shareholders to sue company directors if they act contrary to the interests of "all corporate stakeholders"  meaning running afoul of employee rights and environmental impacts.

That sounds like a shout-out to the socialists that, whether they want to or not, Democrats are hosting in their party.

Legacy tied to FDR, LBJ

"We're being the real Democrats, that's how I like to view it," said 30-year-old Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, now in his second term as a DSA city alderman in Chicago.

"We're being truer to the history of the party, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to Lyndon Baines Johnson."

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

There is truth to that. FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society are monumental figures in the history of the Democratic Party. They established unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, financial regulatory reforms and other programs that conservatives still dream of trying to roll back.

But the Democratic Party of FDR and LBJ was not the party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom extolled the virtues of leaner government. Clinton and Obama largely conceded to the economic arguments of the Reagan revolution, which conflated market freedom with personal freedom.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." Obama's autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, has grudging respect for Reagan scattered throughout it.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has wrestled with the ambitious vision of the socialists in her caucus, and she's unequivocal about where she stands. "That is not the view of the Democratic Party," she told CBS's 60 Minutes recently.

Nor, from a strictly utilitarian perspective, could it be. Pelosi became Speaker after the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. Their margin of victory had little to do with democratic socialist AOC winning her seat in the reliably Democratic district of the Bronx. It had everything to do with candidates such as Abby Finkenauer, who overturned a Republican in swing state Iowa's First District.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Put another way, the number of degrees Democrats can safely shift to the left in 2020 is probably less than AOC and some others elected in safe Democratic districts would like.

No one knows that better than President Donald Trump, who used his State of the Union speech in February to kick off his campaign against an imagined red menace.

"We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said, and then went on to define socialism as the monster that ate Venezuela. "America will never be a socialist country," he pledged, implying the nation could bank on that only as long as he was in the White House.

DSA members often say that when they think socialism, they think Denmark, not Venezuela. But Democrats won't get to argue that case in the 2020 election debate when Trump is already winding up his base with wild stories about a socialist dystopia. He recently warned that the Green New Deal means people will have to give up their cows.

There are many reasons that this is a watershed moment for Democrats.

Not only do they want to beat Trump in 2020; many feel it's their moral responsibility. But socialist talk is unnerving to those who fear ideological flirtations are better put on hold  at least until they've dealt with job one.

WATCH | Municipal election results in Chicago could signal a broader turn toward socialism in American politics:
Two cruise ships have sustained "minor damage" after they came into contact on Saturday morning near Vancouver's Canada Place.

The Port of Vancouver said in a written statement that at around 6:30 a.m. the Oosterdam was berthing when they came into contact with the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was at berth.

There were no injuries, and no pollution as a result of the incident, and cruise operations are continuing normally.

In a written statement, Erik Elvejord with the Holland American cruise line said that the incident happened closer to 6:50 a.m.

"Disembarkation on both ships proceeded as usual. Damage to Oosterdam is minimal. Six [...] stateroom verandahs on Nieuw Amsterdam require repairs which are underway," he wrote, adding that guests booked in those rooms will be given other accommodation.

CBC

Elvejord said that all required repairs are above the ships' waterlines, and that the seaworthiness of the ships is not affected.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to depart today on a seven-day roundtrip to Alaska. The Oosterdam is scheduled to sail overnight to Seattle.

Elvejord said he does not anticipate that either itinerary will be affected.

Angela Hagen was packing up after a six-day cruise from San Diego on the Nieuw Amsterdam when she heard "lots of crunching and breaking of things."

At first, she thought the ship had hit the docks.

"My sister went out on the balcony and said 'we hit the other ship!'" she said.

Hagen said she could see the railing was gone from the rooms next to hers. They were briefly asked to leave but were eventually able to return to retrieve their luggage.

Transport Canada will work with the Holland America cruise line to fully assess the damage.
By Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapons into the East Sea in a military drill supervised by leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the North's state media reported on Sunday. The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units," the Korean Central News Agency said, implying that the latest firing was not the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States. Kim gave an order of firing and stressed the need to "increase the combat ability so as to defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance" of North Korea in the face of threats and invasions, the report said. The statement came a day after the latest firing, which analysts interpreted as an attempt to exert pressure on Washington to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure. "Yes, the tests were the most serious since the end of 2017, but this is largely a warning to Trump that he could lose the talks unless Washington takes partial denuclearization steps offered by Kim," said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "A resumption of long-range test could be next unless Kim gets what he wants soon." North Korean had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missiles testing in place since 2017, which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pointed out as an important achievement from his engagement with Pyongyang. The latest firing prompted Seoul to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula" on Saturday, while Trump said in a Twitter post that he was still confident he could have a deal with Kim. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday. The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a vaguer description and said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. North Korea demanded Washington to lift the U.S.-led sanctions in return for a partial dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, while the United States wanted the quick rollback of the Norths entire nuclear weapons programme. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Its official: Thailand has a new king and queen.

A coronation ceremony was held for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, on Saturday.

King Maha, 66, became monarch after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. The exact reason for the delayed formal coronation is unknown, although it was initially said to be due to a mourning period for the kings father.

Saturday marked the first day in a three-day coronation ceremony.

As the day began, Maha entered the Grand Palace and began the first of three major rites, the Royal Purification Ceremony, during which the king was showered with holy waters, according to the Associated Press.

From there, the king changed into ornate golden clothes, and while seated on a throne, underwent the Royal Anointment Ceremony. During the rite, holy water was poured on the kings hands and he was also given a ceremonial nine-tiered white umbrella.

At the conclusion of the rite, the king had assumed full regal power.

Thailand's King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

Thailand's King Maha | THAI TV POOL/AFP/Getty Images

In the last of the three rites, the Presentation of Royal Regalia, the king was crowned while seated on a throne. According to the Associated Press, the crown, which is covered in gold-plated diamonds, is over 200 years old and weighs 16 lbs.

As one of first acts as crowned king, Maha went on to present his wife with traditional regalia.

The coronation will be followed by a procession through Bangkok on Sunday.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Thailand's King Maha | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It was announced Wednesday that the monarch had married his consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, according to the Associated Press.

The announcement was reportedly made in the Royal Gazette, although it did not give a date of the wedding.

Thai television stations broadcast the royal order on Wednesday along with a video of Suthida, wearing a pale pink dress, laying before the king and presenting him with a tray of flowers and joss sticks, AP reports. Suthida, 40, was presented gifts in return.

Story continues

DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The couple also signed a marriage certificate book, also signed by the kings sister, Princess Sirindhorn, and Privy Council head as witnesses. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and other senior officials were also in attendance at the ceremony.

The Thai monarch has had three previous marriages. He divorced his most recent wife in 2014.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Thailand's Queen Suthida and King Maha | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Little is known about Thailands new queen. The couple reportedly met on a flight when she was working as a flight flight attendant for Thai Airways International.

In 2013, Suthida joined the palace guard. King Maha then appointed Suthida as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. He made Suthida a full general in December 2016 after he became king, and the deputy commander of the kings personal guard in 2017. He also made her a Thanpuying, a royal title meaning Lady.
Thousands of Alberta students  carrying signs like "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone: The Gays" and "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?"  walked out of their classes Friday morning to protest the new UCP government's position on gay-straight alliances (GSAs).

The United Conservative Party intends to overturn a law that prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins a GSA. However, Premier Jason Kenney repeated Friday that his party's plan would maintain "the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country."

The student-led protests spanned about 90 schools across the province, with participating teens stepping out of their classrooms at 9:30 a.m. MT for 20 minutes. Many schools saw dozens to hundreds of students walk out  despite snow falling in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and other parts of northern Alberta.

Scroll through the blog below to see tweets, photos and video from the protests around the province:

LGBTQ rights advocates say notifying parents who do not approve of their child's sexuality could lead to suicides and dangerous situations at home. The risk of being outed, they say, would deter kids from joining clubs and finding support.

"We think that this is a problem because in some cases parents might not be very accepting of their child and it could pose a danger to their child. This is not to say that all parents are going to do this but there are definitely some," Grade 10 student Aimee told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"Additionally, we believe that it should be up to the child themselves of when they want to come out and how they want to come out."

Tiphanie Roquette/Radio-Canada/CBC

Many students, like Alyssa Gabriel, echoed that message. Gabriel, who is gay, studies in Edmonton, and although her parents are supportive, she marched for her friends.

"I have a lot of gay friends who think the GSA is very important to them, and it's their little safe space and they have homophobic parents," Gabriel said.

Story continues

"But now with this [proposed] rule, it's not like a safe space anymore. They can't be there anymore 'cause they don't want to tell their parents they're gay because they might get kicked out."

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Protesters held signs with slogans, such as, "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone  The Gays," "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?" and "It's my choice, not yours. #KeepOurSafeSpacesSafe."

Sean Ruhland, one of hundreds of students who marched at William Aberhart High School in northwest Calgary, said his school's GSA was helpful when he came to terms with his identity as a gay transgender man.

CBC

He's graduating this year and said he wanted to protect other students' ability to come out to their parents on their own time.

"[The UCP] do not care. They do not care about youth, they do not care about future generations," Ruhland told Radio-Canada. "And they simply do not care about the quality of education in schools."

Not every school had large turnouts, though.

At Bishop Grandin High School in southwest Calgary, for example, fewer than 10 people took part.

One student told CBC they felt the walkout wasn't well-advertised, or worse, they worried that other students didn't care.

Only a few protested at Wheatland Crossing School but one student, Grant Carson, wrote on social media, "Our voice matters. Even in a small school."

Nelly Alberola/Radio-Canada

Other Albertans honked their car horns while passing protesters or shared their support of the students by posting on social media. Members of MacDougall Church in Edmonton marched to support students at Allendale School, as well.

Grant Carson

Former NDP education minister David Eggen attended the protest at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton, where students chanted, "Save our GSAs," and "Hey, Jason, leave our kids alone."

"Jason Kenney and his caucus seem bound and determined to out gay kids, to remove that safe place, that safe sanctuary," Eggen told reporters. "We're here to stand together to oppose that and to stop him."

MLA Sarah Hoffman, former NDP health minister, attended at Ross Sheppard School in Edmonton, where about 50 students protested.

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Student organizers said they kept it short so students could take a stand without missing much class time and encouraged people to seek parental permission as some schools said they would count it as an unexcused absence.

'They are fearful'

Teacher Kevin McBean, who is the GSA faculty sponsor at M.E. LaZerte School in Edmonton, says his school's club is a social space for kids to discuss social issues, watch movies and make pizza.

"Certainly many of my students aren't necessarily out to their parents, or if they are, it's already a rather contentious issue at home," McBean said in advance of the protests.

Dawson White

"The GSA provides them with a space where they can be themselves and just connect with other people, and so I think they are fearful that these kinds of policies could hurt them."

UCP promises 'strongest legal protection' in country for GSAs

Legislation came into effect under the previous NDP government in 2017 that protects the establishment of gay-straight alliance, or GSA, school groups. The law also prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins the group.

The UCP, which was sworn in on Tuesday after winning the recent provincial election, plans to give Alberta schools the discretion to inform parents of their child's participation in a GSA.

That announcement has been criticized by LGBT advocates, school administrators and teachers across Alberta, and sparked protests in Calgary and Edmonton during the election campaign.

Upon Kenney's victory, the students organized the mass protest.

Ariel Fournier/CBC

Kenney has said he would replace the NDP's Bill 24 with the seven-year-old Education Act  in essence removing some legal protections for Alberta LGBTQ students and school staff.

The Education Act, proposed under the former Progressive Conservative Party, does not have the change the NDP passed, including:

The requirement for school principals to grant student requests for GSAs.

The requirement for private schools to have public policies on protecting LGBTQ students.

Kenney has said that the UCP's proposed Education Act would still protect GSAs,

At an Edmonton event in March, he said that parents would only be notified by school staff of their child's involvement in rare cases  a position he reiterated when reached Friday.

"We're keeping our election commitment, which is to modernize the Education Act in Alberta and to maintain the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country," Kenney said ahead of the rally.

"It's great to see young people taking an active interest in issues. I'd suggest better for them to do rallies or protests after school hours and not during them. We want to make sure young people are actually learning in class instead of doing politics."

University of Calgary political scientist Melanee Thomas said on Twitter that she felt students had to protest during school hours as many take long bus rides to get home at the end of the day.

"Goal is to be inclusive," she Tweeted.

Chris Wattie/Reuters

Schools where students protested

The following schools are among those with students participating:
The city of Whitehorse is ramping up its forest fire preparedness efforts with the summer approaching.

Staff have a booth in the Canada Games Centre at the annual trade show this weekend. On Tuesday, staff are screening the documentary Into the Fire at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

In part the film looks at FireSmarting yards and homes.

Environmental co-ordinator Glenda Koh said embers blowing into yards are the main cause of homes burning during forest fires, not the actual flames.

She said the priority is creating a non-combustible zone around a home.

"So what we want to do is reduce all things that embers could eventually land on and ignite," said Koh. She used her home as an example.

Dave Croft/CBC

It has wood siding, "which is very nice, but wood is probably the worst siding you can have in terms of being resilient to fire," she said.

Better materials are cement board and stucco, she added.

Asphalt shingles on the roof are okay, said Koh, but wood shingles "would be absolutely a no-no."

There should be a 1.5-metre zone around a home completely clear of anything combustible, said Koh.

That includes firewood, bushes and accumulations of dead leaves.

Koh said anywhere dried leaves pile up, like in a carport or under a deck, are important to keep clean.

"Wherever you see leaves, that's probably where the wind has taken those leaves and so that's exactly the same path that an ember is going to take in case of a fire," she said.

Wooden fences that connect directly to the house should be avoided, she said, or least broken up with something like a metal gate.

Dave Croft/CBC

A moist lawn is not going to burn as quickly as dry grass, said Koh.

Wildfire risk reduction strategy started

Koh said preventing fire damage requires action on different scales and levels within the community.

"So it's not just a government issue and it's not a matter of how to evacuate," she said.

"In case of a wildfire there's a lot of preventative stuff that we can do on private property and on public land."

Koh said the city has begun work on a wildfire risk reduction strategy. It's expected to be done by next spring.

The city is also participating in the Nanook military exercise at the end of the month. Two neighbourhoods will be evacuated to test emergency preparedness.
It may not surprise you to learn people are getting hooked on an addictive Wisconsin export. But it might surprise you to learn that export is cheese.

In his book The Cheese Trap, doctor and author Neal Barnard argues that America is addicted to cheese. He says giving up cheese would help Americans lose weight and improve their health. Needless to say, Barnard will be stopped at the border if he attempts to enter Wisconsin.

Barnard grew up in North Dakota, no doubt in a household stocked with colored oleomargarine, a once-banned product Cheeseheads now begrudgingly accept. He says cheese is loaded with calories and sodium, and has more cholesterol than a steak. Apparently we are supposed to think all this is bad. But steak and salt are awesome, and as for calories, well, most of us arent posing for underwear ads anytime soon, so bring em on!

The book delves into the addictive nature of cheese, which contains casein, a protein with opiate molecules built in. This makes cheese dangerous, not unlike Wisconsins other top export, which is of course serial killers. Wait, no, I meant beer.

Brewskis go down like mothers milk for many a Wisconsinite. Barnard says consumers hankering for a hunk of cheese begins with infancy. When babies nurse, opiates in the milk reward them. When we eat cheese, we take in concentrated amounts of those same molecules.

Barnard isnt the only one who has warned against the dangers of cheese. My nine loyal readers may recall that in a 2015 study, University of Michigan researchers found the casein in cheese stimulates cravings by triggering the brains opioid receptors. As much as wed like to disregard any assertion made by Michiganders, who are of course not to be trusted  they stole the Upper Peninsula from us, doncha know  their findings certainly would explain the behavior one witnesses at Lambeau Field. Call it a curd mentality.

Subjects were asked to identify the foods they crave, and scientists quickly found a common ingredient. You guessed it: Asparagus. Just kidding, it was cheese. Researchers noted that while milk contains only a tiny dosage of casein, 10 pounds of it are used to produce a pound of cheese.

You start out with a few nibbles: Just a taste, the grocer says, First ones on me. The next thing you know, youre strung out, loitering outside Sargento and begging for a hit of colby.

The studys authors used their findings to identify a potential cause of addictive eating, and to call for public policy initiatives regarding the marketing of cheese to children. Hey, kids: Cheese is no gouda for you!

Theirs is an uphill battle. Theyre like Sisyphus, pushing a cheddar wheel up a mountainside. After all, the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people. No doubt Wisconsinites, who tend to be above average, consume considerably more than that. I bet 100 pounds are eaten at the Chuck E. Cheese in Green Bay every Tuesday.

Like the Michigan researchers, the author Barnard is going to have a hard time convincing Americans to give up cheese. His message certainly will fall on deaf ears in Americas Dairyland, where we love things that arent good for us. We live for beer and sausage. We swung for Trump. Half of us die ice fishing and snowmobiling. Were about as worried about our cholesterol as we are an alien invasion.

Plus, we might note that the National Dairy Council responded to Barnards claims by saying consuming cheese in moderation can be part of a healthy eating plan. After all, the only way most of us eat vegetables, other than at gunpoint, is to slather them with melted cheese.

Unfortunately, consuming things in moderation tends not to be Wisconsinites strong suit. Weve been known to take a second drink. And when it comes to cheese, we dont just eat it: We wear it.

Call us addicts if you like, we dont care. Besides, we can hardly hear you over the squeak of fresh cheese curds against our teeth.

Ben Bromley writes for the Baraboo News-Republic.

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Michael Hedges May 3, 2019 -

Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. Somber Tones, Little Sunshine, No RestMichael Hedges May 3, 2019 - Follow on Twitter Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here.
Charmaine LeMay Korn passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minn., surrounded by her family. She was born to Donavan LeMay and Ruth Lueck LeMay Nov. 6,1933, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Charmaine, lovingly called Char, graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1951. Following her graduation, she attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. Upon completion of her studies, she was employed by Cargill, in Minneapolis, in their accounting division.

In 1956 Char returned to her home town of Chippewa Falls, working in the accounting field for local businesses. It was at this time, during her first marriage, she had two children, a daughter, Darcy and a son, Bruce. In 1977 she married Gene Korn, and together they raised a blended family, while Char worked at National Presto Industries. In 1982 the Korns relocated to Minneapolis where she worked for FMC Corporation and Target.

Upon retirement from Target, she remained active in her book club, womens groups, bible study and other church functions. She especially enjoyed the womens yearly retreat sponsored by her church.

Char is survived by her daughter, Darcy LaVigne, of Columbia Heights, Minn.; her son, Bruce Lavigne, (Aubrey); and grandchildren, Ashton, Laithan, and Aspen of Trent, South Dakota; stepdaughter, Carla Korn Steinmetz; brothers, Don LeMay, and Karl LeMay, (Connie); sister, DeEtta Bachman; and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Donavan and Ruth LeMay; husband, Gene Korn; stepson, Jeff Korn; sister, Yvonne Kropidlowski; sister-in-law, Patricia LeMay; and brother-in-law, L. Bruce Bachman.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Zion Lutheran Church, 110 E. Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls, followed by lunch, and then a graveside interment.

Char will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor and generous nature. If you would like to honor her, a donation to your favorite charity would be welcomed.
WASHINGTON  Eight-year-old Liam Daly became an internet sensation when he penned a letter to his grandfather, William Barr, while sitting in the front row at Barrs confirmation hearing in January.

Dear Grandpa, he wrote. You are doing great so far. But I know you still will.

Alas for Liam, and for all of us, it was not to be. Now, just weeks on the job as President Trumps attorney general, Grandpa has disgraced himself. The speed with which Barr trashed a reputation built over decades is stunning, even by Trump administration standards.

Before, Barr was known as the attorney general to President George H.W. Bush and an eminence grise of the Washington legal community. Now he is known for betraying a friend, lying to Congress and misrepresenting the Mueller report in a way that excused the presidents misbehavior and let Russia off the hook.

Three weeks ago, Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., asked Barr about reports that special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs team complained that Barrs four-page summary of their work didnt adequately or accurately portray their findings. Do you know what theyre referencing? Crist asked.

No, I dont, Barr replied under oath, speculating that they probably wanted more put out.

Grandpa was fibbing.

Thanks to The Washington Posts reporting, we now know that two weeks before Barr denied knowledge of the Mueller teams displeasure, he received a letter from Mueller complaining that Barrs summary did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions and resulted in public confusion.

Barr, caught in flagrante delicto in his deception, told senators Wednesday that the question was relating to unidentified members of Muellers team, not Mueller himself  a technical answer that might get him off for perjury but doesnt avoid the conclusion that he deliberately misled Congress and the public.

Why didnt Barr disclose the Mueller letter when Crist asked the question? Barr replied that Crist had posed a very different question.

Um, right.

Of equal concern, Barr rejected Muellers requests to release more of the report to clear up the confusion. At that point, it was my baby, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Muellers.

It was his baby, and he smothered it  thus allowing Barrs misrepresentation of Muellers report (characterized by Trump as total exoneration) to harden.

Barrs mistreatment of Mueller is all the more appalling because, during his confirmation hearing, Barr boasted that the two men and their wives were good friends and would remain so. Barr reportedly told a senator privately that he and Mueller were best friends, that their wives attended Bible study together and that Mueller attended the weddings of Barrs children.

If so, Barrs betrayal reminds us: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. In addition to his unilateral clearing of Trump on obstruction of justice (something Mueller did not do), Barr also echoed Trumps claim that there was no collusion (a question Mueller did not address) and that there had been spying against Trumps campaign.

Barr continued undermining Mueller on Wednesday, calling Muellers letter to him a bit snitty and saying Mueller should have ended the investigation if he didnt think it in his purview to say whether Trump committed a crime. And Barr eagerly played Trumps defense lawyer.

Muellers finding that Trump repeatedly leaned on White House counsel Don McGahn to get Mueller fired?

Barr devised the implausible explanation that Trump only wanted Mueller replaced by another special counsel.

And Trump instructing McGahn to say publicly that Trump didnt order Mueller fired? Not a crime, Barr argued.

Barr also defended his assertion that Trump fully cooperated with the investigation, even though he refused to be interviewed and tried to get then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself and shut down the inquiry.

I dont see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation, Barr reasoned.

Even Barrs choice of pronouns  we have not waived the executive privilege, he said  showed he was Trumps lawyer, not Americas attorney general.

Repeatedly, Barr said it didnt matter that Trump had deceived the public. Im not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people, he said. But now Barr, by misrepresenting his dealings with Mueller, has gotten himself into the business of lying to the American people.

Even an 8-year-old knows lying is wrong, whether its legal or not. Surely Grandpa Barr should have. The attorney general owed better to his friend Mueller, and to the rest of us.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for Sri Lanka church and hotel bombings

The Islamic State has claimed that it was behind the horrific suicide bombings of churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend.

The terrorist group made the claim through its official Amaq news agency on Tuesday.

It comes after Sri Lankan intelligence named radical local cleric Moulvi Zahran Hashim as the chief mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks. He reportedly used his social media channels in the past to incite hatred against non-Muslims.

Senior government officials had blamed the little known radical Islamist group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which gained prominence last year after being accused of damaging Buddhist statues.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne previously said that whoever carried out the attacks must have been helped by an international network.

"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," he said.

"There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."

The devastating attacks were carried out on two Catholic churches and one evangelical church that were packed with worshippers celebrating Easter Sunday.

Four luxury hotels were also targeted in the attacks that claimed the lives of 321 people, including eight British citizens.

Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday that he believed the bombings were in retaliation for the recent attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed when a gunman opened fire in the mosques on March 15.

"The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch, but we are continuing investigations," Wijewardene said.
Viaje has announced the return of two Japanese-inspired small batch releases, the Viaje Hamaki and Viaje Hamaki Omakase. Both of these cigars were originally released in 2017 as a part of the Viajes White Label Project. This time the two small batch releases return and receive their own packaging.

Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar. The project was provoked by Viaje founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. It is a 6 x 54 box-pressed torpedo with the blend details not being disclosed. When Hamaki was first released back in 2017, it was a Dominican puro produced at the Quesada factory in the Dominican Republic.

Like Hamaki, the Hamaki Omakase was provoked by Viaje Cigars founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. Omakase is the Japanese tradition of letting a chef choose your order. The word actually means I will leave it to you and it fits in with the theme of the cigar (the name Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar) as the details of the blend have not been released. The cigar itself is a 5 x 52 Robusto produced in Nicaragua. The 2017 release of the Hamaki Omakase also was an undisclosed blend in a 5 x 52 Robusto size.

The Hamaki is packaged in 25-count boxes while the Hamaki Omakase comes in 18-count boxes.

In terms of the new packaging Viaje refers to this as graduating from the White Label Project series. The White Label Project is a series of experimental cigars and in some cases factory errors. Lately, Viaje has been using White Label Project to test the waters with a new line. This has allowed Viaje to see how the market responds to a release before investing in a more detailed packaging.

Photo Credit: Viaje Cigars
If youve been reading the liberal media and Left Twitter the past couple of months, youd be certain of one thing: Joe Biden is hopelessly out of touch  too old, too white, too male, too handsy, too racist, too misogynist, too unwoke, and far too compromised by his past positions to be the Democratic nominee in 2020. Josh Marshall, while liking Biden, regarded him as unsuited to the moment in almost every way imaginable. Jamelle Bouie saw him as a repugnant variant of Trumpism: For decades Biden gave liberal cover to white backlash. My colleague Rebecca Traister recently called him a comforter of patriarchal impulses toward controlling womens bodies. Ben Smith declared : His campaign is stumbling toward launch with all the hallmarks of a Jeb!-level catastrophe  a path that leads straight down  Joe Biden isnt going to emerge from the 2020 campaign as the nominee. You already knew that. Michael Tomasky summarized the elite consensus: Nearly everyone thinks [Biden] cant win the nomination.

Nearly everyone  i.e., all my friends and acquaintances in the journalistic and political elite  also thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in to win the general election. But Biden has had an extremely good start to his third campaign for president. His announcement video was aimed at those on the left who see Trump as the tip of the spear of white nationalism, and to those swingier voters who simply want to return to normalcy, constitutional order, and, well, decency. Thats a message that rallies the base but also appeals to those who may be exhausted by the trauma of Trump. As an opener, perfect. Even, at times, moving.

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The polling is just as impressive. In three separate polls released this week, Bidens support is somewhere in the upper 30s, and his nearest competitor is in the mid-teens (or, in one case, low 20s). In a field of 20 candidates, thats a big share, and in Nate Silvers analysis, Well-known candidates polling in the mid-30s in the early going are about even money to win the nomination, historically. Yes, hes riding an announcement bump right now and his numbers may and almost certainly will fade over time. His name recognition is sky-high compared with some others, who could catch up as the campaign progresses. And he might once again gaffe his way into oblivion. But he has a big enough lead to be able to afford a certain amount of erosion.

And his strength is drawn from two contrasting bases: older, moderate whites, and African-Americans. Although his share is in the 30s overall, he has a whopping 50 percent share among nonwhite Democrats, according to the latest CNN poll. A Morning Consult poll found him with 43 percent of the black vote, including 47 percent support among African-American women. Bidens deep association with Obama gives him a lift in the black vote no other white candidate can achieve. And so it turns out that the base of the Democrats has not been swept into the identity cult of the elite, wealthy, white left. As a brand- new CBS poll finds, Democrats may prefer a hypothetical female nominee over a male (5941 percent), a black nominee over a white one (6040 percent), and someone in their 40s to someone in their 70s. But thats in the abstract. In reality, Biden seems to scramble these preferences.

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Hes also been able to reach non-college-educated white men in ways few other candidates could. Thats a big fucking deal in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin  and if Biden can carry those states, hell be the next president. Hes a union man, and always has been. In what was a brilliant ad-lib, Biden began a speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers by making a joke about the excesses of #MeToo  I had permission to hug Lonnie, the union leader, he quipped. Later, as he brought some kids onstage, he joked again, as he put his hands on the shoulders of a boy: He gave me permission to touch him. The crowds reaction both times was bellows of laughter.

Yes, this might be seen as insensitive, or tone-deaf. It is certainly politically incorrect. But what Bidens joke did is tell the white working class that he has not defected to the woke, white urban elites. This matters. In a recent poll , 80 percent of Americans say that political correctness is a problem in this country. Hostility to new speech codes from elites was one factor that drove support for Trump in 2016. Americans do not want to abolish all differences between men and women, do not support reparations, and view college campuses as strange, alien pockets of madness. Any Democrat in 2020 has to reach that  exhausted majority  who are sick of all that. Biden has already done it.

Would upping the white working-class vote for the Dems alienate minorities, women, and high-income whites? Maybe. Charles Blow recently argued that these voters are fickle, getting smaller and smaller as a segment of the electorate, and are hostile to the interests of women and minorities. That is, theyre deplorables, unworthy of attention. Clinton tried that strategy. And she lost the presidency because of her thinly veiled contempt for the white working classes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The idea that the white working class is incompatible with a multicultural coalition is what two Obama campaigns disproved.

Bidens positive message is a defense of the worker from the excesses of decadent late-capitalism. He can effortlessly channel that and compete with Trump in the Rust Belt. Sanders can do this as well  but Bernie, for all his sincerity and authenticity, does not have the heft of a two-term vice-president who has long been at the center of his party. For those who simply want to defeat Trump at all costs, Biden, for now, seems the safest bet. He can run on a platform deeply informed by the lefts critique of the market, without the baggage of left wokeness or those eager to play into the GOPs hands and explicitly avow socialism.

Thats exactly what the Trump campaign fears. And in the critical head-to-head dynamic against Trump, Biden already seems to have gotten into the presidents head. Despite what we have been told is strong internal advice from his mute dauphin-in-law not to engage Biden, Trump couldnt help himself. When Biden got an endorsement from the firefighters union, Trump unleashed a torrent of 58 retweets before 6:30 a.m., all citing firefighters support for Trump. The president insists that every firefighter, cop, and service member supports him. All of them. And so the president went on to attack the union itself: Ive done more for Firefighters than this dues sucking union will ever do, and I get paid ZERO! After this sad temper tantrum, Biden was ready for a response: Im sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work. Biden 1, Tump 0.

In subsequent remarks, Trump revealed his current strategy for reelection: Hell tout a strong economy, fight mass immigration, and run against the threat of socialism. But hes obviously terrified that Biden wont fit easily into this AOCIlhan Omar rubric. Hes hoping that the left of the party will kneecap him: I think Biden would be easier from the standpoint that you will have so much dissension in the party, because itll make four years ago look like baby stuff  They want the radical left  they want the left movement  and he probably isnt there. And I think youre going to have tremendous dissension [sic] just like Hillary did. So the president just told the country that his most potent opponent is no leftist. A Trump adviser told Politico : We dont think Biden can make it out of the woke Democrat primary. Boy, are they hoping he doesnt.

The reason Trump is so rattled is that Biden is seven points ahead of him in head-to-head polls right now, and, after four years of Trumps assault on this countrys constitutional order, Democrats are likely to turn out in high numbers, and back whoever gets nominated. As it becomes clearer that this president regards himself as above the law, and has an attorney general who shares this view and will also target Trumps opponents if told to, opposition could intensify. New data from 2018 shows how big Democratic turnout was: 36 percent of young people voted, compared with 20 percent in 2014. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians all saw their turnout rates soar  up 11, 13, and 13 points, respectively, compared with 2014. When these voters have a chance to get rid of Trump, whoever the nominee is, I have no doubt theyll show up. If Biden could make some inroads with non-college-educated whites and seniors, it could be another big fucking deal. Adding Kamala Harris as his veep could unify the Democratic base behind the ticket.

Two other points: Biden is a Catholic. Anyone who has ever been saturated in American Catholicism can swiftly recognize the figure: old-school but open, a believer in the innate dignity of every human soul, regularly at Mass, deeply comfortable in the world of white ethnic America, surprisingly liberal. Catholics  shockingly, given the depravity of the Republicans  split their vote last time. Move them a few points, as Obama did in 2008 , and you have a real shift in our politics. And then theres the fact that Trumps uncanny ability to define someone with a brutal but telling nickname seems to have failed him with Biden. Sleepy Joe? I can detect nothing sleepy about this septuagenarian embarking on a third run for president. Biden seems to genuinely flummox Trump. Which is very good news.

There is also, dare I say it, a deeper contrast between the two men. One is decent, kind, generous, funny. The other is indecent, cruel, miserly, and has the callous humor of a bully. There would be a moral gulf between any current Democrat and Trump, of course. But with Biden, were reminded of the America we thought we knew. Yes, this is partly nostalgia, but no one should underestimate nostalgia in a country as turbulent, afraid, and resentful as America right now. Bidens moment, in my mind, was 2016, but he was prevented from competing by Clinton and Obama. But history takes strange turns. This already feels to me like a two-man race. That may change. Its extremely early, but the odds are with Biden. And the tailwinds behind him are intense.
SHELBY - The Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill was the only childhood home Columbus resident Dallas Thelen ever knew.

His parents, George and Cindy Thelen, purchased the building at 240 N. Walnut St. in 1979, less than a year after Dallas was born.

The Thelens operated their business by day before heading up a flight of stairs every evening after the bar closed.

It was definitely unique, Dallas said of the living arrangement with his parents and three siblings. That was the only home I ever knew growing up. But it was fun, there was a long hallway that we would run down playing hide and seek and stuff, and then dad actually took out a few walls and put in a swing set so we had our own playground indoors.

Dallas moved to Columbus with his wife, Denise, in 2007, and his parents continued calling the establishment home before moving just a few blocks away in January 2010.

Although the top portion of the Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill has now been vacant for some time, the bottom floor has remained lively with numerous area residents patronizing the facility on a regular basis. On Wednesday, the business celebrated 40 years of being in business with an all-afternoon gathering that drew in around 100 people.

Throughout the afternoon and night it was pretty busy, Cindy said. The kids are the ones who really did it, got it up on Facebook and told people to come  we werent going to do anything.

The couple is glad they celebrated, though. At the end of October, the establishment is permanently shutting its doors. Although there will be a final party  likely a Halloween-themed bash, this served as a bit of a farewell.

With Cindy turning 65 in June and George creeping up on 72, its finally time to throw in the towel. The couple has served as a two-person crew for multiple years following the departure of longtime employee Carol Funkhouser, who manned the short-order grill during the lunch hour for the better part of three decades.

I think that its a good time for them to retire, Dallas said. I think that they have put in their time for a business like that. Its an extremely long tenure, just because of all the time they have had to spend there. I remember that mom would be there before 7 (a.m.) when they opened, and then dad would be there until past 1 (a.m.) at close. And then they would wake up and do it all over again.

George and Cindy agree, but its still hard stepping away from the establishment that not only provided their livelihood, but also a shelter over their childrens and their own heads for so many years. Its a place where third-generation customers pop in and talk about their familys history and memories at the bar.

Just a whole lot of parties  good memories, George said of what he will remember fondly, with a laugh. Everything that has happened on Main Street we have been part of because we lived on Main Street for such a long time. The homecoming parades, all the Halloween parties and anniversary dances weve had over the years 

In the late 1970s when the Thelens opened shop, there were five watering holes in downtown area. Now, at least for the time being, there will be none beginning in November.

Dallas knows this is a tough pill for his father to swallow.

Hes always been really supportive of the community and just adamant that Main Street needs to have good businesses, Dallas said. He never wanted businesses to leave.

Now that the time has arrived for the Thelens, their focus is on the future. The couple will be able to relax a little bit more and enjoy the company of their seven grandchildren.

Shelby will still be their home, and they will undoubtedly keep seeing a lot of familiar faces. But they will miss the interactions theyve had with customers at the bar for so many years.

We just want to thank everyone for their business and for supporting us for all these years, Cindy said. Without them, we wouldnt be here, they are the ones that made our living and kept us going.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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Diane Thress and her former work partner, Linda Brandenburgh, used to operate the Child Support Enforcement office in a back corner of the Platte County Attorneys office.

While conveniently located directly across from County Attorney Carl Hart Jr.s office, it wasn't the most comfortable setting.

It was pretty small, Thress said. We were on top of each other. A lot of times, when you moved your chair or opened a file drawer, you would back into someone. We also had nowhere to meet with clients. It was time to approach the board for finding us a bigger location where we could serve clients who came in and needed assistance.

Thress and her newly expanded staff no longer need to worry about playing bumper chairs in their office. Three weeks ago, the Child Support Enforcement office moved into an old courtroom just a door down from the county attorneys Office.

The move was necessary due to the expansion of Thress staff following an audit by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. According to Hart Jr., the agency was worried that the two workers had too big of a work load and needed to expand in order to make it a bit more manageable.

They determined we had well over 1,500 cases that were being handled by two experienced workers, Hart Jr. said. They did a comparison with other counties (that had the same workload) and some counties had as many as four workers. They told us You people are doing more than your fair share if youre working 750 cases per employee. Thats twice the workload of child support collection workers in other counties.

With Brandenburgh retiring in June 2018, and with DDHS forcing an expansion of staff, space was incredibly cramped for the already extremely busy unit. Thus began the search for a new place to call home starting in fall 2018.

One of the options included moving the department into the basement of the courthouse that previously housed the Nebraska Extension-Platte County office. The idea was seriously considered, and hearings were held where discussion and debate took place.

Ultimately, it was not a popular recommendation.

The solution, arguably, was to put someone down in the basement, Hart Jr. said. Nobody wanted to go down there. Its not very nice.

The proposal also would have been inconvenient for both the workers and the attorneys appointed to fight these cases. They would have had to go up four flights of stairs just to get to the county attorneys office.

I didnt want to do it, because how could I supervise these three child support employees? Hart Jr. inquired. That means I have to get on an elevator or go down four flights of stairs. One of my lawyers is going down there, as well. We could do those things, but we found a (better) solution.

Eventually, the board settled on the old courtroom. Four months of work followed, in an effort to reconfigure the space from a hall of justice into suitable office quarters.

Tile was replaced with new carpet, and electrical wiring was installed to facilitate a modern office with computers and access to databases. Most importantly, Thress says that the new office has plenty of space for her staff, not to mention plenty of new amenities to help those who need it most.

Clients can come in and talk to us, Thress said. The front desk has a computer that we can all log on to and talk to the clients at the front desk, rather than having them come back and see confidential information that they dont need to see. We can talk to them up front and take care of them right there.

Hart Jr. is also very satisfied with how things transpired. While there may be a need for an additional courtroom sometime in the future, he doesnt think he will have to uproot the staff that just moved.

I dont anticipate that happening, he said. I dont think that in the near future we would expect to get that (Child Support Enforcement) bumped out of here.

Zach Roth is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net

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After the historic blizzards and flooding rolled through Nebraska and devastated our communities, weve heard countless stories of neighbor helping neighbor, and donations and help pouring in from across the country for our hurting communities, farms, and businesses.

I have been working hard in Congress to provide our state with relief  and I am proud to introduce legislation that would give a hand up to individuals and businesses.

Recently, along with Congressman Adrian Smith, I introduced the Disaster Tax Relief Act. This bicameral, bipartisan measure would deliver much-needed tax benefits to communities that were recently designated as disaster areas.

Id like Nebraskans to know some of the specifics of what the Disaster Tax Relief Act would do and what it would mean for our citizens and businesses impacted by the catastrophic weather conditions.

This legislation lifts regulations for the use of retirement funds. Currently, those who make early withdrawals from their retirement accounts are charged with a 10-percent penalty. But as we have seen in the wake of the severe weather, many Nebraskans are forced to dip into their retirement funds to restore their home or rebuild their farm or business. This bill would waive the 10-percent early withdrawal fee for those affected. Plunging into hard-earned retirement savings is disheartening on its own, Nebraskans should not be penalized in the process of putting the pieces back together.

The Disaster Tax Relief Act would also temporarily eliminate the cap on deductions for charitable donations within a disaster area. Charitable deductions are normally capped around 30 to 50 percent of income. Without these limitations in place, this legislation can provide even more incentive for donations to Nebraska communities that need the most assistance.

Usually the IRS offers a limited deduction for destroyed property. This bill would expand the deduction so it can be claimed for damages not covered by other insurance or federal programs.

Targeted changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the bill would help alleviate financial pressures some of our friends and neighbors are facing. EITC recipients generally receive credit based on the amount of money they have earned, but as floods have caused our businesses to halt operations, wages could fall. This bill would allow affected Nebraskans to claim their previous years credit, if their wages decrease.

This legislation would help families keep a steadier stream of income as they recover. A tax credit would be made available for employers in disaster areas who continue to pay their employees. In some cases, this would give businesses the flexibility to continue paying their workers while they recover.

The bottom line is this: the Disaster Tax Relief Act offers more flexibility and frees Nebraskans from regulations, so they can make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones as they recover.

Nebraskans are strong and tough. Day-by-day we are reopening doors and restoring our communities in the Good Life. I believe this common-sense tax relief measure would only help to speed up the process of getting back on our feet.

The passage of the Disaster Tax Relief Act would be an important step in the right direction. I will continue to fight to ensure that Congress quickly enacts this bill into law to lighten the load for our hurting families.

Deb Fischer is a United States senator who represents Nebraska.

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
The patients who inevitably see Hafiza Ferhatovic at UPMC Pinnacle Carlisles medical-surgical unit run the gamut of health issues, from orthopedic problems to adverse events related to chronic diagnoses to substance abuse.

A common element in many cases below her unit in the emergency department, however, is the help some of these patients could have received if they had help from a primary care provider.

The reason why we get people in our emergency department is they cant control their chronic illnesses because they dont have a primary care physician, she said.

That shortage is a nationwide issue, and one Ferhatovic hopes to address by becoming a family care nurse practitioner.

Ferhatovic, who was born in Bosnia but moved to Pennsylvania when she was in kindergarten, only has two years of nursing under her belt, but shes already taking classes to become a nurse practitioner. Though the Carlisle nurse doesnt know if shell end up staying in Pennsylvania, she like other nurses are hopeful Pennsylvania will be the next state to approve more independence for nurse practitioners.

If the Legislature passes a bill that would allow nurse practitioners more freedom to prescribe medication as well as other duties, the state would be more attractive to nurses like Ferhatovic who sees more nurse practitioners as an answer to the primary care provider shortage.

Im hoping it heads in that direction, she said.

Ferhatovic said that while nurse practitioners arent in school for quite as long as physicians, they are definitely beneficial, especially in hospitals and as primary care providers.

And providing care has been a goal for her since she experienced a complicated introduction to the countrys health care system.

My moms health took a turn unexpectedly while I was in high school, Ferhatovic said. English wasnt her first language  its not my first language  so I would go with her to appointments. I missed school to go with her.

What Ferhatovic discovered were nurses who would patiently explain to them everything they wanted to know and would simply try to make them feel better.

I learned a lot from asking them questions, she said. These nurses meant a lot to my mom.

Its the same experience she hopes to bring with her to her adult patients in the medical-surgical unit, and to emergency room patients she hopes to treat in the future as training for an occupation in family care. And she hopes patients, who are often experiencing their worst days while at the hospital, keep that in mind while she admittedly pesters them about keeping their socks on and generally being safe in the unit.

I just want them to get better, she said. Were with them 24/7. Your duty is to improve the health of the patient.

Giving them instructions and even addressing the primary care shortage may not be enough to keep patients out of the emergency room. Ferhatovic said she knows what the other factors are that prevent patients from seeking care or following through on a nurses instructions upon leaving the hospital.

I think one of the biggest challenges I face is that I cant control everything. Youll find that the patients who are least compliant have financial issues, she said, adding that they will give instructions on finding a physical therapist or give a prescription to pills that the patient may not be able to purchase. If a patient cant afford it, I guarantee that they will not do it.

While shes learning to let go of the factors out of her control, shes starting to embrace that her future may not be set in stone, either.

I talked to a lot of the older nurses, and you never know where your career is going to end up, she said. I never want to tell myself Im going to do just this.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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Cumberland Countys child services department is trying to get back on its feet after losing, and subsequently re-gaining, its full social services license from the state amid issues with turnover and heavy caseloads.

Cumberland County Children and Youth Services operated on a provisional license from July 19, 2018, until March 8, 2019, due to lapses in casework reviewed by the state during the renewal process in late 2017, according to state records.

Most, but not all, of those issues had been corrected as of late 2018, with a full license re-issued this spring.

It was a stressful six months but it got us reorganized and reinvigorated, said Necole McElwee, Cumberland Countys CYS director. When we were put on a provisional license, we really sat back and looked and divided apart every one of those citations and looked  at the areas we needed to improve upon.

Inspections

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services routinely inspects county agencies that carry out the state social services programs by spot-checking an agencys records and noting violations.

The inspection report on Cumberland County Children and Youth, issued last summer for inspections conducted in December 2017, logged 44 pages of problems, resulting in the revocation of the agencys full license and the issuing of a provisional status.

Many of these issues involved CYS not making contact with a family or completing the required Safety Assessment Worksheet within the required time frame. In some cases, people who are supposed to be contacted per state investigatory standards were not contacted at all.

In one citation, for instance, a report was received alleging lack of food and improper feeding of an infant with kidney issues. The referral was listed as a 48-hour response time, but should have been assigned 24-hour status, according to the state. Ultimately, no contact was made with the family until six days after the report was received.

Another citation found that, in five of the 14 cases reviewed, a preliminary SAW was not completed within the 72 hours prescribed by the state. One case took 13 days to have a SAW completed, and another had a SAW dated a day before the agency actually made contact with the family, according to the state inspection.

The states December 2018 inspection found significant improvement, with the number of violations cut roughly in half, something McElwee credited to better oversight and organization among her staff.

The department determined that significant and continuous progress has been made in the implementation of your plan of correction, the state wrote in re-issuing Cumberland CYS full license. The department commends the agency for implementation of the plan of correction in a timely manner and demonstrating the agencys commitment to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children served.

But some lapses remained. In one citation, law enforcement was not notified of a relevant case for a month despite the 24-hour notification statute. In another, one of the children in a home under supervision was not listed on the SAW and was not assessed at all, according to the state.

McElwee agreed with the assertion that those issues are likely an indication of rushed or sloppy work by caseworkers who are overloaded.

Staffing is an ongoing issue absolutely, getting qualified applicants, training them, staying ahead of that, McElwee said.

Staffing

Cumberland CYS is down five caseworkers, out of 47 total caseworker positions, McElwee said. Turnover for the 2018-19 fiscal year is already at 23 percent, meaning roughly one in four positions has or will change hands.

But it has been worse, McElwee said. Turnover in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was around 30 percent, before dropping down to just 7 percent in 2017-18. The number of open positions was also 12 at one point.

While this would be rapid by most standards, it doesnt appear to be uncommon for social workers. Casey Family Programs, the nations largest foster care nonprofit, estimates caseworker turnover of 20 to 40 percent in the child services field. York Countys caseworker turnover was 23.8 percent last year, according to county spokesman Mark Walters.

I work really hard with our current staff on morale, McElwee said. These folks deal with a lot of things.  Its a lot of nontraditional hours. When we hire new people I dont think you realize how much time youre going to spend away from your own family.

Cumberland County pays relatively well, with starting salaries around $48,000 for caseworkers, about $10,000 higher than surround areas of central Pennsylvania, McElwee said. The state pays 80 percent of the salary and benefit cost for local social service agencies, with the county responsible for the other 20 percent.

But Cumberland is also one of the few counties in the area to still staff its human services through the states civil service commission, McElwee said. When positions are open, the county relies on a list of qualified applicants from the state, with a hiring process run by the commission.

Cumberland County has submitted its letter to withdraw from the civil service system and set up its own state-qualified recruitment process, but this can take up to two years, McElwee said.

There are a lot of technical rules that dont make hiring easy, McElwee said. The department has just hired six new caseworkers via the civil service system.

This past month we have seen a more positive hiring [outlook], McElwee said.

Caseloads

The department is also planning to double its clerical staff, from the current three employees to six, to allow caseworkers to spend more time out visiting families rather than filling out paperwork. McElwee praised the willingness of the county commissioners to approve new positions, with a total of six  the three clerical staff, two caseworkers, and one manager  in the process of being created.

Cumberland CYSs caseloads include backlogs of cases that are awaiting a final clerical detail or clearance before they can be fully closed. One caseworker who does intake and initial evaluation  the most difficult role in the department to staff, McElwee said  was working 23 cases in March, for instance. But that person also had another 67 cases waiting for clearance from backlog, according to department documents.

Some of the violations cited by the state involved excessive delays, sometimes months, before supervisors were able review and sign off on safety plans. McElwee said she hopes to get the departments caseworker-to-supervisor ratio down to four-to-one, from the usual five-to-one.

Cumberland CYS has 227 children in its custody, McElwee said, of which 189 are in foster care or are placed with a relative under CYS supervision, and the rest in a group home, treatment center or other accommodation. The department also works with between 200 and 250 families in a given month who have experienced issues but whose children are not subject to removal.

High rates of removal often go hand-in-hand with parental drug use, which is often cited by social service agencies across the state and nation who are overburdened with the surge in opioid addiction.

Cumberland Countys opioid crisis is, by some measure, beginning to subside, with overdose deaths dropping last year versus 2017. While still elevated, McElwee said that the caseload appears to be leveling out, along with the rate of drug-related cases.

Last year, 48 percent of new placements were due to parental drug use, McElwee said, down from a peak of 74 percent a few years ago. But these cases are still difficult when it comes to the necessary standards for safety planning.

When youre dealing with a parent with an opioid issue, theyre at a higher risk, McElwee said. It does make safety planning with them harder  and if we cant safety plan, were asking for removal.

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The United States Air Force General Tod D. Wolters was sworn in as top military officer of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), at NATOs military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.

Tod D. Wolters

Service: He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He will succeed U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti to become new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for a term of two to three years.

(SACEUR) for a term of two to three years. He will also be a commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

A SACEUR is commander of NATOs Allied Command Operations (ACO). He is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium.

He also heads Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). SHAPE is ACOs headquarter.

SACEUR is second highest military position within NATO. In terms of precedence It is only after Chairman of NATO Military Committee.

Importance : NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer.

: NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer. A SACEUR position is dual-hatted i.e. one who serves as SACEUR also holds role of Commander of United States European Command.

It is one of most challenging and most important military positions in world.

NATO
Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod...

From my book Child and Domestic abuse vol II There was a very well known kiruv personality. Perhaps you could say that he was a poster ...

Absolute proof that the Vaccines are an intentional Bio weapon foward this to your Doctor Inbox PATTERNS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF TOXIC COVID ...

Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com
With the fifth day of May approaching on Sunday it is time once again to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations came to the United States in the 1960s when Mexican-American citizens of the United States, particularly in southern California, began to bring to holiday to light for their fellow citizens.

Many individuals in the United States mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexicos independence  this is a falsehood as Mexicos Independence Day falls on Sept. 16.

Cinco de Mayo is actually the celebration of Mexican armys victory over the French in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, during which Napoleon III had tried to build an empire in Mexico. In Mexico, May 5 is not a federal holiday, but just a regular day. There are some military parades, some recreations of the battle, and other festive events, however, banks and most businesses remain open on Cinco de Mayo.

While the holiday began in Mexico, some of the largest celebrations of Cinco de Mayo are held each year in the United States. It is an opportunity for people to celebrate Mexican-Americans and their culture by having parades, parties, and other festivals and events.

El Tapatio, at all three local locations (Park Hills, Farmington, and Desloge), will be offering several specials for the big celebration on Sunday. Regular pitchers will be $15, jumbo margaritas and margaronas will be $6.50, Lunch Special #5 will be $6.50 all day, and the Burrito California will be $7 all day. There will also be free T-shirt giveaways.

The Old Mine House Bar and Grill in Park Hills will be having $2 tequila shots and $3 margaritas featuring their new habanero mango whiskey margarita. These specials will run all day on Sunday.

Perhaps one of the biggest St. Francois County Cinco de Mayo celebrations will be at Hubs Pub and Grill in Bonne Terre.

Hubs will be having a Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. and featuring Top Gunz. The party is labeled all '80s, all night! There is a $10 cover for the evening. Top Gunz is an all '80s music group from St. Louis. The group calls themselves a tribute to 80s Hair Band RocknRoll and features Blaze Magnum on vocals and props, Izzy Rocks on guitars, keys, and pees, Razzle Foxx on guitars and more guitars, Hollywood Velvet on bass and fishnets, and Danger Zone on drums and beer fetcher.

On Sunday, Hub's will offer $2 margaritas and $2.50 Coronas all day and will be featuring live Mariachi music from 1 to 3 p.m.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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According to the Leadington Police Department, witnesses said that just before 12:45 p.m. David Taylor, 68, of Leadington, was driving a Chrysler 300 southbound when he swerved over to the left side of the road and then went off the right side of the road. The vehicle traveled up an embankment and overturned, landing on its top.
Four Florida men are in custody following a Walmart theft and a high-speed pursuit on Thursday.

Bernard Rodgers, 22, Carlos Green, 22, Anthony Rhynes, 23, and Reechaey Bush, 25, all of Tampa, Florida, have each been charged with felony resisting arrest. They are currently being held in the St. Francois County Jail on $75,000 bond each.

According to the probable cause statement by the Desloge Police Department, a Desloge officer was dispatched to Walmart for a report of theft. It had been reported by Walmart loss prevention that the suspects had left the store in a silver Chevrolet Tahoe with Florida license plates.

While en route to the store, the officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating his lights and sirens.

The report states that the vehicle initially appeared to be slowing, but abruptly sped up and overtook several vehicles that were in its pathway.

The Tahoe then sped through a red light and also ran through a stop sign at a four-way intersection. The pursuit then continued onto U.S. 67 southbound from Parkway Drive in Park Hills. While on U.S. 67, the Tahoe reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

The vehicle then exited U.S. 67 onto Highway 32/Karsch Boulevard in Farmington at which time the driver lost control and struck a ditch.

All four men continued to attempt to flee on foot even after officers commanded them to stop. The four men were quickly captured by officers, placed under arrest, and transported to the St. Francois County Jail where they remain detained.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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For the second year in a row, rain forced Thursday nights local National Day of Prayer observance inside the St. Francois County Courthouse. Despite the cloudy and wet weather, however, those who attended the observance were not dampened at all in spirit.

About 100 people gathered for fellowship and to pray together to exemplify this years theme, Love One Another. This years scripture, from John 13:34, read, Love one another, just as I have loved you.

After a time of praise and worship led by Kevin Kappler, pastor of Farmingtons New Life Church, the crowd joined together in the Pledge of Allegiance and then local pastors were invited to the podium to lead prayer for specific groups.

Praying for government officials was Elevate Faith Church of God Pastor Dane Corbett; law enforcement and first responders, Bismarck First Assembly of God Pastor Mike Barton; churches and revival, Faith Cowboy Church Pastor Ronnie Rothlisberger; schools and youth, Young Faith in Christ Executive Director Tim Burdin; families, Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church Pastor Daniel Clayton; Americas business and economy, United Assembly of God Pastor Rob Hampton; media, Three Crosses Cowboy Church Pastor Mike McGee; and military, Rev. Ryan Retzer of Eastside Church of God.

This years keynote speaker was Dwight Jones, Harvest Christian Centre pastor, who spoke on this years theme of loving one another.

Many of us in our nation have been delivered from the bondage of hell but we dont realize it, he said. "I want to share something with you that I really dont think most of us understand. How many of you are familiar with the children of Israel? Do you realize that we are knitted together as a nation of the children of Israel. Do you understand that the nation of America at its founding almost chose Hebrew as our national language?

Our first logo, our first emblem, our first sign of America was the sign of Moses with a rod lifted up over the Red Sea leading the children of Israel. Are you aware of that? There are so many things that lock us together with Israel. And something about Israel I dont think many of us realize is when we read about Israel being in bondage to the pharaoh and to the Egyptians, we think they were in bondage for 400 years  but they were not. As a matter of fact, if you read the scriptures, the Israelites were only in bondage around 80 or a little over 80 years. Much of that time they ruled with great authority and great power.

Listen to me, the power in the world is trying to marginalize the body of Christ. Theyre trying to tell us that our opinion does not matter. Theyre trying to tell us that we are the minority, but we are here tonight to declare that with the people around the nation, we speak with one voice and one accord and we are a mighty army because we are united as the body of Christ.

Rev. Jones also noted that he agreed with former Vice President Joe Biden who said recently that the American people are in a battle for the soul of the nation.

Unfortunately, Mr. Biden is fighting for a nation that has excommunicated God, Jones said. He is fighting for a nation where homosexual marriage is the norm. He is fighting for a nation where good is evil and evil is good; where right is wrong and wrong is right. My friend, we gather here tonight as do countless thousands across the nation to pray to a god who alone can heal our land. Listen to me, I told you earlier  hes not a Democratic god, hes not a Republican god. He is God and the only way to please him is to please Christ.

The event was sponsored by the St. Francois County American Family Association.

Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-756-8927 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Greetings Friends of the 144th Legislative District!

As session is on the final countdown, the Capitol is very active with visitors. Arcadia Valley students with the JAG program (Jobs after Graduation) along with Bart and Rhonda Ackley visited the Capitol this week.

Next week, we will have visitors from the District up for a luncheon with the Lt. Governor. The Lieutenant Governor will be selecting individuals for the Senior Service Award. It will be exciting to see if any of our locals are honored with this award. We have so many individuals in our community who put in countless community service hours and would be so deserving of this award.

General Assembly Approves Important Legal Reforms (SB 7)

The members of the House gave their stamp of approval this week to legislation meant to improve Missouris legal climate and bring fairness to courtrooms in the state. The legislation, which was previously approved by the Senate, now heads to the governors desk to be signed into law.

The legislation comes in response to Missouris existing laws on joinder and venue that have made the state a premier destination for out-of-state litigants to file their lawsuits. The reputation that courtrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City have for handing out big judgments have attracted thousands of litigants from across the nation. Only 1,035 out of 13,252 mass tort plaintiffs in cases being heard in St. Louis City were actually Missouri residents.

The changes approved by the legislature reflect a ruling made in February by the Missouri Supreme Court. The states highest court found that a St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge incorrectly allowed a suit by a St. Louis County plaintiff against a New Jersey-based company to move forward in his court. This legislation will reduce cost and increase access for Missouri residents to the court system by reducing the number of cases filed in Missouri courts by plaintiffs with no connection to the state.

Gov. Parson praised the legislature for sending the bill to his desk. The governor released a statement saying, Passing venue and joinder reform is a huge win and will provide long overdue relief to Missouri businesses that have been taken advantage of by rampant abuse of our states legal system. Todays passage of SB 7 will soon deliver a significant economic boost and create a better business environment all across Missouri.

I look forward to the Governor signing these positive reforms to improve our states competitiveness, strengthen our legal climate, and bring fairness to our courtroom.

Members of the Missouri House approved my House Bill 1135 meant to help victims of domestic violence get away from abusers and move on with their lives.

Under my bill, victims of domestic violence, who are engaged with an agency accredited with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence, would receive a one-time fee waiver for obtaining a copy of a birth certificate.

Individuals who leave a home where abuse occurs often leave behind birth certificates, as well as other documents and identification. When they attempt to obtain new forms of identification such as a driver license or attempt to open a bank account, it is difficult to do so without a birth certificate. The fee to get a new copy is often a burden to a survivor faced with numerous other expenses while trying to start down a new path in life.

These vulnerable people need access to birth certificates in order to participate in legitimate activities leading to independence and self-sufficiency. Abusers often take control of a victims vital records since that keeps them unable to leave. This is a bill I filed after a visit with individuals from the SEMO Family Violence Council from Bonne Terre. During their visit they shared with me some of the obstacles they face as they try to help these victims. This piece of legislation is a small step we can take to help these individuals get on their feet and away from their abuser.

The bill also provides a free birth certificate to any homeless or unaccompanied youth, and allows an unaccompanied youth to obtain a birth certificate without consent or signature of a parent or guardian. The bill now is now under consideration in the Missouri Senate.

House Bill Moving to the Senate

HB 1162 requires the Department of Economic Development to maintain a record of all federal grants awarded to entities for the purposes of providing, maintaining, and expanding rural broadband in the state of Missouri. In cases in which funds have been retained, withheld or not distributed due to failure to meet performance standards or other criteria, the department must seek to have the funds awarded to another eligible, qualified Missouri broadband provider. The bill would keep grant funds in Missouri instead of returning the funds to the federal government to reallocate. This would ensure that funds remain in the state to bring broadband to the rural areas.

HB 1002 requires dump trucks to be equipped with mud flaps that have up to 12 inches of ground clearance, instead of the eight inches required for other vehicles. Mud flaps on dump trucks get caught on piles and rip off. Raising mud flaps will help dump trucks maneuver better. This bill will allow mud flaps to be adjusted and prevents wasting mud flaps. Often times these mud flaps rip and then eventually fall off on the highway and cause a safety concern. The purpose of the bill is to save drivers money, to facilitate consistency and help keep our roads safer. There are 13 states that do not require mud flaps and only three states have the eight inch requirement.

HB 585 establishes the "Taxpayer Protection Act." For all tax years beginning January 1, 2020, this bill requires paid tax return preparers to sign any income tax return or claim for refund and provide the preparer's Internal Revenue Service preparer tax identification number. The bill will help prevent fraud and also serve as a consumer protection measure to help prevent taxpayers from being taken advantage of by unqualified tax preparers or criminals.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at 573-751-2112.

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Governor Parson and First Lady Theresa Parson hosted a BBQ at The Peoples House following adjournment on Monday evening. All who were invited were greeted graciously by the Governor and First Lady. They shook everyones hand and personally thanked everyone for coming.

Due to the rain, tents were set up on their lawn and table and chairs throughout the main floor of the Mansion. It was truly an honor to visit with them and to have the chance to mingle with all Representatives in a setting that they provided for us. Missouri is truly blessed to have Governor Parson and Mrs. Parson as the Governor of the State of Missouri.

To access the various events that the Governor Parson has attended or hosted, click on https://www.flickr.com/photos/141271541@N03/albums. Some of the photos on this site are Legislator BBQ, MO National Guard Swearing In, MRTA Teachers at the Capitol, Governors Faith Based and Community Service Partnership for Disaster Recovery.

To access the Governors Home Page, click https://governor.mo.gov/. Our Governor is totally a Governor for the People!

On Tuesday at the Capitol, I had the pleasure of meeting with students and their advisors from our district representing the JAG Program. JAG stands for Jobs for Americas Graduates. Jag is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who have serious barriers to graduation and/or employment. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results  helping over one million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities. A few (okay, many) years ago, when I was in the school system, I wrote and received for our school a grant to start a Jag Program in our district. It was a pleasure for me to see this program thriving and to meet with the JAG students from Farmington, West County and Bismarck. It is a great program for students, for parents and for our communities.

On Wednesday, in keeping with students and our future workforce, a Resolution was presented on the House Floor to the First Robotics group in our state. This will just be the beginning of future Robotics! A hearty Congratulations to these and all future students and a Thank You to the Teachers who are implementing these programs in our schools.

Bills of Interest

HB 942 will be a bill that will benefit small businesses. The House has passed this bill and the Senate committee has now taken up bill to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. Providing quality health insurance is often a fundamental part of efforts to retain good employees. Small companies are struggling with the rising costs of insurance. Current Missouri law prohibits multiple employer welfare arrangements from being publicly marketed, making them nearly impossible for small business to discover. These plans are cheaper than traditional plans as they allow small companies to combine their purchasing power. HB 942 will make these products available and let them be marketed to small business owners to help their employees. I believe that government must get out of the way and allow plans such as this to make it easier for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees

HB 324 dealing with drones over correction facilities has now been rolled into Senate Committee Substitute for HB 113, an omnibus piece of legislation dealing with criminal reform. I am very happy that this bill that protects our correctional facilities, state mental health facilities and open air stadiums such as Busch stadium is now in a bill that contains many non-controversial pieces of legislation that when passed will positively impact the lives of the citizens of Missouri.

HB 604 the school turnaround act has now been through the House and Senate Committees and is waiting to get to the Senate floor. This bill is intended to add support to buildings that are struggling with student achievement. It takes the approach of not punishing a building but offering assistance that will help teachers and staff in these buildings that have been identified. By doing this it is the students that ultimately benefit.

To track the legislation that I have filed, click here. https://house.mo.gov/MemberDetails.aspx?year=2019&code=R&district=117

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It is hard to believe, but we have reached the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session. After approving the budget, my colleagues and I have continued to work on several other important pieces of legislation, including two regarding property rights.

On Monday, April 29, we debated Senate Bill 391. This legislation deals with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Part of this legislation prohibits county commissioners and county health boards from instituting rules or regulations that conflict or are stricter than the rules and regulations put forth by the Department of Health and Senior Services. As long as property owners are in compliance with the departments regulations, they should have the freedom to choose how they manage their land and livestock and not be subject to stricter regulations.

On Wednesday, May 1, House Bill 1062 was heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee. This proposal specifies that no private entity has the power of eminent domain for the purposes of constructing above-ground merchant lines. The original purpose of eminent domain was to use private land in a way that would benefit the entire community. Private companies are using eminent domain to build on an individuals private property for private gain. While the land owners are compensated for the use of their land, sometimes the damage caused by the projects can have lasting effects on the property. Property owners should not be forced to agree to their land being used by a private company to construct these above-ground merchant lines.

Both pieces of legislation have the potential to affect property rights in our state. It is my job as your state legislator to protect your interests, and I certainly support the rights of all property owners in our state. I look forward to further discussing SB 391 and HB 1062 with my colleagues.

I always appreciate hearing your opinions and concerns regarding your state government. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov. For more information, please visit my official Senate webpage at www.senate.mo.gov/romine

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Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

Vote

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Benton Countys newest judge took the oath of office on Friday in a brief, informal ceremony at the county courthouse.

With about two dozen friends, family members and co-workers looking on, Joan Demarest raised her right hand and swore to uphold the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and faithfully discharge the office of a judge in the Benton County Circuit Court.

The oath was administered by Presiding Judge Locke Williams while the courts third jurist, Matthew Donohue, watched from the gallery.

Demarest was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown from among several applicants to succeed David Connell, who retired recently from the Benton County Circuit Court bench and now serves as a senior judge.

Judge Demarest will take up her new duties on Monday, and Williams let her know shell be greeted by a full caseload.

Judge Donohue and I are excited to be working with a new colleague, and were here to give you any help you might need, he said.

Demarest got emotional as she thanked those in attendance for their support.

The joke in my family is Im not going to be a hanging judge, Im going to be the crying judge, she said.

A formal investiture ceremony will be scheduled for a later date.

Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt.

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by Reese Erlich





Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden praise him as a man with extensive foreign policy experience. Hes living proof, however, that extensive doesnt necessarily mean good.





Biden reflects the mindset of the previous generation of mainstream Democratic leaders who are out of touch with the anti-interventionist sentiments of most Americans.





We dont like his experience, says Karen Bernal, the outgoing chair of the California Democratic Partys Progressive Caucus and who supports Senator Bernie Sanders for President. Biden is way too deferential to the military-industrial complex. I dont see him changing.





Biden is a liberal interventionist, at least historically, willing to wage wars of aggression in the name of human rights or national security. He actively drummed up support for US bombing in the Balkans, supported the occupation of Afghanistan, voted for the 2003 war in Iraq, publicly backed the bombing of Libya and supported vastly intensified drone wars in Pakistan and Somalia.





Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is running on an anti-military intervention platform. He offers solid criticism of the U.S. war-making system and calls for a sharp reduction in military spending in order to fund much-needed social spending.





These are hardly abstract points of debate. The U.S. has spent $6 trillion fighting the doomed war on terror. Between 480,000 and 507,000 people have been killed in the US post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including nearly 7,000 U.S. troops.





Bidens pro-war stand is morally and politically wrong, and I am not alone in my opinion. Biden will have a hard time convincing voters that his policies are all that different from Trump's. A recent poll confirms that a majority of Americans oppose Trumps foreign policy. But Biden's baggage could actually help Trump win.





Bloody Hands





In the early 1990s, Biden strongly pushed for war against Serbia and favored Bosnian independence, a war that tore apart former Yugoslavia. Some 25 years later, Bosnia, still plagued by ethnic conflict , is governed by a European-appointed high representative, and 7,000 NATO troops remain on the ground.





Similarly, Biden supported the U.S. invasion of Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, further splintering Yugoslavia and placing power in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army-- a group that U.S. officials had previously described as terrorist . To this day 4,000 NATO troops, including some 700 Americans, remain stationed in Kosovo.





Biden voted to authorize President George Bush Jr. to wage war against Iraq, despite his false claims of weapons of mass destruction. Well after the anti-war movement and even some establishment politicians denounced the war, Biden still defended it, saying in 2005 , We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq [but] I think that would be a gigantic mistake, or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out-- equally a mistake.





Biden later criticized Bushs handling of the Iraq war. But instead of calling for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops, he called for decentralizing Iraq, splitting it into three parts: Kurdistan, a Shia Muslim east and Sunni west. Far from being a peace plan, Biden sought to establish a U.S. sphere of influence in Kurdistan at a time when the US was badly losing the war.

After September 11, 2001, Biden supported the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. He initially called for maintaining U.S. troops there to rebuild the country. Later he favored keeping a smaller number of troops there to fight a counter insurgency war, supposedly to stop terrorism. In practical terms that means keeping U.S. troops and bases permanently in Afghanistan.





During internal White House meetings, Vice President Biden reportedly objected to various military interventions, including the 2011 bombing of Libya. But publicly, Biden supported the attack and even proclaimed it a model for future interventions.





NATO got it right , he said in 2011. In this case, America spent $2 billion and didnt lose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward than it has (been) in the past.





Biden chose to ignore the thousands of Libyan civilians who were killed and injured as the U.S./NATO war turned Libya into a failed state. And a year later insurgents killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in the infamous Benghazi attack. Libya is hardly a prescription for anything.





Sanders Foreign Policy





Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, offers a more systemic criticism of U.S. militarism. He calls for a significant reduction in the $700 billion annual military budget . Do we really need to spend more than the next ten nations combined on the military, he asks, when our infrastructure is collapsing and kids cant afford to go to college?





Progressive Caucus chair Bernal says shes seen a lot of progress in his views since the 2016 campaign, when he tended to deemphasize foreign policy. His base wants him to be much more progressive, she says, and he responded.





In a 2017 speech on foreign policy, Sanders rejected the benevolent global hegemony promoted by some in Washington. I would argue that the events of the past two decades-- particularly the disastrous Iraq war and the instability and destruction it has brought to the region-- have utterly discredited that vision.





Sanders has opposed all the recent U.S. wars of aggression and has said the U.S. should take military intervention off the table in Venezuela and Iran . Instead, Sanders emphasizes diplomacy and the need to root out the underlying causes of international conflict.





For sure, Sanders, as a democratic socialist, is still a captive of some Cold War myths. For example, in his 2017 speech he praises the Marshall Plan as an example of the U.S. unselfishly helping to rebuild Japan and Germany after World War II. In fact, the Marshall Plan was aimed at tying those countries to U.S. corporate interests and isolating the then-USSR. And its not clear how Sanders might react if confronted by liberals calling for military intervention on humanitarian grounds.













Trump And The Presidential Campaign





In 2016, Trump claimed to oppose the Mideast wars. But he kept US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and vetoed a Congressional resolution to end U.S. support for the disastrous war in Yemen. The drone strikes in Somalia that began under Obama have vastly increased under Trump. Hes moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognized Israels illegal annexation of the Golan and virtually eliminated the already remote possibility of a two-state solution with Palestine.





Trump also withdrew from the UN Security Council mandated nuclear accord with Iran and unilaterally re-imposed harsh sanctions. His administration declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist organization. What Democrat will move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv or acknowledge that the Revolutionary Guard is not a terrorist organization? I dont think Biden would.





During the primaries, when Biden will face sharp criticism from the left, he may try to reinvent himself as a progressive on foreign policy. Its true that he voted against the 1991 Gulf War and opposed the Reagan administrations aid to the Nicaraguan contras . And as vice president, Biden established a dovish reputation compared to hawks such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. On May 1 Biden criticized Trump's support for the Yemen War.





But the reality remains that Biden publicly defended each new war initiated by the Obama administration. When Obama and Biden took office, the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they left the White House, the U.S. had initiated, backed or vastly expanded additional wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia.





Sanders doesn't have Bidens baggage and will run an issue-oriented campaign. But even if you're not a fan of Sanders, Biden is a poor choice given the wide range of more winnable progressives. Its time the Democrats nominate someone willing to break with interventionism and reflect the views of the American people.
The same establishment hacks-- think Neera Tanden of the grotesquely corrupted Center for American Progress , for example-- who foisted Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party (bringing us Trump) now want us to get behind another Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden-- and for many of the same shiny reasons. Hillary represented the status quo establishment then; Biden does now. She was the most experienced candidate ever then; he is now. She did have one thing about her that everyone was genuinely excited about: she would have been the first woman president. He has nothing at all. His entire career has been about how bad a politician can be without joining the Republican Party. If you liked Joe Lieberman, you should love Joe Biden. If you think Joe Manchin is the ideal Democratic political leader today, Joe Biden is your man.

And... if you think the doddering, incoherent fool in this clip-- shot earlier this week in Iowa-- is the best man to bring down the Trump regime... good luck to you. Or better yet, please watch it again, and carefully:

The video, up top, of Elizabeth Warren, from David Doel of the, should remind people who don't remember the pre-Obama Biden of why progressives thought he was always such a danger to working families. Yesterday, reporting for, Alex Gangitano wrote about Biden's K Street problems . There have long been two Democratic politicians steeped to the point of drowning in lobbyist corruption-- one in the House (Steny Hoyer) and one in the Senate (Status Quo Joe)-- and to tie the Democratic Party nomination to this taint is a losing strategy. "The influence world," wrote Gangitano, "is stocked with former aides and supporters who have rallied around his previous bids for president. In this cycle, though, those lobbyist ties, past fundraising from corporate interests and perceptions that Biden is more favorable to businesses could hurt his bid for the Democratic nomination."

His campaign has said he will not take money from lobbyists and corporate PACs, but that is unlikely to be enough for progressive groups in the primary who have larger concerns about the candidate.





With Joe Biden, if he wants to say no to corporate lobbyists' money thats great and its a step in a positive direction that acknowledges the times, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told The Hill.





But, with Joe Biden, its not about course correcting any one little thing, its about his big picture brand, which is being cozy with big corporations and cutting back room deals with Republican political insiders.





Biden's allies run deep on K Street, where a number of former aides from his time as a senator now hold high-level positions at powerful lobbying firms.





Christopher Putala, who founded the lobbying firm Putala Strategies, was a lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden, as was Jeffrey Peck, now a lobbyist at Peck Madigan Jones.





Biden also has allies in Tony Russo, a lobbyist at T-Mobile, who served as his legislative counsel in the Senate; Larry Rasky, the chair of Rasky Partners, who worked on Bidens 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns; and Ankit Desai, a political assistant to Biden in the Senate and now a lobbyist at Tellurian.





And Biden's more than three decades in the Senate and previous runs for president will give his critics plenty of fodder.

When Biden ran for president in 2008, he raised money from lobbyists. He reversed course when he joined the ticket with President Obama, who made running against K Street and rejecting corporate money a centerpiece of his first presidential campaign.





In the Senate, Biden also represented Delaware, a state that is home to many large corporations, including a number of credit card giants.





Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, took a shot at Biden last week, accusing him of being on the side of "the biggest financial institutions" over "hardworking families."





This year, Biden also held a fundraiser hosted by David Cohen, telecom giant Comcast's chief lobbyist. And Biden allies led by Democratic fundraiser Matt Tompkins quickly launched the For the People PAC after he officially jumped into the race, a move first reported by The Hill. The PAC aimed to raise millions to boost Biden's bid.





His campaign, though, was quick to distance itself from the super PAC, telling The Hill that "Vice President Biden does not welcome assistance from super PACs."





Republicans, who see Biden as a strong challenger to President Trump, have also called for more scrutiny over the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden and potential conflicts of interest.





As vice president, Biden pressed Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor, who faced accusations he had ignored corruption among officials in the government. The prosecutor was eventually removed.





The New York Times in a story this week reported that Hunter Biden was on the board of an energy company the dismissed prosecutor was investigating. Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday called for an investigation into "Biden conflicts" of interest.





Biden's campaign told The Times that his son's business dealings had no connection to policies Biden carried out as vice president.





The issue of corporate ties has taken newfound importance in the Democratic Party, where liberal groups are pressing candidates to reject special interest cash.





Theres a new benchmark of what Democratic campaigns are now judged by, a new litmus test, and it would be hard for any candidate to not reject [lobbyists money], Zach Friend, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for Obama for America, told The Hill.





Its how you enter into the race. It would be equivalent to any other Democratic policy-- do you support unions? Do you support marriage equality? Do you support choice?





The scrutiny on Democrats is intense.





Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has seen his stock rise in polls of the Democratic primary race, has found strong support on K Street, especially among LGBTQ lobbyists who are rallying behind the openly gay 2020 contender. But that support led Buttigieg last week to say he would no longer accept lobbyist donations and that he would return the $30,000 he received in the first quarter of the year.





Not taking lobbyist money poses its own challenges for Biden, and he will need to show his strength at raising small-donor donations, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has, to stay competitive.





Biden's allies, though, won't be on the sidelines.





Those on K Street noted there are other ways for lobbyists to help without writing a check.





There are plenty of ways to help, Al Mottur, Democratic lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, told The Hill. Often, Mottur said, lobbyists can help a candidate by introducing them to other big donors.
A sandbox would allow experimentation with new approaches and new business models without legal repercussions.

A discussion on new business models and the exercise of creativity by startups drew a lot of interest from entrepreneurs, investors and experts at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

One of the big questions raised at the discussion was how to "behave" with new business models and what are the appropriate policies for models in the domestic market without legal framework or precedent.

"Through lessons learned from some countries, Vietnam can use a sandbox (approach). It enables a safe environment for businesses to test services or products without the risk of being sued for the legally unauthorized actions," said Nguyen Thien Nghia, deputy director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The use of technology in a new business model is highly competitive. There are some businesses that argue that the new business model destroys traditional business, but I personally have a different perspective. The new business model adopts highly competitive technology, for example, Uber or Grab combining e-commerce and transportation," he said.

Agreeing with the opinions of some leading government agencies and experts, Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam, said it was necessary to have a sandbox that would create space and time for new technology platforms and business models to demonstrate their ability to promote socio-economic development. However, businesses participating in the sandbox need to be selected carefully, he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Grab booth at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 on May 2. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The emergence of new technology always creates big changes and there will be some traditional businesses that are not willing to change. However, they also need to apply technology to enhance their capabilities. competitiveness, increasing customer benefits and reducing administrative burdens by themselves," Lim said.

In just seven years, from a small Malaysian startup with just 10 people, Grab is now currently a unicorn in Southeast Asia. It operates in eight countries with 6,000 employees. The emergence of a technology-based sharing economic model that Grab is applying has created jobs for millions of workers and small business partners throughout Southeast Asia.

However, because this economic model is still too new, and there is no legal framework in Vietnam, Grab's operation is currently facing many difficulties, the forum heard.

The Vietnam Private Economic Forum on May 2-3 was co-chaired by the government and the Central Economic Committee. The Research Department for Private Economic Development and event organizer IEC Group were the other co-organizers along with VnExpress.
The Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum was jointly organized by the government and the Central Economic Commission, in collaboration with VnExpress and the IEC Group.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposes policy prescriptions at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

"The private sector is a major job creator in Vietnam, contributing 40 percent to the national GDP," Vu Tien Loc, president of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at the forum on Thursday.

On behalf of enterprises, the VCCIs president offered solutions to promote the private sector's contribution to the national economy.

"Firstly, while state-owned enterprises play a leading role in some areas, the private sector needs to be the backbone of Vietnams economy."

He also stressed the fundamental importance of institutional reforms that are focused on supporting and facilitating private businesses.

Noting that 30 percent of GDP was contributed by individual business households, Loc proposed that the Law on Enterprises is revised to promote further growth in that area.

He said two things that have to happen in tandem are simplification of administrative procedures and establishment of a complete legal framework. "The legislative framework should catch up with the trend of the digital economy."

Vu Tien Loc, president of VCCI, speaks at the forum.

Furthermore, enterprise associations should be allowed to take the initiative to make legislative recommendations, he noted.

Loc also recommended that more be done to promote not just the number of enteprises, but also their quality.

"Socialization of public services and public-private partnerships should be promoted. Enterprises should play a role in projects of national significance."

Legislative reforms should ensure greater fairness and transparency, particularly in resolving business disputes, he said.

He stressed that private sector development cannot be separated from state-enterprises restructuring and policies to attract FDI firms.

Lastly, the VCCI head said that more effective policies were needed to boost startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large-scale enterprises as well as private economic groups, which are crucial elements of value chains, contributing to labor productivity and global integration.
Government inspectors will study the latest power price adjustment that saw electricity bills go up by 8.36 percent from March 20.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Government Inspectorate to work with the ministries of industry and trade, and finance to study the latest electricity price adjustment, including the method used to calculate the price and the collection of electricity bill payments.

The inspectorate and the two ministries should clarify whether the electricity price increase was right or wrong and report to the PM by next month.

A document issued by the Government Office says the prime minister's decision follows many households complaining about sudden and significant increases in their electricity bills for April.

However, the electricity sector has said that the surge in bills is only partially due to the increase in electricity prices. It has said that unusually hot weather conditions and the resultant increase in households' electricity consumption are other contributing factors.

Speaking to VnExpress Thursday, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said his ministry would set up inspection teams at electricity companies to ensure strict compliance with the ministry's decision to increase electricity price by 8.36 percent.

Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing economies, has been struggling to develop its energy industry.

World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said at a recent forum that Vietnam would need to raise up to $150 billion by 2030 to develop its energy sector.

Dione added that electricity demand in the country is set to grow by about 8 percent a year for the next decade.
Over 500 artifacts and documents mark the Memories of Truong Son trail exhibition open this month in Hanois Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum.

The exhibition is being held to mark the 60th anniversary of the opening of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, aka the Truong Son trail, which connected North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The road was used to transport soldiers and supplies from the north to the southern frontier during the Vietnam War.

Regiment 70 uses elephants to transport goods from the central province of Quang Binh.

For 16 years from 1959 to 1975, soldiers and people used the Truong Son Trail that traveled around 20,000 kilometers through 21 Vietnamese provinces, Cambodia and Laos.

It used 600 kilometers of waterways, 1,400 kilometers of petroleum pipelines, 1,500 kilometers of communication lines. More than two million soldiers used this trail to and from the battlefield, and over a million tons of weapons, ammunition and goods were transported on the trail.

Soldiers from regiment 71 proceed to southern Vietnam on Truong Son trail in August 1962.

Regiment 90 makes a temporary bridge on the trail.

Battalion 102 prepares to depart on the trail.

U.S. aircraft spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Anti-aircraft force unit fights to protect the Truong Son trail.

On a part of the trail where there was no forest cover, the Engineer Battalion made a leaf truss to camouflage and spread stones to cover the roads surface, ensuring safety for transportation trucks to run through on March 1971.

A training session for doctors in Laos in March 1972.

The opening ceremony of Reunification Railway held in Thuan Ly station in the central province of Quang Binh in December 1976 after the war was over and country had been reunified.

The exhibition will last from May 3-31 at the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum, Kilometer 15, Highway 6, Yen Nghia Ward, Ha Dong District.
An Australian court sentenced two Vietnamese crop-sitters working for hundreds of cannabis plants on Friday.

Quang Le was sentenced to three years and four months in jail while his accomplice Si Ngo got two years in prison after they pleaded guilty to "crop sitting" hundreds of cannabis plants at homes in the suburbs of Newcastle, ABC News reported.

Crop sitting refers to the act of living in homes and tending to cannabis plants grown there.

The court heard Quang had racked up $30,000 worth of gambling debt and was being pressured by loan sharks, forcing him to guard cannabis crops to service his debt.

It also heard Ngo became a crop-sitter after his student visa expired and his work as a strawberry picker dried up.

Ngo will be deported upon his release in August 2020, the court ruled.

It is a crime to be caught with cannabis in Australia. However, possession of a small amount for personal use is not a criminal offense in several states.

The Australian government estimates more than 2,300 Vietnamese students have overstayed their visas in the country. Many of them have been involved in growing and selling cannabis.

Last month, four Vietnamese men were sentenced to up to three years and four months in jail for playing different roles in a $2.8 million cannabis operation in Australia.
Garbage, including food waste, plastic bags and bottles are left on pedestrian streets around the Hanoi's Sword Lake after the New Years Eve countdown on January 1, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Two fixed cameras and over 30 environment staff are recording footage of those littering pedestrian streets in Hanoi's iconic Sword Lake area.

The Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO) and the central Hoan Kiem District are running a pilot project between April 26  May 19 to record littering offenses.

While the two fixed CTTV cameras operate full time, over 30 staff will use their smartphones or the companys mobile cameras.

"We will report the recorded violations by both locals and tourists case by case to the local police who will decide the follow up and punishment. In the case of businesses, we will build up a collection of videos and photos proving that they pollute the environment and submit the data to local authorities," said a URENCO representative.

The company has currently put up dozens of boards along the walking zone around the lake, telling pedestrians that littering in the area will be recorded. It warns that those caught littering will face fines of up to VND7 million ($300).

After the trial period, the company will assess the project and report the result to Hoan Kiem District authorities, who will decide whether to extend the action on a permanent basis.

The walking zone around the lake is activated from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. It first opened in September 2016 and was expanded two years later.

District authorities say the zone receives 20,000-25,000 visitors each day and the figure goes up to around 200,000 during holidays and festivals.

However, the pedestrian zone is badly trashed by the crowds that gather on the weekends, and it gets much worse on occasions when it is chosen as a venue for outdoor events.

URENCO said it has been collecting 200 tons of garbage each day from the walking zone.

Current laws in Vietnam regulate that a person can be fined between VND5-7 million for littering sidewalks, streets or the water drainage system. But fines are rarely issued.
Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018.

The number of distributed denial-of-service attacks in Vietnam was the second highest in the Asia-Pacific and sixth in the world in Q4 last year.

In the region, it ranked just below China, while globally it was after China, the U.S., France, Russia, and Brazil, according to data gathered by Hong Kong-based Nexusguard, a leading cloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solutions provider.

A DDoS is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet.

Incoming traffic flooding the victim originates from many different sources, effectively making it impossible to stop the attack simply by blocking a single source.

Nexusguard has said Vietnam is now in a precarious position, a meeting heard in Hanoi Friday.

Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018 compared to 9.52 percent for China.

Nguyen Huy Dung, acting head of the Authority of Information Security, told the meeting that these days it has become much easier to carry out DDoS attacks and preventing them, much harder.

His agency has now developed a system to fight cyberattacks by linking with businesses and Internet providers to handle DDoS attacks on significant data bases, he said.

Nexusguard has also warned about DDoS attacks aimed at communication service providers, including telecom suppliers.

Perpetrators are using smaller, bit-and-piece methods to inject junk into legitimate traffic, causing attacks to bypass detection rather than sounding alarms with large, obvious attack spikes, the company said.

Last September Russias Kaspersky Lab named Vietnam among the top 10 countries hit by DDoS attacks in the last quarter of 2017 and also among the top 10 nations affected by botnet-assisted DDoS attacks as more than 637,000 computers were hit.
iStock/welcomia(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) -- A credit card belonging to an American tourist killed six months ago while on vacation in Mexico was recently used in Oklahoma City, police said.

Taylor Meyer, a 27-year-old from California, was found dead last November in Playa del Carmen, near where he was staying with several friends to celebrate one of their 30th birthdays.

On Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department posted images of the man who used the card to its Facebook page, and requested the publics help in identifying him to hopefully help investigators get one step closer to solving this tragic crime.

Through the course of the investigation detectives working the case found out the victims credit card was used here in [Oklahoma City], police wrote in a Facebook post.

The man seen in the photos was driving a silver SUV and he was accompanied by a woman at the time, Oklahoma City police said. They are urging anyone who knows the identity of the man to contact Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or submit a tip online (case #19-0028862).

In an interview with ABC Los Angeles Station KABC following his death, Meyers parents said they were told that his body was found in a park not far from the bar where he had been with friends, and that his wallet, watch, shoes and iPhone had been taken.

Playa del Carmen sits along the Caribbean Sea in eastern Mexico.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Thomas Peter

The United States accused China Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps.

It was some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

"The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps," Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be "closer to 3 million citizens."

Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified "given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million."

"So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description," he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was "reminiscent of the 1930s."

The U.S. government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate "in proportion" against any U.S. sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were "the same as boarding schools."

U.S. officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there.
" " All-uppercase type has come to indicate shouting in internet-speak. But what's the first instance of its use in that way? David Schliepp/HowStuffWorks

WHAT IF I WROTE THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IN ALL CAPS? WOULD YOU READ IT? MAYBE IF IT WERE VERY SHORT, BECAUSE YOU'D OBVIOUSLY BE WONDERING, "WHY IS THIS WRITER/MY GRANDPA SO ANGRY?" BUT I BET YOUR CURIOSITY WOULDN'T LAST LONG.

HOW TIRED OF READING THIS ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED.

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Sorry, I was shouting  but you knew that.

These days, people use the written word to communicate more than we have in any other period in history. You can make a plan with a friend, discuss the grocery list with your spouse, and negotiate your kid's curfew without having to strain your precious, beautiful vocal cords one bit. But the problem with conversing through the written word instead of face-to-face has to do with tone. In order for your reader to get the full meaning of your 246-character text, you have to use all the tools the QWERTY keyboard has to offer. One of those tools is the caps lock key.

In a two-partseries on meh., the daily-deal-retail-site-turned-internet-forum, writer and former typesetter Dave Fleishman explores the evolution of SHOUTY CAPS, and suggests the history of using all capital letters to indicate outrage or very strong, spirited emphasis is much older than our internet forefathers would have us believe.

Capital letters evolved in the Roman Empire where stone cutters made inscriptions on the topmost capitals of monuments and buildings using big, straight letters. The lowercase letters evolved from adaptations of capitals that were written by hand in manuscripts. Eventually there was a crossover where the capital letters wound up being used as big illustrated centerpieces of illuminated manuscripts, and finally the two cases flirted with each other until the deal was sealed around the mid-1400's when the Gutenberg Bible became the first mass-produced book using movable type.

" " Ancient Greek writing used all capital letters (and no spacing between words), but it wasn't to emphasize shouting or anger. Danita Delimont/Getty Images

But throughout history, capital letters were used for emphasis: the use of capitals in NO PARKING and NO SMOKING, for instance, lend the messages a certain gravitas. Newspapers used all caps for their headlines until the 1910's, when it was pointed out that capital letters are just plain exhausting to read.

"But there's a difference between shouting and signifying importance," says Fleishman. "I was trying to figure out, was there a historical basis for the convention of using the uppercase to shout? A lot of things are tacit; everyone alive today who uses an online service appreciates that when you use uppercase, you're shouting. But was that true before?"

If you ask early internet users, they'd say modern use of all caps as tantamount to shouting goes back to at least March of 1984, when a guy named Dave Decot, then a computer science student at Case Western Reserve University, wrote in a forum:

Well, there seem to be some conventions developing in the use of various emphasizers. There are three kinds of emphasis in use, in order of popularity:

1) using CAPITAL LETTERS to make words look 'louder',

2) using *asterisks* to put sparklers around emphasized words, and

3) s p a c i n g words o u t, possibly accompanied by 1) or 2).

This was just after computer terminals switched from all-uppercase to mixed-case keyboards, so when given the option of writing in lowercase or uppercase letters, the early internet decided all caps was great for shouting. However, if you didn't know the implications, using all caps just made you seem old.

"Anybody who persisted in using all upper case even after the switch in computer terminal keyboards seemed fussy and out-of-date because they were still using older terminals or hadn't gotten used to the new system," says Fleishman.

But Fleishman sensed the internet didn't invent uppercase shouting, and after a protracted search, found a reference from an 1856 edition of The Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, that recounts the tale of a Dutchman with small pox:

"'I dells you I've got der small pox. Ton't you vetsteh? der SMALL POX!' This time he shouted it out in capital letters."

"That's the smoking gun right there," says Fleishman.

So, now you know and may go about your business, quietly and with good manners. All-caps-as-shouting predates the American Civil War, toilet paper, the machine gun, pencil erasers and postcards.

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Now That's Interesting A campaign began in Sweden in 2001 to remove the caps lock key from computer keyboards. In the early 1980's, caps lock took over the keyboard real estate where the control key used to be. These days, CAPSoff.org advocates for the removal of "this ludicrous key."
December 3, 1931  January 25, 2019

Joe Richard Williams was born in Cannon City, Colorado on December 3, 1931, to parents Veta Jeanette and Clyde Jackson Williams. Joe grew up in Cannon City and spent most of his time hunting and fishing in the surrounding mountains. This love of the outdoors lasted his entire life, and was a legacy he passed on to his children. Joe joined the Navy at 16 years old, with his parents assistance and consent, and spent four years serving his country during the Korean War.

Joe married his first wife Gloria Kathryn Miller on June 15, 1949 in Elko, Nevada while in the Navy and they had two children, Kathryn Louise and Jack Edward. He spent a brief period in the United States Merchant Marine after his honorable discharge from the Navy, which deepened his love of the ocean. After his service in the Merchant Marine, Joe returned to his family in Elko where he worked mainly in the casinos. Joe and Gloria left Elko after a couple of years to go back to Colorado, where Joe worked as a contract miner in several mines in the Leadville area, trying to make enough money to give his family a better life financially. After several years in the Leadville area, Joe and Gloria ended up back in Elko. During this time Joes love of the outdoors grew and he continued hunting and fishing in the Nevada Rockies with his father Jack, as well as his son, Jack.

Joe and Gloria moved to the Denver area, in 1962 to return to their beloved Colorado and to start new careers. Joe attended Barber College in Denver and worked as a barber for a brief time, but decided that this was not the career he sought. He was successful as a salesman in the office furniture business and ended up starting successful businesses, Desks Inc. and Electro-Coating Co. in Denver.

Joe and Gloria divorced in 1974 and Joe moved back to Elko, where he started Four Seasons Landscaping, Greenhouses and Floral Store.

In 1985 he married Frances Taylor in Elko. Joe and Fran were very happy together for nearly twenty years until Fran was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Joe dutifully cared for Fran in their home in Sunsites, Arizona until she passed away. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn; son, Jack; sisters, Cheryl (Jack) Paul and Janice Marr.

After Fran passed away Joe won one battle with lung cancer while still in Arizona, but at the expense of losing one lung. He moved to the Texas gulf coast town of Port Mansfield where his breathing was much improved and he could continue to enjoy his love of the ocean and fishing. During this period he met Naomi Jorgenson and he lived out the rest of his life abundantly with this very special lady friend. Complications from a second battle with lung cancer claimed his life on January 25, 2019 in Brownsville, Texas.

Joe lived all of his life abundantly and enjoyed all of the best things given by God to us in this life on earth. He passed on this legacy to his children and also to some of the many friends he made during his life. He is now with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Burns Funeral Home on May 31 at 10:00 am followed by a graveside service with Full Military Honors. A luncheon will follow at the VFW Hall.
Five trucks with food and hygiene kits, dispatched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), entered Russia-held territories in Donetsk region.

"Five trucks sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross have passed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint and entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Relief supplies (food and hygiene kits) weighing 95 tonnes are being delivered to residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of Ukraine's State Border Service said.
On the occasion of the UN events to mark the international day of press freedom, Ukrainian diplomats recalled the illegal imprisonment of journalist Roman Sushchenko in Russia and the suppression of freedoms by Russia in the occupied Crimea, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN said on Twitter.

"As the UN community gathers to mark #WorldPressFreedomDay, Ukraine appeals for the release of Roman #Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist @UKRINFORM, who remains behind bars in the Russian Federation under fabricated charges. #PressFreedom #FreeSushchenko," the message reads.

Also, the Ukrainian mission at the UN noted that the state of freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied Crimea is of the greatest concern.

"Areas of utmost concern remain #Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia. Crimean journalists and bloggers critical of the occupation are facing prosecution and prison sentences, while harassment of independent media and activists are intensifying. #WorldPressFreedomDay #FreePress," it says.

In addition, they added that more than 70 citizens of Ukraine were detained in the occupied Crimea for political reasons - "for simply raising the Ukrainian flag over their house, or perusing their cultural or religious rights."

"The case of Oleh #Sentsov, a jailed Ukrainian film maker and writer, is probably the most appalling examples of how the Russian occupation authorities in #Crimea crack down on the freedom of expression. This practice must be resolutely condemned. #WorldPressFreedomDay," the diplomats added.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree on the dismissal of Yuriy Artemenko from the position of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

Corresponding presidential decree No. 186/2019 of May 4, 2019 was made public on the website of the head of state on Saturday.

"In accordance with paragraph 13 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I order: dismiss Yuriy Artemenko from the post of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting," the document says.

Earlier today, a statement by Artemenko appeared on the website of the National Council, in which he announced the decision to resign and to leave his office.

According to him, there are two reasons for this decision. "The first reason is simple human fatigue - to work daily in constant stress for 10-12 hours during five years, sometimes even seven days a week. Secondly, the proposal, which came at that time to take another job," said he.

Yuriy Artemenko was appointed a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting by the presidential decree dated July 7, 2014. Soon he was elected chairman of the National Council.
Ukraine's Embassy to U.S. organizes charity concert, funds of which to be transferred to 'Next Step Ukraine' rehabilitation center

The Ukrainian Embassy to the United States, in cooperation with the "Revived Soldiers Ukraine" Foundation, organized a charity auction and concert of the Ukrainian violinist Oleksandr Bozhyk, and will transfer the proceeds to the rehabilitation center "Next Step Ukraine," the press service of the diplomatic department said.

"With the funds raised from the concert and the auction, prostheses will be purchased for three soldiers, the rest will be transferred to support the paralyzed of "Next Step Ukraine" rehabilitation center, which is located in Ukraine," it said on Facebook.

In addition, before the concert, ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly addressed the assembled guests with gratitude for their attention to the charity events of the embassy and Ukrainian-U.S. volunteer organizations that provide an opportunity to help Ukrainian soldiers and veterans.

Also, Chaly and Iryna Vashchuk, the president of the Foundation "Revived Soldiers Ukraine," congratulated and thanked for participating in the event of the Ukrainian military Maksym Shkabiuk, who is undergoing rehabilitation in the United States after receiving serious injuries during the fighting in Donbas.
Ukraine at the events on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership on May 13-14 should demonstrate the consistency of its foreign policy and convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv, Ukraine's representative to the European Union Ambassador Mykola Tochitskyi has said.

"On May 13, the President of the European Council gathers the heads of state and government of the six participating countries [Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia] for a working dinner. The Eastern Partnership's "fathers" Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt are also invited. A meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs will be held in the afternoon on May 13. The Ukrainian side will be represented by Pavlo Klimkin. And the next day, a high-level conference will take place with the participation of the heads of state and government," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering the question how the EU plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

In addition, according to him, a number of bilateral meetings of the president of Ukraine with the leaders of the institutions of the European Union and some EU member states are scheduled.

"I believe that from our side we need to use this forum in order to demonstrate the consistency of Ukraine's foreign policy, and this is the course towards integration into the European Union," said Tochytskyi.

The diplomat stressed that at the events of May 13-14, Ukraine should convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv when changing the composition of the European Commission and the European Diplomatic Service in November.
Advisors to President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Danyliuk and Ruslan Riaboshapka, continued discussing in Brussels support for the priority steps of the new head of state.

According to the press service of Zelensky, on May 3, they met with the offices of President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

In addition, members of Zelensky's team took part in a working lunch at the Canadian Embassy in Belgium with representatives of the participating countries of the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer.

"The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law. These areas are the top priorities of the newly elected president of Ukraine," the press service of Zelensky noted.

Advisor Danyliuk noted that Western partners are committed to supporting the declared policy of Zelensky and their interest in enhancing cooperation with Ukraine during his presidency.

Advisers of Zelensky also met with EU Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson and the European Defense Agency's Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
Based on the latest official figures released by the European Union, the amount of Iranian exports to the EU in the first two months of 2019 have dropped sixteen folds compared with the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the value of the EU export to Iran also decreased nearly to one-third of what it was in January-February 2018.

The statistics published on the official website of the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, also reveal that the value of products the Islamic Republic exported to the EU was only 136 million euros (approximately $152 million).

The same source also reveals that before the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018, the value of Iranians export to the EU in the first two months of the same year amounted to more than 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.5 billion).

However, the dramatic drop in Iranian exports to EU was in line with expectations, since 90% of it was crude and energy-related products. European countries stopped buying oil from the Islamic Republic in mid-2018.

The United States imposed financial and industrial sanctions on Tehran in August 2018, followed by bans on its oil exports and banking sector in November.

In the meantime, the value of the EU exports to Iran also dropped to 621 million euros ($695 million) in January-February 2019, while in the same period last year it amounted to 1.56 billion euros (roughly $1.75 billion).

According to the European Commission official figures, the 28-member union exported 8.9 billion euros (approximately $9.9 billion) to Iran in 2018, about 17.6 percent less than 2017, while their imports from Iran declined 4 percent year-on-year to 9.72 billion euros (approximately $10.86 billion).

The details of the statistics point to the fact that Iranian exports to the EU started

to plummet in mid-2018, as most European clients stopped buying crude from Iran.

The value of EU's imports from Iran amounted to 9.72 billion euros (roughly $10.855 billion) in 2018, or 4% less than 2017.

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece are the leading European trade partners of the Islamic Republic, respectively.

The latest statistics show that exports and imports between each of these individual countries and Iran have also sharply dropped in the first two months of the current year.

Germany, as the biggest trade partner of Iran, lost almost half of its exports' value to the Islamic Republic in the first two months of 2019.

Nonetheless, the other major European trade partners of Iran lost more exports to the Islamic Republic than Germany.

Based on the EU statistics, France, Italy, Spain, and Greece used to buy Iranian crude up to mid-2018, which accounted for almost all of the imports from the Islamic Republic.

Iran Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) recently reported that the value of Iran's imports from the EU in last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019) reached $9.82 billion, with nearly 22% drop compared with the previous year.

China, the United Arab Emirates, and the EU are now Iran's main trading partners, accounting for 19.5%, 16.8%, and 16.3% of Irans traderespectively. The EU used to be the first trading partner of Iran before the current U.S. sanctions regime was imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

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 on May 4, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.

As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue has featured the second plenary session on Youth for peace: Building a counter-narrative to violent extremism.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the session.

Leyla Aliyeva addressed the session which was moderated by High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

An official meeting under the leadership of Azerbaijans Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov was held at the Central Command Post on May 4, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry.

The meeting held with the participation of the deputies of defense minister, commanders of the branches of troops, chiefs of the main departments, departments and services of the ministry, as well as commanders of the army corps also involved the commanders of formations and other responsible officers via video communication.

The minister of defense brought to the command staff the specific tasks on the increasing military potential of the Azerbaijani army, set by President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, and instructed to focus on increasing the combat capability of all types and branches of troops, especially foremost units.

The minister of defense set the tasks for the officials to increase the intensity of exercises and training conducted according to the combat training plan, especially at night, in conditions and in areas as close as possible to the combat, to increase the agility and combat readiness of the troops, strictly observing the requirements of covert control and field camouflaging, general safety rules, in particular, fire safety, as well as to organize preparations for the transfer of weapons, military and specialized equipment of army corps and formations to the summer mode of operation.

The minister gave specific instructions to better organize combat training, to raise the level of military professionalism, to strengthen ideological work and moral-psychological support in order to increase military patriotism and the fighting spirit of the military personnel, as well as to solve other official issues.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Due to the coming spring-summer season, the number of tourists visiting the national parks of Azerbaijan has noticeably increased in recent days, said Irada Ibrahimova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

According to her, over the four months of this year, the national parks of the country were visited by 11,131 tourists, 9,850 of which were locals and 1,281 were foreign tourists.

"Of course, it will be great if more tourists visit national parks. It is true that it is not always possible during wintertime, but since May we are expecting a significant increase in the number of visitors to the parks, due to the favorable weather and beautiful nature. Ecotourism is a new concept for us and we hope to achieve successes in this area," she said

Ibrahimova added that today there are 110 different tourist routes in the national parks.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

As part of its 25th anniversary campaign, EY Azerbaijan carried out its first tree planting initiative on the Absheron peninsula, just north-east of the capital, Baku. Nearly 50 EY staff members joined the event together with their children. This initiative reflects EY Azerbaijans strive to contribute to the countrys sustainable development.

Ilgar Veliyev, Managing Partner at EY Azerbaijan said: We are a socially responsible organization. For us, corporate social responsibility isnt just a trendy expression. Both as professionals and citizens, we understand the importance of looking after the environment and giving back to the communities around us.

As a global firm, EY has pledged its responsibility to manage its own operations to limit environmental impact. Gunel Farajova, Head of Climate and Sustainability Services at EY said: As a company, we have been advising both public and private sector on how to build and maintain a sustainable and environmentally-friendly business. So we have to lead by example. EY Azerbaijan has therefore joined our global commitment to conduct our operations in such a way that will reduce the environmental footprint. Each and every business should acknowledge the importance of ecosystem services adopted by the UN.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan Aselsan Engineering signed an agreement on export of optoelectronic devises to Turkey, Trend reports via Kazakh media.

Furthermore, company signed a memorandum with Turkish venture on avionics modernization for helicopters within the territory of Kazakhstan.

This agreement was reached on the 14th International Defense Industry Fair in 2019, which took place in Istanbul.

More than 20 meetings with foreign partners took place during the fair. Issues of cooperation, creation of the new joint projects to attract investments and creation of new technology were among key topics during the meetings with Turkish companies MKEK and Aselsan. The discussion on the realization of the new joint project with TAI company also took place.

As a result of the meetings, it was agreed that five Turkish companies are to visit Nur-Sultan (former Astana) to define the technicalities on realization of the joint projects in the defense industry.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Iran continues its negotiations with the UKs Pergas International Consortium on the Karanj oil field, located in Irans southwestern Khuzestan Province, said Ahmad Mohammadi, CEO of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), Trend reports referring to Mehr News Agency.

According to Mohammadi, hopefully, these discussions will result in an agreement.

Mohammadi added that production is, of course, currently underway in this field, and it is even provided with gas for oil extraction.

"With the participation of the Pergas consortium, the development will accelerate," he said.

Noting that the annual natural gas production in the southern oil fields of Iran have declined by 10 percent, he said that various steps, including repairs and sidetrack drilling, are used to compensate for the decrease.

Commenting on the volume of oil production in the southern oil fields, Mohammadi said that 3.5 million barrels of oil are produced daily without the implementation of development programs.

"Currently, Iran's oil production and exports are under sanctions. The problems faced by this process are undeniable. Iran has proved that it will overcome these problems," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

As part of the upcoming first forum dedicated to the development of social entrepreneurship, the main aspects and possibilities of the business environment in Azerbaijan will be discussed, Sakina Babayeva, the head of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, told Trend May 4.

She said that the agenda of the event includes discussion of the issues of a sustainable model for the development of social entrepreneurship, as well as key aspects of social entrepreneurship defined in the legislation.

During the panel discussions, a wide exchange of views and international experience in the field of social entrepreneurship is expected, she noted. The development of womens entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan and in international practice is a priority direction in the business sphere, so holding such an event is extremely important.

She noted that the forum will be organized by Education HUB, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy, as well as with the support of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan.

The forum is expected to be attended by Azerbaijani MPs, international experts and representatives of international organizations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to share their military airfields, Trend reports citing Kazinform.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Baurzhan Tortaev stated that relevant international treaties were signed on April 15 of this year within the framework of the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan and in accordance with the current plan for concluding international treaties of Kazakhstan for 2019.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of air defense was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It is aimed at addressing issues of operational interaction of duty forces, timely exchange of information on the aerospace situation, assistance to aircraft in distress, joint training of troops, and the exchange of experience in the development and improvement of air defense forces.

In addition, another agreement was signed between the two ministries on the organization of reception, aerodrome-technical maintenance and protection of military aircraft at military aerodromes of the Armed Forces of the two countries.

The agreement defines the mechanism of mutual settlements between the defense ministries of the two countries for refueling military aircraft with fuel, oils, lubricants, special liquids and gases.

During the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan on April 14-15, 2019, talks were held with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which resulted in a joint statement by the two heads of state.

The leaders of the two countries declared their intention to promote further development of cooperation in the defense and military-technical sphere, as well as in the field of space research and development.

The parties also stressed common positions in assessing the current situation in the region and in the world, and agreed on adopting joint measures aimed at anticipating and countering contemporary challenges and threats to security in the region, primarily in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal migration and other problems, both in a bilateral format and in the framework of multilateral structures.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova, Aysham Rustamova  Trend:

In order to expand cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of transportation, a relevant aviation agreement should be signed in the nearest future, the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.

"The aviation agreement is an integral part of the regional transport hub project, which is the next major project of Azerbaijan. This project is equally beneficial for both the EU and Azerbaijan," Jankauskas said. He added that a high-level dialogue on transportation with Azerbaijan began this year. We have various infrastructure projects, he noted.

Jankauskas also pointed out that negotiations are underway on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. "We had a series of video conferences after the last round of negotiations on trade issues. The work is underway. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the text is signed as soon as possible," said the EU ambassador.

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.

In November 201, the European Council issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct negotiations regarding a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan on behalf of the EU and its member states.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take into account the objectives shared by the EU and Azerbaijan and the challenges facing them today. It 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 policies with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should facilitate access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan now exports 113 types of products to China, Trend reports referring to kazpravda.kz

The export includes 16 types of livestock products, 16 types of crop products and 81 types of processed products. The obvious leaders among exported goods are wheat, vegetable oil, oil seeds, flour, soy and fish. Last year, Kazakhstan exported mutton and honey for the first time, reads the news report.

The increase in export is due to 13 added types of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates that were agreed on in the last three years. The dynamics of Kazakhstans export continue to increase. In 2015 the volume of export to China totaled 111 million tenge, in 2016 it amounted to 134 million tenge, in 2017 it stood at 180 million tenge and in 2018 it equaled to 250 million tenge, the report says. Total volume of Kazakh export manufacture increased by 12.9 percent in January-February of 2019, compared to the same period of 2018 and amounts to $610.2 million.

Kazakhstan mainly exports products of agribusiness to Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and China.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

In January-February 2019, Azerbaijan supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey compared to 1.1 billion cubic meters (an increase of 24.2 percent) in the same period last year, Trend reports referring to a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority ( EPDK).

The report shows that in January-February this year, Turkey imported 10.1 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 6.1 billion cubic meters were imported through pipelines, and more than 4 billion cubic meters accounted for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Azerbaijan supplied 683.2 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in February 2019, compared to 536.6 million cubic meters during the same period last year. The share of Azerbaijan in the total import of gas by Turkey in February 2019 amounted to about 16 percent.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.

Hossein Fereydoun, brother of the Iranian president, is charged with a series of corruption cases. His name was mentioned in connection with a scandal revolving around the exaggerated salaries of Irans state insurance company.
Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehrans ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with Iran on civil nuclear programs, Trend reports citing Press TV.

The waivers, which were due to expire Saturday, are being extended for 90 days, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Ford told Bloomberg on Friday.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the official added that two other waivers, one that allowed Iran to store surplus heavy water in Oman and the other that allowed Russia to process Iranian uranium, would not be renewed.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Irans eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May is optimistic that she is close to striking a deal to secure the opposition Labour Partys support for a deal to leave the European Union, reports Trend with reference to Reuters

In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU, sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said that its sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European Parliament elections due on May 23.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a glimmer of hope that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labours customs union proposal was a long-term solution, reports Trend citing to Reuters

The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered, he told the Press Association news agency.

If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal).
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, reports Trend citing to Reuters

Hamed al-Khaiyali told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded, the others slaughtered or shot.

A source in Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed Islamic State and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

Sebha  like much of the south and its oilfields  is controlled by the LNA but the force has moved troops north for a month-long offensive on the capital Tripoli, held by the internationally recognized government.

The campaign has not breached the southern defense of the capital.

The LNA faced strong opposition from the Tebu ethnic group during its campaign in the south at the start of the year.

Islamic State militants are also active in southern Libya where is has staged several hit-and-run attacks in recent months. It retreated to the south after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.
Seven hundred and 10 fighters of the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli have been killed since the beginning of the battle for the capital, the government said in a statement, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The offensive launched by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli has entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.
Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algerias de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflikas regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflikas system, a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed Algerias God because many saw him as the countrys real authority.

I send to this person a final warning, Salah said at that time.
Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce, Trend reports citing Press TV.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it, he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatars capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate cross-border attacks by PKK militants on Saturday, the defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases,Trend reports citing Reuters.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

It said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Three other Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after PKK militants shelled the region, the defense ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy the militant targets.

Turkeys military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated his country's opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, saying that Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Shanahan told journalists the government remained steadfast in its opposition to Turkey's adoption of the S-400 anti-aircraft technology.

"If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forward with, then we have to move work out of Turkey," he said.

Shanahan noted that he had met with delegations from US aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss options if Turkey refuses to forego the S-400.

Washington has warned for months that Turkey's adoption of Russian missile technology alongside US fighter jets would pose a threat to the F-35 and endanger Western defense.

As a member of NATO, Turkey is taking part in the production of the fighter jet for use by members of the treaty, and has plans to buy 100 of the jets itself.

Ankara's ties with Washington have been strained over Turkey's decision to buy the Russian-made defense system, and US officials threatened Turkey's removal from the F-35 program, halting the delivery of jets to the country and excluding Turkish manufacturers from joint production. However, Turkey received two more jets two weeks ago after the delivery of the first batch in June 2018, and four Turkish pilots currently continue their training at the Arizona base.

Like other NATO allies of Washington, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in production of the F-35, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays, and entered service in the United States in 2015.

Ankara has proposed a working group with the United States to assess the impact of the S-400s, but says it has not received a response from US officials.

The Ankara-Moscow S-400 deal was inked in December 2017, when the parties signed a $2.5 billion agreement for two batteries of the systems  Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system in use since 2007.
United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes there is a big potential for building good relations with Russia, Trend reports citing Reuters.

"Very good call yesterday with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia", he wrote on his Twitter account commenting on Fridays telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

"Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on "Russia Collusion." The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" he wrote.

According to the Kremlin press service, the two presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, had a lengthy telephone conversation on Friday that was initiated by the US side. The two leaders discussed issues of bilateral relations with a focus on economic cooperation and reiterated their commitment to closer dialogues in various spheres, including on matters of strategic stability.
KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 19:25 | Japan, All

Japanese whaling vessels launched on Saturday the last round of what Japan calls scientific research off the Pacific coast ahead of the country's pullout from the International Whaling Commission next month for commercial hunting.

Japan will resume commercial whaling possibly from July in waters of the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone after the withdrawal from the IWC takes effect at the end of next month.

The four ships organized by the Association for Community-Based Whaling based in Fukuoka left Hachinohe port in Aomori Prefecture Saturday morning and caught eight minke whales. They will operate through late this month.

They plan to catch up to 80 whales including those already caught in April.

"Waters off Hachinohe contain rich prey for whales. It could be a pivotal location for future commercial whaling," said Tatsuya Isoda, senior scientist at the Institute of Cetacean Research who leads the research whaling.

Related coverage:

Japan to leave IWC, resume commercial whaling in July

Quitting whaling commission is risky gambit by Japan

Australia, NZ rap Japan's IWC pullout, commercial whaling restart
By Kazushige Motokura, KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 12:00 | All, World

Japanese Emperor Naruhito is well-prepared and temperamentally suited to the role he assumed Wednesday after his father's abdication, said a friend from his time at the University of Oxford, reflecting on his early impressions of the royal figure then known as Prince Hiro.

"The Japanese people are fortunate they have him as the emperor, that he represents Japan," said Keith George, 57, an American lawyer from Charleston, West Virginia, who studied at Oxford in England for the same two years in the 1980s as Emperor Naruhito.

(Photo taken April 22, 2019, in Charleston, West Virginia, shows American lawyer Keith George holding a framed clipping from The New York Times showing a photograph of him speaking to Japan's Prince Hiro, now Emperor Naruhito, during the 1983 entrance ceremony for the University of Oxford.)

"Monarchies in some countries have scandals and erode moral standards, (but) Hiro doesn't have that at all," George told Kyodo News, describing the new emperor as a "perfect fit" to "maintain tradition but also respect change" in Reiwa, the new Japanese imperial era which began with the new emperor's enthronement.

George and the prince, whose official name in his college days was Hironomiya, first met in 1983 at the university's matriculation ceremony where they were placed alongside each other by name in alphabetical order. A photo of the two sharing a moment of levity later appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

"I was surprised because there were hundreds of photographers in front of us. Hiro said to me, 'You will get used to this,'" George recalled.

The future lawyer then speculated the two could induce a barrage of camera flashes by leaning in and staging a conversation.

"We did it and that worked. We laughed. He has a good sense of humor (and) I thought we would be good friends."

In the New York Times' coverage, a clipping of which George has framed, the two men were photographed smiling during the brief exchange.

While living in adjacent dormitory rooms, the friends enjoyed playing music -- the prince on his viola as George improvised country-style tunes on a guitar -- and going out to a student pub where George remembers the prince delighting in mundane things that his sheltered life had denied him, like, for example, handling money.

("Prince Hiro" at Oxford University in October 1983.)

U.S. media at the time reported that his grandfather Emperor Hirohito only handled money personally once in his life. The young Prince Hiro also treasured the new experience of doing his own laundry during his graduate studies in England.

At Oxford's Merton College, the prince worked on a thesis paper related to 18th-century navigation and traffic on the River Thames and later wrote a memoir about his time in England titled "The Thames and I" in the English translation.

In 1985, a few weeks after his Oxford stint ended, the prince traveled to the United States and spent a night as a guest of George's family in a quiet mountain town about two and a half hours by car outside of Charleston.

"His life would be totally different in Japan," George said. "There was a certain sadness of losing the freedom that he had in the university, but at the same time he said he was gratefully accepting his duties."

"He was prepared to assume his duty to be the crown prince and eventually the emperor -- it was very clear."

The Japanese royal officially became crown prince in 1991 and married rising diplomat Masako Owada, now Empress Masako, in 1993 after her own two-year period of studying international relations at Oxford.

George has been able to visit with the prince a few times in Japan, including at an official wedding celebration for the royal couple. The American has since released a country music album featuring some of the songs he played with the prince, and his eldest daughter is the same age as Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's only child.

"After the enthronement, the Japanese people will (get to) know him better," said George, who has maintained contact with his old friend through occasional letters and phone calls. "He is kind, honorable and caring -- he will never dishonor his people and his country."

The former Emperor Akihito has been lauded for a 30-year reign in which he sought to bolster relations with neighboring countries that suffered as a result of Japan's wartime aggression.

With all eyes on the 59-year-old emperor to see how he will take up his father's legacy, public sentiment seems initially to be in his favor. A Kyodo News survey conducted just after Emperor Naruhito's ascension found that over 82 percent of respondents had a fondness for their new emperor.
BENGALURU: On Friday, the High Grounds police arrested Gangadhar Amalajeri (30), a native of Rabakavi in Bagalakot district, and Ajith Shetty Haranje (40) of Bramhavara in Udupi, for morphing photos of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and actress Radhika and spreading fake news on social media and a news portal claiming they were visiting a resort in Udupi.

also read: Sri Lanka Bomb Blasts: Army chief claims suicide bombers travelled to Kashmir, Kerala for training

According to the police officials, a case was lodged on Wednesday when the morphed photos went viral on social media after the portal uksuddi.in published it. The media secretary in the CMO, who noticed the fake news, approached the police and registered a complaint.

In the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Gangadhar, who works in an MNC and also runs the news portal, had downloaded old photos of the CM and the actress and morphed them to make it seem that they were entering a resort. The duo had also claimed the CM had scolded the scribes who had taken the photos. After a day, Shetty posted the fake news on his Facebook page and tagged his friends, police said.

Amid the investigation, Gangadhar said he posted it to make his portal popular. Shetty, who owns a garment business, wanted to damage the Karnatakas CMs image. He has put up several posts on Facebook against the present government, police said.

also read: Apologized to SC not BJP or Modi: Rahul Gandhi
Firefighters Day was created in 1999 after 5 firefighters died tragically during a wildfire in Australia when the direction of the wind changed suddenly and engulfed them in flames. The first organized professionals whose job it was to combat structural fires lived in Ancient Egypthowever, at the time, firefighters worked for private companies that provided their services only to those who could afford them. It is celebrated on May 4th because that is Saint Florians day, and Saint Florian, who was said to be one of the first commanding firefighters of an actual Roman battalion and saved many lives, is the patron saint of firefighters.

also read Tiger Wood is to receive the US highest civilian honour from President Donald Trump

To be noted that Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighters life. International Firefighters Day (IFFD) is a time where the worlds community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions. By proudly wearing and displaying blue and red ribbons pinned together or by participating in a memorial or recognition event, we can show our gratitude to firefighters everywhere.

Let us share that international Firefighters Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year. The IFFD ribbons are linked to colours symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with  red for fire and blue for water. These colours also are internationally recognised as representing emergency service.

also read The US Spymaster revealed about Pakistan diplomatic state toward India and inborn Terrorism
Istanbul: On Friday, in a tragic incident, seven people including five children lost their lives after a boat carrying 17 people capsized off Turkey's Aegean coast. All the passengers were reportedly refugees. Five have been rescued while five are still missing with the authorities reportedly trying to locate them. Among the 17 on board the boat, one was a human trafficker, as per the coast guard.

also read: Two rickshaw driver arrested for allegedly raped a teenage girl

According to the Turkish coast guard, 7,100 migrants have attempted to cross over so far alone in 2019. In a bid to escape the turmoil in their own country, thousands have attempted to cross to Europe undertaking the dangerous Aegeans sea route. These migrants include people from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and some African nations. Turkey has been among the main routes for migrants trying to cross to Europe in recent years.

The infamous photograph of Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a shore had brought international attention to the migration crisis leading to a global outcry over the issue. The United Nations had launched "WithRefugees campaign to display solidarity with the refugees after the photograph went viral.

also read: A 30-year-old man allegedly set three kittens on fire inside a burning carton
Colombo: The Sri Lankan army chief claimed that some of the suicide bombers who were involved in bomb blasts in Srilanka on Easter Sunday had visited Kashmir, Kerala and Bengaluru in India.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke said, it is being suspected that the attackers travelled to India to establish their links with other terrorist organisations. In an interview to BBC, army commander said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us.

Boeing 737 slides off the runway, falls into river in Florida

On the reason of visit of terroristm he said, Possibly for some sort of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country.

Last Month, On April 21, nine suicide bombers carried out terror attacks in three churches and four high-end hotels of Sri Lanka, claiming lives of 253 people and injuring over 500. The Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group claimed the responsibility of the serial blasts.

Nepal to begin construction of railways linking Kathmandu with India, China

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently carried out raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and nabbed several people for suspected link with the ISIS. On April 27, the agency took a native of Kerala's Kollam, Faizal into its custody on suspicion of having direct contacts with Sohran Hashif, one of the conspirators behind the Colombo blasts. The agency later detained three more persons from Keralas Palakkad and Kasaragode.
" " Destroying an entire planet all at once? It happens in 'Star Wars,' but could it happen in real life? Peopleimages.com/Getty Images

In "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an evil military junta called the First Order has risen from the ruins of the Galactic Empire, and is waging war against with a particularly frightening new weapon. Starkiller Base, as it's called, is an icy planet that's essentially been converted into a giant ray gun, capable of obliterating an entire distant solar system with a single shot.

The bad guys upped their game considerably since the first "Star Wars" movie, in which the Empire's ultimate weapon was the Death Star, a moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy a planet.

As the official Star Wars website explains, Starkiller somehow harvests energy from the star it orbits, and then contains it within magnetic fields inside the base's planetary core. That energy is then harnessed and converted into an "ultra-powerful beam" that can blast through hyperspace  apparently a so-called wormhole in the time-space continuum in which incredible distances can be covered at speeds faster than light.

When the beam comes out at the other end of hyperspace, those in its path are doomed. The Starkiller's beam is "able to sterilize the worlds of a distant star system with a single shot," we're told.

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The Nitty-Gritty Starkiller Mechanics

As often happens in science fiction, the details of how Starkiller would actually work are left to the audience's imagination. And if you've suspended disbelief and immersed yourself in the "Star Wars" fictional universe, the idea of a weapon so immensely powerful probably doesn't seem any harder to buy than lightsabers, talking robots with human-like personalities, and The Force itself. In the actual universe that we live in, though, is a solar system-killing weapon even remotely conceivable? And if so, how would someone build it?

University of Glasgow professor Martin A. Hendry, head of the university's School of Physics and Astronomy and an occasional lecturer on the physics of "Star Wars," says that that though the Starkiller is fantasy, it has at least a little reality mixed in.

"The Sun's magnetic field is very important in funneling hot plasma, an ionized gas, close to its surface," says Hendry in an email. "We see these huge ribbons of hot gas as prominences, and they can be the cause of violent eruptions known as solar flares that send large amounts of hot gas across the solar system  producing displays of northern lights when the plasma hits our atmosphere."

A really powerful flare, he says, could create an electromagnetic pulse with extremely destructive effects. "It basically would send our technology back to the Stone Age," says Hendry, but it wouldn't be enough to wipe out the planet, the way that Starkiller supposedly can.

Hendry says the idea of using magnetic fields to contain and direct beams of plasma  which is pretty close to what Starkiller supposedly does  is based on perfectly sound physics.

"Where it jumps the shark is the way that the plasma is being directed from the star to the planet with the Starkiller base through apparently empty space," he says. "How does the Starkiller base generate a sufficiently intense magnetic field to re-direct so much of the star's plasma towards it? I thought the effects during that sequence looked great, but the physics wasn't very sound I'm afraid."

While the idea of stealing energy from a star to power a weapon seems like the way to go, "it's just not clear how you do it," says Hendry.

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Actual Star Death

When stars are wiped out in the real universe, they often do it to themselves, by blowing up into supernovas when they run out of fuel. Another way that a star can be destroyed is if it collides with a black hole, whose intense gravity creates forces that literally can tear a star apart if it comes too close, according to an article on NASA's website.

When that happens, the event is called a tidal disruption, and most of the resulting debris is sucked toward the black hole by its gravitational force. As that happens, the debris is heated to millions of degrees in temperature, and generates an enormous amount of X-ray radiation until the debris falls beyond the black hole's event horizon, a point from which no light can escape.

Astronomers actually have used NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer in concert to observe a black hole's destruction of a star, in an event called ASASSN-14li, which was first discovered in November 2014. The real-life star killer is a black hole located in the center of PGC 043234, a galaxy about 290 million light years from Earth, which is estimated to weigh several million times the mass of our Sun. Here's a video animation illustrating what it looked like.

Pretty cool, huh?

But in order to use a black hole as a star-killing weapon, you'd need to be able to build and control one. Back in 1989, a British scientist, Martyn J. Fogg, published a paper in which he suggested somehow placing a manmade black hole on Jupiter, and then using it to generate enough energy to warm the temperatures on the giant planet's moon Europa to Earthlike levels.

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Can We Actually Kill a Star?

That's something that, if possible, is way, way beyond anything that engineers can do today. In 2010, though, Chinese researchers did get some attention by building a device called an omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber that they likened to a "mini black hole," in that it could absorb microwave radiation in the manner that an astrophysical black hole could swallow up a star and its energy.

As you might imagine, they'd have to scale up that man-made version of a black hole quite a bit to have a weapon as potent as Starkiller. Until they do, we'll just have to rely upon George Lucas' special effects for stellar annihilation.

Now That's Interesting "When I've done my 'Physics of Star Wars' lectures in the past, based on the old-style Death Star laser that destroyed Alderaan," says Hendry, "I've tried to guesstimate how much energy must have been stored in the Death Star's batteries. It's equivalent to the total energy emitted by the Sun for thousands of years."
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new test that can reliably predict the future course of inflammatory bowel disease in individuals, transforming treatments for patients and paving the way for a personalised approach.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease - collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - are chronic conditions that involve inflammation of the gut. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. There is currently no cure, but there are a growing number of medicines that aim to relieve symptoms and prevent the condition returning; however, the more severe the case of the IBD, the stronger the drugs need to be and the greater the potential side effects.

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust previously showed that a genetic signature found in a certain type of immune cell known as a CD8 T-cell could be used to assign patients to one of two groups depending on whether their condition was likely to be mild or severe (requiring repeated treatment). However, isolating CD8 T- cells and obtaining the genetic signature was not straightforward, making the test unlikely to be scaleable and achieve widespread use.

In the latest study, published in the journal Gut, the researchers worked with a cohort of 69 patients with Crohn's disease to see whether it was possible to develop a useful, scaleable test by looking at whole blood samples in conjunction with CD8 T-cells and using widely-available technology.

The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.

The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London.

"Using simple technology that is available in almost every hospital, our test looks for a biomarker - essentially, a medical signature - to identify which patients are likely to have mild IBD and which ones will have more serious illness," says Dr James Lee, joint first author of the study.

"This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition."

The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments.

"IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine.

The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.

The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."

Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's

Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.

This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."

Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.

This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.

When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.

Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."

Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier.

"I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."

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Reference

Biasci, D and Lee JC, et al. A blood-based prognostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut; April 2019; DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318343
Scientists have shown that a brain imaging technique called fMRI can be beaten by the use of two particular mental countermeasures

People have certain physical 'tells' when they conceal information - and studies show that good liars can prevent these 'tells' being detected by displaying physical red herrings of their own.

But scientists have now shown that even a brain imaging technique called fMRI, which in theory is much harder to trick, can be beaten by people who use two particular mental countermeasures.

The work was led by Drs Chun-Wei Hsu and Giorgio Ganis at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with the University of Padova, Italy, and published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

This research is the first to explore the effects of mental countermeasures on brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - and it showed that when people used the countermeasures, the test proved to be 20% less accurate.

How do concealed information tests work?

Concealed information tests work because a person who is hiding something will 'give away' what they are concealing when faced with it in a list. For example, if a thief has stolen a diamond ring, the ring will be more striking to the thief than similar control items such as necklaces and bracelets - and the thief will show physiological signs (e.g. sweating) that reveal their guilt.

However, these tests based on physiological signs are easy to beat as perpetrators can artificially alter them when seeing a control item, therefore confusing the test. To overcome this problem, researchers moved to methods that look directly at brain activation using fMRI.

An fMRI machine tracks blood flow to activated brain areas. The assumption in concealed information detection is that the brain will show signs of recognition when presented with the concealed items while exerting extra effort to conceal signs of such recognition, and so the brain regions that do more work will get more blood. Such regions light up in scans, and they are primarily involved in directing attention and in decision making.

What did the study show?

In the new study, participants were asked to conceal information about a 'secret' digit they saw inside an envelope.

Researchers taught 20 participants two mental countermeasures. The first was to associate meaningful memories to the control items, making them more significant. The second was to focus on the superficial aspects of the item they were trying to conceal, rather than on the experience of familiarity it evokes, in order to make it less significant.

The results showed that these countermeasures lowered the accuracy of the test by about 20% because it was more difficult for fMRI to find any differences in brain activity. Thus, participants were more likely to be able to hide their concealed information item when using the mental countermeasures.

The research team concluded that in order to improve the robustness of the test, future work needed to identify a way of detecting mental countermeasures, and potentially look at conducting whole-brain analyses, rather than just examining regions of interest.

Lead author Dr Chun-Wei Hsu, a researcher in the CogNovo research programme at the University of Plymouth, said: "fMRI tests are not currently used by law enforcement in the same way as polygraph tests, but they have been considered for scientific and criminal use as a way of detecting when someone is concealing information. This study shows that the process can be manipulated if someone associates meaningful memories to the control items, or focuses on the aesthetics, rather than the memory, of the item they're trying to hide.

"None of our participants were seasoned liars or criminals, they were just everyday people, so before this test can even be considered for forensic use, there must be further studies carried out to help identify when someone is using mental countermeasures.

"Deception is a really challenging area of psychology, and the more we can find out about the techniques used to detect it, the better."

Dr Ganis is one of the lead researchers at the upcoming Brain Research & Imaging Centre, which will open in 2020 as the most advanced multi-modal brain imaging facility in the South West.

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The full study, entitled The effect of mental countermeasures on neuroimaging-based concealed information tests, was carried out by the University of Plymouth and the University of Padova, Italy. It is available to view now in the journal Human Brain Mapping (doi: 10.1002/hbm24567).
The president of the British Pakistani Youth Council who previously hosted David Cameron on a visit to Birmingham once said he would 'salute' Adolf Hitler if he 'killed more Jews than Muslims' in a newly-uncovered Facebook post.

Kamran Ishtiaq, 37, says he set up the group in 2009 to 'focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people' and 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

But in 2014 he posted a picture of the Nazi dictator and when questioned about it said 'I would salute him still if he killed 90 Muslims and 92 Jews.'

His comments have caused outrage in Birmingham with MP Khalid Mahmood calling for authorities to investigate him.

And when questioned about his remarks, Mr Ishtiaq said he stood by the statement.

British Pakistani Youth Council president Kamran Ishtiaq, pictured with David Cameron when the politician visited Birmingham's Muslim community in 2007, once said he would 'salute Hitler if he killed more Jews than Muslims', it has been revealed

Mr Ishtiaq posted a pictured of Hitler on his Facebook in 2014, pictured, and made the comments when challenged by others

On the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, he added: 'Now (sic) why he [Hitler] is my hero cuz, he just killed Jews, didn't get a chance to kill Muslims... lol.'

Asked if he felt the same way about Jews now, Mr Ishtiaq, who welcomed David Cameron to his grocery shop in 2007 during a political visit, said: 'To be honest with you, I feel that about the Jews who are killing the Palestinians now.

'Not the Jews who are leaving Israel - there are Jews who support Palestine. I was reading today in the media that there are Jews leaving Israel because Israel didn't live up to their expectations.

'OK, but Jews, American Jews, yes I feel like that about them. The ones who are murdering the Palestinians. I do feel that about them.

'And what I wrote there, it's about the Jews.'

He also said Hitler was his 'hero' because he 'didn't get a chance to kill Muslims'. The 37-year-old said he stood by his comments this week, but claimed he was not talking about all Jews, but only 'Jews who kill Muslims'

He added: 'When I say Jews, it's not the Jews fighting the Jewish killers of Palestinians, the Jews who are with Muslims, but the Jews which are killing the Palestinians, yes. The murderers.

'I mean if anything happened to any Jewish community here my youths would be there frontline to support them. Jewish people here are not Palestinian-killing like the Jews over there.

'They're peaceful like us Muslims here. They don't want nothing to do with that.

'It's like the terrorists. You can't hate all Muslims because you hate terrorists. You can't hate all Jews because you hate the killing Jews.'

Asked about those killed by the Nazis, Mr Ishtiaq said he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

He said: 'To be honest, I don't believe that. Every attack, anything on Jews is exaggerated. Yeah. I think that was an exaggeration too.

'He killed Jews, yeah. He did kill Jews, there's no doubt in that. He killed Jews. But that figure is a question mark for me.'

Asked why he thought the Nazis killed Jews, he replied: 'We don't know what happened then.

'If they were doing this now, killing Palestinians, we don't know what they done to the Germans at that time.'

Mr Ishtiaq suggested the figure could have been exaggerated and added: 'It [the figure] gives the Jewish people a reason, you know retaliation - "Look what's happened to us? 'We were nearly being ethnic cleansed and have to stick together".

Mr Ishtiaq's (pictured) comments have been condemned in Birmingham and MP Khalid Mahmood called for an investigation

'It gives them a point of unity, it gives them a reason to retaliate, revenge, you know, empathy, whatever, you could say.'

On whether Hitler's actions were wrong, he added: ' I can't think for Hitler. I can't think why Hitler killed them. I just made that statement [on Facebook]. So why and how, I couldn't tell you.

'I stand by the statement I made, yes.'

Mr Ishtiaq said his views about Jews were shared by young people he worked with.

He added: 'They feel ten times worse.

'My job is to get that feeling out of them, but I need positives to erase that feeling out of them.

'The Jews, the Israel (sic), have not given me a positive. Them feelings are getting day by day worse after what the Israelis are doing.'

His group does not appear to have a website but does have a Facebook page that lists him as president and has not been updated since early 2016.

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Barr, said Mr Ishtiaq's remarks had no place in society.

He said: 'Clearly, these are very inflammatory, offensive, anti-Semitic remarks which have no place in society, in Birmingham, in the UK or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.

'Nor should we in any way look to try to justify that in the way he's tried to justify that.

'It is purely wrong. Hideous comments have been made about killing people and killing the Jewish community - and the non-recognition of the Holocaust is absolutely absurd for someone to make comment.'

Mr Mahmood added: 'These sort of people do not represent the views of the Pakistani or the Muslim community in Birmingham, and where these people exist they should be sought out and held to account for their views.'

Mr Mahmood also called for an investigation into Mr Ishtiaq's role.

He said: 'He is holding these views, he has access to young people. I think it is a serious matter for the authorities to look at.

'The authorities need to have a clear look and investigate this issue, because it certainly brings the whole of the community into disrepute and certainly we're not where the community wants to be at all.'

Mr Ishtiaq, pictured with Mr Cameron at his shop in 2007, said he took over the youth council in 2009 and wanted to 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

Kamran Ishtiaq previously worked as a store manager at his family's grocery business, with which he is no longer linked.

He says he took over as President of the British Pakistani Youth Council in 2009 and talks about the group 'building bridges' on his LinkedIn page.

He wrote: 'The BPYC is a national group of young people who, whilst recognising our faith and ethnic heritage, focus on the present and look to the future.

'We focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people. As the President I lead to work proactively with the mainstream media to counter the negative stereotypes associated with British Pakistani young people and highlight the positive contributions we add to British society.

'This work has led me to work across the UK and Pakistan to build bridges.'

David Cameron visited his family's Raja Brothers grocery business in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, in 2007, when Mr Ishtiaq was manager.

Speaking at the time he said the future prime minister appeared to be a 'normal bloke'.

He said: 'He was relaxed, cool and chilled - you couldn't tell he was the opposition leader.

'When he came here he seemed like a down-to-earth guy. His background didn't show, it was like he was just a normal average guy.

'He was easy to communicate with. I would definitely have him back to work in the shop.'
Sure, people love extolling the virtues of the road less traveled. I get it! Trying new things can be a great thing, and often leads to growth.

But taking another route can also occasionally lead to something uncomfortable and life-threatening...like sinking into a swamp. That's what happened to 83-year-old Alfred Cutting, a man in Staten Island whose seemingly harmless idea to take a shortcut required helicopter intervention.

CBS News reports that on Thursday afternoon, Cutting missed his bus on the way to a doctor's appointment, and decided to walk there instead. He then remembered a shortcut he'd taken in the past, and wandered over thereexcept that a lot's changed since he last took that route decades ago, namely the fact that it's now a swamp capable of swallowing people.

Cutting said that he fell backwards whle walking and was "drowning" ears-deep in the marsh, yet was somehow able to call 911 on his flip phone for help. Authorities eventually found Cutting near Seaview and Mason Avenues "unable to free himself from a swampy area," according to the NYPD.

Authorities then used a helicopter to hoist Cutting up from the wetlands, as The New York Post reports. An officer harnessed Cutting to himself, then pulled him up and out of the muck. He was then taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he sustained minor injuries and is probably rethinking all of his life's shortcuts.


By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked billionaire investor Carl Icahn's company for information about trades in crane maker Manitowoc, Icahn Enterprises disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, in its first acknowledgement of such a probe. Icahn Enterprises said it received a subpoena after critics questioned the timing of Manitowoc stock sales Icahn, who briefly served as an unpaid adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, made before his administration announced steep steel tariffs in March 2018. Questions had swirled about whether the sales were prompted by inside information about Trump's plans. The stocks of many U.S. industrial companies, major consumers of steel, fell that day after the announcement, with Manitowoc losing more than 6%. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises in June 2018, the company said in the filing. "We cooperated with the request and provided documents in response to the subpoena." The U.S. Attorney's office and Icahn's office had no immediate comment. Manitowoc did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors in Manhattan have a history of pursuing major cases over insider trading on Wall Street, famously securing the trial conviction of hedge manager Raj Rajaratnam and a guilty plea from the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. Icahn sold roughly one-third of his stake in Manitowoc, which uses steel to make its equipment, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22, 2018. Trump said on March 1 that he would impose 15% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on imported aluminum to make domestic production more attractive. In response to news reports about his stock sales, Icahn said he cut his position in Manitowoc for "legitimate investment reasons" and dismissed any speculation that his sale of shares was prompted by knowledge about Trump's plans. Icahn, who has been friendly with Trump for decades, has been a sounding board for Trump and was instrumental in vetting people for key positions before Trump was inaugurated in 2017. He stepped down as an unpaid special adviser to Trump in August 2017. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond; Editing by Richard Chang)
(Corrects to show all 11 board members are not Waterton nominees in 1st paragraph)

May 3 (Reuters) - Hudbay Minerals Inc said on Friday it had agreed with Waterton Global Resource Management Inc, its second largest shareholder, to elect a slate of 11 board members that includes some of the nominees proposed by both parties.

The agreement settles a long-drawn out proxy contest with the private equity firm, which nominated five directors to the the Canadian miner's board.

Waterton, which owns a 12.1 percent stake in Hudbay Minerals, had recently filed a suit against Hudbay in a bid to stop it from soliciting proxies for its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 7.

Both companies have also agreed to look for a successor as board chairman to Alan Hibben. After he steps down as chair, Hibben will remain on the board until the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

Much of Waterton's ire against Hudbay surrounds alleged talks the company had to acquire Chile's Mantos Copper for about $780 million last year, which Bloomberg reported in October. (Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
The airline industry has historically been a lousy one to invest in. It's sensitive to the economy, capital-intensive, highly regulated, and hypercompetitive. Making matters worse has been poor management decisions by some of the top airlines that have led to numerous bankruptcies over the years.

But with all the bankruptcies, wars, fuel-cost spikes, and recessions, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has stood tall for almost half a century. An early investment in Southwest would make even Walmart millionaires jealous.

I don't expect Southwest to be a home-run investment, but I do think it can outperform the broader market. Here are the main reasons I decided to buy shares of the low-fare giant recently.

An airplane sitting on a runway.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Industry-leading profitability

Since its founding in the 1970s, Southwest has prided itself on delivering best-in-class service and competitive fares. The formula of flying short routes, driving up productivity by flying one type of aircraft, and stripping out extraneous operating costs like in-flight meals has made Southwest the industry's most profitable airline since the late 1970s. Even with smaller airlines like Spirit Airlines trying to copy the low-cost model, Southwest still maintains industry-leading margins and returns on invested capital.

Southwest is the only airline that has turned a profit for 46 consecutive years, and that's while its competitors, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United (now United Continental Holdings, US Airways (now operated by American Airlines), and TWA filed for bankruptcy between 2000 and 2011.

2. Industry-leading financial fortitude

Southwest is the only airline with a credit rating of A- or better from the credit rating firm Moody's. The company has more cash than debt on its balance sheet and generated $2.97 billion in free cash flow over the past year.

The company's financial strength makes it a good dividend stock, too. The dividend yield is currently below average at 1.23%, but that's because Southwest pays out only 14% of its earnings as dividends. The important thing is that Southwest has increased the dividend by 236% over the past five years.

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With a low payout, a history of raising the dividend, and growth initiatives underway (more on this below), Southwest should be a great dividend growth stock for years to come.

3. Valuation

I love looking for fast-growing companies that could become multibaggers, but I equally enjoy looking for industry leaders that are on sale.

Southwest stock is cheap. It trades for a trailing P/E of 12.3 and a forward P/E of 10 based on next year's earnings estimates. That's at the low end of its trading range over the past 10 years. This is for a company that analysts expect to grow earnings by 12% per year over the next five years.

4. Track record of growth

Those growth estimates seem very reasonable, given that adjusted earnings per share climbed about 300% over the past five years. Much of that increase was from a significant improvement in operating margin, as revenue has increased only by 8.8% per year since 2009.

Keep in mind that Southwest's recent growth has come while there has been much skepticism about whether the low-cost pioneer would be able to maintain its lead, given the heightened competition over the past decade. While competitors have emerged from bankruptcy with a renewed focus on profitability, Southwest continues to maintain high returns on capital by modernizing its fleet, investing in facilities, and introducing new technologies, such as a new reservation system on the customer side and a new maintenance system on the company side, all designed to increase profitability.

Of course, staying ahead of the curve with these investments is a lot easier when you generate the best margins among your peers.

5. New growth opportunities

Management has big goals for the future. Its vision is "to become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline." It has already achieved that domestically, so now it is turning its sights on international expansion. However, consistent with its strategy in the early years, Southwest is expanding in baby steps.

First, Southwest is expanding its routing to Hawaii, which is management's highest growth priority for 2019 and 2020. After a delay, Southwest initiated its Hawaii flights in March. The delay in launching the Hawaii service caused some pressure to margins during the first quarter, as the company's fleet was underutilized. But management said during the fourth-quarter conference call in February that they expect the cost pressure to ease up in the second half of the year.

The new reservation system is also adding to the company's top line. Southwest rolled out this new system in 2017, and last year, it generated $200 million in additional pretax profit. Management expects the annual benefit from the new system to reach $500 million in incremental pretax profit by 2020, which is about a quarter of the company's current annual net income.

A well-run company built for sustainable returns

In recent years, Southwest has faced increasing competition, especially from ultralow-cost carriers, but Southwest stock has still outperformed the broader market, delivering a return of 120% over the past five years. Management's relentless focus on keeping costs down while investing in new moneymaking opportunities, such as new routes and technologies, should keep Southwest generating a healthy profit and paying a rising dividend for a long time.

On top of all the under-the-hood initiatives that could improve company performance, what I'm most enthusiastic about is the potential for extra juice to the stock's return stemming from its low valuation. The combination of a well-run business and a cheap valuation is what ultimately persuaded me to pull the trigger.

More From The Motley Fool

John Ballard owns shares of Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Brazilian aviation company Embraer is seen during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair (LABACE) at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil planemaker Embraer SA said on Friday that it delivered 11 commercial planes in the first quarter of 2019, three fewer than in the same period last year, as it works to cede control of that profitable division to Boeing Co .

The company said its overall backlog, a gauge of future revenue, stood at $16 billion, maintaining a recovery from a 5-year low that it had recorded in October of last year. The backlog at that time stood at $13.6 billion.

Embraer also said it had delivered 11 executive jets in the quarter, the same number as in the same period in 2018. Once it completes the separation of its commercial planes segment, Embraer's bottom line will become more reliant on the performance of this division, which has posted losses in recent quarters.

Boeing and Embraer's commercial aviation partnership, which would consolidate a global passenger jet duopoly, has been approved by the Brazilian government and by Embraer's shareholders but still needs regulatory approval from several countries.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic should not initially rule out any Chinese or Russian companies from plans to build up new-generation 5G mobile networks or expand its fleet of nuclear power stations, new Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said in an interview.

After a cabinet shuffle, Havlicek is stepping into the industry post on Tuesday as the state pushes ahead with both projects that face security questions over the possible participation of China's Huawei in 5G, as well as Russian and Chinese involvement in the nuclear expansion.

Havlicek said security would play a key factor in both sectors and warnings would not be ignored. But first, conditions for the expansions have to be outlined and discussion with key players should take place, he said.

"We have to evaluate all of the factors," Havlicek told Reuters on Monday evening, before his official appointment to the government on Tuesday.

"But definitely it is not acceptable from the business point of view, and communication point of view, to in advance reduce the group of potential investors, potential suppliers," he said.

In December, the Czech cyber watchdog NUKIB warned about possible risks from using Huawei equipment. The United States has also urged allies not to use Huawei products, saying they could enable Chinese state espionage - which the company denies.

Similarly, in nuclear power, a Czech government advisory body recommended last year security settings that would indirectly exclude Chinese or Russian suppliers in the multi-billion dollar expansion project.

NEW PLAYER

The state is holding an auction for new 5G frequencies later this year, seeking to draw a fourth operator to the country to boost competition against O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile and Vodafone and push down data prices, among the highest in Europe.

"I think the opportunity exists that a new multinational or Czech player is coming," Havlicek said, adding there had been talks with around 10 interested parties, including American, South Korean, French and Czech.

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The nuclear expansion has six potential bidders: China's CGN, Atmea - a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and EDF Group - Westinghouse, South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP), French state-owned Areva and Russia's Rosatom.

Czech utility CEZ, which runs two nuclear power plants accounting for about half of its traditional production, and the state, its 70 percent shareholder, have been stuck for years over financing the construction of new units.

In February, Prime Minister Andrej Babis outlined a plan under which the state would control construction after signing a contract with CEZ. The state would then have power to halt the project if power prices don't support it.

Havlicek said he hoped to have the contract with CEZ done in the autumn.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Potter)
May 3 (Reuters) - The city of Detroit said on Friday it agreed to pay $107.6 million for nearly 215 acres of land needed to construct a new $1.6 billion Fiat Chrysler Automobiles assembly plant.

The automaker also plans to invest $900 million to retool and modernize its Jefferson North Assembly Plant, enabling the creation of nearly 5,000 new jobs, the Mayor's office said.

The cost of purchasing the land will be split between Detroit and the state of Michigan.

Earlier in the day, FCA said new U.S. pickup truck models would help achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza? Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of

When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza?

Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET

In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of fast-food.

The pizza industry meets blockchain technology once again as #SingularityNET and @Dominos Malaysia and Singapore divisions announce a partnership leveraging SingularityNETs AGI token ecosystem. Read more here: https://t.co/x5hB8EaK2N pic.twitter.com/t9jRkzc3CQ  SingularityNET (@singularity_net) May 1, 2019

Does that mean your pizza will end up being delivered by a robot? Well, not exactly. Not for the time being, at least.

As the examples of predictive text serve to highlight, AI goes way beyond making robots work. SingularityNET is, in fact, a decentralised blockchain-based AI platform that allows developers to build and deploy artificial intelligence services at scale.

That makes it particularly interesting for large companies that suffer from multiple inefficiencies in the supply chain or delivery, such as Dominos Pizza.

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For now, though, the partnership will be limited to the Malaysia & Singapore arm of the fast-food giant, aimed at accelerating the companys growth in this region.

According to the release, this will allow SingularityNETs decentralised AI community to build innovative algorithms and solutions that will enhance Dominos operational capabilities and delight its rapidly growing customer base in Malaysia and Singapore.

What exactly will innovative algorithms do for Dominos Pizza?

The details of the partnership are a little fuzzy at the moment. After all, eluding to innovative algorithms and delighting customers doesnt exactly explain what the two companies are hoping to achieve.

Reading between the lines, however, it seems that AI can be particularly useful when it comes to automation and the supply chain. By using scalable algorithms, Dominos will be able to solve many of its most pressing challenges in logistics.

This means that the company may be able to achieve economies at scale by automating part of its delivery operations and even consolidating its operations centres.

Dominos CEO for the region, Ba U Shan-Ting, enthused SingularityNETs AI algorithms and services will allow us to explore these efficiencies at scale.

SingularityNETs CEO, Ben Goertzel, praised Dominos for its commitment to innovation. He said that we were moving into a new phase of society and economy, and that all businesses would need to embrace AI of some kind in order to survive and flourish in the new climate.

Specific to this partnership, he remarked:

We are proud to embark on a future partnership with Dominos to achieve their ambition of becoming the leader in pizza delivery and customer brand loyalty by 2020.

A pioneering company where emerging technology is concerned

Many large companies have jumped on the blockchain train in some way or another (just think Walmart or Carrefour). However, Dominos is the first to test out a blockchain-based AI solution. This gives the company a certain amount of kudos for being pioneering in the space.

Shan-Ting waxed lyrical about the Dominos constant commitment to innovation (I mean, what other company would combine salted caramel with pizza?). But while using vague words like mission, vision, innovation and excellence may come over as a little vapid, the company is expecting plenty of tangible results. These include greater efficiency for customers through automation and the consolidation of various operations centres.

SingularityNET, as part of the partnership, will be delivering AI-centric workshops, and conducting feasibility studies to see how to best impact Dominos business operations. At the same time, Dominos will widen its ability to access scalable algorithms that can help the company overcome its bottlenecks in the supply chain and logistics.

The partnership marks a key milestone for SingularityNET as part of its quest to bring enterprises to the AI marketplace.

So will you be getting your pizza delivered by a robot?

This is a pilot project starting in Singapore and Malaysia where Dominos Pizza has over 260 stores. The company will be using AI to speed up delivery, improve customer loyalty, and make cost efficiencies.

So, if its successful, this could be one more step toward bringing blockchain adoption to the masses. You can probably even expect that a robot will take your delivery by telephone, or even put your pizza together. Dont hold your breath that youll see Sophia knocking on your door any time soon though.

The post Your Dominos pizza may soon be delivered by a robot appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Gold and silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) had a rough year in 2018, with its stock falling around 40%. There were a number of factors behind that, including weak earnings, soft commodity prices, a strike at a key mine, and a heavy debt load. But Hecla also made some investments in its future, expanding into Nevada via acquisition. It believes that move, including mine-level improvements at the purchased assets, will help strengthen results in 2019 and 2020. When you look to the longer term, though, the company's future is likely to be driven by two investments in Montana. And the news there hasn't been very good lately.

What it means to be a miner

Running a mining business is a complex, expensive, and labor-intensive job. From a big-picture perspective, a miner has to find a location that might have precious metals (or other key materials, like copper). It then has to get permission to start building a mine. Assuming it can get its plans approved, the company will build a mine. And -- not a small issue -- it has to hope that the mine actually lives up to its predevelopment expectations. Lower ore grades or more-difficult-than-expected mining conditions can quickly turn a great plan into a bad investment.

A man standing at the mouth of a mine with the sun behind him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Once built, a mine is operated until it is no longer economically feasible to run, at which point the company must return the land to its pre-mining state. A lot can go wrong here, but there's one thing inherent to the process -- each mine has a life cycle and will eventually close down.

Indeed, mines are depleting assets. Once you pull an ounce of gold, silver, or copper (or whatever is in the mine) out of the ground, it is gone. And once you pull all of the commodity from the mine, you need to find a new mine to replace it, or the business will start to shrink. Running a mining company is like running on a treadmill in some ways: You can never stop to rest because you always have to be on the lookout for the next mine.

Story continues

Bad news for Hecla

This is exactly why Hecla investors need to be concerned about the fact that a judge recently blocked a permit for Hecla's Rock Creek mine project in Montana. This is one of two mines in the state that the company is planning to build in close proximity to each other. The other proposed mine is called Montanore. Bad permitting news at one mine is a bad omen for the other mine. Hecla's stock dropped around 10% following news of the adverse judgment at Rock Creek.

There's a couple of reasons for this. First, these two mines are in close proximity to the company's operating Lucky Friday mine in Idaho. The goal is to benefit from economies of scale by running a number of assets in the same general region. That will help lower costs for Hecla, which would be a good thing. Hecla's all-in sustaining costs (AISC, which includes operating costs and investments to maintain operations) for silver in 2018 were $11.44 per ounce, versus a year-end silver spot price of $15.40. Although by this metric it's profitable on the silver side of things, the company's AISC costs for silver rose over $3.50 per ounce last year. As for gold, Hecla's AISC were $1,226 last year compared to a year-end gold price of $1,282 per ounce, which isn't much breathing room. Keeping a lid on costs would be a good thing for the miner.

HL Chart

HL data by YCharts.

However, it's the second reason for the stock decline that should really worry investors. Rock Creek and Montanore are the company's two largest projects. The inferred resources (the amount of a commodity a miner's earliest estimates of the location's potential) at these mines dwarf any of its other long-term projects. Putting some numbers on that, the company hopes to find 148 million ounces of silver at Rock Creek and 183 million ounces of silver at Montanore. Together, these two assets make up 70% of Hecla's inferred silver resources.

In addition to the silver, Hecla hopes to find 658,000 tons of copper at Rock Creek and 759,000 tons of copper at Montanore, together making up virtually all of its inferred copper resources. If these numbers are close to accurate, Rock Creek and Montanore could rank among Hecla's largest operating mines.

There's no near-term worry, because the company still has plenty of silver and gold to mine for now, but every ounce it pulls out of the ground is one less ounce it has to mine in the future. And eventually, it will need to bring on new mines. So the setback at Rock Creek is notable because it will clearly be an important mine...but only if it gets built. The same holds true for nearby Montanore, which will likely experience the same environmental and regulatory headwinds that impact Rock Creek. If these two mines don't pan out, Hecla will have a big problem on its hands.

Far in the future, but still a concern

At this point, Rock Creek and Montanore are nowhere near close to contributing to Hecla's production. And near-term financial results aren't really going to be impacted by the trials and tribulations at these two proposed mines. That said, these are important long-term investments for Hecla. If they don't pan out, the miner will have to go back to the drawing board and find other investments on which to build its future. That, in the end, is why Rock Creek and Montanore should be on your radar, even if they aren't material to today's financial results.

More From The Motley Fool

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Signage is seen at the Huawei offices in Reading, Britain, May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies said it will "vigorously oppose" a motion filed by U.S. prosecutors on Thursday to disqualify its lead defense lawyer from a case accusing the Chinese company of bank fraud and sanctions violations.

According to a filing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. government sought to remove James Cole from the case.

Cole was the No.2 official at the Justice Department between 2011 and 2015, a period when the United States was obtaining information on how Huawei might have been doing business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The filing did not make public why it is seeking to remove Cole from the case. In a letter to the court, prosecutors said they had filed a sealed, classified motion to disqualify Cole and expected to file a public version by May 10.

Cole, the former U.S. deputy attorney general, is now a partner at law firm Sidley Austin in Washington. He declined to comment.

Huawei said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it chose Jim Cole as its lawyer in 2017. "We have seen no facts from the government that would justify disqualifying him and denying Huawei its constitutional rights. Huawei will vigorously oppose the governments motion," it said.

The case against Huawei has ratcheted up tensions between Beijing and Washington as the world's two economic powers try to close a trade deal.

Angering the Chinese, the company's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of U.S. authorities.

Huawei was charged with bank and wire fraud, violating sanctions against Iran and obstructing justice. Meng, who must answer to some of the charges, has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition. She is due in court in Vancouver on May 8.

Cole entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the company and its U.S. subsidiary on March 14 in Brooklyn.

Story continues

The crux of the case is that Meng and Huawei allegedly conspired to defraud HSBC Holdings Plc and other banks by misrepresenting Huaweis relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, a suspected front company that operated in Iran.

Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huaweis Iran business.

U.S. authorities claim Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods, technology and services in Iran, and to move money via the international banking system.

U.S. prosecutors said last month they planned to use information about Huawei obtained through secret surveillance in the case.

In March, Reuters detailed how U.S. authorities secretly tracked Huawei's activities, including by collecting information copied from electronic devices carried by Chinese telecom executives traveling through airports.

In February, Reuters exclusively reported how an internal HSBC probe helped lead to the U.S. charges against Huawei and its CFO.

The indictment references reporting by Reuters from six years ago that Skycom offered to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator. The reporting detailed links between Huawei and Skycom, including that Meng had served on Skycom's board of directors in 2008 and 2009.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The ticker symbol and company logo for InterContinental Hotels Group is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Karina Dsouza and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group Plc said fewer people checked into its hotels in the first quarter due to lower demand in China, South Korea and France.

InterContinental, whose 13 brands include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, reported a 0.3 percent rise in room revenue as strong demand in the Latin America and Caribbean markets was offset by weakness in the Greater China region.

Occupany rates slipped 0.2 percent in the period

The FTSE 100 company's shares fell 3.3 percent to 4,833 pence in the first hour of trading before cutting their losses to 1 percent by 0915 GMT.

IHG reported a 3 percent fall in revenue per available room (RevPaR) in France as it felt the impact of the "yellow vest" protest.

In South Korea, the company reported a 30 percent plunge in RevPar, because of tough comparisons due to the Winter Olympics hosted in the country last year.

The company has been focusing on business customers and expanding its luxury offerings to fight the rising challenges posed by companies such as Airbnb and online travel agents.

Weak demand in China's smaller cities meant the company reported flat room revenue. Accor SA, Europe's biggest hotel group, recently said weakness in Asia held back growth in RevPAR in its first quarter.

InterContinental Chief Executive Officer Keith Barr said on a call that China, where the company operates 400 hotels, would continue to be an important market.

Barr has steered the company towards affluent Chinese customers to lessen dependence on highly mature U.S. markets, while aggressively rebranding to compete against the likes of Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Writing by Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile programme and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

Story continues

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The Latest on North Korea test firing short-range missiles (all times local):

6:50 a.m.

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire drill of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons.

The report by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North launching several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast.

The agency says Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over Saturday's drills and stressed frontline troops to keep a "high alert posture" and enhance combat ability to "defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance of the country."

___

11:10 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he still believes a nuclear deal with North Korea will happen, after the country fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Trump tweeted Saturday that he believes that leader Kim Jong Un "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it."

Added Trump: "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A diplomatic summit between Trump and Kim over the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons broke down earlier this year without a deal. North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

___

4 p.m.

South Korea says it's "very concerned" about North Korea's weapons launches, calling them a violation of last year's inter-Korean agreements to reduce tensions between the countries.

The South Korean government says it urges North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear negotiations.

South Korea says it's working with the United States to find out details of the launches such as what type of projectiles North Korea fired earlier Saturday.

The South Korean statement came after a meeting of the presidential national security adviser, the defense minister, the intelligence chief and other officials following the North Korean launches at the presidential Blue House.

Story continues

___

3:20 p.m.

The United States and South Korea are analyzing North Korea's short-range missile launches while "carefully responding" to Pyongyang's action.

That's according to South Korean Foreign Ministry statement following telephone talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart in Seoul.

Later Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also talked by phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and they agreed to keep coordinating while also "carefully responding" to the launches.

___

2:45 p.m.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have held telephone talks after North Korea launched several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says Kono, who is currently visiting Angola, and Pompeo talked for about 10 minutes Saturday and confirmed the two sides will share information on the development and stay in close contact.

The two ministers also agreed to cooperate with South Korea.

Japan's Defense Ministry says the projectiles weren't a security threat and didn't reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim Jong Un.

___

11:45 a.m.

The White House says it is monitoring North Korean short-range missile launches.

In a terse statement, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says, "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea early Saturday launched several short-range missiles off its eastern coast into the ocean.

If it's confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

___

11:15 a.m.

Japan's Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It says at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

___

10:45 a.m.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has launched "several" short-range missiles off its eastern coast.

The military said in a statement Saturday that the missiles flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before they landed in the water.

The South had previously said the North launched a single missile.

___

10:05 a.m.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says the North's missile was fired from Wonsan on the east coast.

It says South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details of the launch.
wallstreetmarketshutdown.jpg





Wall Street Market, the second-largest darknet market in the world in recent months, has been shut down by international law enforcement agencies, including Europol as well as U.S., German, Dutch and Romanian law enforcement. Three suspected operators of the online marketplace for illegal goods and services have been arrested in Germany, while some of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics were arrested in the United States.

Darknet markets are the digital black markets only accessible through the anonymizing Tor browser; they use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment. Since the pioneering Silk Road was shutdown in 2013, such markets have only grown in popularity. According to research by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published in January 2019, darknet market activity almost doubled throughout 2018, surpassing a yearly volume of $600 million. Back in the days of Silk Road, the record yearly volume never topped $200 million, according to Chainalysis.

One of Silk Roads recent successors, Wall Street Market, offered a platform for selling illegal drugs as well as weapons, hacking software and stolen login credentials. According to Europol, over 1,150,000 user accounts were registered on Wall Street Market, and over 63,000 offers had been placed on the website by more than 5,400 seller accounts. This made Wall Street Market the second-most popular darknet market at the time of closure, Europol noted, presumably behind Dream Market.

The website was ultimately shutdown by German Federal Criminal Police, under the authority of the German Public Prosecutors office, and three suspected operators were arrested. The German police were supported by the Dutch National Police, Europol, Eurojust and various U.S. government agencies including the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice. German authorities also seized 550,000 (approximately $615,500 USD) in cash and six-figure amounts worth of bitcoin and XMR (monero), as well as several vehicles and other evidence.

Story continues

Europols Executive Director Catherine De Bolle commented in a statement published on the Europol website:

These two investigations show the importance of law enforcement cooperation at an international level and demonstrate that illegal activity on the dark web is not as anonymous as criminals may think.

Darknet Disarray

As reported by Bitcoin Magazine last week, Wall Street Market had been in a state of turmoil for several weeks. Following a presumed influx of new users from the also-defunct darknet market Dream Market, Wall Street Market operators started pulling an exit scam, reportedly stealing a total of $14 million to $30 million worth of bitcoin and XMR from user accounts. On top of that, some Wall Street Market users were being blackmailed, as one of the websites moderators threatened to leak identifying information about the users to law enforcement, unless these users paid him 0.05 BTC.

As reported by ZDNet, the same moderator went a step further only days later, as he published the IP address and his login credentials to the darknet market on darknet-focused forum Dread. This not only revealed the location of the Wall Street Market server, which was located in the Netherlands, but also allowed anyone access to the websites administrative section to collect information about users and orders, which reportedly included deanonymizing details like home addresses. Its likely that this is how law enforcement was able to shut down Wall Street Market and arrest suspects, but this has not been confirmed.

The takedown further confirms that the recent darknet market era, with Dream Market and Wall Street Market as market leaders, is coming to and end. Wall Street Market is now officially offline, and Dream Market halted trading weeks ago with its future unclear. While a notice on Dream Market predicted it would shut down on April 30, 2019, the website is still up  though with trading still disabled. The Dream Market replacement website is not online either, as the onion address in the notice is unresponsive.

On top of that, in the same press release, Interpol announced that Finnish authorities shut down yet another darknet market earlier this year. Valhalla, which was previously known under its Finnish name Silkkitie, was one of the oldest darknet markets online, though, according to Finnish customs, the site had been compromised by them since at least 2017. Still, according to Europol, Valhalla had its contents seized by Finnish Customs only this year, in close cooperation with the French National Police.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Monster Beverage Corporation MNST reported solid first-quarter 2019 results, wherein top and bottom lines outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. Notably, this marked the fourth straight positive earnings surprise, with the third consecutive sales beat.



A clear reflection of the companys robust first-quarter performance was visible in a 6.1% increase in its share price during the after-hours trading. Moreover, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock has surged 17.8% year to date, outperforming the industrys growth of 9%. This is mainly attributed to the strong momentum in its energy drinks business.



Q1 Highlights



Monster Beverages earnings of 48 cents per share rose 26.7% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Monster Beverage Corporation Quote

Net sales of $946 million improved 11.2% year over year and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $916.3 million. Moreover, gross sales (net of discounts and returns) rose 10.1% to $1,090.4 million. Robust gross and net sales growth are attributed to strong sales for the Monster Energy brand energy drinks, introduction of new Monster Energy brand energy drink and the launch of Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance energy drinks.



Additionally, net sales to customers outside the United States totaled $274.3 million, up 17.4% year over year. This represented about 30% of total sales in first-quarter 2019 compared with 25.8% in the year-ago quarter. However, top-line growth was partly negated by unfavorable currency that hurt gross and net sales by $25.9 million and $22 million, respectively.



Segmental Performance



Monster Energy Drinks: Net sales at this segment increased 11.5% year over year to $870.4 million. Robust gains from the sale of Monster Energy brand energy drinks and Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance drinks were partly offset by a negative impact of nearly $18.2 million from adverse currency rates.



Strategic Brands: This segment includes a range of energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company KO in addition to its affordable energy brands. Net sales at this segment rose 6.9% to $70.3 million in the first quarter. However, currency headwinds hurt the segments results by $3.8 million.



Other: Net sales at this segment, which includes some products of American Fruits & Flavors sold to independent third parties (AFF Third-Party Products), grew 12.8% year over year to $5.3 million.



Costs & Margins



First-quarter 2019 gross margin remained flat at 60.6%. Gross margin benefited from increased prices for products sold in the United States and Canada along with product sales mix. This was somewhat mitigated by negative geographic sales mix and higher input costs.



Operating expenses increased 11.4% year over year to $262.1 million. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, grew 60 bps to 12.9%. However, selling expenses, as a percentage of net sales, dipped 50 bps to 11%. Meanwhile, distribution costs, as a percentage of sales, declined 10 bps to 3.8%.



Despite higher costs, operating income of $311.5 million increased 11.3% year over year. Meanwhile, the operating margin remained flat at 32.9%.



Other Financials



Monster Beverage ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $618.3 million, and total stockholders' equity of $3,698.8 million.



Moreover, the company bought back 2.6 million shares for about $139 million (excluding broker commissions) in the reported quarter. As of May 2, 2019, it had nearly $20.6 million and $500 million remaining to be bought back under share repurchase plans authorized in August 2018 and February 2019, respectively.



Strategies on Track



Monster Beverage completed its strategic alignment with Coca-Cola system bottlers in the United States, with the allotment of the Kalil Bottling Groups distribution territories in March 2019 and the transition of the Big Geyser Inc. territory in April 2019. Further, the company is on track with the transitioning of the Monster Energy brand to Coca-Cola system bottlers in more countries.



Furthermore, management remains committed toward product launches to boost growth. In the first quarter, it successfully launched the Monster Energy Ultra Paradise, the Monster Dragon Tea line, Reign Total Body Fuel line of high-performance energy drinks and Java Monster Swiss Chocolate in the United States. Additionally, it rolled out many Monster Energy and Strategic Brands energy drinks in existing international geographies.



Moreover, the company is set to launch the new strategically preferred affordable energy brand  Predator  in additional international markets in 2019.



2 Better-Ranked Soft Drink Stocks to Count on



PepsiCo Inc. PEP has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 7.2%. Further, it has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



New Age Beverage Corporation NBEV, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, witnessed positive estimate revisions for the current year in the last 30 days.



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(Adds State Department's decline to comment in paragraph 9)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet.

Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Story continues

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

SECURITY GUARANTEE

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cold temperatures and rain didnt dampen the spirits of volunteers in northeastern Pennsylvania. The community united to demonstrate its support for the Hanover Township Fire Department at the fourth annual Ladders and Laces 5k. The annual race coupled with Team Navient contributions raised $17,000 to help the local fire departments efforts in keeping their firefighters and community members safe.



We cant express our deepest appreciation to Navient for their thoughtfulness and support to our department, said Joseph Temerantz, department chief, Hanover Township Fire Department. Without their support we would not be able to provide the level of service that we currently do to those who live, work and travel through our fire protection district. Last year, we responded to 941 calls for service and we can truly say we delivered a high level of service to those in need because of Navients support.

This years donations will help purchase new safety equipment and technology including two water rescue boats, several sets of fire gear and a smaller and more versatile jaws of life tool. In addition, funds will also help purchase a fire pup costume to support fire prevention awareness among children. The fire department provides activities for more than 400 children each year.

Despite the unfavorable weather, the 3.1 mile race attracted about 140 runners and many supporters and volunteers. This year, the event offered a race registration fee discount to students.

Were grateful for the Hanover Township Fire Department efforts in keeping our community safe, said Lisa Stashik, vice president, Navient. The Ladders and Laces 5k is our way of showing our gratitude.

In addition to the race, employees raised funds to support the fire department through Navient's popular Jeans BeCause program. The program allows participating employees a "pass" to dress casually on certain days.

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Since 2016, the annual race coupled with employee contributions has raised $68,000. Funds have aided the construction of a firehouse, the purchase of a state-of-the-art fire engine and life-saving equipment.

Connect with @Navient on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Medium .

About Navient

Navient (NAVI) is a leader in education loan management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare and government clients at the federal, state and local levels. The company helps its clients and millions of Americans achieve financial success through services and support. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Navient also employs team members in western New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and other locations. Learn more at navient.com .

Contact:

Media: Brianna Huff, 302-283-2973, brianna.huff@navient.com

NAVICP
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- electroCore, Inc. (ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, today announced that two oral presentations featuring non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) will be presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) to be held on May 4-10, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Abraham Nagy will present findings highlighting real-world evidence of cluster headache patients using nVNS. Dr. Maike Moller will present data demonstrating the effect of nVNS on specific brain regions providing further mechanistic support for the efficacy of nVNS in multiple headache conditions.



The pairing of real-world evidence-based findings and mechanistic rationale further support the use of gammaCoreTM, specifically as an early-line treatment. While the use of traditional pharmacologic options is valuable, the mounting evidence highlights the potential for gammaCore to provide patients with an effective, safe and convenient non-drug option, said Francis Amato, chief executive officer of electroCore.

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) and the Trigeminal Autonomic Reflex: An FMRI Study

Session: S20.002: Headache Imaging and Physiology and Episodic Syndromes Associated with Migraine

Presenter: Dr. Maike Moller of the Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

Time: 3:30  5:30 p.m. EDT

Title: Real-world Use of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Acute Treatment of Pain in Episodic Cluster Headache Attacks: Results From a Patient Registry

Session: S38.006: Headache: Clinical Trials II

Presenter: Dr. Abraham Nagy, Chairman of Neurology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 1:00  3:00 p.m. EDT

gammaCoreTM (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) is intended to provide non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on the side of the neck. gammaCore is indicated for:

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Adjunctive use for the preventive treatment of cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with migraine headache in adult patients.

The safety and effectiveness of gammaCore (nVNS) have not been established in the acute treatment of chronic cluster headache

gammaCore has not been shown to be effective for the preventive treatment of migraine headache

The long-term effects of the chronic use of gammaCore have not been evaluated

Safety and efficacy of gammaCore have not been evaluated in the following patients, and therefore it is NOT indicated for: Patients with an active implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker, hearing aid implant, or any implanted electronic device Patients diagnosed with narrowing of the arteries (carotid atherosclerosis) Patients who have had surgery to cut the vagus nerve in the neck (cervical vagotomy) Pediatric patients Pregnant women Patients with clinically significant hypertension, hypotension, bradycardia, or tachycardia

Patients should not use gammaCore if they: Have a metallic device such as a stent, bone plate, or bone screw implanted at or near their neck Are using another device at the same time (e.g., TENS Unit, muscle stimulator) or any portable electronic device (e.g., mobile phone)



NOTE: This list is not all inclusive. Please refer to the gammaCore Instructions for Use for all of the important warnings and precautions before using or prescribing this product.

About electroCore, Inc.

electroCore, Inc. is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company dedicated to improving patient outcomes through its platform non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy initially focused on the treatment of multiple conditions in neurology and rheumatology. The companys current indications are for the preventative treatment of cluster headache and acute treatment of migraine and episodic cluster headache.

For more information, visit www.electrocore.com .

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about electroCore's business prospects and product development plans, its pipeline or potential markets for its technologies, and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "anticipates," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," other words of similar meaning, derivations of such words and the use of future dates. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to pursue electroCores business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies, the ability to commercialize gammaCore, competition in the industry in which electroCore operates and overall market conditions. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and electroCore assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents electroCore files with the SEC available at www.sec.gov .

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors

617-535-7743

hans@lifesciadvisors.com

or

Media Contact:

Sara Zelkovic

LifeSci Public Relations

646-876-4933

sara@lifescipublicrelations.com




By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Chile's mining minister Baldo Prokurica said royalties for the ultralight battery metal lithium would be set on a "case-by-case" basis from now on, using a negotiation model similar to that used with top producers in Chile's Atacama salt flat.

State development agency Corfo struck deals with top miners SQM and Albemarle in previous years that set a sliding scale for royalties, depending on the price of the metal.

Prokurica, speaking late Monday, did not specify what rates would be used as a starting point for any new negotiations.

"This will be studied on a case by case basis, considering Corfo's experience with its holdings in the Salar de Atacama," Prokurica told Reuters.

Chile is the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, which is used in the batteries that power cell phones, electric vehicles and other consumer goods. Nearly one-third of the world's supply of lithium comes from Atacama, a sprawling salt flat in the country's northern desert.

Several companies, including Wealth Minerals, Lithium Power International, and Bearing Lithium , among others, are advancing projects in Chile to take advantage of surging demand.

Chile's government had been studying various options for royalty payments, from a system that would put lithium royalties on par with those of copper, as well as additional taxes to spur development in the regions where the metal is mined. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Dave Sherwood Editing by James Dalgleish)
Friday, May 3, 2019

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Pfizers shares have underperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry in the past six months (-5.7% vs. -1%). Pfizer beat estimates for earnings and sales in the first quarter. Pfizer expects continued strong growth of key product franchises, including Ibrance, Eliquis, and Xeljanz in 2019.

However, The Zacks analyst thinks loss of exclusivity on key drugs in the United States, mainly Lyrica and currency headwinds will likely significantly hurt 2019 sales. Other top-line headwinds are weak sales in the sterile injectables portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition.

To offset the threat of generic competition, Pfizer is strengthening its pipeline as well as oncology portfolio. Pfizer looks well positioned to deliver several potential new breakthrough innovative medicines in the next five years, which can drive long-term growth. Biosimilars are also expected to contribute to growth in 2019.

(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>> ).

Shares of Intel have outperformed the Zacks General Semiconductor industry in the past year, losing -4.3% vs. a decline of -7.4%. Intel reported stellar first-quarter results. Rising demand witnessed in companys higher performance products, both in data center and client domains acted as a catalyst.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company is benefiting from robust performance of the DCG, IoT Group, NVM Solutions and PSG. The companys strategy of expanding TAM beyond CPU to adjacent product lines like silicon photonics, fabric, network ASICs, and 3D XPoint memory is bearing fruit. However, a declining trend in PC shipments is detrimental to business prospects of Intel, which continues to depend substantially on PC sales.

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Further, the company provided a tepid forthcoming outlook. Weaknesses in demand from China, softness in NAND flash pricing trends, delay in transition to 10-nm process are other concerns. Moreover, intensifying competition remains a headwind.

(You can read the full research report on Intel here >>> ).

Buy-Ranked HCA Healthcares shares have outperformed the Zacks Hospital industry in the past year, gaining +28.7% vs. +13.1%. HCA Healthcares first-quarter 2019 beat expectations and increased year over year on the back of higher admissions and revenues.

The Zacks analyst thinks its top line has been growing over the last several quarters on higher admissions, volume growth, etc. Multiple acquisitions helped the company gain a strong foothold in the industry, fueling its inorganic growth.

A strong balance sheet and free cash flow are other positives for the company. However, high operating expenses are persistently weighing on its margins. The company is expected to witness a rise in costs due to its constant growth-related investments. Its high leverage is another concern.

(You can read the full research report on HCA Healthcare here >>> ).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Activision (ATVI), Xilinx (XLNX) and Cummins (CMI).

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

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Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Pfizer's (PFE) New Drugs to Push Sales Amid Generic Woes

Intel (INTC) Rides on Product Rollouts Amid 10nm Delay

Growing Revenues, Inorganic Growth Aid HCA Healthcare (HCA)

Featured Reports

Xilinx (XLNX) Rides on Solid Growth in Communications Market

Per the Zacks analyst, strength across the wireless communications market, driven by the 5G momentum, is a key catalyst for Xilinx.

Investments, Customer Additions Aid American Water (AWK)

Per the Zacks analyst, American Water's investment of $8-$8.6B in next five years to strengthen infrastructure and customer growth via organic and inorganic ways will boost its operations.

Twilio (TWLO) Banks on Burgeoning Active Customer Accounts

Per the Zacks analyst, Twilio's steady focus on introducing products and pursuing its go-to-market sales strategy is helping strengthen its active customer accounts, which is driving the top line.

Cabot (COG) to Benefit from Marcellus Acreage Holdings

The Zacks analyst believes that Cabot's large acreage holdings in the fast-growing Marcellus Shale would support its 2019 production growth target of 20%.

Dolby (DLB) Rides on Solid Licensing Unit, Liquidity Strength

Per the Zacks analyst, Dolby is well poised to gain from increasing content in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, coupled with growth in Dolby Cinema.

Acquisitions, Loan Growth Aid Raymond James' (RJF) Revenues

Per the Zacks analyst, opportunistic acquisitions, strong balance sheet and rise in loan balances will support Raymond James' revenues.

Maxim (MXIM) Rides on Automotive Strength Amid Soft Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, growing production of electric vehicles is aiding Maxim's growth in automotive space.

New Upgrades

Unit &RevPAR Growth to Drive Hilton's (HLT) Performance

Per the Zacks analyst, Hilton's continues to benefit from robust Unit and RevPAR Growth as well as industry-leading loyalty program. For 2019, Hilton anticipates net unit growth of 6.5%.

Cummins (CMI) Gains From North America's Truck Production

Per the Zacks analyst, augmented medium and heavy-duty truck production in North America owing to robust backlog is driving Cummins' engine and component sales.

Harris (HRS) Buoyed by Strong Order Trends & Merger Deal

Per the Zacks analyst, multiple contract wins from U.S. federal customers augur well for Harris' healthy top-line growth. Also, the approval of shareholders for the L3-Harris merger deal is laudable.

New Downgrades

Lower In-Game Revenues, Higher Costs Hurt Activision (ATVI)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower in-game revenues, higher costs and increase in investments is hurting Activision's profitability amid rising competition.

Input Costs & Divestitures to Dent Kellogg's (K) Bottom-Line

Per the Zacks analyst, high input costs are a drag on Kellogg's bottom-line, as also witnessed in the first quarter. Further, management has cut the view for 2019 due to divestitures.

Soft Sales at Unum International, High Costs Ail Unum (UNM)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower sales at Unum International, persistent soft results at Closed Block and Corporate segment and rise in total benefits and expenses are weighing on margins.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
(Adds comments about Keystone XL oil pipeline)

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 3 (Reuters) - Pipeline company TransCanada Corp said on Friday it has changed its name to TC Energy, to reflect the expansion of its business beyond Canada to the United States and Mexico.

Calgary-based TC Energy has been struggling to make progress in building new oil export pipelines out of western Canada.

The company has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion ($8.9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

"TC Energy better describes our complete business, which ... has grown steadily to become a C$110 billion enterprise with critical assets and dedicated employees across three countries," Chief Executive Russ Girling said at the company's annual general meeting.

Girling said there were no plans to move the company's headquarters out of Calgary.

TC Energy still has extensive operations in Canada, including the Keystone pipeline, which transports 20 percent of western Canadian crude exports to U.S. refineries, and natural gas pipelines, which are part of one of the largest gas transmission systems in North America.

Keystone XL faces hurdles in the United States, including a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

As those matters have dragged on, TC Energy has now "lost the 2019 construction season" for work on Keystone XL's U.S. portion, said executive vice-president Paul Miller. TC has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

"We will not make any major capital commitments until we have a clear path to construction," Miller said.

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TC's shares ended down 1.2 percent in Toronto at C$62.63.

The company reported a first quarter profit on Friday, beating analysts' estimates as it earned more by phasing into service the Columbia Gas pipeline and one of its Columbia Gulf growth projects in the United States, as well as moving more volumes on Keystone.

TC Energy said earnings from its U.S. natural gas pipelines rose 22 percent to C$792 million.

Comparable earnings rose to C$987 million, or C$1.07 per share, from C$864 million, or 98 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to C$3.49 billion from C$3.42 billion. ($1 = 1.3430 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky)
The uncertainty over whether and when the U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement this year is creating a cloudy outlook for grain volumes this fall.

"We expect uncertainty to persist in the grain market due to the foreign tariffs," said Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) executive vice president for marketing and sales, on his company's first quarter earnings call on April 18. Rocker said UNP's grain carloads were down by 7 percent in the first quarter, driven by reduced exports to China.

So far this year, U.S. grain shipments via rail are lower than the same period in 2018. Year-to-date U.S. carloads carrying grain are down 4.5 percent to 370,786 carloads for the week ended April 27, according to the Association of American Railroads. Grain traffic represented 8.8 percent of total U.S. carloads.

Grain producers, especially soybean farmers, have been concerned about the lack of progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S., including the 25 percent tariff that China levied on imported soybeans from the U.S., according to the American Soybean Association.

U.S. soybean exports are expected to fall this year. Projected soybean exports for the 2018-2019 marketing year, which runs from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, total 1.88 million bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In contrast, the U.S. exported an estimated 2.13 million bushels of soybeans in 2017-2018 and 2.17 million bushels in 2016-2017.

For the railroads, this drop in exports translated into diminished traffic to the Pacific Northwest last fall. What stings for soybean farmers is that both the railroads and landlocked soybean farmers in the upper Midwest have invested in equipment to enable greater soybean volumes to the Pacific Northwest, according to Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek. Steenhoek said the U.S. normally exports $14 billion of soybeans to China. At second place is Mexico, at $1.4 billion in U.S. soybean exports.

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According to U.S. Census export data, U.S. soybean exports were worth $18.2 billion in 2018, $22.2 billion in 2017 and $23.6 billion in 2016.

"All of this money has been spent based on this long-term forecast, that has changed. It really hurts industries like agriculture when you don't have the predictability," Steenhoek said.

Despite the uncertainty, some grain producers think a trade resolution is in sight, confirming market observations. Should the U.S. and China reach some trade agreement, the move could benefit grain producers, especially those that export wheat and corn, depending on the agreement's timing.

"We see encouraging signs regarding resolution of the U.S,-China trade dispute and we are optimistic for a resolution by mid-year, importantly, well before the U.S. harvest," said Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) president and chief executive Juan Luciano during his company's first quarter earnings call on April 26. Luciano described those signs as the language used by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping characterizing trade relations between the two countries, as well as ADM's Chinese counterparts preparing to receive grain imports.

"Our team has shown great agility and flexibility to minimize the impact of the dispute to ADM thus far. Nevertheless, a resolution will benefit several of our businesses."

But even though U.S.-China trade uncertainties could affect how much grain gets moved via rail this fall during harvest season, other factors come into play.

While severe flooding in the Midwest damaged some crops in storage, the damage was limited and not expected to have a big impact on the overall grain supply, said agricultural economist Jay O'Neil.

But U.S. exports will still need to compete with other grain-producing regions of the world, including South America and the Black Sea region of Russia.

"We still have grain surpluses and need more export demand," O'Neil said.

Image sourced from Pixabay

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FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Patriot missile system is seen at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $6 billion worth of weapons sales to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in three separate packages, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification.

The United States depends on allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian influence. In April, the U.S. moved ahead with part of a THAAD missile defense system sale to the kingdom.

In one of the notifications sent to Congress on Friday, Bahrain could potentially buy various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.48 billion. That potential Bahraini deal included 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles known as GEM-T, an upgrade that can shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles.

In a separate State Department notification sent to Congress, Bahrain was also given the nod for various weapons to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. That package included 32 AIM-9X missiles, 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles and 100 GBU-39s which are 250-pound small diameter bombs and other munitions.

In a third State Department notification, the United Arab Emirates was given potential approval for $2.73 billion worth of Patriot missiles and related equipment including 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale. The notification process alerts Congress that a sale to a foreign country has been approved, but it does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded.

The principal contractors for the sales were Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Co.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX), a Chattanooga-based truckload (TL) carrier, held a call with analysts and the media to discuss its first quarter 2019 earnings, which were $0.15 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $0.18.

The company said that given the subdued freight market thus far in the quarter it now expects its operating ratio (OR) will be worse year-over-year in the second quarter (second quarter 2018 OR was 93.4 percent). Management said that it will wait for better market visibility before updating its full-year OR guidance. That said, the 93 percent full-year OR target isn't off the table.

Management said that the OR goal could be achieved if the spot market were to produce a little improvement in both volumes and price. Additionally, the company has cost reduction initiatives in place to drive future OR improvement. Part of the 93 percent target will require insurance expenses to move lower.

The company has phased in hair follicle testing for drug use instead of 100 percent adoption of the policy in an attempt to stem any negative impacts in driver turnover. USX believes that all of its drivers will be in the hair follicle testing program by year-end. Also, the company continues to implement measures to achieve an entirely frictionless order system to improve service and lower cost, but this is a long-term project and not likely to impact 2019's OR.

While USX is not seeing robust seasonal volume increases, it is seeing positive results in contractual pricing. So far, the company has re-priced 40 percent of its contractual book and it is seeing 5 percent rate increases. USX expects to achieve mid-single digit price increases in 2019 as the company continues to have constructive conversations with customers regarding future contract renewals. Management believes that an increase in dedicated freight, along with modestly lower spot exposure, will provide tailwinds in achieving improved average revenue per mile. That said, the over-the road division has a bit of a headwind; this division has roughly 20 percent spot exposure (spot market exposure represents only 10 percent of USX's total revenue). Management expects to attain contractual rate increases in its over-the-road offering, but said that it will be tough to get increases in average revenue per mile in the division with spot rates down 20 percent year-over-year.

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DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX reported operating revenue of $415.4 million for the quarter, a 2.4 percent decline year-over-year. Revenue adjusted to exclude fuel surcharges and the company's discontinued operations in Mexico increased $2.9 million in the period. Adjusted operating income was 8 percent higher at $16 million. The adjusted operating ratio improved 40 basis points to 95.7 percent.

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

Average revenue per tractor per week increased 1.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019 to $3,762 in the TL segment as average revenue per mile increased 3.8 percent to $2.13, partially offset by a 2.5 decline in average revenue miles per tractor. The TL division reported a 20 basis point improvement in operating ratio, which was 96 percent. The company said that its spot exposure, 20 percent, in its over-the road division created rate and volume headwinds in the quarter. Additionally, both truck divisions were impacted by adverse winter weather, particularly in the Northeast where the dedicated division has a large concentration of volume.

USX's average tractor count was up 30 trucks to 6,275 units. The over-the-road division's truck count declined five units while the dedicated division increased its count by 35 trucks. Over-the-road average revenue per truck per week declined 6 percent as average revenue per mile increased 0.7 percent year-over-year. Dedicated reported an 11.8 percent increase in average revenue per truck per week with a 7.1 percent increase in average revenue per mile.

The brokerage division reported a 15.2 percent revenue decline year-over-year to $46.2 million as load counts declined 13.8 percent. Gross margins expanded 350 basis points to 17.5 percent. Operating income increased 18.9 percent to $2.8 million in the quarter as higher gross margins were driven by lower transportation costs on a per load basis and improved third-party capacity sourcing.

Management said that 2019 will be the last year for accelerated capital expenditures on equipment as the company lowers its average tractor age to 18 months by year-end (from 27.5 months currently). Total spend will be $170 million in 2019, but should normalize to $115 million beginning in 2020.

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

Image sourced from Pixabay

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SAN ANTONIO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) (Valero) today announced that members of company management will attend the Citi Global Energy and Utilities Conference on May 14, 2019.

About Valero

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products. Valero is a Fortune 50 company based in San Antonio, Texas, and it operates 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day and 14 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.73 billion gallons per year. The petroleum refineries are located in the United States (U.S.), Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the ethanol plants are located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. Valero also is a joint venture partner in Diamond Green Diesel, which operates a renewable diesel plant in Norco, Louisiana. Diamond Green Diesel is North Americas largest biomass-based diesel plant. Valero sells its products in the wholesale rack or bulk markets in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Latin America. Approximately 7,000 outlets carry Valeros brand names. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

Valero Contacts

Investors:

Homer Bhullar, Vice President  Investor Relations, 210-345-1982

Gautam Srivastava, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-3992

Tom Mahrer, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-1953

Media:

Lillian Riojas, Executive Director  Media Relations and Communications, 210-345-5002
GOLDEN, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 30, 2019 / Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (OTC PINK: VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma one of the world's emerging biotechnology companies focused on allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell ("MSC") research and clinical products including AlloRx Stem Cells, Brain Grow Technologies NutraVivo Stem Cell Activator, and the MSC-Gro Brand Stem Cell Culture Media has been awarded Certification to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Quality Standard 13485:2016 for medical devices.

This certification further strengthens Vitro Biopharma's quality management system that is ISO 9001:2015 and CLIA certified. Regulatory certifications encompass our quality system, clinical diagnostics and cGMP manufacturing based on our commitment to attaining customer satisfaction and seeking continual improvement as a primary goal. We use risk assessment guidance, extensive control systems encompassing outside service providers, manufacturing, process & product validation, and new product development in the operation of our quality system. Vitro Biopharma is FDA-registered and operates within a broad regulatory umbrella and platform suitable for FDA-compliant drug/biologics and medical device manufacturing.

Vitro Biopharma is executing its business model based on supporting IRB-approved stem cell therapies in off-shore locations that are now yielding evidence of safety and efficacy. This goal requires compliance to internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 to gain clinical trial approvals in global medical tourism destinations. The recent IRB approval of our clinical trial entitled "Vitro Biopharma Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem CellTherapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions" in the Bahamas was facilitated by our ISO certification. Through our partner, DVC Stem, in Grand Cayman Island we provide AlloRxStem Cells to support an IRB-approved trial determining the effects of MSC transplants on various inflammatory conditions. We provide our MSC-Gro stem cell culture medium to support clinical trials of MSC therapy for osteoarthritis (OA). These trials and several others totaling 2385 patients and pre-clinical studies in 20,000 animals provide evidence of safety and efficacy. In the US alone there are more the 30 million OA patients. The standard of care is joint replacement, but emerging evidence suggests that a single MSC injection into afflicted joints can regenerate cartilage, reduce pain, restore functionality and defer replacement at a fraction of the cost of joint replacement. We have gained preliminary evidence of safety and efficacy of AlloRx Stem Cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases through clinical studies in New Zealand. Our regulatory certifications support further expansion into other medical tourism markets as well as clinical trials leading to US approvals. The FDA is in the process of adopting ISO 13485 as its quality standard for medical devices and full legal implementation is anticipated in 2020.

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Dr. Jim Musick, CEO of Vitro Biopharma said, "We are extremely pleased with this milestone accomplishment as we have recently focused on achieving ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and CLIA certifications. This provides necessary support for our goal of suppling offshore medical tourism destinations with high quality AlloRx Stem Cells for various applications in regenerative medicine. AlloRx Stem Cells are distinctly superior to "stem cell" clinics operating in the US that are restricted to "minimally manipulated" products that contain limited stem cell content at very low purity and do not achieve international standards of stem cell definition. Adipose-derived allogeneic MSCs (Allofisel) have been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for treatment of a type of Crohn's disease. These are expanded and purified stem cells that presently require pre-market FDA approval in the US as drugs. Offshore venues allow studies of expanded and purified MSCs wherein the identity, purity and potency are clearly established. Several clinical studies support the concept that adequate stem cell dosage is critical in determining therapeutic outcomes. There are variations in the known types of adult MSCs and our patent-pending AlloRx Stem Cells are superior to other known adult stem cells."

About Vitro Biopharma

Vitro Biopharma, for over 10 years, has supplied major biopharmaceutical firms, elite university laboratories and clinical trials worldwide with Mesenchymal Stem Cells, MSC-Grow Brand of cell culture media, various stem cell derivatives and stem cell-derived differentiated cells. We also supply primary fibroblast cells and an expanding line of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from various tumors including lung, breast, melanoma, pancreatic and colorectal tissues. Our CAFs are purchased by major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical firms to advance immunotherapy of cancer.

We now support clinical studies of stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis, neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease while pursuing select US markets for stem cell therapies. We support high quality offshore medical tourism with the DaVinci Wellness Centre, our clinical trial partner in the Cayman Islands www.DVCStem.com.

We provide Brain Grow TechnologiesNutraVivo Stem Cell Activator that has been shown to induce proliferation, migration and epigenetic modification of human adult stem cells. NutraVivo improves overall cellular wellness and significantly increases expression of anti-aging genes.

We private label Limitless MD cosmetic products for topical applications in skin beautification.

About the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (www.iso.org) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It is comprised of national standards bodies from 159 countries that promote high quality standards for all company processes. To meet ISO certification requirements for Quality Management Systems, companies must establish a well-tuned system of interacting processes that ensures consistent quality of the company's products; their capacity to optimally meet customer requirements; and their fulfillment of all applicable regulatory requirements.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein regarding financial performance have not yet been reported to the SEC nor reviewed by the Company's auditors. Certain statements contained herein and subsequent statements made by and on behalf of the Company, whether oral or written may contain "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements are identified by words such as "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "expects" and "hopes" and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plan of business operations, product research and development activities, potential contractual arrangements, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues and related expenditures. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, acceptability of the Company's products in the market place, general economic conditions, receipt of additional working capital, the overall state of the biotechnology industry and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulations, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Dr. James Musick

Chief Executive Officer

Vitro BioPharma

(303) 999-2130 Ext. 1

E-mail: jim@vitrobiopharma.com

www.vitrobiopharma.com

SOURCE: Vitro Diagnostics, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/543561/Vitro-Biopharma-Receives-ISO-13485-Certification-Supporting-its-Stem-Cell-Medical-Tourism-Initiative




The worlds two largest economies can be competitors without being enemies.

Thats according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and a bevy of business leaders who gathered at Yahoo Finances U.S.- China Investor Forum on Friday evening on the sidelines of Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholders meeting.

Despite a year-long trade feud between Washington and Beijing and China seeing its lowest GDP growth rate in 28 years, investors are maintaining a positive tone on the East nation.

I think that China and the United States absolutely are destined to be the superpowers, beyond my great-grandchildrens lives, and will always be competitors, Warren Buffett said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper.

Both sides have learned to negotiate

Since the tit-for-tat tariffs that started last June, American businesses have been feeling the pinch of these incremental taxes. Many businesses caught in between the trade war have been trying to move supply chain out of China.

2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting

But thats not easy, according to Helen Ye, vice president of the Global China Practice at Ogilvy Group.

China is the only country to have a full supply chain around the world, Ye said at the forum. There's no next China. It can take years to build a whole region to be the next China.

Ye said clients who have thought about relocating supply chains quickly found it almost impossible.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, , USTR and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad in Beijing, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

This week the U.S. and China continued trade talks in Beijing and sent out positive signals ahead of what both sides hope to be the last round in Washington. Investors are expecting an announcement on a signing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, which will be held later this month or in early June.

The upside of the year-long negotiations, according to Jeffrey Towson, an investment professor at Peking University, is to bring two sides to the negotiation table to deal with an inevitable confrontation.

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There was not really a great mechanism for the two countries to discuss issues, Towson said at the forum. This past year, I think what we've seen is the two countries learning to talk to each other about meaningful issues for the first time. And I think this is going to go on for the rest of our lives that these two countries are going to learn to deal with their issues.

Ogilvy Groups Ye said she had seen more reflections from the U.S. side on what they can do. Meanwhile, China has a long-term development plan in place and is trying to attract top talent across the world.

I found a lot of people in DC start to talk about, Why don't we look at our homeland, the U.S.? How can we be competitive? Ye said. [The] government can do something to set up a long-term plan, and to forge and to attract more talent into the U.S., and to stay on top of the competition.

China hadn't remotely achieved their potential

The other issue on investors' minds is the slowdown of Chinas domestic economy. In March, the government lowered the growth target to 6%-6.5%, due to ongoing structural reforms among other things. At the same time, Beijing has pushed stimulus measures and tax cuts to make sure the economy doesnt head for a hard landing.

Buffett doesnt seem to be worried by the impact a slowing China could have on the global market.

China's going to grow a lot, over time, When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it, Buffett told Yahoo Finance. And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential.

Born in 1930, the legendary investor has seen Americas real GDP per capita grow six times from what it was. And he believes Chinas growth story has been even more extraordinary.

I don't think there's ever been anything like it. We've done it, too, but it took so much longer, said Buffett. Whats happened there almost is beyond belief. And that game's not over.

Berkshire Hathaway's major investments

Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to her via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter.

Read more:

Apple cuts iPhone XR price for partner sellers in China

Amazon shuffles thousands of workers in its quest to revamp delivery

Amazon eyes closed Sears stores for Whole Foods expansion
(Adds analyst comment, links)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday signaled his commitment to Kraft Heinz Co and defended his actions toward Wells Fargo & Co, two of the largest investments at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, despite mistakes at both that have caused many investors to sour on them.

Buffett, 88, spoke before tens of thousands of people in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Berkshire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 95, fielded more than 50 shareholder and analyst questions for six hours at the centerpiece of a weekend of events.

Kraft Heinz has been a thorn for Berkshire, which in February took a $3 billion writedown on its 26.7 percent stake, because of the packaged food company's inability to keep up with changing consumer tastes and reliance on older brands such as Oscar Mayer and Jell-O.

The company was created from the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz, the latter of which had been owned by Berkshire and Brazil's 3G Capital, which runs Kraft Heinz day-to-day.

Buffett defended 3G's management, saying the combined company is doing well operationally, and that its current problems cannot be blamed on a lack of investment.

But he also maintained that "we paid too much money" for Kraft.

"You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much," he said, while adding it was "not inconceivable" Berkshire could partner with 3G again on a transaction.

He said 3G had more willingness to take on leverage and "pay up," but in many cases also had "way better operators."

'MISTAKES' AT WELLS FARGO

Buffett, who became famous in 1991 for criticizing Salomon Inc's practices and becoming interim chairman to right the mess, also faced a question about his relative silence about Wells Fargo, where Berkshire owns a nearly 10-percent stake.

Wells Fargo has spent more than 2-1/2 years addressing fallout from mistreating its customers, including by creating fake accounts, losing two chief executives in the process, including Tim Sloan in March.

Buffett repeated that Wells Fargo "made some big mistakes" in its sales practices, and that "when you find a problem, you have to do something about it." He also said chief executives who make big mistakes shouldn't walk away with their wealth.

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But many questionable Wells Fargo practices long predated Sloan's becoming chief executive, and Buffett and Munger have defended him.

"I don't think people ought to go to jail for honest errors of judgment," Munger said, calling Sloan an "accidental casualty."

BIG PROFITS, BIG BUYBACKS

Berkshire also reported on Saturday that operating income, a measure of Berkshire's business performance, rose 5 percent, helped by the Geico auto insurer and BNSF railroad, though it fell just shy of analyst forecasts.

Results excluded Kraft Heinz because that company has not released its own quarterly results, Buffett said.

Berkshire also repurchased $1.7 billion of stock, reflecting Buffett's difficulty in finding better uses for the company's $114.2 billion cash hoard.

Buffett acknowledged he would be willing to repurchase $100 billion of stock if it became cheap enough, and Munger predicted Berkshire would become "more liberal" with buybacks.

"This much cash is certainly a drag" for Buffett, said Trip Miller, managing partner of Gullane Capital Partners LLC in Memphis. "He and Charlie are certainly open that they missed it on several great businesses for many years. The purchases of Apple and Amazon are a good sign."

Berkshire owns more than $50 billion of Apple Inc stock, and Buffett said one of Berkshire's portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, has invested in Amazon.com Inc .

Munger also lamented Berkshire's failure to invest in Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, saying "I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google earlier."

Berkshire's more than 90 businesses and roughly 389,000 employees make the company a barometer for the U.S. economy, and a report card for one of the world's most revered investors.

NOT JUST BUSINESS

The shareholder weekend is not all business.

Buffett on Saturday morning made his usual slow-motion crawl, with a crowd of photographers in tow, through an exhibit hall where shareholders could buy Berkshire-owned products, including 20,000 pounds of See's candies and 28,752 Dairy Queen bars.

"We love you Warren," shareholders shouted as Buffett nibbled a Dairy Queen vanilla orange bar.

People lined up before midnight to get early access to the best seats at the arena, which opened at 7 a.m.

Daphne Kalir-Starr, 9, a fourth-grader from New York City, lined up with her father at 11 p.m. on Friday night, along with her sleeping bag. It's her third time to see Buffett.

"I really like hearing from great investors," she said. "Even though he wasn't really recognized at the beginning, he kept working at it."

Bela Chowdhury, 49, came from Kolkata, India, with other students from a nonprofit group that promotes financial literacy for women. "He is the ultimate guru," she said.

Meanwhile, Luke On, a University of Toronto finance undergraduate, said he lined up at 10 p.m. on Friday.

"I have no place to stay and wanted to save money, but I wanted to see Warren and Charlie," he said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
The federal government is investigating a crypto crime involving the alleged theft off bitcoin mining rigs. | Souce:. Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP

By CCN.com: A New York Bitcoin miner hosting company called Northway Mining stands accused of stealing at least 5100 pieces of mining equipment from two companies. Given the scope of the investigation currently underway by the federal government, the damage might be much more significant than this.

Northway Mining Sued For Violation of RICO Act

At least four Bitcoin companies have been allegedly victimized, though we use the term allegedly in its most legal definition: strictly because the accused have not yet been convicted.

MinedMap, Inc, Serenity Alpha, Inc, both of Nevada, and Quebec, Inc from Canada. The other is BlockAssets, a company based in Perth, Australia.

The former chose Northway Mining to host more 2800 Bitmain S9 miners, over half of its entire fleet, in September 2018. Another 800 miners were sent to the facility by the companies. The latter had the decision made for them by a Canadian company who couldnt handle their 1500 units. Well be following up with a story about BlockAssets at another time.

As to MinedMap, Serenity Alpha, and Quebec Inc, theyre collectively filing lawsuits against Northway Mining, as a start. At the same time, the issue is currently being treated as a criminal investigation by federal authorities. As you can see in the videos below, the US Marshall Service searched the facility leased by Northway in Coxsackie, New York, this past week.

At Least Over 5000 Bitmain Miners Stolen in All

The pending lawsuit alleges that Northway bilked clients out of nearly 3600 pieces of Bitcoin mining equipment (one was recovered with the help of the Marshalls), as well as over $500,000 in deposits. The complaint records this:
Michael McDonough, downtown branch manager for First State Bank & Trust Company, recently completed the 2019 School of Banking Fundamentals. This School was held April 8-12 in Grand Island, Nebraska.

The School of Banking Fundamentals is sponsored by the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Associations and is in partnership with the Colorado, Louisiana and Wyoming Bankers Associations.

The school is designed to instruct students in the core banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank. Completion of this course assists students in developing skills, which allow them to better serve their banking community.

McDonough has been with First State Bank & Trust Co. since 2015. He is a member of the MainStreet of Fremont Board of Directors and the MainStreet Retail and Promotions Committee.

The Schools of Banking, located in Lincoln, is a jointly owned subsidiary of the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Association.

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Miami-Dade Police Department(MIAMI) -- A Miami-Dade police officer was charged this week for forcefully arresting a woman, and then making false statements about what happened, in an incident that sparked outrage after video of the incident went viral.

Police bodycam footage and a cell phone video recorded by the womans friend showed the officer, Alejandro Giraldo, pushing Dyma Loving against a fence before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her to the ground.

Giraldo had been responding to a 911 call made by Lovings friend, Adrianna Green, to report that a neighbor had threatened them with a shotgun. An internal police investigation later found there was no basis for arresting Loving.

Giraldo was arrested on Thursday and charged with official misconduct, a felony, for making false statements in official reports. He was also charged with battery.

After taking the sworn statements...and reviewing all the known video evidence, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to charge a violation of Floridas criminal statutes, the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office said in a statement.

On the morning of March 5, Green called 911 to say that her neighbor had been hurling racist insults at her, and that he had pulled out a shotgun and threatened to shoot her. Four officers reported to the scene and interviewed Green and Loving about the incident before going to the neighbors home to interview him about the allegations.

They told Loving and Green not to go anywhere, the warrant said.

It was at this point that Giraldo and a sixth officer, Juan Calderon, arrived at the scene and arrested Green.

Giraldo said he made the arrest because Loving would not obey commands, was uncooperative, and was screaming at us, causing a scene in a residential neighborhood, according to the police report. None of these statements, however, could be backed by evidence, officials said.

In sworn statements, each of the officers said that Loving did not in fact speak aggressively or act in a way that could have been perceived as a threat to the officers safety, the police report said.

Lovings attorney, Justin Moore, said that Loving had expressed relief over Giraldos arrest, and applauded prosecutors for moving forward with the case. But he said that other officers should also face charges for their role in the incident.

The fact is that the other officers involved in Dymas arrest assisted Officer Giraldo and drafted police reports detailing the incident, Moore said. It is more than reasonable that they meet the same scrutiny that Officer Giraldo has received.

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez called Giraldos arrest disappointing and said it overshadows the hard work of the dedicated men and women of law enforcement, who strive daily to serve and protect our community, according to a statement.



This particular case underscores our commitment to cooperate and work together with the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office in our continued effort to hold ourselves accountable, the statement said.



Andre Rouviere, Giraldos defense attorney, expressed concerns regarding the nature in which the case was brought about in a statement provided to ABC News. "Of the 35 body worn cameras and videos that were available, the media was shown only a small handful in which to present to the public," he said, claiming that the State Attorney's Office succumbed to "the pressure of a signature gathering campaign pushing for the filing of charges against Officer Giraldo."



"As a result of the pressure and rush to judgement, Officer Giraldo has already been convicted by the state attorney's office, his own Police Department, the media and the public," Rouviere said. "One would hope by the time the matter goes to court, Officer Giraldo will, as any accused, be cloaked in a presumption of innocence."

Giraldo has since been released from jail, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Whos going to get the farm? And what are they going to do with it? Will your future plans for your land create harmony or strife for your family? Or have you even started to think that far ahead?

Map of My Kingdom, a play focusing on farmland transfer, will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday at West Point Community Theater, 237 N. Main St., in West Point. A second performance will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cox Activity Center Theater on Northeast Community College campus, 801 E. Benjamin Ave., in Norfolk. Admission is free, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Community College Foundation.

The drama tackling land transition is by Mary Swander, and commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa. In the play, a lawyer and mediator share stories of how farmers and landowners approach land successions.

We hope this play will inspire the hesitant and the fearful to start the conversation that cannot wait, said Sandra Renner, project associate with the Center for Rural Affairs.

In the next 10 to 15 years, a tremendous amount of land transfer will take place as the average age of Nebraska farmers is around 56.4 years old.

The featured actor is Lindsay Bauer, a theatre educator from northwest Iowa. An audience discussion will follow the performance with Dave Goeller, retired deputy director of North Central Risk Management Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

These are the final performances in a series of four in Nebraska and six in Iowa. The Iowa performances were co-hosted by the Practical Farmers of Iowa.

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Looking for inspiration to get caught in the throes of the impending months of wedding fever? We have a list of upcoming romances, complete with a range of diverse authors and fresh character perspectives that won't disappoint.

'A PRINCE ON PAPER' BY ALYSSA COLE

Release date: April 30

Another gorgeous cover and delectable story in the "Reluctant Royals" series. This third installment mixes a fake engagement along with the usual sizzling chemistry Cole always brings to her books.

"A Prince on Paper" (Avon) features wonderfully diverse characters, the author's quick humor and also an exploration of deeper issues underlying the fairytale plot.

'LOVE FROM A TO Z' BY S.K. ALI

Release date: April 30

S.K. Ali's YA contemporary romance follows the crossing paths of two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip in Doha. Both are putting on brave faces despite tremendous personal challenges. Zayneb is trying to cleanse her toxic thoughts about her Islamophobic teacher and Adam is hiding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis from his friends and family.

Discarding their acts of pretend with each other, these two will win your heart through their honest conversations of feeling out of place, or rather cast aside, simply by being who they are. More perspectives like this in future romances please! "Love from A to Z" (Simon & Schuster) will be sure to resonate with many.

'PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND OTHER FLAVORS' BY SONALI DEV

Release date: May 7

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Trisha Raje is royalty, both in her blood and in her illustrious career as San Francisco's reigning neurosurgeon. DJ Caine is a chef with a rough background but promising future. While he is tempted to work for Trisha, he feels that she'll judge him before given a fair chance.

However, when DJ's sister is in medical danger, the two meet and confront their assumptions head-on. "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" (William Morrow) is a delicious multicultural spin on the iconic tale of class and character, you won't be able to put Sonali Dev's latest down.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE UNHONEYMOONERS' BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

Release date: May 14

In this enemies-to-lovers story, you'll find the perfect comedy to raise your spirits. In a freak turn of events, when the bride and groom are too ridden with food poisoning to enjoy their honeymoon, the bride's twin sister Olive and her archnemesis Ethan (brother of the groom) go on the trip instead to avoid the waste of money. In a fiasco of fake dating, the two rivals find real chemistry. You'll find your perfect beach bag read in "The Unhoneymooners" (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'AMERICAN FAIRYTALE' BY ADRIANA HERRERA

Release date: May 20

Another fairytale plot for the true romantics...the latest in Adriana's Herrera's Dreamers series features a modern setup for two men in New York City. In "American Fairytale" (Carina Press) determined billionaire Thomas Hughes courts the down-to-earth social worker Milo in a heartwarming story of personal growth and change.

Pre-order on Amazon, $9

'PASSION ON PARK AVENUE' BY LAUREN LAYNE

Release date: May 28

This story is the first of Lauren Layne's "Central Park Pact" series and full of female empowerment. Naomi Powell, daughter of a housekeeper, has hustled her way from the Bronx to a CEO position among the Upper East Side elite.

As she tries to prove her worth to her peers, this jewelry empress finds herself tangled with an old childhood rival, all grown up and looking for new ways to cause friction. Saucy and fun, this series is off to a promising start (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE SUMMER OF SUNSHINE AND MARGOT' BY SUSAN MALLERY

Release date: June 11

Twin sisters Margot and Sunshine are opposites in many ways but have one thing in common  their poor judgment with men. Both struggle with the emotional baggage of their mother absence to chase one man after another, but have grown closer for support in consequence.

However, when they strike up a friendship with a past Hollywood icon, the sisters learn from this enigmatic woman how to take their differences in stride and approach life with a whole new outlook. Friendship, healing and romance all come together seamlessly in what is sure to be Susan Mallery's latest bestseller (Harlequin).

Pre-order on Amazon, $18

'THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL' BY ABBI WAXMAN

Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19

Leila has always dreamed of finding true love on her own, but she's 26 years old (gasp) and her parents are now giving her a deadline. If she is not able to find a husband on her own terms in three months, then they arrange a match as many have before in their South Asian-Muslim American community.

In her debut "The Marriage Clock" (William Morrow), Raheem contributes thoughtful humor, well-drawn characters and a beautiful portrait of navigating cultural expectations with personal fulfillment.

Pre-order on Amazon, $16

'THE RIGHT SWIPE' BY ALISHA RAI

Release date: Aug. 6

This is a fantastic contemporary romance that captures the modern dating world head-on with a business rivalry between two app creators. While they are fierce competitors at work, Rhiannon and Samson can't help sparks flying in their personal lives.

So many extra points go to "The Right Swipe" (Avon) for a full cast of diverse and developed characters, many of the minor ones deserve books in their own rights.

Pre-order on Amazon, $15

BookTrib.com is the lifestyle destination for book lovers, where articles and books are paired together to create dynamic content that goes beyond traditional book reviews. (c)2019 BookTrib, All Rights Reserved Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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According to Scott Schaller, Fremonts Miller Skate Park gets a lot of use.

Its showing some wear, said Schaller. Theres been some maintenance issues that weve been working on.

For Schaller, the wear and tear at Miller Park is a sign that skating is still a popular activity in Fremont  one which could use some upgraded facilities.

I still think that need is here because if you go down to Miller Skate Park, theres always kids down there, he said. Its getting used, and obviously if its wearing out and things are needing to be repaired as much as they have been, obviously its a need.

Schaller and a group called SK8 Fremont, which had been involved in the formation of the original Miller Skate Park, which opened in 2003, are now beginning the process of exploring a potential new skate park for Fremont  one that will be built with community input.

Theyve been kind of tossing around ideas or thoughts and we decided lets bring the community together and see if this is something that the community really is diving into and seeing what the communitys thoughts and ideas are, he said.

The group is hosting a meeting at the Christensen Field Meeting Roomo on May 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting will be an open discussion, featuring options for new skate park elements that the community can explore and choose what they prefer. At this point, the group hopes to get community input on everything for the new park: from the location to the lighting to the pieces in the park.

Skating has changed since 19, 20 years ago, he said. What the meeting is kind of about is giving people the option to say well this obstacle on this photo looks good or maybe this planter like this or this lighting looks good. And thats what this is kind of about: putting together an idea of what the community wants or would like to see.

Still on the table is the possibility of renovating Miller Park instead of building an entiely new park, but it all depends on what kind of feedback the group gets from the community.

Schaller, a former city councilman in Fremont, added that the goal is for the park to be funded without city dollars and instead, with grants, though its too early to say what the financing plan will be for sure.

At this point, however, everything is in the early stages, and this first meeting is meant to lay the groundwork and get community input.

I just ask that everybody, whether you think youll be interested or not, show up and listen to feedback and listen to the groups and give your opinions, Schaller said.

He added that he believes creating opportunities for outdoor activity is important.

This gives kids another option here in Fremont in getting out and doing something with their bicycle or with their skateboard, Schaller said. t gives them something other to do than sitting on their sofa playing video games.

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Today

HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.

Walk for Clean Water, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church, 1  miles east of Walmart, just south of U.S. Highway 30, Fremont. Check-in is from 9-9:30 a.m. From 9:30-10:30 a.m., walkers, families and friends will walk the perimeter of the church green. Donations given (checks payable to Peace Lutheran) will be forwarded entirely to World Vision International.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Graduation, 5 p.m., Scribner-Snyder High School.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, 7:30 p.m., Fremont High Schools Nell McPherson Theatre.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday60th Annual Fremont Coin Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christensen Field Main Arena, Fremont. The annual event features a collection of coin dealers who can help coin enthusiasts sell, purchase or appraise valuable coins and other currency. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available.

Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Dodge County Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team (REACT), 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross, Dodge County Chapter, 439 N. Main St., Fremont. For more information, call 402-687-2160.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

MondayTOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Friends of the Library Board, 6 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Celebrate Recovery, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.

Fremont Night MOPS group, 6:30-8 p.m., Fremont Alliance Church, 1615 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, contact Fremont Alliance Church at 402-721-5180 or Cindy Slykhuis at 402-708-1561.

American Legion Post 20, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 20 meeting, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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For my birthday the Titter of Wit residents bought me a membership for the British Museum. It's probably the major museum in London that I'm least familiar with. I guess the first summer I spent working in London I must have visited the mummies at least once - I was only here for six weeks and I went to every big, cultural tourist attraction - and occasionally I've taken visitors there but it's always crowded and it can be a bit overwhelming. I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't used my membership card yet, well not until today.

I had nothing planned for today other than a trip to the food market. As Traybake is swanning around Sweden I went by myself so it didn't take long although I still managed to spend a small fortune. I had lunch at home and then set off to go to central London. It was one of those days when the weather can't decide what to do, one moment bright sunshine and then ominous black clouds and heavy downpours. Luckily I managed not to get soaked. It was cold though although not as cold as in other parts of the country where apparently it snowed today.

Before going to the museum I called into the LRB bookshop. This is my favourite bookshop in London and I imagine that it would be possible to meet interesting people in there who might start chatting to you and who knows where it would end (although probably a high percentage of academics so possibly not). I like the way they display books on tables as you nearly always see something interesting which you wouldn't necessarily get in places like Waterstone's. They are very good on non-fiction.

I bought The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson, the most recent Sally Rooney which is now in paperback and another novel by an Irish writer I'd not heard of before, Rebecca O'Conner. I've had a good run of reading books I've really enjoyed recently and I highly recommend the two books that are at the top of my currently reading list.

There was a massive queue to go through security at the British Museum but as a Member I got to go in the priority lane and walked straight through. I suspect all the people in the ordinary queue were looking daggers at me as they shuffled along. I visited the Member's Room which overlooks the central court and while it isn't particularly fancy it was good not to have to stand in line for 15 minutes to buy a cup of coffee and then struggle to find somewhere to sit. Most of the other Members were elderly and doing Sudoku puzzles. On the way up the stairs I passed some beautiful mosaics. I then went to the Munch exhibition which was pretty crowded. I have seen some Munch paintings which I've liked but the BM exhibition is prints and mainly of dying children or people suffering from anxiety attacks so not very cheery.

I have decided though that I shall visit the BM once a month for the remainder of the time that I have the membership and each time I will spend half an hour looking at something specific because otherwise it's just too much. I shall avoid the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles and of course the mummies.

While I was there today I tried not to think about the fact that one of my sisters calls it "the evidence room".






A young female moose was spotted Friday near Colorado 105 and Santa Fe Trail in the Monument/Palmer Lake area, according to a tweet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Wildlife officials received multiple calls about the moose, and asked that people keep their dogs leashed and avoid approaching it.

Moose, the largest big game species in Colorado, are unpredictable and will attack if they feel threatened, wildlife officials cautioned, adding that dogs are especially at risk.

We know you want to see the moose. But we want to keep you and the moose safe. Please stay back. Moose are unpredictable. Dogs are especially at risk. Take photos from a safe distance and move on. pic.twitter.com/j7XME1UzaK  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

ATTN @townofmonument /Palmer Lake, @COParksWildlife responded to calls today of young cow moose near Highway 105 & Santa Fe Trail. DO NOT approach it. Keep dogs leashed. If moose feel threatened, they may attack. Ears back and hackles up? Get back! Keep yourself & the moose safe. pic.twitter.com/9c1ZOIqmjm  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

This time last year, photos and video taken of people harassing, feeding or approaching moose across the state prompted officials to issue a warning to give the wild animals their space.

Last September, a 700-pound cow had to be tranquilized after wandering into the Ivywild neighborhood in west Colorado Springs. At the time, Bill Vogrin, spokesman for Parks and Wildlife, said that moose sightings were becoming more frequent because of population growth along the Front Range and into the wildland-urban interface.

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Religious organizations in the Pikes Peak region are banding together as places of worship worldwide become targets for gunmen and terrorists.

The Pikes Peak InterFaith Coalition began to take shape after an October shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 people dead.

Were trying to stand firmly and positively and together against terrorism, against hatred, against bigotry, against violence, said Jeff Ader, president of Temple Beit Torah and a member of the coalitions steering committee.

Its bad enough to be bigoted to another group. But to resort to the violence that weve seen worldwide  to act on that bigotry  is unconscionable, he said.

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Over the past six months, t.he coalition has grown to include temples, churches and the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, more than 50 people were fatally shot in a pair of terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Bombings targeted churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, killing more than 250 people.

And, on April 27, a 19-year-old man opened fire in a San Diego-area synagogue, killing a woman and wounding the rabbi and two others.

One more precious soul was lost, Rabbi Steven Kaye told dozens of people gathered at Temple Beit Torah on Friday night, where leaders of the newly formed coalition were presented at a special Shabbat service.

Showing up to synagogue tonight, to a church tomorrow, to a mosque, today or earlier today  in doing so, we will say, We will not let discrimination and hatred stop us from worship, Kaye said.

The Colorado Springs area was once home to the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue, an organization founded by Rabbi Howard Hirsch and other faith leaders with a similar mission. But Hirsch retired and moved away in 2013, and the center faded.

Local faith leaders hope that, by allowing people of different religions to learn about one anothers faiths, the new coalition can safeguard against prejudice thats fueled by a lack of understanding.

Theres a fear of the unknown, said Khurshid Qureshi of the Islamic Society. We believe in the same God. We have so many things in common. But a lot of people are so afraid.

In late February, members discussed the roots of anti-Semitism at a workshop that attracted dozens of people. Qureshi, the groups chairman, hopes the coalition can hold similar educational events three times a year.

The coalition also plans to invite organizations of other faiths, such as Buddhism, he said.

Were learning, in a way, how to hold hands, said Ralph Anderson, a retired pastor for First Lutheran Church whos also on the steering committee. That doesnt mean we are giving up those specifics individual to our own tradition. It means were simply learning how to understand each other in the context of those traditions.

It certainly seems that our circumstances here in Colorado Springs, as well as in the state, as well as in the country, demand it, he said.
Representatives with the Osage Chamber of Commerce and City of Osage welcomed U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, who represents Iowa's 1st district, to Osage on Friday afternoon.

Finkenauer took a brief tour of downtown and was able to meet with some local business owners.

Discussions included rural development, infrastructure and workforce.

"We have a lot to be proud of, from our new daycare center, hospital and school renovation projects, vibrant downtown district and so much more, said Kati Henry, Executive Director of the Osage Chamber of Commerce. It's great to be able to show off our successes and talk about where we need help to our representatives in Washington."

In Congress, Finkenauer serves as vice-chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

Finkenauer also sits on the Small Business Committee, where she chairs the Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee.

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Located 45 miles northwest of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the town of Tequila is known as the birthplace of the drink that bears its name.

The picturesque township, with its colorful buildings and cobblestone streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The federal government of Mexico calls it Pueblo Magico or Magical Town.

It's here that casual sippers drink this aromatic spirit, but there's one secret they may not know: Without the women of Tequila, there'd be no tequila.

The cultivation and annual replanting of the agave blooms in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes in Mexico, has historically been left to the women of Tequila.

No one knows exactly when women became an integral part of growing agave, but it's believed that when the male farmers ate their lunch and rested under parota trees, their wives stepped in to lend a hand. The women, who it turned out were exceptionally skilled at sorting and taking care of the young plants, began working in the fields sometime in the 16th century.

Reviving economy

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one hotel and a handful of restaurants in Tequila. Today it's bustling with Mexican and international tourists who've come to learn about the history of the spirit and its important role in Mexican culture.

Visitors can take a walk through agave fields, visit The National Museum of Tequila, watch production and enjoy a tasting at one of the 22 tequila houses in town, partake in a professional tasting guided by a Maestro Tequilero, a certified master of tequila, and take in a range of Mexican art exhibits at the newly opened Centro Cultural Juan Beckman Gallardo.

The Tequila train

On weekends, about 300 passengers take a day trip on The Jose Cuervo Express, also known fondly as the tequila train. The two-hour journey from Guadalajara to Tequila travels through the Rio Grande Canyon, which provides sweeping views of bluish agave fields and midget oaks spanning against the backdrop of Tequila volcano.

Traingoers can watch an Aztec dance performance before getting on board; upon their return, the performances are live mariachi and folk dancers.

During the ride, guests can enjoy tamales, chips and guacamole and unlimited tequila-based cocktails.

Growing agave

To be officially designated as tequila, the beverage must be distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico, mainly Tequila and surrounding municipalities. The rich volcanic soil and dry climate make it ideal to grow Agave Azul Tequilana Weber (blue agave), a plant native to the area.

If you walk or horseback ride through Jose Cuervo fields surrounding the town, you can see the growing, harvesting and pruning of agave plants.

Farmers wearing cowboy hats to shield their face from the hot sun, cultivate and harvest the prickly cactus-like agave plants, while the women of Tequila select, care for and plant the small delicate seedling, called hijuelos (little children).

Dressed in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, the women can be seen working in the fields from February to July, when the agave plants sprout shoots. They inspect, clean and sort the young plants and send them to the nursery for further care, until they are ready to be planted.

Indeed, there's something about knowing the care and dedication involved in the process that'll make you appreciate your salted margarita even more.

Making tequila

Visitors walking through Tequila's main square hear church bells chiming on the hour; they smell the sweet aroma rising from the chimneys of the distilleries in the area.

Once the pina (pineapple) of the agave plant is harvested, it is brought to a distillery, where it is roasted for 36 hours, releasing its sugars and juices.

A 90-minute guided tour through La Fabrica La Riojena, Latin America's oldest active distillery established in 1795, takes groups through the entire production process, from the brick oven to the cellars. It concludes with Jose Cuervo's premium tequila tasting experience where a master (equivalent of sommelier) demonstrates the proper way to sip tequila from an elegant slender glass.

"There are a lot of men but no more than 10 women certified as 'master of tequila' in Jalisco," says Sonia Espinola, one of the first women in Tequila to earn this designation. She passed the entrance exams based entirely on her own experience working in the tequila industry, and she went on to take the full course at a recognized university. She now conducts guided tastings and seminars.

Agave by-products

Since only the pina of the agave plant is used to make tequila, Mundo Cuervo's nonprofit arm, Fundacion Beckmann, found a way to utilize more of the plant and offer local women more of an opportunity to create and produce  and get paid for their work.

Workshops for aspiring women entrepreneurs teach how to use agave bagasse and recycled tequila bottles for artisanal crafts.

Espinola, who is also the director of Fundacion Beckmann, says, "The women don't only learn how to make the products, but how to sell, incorporate their businesses, create business plans, logos and much more."

Demonstrating their support for Tequila's ambitious women, many hotels including Hotel Solar de las Animas and Hotel Villa Tequila proudly display agave paper notepads and journals in the bedrooms for guests' use, a commitment to the local products of the region.

"When my 10-year-old daughter needed prescription glasses, I asked her to help me make agave paper so she can earn extra money," says Sandra Elizabeth Serna Caballero, one of the women currently enrolled in this particular program. "I feel useful, plus the creative process is quite relaxing," she adds.

One example of how the foundation, largely funded by tequila tourism, has directly impacted women in the area is through Ernestina Carrero Cortez's story.

Cortez, a Jalisco native who was experiencing financial difficulties, approached the foundation about work opportunities. Cortez's husband was a construction worker in the U.S., her son had fallen ill, and she'd resigned herself to cooking food in her home and selling it in the town to help pay for medical expenses. But it wasn't enough.

And so Cortez, through the foundation, learned to knit handbags and wallets using agave fiber. Her original designs became so popular that she started her own brand label, Puntadas. After seven years with the foundation, Cortez now employs 22 women in her business, some as old as 83, and she sells her products through boutiques, museums and hotels around Tequila.

The women's handicraft enterprises also make use of tequila bottles that are discarded by bars and restaurants. Used tequila bottles donated by Mundo Cuervo brands are recycled, selected, cleaned and given to the women at the foundation.

Mother of six, Carolina Garcia Torres faced psychological trauma when she was pregnant with triplets and was concerned with the future of her family's financial health.

"I was worried how my husband, who works in a tequila distillery, would support our family," says Torres. She was instantly drawn to glass-making workshops offered by the foundation, where she learned to cut recycled tequila and wine glass bottles to create decorative pieces like vases and spoons."

Every day, there's an open market in the town plaza where local women sell handmade bags, lotions, paper, jewelry and decorations. Visitors will want to save room in their luggage for gifts and self-care purchases.

Preserving Culture

Mundo Cuervo's Beckmann Foundation started 15 years ago with a mission to preserve the cultural heritage of the women of Jalisco. About 10 families participate in the foundation's culinary program through ongoing festivals, the opportunity to sell homemade products like jams and juices, home-hosted meals and cooking classes.

One such festival is Fogones y Metates (Ovens and Fans). In its second year, it will be held in early December in the town of Tequila.

The event brings together women from different regions of Jalisco to share and preserve old culinary traditions, using native ingredients such as blue corn and criollo beans.

Three generations of women, Amparo Rivera, Evalia Castaneda Rivera and Emma Ramos Castaneda, participated in the festival last year.

Travelers who want to have a gastronomic experience can pay to dine at The Rivera's home, where dishes incorporate local ingredients from the family's own ranch, called El Chiquihuitillo.

This home-hosted meal for visitors to Tequila is a popular foundation initiative. At the Rivera home, guests sit in the open-air patio and sip ciruela juice while they watch Evalia and her husband make fresh corn tortillas and warm gorditas de horno (corn and cheese cakes) in a wood-fired oven.

Curated dining experiences like this one are privately arranged through hotel concierge and tour operators familiar with Beckmann Foundation. The price of such an experience depends on the group size, dishes and more. Evalia said some people just call her to pick up one dish, or a few dishes; others are joined by friends around a table at the Rivera's house.

The food is very different from what you would find at restaurants. "This is how my family eats every day. It is simple for us, yet visitors find it exotic!" Evalia says.

A visit to Tequila not only involves insight into the history of the popular beverage and a greater appreciation for it, but also an opportunity to learn about the Jalisco region  its culture, traditions and people.

Almost all of of the world's tequila comes from Jalisco, and in Tequila, the women ensure that the tequila way of life continues.

The-CNN-Wire &  2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said she wants the wealthy to pay their 2 cents worth during a campaign stop in Mason City on Saturday.

Warren touted her 2-cent tax proposal in front of a standing room-only crowd at Fat Hill Brewing as a way to pay for proposals such as universal child care, free college and student loan forgiveness while still having $1 trillion left over that could be used to fund the New Green Deal as well as infrastructure building.

"Everyone should pay a fair share," said Warren.

Warren's proposal calls for those with assets of more than $50 million to be taxed 2 cents on every dollar over that amount.

She said the wealth tax is just part of the structural change that is needed to address economic inequality in America.

Warren said she wants to end lobbying as "we know it" and "shut the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington."

She also said she wants to re-write the rules to protect democracy.

Warren proposed a Constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American to vote "and have that vote count."

Warren's proposals were greeted by big cheers from the crowd.

During the Q&A portion of Warren's appearance, two protesters from the California-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere came to the front of the crowd and challenger her on her co-sponsorship of the Dairy Pride Act in the U.S. Senate to require that non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae no longer be labeled with dairy terms like milk, yogurt and cheese.

"Why aren't you standing up to big dairy?" one of the protesters yelled.

Employees from Fat Hill escorted both of them out of the building. The police were called, but no one was arrested, said Mason City Police Sgt. Greg Scott.

Warren continued answering questions after the protesters were escorted out.

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Local author Jason Gangwish will join the River City Wordsmiths Writing Group for their May 9 meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The meeting is held in the library of Grace Church, 440 N. Illinois Ave., Mason City. Jason will talk about his recent childrens book, Ivan, the -Inch Worm.

The public is invited to come and hear about Jasons writing and publishing process. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Gangwish will read his book for any children who come.

As a child and now as a father, nature has proven to be Gangwish's favorite classroom. He combines nature and nurture in his first childrens book.

For more information about Gangwish's book go to: www.ivantheinchworm.com.

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For 10 years, North Iowa Honor Guard members from Vietnam Veterans Chapter 790 have participated in the state's Vietnam Veterans Day Recognition ceremony on May 7.

Tuesday's occasion will make 11.

A group of eight North Iowa men will travel to Des Moines to present and post the colors as part of the annual commemoration at the state's Vietnam War monument.

They are: Larry Paul, Daryl Johnson, Dan Gatton, Larry Reynolds, all of Mason City; Steve Hanson, Waverly; Mike Nelson, Abe Borne, both of Clear Lake; and Mike Woodhouse of Nora Springs.

The state Legislature passed a resolution in 2008 naming May 7 the annual day to remember and thank the nation's most forgotten veterans. Tuesday's ceremony will include remarks by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a keynote address by Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, as well as a wreath laying at the monument.

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Americas Biggest Economic Challenge May Be Demographic Decline



Slower growth in the working-age population is a problem in much of the country. Could targeted immigration policy help solve it?



By Neil Irwin





Much of the United States is seeing a decline in working-age residents. In Dayton, Ohio, an economic program to attract immigrants has led to some restored homes over the last decade, including on Alton Avenue in North Dayton.CreditCreditTy William Wright for The New York Times





For many years, American economists have spoken of Japan and Western Europe as places where the slow grind of demographic change  masses of workers reaching retirement age, and smaller generations replacing them  has been a major drag on the economy.



But it is increasingly outdated to think of that as a problem for other countries. The deepest challenge for the United States economy may really be about demographics. And our understanding of the implications is only starting to catch up.



A new report from the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank funded in large part by tech investors and entrepreneurs, adds rich new detail, showing that parts of the United States are already grappling with Japanese-caliber demographic decline  41 percent of American counties with a combined population of 38 million.



At the national level, slower growth in Americas working-age population is a major reason that mainstream forecasters now expect the economy to expand around 2 percent each year rather than the 3 percent common in the second half of the 20th century. As a matter of simple arithmetic, lower growth in the number of people working will almost certainly mean slower growth in economic output.



But demographic change doesnt hit everywhere equally. Besides the inevitable effect of the extra-large baby boom generation hitting retirement age and stepping away from the work force, decisions by working-age people can accentuate or lessen the impact of that underlying shift.



Many younger workers move to bustling urban centers on the coasts, leaving smaller cities and rural areas behind. Immigrants bolster the labor force but also disproportionately go to those same big coastal cities.



Daytons height of population was 1953, and weve seen stagnant growth for the region since 1990, said Nan Whaley, the mayor of the Ohio city.



A lot of people say this was just going to happen, that this is the way it is  I hate that comment, she said, arguing that policy decisions had incentivized investment in coastal cities.



Over all, 80 percent of American counties encompassing 149 million people experienced a decline in the number of residents ages 25 to 54 between 2007 and 2017, according to the paper, which was written by Adam Ozimek of Moodys Analytics and Kenan Fikri and John Lettieri of the Economic Innovation Group.



They project that the trends will continue, and that by 2037, two-thirds of American counties will have fewer adults of prime working age than they did in 1997, despite overall population growth in that period. (Their projections tried to take into account undocumented immigrants.)



Policies to encourage American families to have more children would help over the long run by increasing the supply of potential workers in the future. So could efforts to ensure that even struggling cities have the kinds of amenities young families desire, particularly good schools.



The population of different places is always fluctuating, and economists have traditionally viewed that as a mostly healthy process. Workers make their way to where they will be the most productive, enabling the overall economy to adapt and grow.



But people who study regional economies are increasingly concerned that some aspects of this wave of demographic change make the pain more severe for places left behind  which can get stuck in a vicious cycle.



Theres a possibility that once local areas start on this downward spiral, its self-reproducing, said Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.



A shrinking supply of working-age people can prompt employers to look elsewhere to expand, making it harder for local governments to raise enough taxes to pay for infrastructure and education, and encouraging those younger people who remain to head elsewhere for more opportunity.



It raises the possibility that, if unchecked, these demographic trends might not merely reduce overall national growth rates in the decades ahead. They could also cause the left-behind cities to hit a point of no return that undermines the long-term economic potential of huge swaths of the United States.



The authors of the E.I.G. report suggest a potential solution: an immigration policy that would stop the vicious cycle. They propose that visas could be made available to skilled immigrants on the condition they go to one of the areas struggling with demographic decline. The idea would be to create growth in the working-age population in those places, increasing the tax base and the demand for housing, and giving businesses reason to invest.



The real power of this is that it would start to change how investors, businesses and entrepreneurs view locational decisions, said Mr. Lettieri, the president of the group. They would know that there is this new pipeline for talent.



Given hostility to immigration in large segments of the country, he said, places should be able to elect whether to make visas available to immigrants as part of an economic development strategy. It would have to be a dual opt-in approach in which both the community decides it wants more immigration, and individual immigrants elect to move there.



Dayton is the kind of place where that approach may just have some appeal. Ms. Whaley, the mayor, said a program called Welcome Dayton, intended to help immigrants move to the city, has been helpful in holding the population steady after a long pattern of losses.



Programs like that, she said, combined with a low cost of living and investment in community colleges to create qualified workers, can give smaller cities like Dayton the means to break out of demographic ruts.



Regardless of what one thinks about using immigration policy to try to arrest demographic decline, theres a more basic point that everyone who cares about the United States economic future must wrestle with.



Demography may be the most powerful economic force of them all, and for much of the United States, the trend lines, for now, are pointing in the wrong direction.





Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for The Upshot. He previously wrote for The Washington Post and is the author of The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.
This San Francisco purveyor of graffiti has it right.When times are bleak -- when country and planet sink under the barely restrained sway of greed, raw power, and fear -- it's time to restate what matters. I write here to preserve and kindle hope for a national and global turn toward multi-racial, economically egalitarian, gender non-constricting, woman affirming, and peace choosing democracy that preserves the habitability of earth for all. There's a big order -- but what else is there to do but struggle for this? Not much.Topics range from the minuscule to the transcendent to the global, from dire to delightful. I am not an optimist, but I refuse to allow myself to wallow within the easy bias that everything is going to always be awful. Good also happens; love lives too.I've been yammering here about activism, politics, history, racism and other occasional horrors and pleasures since 2005.I intend to continue as long as the opportunity exists. In this time, that means activism and chronicling resistance. Perhaps it always has, one way and another.My other internet project: 596 Precincts-Walking San Francisco
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Areas of fog early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines pushed ahead Wednesday with an attempt to cut retirement benefits to Indian Health Service pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber, who sexually assaulted Blackfeet children.

The Republican senator for Montana questioned Assistant Surgeon General Michael D. Weahkee on Wednesday about Indian Health Services handling of reports against Weber.

The questions came as the assistant surgeon general appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to make his case for the IHS 2020 budget. After the hearing Daines introduced a bill to cut off retirement benefits for federal workers convicted of on-the-job child sexual assault.

Despite numerous reported suspicions of Webers inappropriate behavior, IHS turned a blind eye and enabled Weber to continue his unspeakable actions for years, Daines said. IHS failed to protect the children they were entrusted to care for. Accountability must be demanded.

In January, Weber was convicted by a U.S. District Court in Great Falls of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all felonies. The charges stem from his 1993 to 1995 employment as an Indian Health Service pediatrician on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Working in Browning, Weber engaged in sex with a boy younger than 12 and attempted to have sex with another boy younger than 16, according to prosecutors.

He was sentenced to prison for 18 years and four months, and fined $200,000 by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. The case has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Weber faces 10 more charges stemming from alleged child sexual encounters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Pine Ridge accusations span 13 years occurring after Webers time in Montana.

Now retired, the pediatrician receives more than $100,000 a year in retirement benefits. Daines has asked IHS to cut off Webers benefits, which the agency has said would be difficult.

Weahkee told the Appropriations Committee the health service is weighing its options concerning Webers pension.

I have personally submitted a letter requesting Dr. Webers retirement pay be discontinued and we are working through the legal counsel, whether or not we have the authority to do that, Weahkee said. Dialogue continues as we evaluate whether or not we have current authority or were going to need to seek legislative support to make those changes.

The Daines bill denying benefits to federal employees convicted of child sexual abuse would apply to future offenses committed by any federal worker. As Weahkee indicated in his testimony Wednesday, denying benefits retroactively for child sexual abuse is legally difficult.

Its shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children, Daines said. "That is unacceptable, which is why Im going to be taking action introducing that bill today to fix this very flawed system.

In February, the Trump administration announced that it was creating a task force to investigate how Weber managed to sexually assault children within IHS.

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A lawsuit filed by a Helena landlord who alleged that NorthWestern Energy illegally cut off power to an East Broadway property he owned has been settled and dismissed with prejudice, according to court documents filed with the First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County.

A document filed March 26 indicates that Dwight Barrett of Salt Lake City reached a confidential settlement with NorthWestern by that date, prompting the April 25 order of dismissal.

Dismissed with prejudice means the plaintiff is barred from again bringing an action on the same claim.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2018, alleged that Barrett's property had the power cut off during a frigid week in February 2018 over an outstanding balance of $16.37.

As a result of NWEs conduct, temperatures in Apartment No. 1003 fell to 10 degrees, endangering the health and safety of the occupants of the property and resulting in thousands of dollars in property and consequential damages, the lawsuit said.

Previous reports state that the apartment was vacant at the time.

Notably, Barrett asked for more than $240 million in damages. He told the Great Falls Tribune in October that he did not believe he would receive that much, but saw an eight-figure settlement as possible.

Judge Mike Menahan of the First Judicial District Court signed the dismissal order, which requires each party pay their own legal fees.

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Today's Highlight in History:

On May 4, 1961, the first group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

On May 4:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1925, an international conference opened in Geneva to forge an agreement against the use of chemical and biological weapons in war; the Geneva Protocol was signed on June 17, 1925 and went into force in 1928.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."

In 1968, the Oroville Dam in Northern California was dedicated by Gov. Ronald Reagan; the 770-foot-tall earth-filled structure, a pet project of Reagan's predecessor, Pat Brown, remains the tallest dam in the United States, but was also the scene of a near disaster in February 2017 when two spillways collapsed, threatening for a time to flood parts of three counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.

In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, telling the convicted terrorist, "You will die with a whimper."

In 2009, President Barack Obama promised to crack down on companies "that ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., underwent the nation's first double-hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Mexican officials lowered a swine flu alert level in their capital. Cleveland's LeBron James was named the NBA's MVP. Actor, comedian and director Dom DeLuise, 75, died in Santa Monica, Calif.

In 2014, Eight acrobats were injured, most of them seriously, when a carabiner clip broke during an aerial hair-hanging stunt, sending the women plummeting to the ground during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island. Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams was released without charge after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in the decades-old IRA killing of a Belfast mother of 10, Jean McConville.

In 2018, President Donald Trump suggested that his newly-hired attorney Rudy Giuliani needed to "get his facts straight" about the hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election; Giuliani had earlier said that Trump knew about the payment to Daniels made by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and that Trump had paid Cohen back. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the 1975 bludgeoning death of a girl in Greenwich, finding that Skakel's trial attorney had failed to present evidence of an alibi. (The U.S. Supreme Court later left in place the Connecticut high court ruling.) Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single against the Seattle Mariners.

Thought for Today:

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

 Franklin P. Jones, American journalist-humorist (1908-1980).

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DECATUR  Decatur residents Ty-Aija Jones and her dad Tyrice Jones attended Saturdays annual Duck Derby at the Childrens Museum of Illinois during a father-daughter date.

The 5-year-old girl took advantage of a free day at the museum after she had her face painted like a butterfly at the Duck Derby.

We are playing on everything, she said.

This year is the 28th year for the Duck Derby, which is the largest fundraiser for the museum at 55 S. Country Club Road.

We are a stand-alone, non-profit, said Amber Kaylor, the museum's executive director. We dont get any state government or local funding. We rely on our fundraisers, admission, special events to keep the museum going.

The museum was open and free to the public through a sponsorship from Jerger Pediatric Dentistry.

The museum parking lot was filled with Duck Derby activities such as face painting, bounce houses, crafts and tours of heavy equipment. Food was also available from Mr. Softee and Dippin' Merv's.

Regina Rhodes, from the pottery business Outside the Lines, brought her white van to the event, allowing families to paint whatever design they wanted on the vehicle. Its all water based, so it washes right off, Rhodes said. These are things you are allowed to do anywhere but home.

For this year's Duck Derby, organizers created the Celebrity Derby in which five well-known community members were invited to run through an obstacle course located among the other events. All armed with duck flippers and inner-tubes, the racers consisted of the winner Lindsay Romano from Neuhoff Media as well as John Reidy, digital editor at the Herald & Review; Decatur firefighter Ryan Pritts; Debbie Bogle from United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois; and Abby Koester, the museums director of education.

For every $100 dollars that was credited to their name, they got a second off of their obstacle course time, Kaylor said.

Pritts, 36, has participated in similar community activities. But this is my first time doing a race like this, he said. Ive done all kinds of silly stuff like this before.

The big floppy duck feet gave the firefighter a challenge. Its not like you can just run forward like you normally would, Pritts said. Otherwise you end up tripping and falling.

The highlight of the event was the Duck Derby. This year the race among thousands of rubber ducks was separated into five heats with the winner announced after the final race. Guests were able to purchase a duck up until the last race.

This year's winners are Jennifer Smith in first place with $3,000; second-place winner Priscilla Burnett with $1,500, and third-place winners Mark and Tappy McLeod with $500.

The multiple races provide two advantages in the Duck Derby.

If a participants duck didnt win a previous heat, they can pay for another opportunity in the finale. They can buy back in, Kaylor said. It gives them greater chance to win.

Also, the children have more than one opportunity to cheer on toy ducks in a race.

The kids are there all day and the race takes all of 15 seconds, Kaylor said. This give them multiple races to see.

Scarlett Donoho, 3, brought her 1-year-old little brother Sullivan along with their parents Hannah and Austin from Moweaqua. Shortly after the family arrived at the Duck Derby, Scarlett had her shoes off. Weve done one bounce house and we are on No. 2, her mother said.

Although the event was filled with activities, the little girl had little interest on anything other than the inflatable houses. I want to do the blue one, she said after finishing the the first house.

Face painting, crafts, and even the museum couldn't pique her interest.

Well just go with the flow and see what looks good, her father said.

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

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RCC professor honored

DECATUR -- Professor Evyonne Hawkins has been named a recipient of the Dale P. Darnell Distinguished Faculty award by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Hawkins has been at Richland Community College for 25 years, where she began her career as an administrative assistant, part of the team that developed the associate degree in nursing program. She holds associate degrees in office technology and general education; bachelor's and master's degrees in education and has been named faculty of the year and a distinguished alumna at Richland. She created the African American studies degree program at Richland and dual credit programs at Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools.

Church to hold community fair

DECATUR -- Life Buildiers Church, 833 W. Pershing Road, will hold a free community event 2 to 6 p.m. today for all ages.

Activities include free food, a Kids' Zone, inflatables, a Construction Zone, stage acts, mobile zoo, escape rooms and more.

Photo contest entries sought

DECATUR -- Macon County Conservation District is inviting students in grades K through 12 to submit original photographs depicting scenes from Illinois nature.

Entries may be submitted in one of three categories: Landscapes, Wildlife and Humans and Nature. Each must be framed and measure at least 8 by 10 inches.

Conservation District staff will determine first, second and third place photographs and award ribbons in each category. All submissions will be displayed in Rock Springs Nature Center in June and August along with other artists' work.

Drop off or mail entries by May 24 to Rock Springs Nature Center, c/o Alysia Callison, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur IL 62521. Photographers must include their name, age, grade, school or home school, and a parent or guardian's phone number. Winners will be notified on Monday, June 10. For more information, visit maconcountyconservation.org.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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DECATUR  Heads up, drivers: With warmer weather approaching, repair crews could soon start fixing some of the region's most well-traveled roads.

City, county and state officials have identified several roadways for repair or improvement projects. Whether they begin this summer or are completed before the construction season ends depends on several factors: budgeting, weather and approval from governing bodies.

"We start putting together (a list of) streets for the coming construction season at the start of the previous construction season," said Griffin Enyart, Decatur's assistant city engineer. "... The goal is to get these projects out early in the spring."

The Decatur Public Works Department on Monday will present city council members a list of roads that it has targeted to repair using funds collected by the local motor fuel tax, which is 5 cents on each gallon of unleaded fuel and 1 cent per gallon for diesel. The council will vote on whether it wants to approve the list and allow staffers to work toward getting the projects ready for contractors to bid on.

More road projects could be coming in the next few years. Republican President Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state and federal lawmakers have all called for major increases in infrastructure spending, but progress has been stymied by how to pay for it.

Illinois needs $13 billion to $15 billion for highway maintenance over the next year, according to IDOT Acting Secretary Matt Magalis. Lawmakers generally agree that the state's roads and bridges need work, but they differ about how to cover the cost. Some have advocated for increasing the state's motor fuel tax, currently 19 cents a gallon, but others are deeply opposed to the idea.

At the federal level, infrastructure could bring together Trump and Democrats in Congress, who said last week that they had agreed to work together on a $2 trillion plan. How to fund that plan remains up in the air. Trump campaigned on a promise to upgrade deteriorating roads and bridges and has been trying for two years to roll out such a package.

For now, city and county leaders say they're focusing on what they can fix with the resources they have. The rising cost of asphalt, decline in motor fuel tax proceeds and other budget pressures have spurred a growing problem for Decatur and communities across the state that have struggled to keep up with repairs.

Deteriorating roads are a continual source of frustration for residents, who say the potholes hurt their cars and make for an unpleasant drive. County Engineer Bruce Bird said the highway department gets a lot of calls from residents about roads that they think should be prioritized for repairs.

There are more roads and bridges on the county's "to-do" list than can be repaired immediately, he said.

We dont use dart boards and Ouija boards, he said. Some people think we do it that way, but we have a five-year plan for any projects that we have on the radar.

Targeted city streets

Some of the Decatur roads targeted for improvement include a reconstruction of East Division Street and North 34th Street to North 35th Street, patchwork for East Wood Street and North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to North Maffit Street, and East Wood Street between Jasper and 22nd streets.

A memo provided to city council members highlighted the Wood Street project as the primary project on the list. About 80 partial lead water services will need to be replaced as part of the project, which means portions of Wood Street will be closed to all traffic until they're replaced.

The proposal as a whole is estimated to cost about $1.8 million, with $1.4 million coming from the motor fuel tax fund and about $367,000 in utility costs coming from the city's storm, sewer and water main replacement funds.

Enyart said the city does street inspections every year, and grades the roadways on a scale of 0 to 100 called a "pavement condition index."

The proposal memo said the city's annual capital improvement list generally focuses on streets with a PCI rating of less than 75. About 41 percent of the city's streets fall below that rating and the overall condition of city streets has dropped from an average PCI rating of 82 to 78 in the past six years.

Enyart notes that low PCI scores aren't the only things that city staff takes into consideration when planning repairs. Other factors such as how much traffic the street regularly gets, or whether underground repairs are scheduled for a certain road also guide the city's decision-making.

"There will be certain ones deferred to future years for some of those reasons," he said. "We'll also decide which ones really need the work based on the budget and what can fit within our budget."

In addition to the primary roads that city staff are recommending for repairs, the city's proposal also features alternate streets for council to consider.

These streets are ones that don't score quite as high on the PCI, but could be improved if bids come in below the engineer's estimate. They can also be switched out for some of the primary repair proposals if the council feels that their repairs should take precedence over the staff recommended projects.

Alternate projects mentioned in the proposal include a $40,000 asphalt overlay to East Eldorado Street and North 33rd Street to North Lake Shore Drive and a $105,000 overlay from 33rd and South Lake Shore Drive to East William Street Road.

Beltway progress

Elsewhere in the county, crews have already begun work to remove a section of Brush College Road near Mound Road to connect with new intersections as part of the ongoing $220 million Macon County Beltway Project.

YOUR TURN What roads should be fixed? Join the conversation and have your voice heard at herald-review.com/letters.

The beltway is a 22-mile loop of road that will run from Brush College near Interstate 72 over Lake Decatur and through Long Creek into Mount Zion before linking to Elwin Road. Macon County Engineer Bruce Bird said crews have made "really good progress" on the Brush College project.

David Brix operates a corn, soybean and alfalfa farm on Garver Church Road, near the closed portion of Brush College. While he and his family arent blocked in on Garver, he said, they now have to drive toward Illinois 48 and wrap around in order to travel south in the city. Looking toward the eventual completion of the beltway, Brix said itll be a challenge getting used to how the new traffic patterns work and also getting large farm equipment down the smaller lanes of roadway that the connector routes will boast.

He also said the overall cost of the beltway project could probably be used to tend to the needs of several other roads in the area. When asked what roads are in the most need of repair, Brix said all of them. Weve sure got a lot of bad roads that could be fixed."

One thing Bird said people should take into account is that local government may not have jurisdiction over many of the major roads going through the area. The responsibility for those roads typically falls on the Illinois Department of Transportation, Bird said.

Other road and bridge projects that the county currently has scheduled include work on Wyckles Road between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36, a bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek, the Baltimore bikepath between Harryland and a reconstruction of Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121.

IDOT has also organized a five-year improvement plan that was released last year. Recently, the department received Decatur city council approval to proceed with a $4.1 million project to fix a stretch of Eldorado Street that runs from North Fairview Avenue to North Church Street.

Decatur-area road projects The following is a list of Decatur roads and bridges targeted by the city and county for improvements in the near future: The end of East Central Avenue to North Warren Street

North Warren Street/East Central Avenue to East King Street

East Division Street/North 34th to North 35th

East Wood Street/South Jasper Street to South 22nd Street

North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Wabash Crossing)

East Wood Street/North MLK to North Maffit Street

Bayview, Country Manor, Lakeridge and Baker Woods neighborhoods

Brush College Road connector for Beltway project

Baltimore bikepath, between Harryland and Lost Bridge Road

Wyckles Road, between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36

Bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek

Bridge on School Road near Cisco

Niantic Road from old Illinois 26 to railroad tracks

Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121

Box culvert replacement near Warrensburg on County Highway 20

Bridge replacement on Lake Fork Road north of Argenta

Bridge replacement on Shellabarger Road in Illini Township

In addition to repaving the worn-and-torn street, new traffic lights and curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Greg Jamerson, program development engineer for IDOT's District 7, which includes Macon County, previously said there's no defined start date for that project. It will ultimately depend on how quickly the state can acquire land for the new traffic signal systems.

Enyart said that while the city doesn't currently have a multi-year plan for road improvements, staff is considering adopting one in the near future.

The plan "still maybe would change a little bit year-to-year as priorities do change, but we'll at least have a plan in place," he said.

Contact Jaylyn Cook at (217) 421-7980. Follow him on Twitter: @jaylyn_HR

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Sunday, April 28

Taylorville continues tornado recovery

Vickie Barker, 67, chose to build on the same Coal Street lot where her last house stood, before the storm roared through and blasted the structure that Dec. 1 evening. Heavily damaged, it had to be razed and a cement foundation was poured, ready for a new modular house on the way.

Were ready to come home, Barker said.

Barker is one piece of the sprawling, ongoing recovery underway in Taylorville this winter and spring. Wednesday marked five months since a violent EF-3 tornado tore an 11-mile gash through this Christian County community, leaving behind a trail of destruction and debris. More than 700 buildings were damaged in some way, but against all odds, no one was killed.

The story of Taylorvilles reconstruction is a lesson in the importance of emergency preparedness, hard work and community togetherness at a time of critical need.

Monday, April 29

City floats Lake Decatur fee hikes

Boat owners and other Lake Decatur users could see fee increases as city leaders contemplate how to make revenue for recreation on the lake cover the cost of supporting those services.

During a study session at the Decatur Civic Center, council members directed city staff to look into how a gradual recreation fee increase could be implemented at the lake in the near future. No action was taken on the issue Monday, but City Manager Scot Wrighton staff will work to have a proposal for council to consider finalized "fairly quickly."

"There are no specific rate hikes at this time," he said before the meeting. "We're at the broad policy stage of this."

Wrighton said dealing with recreational fees is just one aspect of a larger conversation surrounding the city's stewardship of the lake and how it should manage costs and keep it clean in the aftermath of the $91 million dredging project that ended last year.

Tuesday, April 30

Rains drench Central Illinois

Heavy rains and thunderstorms across Central Illinois are bringing a risk for flash floods, keeping farmers from their fields and creating challenges for construction projects.

The wet weather started Monday and was not expected to relent until late in the week. A flash flood watch is in effect until Wednesday evening for counties including Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, DeWitt, Logan, Shelby, Christian, Champaign, Sangamon and Coles.

"This extended period of rainy weather is starting to get a little unusual," though some rain is typical for springtime, said Chris Geelhart, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Geelhart said the region was expecting another 2 to 2 inches through Thursday night. People are itching to get out in the fields, he said, adding that a period of drier weather was expected to start Friday.

Wednesday, May 1

Students' mock trial marks Law Day

A mock trial was conducted at the Macon County Courthouse by members of the Decatur Bar Association in observance of Law Day, first instituted President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Three years later, Congress passed a resolution to make May 1 Law Day annually to celebrate Americans' rights as laid out in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This is something we do to demonstrate our commitment to the law and to really engage the community, said Regan Lewis, chair of the event for the Decatur Bar Association and a new Decatur School District board member.

This year's theme for Law Day was free speech, free press and a free society.

Typically, we give a little bit of information about it to the kids, and then we do a mock trial so they can sort of see how the pieces work. This one (Cinderella) is a civil trial, but I'm going to try to do a criminal (mock) trial next year because that's what the kids seem most interested in, Lewis said.

Thursday, May 2

Buffett gives another $1M to city

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has donated another $1 million to the city of Decatur for its community revitalization efforts.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe made the announcement during her State of the City address Thursday morning during breakfast as part of the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in the Decatur Civic Center.

The foundation previously gave $1 million for revitalization in November 2017, part of which was used to buy 750 parcels of Macon County trustee land, Wolfe said. The neighborhood revitalization project has been a longtime goal for city leaders.

"We're going to get those houses down, and we're going to build up this community," Wolfe said during her remarks.

Moore Wolfe said progress means she can barely find a parking spot downtown these days  and that's a good thing.

"Now, it's time to get really, really specific to fixing our other neighborhoods," Moore Wolfe said.

Friday, May 3

Costly details in property tax plan

Illinois Senate Democrats have sweetened a sales pitch to voters for a proposed graduated-rate income tax in 2020 by attaching to it a vow of property tax relief to weary taxpayers.

Like any sales pitch, the proposal  to freeze property taxes that go to schools  has some significant fine print attached.

First, it would only happen if voters ratify that proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. And, it would only take effect if the state shouldered more of the overall funding for education in Illinois  including funding special education, transportation, free and reduced meal programs and other mandated categorical programs.

The state also would have to meet its decadelong commitment to boost funding for the new general state aid formula by $350 million a year.

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CHICAGO  Mourners came by the hundreds to a Crystal Lake funeral home Friday to pay their respects to a 5-year-old boy many of them didn't know but whose tragic death and the circumstances surrounding it left them heartbroken and wondering why more wasn't done to save him.

Along with the many tears for Andrew "AJ" Freund was also the hope that his sad story would prompt greater action to protect children from the type of life and death authorities said AJ experienced.

The boy was killed last month, and his parents were charged with murder and other crimes after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock. The boy was born with opiates in his system and lived in a home often visited by police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line outside the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory. "Losing a life in general ... but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

People young and old walked solemnly through the funeral home and past a the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross. The casket was made and donated

Visitation for Andrew "AJ" Freund began at 1 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave., and will last until 8 p.m. By 12:30 p.m. hundreds of people had formed a line and were waiting to enter to offer their final goodbyes.

Among them was Elissa Emmert of Crystal Lake, who was holding and rocking her 21-month-old son Levi. She said she came to "show support to AJ. My heart breaks for what happened to him."

The funeral home was expecting thousands of people to attend the memorial visitation for AJ, who was killed last month and whose parents were charged with his death after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock.

Blue ribbons adorned poles and trees along Terra Cotta. There were several posters with pictures that showed AJ with angel wings and were inscribed with the words, "In loving memory of AJ." A flag was a half-staff at one local business.

At the nearby Twisted Stem floral design business, a big blue balloon archway was on display. Owner and designer John Regan had just finished making his 1,000th blue bow, which he has been giving to members of the community for them to display since AJ was reported missing April 18.

"I'm helping turn the city blue today," he said "It's just a simple gesture."

Many mourners, some who brought their children, questioned how, as authorities allege, the parents could beat and kill their own son. They also decried what they said were the failures of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and begged for change.

The Tribune has found that DCFS, which has had contact with the family over several years, missed signs of trouble despite hotline calls and police reports that documented squalid living conditions, substance abuse, domestic violence, suspicious bruises and, at times, uncooperative parents. DCFS' acting director said the agency is reviewing its "shortcomings" in the case and would take steps to address those issues.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line. "Losing a life in general, but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

Lovey Sauers of Crystal Lake asked why other local agencies and community groups were not contacted by DCFS to help in AJ's case.

She said "there are so many resources" that could have been called to help including shelters, CASA, local churches, schools and Safe Haven at Willow Creek Church.

"Crystal Lake is a family community," Sauers said. "It's a good community. To have this at our back door, it's shameful and it's disturbing."

Michelle Murphy of Cary attended because she wanted to pay respects to a boy who it appeared to her no one wanted.

"If they didn't want him, they're other things they could have done," she said. "Don't kill him. There are other things you could do."

Marjorie Lehmann, director of administration at Trappist Caskets of Peosta, Iowa, said the business is donating an oak casket, made by monks of the New Melleray Abbey child casket ministry.

The Abbey also will plant a tree in AJ's name to replenish the wood used to make his casket.

AJ was reported missing by his parents April 18. He was found buried in a shallow field near Woodstock a week later. An autopsy determined that AJ died from blunt force trauma to his head.

His parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham, have been charged with murder and are being held in McHenry County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

AJ is remembered in an online obituary as a doting and loving big brother to his 4-year-old brother and his mother's unborn child. He is described as "loving, affectionate and outgoing ... a virtual ray of sunshine to all who knew him, with a giggle and laugh that was uniquely his."

An online account remains active to raise money for AJ's siblings. As of Wednesday it had raised more than $58,000.

Donations may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/d62g4d-rest-in-peace-aj.

The funeral for AJ will be private.

Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.

Also forgot one bouquet was from a family in Florida... sweet messages on the flower cards people saying they are sorry and how he's an angel now...

**

Took about an hour to walk through, like my other notes people told me ... very somber, several comfort dogs, big flower arrangements everywhere, one bouquet from Chicago Cubs another from Crystal Lake Lions Club and others with what looks like random family names I didn't recognize .. flowers are all colors not just blue and white ... there are gifts, stuffed animals toy trucks near the casket, large pics of AJ smiling. When you walk in there is a big Batman balloon appearing to lay on and hold a huge stuffed teddy bear ... alps are in there and there is an honor guard by the casket.

Oh and a piece of art made by St Mary's preschool in Woodstock.. looks like a tree then all the kids thumb prints in different colors are the leaves ... very sweet ...

As mourners exited the funeral home many carrying big blue ribbons or tiny blue ribbons with a rose attached they described a "somber" and "sad" scene.

"It's very quiet. Very somber. Everybody was comforting everybody," said Laurie Pitner of Crystal Lake.

Many described several blue and white floral arrangements, oversized photos of AJ smiling and comfort dogs. A priest also was present hugging and consoling people.

Jenny Carlini of Crystal Lake described the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross that was protected by an honor guard. A statue of an angle was placed nearby the casket as were flower arrangements from area businesses and family members.

Carlini said the mood inside where many sniffles were heard was sad but also hopeful, as if this has presented the community and beyond a time for "resetting what's important."

"I felt mad (at first)," she said, but as she looked at the hundreds of mourners lined up along Terra Cotta Ave. waiting to go inside she added: "Look what we can do as a community."

"We have to take care of our children," Carlini said. "If we don't we're going to have a very bleak future."

***

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ALTON (AP)  A disaster proclamation has been issued by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for 34 counties along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers due to flooding.

Friday's declaration is to ensure communities battling floods caused by heavy rain will receive state support. That support includes the Corrections Department providing work crews to support sandbagging efforts.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for several rivers across Illinois after several days of soaking rain. More than 5 inches fell in places like Aurora, Morris and Chicago's Midway and O'Hare international airports.

Public works employees in Alton erected a barrier wall Thursday after a Mississippi River surge closed roadways. The weather service forecasts a crest of 35.5 feet by Sunday or Monday in Alton.

The Mississippi River at Chester on Friday was at nearly 37 feet with the weather service forecasting it to crest at more than 43 feet by Monday.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Fifty years ago, new Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie pushed through the state's first income tax to shore up Illinois finances. It was a flat 2.5% applying to all levels of income. Requiring a flat-rate income tax was hotly contested a year later among those rewriting the state Constitution. The Constitution enshrined it in 1971, Ogilvie lost re-election in 1972, but the debate over the system's fairness never abated.

Enter Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a multibillionaire who campaigned on dumping the flat-rate structure for a so-called "fair tax," a graduated scale that duns wealthy taxpayers at greater percentages. The Illinois Senate approved the inaugural steps to that goal last week.

Here are some questions and answers on the subject:

Q: WHAT'S THE IDEA?

A: Pritzker proposed a progressive structure which he touts as one in which 97% of Illinois taxpayers would pay the same as they do now or less. It starts at 4.75% for incomes up to $10,000. Those making $100,000 to $250,000 would pay the current 4.95%. The rates go up from there and top out at 7.95% for those earning $1 million or more.

Those 3% who would pay more would produce $3 billion in extra revenue, Pritzker contends, to help the state erase its structural deficit  wrought by spending unexpectedly outstripping revenue  and help the state twist its way out of tens of billions of dollars of debt associated with overdue bills, underfunded pensions, and more.

A non-partisan study largely agreed with Pritzker that his plan would spare the bulk of taxpayers from increased tax bills and narrow the ever-widening income gap.

Q: WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR THE CHANGE?

A: An amendment to the state Constitution. Democratic Oak Park Sen. Don Harmon's proposal won Senate approval last Wednesday by a three-fifths majority. It must get a three-fifths majority endorsement in the House before voters would get the final say at the ballot box in November 2020. If they approve, the new tax rate would take effect in 2021.

Q: IS THERE OPPOSITION?

A: Quite a bit. No Senate Republicans voted for the constitutional amendment or follow-up legislation from Sen. Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Olympia Fields, which sets the tax rates. The GOP and leading business interests say the plan simply generates $3 billion for Democrats to spend unaccountably. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs called the Senate vote "another step toward handing a blank check over to the Democrats and their reckless spending habits."

Q: BUT DEMOCRATS ARE ALL ON BOARD?

A: No. Chicago Democratic Rep. Robert Martwick is sponsoring a constitutional amendment in the House, and he's still counting noses. A three-fifths majority is 71 House votes, and there are 74 Democrats. The GOP is solidly opposed, and Illinois Democrats are a disparate group. Martwick says he's trying to combine "the right ingredients to make everyone happy with it."

Although the amendment doesn't mention rates, the two are inextricably linked. Martwick says some lawmakers are comfortable supporting the amendment but shy away from a vote on rates. Others don't want to commit to the amendment without seeing the rates.

Q: BUT PRITZKER PROPOSED RATES. AREN'T THEY ALREADY PART OF THE SENATE PLAN?

A: No. The Senate-approved Hutchinson legislation includes a top rate that differs from Pritzker's. It increases the top rate to 7.99% and applies it to $1 million in income for married couples filing jointly. But for single filers, Hutchinson's plan applies the top rate to income over $750,000. She said that's to make the process fairer for couples whose combined income can often kick them into a higher tax bracket, a phenomenon dubbed the "marriage penalty."

"It's a delicate balance, but right now, we have a system that doesn't tax where growth is actually occurring and growth is occurring in the top income brackets," Hutchinson said.

Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who inherits the Senate tax plan, said House Democrats are less concerned about slight changes in the rates than they are about property tax relief.

Q: AREN'T PROPERTY TAXES THE REAL BANE?

A: Arguably, yes, given that Illinois has the nation's next-to-highest property taxes after New Jersey. Pritzker's plan offers a 20% increase in the property tax credit, meaning taxpayers would be able to claim an income-tax credit of 6% of property taxes paid instead of 5% of property taxes paid.

And the Senate added another sweetener last week when it adopted Sen. Andy Manar's measure to rein in the property taxes collected by public schools, which rely to a disproportionate degree on real estate taxes because the state has traditionally not met its funding commitment. The Bunker Hill Democrat's plan would bar schools from increasing property taxes as long as the state met all its expected obligations for general state aid funding and so-called categorical program such as transportation and special education.

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SPRINGFIELD  Members of a liberal House caucus announced their opposition Friday to the Senates move to strike Illinois estate tax from statute, a measure unexpectedly included in a package of bills to change the states income tax structure.

Chicago Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the state is at a critical moment. The General Assembly is negotiating the terms under which to implement a graduated income tax system, and repealing a tax on the transfer of property, he said, is a move in precisely the opposite direction.

Giving a $300 million tax break to the estates of the richest people in Illinois, that nobody as far as I can tell is even really asking for, seems to me like a step in the wrong direction, Guzzardi said.

The measure, contained in Senate President John Cullertons, D-Chicago, Senate Bill 689, passed the Senate with 33 votes after unexpectedly being added to a package of bills which can only become law if the voters approve a graduated tax constitutional amendment in November 2020.

Six Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in voting against the measure. State Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, said the estate tax repeal is generally supported by Republicans, but his opposition was based on the fact that the repeal could be reversed at any time.

The estate tax currently only applies to estates worth more than $4 million, and it produces $305 million in revenue, according to a 2020 estimate from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Guzzardi said that revenue would have to be made up elsewhere or the budget would have to be cut to account for the $305 million  even with the estimated $3.5 billion in revenue that would be gained from a proposed graduated tax structure.

I think that we are pushing pretty hard on about every other source of revenue we can find, he said.

He said cuts might have to come from programs people care about, such as higher education, health care, human services or others.

I think it would harm our ability to balance our budget and it would undermine our efforts to make our tax policy more fair, he added.

Guzzardi said the Progressive Caucus supports the graduated income tax proposal because Illinois does not have the financial resources to fund services its members see as ones a government should provide  quality public schools, affordable health care and access to social programs.

Our tax system in this state is broken  we tax poor people and working-class people too much and very, very wealthy people way too little, Guzzardi said. We support the progressive income tax because it makes our tax system more fair and generates the revenue we need to pay for the services the government needs to perform.

He said he is optimistic the constitutional amendment necessary to enact the new tax structure will receive enough votes to be presented to voters in 2020. The bill needs 71 votes in the House, which has 74 Democratic members.

But either way, removing current law that taxes the transfer of property is not something Guzzardi said he thinks will be successful in his chamber.

To be clear, there arent enough votes in the House for a repeal of the estate tax and whatever happens with the fair tax, we dont believe that that should be or will be included, he said.

Democratic Reps. Carol Ammons (Urbana), Theresa Mah (Chicago), Celina Villanueva (Chicago), Delia Ramirez (Chicago), Kelly Cassidy (Chicago), Robyn Gabel (Evanston), Gregory Harris (Chicago), Joyce Mason (Gurnee), Anna Moeller (Elgin), Aaron Ortiz (Chicago), Lamont Robinson, Jr. (Chicago), Anne Stava-Murray (Naperville) and Maurice West (Rockford) joined in the caucuss opposition to the estate tax.

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The last time I saw John William King, he was leaving a courtroom in Jasper, Texas, in handcuffs. It had taken a jury of 11 whites and one African-American just 2 hours to convict him of one of the most heinous hate crimes America had ever seen.

King was 24 at the time, clean-cut with an engaging smile. He did not look like someone who could chain a man to the back of a pickup truck and drag him for nearly 3 miles, ripping the body into pieces scattered along the road.

He looked like an all-American guy. But 49-year-old James Byrd Jr., the unfortunate black man who crossed paths with King and his two accomplices that awful day in 1998, proved how easily looks could be deceiving. One had to gaze beyond King's boyish charm to see the monster that lived inside.

Last week, King was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. But his execution did not change a thing. Before the week had ended, evil was resurrected during a Passover service in California.

King orchestrated the lynching in Jasper and, for a while, he was one of the most loathsome men in America. A self-proclaimed white supremacist, he rekindled memories of a vile part of our nation's history that some thought had been buried 40 years before. He reminded us that hatred and bigotry, when cast into a shallow grave, could simply kick off the dirt and rise again with an even greater vengeance.

Byrd, an unemployed ex-convict, became a martyr. His funeral drew a thousand people from across the country, including politicians and activists. He had not lived a perfect life, but he did not deserve such a horrendous death. On this point, most Americans agreed.

The only way Jasper and the rest of the country could heal, most seemed to think, was if King were put to death. Two decades later, he was.

As a national reporter for the Tribune, I covered the 1999 trial, but I had long forgotten the defendant's name. By the time he was executed, most Americans likely had never heard about what King had done, or they could not recall.

One of King's accomplices was executed in 2011 and the third is serving a life sentence in prison. Byrd's murder reawakened America's spirit, but it quickly fell asleep again. People rarely mentioned it anymore.

In this country, outrage is fleeting. It mellows over time like emotional pain vanishes after injecting a synthetic drug. When it comes to easing the burden of injustice, America's drug of choice is apathy.

Byrd's slaying recalled an era when African-Americans were routinely lynched by hooded nightriders. Jasper residents feared their town being portrayed as one of the most racist communities in the nation. Some believed at the time, however, that the case would be a catalyst for change across the country, as the nation came together in solidarity.

But it changed nothing. Years later, there would be racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Charlottesville, Virginia. There would be religious slaughters in Charleston, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh. And there would be countless stories about attacks on Muslims, gays and lesbians, Hispanics and African-Americans that would not even make the news. And the nation would be even more divided.

When the trial was over, Booker T. Hunter, then the president of the Jasper chapter of the NAACP, told me that King would have to die in order for people to heal.

"If we get total justice, the death penalty, people will begin to heal," Hunter said. "We will never forget it, but we can move on."

The truth is that we moved on long before King was put to death. But we still have not healed. There have been too many evil people picking at the scab.

I am not an advocate of the death penalty. I have never believed that a life for a life is the best way to right a wrong. Retaliating with more violence is not the way to end violence. And certainly, it will not put an end to hatred.

But the timing of King's death seemed appropriate. As our country is under siege by bigotry, contempt and anger, America was reminded that evil is nothing fresh. It is something we have toiled with and cried over since our nation was founded.

Though people eventually forget and move on, bigotry lingers and waits for the perfect moment to strike again. Hardly a week goes by in today's America that we don't see this hatred manifested. Each time we stop and wonder if evil is winning, and whether we are helpless to stop it.

Last Wednesday, King lay on a gurney with a needle in his arm. Witnesses said his eyes were closed the entire time, moving only once to take a deep breath when the killing process began. When the warden asked if he had any last words, King, 44, said, "No."

Byrd's sister watched from the gallery. "There was no sense of relief," she said afterward. Some of the victim's relatives knew that from the start and had advocated mercy for the killer.

It only took three days for evil to rear its head again. A gunman, yelling anti-Semitic slurs, opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California. A 60-year-old woman was killed. A rabbi was shot in the hand and two others were wounded.

King's execution did nothing to stop it.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday. It was a simple and spiritual ceremony that belied his importance as a champion of global harmony.

He was the son of Emperor Hirohito, who approved the bombing of Pearl Harbor and helped lead the world into the chaos and destruction of World War II. Akihito inherited a new monarchy as victorious Allied Forces demanded that the institution become totally symbolic, a world of distance from his predecessors godlike status. In that new era, he was an unshakable pacifist.

Akihito became a leading moral voice who traveled the world marking the impact of Japans aggression. He honored his countrys own dead without excusing the deaths they caused. Educated by an American Quaker, he quickly came to understand the necessity of peace.

This has stood in contrast to recent moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed for a more unshackled military that has been constrained since the end of the war.

And Japan has not been alone in militaristic moods. The United States and Russia spend billions on their armed forces and eye Cold War-style aggression. Parts of the Middle East remain a battle zone. Terrorists the world over murder innocent civilians, and Western nations become more comfortable using drones as weapons as they argue over the principles of a just war. More leaders like Akihito are needed to stand for peace and acknowledge the terrible alternative.

I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Akihito, 85, said in a farewell address.

We couldnt agree more.

Newsday

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As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
When around 870 million people globally are deprived of food, losing or wasting around 1.3 billion tonnes of food valued over $1 trillion is nothing less than a crime. A report by FAO says that if just one-fourth of lost or wasted food were saved, it could end global hunger. Another FAO statistics states that food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emission each year. Hence it is the responsibility of each stake holder(from farm to fork) to ensure nothing is lost/wasted. Food loss could be the result of inadequate infrastructure, markets, price mechanisms, poor supply chain, improper packaging and many more.Understanding the impact food loss has on the world population, Hitesh Lohani (Managing Director) & Priyanka Lohani (Director)incepted Top Fresh International Private Limited (TFIPL) in 2017 in Delhi. Our companys foundation stone was laid on the very concept of food

lost during transit. Most of the brands work with distributor model, which compromises their brand name in a lot of possible ways, where the quality is highly affected due to poor supply chain, explains Hitesh. Hence TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model. This helps the company keep a thorough check on the quality of the product and supply fresh products like fresh fruits, green peas, sweet corn, veg soya chaap, broccoli, mix vegetable, strawberry, blackberry French fries and many more at the top conditions.



"TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model"



Quality being the centrifugal force of the company, it packs every product at its own cold chain & packaging unit in Delhi that maintains a very low temperature but ensure no ice formation, which is common otherwise as the temperature drop leads to thawing of a product which degrades the quality. This gives the best shelf life and can be achieved only with good relations with third party warehouse providers and creating your own stock, adds Priyanka. To further ensure healthy products, TFIPL has leased a small land in Rudrapurcity of Uttarakhand for pesticide-free cultivation of green peas.



Customer is the King

Giving its ears to every client concerns, TFIPL puts their opinions and suggestions on top priority and
Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh spoke about the regimes reasons for planning such activities and the agencies that are involved and the role that each one plays.

Last year there was a significant escalation of the regimes malign activities in Europe and in the United States. As a result, several regime diplomats and members of the MOIS were arrested and jailed for terrorist and espionage activities.

Jafarzadeh spoke mainly about ten separate incidents and confirmed that the MOIS and Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are directly involved, emphasising that attacks are not planned by rogue agents. Indeed, the highest ranks in Tehran are involved.

He explained that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves all decisions. Plots are signed off by the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani. While the IRGCs Quds Force takes the lead on terrorist plots across the Middle East, the MOIS is in charge of terrorism in Europe.

Foreign embassies are used as intelligence centres where agents are given cover, documentation, weapons, and the all-important diplomatic immunity. The embassies will intervene if terrorists are arrested and the issue will be whitewashed with the suspects taken out of custody and sent back to Iran.

A number of PMOI members have been residing in Albania which has become a point of interest for the regime. A plot to bomb a Nowruz (new year) celebration was foiled by authorities and two regime agents were arrested. Jafarzadeh explained that a senior MOIS official became the regimes ambassador in Albania to prepare for terror attacks.

European authorities also foiled a plot to bomb the oppositions Free Iran gathering in Paris last year where a number of foreign dignitaries were due to attend, as well as 100,000 supporters. The regime diplomat that was residing in Austria was stripped of diplomatic immunity and is in German custody. The regime is taking great efforts to get him send back to Iran.

Jafarzadeh also pointed to the involvement of foreign ministers, including current minister Zarif who, as a member of the Supreme National Security Council, is aware of the regimes terrorist activity. Jafarzadeh said that Zarif should be arrested for his involvement, pointing out that of all the regimes diplomats that were expatriated back to Iran only one remains jailed.

Moving forward, Jafarzadeh believes that the Supreme Leader and his office as well as the MOIS should be designated as a foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) and that Iranian agents in Europe should be prosecuted. He also suggested that the regimes embassies in Europe should be shut down. Jafarzadeh said that the regime has taken advantage of diplomatic relations to plot terrorist attacks in the West.

He further went on to explain that the real solution to the regimes belligerence is not sanctions, but regime change that is effectuated by the people.
Zarif said: I put this offer on the table, publicly, now. Exchange them. All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on an extradition request from the United States Let us exchange them I have the authority to do that. We informed the government of the United States six months ago that we are ready.

Now, there is a critical inaccuracy in that statement. Zarif, as a member of the executive branch, does not have the power to make such offers to foreign governments. This power is held solely by the head of the judiciary, who is appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Zarif even manages to admit that he has no power to release prisoners when he was questioned about the environmental scientists held by Iran, claiming that the judiciary is independent and that he is busy enough preventing wars and economic pressures.

So how can it be that Zarif has the authority to release some prisoners but not others? After all, the eight environmentalists, arrested on vague charges like spreading corruption on Earth, have received support from human rights organizations and Members of the European Parliament urging their release but Iran has not responded. One scientist, Iranian-Canadian Kavous Seyyed-Emami, died in suspicious circumstances while in jail and the Regime claimed it to be suicide.

Other foreign citizens held in Iran include:

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

US Navy veteran Michael White

Princeton University student Xiyue Wang

US businessmen Baquer and Siamak Namazi

The truth is, of course, that Zarif only has the power to release prisoners that Khamenei believes will get him concessions from the international community. The Iranian Regime uses hostages as political pawns to gain leverage against other governments, something that has been true since the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh said: In a nutshell, the Iranian regime is once again using foreign citizens as hostages in order to blackmail other governments. It is incumbent on these countries not to submit to Tehrans hostage-taking game. Accepting Irans terms will only embolden and empower the regime.
General thoughts of fun stuff, like music, books and the like. Thanks for reading.
About Me William Kelly I am a freelance writer, journalist and historian whose major interests are music and history, with a special emphasis on the assassination of President Kennedy. View my complete profile

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SPRINGFIELD  This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). When the NIIW observance was established in 1994, the U.S. was in the midst of several outbreaks, the largest of which was among Illinois and Missouri residents. Decades of increased vaccinations led to the declaration of measles being eliminated in the U.S. in 2000; however, 25 years after the first NIIW, the country is once again seeing measles outbreaks. During NIIW April 27-May 4, 2019, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is asking parents to talk with a health care provider to ensure their children are fully immunized.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not have heard of some of the serious diseases they prevent. Children can suffer serious illness and even death when exposed to diseases like measles, mumps, and pertussis, said Dr. Ezike. Although vaccines are among the most successful, safe, and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death, some people still chose not to be vaccinated. It is essential that you protect your child against serious illness by having them vaccinated before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.

As of April 26, 2019, there have been more than 700 cases of measles in the U.S. this year, including 78 new cases identified last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Although Illinois data do not reflect the same trend, the U.S. is seeing an increase in the number of children younger than two years old who are receiving no vaccines. CDCs data suggest that many of these parents do want to vaccinate their children, but they may not be able to get vaccines for them. They may face hurdles, like not having a health care professional nearby, not having time to get their children to a doctor, and/or thinking they cannot afford vaccines.

Public health officials are working with schools, community organizations, religious groups, parent organizations, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to provide vaccinations.

Steps will include, but are not limited to:

Mobile Units: IDPH will assist in providing mobile health units to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates to hold clinics and provide vaccinations.

Targeted Events: IDPH will identify events with high parent and children attendance and support vaccination clinics at these events. These can include county fairs and neighborhood celebrations.

Faith Outreach: IDPH will work with religious organizations to sponsor vaccination clinics after services, during vacation bible school, and near other religious gatherings.

Community Coordination: IDPH will work with community health workers and parent educators to help set up appointment times for vaccinations, provide or arrange transportation, and assist parents in filling out the paperwork.

Public Education: IDPH will work to combat misinformation about vaccines and increase education efforts through health events, marketing, and social media.

IDPH is currently working with local health departments across the state to meet and talk with school officials and health care providers in the community to learn about barriers that limit vaccination and identify additional opportunities to increase rates. Barriers already identified include:

Transportation: Some parents do not have a way to get their children to clinics for vaccinations.

Time: Health clinic hours may not fit with working parents schedule.

Paperwork: Vaccination requires the consent forms to be filled by the parent. Some parents may be overwhelmed by the paperwork and not fully understand how to fill it out.

Wait Times: While local health departments and providers may offer special vaccination clinics before the beginning of the school year, the wait times can sometimes be more than an hour.

Additionally, IDPH continues to recruit and retain Vaccine for Children (VFC) health care providers. The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost for children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. The VFC program helps children get their vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule.

Through on-time immunization, parents can protect infants and children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases before age two. While overall childhood immunization rates remain high, unvaccinated children in the U.S. are at risk for contracting diseases that some parents might consider diseases of the past.

In the 1950s, nearly every child developed measles, and unfortunately, some developed serious complications including death from this serious disease. Today, many practicing physicians have never seen a case of measles due to the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, although rare in the U.S., they are still commonly transmitted in many parts of the world and brought into the country by unvaccinated individuals, putting other unvaccinated people at risk.

More information about the VFC program and immunizations can be found on the IDPH website at www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.

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Carriage Crossing Senior Living located at Green Mill Village in Arcola, Illinois, is hosting a free luncheon on Thursday, May 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at your Lifespan Center 11021 E. Co. Rd 800 N. Charleston, IL, behind Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital off Loxa Road.

This free luncheon is one of the Caring Conversations Luncheon Series where leading experts in the Senior Living industry discuss purposeful and thoughtful topics that interest seniors, their loved ones, and their caregivers.

With proper information, assistance and encouragement, informed decisions can be made allowing seniors to live the life they love with respect and dignity in their chosen community.

The speaker for this free luncheon is Ms. Brenda Hearn, a certified Assisted Living Cabinet Member of Leading Age Illinois. Ms. Hearn is a highly trained professional in the Senior Living industry who fully understands the needs of seniors and their families, and the importance of maximizing the independence of the senior while residing in an assisted living/memory care facility. Ms. Hearns topic for this luncheon will be: Navigating the Senior Living Curriculum.

Carriage Crossing Senior Living of Arcola is a leading choice for assisted living communities. Carriage Crossing has successfully implemented a focus on lifestyle, family and trust, with maintenance free living, exceptional farm to table meals, life-enriching opportunities and 24-hour personal care assistance.

Memory care at Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to support families caring for loved ones with dementia through a partnership built on trust between the well trained and caring staff, the resident, the family and the physician.

As seniors age and require personal care services, Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to grow with them, enabling them and their loved ones to know they have chosen a community that can meet their needs for today and tomorrow.

The luncheon is free and open to the public. An RSVP is needed to secure space for the luncheon. Please call 217-268-3516 today to reserve your spot.

For more information on this event or other upcoming activities open to seniors, find Carriage Crossing Senior Living Arcola on Facebook.

The LifeSpan Center is located at 11021 E. County Road 800N, Charleston. The telephone number is (217) 639-5150. The numbers for the programs are as follows: Coles County Telecare -- (217) 639-5166; Family Care Giver Resource Center -- (217) 639-5168 and Dial A Ride -- (217) 639-5169 or 1-800-500-5505. See you at your LifeSpan Center.

Come join us each weekday at noon for Lunch at LifeSpan. Peace Meals are served Monday through Friday at a suggested donation of $3.50. To register, reserve a lunch or learn more, contact Peace Meal at (217) 348-1800.

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CHARLESTON  A large pool of Eastern Illinois University graduates will be walking across the stage Saturday to receive their diplomas.

Just a few years ago, this annual ritual would have signified a major blow to the university's enrollment numbers. But officials are anticipating the arrival of a larger population of students this fall that should fill the gap left by those who are graduating.

May 1 was National Decision Day, the day many prospective students make their final college decisions, and predictive figures for EIU enrollment shows another year of growth.

Last year, the fall enrollment numbers saw a 7.1 percent increase.

The university is on track to see an overall increase for the 2019 fall semester.

"When you are at May 1, and you are sitting at over 20 percent (more compared to last year) on your freshman commitments, that is fantastic," Josh Norman, EIUs associate vice president for enrollment management, said.

Interestingly, the number of applications to the college is similar to what officials saw in the previous enrollment cycle, but the yield, the metric for commitments to EIU, is growing.

"The yield has just been abnormal in a great way," Norman said. "It is great to see what (the university) is doing is working."

The increases the university is seeing in its student populations are accelerating, especially in the freshman incoming populations. Exact figures were not given, but Norman said they can expect a significant increase in the freshman class this fall.

Beyond these metrics, the upward swing university officials have been seeing for the past couple of years has become most evident in the popularity of orientations, open house events, and regular visit days. On one recent regular visit day, where students and their families are given a tour around the campus, there were 67 who participated, a number not seen in a while.

"The momentum is wild," Norman said.

The international numbers will be the determining factor for how much student population growth the university will see.

International enrollments have become a wild card in the past couple of years, and this is not for a lack of interest, Norman indicated. The international applications are up, but that means little without the visa to get into the country.

As previously reported in the JG-TC, it is harder nowadays for the prospective students to get their visas accepted.

Looking at the incoming populations, the demographics appear to be diversifying.

This has been a slow-building trend over several years, but the university has been getting more interest across state lines. Norman said the university has been putting more resources into efforts to attract out-of-state students.

EIU is looking beyond bordering states to as far as California, where Norman said there has been a large export of students.

Norman noted these out-of-state students are often athletes looking to play at EIU.

This growth had not been at the expense of quality students, Norman said. The university academic profile is advancing, as well, with a 25 percent increase in honors commitments.

Officials have consistently pointed to the Vitalization Project, which tasked the university as a whole with identifying efficiencies and possibilities to make the university more marketable, as the reason for the upward trend.

The university has still got some time before it reaches its goal of 9,000 students. Norman said they are working at hitting that number by 2027.

Contact Jarad Jarmon at (217) 238-6839. Follow him on Twitter: @JJarmonReporter

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SHELBYVILLE  Joseph D. Denton, 50, of Shelbyville, IL, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 6, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mattoon, IL with Father John Titus as Celebrant. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Monday in the church. Following the service, a luncheon will be held in the Parish Center. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday in the Potomac Cemetery, Potomac, IL with military honors. Memorials may be given to the Immaculate Conception Church of Mattoon.

"Joseph Joe Dean Denton was born January 24, 1969 to Dean L. Denton and Ann (Berry) Denton in Charleston, IL. Joe grew up primarily in Nebraska and Alaska under his stepfathers name, Robinson. As a youth Joe was an avid hunter into his teens. Joe had the privilege to hunt in some of the most challenging areas of Alaska, primarily in the Arctic. Joe later became an avid shooter in the area of marksmanship.

Eventually, Joe graduated where he started with his last name restored to Denton, from Charleston High School with Honors in 1987. After graduation, Joe joined the U.S. Navy serving first on the Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) in Long Beach, CA. Later, after extensive and intense training in what is now known as Special Ops Joe became the head of security for Long Beach Commander Admiral John Hogginson. Joe was involved in extensive security issues when representatives of the previous USSR came to Long Beach Naval Station as part of the SALT II Nuclear Treaty. Joe was commended for his role in this and after activities. Joe was recommended, and received, a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy but for personal reasons could not attend. Joe traveled extensively to Asia and the Middle East.

Joe became a professional Firefighter, first at the now-defunct University of Illinois Fire Department, then the Champaign Illinois Fire Department. In March of 2000, Joe suffered a catastrophic injury to his back, left leg, and hip while carrying a woman from her residence during an emergency response. Joe would live the rest of this life in chronic pain and with titanium rods, bolts, and plates, Keeping me together as he joked. In 2010, he received a spinal implant which did wonders for his pain levels.

Despite this monumental hurdle, Joe took pride in helping those in need and giving back to his community. He was involved in Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Mattoon Knights of Columbus where he was a 4th Degree Knight. Immaculate Conception in Mattoon, IL became Joes spiritual home, presided over by Father John Titus, whom Joe was deeply impressed with and respected both as a man and as a Priest.

Joe served on various committees and Councils at Immaculate Conception. These included the reinstitution of 24 Adoration (hours) and was also involved with his Parish Council and the Legion of Mary, Joe was also a Cooperator in Opus Dei.

Joe had a passion for genealogy. He located several living cousins including Harry Selsor and his wife Shirley, and Cynthia Snider who assisted him with his membership application for Sons of the American Revolution, of which he became a member in 2017. His Patriot Ancestor was his 6th Great Grandfather Pennsylvania Militia Captain Martin Bowman. Joe eventually developed and became Chairman of the Public Safety Award Committee at the Ewington Chapter of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Joe also discovered he had an ancestor at the Jamestown Colony, a man named Isaac Madison, the common ancestor Joe shared with eventual President James Madison.

He leaves behind his adored wife, Julie, beloved stepson Jordan, sisters Julie McCarty of California, Jane Robinson of Louisiana, and father Dean Denton of Canada. Joe also leaves behind his faithful and constant companion, his dog Taz.

Joe served his Country, his communities, and people in need in general. He was a staunch supporter of the First & Second Amendments and was an Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association. He was a 3-sport letterman and held physical fitness in high regard, and the reason he was able to walk after his injury as a Firefighter. He will be missed by those who knew him."

Obituary as written by Joseph D. Denton.
CHARLESTON  Having a healthy lifestyle and knowledge of resources can help you stay healthier longer while improving your quality of life. The University of Illinois Extension will be holding a healthy aging summit at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County on Monday, May 13 from 9 a.m.  2 p.m.

The Amazing Brain will feature three Extension Educators focusing on valuable, timely research related to healthy brains. Local Foods/Small Farms Educator and State Master Naturalist Coordinator Dave Shiley will present Refresh, Relax and Recharge in Nature where he will point out how nature can reduce stress and attention fatigue while increasing creativity and brain wellness. Nutrition and Wellness Educator Mary Liz Wright will discuss Eating for Cognitive Health and will teach participants what to eat to delay cognitive decline. Family Life Educator Cheri Burcham will be presenting Two Heads are Better than One. She will share the connection between social engagement and brain health, while leading participants through intellectual exercises that will challenge their noggins! Special guest speaker Elizabeth Hagemann from the Alzheimers Association will be speaking on what the latest research identifies as the best (not foolproof) ways to prevent Alzheimers disease. There will also be fun brain breaks throughout the day.

The summit will be held at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County at 11021 E CR 800 N, Charleston. The cost for this summit is only $5 and includes a buffet lunch and all materials. Pre-registration is required by calling the University of Illinois Extension office at 217-345-7034 or by going online to http://go.illinois.edu/agingsummit Those wanting to attend must be registered and paid by May 8. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in this program, please call 217-345-7034.

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Investor Whitney Tilson used to attract a mix of seasoned professionals and amateur investors to his conferences around the Berkshire meetings. Tilson no longer holds the events, but he is looking forward to his 22nd annual meeting.

"There is really is nothing else like it. It draws people from all over the globe," Tilson said.

And the smaller conferences and gatherings of friends help enhance the attraction of Berkshire's meeting, Tilson added.

Author Bob Miles said it was natural to move his Value Investing Conference to Omaha from California in 2011 because the course already focused on Buffett, Munger and other prominent investors.

"Warren Buffett has popularized value investing and devotees from across the globe see the Berkshire weekend as a touchstone for honoring, learning and emulating an investment genius and masterful teacher," Miles said.

For Creighton University professor Gerald Jensen, setting up an investing conference at Creighton's campus just north of downtown made sense because of all the investors gathered before Berkshire's meeting.
Here are some ways to cope with loneliness during the holiday season, five foods that can help prevent cold and flu, and more videos to improv
A federal judge this week said Lincoln firefighter Troy Hurd must choose between a new trial on damages or a $630,000 reduction in the amount the city must pay him for retaliation he faced after reporting discrimination against a female firefighter trainee born in Iraq.

Senior U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said based on the evidence at Hurd's trial in Omaha in February, it wasn't shocking or plainly unjust that the jury awarded Hurd a substantial amount for past and future emotional distress.

In all, the jury awarded the fire captain $1,177,815.

"It is, however, shocking that the jury awarded $930,472.12 for future emotional distress, because the jury wasn't presented with any evidence of extraordinary circumstances that would merit such a large amount," she said.

Smith Camp said Hurd still works for the city and suffered no financial hardship.

At trial, Hurd said he always wanted to be a firefighter and now considers his career in Lincoln Fire & Rescue effectively over.

Over roughly seven years, he said he suffered from a list of problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and a loss of energy.
Nepals indecision on same-sex marriage leaves couples in limbo

Today, over a decade after the Supreme Courts verdict and four years after the committees report, same-sex marriage remains unrecognised, putting couples like Pant and Melnyk in limbo, with no decision in sight. Two years ago, the couple visited ministry after ministry to seek help for a spousal visa for Melnyk, before filing a case against the immigration office.
In February 2016, he delivered a TED Talk he said was a first of its kind. Prosecutors weren't allowed to say the kinds of things he said publicly. It could have spelled the end of his career.

Everything did change that day, but in a good way, he said.

"I remember the feeling of walking off the stage and just being like, something has happened. The universe has shifted," he said.

Prosecutors, he said in his talk, are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system, but they are unaware and untrained in the notion that the decisions they make every day have grave consequences.

Thousands of people make big mistakes, but they deserve to have the chance to transcend them. Prosecutors have the power to change lives instead of ruin them.

With that, in saying prosecutors have to admit they're part of the problem, people started to listen, he said. Foss has since founded Prosecutor Impact, an advocacy organization that develops training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. He travels the country providing training and delivering talks.
BILLINGS, Mont.  An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name, to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline were blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on Keystone XL's proposed route through the state.

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As Lincoln developed around the old village of Lancaster, there was no building originally located on the southeast corner of 10th and P streets and although it is unclear if Quick himself built the original frame building on the site, in 1873 it was known as Quicks Saloon and quickly became known as the citys quasi-official headquarters of many fraternal orders and was one of 18 saloons, mostly within a block of Market Square which was between 9th, 10th, O and P streets.

In February of 1874 a group of Lincoln women, from several local churches, were organized by the minister at First Methodist (later renamed St. Paul Methodist) Church to combat the ever-increasing presence and power of the citys saloons. On Feb. 14 and 15 the ladies visited each of Lincolns 18 saloons. At Quicks they were met by the owner and his attorney E. E. Brown, who was also Lincolns mayor, and both urged the ladies to move on. One of their number, Mrs. Ricketts, ignored the plea and entered the saloon only to be physically removed by the barman C. W. Whipple. Mrs. Ricketts husband, A. C. Ricketts, prosecuted Quick with the first trial ending with a hung jury. Then, with the second trial, Quick was assessed $57.50 though it was apparently never paid.
A group of Lincoln and Nebraska organizations -- the Native Womens Task Force, Sacred Winds United Methodist Church and Nebraskans for Peace -- concerned about violence against indigenous women will sponsor a discussion from 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at Sacred Winds UMC, 2400 S. 11th St. The event is titled Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: A service, discussion-meal and remembrance.

About 5,700 Native American and Alaskan Native women and girls were reported missing across the nation in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center. The number is probably higher, since many missing go unreported to authorities. An estimated 80% of native women have experienced violence. Nebraska ranked seventh-highest among the states for cases involving missing or slain Native American women and girls  as the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute found.

Omahas 24 cases were the eighth-highest total among 71 cities studied. As the Omaha World-Herald noted, Nationwide, 25% involved missing person cases, 56% were murder cases and 19% had an unknown status.
Had Barr taken the next two years to comb through Mueller's report to determine what information should be redacted, Democrats would have a point. But that's not what happened. On April 18, the public and Congress got a chance to read Mueller's report, with only about 10 percent of it redacted.

Yes, the full report is more damning to the president than the conclusions shared in Barr's letter. It describes sordid scenes where the president asks subordinates to lie. It says Trump had advance notice of the WikiLeaks disclosure of emails stolen by Russian hackers. It shows how Trump's campaign built up a communications strategy around those stolen emails.

As Barr's letter said, "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." As my colleague Noah Feldman has noted, Barr was only following Justice Department regulations when he issued his letter. He was not violating any procedures or rules.
Its commencement season at the University of Nebraska  a time for us to celebrate the achievements of thousands of young people who are about to start a new chapter in their lives.

I am often asked to characterize the universitys impact on the states economy. To me, theres almost no more powerful force for economic growth than the thousands of graduates Nebraskas colleges and universities produce for the workforce every year, including 11,000 students who graduate annually from the University of Nebraska.

These young people are Nebraskas future farmers and ranchers, nurses and doctors, teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. Upwards of 40 percent of them are the first in their families to attend college. Every graduating class of the University of Nebraska has a $2.4 billion impact on Nebraskas economy.

I know each diploma being handed out this week represents a story of hard work, sacrifice and opportunity. And each new graduate will be a catalyst for change for Nebraskas quality of life and economic competitiveness.

Theres just one problem: We are proud of our growth over time, but Nebraska is not producing nearly enough college graduates to solve the urgent workforce crisis facing our state.
Lincoln is a community of diverse political views, and no party holds a majority of registered voters. As a result, our leaders must be willing to work across party lines, to understand differing viewpoints and to craft consensus solutions from the best ideas of all stakeholders.

Leirion Gaylor Baird demonstrated those qualities last year, when our community addressed the safety and success of Lincoln's children.

Following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, community members asked the city and school district for a deeper partnership on student safety. However, there was significant contention on which preventative, protective and proactive programs to include, as well as how to fund them.

Leirion reached out to school board members to find common ground. She worked to unite the City Council, the Board of Education and the mayor's office. Together, we found a sustainable, consensus solution -- the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement.

Leirion's leadership, her commitment to building consensus and her love for this great community made that agreement possible. She demonstrated precisely the qualities we need in our next mayor. Please join me in electing Leirion Gaylor Baird.

Lanny Boswell, Lincoln

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RACINE  Downtown jewelry store Plumb Gold is poised to expand sideways in a unique way, into the space now held by beads and art shop Funky Hannahs.

The two adjacent businesses  Plumb Gold at 322 Main St. and Funky Hannahs at 324 Main St.  each occupy a storefront of a single, 1860s building. On Wednesday, Plumb Gold owner Austin Schultz, owner of his building, closed the purchase of the Funky Hannahs building from owner-operator Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath.

Paffrath will be closing Funky Hannahs in its current form and said she is not sure what will come next. Shes already marked down her inventory to prepare for an exit by about July 6.

If shes able to be out by then, Schultz said, he would like to open his new shop, Plumb Silver, by the next holiday season. But if the project goes later than that, it would have to wait until after the holidays.

Schultz purchase of 324 Main St. will have several outcomes, one being to reunite what was constructed as a single building  albeit with two separate storefronts  under one owner.

He will also make a doorway between the two spaces, and what is now Funky Hannahs will become a new Plumb Gold division of sorts, Plumb Silver.

The deal came about for a couple of reasons, said Paffrath and Schultz, who bought Plumb Gold from former owner Judy Olsen 3 years ago.

Were out of room, he said. I want to be able to offer our customers new things, and we just dont have anywhere to put them. So thats when I approached Amanda.

Austin talked to me about buying my building, and I was ready to do something different, Paffrath said.

But shes not yet sure what that something will be. What were saying that were doing is that were closing this location, and stay tuned for details.

Paffrath, also owner of Hot Shop Glass, 239 Wisconsin Ave., added, We have a great location at Hot Shop thats a possibility, but theres lots of possibilities.

Interesting history, she remarked, is that the second floor of that building is where Plumb Gold started.

Plumb Gold, Plumb Silver

Schultz said he didnt want to merely expand Plumb Golds footprint, but also to create something new.

The stores are going to have different personalities, he said.

Ive been trying to make Plumb Gold really welcoming and comfortable for people, Schultz continued. Before, I think  it was a little standoffish. So, (Plumb Silver) is my way of counteracting that and also putting my own stamp on a space.

He plans to put in chairs and a lounger and said, I want people to come in and just hang out. Come in and have a coffee with your friends  and we just happen to sell jewelry, or gifts.

Plumb Gold has a secured door, and customers have to be buzzed in. Plumb Silver will not, Schultz said. It will sell lower-priced merchandise than Plumb Golds, and all the silver jewelry from there will be moved over to Plumb Silver.

Keeping Downtown retail alive

It was always my dream, when I bought that business, Schultz said, to own both buildings.

I wasnt looking to sell this building, Paffrath said. I wasnt looking to retool the business  although its perfect timing to do that.

But with the movement thats happening Downtown, having somebody whos in retail, who lives locally, who wants to keep a thriving retail business and make it better, to me was a real motivating factor too.

Because I feel really strongly about having some properties being held by people who have local ties and who are interested in keeping retail alive Downtown. And thats not easy to do.

It was always my dream, when I bought that business to own both buildings  The stores are going to have different personalities. <&textAlign: right>Austin Schultz, owner of Plumb Gold and the future Plumb Silver

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RACINE  Seven months after the Wild Root Market reached one fundraising goal, it still needs to fill an approximately $1 million financing gap to be able to start renovating its building, and the group has again pushed back the project timing.

It is now going on a decade that the hoped-for food cooperative has been in the planning stage. In late 2009, a small group of people first met to talk about starting a community-owned, natural foods grocery store in the Downtown area. The impetus for their efforts came from a market study, in about 2006, for a Downtown grocery store that would emphasize natural foods.

Last Sept. 23, on its final day of member fundraising, the local food cooperative hit a milestone when it reached its $1.125 million goal in memberships and member loans. A precommitted loan from the National Cooperative Bank, for construction and equipment, was contingent on the co-op coming up with the $1.125 million in owner loans and donations.

At the time Wild Root was anticipating opening the north-side food cooperative, at 500 Walton Ave., this year.

The co-op did close on the purchase of that building in December, Wild Root Board Secretary Margie Michicich said Tuesday. The City of Racine released $175,000 of its promised project grant of up to $390,000 to help with the purchase, Michicich said.

However, per the property covenant, if Wild Root Market has not closed on its private financing by Dec. 31, Wild Root must deed the property to the city. The city would be able to sell the property in order to recoup the $175,000 grant. It has been determined that the property is worth more than $175,000.

The Wild Root board continues to work with the National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., as the primary lender for construction and equipment, Michicich said. Our primary lender wants us to have a strong cash position to ensure stability in our first year, she said.

Consequently, the Wild Root board has been talking with private, government and community entities that Michicich declined to identify as potential sources for closing the $1 million gap.

The boards goal is now to find that funding and begin renovations on the building this year, as soon as possible, she said. The expectation is that renovations will take at least six months.

Michicich said she and other Wild Root board members are cautiously optimistic about landing the needed funding to spring loose the main loan. And she said Wild Root has obtained more than 80 percent of the capital it requires.

The Wild Root Market plan

The cooperative, formed in 2011, is trying to open a full-service grocery store with 7,700 square feet of retail space, at an estimated cost of $5.2 million, in a former medical building two blocks west of the Racine Zoo. The plan includes a delicatessen and cafe, local and organic meat, eggs and produce; bulk foods; bakery; wine and beer; supplements and more. Wild Root says the grocery store will create about 50 jobs, all of which will pay above minimum wage.

Although the Wild Root Market would be member-owned, returning the profits to its members, it would be a for-profit operation that would increase the amount of property taxes paid to the city on the now-vacant building.

The co-op expects to make between $5 million and $6 million in its first year, and at least 20 percent would come from sales of products produced within 100 miles of the market.

For more information, visit wildrootmarket.coop or email info@wildrootmarket.com.

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ORLANDO, Fla.  Gateway Technical College Collegiate DECA Chapter earned several recognitions at the International College DECA Conference held recently in Orlando.

The following Gateway students received an award of excellence for placing a high score in their event: David Czuper, of Racine; Jada Peters, Taylor Arena and Angelique Ortiz, all of Kenosha; and Ailyn Castro, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.

Executive Leadership Passport Award to the Gateway DECA chapter. The Collegiate DECA Leadership Passport Program encourages local chapters and individual members to plan activities and participate in events that enhance the experiences of members. Individual Leadership Passport Awards were awarded to Gateway students Czuper, Peters and David St. Peter, of Kenosha.

Community Service Award. This award is designed to recognize Collegiate DECA chapters for civic activities performed in their community. This year students raised awareness and funds for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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DSP Dhungel suspended for suspected association with a robber

When the police division started the investigation after three of the six robbers had been arrested, Shresthas connection with Dhungel was revealed.
RACINE  The reconstruction of Three Mile Road from 150 feet east of Douglas Avenue (Highway 32) to 480 feet west of LaSalle Street is set to begin Wednesday, according to John Rooney, Racine city engineer.

The work is a joint project between Racine and Caledonia, with Racines Engineering Department overseeing the work. Waukehsa-based LaLonde Contractors was awarded the contract and is expected to finish the project by mid-August.

The road will be closed from just west of LaSalle Street to Charles Street during the project. Only westbound traffic from Charles Street in Caledonia or the quarry will be permitted on Three Mile Road to Douglas Avenue.

The western half of the project will be staged to allow westbound traffic on half of the roadway at a time.

Traffic will be able to exit businesses on the south side of Three Mile Road near Douglas Avenue by traveling west. Westbound traffic from Charles Street will be able to enter businesses on Three Mile Road.

The posted detour for eastbound traffic will be from Douglas Avenue to South Street to LaSalle Street, and the same route in reverse for westbound traffic.

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MADISON  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is raising concerns that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers gave temporary raises to workers at only state six prisons across Wisconsin, none of which are in Racine County.

Earlier this week, Evers authorized temporary raises of up to $5 an hour to workers at six prisons. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that guards and sergeants at Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun correctional institutions, as well as at the Lincoln Hills youth prison, will receive the additional pay.

While providing raises for our correctional officers is the right thing to do, cherry picking which facilities receive the benefits is fundamentally unfair and creates unnecessary animosity in a system that already needs reform, said Vos, R-Rochester. There are three corrections facilities in my district and every one of the hardworking officers deserves to be compensated for the incredibly important work that they do.

The three corrections facilities in the 63rd Assembly District, which Vos represents, are: Racine Correctional Institution on Wisconsin Street in Sturtevant; Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center on Highway C in Dover; and the Sturtevant Transitional Facility on Rayne Road.

I look forward to working with our finance members to bring forward a fair compensation package that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of our correctional workers in Racine County, Vos said.

The pay increases come at a time the state Department of Corrections is struggling to recruit and retain prison workers.

Overtime hours, turnover and vacancy rates in the states prison system rose dramatically over the last five fiscal years, according to a report state auditors released Friday.

The report underscores the DOCs ongoing struggle to find enough people willing to deal with inmates for relatively low wages. DOC Secretary-designee Kevin Carr said in a letter to auditors that unless the agency can get control of vacancies things probably wont change.

Until the vacancy rates of our institutions are decreased, overtime will continue to be the reality for many employees, he said.

The total number of paid overtime hours within DOC institutions grew 50.7% from fiscal year 2013-14 to fiscal year 2017-18, auditors found. Of the $397.5 million the state spent on DOC wages in fiscal year 2017-18, nearly $53 million, or 13%, went to cover overtime hours worked mostly by security personnel.

The 10 employees with the most paid overtime hours that year worked between 69 and 93.2 hours per week. Their earnings averaged $117,500, with $71,000 of that overtime pay.

High turnover

Playing into the overtime hours are turnover and a failure to fill vacancies.

Auditors found the turnover rate for guards grew from just under 18% in 2013-14 to 26% in 2017-18. Turnover was highest in maximum-security prisons, with Columbia Correctional Institution seeing the largest increase of about 25% from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

The turnover rate for health and social service employees saw the highest turnover rate for any type of DOC worker in both years at 24.4% and 31.7%, respectively. Nurses had a turnover rate of nearly 60%, and social workers had a turnover rate of about 54%. The report notes that DOC attributes that turnover to nurses and social workers finding more lucrative positions elsewhere.

The report also shows that DOC is struggling to fill empty positions. The vacancy rate for security personnel, including guards, more than doubled over the five fiscal years, from 6.7% to 14%. As of June 2018, the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, four prisons had vacancy rates of 20% or higher. Three of them were maximum-security institutions. The other was a minimum-security prison.

The report notes that perceptions that prison jobs arent safe and low pay are likely fueling the turnovers and vacancies.

There were more than 300 inmate-on-employee assaults or attempted assaults in each of the five years, with a high of 367 in 2015-16. As for wages, the report found Wisconsins $16.32-an-hour wage for entry-level guards in August 2018 was the second-lowest among seven Midwestern states, higher only than Indianas $16 an hour. The average entry-level pay among the seven states was $18.35 an hour.

Evers plan

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers state budget calls for spending an additional $23.8 million to implement a pay progression system for guards, sergeants and psychiatrists within DOC and the state Department of Health Services. The report notes that the budget doesnt specify amounts. Raising the starting wage for Wisconsin guards to $17.90, the median starting wage for guards in surrounding states, would cost about $30 million, the report indicates.

DOC is attempting to retain workers through training academies at six institutions where guard applicants work alongside guards and job fairs at its prisons, auditors noted.

They recommended DOC evaluate the effectiveness of the training academies, job fairs and potential pay progressions and report findings to the Legislatures Joint Audit Committee by March. Carr said in his letter he looks forward to providing the committee with details on the agencys follow-up to the report.

Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, co-chairman of the audit committee, said in a statement that DOC needs better data to determine the effectiveness of its worker retention programs.

The goal is still to reduce staffing vacancies, turnover and instances of excessive overtime, Cowles said. Doing this would not only result in cost savings, but ultimately a safer work environment.

Christina Lieffring of The Journal Times contributed to this report.

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- A Facebook page named Kren Austria received intense public online bashing

- The Facebook page is believed to be managed by the trending daughter who slapped her mother with a slipper

- Maria Magdalena Austria, Kren's mother also left a comment in the Facebook Page

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Amidst the bashing and online backlash, an apologetic message was posted by a 'Kren Austria' Facebook page. Netizens were convinced that the account was legit especially with Maria Magdalena Austria commenting on it.

Kren Austria was the daughter of Maria Magdalena Austria who took the Filipino netizens by storm when she asked for Raffy Tulfo's help.

The old lady went to Raffy Tulfo because she wanted to fix her relationship with her two daughters. They were also living with her in her house.

She emotionally shared how her younger daughter Kren slapped her with a slipper. When they finally got to talk to sort things out, the older sister Irish said she was willing to settle their feud. The younger sister, however, earned more hatred from the netizens when her mom hugged her but she seemed not to care at all.

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She did not hug her mother back. A 'Kren Austria' Facebook page was made recently. Based on the posts it was made by Kren herself because she deactivated her private account.

"I created a public FB account, but then it was disabled by Facebook. I deactivated my private account to protect my privacy. Let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry and please stop spreading hatred. Thank you!"

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

With the intense online reactions, Kren's employment could get affected especially with the netizens sending messages of protests to the company she is working with.

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

In the comment section, a message from Austria Maria Magdalena read, "To all....naintintihan ko po kayo, as a mother, kaya po pang unawa sa bawat isa sa amin ang pangyayari ito. Siguro pagsubok ito sa amin at nalusutan namin. Dios pa rin ang nangibabaw at nagtagumpay. God is good to all of us. I need your pang unawa nlng. God bless to all...I love you all....salamat po."

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Tricky Questions: What Is Kulangot In English? | HumanMeter

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Source: KAMI.com.gh
Working through my ignorance with your help.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has introduced The Peoples Budget.

So its no surprise the most recent Marquette poll showed that 70 percent of Wisconsinites support the Medicaid expansion  a cornerstone of the governors budget proposal.

Unfortunately, since 2014 Republicans have refused to do the right thing and accept these funds. Let me give you a quick reminder about the positive impacts Medicaid expansion would have on our state.

Over 80,000 people across Wisconsin would gain access to affordable health coverage under BadgerCare. Insuring more people means healthier families and a healthier workforce.

Accepting the expansion is also the fiscally responsible thing to do for our state. It would save $324 million dollars for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Medicaid expansion also helps address the opioid crisis. Low-income adults are an especially high-risk population that are more likely to be uninsured and vulnerable to opioid abuse. Governor Evers budget proposes assisting all individuals in crisis, including those in need of substance abuse treatment.

Finally, Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do for our rural communities. Studies have proven there is a direct correlation between states that have expanded Medicaid and the ability of rural hospitals to stay open in those states due to increased reimbursement rates.

While Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion at every turn, its never too late to do the right thing.

Wisconsin Democrats stand with the people of Wisconsin who overwhelmingly want us to accept the Medicaid expansion.

Democrat Dianne Hesselbein, Middleton, represents the 79th state Assembly District.

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With shiny brown eyes, a glossy tan coat and a sleek physique, Belgian Malinois Tasja is a canine beauty with an elite pedigree. She is also a crime- fighting force in the La Crosse community.

With her striking visage, mental sharpness and impeccable physicality, Tasja was the perfect choice for the Vohne Liche Kennels and Kinetic Performance Dog Food K-9 of the Year, winning a year supply of kibble and bragging rights for both the diligent dog and partner Joshua Czys, investigator for the town of Campbell Police Department.

Their photo submission will also be featured in Kinetic and Vohne Liche media and marketing materials for the duration of the year.

We got another group of amazing entries this year, said Dave Dourson, co-owner of Kinetic Performance Dog Food. Teams like Investigator Czys and Tasja are great examples of why Vohne Liche is known as one of the best in the business when it comes to working police and military K-9 dogs and training.

We were excited. Its cool, Czys said of winning the nationwide contest.

Czys and Tasja graduated from Vohne Liche, an Indiana based K-9 training facility for police and military service dogs, in 2013.

She was sworn in at the Campbell Police Department in 2016 after community members raised the funds to purchase Tasja, previously owned by the Adams County Sheriffs Department, for the local force. The 7-year-old dog was trained in handler protection, finding drugs and evidence and locating missing people at Von Liche, founded in 1993 by U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Kenneth Licklider and staffed by 24 trainers of military or law enforcement backgrounds.

Investigator Czys and Tasja are a veteran K-9 team with years of great service together, said Vohne Liche owner Ken Licklider. Its great to see these guys looking fit and still serving strong years after we first introduced them here at our kennel.

Canine graduates have gone on to serve at more than 5,000 agencies including the Pentagon, National Security Agency and U.S. State Department, U.S. Army and more than 500 other U.S. government, police, military and civilian agencies. In addition to assisting in narcotics and patrol, Tasja also works with the SWAT unit.

With the Campbell Police Department funded through donations, Czys says the free dog food prize will save the department about $1,000. The hardworking dog, however, is priceless.

Shes trustworthy, Czys said of his canine partner. Shes fearless and reliable.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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A multifamily dwelling was left with minor smoke and fire damage after flames broke out Friday morning.

The La Crosse Fire Department was called to 704 Division St. at 7:31 a.m. Friday for reports of a possible fire.

Fire crews arrived in less than two minutes and found smoke and flames coming from a stairwell doorway leading to a second-floor apartment. The fire was quickly extinguished and all residents were safely evacuated, firefighters said, with one resident evaluated and released by Tri State Ambulance at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Damage was confined to a stairwell, door threshold and steps, firefighters said, and extensive ventilation of smoke from the basement and two apartments was required.

Firefighters determined careless use of smoking materials caused the fire. The La Crosse Fire Department received assistance from La Crosse police.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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This key and this fire truck are both in the artifact collection of La Crosse County Historical Society.

While small, the key is certainly not the smallest item in the collection, but the fire truck is one of the biggest. Probably Historic Hixon House itself is the only thing that could be considered bigger.

A relatively large key, 5.5 inches long, it folds in half for convenience  not a feature we often see on keys these days. But handy for keeping it safely in a pocket.

Its been in the collection for a very long time: so long, the documentation about who donated it has been lost.

But we know it was a key to the old La Crosse Courthouse because it still has its original tag, with very old writing in script that has turned sepia with age, reading key to court house square, please return to Central Police Station.

We presume this refers to the La Crosse County Courthouse, which opened in 1904 and was torn down in 1965.

The fire truck is a chain-driven 1922 American La France pumper ladder truck, used by the La Crosse Fire Department.

This truck was actually maintained and used as a back-up until 1962, when the Southside Businessmens Club bought it for $250 and donated it to the Historical Society.

A few years ago, it was on display in our exhibit All Fired Up: The History of Firefighting in La Crosse.

At that time a retired firefighter told me he remembered riding in the open back of this truck and bouncing down city streets like the keystone cops. He was the last of a generation of firefighters who rode on the outside of their vehicles. Im sure its safer this way, but possibly not as much fun.

In terms of size, the key and the fire truck represent two extremes of the roughly 10,000 local historic artifacts that LCHS preserves and shares with the people of this region.

Proper storage and cataloging are priorities, and we share our treasures as best we can: at our house museum, Historic Hixon House; at our small local history museum in Riverside Park, Riverside Museum; in our online database; and every Saturday through this newspaper column.

Despite our name, LCHS is not a part of any branch of government: we are a private non-profit corporation and have been 1898.

We are very grateful for the $18,100 grant we receive every year from the La Crosse County commissioners, but as you can imagine, it doesnt begin to cover our costs.

From year to year we are dependent on our members and donors to fill in the gaps left by grants and museum admissions, and do more with less. Our computers are second hand, our staff of 2.5 receive no benefits, and there are no stipends for devoted volunteers who give guided tours or make Silent City possible year after year.

So why am I telling you all this in a Things That Matter column?

Because people keep asking me what we are raising money for. It is to keep our doors open, and to keep people caring for our artifacts. La Crosse County Historical Society is a public trust: we collect, preserve and share these artifacts on behalf of you, the people of La Crosse County.

We pay for core mission support through memberships, appeals and events. I cannot overemphasize the importance of membership. Members receive free admission to Hixon House and they stay abreast of LCHS events through an excellent quarterly newsletter that also publishes well-researched articles on local history. We are a member-governed organization, with the membership electing our board of directors.

LCHS members are engaged with our goal of creating a new local history and cultural center for the region, where we will have the opportunity to display many more of our historic treasures and share stories with more people. We are eager to be able to display more cool things, such as fire trucks and memorabilia from the old Courthouse.

Membership is easy to do and isnt expensive: individual membership is just $35. You can join or make a donation from our website, lchshistory.org, or you can call our office at 608-782-1980 for more information on this, as well as on our museum and event schedules.

Have a historic day.

Peggy Derrick is executive director of the La Crosse County Historical Society.

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Fall in imports, bird flu scare drive up price of goat meat

Goat meat has become dearer by around Rs150 per kg in the Kathmandu Valley over the past month, mainly due to a fall in imports of live animals from India and a surge in demand caused by consumers switching to goat from chicken over a bird flu scare.
FOUNTAIN CITY  Karl Hoffmann wanted $100 for the cast iron, claw-foot tub he bought last year while Up North near his cottage in Crivitz.

The chamber pot he found at a resale shop had a $10 sticker, but the three remaining 7-week-old kittens in the nearby carrier were free.

Meanwhile, Nellie, a pregnant and plump 6-year-old golden lab, waddled her way up and down the sidewalk here where Hoffman was having a garage sale.

In a few months, Nellies litter will also be up for sale at $325 a pooch.

I should have a sign on her back, Hoffmann joked about Nellie, who is expecting 11 puppies. Shes a great duck retriever.

The weird, unusual, living and vintage are all on display  and for sale  this weekend with the spring ritual known as the 100 Mile Garage Sale. Many towns, villages, cities and neighborhoods set aside specific dates throughout the spring and summer in an effort to group together sales and maximize the crowds.

But along both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sides of the Mississippi River this weekend, 22 communities have joined together to create a string of sales, many of them just feet away from the passing traffic on the Great River Road.

On Highway 61 from Hastings to Winona, Minnesota, and on Highway 35 from Prescott south to Fountain City, Wisconsin, the four-day event that roughly circles Lake Pepin brings thousands of people to the region that is punctuated with bluffs, barges, passing trains and historic buildings.

Residents along both sides of the river have always had garage sales, but according to Pat Mutter, executive director of Visit Winona, Minnesota, around 2005 the first weekend of May became the official event and was dubbed The 100 Mile Garage Sale. The title plays off of 100 Miles of Friends, a collection of about 15 communities that promote themselves through an umbrella organization, Mississippi Valley Partners. That organization puts together a comprehensive website that lists scores of sales, their addresses and brief descriptions of the inventory.

Each year it really changes, Mutter said when asked about the size and scope of the event. I mean, we get people from around the United States who come to this.

And some of those visitors arent just buying.

Bonna Schultz came from Gwinner, North Dakota, with a truckload of clothing to sell at a family sale in a rural subdivision between Buffalo City and Fountain City. The family has been doing a sale for about 15 years, and Schultz was quick to pull out her smart phone to show off pictures from 2013 when the sale was blanketed in wet snow.

It was actually a good sale because a lot of people wanted to get out after the snow, Schultz said.

The 70-mile Rummage Along the River set for May 17-18 For those who missed this weekend's 100 Mile Garage Sale or didn't get their fill, there's another major sale, only this one is south of La Crosse. The 9th annual Rummage Along the River is a 70 mile garage sale event on May 17 and 18 along Highway 35, also known as the Great River Road. The event features a wide range of sales in Stoddard, Genoa, Bad Axe, Victory, De Soto, Ferryville, Lynxville and points in between. Seneca and Mount Sterling on Highway 27 northeast of Lynxsville are also taking part. Information about the sales can be found at www.rummagealongtheriver.com and the event's Facebook page. Maps for the sales will be placed on-line on May 16 while gas stations and convenience stores, some bait shops and select village offices will also have the maps.

Her familys driveway included a CB radio, a red, three-piece set of American Tourister luggage, five waist-high vases and a Sun-Mar composting toilet thats never been used.

We had an offer of $300 on it, said Jerry Axvig, of Moorehead, Minnesota. It would be great for a hunting shack.

Next door, Paul and Cindy Lorenz, of Fountain City, were just hoping to make enough money to pay off the $150 plumbing bill they incurred the previous weekend while setting up the sale at their sons home. Paul thought he could easily replace the outdoor faucet so he could wash off a few dog transport crates and a bike he had stored in a barn but he broke the faucet off at the pipe. Thankfully the water had been turned off.

I think Im almost even, Paul said Thursday morning shortly after selling $85 in fishing lures. Its not bad for a couple of hours of work.

Back in Fountain City, Frances Burt and her husband have an old lumber yard building stuffed with old tools, signs, outboard motors, vintage soda and beer bottles and even an A&W toboggan. There are buckets of nails, thousands of car parts and plastic bottles filled with small agates.

Wed actually like to sell the building, said Burt, 81.

The couple will also likely, someday, sell one of the Great River Roads more unusual roadside attractions. Burt and her husband, John, 86, who is in declining health, own the Rock in the House. In 1995, a 55-ton boulder broke loose from the hillside and crashed into the bedroom of Maxine and Dwight Anderson. The couple escaped death and sold the home to the Burts a few months later.

The first year the Burts owned the house, 20,000 people visited. Last year, about 3,000 people paid $2 to get a glimpse at the rock that remains embedded in the house that fronts Highway 35 on Fountain Citys north side.

Were trying to downsize, Frances Burt said.

In Alma, where the bluffs have contained the community into a two-block-wide, seven-mile-long city, history mixed with rummage.

In a cinder-block garage that at one time was used to store appliances and hardware for a local store, tables filled with items lined the buildings interior. Windows in the back offered views of the swelling river and the occasional passing freight train. Other items spilled out onto the sidewalk and into the street, including a box of sweaters for $2 each, 25-cent Christmas decorations and an old metal bed spring.

A bin also held a few dozen wooden yardsticks including some from the Bank of Mondovi, Gilmanton Co-op Creamery and the Lincoln Lumber Company in West Allis. They were all priced at $1 each but others inside were $5 apiece because of their outdated telephone numbers. The Goodrich Lumber & Coal Co. in Durand, for example, had a phone number of 28.

Robin Becker owns the building and seven others in the city and used two personal days from her job as a teacher in Eau Claire to run the sale on Thursday and Friday. Last year, she made $3,000 over the four-day event.

We were setting up last weekend and people were stopping, Becker said. I had sales starting at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Its been crazy.

One of the neatest settings was just up the street where Gina Dyess used the old Heise Grainery barn, constructed in 1862, to hold her sale. The building still has its original wood floor and the pulley system in the rafters used to pull grain from wagons. Modern Mylar balloons with long strings, and purposefully let loose by Dyess, dotted the ceiling to discourage bats.

Her inventory, like most, was a melange of items. However, one stood out. She was asking $125 for a Victrola from the Victor Talking Machine Co. in New Jersey. The price includes a small collection of records, one featuring the song Theres a Little White House on a Little Green Hill performed by the Cadillac Orchestra.

It gets really busy, Dyess said of the weekend sale. Whatever youre not looking for, you can find.

Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

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They're big, they're burly -- and they're baaaaack.

We're talking about basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, and they've been spotted all over the coast of Southern California for the first time in decades.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are reporting dozens of basking shark sightings from Ventura and the Santa Barbara Channel, all the way to Los Angeles and the Channel Islands.

Basking sharks can grow up to 30 feet long -- almost the size of your average Metro bus -- and boast a mouth that can stretch open to more than 3 feet wide. (Lucky for us they eat plankton, not people.)

While they're found pretty much all over the world, especially off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, basking sharks are a fairly rare sight in Southern California.

In the 1950s and '60s, boaters and fishermen reportedly spotted them in the hundreds or thousands, They've since all but disappeared -- until now..

"It's a pretty big deal," said NOAA fisheries biologist Heidi Dewar, who is part of the team that's now keeping a close eye on the sharks. "Time will tell if this is a one-off rebound or a real comeback."

No one is quite sure why basking sharks seemed to disappear, but Dewar said there's strong evidence that, locally, many of them became victims of commercial fishing bycatch. They were also targeted eradication efforts against populations of basking sharks in British Columbia to keep them out of salmon fishing nets.

Fortunately for the sharks, things have changed quite a bit since then. In 1994, California banned gill and trammel net fishing within three nautical miles of the state's coastline, and that zone appears to make up a good portion of the sharks' preferred feeding grounds.

A basking shark spotted by NOAA researchers near Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

Dr. Chris Lowe with the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach agreed that the latest sightings appear to be a good sign, but noted that it could also just be another indicator of climate change.

Warming ocean temperatures and recent marine heatwaves are causing plankton and other microorganisms to slowly shift north up the West Coast, bringing the larger animals that feed on them (e.g.: basking sharks) with them.

"Ultimately, what we don't know is why they show up at certain places at certain times," Lowe said.

That knowledge gap is largely due to the fact that scientists simply haven't had the opportunity to properly study their range in the Pacific or what their regular offshore habitats look like. And because it's been so long since one of them was spotted, data collection on basking sharks in California has been sporadic and inconsistent over the years.

"It was, honestly, off my radar that we used to have basking sharks off California," Dewar said.

NOAA researchers follow a basking shark for satellite tagging off Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

But with more basking sharks popping up in recent weeks, NOAA is now actively maintaining a database of those sightings -- and they're asking anyone who sees one to let them know.

"We can take that data and link it to environmental conditions that day and try to get a better sense of what their preferred habitat is or even get a boat out on the water to catch up with them and put a satellite tag on them," Dewar said.

So if you do spot a basking shark, help a scientist out and call NOAA's basking shark hotline at (858) 334-2884 or send an email to basking.shark@noaa.gov.
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A charter school in South Los Angeles, whose future was already in doubt, has taken the unusual step of ending its school year a month early before ceasing operations for good.

Friday was the last day of classes at Summit Preparatory Charter School, which originally planned to end its school year on June 7. The charter enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood.

Summit Prep parents have known about the closure for about a month.

On April 2, the L.A. Unified School Board voted against renewing Summit Prep's charter. Later the same day, with the school already running a deficit, Summit Prep's leaders decided to begin the process of shutting it down.

Summit Prep students have technically already clocked a complete school year; they've met a state minimum for instructional time, the school's founder and executive director Arianna Haut said.

"We will continue to work with our families to ensure our students are enrolled in schools for next year," Haut said in a statement. "With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to a community that welcomed us."

While Summit Prep's closure isn't exactly sudden, for a charter school to close this early is rare.

In the past two decades, state data shows that 135 charter schools have closed in L.A. County. But the vast majority closed in June or July -- likely after the school year ended. Before Summit Prep, just 13 charter schools closed between October and May.

Every three to five years, charter schools must apply for renewals from the "authorizer" that regulates and oversees them -- often, the local school district in which they operate. LAUSD officials asked school board members to deny Summit Prep's renewal application, citing concerns with the school's financial and academic track record.

Last school year, nearly one-quarter of Summit Prep's students were at-risk or long-term English learners. District officials said only 1.1 percent of the school's English learners had been "reclassified" as English-proficient -- far lower than other area schools.

"That number matters," said Ed Lin, president of Summit Prep's governing board, in an emotional interview. "We would've liked to have a chance to address it." (The school had developed an action plan to improve its English learner metrics.)

Summit Preparatory Charter School enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood. (Kyle Stokes/KPCC)

Summit Prep leaders could have appealed the LAUSD board's April 2 vote on its petition to renew its charter for five years, and sought a new charter from either county or state officials.

But Lin said the LAUSD board's non-renewal vote jeopardized a short-term loan the school was counting on in order to continue operations. Summit Prep had a projected net income of $275,000 this year -- but that still left the school with negative net assets of around $310,000.

"There's no way we could've gone all the way to June," Lin said. "We would be so far into the red that it would be irresponsible. This is the best plan we could come up with."

"Is it what we wanted? No," Lin added. "We wanted to finish out the school year."

Donations to a GoFundMe page for Summit Prep, which Haut posted shortly after the decision to close last month, netted just under $15,000 for the school, Haut said. Those donations -- coupled with an early closing date and selling off school equipment -- should allow Summit Prep to settle all of its existing expenses, including staff payroll before it closes its doors.

Summit Prep's shutdown has raised eyebrows among critics of charter schools. Teachers unions in particular see charters as existential threats to the finances of traditional, district-run public schools.

Prominent charter critic Diane Ravitch posted a write-up about the early closure on her widely-read blog.

The post noted that Summit Prep claimed space on an LAUSD campus under the state law known as Prop. 39, which entitles charter schools to operate on district-run campuses at minimal cost. These "co-locations" sometimes force the LAUSD host school to give up computer labs, music rooms and parent centers for the charter school's use.

"Nothing, I mean nothing," the blog post quoted an LAUSD teacher as saying, "is worse to me than lying to immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much to get to this country, to give their children a better life."

An exasperated-sounding Lin, who was a founding board member of Summit Prep, said that criticism of charter schools has gotten out of hand -- particularly after January's L.A. teachers strike.

"I passionately believe in public education," Lin said. "The treatment we've received from LAUSD, and from the public ... it's ridiculous. We're members of this community trying to do a good thing."
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An Orange County infant who was too young to be vaccinated is hospitalized with measles, OC health officials announced Saturday. That latest case became public hours after UC Irvine officials said a graduate student who spent time on campus this week had also been confirmed to have the highly-contagious disease.

The student, identified as a man who lives in Long Beach, did not need hospitalization and is currently quarantined at his home, officials said. Orange County health officials said he had been vaccinated and had no history of international travel.

Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said the man is among some 3% of people who still contract measles despite being vaccinated. The good news is that those people typically suffer less severe symptoms and also are not as contagious to others.

Here's What You Need To Know About Measles, As The Outbreak Continues To Grow

The man had spent extensive time in public before his diagnosis, including at a movie theatre, grocery stores and wine bars in Long Beach, according to information released by health officials.

L.A. County officials also named some of the region's most popular tourist destinations as having been visited by a local person now known to have been contagious, including The Grove, L.A. Farmers Market and the La Brea Tar Pits. [Details below.]

L.A. County officials on Saturday also said another person infected with measles recently traveled through the area. They did not offer any additional details about that individual. To date this year, L.A. County has reported eight cases in residents and another six non-resident cases.

The majority of the people who had measles had not been vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Orange County had announced its first case of measles this year, a Placentia woman in her 20s who became infected while traveling internationally. She went to the movies in Fullerton while contagious, according to health officials.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE INFANT

OC health officials said the baby has "no history of international travel." They did not give a specific age for the infant, who was cared for at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) emergency department.

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a child get the first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine when they are between 12 months and 15 months. A child who is traveling internationally should get the first vaccination at 6 months of age, health officials recommend.

OC officials said the infant was infectious while being cared for at CHOC's emergency department at these dates and times:

Sunday, April 28, 7 - 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, 9:30 p.m. through Wednesday, May 1 at 12:15 a.m.

Thursday, May 2, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

One of the key reasons public health officials say vaccination is important has to do with a concept known as herd immunity. If enough people are vaccinated -- typically at least 90 to 95% of the population in cases of highly contagious diseases such as measles -- that effectively protects those who cannot be vaccinated like infants or people who have compromised immune systems by limiting the spread of the disease.

UCI CASE

In an announcement released to the UC Irvine community Saturday morning, Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university had been "informed that the student attended classes or was present while contagious."

The latest case comes after concerns about the spread of measles on two campuses in Los Angeles County, Cal State Los Angeles and UCLA, led health officials to quarantine hundreds of students until the period for signs of new infections passed earlier this week.

As of Thursday, state health officials reported 40 people in California have been diagnosed with measles so far this year. Most were unvaccinated. The number is already twice the reported cases in all of 2018.

Nationwide, a number of large outbreaks have propelled the number of measles case over 700, already more than in 2014 when an outbreak tied to Disneyland led to a renewed vaccination push and stricter rules on exemptions in California.

The trend is concerning to many public health officials who point out measles had once become so rare in the U.S. that the disease was considered eliminated in 2000.

WHERE THE GRAD STUDENT WENT

Gillman provided a list of places where the student came in contact with others on the campus:

Monday, April 29: Humanities Instructional Building 100, 10 a.m.-noon Krieger Hall, Classic Dept. 4th Floor, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Humanities Hall 112, 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2, UCI Student Health Center, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Dr. Albert Cheng, of the UCI student health department, said they'd worked to evaluate if students who came in contact with the infected man had immunizations or lab work to show immunity.

If not, he said they're working to reach out.

Gillman said some students who may have come in contact with the contagious person had already been cleared. He described the number of people on campus who did not have vaccinations as a "small percentage."

"I want to assure you that campus health experts have been working closely with local public health officials to ensure that notifications are made and proper care is provided to all who might be affected," he wrote. "We are currently notifying students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed, providing them with information about treatment and prevention."

In addition to the places on campus, OC health officials provided the following locations in Fullerton the man visited on Friday, May 3:

The Pickled Monk, 1:45 - 3:30 p.m.

Brick Basement Antiques, 2:40 - 4 p.m.

Buffalo Exchange, 3 - 4:15 p.m.

8Eightyeight Cigar, 3:15 - 5 p.m.

He also said the student will remain at home, which is in Los Angeles County.

Long Beach health officials also released a list of locations the man had visited in his home city:

Sunday, April 28: Pizzanista, 1837 E 7th St, 5:30- 7:00 p.m. Total Wine, 7400 Carson Blvd, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Susan European Dressmaker, 3319 E 7th St, 5 -7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1: Art du Vin Wine Bar, 2027 E 4th St, 8 -10 p.m. Ralph's, 2930 E 4th St, 2 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2: Ralph's, 6290 Pacific Coast Highway, 3- 6:30 p.m. AMC Marina Pacifica, 6346 E PCH, 6- 10 p.m.

Friday, May 3, Broadway Carwash,4000 E Broadway, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

L.A. County offered this list of public places visited by a person infected with measles. They did not specify which case, the Long Beach resident or the non-resident individual, the exposures are tied to:



Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28, Farmer's Daughter Hotel 115 S Fairfax Ave

Also on Saturday, April 27: Peet's Coffee, 3rd & Fairfax, 9 a.m. - noon Fratelli's Cafe, 7200 Melrose Ave, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. TART Restaurant (located in Farmer's Daughter Hotel), 5 -8 p.m. The Grove, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles Farmer's Market, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Paper Source, 3rd & Fairfax, 4 - 6 p.m. Whole Food's (Fairfax) 6350 W 3rd St., 8 - 11 p.m. La Brea Tarpits, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, LAX International Terminal, 7:45 - 11:45 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1, LAX Employee Shuttle, unclear time and 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1,LAX International Terminal, 7:10 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

ANOTHER OC CASE

Earlier this week, Orange County health officials announced a confirmed case of measles in a county resident who was infected while traveling internationally.

Places where that person, identified as a Placentia resident in her 20s, could have come in contact with others while contagious are:

Tuesday - Thursday, April 23-25, 5 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, 7:45 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. daily

Thursday- Friday, April 25-26, AMC Movie Theatre, 1001 S. Lemon St., Fullerton, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Saturday, April 27, St. Jude Emergency Department, 7-9 a.m.

THE LATEST FROM LA COUNTY

In Los Angeles County, officials this week announced a seventh confirmed measles case on Tuesday.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting that day, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer warned that there will likely be more cases.

And she cautioned that although most people who get measles get a high fever and a rash all over their body and recover, there is a small risk of much more serious harm.

"It does cause and can cause very serious illness," she said, "including brain swelling, deafness, pneumonia, and death."

That's why she and other health officials are urging everyone to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date.

Megan Garvey and Michelle Faust Raghavan contributed to this report

UPDATES:

11:45 p.m.: This article updated with additional details about the new L.A. County cases and locations where the public was exposed.

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details about vaccinated people still contracting the measles.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the case of the infant in Orange County as well as additional details about where the UCI student had been while contagious.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
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Congresswoman Barragan Hosted Town Hall Meeting on Compton Potholes

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44) hosted a community town hall regarding residents concerns over the growing number of potholes in Compton. During the town hall, Rep. Barragan questioned panelists from the state, county and city regarding funding sources, including Measure P and the progress of street repairs in Compton and Unincorporated Compton. Although street repairs are the responsibility of state and local officials, it is among the top issues reported to our office. As a result, constituents received some transparency on sources of funding and spending, and were also given the opportunity to ask questions about the status of repaving their roads.

Panelists included Compton City Manager Cecil Rhambo, Compton Public Works Director Wendell Johnson, LA County Public Works District Engineer Dai Bui and Caltrans Deputy District 7 Director Paul Marquez.

For years, potholes in the City of Compton and Unincorporated Compton have damaged residents vehicles, caused people to get in or near accidents and made it difficult for first responders to rapidly address emergencies.

ADVERTISEMENT

This issue has been years in the making due to the mismanagement of the citys funds and a lack of an organized schedule to repave the roads, said Rep. Barragan. I will continue working to ensure our roads are safe for my constituents and our first responders.

To report a pothole, residents are encouraged to call our office at (310) 831-1799 or email [email protected].

Live stream of the town call can be found here.

Photos of the town hall can be found here.
One of my all-time favorite Westerns -- indeed, one of my favorite movies -- has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber That movie is BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), the second collaboration between star James Stewart and director Anthony Mann BEND OF THE RIVER has a well-written screenplay by Borden Chase based on the novel BEND OF THE SNAKE by Bill Gulick. It's the story of Glynn McLyntock (Stewart), a man with a violent past seeking to reform and live a new life with a group of settlers in Oregon.McLyntock meets Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) when he saves him from a lynch mob. Cole, like McLyntock, has a dark past. Cole is initially helpful to McLyntock, whether battling Indians or retrieving stolen supplies, but although Cole wins the love of Laura ( Julie Adams ), one of the settlers, he still finds himself tempted off the straight and narrow.This is a marvelous film in every respect, with a great cast in a well-paced 91-minute story. It was a particular pleasure having the chance to see it shortly after watching Stewart and Mann's first Western, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), at this month's TCM Classic Film Festival . I wrote about the WINCHESTER '73 screening for Classic Movie Hub In both films Stewart plays a tough man who balances tenderness and gallantry with sadness and bitter anger. We see his affection for Laura in the ways he watches her when she's not looking; he's a man with deep, unspoken feelings who's capable of not only love but deep hurt. His "You'll be seein' me" when betrayed by a friend conveys pain but is also downright chilling.Stewart is matched by Kennedy as a man who can't quite make up his mind what he wants and whether to be bad or good. Kennedy and Stewart have many wryly funny moments together as well as darker dramatic scenes. Watching two very similar men struggle and ultimately chart different paths is part of what makes the film so interesting.I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes to flesh out Julie Adams' character, who goes through some interesting transitions which could have been presented with more depth. That's really my only criticism of the film. Rock Hudson is charming in the third lead as Trey Wilson, a gambler who throws in his lot with McLyntock and Cole when trouble brews in town. He has a cute courtship of Laura's younger sister Marjie (Lori Nelson) and is delightful to have on hand.Also in the excellent cast: Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Howard Petrie, Jack Lambert, Frances Bavier, Frank Ferguson, and Lillian Randolph. I especially enjoy the sweet relationship between Chubby Johnson as a paddlewheeler captain and Stepin Fetchit as his helper; though Fetchit at times speaks in stereotypical fashion, I find that aspect is offset by the depth of the loving friendship between Johnson and Fetchit's characters. The movie was shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg , shown off nicely via Kino's attractive Blu-ray.Extras include a typically solid commentary by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s , who shares the background of all the players as well as some of the difficulties faced by the company shooting at remote locations in Oregon. The disc also includes the trailer, as well as five additional trailers for Westerns available from Kino Lorber.For a bit more on this film, I wrote about seeing it at the Egyptian Theatre with star Julie Adams present in 2011 , along with a more cursory post way back in 2006 BEND OF THE RIVER is a film I go back to time and again, always finding something new to appreciate. Highly recommended.
Opposition parties disrupt Provincial Assembly meeting

The NCP and NC criticised the ruling parties for appointing their activists only while forming committee in all eight districts.
Saturday, May 4, 2019





Structural Tools of Settler Colonialism by Carrie Rosenbaum, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming

Abstract

The systems of immigration and criminal law come together in many important ways, one of which being their role in instilling difference and undermining inclusion and integration. In this article, I will begin a discussion examining the concept of integration, simplistically described as inclusion into American life, not in the more traversed realm of citizenship, but in the context of crimmigration. I posit that when considering the relationship between those who are formally considered integrated versus other, or outsider, which may or may not overlap with immigration status, the accepted concept of integration is misguided at best. Instead, if the concept of integration is framed as an epistemological tool of settler colonialism, the construction of race provides a more fruitful line of inquiry.



There remains a divide in United States civil society, where people racialized as nonwhite do not have the same lived experience as people racialized as white. Similarly, identity, or the perception of race, play a role in the criminal justice system, wherein people racialized as nonwhite are disproportionately incarcerated. These two problems are mutually reinforcing  being poor increases the chances of being incarcerated, while being a person racialized as nonwhite is part of the equation in socio-economic standing and the likelihood of experiencing incarceration. Achieving socio-economic parity with people racialized as white has generally been considered a hallmark of what over-simplistically, and even dangerously, is characterized as integration.



These problems are replicated in and by the crimmigration system. Just as people racialized as nonwhite are more likely to be relatively socio-economically poor and more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, immigrants racialized as nonwhite face these same challenges. The effects of racialization are significant, and the mechanisms purportedly designed to reverse, erase, or change these dynamics have failed immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite. There is a longstanding myth that in a democratic society, such as the United States, everyone has the opportunity, the path, and maybe even a right to strive to and achieve integration. Becoming a naturalized United States citizen is a symbol or marker of such achievement, although it is superficial and still limited with respect to full membership and integration. Citizenship does not elevate one above the caste system of racialized hierarchy. The failure of integration is evidenced by the reality that immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite do not obtain the socio-economic successes of the dominant class.



This article will propose that the promise of integration is a myth. Even more than a false promise, the concept of integration itself erases the historical racialized institutional infrastructure that is responsible for the falseness of this promise. Crimmigration is a piece of this larger puzzle.



Derrick Bells consideration of racial realism and theories of settler colonialism will be explored here to propose a theory of why the offer of integration is disingenuous and a promise never intended to be fulfilled. Settler colonialism is a continuing form of nation building, whereby settlers fortify the dominant culture, removing and replacing communities with constructed ones. (While racism predates colonialism, it plays a leading role in settler colonialism.) These methodologies also help explain why and how crimmigration is an extension of settler colonialism and is responsible for reinforcing racialized differences and the impossibility (and perhaps undesirability) of integration. While the theoretical tool of integration provides some insight into the relationship between racialization and the roles of the criminal justice and crimmigration systems, broadening the lens to examine crimmigration via the methodologies of racial realism and settler colonialism exposes the flaws in the integrationist paradigm.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/05/immigration-article-of-the-day-crimmigration-structural-tools-of-settler-colonialism-by-carrie-rosen.html


Today we tell a traditional American story called a "tall tale." A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated  much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories.



Pecos Bill was a larger than life hero of the American West. No one knows who first told stories about Pecos Bill. Cowboys may have invented the stories. Others say Edward O'Reilly invented the character in stories he wrote for the Century Magazine in the early 1900s. The stories were collected in a book called "The Saga of Pecos Bill," published in 1923.



Another writer, James Cloyd Bowman, wrote an award-winning children's book called "Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time." The book won the Newbery Honor in 1938.



Pecos Bill was not a historical person. But he does represent the spirit of early settlers in the American West. His unusual childhood and extraordinary actions tell about people who believed there were no limits to what they could do. Now, here is Barbara Klein with our story.



Pecos Bill had one of the strangest childhoods a boy ever had. It all started after his father decided that there was no longer enough room in east Texas for his family.



"Pack up, Ma!" he cried. "Neighbors movin' in 50 miles away! It's getting too crowded!"



So they loaded up a wagon with all their things. Now some say they had 15 children while others say 18. However many there were, the children were louder than thunder. And as they set off across the wild country of west Texas, their mother and father could hardly hear a thing.

Now, as they came to the Pecos River, the wagon hit a big rock. The force threw little Bill out of the wagon and he landed on the sandy ground. Mother did not know Bill was gone until she gathered the children for the midday meal. Mother set off with some of the children to look for Bill, but they could find no sign of him.



Well, some people say Bill was just a baby when his family lost him. Others say he was four years old. But all agree that a group of animals called coyotes found Bill and raised him. Bill did all the things those animals did, like chase lizards and howl at the moon. He became as good a coyote as any.

Now, Bill spent 17 years living like a coyote until one day a cowboy rode by on his horse. Some say the cowboy was one of Bill's brothers. Whoever he was, he took one look at Bill and asked, "What are you?"



Bill was not used to human language. At first, he could not say anything. The cowboy repeated his question. This time, Bill said, "varmint."



That is a word used for any kind of wild animal.



"No you aren't," said the cowboy.



"Yes, I am," said Bill. "I have fleas."



"Lots of people have fleas," said the cowboy. "You don't have a tail."



"Yes, I do," said Bill.



"Show it to me then," the cowboy said.



Bill looked at his backside and realized that he did not have a tail like the other coyotes. "Well, what am I then?" asked Bill.



"You're a cowboy! So start acting like one!" the cowboy cried out. Well that was all Bill needed to hear. He said goodbye to his coyote friends and left to join the world of humans.



Now, Pecos Bill was a good cowboy. Still, he hungered for adventure. One day he heard about a rough group of men. There is some debate over what the group was called. But one storyteller calls it the "Hell's Gate Gang."



So Bill set out across the rough country to find this gang of men. Well, Bill's horse soon was injured so Bill had to carry it for a hundred miles. Then Bill met a rattlesnake 50 feet long. The snake made a hissing noise and was not about to let Bill pass. But after a tense minute, Bill beat the snake until it surrendered. He felt sorry for the varmint, though, and wrapped it around his arm.



After Bill walked another hundred miles, he came across an angry mountain lion. There was a huge battle, but Bill took control of the big cat and put his saddle on it. He rode that mountain lion all the way to the camp of the Hell's Gate Gang.



Now, when Bill saw the gang he shouted out, "Who's the boss around here?"



A huge cowboy, 9 feet tall, took one look at Bill and said in a shaky voice, "I was the boss. But you are the boss from here on in."



With his gang, Pecos Bill was able to create the biggest ranch in the Southwest. Bill and his men had so many cattle that they needed all of New Mexico to hold them. Arizona was the pasture where the cattle ate grass.



Pecos Bill invented the art of being a cowboy. He invented the skill of throwing a special rope called a lasso over a cow's head to catch wandering cattle.

Some say he used a rattlesnake for a lasso. Others say he made a lasso so big that it circled the whole Earth.



Bill invented the method of using a hot branding iron to permanently put the mark of a ranch on a cow's skin. That helped stop people from stealing cattle. Some say he invented cowboy songs to help calm the cattle and make the cowboy's life easier. But he is also said to have invented tarantulas and scorpions as jokes. Cowboys have had trouble with those poisonous creatures ever since.



Now, Pecos Bill could ride anything that ever was. So, as some tell the story, there came a storm bigger than any other. It all happened during the worst drought the West had ever seen. It was so dry that horses and cows started to dry up and blow away in the wind. So when Bill saw the windstorm, he got an idea. The huge tornado kicked across the land like a wild bronco. But Bill jumped on it without a thought.



He rode that tornado across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, all the time squeezing the rain out of it to save the land from drought. When the storm was over, Bill fell off the tornado. He landed in California. He left a hole so deep that to this day it is known as Death Valley.



Now, Bill had a horse named Widow Maker. He got that name because any man who rode that horse would be thrown off and killed, and his wife would become a widow. No one could ride that horse but Bill.



And Widow Maker, in the end, caused the biggest problem for Pecos Bill. You see, one day Bill saw a woman. Not just any woman, but a wild, red-haired woman, riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande River.



Her name was Slue-foot Sue. And Bill fell in love with her at first sight. Well, Bill would not rest until he had asked for her hand in marriage. And Slue-foot Sue accepted.



On their wedding day, Pecos Bill dressed in his best buckskin suit. And Sue wore a beautiful white dress with a huge steel-spring bustle in the back. It was the kind of big dress that many women wore in those days  the bigger the better.



Now, after the marriage ceremony Slue-foot Sue got a really bad idea. She decided that she wanted to ride Widow Maker. Bill begged her not to try. But she had her mind made up.



Well, the second she jumped on the horse's back he began to kick and buck like nothing anyone had ever seen. He sent Sue flying so high that she sailed clear over the new moon.



She fell back to Earth, but the steel-spring bustle just bounced her back up as high as before.



Now, there are many different stories about what happened next. One story says Bill saw that Sue was in trouble. She would keep bouncing forever if nothing was done. So he took his rope out -- though some say it was a huge rattlesnake -- and lassoed Sue to catch her and bring her down to Earth. Only, she just bounced him back up with her.

Somehow the two came to rest on the moon. And that's where they stayed. Some people say they raised a family up there. Their children were as loud and wild as Bill and Sue were in their younger days. People say the sound of thunder that sometimes carries over the dry land around the Pecos River is nothing more than Pecos Bill's family laughing up a storm.



This tall tale of Pecos Bill was adapted for Learning English and produced by Mario Ritter. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. The video was produced by Adam Brock.

________________________________________________________________

Test your understanding of this story by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Pecos Bill Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy classify to help students understand the story of Pecos Bill.



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

debate - n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something

varmint - n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem

lasso - n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)

tarantula - n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions

scorpion - n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end

make up ones mind - idiom. to decide on something
Nearly 100 years ago -- in 1920 -- the U.S. Constitution was changed to guarantee women the right to vote.

Today, at least six women are running for president  the highest number the country has ever seen.

The struggle for womens political rights in the United States has deep and complex roots, says historian Kate Lemay. She recently launched a show at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., called Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence.

The show explains that the struggle for womens political equality began long before 1920. It was connected to the fight against slavery in the 1800s.

It also connected to efforts to reach civil rights for African Americans during the 1900s.

Political rights for women are only part of the story, argues another historian, Katherine Marino. In March, she released a book called Feminism in the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement.

Marino writes that a group of influential feminists in Latin America in the early 1900s split with some feminists in the United States over the goals of the movement. These Latin American feminists wanted to advance social and economic rights along with political rights.

For example, they spoke out against government oppression and international imperialism. And, Marino says, Latin American feminists sought rights for families as well as individuals.

Marino says feminists from Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Chile, and other places often worked together. Their work resulted in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. It also gave birth to the phrase womens rights are human rights.

Today, says Marino, some feminists in Latin American still combine struggles for women's rights with other issues. For example, she says, before the #MeToo movement began in the United States, some Latin American women created Ni Una Menos. The phrase means not one woman less. It speaks out against the killing of women and girls, and in some cases also opposes national austerity measures.

Marino notes that, even with an early split, feminists across the Americas are sounding similar again.

She says, Today in the U.S. we are seeing a broader definition of feminism thats connected to social, racial, economic justice.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

persistence - n. the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people

imperialism - n. a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world

austerity - n. a situation in which there is not much money and it is spent only on things that are necessary

broad - n. including or involving many things or people : wide in range or amount
A Vietnamese woman who was tried in the killing of the half brother of North Koreas leader left a Malaysian prison on Friday and flew back to Hanoi.

Doan Thi Huong recorded a video just before her airplane left Malaysia. In the recording, she thanked everyone who prayed for her.

I want to say I love you all. I thank you my Lord Jesus. Thank you so much, she said.

Huongs release likely closes the murder case.

Four North Koreans are named as co-conspirators in the 2017 killing of Kim, but they escaped to North Korea. Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea. The officials also made it clear they did not want the trial politicized.

Huong was the last suspect in detention. In March, Malaysias attorney general decided to drop charges against her co-defendant, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia.

The decision followed Indonesian efforts to persuade the Malaysian government to suspend the case against Aisyah. Huong asked to be acquitted after she was freed, but government lawyers rejected her request. Aisyah returned home to Indonesia.

The two women were charged with working with the four North Koreans to murder the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The women put VX, a nerve agent, on the face of Kim Jong Nam in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, 2017. Both women later said they believed they were taking part in a prank for a television show.

Last month, the 30-year-old Huong admitted guilt to a lesser charge of causing injury after the Malaysian government dropped a murder charge against her. She was sentenced to 40 months in prison from the day of her arrest and was released early for good behavior.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik is Huongs lawyer. At the airport Friday, he said that the case has come to a complete end because the government did not appeal her sentence.

After her sentencing last month, Huong said she wants to sing and act when she returns to Vietnam.

Last August, the High Court judge had found there was enough evidence to believe that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans plotted to kill Kim Jong Nam. He called on the two women to present their defense.

The four North Koreans left Malaysia the day Kim was killed.

Lawyers for the women have said that they were pawns in a political assassination. They said the killing clearly had links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They also said that the Malaysian government failed to show the women wanted to kill Kim.

The desire to kill is an important part of a murder charge under Malaysian law.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

co-conspirator  n. the partner of a person who is involved in a secret plan to do something harmful or illegal

attorney general  n. the senior legal officer of the state or country

acquit  v. to decide that someone is not guilty of a crime

prank  n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

pawn  n. a person or group that does not have much power and that is controlled by a more powerful person or group

assassination  n. to kill a usually famous person for political reasons
Eschenbrenner, Hain and Naprstek held a presentation for the LRHC Auxiliary over differences in Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans that a beneficiary should be aware of when making a decision whether to leave the traditional Medicare benefits, and the vast network of providers which are contracted with Medicare versus the current Medicare Advantage plans in the area which do not have the same developed network. This can mean that a beneficiary in a Medicare Advantage network may have limited choices of providers and services compared to beneficiaries covered under the traditional Medicare network of providers. These facts are often not known to the beneficiaries when they are sold these plans and the women in the Auxiliary were also surprised to learn these facts. There were approximately 40 people in attendance, said Hain. Eschenbrenner said they also spoke about the network of specialists that come to LRHC and the services that can be done at the hospital.
Praying for the direction to take in this years devotions, God directed my thoughts to the alphabet and 2x26 equals the weeks in a year, and that He can be described by many English words beginning with those 26 letters (X is the exception, but EX words will work). This year, I will gaze at the glory of God using the ESV and the alphabet!




Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo(SEATTLE) -- Its a boy!

The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington welcomed one of its latest and tallest babies this Thursday.

Olivia, the zoo's 12-year-old giraffe gave birth to a healthy boy at 4:56 am yesterday morning.

Unlike human newborns, the baby was on his feet within an hour after he was born, which is what we want to see, Katie Ahl, a lead zoo keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, said in a press release.

Olivia and her unnamed calf are currently out of view in the giraffe barn to allow what the zoo calls a cozy, quiet environment for maternal bonding and nursing.

The first 24 to 72 hours are critical to the proper development of newborn giraffes, Ahl said.

An experienced mother, Olivia is showing good maternal behavior for her second offspring, Ahl said. In 2013, she gave birth to her first boy, Misawa, with another male giraffe, Chioke.

This babys father is 6-year-old Dave, who also fathered Olivias sisters baby.

Olivias sister, Tufani gave birth to a girl, Lulu, in 2017 -- making this latest giraffe the second baby born in the zoo within the last 5 years.

Although the baby is nursing and standing, concerns remain about his rear legs.

Hes not walking normally on his rear legs, a condition known as "hyper extended fetlocks," Dr. Darin Collins, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo, noted in a press release.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In the coming days the zoo will be a holding a community naming contest to give Seattle residents a chance to name their zoos newest addition.

For all the other giraffe fans that cannot make it to the zoo to see the new baby, the zoo will be putting up a live barn cam. Fans can visit www.zoo.org/giraffe or follow the zoo on social media to find updates on when the live barn cam will be up.

Baby giraffes have a magical way of touching the hearts and minds of people, no matter how old you are," said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

"We hope everyone connects again with this new baby and comes to care about saving giraffes in their natural ranges in Africa. We want everyone to care about giraffes as much as we do.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Police arrest man with 1kg smuggled gold

Anukesh Kumar Sah, a local, was held while he was transporting the contraband gold on his motorcycle (Lu 4 Pa 5803), said police.


Ronald Reagan

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Albert Einstein

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

Winston Churchill





It isnt so much that liberals are ignorant. Its just that they know so many things that arent so.

With integrity nothing else counts; Without integrity nothing else counts.

Winston Churchill





Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey S. Firestone





It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. H. L. Menken



Referenda insure all have a voice in land use decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Listen carefully to first criticism of your work. Note just what it is about your work the critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.

Jean Cocteau
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Private sector urges SAARC nations to invest in Nepal

The countrys private sector on Thursday urged the business fraternity from SAARC member nations to invest in Nepal, saying that the government has adopted lenient policies to boost investment in the country.
In an era of increased scrutiny of and cynicism about law enforcement and policing practices, it is easy to lose sight of the dangers and stress experienced by the rank and file, and how this contributes to mental health problems.

On a daily basis, police officers encounter individuals and situations that put their lives at risk. They regularly witness and investigate unspeakable acts of violence, cruelty and tragedy. Compounding this burden is the constant awareness that every action, utterance and split-second decision, on good days and bad, are captured on video and subject to scrutiny by superiors, the public and, in worst cases, prosecutors. It doesnt take an expert to conclude that these extraordinary burdens can have a deleterious effect on mental health.

Although most segments of our society, including the military, have made great strides in reducing the stigma associated with common and treatable mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and addiction, the law enforcement community has lagged in this respect.

Thanks in part to organizations like Badge of Life and Blue H.E.L.P., there is a growing awareness within law enforcement of this issue and the need to address it in a meaningful way. This is a critical first step.
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Illustrating the importance of networks, Madison shared how City Council President Shiva Bidar, who works for UW Health, helped secure funding for local yoga instructor Keena Atkinson to get certified as a teacher.

Ive been trying to really work at UW Health to be really intentional about not creating these barriers in the system to give money out because thats what systems do, Bidar said.

Madison was seeking a black yoga instructor to work with young girls in the community. Atkinson described how she felt unwelcome in yoga studios to the point where she could not focus on the class.

Im going to teach yoga, so people can have the experience I want to have, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said she wants to focus on living her life authentically and unapologetically as a black woman.

A lot of mornings I hear Sabrinas voice in my head, I quit my job to work for black women, so I was like Im going to quit my job because I want to live my purpose, Atkinson said.

Atkinson ended up quitting her job to focus on teaching yoga and on her hair and wellness businesses.
Supervisor Analiese Eicher, District 3, said new supervisors, including herself, were not expecting to take another vote on the major capital project. She agreed with the boards action in the 2018 budget and thinks the south tower option makes sense.

At the end of this, our goal is a smaller jail, a safer jail and a jail that is more in line with jail reduction strategies that allow us to engage in best practices, Eicher said.

Though he campaigned after the board first voted on the jail project, Supervisor Yogesh Chawla, District 6, vocally opposed the plan. Chawla feels the county needs more information, such as the results of a mental health study, before proceeding with a decision.

Were really making critical decisions with incomplete information and the big question I think we need to ask the community is do we want to take a $150 million risk without all the information in front of us?

When the board first voted, four supervisors voted against the project. Two of those supervisors  Heidi Wegleitner, District 2, and Richard Kilmer, District 4  remain on the board.

To move forward, the county will have to vote on a budget resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Two held for extortion

The suspects planted a suspicious object saying it was an explosive at Dhadkan Road on April 27 apparently to terrorise the business community.
A seven-year Idaho study of non-lethal methods, with zero wolf killing, mirrors these results: sheep depredation losses to wolves were just 0.02% of the total number of sheep present, the lowest loss rate among sheep-grazing areas in wolf range statewide.

As The Grizzly Times states in The Problem of State Wildlife Management:

Management of wildlife by state agencies is almost wholly for the benefit of hunters and fishers  Hunters are a shrinking minority, not the majority of those who care about wildlife and places like Yellowstone. As the Tribes in the Northern Rockies are fond of saying, state wildlife management agencies represent a last bastion of the ethos of Manifest Destiny, which led to genocide and the destruction of ecosystems during the 1800s and early 1900s.
Interestingly enough, it was a medical professional who originally recommended marijuana, highlighting several studies that demonstrated not only relief from pain, but also from muscle spasms. I remember being embarrassed to admit that I had never used marijuana (I know, Im a square) but I was willing to try. Luckily, I had a college friend who was willing to help, and that was how I tried marijuana for the first time.

Not only did it eliminate my pain symptoms, but for the first time since my accident, I had no spasticity. Having lived for so long with pain and discomfort, it was overwhelming to just feel normal. I had tears welling up in my eyes. Unfortunately, the side effects were a little too intense. I found it difficult to focus, my appetite grew unruly and it made me way too sleepy. It just wasnt for me.

Im fortunate, because I have been able to regulate my pain using legally prescribed medications  but what has worked for me has destroyed the lives of many others. I know how difficult it can be to step away from pain medications after an injury. When I was in the hospital recovering from my accident, they prescribed all kinds of opioids: hydromorphone, fentanyl patches, morphine, OxyContin, hydrocodone and diazepam.
Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19
Aaron Kennedy is an entrepreneur with national credentials. He was founder and chief executive officer for Noodles & Company, led Colorados successful branding and marketing campaign, managed product rollouts for major firms and continues to advise emerging companies through some of the nations leading accelerators.

Now, perhaps somewhat to his surprise, UW-Madison graduate Kennedy is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UW-Green Bay.

The late April announcement that Kennedy will join the effort to put Green Bay on the map for startups and scale-ups is the latest example of how the Upper Midwest is making a collective case for being a place where innovation is valued, talent is available and companies with the ideas can grow.

Not that anyone is hanging Vacancy signs in tech hubs such as Californias Silicon Valley, Boston or North Carolinas Research Triangle, which continue to flourish, but there are reasons for investors, entrepreneurs and others to tap the rise in activity across the Upper Midwest.
The high volume of police calls at Rethke Terrace and Tree Lane has exposed challenges in housing so many of the citys most vulnerable at the same sites and inadequacies in the funding model to pay for critical support services for tenants, OKeefe said.

Police calls for service at the properties stabilized in colder months, but have bumped up again with warmer weather, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

The primary issue for police centers on the lack of long-term or permanent property managers at each site, DeSpain said, adding that Heartland is working to resolve the situation. Problems, he said, are often related to people being allowed into the buildings when they shouldnt be there. The hope is these situations, and calls for police service, will be mitigated with more consistent management, he said.
This was my goal, Lor said of opening his own business. I wanted to have my own shop someday. But it took me almost 15 years.

How did you and your family end up in Madison?

In like 1979, (the Thai government) tried to eliminate all the camps so we (were) sent to a second one, and after the second one my family, they had to decide to come here or go back to Laos. My parents did not want to do either one so we escaped from the official refugee camp to live with Thai people. And then, like 10 years later they closed all the camps and we (were) stuck in the middle. Then the Thai government took us and registered us and told us we had to come here.

When you got here what did you do?

I went to school. I was barbering in Thailand for four years so when I came to this country it took me three and half years to learn English, go to (Madison Area Technical College) and get my (barbers) license. And then I went to work at Dick & Arnies (Barber Shop, in Middleton) for almost 10 years.

Did you need a license to cut hair in Thailand?
MILWAUKEE  The Evers administrations war on school choice continues.

The latest attack is from Gov. Tony Evers appointed successor at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who is refusing to allow private schools in the choice programs to count online (virtual) learning toward annual class-time requirements. She is doing so even though DPI has permitted public schools to use virtual learning for a variety of reasons, including to make up for class cancellations caused by Wisconsins winter weather.

This is unfair and wrong. We also believe it is illegal. Last month, attorneys at our organization, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), sued Taylor and DPI in Waukesha Circuit Court on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action, a membership organization of private choice schools.

This winter has been brutal for Wisconsins schools. With unprecedented snowfall, temperatures frequently below zero and mass flooding, Wisconsin K-12 schools have been forced to cancel classes at an extraordinary rate. Because of a state law that requires students to attend more than 1,000 hours in the classroom, many schools are having to make up class time by extending minutes in their school day or by adding days to the school year.
Perhaps Republicans work from a principle akin to Facebook: If the project is liked, the land is taken. This is exactly how conservative Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling described Republican views on eminent domain in a Nov. 9, 2017, interview in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Many of the people on my side  the conservative side  they change their opinion on this [eminent domain] if the project is something that they like.

Such arbitrariness in whose property is protected and whose isnt erodes public trust in government institutions and undermines citizens confidence they live in a fair economic system.

Seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke warned that the arbitrary taking of property by the government absolved the people from further obedience. Heeding Lockes advice and recognizing the threat to a new democracy, our countrys Founders crafted the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The amendment limits government to taking private land only if it is for public use. It is time for Wisconsin Republicans to anchor their eminent domain actions to the constitution and work to secure the property rights of all Wisconsinites.

Borchardt, of Marshfield, is founder of 80 Feet Is Enough, a group advocating for property rights in Wisconsin: 80feetisenough.org and mbgs@tznet.com.
Prayers for All is today

TWIN FALLS  The first Saturday of the month is time for Prayers for All. The public is invited to attend at 10 a.m. Saturday at Max Newlins home, 328 Seventh Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Celebrate by trying something new  praying for everyone from different faith perspectives.

This months theme will be Indigenous Traditions, including Yoruba, Animism, Native American Church, Shenism and Zoroastrianism.

Prayers from Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish scriptures, the Quran and Bahai Prayers will be read. Discussion will follow without proselytizing and with respect for all viewpoints.

For more information, call 208-221-8621.

Feed My Sheep Ministry recognized by IEF

TWIN FALLS  The Feed My Sheep Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension was recognized by the Idaho Episcopal Foundation with an Excellence in Mission Award at the Bishops Banquet April 27 in Boise.

Ascension parishioners Bette Krepcik and Georgia Durbin received this distinguished award for their efforts in 2016 to re-establish an abandoned monthly meal program for those affected by food insecurity in Twin Falls. The Mustard Seed Ministries in Twin Falls offered their location as a place to hold a Saturday hot meal, and monthly meals have been provided for the past three years.

Their dedication to and passion for serving Christ in others through this feeding ministry has inspired and transformed the lives of both those who receive a warm meal and those who have volunteered, the Idaho Episcopal Foundation said in a statement.

In 2018 Feed My Sheep served 912 meals  many of those to children who do not have access to food on weekends.

Unitarian Universalists ponder anxiety

TWIN FALLS  Why do we get so anxious? Sundays sermon will explore the concept of fear and anxiety  the good and the bad. Sometimes we just get nervous about getting nervous. We can work ourselves into a frenzy trying to figure out why we are getting nervous.

Perhaps it is time to break the cycle and just accept that a certain level of anxiety is to be expected.

We must allow ourselves to feel the fear and then do it anyway.

The public is welcome at the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at 160 Ninth Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths individuals travel. Congregations are places where people celebrate, support and challenge one another as they continue on their spiritual journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Newcomers of all religious paths, or none at all, are always welcome. Child care is available.

The church is handicapped-accessible.

Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building.

For more information, call Ken Whiting at 208-410-8904 or email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or go to magicvalleyuu.org.

Bishop Thom visits Ascension

TWIN FALLS  The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will welcome the Right Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho, for his annual visitation on Sunday.

Holy Communion will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at the church, 371 Eastland Drive N. Childcare for infants to five-year-olds will run from 8:45 a.m. until after worship.

A fellowship coffee hour will be held after the 10 a.m. service.

All are invited to meet and greet the bishop.

The community is invited to the final seven weeks of Living the Questions which will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays at First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls.

This video and discussion series helps participants explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in todays world.

Prior participation in the earlier portions of this program held at Ascension Episcopal Church and Our Savior Lutheran Church is not necessary.

The knitting and handwork group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Choir practice is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Bible study is held from 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

All are welcome for worship, fellowship or study at Ascension which is handicapped-accessible.

For more information, call 208-733-1248 or go to ascension.episcopalidaho.org.

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Whose government is it anyway? People ask as President presents policies and programmes

On social media, some posted screenshots of Part 1 (Preliminary) of the Constitution of Nepal, asking why the Head of State was referring to the government as my government. Article 2 of the Constitution of Nepal reads: The sovereignty and state authority of Nepal shall be vested in the Nepali people. It shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Constitution.
KIMBERLY  Rock Creek Rural Fire District has hired a firefighter out of Wyoming to replace its long-beleaguered fire chief who resigned in August.

Aaron Zent will take over the fire department May 28, district Clerk Jennifer Egbert said Friday. Zent is a Rawlins, Wyo., fire battalion chief.

Rock Creek fire district covers 212 square miles in eastern Twin Falls County  including the cities of Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh  and parts of Cassia County. The department responded to 402 fire calls and 897 medical calls in 2018.

Keller resigned his position Aug. 31, and Interim Chief Stacey Thomas took over on Sept. 3.

Thomas, still a captain with the department, later resigned as interim chief, and long-time firefighter Assistant Fire Chief Greg Vawser stepped in.

The department has been through several rounds of applications before deciding on Zent, Egbert said.

Thomas spoke with the Times-News after Keller resigned and credited the past chief with the departments growth in recent years.

We wouldnt be where were at had it not been for Chief Keller, Thomas said.

But townsfolk say discord often surrounded Keller.

A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against Keller and the Rock Creek Fire District by former training Capt. Brent Blamires was settled in January 2017 for $26,000.

Blamires claimed he was fired in January 2016 for blowing the whistle on Kellers driving a fire district vehicle while under the influence, which led to Kellers week-long suspension in August 2015.

Keller was a finalist to become Twin Falls fire chief in 2016, but the city dropped Keller from consideration over allegations in the suit.

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November 27, 1960April 30, 2019

TWIN FALLS  Deena would like to inform you all that her work here is done. She began her work on November 27, 1960 and survived this place for 58 years. On April 30, 2019, she received a call (sort of an offer you cant refuse). She accepted and will not be returning from this endeavor. Deena requests that everyone wipe the tears from their eyes and smile. Fill your hearts with joy, as this call has lent her the opportunity to be free from pain while reuniting with many family and friends.

Deena was born in Rexburg, Idaho, to Dee and June Newman. She was raised in Sugar City and Howe, ID., but attended high school in Arco, ID. Deena was a part of the Butte County High School graduating class of 79. Shortly thereafter, she met and later married Nelson Dean Slaymaker on February, 1980. Together they had four beautiful children to which Deena cherished. (Randy Nelson, Andrea Rose, Brittany Dee, and James Dean). Deena and Dean later divorced in 1994 but remained great friends until his passing in 2008.

Deena met her husband, Eric Saeugling, in January 2000. It took a year before Deena agreed to a date with him but it was worth the wait for both. They married in August of 2001 and have been inseparable since.

Deena had a love affair with her fuzzy blankets, A&E criminal television shows, and butter. Not necessarily in that order. She did not care for Idaho Power and towels folded incorrectly (which was any way other than her way). She had her quirks however as her family and friends, we never questioned her love for us, the gospel, and her pet chickens. Not necessarily in that order. Deena was passionate about several things. For instance, she loved to sing, read, and was always expanding her education. Deenas love of singing and beautiful voice was noticed by many. She was often asked to sing at celebrations. Her strong thirst for knowledge led her to pursue a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, completion of her CNA, and certification as a Behavioral Specialist. Deena enjoyed reading, whether it was a mystery novel in bed at night or a childrens book to the grandchild on her lap, she seemed to always have a book in her hands. Deena often bragged about her 8 grandchildren. She welcomed every opportunity to cuddle and sing to them. She was fortunate in life to have five best friends, her sisters, (Sheila, Jolene, Clara, Jennie, & Pennie). Not a day passed that she didnt speak to at least one of them. When all six girls reunited several times a year, Oh... help us all! No husband nor child was safe from the giggling teasing of the ole biddies. They laughed (at our expense) till they cried. Most truly a beautiful thing to witness was the strong bond they shared and their love so great.

Deenas children not only consisted of her four biological but also included several that she took under her wing and loved as if they were her own (Kelsey Stanger, Justin Wallis, Brandy Hill, Dan & Lucy Thieman, Jhovan Ellinger). Suffice it to say, Deenas greatest love in life was family.

Deena was preceded in death by her two loving parents and her little sister Jennie. She is survived by her husband, four sisters, children, grandchildren and several other family members.

She was beautiful. Beautiful for the way she thought. She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful for the ability to make others smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasnt beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She was just beautiful.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 6, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Cedar Draw Ward, 840 W. Midway Street in Filer. A viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, at White Mortuary Chapel by the Park, 136 4th Ave E. in Twin Falls and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral at the church. Burial will be at Twin Falls Cemetery.
With 40 percent of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.

All Idahoans benefit from the clean water, abundant wildlife habitat, recreation and wood and paper products that healthy forests provide, along with many positive economic impacts.

Arbor Day is April 26, a time to celebrate the benefits forests provide us, but also a time to reflect on how forests depend on humans for their continued health through active forest management  the sustainable cycle of harvesting followed by replanting of trees and using fire as a management tool to reduce overgrown vegetation.

There are 21.4 million acres of forests in Idaho. About 10 million acres of federal forests in Idaho are overgrown, unhealthy, and prone to devastating fires.

Impaired forest health conditions and wildfire know no boundaries. As Land Board members, we oversee the management of one million acres of forested state endowment lands. The lands are a gift to Idaho in all they offer. Timber sales on endowment lands generate millions of dollars in revenue for Idahos public schools annually. Sustainable forest management practices ensure these lands will continue to benefit public schools and Idaho citizens for years to come.

However, 94 percent of forested state endowment lands border federal national forests in Idaho. Wildfire, insects, and disease move freely between federal, state, and private lands.

To address the forest health crisis in Idaho and maintain healthy state endowment forests for public schools, we directed the Idaho Department of Lands to work with the U.S. Forest Service, forest industry, conservation groups, and others to help improve forest conditions on a scale that matters.

The recently inked Shared Stewardship agreement recognizes that different land owners  federal, state, and private  need to work together to reduce the risk of fire and infestations of insects and disease in our forests.

The state and federal government are using spatial planning tools to identify, coordinate, and treat priority landscapes across ownerships. The result will be reduced fuels to protect Idaho communities from wildfire, improved forest health, and job creation in the private sector.

We are just getting going with Shared Stewardship in Idaho, but we are anchoring to our success with the Good Neighbor Authority, a related program that encourages collaboration, resource sharing, and a get it done approach to land management.

We all love forests. But most of Idahos forests need to be conserved, not preserved. Active, sustainable forest management is part of conservation. The steps we are taking with your support will ensure our forests are healthy for future generations.

The State Board of Land Commissioners is comprised of Gov. Brad Little, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, State Controller Brandon Woolf, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

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The federal government should meet a high threshold of proving illegal activity when seizing personal property in a criminal investigation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should not be given cart blanche to take an Americanshard-earned and legally-earned moneyand then require the accused to prove the IRS should not have taken it in order to get it back. Unfortunately, there have been reports over the years of the IRS seizing the bank accounts of small businesses making cash deposits of money earned legally and then only returning portions of the accounts after an exhaustive, drawn-out and nebulous investigation. I have pressed for an end to this abuse. Thankfully, progress is being made in making reasonable changes to federal law putting better restraints on the IRS, requiring it to prove criminal intent to seize property.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 was intended to prevent money laundering. It requires financial institutions to report daily cash transactions that exceed $10,000. The problem is some small businesses with legal earnings have been accused of structuring cash deposits to fall below the reporting threshold. Small business owners have been caught up in costly, drawn-out, bureaucratic nightmares to try to get their money returned for deposits of legally earned money. As I have looked into this issue and questioned the IRS about it, I have found that while property owners have the opportunity to challenge the governments evidence in court, this opportunity unjustly comes after the account has already been seized.

For example, at congressional hearings to look into this abuse of small businesses, a Maryland dairy farmer detailed his family farms awful experience with the IRS. The agency seized more than $60,000 from his familys bank account and filed criminal charges after his family made cash deposits from dairy sales. He testified about the difficult and lengthy process to try to get the money returned while trying to keep the farm afloat. Another producer, who grows corn and raises chickens, was investigated by the IRS for cash deposits from sales of produce at farm stands. The farm was left with a zero balance in its bank account when the IRS seized all of the roughly $90,000 in the account. The producer testified that IRS agents told them that after being investigated they may get part of their money back, but they should not expect that to happen quickly. He explained how overwhelming this was during a challenging year stating the seizure left them without money for family living expenses, for their daughters wedding, or to pay the many farm vendors.

This is backward and beyond outrageous. The federal agency should have to prove illegal activity before seizing property. The property owners should not have to prove their innocence to get their property back.

Bipartisan legislation, known as the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, is making its way through Congress. This legislation includes important reforms aimed at curbing wrongful seizures that leave American small businesses in limbo. Among its provisions, the legislation would restrain the IRS from seizing bank accounts of taxpayers for structuring deposits to fall under the $10,000 threshold to avoid reporting requirements unless the funds are from an illegal source or connected to criminal activity. The House of Representatives passed this legislation unanimously by voice vote before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. I look forward to enactment of these much-needed restraints on shameful, federal bureaucracy run amuck.

Mike Crapo represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

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J.R. Strunk Benefit Dinner organizers appreciate community

Thank you to some very special people. On April 20, we held a benefit dinner for J.R. Strunk  with a last minute change of venue. With a few Hail Marys and a lot of phone calls, we got it ready.

Thank you to Greer Copeland for allowing us to use his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on South F Street in Rupert. He and his young men were a blessing. They opened the building, set up the tables and chairs and opened the kitchen for us to use. Then they came and helped tear down and put everything away.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated their wares and gift cards to be raffled off, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle 13-5, all the kitchen help, Adam Fowler for taking care of the riffles to be raffled off, Zeb Bell, Weekly Mailer and Cat Country for advertising our event, Les and Marilyn Wilson  our co organizers, Rupert Veterans Memorial Inc., Penny Schell of the Minidoka County Senior Center and the riders and car clubs that did the awesome drive around the building. Thank you most of all to the public who showed up and contributed to our success. We could not have pulled it off without everyones help.

George and Dona Mas

Les and Marilyn Wilson

Rupert

Wendell schools thank sponsors

Thank you to the sponsors that made the Wendell schools Cinco de Mayo Fiesta a free event for the community: Jesus Hurtado Dairies, Stouder Holsteins, Double A Dairy, Glanbia, Idaho Power Co., Mr. Amigo El Bailador, Lupita La Indomable Madrigal, Payasitos Felices/The Happy Clowns, 208 Photo Booth, Garibaldis, El Tapatio, Washington Federal, Wells Fargo, Simerlys, Advance Restoration, Bunn Insurance, Miller Brothers and Thomas and Darlene Neal.

Wendell schools personnel

Thank you from the ERC

The Environmental Resource Center of Ketchum thanks its sponsors for the Clean Sweep event: KBs of Hailey and Ketchum, Cox Communications, Idaho Mountain Express, Clear Creek Disposal, Atkinsons Market, McLaughlin & Associates Architects Chartered, AlA, Lee Gilman Builders, AC Houston Lumber Company, Clearwater Landscaping, Friesen Gallery, Idaho Lumber and Hardware, Idaho Mountain Builders, Mahoneys Bar & Grill, Perrys, Wood River YMCA, All Seasons Landscaping, Conrad Brothers Construction, Lutz Rental, Rickshaw, Sushi on Second, Trout Unlimited/Hemingway Chapter, Wiseguy Pizza Pie, Dangs Thai Cuisine, Hailey Coffee Company, Johnny Gs Subshack, Starbucks, the Board Bin, the Cellar Pub, and Whiskey Jacques.

Special thanks to Blaine County and the cities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

The Environmental Resource Center staff

Cassia School District Federal Programs appreciates support

Cassia School District Federal Programs would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for their generous support of our fifth annual College and Career Day  Your Future, Your Choices: Packaging Corporation of America, Southern Fabrication Works, Burley Fire Department, First Federal Savings Bank, Fairfield Inn, New Cold, Dow Chemical, High Desert Milk, Landview Fertilizer, Lynch Oil, McCain Foods, Raft River Electric, United Electric, Stotz Equipment, Streamline Precision, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop, Square One Restoration, C3 Customer Contact Channels, Vivent Smart Home, D.L. Evans Bank, Idaho Central Credit Union, Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho Workers Opportunity Network, Intermountain Health Care, ISU Credit Union, Nifty Marketing, Boise State University CAMP Program, Cassia Regional Technical Center, College of Southern Idaho Mini-Cassia Center, College of Southern Idaho, Cosmetology School of Arts and Sciences, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Rocks National Reserve, United States Forest Service, Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center, Community Council of Idaho, Idaho State Police, United States Army, Idaho National Guard and the United States Navy.

We would also like to extend a big thank you to Steffany Wells and the Best Western Burley Inn and Convention Center staff. Without their help and support, this event would not have been possible.

In addition to providing the students of Cassia School District with ideas for college, career opportunities and options, our students will also benefit from the generous donations which helped purchase swag bags and provided door prizes. Thank you: Butte Irrigation, Cassia Regional Hospital, DOT Foods, Lewis Clark State College, Packaging Corporation of America, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop and Square One.

The community support for Cassia schools has been amazing. Please help us continue to thank these businesses by shopping locally. While you are there, thank them for their support of our schools and children.

Kim Bedke, Federal Programs Coordinator

Jeanne Allen, Federal Programs Assistant Coordinator

The Letters of Thanks column will publish letters of up to 200 words from organizations thanking contributors or supporters and individuals thanking public agencies and businesses for extraordinary service. Send letters to letters@magicvalley.com. If you would like to purchase a classified ad to express gratitude of a personal rather than public nature, call the Times-News Customer Service Department.

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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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El 2 de diciembre de 1970, Oscar Arnoldo Rios Maldonado, estudiante de Periodismo de la Universidad de Concepcion y militante del MIR, fue asesinado por un disparo de un integrante la Brigada Ramona Parra del Partido Comunista. Salvador Allende, quien habia asumido la presidencia de Chile el 4 de noviembre, solicita a las direcciones de ambos partidos que logren un acuerdo que impida conflictos que empanen el desarrollo del naciente gobierno. En la foto de izquierda a derecha aparecen Andres Pascal Allende, Luciano Cruz y Miguel Enriquez, quienes aun clandestinos por el caso Osses Santa Maria se presentan en el velorio de Rios que se realizaba en esos momentos en la pinacoteca de la universidad. Al fondo de la foto se puede apreciar el conocido campanil de la Universidad de Concepcion. Foto y texto tomado del muro de Facebook de MARCO BRAVO, 29 de sept 2018 4 Comments 2 Shares 23 Rolando Briones, Matias Salvador Villa Juica and 21 others
Every day, 78 Canadians receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, the most deadly form of cancer in the country. Some of them will have one of the lobes of a lung removed by thoracotomy, a common, but risky surgical procedure that requires months of recovery. However, a less invasive and safer surgical technique exists and could be used more widely.

In a large international clinical study presented at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Moishe Liberman, a thoracic surgeon and researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), and his team showed that thoracoscopic lobectomyvideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)combined with pulmonary artery sealing using an ultrasonic energy device reduced the risk of post-operative bleeding, complications and pain.

Unlike surgery with thoracotomy, which involves making a 25 cm incision in the patient's chest and cutting the ribs, a VATS procedure requires small incisions. A miniature video camera is inserted through one of the incisions. In both types of surgical interventions, there is a risk of bleeding because the branches of the pulmonary artery are very thin, fragile and are attached directly to the heart.

"Thanks to this clinical trial conducted in Canadian, American and British hospitals, we have shown that it is possible to safely seal pulmonary blood vessels through ultrasonic sealing and effectively control possible bleeding during a VATS procedure," explained Dr. Liberman, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Montreal.

Currently, only 15% of lobectomies around the world are performed by VATS, mainly because of the actual risks of major bleeding or surgeons' perception of these risks.

"I truly hope that the results of our clinical trial will reassure surgeons about the technical feasibility and safety of this operation and will encourage them to adopt it. A large number of patients could benefit from it and would be on their feet faster, with less pain," indicated Dr. Liberman.

Next-generation device

After five years of preclinical research at the CRCHUM, trials conducted on animals, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials showing the safety of the surgical intervention, Dr. Liberman's team has recently completed their large international phase 2 clinical trial launched in 2016.

It was able to evaluate the effectiveness of this new technique on 150 patients in eight hospitals across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. 139 of them underwent a lobectomy, while the remaining 11 underwent a segmentectomy (removal of a small part of the lung).

A total of 424 pulmonary artery branches were sealed during the study: 181 using surgical staplers, 4 with endoscopic clips and 239 using the HARMONIC ACE +7 Shears, designed by the company Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson). With a 3-millimetre jaw at its tip, this high-tech "pistol" allows a surgeon to seal blood vessels by delivering ultrasonic energy. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills nearly 1.69 million people around the world every year.

Explore further Revolutionary surgery for lung cancer

More information: "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, www.aats.org/aatsimis/AATSWeb/  9-A-655-AATS-44.aspx
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You can hear some of Montana in the high-decibel drone of "Life Metal," the new album by metal band Sunn O))).

Tim Midyett, of the late indie-rock band Silkworm, plays bass and baritone guitar on the tracks, which were recorded at Electrical Audio, the studio run by fellow Hellgate High School graduate Steve Albini.

Sunn sounds like someone liked the part at the beginning of a Black Sabbath song, where unaccompanied guitar makes a crashing entry, and decided to make that the basis for an expansive new sound.

"It's fairly challenging music to play because the riffs are so long," Midyett said in a phone interview, "and time is kind of indeterminate. It's kind of predicated on whatever happens on a given note, however long you're going to be hanging out on it, so it was challenging for me at first."

The idea of crushing riffs played for extended periods of time, as in 20 minutes long, might sound inaccessible, but the record was named "best new music" by Pitchfork and premiered on NPR's First Listen series, where it was described as "joyous" in its own way, which might become clear after you adjust to the density.

"If you're a musician or you have a certain appreciation of experimental art or whatever," Midyett said, then you'll recognize "there's a depth of character to it."

*

Midyett grew up in Missoula and played in a local art-rock band called Ein Heit. His next group, Silkworm, headed to Seattle and then Chicago, where they recorded a succession of albums with engineer Steve Albini, whose credits include classics like Nirvana's "In Utero" and the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa." Albini's own guitar work with Big Black and Shellac added to his reputation for experimental, abrasive rock.

Midyett has known the main forces behind Sunn since his time in Seattle in the 1990s, and they invited him to record on "Life Metal."

In an email, guitarist Stephen O'Malley said, "Tim's presence not only brought a great sense of spirit," but they also both play Travis Bean aluminum neck guitars, a first in the band's history. He said Midyett's the first person he knew who had one of the guitars, which are no longer made.

The band is named after the manufacturer of their favorite model of amplifier, and the ones used by drone pioneers Earth. The "O)))" is a reference on the amp's logo, and isn't pronounced. The album title, meanwhile, is an in-joke  the term "life metal" was frequently used as a derogatory term in the metal community, and the band members began to make jokes about it.

"If you had to go do your laundry and pick up your robe at the dry cleaners or whatever, that would be doing 'life metal,'" Midyett said.

The band does feel that the name reflects the music on this album, which is "very uplifting" and "expansive" once you've acquainted yourself with the sound, Midyett said.

"Sometimes the playing is aggressive, but the overall experience I think is rather welcoming and enveloping. And I think it encourages reflection and meditation, and a kind of calm state of being in time," he said.

That plays out in different ways live. For instance, O'Malley and fellow guitarist Greg Anderson cue the rest of the band live, when the fog and lights and robes can be an impediment.

"If you're going to hang out on some part of a piece for awhile, that'll be indicated in some subtle way by somebody and then you'll kind of go with the flow and see what's going to happen. A lot of times you can tell by careful listening, when the change is about to happen," Midyett said.

They recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio studio, all to analog tape with very few overdubs. Even string player Hildur Gunadottir was in the room for her parts, such as a long, modern classical section on the album-closer, "Nov."

Midyett said that Albini's often stereotyped as a "noisy rock band" engineer, but "some of the most beautiful records he's made are records that are heavy on acoustic instruments."

For this session, it meant "an awful lot of sound" to capture on tape. "He has decades of experience of doing it, and I think he's only gotten better over time," he said.

In an email, O'Malley said, he thinks "Steves accomplishments on behalf of the recording are self evident in the fidelity and capture of the reality of what the band sounds like at that moment in time. Remarkable isnt the right word, but minimalism, realism and cinematography are all metaphorical terms I have been using lately when discussing this recording."

In an email, Albini said his task "was to somehow make the listening experience at home evoke the sensation of hearing the music in person."

"Beginning each piece, Stephen and Greg would trace out the outline of the structure and then fine-tune the sound of each of their rigs. With a band like this, where so few sounds are present at any one time, each of the sounds needs a voice that can suffer scrutiny, and these two are meticulous about sculpting the density and texture of each chord. They can hear the difference between 2 o'clock and 2.30 on the dial of one of their pedals, and they should be able to hear that same difference in the studio once it's been recorded," he wrote.

During the sessions, O'Malley and Anderson might run their guitars through six to eight amps, some set up in different rooms.

"Any one of those amps might not sound particularly perfect on its own," Midyett said, "but you put the whole thing together and they tweak them so that they're adding up to this huge thing that you could never get out of a single piece of equipment."

Albini said the multiple-amp configuration contributed to the final wall of guitar tones in a few different ways. They can have different pedals and different pickups send to different amplifiers.

"Also, each amp will have a particular breakup character that may be overbearing if the whole signal is breaking up, but as a component of the sound can be invigorating. There's a mode of distortion that Sunn O))) use where the individual notes disappear and you hear the buckling sound of the speakers as a principal voice. Blue Cheer and other heavy bands hint at that sound but Sunn O))) have really made it a trademark. This sound is a product of volume, and strictly speaking is a kind of failure mode for an amplifier. Each amplifier will enter that mode in different ways, and the effect, especially in stereo, can be startling," he wrote in an email.

Over the 70-minute run time, there are plenty of shifts in texture and variations in the sound.

Albini said that "the hack, stock way of thinking about electrical guitars in the studio is that they are unsubtle and don't require careful attention or technique. Stick a mic on there and don't ask too many questions. If I've learned anything over the years it's that guitarists are extremely particular about precisely what their instruments sound like, and doing them justice is as demanding as recording a string quartet or chamber orchestra."

He had to keep track of all those signals and then work in additional instruments like the cello, pipe organ, synth, baritone guitar, and halldorophone, a "self-contained amplified cello that produces feedback and infinite-sustain effects," he said.

In the fall, the band will release a second album, "Pyroclasts," with material from the same sessions. Midyett said they're fairly meditative pieces, in the 11- to 14-minute range, based on a single root note. They were recordings from the beginning or end of a session, "where everyone would gather together and play these things to kind of either wake up and introduce the studio to what was going to happen to it that day, or calm it down," he said.

Midyett, who is on tour with the group, said the new albums are the closest to the live Sunn experience yet. "It's essentially impossible to replicate that unless you have a really big stereo, and even then you're not going to have a bunch of people in robes and fog, probably in front of you, unless you hire somebody."

O'Malley and Anderson tune their lowest guitar string down a fifth from standard tuning, and which means it's lower than the famously heavy riffs on Sabbath records. They often have 15 amps on stage, with O'Malley and Anderson running their guitars through three Sunn amps, plus one more. Another member, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, plugs his Moog synthesizer in three amps. Steve Moore runs his synthesizers through several Fender amps (and plays trombone), and Midyett plays through two amps.

He estimates that it adds up to about 3,200 watts on stage. "The technical rider is very detailed, with particular focus on being able to source enough current to keep everything up and running," he said. Sound tech Chris Fullard is "super important to the whole thing coming off properly," and so is Anne Weckstrom's pink-and-blue lighting and fog design. "The fog is kind of a great leveler. It can transform any space you're in," he said.

O'Malley said the overall sonic experience to be "a kind of spiritualism in my life."

"Id hesitate that the band has a unified philosophy as far as being inside the group as there are very distinct and different characters involved, with vastly differentiating points of view, tastes, tendencies, beliefs and lifestyles, but also vastly compatible and amenable ones as well. And these change all the time. We get together for the glory of being able to be part of the greater phenomena of sound of the O))) rather than individual philosophies, but those philosophies are all welcome inside of this."

*

Regarding the music itself, Midyett's been able to "live in the riffs for awhile, so I'm used to it."

He compared it to playing improvisational jazz, combined with modern composition, in which they have to listen closely and read the moment.

"There's a map, and the map is there and you have to know what the map is, but you can wander quite a bit as a group. It's a pretty wide trail. As long as you're going together, or if you going to go against things, you're doing it intentionally," he said.

With such long sustained notes, it adds a degree of difficulty.

"You might be living with whatever you do for awhile. So if you hit a wrong note, and you don't get it right, you've got to figure out a way to adapt whatever you did to make it work, but ideally you want to hit them right in the first place," he said.

The set, which can last for a couple of hours, is paced as one continuous piece of music, with several long songs stitched together through interstitial drones, which he compared to a monolith that you can view from multiple angles.

He said it's all of a piece, and that "a lot of art that's any good has a kind of fractal quality to it, where you can break it down to smaller subsections of the whole and it still maintains its integrity somehow," he said. "People have analyzed Jackson Pollock paintings and you look at a square inch of a Jackson Pollock painting and then it has the same compositional qualities as the whole thing has, and that's the reason you and me can't go drip-paint all over something and make it look like a Pollock."

He feels the same about the sound O'Malley and Anderson have created with Sunn, where any short section of the set is carefully considered. "But in terms of the texture of it, they're kind of the only band in the world that sounds like that," he said.

Midyett's band, Mint Mile, just finished a double album with a fall release planned. It's called "Ambertron," a word he coined himself. He likes music that tries to capture a feeling, impression or thought and presents it in a form that allows you to re-live it, although it might be slightly different, something preserved in amber. The "tron" part comes from Greek word for an instrument.

"I think bands are kind of machines for doing that," he said.

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Hotter, drier summers. More wildfires and smoke. Additional flooding. Lower stream flows with higher water temperatures. Shorter ski seasons.

Welcome to what could be Missoulas future.

A draft Vulnerability Assessment on what the greater Missoula area might be like by 2050, based on climate projections paints a disturbing picture. Despite that, two authors of the study are upbeat, noting that now that the community has identified potential impacts, its residents can prepare and work on strategies and solutions.

Climate change is such an overwhelming issue. But when people dive in and start to understand the local effect, they can start to think about what approach we can take so its not so depressing that we want to run away, said Amy Cilimburg, executive director of Climate Smart Missoula. It is sobering and a lot to take in, but the Vulnerability Assessment should lead to helping people feel motivated and figure out what to do.

Diana Maneta, the energy conservation and sustainability coordinator for Missoula County, adds that they learned a lot in creating the report, which used input from more than 100 local stakeholders ranging from agriculture to public health sectors.

The report is based on a workshop that brought together the stakeholders, many of whom I knew nothing about, Maneta said. It was interesting to learn about the impacts to these stakeholders.

The Vulnerability Assessment is the product of collaboration among Missoula County, the city and Climate Smart Missoula. Its part of the Climate Ready Communities: Building Resiliency in Missoula County initiative, an 18-month climate resiliency planning process that started last summer.

The new document, which was unveiled on Friday, comes on the heels of a Climate and Community Primer, which included three mid-century climate scenarios that illustrated a range of possible futures Missoula County could face within 30 years. That document was released in December.

The climate projections presented in the primer suggest that Missoula County is likely to experience hotter, drier summers; warmer, wetter springs; decreased low-elevation snowpack, and earlier spring runoff, the Vulnerability Assessment notes. We are already beginning to see the impacts of these changes. The conditions that led to our 2017 fire season and the 2018 flood season are likely to become increasingly common in the coming decades.

Addressing more frequent and intense wildfires, with the potential loss of lives, is probably the greatest climate-related change for Missoula city and county emergency services. The report notes that rural parts of the county are served by a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, whose departments already are understaffed and shrinking. With more people building homes next to forested wildlands, those limited resources are expected to be increasingly strained.

For instance, the Missoula City-County Health Department recommended evacuating the entire town of Seeley Lake in 2017 due to wildfire smoke, and there may be an increased need for such evacuations in the future.

The reports note that these and other impacts may be wide ranging. People could experience more health problems and increased health care costs due to smoke from wildfires. Water supplies could become unreliable due to drought. Business revenues could drop as tourism declines due to smoke, fires and floods. Forests could change to grasslands. Crops could be damaged from more intense rains and early or late freezes.

The report adds that its important to keep in mind that although the risks are described one by one, in the coming decade, the Missoula community may experience impacts concurrently, like wildfire smoke combined with higher temperatures. They also could come in quick succession, with heavy precipitation and flooding in the spring followed by dry conditions and wildfires in the summer. That will make dealing with them even more challenging.

Yet even as the local results to a worldwide problem are daunting, Cilimburg said theyre not insurmountable.

We need to think about mitigation to reduce carbon pollution and our carbon footprint. Everyone needs to do it, she said. We also have some time to adapt to changes that already are here and those that are coming. This Vulnerability Assessment is part of the process of us understanding the risks, prioritizing those risks and impacts, and deciding which really are the most crucial to develop strategies to deal with them.

The report also notes that warmer weather may have positive impacts on Missoula Countys agricultural sector. It could increase the length of the growing season, creating opportunities for new crops such as stone fruits, grapes, melons and corn. Those extended growing seasons also could benefit alfalfa and hay producers by allowing for additional cuttings.

Two informal workshops, where the public can provide input on the draft and gather feedback, are set for this month. One will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, and the other is noon to 1:30 p.m. May 16.

Both events will take place in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse Annex at 200 W. Broadway. People can also provide input online at missoulaclimate.org/resiliency-planning.

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Even back in 1966, a University of Montana graduate student talked about preserving Native American languages, in this case the names of edible and medicinal plants used by residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

"As knowledge of my study became known on the reservation, many curious and interested Indians asked me if I had collected various plants or told me of different uses for plants which I already had," wrote Ron Stubbs in his master's degree thesis. When possible, he had at least two people identify each plant. "  My informants  expressed an intense desire to make sure that I recorded information concerning each plant correctly."

This year, prompted by a UM faculty member, Montana lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

"Montana is the home to 13 different Indigenous languages," said associate professor Rosalyn LaPier in an email. "Folks like me and others at UM work on the national and international stage to strengthen policies regarding (Native American) languages."

In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly made a proclamation declaring 2019 a time to support Native languages, which the UN noted "play a crucial role in our lives."

"They are not only our first medium for communication, education and social integration, but are also at the heart of each persons unique identity, cultural history and memory," said the UN proclamation.

LaPier requested the 2019 Montana Legislature's American Indian Caucus take up a resolution in support of the UN proclamation, and legislators adopted the statement partly to "draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages."

The joint resolution was introduced by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder; Rep. Jade Bahr, D-Billings; Rep. Barbara Bessette, D-Great Falls; Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula; Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning; Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, D-Crow Agency; and Rep. Marvin Weatherwax, D-Browning.

"The 66th Legislature is committed to the continued preservation of tribal languages in Montana and urges all state agencies to take appropriate steps, when applicable, to support the preservation, revitalization and promotion of these valued languages and cultures."

Higher visibility

Kelly Webster, chief of staff for UM President Seth Bodnar, said in an email the campus stands behind the legislation.

"The UM family celebrates the signing of this joint resolution in support of the United Nations proclamation of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages," Webster said. "UM faculty and students have long been leaders in revitalizing, preserving, and strengthening indigenous languages and cultures, work that enriches our campus, our state, our country, and our world."

Native American language preservation is recently more visible on the UM campus. Last month for Arbor Week, LaPier said Environmental Studies interns added Salish names to local tree tags, such as satqp for Ponderosa pine.

In January, LaPier herself participated in a gathering at Harvard University as an invited speaker to discuss the National Coalition of Native American Language Schools and Programs, an organization she helped found. She said this week that people often consider Native language and Native knowledge as separate entities, but that's not the case.

"Those things are really deeply connected," LaPier said. "  That's something I teach at UM, how those things are connected. And when you are revitalizing or even saving an indigenous language, you're also saving that community's indigenous knowledge, which is connected to their ecological knowledge and their environmental knowledge."

LaPier is an indigenous writer and ethnobotanist in Environmental Studies at UM, and she said the flagship has worked hard toward Native language preservation.

"University of Montana is one of the leaders in promoting and preserving Native American languages on the national stage," said LaPier, also an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Metis.

The joint resolution notes the Montana Secretary of State will provide copies of the legislation to recipients including the secretary general of the United Nations, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., each tribal government on the seven Montana reservations and Little Shell Chippewa tribe, and the Montana governor.

Please sign up on Missoulian.com to subscribe to Under the M, the weekly email about the University of Montana and higher education news in Montana.

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NorthWestern Energy issued a warning Wednesday that scammers are targeting Montana customers, threatening immediate utility shut offs unless payment is made.

The company says customers have reported that they have received a call in which a recording instructs the customer to call a 1-800 number to avoid having their utility service interrupted.

Customers who called the phone number report that the person who answers the call demands immediate payment.

The scammers appear to be calling utility customers throughout Montana.

NorthWestern says it does not call customers and demand immediate payment of past-due bills. The utility will provide multiple past-due notices before terminating service.

If you get a cancellation notification, the company recommends dialing the customer service number on your utility bill to verify the notification. NorthWestern never asks customers to use a prepaid debit card for payment.

NorthWestern Energy has reported the scam and the phone number being used to authorities.

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Custos Media Technologies runs a unique blockchain-based anti-piracy product, which leverages the immutability of public blockchains and game theory to curb incidents of piracy.

Custos cofounder Fred Lutz told MyBroadband that the companys technology functions by encouraging pirates to anonymously rat out their compatriots  with a Bitcoin reward up for grabs.

While at the forefront of blockchain technology, Custos was founded in Stellenbosch, South Africa  once again showing that the country can be the home of world-first developments.

Great adoption

The great thing about building on global platforms like Bitcoin and AWS means we were global from day one, Lutz told MyBroadband.

Our first customer was the foremost film distributor in South Africa, Indigenous Film Distribution. They are very forward-looking and jumped on the opportunity to increase the security of their customers content.

Custos has applied its piracy protection to over 350,000 movies across the film industry, and it has seen a dramatic reduction in piracy since it entered the market.

In South Africa, for example, about 60% of films were pirated before we entered the market  it is notoriously bad for piracy, Lutz said.

We have not had a single leak from any of the movies we protected since.

And its not as if the pirates left  there have been two cases where our internal web crawler picked up pirated copies of movies that we protected well before they were in the market.

Custos contacted the customers and in both cases a single unprotected DVD copy was sent out to a reviewer that insisted on it. Needless to say, they refused to send any DVDs following that.

The company has also been contracted by one of South Africas biggest universities to protect the content that goes through their learning management platform.

Based in South Africa

Lutz said that the physical distance of South Africa from the rest of the world can be a challenge for companies with international clients, but they have managed to overcome this obstacle.

We now have customers in Hollywood, Atlanta, New York, Canada, the UK, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, Norway, and even Trinidad and Tobago. We also protect just about all major movies in South Africa, Lutz said.

Id say the biggest issue is the flights, he said, adding that time zone differences also impact working hours.

Lutz said another big issue has been raising venture capital in South Africa, noting that while the local industry is developing at an exciting pace, there are still few early-stage deep tech investors locally.

Luckily, Custos was able to source funding from TIA, Stellenbosch University, local angel investors, and US-based firms.

This was coupled with exchange controls in South Africa, Lutz added.

Youd think that the government would be happy about money flowing into the country, but the expected time for funds to be cleared into South Africa through the Reserve Bank is eight weeks. Show me a startup for which an eight-week knock to cash flow is easy to weather.

Blockchain in SA

Lutz said that South Africa is a powerhouse for blockchain innovation, which he ascribes to early adopters, a general distrust for the government, and good tech talent.

This access to great engineers and talent, in general, has been a very big plus for building a blockchain startup in South Africa, Lutz said.

The lower cost of living locally has also helped the team develop their technology for a fraction of what it would have cost to do in the United States, Lutz added.

Now read: The one thing IT professionals like more than money
Eskoms power generation woes mean that it may be time to look to alternative energy sources that can assist in keeping the national power grid running.

This is particularly important given the monumental failure that has been South Africas two newest coal plants  Medupi and Kusile.

One possible alternative energy source is wind energy, with wind turbine generators currently providing 2020 MW of operational capacity to the grid.

South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chair Mercia Grimbeek explained to MyBroadband how wind energy offers great potential in South Africa.

No need for nuclear

Grimbeek said that according to the current draft update of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which serves as the governments long-term energy plan, there is no need for any new nuclear power to be added to South Africas grid.

Instead, Grimbeek said, the country can reduce its reliance on coal plants by using other clean forms of power such as wind power, which is expected to constitute 15% of installed power capacity by 2030.

Government has, to an extent, embraced renewables, which have gained traction in other parts of the world as countries recognise this economically sound means to combat climate change, said Grimbeek.

She added that while wind power has the potential to provide even more grid capacity than the planning current foresees, SAWEA recognises that issues of social and economic development are as important as successful energy transition.

The feasibility of wind power

Grimbeek said that wind and solar are the two fastest power generation systems to deploy, as it takes just 1-2 years as opposed to 10+ years for coal and nuclear plants.

As a result, said Grimbeek, these generation methods are ideally suited to assist Eskom in dealing with the current energy crisis.

Operational wind power has avoided lots of additional load shedding and additional diesel burn, and more of them will avoid more, said Grimbeek.

Grimbeek added that wind is often available during the evening hours of the day, which is the time of day with the highest demand. This means that wind power is particularly well-suited to helping Eskom deal with peak energy usage periods that are most likely to otherwise necessitate load-shedding.

Outside of reducing the threat posed by load-shedding, Grimbeek said that other benefits of wind power include:

Low cost power generation.

Construction that happens on-budget and on-time while creating jobs.

Advancing the transformation agenda.

Attracting foreign direct investment.

Contributing to national emissions reduction targets.

The value of wind energy is evident in the fact that it is one of the fastest growing sources of electricity, while also being one of the cleanest and safest means of generating power.

The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other research institutes have conclusively demonstrated that the option of new wind, solar PV and flexible generation capacity in South Africa delivers the least-cost electricity price trajectory in the years ahead to 2050 and beyond, as well as least water consumption, lowest carbon emissions and the most jobs, added Grimbeek.

The department of energys plans for wind power

Grimbeek highlighted that the Department of Energy, in its Draft IRP 2018, has outlined its cost-optimised path for the South African electricity sector.

According to this scenario, wind would be the largest source of electricity by 2040. The DoE foresees 12 GW of wind by 2030, 38 GW by 2040 and 50 GW by 2050.

The DoE however omitted three key disruptions in its IRP2018: batteries, electric vehicles, and flexibility on the demand side, added Grimbeek.

All three factored in, wind will reach 18 GW by 2030, 57 GW by 2040 and 75 GW by 2050.
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AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CALVARY CHAPEL NAPA

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets as well on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. Check out our website at calvarynapa.org.

CARMELITE MONASTERY

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. Confession Days for English and Spanish: Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.; 8-9 p.m. First Saturdays: Confessions at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. 944-2454. oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING

Services are 9 and 10:30 with Teen Group at 10 and Youth Program at 10:30. Rev Jay's topic is "Springing into Action for the Environment". Path of the Sacred Self Workshop with Ardyce West this Sunday after services at noon. Spanish Meditation Mondays, 7-8 p.m. Course in Miracles on Tuesdays from 6:15- 8:15 p.m. Open Meditation Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. followed by Power of 8 Healing Circles. Three-week Interfaith Series continues Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m. with a Shasta Abbey Buddhism presentation. Spiritual Cinema Night Friday, May 10, features "Barbara Marx Hubbard Tribute: Co-Creative Evolution". Rev Jay's 8 week class Practical Wisdom from Ancient Roots begins Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30-8:45. 1249 Coombs St.; 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase. 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

Congregation Beth Shalom-The Center of Jewish Life in the Napa Valley-Shabbat Worship Services, Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. followed by Oneg Shabbat at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at 9:30. Religious School at 10 a.m.. Join Roy Barush and learn to make Chocolate Babka. At 10 a.m., Shorashim for tots. May 6 at 7 p.m., Women's Wisdom Circle. Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 1455 Elm Street, Napa,; 707-253-7305. www.cbsnapa.org

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Rev. Jesse Larson examines the Gospel of Luke 24: 13-35 this week assisted by Liturgist, Doreen Wilkinson. The text reminds us that when the lonely become our friends, when a stranger is welcomed, when hope is stronger than despair, we will find Jesus walking beside us. Our doors open wide every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome to worship and lead. The Covenant Choir is back, accompanied by Mark Osten, and well sing one of our favorite hymns this week, Here I Am, Lord. Youll find us tucked among the vineyards in north Napa at 1226 Salvador Avenue. Join us for a Cinco de Mayo feast in the fellowship hall after church. Well enjoy good food, friendship, and conversation while celebrating our neighbors. See you Sunday! (707) 255-9426, www.cpcnapa.org.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH

Please join us Sundays at 8:30 or 10 a.m. for a new series about our relationship with the "Stuff of Life". Money-related issues are among the most stressful that we face in life. The wisdom of Jesus offers a helpful guide. Children's programs available during 10 a.m. service. Check out our website for more information -- CrossWalkNapa.org. This year's theme: Love is Bigger, It is Hopeful  whatever we go through, Love is Bigger.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We welcome you to come and experience a Sunday morning at First Christian Church. Be inspired and encouraged by a message from the Bible that you can apply to your daily life. Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. Our Kids Ministry has a great time planned for your kids (babies through 5th graders) We are located at 2659 First Street; www.fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

You are invited to worship with us at First Presbyterian Church - Napa! Sunday, May 5, is Communion Sunday. All are welcome. Our Traditional Service with hymns and choir is at 9 a.m. and our Contemporary Worship Service with Praise Music is at 10:30 a.m. Childcare for newborns to age 4 is available, and The Path (Children's Sunday Schools) is during the 10:30 a.m. service. We invite you to stay and enjoy coffee and refreshments following both services. 1333 Third Street, 707-224-8693; www.fpcnapa.org or Facebook.com/fpcnapa.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY

Grace Church of Napa Valley: Worship service at 10 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 8:45 a.m.; Childrens Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. and Childrens Church at 10 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior High and High School ministry meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036. hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses, there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE

Sunday worship service 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840. The public is welcome.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De La Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Please join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. for Sabbath School and Connection Classes. Stay for the worship service at 11:15 a.m. Our Community Services is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 2110 Seminary St., 252-8552, Napacomm.com, 1105 G St., Napa; 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH

You are invited to worship each Sunday at the Napa Methodist Church at 625 Randolph St. where ALL are welcome. The May sermon series is "Unafraid: Facing Fear with Faith". This Sunday, the Bonner Handbell Choir will play at the 9:30 am worship service and the Fusion Band will play at the 11am service. Keith Calara will preach on "Holiness and Silliness" at both worship services. Our Sierra Service Project Youth are hosting a fundraiser on May 11 and everyone is welcome to enjoy a God's House Band Concert at 4pm and a Bar-B- Que Dinner at 6pm. A good will offering will be requested at both fundraisers. Please call the church at 253-1411 for more information.

NAPA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS)

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. Childrens program available with advance notice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

(See Napa Valley Life Church listing)

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching, and a class is available for children and youth during this service. A Bible study on the Song of Solomon is being held at the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. 1559 Second St., Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH

We welcome you to join us Sunday at 10 a.m. for our morning service! We also welcome Brad Jameson to lead us in the message entitled Loving Others: Eternal Grace Revealed in Love, using the text from 1st John 4:7-12. We will celebrate the Lords Supper. Sunday School for children and childcare also provided. Open forum discussion immediately after refreshments after the service. Napa Valley Community Church is a Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. www.napavalleychurch.org.

NAPA VALLEY LIFE CHURCH

Napa Valley Baptist Church is now Napa Valley Life Church. Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 2303 Trower Ave. for exciting worship, relevant message and a safe and fun childrens program. A well-staffed and trained nursery is provided. Tony Valenti is Senior Pastor. nvlife.org.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN

We welcome all regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, culture, age, etc. All are welcome!

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS

At 9 a.m.: Leaders: Shawna Bynum & Margaret Kelso (What Moves Us: UU Theology #9) An Organic Faith for Our Time William Schultz considers Unitarian Universalist worship services to be places where one learns how to seek, perceive, and touch the Spirit. These practices translate into a willingness to think and act in global and nondualistic ways. What in our religious history and our congregational life shapes and forms our moral values and informs the way we act in the world? Schultz uses word like holy, grace and spirit. 11 a.m: Lessons from a Tuscan Grasshopper Traditional service with Jeanne Foster and Sunday Service Assistant, Jeff Leles. When we use the word diversity, we usually think of the differences among human beings. But the interdependent web, we UUs vow to support, embraces all being, including non-human beings. The little creatures of the world have a lot to teach we big ones if, in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau and Anne Dillard, we will take the time to simply see. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH

All masses are in English. Visitors are welcome. Sunday Mass times: 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday Evening (Vigil for Sunday) 4:30 p.m. Daily mass times: Monday-Friday: 7 and 8:45 a.m.; Saturday: 8:45 a.m. Confession: Saturdays: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Monday-Friday: 6:30-6:50 a.m., Monday-Saturday: 8:15-8:35 a.m. 3700 Lassen St., Napa.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome streets in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH

We start a new series on May 5, Visions of Hope, finding hope in the visions of John in the Book of Revelation. This week we focus on the vision of the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation 5:1-14. Worship at 8:30 (traditional, Communion, Hand Bells) and 10:15 (contemporary, childrens church). All are welcome! (3521 Linda Vista, stjohnslutheran.net)

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY

Worship meetings every Sunday at 9 a.m.  breakfast included! Everyone is welcome and we always include solid Bible teaching. Need something less churchy? Try our 10:30 a.m. Coffee and Conversation time: A Bible study which allows anyone to bring their questions about life, spirituality, and Jesus to the table. Join us for one or both each week. Childrens meetings are available too. The Salvation Army, 590 Franklin Street, Napa. 707-226-8150; Napa.Salvationarmy.Org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY

Sunday, May 5 at the 10 a.m. service, Unity welcomes, Rev. Marjorie Brach, her message is titled,How To Let God Help You: Chapter 1-The Purpose of Living. Her theme: This week, we are beginning a new series based on the Unity Classic Book, How to Let God Help You. This compilation of treasured teachings and writings of Unitys Co-founder Myrtle Fillmore, is full of inspiring and practical ideas for how to live the Truth as we know it. Join us for a wonderful Sunday celebration of living our purpose, of fully expressing the God wisdom that lives within us! Unitys musical director, Lon Eakes, will be performing our Sunday Service music this week. 11:40 a.m.-Forum-After a brief refreshment break, Rev. Marjorie will facilitate a discussion group pertaining to her message. Sunday Service and Forum are held at the historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagan Road (1 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking next to the building. www.Facebook.com/USCNV, www.UnitySpiritualCenterNapa.org 255-6881.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH

This Sunday, May 5, we will have Senior Chaplain of Napa County Lee Shaw as our guest speaker. Come join us at 10 a.m. Sunday for our worship service. We have our weekly Prayer meeting at 9 a.m. in the conference center. The main church building is under repairs and we are meeting in our Sunday School classrooms on the North side of the church. Come join us for coffee, doughnuts, and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sunday School is for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fifth - eighth grades and high school students),and Children's classes "Jesus and Me", (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. Church office hours at Tuesday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; 6619 Yount St., Yountville; 707-944-2179.

Want to have your church included in Worship Notes? Need to update your congregations information? Contact editor Kelly Doren at kdoren@napanews.com or 256-2263.
Heather Hernandez has been the manager of Live Fire Pizza in the Oxbow Public Market for about a year now. Asked about her impressions, she was quick to respond, I am beyond impressed. I dont think I expected it to feel this natural. And the quality  from the food, to the staff to the owners  is amazing.

Thats hardly idle praise. Hernandez is a self described foodie who has spent her career in the hospitality and food industry. Shes seen all sides of the business, from fast casual, to cafe to full service.

Live Fire is actually a blend of all of that, depending on what our guests want. Many people pick up their food to go; others order, get a pager and walk around the market or enjoy Live Fires private patio, and some prefer to sit at the bar for full service.

The delicious and approachable menu, crafted by Liza Shaw (San Franciscos A16, Redd Wood and Merigan Sub Shop), features artisan pizzas, salads, sandwiches and plenty of wine country inspired small plates.

Pizzas, cooked in a brick oven, are charred just enough to give them a full flavor, and to add a little bit of love, as Hernandez puts it.

The mushroom pizza, which is prepared with a bounty of roasted mushrooms, also features ricotta, smoked mozzarella, radicchio, grana, garlic and oregano. Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts? Wait until you try a side of fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, which are roasted in the wood fire oven, quickly fried and then drizzled with lemon, capers, chilies and mint, and you may change your mind. Live Fire offers a carefully curated selection of beers, wines and other beverages.

For Hernandez, Live Fire is all about people. We really listen to our guests. Shes worked in corporate environments, which allow for no deviation from the formula.

Its wonderful here. Were going to remodel the outside patio this summer, largely based on wanting to create a comfier dining environment for all our locals and visitors.

When the owners are in, its to taste product and high five the staff. That really rubs off on the people dining here.

Even the staff is amazing  high energy, creative, willing to do what it takes to make the guest experience completely positive.

Grand re-opening

Antiques on Second, at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets, celebrates new ownership and a remodel on May 18 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Expect a splash, small bites and a great new look for the store. New owner Jennifer Smith, who has been an antique dealer at the site for ten years, said she didnt have to change a lot.

Molly (Silcox, who opened the business 17 years ago) did a great job. Its updated, but we are still keeping the vintage look and feel.

Smith has rearranged vendors and added six new ones. The store is open daily.

See you downtown!

Craig Smith is the executive director of the Downtown Napa Association and also the author of Lies That Bind  How Do You Arrest Somebody Who Doesnt Exist? Reach him at 257-0322 or craig@donapa.com.
Depending on whos describing it, Measure F is either a tool to protect reasonably priced senior housing or an unwelcome government intrusion into a cordial relationship between Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Parks tenants and owners.

St. Helena officials steered a neutral course during Saturdays informational workshop, taking a just the facts, maam approach to a polarizing measure that will be decided by a June 4 special election.

We are Switzerland, said City Manager Mark Prestwich before he and Deepa Sharma, an attorney representing the city, delved into the details of the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO).

A yes vote would enact an ordinance passed by the City Council last November introducing rent stabilization at the citys mobile home parks, of which there is currently only one. A no vote would maintain the status quo at Vineyard Valley, where tenants typically sign a long-term lease with annual rent increases of 3 percent.

Under Measure F, tenants entering into new leases would have two choices: a short-term lease of 12 months or less subject to rent stabilization or a long-term lease with the parks usual rent increases.

Annual rent increases for rent-stabilized leases would be capped at 100 percent of the change in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3 percent of the base rent, whichever is less.

If park owners seek a higher rent increase than the formula allows, they would have to hold informational meetings to explain the reason for the increase  major capital improvements, for example  and engage in mediation with the leaseholders.

If mediation fails, the dispute could end up in arbitration, where an arbitrator would ensure that the park owner receives a just and reasonable return.

Rent increases exceeding 300 percent of the change in CPI would go straight to arbitration once mediation fails. Rent increases of 300 percent or less of the change in CPI would go to arbitration only if 51 percent of the rent-stabilized leaseholders sign a petition for rate review.

The city would pay all related costs (mediation, arbitration, staff time) until 50 percent of the leases opt into rent stabilization. Once that threshold is crossed, the city could charge a fee to the owner, who could pass half of that cost on to tenants.

The ordinance also contains a vacancy control provision. When a unit is sold in place and the new buyer chooses a rent-stabilized lease, the park owner wouldnt be able to increase the rent beyond whats allowed by the rent stabilization formula.

The owner would be able to bring the rent up to market rate if the buyer signs a long-term lease, if theres a termination of a tenancy, if a mobile home is abandoned or removed for reasons other than off-site rehabilitation, or if the owner can establish that an adjustment is necessary for the owner to receive a fair return.

The city will hold another informational workshop about Measure F at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the firehouse.

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19382019

On Monday morning April 29, 2019, Wallace Wally Dean Gray, Jr., devoted husband and loving father, passed away at the age of 80 surrounded by family after an arduous battle with bone cancer. Wally was born on December 22, 1938 in Ohio to Wallace and Clarice (Rogers) Gray, Sr. After his childhood spent in Idaho, Wally went on to receive his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho, then proceeded to earn his license in engineering. He carried on his work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for over 40 years. After retirement, Wally taught computer classes for the Adult Education Program at Napa Valley College.

At the tender age of 19, he met the love of his life, Judith Santina Ramos, in Costa Rica. Despite a language barrier, they fell in love and married on August 29, 1959. They had three children together. When he wasnt attending to his family, he used his time to obtain his pilot license, read numerous books, contemplate physics, and become an avid Star Wars fan and Trekkie. With his children as his accomplices, he occasionally partook in playing practical jokes on his unsuspecting wife. He was known to be a kind, welcoming man who gave great hugs.

In his passing, Wally is now reunited with his parents and his youngest son, Eric. Wally is survived by his wife, Judy; his son Greg and his wife Melissa; his daughter Sue and her husband Ken; his grandchildren Jeanette, Blake and Gianna; and his great-grandchildren Noah, Sariah and Michael.

Services will be held on Friday, May 10th, 2019 at Tolucay Cemetery on Coombsville Road at 11 a.m. with a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society.

May the Force be with you.
Chad Frazier thinks theres some special scenery along Highway 128 as it runs by Markley Cove Resort along Lake Berryessa in remote, eastern Napa County.

Were quintessential California, said Frazier, the resort general manager. Were the oak trees and poppies and lupine at this time of year  were kind of this hidden gem up here that people dont know about.

California could help spread the word. Highway 128 might someday have the blue signs with the orange poppies that mark official California scenic highways.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, is trying to open the door to a designation. Her Assembly Bill 998 would make Highway 128 eligible for scenic highway status, though not bestow the honor in-and-of itself. It recently passed the Assembly and now moves to the Senate.

As a designated scenic highway, Highway 128 will promote tourism and enhance local pride in the region, Aguiar-Curry said in a press release.

Highway 128 is about 140 miles long. It runs from Highway 1 near the misty Pacific Ocean in Mendocino County east through Sonoma, Napa and Yolo counties before ending at Interstate 505 at Winters near walnut orchards in the hot Sacramento Valley.

Thats the big picture. Theres also the smaller, Napa County picture.

The highway enters the western county near Calistoga, travels northern Napa Valley on a shared route with Highway 29 through St. Helena, cuts across wine country, then heads into eastern mountains past Lake Hennessey. It leaves the county near Monticello Dam, that 300-foot-tall, Lake Berryessa-creating concrete monolith blocking Putah Creek at Devils Gate.

Highway 128 has more than the scenic beauty of oak-covered hills and sprawling vineyards, according to Assembly Bill 998.

There are also many Michelin star restaurants and world class resorts, from spas to rustic bed-and breakfasts, where drivers can stop and enjoy local cuisine and comforts, the bill said.

California began its scenic highway program in 1963. To be chosen, a state highway must first be on a list of eligible roadways passed by the state Legislature. Napa County already has highways 29, 121 and 221 eligible, though none of them are designated.

Being eligible isnt enough. A local government such as Napa County must prepare a scenic highway proposal that includes a survey of the visual highlights. The proposals must be discussed at a public meeting.

Then the paperwork goes to Caltrans. Once Caltrans accepts the proposal, the local government creates a corridor protection program that details how the scenic views will be protected. Then Caltrans decides whether to designate or not.

That means, if Aguiar-Curry succeeds in making Highway 128 eligible for scenic road status, Napa County must decide whether it wants to complete the effort for the segment within its boundaries.

The county hasnt ignored the idea of scenic roadways. In fact, it has designated 280 miles of scenic roads on its own and tried to protect them from visual intrusions with its viewshed ordinance. Among them is Highway 128.

But Napa County has never taken those extra steps that would bring official state designation and those official poppy signs.

Historically, the county has refrained from seeking official state designation due to concerns about maintenance and improvement costs, the county general plan says.

The general plan doesnt detail the nature of the costs. A Caltrans report gives an example, saying counties are responsible for installing and maintaining those scenic highway signs with the poppy logo at three-to-five mile intervals and at important intersections.

Could Napa County have a change of heart in the case of Highway 128 if Aguiar-Currys bill passes the Senate and wins Gov. Gavin Newsoms signature?

Supervisor Diane Dillons district contains much of the Napa stretch of Highway 128. She said she looked at the ramifications and whats involved with state scenic highway designations after Aguiar-Curry asked for her support.

There didnt seem to be a downside, Dillon said.

Meanwhile, a regional push to publicize Highway 128 has resulted in a Highway 128 website. The site features attractions along the route and has web links to tourism groups in all four counties along the route, including Visit Napa Valley. Go to https://www.visit128.com to see the site.

Among the Highway 128 attractions featured on the website is Markley Cove, with its marina, store, launch and cabins on a finger of Lake Berryessas 160-mile shoreline. The Frazier family has operated the resort on federal land for more than 30 years.

Chad Frazier wasnt recently ready to take a position on Assembly Bill 998, given he didnt know the details of what state scenic highway status entails. But he doesnt want the area to be hidden away, adding its tough for people to care about something if they dont know anything about it.

If youve never driven that whole length of 128, that really is a fantastic drive, he said.

Assembly Bill 998 is co-authored by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg and Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa.

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A Napa County jury will soon decide whether a Bay Area man accused of pimping a young woman in her 20s will be found guilty of human trafficking charges.

The case stems from the October 2018 arrest of 28-year-old Kevin Lamarr Lewis. He was arrested at the Motel 6 in Napa after he drove the woman to meet law enforcement officers who had responded to her online prostitution ad. The Napa Special Investigations Bureau, which focuses on human and drug trafficking cases, partnered with the Vacaville Police Department in the sting operation that resulted in his arrest.

The woman involved in this case is not being named in this article because the Napa County District Attorneys Office has identified her as a victim of human trafficking.

Court records show Lewis is charged with seven felonies related to pimping, human trafficking, pandering and witness intimidation. He also faces four misdemeanors related to violating a protective order, obstructing an officer and driving with a suspended license. Judge Rodney Stone presided over Lewiss week-long trial before the 12-person jury of six men and six women.

At the time of his arrest in Napa, Lewis was out on bail after abandoning a court date in Los Angeles a week earlier, law enforcement officials said in court. That court hearing was related to human trafficking charges he faced in Los Angeles after a September arrest that involved the same woman targeted in the Napa arrest.

Prosecutors argue that Lewis and the woman were heading to Los Angeles for prostitution, but Lewis said he invited the woman on the trip for company while he broke into cars.

Los Angeles law enforcement filed a protective order that barred Lewis from contacting the woman. Napa officials have since done the same.

When questioned in court by prosecutor Stephanie Macumber of the DAs Office on Wednesday, the woman claimed she fell in love with Lewis, who encouraged her to return to prostitution after leaving an abusive pimp, then took all of the money she earned from performing sex acts and threatened her. Lewis took the stand Friday afternoon to deny those accusations and claim that he did not know the woman continued to prostitute.

Alleged victim takes the stand

The woman who accuses Lewis of being her pimp said in response to the prosecutors questions Wednesday that she did not want to testify and was subpoenaed. Her family had recently received threatening phone calls and she worried for their safety, she said.

She told the prosecutor that she and Lewis had known each other for years and were introduced through family. They were friends at first, she said, but that changed about six or seven years later when their relationship began to change to one that she described as being more than friends.

She had previous experience with prostitution, but that didnt last long, she said. Her last pimp was physically violent and she left, she said.

She had tattoos on her hand and neck that referred to Lewis, plus another large thigh tattoo that referred to her old pimp. Tattoos can be a way for pimps to brand prostitutes, Macumber said, though the woman said she had received those tattoos before Lewis became her pimp, and Lewis denied forcing her to get the tattoos.

She said he promised her money, nice clothes and a nice car if she prostituted for him, but he kept all of the money she made, she said.

She would place ads for sexual services on the internet, and Lewis would text her to commit sex acts, drive her to dates and wait nearby for her in his Infiniti with paper plates covering the license plate, she said. He would keep her purse while she went on dates, and sometimes keep her phone and delete text messages between the two of them, she said. Lewis denied doing this.

She wanted a regular job, but Lewis discouraged her and said people with regular jobs are squares, she said.

Lewis September arrest in Los Angeles came up several times in court Wednesday when Los Angeles Police Department officials and the woman testified.

Lewis, who said he has been breaking into cars for the past decade and has faced seven or eight related felonies in various counties, maintained he and the woman took the trip to L.A. so that he could break into cars. Los Angeles police returned stolen items found in their car to at least five owners, said Lewiss public defender Andy Rubinger.

The Napa County District Attorneys Office played body camera footage from an arrest in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, when officials say Lewis was apprehended after skipping out on a court hearing for charges related to human trafficking.

The video shows Lewis in a Hogwarts T-shirt and an unzipped black hoodie. Officer Michael Liebe led him into the back of a black-and-white police SUV on a sunny day. The video captures some small talk between Liebe and Lewis while sitting in traffic, on their way to the South-Central Los Angeles police station.

Audio from the footage captures Lewis asking Liebe to let him go and tell officials that he escaped instead.

I got $10,000 for you, bro, Lewis said, before asking the officer to turn off his body camera.

Lewis said Friday that he did not have that much money and had no intention to give the officer any money, but wanted to avoid going to jail.

Lewis tries to clear his name

Lewis said that he met the woman on her 18th birthday. The two began to develop a sexual, noncommittal relationship over the coming months, but fell out of touch until late 2017, when he said they reconnected over social media. He then asked her to accompany him on a trip to Los Angeles so that he could break into cars.

Los Angeles was a better spot to break into cars because frequent car break-ins are featured prominently on Bay Area news, Lewis said. They returned to Los Angeles between five and 10 times for such trips, Lewis said, though the woman did not participate in the car break-ins.

During their September trip to Los Angeles, Lewis said he broke into at least 40 to 50 cars at one point and stole property worth about $2,000. He agreed to drop the woman off to meet with friends since he had already made so much money.

Thats when the woman got arrested after meeting up with an undercover officer.

Lewis said when Los Angeles officers found him later, guns drawn, there were many stolen items in his backseat. He initially thought he left a cell phone turned on and officers had tracked the devices location.

After his arrest, Lewis said he called his girlfriend, who is not the same woman as the alleged victim, to ask her to start gathering bail.

He said he skipped his court date the next month because the bail had been raised to $245,000 from $100,000, he said. Lewis knew it was wrong, but he had about $160, he said.

He headed to catch a Greyhound bus, where he was arrested. Again, Lewis said he called his girlfriend for help pulling together the bail, but she came up $1,500 short. His grandfather agreed to loan him the last sum he needed to be released and the alleged victim said she could give Lewis $1,500 to repay his grandfather, he said.

He texted and called the woman multiple times to no avail, but she eventually answered and agreed to meet with him, Lewis said. Lewis agreed to drive her to meet someone in Napa who he believed to have the $1,500, he said. Thats when the woman and Lewis were arrested at the Motel 6.

He denied that he would drive her to commit an act of prostitution and said he knew the woman had previously been a prostitute, but didnt know whether that continued to be the case, he said. Lewis also said he did not know that the woman had previously accused him of pimping her out.

While Lewis denied the human trafficking charges, he admitted to contacting the woman in spite of protective orders, delaying officers, driving on a suspended license and making phone calls in jail, in spite of a judges order that he could only contact his four-year-old son.

The trial resumes Monday, when closing arguments are expected to be made.

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Napa Valley College will host a campus housing forum on Wednesday, May 8, in the Community Room 1731 on campus. Members of the public are invited to drop in any time from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with presentations at set times during the day.

The college recently implemented a feasibility study on campus housing to determine if there was a true demand for housing, and if so, what NVC's specific needs would be.

This is the publics opportunity to learn more about the process and weigh in on the feasibility study. The Community Room at Napa Valley College will be open to the public all day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that people can review materials and post comments and questions.

The college's vendor, the Scion Group, will make three presentations at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m and also be available for questions throughout the day.

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Anyone whos visited the Oxbow Public Market on a weekend or downtown Napa on a Friday night can attest to the number of tourists making Napa a destination.

The statistics back it up.

In 2018, the Napa Valley welcomed 3.85 million visitors who spent $2.23 billion, said a new report from Visit Napa Valley. To compare, the 2016 report said visitors spent $1.9 billion in Napa Valley.

On Friday, Visit Napa Valley released the 2018 Napa Valley Visitor Industry Economic Impact and Visitor Profile reports, with results of a yearlong research study conducted by Destination Analysts.

According to Visit Napa Valley, nearly 70 percent of the $2.23 billion is generated from overnight hotel guests, who spent an average of $446 in Napa County per guest, per day.

The $2.23 billion spent in 2018 represents $85.1 million in tax benefit to residents, said the report. Taxes generated by the visitor industry include revenues from the transient occupancy tax (TOT), sales taxes and property and transfer taxes paid on lodging facilities.

The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County (after the wine industry), supporting the livelihood of an estimated 15,872 people in the community, with a combined payroll of $492 million, said the report.

The tourism industry continues to provide a significant positive impact to Napa Valleys economy, while also supporting local initiatives essential to the well-being of our community, said Linsey Gallagher, the new president and CEO for Visit Napa Valley.

As residents, we sometimes overlook the ancillary benefits that visitor spending achieves. Napa Valleys healthy and vibrant tourism industry contributes to the quality of life that we are so fortunate to enjoy. We live and work in one of the most desirable destinations in the world.

Direct visitor spending within Napa County increased 15.4 percent since 2016, outpacing visitor growth of 8.9 percent in the same time period, said the report.

Our goal is to maintain and increase travel and spending in the Napa Valley during nonpeak time periods, including November through April (Cabernet Season) and midweek, Sunday through Thursday nights, said Gallagher.

The city of Napa generated more than $21.6 million in TOT in 2018 followed by $6.9 million in Yountville, $3 million in St. Helena, $6.2 million in Calistoga and more than $1.5 million in American Canyon.

Revenue from tourism allows local government to invest in services and programs that benefit all residents, including infrastructure improvements, civic amenities and public safety, said Gallagher.

Additionally, tourism creates demand for a diverse range of goods, services, and cultural programs that are available for both residents and visitors to enjoy, she said.

In 2018, Visit Napa Valley rallied the support of the hospitality industry and other leaders to pass a voter supported 1 percent increase in TOT for a special fund dedicated to workforce housing in five out of six jurisdictions. Approximately $5 million will be collected annually to promote future housing development for residents, said Visit Napa Valley.

Napa Valleys second largest industry

In 2018, tourism put an estimated 15,872 people to work in the community providing a combined payroll of $492 million to support their families, reported the data.

This represents an employment increase of 18.1 percent from 2016 and a 27.2 percent increase in combined payroll in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the majority of hospitality jobs are related to either restaurants or hotels. Since the last survey in 2016, three hotels - Las Alcobas, Vista Collina and Archer Hotel Napa - opened, along with four smaller inns with 10 rooms or less.

Overnight guests versus 'day trippers'

More than one-third, or 35.5 percent, of visitors in 2018 stayed overnight in the Napa Valley, while the remaining 64.5 percent were on day trips.

In total, 80.7 percent of overnight visitors stayed in a hotel within Napa Valley and 12.4 percent stayed in a private residence.

Compared to the 2016 study, overnight visitation grew 13.7 percent in 2018 with day trip visitation growing 5.3 percent, supporting Visit Napa Valleys mission to inspire visitors to extend their stay by experiencing the valleys more than 125 hotels, motels, and inns, said the release.

Hotel guests in 2018 were responsible for $1.55 billion in direct visitor spending, or an average of $446 per person, per day, compared to an average of $170 per person, per day spent by day-trippers. This represents a 15.4 percent increase in spending from 2016.

The largest proportion of day trip visitors originated their trip from San Francisco, followed by Vallejo-Fairfield, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

How much visitors spend

The largest component of visitor spending in 2018 was on retail, which accounted for 40 percent of all spending, or $746 million, reported Visit Napa Valley.

The second and third largest components of Napa Valley visitor spending included restaurants at $479 million and lodging at $476 million. Group meetings, weddings, and social events generated $267 million in direct spending in Napa Valley.

How often they come back

The Napa Valley draws a substantial amount of repeat visitation, with the average visitor in 2018 making 3.6 trips to the Napa Valley in the past twelve months (compared with 2.9 trips in 2016). In total, 88.1 percent of respondents said that they were very likely or likely to return to the Napa Valley.

Why they visit

Visitors stated the primary reason for visiting the Napa Valley was for a getaway or vacation, representing 71.8 percent of all visitors. Wedding or special events represented 11.3 percent of visitors and a conference or business travel represented 5.8 percent of visitors.

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For the last few decades, Californias largest utilities and the states Public Utilities Commission have conducted an elaborate kabuki-style dance every two or three years, whenever the utilities applied for general rate increases.

Now the amounts at stake in these dramatic farces are rising to absurd levels, with all three of the states big privately-owned utilities suddenly asking that shareholders get rates of return on investment approximating what they could net from risky junk bonds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the largest of these, asked in late April to increase shareholder returns from about 10 percent to 16 percent, essentially trying to reward itself and its investors for negligence that led authorities to hold it largely responsible for two huge blazes in less than a years time. Southern California Edison, No. 2 in state electricity sales, is gunning for a leap from 10.3 percent to just under 17 percent, while San Diego Gas & Electric seeks a jump from around 10 percent to more than 14 percent.

Customers around the state would pay an extra $11 to $12 per month for these ill-gotten rewards, if the PUC grants them. Add in the approximately $2 each company will seek to get in increased profits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the added tab goes to about $14 per month for the average customer.

This mere concept outraged Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opined of PG&Es bid for 16 percent that Theyre not going to get it, periodIts jaw-droppingly wrong.

Newsom, unlike his long-serving predecessor Jerry Brown, at least wants to protect consumers. Trouble is, while he can appoint new PUC members, he cant fire anyone on the commission once theyve been confirmed by the state Senate for six-year terms. So Newsom wont make the vital upcoming decisions; holdover Brown appointees will do that.

It appears these cases will proceed in the old-fashioned way, via a Japanese-style kabuki-like charade. If past is prologue, it will work this way: After months of public hearings and massive paper filings, the utilities will get something above current profit rates on facilities and equipment, but less than theyre asking. The PUC will brag about its toughness, while the utilities cry all the way to the bank  or to Wall Street investment houses. As with an elaborately acted out and costumed kabuki dance, everyone in the cast and audience knows this outcome in advance.

The utilities say they must offer shareholders junk-bond level payouts to draw investors while their corporate futures are in doubt due to fire responsibility and liability. Virtually all fire-related lawsuits against the companies have not yet been decided or settled, but the firms are desperate to protect themselves.

We are having to make significant investments to harden the grid and make it more resilient to wildfire, one Edison executive told a reporter. To attract the capital, we need (for this), we need a return on investments that reflects the operating risks we have today.

As usual, the big utilities expect customers already paying some of the highest rates in America to foot the bill. Employees are not being dunned, no matter how negligent. Just customers, most of whom live nowhere near fire areas and will get no new benefits for their higher rates.

Essentially, these companies seek to deflect responsibility for their actions or lack of action away from management and ownership and onto consumers.

No matter what Newsom says, theres little reason to suspect the PUC will act differently from how it predictably has in the past, rewarding utility ineptitude and error with increased revenues.

Rather than sticking with that course, the better path for state regulators would be to cut rates and punish the utilities for their cavalier attitude about past errors.

This could encourage formation of more publicly-owned Community Choice Aggregations, which already supply power to dozens of cities and counties around the state, and are answerable to elected officials, and, thus, to voters.

But utility rate cases have long followed the same path. Chances are the new kabuki dance will play out like the old ones, with the big utilities again making out like bandits.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

This is an urgent question in the wake of the latest synagogue attack last week in Poway, Calif., that left one brave congregant dead as she tried to defend her rabbi and three wounded.

A raft of statistics demonstrates the shocking increase in violent extremism by white supremacists over the past three years. That includes near-historic levels of anti-Semitic acts in 2018 and the single deadliest attack against the Jewish community in American history, which killed 11 at Pittsburghs Tree of Life Synagogue six months ago.

Yet rather than denounce radical white nationalism, the president deliberately downplays it, or even excuses it.

His pro-forma denunciation of anti-Semitism hours after the Poway killing came one day after he once again defended the torch-bearing white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

And rather than organize a counterterrorism strategy, the Trump administration has gutted the very federal programs that were set up to deal with this insidious threat.

A number of these programs were run by George Selim, who held senior posts in countering terrorism and confronting domestic extremism under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. He recalled having a budget of more than $21 million under President Obama and 16 employees to develop local strategies to combat and prevent such violence. Now the budget is $3 million and the staff cut by half.

Now a senior vice president for programs of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which closely monitors extremist groups, Selim says the incoming Trump administration was not interested in prioritizing this issue: We certainly saw an emboldening under Trump. At no point in recent memory have we seen a march like Charlottesville with white nationalists from 30 states carrying tiki torches and chanting Jews will not replace us.

The statistics reveal how much has changed for the worse since Trump.

ADLs annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded a total of 1,879 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions across the USA in 2018, the third-highest year on record since ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s. That includes white nationalist banners hung over highway bridges, and flyers distributed on campuses.

ADLs audit also identified 59 people who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017. That includes the record 11 murders at the Tree of Life synagogue, where the killer shouted All Jews must die.

ADL Senior Vice President Eileen Hershenov told a congressional hearing: White supremacists in the United States have experienced a resurgence in the past three years, driven in large part by the rise of the alt-right. There is also a clear corollary ... to the rise in polarizing and hateful rhetoric on the part of candidates and elected leaders.

Another grim statistic: White supremacists, Hershenov noted, were responsible in 2018 for 78 percent of all extremist-related murders.

In the Trump era, radical white nationalists have taken full advantage of social media. Racist and anti-Semitic white nationalist rhetoric and manifestos, filled with particular catch phrases and memes, spread across borders via the internet and hate-filled internet chat rooms, such as 8chan or Gab. For example, the Poway shooter cited as his inspiration the manifesto of the New Zealand killer who shot dead 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch.

The language these white nationalists use often conflates fear of replacement  whites being replaced by minorities, especially Muslims  with claims that international Jewry is facilitating such replacement. Example: the Tree of Life killer claimed, falsely, that American Jewish financier George Soros was funding the migrant caravans on Americas southern border. Thus, this mad murderer justified killing Jews.

When President Trump whips up hysteria over migrant caravans on Americas southern border, when he refuses to denounce the torch-bearers at Charlottesville, he is viewed by white supremacists as signaling his approval.

When Trump hinted last fall that the caravans were funded by George Soros, he only confirmed the conspiracy theories of the alt-right.

The New Zealand killer wrote that he saw Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.

Unfair? If Trumps unremitting winks and nods at white nationalists are not meant as approval, he can easily prove it. He need only denounce white supremacists violence publicly.

He needs to devise an overarching policy to deal with these issues, says Selim. Trumps actions dont match his strong words about condemning anti-Semitism.

There is plenty he can do. The ADL has a list that includes revitalizing agencies working against hate crimes and strengthening laws against perpetrators of online hate.

Most important, Id add, is for the president to stop yellow lighting white supremacists who support him and who blame Jews, Muslims, blacks, and immigrants for all their problems.

How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If you've ever seen a horse break a leg and go down on a racetrack, you'll never forget it. Sometimes the injured animal will get up and try to run with the limb dangling below the break.

Tracks have become adept at hiding this horror. A vehicle follows the Thoroughbreds in every race, and when a horse goes down, huge fabric screens are pulled from the truck and quickly erected between the horse and the people in the stands.

But it's not the spectators who need protection -- it's the horses.

That became clear this year when a public that has grown intolerant of racing's cruelty erupted in outrage after 23 Thoroughbreds died at Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles between December and April. In response, Santa Anita officials took unprecedented steps to prevent further carnage and enacted rules to protect horses. This was a good first step, and so far, no more horses have died.

But the changes must not stop here. The Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown season will be haunted by those 23 horses -- and thousands of others who have died -- unless the entire racing industry does away with the worst forms of abuse immediately. All 38 racing states should ban all medications in the two weeks before a race, ban trainers with multiple medication violations, stop pushing very young horses beyond their capacity, end whipping, and switch to high-quality synthetic tracks, which are known to be safer.

Even that isn't enough, but it's a start. The racing industry must be held accountable for the harm that it has caused.

Broken bones should never have become business as usual. But the more than two dozen horses who die on tracks every single week in the U.S. have been sold out by an industry that puts speed and winning above decent care.

While several factors may contribute to a horse's leg snapping, evidence from thousands of necropsies of Thoroughbreds overwhelmingly shows that most horses who break legs have been recently injured. In other words, unfit horses are being forced to train and race when they should be recuperating.

These horses don't appear sore because they're given a constant cocktail of medications that mask injury. They feel OK because they've got painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, sedatives and other drugs in their bodies. But they're not OK, and sometimes they die.

It made good sense for Santa Anita Park to call for a ban on more than a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs, decrease the allowable limit of medication in a horse's system on race day, mandate inspections of horses for training as well as for racing, require trainers to disclose veterinary and medication records, and more. This is how they can find out if horses are injured and, if they are, allow them to recover fully.

It's also logical to use a synthetic track, which has been proven to be safer; allow horses to develop properly before forcing them to run at high speeds; and get rid of the trainers who think a syringe full of drugs is a prerequisite for every race.

And finally, it's time to stop the whipping. The constant refrain of "we love our horses" coming from the racing community rings hollow when the very animals who supposedly love to race are being beaten to make them run.

Owners, trainers and racetracks, the next move is yours. Do right by the horses.

Kathy Guillermo

Senior Vice President

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
In 1914, at the young age of 18, a young woman crossed the Atlantic, bound for New York City. Anna did not speak a word of English, nor could she read the English alphabet, speaking Hebrew, Yiddish, and some Polish and Russian.

She left her parents, grandparents, and four brothers and sisters behind. In her home country, due to her religion, her family faced persecution, attacks, and discrimination.

Anna passed through Ellis Island carrying the hopes and aspirations of many.

Anna faced many obstacles, eventually finding employment as a seamstress. She worked in a garment sweatshop alongside other immigrants looking to make a living. Over the next few years, Anna was able to send enough money home and bring her parents and all siblings (but one) to join her in NYC.

Leon, the one brother who remained, was blocked from joining his family by the Immigration Quota Act of 1921, designed to limit immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe and Italians from Southern Europe. Leon was trapped.

Twenty years later, having started his own family, Leon died in the Birkenau Concentration Camp.

This is part of the history of my family. It is also the history of so many other families today. There are currently over 65 million refugees in the world, each fleeing grinding poverty and oppression, searching for better lives. The prejudice these refugees face presents insurmountable odds to their finding peace.

Last weekends violent shooting in a synagogue in Poway, California, is an example of where such ideology leads.

When immigrants are turned away at the border or deported into dangerous situations, we are all harmed. When we allow the concept of the other to support prejudice, we lessen our own humanity.

Elie Wiesel, the author and Holocaust survivor, said that: We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

At Blue Oak, we welcome all, creating a safe place to learn, connect, and act. But we know that the problems of the world still deeply affect many of our Blue Oak families. Therefore, two years ago, we enacted this Board Immigration Policy to protect our community.

On this anniversary of the Holocaust, what else can we all do to make our world a better place?

Dan Schwartz

Head of School

Blue Oak School
Dollar still losing value in Armenia

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Armenia Health Ministry Legal Department head: Decision of Constitutional Court is ministry's victory

MFA: Russia welcomes international efforts to normalize Armenian-Azerbaijani relations

Armenia President receives group of parents of deceased servicemen

Armenia Security Council holds session

Iran FM: Tehran is ready to participate in next stage of negotiations with Saudi Arabia

Zakharova on Armenia-Azerbaijan railway link: Substantive discussions continue on trilateral working group

Kremlin: US may consult with Ankara over settlement of situation in Ukraine

Zakharova: Moscow believes Ankara will take Russia's signals seriously

Non-official meeting of leaders of CIS countries to be held on Dec. 28

Audit Chamber official: Armenia banks have misused state subsidies they received

Armenia health, labor inspectorate to inspect 700 economic entities in 2022

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe travel of more than 2,000 people to, from Karabakh in one day

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Russia MFA: Not only Turkey ready to hold 3+3 regional consultative mechanism meeting

Maria Zakharova wishes Yerevan and Baku peace and patience

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Putin, Aliyev confirm readiness to strengthen Russia-Azerbaijan strategic partnership

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Armenia opposition MP: Corridor is spoken of as established fact in Azerbaijan

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1 more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh

135 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Lavrov: Involvement of Kiev in NATO poses serious risks, even large-scale conflict in Europe

Newly elected Vanadzor city council first session not convened

NATO to approach Russia borders in case of aggression against Ukraine

President thanks Russia peacekeepers, Putin in terms of Artsakh security

Newspaper: What is actual Covid death toll in Armenia?

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US arms exports fall 21% in 2021

Diaspora Commissioner: More than 1.5 million people left Armenia in 30 years

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Armenia won't build relations with Turkey at expense of interests of nation

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Biden administration welcomes 'small' steps toward diplomacy with Russia

Blinken, Stoltenberg discuss NATO's 'dual-track approach' to Russia

Armenia ruling faction MP: Talks in Brussels were discussed during meeting with PM

Armenia Health Ministry responds to Constitutional Court's decision on COVID-19 testing

Armenian High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Living in Armenia is safer than in developed countries

Analyst shares information about growth of sales of Armenian wines

Analyst: Artsakh wine export indicators have dropped

Karabakh President: Presence of Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh needs to be guaranteed and termless

Iraq calls for launch of direct talks between US and Iran

Hayk Marutyan bids staff of Yerevan Municipality farewell

Moscow State Institute of International Relations to introduce Armenian language courses

Armenia PM: Digital processes should have daily practical significance for people

Iran FM expresses willingness to assist Azerbaijan in restoring Karabakh's occupied territories

Turkish vice-president tests positive for COVID-19

Lights of main Christmas tree in Yerevan switched on

Aram Vardevanyan: Armenian employees no longer obliged to pay for PCR tests, this is unconstitutional

NEWS.am daily digest: 23.12.21

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Armenia Constitutional Court: Employees don't need to pay for COVID-19 testing

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Turkish court rules to leave Osman Kavala in custody

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Dollar drops in Armenia

Tumo mobile center to be built in Armenia's Kapan

Price of Russian natural gas being supplied to Armenia to remain stable for 10 years

Armenia FM presents to Stanislav Zas situation on country's eastern border

Putin lets reporters shout from their seats at his press conference

More exchange of fire on Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border

Stanislav Zas visits Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex

French presidential candidate visits Artsakh

Biden states condition under which he will run in 2024 presidential elections

Armenia premier receives CSTO Secretary General

Turkish minister informs which airline company of Turkey will carry out flights to Armenia

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Armenia health minister: We have pretty good epidemic situation at the moment

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Armenia premier: Many historical, cultural masterpieces are endangered

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1 more person dies of coronavirus in Artsakh

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129 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia legislature opposition on proposal to meet with PM Pashinyan: Closed-meeting format unacceptable

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Situation tense in Armenias Parakar
59 N. Ogden St., #5. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Speer?

According to Walk Score, this Denver neighborhood is quite walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and has good transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Speer is currently hovering around $1,295.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

59 N. Ogden St., #5

Listed at $1,340/month, this 595-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 59 N. Ogden St., #5.

In the apartment, you can expect a dishwasher, granite countertops and air conditioning. The building has on-site laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are allowed. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

619 Logan St., #406

Next, there's this apartment situated at 619 Logan St., #406. It's listed for $1,335/month for its 492 square feet of space.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking, outdoor space and a fitness center. In the unit, expect a dishwasher, air conditioning and in-unit laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. There's no leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

636 Pearl St.

Here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 636 Pearl St. that's going for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts on-site laundry, assigned parking and storage space. Pet owners, you're in luck: this spot allows cats and dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

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77 S. Ogden St.

Lastly, check out this 414-square-foot studio that's located at 77 S. Ogden St. It's also listed for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher, a balcony and carpeted floors. The building features a fitness center, a swimming pool, a residents lounge and outdoor space. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are permitted here. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
1218 Walnut St., #306. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Washington Square?

According to Walk Score, this Philadelphia neighborhood is a "walker's paradise," is convenient for biking and is a haven for transit riders. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Washington Square is currently hovering around $1,470.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1312 Walnut St.

Listed at $1,400/month, this 782-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is located at 1312 Walnut St.

In the unit, you can anticipate hardwood floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Neither cats nor dogs are welcome. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

1218 Walnut St., #306

Next, check out this 500-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1218 Walnut St., #306. It's listed for $1,395/month.

In the unit, you'll get hardwood floors. The building features on-site laundry. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

319 S. 12th St.

Located at 319 S. 12th St., here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's also listed for $1,395/month.

The building boasts on-site laundry and outdoor space. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are permitted. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

1109 Spruce St., #1F

Here's a 350-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 1109 Spruce St., #1F that's going for $1,350/month.

In the unit, there are hardwood floors. Cats and dogs are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

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(Take a look at the full listing here.)

1229 Chestnut St., #314

Then, check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1229 Chestnut St., #314. It's also listed for $1,350/month.

The building offers on-site laundry, a fitness center and an elevator. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

735 Spruce St.

Finally, located at 735 Spruce St., here's a 655-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's listed for $1,350/month.

In the unit, you can expect a dishwasher and a fireplace. Package service is listed as a building amenity. Dogs and cats are not welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
(Corrects location of base on west bank of river, paragraph 11)

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Turkish army post hit by artillery shelling, wounding two

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit (Updates with Turkish defense ministry statement)

By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun

BEIRUT/ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion.

Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months.

The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory.

Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.

Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria.

But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people.

Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia.

The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now.

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Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT

A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
* Scotland's Davidson pledges "no more referenda"

* Support for independence from the UK at 4-year peak

* Handling of Brexit has eroded Conservative support (Adds details, color, quotes)

By Elisabeth O'Leary

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 4 (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises.

The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands.

Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives.

"We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum.

But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall.

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At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support.

POLL RATINGS

In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls.

Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters:

"I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said.

Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister.

But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood.

"It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
(Adds CHP spokesman, details)

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish businesspeople in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name."

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labeled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

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"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
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(Adds senior parliamentarian urges talks with world powers, IAEA)

DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

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Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
(Corrects location of summit to Hanoi in lead paragraph)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as analysts said the country is stepping up pressure against the United States after February's failed nuclear summit in Hanoi.

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description.

If the unidentified projectiles were missiles, it would be the first missile launch since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

In Saturday's statement South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) which flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles).

In an earlier message, South Korea's military command had said the North fired an "unidentified short-range missile."

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches.

Surveillance and vigilance has been stepped up in preparation for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

The latest firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April, added to the pressure Pyongyang has sought to exert on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program.

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Korea's presidential Blue House is "analyzing the situation," a Blue House official said without elaborating. There were reports of a missile launch by North Korea, but we have not confirmed the entry of any ballistic missile into Japans Exclusive Economic Zone. At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected. Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Korea's action would send a message to the United States.

"It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates and Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Flare-up follows killing of two Hamas militants

* Cairo trying to mediate truce

* Netanyahu convenes Israeli security council (Adds U.S. State Department comment)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.

The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups.

Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

"The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar.

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The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike.

"According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details.

Two multi-story buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said.

Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel.

TRUCE EFFORTS

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

"Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts.

The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks.

"The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

"The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.

Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years.

Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
(Adds updated injury count, details on investigation plans from news conference)

By Brendan O'Brien

May 4 (Reuters) - Federal investigators on Saturday began searching for what caused a Boeing jetliner with 143 people on board to slide off a runway into a shallow river while landing at a Jacksonville, Florida, military base during a thunderstorm, injuring 22 people.

The Boeing 737-800 chartered by the U.S. military was arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members when it slid into the St. Johns River at the end of the 9,000-foot runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday night, authorities said.

Officials raised the count of people injured to 22, from 21, after a three-month-old child was admitted to a local hospital for observation, Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer at the Jacksonville station, told a news conference.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have recovered an undamaged flight data recorder and it has been sent to Washington for analysis, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at the news conference.

"We expect to get a very full report on that shortly," he said.

Investigators said they are hoping to interview the crew on Sunday. The cockpit voice recorder is in the tail of the plane and submerged underwater. Investigators will not be able to recover it until the aircraft is lifted out of the water, Landsberg said.

"We are going to be very careful in preserving the perishable evidence," he said.

Officials were determining the best way to remove the plane from the water, NTSB investigator in charge John Lovell said.

"There are some ideas being floated in terms of putting some sort of cushioning below it ... and moving it on those cushions," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard placed floating booms around the jetliner to contain leaking jet fuel in the water, Landsberg said.

The plane, chartered from Miami Air International, was attempting to land at about 9:40 p.m. local time amid thunder and lightning when it slid off the runway and came to rest in the shallow water of the river, authorities and passengers said.

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Landsberg said investigators will look closely at whether the weather played a role in the incident.

"It is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story," Connor said early on Saturday.

Active duty military members, civilian government employees and their dependents were on the jetliner, Connor told CNN.

The military base is on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles (12.87 km) south of central Jacksonville, about 350 miles (563.27 km) north of Miami.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane.

Representatives of the airline did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Boeing Co said that the company was aware of the incident and gathering information.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" round-trip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles, and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)
(Recasts with new information throughout)

BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theaters of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces," said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defense ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Adds comments from Prime Minister May, context)

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - British police will not investigate the sacked defense minister, Gavin Williamson, after a senior officer said the information that was leaked about Chinese telecoms company Huawei was too minor to count as a criminal offense.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson on Wednesday, despite his denials that he was to blame for a newspaper report that Britain would allow Huawei equipment to be used in part of a new 5G mobile data network.

The Daily Telegraph story, which came from a meeting of Britain's normally top-secret National Security Council (NSC), embarrassed the government and set it at odds with the United States over the next generation of communications technology.

The opposition Labour Party had called for a criminal investigation into the leak. But on Saturday, Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer rejected this.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Williamson, once in charge of party discipline for May's Conservatives, was an important ally for the prime minister as she struggled to steer Britain through Brexit without a majority in parliament or consensus on how to leave the European Union.

May defended her decision to sack him following a brief investigation by the government's most senior civil servant, Mark Sedwill, who unusually is also the NSC's secretary.

"The importance of this was not about the information that was leaked, it was where it was leaked from. This was about the NSC and trust in the NSC," she told Sky News on Saturday before the police said there was no criminal case to answer.

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"The investigation was conducted properly, and was about the fact that something was leaked from the NSC, and the importance of everybody around that table having trust when they come together in those meetings," she added.

Williamson said he had not been given full details of the evidence against him.

"With the Met Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt," he told reporters. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Ros Russell)
Eat This, Not That!

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has surged worldwide in record timeit was only three weeks ago that the first case was identified in South Africa. Last week, it accounted for 73% of new COVID infections in the United States, according to the latest CDC data. It's highly contagiousscientists estimate it's twice as transmissible as the Delta variant, which itself was twice as transmissible as the original COIVD strainwhich calls for an abundance of caution. How do you know if you've been infect
(Updates sourcing, adds details, background)

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

"The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority.

"I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time.

Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria.

Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!."

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The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests.

Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft.

Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Photography has shaped the American memory of the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings.

The image of a young woman screaming in horror as she crouches beside the body of a student has become the defining moment of the day when National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio.

This year, on the 49th anniversary of the shooting, historys lens has gotten a little wider. Getty Images has released previously unpublished pictures revealing the weekend leading up to the tragedy, the moments when the guards opened fire and the grief afterwards.

An unidentified demonstrator runs through a cloud of teargas on the Kent State University Commons during a student antiwar protest, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

The new photos were taken by John Filo and Howard Ruffner, two students at the university. Filo captured the days most iconic image: 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio beside the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller.

View, from behind, as Ohio National Guardsmen in gas masks and with rifles as they prepare to advance up Blanket Hill, through clouds of teargas, to drive back Kent State University students during an antiwar demonstration on the university's campus, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. Visible at left is Taylor Hill. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Ruffner, a second-year-student who had learned about photography while serving in the U.S. Air Force, was working on the universitys yearbook. Recruited as a freelance photographer by LIFE magazine, he snapped photos after students set fire to the campus ROTC building and National Guardsmen began to take over the school grounds. The campus was mostly empty, because Kent State was known to be a suitcase school  where students leave on the weekend, Ruffner told TIME.

Paramedics and students run as they push the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller (1950 - 1970) on a gurney after he'd been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Students were arriving back on campus on May 4  a Monday  and about 500 people gathered for a rally to protest the presence of the National Guard and the Vietnam War at around 12 p.m.

Ruffner said he was standing about 80 feet from the soldiers when they opened fire on the protesters.

On Blanket Hill, Kent State University students, several with hands over their mouths, stare in the aftermath of the Ohio National Guard having opened fire on their antiwar demonstration, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

I heard people shouting, Oh my God, theyre shooting with real bullets,' Ruffner said. And I looked around with my camera by myself, and I saw people on the ground in front of me, a person on the ground beside me. I was probably in a [state] of awe, or disbelief. But it didnt stop me, or change who I was I had to continue doing what I was doing.

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Bob Ahern, the director of Getty Images archive, told TIME that Ruffner and Filos perspective as students makes the images even more powerful.

Students kneel on the grass beside wounded classmate John Cleary after the latter had been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Its incredible coverage because it is [a] kind of eyewitness, he said. It was people there with cameras They werent seasoned photojournalists, they were very much in the moment. [The pictures are] incredibly immediate like any good news photo can be. They still have a freshness and a rawness about them, which is kind of chilling.

Prior to the shootings anniversary, Getty asked Ruffner and Filo to look through their archives and check whether they had any unreleased photos. As they were freelance photographers at the time, their full collection of photos likely wouldnt have gone into a magazine archive, Ahern says to explain why the photos are surfacing now.

Closeup of a bullet hole left in a metal sculpture after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. In the background, an unidentified person photographs the hole from the opposite side. The sculpture, 'Solar Totem #1' by Don Drumm, is located outside Taylor Hall. | John FiloGetty Images

Ahern said the power of the Kent State photographs echoes through time.

[The pictures remind] us of whats involved in protest, and how high that price can be, he said.

Correction, May 5:

Captions in the original version of story misidentified two of the victims during the Kent State shootings. They are believed to have died while walking to class, not while taking part in the protest. The original version of this story also misstated why Mary Ann Vecchio was present at the Kent State protest. Vecchio was visiting Kent State, she was not a student and was not Jeffrey Millers classmate.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Looking to get out into the community this weekend?

From an architecture tour to a community bike ride, there's plenty to do when it comes to community and cultural events coming up in Milwaukee. Read on for a rundown.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

Thoroughly Modernist Milwaukee

From the event description:

The stroll will explore different forms of architecture and urban planning, from the mid-century era and beyond. The event will also include discussions about the legacies of renowned modernists Eero Saarinen, Dan Kiley, Harry Weese, Harrison and Abramowitz and others, as well as the late-century landmark collaboration between Santiago Calatrava and Dan Kiley.

When: Friday, May 3, 5:15-7 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WeGiveMKE: Spring Food Distribution

From the event description:

Kingdom Manna and F.I.N.A.O., will be providing food for individuals within the community. Quantities are limited. There are also opportunities to volunteer for set-up and food distribution.

When: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-noon

Where: CFFC Destiny Plaza, 7220 N. 76th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WPR Listener Appreciation Event

From the event description:

Join us for an open house at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee. You can chat with Larry Meiller and other Wisconsin Public Radio staff over coffee and pastries while exploring all the nature center has to offer. There will also be live music from PK Harmony, guided nature hikes with Havenwoods naturalists, arts and crafts, yard games and more.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-noon

Where: Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Re-imagining Villard Forward Session 1

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From the event description:

Momentum is building as the Villard Avenue business corridor is currently being revitalized. Community members are invited to share their thoughts and opinions.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee Public Library Villard Square Branch, 5190 N. 35th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail Spring Ride

From the event description:

Join the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail for the inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail spring ride to celebrate the opening of the west end of the trail. The event will kick off with a presentation about the trail, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Two sculptures will also be unveiled in a new artistic monument planned for this very location: People of the Road. People of the Road is a five-sculpture public artwork that will honor and celebrate the thousands of workers who built the locomotives and rail cars made in Milwaukee.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2-3:30 p.m.

Where: Menomonee Valley Community Park, 212 S. 36th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
ABC News(DALLAS) -- Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters at an event in Texas Friday night, but one of his fellow Democratic challengers was happy to immediately come to his defense.



Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner Friday when he was interrupted on several occasions by anti-gay remarks.



The protesters yelled, "Marriage is between a man and a woman," and, "Repent," according to CNN reporter DJ Judd, who was in the audience. Judd also filmed footage of a woman being ushered out of the venue for making anti-abortion comments.



Buttigieg came out as gay just four years ago, at 33 years old, in an op-ed for the South Bend Tribune. He married his boyfriend, Chasten, in June 2018.



He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in history. Buttigieg has periodically been heckled on the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in mid-April.



Fellow presidential candidate, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, quickly came to his opponent's defense on Twitter.



"Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred," O'Rourke wrote. "Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon."



O'Rourke was also in Texas on Friday night, speaking at an outdoor event in downtown Fort Worth, just a half hour west of Buttigieg's event in Dallas.



"This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through," O'Rourke told the assembled audience.



Texas, once regarded as a magnet for conservative candidates, has seen an influx of Democratic presidential contenders stumping in the state. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth last week and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will also be in the city this weekend.



The protesters' comments at Buttigieg's event echoed those of Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, an evangelist who was a spiritual adviser to a dozen presidents, both Republican and Democrat. Billy Graham died last year.



Franklin Graham tweeted on April 24, "Mayor Buttigieg says hes a gay Christian. As a Christian, I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as a sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman  not two men, not two women."



The 37-year-old Buttigieg was largely unknown nationally before launching an exploratory committee earlier this year and officially beginning his presidential campaign last month. The candidate has emerged as a serious contender early in the race, though.



The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll from late April showed Buttigieg in third place among a very crowded field. He ranked at 5%, behind former Vice President Joe Biden (17%) and Sanders (11%).

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Thai House Restaurant. | Photo: L C./Yelp

Looking for a sublime Thai meal near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Thai restaurants around Mesa, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to meet your needs.

1. Thai Patio

Photo: JASON P./Yelp

Topping the list is Thai Patio. Located at 1929 N. Power Road, Suite 101 in Moondance, the Thai spot is the highest rated low-priced Thai restaurant in Mesa, boasting four stars out of 186 reviews on Yelp.

2. Thai House Restaurant

photo: L C./Yelp

Next up is Golden Hills's Thai House Restaurant, situated at 1155 S. Power Road, Suite 121. With four stars out of 165 reviews on Yelp, the Thai spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option.

3. Wok In

PHOTO: MATTHEW M./YELP

Wok In, located at 7530 E. Main St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the inexpensive Asian fusion, Vietnamese and Thai spot four stars out of 131 reviews.

4. Royal Thai Grill

PHOTO: CRIS N./YELP

Royal Thai Grill, a Thai spot, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 106 Yelp reviews. Head over to 321 W. McKellips Road to see for yourself.

5. Thai Food Corner

photo: kim g./yelp

Over in Alta Mesa, check out Thai Food Corner, which has earned four stars out of 74 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Thai spot by heading over to 5253 E. Brown Road, Suite 104.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
El Molcajete. | Photo: Elizabeth R./ Yelp



In search of a new favorite Mexican spot?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Mexican restaurants around Louisville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. Fiesta Time Amigos

PHOTO: CAPTAIN M./YELP

Topping the list is Fiesta Time Amigos. Located at 135 S. English Station Road, the Mexican spot is the highest-rated low-priced Mexican restaurant in Louisville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 58 reviews on Yelp.

The restaurant offers various lunch and dinner entrees that range from taco salads and burritos to fajitas, quesadillas and enchiladas. Look for the flatbread filled with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle sauce and served with rice, or try the shrimp nachos with grilled shrimp, cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Happy hour is Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. when domestic and Mexican beers and margaritas are flowing.

2. Taqueria La Mexicana

PHOTO: MEGAN F./YELP

Next up is Taqueria La Mexicana, situated at 6201 Preston Highway. With 4.5 stars out of 28 reviews on Yelp, the Mexican spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option. Choose from a menu of tacos, tortas, sopes, burritos and quesadillas. Keep it simple with steak or chicken tacos with cilantro and onions or quesadillas with a flour tortilla, beef and cheese.

3. El Caporal

PHOTO: RAYMOND B./YELP

Bon Air's El Caporal, located at 2209 Meadow Drive, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the affordable Mexican spot 4.5 stars out of 48 reviews.

With a history that dates back to 1989, El Caporal has fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, seafood, house specials and more. A menu favorite is the Burritos Mexicanos, consisting of two burritos stuffed with beans and beef tips and topped with lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Save room for dessert, from ice cream to sopapillas to cheesecake.

4. El Molcajete

Photo: EL MOLCAJETE/Yelp

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El Molcajete, a Mexican spot in South Louisville, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 144 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2932 S. Fourth St. to see for yourself.

El Molcajete serves up gorditas, sopes, tacos, burritos, tortas, desserts and more. Enjoy dishes like the steak or chicken grande quesadilla served with salad or the shrimp fajitas topped with bell peppers, onions, rice and beans.

5. Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza

PHOTO: KATHY T./YELP

Finally, over in University, check out Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza, which has earned four stars out of 82 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Mexican spot by heading over to 2787 S. Floyd St.

This spot offers soups, salads, burritos, tortas and a number of specialty dishes. Opt for empanadas, nachos and carnitas. The Baja fish tacos are customer stand out as well.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
New Dong Khanh. | Photo: Little J./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for Southeast Asian fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Southeast Asian restaurants around Boston, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings.

1. New Dong Khanh

Photo: new dong khanh/Yelp

Topping the list is New Dong Khanh. Located at 83 Harrison Ave. (between Knapp and Beach streets.) in Chinatown, the Vietnamese and Chinese spot, which offers bubble tea and more, is the highest-rated affordable Southeast Asian restaurant in Boston, boasting four stars out of 553 reviews on Yelp.

For starters, try the deep-fried shrimp bean cake served on a bed of vermicelli and lettuce. Stir fried noodle and rice dishes are available as entrees. Fruit shakes and smoothies are available as well.

2. New Saigon

Photo: chris h./Yelp

Next up is East Boston's New Saigon, situated at 985 Bennington St. (between Saratoga and Trident streets). With 4.5 stars out of 140 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option.

On the menu, you'll find rice plates, pho and more. Try the fried squid or the crispy soft-shell crab.

3. S & I Thai

Photo: nguyen t./Yelp

Allston's S & I Thai, located at 168 Brighton Ave., Suite A (between Parkvale and Harvard avenues), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the low-priced Thai spot four stars out of 451 reviews.

Lunch and dinner specials are served with a spring roll, chicken wing, gyoza, dumpling, fried tofu or crab wonton. Try the whole fish, available steamed, grilled or pan fried.

4. Pho Viet's

Photo: stephanie c./Yelp

Pho Viet's, a Vietnamese spot in Allston, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 415 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1095 Commonwealth Ave. to see for yourself.

The business has another location in Newtown Centre. In addition to the usual pho, rice and noodle dishes, it offers vegetarian specials like tofu saute, with vegetables, lemongrass and rice.

5. New Saigon Sandwich

Over in Chinatown, check out New Saigon Sandwich, which has earned four stars out of 418 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the deli and Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and more, by heading over to 696 Washington St. (between Lagrange and Stuart streets).

Sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, chili peppers, cilantro and soy sauce or fish sauce. Boxed meals include teriyaki chicken with noodles.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Michigan State University interim President addresses graduates Friday, May 3, 2019, during commencement ceremonies at the Breslin Center.

EAST LANSING, Mich.  Acting Michigan State University President Satish Udpa was taken to a hospital after falling on stage during an commencement ceremony Friday.

An MSU spokeswoman said Udpa had "a health incident" and was receiving medical attention.

"He is receiving medical attention and everyone in the Spartan community has he, (his wife) Lalita and their family in our thoughts and prayers," said the spokeswoman, Emily Guerrant.

Guerrant declined to elaborate about the nature of the health problem and said she had not received an update about Udpa's condition.

The incident happened late Friday afternoon during the commencement ceremony for advanced degree candidates. No other details were available Friday evening.

Udpa, an executive vice president for administrative services, was appointed acting president of the university in January after John Engler resigned as acting president under pressure related to the Larry Nassar scandal.

Udpa has been an executive vice president at the school since 2013. He previously served as dean of the school of engineering for seven years.

His wife, Lalita Udpa, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU.

Follow Ken Palmer on Twitter: @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Acting Michigan State Univ. President Udpa hospitalized after falling during commencement
WASHINGTON (AP)  The "no-collusion" chorus sang loudly this past week, with President Donald Trump in full-throated roar and even Russian President Vladimir Putin chiming in.

The upshot: substantial misrepresentations of what the special counsel's Russia investigation actually found.

A review of recent rhetoric from Trump and his associates on Russia and more, with Putin in the mix:

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

PUTIN on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: "A mountain gave birth to a mouse."  remarks Tuesday, echoed in a phone call with Trump on Friday.

THE FACTS: Some might say this is a mouse that roared.

The investigation produced charges against nearly three dozen people, among them senior Trump campaign operatives and 25 Russians, as it shed light on a brazen Russian assault on the American political system.

The investigation did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia and it reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Yet it described his campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt rival Hillary Clinton and it exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The Russians caught up in the investigation were charged either with hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

___

TRUMP: "The Mueller Report strongly stated that there was No Collusion with Russia (of course) and, in fact, they were rebuffed ... at every turn in attempts to gain access."  tweets Thursday.

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: "The evidence is now that the president was falsely accused of colluding with the Russians and accused of being treasonous. ... Two years of his administration have been dominated by allegations that have now been proven false."  Senate hearing Wednesday.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Mr. Mueller and his team concluded there was no collusion."  Senate hearing.

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THE FACTS: This refrain about the Mueller report stating there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign is wrong.

Trump's assertion that his campaign denied all access to Russians is false. The Mueller report and other scrutiny revealed a multitude of meetings with Russians. Among them: Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Clinton.

On collusion, Mueller said he did not assess whether that occurred because it is not a legal term.

He looked into a potential criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign and said the investigation did not collect sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges on that front.

Mueller noted some Trump campaign officials had declined to testify under the 5th Amendment or had provided false or incomplete testimony, making it difficult to get a complete picture of what happened during the 2016 campaign. The special counsel wrote that he "cannot rule out the possibility" that unavailable information could have cast a different light on the investigation's findings.

___

BARR, speaking of Trump: "He fully cooperated."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: It's highly questionable to say Trump was fully cooperative in the Russia investigation.

Trump declined to sit for an interview with Mueller's team, gave written answers that investigators described as "inadequate" and "incomplete," said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and  according to the report  tried to get aides to fire Mueller or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry.

In the end, the Mueller report found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice.

___

GRAHAM: "As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide after two years, and all this time. He said, 'Mr. Barr, you decide.' Mr. Barr did."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: Not true. Mueller did not ask Barr to rule on whether Trump's efforts to undermine the special counsel's Russia investigation had obstructed justice.

According to the report, Mueller's team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted.

As a result, the report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, specifically leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter or for prosecutors to do so once Trump leaves office.

Barr wrote in a March 24 letter that he ultimately decided, as attorney general, that the evidence developed by Mueller was "not sufficient" to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Barr subsequently acknowledged that he had not talked directly to Mueller about making that ruling and did not know whether Mueller agreed with him.

___

VENEZUELA

TRUMP says Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."  remarks to reporters Friday after speaking with Putin on the phone.

THE FACTS: Putin is already deeply involved in Venezuela as U.S.-supported Juan Guaido, opposition leader of the National Assembly, challenges President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

Russia has a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support Maduro's hold on power.

The Russians have provided Venezuela with substantial assistance, including an air defense system and help circumventing U.S. sanctions on its oil industry.

"Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down," said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

___

NATO

TRUMP: "We're getting ripped off on military, NATO. I'm all for NATO. But you know, we're paying for almost 100 percent of defending Europe."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: The U.S. is not paying "almost 100 percent" the cost of defending Europe.

NATO does have a shared budget to which each member makes contributions based on the size of its economy. The United States, with the biggest economy, pays the biggest share, about 22 percent.

Four European members  Germany, France, Britain and Italy  combined pay nearly 44 percent of the total. The money, about $3 billion, runs NATO's headquarters and covers certain other civilian and military costs.

Defending Europe involves far more than that fund. The primary cost of doing so would come from each member country's military budget, as the alliance operates under a mutual defense treaty.

The U.S. is the largest military spender but others in the alliance obviously have armed forces, too. The notion that almost all costs would fall to the U.S. is false.

In fact, NATO's Article 5, calling for allies to act if one is attacked, has only been invoked once, and it was on behalf of the U.S., after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

___

ECONOMY

TRUMP: "We just did 3.2 ... 3.2 is a number that they haven't hit in 14 years."  interview Wednesday with Fox Business News.

THE FACTS: First-quarter growth of 3.2% in the gross domestic product is nowhere close to the best in 14 years, by any measure. It's only the best since last year, surpassed in the second and third quarters with rates of 4.2% and 3.4% respectively.

Perhaps he meant to say it was the best first-quarter growth in 14 years. But that's not right, either. It's the best in four years.

The economy grew by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2015. So President Barack Obama has a better first-quarter record than Trump to date.

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TRUMP: "Wages are rising fastest for the lowest-income Americans."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: This is true, though he's claiming credit for a trend that predates his presidency.

Some of the gains also reflect higher minimum wages passed at the state and local level; the Trump administration opposes an increase to the federal minimum wage.

With the unemployment rate at 3.6 %, the lowest since December 1969, employers are struggling to fill jobs. Despite all the talk of robots and automation, thousands of restaurants, warehouses, and retail stores still need workers.

They are offering higher wages and have pushed up pay for the lowest-paid one-quarter of workers more quickly than for everyone else since 2015. In March, the poorest 25% saw their paychecks increase 4.4% from a year earlier, compared with 3% for the richest one quarter.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Eric Tucker, Lolita C. Baldor and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

___

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
ASHEVILLE, N.C.  Students whispering into phones and hiding behind barricaded doors. Panicked parents calling on behalf of their children, feeding information from text-message updates. Faculty members requesting help, unsure whether their classrooms could be the next target.

The four-dozen 911 calls placed in relation to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting Tuesday paint the picture of a campus in chaos moments after a gunman wielding a pistol opened fire in a large lecture hall, killing two people and injuring four more.

Student Riley Howell, who in his last seconds fought to subdue the gunman, died not far from a professor who called to report the shooting seconds later.

"A student went out to make a copy, and he came running in saying he saw people bleeding," she told one of several 911 operators fielding calls about the shooting. "I have a room full of students ... these doors don't lock ... look, we need help."

Mourners pause to look at a variety of memorials left at Kennedy Hall at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, May 2, 2019. A gunman opened fire at Kennedy on April 30, killing two and wounding four.

Several of the 911 calls came from faculty members working in buildings close to Kennedy Hall, where police say Trystan Andrew Terrell entered a room during an anthropology lecture and began shooting. One male teacher told an operator that he could see students running around all over campus from his window but that he hadnt been alerted of an emergency by the university.

We dont really know the status of anything, he said.

More: Police stopped UNC Charlotte shooting quickly. But what about preventing it?

Looking for information

That was the case for about a dozen parents who called 911 asking for updates or trying to relay information theyd received in text messages.

One man called to tell police that his daughter was hiding in the bathroom of the Chick-fil-A in the student union. There, she was taking shelter with her roommate and with members of the fire department providing first aid to one of the shooting victims.

Shes hiding in a bathroom right now, the man told the operator, talking about his daughter. The fire department is with the girl who was shot there, and theyre hiding her, too.

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Though many of the calls came from people who had witnessed only the panic and not the shooting, a handful of student callers were able to identify the suspect, describing his light skin, dark hair, black clothes and the pistol with which he was armed.

One of the callers told an operator she had escaped from the class in which the shooting unfolded.

It seemed like he was shooting at one person, she said. It was a lot of shots. He was still shooting when we left.

For those students who werent close to the shooting, only text messages and the shouts of others informed them of what was happening. One such caller told an operator he was in the library  located just across the street from Kennedy Hall  when he learned of the shooting.

I was sitting at the computer when someone came in yelling, and I ran, he said. I didnt even see who yelled it. I just got up and ran.

Some of the people who called 911 to report the shooting didnt even have that much information.

One woman who called on behalf of her sister, who was hiding and unable to call for herself, cried as she tried to pass her sisters location on to the operator. During their discussion, she received a troubling text.

Oh gosh; she said people are running outside in the hallway, she told the operator just before breaking down and sobbing.

As she was still on the line, the operator got word that Terrell, 22, had been taken into custody. She told the woman on the other end that her sister was no longer in danger.

Thank you, the woman said, struggling to get the words out between sobs.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'It was a lot of shots': 911 calls from UNC Charlotte shooting describe campus in chaos
The plane that greeted the 143 passengers and crew at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was four hours late and lacked air-conditioning.

It got terrifyingly worse when the Boeing 737 hours later crashed into the St. Johns River off a runway in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night at 9:40 p.m.

Cheryl Bormann, a passenger on the military-chartered plane heading from Cuba to Jacksonville, said they were in a "universally miserable" mood when they boarded the plane but begrudgingly took their seats anyway.

Appearing on CNN with host Don Lemon Friday, she described a frantic, confusing final minutes, with the pilot seeming to lose control before the plane skidded off the runway and into the marsh of the nearby river.

This handout image obtained courtesy of Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff's Office on May 3 shows a Boeing 737 aircraft after it went off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the St. Johns river, near Jacksonville, Florida.

All passengers and crew aboard the plane are safe and accounted for, although 22 were treated and one, a 3-month-old child, was hospitalized overnight as a precaution. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there were no critical injuries.

More: Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe

The plane traveled through rain and lightning to make it to Jacksonville  but the tumultuous landing came afterward.

Bormann, a prominent defense attorney from Chicago, said the landing "didn't feel right." She said the plane "literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right."

She added: "The pilot was trying to control it but couldn't, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something."

She said the plane "came to a complete like crash stop."

The plane skidded off the runway at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the river, but it did not submerge in the water. Photos showed the plane landed in a shallow dredge of water with minimal damage.

Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at the station, called the safe landing "a miracle."

Story continues

CNN reported that the plane was carrying military personnel headed home, on vacation, or to get medical care. The group included families, civilians, grandparents and children connected to the military.

Bormann said that after the crash landing some oxygen masks deployed, and overhead bins opened up and sent belongings spilling out. She said her identification, cash, credit cards, computers, phone and passport were sent flying to the seats behind her.

Passengers didn't know what happened or where they were, she said. However, she recalled that they weren't screaming, and people helped each other put on their life vests and exit the plane onto its wing and into a raft.

Bormann told CNN that as of Friday night most passengers didn't have the identification that authorities are asking for because their items are still on the plane.

"Everyone is sort of milling around because no one knows quite what to do. They won't let us leave," Bormann said. "Everybody is curious about their belongings and want to know what will happen next."

Connor, the commanding officer, told reporters Saturday that despite the chaotic landing, those on board were "very cordial" and there wasn't "any commotion or panic."

While all of the passengers on board made it out OK, at least four pets aboard the plane had not been found and are presumed dead.

More: Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

The pets, which included dogs and cats, were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane, the portion that was partially submerged.

Connor told reporters the status of the pets became the "second priority" for responders after it was determined all passengers were safe. He said first responders looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said. He said that he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positive determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about 8 miles south of downtown.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it is investigating the crash landing and officials were working Saturday to retrieve the plane's flight recorder and get the jet to shore.

Contributing: Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'All of a sudden it smashed into something:' Jacksonville, Florida, plane crash survivor recounts chaotic landing
Photo: Miyako Yakitori and Sushi/Yelp

Want the dirt on Austin's most talked-about local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this spring.

Miyako Yakitori & Sushi

Photo: lenny d./Yelp

Open since November, this sushi bar and Japanese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, sushi bars saw a median 3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Miyako Yakitori & Sushi saw a 57.7 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Miyako Yakitori & Sushi's review count increased by more than 170 percent.

Located at 8701 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 2128, Miyako Yakitori & Sushi offers sushi (special, baked, tempura, house rolls and nigiri and sashimi), yakitori (skewers with chicken, beef, pork seafood and vegetables), ramen, donburi (rice bowls), curry and chicken, salmon and beef entrees. Click here to view the full menu.

Anthem

Photo: alice l./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Austin's Anthem, the beer bar, cocktail bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Anthem bagged a 14.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

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Open at 91 Rainey St., Suite 120, since September, Anthem's Hawaiian-themed menu includes an Aloha burger (bacon, gruyere cheese and grilled pineapple), a curry vegan hot dog on a pretzel bun and the coastal fish and fries (redfish fried in a tempura beer batter with cilantro and Cajun panko served with furikake fries). To view the menu, click here.

Bao'd Up

RMMA's Bao'd Up is also making waves. Open since July 25, 2017 at 1911 Aldrich St., Suite A1, the popular Asian fusion and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers bubble tea and more, has seen a 7.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bao'd Up's review count increased by more than 200 percent.

There's more than one hotspot trending in Austin's breakfast and brunch category: Il Brutto has seen a 7.1 percent increase in reviews.

On Bao'd Up's menu, look for items such as barbecue pork and vegetable bao, pork belly guabao, picked vegetable salad and apple curry or sesame noodle bowls. There are also breakfast options. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.

Austin Taco Project

Photo: harvard p./Yelp

Downtown Austin's Austin Taco Project is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The well-established bar, which offers tapas, tacos and more and opened at 500 E. Fourth St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 3.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Austin Taco Project features fusion tacos inspired by Latin and North American, European, Asian and African flavors. Try the Eisben (caramelized pork shank and sauerkraut) from Europe and the Umami Tofu (mushroom mix, fennel salad, candied ginger and portobello shell) from Asia. View all of the choices here.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
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Crypto exchange Bitfinex will conduct an initial exchange offering (IEO), aiming to raise $1 billion, according to details from an upcoming white paper reviewed by The Block. The final version of the white paper is still under review.

Bitfinex's exchange tokens, dubbed LEO, would first be offered to private investors, then subsequently opened to the public after May 10 if there is any allocation left, according to the information shared by shareholder Zhao Dong. According to Zhao Dong, Bitfinex has already raised $600 million in private, verbal commitments. Since last week, it has been rumored that Bitfinex would raise money via an IEO, a red-hot fundraising mechanism that allows crypto firms to sell tokens on an exchange to raise cash.

As per the white paper details, the firm says it is issuing the exchange tokens to cover the $850 million currently frozen in several accounts controlled by the payment processing company Crypto Capital. A week ago, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) sued Bitfinex and Tether for allegedly commingling funds to cover the loss of that $850 million.

In documents described as "information from the white paper," Bitfinex says it is actively collaborating with the legal investigation and applying to unfreeze these funds through legal procedures. The company is confident that it will retrieve these funds, according to the white paper details.

As for the specifics about the new tokens, they will be bought back on a monthly basis at market price, with at least 27% of Bifinexs profit from the previous month  akin to stock buybacks on Wall Street. Notably, Bitfinex also reserves the right to buy back the tokens within 18 months after its funds are unfrozen.

In fact, at least 95% of the unfrozen funds will be used to redeem and burn the LEO in an equivalent amount. Zhao Dong said that even if the seized money cannot be retrieved, according to the projections from Bitfinexs profits in 2017 and 2018, the company should be able to buy back all of the tokens within 4 years.

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If Bitfinex were to retrieve a portion of the hacked 119,756 bitcoins (~$72 million at the time) from 2016, at least 80% of it would be used to buy back and burn the tokens. Market observers, however, tell The Block this would be nearly impossible.

Like other exchange tokens, such as Binances BNB, LEO will also offer discounts on trading fees. In addition, LEO holders will have access to a 15% discount of taker fees for crypto-to-crypto trading, discounted lending rate, and discounted withdrawal fees.

Bitfinexs profit in 2018 was $404 million, and it paid out a dividend of around $261 million.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the information contained within this report was pulled from documents related to Bitfinex's white paper, not the official white paper itself.
UPDATE: May 7  The bodies of a dog and two cats have been recovered from the cargo hold of the airplane that crash-landed in a Florida river, Naval Air Station Jacksonville said Sunday in a Facebook post. All three animals belonged to a military family. A fourth animal on the flight was traveling in the cabin with its owner, who safely took the pet off the plane.

PREVIOUSLY:

While all humans aboard a charter flight that crash-landed in a Florida river on Friday night survived, multiple animals remain in the planes waterlogged cargo hold, and its unclear whether any are alive.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737 was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members from the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it skidded off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville during a thunderstorm. The plane ended up coming to a stop in the St. Johns River.

The people were rescued with only some minor injuries. But NAS Jacksonville spokeswoman Kaylee LaRocque told USA Today that based on the flights manifest, there were at least four animals that had been checked as luggage traveling in the planes cargo hold. Although the plane is not totally submerged in the river, there is water in the cargo hold and the animals there are unaccounted for.

The charter plane sitting in the river on Saturday.

Our first priority was obviously human life, NAS Jacksonville base Cmdr. Mike Connor said at a Saturday-evening press conference.

After learning there were animals still aboard, Connor added, My heart immediately sank because I am a pet owner myself and cannot imagine what the pet owners were going through.

At that point, he said the next priority became to attempt to determine the status of the pets.

Connor said first responders looked inside the cargo bay, and did not see any animals or hear any animal noises. They then backed out, he said, because at that point responders were unsure if the plane could sink at any minute.

Later, he said he asked first responders to assess the cargo hold again, and said they could not see any pet carriers that were above the water line.

NAS Jacksonville did not immediately return a request for comment from HuffPost. But LaRocque told NBC News that no one will know the animals status for sure until the plane is removed from the water.
Miami (AFP) - A Boeing 737 slid off a runway into a river after crash-landing at a Florida naval air station Friday, officials said, with no fatalities reported.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ended in shallow water next to the air station in Jacksonville, with all passengers safely evacuated, naval authorities said.

"There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter.

Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Images showed the plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry tweeted.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries military personnel and family members.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and gathering information.
Algiers (AFP) - Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.

There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.

He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after a stroke in 2013.

Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.

In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.

Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika to neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state".

Tartag -- described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother -- was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.

Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."

According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

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Mediene said "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudo-meeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.

Algeria's former defence minister Khaled Nezzar meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.

Demonstrations are ongoing in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

___

Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.
By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday. No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV. Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair. Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration. "The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday. Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people. Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority. "I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time. Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria. Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!". The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests. Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft. Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Charlie Munger, business partner of billionaire Warren Buffett, said Saturday the two are "ashamed" of not having invested in Google, which has become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire, of which Munger is vice president, recently took a stake in Amazon and has a $40 billion stake in Apple, but has generally steered clear of the technology sector.

"We are ashamed," Munger, 95, told a shareholder at the annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, when asked about the absence of an investment in Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger said.

"We screwed up," he said, without indicating whether Berkshire Hathaway aimed to catch up now.
OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday swung to a big quarterly profit, bolstered by gains in its stock investments, and also posted a small increase in operating earnings.

The $21.66 billion overall profit, or $13,209 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per share, and a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.39 billion.

These results illustrate what Buffett has called the "wild and capricious" and, in his view, meaningless swings caused by an accounting rule requiring the reporting of unrealized stock gains with earnings, regardless of Berkshire's plans to sell.

Berkshire said operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 5 percent to $5.56 billion. Operating profit was $5.29 billion, or $3,215 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Kneeling in front of her King, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya was invested as Queen on Saturday in Bangkok's Grand Palace, taking up a prominent role in a country where the monarchy is deeply revered, a fairytale ascent for the former flight attendant.

Wearing a pink traditional dress, Suthida took her seat next to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the throne hall after he poured a few drops of sacred water on her forehead and handed over insignia according her status as queen.

The newest member of the royal family is the fourth wife of 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, a deeply private monarch who spends a lot of his time abroad in Germany. He has a 14-year-old son from his third marriage and six other children.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation Saturday came just three days after a stunning palace announcement that the pair had married bestowing Suthida with the title of Queen.

But not much is known about his long-time consort-turned-queen, who faces a new and protocol-filled life in the wealthy and venerated Thai monarchy.

Broad biographical details such as her work as a flight attendant and her education at an upper-crust institution have emerged in Thai media. But the palace has so far declined requests for more information.

Suthida does not have the same royal lineage as Vajiralongkorn's mother Queen Sirikit, who is the great-granddaughter of the Chakri dynasty's fifth king.

She has "really come from the people", said Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Thailand specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside the country is dangerous and can result in a prison term of up to 15 years per count.

Thailand's normally effusive social media have been subdued in reaction to the royal news.

Suthida's first public engagement came Thursday when the couple kneeled to pay their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's old quarter.

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On Friday, she accompanied her husband to the sacred Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the heart of the Grand Palace.

- Queen brings 'legitimacy' -

Born on June 3, 1978, she graduated with a Communication Arts degree in 2000 from the Catholic-run Assumption University of Thailand.

She then worked as a flight attendant for national carrier Thai Airways.

According to a local media report she met the future king, a keen aviator with a pilot's licence, when he flew the company's aircraft during a charity event in 2007.

In November 2013, Suthida entered the royal army before becoming part of the monarch's prestigious security detail less than a year later.

She was promoted to the rank of general in December 2016 two months after the death of revered former King Bhumibol Adulyadej as Vajiralongkorn took to the throne.

Less than a year later, in 2017, she was made deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard, often seen shadowing the monarch at public events.

One of her latest appearances was in April, when she sat stone-faced behind her future husband wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed police.

The couple would often travel to Bavaria in southern Germany, where Vajiralongkorn has several residences.

The king's marriage to Suthida is a "way of further legitimising" his reign, said Paul Chambers, political analyst at Thailand's Naresuan University.

"A king is supposed to have a queen and now he has one."
The California Legislature is attempting to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns  a move that could bar President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's primary ballot if he does not make the documents public.

The state Senate voted 27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state's presidential primary ballot to publicly release five years' worth of income tax returns. The proposal is in response to Trump, who bucked 40 years of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns prior to his election in 2016.

California's presidential primary is scheduled for March 3. If the bill becomes law, Trump could not appear on the state's primary ballot without filing his tax returns with the California secretary of state.

"We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn't have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns," said Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg and the co-author of the bill along with Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.

Congress fights for returns: Treasury misses second deadline to release Trump's tax returns, will make decision by May 6

Opinion: It's April 15. Do you know where President Trump's tax returns are?

Sarah Sanders: This Congress not 'smart enough' to understand Trump's tax returns

The Legislature passed a nearly identical bill in 2017, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, telling lawmakers he was concerned the law was unconstitutional. Brown, a Democrat, refused to release his tax returns while in office.

He left office in January and was replaced by Gavin Newsom, who has released his tax returns and embraced his role as a national "resistance" leader to Trump and his policies.

Newsom's office didn't say whether he'd sign it. If the bill reaches his desk, "it would be evaluated on its own merits," spokesman Brian Ferguson said.

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McGuire said he has had "initial discussions" with the Newsom administration about the proposal.

"I never want to put words into his mouth, but here's what I'll say: Gov. Newsom has led by example," by releasing his own tax returns, McGuire said.

The bill would also apply to the more than a dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. But many of them have already released their tax returns. They include California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who released his tax returns last month after refusing to do so in 2016.

Candidates would have to submit tax returns to the secretary of state's office, which would work with the candidates to redact some information before posting the returns online.

The bill echoes similar legislation being considered in Illinois, Washington and New Jersey.

In New York, Democrats have examined multiple approaches in hopes of helping release Trump's tax returns, including bills requiring officials to release tax returns to appear on the ballot. State lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would allow the state to release Trump's state tax returns if any of three congressional committees  the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation  ask for the documents.

Trump is a resident of New York and does much of his business in the state.

'Im not gonna do it': Donald Trump says he won't give his tax returns to Congress

All of the bills come as Democrats in Washington continue to fight for access to Trump's returns.

Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal officially requested six years of the president's tax returns last month from the IRS but it hasn't been easy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also oversees the IRS, has missed two deadlines, imposed by Neal, to hand over the documents and instead said he would wait for the Justice Department to weigh in on the legality before making a decision.

In his latest letter last month to Neal, Mnuchin detailed both the constitutional concerns and his department's worries with releasing the president's financial information. He also accused Democrats of attempting to skirt the law in order to obtain the documents, something they have been after since even before Trump was elected.

Contributing: Joseph Spector

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California bill: President Trump won't appear on ballot unless he releases tax returns
Julian Castro (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Nati Harnik/AP, Moises Castillo/AP, AP)

Presidential elections are decided by many things: media exposure, financial backing, personal chemistry, timing and luck. Policy positions often are just a way of signaling where a candidate stands on the political spectrum. But 2020 is shaping up to be different, the most ideas-driven election in recent American history. On the Democratic side, a robust debate about inequality has given rise to ambitious proposals to redress the imbalance in Americans economic situations. Candidates are churning out positions on banking regulation, antitrust law and the future effects of artificial intelligence. The Green New Deal is spurring debate on the crucial issue of climate change, which could also play a role in a possible Republican challenge to Donald Trump.

Yahoo News will be examining these and other policy questions in The Ideas Election  a series of articles on how candidates are defining and addressing the most important issues facing the United States as it prepares to enter a new decade.

Three years into the presidency of Donald Trump, who launched his campaign with a call to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, the United States is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southwest border without proper documentation in more than a decade.

But more important than the totals, which remain well below the historic rates of illegal border crossings reported during the late 1990s and early 2000s, is the demographic makeup of the migrants.

During the month of September 2018, Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 people caught illegally crossing the border with a family member  ending the fiscal year with what was, at the time, the highest monthly total of family unit apprehensions to date. Since then, arrests of families between official ports of entry on the southwest border have continued to climb to historic highs each month, with significant spikes in February (36,531) and March (53,077) and another big jump last month to over 92,000, a 12-year high.

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Immigrants from Central America seeking asylum at Travis Park Church in downtown San Antonio. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Families and unaccompanied children  mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  now make up a majority of migrants arriving at the southern border without documentation, supplanting single adult males from Mexico.

But unlike single men, families and children arriving at the border to request asylum cannot be quickly deported after arrest. Border officials have found themselves ill-equipped to accommodate this new population in facilities that were designed for single men.

Beyond the border, the United States is home to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, 66 percent of whom had been in the country for more than 10 years as of 2016 and who, because of Trump administrations aggressive enforcement policies, are increasingly vulnerable to the threat of deportation.

More than 50,000 immigrants are in detention, a record high, with ICE actively searching for more space to house detainees.

Although the crisis has been shaped by Trumps immigration policies, its origins can be traced to legislation that dates from well before the current administration.

Much of the legal framework for todays immigration system is rooted in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, or INA, of 1965, which eliminated discriminatory country-based quotas that favored immigrants from Western Europe in favor of a system that prioritized family reunification and, to a lesser degree, employment-based immigration.

The law helped create the diverse, multicultural immigrant population that has changed the makeup of the United States  legally and illegally  over the last half-century.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed another immigration overhaul that laid the groundwork for todays deportation and border enforcement system.

The changes made it easier for the U.S. to deport people, and made more people eligible for deportation, while also making it significantly harder, if not impossible, for immigrants already in the country unlawfully to obtain legal status. Deportations skyrocketed after 1996, as did the undocumented population in the U.S.

After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, new laws and policies greatly expanded the immigration enforcement crackdown set into motion by the 1996 law, a trend that continued through the Obama administration and has accelerated under Trump.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Immigration Bill of 1965 on Liberty Island, with a view of the New York City skyline in the background. Next to the president on his right are first lady Lady Bird Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. To the president's left are Sen. Edward Kennedy (third from right) and Sen. Robert Kennedy (second from right). (Photo: Corbis via Getty Images, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Among the changes were the expansion of immigration detention and expedited removal, the use of criminal penalties against some border crossers and restructuring the Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Services to become part of the newly established Department of Homeland Security. These moves officially conflated the missions of immigration and border enforcement with counterterrorism and national security.

Meanwhile, Congress, the White House and the courts have wrestled for years over how to treat Dreamers  people who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as children  an issue that was caught up last year in the debate over Trumps request for funding for a wall on the border with Mexico.

While many the Trump administrations immigration policies have been widely condemned by Democrats, most of the 2020 presidential candidates have held back from presenting specific plans for reform.

In fact, of the 20 candidates currently crowding the 2020 Democratic primary field, just one so far has produced a detailed policy proposal on immigration: Julian Castro. On April 2, the former San Antonio mayor who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Obama unveiled his People First Immigration Policy.

Castros ambitious proposal includes many standard Democratic positions, including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, for refugees with temporary protected status because they would be in danger in their homelands, and millions of others living in the U.S. without protection or other options for legal status. He pledged to undo a number of Trump administration policies, including the ban on entry for citizens of majority-Muslim countries and barriers to asylum seekers. He would reverse Trumps large cuts to refugee quotas and expand the qualifying categories to account for new global challenges like climate change.

Castros proposal also includes bold reforms to the broader immigration system, starting with a repeal of the law that treats crossing the border without authorization as a federal crime rather than a civil violation. This statute, he notes in his proposal, has allowed for separation of children and families at our border, the large-scale detention of tens of thousands of families, and has deterred migrants from turning themselves in to an immigration official within our borders.

He also seeks to eliminate the private immigration detention and prison industry, and drastically reduce the population of detainees. He proposes restructuring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into two separate agencies, one tasked with general immigration enforcement and another focused on investigating terrorism, drug and human trafficking, an idea supported by many ICE officials in a letter sent last year to then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Looking beyond U.S. borders, one section of Castros proposal outlines a plan for Establishing a 21st Century Marshall Plan for Central America, to improve conditions in the countries from which refugees are fleeing.

Julian Castro with students at Rancho High School in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Asked why he chose to dive head first into immigration at this early stage in the campaign, Castro told the New Yorkers David Remnick, I wanted to go as straight to what this President has considered his bread-and-butter issue. This is how he stokes division.

Other candidates have been more hesitant to take the plunge.

Before entering the race, former Rep. Beto ORourke seemed to be positioning himself as Trumps most formidable adversary on border and immigration issues, especially on the construction of a border wall. When Trump traveled to El Paso to speak about the border wall earlier this year, ORourke held a counter rally, proclaiming, We are not safe because of walls but in spite of walls. In a post on Medium, he listed 10 immigration, security and bilateral policies that match reality and our values, including increasing visa caps, and investing in additional infrastructure and personnel at the ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug and human trafficking.

As a presidential candidate, however, ORourke has been light on specifics. At a town hall in San Diego this week, ORourke talked loosely of comprehensive immigration reform that would include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers and their parents.

While Bernie Sanders hasnt shied away from the immigration debate, he hasnt offered much in the way of new ideas on the issue.

During a Fox News town hall on April 16, Sanders expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform, and called for hiring hundreds of new judges to more quickly clear up backlog of more than 800,000 pending immigration cases. He also endorsed building proper facilities right on the border for the surge of families in custody.

Demonstrating the sensitivity of the issue, though, Sanders, speaking in Iowa last month, denied he was "an advocate for open borders, an accusation Trump regularly lobs at Democrats.

"If you open the borders, my God, theres a lot of poverty in this world, and youre going to have people from all over the world, Sanders said, once again calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

Meanwhile, candidates such as Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are working on immigration issues in Congress, rather than on the campaign trail. Harris, the California senator and daughter of immigrants, who has made clear that she intends to court Latino voters, has introduced legislation to expand oversight of ICE detention facilities. She said she plans to introduce a bill with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., to allow Dreamers to serve as congressional staffers.

This week in the Senate, Booker took the lead to re-introduce Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, an ambitious bill to drastically undo the countrys vast immigration detention system in response to the Trump administrations latest efforts to expand it.

Castros proposal was praised by immigration advocates, who have long been pushing for Democrats to push back harder against Trump on immigration issues. Some predicted Castros plan would be the catalyst to force other Democrats to offer clear proposals of their own, though thus far no one has really followed suit. The question now is how long the other Democrats can avoid taking a strong position on what will surely be a central issue of Trumps 2020 campaign.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats generally steered clear of the topic, focusing instead on issues such as health care and taxes, while many Republicans copied Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and his efforts to stoke fear about migrant caravans.

President Trump at a recent rally in Green Bay, Wis. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

The result, a historic gain for Democrats in the House of Representatives, appear to have vindicated that strategy.

But the politics might play out differently in a presidential election, when Trump himself is on the ballot.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week, Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about illegal immigration at the southwest border, with 24 percent now agreeing that the situation is a crisis, compared to 7 percent who felt that way in January.

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Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - The leader of South Africa's main opposition party urged voters Saturday to give "change a chance" in next week's general election after 25 years of ANC rule.

"Let us be brave and give change a chance," Mmusi Maimane told more than 10,000 Democratic Alliance supporters at Dobsonville stadium in Soweto.

South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in one of the most competitive national elections since the first multi-racial vote in 1994.

Nelson Mandelas African National Congress, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has won every election since then.

But addressing his final and biggest rally before the vote, Maimane said it was time for change as the country battles corruption, poverty and high unemployment.

"Today the choice is between fear and bravery. If South Africans were not brave, I bet you apartheid would still be in place.

"We are brave and we are going to show courage and hope for change in this election".

He condemned the ANC for going from from "leaders in the struggle for freedom" to those who now "stand directly in the way of freedom".

"They were once our liberators but today we need to be liberated from them," Maimane told the cheering crowd in his home township.

- 'Yes we can!'-

Donald Mlangeni, 28, said in the last election in 2014 he had voted for the ANC, but now he will go with the DA.

"We are going to put an end to corruption," he said, complaining that he struggles to get access to basics such as water at his house. "I think the DA will bring change. At least let's give them a chance".

Ketsie Kobedi, 67, echoed a view driven by disappointment with the ANC that things were actually better under white rule.

"We want to go back to the white people era when things were in order. We don't trust the ANC because of corruption," she said.

The DA, which has been the largest opposition party in South Africa for the past 19 years, has hammered away on the ANC's failure to deliver Mandela's dream of a prosperous and equal South Africa.

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Its popularity has steadily grown over the years to 22 percent in the last election. During the 2016 local government elections the DA wrested control of the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the administrative capital Pretoria, from the ANC.

For the past decade, the DA has also been in charge of the Western Cape - one of the country's best run provinces.

Plagued by intra-party wrangling, the DA is not expected to move much in numbers at Wednesday's polls, according to latest pre-voting surveys, which give the ANC a victory of up to around 60 percent of the ballots cast.

"This is not a popularity contest. This is about competence. Im merely asking you to employ a government with a proven track record. But let us first prove to you that we can do this job because I know we can. I have no doubt that the DA can turn South Africa around," said Maimane.

"Yes we can!" said Maimane concluding his 40-minute long speech, borrowing former US president Barack Obama's famous campaign slogan.
Paris (AFP) - On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making.

Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe.

It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises.

- Dating back to Napoleon -

Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages.

A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes.

In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation.

Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons".

The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later.

In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build.

Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side.

But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons.

- Bridge or tunnel? -

After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus.

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A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel.

Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option.

It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986.

- Breaking through -

Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain.

AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres.

Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up.

An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk.

Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British.

- Queen and president -

"Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel.

"We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said.

After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent.

Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh.

During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported.

Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey.
Dover (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's "greatest achievements" but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

"I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit," the 70-year-old told AFP. "I don't see that as incompatible."

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community -- the forerunner to the EU -- in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

"We voted for a trade deal," he explained. "I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'."

- 'Little bit overwhelming' -

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

"I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other," Cozette told AFP this week.

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The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

"I don't think it will drive the English and French apart," he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered "it was all a little bit overwhelming" and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

"They had champagne, wine, food," he said. "On our side we had just tea, coffee and water -- and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!"

- 'I had other plans' -

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

"The faster we went, the more money we got," he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

"I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough'," he added.

"I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans."

-'Historical moment' -

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

"It's a great engineering feat," he said. "It's good that people enjoy it."

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

"It was a historical moment," he recollected of his famous handshake.

"The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you."
Sam's Canterbury Cafe. | Photo: Henry F./Yelp

Visiting Tuscany-Canterbury, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this Baltimore neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Mediterranean spot to Hong Kong-style beverages and desserts.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Tuscany-Canterbury, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cypriana Of Roland Park

Photo: cypriana of roland park/Yelp

Topping the list is Mediterranean, vegan and Greek spot Cypriana of Roland Park. Located at 105 W. 39th St., it's the highest rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 126 reviews on Yelp.

This spot, which has operated for nearly three decades, was named one of Baltimore's "hidden gem" restaurants by Open Table in 2017, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. On the menu, look for selections of wood-fired flatbread and small plates of grilled eggplant and stuffed grape leaves.

2. Sam's Canterbury Cafe

Photo: sam's canterbury cafe/Yelp

Next up is cafe and breakfast and brunch spot Sam's Canterbury Cafe, serving coffee, tea and more, situated at 3811 Canterbury Road With 4.5 stars out of 45 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite.

Yelp named this spot one of the top 50 places to eat in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun. On the menu, expect all-day breakfast, along with lunch fare like sandwiches, flatbreads and greens. Look for The Charles, a flatbread topped with mozzarella, burrata, spicy red sauce and basil.

3. TSAOCAA

Photo: Tea T./Yelp

TSAOCAA, a spot to score beverages and desserts, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 4 W. University Parkway, 4.5 stars out of 31 reviews.

With nearly a dozen locations across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Las Vegas and more, this Hong Kong-style tea and dessert shop offers a wide selection of teas, milk bubble beverages, smoothies, milkshakes and more. Look for the hot cheese-infused mango tea.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Photo: iStock

The number of crime incidents in Miami saw an overall increase last week, after a previous decline, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents rose to 443 for the week of April 22, up from 360 the week before.

The specific offenses that increased the most were theft and burglary. Theft rose to 175 incidents last week, from 146 the week before. Burglary went from 21 to 27. Reports of burglary have continued to grow for the last three weeks.

There was also a notable percentage increase in robbery, from eight incidents per week to 12.

There was one reported shooting last week. That represents a steady state from the previous week.

Among the few types of offenses that saw a downturn last week, reports of assault went from 69 to 61.

There were 166 reports of "other" crimes, an increase of 52 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 44 involved arrests, for offenses such as drug possession, up from 28 reported arrests the week before.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, Allapattah, Downtown and Little Havana continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Crime in Liberty City went up the most. Crime reports in Downtown also rose, after declining the week before, and incidents in Allapattah are up considerably as well.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday saw the most crime incidents last week. The largest increase from the previous week occurred on Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday, while incidents on Sunday, Saturday and Thursday went down. Comparing times of day, late afternoon, late morning and evening saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) (AFP) - The Dutch territory of Curacao said Saturday it would do what was needed to prevent measles spreading from a Scientology cruise ship, after a crew member came down with the disease.

The Freewinds, which left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia on Friday, arrived back in its home port of Curacao Saturday.

There were about 300 people aboard the ship, according to Saint Lucia authorities.

The Curacao government said it would "take all necessary precautions to handle the case of measles on board of the Freewinds," including vaccinations.

"An investigation will also be done to determine who will be allowed to leave the ship without (posing) a threat to the population of Curacao," it said in a statement.

The vessel is moored in an area not accessible to the public.

Three health officials had gone aboard to examine passengers, Dutch broadcaster NOS said, quoting its correspondent in Curacao.

Anyone who could prove they had been vaccinated or who had contracted measles in the past would be allowed to leave the ship while the others would have to stay on board, the reporter told NOS.

"It is imperative to make all efforts to prevent a spread of this disease internationally," the Curacao government said.

It said the risk of the disease spreading was relatively low as many people had been already been vaccinated in the past but advised parents to make sure their children were vaccinated.

The Church of Scientology says the 440-foot (134-meter) vessel is used for religious retreats and is normally based in Curacao.

The vessel had arrived in St. Lucia from Curacao on Tuesday, when it was placed under quarantine by health authorities because of a measles patient, said to be a female crew member.

The resurgence of the once-eradicated, highly contagious disease is linked to the growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as a major global health threat.

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The church, founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, did not respond to requests for comment.

Its teachings do not directly oppose vaccination, but followers consider illness a sign of personal failing and generally avoid medical interventions.

The Curacao government is asking people who may have visited the Freewinds between April 22 and 28 to report to health authorities.
Photos: Petfinder

Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of charming rabbits up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Pittsburgh, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect fit.

Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of rabbits available for adoption near you. Read on to meet some friendly locals.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.

Blue Belle, rabbit

Adorable Blue Belle is a female American rabbit being kept at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Blue Belle's compatibility with kids and other pets.

What my friends at Rabbit Wranglers think of me:

Blue is one beautiful, 9 pound ball of "please love me." After six months in a shelter, she decided she needed a break, and really, who can blame her? Blue immediately cheered up in her foster home! She started greeting her foster parents within two days by showing off her bunny dance moves when they would enter the room.

Apply to adopt Blue Belle today at Petfinder.

Lemmy, rabbit

Lemmy is a charming male satin rabbit in the care of Rabbit Wranglers.

Lemmy is looking for a kid-free family.

His vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but he's been neutered.

Notes from Lemmy's friends:

Lemmy is a gorgeous black satin rabbit. He came to Rabbit Wranglers to give him a much-needed break from shelter life and to help him resolve some behavior issues. He is now sweet and calm. He loves to run around and find new hiding places. Hes also big and strong at just over 10 pounds!

Read more about Lemmy on Petfinder.

Remmie, rabbit

Remmie is a female rabbit being cared for at the Humane Animal Rescue.

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Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Remmie is looking for a kid-free forever home.

Remmie's friends say:

Meet our darling girl, Remmie! Remmie is a sweet, shy girl who is learning to come out of her shell and enjoy things. Remmie enjoys playing with toys that she can chew and toss around (especially cardboard boxes, tubes and stuffed animals). While Remmie is a bit unsure about her new environment, give her some time and love and you'll see her blossom into a curious and active girl, ready for adventure.

Read more about Remmie on Petfinder.

Trooper, rabbit

Trooper is a female bunny rabbit mix being cared for at The Foster Farm.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, and she hasn't been spayed yet.

There's no information on Trooper's profile about how she does with children or other animals, so it's worth asking The Foster Farm directly.

Notes from Trooper's caretakers:

Trooper and her siblings were an accidental litter surrendered to us when the owner had to move. She is pretty human friendly, but a quieter bunny and prefers to lounge in the company of another rabbit.

Read more about Trooper on Petfinder.

Harriet, rabbit

Darling Harriet is a female tan rabbit currently housed at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Harriet's compatibility with kids and other pets. Harriet is a special needs pet, so please inquire about her specific care requirements.

Harriet's caretakers say:

Harriet is a very active girl with lots of love to share. She was found roaming free and we suspect that experience has caused her be scared and distrustful. But, once you've earned her trust, she'll gladly join you on the couch for TV binge-watching! One of Harriet's favorite activities is sitting and listening to someone read to her; it calms her down and lulls her to sleep if you are still enough.

Read more about Harriet on Petfinder.

This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Damascus (AFP) - The Syrian government has accused Kurdish leaders of "treason" for organising a conference with allied Arab tribes to plot out the political future of territory under their alliance's control.

The Kurds and their Arab allies control a vast swathe of the north and northeast that makes up around a third of Syrian territory, much of which they captured in the long and costly campaign against the Islamic State group.

Buoyed by its recapture of most of the rest of Syria, Damascus is now demanding that alliance-held areas too return to central government control.

Weakened by the decision of its main ally Washington to withdraw most of its troops following the defeat of the last vestige of IS's "caliphate" in March, the Kurdish-led alliance has opened talks with Damascus.

But its leaders are determined not to accept the negotiated surrender of a "reconciliation agreement" like those imposed by Damascus on various rebel groups, and on Friday convened a conference of Arab tribes to seek their support.

The state SANA news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as accusing organisers of the conference in the alliance-held but mainly Arab town of Ain Issa of "treason".

It claimed that the meeting in a town "held by armed militia dependent on the United States and some European countries" had ended in "failure" as a result of a "boycott by most of the tribes".

"Such gatherings are clear embodiments of the treason of their organisers, whatever their political, ethnic or racial allegiances," the source added.

In his address to Friday's conference, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said that Damascus would need to recognise the authority of the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria as well as the "special status" of the alliance and its role in defending the region against IS.

He said there could be no going back to the situation before the civil war erupted in 2011 when the Kurds were denied any official recognition as a minority that accounts for some 15 percent of the population.

"It is not possible to reach a democratic and pluralistic Syria without full recognition of the rights of Syria's Kurds," he said.

The SDF has been cornered into seeking an accommodation with Damascus by two-pronged pressure from the looming US troop withdrawal and a longstanding threat by Turkey to send troops across the border to end the experiment in self-rule by Kurdish forces it regards as "terrorists".
By Elisabeth O'Leary ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises. The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen. On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands. Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. "I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives. "We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen. Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum. But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall. At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support. POLL RATINGS In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls. Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters: "I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said. Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister. But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster. In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood. "It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done". (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
Today marks the anniversary of an important Supreme Court case that helped to end the Hollywood studio system and fuel a young television industry in the late 1940s.

Hollywoods greatest drama took place over two decades in a fight that featured movie barons, President Franklin Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, and the United States Supreme Court.

In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The major studios had a near-monopoly on the movie business in the United States. Each studio had exclusive contracts with actors and directors; owned the theaters where their movies played; worked with each other to control how movies were shown in independent theaters; and, in some cases, owned the companies that processed the film.

The system of vertical integration was expensive to maintain, but it was lucrative when the movie business was booming.

Independent movie makers and theater owners started taking legal action decades before the 1948 Supreme Court ruling.

The website Hollywood Renegades Archive has a detailed history of the 27-year fight that pitted movie titans like Adolph Zukor and Jesse Laskey against the Justice Department in the 1920s.

The Justice Department won the first round of the fight in 1930, when the Supreme Court ruled that the movies studios were monopolies. A key finding was that the process of block booking was illegal. In block booking, studios forced theaters to buy films as a group well in advance, and often without seeing them.

But the studios, after some legal delays, found an ear with incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Claiming that the movie business was in dire straits during the Depression, the studios asked President Roosevelt to stop the forced breakup of the monopolies. After all, the nation needed movies as a relief from troubled times.

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Roosevelt used the National Industrial Recovery Act to justify a delay. But the Supreme Court threw out the Recovery Act in 1935, and in 1938, the Justice Department filed a new lawsuit against the studios.

Again, the studios found a way out of losing their monopolies. In 1940, they reached a deal with the Justice Department in a consent decree. During a three-year trial, the studios could keep their movies theaters, but block booking was regulated and theater owners had a chance to see movies before they bought them.

The decision enraged independent producers like Disney, Chaplin, David Selznick, Mary Pickford, and Orson Welles. They organized as a group, even though some would be defendants in the case because of their roles in United Artists, a studio that only distributed films.

The Justice Department, with the support of the independent producers, renewed the case in 1946. A federal district court in New York eliminated the studios ability to sell blocks of films, but it also let the studios keep their movie theaters.

Both sides appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In its 1948 ruling, the court effectively dismantled the Hollywood studio system.

In an opinion from Justice William O. Douglas, the court killed the block booking system, and recommended the breakup of the studio-theater monopolies. The justices asked the lower court to decide the issue of selling the theaters.

As the movie studios regrouped for another fight in the lower courts or another deal with the Justice Department, their unity in the case cracked. Maverick studio owner Howard Hughes of RKO Pictures decided to sell his movie theaters.

The Justice Department made it clear that no deals were coming, and then the biggest studio, Paramount, sold its movies theaters. Its involvement in the antitrust case blocked its ability to buy into a new fad called television. The battle was over.

In the end, the Paramount case greatly fueled the growth of television, in addition to changing the movie business. RKO and other studios sold their film libraries to television stations to offset the losses from the Paramount case. The studios also released actors from contracts who became the new stars of the television world.

The audience for television grew tremendously as people stopped going to movie theaters. In 1948, about 90 million people were regular moviegoers. By 1958, that number fell to 46 million people. The audience for television grew to 204 million people in 1958.

Scott Bomboy is editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.
Denver-based travel app company Pana has secured $10 million in Series A funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced April 29 and led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Pana is on a mission to make travel simple, personal and delightful. From an app, they make booking travel as easy as texting a friend, provide white-glove care for the highs and lows of travel and offer best travel perks, rewards and experiences."

The fo-year-old startup has raised four previous funding rounds, including a seed round in 2016.

The round brings total funding raised by Denver companies in commerce and shopping over the past 90 days to $35 million. The local commerce and shopping industry has produced 11 funding rounds over the past year, capturing a total of $81 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, risk management company Insurdata announced a $3 million seed funding round on April 15, led by Anthemis Group.

According to Crunchbase, "Insurdata provides insurance and reinsurance underwriters property-specific data to support their pricing, underwriting and portfolio management decisions. The firm specializes in high-resolution, peril-specific exposures and building-level risk data, using technology that includes mobile augmented reality and 3-D model creation, providing both desktop and mobile products."

The company also raised a $1 million seed round in 2017.

This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Catenae Innovation Plc (LON:CTEA) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 91%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 52% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 39% in the last three months.

We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Check out our latest analysis for Catenae Innovation

Catenae Innovation recorded just UK15,851 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). Investors will be hoping that Catenae Innovation can make progress and gain better traction for the business, before it runs low on cash.

Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. Catenae Innovation has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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Our data indicates that Catenae Innovation had net debt of UK863,835 when it last reported in March 2018. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But with the share price diving 39% per year, over 5 years, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. The image below shows how Catenae Innovation's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CTEA Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Catenae Innovation had a tough year, with a total loss of 52%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 39% over the last half decade. 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. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (HKG:2343), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Basin Shipping

Pacific Basin Shipping Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Mats Berglund, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$1.9m worth of shares at a price of HK$1.85 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of HK$1.62. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive). Mats Berglund was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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SEHK:2343 Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.8% of Pacific Basin Shipping shares, worth about HK$56m, according to our data. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Pacific Basin Shipping Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Pacific Basin Shipping shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Pacific Basin Shipping insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Pacific Basin Shipping.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Shaw Communications Inc.'s (TSE:SJR.B) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Shaw Communications has a P/E ratio of 29.87. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying CA$29.87 for every CA$1 in prior year profit.

View our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

How Do You Calculate Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Shaw Communications:

P/E of 29.87 = CA$26.92  CA$0.90 (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Shaw Communications's 81% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 12% per year over 5 years.

How Does Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below, Shaw Communications has a higher P/E than the average company (23.2) in the media industry.

TSX:SJR.B Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

That means that the market expects Shaw Communications will outperform other companies in its industry. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Shaw Communications's Balance Sheet

Shaw Communications's net debt equates to 29% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio

Shaw Communications trades on a P/E ratio of 29.9, which is above the CA market average of 14.4. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and its EPS growth is very healthy indeed. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: Shaw Communications may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides again faltered.

Israel said around 50 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defence systems intercepted dozens of them.

The army said it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response.

A Gazan security source said later that a series of Israeli strikes hit at least three separate areas of the Gaza Strip and that three "resistance fighters" were wounded.

It was not yet clear if there were casualties on the Israeli side.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.
Doha (AFP) - The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

- 'Failed strategies' -

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

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Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the opposition's local election victory in Istanbul to be declared invalid and the vote re-run, increasing the pressure on the country's electoral authorities.

"Clearly, there were irregularities and corruption," Erdogan said in a speech at a business leaders' meeting.

"If the Supreme Electoral Council could dissipate all this, that would ease the conscience of our fellow citizens," he added.

The electoral body, the YSK, is due to meet on Monday to examine a request by Erdogan's AKP party to cancel the result of the March 31 local elections which the party lost in Istanbul, where the main opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu won the mayoral race by a tight margin.

Several partial recounts have so far supported the initial results in both Ankara and Istanbul, with the main opposition CHP party calling Erdogan a "bad loser" willing to do anything to hold on to power in the country's economic capital.

Observers attribute the electoral setbacks to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to voter discontent over Turkey's ongoing economic troubles.

Refusing to concede the Istanbul result, Erdogan denounced "massive irregularities", and his party accused voting officials of under-reporting votes cast in favour of its candidate.

"My fellow citizens say to me: 'My president, there must be a re-run of this election'," Erdogan said. "Come and let's go before the people and we will accept what the people's wish dictates."

Istanbul prosecutors on Thursday said they had opened around 30 probes into the vote, and over 100 voting booth managers had been summoned for questioning.

In comments later Saturday Imamoglu urged the electoral council to "take a decision based on the law and justice,".

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told Erdogan to "stop putting pressure on the YSK".

"There were no irregularities, no abuse," he insisted.

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Istanbul (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fiercely denounced Israel for the bombing of a building housing Turkey's state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

"We strongly condemn Israel's attack against Anadolu Agencys office in Gaza," Erdogan said on Twitter.

"Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks," he wrote.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff were evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: "Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israel's unrestrained aggression.

"Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is Anaa crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone," he said.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a "tyrant" after Netanyahu called him a "dictator" and a "joke".
BAMAKO, May 4 (Reuters) - At least 18 civilians were killed in two related attacks this week in central Mali, the United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission said on Saturday, as the death toll from fighting between local hunters and herders continues to climb.

MINUSMA did not identify the assailants in the attacks on a Dogon ethnic community in the Mopti region.

The region has been engulfed in a conflict between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders that killed hundreds of civilians in 2018 and is spreading across the Sahel, the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa's savannas to the south.

MINUSMA said a number of Dogons were killed in an ambush on Wednesday, while other members of the same community were killed on Thursday as they tried to retrieve the bodies from the previous day's attack. One Fulani civilian was also killed, it said.

"The U.N. urges the authorities to redouble efforts to stop this cycle of intercommunal violence, whose recurrence is very worrying in an already alarming security context," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said in a statement.

The Malian authorities have come under fire for failing to disarm militias or beat back Islamist insurgents, who have been capitalizing on the spiraling communal conflicts to recruit new members and extend their reach in the Sahel.

This week's attacks follow a March massacre of at least 157 Fulani villagers in Mopti, in what was seen as one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the region in living memory.

The escalating violence led to the resignation in April of the entire Malian government.

The largely Saharan nation has been in turmoil since Tuaregs and allied jihadists took control of more than half the country in a rebellion in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year. (Reporting by Souleymane Ag Anara; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - The United States' allies in Europe have criticized its recent decisions to restrict oil trade with Iran and to limit the extension of waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects.

"We ... take note with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran," Britain's foreign office said in a joint statement with its German and French counterparts and the European Union.

"We also note with concern the decision by the United States not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects," Britain's foreign office added.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Last week, the United States said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Brussels (AFP) - EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union.

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement.

"In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights".

On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September.

According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.

Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights".

In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources.

Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move.

"This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said.

It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation".

The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration.

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Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February.

The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara.

European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling.

Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island.

In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships.

Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.

The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed.

Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern".

In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law.

Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Reacting to President Trumps over hour-long Friday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said he didnt press Putin on meddling in the 2020 presidential election, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi claimed that POTUS had given the Russian leader the green light to interfere again.

Speaking at the White House shortly after the call, the president said that Putin sort of smiled when they talked about the Mueller Report, adding that the Russian leader said it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. The Mueller Report, while finding no chargeable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, found Russia engaged in sweeping interference during the 2016 election.

During Fridays Deadline: White House, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Figliuzzi what jumped out at him about the phone call, noting that Trump and Putin share a personal relationship, and she hasnt heard Trump describe a foreign leader smiling since he was president.

Its troubling to think the president is finding comfort in our adversary, Figliuzzi, an MSNBC national security analyst, replied. And our nations adversary is actually now his buddy. Hes finding self-affirmation in someone who gets up every morning trying to hurt our country.

The former FBI official pointed out that Trump should have told Putin that the Mueller Report contained troubling information about Russias attempts to mess with our democracy and that hed receive the wrath of American sanctions if it happened again.

Wallace went on to ask about Trump discussing the Mueller Reports conclusions with Putin, wondering what he thought about a president talking to a U.S. adversary who attacked our democracy and theyre sharing some sort of commonality about its result?

After stating that Trump is once again mixing up collusion with criminal conspiracy and that Mueller didnt actually look at the matter of collusion, Figliuzzi said the president was welcoming further meddling by the Russians.

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With regard to continued relations and cozying up to Putin, Putin has the green light now, he declared before referencing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen describing Trump as having a mob boss mentality.

And the lack of pushing back by this government and by the president has got to be giving Putin the green light to do it again, Figliuzzi added. Do it again. Help us out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Zendo. | Photo: Mario C./Yelp

Spending time in downtown Albuquerque? Get to know this Albuquerque neighborhood by browsing its most popular spots for food and drinks, from a restaurant featuring New Mexican cuisine to a tapas bar.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit downtown, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cocina Azul

Photo: diana s./Yelp

New Mexican spot Cocina Azul, situated at 1134 Mountain Road NW, has proven to be a local favorite, with 4.5 stars out of 1,088 reviews on Yelp.

2. The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine

Photo: adrienne a./Yelp

Bar and Spanish spot The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine, which offers tapas and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW, 4.5 stars out of 229 reviews.

3. Slow Roasted Bocadillos

Photo: Carol R./yelp

Slow Roasted Bocadillos, a sandwich shop that offers sandwiches, tacos and more, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with five stars out of 58 Yelp reviews. Head over to 200 Lomas Blvd. NW, Suite 110 to see for yourself.

4. Zendo

photo: alice w./yelp

Check out Zendo, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 185 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score coffee, tea and more at 413 Second St. SW.

5. Cafe Lush

Photo: michael c./Yelp

Finally, there's Cafe Lush, a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 150 reviews. Stop by 700 Tijeras Ave. NW to hit up the cafe and New American spot next time you're in the neighborhood.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Havana (AFP) - US giant ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against Cuba's state-owned oil company and a major business group for what it called "unlawful trafficking" of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeks $280 million from Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and Cimex, which operates service stations on the island nation.

The lawsuit from America's biggest oil producer came as the administration of US President Donald Trump lifted the suspension of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

The provision allows anyone whose assets were seized after the revolution to sue Cuban individuals and businesses profiting from the former holdings.

It had been suspended by all previous US presidents to avoid causing friction with allies, some of whom view it as overstepping American jurisdiction.

Exxon said in the suit it was seeking compensation "for property that was expropriated by the Fidel Castro regime in 1960, including oil refineries and service stations, which are still in use today even though Plaintiff has never received any compensation for this property."

Exxon is one of the companies born out of the now-defunct Standard Oil, whose refinery in Havana was one of the first American entities nationalized by Castro.

The refinery is currently operated by Cupet.

Exxon merged with Mobil in 1988.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliament's Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian party's rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: "Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us."

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: "There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity."
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
TRIPOLI, May 4 (Reuters) - Recent fighting in southern Tripoli in Libya has killed 187 people and wounded 1,157, a spokesman for the ministry of health said on Saturday.

The government has also transferred a number of wounded to Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Ukraine for medical treatment, said Tarek al-Hamshiri, the head of the government forces' Field Medical Centre.

The offensive launched by eastern Libya-based military commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli is now in its fifth week.

The U.N.-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli issued a statement earlier on Saturday recognizing 710 fighters killed in Libya's civil war in 2014 as "martyrs," in a move a Tripoli government source said was aimed at winning the backing of forces in nearby Zintan in the fight against Haftar.

"The GNA took this step in a bid to get support from the mountain town of Zintan to strengthen its forces in confronting the eastern forces deployed by military commander Khalifa Haftar," the government source said. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Miami (AFP) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

The issue is an especially sensitive one in

Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

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The issue is an especially sensitive one in a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.

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a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.
File image of jail cell (Photo: Getty Images)

After a mentally ill Florida woman was allegedly left alone to give birth in her jail cell, advocates are pushing for a full review of medical and isolation practices.

In a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Friday, Public Defender Howard Finkelstein expressed outrage over his 34-year-old pregnant client, who was left alone in a jail cell for almost seven hours, despite asking for assistance. She eventually gave birth alone, the Associated Press reports.

I am incensed and heartbroken after learning that a mentally ill client was forced to deliver her child alone in a jail cell, Finkelstein writes.

According to Finkelstein, his client complained of contractions and bleeding. However, jail staff, who were fully aware that his client was pregnant, only attempted to contact an on-call doctor, instead of taking her to a hospital. The doctor said he would check on the inmate when he arrived at the jail.

Six hours and 54 minutes after asking for help, a BSO (Broward Sheriffs Office) tech notified medical staff that Ms. Jackson was holding her newborn baby in her arms, having delivered her baby without medication or the assistance of a physician, the letter reads. She was forced to deliver her baby alone.

In her time of extreme need and vulnerability, BSO neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve. Not only was Ms. Jacksons health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk, Finkelstein continued.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, 1396 pregnant women were admitted to prisons from 2016 to 2017. 92 percent of outcomes resulted in 753 live births, while there was also 46 miscarriages (6%), 11 abortions (1%), 4 stillbirths (0.5%), 3 newborn deaths, and no maternal deaths. Of the 753 live births, 30% were cesarean deliveries, and 6% were preterm.

It continues by saying that three quarters of incarcerated women are between the ages of 18 and 44, which is considered to be childbearing age. Two thirds are mothers and the primary caregivers to young children.

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The study concludes that those in positions of power should work to optimize health outcomes for incarcerated pregnant women and their newborns, whose health has broad sociopolitical implications.

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Washington (AFP) - Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a firm that operates centers for housing unaccompanied migrant children, US media reported Friday, prompting a storm of criticism from Democrats.

The ex-Marine general -- who as Homeland Security secretary proposed the controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents -- joined Caliburn International four months after leaving the White House.

"General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Caliburn International CEO James Van Dusen in a statement cited by various US outlets.

Democrats including 2020 presidential hopefuls accused Kelly of profiting from policies he had supervised during his stint in President Donald Trump's administration.

"John Kelly oversaw many of the Trump Admin's most morally repugnant immigration policies," tweeted Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Now he could be making big bucks serving on the Board of a company that's profiting from the same cruel plans he put in place. This is corruption at its absolute worst."

Senator Cory Booker, another Democrat candidate, tweeted: "Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting."

Caliburn is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, a private firm that has been given contracts by US Customs and Border Protection.

It runs Homestead, a temporary facility for housing unaccompanied migrant children, in Florida.

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.

During his stint as Trump's Homeland Security secretary, Kelly said would consider separating migrant children from their parents and would "do almost anything to deter the people from Central America" getting into the US via the Mexico border.

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He later became White House chief of staff, before his relationship with the president reportedly deteriorated.

In December last year, shortly before leaving the White House, Kelly said he had "nothing but compassion" for undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

"Illegal immigrants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people.... I have nothing but compassion for them, the young kids," Kelly told the LA Times, adding that many had been manipulated by traffickers.
Paris (AFP) - French investigators are looking at several videos that appear to show police violence during May Day demonstrations in Paris, including one showing an officer push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man.

The man attacked with a telescopic truncheon had been plucked from a crowd of protesters, many of whom were chanting "everyone hates the police".

Paris police chiefs have asked the IGPN, the body that investigates police abuses, to investigate the incident, which happened when the arrested man was pinned down by other officers.

They are also looking at two other incidents caught on video.

One shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester while the second shows another officer hurling a paving stone at protesters.

On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told journalists: "If someone is at fault, there will be a sanction, legal and administrative sanctions."

The traditional May Day workers' march took place in an already tense atmosphere, given the weekly "yellow vest" protests in Paris and other French cities over the past six months.

Clashes occurred even before the march got underway and continued throughout the day.

For months, yellow vest activists have accused the police of heavy-handed repression of their right to assemble and protest, in particular the use of rubber bullet launchers that have seriously injured dozens of people.
Paris (AFP) - Film stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart joined hundreds of people from the arts world in backing France's "yellow vests" movement, as the latest anti-government marches took place Saturday.

Binoche and Beart joined more than 1,400 signatories to an open letter published in the left-leaning daily Liberation.

Entitled "Yellow Vests: we are not fooled!", it denounced what it said were attempts to discredit the movement.

It also backed the demands of the protesters, which it said included calls for greater social and fiscal justice, and radical measures to tackle what they called an ecological emergency.

The open letter condemned what it said were the increasingly repressive measures taken against the movement, noting that international organisations such as United Nations and the European Union had already expressed their concern.

Binoche and Beart were among the most prominent signatories, which also included directors, scriptwriters and composers. Binoche won an Oscar for her role in "The English Patient" while Beart is perhaps best known internationally for her role in the first "Mission Impossible" film.

Official estimates suggested that turnout for Saturday's marches was down, in the wake of the May Day rallies when yellow vest activists joined the traditional trade union march.

The interior ministry said 18,900 people demonstrated across France, 1,460 of them in Paris -- well down on their count for the previous weekend, when they said 23,600 turned up across the country.

The yellow vest organisers, who regularly dismiss the accuracy of the official count, put the turnout across France on Saturday at 40,291.

The day's marches were relatively calm, with only a handful of arrests and eight people detained in Paris.

In the southwest city of Bordeaux, where support for the movement has been strong, 61-year-old teaching assistant Jose acknowledged that the movement was running out of steam a little.

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"That's 25 weeks that we have put our life on hold for a bit to at least get back a minimum of dignity," he said.

- Police violence probe -

At Charles de Gaulle airport, meanwhile, around 20 yellow vest protesters handed out leaflets objecting to government plans to privatise Aeroports de Paris (ADP), which runs the capital's three airports.

Saturday's protests come just days after Wednesday's May Day protests, and the fallout over the violence was still being discussed.

The IGPN, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is looking at three incidents caught on video that appear to show police violence against May Day protesters.

In one, an officer appears to push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man. Another shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester, while a third shows another officer hurling a paving stone.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday that if anyone was at fault they would be punished.

But he is under pressure himself after acknowledging Friday that he had been wrong to call an incident at the Paris Pitie-Salpetriere hospital an "attack".

Video footage and accounts from hospital staff and demonstrators suggest that protesters had been fleeing riot police.

And on Saturday, more than 30 people arrested inside the hospital grounds held a news conference to say that all they had done was "flee the ultra-violent police".

Several placards at Saturday's demonstrations denounced Castaner as a "liar".

In the northwestern city of Metz, meanwhile, yellow vest protesters and ecologists joined forces in a march ahead of a meeting there of G7 environment ministers on Sunday and Monday.

Police said 3,000 people turned out for the march, while the organisers -- an alliance of around 40 environmental and grass-roots groups -- put the figure at between 4,500 and 5,000.
JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes.

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli forces in the often violent weekly demonstrations at the Gaza-Israel border.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March set off a burst of intense fighting, have been working to prevent any further escalation.

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Al-Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

Some two million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people. Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky. The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities. The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military. Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan. The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. "The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike. "According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel. TRUCE EFFORTS Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo. In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza. Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. "Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts. The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks. "The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza." "The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant. Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
Berlin (AFP) - German police have shut down one of the world's largest illegal online markets in the so-called darkweb and arrested the three men allegedly running it, prosecutors said Friday.

The "Wall Street Market" (WSM) site enabled trade in cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines as well as stolen data, fake documents and malicious software.

The encrypted platform had more than one million customer accounts, over 5,000 registered sellers and more than 60,000 sales offers, according to Frankfurt prosecutors and affidavits filed by US prosecutors in federal court in Los Angeles.

"WSM operated like a conventional e-commerce website, such as eBay and Amazon. However, its sole existence was geared to the trafficking of contraband," US prosecutors said.

Three German administrators of WSM were arrested, while a fourth man -- a Brazilian who acted as an online mediator for the website -- was being pursued in Brazil.

In addition, two people US prosecutors said were top WSM vendors and major drug dealers operating out of Los Angeles were also arrested in an international operation that involved Europol, German and Dutch police and the FBI.

Launched in 2016, WSM grew over the past three years to be the largest darknet site after the 2017 shutdown of the notorious AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces.

The site was accessed through the encrypted Tor network to shield customers from detection and transactions were made with crypto currencies Bitcoin and Monero.

It offered interfaces in six languages -- English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian -- and numerous separate categories for merchandise, including drugs, jewelry, equipment and support for credit card fraud, software and malware, among others.

One vendor category was simply called "fraud," according to the court filings.

Like legal online marketplaces, buyers could search by product, product popularity, vendor ratings, payment type and price.

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The operators allegedly received commissions of two to six percent of the sales value.

The police operation started after Finnish authorities shut down the illegal Tor trade site Silkkitie (Valhalla) earlier this year, said Europol.

This had led some Finnish narcotics traders to move to WSM.

In April, the WSM administrators were apparently alarmed at the sudden surge of customers and, the court documents said, enacted an exit plan that involved freezing the escrow accounts and customer wallets and taking all the virtual currency held in them at the time -- estimated at $11 million.

That spurred investigators to act and on April 23 and 24 they arrested the three German suspects, aged 22 to 31, in the states of Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

They also seized servers, over 550,000 euros (about $600,000) in cash, and hundreds of Bitcoin and Monero, as well as several vehicles and a gun.

In the United States, an investigation in Los Angeles led to the arrests of two of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics, and the seizure of illegal weapons as well as millions of dollars in cash, said German authorities.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) are becoming unelectable after the head of their youth wing JUSOS called for companies such as BMW to be collectively owned, works council chiefs have warned. JUSOS chief Kevin Kuehnert, 29, unleashed a storm of protest, including from party allies, this week when he said that "without collectivization, overcoming capitalism is not thinkable", citing BMW specifically. The uproar took on a new dimension with the publication on Saturday of comments from works council chiefs, traditionally among the party's biggest supporters, who said the SPD was alienating itself from workers. "For workers at German companies, this SPD is no longer electable," Manfred Schoch, head of the general works council at BMW, told WirtschaftsWoche magazine. Works councils are elected bodies dealing with management on issues such as working conditions and are a particular feature of Germany's post-war economic success. Kuehnert's vision for some evokes memories of Communist East Germany. The backlash threatens to further erode support for the SPD, junior partner in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. The SPD is languishing in polls and risks heavy losses in European and regional elections later this month. The party may even lose power in Bremen, a city state they have ruled for 73 years, in a May 26 vote. Kuehnert, who opposed going into coalition with Merkel's conservatives, appeals to those on the left of the party but less so to the centrists and floating voters it needs to increase its overall vote share. Mass-selling daily Bild splashed the backlash on page one of its Saturday edition and quoted the head of Daimler's works council Michael Brecht as saying: "I share the view that it is becoming ever hard for workers to vote for the SPD." Brecht pressed the SPD to work out quickly what it wants to stand for: "For secure jobs and a sustainable industry policy, or for fantasies far from reality that in the end only cost jobs and increase social inequality." Bild also quoted the former head of Porsche's works council, Uwe Hueck, an SPD member since 1982, as saying the party was still electable but adding that Kuehnert's comments were absolute nonsense that could be excused by his age. "If he had witnessed the GDR himself, then he would not say something like that," Hueck said with reference to former Communist East Germany. SPD leader Andrea Nahles told the paper: "Workers can feel assured: The SPD is not demanding nationalization. Every day, we pursue policies for good work, high collective wage agreements and secure pensions - all in line with the works councils." (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by David Holmes)
LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labour's customs union proposal was a long-term solution. "The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered," he told the Press Association news agency. "If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal)." (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
Lizzie Deignan found the going tough on home roads

Lizzie Deignan admitted the conditions on the second and final stage of the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Womens Race had pushed her to the limit.

The Otley-born former world champion was pretty much a spent force after trying to keep track of stage and GC winner Marianne Vos as the race entered a crucial stage.

And she was honest enough to admit the gruelling conditions had left her making the wrong tactical moves when it mattered most.

She said: I probably wasnt in the best tactical moves today but I was on the limit physically so I wasnt making the most intelligent decisions but I had a good race.

Marianne is a phenomenal rider. She was there with me in the breakaway and was probably a lot smarter than I was. She saved herself and wasnt pulling through when we made that first move.

An oil spill before the first climb at Cote de Silpho meant the race was briefly neutralised and the womens peloton were diverted around.

Anna van der Breggen blew the race apart shortly after and after she was reeled back in, Mavia Garcia tried her luck before she was joined by Vos and Italian rider Soraya Paladin.

The trio never really looked like letting anyone else have a look in and finished the stage with a three-up sprint more than a minute ahead of Christine Majerus and Amanda Spratt who battled it out for fourth.

Despite not quite having the legs to be prominent in the finish of either stage former Tour de Yorkshire winner Deignan, racing for the first time in Britain since the birth of her daughter Orla in September, said she was pleased with her progress.

She said: I think my progression has been really good and Im really happy with the team and my personal progress has been good.

My legs were good and then bad and then good. I went through all kinds of emotions. But I think the main point for me was that at the pinch points there on the climbs when it really mattered I was able to follow the best in the world, so I know Ive still got a lot of improvement to make but Im happy with my progress.

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Deignan, who finished the stage three minutes 54 seconds behind Vos, didnt leave the race empty-handed though.

She won the public vote for the grey jersey given to the most active rider.

And the 30-year-old was quick to thank the thousands of fans who braved the horrendous conditions to line the route despite the dreadful weather conditions.

She said: I think the whole womens peloton is incredibly grateful for the support weve received. Its been a real top class race.

Hannah Barnes of Canyon-SRAM was the top-placed Brit in eighth with Biglas Lizzy Banks 20 seconds behind her in ninth.

Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk/tdy
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MyState Limited (ASX:MYS) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 6.8% makes it one of the market's top dividend payer. In the past ten years, MyState has also grown its dividend from A$0.10 to A$0.29. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for MyState for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio.

See our latest analysis for MyState

What Is A Dividend Rock Star?

It is a stock that pays a stable and consistent dividend, having done so reliably for the past decade with the expectation of this continuing into the future. More specifically:

Its annual yield is among the top 25% of dividend payers

It consistently pays out dividend without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout

Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past

It is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings

It is able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future

High Yield And Dependable

The company's dividend yield stands at 6.8%, which is high for Mortgage stocks. But the real reason MyState stands out is because it has a proven track record of continuously paying out this level of dividends, from earnings, to shareholders and can be expected to continue paying in the future. This is a highly desirable trait for a stock holding if you're investor who wants a robust cash inflow from your portfolio over a long period of time.

ASX:MYS Historical Dividend Yield, May 3rd 2019

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. In the case of MYS it has increased its DPS from A$0.10 to A$0.29 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.

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The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 86%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a payout ratio of 88% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 7.1%. In addition to this, EPS should increase to A$0.34.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

Next Steps:

Investors of MyState can continue to expect strong dividends from the stock. With its favorable dividend characteristics, if high income generation is still the goal for your portfolio, then MyState is one worth keeping around. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I've compiled three important aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MYSs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MYSs outlook. Valuation: What is MYS worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MYS is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The uprising marked the first time soldiers had become directly involved in the bid to remove Nicolas Maduro - AFP

Juan Guaido and his advisers were perhaps too impatient in their keenness to force out Nicolas Maduro, according to the only man to have ever ousted the Chavista rulers of Venezuela.

Pedro Carmona, now 77, toppled Hugo Chavez in a 2002 uprising whose anniversary was marked across Venezuela last month. He was sworn in as interim leader inside the Miraflores presidential palace and ruled the country for 48 hours, before supporters in the military rallied round Chavez and restored him to power.

Mr Carmona, in his first ever interview with a British newspaper, said that the uprising launched on Tuesday was disappointing, risky, and should have been better planned.

Five people have been killed in a week of protests, yet Mr Maduro has held on, despite this being Mr Guaido's most serious push to oust him since declaring himself the constitutionally-legitimate interim president on January 23.

Its hard to opine from outside, said Mr Carmona, who has lived in exile in Bogota since his failed rebellion. But it looks like they could have given advance warning of some actions. They could have planned better. It seems like they should have had some more things in place. It was risky.

Mr Guaido released a video on Twitter, calling on more soldiers to join him in Credit: EPA-EFE/REX

Despite its failure, however, it was a stunning gambit on the part of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader. Venezuelans woke up to a dawn video message from Mr Guaido, flanked by dozens of troops, stationed just outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas, announcing the start of "Operation Freedom". By his side stood Leopoldo Lopez, the long time opposition leader, freed from house arrest by members of the state intelligence service, Sebin.

Across Venezuela, protesters heeded Mr Guaido's call, pouring on to the streets. Most of the military, however, heeded Mr Maduro's, and succeeded in putting down the rebellion. But while the state was able to reassert its grip, the fracture within the armed forces was left in evidence; at one point, the gates to the La Carlota base opened, allowing in anti-government protesters.

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While Mr Guaido has since acknowledged that he did not have enough military support for a definitive break, last weeks events saw Mr Maduro come closer to losing his hold on the nation than ever before. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, even said that Mr Maduro had an aeroplane waiting for him on the tarmac, destined for Cuba, but was convinced to hang on by Russian advisers.

Rebelling forces identified themselves with blue armbands Credit: Yuri Cortez/AFP

In Venezuela, its never just the opposition at work  its international geopolitical forces, and armed gangs, Mr Carmona said. Last week the Russian ambassador was acting like a military spokesman, reassuring the nation that everything was fine in the country.

Its a disgrace that the Russian government supports Maduros genocidal regime.

Mr Carmona sees clear parallels with his own attempted uprising 17 years ago, which was preceded by street protests similar to those occurring now. Fourteen people died in the violence and a group of soldiers, angered at the civilian bloodshed, conspired to remove Chavez. Mr Carmona, the president of the chamber of commerce (Fedecamaras), was chosen as interim president.

On April 11, 2002, the military swung into action, and arrested Chavez, taking him to the national army headquarters, Fuerte Tiuna. Chavez accepted an offer of asylum from Fidel Castro, but was prevented from leaving by coup leaders who wanted him tried in Venezuela - a mistake which was to prove fatal to their plot. Pro-Chavez soldiers then came to his defence, and on April 13, at 4:40am, he addressed the nation from inside Miraflores, president once again.

John Bolton pointed to three members of Mr Maduro's inner circle as being involved in the plan to remove him Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX

Recently declassified documents have shown that the US - as well as Spain - were strongly supporting Mr Carmona behind the scenes  he, however, insisted to The Telegraph that he never spoke to any US agent or official either before or during the coup.

This time around, Donald Trump's administration has been open about its role. Speaking amid the uprising, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, claimed Mr Maduro had been betrayed by three of those closest to him: the supreme court president , the head of the presidential guard, and, crucially, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister. The next day, Elliot Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, said that those who had been negotiating Mr Maduro's departure had "switched off their cellphones".

The Sebin intelligence chief, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, was also allegedly on board - and indeed was fired by Mr Maduro the day of the uprising; he himself released a letter admitting knowledge of, if not complicity in, the plot, before apparently fleeing the country.

On Thursday, Mr Maduro addressed troops with Gen. Lopez by his side, insisting he was in control of the military Credit: Jhonn Zerpa/Miraflores Press Office

Gen. Lopez, meanwhile, later appeared to confirm the Americans had contacted him, telling troops on Thursday there were those who approached him with a "ridiculous offer" who then went "shooting their mouths off". Whether he rejected the offer, double-crossed the US or reversed course as failure loomed isn't clear.

Leopoldo Lopez, meanwhile, also claimed on Thursday that senior military figures had committed themselves to ousting Mr Maduro. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he insisted.

Mr Carmona, however, believes the uprising has brought the end of Mr Maduro's reign closer.

Guaido did make advances last week  it wasnt a total failure," he said. "He weakened the resolve of many soldiers. He freed Leopoldo Lopez from house arrest. He reiterated international support. Its a process of steps. Now he is moving to a strike. And history has shown us that dictatorships in Latin America often fall with general strikes.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Southern District of New York Court.

Matthew Herricks high-profile legal case against Grindr had all the ingredients of a salacious story about the unintended victims of the internet until late March, when a federal appeals court ruled against his case proceeding. Although his lawyers are seeking a rehearing, for now its looking like Herrick may never get his day in court, and its business as usual at the gay hookup site that is used by millions of people worldwide.

In a message to Yahoo News, Herrick said he was heartbroken upon learning of the decision.

I find it reprehensible that a company that knew the horror I experienced from their platform for an entire year has no responsibility to step in or take any accountability, Herrick wrote. This wasnt simply harassment. This was a full-fledged attack on my life.

Herrick, an aspiring actor living in New York City, had his life upended when an ex-boyfriend turned to Grindr to torment him between October 2016 and March 2017. The ex set up fake profiles impersonating Herrick, using his photo, allegedly directing would-be hookups to his real address. The profiles were intended to attract men who were into deviant, hard-core sex, and in the profile description were code words for drugs, unprotected sex and bondage. The fake profiles also falsely claimed Herrick was HIV-positive.

What happened from there was described in court papers as a nightmare for Herrick. Strangers would show up at his home and workplace, directed there, he alleges, by Grindrs geolocation features, which allow men to meet other men in their vicinity. Herrick would try to explain to the men that the profiles were impersonations, but because the lewd enticements in the fake profiles included rape fantasies, some of the men thought Herrick was role playing, and refused to leave, aggressively demanding sex, sometimes violently.

Evidence in the Grinder v. Herrick court case. (Photos: Southern District of New York court)

Herricks bitter ex had apparently got what he wanted: revenge. Although the ex was arrested and charged with stalking and other felonies in October 2017 (he remains in custody awaiting trial), Herrick believed that Grindr should also be held responsible for his ordeal. He had complained to the company numerous times, filed more than a dozen police reports and even got a temporary restraining order issued against Grindr, but his complaint says the company failed to take action and the unwanted solicitations continued. Herrick, the complaint said, experienced grave emotional distress and trauma because Grindrs products and services marshaled an endless stream of horny and violent strangers into his life.

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For its part, legal filings by the companys attorneys claim Grindr rigorously worked to try to stop the alleged impersonation...and identified and deleted numerous accounts. But its central defense was that it couldnt be held responsible for content posted on its site by a third party. It was invoking a powerful statute that has long protected online platforms from being sued  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Grindr, like Facebook, Reddit, Yelp or other online platforms that do not produce their own content, are generally immunized from lawsuits such as Herricks. Section 230 was intended to encourage freedom of expression online, but it leaves victims like Herrick without much legal recourse against powerful Internet companies. The dismissal of Herrick v. Grindr by the Second Circuit was yet another affirmation of the laws broad protections for companies like Grindr.

The weaponization of products has become a major issue with no legal recourse to the ones it harms, Herrick wrote in his reply.

Im on a f***ing crusade against Section 230, Carrie Goldberg, Herricks attorney, told Yahoo News. Goldberg is owner of a law firm specializing in defending abuse and harassment victims, and author of the forthcoming book Nobodys Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls.

It was never supposed to give the tech industry blanket immunity for any harm thats caused on their platforms, Goldberg said. I had all this hope, especially with the Second Circuit, that the court could narrow back down the scope of 230.

Goldberg says courts are interpreting the law too broadly and is calling for legislators to scrap the section entirely. And she isnt the only one calling for more scrutiny of a law that has long been considered a bulwark against censorship. Section 230 is being attacked from the left and right sides of the political spectrum, by everyone from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

But as much as Section 230 is under political attack, the Herrick v. Grindr lawsuit shows what an uphill battle victims face in challenging the liability protections in court.

Matthew Herrick. (Photo: Larry Hamilton)

Herricks legal team filed 14 claims against Grinder, claiming that it was legally liable for a defective product design, that it had engaged in false advertising and inflicted emotional distress on Herrick, but virtually none of them stuck. The court ruled that Section 230 barred all the claims, except for the claim of copyright infringement for use of Herricks photograph in the phony profiles.

As Aaron Rubin, co-chair of the Technology Transactions Group at Morrison & Foerster, pointed out in an interview with Yahoo News, courts have shown ambivalence in recent years about Section 230 protections. In one controversial case, Doe v. Internet Brands, the Ninth Circuit found that a company that posted model profiles was not protected by Section 230. A model had posted her profile, and a rapist used the information to lure her and later rape her. The judge found the company could be held liable for failing to warn the model that this could happen.

What was interesting about Herrick v. Grindr is that the Second Circuit didnt go down that rabbit hole. This is a pretty standard Section 230 analysis, says Rubin. Weve seen over the past few years this seesaw back and forth. Herrick and Grindr is another swing in that pendulum.

Powerful tech companies and digital rights groups are lobbying to uphold 230 protections. Following the Herrick v. Grindr decision, the Electronic Frontier Foundation issued a statement praising the courts decision: In a victory for online freedom of expression, the Second Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a dangerous lawsuit that would threaten to undercut what makes the Internet an essential tool for modern life.

After the ruling, Herrick tweeted: We started a conversation. I feel as though we have contributed to something much bigger than just my case. I am proud of our fight. This is a road block, not an ending. I will continue to advocate for reform and justice. One day the courts will have to see the light.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Kyle Hendricks threw a complete-game shutout on 81 pitches to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

Hendricks (2-4) allowed four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter in the opener of the three-game series. It was his third major league shutout and first since a 5-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1, 2016.

The last Chicago pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches was Carlos Zambrano, who beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on 98 pitches on Sept. 25, 2009.

Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer among his three hits for Chicago, which has won five in a row, the past two by shutout.

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty (3-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts and a season-high four walks.

The Cardinals had wrapped up their four-game series at the Washington Nationals on Thursday night after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay. The Cubs had been off since finishing their two-game series at the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Flaherty walked back-to-back batters with one out in the third before Rizzo lifted an 0-1 pitch just inside the right field foul pole for a 3-0 lead.

It was Rizzo's fourth home run in the past five games and the 199th of his major league career.

After striking out in his first three plate appearances, Javier Baez lined an RBI single to right in the seventh to make it 4-0.

Only one batter moved into scoring position off Hendricks, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Cardinals on Sept. 12, 2016.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong led off the third with a single. He was thrown out at second for the second out on a bunt back to the pitcher by Flaherty, who then became the first pitcher in the majors to steal a base this season. Hendricks got Matt Carpenter to ground out to first to end the inning.

--Field Level Media
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Encana Corporation's (TSE:ECA) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Encana has a P/E ratio of 9.89. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Encana

How Do You Calculate Encana's P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Encana:

P/E of 9.89 = $6.51 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD )  $0.66 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Most would be impressed by Encana earnings growth of 17% in the last year. In contrast, EPS has decreased by 9.1%, annually, over 5 years.

Does Encana Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Encana has a lower P/E than the average (16) in the oil and gas industry classification.

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TSX:ECA Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

Encana's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Encana's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Encana's net debt is 81% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On Encana's P/E Ratio

Encana trades on a P/E ratio of 9.9, which is below the CA market average of 14.4. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

But note: Encana may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
WASHINGTON  A key Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says he fully expects the panel to vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over a full, unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

There is a huge groundswell on the committee to move this as quickly as possible next week, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a Friday interview on the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. So I would be startled if we didnt do it next week.

Raskins comments came the same day that committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr one last chance to turn over the full Mueller report  and the underlying evidence used to reach its conclusions  by Monday or face contempt. Nadler, however, softened his demands somewhat, offering to work with the Justice Department to make a joint request to the courts to release grand jury material, one of the main sticking points in the dispute. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who has emerged as one of the leading Democratic voices on the panel, also said that 99.9 percent of the American public would conclude that Barr lied when he answered, No, I dont after being asked by Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., whether he knew what was behind press reports that mentioned members of Muellers staff had objected to the way he described the Russia report in his March 24 letter to Congress clearing the president of any wrongdoing. The question came on April 9, 13 days after Mueller had sent Barr a letter saying that the attorney generals letter did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.

Did he lie? Raskin said. Yeah, he lied. Of course he lied. Now, could he be prosecuted for perjury? Now, certainly the Department of Justice is not going to accept our referral and prosecute the attorney general, so its kind of the same position were in with Trump. We would have to impeach the guy. Could we impeach him? Sure, we could impeach him for perjury.

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On Wednesday, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he took Crists question to mean members of Muellers staff, not Mueller himself. And when he called Mueller after receiving the letter, the special counsel told him that he didnt believe anything he wrote in his letter was inaccurate  and that his beef was really with the press coverage of the letter.

Raskin laid out the likely strategy the committee will pursue against the attorney general: It will vote to hold Barr in civil, rather than criminal, contempt, and then ask a federal judge to hear the case on an expedited basis. That could result in Barr being personally fined if a judge rules in the Houses favor and the Justice Department continues to withhold the full report.

Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News

That move, however, could get bogged down in a protracted legal battle. Raskin acknowledged an alternative route  seeking to hold Barr in criminal contempt  would ultimately not prove fruitful since the Justice Department under Barrs leadership would never prosecute.

Still, Raskin said, he doesnt consider the criminal contempt threat to be pointless.

Its not toothless if you have any shame. Would you like to be held in contempt of Congress? he said. I would consider it, in a democracy, if you have civic self-respect and respect for other people, you would consider it a major shame and stigma for the rest of your life, as I suppose President Clinton carries it as a shame and stigma that he was impeached by the House of Representatives despite the fact that it was a totally tawdry partisan affair.

Asked why it was important for the committee to see the full report, given that most of it including all of Muellers conclusions  has already been publicly released, Raskin pointed to a key sentence about Trumps potential motive for obstructing justice. After saying that Trumps underlying conduct did not show that he was engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the Russians, Mueller added: But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns.

Raskin said that sentence could point to all of the money that came in through laundering schemes with the Russians who bought condo units in Trump Tower and all of the other money which members of the Trump family have bragged about coming from Russians to bankroll them after Trump suffered four bankruptcies, and they said, Oh well well just get all our money from the Russians now. Theyre talking about dirty money that was laundered here, he said.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seeking financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said they needed to intervene in the lawsuit in order to "defend their significant interests in the enforcement of their subpoenas" as part of "investigations on issues of national significance." In a separate filing on Friday, Trump, his children and his company asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos for a preliminary order blocking the banks from responding to the subpoenas while their lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, is pending. They said they will suffer "irreparable harm" without such an order, and that the subpoenas appeared to be intended to expose their confidential financial information "for the sake of exposure." "That purpose is illegitimate and provides no constitutional footing for the subpoenas," they said. Deutsche Bank has long been one of the main banks for Trump's real estate empire. A 2017 financial disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to Deutsche Bank. Democratic lawmakers had asked Capital One's chief executive in March for documents related to potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's hotel in downtown Washington and other business interests. In their lawsuit, Trump, a Republican, and the other plaintiffs accused House leaders of pursuing records for no legitimate or lawful purpose in hopes they would "stumble upon something" they could use as a political weapon against Trump. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on April 15 their panels had issued subpoenas to multiple financial institutions for information on Trump's finances. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January, including possible dealings with Russia, and has said "we're fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House. The White House is also resisting other House subpoenas, including for Trump's personal and business tax returns, and sought to block current and former administration officials from cooperating with House investigators. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Pontianak (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesia began sinking dozens of impounded foreign boats Saturday to deter illegal fishing in its waters, a week after a naval vessel clashed with a Vietnamese coastguard near the South China Sea.

Up to 51 foreign boats -- including from Vietnam, Malaysia and China -- will be scuttled at several different locations over the next two weeks, officials said.

Over a dozen were scuttled Saturday near Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province.

Fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the action was necessary to warn neighbouring countries that Indonesia was serious about fighting illegal fishing.

"There's no other way," she said. "This is actually the most beautiful solution for our nation, but yes, it's scary for other countries."

She said Indonesia suffered great economic loss from lax regulations that gave leeway for foreign boats to fish in Indonesian waters.

Since president Joko Widodo took office in 2014, hundreds of captured foreign fishing vessels have been sunk -- more than half from Vietnam.

The practice was suspended for several months, but has resumed since last week when a Vietnamese coastguard boat rammed an Indonesian navy ship attempting to seize an illegal trawler.

A dozen fishermen were detained and remain in Indonesian custody.

"If we don't act firm, they will be even more daring. I believe these collisions will get worse one day, this will escalate," Pudjiastuti said.

Jakarta claims the area in the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone and two years ago changed its name to the North Natuna Sea in a bid to show sovereignty.

More recently, it inaugurated a new military base in the chain of several hundred small islands to beef up defences. The moves prompted criticism from Beijing, whose claims in the sea overlap Indonesia's around the remote Natuna Islands.

str-dsa\fox
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Cora Gold

Cora Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Paul Quirk for UK125k worth of shares, at about UK0.038 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK0.038. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Cora Gold share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 3.9m shares for a total of UK150k. Cora Gold may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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AIM:CORA Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

Cora Gold 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.

Insiders at Cora Gold Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Cora Gold. Overall, three insiders shelled out US$150k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership of Cora Gold

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 29% of Cora Gold shares, worth about UK742k. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Cora Gold Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Cora Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soliders took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim. (Reporting By Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Additional reporting by the Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Emperor Naruhito urged Japan to work together for world peace as he made his first public appearance Saturday in front of a cheering, flag-waving crowd of tens of thousands.

"I sincerely wish that our country, hand-in-hand with foreign countries, seeks world peace and further development," said the 59-year-old Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Wednesday.

Japan's 126th emperor wore a morning coat to make the brief appearance on a glass-covered balcony of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, along with other adult royals including Empress Masako.

Masako donned an elegant yellow, long-sleeved dress with a matching hat and pearl necklace.

Emperor and empress emeritus, Akihito and Michiko, did not join their children as they have decided to withdraw from official duties after their three-decade reign.

Akihito, 85, was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than two centuries.

The royal family were scheduled to make a total of six appearances throughout the day, with some 50,000 people gathered before the main gate of the palace before the first one, according to national broadcaster NHK.

More elaborate festivities are planned for October 22 when he and Masako will appear in traditional robes for a palace ceremony before parading through the streets of Tokyo to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals.
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space Saturday, making it the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company's test site in the town of Taiki on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido and flew about 10 minutes.

"We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching the space," Interstellar Technologies CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference from Hokkaido.

The rocket, about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in diameter, weighs about 1 ton. It is capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 20 kilograms (44 pounds) but currently lacks an ability to send them into orbit.

The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, who was a former Livedoor Co. President, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites into space. Horie expressed high expectations for his new business.

"I'm hoping that many manufacturers and satellite makers will come here to join us," he said.

The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by U.S. startups such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Saturday's success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times EDT):

9 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is making his foreign policy experience a primary selling point to top donors to his presidential campaign.

At a private fundraiser Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Biden told several dozen donors that "at least 14 world leaders" have called him during President Donald Trump's tenure expressing unease.

Biden said British Prime Minister Theresa May asked him directly for reassurance that the U.S. and the United Kingdom "still have a special relationship."

Biden said the U.S. under Trump "is about to squander alliances" built over generations. He noted that he's "spent my entire adult life" in foreign affairs, first with 36 years in the Senate then eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden told donors he doesn't believe he's the only Democrat who can beat Trump. But he said he can beat Trump and then "on Day One" be ready to serve as head of state and lead post-Trump world affairs.

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8:15 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is telling donors in South Carolina that he knows President Donald Trump is "going to go after me and my family" in the 2020 presidential race.

Biden said he will answer Trump "directly" in the future without name-calling. He recalled saying in 2016 that in high school he'd have fought Trump. "Guess what? I probably shouldn't have done that," Biden said. "The presidency is an office that requires dignity and reestablishing respect and standing." Biden said he doesn't want to give the president the "mud-wrestling match" that Biden believes Trump wants.

There "are so many nicknames I want to give this guy," and he drew laughter when he joked that he'd "start with clown."

"The only place he has any confidence is in the mud," Biden said, because the president "doesn't understand how to respond to issues."

Story continues

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6:30 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says one area in which he doesn't fault President Donald Trump is his handling of North Korea.

The independent senator from Vermont tells ABC's "This Week" that Trump's face-to-face meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un "is the right thing to do."

Sanders says North Korea is "a threat to the planet" and that the U.S. has to do everything possible to have China and others in the region put pressure on the North and "make it clear that they cannot continue to act this way."

South Korean officials say North Korea fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Saturday. The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown between the U.S. and the North.

"This Week" airs Sunday morning.

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5:40 p.m.

Joe Biden is suggesting any adult American should have the option to buy "Medicare-like" insurance as part of expanding health-care access in the U.S.

The former vice president made his pitch for a so-called "public option" during his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other Democratic presidential hopefuls back a single-payer health insurance commonly referred to as "Medicare-for-all."

What Biden pitches is adding a government-run insurance program like Medicare and Medicaid to the insurance exchanges that were created by the Affordable Care Act that was enacted when Biden was vice president.

Exchanges now sell private insurance policies to individuals who don't otherwise have access to coverage. Biden says even workers with access to employer-based plans should be able to buy a public plan.

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5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. "You see it," he said Saturday. "You got Jim Crow sneaking back in."

The former vice president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be "aggressive in making sure it doesn't happen." Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target "mostly ... people of color."

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the South's first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Biden's son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. "Joe and I love South Carolina," she said.

The former vice president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Biden's first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesn't endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Biden's event, but Biden noted one of Clyburn's daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains "at risk" for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump "puts us squarely in trouble" with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Mueller's report "demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

She says Trump then "turns around two weeks later and says 'we're all good on this'? We're not all good on this."

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of "tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia."

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, "then I need to buy more ammunition."

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, "When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesn't just save ammunition. It saves American lives."

Under his presidency, Moulton said, "we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department."

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsel's report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didn't warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. "What I would say when I'm president to Vladimir Putin is that we've got your number, I've got the FBI after you, I've got the CIA looking at all of this, I've figured out what you guys are up to and we're going to protect our elections and we're going to put increasing sanctions on against you."

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators haven't been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as "the witness we need to go after Russia so that they don't attack our elections again."

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke says the legacies of "slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression" are "alive and well" today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. He's spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says "the work is far from over."

He's previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

O'Rourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
Marseille (AFP) - Investigators in southeast France have seized a white tiger cub at the home of a suspected exotic animal trafficker, while pythons and endangered marsupials were found at his mother's house, a police source said Saturday.

Members of the public health agency OCLAESP were recently informed of the illegal sale of lemurs and their investigations led them to the suspect's premises.

The arrested man is believed to have cashed the sum of 17,000 euros ($19,000) "but had not yet handed the small primates from Madagascar to the buyer," the French police said in a statement.

A raid on his home uncovered the white tiger cub, while a simultaneous operation at the home of the suspect's mother in northeast France uncovered four sugar gliders -- small, nocturnal marsupials native to part of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea -- as well as nine snakes including two royal pythons.

Appearing before a judge, the arrested man was immediately jailed for eight months in connection with an earlier fraud case.

Illegal trafficking in wild animals is punishable in France by a year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.

The baby tiger, now called Hermes, was taken to the Barben zoo in southeast France.

White tigers are not a separate subspecies. The white fur is a rare genetic mutation which is mainly seen among animals inbred in captivity.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  A man who was one half of the first gay couple to attend a high school prom says he didn't expect to become entrenched in LGBTQ rights history and that he looks back on the event in South Dakota 40 years later as "just a moment."

Grady Quinn was 20 when he attended the Lincoln High School prom in Sioux Falls with 17-year-old Randy Rohl.

The May 23, 1979, event drew news media from across the country, and it's still commemorated in Sioux Falls today. But Rohl told the Associated Press at the time that he didn't think they were "more worthy of special attention" than any other couple.

Quinn echoes the same sentiment now, the Argus Leader reported.

He said he's glad the prom happened, but he didn't think at the time that they might be making a historical stand for LGBTQ rights. Quinn said "it was just us being real and being who we are."

The Sioux Falls newspaper first wrote about the story on May 11, 1979, saying that Lincoln High School had approved a request from an unidentified high school senior to take his boyfriend to the prom. Later stories clarified that the two weren't romantically involved.

Apart from the attention and news coverage, the night ended up being an average high school prom.

The Washington Post wrote several days later that the only special treatment that Rohl and Quinn received "was a lot of room on the dance floor."

Rebuffing suggestions from acquaintances in the years that followed that he could somehow capitalize on the event, Quinn told them: "What? No. It's part of my life. It was just a moment."

The two drifted from the public eye after the prom, eventually losing touch after they both moved away from Sioux Falls.

Quinn said he later learned that Rohl had died of AIDS in 1993.

"It hit kind of hard," Quinn said. "I lost a lot of good friends in that era. It was sad to learn that was what got him."

Story continues

Sioux Falls Pride hosts an annual event named after Rohl. The Randy Rohl Youth Prom is held for LGBTQ and allied youth who aren't permitted to bring their partner to prom, or who would feel unsafe doing so.

Quinn Kathner, president of Sioux Falls Pride, said she doesn't think many Sioux Falls residents know about this part of the city's history.

"It transcends," Kathner said. "The message transcends whether it was 40 years ago or today."

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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
Presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was heckled by several anti-gay protesters at a campaign event in Dallas on Friday night.

Buttigieg, the first openly gay man to run for President, was speaking at an event hosted by the Dallas County Democratic Party when he was interrupted by multiple hecklers, shouting calls such as Marriage is between a man and a woman! and Repent, according to CNNs DJ Judd.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

As the hecklers were escorted out of the event, Buttigieg acknowledged to the crowd that he had fought for their right to protest, according to journalist Marcus DiPaola. Buttigieg was deployed to Afghanistan for six months on active duty as a navy officer.

A woman, who event staff said did not have a ticket, was also escorted out of the venue after crying out anti-abortion comments, according to a video tweeted by Judd.

Anti-gay protester Randall Terry is back and yelling at @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/SBwjP8ocTZ  Marcus DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) May 4, 2019

Buttigieg has been openly gay since 2015, when he published an op-ed about his identity in the South Bend Tribune. He married his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, last year.

Story continues

After the event, presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke defended Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred, ORourke wrote. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon. https://t.co/IhRDtIBREb  Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) May 4, 2019

Both Buttigieg and ORourke are considered to be serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. The most recent Quinnipiac poll, from April 30, said that Buttigieg is ranking fourth among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with 10% of the polls (behind Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders). ORourke ranked sixth, with 5% of the vote.

Buttigieg told TIME earlier this year that his observation of homophobic behavior has convinced him that people can change and earn forgiveness.

This idea that we just sort people into baskets of good and evil ignores the central fact of human existence, which is that each of us is a basket of good and evil, said Buttigieg, The job of politics is to summon the good and beat back the evil.

Correction, May 4: The original version of this story misstated the results of the April 30 Quinnipiac poll. Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders polled ahead of Pete Buttigieg.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - One member of Mexico's navy was killed and three were injured on Saturday when they came under fire while patrolling a section of state-run oil firm Pemex's frequently plundered pipelines, the country's naval secretary said. Members of the navy were monitoring part of the Tuxpan-Azcapotzalco pipeline, which runs from the southeastern state of Veracruz to Mexico City, the navy secretary said in a statement, without saying exactly where the attack took place. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to crack down on the country's rampant fuel theft, which cost Pemex an estimated $3 billion last year alone. "Groups dedicated to fuel theft have increased the level of aggression against the staff of this institution," the navy secretary said. "The navy secretary of Mexico rejects these actions and reaffirms its commitment to act firmly in defense of the peace of Mexico." (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Julia Love; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
New York (AFP) - As scandals under the Donald Trump administration offer a steady stream of fodder for satirists and comedy show hosts, now the world of musical theater is taking a stab at lampooning the White House.

This weekend a New York take on "The Mikado" -- a 19th century comic operetta originally intended to satirize British politics through Japanese imagery -- sees its characters take on decidedly Trumpian airs.

Ben Spierman's revamp of the Victorian musical in which a clownish despot rules over his juvenile population is an attempt, he says, to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"For me 'The Mikado' is a perfect example," Spierman, the director of the Bronx Opera, told AFP.

"The politics and the reality of the fact that we have corruption, and that we have unqualified people in jobs or whatever, nepotism: these things have not changed."

Performed this week as part of New York's Opera Fest, the themes of the piece originally staged in smog-choked 1880s London by dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan resonate "almost too well," says Spierman.

"We're in a time that's shadowed not just by this person, by Trump himself, but by 'Trumpism' -- by this kind of cultural battle that we're having," he added.

Spierman's production, set in the White House press room, doesn't match characters one-to-one with members of the US president's administration, instead weaving elements of real-life personalities into the show.

The likenesses of Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are featured alongside elements of former chief strategist Steve Bannon, senior advisor Stephen Miller and press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Another character evokes the personalities of Hillary Clinton and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren -- a champion of progressive causes in the US -- while the titular Mikado himself recalls none other than Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Trump himself is an overarching presence rather than a specific character, with all of the players in the comic romp inhabiting aspects of his persona.

"To put Gilbert's words, or even the adapted words of Gilbert, into the mouth of Donald Trump just didn't make any sense to me," Spierman said. "He's just not that clever with the language."

- Art as critical vanguard -

Opera has long been a potent medium for provocative takes on the contemporary moment, according to Spierman -- one that can make audiences laugh before encouraging more sober reflection on the state of our times.

"I think that one of the things we have in this country which is important to remember is that we are allowed to poke fun at the president," he said.

"It's important that we use that right, because if you don't... you lose that. It's important to be aware that yes, we've just laughed, but we also need to understand the serious issues that underlie what you just saw on the stage."

Spierman continues to update the script as events unfold at the White House, and even squeezed in some tweaks when the infamous Mueller report into Russian interference in US democracy came out last month.

"We all as artists have to be aware of what's going on; I think that part of our job is to be the vanguard in some ways of political criticism."

At one moment in 'The Mikado' a character presented as a female challenger to authority describes herself "an acquired taste," Spierman's nod to the double standards in contemporary coverage of male leaders and their female counterparts.

"I really think that is very telling, when it comes to talking about how strong women are looked at in our political discourse," he said.

- From footnote to chapter -

Considered a classic of British musical theater, "The Mikado" is no stranger to controversy: modern critics have skewered it not for its political commentary but for what they dub casual racism.

Many point to the traditional production's setting in Japan that includes excessive bowing by white actors, who sing in pinched voices while wearing yellow-tinted makeup.

The Bronx Opera's revamped version eschews those ingredients, aiming instead to "focus people on the fact that it is ultimately about the political state," Spierman said.

Actresses on his stage sport the business casual pantsuits quintessential to the halls and corridors of Washington's great institutions while several of the men don excessively long red ties, a clear visual nod to Trump.

Twitter also features strongly in the show, whether via a series of Trump tweets or allusions in the libretto to direct messages between characters.

For now, the production is running solely as part of the city's annual Opera Fest -- a bid to bring shows to a wide audience and highlight the diversity of New York's contemporary opera scene -- but Spierman sees it as fitting into a broader narrative of the Trump presidency.

"He's just a fact of history," the director said. "That's what happened when he was elected president -- he went from being a footnote to a chapter."

Though he is satirizing the 45th US president's term, for Spierman it remains to be seen whether Trump is comedy or a tragedy: "I think we're not at the end of the show yet."
ABC News(CARACAS, Venezuela) -- Two days after violent clashes ended in Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido said that although the protests did not end President Nicolas Maduros usurpation, those who stood in opposition had still made progress.



Guaido called on supporters to rally in a video on Tuesday, saying that their push to oust Maduro had reached its final phase and that they had obtained the support of some of the embattled presidents key aides. Three senior aides in particular were believed to be ready to declare their allegiance to the constitution, according to U.S. officials. However, that failed to materialize.



In an interview with ABC News, Guaido said that although Maduros senior aides did not defect, there are fractures in the military and government, and pointed to Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the head of the countrys SEBIN intelligence agency.



The very director of intelligence under Maduro, who used to be Chavezs guy for 12 years is against whats happening now, Guaido told ABC News. And its not like hes on my side necessarily, but on the side of the constitution.



Guaido said that hes open to evaluating all our options in order to return the country to stability and governability. He noted that Cuba is already helping the opposition with counterintelligence against Venezuelan soldiers. But he also emphasized that any transition should be done peacefully and with as little violence as possible.



Weve built the majority, we have manifested our discontent, we have achieved getting a hold of Parliament, we have succeeded in getting support from the armed forces, said Guaido, noting that theres been a lot of sacrifice too.



After just this weeks protests, at least four people had died and 239 were injured, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a human rights group, told ABC News on Thursday.



Maduro, who has faced months of protests over the countrys economic collapse and his consolidation of power, made a show of force on Thursday when he appeared on state TV and again derided what he has called a U.S.-backed coup and vowed to combat traitors.



Something good came from evil, which is loyalty, in full combat, Maduro said. The time has come to defend peace.



Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, was sworn in as interim president by that body in January. He was immediately recognized by the U.S. and, ultimately, 53 other countries as the legitimate leader.



Guaido said the best options so far are to end Maduros usurpation, to establish a transitional government and to hold free elections all within our constitution.



Those who are on the side of the constitution, on the side of the Venezuelan people...we would be willing to talk to all of them, Guaido said. We expect that...theyre still in a phase of rumors and doubt among themselves while we are very clear in our objective, our way, our direction, and we would like for there to be many more of them to guarantee a democratic and peaceful transition in Venezuela.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Kinshasa (AFP) - More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organization had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

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Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began. Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

- 'Deeply worrying' -

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."

The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert. This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."

In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

burs-jah/qan
415 N.W. Ninth St.| Photos: Padmapper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Overtown are hovering around $1,500, compared to a $1,900 one-bedroom median for Miami as a whole.

But how does the low-end pricing on an Overtown rental look these days  and what might you get for the price?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is extremely walkable, is convenient for biking and has excellent transit.

Read on for the cheapest listings available right now. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1720 N.W. First Place

Listed at $800/month, this 391-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom, located at 1720 N.W. First Place, is 46.7 percent less than the $1,500/month median rent for a one bedroom in Overtown.

The building boasts on-site management. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Pet owners, rejoice: cats and small dogs are allowed, according to the company's website. An application fee of $20 and a security deposit of $1,600 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

415 N.W. Ninth St.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 415 N.W. Ninth St., is listed for $850/month for its 472 square feet of space.

In the unit, look for hardwood floors and in-unit laundry. Cats and dogs are not permitted. A $20 application fee and security deposit of $1,500 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

1533 N.W. Second Ave.

Then there's this 600-square-foot at 1533 N.W. Second Ave., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, look for in-unit laundry and hardwood floors. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are allowed. The building boasts assigned parking and on-site management. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

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(See the listing here.)

219 N.W. 10th St.

Check out this 408-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 219 N.W. 10th St., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, you'll find ceramic tile floors. The building offers assigned parking and on-site management. Pet owners, you're in luck: furry companions are allowed on this property. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Here's the listing.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A year ago at the UnitedHealth Group offices at 1 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, Wali Omarkheil, a 43-year-old regional marketing director, gathered with five of his colleagues to meet their new supervisor, Josiane Peluso.

But before Peluso even introduced herself to her new team, she complained to the group about the new strict security in the building.

Its because of all the darn terrorists we have in this country, she said as she made eye contact with Omarkheil. She didnt look at anyone else, he said. Suddenly, he felt the rest of the staff turn their heads and stare at him, too.

Omarkheil brushed it off as a coincidence. I remember thinking, I hope she didnt mean what she said, he told HuffPost.

But it turns out she did mean it, according to Omarkheil. Within six months of their first meeting, Omarkheil, who had put in nearly 12 happy years at UnitedHealth, was out of a job. He was fired.

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January against UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the individual supervisors involved, Omarkheil detailed the abuse he faced under Peluso, as well as the lack of proper recourse by her manager, David Willhoft, and the human resources representative assigned to handle his case, Jennifer St. George.

He alleged that Peluso frequently made comments about his Muslim faith when it had no relevance to his work, pressured him to work on weekends during the holy month of Ramadan when he was fasting and berated him for using his lunch break to attend Friday prayers. Just weeks after Omarkhail issued a complaint with human resources which was escalated to Willhoft, UnitedHealths Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he was terminated without warning.

There is little data that tracks anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace. But Muslims across the country have complained of bias during interviews, targeted harassment during employment, and, like Omarkheils case, unlawful termination.

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Over 24,000 anti-Muslim allegations have been brought to the EEOC since 2000. Over 1,300 cases were brought in 2019 alone. The EEOC saw the highest numbers of complaints in 2016 with over 2,500 cases. Half of those total allegations were complaints regarding unfair discharge.

In 2018, the Council on American Islamic Relations received more than 228 cases of employment discrimination nationwide, compared to 225 cases in 2017.

Muslims are also less likely to get hired when their social media profiles mentioned their faith compared to their Christian counterparts, according to a 2013 Carnegie Mellon study. Even after being hired, Muslims still faced high levels of discrimination. In November 2018, a group of Somali Muslims in Minnesota forced Amazon to negotiate better treatment for its workers, including the right to pray during breaks. In 2016, the New York City Police Department allowed for Muslims and Sikhs to grow out their beards for religious reasons.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, whether its firing an employee or a refusal to accommodate an employees religious garb such as the hijab or holiday schedule.

Civil rights law generally requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices of their workers and that doesnt always happen in practice, Daniel Mach, the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion & Belief, told HuffPost.

Omarkheil says that for several months, Peluso verbally abused him and used hostile comments about his faith. Once he sought help from human resources about the rising workplace discrimination, the targeted harassment intensified. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

After that initial meeting with his new boss, Omarkheil dismissed the incident as a one-off misunderstanding. The next day, Omarkheil had a one-on-one meeting with his new manager to discuss work goals and team expectations. He had hoped the meeting would start them off on the right foot. But Peluso didnt discuss any of that during the meeting, instead, she wanted to discuss Omarkheils Muslim faith.

Before we can start our one-on-one meeting, I want you to know that I am a Christian and I take my religion seriously, Peluso allegedly told Omarkheil, according to the lawsuit. I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

Omarkheil was first hired to be a sales rep for UnitedHealth in 2007, after being aggressively recruited. It didnt take much for him to decide to take the job. He knew this was where he wanted to work and grow  he even hoped to retire there someday.

For the next 12 years he soared at the company. He hopped from promotion to promotion, moving up from sales representative to supervisor to regional marketing director, where he oversaw a team of over 50 sales associates and five supervisors. According to the lawsuit, he increased the companys Brooklyn membership by more than half, from 130,000 members to 200,000 members, and even opened a new storefront in downtown Brooklyn.

Omarkheil, who immigrated from Afghanistan when he was just 11 years old, embodied the quintessential American dream. But none of that would matter when he was assigned a new supervisor in 2018.

Over the next 5 months working under Peluso, his situation significantly worsened, as the level of harassment increasingly became more aggressive.

Omarkheils team was spread across five boroughs of New York City and Long Island, requiring him to commute between offices every day. Peluso would call Omarkheil three to four times a day, according to the lawsuit, asking him to prove his whereabouts at any given time. She didnt trust Omarkheil to be where he said he was going to be, Omarkheil said. On multiple occasions, she asked him to pass the phone to a co-worker nearby to confirm that he was indeed where he said he was.

Peluso would call Omarkheil repeatedly when he attended Friday prayers. Every week Omarkheil attended a service, also known as Jummah, where Muslims go to a mosque for congregational prayers.

For years, Omarkheil attended the prayers during his lunch break, since the service usually began around noon, without any problems. His previous managers were accommodating, he said. But Peluso repeatedly called during this time and made anti-Muslim remarks about his choice to attend prayers.

Oh, you do that? she would sarcastically ask him despite the fact he told her he attended prayers every week.

If he didnt pick up, she would admonish him. Omarkheil says he was clear about when and where he was going to be, but every week she continued to harass him during his time at prayer.

My previous managers had no issues with it. But she was disrespectful to it from the beginning, he said.

Omarkheil believed he was being harassed by Peluso because of his faith. He began to take notes after every incident, according to documents reviewed by HuffPost. Two of Omarkheils former colleagues, who asked for anonymity because they are still employed by UnitedHealth Group and they fear retaliation by the company, told HuffPost they either witnessed or discussed Pelusos harassment with Omarkheil.

The Targeted Harassment Intensifies

Peluso gave Omarkheil menial tasks not normally required by managers, such as pitching tents for work events and delivering flowers. During a midday meeting with a client, who happened to be a friend of Peluso, the client and Peluso began drinking alcohol. When Omarkheil asked to excuse himself from the the rest of the meeting, Peluso demanded he stay. You dont drink because youre Muslim so you can start taking notes for me, she said, according to the lawsuit.

For several months, Peluso verbally abused Omarkheil and made hostile comments about his faith. Whenever he was unavailable to take her phone call, Peluso said, Let me guess, you were at prayers again? She would perceive Omarkheils religious commitment as laziness and treated him as though he was a delinquent, according to the lawsuit.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. Instead, he worked late nights and felt obligated to take on weekend events during the long summer days.

I felt scared of her. I thought she was coming after my work. I thought, I gotta do everything that she was asking of me. I started going to events on weekends and it was very, very tough. Hot weather, no water no food and Im out there and Im sending her pictures [to prove that] Im here, he told HuffPost.

But nothing seemed to appease her, he said. Instead, the abuse escalated. She started to berate him in front of other UnitedHealth employees and embarrassed him in front of his clients. During a June incident detailed in the lawsuit, Peluso scolded Omarkheil in a phone call, which he had on speakerphone, for hanging out around the Muslim/Arab community way too much.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Trying To Do It The Right Way

The next day, on June 13, 2018, Omarkheil wrote a letter to UnitedHealth Groups Human Resources department, which HuffPost has reviewed. He voiced his concern to the HR representative that he was particularly worried that speaking out could result in retaliation, but the representative reassured him not to worry.

But days after Omarkheil wrote to HR, Peluso informed him that he would not be receiving his quarterly bonus due to poor performance, which Omarkheil disputed. His numbers were strong, he said. HuffPost has reviewed a number of Omarkheils performance reviews which indicated he had consistently met or exceeded work expectations.

The following week, Omarkheil was instructed by HR to meet with Pelusos manager, David Willhoft. When he did, Willhoft told him if he was unhappy he could always find work elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. He was also advised that he address his concerns directly with his manager and not with human resources.

Laszlo Bock is the chief executive officer and co-founder at Humu.com, a technology company based in Mountain View, California, that uses behavioral sciences and artificial intelligence to help organizations improve their work culture.

Bock said instructing an employee to go above their own manager could invite conflict from ones immediate manager and may escalate a situation.

The former senior vice president of People Operations at Google said most HR departments are pretty forward-thinking in terms of a social justice perspective and want to do the right thing.

He said when it came to allegations of discrimination, it was imperative for HR representatives to address the situation carefully and in full transparency. For starters, when an allegation like Omarkheils is raised, he said HRs default presumption should be that the victim is being truthful.

If somebody raises a complaint of discrimination, you start from a bias of believing that person, said Bock. It doesnt feel good to make a complaint like this. [That person has] typically been second-guessing [themselves] this whole time.

Large companies, Bock said, should employ several best practices in situations like this one. He said that they should conduct a thorough investigation and know that an investigation will make all parties in the conflict uncomfortable. Do get all the facts, he said, and do conduct interviews with other people beyond those directly involved. But, he warns, dont drag out the process. Dont ask the junior employee to conduct the investigation themselves. Do provide a path for redemption, he added, but if warranted, dont shy away from firing people.

Back at UnitedHealth, Omarkheil followed the instructions by his HR representative Jennifer St, George, and detailed his concerns in an email to Peluso, despite his extreme discomfort registering his complaint and discussing it without St. George present. He wrote that it was clear he was treated different and that he did not want to be harassed anymore for anything including my beliefs or cultural background. Omarkheil told his manager that he felt embarrassed, demoralized and degraded as a result and requested a meeting with her to settle the matter.

Instead what followed was a series of emails and meetings between Omarkheil, Peluso and Willhoft, none that brought any resolve. He attempted to go back to the human resources department but each time he was pointed back to Peluso or her manager. He was stuck in a bureaucratic circle.

A company like UnitedHealth, who the public trusts [with] their families healthcare coverage, and these are people from every type of community, its incumbent on them that they must show that theyre dedicated to servicing everyone and that theyre going to treat people, including their employees, equally, regardless of their background. said Lawrence Pearson, partner at Wigdor LLP, an employment litigation law firm based in New York City representing Omarkheil.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group told HuffPost the company could not comment on specific matters that are in ligation, but it took such allegations seriously and that the company remained committed to inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and continuing to meet the needs of the multicultural clients, communities and individuals we serve.

Peter Romer-Friedman is a workers rights attorney at Outten & Golden LLP based in Washington, D.C., where he litigates and supervises employment discrimination cases.

Romer-Friedman said Omarkheil case is a clear cut case of discrimination and retaliation and pointed to the very brief time period between when the complaint was filed to Omarkheils termination as one of the main indicators.

It also appears to be a strong discrimination case, because even though most of the evidence of discrimination would be considered circumstantial, there is such strong evidence here that the person who is directly involved in Omarkheils termination harbored animus against Muslims and crossed some real lines in harassing this man when he was trying to exercise his religion outside of the workplace.

Two months after initiating a formal complaint with HR, Omarkheil went into work when he noticed he couldnt access his email. Once at the office, he was brought into a meeting with Peluso and Willhoft. There was no one from the Human Resources present at the meeting. He was told then that his position was being eliminated and he was terminated effective immediately.

The term at-will employment refers to the U.S. labor law in which an employee can be let go by an employer without establishing a reason, so long as it is not illegal. Romer-Friedman, who previously taught civil rights law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, however noted that the civil right laws overrules the at-will employment rule, including in Omarkheils case.

Just invoking the discretion to fire someone doesnt bar the person from making a claim for discrimination. Even if someone is a lousy employee, if the real reason you fire the person is motivated by bias, then its discrimination full-stop, Romer-Friedman told HuffPost.

A lawyer representing Peluso, Willhoft and St. George did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

I was completely shocked. I have kids. I have a family. I have bills. Suddenly everything is going through your mind. [I thought] how am I going to survive this? said Omarkheil. It was a tough process. I really didnt know what to do because I was there for over 11 years, with a really good record.

Omarkheil and his daughters in their home. He is worried he might have to sell his home if he doesnt find work soon. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Two UnitedHealth staff members who spoke anonymously told HuffPost that Omarkheils position was in fact never eliminated instead another employee was designated to take his place and now oversees his team.

United Healthcare did not respond to HuffPosts questions confirming or denying what actually occurred to Omarkheils position.

It was only after the lawsuit was filed, UnitedHealth revealed to Omarkheil that he had signed documents during his employment that required his claims to be arbitrated and not heard in court. With his case now in arbitration, a widely criticized behind closed door process required by private companies including UnitedHealth meant to resolve legal matters outside the court system, Omarkheil and his lawyers withdrew his case from court.

Romer-Friedman, who is critical of cases being taken into arbitration, explained during the process the employer has the upper hand. For example, the panel selected to mitigate the issue is often selected by the employer.

Arbitration is not transparent, Romer-Friedman said. It denies the worker often the opportunity often to tell his or her story which impacts the ability of other people to learn about these problems at a company.

For the past nine months, Omarkheil has been looking for work, and hasnt found anything yet. With a wife and three daughters to support, Omarkheil says he will be forced to sell his home if something doesnt turn up soon. An Afghan native who immigrated to the United States in 1985, Omarkheil calls himself a New Yorker through and through, with the accent to prove it.

All these years you work hard and youre left with nothing, Omarkheil told HuffPost. At the end of the day, it had nothing to do with my performance. It had nothing to do with anything that I was doing wrong. It was just who I was. I didnt think we would part ways this way. I never saw the ugly side until now.
SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analyzing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)
* North Macedonia holds presidential election run-off

* Country's name change has dominated campaigning

* Ruling coalition candidate seen winning vote

* Low turnout could invalidate vote, force fresh election

*

By Ivana Sekularac and Kole Casule

SKOPJE, May 5 (Reuters) - Voters in North Macedonia will elect a new president on Sunday in a run-off vote dominated by deep divisions over a change in the country's name agreed with Greece that has opened the path to NATO and European Union membership.

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for the presidential election, when about 1.8 million voters will choose between two candidates who got through to the second round.

The ruling coalition's candidate, a long-serving public official and academic, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova came neck-and-neck in the first round two weeks ago.

In the run-off, political analysts give the advantage to Pendarovski, who is expected to win support from voters of the second largest Albanian party whose candidate Blerim Reka came third in the first round.

"We are half way to full NATO membership, and in two months we expect a date to begin membership talks with the EU," Pendarovski told supporters at a rally.

"After 10 years Macedonia deserves to have a president who will speed up every positive government policy."

Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change accord but is also pro-EU. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

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The refusal of outgoing President Gjeorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language -- 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia.

THREAT OF LOW TURNOUT

The main concern is that if voter turnout falls below 40 percent in the second round the election will be declared invalid. In that case, the speaker of parliament would become interim president and new elections would have to be held.

"The ruling coalition voters are disappointed with the pace of reforms, while opposition supporters see that their candidate is not set to win, so many people are likely to stay at home," said Petar Arsovski, an analyst.

Turnout in the first round of voting was 41.6 percent.

Some opponents of the name change planned to boycott Sunday's vote.

"Vote? Why? Voting means Im giving legitimacy to the name change. No thanks," said Dejan Temelkovski, 47, a dentist.

"By not choosing a president we are sending a message to all politicians that it is enough."

Polling stations will be open until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), with the first preliminary results due two hours later. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac Editing by Gareth Jones)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes.

"I will never hesitate even for a second to fly on a 737 MAX," he said in response to a question from AFP on the sidelines of the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha.

While Buffett, the world's third-richest man, owns stakes in several of the most prestigious American companies -- from Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs to Apple and, recently, Amazon -- he holds no shares in Boeing, though he has invested in airlines.

Buffett was responding to a question about the damage to Boeing's reputation after 737 MAX planes were involved in two fatal crashes that left a total of nearly 350 people dead in a span of less than five months.

Boeing's entire 737 MAX fleet has been grounded since shortly after the latest crash in March, while investigators study the incidents and engineers work on solutions.

Another Boeing plane -- a 737 model that preceded the MAX line -- was involved in a rough landing late Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, when it skidded off a runway and into a river, but without causing any serious injuries.

"Planes have never been so safe," Buffett said, even as he encouraged Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to always make safety a priority.
Tripoli (AFP) - At least nine people were killed Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group targeting forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar in southern Libya, officials said.

IS fighters, "backed by criminal groups and mercenaries", launched a dawn assault on a military training camp in the southern city of Sebha, which is controlled by Haftar's forces, the city's mayor Hamed al-Khayali told AFP.

"The attack left nine dead ... some of whom had their throats slit and others who were shot dead," he said.

A spokesman for the Sebha Medical Centre confirmed it had received nine dead bodies.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through social media, saying it had targeted "Haftar's heretical militia" and freed prisoners held on the base.

Sebha is controlled by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which opposes the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

A power struggle between the unity government and Haftar -- who has over the last month launched an offensive against Tripoli and forces loyal to the GNA -- has left the country's vast desert south a lawless no-man's land.

The rugged territory, which shares borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan, has become a haven for jihadists and other armed groups.

In a statement, the GNA said Haftar shouldered "direct responsibility for the reemergence of the Islamic State organisation; for (its) terrorist activities and its return to the scene... after the GNA had been successful... in destroying" the jihadist group.

"Ever since the offensive against Tripoli, we have warned that the only beneficiaries... are the terrorist groups and that what is happening will offer them a fertile ground to restart their activities".

Meanwhile the UN's mission in Libya, UNSMIL, said on Twitter it "strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sebha, which was claimed by (IS) and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties."

"Perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," UNSMIL added.

Ahead of its assault on pro-GNA forces on the edge of Tripoli, the LNA in mid-January announced the start of an offensive intended to "purge the south of terrorists and criminal groups", including rebels from Chad.
Beirut (AFP) - At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.
London (AFP) - The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

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"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

- 'Royally screwed': Williamson -

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself."

He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
WASHINGTON  North Korea fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the defiant nation's first launch in more than a year and possibly re-stirring tensions with the U.S.

Both the White House and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches. South Korean media reported the missiles were fired about 9 a.m. local time Saturday from the city of Wonsan. The missiles flew about 125 miles in the direction of the ocean before landing in the water, the joint chiefs said.

Officials are analyzing the situation and details surrounding the type of missiles that were launched, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said late Friday that the White House was "aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The launch comes less than three months since President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi to negotiate denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The summit, which was the second held between the leaders, ended without any agreement on denuclearization or sanction relief.

The launch would not violate Kims self-imposed testing moratorium, which prevented the country from testing intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But the news is sure to raise tensions between North Korea and the U.S. and is the first missile launch since the North's November 2017 test of an ICBM.

In March, after North Korean officials threatened to resume testing missiles, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Kim had promised Trump that such tests would not happen.

"In Hanoi, on multiple occasions, he spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing nor would he resume missile testing," Pompeo said. "So thats Chairman Kims word. We have every expectation he will live up to that commitment."

More: North Korea wants Pompeo out of talks; Kremlin announces an April visit by Kim Jong Un

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More: Negotiations between Trump, North Korea at a standstill, but optimism still in force at DMZ

President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June.

Last month, Kim oversaw the testing of a new "tactical guided weapon." It was the nation's first publicly announced weapons test since last year and came amid growing signs that Kim has soured on his negotiations with Trump.

The country's state-run news outlet KCNA did not specify what kind of weapon the North Koreans tested last month but said the event was "of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power" of the country's military.

Since the February summit, the country has asked that Pompeo be pulled from negotiations, saying he'd been "talking nonsense" and misrepresenting comments made by Kim.

Harry Kazianis, who works for the conservative think tank National Interest, said the launch made it clear that "North Korea is angry" after February's summit with Trump, and the administration's "lack of flexibility" when it comes to sanctions.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," Kazianis said. "My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."

In March, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that the U.S. threw away a "golden opportunity" when the two countries did not come to an agreement during the February summit and said the country was rethinking its moratorium against missile launches.

"We have neither the intention to compromise with the U.S. in any form nor much less the desire or plan to conduct this kind of negotiation," Choe said.

At the time, Pompeo downplayed the threat, saying Trump would continue to pursue negotiations with the North Korean leader. Pompeo added that the U.S. expected Kim to live up to his promise to Trump to maintain the moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and dismissed North Korean demands that he be removed from negotiations.

Just last week, Pompeo reiterated that negotiating with the North could be fruitful and stressed that it would take time.

"There are lots of elements of this. There are many pieces. Its an enormous challenge for that country to make its shift, too," Pompeo said in an interview for CBS' "Intelligence Matters" podcast, noting the country's history of telling its citizens that nukes "kept them secure."

"So theres not just a military strategic decision, but a political strategic decision that we think Chairman Kim is prepared to make," Pompeo said. "Only time will tell for sure, but Ive seen enough to believe that there is a real opportunity to fundamentally shift the strategic paradigm on the peninsula there."

Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea fires several short-range missiles, its first launch in more than a year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leads the testing of a newly developed tactical weapon, November 2018 - REUTERS

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong-un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

The tests were the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.

The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9am (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.

The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017, before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.

Kimhas vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

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The missile firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical weapons system, added to the pressure it has exerted on Washington in talks on ending the North's nuclear programme.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with US President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear programme due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.
By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April. Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program after a summit in February ended in failure. South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year. "We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement. "We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearization talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defense minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief. In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration. "It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang. The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year. SECURITY GUARANTEE Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize." During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media. "The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification. "CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND" U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement. Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary." Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. "At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February.

The talks broke down after cash-strapped North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong Un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand.

The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio.

Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him.

Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.

- 'Unbureaucratic' -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger.

"But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said.

Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm.

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Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.

- Investing in tech -

On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.

Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today.

Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up."

But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.

Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp).

The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater.

Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip.

He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing.

"It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal.

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.




All 143 passengers and crew have escaped after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a terrifying attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air international plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

Officials said the 136 passengers and seven crew were alive and accounted for after the plane ditched in shallow water.

Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries but were in good condition.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. On Saturday the National Transportation Safety Board said 16 investigators were arriving to determine the cause.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.Photograph: Thomas A Higgins/AP

A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was alive and accounted for but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville sheriffs office said on Twitter.

Plane slides off runway into river in Jacksonville, Florida https://t.co/YPpdEyZ6zp pic.twitter.com/ACeadSy14O  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2019

A passenger on board the plane, lawyer Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced, it was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane, it bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.

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Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. We were in the water, we couldnt tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

The Jacksonville fire and rescue department posted on Twitter that about 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier Friday.

Later, Capt Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse. I think it is a miracle, Connor said. We could be talking about a different story.

It wasnt known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Miami Air international is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly rotator roundtrip service between the US and Guantanamo, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the naval station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

Reuters and Associated Press also contributed to this report.
All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but three pets weren't as fortunate.

The bodies of a dog and two cats were recovered, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, where the crash landing occurred, confirmed Sunday. An owner safely removed one animal that traveled in the cabin.

"Those who were involved in this sad tasking performed the recovery in the most dignified way possible with the base veterinarian on site to ensure all protocols were followed," the station posted on Facebook. "The animals will be cremated through a local company. Every possible avenue to rescue these animals was pursued following the incident."

Previous reports indicated at least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each was presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Theres water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."

Authorities have left the plane untouched as the National Transportation Safety Board conducts an investigation of the crash landing, meaning passengers' possessions, including pets, are still on the plane.

Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said the status of the pets became the "second priority" for initial responders after it was determined all passengers were safe.

He said they looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said at a Saturday news conference.

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He said he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positively determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

LaRocque said earlier Saturday that the pets include dogs and cats. The flight's manifest recorded a total of four pets on board, but she said it's possible more could have been boarded.

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

The plane skidded off the runway at around 9:40 a.m. Cheryl Bormann, prominent defense attorney who was aboard the plane, described a chaotic landing in which the pilot appeared to lose control of the aircraft before it smashed into the water and screeched to a halt.

LaRocque said that once the plane is removed from the river, authorities will then retrieve the pets and everyone's luggage.

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about eight miles south of downtown.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3 pets died in Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility's ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy "in the coming weeks," according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-based PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has "concurrent jurisdiction" with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E's bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for Californias goal to source 60% of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

"PG&E recognizes its important role in supporting the state's commitment to clean energy initiatives and remains committed to continuing to help California achieve its bold clean energy goals," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We appreciate the concerns from stakeholders across the state concerning the impact that Chapter 11 filing could have on the state's clean energy progress. PG&E has made no decisions as to whether to assume or reject contracts as part of filing for Chapter 11."

Officials from NextEra were not immediately available for comment.Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)
Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and Jerad Eickhoff and four relievers shut down a decimated Washington lineup as the host Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 4-2 on Friday.

The Nationals are now 1-9 in the first game of a series this year, as Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his fifth save while the Phillies won for the fifth time in six games. Neris fanned Michael A. Taylor for the last out with a runner on.

The winning rally started as Jean Segura reached on an infield single with one out and Bryce Harper followed with a walk against his former team in the bottom of the sixth.

Hoskins then hit a 1-1 pitch from lefty reliever Dan Jennings (0-1) well over the fence in left for a three-run shot and a 4-2 lead. That was the 10th homer of the year for Hoskins.

Eickhoff lasted five innings but allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Washington starter Jeremy Hellickson fanned five in a row at one point. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs against his former team while striking out nine. That was the most since he fanned nine at the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Eickhoff was replaced in the sixth by Seranthony Dominguez (3-0), who gave up a solo homer with one out to Kurt Suzuki as the Nationals took a 2-1 lead. The reliever allowed one run in one inning with two strikeouts.

Segura, hitting second in the Phillies lineup, hit a solo homer off Hellickson to make it 1-0 in the first.

The Nationals tied the score in the third as Hellickson led off with a walk, went to second on a single by Adam Eaton and scored on an RBI single by Howie Kendrick.

Washington left fielder Juan Soto did not start again Friday, as he is dealing with back spasms. It was the third game in a row that he missed. Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are on the injured list for the struggling Nationals, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games.

--Field Level Media
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB - Getty Images

From Esquire

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To The Last Post Of The Week From The Blog's Favourite Living Canadian)

They have to be kidding now. From the Washington Post:

President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour Friday about topics including special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation but that he did not confront Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the two leaders devoted only a brief part of their conversation to what Trump characterized as a finding of no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

I sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and ended up as a mouse, Trump said. Pressed by a reporter on whether he had confronted Putin on Russian interference in the election, Trump said: We didnt discuss that.

All "checking in with the home office" japery aside, the President* of the United States was on the line with the Russian president whose people ratfcked the 2016 presidential election and already may have started ratfcking the next one, and neither of those events even came up? This is like JFK's getting on the teletype with Khrushchev in October of 1962 and discussing the weather in Havana.

And this had escaped my notice.

Putin has echoed some of Trumps talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand, Putin said last month. Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump.

Story continues

Explain to me how this entire presidency* isn't a national-security crisis. Jesus, Lord, somebody throw the emergency brake, or hand out parachutes.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images

'Fi were king of the forest...the following things would happen.

Beto O'Rourke-or Joaquin Castro-would be running for the Senate in Texas, and Stacey Abrams would be running for the Senate in Georgia, and Steve Bullock would be running for the Senate in Montana. Michael Bennet would stay in the Senate to torment Ted Cruz further-a worthy goal for any right-thinking American. Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan would be running for re-election to the House, and Bill DeBlasio would be back in New York, trying to get the subways to run on time.

Nobody who watched William Barr's performance before a Republican-majority Senate Judiciary Committee this past week can sensibly deny that, as long as the Senate remains in the hands of the Republican Party, it doesn't matter what happens in the 2020 presidential election. If the incumbent* wins, there will be four more years of enabled destruction of our political institutions. If one of the Democrats wins, and the Senate stays Republican, the Democratic president simply will not be allowed to govern. Not as a Democrat, anyway.

And this didn't start with El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, either. The record shows that, upon Bill Clinton's election, good ol' Bob Dole announced that he was there to represent everyone who didn't vote for the winner. The Florida burglary in 2000 was in part a refusal to allow another Democrat to succeed Clinton, and the upper echelons of the Republican Party in Congress decided to obstruct Barack Obama at a dinner on the night of Obama's inauguration. If the Democratic Party can't get its senatorial campaigns together, they're chasing a fool's errand for which no fool would volunteer.

Thus, one of the most important Democratic politicians in the country is a woman named M.J. Reger, an Afghanistan vet and the favorite to win the Democratic nomination in Texas for a chance to relieve the Congress of the presence of John Cornyn. Outside of the presidential contest, that's the most critical election of them all.

Photo credit: Jessica McGowan - Getty Images

WWOZ Pick To Click: Once again, the mighty, mighty 'OZ was doing some broadcasting from Jazz Fest this week. Anyway, "Downtown Soulsville" (Chuck Edwards): Yeah, I pretty much still love New Orleans.

Weekly Visit To The Pathe Archives: Here's a British guy in a motorized bathtub. Nice that they gave him a license plate. I don't know why I felt like including this but history is pretty cool.

Is it a good day for dinosaur news, ScienceDaily? It's always a good day for dinosaur news!

An early winged dinosaur couldnt fly, but it could run. Now, with assists from a robotic dino and young ostriches wearing artificial wings, a study suggests that the dinosaurs running gait caused its wings to flap, in what may have been an evolutionary precursor to flight.

Caudipteryx was a peacock-sized dinosaur with feathered and winglike forelimbs that lived about 125 million years ago. Running at speeds of about 2.5 to 5.8 meters per second sent vibrations through its body, causing its wings to flap vigorously, scientists report online May 2 in PLOS Computational Biology. If true, the results suggest that some dinosaurs had to run before they could fly - adding a new wrinkle to a long-standing debate over whether the earliest fliers were flappers or gliders.

The vision of dozens of these poor beasts flapping their way across the savanna in futile attempts to get airborne is truly heartbreaking, even if does bring to mind a very famous skit from the Pythons.

In particular, Zhao and his colleagues wanted to see how Caudipteryxs running gait might have jostled its forelimbs, perhaps causing them to flap involuntarily. Hypothetically, with strong enough vibrations - and if the wings were large and strong enough - such flapping could generate enough lift to leave the ground.

Imagine being the first dinosaur to find itself flying by accident. That seriously could screw you up. But the vision of all those plucky dinosaurs trying to conquer the air is enough to be glad they lived them to make us happy now.

The Committee was very impressed with Top Commenter Carol Nicklaus and her ability to use various variations of words beginning with "pend--" while resisting the temptation to employ the word, "pendejo" which in our current circumstances can be an overwhelming one.

As for any "pendency" inhibiting the president*'s ability to perform any "governance," I think that would be the "pendency" of his twitter device perpetually "pendent" from his fingers...

Pending delivery, you will have 80.11 Beckhams on the house.

I'll be back on Monday with the results of my borscht taste-testing, which is part of Making American Kiev Again. Be well and play nice, ya bastids. Stay above the snake-line, and don't give up trying to fly. A few million years from now, who knows?

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

('You Might Also Like',)
Lisbon (AFP) - Portugal's Socialist prime minister has boosted his credibility in an election year and piled pressure on the conservative opposition by threatening to resign if parliament approves salary increases for teachers, analysts say.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa issued the warning on Friday, a day after a parliamentary education committee approved giving teachers salary increases that were not paid during the country's financial crisis.

The proposal was unexpectedly backed by his minority government's far-left allies -- the Communists and the Left Bloc, plus the conservative PSD and CDS parties which have long defended the need for stiff austerity measures.

It must be ratified by the full parliament but Costa said his government will resign if it goes through, bringing forward general elections slated for October 6. The far-left parties have already ruled out any compromise.

Costa said the measure would cost 800 million euros ($895 million) a year and undermine efforts to balance the budget.

The stand-off however positions the Socialists as "a centre-left party ... (and) puts pressure on the rightist camp because it shows their incoherence and contradictions" on austerity, political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto told AFP.

"Whoever thought the Socialist Party would turn left was completely mistaken. The centre is what matters for the elections," he added.

Recent polls have suggested the Socialists are on track to win the next general election but fall short of a majority.

The popularity of the party has slipped in recent months amid a scandal over perceived nepotism within the government. Costa's cabinet includes a married couple and a father and daughter.

- 'Only responsible party' -

The Socialists' chances have now improved since they "appear as the only responsible party," political analyst Pedro Marques Lopes wrote in a column Saturday in daily newspaper Diario de Noticias.

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"Welcome to the now real possibility that the Socialists will win an absolute majority. With compliments of the PSD," Lopes wrote.

Since coming to power in 2015 with the support of the Communists and the Left Bloc, Costa's government has focused on restoring fiscal credibility and balancing the budget.

The budget deficit, once 11 percent of total economic output during Portugal's 2010-14 debt crisis, has been almost eliminated even as the government has opened the purse strings in some areas, raising pensions and cutting taxes for those on lower wages.

This helped the government win the prestigious post of Eurogroup leader for its finance minister, Mario Centeno, who in this role chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers.

- 'Act of political mastery' -

Centeno was quick to accuse opposition parties of being irresponsible in voting for the teachers' salary hike.

Costa has also warned that the extra spending would have to be made up through "significantly higher taxes" or steep public spending cuts.

Costa's move was "an indisputable act of political mastery" since it allows him to present the Socialists as the "guarantor of fiscal stability and the right as being irresponsible," political analyst Jose Miguel Judice told private TV station Sic.
UN and other experts Saturday praised India for its early warning systems and rapid evacuation of more than 1 million people, which they said helped minimise loss of life from a deadly cyclone that battered its eastern coast.

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, tore into Odisha Friday, leaving a trail of devastation across the coastal state of 46 million people before swinging towards Bangladesh.

In 1999 the same state was hit by a devastating 30-hour super-cyclone that saw a storm surge sweep 20 kilometres inland. Unprepared for the scale of the diaster, authorities struggled to evacuate the stricken population and some 10,000 people were killed.

This time, improved forecasting models, public awareness campaigns and well-drilled evacuation plans -- backed up by an army of responders and volunteers -- has seen Odisha's inhabitants spared the worst of Fani's fury.

Only twelve people have been killed by the cyclone in India -- which escaped being hit by a major storm surge -- and at least 160 injured, local media reported.

As soon as it became clear this week that Fani was on course to hit Odisha, emergency teams began the mammoth task of evacuating those living in low-lying regions, moving 1.2 million residents away from danger areas and in to temporary shelters.

Alerts asking residents to stay indoors and follow the dos and don'ts were issued repeatedly on TV and radio, and broadcast through loudspeakers in public places.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised the government's "effective" evacuation, saying it had "saved many lives".

- New weather models -

The state government in Odisha along with national disaster response teams and volunteers have worked in tandem to carry out evacuations and set up safe shelters.

Workers have been equipped with satellite phones and inflatable boats along with food and medicines to distribute in the storm's aftermath.

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Some 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters have been set up, thanks to an army of 45,000 volunteers.

Emergency workers are now focussing on restoring damaged infrastructure, including power and telecom lines, and clearing roads.

Mahesh Palawat, the vice-president of meteorology at private forecaster Skymet, said the early warnings had been vital in allowing authorities to plan in advance.

"From April 25 onwards we (the Indian Meteorological Department and Skymet) had been monitoring the track and intensity of the cyclone continuously, what time it would make landfall and the probable points of landfall," Palawat told AFP.

Numerical models, adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2014 to supplement the more traditional statistical modelling, allowed forecasters to track Fani's progress and wind profiles in the upper atmosphere.

Denis McClean, a spokesperson for UNISDR, said "the almost pinpoint accuracy" of the early warnings from the IMD had enabled the authorities to "conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan."

Social media users also lauded the Indian authorities for averting a mass human disaster, despite the fact that a densely populated region was in the eye of the storm.

"Credit goes to #India authorities for their aggressive pre-impact response, including massive evacuations," wrote Josh Morgerman, a US-based cyclone expert.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For months, President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen tried  but failed  to position himself as a whistleblower in the vein of Watergate hero John Dean.

As the time ticked down toward his deadline to report to prison, Cohen also lost the interest of the one group of people who could help him out: the federal prosecutors he desperately hoped would ask a judge to shorten his sentence.

Since mid-March, prosecutors in New York have rebuffed Cohen's repeated offers to provide more information about alleged wrongdoing by Trump and other people in his orbit, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis told The Associated Press on Friday.

"Why not see him?" Davis asked. "What's the downside? He's about to go to prison."

Cohen's legal team reached out to prosecutors in March asking for an opportunity to meet for a "frank discussion" about reducing his sentence, based on his cooperation. That meeting never happened.

That snub might be the best evidence yet that Cohen's months-long campaign to sell himself as a potential witness hasn't paid off.

Cohen is scheduled to report Monday to a federal prison 70 miles north of New York City to begin serving a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress.

In an apparent bid to maintain a semblance of normalcy before starting his sentence, Cohen left his Manhattan apartment building on Saturday with his son to go to a coffee shop and then to a barbershop, Eddie Arthur Salon. They both got haircuts. Cohen's next stop was the pricy retailer Barneys New York, where he told journalists that he plans to hold a news conference Monday before heading to prison.

Cohen remains the only person charged in a scandal involving hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who were threatening during the presidential campaign to speak up about alleged affairs with Trump.

Story continues

Cohen started to cast himself publicly as a whistleblower less than three months after the FBI raided his home and apartment.

He gave a series of tantalizing teases that there was "more to come," starting with an interview last July in which he told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos he was no longer loyal to Trump. More dribbled out over the next few weeks. Davis released a tape of Cohen and Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments.

That effort, though, has largely been met with an uncompromising approach by federal prosecutors.

New York investigators built their case for months without speaking with Cohen, then finally agreed to meet with him on a Saturday last August, just a few days before he would plead guilty.

At the meeting, they delivered an ultimatum: plead guilty or be indicted within days. Cohen also believed after the meeting that his wife could be charged with financial crimes if he didn't cooperate.

"I love this woman, and I am not going to let her get dragged into the mud of this crap," Cohen later told an acquaintance, the actor Tom Arnold, in a conversation that Arnold recorded and provided to The Wall Street Journal.

Cohen's wife, Laura, filed taxes with her husband and made investments with Cohen in taxi medallions. She ultimately was not charged.

After pleading guilty in August, Cohen did meet with Manhattan-based prosecutors multiple times to discuss several issues. Those included Trump's personal business dealings, the president's personal involvement in attempts to pay off McDougal and Daniels, and his inaugural committee, which is now the subject of a criminal investigation centering on possible donations by foreign nationals and influence peddling.

Cohen also met with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators several times, culminating with a session just days before the former FBI director turned his report over to the Justice Department.

Still, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, in court filings before his sentencing, criticized what it described as Cohen's unwillingness to cooperate fully and be debriefed "on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past."

They didn't ask the judge for a lenient sentence and have given no sign that they intend to file a so-called Rule 35 motion a legal filing that could reduce Cohen's punishment if his cooperation is deemed to be of substantial assistance. Cohen's attorneys say they believe Cohen's information supports several potential prosecutions.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

In February, Cohen testified before several Congressional panels about what he said was dishonesty by Trump in his business affairs. He also testified that a Trump Organization executive, Allen Weisselberg, and Trump's son Donald Jr. were involved in reimbursing him for one of the hush money payments.

During that testimony, Cohen said a number of Trump-related topics were still being probed by New York prosecutors.

"I am currently working with them right now on several other issues of investigation that concerns them, that they're looking at," Cohen said.

Yet, within weeks, prosecutors were through speaking with him.

Davis, in the interview Friday, said he believes Cohen has been treated unfairly.

"The Southern District of New York was disproportionate in the sentence it asked for and appears to have targeted just Michael Cohen for reasons that I can't understand," Davis said.

___

Sisak reported from New York.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A protest in the South Darfur city of Nyala ended in violence on Saturday, with security forces launching tear gas at protesters and firing gunshots, state news agency SUNA and Sudan's main protest organizer said. Around 5,000 protesters marched peacefully from the Atash camp for the displaced to a military installation housing the 16th Infantry Division, SUNA said, citing South Darfur's governor. Sudan has seen frequent protests near military buildings. The agency said protesters attacked military personnel and tried to seize military vehicles in the town, some 1,100 km southwest of Khartoum. However the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests that led to the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir last month, said the protesters were peaceful, and made no mention of casualties. South Darfur Governor Hashim Khalid Mahmoud said four military and Rapid Support Forces personnel were injured, SUNA reported. He said the joint forces fired live ammunition into the air and used tear gas, but said no demonstrators were hurt. The SPA is locked in a standoff with the ruling Transitional Military Council over who will control a proposed joint civilian-military body to oversee the country until elections can be held. Protests have continued in a bid to push the council to cede power to civilians. The SPA, part of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, called on people across Sudan to take to the streets "in rejection of the practices of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militias, and condemning their attacks on the peaceful rebels in Nyala". "Let us go out to the streets and rally at the sit-ins to support our brothers in Nyala, in support of them and their right to recapture their glorious sit-in in front of the 16th Infantry Division," the SPA said in a statement. Mahmoud said he would "not allow again the presence of protesters" in front of the military's general command and the state government building in Nyala. "They have to choose any other place to sit in," he said. A widely circulated video that was shared live on Facebook from inside a hospital in Nyala showed several people with gunshot wounds to the limbs. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jan Harvey)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Puerto Rico's government has reached a key debt restructuring deal with a group that bought bonds issued by the U.S. territory's power company.

The deal announced Friday is expected to reduce some of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority debt by 33 percent as the company prepares to privatize the energy generation.

The deal also was reached with bond insurer Assured Guaranty Corp. and calls for a fixed transition charge of 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour that will rise to 4.5 cents. The increase would be reflected in customer's bills as Puerto Ricans decry austerity measures.

A federal control board that oversees the island's finances said the plan would save about $3 billion in debt service payments over the next decade.

The deal has to be approved by a federal judge.
The Cincinnati Reds on Saturday released outfielder Matt Kemp, who had been a disappointment since being acquired in an offseason deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati also demoted former 30-homer man Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville.

The moves come one day after the Reds recalled top prospect Nick Senzel. He made his major league debut in center field on Friday night and went 1-for-5 with two walks in a 12-11, 11-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Kemp, a three-time All-Star, was batting just .200 with one homer and five RBIs in 20 games with the Reds, who are managed by David Bell.

"With our support, David is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

The 34-year-old Kemp last played for the Reds on April 21, when he suffered a broken left rib after colliding with the left field wall in San Diego while trying to catch a two-run double hit by Padres outfielder Wil Myers.

Kemp batted .290 with 21 homers and 85 RBIs for the Dodgers last season. He was traded to Cincinnati in December as part of the deal in which the Reds landed outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed from Louisville. Reed was 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances.

Reed has spent part of the last three seasons with the Reds and is 2-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 39 career appearances (18 starts).

--Field Level Media
Kigali (AFP) - The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered in Rwanda's genocide were laid to rest Saturday in a sombre ceremony in Kigali, a quarter of a century after the slaughter.

Mourners sobbed as 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mass killings were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital.

They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, massacred over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militia forces determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 -- the day the genocide began. But this year has witnessed particular commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary.

"Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is every Rwandans responsibility -- and so is giving them a decent burial," said Justice Minister Johnston Busingye at the mass burial.

Some mourners broke down wailing as survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the funeral by ushers.

Emanuel Nduwayezu said the discovery meant he finally had somewhere to come each April 7 and lay a wreath in memory of his murdered family.

"Right now I am very happy because I have buried my dad, my sister and her children, and my in-law. Twenty-five years have passed and I had not known where they were," he told AFP.

"Everyday I was thinking and getting confused (about) where my dad was but now I found him and I have a buried him.

The remains of those interred on Saturday were only found early last year, when 143 pits containing thousands of bone and clothing fragments were discovered beneath homes on the outskirts of Kigali.

Those exhumed for burial on Saturday came from just 43 such pits -- leaving 100 more to go.

A painstaking effort was undertaken so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothing and other markings.

They join 11,000 other victims already laid to rest at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial.

Story continues

- Grim discovery -

Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors, said a landlord from the area revealed the location of the graves only after he was threatened with arrest.

More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 with dumping corpses, came forward with new information.

Dusingizemungu said it was likely those living on the graves knew what lay beneath their homes.

"It is unfortunate that... these perpetrators, now free, never bothered to reveal to bereaved families the location of these grave sites, so they could get closure," he said.

Clementine Ingabire was the sole survivor from her extended family of 23 who were massacred in the frenzy.

Seven of her relatives were identified from the pits, their remains scattered among the coffins. But at least they were granted a dignified burial, she said.

Just seven at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous she made it out alive.

"Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others," the 32-year-old said.

"I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend to my mother. She saw me running and grabbed me... that's how I survived."

The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing the genocidal killers out of Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became Rwanda's president and has remained in power ever since.
2030 15th Ave., #3. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Sacramento?

We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down housing in Sacramento if you've got $1,000/month earmarked for your rent.

Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

4500 63rd St. (Tahoe Park South)

Here's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 4500 63rd St. This apartment is listed for $995/month.

Amenities offered in the building include on-site laundry, storage space and secured entry. In the apartment, there are granite countertops and a walk-in closet. Cats are allowed, but dogs are not. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

Per Walk Score ratings, this location is car-dependent, is relatively bikeable and has some transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

603 11th St. (Alkali Flat)

Here's a 550-square-foot studio apartment at 603 11th St. that's also going for $995/month.

In the unit, you'll get a walk-in closet. The building boasts on-site laundry, outdoor space and secured entry. Pets are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $25 application fee.

According to Walk Score, this location is very walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

2030 15th Ave., #3 (Carleton Tract)

Located at 2030 15th Ave., #3, here's a 700-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that's listed for $895/month.

The building has on-site laundry and assigned parking. Apartment amenities include air conditioning and laminate flooring. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted.

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According to Walk Score, this location is friendly for those on foot, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive

His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan's fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. "I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops," Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the frontline of Islamist militancy in Pakistan.

Tyson Foods recalls almost 12 million pounds of chicken strips over contamination fears

Tyson Foods Inc significantly expanded a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips to close to 12 million pounds (5.4 million kg) over contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday. The Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was aware of six complaints from consumers who found pieces of metal in the product.

Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone

A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.

UK's Vectura wins patent infringement case against GlaxoSmithKline in U.S

British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said.

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Congo Ebola deaths surpass 1,000 as attacks on treatment centers go on

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, with attacks on treatment centers continuing to hamper efforts to control the "intense transmission" of the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record. The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Newly adopted children need specialized health exams

Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcare workers should play a significant role in the adoption process, the guideline authors emphasize.

AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms  where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples.

Scientology cruise ship leaves St. Lucia after measles quarantine

A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia late on Thursday after health officials provided 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, media reports said. The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined in port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected on board.

Scientology cruise ship faces renewed quarantine at home port in Curacao

A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said. A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations

An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds. The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in April test accident

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an "anomaly" - science jargon for when something goes wrong.

First moon landing manual could fetch $9 million at auction

The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie's said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apollo 11 lunar module timeline book details every procedure that was needed to undock, land and rendezvous the Eagle with its Columbia command module when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK politicians can reach Brexit deal in next few days: Scottish Conservative leader

A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen.

North Korea fires 'projectiles', South Korea says stop raising tensions

North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula." The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rocket attacks, air strikes

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday and an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

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'I shall reign with righteousness': Thailand crowns king in ornate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

UK Conservatives look for Brexit compromise after local poll losses

Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

South Africa's largest opposition party promises to lead coalitions, tackle racism

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions.

Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports. Rouhani's comments, carried live on Iranian TV, came a day after Washington acted to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting its ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Cyclone Fani kills at least 12 dead in India before swiping Bangladesh

The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety. Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'Deep Depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan dismissed concerns about a potential intelligence failure on Venezuela like the one that preceded the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and said top U.S. officials had held talks at the Pentagon on Friday. President Donald Trump's strategy on Venezuela has come under growing scrutiny as President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, raising questions about the way ahead for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and some 50 countries recognize as the legitimate head of state.

English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos: early results

English voters used local elections to punish both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the deadlock over Brexit, partial results showed on Friday. With just under a third of English local council vote results declared, the Conservative Party had lost 212 councilors and the Labour Party had lost 54 councilors, according to a BBC tally. The Liberal Democrats gained 145.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Thailand to crown its newlywed king in elaborate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday begins intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowns its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The king will be joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

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Canada vows to defends its business in Cuba as U.S. opens way for lawsuits

Canada vowed on Friday to defend its businesses operating in Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a ban on American citizens filing lawsuits against investors working on the island nation. "The Government of Canada will always defend Canadians and Canadian businesses conducting legitimate trade and investment with Cuba, and is reviewing all options in response to the U.S. decision," a foreign ministry statement said.

Scotland's Davidson girds for fight as support for independence rises

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

Trump says he, Putin discussed new nuclear pact possibly including China

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

Israel kills two militants in Gaza; two Palestinians killed in border protest

Israel killed two Hamas militants in air strikes on Gaza on Friday, and two Palestinian protesters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces along the enclave's border. The strikes were a response to gunfire from southern Gaza that wounded two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said.

One Venezuelan protester's brush with death

A young protester, his arms outstretched and his head thrown completely back, is struck from behind by a Venezuelan National Guard riot control vehicle and pulled underneath. Luis Alejandro had joined a protest outside 'La Carlota' military base in Caracas after opposition leader Juan Guaido called on Venezuelans to support the "final phase" of his effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.

U.S. cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant

The United States acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of U.S. sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programs designed to prevent Iran from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons program.
By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc's drivers in New York will go on strike next week shortly before the ride-hailing company goes public to protest what they view as unfair employment conditions, a taxi union said on Friday. The protests underscore the challenge for Uber of finding a way to lower driver costs in order to become profitable and paying drivers enough to retain their services. Drivers for Uber, as well Lyft Inc and other ride-hailing apps, will strike on Wednesday for two hours, beginning at 7 a.m. ET (1100 GMT). Uber currently expects to price its IPO on Thursday and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following day. The drivers join peers in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., who are also planning to strike. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) said the drivers are demanding job security, livable incomes and a cap on the amount ride-hailing companies can collect from fares. "Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our work day," Sonam Lama, a NYTWA member and Uber driver since 2015, said in a statement. "Uber executives are getting rich off of our work. They should treat us with respect. We are striking to send a message that drivers will keep rising up," Lama said. Uber cautioned in its IPO filing that its business would be "adversely affected" if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors. The company hopes to be valued at between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion. Uber has yet to turn a profit. It reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2019. "I voted to go on strike because drivers need job security," said Henry Rolands, an NYTWA member and Lyft driver. Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lyft said in an emailed statement that its drivers' hourly earnings have increased over the last two year. "Over 75 percent drive less than 10 hours a week to supplement their existing jobs. On average, drivers nationwide earn over $20 per hour," Lyft said. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)
A University of North Carolina student who died charging an active shooter on the schools Charlotte campus will be buried with full military honors, local TV station WJZY reported Friday.

Wells Funeral Homes confirmed to the outlet that 21-year-old Riley Howell, a ROTC cadet, will receive the special recognition when he is laid to rest.

Howell, who was nearly finished with his junior year of college, was killed on Tuesday as he tackled the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Trystan Terrell, a former UNCC student who has been arrested.

A second student, 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, was also killed, and four others were injured. Terrell faces two charges of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

In Howells obituary, he is remembered as an adventurous guy who loved the outdoors and had a passion for life and all living things.

The family is profoundly moved by the outpouring of love and support shown by our friends, family, community and people around the country we have never even met, the obituary reads. Riley died the way he lived, putting others first.

In the wake of the violence, UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois told students in a statement Thursday that we will emerge from these difficult days.

We will not emerge unchanged, but we will emerge united and stronger, he said. That will be our new normal.
DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated.

"This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying.

Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail.

Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by David Holmes)
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated. "This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying. Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added. The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail. Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani. The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)
(Repeats story moved May 2)

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, May 2 (Reuters) - During Thailand's main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4, the monarch will be presented with five royal regalia, which are treated as symbols of kingship, marking the legitimacy of his reign.

Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known.

The items were first made for the coronation of King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok, or Rama I, and heavily infused with Hindu-Brahman beliefs.

Here are the five royal instruments that will play a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, the 10th divine monarch of Thailand's Chakri dynasty.

THE GREAT CROWN OF VICTORY

The crown is the most important article among all the royal regalia. Adorned with diamonds set in gold enamel, the crown is 66 cm (26 inches) tall and weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb). At the tip of the cone-shaped crown is a large diamond from Kolkata, India, called "Phra Maha Wichian Mani."

During coronation ceremonies of the early reigns, kings Rama I to III would only place the crown next to them upon receiving it. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries, King Rama IV started the practice of placing the crown upon his head, to be more in line with the Western idea of kingship.

The high-reaching crown symbolizes the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra's heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch's royal burden.

THE SWORD OF VICTORY

The sword is believed to be an ancient sword of the Khmer Empire, which was lost at the bottom of a lake in Siem Reap until it was caught in a fisherman's net and later presented to King Rama I.

The king then ordered the sword's hilt and sheath to be ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems, becoming the sword "Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri" as we now know it.

The length of the sword is 89.8 cm (35 inches), including the 64.5 cm (25 inch) blade. It weighs 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) when enclosed with the sheath.

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It represents the king's ability to protect his nation.

THE ROYAL SCEPTER

The 118 cm (3.8 feet) staff, called "Than Phra Kon," is made of Javanese Cassia wood enameled in gold. The finial is shaped like a trident gilded with gold, and its iron hilt is also inlaid with gold.

The staff symbolizes the righteousness of the king.

THE ROYAL FAN AND FLY WHISK

The "Walawichani" was originally only a fan made of a palm leaf, with gold-trimmed rim and gold-enameled rod.

However, King Rama IV said "Walawichani," in the Pali language, refers more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, an animal found in the Himalayas. The king, therefore, ordered the whisk to be made and included it in the royal regalia along with the original palm-leaf fan.

The fan and whisk signify the king's duty to chase away his people's troubles.

THE ROYAL SLIPPERS

The curve-tipped slippers, called "Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon," are made of colorful enameled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

During the coronation ceremony, the chief Brahmin, who presents the king with the five royal regalia, will put the slippers on the king's feet.

The royal slippers represent the ground of Mount Meru, the abode of the god Indra. (Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
Havana (AFP) - Russia is stirring the ghosts of Cuba's Cold War past as it looks to re-establish its influence in the Communist-run island nation, although this time analysts say Moscow has no intention of bankrolling Havana.

Whereas once the Soviet Union and Cuba were linked by an ideological bond, now pragmatism and a shared rejection of US foreign policy is drawing them together again.

At Havana's colorful May Day parade Wednesday, Raul Castro, the first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party, received the highest distinction from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: the Order of Lenin.

The former Cuba president said the prize -- first presented in 1930 by the Soviet Union -- pointed to the "historic relations" between the two countries that "have endured different scenarios and today are being reinforced and renewed."

This rapprochement is not new but has been consolidated by shared opposition to sanctions imposed on Cuba by Washington, which accuses the Caribbean nation of providing military support to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, another Moscow ally.

"The effect of this policy is that it isolates the United States on Cuba and we're opening the door for greater Chinese and Russian presence on the island," said Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, which connects Cuban-Americans advocating economic and political freedom on the island.

Relations between Havana and Washington had thawed under former president Barack Obama, but have chilled considerably since Donald Trump's administration took over.

- 'Lovers triangle' -

The Soviet era may have been confined to history, but it hasn't been forgotten.

"In Cuba, we've always had fond memories of Russia," said 82-year-old Luis Corredera Rodriguez as he played dominos with friends on a Havana sidewalk. "They supported us in everything."

"They're friends for life," added Julio Garcia, 59, although he noted that "the Russians have changed." In effect, he said, the Cubans have become more Russian than the Russians themselves.

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"They're no longer Soviet, they're capitalist like everyone."

Behind the dominos table -- Cuba's national pastime -- a parked Russian Lada is passed by a revving classic 1950s American car.

"It's almost like a lovers triangle between the US, Cuba and Russia: it's an old relationship, there's a lot of emotion here," said Scott B. MacDonald, senior associate of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the last two years have seen Cuba slide into "a new Cold War," although with a different dynamic this time.

"At the end of the Soviet Union, it was about $4 billion a year that went to prop up the Cuban economy."

That came to an end when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1990.

Now, Russia is only Cuba's third largest commercial partner, after the European Union and China.

"Russia likes the idea of warming up this relationship, but does Russia want to spend $4 billion a year to keep Cuba alive economically?" asked MacDonald.

The US may be wary of Russia sidling up to Cuba but the EU seems to have no issue with it.

The EU ambassadors in Cuba invited their Russian counterpart to their monthly meeting, where Andrei Guskov talked about the collaboration between Moscow and Havana and his desire to increase it, several participants said.

After agreeing to business deals worth $350 million in 2018, Russian investments will allow Cuba to increase its energy production by 20 percent and renew the 14-strong fleet of the national airline, Guskov said.

- 'No ideological dimension' -

On top of that, Russia has agreed a 38 million euro ($42 million) loan to modernize Cuba's military, $1 billion to refurbish its railway lines and agreements in civilian nuclear power and cybersecurity.

This "is part of a larger effort by Russia to destabilize the United States, rather than" a bid "to form a Soviet satellite 90 miles off the (US) shores like during the Cold War," said Herrero.

However, the friendship between the two countries today is "built on a pragmatic base, without the ideological dimension there was during the Soviet era," said Nikolai Kalashnikov, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

While Russia is no longer communist, socialist Cuba is driven in part by the threat it will lose its oil aid from crisis-wracked Venezuela -- itself creaking under the strain of US sanctions -- and its need for cash.

"Cuba needs to export and Russia is a market of 143 million" people, said Santiago Perez, deputy director of the Cuban Research Center for International Policy.

There may no longer be a common ideology, but there are "mutual interests."

"The relationship with Russia is crucial for us right now, and I think it's the same for them too."
By Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said.

A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, chief epidemiologist for the Curacao Biomedical and Health Research Institute, said passengers and crew who can prove they were already vaccinated or have had measles in the past would likely be free to disembark "and go about their business."

Others would likely be restricted from leaving the vessel for the duration of the incubation period - the time during which they could potentially transmit the disease to others, he told Reuters by telephone.

"What we don't want is for the disease to spread further," Gerstenbluth said. "There is no other way than ... by not allowing anyone who may be infected off the ship."

Incubation can last up to 21 days after exposure, with infected individuals most contagious from four days before the onset of tell-tale measles rash - while the person is experiencing cold-like symptoms - to four days after the rash appears.

Gerstenbluth said the infected crew member had traveled to Europe and rejoined the ship on April 17, then reported feeling ill on April 22. She remained on the vessel after a blood sample taken several days later came back positive for measles, by which time the ship was already en route to St. Lucia.

Health authorities placed the ship under quarantine after its arrival there on April 30, barring anyone from disembarking. St. Lucia also was reported to have furnished 100 doses of measles vaccine to the vessel before it departed on Thursday for Curacao.

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A total of 318 passengers and crew are believed to be aboard the ship, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified by maritime-tracking records as SMV Freewinds, the name of the 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

The church, on its website, describes Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion."

It says the boat is based in Curacao, an island once part of the Dutch Antilles north of Venezuela and now an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Scientology officials have not responded to requests for comment.

Although the measles-infected crew member has supposedly been restricted to her cabin since diagnosed, the relatively confined interior of a cruise ship and highly communicable nature of the virus - it can linger in an enclosed space for two hours - raises the risk of exposure to others who lack immunity, Gerstenbluth said.

The quarantine comes amid a worldwide resurgence of measles blamed by public health officials on declining inoculation rates in some populations due to misinformation about the safety of the vaccine.

The number of measles cases in the United States alone in recent months has climbed to more than 700 this week, a 25-year peak. Health authorities in Los Angeles last month ordered quarantines on two university campuses after each one had reported at least one confirmed case. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Dakar (AFP) - Senegalese lawmakers on Saturday approved a constitutional reform to scrap the post of prime minister, the first initiative of President Macky Sall's second term in office.

The motion passed with 124 MPs voting in favour and only seven against, National Assembly president Moustapha Niasse said Saturday evening after a nine-hour debate.

The government approved the measure last month before sending it to the parliament where the presidential party enjoys a majority.

Sall, who was comfortably re-elected in February, announced the plan in early April, telling the prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, to abolish his own job.

The move was a surprise as it had not been part of Sall's re-election campaign.

On Saturday, lawmakers also backed legislative changes aimed at preventing the president from dissolving the National Assembly, which in turn can no longer table a motion of no confidence against the government.

Justice Minister Malick Sall said the changes were "purely technical and administrative".

"The goal is not to increase the powers of the president of the republic," he told MPs.

Opposition parties have denounced the constitutional amendments.

"It's a democratic setback. You can't concentrate powers in the hands of one person," said Toussaint Manga, who heads an opposition group founded by supporters of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall has been in power since 2012 and secured 58 percent of the popular vote in the recent election.

A self-proclaimed social liberal -- despite a flirtation with Maoism in his youth -- Sall has described, in his autobiography published last November, a slow, steady rise from a modest background all the way to the top, despite a stint in the political wilderness.

But critics argue that such single-mindedness has made Sall willing to bend the rules to get what he wants.
Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) - When he first heard Pope Francis would visit North Macedonia, the birthplace of the world's most famous Catholic nun Mother Teresa, Marinko Pinjuh thought it was "fake news".

Like many of his fellow Catholics, the waiter said he is equally puzzled and delighted to welcome the pontiff to their tiny country on Tuesday.

Catholics account for less than one percent of the Balkan state's population of 2.1 million, most of whom are Orthodox Christians while a quarter are Muslim.

But the capital Skopje does have one claim to Catholic fame: Mother Teresa -- who earned the sobriquet "Saint of the Gutters" for her lifelong work with the poorest of the poor in the Indian city of Calcutta -- was born there in 1910.

"He is coming to the hometown of Holy Mother Teresa, who became the moral conscience of the world," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said ahead of the pope's "historic" visit.

Mother Teresa, who was canonised in 2016, lived in Skopje when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire.

Born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she belonged to a rich family from the ethnic Albanian minority in Skopje.

North Macedonia's Catholics hail from both the country's Albanian and Croat minorities, as well as descendants of Macedonian Slavs who did not embrace Orthodox Christianity after the Great Schism in 11th century.

- Mother Teresa everywhere -

Although Mother Teresa rarely returned to her birthplace after leaving in the 1920s, her legacy is everywhere in the small Balkan capital.

A motorway bears her name while a plaque marks the place where she was born, though the house itself was destroyed in a devastating 1963 earthquake that nearly wiped the city off the map.

Next to it are trees she planted during her last visit in 1980, according to her grand-nephew Gombar Alojz, 71, who sells pendants with the nun's effigy in his nearby shop.

A few metres away tourists pose for pictures with a photo of Mother Teresa, while down another road stands a memorial devoted to her life and works, which the Pope will visit on Tuesday.

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Believers should thank the revered nun for the pope's visit, Macedonian bishop Kiro Stojanov told AFP.

During an Easter mass he called on his congregation to welcome Francis with "humbleness" and to show themselves as "worthy of his love".

Outside Skopje's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart stands a statue of Mother Teresa with her hands clasped in prayer, while nuns of her order were recognisable at the Easter mass by their white saris with blue borders.

"Do not be afraid, little flock," said the bishop, quoting the Gospel of Luke.

In this "small country, the number of (Catholic) believers is equally small... but like Jesus, the pope is devoted to the ordinary man," he said.

- Why North Macedonia? -

Believers are now gearing up for the mass of a lifetime, with Francis set to guide them in prayer in Skopje's central square. Around 15,000 people are expected to join the ceremony.

Pinjuh, the 42-year old waiter, never thought his town would host the pontiff.

Why did the pope choose North Macedonia?

"No idea," he says. "Everybody has the same question."

Andreja Atanasovska, a 22-year old Catholic economy student, echoed him.

"It is a bit odd, isn't it?," she said. "But it is nice to meet the pope!"

Catholic saleswoman Katerina Milevska said the visit is related to the recent change of the country's name -- which added "North" to Macedonia -- that helped seal a deal to end a long-running dispute with Greece.

"Since the situation is tense in the rest of the Balkans... the pope wants maybe to release a message of peace to Christians of Europe in these difficult times," she said.

Gombar Alojz, who met Mother Teresa twice, is convinced that the pope is coming to tell Macedonian Catholics: "You are a small flock and I want you to increase."

"There are really very few of us," he added.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions. At the DA's final campaign rally on Saturday, Mmusi Maimane, the first black African to lead the center-right party, told 5,000 supporters in the township of Soweto the DA would grow jobs, protect minority rights and unite the country. "You will find us at the heart of coalition governments in this country, as we build a strong center for South Africa, free from the divisions of the past," Maimane said. Parliamentary and provincial elections take place every five years, with seats allocated according to a proportional representation system. The DA and the hard left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) teamed up in 2016 local elections to clinch control in three of the country's largest metropolitan districts - South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, administrative capital Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay in the eastern province. But the parties have been at odds since, disagreeing over key laws at national and local level, particularly land reform. The DA rejected a move to amend the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation after the EFF brought the motion to parliament, and eventually saw it passed with the support of the ANC. Polls in the past two weeks suggest the DA, as well as the ANC, will struggle to win outright majorities in crucial urban areas. "The smaller parties pose somewhat of a threat to the dominant ones this year. New parties, many launched by former ANC and DA members, will siphon away votes and could be key in provincial coalitions," political risk organization Eurasia said in a note. The DA won 22 percent of the parliamentary vote in 2014, giving it the second biggest number of seats in the National Assembly. Analysts also say a sharper fracturing of voters along racial and ideological lines has seen smaller, more hardline parties gain traction. "Your vote should not simply there to expression your race," Maimane said. "If the rights of the minority are going to protected they are going to be protected by the majority," he said, responding to a growing challenge by smaller nationalist groups to the party's traditional base of white, English and Afrikaans-speaking middle class voters. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ros Russell)
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter's suicide bombings, even as police and troops tightened security.

Father Edmund Tillakaratne said public masses were suspended for a second week amid fears of a repeat jihadi strike, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television.

Police, meanwhile, said they were stepping up search operations over the weekend ahead of a planned re-opening of over 10,000 public schools after an extended Easter vacation.

Some 257 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings against three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21.

"We will not allow any parking near public schools from Sunday afternoon," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. "Search operations will be intensified as part of tighter security."

Police and troops across the country had recovered small quantities of explosives, guns, swords, daggers and kris knives, Gunasekera said.

"We will grant a two-day amnesty for people to surrender such weapons," he added.

Despite the tight security, Catholic churches will remain shut on Sunday, a spokesman said, adding that a private mass will be telecast live from the residence of the Archbishop.

"It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live," spokesman Edmond Tillakaratne told AFP.

Ranjith, also archbishop of Colombo, said Thursday a "reliable foreign source" had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for a second week.

"The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution," the Cardinal said in a statement.

- Basilica secured -

Official sources said the Thewatte National Basilica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

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"There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security in the neighbourhood," a police official said.

Although the 10,194 public schools re-open on Monday, a few Catholic schools will remain shut "until further notice".

Sri Lankan authorities had advance warnings from Indian intelligence of the impending Easter attacks, but police and security forces failed to act.

There were at least 42 foreigners among the 257 killed, while some 480 were also wounded. About 50 children were among the dead.

Armed guards have been stationed outside hotels, churches, Buddhist temples and mosques across the country since the attacks.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Friday that some of the conspirators may still be at large.

"Most of those responsible for the Easter attacks have been arrested. Some have been killed," Wickremesinghe said during a tour of island's east, where a Christian church was hit.

"We are trying to see if there are any more secret IS cells in the country," he said. "We will ensure that IS terrorism will be eradicated from our land."

Sri Lanka bolstered security Friday with fears of attacks against several bridges and flyovers in Colombo as well as police stations.

The attacks were blamed on the local National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) whose leader was among the suicide bombers. The group had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
By Shihar Aneez and Shri Navaratnam COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would "eradicate terrorism" following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end. Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility. "Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism," Sirisena told Reuters. The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election. "We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them," Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 "active members" linked to the bombings still at large. Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: "It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings." Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known. Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings. Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation. Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers. ATTACKERS ON LOOSE Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done. "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers." Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago. Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday. The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks. "This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement," Sirisena said. "Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace." Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent. Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15. "Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas," he said. Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues. Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a "big blow" by the attacks, Sirisena said. The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year. "It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sirisena said. "For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks." (Reporting By Shri Navaratnam & Shihar Aneez; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - As the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway gets underway on Saturday, a key question hangs over the gathering: who will take the reins of the empire built by 88-year-old billionaire Warren Buffett?

"Warren Buffett is irreplaceable," said Macrae Sykes, a research analysts at Gabelli & Company.

But Meyer Shields, managing director at the investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, was less concerned.

"Berkshire Hathaway can certainly survive without Warren Buffett," he said. After all the conglomerate is made up of "mostly solid businesses that are only minimally impacted by their ownership."

Investors are not expecting major upheaval, since Buffett has taken steps in recent years to carefully prepare for a leadership change, although he has not made the plan public.

Among four likely candidates, there are two clear frontrunners: Gregory Abel, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67, who were both promoted last year to the board of directors and who are both known quantities who have been with Buffett for decades.

- Leading candidates -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities.

Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

Also potentially in the running are Todd Combs, 48, and Ted Weschler, 56, chosen by Buffett and his long-time business partner, Charles Munger, 95, to handle the group's investments.

"That's never been officially disclosed, but I suspect it will be either Greg Abel or Ajit Jain... and probably the former, given his solid and growing exposure to Berkshire's non-insurance businesses," Shields said.

Sykes agreed, noting that Jain "really likes to focus on insurance businesses and... seems less interested in the spotlight."

It is always possible a dark horse candidate could emerge from the company's board, which includes fellow billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

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One is Tracy Britt Cool, 35, a Harvard graduate and Buffett's right-hand woman for the past 10 years.

Regardless of who the successor will be, Shields said markets should at first "respond very negatively" to Buffett's absence, in part due to his unique status.

But it is also partly because Berkshire's "exceedingly weak" disclosures "have forced investors to rely more on Mr Buffett's carefully-managed public persona than on the companies' individual or aggregated earnings potential," Shield said.

Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager at Meeschaert Financial Services, said Buffett's presence added 10 to 15 percent to the company's share price, and without him, that premium would "disappear."

- More transparency? -

In a little more than 50 years, "the Oracle of Omaha" has built a juggernaut worth more than $530 billion, with businesses that range from paint to railways to consumer products, and include energy, clothing, insurance, banking and fast food.

Buffett never embraced the idea of passing the baton to his children -- Susan, Howard and Peter -- who are involved in many charities.

Only Howard is listed in the Berkshire Hathaway organizational chart as a member of the board of directors.

In 2011, Buffett told CBS that he wanted his son "Howie" -- who has joined in night patrols in Arizona to prevent unauthorized immigrants from crossing onto American soil -- to succeed him as non-executive chairman of the board of directors.

But even if the face of the company will change, its culture and investment strategy likely will remain marked by the caution that has been so central to Buffett, the world's third richest person, analysts say.

Buffett epitomizes safe, value investing. His investments are carefully scrutinized, as are decisions to pull out of any businesses.

Leaders of the individual business units will maintain a high degree of autonomy, while frivolous acquisitions are unlikely.

His departure could lead the financial community to demand more transparency from the company. Berkshire only publishes its results once a year in Buffett's annual letter and does not hold a conference call, as other publicly-traded companies do, to answer questions from financial analysts and journalists.

And even the questions asked at the annual shareholder meeting are selected by journalists whom he has picked.

"I'm not sure investors will be as satisfied with the crumbs of disclosure that are currently offered," Shields said.
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit

* War monitor says at least 67 killed so far in offensive

BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest with fresh air strikes on Saturday, the fifth day of a widening campaign that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee, sources in the area and a war monitor said.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas has strained a Russian-Turkish agreement struck last September that staved off a government offensive into the last major foothold of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

Syrian state media has said government forces are attacking jihadists. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

ESCALATION

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he told Reuters from northern Syria.

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The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib province, but that such an operation was impractical for now.

Russia's deal with Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence.

Mustafa, their spokesman, said Damascus was well aware the rebels were well armed and capable of repelling any assault: "The regime will not be able to advance." (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Khalil Ashawi in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry Editing by Gareth Jones)
"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming," the Japanese artist's largest solo show to date, will open on May 18 at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.

The exhibition, curated by Sun Qidong, features a series of LED displays and performance pieces, spanning the Japanese artist's career since 1988. It will also present several artworks created specifically for the show, including the LED installation "Time Waterfall" and the video performance "Counter Skin Face."

The show reevaluates Miyajima's core concepts in the light of Japan's radical postwar art wave. Entitled "Keep Changing," "Connect with All" and "Goes on Forever," these guiding principles are the foundation of the artist's installations and performance videos.

Often billed as "immersive," Miyajima's artworks invite viewers to reflect on continuity, eternity and the flow of space and time. Most of his installations feature LED lights counting down from 1 to 9 -- embodying the human life cycle and the Eastern philosophy of change and renewal.

"In Western thought, permanency refers to a sense of constancy, without change. In Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, change is natural and consistently happening," the artist explained in a statement.

"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming" will be on show at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum from May 18 to August 18, 2019. See additional information on the museum's website: www.minshengart.com.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It's not possible to invest over long periods without making some bad investments. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of China Nonferrous Gold Limited (LON:CNG); the share price is down a whopping 92% in the last three years. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And over the last year the share price fell 79%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 41% in the last three months.

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 Nonferrous Gold

We don't think China Nonferrous Gold's revenue of US$291,000 is enough to establish significant demand. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. For example, investors may be hoping that China Nonferrous Gold finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money.

As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. China Nonferrous Gold has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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China Nonferrous Gold had net debt of US$402,333,000 when it last reported in June 2018, according to our data. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But since the share price has dived -56% per year, over 3 years, it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak. The image below shows how China Nonferrous Gold's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CNG Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.

A Different Perspective

Investors in China Nonferrous Gold had a tough year, with a total loss of 79%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 37% over the last half decade. 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.

But note: China Nonferrous Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
West Texas Chophouse. | Photo: Jay B./Yelp

Looking to try the top steakhouses around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end steakhouses in El Paso, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

1. West Texas Chophouse

Photo: cody a./Yelp

Topping the list is West Texas Chophouse. Located at 1135 Airway Blvd., Suite 7B, in Cielo Vista, the steakhouse, which offers burgers, sandwiches and more, is the highest rated high-end steakhouse in El Paso, boasting four stars out of 195 reviews on Yelp.

2. Garufa Argentinean Restaurant

Photo: kris p./Yelp



Next up is Mesa Hills's Garufa Argentinean Restaurant, situated at 5411 N. Mesa St., Suite 26A. With four stars out of 121 reviews on Yelp, the steakhouse, pasta shop and Argentine spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge.

3. Ruth's Chris Steak House

Photo: ruth chris steak house/Yelp

Cielo Vista's Ruth's Chris Steak House, located at 8889 Gateway Blvd. West, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse four stars out of 99 reviews.

4. The Grape Italian Steakhouse

Photo: josh a./Yelp

The Grape Italian Steakhouse, a bar, steakhouse and Italian spot, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 52 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6350 Escondido Drive, A11, to see for yourself.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force captured a village from Kurdish YPG forces north of Aleppo on Saturday, the spokesman for the rebel force said.

"There is military action, and the village of Maranaz has been liberated," said Yousef Hammoud, the spokesman for the Syrian National Army, a force formed from a number of factions of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The YPG could not immediately be reached for comment.

The village is part of a YPG-held piece of territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat that the FSA groups have long vowed to recover. "Our aspiration is to reach Tel Rifaat and what is beyond it," Hammoud said. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi and Khalil Ashawi; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Israeli forces had targeted a building in Gaza where the offices of Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency are located, and added that the attacks were a crime against humanity.

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - One Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat on Saturday, during an attack by the Kurdish YPG militia, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aiming to drive Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

The ministry said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Turkish forces shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defense ministry said Turkish and Russian forces carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by David Holmes)
(Reuters) - Two Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders said on Friday they would withhold their support for the re-election of all ExxonMobil directors at the company's annual meeting due to the U.S. oil major's "inadequate response" to climate change.

The Church Commissioners for England (CCE), the endowment fund of the Church of England, as well as New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who manages the state's pension fund, also urged other shareholders to vote in favor of an independent chairman.

ExxonMobil's inadequate responses to climate change indicated its board was not functioning effectively due to the absence of an independent chairman, the two shareholders said in a filing.

Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for DiNapoli declined immediate comment on Friday.

The filing comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier in April that Exxon Mobil was not required to let investors vote on a shareholder submission calling on the company to set emissions targets beginning next year.

Exxon had called the resolution misleading, substantially implemented and an attempt to interfere with its management responsibilities.

The proposal, which would have asked the oil company to set emissions targets "aligned with the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the Paris climate agreement," was rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Reporting by Akashdeep Baruah and Philip George in Bengaluru and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Stephen Coates)
By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday approved a $307.5 million civil settlement for about 100,000 U.S. owners of Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that the government said had illegal software that allowed them to emit excess emissions.

Under the settlement approved by Judge Edward Chen, about 100,000 owners and lessees of Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0-liter diesel vehicles from model years 2014 to 2016 will receive payments for having a software reflash completed. Most owners will receive $3,075 payments.

Current owners and lease-holders have until February 2021 to submit a claim, and until May 2021 to complete the repair and receive compensation, while former owners have until August to submit a claim.

The Italian-American automaker on Jan. 10 announced it had

settled with the U.S. Justice Department, the state of California and diesel owners over civil claims that it used illegal software that produced false results on diesel-emissions tests. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

Chen also approved the consent decrees announced in January between Fiat Chrysler and California, Environmental Protection Agency and agreements with all 50 states.

Under the agreement, Fiat Chrysler agreed to apprise an independent auditor of the status of various initiatives. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it has launched three-quarters of the initiatives and one-third are already complete.

Fiat Chrysler estimated the total value of the various settlements at about $800 million.

Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided emissions control software for the Fiat Chrysler vehicles, agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve claims from diesel owners, while Fiat Chrysler is paying $280 million of the $307.5 million.

Fiat Chrysler is also paying $311 million in total civil penalties to U.S. and California regulators, granting extended warranties worth $105 million. Fiat Chrysler is also paying $72.5 million for state civil penalties and $33.5 million to California to offset excess emissions and consumer claims.

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Fiat Chrysler and Bosch also agreed to pay $66 million to the lawyers representing the vehicle owners.

The hefty penalty was the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules.

Regulators said Fiat Chrysler used "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests in real-world driving. Fiat Chrysler did not admit liability.

U.S. regulators are also reviewing Ford Motor Co's emissions certification process and emissions questions about some Daimler AG vehicles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A panel of three federal judges on Friday ruled that Ohio's Republican-drawn congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and ordered the state to revamp it before the 2020 presidential election. The ruling comes a week after another federal court ruled that Michigan's congressional maps were unconstitutionally drawn by Republican politicians to dilute the power of Democratic voters. Both Michigan and Ohio are expected to play a pivotal role in the 2020 election, as they have in recent elections. They were key swing states in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. "We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity," the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati panel wrote in its decision, ordering the state to create a plan to fix the map by June 14. The ruling in Ohio could be short-lived if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be brought in federal court. In partisan gerrymandering, one political party draws legislative districts to weaken the other party's voters. The lines are typically redrawn once a decade after the U.S. census, and in many states the party in power controls the decision-making. Republicans control both houses of the Ohio legislature, as well as the governorship. Four congressional elections have occurred under the map and each resulted in 12 Republican representatives and four Democratic representatives, the ruling noted. Included in the 2012 map was the "'Snake on the Lake'  a bizarre, elongated sliver of a district that severed numerous counties," the judges wrote in their 301-page opinion, referring to the state's 9th district that runs along Lake Erie. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement that the state will seek a stay and appeal. The court said it will redraw the maps itself if Ohio fails to come up with a solution that the judges deem fair. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought last year by the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union against the state's attorney general. "This opinion, declaring Ohio an egregiously gerrymandered state, completely validates every one of our claims and theories in every respect," Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. Ohio's secretary of state, Frank Larose, a Republican who oversees the state's elections process, said his office will work to "administer fair, accurate and secure elections in 2020, pending the conclusion of the judicial process," he said. The conservative justices who hold a 5-4 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court at a March hearing focused on gerrymandering in Maryland and North Carolina signaled that they were skeptical of lower courts' authority to block electoral maps drawn to give one party a lopsided advantage. Critics have said gerrymandering has become increasingly effective and insidious, guided by precise voter data and powerful computer software. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
By David Shepardson and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials rejected Tesla Inc's bid for relief from President Donald Trump's 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot "brain" of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to China's industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed "strategically important" to the "Made in China 2025" program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: "Our costs for producing our vehicles in the U.S. have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China."

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart China's efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of U.S. intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing China's prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and U.S. demands for sweeping changes to China's policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

ECONOMIC HARM

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the "brain of the vehicle" when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that "increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability."

Story continues

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Tesla's request because it "concerns a product strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs." USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a U.S. government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corp's Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

"The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit," Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

NO U.S. SOURCES

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that "choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training."

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

"For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China," Tesla wrote. "When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers' lives due to a defect from a supplier."

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls "the brain responsible for Tesla's Autopilot functionality" and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of U.S. sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of U.S. Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, David Gregorio and Sandra Maler)
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U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc (NYSE: USX)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

May. 02, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:





Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the U.S. Xpress first-quarter 2019 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Brian Baubach.

Thank you, you may begin.

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate your participation in our first-quarter 2019 earnings call. With me today are Eric Fuller, president and chief executive officer; and Eric Peterson, chief financial officer. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available on the Investor section of our website through May 9, 2019.

We've also posted a supplemental presentation to accompany today's discussion on our website at investor.usxpress.com. Before we begin, let me remind everyone, that this call may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include remarks about future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements.

More From The Motley Fool

Such risks and other factors are set forth in our 2018 10-K, filed on March 6, 2019, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements. Additionally, during today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Eric Fuller.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to start by reviewing our first-quarter results and the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives and then conclude with a review of our market outlook. Eric Peterson will then discuss our first-quarter financial results in more detail before opening the call for questions. I am pleased with our team's execution to the first quarter given the more challenging market backdrop that we encountered as we managed through the closure of our Mexico joint venture and encountered weather disruptions.

Despite these challenges, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is a 40-basis-point improvement from the year-ago quarter and our seventh-consecutive quarter of OR improvement. Our results clearly demonstrate the continued successful implementation of our strategic initiatives as we strive to transform our operations and improve our profitability. While we have achieved a great deal over the last several years, we have much more to accomplish in order to realize our goal. Turning to our segment-level highlights.

In our over the road division, average revenue per tractor per week declined 6.1% compared with the first quarter of 2018. This was a result of a 6.7% decrease in average revenue miles per tractor per week, partially offset by 0.7% increase in our average revenue per mile. The impact on average revenue per tractor per week resulted from unfavorable weather conditions, the transition out of the companies US-Mexico cross-border operations and the less favorable freight environment. Typically, about 80% of our over the road division's volume is contracted and approximately 20% is noncontracted.

In the first quarter, we experienced an 8% increase in our contract rates, while noncontracted spot rates declined more than 20%. Turning to our dedicated division. The average revenue per tractor per week, excluding fuel surcharges, increased to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily the result of a 7.1% rise in the division's revenue per mile in addition to a 4.4% increase in the division's revenue miles per tractor per week.

The increase in utilization was largely the result of our initiative designed to grow our business with those accounts that offer a more attractive combination of rate and utilization while reducing our business with accounts that have a less attractive blend. We implemented this initiative through 2018, and I am very pleased with the improved execution in the dedicated division over the last two quarters. Brokerage segment revenue decreased to $46.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 on fewer loads and decreased revenues per loads. The revenue decrease was more than offset by a higher gross margin as transportation cost per load decreased significantly due to sourcing third-party capacity more efficiently.

As a result, operating income increased 18.9% to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. Importantly, the brokerage segment continues to provide additional selectively for our assets to optimize yield, while at the same time, offering more capacity solutions to our customers. I would now like to spend a few minutes reviewing our strategic initiatives designed to deliver improved profitability and the priorities that we have for the year ahead. As we've discussed on previous calls, our management team has been driving a complete overhaul to company strategy and operations in order to improve our execution and profitability.

We have created an execution-oriented structure, whereby we now manage the business by core metrics with the focus on rate, truck count, utilization and cost. We've also designed and implemented initiatives to improve these core metrics. And ultimately, our operating ratio where we strive to meaningfully improve our profitability. As part of our transformation, we have improved our asset optimization through a redesigned fleet-renewal and maintenance program, optimized our asset utilization through the use of proprietary optimization software and implemented our load-planning initiative in our over the road initiative, designed to improve utilization.

The successful implementation of these initiatives have contributed to the significant margin expansion that we have achieved over the last three years. Another key focus for our initiatives is to improve the quality of life for our drivers as we reduced the day-to-day challenges and frustrations that they encounter. Our drivers are critical to our success and are our greatest asset. As a result, we have launched a series of initiatives designed to position U.S.

Xpress as the company of choice for drivers in the industry. One such initiative was the launch of our new driver development program and the opening of our redesigned development center in Tunnel Hill, Georgia this past February. The newly launched program was created with input from our drivers and provides continuous learning opportunities for both new and experienced drivers. The multi-platform program features in-person development sessions; a hands-on commercial motor-vehicle learning lab, where drivers inspect and identify faulty equipment; a competency-aligned simulator program; a driving range, where drivers can practice complicated maneuvers; over a 150 e-learning modules; and ELD practices and device training.

Our goal is to provide our drivers with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for successful driving career. Moving to the balance of 2019, our priority continues to be on improving the lifestyle and satisfaction of our drivers, as well as our operations as we focus on technology, including digital load matching, automated load acceptance and prioritization and working toward our ultimate growth of the frictionless order. When you analyze the process from order to cash, what you find is that there are many gates in that process where manual decisions are made. These manual decision points open the door to less-than-optimal decisions, along with the potential for errors, given that data entry is often required.

As we remove more the friction that exists, those errors, which frustrate our drivers, will be reduced, and our driver satisfaction will improve. Our goal over time is to have a frictionless order, which we believe will not only improve driver retention but also reduce costs and optimize freight planning, not to mention improved capacity. As you can see, utilizing technology to improve our operations represents a significant opportunity for U.S. Xpress.

As the trucking industry continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. Xpress will be at the forefront, and we're very excited to have Cameron Ramsdell join our team as President of our newly formed unit U.S. Xpress Ventures. As we announced last week, U.S.

Xpress is internal business unit focused on developing and implementing new asset-based business models and technology strategies. Turning to the market and our outlook. The second-quarter freight environment remains subdued relative to normal seasonality and in comparison to the strongest market in 20 years, which we experienced in the second quarter of 2018. While we expect ongoing improvements in network efficiency from the exit of our Mexico business and then operating efficiencies from our strategic initiatives, the changing market conditions since our fourth-quarter call has changed our expectations on second-quarter earnings.

While we continue to expect our initiatives and an improving market backdrop to allow us to improve our adjusted operating ratio on a sequential basis, we now expect our second-quarter adjusted operating ratio to deteriorate as compared to the year-ago comparable quarter. Importantly, we believe the operating improvements implemented over the past several years has positioned the company to better manage market fluctuations such as those that we are now experiencing. As we look forward, our current guidance of delivering a 93% adjusted operating ratio for the full-year 2019 remains achievable, though, it is dependent on market conditions strengthening through the balance of the second quarter. As a result, we plan to update our full-year adjusted operating ratio guidance when we have better visibility on the freight market and our full-year results.

Despite the more challenging freight market, we have contractually agreed to rate renewals for approximately 40% of our anticipated truckload revenue for 2019 with an average rate increase of approximately 5% since November. While current rate increases have moderated slightly, we believe full-year contract rates will increase in the mid-single-digit range. I would now like to turn the call over to Eric Peterson for a review of our financial results.

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon. As Eric discussed, we are pleased with the continued successful execution of our strategic initiatives which enabled our team to manage through a more challenging market backdrop. We offset more challenging market conditions through leveraging our fleet and our brokerage operations and taking advantage of our enhanced dedicated business mix achieved during 2018. In addition, we believe we are well positioned to continue to execute on our current initiatives to drive continued operating ratio improvement.

I'm going to spend a few minutes summarizing our results for the quarter, and we'll focus on the core metrics we use to evaluate and monitor our progress. Operating revenue was $415.4 million, a decrease of $10.3 million compared to the first quarter of 2018. Excluding revenue from our Mexico operations, which were discontinued in January 2019, operating revenue increased $2.9 million, excluding fuel surcharge. The increase was attributable to a 3.8% increase in revenue per mile, mostly offset by decreases of $8.3 million in brokerage revenue.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $12.5 million, compared to the $14.9 million achieved in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $3.4 million in costs related to the exit of our Mexico operations, our adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $15.9 million, which compares to $14.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. As Eric discussed, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is the 40-basis-points improvement from the year-ago quarter. Additionally, our adjusted operating ratio improved by 260 basis points to an adjusted operating ratio of 93.9% from 96.5% for the trailing four quarters ending March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $4.7 million, compared to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income for the first quarter was $7.3 million and compares favorably to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.15 for the first quarter of 2019. As we discussed our fourth-quarter call, the exit of our fixed cost investment and our cross-border US-Mexico operations was expected to be a drag on our first-half results as revenues would declined more rapidly than expenses which we experienced in the first quarter.

Looking forward, we expect the headwind to persist into the second quarter, though, at a reduced level before turning neutral in the third quarter. Thereafter, we expect to build an annualized operating income benefit. Importantly, we'll offer customers, both additional capacity within our core U.S. lanes and continued access to cross-border coverage through an asset-light alternative.

Our effective tax rate for the third quarter was approximately 27.5%, and we continue to anticipate our full-year 2019 effective tax rate to be between 27% to 29% that we outlined on the fourth-quarter 2018 call. For the full-year 2019, we continue to expect our cash tax rate to be in the low single digits. Turning to our fleet, we continue to manage our tractors to a 475,000 mile replacement cycle, and we are converting a portion of our leased tractors to owned, and we'll spend approximately $170 million to $190 million in net capex through 2019 to execute that strategy, with approximately $45 million of the total related to replacing leased equipment with owned. As a reminder, when thinking of free cash flow, a normalized net capex figure over a four-year period is approximately $115 million annually, and we expect our net capex to revert to more normalized levels in 2020 and 2021.

During the first quarter of 2019, the company adopted new ASC Topic 842 leases. The new standard requires us to recognize right-of-use assets and a comparable amount of lease liabilities arising from operating leases on the balance sheet. This resulted from in approximately $187 million of assets and a comparable amount of liabilities being recognized on the balance sheet at March 31, 2019. Rent associated with these operating leases was approximately $20 million for the first quarter of 2019 and is reflected under vehicle rent and general and other expenses in our income statement for the 2019 quarter.

The impact on stockholders' equity was immaterial, and the impact on covenant compliance under our credit facility is also immaterial. Capital leases will continue to be recognized on the balance sheet but are now referred as finance leases as required by the new standard. In regards to leverage, we ended the first quarter with $407.1 million of net debt and had $120.4 million of cash in availability under our revolving credit facility. Interest expense for the first quarter was $5.6 million, and we continue to expect interest expense to be approximately $22.0 million for the full year of 2019.

Looking for the remainder of the year, we continue to have opportunities for improvement as our existing driver-centric initiatives mature and as a focus on operational execution. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Eric Fuller for concluding remarks.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Eric. In summary, we are pleased with the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives, enabling us to achieve our seventh-consecutive quarter of adjusted operating ratio improvement in the first quarter and the highest earnings of any first quarter in our company's history. As we've discussed, the outlook for the second quarter remains challenged in comparison to an exceptionally strong 2018 comparable quarter. That said, we continue to have much opportunity and remain well positioned to capitalize on our numerous initiatives aimed at driving operational efficiencies as we work toward our goal of achieving a 100% frictionless order, which will improve the lives and daily routines of our drivers, not to mention, reduce costs and expand our capacity.

As we focus on managing the core metrics within our business, we remain committed to our goal of improving our operations in solidifying U.S. Xpress as a leader within the industry. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress on our second-quarter call. Thank you again for your time today.

Operator, please open the call for questions.

Questions & Answers:





Operator

[Operator instructions] Our first question here is from Ravi Shanker from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Thanks. Good evening, guys. So on the OR target for the year, obviously, it's understandable it's going to be dependent on market conditions. But part of the story here also was you guys undertaking a number of cost initiatives to close the gap to peers and so maybe that OR improvement was not as market depend on some of your peers.

So can you help us understand that how much tailwind or opportunity there is in the cost side this year? And kind of, if that's tracking consistent with your initial expectations behind the IPO?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So this is Eric Fuller. So we had -- obviously, we have focused around a couple of the big factors and driver turnover being one of them. That is an area where we still believe we're going to continue to get traction through the year.

Our big focus -- the big initiative that we have in our operation is around what we're calling the frictionless order. And we believe that's going to greatly improve our driver retention. So we think we can drive a good bit of cost in that area over probably the next, say, four quarters. We also still believe that we're going to get improvement in the insurance line item.

Insurance is the area where we continue to see higher than what we had expected or what we'd hoped for. But with the forward-looking event recorders, we're putting a new program around driver training. We're trying to move more toward -- all of our drivers going to hair follicle testing. We believe that we will start to see some significant results in that area as well.

So those really are our two biggest cost items that we think we can see some improvement over the next couple of quarters.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. Got it. And just on the pricing side, I think your mid-single-digit pricing expectations sounds pretty good and may be ahead of some of your peers. What gives you confidence that you should be able to kind of sustain that rate going into the back half of the year when maybe you could see some more pricing pressure if current trends continue?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Yes, I think we can -- we will continue to see a little bit of pressure from where we're at today. But we're still having constructive conversations with customers in a positive manner in relation to rate increases for this year. So we feel confident that where the market is -- where we believe the market is going, and we will continue to be able to get decent rate increases on a go-forward basis that will still put us in that mid-single-digit range.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. And if I can just squeeze one more in. Can I just ask you what U.S. X ventures, sounds pretty interesting? Can you just give us maybe two or three top priorities for that venture? And kind of does that involve M&A? Is this homegrown? Kind of, what do expect to see there and maybe some timing on some of the new initiatives?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. I think it's really an exploration about what technology can do for us going forward. If you look at all the money that's getting thrown in to venture capital, all the investments out there, we believe that technology is going to be a big driver of asset-based trucking companies going forward. I think it's going to be an improvement to the overall operations and profitability.

We also think that there's going to be some -- maybe not on the asset side, exactly, but there's going to be some new entrants and some new things that we're going to have to face that maybe we have faced in the past. And we think applying technology to those problems is going to be key to having a lot of them. And so we're going to be exploring exactly what that means. I think today, I would tell you that we are in an infancy stage, but we will be looking at opportunities whether it be an M&A-type opportunities or whether it be looking at some homegrown opportunities to further make better business model-type changes in our existing business or potentially new businesses as we explore what technology can do for us.

And we just think there's a lot of exciting things going on in the market, and we think that we can capitalize if we put a focus on it.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. Thank you.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Brad Delco from Stephens. Please go ahead.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon, guys. Eric, I think you kind of touched on this in your comments, but can you sort of help us reconcile the revenue per loaded mile being up 60 basis points versus kind of your comments about mid-single digits? I mean is it just because you have 20% exposure of a spot? I mean why wouldn't we be reducing that and trying to get more trucks into a committed or contractual basis or maybe even in more dedicated?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So it is in -- it is because of the spot concentration. So absolutely, we are looking at probably more dedicated. The market is probably a little tougher from bringing on new opportunities.

The one thing that we have -- that's been a little bit of a headwind for us is that move out of Mexico where we've had additional capacity that we've had to try to fill. So we've had to go to customers and find new opportunities. And so I think that for us to move some trucks out of these spot environment, we're going to have to probably go to dedicated. But we're doing that, and we are seeing some a little bit of growth in our dedicated area.

And so I think that over time, we'll continue to migrate more into that dedicated arena. I think -- personally, I think that where we're at from our spot exposure though is still decent level of spot exposure. And when you look at a long term -- on a long-term basis, so while it is kind of affecting us today, I think long term, we're in the right position.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then when we think about sort of weather impacting results, would that have -- would you have visibility to know if that impacted your OTR business or dedicated business more? And any comments would be helpful there.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So dedicated, we had a big concentration in the Northeast. And so obviously, any time you've got any kind of weather issues -- winter weather issues, you end up being pretty impacted in those areas. So I would say it's probably a fair mix. But with our concentration of dedicated in the Northeast, we definitely saw a fairly large impact from that business.

The over-the-road piece was typically because the trucks aren't as concentrated, you do end up having trucks probably down for a little bit longer. So when you're ending up having a maintenance-related issue as it relates to weather, that's probably a little bit more impactful in the over the road division. But I would say that both areas were impacted by the weather.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then maybe last one. I appreciate the comments about second quarter and not seeing OR improvement on a year-over-year basis. What is -- maybe this is for Eric Peterson, what's really happening on the cost side that gives you that much visibility.

I mean I feel like it's pretty early into 2Q, and June's probably the most important month, but is there anything specific that's occurred in April, whether a bad accident or something that maybe gives you less confidence in being able to improve margins in this environment?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Brad, I think the biggest thing right now is our visibility, where we stand today on May 2 as it relates to the quarter from an overall volume standpoint. The freight is a little bit weaker than we would like. And as we get into spring shipping, we would have liked to seen a little bit of a more robust environment than we're seeing today. So that leads us to believe where we stand today that may be the quarter could be a little weaker than we expected.

Now obviously, your quarter's made in May and June. And so things could change, but we felt like it was prudent to go ahead and get that out there. We're not seeing any kind of cost issues as it relates to this quarter that have us concerned at this point.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. All right, guys. I'll get back in queue. Thanks for the time.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Scott Group of Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Hey, thanks. Afternoon, guys.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Afternoon.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

So I just want to follow up on the second-quarter comments. Can you say -- are you including or excluding the Mexico cost? And then what's the base of OR you're using for second-quarter '18?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. If you look at our adjusted second-quarter OR for '18, we're comparing that to a 93.4%. The headwinds on the -- we had a $3.4 million adjustment in the first quarter related to Mexico. That adjustment in the second quarter is going to be significantly lower than that $3.4 million.

So it won't really impact the adjusted OR by a meaningful amount.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Helpful. And then as we think about the utilization on the OTR, it was down 7%. Maybe, Eric, what are some of the initiatives to get that better? Are you seeing that start to get better? When can that turn positive? And then on the pricing side, if we look at the rev per loaded mile, up less than a percent.

Even with the pricing -- contract pricing, are we confident that that stays positive in the second quarter?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So on the utilization piece, it really impacted in two areas: weather was a big impact and then just overall freight volumes was an impact. I would say we're not going to have those weather issues in the second quarter. I still think that freight volumes are lighter than we would like, and so that could have a little bit of a drag in our utilization in our over the road division as we go into this quarter, especially in comparison to the previous year. On the contract business, we still think that the contract rates will trend in a positive manner.

And even with that little bit of underlying weakness in the market, we are still getting positive rate increases currently from our customers. So I still feel confident that we will be positive, up, and like we said that mid-single-digit range in contracts for the year.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

I guess I was asking about the total revenue per mile.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, OK. Oh, we're going to be higher than that. I think that with our exposure to spot, I think that's going to be difficult.

To be higher than --

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Understood. And then maybe just lastly for Eric Peterson. Given sort of the backdrop here, any thoughts to maybe slowing in the capex a little bit, maybe doing less of the lease conversions just to generate some cash and pay down some debt?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. I think it's too early to make that call. I think if we look at why we're here is to stick to our strategy, which we believe is in the best interest of our shareholders over the long run to bring that equipment in. When we do the math, it shows that if we delay that equipment cycle, the operating costs increase significantly.

And it might get a temporary benefit on my net debt for a quarter or free cash flow calculation, but I believe that's absolutely the wrong decision over the longer for the enterprise. And so we're going to stick to our strategy at 475,000 miles. Obviously, if there's an extreme situation or circumstance, then we won't be so bullish on that strategy if we need to make a change. But I don't see us as anywhere near the type of situation right now with our current credit profile and liquidity that would prevent us from executing our strategy.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Makes sense. Thank you, guys. Appreciate the time.

Operator

Our next question is from Ken Hoexter from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon. Eric, can you just quickly clarify, what is your spot exposure now and what was it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So it's really -- it's right in that 10% of our total revenue or, say differently, 20% of our over the road division, and that really hasn't changed. It's just that obviously the spot rates have changed dramatically, but our overall exposure hasn't changed much.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

And how significantly have you seen the spot rates change whether it's year-to-date, year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I think we're down roughly 20%.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

At this point?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. So just to come back to, I guess, the first question. I guess I'm little -- still troubled by the lack of improvement on the initiatives. During the IPO process, you talked about all the different programs you were putting in place that were specifically focused irrespective of the market that we're going to see the operating ratio improved.

And even -- last year was the best freight environment in generation, so we should have been setting all-time record. And now we're back to kind of -- it seems like October '17. If you're down 20% on spot rates, that's kind of right around the time of the hurricanes but maybe a little bit before ELDs but not a collapsed market. And if you're talking about rates being up mid-single digits, I'm confused as to why we're not seeing some of the benefits from the initiatives that you made.

Has something gone awry in terms of driver pay or has turnover actually gone against you and increased? Maybe talk a little bit about what's going against some of the initiatives that you have been rolling out?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

OK. I think -- This is Eric Peterson. I believe when I'm looking at the financial results from these initiatives, I think it's fair to say that there are some we haven't made progress on that we'd like. But I think if I step back and look what just happened in the first quarter, it was the best first quarter from an earnings perspective in the enterprise's history.

And I believe in what -- 100% of the people would agree, it was not the strongest market from a first-quarter perspective. To answer your question on where we're behind is these event recorders with the insurance and you look at our insurance expense for the quarter, I believe it was adversely impacted by weather. But I also believe we're not making the progress at the speed of financial return that he probably thought we would. With that said, Eric addressed earlier, with our new training facility that launched in the first quarter of this year and also with the hair follicle testing, we are laser-focused on this forward-facing event recorder that we are going to get the savings.

And just because we don't have it now doesn't mean we're not going to get it. It's a path that we're not recreating anything. Other organizations are doing this successfully. And it's -- just because it's not implemented doesn't mean that it will not be.

And so that's where we are on that initiative. But I guess just to step back, are we where we want to be on an absolute basis on earnings? No. Was it the best quarter in the enterprise's history and are we still progress and do we have initial initiatives that we're launching that we think will accelerate over earnings improvement? Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Thanks for that Eric. And then just on your ability to get to 93% full year, you said you need to see some see strengthening. Is that -- you need to see a strengthening on where? Is it on the volume side as Eric talked about? Maybe not as strong of a second quarter or is it pricing to accelerate? Maybe just walk through on that target.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I mean I think that a little bit of market pick up as it relates to both volume and rate. If we can just get some -- a little bit of life in the spot market, I think that would go a long way and then get a little bit more volume. As I mentioned, part of our utilization impact has been a lack of volume opportunities in the market.

So we believe with just a little bit of pick up on the demand side, then we can start to see some movement there that I think can get us in that direction. As Eric just mentioned, I still -- we're going to have to see a little bit of life in the initiatives around insurance. That has been an area that admittedly has been disappointing and one that we did talk about on the IPO that we expected to see a little bit of movement there previous to now. So that is an area that we continue to believe that we have put a lot of focus on and investment on.

And we're going to -- we believe we will see some improvement in that area, but that is an area where -- at this point, if there's anything, I would say, disappointing as that we haven't seen that move as of yet.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Just one last one, if I can. We head some other companies talk about Amazon and Walmart bringing business in-house. Have you seen any enterprises pull any dedicated business away from the market? Is that any exposure of yours that we should look to?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. I'm not seeing anything on the dedicated side at all.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Or over the road?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. we have seen some stuff on -- that we're really were running mostly in our brokerage division. But we've had two customers -- two larger customers that did pull some business out of the brokerage side and take that in-house. So that's probably been about the only thing that we've seen from somebody moving business back in-house.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Appreciate the time and thoughts. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Our next question is from Brian Ossenbeck from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Hey, guys. Good afternoon. I just want to come back to the hair follicle testing for a second. Is this something where you're going to see a bit of cost before you get some benefit, potentially on the insurance side? I'm thinking when you make switch you have a higher standard and little bit more cost and probably a little bit more turnover.

So maybe if you can just walk us through that, and if that's the right way to look at it? And if so, where you are in that process? This is going to get a little bit worse before you start to get some improvements and some benefits from it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. If you look at how we're managing that process is we're doing it a little bit more in a phased approach. You've seen some people who've had probably the most impactful results from an overall truck-count standpoint that went 100% all-in. We have been a little bit more phased in our rollout.

And it's for that reason that we know -- we're trying to overall manage the impact on the negative side. I do believe though that we are seeing some real positive results as it relates to, not only less accidents and insurance-related issues from drivers who have been hair follicle tested, but we're actually seeing less turnover as well. So I feel confident that as we continue to roll this out to the entire fleet, then we can manage any kind of downside issues as it relates to truck count, and we can get through this with a positive impact throughout the entire process.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And then so the timing, is it supposed to be done by the end of the year, I mean, what specifically [Inaudible] would look like?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Yes, I would say that at this point our plan would be to have the entire fleet under hair follicle testing by the end of the year.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And Eric, one more for you. You talked about this frictionless order concept. And it sounds like there might be something we talk more about in the next couple of quarters.

It sounds like from what you said about the timeline. So maybe you can give a high-level view in terms of what that means in the longer term. And I guess in the intermediate step, what you're looking to accomplish? Is this in brokerage or do you tend to see a lot more of the tech-enabled stuff? Or it does sound like it's going to be more impactful for the drivers, so maybe you're approaching a little bit differently than what we've seen so far in the market.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I would say we're approaching it a little differently and really focused around on the asset side of our business. So if you look at a typical order, there could be as many as 15 gates. And those 15 gates are points in the order in which either they are some sort of data entry point or some sort of decision has to be made.

Some of those decisions are being made by office employees and that entries being entered by office employees. Some of those gates are actually managed by the drivers. So it creates a level -- it's a couple of issues. One, when you're -- every time you have to enter data, there's a chance that you're going to have errors.

So being able to completely take that data entry piece off the table can reduce the amount of errors I have on my system. But then also, by optimize -- and then I can optimize those gates and make better decisions and make sure that I'm making an optimal decision every time. And then also, by optimizing and potentially even automating the gates on the driver side, I can reduce the amount of friction and frustration that the drivers have. So the drivers aren't constantly having to send information back into us on things going on with them or in their order that we can automate a lot of that.

And so for us, we believe it's probably more impactful on the driver turnover side. So as the drivers job become easier and they don't have that friction in their day-to-day, we can drive the driver -- the driver turnover down. And we think it's going to be extremely impactful as we go through the year. Admittedly, we started this process, what, about three or four months ago.

I can tell you today we're at 0% frictionless. But we believe over this next year, we'll start to drive some of those gates out to where we can automate them, and we're going to make things a lot easier for the drivers and also a lot easier for office employees as well.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And I just want a quick follow-up. Is this an internal process where you're dealing with the U.S. X folks or you have consultants? Is this more off the shelf? What's -- how's this all structured and being handled?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It's mostly internal. We have worked a little bit with some consultants here and there, but for the most part we're doing this internal. And so that's where we think we're going to get the biggest benefit, and we think it will be a differentiator.

Operator

Our next question is from David Ross of Stifel. Please go ahead.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

Yes. So just a follow up there on the technology costs. Is there any lumpiness to the investments that you are making in the technology around the frictionless order or other? And is it going to flow through mainly in capex or opex?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Eric Peterson. I look at this more of a continuation of what we've been working on.

If you track back to our S-1, this is launched last June, two of our four strategies were technology. And we were using words like AI and graph databases, and we were doing that back then. And then kind of as we've evolved, and we've had these initiatives around the fleet management, the customer service, the load planning, part of those initiatives had a technology component. And as these initiatives evolve, you start putting the investment where you're getting the largest return.

And what we found right now is that on the technology component to those initiatives, they're all ultimately driven around to see the tractor utilization rate and cost is where -- how we focus our initiatives. We see that as we're putting extra investment to the technology piece that we're getting a larger return. And so as we mentioned, the core part of that was a consultant component and then part of that now is bringing some of that talent and ideas in-house to augment the team with perspectives we haven't had before. So right now, we're not talking about a significant capex investment that we're making.

But to the extent that we're walking in trying to enhance the enterprise value and we have a discovery on this initiative where an investment might make a lot of sense relative to the return, then we would do that. But right now, I don't have a plan in place that says, this is how much -- I'm going to have this big lumpy spend in the next month, and then it's going go away. We're just focused on the technology and investing in it as we go along.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. So no lumpiness in the opex or anything, it just flows through and then..

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Correct.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

What's the current average fleet age for the tractors and trailers?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're in that mid-27-month range right now. And I think the important with this capex here to point out as we plan on exiting the year at 18 months on the tractors. And so when you're -- and that's why that investment looks heavy in 2019, but I think what really sets us up for the 2020 is having a really young fleet, lower operating cost and a chance to really enhance our earnings as we migrate down to 18 months over that remaining seven months of the year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

And what about the trailer side?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

I don't have that exact number in front of me.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And you talked about the event recorders, what percent of the fleet now has those event recorders? And when is it going to be 100%?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I mean we're pretty much at 100%. There are some straggler out there. But for the most part, we're at 100% and have been, since mid-summer of last year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And last question is just a clarification. When you talked about a couple customers moving freight from your brokerage division in-house, were they moving it in-house to their own private fleet, in-house to their own in house brokerage or in-house to manage under contract with another carrier?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Not moving into another carrier, in most cases, moving it in-house to manage through potentially their own brokerage.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. Excellent. Thank you very much.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. We appreciate everybody's time, and we'll see you in a couple of months. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 54 minutes

Call participants:

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

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ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen. "There is a deal that could be done in the next few days in quite short order, and I really hope we can get to that point." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, writing by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Elisabeth O'Leary and David Milliken

ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.

Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash from voters.

The Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election, and Labour - which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote - instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If we thought yesterday's results were a wake-up call, just wait for the European elections on the 23rd of May," Davidson told a party conference in Aberdeen.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she said there had been progress in the weeks of talks between the Conservatives and Labour to find a Brexit deal which passes parliamentary muster.

"There is a deal that could be done in the next few days ... and I really hope we can get to that point," she said, describing the results as "a kick up the backside".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday there was now a huge impetus on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

But even if the Conservative and Labour Party leaderships reach a Brexit compromise, there is no guarantee that it will pass through parliament, which has roundly rejected May's proposals three times already.

In an indication of the hostility May faces from the most pro-Brexit wing of her party, former leader Iain Duncan Smith renewed his call for her to step down soon, calling her a "caretaker prime minister" after the local election losses.

Story continues

Complicating the picture, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two major UK parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

"MOOD FOR COMPROMISE"

Health minister Matt Hancock urged pragmatism in a BBC radio interview earlier on Saturday.

"I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt also saw a "glimmer of hope" that there might be a deal with Labour soon.

But an EU customs union that prevented Britain from striking its own trade deals was not a viable long-term option for the world's fifth-largest economy, he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Buzzfeed News reported sources saying that May was optimistic about a deal, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," the sources familiar with the talks said.

One source told Buzzfeed "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

However, the sources did not think a deal was necessarily imminent, as Labour might wish to delay any agreement until after the European elections to maximise the damage to May.

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement favoured by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in ABERDEEN and Kalia Shubham in BENGALURU; Editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Jan Harvey)
(Reuters) - British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said. The jury found that GSK, which is also a UK-based pharmaceutical company, willfully infringed the patent, which Vectura said gives it the right to seek enhanced damages. Vectura expects to seek application of the 3 percent royalty to sales of the infringing products through the end of the patent term in mid-2021, it said. Vectura started legal proceedings against GSK in July 2016 after a patent license agreement between the two companies expired and GSK declined to license additional patent families under the original agreement. GSK did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

His speech at a military base in the northwest, where he appeared alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

Earlier this week, Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection but it quickly fizzled out as a group of 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

Maduro had responded to that by insisting the military high command had reasserted its loyalty to him.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty ... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech broadcast on public radio and television.

The socialist leader accused Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- of trying to launch a "coup d'etat."

Despite Guaido's best efforts, the military has remained loyal to Maduro.

His appeal came during a week in which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned Caracas that "military action is possible."

Despite repeatedly alluding to such an intervention, Washington has so far limited its actions to ramping up sanctions against key figures in the Maduro regime, as well as state oil company PDVSA.
LIMA (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting "terrorist groups" in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on the groups in Colombia that it alleged Maduro was protecting. But it said in its joint statement that it rejected any attempt to assassinate Colombian President Ivan Duque or undermine regional security. Duque said on Twitter on April 27 that explosives set off at a military base had been orchestrated from Venezuela, where he alleged Maduro was protecting Colombian ELN rebels. Maduro's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro often accuses the right-wing Duque, the Lima Group and the United States of plotting to overthrow his socialist government. The Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, reiterated on Friday that it opposes military intervention to remove Maduro from power, and encouraged Venezuelans to continue efforts to keep fighting for democracy. "This process must be done peacefully and respecting the constitutional order in Venezuela," Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told journalists after meeting with his counterparts in a Lima Group meeting in Peru. The Lima Group backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's push to oust Maduro on Tuesday, which failed to trigger the military defections needed to wrest control of key institutions. The Lima Group said it wants Maduro's ally Cuba to join efforts end the political crisis in Venezuela, and called for an urgent meeting with the EU-backed International Contact Group, which has placed more emphasis on dialogue to find a solution. (Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
FOCA, Bosnia, May 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of Muslims flocked to the town of Foca on Saturday for the reopening of a historic mosque leveled at the beginning of the Bosnian war, in a ceremony aimed at encouraging religious tolerance between deeply divided communities.

The 16th century Aladza Mosque was one of the most prominent masterpieces of classical Ottoman architecture in the Balkans before its destruction in the 1992-95 war by Bosnian Serb forces trying to carve out an ethnically "pure" state.

The eastern town of Foca became notorious for the mass persecution and killings of non-Serbs that took place there during the conflict.

Before the war, the Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, made up 51 percent of its 41,000 residents with the remainder mostly Serbs. Today, among some 18,000 residents, just over 1,000 Bosniaks remain.

"Everything that was connected to Islam, its civilisation or culture was destroyed," said 65-year-old Muslim worshipper Sulejman Dzamalija.

Sacred items dumped on rubbish tips have been restored and built into the mosque "to mark the start of a new era in this part of the country," he said.

Nestled in the valley by the Drina river, Aladza, also known as the Colourful Mosque, was one of 17 Ottoman mosques in Foca. Five of them were destroyed during World War Two, while the 12 remaining were demolished during the 1990 war.

During the war, Bosnian Serbs authorities renamed the town Srbinje, but Bosnia's top court ordered the reinstatement of the original name of Foca in 2004.

Muhamed Jusic, the Foca assembly speaker, said the reconstructed mosque offered hope for the return of pre-war residents and "a new beginning in Foca."

Twenty four years on from the devastating war between its Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, Bosnia remains split along ethnic lines, with rival groups blocking reconciliation and reform needed to join the European Union.

"Today we are witnessing a hope that people will again find peace at this place," the head of Bosnia's Islamic Community Husein Kavazovic said at the ceremony.

Story continues

Work on rebuilding the mosque started in 2012 and was financed by the governments of Turkey and the United States.

"Aladza should serve as a monument to resilience, reconciliation and diversity," said U.S. Ambassador Eric Nelson.

Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said reopening of the mosque demonstrates that "racism and hatred can make material damage but cannot destroy culture of co-exsistence nourished for centuries."

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela Editing by Ros Russell)
By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday rejected a frequent criticism that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc does not disclose enough about its more than 90, often large operating businesses or its common stock investments.

Buffett defended Berkshire's disclosures in responding to three questions at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Meyer Shields, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is among the critics of Berkshire's disclosures, saying in an April 28 report they leave investors "disproportionately reliant" on Buffett's public persona and past investment successes rather than actual knowledge about the company.

Berkshire owns or co-owns several companies, such as the BNSF railroad, large enough to be in the Fortune 500 on their own, yet which merit no more than a couple of pages in its quarterly and annual reports. Profit and revenue for many smaller units are not disclosed at all.

Buffett said "I don't think we actually provide less information" in periodic reports, but may present it in a different form.

He insisted that overwhelming investors with technical information was the wrong idea, saying you can "lose people" in a 300-page report that says less than a 50-page report.

Buffett also said Berkshire did not need to know the reasoning beyond its investments in stocks generally and foreign stocks, saying it might require the disclosure of proprietary strategies or would not be legally required.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
Just four short years ago, things weren't looking so hot for the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). The company had announced a 75% dividend cut to help with its high debt load, and the share price dropped like a stone.

However, since then, Kinder Morgan has been pulling itself together. Can it keep it up? Here's where the company is likely to find itself five years from now.

Pipes head toward a refinery in the distance

Kinder Morgan, the largest gas pipeline company in the U.S., has been punished by the stock market. Image source: Getty Images.

Slow but steady improvement

Kinder Morgan's fortunes cratered during the energy price slump of 2014-2017. By 2016, the company's revenue on a trailing 12-month basis fell almost 20% to just over $13 billion. Net income dropped off a proverbial cliff, falling 85.6% between Q3 2014 and Q3 2016. Long-term debt levels soared 28.5% from about $35 billion to more than $45 billion. And with the company's painful dividend cut, investors fled the stock, shares of which collapsed 65%, from more than $40 per share to $13 per share.

Since then, however, the company's fundamentals have improved slowly but steadily. Revenue is up 8.4% from its 2016 low. Free cash flow is up 259% from its 2015 low. And management has used some of that cash to pay down long-term debt by 22% and double the dividend payout.

But more important than the improving fundamentals are the improving industry conditions driving them.

More gas than producers know what to do with

Since the oil price slump began in 2014, domestic oil and gas production has exploded, thanks to the comparatively inexpensive shale drilling available in the Permian Basin and other U.S. hydrocarbon hot spots. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. natural gas production has increased by 8.3% since 2014, and estimates it will jump an additional 10.9% by 2020.

All that gas has to go somewhere, and Kinder Morgan has been expanding its pipeline network to accommodate it. The company currently has about $6.1 billion of expansion projects under construction, and expects to greenlight an additional $2 billion to $3 billion annually moving forward. These projects include two major gas pipelines from the Permian Basin: the Gulf Coast Express, which is slated to begin operation this October, and the Permian Highway Pipeline, which will enter service in October 2020. Management admitted on the most recent earnings call that it's even considering a third pipeline as well.

Story continues

Some of these new projects push the envelope a bit. Kinder's traditional focus has been on natural gas pipelines, but the company is pursuing a joint venture with Tallgrass Energy (NYSE: TGE) to develop an oil pipeline through the Rockies. The JV would primarily consist of Tallgrass' existing Pony Express oil pipeline system and Kinder's Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline, which would be converted to handle oil.

Looking long term

Kinder Morgan plans to keep growing its gas pipeline network and to expand into the oil pipeline business through its JV with Tallgrass. But it's worth pointing out that pipelines aren't built in a day. We're looking at where the business will be five years from now, but some of the projects currently in Kinder Morgan's $6.1 billion program may not even be finished by then.

That's not stopping the company from looking ahead to 2024. Indeed, on the most recent earnings call, president Kim Dang had this to say about where the company might be in five years: "Overall, the higher utilization on our systems ... will drive nice expansion opportunity. If you look at the longer term, by 2024 the natural gas market is projected to grow to almost 110 [billion cubic feet] a day, driven by increases in power generation, LNG and Mexico exports, and continued industrial development, with most of that supply growth expected to come out of the Permian, the Haynesville [Shale of Texas/Louisiana], and the Marcellus [Shale of Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio]."

Is anyone surprised that Kinder Morgan has significant pipeline assets in all three of these named formations that are expected to drive supply growth?

Keep an eye on Kinder Morgan

The U.S. energy boom seems to be here to stay, and Kinder Morgan is poised to ride the wave of higher domestic production. With a steady stream of new projects in the pipeline (no pun intended), the company looks set for sustained growth over the next five years.

Investors should expect that growth to power additional dividend increases and debt reduction, which makes the company even more attractive as a long-term investment.

More From The Motley Fool

John Bromels owns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I cant think of a better illustration of our partisan divide than the reactions to Attorney General William Barrs testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Democrats are furious at Barrs defense of his rollout of the Mueller report and his assertions of executive power. Some Democrats want Barr to resign, others want him to be impeached, and Nancy Pelosi says hes guilty of lying to Congress. Republicans have found a hero.

Barr is the new Dick Cheney: a stocky, bespectacled, confrontational, blunt, intelligent, unapologetically conservative, experienced, high-powered official who believes in and fights for the office of the president. Just as Democrats loathed Cheney as a bugaboo manipulating President George W. Bush to further the interests of Halliburton, they attack Barr as a dishonest factotum of President Trumps. The qualities that drove Democrats batty over Cheney  his inscrutability, his cleverness, his asperity, and above all his success  make them incensed about Barr. These happen to be qualities Republicans find appealing.

Whats behind conservative support for Cheney and Barr is their lack of embarrassment. Most Washingtonians, no matter their party, find it important to be held in esteem by the citys tastemakers, who are overwhelmingly liberal. Not these two. The classic Cheney moment was his 2004 exchange with Pat Leahy on the Senate floor. Cheney complained that Leahy had called him a war profiteer. Leahy responded that Cheney had said he was a bad Catholic. So Cheney ended the conversation by telling Leahy to perform a physically impossible four-letter act. Youd be surprised at how many people liked that, Cheney recollected in a 2010 interview. Its sort of the best thing I ever did. Hes selling himself short.

Republican fans of Barr circulated clips of his Senate appearance Wednesday even as media coverage of his testimony was uniformly negative. No Democrats are held in less esteem by conservatives than are the ones on the Judiciary Committee. They will never live down their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh. Trump supporters nodded in agreement when Barr said the controversy over his March 24 description of the Mueller report is mind-bendingly bizarre. They chuckled when he said Muellers March 27 letter to him was a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff members. They guffawed when Barr described the verb spying as a good English word. They cheered when Richard Blumenthal asked for notes Barr had taken of his phone conversation with Mueller and Barr told him no. Why should you have them?

Story continues

Where his predecessor was genial and deferential to Congress and the press, Barr is disdainful and combative. At his April 18 press conference before the publication of the Mueller report, a CBS reporter asked Barr if his use of the word unprecedented to describe the circumstances of the Russia investigation was quite generous to the president and his feelings and emotions. Barr replied, Is there another precedent for it? No, the reporter acknowledged sheepishly. Another reporter wondered, Is it an impropriety for you to come out and sort of spin the report before people are able to read it? Barr said, No, and left the room. Lib owned.

In 2001, Cheney fought with Henry Waxman over records related to the formers energy task force. Almost two decades later, Barr and Jerry Nadler face each other in a standoff over whether a sitting attorney general ought to be questioned by staff counsel. Not even CNN could locate an instance where a Cabinet official was interviewed by staff members during a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. But that hasnt stopped Nadler from claiming theres ample precedent for his request. Committee Democrat Steve Cohen accuses Barr of being afraid of staff attorneys, but anyone whos watched Barr before Congress knows he doesnt spook easily. The fight with Nadler is over optics. Nadler wants his hearing to evoke memories of Watergate and Iran-Contra. Barr has no problem denying him the opportunity.

The Democrats have a dilemma. Their base would like to impeach Trump, but the public at large is against it, and Democratic voters themselves dont put impeachment high on the priority list. The people most interested in impeachment, it seems, are cable-news anchors and the same four Democrats  SwalwellSchiffLieuBlumenthal  who appear on their shows day after day. Pelosi has adopted a too-clever-by-half strategy of letting the committee chairmen hound the Trump administration while leadership resists full-bore impeachment. The danger of overreach is real.

Barr is an obstacle not just because of his support for a strong presidency. He also shows every sign of wanting to get to the bottom of malfeasance at the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 campaign. His critics decry his use of the word spying to describe surreptitious intelligence gathering on Trump advisers, but the day after his Senate testimony the New York Times revealed that George Papadopoulos had been contacted by a second FBI employee as part of the Bureaus counterintelligence probe. It was another vindication of Barr, who had told Congress last month the question wasnt if spying had occurred, but if it had been adequately predicated.

I think we did the right thing, Dick Cheney tells James Rosen in Cheney One on One. And I dont have any problem defending it. Bill Barr gives every indication of feeling the same way. Thats why hes become a Democratic target. And a GOP star.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Free Beacon.

More from National Review
(Bloomberg) -- Bombardier Inc. backed away from its 2020 forecast a week after cutting its 2019 outlook, and said it would sell a Northern Ireland wing factory as the company extends a revamp to focus primarily on making luxury jets and trains.

The manufacturer is unable to reaffirm its financial targets for next year, and Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert said he couldnt provide any additional precision. Bombardier also announced Thursday the formation of a new aerospace division that will oversee private aircraft and CRJ regional jets.

The cloudy outlook underscores the challenges still facing Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, who began a five-year turnaround of the debt-laden company in 2015. While the planned divestiture in Belfast would further his overhaul of Bombardier, the potential sale would take a bite out of revenue -- and face uncertainty from Britains planned split from the European Union.

We think it is going to take longer than we had previously thought to get the company to the targeted levels of cash flow and profitability, Rob Stallard, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in a note to clients as he cut the stock to hold from buy. The decision to sell half of the aerostructures division, with no buyer lined up, also removes a considerable chunk of the projected future profits and cash flow.

Bombardier fell 4.7 percent to C$2.23 at 2:25 p.m. in Toronto, paring declines of as much as 11 percent. That came on the heels of a 15 percent one-day decline a week ago, when the company cut its 2019 sales and profit forecast. The bonds also weakened, as $2 billion of notes due in 2027 traded to yield 7.91 percent, from 7.73 percent Wednesday.

Potential Buyers

Bombardier last year handed control of its C Series jetliner to Airbus SE, which Airbus renamed the A220. The Belfast factory makes wings for the single-aisle plane.

It still isnt clear whether barriers will be erected between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain after a divorce. The exit has been postponed until Oct. 31, and a chaotic no-deal scenario that would snarl trade -- the worst-case for businesses -- hasnt entirely been ruled out.

Story continues

The government will work with potential buyers to take this successful and ambitious business forward, U.K. Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement about the Belfast plant.

The biggest players in aircraft parts include U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. and Triumph Group Inc., plus Britains GKN, acquired last year by Melrose Industries Plc in a $10 billion hostile takeover.

Speaking to journalists after the annual meeting of shareholders in Montreal, Bellemare said the decision to sell the Belfast plant had nothing to do with Brexit, adding the company also employs 4,000 people on the train side in the U.K. and loves its presence there. The wing factory in Belfast has about 3,600 employees.

This asset could benefit from having a company that would focus on aerostructure to grow because the potential in Belfast is very significant, he said. Its a high-value business and were confident there will be lots of interested buyers.

Bombardier wants to get the full value of the asset, he said, adding that its not a fire-sale situation.

Prized Asset

Selling Belfast would further distance Bombardier from the A220, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Seth Seifman said in a note to clients. This makes it a prized asset and with Airbus still ramping production of a young program, we imagine it will have an opinion about who owns this integral piece of it.

Spirit said Wednesday that it was looking for acquisitions to diversify away from its dependence on Boeing Co. and the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes in five months.

If Airbus does not want the asset itself, another possibility is Spirit AeroSystems, Seifman said.

Spirit declined to comment on the Belfast plant.

For all of the Belfast plants technological prowess, buyers will also need to assess its profitability, said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

We dont see wing businesses as being very lucrative, Ferguson said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg TV.

Beyond Bombardier

Belfast plant chief Michael Ryan told Bloomberg in November that he planned to look beyond Bombardier for growth as the company shrank its aerospace business, adding that all options would be considered, with nothing out of the question.

There are no new workforce announcements as a result of this decision, the Northern Ireland operation said.

Bombardier said it would also look to sell an aerostructures plant in Morocco.

A new division called Bombardier Aviation will oversee the Global, Challenger and Learjet private aircraft, the manufacturer said in a statement. Bombardier said the unit will also maximize the value of its proven CRJ regional jets, a business for which the company has been exploring strategic options.

The aviation business will be one of two strong pillars for the future, Bombardier said in the statement.

This change reflects our strategic and discipline approach to simplify and better focus the company on the growth opportunities, Bellemare said on the conference call.

Geographic Footprint

Bombardier Aviation will retain a geographic footprint stretching from Montreal to Texas and Mexico. The division will be led by David Coleal, the head of Bombardiers business-jet operations. Bombardier expects to close a sale of its turboprop operations this year.

The Montreal-based company burned through $1.04 billion on a free cash flow basis in the first quarter, more than the expected outflow of $947.2 million. Sales fell 13 percent to $3.52 billion. That fell short of the $3.67 billion expected by analysts. The company swung to an adjusted net loss of seven cents a share.

Bombardier last week cited challenges in its rail-equipment business as it pared its 2019 outlook for sales and profit.

Before effectively pulling its 2020 forecast, the company had targeted financial objectives including revenue of at least $20 billion and free cash flow of $750 million to $1 billion.

Bellemare said its good to have a prudent approach on 2020 because of recent difficulties in the rail unit.

Theres been some disappointment on our performance in the train sector, we acknowledge it and it is being addressed, he said.

(Updates with CEO comments.)

--With assistance from Emma Ross-Thomas, Christopher Jasper, Esteban Duarte and Julie Johnsson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net;Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
News about a good book often travels fast. Readers love to share what they are reading and talk about the last great character or plot-twist they encountered. At the library, all of that shared information turns into some books being checked out more often than others. As we look back at 202
Harry has cancelled his trip to the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images

Two days after announcing a trip to the Netherlands, The Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip, and the world is holding its breath

The Duke had been scheduled to visit Amsterdam and The Hague next week, but will stay in England in the coming days.

Logistical challenges have been cited as causing the sudden change of plans, but as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex suspicion is mounting.

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours ago, Buckingham Palace have now cancelled the first day of the trip.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussexs scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019 .

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The Duchess is suspected to be long overdue. Photo: Getty Images

Harry was originally scheduled to visit the Netherlands on the 8th and 9th of May.

The announcement left observers wondering if something more was afoot, as the decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife a little longer.

What is unclear is whether he will spend the time waiting for, or enjoying the company of their newborn baby.

Is possible the change of plans is a nod to his father, the Prince of Wales, who will be undertaking an important diplomatic visit to Germany next week at the request of the Foreign office.

The trip will see the Prince meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to secure the friendship between the two countries amid ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Some are concerned the importance of Charles visit would play second fiddle to the development in the Sussex family life.

The delay could be a nod to his father Prince Charles. Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry will now instead travel only to The Hague on the 9th to launch the Invictus Games.

The Duchess is now thought to be overdue, and international media and fans are waiting with bated breath.

Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.
A YouTuber inadvertently filmed what might be the body of a murder victim stuffed in a suitcase for a travel video.

The suitcase may be connected to a serial murder case rocking Cyprus politics, nearly two years after the video was filmed. The suspected killer confessed to murdering seven people just days ago, and told law enforcement officials he dumped some of his victims' bodies in suitcases into a lake that's become a destination for travel influencers.

New York-based vlogger Sarah Funk visited Cyprus' Mitsero Red Lake, a toxic, acidic body of water tinted red from now-abandoned British mining operations in June 2017.

"This is what murder episodes are made of," Funk's partner, Luis Yanes, can be heard joking in a YouTube video she posted of their visit to the eery locale.

They climbed over barbed wire and scrambled down a steep hill to get to the lake.

"This feels like death, you know what I mean?" Funk exclaimed. Later, she quipped, "I just feel death in the air, it's so nice."

A shot of Funk squatting to photograph a boxy object in the water can be seen at roughly 2:08 in the video. The object may be one of the suitcases containing a woman's remains.

Cypriot officials believe there are three suitcases in the lake and on Saturday retrieved one of them. It's unclear if that suitcase is the same one Funk saw nearly two years ago and police have not confirmed whether they used Funk's video during the investigation. On Sunday, Cypriot military officer Nicos Metaxas confessed to murdering five women and two children over a three year period. He said he dumped three of their bodies into Mitsero Red Lake. His adult victims were domestic workers for households around Cyprus, according to the Guardian, and are thought to hail from the Philippines, India or Nepal, and Romania.

Political critics are blaming police for mishandling the case, noting that they were unmotivated to find the missing persons because they were foreigners.

Story continues

The Washington Post reports that two of the suitcases have been located, but only one has been retrieved. Authorities continue to search for the third suitcase.

Funk said she thought the suitcase was a log.

Image: sarah funk

After news of the confession broke, Funk posted a blog post with photos of one of the suitcases and asked people to stop contacting her about it.

"This is terrible and I am devastated for the victims' families," she wrote. "It felt eerie there but I did not see anything completely out of the norm ... I dont have any other information about the lake. This is all of the information I have, and I hope it helps."

She added that at the time, she thought the suitcase was a log.

Funk also said she didn't have any other information about the lake.

Image: sarah funk

The Guardian reports that four bodies have been found so far, but notes that the island has "scores" of unsolved cases related to missing migrant women.
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The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

Source A common scene from the 405 in LA.

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

Analyst downgrade due to debt

The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

Source

We should acknowledge though for a company with $1.3 bn in market capitalization, having $5.2 bn in long term debt poses, at least an optical problem in the balance sheet. In the last six months "Capital Restraint" has entered the oilfield lexicon, and companies are being held to account.

But, the debt was right there on the balance sheet in February of 2018, when the very same firm, Goldman upgraded CRC to neutral (whatever neutral means...maybe, don't buy it, but don't sell it?). About the same time two other firms upgraded it to buy. It then started its ramp to $50. Proving only that you shouldnt overly rely on investment analysts advice when making decisions!

Source

Now, Goldman is downgrading a company with significantly more cash flow, and less debt than a year before. A headscratcher, that one! The debt was a legacy from its former parent, Occidental Petroleum, when the two separated in 2014.

In 2018 CRC repurchased about $230 mm in debt for $199 mm, saving approximately $31 mm in the process. It was able to do this as a result of improving cash flow YoY, and high net realizations from an aggressive hedging strategy. I think this will continue, the oil price allowing. Related: Mexico Puts The Squeeze On Fuel Theft

Bottom-line, I think, absent a big drop in oil prices, debt is a false flag to fly with California Resources. This a well-managed company, that was born with a stone around its neck, and has been gradually working its way to a better Enterprise Value. In the currently supportive price environment, the stock should not be punished for the debt.

CRC's Strategic Advantage in California

It can't really be over-stated what the importation of ~60 percent of its crude means to California. I've heard higher figures, some approaching 70 percent, but let's go with what the state tells us. What it boils down to is that a significant disruption in shipping could cripple the state, energy-wise.

Source This goes back a lot farther than the 10 year period I captured. If you go back to 1982, California only imported about 5 percent of its needs.

So as California has become more and more addicted to foreign crude it is interesting to note the sources to which it has turned to keep its roadways clogged up.

Source

It's easy to see that over a third of Californias crude comes from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-KSA, and KSA has been making the news for one reason alone in the past few months. They are reducing total shipments to the U.S., and other countries (but, the U.S. in particular), in an effort to drive prices up.

IMO 2020

From the table published by the State of California, almost 370 mm bbl of crude were brought into the state by oil tanker in 2018. Let's assume these were all VLCC's that hold a 2-million barrels a pop, that's a hundred and sixty-five loads. I am not going to get all wonky and try and calculate the carbon foot-print of a VLCC, but what I will say is that the cost of crude shipping will be rising due to this IMO 2020 mandate, that restrict the amount of sulfur in diesel used in marine engines. This will make locally produced crude even more competitive. A win for CRC.

Let's not forget, as well, that crude shipping is an interruptible supply, meaning that these boats can go anywhere.

New vapor pressure law in Washington State could shutdown Bakken crude.

As if California drivers shouldn't already be paranoid about having enough gas to fill up the minivan for a trip to the soccer field, now the very 'green' State of Washington throws them a curve ball. You may ask, "What's the legislature in Washington have to do with driving in California?" A fair question. The answer is that that California does not produce all the refined products it needs, and the five refineries in Washington are the marginal suppliers to them.

If the new law mentioned goes into effect, about 150 K BOPD of Bakken crude could have to find another home. I am sure you see where I am going with this line of thought. California crude and refined product supply could come under potentially greater threat, making locally produced oil still more valuable.

Summary of CRC's California advantage

Source

100 percent of CRC's daily production comes from fields within the state. A guy named David Ricardo once postulated what has become known as the Law of Comparative Advantage. I won't get too deep in the weeds here, but the relevance to this article is that CRC has an advantage over other (foreign) producers by being in the state, and can sell every barrel it produces at Brent prices, and a lower net cost.

A new potential problem that is weighing on the stock.

California AB-345 is a red-herring that will never see the light of day as a law, but has made waves as it passed through a key committee. What it does essentially is sunset the entire oil production industry in the state. Here is a link if you would like to read the bill.

What hasnt gotten a lot of ink in the press is the fact, that even in the unlikely event it did become law, all permits to drill that have been issued will remain valid. California Resources currently has over 600 permits to drill approved and I see this bill as non-event in assessing CRC stock.

Related: How The Renewable Revolution Is Reshaping Geopolitics

Notable outtakes from Production Data and other Key Financial metrics for 2018

Daily production was132 BPOED, 8 percent higher YoY, and with a slight increase in Q-4 to 86 K from 84 K in Q-3. A trend that it would be nice to see continue in Q-1 of this year. Worth mentioning also was the product skew improved in favor of liquids over gas.

Source

CRC is guiding for capex of about $500 mm for 2019, with about 2/3 of that generated internally. That's a slight step back from 2018, and reflects a conservative outlook with respect to price realizations. Speaking of which, CRC benefits from its exposure to Brent pricing and aggressive hedging.

Source

CRC also built its reserves base YoY while cutting costs.

Source

CRC is telling us to expect daily production of about 132K BOPED for 2019, or ~$2.9 bn in gross revenue at hedged prices. If you back out roughly $2.3 bn in core costs, that leaves about $250 mm in free cash. If you give them a multiple of 10 it suggests a price of $48-52 might be in a fair range for CRC. A 100 percent upside from current pricing, making CRC an easy 2-bagger, assuming favorable oil price conditions persist.

Your takeaway

The market is currently whacking CRC like it had the same fundamentals as shale players. It doesn't. CRC produces from predominantly conventional reservoirs with a low decline curve, (about 10 percent a year), as opposed to the much higher curves for shale.

As I've said, I think too much is being made by the analysts of CRC's debt. In my view they are taking the same metrics applied to shale drillers without considering CRC reservoirs and unique sales scenario in California.

When the market comes to its senses, CRC is well positioned to see some gains.

By David Messler for Oilprice.com

Disclosure: The writer does not hold and does not intend to obtain a position in this stock within the next 72hrs. The author expresses his own opinions and has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Global oil market fundamentals are looking particularly bullish, from the OPEC+ production cuts, to the constraints of exports in Nigeria and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuelan. While oil price volatility has increased thanks to financial analysts putting an emphasis on Trumps apparent Twitter agreements with OPEC leaders, market fundamentals are still very bullish. Until the global market realizes that U.S. oil storage reports are not the be all and end all for oil prices, volatility will remain.

There is a new threat looming though as OPEC+ prepares to meet at its June 25-26th Ministerial Meeting in Vienna. The internal cohesion of OPEC is being called into question at present, as several major member countries are facing not only external sanctions but threats of a total internal implosion of their respective regimes. The removal of U.S. waivers for leading oil importers of Iranian oil and gas is putting the Tehran regime under severe pressure. While Trumps target of reducing Iranian production to zero is unrealistic, the impact of the sanctions is undeniable. No new oil contracts have been reported between Iran and its main clients, China and India, since the sanctions. It seems that the fear of indirect sanctions by the U.S. is already having its desired result, Irans hydrocarbon exports have been hit hard and seem to have no response. Reports about Iran having trouble to pay not only its own bills, but also its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, also show that the regime is struggling.

At the same time, Irans staunchest supporter in OPEC, Venezuela appears to be on the brink. Confronted by U.S. sanctions and increased political support from Arab and European countries for opposition leader Guaido, Venezuela is a facing an economic meltdown as its hydrocarbon sectors come to a standstill. In recent days the situation here has worsened as the opposition, supported by parts of the Venezuelan armed forces and security services, has openly started a rebellion to remove current president Maduro. The latter remains in power, but mainly due to Russian, Chinese and Turkish support. Irans Latin American partner is heading for a possible civil conflict of unknown proportions. Related: Economists: Higher Oil Prices Here To Stay

Based on these two key OPEC producers, at least on paper, OPECs internal structure is fragmenting. The Saudi-led OPEC+ production cut strategy is still in place, but it is partly successful due to the negative repercussions of the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. The high level of compliance with the agreement (128%) is based on the loss of these particular volumes. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia, are sticking to their roles, cutting as needed. Optimism about Iraq is based on uncertain assumptions, while Libyas overall situation is highly volatilie.

To top up OPECs internal issues, Africas main oil producer Nigeria reports that it is not even able to sell some of its cargoes. Nigerian sources stated on May 2 that around 20 Nigerian oil cargoes are not sold, even after severe price cuts. Nigeria has already reduced its selling prices of a basket of May-loading crude oil grades, mainly as buyers were not showing an interest in contracts for cargoes offered at and above a premium of $2 compared to dated Brent. At present, Nigerias major grades, including Bonny Light and Qua Iboe, Forcados and Escravos, saw a decrease of around 20 to 25 cents compared with April. At the same time, Nigeria has been hit by several force majeurs, such as that declared by oil major Shell on exports of Nigerias major Bonny Light stream after the closure of one of two export pipelines, while Amenam, operated by Total, is also under force majeure. The main reason for this is not a lack of demand from China or India, but from European clients. Related: BP CEO: Trump Is The Wild Card In Oil Markets

In the coming weeks, as analysts focus on production figures, storage volumes and demand, OPEC will be focusing on defusing pressure to increase production, while at the same time the Saudi-led faction will likely confront the Tehran-Venezuela (and possibly Iraqi) axis. Iran has openly threatened to undermine OPECs stability if no support can be gathered before the June meeting. In several statements to the press, Irans oil Minister has warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse. Tehran threatens at present to take all necessary measures to block oil and gas flows from OPEC members that are supporting the U.S. sanctions regime. At the same time, Tehran has warned to take measures against countries trying to fill in the supply gap left by Iran. Zanganeh reiterated the latter during a meeting with OPEC secretary general Barkindo in Tehran. Barkindo reacted by saying that OPEC will do its utmost to depoliticize oil and gas policies of the organization. OPECs SG statements however look very bleak in light of the growing heat in the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Zanganeh is counting on Iraq, Libya and Venezuela to keep the pressure on Riyadh an Abu Dhabi, not to fully support U.S. sanctions. The meeting in June will be crucial. Geopolitical pressure, combined with an aggressive power projection of Iran in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya), leaves less room to maneuver for Arab countries than before. Tehrans hope to keep Moscow on its side also seems to be backfiring as Russia openly is behind OPEC+ cuts, while backing Saudi-UAEs efforts in Libya.

In many ways this appears to be a repeat of the 2018 meeting of OPEC in Vienna. The main difference will be that Tehran has lost much of its internal OPEC powers, due to the departure of Qatar and the implosion of Venezuela. Tehran doesnt hold any real cards anymore, even the threat of military action in the Gulf or elsewhere will backfire. The cartel is heading for a rearrangement of powers, a rearrangement in which a new actor may be taking part. Moscow is still heading for an official agreement with OPEC, threatening to topple any Iranian future in the cartel for a very long time. Putins need for Iran is gone, new power plays are already in place, in which Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Libya are much more prominent.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Russias second largest natural gas producer, independent player Novatek, has signed up key participation from two state-owned Chinese oil majors in its massive Arctic LNG 2 project. The deals were inked last week at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation held in China. This cements Novateks position as Russias leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer, moving it a step ahead of the countrys two state-backed companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and China National Oil and Gas Development Co. (CNODC), a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), signed up to acquire 10 percent each in the project. CNOOC is also Chinas largest offshore oil and gas producer and developer.

Novateks chairman, Leonid Mikhelson, welcomed CNOOCs involvement, saying China was one of the key consuming markets for our LNG sales. He added that Arctic LNG 2 would be a game-changer in the global gas market and noted the companys experience from its Yamal LNG project as a demonstration of its ability to carry out operations in the Arctic.

The entry of the CNPC unit, meanwhile, was described by Mikhelson as an important milestone for Arctic LNG 2, while he noted the Chinese companys participation in Yamal LNG. The accumulated experience of working together is a solid basis for the successful implementation of our new LNG project, he said. No details have been given yet for the price the Chinese companies paid. French oil major Total also invested in Arctic LNG 2 in March. Novatek, in its first-quarter results, said the sale of a 10 percent stake in the project had resulted in a net gain of $4.8 billion. Related: Oil Market Is Set To Become Very Tight Later This Year

Experience

China was instrumental in making the Yamal LNG work. In addition to the participation of CNPC, which acquired a 20 percent stake in 2013, the Silk Road Fund (SRF) purchased a 9.9 percent stake for $1.21 billion in March 2016. SRF also provided a 15-year loan worth some $813 million. Additionally, CNPC signed up to a 20-year off-take agreement, covering 3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of Yamal LNGs production, indexed to the Japanese Crude Cocktail (JCC) price, the leading LNG pricing benchmark in Asia. The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) also provided loans, of $10.4 billion and $151 million in 2016. This came on top of a $4 billion loan from Russian funding.

Massive gas project

The Arctic LNG 2 project will cover three production trains, each with 6.6 mtpa worth of capacity. An all-important final investment decision (FID) on the project is anticipated later this year, with the first LNG delivery slated for the end of 2023, around the time when most analysts forecast that global LNG markets will pivot from its current overhang to a possible shortage of the super-cooled fuel.

Insatiable gas demand

hinese LNG demand could reach 80-100 mtpa by 2025, according to various industry forecasts, up from 53.7 million tonnes in 2018. Rising demand for the fuel is part of Beijings drive to clean up the air quality of the countrys largest cities, which have been plagued by high air pollution levels for years. This drive has seen an explosion of demand in recent years that has been increasingly met by imports, including U.S.-sourced geopolitically charged gas imports that have also been embroiled in the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Overall demand for gas is expected to climb to 620 bcm by 2035, according to CNPC, up from at 280.3 bcm in 2018. The oil major has also predicted that domestic production will amount to 300 bcm by 2035, up from 161 bcm last year. This will mean an expansion in imports from 124.7 bcm in 2018 to 320 bcm in 2035.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

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In spite of their political differences, the display of warmth between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Dakar shows that they are cool outside politics.

Pundits expected them to be at each others throat, especially with the completion of the presidential election to which Obasanjo had joined forces to try to unseat Buhari.

The boisterous exchange of pleasantries by Buhari and Obasanjo at the inauguration of President Sall of Senegal is a confirmation that politics is a game. No hard feelings.

Obasanjo, who supported Buhari in 2015 election, gave his support to Atiku Abubakar this time.

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A Massachusetts teenager named Mathew Borges is currently facing murder trial after he stabbed his classmate Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, and later beheaded him for sitting with his girlfriend in the cafeteria of Lawrence High School in the United States.

The prosecutor, Jay Gubitose, said that argument later ensued between Borges and Viloria-Paulino following the development which happened in 2016.

Gubitose told the jury that Borges, who was 15 years old at the time, was very jealous. He started screaming at his girlfriend. He sent her a text that said:

I think of killing someone and I smirk  Its all I think about every day.

In November that year, a day before Borges allegedly killed Viloria-Paulino, he texted the girl with whom he had broken up by then because of his jealousies saying:

The next time you see me, look at my eyes because thats the last time theyll be like that. Theyll be dead.

Surveillance video at the home of a neighbor of Viloria-Paulino showed the victim and Borges leaving together and walking toward a river, the prosecutor told the jury.

Borges, who is being tried as an adult, told police that he and the victim walked toward the river to smoke marijuana and that he left.

The video showed four people later walking near the victims house, and then returning with duffle bags, the prosecutor said, adding that Viloria-Paulinos home had been burglarized.

Borges attorney, Edward Hayden, said that his client and his friends burglarized Viloria-Paulinos home, but that Borges did not commit murder.

Hayden also said that the case against Borges lacked evidence such as DNA, weapons or blood implicating his client, that witnesses who are going to say he committed murder are not reliable.

And while Borges texts supposedly indicate jealousy, he argued, they did not mention Viloria-Paulino.

In these thousands of texts and messages there is no evidence that Mathew killed Lee. Anything incriminating is referring to the house break. There is nothing in all these messages and theres no motive, he said.

Police searching Borges home found a journal in which he wrote kill him, and he spoke of calling his friends, and telling them to cover their shoes with bags.

The defendant told them he stabbed him to death and cut his head and hands off so he couldnt be identified, Gubitose said.

A man who was walking his dog found Viloria-Paulinos decapitated body by the river. Police later found his head in a bag close to where the body was located.
Foreign Affairs Ministry says its silent diplomatic efforts in the past few weeks culminated in the release of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar arrested by Saudi authority for a drug-related offence.

The ministry said this in a statement by its Acting Spokesperson, Friday Akpan, on Thursday in Abuja

Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian student who travelled for Lesser Hajj with her mother was arrested by Saudi Security Officials on December 26, 2018, in a hotel in Madinah.

She was accused of possessing a bag containing illicit drugs purportedly bearing a tag with her name.

Another passenger, Ibrahim Abubakar, unrelated to Zainab who also travelled on the same aircraft, was also arrested on the same day, it stated.

The ministry explained that Zainab Aliyu was released on April 30, while Ibrahim Abubakar was released on May 1.

It also stressed that the intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari directing that all efforts be exerted to secure their release facilitated the expedited final favourable resolution of the matter.

While explaining further its efforts on the release of the two Nigerians, the ministry stated that on receipt of the information on their arrest, the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah intervened.

It stated that the Nigerian Mission in Saudi then requested for a full investigation to ascertain the innocence of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

Investigations conducted by the Airport Authorities and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano discovered a drug cartel at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, that specialises in planting illicit drugs on innocent travellers without their knowledge.

It was also discovered that the bag tagged in Zainabs name was planted by the cartel without her knowledge.

Following the arrest of members of the cartel, the Federal Government is currently prosecuting the suspects in the Federal High Court, Kano.

The outcome of the investigation and subsequent trial of the suspects confirmed the innocence of the two Nigerians.

The Consulate General of Nigeria in Jeddah, upon instruction from Headquarters, therefore sent series of Diplomatic Notes to the Saudi Foreign Ministry informing of the arrest of members of the syndicate in Kano and forwarding the report of the NDLEA investigation and court proceeding.

It stated that investigation documents were forwarded to the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah to further support the innocence of the two Nigerians and also resolve the issue of luggage tag numbers.

According to the ministry, following these efforts, officials in the Consulate secured an appointment and met with the Director General of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Jeddah.

It said that the DG then requested the official in the consulate to forward the NDLEA report to all concerned Saudi agencies with a view to releasing Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

All these processes followed were consistent with the usual diplomatic channel of engagement.

To maintain the diplomatic pressure, another Note was sent by our Embassy in Riyadh conveying the same message to the Saudi Authorities.

On April 26, a Note was also sent to both the Saudi Embassy in Abuja and its Consulate in Kano, forwarding court documents relating to the trial of members of the Kano syndicate, it stated.

It added that the Legal Adviser of the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that relevant agencies and departments in Saudi Arabia were going to meet to consider all the Notes Verbal and reports submitted by Nigeria.

This, it stated, was to facilitate early resolution of the case of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

The ministry added that the judicial and legal process in Nigeria also provided the critical documentation that aided the diplomatic efforts to establish the innocence of both Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

It stated that the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jeddah is currently processing travel documents for the two individuals to facilitate their return to Nigeria.

The ministry commended the Saudi government, through its Embassy in Abuja and officials of Saudi Foreign Ministry, for cooperating with Nigeria in the eventual resolution of the matter

Post Views: 91
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

This is a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast.

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the U.S. mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

South Korea said in a statement its very concerned about North Koreas weapons launches, calling them a violation of last years inter-Korean agreements to reduce animosities between the countries.

The statement, issued after an emergency meeting of top officials at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, also urged North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear diplomacy.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that U.S.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (U.S.-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.

Post Views: 30
State governments across the country are taking a fresh look at their finances with a view to mapping out strategies for payment of the new N30,000 minimum wage.

They are also awaiting guidelines from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on how best to handle the situation.

Although some of the states, including Kano, Zamfara, Kwara, Rivers, Kogi and Edo, had expressed their readiness to pay the new minimum wage, there seems to be discordant tunes from some other states about their ability to pay.

One of such states is Oyo where the current monthly wage bill stands at N5.6 billion.

The state is allocated an average of N4.4 billion a month from the federal purse while its internally generated revenue is about N1.6 billion monthly.

Information, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Toye Arulogun, could not tell what the wage bill would look like when details of the new minimum wage are released.

He said that could only be determined when the Federal Government gazettes the new minimum wage and guidelines are out.

The commissioner explained that the government would take the necessary step if it was confronted with inability to pay.

But he was quick to add: We will wait to cross the bridge before deciding the appropriate line of action.

The Kwara State Government is also awaiting the template for payment from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

It says the template is required by the 13-man minimum wage reviewing committee it set up to guide it on computing new salaries for workers.

Investigations revealed that the state government receives between N2.5 and N3.8 billion monthly, going by the figure usually released by the Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC).

The internally generated revenue of the state also stands at between N1.7 billion and N2.3 billion per month.

The Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Prof Muritala

Awodun, recently said that the service generated a total sum of N6.279 billion as revenue in the first quarter of 2019.

Awodun, said that the agency generated N2.16 billion in January, N1.76 billion in February and N2.38 billion in March 2019.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of N60 billion revenue per annum or N5 billion monthly, however, said that the service has been developed to a point that it would not make less than an average of N2.5 billion every month.

It was gathered that the state government currently spends over N2 billion on the payment of workers salaries.

A source gave the breakdown of salary payment as follows: core civil servants N600 million; primary and secondary school teachers N940 million; local government staff N500 million and pensioners N400 million.

Like Oyo and Kwara, Cross River State is also waiting for the guidelines from the federal authorities.

It currently has about 25,000 workers on its payroll and receives an average of N3 billion allocation from Abuja monthly and generates between N1.5 billion and N3.5 billion.

Apart from paying salaries and meeting financial obligations in respect of projects, the state also services the loan taken for the execution of the Tinapa complex.

This is put at almost N100 million per month.

There is also the controversial superhighway expected to gulp over N700 billion.

The governor recently transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly to approve modalities for funding the project by the state government.

The letter, which was leaked on the Internet, sought approval for an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for N648.8 billion in favour of a construction company.

The letter with reference number SSG/S/300/VOL.XVII/1199, addressed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, sought the state legislature to consider and pass a resolution granting an approval for the state government to issue an ISPO of N300 million monthly through a bank in favour of the construction company.

Imo ll pay, says Okorocha

as gov-elect insists on checking records first

The Chief Press Secretary to outgoing Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told The Nation that the state government would pay the new minimum wage.

He said: Imo State was the first state to pay the N18,000 minimum wage and it will also pay the new minimum wage of N30,000.

The governor has always considered the welfare of workers a top priority of his administration.

But Mr. Chibuike Onyeukwu, the media aide to Governor-elect Emeka Ihedioha, said the records would have to be checked first to determine what could be done.

He said: The issue of the minimum wage is a matter the governor-elect will not comment on until he is sworn in and assumes office on May 29.

Thereafter, he will check the records on ground and make the position of the state known.

Investigation showed that the current monthly wage bill of workers in the state is about N4 billion, pensions gulp N1.4 billion, while internally generated revenue (IGR) is N1.4 billion per annum.

The state also gets between N3.4 billion and N5 billion as allocation from Abuja monthly.

Speaking on the states chances of paying the new minimum wage, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Iyke Njoku, described it as a complicated issue.

He said: With the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law, every state is expected to pay. For it to be obtainable, the Federal Government should have made it optional rather than foisting it on the states.

States should have been allowed to negotiate with the workers and agree on what they can pay.

For instance, in Imo State, we have free education going on, and this is taking a lot of money and we cannot stop that to meet up with the new salary because they will bring back hardship on the people.

And if you fail to comply with the new salary structure, labour will revolt. So it is a very complicated issue for now.

Niger to initiate discussion with labour

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is seeking talks with labour leaders in the state on how to proceed with payment of the new minimum wage.

He wants to find out why governments wage bill has remained unchanged despite the large number of those who have either retired from the service or died since 2015 when he assumed office.

Bello said that while he is committed to paying the new minimum wage, we will initiate discussions with the organised labour on how to proceed with the necessary modalities for the full implementation of the 30,000 minimum wage bill as signed into law by the President.

He said it was disheartening that despite conscious efforts to turn around the fortunes of the state, the state wage bill continues to remain static, regardless of the number of the people that have retired from the service and those who died between 2015 and now.

The civil servants need to be sincere with themselves and support government in changing the ugly trend.

The federal allocation to Niger State in January 2019 was N4.043 billion.

Figures recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the states IGR last year at N6.5 billion per annum, an average of N543 million per month.

Abia ready to pay, says commissioner

The Abia State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, told The Nation that the state government was ready to pay the new minimum wage, saying it will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be on the same page with other states.

Asked whether the state has the financial muscle to pay, he said: Our IGR is not static; it fluctuates. In my time, it has gone beyond N1 billion, and at times, it has fallen below N700 million.

It keeps fluctuating, but we have arrived at a point where I think today, we can target N2 billion as IGR in Abia and achieve it.

Ultimately, people believe that Abia can make N5 billion as IGR, and I share that optimism. But that hasnt happened yet.

Minimum wage is something that we have all agreed that the amount currently being earned by workers is low, and as a state, we are going to abide with the decision, in line with other states. Whatever other states are doing, be rest assured that we are going to do it.

But I am not also worried, because if you check the whole of Southeast today, Abia pays the highest. N30,000 minimum wage will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be at the same page with other states.

On the possibility of the wage bill being a burden on the state, the commissioner said: There is no doubt that it is going to be a big burden on the state.

But why I am not a bit bothered like other states is because Abia has been paying well above the N18, 000 minimum wage since 2011 till date.

So, we are not as jittery as other states. But like I told you, this has also provided a very good platform for us to look at our wage structure, knowing that we pay the highest.

We have the capacity to continue paying highest. We are going to use this opportunity and adjust and then make it easier for us to pay and for the workers to earn this money as and when due.

It is going to be a win-win situation for everybody. The workers will be happy and the state will also be happy.

I know that when we came in and did the biometrics and the new payroll administration strategy where we have centralized payroll system, that assisted us in realigning our wage structure and we made huge savings from that exercise.

This exercise was basically for the MDAs, but the minimum wage now is going to give us the opportunity to look at what is being earned even in other parastatals like Abia Poly where the wage structure is dysfunctional because a PhD holder in Abia Poly earns higher than a professor in ABSU (Abia State University, Uturu).

It is absurd and totally unacceptable. So, be rest assured that with the restructuring that we are trying to do, it will realign these things and make it look like what it should be, so that the state will be alive to its responsibility, these institutions will also be alive and running.

We are going to restructure our salary wage bill to be in line with what is obtainable elsewhere.

Concerning our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), we are currently undergoing restructuring. During the period of restructuring, you dont get that kind of quantum leap that you expect, but any moment from now, we will start reaping the dividends of those things.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly kept the selection of his choices for new ministers for his second term in office to himself.

According to The Nation, some members of the inner power circle popularly known as Cabal went to London to meet with the president but were denied access based on strict orders from him.

It was reported that unlike his first term in office, the president has not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party.

A top source said: It seems Buhari has realized that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.

His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London.

Those who went to London came back empty-handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).

We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.

A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015?

He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.

Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him.

A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.

I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President.

We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended.
Anglican Diocese of Aguata in Anambra State has asked the state governor, Willie Obiano to tender an unreserved apology to Ndigbo for betraying them by supporting President Muhammadu Buharis reelection during the electioneering campaign.

The church said that the insult the governor gave the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, in the run-up to the last general elections, is a betrayal to the entire Igbo race.

These were contained in the Bishops Charge presented on Friday by Rt. Rev. Samuel Ezeofor at the 2nd Session of the Fifth Synod of Diocese of Aguata holding at St James Anglican Church Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of the State.

The church described Obianos betrayal as an insult which inflicted a deep wound on Igbo people.

The insult Chief Willie Obiano laid on President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo was a betrayal of the highest order, a betrayal of the whole Igbo people, a betrayal of his own people. It was an insult on the whole of Igbo race and we call on him, His Excellency Chief Willie Obiano to apologize to Ndigbo. We do not know how Governor Obiano can explain the stance he took but may it please him to know that he wounded us so deep in his bid to stop his benefactor Sir Peter Obi. We also need to let the Governor know that we are not unaware of his moves against the Anglican faithful in Anambra State.

Chancellor of the Diocese, Justice Pete Obiora commended the Bishop for his analysis of the society and courage to say things the way they were.
Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT], Lanre Osibona has reiterated the Federal Governments commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are un-banked or under-banked.

Osibodu made this assertion in his keynote address at the recently concluded Lagos Fintech Week that was held in Lagos.

Lagos Fintech Week is an invigorating week of distinct Fintech events that delivers exciting discussions, stimulating demos and insightful debates.

He said that digital financial services is critical to building a robust digital economy and government is determined in using it to make financial services affordable to everyone irrespective of their status and gender.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity  the National Identity Number (NIN).

For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians, he said.

He also pointed that government has put in place a number of initiatives that include FECs approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies, developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

He said the Federal Government was expected to have setup an independent Data Protection Agency. This is currently in the National Assembly for final adoption before being signed into law, he added.

The Presidents senior adviser also mentioned that government is developing a robust cyber security framework on the outcome of the cyber security assessment initiative.

We have upgraded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) technology in order to scale the number of records it can hold and working with a number of stakeholders including the private sector to develop strategy for e-commerce in the digital economy.

He stated that the country cannot afford to lose out in leveraging the opportunities that digital economy is bringing but must work together in developing policies and regulations that will address challenges of data sovereignty, data ownership and commercialisation of data.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will meet with the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigerias power sector to assess the take-off and implementation of the third-party meter deployment scheme, Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), initiated by the regulatory agency.

However, as the date for the MAPs to begin rolling out meters to all electricity consumers enters the third day, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr. Kola Adesina, has said meter rollout alone will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

It was also gathered that many Discos did meet NERCs May 1 deadline for the conclusion of their selection of MAPs.

However, the regulator has insisted that all Discos must engage a MAP, insisting that the Discos conclude theirs immediately.

The roll out commenced Thursday as contained in the permit. We shall have update from Discos/Permit holders during the NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry) meeting on Monday, May 6, in Lagos, a senior official of NERC said.

NERC, from various notices it released, has indicated that it had issued permits to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc; Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc, to engage MAPs.

According to the agency, Discos MAPs permits were in accordance with section 4(3) of the MAP Regulations- NERC- R-112 of 2018.

It added that the Port Harcourt Disco appointed Armese Consulting Ltd and Holley Metering Ltd as its MAP; Yola Disco appointed Chris Ejik International Agencies Ltd; while Enugu Disco appointed Mojec International Ltd.

Ibadan Disco, NERC said, appointed CWG Plc, Integrated Resources Ltd, Mojec International Ltd, Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd, New Hampshire Capital Ltd, Protogy Global Services Ltd and Tinuten Nigeria Limited to provide meters within their respective franchise under the MAP scheme.

It also issued permits to Ikeja and Benin Discos to appoint their preferred MAPs, as well as to Abuja and Jos Discos.

NERC approved for Ikeja Disco to appoint Mojec International Limited to provide 399,790 meters; Consolidated Infrastructure Group Ltd  397,922 meters and New Hamshire Capital Ltd  276,699 meters respectively for it within its franchise network, while Benin Disco got its nod to appoint FLT Energy System Ltd; G-Unit Engineering Ltd; Inlaks Power Solution Ltd; Sabrud Consortium Nigeria Ltd and Turbo Energy Ltd to provide meters within its franchise network.

For Abuja Disco, NERC approved Mojec International Limited, Meron Consortium and Turbo Engineering Limited to provide 487,000; 213,000 and 200,000 meters respectively for the distribution company.

NERC also approved Triple 7 and Mojec International Limited consortium to provide 500,000 meters to Jos Disco.

The commission had directed that the rollout of meters under the MAP shall commence not later than May 1, 2019, and asked customers of the Discos to expect from the commencement of rollout date for meters to be installed in their premises within 10 working days of making payment to MAPs in accordance with section 18 (3) of the MAP Regulations 2018.

It added that MAPs shall charge an upfront amount of N36, 991.50 for single-phase meters and N67, 055.85 for three-phase meters.

These costs of meters are inclusive of supply, installation, maintenance and replacement of meters over its technical life.

The commission shall monitor closely the rollout plan of distribution licensees and overall compliance with the regulation and various service agreements by the MAP and electricity distribution licensees, the NERC had stated in one of its statements on the scheme.

However, out of the 11 Discos, NERC reported that only eight have procured their MAPs. Kaduna, Kano and Eko Discos have not.

Meanwhile, Kola Adesina, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), said only meter rollout will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

Adesina, who spoke with journalists on the side-lines of the inauguration of the 2019 Young Engineers Programme (YEP), an initiative of the company, said rather than shifting focus to metering, the federal government and the regulators should recommend a holistic solution to all the fundamental problems in the power sector.

He said: Well, you said it all, yesterday (May 1), was meant to be the first day for meter rollout. I believe that from today most of them will begin to see how fast they can rollout the meters. My own view has always been this: when you have a problem of this nature, it is a holistic solution that you need to recommend.

But because the narratives for the power sector have shifted to metering as above the key solutions here, we want to see whether that alone can solve the problem. But I know that alone will not solve our problem. We still have many other issues within the value chain that need to be solved.

Citing the power outage experienced in the country recently, which he said was caused by a bolt that went off leading to shutting down the pipeline for repair, Adesina stated that as a country, having only one pipeline was not acceptable.

He explained: I give you an instance; recently we had serious power outage in Nigeria. The reason for that was that the gas provider had a leakage on the pipeline, and in solving that leakage, all generation companies had to ramp down their power because they cannot be supplying gas while they are repairing what needed to be repaired.

So, it is a bolt that actually got off within the pipeline. So, they needed to repair that. Now, I say, for us to have a holistic, total, systemic solution, Nigeria should not have just one pipeline supplying gas to different power plants. Nigeria should have multiple gas pipelines to all the power stations that we have, such that if there is shortage in one, they can divert gas all to the other. But that is one side of the equation as well.

He re-echoed the issue of electricity tariff as another fundamental issue that needs to be addressed in the power sector, saying without a cost-reflective tariff in place, stable, uninterrupted power supply might not be achieved as desired by Nigerians.

According to him, Once there is cost reflective tariff and all the relevant critical enablers apart from tariff, are made available, investors and business will all fall suit. They will want to make more money doing the business and they will want to make legitimate money doing this business.

If the cost of generation is N10 and tariff is N6, you cant get power. If the tariff methodology is very clear; if the generation companies are charging to power companies, using the exchange rate of N305 to a dollar, therefore, the distribution companies must use the exchange rate of N305 to charge the customers for the power they are consuming.

But today, the distribution companies are using N199 to $1. I am sure none of you can get a dollar at 199. So if the equipment required by distribution companies are being gotten at N360 per dollar, which is even the open market rate, then there is a big issue that somebody needs to speak to here.

They cannot be using N199 as the exchange rate for distribution companies to you and I the consumer, and whereas the generation companies use N305 to charge to the distribution companies. So somebody is losing money and it is the distribution companies.

Adesina called for the review of electricity tariff, saying tariff review was supposed to have been done for six times since the last review but that that has not happened till date.

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There was a brief commotion after a helicopter landed at the stadium in Kogi State University yesterday 3rd of May. It was gathered that the helicopter made an emergency landing at the school due to bad weather.

The Universitys stadium was overcrowded with students who rushed to the scene in their numbers to catch a glimpse of the chopper and also to take some pictures.

The pilot later revealed they were flying to Abuja, but because of the weather condition, they landed inside the school stadium as it was about to rain.

The helicopter later left for its destination after spending some minutes there. Continue to see photos below;
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
One of Chinas most popular tourist destinations has been hit by an avalanche in the middle of a busy holiday period.

The landslide at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan took place on Friday morning near Baisha Ancient Town, another popular local attraction.

Although the incident happened in the middle of the extended May Day public holiday, no injuries were reported.

Visitors to the area recorded dramatic pictures of the avalanche, showing clouds of dust being thrown into the air along the mountainside, footage first published in the local newspaper Spring City Evening News.

The Yulong county government said rocks had been sent hurtling into the valley below, but the area was uninhabited and away from the main tourist areas and there had been no risk to life as a result.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also known as Mount Yulong, is the southmost glacier in the northern hemisphere, stretching over 35 kilometres (22 miles) and consisting of 13 peaks, the highest of which is at an altitude of nearly 5,600 metres.

One of Chinas busiest tourist sites, it attracted about 4.32 million visitors last year, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, according to the local government.

A preliminary investigation by the authorities concluded that the rock collapse had been caused by a free-thaw effect in the alpine landscape, which is common in high-altitude mountains and frozen soil regions.

A similar incident was recorded on the mountain in March 2004.

The government said it was conducting comprehensive field inspections and had set up warning signs on the periphery of the collapsed area to stop members of the public from entering the area.

The county will then call in geologists to conduct a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the impact of the incident.

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Taiwans presidential election is still eight months away but there is already an elephant in the room for the opposition Kuomintang hoping to defeat incumbent Tsai Ing-wen.

Its the China factor  the one issue KMT candidates are hesitant to mention but has played a big role in previous presidential polls.

The self-ruled island has elected four leaders since its first democratic presidential race in 1996 and the mainland has remained a key influence each time during and after the elections.

For the KMT, embracing Beijings economic incentives could boost the economy and its chances of winning. But such cross-strait associations also risk a backlash from voters who fear encroachment from the mainland, analysts say.

Four KMT members have signalled their interest in taking part in the partys primaries next month to determine who will be on the KMTs ticket  former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng, former Taipei county magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, and Foxconn billionaire chairman Terry Gou. Popular Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu has yet to say whether he will run.

But so far, none of them has said how they would deal with the mainland if they became president.

Wang Yu-min, legislator and former KMT deputy legislative caucus head, said the candidates would not be able to dodge the question forever.

Taiwans president is responsible for handling cross-strait policy and relations, so all hopefuls will have to address this issue if they want to run for president, she said.

While the KMT supports having conciliatory ties with the mainland to maintain cross-strait peace, it also faces censure and criticism by the pro-independence camp here for trying to sell Taiwan to the mainland, thus making both the party and the KMT hopefuls more cautious over the China factor during presidential elections.

Analysts said that since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party first took power from the mainland-friendly KMT in 2000, the China factor has been growing increasingly more complex as Beijing has tried to influence the election results in its favour.

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It used military intimidation and wooed away Taiwans diplomatic allies to try to discourage Taiwanese voters from supporting the DPP. But tactics like this only led to a backlash from residents, Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping said.

Beijing first tried those tactics before the 1996 presidential election, the islands first. It launched unarmed missiles at Taiwans doorstep to discourage voters from electing Lee Teng-hui, over what it saw as Lees attempt to promote Taiwanese independence.

It tried again by mounting vitriolic attacks and staging war games around Taiwan when Chen Shui-bian from the DPP ran in 2000 and again in 2004, only to find that such spurred resentful Taiwanese to vote for the pro-independence Chen.

Fan said Beijing had learned the lesson and become more sophisticated in its attempts to influence the islands elections, using tactics such as cybertroops and content farms to feed false information.

Wang said the party and its hopefuls did not want to be tarnished by such associations with the mainland if elected.

Other dangers in aligning with Beijing are closer to the surface.

Recent disputes over [People First Party chairman] James Soong Chu-yus visit to the mainland exemplify what the KMT wants to avoid in times of election, she said.

Soong came under intense criticism in Taiwan after Beijings state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying he supported Chinese President Xi Jinpings January proposal to have the two sides to discuss cross-strait unification under one country, two systems model used in Hong Kong and Macau.

Opinion polls suggest the model is highly unpopular in Taiwan, and Soong later denied ever making the comment to Xinhua.

Another contentious cross-strait issue is the 1992 consensus, an understanding reached verbally in 1992 in Hong Kong to allow both sides to continue talks as long as they support that there is only one China. Tsai, from the DPP, has refused to acknowledge the understanding, which Beijing demands as the foundation for any exchanges.

KMT deputy spokeswoman Angel Hung said the KMT still supported the consensus. But we define that China as the Republic of China, she said referring to Taiwans official title, adding Beijing could have its own interpretation of what that China stands for.

Chang Ling-chen, an emeritus political science professor at National Taiwan University, said that while the KMT might try to avoid the China factor during the election, the DPP would do all it could to capitalise on it.

They [DPP] would resort to the scare tactics by saying Taiwan might be forced to reunify with the if the KMT won the presidential poll, she said.

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US President Donald Trump has said China would like to be part of a new three-way accord to limit nuclear arms  a suggestion greeted with scepticism by many observers who questioned whether Beijing would want to limit its ability to enhance its second-strike capacity.

Trump, who had a lengthy telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, said they had discussed ways to include China in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which became effective in 2011.

We discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal. And China  Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Slovakias Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road, Trump said.

We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less, and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he added.

The New Start Treaty between the US and Russia restricted the number of strategic nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy to 1,550 and halved the number of missile launchers they possess.

China is not believed to have any deployed warheads but is thought to be expanding its nuclear capacity.

The exact number of Chinese warheads is a closely guarded secret, but a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year estimated China has about 280 nuclear warheads, compared with a total of 6,450 deployed and non-deployed warheads for the US and 6,850 for Russia.

On Friday Trump implied that the question of arms reduction would be linked to talks on ending the US-China trade war.

During the trade talks, we started talking about that. They were excited about that  they felt very strongly about it, he added, noting that the new treaty would be a very comprehensive one.

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Trump may be completely misreading China

Zhao Tong

Last month he suggested that China and Russia should join America in discussing arms controls once Washington and Beijing have settled their trade war.

During a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the US president said it was ridiculous that the three countries were spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

He then turned to Liu and said: A lot of money could be put in other things, would you like to respond to that?

Liu replied: I think it is a very good idea.

If this is Trumps basis for saying China felt very strongly about joining a nuclear arms control agreement, he may be completely misreading China. In fact, all reactions in Beijing to the US proposal have been very negative, showing no serious interest, Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said.

China is very sceptical of US intentions to pressure China on arms control.

China fears the United States is seeking to gain advantage in a comprehensive competition with China by withdrawing from existing arms control agreements such as the INF [Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces] Treaty and giving itself more freedom to strengthen its military capabilities against China on the one hand and pressuring China to limit its own strategic capabilities on the other.

Earlier this year German Chancellor Angela Merkel said China should be incorporated into a new INF deal  to ban land-based intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and launchers  after Trump pulled out of the previous agreement blaming Russian non-compliance.

But China, which mainly possesses missiles that would be affected by the ban, has dismissed the idea.

Its top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi said China would develop its capabilities according to its defensive needs and would not pose a threat to anyone.

But Beijing has yet to comment on Trumps remarks and analysts believe the chances of China joining the treaty are low as Beijing is eager to enhance its nuclear arms stockpile.

Beijing perceives China to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia

Adam Ni

In January, China ran a simulated launch and strike mission against an imaginary enemy, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from an underground facility, a second-strike exercise widely interpreted as a way of enhancing the credibility of its deterrent.

Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said China  which has a no-first-use policy  is rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal, but does not feel secure about its ability to deter nuclear attack.

There is virtually no prospect that China will voluntarily sign up to something that would limit its ability to develop and enhance a credible nuclear second-strike capability.

This is especially so because Beijing perceives it to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia, he said.

Ultimately, Beijing wants to develop its nuclear capabilities in order to raise the credibility of its nuclear deterrent while the US wants to slow Beijing down.

The likelihood of a meaningful nuclear treaty with the participation of China is virtually zero, at least in the short term.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said China would be unlikely to sign a new Start treaty.

I am not optimistic about the feasibility of a new trilateral nuclear deal due to Chinas limited number of nuclear arms, he said.

Chinese experts believe that China's nuclear capabilities are too small due to the expansion of US missile defence.

Indeed, US missile defence has been posing rising threats to the credibility of China's nuclear deterrent and constitutes a major driver of Beijing's efforts to modernise and expand its nuclear capabilities.

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AVAIL of limited time offers from IXS  the newest Internet service provider in the country offering high-speed dedicated fiber Internet connectivity for the enterprises since 2012.The plans range from

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Legal adviser to Hong Kongs legislature questions why mainland China is not excluded from controversial extradition bill

The row over a contentious proposal to amend Hong Kongs extradition laws has deepened, with the legal adviser to the legislature questioning why mainland China is not excluded and a prominent law expert suggesting local suspects be exempt from transferral across the border.

Both the Legislative Councils legal division and scholar Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, raised doubts on the amendment ahead of a showdown meeting among lawmakers on Saturday. That meeting will discuss a motion by the pro-government camp to unseat a rival who presides over the committee that will scrutinise the extradition bill.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

If passed, the amendment will allow case-by-case fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including Taiwan and the mainland.

But in a letter to the Security Bureau dated April 30, Legcos legal adviser raised dozens of questions about the proposal, including whether the government had changed its policy on seeking a formal extradition agreement with the mainland.

The letter said that the intent of excluding China from the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance when the law was localised for the handover in 1997 was to have a separate agreement with the mainland.

Timothy Tso Chi-yuen, the divisions senior assistant legal adviser, said the bureau should explain if there had been a policy change, and if so, give the reasons.

Tso also wrote that there had long been a case-by-case arrangement under the existing ordinance, to allow Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to places it lacked an extradition deal with.

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Such a move was possible if the chief executive issued an order under the ordinance, he wrote.

Tso urged the bureau to clarify why such an arrangement was considered impracticable now.

His other queries included whether further human rights safeguards could be introduced to the bill, as well as how Legco and the public would be informed of possible transfer requests.

By convention, the bureau had to answer questions from the division, lawmakers said.

Separately, in an online commentary, University of Hong Kong legal scholar Chen said local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to the mainland. Instead, the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen said it was advisable to include more restrictions and safeguards in the bill. He said case-by-case extradition should be limited to the most heinous crimes and a small number of the most serious offences.

The professor also said the amendment should be non-retroactive, meaning it would only apply to cases that happened after the bill passed.

He also said that if the bill passed, Hong Kong courts will be placed in a difficult and invidious position, as judges would have to decide whether the mainlands legal system complied with human rights standards before granting extradition requests.

In a statement issued on Friday night, the Security Bureau said the exclusion of mainland China from the existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was not intentional.

A bureau spokesman said mainland China was not included as a destination of fugitive transfer in the British law the ordinance was based on.

The matter was not handled in the process of localising the ordinance, and the exclusion of China was not intentional, he said.

The spokesman also said the current amendment did not target individual jurisdictions, but any that currently lacks an extradition agreement with Hong Kong.

The bureau will issue a reply and submit it to the bills committee before May 14, he said.

Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said Tso had pointed out the flaws and unanswered questions related to the bill, noting that the document had been in greater detail than usual.

Why is there a sudden change in a policy that was established 20 years ago to exclude the mainland? Kwok said.

Pro-establishment legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a former security minister, said the existing case-by-case arrangement would not work in Chans case, as Taiwan was considered by the central government as part of China.

Two functional constituency lawmakers in Ips camp  Ma Fung-kwok and Tony Tse Wai-chuen  also faced pressure from their sectors to properly consult electors before backing the bill.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming will head to Canada and the United States on a 14-day visit in a bid to persuade the international community to voice its opposition to the bill.

The group will also testify at a public hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington to voice concerns over the threats Hongkongers may face from the bill.

Additional reporting by Alvin Lum

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North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.
Row over controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong intensifies as legal scholars call for changes sends shock waves through political circles

An adviser to Hong Kongs leader on Saturday hit back at a prominent legal expert who expressed doubts over the controversial proposal to amend extradition laws, as legislators passed a motion that was likely to lead to more chaos at the committee scrutinising the bill next week.

Academic Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, wrote on Friday that local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to mainland China. Instead, the University of Hong Kong law professor said the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen was commenting on the governments proposal to amend fugitive laws, such that Hong Kong could transfer suspects to places it lacked a formal extradition agreement with, including the mainland and Taiwan.

His proposal sent shock waves through political circles as the scholar had in the past tended to side with the government on thorny legal issues.

At least one opposition party has called for a discussion of his suggestion, while a pro-Beijing lawmaker who had been lined up to steer scrutiny of the bill expressed doubts.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

On Saturday, senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member to Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngors cabinet, said Chen had given in to public pressure.

He should know that trying Hongkongers in Hong Kong is not the answer, Tong wrote online, citing as an example the United States, which he said did not have extraterritorial powers over serious crimes.

Criminal acts are internal issues of each country or jurisdiction, it is part of a regions sovereignty, it will not be easily controlled by other countries, Tong said.

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However, Section 2332 of US law states that whoever kills American nationals outside the country can still be punished by its courts.

Tong also said it would be hard for local courts to obtain evidence and witness statements for crimes committed outside Hong Kong.

Alvin Yeung, leader of the opposition Civic Party, who had made a similar suggestion on extraterritorial powers, said even Chen was having some strong doubts about the amendment.

Whatever Professor Chen is suggesting its a way to counter the present proposal, Yeung said, adding the academics other suggestions also deserved thorough discussion.

But pro-establishment camp veteran Paul Tse Wai-chun said Chens suggestion on trying Hongkongers locally might be easier said than done, as it would require foreign law enforcement agencies to send over witnesses and physical evidence.

Nonetheless, the authorities should carefully study Chens suggestions, Tse said.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, held a special House Committee meeting on Saturday, triggered by moves from the pro-establishment camp to remove pan-democrat James To Kun-sun from presiding over the committee that will vet the extradition bill.

A letter signed by 42 pro-establishment lawmakers called for To to be replaced by the camps Abraham Razack. They asked the House Committee, which considers matters relating to Legco business, to issue guidelines on ousting him.

Their motion to issue a non-binding guideline to the bills committee for Razack to replace To was passed 37-19.

The bloc has accused To, who is leading the bills committee because of his seniority until a chair is elected, of filibustering.

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters protested against the bill outside Legco as the meeting took place.

The bills committee meets for the third time on Monday afternoon.

The struggle for control of the bills committee did not end with the vote. Soon after the meeting, Legcos secretariat issued a circular to lawmakers on the committee, asking them to express in writing before Monday noon whether the guideline should be adopted  instead of letting To deal with it.

To insisted that only he, as the presiding member, had the power to issue circulars, and the matter had to be debated at the meeting.

Ive lost faith in the secretariat, it has become a political tool, To said.

However, the secretariat said it was practical to issue the circular, as the bills committee lacked an elected chair at the moment.

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The plane was carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

A Boeing 737 skidded off a runway into a river after crash-landing during a lightning storm in Florida on Friday, officials said, with terrified passengers all safely evacuated to shore from the stricken jet's wings.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down ... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."

Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told a news conference early Saturday it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane ... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft", NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook Saturday.

'Lightning and thunder'

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday a team was being sent to investigate the incident.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to website FlightRadar24.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October, and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa, occurred shortly after takeoff.

 2019 AFP
The IMF said that carbon pricing is "the single most effective mitigation instrument" in cutting greenhouse gas emissions

At $70 per ton of carbon dioxide, a carbon tax would be the most efficient means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to an International Monetary Fund report published Friday.

But for the moment, carbon taxes remain unpopular, particularly in France, where plans to increase it to 55 euros (or $61.60) from 44.60 euros recently ignited the Yellow Vest protest movement.

The French government was forced to suspend the plan in the face of popular revolt.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 by more than 200 countries, aims to cap overall increases in global temperatures at two degrees centigrade above the pre-industrial era.

"The 2C target would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around $70 per ton," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar, the fund's head of fiscal affairs, said in a joint blog post.

"There is a growing consensus that carbon pricing... is the single most effective mitigation instrument," they said.

It allows for a reduction in energy consumption, favors cleaner energies and mobilizes private financing, according to the IMF.

"It also provides much needed revenues," they said, adding that countries could use that income to finance sustainable and more inclusive growth.

In the report, the IMF said that in China, the world's largest emitter, and in India or South Africa, countries which rely heavily on coal, a carbon tax of just $35 per ton would cut emissions by 30 percent.

But in nine countries that use little coal, such as Ivory Coast, Costa Rica or France, the result would be a reduction of only 10 percent.

 2019 AFP
Morocco and Tunisia are two success stories of the Arab Spring. They are two countries struggling to establish democratic rules in a regional environment plagued by the rise of the military as a kingmaker.

In Algeria, the army scapegoated an ailing president and is currently trying to refurbish its facade despite mounting popular protests.

In Libya, renegade general Khalifa Haftar, bolstered by foreign support, is on the offensive to take Tripoli where a UN-backed government of national accord is trying to hold still.

In Mauritania and Egypt, the head of the military is the head of state with a blank check to quell dissent and flout basic democratic rules and human rights standards.

In such a regional context, the two stable Maghreb countries face increasing security and economic challenges. In Tunisia, the degradation of security conditions in Libya implies more displaced people flowing into its borders seeking refuge and medical treatment in crowded hospitals.

Tunisian border towns rely heavily on trade with Libya and the war will only hamper the flow of goods.

Morocco will also have to wait for a new Algerian leadership that sees the Maghreb as a win-win project. The North African Kingdom has on multiple occasions called on Algeria to open the borders in order to pave the way for an integrated region. However, the call falls on deaf Algerian ears.

Both Morocco and Tunisia are looking closely to the uncertainty in their surrounding where military regimes continue their power grab.
Indian residents inspect damage on a street in Puri in the eastern state of Odisha after Cyclone Fani made landfall

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India.

Eight people reportedly died in India and Bangladeshi police said nine perished even before the eye of the storm rumbled over the border in the morning.

Some 400,000 people have been taken to shelters, Bangladeshi officials told AFP.

Fourteen villages were inundated as a tidal surge breached flood dams. The dead included a minor in Barguna district on the coast and five others killed by lightening.

"We are mooring our boat because it's the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again," Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

With the storm weakening but still packing a punch, winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battered overnight and on Saturday morning the Indian state of West Bengal and its capital Kolkata, including the Sundarbans mangrove forest area.

"It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister.

Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall

"Locals spent a sleepless night and many came out of their thatched huts and stood on the river banks measuring the level of the water," Pakhira said.

"Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled."

Several hundred thousand people were told to evacuate coastal areas of West Bengal before the arrival of Fani ("snake" in Bengali), with 5,000 leaving the low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings of Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people.

"Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," Kolkata's mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place."

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal's chief minister and a key figure in India's ongoing mega-election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Kolkata's international airport was ordered closed. Train services were also halted.

Cyclone Fani ripped down trees, power lines and damaged buildings

Flying trees

Worst hit was the state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

Eight people were killed in Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris.

While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster management official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 people injured in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri alone.

"It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident.

"There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air," the man told AFP. "The wind is deafening."

An Indian resident rides a bike past a bulldozer clearing debris from a road in Puri

PTI reported that a construction crane collapsed and that a police booth was dragged 60 metres (yards) by the wind.

As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services.

Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and windows on many buildings were smashed.

Puri's famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped damage, however.

Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his six-strong family collapsed, its roof blown away.

"I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP.

Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hundreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs.

burs-stu/qan

 2019 AFP
Traditional Songket weaver. Credit: Universiti Teknologi MARA

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr. Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layerswhich include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

Explore further Mobile phone 'Have-nots' sidelined

More information: The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.
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ATHOL  It was a rich life of family, farming and community. And for many years James E. Galusha delighted residents during Thurman Maple Days when they toured Toad Hill Maple Farm and its maple syrup operation.

On Thursday, just four months after Galushas wife Norma Jean passed away, Galusha, 78, died while a patient in Glens Falls Hospital. Married in 1959, Jim and Norma would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August.

James Elliott Galusha April 5, 1941  May 2, 2019

One of the couples favorite adventures was taking long Sunday drives and traveling out west for horse auctions and rodeos, according to his obituary.

A horseman for many years, Galusha won several awards with Long Shadows Duke, an American Quarter Horse.

Serving as the Thurman town justice for six years and the town supervisor for four years, Galusha was also well known for leading the bidding at Warrensburgs annual auction at the Smoke Eaters Jamboree and for several charity auctions.

In the 1960s he began Toad Hill Stud Farm, where he trained, bred, boarded, bought and sold horses. And he competed throughout New York in horse shows and in team roping events at local rodeos.

According to Galushas obituary, friends may call from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Alexander Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg.

A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation at 4 p.m. at the funeral home, and burial for both Jim and Norma will follow at the Warrensburg Cemetery.

A dinner will be held after the burial at the First Presbyterian Church of Warrensburg, 2 Stewart Farrar Ave.

Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online guest book, condolences and directions.

Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli covers Washington County government and other county news and events.

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Editor:

I have three sons and one son-in-law who have served our country for 17-27 years. My Marine was injured in Afghanistan and has three Purple Hearts.

In October 2011, my husband passed after a short bout of cancer. On his gravestone, I left two dimes; the meaning known to only my husband and I. My Marine left one of his Purple Hearts.

On Monday, April 22, I went to the Moss Street Cemetery and the dimes and Purple Heart were there. I went on Sunday, April 28, and lo and behold, the dimes were there and the Purple Heart gone! After eight years, the ribbon faded, the shiny medal still recognizable, but not as shiny. It could not mean anything to anyone but our family.

So, please, if you have it, return it. It cant possibly be as important to you as it is to us.

Disappointed and brokenhearted.

Patti Stoy and Family, Hudson Falls

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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
Morocco has offered key intelligence to help Sri Lanka avert further attacks after offering tip offs that led to identifying the perpetrators of the Sunday Easter Bombing in the Island nation, Indian paper The Economic Times reported.

Morocco, which maintains a substantial information bank on ISIS and its network, provided leads to Sri Lanka in collaboration with India that led to an operation in Colombo to eliminate terrorists who were planning a second round of attacks after Easter Sunday bombings, the Indian paper said.

The paper also highlighted that Morocco cooperates closely with India in counterterrorism and that both countries lent a helping hand to Sri Lanka in the wake of the bombings that targeted churches and hotels in different parts of Sri Lanka, killing at least 359 people.

Morocco maintains close cooperation with many leading countries in the global fight against terrorism including the US, Spain and France as well as India, recalls the paper, noting that the North African Kingdom signed last February with India a cooperation agreement to counter terrorism.

Morocco, which follows a moderate school of Islam, has one of the successful records of counterterrorism and de-radicalization. Last year Abdelhak Khiame, Head of Moroccos Central Bureau of Legal Investigation (BCIJ), said Moroccan security services dismantled 183 terrorist cells in the country that were in various stages of planning 361 devastating terrorist projects. More than 3,000 people, including 292 individuals with previous criminal record, have been arrested by Moroccan security services, said the Economic Times.

The paper also highlighted the measures taken by Morocco to foster the legal framework including the adoption of laws that criminalize a range of terrorism-related actions including foreign travel to conflict areas such as Syria as well as the creation of the counterterrorism agency BCIJ.
The semi driver saw the car circle around behind him, so he swerved and struck the Volkwagen, pinning the car under the trailer.

Johnston fired several more rounds into the passenger door of the semi. The semi then pulled onto Atalissa Road, just south of the interstate, and observed the black Volkswagen travel south on Atalissa Road and turn around and park.

Moments later, the black Volkswagen approached the semi.

Iowa State Patrol arrived on scene, and Johnston fired two shots at a trooper, striking the squad car.

Officers fired on the Volkswagen. Additional officers arrived and secured the scene.

Johnston was brought to an ambulance to be checked out and was transported to the Cedar County Jail. After his arrest, he mentioned he was taking several prescription drugs and had recently been hospitalized.

Officers found several prescription pill bottles in plain view in the vehicle.

Johnston also said he became enraged or obsessed over a family supposedly killed in a crash with a semi and that the motive behind his actions was to harm a truck driver or truck drivers in retaliation, according to the application.
You just have to wait for Mother Nature to heal itself, Onken said. The flood event and crest doesnt concern as much as what the forecast holds for next week. We dont have any room for heavy rain.

Forecasts for next week predict rainfall on four days. With land and levees at full saturation already, even an inch or two of rain could yield major repercussions for farmers.

We are really not in a panic situation by any stretch. All were doing is being concerned and attentive going into next week, Onken said. This is the longest stretch of time that weve been in major flood stage. Its a learning experience for us.

Although it remains too early to know how flooding will affect the price of crops, farmers said it is unlikely consumers will be affected.

The consumer will never see (an issue), Onken said. Its going to have to take a lot more. We have such a surplus of commodities on hand right now. As you can see by watching the commodity trade right now, in Nebraska and Iowa, its not reflected in the value of our corn and soybeans one bit.
Representatives of food and beverages major PepsiCo India, which has decided not to pursue the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, met state officials Friday seeking "amicable solution for everyone".

Senior officials including Chief Secretary J N Singh and Additional Chief Secretary of the agriculture department Sanjay Prasad met PepsiCo India representatives in Gandhinagar.

"PepsiCo representatives informed us that the company has decided to withdraw cases against nine farmers in Gujarat," Prasad said after the meeting.

Also Read: PepsiCo withdraws lawsuit against Gujarat potato farmers

The company will now file necessary applications in the concerned courts, he told reporters. The company's delegation was led by Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President, Snacks Category.

"We came here to update the government about our decision to withdraw cases against farmers. The meeting was positive. It was aimed at bringing an amicable solution for everyone in the longer run," he told reporters.

The multi-national firm has sued nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts for allegedly growing a variety of potato for which it claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

Also Read: BT Buzz: Pepsi vs farmers - Lay off the potatoes

Following public outcry, it announced Thursday that it will withdraw the cases.

Meanwhile, following the PepsiCo's litigation, some 25 major farmers' bodies including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body, Seed Sovereignty Forum, to protect farmers' rights to seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith, said farm rights activist Kapil Shah.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non- negotiable," he said.

Also Read: PepsiCo seeks Rs 1 crore from four farmers it sued for patented Lay's potatoes

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a watch on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, a common practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips of Lays brand), while small potatoes are discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed only those potatoes. We have now realized that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.
1944  75 years ago: After eighteen months in various naval hospitals, preceded by a year of war during which time he was reported killed, took part in seven major and twenty-one minor naval engagements, and carried an unexploded 20 mm. anti-aircraft shell in his right hip for two weeks, Allen Gordon came home last night. He was driven by Earl Wendt in an ambulance.

1969  50 years ago: Two purse snatchers were apprehended about 10 last night by definitely non-apathetic citizens, who chased them and held them until police arrived.

Mrs. Robert Horn, 39, of 1013 South 11th St., Silvis, was leaving Moline Public Hospital, where she had been visiting her mother, who is hospitalized there, about 9:45 p.m.

As she approached her car in the east parking lot, two youths grabbed her purse and ran through the lot, over the terrace and onto 8th St. in the 500 block.

1994  25 years ago: ROCK ISLAND  After eight days of questioning 100 candidates, attorneys this morning picked a woman to be the 12th juror who will decide whether Larry Simpson brutally killed and sexually assaulted 5-year-old Amber Sutton.

Ask the Times appears on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can call 563-333-2632, email ask@qctimes.com or write Ask the Times, Quad-City Times, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA 52801.

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If those stories aren't enough to scare drivers into taking care, perhaps doubling the bite will raise awareness of the prohibition and scare scofflaws into compliance.

Cheers to Moline for pursing a light-timing study for the Avenue of the Cities.

"We have never gone back and looked at either the timings or the phasing since those intersections were installed years and years ago," city engineer Scott Hinton told the Moline City Council this week. "We have them all timed together so we can coordinate them, but the coordination doesn't work real well."

Motorists who use this busy business district artery should be applauding. So should pedestrians who walk the corridor and would no doubt welcome changes that make it easier for them to cross the busy avenue.

Though the study is expected to cost $200,000, it will be a good investment if it makes this central essential corridor safer, easier to travel and more inviting.
I am so sick of hearing about the media urging people to get vaccinated, get a booster shot, etc. While Covid is a deadly and dangerous disease to get, it is just common sense to mask up, wash your hands and disinfect. I believe everyone should get vaccinated and booster shots or this will never go away! Joe Biden should mandate it for frontline workers. Stimulus checks won't solve this issue. Mask up if you don't believe in vaccinations, and shut up if you get the virus from not protecting yourselves and others! Thank you for your time.
A celebration of the culture of Moline's culturally diverse Floreciente neighborhood will be held Sunday afternoon.

Celebra Floreciente, a neighborhood festival, will happen at the Catalyst Kitchen, located inside St. John's Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Ave. from 2-6 p.m.

The fest, hosted by the church and A Palomares Social Justice Center, will feature: food vendors, music from DJ Candela, free children's activities including Miller's Petting Zoo, games and an inflatable obstacle course.

Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers, director of Cafe Mundo, said in a press release the cafe aims to encourage acceptance and inclusion of the many cultures that exist in the Quad-Cities.

"Food perhaps is the most universal language, and it brings people together," she said. "By breaking bread together, we break down barriers and appreciate the joy of experiencing another culture's food, music and other things that make it unique."

A portion of the proceeds from Cafe Mundo dinners will go towards scholarships for entrepreneurs to become certified food managers before they start their business.

The event was made possible by a generous grant from the Exelon Corporation, according to the press release.

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But as the Mississippi River reached a record crest of 22.64 feet at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, she said the flooding became an emergency.

"Our block wall has shifted in about two feet from where we placed it; the water moved it two feet," she said. "And (Thursday), we had water at the very top of our blocks. If we had any other rise in the crest, that water was coming over."

Managers, she said, had to make an immediate decision to reinforce the inside of the building with a sandbag wall.

"It was a lesson we learned from the city of Davenport: You better have a back-up plan," she said.

Crews brought in two truckloads of sand, sopping wet from the rain, then took them to the building by boat.

"We pulled as many available crew people as we could. And friends and family came from Iowa City and drove in, and took off work, to come help," she said. "By 2:30, the sandbag wall was built inside the building to protect us in case water comes over the wall."

By 4:30 p.m., she said, all they could do was "sit back and watch."
Although its long been a dream to serve in public office, Iowa City businesswoman Veronica Tessler has decided not to run for Congress.

Tessler posted on social media that with a heavy heart, she has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination in Iowa 2nd District. There will be an open-seat race in 2020 because U.S. Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack has announced he will not see re-election. Loebsack was first elected in 2006.

Tesslers announcement follows a similar decision by state Sen. Kevin Kinney of Oxford not to run.

Like Kinney, Tessler, 33, has not endorsed another candidates.

However, in her announcement she offered suggestions on who should run in the 24-county district that stretches from Johnson County to the Mississippi River on the east and Missouri to the south.

For too long, Democrats have played it safe, she wrote. These times call for courageous leaders, and I urge those willing to fight for the solutions we need to get in the race, she said.

Loebsacks retirement, she said, provides an opportunity for fresh, bold leadership.
The Moline Police Department has announced the arrest of a man on suspicion of being a gang member being armed with a gun.

Maycol J. Lopez-Miller, 20, Moline, was arrested around 5:38 p.m., Thursday, in the 2100 block 6th Avenue, Moline, according to a department news release. A residence in that block was being watched by Moline and East Moline police because of reports of gang activity.

The officers allegedly observed Lopez-Miller, a known member of the Latin King gang, leaving that residence while carrying a revolver and arrested him on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, according to the release.

He was being held Friday morning in the Rock Island County Jail, according to jail staff. He was expected to make his first appearance in the afternoon.

The investigation is still open, and police are asking for information from the public.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident or any gang activity is asked to contact the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.

Crime Stoppers can also be contacted through the P3 Tips app.

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Two men have been charged with stealing copper piping from the appliances on the roof of the former Hotel Davenport and Conference Center, located at 5202 Brady St.

Todd Aaron Cottrell, 48, of 2503 Pacific St., Davenport, and Jeffery Robb Willson, 53, no address listed, each are charged with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

Each of the charges is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Both men were being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail on $20,000 bond each, cash or surety.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police officer Dwight Swartz, at 5:59 a.m. Friday officers were dispatched to the closed hotel to investigate a report of people on the roof damaging and stealing property.

Officers found Cottrell and Willson on the roof, where they used a DeWalt saw to cut copper piping from several appliances. The two men were cutting off the copper pipe with the intent to sell the metal.

Police seized the saw, which had copper shavings on the blade.
ITC Ltd is mulling to broaden its reach in the Indian market by expanding its dairy beverages portfolio to the rest of the country by next summer. The company is also looking to grab a 5-10% market share in the first year of its operations.

With the launch of its three fruit beverages under its B Natural brand in PET bottles, ITC is on the expansion spree. The company presently offers nine flavours of fruit juices in tetra packs and has a market share of 9-10% in the Rs 2,000-crore fruit beverages component.

The Tobaccos-to-hotels major's food division is already present in India selling fruits-based beverages for the past four-five years. ITC also offers dairy-based beverages which it soft-launched in the South in December 2018.

Also Read:ITC, Patanjali under lens for not passing on GST rate cuts to consumers

With the launch of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk last December, the company entered the ready-to-drink dairy beverages market. The milkshake market in India is around 1,000 crore.

"We would be extending our dairy beverage business and will be launching across the country by the next summer. We expect to clock 5-10% of the Rs 1,000-crore market in the first year of operations," Sanjay Singal, Chief operating officer for dairy and beverages unit at ITC told PTI.

Also Read:ITC to launch milk-based beverages to take on Coca-Cola, Britannia

ITC is also planning to export its dry fruits-based dairy beverages badam milkshake to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It had also unveiled its Aashirvaad brand in Kolkata and Bihar. The company offers packaged milk and curds under this brand.

Meanwhile, Singal told the news agency that ITC would focus concentrate only in the Eastern markets for its packaged milk business in the foreseeable future as there is less competition in these markets.

He also said that the company will launch vegetable juices within a month and is also assessing possibilities in the water segment.
The Figge was without an executive director for 18 months after former director Sean O'Harrow became director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Most of the University of Iowa's collection of 12,000 pieces is housed at the Figge after a 2008 flood irreparably damaged the Iowa City museum.

Schiffer said Friday he's moving to Iowa City, but not to become new director of the new University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. The plan is to break ground for that museum June 7, and have the building completed in two years.

We are very grateful for Tims contributions to the Figge and the community as a whole, said Cindy Carlson, current Figge board president. We will greatly miss the leadership, knowledge and love for art that he brought to the Figge.

During his tenure, the museum has become a hub of community activity, as well as a major factor in community initiatives such as the Q2030 regional vision and Davenport riverfront plans, she added. I am proud of what we have done here and believe we have lived our mission of bringing people and art together.
When Georgia's biggest political star left Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the altar earlier this week, Republicans cheered.

Stacey Abrams, who came whisper-close to winning her state's governor's race last year, spurned the Senate minority leader's efforts to entice her to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue next year. Instead, Abrams is expected to make another bid for governor in 2022.

Nor was she the first much-talked-about Democrat to take a pass on a Senate race. Texas's Beto O'Rourke, a narrow loser last year against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, is running for president, instead of taking on Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.

In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is also expected to soon announce a presidential bid, after ruling out a challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. And in Iowa, Rep. Cindy Axne, who flipped a House seat to Democratic in the 2018 midterms, announced that she is staying put, rather than challenging GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

The political world is fixated on the rapidly growing 2020 presidential field, but it is worth remembering how much Democrats have at stake in next year's Senate races. They need three more seats to take control if they win the White House, and four if they do not.
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BISMARCK, N.D. | North Dakota plans to invest $33 million in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in an attempt to establish the state as a premier location for drone research, testing and commercialization.

Gov. Doug Burgum is expected to sign a bill authorizing the investment in a ceremony Monday with state leaders. The majority of the money will go toward building out infrastructure to support operations to fly drones beyond the sight of the pilot.

About $2 million will be used to support an unmanned aircraft test site in Grand Forks that's been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones without chase planes to observe the flight. Another $3 million will upgrade infrastructure at Grand Sky, the country's first unmanned aircraft business park located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The first trans-Atlantic flight of a medium-altitude unmanned aircraft flew from Grand Sky to England last July.

Burgum lauded the state's strong commitment to supporting researchers, entrepreneurs and technology in the field when announcing the decision this week.

"The exciting work made possible by our statewide UAS infrastructure network and beyond visual line of sight capability will diversify our economy and create lasting benefits for taxpayers, businesses and industry alike," Burgum said.

The new commitment will raise North Dakota's total investment in drone research and development to $77 million.

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A Montana senator has introduced a bill that would deny pensions to a former Pine Ridge doctor and any federal employee convicted of child sexual abuse.

The law would make sure "any monster who's guilty of the unspeakable crimes that Stanley Patrick Weber was convicted of will not receive a federal government pension," Republican Sen. Steve Daines said at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 1. "A convicted pedophile should not receive one cent of taxpayer money in retirement benefits."

Daines' bill, Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act, is inspired by the fact that Weber  who awaits trial in Rapid City to face allegations that he sexually abused Native American boys while working at the Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation  is set to receive more than $1.8 million while serving his more than 18-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing boys on Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"It's shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children," said Daines, calling it "unacceptable" and "outrageous."

Daines said he hopes federal agencies will try to come up with a fix as he works on the legislative angle.

Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, principal deputy director of the IHS, told Daines he is exploring "every possible avenue" to hold Weber accountable and make sure he doesn't receive his pension.

Weahkee said he's working with lawyers to see if IHS is able to cancel the pension itself, or if it can only be done through legislation. He also said he asked the Health and Human Services Department and Surgeon General's Office to see if they can do anything.

Weber, 70, receives his pension, worth about $100,000 a year, from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which sends doctors to the IHS and other federal agencies. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

There are three current and planned investigations into the IHS, which for decades failed to investigate or cleared Weber after receiving tips that he was abusing children. A White House task force is investigating how Weber was able to sexually assault children in his care and how to prevent future abuse, while the Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing the effectiveness of the actions IHS has already taken. The IHS is hiring an independent contractor to review whether laws and policies were followed in the past, and what future improvements it can make.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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PM Narendra Modi Saturday hit back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over reports that Gandhi's former business partner received defence offset contracts during UPA regime.

Addressing an election rally in UP's Pratapgarh, PM Modi said, "Today I read that during UPA, one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha (It was their government, their friend and their own defence deal.... which means they had arranged it all)".

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

We'll fire up the economy with NYAY, create jobs, says Rahul Gandhi

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up.

On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owed 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

Edited by Aseem Thapliyal
BELLE FOURCHE | George Douglas Doug Johnson, 83, passed away at the South Dakota Human Services Center in Yankton, after a ten-year-long battle with dementia.

The third of eight girls and two boys, Doug was born on Jan. 27, 1936 in Newell, SD to George J. and Mamie (Stolnack) Johnson. His family rented ranches from south of Newell to south of Camp Crook until purchasing a ranch between Castle Rock and Redig in 1946. At the age of 10, he trailed 500 head of sheep from Camp Crook to their new home 50 miles away, with a 15-year-old friend, one horse and one dog in four days.

He attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1954. While in high school he worked as a bellhop at the Don Pratt Hotel for his room. Following high school, he attended Colorado State University for one year. Along with working on the family ranch, he worked in the Fall in the sugar beet factory and drove truck until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1961, where he served as a Military Policeman at Fort Riley, Kansas. His job in the Army was to bring soldiers back who went AWOL. On one of his trips to New York to find a prisoner, he met Patricia Ann Caswell. Following his honorable discharge from the service in 1963, he flew back to New York and the couple married in October of 1963.

They moved to the family ranch and had four children. He and his brother worked on the ranch until it was sold in 1974. Doug then bought a ranch southeast of Belle Fourche where he resided until dementia forced him into an assisted living. In 1977, he purchased an interest in a car dealership in Rapid City. He sold his interest in the dealership in 1984 and bought another dealership in Spearfish in 1986. He owned and operated that business for 17 years. He always said his best customers were the farmers and ranchers from the five-state region.

While he would spend his weekdays at the car dealership, his weekends were always spent on the ranch. During his time selling cars, he also bought a registered Angus herd and sold bulls for 20 years. His wife loved animals and calved out and kept records for the herd until her death in 1987.

Through the years he was a director for the Federal Land Bank, holding that position for ten years, and was on the advisory board for Norwest Bank. He won numerous awards for excellence and customer satisfaction through his 25 years as a Ford dealer. He was a member of the Buckaroos and the Custer Trail Riders. The highlight of the year for him was the annual trip to the NFR in Vegas. Following his retirement from the Ford dealership, he would still get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and go to town for his morning coffee, occasionally help his son with the morning chores and field work, and his favorite, Chase the tail of a cow on horseback.

Doug is survived by his three children; Tammie Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Tyron (Tami) Johnson, Coffeyville, KS and Troy (Carolyn Stansberry) Johnson, St. Onge, SD; grandchildren, Jack and Jessa, St. Onge, SD; brother, Andrew (Linda) Johnson, Rapid City, SD; sisters; Betty Niemi, Buffalo, SD, Doris Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Beverly Miller, Mission, TX, Darlene Schafer, Mission, TX, Arlene Reynold, Rapid City, SD, Judy Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD and Ida (Melvin) Johnson, Apple Valley, MN; and friend and brother-in-law, Arnie Schmidt, Brandon, SD.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Patricia; daughter, Teryl Johnson; and sister, Marilyn Schmidt.

Doug will be laid to rest privately with his family present at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A public celebration of Dougs Life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, from noon-4 p.m. at Troy and Carolyns home at 11295 SD HWY 34 between Belle Fourche and St. Onge. All of Dougs friends are encouraged to stop by.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels & Isburg Crematory of Spearfish.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com.
The oversight of private residential treatment programs for troubled teens in Montana no longer rests in the hands of program owners who, for the past 12 years, have regulated the same programs they operate.

On Friday, Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill into law that terminates the Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs (PAARP) board and moves licensing of programs under the state health department.

I would say its one of the first steps toward regulation, said Sen. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, who carried the Senate Bill 267.

This is not the last step. Its the beginning of a process of paying very focused attention to both the implementation of that law but to other potential activities that will bring these programs into compliance with every other residential treatment program, Sands said.

The board has been criticized as the fox guarding the henhouse because the 12 years since its creation have seen 58 complaints against programs, yet the board has not issued any significant sanctions, a yearlong investigation by the Missoulian found.

Under the move to Department of Public Health and Human Services Quality Assurance Division, which oversees more than 70 similar facilities, more complaints against programs will be public.

The Department of Labor and Industry, which oversaw the PAARP board, and the board chairman both conceded that the board lacked the resources to properly oversee programs and supported the shift to DPHHS.

I do think that DPHHS is probably better set up to offer the kind of oversight and regulation than is the Department of Labor and Industry, board chair John Santa, who co-founded Montana Academy in Marion, told the Missoulian.

Santa said he feels confident in the move because DPHHS has indicated they would be cooperative with us in creating regulations that meet the kinds of levels of care that we represent and that weve been operating under for the last 10 years.

The health department has yet to establish new rules for standards of care at private alternative residential treatment programs.

The original version of SB267 included language specifying minimum standards of care, but that language was removed in an amendment by Rep. Bob Brown, R-Thompson Falls.

Brown, who previously worked at the now-closed program known as Spring Creek Lodge where a student died by suicide in 2004, said he proposed the amendment because language in the bill could hinder programs ability to exist.

The fact that those things could be a barrier to these programs operating, how is that not a huge warning sign? said Tamara Cherwin, who attended Montana Academy from 2010 to 2011.

If you cant operate with minimum standards of care and qualified staff, I dont think you should operate at all, Cherwin said.

Cherwin said shes grateful the bill passed but still feels that its not enough and that she still deals with PTSD that she was diagnosed with from her time at the program.

When I think of the state of Montana, I should think of huckleberries and hiking and Glacier Park, Cherwin said. Instead, I think of the worst two years of my life.

Santa said he has some concerns about the rules that DPHHS could create, but declined to specify examples that would hinder a programs ability to operate.

They could create regulations that would make it impossible for the levels of care we offer, and that would not be a good thing because it would close a number of businesses throughout Montana and it would also take away levels of care that are very important, Santa said.

Carter Andersen, the administrator for the Quality Assurance Division at DPHHS, expressed an interest in working to accommodate programs needs in a February PAARP board meeting.

Andersen is currently responsible for the oversight of residential treatment programs in the state, including a program where he was formerly the CEO called Acadia Montana, which has been criticized recently by the state of Oregon for its use of chemical restraints and other practices.

The rules governing Acadia Montana and other residential treatment programs for youth remain unclear, as The Montana Standard reported.

Sands said her efforts to bring increased oversight to programs isn't done. She said she remains interested in following the programs' transition to the health department.

Sands also said she intends to continue to bring up religious programs in the interim between legislative sessions. Those programs are allowed to operate unregulated if they claim ties to a religious organization. Currently, if children at religious programs are sexually assaulted or psychologically or physically abused, the state's child protection system can move the child to safety but can do nothing to the program or its employees.

House Bill 222, which would have regulated religious programs, died in committee, adding to a history of failed attempts to bring religious programs under licensure.

However, Sands found success with another bill which made it illegal for staff and therapists at private residential treatment programs to have sexual relationships with the teens they treat  even if those clients are 16, the age of consent in Montana.

All three of the bills in the 2019 legislative session to increase protections for youth in residential treatment programs were met with emotional testimonies from former program participants.

"Its the courage of people to come forward in all of this that makes a difference," Sands said.

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Gov. Steve Bullock signed Hannas Act into law Friday, authorizing and providing funding for the state Department of Justice to hire a missing persons specialist to help quickly coordinate searches for missing Montanans  especially Native Americans.

The bill is named for Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman who went missing on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in July 2013 and was found murdered soon after. Rep. Rae Peppers, a Democrat representing Harris's hometown of Lame Deer, carried the bill for the State-Tribal Relations Committee.

Hannas Act was one of 24 bills Bullock signed into law Friday, and one of two carried by Peppers. The other, House Bill 54, requires Montana law enforcement to accept reports of missing persons without delay and compile a complete and accurate record of information for cases that go unsolved after 30 days, including a photograph of the missing person. Reports of missing persons younger than 21 must also be entered into the FBIs National Crime Information Center database within two hours.

In addition to Peppers's bills, Bullock signed another bill requested by the State-Tribal Relations Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 40, carried by Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, requires the state Office of Public Instruction to maintain a database of photographs of Montana schoolchildren, though their parents can decide to opt out. The Missing Persons Clearinghouse at the state Department of Justice would have continuous access to the database.

Montana's attorney general called the new law an important step forward in solving missing persons cases.

"My team and I have been working on this legislation since before its inception, and we are already working on its implementation," Tim Fox said in a Friday statement.

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One man's odyssey through the world of books
Guyana Goldstrike Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties. It explores for gold deposits. It primarily holds an interest in the Marudi Gold project that covers an area of approximately 13,500 acres located in Guyana, South America. The company was formerly known as Swift Resources Inc. and changed its name to Guyana Goldstrike Inc. in March 2017. Guyana Goldstrike Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Just because cryptocurrency is having a bad time of it doesnt mean crypto thieves arent thriving: On the contrary, theyve managed to nab at least $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year alone, according to CipherTrace cybersecurity firm. That figure includes outright theft from crypto exchanges and complicated digital scams.

If you break it down, theft alone was $356 million for Q1 2019--the rest was fraud.

Even more specifically, exit scams in which crypto company founders steal everything accounted for $195 million in losses.

CiperTrace CEO Dave Jeans blames inadequate regulations and enforcement, noting that insider issues such as fraud or theft have grown mostly due to operations outside of the U.S. where regulations are poor, or simply due to greed and mismanagement by young management teams at these cryptocurrency companies that are managing hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

For last year, CipherTrace noted in its Q4 Anti-Money Laundering Report that $1.7 billion in stolen and exit scammed crypto needs laundering. That figure represented a 3.6-fold increase over 2017 thefts, even though token prices were lower.

The most high-profile exit scam went down in Canada, when an estimated 90,000+ investors on the largest crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, were left high and dry after the CEO and owner, Gerald Cotten, passed away and took his passwords with him to the grave. Perhaps it wasnt an outright scam, but it does speak to the crypto exit vacuum that investors have to deal with in this little-known and little-understood digital world. All told, these investors lost around $190 million in fiat and digital tokens that have since been rendered to the black hole.

It was a one-man show that took everyone down with it.

Last summer, Chinese police busted a group of hackers who had allegedly stolen around $87 million in cryptocurrencies in what was the highest-value crypt heist in China so far.

Related: Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs On Blue Chip Earnings

During that same period, South Korea-based Bithumb, the sixth-biggest exchange in the world, revealed that it had lost $30 million to hackers, leading to a temporary shut-down of its services.

And just last week, the New York Attorney General said that over $850 million in crypto had been misplaced by Bitfinex. Last Thursday, crypto markets lost a whopping $10 billion in a single hour after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Bitfinex and Tether of rigging the market in order to hide an $850-million loss. James aid that Bitfinex used up to $700 million in stablecoin Tethers cash reserves to cover up the losses.

And on the theft side of things, new techniques are popping up at breakneck speed, with crypto thieves using methods. One such method involves SIM swapping, a fraud that tricks a provider into transferring a subscribers phone number to a SIM card controlled by someone else, according to Reuters. And then its just a matter of emptying their wallet.

The wider picture, though, is that this is a major global--and even geopolitical problem because its the new heart and soul of money-laundering and terrorism financing. From CipherTraces perspective, then, its a gold mine as it flaunts its AML and ATL wares for the crypto world. With that in mind, CipherTrace is now expecting a whirlwind of new global regulations aimed to make crypto less amenable to the underworld.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com
The 37th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival will return to Santa Marias Rancho Sisquoc Winery on Saturday, when winemakers and winery owners will pour from their collections and answer wine-related questions. Held from 1 to 4 p.m., the festival will feature over 70 wineries, many pouring newly released wines. In addition to tasting from locally grown varietals, festivalgoers will enjoy local food purveyors, live music, culinary and wine demonstrations, and a silent auction.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in exclusive story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up. On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owned 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Live Updates: Cyclone Fani throws campaign schedules out of gear in West Bengal; Modi, Shah, Mamata's rallies re-scheduled
" " A maintenance worker inspects the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel in the CERN (European Organization For Nuclear Research) research center on Nov. 19, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Vladimir Simicek/isifa/Getty Images

When the Large Hadron Collider was first turned on in 2008, there were seemingly endless possibilities  and ideas  for what it might find. Maybe it would spot the elusive Higgs boson, which would help scientists confirm how other particles gain mass. Maybe it would uncover a host of new particles that would give physicists not just confirmation of supersymmetry, but also a bonanza of new science to study. Maybe it would create a new universe where it was OK to eat Cheetos for dinner and protons looked like Froot Loops.

Some of these possibilities were more likely than others. And a few of them (ahem) were, in fact, not really within the LHC's scope. While naysayers predicted that the LHC's mini Big Bangs would create black holes that would destroy the world and eat the universe like so many Cheetos for dinner, the truth is that there weren't that many theories that the LHC could prove or disprove.

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And in terms of that scope: No, the LHC is not going to prove string theory  but it might provide evidence to support ideas that are central to string theory.

Think about it like this: I'm walking along and see a tunnel. I think that tunnel might have some sort of creek running through it, so I throw a ball in and see what happens when it comes out the other side. If the ball comes out sopping wet, I could say that it totally supports my theory that the tunnel contained a stream. But someone else could say that it supports the theory that there is a sprinkler in the tunnel. Still another could say that it is actually raining in the tunnel, and a wet ball is just the thing to prove it.

The only thing we can say for certain is that the wet ball supports all those theories, and perhaps rules out the theory that the tunnel is bone-dry. At the LHC, physicists with very disparate ideas are looking for "the ball is wet" statements to support  or refute  theories about how particles (and the universe) work. One of those theories is string theory.

String theory basically says that particles are composed of energies that resemble vibrating strings. The distinctive vibrations of the strings create all the different particles and forces. So, fundamentally, all matter and forces in the universe are made of these vibrating strings [source: Greene]. But here's a fun fact: String theory doesn't really become a unifying theory  one that can explain the makings of every force and particle in the universe  unless it turns out that the universe also has more than three dimensions. Which, you know, is hard to get a lot of physicists to shake hands on.

And for good reason. This not being Hogwarts, we can't just apparate into another dimension to check on whether it's really there. We can only look around and see three observable dimensions in front of us. But you might be able to talk yourself into believing it if you think of the dimensions as really, really tiny ... maybe they're just too small to see.

That creates a problem: If the necessary dimensions are too tiny to see, how the heck can we expect to observe  or even test a hypothesis about string theory?

That's where the LHC comes in. There are a few ideas being bandied around to test some of string theory's characteristics. One is pretty straightforward: The simplest model of string theory predicts the existence of superpartner particles. Basically, these are much heavier partners to the Standard Model quarks and leptons that physicists have already observed, and they would unite force and matter. Physicists expected to find superpartners in the same mass as the Higgs, but they haven't yet. So, the LHC is doing its darndest to try to find those superpartner particles, both in their latest proton collisions, and in future experiments at even higher energies. The "wet ball" in this case  superpartner particles  would also support the theory of supersymmetries, which is connected to, but separate from, string theory.

The LHC can also jump into the hunt for those ultra-tiny dimensions that would have to exist for string theory to work as a unified theory. If those dimensions exist, we'd be pretty much swimming in them. LHC can slam protons together to produce new particles  just like it's been doing. By adding up the energy of the particles formed in the collisions and subtracting it from the energy the particles pre-collision, we can tell if some of the energy is MIA. If it is, we might then be able to say, "Hey, we don't know where that energy went  but maybe it's in another dimension."

This time, the wet ball is the difference in energy before and after the collision. Again, this wouldn't be "proving" string theory or even extra dimensions. But it would be ascientific discovery that supports some of the things necessary for string theory to work.

What we can't predict is whether string theory will mature into a scientific hypothesis we can test or observe. Right now, one of the reasons it's so controversial is that many physicists don't think it's possible to test, and more importantly they don't think it's possible to prove false. Some in the physicist community are comfortable saying that string theory is straight-up not falsifiable [source: Nature Physics]. (That means that you have to be able to disprove the hypothesis, not just confirm it.)

So, while we can be reasonably certain that no, the LHC isn't going to prove string theory is true using proton collisions, physicists might find some evidence that doesn't prove it wrong.
" " This deep-sea hydrothermal vent octopus was discovered 2,394 meters below sea level (nearly a mile and a half down) near Antarctica in 2012. NOAA

A lot of people are pretty sure that we've discovered everything there is to discover. Oh sure, there are probably some bacteria we haven't classified yet, but as far as large animals and land masses, there isn't too much left to explore.

Not so, say scientists, who in recent years, have discovered new species all over the world  mainly smaller mammals, fish, insects and microbes. But does that mean larger animals we've never seen are still out there, too? That's exactly what Matt Frederick, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown discuss in this episode of Stuff They Don't Want You to Know.

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There are an estimated 8.7 million classified species in the world, and scientists figure that there are 5 million left to be described. Add microbes and bacteria to that number and it jumps to 1 trillion. A number of them have been discovered recently, including a small primate in Africa called the pygmy galago; an enormous spider guaranteed to give you nightmares; and scores of fish and other sea creatures. But so many are still left to be found, it's hard to imagine none of them are large mammals. Could just one of them be a cryptid like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster?

Maybe so. Of course, you won't find either of those  or any other undiscovered species  in your backyard. More than likely, they'll be found in habitats that are difficult for human scientists to explore  like caves  where species flourish under extreme conditions. Movile Cave in Romania, for instance, housed many previously unknowns, and is referred to as a "poison cave" because of its lack of oxygen and high density of dangerous gases like hydrogen and sulfide. The conditions explain why it took so long to find out about the species calling this place home.

Other unwelcoming habitats include the massive teeming biome of the Amazon rainforest, where discoveries of new species including plants, insects and mammals are made every day. Thermal vents under Antarctica have yielded "lost worlds" of new animals; the Himalayan mountains, as well, have led us to exciting new classifications. And deserts, what seem to be the most inhabitable of all climates, have also given us new creatures to study, including ant-like bees and the Mongolian death worm. But almost everyone agrees that if there is a large animal out there we've never seen before, it's bound to be in that most mysterious biome of all: the ocean.

The ocean is as mysterious a place to us as space. Fathoms deep, teeming with life and hard to explore, the ocean has yet to give up all its secrets; scientists estimate that two-thirds of marine life has yet to be discovered. And with the rates of extinction, many species are winking out before we have a chance to study them. Tune into the podcast to hear Matt's, Ben's and Noel's thoughts on whether we'll ever know exactly what we're sharing this world with.
The news was reported by the Kyodo News and has caught my attention, Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as defense against cyber attacks.

The Kyodo News revealed that Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as a defense measure against cyber attacks and that the development will be completed by next March.

The Defense Ministry plans to use the malware as a vaccine that could neutralize the other malicious codes.

The Japanese Government aims at improving its defense capabilities in the fifth domain of warfare and wants to be ready to face threats from the cyberspace.

Japan wants to fill the gap respect more advanced countries in the cyber space. and plans to make important investimests to reach the goal in time.

The government has said it is looking to enhance its defense capabilities beyond the ground, marine and air domains to address security challenges in new areas such as cyberspace and outer space amid technological advances in recent years. states the KyodoNews website.

Japan lags behind other countries in addressing the threat of cyberattacks. It plans to increase the number of personnel in its cyberspace unit to 220 from 150, compared with 6,200 in the United States, 7,000 in North Korea and 130,000 in China, according to the ministry.

The efforts are the result of the latest national defense guidelines launched by the Defence Ministry in December.

The use of malware for defense purposes is in the middle of a heated debate. The cyberspace has no boundaries and the risk that malicious code will go out of control, threatening the sovereignty of foreign states, is concrete.

Some defense experts say the ability to obstruct an enemys use of cyberspace could exceed the limits of the countrys exclusively defense-oriented policy. continues KyodoNews.

The virus will be developed by private companies and will not be used for pre-emptive attack or active defense, a ministry source revealed.

The Government policy allows cyberattacks only against a country or any other organization considered equivalent to a country.

Pierluigi Paganini

( SecurityAffairs  malware, Japan)

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 "When Plea Bargaining Became Normal" | Main | Assembling criminal justice questions for the 2020 Prez field 

This local article out of Florida, headlined "Legislature OKs criminal justice reforms but no change to mandatory-minimum sentencing," reports on how the Sunshine State is starting to move forward on reform inspired clearly by the federal FIRST STEP Act. But, as the article explains, political challenges have resulted in Florida's first step being even more limited that what has been achieved at the federal level:

The Florida Legislature passed a 296-page criminal justice reform package bill Friday, the last full day of the session, addressing the issue of a bulging prison population that has long eluded resolution....

Reshaping Floridas tough-on-crime policies and reducing the states nearly 100,000-person prison population is a rare issue that has united Trump populists and progressive civil rights groups, yet often results in open and closed-door fights among Republicans over how far to go.

This year, compromise was reached. The House passed the bill unanimously Friday, following the Senates near-unanimous passage on Thursday. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk. Despite the victory for Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, whos long been a leading voice in the Legislature for the need for criminal justice reform, the bills passage was bittersweet.

I am incredibly disappointed, he said Thursday, referring to several big-ticket reform pieces that were taken out of the bill at the behest of the House. Im not surprised we didnt get there, but I think what we did was advance the conversation.

House Bill 7125 is the result of private negotiations between the two chambers over the past week and contains many changes proposed by those seeking to reshape Floridas tough-on-crime laws from the 1990s. That includes making it easier for felons to get professional licenses and allowing state attorneys to decide whether juvenile cases should be transferred to adult court. Currently, that happens automatically if the crime is severe or the child has certain prior convictions.

It also would raise the threshold dollar amount at which theft charges go from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $300 to $750. Thats not as high as the Houses original proposal, which was to raise it to $1,000, but it brings Floridas law closer to the national average. It also eliminates or reduces drivers license suspensions as a criminal penalty, which lawmakers have said unfairly hampered peoples ability to get to their jobs and continue to make an honest living.

The bill has been dubbed the Florida First Step Act after the federal reform law with the same name. Shortly after the bill passed the House, Kara Gross, the legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the bill amounted to a baby step, at best....

What didnt make the cut of the final bill:

 Allowing judges discretion over sentences for certain drug crimes that currently have required amounts of time that defendants must serve, called mandatory minimum sentences.

 Permitting prison inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies to be released after serving a minimum 65 percent of their sentence if they have good behavior and participate in educational and rehabilitative programs (current law is 85 percent).

 Retroactive re-sentencing for people who were convicted of aggravated assault back when the states punishment for that crime was harsher than it is now.

Email messages between House and Senate staff obtained by the Herald/Times show that the House had, at one point last week, been comfortable with modified language related to giving judges more discretion over sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, reducing the length of some sentences. But that didnt make it into the final bill....

Despite some lukewarm support for giving judges more sentencing discretion, Gov. Ron DeSantis poured cold water on the idea of letting inmates out after serving 65 percent of their sentence, likely one of the reasons that piece was scrapped....

The bill passed with only one no vote in the Senate, which came from Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, who praised Brandes efforts but said that he, too, was frustrated with the compromise. Honestly, Im tired of submitting to the will of the House on these types of issues, he said.

Still, the willingness of the House, traditionally the more tough-on-crime chamber, to cobble together a criminal justice reform package of this size shows a shift of tone, however subtle, toward reducing Floridas burgeoning prison population.

Fridays bill also creates a task force to reevaluate Floridas entire criminal punishment code, and whether the set punishments fit the crime. House Speaker Jose Oliva said that this bill is the result of several years of discussion on this issue. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they intend on taking up some of the issues that failed next year. Sometimes ideas take time for people to understand and to have a chance to really let set in. For a lot of years the idea was being tough on crime, Oliva said recently. He added, though, that data showing the harms of these policies started a conversation. I think that conversation is now maturing.
From Guoco Midtown and Shaw Towers to the new residential developments at Tan Quee Lan Street and Middle Road, the Beach Road-Rochor Road area is set for a massive renewal

For the past four decades, those driving along Nicoll Highway from Singapores East Coast to the CBD have been treated to the landmarks defining Beach Roads skyline: first, the Golden Mile Complex and Tower, a relic of the 1970s; followed by the 1990s modernist architecture of The Concourse, designed by the late American architect, Paul Rudolph, and the knife-edged triangular towers of The Gateway by the legendary American-Chinese architect I M Pei who turns 102 this year.

In recent years, the skyline has been enhanced by the addition of two multi-billion-dollar integrated developments designed by star architectural firms of the current era, namely DUO by Buro Ole Scheeren, and South Beach by Foster and Partners.



DUO, an integrated development by M+S, completed in Dec 2016, was designed by Buro Ole Scheeren (Credit: M+S)

The stretch of Beach Road from Ophir Road and Rochor Road onwards has changed a lot, says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of listed property group GuocoLand Singapore. But the eastern stretch of Beach Road is still quite old.

GuocoLand is developing Guoco Midtown, a new integrated development at the junction of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road. Adjacent to Guoco Midtown is Shaw Tower, which will be redeveloped. A commercial tower built on a site sold in the government land sales (GLS) programme in 1970, Shaw Tower is a redevelopment of the former Alhambra and Marlboro theatres, and also where the original Satay Club at Hoi How Road was located. The 34-storey tower contains offices from the 11th to the top floor, carpark lots from the second to 10th floors and a retail podium with two cinemas. Shaw Tower is owned by Shaw Foundation, which was established in Singapore in 1957.

NEW ADDITIONS

The new commercial development that will replace the existing Shaw Tower will be predominantly office with a total net lettable area of 222,700 sq ft. The redevelopment of Shaw Tower is overdue, says Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

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Construction is underway at the Guoco Midtown site, with the adjacent Shaw Tower to be redeveloped into a new commercial development (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The new Shaw Tower and Guoco Midtown will be linked to each other and to their neighbouring developments on the second level, and by underground pedestrian links to the MRT stations. For instance, there will be an underground link from Guoco Midtown to Bugis MRT Interchange Station for the Downtown and East- West Lines. From South Beach, they will have direct access to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. South Beach is also linked directly to Suntec City via an overhead bridge that brings pedestrians to City Hall MRT Interchange Station for the North-South and East-West Lines.

Guoco Midtown and the redevelopment of Shaw Tower will be new additions that will complement South Beach and DUO, says Chris Archibold, JLL head of leasing. They will bring a critical mass of Grade-A office space to the area, which GuocoLand has aptly branded Midtown.

There will be very little new office supply in the next two years until Guoco Midtown is completed. South Beach Tower, which contains about 500,000 sq ft of premium office space, and was completed in 2015, is full today, says Archibold. Likewise, DUO Tower, which has 568,000 sq ft of office space, and was completed in 2017, is also almost full. The average rent in these two towers is said to be around $11 psf. Guoco Midtown is expected to trade at double- digit rents. However, the office tower in the development will only be put up for lease two years from now. Our view of the market is very positive, he adds. The supply pipeline is fairly low, and demand seems fairly robust across many different sectors.



The new redevelopment on the site of Shaw Tower will have predominantly office space and will be linked to the neighbouring South Beach and Guoco Midtown (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

JLLs basket of premium, Grade-A office buildings are made up of those that are under 16 years old and have floor plates of at least says Archibold. Whether they are in Marina Bay, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar, they are all trading at around $11 psf per month.

MIXED-USE APPEAL

Beach Road appeals to a wide spectrum of occupiers, notes Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore managing director. Potential tenants could include fintech, technology, energy sector, co-working operators and MNCs that appreciate the accessibility within the CBD, he adds. We anticipate the new developments will attract tenants keen to upgrade and flight-to-quality will be a feature of tenants relocation drivers.

Planned as a mixed-use district with offices, hotels and residences, the Beach Road/ Ophir-Rochor corridor primarily serves as an extension of the central business district due to its proximity to Raffles Place and Marina Bay, adds Armstrong. The area is also unique due to its heritage and cultural vibe from the Kampong Glam conservation area. It has the cool factor. The existing commercial building architecture in this micro-market is particularly distinctive.

When South Beach Tower first entered the market five years ago, 80% of prospective office occupiers were already drawn to the location. The Beach Road area has a very nice mixed-use feel, says JLLs Archibold. Theres a fair amount of retail and F&B in the area, and youre also near a very large retail mall of over a million sq ft at Suntec City. From an immediacy point of view, it works very well.



Completed in 2015, South Beach Tower contains about 500,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space is full today (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Construction has already started at Guoco Midtown, located on a 2.1ha GLS site purchased by GuocoLand in October 2017 for $1.622 billion.

Designed by acclaimed Australian architectural practice, Denton Corker Marshall, Guoco Midtown is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The property, which has a gross development value of $2.4 billion, will contain a 30-storey Grade-A office tower linked to a five-storey Network Hub. Office space will account for 770,000 sq ft (81%) of the total gross floor area (GFA) of 950,000 sq ft within the development.

Landscaped public spaces comprise a total of 170,000 sq ft spread across multiple floors. There will also be a 32-storey residential tower with more than 200 units, called Midtown Bay. Within the site is a three-storey, conserved colonial- era building that once housed the Beach Road Police Station.

BUILT-IN FLEX COMPONENT TO CHANGE LEASING MODEL

GuocoLand has announced that it will be offering a core and flex leasing concept at Guoco Midtown. The floor plates of the office tower are rectangular in shape and measure 27,000 to 30,000 sq ft. There are also four different access points in each floor, which makes it very efficient for sub-division, says JLLs Archibold.

CBREs Armstrong agrees: Where Guoco Midtown stands out is that it specifically incorporated agile areas and facilities into the developments design concept, he says. We are likely to see changes in lease contracts whereby end-users core occupied space is leased for conventional, longer periods, while a proportion of the space is held under shorter and more fluid terms.

This in turn will change leasing models, says Armstrong, where core leased space will be offered at a lower cost base, with a premium payable for flexibility. This is akin to an airline ticket whereby the customer pays a higher price for a ticket that can be changed versus one that is more rigid, he adds.



Guoco Midtown will have a total of 770,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space and is scheduled to be completed by 2023 (Credit: GuocoLand)

ENLARGED RESIDENTIAL CATCHMENT

Located directly across the road from the upcoming Guoco Midtown is an empty green plot of 124,119 sq ft, flanked on one side by the conservation shophouses along Tan Quee Lan Street.

The GLS site has been earmarked by URA for a residential development of about 580 units, with a maximum height of 30 storeys, and a low-rise block of six storeys. The first level will be allocated to commercial space. The site will be launched for sale in May, with the tender to close in September.

Meanwhile, just one block away on Middle Road, another GLS site was sold in early April to listed property developer Wing Tai Holdings. The group had emerged at the top of 10 bids received at the close of the tender on March 29. Wing Tais bid price was $492 million ($1,458 psf per plot ratio).



The Middle Road GLS site was sold to Wing Tai for $492 million or $1,458 psf per plot ratio (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The site, which covers 80,000 sq ft, will be developed into two high-rise, 20-storey residential towers with a low-rise block containing commercial units on the first level and residential units on the upper levels.

As it is within the Central Area, we are excited by the excellent opportunity to create a fresh, exciting living space that caters to urbanites who desire to live in the city and experience its vibrant, cosmopolitan culture, says Tan Hwee Bin, executive director of Wing Tai Holdings.

C&Ws Li expects the future projects to enlarge the residential catchment in the area and further boost the attractiveness of the sub-market. On the one hand, you have more residential developments which cater to the expatriate community in town, she says. On the other hand, you have more top-notch corporate clients coming over from older CBD buildings to take up office space in this up-and-coming submarket.

DIFFERENTIATED OFFERINGS



The residential site at Tan Quee Lan Street will be put up for launch sometime later this month (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

She reckons the new 99-year leasehold residential developments in the area are likely to have selling prices in the $2,550 psf to $2,800 psf range, depending on the unit sizes. The products will be differentiated to suit the spectrum of buyers and tenants at Beach Road, adds Li.

For instance, at South Beach Residences, which was launched last September to coincide with the Singapore Grand Prix, prices of units sold started from $2,795 psf for the lowest floor on the 23rd level to a high of $3,950 psf in the first month of sales. The super penthouse, a triplex, was sold for $26 million ($3,865 psf) last October. Units in the 190-unit luxury residence occupy the 23rd to 45th floors of the 45-storey tower, with luxury hotel JW Marriott Singapore occupying the lower half.

Units at South Beach Residences have still been sold at prices from $3,207 to $3,551 psf over the two months from March to April, according to data from URA REALIS. Sales at South Beach Residences have been pretty encouraging despite the property cooling measures, notes C&Ws Li.



View from a unit at South Beach Residences, where units have been sold for as high as $3,950 psf (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

GuocoLand could well position the residences at Midtown Bay as a luxury project similar to its 181-unit Wallich Residence, which sits on top of Guoco Tower at its $3.4 billion integrated development, Tanjong Pagar Centre.

According to GuocoLands Cheng, the residences at Midtown Bay will have spectacular views of Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and Orchard Road. We will take advantage of these views, he says. We hope that Guoco Midtown will be a game-changer, adds Cheng. We want to redesign street life, city living and Grade-A office space in the Beach Road district.

Meanwhile, Golden Mile Complex, designed in the 1960s and completed in 1973, was relaunched for collective sale with a price tag of $800 million at the end of March with Edmund Tie & Co as the marketing agent. The tender closed on April 25 with no bids.



Golden Mile Complex was put up for collective sale a second time last month at a price tag of $800 million (Credit: Edmund Tie & Co)

While the main 16-storey tower with its stepped facade is to be retained, URA has indicated that intensification of the existing development to a total GFA of 925,677 sq ft with a plot ratio of 6.387 can be considered.

In the long term, it is likely to be redeveloped into another landmark integrated development with office, retail, hotel, serviced apartments and residences. For now, as an industry veteran remarks, Golden Mile Complex will remain a golden o

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Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly.

"We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards."

Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.
A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. May 3, 2019 in this picture obtained from social media. JACKSONVILLE SHERIFFS OFFICE /via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union. "We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement. "In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added. "In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights". On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September. According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights". In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources. Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move. "This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said. It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation". The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration. Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February. The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara. European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling. Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island. In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships. Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed. Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern". In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law. Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip Friday, authorities in the enclave said, after Israel reported two of its soldiers wounded in a shooting on the border. Two of the Palestinians were shot dead during clashes along the frontier while two fighters from Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers, were killed in an air strike, the health ministry in Gaza said. The Israeli army said the air strike was in retaliation for the shooting incident on the border that left its soldiers wounded. Hamas confirmed two of the dead were members of its military wing and pledged to respond to what it called an "Israeli aggression". The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border. The Israeli army said "one soldier was moderately injured, and another soldier was lightly injured" when they came under fire during renewed protests. An army spokeswoman said around 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day. Palestinians have participated in often violent demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave. At least 269 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period. Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
SIOUX CITY | Kevin McManamy, president of United Real Estate Solutions, Inc. presented production awards to the companys top producers at their Quarterly Awards breakfast. Twenty-six people received honors for the 1st quarter of 2019.

Earning the real estate industrys highest production honors, the Presidents Award, were Barb Kimmel, Gayle Miille, Dave Pepin and Mark Vos, as well as Beau Braunger and Nathan Connelly of NAI United.

Claiming the Diamond Award were Rick Arnold, Paula Brown, Liz Deurloo, Joe Krage, Jeff Nelson, Adam Stokes and Nick Tramp. The Platinum Award was presented to Chuck Burnett.

Receiving the Gold Award were Hank Baker and Sheryl Ford. Silver Award winners were Judy Clayton, Mick Morgan, Mike Wojcik and Kuen Yeh. Those earning Bronze Awards were Mike Borschuk, Anne Danielson, Eric Hoak, Bob Patton, Patti Robinson, and Tonya Vakulskas.

Individual company awards were also presented to the overall Top Producer in several categories. Dave Pepin was the companys Top Residential Producer with the highest overall production volume for the quarter. Joe Krage earned the Top Lister Award for the highest number of listings taken.

United Real Estate Solutions has been the Sioux City areas real estate market leader since 2001 with professional sales associates licensed in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company has three offices located at 302 Jones St. in Sioux City, Iowa, 1913 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City, Neb., and 400 Gold Circle in Dakota Dunes, S.D. They can be found online at www.unitedrealestatesolutions.com. NAI United is headquartered at 400 Gold Circle Suite 120 in Dakota Dunes and online at www.naiunited.com.

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HARTLEY, Iowa -- An Archer, Iowa man was arrested Friday after he reportedly abducted his ex-girlfriend in Hartley.

According to a press release from the O'Brien County Sheriff's Office, at around 2:27 p.m. Friday, authorities took a report of a woman taken against her will and forced into a car near Neeble Park in Hartley. The abductor was the woman's ex-boyfriend, and the two had recently broken up.

The Hartley Police Department issued an attempt to locate notice to all area law enforcement agencies.

At around 4:33 p.m., an Iowa State Trooper located the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Audi, on Highway 59 south of Calumet. The woman was recovered and the ex-boyfriend, Justin Michael Banta, 37, of Archer, was taken to the Hartley Police Department for an interview.

Banta was taken into custody and faces charges including third-degree kidnapping charge (a class C felony), domestic abuse assault first offense and driving while suspended.

A no-contact order has been issued between Banta and the victim. Banta went before a magistrate Saturday and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SIOUX CITY -- Shortly after being accused of fatally stabbing two Sioux City teenagers, Tran Walker offered no regrets for his actions, a police officer testified Friday.

Det. Nick Thompson said he interviewed Walker soon after he was released from a local hospital in the wee hours of Jan. 28, 2018.

Thompson recalled he asked Walker if he had anything to say to the families of the two victims, Paiten Sullivan, 17, and Felipe Negron Jr., 18.

"He said, quote, 'I would tell them, I would tell them that, I don't think I would apologize to them just because right now I don't feel sorry," Thompson said.

The detective's testimony came during the second day of Walker's trial in Woodbury County District Court.

Walker, 19, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sullivan and Negron Jr., both of Sioux City.

Police believe Walker stabbed Sullivan in a PT Cruiser near the King Koin Launderette in Morningside because he was upset about a recent romantic breakup with her. Negron was stabbed as he tried to protect Sullivan, according to court documents.

Sgt. Todd Sassman recounted that he knew Sullivan would not survive upon seeing her after the stabbing.

"I knew as soon as I looked at her that she was probably already deceased," Sassman testified.

During the trial Friday, prosecution and defense attorneys reached an agreement over the use of text messages sent by Walker and Sullivan prior to the stabbings as evidence.

Mark Campbell, an assistant Woodbury County attorney, had Thompson read a set of messages from Walker to various acquaintances.

"The only reason I'm able to smile and talk about my issues is Paiten," Thompson said, reading one of Walker's texts. "And if she were to cheat or leave me, IDK how I'd react. All I know is that it would be very bad."

Walker also sent messages threatening to kill "witnesses," and, at one point, wrote, "I'd rather just have someone beat her a--, LMAO, bust her face in so she's hideous."

Sullivan, meanwhile, expressed fear of Walker in some texts.

"Tran, until you are better, we won't work. I love you to death, but FFS when you said that about killing (me), that scared me. I can't be in a relationship where I'm scared," she wrote. FFS is an abbreviation for an expletive-containing phrase.

Campbell quoted another text message from Walker during the discussion about whether the pages of messages would be included in evidence.

"At the top it says, 'So she wants to say I'm controlling. Most guys (wouldn't) allow their girls to talk to their exes but I did,'" Campbell said, quoting from the text.

Defense attorney Jennifer Solberg argued that the authorship of the messages is not proven, that the recipients of the messages are unknown to the defense, that the messages are irrelevant and remote in time to the case and that they represent hearsay.

"There's different authors, there's people who aren't here, they're unknown that any of these things are actions or thoughts or who the author actually is, some of them are just people that have not testified," she told the court.

In the end, Judge Tod Deck agreed to withhold some pages of text messages from evidence but to permit others.

"The court believes that the records themselves are, (we are) satisfied that they are accurate representations of statements that were made on Facebook, so because of that the court does not believe that they would be excluded as hearsay," Deck said.

Walker's defense attorneys also have vociferously objected to the prosecution's bid to enter as evidence dozens of Facebook messages sent by Walker to various people prior to the slayings.

During the trial Friday, some employees of the Gordon Plaza Hy-Vee also testified about Walker's appearance at the store after the stabbings. Employees called 911 after Walker arrived bloodied and asking to use the restroom. He told an assistant manager that he had been jumped.

Authorities arrested Walker in the store restroom, following a search through Morningside that involved the use of K-9 search dogs. After he was apprehended, he was hospitalized briefly after injuring himself in the alleged incident.

Also Friday, the defense asked many of the witnesses about Walker's mental status in the hours after the killings.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Because Walker waived his right to a jury trial, Deck will render the verdict. If convicted of first-degree murder, Walker will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DES MOINES -- Democrats see an incumbent Republican president ripe for electoral defeat and no standard-bearer within their own party whose candidacy convinces others to remain on the sidelines.

Those factors and a few others, experts say, is why we have nearly two dozen Democrats running to become the next President of the United States.

The largest-ever field of presidential candidates grew this week to 22 when former vice president Joe Biden and Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet made their campaigns official.

The field will grow even more when Montana Gov. Steve Bullock joins the race as expected later this month, and media reports appear to indicate New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also is expected to announce his run soon.

How did the field of Democratic candidates grow so large, blowing well past even the 2015 field of Republicans, which capped out at what at the time seemed like a remarkable 17?

Experts say myriad factors have contributed to the candidate boom, but there are two particularly influential reasons: the Democratic Party has no clear national leader, and Republican President Donald Trump has stoked Democrats passion and sense of urgency.

It looked like a wide open opportunity with no heir apparent taking the baton or carrying the torch, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University. He said that contrasts to 2016, when Hillary Clinton appeared to be the partys heir apparent to President Barack Obama. A new generation of more diverse Democrats and their supporters are now jockeying for position to lead.

The field includes party stalwarts like Biden and Elizabeth Warren, and longtime progressive independent Bernie Sanders, who is making is second run for the Democratic nomination; but also young faces and candidates new to the national scene like Pete Buttigieg and Beto ORourke.

Prominent though theyve been on the national stage, and while they have led in most early polling on the primary race, Biden and Sanders were not strong enough candidates to stop 20 others from also running.

The fact there is a couple dozen candidates announcing indicates theres no clear leadership in the Democratic Party in the Trump era, said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University and co-author of a historical encyclopedia on the Iowa caucuses.

And then theres the current president.

Democrats are fired up by Trumps policies and actions, and they believe his re-election prospects are shaky.

Politicians are rational animals, and the fact that so many Democrats have gotten in reflects a view that they really do think they have a reasonable chance, if not an excellent chance to defeat an incumbent president, Goldford said.

Trumps average job approval rating, according to Real Clear Politics average of national polls, is 43.6 percent approve and 53 percent disapprove. His average Gallup poll approval rating while in office is 39 percent, easily the lowest of any president in the polls history.

And its not just the perceived weakness of Trumps re-election chances, said Sue Dvorsky, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman. Its also Democrats fierce opposition to Trumps policies and behavior, particularly on social media.

The current occupant has really made a situation that feels dire, Dvorsky said. There is so much passion involved in this. That is driving people.

Republicans, unsurprisingly, see matters differently. A spokesperson for the national Republican Party said Trumps policies are gaining favor with Iowans while Democratic candidates are becoming increasingly liberal.

While Democrats continue to embrace costly, out-of-touch policies that will hurt middle America, those same families continue to benefit from the policies enacted by the Trump administration and the choice for them could not be clearer, Republican National Committee spokesperson Preya Samsundar said in a statement to the bureau.

Goldford said the field may also be large because some candidates could be running with ulterior motives. He said some candidates may not believe themselves to be legitimate contenders, but could be using a run to boost their national profile in order to sell a book, earn a job as a cable news commentator, or land a job in a future Democratic administration.

If people can monetize their candidacies, even if they dont get the nomination, that may very well not be the rationale (anyway), Goldford said.

The expansive field creates a unique challenge for most of the candidates to find a way to establish and distinguish themselves. Other than Biden, who served for 8 years as vice president, and Sanders, who ran for president 4 years ago, the candidates must find a way to rise above the crowded field.

Many of these candidates are going to have to do the relatively quiet work of putting together organizations in key states before they can begin to build momentum and make any noise, said Donna Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. Right now, this can happen by doing ground work in early states and trying to catch the attention of local activists, local media, and parlaying that into some level of momentum that might be noticed in other early states and with national media.

It will take a candidate with a dynamic personality, a message that is relevant to voters concerns in 2020, and a natural constituency that will be drawn to the candidate, Steffen said.

Goldford said one thing will not change despite the fields enormous size: the Iowa caucuses will still come down to which campaign can best organize and mobilize its supporters.

Right now obviously youve got Biden and Sanders seemingly ahead of everybody else. A lot of thats familiarity and name recognition. ... Everybodys out there working away, trying to carve out something, Goldford said. It still is the standard caucus route: organize, organize, organize and get hot at the end. Thats the ticket.

Experts said while the current atmosphere allows candidates to survive longer than in the past --- online fundraising makes it easier for candidates to support their campaigns and social media makes it easier to communicate with voters --- they still expect the field to narrow before the caucuses.

Were not going to have 23 people to caucus for. That is not going to happen, Dvorsky said. I think the field will winnow.

Hoffman noted a number of Republicans in that large 2015 field dropped out before the caucuses, and said she thinks even more Democrats will drop out this year ahead of Februarys caucuses, especially if fundraising streams start to dry up for bottom-tier candidates.

Goldford said he expects the field to thin by mid-summer, or at the latest by the state fair in August.

But he added a caveat that summarizes the whole caucus campaign.

In many ways, Goldford said, were in uncharted territory here.

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Its that time of the year again, when the pollen-heavy rains of spring have overstayed their welcome, and we all breathlessly await the real arrival of summer. Along with the prospect of beach days comes the annual opportunity to guess what new trends and takes on warm-weather staples will overtake Instagram. Throwing her hat into the predicting ring early is Who What Wear senior news editor Erin Fitzpatrick, who declares that the Montunass Trellis Lirio Rope-Trimmed Acetate and Linen Tote  is ripe to become a summer It bag. How exactly Fitzpatrick has divined this forecast isnt entirely clear, but the Montunas bag is certainly ripe to be named of the strangest objects Ive ever laid eyes on.

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Apparently inspired by the shape of plant pots, the Trellis Lirio tote is a curious little bag that costs a mere $435 and resembles either an inverted lampshade or one of the little trash cans that one keeps in their bathroom. Or perhaps a half-full, to-go cup of ice cream. Maybe an Easter basket?

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The tote features a structural exterior made of acetate pearlescent slats and a drawstring pouch interior. Theres also a pink tassel involved. The website copy suggests that buyers match your lip color to the pretty pink rope handle and that the tote is one for Instagram, which makes sense since it looks as if it will fit approximately three things. Other bags in the Montunas line are comparably  eccentric. The Guaria tote, for example, looks a bit like a rectangular green spice rack attached to a silk scarf and is inspired by hanging pots and planters. The Lirio bag is similar in structure to the Trellis Lirio, except without the slats, which somehow makes it look even more like a bathroom trash can, albeit one cast in resin. According to one of the founders of Montanaus, all of the acetate bags are inspired by their orchid house in the mountains of Costa Rica.

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The shapes are all based on orchid pots and vessels, and the names are native Costa Rican orchids. For us, nature is our biggest inspirationits not hard when youre from Costa Rica! The new Pearl collection fuses together the two important parts of nature there: the jungle and the sea.

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Yes, of course. Now that Ive read that, I definitely understand the raison detre for this little trashcan orchid pot bag. While the entire bag strikes me as nonsensical, what I will say is that the most confounding part is that the little interior linen pouch is apparently removable, which feels both like a security risk and a huge hassle. Whoever owns this purse is stuck holding it perfectly upright, lest their linen bag of three things tumble out onto the street. Or should you leave your home without the linen pouch, youre walking around with what is functionally a bucket with slats through which anyone can see what three things youve chosen to carry with you. Actually, now that I think about it, this might be the perfect bag for a concert venue where youre only allowed to bring in a transparent vessel.

Price: $435

Who would buy this thing? Cher Horowitz going Easter egg hunting
Rachel Held Evans, an influential progressive Christian writer and speaker who cheerfully challenged American evangelical culture, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans, 37, entered the hospital in mid-April with the flu, and then had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, as she wrote on Twitter several weeks ago. According to her husband, Dan Evans, she then developed sustained seizures. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma, but some seizures returned when her medical team attempted to wean her from the medications that were maintaining her coma. Her condition worsened on Thursday morning, and her medical team discovered severe swelling of her brain. She died early on Saturday morning.

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She put others before herself, her husband, Dan Evans, said in an email on Saturday. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

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Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism, first as a blogger and later as an author and sought-after speaker. She started her eponymous site more than a decade ago, and in her years of writing she confronted every controversial issue in American evangelical culture. She wrote about biblical literalism, racism, abortion, evolution, theology, marriage, patriarchy, women in leadership, and evangelical support for Donald Trump. She advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church and analyzed her own complicity in racial bias after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Washington Post once called her the most polarizing woman in evangelicalism.

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Evans political and cultural polemics attracted the most attention. But she also wrote passionately about her own evolving faith, her prayer life, her wrestling with doubt, and her love for the church. Anyone who has loved the Bible as much as I have, and who has lost it and found it again, knows how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend, she wrote in her most recent book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.

Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism.

Evans announced in 2014 that she was leaving evangelicalism, exhausted by wearing out my voice in calling for an end to evangelicalisms culture wars. She began attending an Episcopal church. But she remained widely read within evangelical circles and among Christians and others who had left evangelicalism but still felt connected to it in some way. Evans was famous enough among Christians that many referred to her online simply as RHE. When her friends and colleagues, the writers Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu, announced an online prayer vigil for her on April 19, the hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter.

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High-profile female writers and speakers in American evangelicalism have traditionally focused on spiritual questions and shied away from controversy and confrontation. But Evans often used her platform to challenge male pastors and leaders. Over the years, she sparred about theology, culture, and politics with prominent Christian men including Russell Moore, John Piper, Rod Dreher, and Mark Driscoll. (Many of them have expressed their prayers for her in recent weeks, after Evans shared the news of her illness.)

Evans reacted righteously to injustice wherever she saw it: She published a series on her blog about abuse in the church in 2013, years before many evangelical institutions began to seriously confront the problem. But her writing was also warm and funny. For her second book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, she spent a year following the Bibles instructions for women literally, gamely camping out in her yard in obedience to Levitical instructions for menstruating women. She put so much of herself into her books, her husband said. I tell people: If you want to know Rachel, read her work. She was the author of four books, and the co-founder of two major conferences aimed at progressive Christians, Why Christian and Evolving Faith.

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Evans was born in Alabama in 1981 and moved to Dayton, Tennessee, as a teenager. She graduated from Bryan College, a small Christian institution there named for William Jennings Bryan, who had prosecuted the Scopes monkey trial in Dayton in 1925. Evans was an enthusiastic and devout believer from the start, steeped in the American conservative evangelicalism of the 1980s and 90s; as a teenager, she was quoted in Christianity Today praising her high schools federally funded abstinence program. (As an adult, she became a vocal critic of shame-based purity culture.) She married her college boyfriend, Dan, and worked as a journalist and humor columnist before her first book was published in 2010. The couple has two young children: a 3-year-old boy and a girl who turns 1 later this month.

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Evans last blog post appeared online on March 6, Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. It is a day of repentance and solemnity that marks the beginning of Lent, which leads up to the joyful Easter celebration of resurrection. She wrote:

It strikes me today that the liturgy of Ash Wednesday teaches something that nearly everyone can agree on. Whether you are part of a church or not, whether you believe today or your doubt, whether you are a Christian or an atheist or an agnostic or a so-called none (whose faith experiences far transcend the limits of that label) you know this truth deep in your bones: Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. Death is a part of life. My prayer for you this season is that you make time to celebrate that reality, and to grieve that reality, and that you will know you are not alone.

More on Rachel Held Evans

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: An Evangelical Blogger Follows the Bibles Instructions for Women

An Evangelical Writer Spent a Year Living Biblically. Now a Major Christian Bookseller Wont Carry Her Book.

With the Religious Right in Turmoil Over Trump, Can Democrats Become the Party of God?
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

When I moved to Europe I was 29 and my skin-care routine consisted of a nightly face wash, a slap of Differin, and some moisturizer. No 12 steps (11 of them Korean) and no bathroom vanity spilling over with tubes and bottles. My skin was easy and needed very little. But life changes: I became a bicycle-loving expat. I met the love of my life in Berlin, on an app. Also, my forehead exploded, and I suddenly had problematic skin.

So for the first time ever, I went after my skin care. Under duress and budget constraints, it was an unscientific process. I picked up a bottle of micellar water at my local apotheke, going for Bioderma, the much-touted clear-skin fixer of every Parisian I knew. I swiped morning and night, and waited.

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Based on what showed up on the cotton pad, my face was obviously cleaner than in its pre-micellar state. It was not, however, any less red and angry, and it was still just as broken out. The Bioderma went under the bathroom sink, and I went down an oligosaccharide-filled rabbit hole of online reviews. Bioderma contains solvent and humectant propylene glycol which, to some people online, is contentious. Im not sure if that was the source of my problem, but I decided to look for an equally loved, more natural micellar.

Melvita Floral Bouquet Cleansing Micellar Water

Somewhere deep in the internet I found Melvitas Bouquet Floral Micellar Water. Made in France, the Bouquet Floral ticked all the boxes: It contains clearing, soothing, and dependable witch hazel and rose water, and none of the preservatives or fragrances that can be found in plenty of other micellars.

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With the Bouquet Floral, my skin relaxed, and even brightened. The redness of unwisely savaged zits calmed down. After transferring a supply to a travel bottle and using it throughout the day against sweat and street dirt accumulated from biking, I noticed the micellar water was particularly effective as a preventive. I would never ditch my face wash for micellar-only cleansing, as some do, but its an essential part of my slightly-more-adult skin-care regimen, and I absolutely credit the Melvita for my skins willingness to finally relax and enjoy life in a new city.

More skin savers

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

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As stated, Bioderma didnt work for Susannah. But finding a skin-care routine is always a matter of trial and error, and plenty of people swear by Bioderma  like our own Rio Viera-Newton, who once said, since Ive incorporated this Bioderma micellar into my routine (pre-cleanser), my skin has felt even more supple and rejuvenated.

Cosrx Whitehead Power Liquid

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Another Rio favorite, this time from Korea: this Cosrx liquid works wonders on breakouts.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the country, the company announced Friday.

The company, Caliburn International, owns Comprehensive Health Services Inc., which operates a massive shelter in Homestead, Floridaa facility congressional Democrats have described as keeping children in prison-like conditions.

It seems that Kelly, as a former White House official, would not be prevented from sitting on the companys board under current White House ethics rules, but he is still not allowed to try to influence government policies in a way that would benefit the company, according to the Associated Press. Democrats have expressed outrage over what they have deemed the corruption and callousness of a former administration official joining a company that participated in the separation of thousands of families at the border during the administrations zero-tolerance policy in the spring of 2018.

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This is unforgivable, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district containing the facility, tweeted. It confirms what we knew about the Presidentthat he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.

Sen. Cory Booker echoed that sentiment on Twitter: Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting.

Kelly, who left the Trump administration in January, had already been on the board of advisors of the investment firm that now owns Caliburn before joining the White House. Kelly stepped down from the board in January 2017 when he joined the administration. The company was awarded at least $222 million to operate the Florida facility between July 2018 and April 2019, according to CBS News.

The Homestead facility, which is continuing to expand, still holds thousands of migrant children, most of whom arrived at the border without a parent or guardian. During the zero-tolerance period, the shelter held up to 140 children separated from their families, according to the AP.

Comprehensive Health Services has won licenses to operate three shelters in Texas for migrant children along with the one in Florida. According to CBS News, the Florida shelter is the only one in the country not subject to routine inspections from child welfare experts.
North Korea fired several short-term projectiles into the sea Saturday, in what could be the countrys first missile test since 2017 and a possible warning to the U.S. after the two countries denuclearization talks stalled.

While its not clear what the projectiles are, the South Korean military, which reported the test and originally identified the projectiles as short-term missiles before revising its statement, has used the term before for missiles before they can be identified. There is no evidence that the test Saturday involved a nuclear explosion and it appears not to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the New York Times.

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The projectiles were fired from the east coast of the peninsula and launched 45 to 125 miles. The launches will not have violated the moratorium the country declared in November 2017 on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile tests, according to the Washington Post. That moratorium was intended to help clear the path for negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea.

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In April, North Korea tested a new weapon, which it called a tactical guided weapon, and which is thought to have been a more conventional weapon. That test appeared to be a warning to President Trump to continue the talks between the two nations, as in February a failed summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim Jong-un resulted only in frustration. In that summit, Kim demanded sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament and Trump refused to lift sanctions until North Korea gave up all of its nuclear weapons. The two did agree to remain in discussions, and both nations have said a third summit between the two leaders remained a possibility.

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Since then, it appears North Korea has only become more frustrated with sanctions and the hard line taken by the U.S, as well as with continued U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Last month, Kim said in a speech he was losing patience and that he would give the U.S. until the end of the year to come up with new terms.

According to the Post, South Koreas president said the Norths actions violated a September military cooperation agreement between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions. A spokeswoman for the president said the South would work with the U.S. to ramp up vigilance and closely communicate with neighboring countries as needed. According to the Times, the South Korean foreign minister said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in a conversation with her that the U.S. would respond with caution. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said he still believes he can reach a nuclear deal with Kim.
On Thursday, we found out what the sound of a defenestrated troll is like. That afternoon, Facebook banned Infowars, Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, and other inflammatory figures like far-right personalities Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos, white supremacist politician Paul Nehlen, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has long been criticized as holding anti-Semitic and homophobic views. These bans are reportedly permanent and extend to the fan pages and groups affiliated with their accounts.

The breakup wasnt clean. The news broke before Facebook had actually banned all of their accounts across its platforms. Loomer and Yiannopoulos were still able to post to Instagram for nearly an hour after the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, and the Verge published stories saying they were getting the boot. In that time, Loomer and Yiannopoulos used their accounts to tell their legions of followers where else to find them. On Facebook, Alex Jones was able to stream on Facebook Live for nearly two hours after the world learned that he was technically no longer welcome there. Facebook told Wired the reason for the time lag was that scrubbing these characters footprint was a bigger job than they anticipated.

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While Facebook briefed news organizations ahead of time over these actions, the company didnt specify how these accounts had violated the platforms policies. Instead, a spokesperson told multiple outlets that the company has always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology, which was a bit tough to swallow, considering these accounts have been spewing hate for yearsand many, many hateful accounts remain on the social network. (A quick search Friday on Facebook for the term jews oven unearthed a page called Jewsinoven?) The Facebook spokesperson continued, The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today. Facebook didnt share what rules specifically were violated or what the process was for reviewing its rules. Presumably, if Thursdays actions reflect a new approach that Facebook is now takingor at least a new sense of urgencythen far more than seven accounts would have been banned.

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Still: At the end of the day, a bunch of high-profile bigots had been stripped of a major platform. It shouldve resonated as a victory against the fringe figures who have benefited from the distortionary effects of social media, where ranking algorithms tend to benefit divisive, emotional content. So why did this latest act of content moderation instead feel underwhelming?

The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists.

Deplatforming certainly does help to reduce the spread of hate. Since Alex Jones lost his main Facebook and YouTube pages in August, traffic to Infowars has plummeted. Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right provocateur who was banned from Twitter for directing racist harassment at the actress Leslie Jones, can no longer receive financial backing from his fan base via Venmo or PayPal and is reportedly in severe debt. (Those services banned him last year after he sent $14.88, a number that symbolizes a salute to Hitler in neo-Nazi communities, to a Jewish journalist.) But, particularly in Facebooks case, deplatforming also has to align with a set of clearly articulated policies so that it isnt read as a tyrannical act of corporate censorship that will further inflame accusations of bias. In this case, Facebook created a news story in much the way it might if it had announced a new product, but it didnt actually say why specifically the accounts were removed. What should have been a by-the-book punitive act became a spectacleand probably one that Alex Jones and the like will try to spin to their advantage. Facebook has the power to punish wrongdoers, as it did on Thursday. But we dont know its full rationale for doing so, nor do we know who will be next.

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The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists. For years, black users on Facebook have been forced to navigate the platforms mercurial enforcement of its speech policies. Its become so routine for black activists to get suspended when they complain about racism that its become common practice in activist communities to create backup accounts and use slang like wypipo to dodge the companys content moderation algorithm. Complaining about racism isnt hate speech. But Facebook appears to have done less hand-wringing when moderating content from this community than it has with content that is anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, or racist, or that promotes dangerous conspiracy theories that have led to violence. While figures like Alex Jones might attract the attention of higher-up Facebook executives, most people are moderated by a mix of algorithm and low-level contract workersand are subject to a broad brush with little room for appeal.

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I emailed Facebook to ask specifically which rules were violated, what the process was for reviewing the rules, and if this means more accounts, presumably of lesser-known users, would be banned for engaging in hateful rhetoric soon, too. I have yet to hear back. But unless this move is part of an overall cleanup effort in which the company includes its rationale for taking action and promises to do so consistently into the future, dont expect Facebook to become free of bigotry anytime soon. Removing hate will always be a game of whack-a-mole. Its good to ban high-profile bigots. Its also critically important to explain in clear terms what policy was violated, how many violations were tabulated, and what they did to violate the policyeither shared with the account holder or with the public. Simply saying the company always does this isnt sensical or sufficient.

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What might be more bothersome, however, is that Facebook risks unleashing a whole other breed of hate and disinformation across its networkone that a high-profile act of deplatforming doesnt address.

Earlier this week, Facebook shared that it is redesigning its platform to promote the use of private groups for sharing Facebook posts, which would reduce the prominence of the more open news feed. Moving people into private rooms will certainly make it a lot easier for Facebook to continue its haphazard style of governance. Its a lot easier to promote and share bigotry in a closed group of racists than it is to do so on a public pageand for that bigotry to spread widely without anyone noticing, as it did on WhatsApp during the Brazilian elections last year. And its a lot harder for users who are trying to fight hate to report it. I expect the people who lost their accounts on Thursday to start new ones soon, or worse, commandeer an account or group with a large following from an ally. Sure, they probably wont have the reach they did before, but hate is insidious. Policies against racism dont eradicate racism. Unless Facebook applies its rules consistently and transparently, people with an agenda will find a way to come crawling back to find their fans. And if theyre in big private groups, where only their fellow sexists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, homophobes, and racists are allowed in, they may well find a hideout there too.
Imagine this: Scientists have just detected an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. According to their calculations, the damage would be catastrophic, and we dont have long to prepare. Experts determine that the best plan of action would be to launch armed spacecraft, perhaps with nukes, to rendezvous with the asteroid.

Though this sounds suspiciously like the plot of Armageddon, its also the plot of the sixth International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference. Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the European Space Agency, the U.N., and other international space experts have gathered in College Park, Maryland, this week to do a cosmic fire drill. The premise of this role-play universe begins with an imaginary asteroid called 2019 PDC, which has a 1 in 100 chance of striking Earth in 2027. According to NASA, those odds were selected for this drill because experts worldwide generally agree that thats the threshold for when we should take collective action.

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Sure, it seems far-fetched, but its only a matter of time until were faced with a serious asteroid threat. This year has already seen three close asteroid flybys, between 73,500 and 274,000 miles away from us, but none close enough to sound the alarm. (For reference, the distance between Earth and the moon is 238,900 miles.) Small asteroids pass within 4 million miles of Earth all the time. Earth has definitely seen some giant impacts before, but it seems in our best interest to be ready next time around. (As this amazing shirt from the European Space Agency says: Dinosaurs didnt have a space agency.) So, the logic goes, practice makes perfect.

The conference looked like any otherexperts giving presentations in a nondescript meeting hallbut instead of covering new advances in the field, the talks gave a broad outline of the hypothetical impact scenario and discussed the questions and decisions that would stem from it. The scenario is wrapped around an excellent and compelling storyline. Though every tweet from organizers and attendees, as well as the PowerPoint slides, included the word EXERCISE in bold letters, I found myself getting drawn into the role-play as I watched the conference livestream from home (and, apparently, so did some momentarily alarmed folks on Twitter, prompting one astronomy account to remind followers that the scenario was not real). Like a good sci-fi storyline, each day of the exercise advanced the story forward. While Day 1 took place in real time, Day 2 took place three months later, in July 2019, and then we jumped forward to Dec. 30, 2021, on Day 3, to 2024 in Day 4, and to 10 days before impact on Day 5.

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At first, efforts focused on quantifying the problem: Where might the asteroid strike, and with how much force? By Day 3, experts had calculated that 2019 PDC would land in the middle of Denver, completely incinerating the immediate area (one scientist used the phrase molten buildings to describe the damage) and casting shock waves hundreds of miles out. Windows are breaking from Pueblo to Laramie, said physicist Mark Boslough to set the scene at his end-of-day briefing about the asteroids physical effects.

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A great deal of discussion has focused on how best to deflect the asteroids path. Some suggested deploying kinetic impactors, launched to collide with the asteroid and knock it into a different path, as well as launching nuclear weapons. The problem is that scientists arent yet sure exactly how each method would move the asteroid because theyre not sure of the asteroids mass, which, as you may guess, matters a lot when it comes to physics. The logistics of this exercise assume that humankind will send a probe up to study the asteroid more closely, but given the lag in how long it takes for spacecraft to reach the asteroid, scientists will need to make a decision about their deflection method before the probe sends back additional data.

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In imaginary 2024, the experts decide to send up a series of kinetic impactors, which successfully move the asteroid out of Earths path, but the force of the impacts also causes a chunk of the asteroid to break offand the simulation has it hitting Earth in April 2029. Luckily, the fake piece is small, by celestial standards: Its estimated at 60 meters. While it will likely become smaller or even vaporize while entering our atmosphere, it still has the power to inflict damage; for instance, the Tunguska meteor in 1908 was thought to be around the same size, and while it didnt leave a crater, it flattened hundreds of miles of Arctic forest. On Day 5, it was revealed that 2019 PDC would hit Manhattan in 10 days, an incident worse than Tunguska. Experts drew up models of the damage and began planning for evacuations.

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Unsurprisingly, much of the drill focused on decision-making and mission logistics. How do we learn as much as we can about this asteroid, and what do we do to minimize its damage? But a full-scale rehearsal like this also brings more practical considerations to the forefront, and attendees questions and experts analyses highlight the very real concerns people might have should a scenario like this arise in real life.

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One attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S.

At the end of Day 3, for instance, one attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S., even for a thought exercise, saying, I might be biased since were all on the East Coast here, but   This person went on to ask: Had we considered possibly sending spacecraft up just to nudge the asteroid slightly away from any major population center, instead of nudging it out of Earths orbit? The speaker, NASAs Brent Barbee, politely shot him down. I would characterize that as a last resort. Our primary goal would be to move the asteroid off of Earth, he said. The moderator of the Q&A also jumped in to add that the impactors targeting wouldnt be precise enough to ensure the exact amount the asteroid would be moved. But still, this questioner is probably not alone. The people who would be tasked with huge decisions like this are more likely to live in certain cities, and, as well-intentioned as they may be, that could color decisions.

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But its also not clear who, ultimately, will get to make those calls. Attendees brought up questions about the possibilities of different countries getting in each others way when it comes to launching spacecraft meant to work together, like if three different space agencies each contributed kinetic impactors to a global mission. With a mission of this scope, youd need strong coordination, said discussion moderator Paul Chodas, of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With procedures and protocols, we could achieve the coordination necessary, but it would be essential to coordinate very closely.

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In theory, there would be an international team that coordinates important intergalactic decisions, like how to launch defense against the asteroid or, if nuclear weapons are used, who actually initiates the detonation. (Hopefully, this coordination is better than that of the crew in Armageddon, when Bruce Willis pushes young Ben Affleck out of the way at the last moment.) We dont have those procedures in place right now, but were developing them, Chodas said.

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Figuring that out appears to be outside the purview of this conference, but it seems like a piece of the puzzle law and politics experts should figure out long before were faced with an actual asteroid threat. And one hopes that any team meant to represent the interests of all humans on Earth includes delegates from countries that dont have their own space programs but can contribute in other ways, like drawing up policies and offering technical expertise. Currently, the International Asteroid Warning Network is the go-to group for finding and monitoring near-Earth objects and coordinating international resources, and while there are a good number of institutions from space-faring countries represented, its definitely biased toward wealthier powers.

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This thought experiment also demonstrates how important it will be to bring in experts outside of physics and astronomy. In several summaries, experts have mentioned the consequences of a huge asteroid event on plane or train travel and internet access, as well as the possible destabilization of the economy as property values in potential strike areas plummet. Others have pointed out that areas outside the immediate strike zones will likely be ravaged by wildfires caused by the impact. There are real costs to culture, as well. One researcher noted that when 2019 PDC incinerates Manhattan, museums like the Met would need to move their collections elsewhere as quickly as possible.

My favorite question came from an attendee who has clearly seen his share of action movies: How big would [the asteroid] need to be to pop the cork on Yellowstone? The scientists onstage didnt seem to immediately understand his question, so the attendee went on to explain that an impact could destabilize the Wyoming supervolcano. We have not considered volcanic impacts, replied one of the scientists. Well, the attendee said, maybe its something to take a look at.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Foreign investments quite beneficial in stabilising national economy: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Friday, announced federal government plans for strategies to alleviate the creation of business and investment opportunities.



He was addressing the Investment Conference in Islamabad when he said that foreign investments would be quite beneficial in stabilising the national economy as well as creating employment and remittances. There is a need to promote investment and trade, he added. FM Qureshi believed it was high time for entrepreneurs to take advantage of lucrative business opportunities in the country.



The minister talked at length about various sectors, which would be enhanced to improve the economy by facilitating foreign investors and businesspersons. Minister Qureshi assured the exchange of modern technology would be made possible on easy terms.



He maintained the tourism sector would also play an important role in economic betterment. However, the developing countries were said to definitely need the cooperation of the developed nations to meet their targets. Qureshi said for the first time government was pursuing economic diplomacy for socio-economic development of the country.





Saudi Arabia was said to have committed $20 billion investment in Pakistan while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were also eyeing investments in various sectors.



He noted, Saudi Aramco wants to establish an oil refinery in Gwadar, moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister had expressed his interest in various sectors in Pakistan during his visit. ExxonMobil Company has returned to Pakistan and has been engaged in the exploration of energy resources, he continued.



Qureshi also talked about the major steps taken to promote tourism. He asserted, Pakistan is providing E-Visa facility to tourists besides provision of other facilities.



The foreign minister reiterated that Islamabad desired longstanding peace in Afghanistan and was also playing its due part in the peace process.



Pakistan played a role for peace, and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, took peace overtures towards India, including opening Kartarpur corridor and reinvigorated relations with China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia and Iran, he added.





He further asserted, We are moving in the right direction following the vision of Prime Minister [Imran Khan]. The Foreign Ministry is also taking steps for amelioration of economy on diplomatic fronts. he continued.
This week's 'Rewind' is the regular monthly edition of Years Ago, this time devoted to events, personalities and memories from the decade of the 1970's. This offering is a bit different than usual in that all of the pictures and accounts are from the same location.

For many years, horsepeople from numerous geographical areas in Canada raced at Wolverine Raceway located on the outskirts of Detroit. Thanks to the work of archivist and photo collector Don Daniels, viewers are able to see some good quality photos from the Abahazy collection that Don has painstakingly restored. It is interesting to note that in each photo a rather large crowd is visible as a background.

1970 - Springfield Wins Matron Stake at Wolverine

The connections of Springfield gather in the winner's circle at Wolverine following a victory (shown in photo above) by the Dr. George Boyce-owned two-year-old son of Shadow Wave. He and Mrs. Boyce are at the far right end of the picture receiving the trophy. (Abahazy photos)

Two races after Springfield's win came the second division of that year's Matron Stake and it was won by the amazing Albatross, then driven by Harry Harvey. That year saw the great son of Meadow Skipper win a total of 14 races in 17 starts good enough for $183,540 taking a two-year-old mark of 1:57.4. Numbers not seen too often back then or since for that matter.

1971 - Ontario-Owned Merrywood King Scores in 2:02.3

Merrywood King is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver and trainer Don Larkin with his distinctive polka dot silks. (Abahazy photos)

For many years Don Larkin was the private trainer and driver for the Merrywood Stable of Grand Bend, Ont., owned by Eric McIlroy. Their farm and training centre was located close to this once-popular summer resort town located on the shores of Lake Huron. At one time Mr. McIlroy operated a popular dance hall dating back to the 1930's. The Merrywood name for their horses became popular and many of the farm breds were successful across Ontario and Michigan. When the O.S.S. started in 1974 Merrywood Sara was the fastest performer during that entire season.

1974 - McIntosh Brothers Winning At Wolverine

By the 1970's the brothers McIntosh -- Doug as driver and Bob as trainer -- were making their mark. Both were introduced to the sport through their father Jack McIntosh who bred and raised a number of notable performers at his Wheatley, Ont. farm. In the 1950's, accompanied by the noted veterinarian Dr. Lloyd McKibbin, the senior McIntosh purchased a filly named Success Barbara at a U.S. sale. After racing her at many local one-day meets and at Old Woodbine she was retired and began her career as a broodmare. Among her better offspring was Baroness Barbara, shown in the photo below.

Baroness Barbara, owned by Leo Thibodeau of Windsor, Ont., is shown in the Wolverine winner's enclosure following a win in 1974. On the left is Bob McIntosh with brother Douglas John on the far right. Mr. Thibodeau, long associated with the transport industry as part-owner of Thibodeau - Finch, owned a lot of good horses over the years. In later years Mark Austin trained a number of his horses. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Ray Remmen Campaigns At Wolverine

Western-born horseman Ray Remmen of Hanley, Sask., made his way eastward in the late 1960's. His journey, which eventually led him to become a star at the Meadowlands in New Jersey when it opened in 1976, included stops at Windsor Raceway and many trips across the border to Wolverine. Always in demand as a catch driver in addition to his own trainees, Ray made numerous visits to the Wolverine winner's circle. A couple are shown below.

Ray Remmen reaches the wire a winner behind the pacer Goyo, owned by Eric and Harry Whebby of Dartmouth N.S., in 2:00.3 to defeat Master Command (Boring) in a conditioned event for $3,400. The betting public must have had others to wager on as this winner paid $37.00, $10.60 and $5.00 across the board. The roan son of Canadian Dares out of Betts Folly was a six-year-old at the time. (Abahazy photos)

Jewell Mir, co-owned by trainer and driver Ray Remmen and Wilbur Thompson of Weyburn, Sask., is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver Remmen after a 2:01 score which was a pretty good mile for April. The six-year-old son of Buxton Hanover had been a member of the Miron Farms contingent in previous years racing for Marcel Dostie. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Quebec Stable Successful at Wolverine

Even a few horsemen from Quebec made the long trip to Wolverine and showed their expertise. Yvon Demers of Angers, P.Q. was one of those who campaigned here during the 1976 season. His own Chief Hielo was also among the top performers in his stable.

Yvon Demers had his trainee Keystone Sheldon, a four-year-old son of Bye Bye Byrd in top form as he took a new lifetime mark of 2:02.3 on April 13th. This horse was owned by Thaddee Matte of Papineauville, Quebec and won a total of eight races that season. As shown, the winner received a nice Wolverine Raceway cooler to mark this victory. (Abahazy photos)

Note: There are a number of unidentified individuals in the above pictures. If anyone in the reading audience can readily identify these people please feel free to do so.

Who Is It?

Can you identify this driver appearing during the 1978 season at Wolverine? The correct answer will be given during the upcoming week. (Abahazy photos)
Do you eat, sleep and breathe harness racing? Do you have exceptional customer service skills? If this sounds like you and you feel like you have the potential to be an outstanding ambassador for Standardbred Canada, read on.

Standardbred Canadas Member & Stakeholder Relations Department is seeking a summer student/intern to assist with various member and customer service related activities. Knowledge of horse racing is an asset.

The position requires an energetic self-starter with strong interpersonal and computer skills, outstanding organizational and presentation skills, and experience in social media applications. This individual will have the ability to work independently while contributing to a team. The successful candidate will work out of SCs office in Mississauga, Ontario.

Some of the duties include:

Data entry & analysis

Report writing

Writing for website

Assisting with producing video content for web & social media

Assisting with SCs Member Value Program

Assisting with writing web stories for National Caretaker Appreciation Day

Assisting with industry research

Taking photographs at events, etc.

Administrative duties as required

Qualifications

Currently enrolled in a Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or Business Administration program

Detail oriented with outstanding time management skills

Customer Service training an asset

Knowledgeable about horse racing is an asset

Computer Skills Required

Excel/MS Office/Power Point

Experience with SurveyMonkey & DirectIQ

Experience with social media tools

Experience with Premiere Pro would be an asset

Applicants must be returning to a post secondary program in the fall of 2019. Access to a car would be an asset, and the applicant should be willing to work a few weekends if required.

Duration: 8-10 weeks (start date of mid-June)

Please submit applications via email no later than Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. to:

Member & Stakeholder Relations - Kathy Wade Vlaar

Standardbred Canada

2150 Meadowvale Blvd.

Mississauga, ON L5N 6R6

email [email protected]

We thank all those who apply, but only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.
These men  some of these old Jewish men  are a special breed  from a special time and place.

I mean, all the expectation today leaves little for a kid to dream about. You are supposed to go to college. Then maybe law school or medical school. Family and responsibilities then start to add up. A decade or two goes by and you wonder where it all went.

But these guys.

These guys peak the imagination, if only in a villainous way.

Because what boy wants to work 8-5 and take orders?

A reflection of a road not taken. A tough guy, indeed.

Around each other, these men have a kind of ease that makes you want to confide things. The ease of old friends. Late nights. Stories by now more fiction than fact. Stories set on the stoops and corners of Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Brownsville, in a time when Jewish gangsters, that lost romantic breed, still roamed the streets, when Italians had no monopoly on hooliganism, when a Jewish boy could still fashion his future as murderous and daring and wide open, a future shot full of holes. Alleys. Blue smoky rooms. Basements. The ominous echo of footsteps. Leather shoulder holsters.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews
Texas Tech University

At Texas Tech, in Lubbock, students can pursue a PhD in Technical Communications and Rhetoric. A focus area in technical communication is available. Research methods is significant emphasis of the program. The degree can be completed on campus, or through an online program. To earn the degree, students will be required to complete 60 credit hours, a qualifying examination, and a dissertation comprised of original research. Students may choose a minor in a complementary subject area.

Texas Tech also offers an MA in Technical Communication. The program can be completed on-campus or online. Students will be required to complete 36 credit hours to earn the degree, and students must assemble a portfolio of their work. Students may complete an internship as a component of their degree. The Media Lab offers space to collaborate on the integration of new media literacy within technical communications.

Texas State University

Texas State University, in San Marcos, offers an MA in Technical Communication. The 30-credit program is offered on-campus with evening classes, or online. The department offers a user experience (UX) research lab, for students to see how readers or users would interact with a product they create. Scholarships or graduate assistantships may be available to assist with funding, and a travel fund supports students in attending professional conferences.

University of Houston

At the University of Houston, students can pursue an MS in Technical Communication. The program requires 33 credit hours of study. A capstone course requires the production of a portfolio containing five major projects. Concentrations are available in areas including Science and Medical Writing, Instructional Design, and Usability Research. Students can also pursue certificates in Plain English or Medical and Applied Health Communication.

University of Texas El Paso

At the University of Texas El Paso, those who are interested in technical writing can earn a graduate certificate in technical and professional writing. The program is offered online. It requires twelve credits to complete. Professionals working in any field who wish to improve their communication skills are encouraged to apply.

University of North Texas

Students can choose to pursue an MA in Professional and Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Students are required to specialize in a technical cognate field. Those pursuing the degree can choose a 36-credit hour program with a written exam; or a 30-hour program with a thesis. A graduate certificate in teaching technical writing is also available.
Are you hoping to have a fun and educational Fourth of July celebration with your family this year? This blog post offers interesting July Fourth facts you can share with your kids.

Fourth of July: Keys to Celebrating

The Fourth of July is a fun, family-friendly holiday. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the warm weather, delicious cookouts, and exciting fireworks. But it's also a holiday that marks a key moment in American history, which is important to remember during your celebration. To make the holiday more educational, we recommend you share these seven fun facts with your children.

Fact 1: The vote to declare independence from Great Britain was almost unanimous.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted on the decision to declare the colonies' independence. Almost every representative voted ''yes,'' except for the delegation from New York, who were awaiting authorization from their home state.

Fact 2: The Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed on July Fourth.

Rather, it was signed almost a month later, on August 2nd. July Fourth is actually the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. The later signing date was partly due to the delay in getting the New York State delegation's approval. Additionally, it took two weeks for the document to be written on parchment.

Fact 3: The Fourth of July was first celebrated as a holiday in 1777.

That was the year colonists began celebrating July Fourth as their day of independence. Their celebrations usually included reading the Declaration of Independence, enjoying bonfires, firing cannons, and watching parades and concerts. They even celebrated July Fourth throughout the Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783.

Fact 4: Congress made the Fourth of July an official federal holiday in 1870.

In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress voted to make July Fourth a paid holiday. What a great way to encourage people to celebrate the United States' independence every year!

Fact 5: Fireworks were invented in China between 600 and 900 A.D.

Between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese scientists were experimenting with mixing different substances when they accidentally created gunpowder, an explosive mix of charcoal, sulfur, and other substances. Then they filled bamboo shoots with the powder and threw them into a fire, creating the world's first firecracker. The Chinese later went on to use paper tubes to create firecrackers that were used in celebrations and battles.

Fact 6: The fireworks first used to celebrate the Fourth of July only came in orange and white.

Buried within the gunpowder used in fireworks are pellets of substances, like strontium, calcium, iron, and sodium, that produce bright sparks of different colors when lit. The colorful fireworks displays you see on the Fourth of July today are due to these materials. However, in 1784, not long after the first Independence Day celebrations, these combinations had yet to be developed. So the fireworks used in colonial celebrations only came in orange and white.

Fact 7: The 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old boy.

The American flag has evolved throughout the years, as the number of states in the union has changed. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th American state, and the flag needed to be updated again. A contest was held to find a new design, and a 17-year-old boy was named the winner. His flag design is still the one we use to this day.

For more engaging, educational lessons you can share with your child, check out Study.com's library of over 70,000 lessons for all ages.
In the fall of 2018, a fundraiser was held at all 14 Fibre Federal Credit Union locations to raise money for Doernbechers Childrens Hospital.

Titled Doernbecher Days, offered at the branches to members for small donations were Childrens Miracle Network balloon signs and Credit Unions for Kids piggy banks.

In addition, several independent staff-driven fundraisers were held including raffles and sales of snacks.

Over the seven-week fundraiser, FFCU staffers raised $32,751.52 for the hospital. The money was combined with a $20,000 donation from early 2018 staff fundraisers to donate $52,751.52 to the hospital for the 2018 year.

This year, on April 11, the top fundraising credit union employees visited the hospital to present the donation check and to meet with a doctor to discuss plans for the hospitals growth. The group toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and saw firsthand how premature infants are cared for at the hospital.

According to a press release from FFCU, Northwest credit unions have for decades supported Doernbecher through Credit Unions for Kids, a collective effort with the Childrens Miracle Network.

The Gary and Christine Rood Family Pavilion, the newest addition at Oregon Health Science University, will house patients families from distant locations. One of the floors in the pavilion will be named after Credit Unions for Kids to honor the organizations commitment.

Fibre Federal Credit Union will continue to raise money for Doernbechers.

The credit unions president and chief executive officer, Christopher Bradberry said in the press release that the credit union is passionate about supporting Doernbecher because we see the miracles they achieve every day.

He noted all children should have access to caring and comprehensive medical treatment, even if their families cannot afford to pay for it.

Every fundraising dollar for Doernbecher supports those children and helps give them a better chance at growing into healthy and vital adults.

What better way to support our communities than to help children have a better future?

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India made several efforts to politicise proceedings at FATF: FO

Islamabad on Friday expressed deep concern over Indian finance ministers statement about New Delhis intention to have Pakistan downgraded on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list.



The Indian ministers statement re-confirms Pakistans longstanding concerns that this technical forum is being politicised by India against Pakistan, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.



The Foreign Office said that India has made several efforts in the past as well to politicise the proceedings at FATF. Prior to the FATF plenary meeting in February 2019, India circulated its own assessment of Pakistans progress and solicited immediate support for blacklisting Pakistan. On several previous occasions, calculated leaks were made to the Indian media about the proceedings of FATF, which were otherwise strictly confidential, the Foreign Office said. These instances of politicisation by India have been brought to the attention of the FATF president by the finance minister of Pakistan, it added.



Indias attempts to politicise the proceedings in FATF against Pakistan call into question its credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group, that reviews the progress made by Pakistan to implement the FATF action plan, the statement observed. Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the FATF action plan. This commitment has been made at the highest political level, it continued. However, FATF must ensure that the process remains fair, unbiased and firmly grounded in the technical criteria of the forum, it demanded.
There are fewer minority employees than statistically expected at Kelso schools, but the district is working toward adding diversity to its workforce within the next five years, according to an affirmative action report.

The federal government requires any employer that receives federal funding to complete an affirmative action plan. These plans show what the current minority representation is in the workforce, compare it to the statistically expected percentage of employees and outline how the business can make sure minorities are fairly represented in their workforce.

An analysis of the 2017-18 school year staff showed that were are no administrators or supervisors from minority backgrounds working in the Kelso district at that time. Kelso would need three minority administrators and one minority supervisor to meet its statistical expectations, according to the report.

As for teachers and support staff, Kelso has about 19 and 17 minority staff members, respectively. Thats compared to the expected rate of 32 teachers and 49 support staff.

The report says one reason for the disparity in Kelso is that the percent of minorities in teacher and education staff associate training programs has not kept up with demand. Certificated training programs with higher concentrations of minority students are outside Washington state.

To balance out minority representation, the Kelso School District plans to advertise jobs in minority-focused media, attend a variety of job fairs and post jobs with colleges, universities and professional organizations that traditionally have diverse populations, among other strategies listed in its affirmative action plan.

The district will also continue its equal opportunity hiring practices, which base screening criteria on job qualifications and create a bias-free selection process with a diverse hiring committee, among other practices.

The school board will review the complete affirmative action report and plan at its meeting Monday night.

Also Monday the board will:

Vote on an architect/engineer for the districts capital bond projects that will not receive any state match money. District officials are recommending the board select Collins Architectural Group of Longview.

Vote to accept a bid for soil stabilization work at the Wallace and Lexington elementary school build sites. Additional information about the bids was not included in the board agenda packet.

Vote on a boiler project at Kelso High School. Additional information about the project was not included in the board agenda packet.

Set its 2019-20 meeting schedule.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Administrative Offices on Crawford Street.

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State lawmakers revision of Washingtons sales tax exemption rules has many Cowlitz County retailers worried that their Oregon customers will stop crossing the Columbia River to shop here.

The bill, which legislators approved last weekend, eliminates the sales tax exemption at checkout for residents from tax-free states and countries, including Oregon and British Columbia. Instead, these customers would need to apply for a reimbursement for paid Washington state taxes through the state Department of Revenue, starting January 2020. Only one application will be allowed per calendar year.

Under the new system, which takes effect in July, eligible shoppers must save sales receipts to submit together, complete special reimbursement paperwork and wait to get their refunds. Its a process that used to be paperless and took just seconds and the flick of a ID at checkout stands.

Im 86-years-old. Im not interested in messing with the little details, said Jack Crosby, a long-time Rainier resident.

Crosby was shopping at Rainiers Grocery Outlet Friday afternoon, but he said he also does a lot of my shopping in Longview because there are some items that he cant buy locally.

Its available there, but its not available here, he said. But now hell be more likely to drive to Portland for those items to avoid the extra paperwork, he said.

While the new law does not affect vehicle sales, it will apply to most other tangible goods, such as furniture, appliances and electronics. And all customers will be charged sales tax on vehicle parts, too.

Right now they dont pay sales tax on the parts, but they do pay sales tax on the labor. Now they will have to pay sales tax on the parts, as well, said Pat Sari, president of Columbia Ford in Longview. Those are things that could hurt our economy quite a bit. Those customers in Oregon will have to decide if they want to go all the way to Portland  if they want to buy furniture or have work done on their cars.

Sari said he hopes the level of quality and the convenience of close-to-home car service options will convince Columbia Fords Oregon customers to continue shopping at his dealership.

If a car breaks down and they need it repaired, it might not be practical to get it to Oregon.  Hopefully they will keep all the benefits they had, and they just have to fill out the (reimbursement) paperwork, Sari said.

After several failed attempts in the last five years to alter or eliminate the sales tax exemption, the Legislature finally succeeded in pushing the bill through. It passed with close votes in both chambers: 55-43 in the House and 25-22 in the Senate.

The six local lawmakers who represent Cowlitz and Lewis counties voted no on the measure. One of the no votes came from Sen. Dean Takko, a Longview Democrat.

For a lot of people that dont live in a border districts, its an easy vote.  I dont think they really realize its impact on retail in the border counties, particularly in Clark and Cowlitz counties, Takko said. People in Rainier and Clatskanie, they dont have the variety and options in those communities across the river like they do in Longview. They come across here.

This particular bill was drafted as a strategy to increase state revenues. It banks on the hope that Oregon buyers arent going to save their receipts and turn them in once a year for the sales tax rebate, Takko said.

If every one of those residents saved all their receipts and submitted them, then there would be  zero income for the state, he said.

The state anticipates the new law will generate nearly $54 million in fiscal years 2019-21. That estimate is based on several assumptions, including a loss of sales to non-residents and a tax rebate submission rate of only about 21 percent of Oregonians and 11 percent of residents from other tax-free places.

Takko said the bill will negatively affect retail sales in border areas such as Cowlitz County. He said it is likely to deter Oregon buyers from coming across the bridge to shop.

Ranae McKee, owner of Sears Hometown in Longview, said about 40 to 50 percent of her customers come from Rainier, Clatskanie and other rural Oregon towns. She doubted whether those customers would really be willing to fill out the forms to get a tax rebate.

What Ive learned in the retail industry is that they want instant gratification, and thats applying to any kind of discount they can receive. How many people, when they look at rebate option so to speak, really submit that paperwork? McKee said.

Instead, those customers might decide to drive to whatever competitor they live closest to in Oregon because it is more convenient than having to save and submit receipts, she said.

Rainier resident Jewell Labelle said he agrees that the new reimbursmenet system will be a hassle for buyers.

Who is going to save their receipts? What a pain that would be, Labelle said.

Although it will be more inconvenient to drive the extra distance to shop in Oregon  as opposed to the short jaunt across the bridge to Longview  Labelle said hed be willing to make the drive to save money.

Theres always Clatskanie. Theres always St. Helens. And then theres always Portland, Labelle said.

McKee, the Sears owner, said she worries that the appeal of getting an immediate savings of hundreds of dollars in sales tax for appliance purchases will detract from her Longview store.

I think instead of the hassle of applying for rebates, I think they will choose to go somewhere in the Oregon state to avoid having to do that, McKee said. I am afraid it will lose business for us.

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Probation violation  Longview police Thursday arrested Mark Anthony Edmonds, 33, of Longview on suspicion of probation/parole violation, resisting arrest, obstructing a public servant and driving with a suspended license.

Possession of a stolen vehicle  Woodland police Thursday arrested Devon Lee Miller, 24, of Kelso on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Vehicle prowls

200 block of Shawnee Street, Kelso. Thursday. Subjects tried to break into a neighbors car.

200 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. A man and a woman seen going through a vehicle then leaving on foot.

Burglary

4000 block of Westside Highway, Castle Rock. Thursday. Black 2014 Yamaha stolen.

Stolen vehicle

500 block of Seventh Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. White 1995 Honda Civic. Washington BEJ4256. Tape over front lights. Back the Blue sticker on the trunk.

Theft

1100 block of Second Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Reports girlfriend has taken his vehicle, phone and other items.

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NEW YORK  Understanding Donald Trumps foreign policy is a challenge, since the president has written and spoken little on the subject for most of his life. So how to make sense of his worldview? Is there a Trump Doctrine?

Michael Anton, a former Trump national security official, believes there is, and he explains it in a new essay in Foreign Policy. The Trump Doctrine, Anton argues, is simple: Lets all put our own countries first, and be candid about it, and recognize that its nothing to be ashamed of. But, as Daniel Larison responds in the American Conservative, That isnt a doctrine. It is a banality. What country has not put its own interests first? What president has argued to give preference to global interests over American ones?

Anton outlines a certain kind of nationalist conservatism that does seem at the heart of Donald Trumps worldview. More important  since Trump is rarely consistent and could change his mind tomorrow  it reflects the views of the man closest to him on foreign policy, national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton has been variously described as a neoconservative, a paleoconservative and a conservative hawk. In fact, he is simply a conservative, in the oldest, most classical sense, someone who has a dark view of humankind. As a former U.S. official told the New Yorker, Bolton believes that Thomas Hobbes famous description of life without order applies precisely to international lifenasty, brutish and short.

Bolton believes that to protect itself and project its power, the United States must be aggressive, unilateral and militant. Bolton seems to share the worldview that animated Dick Cheney, who after 9/11 spoke openly about the need to work ... the dark side and to use any means at our disposal basically to achieve our objectives.

There are some in the foreign policy establishment who believe that a revanchist Russia poses a grave threat to America. Others worry about a rising China or an ideological Iran. For Bolton, its all of the above and more. He has at various points warned darkly about the mortal threat posed to the United States by Cuba, Libya, Syria and of course, Iraq. A longtime fan of regime change, he recently labeled Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a triangle of terror and said the U.S. looks forward to watching each corner of the triangle fall. It seems he wants them to fall not to usher in an era of democracy, but because they resist American power and influence. The Monroe Doctrine is alive and well, Bolton told the New Yorkers Dexter Filkins. Its our hemisphere.

This kind of conservatism believes that national interests are worth pursuing not because they are virtuous  about democracy and freedom  but because they are ours. This view originates in a cultural chauvinism and can easily morph into racism.

And sure enough, a senior State Department official, Kiron Skinner, this week explained that the challenge with confronting China is that it is a great power competitor that is not Caucasian. She noted: The Soviet Union and that competition, in a way it was a fight within the Western family.

Where to begin? The Cold War was an existential struggle because the Soviet Union believed it had a superior ideology of economics, politics and society that it would impose on the rest of the world. That is why it was called totalitarian. Chinas rise to power is the standard process by which a new powerhouse economy tries to find a space on the international stage. Chinas system, incidentally, is largely a mixture of two Western ideas, capitalism and communism  Adam Smith and Marx  which is why The New York Times Nicholas Kristof has aptly described it as Market-Leninism.

By Skinners logic we had more in common with Hitlers ideology than with the Chinese because the Nazis were Caucasian, which is both historically uninformed and morally grotesque.

The more practical problem with the Cheney-Bolton worldview is that it is profoundly inaccurate. The world is not nasty, brutish and short. Life has improved immeasurably over the last 100 years. Political violence  deaths from wars, civil wars and terrorism  has plummeted. And this has happened in large part because human beings also have the genes to cooperate, to compete peacefully and to weigh the costs of war against their benefits.

Bolton says that he might well invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine  which asserts that the U.S. can use force unilaterally anywhere in the Western hemisphere. If he does, what is the argument against Russia doing the same in Ukraine, China in the South China Sea, and Iran in Yemen? Without rules and norms, the U.S. would have to militarily thwart every such effort or else accept a world of war and anarchy. You see, nationalist assertiveness works as long as only you get to practice it.

Fareed Zakarias syndicated foreign affairs column appears each week in The Washington Post.

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Pak Army support Afghan peace process: COAS

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Friday reiterated its support for Afghan peace process and vowed to continue working for sustainable peace in the country.



The support for Afghan peace process was reaffirmed as the latest round of talks between the United States and Taliban in Qatar ran into a fresh stalemate due to the latters refusal to accept the American demand for a ceasefire. The US has made it clear that a peace deal would require simultaneous agreement on troops withdrawal, counterterrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.



Forum reiterated to continue its efforts for bringing enduring peace in the country while supporting all initiatives towards regional peace, ISPR said in a statement on the corps commanders conference held at the GHQ, which was chaired by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.



Pakistan facilitated the talks between the US and Taliban and more lately Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged neutrality in Afghan conflict. Pakistan will not be party to any internal conflict in Afghanistan anymore, Mr Khan said in a policy statement on Afghan peace last week in which he denounced violence by both sides of the conflict. The prime ministers statement was welcomed by the US government.



However, such categorical statements from Islamabad too have failed to push the peace process forward with the Taliban first refusing to talk to the Afghan government, then last month cancelling a meeting with Afghan representatives in Doha, and now refusing to observe a ceasefire. The Taliban, it should be recalled, had on the occasion of Eidul Fitr last year observed an unprecedented ceasefire raising hopes for peace. In a related development the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan ended on Friday with demands for peace and ceasefire.



The commanders meeting, which is a monthly feature, discusses internal and external security situation and professional matters of the Army. Forum reviewed evolving geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country including progress of operation Raddul Fasaad, ISPR said.



Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had at a press briefing earlier this week said that Operation Raddul Fasaad (RuF) was progressing satisfactorily. Sharing statistics, he said 47 major operations and 100,000 intelligence-based operations had been undertaken, which resulted in the recovery of over 64,000 weapons and 5.1 million units of ammunition.



A major success under RuF has been the border fencing. A total of 1,000kms of border has so far been fenced decreasing chances for unauthorised border crossing. Additionally, the security of the border with Afghanistan has been buttressed by construction of 300 border forts. A total of 843 forts are planned to be constructed.
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.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
What was formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale has expanded its mission, and changed its name to match.

After 15 years in operation, the organization will now be known as the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois, according to a Friday news release from the group.

The release states the name change is to reflect its expanded goal of serving more children and teens around the region.

The club also launched a fundraising goal on Friday; they are trying to raise $15,000 by June 30.

For more information, visit bgcsi.org.

 The Southern

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Les Winkeler Sports editor Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Follow Les Winkeler Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

You have to see it to believe it.

Nearly one-fifth of Alexander County has been inundated by Mississippi River floodwaters since mid-February. Yet, little is said about the chronic flooding because relatively few people are affected. No industries or serious infrastructure are threatened by the flood.

Many of the homeowners in the area sold their homes following the 2016 New Years Flood caused by a massive breach of the Len Small Levee. While water currently covers about 30,000 acres, most of the acreage is farmland located south of Olive Branch.

There are a few homeowners living on small islands throughout the region. They use boats to get to and from their land. But, little or nothing is being done to assist them.

Fact is, at the current time, it appears little can be done.

Prior to the levee breach, the Mississippi River had to top 48.5 feet at Cape Girardeau to put the land in danger. With the three-quarter mile gap in the levee, water begins pouring through the breach at about 33 feet.

In recent years, thats a pretty good bet to happen at least once or twice a year.

As tempting as it is to blame politicians and government agencies for the inaction, thats not really fair. As Jeff Denny, county engineer in Alexander County explained, levee repairs can only be made when the river is low for an extended period of time.

That hasnt happened recently. As noted earlier, much of the county has been underwater since mid-February. With the drenching rains that struck the Midwest this weekend, those waters arent likely to recede anytime in the near future.

Once upon a time plans were on the table to repair the levee breech, but that was three or four floods ago.

The roiling floodwaters have expanded their damage since then, scouring more dirt away from the levee.

And, the floodwaters have become more insidious since the levee gave way in 2016.

These arent passive backups from water topping a levee. The water now is forced through the breach with a vengeance, powerful enough to carry away homes and pull pavement off roadways. The floodwaters deposited tons of sand on Alexander County farmland.

When the water recedes, large portions of the county are covered in several feet of sand. And, no one is quite sure what the floodwaters are doing to Horseshoe Lake and its trademark cypress and Tupelo trees. Aerial photographs graphically illustrate the siltation occurring.

The flooding has become a slow-motion natural disaster occurring right under our noses. There are just so many questions that appear to have no answers.

Will Horseshoe Lakes cypress and Tupelo survive? Will the shallow lake become nothing more than a wetland? Will the Mississippi change course as many are worried it might do? Will any of the flooded land be tillable again? Will state and federal agencies be willing to appropriate money to repair the levee? Will and state or federal government simply buy up the property to turn the area into a wildlife refuge? What would taking the land off the tax rolls do to an already cash-strapped Alexander County?

Worst of all, the people of Alexander County will be waiting months, likely years, for answers.

LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call 618-351-5088 / On Twitter @LesWinkeler.

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South Carolina Telehealth Alliance Receives National Award

BAMBERG -- The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance was awarded the American Telemedicine Association Presidents Award for Transformation of Health Care Delivery during the ATA Annual Conference held recently in New Orleans.

The ATA Presidents Award for the Transformation of Healthcare Delivery recognizes the leadership of an organization that incorporates virtual health care services as part of an initiative resulting in improved health care quality and value for a large population of patients.

The SCTA is a statewide collaboration of many organizations that have joined forces to expand telehealth services across South Carolina. Led by the SCTA Advisory Council, it provides guidance, assists with strategic development, and advises on technology and standards. The SCTA was formed with founding strategic providers, Greenville Health, McLeod Health, Medical University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health, providing telehealth care services.

SCTA Advisory Council co-chairs, Kathy Schwarting, MHA, Palmetto Care Connections chief executive officer, and James McElligott, MD, MSCR, MUSC Center for Telehealth medical director, accepted the award along with representatives from S.C. Area Health Education Consortium, S.C. Department of Mental Health, SCTA, McLeod Health, MUSC Health, Palmetto Care Connections and Prisma Health.

This award recognizes that SCTA is a national leader in statewide telehealth collaboration, Schwarting said. And its a testament to the great work that is being done to improve access to health care for all South Carolinians.

ATA stated that the SCTA has demonstrated exceptional character, leadership along with continued service to the association and telehealth industry.

The winners of this years awards are doing amazing work and its wonderful to see the innovation and transformation that is happening in the Telehealth field, said Laurie Poole, vice president, clinical innovation at the Ontario Telemedicine Network and chair of the ATA Awards Committee.

Consideration for this award included: the impact on the population served such as special needs groups; academic peer-reviewed research and presentations; targeted education programs; number of telehealth sites; business case or business model; long-term sustainability; and effective partnerships and collaboration.

The ATA is a non-profit association based in Washington with a membership network of more than 10,000 industry leaders and health care professionals. As the only national organization completely focused on telehealth, the ATA is working to change the way the world thinks about telemedicine and virtual care.

The SCTA provides administrative functions of programs and services, telehealth equipment and maintenance, technical support and security and leads initiatives determined by collaborative strategic planning.

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C. PCC is the leader of the Palmetto State Providers Network, a broadband consortium which facilitates broadband connections throughout the state.

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A Revolutionary War battlefield near Eutawville is being enhanced as part of its inclusion among a system of Liberty Trails that aims to connect all of the war's battlefields throughout the state.

As part of the process, the battlefield will be one of five battle sites to be developed into a park, complete with amenities such as a visitor's center, trails, shelters and an amphitheater.

Its a real source of pride

"The Liberty Trail was a project conceived by the South Carolina Battlefield Trust and we're partnering in this project with the American Battlefield Trust, a large foundation in Washington," said Doug Bostick, executive director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, a land trust that preserves battlefields in the Palmetto State.

In that role, Bostick also serves as the director of the South Carolina Liberty Trail project, which includes 69 American Revolutionary War battlefields which are divided into four trails stretching from as far south as Jasper County to as far north as Spartanburg County.

"What we want to do is connect all these sites. First, we want to preserve the ones that are not currently preserved. There are three that are run by the National Park Service, three that are run by state parks and two that are preserved by individual organizations," Bostick said.

"But the balance of all those are not currently protected. So our objective is to acquire as many of them as we can either through direct ownership of the land, or through a conservation easement," he said.

The work doesn't stop there.

"Then our plan is to interpret all of these to the public, both with battle signage and battle maps on the ground where there properties are, but also through a smartphone tablet app that will be available to the public for free.

"This app is currently being engineered. So it would give you drive-in directions, battle narratives, biographies, battle maps, any engravings or paintings that have ever been done of these battles, even down to linking you to where to stay and where to go eat when you visit these areas," Bostick said.

He added, "Our objective is to get all of this in place prior to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which is coming up in the next six years. Now some of these are just going to be small sites, where you might have the chance to pull off and park and then read the interpretive signage and understand what happened there," while others will be developed into parks.

"Five of them are going to be developed into full parks, meaning it'll have visitor amenities, shelters, trails, everything that you would expect to see if you went to a state park or a national park," said Bostick, noting that the Battle of Eutaw Springs deserves to be recognized.

The battle occurred on Sept. 8, 1781, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. The site includes a historic marker, a monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the tomb of British Commander major John Marjoribanks.

The Eutaw Springs battlefield site became listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 2, 1970.

We think itll draw a lot of just attention to Eutaw Springs. Eutaw Springs was a really big deal in its day. It was one of the most important battles in our state and in the nation. And so, number one, we want people to understand the real story of Eutaw Springs and, number two, to have the opportunity to go there and learn about all the people who were involved in this.

Several of the American Revolution's heroes fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs -- William Washington, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion, Andrew Pickens, "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Wade Hampton.

There are many captivating stories related to this battle. Thats the thing about the American Revolution. Theres kind of a piece of the story for everybody. At Eutaw Springs, we jokingly refer to it as the Patriot All-Star Game because most all of the notable commanders for the American cause were at Eutaw Springs, Bostick said.

A treasure trove of stories have come out of the battle, including that of slave Jim Capers.

He enlisted with Francis Marion in 1775, fought with Marion throughout the war, was wounded four times at Eutaw Springs, but was with his unit a month later to watch the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, Bostick said.

When he returns to South Carolina, hes given his freedom and he moves out West, which was Alabama in those days, and remarkably  I dont know how he did it  lived until the age of 110. But if you go to his grave today in Alabama, youll find a Revolutionary War veterans cross on his grave. So these stories about Eutaw Springs just go on and on and on, and thats why that particular battle is a very big deal to us, he said.

Bostick also shared the story of one of the battles Maryland commanders who later became governor of Maryland.

When he goes home after the war, he renames his own plantation Belvidere for the name of the plantation on which the battle was fought. And he names what today are all of the historic downtown streets of Baltimore. Theyre named after other patriot commanders that fought with him at the battle.

And if you go to a Baltimore Orioles game today to walk through to the gate of Camden Yards, which is the name of their stadium, you walk down Eutaw Street. Now I doubt that anyone in Baltimore knows where those names came from, but they all come from Eutaw Springs, he said.

Bostick added, Its a real source of pride. This battles a big, big deal, so big that a guy from Maryland goes home and names everything after people and things in the battle. So I think that that gives us a different understanding and appreciation of what happened there.

Its going to draw peoples attention

Cameron resident Douglas Doster is the past state president of the Battle of Eutaw Springs Chapter of the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Doster is excited about the Liberty Trail project and the enhancements that the S.C. Battlefield Preservation Trust proposes to make to the memorial battle site in Eutaw Springs.

"It's pretty common knowledge that this group has purchased several properties around Eutawville. And it is all going to be part of this group of Liberty Trails. We're on Liberty Trail One. It starts down here in Charleston.

They've already built up the grounds around Fort Fair Lawn, an old plantation there, but it's going to come up to Eutaw Springs and go all the way up to Camden and end up in Lancaster County at a mass grave of patriots that were killed. It's called Buford's Massacre, and we observe that every May, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trust is buying big pieces of land at different phases of the battle.

So weve been buying land in Eutawville for a while now. Weve bought four properties there so far. We have others under contract, and we others that were still negotiating over. Well never buy the entire battlefield. The whole battlefield is 4-1/2 square miles, but what we want to do is buy significant pieces of this battle because this battle stretched over four miles in length and was five hours long, he said.

Bostick said the enhancement plan includes turning the old Chefs Choice restaurant into a visitors center. The Preservation Trust purchased the restaurant  less than one mile from the site  in 2017.

Were still developing the master plan, but we would like to create a visitors center there so that you could go inside and get a proper orientation to the site. And, again, our hope is that well have an amphitheater there and a shelter there where people could meet, trails and facilities, he said.

The part of the battlefield that includes the historic marker and the monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is being leased to the Preservation Trust by Santee Cooper.

We own a total of 20 acres so far, and the Santee Cooper property that were going to lease is about another eight acres. Thats the end of the battle on that property. A lot of people think thats the whole battlefield, but thats just where the British camp was and thats the very end, Bostick said.

Doster said, Its going to be developed with a visitors center with displays and hopefully some artifacts. Some of the people whose families have been there since that time may say, Well, you know, so and so has got those old cannonballs that came from there, and old muskets and so forth. Were hoping that we can entice some of them to put them on loan like they would do with artifacts at a museum.

He added, The key thing is whats happening now with this Liberty Trail program. Thats going to pick things up and draw peoples attention. Were excited about that.

While an interpretive visitors center is not yet developed, there are illustrated signs throughout the Eutaw Springs battlefield site that tell visitors about the battle.

Doster said the South Carolina Society of Sons of the American Revolution traditionally celebrates the anniversary of the battle. This years commemoration will take place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

We do the commemoration every year. In 1936, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of Interior to establish a battlefield park near Eutaw Springs. It could have been a national park right then, but this was never implemented. Then, of course, World War II came along and everything got swept under the table, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trusts mission, however, will continue to highlight and preserve not just the Eutaw Springs battle sites, but others across the entire state.

Weve been around a good little while. To date, we have preserved 58 battlefields around the state, and were adding to that list fairly rapidly right now with the focus on the Liberty Trail, he said.

Bostick said the reason is simple.

People have lost touch with the founding of our country. If we had a better understanding of what it took to become the United States of America, then I think we will take better care of it.

The Liberty Trail is a project to create outdoor classrooms to allow people to visit these places and learn the stories of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Jim Capers. Every battlefield has its own story. We want to get Americans, South Carolinians and our visitors back in touch with all the great stories about how we started, he said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will stop by Orangeburg next week.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will host a meet and greet at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Sulit, located at 1005 Broughton Street.

Buttigiegs campaign recently told the Associated Press that his visit to South Carolina stems from a focus on outreach to African American voters.

While hes in South Carolina, Buttigieg will hold town hall events at North Charleston High School and the Eau Claire Print Building in Columbia.

This will be the former naval intelligence officers first campaign visit to Orangeburg County, which is no stranger to presidential candidates.

Buttigiegs fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have all recently visited the county. Beto ORourke visited Bamberg County.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516.

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A group of fathers came together Thursday evening at Mellichamp Elementary School to put the hood back in fatherhood.

The topic of discussion was the impact of fathers and father figures in the community. A four-person panel and audience members discussed topics ranging from the absence of a father in the home to the necessity of mentoring youth in the community.

Mellichamp Elementary School Principal Hayward Jean, who hosted the forum, sparked the conversation.

Im learning now that youre not a father just because you are a father biologically, he said.

The panel consisting of Jerrod Anderson, Jamall Grant, Aldolphus Johnson and Van Gaffney followed with their definitions of fatherhood.

Fatherhood to me means putting someone other than yourself first for providing a safe environment, for taking responsibility and investing in loved ones and your community, Anderson stated. Its very important, vital what role we play today, and not only for those who we bring into this world but those who are in our community.

Grant said being a father covers many areas.

For me personally, it means being a provider, a protector. Sometimes it means being a mother. It means being a disciplinarian. It means being a friend. We dont get a lot of credit for it, but a real father sacrifices a lot, Grant said.

Gaffney said fatherhood means setting an example for the youth.

To me, fatherhood is being a positive role model because what you do, your children usually mirror you. So, if you set a good example and are a good example for them, the old saying the chip doesnt fall far from the tree is true, he stated.

Johnson said being a father represents, being protector. It means that youre a provider, but to me being a father means that youre responsible.

I believe that if youre a father, youre responsible for your kids, youre responsible for their well-being.

Panelists discussed their relationships with their fathers and noted how it impacted them.

Gaffney noted that his father was in his life.

My father was in the military, and we traveled a lot. Discipline was his thing. He taught us that he was a provider. He was organized and he taught that if youre going to be a man, be a man, do the right thing. He set that tone for us early in our life, Gaffney stated.

It taught you responsibility. It taught me that you handle your business first before you go do something else, he stated.

Grant stated that his father was involved in the early years of his life, but became absent in his pre-teenage years.

In the first part of my life, I had my father. Then, being honest, I dont know what happened, even to this day. When he left, that was probably when I needed a father the most, he stated.

At that time, Im being raised by music, he said. I hid a lot from my mom. I had male figures in my family, dont get me wrong, but I had none I could look up to from the time I was 12 until the time I was maybe 24.

Grant stated that the circumstances led to him making decisions that involved the street life. Now Grant has a mentoring program at Mellichamp Elementary and is looking to expand his program.

Jean asked the panelists how they can become visible to the youth who may not have father figures.

Anderson said it requires an investment to reach the youth.

I think you just have to take the time and get involved, he said.

Gaffney also said it requires a commitment to make a change.

Youve got to be committed because once you are involved with a young persons life, you cant just be there then leave them out there after you talk to them, he said. You have to take time with your children or any child because if you want them to respect and trust you, youve got to show them you can be trusted and respected.

Grant said parents have to be willing for their children to be mentored.

The mothers who want their child to get help and be helped, theyve got to be willing to let somebody help, first of all, Grant said.

Johnson said that it also takes practice.

I think before you go out in public that you should practice at home. I see a lot of younger people, a lot of people that have a good heart for their community, but theyre not practicing it at home, he said.

All panelists agreed that fatherhood ultimately comes down to sacrifice and unconditional love.

I believe that if you want to be a great father, you have to be willing to sacrifice, Johnson said.

Its important that you make the time to teach your children how to live with you together because if youre not there, then theyll learn to live without you, Anderson said.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516

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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.
North Macedonia goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential run-off vote that will be a litmus test for the pro-Western government, which has warned low turnout could invalidate the vote and trigger a general election.

The first round of voting last month was a tie between the candidate favoured by the ruling Social Democrats and his right-wing rival, reflecting a deep divide in the Balkan state, particularly over the country's historic name change.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but the poll is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's centre-left government, which recently finalised the controversial deal to add "North" to Macedonia's official name and end a long-running dispute with Greece.

The ruling party's preferred contender, 56-year-old Stevo Pendarovski, is a strong backer of the name deal and has cast himself as the pro-Western candidate who will join Zaev in bringing North Macedonia closer to Europe.

His nationalist-backed rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor who would be the country's first female president if elected, is highly critical of the change. She has framed her campaign around tackling weak rule of law and corruption.

But in addition to taking a majority, the candidates are pressed with drawing high enough turnout to clear a legal threshold.

More than 40 percent of the Balkan state's 1.8 million electorate need to cast ballots to validate the poll, a margin that was barely passed in the first round of voting last month.

If enthusiasm dips any further, it could hand a political crisis to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

According to the premier, the country would have to either restart the election process or make constitutional changes, such as allowing parliament to choose the president.

A failure to reach the turnout threshold -- or a victory for Siljanovska-Davkova -- would also trigger snap parliamentary elections, Zaev has said.

But the premier remains optimistic about hitting the turnout target, saying in TV interview this week: "We believe that citizens will elect a president".

- Voter discontent -

Some new voters may be motivated to head to the polls to avert more turmoil in a country that lurches from political crisis to crisis.

"I did not vote (in the first round)... but now everyone says there will be a crisis if we don't elect president, so I'll just do it," said Jana Damjanovska, a 27-year-old Skopje resident.

The country's name change was a compromise to end a decades-old row with Greece, which has a province called Macedonia and has never accepted its northern neighbour's use of the name.

In return, Athens promised to stop thwarting Skopje's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.

But that is just one of a range of issues concerning voters.

Petar Arovski, an analyst in Skopje, said the record low turnout last month reflected "dissatisfaction with rule of law reforms, the fight against corruption and the poor economy".

More than a fifth of the country is jobless while average wages are stuck at around 400 euros ($450) a month, helping fuel waves of emigration abroad.

In 2018 GDP growth was 2.5 percent, the lowest figure in the Western Balkans region according to the World Bank.

The presidential candidates are also vying for votes from the country's ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up around a quarter of the population.

The Albanian candidate fell out of the race after the first round.
Un avion commercial Boeing 737 avec 136 personnes a bord a du atterrir dans les eaux du fleuve Saint Johns, pres de Jacksonville en Floride, a annonce un porte-parole de la base aeronavale de Jacksonville.

Laccident na fait aucun blesse mais lequipage saffaire a controler le kerosene dans leau, a declare le maire de Jacksonville sur Twitter.

We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

 Lavion na pas ete submerge. Tous les passagers ont ete retrouves et sont en vie , ecrit le sherif de Jacksonville dans un tweet.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Le vol en provenance de la base navale de la baie de Guantanamo est entre dans l'eau en bout de piste vers 21h40 locales, a annonce la base aerienne. L'avion, portant le logo de la compagnie Miami Air International, est reste parfaitement intact, dans des eaux peu profondes.

Miami Air International est une compagnie charter qui exploite une flotte de Boeing 737-800. Boeing a dit etre au courant de l'incident et rassemblait des informations pour expliquer cette arrivee en catastrophe, a declare un porte-parole.
The Virginia businessman whose attempt to buy the Kemmerer coal mine in western Wyoming failed this month blamed the busted bid on the creditors of the bankrupt coal company Westmoreland.

The Kemmerer mine is owned by Westmoreland Resource Partners. As part of the bankruptcy process, the troubled coal firm was set to sell the coal mine to Tom Clarke for $7.5 million in cash and more than $200 million in secured promissory notes.

There was also the challenge of bonding  secured funding for cleaning up the large open surface mine.

During a private status conference call Tuesday to discuss Westmorelands creditors attempt to block Clarke from buying the mine until reclamation was secured, it was disclosed that Clarke would no longer be purchasing the Kemmerer mine due to his failure to provide bonding terms prior to an April deadline.

Clarke rebuffed that narrative in a call with the Star-Tribune, arguing that he had been ready to acquire the mine as early as mid-March and had obtained a bonding package. However, the lenders became inflexible, he said. The impending sale fell short as the first-in-line lenders that Westmoreland is indebted to balked at the deal offered by Clarke, the businessman maintained.

We had everything, he continued, detailing a plan for bonding that included cash collateral and ongoing payments to equal approximately $14 million paid over the next 10 months and provided by operations from the mine. We had the money. We had bonding commitments, maybe not the bonding commitments that the creditors wanted, but they were the only bonding commitments available.

The deadline for the sale closure was extended from April 15 to 25. Clarke said he received a letter from the creditors attorneys asking for more time. After the first extension, Clarke said he was approached by the creditors asking for another.

Clarke said he wasnt interested in an extension, but he still wanted a deal. The deadline passed and the asset purchase agreement cleared by the bankruptcy court expired.

A call to the secured lenders attorneys in Houston, Porter Hedges LLP, was not returned by press time.

Clarke still wants to buy the mine, he said.

His interest in Wyoming has expanded to other potential assets, though he declined to disclose which mining operations he was interested in. Clarke said the mine-to-plant operations, in which a coal mine feeds directly to a power plant, could be kept open for years to come with the right strategy.

Wyoming has been facing increasing concern over the potential closure of power plants like PacifiCorps Naughton plant  which is the chief purchaser of the Kemmerer mines coal, a relationship that goes back to the 1950s. PacifiCorp has a coal supply agreement with the mine that ends in December 2021.

As coal is pummeled in a power market where cheap natural gas is replacing the black rock as a fuel source, companies like PacifiCorp have become more interested in closing uneconomic coal plants in favor of new wind or gas power.

The utility disclosed recently that closing Naughton and other coal plants by 2023 would save customers $12 million.

Clarke said his ongoing interest in the Kemmerer mine, and other mine-to-plant operations in Wyoming, is based on his belief that he has a solution to the trend of retiring coal plants.

Rather than have a sudden announcement of early termination of power plants, there ought to be a longer term plan so that a community like Kemmerer can figure out a new economic base, he said.

Clarke first got involved in Westmoreland as a shareholder. He said he and his wife were at one point the largest private shareholders in the company. With the bankruptcy, Clarke saw an opportunity to take over the mining operations. Clarke had made a similar, surprising move in 2015, when he acquired coal assets in Appalachia from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal  a spinoff of Peabody Energy in the early 2000s that took on some of the coal giants liabilities and operations in Appalachia.

Patriot went bust after five years, declaring bankruptcy in 2012. It entered bankruptcy again in 2015, when Clarke picked up a number of coal mines from Patriot, including a number that were not operating.

Clarke considers those mines his success stories in coal. Those once-fallow mining operations from Patriot have generated nearly 1,000 jobs under his ownership, Clarke said.

The businessman, whod started out in nursing homes and health centers, said in a previous interview with the Star-Tribune that he became interested in coal when its decline played a role in shutting a struggling local hospital in Virginia. Hes had a number of high-profile acquisitions or projects in his home state, including a public spat with current Gov. Jim Justice over coal pollution in Appalachian waterways.

Few of Clarkes public ventures have gone smoothly, and a number of critics have risen in their wake.

The state of Ohio opposed the sale of Westmoreland coal assets to Clarke when they went before the bankruptcy judge, arguing that Clarke and his wife, Ana, did not appear to have the money to support reclamation associated with those sites.

In March, the Sierra Club asked a U.S. district court judge in West Virginia to force Clarke to pay $6 million that the environmental groups claim he has failed to pay  payments to an environmental nonprofit that were part of a settlement agreement for coal-polluted waterways in Appalachia.

Clarke also ran into trouble in the iron ore business in Minnesota, picking up assets from a bankruptcy in 2016. He was later booted from his role as an executive in the iron ore companies, ERP Iron Ore and Chippewa Capital Partners, at the insistence of the other investors, according to reporting at the time from Business North, a Minnesota business news publication based in Duluth.

In a previous interview with the Star-Tribune, Clarke said that the iron ore experience was a lesson learned in whom to partner with.

With the Kemmerer acquisition in limbo, Clarke argued that he is like a bride left standing at the altar. However, he said he is still willing to negotiate with the mines debtors. His style is in part a social one, making connections locally in Kemmerer, he said.

For the sake of the miners and the community, I hope, if not me, they find somebody else. But there are not too many people left, he said. There are people that are like Write me a check and well take over, but real mining companies? Youre not going to find Arch or Peabody coming [out there].

Follow energy reporter Heather Richards on Twitter @hroxaner

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BY MARK OSBORNE/ ABC News





Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries originally appeared on abcnews.go.com





A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.





There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.





"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."





The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."





Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.




Sally Ann Shurmur Community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur arrived at the Star-Tribune to cover sports two weeks after graduating from the University of Wyoming and now serves as community news editor. She was raised in Laramie and is a passionate fan of Cowboys football, food and family. Follow Sally Ann Shurmur Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Thank you for your service.

Five words say everything necessary, said Lt. Col. A. Michael Pezeshki, one of a number who spoke to the standing-room only crowd on Thursday night.

Speakers quoted songwriter Lee Greenwood and William Shakespeare.

Bagpipes and drums played America, and Amazing Grace.

The governor arrived 15 minutes late and spoke from his heart.

The Rev. Bill Pierce, who is a preacher and a doer and a Vietnam veteran, prayed over the group.

He thanked God for the wonderful country You have given us, for all of those who served on the front lines and here at home.

Gary Cohee, a Marine Vietnam veteran, explained that the first name on the wall is of the first casualty suffered in 1956. He said the wall contains six sets of fathers and sons, 11 sets of brothers. West Virginia has the most names on the wall, and there are the names of seven women, all nurses.

Indeed, the wall is constructed by date, with some panels reaching more than six feet high, containing names of lives lost in sometimes a period of five or six days.

Casper College president Dr. Darren Divine spoke of gratitude that often is felt but not shown. He choked up as he quoted from Lee Greenwoods song, God Bless the USA.

It was a remarkable evening.

Veteran students at Casper College worked for months to organize the five-day visit of Americas Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall, an 80 percent replica of the same wall erected in Washington, D.C., in 1982.

The opening ceremony was solemn and heartfelt, uplifting and sad all at the same time.

Gov. Mark Gordon said he was honored to attend.

He spoke of a cousin, George Patton IV, who served in Vietnam and another cousin who was Secretary of the Air Force.

In our family, there is quite a bit of talk about having a mission you can understand, he said. Americans stand up and step forward. Because we are Americans, we are the greatest country in the world and I am proud to be governor of the greatest state in the greatest country in the world.

In addition to the more than 5,000 names on the wall just outside the windows of the Gateway Center, Gordon remembered the 1,711 unaccounted for, including five from Wyoming, whom he mentioned by name, hometown and date they went missing.

(Harry Bob Coen, Riverton, May 12, 1968; Orville Dale Cooley, Range, Jan. 16, 1968; Joseph Leslie Hart, Afton, Feb. 25, 1967; Alva Ray Krogman, Afton, Jan. 17, 1967, and Thomas William Skiles, Buffalo, Dec. 19, 1971 I knew him, the governor said.)

The keynote speech was delivered by Eric Distad of Casper, who served in Vietnam for 14 months before returning home, where he graduated from Casper College and then the University of Wyoming before practicing law.

He said that there was a tremendous amount of survivors guilt for having come home virtually unscathed.

Perhaps some who view the wall only see the numbers, we still see the faces, feel the pain of their deaths. The wall is a symbol of closure and healing, Distad said.

He closed his remarks by quoting Shakespeare in Henry V:

... From this day to the end of time, without our being remembered: we few, we happy few, we band of brothers  for whoever sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother.

The wall is open to the public until 3 p.m. on Sunday, when a closing ceremony will be held. It is located just across the parking lot from the Gateway Building on the Casper College campus, off of Casper Mountain Road.

Follow community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur on Twitter @WYOSAS

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GILLETTE  More than four decades ago, a 30-year-old shoe salesman named Mike Enzi was elected mayor of Gillette, kicking off a political career that would take him all the way to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the senior senator from Wyoming announced the end of his political career from right where it began  Gillette City Hall.

In a press conference in the city council chambers, Enzi, 75, announced his term ending next fall will be his last, drawing a storied  if understated  career on Capitol Hill to a close.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, he said. I want to be able to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt, to do several small business initiatives, to protect and diversify Wyomings jobs. I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this term, Ill find other ways to serve.

While not the longest-serving senator in the states history (that distinction belongs to Francis E. Warren, who served the Equality State in Washington for nearly four decades), Enzi has spent 22 years in office  among the longest tenures of any delegate from Wyoming.

Long-known as one of Washingtons more reserved statesman, Enzi is also one of the Senates more influential members, passing more than 100 bills since taking office in 1997, when he replaced former Sen. Al Simpson. During that time, Enzi led efforts in the Senate to pass the Republican tax cuts of 2017, and has served terms as both chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and its Budget Committee, a position he has held since 2015.

At the press conference, which was attended by Enzis family, friends and a handful of journalists, Enzi noted that most of his successful bills passed with fewer than 15 votes in opposition, which is considered very bipartisan, he said.

I didnt get into the Senate for the fancy titles, he said. I like passing legislation.

A strong fiscal conservative, Enzi in recent years has been highly outspoken about the nations looming fiscal crisis, and has introduced legislation intended to avert future shutdowns of the United States government and reduce the national debt.

Enzi told reporters he had also addressed roughly 14,000 individual constituent issues while in office.

My biggest job, as it turns out, is to solve problems for the people of Wyoming, he said.

Prior to his time in Washington, Enzi spent a decade as a member of the Wyoming Legislature, serving two terms in the House of Representatives and six years in the Senate.

With Enzis retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. The most recent opening in Wyoming came in 2007, when Sen. John Barrasso was appointed to replace Craig Thomas, who died in office.

Barrasso lauded Enzi in a statement released shortly after Saturdays announcement.

Mike Enzis character, courage and credibility have made him a respected moral leader in the U.S. Senate, Barrasso said. In four terms in the Senate he has never wavered in his commitment to God, family or Wyoming. The Senate and Wyoming will miss the valued leadership of the trusted trail boss of our congressional delegation.

Potential replacements

The field to replace Enzi in 2020 could be large.

Recent candidates for Senate like Democrat Gary Trauner and David Dodson  a Republican who ran an unsuccessful bid against Barrasso last year  could potentially try another run for office, and other names floated have included statewide elected officials like Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow, who gave an open-ended answer when asked by the Casper Star-Tribune earlier this year whether shed consider a run for Senate.

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr  who hinted at higher political aspirations last year  told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in January she would not be running for the office.

Rep. Liz Cheney  who is currently the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives  could potentially mount a run for the Senate, having made an attempt to unseat Enzi in 2014. However, recent power struggles with members of party leadership could leave the door open for her to make a potential run at Speaker of the House in 2020, should the Republicans take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections.

In a statement released after Enzis announcement, Cheney said Wyomings senior senator never forgot where he came from.

During his 20 years in Washington, he brought our states values to the nations capital, fighting for smaller, less obtrusive, and more efficient federal government that would allow people to grow and thrive, she said.

Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Enzi  one of nine Republican candidates for office the last time an open seat became available with Sen. Al Simpsons retirement in 1996  declined to comment on future prospects for his seat.

Typically, when its an open seat, the delegation doesnt take sides, itd be an unfair advantage, said Enzi. The voters get to decide, and Ive thought theyve done a good job for 22 years.

Legacy

As mayor of Gillette during its first oil boom, Enzi helmed the ship at a time where a new era of prosperity was being ushered into what locals consider to be the Energy Capital of the Nation. During his eight-year tenure, the citys population doubled in size, new municipal buildings were constructed and the citys profile began to grow.

Enzis administration laid down a foundation for the future, he said, building a system to provide water for 30,000 people, striking a deal with the county for a local landfill, developing a street plan for the future and constructing a number of new parks in town.

I never intended to get into politics, said Enzi, who was urged to run by Simpson when the former senator was in state office. But I was mayor eight years during the first boom. I got to work with some amazing people who didnt know what couldnt be done  so we did it.

In 1996, while recovering from open-heart surgery, Enzi was urged by local leaders to try and run for Simpsons seat, despite Enzis wishes to take some time to hunt and fish. Relaxation didnt seem to be in the cards, however. In his speech, Enzi remembered leaving his church in tears, after hearing some higher power telling him I didnt keep you alive to hunt and fish.

The career that followed saw many successes. The first bill he ever sponsored  which preserved property rights for Campbell County residents caught up in a coal-bed methane dispute with the federal government  passed unanimously. He enjoyed a high legislative success rate thanks, in part, to what he called his 80 percent rule, where you work across the aisle to come to terms on the 80 percent of a bill the two parties agree on and ignore the 20 percent where they dont.

A legislative workhorse, Enzi was also known as an effective vote counter, and has long advocated for a slow, methodical approach toward passing legislation, working his fellow lawmakers one at a time, over a long period of time, in order to affect incremental change.

I sold shoes for 28 years, said Enzi. Thats the best training for being in Washington. You have to know who your customer is, you have to know what they want and you have to see how it matches up with your inventory. Its the same thing in Washington.

Thats why you dont see me on the floor as much, he added. Im talking to customers and my inventory is the bills.

In an era where Washington seems more polarized than ever, Enzi told reporters that this method is still effective, but has often gone unrecognized  citing a career and technical education bill he recently passed that got little attention.

I asked reporters about that, he said. And they responded, it passed unanimously, it must have been easy. That was seven years of my life.

Theyre not looking for what gets done, he said. Theyre looking for good fights they can report on, that people get excited over. We can come out of a meeting where weve just accomplished something, and they dont want to know what weve just accomplished  they want to know what this person has just said about that person which, in my opinion, is starting a fight because they couldnt find one. Thats not journalism. Getting the word out on whats being done is journalism. People might not be as excited about that.

Most recently, Enzi has placed most of his focus on addressing the national deficit and the nations looming fiscal crises. Earlier in the week, Enzi gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor warning of the imminent insolvency of the nations Social Security and Medicare programs. As chairman of the budget committee, Enzi has been central to conversations around that issue in recent years, and has worked several pieces of legislation intended to address it, including a five-year plan he announced earlier this spring intended to fight the national debt.

Though those conversations will soon be in someone elses hands, Enzi said he was not done yet.

Ive got a year-and-a-half yet, so dont write me off, said Enzi. Weve had some success with it before, but we just werent able to get it across the finish line. So we should be able to do what weve done before and move it along. Ill be able to concentrate on that this year instead of a campaign, which is a very complicated thing and getting even more complicated all the time. So now, I can devote myself to this for the next year-and-a-half, and I will.

Enzi also mentioned he would be continuing his work on ambitious proposals in health care and economic development over the next 18 months. But  on a trip home in a job that keeps him in Washington for four days a week  Enzis Saturday plans in Gillette were more simple:

First lunch, then fishing.

Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds

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Recently I attended a fundraising event at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs for the Western Bear Foundation (WBF). There were about seventy people in attendance. There were several raffles, an auction for some beautiful prints, free snacks and a cash bar.

The big issue of the event was the use of bear baiting as an aid in hunting. This is the practice of having a barrel, with a small opening and containing aromatic foods, like old donuts, preset in the wilds at the end of a clear line of fire. WBF speakers demonized environmental and animal rights groups, who have filed an intent to sue the government in order to stop this practice. The speeches, however, had an evangelical quality to them, as though WBF indisputably held the moral high ground of an aggrieved victim.

For example, speaker Joe Kondelis, WBFs president, harped on and on about how the public needed to be educated  meaning they are uneducated. If we were to listen to Kondelis, however, we could become blessedly educated. According to WBF, environmentalists are spreading misinformation among the public. But might it be that environmentalists are also the public, and have a right to say what they may? Is there any value to what little education environmentalists might have?

Kondelis also seemed to take it upon himself to speak for state wildlife agencies and their professional biologists and experts, as the rightfully intended party to make wildlife policies, and that it is morally wrong, and maybe even unconstitutional, for the judiciary to interfere in matters of hunting. Are all individuals, who work for wildlife agencies, in agreement with WBF? Some were in attendance, but, as usual, they didnt say anything  are they scared?

According to Kondelis, environmental extremists are inappropriately getting in the way of the public, now meaning WBF, and a strong tradition of bear baiting. Looked at linearly, both ends of an argument are extremes, and WBF is certainly at one of them, making WBF extremist, too. As for a bear-baiting tradition, WBF would have you believe that only beneficial and equitable results come about from baiting, for both bears and people. This is because, a little contrarily, the bears end up dead or maimed, and some humans can form a pretty superior image of themselves.

The huffy environmentalists, WBF complains, oppose baiting animals as contrary to the doctrine of fair chase and tradition. Here, WBF surely has two good points, so lets have bear baiters hunt with only a sharp stick and a rock, in the nude like our ancestors. This would put tradition back into things. Simply pull the bears head out of the bait barrel, and have a more or less equal fight. Sportsmen and sportswomen could then rightly call what they do a sport, because a sport involves opponents who have an equal chance of winning.

There was a short film showing the step-by-step drama of a bear-baited black bear hunt, though it was nothing like Ive just proposed above. Instead, to background sounds of a breeze and mystical instrumental chords, and speaking in a hushed conspiratorial tone, the narrator, decked out in trim paramilitary clothing and expensive gear, allows us to see, using powerful optics, the bear on a distant mountainside. We drive in a spotless truck some distance to within twenty minutes easy walking of where the bear is struggling to extract goodies from a bait barrel.

The narrator slowly and methodically gets into position and aims his high-powered rifle, from which we now view the bear through an expensive scope. We concentrate hard and take deep breaths. We are dramatic, holy and wise. The trigger is slowly, expertly, pulled, and the bear pops up in astonishment! It runs this way and that, till shortly exhausting itself and falling face forward into the grass. It heaves once or twice, then stops moving. We cautiously, yet reverentially, advance towards it. The hunter kneels before it, he reaches out to touch the great bear, he sensuously pushes his hand from the front of the bear to the back, pushing deeper and deeper into its fur and body, in a seemingly sexual show of dominance over the now submissive wild animal. Now law and order, or at least obedience, can prevail over wild and dangerous nature, as personified in the bear.

Tom Gagnon lives in Rock Springs.

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Each Sunday we ask you a question about an issue important to Wyoming, then print what you think the following Sunday. We call it Open Air because its a chance to examine a topic from all sides  wide open like Wyomings sky.

You can reply through our website or by email, postal mail, Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to specify youre responding to the Open Air question. Please keep your responses to 350 words and include your full name, town and contact information so we can verify your submission. Be sure to submit your comment by Tuesday or it might not make our deadline.
The second half of the book also explores Barajass history, from his childhood spent on Tucsons south side to his stand-up comedy career nurtured at Laffs Comedy Caffe under the tutelage of his mentor Gary Hoodie Hood, who died in 2016. Barajas, 30, gave up standup when he moved to Los Angeles several years ago to pursue a career in comic book publishing with Top Cow, where he is an operations director in charge of organizing events including comic-cons.

The first installment of La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, which is available digitally through gumroad.com, introduces us to Jaurigue, a first-generation Tucson native who returned home after the war, married a Pascua Yaqui girl and lived in Old Pascua, a settlement along the Santa Cruz River on West Grant Road. When the federal government stepped in during the early 1960s with plans to extend Interstate 10 through Tucson, the land the Pascua Yaquis occupied was in the direct path. Thats when Jaurigue and a group of Yaqui activists formed M.A.Y.O. and began lobbying to save their land.
We want this great place to be accessible to the American people and to the people of the world, as much as possible, he said.

Another consideration is the enormity of the Grand Canyon, which is 277 river-miles long. That makes effective enforcement a challenge, he said.

If a visitor wants to head off trail or peer over a precipice, Torres said, it better be an isolated event with no distractions or tomfoolery.

Quinley said relatively small choices and decisions visitors make at the park can lead to significant consequences.

Nancy Meyer of Phoenix visited the Grand Canyon over spring break with family and friends from New York and England. She said the rules and regulations at the national park shouldnt be changed at all.

Its such a natural and beautiful thing, and I really believe that people should be responsible and understand what they need to do if theyre going to take more of a hike than a tourist look at the Canyon, Meyer said. And also be responsible for their own health. You know, the usual that we do when we go to beaches  use sunscreen, drink enough water, hydrate, wear the proper clothing. Mostly common sense.
Michael Torres, a detective with the Marana Police Department, died Friday after a battle with an "aggressive form of cancer," department officials confirmed.

Torres began his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Tucson Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator.

Marana Police Department welcomed Torres into their family on July 9, 2012, officials said. In that capacity, he worked in a similar role as he did with Tucson police before becoming a detective in June 2014.

Officials say he worked "tirelessly" to investigate cases and provided "unparalleled service," which made him well-known in the community.

After he was diagnosed in February, Southern Arizona law enforcement agencies came together for the "Towers for Torres" event to raise money in support of Torres and his family. They raised more than $6,000 during the event on April 12.

Services in honor of Torres are pending.

Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1

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I would like to extend my thanks to Emily Bregel and Kendall Blust for their excellent reporting on the serious problems with sewage being fac
Days from now, works will begin on the disassembly of a 134-year-old cathedral in Nam Dinh Province of north-central Vietnam, removing from existence an architectural marvel that has served the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the Southeast Asian country.

Built in 1885 during French colonist era, the Bui Chu Cathedral serves a namesake diocese in Nam Dinh with over 412,000 Catholics.

It is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in Vietnam, founded in 1533 during the first wave of European missionaries who arrived in the area to proselytize.

Bui Chu Cathedral is considered a one-of-a-kind architectural gem that holds a significant place in the history of Catholicism in Vietnam.

As the priest who oversaw its construction was Spanish, Bui Chus design incorporated elements of baroque architecture with inspirations from East Asian culture.

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Most materials used in construction of the cathedral were sourced locally, allowing the structure to withstand the tropical climate of north-central Vietnam for nearly one and a half centuries, according to Vietnamese architect Cao Thanh Nghiep.

Its structural strength comes from weight-bearing brick walls combined with rows of ironwood pillars juxtaposed among exquisite sculpted stone platforms, a unique construction technique unseen at any other Catholic churches in Vietnam, Nghiep said.

At 78 meters long, 27 meters wide and 15 meters high, Bui Chu is also one of the largest Catholic churches in the area.

Ironwood pillars inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam remain in good condition after 134 years. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Bui Chu Cathedral is up for disassembly on May 13, according to a plan agreed upon by a council of priests and local Catholics.

Severe degradation and risks of collapse are cited as reasons for the demolition.

Construction of a new cathedral on the existing ones grounds  bearing the same design and architecture albeit with entirely new materials  has also received approval from provincial authorities.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

VND200 billion (US$8.57 million) worth of ironwood trunks have been imported and are being carved by artisans working at a camp set up near the cathedral to prepare for construction of the new building.

The new cathedral will be bigger and better than the old one, said a local official.

The current building may be a heritage to architects, but to us it is a wreck thats no longer safe for service, he added.

A large number of visitors  including regular tourists, photographers, journalists, architects, and art researchers  have been drawn to the site in recent days to pay one last visit to the historical structure before its demolition, according to a woodworker.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Reflection of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is seen on a puddle. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The roof and bell towers of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is badly degraded. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Signs of degradation are seen on a wall of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Children offer prayers inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Parts of the roof of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam have fallen off, posing risks to churchgoers. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Stained glasses are used inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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BANGKOK, May 04, 2019 : Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will be officially crowned on May 4 as part of elaborate three-day coronation ceremonies, has been listed as the worlds richest monarch by publications such as Business Insider in 2018.





His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was also listed by Forbes magazine as the worlds richest royal ruler in 2011, edging out the Sultan of Brunei.





Estimates of Vajiralongkorns personal wealth start at $30 billion, according to Business Insider.





That puts him among the wealthiest individual rulers, although when it comes to royal families, Saudi Arabias tops the list with an estimated $1.7 trillion, according an MSN Money report in 2019. The Thai royal family ranked fifth in that list.





Reuters was unable to independently confirm those estimates.





The Crown Property Bureau did not respond to Reuters request for comment. The Bureau of the Royal Household did not respond to written questions about the value of royal assets.





The following is a look at some of the Thai kings most significant assets:





PROPERTY Most of Vajiralongkorns wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau, which holds title to 6,560 hectares (16,210 acres) of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the capital.





Vajiralongkorn in 2017 placed the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control and later announced the removal its tax exempt status.





In Bangkok alone, the Crown Property Bureau owns 1,328 hectares of land, some of it prime real estate in the heart of the business district. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth $33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorns father, King Bhumibol, A Lifes Work.





The kings private secretary, Air Chief Marshal Satitpong Sukvimol, was appointed chairman of the Crown Property Bureau in 2017, a position previously held by the Finance Minister.





NEW DEVELOPMENT DEALS





Since the king took control of Crown Property Bureau, some $4.7 billion in new developments have been announced on land it owns, based on company announcements.





Property developers have stepped up investment on Crown Property real estate in recent years with the latest in April, when mall operator Central Pattana Pcl and hotelier Dusit Thani announced the $1.2 billion residential, retail and office project Dusit Central Park on a 67-year lease on 3.68 hectares. It is expected to be completed in 2024.





In 2018, TCC Group and Fraser Property Ltd, both controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, announced the $3.5 billion One Bangkok. The mixed-use project, on 16.7 hectares with a lease to 2083, is expected to complete its first phase in 2022, according to Fraser Property.





COMPANY STOCK





In a statement last year, the Crown Property Bureau announced assets previously registered to Crown Property would be held in the Kings name, placing shares worth some $9 billion in companies Siam Cement Group and Siam Commercial Bank among his personal assets.





Vajiralongkorn has a 23 percent stake in Siam Commercial Bank, Thailands second largest lender and 33.3 percent in countrys largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Group.





Both companies were founded by royal decree in the 1900s.





Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.





GOLD AND GEMS





Among Thailands crown jewels is the 545.67-carat brown Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world. Its value is estimated at up to $12 million by The Diamond Authority, a jewellery website.





It was presented to Vajiralongkorns late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1996 to mark the 50th year of his reign, according to the Gem and Jewelry Information Center, an industry body in Thailand.





On coronation day, the King will also be presented with five royal instruments, including the 7.3 kg (16 lb) golden Great Crown of Victory, which in inlaid with gems and topped by a large diamond from Kolkata, India.





The other priceless regalia are also adorned with diamonds and set in gold enamel, each steeped with history and cultural significance.





MALLS





While the Crown Property Bureaus 17,000 Bangkok rental contracts cover everything from government agencies to shophouses, some of the most visible holdings are the land on which some of the best-known shopping malls are built.





Siam Paragon shopping centre, Siam Discovery and Siam Center, all of which rest on Crown Property land, drew in some 200,000 shoppers per day last year.





The Crown does not run the malls but collects an unknown amount of rent from their operator, Siam Piwat, which also opened the $1.7 billion luxury mall, IconSiam, last year on its own land.




Check out whats in the news today.

Society

-- Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, landed in Hanoi on Friday night, hours after she was released from a Kuala Lumpur prison in the morning.

-- A journalist of Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper on Friday received death threats from phone calls of a woman who is the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit in the south-central city of Nha Trang that his newspaper had previously reported.

-- Local people residing along the banks of To Lich River in Hanoi, which is seriously polluted by wastewater, were surprised by its sudden greener color on Friday, thanks to water released from the West Lake as a way to prevent flooding in the iconic lake following recent downpours in the Vietnamese capital.

Business

-- Vietnams newest carrier Bamboo Airways announced on its website on Friday that it will open commercial air routes from the northern port city of Hai Phong to Quy Nhon, the capital of the south-central province of Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from May 10 with one round-trip flight per day for each route.

-- Vietnams automobile import turnover reached US$2.4 billion in the first four months of 2019, up 95.6 percent year-on-year, of which imports of completely-built-unit cars from countries in the ASEAN soared 619.3 percent.

-- Ho Chi Minh City reported a zero turnover in gasoline import in the first four months of this year, as to businesses have switched to sourcing petroleum locally produced at Dung Quat oil refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

-- Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has tasked the government inspectorate with coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to scrutinize a recent power price hike that has been widely opposed by members of the public and local media.

Lifestyle

-- The 2019 European Book Days is taking place simultaneously in the three major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from May 2 to 25.

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Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman who spent more than two years in a Malaysian prison on suspicion of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, has thanked those who supported her during the legal battle in a letter released after she was freed on Friday.

Huong, 30, was charged along with an Indonesian woman with poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong last month after she pleaded guilty to an alternate charge of causing harm.

Huong was taken into immigration custody immediately after her release from prison, where she remained until boarding a flight from the Malaysian capital to Vietnam later on Friday.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Video: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

In a handwritten letter, Huong thanked the governments of Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as those involved in her trial and imprisonment, for "all the support".

"I'm very happy and thank you all a lot. I love you all," Huong said in the letter shown by her lawyers at an airport press conference before her flight.

Thank [you] so much [to] everybody [who] pray[ed] for me [at] the church, and at home as well, Huong wrote in broken English.

Thank you Lord Jesus for he love[s] me so much, reads the letter, dated May 2, 2019.

A close-up view of Huong's letter

Huong's father, Doan Van Thanh, said he and her brother would be in Hanoi to welcome her home.

"I am so happy now, my whole village is happy now," Thanh told Reuters by telephone.

"We will hold a party on Sunday and anyone can come and join the party. We will slaughter some pigs for the party. My daughter particularly likes fried fish, so we will prepare that too," he said.

Huong arrived in the Vietnamese capital at 9:35 pm on Friday on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Doan Thi Huong smiles as she leaves the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam surrounded by reporters on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Speaking with the press upon arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport, Huong said she was happy to be back in her home country and sent thanks to the government of Vietnam and Malaysia as well as to her lawyers.

Huong said she had no immediate plan for her future except to spend time with her family in the neighboring province of Nam Dinh.

We are happy with the release of Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong and that she is reunited with her family in Vietnam, said foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang the same day.

This is the fruit of citizen protection efforts by the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Vietnam Bar Federation as well as Malaysian lawyers, Hang said.

At the same time, we acknowledge the positive efforts made by competent Malaysian authorities in resolving this issue, she added.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Huongs co-accused, Siti Aisyah, was freed in March after prosecutors also dropped a murder charge against her.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in the murder 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 came under criticism for charging the two women with murder - which carries a mandatory death penalty in the Southeast Asian country - when the key perpetrators were still being sought.

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Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Friday nabbed a 25-year-old man who broke into a local elementary school and stabbed students playing in the yard with a knife on the morning the same day.

The incident took place at around 9:00 am at Dong Luong Elementary School in Lang Chanh District, with one fifth-grade student killed and four others injured by the knifeman, Do Minh Chieu, who is now in custody, according to the district deputy chairman Le Duc Chung.

The man, who broke into the school by jumping over its fence, also stabbed a teacher when she rushed to stop him, and then fled the scene.

Local authorities immediately mobilized all forces to hospitalize the injured and hunt the suspect.

It took law enforcement only one hour to arrest Chieu, a Thanh Hoa resident.

The suspect is seen in this photo provided by the police.

As of Friday evening, the four wounded students and the injured teacher were still receiving treatment at a local hospital. Three of the students were severely injured, according to officers.

The knifeman still lives with his parents in Thanh Hoas mountainous Lang Chanh District and does not have a stable job, according to police. Local residents said he is addicted to online games.

The motive for the knife attack remains unclear and police are investigating further.

The knife used in the attack is seen in this photo provided by the police.

Also on Friday, police in Ho Chi Minh City said they have arrested Truong Tin, 29, for allegedly killing his grandmother, mother and aunt the day before, when he was apparently high on drugs.

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Presidents Trump and Putin held a 90-minute telephone conversation on Friday. Hopefully, it is the start of a long-overdue strategic dialogue to repair the damage done by Russia-gate and other political roadblocks thrown up in the way of a resumption of Russian-American efforts to find areas of common global interest and set aside points of conflict in the interest of global stability.

The list of shared concerns is long: Extension of the New START Treaty covering strategic weapons; efforts to either salvage or replace the INF Treaty before both Russia and NATO begin deploying intermediate range missiles along a European front; Korean denuclearization; a diplomatic solution to the Syrian War, now that it is clear that President Bashar Assad has survived the eight-year regime change effort.

While the MSM continues to assail Trump every time he tries to strike up a conversation with Putin, a number of Cold War veterans have come out recently, pressing for US-Russian dialogue. William Perry, Sam Nunn and George Shultz penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on April 10 headlined "The Threat of Nuclear War Is Still With Us." They argued for a multi-track resumption of US-Russian diplomacy, involving the Executive and Legislative Branches. Most urgently, they called for the US and Russia to agree to abandon the "launch on warning" doctrine of nuclear retaliatory strikes, which give leaders only moments to decide whether to launch Armageddon. A majority of Democratic Senators recently wrote to President Trump, urging the beginning of direct dialogue with Russia over extension of New START beyond the 2021 termination date.

Before the Trump-Putin phone call, two Administration officials traveled recently to Moscow to confer with counterparts. Fiona Hill, the National Security Council director for Russian Affairs visited around the same time that the President's envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun made an April 17-18 visit to the Kremlin to discuss US-Russian collaboration to revive the stalled Korea denuclearization talks.

The Hill and Biegun talks were a very cautious first step towards reconstituting a Russian-American diplomatic engagement. Still far from plans for the Trump-Putin summit that has been on hold since July 2018, when the two presidents met in Helsinki.

All of the bitching and moaning about Donald Trump's personality, his unpredictability and worse cannot any longer stand in the way of some effort to resume real substantive Washington-Moscow engagement. Nuclear war and the other pressing issues on the US-Russian table are adult stuff. The Beltway infantile fits about Trump-Russian "collusion" have played their course. It's time to let it go.
Tonight on 60 Minutes Liz Hayes fronts a special investigation into Boeing following recent aviation failures.

Fatal Flaw

When aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced its brand-new passenger jet, the 737 MAX, it thought it was onto another winner. Airlines around the world  including Australia  ordered thousands. But Boeing was wrong, and the plane has turned out to be a catastrophic failure. In the last six months two of the jets have crashed and 346 people have been killed. In a special edition of 60 MINUTES, Liz Hayes reconstructs the final horrific moments of both Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. In startling interviews with 737 pilots, aircraft engineers and a former Boeing insider, Hayes investigates the fatal flaw of the 737 MAX, and questions not only why Boeing designed a plane with the ability to override the control of the pilots, but also why the company didnt tell the airlines buying the planes it was doing this. Boeing says it can, and will, fix the problem, but Hayes asks whether the damage has already been done. For decades Boeing has relied on the undisputed trust of pilots and millions of passengers flying worldwide. But now, has it all been lost?

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producer: Gareth Harvey

8:40pm Sunday on Nine.
EXCLUSIVE: Foxtels Head of Drama Penny Win is stepping down from a full time position but will continue in a consultancy role.

Win (pictured top left) joined the company as Programme Promotions Manager in 1996, before a five year stint as programmer at TV3 & TV4 in New Zealand and rejoined Foxtel in 2003. She has held the positions of Channel Manager with Foxtel Networks and was appointed as Commissioning Editor for Drama in 2012 and then to Head Of Drama in 2014.

Dramas under her watch have included Wentworth, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Secret City, A Place to Call Home, Fighting Season, Devils Playground, Deadline Gallipoli, and The Kettering Incident. Upcoming commissions include Lambs of God, Upright and The End.

The achievements under Penny are impressive, said Executive Director of television Brian Walsh.

Under her direction, Foxtels drama series have been recognised by the Australian creative community and industry professionals to great acclaim and won numerous accolades for achievement in excellence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Penny for her enormous contribution and more broadly, for her invaluable participation in furthering the creation of unique Australian stories for television. Penny will continue to play a key role in Foxtels local production plans, specifically as our Drama Consultant on signature series, Wentworth.

Pennys associates in our Drama Department, Carly Heaton and Lana Greenhalgh, will now report direct into Ross Crowley.
excerpt from The Real Face of Facebook in India: How Social Media Have Become a Weapon and Dissemninator of Disinformation and Falsehood by Cyril Sam and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (April 2019) Published by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta | available via: https://amzn.to/2ViCdzV

aThe 2014 Modi pre-election campaign was inspired by the 2012 campaign to elect Barack Obama as the aworldas first Facebook President.a Some of the managers of the Modi campaign like Jain were apparently inspired by Sasha Issenbergas book on the topic, The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. In the first data-led election in India in 2014, information was collected from every possible source to not just micro-target users but also fine-tune messages praising and amythologizinga Modi as the Great Leader who would usher in acche din (good times) for the country.a

[ . . . ]

aEarlier, in 2015, the Modi government rallied support for the social media platform by announcing an e-governance scheme called aDigital Indiaa a all government departments, ministers and bureaucrats were asked to create Facebook pages to reach out to their friends and constituents. In effect, Facebook became the default communication platform for the government of India. In the years that followed, supporters of the BJP started aweaponizinga Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to target voices critical of Modi and his party.

These three social media platforms together comprise the biggest advertising network of its kind in the history of humankind. But they have huge design issues that go beyond leaking user data. Facebook and its sister platforms are not just addictive but seek to convert politics into games. Democracy and interpersonal interactions turn into games of engagement: likes, shares, comments and a race to gather more followers.

In India, representatives of various political parties have been reported saying that the chances of a person getting a party ticket to stand for elections would go up if the concerned person had a large number of followers on Facebook. In March this year, Prime Minister Modi asked his party MPs how many of them had over 300,000 agenuine likesa on their Facebook pages and said he would incentivise such MPs by appearing on video conferences for their supporters.

The social media giant is no ordinary corporate conglomerate. As the New York Times recently put it: aIn just over a decade, Facebook has connected more than 2.2 billion people, a global nation unto itself that reshaped political campaigns, the advertising business and daily life around the world. Along the way, Facebook accumulated one of the largest-ever repositories of personal data, a treasure trove of photos, messages and likes that propelled the company into the Fortune 500 (list of the worldas largest companies).a

Facebook makes money, and lots and lots of it, on engagement. aCommercial, political and personal speech are different a Facebook short-circuits democracy by blurring the lines between and among them,a said Dr Ravi Sundaram, media scholar at the aSaraia programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a Delhi-based think tank, adding: aIt is an infrastructure that makes money by conflating all forms of messaging and speech into commercial speech.a

Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, together also comprise the biggest consciousness manipulation infrastructure of its kind that has been constructed on a scale never seen before in the history of the world. In 2012, Facebook conducted a notorious global experiment to evaluate how changes to its news feeds affect the emotional state of its users. The results published in 2014 were not surprising. When users see more positive content on their feeds, they post positive content. And when people see negative posts, they post negative things.

Simple, but true! Facebook makes lots and lots of money by manipulating the consciousness of its unsuspecting users. Extreme content generates extreme emotions and, therefore, enhances engagement. Advertisers realised this quite quickly. The tactics employed by political hackers is borrowed from the playbook of advertisers. Facebook does its part by providing support to political operatives to generate better, more effective and more polarising messaging.

In the book, we have already examined the role played by Facebook and WhatsApp in disseminating fake news, hate speech and incendiary information and their alleged complicity with Modi, and the BJP. We have reported on how Facebook arrived at the dominant position it is in India at present with more than a little help from the current ruling regime. We continue to outline the role played by key individuals with close links with the BJP and Prime Minister Modi in propagating his partyas right-wing Hindu nationalist agenda on social media platforms like Facebook.a
The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said. The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.(AP)

The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

(AP)
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish business people in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name".

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labelled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

Story continues

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.

Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.

The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.

A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.

Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.

A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.

The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.

Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.

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Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.

The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.

There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
More than 1 million recovered from puppy fraudsters in Scotland A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK.

More than 1 million has been recovered in Scotland as part of a crackdown on fraudsters selling puppies on the black market.

A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK after welfare groups suggested that tens of thousands of puppies were being reared in unregulated conditions and sold illicitly.

Officers uncovered fraudsters selling puppies on a mass scale and for huge profit.

Due to the underground nature of the activity, the sellers had failed to declare their sales.

In the west of Scotland, two unconnected puppy breeders were handed tax bills of 425,000 and 337,000, while a puppy dealer in the east of the country was handed a tax bill in excess of 400,000 as part of the probe.

Using a full range of civil and criminal enforcement powers, HMRC recovered a total of 5,393,035 in lost taxes in the UK from 257 separate cases since the formation of the taskforce.

Several arrests have been made as part of the taskforces work across the UK over the past four years.

Puppies seized as part of Operation Delphin (HMRC/PA)

HMRC is also involved in Operation Delphin, a multi-agency collaboration across the UK and Ireland designed to tackle illegal puppy smuggling and its consequences.

It is led by the Scottish SPCA and includes partners such as the RSPCA, Ulster SPCA, Dublin SPCA, Irish SPCA, Border Force, and the police.

The head of the Scottish SPCAs Special Investigations Unit, who cannot be named due to undercover operations, said: Unfortunately, the puppy trade is big business, with thousands of dogs being brought into the country each year, particularly from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is a multimillion pound industry and many of these poor dogs are bred on large scale puppy farms with little to no regard for their welfare.

We have seized 27 puppies smuggled from Ireland at Cairnryan Port in Dumfries and Galloway as part of Operation Delphin, which is dedicated to ending the illegal puppy dealing industry and bringing those who prioritise profits over animal welfare to justice.

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Its a barbaric trade which commands huge profit from selling puppies. Often these puppies are kept in appalling conditions and this leads to injuries, health issues and behavioural problems.

Some are so far gone that they pass away from complications due to the way they are bred and kept.

The efforts of all involved in the taskforce have helped us to make inroads into this brutal trade but it is a growing problem.

Last year nearly half of all animals seized by the Scottish SPCA were rescued from puppy farms and I would urge everyone to sign the pledge #SayNoToPuppyDealers and send a clear message that this cruel trade has to end.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured."They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.""We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings."Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.(AP)

Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday.

Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Story continues

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.

(AP)
The Scottish Tory leader pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18.

Ruth Davidson has made her pitch to be Scotlands next first minister, pledging to bring about a blue-collar revolution that would get the country on the right track.

Despite the next Holyrood elections being two years away in May 2021, the Scottish Tory leader said the choice voters would face would be between another SNP government led by Nicola Sturgeon banging on about independence and a Conservative administration that would offer a brighter horizon.

Ms Davidson pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18, or take up a structured apprenticeship or training place if they want to go into work.

The Tories want the 10,000 youngsters who leave school every year and take a job with no training, or who have no job at all, to be able to carry on with their education or learn new skills, with a future Tory administration pledging between 20 million and 60 million to help make this happen.

In her speech she said the greatest service we can do to our nation would be bringing down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance.

Closing the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, Ms Davidson said: As first minister, I wont use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. Ill use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.

And Ill make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotlands next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. Weve had enough to last a lifetime.

We can't see the potential of another generation go unfulfilled. These are the people who should demand our attention.#SCC19 pic.twitter.com/e2eqkENrAv  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The speech marked her return to frontline politics after going on maternity leave, and she told activists: Im back because I want to put Scotlands constitutional division aside, to allow the country to come back together again.

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Im back because I want us to build a better Scotland  right here, right now.

That election is still two years away but today its time we fire the starting gun on the campaign.

With Ms Sturgeon having declared her desire to hold another independence referendum within the next two years, the Scottish Tory leader was clear about saying no to another referendum.

But she stressed that was because she wanted to deal, front and centre, with the very real issues affecting our country.

Here are the policies announced in Ruth's speech to #SCC19 that will help bring Scotland back together:  A New Economic Strategy for Scotland A Scottish Exporting Institute Investment Hubs in the Rest of the UK Economic Growth Fund Reformed Enterprise Agencies 1/2  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The bulk of her speech was about the policies the Tories could bring in if she achieves her goal of ousting Ms Sturgeon.

She outlined plans for a new skills participation age of 18, ending the current system which allows children to finish education when they are 16.

Ms Davidson said she wanted it to be the law that everybody up until the age of 18 has to either go to college or university, or if they want to start work, its through a structured apprenticeship or a traineeship.

As part of a sea change in culture in vocational education, she argued for junior colleges to be set up to provide more opportunities for those who choose not to go to university.

Ms Davidson also promised a lifelong skills guarantee that could help workers of all ages to retrain or improve their skills to help their careers.

What we need is nothing short of a blue-collar revolution. And a government led by me would deliver on it.

On the economy, she pledged the Tories would start by untangling the bureaucracy thats spread like Japanese knotweed under this SNP Government.

Outstanding speech by @RuthDavidsonMSP. Setting out our @ScotTories vision to grow the Scottish economy, transform the life chances of Scotlands young people, restore our public services, and end 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance. #SCC19 pic.twitter.com/5aNeF4opYN  Miles Briggs MSP (@MilesBriggsMSP) May 4, 2019

In addition there would be a new economic growth fund to support those looking to invest in Scotland, as well as the establishment of a Scottish exporting institute.

With the world facing the massive challenge of climate change, she said Scotland could be at the forefront of the new clean energy revolution of the future too, adding that her government would work to encourage technologies such as hydrogen power.

Countries like Australia are already investing millions in developing hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas, she said.

Its zero emissions, you can make it from water using renewable electricity, you can store it and then export it to neighbouring countries. Well why not us too?

You cant trust a word @RuthDavidsonMSP says today. Heres what she really thinks pic.twitter.com/OciYsrdBDo  Scottish Labour (@scottishlabour) May 4, 2019

But SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: Ruth Davidson is, just like her boss Theresa May, running scared of democracy.

Support for independence is on the rise, and the Tories can see that, which is what lies behind their utterly undemocratic move to block the people of Scotland having a say on their future.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said the Tory had been silent about how the reforms she promised would be funded.

Mr Gray said: Labour is committed to lifelong learning, but the most urgent reform our education system needs is more funding  we have over 3,000 fewer teachers under the SNP but Ruth Davidson wont ask the richest to pay their fair share to deliver it.

In fact, Ruth Davidson was silent on how she plans to pay for her plans.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

Shamima Begum, pictured going through security at Gatwick airport, before catching a flight to Turkey in 2015 to join Islamic State (Met Police/PA)

She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

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Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Three men have been arrested over the incident in the south of the city on Friday.

A teenage boy is critically ill after being attacked in Belfast.

The 17-year-old was found by police inside a flat on the Donegall Road in the south of the city on Friday afternoon following reports of a disturbance.

He was found injured and unconscious.

Police are currently investigating the serious assault of a teenage boy in the Donegal Road area of south Belfast this afternoon. He has been taken to hospital for treatment. Witnesses or anyone with info call 101, quoting reference number 1018 of 03/05/19.  PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 3, 2019

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said the victim is understood to be critically-ill in hospital.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at about 4.15pm on Friday.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said those who were arrested are being questioned at Musgrave police station.

Anyone who can assist us with our investigation is asked to contact Musgrave CID on 101, quoting reference 1018 03/05/19, he added.
Wellbeing and sport spokesman Brian Whittle said the issue was 'not an easy one' for the party to deal with.

Government welfare policy on the rape clause is a not an easy one for Conservatives to deal with, a leading Scottish Tory said.

Brian Whittle, the sport and wellbeing spokesman for the Conservatives in Holyrood, said great marketing by opposition parties had seen them use the policy to attack the Government.

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird insisted it was absolutely shameful that Conservatives, including Ruth Davidson, support the despicable Tory rape clause.

But speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative Aberdeen conference, Mr Whittle argued it was legitimate to debate the limits that should be put on benefit payments.

He said: The thing about the rape clause, and I think it is fair to say the opposition have grasped hold of that and are driving that really hard into us, the thing is this, were looking at a system where the question is, should there be an upper limit on social benefits, and thats a debate that has to happen and its a very legitimate debate

We think there should be a limit to what social security payments should be, and if we agree to what social security payments should be, you would accept there have to be exemptions to that.

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He added that if the party had not included an exemption to the policy  which limits to two the number of children for which families can claim tax credits  they would have been massively criticised.

But Mr Whittle said Tories were getting beaten for doing that, when the actual debate is around social security benefits, should there be an upper limit, what it should be, and if there isnt an upper limit how does that encourage people to go back into work.

He continued: Its not an easy one for Conservatives to get round, and Ive been beaten for that as well.

But there is a legitimate debate to be had here that is not being had.

Alison Thewliss MP, SNP, said: Brian Whittles comments are not only offensive, theyre totally heartless.

He seems to be in total denial about the hardship and misery his own party is causing.

The rape clause is not a political invention  its an utterly horrific policy of the Tory government, which has forced families across Scotland and the UK into poverty.
[Translation from the original statement in Portuguese - Nota da Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia em Defesa do Ensino e Pesquisa Nas Areas de Humanas, BrasAlia, 26 de abril de 2019 is made available here for public information, hoping that social scientists in South Asia will express their solidarity with Brazilian sociologists protesting end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and write letters of protest to the Govt of Brazil]

sacw.net - 3 May 2019

Statement from Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia / Brazilian Sociological Society

BrasAlia, April 26, 2019.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology (SBS) publicly expresses its strong criticism of the statements made by the President of the Republic regarding his intention to "decentralize" university resources to human areas - specifically philosophy and sociology - in order to "focus" on areas such as veterinary medicine, engineering and medicine.

Certainly, the areas of veterinary, engineering, medicine - and others such as biology, chemistry, etc. - are fundamental for the social and economic development of the country.

However, it is necessary to point out that the humanities, among which the mentioned disciplines philosophy and sociology, have a long trajectory in the history of knowledge elaborated in several universities in Brazil and in the world and are equally important for the construction of a modern country, developed and more supportive.

Sociology is a scientific discipline as much as physics, medicine, chemistry, biology, etc. The knowledge it draws is based on empirical facts confronted with theories and concepts, but also on conceptual reflections and analyses of social reality carried out through the use of analytical categories that are proper to it. The results obtained through sociological research are the result of the use of rigorous methods for obtaining data, considering and analyzing multiple sources of information and also sophisticated techniques in the treatment of quantitative and qualitative data obtained in various ways. In this sense, the Brazilian Society of Sociology cannot accept the unreasonable charge that sociology, both national and international, produces ideologies or the like. Sociology is a science, and like all others, it is separated from notions of common sense.

Sociology, moreover, is an academic discipline present in virtually every country that has universities. In all the contexts in which it is present, it has provided relevant contributions in analyzing issues of public interest such as violence, inequalities, social, urban and rural life, etc. Their results contribute, in no small measure, to the formulation and implementation of public policies to address the many issues facing our societies.

Sociology, as one of the most respected contemporary sociologists Anthony Giddens has argued, has, after all, become a fundamental actor in modern societies, since the knowledge produced by it enables citizens to understand the world around us and the broader contexts in which we live.

It will never be too much trouble to warn that countries with more robust university systems than Brazil have vigorous departments of human sciences and sociology, such as Harvard, Columbia and Yale in the USA, the London School of Economics in England and France, Ecole des Hautes Atudes en Sciences Sociales, as well as sociology departments at the German universities of Bielefeld, Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt, or in emerging countries such as China and its Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Instead of suffering senseless accusations and threats of budget cuts, these institutions and their departments of sociology enjoy social and intellectual respect for their local communities and, at the same time, the protection and academic encouragement of their respective governments.

Finally, it is important to point out that numerous international calls for the execution of large technological projects (in areas as diverse as the environment, health in general and public health, engineering) have required the presence of sociologists or sociologists in the teams of researchers, since more and more discussions in international political arenas take into account the possible ramifications and consequences of the results of these projects on the living conditions of broad population segments.

To decree and / or stimulate the end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and humanities, is to stimulate and promote the international isolation of the country in front of the most advanced in all fields of science in the world.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology urges the national and international university communities to join in the defence of the departments of sociology - and philosophy - in Brazil, as well as the other areas of the human field.

SBS also calls on Brazilian society to defend freedom of thought and research, preservation of academic dialogue between the various areas of knowledge, namely, the intellectual exchange between the natural sciences, the technological areas and the human build together scientifically and socially relevant knowledge for a modern and supportive society as we hope
As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.May Day hangoverAfter the May Day demonstrations \- when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops. * Yellow Vests battle images of violenceThen, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'Numbers drastically fallingOne would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central ParisHowever, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.This may be attributed to two reasons:Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten. Notre Dame vs the people? After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms. * Fall in Yellow Vest numbers after Macron's proposed reformsThe reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.Sacred summerAnother reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?

As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?

For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.

Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.

The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.

The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.

May Day hangover

After the May Day demonstrations - when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.

The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.

Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops.

Then, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.

Story continues

This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.

But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'

Numbers drastically falling

One would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central Paris

However, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.

This may be attributed to two reasons:

Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.

Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.

Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.

He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.

The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.

But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten.

Notre Dame vs the people?

After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.

Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms.

The reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.

A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.

The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.

Sacred summer

Another reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.

As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.

Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.

Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.

One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is engaged to her longtime partner, fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, after a proposal over the Easter holidays, her spokesman said on Friday.

The forthcoming nuptials are a rarity for world leaders in office and follow Ardern's pregnancy last year which was seen around the globe as a symbol of progress for female leaders.

She is only the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and, if she marries while in office, will be the first major leader to do so since French President Nicolas Sarkozy wed Carla Bruni in 2008.

Her fiance, Gayford, is a 41-year-old host of a television fishing show who takes care of their 10-month-old daughter Neve Te Aroha, while Ardern, 38, runs the country.

News of their engagement broke after journalists noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger at a public event on Friday.

Her spokesman Andrew Campbell confirmed she had been wearing the ring since Easter. He did not give details of the proposal.

Ardern was asked by the BBC while visiting London in January if she would consider asking Gayford to marry her or wait for him to propose.

"Absolutely, I'm a feminist, but I want to put him through the pain and torture of having to agonise about that question himself. That's letting him off the hook, absolutely not," she said jokingly.

The couple met about six years ago when Gayford went to complain to a member of parliament about the then National Party government's proposed changes to security legislation.

He bumped into Ardern, a rising star in the Labour Party, they had coffee and were living together not long after.

Gayford's television show, Fish of the Day, takes him around the Pacific, fishing and finding recipes for his catch. The series has been sold to 20 countries and won a gold award at the Houston International Film Festival in 2016.

While Ardern was breastfeeding her infant daughter, the family travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Story continues

The family divides their time between the capital Wellington and Auckland, where they own a house in a central city suburb.

Ardern's calm and compassionate response to the killing of 51 Muslims in March burnished the credentials of a leader who has been criticised domestically over her handling of the economy and flip flops in government policy.

Three U.S. presidents married in office, according to the White House historical association, wartime leader Woodrow Wilson and two nineteenth century presidents, widower John Tyler and Grover Cleveland, who married at the White House.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jacqueline Wong)
May 5 is Your Last Chance to Win a $1.3K PokerNews Cup Package For $33

May 03 2019 Matthew Pitt

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This final $33 satellite shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. GMT on May 5 and is your last chance to get your hands on the following package:

550 ticket to the PokerNews Cup Main Event

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Is This the Best Welcome Bonus?

Those of you who have already attempted to win a PokerNews Cup package in the previous two $33 satellites can now register for the final satellite and see if it is a case of third time lucky. If this is your first attempt at winning a satellite or if you havent got a Natural8 account yet, youre in line for what could be the best online poker welcome bonus.

Download Natural8 via PokerNews, create your free account and when you make your first deposit, Natural8 matches it 100 percent up to a maximum of $1,688. Not only is the bonus amount large, there is no timeframe attached to releasing the bonus into your account; you can have as much time as you wish as long as you do not make a withdrawal while the bonus is active.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you contribute $50 to the cash game rake or in tournament fees. You will also gain access to a $500 New Player Freeroll if your initial deposit is at least $10.

Join us in Bulgaria for the 2019 PokerNews Cup and see if you can write yourself into pokers history books.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least 152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of 4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive 827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.

EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.

Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.

For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.

Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.

Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?

History of the EPT in Monte-Carlo at a Glance

Year Entries Prize Pool Winner Country Top Prize (in EUR) 2005 211  1,983,400 Rob Hollink Netherlands  635,000 2006 298  2,801,200 Jeff Williams United States  900,000 2007 706  6,636,400 Gavin Griffin United States  1,825,010 2008 842  8,420,000 Glen Chorny Canada  2,020,000 2009 935  9,350,000 Pieter de Korver Netherlands  2,300,000 2010 848  8,480,000 Nicolas Chouity Lebanon  1,700,000 2012 665  6,650,000 Mohsin Charania United States  1,350,000 2013 531  5,310,000 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland  1,224,000 2014 650  6,500,000 Antonio Buonanno Italy  1,240,000 2015 564  5,640,000 Adrian Mateos Spain  1,082,000 2016 1098  5,325,300 Jan Bendik Slovakia  961,800 2017* 727  3,525,950 Raffaele Sorrentino Italy  466,714 2018 777  3,768,450 Nicolas Dumont France  712,000 2019 922  4,471,700 - -  827,700

*Held as PokerStars Championship
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.
Local banks are taking precautionary measures to cope with card fraud, such as asking cardholders to change their passwords and locking automated teller machines (ATMs) after 10 p.m. during public holidays.

How much does it cost to convert magnetic into chip cards?

Vietnam to have first domestic chip cards in Q1 2019

More Vietnamese consumers embracing digital payments: Visa

A client of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank withdraws cash from an ATM. Local banks are adopting preventive measures to minimize risks for themselves and their clients  PHOTO: SACOMBANK

A cardholder of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that she had received an email from the lender on April 28, which detailed the types of scams being employed.

For example, scammers pose as bank staff and tell clients they have won prizes, or they hack into Facebook accounts to send phishing messages. These individuals also pose as police officers and threaten clients to make them provide their bank account details.

Some cardholders of Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, recently complained that they could neither withdraw cash at ATMs nor make online transactions.

VietinBanks Chairman Le Duc Tho told Tuoi Tre newspaper that multiple ATMs of the bank had been targeted for credit card skimming, where a small device is planted on the ATM to read credit card details, which scammers then sell or use to make fraudulent purchases.

To ensure card security during the long holiday, VietinBank has identified ATMs at high risk of skimming and has changed the card status for those clients in addition to sending SMS messages to the cardholders, who will need to change their passwords at ATMs before conducting any transactions.

Other banks, such as Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), have taken similar steps. Some have also imposed a limit on cash withdrawals at their ATMs at night.

An Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the State Bank of Vietnam allows commercial banks to close their ATMs at a number of locations that are at high risk of skimming. As such, clients can only access these ATMs at a certain time. However, the banks are required to post their opening hours at these ATM locations and on their official websites.

In August last year, the State Bank of Vietnam asked these banks to flexibly cap the amount of cash withdrawals at ATMs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., following scores of unauthorized withdrawal cases.

Credit card skimmers are often placed over the card swipe mechanism on ATMs, though skimmers can also be placed over almost any type of credit card reader. With ATMs, a small, undetectable camera may be placed nearby to record people entering their PIN numbers. This provides thieves with all the information they need to manufacture fake cards and withdraw cash from the cardholders accounts.

Victims of credit card skimming are often unaware of the theft until they notice unauthorized charges to their accounts or have their cards unexpectedly declined. SGT
In the context of Industry 4.0, Vietnam is trying its best to promote a digital economy, with an initiative to promote a national innovation centre.

Vietnam wants to boost enterprises by creating innovative facilities such as the NIC

Let's takes a look into which incentives are expected to be offered to investors that wish to be involved in the initiative.

Soon after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to speed up the development of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment has called for investment at an international level through visits to developed countries like Singapore and Germany.

At the first seminar in Singapore to introduce the NIC to the international market, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung received questions about policies for investing in the centre.

According to Minister Dung, innovative entrepreneurs operating in the centre will pay just 50 per cent of personal income tax. They will be supported in training, and consultancy on capital mobilisation, trade management, and marketing by the Vietnamese government. For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the minister said that those established in five years can register to operate in the centre and be facilitated to commercialise their research results and technology development. They will also enjoy incentives of corporate income tax at the rate of 10 per cent within 30 years. Furthermore, they will also be exempt from import tax for input goods and services in support of research and development activities.

These businesses can register to establish an enterprise without listing business lines and receive a business registration certificate within 24 hours after providing the necessary information for the NIC.

Minister Dung also emphasised that SMEs can receive capital contributions, purchase shares of venture capital funds, foreign angel investors, and be supported by the NIC in administrative procedures related to investment, business, and product and service commercialisation.

Moreover, investors who fund startups operating in the centre will benefit from a 50 per cent tax reduction on transfer of shares and capital contribution if they invest for more than two years.

With such outstanding incentives, the centre will be a model in which enterprises and startups can bring into full play their creativeness and ability, Minister Dung said.

Vu Tuyet, principal at Boston Consulting Group, one of the two consultants for the NIC, told VIR that there are two notable factors that would set the centre apart from what currently exists in Vietnam.

The first is the development of a complete innovative ecosystem, especially with the presence of established big companies and links between those companies with smaller enterprises and startups, said Tuyet. The second is the experimental regulatory environment that allows the piloting of nurturing regulations and policies for new sectors to grow.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, the centre is the place to test new institutions, including giving autonomy to the management board with a special governance model. The centres head will be hired and will play a very important role. This person must be truly talented, internationally influential, and be paid an internationally competitive salary, he said.

Cung also noted that the centre is result of the serious learning of lessons from hundreds of innovation centres across the world. These centres include 17 ones in South Korea, which help startups connect with big international and domestic corporations operating in the region like Lotte, LG, Hyundai, Samsung, and SK to take advantage of their resources and experience. Meanwhile, China has established a network of manufacturing centres, a national technological innovation centre, and a network of areas demonstrating innovative ideas. In the Made in China 2025 plan, the government plans to create a national-level network of innovation centres with 15 centres established in 2020 and up to 40 such facilities in 2025.

As one of Asias leading countries in innovation, Singapore has established JTC LaunchPad, a site over six-and-a-half acres which offers a nurturing environment for startups. This environment has helped them have the chance to share and learn from each other through common use of equipment and workshops.

According to Tuyet of Boston Consulting Group, Vietnams NIC places a lot of emphasis on talents which will be the core competitive advantage for Vietnam going forward. There is huge untapped potential of Vietnamese talents who have made their mark in the world, she said. We will provide the best working and living environment in a vibrant community around the NIC, with talents at the centre, and will provide what is required for them to prosper here in their home country, she added.

Being aware of the NIC, foreign groups like German-based Bosch Vietnam and Swedish tech pioneer ABB see new opportunities, confident with their achievements gained over recent years in Vietnam. Bosch Vietnam is now getting to know about the level of foreign investment that could get involved at the centre, while ABB Vietnams priorities in smart factories, smart cities, and digital industry provide competitive advantages and so investment in the NIC is being seriously considered.

According to Ho Duc Hoan, CEO of tech startup Edu2Review, capital is a big challenge to Vietnam private companies. Vietnam hasnt got a single information gate so that startups can find capital easily. Therefore, the NIC, with its incentives, will be a good place for startups to find capital, and share and develop their ideas. Hoan also said that the current procedure of granting investment certificates for foreign-invested enterpirses often takes from five to 10 days. When the procedure is shortened to 24 hours as proposed, it will become a great area of support from the government.

Meanwhile Ho Minh Duc, co-founder of Artificial Intelligence solutions firm VBee, said that startups need financial support. Over the years, due to lack of suitable legislation, we have witnessed a lot of startups move to neighbouring countries. This brain drain wastes Vietnamese talent. He said the mechanism of capital, tax, and business procedures will help attract and keep talent in Vietnam.

Pham Minh Tuan - CEO, FPT Software

The NIC will be a place for startups to carry out and test their ideas. This is very important because to have any perfect product, we have to try again and again. Particularly in technology, its very normal to redo, repair, and improve. Being fearful or refusing responsibility are barriers to innovation. So when the government commits and accompanies startups, their chances will be wider.

The government will understand the difficulties of startups and have quicker, better solutions for them. For example, digital signature will be easier and widely applied with the support of the government. Moreover, the voice of government will help startups and innovative enterprises promote their products.

Vietnam is now attracting many major investors from across the globe. It seems that international financiers are excited with the Vietnamese market. In fact, many investors are overpaying for some of Vietnams initiatives. We have witnessed that products with potential are welcomed by funders, and they even compete with each other to own innovative products.

Norihiko Muratake - General director NTT DATA Vietnam

NTT DATA is a company with over 50 years of experience in supporting the social infrastructure in Japan and 45 other countries. Recently, we have begun collaboration with startups in possession of the worlds most advanced technologies, which we aim to utilise for the purposes of creating innovative and sustainable businesses. This is the reason why NTT DATA is interested in the NIC. This model is ideal for Vietnam to improve its IT infrastructure for Industry 4.0 through connecting startups and innovative enterprises, not only within the country but also in the ASEAN, especially Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. We will endeavour to understand more about the concept and contents of the NIC and eventually enact our plan to contribute to its progress in the future.

Brian Hull - Country managing director, ABB Vietnam

Operating in Vietnam for 25 years, ABB is proud to be a continuing partner in the countrys sustainability. The technology for utilities and automation, used in both smart cities and Industry 4.0, is changing rapidly and Vietnam is at an exciting phase of its development.

The establishment of the NIC sends a strong signal for startups, innovative enterprises, and investors. Startups will make use of the convenient infrastructure of the NIC for their innovation while larger companies such as ABB can collaborate and garner benefits from these new developments.

We look forward to continuing with clear guidance from the government on the technological and cybersecurity aspects, as well as the appropriate financial mechanisms where necessary. VIR
The Vietnamese private sector has gone on a journey from no to yes, suffering stumbles to become mature.

From zero

Even though the Vietnamese private sector suffers from mistakes and losses, pioneers constantly appear, seeking ways for breakthroughs, and becoming mature, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chung, Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Economist Pham Chi Lan said that after the national liberation, the private sector was not recognized. Only in the renewal period, the private sector was mentioned.

However, statistics showed that, after five years of reform, the private sector emerged outstandingly. Average growth rate of the non-state sector was 6.2pc. Meanwhile, the state sector only grew 1.9pc. The proportions of the state sector, non-state sector, and FDI sector are 31.8pc, 64.6pc, and 3.6pc, respectively. However, the number of private businesses remained modest amidst a range of economic barriers.

The Law on private enterprises and the Law on companies were introduced in 1990, making a turning point for the private sector. As of 1996, Vietnam housed 21,000 private companies, 9,000 limited liability companies, 210 joint stock companies. Meanwhile, the number of household businesses increased from 840,000 in 1990 to 2.2 million in early 1996.

However, the Law on Enterprises was released in 1999, marking a big leap in thinking of the State, serving to generate a new wave of the private sector. The Law was passed by the National Assembly in 1999, changing the face of the Vietnamese private economic sector, said Economist Lan.

Since 2000, the number of newly-founded enterprises yearly surged from 20,000 to 25,000, to 30,000, to 100,000 in 2015 after the Law on Enterprises was passed in 2014. Especially, the figures increased vigorously and set new records in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to 110,000; 126,000; 131,100.

The development process of private enterprises is on a pair with the national economic integration path. The 1999 Law on Enterprises was introduced, helping Vietnam to catch up with the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement. So far, the private sector is regarded as an important driving force for the economy, Ms. Lan said.

Strong rise

The private sector is strongly attached with a large number of trademarks. In the early period, famous brand names included Da Lan toothpaste, Biti's footwear, My Hao dishwashing liquid, Kinh Do bakery. At present, well-known trademarks include Vietjet Air, VinGroup, FPT, TH True Milk, VPBank, Trung Nguyen. They have contributed to bringing Vietnam to speed up in the world economic map.

Statistics showed that the private sector accounted for 38-43pc of GDP in 1995-2017 period. However, the proportions decreased from 43pc in 1995 to 39pc in 2010, 38pc in 2017.

Mr. Cung assessed that the development of private enterprises with big brand names has created counterbalance with the State sector and FDI sector, serving to generate more competitiveness.

For example, the emerge of Vietjet Air has served to make the domestic aviation market more dynamic.

Some careers appear of which private sector plays a vital role including software, Internet, real estate, steel, coffee, food.

Vietnamese billionaires made debut including Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Ba Duong, Tran Dinh Long who were listed in the Forbes list. Vietnamese brand names such as Truong Hai, Vietjet Air, Masan, FPT have reached the outside world.

What will the Vietnamese private enterprise sector look like?

So far, private enterprises have changed. A large number of Vietnamese trademarks appeared and disappeared. The hard and competitive market functions its selective competence. The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that besides the record number of newly-established enterprises, there are temporarily suspended or dissolved enterprises.

Hence, it is necessary for Vietnam to own more powerful firms.

According to Mr. Chung, it is difficult to forecast which enterprises will up and which enterprises will down or whether enterprises are successful at present will look like in the future. However, institutions decide development of enterprises.

Mr. Cung suggested private enterprises focus on five issues namely costs, legal risks, business safety, fair competition, good administration.

He also recommended the Party and Government attach importance to generating a proper environment in favor of the private sector which is expected to become the key engine for the economy. VGP
TheStable.ca, racings fastest-growing fractional ownership operation, will welcome special guest Daniel Dube to its Open House on May 12.

Dube will join a collection of top drivers showcasing TheStable.cas two-year-old hopefuls.

The Quebec native celebrated his 9,000th win on March 17 at Yonkers Raceway.

Having driven horses to more than $121 million, Dube is one of the top 20 all-time money-winning drivers in harness racing. Among the many standout horses he has steered are Horse Of The Year winners Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010).

"I've known Anthony for a long time, said Dube. When he approached me about attending their Open House, I was intrigued. Driving in the stakes program in New York I was impressed with what I saw from TheStable.ca's videos of their New York eligible horses, he said.

Another good friend of mine, Scott Di Domenico, owns a piece of one of them and will be training all four this summer, so I am looking forward to going with the babies. It's going to be a lots of fun," said Dube.

Clients of TheStable.ca and newcomers of all ages are welcome to attend the event at Tomiko Training Centre (210 Campbellville Rd., Hamilton) and drop-in any time from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The event is free but an RSVP is requested.

During the Open House, guests are invited to meet the horses of TheStable.ca and chat with owners Anthony and Amy MacDonald, their staff, clients, and industry professionals.

The event will showcase many of the engaging features of TheStable.ca, including its bi-weekly live streaming video broadcasts of TheStable.ca horses in training.

The Open House broadcast kicks off at 10:00 a.m., when the horses will train on the racetrack. Dube and fellow drivers will steer the young colts and fillies, while TV commentators preview the horses pedigrees. The broadcast will include live interviews and video features and be streamed at TheStable.ca starting at 10:00 a.m. EST

A catalogue will be available on The Stable.ca on May 10, detailing all horses for which fractions are available for purchase. The catalogue will include a schedule of when each horse will be showcased on the broadcast during the Open House.

Several prizes will be awarded throughout the event, including one-percent fractions of the horses.

Onsite purchasing will be available for horses and merchandise. Payment can be made with credit card, PayPal, cash, cheque and e-transfer.

The facility offers a heated viewing area with limited seating. Hot and cold drinks will be sold as a fundraising effort by Racing Under Saddle Ontario. Lunch is available to purchase from the Gastro Grub Food Truck.

Now in its fourth year, TheStable.ca is an award-winning fractional racehorse ownership operation based in Guelph, ON. There are currently 130 Standardbred horses owned by nearly 700 people from 11 countries worldwide.

Complete Open House event details and the RSVP form are available here.

(TheStable.ca)
More than 1,000 domestic and international delegations paid tribute to former President, General Le Duc Anh at ceremonies held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and his home province of Thua Thien-Hue on May 3.

At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh

Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Condolences sent to Vietnam over former President Le Duc Anhs death

Leaders of various countries have extended their condolences to the Party, State, Government and people of Vietnam over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.

Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.

The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.

In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.

On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Respect-paying services held for former President around the globe

Respect-paying services for former President General Le Duc Anh in the Republic of Korea

The Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General in Germany are staying open on May 3-4 for individuals, organisations and Vietnamese people in the country to pay tribute to General Le Duc Anh, former President of Vietnam.

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu and staff of the embassy as well as representatives of the Vietnamese community in Germany spent a minute of silence in memory of the former leader.

On May 3, foreign ambassadors in Germany, including Spain, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Jamaica, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burkina Faso, and representatives from the diplomatic corps, the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, as well as foreign friends came to the embassy to pay last tribute to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, World Trade Organisations and other organisations in Geneva held a memorial service and opened the funeral book for former President Anh.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the mission, recalled great contributions by the former leader to the country, especially his efforts to normalise Vietnams relations with China and the US as well as the countrys joining of the ASEAN.

The diplomat said that the mission received condolences from many international organisations over the former leaders passing away.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong (China), the Vietnamese General Consulate opened the funeral book in memory of General Le Duc Anh. Representatives from the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, the administration of Hong Kong, general consulates of ASEAN countries, and diplomatic delegations from various countries in Hong Kong paid tribute to the former leader.

Writing on the funeral book, Thai Consul General in Hong Kong expressed deep condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the great loss, stating that the deceased made great contributions to the development of the Thailand-Vietnam relations.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and held a memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh.

A delegation from the Malaysian Government led by Deputy Foreign Minister Haji Marzuki Yahya paid homage to the deceased. The official highly valued efforts by the former President to the strengthening of the bilateral partnership.

In Seoul, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Taeho headed a delegation to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh. Representatives from many countries in Seoul, including Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Ireland, Mexico, Angola, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, the US, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Thailand also came to the embassy to pay tribute to the deceased.

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh have also been held in many other countries around the world, including Belgium and Israel.

Foreign officials pay respect to former leader at overseas ceremonies

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai writes down in the funeral book

Senior officials of many countries have paid homage to Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh at the tribute-paying ceremony held by Vietnamese embassies.

President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin led a parliamentary delegation to pay tribute to the former leader of Vietnam at the service organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh on May 3.

In the condolence book, he wrote that Gen. Le Duc Anh was a close friend of Cambodia who greatly helped to liberate the Cambodian people from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and to recover and develop the country.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol also came to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh and handed over King Norodom Sihamonis condolence letter.

Other Cambodian officials, including Senate President Samdech Say Chhum and Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development Yim Chhay Ly, also showed their respect for Le Duc Anh at the ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said General Le Duc Anh directly made enormous contributions to the two countries friendship.

From 1981 to 1986, he served as Deputy Defence Minister and Commander of Vietnams volunteer soldiers in Cambodia. He was Defence Minister of Vietnam at the time the countrys volunteer soldiers fulfilled their mission in Cambodia in 1989, the diplomat noted.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in India held a respect-paying ceremony.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, wrote in the condolence book that Gen. Le Duc Anh was an excellent leader with considerable contributions to Vietnams development. The Indian people will always keep in mind his role in enhancing the India-Vietnam friendship.

Indian officials and representatives of diplomatic corps in the country also came to pay homage to the former leader.

A similar ceremony took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand the same day.

In his note, First Vice-President of Thailands National Legislative Assembly Surachai Liengboonlertchai expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Vietnam on the passing of Le Duc Anh.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Sakchai Tanaboonchai, along with many diplomats and Vietnamese people in the country, also attended the event.

Officials, diplomats and Vietnamese people in Russia, Singapore and New Zealand also paid homage to the former leader at the ceremonies held by the Vietnamese embassies in the countries.

The overseas ceremonies are scheduled to last through May 4.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Lao leaders pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993

General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith led a high-ranking delegation to pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Vientiane on May 3.

In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3.

Foreign officials pay homage to former President in UK, France

Scene taken at the respect-paying services held at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK

The Vietnamese Embassies in the UK and France held respect-paying services for Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh on May 3.

Attending the ceremony in London, on behalf of the UK Government and people, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field extended his deepest condolences toward the passing of the former President.

The ceremony, to last until late May 4, has so far gathered the attendance of representatives from foreign embassies in UK, including those of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, China, Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea, among others.

Meanwhile, at the ceremony in Paris, Corine Crespel, a representative from the French Foreign Ministrys Asia-Pacific Department, paid respect to the deceased. In the condolences book, she wrote about the significant role the former President once played in consolidating Vietnam  France relations.

The same day, many members of foreign diplomatic corps came to pay their homage.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

General Le Duc Anh remembered at former military base browser not support iframe.



During recent days, thousands of visitors flocked to the former military command base of the People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam, a national special relic site that witnessed daily works of General Le Duc Anh during Vietnams resistance war against the United States in the past.

The 3,200-hectare site, known as Ta Thiet military base in Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province, consists of a tunnel system, accommodations and workplaces of high-level party and state officials during the resistance war, including former State President Le Duc Anh, who passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Here in the base, strategic decisions were made, which greatly contributed to the glorious victory of Ho Chi Minh Campaign and liberation of the South to reunify the country.

With its rich historical values, Ta Thiet military base has become not only a tourist destination in Binh Phuoc province, but also a venue for educating youngsters about patriotism.

Besides Ta Thiet Military Base, Loc Ninh is also home to other renowned historical relic site, including the Headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and Loc Ninh military airport.

Foreign officials mourn former President Le Duc Anhs passing

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

On behalf of the Cambodian officers, Defense Ministry Secretary of State Elvan Sarat expressed his deepest sorrow at the passing of General Le Duc Anh.

He recalled the former Presidents great contributions to enhancing the friendship, solidarity and multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies.

Representatives from several ministries and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia also paid their last respects to former President General Le Duc Anh.

The same day, Russian Ambassador to Cambodia Dmitry Tsvetkov came to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay his homage to the late leader.

The diplomat showed his respect to the deceased for his talent, and lauded his huge contributions to consolidating and strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in various spheres.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt also opened the book of condolences for former President General Le Duc Anh on May 3 and 4.

Representatives from foreign embassies and diplomatic corps in Egypt, local officials and Vietnamese expats in the country came to pay tribute to the late leader.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Foreign leaders extend condolences over death of former President

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk (second, right) received President Le Duc Anh (second, left) on August 8, 1995 during the latter's official visit to Cambodia

Leaders of Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Palestine have sent messages and letters of condolences to leaders of the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

In his letter of condolences to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni offered the deepest condolences to the top Vietnamese leader, people and the family of former President General Le Duc Anh.

King Norodom Sihamoni also highlighted the late leaders great contributions to Vietnams national construction and development cause, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh was an excellent and respectable leader of Vietnam.

Saudi Arabias King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, extended their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Palestinian President, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas also sent messages of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra sent a letter of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Respect-paying ceremonies held for former President in Myanmar, Netherlands

Myanmars Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin came to the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar on May 4 to pay respect to former President Gen. Le Duc Anh.

Writing in the condolence book, the minister extended his deepest sympathies to the Vietnamese people and the family of the deceased.

The passing away of the former President on April 22 was a great loss for the Vietnamese people, he wrote, adding that the general will be remembered for his important role in Vietnams struggle for national liberation and development.

On May 3-4, ambassadors of many countries in Laos, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and international friends paid tribute to the former Vietnamese leader at the embassy.

On these two days, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands also held a respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for the former President.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered in China, ASEAN

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao writes in the condolences book.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China on May 3-4 opened a condolences book for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month at the age of 99.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Chaiman of the Steering Committee of the National Peoples Congress Li Zhanshu, and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Wang Yang sent wreaths in memory of the Vietnamese former leader.

Paying last respects to the deceased, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao wrote in the condolences book that the passing of Le Duc Anh is a great loss for both Vietnamese and Chinese peoples, describing him as a friend of the Chinese people.

He affirmed that the Chinese Party and State always attach much importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, and want to promote the Vietnam-China friendship collaboration in a practical and stable manner.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi, Deputy Secretary-General Hoang Anh Tuan and staffers at the ASEAN Secretariat on May 4 paid homage to former President Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia.

In the condolences book, Lim expressed his deep sympathies to the Vietnamese people over the passing of Le Duc Anh, who made great contributions to the nations peace, stability and economic development, particularly in the nations joining the ASEAN in 1995. He will be remembered as one of the most respected leaders in Vietnam and a leader that gave strong support to the ASEAN, the official wrote.

At the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters, the Vietnamese national flag flied at half-staff on May 3-4.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered abroad

Vietnam's permanent mission to the United Nations opened a condolence book for former President Gen. Le Duc Anh in New York on May 3.

Maria Luiza Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sent a representative to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese leader and write in the funeral book, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh will go down in Vietnams history as a talented and respected leader.

Ambassadors of several countries such as Laos, Cuba, Singapore and Australia also came to the missions headquarters to pay homage to Gen. Anh.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in the US also held a solemn respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for him.

Crowds of representatives from the US administration, organisations and diplomatic missions of many countries in Washington DC came to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese President.

Susan Parker-Burns, Acting Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State, extended her profound condolences to the family of the deceased, emphasizing that under the leadership of the former President, Vietnam and the US made important steps forwards towards reconciliation and establishment of cooperative ties, laying important foundations for the current good relationship between the two countries.

In the funeral book, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families Ann Mills-Griffiths affirmed that President Le Duc Anh had made great contributions to building the US-Vietnam relations, including supporting and promoting Vietnams humanitarian policies on POW/MIA work,

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh were also held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Mozambique, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Canada.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Respect paid to former President Le Duc Anh in Latin America, Africa

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile holds a respect-paying ceremony on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile held a respect-paying ceremony in the Latin American country on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month.

The ceremony saw the presence of many local officials, representatives of political parties and Vietnams friends in the countries. Heads of many foreign diplomatic offices in Chile were also on hand.

They expressed their deep condolences to Vietnam over the passing of the former President.

Meanwhile, representing the Tanzanian government, Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi on May 4 came to the Vietnamese Embassy in the African country to pay his last respect to the deceased.

Writing in the condolences book, the minister highlighted that former President Anh had greatly contributed to the strengthening of the bilateral relations.

Representatives of many foreign embassies in Tanzania also came to pay respect to former President Le Duc Anh.

VNA/VNN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang

On April 1, Malaysias Shah Alam High Court (MLS) sentenced Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of a man holding a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder. The prison term was calculated starting from the time Doan Thi Huong was detained on February 15, 2017.

Huongs lawyer Salim Bashir said after the trial that Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behaviour.

Huong was set free on the morning of May 3. She took a flight from the Kuala Lumpur Airport afterwards and arrived at Hanois Noi Bai airport the same day.

Spokesperson Hang said: We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

This outcome was contributed by continuous efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong, she said.

We also acknowledge positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time, she added.-VNA
Bui Hai Hung, PhD, who has resigned from his post at Google DeepMind to be the head of VinAI Research, said that he was returning to Vietnam to struggle, not to retire.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.

Mr Bui Hai Hung

He obtained a scholarship to Curtin University of Technology which was offered to one Vietnamese student winning an international prize in 1991. The scholarship program for Vietnamese students unexpectedly was postponed the next year.

This drove him to continue study for a doctorate and skip the masters degree after he finished Curtin University in Australia with high marks. Later, he left for the US and realized that the US, not Australia, was the ideal environment for technology engineers.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.



When I started working at Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, there were only several Vietnamese. The figure now is several hundred, Hung said. There, staff develop research and seek opportunities themselves, while Vietnam does not have a methodical process to produce a high-quality labor force, he said.

The former senior expert of Google DeepMind will to draw up a plan to produce a high number of talents in IT industry for Vietnam, or those who can perform in technology centers such as Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are many talented Vietnamese, but they developed their careers accidentally like me. They dont know how good they are, how far they can go, and where they should go to develop their abilities, he said.

In the field of AI, Bui Hai Hung is a leading expert in the world who has been carrying out research on AI for the last 20 years in Silicon Valley. In recent years, scientists have begun talking about the 4.0 industry revolution, and AI is at the center of the revolution.

However, despite Hungs stature, Vietnam remains a zero on the worlds AI map. Hung has vowed to change the situation.

Hung met Pham Nhat Vuong, chair of Vingroup, a Vietnam conglomerate which has made heavy investments in R&D and technology. Hung said the meeting was, once again, something he did accidentally in his life.

The meeting of a leading scientist in AI and the US dollar billionaire ended up with Hung deciding to come back to Vietnam to take the post as head of VinAI Research. Hung believes that he and his future colleagues can perform top-level research in Vietnam.

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For lifetime Hanoian Thanh Van, days filled with fresh air and walks down the cool, tree-shaded streets of the capital are few and far between.

Hanoi to focus on air quality monitoring

Hanoi residents worry about air pollution

Thick haze engulfs Vinh Tuy Bridge connecting Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien District.

The woman born and raised in the Old Quarter is more used to a thick blanket of haze on her daily commute.

Some 7 million people living in the city suffer the same ordeal.

Hanois air quality has worsened dramatically in the last few years, remaining at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels almost year-round, according to air quality forecast app AirVisual.

A report released by Greenpeace in early March listed Hanoi as the second most polluted city in Southeast Asia, following Indonesias Jakarta.

Theres an estimated global cost of US$225 billion in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets, noted Yeb Sano, Executive Director of Greenpeace South East Asia, on the effects of air pollution.

Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by nearly two years, research by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found.

Hanois heavy concentration of particulate PM2.5 in the citys air has also raised concern.

At monitoring stations in areas with high traffic density such as Pham Van Dong Street, Hang Dau Street or Minh Khai Commune in Bac Tu Liem District, PM2.5 concentration is usually measured at 300-400 micrograms, far exceeding the World Health Organisations safety limit of 25 micrograms.

PM2.5 refers to tiny dust particles, also known as fine particles, that are about 30 times smaller than a human hair, which allow them to intrude the lungs and blood.

Exposure to fine particles can lead to reduced lungs function, respiratory and heart-related diseases.

Be careful

Despite visual indications used by monitoring apps, tracking air quality is tricky.

It depends a lot on which location you put a sensor. Simple activities like cooking can also lift the index, implying the air quality is worsening, said Do Van Nguyet, director of NGO Live&Learn Centre for Environment and Community.

The declining air quality in Hanoi has been blamed on inner city pollution sources including rapid rise of vehicles, constructions and daily activities like using coal-stoves or burning waste.

The citys sunken terrain and poor urban planning along with temperature inversions also foster pollution spikes, according to researcher Nguyen Thi Anh Thu from Green ID.

Hanoi is being choked by high-density construction. Photo taken on Minh Khai Street. VNS Photos Khoa Thu



Cross-border air pollution has also emerged because of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial zones and energy production or burning forest for agriculture.

There are several causes of air pollution so to tackle the problem, Hanoi needs to determine its major causes, Thu stressed.

Unfortunately, there has been no completed report on what triggers the citys air pollution, making people blame traffic as the biggest pollutant.

Meanwhile, according to a report by International Energy Agency, the total CO2 emissions of Vietnam in 2016 were 187.1 million tonnes, of which thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, accounted for 40 per cent, followed by manufacturing industries and construction with 33 per cent.

Transport contributed 35.7 million tonnes, equivalent to just 19 per cent.

Most of nearly 30 operating coal-fired plants in Vietnam are located in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh.

Urgent intervention

In early April, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan rejected the 2018 World Air Quality Report by Greenpeace and AirVisuals report, saying Hanoi ranking as the second-worst polluted city in Southeast Asia was inaccurate.

According to Nhan, the report just showed pollution results of 20 cities of four among 11 nations in the Southeast Asia.

It was a baseless conclusion, he said.

For Thu Thuy, an apartment resident on Minh Khai Street, Hanois ranking is not important.

I do not care whether Hanoi is the second most polluted city in the region or not. What I want to know is how we can take action to improve the situation, not downplay it. Air pollution is real. I can feel it, I can see it without anyone telling me the citys air quality is declining, she said.

Pham Huyen, a NGO officer in Bach Mai Street, said she was not put at ease by the deputy ministers statement.

Frequently travelling to Southeast Asian countries, despite having no data, I still feel Bangkoks air is much more breathable than Hanois, she said.

The authorities need to give instructions on how to protect our health and urge companies and people to use eco-friendly materials and energy in construction, transport and daily lives, Huyen added.

Meanwhile, data provided by Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network at moitruongthudo.vn is updated slowly.

We need air quality to be forecasted, just like weather so that people can take measures to protect them when going out, said Nguyet.

While authorities seem to be passive in responding to polluted air, NGOs have launched several initiatives.

Clean Air  Green Cities, a project by USAID and Live & Learn, is working with the Center of Multidisciplinary Integrated Technologies for Field Monitoring (FIMO) to install low-cost air sensors in Hanois schools and offices.

Data collected from these sensors is updated at fairnet.vn for students and parents easily tracking air quality at where they are studying.

A bulletin on air quality is also published weekly, focusing on air pollution challenges and community-based solutions.

The systematic problem of air pollution needs a systematic solution, according to experts.

Hanoi authorities need to specify major pollutants and promptly take action to reduce and manage them, said Thu. Regulations on construction dust control should be tightened along with reducing vehicle emissions.

Collaboration between Hanoi and neighbouring provinces in monitoring toxic air is key, she added.

To tackle bad air quality, Hanoi has mulled banning motorbikes by 2030, aiming to accelerate public transportation use.

In the recent three years, the PM2.5 concentration recorded at the US Embassys air quality monitoring station has slightly reduced yet remained at a high level. Therefore, we need more commitments to improve the situation as well as more sensors and shared data to fully portrait the citys air quality, said Thu.

As all these efforts take time to alter Hanois air quality, Van is looking for help from nature.

Sometimes, rain can wash away all dust and give back Hanois clean sky, even for a short moment, she said.

Lucky for her, summer rains are forecasted for the next few days.

Information on Hanois air quality can be found at:

Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network: www.moitruongthudo.vn

FAirNet Map of air quality: www.fairnet.vn

PAM Air Map of air quality: www.pamair.org

Real-time Air Quality Index: www.aqicn.org/city/vietnam/hanoi

US Embassy in Ha Noi: www.airnow.gov

German Embassy in Ha Noi: www.hanoiair.de/en_US/

AirVisual: www.airvisual.com/vietnam/hanoi

(Source: The Clean Air - Green Cities Weekly Bulletin)

VNS
Vietnam needs to settle fundamental problems before it can think of building smart cities, experts say.

The Da Nang City Peoples Committee has announced it will spend VND2.1 trillion to implement a smart city project from now to 2025.

To date, more than 30 cities and provinces have been implementing or have begun preparing for similar projects.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that local authorities have been too hasty to build smart cities, though they think agree with the concept.

Nguyen Van Ngai, vice rector of Hoa Sen University, said that there was a smart city rush which follows the airport rush, university rush and a movement to build administration centers.

He said while local authorities have called on to build smart cities, their understanding about smart cities remains vague.

Authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.



Ngai said that authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.

An analyst, agreeing with Ngai, said it is easy to attract foreign investors. They will come if they can see promising profits. However, before inviting them to Vietnam, local authorities need to think about how to program the development of the cities, and how much to budget for smart city plans and other issues.

He said Vietnam needs to learn a lesson from the heavy-industry development plan initiated in the 1970s. It was too hasty to implement the plan when it lacked capital and technologies.

Smart city sounds fashionable. But in the context of a scanty budget, he said, local authorities have to prioritize to spend money on the most essential needs.

Meanwhile, Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City, said there was no need to worry about smart city rush, saying that it is the era of IT and digital technology application in urban area management.

Cuong pointed out that there will be obstacles in building smart cities.

First, the IT era is an era of communication, but the ability of Vietnamese to cooperate and exchange information is poor.

Second, to have smart cities, it is necessary to have information systems for exchange. Agencies and individuals need to have the desire to provide information and get shared information.

Third, its necessary to re-train and upgrade peoples knowledge in science and technology. Fourth, financial capability is limited.

RELATED NEWS

First phase of smart city project considered a success

Smart urban areas are right for VN

Kim Chi
A Vietnamese suspect in the murder of the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol arrived home on May 3 after two years in prison in Malaysia.

Doan Thi Huong arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 3

Doan Thi Huong arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 10pm on Friday after being freed from a prison in Malaysia's Selangor State at 7.20am the same day.



Huong, wearing jeans, long coat and sunglasses, constantly smiled as she was met by well-wishers and journalists who came to see her at the airport. Huong's father and brother were also present to welcome her.

She was accompanied by a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese lawyer, and three Malaysian lawyers.

Huong answered questions from the media for about five minutes and then quickly got on a car and left with her family members.

Huong said she was very grateful to the Vietnamese and Malaysian governments and some lawyers both from Malaysia and Vietnam for their work.

"I was treated well in prison in Malaysia," she said. "I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone for that."

The 30-year-old former hair salon worker said she still wanted to follow her dream to become an actress and wished to have a chance to return to Malaysia again.

Anh:

Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were put on trial for murdering the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur Airport in October 2017 and faced death by hanging if convicted.

The two women always denied having committed murder, arguing that they were pawns in a plan hatched by North Korean agents who fled Malaysia after the killing.

The defence stage of the case was due to start in March, but in a shock move, prosecutors announced they were withdrawing the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, and she flew back to Jakarta.

Her release followed intense diplomatic pressure from Indonesia, including from President Joko Widodo.

Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong's murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. Dtinews
US chemical firms, including Monsanto should be responsible for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Monsanto court ruling bolsters the hope for millions of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

VN welcomes Monsanto ruling: Foreign ministry

Vietnam demands Monsanto compensate Agent Orange victims

Illustrative photo



Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical?  a Vietnamese association has questioned US courts for ignoring those of US Agent Orange chemical warfare.

Vietnam is again seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange (AO), inspired by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California. The biotech firm had supplied the US military with the chemical during the Vietnam War, the RT has reported.

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) has logged a letter to a US court asking it to restart a class-action lawsuit by AO victims against American chemical firms, including Monsanto, which the Eastern District Court of New York dismissed in 2004, claiming a lack of evidence and asserting that herbicide spraying... did not constitute a war crime pre-1975.

Citing two recent court rulings in San Francisco, where Monsantos Roundup was found responsible for health damages and the company was ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, VAVA asserted that it is time for the company to take responsibility for supplying the US military with AO during the brutal chemical warfare campaign (1961-1971) in which 12 million gallons of herbicide were used.

Dioxin, a highly toxic element of AO, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. Stressing that Vietnam currently has more than 4.8 million AO victims, the letter asked for justice for people with hideous deformities.

Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical? the letter states.

Is all the scientific evidence, with people as living proof, and Vietnams environment ravaged by AO used by the US in a meaningless war from 1961-1971 still not convincing?

Monsanto, which was acquired by German giant Bayer AG last June, in the past argued that it was the US military that had set the specifications for making AO and decided on where and how the herbicide was used. The company also noted that it was just one of many wartime US government contractors who manufactured the toxin.

Last month a jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million in punitive damages to Edwin Hardeman after the court found that Roundup, Monsantos infamous glyphosate-based herbicide, was a substantial factor in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

In a similar case in August 2018, Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million after developing cancer from long-term exposure to Roundup. After months of legal drama, the terminally ill cancer patient agreed to a reduced payout of $78 million.

Earlier last month, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said that Monsanto needs to be responsible for settling consequences caused to people and environment in Vietnam. Hanoitimes
A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War.

War-remnant coffee shop in Hue City

Little House on the Prairie in town

A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War. -- Photo: VNN

The cafe, which opened over a year ago, used to be a weapons vault supervised by Tran Van Lai, who was a Sai Gon special soldier.

Lais son Tran Vu Binh, who runs the cafe now, said it is decorated with memorabilia of soldiers in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

"I was researching materials to rebuild this house in its original form and collecting artifacts to make this a historical cafe for people to visit. This idea was born out of my affection and respect for the soldiers," he said.

The three-level building still has its original brick floor and tiled roof. The houses specialty is a tunnel system that opened to visitors last year.

Many objects used to make the tunnel are also displayed at the cafe, including iron boxes and wooden barrels for weapons.

The coffee shop also showcases items once used by Saigon residents many decades ago, evoking nostalgia for a bygone era.

VNS
WATERLOO  William L. Burts dream of operating a mobile barbershop is on hold  for now.

Burt, who cuts hair at four different locations in the Cedar Valley, has been trying to launch Kut Kings, a mobile barbershop, since December. But Iowa code prohibits barber shops not having a fixed location.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, who said Burt wants to serve people who cant come to his shop, such as people at homeless shelters, veterans clubs, senior centers and schools.

The bill went through the Iowa House, but was stopped by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, later in the State Government Committee.

A no vote wont stop me, Burt said. So if the people need me, give me a call.

Burt has been one of Smiths barbers throughout his life.

Some of the things that he was doing are really in line with my mission as a member of the Legislature, Smith said.

The legislation to legalize mobile barbershops was bipartisan and had a Republican co-sponsor, Smith said. Americans For Prosperity also endorsed the bill.

It passed in the House with broad support, Smith said. We were pretty surprised to see when it, singularly, was pulled out of a cosmetologist bill. It was the only thing that was pulled out of that bill.

Zaun never made his reasons for opposing the bill clear, Smith said.

He was pretty dead set on not negotiating and not having a conversation about it, Smith said. To me, if were allowed to groom a dog in a mobile vehicle, then it doesnt make sense why we cant have a barbershop do the same thing for humans.

Zaun didnt respond to The Couriers call for comments on the legislation.

Smith plans to start over again next year.

This was just the first step, Smith said. Were definitely not finished.

Mobile barbershops are going to become a need, especially in rural Iowa, he said.

Burt hopes the legislation moves forward next year.

Im keeping my ducks in a row, Burt said. Im kind of just waiting in limbo.

If hes unable to operate in the state, Burt said hell leave Iowa to operate Kut Kings. It doesnt stop here.

Currently, his prospective shop is sitting in his backyard waiting to be used.

Everythings tied up. Its like a clogged drain right now, Burt said. Im just trying to stay afloat.

Burt has invested thousands of dollars into the stalled project, but hes still making house calls.

If you need me, if youve got anybody thats sick or shut-in, give me a call, Burt said. I just wont pull the bus and cause a big scene, but I will bring my clippers.

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NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

May 3, 2019



NEW YORK, May 3, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks by an Alabama legislator:

Alabama state Rep. John Rogers is against the death penaltyfor those who have been convicted of murdering someone.

But he believes in the death penalty for innocent unborn childrenon the incredible supposition that they might grow up to be violent criminals 15 or 20 years later.

"Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later," he told the Alabama legislature earlier this week, as he spoke in opposition to a bill protecting the unborn. "You bring them into the world unwanted, unloved, then you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later."

Rogers' hypocrisy knows no bounds. In 2002, speaking against the death penalty, he lectured pro-lifers: "If you are against abortion, you ought to be against the death penalty."

But the obverse, in his view, doesn't hold. While many pro-lifers do oppose capital punishment, Rogers, while opposing the execution of convicted criminals, believes innocent unborn children should be executed, for crimes they might commit if they are permitted to be born and grow up.

In 2002, arguing for changes in Alabama's death penalty law, Rogers declared, "We need to at least give a man a chance to prove that he is innocent." But unborn children targeted for abortionwho clearly are innocentdon't get that chance. They are presumed to be headed for a life of violent crime, and thus can be killedshould be killed, in Rogers' viewbefore they can grow up and prove to be productive, law-abiding citizens. History is literally filled with the stories of people who, having grown up in terribly deprived, destitute, neglected or abused circumstances, went on to make inestimable contributions to the common good.

Since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 1,494 executions in the United States. During that same time, there have been upwards of 40 million babies aborted. Does Rogers really believe, if abortion had not been legal, that we would have had anywhere near 40 million executions over the last 43 years? If not, that's an awful lot of innocent lives destroyed to get at the relatively few who might have become criminalsand whose lives Rogers would have fought to protect if they did commit violent crimes.

Pro-life people are of course aghast at Rogers' callous remarks. But many abortion supporters are upset as well, for a different reason. They know that Rogers has ripped the mask off the human carnage that is abortion.

Rogers fully acknowledges the brutal truththat every abortion kills an innocent, living human being. We appreciate his honesty, even as we deplore his cold-hearted embrace of that killing. In calling it what it is, he is far more truthful than most abortion supporters.
WAVERLY  After many years selling his wares, Doug Cole of Cole Art Pottery in Sumner noticed a trend: Young people his daughters age didnt seem to be buying art anymore.

Millennials and Gen X, theyre just not buying stuff  they go more for experiences, Cole said. They dont want to collect stuff.

Thats a big problem for Cole and other artists who sell stuff. Hes seen galleries close up and shows dissipate over the years.

Its a tough time for the art world, he lamented.

And yet, Cole was doing brisk business Saturday morning at the Art Walk in Waverly, selling his ceramic pottery to a crowd he called fantastic and one of the better turnouts hed seen. Hes the only artist who has been at the event all 14 years.

Apparently, today seems to be a little bit of an exception, Cole said.

Plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the high 60s worked in the favor of the artists showcasing their wares at the 14th annual Art Walk, held at the riverside Kohlmann Park in downtown Waverly.

Its the kickoff to the spring season for a lot of people, said Tiffany Schrage, tourism and special events director for the Waverly Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the Walk. A nice day like today, people can see their friends and see some art while theyre down here.

Thirty-one artists, the vast majority from Iowa, set up along the parks winding sidewalk, hawking everything from paintings to metal sculptures to jewelry to wooden benches as hundreds passed through.

Jennifer Jones Ruiz began the Art Walk as a service project while in high school and continues to direct the event 14 years later.

We have a lot of talented artists for one, and a lot of community support, Jones Ruiz said. I think people appreciate and are happy we have an event like this.

Food vendors and childrens activities, like the yearly piano painting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., helped bring families out.

But kids were painting more than just a piano. At age 11, Maria Tonelli of North Liberty was the youngest artist selected for the event this year, showcasing watercolors and pastels.

Shes been painting since she was 5, she said.

I think I just like doing them  the animals, she said.

Her pieces featuring puffins were a top seller, friends working her booth confirmed.

Grandmother Margie Kline of St. Ansgar, a ceramics artist herself, said Marias art can be found in stores in Decorah, St. Ansgar, Mason City and Austin, Minn.

I do pottery and (husband) Bill does pottery, and Maria started coming along with us, she said.

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WATERLOO  Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in the case of a Waterloo man accused of killing his girlfriends daughter in 2015.

Chad Allen Littles defense team rested their case on Friday after Little declined to take the stand.

Prosecutors said Little, now 35, called a hospital hotline using another persons name on the morning of May 30, 2015, to report Gracie Buss, 4, had a seizure and fell down the stairs of her Downing Court townhouse. He then left Gracie and her mother, Kristi Buss, at the apartment before the ambulance arrived.

Gracie remained unconscious in the hospital until she died days later. A medical examiner determine she died of blunt trauma to the head but wasnt able to determine if it was accidental or homicide.

During trial, doctors said the collection of injuries to Gracies body and retinal hemorrhages in her eyes pointed to abusive trauma.

Little first told police he wasnt at the apartment May 29 and 30, 2015, but then admitted he was there for a little while and said Gracie was asleep at the time.

Buss, 34, is charged with child endangerment, and she is being tried separately.

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WATERLOO -- A former Waterloo man is in custody awaiting extradition to Texas on a warrant for three counts of manslaughter.

Jarmmal Augustine Phillips, 36, was taken into custody without incident at 10:10 a.m. Saturday at Kwik Star, 506 West Ninth St.

Waterloo Police ran Phillips' license plate Saturday morning and found the manslaughter warrant out of Texas, and pulled him over.

Phillips was being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a no-bond hold as of Saturday morning awaiting extradition to Kaufman, Texas.

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office in Texas said Phillips is wanted on three separate charges of manslaughter, but had no further details Saturday.

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In the northern hemisphere, April showers bring May flowers, or so the saying goes. We see the earth waking up around us at a frenetic, energetic pace. Bare stems on trees that survived winter sprout green buds, lush flowers, and shiny leaves. May marks the best of spring: the fiery heat of full summer has not yet emerged, and the blistering cold of winter appears to be a just a memory. Traditionally, the month of May invites a celebration of fertility created through fun, fortitude, flexibility, and foundation.

Fun:

While many may see the definitive start of May celebrations as May Day or the sabbat Beltane, imagine six days of games and celebration, where everyone, including sex workers, revels in the full emergence of spring and fertility with the release of fertile animals, such as hares and goats. This is the traditional Roman festival of Floralia, honoring the goddess Flora, held from April 27-May 3 in the Julian calendar (May 11-May 16 in the modern Gregorian calendar). As a festival of the people, and not just the elite or upper classes, everyone celebrated, including prostitutes.

As a precursor to raucous modern May Day festivals, Floralia symbolizes the ability to let go of inhibitions and to frolic in the present. Spring flowers bloom and die, but while they live they capture moments of pure joy. Other festivals, such as Maiouma, where nocturnal revelry reigned, serve as a reminder that the heart of the month comes down to fun.

Fortitude

For most of the world, the start of May means International Workers Day. While Labor Day in the United States in September is a holiday now associated with picnics, the traditional end of summer, holiday sales, and politicians giving speeches that honor the common laborer, the start of May and Workers Day highlights the strength and bravery that many undertake on a daily basis for workers rights. Although the timing of the Haymarket Affair led to the eventual designation of May 1 as International Workers Day, the underlying problems and themes continue to this day.

The fight for economic security, a mandatory eight hour work day, the rights for all workers to earn a livable wage, the right to work in a safe environment, and the right to collectively bargain for changes are the bedrock of many issues that are still being fought. Even though the legal Labor Day in the United States is in September, marches, demonstrations, and protests to bring awareness to the importance of the worker and to workers issues traditionally take play on May Day. In 2017, workers protested immigrant rights against the wishes of the governmental designation of May 1, 2017 as Loyalty Day. The continued willingness to use the energy of spring to demonstrate strength of character and resilience is what makes International Workers Day an important May celebration.

A free press demonstrates fortitude by having the courage to shed light on issues that are not always popular. The UN General Assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, and the current theme is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. The freedom to express oneself without restrictions is one that many enjoy during the positive upbeat festivities in May;however, acknowledgement of the role that a free press plays remains vitally important in continuing to have such expression.

Flexibility

May is a time of great flexibility. The weather can easily change. One day a few plants are sprouting, and a week later, an entire field of bushes displays a lush array of flowers. Completion and beginning can seemingly occur in one breath. The rush of college graduations in the United States that occur in May simultaneously launch the graduate into a new world and complete a long phase of individual development for the student. It can be a mix of hearty congratulations, gifts, and parties one week, and hitting the reality of finding a permanent job or a new stability the next.

The traditional commencement speech marks the rite of passage from the walls of academic learning to the open vistas of the larger world. It is no accident that the speech reflects the speakers own life and experiences as lessons that are passed onto the new graduates. Works of wisdom such as the final work by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You Will Go and his earlier, less controversial I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew are classic gifts.

Graduation symbolizes achievement on many levels, including the ability to take charge of ones own path through the many challenges that life brings. Each year is a renewal of this celebration in a variety of forms, such as watching high school students arrive in colorful gowns and dashing tuxedos to celebrate the coming end of the school year at prom. From the presentation of a wrist corsage or pinning on a tuxedo of a boutonniere, to the official photo outside the venue, to dancing for hours to music, it is the experience of prom that provides memories.

Graduation and prom are institutional symbols of achievement that mark conclusions and beginnings. They require a willingness to accept the change and to start in a new direction. Such flexibility allows us to enjoy all that the month of May has to offer.

Foundation

May is also a common month for weddings. How better to celebrate change, fertility, and foundation than with a wedding? Many who come to Paganism do so from other traditions and faith practices given by families of origin. A wedding is a formal rite of marriage, and as such is seen as foundational for the continuation of a strong society. The ceremonial space often includes flowers, as bridal wreaths and bouquets symbolize the hope for a fertile, long-lasting union. We toast to the health and happiness of couple.

Beltane is another celebration that provides a foundation for the rest of the year. Whether it is placing yellow flowers on doors, leaping over a bonfire, or bringing a bit of the community bonfire back to ones home to light the family hearth fire or altar, Beltane provides a chance to start fresh. Traditionally, the start of summer, the sabbat Beltane takes the spark, the fire that burns literally and asks us to use it figuratively and spiritually in our lives. Beltane celebrates the act of union, be it the physical act of sex or the symbolic creation of something new.

One of the largest foundational holidays in May in the United States is Mothers Day. Although the holiday has become more commercialized with sales, the obligatory Mothers Day card, text, flowers, and calls, the sentiment remains one of celebrating family, and in particular, maternal bonds. Restaurants tend to fill with families taking Mom out so that she does not have to cook for the family. Calling Mom becomes a popular way to maintain a sense of growth and continuation. We celebrate foundation with that call or remembrance of our mothers.

In the end, we plant in May, or when the soil is receptive, moist, and able to promote maximum growth for harvest later in the year. We use the warmth of the sun, the diurnal flame that warms our planet and our bodies to grow, to begin unions, to release ideas, and to remember why life is so much fun in the first place. We celebrate what it means to be human. After all, it is the laughter and the uncertainty that allow us to embrace all that this time has to offer.

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.
SHE GOT PROMOTED TO OUR 'PERMANENT REGISTER' THIS IS THE LINE OF THINKING OF YOUR 'FUTURE BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP'. She does NOT value "Black lives". She ONLY cares about RE-RATIONALIZING HER MIND - using a WHITE REFERENCE. I WILL RE-WATCH THIS VIDEO WHENEVER I BELIEVE THAT 'MY LOVED ONES' ARE SAFE FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL MOLESTATION - AS A WEAPON.









Black Inferiority / Progressive Nationalism



Foreign Colonization Is AMERICAN DOMESTICATION



RIZZO IS DEAD IN PHILLY. LONG LIVE FRAUD IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY.



America: One Big INTEREST ONLY Loan



US Government USED Americanized Blacks' To Achieve Its African Goals Why Did You Hear This Admission About The US/NATO Actual Destructive Goals From 'WHITE TRiUMP', While The "We Are In The White House Negroes' Never Pushed President Obama To Admit That The Coup In Libya North Africa WAS NOT A 'Humanitarian Mission', As 'The Black Commander In Chief' Told The World?

What Is The 'American Containerized Black' Tribe GIVING UP In The Name Of PROGRESSIVE DISARMAMENT, Which Will Later Be Used Against Them Toward Their Destruction, That Will Be Called 'Social Justice'?

A Major Step In Protecting Black Valuables Investmented



We Are Now In The "Or Else WHAT" Stage



Slavery In Libya North Africa 2017 6 Years After The "Humanitarian Mission" - Not A Peep From "Black Grievance Studies" Professors

Perfect 1.0 'Spiritual Whiteness' Is No Respecter Of Skin Color



The "Blackest" Moment In American Jurisprudence

A Ninja Got Himself Kilt Last Night



Few Colonial Subjects Will Ask "Who Were They Fighting Against Between These Two Historical Points"



The Qualifications For Admission Have Increased



Street Pirate Adverse Community Experience Creator



When The Colonizer Becomes Aware Of The Need To Find A NEGRO CONFIDENCE MAN PARTNER



The Revenge Of LBJ After MLK "Stabbed Him In The Back" Over Vietnam



#BlackLivesMatter Is NOT A GOVERNANCE Movement It Is ONLY A POLIITCAL OPPORTUNISTIC Movement With Up To 75% Of The Homicide Victims In Philly Being Black This Means That About 126 Black People Murdered In 2015 Have Not Triggered More National Awareness Than The Cherry Picked Small Number Of Inductees In The "Black Civil Rights Homicide Victim Martyr Hall Of Fame" That Is Used As A Reference Of The Status Of Black People With Reference To White Americans

"#All Killers Of Black People Are Equal Street Pirates" The "#BlackLivesMatter" Movement Must Prove That It Is More Than The 'Ideologically Bigoted' Analog To "Police Racial Profiling" By Eliminating Its Propensity To 'Walk Past Dead Black Bodies That Don't Fit Their Agenda' On Their Way To The Protest Rally On The Downtown Public Square.



The Flag Of A New Colonizer Is Hung At Full Staff



Sudan - To-Damned-Day



The Manifestation Of Progressive Feminism As A Cultural Replacement Download Video: .mp4

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose From "My Queen" To "My Bitch" In A Few GenerationsCONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose

THE NINJA WHO GOT HIMSELF KILT



YOU ARE A WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION IN "HAMSTERDAMN"



Thanks To The Progressives I Can Now Breath



Getting Your Ass Whipped In Prison Is Not A Choice. Silence In Public Reaction To It Is



Kermit Asks That You Be Consistent



A Friend Of "Black Community Development"



The Capture Of The Assassination Killer Of Kim Jones Of Philadelphia Should Be Top News Among Those Who Value "Black Lives"

Maybe You Are Being "Colonized" Today?



The Henry Dee & Charles Moore Martyr Hall Of Fame & Last Chance NIT Tournament



"Black Consciousness" Is NOT Proven By A Large Headcount



A Black Man Seeing Crying In Philly After A Loss At The Hands Of A Street Pirate



A Question Of Personal Values And Community Priorities And Black Media Agenda

I Want To Be Allowed To Develop Into Maya Angelou



Dr King's Pulpit Then And Now



The Americanized Negro Has Known No Rivers Beyond The Urban Water Supply Spigot



The Fire Hose As A GPS Coordinate Depicting Black People's Coordinates Upon "The Struggle"



If After 20 Years Of Observations I Am On To Them, The Fact That The Media Has Been Echoing Them For 50 Years Without Challenging Them About The DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAST OF THESE UNDER THEIR CARE - Points To A Conspiracy

Converting "Safe Passage" From Municipal Street Sign To A Consciousness Within The People



The Embedded Confidence Man's Press Agents Blow Smoke Rings As Circular References



The SUPERIORITY Of White People's Thoughts



Material Access To Consumer Comforts Is Not Indicative Of A Greater Consciousness



Mayor Nutter's Lessons Learned



Gen Edmund Pettus C.S.A. - Thanks You



He Cracked The Code On Black Progressive Outrage



In This House We Still Believe In God!!!

Tavis-You Blacks Need To Fire The Negro Generals Who Have Failed & Get New Leadership



The Inside Threat That Lurks Outside Of The Window Of Community Consciousness



My Faith In Institutions That I Once Trusted To Indoctrinate My Children Will Forever Be Shattered



Regulatory Capture







The Black Racial Services Machine



A Miscalculation On The School Busing Program To Social Justice



Full Faith And Confidence Of The Office Of The President Of The United States

The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection.

Who Diverted The Community's Eyes Off Of The Prize In Pursuit Of Shortsighted Political Gains?



As I Increase The Scope Of My Sample For Observation It Is Becoming Clear To Me That The "Machine Effect" In Metro-Atlanta That Distorts And Disrupts The Development Of Black People Is Not A Geographic Phenomenon But Instead Is Rooted In Lack Of Conscious Awareness Beyond One's On Provincial Interests And, More Importantly, The Absence Of A GOVERNING OVERLAY That Can Push Back Against These Misappropriations Of "The Black Community Development Consciousness"

NYOil - Ya'll Should All Get Lynched

Why Haven't Those Who Claim To MANAGE Your Community Told You The Dimensions Of The Space?



The Rabid "Embedded Black Fox Confidence Man"



The Mayor Of Philly Learned What The Korean Merchants Already Know



A Black Man Is Not Equal Until He Can Commit A "Civil Rights Violation" With His Actions



The Elephants In Africa Are Not Republicans







Bishop Henry McNeal Turner



Obama - The First American President To Bomb Africa w/o Massive Protests From "The Blacks"



Prison Radio Speaks To BLAX News



A Foreshadowing In "The Motherland"



What About All Of The Black Executions That The Police Or The State Did Not "Sponsor"?



The Pathway Upon Which The Hijacking Occurs



With The Loss Of Black American Consciousness Comes This Detachment



With the failure of the institutions within the Black Community to develop ORGANIC COMPETENCIES domestically there is no chance that the interests of the diasporatic Blacks can be protected by American Blacks who are more focused in domestic political affairs. The main utility of this video will be to make the American Negro "angry", increasing his resolve in "VOTING HARDER" as his means of fighting against racism, this according to his present consciousness. :'(

The "Mission Accomplished" Banner Hung By The Black Progressive-Fundamentalist



A People's Consciousness Fused To An Agenda Not Of Their Own



My Relative Ideological Position



Malcolm X Called You A "Race Traitor". CF Calls You A "Racial Consciousness Misappropriator"` The "Racial Consciousness Mis-Appropriators Malcolm X Picture On Your Blog" Removal Project

Racism Chasing - The Ultimate Hustle



The Nationalization Of The Black Community Consciousness



The PPP&HWBC Blog Supports The BAOHPEH, Inc



Evaluate The Varacity Of The PROCESS Of Judgment Not Merely The Verdict Rendered



Community Management 101



Profiles In Community Consciousness



Make Black America Happy Once Again



When We Were Colored



Schuyler And X



The 10P's In The Pod Of The Black Establishment Progressive Politicians

* Perpetual Protesters (Civil Rights orgs)

* Policy Influencers (lobbyist groups, think tanks)

* Press Operatives (the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")

* Performers (singers, rappers, actors)

* Preachers w/ and w/o Pulpits * Public Intellectuals (Humanities Professors)

* Public School Teachers

* Pro-Union Labor Forces

* Posters (Bloggers) (Civil Rights orgs)(lobbyist groups, think tanks)(the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")(singers, rappers, actors)

Don't Shoot Me Street Pirate! I Am Attempting To Be A Positive Asset To My Community



Will The Black Comunity Recover From The Hijacking Of Its Consciousness?



The Use Of "Slave/Jim Crow Images" In Black Political Debate - Evaluate The Agenda The use of "slave imagery" is common in ideological discourse among Black people today. The best way to appraise the veracity of the agenda of the presenter is to distinguish between those images which are used to cajole Black people into "Ideological Unity" versus those images used to bring consciousness to the sad fact that in far too many cases today - the man holding the gun is a Black man, his disturbed consciousness allowed to fester because the balance of our community organizers are focused on external political affairs. They sell us on the notion that when our people assist their political/ideological external partners in their success that these individuals who suffer from BENIGN NEGLECT will be cured - no longer terrorizing us. In the circular reference that is their struggle - the more damaged individuals that matriculate through the local institutions that they now control per their struggle, the louder their call for continued UNITY and redirection lest our community's long time external adversaries start terrorizing us again. They successfully avoid community scrutiny of their stewardship of our key "Human Resource Development" institutions.

I Am A Man!!



The Photographic Negative Of The Black Progressive Blogs That Focus On What White Folks Are Doing Black Racism And Race Hatred Blog

Stuff Black People Don't Like

Chicago Lady 216 - The Crisis Of Consciousness WITHIN The Black Community You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

Consciousness Mission Accomplished



I Support The "Corporate Premise Security Equality Project"



New York Times Demographic Mapping



The Antidote For Fear And Ignorance Antidote to the use of the tactics of FEAR as propagated by 'confidence men' to prompt a people toward a certain direction that is against their permanent interests is the development within these masses a base of Knowledge. When this knowledge is applied to their daily lives this builds up their Competencies. As a result their "Standard Of Living" is increased toward the a favorable level.

Obama Commemorative Plate = "Mission Accompished - An Ensnared Black Community"



Black Male Un-Demployment Rates In "Mission Accomplished" Cities



The Conflict Between The Civil Rights Pharisees Vs The Neo-Progressive Establishment Players You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

From Reactionary Transactionalism To Management Of Our Community



Ideologically Polarized Vision



Ted Kennedy & Black Independent Consciousenss



People Who Aide & Abet Street Pirates Need To Hear These Words & Instead Pursue Absolute Justice

THe NAACP & Rachael Maddow See These Guns As INFERIOR To Guns Used By Right-Wing Militias ** No matter how many guns these Street Pirates gather and no matter how many Black people are killed - these "equal human beings" will never been EQUAL in the mind of Civil Rights Pharisees and their White Snarling Fox Liberal co-conspirators because there is no ideological and political advantage in going after them.

The Rallo Tubbs Fan Club



Blog Archive

Those Who Have Their Conciousness Focused "Within The Black Community"

Page Views - Last 7 Days
SSC results on May 6

Staff Reporter :

The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations will be published on May 6.

Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee President Professor Muhammad Ziaul Haq said that the chairmen of all education boards would hand the results to

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni in the morning of May 6.

"The Education Minister will then announce the results in a press briefing at International Mother Language Institute," Professor Ziaul said.

Usually, the Education Minister submits the results to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a programme at Ganabhaban in the morning of the publishing day. After getting PM's approval, the Education Minister announces the results formally. But this year, as the Prime Minister is not at home, Dr Dipu Moni will announce the results, the Education Ministry sources said.

A total of 21,35,333 students -- 10,70,441 boys and 10,64,892 girls - from 28,682 institutions took part in the examinations.

Of the examinees, 17,00,102 sat for the SSC examinations under eight general education boards while 3,10,172 for Dakhil examinations under the Madrasa Education Board, and 1,25,059 for vocational examinations under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

A total of 434 students appeared in the examinations from eight overseas centres as well.
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for reelection in 2020. Enzi, 75, was first elected to the Senate in 1996. He has been returned to the Senate for three additional terms, getting over 70% of the vote each time.

Possible replacements could include former Gov. Matt Mead or Rep. Liz Cheney. In July 2013, Cheney announced she would challenge Enzi for the Republican nomination. After failing to gain significant party support, she withdrew in early 2014. Enzi would easily defeat four other challengers on the way to winning a fourth and final term in November that year. Cheney went on to win the state's at-large seat in the U.S. House in November, 2016.

Enzi becomes the fourth Senator to announce a 2020 retirement. His Republican colleagues Lamar Alexander (TN) and Pat Roberts (KS), as well as Democrat Tom Udall (NM) will be leaving. All these seats are seen as safe for the incumbent party.
Nicholas Mulder in n+1:

Where most of the charges that the right levels against the EU are hard to take seriously, the left has produced cogent and sophisticated critiques of the organization. Leftist skepticism about the project of integration goes back to the beginnings of the European Economic Community, but was generally a minority current; the Eurozone economic crisis and Britains ongoing attempts to depart from the EU have reanimated this tradition, with some arguing for a left exit, or Lexit. The Lexit position points to a split among the Unions left-wing critics: varying diagnoses of the EUs democratic deficit and neoliberal bias in turn suggest different paths to a more progressive and democratic Europe.

Currently, there are two broad varieties in left-wing anti-Europeanism. The first line of criticism is that the EU is an unaccountable technocracy constitutionally opposed to democracy. On this reading, unelected Eurocrats at the European Commission threaten national sovereignty as they enforce budgetary rules, laws, and regulations with no accountability. A related but distinct accusation is that the EU is terrible for national democracy because it is a vehicle for German empire. On this reading, the technocrats are either simply doing the Germans bidding, or else the Germans are responsible for long ago having rigged the rules of the union in favor of the continents largest and most powerful country.

These left-wing analyses focus on a real problem: the constraints of current EU and Eurozone economic policies, which have deepened and prolonged the continents crisis. Yet in their urge to counter the tyranny of the market, left nationalists misread the nature of the neoliberal project in European politics.

More here.
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The best athletes, teams, coaches of 2021: South Dakota Sportswriters awards

The South Dakota Sportswriters Association honored the best teams, players and coaches in college, high school and independent sports.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In late June 2015, Enrique Palomino, then 14, went mobbing overnight with five friends in a Foothills neighborhood. The spree ended early the next morning when one of the teens, 16-year-old Jeremiah King, shot and killed a 60-year-old homeowner  a popular local bartender who had tried to chase the teens away from his house.

Last month, police say, Palomino  now an 18-year-old on supervised probation  and two other teens shot and seriously injured a homeless man during a robbery. A GPS monitor put Palomino at the scene of the crime, according to court documents.

Palomino, Xavier Pino, 18, and Dominic Lopez, 17, are charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the April 4 shooting of 29-year-old Garfield Lopez, who was homeless. There is no indication that Garfield Lopez and Dominic Lopez are related.

Palomino was arrested for an unrelated probation violation on April 11 and booked into the juvenile detention center. The charges connected to Garfield Lopezs shooting were filed against him this week.

Meanwhile, Pino has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Dominic Lopez.

In another twist, police say the casings found at the scene of the shooting have been traced to at least six other shootings, including a 2017 homicide and the April 8 slaying of 15-year-old Martin Maestas. A police spokesman did not provide details about any of the shootings.

Palomino was at the scene of Maestas slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

Palominos mother, Amanda, told the Journal that Maestas and her son were good friends and that the two were shot at randomly by two robbers.

My son does not deserve what were going through, she said.  He has a lot of people that love him and are going to fight for him.

Palomino was detained at the scene of Maestass slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

A storied history

Palomino has a storied history in the case files of the Albuquerque Police Department and Childrens Court.

Most notably, he was the second youngest of six teenagers charged in the 2015 death of Steven Gerecke after a night of mobbing  when a group of teenagers broke into cars and homes.

Palomino, who said he was in the car when Gerecke was shot, pleaded guilty to larceny, conspiracy, aggravated burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced as a juvenile and shuttled around treatment facilities, two of which he was kicked out of for fights and drug possession.

Palomino was released in November 2018 and placed on probation, but it didnt take long for him to catch the eye of the law.

On April 2, a Facebook photo surfaced of Palomino holding a gun and beer  a violation of his probation. That is what led to his April 11 arrest. He pleaded guilty earlier this week to that violation, and a judge sentenced him to a juvenile detention facility until he is 21 years old.

This is our neighborhood

The recent robbery and assault charges against Palomino are the most serious since Gereckes slaying.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded to a shooting around 7 p.m. in the 3400 block of Tulane NE, near Carlisle and Candelaria, on April 4. They found Garfield Lopez, who friends and family described as being homeless, had been shot four times.

Neighbors told police three young men  later identified as Palomino, Pino and Dominic Lopez  sped off in a gray car after the gunfire. One man said two of the suspects pointed guns, one with a green laser on it, at him as they fled.

Benjamin Gomez told police he was walking with Garfield Lopez down the street when three men said this is our neighborhood, asked if they had drugs and called them a slur for homosexuals.

Police say two of the suspects drew guns and one tried to pistol whip Garfield Lopez as the other robbed Gomez of his phone and wallet. When Garfield Lopez punched one of the suspects, they shot him and ran off.

A woman who lives nearby told police that her son Dominic Lopez and his friends may have been involved. She told police that the three all carry guns and were outside her home when the shooting occurred. She called her son a wanna be gangster who loves guns and thinks its cool.

Detectives spoke with Palomino after he was arrested for the probation violation and told him his ankle bracelet put him at the scene. He told them he was with Pino and Dominic Lopez but a couple blocks away when he heard gunshots.

Before APD officers could track down Pino, he was arrested April 21 in Moriarty by local police after he allegedly pointed a gun  with a green laser on it  at another driver during a road rage incident.

When questioned about the shooting of Garfield Lopez, Pino told police he was chilling in the car when Dominic Lopez and Palomino robbed the two men. Pino said Palomino shot Garfield Lopez after being punched and they jumped in his car and fled the scene.

According to the complaint, Pino said he had not seen Dominic Lopez or Palomino since, and he has been focused on school.

Journal staff writer Elise Kaplan contributed to this report.
It just felt right, Cathy Baehr said, when asked why she has decided to retire from Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Baehr, the principal at Enchanted Hills Elementary since January 2000, is the longest-serving RRPS principal. She said leaving is truly bittersweet  its a humbling experience.

Sometimes you feel its time to look for new adventures, she said.

Growing up in Oklahoma, she recalled wanting to be a nurse, then laughed when she noted her college degree was in business management.

I found it wasnt going to fulfill my heart and soul. I returned to school and got my teaching license, she said.

That was back in 1984, when her first job was teaching language arts in Cyprus-Fairbanks, north of Houston.

That forced her to renege on something she had told her mother: I am not going back to school to be in school, (but) I loved it.

In 1986, she and her then-husband moved to Albuquerque and she got a job with Albuquerque Public Schools.

In making a long story short, she basically wound up in Rio Rancho because she learned then-Enchanted Hills Elementary Principal Carl Leppelman was not only looking for references for someone, but also recruiting. Baehr said she was interested, and soon found herself teaching in Rio Rancho  at Lincoln Middle School, in the 1986-87 school year.

Eight years later, when the APS buildings in the City of Vision were absorbed when RRPS became a reality, Leppelman brought Baehr to Enchanted Hills to be his assistant principal. When Leppelman became an RRPS administrator  hes now the executive director of curriculum and instruction  Baehr was named the schools principal.

Its been a great ride, she said, soon to say goodbye to at least six teachers who have been there for 20 or more years, and two women who work in the office, with 12 years each under their belts.

Shes always in good humor  Ive never heard her raise her voice, said Liz Bushma, the schools attendance clerk. She can multi-task like nobody on the planet.

Added Aileen Patrick, the schools registrar, Cathy has been a pillar of the school. Anytime you think of Enchanted Hills, you think of Cathy Baehr: not only a great principal, (but) a great friend  to the staff and the kids. Shes been a blessing.

Its leaving a family, Baehr said, making her decision to retire hard. I need to learn to unwind after 35 years  25 in this building  and take a bit of a break.

That break includes a cruise to Cuba and Cozumel with her sons, both of whom attended EH El. Now shell have more time for housework, walking her dogs, organizing, church and reading.

Her EH El highlights have been many, among them seeing the school receive an A from the state Public Education Department, being rated as one of just 12 exemplary schools in the state and hiring one-time Enchanted Hills students who decided to become teachers.

We get to help mold them with their parents, she said of her role as an educator and principal.

She sees the good in even the students with the most challenging demeanors and biggest struggles, says former EH El teacher Kristi Smith, now teaching in California. Cathy is also fiercely loyal and loves students.

She notices that good in her staff, Smith added.

When Cathy sees something in you, there is nothing that will stop her from helping you believe as well, Smith said. For example, Cathy approached me quite a few years ago and asked if I would consider being our schools next education tech specialist. Intimidated by the idea, I told Cathy I did not think I was capable of that role. She pushed in the way only Cathy can until I decided to give the job a try. It was a decision I will forever be thankful for, both professionally and personally.

Baehr said current Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary assistant principal Jennifer Bartley has been named her successor.

Baehrs advice to Bartley: Keep a great sense of humor.

As far as her legacy is concerned, Baehr, who doesnt like talking about herself, said she hopes others understand that I tried to give the kids the best learning environment, a safe school, and I provided lots of encouragement for the students.  Im glad my work has meant something to others.

After all, she concluded, We need to prepare them for the world  and its moving very fast.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
If someone libels, slanders or defames your character, you can sue them. Of course, youll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business, and youll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion. Youll have to show the offender made a false statement of fact.

I got to thinking, if everyone is equal under the law, shouldnt this standard also apply to those high-powered lawyers who routinely throw out defamatory comments while defending their celebrity clients?

Currently two brothers, Bola and Ola Osundairo, have filed a defamation lawsuit against the attorneys representing television actor Jussie Smollett. You probably remember that Smollett was accused by law enforcement in Chicago of filing a false police report in late January.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, reportedly told police that while he was out on a late-night sandwich run, two white men wearing Trump-inspired MAGA hats attacked him, shouting homophobic and racist slurs while splashing him with bleach and looping a noose around his neck. Smollett later told ABC he never mentioned MAGA hats but his attackers declared This is MAGA country!

The Osundairo brothers came forward to say they were the attackers but it was all a pre-planned publicity stunt choreographed by Smollett himself. They explained they were bit actors on the TV program Empire, on which Smollett also appeared, and had staged the hoax hate crime as a favor to Smollett. Sixteen felony charges were filed against Smollett, but in a controversial move they were later dismissed. Smollett insists he is a victim.

Smollett engaged the top-tier law firm of Geragos and Geragos. Its founder, Mark Geragos, and his associate Tina Glandian went on a publicity drive of their own, calling the brothers liars and saying they were guilty of a hate crime. On March 28, Glandian appeared on the Today Show and went so far as to say the brothers, who are black and from Nigeria, may have been wearing whiteface during the attack. In early April, Glandian was on the popular podcast, A Reasonable Doubt, strongly suggesting one of the brothers had a sexual relationship with Smollett.

Less than a month later the Osundairos filed their defamation suit against Geragos and Glandian, alleging they had falsely maligned the brothers to distract from Mr. Smolletts farce and to promote themselves. They claimed damage was done to their reputations, personal lives and acting careers. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria, punishable by long jail sentences or even death by stoning, and the brothers claimed the lawyers false statements made them fear for their familys safety back home. The suit also pointed out that many of the ugly accusations by Smolletts lawyers came after charges had been dropped, so the Geragos team could not convincingly say they were just doing their job defending a client.

The written response to the defamation suit from the Geragos and Geragos firm may have compounded the problem. It calls the lawsuit comical and then clearly accuses the brothers of fraud. It reads in part, While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public.

Wouldnt it be something if this suit was not dismissed? If high-profile, camera-loving attorneys were held accountable for their public statements defaming adversaries? It might change the whole tone of the justice system when dealing with headline cases.

Last December, criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman preemptively released emails between his former client, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and two women who have accused him of sex crimes. Brafman alluded to more emails from other women who may be called to testify at Weinsteins upcoming criminal trial. Brafman wrote to the judge, For the most part, these extraordinary emails suggest, beyond question, that many of these women have lied in making their complaints against Mr. Weinstein. Brafman branded these women as liars, and under the defamation standards you and I would be held to he would have to prove his claim or be held liable, right?

I was in the Florida courtroom during opening statements in the trial of Casey Anthony, accused of killing her toddler daughter. Her lawyer, Jose Baez, sought to deflect attention and told the jury Casey had been sexually abused for years by her father. Yet during the trial he presented no evidence of that. Could George Anthony have sued for defamation? Id think so, but he didnt.

Jurors and journalists need to be on the lookout for these flamboyant lawyers who steamroll over peoples reputations without repercussion or proof. Verdicts should be reached only on the actual evidence presented at trial. Publicity-seeking lawyers who face the cameras first before entering the courtroom in hopes of influencing public opinion arent doing their job. Their job is to defend their client in court with the truth.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Student test scores will not be included in New Mexico teacher evaluation process this year, the state Public Education Department announced this week.

A memo from Deputy PED Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment to superintendents and charter school leaders statewide said the test scores are being dropped from the Transition Teacher Evaluation Reports for 2018-19.

Under the teacher evaluation system unveiled this week, teachers will be graded on a 100-point scale.

 Classroom observations will be worth 50%.

 Planning, preparation and professionalism will be worth 40%.

 Family and student surveys will be worth 10%.

Student assessments accounted for 35% of the previous evaluation under the administration of then-Gov. Susana Martinez. Earlier in her administration, it had been higher, but she reduced it after opposition from a wide spectrum of educators.

Despite the change, the use of test scores was still opposed by teacher unions.

The PED memo said the decision to drop test scores was made to comply with an executive order addressing teacher evaluations signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The governor issued an executive order in January  just days after being sworn in to office  directing the PED to come up with new rating and assessment tools to decrease unnecessary pressure on students and teachers, while also providing more time for instruction.

But the executive order did not specify what factors the new evaluation system should use, and two bills aimed at revamping the states current system  and putting those changes in state law  stalled in this years 60-day legislative session.

The first-term Democratic governor earlier ordered that New Mexico drop the PARCC exam and create a new state-specific assessment system in its place. Scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exam have been used by the state in past years as a factor in teacher evaluations and school grades, which were used to identify low-performing schools for potential closure.

As we look to the future of teacher evaluations in New Mexico, the educator growth and development team will engage stakeholders across the state to ensure all voices are part of designing a new teacher evaluation system, the memo said. NMPEDs stakeholder engagement events will begin in late May and (be) held throughout the state.

The change drew both praise and criticism.

The transitional system helps students by putting teachers, not standardized test corporations, back in control over classroom teaching, and it will improve and showcase our teaching, National Education Association-New Mexico President Betty Patterson said in a news release. Increasing classroom observation to 50% is appropriate. So too is the increased importance of planning, preparation and professionalism to 40% of the total.

Patterson said all teachers will be able to show their hands-on abilities as they are observed by their highly trained administrators.

There is no doubt our students will benefit from these changes, she said.

But National Council on Teacher Quality President Kate Walsh called the decision a step backward.

Good teachers have nothing to fear from such measures (student assessments), Walsh told the Journal.

Walshs organization praised the states previous evaluation system in a report, calling it a model for success.

NewMexicoKidsCAN Executive Director Amanda Aragon called the decision a disservice to students and teachers.

She predicted that New Mexico would fall further behind other states. She said student scores are part of most states teacher evaluations.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
SANTA FE  With her trial date approaching, former state Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla allegedly defied a judges order by attempting to contact a division director at her old state agency who is also listed as a possible witness in her case.

Thats according to Attorney General Hector Balderas office, which has asked a judge to revoke Padillas conditions of release over the incident.

The dispute is the latest legal salvo in the states public corruption case against Padilla, a former Cabinet secretary in Gov. Susana Martinezs administration who has pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and using her appointed position to push for favorable tax treatment.

In a motion filed this week, the AGs Office alleged that Padilla tried to call Aysha Mora, director of the Taxation and Revenue Departments Audit and Compliance Division, in March regarding a taxpayers audit. Padilla is a certified public accountant who has been working as her case plays out.

Mora, who did not respond to the telephone message, is among the states possible witnesses in the case against Padilla, who was ordered last year by a judge to have no contact with witnesses.

Attorneys with the AGs Office have previously raised the issue of improper contact with witnesses, as an assistant attorney generally said during a November 2018 preliminary hearing that he had personally observed Padilla speaking with two witnesses and said he had been told she also mouthed something to another individual who was testifying.

The judge did not immediately act on the request at the time and allowed Padilla to remain free on her own recognizance. In addition to no contact with witnesses, her conditions of release also include no alcohol and no leaving the state without the courts permission.

In its latest motion, the AGs Office said Padilla was already on notice that she should not attempt to communicate with potential witnesses.

On its face, defendants attempted contact with Mora might not seem alarming; but viewed in proper context, the contact should make the court question why defendant is willing to continue to violate her conditions of release by contacting identified witnesses in her pending criminal case, two assistant attorneys general wrote in their court filing.

Padillas attorney, Paul Kennedy, declined to comment Friday on the latest allegations.

Padilla was charged by the AGs Office in June 2018 with embezzling more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo-based company, Harolds Grading & Trucking, and other alleged crimes, including violating the ethical principles of public service and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain.

If convicted of all seven charges she is facing, Padilla could face up to 16 years in prison and as much as $20,000 in fines.

The effort to revoke Padillas conditions of release is one of several motions state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer could rule on this month. The case is expected to go to trial this summer.
Climate change is not a lie. Do not let our planet die.

Thats a chant that could be heard by those passing by the University of New Mexicos Johnson Field around 1 p.m. Friday.

Repeating those words was a crowd of more than 100 mostly high school students who were skipping school.

They didnt seem to worry about getting caught. They were proudly carrying signs that said Climate Crisis, Stop Climate Change Before Its Too Late, System Change, Not Climate Change, and Claim Our Rights.

For them, walking out of class was a way of making their voices heard about the future of their planet. The demonstration was part of the National School Strike for Climate Action in which high school students throughout the U.S. and Canada walked out to urge action to halt the damage caused by climate change.

I want to send a message to our senators, people who can vote and those in charge that we need to take action immediately, said Aubrey McCullough, a freshman at Sandia High School.

She wants government officials to cut down on carbon emissions and switch to renewable resources.

Obviously, its not something that will happen with an immediate change, she said. Its not going to happen with one bill. We definitely need to start weaning ourselves off of it (fossil fuels).

Eldorado High School junior Jared Sichler walked out to encourage more action and legislation to save the planet for future generations.

We need to start using renewable energy more and start committing more money to it, Sichler said. He agreed with McCulloch that America needed to start cutting back on its dependence on oil.

Teslas doing a lot of things to make electric cars more affordable, Sichler said.

Sandia High School junior Alyssa Ruiz was concerned about the damage continued dependence on oil would do to the environment and the economy.

She said didnt want to live in a world where climate change causes drought and food shortages.

Ruiz said she would like to see climate change declared a national emergency.

Jennifer Patterson, also a junior at Sandia High, said she would like to see more policies cutting down air pollution by companies.

Id also like to see Styrofoam bans in Albuquerque, she said.

Eldorado sophomore Mitchell Hahn voiced a concern that the Earth is being destroyed and pointed to the problems being caused by plastic products piling up in the oceans. Hes in favor of banning plastic products.

That includes water bottles, straws and plastic utensils, Hahn said, with the exception of use by some businesses.

He views the recent decision by the Albuquerque City Council to prohibit businesses from providing single-use plastic bags at the point of sale as a positive step.

I believe we should be using reusable bags, Sichler said.
SANTA FE  Two New Mexico state lawmakers  one Republican and one Democrat  were feted Friday by a national group for their work on criminal justice legislation.

Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, were among 10 individuals selected to receive the People Over Partisanship award by The Coalition for Public Safety, a Washington D.C.-based group.

The honorees, who also included U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were recognized at an upscale ceremony at a Kentucky castle that both Maestas and Rue planned to attend.

Rue and Maestas teamed up during this years 60-day legislative session  along with a few other lawmakers  on a crime package signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that will expand a diversion program aimed at unclogging the states court system.

The two also worked on a different bill dealing with changes to New Mexicos probation and parole system that was vetoed after prosecutors statewide raised concerns about it.

Maestas and Rue are also co-chairs of the state Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that meets while the Legislature is not in session to study ideas and hear testimony. The subcommittee was disbanded several years ago but later revived after a three-year break.

Along with Rue and Maestas, bipartisan legislative duos from Kentucky and Pennsylvania were also honored Friday by the Coalition for Public Safety for their work.

Party staffing: With a high-stakes election cycle on the horizon next year, the New Mexico Republican Party currently has only one full-time employee.

GOP spokeswoman Anissa Ford-Tinnin said Friday that Pam Kingston, the partys bookkeeper, is currently the only full-time staffer as others doing work for the party, including Ford-Tinnin herself, are volunteers.

Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said after being elected to the post in December that he planned to get to work immediately on fundraising and hiring a full-time staff. And a hiring ramp-up could still happen before next years election season, which will include a presidential election and a race for an open U.S. Senate seat.

By contrast, the Democratic Party of New Mexico currently has five full-time staffers, including an executive director and communications director.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to  contain any type of fuel.

____

Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
WASHINGTON  Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill  charges he denied. People may know hes a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and hes said he doesnt plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trumps nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some pretty radical decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the courts more conservative justices  Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito  can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high courts longest-serving justice, the senior associate justice, when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the courts ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the courts far right.

Thats won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas highly underrated. Trump said Thomas has been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas views may now have more sway, something she described as terrifying to many progressives.

Still, Thomas views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he wont be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but theyre kind of sucked along in his wake, Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law . He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the courts Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans werent citizens, labeling both notoriously incorrect.

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as abdicating our judicial duty. Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest  with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that hes not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when hell celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the courts third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: Its a pretty good job. Im having fun, and Im winning.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
CHICO, Calif. - A structure fire was reported in Chico on Saturday just before noon. The Chico Fire Department and CAL FIRE Butte County crews responded to the scene on Dead End Court.

According to Chico Fire Captain Ken Smith, the fire appears to have been caused by a wiring issue involving an air conditioner.

The homeowners had the air conditioner mounted on the shake-shingled roof. Captain Smith referred to those shingles as "a receptive fuel bed on the roof."

He said smoke was noticed by a neighbor who sprayed the air conditioning unit with a fire extinguisher, keeping the situation in check until firefighting personnel arrived.

Captain Smith suggests that as the summer heat picks up, people should get their air conditioners serviced by a quality, professional company.
Blue Dart, Indias leading logistics service provider and part of Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) Group, has been conferred with the prestigious and highly acclaimed Superbrands Award for the 12th consecutive year. Superbrand is the worlds largest independent arbiter of branding and pays tribute to the strongest and most valuable brands in the world through an intense process of selection.

The selection criteria followed by Superbrands is internationally renowned and is considered as one of the esteemed awards in the Branding category. This year Superbrands India invited brands from an exclusive group and were voted by 18,031 consumers and senior professionals from a cross section of industries.

Commenting on the occasion, Ketan Kulkarni, Head - Business Development & CMO, Blue Dart said It is an honour for Blue Dart to be recognized as a Superbrand for the 12th year in a row, validated by the industry and consumers. As leaders in the express logistics industry and trade facilitators for the country, Blue Dart has been established based on strong brand equity; we will continue to delight our customers at every touch point through high service quality, best-in-class technological innovations, products and services. This accolade stands testimony to our ability to continuously raise the bar in driving innovation in the industry. We are focused on building an organisation that sets new benchmarks in driving customer delight in Blue Dart country.

Superbrands has earned the proud distinction of being the award that brands consistently use as a symbol of excellence and credibility. Superbrands is a concept that started in 1993 in the UK to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands, to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians. Since then 86 countries have already published 360 volumes featuring more than 15,000 case studies.

Blue Dart remains one of the best managed companies in India which is evident by the awards and recognitions it has received. The company is benchmarked to international standards and continues to be Indias Most Innovative and Awarded Logistics Company.

Prior to this, Blue Dart was ranked no.1 amongst the 25 best multinational workplaces in Asia  2019 by Great Place to Work Institute, Asia for the third time in a row. Great Place to Work identified Blue Dart as the top organization that has successfully created high-trust, high-performing cultures in the Asia and Middle East regions. It was also recognised as a Readers Digest Most Trusted Brand for the 11th consecutive year.
Cinepolis, Indias 1st international and the worlds 2nd largest movie theatre circuit in terms of attendees has collaborated with Paytm and Student Of The Year 2, to provide an exclusive offer on the popular Student Combo. The blockbuster offer was announced in the presence of the supremely talented and spunky star cast of the much-awaited release, Student Of The Year 2. The excitement was heightened as the vibrant actors unveiled the second song of the movie.

Cinepolis in sync with the popularity of the sequel Student Of The Year 2 has curated this initiative to enhance the movie watching experience for the movie buffs. Tickets for Student Of The Year 2 can be exclusively booked via Paytm to avail the 90% off on the Student Combo. The offer will be available from 10th to 12th May, with advance bookings open from 5th May onwards, across 20 cities. The offer has been customized in line with Cinepolis constant endeavor to engage their patrons with interesting initiatives.

Devang Sampat, Director  Strategic Initiatives, Cinepolis India said We constantly look out for enticing offers that will not only ease the accessibility to watching movies but also truly enhance the experience. Given that Student of the year-2 is anticipated to be one of the biggest release of 2019, we want to add to the excitement of the experience by providing the most demanded combo at an unbelievable price. We look forward to our patrons availing the exclusive offer.

Siddharth Kadam, Head of Marketing, Dharma Productions added, We have partnered with Cinepolis to create an exciting offer for all students. SOTY2 is an anticipated franchise film and we feel the student combo offer, available India wide, across Cinepolis theatres, will be like icing to their Summer movie delight. Hope the students enjoy the film and the combo!

Cinepolis understands the importance of a quality culinary experience and thus focusses on constantly innovating their offerings. A new lip smacking menu handcrafted by the celebrated Chef Saransh Goila was recently launched to advance the premium immersive experience for its patrons. Adding to its list of initiatives for foodies, the blockbuster offer available on Student Combo can availed through bookings on the Paytm website https://paytm.com/ and App.
Indian tyre major JK Tyre & Industries Limited has launched a powerful TVC in their effort to build a premium imagery of the brand and establish a youth connect. Aimed at capturing the imagination of the young and ambitious Indians, new TVC talks about the enduring journey of international Indian ace-racer Armaan Ebrahim.

The new television commercial by creative agency BBH India builds an emotional connect with Armaans journey, riding on the different waves of his life that brings hope, dreams and achievements.

The ad reflects the character of every kid who loves speed; the kid is portrayed in the role of Armaan Ebrahim, who grows up to become an international motorsports racing star and trusts JK Tyres at every step of his journey to achieve speed. The commercial captures three stages of Armaans life, as a 3-year-old bike enthusiast growing into an 8-year-old boy, thereon to a 15-year old with dreams and aspirations of racing to becoming the present champion of the track and how with JK Tyre, he finally achieves his dream speed with tyres that finally keep up with him in all conditions and help him be in Total Control.

Elaborating on the commercial, Vikram Malhotra, Marketing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, The new TVC highlights our core brand values of determination, passion and unwavering commitment towards realising dreams. The new commercial showcases the emotional connect we have with our customers who like to stay in total control, be it on small car or luxury sedan. We cherish our association with Armaan Ebrahim and his journey to success has encouraged millions of youngsters to dream big and never lose sight of the goals. This is a true reflection of our brand philosophy.

The advertisement has been produced by Vivek Singhania of Picture Perfect and directed by Ruchi Narain, mostly known as the writer of the film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. The TVC is currently running across platforms.
Field work for IRS Q2 2019 has already begun: Ashish Bhasin

Adgully spoke with Ashish Bhasin, CEO  Greater South and Chairman & CEO  India, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman, MRUC, and Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH, Madison World and IRS Technical Committee Chairman, to know more about the key trends and observations on IRS Q1 2019.

Mark Tuttsel moves on from Leo Burnett

Mark Tuttsel the executive chairman of Leo Burnett has announced that he will retire from his role at the agency. He has been associated with the creative shop for 34 years.

IPL, Polls, World Cup will buoy news broadcasters revenues by 40%: MK Anand

In a freewheeling interaction with Adgully, MK Anand, CEO & MD, Times Network, speaks about the 2019 Elections and what they mean to the news media industry, marketing opportunities, key trends and much more.

The Zoom Studios achieves milestone of 80 mn+ views and 1 mn+ subscribers in year one

The Zoom Studios, original content arm of Zoom today announced the successful completion of its first year and with it sets a new benchmark in storytelling with powerful and real-life narratives aiming a 100% growth over the next year. The Zoom Studios also announced its plans of 6 new originals for FY 19-20, targeting 200% increase in subscriber base.

Offbeat: Indira Rangarajan - A Zoya Akhtar fan girl spreading tinsel magic on-air

Indira Rangarajan is the National Programming Head for Radio Mirchis second frequency, Mirchi Love. Rangarajan has spent the last 12 years of her life across various roles in Radio Mirchi  from heading programming across various cities to managing and curating music across multiple stations in India.

Ad lands Young Guns: Shreya Natasha Shah, FCB Ulka

With 2 years of experience in advertising, Shreya is a Senior Copywriter at FCB Ulka, Delhi. Shreya first ventured into advertising when she was completing her Bachelors in Mass Media from St.Xaviers College, Mumbai. However, with an ardent interest in human behaviour and the ability to influence it through writing, Advertising, always seemed like a natural fit.

The Lion marks its new territory in Mumbai

In a move that will enable the agency to become the crucial hub for its much-acclaimed Power of One capabilities, Publicis India, the full-service ad agency from Publicis Groupe has announced its relocation to a swanky new office in Mumbais iconic commercial landmark in Parel (East).

Honda Cars awards Dentsu X its media duties

According to media reports, dentsu X, part of Dentsu Aegis Network has won the media duties for Honda Cars. The creative mandate for Honda cars is already being handle by Dentsu One. The account was previously held by the media agency Motivator who was handling the business since 2015.

Solomon Wheeler moves on from Vistara

Solomon Wheeler, VP & Head of Marketing at Vistara the Joint Venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. According to media reports his last day with the aviation company was April 17th.

HONOR ropes in Mullen Lintas as its new creative agency

The agency won the creative mandate for HONOR following a multi-agency pitch held in New Delhi recently. The agency will errand conceptualizing and developing innovative communication strategy to support HONORs long term vision of providing best quality products for the young dynamic target audience.

Saint-Gobain appoints Vizeum India as its media agency

The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch. Under this partnership, Saint-Gobain is launching its new brand campaign after a gap of 15 years. The campaign will be rolled out nationally across television, digital and content streaming portals.

Hansa Research appoints Praveen Nijhara as Chief Executive Officer

Praveen Nijhara takes over from veteran Ashok Das who will continue as Senior Advisor of the Group. Till recently, Nijhara was Senior Executive Director, responsible for the Customer Experience Business for Kantar IMRB South Asia region, which he led for nearly a decade.

Viacom18 appoints Gourav Rakshit as COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures

Gourav Rakshit will be joining the organization in May 2019, and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18. Rakshit is currently serving as the President and CEO of People Group that owns and operates Shaadi.com.

Sabeer Ahluwalia joins BBC Good Food India as COO

BBC GoodFood India has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Sabeer Ahluwalia to spice up the luxury quotient and consolidate their presence in Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events.
RTHK: Trump and Putin have 'positive' Venezuela talks

US President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks on Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Collaborative spaces  led by global giant WeWorks expansion in India  are having a real impact on the concept of workspaces and therefore the economy. A new report assessing economic impact has outlined interesting insights that point to Indias work-life moving in a new direction.

Democratization of neighborhoods

Intensive urbanization and growing population density in a few areas have made the CBDs of metropolitan India practically inaccessible over the past two decades, especially in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. NITI Aayog foresees the growth of the Indian real estate sector to jump over fivefold to $650 billion by 2040. As commercial real estate become more expensive, flexible workspaces are democratizing access by reducing the prohibitive barrier of price. This is re-injecting vibrancy to these locations and enabling businesses and individuals to benefit from proximity to business areas. In fact, the report found that 76% of WeWork members in Mumbai, 74% in Bangalore, and 67% in Delhi and did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork.

This has also had an impact on associated activities in these areas; 9-15% of WeWork members have moved closer to the WeWork location since joining, especially in Bangalore where 1 in 4 (37%) members visit neighborhood restaurants, cafes and businesses daily. In Bangalore, the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,957 crore and in total supports INR 2,002 crore (INR 44 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city.

Mumbai comes next in terms of impact, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,692 crore of GDP and in total supports INR 1,737 crore (INR 45 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Economic contribution of WeWork in Delhi is the highest, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 2,986 crore of GDP and INR 62.7 crore indirectly, resulting in a whopping INR 3,049 crore GDP impact.

Knowledge workers, entrepreneurs are the biggest beneficiaries of co-working revolution

Growing automation is driving a shift towards knowledge work, and these contributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the growth of collaborative workspaces. Flexibility and low capital commitment helps encourage entrepreneurship, with 17% of Mumbai WeWork entrepreneur-members, for instance, pursuing their first startup project at WeWork.

Likewise, over 77% of WeWork members in Bangalore are in the innovation economy, and a fifth of WeWork member-entrepreneurs are taking the plunge to self-employment for the first time. In Delhi, 53% of members are in the innovation economy while 11% of entrepreneur-members are first-timers.

Flexible working correlated to the rise of women in leadership roles

The flexibility, access and convenience that collaborative workspaces offer have an impact on women rising to leadership positions, and Indias WeWork members are ahead of the curve.

Led by Mumbai, where a significant 41% of senior roles (executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors) are held by women, followed by Delhi (29%) and Bangalore (26%), India is far ahead of the rest of Asia, where the percentage is at 23%.

Companies grow faster with better collaboration, global access

Across cities, collaborative working has had a direct impact on company growth, with 65% members in Bangalore and 58% in Delhi stating that WeWork has helped accelerate growth. This is especially true among small and medium companies, who benefit from the national and international network of member companies, ease of collaboration and world-class infrastructure access. In fact, the average growth rate across SMB WeWork members in Bangalore is 25% compared to 4% for all companies in the city. The difference is even starker in Mumbai, where SMB WeWork members have grown at 37% on average compared to 2% for all companies in the financial capital.

Flexible workspaces more efficient, sustainable

Easier access to flexible workspace has also increased the viability of sustainable forms of commute, including walking, biking or public transport. In Bangalore and Mumbai, over half of WeWork members use sustainable public transit modes. Members also tend to switch from self-driving to sustainable public transit, with 15% in Bangalore and 25% in Mumbai reporting that theyve done so since joining WeWork. In Delhi, over 60% of members use sustainable transit options and about 29% have given up polluting cars since joining WeWork.

Karan Virwani, Co CWeO WeWork India says, WeWork as a community enables its members to collaborate with each other, which has led to the creation of efficiencies in terms of increased creativity, productivity at the workplace and innovation. This process has effects that go far beyond individual considerations as it also sparks the development and support of local communities, neighborhoods and businesses, a culture that we as an organisation look to actively imbibe, encourage and promote. This is true for WeWork across countries around the world and in India.
Note: Dan wrote this post in 2016. It holds truer than ever today, when vaccine mandates and pushes to eliminate exemptions are raging from coast to coast. I miss Dan so much. Our anchor. Our beacon. The General of the Rebel Alliance. Kim



By Dan Olmsted



"An effort spanning two decades has resulted in a global first," CNN reported Thursday. "The Americas have eliminated measles, the World Health Organization said this week. The battle was won through mass vaccination to prevent the viral disease, which can cause severe health problems including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death."



Well, the battle was mostly won before the battle began, as anyone who's looked at the pre-vaccine wipeout of the disease would know.



From Mark Blaxill and my 2015 book, Vaccines 2.0:





In Vaccines 2.0 we wrote: Much of the recent publicity about measles reflects a small increase in US cases in the past few yearsusually overseas travelers becoming infected and then spreading the illness in small pockets that generate alarmist headlines.



In the spring of 2014, a news outlet in suburban Washington, under a large banner titled Health Warning, reported public health workers are informing people who were at various locations . . . that they may have been exposed to a person with measles. Northern Virginia area health officials are mounting a coordinated effort to identify people who may have been exposed.



The idea that measles is highly infectious is certainly true; the claim that it is a health emergency is not. For generations, measles was considered a rite of passage for children, with little risk of complications and the reward of lifetime immunity."



A blogger at Livingwhole.org made the same point in June 2014 in a post titled, Measles Shmeasles:



So far, in 2014 there have been 288 cases of measles, no cases of encephalitis, and no death. In 2013 there were 189 cases of measles, no encephalitis and no death. In 2012 there were 54 cases of measles, no encephalitis, and no death. In 2011, there were 22 cases of measles, and you guessed it . . . no encephalitis, and no death.



I could go on, but you get the point.



By and large, measles is unpleasant, not deadly.



In comparison, the same cannot be said for the MMR vaccine. As of March 1, 2012 there were 842 serious injuries following the MMR vaccine and 56 deaths. Since 1990 there have been more than 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Whats even more sad is that only 110% of cases are actually reported .



Honestly. If youve seen Vaxxed, you know it does a great job of contrasting the Disney measles hysteria with the blase attitude of mainstream media and medicine and the CDC and the NIH and HRSA and etcetera to the endless, increasing, debilitating, sometimes lethal autism epidemic and its allied catastrophes.



But of course kids will all be getting the MMR into perpetuity  now with one part that doesnt work and spawns epidemics post-adolescence that are far more dangerous (mumps); a vaccine for a disease that is usually not serious and is no circulating (measles) but can have serious side effects, and one for which there can be an altruistic argument given the risk of congenital rubella syndrome, but also with serious risks. Put them all together, shake it up and voila -- the autism shot, as Jenny called it.



Kind of like the DPT  diphtheria doesnt circulate, tetanus is not a serious risk, and certainly not to anyone but the person who might get it, and pertussis, for which we believe there is a case worth discussing.



Not to mention the deadly and disgusting HPV, the useless and dangerous Hep B, the useless and dangerous chickenpox.



This is why parental choice and no mandates are so important, regardless of ones stance on vaccines overall. Too much autism, too many vaccines with too many side effects  but at least, thank God, no measles.

--

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
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Hundreds of current and former members of the Badr Organization protested April 13 in downtown Baghdad demanding long-overdue financial compensation for their combat service against Saddam Hussein, whose regime was toppled in 2003. However, security forces affiliated with the party's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, used violence to deter protesters, and a number of demonstrators were jailed for days.

The protests failed to get coverage in local Iraqi newspapers and media outlets because of Amiri's political influence, according to participants and organizers.

Amiri doesn't seem to have earned the confidence of ex-combatants who fought by his side against Saddams regime in the 1980s. They blame him for their marginalization and lack of compensation.

The Badr Organization was founded in 1982-83 as a military group in Iran. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Badr turned into a civil organization that ran all elections in Iraq. Amiri has been heading the organization since early in its founding days.

Many Badr members, annoyed by the unilateral internal decision-making process, left the organization earlier this year. They attacked Amiri's leadership and labeled the organizations policies as "racist, sectarian and serving foreign projects.

Politically, Amiri seems to be on top of his game. His Al-Binaa Alliance, in participation with the Sairoon Alliance led by Muqtada al-Sadr, formed the new government. Al-Binaa is now seeking to pass parliamentary laws in line with its agenda.

Yet, at the internal Badr level, Amiri has his difficulties. He is surrounded by a group of dissidents who lash out at him on social media, along with a group of ex-combatants who believe he abandoned them for power and money.

This organization is not the one we knew," said Sattar Douwad al-Tamimi, who fought alongside Amiri from 1984 to 1997. "It is entangled in a lot of corruption issues. Amiri has turned it into a family establishment," granting favors to friends.

Tamimi is leading a broad campaign demanding rights for a number of Badr ex-combatants. Under an order issued in 2004 by US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer, combatants who fought against Saddams regime are entitled to recognition and benefits and may be integrated into the regular armed forces.

Badr has abandoned its members. Many of them were wounded and suffered chemical injuries and did not receive any compensation for fighting the former regime," Tamimi said. "Amiri has not kept his promise over the past 15 years to about 3,000 ex-combatants in Badr who are today in dire need."

One of those ex-combatants, Mahmoud al-Qazwini, who left Badr in 2017, told Al-Monitor, We cannot leave our brothers with whom we fought on the front lines. I would not accept enjoying rights that my brothers are being denied.

On April 13, Qazwini participated in the protest outside Badr headquarters. "We wanted to get our rights," he said. "But our protest seems to have worried those close to Amiri. We were severely beaten and detained for several days at two police stations in Baghdad.

He went on, I was detained along with six other people. We were interrogated on charges of defamation of Amiri and the Badr Organization. We were also accused of using violence. We are old people, how can we use violence in a peaceful protest?

Two days after the protest, while Qazwini was still under investigation, Amiri issued a press statement requesting that the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meet the demands of the protesters "and do them justice," pointing out that their demands are "true and legitimate."

Tamimi and Qazwini believe Amiri is trying to evade his responsibility to secure the rights of Badr ex-combatants.

Amiri promised before the elections to get us all our rights immediately after the formation of the government in return for our electoral support of Badr," Tamimi said. Instead, Amiri has put the names of his close associates on the compensation list instead of real fighters.

Al-Monitor tried to obtain more information about the changes taking place in Badr, but more than one member refused to talk, fearing reprisals.

However, a source close to the Badr Organization told Al-Monitor, Anger toward Amiri is growing within Badr over a series of positions, including the neglect of ex-combatants and the expansion of internal influence of those close to Amiri. He also said Amiri often appears to be under Iran's control.

The source said on condition of anonymity, There will be new splits within Badr in light of the unilateral decision-making process by Amiri. The current situation is stirring anger. A shake-up inside Badr is imperative.

Meanwhile, Tamimi and Qazwini said they will continue to issue statements and stage protests to expose the Badr situation and get all ex-combatants what they are owed.
By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovi?, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovi? said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.
Putin brokers Israel-Syria goodwill gestures

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two Syrian prisoners as a "goodwill gesture last week, a sign that he may be ready to live and let live with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The prisoners release was the sole decision of Netanyahu, Ben Caspit reports, made without authorization from the Cabinet and carried out in utmost secrecy. In the harsh public and political criticism that followed, it was argued that the move was the second part of a secret deal that Netanyahu made with Assad under the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first step, it was said, was the transfer of the remains of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel to Israel just prior to the April 9 elections, winning Netanyahu brownie points from the public as a world-class statesman, as we reported here.

Putin, it will be recalled, outed Syrias role in the return of Baumels remains, telling Netanyahu, As you may know, our military personnel and their Syrian partners helped find Zacharys remains. The official response from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) at the time was that Syria has no clue about Baumel and that the incident confirms cooperation between terrorist groups and Mossad.

Russia Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev later said that the retrieval of Baumels body paid off for Syria in the end and that Russia would never act in a way that contradicts Syrias interests.

Between the lines is another astonishing fact with regard to Israels relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, writes Caspit. Many high-level Israeli figures have long since branded Assad as finished, someone who had lost international and ethical legitimacy and committed genocide on his own people. Now, however, it seems that Israel has simply decided to reconcile itself to Assads full return to power. It even maintains covert relations with Assad via Russian mediation, including goodwill measures and confidence-building steps. Despite Israel's frequent attacks on Iranian targets in Syrian territory, according to foreign reports, there are no direct conflicts with the Syrian ruler himself. On the contrary  many high-level Israeli figures have maintained over the last two years that Assad knows that he has a lot to lose from the Iranian presence on his territory and agreed to it only under pressure. He is loath to pay Israel the price for that presence.

Could it be, Caspit asks, that the Israeli-Syrian deal was designed to mobilize Assad to leave the Iranian camp for the Israeli side, with Russian encouragement?

Pro-Syrian commentators have suggested that Putin, and by extension Assad, got burned in the exchange with Netanyahu. Syria News remarked that Netanyahu released a Palestinian who didnt want to go to Syria in the first place  and a drug dealer who has already spent his 11 years sentence in the Israeli prisons and was set to be released in a couple of months completing his sentence without any deal!

SANA nonetheless reported the return of the prisoners on April 28, with photos, and quoted Quneitra's governor, Humam Dibyat, as saying that the Syrian state puts the liberation of all captives in the Israeli occupation prisons as a priority, on top of them Sidqi al-Maqt and Amal Abu Saleh. The reference to Syrias most prominent prisoners in Israel hinted that Damascus may have expected they would have been the ones released. It might also signal the prospect of a subsequent exchange or some other quid pro quo to compensate, from Damascus perspective, from a disappointing trade.

Akar: United States has moved closer to our position on safe zone

US Syria envoy James Jeffrey was in Ankara this week to narrow differences with Turkey over a "safe zone" on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The official Turkish readout of Jeffreys meeting with Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on May 1 set a high bar for the talks: With the planned safe zone, Turkeys security concerns would be addressed and the area would be cleared of all terror groups.

For Turkey, all terror groups includes the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which make up the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US on-the-ground-partner in the coalition to defeat the Islamic State.

Amberin Zaman got the scoop on the gap between the Turkish and Kurdish sides heading into the talks: Turkey wants a lead role in a safe zone that would be 32 kilometers (20 miles) deep and stretch the length of Syrian Kurdish-controlled territory all the way to Iraq.

The trouble is that the YPG refuses to accept any Turkish presence in Kurdish-controlled territory stretching east of the Euphrates River to Iraq, Zaman writes. It has reportedly rejected one of the ideas being floated  that Turkish and US forces conduct joint patrols as they currently do in Manbij. The Arab-majority town that lies west of the river has been the source of unremitting tension between Turkey and the United States.

SDF commander Mazlum Kobanes demand that Turkey return Afrin to its people, is also a nonstarter, Zaman reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was guarded following Jeffreys meetings, saying, We have not agreed on everything, but we are making progress, while Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he was extremely happy to see that Jeffrey and his delegation have moved closer to our position.

By painting a rosy picture, Zaman writes, Turkey jams US officials into a corner from which they cant publicly contradict Ankara in hopes over time to pull them toward its own interpretation of events.

Kobane said on May 3 that the SDF was holding indirect talks with Ankara through "intermediaries," adds Zaman, in other words, through the United States. Kobane said his group stood ready to negotiate with Turkey and resolve outstanding problems in peaceful ways.

The recent US diplomatic flurry with Turkey reflects Washingtons priority in getting Ankara more closely aligned with American objectives in Syria, and preventing a Turkish attack on the YPG. This is no easy task, given the differences over the YPG and PYD, Turkeys purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defense systems, Americans held in Turkish jails and Ankaras indignation that the United States will not extradite Fetullah Gulen, who it blames for the attempted coup in 2016.

Meanwhile, Turkey is joined with Iran and Russia in the Astana group talks on Syria. Representatives of the three countries met April 25-26 for the 12th time since October 2016 in Nursultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, as reported here by Kirill Semenov. The Astana grouping is, in principle, based on the conditions for a Syrian transition in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Astana format has basically absorbed, and in many ways overtaken, the Geneva process. UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen participated in last weeks talks. The United States and Jordan are observers, rather than participants, in these sessions. Iraq and Lebanon, which favor some lines of engagement with Damascus, were added last week as Astana observers.

Both Russia and Iran have also developed a backchannel between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad. The Syrian Kurds are already talking with the Syrian government, and we can probably expect that channel to accelerate, as the United States seeks to accommodate Turkey while withdrawing its ground forces from Syria.

The first-order challenge for the Trump administration is whether it can tilt Turkey away from the Astana orbit  a tall order, given Putins assertive diplomacy in Syria, the strains in US-Turkey ties and a trend toward normalization with Damascus among some regional states. The UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and other Arab countries, to varying degrees, are also seeking to rebuild ties with Syria, in part to balance Iranian influence. And even Israel may be resigned to Assads staying power, as reported above.

Jeffreys meetings reflect an aggressive US approach to turning this around. Otherwise, there is probably only so long the United States may be able to keep up the present workaround of the Assad government. The trendlines "on the ground" lead to dealing with Damascus. Washington is nonetheless steadfast in its opposition to any normalization efforts. US oil sanctions are taking their toll, and if Iran policy is any guide, we can expect even more sanctions on Syria in the coming months.
A vacation home is a luxury. But for many, its also about family, and that was at the heart of every decision Joanna Goodman made while designing this luxurious Florida beach house. As vice president and director of interiors at Birminghams Christopher Architecture & Interiors, Goodman is accustomed to getting to the heart of each assignment.

This Gulf Coast home was a significant project: The four-story, 8,000-square-foot house includes four master suites, four kitchens, 10 bathrooms, and it sleeps 28 people. Early in the nearly three-year process, Goodman visited the owners multigenerational family at their Little Rock, Arkansas homes to learn how they liveand how they want to live on vacation.

Goodman describes the patriarchs home as dripping with tradition, including mahogany walls and a two-story library. But the beach house was meant to provide a different environment, a place where the couple, their daughters, grandchildren, and cousins could relax and enjoy easy living.

The familys requests were fairly straightforward: The home should be clean and fun, incorporating LED lighting and other technology while avoiding a typical beach house look.

Goodman used a neutral color palette in each room, creating a look designed to remain in style throughout the years.

I was trying to appease several different generations and tastes, and keep in mind the longevity of the interiors, making sure it was going to be timeless and comfortable, low-maintenance and livable, she says.

Accessories add color to the rooms, such as bedroom pillows and a bench cushion in living coral. Texture also adds visual interest. Goodman says layering over a neutral palette makes it easy to update a room when a homeowner grows tired of a look, or wants to change out details for a season. Artwork ties the rooms together, and the family has since added its own whimsical touches to reflect their personalities.

Goodman also considered details to ensure that the family finds easy living when they visit their beach home. She used performance fabrics throughout the house to keep the interiors low-maintenance and livable.

They dont have to worry about wet bathing suits or spilled wineor, in this case, splashes from the pool, Goodman says.

That pool is one of the most striking features in a home full of thoughtful details. The radius infinity pool surrounds the homes main living area. A motorized wall system allows the living areas windows that open out to the pooland to the sundeck a story above itto stack behind a curved wall. The result is seamless access to the homes outdoor living spacesand views of the beachas well as ample space for the family to socialize.

Their love of spending time with others was obvious when Goodman visited the familys Arkansas homes, and the beach house is full of spaces for them to gather.

Such a meaningful part of how I design is I really get to know the people. Its a strong bond, she says.

And it showed when the family arrived for their first visit to the completed home. Goodman and her team had stocked the pantry, lit candles, and had wine ready to serve.

They were crying and laughing. It was such a moving experience, she recalls. It was probably the highlight of my whole career. It was incredible to see that all your hard work and time paid off at the end.

Designing Across Borders

Christopher Architecture & Interiors is based in Birminghams Highland Park neighborhood, but its common for the firms clients to come to them from far beyond the metropolitan area. Pinterest has been an asset for the firm, which has seen a number of clients find it because of images that link back to the companys website.

Vice President and Director of Interiors Joanna Goodman says the social media site also is an asset in collaborating with clients. A current client is based in Hong Kong, for example, but the client and Goodman are easily able to share ideas via Pinterest.

The firm counts several West Coast residents among its clientele, including actors, musicians, and other high-profile individuals. But the principles of design are the same, regardless of location or the clients time in the spotlight.

You treat everybody the same and it doesnt matter who they are, Goodman says. You design for their life.

This story appears in Birmingham magazines May 2019 issue. Subscribe today!
Casey Cep has a message for folks in Alabama: Go into your garage, climb into the attic or head to the bookshelves in your home. Pull out that old set of reference books that nobodys touched for decades  or better yet, dust off the battered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird thats been passed down in the family.

If youre lucky, you just might find literary treasure inside, in the form of a letter signed by Monroeville native Nelle Harper Lee.

The author of Mockingbird was a prolific correspondent during her lifetime (April 28, 1926  February 19, 2016), writing letters and notes to family members, friends, acquaintances and people who briefly entered her personal sphere. In the early years of her acclaim, after her best-selling novel was published in 1960, Lee even responded to the voluminous amounts of fan mail that arrived at her doorstep.

Its not out of the question, then, that a small part of Lees correspondence  precious but long forgotten  might be tucked into a book that you own.

Harper Lee wrote graciously to total strangers, says Cep, a writer from Maryland whos become something of a specialist on Lee. She had decades-long relationships with some of her correspondents. ... Some of it is high-octane writing. There are great, incredibly vivid little scenes and set pieces.

Lee, a reluctant celebrity, was not inclined to discuss her writing with the public or reveal any projects she might have in the works, post-"Mockingbird."

Her letters can be telling, though, offering a window into what this famously private woman was thinking and feeling.

Case in point: In 2009, a woman named Sheralyn Belyeu found a note from Lee dated June 11, 1978, inside an Encyclopaedia Brittanica that was purchased by Belyeus husband at the Salvation Army in Alexander City. A card from Lee, thanking the hosts of a cocktail party shed attended, was discovered near the encyclopedia entry for Harpers Ferry.

You simply cant beat the people in Alex City, Lee wrote. If I fall flat on my face with this book, I wont be terribly disappointed."

The book in question? It certainly wasnt Go Set a Watchman, a precursor to Mockingbird that was set aside by Lee but found its way to print in 2015.

As it turns out, Lee was working on a true-crime project in the late 1970s, documenting a murder case in her home state. The case involved a rather notorious figure in the Alex City area, the Rev. Willie Maxwell, who was suspected of killing five people to cash in on insurance policies.

Maxwell was fatally shot in 1977 during the funeral of one of his alleged victims, and Maxwells former attorney, Tom Radney, was now defending the man who shot him.

Lees efforts to research and write about the Maxwell case are the subject of a new book by Cep, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95 hardcover, in stores Tuesday).

In Furious Hours, Cep offers readers a detailed look at the Maxwell case and three primary figures whose lives intersected because of it: the reverend, the lawyer and the celebrated author who wanted to write about them.

Correspondence by Lee  including that note hidden inside the encyclopedia  formed an important part of Ceps research for Furious Hours, along with legal documents, court transcripts, police reports, autopsy files, death certificates, press clippings and other documents.

Cep conducted interviews with a long list of people with were involved in the case in some way or had firsthand knowledge of her three main characters: Maxwell, Radney and Lee. She also relied on an archive that few have ever seen: a briefcase stuffed with original materials on the murder and the trial of Maxwells killer, including typed notes by Lee and hundreds of pages Radney had given Lee for her research in the 70s.

Lees estate found the briefcase after her death and returned it to the Radney family, who allowed Cep to review the contents for her book. (Tom Radney died in 2011 at age 79.)

Cep spent about three years working on Furious Hours, prompted by her longtime love of Mockingbird and some tips shed received while visiting Monroeville for a 2015 piece on Go Set a Watchman in The New Yorker.

Ceps reporting for The New Yorker revealed that Lee had been planning to write a true crime book, The Reverend, but no one seemed to know what happened to the project.

This one was darker, stranger, and made me reconsider what I thought I knew about one of my favorite writers, Cep says in a message to readers on her website. Having already helped her childhood friend Truman Capote report In Cold Blood, she had a template for what she wanted to doand being Harper Lee, she saw in this almost tabloid-tale a parable about race and criminal justice. I wish that shed been the one to tell you this story, but Im honored to pick up where she left off.

Furious Hours is divided into three sections devoted to Maxwell, Radney and Lee, telling the story in a chronological manner but providing information about the trio -- biographical, social, political, emotional -- that resonates throughout the book.

There are three core ways of making sense of the world: religion, law and literature, Cep says during a phone interview with AL.com. In some ways, the book tells the same story three different times.

Given the enduring fascination with Lee, some readers may be tempted to skip the first two sections on Maxwell and Radney, and go straight to the chapters on the Mockingbird author.

Cep says she certainly understands that impulse, but hopes people will tackle the text -- which spans 314 pages, including the notes and bibliography -- in a straightforward way.

Youll understand her more and will have more sympathy for the struggles she faced," Cep says. You need each section to build on the previous one. Like any writer, shes a creature of her time and place. Youll learn about her context as a Southern writer, and as an Alabamian."

The image of Lee that emerges isnt always a flattering one, but Cep, a meticulous researcher, wasnt interested in writing a hagiography. Furious Hours tells us, for example, that Lee had a drinking problem, and could be quite unpleasant when she indulged in an excess of scotch or vodka.

Lee could be grumpy, irascible and sharply critical, the book indicates; she didnt suffer fools gladly and resented the demands celebrity made on her time and privacy. On the flip side, Lee is described as warm, friendly and charming. She was fiercely loyal to her family members and intimates. Her intelligence was formidable. She valued the truth and had a sincere love of history, music and literature.

Lee also enjoyed a good mystery, a fact that might have drawn her to the Maxwell case.

Although she was said to be writing constantly -- people who lived in Lees apartment building in New York City often heard her typewriter clicking -- Lee admitted that the task made her unhappy. Her perfectionist tendencies were more curse than blessing, and resulted in something akin to writers block.

Despite several attempts and approaches, and in spite of much labor and strife, Lee never managed to complete her book on the Maxwell case. At least, all the available evidence points that way in Furious Hours."

Some might regard it as a failure on Lees part, but Ceps book seeks to illuminate, not to judge. That philosophy extends to her entire portrait of Lee, whom Cep regards as a complex and fascinating figure.

Its clear that she was juggling a lot," Cep says. Writing made her miserable, but she was not a miserable person. She was vivacious and witty and clever. ... I hope, by the end of the book, that you feel she was a happier person than others thought she was. She is not an entirely tragic figure. Like all of us, she was a complicated person."

Cep will make six stops in Alabama next week on her book tour for Furious Hours, and her wish list for those dates, May 5-11, includes conversations with people who can add to her extensive storehouse of Lee lore. Cep says shes looking forward to hearing stories, anecdotes and trivia about the author from the people in Lees home state.

You live in a story, when youre writing a book, and form your own ideas and opinions about it, Cep says. I think itll be exciting to go from that to being with people who have their own ideas about Harper Lee and this project. Thats exciting to me. I cant wait to talk to them."

Ask Cep what Lee might think about Furious Hours," and her response is a thoughtful one thats tinged with humor. Shes been digging into Lees life for years, after all, and casting a wide net with her research. No subject was taboo and no stone unturned, within the time constraints.

Surely that wouldnt sit well with the woman who once told a reporter from AL.com to Go away! in no uncertain terms.

I think obviously she would have been allergic to being a character in this book, Cep says. I would like to think that the scrupulousness of the reporting would impress her. I just think I would have a hard time getting her to open the book. I think shed read the first two sections and then slam the lid closed.

If you go: Casey Ceps book tour for Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee will make the following stops in Alabama. The agenda for each includes a talk by the author and a Q&A with the audience.
Celia Keenan-Bolger remembers To Kill a Mockingbird being one of the first chapter books her mother ever read to her as a child.

My parents used it as a teaching manual about race in America, she said.

Now she can be seen nightly playing the role of Jean Louise Finch, aka Scout, in the new Broadway adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, best known for writing works like The West Wing and A Few Good Men.

Keenan-Bolger, who is a nominee for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, may not seem like the obvious choice for Southerners protective of Harper Lees iconic novel. After all, she aint exactly from Maycomb County.

Like Jeff Daniels, who currently portrays Atticus Finch, Keenan-Bolger grew up in Michigan. Shes spent most of her adult life in New York -- though she points out her husbands family is from Atlanta and shes made many long drives through the South. Still, shes always felt a connection to Mockingbird.

Its so easy for us in our little bubble to look as other places as The Other and even as a kid, Maycomb was so different than inner city Detroit but I felt such a pull to the story, she said in an interview with AL.com

It felt different but it didnt feel Other. Its easy to feel so divided. But I didnt feel like a crazy Northerner from New York City. It made all 50 states not feel so spread apart.

AL.com columnist John Archibald gave the production his stamp of approval when he attended previews in December 2018.

This story, this work of genius that used fiction to reveal truth about justice in the American South, was somehow evolving before my eyes, he wrote in a column.

Not in a way that was untrue to the original. Not in a way that was obvious or upsetting. In a way that was timely. And necessary.

Keenan-Bolger said that she did visit Alabama for several days when researching the role of Jean Louise, spending two days in Lees hometown of Monroeville which was the basis for the books Maycomb. She also visited Selma and Montgomery. The trip was different than she anticipated.

I was going there in hopes of finding someone who would tell me everything about Harper Lee but that was not what happened. It was a spiritually nourishing trip, she said.

Because the movie is black and white, I just assumed it was a dusty old town and getting there, its certainly a small town, but it was so green and the sky was so blue. The air feels so differently from New York City, I found it really helpful in imagining what it would be like to grow up there. That trip ended up being enormously helpful.

She said witnessing her three year-old son explore Monroeville gave her insight into what it wouldve been like to be a child there.

This isnt the first time Keenan-Bolger has portrayed a child on stage. In 2011, she starred as Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher, a play based on the 2004 novel offering a unique interpretation of Peter Pan.

But taking on the role of Jean Louise offered a different challenge. In Aaron Sorkins To Kill a Mockingbird, the children are portrayed by adults. However, its also clear to the audience that the story is framed as Jean Louise and Jem looking back on their childhood as adults.

These are adults looking back on a summer in their life and trying to figure what doesnt make sense, Keenan-Bolger said.

That allows Sorkin and the actors to explore themes that would otherwise be too mature for a child to understand. The audience sees Scout looking at the trial and understanding that Oh, the reason this all happened is because [Mayella Ewell] was abused by her father, said Keenan-Bolger.

That doesnt make it right, but it does help you walk around in someone elses skin.

Thats a point that wasnt clear in the 1962 film but was clear in Lees novel. Keenan-Bolger said it was important that Sorkin restore that aspect of the narrative. Part of that decision was driven by the #metoo movement and other real world considerations.

The theme of false rape accusations was discussed among the cast during rehearsals in the Summer of 2017. Brett Kavanaugh was being considered for the U.S. Supreme Court and under scrutiny for allegations of sexual assault. Some pundits began comparing the situation to To Kill a Mockingbird.

We all collectively felt was that we didnt want another story about a woman testifying against someone in this climate. So obviously we have to stay true to the story but is there a way to point the audience in a direction to help us understand why she does this?

Politicians have used the play to its advantage, but the play is trying to reclaim that.

Tickets to Mockingbird are currently on sale through November -- and theres an HBO documentary in the works, as well -- but Keenan-Bolger hopes the show will be extended long past that.

Ive never been a part of something that reached so many people.

One attendee stood out, however. Mary Badham who iconically portrayed the role of Scout in the film. Badham, who grew up in Birmingham, visited the Broadway production in a few months ago and Keenan-Bolger said it was one of the most moving experiences shes had with the production so far.

She could not have been more generous or more supportive of the play. She was eight years old when she played this part and she made it her life work to support anybody that wants to talk about this novel, Keenan-Bolger said.

It has a lot to do with the novel that Harper Lee wrote in the first place. She wrote the book in 1960 about the 1930s and here we are in 2019 and the story still endures.
Make a list; check it twice.

Thats our advice for anyone who plans to cover the entire Spring Parade of Homes in Birmingham.

A total of 73 homes are on the tour this year, and it takes careful planning -- not to mention a dose of stamina -- to travel to every one of them.

Luckily, organizers at the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders provide a comprehensive map on the Parade of Homes website, along with information, addresses and photos of the featured homes.

Twice per year, the home builders association opens the doors of models, spec houses, remodeled and pre-sold homes, aiming to give potential buyers and real-estate buffs a look at the latest trends, designs, colors and accessories.

The 2019 Spring Parade launched on April 26 and will conclude on May 5. Hours for the tour are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today, and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free on the self-guided tour, which covers territory ranging from Morris to Montevallo, Pell City to McCalla.

More than 40 homes on the tour received awards linked to various communities and price categories. A house by Drummond Built Homes, at The Overlook in Liberty Park, earned the accolade for best in show.

One house, at The Cove at Overton, is featured as the 2019 Ideal Home. It takes the No. 1 spot on the tour and is a good place to start for visitors. (Five homes on the tour are featured in the photo gallery at the top of this post, including the Ideal Home and best in show.)

For more information, see the FAQs on the Parade of Homes website or call the home builders association at 205-912-7000.
Federal agents this week arrested seven Birmingham residents who allegedly conspired to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana in Alabama, prosecutors said Friday.

The seven defendants were indicted in April stemming from a long-term investigation of an operation to bring large quantities of marijuana from California to Birmingham through commercial flights.

Three of the defendants were also charged with federal gun-related offenses, including alleged ringleader Stephen Lamar Gadson, 38. Gadson was charged with discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Two others, 32-year-old Lynn Darnell Gadsdon, Jr. and 31-year-old Ryan Jamal Washington, were charged with felon in possession of a firearm.

The other defendants were: Keoni Keith Gaddy, 30; Erica Jacinda Gadson, 30; Cormisha Ketua Quinn, 24; and Janacia Latrice Thomas, 28.

Guns and drugs are a volatile mix, as well as a problem for the Northern District of Alabama, which we will continue to do everything within our power to stop, said Jay Town, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Gadson, Gadson, Jr., Erica Gadson, Washington and Quinn were also charged with money laundering, which carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department and three police departments.

These indictments represent the long-term enforcement efforts by ATF and area law enforcement, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. As a result, the violent criminal acts that plaque our neighborhoods have been reduced.

ATF agents and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies found a gun in Gadsons car while arresting him on an outstanding state trafficking marijuana warrant from 2016, prosecutors said. The state warrant stemmed from an incident where Gadson allegedly shot a Jefferson County sheriffs deputy during a narcotics search warrant in June 2016. Three charges against Gadson from the April 2019 indictment deal with his conduct from the 2016 arrest, including the discharging a firearm during a trafficking crime charge. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The establishment of an Alabama abortion ban intended to trigger a federal court challenge to abortion rights is drawing closer to completion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing and vote on the bill Wednesday, committee Chairman Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said its likely the Senate will consider the bill on Thursday if it is approved by the committee.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 74-3 on Tuesday, with the Republican majority prevailing over Democratic opposition. Most of the 28 House Democrats did not vote.

Republicans control the Senate, too, holding 27 of 35 seats. They could give the bill final passage and send it to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law.

Lori Jhons, deputy press secretary for Ivey, said the governor is withholding comment as the bill works its way through the process.

The bill would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion. A woman receiving an abortion would not be liable.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the sponsor, said the purpose is to spark litigation that could lead to a challenge of the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.

The bill would allow abortions to protect the woman from serious health risks. But there is no exception for pregnancies caused by incest or rape.

Collins opposed the Democrats amendment to add that exception in the House, saying the intent is to confront the Roe v. Wade decision by asserting that the unborn child is a person. The House rejected the rape and incest exception by a vote of 72-26.

Marsh said he expects the rape and incest exception to be debated in the Senate. Marsh said he supports allowing that exception, as well as the exception for the health of the woman.

Someone is going to have to make a pretty good reason why you would change that for me, Marsh said

Democrats proposed an amendment that would have required lawmakers who vote for the bill to bear the legal cost of defending it in court. That amendment was voted down 61-27.

Rep. Louise Alexander, D-Birmingham, said it was wrong to try to take away womens right to choose abortion. She criticized the lack of an exception for rape and incest.

Until all of you in this room walk in a womans shoes, yall dont know, Alexander told the House.

Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston, said he feared a return to the days of back room surgeries and unsterile conditions.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, has a Senate bill identical to Collins bill.

Albritton, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he does not know how the votes will line up on the committee. Albritton said committee approval will likely be the biggest hurdle for the bill because he said the committee is generally not as conservative as the Senate overall.

Albritton said his purpose in supporting the bill is not to trigger a court challenge, although he expects that would happen if it passes.

Whether it results in a court challenge and such, Im not going to worry about that, Albritton said. Im not going to focus on that. My purpose is trying to get this bill approved and pushed into law so we can protect human life in Alabama.

Ward said the public hearing on the bill would be Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., followed by the vote.
Rachel Held Evans, a young writer whose books about her journey from a conservative Christian upbringing to a new faith brought her tens of thousands of readers, has died at age 37, according to multiple press reports including Religion News Service.

Evans never recovered from a severe infection caused by a reaction to antibiotics, reports said. She had been in a medically induced coma and never regained consciousness.

Writer and friend Sarah Bessey said Evans died surrounded by friends and family who sang and prayed at her bedside.

It is with a broken heart that I share that @rachelheldevans passed away early this morning. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends - we sang, prayed, held her always. Woman of valour, eshet chayil. Official update: https://t.co/WYznnc5tYh  Sarah Bessey (@sarahbessey) May 4, 2019

Evans grew up in Birmingham before moving to Dayton, Tenn., when she was 14 years old. Her father was an administrator at Bryan College, where Evans graduated with a degree in English literature. She married her college sweetheart and worked briefly as an intern at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

News of her death brought an outpouring of grief from new and longtime fans and leaders of established denominations and organizations. Bible teacher Beth Moore was one of those who posted her grief on Twitter.

Sobbing over @rachelheldevans death. My heart is broken for Dan and the children and for all of you who loved her so so much. I will spend the time Ive been daily praying for her praying for all of you.  Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) May 4, 2019

The president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, said he was grieving and asked for prayers and financial support for her family.

. @rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills:https://t.co/LZnq7Z3j0p  Russell Moore (@drmoore) May 4, 2019

Other fans expressed their own grief on social media as news spread about Evans death.

This is such a loss for all of us. I learned so much and was inspired by the writings and life of Rachel Held Evans. :( "Christian writer Rachel Held Evans is dead at 37" https://t.co/j4z1Mk3zVU  Lisa Burgess (@LisaNotes) May 4, 2019

Evans books included including New York Times best-seller A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Searching for Sunday and, most recently, Inspired. She was popular for her Internet blog posts and her support of women in ministry.

Her husband posted on Evans website today that physicians had weaned Evans from her coma medication but she never returned to a wakened state. On Thursday, her condition changed dramatically and her medical team found swelling in Evans brain. They took emergency steps, Evans wrote, but the swelling was not survivable. She died early Saturday morning.

This entire experience is surreal, Evans wrote. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.
Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African American student to attend The University of Alabama, on Friday received an honorary doctoral degree from UA at a commencement ceremony.

The architect of desegregating Alabamas education system, Autherine Lucy Fosters bravery + tenacious spirit paved the way in the face of adversity. #TodayAtUA  a legendary moment as we presented our 1st civil rights trailblazer with an honorary doctoral degree  Her story  http://bit.ly/2IYbnYo  #BamaGrad #WhereLegendsAreMade Posted by The University of Alabama on Friday, May 3, 2019

I love The University of Alabama, and it is an honor to be recognized in this way, said Foster upon learning of the honorary doctoral degree. I am thankful for opportunities such as this, which allow us to talk about the past while looking to the future, said Foster, who believes that while talking about the past may be painful, it is necessary so that none of us forget.

Foster applied to attend the university for graduate school in 1952, but was denied attendance because she was black. A federal court reversed the decision in 1956 and Foster attended class for just three days before she was removed from campus because of threats against her life.

Fosters dismissal was reversed in 1988 and she re-enrolled with her daughter Grazia. The two graduated together in 1991.

Its truly a privilege to award Mrs. Foster with an honorary degree from The University of Alabama, Stuart Bell, UAs president, said. Her tenacious spirit, gracious heart for helping others and unfailing belief in the value of education and human rights positions Mrs. Foster as a meaningful example of what one can achieve in the face of adversity.

Since graduating in 1991, UA has honored Foster for her desegregation efforts by issuing two endowed scholarships in her name every year and erecting two markers on campus.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A charter plane traveling from Cuba to north Florida ended up in a river at the end of a runway Friday night, officials said.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, crashed into the St. Johns River, according to s Naval Air Station Jacksonville news release.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist. The plane was in shallow water and not submerged. Officials say everyone on the plane was alive and accounted for, although 21 adults were transported to the hospital, none with critical injuries.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted on Twitter that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water.

4. All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all. @JFRDJAX @jaff122  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

Officials didnt immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.
By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.



As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

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.
An Alabama lawmaker this week defended his kill them now or kill them later criticism of strict abortion legislation pending in the Legislature, and more details emerged about horrific conditions in state prisons reported by the U.S. Justice Department.

Measles remained a hot topic of conversation as officials continued to clarify which adults may need measles vaccine and which ones probably dont.

Readers in Alabama and across the nation also were shocked by the death of a Delta Force commander in a lawn mower accident at his home.

Mother of measles victim attacked online

The mother of the 5-month girl confirmed as Alabamas first case of the measles was attacked online for her comments related to vaccinations. Audrey Peine of Pell City wrote in a now-private Facebook post that she did everything to protect her daughter Emma before her diagnosis. She blamed negligent parents who didnt vaccinate their own kids.

Lawmaker defends abortion comments

An Alabama lawmaker is defending comments that on Wednesday quickly shook the hornets nest of the abortion ban debate. So you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later, State Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said in a video posted on Twitter.

On Thursday, Rogers defended the statement, arguing Alabama does not value life despite the House having just passed what some say is one of the strictest abortion laws in America.

Inmates mom: I dont want my son dead

Linda Donahoo says she occasionally gets phone calls from inmates at Easterling Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Thats where her son Shannon is imprisoned.

The phone calls are simple: Send money, or your son could die.

She says she sent $300 last time. Shes sent larger sums over the years - $400, $500. The money is sent through Green Dot, Pay Pal, Western Union or Walmart cards.

Here are Alabamas top 56 high schools in 2019

U.S. News and World Report came out with its list of the best high schools in America this week and Alabama had one high school----Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery ranked 13th in the nation--- near the top of the national list.

The next-closest Alabama school in the national ranking is Mountain Brook High School, located in the states wealthiest suburb and ranked 213th out of more than 17,000 schools nationwide.

This is the first time the list includes nearly every high school, up from last years ranking of 2,700 schools. The new methodology relies heavily on student access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and tests, state standardized test results, and graduation rates.

Former Delta Force commander dies in accident

A retired Army Major General and one-time commander of the elite Delta Force died in a lawnmower accident at his Alabama home, according to reports. Retired Major Gen. Eldon Bargewell, 72, died Monday after his lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his house in Eufaula,

According to his military biography, Bargewell enlisted in the Army in 1967 and served in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. According to the award citation, Bargewell placed a deadly volume of machine gun fire on the enemy during an attack, despite being wounded himself. He later refused medical treatment in order to defend the area and allow the safe extraction of his team.
The introduction of tolls for the new Interstate 10 bridge and the Wallace Tunnel has sparked concern among state transportation officials about toll-averse drivers changing their commutes and traveling on free roads.

In Mobile, expectations are for a traffic surge onto the Spanish Fort Causeway and Interstate 165 toward the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.

And that is the same bridge that leads into the heart of Africatown, a mostly black, low-income community that has long found itself forced to co-exist with the pollution and industrial stench of paper mills, oil storage farms and chemical plants, and the all-hours noise from big trucks moving back and forth.

We are sick and tired of being dumped on, said Ruth Ballard, a resident of the Africatown-Plateau community three miles north of downtown Mobile for most of her 83 years.

We have nothing

The Alabama Department of Transportation is aware of the concerns, and has met with residents in the community. The state is looking for ways to mitigate the potential new river of traffic through the community.

An ongoing analysis by ALDOT, as part of an environmental impact statement process for the massive $2.1 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, will be discussed during two separate public hearings this week: 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Spanish Fort Community Center and 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the Mobile Civic Center.

The meetings will focus on topics addressed in the supplemental draft analysis, released in March. The 200-plus-page document contained a chapter dedicated to environmental justice and focused on the bridges effects in Africatown-Plateau. The historic communitys roots reach back to the 1860s, when the survivors of the last known slave ship into the U.S., the Clotilda, settled within the area after the Civil War.

Many descendants of these original families still live in Africatown today.

In the past half-century, residents have struggled amid what they claim is an inundation of heavy industry. Some protest that dumping and discharges have spiked the cancer rate; there is persistent suspicion of International Paper, which closed more than two decades ago: An ongoing lawsuit maintains that the company is responsible for dangerous toxins in the communitys midst.

At one time we had a viable community, said Ballard. We had grocery stores and everything. We didnt have to leave the area. Now we have to leave the area for everything. Doctor trips, the cleaners. We have to leave to go to a service station. We have nothing out here.

Community benefits agreement

A map of the Africatown-Plateau community's boundaries north of Mobile, Ala., in relation with the preferred route for the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge. (map courtesy of the Alabama Department of Transportation).

ALDOT has met with the community on multiple occasions within the past year, highlighted by a March 19 meeting at Union Missionary Baptist Church.

About 50 people attended, and ideas were floated to include traffic signal adjustments, new traffic lights, and crosswalks.

But the idea that packs the most intrigue is a request for ALDOT and its future toll operator to consider the creation of a community benefits agreement.

Under the agreement, a portion of the revenue generated from the new toll roads would be reinvested in the areas where toll diversion could result in more congestion  Africatown, Spanish Fort, downtown Mobile, to name a few.

The suggestion was included in a letter sent Thursday to ALDOTs I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening spokeswoman Allison Gregg.

ALDOT, as a way to pay for the new six-lane, 215-foot-high bridge across the Mobile River and eight-lane Bayway, is pitching tolls that would cost $3 to $6 for a one-way trip. The plan calls for segmented tolling, in which the total fee is based on how far someone travels along the 10-mile length of the Bayway project stretching from Virginia Street in Mobile to U.S. 98 in Daphne.

ALDOT is also exploring a 15% discount for local drivers who would use the Bayway and Bridge when taking 20 or more trips.

The tolls, which would be assessed on the new bridge and the Wallace Tunnel, has generated concern among ALDOT officials and the public about pushing more traffic to the non-tolled roads. Interstate 165 and New Bay Bridge Road  the main routes leading motorists to the non-tolled Cochrane-Africatown Bridge -- are likely to bear the most traffic.

Ramsey Sprague, president of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, said the Africatown community views the toll revenues as something that should be reinvested into communities dealing with the new traffic.

The letter to Gregg, signed by Sprague and other Africatown leaders, does not say what this reinvestment should entail.

Separate from the community benefits agreement, Sprague and his group are requesting infrastructure improvements that include putting timers on the traffic lights at Magazine Street at the foot of the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge. They also want more crosswalks to the historic Old Plateau Graveyard, the resting place of many of the enslaved Africans borne here by the Clotilda.

Africatown has a number of needs that are severe and when the community approaches the city to discuss these things, they say there is only so much money to go around, Sprague said. The community needs to attract grocery stores, small businesses and to do that, you need existing store fronts. You need something to attract business.

Cleon Jones, president of the Africatown Community Development Corporation (ACDC) who is a famous father-figure in the neighborhood best known as a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York Miracle Mets, said he thinks the community benefits agreement is a great idea.

Jones and the ACDC have voiced support for progress projects in Africatown.

You cannot take from communities all the time, Jones said. Something has to be given back to the community. The concession from tolls  some of that, if its given back to the community to help facilitate the needs in the community and help with its growth, I think its a great idea.

ALDOT reactions

Gregg said that ALDOT is well-aware of the community benefits agreement suggestion, but isnt committing to it.

She said that toll revenues, as currently planned, will be reinvested in paying for the massive project that  without a toll system  would likely never get off the drawing board.

As for the concept of funding for Africatown, Gregg said, We just dont have a plan for that right now. It would need to be further explored.

She added, We have mitigation efforts that are a part of the project.

Indeed, ALDOT is considering several elements to help resolve the projected traffic surge, such as new signals at a four-way stop outside Union Baptist Church.

Projections show that with or without the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, congestion is expected to rise along Bay Bridge Road within Africatown.

Jones pointed out that the new traffic wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing: As more drivers see Africatown, interest and tourism will rise, especially with the prospects of a new $3.5 million welcome center forthcoming.

Another tourism possibility exists if ALDOT decides to construct a bicycle-pedestrian pathway in Africatown leading onto the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. The current plan from the state provides for a bike-pedestrian path for the area.

The community was very supportive of that idea, said Gregg.

Jones predicts the commercial trucking industry preferring to pay for the toll costs, and not diverting off I-10 for an out-of-the-way non-tolled route to I-165.

It depends on how you look at it, said Jones. If I had a choice, I would take the non-tolled road to go home if I lived (in the Eastern Shore). But if I was a truck driver, the toll would not be a problem for me and I would take the bridge.

Tolls for semi-tractor trailers weighing more than 80,000 pounds or requiring a special permit to drive, are estimated to cost $36.

Gregg said ALDOT was unsure as to how the trucking industry will react to the proposed toll fee.

We are working with the trucking industry, she said. Its a question of time versus money and whats more important to you  getting through and paying the toll or taking the time to divert through the toll-free route. That is up to the individual drivers to make that kind of judgement call for themselves.

Gregg said that ALDOT does anticipate fewer hazardous material vehicles traveling through Africatown. Currently, trucks carrying hazardous materials are prohibited from traveling through either the Wallace or Bankhead tunnels.

We anticipate seeing less of those vehicles cutting through that community, she said.
As white supremacy reigns supreme in the US, a new book seeks to bring back to the fore one of its ideological branches.

In March this year, a new volume called, The Four Horsemen, hit the book market in the United States. The book boasts an introduction by British comedian Stephen Fry, three essays and the transcript of the 2007 recorded discussion among four proponents of the so-called new atheism  Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens.

Prior to this encounter, all four had authored books arguing that religion and holy war pose the greatest threat to human civilisation and therefore, religiosity should not be tolerated in Western societies.

Their works  Dawkinss, The God Delusion, Harriss, The End of Faith, Dennetts, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and Hitchenss, God Is Not Great  were all essentially written as a blind reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and all zoomed in on Islam and the Muslim world, demonstrating a remarkable ignorance of both.

Needless to say, none of the four was able to offer any serious historical understanding of this terror act, why it happened, what it meant, or how to prevent similar acts of wanton violence in the future. Nor did they make any intellectually challenging or noteworthy contribution to the millennia-old debate on belief and disbelief in God.

That publishers have chosen to resurrect, today, this 12-year-old Islamophobic backslapping session advertised as a landmark discussion about modern atheism is indeed quite telling. With white supremacy currently flourishing in the US and elsewhere, a book on new atheism  a pseudo-intellectual movement that has heavily contributed to its rise  would surely sell.

Spectacular ignorance

Before proceeding any further, let us be clear: Atheism as such is a perfectly healthy proposition and the world, including the Muslim part of it, has never been devoid of atheists  all the power to them.

Across religions and cultures, there are decent and reasonable atheists, as there are equally decent and reasonable believers, who can and should openly engage in debate about religion and the belief in God without succumbing to hatred and convictions in ones supremacy. Such open and honest conversations are indeed healthy for any community or nation and should be encouraged.

But what the so-called four horsemen have engaged in during their 2007 discussion and in their public appearances and writings, is not an open and honest debate. Instead, the entirety of their work is just a vicious attack on a 1.5-billion-strong, immensely diverse and dynamic community.

So who are these four new atheist crusaders (yes, they may deny it, but they are indeed very much the product of the white Western Christian crusader tradition)? They are all white older men, who have never embarked on studying Islam, do not speak Arabic  the language of the Quran  and certainly have no special insight into any Muslim community on earth. They are, literally, illiterate.

Let us take Sam Harris, for example. In his book, End of Faith, he dedicates a whole chapter to the The Problem with Islam. There, he explains that: While Christianity has few living inquisitors today, Islam has many  In our opposition to the world view of Islam, we confront a civilization with an arrested history. It is as though a portal in time has opened, and fourteenth-century hordes are pouring into our world. Unfortunately, they are now armed with twenty-first-century weapons. One is left breathless considering whether to address the unabashed racism, the astonishing ignorance, or the barefaced vulgarity of such utterances.

The other rabid Islamophobe, Dawkins uses the infamous Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, which sparked mass protests in a few Muslim countries, to portray in his book, The God Delusion, all Muslims as a gang of delusional psychopaths. In his opinion: Danes just live in a country with a free press, something that people in many Islamic countries might have a hard time understanding. With this one sentence, Dawkins tries (but fails) to erase the long and sustained history of Muslims struggle for freedom of expression and truthful journalism.

In Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett, too, engages in some sweeping and vastly inaccurate conclusions. For example, he makes the following mind-boggling observation: It is worth recalling that the Arabic word Islam means submission. The idea that Muslims should put the proliferation of Islam ahead of their own interests is built right into the etymology of its name. Yet, Islam means submission to the will of God, which is a central theological pillar in many religions and which has nothing to do with proliferation of Islam.

Last but not least, Hitchens is equally creative with his spurious conclusions about Islam in God Is Not Great. Just one example would suffice: Real horror of the porcine is manifest all over the Islamic world. One good instance would be the continued prohibition of George Orwells Animal Farm, one of the most charming and useful fables of modern times, of the reading of which Muslim schoolchildren are deprived.

I am a Muslim. I was born and raised in a Muslim country. I read Orwells Animal Farm in Persian in Iran when I was a teenager. The book was translated into Persian soon after its publication in English, and ever since has had numerous Persian translations and I, myself, have repeatedly included it in my courses.

New atheism and Western imperialism

In other words, it is quite clear from the writings of the four horsemen that new atheism has little to do with atheism or any serious intellectual examination of the belief in God and everything to do with hatred and power.

Indeed, new atheism is the ideological foregrounding of liberal imperialism whose fanatical secularism extends the racist logic of white supremacy. It purports to be areligious, but it is not. It is, in fact, the twin brother of the rabid Christian conservatism which currently feeds the Trump administrations destructive policies at home and abroad  minus all the biblical references.

While the right-wing conservatives favour the Judeo-Christian canard (the idea that the Judeo-Christian civilisation is superior to all others), the liberals opt for new atheism (or the idea that secular Western societies are superior to all others). Both, however, are in perfect agreement about their perceived white supremacy, which supposedly gives them the right to wreak havoc across the world as they please. That is  they are the two faces of that same cheap imperialist coin.

And just as religious white supremacy encourages individual and state-sponsored violence against those perceived as inferior, so does its new atheist version. Historically, the liberal atheists have always eagerly joined their Christian conservative brethren in the battle call in advance of any US aggression anywhere in the world.

However, this is, not to say that such deadly fanaticism occurs only in the US (and by extension Europe). Militant Islamism and extremist Zionism have the same exact roots. If Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden are the symbols of Muslim fanaticism, Meir Kahane, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked, and Naftali Bennett are the prime examples of the Zionist equivalent, while the four horsemen, along with Steve Bannon, Mike Pompeo et al are the flag bearers of secular-Christian imperialism in full power.

In the raging battle between these hateful, toxic ideologies, they thrive and feed off of each other. Caught in the crossfire of this clash of ignorance and barbarity, are billions of human beings  Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists  who pay the price with their lives.

Thus, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in the US, Brenton Tarrant who massacred 51 Muslims during Friday prayers in New Zealand, members of National Thowheed Jamath, who murdered 257 people during the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka and the Israeli soldiers who over the past year have slain more than 260 unarmed Palestinian during right of return protests at the Israel-Gaza fence are all kindred souls.

In todays world, mass murder and religious and secular fanaticism go hand-in-hand.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Said Bouteflika was seen as Algerias de facto ruler after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013.

Algerian police have arrested former President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas youngest brother alongside two former intelligence chiefs, according to local media.

Said Bouteflika, General Bachir Athmane Tartag and General Mohamed Mediene were taken into custody for questioning on Saturday, the private Ennahar TV reported.

The younger Bouteflika, who served as adviser to the president for more than a decade, is seen by many as having taken de facto control of the North African state, after his brother suffered a crippling stroke in 2013.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked to the former administration.





Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, a former associate of President Bouteflika, came to the fore in late March after he broke ranks with the ailing leader, and called on him to step down. The president resigned five days later.

The 79-year-old Gaid Salah has since sought to win the confidence of demonstrators by vowing to prosecute members of the old guard suspected of corruption.

But the arrest of more than half a dozen prominent businessmen seen as close to the presidential clan has largely failed to appease protesters, who continue to take to the streets demanding a complete overhaul of the political system.

On Friday, during the eleventh straight week of demonstrations, some protesters called on Gaid Salah to resign. They held up banners accusing him of failing to take on senior figures in the Bouteflika government, including the presidents brother.

Others held placards reading No to military rule.

North Africa analyst Rochdi Alloui said that, in prosecuting members of the ruling elite, Gaid Salah was hoping to set himself further apart from Bouteflikas immediate entourage and signal both his readiness and credibility to negotiate a transition with the opposition.

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An important question that we should ask is what these arrests mean to the popular movement, Alloui said.

Honestly, it offers an opening for negotiations between Gaid Salah and some of the leaders in the movement.

Gaid Salah had previously criticised the younger Bouteflika, without ever citing him, instead describing the 61-year-old as the head of the gang that was running the country.
Brazilian president drops plan to attend New York gala in his honour, citing resistance and deliberate attacks.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has cancelled a trip to the United States after major protests in New York City prompted several companies to withdraw sponsorship for a gala event in his honour.

Bolsonaro, who was named 2019 Person of the Year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, was due to receive the award at a May 14 event in New York.

But on Friday, Bolsonaros spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros said the president would not attend the gala, citing resistance and deliberate attacks by the New York mayor and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organise, sponsor and host the event annually.

Bill de Blasio, New Yorks mayor, welcomed the announcement, saying Bolsonaro just learned the hard way that New Yorkers dont turn a blind eye to oppression.

We called his bigotry out. He ran away. Not surprised  bullies usually cant take a punch. Jair Bolsonaro, Good riddance. Your hatred isnt welcome here, de Blasio said in a Tweet.

.@jairbolsonaros assault on LGBTQ rights and destructive plans for our planet are reflected in too many leaders  including many here in our country. EVERYONE must stand up, speak out and fight back against this reckless hate. https://t.co/JX96ZokYfB  Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 4, 2019

Bolsonaro swept to power in a highly divisive October election on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption and tough on crime ticket.

He is revered by his supporters for his outspoken pro-gun, conservative family values and military stances but is despised by critics for his frequent homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks.

Bad for Brazil

The gala was originally scheduled to be held at New Yorks Museum of Natural History. But the venue ditched the event last month amid heavy criticism for potentially hosting Bolsonaro, who has pushed to deregulate existing environmental policy since taking office.

In particular, Bolsonaros plan to open up the Amazon for commercial activities such as mining, logging and farming has drawn fierce censure from scientists, climate activists and environmental NGOs.

At the time, de Blasio praised the museums move, denouncing the 64-year-old Brazilian leader as a dangerous man.

The event was then moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, prompting protesters to gather outside the venue seeking the galas complete cancellation.

Amid the demonstrations, major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week pulled their support for the event.

Analysts said the events in New York were bad for Bolsonaro and bad for Brazil.

This is a direct result of Bolsonaros rhetoric and it is something that he will have to deal with in the upcoming years; he might change his narrative and try to demonstrate more empathy to some topics, or he might present it as an attack on him and spin it around, Thiago de Aragao, director at the Brasilia-based political consultancy Arko Advice, told Al Jazeera.

Bolsonaro-Trump ties

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce confirmed the event will still take place as planned, however, with Bolsonaro now set to be acknowledged in absentia for his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro has actively courted a closer relationship with the US since assuming office and repeatedly expressed admiration for President Donald Trump.

The pair met for talks at the White House in March, after which the Brazilian leader said the two countries were tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news.

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Mauricio Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaros cancelled visit to New York was an embarrassment for his administration as it seeks to pivot to Washington.

Bolsonaro is facing an international backlash that is without precedent for any democratic Brazilian president, Santoro told Al Jazeera, adding more censure and protest would likely accompany the presidents overseas trips in the future.

In general, Brazil has had quite a lot of soft power abroad  and that has been important for Brazilian foreign policy, but its very different with Bolsonaro, he added.

If he goes on with the kind of policies he is pursuing concerning the environment, education, human rights, and sexual and ethnic minorities we are going to see many other cases of international reaction against him  its a difficult moment in Brazil right now.
Nearly 30 people killed in the two South Asian countries as the strongest storm in years hits the Indian subcontinent.

Cyclone Fani, the strongest storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in five years, has barrelled into Bangladesh after leaving a trail of deadly destruction across the eastern coast of India.

At least 16 people died in India, mostly in the worst-hit state of Odisha, Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler said on Saturday, citing local Indian media reports.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said at least 12 people died and scored of others wounded as Fani swung northeastwards into the country.

At least four of those deaths were reported from Kishorganj district in central Bangladesh. They died after they were struck by lightning. There have been heavy rains and storm here since Friday noon, the districts Deputy Commissioner Sarwar Murshed Chowdhury told Al Jazeera.

Kabir Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Barguna district, said an elderly woman and her grandson died around 3 am on Saturday morning after a tree fell on their tin-shed home.

Millions moved to safety

Over a million people were moved to safety, Bangladeshi officials said, a massive evacuation exercise also followed in Indias Odisha state, where a similar cyclone 20 years ago had killed 10,000 people.

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After it made landfall early on Friday, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a Deep Depression by the Indian Meteorological Department as the storm moved inland over Bangladesh.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladeshs low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.

We are mooring our boat because its the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again, Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP news agency while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

The fear of a major disaster is mostly over as it has weakened, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Al Jazeera.

Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeeras Heidler said the priority for Indian authorities is to reach the areas hit by the monster cyclone.

The biggest concern now is clearing the roads so that they can get to the communities that are cut off, he said, adding that the hardest-hit areas are without electricity.

Heidler said there are also fears over Fani (snakes hood in Bengali) triggering a heavy rainfall or storm surge along the eastern Indian coast.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengals chief minister and a key figure in Indias ongoing general election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Motorcycles lie on a street in Odishas Puri city after Cyclone Fani hit on Friday [AP Photo]

Odisha state worst hit

Worst hit was the Indian state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200km an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

With power lines down, authorities in Odishas Bhubaneswar city installed these lights on the roads [Subrat Kumar Pati/Al Jazeera]

As authorities assessed the damage, Indian media reported that at least 12 people died across Odisha, with most deaths caused by falling trees.

But a mass evacuation of 1.2 million people in the 24 hours before Fani made landfall averted a greater loss of life.

The seaside temple town of Puri, which lay directly in the path of Fani, suffered extensive damage.

Destruction is unimaginable  Puri is devastated, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters news agency, adding that over a 100 people were injured.

At least six people died in Bhubaneswar, Odishas capital, where fallen trees blocked roads and electricity supply was still to be fully restored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the midst of a general election, said in a tweet that he would visit Odisha on Monday.

Bhubaneswar airport suffered considerable damage, but would re-open on Saturday afternoon, Indias aviation ministry said.

Shelters were set up in schools and other safe buildings to accommodate the evacuees, who included scores of tourists.

Neighbouring West Bengal state escaped substantial damage, but authorities moved nearly 45,000 people to safer locations.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December.

Faisal Mahmud contributed to this report from Dhaka, Bangladesh
The escalation has raised fears that a truce that lasted almost eight months in Idlib will be declared over.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have intensified their air offensive on the countrys rebel-held northwest for a fifth consecutive day in a widening campaign, killing and wounding dozens and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

After an overnight lull, government and Russian warplanes escalated bombings on Saturday hitting rebel areas in Idlib and the neighbouring province of Hama, aid workers in the area said.

The Syrian military sent new reinforcements towards Idlib, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and hundreds of troops on Saturday.

The official SANA news agency said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the UN humanitarian coordinator said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

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Now, the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama, Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the US-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), told Reuters News Agency.

The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse, al-Dbis added.

The recent upsurge in violence is the most serious in Idlib since Russia and Turkey negotiated a ceasefire in September.

The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days.

Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Medical facilities bombed

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the civil defence director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: Civil defence centres have been targeted directly.

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaeda-linked fighters attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week, according to the AP news agency.

Idlib is the last major area of Syria still in rebel hands after a string of government offensives backed by Russian air power since 2015 turned the tables in a protracted civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad has regained control over most of the country, with the northeast held by Kurdish groups backed by the United States.

Idlib is held by an array of rebel groups, including the powerful Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of armed groups including those formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

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Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the air attacks with little success.
By 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 on May 4, Trend reports.

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 US has imposed sanctions on Iran, which relies on oil and gas for 80% of its exports. How will this impact the Iranian economy?

Irans economic situation is even more precarious now that US sanctions waivers on eight major buyers of its oil have expired.

Irans oil sales have already fallen by half since Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The end of the sanctions waivers will likely impact the whole region, especially other oil-producing countries.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid explains the economic impact of Washingtons actions.
A court in Iran has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis younger brother to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that supporters of the Iranian leader allege is politically motivated.

Hossein Fereydoun, who is also a close confidante of the president, has vowed to appeal the sentence, local media reported on Saturday.

This person [Hossein Fereydoun] was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations, Hamidreza Hosseini, a judiciary official, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges.

He had initially been held in 2017 on financial crime charges before being released on bail.

Fereydoun, responding to the courts decision on Saturday, said he rejected the ruling.

I strongly and categorically reject allegations against me in the court and some of the media, and Im protesting, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Fereydoun was a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Some supporters of Rouhani, who was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname, view the charges against his brother as a move by the judiciary to discredit the president.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in the cases it tries.
Police say leak from meeting on Chinas Huawei  which felled the defence secretary  is not a criminal offence.

British police have declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms company Huawei, saying the disclosure did not amount to a crime.

In a statement on Saturday, Neil Basu, Britains counterterrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the defence secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act.

No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said.

Opposition politicians had called for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over media reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

The councils discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

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Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office, the assistant commissioner said.

The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Royally screwed

Williamson has strenuously denied he was the source of the leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper and suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

On Saturday, he told the Daily Mail newspaper: I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

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The 42-year-old was once a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was Mays parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

He was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip  tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

May appointed International Development Minister Penny Mordaunt to replace Williamson.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huaweis involvement in developing Britains 5G network due to the firms obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, Mays effective deputy, said on Thursday there were no plans to pass information from an internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.
Weapons test seen by analysts as a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with the US.

North Korea has fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and United States authorities are analysing the details.

If its confirmed that North Korea fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since its November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from North Korea and a belligerent response from US President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas latest action sent a message after the failed summit between North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump in February when the two disagreed over weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, told Reuters news agency.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to cautiously respond to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Koreas foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japans Foreign Minister Taro Kono and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans defence ministry said in a statement.

Undesired consequences

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

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North Koreas vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the US would face undesired consequences if it fails to present a new position in denuclearisation talks by the end of the year.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, Kim said that peace and security on the Korean Peninsula depended on the US, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.
Fighters in Gaza fire more than 200 rockets into Israel, as Israeli air raids continue to hit besieged enclave.

A pregnant Palestinian woman and her one-year-old niece have been killed in a wave of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, shattering a month-long lull in violence in the besieged enclave.

The bombardment on Saturday came as Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine fired more than 200 rockets towards cities and villages in southern Israel.

At least three Palestinians, including the woman, an infant and a 22-year-old man were killed in the air raids, the health ministry in Gaza said, while 13 others were wounded.

Shrapnel from the Gaza rockets meanwhile wounded two Israelis; one of them was an 80-year-old woman.

The latest escalation comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday. Those killed included two Hamas fighters, who died in an Israeli air raid, and two Palestinian protesters, who were shot dead near Israels fence with Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded with rocket fire on Saturday, promising a broader and more painful response if Israel pursues its aggression.

Israeli military hit back with air raids and tank fire against more than 30 targets belonging to both groups.

Relatives of 22-year-old Emad Naseer mourn during a funeral in the Gaza Strip [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Dangerous situation

Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

Ibtessam Abu Arar, aunt of Siba, the 14-month old infant who died in the Israeli raid, said: The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby.





Siba was being held in the lap of her pregnant aunt Falestine Abu Arar, 37, who was also struck. She died from her wounds hours later, the health ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, it was mistakenly reported that Falestine was Sibas mother.

The Israeli military denied responsibility for the two deaths, blaming a misfiring of a Hamas rocket.

Across the fence, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead, and Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for Israeli military, said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks.

The European Union called for an immediate de-escalation late on Saturday, and threw its backing behind efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to calm the situation.

The rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. A de-escalation of this dangerous situation is urgently needed to ensure that civilians lives are protected, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU.

Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity, she added in her statement.

Egyptian mediation

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Some two million Palestinians live in the coastal enclave, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2007.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to the cash-strapped territory.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut crossings in and out of Gaza entirely on Saturday.

Smoke rises during Israeli air attacks in Gaza [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israel had also so far failed to facilitate the promised extra funding from Qatar and that other easings of the Israeli siege have not borne fruit either.

Mukhaimer Abu Sadda, a professor of political science at Al Azhar University in the Gaza Strip, said the onus was on Israel to implement the agreements brokered following the March fighting.

Its the Israeli government who has not implemented the latest understandings, Sadda told Al Jazeera.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

The latest outbreak of fighting, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, also comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv.

Al Jazeeras Fawcett said the bout of conflict had erupted at a politically sensitive time for the Israelis.

Perhaps the calculation is that Israel wont ramp up this military escalation to the extent of a full conflict because of the concerns about those events and this might be a time to try to get it to follow through on what it reportedly promised at the end of the last military escalation at the beginning of April, he said.
Gazas health ministry says 51 Palestinians were also injured in both incidents.

Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that two demonstrators, Raid Abu Tair, 19, and Ramzi Abdo, 31 were shot dead in the eastern Gaza Strip, near the Israeli fence.

Fridays protests broke out in the afternoon as part of weekly rallies and protests that have been going on since March 30 last year.

Qidra added that another two Palestinians, belonging to Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli air raid on the central Gaza Strip, east of al-Mughazi refugee camp.

They were identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Abu Malooh, 33 and Alaa Ali al-Bubali, 29.

Hamas confirmed the deaths of its members and pledged to respond to what it called an Israeli aggression.

A total of 51 people were also injured in both incidents, the ministry said.

According to the Israeli army, two of its soldiers were injured at the Israeli fence east of Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border.

An army spokesperson said about 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day.

As part of the Great March of Return, protesters in the Gaza Strip demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israels 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclaves economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

The Gaza health ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests last year, the Israeli army has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others, who were officially referred to hospitals.

Israel has waged three offensives on Gaza since December 2008.

The last war in 2014 severely damaged Gazas already weak infrastructure, prompting the United Nations to warn that the strip would be uninhabitable by 2020.
Israeli raid kills Palestinian in Gaza, amid latest flare-up a day after Israel kills four in two separate incidents.

A Palestinian has been killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip, according to Gazas health ministry, amid a fresh escalation between Israels military and Gaza fighters.

Imad Nseir, 22, was killed in Beit Hanoun after Israeli warplanes targeted multiple areas in the besieged enclave on Saturday morning after dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

The latest flare-up comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza came after an Israeli drone attack in the north of the strip early on Saturday, which injured three people.

We are looking at another military escalation, the first since last months in which we saw another exchange of air raids and rocket fire out of Gaza, which seemed to end with some hopes towards some kind of longer-term resolution, he said.

There was a good deal of reporting about talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt with further relaxing of the situation likely to happen from the Israeli side, he continued.

Hamas says so far all they have seen is the relaxation in maritime controls, allowing fishing out to 15 nautical miles from six, which has now been reduced again.

Rockets fired

The Iron Dome missile system intercepted dozens of projectiles, the Israeli army said, adding that about 90 rockets were fired from the strip. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side, the army also said.

According to Palestinian news agencies, Israeli warplanes targeted an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun, a northern town in the Strip, with multiple air raids following the rocket fire.

Israeli forces at the fence with Gaza also shelled several monitoring outposts east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Gaza health officials also said four Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli raids.

The Iron Dome system intercepted rockets above Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Israelis look on as the anti-missile system intercepts rockets over Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Sirens went off in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, and nearby Zikim beach, located two kilometres north of the Gaza Strip, was also closed off.

Municipality workers told beachgoers to leave following rocket fire in Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza.

The Palestinian Information Center quoted Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif Al-Qanou as saying: The resistance will remain present to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow it to shed the blood of our people.

The Islamic Jihad movement also released a similar statement, saying the resistance is doing its duty to protect and defend our people, adding that it will respond to the [Israeli] aggression to the fullest extent.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in the occupied West Bank has condemned the escalation on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to curb the aggression.

https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1124587570837499904?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents; two of them were shot dead during the weekly Great March of Return protests near the Israeli fence east of Gaza, while an air raid targeting a Hamas outpost killed two members of the movements armed wing.

Raed Abu Tair was killed during a protest at the fence on Friday [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The Israeli army said it had hit the Hamas base after two of its soldiers were injured by gunfire from Gaza at the Israeli fence.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israels April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

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Israels army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Following the air raid, the Israeli military said two rockets were launched from Gaza toward Israel, setting off sirens in parts of the south.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head, Yahya Sinwar, left the enclave for Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on the truce.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently engaged in negotiations to form a new government following last months election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers intentionally shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report outright but Hamas called for Israel to be held accountable.
The king has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has performed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida on Saturday after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

The king appeared dressed in white as he underwent a royal purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The countrys Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the kings body, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members.

Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects.

The kings coronation, after a period of mourning for the late king, comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military government chief and a democratic front trying to push the army out of politics.

King Vajiralongkorn has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thai kings coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, signifying that he is the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782.

The monarchy is the only institution in this country that has lasted for more than 700 years, Sulak Siwarak, a historian in Thailand told Al Jazeera.

I think the new king means well about his country. He wants to do something significant.





Royal patron of Buddhism

Saturdays rituals are about transforming him into a Devaraja, or a divine embodiment of the gods.

As the waters started pouring, ancient cannons from the 19th century, used specifically for the coronation, started firing 10 volleys each.

The king will then change into a full uniform and take a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hands in an anointment ritual.

Selected officials, including military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the National Legislative Assembly, and the chairman of the Supreme Court, will pour the waters from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

The waters used in both rituals were collected from 117 sources last month and blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country before they were combined and consecrated.

Before noon, the purified and anointed sovereign will sit under an elaborate nine-tiered umbrella, where he will receive the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week.

The king will also receive and wear five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

Once in full regalia, the king will give his first royal command, a short utterance that will highlight the essence of his reign.

The king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done.
Wine says his supporters relate to him because of his fight against injustice.

Ugandas opposition politician Bobi Wine has told Al Jazeera that he is willing to sit down with President Yoweri Museveni to discuss challenges facing the country.

The popular musician-turned-politician was released after three days in custody for taking part in what the authorities called unlawful protests against a social media tax.

Bobi Wine has support among young Ugandans, many of whom are poor, frustrated and have struggled to find jobs.

Catherine Soi reports from Kampala.
The protest call comes days after Guaidos failed bid to convince the armed forces to rise up against President Maduro.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido will make a fresh bid on Saturday to rally Venezuelas armed forces behind him calling on his supporters to march to military bases and barracks.

The protest call by the head of the National Assembly legislature  who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries  comes just days after he urged the military to rise up against the socialist president.

Peacefully, civically  we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas on Friday.

The call is to add and not to confront, to ask the military to be on the side of the constitution, he said on Twitter.

Calle permanente y sostenida!

Manana a las 10:00 am, todo el pais se moviliza en paz a las principales unidades militares. El llamado es a sumar y no enfrentar, a que se pongan del lado de la constitucion.

Anunciaremos los puntos en @Presidencia_VE. #VzlaEnPieDeLucha  Juan Guaido (@jguaido) May 3, 2019

A small group of military personnel responded to Guaidos call to join him on Tuesday, but the effort petered out, triggering two days of protests against the government in which four people were killed and several hundred injured.

Military supports Maduro

Also on Tuesday, Leopoldo Lopez, a politician and Guaidos mentor who was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017, appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish ambassadors residence.

Venezuelas military has since reiterated its support for the government, and President Maduro is standing his ground.

Do not come to buy us with a dishonest offer, as if we do not have dignity, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said.

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The countrys attorney general Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for civilian and military conspirators following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

However, analysts say the actions of the military reveal the uncertainty of the current situation.

What happened on April 30, displays the fragility of the system at this moment, Ramon Pinango, a Venezuelan sociologist told Al Jazeera.

How is it possible that Leopoldo Lopez was under house arrest, with officers in front of his house, and he was able to walk out, and be in the streets for a good part of the day? he added.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the Constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

The standoff has drawn in major world powers, with the US throwing its support behind Guaido and Russia and China backing Maduro.





The United States has imposed tough sanctions and President Donald Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro out.

But Trump adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone after a more-than-hour-long conversation with Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis, describing the Friday talks with his Russian counterpart as very positive.

He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump said of Putin.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, in Moscow on Sunday.

Interference in internal affairs

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisers, in particular, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The US is insisting Maduros days are numbered, but experts say its options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.
By Trend

Russia did not keep the word it gave to Turkey, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said, Trend reports referring to Turkish media on May 3.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow agreed that with the mediation of Russia, the YPG troops would leave the Syrian district of Tall Rifat. Much to our regret, for the time being, the YPG detachments remain in this district and periodically shell the territories that the Turkish Armed Forces liberated from the terrorists, said Akar.

He added that in general, the joint actions of Turkey and Russia in Syria are aimed at ensuring stability and peace in the region.

On April 30, the Turkish Armed Forces shelled the positions of the Syrian branch of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terrorist network - PYD/YPG in the north of Syria in Azaz and Tall Rifat towns.

The operation to eliminate terrorists began after an attack on a Turkish military convoy, as a result of which one Turkish soldier was killed and three were injured.

On August 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against the "Islamic State", and liberated, with the support of the Syrian opposition, Al-Bab town and the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria.



On January 20, 2018, Turkish Armed Forces together with the Free Syrian Army launched the Olive Branch Operation in Afrin, Syria.
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.
These days in Japan, the attention of most people has been riveted on the historic abdication of one emperor and the ascension to the throne of a new one, whose reign inaugurates the Reiwa era, by the imperial calendar. This occasion seems appropriate for expressing appreciation for the character of Japanese people and their achievements as a nation. I am an American citizen but have spent more than 30 years in this country and often reflect on how fortunate I am to be able to live here.

This appreciation has not at all been dampened by consideration of unpleasant facts about past national wrongdoing. Without a doubt, there have been dark periods in Japanese history, such as the period leading up to World War II. During that interlude, a "holy war" ideology (not the one we are very familiar with nowadays) violently supplanted democratic government and inflicted much harm. Few in Japan want a return to those days.

Multitudes all over the world are attracted by Japanese comic books, animation, and other pop culture icons. Others are fascinated by traditional elements like ninja warriors and haiku poetry. My perspective is different. In my view, the most attractive aspects of the Japanese are qualities like gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition.

To begin with, the Japanese are generally very grateful people. Thankfully, an entitlement mentality does not yet pervade Japanese society. If one is congratulated or thanked in Japan, the appropriate response is often to say "okagesama de," which means something like "it is only thanks to you/everyone." Boastfulness and self-glorifying behavior are usually frowned upon.

Foreigners, including Americans, also experience this kind of gratitude from people. In view of the devastation brought on Japan by the American military during World War II, it would not be surprising if there were widespread, deep-rooted resentment toward the U.S., but this is generally not the case. The opposite is true.

In Sapporo, the city where I live, there are monuments in various places to Americans and other Westerners who helped modernize and advance Japanese education, agriculture, and industry, such as statues of William S. Clark, who started Sapporo Agricultural College in the nineteenth century, the origin of present-day Hokkaido University. His parting words to his students  "Boys, be ambitious!"  are legendary throughout Japan. Likewise, a museum in Sapporo commemorates Edwin Dun, an American rancher who came to Hokkaido to develop livestock farming. Even in small towns here, one often finds replicas of the Statue of Liberty and American flags on display. In the town of Kutchan, I once encountered a laundry named "America."

Along with this, Christianity is generally appreciated, since its influence helped to remedy some of the feudalistic features of Japanese society, including the low status of women. Education for women in Japan was pioneered mostly by missionaries and Japanese Christians. My own university began as a girls' school, started by nineteenth-century American missionary Sarah Smith. Many Japanese would be surprised to find out that Western feminists often blame Christianity for oppressing women, since the opposite has been Japan's experience. However, the number of Christian believers in Japan is small.

Though they are often open to ethical reforms, Japanese people value tradition and are basically conservative in outlook. As Scruton observes in England: An Elegy, royal families provide a symbolic link to the past, and Japan's imperial family has also performed that role. There has been nothing akin to the Cultural Revolution in communist China, when many of the young, at the instigation of Mao Zedong, went on a rampage against the "Four Olds" (old ideas, customs, culture, and habits), abusing their elders and destroying many objects associated with China's past. The new imperial name, "Reiwa," comes from an ancient collection of Japanese poetry. In regard to the era name, the current prime minister expressed his hope that Japanese culture and tradition will be passed down to future generations.

Finally, there is the well known civility of Japanese people, still intact though somewhat eroded by social media and other influences. The Japanese tend to make a practice of showing consideration for the feelings, social standing, and reputations of others. Generally speaking, the worst offenders against good manners in Japan come from the minority of political ideologues, delinquents, and criminals. I need not fear that Japanese university students will try to mob me if I say something in class they disagree with. They even make a point of personally thanking me for my teaching efforts.

It is sad to note that gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition used to be more widespread in places like North America and Europe before left-leaning educators, entertainers, activists, politicians, and journalists got to work "fundamentally transforming" things. My hope and prayer is that most Japanese people will continue to capitalize on their strengths and resist the voices advocating unhealthy changes.

Bruce W. Davidson is a professor at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan and a contributor to The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia.
According to Julius Caesar, in first century B.C., Gaul was divided into three parts, though it was probably more accurate to say that all Gaul was at that time divided into five parts. Differences still exist about the origins of France, but generally speaking, the beginning of modern France is seen with the emergence of the Kingdom of France in 987 under Hugh Capet (987-996), who made Paris the power center of the country. He was the first of 14 Capetian kings of a people who regard the Gauls as their ancestors, and their legendary hero Vercingetorix who united the Gauls in revolt against Roman control.

The national myth often rests on shaky foundations. Is France the eldest daughter of the church? Certainly, Notre Dame, started in 1187 and completed a century later, though it has had frequent small changes, was quickly understood as the center of international gothic with its perfect form and style, and its famed gargoyles, flying buttresses, and stained-glass rose windows. It is one of the symbols not just of Paris but of the whole country. Notre Dame was nationalized in November 1789 and is the property of the French state, though its use for religious purposes has been returned to the Catholic Church. Notre Dame therefore is maintained at the expense of the State, mostly by the Ministry of Culture.

Notre Dame has played a conspicuous role in French life. Napoleon was crowned Emperor there in 1804, and a memorial service for Charles de Gaulle took place there on November 12. 1970. It is a great place of worship and seen as a symbol of peace, but it is also a major tourist attraction, the most visited French monument after the Louvre, with 13 million visitors a year. The whole country, indeed the whole world, was traumatized by the event, apparently a tragic accident, on April 15, 2019 when the roof caught fire and caused damage that may be irreparable, though President Emmanuel Macron has vowed it will be restored, irrespective of the cost and within five years.

The interesting thing is the deep concern that a church, though a Gothic jewel, should exist in a secularized country. According to Article 2 of the October 1958 Constitution, France is an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social republic, a modern version of the republican slogan adopted during the days of revolution in 1792. All the main symbols of French pride are political and or military: the main national holiday, July 14, commemorates the storming of the Bastille; the tricolor flag, the motto, Liberty Equality, Fraternity; the national anthem, the Marsellaise, written after the declaration of war against Austria, for the Rhine Army of revolutionary France; the personification of the country, bare-breasted Marianne, a national symbol displayed through the country who in recent years, has taken on, since Brigitte Bardot, the visage of well-known celebrities.

Despite the respect and love exhibited by countless people after the tragic fire at Notre Dame, France is not a Christian country, nor a united one. The struggle between church and state continued through the 19thcentury until the 1905 Law separated them, and church property was confiscated. This is a law of separation, not discrimination, neutral to all religion, and tolerant to all. Reflecting the cultural diversity of France, the law and current practice rests on the principle of laicite, which however differs in interpretation as on the issue of wearing religious symbols in state schools.

However, religion today, apart from the issue of immigration of Muslim Arabs, is not as important or divisive as social and economic ones. President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Notre Dame: It is our history, it is our literature, it is our imagery. Its the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars, to pandemics, to liberations. But he is faced with a number of issues that divide the country.

Macron is a pluralist rather than a populist. His misfortune is to be confronted by the gilets jaunes, the yellow vests, the grassroots movement that began on October 18, 2018, originally motivated by government plans to increase fuel prices. For 24 subsequent weeks thousands have demonstrated in streets in Paris and other cities, blocking roads and fuel depots, and damaging shops and other property, smashing windows, burning cars, using violence against the police. Even on the annual May Day celebrations, thousands of yellow vests took to the street to demonstrate. The protestors, slowly aligning themselves with Frances old leftist organizations, have adopted various formulas: they are underpaid, overtaxed, want a higher minimum wage, more direct democracy, lower taxes but restore the tax on wealth, increase the public sector.

The supposed objective of the yellow vests is to reduce elitism in France, though the paradox is that they are now already a symbol of France.

Macron has been unable to end the demonstrations and the violence. He suggested a great national debate, 10,000 local debates, though the danger of this is that the process might raise too many grievances, reminding the country of the unhappy past experience when a similar set of grievances led to the cahiers de doleances in 1789 which galvanized a spirit of insurrection and the French Revolution.

So far, the record of Macron is mixed, but so is that of divided France. The French work fewer hours than the OECD average, 14 hours less than the average U.S. figure. France has a higher than average share, 82%, of full-time employees. The working week is three hours shorter than in the U.S. or UK. Its high productivity rate is countered by high unemployment.

Macron remains a puzzling, polarizing figure. He has good, sensible ideas on economic and political reforms in France. He is an internationalist, an advocate of deeper EU integration and global governance, a severe critic of British Brexit policy. On a platform of freedom, protection, progress he has called for more border controls, higher taxes for global tech companies, an EU-wide minimum wage, and a European innovation council to fund business investment.

He is also an elitist, overconfident, the youngest French president ever, accused of hubris. He is essentially a part of the French meritocratic elite, a brilliant technocrat, investment banker, millionaire. He resurrected the Palace of Versailles, seat of monarchy, as the place for summits. For a number of reasons, he has also been accused of lack of concern for civil liberties. In October 2017, an anti-terrorism law increased the power given to police forces. In February 2018, an immigration law weakened the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Macron, the young man in a hurry, has slowed down. Now at 41 he is confronting at least four problems, social, territorial, economic, and democratic. He remains ambitious, as his proposal to criminalize some criticism of Israel as a form of hate speech, and his partnership with Egypt worth millions of euros, show. He is also forthright with his attack on far-right nationalists who he called anger-mongers backed by fake news.

Macrons immediate comment on the Notre Dame tragedy was to call on the nation to unite and rally the country, to rebuild a society of equal opportunity and national excellence. Yet, Macron has been criticized for lack of emotion and connection with people. An interesting test may come over Macrons proposal to close down or radically change the prestigious ENA, a college that trains public servants. Macron is himself a graduate, as are his prime minister, finance, and defense ministers, and six of his top advisers. Will any proposed change satisfy the yellow vests and reduce the gap between the ruling French elite and the workers of France?
Normally, one would expect that a university fortunate enough to get a sitting Supreme Court Justice to join its faculty would be receiving accolades from its students. But of course, these are not normal times. Thus, when George Mason University recently announced that Justice Brett Kavanaugh would co-teach (along with Professor Jennifer L. Mascott) a summer class at its Antonin Scalia Law School, the campus Left was seriously triggered.

Students immediately launched protests, a petition drive, and an ad campaign claiming that they would suffer harm due to the uncorroborated allegations of sexual assault made against Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings last fall.

Reason's Robby Soave described the unhinged response:

'The hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well-being of all survivors on this campus,' said one female student during the public comment period of GMU's board meeting last week Another student, a survivor of sexual violence, claimed that her mental health had already suffered as a result of the Antonin Scalia Law School's decision to hire Kavanaugh. 'It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty,' she said. A third student said, As someone who has survived sexual assault three times, I do not feel comfortable with someone who has sexual assault allegations walking on campus.'

And it wasnt just students. Professor Bethany Letiecq, president of GMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, actually suggested that the university conduct its own separate investigation of Kavanaugh. It's hard to imagine what such an investigation would even look like, Soave noted, given that the incidents in question do not involve GMU, were made three decades ago, and were already explored by the federal government and the news media.

GMU president Angel Cabrera sought to bring some common sense and civility to the discussion, saying that:

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. 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.

Dr. Cabrera later reiterated his support for Kavanaugh at a town hall organized by GMUs student government, saying that even if the outcome is painful, whats at stake is very, very important for the integrity of the university.

What is so absurd about all this is that Kavanaugh will not be teaching anywhere near the GMU campus in Virginia. The course will be taught in Runnymede, England. In other words, we are being asked to believe that some university students (and professors) will be traumatized by the presence of an individual teaching at a campus 3,600 miles away.

The contretemps may surprise some who think of GMU as a conservative university. However, Walter Williams, the respected professor of economics at GMU, explained that the university's reputation as a bastion of conservatism is somewhat overstated:

George Mason University erroneously earns a reputation as a conservative/libertarian university because of its most distinguished and internationally known liberty-oriented economics department, which can boast of two homegrown Nobel laureates in economics. Its Antonin Scalia Law School has a distinguished faculty that believes in personal liberty and reveres the U.S. Constitution -- unlike many other law schools that hold liberty and our Constitution in contempt. The rest of the university is just like most other universities -- liberal, Democratic Party-dominated. The chief difference between my GMU colleagues and liberals at some other universities is that they are polite, respectful and congenial, unlike what one might find at places like U.C. Berkeley or University of Massachusetts.

The subject of Justice Kavanaugh's course itself might prove triggering to the Left. The course is entitled Creation of the Constitution. According to the course description, students will study the historical origins of the Constitution and read Founding-era documents and debates shaping the content of the document.

Runnymede, where the course will be taught, was the location of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

In his indispensable book, The Roots of American Order, Russell Kirk explained the significance of the Magna Carta [p. 195]:

It became the rock upon which the English constitution was built. It was principle of the supremacy of law: the idea that an enduring law exists, which all men must obey. The king himself is one of those men under the law. Along with this principle ran the corollary principle -- that if the king breaks the law, and invades the rights of his vassals, then barons and people may deprive him of his powers. From this principle, the whole English constitution -- an unwritten constitution in the sense that it can be found in no single document -- developed in time. This principle would be asserted by the Americans in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; it is the root of the Declaration of Independence.

This is our shared heritage, the British legal system, the foundation of America's freedom. Recently, Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner for the presidency, said that our "English jurisprudential culture" should be changed, although he declined to say what he might replace it with. Biden ought to take some time to visit Runnymede this summer and audit Justice Kavanaugh's class. He just might learn something.

You can follow Nicholas J. Kaster on Twitter.
On April 6, 2019, AT published the article, On Joe McCarthy, Washington Post Gets It Embarrassingly Wrong, by the estimable Jack Cashill. It drew hundreds of comments, which were overwhelmingly laudatory of McCarthy. The relatively few anti-McCarthy comments were pounced on by the McCarthy partisans.

McCarthys (few) detractors in the comments section of that article included this writer. My comments against McCarthy drew lots of ire and opprobrium from his fans. I thought that it would be best to write a rejoinder.

Perhaps my disdain for McCarthy is almost genetic, for it comes from my late fathers personal knowledge of him. My father, Lt. Col. Anthony R. Nollet, was a Marine Corps aviator and knew McCarthy well, they having served together in the same squadron that flew Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers in the South Pacific. McCarthy was the Air Intelligence Officer for that squadron. My father passed on to posterity three stories about McCarthy, based on his personal observations. Perhaps this oral history has predisposed me to despise McCarthy.

THE CARD SHARP

McCarthy was a ferocious poker player -- and a cheater and a welsher on his poker debts. He left the South Pacific owing his fellow officers some $4,000 in unredeemed markers from poker games.

Today, that would be less than a months pay for an O-2 with under two years military experience, which is what McCarthy and most of his fellow officers were. But during world War II, the monthly basic pay for such officers was all of $166.67. At this salary rate, McCarthy left the South Pacific owing two years pay.

There was, of course, no way that the Marine Corps could force McCarthy to honor his debts. This is because gambling for money was illegal, and the Marine Corps cannot enforce illegal contracts. The only factor compelling any officer to discharge such debts is his own integrity. Honorable officers pay their gambling debts and dishonorable ones dont. McCarthy didnt.

And dont ask me for evidence, either, for there is none. The last surviving aviator of the Black Sheep Squadron, the sister squadron of my fathers SBD squadron, died five years ago, and probably all my fathers squadronmates likewise have passed on. Perhaps some of the enlisted men are still with us.

But there is indirect evidence. The two great poker players of 20th-Century American politics were Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy. Nixon was so good at it he was able to use his winnings from the Pacific War to finance his first campaign for Congress. And McCarthy was so good that before the war, he was able to finance his way through the Marquette University Law School with winnings acquired in the gambling halls of Wisconsin. Historian Arthur Herman describes McCarthys poker style as demonic. That is, McCarthy played poker the same way he played his politics: with bluster, boisterousness, intimidation, and lots of bluffing for high stakes. Herman also says that McCarthy cheated whenever he thought he could get away with it and thought it was a hoot whenever he was caught. It is easy to envision such a man eagerly participating in the poker games of the Marine Air Wing in which he and my father served. (Nixon at least couldnt have defaulted on his poker debts, since he was able to bring back enough money from the Pacific to run for Congress.)

THE SHYSTER

After the war, my father and McCarthy found themselves together again -- in Camp Pendleton, California. The Marine Corps thought that a former Wisconsin judge like McCarthy would be perfect to serve in the bases Legal Department pending his discharge. My father was there awaiting the decision on whether he wouldnt be demobilized and discharged.

A M arine corporal was facing court-martial for beating up an illegal Mexican immigrant. Nowadays, such offenses would be within the jurisdiction of the State of California, but not so in 1945. McCarthy was assigned to be the corporals defense attorney.

McCarthy found a typically devious and, well, McCarthyite way to win a trial victory: he went to the Mexicans hospital room and said to him, Here, spic, take this $50 and get back to Mexico, or Ill have you arrested and deported. The Mexican accepted the stipend and did just that, after he was discharged from the hospital. Without a complaining witness, the case against the corporal collapsed. McCarthy wins again!

Dont ask for evidence here, either. There isnt even indirect evidence. I now regret that I never thought to ask my father how he knew of the story. Perhaps McCarthy boasted of it; it would be like him.

THE DRINKING MAN

Fast-forward eight years, to 1953. By this time, my father had not only been permitted to remain in the Marine Corps, he had also earned a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. And on March 5, 1953 (the day Stalin died), Polish pilot Francizek Jarecki defected by flying his MiG-15bis from Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. They sent my father to help evaluate the MiG-15.

When my father returned to the USA, they sent him to Washington to give testimony about the MiG to Congress. And when in the Capitol Building, he was surprised to run into his old squadronmate from the South Pacific, none other than Joseph R. McCarthy himself, now a U.S. senator.

McCarthy remembered his old comrade and greeted him most jovially. He said, Ello there, Owlet [sic], owre you doing? Perhaps one reason McCarthy mangled the pronunciation of my fathers name is that even though it was only midday, McCarthy was already stinking drunk.

And no, dont ask me for evidence about that one, either. There would have been no witnesses. Although indirect evidence does exist for this one as well, in that McCarthy is well known to have died a roaring, angry alcoholic.

I already know what McCarthys partisans are going to say: Wheres the proof? If theres no proof, then it cant be true. And I reply by stipulating that of course there is no proof in the formal sense. But I will add that I hope that McCarthys partisans can sympathize with me that if my father said it, then I take it to the bank. No matter how correct McCarthy was about Communists in the United States government -- and for the most part, he was correct -- he was still a scoundrel.

Ill go farther. I say that not only was McCarthy a scoundrel, he was the worst internal enemy that the United States ever had during the Cold War. Through his demagoguery, his bullying, his reckless accusations -- a few of them against innocent men -- and his alcohol-fueled rages, he gave respectable conservatism and anti-Communism a black name from which they arguably have not recovered to this day. Even seventy years later, shrieks of McCarthyism! continue to be the Lefts favorite dog whistle to stifle conservative opposition. McCarthy made our eventual victory in the Cold War harder and more costly, because we conservatives had to fight on with his albatross around our necks.

So hail and farewell, Joe McCarthy. We did it without you. More precisely, we did it despite you. That is, we triumphed over Communism and won the Cold War anyway, and we did it despite all the difficulties that you threw in our way by bringing our cause into such disrepute. My father saw right through you and had your number.

Thanks for nothing, Tail Gunner Joe.

The author is an Iowa truck driver known to some AT readers as "Kzintosh."
Last April 24 was Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Millions of Armenians around the world remembered how the Islamic Ottoman Empire killed  often cruelly and out of religious hatred  some 1.5 million of their ancestors during World War I.

Ironically, most people, including most Armenians, are unaware that the first genocide of Christian Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks did not occur in the twentieth century. Rather, it began in 1019  exactly one thousand years ago this year  when Turks first began to pour into and transform a then much larger Armenia into what it is today, the eastern portion of modern-day Turkey.

Thus, in 1019, "the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts ... the savage nation of infidels called Turks entered Armenia ... and mercilessly slaughtered the Christian faithful with the sword," writes Matthew of Edessa (d. 1144), a chief source for this period. Three decades later, the raids were virtually nonstop. In 1049, the founder of the Turkic Seljuk Empire himself, Sultan Tughril Bey (r. 10371063), reached the unwalled city of Arzden, west of Lake Van, and "put the whole town to the sword, causing severe slaughter, as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons."

After thoroughly plundering the city  which reportedly contained eight hundred churches  he ordered it set ablaze and turned into a desert. Arzden was "filled with bodies," and none "could count the number of those who perished in the flames." The invaders "burned priests whom they seized in the churches and massacred those whom they found outside. They put great chunks of pork in the hands of the undead to insult us"  Muslims deem the pig unclean  "and made them objects of mockery to all who saw them."

Eight hundred oxen and forty camels were required to cart out the vast plunder, mostly taken from Arzden's churches. "How to relate here, with a voice stifled by tears, the death of nobles and clergy whose bodies, left without graves, became the prey of carrion beasts, the exodus of women ... led with their children into Persian slavery and condemned to an eternal servitude! That was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia," laments Matthew. "So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital."

Contemporaries confirm the devastation visited upon Arzden. "Like famished dogs," writes Aristakes (d. 1080), an eyewitness, "bands of infidels hurled themselves on our city, surrounded it and pushed inside, massacring the men and mowing everything down like reapers in the fields, making the city a desert. Without mercy, they incinerated those who had hidden themselves in houses and churches."

Similarly, during the Turkic siege of Sebastia (modern-day Sivas) in 1060, six hundred churches were destroyed, and "many [more] maidens, brides, and distinguished ladies were led into captivity to Persia." Another raid on Armenian territory saw "many and innumerable people who were burned [to death]." The atrocities are too many for Matthew to recount, and he frequently ends in resignation:

Who is able to relate the happenings and ruinous events which befell the Armenians, for everything was covered with blood[.] ... Because of the great number of corpses, the land stank, and all of Persia was filled with innumerable captives; thus this whole nation of beasts became drunk with blood. All human beings of Christian faith were in tears and in sorrowful affliction, because God our creator had turned away His benevolent face from us.

Nor was there much doubt concerning what fueled the Turks' animus: "This nation of infidels comes against us because of our Christian faith and they are intent on destroying the ordinances of the worshippers of the cross and on exterminating the Christian faithful," one David, head of an Armenian region, explained to his countrymen. Therefore, "it is fitting and right for all the faithful to go forth with their swords and to die for the Christian faith." Many were of the same mind; records tell of monks and priests, fathers, wives, and children, all shabbily armed but zealous to protect their way of life, coming out to face the invaders  to little avail.

Anecdotes of faith-driven courage also permeate the chronicles. During the first Turkic siege of Manzikert in 1054, when a massive catapult pummeled and caused its walls to quake, a Catholic Frank holed up in with the Orthodox Armenians volunteered to sacrifice himself: "I will go forth and burn down that catapult, and today my blood shall be shed for all the Christians, for I have neither wife nor children to weep over me." The Frank succeeded and returned to gratitude and honors. Adding insult to injury, the defenders catapulted a pig into the Muslim camp while shouting, "O sultan [Tughril], take that pig for your wife, and we will give you Manzikert as a dowry!" "Filled with anger, Tughril had all Christian prisoners in his camp ritually decapitated."

Between 1064 and 1065, Tughril's successor, Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri  known to posterity as Alp Arslan, a Turkish honorific meaning "Heroic Lion"  "going forth full of rage and with a formidable army," laid siege to Ani, the fortified capital of Armenia, then a great and populous city. The thunderous bombardment of Muhammad's siege engines caused the entire city to quake, and Matthew describes countless terror-stricken families huddled together and weeping.

Once inside, the Islamic Turks  reportedly armed with two knives in each hand and an extra in their mouths  "began to mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants of the entire city ... and piling up their bodies one on top of the other[.] ... Beautiful and respectable ladies of high birth were led into captivity into Persia. Innumerable and countless boys with bright faces and pretty girls were carried off together with their mothers."

The most savage treatment was always reserved for those visibly proclaiming their Christianity: clergy and monks "were burned to death, while others were flayed alive from head to toe." Every monastery and church  before this, Ani was known as "the City of 1,001 Churches"  was pillaged, desecrated, and set aflame. A zealous jihadi climbed atop the city's main cathedral "and pulled down the very heavy cross which was on the dome, throwing it to the ground," before entering and defiling the church. Made of pure silver and the "size of a man"  and now symbolic of Islam's might over Christianity, the broken crucifix was sent as a trophy to adorn a mosque in modern-day Azerbaijan.

Not only do several Christian sources document the sack of Armenia's capital  one contemporary succinctly notes that Muhammad "rendered Ani a desert by massacres and fire"  but so do Muslim sources, often in apocalyptic terms: "I wanted to enter the city and see it with my own eyes," one Arab explained. "I tried to find a street without having to walk over the corpses. But that was impossible."

Such is an idea of what Muslim Turks did to Christian Armenians  not during the Armenian Genocide of a century ago, but exactly one thousand years ago, starting in 1019, when the Turkic invasion and subsequent colonization of Armenia began.

Even so, and as an example of surreal denial, Turkey's foreign minister, capturing popular Turkish sentiment, recently announced, "We [Turks] are proud of our history because our history has never had any genocides. And no colonialism exists in our history."

Note: The first Turkic invasion of Armenia (and others) is documented in Raymond Ibrahim's recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. American Thinker reviews of the book can be read here and here.
Over the next few weeks, we will learn why so many Democrats wanted to destroy or derail the Trump presidency. It had nothing to do with ideology or liberal versus conservative ideas or tax plans or foreign policy. It had everything to do with covering up what the Obama administration did to protect Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The counterattack is led by Attorney General William Barr, and a lot of information that will make the "Trump-Russia story" look like a G-rated movie.

As Andrew McCarthy wrote, the next move will come soon:

The coming weeks will expose the true genesis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation  and just how it is tied to some of the highest Obama-era officials, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy. McCarthy made the ominous prediction on Fox News host Bill Hemmer's "Hemmer Time" podcast and said he expects the answer to what really spurred the investigation to be revealed when the Department of Justice's Inspector General releases his much-anticipated report. "We're going to start getting the answers in the next four to six weeks when we can expect that Inspector General [Michael] Horowitz's reports are going to start flowing out," McCarthy told Hemmer.

We will wait for such a report. My guess is that the report won't make a lot of people look good and some could be looking criminal.

All this is about to boomerang on the Democrats because they couldn't accept the 2016 election results. They had to find excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss, from Russia to "they stole the election" to whatever.

In other words, they put the country through two years of hell just because Hillary Clinton could not accept that voters turned on President Obama.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because you may get it, as the expression goes. The Democrats are about to get it, and they won't like it.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
By Trend

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.



Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.
That didn't take long.

Mere days after President Trump lifted the waiver on lawsuits by Americans to sue communist Cuba for expropriated assets, Big Oil's Bigfoot, ExxonMobil, was on this case like Godzilla. The Miami Herald reports that it is ready to stomp Cuba:

Exxon Mobil has filed suit in U.S. federal court against Cubas CIMEX and CUPET companies for their use of an oil refinery and other properties seized by the Fidel Castro government six decades ago. Exxon Mobil is the first U.S. company to file suit after President Donald Trump allowed Title III of the Helms-Burton Act to take effect, opening the way for demands against Cuban and foreign companies that benefit from properties seized by the communist government. Title III had been suspended every six months by every U.S. president since the law was approved in 1996.

That's a monster. And it's going to cost Cuba big, if ExxonMobil wins, and ExxonMobil always plays to win, and with some of the world's best attorneys, it usually does win. The Helms-Burton law of 1996 states that U.S. companies who had their property stolen by communists in Cuba are entitled to sue for three times the value of the stolen properties, plus 6% annual interest, which, compounded over 60 years of Castro rule, is a...lot of interest. The company must have had that lawsuit ready for Trump's move, given the speed with which it was executed.

It shows just how major President Trump's act was. Over the years, much of the reporting on this matter has focused on small-time Cuban-American stakeholders who lost shops and apartments in the vast uncompensated thievery of communization, and these are people who have largely been dismissed as poor mice hopelessly living in the past.

Exxon's the elephant, though, and it never forgets.

Why do I think this will be a monster for the Castroites? Well, because back when I was reporting news, I wrote an investigative story describing ExxonMobil's response to Venezuela's expropriations. The company fought the Chavistas like the Mobil tiger in the tank  and it eventually won more than a billion in compensation. The company plays for keeps. Here is an old story I found from 2005 that ran on Page One of Investor's Business Daily, describing how ExxonMobil responded to Chavista Venezuela's attempt to steal ExxonMobil's assets.

ExxonMobil, of course, is going to be painted as a bully for doing it by the Chavista left, and it's likely the leftists are painting their signs and calling up their media buddies as I write this. But ExxonMobil has a rationale for this, because its business extends across the globe, and it doesn't get to pick where the oil is  which means it often has to deal with some very gamy dictators. Of course they have to fight the thieves among them. Because once word gets around in the global dictator community that big-moneyed ExxonMobil can be pushed around (its revenues, as I noted in the IBD piece back in 2005, were three times the size of the Venezuelan economy), all of them will jump in and try to shake ExxonMobil down for more for themselves. It's dictator nature. So for ExxonMobil, it's fight the miscreants, and keep the rest on their best behavior. It's the only way to run an international oil company. Now Cuba is about to learn that the hard way.

This is precisely what it deserves, given its propping up of the Maduro regime in Venezuela through its use of intelligence agents, incompetent technicians, and torturers. Trump's move is about squeezing Cuba to force it to get the hell out of Venezuela, and Trump plays hardball.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of socialist thieves.
Despite the barbarism seen in Venezuela these days  the latest the running down of protesters with armored military vehicles  President Trump's hard words for the brutal socialist dictatorship there have largely been seen in the context of winning the Florida vote, or blustering for the sake of it, or speaking loud and carrying a small stick based on the geopolitical realities of confronting Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Most important, Trump himself has been seen as reluctant to get the U.S. into any conflict abroad, based on the miserable series of nation-building wars on Stone-Age people.

Consequently, the conventional wisdom that Venezuela's acting president Juan Guaido's inability to enact a military uprising has been dubbed a 'failure.' Trump's not gonna act, so dictator Nicolas Maduro stays in place strong.

There are now signs that that may not be the case. Here's longtime Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer's surprising take on what he's hearing. He writes:

How likely is a U.S.-Brazil-Colombia military intervention in Venezuela? I still think that it's highly unlikely, but judging from what I'm told are secret talks between United States and Latin American officials to resurrect a dormant 1947 Inter-American mutual defense treaty, I'm no longer willing to bet that it won't happen. First, the Trump administration is escalating its rhetoric following the Venezuelan opposition's courageous but unsuccessful April 30 attempt to spark a military rebellion. Going beyond his earlier talking point that, "All options are on the table," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that "military action is possible."

He adds that it's Latin diplomats who are telling him that talks about a collective military intervention effort are going on. Hmmm, real interesting. Perhaps there really will be a Panama-style pounding and then leaving the Venezuelan democrats in charge to take care of the matter.

The Venezuelans themselves  and its most notable dissidents  are certainly calling for it. Maria Corina Machado, who's been opposing the dictatorship for at least 15 years, has pointed out on Twitter and in television interviews that Venezuela pretty much doesn't have many other options. Venezuela's former United Nations ambassador and U.N. Security Council president, as well as senior statesman, Diego Arria has pointed out that the U.N. went into Bosnia to defend its locals from the Serbs in the 1990s for much less.

There seems to be a lot of support for the idea inside Venezuela and with Venezuelans pouring over Brazil's and Colombia's borders, the attitudes are changing in those quarters, too.

It's very significant to read this coming from him, because he's the Latin swamp thing, he knows what goes on in the thinking of the established elites around Latin America and in Latin American policy circles. If he's hearing military talk, and he's balancing that against the establishment, there's general inertia and fear toward intervention in the affairs of other countries, there must be something going on.

If it comes off right, it certainly would argue for a bright future for Colombia and Brazil, not only in that they'll have a democratic neighbor instead of a bleeding ulcer of socialism on their border, but that their own troops are highly competent. It would demonstrate the case for their joining on as full-blown NATO members, too, something President Trump has brought up earlier. Meanwhile, as long as this looks to be a multi-nation effort, it would be nice to see the Dutch and Maltese involved, too, given the positive role both nations have played in checking the Maduro regime  the Netherlands by helping out with aid and the geography of its Curacao island territory off the coast of Venezuela, and Malta by throwing a massive roadblock to Russia's designs in setting up military supply lines to Venezuela.

If this is what's going on, it shows that the matter is not over. It shows that Venezuelans have not failed, and that their refusal to stop fighting  two decades into what became a socialist dictatorship  is something that may ultimately lead to its liberation  by whatever means necessary.

Maduro can sleep with one eye open on this report.

Image credit: Sgt. Anthony J. Kirby, U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Is it time to break up Twitter, or regulate it as an edited platform?

The people over there really went over the line, not to enforce rules, but simply to show us all how powerful they've become by suspending one of the most popular Twitterers, actor James Woods, whose pithy, perfectly composed tweets have brought him 2.12 million followers.

Breitbart had the story that happened.

James Woods, one of the few conservative stars in Hollywood, has been locked out of his Twitter account for over a week now for "abusive behavior," once again demonstrating the double standard the tech giant holds when it comes to enforcing rules. Twitter suspended Woods for a tweet that read, "'If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll," according to his girlfriend Sara Miller.

And the disgusting censorship was noticed by President Trump, who went into a full tweetstorm about all the instances of social media censorship of conservatives he could think of in just the past few days:

So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

This seems to have ended the Woods suspension early this morning, a capricious censorship of a powerful conservative voice that was over absolutely nothing. Update: It hasn't.

Thing is, it is censorship, a very raw, creepy, Mao-style censorship coming from a private company. The leftists running Twitter and its algorithms claim to be a private company, which they seem to think gives them the right to run their company any way they want, but their erratic censorship practices make them an edited platform.

Now, it's fine and dandy to be an edited platform as a private company, but they want it both ways  the non-accountability of a public utility but the private censorship practices of an edited platform. If they can be declared that, they would need to be regulated as newspapers are  responsible for every single word that goes out on their site, including the words of the freaks and killers and terrorists who also employ their platform. They'd have to edit every last bit of it, not just the words of people they don't like politically, or who have politically powerful voices they don't like politically. Someone tweets murder; maybe Twitter should now be suable for it, given that it's chosen to be an edited platform instead of a public utility.

Because it isn't rules anyone is violating based on their banning practices; it's big voices they don't like.

How capriciously are they censoring? Well, against the backdrop of Woods's tweet, which was the repetition of an old saw dating back to a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, I've gotten actual death threats that Twitter didn't deem worthy of any censorship when I complained to it about the problem. Only time constraints prevent me from locating the correspondence and posting it. Freaks threatening death? Not a problem for them. Woods citing an old saying? Ban!

What's more, they make their money through getting their customers' information in exchange for the right to post, something Mickey Kaus has noted is legally known as 'consideration.' If they are going to go around censoring now, not only are they an edited platform, but they are also suable for breach of contract with their customers.

Here's another thing. Woods is big, and Woods attracts a lot of eyeballs to Twitter, which is exactly what it should want as a company to make money. Banning Woods is contrary to its own business interests, given that it drives away customers for the practice. As a public company, Twitter ought to be suable for lost profits by shareholders, too.

Trump was right to point out that the matter is getting out of hand. It's time for some legislation to hold the company accountable and force it to choose whether it wants to be the equivalent of a public utility, such as the phone company, or else a censoring, capricious, edited private platform that would also be forced to be accountable.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Seven of the UAEs top projects were named winners among the Gulf regions best projects at the recently held 2019 Meed Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, in Dubai, UAE



The UAE was followed by Oman with four winning projects, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had three winners each and Kuwait had one regional awardee.



The only awards programme recognising excellence for completed projects in the GCC, Meed Projects Awards honoured national winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in ceremonies held at the Conrad Hotel Dubai.



We are honoured to be a partner with Meed in recognising projects excellence in the GCC. This is our way of putting a spotlight on these projects for not only upholding quality standards, but also in improving the standard of living in the Gulf through their invariable impact on the socio-economic aspirations of the region, said Mohammad Khader Al Shouli, senior vice president, Head of Contracting Finance at Mashreq Bank, headline sponsor of the awards programme.



The 2019 Meed Quality Project of the Year, in association with Mashreq, the award programmes highly coveted honour, was given to Saudi Arabias Haramain High Speed Railway Project (entered by Saudi Railways Organization and owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia). It also won the GCC Transport Project of the Year award.



The judges praised the projects efforts to maximise social impact and the efficient design of departure and arrivals lounges improving passenger flow and comfort and which are also low energy with innovative prismatic daylight collectors on the roofs.



The other Saudi Arabia winner was the Titanium Sponge Plant Project in Yanbu Project (entered by a Joint Venture of Chiyoda Corporation and CTCI Corporation and owned by Advanced Metal Industries Cluster and Toho Titanium Metal Company Limited) which was awarded the GCC Industrial Project of the Year.



The GCC is home to some of the worlds most high-profile projects, known worldwide not just for their engineering and construction brilliance but also for being beacons of the regions economic progress. We are delighted to honour their commitment to the highest quality standards for projects excellence, said Richard Thompson, editorial director, Meed.



Among the regional winners from the UAE were Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (GCC Tourism & Leisure Project of the Year), Bluewaters Mosque (GCC Small Project of the Year), Improvement of Mafraq to Al Ghweifat Border Post Highway  Section 4A from Himeem Interchange to Abu Al Abyad (GCC Road Project of the Year), Sheikh Shakbout Medical City (GCC Healthcare Project of the Year), Offices 4 and Offices 5, One Central (GCC Commercial Project of the Year), Khalifa University (GCC Education Project of the Year) and Dubai American Academy (Innovation Medal, sponsored by China State Construction).



In Oman, the projects honoured for excellence were Diyar Al Salam (GCC Residential Project of the Year), Suhar Refinery Improvement Project (GCC Oil and Gas Project of the Year), Salalah II Power Project (GCC Power Generation Project of the Year) and Muscat International Airport (Mega Project of the Year).



From Bahrain, the projects which gained regional recognition was Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Works, Long Sea Outfall & Irrigation Network which received the GCC Water Project of the Year, GCC Engineering Project of the Year and the Sustainability Medal (sponsored by China State Construction).



Kuwaits regional winner was The Ministry of Education Headquarters Project which received the GCC Social, Culture and Heritage of the Year award.



Special awards were also given to Maher Habanjar, senior director of the Water & Environment Division at Khatib &Alami, (Engineer of the Year), The Founders Memorial (Meed Editor's Award for Special Achievement) and Al Karamah School, Abu Dhabi (Meed Editor's Award for Contribution to Community).  TradeArabia News Service
Creators are driving record audiences to YouTube, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told the presentation audience gathered at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. Two-hundred million people come to YouTube every single day just to watch gaming videos. Thats twice the audience of this years Super Bowl.  Los Angeles Times
Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO Jatan.

Ahemdabad: A day after PepsiCo announced that it would withdraw cases filed against the potato farmers in Gujarat, activists and farmer leaders on Friday said the company must do it unconditionally and also pay a compensation to the cultivators for causing "harassment".

Agitated by PepsiCo's earlier decision to sue potato growing farmers for allegedly growing a variety of potato registered by it, around 25 major farmers' bodies of Gujarat and the country, including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body - Seed Sovereignty Forum - to protect farmers' rights on seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO 'Jatan'.

"We are apprehensive because PepsiCo's statement yesterday does not offer anything new. The company had earlier told the court that it will withdraw cases on two conditions - either farmers give up using company's seeds or farmers become part of contract farming with the company," Shah told reporters here.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' or cultivators' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non-negotiable," he said.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts were sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights, and sought damages ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from each of them.

They have been sued by the company under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.

Shah said the issue touches farmers of the entire country and not just of Gujarat.

"After this issue cropped up, around 25 national and regional organisations working for farmers decided to come under one roof to form 'Seed Sovereignty Forum'. We will hold a meeting today to devise an action plan to fight against such cases in the future and formulate a long-term strategy to ensure that farmers' rights are not snatched away," said Shah.

Shah was accompanied by four farmers of Sabarkantha district, who were sued by the MNC. Office-bearers of the BKS and several other farm rights activists were also present.

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading of awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a check on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani, who is the president of Gujarat Association of Agricultural Sciences, said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, which is a natural practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips), while small potatoes were discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed those potatoes only. We have now realised that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PepsiCo India had said it has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers after holding talks with the government.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection," the statement said.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing.

New Delhi: Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on Saturday said it will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"The Board has constituted a sub-committee named "Special Committee for Issuance of Securities" and authorised the said Committee to decide upon various factors viz. mode, pricing, terms & conditions and other allied matters in respect of the said issuance," DHFL added.
Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

Mumbai: Indias sugar production could rise 1.5 per cent in 2018/19 to a record 33 million tonnes, increasing inventories in the worlds second-biggest producer and putting pressure on local prices, a producers body said on Friday.

The record production could force New Delhi to continue incentives for overseas sales of sugar into the next season, weighing on global prices, which are now trading near their lowest in four months.

In the first seven months of the 2018/19 marketing year that started on Oct. 1, mills have churned out 32.1 million tonnes of sugar, 3 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.

India produced 32.5 million tonnes of sugar for the whole of the 2017/18 marketing year.

The sugar recovery in northern India has been substantially better than the sugar recovery achieved in the last season, the association said.

Years of bumper cane harvests and record sugar production have hammered domestic sugar prices, making it hard for mills to pay monies owed to farmers, who form an influential voting bloc.

Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers, who have gone unpaid for their produce for more than a year.

To bring down cane arrears and reduce rising inventories, New Delhi has been providing incentives to mills for overseas sale of sugar and set an export target of 5 million tonnes.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

That means Indias sugar inventory levels will rise to 14.7 million tonnes at the beginning of the new season on Oct. 1, 2019, up 37.4 percent from a year ago, the trade body said.

The industry has been hoping the 2019/20 seasons output could drop due to higher ethanol production and a drought in the western state of Maharashtra, the countrys second-biggest sugar-producing region.

With additional ethanol production capacities getting installed and expanding existing capacities at a very fast pace ... (that) in turn will further reduce sugar production in the next season, the trade body said.
The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of Gaddi Lohar community.

Mumbai: Deana Uppal, Miss India UK, is all set to direct and produce an in-depth documentary on the life of this Banjara community. The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of the Gaddi Lohar community.

Uppal is also working on forming her own organisation that will work for the issues faced by the Banjara community on a day-to-day basis. As the entire country participates in the mega general elections with fervour, Rajasthans Gaddi Lohar community has been left out. This nomadic tribe, who fall below the poverty line, do not possess any voter ID, Aadhar Card or any other identification document.

In the absence of these vital documents, this nomadic tribe does not get a chance to exercise their franchise. Also, being bereft of these documents, this community does not get the benefits of the government schemes.

As part of her campaign for the nomadic community, Uppal is also holding meetings with several ministers of Rajasthan and putting forth the issues faced by these people.

The Miss India UK has been to the offices of Public Works and Development Ministry, Health Ministry, Women and Child Development Ministry to discuss the problems faced by the Gaddi Lohar community.

As Rajasthan goes to polls on May 6, Uppal has written to the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan, Anand Kumar, urging him to devise a strategy for future so that this community can have their voting rights and get a chance to elect their representative.
Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

There were reports that Priyan would return to direct Hera Phera 3. The Hera Pheri producer Firoz Nadiadwala had a massive fall-out with his director after Hera Pheri in 2000. The second Hera Pheri film was directed by writer Neeraj Vora who passed away last year. Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

Priyan is busy shooting his most ambitious film to date in Hyderabad.

It is called Marakkar: The Lion Of The Arabian Sea. It features my favourite actor Mohan Lal in the lead. This time hes playing a real-life character, says Priyan excitedly.

Priyan and Mohanlal have worked in a staggering 44 films together. Marakkar is their 45th collaboration. Says Priyan, We are shooting on ships that weve created and erected in a studio. At the age of 62, Im shooting non-stop for nearly 90 days. I must retire soon. But only after I finish directing my 100th film. Marakkar is my 93rd film. Hope God will keep me going for seven more films.
The UAE government has signed a strategic agreement with National Bonds, the leading Sharia-compliant saving and investment company, to launch its new Labour Saving Programme (Tharaa) initiative.

The laborer in UAE is the creator of foundations, the thread that holds together the social fabric, and the one who is impacting the domestic economy and its development. Thus, he deserves special attention and privileges awarded by the UAE Government, said a satement from Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE).

The attention paid by the leadership is notable as it recognises laborers rights and ensure that laws are in place and being regulated by various bodies and ministries, such as the MOHRE, which is working to ensure laborers happiness, convenience and rights.

In keeping with MOHREs efforts, Tharaa was launched under the National Happiness and Positivity Programme of the Ministry of Happiness.

Tharaas launch occurs ideally in conjunction with the global and local celebration of Labor Day, emphasizing MOHREs constant efforts to provide laborers with the best services and competitive earnings, in order to achieve the highest level of happiness. This, in turn, is reflected in the Happiness Index for the UAE, as a whole, said the statement.

Tharaa is aimed at enabling labourers to build a financially stable future through monthly fixed deductions directly from their Wage Protection System (WPS), the amount of which is voluntarily contributed by the laborer throughout the duration of his/her stay in the country.

The laborer shall also have several benefits, annual profits, micro-financing facilities through third party tie ups and entry into National Bonds generous rewards program.

This allows the laborer the chance to win several rewards including a million-dirham every quarter, in turn enabling him to create a happy and secured future.

The savings initiative, Tharaa, is supported by automated kiosks at thirty-eight of MOHREs Tawjeeh Centers, spread across the Emirates.

They will be also eligible to participate in additional program benefits and awards, which amount to more than Dh37 million. These rewards are distributed on a monthly and quarterly basis to local and expatriate employees working in the private sector, said the statement.

The most prominent of these awards is the quarterly one million prize draw. This draw is divided into two parts: the quarterly one million prize draw for UAE locals, and the same for expatriates.

UAE locals and expatriates can also participate in the monthly draw for two cars or their equivalent of Dh100,000, two monthly draws for a cash prize of Dh10,000 and 40,000 prizes of Dh50 each distributed monthly.

Furthermore, 50 savers will benefit yearly from Takaful services that protect them in the event of work-related death or injury.

In addition, more benefits will be provided including a complimentary quarterly money transfer service; a labor loyalty program, which will be launched in a later phase it stated.

On the novel scheme, National Bonds CEO Mohammed Qasim Al Ali said Tharaa come as part of the development of innovative programs and products to enhance financial happiness and strengthen the UAE's position as one of the best countries to live, work and invest in.

"This initiative will help employers and workers develop quick and practical plans for better financial health, and contribute to their families welfare and thus enhance their productivity," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour. (Photo: File)

Bhubaneswar: Back in 1999, when Odisha was hit by a cyclone, thousands had lost their lives. The state was left in shambles with the story of despair and fear written all over it.

Twenty years later in 2019, when cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India, the state was better prepared to handle the crisis.

Odisha is prone to incessant rainfall, cyclone and extreme weather conditions. The state is among the poorer states in India with coastal cities and villages exposed to the cyclone.

The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

In this process, they had to ensure the expediency and immediacy.

The New York Times reports that the state engaged in 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, around 1,000 emergency workers, buses, police and civic administration and reaching every lane of every village informing the last man about the nearing disaster.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour.

The impact was huge as trees and structures were ripped from their roots. While the millions were evacuated, very few lives were lost.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation spoke to the NYT. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

After the catastrophe in 1999, the state undertook the construction of numerous cyclone shelters. These were built miles away from the seashore.

Designed by some prestigious engineering colleges, the shelters, basic in design, have been of great help.

The Indian Meteorological Department had kept a close eye on the movement of the cyclone. Its path was accurately predicted and it landed at Odisha coast. Odishas fishermen were warned beforehand.

On the morning when the storm hit the coast, Odisha government had released a five page action plan prioritizing the safety of lives.

Having practised the evacuation drills on numerous counts, the task was clear in volunteers minds.

Food and beverages were delivered at the shelters. The loudspeakers kept asking people to reach the nearest shelter at the earliest.

In some areas, police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, asking people to leave.

Packed buses made rounds around Puri. Each shelter accommodated several hundred people.

In Puri, the officials said the winds reached at the speed of100 m.p.h. knocking down the very machine which measured the speed.

Though the lives were not lost, it did affect livelihoods. However, the storm of 1999 did prepare the state to gear for this battle.

Evacuating a million plus people in a span of 3-4 days was a challenging task. The bitterness sown in 2019 bore sweets in 2019.
In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Puri: Eight people were killed as Cyclone Fani battered Odisha on Friday, packing in rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees and electricity poles, cutting off power supply and swamping towns and villages.

The monster weather system, the biggest in years, made landfall at the holy city of Puri at around 8 am and continued to wreak havoc for four hours.

Special relief commissioner B.P. Sethi said three people had died in different incidents in Puri, Nayagarh and Kendrapara districts. While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district. By evening, the toll mounted to eight.

In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Extensive damage to the structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, all patients, staff and students safe, Union health secretary Preeti Sudan was quoted as saying.

Fani, which is pronounced as Foni and means snake hood in Bengali, struck with the fury and venom of a poisonous snake, bringing destruction to districts like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

The landfall of Fani happened at Puri at around 8 am. We have recorded wind speed of 142 km from hour gusting up to 175 km per hour, said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of India Meteorological Department, New Delhi.

Puri city, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and many other parts of the state remained completely disconnected from the world with internet and telephone services hit, flight and train services remaining suspended.

Airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata were closed. Bhubaneswar airport was shut on Thursday midnight. No flights departed Kolkata airport after 3 pm on Friday. Operations will remain suspended at Kolkata airport till 8 am on Saturday, aviation regulator DGCA said in New Delhi.

After pounding Odisha and heading northeastwards, losing strength on the way, the extremely severe cyclone (ESC) moved towards West Bengal where it is likely to hit Kolkata early on Saturday with gale wind speed reaching 90 to 100 kmph.

We are monitoring the situation 24x7 and doing all it takes... Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

The authorities in Odisha, where 10,000 people perished in a 1999 cyclone, had evacuated more than a million people two days ahead of the cylone from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in probably the largest evacuation exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the Centre has released more than Rs 1,000 crore to Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in advance for undertaking preventive and relief measures

A baby was born near Bhubaneswar just as the cyclone passed through. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit, said a spokesperson for the hospital.

Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which claimed close to 10,000 lives and battered the Odisha coast for 30 hours

Winds from to the weather system of the were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

As Fani pummelled Odisha, neighbouring West Bengal braced itself for its fury.

The sky was overcast in Kolkata and several other places since Friday morning as rain came in spurts, inundating several parts of the state capital.

Traffic snarls were reported from different places in the city. The storm brought down the political temperature, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelling all her election rallies that were planned over the next 48 hours and getting down to monitoring the situation.

The eye of the storm is likely to be weakened when it enters West Bengal. The wind speed will be around 100 kmph to 110 kmph, an official of the meteorological department said.

A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

New Delhi: Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was all set to face sanctions as a terrorist by the European Union due to the efforts of France but the proposed move has now been supplanted by the UN designation of Azhar as a global terrorist, French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said on Friday, even as he termed the listing of Azhar by the UN as a very good news for the world community and an important political decision.

The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

The UN sanctions on Azhar will need to be followed by all countries including the EU nations. The French ambassador said the UN listing would hinder the JeM chiefs activities. He also said that India had been officially invited (by France as the host) to the G-7 Summit to be held in France in August this year. The G-7 group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, termed as seven of the largest advanced economies in the world.

The French envoy described the listing of Masood Azhar as a successful realisation of the diplomatic efforts that France has been conducting for many years.
Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Patna: Leadership battle in the RJD resurfaced after Lalu Yadavs elder son Tej Pratap hinted that he is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

While addressing a rally in Jehanabad, he called h-imself a second Lalu and also attacked his you-nger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has been spea-rheading RJDs campaign in the absence of Lalu Yadav. He said, Lalu Yadav is a role model and guru for many leaders. There are some leaders who fall sick by addressing two or four rallies but Lalu ji used to campaign continuously and attended 10 to 12 political meetings during elections without taking rest even during excessive heat.

Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Tej Pratap was in Jehanabad to campaign in favour of his candidate Chandra Shekhar Yadav, where he gave the statement.

"The RJD candidate is weak because he has lost twice from this seat. Please vote for my candidate Chandra Prakash Yadav because he is capable of defeating the BJP in Jehanabad."

Senior RJD leader Surendra Yadav has been pitted against BJP candidate Chandeshwar Chandrawanshi from Jehanabad seat. The election in Jehanabad is in the seventh phase on May 19.

Political analysts claim that Tej Pratap fielding candidate against the RJD may upset the partys caste calculations in Jehanabad. He had has also been campaigning against RJDs Sheohar candidate Syed Faisal Ali.

Grand Alliance insiders said that reports of a rift in Lalu Yadavs family have confused RJD workers.

Reacting sharply to Tej Pratap's statement, former Bihar chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "People don't take Tej Pratap seriously but I feel that he has made a mistake by fielding a candidate against his own party."

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The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site.

Srinagar: Lateef Tiger, the only surviving member of Burhan Wani group, is among the three militants killed in a fierce fire fight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Shopian district on Friday.

Wani, the 22-year-old Internet savvy poster boy of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, was along with two associates killed by the Army in Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, triggering widespread unrest in the Kashmir and parts of Chenab valley of Jammu region.

The officials said that the fighting broke out in Adkhara village of Shopians Imam Sahib area at dawn on Friday after the security forces, including the Armys 34 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), laid siege to the area on learning about the presence of the Hizb militants in a private house.

A police spokesman, while confirming one of the slain militants was Lateef Ahmad Dar alias Tiger, said that he was a close associate of Burhan Wani and was active in south Kashmir since 2014. The two other militants killed with him have been identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh alias Mufti Waqas alias Tariq Moulvi and Shariq Ahmed Nengroo, both local residents.

The officials said that one Army soldier was injured during the fighting. The residential house in which the militants had been holed up was completely and two adjacent houses were partially damaged in the security forces final assault against them, the local sources said.

The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site. The security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet shotguns to quell stone-pelting mobs, leaving, at least, 17 persons injured. Three of them have been brought to Srinagar for specialized treatment.

As the word about the killing of the Hizb militants spread, traders brought their shutters down and transport services were withdrawn from the roads in most parts of Shopian and Pulwama. The authorities immediately snapped mobile Internet services in south Kashmir whereas train services through the area have also been suspended.

A handout issued by the police here said that, as per police records, Lateef Tiger had a long history of crime records since 2014 and was involved in planning and executing several attacks in the area. It said that similarly, Tariq also had a long history of crime records and was involved in several attacks. About Shariq, it said that he too was involved in several attacks.
Modi said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

New Delhi: A day after Congress claimed that multiple surgical strikes were carried out by the UPA regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the me too claim of the rival party on Friday, saying only the Congress can do a surgical strike on paper and in video games.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, Mr Modi suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes and also hit out at the UPA for shifting IPL tournament abroad in the past due to its failure to provide security.

Showcasing the ruling BJPs muscular nationalism, Mr Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during that partys term and now another leader is saying there were six. PM mocks Cong me too claim on surgical strikes

The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time the elections are over, this will increase to 600, he said.

Jab kagaz par hi karni ho, jab video game mein hi strike karni ho to 6 ho ya 3 ho, 20 hon ya 25 hon, ye jhoote logon ko kya fark padta hai (When the surgical strikes are to be done on a piece of paper then how does it matter if they have conducted 6 or 25), Mr Modi said.

Hitting out at the Congress for questioning his governments anti-terror action across the border, Mr Modi hit out at the party for Pehle upeksha, fir virodh, ab me too, me too (They initially rejected it, then opposed it and now they are saying me too, me too).

He said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

Mr Modi accused Congress leaders of calling the Army chief a goonda (thug) and the Indian Air Force chief a liar, in an apparent reference to alleged remarks by Sandeep Dikshit and Veerappa Moily in past years.

He said the Congress leaders do not trust the valour of the countrys jawans and raise doubts on casualties inflicted on terrorists.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

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Speaking at a rally in Karauli, the Prime Minister hit out at the Congress for shifting IPL tournament abroad on the pretext that they cannot ensure security for it.

IPL matches were played outside the country on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, because the government did not give permission, citing elections. But now, elections are also happening and so is the IPL, he said.

Ye poonch daba ke bhaagne waali sarkar mein the, Modi seena taan ke jata hai (It was a government that was scared while Modi is here standing tall), Mr Modi said.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of cheating people in the name of various schemes.

In Rajasthan, people are given forms for Rs 100 for getting Rs 72,000. This is how they cheat, he said.

Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan will be held in the fifth phase of the election on May 6. Thirteen other seats in the state went to polls in the fourth phase on April 29.
Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

New Delhi: Days before polling in Amethi, considered by many to be the pocket-borough of the Gandhis, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to voters there urging them to vote him back as their MP and promising to push schemes for the region blocked by the BJP when his party gets to form the government at the Centre.

Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

It is my promise to the people of Amethi that the moment the Congress comes to power at the Centre, the schemes blocked by the BJP will be started soonest. On May 6, vote in large numbers to bring back this member of the family, he wrote in the letter.

The Congress president, who is said to be facing a tough fight in Amethi from Union minister Smriti Irani, has not been seen much in his constituency, which has been managed by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation is rife in the Congress that if Mr Gandhi wins both Amethi and Wayanad  the second seat from where he is contesting  then he is likely to vacate Amethi for Priyanka.

In the letter on Friday, Mr Gandhi accused the BJP of setting up a factory of lies and distributing rivers of cash to voters.

Amethi is my family. My Amethi family gives me courage that I stand with the truth, that I can hear the pain of the poor and weak and raise my voice for them and to ensure equal justice for all, he wrote.

With your love, I have tried to unite the country from north to south; east to west... My karmbhumi Amethis ideology is getting support from across the country, the Congress president said in his letter.

Amethi has voted elected Mr Gandhi since he first took his eletoral plunge in 2004. But the much-reduced votes and vote share in the last election in 2014, when the BJP fielded Ms Irani against him, has given the Congress chief reason to worry.

The BJP has alleged that he chose Wayanad to also contest as he was afraid of losing from Amethi.

Smriti Irani said the letter signifies that he has not given importance to Amethi.
In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was assaulted by a man during his road show in Moti Nagar area here on Saturday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the Chief Minister.

The man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway, said police. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

However, this is not the first time that his security has been breached. In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

AAP condemned the cowardly act and said that opposition sponsored attack cannot stop AAP in Delhi.

"Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi," tweeted AAP.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi.  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

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'Intimate Audrey': Hepburn exhibition opens in Brussels on the 90th anniversary of her birth.

An exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth. (Photo: Pixabay)

Brussels: From personal pictures and dresses to film props and awards, an exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth in the Belgian city.

Put together by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Intimate Audrey features hundreds of private and professional photos - originals and reprints - as well as some movie memorabilia, such as the scooter used in the 1953 classic Roman Holiday for which Hepburn won a best actress Oscar.

Hepburn Ferrer, whose father was U.S. actor Mel Ferrer, said he wanted to offer a more personal perspective of the life of the British actress, who dedicated her later years to charity work and became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She lived a humble life, a simple life, and maybe in there lies the key to why she is still so beloved today, he told Reuters.

Hepburn was born in 1929 in the Brussels area of Ixelles to a Dutch mother and British father. She later moved to London to pursue ballet training and eventually turned to acting, taking to the stage in New York in 1951 for Broadway play Gigi.

She starred in a string of films in the 1950s and 1960s, including Breakfast at Tiffanys, Charade and My Fair Lady. Hepburn died in 1993 aged 63.

On display are also Hepburns fashion drawings and humanitarian writings. Hepburn Ferrer said one the key features of the exhibition was a replica cherry blossom tree, a tribute to the childhood home in Switzerland his parents bought in 1963 and remained Hepburns residence until her death.

It is an unusual exhibition because it has been completely devoid of the Hollywood aspect of her career so its the woman who is coming home, naked of the legend, of the icon, he said. Intimate Audrey runs Espace Vanderborght until Aug. 25.
No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Global security officials agreed a set of proposals on Friday for future 5G networks, highlighting concerns about equipment supplied by vendors that might be subject to state influence.

No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies over concerns their gear could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei denies this.

The overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country should be taken into account, participants at the conference in the Czech capital said in a non-binding statement released on the last day of the two-day gathering.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.

Diplomatic sources said participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home but called for participants to seize on the momentum moving forward.

This would be a pity if this turns out to be a one-off event, Japans ambassador for cyber policy Masato Ohtaka said.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Some western countries concerns about Huawei centre on Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law, stating that Chinese organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.

EU members have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to a bloc-wide assessment by October 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of the year.

Huawei said it was ready to work with regulators and other stakeholders on creating effective rules.

We are encouraged by the emphasis on the importance of research and development, open markets and competition, but would urge policymakers to avoid measures that would increase bureaucracy and costs and limit the benefit that 5G can bring, it said in a statement.

As the EU continues its deliberations, we firmly believe that any future security principles should be based on verifiable facts and technical data.

The final document looked at the impact of 5G on policy, technology, economy and security, with general recommendations on how best to mitigate potential risks.

All stakeholders including industry should work together to promote security and resilience of national critical infrastructure networks, systems and connected devices, the document said.

The security issue is crucial because of 5Gs leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them.

Europe  where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are preparing to auction 5G licences this year  has emerged as a battleground over Huaweis next-generation technology.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has collaborated with the IE School of Global and Public Affairs (IE) and International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch the groundbreaking Executive Master Degree in Internationalization and Trade in Spain.

Held at the IE School campus in Madrid, the event featured a panel discussion on the Challenges of Global Trade and International Business Expansion with panelists including Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol (ITFC CEO), Arancha Gonzalez (ITC Executive Director) and Isaac Martin Barbero (Cabify Chief Cities & Communities Officer).

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is a co-designed program, originally initiated by the ITFC after it recognised the need for a specialised executive course capable of developing trade professionals with rounded knowledge and expertise in order to thrive in global trade and international business.

The programme which focuses on trade, trade finance and trade development, is the first of its kind to be initiated by a multilateral financial trade institution, said a statement from ITFC.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade has been designed for two complementary profiles: executives and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their global businesses, and professionals working in trade policy and regulation of global trade.

This provides each with a unique opportunity to share experiences of addressing the universal challenges of making trade more inclusive and improving livelihoods to lift people out of poverty worldwide.

Through collaboration with IE and the ITC, ITFCs vision of shaping a comprehensive degree has led to the creation of a course built around a blended methodology, combining live videoconferences and interactive forums, with face-to-face sessions in Geneva and Madrid.

This approach enables students to advance their career while simultaneously pursuing a valuable and meaningful education.

Salem Sonbol said: "Shaping up a programme like the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is an answer to the needs of the dynamic and evolving landscape of Trade and Trade Finance."

"Partnering with prominent institutions like IE and ITC in this Program provides a unique transformational experience that combines academic excellence and practitioners leadership with the aim to push the frontier of learning beyond conventional practices and assumptions to new horizonsthis is at the core of our mandate of Advancing Trade and Improving Lives," he stated.

IE Dean Manuel Muniz said: "We live in a time of exponential change. This is also evident in the space of trade. The digitalization of value chains, 3D printing and the use of cryptocurrencies or Blockchain technology is radically reshaping trade."

"We need policymakers and trade practitioners to understand this change, navigate it and make the most of the opportunities it brings," he explained.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade programme is a notable milestone for ITFC. It is the organizations first foray into education and a major contribution to encouraging experienced professionals in the industry to take up the challenge of transforming trade.

Salem Sonbol pointed out that after witnessing the dynamics of global trade over the years, the need to equip professionals with the essential skills and latest trends has become a necessity.

"Working everyday across the value chain of trade, we could tell the Why, but to get a mastery on the What and the How directed us to partner with IE and ITC; and together we designed the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade to establish the excellent means to improve transformation of trade executives, professionals and experts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The launch would be North Korea's first action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned. (Photo:File)

Washington: Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy, prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.
Rich Guys Are More Likely to Pretend to be Experts, Says Study

Rich Guys Are More Likely to Bullshit You

While some people seem to have a natural ability to call BS, for other people, it isnt quite as easy. However, heres some help. According to a new study, rich guys are more likely to pretend theyre experts on subjects they know nothing about.

RELATED: The Surprising Trait Self-Made Millionaires Share

The study, published in April in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, aptly titled Bullshitters. Who Are They and What Do We Know About Their Lives? assessed the ability to pretend to be an expert without actually being one  or, the ability to bullshit.

The research conducted by John Jerram and Nikki Shure of the University College of London and Phil Parker of Australian Catholic University involved assessing participants and their knowledge of 16 math topics. The study also used data from the Program for International Student Assessment, which involves tens of thousands of 15-year-olds globally. The participants answered topics based on a five-point scale from never heard of it up to know it well, understand the concept.

But there was a twist in the topics. Three of them were fake, essentially outing which of the participants were the true BSers. Those who pretended to know about the fabricated topics, proper numbers, subjunctive scaling, and declarative fractions, ranked highest on the BS meter.

Just who those imposters were, might surprise you. According to the study, men were more likely than women to pretend like they knew what they were talking about. There was also a difference between those who were wealthy, poor, and middle class. Rich guys, specifically, were the biggest BSers.

The study also suggested that North Americans were more likely to pretend to know about something than English speakers in other parts of the world. Incidentally, participants from Canada ranked at the top of the list.

RELATED: Best Dating Sites for Rich Men

Do you know any self-proclaimed math whizzes? It turns out, those participants were also the most likely to claim to be experts in other non-existent subject areas. According to the study, if you frequently boast about your abilities, you might also be good at bluffing and pretending to know about topics you know nothing about.

Fortunately, there are some good things about having a knack for pretending like you know about stuff that you dont. The studys authors wrote, Being able to bulls- convincingly may be useful in certain situations (e.g., job interviews, negotiations, grant applications).

And, it could also explain why the biggest BSers also happened to be wealthy. The study suggests that this behavior could help them earn higher wages and explain some of the gender wage gap, said study co-author Nikki Shure. This has important implications for thinking about tasks in job interviews and how to evaluate performance.

One thing to note about the study is that the participants were 15-year-olds, which doesnt necessarily mean the results apply to adults. Although the studys authors guess that most traits like the ability to successfully bluff transfer from teenage years to adulthood, there isnt definite proof of it.

Further, the study only involved math topics, which may or may not have something to do with the participants inclination to embellish on their knowledge. Who knows, maybe participants are more honest about their knowledge when it comes to other topics. In the meantime, its probably safest to take what your self-proclaimed math genius friends tell you with a grain of salt.

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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy. Cloudy and damp with rain, possibly heavy this morning, then becoming partly cloudy late. High 53F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill earlier this week declaring marital rape illegal and repealing the state's previous exemptions, reports AP.

The state of play: The state house approved the bill 132-0, while the Minnesota senate unanimously voted 66-0 this week. Previously, the law protected a rapist if he or she lived with the victim and had a prior voluntary sexual relationship. State Rep. Zack Stephenson, who wrote the bill, called the marital rape exception an "abominable law," in a statement, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Marital rape was made illegal in all 50 states by 1993, but many loopholes and remnants of the historic "spousal defense" persisted, per AP. Maryland made marital rape illegal in 2017, reports the Baltimore Sun. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers are continuing to close these loopholes, intending to reintroduce a similar bill later this month, per NPR.

Go deeper: Tech companies step in to stop date rape
Beto O'Rourke told supporters at a Fort Worth rally on Friday that he would put former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in charge of voting rights initiatives if he were elected president, CBS reports.

Driving the news: Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has fielded offers from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Joe Biden for respective Senate and 2020 White House runs. O'Rourke reportedly said at the rally he spoke with Abrams on the phone "to thank her for all the work that she's doing on voting rights."

What they're saying:

When asked about O'Rourke's potential offer, an Abrams spokesperson told CBS, "As she thinks about her own campaign for the Presidency, Leader Abrams has taken the time to speak with numerous Democrats who are already running about the need to combat voter suppression and about the importance of Georgia's 16 electoral votes."

An O'Rourke campaign spokesperson told CBS that "Beto believes he would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ms. Abrams in any capacity and looks forward to continuing to follow her incredible lead on the many efforts she's championing including protecting voting rights and fighting to increase access to the ballot box."

"...we will put Stacey Abrams in charge of this effort so that we get it done," O'Rourke said at his rally on Friday, in reference to automatic voter registration and gerrymandering.

The context: Abrams filed a federal lawsuit challenging the gross mismanagement of Georgias 2018 gubernatorial election after she narrowly lost to Republican opponent Brian Kemp amid mass voter purging.

Go deeper: Stacey Abrams commends Joe Biden for recognizing harassment claims
Ariston Thermo, an Italian specialist in heating systems and related products that opened its first manufacturing plant in Bahrain last year, sees the Gulf Construction Expo as a major platform in the kingdom to establish and expand its business and network of contractors.

The three-day event, organised by Hilal Conference and Exhibitions (HCE), concludes today at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The 7,000-sq-m plant located in the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) has a production capacity of 250,000 electric water heaters. The company manufactures storage electric water heaters branded Ariston, which are mainly marketed in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

We see a good number of construction and real estate developers at the event. We hope to build new contacts at the show and yield new projects too, said Edoardo Pauletta dAnna, country manager, UAE, Gulf and Levant, Ariston Therma SpA Middle East Branch.

A leading company in the water heating and heating industry, Ariston Thermos product portfolio includes water heating, heating and solar systems, heat pumps and gas boilers. Apart from showcasing its Made in Bahrain water heaters at the Gulf Construction Expo, Ariston for the first time is also promoting its new Kairos Thermo  a solar system for sanitary water heating.

We see a trend towards energy-efficient water heaters and thats why we are promoting this here, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
By Trend

For as long as Armenia continues to engage in a destructive propaganda campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and keeps its soldiers in the Azerbaijani territory, recent bilateral talks hosted by the Russian Federation and OSCE, with the intention to pacify the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, are doomed to failure, Peter M. Tase, expert in Transatlantic Relations and Azerbaijani Studies, a senior advisor to the Global Engineering Deans Council and to various European and Latin American governments, told Azernews, Trend reports.

He noted that the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at the center of these talks, however concrete actions by the government of Nikol Pashinyan are nowhere to be seen, and Armenia continues to occupy twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and maintains a posture of belligerence in the region.

Tase recalled that on April 10-11, Nikol Pashinyan visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, in this occasion he delivered once again an inflammatory speech against Azerbaijan, stating the following in the plenary: [Azerbaijan] must refrain from the use of force, threaten by use of force and military rhetoric.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, who pretends to refrain from the use of force and calls upon Azerbaijan to stop using force, is simply bluffing, deceiving the international community and misinforming the Council of Europe. In fact Armenia is the belligerent party and the main source of violence and turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighboring seven districts, all of this territory is a sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and is recognized as such by United Nations and by all its member states, said the expert.

He believes that Pashinyan must review the OSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

In the Helsinki Final Act the principle of refraining from the use of force, included as the second point among its ten tenets, states: The participating States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations and with the present Declaration. The entire international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said Tase.

He went on to add that Armenian Prime Minister must take immediate steps to refrain from the use of force according to the demands of the international community towards the full withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in order to ensure a lasting peace, regional security and economic prosperity in the region.



Tase pointed out that the two governments are not equally positioned on a negotiating table: Armenia is the aggressor (occupying twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and plundering its natural resources) and on the side is the government of Azerbaijan (fully respecting International Laws, U. N. Security Council Resolutions and patiently waiting to solve this conflict by peaceful means, even though Azerbaijan has the military might to liberate its occupied territories with the use of force).

Prime Minister Pashinyan is utilizing every diplomatic tool and international factor that would delay any progress made in the bilateral negotiations time table. International Economic sanctions against Yerevan and constant political condemnation of its aggressive actions in the Caucasus are very much necessary in order to pressure Pashinyan to fully withdraw Armenian Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. Only after the withdrawal of Armenian Armed Forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, we may have lasting results in the solution of this conflict that has caused so much pain and suffering for Azerbaijan and its peace loving nation, he said.

As for the statement of the Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan about the possibility of moving military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, Tase said that David Edgari Tonoyan is a former representative of Armenia to NATO, in his current position as Minister of Defense he should focus more on providing sufficient quantities of food and overall resources to the Armed Forces of Armenia, which is going through economic hardships. Tonoyans statement on upcoming Armenian Military Operations is a deceptive message that wont frighten Baku, he added.

Tase noted that Azerbaijani Armed Forces are ranked among the top ten military forces worldwide, thanks to their impeccable training, cutting edge weapons technology and high levels of moral and patriotism. Tonoyans forces will be met with an unmatched response and a heavy thunder of weapons, if they try to awaken the Azerbaijani might. As the old Latin adage states: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon).

On the other hand, Tase believes that one concrete example of showing international pressure towards Armenia is to suspend the current cooperation framework between Armenia and NATO, until the Government of Nikol Pashinyan has withdrawn all of its Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

NATO must take steps on the ground and deliver political statements that condemn Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories; the alliance should halt the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with Armenia for as long as this country is ruled by politicians that have kissed the blarney stone and use epizeuxis approach when engaged in a smear campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its people, he concluded.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovic said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.

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By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order appointing Khalaf Khalafov Deputy Foreign Minister, Trendreports.

By another presidential order, Khalafov has been entrusted with the duties of a Special Presidential Representative for border and the Caspian Sea issues.

Earlier, Khalaf Khalafov served as head of the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

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By Trend

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.

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By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."

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By Trend

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

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Perhaps at no point over the past 30 years, since the recognition of the newly-independent Republic of Armenia by Turkey in 1991, have the circumstances been so auspicious as to begin a lasting and sustainable normalisation of the relations between the two nations.
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Bahrain has reached an agreement with the Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni to develop the northern concession 1, said a BNA report.

The National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) will sign the commercial deals with the Italian firm, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, adding that a draft law would be referred to the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council to be endorsed.

The minister made the press statement on the sidelines of his patronage of the annual Bapco Green School Award 2018-2019.

Noga is now gathering information regarding the analysis of the seismic and geological data of concessions 2, 3 and 4 in the north of Bahrain, he said, adding that international companies would be invited to participate in the exploration later.

He revealed that Bapco is studying a project to make use of carbon dioxide for injection into the Bahrain Field to increase the output when extracting oil.

Noga is also studying plans to cooperate with Government departements in carrying key projects such as the fish farming and tree planting across Bahrain.
Lukoil, one of the worlds largest vertically integrated and privately-owned global energy companies and the market leading lubricants brand in Russia and Europe, has partnered with Al Mustaqbil Al Zahir Cars Trading (Amaz) to distribute its extensive range of lubricant products in the UAE.

Lukoils premium product range includes Genesis, the advanced Synthetic Automotive Lubricants products, already acclaimed in the industry and approved by reputed car manufacturers globally.

Lukoil Lubricants boast over 700 products in their global range and carries more than 1000 international OEM approvals and endorsements, which include Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Scania, MAN, Mack, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, Siemens, Wartsila, ZF and several more car makers from Japan and Korea.

The agreement between the two parties was finalized at the offices of Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC. The event was presided over by June Manoharan, the managing director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC; William Gilbert Dsouza, Lukoil Sales Director, Automotive Lubricants; Sandeep Malhotra, Lukoil Regional Sales Manager besides Amaz officials including Abdullah Ahmed Bahwan, Executive Director; Shyam Asnani, Chief Operating Officer, Intl Business; Paulo S Fernandes, VP, International Business and Parvinder Singh, Head of Lubricants Business.

Manoharan, who is responsible for Automotive Lubricants in the region, said: "As the 21st century consumers, governments and industries move towards advanced technology to achieve increased efficiency and reduced emissions, the role and scope of oil manufacturers changes and calls for huge R&D investments in new product developments."

"Lukoil being a progressive organization, has already kept itself ahead of the curve and developed an impressive range of synthetic products. The Lukoil Genesis products meet and exceed the stringent quality and high-performance standards set by the global industry organizations, API and ACEA," she stated.

"We are pleased to partner with Amaz to market our Genesis range and other motor lubricants in this highly sophisticated and competitive market," he added.

On the Lukoil tieup, Ahmed Bahwan said: "We are very pleased to partner with Lukoil, a progressive organization and respected global brand, whose strategy for the region matches with ours."

"We want to bring high quality products & services to UAE consumers and continuously strive to provide best in class customer service. Our experienced and motivated teams will significantly contribute to the success of Lukoil Lubricants in the UAE," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Californians Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Include your name and phone number; they wont be published.
One of the two men convicted in the murder that introduced a scandalized public to the so-called Lords of Bakersfield is out of prison after 3
Beachy Dating Advice: Three Wowing Central Oregon Coast Make-Out Spots

Published 05/01/2019 at 3:53 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Newport, Oregon)  Whether it's trying to find a place to really impress someone on a first date or provide a little zing into an ongoing relationship, the Oregon coast is hard to beat. Though theres a lot thats cliche about romantic getaways along the shoreline, and its easy to veer into very unsurprising territory (Above: 15th St. ramp, Lincoln City).

So, what can you do on these beaches that is different and really romantic? This article looks at three places on the central Oregon coast to wow and woo that first date in a very singular way (while in a previous article suggested North Oregon Coast Romantic Surprises).





Pier at South Beach. Newport has tons of lovely beach area, but not a lot thats unpopulated unless youre wandering at night. One spot, however, is a manmade beauty by day or night, sitting on the other side of the bay from Newport.

Park in or around the marina, close to the south jetty, and youll find a pier stretching out a hundred feet or so into Yaquina Bay. Mostly, youll find crabbers and their crab pots  if you find anyone at all. But at night theres usually not a soul here. The lights of the bayfront shimmer and twinkle on the water, and the sound of the waves in the distance is quite lulling. Cuddling together to keep warm in this somewhat exposed spot is another kiss-inducing plus. Lodgings in Newport - Newport Virtual Tour





SW 15th Street Beach Ramp, Lincoln City. In many ways, this central Oregon coast spot doesnt stand out for natural beauty or the possibility of being really alone. In fact, its sort of the opposite: theres a lot of people on this one, with their cars, and its a tad on the greasy side because of the oil from the auto traffic.

However, the fact it allows cars on the beach offers some unique opportunities for interesting romantic moments. Hit this beach later at night, and youll likely find yourselves alone. Slip in your sweethearts favorite romantic, slow dance tune into your vehicles CD player or I-pod port. Then engage in a gushy slow dance on the sand with the surf nearby.

Youll be the hero for what appears to be a spontaneous tender moment and for thinking outside the box.

After dark, the ramp is lit up in an especially lovely way, and either the sloped pavement or the stairway will make for a nicely atmospheric stroll down to the beach should you decide to not take your vehicle down there.

If you do take a rig thats not well equipped for driving on the sand, be careful to stay on the wet and hard parts, and watch for the mushy sections. Its quite easy to get stuck here.

During the day, this spot does provide some fascinating rocky areas at the tideline, which can yield engaging tide pool life. Lodgings in Lincoln City - Lincoln City Virtual Tour











Intoxicatingly Lovely in Lane County. In that 20-mile or so stretch of central Oregon coast between Yachats and Florence, there are copious possibilities for finding yourselves the only two people on the beach. Even on the busiest of weekends, its not hard to find a chunk of sand to yourselves. Its a smorgasbord of kissy-kissy possibilities.

Various hidden accesses lie next to better-known spots like Ocean Beach Picnic Area, Ten Mile Creek or Neptune State Park. These are all hidden enough and even rough enough in landscape as to make them largely unusable at night, unless youve got a really good flashlight. But even then things get so dark and bumpy its a tad comfortable for a totally romantic vibe. However, this all depends on how adventurous the two of you are.

Daylight provides a whole lotta lovin opportunities around here, however.

On the southern side of the little blob-like hill of Ocean Beach Picnic Area sits Rock Creek Campground and Roosevelt Beach. Just south of the campground and the bridge over the creek youll find some hidden accesses trailing off through the shrubbery. These lead to parts of Roosevelt Beach, which is one seriously enchanting tract of sand mixed with rocky structures. Youll pretty much never find anyone here.

This beach, like many along this area, is not wide. So these are big no-nos during high tide events or stormy conditions. But the big plus is that theyre surrounded by high bluffs from which to watch the tidal melee while smooching. Along this part of 101 sit many little overlooks, which make this an awesome spot for wintry dates as well, especially if you want to remain hidden from the elements in your car. And what can be more perfect than making out in your car with a wild beach view, as the wind and rain batter your rig? Lodgings in Yachats - Lane County Virtual Tour











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Over the last several months, a visit to any Beaumont-related social media was almost guaranteed to lead to conversation about one of the citys most hotly-contested council races.

The matchup of incumbent Mike Getz, 62, and Jefferson Fisher, 30, has seemingly prompted the most conversation among city residents.

During the campaign season, a website disapproving of Getz appeared online through an unknown owner. Fisher quickly made clear he didnt approve it, instead choosing to refocus on his own mission to reshape the future, according to his campaign Facebook page.

The website later was taken down, but speculation spread on who could have started such a page and what side they belong to.

THE BALLOT: Candidates in contested races across Southeast Texas

Fisher says he entered the race because the city needs a breath of fresh air. He says hes the candidate to foster positive relationships and be a young, civil force to help improve the citys image.

Getz, a sometimes controversial council member first elected in 2011, has acknowledged that his tenure has drawn opposition from some, but believes many detractors live outside of Ward 2. He says his constituents know him as a council member who answers phone calls and emails, and addresses complaints as soon as possible.

Both local attorneys have discussed addressing crime with differing approaches.

Fisher said he believes in fighting crime smarter, not harder, which doesnt always mean bringing in more officers. He said members of the Beaumont Police Department have told him theyve had trouble hiring to fill current vacancies, so simply budgeting for more officers likely isnt the best response.

He has said the city needs to focus equally on the causes of crime, including taking care of youth.

Getz has stressed being an advocate for keeping police, fire and EMS at proper staffing and training levels, ensuring they have the equipment they need to do their job.

While in office, Getz has stuck with that campaign promise, and also led and funded a charge to put In God We Trust on emergency vehicles.

Fisher was endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association; Getz was endorsed by the Beaumont Professional Firefighters Local 399.

If elected, Fisher has said he plans to open a dialogue with the school board to build a trusting relationship and push for an overhaul of the citys website to provide residents easier access to information, among other initiatives.

Getz plans to advocate for an extension for Dowlen Road and start a multicultural festival that could happen on the Great Lawn outside the downtown Event Centre.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
One of the biggest issues facing Nederland voters at the polls this spring is a proposed $155.6 million school bond issue split into two proposals.

Proposition A would devote $82 million to build a new high school at the site of the existing building; $49.1 million to repair and expand all four elementary schools; $11.1 to make improvements to both middle schools; and $4.8 million to upgrade technology throughout the district.
Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 120 miles per hour, said media reports.

Odisha was put on high alert with several teams of the Indian Army, Navy, Coast Guard, National Disaster Rapid Force (NDRF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on standby for rescue and relief operations. The cyclone is said to be the worst to hit India since 2014.

Eight people were killed in Odisha due to the cyclone. According to the government, nearly 160 people were reported injured, with extensive damage to kuchha houses, old buildings and temporary shops, news agency ANI reported.

While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, it stated.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani over coastal Odisha and adjoining northwest bay moved north-northeastwards and has weakened further before reaching Bangladesh.

It now lies over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area at last reported around 9pm, according to the latest special weather bulletin from Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

By Friday night, the full impact of the storm was still being assessed according to local officials. Indias Coast Guard said on Twitter that emergency workers had started providing aid within the first hour of the storm making landfall, reported The New York Times.

Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclones path. India and Bangladesh evacuated more than 1 million people each from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.

The fast-moving storm struck the coast as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Several hours after it made landfall, the cyclone was downgraded to a very severe storm from an extremely severe storm.

Some relief efforts were hampered by extensive damage. Many large trees were uprooted and toppled onto roads in Puri district, according to a government spokesman, but road restoration work had already begun by Friday night, stated the report.

Phone lines, internet and electricity were all down in the city, but the government vowed to have services running again soon. At least 160 people were injured by the storm, it added.

The military conducted aerial surveys Friday evening to assess the damage, and at least four ships with aid supplies were stationed in affected areas, the navy said on Twitter.
Audiovisual technologies company Christie has been named the Official Displays and Projection Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai. It will create life-like visuals on Al Wasl Plaza dome to provide unparalleled visual experience across the entire Expo 2020 site.

With more than 250 ground-breaking laser projectors will illuminate iconic dome, visible from the sky, unparalleled visual experience awaits at Expo 2020 Dubai for the visitiors, said the event organiser.

As the Official Displays and Projection Partner, Christie will showcase its breakthrough laser projection technology, including using more than 250 of its D4K40-RGB projectors to create life-like evolving scenes on Al Wasl Plazas giant 130-metre-wide projection surface, which can also be seen from above.

Christies ground-breaking innovations have featured in Hollywood blockbusters and at major sporting events.

The award-winning company operates in more than 20 countries, and has a major presence in the UAE and Middle East since 2007 with the opening of its Dubai office.

The firm has installations across world-class events, retail centres, classrooms and movie theatres, and operated at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.

Regarded as setting the gold standard for display and projection technology, Christie will supply and manage all display screens across the Expo site, contributing to an exceptional Expo experience for the millions of visitors expected to attend.

Ahmed Al Khatib, the chief development and delivery officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We aim to create an unrivalled experience at Expo 2020 and spectacular visuals on the giant Al Wasl Plaza dome will be an iconic part of this."

"Christie is a trailblazer in this field and we anticipate an array of memorable displays across the Expo site thanks to Christies innovative technologies," he stated.

Bryan Boehme, the executive director, Global Sales and Business Development, Christie, said: "We are proud and excited to be an Expo 2020 Dubai Official Partner and look forward to creating memories with our unparalleled visual displays."

"The Christie D4K40-RGB pure laser projector is a powerhouse of technology and will wow the world with its unrivalled, rich and crisp visuals that raise the bar in image quality, making sure Expo 2020 welcomes the future in the most unforgettable and magical way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
She's the voice that soothes us into an easy Sunday morning on BBC Radio Ulster. But for veteran broadcaster Roisin McAuley, a recent holiday of a lifetime was far from stress-free due to a terrifying medical emergency.

Cookstown-born Roisin, who lives in Belfast with her husband Richard Lee and is stepmum to two children and a granny to one, took seriously ill on a world tour in March.

The much-loved and respected former news reporter, who returned to Northern Ireland five years ago after spending three decades in England, was rushed to hospital in Queensland after falling ill while visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

"We were doing a six-week, I suppose you could call it, world tour," she says. "We wanted to go and visit our friends and relations in Australia and in New Zealand. We decided to go via our nieces in New York and our nephew in California. Our friends also flew down to join us. We went then to Tahiti, to New Zealand and then on to Australia.

"We were in north Queensland beside the rainforest at a lovely resort called Port Douglas. We were able to travel on the Skyrail over the rainforest and we went out to see the Great Barrier Reef.

"It was during the trip out to the Barrier Reef that I fell ill. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I just felt suddenly ill and was out of it. I felt funny and started vomiting. We were on a kind of platform on a reef so it wasn't exactly sea sickness.

"I have very little memory of it. I just remember that Richard was going out snorkelling on the reef and I was thinking to myself, do I want to go out there, too?

"I remember thinking that you had to wear a wetsuit at that time of the year on the reef, because there were little fish out there which could bite you horribly and some of them could be poisonous, and maybe even lethal," she says.

"I was thinking all this and thinking about putting on a wetsuit and how tight it was going to be and I started to feel very unwell. I thought, I don't know if I want to do this at all, and then I started to feel even worse.

"Richard had come back from snorkelling at this stage and all I can remember is being violently sick and staff running to help me. The staff were absolutely excellent.

"They must have been medically trained. One of them, Johan, saw that I really wasn't well at all and acted very quickly.

"He took my blood pressure and told me that they were going to get the Flying Doctor in. He took a list of the medication I was on. I think he must have guessed what was happening, or perhaps he had seen it happening before.

"The boat was at this stage making its way to shore and the Flying Doctor wasn't needed as there was an ambulance waiting there for me. Thankfully there were no helicopters involved, but I was whizzed off to the hospital in a nearby town, Mossman, which was a really small place.

"It was a lovely little hospital, almost like the cottage hospitals that used to exist in Ireland. It was a small, local, district hospital but it was very well staffed," she adds.

When Roisin arrived at the hospital, doctors quickly diagnosed her with hyponatraemia, a critical depletion of salt levels in the body. Signs and symptoms of the condition include nausea and vomiting, headache, short-term memory loss, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma.

"The doctors quickly diagnosed me with hyponatraemia," she says. "It basically meant that my body was depleted of salt. It is a very serious condition. It is the illness that took the lives of the five children - Adam Strain, Claire Roberts, Raychel Ferguson, Lucy Crawford and Conor Mitchell - in hospital in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2003.

"It can lead to all kinds of problems and if I hadn't have been lucky enough to have been on the boat and had it spotted by staff, things could have turned out very different.

"I originally thought that it was heat stroke, as someone I knew had suffered from that and they had been sick like I w as. They had gone to bed to sleep it off and felt fine when they got up again. If I, feeling unwell, had gone to bed and gone to sleep, it might have been curtains for me.

"They were absolutely wonderful at the hospital. They put me on a saline drip. I was very confused. I kept saying to my husband 'Where am I?' and he would say to me 'You're in Australia' and I'd keep asking him 'What am I doing in Australia?' I was totally confused and out of it. But after a few days I came around all right.

"They asked me the usual questions: What day of the week is it? Do you know where you are? What year is it? I was able to answer them all correctly and they were able to let me out when my salt levels returned to normal. They looked after me so well. I was very fortunate and very lucky."

Roisin says it was explained to her that her condition arose due to her medication.

"It all happened because I had taken medication for blood pressure," she says. "My medication is called bendroflumethiazide and because it acts like a diuretic it can deplete the salt in your body.

"I have been taking the same medication for a number of years. But sometimes, they explained to me in the hospital, something else can trigger the condition and cause a low salt crisis. And in my case it was probably the heat and the humidity.

"It was very, very hot in Queensland at the time. In fact, there was a cyclone when I was recovering in the hospital. There was torrential rain - it is the rainforest, after all - and that was spectacular. At least I got to see that, even if it was from my hospital bed.

"I'm just glad that my condition was spotted by wonderful people and treated by amazing people and it was dealt with. They took me off the medication and I'm still off. My blood pressure now seems fine."

Roisin says that she doesn't like to dwell too much on the life-threatening experience, but instead the fact that she is so lucky and blessed.

"I never like to make things too dramatic," she says. "I was very fortunate that I was around people who knew what they were doing. Had the symptoms not been spotted, who knows how serious it could have been? I don't particularly think of my own mortality when I think of this. It just makes me think I am very, very lucky. It was an extraordinary experience and an interesting one.

"I feel that I always appreciate life and I just feel that I was so fortunate that we were able to get help quickly.

"There is a really excellent health system in Australia as far as I could see. They were very prompt in dealing with me and their hospital was very well staffed. There is a Medicare system - a system of reciprocal medical treatment between the UK and Australia. So we didn't even have to pay for my hospital stay.

"We just had to go to an office and register with Medicare and the reciprocal arrangement stood. That was very good and very reassuring.

"I might not have been so lucky had I fallen ill in Tahiti. I don't know what the hospitals are like there. I feel that it is hugely important that when people are travelling to another country they have insurance and know all about these things."

Roisin says she wouldn't be qualified to give others a warning on her condition, as it was so unique to her situation and came on so suddenly, but advised that if anyone feels unwell when travelling they get themselves checked over by a doctor. "As far as symptoms go, mine was just severe vomiting," she says. "I just felt awfully unwell. I just remember thinking that there was something really not right.

"I'm sure there are other ways it presents but I am not medically qualified to advise others. I just know the reason it happened to me.

"It is an unusual condition and it had to do with the medication I was taking so I couldn't put out a general warning to others to watch out for it, except to say that if you feel unwell, go seek medical attention.

"I don't think that it's a common condition by any manner of means, but I would just implore everyone to make sure that they are aware of the health arrangements in the country they are going to."

"For me, I don't have to keep an eye on this. They just took me off the medication I was on and it was fine. And if it continues to be okay, that's fine.

"And it if goes up again they will put me on something different," she says.

Roisin spent four days and four nights in hospital while on holiday recovering from her ordeal.

She says she has one big regret over the whole experience - not getting to see a famous Sydney landmark.

"One of my biggest regrets about the whole thing was that we had booked to go to the Sydney Opera House," she says.

"Before I took ill we had planned to go and stay with friends of ours in Sydney, visit the city and attend the opera house.

"We were so looking forward to five days in the city. That obviously didn't happen. We missed what might have been a highlight of our holiday.

"But in any case we had a wonderful time away. We loved Australia. It was hot and cheerful and beautiful. We will certainly go back.

"Next time, though, we will definitely stay out of the hospital and go to the opera instead."

Roisin is no stranger to drama and stress, perhaps due to her four decades working in the newsrooms of Belfast and indeed England.

"I went to the BBC from a post-grad secretarial course," she says. "It was brilliant for typing like smoke and taking a note, but I was never cut out for keeping 'the boss's diary'.

"It was in the days when there were ads in the newspapers for 'Girl Fridays'. I answered a BBC advert for a newsreader but I suppose I went into journalism because I wanted to write the news rather than read it.

"I've had some rather memorable moments over the years.

"I met Yasser Arafat. I made a film in Sarajevo while under siege and bombardment. We had no electricity and had to depend on water from trucks. I remember racing down 'Sniper Alley' in a 'soft' car - which is one with no armour plating.

"I remember meeting the incredibly brave hospital staff who could only operate when they had to switch on the reserve generator to keep the blood supplies cooled."

She adds: "I remember being tear-gassed in a Lima riot and reporting on the revolution in the Philippines. I remember walking through the abandoned palace of President Marcos after he fled. I filmed in Beirut during the hostage crisis, being the only reporter in West Beirut.

"I recall there being armed guards in the hotel whose only other occupants seemed to be arms dealers but bizarrely, there was a wedding by the swimming pool with belly dancers and obligatory firing of rifles, all this while I lay with my ear to the BBC World Service hearing reports about the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"There are just too many other memories to list."

And Roisin's Australian medical emergency is not the first time the broadcaster has had her holiday interrupted by a hospital stay.

"My return to Belfast in 2014 was actually prompted by an accident in France while we were on holiday there in 2013," she says. "Both my Achilles tendons were ruptured when I fell down a flight of stairs.

"I spent two weeks in a hospital in Bordeaux and 18 weeks in a rehab clinic there learning to walk again.

"I had magnificent care throughout.

"Richard stayed in an apartment nearby and visited me every day.

"Every single member of the family came out to Bordeaux as well as friends from Ireland.

"It prompted Richard to suggest we should move to Belfast. He had retired from his job as chairman of a law firm and we'd been talking about moving from Reading, where we were living."

Roisin adds: "Just after we moved - in early 2014 - the BBC offered me the job presenting Sunday Sequence.

"So you could say my return to the BBC was because of my Achilles tendons. Life takes you in unexpected directions sometimes."

Roisin presents Sunday Sequence on BBC Radio Ulster at 8.30am every Sunday morning
Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Counting has resumed for a second day in Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

Amongst the DUPs successes was the election of their first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, at Antrim and Newtownabbey Council.

Although she received warm congratulations from many of her party colleagues, former DUP health minister Jim Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Expand Close Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster. Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster.

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA)

In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA)

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Derry ward where journalist Lyra McKee was murdered (PA)

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly has topped the poll in a Derry ward weeks after the dissident republican murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

Mr Donnelly is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

He polled 1,374 first-preference votes in the Moor district electoral area (DEA) of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

He was first elected to the council as an independent in 2014. Mr Donnellys re-election came as Ms McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry, was remembered during a May Day parade in Belfast.

Her murder sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly said she died because of a reckless act.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said: This is wrong and my thoughts like the thoughts of this entire community are with her loved ones.

I would plead with those behind this attack to desist from any further attacks and seriously consider the consequences of their action.

Revulsion at her death has galvanised a new bid for political agreement at Stormont following criticism of the stalemate from a Catholic priest.

Demands for action from Father Martin Magill and Ms McKees sister Nichola Corner during her funeral in Belfast spurred the UK Government into a renewed effort to restore Stormont powersharing, due to begin next week.

On Saturday, members from the NUJ paid a special tribute to Ms McKee at Belfast City Hall as the parade made its way through the city.
DUP leader Arlene Foster at the count centre for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Pic: Cate McCurry/PA Wire

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the partys first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by party members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking a vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of the dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Hogg said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
A former MP, Barry McElduff, who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat (Barry McElduff/PA).

A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

On Friday, the Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate was elected in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA). PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA).

Alison Bennington was propelled onto Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to represent the pro-union and Christian party and praised her supporters good, hard work and good teamwork.

The DUPs founder, the late Rev Ian Paisley once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Sidelined former DUP health minister Jim Wells has said his former leader would be aghast, but her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from her supporters at a leisure centre near Belfast..

The DUP is staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and has thwarted recent efforts to legalise it.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where it is banned, despite five attempts by the devolved administration to introduce it and calls on Westminster to bypass Stormonts quarrelling politicians.

Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same-sex marriage were two separate issues.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the centralist Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the shooting dead of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.

Antrim and Newtownabbey voters have re-elected a former DUP mayor following his recent conviction for drink driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.
A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre has won a council seat in the Northern Ireland local elections.

Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

The Co Tyrone man was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on the fourth count.

Newly elected councillor Barry McElduff - who was forced to resign as Sinn Fein MP after angering relatives of the Kingsmill massacre - said he wants to move forward with dignity and integrity. pic.twitter.com/PuZzk7NHRr  Cate McCurry (@CateMcCurry) May 4, 2019

Mr McElduff and his supporters did not celebrate when it was officially confirmed.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she does not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle DEA  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance Partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

He previously ran for office in the 2017 Westminster election in North Belfast and won 19,159 votes, finishing second behind DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.

Pat Finucane was shot dead by loyalists at the age of 39 in front of his wife and three children in 1989.

The Ulster Unionist Party has suffered a number of high profile causalities, including Jeffrey Dudgeon who lost his council seat in the Balmoral DEA of Belfast.

In what has been a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

In 1981, Mr Dudgeon took a legal challenge to Europe to change the law on homosexuality in Northern Ireland.

The court ruled in his favour and the law in Northern Ireland was changed, bringing the region into line with the rest of the UK.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking at vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston  while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA)

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey, a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA)

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland wants to move away from them and us politics, the leader of the Greens has said after her party made significant gains.

The Green Party picked up four seats on Belfast City Council, including holding the one they won in 2014.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

The centralist Alliance Party also made gains in Belfast, going from eight seats to 10 seats.

Expand Close Eric Hanvey of the Alliance party (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Green Party leader Clare Bailey told the Press Association she is feeling overwhelmed by their success.

Mal OHara received a jubilant response from supporters as he emerged from the counting room having been deemed elected in the Castle DEA of north Belfast holding a rainbow flag.

He received a kiss from his partner and a hug from Ms Bailey.

Green Partys Mal OHara is elected in Castle DEA in what has been a phenomenal election for his party in Belfast. Celebrated with a kiss from his partner and a big hug from party leader Clare Bailey pic.twitter.com/GeQu2nmszr  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 4, 2019

Ms Bailey also praised the performance of first-time candidate Aine Groogan, who topped the poll in the Botanic DEA.

Mal OHaras election is a phenomenal breakthrough for the party to get a seat in north Belfast. It was a very tight race, and Aine Groogan topping the poll in Botanic as a first-time candidate coming in ahead of the mayor and deputy mayor of the city, she said.

People have really come out and supported us, they have shown us by their vote that they really want to make the change and our conversations at the door have really resonated, climate change and climate chaos right at the front of the arguments.

Expand Close Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

So regardless of our traditional cultural identities, the them and us politics, what we really need to be looking at is how we all mitigate against climate change, and that message is just being understood on the doors and over the last few days we are seeing that result coming in.

Its phenomenal.
A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service

A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service.

James McGaughey was sentenced at Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday where a judge said, that in the circumstances, he was not ordering any compensation to be paid.

McGaughey (24), of Celandine Court in Londonderry, had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm on James Healy on May 7 last year.

He also denied harassment of Healy between January 1 and January 31 last year.

At the earlier hearing at Derry Magistrates Court, Healy, the injured party, gave evidence that last January he had been crossing the Peace Bridge when he encountered McGaughey.

He said McGaughey started shouting things like "you murdering b******" and "I'll get you".

He told the court that McGaughey then followed him up to his flat and said he felt "anxious" after the incident.

The court was also told that the pair had met later outside a shopping centre and the defendant told him he was lucky he had his child with him or he would have killed him.

In relation to the incident last May, the witness said he had been walking across the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge when he encountered McGaughey and another man.

He said the defendant said to him "no knives today big man" before punching him and breaking his nose.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Alan Stewart, Healy agreed he had been convicted of the manslaughter of McGaughey's father on October 30, 2011.

He also agreed the killing involved a knife and that he had been released from prison in October 2017.

The barrister put it to him that when he saw McGaughey, he had said to him "would you like me to murder you like I murdered your father?". This was denied.

McGaughey had told the court that Healy had used "two knives" to kill his father and said the first time he had seen Healy since his release was in May.

He said when they met on the Craigavon Bridge Healy had made the remarks about his father and then reached to his pocket.

McGaughey said he thought Healy was reaching for a weapon so he punched him.

Under cross-examination by a prosecution solicitor, McGaughey denied having met Healy before the incident in May.

District Judge Barney McElholm said the case came down to a credibility issue and he believed the injured party.

He said he did take issue with McGaughey's anger towards the witness.

But he added people could not simply "lash out as that road leads to anarchy".

At yesterday's hearing Mr Stewart said that his client was basically a carer for his mother. He said he had sought counselling on a voluntary basis.

Imposing a sentence of 160 hours community service, Judge McElholm said he was not ordering any compensation to be paid and Healy could pursue that himself if he chose to do so.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to a Northern Ireland man who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) hosted a record 3.43 million delegates for the first time in its history in 2018 with visitation growth of 4 per cent year-on-year.



The results, announced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, deputy chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA), were driven by 363 Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and business events  a notable 3 per cent increase over 2017  of which 97 were large-scale events.



Aligned with Dubais progress towards a knowledge-based economy, top-performing events reflected steady growth across key sectors identified within the UAE Vision 2021 national diversification agenda, equally reflecting the strong return on investment witnessed by show participants across these sectors.



Chairing the Dubai World Trade Centre Authoritys Annual Board Meeting, Sheikh Ahmed reviewed the companys 2018 results and its strategic plans for future growth and expansion. Members of the Board in attendance at the session included Buti Saeed Al Ghandi; Ziad Abdulla Galadari; Abdulla Mohammed Rafia; Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin; Saoud Ibrahim Obaidalla; Abdulrahman Mohammed Rashid Al Sharid; and Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DWTCA and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of DWTC.



In his address to the board, Sheikh Ahmed said: This year marks 40 years since the opening of the Dubai World Trade Centre and the iconic Sheikh Rashid Tower, which was forged by the ground-breaking vision of our citys founding father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. As we remain future-focused with the aim to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world, DWTC will continue to play a central role in fuelling innovation across all sectors, driving destination competitiveness, and creating future economic opportunities for both, Dubai and the global community.



The year-on-year footfall increase was a reflection of the strength of DWTCs entire business portfolio in its ability to attract 54,717 exhibiting companies from 162 countries, of which 41,147 were foreign exhibitors (5 per cent increase from 2017), accounting for 75 per cent of total exhibitor participation. DWTC has been able to build on the success of 2017 by continuing to assert its regional leadership and impactful contributions in the international Mice sector and by leveraging Dubais strategic positioning as a powerful international convening platform for business and trade enablement, fuelling investment and expansion opportunities across industry verticals throughout the wider EMEASA region.



With strong international participation in 2018, DWTC welcomed 1.04 million foreign business travellers to Dubai, representing 41 per cent of its overall participant volumes. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to aid Dubais destination competitiveness with the development of critical event-related infrastructure and successfully succeeded in spurring growth within its key source markets. The primary source for attendees continued to be dominated by the proximity markets and Europe, namely Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, China, Egypt, Turkey, UK, Germany, Italy and Kuwait, ranked in order of participant volume. While several of the non-regional markets moved up in their ranking in 2018, Italy entered the Top 10 business visitor source country list for the very first time.



Growth across key sectors aligned with national diversification agenda

DWTCs scalable and content-rich events calendar added 28 new entrants including seven exhibitions, nine associations and 12 conferences in 2018, of which 13 were categorised as large scale events with more than 2,000 attendees. Overall, DWTCs 97 large-scale events attracted 2.5 million participants, 23 of which were classified as mega-events and attracted over 30,000 attendees per event. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to demonstrate its ability to meet the demands of the global Mice sector across a range of high-performing sectors including healthcare, science, F&B, hospitality, technology, energy and environment.



Healthcare, medical and science

In alignment with the UAE vision and Dubai Plan 2021, the Dubai Health Strategy aims at transforming Dubai into a leading healthcare destination by promoting public and private participation in the sector and enhancing Dubais competitiveness as a global medical destination. DWTC hosted 22 events in the healthcare, medical and science sector in 2018, including seven new events. Total visitor participation in this sector grew by 7 per cent from 419,217 in 2017 to 449,098 in 2018. Mega-event Arab Health, the largest medical exhibition and conference in the Middle East, topped the sectors figures with a 3 per cent increase in exhibiting companies, while Dubai Derma recorded a 29% increase in foreign visitors.



Hospitality, food and catering

The hospitality, food and catering sector once again rallied strong, reflecting the criticality of the industry and the far-reaching impact that its sustainability bears on global society. With 10 events collectively witnessing a robust double-digit surge in the number of participants, the portfolio was up 32 per cent in its visitation volumes from 325,438 in 2017 to 428,183 in 2018. Dominating the hospitality sector, as always, Gulfood, the worlds largest show for food business professionals and suppliers, attracted close to a 100,000 visitors, its strongest performance to-date. Meanwhile, the regional and global F&B manufacturing industry convened at Gulfood Manufacturing, which witnessed a 4 per cent increase in exhibiting companies from 1,543 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2018. Gulf Host, hospitality equipment and food service expo attracted significant interest with an impressive 25,000 visitors, up 144 per cent from 2017.



Travel and tourism

With Dubais global positioning as the #4 most visited city in the world and travel and tourism driving 5.1 per cent of the UAEs GDP, the sector continued to be a major focus in 2018. Arabian Travel Market, the leading global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, welcomed around 39,000 visitors while the Hotel Show had a strong showing with over 30,000 attendees.



Information communications and technology

One of the fastest growing and most disruptively transforming sectors across the world, ICT continued to remain a priority feature of the DWTC Calendar with 13 shows recording 42 per cent growth in the number of participants across events  from 226,708 in 2017 to 321,871 in 2018. These growth figures are reflective of Dubais visionary leadership to pioneer innovation, enable sustainable shared economic development and create a platform for continuous knowledge sharing and start-up empowerment. Flagship mega-show GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Future Stars, the regions premier technology and start-up events, showcasing game-changing innovations and the most illustrious investor and start-up gatherings, retained its ascendancy as it welcomed over 150,000 participants (4 per cent growth year-on-year), out of which approximately 40 per cent were foreign visitors with over 5,000 exhibiting companies. The new ICT event entrants in the calendar included the inaugural Future Blockchain Summit, which attracted significant interest with an impressive 14,000 visitors.



Energy and environment

Showcasing the UAEs progress to a sustainable future, the 20th WETEX and third Dubai Solar Show, a regional showcase of the latest developments in conventional energy and renewables reported 2,100 exhibitors and 35,088 visitors, a 10 per cent increase over 2017. Middle East Electricity Exhibition attracted 62,567 visitors, of which nearly half were from international markets.



Corporate portfolio drives synergistic value and sustainable future growth

Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to carry out critical event-related infrastructure upgrades and introduced a number of new facilities across its assets to enhance the experience of business travellers to the exhibition complex. DWTC saw the completion of Offices 4 and 5 in One Central, Dubais newest business district located within the DWTC complex, offering an integrated residential, commercial and hospitality destination, ahead of schedule in December 2018, marking the conclusion of the commercial aspect of the mixed-use destination.



DWTC also continued to extend its successes throughout Dubai through its role in the development of the Expo Village and the new Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at the Expo 2020 site.



DWTCs position as a global innovation leader in the MICE sector continues to be enhanced by the scaling up of strategic events within its calendar  both through the introduction of novel formats, niche segments and new events, as well as the development of the scalable, flexible content for its existing event portfolio. By harnessing new technologies and future-proofing DWTCs businesses by setting the gold standard in digital innovation, DWTC is able to deliver the ultimate, integrated, game-changing business destination experience, not just for 2019 but equally ensuring that we pioneer the evolutionary journey of the global MICE business as we look to the future, said Almarri. - TradeArabia News Service
Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson, who is acting as an ambassador for a huge summer commemoration to honour police and army veterans of the Troubles, says there is nothing dissident about the New IRA terrorists who killed journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry.

"They're just the same old, same old as far as I am concerned," said Lawson, who used the words of Gerry Adams to claim: "They haven't gone away."

The Enniskillen actor said he was "humbled" to have been asked to play a role in the August 17 events paying tribute to police and army veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Thousands of former members of the security forces, along with ex-prison officers and retired emergency service personnel are expected to descend on Lisburn for a drumhead service and parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of Operation Banner, the name for the British Army's deployment here from 1969 to 2007.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lawson, who plays Jim McDonald in the TV soap, will fly in next Tuesday to take part in the press launch for the parade organised by the Northern Ireland Veterans Association (NIVA), who are inviting all servicemen and women to take part in the commemoration.

Lawson said: "My family are all from the services. All through my life relatives have been associated with the armed forces and I have done everything I can to support veterans over the last 30 years.

"So when the association asked me to be an ambassador for the commemoration in August I had no hesitation in saying yes.

"It's the least I can do. I have always stood my ground in defence of the people who served here," added Lawson who has campaigned for more help to be given to the men and women who served here during the Troubles and to families whose loved ones died.

"I didn't lose any relations in the Troubles but I know many people who were affected by the violence. Even as a child I was very much aware of what was going on. When we lived in Fermanagh we owed a great debt of gratitude to the security forces for providing the security they did.

"My own father, who was a unionist politician, was considered a target. I also know that my mother lost friends in the Enniskillen bombing."

NIVA who have expressed concerns about the recent charging of soldiers with murders here, have said that the August commemoration will be primarily a day for reflection on the losses sustained by the security forces and other services during the Troubles.

The official figures for Army, police and prison service deaths stand at just over 1,200 but research by NIVA has uncovered the names of 2,400 men and women who they say died not only in terrorist attacks but also as a result of suicide and stress related illnesses.

"I'm only too aware of post-traumatic stress disorder. I know personally of people who are getting no help. It makes me very angry," said Lawson who is on record as saying that he didn't meet a Catholic until he was 20 when one of his first friends "from the other side" was fellow Fermanagh actor Adrian Dunbar, currently starring in the hit TV series, Line of Duty

"We're still close friends and we've never had a cross word during 40 years about what happened back home," said Lawson who uses social media to keep up to date with developments in Northern Ireland.

He added: "I knew there was trouble in the Creggan estate even before journalist Lyra McKee was killed. That was shocking and I see graffiti has gone up on the walls supporting the New IRA. To me there's nothing dissident about them. They're the same old same old as far as I am concerned."

On a lighter note on the subject of Adrian Dunbar, Lawson said: "Don't ask me if he's H. I'm not saying a word."
There has been a surge in support for Northern Irelands smaller parties in the local government elections.

Alliance and the Greens have topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.

With all 462 seats filled in 11 councils, Alliance is celebrating victories across the country, which saw its representation jump by 65%.

However, the political landscape in Northern Ireland stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the countrys largest.

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The unionist party gained 24.1% first preference votes  up by 1%  and ended the election with 122 seats, a loss of eight seats compared to the 2014 council elections.

Sinn Fein suffered a slight dent to its support base with 23.2% first preference votes  a drop of 0.8%. The party walked away with 105 council seats, the same number of seats they won in 2014.

The Alliance party saw a surge in its share of votes which increased from 6.7% to 11.5%. Its number of seats rose from 32 to 53.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said she not expect the remarkable breakthrough in the local government elections, adding that it has transformed the party.

She said: We got seats in places that our target was to get a candidate who would run there.

We were not expecting the surge that we got and it has been tremendous. We were fortunate that we have a robust approval system for our candidates.

It has completely transformed the party and I am excited about where the party can go from here.

The Green party and independents also made significant gains across the 11 councils.

The Green partys Mal OHara was elected to Belfast City Council in what has been a hugely successful election for his party in Northern Irelands capital.

The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party suffered some of its biggest causalities with the loss of high-profile Belfast councillor Jeff Dudgeon.

In a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

The party now has 75 council seats, a loss of 13 compared to the last local government elections.

The SDLP also lost seven councillors and gained 12% of first preference votes  a drop of 1.6%.

The Traditional Unionist Voice suffered a heavy blow to its representation after losing over half of their seats. The party have been left with six seats.

Independents made significant gains taking 23 seats. People Before Profit added a councillor to its representation, taking home five seats.

In Omagh, a former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre won a council seat.

Expand Close Barry McElduff (Barry McElduff/Twitter/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she did not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle district electoral area  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would have been aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made the comments to the media.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in the Moor district electoral area of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.
The 17-year-old victim was found unconscious in a flat in Belfast.

A teenage boy is in a critical condition following an assault in Belfast.

Three males have been arrested in connection with the attack, which happened at around 4.15pm on Friday, May 3. Police were called to reports of a disturbance at a flat on the Donegall Road, where they found the 17-year-old victim unconscious.

He has been taken to hospital where his condition is understood to be critical.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said: The arrested males were detained at the scene and were taken to Musgrave police station for questioning. They remain in police custody this morning.
Patricia Irvine, chair of the United Nations Association NI, speaking at World Press Freedom Day in Belfast

The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday described Northern Ireland as "an inhospitable place for journalists".

Speaking in Belfast on Unesco World Press Freedom Day, NUJ official Seamus Dooley warned of increasing threats to both the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

At least 95 journalists were killed last year while at work, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Mr Dooley said that the unsolved murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan in 2001 was "a stain on the history of policing in Northern Ireland".

Turning to the murder of Lyra McKee, Mr Dooley said: "Unlike Martin's murder, Lyra was not the target of a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a journalist.

"But Lyra was killed in the course of her work, the important work of witnessing news on the streets of Creggan."

He also criticised the arrest of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their investigation into the Loughinisland bar murders.

"The treatment of Trevor and Barry illustrates in microcosm the difficulties faced by those who seek the truth," he said. "On a regular basis we get reports of threats to journalists from both sides of the political divide. The threats are vicious and vile and increasingly directed at women and misogynistic in nature.

"Today we must assert the right of journalists to do our job, not just in Northern Ireland but across the globe."

In London, the Society of Editors has called on all politicians in the UK to give their support to the media.

Ian Murray, executive director of the society, said: "All too often strong words in support of a free media are quickly forgotten when new laws on being considered to constrain what the public has a right to know."
The Unite union has said it will campaign for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation to be nationalised if a new owner seeks to break up the company.

Announcing the sale of its aerostructures and engineering operations in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards on Thursday, the Canadian giant said it was committed to finding a buyer that will "operate responsibly" in Northern Ireland.

A number of major companies involved in aerospace components have already been suggested as potential buyers, but the prospect of a venture capital-led takeover has prompted fears among unions.

Susan Fitzgerald from Unite said such an outcome could spell the "kiss of death" for Bombardier's 3,600 workforce and could threaten thousands more jobs in the supply chain.

"The idea of somebody coming in and picking what they want and scrapping the rest is just a recipe for job losses, not just within the Bombardier workforce, but in the supply chain as well," she said.

"Shorts was nationalised in the past. If that's what it takes to secure jobs in communities, we don't have a problem putting that out there and standing over it. If we thought the workforce could be broken up, we would put forward that as a campaigning demand and we would be vigorous in pursuing it.

"We have no choice. Do we just sit by and let market forces dictate what happens to communities, to jobs and people's lives? The answer from Unite is no."

While Bombardier has previously expressed concern over the uncertainty posed by the threat of a no-deal Brexit, the company said on Thursday that its exit from Northern Ireland was down to a strategic move away from commercial aviation.

But the UK's eventual status within the EU is likely to be a significant factor in who buys the business.

American-owned manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems and UK-based GKN have emerged as potential front-runners.

Both companies declined to comment yesterday on a potential bid for Bombardier.

GKN was recently acquired by Melrose Industries in a hostile 8bn takeover and may not be geared toward an acquisition.

Spirit Aero, which is heavily dependent on Boeing's crisis-hit 737 Max, has recently expressed interest in acquisitions to diversify its business.

Airbus, which is one of the biggest customers for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation, could also potentially step in. The European aerospace giant owns the majority stake in the A220 aircraft series, which Bombardier makes the wings for. The sale of the business is likely to include the wing programme.

In a statement, Airbus said it does not anticipate any impact on A220 production as a result of the sale, but added: "We will of course monitor the evolution with our partner, Bombardier, to ensure that this is the case."

China's state-owned AVIC, which acquired NI aircraft seat manufacturer Thompson Aero three years ago, could also see Bombardier as an opportunity to strengthen its stake in the UK.
Sinn Feins John Finucane celebrating with party colleague Mary Ellen Campbell during the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

Veteran Eamonn McCann celebrates after being elected for People Before Profit during Derry and Strabane District Local Government Elections count in Derry on Saturday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin 4-5-2019 

Counting continues at Belfast City Hall for the Belfast City Council elections after Thursday's voting across Northern Ireland. Alliance parties Nuala McAllister celebrates topping the poll in Castle pictured with Naomi Long. Picture Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

The 2019 Northern Ireland Local Government Elections saw a surge in support for the middle ground with smaller parties claiming a bigger share of the vote - and the Alliance Party surging in popularity.

The DUP took a 24.1% share of first preference votes - a 1% increase on the last election, while Sinn Fein's vote was slightly down by under 1% to 23.2%. The Alliance Party share of first preference votes was up by almost 5% to 11.5%. The SDLP, UUP and TUV all saw a drop since 2014, while the Greens enjoyed a 1.2% increase.

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For a full breakdown visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

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Here's how the results unfolded:
The son of murdered prison officer David Black has been elected in the Mid Ulster Council.

Kyle Black ran as a candidate for the DUP in the Carntogher electoral ward.

His father, David 52, died following a motorway drive-by shooting in Co Armagh in November 2012 while on his way to work.

A republican organisation calling itself the IRA said it carried out the murder.

Kyle celebrated with family as he was unveiled as the first candidate returned in his District Electoral Area (DEA).

He said he was over the moon and ecstatic to be elected, adding that his thoughts were also with his father.

Its something I think of every single day, he said.

Its been a big part of my drive as to do what Im doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially and offers opportunities.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live inKyle Black

He said that by getting involved in politics he could give back to his community.

Speaking to Radio Ulster, he said: (My dad) was a huge influence on my life and he moulded me into the man I am today.

He was a man of principle, a man of great moral integrity and if I can live up to half the man he was I will be doing well.

He was a fantastic man and anybody that did know him would be able to testify that.

If I had of reacted differently (to his murder) that would have been understandable.

However, my family had no control over what happened to us but we have control over what I do and what we do and out of absolutely devastating consequences, that will impact our lives forever, I felt that out of that I would try and do something positive and put something back into the community.

I felt it was something good to be able to do for the people in the local area.

I cant change what happened but I will create my own identity in who am I.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live in.

He also welcomed the election of the DUPs first openly gay candidate.

Alison Bennington will serve on the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

I believe that individuals should be elected on the basis of their merit and their personal capabilities, Kyle added.
Damac Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality arm of UAE developer Damac Properties, has signed a key partnership agreement with Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, a leading regional name in hospitality, on the opening day of the 26th Arabian Travel Market expo in Dubai.



Under this agreement, Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh, an architectural landmark in the heart of Riyadh, featuring luxury hotel apartments furnished by Fendi Casa, will be operated under the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand.



Ali Sajwani, the general manager of operations at Damac, said: "Our partnership with Rotana will help us realise our vision of offering unrivalled investment opportunities in the hospitality industry. The kingdom sees continued growth in the travel sector, which is driven primarily by leisure, pilgrim, and corporate visitors, and we are confident that this partnership will translate to renewed value for investors and differentiated experiences for our guests."



Rotana's acting CEO Guy Hutchinson said: "We are proud to be signing this agreement with Damac and to be participating in the kingdoms development journey towards Vision 2030."



"The partnership confirms our commitment to achieving the goals of the National Transformation Program 2020, which entails the activation of the kingdoms regional and global role as a commercial and economic centre, as well as a destination for tourists and investors alike," he noted.



"Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana in Riyadh looks forward to welcoming guests, while supporting the diversification of the kingdoms hospitality offering, characterized by Rotanas personal touch developed for long-term guests and families," stated Hutchinson.



The agreement with Rotana, with a footprint that now crosses the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, will further boost investors confidence through an attractive rental pool programme.



Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh is the first property to be included in the agreement and comprises of two towers that offer deluxe serviced apartments and a collection of penthouses.



The partnership between two of the regions most prominent home-grown brands also highlights a shared commitment to service the thriving hospitality market of Saudi Arabia.



This rise in tourism is attributed to the kingdoms ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap that emphasises diversifying its economy with increased investments in infrastructure, real estate and tourism sectors, said the developer.



International arrivals to the kingdom are expected to increase on average by four per cent per year, reaching figures of 22.1 million by 2025, it stated.



Earlier this year, Damac chairman, Hussain Sajwani, expressed interest in new plots in Saudi Arabia. Around the same time, Rotana also laid out its plans of stepping up efforts to expand its footprint in the kingdom, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Ulster Unionists' vote has fallen significantly as the Alliance Party made massive gains in the council elections.

UUP leader Robin Swann last night acknowledged Alliance's success but insisted his party was far from finished. He pledged he would "listen to what the voters are telling us" and learn from the poll.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

Counting continues today but with over half of 462 seats across Northern Ireland filled, there has been a significant shift to the centre ground.

The DUP vote increased and the party elected its first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who took a seat in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from DUP supporters.

Party leader Arlene Foster said DUP opposition to same-sex marriage was unchanged.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson welcomed Ms Bennington's election. "If you believe in our party's principles, if you stand for our values, if you are prepared to go forward and seek selection and you are selected and elected by the people - then get on and do the job," he told the BBC, adding that opposition to Ms Bennington's candidacy expressed by DUP MLA Jim Wells was shared only by a minority of members.

The Greens and People Before Profit secured notable victories in Belfast where the performance of the day came from the SDLP's Paul McCusker and his poll-topping 2,856 vote in Oldpark.

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The son of murdered prison officer David Black, Kyle, took a seat for the DUP on Mid-Ulster District Council. "I'm absolutely ecstatic at being elected," he said. "I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support that I received."

He said that the murder of his father was always prominent in his thoughts. "It's been a big part of my drive as to do what I'm doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially."

In Belfast, DUP group leader Lee Reynolds failed to get elected in Titanic where the party fell short of the three seats it wanted.

In Oldpark, PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston lost her seat. UUP councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory in Titanic to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death in east Belfast.

Dr Anne McCloskey made history as the first candidate to be elected for new party Aontu. She won a seat on Derry and Strabane District Council.

Overall in the District Electoral Areas (DEAs) where votes have been counted, election pundit Nicholas Whyte said the Alliance vote had increased 4.1 percentage points from 2014 with the DUP recording a 1.6 percentage point rise. The SDLP's vote fell by 0.6 percentage points, Sinn Fein was down 0.8 points and the UUP 2.2.

Alliance topped the poll in a number of areas including six DEAs in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and in three Antrim and Newtownabbey DEAs.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Alliance leader Naomi Long said she was delighted with her party's performance.

"I am conscious we are only halfway through the election results but there is no doubting this is a fantastic day for Alliance," she said.

"While this is a council election, it is clear people have been left disillusioned with the stagnation at Stormont and deadlock at Westminster.

"While others engaged in the politics of fear, many people instead responded to Alliance's positive campaign by voting in a different way than they had before. That vote to increase the centre ground may well have changed the dynamic in terms of local politics."

Mrs Long added: "Some people and parties spent the campaign accusing Alliance of being unionist or being nationalist.

"We didn't engage in that but rather told people what we would do if elected; it is clear people desire that delivery, which has been reflected in the results."

The UUP leader admitted he was disappointed in how his party polled in Belfast.

"There's still a bit to go and more results to come," Mr Swann said. "It has been a day of mixed fortunes. We acknowledge we have issues in Belfast and we will work to address that.

"This has been a good election for the Alliance Party. The UUP will still have representatives in every council chamber in Northern Ireland.

"And we have had some good results such as John McDermott winning a second seat in Carrick Castle, Alex Swan winning a second seat for us in Downshire East alongside James Baird on Lisburn and Castlereagh Council with possibly more gains there. Louise McKinstry was a first-time candidate and was elected on the first count in Lurgan to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council."

Mr Swann added: "I acknowledge this has been a good election for the Alliance Party, but the UUP are in this for the long haul. We will learn from these elections and come back stronger. We will listen to what the voters are telling us."
An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher

An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher.

A judge varied an earlier ruling that there was to be no further publication of any evidence in the trial of the two 14-year-olds accused of the murder of Ana Kriegel until after the verdicts.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the ruling would only apply to one media organisation.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to the murder of schoolgirl Anastasia 'Ana' Kriegel (14) in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys has also denied a further charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's body was found by gardai at a disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen by her father leaving her home at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison including Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Star Wars fans have gathered in Ireland to mark the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Hundreds of fans, many dressed as their favourite characters from the film, descended on Kerry and Donegal for the May the Fourth festivals.

Themed festivities and events for all ages attracted tourists from all over the world to Irish locations made famous by the films.

Activities included walking tours, childrens work shops, movie screenings, exhibitions, fireworks and boat trips.

Storm Troopers invading the universe of #MalinHead #Donegal today for our #Maythe4thBeWithYou festival which is in full swing with lots of adventures for the entire family. Find out more https://t.co/NZ0KEjHD1Z #WildAtlanticWay pic.twitter.com/9RPhdXX4lE  Failte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) May 4, 2019

Star Wars events were held around the world on May 4, due to the date sounding like the films famous phrase  May the Force be with you.

In Ireland, two festivals were staged over the weekend at locations close to where scenes from the most recent movies were shot  Malin Head in Co Donegal and in Portmagee in Co Kerry.

Ciara Sugrue, head of festivals and events at Failte Ireland, said the festival in Kerry connected fans from across the world.

She said: This festival is really something that we created to celebrate the fact that some of the greatest movie makers in the world picked this part of Ireland to include as the location for their movie.

Its that connection with the Wild Atlantic Way and Stars Wars and attracting people to this beautiful part of the country and to celebrate universal Star Wars day.

The place is buzzing.

Expand Close Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Gary OToole, who makes Star Wars costumes, was one of the main attractions for the festival.

He paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who recently died at the age of 74.

Chewbacca is quite possibly one of the most popular characters and one of the first that comes to mind when you think of Star Wars, he said.

Peter was a very gentle sole. Some of us has the pleasure of meeting him and his family. Who doesnt love Chewbacca and Stars Wars?

He was gentle giant, someone with a very kind heart who was dedicated and brought a lot of charisma to the role.

Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as Star Wars character Rey.

She said: Its an amazing experience. The scenery is stunning and I can see why they chose here.

I was almost in tears when I got to see Skellig Michael, its a stunning place that everyone should go see.

I loved Chewbacca  it was my favourite character. I burst into tears when I heard Peter (Mayhew) died.

He lived a great life and it impacted on so many people. He will live on.
An emergency fund should be set up to help NHS workers at Hairmyres Hospital facing a potential delay of their wages due to a new payroll system, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon has said.

The new system is set to be introduced at the hospital in East Kilbride this month by NHS sub-contractor ISS, with fears that the change could cause financial hardship for staff.

Currently, payments are made in arrears on a fortnightly basis, however during the rollout of the new system it is claimed there are plans for staff wages to be delayed for one week on the first payment.

Hospital workers at Hairmyres are facing the loss of a weeks pay because of their money grabbing PFI employer.



As a trade union organiser I fought against PFI, as Labour First Minister Ill end it because this is what it does to workers. pic.twitter.com/Weq0sTmy75  Richard Leonard (@LabourRichard) May 3, 2019

It would mean workers receiving two weeks pay covering a three-week period, with a weeks worth of wages retained by the employer.

Workers who could struggle to make ends meet have been offered bridging loans to help make up the shortfall, although the money would have to be paid back to the employer.

According to employees who applied for loans, some have still not received them.

In a letter to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman Monica Lennon requested that funding be granted to support the workers.

Shame on @issworld for implementing this cruel pay-grab. I raised it with @NHSLanarkshire today and requested emergency support for those put into hardship. @lilian_macer represented the workers brilliantly and presented the facts that NHS Lanarkshire needed to hear about ISS. https://t.co/vtDOdvxBo6  Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) May 3, 2019

Ms Lennon and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also addressed a rally of workers who held a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

It is scandalous that hospital workers are being forced to fight for their wages and are having to consider industrial action, said Ms Lennon.

I have called on NHS Lanarkshire to work with the GMB and Unison to put an emergency fund in place for low-paid, frontline staff who need urgent assistance.

The possibility of industrial action is growing.

NHS Lanarkshire must urgently send out a hard message to Prospect Healthcare and its sub-contractor ISS that this conduct breaches the principles of fair work, and will not be tolerated in our health service.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: The Health Secretary wrote to both ISS UKs managing director of healthcare and chief executive officer to express concerns about the financial impact of these changes on staff at Harimyres Hospital, who are a vital part of our NHS Scotland staff.

We welcome the ISS proposal to provide an interest free bridging loan to cover the additional six days pay now being withheld from staff and which are to be repaid over a 20-week period.

ISS is a PFI contractor appointed in 2001 during the reconstruction of the hospital. It provides facilities services at Hairmyres Hospital, and its staff are valued members of the local healthcare team.

Senior staff at NHS Lanarkshire are in dialogue with ISS and a dedicated helpdesk has been set up by ISS, offering help to individual members of staff who wish to discuss changes in the payroll system.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said: I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was compelling evidence he was behind the leak  something he denies.

In a statement, Mr Basu, head of the Mets Specialist Operations, added: Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Mr Williamson himself has said he would welcome a police probe, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs on Thursday there was no plan to pass information from its leak inquiry to police, and said the Prime Minister regarded it as closed.

It was understood the information leaked from the meeting was not judged by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to be of a classification level that would require a criminal investigation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has described the partys local election performance as brilliant and believes its opposition to Brexit will be the key to future successes.

The Twickenham MP told BBC Breakfast that the gains of 676 after Thursdays vote were the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Sir Vince said the Lib Dems positioning as a Remain party will win them votes in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for EuropeSir Vince Cable

He told the BBC: We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for Europe.

When people are trying to make their minds up, they would and they should vote for us, knowing that every vote is a vote to stop Brexit.

The Lib Dems have taken control of ten councils, including Winchester and North Norfolk, which Sir Vince credited to lots of hard work, over months.

Congratulations to hundreds @LibDems councillors elected today, scoring 703 gains - the most in our partys history. Your commitment and formidable campaigning were crucial to this stunning result. Next the European campaign, when every @LibDems vote will be a vote to #StopBrexit pic.twitter.com/9lOQWXKiGf  Vince Cable (@vincecable) May 3, 2019

The party increased its presence across England, including in Chelmsford, where it gained 26 seats and took control from the Conservatives.

The town, which had a population of 168,310 according to the 2011 census, voted 53,249 in favour of Leave in 2016, compared with 47,545 to Remain.

Thursdays poll saw the Conservatives lose almost 1,250 seats and 45 councils  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Meanwhile, the number of councils under no overall control has increased by 36, to 71 in total.
Police are appealing for information about the robbery (Joe Giddens/PA)

Robbers have stolen a safe containing a five-figure sum of money from a mans home after bursting in and threatening him.

Police believe the robbery in Galston, Ayrshire, may have been a pre-planned, targeted attack.

The group of men entered the property on Shields Road at around 2.15pm on Friday.

One of the men threatened the 66-year-old victim while the others stole the safe, which contained a five-figure sum.

Police Scotland is appealing for information after a 66 year-old man was robbed at an address in Galston yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/XXuxGORkZ5 pic.twitter.com/aCNTz62rIS  Ayrshire Police (@AyrshirePolice) May 4, 2019

The men then made off in a silver coloured Lexus GS300 vehicle, which had a broken rear windscreen, heading towards the centre of Galston.

Police are appealing for information about the incident.

Detective Sergeant Ewan Bell, at Kilmarnock Police Office, said: Although the man was not physically injured, this robbery was a terrifying experience for him to have to go through and he has been left shaken.

Nobody should be afraid in their own home and it is vital that we find the men responsible for this incredibly callous and forceful crime.

Our officers are currently going through CCTV and making door to door enquiries, however we are appealing for the wider public who may have any information that can help us to get in touch.

We believe that the man we have described may have been in the area in the days leading up to the robbery and that it was a pre-planned, targeted attack.

Do you remember hearing or seeing anything in the area prior to the incident taking place, or did you see the vehicle described driving away from the area?

We know the area was busy with people at the time, think back, you may have information that did not seem like anything at the time, but now you know a robbery took place, may now seem significant.

The men are described as a group of four of five, with one wearing a grey balaclava.

One of the men is described as 5ft 10ins, of stocky build with pale skin, stubble and short cropped blonde or red hair.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police via 101, quoting incident number 2010 of Friday May 3, 2019 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

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Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

Expand Close Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

Expand Close Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Theresa May must set a date for her departure or her MPs will do it for her, a former Conservative Party leader has said in the wake of devastating local election results.

Iain Duncan Smith described the polls as a judgment on leadership as he urged the caretaker Prime Minister to say when she will stand down.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils after the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

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Mr Duncan Smith said the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should urgently meet again to decide on Mrs Mays fate.

We have to make a change The message was loud and clear that, since March 29, people have decided they are absolutely furious with the political class, he told LBC.

The committee has to sit again now, urgently, and decide that either the Prime Minister sets the immediate date for departure or, Im afraid, they must do it for her.

The threat of an imminent challenge to Mrs Mays position as Conservative leader was lifted last month when the 1922 Committees executive rejected calls to change party rules which protect her from a no-confidence vote until December.

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Earlier, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the outcome would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

He said the results were very disappointing, telling BBC Breakfast: What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit.

We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Ministers meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the message from voters in local elections was: Get on, deliver Brexit and then move on.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The electorate right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt pointed the finger at purist Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories drubbing.

Asked who was responsible for the losses, he told reporters in Africa: You can look at lots of different groups of people  you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

You can for sure look at Government  Im sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently.

But it was a good night for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Sir Vince Cable hailed the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Mr Cable said the Lib Dems opposition to Brexit will help them in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that, he told BBC Breakfast.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as PM and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei which cost Gavin Williamson his job did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked as defence secretary over his alleged involvement in the disclosure, was among those to call for a criminal investigation, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, Mr Basu said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

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Whatsapp Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network (Steve Parsons/PA)

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

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According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

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She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UKs National Security Council.

Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry:

April 23  A meeting of the UKs National Security Council (NSC), the countrys top national security body, is held.

April 24  The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britains new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting.

Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council.

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April 25  Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is deeply worrying.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is completely unacceptable for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should absolutely be looked at.

Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible.

In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had divulged information from the National Security Council.

April 26  An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions.

Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak.

Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved.

Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved.

April 27  It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill.

Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting.

Chinas ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure.

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April 28  Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone.

He says the UK should exercise a degree of caution about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei.

April 29  The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers.

May 1  Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information.

Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having lost confidence in his ability to serve.

May 2  Gavin Williamson says he would be absolutely exonerated if there was a police investigation into the leak.

May 4  The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.
Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech to local party members at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby (Nigel Roddis/PA)

Tory leader Theresa May has overseen a local election massacre, with one-in-four of her councillors being booted out of their seats.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils as the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw the Tory leader heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was always going to be difficult at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main partiesTheresa May

She said: Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties.

As the party who has been in government for nine years, it was of course always going to be particularly difficult for us.

But as we look at what happened, nobody was expecting that Labour was going to do as badly as they did.

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Labour lost 63 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.

He told ITV: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done, parliament has to resolve this issue. I think that is very, very clear.

Well see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections- Brexit - sort it. Message received.  John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) May 3, 2019

And shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: So far, message from local elections  Brexit  sort it. Message received.

Mrs May welcomed the Labour leaders offer to get a Brexit deal done as the only escape route.

She said: I welcome the fact that Jeremy Corbyn has said today that he sees the time is now to get a deal and to deliver on Brexit  its what Ive been saying for some time.

Its what we want to do, its what weve been working for, so now we must get on and do that.

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But backbench MPs called for her removal and warned that the party would be toast if it did not change direction.

Heckler Stuart Davies, a Tory Party member and former county councillor, said he called for Mrs May to resign because of her handling of Brexit.

The 71-year-old, from Llangollen, told the Press Association: I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly, she is telling lies  We will be out by March 29.

I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move onSir Bernard Jenkin on Theresa May

There were calls from Tory MPs for Mrs Mays removal as leader, with senior Brexiteer Sir Bernard Jenkin warning that the party would be toast unless it mends its ways pretty quickly.

He said voters overwhelmingly believed that the Prime Minister had lost the plot and that the time had come for a change of leader.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move on, he said.

His comments were echoed by former Cabinet minister Priti Patel, who said voters saw Mrs May as part of the problem.

I just dont think we can continue like this. We need change, we need a change of leadership. Perhaps the time has now come for that, she told the BBC.

Labour was also licking its wounds after forfeiting control in heartland councils like Burnley, Hartlepool and Bolsover.

Despite some predictions that Jeremy Corbyns party could pick up three-figure gains, Labour was down more than 100 seats, though it did have the consolation of restoring control in Trafford for the first time sine 2003.

Remain-backing Labour MPs warned the leadership against striking a Brexit deal without the promise of a referendum, after shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner suggested the party was bailing out Tories in cross-party talks.

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Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said: Labour should not be bailing the Tories out. Any deal  any  must go to a public vote. Without a commitment to a public vote, Ill vote for a Labour-Tory deal when hell freezes over and Im not alone in that.

With all results in the Conservatives had lost 1,269 seats, Labour 63 and Ukip 36.

The Lib Dems gained 676, the Greens were up 185 and independents increased by 242.

The Conservatives lost councils including Peterborough, Warwick and Worcester to no overall control, while Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton fell to the Liberal Democrats, with North Kesteven going to independents.

However the party held on in the bellwether council of Swindon, seen as a possible Labour gain, and took Walsall and North East Lincolnshire from no overall control.

Labour, meanwhile, lost control in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Wirral and the mayoralty in Middlesbrough, where its vote was down 11% as independent Andy Preston was elected, although it did gain control of Amber Valley from Tories.

Even where the party held on in its traditional stronghold of Sunderland, which voted heavily for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, it still lost 10 council seats.
Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council as a shabby and discredited witch hunt and called for a probe into it.

The Metropolitan Police said the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, but the former defence secretary accused Prime Minister Theresa May and Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill of badly mishandling the inquiry.

Huge thank you to all of you for all your support the past few days. Enormously grateful to have received so many kind and supportive messages - there have been far too many to respond individually to!  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 3, 2019

He said: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamson was sacked on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the leak of information about Chinese tech giant Huawei, and has previously called for a criminal investigation which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said on Saturday that he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

AC Neil Basu statement re National Security Council disclosure https://t.co/BZJUdDnBQY pic.twitter.com/rRRl13meVq  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 4, 2019

Mr Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case was referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.

40 years ago today Margaret Thatcher entered Downing St as Prime Minister. She demonstrated to Britain & the world her passion, commitment & courage to stand up for her values, party & country. #IronLady pic.twitter.com/LT4ga4dLaT  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 4, 2019

Several Tory MPs aired their anger at the handling on the inquiry following Mr Williamsons sacking, including Conservative backbencher Peter Bone who said he had been found guilty in secret in a kangaroo court, as he called for an independent inquiry into the probe.

I think it more and more looks like there was a rushed judgment. If the police dont think theres an offence it does rather put a question mark on why the Secretary of State was fired, he told the Press Association.

It smells this investigation, and it looks like for whatever reason they wanted to get rid of the defence secretary.

And Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson told the Press Association: Its good to hear that there was no breach of the OSA, but that doesnt change the facts of what happened.

An official investigation found that there was compelling evidence that Gavin Williamson leaked details from the NSC. Given that, why does Theresa May think it appropriate that Gavin Williamson maintains the Tory party whip?

But Mr Williamson, an avid user of social media site Instagram, struck an upbeat tone following his dismissal, posting a photograph of him eating at McDonalds on Friday instead of attending a cancelled dinner with the US defence secretary.

Smiling alongside chips and a soft drink, he wrote: So the plan had been for dinner this evening with the US Defence Secretary at Lancaster House. Obviously things change and you just cant beat a @mcdonalds#mcdonalds #food.

In what has been seen by some as a thinly veiled dig at Mrs May, he tweeted a photograph of Margaret Thatcher on the 40th anniversary of her election as prime minister, saying she demonstrated her passion, commitment and courage to stand up for her values, party and country.
The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to hold US Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with a new deadline for providing special counsel Robert Muellers full, unredacted report on his Russia probe.

The new offer from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler comes after the Justice Department missed the committees earlier deadline for the information.

Mr Nadler slightly narrowed his offer in a new letter to Mr Barr on Friday, saying the committee would limit its request for underlying materials to those directly cited in the report.

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He also asked for the department to work with Congress to seek a court order for secret grand jury materials, a request Mr Barr has previously denied.

The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr.

But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.

The contempt threat comes a day after Mr Barr skipped a Judiciary panel hearing on Mr Muellers report amid a dispute over how Mr Barr would be questioned.

Mr Nadler said after that hearing that he would give the Justice Department one more chance to send the full report and then he would move forward with holding Mr Barr in contempt.

Mr Nadler set a 9am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to respond to the latest offer.

Democrats have assailed Mr Barrs handling of the Mueller report and questioned the truthfulness of his statements to Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she believed Mr Barr had lied about his communications with Mr Mueller in testimony last month, and that was a crime.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Ms Pelosis accusation reckless, irresponsible and false.

In the letter, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr that Congresss constitutional, oversight and legislative interest in investigating misconduct by the President and his associates cannot be disputed.

In terms of the underlying materials, Mr Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and items such as contemporaneous notes that are cited in the report.

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He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version of the report.

The Justice Department has made a less redacted version available for House and Senate leaders and some committee heads, but the Democrats have said that is not enough and have so far declined to read it.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the new letter. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes at no point will it ever be enough for Democrats.

It is astonishing to me that not a single Democrat has yet to go read the less redacted version of the report, yet they keep asking for more, Ms Sanders said.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, and for the first time in almost 20 years a local journalist was prominent in our minds.

The death of Lyra McKee, who was murdered by the New IRA in Londonderry just over two weeks ago, was all the more shocking because only two journalists have been killed during more than four decades of the Troubles and also in the lingering but savage violence which still disfigures our society.

Sadly, other journalists have been shot, wounded and subjected to other forms of intimidation, despite the fact that it is widely accepted a free press is a vital component of democracy.

Lyra's untimely death is a stark reminder of the price that can be, and often is, paid by those journalists who seek to report on events and to uncover the truth in the public interest.

Freedom, including freedom of speech, is under attack across the globe as never before. The hostility to journalists shown by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious acts of violence against news professionals.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least 95 journalists were killed last year while carrying out their work. The hallmark of many of these crimes is what press freedom campaigners describe as "the concept of impunity" whereby people who want to attack the press are emboldened by the authorities to countenance such behaviour.

This is characteristic of both the developed world and elsewhere. All of which is why it is vital that the PSNI investigation of Lyra McKee is robust and ongoing.

Of course, the detectives here have to face challenges peculiar to Northern Ireland, and while it is regrettable that the police have to take such a step, it is nevertheless welcome to see them offer anonymity to anyone who could assist them with bringing her killers to justice.

Without doubt, a successful conviction for Lyra's murder would be one of the strongest signals that press freedom remains a cornerstone of democracy in these islands.
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There is a certain tension in the phrase, social democracy, and the description of someone as a social democrat. Social in this context is socialism by the state. A democrat supports the freedom for individual electors to express and defend personal interests in regular plebiscites. The two positions are incompatible, Eurasia Review writes in the article Why Social Democracy Is Failing Europe  OpEd.

Social democratic political parties express a belief in social justice. But social justice is a meaningless term used by the far left to attract support for more extreme forms of socialism. In Europe, social democrats advocating social justice have held sway since the Second World War. But they are becoming victims of their success at taking down capitalism, because they are losing electoral support.

The era of social democracy appears to be coming to an end. Germanys SPD recently suffered its worst electoral result since the Second World War, and Frances Socialist Party came fifth in the presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron, a political outsider. Other social democratic parties to have lost ground include the Netherlands Labour Party, Italys Democratic Party and Austrias Social Democrats. In the United States there was a rejection of the Democrats in favor of President Trump, who like Macron in France started as a political outsider.

Brexit was the rejection by the British voter of the socializing controls imposed by a remote super-state. The British parliament initially paid lip-service to the electorates wishes, before rallying round its socialist credentials and is now conspiring to stop Brexit. So strong is Parliaments collective socialist instinct that Mays appeasing government is prepared to destroy its electoral base rather than stand against the socialist tide. It comes at a time when the Labour Party has been captured by a Marxist clique which appears increasingly likely to form the next government.

Commentators attribute the decline in social democracy to events such as the great financial crisis. This and other reasons are why traditional working-class and blue-collar workers have drifted away. The philosophical conflict between socialism and democracy is at the heart of the rebellion, if only the voters themselves knew it. Instead of rejecting socialism, they are embracing extremes, and the extremes are always socialist extremes. Notably, almost none of the disillusioned social democrats support free markets.

The point missed by most analysts is that social democracy is failing because of the contradiction between personal freedom and state control.

As a form of mild socialism, it fails for the same reason as did communism. It all plays into the hands of the communists, for whom the failure of social democracy is an opportunity.
After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

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After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

"Theres no words to explain it. Everything has changed for her  she has energy, shes eating better, playing better, shes mentally better," Adetudimu said of her 14-year-old daughter, Dorcas. "When you have a sickle cell crisis, you dont have your life  Now, shes free like a bird to be able to do anything and everything."

Dorcas Adetudimu14, and her mother Juliette sit together in her bedroom earlier this week. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

Sickle cell disease is a severe form of anemia that is found more frequently in people of Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean and African descent because those geographic regions are most prone to malaria. It causes red blood cells to become irregularly shaped, rigid and sticky  prone to getting stuck in small blood vessels and slowing or blocking blood flow to parts of the body, which can be extremely painful.

Two years ago, Dorcass condition was worsening, Adetudimu said. She was suffering through multiple crises a year  one of which landed her in the intensive care unit in Winnipeg after her lungs collapsed.

"Some (crises) were worse than others," Dorcas said. "I would get back pain, joint pain  it felt like someone was squeezing your ribs together."

Doctors suggested a stem cell transplant for Dorcas, Adetudimu said, so the family kicked into gear  with the help of Canadian Blood Services  raising awareness in the community for the stem cell registry while at the same time hoping to find Dorcas a stem cell match.

They held a stem cell registration and swab event in Shoppers Mall in 2017, and while it didnt lead to a match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said the community support was amazing.

"We were happy to raise awareness about the importance of being a donor," Adetudimu said. "If people hadnt been giving that blood, she wouldnt be here today  you dont know who is going to need it."

It was shortly afterward that a family member was found to be a 70 per cent match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said. While an 100 per cent match would have been better, they decided to go ahead anyway in hopes the transplant would take.

The treatment was a long process, Adetudimu said, beginning in April last year and continuing through until August.

Dorcas had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of her existing red blood cells before the transplant could be completed, Adetudimu said.

She also had to stay in isolation because of the risk of infection.

"Shes like a newborn baby in that you have to protect her from infection, her immunity was wiped out," Adetudimu said, adding that Dorcas is in the process of being completely revaccinated.

As of August, the treatment was declared to be successful, and Dorcas was able to go back to school in September.

Dorcas Adetudimu, 14, plays the video game Fortnite at her home Wednesday, in her room that was renovated by people behind the charitable organization The Dream Factory. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

"Going to a treatment like that, you dont know if youre going to have the same child when you get back  it could have been the opposite," Adetudimu said. "Were just fortunate shes alive. Many kids have died before this age because of the disease. Were just blessed to be here."

These days, Dorcas is catching up on things she wasnt able to do before.

Shes enjoying playing volleyball, she said, and is trying to get as much swimming in as possible.

"Its good  I dont have to worry about medicine. I can also go swimming; before I couldnt go swimming because the cold water would make me go into a crisis," Dorcas said.

"She hasnt really had fun as a kid," Adetudimu said. "You cant play too much, when its cold  its a problem, when its hot its a problem, everything wasnt good. So now that life is good, we can start having fun."

Always a need

At any given time, there are more than 600 patients across Canada looking for a stem cell transplant, said Canadian Blood Services donor relations representative Adrienne San Juan, as there are more than 80 diseases  between blood disorders and blood cancers  that stem cell transplants can help cure.

There are approximately 445,000 people signed up to be potential stem cell donors in Canada, with Manitoba only representing three per cent of that  or approximately 15,000 donors.

Right now, there is a need for more ethnic donors to register, San Juan said.

"The registry is comprised of 69 per cent of Caucasian registrants, while only 31 per cent of the database is comprised of people from diverse ancestry," San Juan said. "So in order to accurately reflect the patient population, more potential stem cell donors from diverse ancestry are needed on the Canadian registry."

Registering to be a donor is quite easy, San Juan said. After completing a health questionnaire on their website, Canadian Blood Services sends interested registrants a swab kit to complete at home and mail back.

It takes between six and eight weeks to be put on the registry, but even then it could be months or even years before a registrant is matched with someone in need of a donor, if at all.

"Its actually more likely for you to win the lottery than to actually match someone  its that rare," San Juan said.

There is also a tight criteria to register, as donors need to be between the ages of 13 and 35.

However, a lot of people outside that age range can still help by donating blood, San Juan said.

While waiting for her transplant, Dorcas went for blood transfusions every four weeks for 18 months, Adetudimu said, just to get her body ready.

"Patients who are waiting for a match and undergoing transplants are an immediate need for blood and blood products," San Juan said. "So we really strongly urge everyone to continue to donate blood, as well."

New room, new Dorcas

Support from organizations such as Westman Dreams for Kids and The Dream Factory have been a blessing in Dorcass treatment and recovery, Adetudimu said.

When The Dream Factory approached Dorcas asking if they could fulfil a dream for her, Dorcas said she knew exactly what she wanted  a new bedroom.

"At first she wanted to renovate the whole house," Adetudimu said, laughing. "But her room was so important to her recovery. Coming back after chemo and radiation you cant socialize, you cant go out, youre in isolation because of the risk of infection. So to be able to stay in the room for 24 hours it has to be nice. (The room renovation) made the recovery process so much better."

When The Dream Factory approached Jaydi Dinsdale with Timber + Lace Interior Design asking for help making Dorcass dream possible, she said she jumped at the opportunity.

"Ive always wanted to be able to do projects like this, to really make a difference for somebody and donate my time to a good cause, so I was really excited," Dinsdale said. "I actually spent quite a bit of time in the hospital when I was a kid, so it kind of has a special spot in my heart."

Working with Dorcas to pick out colours, look over designs and discuss what Dorcas needed out of her space, Dinsdale said she created vision boards from which Dorcas could choose.

With generous donations from local businesses such as Blinds by Anita, Jeannies Interiors and Westman Premier Homes, Dinsdale said the room was able to be completed in a couple of months  just in time for Dorcas to come home from treatment.

"I didnt like my room at all before," Dorcas said with a chuckle. "When I saw this room, I thought it was so cool. I really like it."

"She spends all her time in here," Adetudimu added.

Westman Dreams for Kids has also been a huge support while Dorcas travels back and forth to Winnipeg for appointments and treatment, Adetudimu said.

They also made it possible for Dorcas to visit Disneyworld.

"We were just so lucky and fortunate to go (to Disneyworld) because we didnt know if it would be the last time, the last trip, wed be spending together," Adetudimu said, adding shed like to bring Dorcas back to Disneyworld and create new memories, now that shes cured.

"If I have my way, Ill take her back ... now that she can really enjoy it, she can really have fun."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

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A collection of drugs and cash Brandon Police Service members seized on Thursday, which was part of a broader pattern of seizures that have totalled approximately $450,000 during the past week. (Brandon Police Service)

Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

"When we have those numbers in those amounts that we can remove from the street, at the end of the day its protecting the most vulnerable in the community because those will filter down to the people that are addicted and have a substance-use disorder," Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said.

"If we can remove that, it allows them time to not have access to those drugs and seek some sort of assistance for their addiction."

The most recent Thursday incident comprised of Brandon Police Service members finding 11 ounces of meth  worth approximately $30,800 and a quantity of Canadian currency during a vehicle stop.

A second vehicle was stopped shortly after, where police found four ounces of heroin, which according to the Brandon Police Service has a maximum street value of $56,000.

After the second vehicle was stopped, a 28-year-old Brandon woman was found in possession of 71 grams of meth, with a maximum value of $7,000 and a can of bear spray.

Later in the day, police conducted a search warrant on a house in the west end and found another nine ounces of meth and two grams of heroin, which added up to a value of $26,400.

As a result of the drug busts on May 2, six people were arrested and charged with drug offences, including a 45-year-old man from Thompson, a 45-year-old man from Brandon, a 40-year-old man from Winnipeg, a 28-year-old woman from Brandon, a 24-year-old man from Winnipeg and a 20-year-old man from Thompson.

All six are in police custody and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Balcaen wouldnt say specifically how long the investigation took before the arrests but said the days events unfolded over around 10 hours. He said the drug bust was "very significant."

At a Brandon police funding announcement on Friday, Mayor Rick Chrest called the news of the drug bust a "pleasant surprise."

"We know it helps to at least seemingly temporarily disrupt the flow of illicit product into our community and presumably to other communities around us."

The city is currently dealing with a meth crisis and an influx of the drug into Manitoba, but Balcaen said the increased appearance of fentanyl is relatively new in the city. Fentanyl is an opioid used as a painkiller. It is especially powerful and responsible for a large number of overdoses in other parts of the country.

"Weve seen it in the last month or so starting to have an increase here, so its certainly a concern to us when you have that because ultimately it can result in serious harm or death to individuals."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

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SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

The joint rescue co-ordination centre received a notification Saturday from an emergency locator transmitter, indicating a small plane had gone down.

The centre's navy Lt. Tony Wright says a search was launched and the wreckage of the Cessna 182, capable of carrying four passengers, was found about 100 kilometres northeast of Smithers.

Wright says a technician was lowered by cable from the helicopter to check for survivors and the operation was handed over to police.

RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says they know there is at least one fatality, but they are still working on getting people to the crash site.

She says the coroner and Transportation Safety Board have been notified about the crash.
MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

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Residents of Holy Street in Ile Bizard west of Montreal, float a porta-potty down their street, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Residents of the street have not been evacuated but cannot flush their toilets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit currently by floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

"Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners," they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels haven't dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.
People in Drogheda are living in fear that someone will die before the violent feud between rival drug gangs in their town is brought under control.

Up to a thousand people have attended a rally in the Co Louth town over gang violence.

The town's locals have been sending a message to gangs that enough is enough.

They are unhappy with the Government's response in tackling a violent feud between rival drug gangs in the town.

People gathering in Drogheda for a rally against the gang violence that has blighted the town in recent months@VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/xULPp0o6Yd  Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 4, 2019

Labour councillor Pio Smith has hit out at the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for not putting enough resources into the local Gardai.

He said: "The fault lies squarely with Minister Charlie Flanagan because... we should have had the 25 gardai earlier on.

"The challenge now for him and the Government is, are they going to fully resource An Garda Siochana?"

Standing in solidarity with the people of Drogheda saying to the thugs and criminals Enough is EnoughThomas Byrne TD Breathnach https://t.co/5tZMEgeo2K pic.twitter.com/Qyo4YVLbD2  Declan Breathnach (@BreathnachLouth) May 4, 2019

Declan Breathnach TD said the message from the community was clear.

He said: "There was a massive crowd there...made up of men, women, children, community organisations, the public and politicians.

"The message was loud and clear to the criminals acting in Drogheda, enough is enough, and they want these people to get off the street and leave their town."
UPDATE: A missing 18-month-old baby, Shania Constantin, and her grandfather, Condrut Iosca, have been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai have issued an appeal to the public for help in locating a missing baby who is in the care of her grandfather in Dublin.
Maria Pearson, a native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, has won a seat for the Tory Party in the local elections for Brentwood Borough Council in England. This is the first time a native Irish speaker has been elected.

Maria was elected in the Herongate, Ingrave and West Herndon Ward of Brentwood, an area in the London commuter belt.

Maria got a huge majority of the vote, approximately 70%, and said she was both surprised and proud of the result.

"This is the first time I have stood, and I was nervous about running, people don't normally get in the first time. It was a personal vote I think, and I have to say that I'm very proud of the result."

Speaking on the on the Ronan Beo show on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta on Friday, Maria said that her husband, who's Scottish, had owned a pub in the area for two years, something which meant that they knew many people in the area personally, and she felt that this helped her campaign a lot.

"People gave me a vote who would never normally have voted Tory, and indeed never had. It was a personal vote ..."

Maria said that Brexit was a huge issue on the doorsteps and that they were 'eaten alive' on that subject.

She explained that there was strong support for a No Deal Brexit in the area, that all people wanted was to be going out of the EU, but that people had little or no understanding of the border question.

She believes that they can't go with a no deal Brexit and said explaining the implications on the doorsteps was challenging.

"Over here, in the papers and on the radio, nobody was talking about the border and what was going to happen in Ireland, something that was of huge importance to me.

They don't understand the border, they think it's like something they've seen on TV with guards walking up and down patrolling.

"I was explaining how there are houses that straddle both sides of the border, and they found it hard to believe.

"But it's something that's so important to me personally, and to everyone at home in Ireland.

"When I explained the implications to them of a no deal Brexit, then they began to understand and to come around to my point of view."

You can listen to the full interview here.
More than 20 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, Yandex. Schedule service informs.

It is reported that two flights were delayed and two canceled at Vnukovo, six flights delayed and nine canceled at Domodedovo. In Sheremetyevo, two flights were delayed.

There is no information about the reasons for the delays.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As far as blue-ribbon seats go, Wentworth was one of the Liberal Party's safest.But in the byelection that followed the resignation of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, independent Kerryn Phelps trounced the Liberals and forced Scott Morrison's government into a minority. The contest for Wentworth was a litmus test for a government trailing in the polls, and Phelps' victory was a fillip for independents. The independents who make it to Canberra are generally the exception rather than the rule  but they can make a big splash when they get there. Fast-forward to this federal election campaign, and prominent independent candidates for the lower house  Phelps, Julia Banks in Flinders, Helen Haines in Indi, Rob Oakeshott in Cowper, Zali Steggall in Warringah, Andrew Wilkie in Clark, and Oliver Yates in Kooyong  release a statement setting out the "price of power" for their support after May 18. This includes demands to take action on climate change and to potentially block the Adani coal mine. Loading Sydney Morning Herald and Age commentator David Crowe says: "The demands are a sign of confidence among key independents that climate change policy will help swing the federal election, helping them defeat Liberal or Nationals candidates." Meanwhile, the Centre Alliance party is being forecast as a likely kingmaker in a post-election Senate. In Parliament's upper house, senators assume the role of gatekeepers, deciding which laws will pass. The support of the crossbench can be critical.

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These confident candidates are not the only ones hoping to shape the agenda of the future government. What role do independents  and minor parties  play in our Parliament? Who are the ones to watch at this election? What chance do other independents and smaller parties have? And how much influence can they wield when the election dust settles? Independent, minor and micro: what's the difference? All minor and micro-party and independent MPs elected to Canberra sit on the crossbench, the seats between the government and the opposition in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Independents are not members or affiliates of a political party. To run, they havecollected 100 signatures, filled in a nomination form and paid a $2000 deposit at their local electoral office.

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Ninety-five independents have put up their hands to contest the 151 lower house seats, and 37 independents are fighting for state-based Senate spots. There are 76 Senate seats but elections are staggered and fixed to six-year terms so only 40 are up or grabs. Loading Once elected, some independents, such as Pauline Hanson, have sought to build their personal popularity into a party that can spread their message.

The term "minor party" is used to describe a party that is not Labor, the Liberals or the Nationals, which for decades have been the only parties big enough to form government. There are more than 50 minor parties registered with the Australian Electoral Commission this election, ranging from the Animal Justice and Australian Affordable Housing parties through the alphabet to Pirate Party, Australia, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, The Women's Party and Yellow Vest Australia. In the Federal Parliament, there is a higher hurdle under parliamentary entitlement rules to gain recognition as a minor party  five elected MPs are needed to obtain minor party status and the extra staff and other resources that come with it.

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Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota were able to thrust themselves into the public debate. Micro-parties are the very small parties that have risen to prominence in the Senate in the past 10 years  including Family First, the DLP and the Liberal Democrats  by winning seats with small numbers of votes because of preference deals. After the 2013 federal election, the micro-parties lobbed a hand grenade into the political arena. Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota (Ricky Muir from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party infamously pulled in .51 per cent) were able to thrust themselves into the public debate by joining together to block the passage of contentious legislation. The major parties joined to change the Senate voting system, making it difficult for micro-party candidates to get elected. Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull then called a double-dissolution election, putting all the upper house seats up for grabs. Greens leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Derryn Hinch embrace after the Senate agreed on amendments to a bill in the Senate in February. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Is the era of micro-parties over? The 2016 rule changes to Senate voting mean groups of unknown micro-parties are no longer able to funnel their votes to each other until they have a quota of votes in their own right.

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The voting system is now optional preferential above the line, in which voters rank at least their first six candidates  thus distributing their own preferences. "I think the reform is a huge advantage for democracy," says ABC election analyst Antony Green. The members that now get elected actually get votes. "The Arts Party  I dont know what theyre doing," he says. "Seniors  who are they? Pirate Party  vague idea who they area. Health Australia party are anti-vaccinations. None of these have a hope in hell. All these people think they can be the next Ricky Muir, but they cant get elected [now because of recent Senate reforms]." But some independents and minor parties with high enough profiles are still likely to get elected, says Green. These include Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, the Australian Greens and Pauline Hansons One Nation, which are able to attract a significant primary vote. "The members that now get elected actually get votes," says Green. Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has entered the fray. Credit:AAP

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A crime scene has been set up in Brisbane's north as police investigate a suspicious death.

Emergency services were called to a 42-year-old mans Mitchelton home about midday on Saturday.

He was rushed from the Osborne Road unit to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital but died shortly after arrival, according to police.

A police spokesman said a crime scene had been declared as police worked to determine the cause of death.

No information about the mans injuries was available.
A saw accidentally hitting a fuel tank is believed to have sparked a fire that broke out at a business north of Brisbane.

Emergency services, including six firefighting crews, were called about 10am on Saturday to A1 Car Wreckers used-car and wrecking business on South Pine Road at Brendale.

A fire broke out at Brendale. Credit:Video by Chloe MacIntyre supplied to Seven News

Police said the contact between a saw and fuel tank sparked the flames that destroyed a shed on the premises.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the fire was under control 20 minutes after the initial call but firefighters were still on scene to put out the blaze.
A year-long police operation that disrupted and dismantled a drug syndicate in north Queensland has come to an end.

The investigation targeting the trafficking of drugs in north Queensland led to 20 raids in properties at Bowen, Collinsville, Mackay, Sarina and Ayr.

Queensland police have busted a drug syndicate after raiding properties in north Queensland.

Police discovered about 60 grams of meth, a quantity of cannabis plants and seeds, more than $25,000 in cash, two firearms, knuckledusters, a flick knife and pepper spray.

It will be further alleged that a clandestine laboratory was located as a property in Bowen as well as two hydroponic cannabis production sites.
Iran's revenues from the tourism amounted to $ 11.8 billion since March 28, the chairman of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation of Iran, Ali Asghar Monesan reported.

He stressed that the impact of the sanction pressure on Irans tourism sector is negligible.

In addition, the chairman of the organization drew attention to the fact that tourism makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. "The creation of new tourist accommodation sites will help the development of the sector," Trend quotes Monesan as saying with a referring to ISNA.
New Delhi: The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri on Friday with wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometres per hour before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswa.

Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'deep depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladesh's low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.
Seoul: North Korea has fired "a barrage" of unidentified short-range projectiles toward the ocean, according to the South Korean military.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities were analysing the details of the Saturday launch.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch in Seoul on Saturday. Credit:AP

The South initially reported that a single missile was fired, then said it was a barrage of missiles, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometres before splashing into the sea toward the north-east. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions

They flew for a range of about 70 to 100 kilometres from 9.06am (10.06 AEST), the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details of the missiles.
Jerusalem: Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters. There are reports of four Palestinians killed since Friday.

Medics move their wounded colleague, shot by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border at Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.
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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 Israeli military began to strike the targets of radical Palestinian groups, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces informs.

It is specified that the strikes were the answer of Israel to the missiles fired from Palestine.

"To date, more than 10 terrorist targets were hit with tanks and drones, TASS cites the military communique.
The gathbandhan, the term in common parlance for the Uttar Pradesh alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has left the big two of Indian politics rattled in the most populous state.

Over the past three days, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing. The results of UPs 80 seats could determine whether the BJP would make a comeback or struggle to get the requisite number of allies, as happened in 1996, and fails to prove its majority. ...
While a battery of some 100-odd erstwhile left activists have been deployed to campaign extensively for Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Avantika Nehru, daughter of former MP Arun Nehru, has been roped in at Rae Bareli. ALSO READ: Rae Bareli Lok Sabha polls: Voters say Congress turncoat no match for Sonia The Congress is getting its act together, following reports of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar making extra efforts in Amethi to dislodge Rahul Gandhi, who had had a ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
Exxon Mobil on Friday sued Cubas state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and CIMEX Corp in US federal court seeking $280 million over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized after Fidel Castros revolution. Exxon, the largest US oil producer, is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents ...
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick. That, of course, was nothing new. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as chief executive of Uber in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in Silicon Valley, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Mr. Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future. Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would ...
By 9:30 am the line for Fultons Pancake House and Sugarbush had snaked out the door and down the driveway toward the parking lot, like the day a new iPhone goes on sale. But the restaurant, roughly 40 miles southwest of Ottawa, isnt brand-new. Its in its 50th year, and its star attraction, maple syrup, is much older. It was invented by Native Americans long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. Maple is a social crop, said Shirley Fulton-Deugo, the owner. Its the first crop of the year and a sign that spring is ...
U S President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour. The 2011 New START ...
Hours after approximately 200 rockets were fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel on Saturday, the latter responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, one person has died as a result of the Israeli strikes, and seven others have been wounded, reported CNN.

The rockets fired by Gaza wounded two Israelis, including an 80-year old woman in the city of Kiryat Gat, about twenty miles from Gaza.

In light of the rocket fire, Israel announced that it was closing Kerem Shalom and Erez crossing between the two countries, as well as the Gaza fishing zone. No specific date has been given for when the crossings and the fishing zone would reopen.

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days after nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel fired artillery and launched air raids into Gaza on Saturday morning in response to what it said had been scores of rockets launched out of the strip, escalating tensions after an airstrike killed two Hamas members and Israeli border forces shot two protesters on Friday, The National reports.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes on Saturday. Hamas-run Al Aqsa Voice reported that there was shelling in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

Israeli radio said that there had been air raids and shelling in response to 50 rockets in the space of about 30 minutes  some launched deep into Israel. The official Israeli military Twitter account reported a heavy barrage of rockets being fired at southern Israel from Gaza. It added that air-raid sirens were being sounded in towns across the area.
The sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Roopnagar Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Singh welcomed Amarjit to the party's fold and said it was Punjab government's initiatives in the last two years that had encouraged the opposition MLAs to join the Congress.

"We have got a major boost from the wave of the exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state. It is a clear endorsement of our government's path-breaking initiatives over the past two years," said Chief Minister Singh while speaking to reporters here.

He said that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's oppressive style of functioning had forced the leaders of his party to join the Congress.

"Arvind Kejriwal's autocratic style of functioning and the chaos in the state wing of the party were making its legislators feel suffocated. They are motivated to shift to the Congress because of our focus on the state's development," he said.

Singh urged Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state and help Manisha Tewari, who is the party's MP candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency in Punjab.

This is the second jolt to the AAP in a week's time. Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, joined the Congress on April 29.

Punjab will see polling for all 13 seats on May 19, the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A girl was hacked to death allegedly by her neighbour in Agra's Khandauli area, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the reason behind the girl's death is yet to be ascertained.

A case will be registered soon and strict action will be taken against the culprit, police added.

Superintendent of Police (SP) City Prashant Verma said, "The body has been sent for postmortem. Her (victim's) family is at the police station registering a complaint.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Special CBI court here on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against a Gulf-based investor for being allegedly linked to the AgustaWestland case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar issued the warrant against foreign investor Omar Al Balsharaf after pursuing the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) counsels -- Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Pramod Kumar Dubey and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta.

During the course of hearing, ED's counsels argued that the agency had issued summon to him multiple times since March 2018, but he didn't join the investigation deliberately and also didn't provide the information sought from him, while he was availing his legal remedies before the different legal forums.

The agency further claimed that by not joining the investigation, he is evading the process of law and the NBW issued against him and it is necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the investigations carried out by the ED, it was revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, transferred an amount of USD (5,303,471) to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai but the same was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf-Gautam Khaitan in the book of RAKGT, which raises many questions and need clarification. Some other entries were also found to be suspected in the case, which needed Omar to join the probe.

As RAKGT is associated with Shiekh Omar Al Balsharaf, it is contended that Balsharaf trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain about the money he got from various companies into Dubai account, in which some companies are related to accused Gautam Khaitan and other accused.

On July 18 last year, ED had filed a prosecution complaint against 34 accused persons and companies including Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former directors of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, former IAF chief SP Tyagi and others in the case of VVIP helicopter scam.

The ED investigation revealed that the kickbacks were allegedly paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels.

One channel was handled by the middleman Christian Michel James and the other channel was handled by Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.

According to ED investigations, Gerosa and Haschke in collusion with Tyagi brothers, cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi, allegedly conspired with Gautam Khaitan of OP Khaitan and Company Auditors & Solicitors based in New Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded at Bhubaneswar airport due to cyclone Fani. The flight will leave for Bhubaneswar from Delhi Airport at 3 pm and from Bhubaneswar to Delhi at 5.45 pm.

Also, Air India on Saturday announced the recommencement of operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the cancellation of all flights to and from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports due to the cyclone on Thursday.

The carrier also stepped forward and decided to ship free of cost relief material to cyclone-affected areas in the state by any NGO, Civil society, Self Help Group etc.

Heavy rains along with over wind speed of over 175 kmph battered Odisha as cyclone Fani made landfall close to the temple town of Puri on Friday morning, leaving a trail of destruction in the state.

The cyclone, which crossed Odisha coast close to Puri coast between 8 am and 10 am, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday introduced a "baba," having apparent resemblance with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The 'baba' donned a saffron attire as Adityanath does and also had his head shaved in a similar fashion. However, his face is not visible. Baba can be seen accompanying Yadav in the pictures shared by latter on his twitter handle.

"We cannot bring fake God but we bring a 'baba' ji. He has left Gorakhpur and is telling truth about the government to everyone in the state," tweeted Yadav.

SP, BSP and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as an alliance. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, BSP, SP, and RLD are contesting 38, 37 and three Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Robert Daigle, Pentagon's top official, has resigned from his position, announced the US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Friday.

Daigle, the Director of the Department Of Defence's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, will vacate the office in mid-May after serving for two years.

"On behalf of the entire Department of Defense (DOD), I thank Bob Daigle for his extraordinary service over the past two years," The Hill quoted Shanahan as saying.

He adds that Daigle and his team "have been key architects of the investment strategies that ensure our military is ready to compete, deter, and win in any high-end fight of the future. These investments have formed the foundation for our Department's FY19 and FY20 strategy-driven budgets, enabling DOD to field new technologies and weapons systems at the speed of relevance."

Reportedly, Daigle is leaving to rejoin the private sector. He did not ascertain the reason for resigning.

Daigle, who took over CAPE in August 2017, earlier worked in House Armed Services Committee and led the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission for three years.

During his tenure, his office took the decision to decommission Truman aircraft carrier and called for the Air Force to buy the F-15X.

His departure will add to the expanding void of confirmed top-official in DOD.

At present most top positions at Pentagon are filled by individuals on acting-basis, including the secretary and deputy secretary of defence, the chief management officer, the office of the undersecretary of personnel and readiness and the Air Force secretary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tiger Found Injured In Orang Park, Treatment Underway In State Zoo

Assam [India], May 4 (ANI): A Royal Bengal tigress was brought to a state zoo here on Friday after she was found injured near the Orang Park in Sonitpur district.

She had accidentally drifted away from the park. "The reason for straying out of the park may be due to territorial fight with another tiger. Orang has seen a rise in tiger population and has the highest tiger density in India. Tigers being fiercely territorial, such fights are common in high tiger density areas," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswamy told media persons here.

The tigress has now been kept in a comfortable cage.

On being rescued, she was found to have developed blindness due to corneal opacity, which might have happened due to starvation or injury to the eye.

The nails of her feet had become brittle, eyes had begun to lose vision and she was nearing her death when found by the team of zookeepers in Sonitpur district.

"The blindness, however, is curable. On May 10, doctors will again monitor her health," officials confirmed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States on Friday (local time) warned that assisting Iran in expanding its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could invite sanctions, according to the US State Department Spokesperson.

The latest announcement is part of United States' "unprecedented maximum pressure campaign" on Iran, as per an official press release. Washington also targetted Iran's enriched uranium exports through its statement on May 3.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable. In addition, activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable," Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in the statement.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment. We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the statement added.

"The US will continue to apply maximum pressure until #Iran's leaders change their destructive behaviour, respect the rights of their people, and return to the negotiating table," the US State Department tweeted.

The relations between Iran and the United States have worsened after the latter pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump came into power. Washington re-imposed sanctions on nuclear cooperation with Iran, including by re-designating Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entities, and by placing new limits on foreign assistance that could expand Iran's nuclear program in November 2018.

Furthermore, in March 2019, the US designated an additional 31 Iranian individuals and entities "linked to Iran's WMD proliferation-sensitive activities," as per the US Department of State.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar being placed on United Nations terror list will not have any impact on Pakistan and United States relations, asserted Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on Saturday.

"We want good relations with the US. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Majeed said quoting Duniya news.

On Wednesday, the UN designated Azhar as a 'global terrorist' after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal floated by US, UK and France in the UNSC following the Pulwama terror attack.

"Those steps are not to make anyone happy but it is for our own need. It will not have any impact on US-Pakistan relations," he asserted.

In a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, the United Nations on Wednesday added Azhar to the United Nations 1267 ISIL and al-Qaeda Sanctions List.

After putting technical holds for 10 years, China on Wednesday supported the draft resolution put forward by P3 Nations - United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The United States has welcomed the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist and has sought "sustained actions" from Pakistan against terrorism perpetrating from its soil.

This was the second proposal in a year by the P3 nations, the first proposal was moved 12 days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in Kashmir in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed after a Pakistan-backed JeM terrorist rammed an IED laden car into the jawans' convoy.

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Stepping up the attcak after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, Finance Minister Arun jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's PM," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 per cent stake) and US Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.

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One person died and four were injured as a result of the attack by Israeli forces responding to the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

"A 22-year-old Palestinian was killed, four more injured as a result of an Israeli air forces strike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip," spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said.

According to the press service of the Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian militants fired about 90 missiles in the morning, dozens of which were intercepted by missile defense systems. Israel responded with tank fire and air strikes on militant positions and rocket launchers, including in the north of the enclave.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at BJP calling its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls -- 'a cut and paste job of old documents'. "Who is discussing BJP Manifesto? I have not seen or heard anyone talking about BJP's manifesto. It is a "cut and paste job" of old documents, he said addressing a press conference here. "The only manifesto which is being discussed across the country is Congress manifesto. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not discuss his party's manifesto. I have not seen any BJP minister who speaks about its manifesto. They are only speaking against the Congress manifesto. The only manifesto, which is before the people, is the Congress manifesto," he said. Claiming that the Congress and its declared allies are ahead of BJP and their declared allies in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said

"The government will not let NSSO publish the data. Where are the jobs? We have learnt 4 lakh government posts are lying vacant and 20 lakh post are vacant in the state government. It was our first election promises that we will fill all these 24 lakh vacant posts by March 21, 2020. This is a low hanging fruit and we will do it." Chidambaram said Modi also said he will double farmers' income but in the last five years, farmers' death has doubled.

"Ask any farmer he will say the same. That is why we are promising a separate Kisan budget. For the first time, people will know what is really being done for agriculture. If a farmer defaults on a loan, he will not be jailed. It is a big promise," he added. Asserting that if BJP comes to power there will be no Nyay to people of India, Chidambaram said: Nyay scheme (Nyuntam Aay Yojna) is justice for India's poorest people. "Around 20 per cent of Indian population lives below the poverty line. Nyay will revolutionise the poorest part of India's economy."

"BJP can say they cannot implement NYAY because it is unimplementable for them. The biggest idea they have done is to ask people to do yoga," he added.

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Leicester City's manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as "one of the best players in the world."

"What I loved about Raheem was that, for a young boy, he knew what he wanted to be," Rodgers told a press conference.

"When I ask young players what it is they want to achieve, he wanted to be one of the best players in the world, at that age," Goal quoted Rodgers, as saying.

"He's taken his game now to a level where he clearly is one of the best players in the world," he said.

The 46-year old further added that Sterling has put in the work and did not rely solely on his talent.

"He was someone who was always going to do the work, he wasn't just expecting it because of his incredible talent. This was a boy who looked after his body and his life to ensure that he could give himself every chance to do that," Rodgers said.

Rodgers even enunciated that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is not the same without Sterling.

"I look at Pep [Guardiola's] team and it's not the same if he's not in it," he said.

Rodgers' Leicester City will compete with Manchester City in the Premier League on May 7.

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At least 17 people, including police officers and Taliban militants, were killed during clashes here on Saturday, according to the provincial police chief.

"The clashes started in the early hours of the day after Taliban stormed Boldak Nika police security checkpoint in Spin Boldak district, southern part of provincial capital Kandahar city. And the exchange of fire lasted for four hours leaving the casualties," General Tadeen Khan told Xinhua.

Out of the deceased, three are police officers while 14 are Taliban militants. Furthermore, four police officers and seven Taliban militants were also injured due to the fighting.

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In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the Prime Minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Gandhi.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA, the Gandhi scion said he is ready for all the investigation.

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Gandhi told reporters.

Gandhi also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar Chor hai' as he hasn't apologized for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan.

"The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The results of all the phases will be announced on May 23.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said the party wanted Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to focus on 20 seats instead of being captive to only the Varanasi parliamentary constituency with an aim to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi by contesting polls.

On being asked whether Priyanka's decision not to contest elections from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is because Modi is said to be invincible from the temple city, Pitroda in an interview to ANI said, "Earlier also I have said that it has to be her own decision because contesting elections is a very personal decision and it has to be a decision between a party and a person. When the party and the person collectively made that decision, we all have to support it."

When asked about the reason behind Priyanka's decision not to contest polls, Pitroda said, "They must have felt it is better to use her time and talent on more seats rather than one seat and not divert her energy to one place as opposed to 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh."

Priyanka had faced much criticism for her decision not to contest from Varanasi against Modi despite a big build-up.

Congress has fielded Ajay Rai, a local Congress leader against Modi in the temple town.

Varanasi will go to polls in the last phase of elections on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

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Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching speed of 200 kmph, and left three persons dead besides over 160 injured, a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst April storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre has released Rs. 1,000 crores to Odisha and other states to deal with the devastation caused by Fani.

Director General of the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said that three persons lost their lives during the cyclone.

"As of now, three persons have lost their lives in the cyclone. The precautions that have been taken should be continued," Pradhan told ANI.

Central government spokesperson Sitansu Kar said quoting a telephonic conversation with state administration officials that 160 people were reportedly injured.

A state government statement said, "There is extensive damage to dwelling houses. Almost all kutcha and old pucca have been fully or severely damaged."

Power supply snapped due to the uprooting of electricity poles, damage to substations and KV lines. "Power restoration process is in full swing," it said. Uprooted trees and electricity poles blocked roads preventing vehicular movement.

The cyclone caused damage to telecom towers resulting in failure of cellular and land-line telephone networks in several areas including capital Bhubaneswar. "All telephone and cell phones are down in Puri district," the statement said.

Large-scale devastation has also been caused to summer crops, orchards and plantations, it added.

The storm caused extensive damage to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with several overhead water tanks and a part of the roof getting blown away. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said.

Strong winds uprooted several electricity poles on the campus. However, all patients, staff and students are safe. "We have enough supply and are ready to support the state," Sudan said.

Massive waves along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state inundated low-lying areas in Ganjam. Khordha, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A large crane at an under-construction building site fell on the buildings nearby but there was no indication whether there were any human casualty.

The office of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik posted on Twitter that over 11 lakh people from the vulnerable regions have been evacuated since Thursday.

Over 3 lakh people were evacuated from Ganjam district alone, followed by 1.3 lakh from Puri district. Around 5000 kitchens are operating to serve people in shelters.

A 60-year-old reportedly died in a shelter home in Kendrapara following a heart attack.The cyclone weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" after landfall.

"Everything is flying in Air ..have literally turned deaf because of wind sound ..All window panes were broken..difficult indeed ..if this is my condition in a concrete building ..I pray for the lives of millions," tweeted BJP leader Sambit Patra who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Puri.

"The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun ..extremely high wind speed ..heavy rain ..the harrowing sound ..reminds me of 1999 Supercyclone With folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jaganath ji to give us the strength to endure this," he said.

Civilian air services have been suspended from airports in Odisha and Kolkata while nearly 225 trains cancelled including 56 on Friday.

Indian Navy's P-8I and Dornier aircraft are scheduled to undertake an aerial survey to assess the extent of impact and devastation caused by the cyclone.

Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Paradip, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata besides four ships at Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Helpline number - 1938 - has been made operational by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter, saying that she has cancelled all her election rallies till May 5 in her state.As Fani continues to move north-northeast, it is likely to further weaken into a "severe cyclonic storm".

The system is expected to weaken gradually and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal as a "severe cyclonic storm" by the early morning of May 4, the MeT department said. Thereafter, it is expected to move further north-northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh by May 4 evening as a cyclonic storm.

Disaster Response Force teams deployed in Digha, West Bengal, has evacuated nearly 150 people including children from Dattapur and Tajpur to a shelter.

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The Odisha government claimed the cyclone 'Fani' has led to one of the biggest human evacuations in history as a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours including 3.2 lakh from Ganjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri.

"3.2 lakh from Ganjam and 1.3 lakh people from Puri were evacuated with almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. The mammoth exercise involved more than 45 thousand volunteers, 3 million targeted messages, 2000 emergency workers, youth clubs and other civil society organizations, ODRAF, NDRF, PRI agencies," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik also added that the death toll is only in single digit without mentioning the exact number. "According to our latest report, it is only in single digit," he said.

Cyclone Fani on Friday made landfall in Puri with a wind speed of over 200 Km/hr. 'Kuccha' houses were completely destroyed in Puri, parts of Khurda, and other districts. The cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply. Lakhs of trees were uprooted blocking roads, breaking homes and damaging infrastructure.

The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in the state. It left three people dead and over 160 injured along with leaving behind a trail of destructions that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm" was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Cyclone Fani has weakened and is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of the cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal," said Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations, NDRF.

Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching the speed of 200 kmph, and left three people dead and over 160 injured. It also left behind a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Air India on Saturday announces the recommencement of its operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport.

On the other hand, for the convenience of passengers, the Railways has decided to run a special train from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, today evening. This Special Train will leave Bhubaneswar at 7 pm and will reach Bangalore at 1.35 am on May 6.

It will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nandayal, Guntakal and Dharmavaram between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.

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BJP candidate from North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat Hans Raj Hans on Saturday mentioned the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman while addressing a rally here.

Hans said that Wing Commander Varthaman was taken into custody in Pakistan after a "successful operation."

"Hum sochte they ki pehle jaise delay ho jaega, Ye na ho Sarabjit jaise usko bhi fansi laga dein bahut papi,beimaan mulq hai," he added.

This comes after the Election Commission earlier today gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Wing Commander Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

While addressing a poll rally, Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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The US Defense Department is preparing for the final exclusion of Turkey from the program to create the newest American F-35 bomber fighters, the acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said, specifying that this measure is due to the purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 by Ankara.

According to him, he held a meeting with the direction board of the US military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin and the United Technologies company. The parties discussed in detail the consequences of Turkeys possible exclusion from the F-35 program. "If we cannot find a solution to the current situation, then we need to carry out our plans in terms of their progress," TASS quotes Shanahan as saying with a reference to the transcript of the conversation published by the Pentagon.

The acting Defence Minister stressed that it is necessary to make sure that the plan is effective. I need plans that don't have a single weak point, with a zero risk of failure, so that we can smoothly deliver F-35 to our other customers, he stressed.

In addition, Shanahan noted that during the meeting with the management of the companies he understood where the risk level is high. "Now it is necessary to make decisions to reduce this risk, but at the same time, we continue the negotiations with Turkey," the acting Defence Minister noted.

He stressed that the Turkish side is still the US strategic partner. "In my opinion, today the relations between Turkey and the United States are better than two or four months ago, simply because of the frequency of contacts," he explained, reiterating that the purchase of S-400 by Ankara will lead to the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program.

Shanahan also confirmed the Pentagons position on impossibility of the simultaneous use of the Russian S-400 and the American F-35 systems.
Final voter turnout in the fourth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections held on April 29 stood at 65.51 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (EC) on Saturday.

The voting percentage is 2.46 per cent higher than in 2014. The 2014 Lok Sabha witnessed 63.05 per cent turnout in the fourth phase.

The first, second and third phases of the Lok Sabha polls held on April 11, 18 and 23 witnessed a turnout of 69.5 per cent, 69.44 per cent, and 68.4 per cent respectively.

A total of 72 seats from nine states including Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the fourth phase.

The polling percentage in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections was the highest in West Bengal - around 76.44 per cent till 5 pm, EC had said on Monday.

Eight seats of the state went to the polls in the fourth phase. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage for these seats was 83.38 per cent.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout with just 10.5 per cent votes. Polling for Anantnag seat is scheduled to be held in three phases. Kulgam district went to polls in the fourth phase.

The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

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Escalating the tensions in the region, Gaza on Saturday launched rockets towards Israel after the latter's forces killed four Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip on Friday, reported Al Jazeera.

Reportedly, Israeli defence forces are intercepting rockets through its Iron Dome missile.

According to Gaza health ministry, while two civilians were killed in the firing by Israeli forces, two others died in air strikes. Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries.

Israeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling with Palestinian protestors.

Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson said, "Some roads and sites along the Gaza border, including the Zikim beach, would be closed off after Friday's incident, which comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are in Egypt in an attempt to bring about calm in the border."

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days as nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

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The British police on Saturday declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecom company Huawei, saying that the disclosure does not amount to any crime.

In a statement, Neil Basu, Britain's counter-terrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the Defence Secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act, Al Jazeera reported.

"No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police," he said.

Opposition lawmakers had urged for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary over reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain's new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). The council's discussions were only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first signed the Official Secrets Act that allows them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office," Basu was quoted as saying.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances," he added.

Williamson has repeatedly denied he was the source of the leak and suggested that May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G networks.

The 42-year-old former minister was once a trusted ally of May. He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

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A day after North Korea fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, their leader Kim Jong-un supervised the "strike drill" of defence units to test their performance, state media reported.

"The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance of large-calibre long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units in the frontline area and on the eastern front," said state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from its eastern coastal town of Wonsan into the East Sea. They flew about 70 kilometres to 200 kilometres, reported Yonhap News agency.

Despite this, United States President Donald Trump reaffirmed confidence in the North Korean leader, saying that "he won't break his promise."

"Anything in this very interesting is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" Trump tweeted.

Saturday's weapons tests were the most serious by the Asian country since it launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017, The New York Times reported.

South Korean officials said the "short-range" projectiles flew only 42 to 124 miles off the North's east coast, ruling out the possibility that the country had resumed tests of intermediate- or intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

The launch of the short-range missile comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea are yet to see progress following the abrupt fallout of the Hanoi summit.

Ties between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock over the ease of sanctions, where Pyongyang sought relief as a recognition of the steps taken towards denuclearisation.

No joint statement was released following the talks, as it is reported that the two countries could not resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

Washington has, until now, reinforced that relief in sanctions would only be given after Pyongyang carries out "complete and verifiable" denuclearisation.

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Hitting out at the BJP for terming his party's rule in Uttar Pradesh as "gundaraj," Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that "let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us but show us FIR copies registered against state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath." "They blamed us for gundaraj (hooliganism) in Uttar Pradesh. I want to say let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us. But also show us FIR copies registered against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," Akhilesh Yadav said while addressing an election rally here. "He has been charged under several sections. I can not even count them and you cannot even imagine what kind of sections he was charged under," he added. The SP chief and former chief minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled the nomination of his party candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav from Varanasi. "The government claims that it wants to end terrorism but it was afraid of a jawan."

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Yadav said: "What are the BJP people bringing on roads? It is bulls. And bulls are hurting the people on roads. If a bull hurts anyone, what charges the police will impose on them? Will they register an FIR against a bull?"

Yadav wondered if a case will be filed against any bull if it hurts anyone and demanded that the FIR should be registered against Adityanath instead. He also claimed that seven people died in Lucknow because of the bulls.Later, Akhilesh attacked Adityanath for branding him a 'tonti-chor' (a thief who steals water tap).

"The Chief Minister (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) and a few of his officials have taught 'chilam' (tobacco pipe) to PM Modi. Those who are calling us 'tonti tonti,' they are the one with chilam" (Mukhyamantri ji ne aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chilam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chilam wale)."

Polling for 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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A retired employee of an insurance company has been arrested for allegedly molesting at least six girls including minors in Jagrati area of Meerut.

The accused identified as Vimal, 65, has been working as a social activist, providing shelter and free education to the poor girls.

"We have arrested an old man for allegedly physically exploiting at least 6 girls, including minors, at his residence in Jagrati Vihar colony. FIR will be registered in the case. Have also arrested another person in connection with the case," senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told ANI.

The horrendous incident came to light on Thursday when CCTV footage of Vimal's residence at Jagrati Vihar was inspected. Vimal used to persuade young innocent girls and later used to sexually abuse them.

"The accused was living in the posh area while going through CCTV footage we found young girls being molested. Vimal has been arrested and the family of the victims have been informed., he added.

A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

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Muslim Education Society (MES) President Dr P A Fazal Gafoor has received an anonymous call threatening to kill him, a day after he issued a circular banning students from covering their faces with religious veils at its educational institutions.

He received the call from an international number on Friday, following which he filed a complaint at Nadalkavu police here, he said in a complaint in which he had alleged that the caller used "threatening, harsh and demeaning" words against him.

Founded in 1964, MES runs as many as 35 colleges and 72 schools.

In the notice banning religious veils issued on May 2, he had also asked the institution heads and officer-bearers of the local management of the institutions to remain vigilant.

His notice had come days after Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' demanded the imposition of a ban on the burqa in India in the interest of security, citing a similar measure taken in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks last month.

The editorial had stated, "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the Prime Minister as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday."

The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by an NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.

The Sri Lankan government on April 28 took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on the occasion of Easter Sunday on April 21, claiming the lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds.

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A Delhi court is recording the statement of former Union Minister MJ Akbar today in connection with a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani after she complained of sexual misconduct.

Ramani and other senior journalists will also appear before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal today.

She had on April 10 pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar.

In the last hearing, ACMM Vishal had also granted a permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance in the hearings to follow.

In February, Ramani was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

Ramani was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo campaign.

Akbar, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, had filed a defamation case against the journalist for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The allegations levelled against him forced him to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.

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Actor Vivek Oberoi, who essayed the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his biopic 'PM Narendra Modi,' on Saturday said that the latter will remain the Prime Minister of the country even after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The history of India demonstrates that whenever any a prince or any foreigner has ruled us, they have only robbed us. Now, all the citizens and all the 'Chowkidasrs' won't let the country be robbed again," he told media persons.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory is confirmed. He is the Prime Minister and he will remain the Prime Minister. Now, India won't get robbed. Rather it will rise," Vivek said.

Vivek was in the capital to take part in BJP's 'Saaton Seetein Modi Ko' campaign at the India Gate. Bengaluru South BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya and Kapil Mishra were also present.

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Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JDU and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling it a "vote cutter" party. He also accused Congress and SP of "betraying" BSP supremo Mayawati for their personal gains.

"Congress leaders are happily sharing the stage with SP in rallies. These people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. The party which was staking claim to prime ministerial post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said at a public rally here.

"These people made an alliance just to benefit themselves. They took advantage of Mayawati by showing her dreams of becoming the prime minister. But instead, Congress and SP kept her in the dark," he added.

Raking up the alleged links of Congress president Rahul Gandhi with Scorpene deal, Modi said: "Today I read that during UPA's tenure, one of naamdar's (dynast) business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

Continuing his attack on Congress, the Prime Minister remarked: "The naamdars used to say they are scared of Modi's effect and his aura. Now they are openly saying they can't win against Modi unless they can taint his hard work, honesty and nationalism. The naamdar (Gandhi) himself admitted that a campaign is being run against Modi to spoil his image."

Targeting 'mahagathbandhan', Modi alleged that if the grand alliance come to power, then it would spoil the future of the youth in the country and indulge in personal benefits.

"If the 'mahamilavat' is given free rein, they will ruin the future of the country's youth and pursue benefits only for themselves. So, naamdar, open your ears. This Modi has been working hard for the country in the last five decades. He has given his life for the nation and nothing else," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister listed five dangers that the mahagathbandhan poses including corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic and bad governance. Taking a dig at Congress, Modi said he was not "born with a golden spoon or into a royal family."

Exuding confidence that the BJP will be voted to power again, he said, "The people of Uttar Pradesh decided the results already in the four phases of voting. The people here have vowed that they want development and nothing else. The 'mahamilawati' can't understand now what game they should play in the remaining phases of polling. A situation could arise that they will run away from the field seeing people' enthusiasm."

Accusing the Congress of not doing anything for poor, Modi said: "Rahul is shouting loudly that he wants proof of Modi's works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor," he said.

Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, 39 of them have gone to polls in Uttar Pradesh while remaining 41 constituencies will go to polls during the next three phases of the polling, that is scheduled on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of being a 'Chowkidar' only for a few businessmen while ignoring the welfare of farmers and youths.

Addressing a poll rally in Sultanpur parliamentary constituency, Rahul Gandhi lambasted the Prime Minister and said, "The whole country has understood this now that this 56-inch-chest man or chowkidar has done chowkidari of only Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and not of farmers or youth. This chowkidar has no strength and he couldn't stand in front of Choksi and Vijay Mallya and sold off complete country".

He also said that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are a fight between NYAY and injustice and said, "I had asked Prime Minister four questions in Lok Sabha but he couldn't answer. He gave a speech of one and half hours in the Parliament but was very comfortable while making that address."

"There have been many promises made by him one after the other but during these elections, he is not able to speak a single word about his own promises. It is because he has no strength and he is hollow," said the Gandhi scion in a strongly worded attack against the Prime Minister.'

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi is contesting on BJP's ticket from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Congress has fielded former legislator Sanjay Singh against her.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

"The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. After examination, the Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted," the electoral body stated on Saturday.

While addressing a poll rally, Prime Minister Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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Prince Harry delayed his trip to the Netherlands next week as he awaits the arrival of his first child.

"Due to the logistical planning for the traveling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as saying.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned," the spokesperson added.

While there have been speculations that Meghan Markle has already secretly given birth, Buckingham Palace recently confirmed to E! News that the baby hasn't been born yet.

The announcement of Harry and Meghan expecting their first child together was made on the Twitter handle of Kensington Palace on October 15 last year.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sending bribes of Rs 20,000 to village headmen of Amethi parliamentary constituency.

Addressing a public gathering Priyanka levied these strong acquisitions against her political rivals and said: "Wrong kind of campaign is happening here as money is being distributed. I am sending our election manifesto to village headman but BJP is sending letters with Rs 20,000 in the envelope. They are thinking that Amethi headmen will sell themselves for Rs 20,000. They think that generations of love, generations of development can be purchased in Rs 20,000."

Priyanka, who is also Congress's general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh East, said the BJP government is halting development work in Amethi.

"BJP government has been there in the country for five years. People voted in large number to bring their government in power in the state and Centre. Now there is BJP government in State and Centre and the effect is such that the projects started by Rahul Gandhi are being halted in this parliamentary constituency," she said.

In a direct attack on the BJP candidate Smriti Irani, she accused Irani of visiting Amethi for very less number of times. She said: "BJP candidate came to this constituency only for 16 times in all these years. Every time she comes, she leaves in just four hours. Compared to this, your MP Rahul Gandhi has come two times more to the constituency and has always met people and listen to their problems."

On April 30, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said, in last five years, BJP leader Smriti Irani visited Amethi more times than Congress President Rahul Gandhi did in the last 15 years.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting against BJP candidate Smriti Irani from Amethi parliamentary constituency. Gandhi had defeated Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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Draught in many parts of Maharashtra is adversely affecting students from these regions who are living in other cities of the state for higher or to prepare for tests for government jobs.

One such student living and studying in Pune, Deepak Kangne said, "I belong to a drought-prone district and I am preparing for competitive exams staying in Pune. My native place gets hit by drought every year and farming suffers which in turn hampers our financial situation. I do a part-time job to support my studies."

Many students from these drought-hit areas also say that they won't be going back to their homes during summer holidays as that would increase financial burden on their families.

Another student Nivrati Tiwode said, "I am from Nanded district and have been living here for four years. I do not get money from home and hence work with a catering company during weekends. I cannot go home even during vacations because I have to work during that time to earn money for fees for next year."

While, these students fight through these adversities to continue their education, there are also organisations which help them sail through these challenging times.

Tiwode said that an organisation called Student Helping Hand provides them with free food twice a day.

Vinayak another student from Nanded living in Pune said, "I do not get any financial help from my home and work on a cloth shop part-time. Students Helping Hand provides us with food two times a day."

Organisation President Kuldeep Ambedkar says, "We try to help the students who are financially struggling. 2,000 students filed an application seeking help. But due to financial constraints, we are able to provide food to 600 only."

The Government of Maharashtra has declared 151 talukas as drought affected.

On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for wishing to scrap the sedition law if they come to power after the Lok Sabha polls.

"Rahul baba says; Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap the sedition law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail," asked Shah, while addressing an election rally here.

He also went on to recall the incidents which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in February 2016 and said that if the sedition law was removed, then those raising anti-India slogans could not be jailed.

"Slogans were raised in JNU -- Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah, Insha Allah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government put them behind the bars under sedition law. If you scrap sedition law, how will you put them in jails," he asked.

The BJP president was joined by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and BJP MP candidate from North West Delhi Hans Raj Hans in the public meeting.

Shah also said that he had just attended a roadshow in Amethi and he could guarantee that Rahul Gandhi's constituency will make BJP win this time.

"I have just come after holding a roadshow in Amethi and I will tell you what is going to happen this time in Rahul baba's constituency. Lotus will bloom in Amethi this time, guaranteed," he said.

"I will not speak much but I promise to come here again and reveal every misdeed of Arvind Kejriwal," he said attacking the Delhi Chief Minister.

Delhi will see polling for seven Lok Sabha seats on May 12, the sixth phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Rescue and relief operations were mounted on a massive scale in Odisha, which was recovering from devastation on Friday left by Cyclone Fani that crossed West Bengal on Saturday, bringing in its wake heavy rains in Kolkata and causing damage in various towns of the state.

Extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure was reported from Puri, Bhubaneshwar and other parts of Odisha when the storm with wind speed reaching up to 175kmph lashed the Odisha coast after it made landfall near Puri coast.

The Crisis Management Committee met in Delhi on Saturday and reviewed the rescue and relief measures being carried out in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It was felt that due to timely measures and large scale evacuation of people to safety shelters, loss of human lives was minimal.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the death toll was only in single digit but did not give the exact figure. He said a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours and called it one of the biggest human evacuations in history.

A total of 3.2 lakh people from Gunjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri were evacuated.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreaked havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'Fani' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Patnaik over phone and discussed the situation in the wake of Cyclone Fani wreaking havoc.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Cyclone Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster," the PM said.

He also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi and promised Centre's readiness to provided all help needed to cope with the cyclone.

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Severe Cyclone FANI weakened into a Cyclonic Storm and lay centred at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon," tweeted IMD.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said that he believes that party President Rahul Gandhi is capable of being a Prime Minister as he is the right man to lead the country.

On being asked whether there would be any consensus among 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders for pitching Gandhi as the first choice for prime minister, Pitroda said, "...if we get to form the government, the party will decide who will be the candidate for the prime ministerial post. I, Sam Pitroda, personally would like Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister because he is a young guy and is highly skilled, well-educated, his heart is in the right place and he has learned a lot in the last decade. You have seen a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years. I think he will make a good leader and I am convinced."

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Calling himself a "small party man", Pitroda, a confidant of the Gandhi scion, said he personally believes that India needs leaders who are in their 40s and 50s and not someone above 60 years of age.

"No, I am just a small party man but I genuinely believe that today India needs younger people. We have 650 million people below the age of 25 and I would like to see leaders who are in the 40s and 50s and not in 60s and 70s," he said.

Before Pitroda, DMK president MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had batted for Gandhi as a PM candidate.

Meanwhile, Pitroda slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning Gandhi's nationality.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for 15 years. You (those questioning his citizenship) sat with him in Parliament, 15 years you worked with him in Parliament, why did you wake up today with lies and you think people are stupid? Don't underestimate the intelligence of Indian people, don't play with their emotions. It's not a good thing and they will show you in these elections. I am telling you, you can't just cheat and lie all the time. If you had a question on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship, you had 15 years to ask but you asked two weeks before elections. Rahul Gandhi is a proud Indian citizen," Pitroda said.

The remark came after the Ministry of Home Affairs recently issued a notice to Gandhi regarding his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

Swamy had also claimed that the Congress president had declared his nationality as British in a UK-based company.

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NCP president and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday discussed the current drought crisis in the state with his party leaders.

Prominent leaders of the party, its MPs, and MLAs attended the meeting. According to party sources, Pawar also spoke to every district unit party president via video conference.

As the drought is expected to aggravate in the state in coming days, the NCP chief is likely to visit the farmers. The meeting also discussed important issues to be taken up during the Monsoon Session of the state assembly, which is scheduled to commence from next month.On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

"Extreme summer. There are a number of infrastructure works such as drilling of bore wells, repairs to drinking water schemes, irrigation canal maintenance works, etc. which need to be taken up during the extreme summer," wrote Chief Minister Fadnavis.

"The Government of Maharashtra declared 151 talukas as drought affected and the Government of India has extended the assistance of Rs 4,714 crore in this regard. Separately I am proposing the Cabinet Meeting on this issue at the earliest," Fadnavis further wrote.

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In the wake of the serial bomb attacks that rattled Sri Lanka killing over 250 people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday ordered the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to regulate madrasas, instead of the education ministry.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas, though the minister had earlier said the education ministry would take steps to regulate them.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam said.

Earlier, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said around 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at the Madrasas. These clerics had arrived on tourist visas and therefore they should be deported, the minister added.

Sri Lankan authorities are on high-alert after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts that shook three churches and three high-end hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring more than 500.

The IS (Islamic State) or 'Daesh' terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), believed to be associated with the former, for the deadly attacks.

Wickremesinghe on Friday visited the Zion Church Batticaloa, which came under terrorist attack on Easter Sunday and discussed with the church authorities on the various matters related to security measures.

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Tesla is very serious about its data and the level of seriousness is evident from the company's latest e-mail to its employees, warning against leaking confidential information.

The e-mail, shared with CNBC, warns that outsiders who will do anything to see Tesla mail are targeting employees for information through social media and other methods.

It reminds employees about their confidentiality agreements and warns them that leaking propriety business information will result in action against them, including termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has officially crowned the reigning monarch on Saturday, after his father, the late King Bhumibol passed away in October 2016.

"I will continue to preserve, develop and rule the land with justice for the benefits of all Thai people," the new King said shortly after being crowned in a ceremony at the Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence at the Grand Palace here. He was flanked by two men wearing military uniforms during his address.

In an event marked by elements from both Buddhist and Hindu faiths, the new King donned an elaborate gold crown weighing around seven kilograms while sitting on his throne beneath a nine-tier umbrella. Only the King is permitted to sit under the nine-tier umbrella in Thailand, which signifies the reigning monarch's connection with heaven.

Cannons were fired in honour of the new King, as Thai citizens around the country wore yellow to commemorate the crowning, which is being held for the first time in 69 years. The colour yellow is associated with the monarch's day of birth, according to CNN.

Vajiralongkorn is the 10th member of the Chakri dynasty, making him King Rama X. The dynasty has ruled Thailand since Rama I took the throne in 1782.

Just days before the coronation, he married his royal consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, declaring her as the queen of the nation. The wedding ceremony took place at the Ampornsathan Throne Hall in Bangkok's Dusit Palace on May 1 and was attended by members of the royal family and Junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha amongst others.

"I am happy to see this event. Now we have a full King the country will be better. This ceremony is an auspicious thing to see. I am so proud of it," a 62-year-old Thai citizen, watching the coronation outside the palace, told CNN.

The official coronation ceremony will last three days. It began with a purification ritual which used water collected from all 76 provinces on Saturday. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway ever since the passing away of King Rama IX in 2016.

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The United States and South Korea have agreed to "prudently" deal with North Korea's launch of a short-range missile on Saturday, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

South Korea also alleged that the missile launch breached inter-Korean military accords which were signed between the two states last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said.

The statement comes after the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks via phone, hours after the North Korean launch on Saturday.

Kang also spoke with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono over the phone with regard to Pyongyang's latest move and vowed to respond "with discretion".

The unidentified short-range missile was launched in the eastern direction from the east coast town of Wonsan in North Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This latest development comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock following the abrupt ending of the second US-North Korea summit held in Hanoi earlier this year.

The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences over the ease of sanctions, leading to the summit ending with no agreement. The much-awaited agreement was expected to chart out the future course in the denuclearisation process, which was agreed upon by Pyongyang in the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year.

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Pentagon is planning to eliminate Turkey from a programme on creating F-35 multi-role fighters over the latter's deals to buy Russian S-400 defence system, said acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

He also underlined that Turkey remains a key "strategic US partner", however, it cannot have S-400 and F-35 "together", reported TASS on Saturday.

"I want air-tight plans that have near-zero execution risk so that we can flawlessly deliver on all the other F-35s to, you know, our other customers. So part of me going through there is, and meeting with folks is like, show me where the risk is. Let's talk about what kind of decisions we have to make to mitigate that risk. But at the same time, we are talking with Turkey," said Shanahan.

"Now, S-400s and F-35s do not go together. That's a big bump," he added.

Last week, Shanahan held a meeting with the leadership of Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corporation, US' principal defence manufacturers, to discuss the consequences of removing Turkey from the programme.

Earlier Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said that US considers Russia deal with Turkey as a "strategic trick" of Moscow to disconnect Ankara from its western allies.

However, Turkey has indicated that it would not go back on its deal, regardless of the US decision.

"Turkey could cooperate with any other country if the US refused to supply F-35 fighters," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The development would further strain the already fragile US-Turkey relations.

Russia and Turkey signed a deal for S-400 in 2017 after engaging in hectic negotiations for a year. Reportedly, Turkey has already transferred the advance payment.

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Union Minister V K Singh, a former army chief, on Saturday denied knowledge of a surgical strike during his tenure and accused the rival Congress of lying about it.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So-called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS (chief of army staff). Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story."

The statement from the Union Minister came days after Congress leader Rajiv Shukla told reporters at the AICC briefing that six surgical strikes were conducted during Manmohan Singh government.

Shukla had further stated that two surgical strikes were carried out when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister--one on January 21, 2000, in Nadala Enclave across the Neelam River and second on September 18, 2003, in Baroh Sector in Poonch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday mocked the Congress party for its claim of having conducted surgical strikes during the UPA regime and said after questioning the NDA government's strikes it was now claiming having done similar strikes by saying "me too, me too".

The Congress hit back saying by making these remarks the prime minister was insulting the armed forces.

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Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

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BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Twitter after a news report alleged that the Gandhi scion's former business partner Ulrik McKnight got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," tweeted Shah.

According to the report, McKnight was the 35 per cent owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up.

McKnight was later director in a company that acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

This news came to light just days after Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.

"Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read.

The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake while McKnight had 35 per cent.

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The Yellow Vest protesters took to the streets in Paris for the 25th consecutive week on Saturday.

At least three rallies are expected in Paris on Saturday alone, according to Sputnik.

The protests have continued despite French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge of a "significant" cut in income tax during a conference recently. Macron had previously unveiled an 'economic and social emergency plan' after the demonstrations started in November last year

The protests reportedly attracted more than 23,500 people across France last week. Scores of people were arrested by the police as clashes erupted during the protests.

The Yellow Vests also used the May Day rally to protest against the French President's economic policies. Police had to resort to using tear gas and sting grenades to control the crowd gathering near Paris' Montparnasse train station during Wednesday's protests. The demonstrators responded by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the police.

At least 165 protesters were arrested on Wednesday as per the French police.

Demonstrators donning yellow vests have been taking to streets across France since November 17, to protest against rising fuel prices and Macron's policies. Even though Macron has since scrapped the rise in fuel prices, protests have continued with calls for the President's resignation being rampant throughout the agitation.

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A total of 159 students were taken into custody from an unlicenced resort in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi early on Saturday for drug abuse, police said.

According to police, a large number of college students, mostly from Kerala, gathered at the Agri Nest resort in Pollachi on Friday to party.

However, the blaring music throughout the night and also a drunken brawl amongst the students disturbed the neighbours, who complained to the police.

Police then raided the resort and saw some of the students drunk while others seemed to have consumed narcotic substances.

While the resort's owner is absconding, police have seized the two and four wheelers of the students.

According to police, the students contact each other via social media for such parties and this time they fixed a fee of Rs 1,200 per head.

Meanwhile, the district administration has sealed the resort.

--IANS

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The Assam government deported 20 convicted Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, on Saturday, an official said.

"The 20 people were deported to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh) border check post (in Assam) in the presence of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh," police inspector (border wing) Utpal Sharma told the media.

These 20 people, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, were convicted for violation of either the Passports Act or the Foreigners Act, or both and had been lodged in Silchar jail.

"These Bangladeshi nationals have confessed that they entered India illegally in search of jobs or to meet their relatives," Sharma added.

Assam shares a 263 km border along Karimganj district with Bangladesh's Sylhet district.

--IANS

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Aamir Khan-starrer "Laal Singh Chaddha", which is the Hindi remake of Tom Hanks' 1994 classic "Forrest Gump", will release around Christmas in 2020.

The release date of the film, produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, was announced on Saturday.

The film, which is expected to go on the floors in October, is written by Atul Kulkarni and will be helmed by "Secret Superstar" director Advait Chandan.

Aamir had announced the project on his birthday in March. The actor, who tasted failure with his last film "Thugs of Hindostan", said he would be losing around 20 kgs for his role in "Laal Singh Chaddha". He also shared that he would be sporting a turban for some segments of the movie.

"Forrest Gump", directed by Robert Zemeckis, is based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name. It follows the life of Forrest Gump, a big-hearted man from Alabama, who witnesses and influences several historical events in the 20th century in the US.

The film went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hanks.

It is also being reported that "Laal Singh Chaddha" might clash with Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Krissh 4".

--IANS

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"Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."

--IANS

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Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

--IANS

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Promoters and top officials of realty firm Amrapali Group diverted homebuyers' money for personal benefits and building their own empire, said the forensic report submitted to the Supreme Court.

The audit report reveals that around Rs 3,500 crore of homebuyers' money was diverted by the Amrapali top brass. According to the auditors, the money was spent on houses, luxury cars and weddings among others and also invested in shares and mutual funds.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed both the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and the banks concerned for the diversion of funds by the group.

Pointing to the diversion of Rs 3,500 crore by the Amrapali Group as estimated by the forensic auditors, Justice Arun Mishra said: "Rs 3,500 crore have gone away. Due to your inaction, cheating has taken place. The banks' inaction has contributed to it. Had you taken action timely, this would not have happened."

"It is your own doing. You have not done anything. If you had done anything, this would not have happened. If it is not hand in gloves then what it is," Justice Mishra told the Noida, Greater Noida authorities and the banks.

The forensic auditors' report pointed to instances where money moved from one company to another company of the Amrapali Group.

The court said that that "without the active support of the banks, this kind of large scale money laundering could not have happened".

However, as per the auditors, it is possible to raise the required funds to complete the Amrapali projects. For this, they said the money diverted will have to be brought back and several other assets of the group will have to be sold.

A total of around Rs 9,590 crore can be recovered from the group, noted the auditors.

--IANS

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Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.

--IANS

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The Boeing 737 charter jet that was seen floating on the St. Johns River in Florida after crashing, was reminiscent of the January 2009 emergency landing of a now-defunct US Airways jet in New York's freezing Hudson River.

Twenty-one people were injured in the Friday night incident when the pilot attempted to land the Boeing amid thunder and heavy rains. All the 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued by early Saturday morning.

Images from social media showed rescue teams scurrying over the plane in the St. Johns River, similar to the January 15, 2009, emergency landing on the Hudson River.

That time, the US Airways' Flight 1549 with 155 people on board had suffered a bird strike upon take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. It was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The US Airways' pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, had told the air traffic controllers that the plane suffered "a double bird strike" that led to loss of both the engines and that he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart.

Given the total loss of power and time constraints, the pilot opted to land on the Hudson River.

Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia saw the plane clear the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before gliding into the water.

Later, Sullenberger, emerged as a hero, with praise being heaped on him by passengers, officials and aviation experts for handling the emergency river landing with aplomb and avoiding major injuries.

The incident was dubbed as "Miracle on the Hudson" and the story behind it was told in the movie "Sully". Actor Tom Hanks played pilot Sullenberger.

Sullenberger's final words before losing contact with Air Traffic Control were calm but direct: "We're gonna be in the Hudson."

The time between the loss of the engines and landing the plane was 208 seconds, just under four minutes.

--IANS

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.

--IANS

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Campaigning for five Bihar Lok Sabha seats -- Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur and Saran -- concluded on Saturday for the fifth phase of the seven-phased elections on May 6.

Nearly three-week long canvassing saw intense campaigning by top leaders of the ruling NDA and opposition grand alliance as well as Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP). While the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are part of the NDA; the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, the RLSP, the HAM and the VIP have formed grand allaince.

Amid the political war of words creeped in some personal attacks by various leaders. For the NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with other star politicians, spearhead the campaign.

For the grand alliance, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and the Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav (both RJD), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the campaigning scene hot.

It's more or less direct contest between the NDA and the grand alliance, except in Madhubani where a rebel Congress candidate Shakeel Ahmad has made the contest triangular.

The prominent candidates in the fray are Chandrika Rai (RJD, Saran), father in law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav. He is taking on senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

In Muzaffarpur, sitting BJP MP Ajay Nishad is caught in a tough battle with Vikassheel Insaan Party's Raj Bhusan Choudhary. In Hajipur, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Pashupati Kumar Paras is being challenged by RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram. Paras is younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has kept himself out of the election this time.

Besides economic development, quota in government jobs and eradication of corruption are among the main electoral issues. However, the BJP is also tom-tomming nationalism and action against Pakistan.

According to political pundits, caste equations will dominate the voting pattern. Thus, the NDA is banking on upper castes and economically backwards besides OBCs and dalits. The grand alliance is hoping to garner votes of OBCs, EBCs, Muslims and Dalits.

More than 87 lakh voters would decide the fate of 82 candidates on Monday. Tight security arrangements have been made and adequate para-military personnel have been deployed. Surveillance will also be conducted by drones, officials said.

--IANS

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Campaigning came to an end on Saturday in 51 constituencies spread over seven states which will go to the polls on Monday in the fifth phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise.

Since poll timings vary in different seats, the campaigning period also ended at different times between 4 p.m and 6 p.m., 48 hours before the voting closure time at each constituency.

The 48-hour period preceding the conclusion of voting is called the "silence period" during which any kind of political campaigning is prohibited.

As the silence period began, election rallies and street corner meetings ended in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven each in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand.

Campaigning also ended in Ladakh, and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.

--IANS

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A court on Saturday reserved its order on BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to bring a Delhi Police Vigilance report on record in Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj said it would pass its order on May 13 on Swamy's plea seeking to bring on record a vigilance report on the alleged tampering of evidence in the case.

The court was hearing arguments against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, accused of abetment of suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Swamy told the court that there is certain evidence which is required in the case. He told the court that some people had gone to "extraordinary extent" to "make sure that the evidence was destroyed."

But Tharoor's counsel and senior advocate Vikas Pahwa opposed the plea and said that Swamy has no locus in the case because he is neither associated with the prosecution nor with the accsued or victim.

Swamy responded that he has locus in the matter as chargesheet in this case was the outcome of his public interest litigation filed in the higher court.

Defence counsel Pahwa said public suits did not grant anyone the right to be a part of a trial.

Advocate Pahwa also said that all the allegations on destruction of evidence were false.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava also opposed Swamy's plea and raised question over its maintainability.

On May 14 2018, police chargesheeted Tharoor under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to abetment to suicide and cruelty to wife, which entail a jail term of up to 10 years.

Pushkar, 51, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in south Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

--IANS

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Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.

--IANS

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History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)

--IANS

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The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has filed a criminal complaint against UK-based Liberty House Group for withdrawing after successfully bidding for Amtek Auto.

The IBBI, the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings in the country, filed the complaint on Friday.

Liberty House had emerged as the highest bidder for Amtek Auto but soon backed out citing inadequate information being provided, which was allowed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after imposing a cost.

But the lenders moved the NCLT, alleging that Liberty House wilfully withdrew. The tribunal in agreement with them said the board may move against Liberty House as per the regulations laid down under the bankruptcy code.

Section 74(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) says that any party that violates conditions laid under the resolution plan is liable for prosecution and may face a prison term of up to five years with a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore.

--IANS

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An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the UK for causing a death of another man due to dangerous driving.

Jaskaren Dayal, 47, pleaded guilty to the crime which took place on January 6 last year when he crashed his Mercedes into the victim's vehicle while driving drunk and above the speed limit in northwest London.

He pleaded guilty in April at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced by the same court on May 2, MyLondon News reported on Friday.

The report said that cabbie Anwar Ali, 55, was working in the early hours of January 6 last year in Kensal Rise area when out-of-control drink-driver Jaskaren Dayal crashed into him.

Witnesses say they saw him driving at "excess speed", reaching 76mph in a 30mph area just before he crashed into Ali's taxi.

Ali, from Stoke Newington, was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested Dayal at the crash site and he was found to be over limit. He was taken to hospital for treatment for a leg injury before being taken into custody.

The police charged him in March 2019.

Detective Constable Rob Simpson, of the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This was an awful incident in which the actions of an irresponsible man resulted in the death of an innocent man going about his work.

"There was simply no justification for the way Dayal was driving; as a result, it meant that the victim, Anwar Ali, did not stand a chance.

"Dayal will quite rightly spend a significant amount of time now in prison, but this will be of little comfort to Anwar's family, who continue to grieve for his untimely loss."

--IANS

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Israel attacked about 70 military targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad organisations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, said a report by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Israeli attack followed a barrage of more than 200 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel starting around 10 a.m., wounding two people, of whom was an 80-year-old woman seriously injured in the city of Kiryat Gat, Xinhua reported.

According to reports by the Israeli media, during the IDF attacks in Gaza Strip, a 14-month-old Palestinian infant was killed.

The IDF announced that one of the destroyed Palestinian targets was an Islamic Jihad 20-metre-deep cross-border tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

In addition, other Islamic Jihad targets were struck, including military compounds and refugee camps.

According to the IDF, five military compounds of Hamas in the city of Gaza were also attacked, which are used for training and weapon manufacturing.

One of the compounds, according to the Israeli army, serves the Hamas Naval Force.

A joint compound belonging to both organisations was also under attack in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Indian air strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot would have been ranked "among one of the major military operations of the world", had it not been for "politics".

In an interview to India TV's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma in front of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Modi was asked what had prompted the early release of captured Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The PM replied cryptically: "That was a (terrible) night. There are many mysteries buried in (the darkness of) that night. Let those mysteries stay where they are," he added.

Speaking at length about the air strike on Balakot, Modi said in the absence of the general election, the air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world.

In a sharp jibe at the Opposition, who sought credible evidence of the strike, he said: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence... political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself."

He argued that after the air strike, Pakistan was in a quandary. "If it admitted that the air strike caused damage, the world would know that there was a terrorist camp there. It was a lone residential building housing 600 people on a hill surrounded by trees. So, to hide this, they had to do something," he added.

Recounting the sequence of events on the day of the strike, Modi said: "As per our strategy, we were to meet in the morning to plan something. At 3.30 a.m., when the operation was over, and our pilots and aircraft returned, took off their uniforms and were sipping tea and joking among themselves... But I was curious, to find out how the world took this. I started surfing online for international news."

He said that at 5.15 a.m., the Pakistan Army tweeted saying that Indian aircraft had dropped their payload and left. Such a reaction was self-explanatory that they were trying to gain sympathy, he added.

On the dogfight between Indian and Pakistan jets, a day after the air strike, Modi said it was a Pakistan fighter plane which had crashed, and its pilot died, but they said that an Indian plane was downed.

"They had lost their balance, and they are still to come out of that trauma," he added.

--IANS

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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has sent a letter to the Justice Department's inspector general, requesting a probe into whether Attorney General William Barr has acted upon requests or suggestions from President Donald Trump to investigate his "perceived enemies".

In a letter addressed to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, cites the findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and Barr's Wednesday congressional testimony as the reasons, reports CNN.

"Such inappropriate requests by the President have been well documented," Harris wrote. "Special Counsel Mueller documented a disturbing pattern of behaviour on the part of the President -- repeated attempts to target his perceived opponents.

"There must be no doubt that the Department of Justice and its leadership stand apart from partisan politics, and resist improper attempts to use the power of federal law enforcement to settle personal scores," the letter said.

Harris' letter comes days after a heated exchange between the California Democrat and the attorney general, in which Barr parsed words to answer Harris' question about whether the White House has "asked or suggested" that he open an investigation into anyone.

In her letter, Harris also points to details in Mueller's report where he notes three occasions on which the President called for an investigation into former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister and AAam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday attacked during a road show in the national capital allegedly by a party worker, police said.

Kejriwal, who was campaigning for party's candidate in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area along with party candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar, was "slapped" by a person wearing a maroon colour T-shirt soon after the CM boarded the open jeep to participate in a road show.

AAP workers and supporters overpowered the alleged attacker.

Today's road show was organized from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at R.K. Ashram Marg. Police said security was in place for the event in consultation with the organizers.

"The Chief Minister arrived around 5.43 p.m. at the venue. He stepped out of the official vehicle and got on to the open Gypsy prepared for the road show. As he was greeting his party workers who had gathered around the Gypsy, a person, later identified as Suresh, got to the bonnet of the Gypsy and attempted to assault the CM," said Additional PRO (Delhi Police) Anil Mittal.

"Suresh was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The road show then resumed as per schedule," said Mittal.

"Preliminary interrogation has revealed that Suresh, a scrap dealer in the area, was an AAP activist and worked as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings", he said.

As per the accused version, over a period of time he got disenchanted due to behaviour of its leaders. He got further angry due to distrust of the party in the armed forces, Mittal said.

"Today Suresh was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party as he stood near the the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault Kejriwal", the officer said.

Suresh, a resident of Kailash Park, is being interrogated. Police are awaiting a formal complaint from AAP to register an FIR against him", the officer added.

"An inquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered as to how the accused was allowed to be in the proximate area," he added.

--IANS

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Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will meet his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza for talks on Sunday.

The two diplomats will discuss the situation in Venezuela in light of the attempt by the opposition led by Juan Guaido - whom more than 50 governments have recognized as the country's interim President - in urging the armed forces to turn their backs on embattled President Nicolas Maduro, Russia's TASS News agency reported.

Russia, one of Maduro's main backers, is against involvement in Venezuela's internal affairs, while the US has not ruled out military intervention.

Trump has long stated that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Venezuela, where Maduro is clinging to power despite street protests and withering US sanctions.

But the US President's aides have appeared to lean further into military options in recent days as an uprising led by Guaido, whom the US recognizes as the country's legitimate President, failed to topple him.

Venezuela was one of the topics of conversation during a telephonic talk held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Trump that external interference and any attempts to forcefully change the power structure would go against a peaceful solution to the crisis gripping the Latin American country.

--IANS

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to declare ceasefire in the state during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Addressing a press conference at her high-security Gupkar Road residency here, Mufti said that people in Kashmir were being subjected to immense hardships in the name of militancy and stone pelting.

"People pray day and night during the holy month of Ramadan and the government should consider a halt in its anti-militancy operations in the Valley as was done last year when I was the Chief Minister," she said.

She simultaneously appealed to the militants to stop attacks on security forces during the month of Ramadan that starts on May 7.

She also alleged that space for the people of Kashmir was being choked at every front.

"In the name of militancy, people are being intimidated and harassed while various institutions such as the J&K Bank are being targeted to choke the people economically.

"Now even the government employees are on the radar of the intelligence agencies. Many other tactics are also being employed to choke the people," Mufti said as she slammed decisions like suspension of cross LoC trade, closure of highway for civilian traffic and the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

She also warned that such tactics would not work and the only way to keep the state with the rest of the country was through dignity, and not by coercion.

--IANS

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Veteran actress Mumtaz is in London, hale and hearty, said her family members after a death hoax on social media.

Mumtaz's daughter Tanya Madhwani confirmed that her mother is doing well through a post on social media. And her nephew and actor Shaad Randhawa told IANS that Mumtaz is enjoying her time with her grandchildren.

"So exhausting, another rumour of my mother's death. She is healthy and looking beautiful as always and has asked me to let her fans know she is well! It's all rubbish," Tanya wrote on Instagram.

In an accompanying video, she said: "My mother is fine. She is in London... She is sending her love to you all."

Sharing how the veteran actress reacted to the rumour, Shaad told IANS: "Firstly, Mumtazji is absolutely fine, healthy. She is actually having a happy time as she has four grandchildren.

"When she got to know about the rumour, of course, initially, she was upset and irritated but then eventually we all were laughing. She was like, 'what is this rubbish, why these people keep doing this? More than anything, my fans, who loved me for years, are misguided'."

The buzz began with some social media users, including key film trade experts, writing about Mumtaz's death on Friday night.

"Well, Komalji (Komal Nahta, who first tweeted about the rumour) is a very respected journalist and even our family knows him. I am sure he did not do it intentionally. But we all know about the power of social media. If we put out anything, it just spreads everywhere like wildfire," Shaad said.

Film director and writer Milap Zaveri had also dispelled the rumours first, and tweeted: "Just spoke to Mumtaz aunty and her nephew Shaad Randhawa on the conference. She is hale and hearty."

According to Shaan, several family members also panicked after the death hoax.

"Milap started calling me repeatedly and my mother also got worried and started calling. They panicked. Then I made Milap talk to aunty and now things are fine."

Even last year, rumours of Mumtaz's demise had done the rounds. The 71-year-old actress is known for films like "Do Raaste", "Bandhan" and "Loafer".

--IANS

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North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.

--IANS

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Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.

--IANS

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Sheer negligence on part of various security agencies might have resulted in the avoidable tragedy in which 15 commandos of the elite Quick Response Team (QRT) were killed in a Maoist blast in Gadchiroli on Maharashtra Day, May 1, a top security expert opines.

Former Additional Deputy Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID), Shirish Inamdar, in a freewheeling chat with IANS, said that from all available indicators, the QRT squad may have unwittingly walked into a 'trap' laid by the Maoists.

There were at least a dozen intelligence alerts indicating the possibility of precisely such attacks in the Maoist-infested district, but complacency may have overtaken caution, particularly since the Parliament elections had passed off virtually peacefully.

"Ominous signs had come in the hours preceding the strike. Just a day before (April 30), the Chhattisgarh Police had nabbed six dreaded Maoists from Aranpur in Dantewada. In the early hours of May 1, the Maoists hit back by torching around 36 heavy vehicles in Kurkheda, resulting in higher movement of security forces. Barely hours later they triggered the road blast claiming 15 of our commandos," Inamdar, a retired Intelligence Officer, points out.

In such circumstances, he suspects the Maoists had practically "anticipated the retaliatory moves" by the Maharashtra security forces, which reacted as per their assumptions, leading to tragedy.

Soon after the Kurkheda incident, the Deputy Superintendent of Police had ordered the QRT to rush there and probably since official armoured vehicles were not immediately available, they took a private van, says Inamdar.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar and Director-General of Police Subodh Jaiswal referred to this aspect - which Inamdar dubs akin to making the security forces asitting pigeons easily targeted by the rebels.

"The question is for how how long was that private vehicle working for the QRT, was the driver knowledgeable or trained for such sensitive assignment like transporting troops in a danger zone, did the information about the security itinerary leak out to the Maoists and how?" wonders Inamdar.

On the contrary, the government is trying to make political capital with emotional reactions - a Minister claiming credit for successful elections in the Maoist-infested regions, the Chief Minister saying their sacrifices won't go in vain and the Prime Minister saluting their bravery - instead of concentrating on the root causes.

Suspecting that standard operating procedures may have been "thrown to the winds", Inamdar said it was not clear whether the Road Clearance Party (RCP) and Road Opening Party (ROP) did their job of sanitising the expected route taken by the QRT van.

"The fresh road digging activity is clearly visible in videos/telecasts, apparently two vehicles had passed that route before the security van was blasted. The Maoists got sufficient time to plant the explosives by digging the road, covering it and retreating to their dens, there are too many unanswered questions," Inamdar said.

On how the rebels in Maharashtra and other Maoist-troubled states manage to get unlimited funds or uninterrupted supplies of arms and explosives, the former top cop revealed that their methods were similar to terror groups worldwide.

"Nearly two-thirds of the arms and ammunition are stolen. In the May 1 case, there were no guns seen lying in the vicinity of the blast, so we can easily draw this conclusion," he adds.

As for funds, they cultivate opium in isolated areas which is sold for their various needs or simply swapped for more arms with the narcotics mafia.

"While the sophisticated arms go to the top-level guerillas, the other lower cadres use mostly country-made arms or even bow-arrows and occasionally even slings," smiles Inamdar knowingly, having served in some of the affected regions.

He rued that in the so-called Controlled Areas where the Maoists are the virtual rulers, they cultivate opium, have illegal arms manufacturing factories, build small dams, bridges, well-equipped training camps and other necessary infrastructure for their survival and it is practically impossible for anybody to infiltrate there.

Even in the Liberated Zones, which Maoists don't completely control but even the government has limited access, other illegal activities nevertheless flourish virtually unhindered.

However, Inamdar says that the three-pronged policy of the former UPA government when P. Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, has proved to be "extremely successful" in containing the red rebels menace across the country and left untouched even by the BJP-led NDA government since past five years.

These pertained to 'No Negotiations' with the Maoists, Low Intensity Conflict to clear their areas of influence and All Inclusive Development in all the affected regions around the country.

"The proof of success is that since the past nearly two decades, the government and security forces have restricted them to their areas of influence without giving them space to spill over to other territories, development activities along with employment has noticeably increased in the affected areas," Inamdar explains.

However, on the 'surrender policy', Inamdar is a tad sceptical as mostly new Maoist recruits, with limited knowledge of the operations of the top commanders and their forces, opting for it, or others defecting to the law's side without specific reasons.

"The latter variety can be tricky as some maybe tempted to act as 'double-agents', but the entire responsibility of protecting and rehabilitating them is the government's job, making it a very risky and costly proposition," concludes Inamdar.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reacting sharply to Sri Lankan Army chief Mahesh Senanayake's statement that some of the 12 suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings were trained in Kashmir, a top intelligence officer here said that there was no input to prove the claim.

Speaking to IANS, the officer, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have no such information. The Sri Lankan intelligence has not sent us any input on this so that we can work on those links.

"As far as our information and inputs are concerned, there is nothing to prove that any of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir in connection with any subversive activity or for obtaining terror training."

Backing the officer's statement, a Union Home Ministry official said, "Sri Lanka hasn't shared any such information with us. More importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies have themselves ruled out this possibility after investigation."

There have been instances in the past when foreign militants, other than those belonging to Pakistan, got involved in militant activities in Kashmir.

Militants from Afghanistan, Sudan and even Chechnya have been killed by the security forces in Kashmir in the last 32 years. However, there have been no militancy-related incidents proving the involvement of Sri Lankan militants here.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while Pakistan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP and several other parties on Saturday blamed the BJP for the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a road show in West Delhi today, calling it yet another instance of "negligence" in the security of the AAP leader.

AAP said the "opposition-sponsored attack" won't be able to stop the party in Delhi.

Delhi will go to the polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of the election. The AAP is contesting against the BJP and Congress.

Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal has remained "unstoppable" in the last few years, alleging that "(PM) Modi and (BJP chief) Shah are trying to kill Kejriwal".

AAP spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj too blamed the BJP.

"Kejriwal is supposedly a Z+ security protectee, who has been attacked several times in a systematic and clearly visible pattern. Whenever there is an attack, BJP tries to justify it on national TV. They try to make a hero of the attacker," said Bhardwaj.

"Many of the attackers in the past have had links with the BJP. The wife of today's attacker also confirmed that he is a Modi bhakt."

He alleged the Delhi Police deliberately lowers its guard to make the CM vulnerable to such attacks. "No one talks of suspension of Commissioner of Police... this is in itself a glaring evidence that the Modi government is patronising these attacks."

Several other parties too blamed the BJP and condemned the attack.

Sharad Yadav, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief, said the slap will ensure the defeat of BJP.

"The slap on Arvind Kejriwal today during the roadshow will ensure BJP's total defeat. The BJP has made in the country very dirty in the last five years. It will take years now to cleanse in our country," he tweeted.

TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack.

"Political vandalism. Political goondaism. Political vendetta. Maligning and attacking Opposition leaders show that BJP has lost the election and is making desperate attempts. We condemn the attack on Arvind Kejriwal... we are all with you, Arvind," she said.

CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury also condemned the attack, saying: "This is highly condemnable. Delhi's security is controlled by Modi and his government. Even then a Chief Minister is not safe. But many middle-rung BJP and RSS persons have got top-level security."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the attack "shocking and unacceptable."

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said after trying to defeat, demoralize, degrade, destabilize and dethrone Kejriwal, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles "are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal".

"This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such a dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this act. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy."

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Tanweer Hassan and Manoj Jha too condemned the attack.

The Delhi police said the attacker was an AAP supporter and worked as an organiser of party's rallies and meetings.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, however, said Delhi Police was doing everything at the behest of the Modi government.

"Delhi Police planted that man. This is shameful... even wife of the attacker has herself said that her husband is a Modi bhakt and that he did not like anyone talking against Modi. This is same Delhi Police that had planted a man for the 'mirchi (chilli powder) attack' on the CM. The police's statement is a proof that Delhi Police is taking orders from the Modi government," he said in a statement.

Kejriwal has been attacked multiple times. Last year, the CM was attacked with chilli powder outside his office in Delhi Secretariat.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
the UK's Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby's arrival.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most parts of Assam witnessed incessant rains on Saturday due to the impact of cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades.

Following the rains, the state government has issued an alert to suspend ferry services between Jorhat and Majuli, Guwahati and North Guwahati, Dhubri and other places from Saturday to Sunday.

While flight services from Guwahati has been suspended till Saturday evening, the Northeast Frontier Railway has also cancelled several trains to Kolkata and Odisha. Similarly, trains from Kolkata and Odisha to Assam were also cancelled.

Weather experts at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar had warned of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds to lash the northeastern states on Saturday and Sunday.

Assam government had earlier warned the district administrations to remain alert ahead of Fani and deployed 40 companies of National Disaster Rescue Force at some vulnerable locations across the state.

As of Saturday, Fani has weakened into a "cyclonic storm leaving no more major threat" for West Bengal. It is situated at Shantipur in Nadia district about 60 km north of Kolkata, and is likely to enter Bangaldesh around Saturday noon.

The cyclone made landfall in Odisha on Friday morning.

--IANS

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(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 said that restoration work was going on following the devastation caused by cyclone Fani, that hit the state earlier in the day but weakened soon after.

Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha's Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur, with a wind speed at 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. The storm will later move towards Bangladesh.

"Electricity poles went down, some sub-stations were damaged. As per the latest report, around 12 kuccha (thatched) houses have been destroyed. Restoration work is in process," Banerjee told the media.

She said that trees that were uprooted in places like West Midnapore's Goaltore, Digha, Mandarmani and North 24 Parganas district were being cleared.

Major damage will be taken care of in the next two days.

"All the District Magistrates have been instructed to repair the damaged houses," she said.

According to the Chief Minister, nearly 42,000 people who were evacuated will be asked to return to their houses from Sunday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After a section of employees floated the proposal to take over management control of the grounded Jet Airways and arrange up to Rs 3,000 crore from external investors, a group of frequent flyers of the cash-strapped airline has approached the key lenders, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, to submit the 'Revival of Jet Airways Plan' or 'Roja'.

Claiming to be reputed professionals and minority shareholders in Jet Airways as well as nine banks that have lent money to Jet, the group has proposed a leveraged buy-out plan (LBO) to revive the grounded airline.

The group of professionals, led by Sankaran P. Raghunathan, has given a presentation on the airline's revival plan to various stakeholders, including pilots, engineers, employee unions and bankers.

As per the plan, the employees of Jet Airways would first take control of the company. They will take loan from existing lenders and invest in the company, eventually becoming part-owners.

"The banks can give Rs 1,500 crore loan to the employees. This is six months' salary of each employee as personal loan. The employees will use this money to buy out 51 per cent stake in the company from SBI and 12.5 per cent from Etihad. The balance Rs 200 crore would be given to the company for new shares. This way the employees will control Jet Airways," said the presentation reviewed by IANS.

In the next step, the plan is to raise money involving the frequent flyers.

Accordingly, the banks can be persuaded to give a personal loan to all those who want to buy four tickets each for Rs 10,000 which would be valid for two years. By pre-selling these tickets, as much as Rs 8,000 crore could be raised.

The employees, already in controlling position, would pass a resolution to authorise the additional issue of shares on a preferential basis to all those who buy the ticket packets -- 100 shares each for Rs 150 each -- and thus raise Rs 12,000 crore.

"The Rs 20,000 crore raised will now be used for operational working capital and for repayment to creditors over five years," the presentation said.

Facing severe financial crisis, Jet Airways had on April 17 announced to temporarily suspend its flight operations. The airline continues to be grounded and its revival depends upon fresh fund infusion by the investors.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With its 3,500 to 4,000 shakhas across Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to play an active role in the state during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

With around 20-100 active workers in each shakha, the RSS began doing its homework for the parliamentary elections right after the December Assembly polls, which saw the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government voted out.

Since January, the organisation has been working on the ground to ensure that the voting percentage in the state increases during the Lok Sabha elections. Thirteen of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan voted in the fourth phase of elections on April 29 while the remaining 12 seats will go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 6.

As part of its plans, the RSS has categorised the voters into four categories -- A, B, C and D.

While the first two categories include RSS workers and people connected to the organisation and BJP workers and those who vote for the party, the 'C' category comprises people who keep shifting parties. This section has at times voted for the Congress, while at other times, it went with the BJP.

The last category are those who vote for the Congress or the other opposition parties.

The RSS workers believe that there is no point in appealing to the last category of voters as it would be a waste of time. However, they definitely want to spend time with the 'C' category which, they feel, can be influenced towards supporting the BJP.

While the outfit is in constant touch with people belonging to the 'A' and 'B' categories, it is putting in extra efforts to convince those falling under the 'C' category.

As part of its mobilisation plans, Krishna Gopal, the national Joint Secretary of the RSS, had convened two meetings in the state in January and March.

In between, the RSS workers also held meetings in February to chalk out a clear-cut strategy for the elections, state RSS prachar pramukh Manoj Kumar said.

Even before the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10, the RSS had worked out a three-tier plan for the elections. The first stage included holding meetings, the second stage involved distributing pamphlets while the third stage focused on ensuring that the voters exercised their franchise.

As many as 40 different branches of the RSS, including Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, are working with the tribals in the state while a separate unit is active in the border areas. However, Kumar said that the RSS is focusing more on areas where its network is strong.

"We have also chalked out a clear plan for social media to ask voters to cast their votes. We went from door-to-door and met people in different areas," he said.

However, not everyone is ready to beleive that the RSS is working hard on the ground.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Chaudhary said that RSS, which was once a social organisation, has now turned into a political unit supporting the BJP and trying to get plush portfolios for its people. "It (RSS) works for the BJP and is now enjoying it's due share in politics," he alleged.

He also said that in 2003, Vasundhara Raje had come to power in the state with the help of RSS after it helped dethrone the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

(Archana Sharma can be reached at archana.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday pushed back Congress chief Rahul Gandhis attacks on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a telling tweet: "Midas Touch, no deal is too much!

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga."

The reference was to a media expose on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

The former partner, Ulrik Mcknight, who was also co-owner at BackOps, acquired defence assets when the UPA was in power at the centre. The media story claimed that Rahul Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake in Backops between 2003 and 2009, when it was wound up.

However, after that McKnight acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011. He also went on and signed a contract with a Visakhapatnam-based firm for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene missile, a report in Business Today said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi responded to the charges and to Shah's remarks, saying, "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale."

There is also a company named Backops Services Private Limited, an Indian firm, in which Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as co-director. Rahul Gandhi owned 83 per cent shares in this Indian firm and had made a capital investment of Rs 2.50 lakh in the same. This also folded up. As for McKnight, he won the offset contracts from the French company, the Business Today report said.

In 2011, as part of his contract with the Naval Group, McKnight had signed a contract with Visakhapatnam-based Flash Forge Private Limited for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene submarines being built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) -- the contract to build the submarines was worth Rs 20,000 crore, the Business Today report said.

The Indian firm Flash Forge also acquired a UK-based company named Optical Armour Limited in which Mcknight was given directorship. He also had 4.9 per cent shares in it.

For the record, the Indian and European companies associated with Rahul Gandhi were dissolved before the Naval Group engaged in a contract with Flash Forge, the Business Today report said.

The website of the Naval Group refers to a September 18, 2018, event to mark 10 years in business for Naval Group in India.

"Naval Group in India was created in 2008 as a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of the group to ensure a long-lasting presence in the country, thereby demonstrating the strong commitment to the Indian Navy.

"This partnership led to the emergence of an industrial ecosystem which fosters the indigenous manufacturing of submarines," it says.

--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.)
The Auckland-based mother and sister of one of the Sri Lankan Easter Sunday suicide bombers have been "cooperating fully" with the New Zealand police following the attacks that killed over 250 people.

Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed was to blow up the luxury Taj Samudra hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. He, however, is believed to have botched the attempt to detonate bomb at the five-star hotel and instead blew himself up at a nearby budget motel, killing 2 guests who had just arrived.

Mohamed's mother, sister and her husband live in a modest house in southern Auckland. They refused to comment on the extent of their involvement in the suicide bombings' investigation, which involves the New Zealand police and Sri Lankan authorities.

"We only cooperate with the (New Zealand) police, no matter what they want to know, that's about it," Mohamed's brother-in-law told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday.

According to a report by the daily, 10 years ago, after the death of Mohamed's father Abdul Latif, his mother Samsun Nissa moved the family to Colombo, renting the upper floor of a mansion in a majority Muslim eastern suburb.

After completing his studies in Britain, Mohamed returned to the property and fell in love with Shifana, daughter of their landlord who came from an affluent meat-trading family. Mohamed married her and shifted to Australia with her to pursue postgraduate studies.

Mohamed's sister, meanwhile, married a Sri Lankan and emigrated to Auckland along with her mother.

Mohamed, who had his first child in Australia, later returned to Sri Lanka to live in the mansion his family previously rented. His grandfather had left him an extensive property portfolio, including the family home in Kandy.

As a result, the trained aeronautical engineer did not need to work.

The bomber's sister said Mohamed had been well educated but became increasingly withdrawn and intense as he descended into extremism. "My brother became deeply, deeply religious while he was in Australia. After he did his postgraduation in Australia, he returned to Sri Lanka a different man.

"He had a long beard and had lost his sense of humour. He became serious and withdrawn and would not even smile at anyone he didn't know, let alone laugh," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)








Top astronomers all over the world have had a working understanding for about a century that the universe is continually expanding. But recent discoveries have had astronomers double-checking their facts. This is because according to recent research, the current universe is expanding 9% faster than the early universe. This is faster than first predicted. And you can read about these findings in an article published by Astronomy Magazine.

These findings, which seem to be valid, have caused some controversy among scientists, though. This research, which was conducted from the Hubble Space Telescope, is in direct conflict with the European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies of the early universe and how it would continue to expand. The European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies suggest that as the universe expands in the future, it will follow the same pattern as it always has.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy, which have been theorized about for some time now, seem to be one of the unpredictable variables that partially explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. However, most dark matter, which scientists have only caught glimpses of, is too small to reflect light and therefore cannot be seen, even with the Hubble Space Telescope. And the existence of dark energy has never actually been established for certain.

And while all of this new information is fascinating, this kind of science isnt as easy to follow as television shows like Star Trek or the Big Bang Theory. In fact, even if you read the article in Astronomy Magazine (which is written for laymen), you may walk away scratching your head. This is because astronomers dont use the words Star, Planet, and Galaxy so much as they use the words Cepheid,Magellanic Cloud, Type Ia Supernova, Neutrinos, and Dark Radiation.

So to fully appreciate even the simplest explanation of how the universe is expanding, you will need a glossary of astronomy. This is a book that is set up like a dictionary, with entries that define astronomy terms and also explain the concepts of astronomy, cosmology, and their sub-disciplines. An astronomy glossary can turn you from a stargazer into a person who has a concept of how the universe works.

One such glossary, Astroglossary: Revised Edition, compiled by the late G. Cyr, is one of the most comprehensive and easily understood astronomy reference books on the market today. It is an invaluable resource which includes all of the critical terms needed to understand modern astronomy, and at the same time gives any reader a deeper appreciation of the universe.

In fact, using this glossary as a resource is the first step to fully comprehending new findings of the universe. Whether you are reading an article in a scientific magazine or watching a television program about how the universe is developing, you will be able to absorb much more information if you have the Astroglossary on hand. Knowing critical terms while you educate yourself about the wonders of the universe will also help you better understand how infinitely beautiful, awesome, and ever-expanding it is.
After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the apparent failure of the Sri Lankan government to act on intelligence on Easter Sunday's suicide bombings, information has now surfaced that the defence authorities had also ignored Turkish government alerts that 50 members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) had arrived in the island country.

Sri Lankan former External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said that Turkish Ambassador Tunca Ozcuhadar had handed over documents related to the matter to him, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday.

Peiris is a loyalist of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

There was an attempted coup to overthrow the Turkish government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016. The coup bid was blamed on FETO, a terrorist outfit led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, in which 250 people were killed. Later, FETO terrorists fled to different countries.

Peiris said that the Turkish Embassy had repeatedly alerted the Sri Lankan government, Denmark, Austria and some African countries about the terrorists sneaking into their territories. While the governments of these countries took prompt action on the alert, the Sri Lankan authorities paid no heed, he added.

The former Minister said that he then brought this to the notice of President Maithripala Sirisena when he met him with a delegation led by Rajapaksa on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the country.

Sri Lanka has been on alert since the April 21 bloodbath in which over 250 people were killed and hundreds injured. The authorities have cancelled weekend mass in the capital due to fears of fresh bomb attacks.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine soldiers were killed as a terrorist attack on Saturday targeted an Army training centre in the Libyan city of Sabha, officials said.

"Terrorists launched an attack at 5 a.m. (local time) on the training centre of the Army in Sabha. The attackers used vehicles and opened fire at the soldiers," a military official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He added that the Islamic State was likely to be behind the attack.

Osama al-Wafi, spokesman of Sabha medical centre, said they received nine bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based Army since January.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.

--IANS

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UN's humanitarian agencies have met ahead of Cyclone Fani arrival in India to study the readiness for it, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Guterres.

He said on Friday at his news briefing: "Our colleagues in India are well aware (of the situation). The UN humanitarian agencies in India have also met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures."

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) referred to the evacuation of over a million people from the endangered areas and the opening of thousands of cyclone centres and said "it is to be hoped that the massive mobilisation operation ahead of Fani will keep casualties to a minimum".

The Geneva-headquartered WMO noted that the fatalities from severe cyclones have been coming down in India because of "forecasts and warnings and better coordinated disaster management".

Super Cyclonic Storm BOB06 caused more than 10,000 fatalities in October 1999, but the toll from an equally intense cyclone, Phailin, in 2013 was less than 50.

Fani was less intense at landfall than either of those two, "but is still one of the most intense storms to make landfall in Odisha for 20 years", it added.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are stretched bringing aid to East African countries reeling from a double punch delivered by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone was about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget. We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people hit by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said. "What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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India and Sri Lanka have urged countries to come together and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by India in 1996 but blocked by some nations, as the world mourns the victims of terrorist attacks in the island nation.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue," Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Rohan Perera said on Friday at a UN event to mourn the Easter Sunday attacks' victims.

"The time has come for the international community to go beyond words and demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

Perera is the chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism that is charged with piloting the CCIT.

"The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the global counter terrorism strategy," he said.

The CCIT has been derailed by differences over defining terrorism, with some making a false distinction between "freedom-fighters" and terrorists instead of seeing that it's the tactic of killing civilians, including children, and not the ideology that defines a terrorist.

India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin joined Perera in appealing for concluding the CCIT as a tribute to the victims of terrorism.

Perera, "has, for more than two decades, tried to steer us to an outcome on the CCIT", Akbaruddin said. "Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of putting in place a global legal framework to counter the global scourge," he said.

At the meeting, musical tributes were paid to Sri Lankan and international victims of the Easter attacks. UN leaders and representatives of nations pledged to fight terrorism.

There were also calls for international action to stop social media from being used to spread hate and violence. "While protecting the freedom of expression, we must also find ways to address incitement to violence through traditional and social media," General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces said.

"It's sobering that the theme of World Press Freedom Day today is 'Journalism in times of disinformation'," she said. "We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote -- and not harm -- human security," Garces said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke about social media being used to spread hate. "The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. Today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet," Mohammed said and added,

"The UN continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism."

The Sri Lankan Permanent Representative was more forthright in calling for a consensus on how to regulate social media, like Twitter and Facebook, to prevent them from becoming the media to spread hate.

"It's time to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework. It's vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools, such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are used as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism," he said.

Sri Lanka blocked access to social media after the Easter bombings because it was being used to circulate fake news and create enmity between communities. Access to social media was restored on April 30.

Denouncing the use of religion to justify violence, the UN deputy Secretary General said: "As a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance. Tragically yet, again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become killing grounds and houses of horror.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence."

The General Assembly President reflected on how religions can bring people together.

"I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans -- Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others -- donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage and resilience. Of unity," she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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Renowned US geophysicist Roger Bilham, who was denied a visa to attened a International workshop on climate change and extreme events in the Himalayan region last month, will receive the document the next time he applies it, the California-based convenor of the event has said.

"I got a phone call from the Ministry of Home Affairs saying his case is now cleared and that he will get the visa next time he applied," workshop convener Ramesh Singh of Chapman University in California, who took up the visa issue with India's Home Ministry, told this correspondent on the phone.

Bilham welcomed the move.

"That I am again allowed to visit India comes as welcome news to my many scientific colleagues in India, and restores global confidence in the fundamental integrity of Indian science," Bilham said.

"I always believed that banning Roger Bilham was a very bad move by the Indian government and went against the fundamental right of free expression," said Chittenipattu Rajendran, a leading seismologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru. "I am extremely happy the ban has been revoked and I am looking forward to interacting with him."

"Roger Bilham is a true scientist, solely driven by the spirit of enquiry," said Vinod Gaur, former director of the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad. "For example, the list of research investigations required to calculate ground accelerations to arrive at a safe seismic design of Jaitapur nuclear structures for reassuring the public, still remains outstanding, even as Roger was banned from entering the country in the wake of this publication."

Bilham, a professor at the University of Colorado who catalysed the GPS and modern geosciences research in India, first came to know he was on the country's list of "unwanted persons" on May 18, 2012 when he was sent back to US immediately on landing at the Delhi airport.

Bilham met with a similar fate in 2014 when he was denied visa to deliver a talk at the UK-India workshop on Himalayan earthquakes held in Jammu & Kashmir. Last month's visa denial prevented his presence at the workshop in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

"I have twice applied for a visa and, after payment of $450, have been refused one," Bilham had told this correspondent at the time.

Though he was not told the reason, Bilham says he learnt from the US State Department he was "blacklisted" by the Indian government allegedly for "national security/intelligence reasons."

He says it was likely a reaction to his publications in 2011 bringing to light seismic risks to Jaitapur - the proposed site south of Mumbai - for a 9.9 Gigawatt nuclear power plant. His plea that he did not mean to scare, but only provide a starting parameter to engineers for safe design of the power plant was apparently ignored.

"The scientific findings that led to my banishment are not controversial, although they were considered so by one or two former seismologists who proposed scientific blacklisting to the government in 2012," Bilham said without naming them.

(K.S. Jayaraman is a veteran science journalist. He can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

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Actor Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving after his arrest for driving under influence last year.

Vaughn accepted a no-jail plea deal on Friday involving his drunk driving arrest at a sobriety checkpoint in California last June, reports nydailynews.com.

The "Wedding Crashers" star had a lawyer appear on his behalf in the courtroom here and enter a plea of "no contest" to one count of misdemeanor alcohol-related reckless driving, sources said.

He was immediately sentenced to three years probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said.

Vaughn was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program, pay fines and submit to any alcohol screening tests requested by law enforcement while on probation.

The actor's lawyer was advised that if Vaughn drives under the influence and a person is killed, he could be charged with murder, prosecutors said.

The deal, which dropped the original three charges in the case, means Vaughn won't have a DUI on his record.

Vaughn, 49, was stopped around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 last year at a checkpoint in the coastal community of Manhattan Beach.

--IANS

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Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

"It was not done by the Congress," Rahul said amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking credit for Azhar being designated terrorist by world body UN, and terror strikes to wipe out terror launch pads across the border.

Addressing a mid-poll press conference here, the Congress leader said, "Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him."

He also asserted that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

"Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly," he added.

He was responding to a question over Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist by the United Nation Security Council.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.

--IANS

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Campaigning ended on Saturday evening for the seven seats going to poll in the fifth phase on May 6 in Bundelkhand, Vindhya and Narmada regions of Madhya Pradesh. This would be the second of the four rounds of polling in MP. The remaining two phases are scheduled for May 12 and May 19.

The Congress has fielded new faces in all seven seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put its bet on old hands in five seats.

With poling for more than 60 per cent seats over, star campaigners, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief Amit Shah, made electoral sorties in MP in quick succession.

The BJP, which won all these seven seats in 2014, replaced four candidates and RSS stamp is pronounced in its selections. There is growing resentment against the candidates chosen for Khajuraho and Betul, where (like Bhopal) the sole merit for selection is candidates' proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

After the first phase witnessed complaints of sabotage from the BJP candidates, the leadership is keen to ensure better booth management this time.

Damoh, Tikamgarh and Khjuraho, the three seats in the Bundelkhand region gearing up for the polling, have strong BJP leaning.

The BJP has held Damoh since 1989. The Congress has fielded Pratap Singh Lodhi here against Prahlad Patel a two-time winner. The Congress has changed its candidate on each of the past four occasions. It ignored the recent acquisition from the BJP, Dr Ramkrishna Kusmaria, who won the seat twice.

Tikamgarh also has a contest between experience and fresh face. The BJP has retained Union minister Virendra Khatik, seeking a third term, while the Congress has nominated state women's Congress Secretary Kiran Ahirwar. An untested Ahirwar is toiling on gamely hoping to benefit from resentment against Khatik over his long incumbency.

Khajuraho boasts of having returned former Chief Minister and Union minister Uma Bharti four times. Both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces this time. The RSS which had insisted on fielding Vishnu Dutt Sharma in the face of near rebellion in Bhopal has shifted him to Khajuraho. The party has overlooked protests with some party members burning Sharma's effigies.

The Congress has settled for Kavita Singh, wife of Vikram Singh Natiraja, MLA from Raj Nagar. Natiraja hails from an influential Royal family in the neighbourhood. It will be interesting to see how the RSS ensures victory of Sharma who has no connection with the constituency.

The BJP has dominated the constituency since in 1989 and has returned the Congress candidate Satyavrat Chaturvedi once from 1999 to 2004. His mother, Vidyawati Chaturvedi, was elected twice in the early 1980s. Former state minister Nagendra Singh, member of outgoing Lok Sabha, has apparently been denied ticket over incumbency fatigue.

The two Vindhya constituencies in the second round of polling are Rewa and Satna. Though the constituencies have only one Assembly segment each reserved for Scheduled Castes, the Bahujan Samaj Party wields immense influence here. Rewa has returned a BSP member to the Lok Sabha thrice, while Satna has elected a BSP candidate once.

Sitting MP from Rewa Janardan Mishra, faces Siddharth Tiwari, son of 2014 runner-up Sunderlal Tiwari who died recently. The Tiwaris are a prominent political family with the patriarch Srinivas Tiwari (Sunderlal's father) having been the Assembly Speaker for over a decade. The contest is triangular with Vikas Patel of the BSP making a strong presence.

In Satna, Ganesh Singh is in the fray for a fourth term. He faces Rajaram Tripathi who earlier contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Patels and Brahmins dominate the electoral scene in the region. Caste has played a key in the region all along since formation of MP.

The other two seats Hoshangabad and Betul lie across the Vindhyachal ranges on the gateway to south. They were part of the old MP, which had its capital in Nagpur.

Rao Udaypratap Singh, who won the 2009 election from Hoshangabad on the Congress ticket, switched to the BJP and won the 2014 battle. The BJP has been winning the seat since 1989 except for 2009.

Significantly, Udaypratap who won the seat with a margin of 19,000 votes in 2009 saw 17 per cent swing in his favour in 2014 to win by nearly 3.8 lakh votes. He would find it hard to match that performance. The Congress has overlooked the five-time representative of Hoshangabad, Sartaj Singh, who switched from the BJP not long ago. It has fielded a new face Shailendra Dewan.

In Betul, reserved for Scheduled Tribe, the Congress has had a history of approaching each election with a new face for past many terms. The Congress has nominated Ramu Tekam against the RSS choice of Durgadas Uikey. Two-term MP Jyoti Dhurve has been disqualified following controversy over her ST certificate.

The BJP's move to change the narrative to tune it to the RSS agenda is likely to have a bearing on elections. It is Modi versus Congress now on and the BJP supporters do realise Modi's popularity has waned considerably since 2014.

--IANS

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Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Saturday raided a zoo here and rescued 134 foreign animals, allegedly brought into the country illegally.

On a tip-off, DRI officials raided the zoo located in Malharganj area, run illegally by the NGO Karuna Sagar, an official release said.

Creatures found in the zoo included a South American Marmoset, Australian Iguanas, a Persian cat, Red Eared Singapore Slider Turtle, North American Alligator Gar, South American Guinea Pig and South American Macaw.

The rescued animals, birds and reptiles were shifted to Kamala Nehru Zoo in the city.

The NGO which was running the zoo could not present legal documents related to import or purchase of these foreign animals, the DRI release alleged, adding that appropriate legal action will be taken against it.

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The death toll in the Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years



It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit. Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure."



An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected. Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations. The state has so far been able to restore all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration. Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work. The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday. Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

He said trains originating from Bhubaneswar, including the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express will run normally from Sunday barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express.

There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, the official said.

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Two private cars of same make, colour and bearing identical registration number were seized in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A police spokesman said they have arrested a man in this connection.

The person was arrested after the owner of one of the cars lodged a complaint with the Lakhanpur police station that another car of the same make, colour and registration number is plying in the town.

He also said he had purchased his car from a person named Mohammad Rafiq, a resident of Broindhai Hatli village in Kathua. Police said Rafiq was arrested after it came to light that he recently purchased a brand new car and intentionally used the same registration number.

The spokesman said a case has been registered and police are seeking clarification from authorities concerned.

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The US city of Minneapolis on Friday announced a $20 million civil settlement with the family of an unarmed Australian yoga instructor who was shot dead by a police officer.

Mohamed Noor was convicted Tuesday of murder for the 2017 shooting that killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had moved to the US to marry her fiancee.

The 40-year-old was killed while approaching Noor's police car. She had called police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home.

Noor's conviction was the first time in the Midwestern city's modern history that an officer was found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited the unprecedented circumstances as playing a role in the record $20 million settlement with Damond's family -- the highest in the city's history.

"As the proceedings made clear, there was not a clear threat before the use of force was made, as per Mr Noor's statements," Frey said at a conference.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward." The family was to donate $2 million of that money to a fund to fight gun violence in Minneapolis.

Robert Bennett, a Ruszczyk family attorney, said the large settlement was meant to send "an unmistakable message to change the Minneapolis Police Department in ways that will help all of its communities," according to CNN.

The 33-year-old Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7.

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Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three suspected drug peddlers and four bovine smugglers were arrested Saturday in two separate operations in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The three suspected drug peddlers were arrested from Poonch town and were detained under different preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and sent to judicial custody, a police official said.

In a separate incident, four persons were arrested after police foiled their attempt to smuggle bovines along the Mughal road, connecting Poonch with Shopian district of south Kashmir, the official said.

Four load carriers, heading towards Kashmir, were intercepted separately by a police party and 16 buffaloes were rescued, he said.

A case was registered and the accused were arrested, the official said, adding that their vehicles were also seized.

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Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

"The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near SaraiKale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An AAP supporter slapped Delhi Chief Minister during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders, police said.

Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.

The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the and used to work as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings, they said.

"An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to enquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group," Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said.

According to his version, over a period of time, Suresh got disenchanted due to behaviour of the AAP leaders. His anger intensified due to "distrust of the party in the armed forces", the official said, adding further interrogation is on in the matter.

No FIR has been registered in the matter as police did not receive any complaint.

"Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM," said in its statement.

The AAP, however, alleged that the had planted that the man belonged to the party.

The AAP roadshow was organised from 4 pm to 10 pm in Moti Nagar. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at RK Ashram Marg, it said.

Proper police arrangement from both Security Unit and local police was put in place for the event in consultation with the organizers of the event, it added.

The chief minister arrived at around 5.43 pm at the starting point. He got out of the official vehicle and boarded the open gypsy prepared for the roadshow. As he was meeting and greeting his party workers who had gathered around the gypsy, suddenly a person got on to the bonnet of the vehicle and attempted to assault the chief minister, the statement said.

He was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The roadshow then started and continued as per the schedule, it said.

During security arrangements at such events, which are put in place in consultation with the organizers, necessary tie-up is made with the organizers so that they ensure that only the persons identified by them are in the reception party or the proximate group or near the vehicle used for the roadshow, police said.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the had planted the man.

"Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker's wife has herself said he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi.

"This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no 'mirchi attack' happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red faced," Bharadwaj said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday attacked BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that after the Lok Sabha poll results, 'bua' will term 'babua' the king of goons and 'babua' will say that she is the very image of corruption.

Mayawati and Yadav are referred to as 'bua' (aunt) and 'babua' (nephew) respectively.

"Bua-babua are together now, but after May 23, bua will say babua is the king of goons and babua will say bua is the very image of corruption," he claimed.

Adityanath Saturday addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Faizabad, Gonda and state capital Lucknow.

On the UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "Countries all over the world are happy about the news, while in India one can understand why there is silence in the camps of opposition parties."



He asked why had the Congress and SP linked terrorism with votebank. "Their intentions are clear. They are not bothered about the national security, they are only worried about their votes," Adityanath said.

The BJP leader also launched a scathing attack on Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over a video in which children were seen using abusive language in front of Vadra.

"I was looking at a video of the Congress shehzadi which went viral on social media. At an age when kids should be taught about moral values, she was seen teaching them abusive words. The Congress should not teach its kusanskaar (bad values) to the children of the country," he said.

He also referred to the Congress leader touching and petting snakes during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, a video of which was circulating on social media.

"I saw Congress ki shehzadi playing with poisonous snakes, the same way in which the Congress gave this country poisonous snakes like terrorism, Naxalism and separatism during its rule.

"For 55 years, these snakes continued to bite the country. The Congress cannot improve (on its own), and now the public of the country will improve it," he said.

Taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad besides Amethi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is losing elections in Amethi and now he has gone to Kerala to hide his failures."



"...When we were asked why the BJP speaks of nationalism, we said that nationalism for us means that the poor have their own concrete houses, toilets, gas connections, electricity and security of 120 crore people of India (is ensured)," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish-Iraqi Border: Turks Bomb and Kurds Use Assyrians As Human Shields

House in Tashish, Barwari Bala valley, in Iraq, near the border with Turkey; destroyed by Turkish aviation. It is only a matter of time until the last of the Christians who still resist on the Iraqi side of the Zagros, on the border of Iraq with Turkey, disappears. The Chaldean-Assyrian Christian villages are being devastated by the missiles launched by the Turkish army against the Kurdish secessionist guerrillas, which use them as human shields and even 'squatted' monasteries.

It happened in Tashish, a Christian village in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border, at nightfall and in the usual way.

First, the buzzing of the drones was heard and it did not take long, the thunderous and horrendous detonation of the two bombs dropped by a Turkish plane. With absolute certainty, he was one of the F16 fighters or the F4 Phantom II that Ankara has active while imploring the Americans to provide his desired F35.

The missiles struck in a very precise way in one of the houses of the Christian village. The shock wave caused damage in more than one hundred meters to the round and the shrapnel and the metal splinters projected against all the houses of the surroundings, biting the outer walls and leaving big notches in the formwork so that the memory never is lost of what happened at 10.37 at night, local time, on April 11, 2019.

In the pictures taken the next morning, the lethal destructive power of these weapons is seen in all its magnitude. The building-one of those bright, one-story little houses that rise above the shady orchard of the hills of the Barwari Bala valley -was reduced to a mountain of twisted iron, large blocks of reinforced concrete and broken concrete slabs. A few meters from the house, the perforations and dents of the pick-up of the Kurdish militiamen who 'squatted' the house are intuited.

Nobody wants to talk about it, but that someone died is taken for granted . How could someone have survived such an explosion? The Turks know well the objectives of their so-called "war against terrorism". That has to be granted.

Attending, exactly, to the 'surgical' accuracy of their air attacks and the meticulous information they obtain thanks to their drones and their intelligence services it is possible to conclude that the Turks did not ignore that the night of that bombardment there were eight civilians in the town. All of them were Chaldean-Assyrian Christians , oblivious to the pulse that the Turkish Government of Erdogan holds in Iraq against the Popular Defense Forces (HPD, according to its Kurdish acronym), armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), around which the bulk of the Kurdish secessionists from Turkey gather.

It was providential that there were no civilian casualties: the few Christians who resist in the valley dined shortly before twilight in two courtyards near the building that the missiles hammered. Twenty meters from the blast site, a family of four was talking. As it has been common, they waited at dawn and left scared of the small town. The night had been long.

Parish closed in Sharanish, with the poster in Arabic and in Syriac.

Turkish artillery bombs Christian villages

Just one day earlier, on April 10, Erdogan's artillery had bombarded the town of Sharanish, another Chaldean-Assyrian enclave located near the Turkish border, in the Kurdish-Iraqi district of Zakho, about fifty miles east of Tashish, and northeast of Dahok. Both its Muslim and Christian neighborhoods were devastated by the projectiles.

Sending Sharanish mission fighter-bombers or beating him with artillery has been a long tradition since, a few years ago, the Kurd militia of the HPD, at war with Turkey, left the high and steep snowy peaks of the Zagros to seek refuge among the civilians who occupy the hidden valleys of one of the wildest and most uninhabited borders of the planet.

Kurds "kind" but armed: they use Christians

In a systematic way, Christians have been used by the guerrillas as human shields. It is an open secret that they stand in their villages to avoid, without success, the attacks of the Turks.

An Assyrian bishop visits Hezaney, in the Nahla Valley; has tried to convince the Kurdish militias to leave the place, without success.

"They are kind, that's true, " a Christian from the Nahla Valley tells us, while imploring us to identify him with the nickname of Saad Matey. " They are as kind as can be someone who holds a kalashnikov. It is also true that there have never been problems of coexistence and, unlike the Barzani peshmerga [the Kurdish armed forces that operate in the Noriequen territories], they always pay for what they take and interact politely with us. Of course, that is not the real issue. The point is that we are not a judge or part of a foreign conflict, and nobody has ever asked us if we want to live in a militarized zone or in peace. and oblivious to a struggle that does not concern us and that is forcing us to abandon one of our last Iraqi enclaves. "

Christians have been trapped with the rest of Iraqis in the crossfire of a war that is not theirs.

No one in Iraq needs the Islamic State to turn their lives into hell. These types of situations have often been silenced by the great reports about the criminal activities of Daesh.

Unlike what usually happens in other parts of Iraq, such as Bajdida or Erbil, the bulk of NGOs, humanitarian organizations and Christian charities operate on the border . It remains 'terra incognita', an opaque blur whose precise location ignores, in a literal sense, even large maps.

A wild border with mini-guerrilla states

"Look at our house," laments a countryman from the town of Sharanish interviewed by a local television station while showing the shrapnel notches, the vain busts and the cracks of the walls of a house hit by the shock wave of the bombs. artillery. "We were around eighty families. Then, that number fell to twenty, and later, to eighteen , and so on until everyone, Muslims and Christians, left for fear of being busted or buried in the rubble. "

Almost the entire border strip has been occupied in progressive waves by small groups of Kurdish guerrillas attached to the HPD (or PKK) that NATO, EU and Turkey still have today as terrorists. Some of the fiefs that the guerrillas have in places like Sinyar or Qandil are real proto-states beyond the control of the Erbil governments (of Kurdish-Iraqi autonomy) or Baghdad.

The Kurds often crossed the Zagros mountain range, coming from Turkish Anatolia, to get away from Turkey. Of course, gradually, small groups of them left their holes in the rocks to descend to the populations that mark the border. One of the last occupations took place in the Nahla Valley, four years ago.

It was as of that moment when the Government of Turkey stopped settling for illegally invading Iraqi airspace to displace several contingents of replacement soldiers . With the acquiescence of the Kurdish leader Masud Barzani, the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan, the different Turkish units of the Komando were quartered in positions of tactical importance from where they control the natural steps of the guerrilla and from where they strike indiscriminately anyone who is in the immediate vicinity of the guerrillas, even if, as it almost always happens, it is against their own will.

Sharanish is one of the Chaldean-Assyrian peoples most punished by Turkish bombs . What happened in that small town is a good example of the process that is about to end Christians, in this case, without stenographers. Today there is no one who goes to pray to any of his two churches; one belonging to the Chaldeans (Catholics) and the other, built in the 4th century on an old synagogue, by the Eastern Church (Nestorian, or "of the Persians"). In Antiquity, all its population was Jewish, before its conversion to Christianity.

Descendants of the Turkish genocide a century ago

Like other valleys ravaged by Turkish bombs such as Nahla, most of its inhabitants descend from the survivors of the Assyrian-Greco-Armenian genocide of a century ago in Turkey. They arrived, originally, from Turkey, where the Christians were literally exterminated by Kurdish tribes under Ankara, during the First World War.

From their old patriarchal headquarters, located in Kodshanes, their ancestors fled with the almost legendary patriarchs Simon Sea XXI and Agha Patros at the head , to undertake a circular road through Persia that would take them back to the mountains, only from the side Iraqi from their lands. They are the survivors by antonomasia.

Long before the emergence of the Islamic State in the geopolitical scene, the persecution against this minority has been brutal, systematic and often sponsored by the nationalist and supposedly democratic governments of the hostile ecosystem where they live. The jihad to which the Salafist parties appeal is often only an alibi to appropriate their assets.

The same happens against Bartella's babaquAes, who have their own religion, different from Islam, although influenced by it. Or much earlier, in the villages of Nahla. Spiritual differences have often been used to fuel rivalries that, in the end, mask the petty desire to steal their lands. Daesh has been just one of his problems. And not necessarily the biggest one.

On the border of Turkey is another conflict that is settled on the bloody Chaldean-Assyrian sand. It is not religious differences that worries the PKK. In fact, there are Turkish Christians in their ranks from Tur Abdin. They are not, as is usually agreed, an atheist militia, but secularized.

The Kurdish militia paraded in an Assyrian monastery,

Among the buildings occupied by the Anatolian Kurdish militia to hide from the Turkish bombs is the 1,400-year-old Assyrian monastery of Qayoma Mar. As a general rule, Kurdish guerrillas look for uninhabited houses in the heart of the villages, and 'squat' without the opinion of their legitimate owners, who have very little to say about it. In fact, not even complaints have been registered. Could they complain about it? The supposedly temporary occupations against which several Assyrian priests protested have become permanent.

The Kurdish militia at Assyrian funerals

In some villages like Hezaney, the daily coexistence with the militiamen is now daily, and it is possible to see the militia girls , very young, go to a funeral, with their campaign uniforms and without detaching themselves from a moment of their AK47 , to present your respect to the family of the victims. Thanks to the belligerency of Turkey, the guerrillas have indirectly exported their conflict, drawing the violence of the Turkish government of Erdogan towards families completely unrelated to their disputes.

Often, when night falls, from Chaldean-Assyrian populations such as Kanimase (Barwar Valley), it is possible to see in the distance the flashes of Turkish artillery blinking against the cross of the Mar Sawa church.

Aviation raids do not only start, in fact, from Turkey. Also the Iranian neighbors have launched their missiles on the positions of the PKK occupied by Chaldean-Assyrian civilians. They are so accustomed to it that, unless it rains bombs, there is nothing to alter their daily lives. In summer, they gather in the cool to look at the sky, as if they were fireworks.

Article translated from Spanish to English by Google Translate.
An Afghan official says at least seven Afghan policemen were killed overnight when the Taliban stormed security checkpoints in western Badghis province.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said Saturday that three other security forces were wounded during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry said Saturday that two separate airstrikes conducted Friday night by coalition forces in coordination with Afghan forces killed at least 43 militants from the Islamic State group in eastern Kunar province.

The statement said the airstrikes targeted IS in Chapara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"



"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition.

"If you scrap the sedition law, how will you send such people to jail?"shah asked.

"The Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they hurl a brick at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make their stand clear on the demand for a separate prime minster for Kashmir.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one can take it away from India till the BJP is there," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the Army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."



Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A barrage of around 50 rockets was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and dozens were intercepted by air defences, the Israeli army said.

The army said earlier it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response. It was not yet clear if there were casualties on either side.

The escalation follows the most violent protests along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank and said they consider even a "human being just a number".

Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

"SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj PArty) and have been affected by a bad habit that they consider even a human being just a number, Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing when SP chief vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.
There will be no negative repercussions of UN's designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Pakistan's ambassador to the US has said, asserting that the move only reinforces Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

The United Nations on Wednesday designated Pakistan-based Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him.

China removed its hold on the proposal, which was moved by France, the UK and the US in the Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February just days after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, who is on a rare visit to Houston this week, noted that the United States also appreciated Pakistan's commitment in its first reaction to the designation on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

Before the adoption, China and Pakistan worked jointly to delink the designation from the Kashmiri struggle for freedom and the Pulwama terrorist attack, it said.

The delinking allows Pakistan to continue to support the Kashmiri movement, it added.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the United States or China," said the ambassador while talking to the media after his address at the World Affairs Council in Houston on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism," Khan said.

In his address to the council, the ambassador also spoke about improvements in the US-Pakistan relations after a recent dip.

"This is a very important and consequential relationship. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Khan said.

The ambassador also spoke about Pakistan's role in promoting US-Taliban talks in Doha and asserted that Islamabad helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks," he said.

Ambassador Khan said that while Pakistan's role was important, other regional actors must also play their part.

Pakistan also supported US efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban, he said.

Khan hoped that the progress in the Afghan peace process would improve Pakistan's relations with the United States.

Underlining Pakistan's efforts for better ties with India, the ambassador noted that in February the two nuclear states had the first dogfight.

"This is very dangerous but unfortunately India seems more interested in whipping up differences for domestic political gains than in resolving disputes," he said.

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A madrasa teacher who was declared a Bangladeshi living illegally in Assam was arrested, and 20 other Bangladeshis were deported to their country on Saturday, officials said.

Abdur Rashid, who was working as a teacher in a government run madrasa since 2001, was declared a Bangladeshi by the Foreigners Tribunal of Morigaon district on October 30, 2016, official sources said.

He had then moved the Gauhati High Court but it upheld the declaration of the Tribunal in September 2018.

Rashid was in service till Saturday, the sources said adding that he will be sent to the detention camp inTezpur on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 20 jailed Bangladeshis, including a woman, were deported through Sutarkandi on the international border in Karimganj district.

Karimganj Superintendent of Police Manobendra Debroy said those 20 people were handed over to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the border guards of the neighbouring country.

Of them, 19 were in Sichar Central Jail and one in Kokrajhar Central Jail for the last two to five years, official sources said.

Debroy, district Deputy Commissioner M S Mani Mannan, BSF Deputy Commandant S K Uppadhay were present when they were deported.

The Bangladesh side was respresented by police and BDR officials, Debroy said.

Another group of 21 Bangladesh nationals was deported on January 19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (BJP) on Saturday attacked chief for his alleged links to a defence firm that got an offset contract when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Gandhi refuted the allegations and said he was willing to face any probe, but added that an investigation should also be ordered in the fighter jet deal.

At a press conference, Union Finance Minister pointed to a media report to allege that and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt Ltd registered in in 2002. He said a firm of a similar name was registered in the in which and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an influence-for-cash company, Jaitley alleged. The FM said Mcknight was married to a leaders daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhis social gang. Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor

In 2009, Rahul Gandhi left the firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, Jaitley alleged. Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an deal to build submarines, he said, citing the report. Jaitley said Rahul Gandhis was a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and was now aspiring to be prime minister.

The rejected the allegations. This has all been dealt with (already). Please take any investigation, any action you want. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. (But) please also investigate Rafale, he said.

BJP Subramanian Swamy said he had sent a complaint to central probe agencies in December 2015, and insinuated that Jaitley blocked the probe. Is this on part of Jaitley a prayashchit (penance) or credit grabbing after blocking the ED (Enforcement Directorate) from investigating my complaint on Backops money laundering? Swamy tweeted.





Congress said it was an allegation that needed to be proved. Sibal released three video clips purportedly showing government officials who claimed they could get old notes exchanged months after demonetisation, and alleged that it was done at the behest of the BJP. The videos were apparently shot in 2017 by an investigative journalist. However, there was no authentication of the clips by the party or any other agency. No immediate reaction was available from the BJP.

The first video was shot in a car in Delhi on March 27, 2017. According to Sibal, a serving sub-inspector alleged in the clip that Piyush Goyal, who was BJPs treasurer, regularly instructed security personnel posted at the BJP headquarters to let in specific vehicles without any checks. He also introduced the journalist to a couple of retired IAS officers who agreed to get the currency exchanged, Sibal alleged.

The Congress claimed the second video was shot in Delhi on March 27, 2017 and the same official discussed the exchange of notes with a face value of Rs 300 crore. Sibal claimed that in the third video from April 1, 2017, a government official said the new currency notes were printed in Moscow. Extra notes were printed, more than the value of demonetised currency, the Congress leader said.

Sibal said, if elected, the Congress would conduct an investigation into the matter. He termed demonetisation an ill-thought decision. Demonetisation apparently was the biggest political scam has ever seen. The victims were the hapless 1.25 billion people, Sibal said.

Sibal said one of the objectives was to discourage the use of cash and check the currency in circulation to reduce flow of black money, but now cash was being used in a big way.

Demonetisation allowed black money to be generated and stashed abroad which is reflected by the latest data released by Zurich-based Swiss Bank (SNB), where money deposited by Indians rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion swiss francs (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, a year after the note ban, he claimed.


BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy by threatening TMC workers to bring musclemen from Uttar Pradesh and kill them like a dog if they dared to act smart.

Ghosh, a former IPS officer who was once close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Senior TMC leader Parthat Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

When contacted, TMC's Ghatal candidate Dev said, "I do not understand what to say. I think people should not forget decency. I had huge respect for Bharati-di, but after this incident I think that will be affected. I think the people of Ghatal will give a befitting reply to this."



Earlier, Banerjee conducted a road show in West Midnapore urging people not to cast their votes for BJP candidates and save the country.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nomited for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging that the party was distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi, instead of handing out its election manifestoes.

Addressing an election meeting here, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Money is being distributed here. The Congress has distributed its election manifesto among the public, but the BJP is not distributing manifestoes, it is distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans."



Priyanka Gandhi also attacked Union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting from Amethi on BJP ticket. "She is doing drama in your constituency. She has herself come here 16 times, while your MP has visited the place twice as much. He has even stayed in villages," the Congress leader said.

"She comes here with the media and distributes shoes. She wants to insult you. She has been unable to understand what the public of Amethi wants," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had committed suicide. "Insurance premium worth Rs 10,000 crore paid by the farmers goes into the pockets of big industrialists," she claimed.

She took a dig at BJP leaders over the issue of stray animals and asked whether any of them had come to the people's agricultural fields to do 'chowkidaari' and safeguard them from stray animals.

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Militants shot dead BJP leader Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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BJP's Telangana president K Laxman Saturday said the party plans to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and others in Delhi over the alleged goof-up in the declaration of intermediate exam results.

Laxman had called off his indefinite fast on the issue Friday following an appeal from BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir.

Laxman was discharged from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Saturday.

He was shifted to the NIMS on April 29, hours after he launched the fast and continued his fast in the hospital.

The state party unit intends to move ahead by preparing an actionplan - consoling parents of deceased students, giving confidence to parents, meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and also the President, he told reporters here.

The party also plans to meet the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the alleged police detention of BJP workers and how force was allegedly used to 'suppress' the agitation by students and organisations like the ABVP, he said.

Though the stir started by BJP against the alleged injustice to the students has been on since April 15, there was no response from the government as it was 'dictatorial and autocratic', Laxman alleged.

Asserting that BJP would stand by the students, he appealed to them not to take the extreme step.

He hit out at TRS working president K T Rama Rao over his comments that the opposition parties was involved in "cheap politics."



"When 26 children had died (allegedly committing suicides), it is cheap politics for you," he said.

The state government has not seriously pondered over why more than three lakh students had failed among the more than eight lakh who appeared for the exams, Ahir had alleged here Friday.

The Centre would check the technical issues of the matter and study the possibility of conducting a CBI probe if the state government fails to take up the issue with due compassion, Ahir had said.

"We don't interfere in the work of any state government. But, we cannot leave the students in the lurch," he added.

Laxman started his fast with demands, including sacking of minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of Board of Intermediate (BIE) secretary, judicial inquiry into the whole episode and paying compensation to families of students who allegedly committed suicide.

BJP staged a state-wide bandh on the issue Thursday last.

Meanwhile, CPI activists held a protest here Saturday on the alleged bungling of the results.

About 9.74 lakh students had appeared for the intermediate exam in March this year and 3.28 lakh of them had failed, according to official sources.

The BJP has claimed that 25 students killed themselves since the declaration of results April 18.

The alleged bungling by BIE in the announcement of results led to widespread protests by students, their parents, student organisations and political parties.

Some students and their parents claimed even meritorious students have scored low marks.

Errors like not displaying practical exam marks in the memos of certain geography students and error by examiners, along with mistakes of other nature, have come to the fore since the announcement of results.

A three-member committee, appointed by the state government to look into the issue, has pointed out certain shortcomings in conducting the exam and suggested remedial measures.

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Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven)... Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."



Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act". He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.

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The has issued a notice, seeking reply of BJP's candidate Kirron Kher after she shared a video on twitter in which children were seen campaigning for her.

The poll panel has asked the actor-turned-politician to reply within 24 hours.

"You have shared a video on your twitter account which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour through slogan 'Vote for Kirron Kher' and 'Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar'," the notice, issued on May 3, said.

In the notice, it was mentioned that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January 2017 had requested the to ensure that children are not involved in any form with election-related activities, by either elections officials or political parties.

The EC had subsequently instructed that it should be ensured by all political parties and election officials that children are not involved in any election-related activity, as per the notice.

Kher is seeking re-election from the seat and is pitted against four-time MP and candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan.

will vote in the last phase of elections on May 19.
Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."



"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

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A BJP worker was shot dead by suspected militants in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, police said.

Unknown terrorists fired at a member of the BJP, Gul AhmadMir, at Nowgam Verinag, a police official said.

The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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With less than 48 hours to go for polling in West Bengal's Bongaon(SC) Lok Sabha seat in the fifth phase, its BJP candidate Shantunu Thakur Saturday met with an accident at Hanskhali in Nadia district, police said.

Shantanu Thakur, who is the grandson of the Matua community matriarch late Binapani Devi, his driver and two others who were in the vehicle, were injured, the police said.

He suffered an injury in his head and was rushed to the Bongaon sub-divisional hospital.

The accident happened at around 12.15 p m when a police van lost control and hit Thakur's vehicle at the front when he was heading towards Kalyani to attend an election rally on the last day of campaigning, the police said.

BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya was scheduled to speak at the rally.

None was arrested in connection with the accident and the police vehicle was allegedly damaged by BJP workers.

A West Bengal Police officer said "We are trying to find out what actually happened and whose fault it was. We are talking to drivers of both the vehicles. So far nobody has been arrested".

When contacted the BJP candidate's mother Chabirani Thakur alleged that the accident was the result of a "conspiracy" hatched by Trinamool Congress.

"My son's vehicle was standing on the side of the road and suddenly from nowhere this police van came and hit it. We want a thorough investigation into the matter," she told PTI.

Seven parliamentary constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpore both in North 24 Parganas district, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampore, Hooghly, Arambag are scheduled to go to the polls in the fifth phase.

BJP has pitted Shantanu Thakur of the Matua community against sitting TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur, the daughter-in-law of the late Matua matriarch. The family is witnessing a feud over control on the community, which has an estimated 30 lakh population in the state and can influence results in at least five parliamentary constituencies of North and South 24 Parganas districts.

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Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

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Campaign ended on Saturday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which go to the polls in the fifth phase of general elections on May 6.

The five seats are Muzaffarpur, Saran, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Hajipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaigning from the front, holding a rally at Muzaffarpur where he canvassed in favor of the local BJP candidate as also nominees fielded by alliance partners the JD(U) and the LJP.

He described the ruling NDA in the state as a cohesive three in one entity and the opposition weak, loosely knit and helpless against menaces of black money, corruption and threats to national security.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose party is not contesting any of the five seats going to the polls on Monday, did not hold an election meeting in these constituencies which are, however, being contested by alliance partners in the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies at Saran and Sitamarhi and spoke about the prime ministers commitment to his work which is evident from his having not taken a day off in 20 years.

In his speeches Shah sought to present a contrast with Gandhi whom he accused of going on a holiday every three to four months.

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Hema Malini held a rally at Sitamarhi where she expressed delight over the improved infrastructure in Bihar and recalled with amusement the 1990s when the then chief minister Lalu Prasads reported promise of making the potholed roads of the state as smooth as her cheeks had made headlines.

All the five seats going to polls in the fifth phase were won in 2014 by the NDA two each by BJP and LJP and one by Upendra Kushwahas RLSP, which quit the coalition last year and joined the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

Sitamarhi MP Ram Kumar Sharma, who had supported Kushwaha when he severed ties with the NDA, revolted after he was denied a ticket by RLSP, which is contesting five seats as against three five years ago.

He shared the stage with Amit Shah at the latters Sitamarhi rally dropping ample hints about his future political move. The seat has now gone to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U), which has fielded former MLA Sunil Kumar alias Pintu.

The party had earlier nominated Varun Kumar, but he declined to contest. Pintu faces Arjun Rai of RJD, who had won in 2009 on JD-U ticket.

BJP MPs Ajay Nishad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy are seeking re-election from their respective seats of Muzaffarpur and Saran respectively. Ajay faces another Nishad, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary fielded by the Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which is seeking to assume leadership of the Nishads.

Rudy faces Chandrika Rai of RJD, father-in-law of Lalu Prasads elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who has announced that he would no longer contest direct elections, has fielded his younger brother and state minister Pashupati Kumar Paras from his pocket borough of Hajipur.

In neighboring Vaishali, he has replaced mafia don-turned-politician Rama Singh with former BJP MLA Veena Devi, who is said to have joined LJP after her candidature was announced.

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Campaigning for the four Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the second phase of elections in Jharkhand on May 6 came to an end on Saturday evening.

A total of 65,87,028 electorate will decide the fate of 61 candidates.

Among the total electorate, 31,44,679 are female voters and 83 belong to the third gender, the Election Commission said in a release here.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Khunti (ST) Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday.

Union minister Jayant Sinha is seeking re-election from the Hazaribagh constituency as a BJP candidate.

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is pitted against him.

Two-time MP and CPIs Jharkhand unit secretary B P Mehta is also in the fray from Hazaribagh.

The BJP has fielded former chief minister Arjun Munda from Khunti, Sanjay Seth from Ranchi and Annapurna Devi from Koderma, replacing its sitting MPs Karia Munda, Ramtahal Chaudhary and Ravindra Rai respectively.

Annapurna Devi, who quit the RJD and joined the BJP on March 25, is facing Mahagathbandhans Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi and CPI (ML- Liberation) MLA Raj Kumar Yadav from Koderma.

Seth is taking on former union minister and Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay from Ranchi, where the five-time BJP MP, Ramtahal Choudhary, is also contesting as an independent after being denied ticket by the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi canvassed for Annapurna Devi from Koderma while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed Hazaribagh people through a video conference from Lucknow as he could not reach the constituency on Friday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the people of Khunti and sought their votes for party candidate Kalicharan Munda.

Adequate security arrangements have been made to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections, police sources said.

The EC release said that total number of polling personnel for the second phase polling is 39,909 and the number of micro observers will be 1,191.

Out of a total of 8,834 polling stations, 105 will be manned by women polling personnel.

At least 918 polling stations out of the total will have webcasting facility.

The first phase of polling in Jharkhand was held in three Lok Sabha seats - Lohardaga (ST), Palamu (SC) and Chatraon - on April 29.

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BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23.

Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

"Kamal Nath, you think you can win elections in a democracy by repressing our workers? Let Lok Sabha results be declared on May 23 and all four legs of your chair will tremble," he said, adding that the "Congress's way" of suppressing the opposition would not work anymore.

"During recent visits, I heard the ordeal of our workers. Those engaged in campaigning were externed from the districts, cases of murder were filed against them, and two workers were killed," Shah alleged.

The BJP chief also accused the state government of encouraging activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

"There was a time when Malwa region of the state was the base of SIMI. Shivraj Singh Chouhan (ex-BJP chief minister) dismantled the SIMI network and they (SIMI workers) were forced to leave Madhya Pradesh. Some of them are in Ahmedabad jail, some in Delhi jail and others in prison in Bhopal," Shah said.

"But due to vote bank politics, this government is again encouraging SIMI. I want to warn them, do not play with the country's security or your hands will get burnt. The BJP will strongly oppose their every step," the BJP chief asserted.

Shah claimed that the Congress, which came to power in the state in December 2018 after a gap of 15 years, had already started failing the people.

The BJP chief alleged that within three months of the Congress coming to power, transactions worth Rs 281 crore were unearthed during Income Tax raids at the premises of those close to Kamal Nath.

Seven seats of Bundelkhand, including Rewa, will go to polls on Monday.

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Former legislator from Langate constituency in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Sheikh Abdul Rashid Saturday said the Centre would be responsible if anything bad happens to JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik who is in Tihar Jail.

"Malik is not a criminal. He is a leader, a soldier of the people who respect him. Whether we like his ideology or not, we warn New Delhi not to play with fire... If anything bad happens to Malik, the responsibility will be on the Government of India," Rashid told reporters here.

A Delhi court last week sent Malik to judicial custody till May 24. He was arrested in a case related to alleged funding of separatists and militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), said the low poll percentage in parliamentary polls should make New Delhi understand that the separatist leadership "has its routes deep in masses and their voice cannot be muzzled by force".

"Be it banning Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF, nothing will change on the ground unless New Delhi realizes significance of resolving Kashmir issue," he said.

The former MLA said his party would take out a protest march outside Civil Secretariat on Monday the day it opens in the summer capital here as part of the bi-annual darbar move -- against the alleged failure of the government to provide basic immunities to people, arrest of youth, "state suppression against pro-resistance leadership" and for seeking revocation of ban on the Jamat-i-islami and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) .

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Three Naxals were Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.

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A Saturday posted for May 7 plea of Rajeev Saxena, a middleman-turned-approver in a case related to the chopper scam, seeking permission to travel abroad.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar, before whom the matter came up for hearing, posted it for May 7.

The court had earlier issued notice to the (ED) on Saxena's plea to travel to Europe, UK and in May.

Saxena has sought permission to travel abroad on the ground of medical ailments.

The court had earlier allowed Saxena to turn approver and his plea for grant of pardon on the condition that he will fully disclose all information in the case.

He was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusal of reports submitted by AIIMS.

Saxena, director at two Dubai-based firms -- UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings -- is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore scam.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party's internal assessment after four phases of polling shows that the BJP will lose in the Lok Sabha elections and he sees a "scared prime minister" unable to face the onslaught of the opposition.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he stated that it was said five years ago that Modi cannot be defeated and will rule for 10-15 years, but the Congress has "demolished" him.

"The structure that is standing is hollow. It is going to fall in 10-15 days," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

With more than half the election process completed, there is a clear cut feeling that PM Modi is losing, Gandhi claimed.

"There is an undercurrent and the BJP is losing. I don't see a strategic campaign by the BJP...I see a scared prime minister unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and a PM who is absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped and he is not going to succeed," he said, adding that the BJP's is a "panicky campaign".

He expressed confidence of a very good showing of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

First time defence ministry officials have written that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is directly negotiating with France, Gandhi alleged.

"What does it mean. Why is the PMO holding parallel negotiations, it has to be a money transaction. Why has Anil Ambani got Rs 1000 crore tax rebate in France. There is going to be zero tolerance on corruption," Gandhi said.

Asked about who will be the prime minister after the election, he said people have to decide who will be PM.

"The main issues are of employment, farmers, PM's corruption, and attack on institutions," Gandhi said.

The biggest issues are of unemployment and that Modi has destroyed the Indian economy, he said.

"The country wants to know from the Prime Minister. You had told the youth that you would give 2 crore jobs in a year, and today unemployment, is at a 45 year-high. Congress party's manifesto's first chapter is on jobs. We have given all the details, how we will make jobs available, the benefits of Nyay scheme," Gandhi said.

Modi does not say a word about employment, because he cannot say anything as there is neither any plan nor there is any record, he claimed.

"First, he used to talk about corruption. Now wherever you say chowkidar, people say 'chor hai'. Narendra Modi's system is to distract. When he sees he is losing he comes out with some distraction like the sea plane in Gujarat," Gandhi claimed.

But, the reality is that he is losing the elections, he said.

Gandhi also elaborated on the Congress's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme Nyay, saying it aims to put money directly in the bank account of the poorest people and also jump-start India's economy.

"Narendra Modi demonetised the economy, Nyay yojana will remonetise it," he said.

"As soon as the Nyay yojana money will come, people will start buying, shops will get impetus and then factories will get more work and jobs will be generated," he said.

Gandhi also listed other key promises of the Congress such as 22 lakh government jobs to youths within a year and 10 lakh jobs in panchayats.

"What is the BJP doing about jobs. Everybody has said Congress manifesto is an effective document as it is the voice of the people. What has Modi promised," he said.

"Congress has fought on the ground and changed the narrative. The country is in danger," he claimed.

Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi over not holding press conferences during his tenure, saying "please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences as it is really looking very bad".

"He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A scuffle broke out between Congress workers and BJP supporters after the latter raised pro-Modi slogans during a Congress' roadshow here on Saturday, police said.

The roadshow was being conducted by the Congress in support of party candidate Jyoti Khandelwal.

During the roadshow, a group of people raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to that, Congress supporters allegedly manhandled two-three people and raised slogans like 'chowkidar chor hai' (watchman is a thief).

Police said both the groups were separated within a short span of time and situation was brought under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister on Saturday claimed that the Congress-led opposition was staring at an imminent defeat after completion of four phases of polls and seeking excuses to cover up the same like a batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled.

They began with hurling abuses at Modi, all day long. When they realized it was not paying electoral dividends they changed tack and started complaining about faulty After four phases of elections, they have become flustered and started pointing fingers at the Election Commission, Modi told an election rally in this remote Lok Sabha constituency located along the Indo- border.

These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness, he said wryly.

The Prime Minister also charged the Congress, which has ruled the country for so long, with lacking a clear vision with regard to combating terror and said I was appalled to see that they have promised in their manifesto, among other things, withdrawal of special powers given to armed forces in insurgency-hit areas and abolition of the

ALSO READ: A journey down the Ganga in the age of Narendra Modi

They do not realize the consequences. They are unmindful that if the armed forces are divested of the special powers, they will end up spending their time and in appearing before courts for cases that secessionists may frame them in. And they are promising scrapping of which would only embolden extremists and the pattharbaaz gang (stone- pelting mobs phenomenon recently observed in the restive state of and Kashmir), Modi claimed.

They are simply clueless about how to combat terrorism, naxalism or any other type of security threat. And what disgusts me most as the language they have ended up speaking reminds us of what the Pakistanis keep on using, he alleged.

Before we came to power in 2014, not a month used to pass without some corner of the country or another being rocked by bomb explosions. That has been effectively checked since we took over. The credit goes not to Modi but to your vote which helped a strong government come to power. You, through your vote, sent the message across that will no longer take things lying down, the prime minister said.

Speaking in the presence of alliance partners - Chief Minister and Union minister who head the JD(U) and the LJP respectively-, Modi also took a veiled dig at the proposed NYAY scheme of the Congress, saying they could not help the poor in getting their accounts opened in banks and now they have suddenly begun to promise direct cash transfer. Beware of their misleading promises.

About another poll plank of the waiver of loans to farmers Modi said they made a similar promise ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. And after the elections, they waived loans to the tune of a meagre Rs 54,000 crore when debts ran into nearly Rs six lakh crore. And, as the CAG later pointed out, many of the so-called beneficiaries had their loans waived despite not being engaged in agriculture. They want to indulge in a similar fraud once again.

It has been an old trait of the They promised to the people of that they would build houses for the poor and got many people sign forms to make their tall talk credible. Nobody got these houses which remained on paper. In Rajasthan, where they have come to power, they are again making people sign forms saying these were meant to enroll them for the NYAY scheme which promises remittance of Rs 72,000 per year. Beware of such scams, Modi alleged.

The Prime Minister also sought to draw a contrast between the and the BJP saying whenever his party was in power it handled volatile issues with care unlike the opposition party which often left the country in turmoil.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, three states of Uttarakhand, and came into being. All these new entities have excellent and cordial relations with the parent states. Compare that with Telangana which was carved out of under Congress rule. So much of bitterness prevails between the two states despite both being peopled by Telugu-speaking citizens, Modi said.

Similarly, we have seen so much of tension in the past on the issue of caste-based reservations. There has been rumor- mongering that quotas are under threat. We demonstrated by introducing quotas for the economically weaker sections among the general category, without infringing on the rights of other social groups, how these things should be handled, he asserted.

has worked very hard to pull out of the lantern age, Modi remarked in a lighter vein in a veiled dig at Lalu Prasads RJD which is the main opposition party in the state, and added please do remember whichever NDA constituent you vote for your vote shall be going to Modi.

Seeking to strike a rapport with the local populace, Modi began his speech that lasted 40 minutes with a few sentences in the local dialect Bhojpuri evoking rapturous response by the crowds.

He also spoke of the NDAs role in getting the Tharus a tribe populating the terai region along the Indo- border



the Scheduled Tribe status.

Modi also said that he had drawn the inspiration for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Mahatma Gandhis satyagrah in Champaran. He also showered praise on Bhagirathi a local BJP MLA who has been awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her social work.
/ -- Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) supports concerted joint action



The Council for Healthcare and Pharma hailed its just concluded Legislative day at Capitol Hill D.C. as engaging and successful. The forum received overwhelming support and consensus for greater traction between India and the USA to fully utilise mutual synergies and complementarities in the Pharma & Health space for the cause of Universal Healthcare.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881557/CHP_Legislative_Day.jpg )



The 'Legislative Day' had attendance of over 20 eminent US Congress leaders, representatives from Industry & Trade, Medical Fraternity and Board of Management AAPI, supporting the need for greater affordability, accessibility and accountability in keeping populations healthy.

Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, President, CHP, said, "For Universal Healthcare to become a reality, we must pull out all the stops to optimise the sourcing and delivery of each element of the health value chain. This calls for extensive deployment of the best-known bases and practices around the world for high quality medicines, technologies and skill sets. The logic, natural synergies and complementarities between India and the US in healthcare are compelling and the potential to realise accelerated gains from bringing these together is enormous and immediate."



A strong proponent of Affordable Medicare, Congressman Steny Hoyer emphasized the need for Government to work for improving healthcare access and affordability and to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health coverage. Further, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is a champion for Universal Healthcare expressed her commitment towards working proactively for the same.

Senator Roger F Wicker was of the view that one of the biggest concerns facing the US in the arena of Health is the lack of affordable health insurance coverage. Expressing his support to the cause of Women's Healthcare, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was categorical that America succeeds when women succeed in their quest for affordable healthcare. He also expressed his commitment towards accessible and affordable medicines to achieve the goal of 'Health for All'.

Congressman Frank Pallone who serves as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee was of the opinion that all Americans should have access to high quality affordable healthcare. He assured the gathering that he is committed to work steadfastly to protect the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin applauded the Council and its members in its committed support towards the TB elimination programme in India. Furthering their collaboration, the two organisations have entered into a joint dialogue to offer affordable Oncology Medicines for women, especially for cancers of the Breast and Cervix.

The Indian Ambassador to USA, H.E. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, hailed the contribution of the Indian Generics industry in its drive towards affordable care. He also applauded the role of the AAPI community in the US Healthcare system.

The opportunity to lower cost clearly lies in emphasizing a high quality Generic Formulary, realizing supply chain efficiencies, complementing R&D strengths to amplify drug development efforts, locating manufacturing where advantageous, leveraging new technologies such as Robotics, AI and Blockchain for greater efficiencies, better health surveillance, early detection of disease, improved treatment protocols, enhanced patient experience with significantly better outcomes.

These opportunities can be developed where best feasible through a Make in USA or Make in India initiative.

India has critical mass in providing affordable, high quality generic medicines to the USA and the world. India additionally has strengths in IT and a vibrant start-up environment for frugal innovation with interesting health applications being developed that have the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and outcomes in delivering healthcare.

On the other hand, American firms can outsource significant parts of their R&D efforts with considerable savings in new drug discovery as well as to amplify their shortlist of drug candidates for further research and development. These drugs in turn can be marketed not only in the US but also in India and other populous countries.

In addition, there are medical challenges of significant proportions like AMR which continue to deplete our arsenal of antibiotics by rendering them ineffective on account of overuse and misuse. The US has done a lot of work in alleviating this global problem and both countries can collaborate to mount a sizable program to mitigate this menacing challenge and such others.

The Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) is an integrated, not-for-profit, Global think tank that advocates the development of sustainable health systems around the World. It looks at engaging with Governments and other stakeholders to adopt rational approaches that capture benefits, that accrue through the optimization of the eco-system and value chain involved in treating diseases and keeping people healthy. CHP members include domestic and global Pharmaceutical companies, Providers of Diagnostics, Medical device Manufacturers, Hospitals and adjunct services.

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the Council focuses on Africa, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK and the USA. Its important areas of work are in ease-of-doing business; increasing competitiveness; broadening access to safe, efficacious and affordable healthcare services and medicines. CHP is guided in its work by expert advisory committee's in Intellectual Property; Market Access; Regulatory Policy; Key Therapeutics - Women's Health, Oncology & Tropical Diseases; Research & Development (R&D); Artificial Intelligence (AI); Environment; Healthcare start-up's.

As a significant and credible stakeholder in alleviating the burden of disease, the CHP brings to bear the collective wisdom of industry and policy makers on health issues that stand to make a positive contribution to society in bringing about Universal healthcare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court Saturday issued open ended Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against a Gulf based investor for his alleged links to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar, allowed the Enforcement Directorate's application against Gulf investor/ businessman Omar Ali Balsharaf.

The agency's Special Public Prosecutor D P Singh and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta argued that the ED had summoned Balsharaf multiple times since March 2018, but he did not join the investigation deliberately.

The ED further said by not joining the investigation, he was evading the process of law and NBW against him was necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the ED investigation, it is revealed that M/s interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius, a company which received the AgustaWestland kickbacks, transferred an amount of USD 5,303,471 to the account of M/s Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading (RAKGT) LLC, Dubai which was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf and Gautam Khaitan, another accused, which raised many questions and need clarification.

Some other entries also found suspected in the RAKGT need Omar to join the probe, the ED said.

The agency contended that as RAKGT was associated with Balsharaf, his trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain the money he got from various companies into the Dubai account. Some companies are also related to accused Khaitan and others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Air Force Saturday sent three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Bhubaneswar from Hindan Air Base for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, an IAF spokesperson said.

The aircraft are carrying approximate 45 tonnes of relief material including medicines for the locations affected by Cyclone Fani.

"The IAF had remained on hot standby for a launch ever since the first warning about the cyclone was received. The aircraft were positioned at Hindan for a short notice take off, waiting for the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields," he said.

The Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter landed at Bhubaneswar for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The helicopter, launched from Guwahati airbase, is one of many IAF aircraft being deployed to the cyclone affected areas, he said.

"Air operations began after the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields and are going to continue with full force in the coming days.

"The Indian Air Force is committed to providing dedicated efforts to bring succour and relief to the affected populace and help in restoring normalcy in the region," the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 14 people were killed and 63 injured as severe Fani barrelled into on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in neighbouring India, media reports said on Saturday.

authorities said that more than 1.6 million people have been shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in country's coastal areas.

The deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur that were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone, the Tribune reported.

The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

"In Noakhali district, a minor has been killed and several of the family injured when the house collapsed on them during storm. Moreover, 30 villagers were also injured as the storm destroyed over hundred houses in the two unions," the paper reported.

Similarly, in Lakshmipur district a 70-year-old woman, Anwara Begum, was killed in house collapse due to the storm.

The cyclonic storm battered the coastal districts of the country and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Sky in several parts of continue to remain overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds is continuing across the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel12 flights so far and delay several others, the paper reported.

The severe Fani also caused destruction in

The cyclonic storm, which made landfall at India's eastern state of Odisha on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Indian officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
A day after cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, a massive restoration and relief work was launched on war-footing Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas, officials said.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, they said.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

All the four people were killed after uprooted trees fell on them at different places in Baripada, the emergency officer of Mayurbhanj district, S K Pati, said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the cyclone's landfall in the coastal state.

The prime minister assured continuous support from the central government.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.



Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Though the "extremely severe" cyclone weakened into a "very severe" cyclonic storm in a few hours, it flattened houses with thatched roofs and kutcha houses, uprooted scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers in coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit.

Patnaik, after reviewing the situation on Friday night, had said that Puri district suffered huge damage.

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he had said.

Hundreds of engineers and technicians are working to restore power supply, the officials said.

Work is on to restore road communication, thrown into disarray with thousands of uprooted trees blocking the way in innumerable places, Patnaik said.

ALSO READ: Bhubaneshwar flight operations expected to begin by 1 pm on Saturday

Men and machinery of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services swung into action and launched a massive restoration work to bring back normalcy, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), B P Sethi, said.

Odisha Energy Secretary Hemanth Sharma said around 3 million power consumers have been affected by the cyclone, which threw electricity distribution infrastructure out of gear in most coastal districts.

Restoration work is on in full swing, he said.

In Bhubaneswar city itself, over 10,000 electric poles have been uprooted or broken, he said, adding, efforts are on to restore power supply in 25 per cent crucial sectors such as the airport, the railway station and hospitals.

Another 25 per cent work will be completed on Sunday and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest, Sharma said.

The power network had been severely damaged in districts such as Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore.

The Quick Action Team (QRT) of the premier naval training establishment, INS Chilka, was immediately deployed to provide emergency assistance in cutting and clearing trees in some areas, said an official.

A naval Dornier aircraft carried out aerial survey and found extensive damaged to vegetation in many places around Puri.

Large-scale water inundation was observed in many places, particularly in low-lying areas between Puri and Chilka lake, he said.

The chief minister said nearly 1.2 million people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, "probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country".

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially-designed cyclone centres, he said.

Cooked food is being served to them for free.

The cyclone, after the landfall, passed through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal, the SRC said, adding, Bhubaneswar city was hit by high velocity winds of around 140 kmph.

Telecommunication lines got snapped in several parts of the state capital and other areas.

Summer crops, orchards and plantations also suffered huge damage, he said.

Around 220 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled in view of passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.
'Fani', which ravaged most parts of and left 12 people dead, poses no threat to West Bengal anymore, as it weakens further before entering neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official said on Saturday.

As per forecast, there will be moderate to light rainfall, particularly in the districts adjacent to Bangladesh, but the weather condition in and around the city will normalise through the course of the day, Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here, Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

"There is absolutely no threat from this system ( Fani) to West Bengal. The very severe cyclonic storm had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over coast before entering West Bengal," he said.

"Fani is likely to continue to move and further weaken in the next six hours. It is very likely to move to Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression," Bandyopadhyay said.

Light to moderate rain is likely in the districts adjacent to Kolkata, and clear skies are expected in the city by afternoon, the official said.

The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures Friday in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans, in wake of the cyclonic storm.

'Fani' barrelled through on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least 12 people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.
Committees of Creditors (CoCs) should provide all relevant information and share their vision for companies under the insolvency process, a senior official said Saturday as he asserted that it will be dangerous to let viable firms to close down.

Amid rising number of stressed assets being referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), IBBI chief M S Sahoo said the law also gives opportunities to rectify the mistakes during the insolvency process.

The objective of the law is to rescue viable companies and close down unviable ones, he said.

"If due to incompetence (of market participants) the reverse happens, then it is dangerous," Sahoo said here.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson also noted that CoCs must provide all relevant information to resolution applicants so that they find interest in the companies.

"Commercial decisions are not black and white. There is no mathematical formula to say that a company is unviable and another is viable. It depends on so much considerations and it depends on who is looking at it," he noted.

Speaking at an event, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said that financial creditors should not play foul while going through the viability and commercial aspects of a resolution plan.

Citing examples, he indicated that operational creditors should also be getting money and not just the financial creditors in a resolution process.

Responding to a query on whether operational creditors are not getting their dues, Sahoo cited data till December 2018 to say that both operational and financial creditors "on average, got about 48 per cent each of their claims".

About haircuts taken by creditors, he wondered what can be done if the resolution process started very late.

"Today about 370-380 companies have been ordered into liquidation. Most of them, 80 per cent, were in BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) or defunct companies. So when there is nothing to really recover, when the liquidation value almost zero, you will have to take haircut," he noted.

According to him, it also needs to be seen how much one gets in comparison to his claim and in comparison to the liquidation value.

"Up to March data, creditors have got about 195 per cent of the liquidation value. That means companies have been rescued and thereafter creditors have got 195 per cent of the liquidation value. Anything above liquidation value is bonus and that has come because of the IBC," he said.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) President and Chief Justice (Rtd) M M Kumar said that 32 more members would be joining the tribunal, which would help in stabilising the system.

At present, it has 25 members.

Despite the adjudicating authority functioning with a very poor infrastructure, the average timeline for resolution of cases is around 300 days, Kumar said.

Under the IBC, the timeline for resolution of a case is a maximum of 270 days.

Kumar also said the institution of resolution professionals needs to be strengthened and such professionals must be more equipped and full of knowledge.

They were speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by industry body Assocham.

The IBC provides for market-driven and time-bound resolution of stressed assets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sana Niyaz has joined the league of her three sisters after topping the Delhi government-run schools in the CBSE Class 12 examination.

Niyaz, who studied at Sarvdaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Jama Masjid, scored 97.6 per cent marks in the examination and thus bagged the first position among the students of the schools run by the Delhi government.

Her three sisters had also studied in the same school. While one among them was the top scorer of the school in her Class 12 exams, the other two also had performed excellently.

Niyaz, whose father is a cook at Matia Mahal's famed Al Jawahar restaurant and mother a housewife, says she had to maintain the "standard" set by her elder sisters.

And she did not disappoint.

"I never had to take any tuition because my sisters were there to clear all my doubts. I wanted to live up to the standards they had set in the family," Niyaz said.

Her family says they felt happy when Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called them to congratulate for the results of Niyaz.

The results for the Class 12 examination were announced by the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) on Thursday. The pass percentage of Delhi government schools has gone up by 3.6 per cent to 94.24 per cent this time.

Niyaz wants to pursue Bachelor of Arts at St Stephen's college and also prepare for civil services.

Niyaz's younger sister is studying in Class 9 in the same school and she also has to follow suit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost a hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly also -- we discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal," the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

"And China, I've already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that," Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

We're going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. We'll be talking about nonproliferation. We'll be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major drug racket was busted at a resort near Pollachi in the district and over 150 college students were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Based on a complaint that a large number of students, who were camping in the resort since Friday night, were involved in drug abuse, a raid was conducted, they said.

A total of 159 students were allegedly under the influence of ganja, cocaine, intravenous drugs, sedatives and also liquor when they were arrested, police said.

Majority of the students were from neighbouring Kerala and studying in private colleges in and around Coimbatore, they said.

Six employees of the resort were also arrested while the owner was at large, police said, adding that a large number of narcotic substances and vehicles were seized from the resort.

Meanwhile, District Collector K Rajamani has issued an order to seal the resort, official sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."



The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Embassy Office Parks REIT, India's first listed real estate investment trust, has raised Rs 3,000 crore through private placement of debentures mainly to repay debt.

Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between global investment firm Blackstone and realty firm Embassy Group, is a leading developer of commercial real estate. It launched the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to raise Rs 4,750 crore.

In a statement, the company said "it has successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement Rs 30 billion of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable and non-convertible debentures (NCDs)."



The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market segment of the BSE.

The debentures, EMBASSY REIT Series I NCD 2019, carry a face value of Rs 1,000,000 with yield to maturity of 9.4 per cent and will mature in June 2022.

Embassy REIT intends to use the proceeds from the issue to repay its existing debt and for general corporate purposes, it added.

On April 23, 2019, the Debenture Committee of the board had approved the issue of debentures aggregating Rs 3,650 crore in two tranches.

The panel on May 3 approved the allotment of the Tranche A debentures aggregating Rs 3,000 crore.

Embassy REIT owns and operates a 33 million square feet (msf) portfolio of seven Grade A office parks and four city-centre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, comprising two completed hotels, two under-construction hotels and a 100 MW solar park supplying renewable energy to park tenants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready." Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban appeared to rebuff the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither Khalilzad or the Taliban have said much about progress in their latest talks, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms" and "stop repeating failed strategies & expecting different outcomes."



Last year, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.

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"Westworld" star Evan Rachel Wood will be headlining the Hiroshima bombing survivor drama "One Thousand Paper Cranes".

According to Variety, Richard Raymond will direct the project from a script by Ben Bolea.

Wood, 31, will be joined by actors Jim Sturgess and Shinobu Terajima in the cast.

The film is based on the story of Hiroshima survivor Sadako Sasaki and author Eleanor Coerr, who wrote the bestselling children's book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes".

Sasaki was a two-year-old when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. She was later diagnosed with leukemia caused by exposure to radiation from the blast. She, however, drew strength from a Japanese legend that, if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish, which in her case was to live.

Coerr, an aspiring journalist and young mother, learns of the girl and becomes determined to share her story with the world.

Raymond will also produce the film Ian Bryce and Irene Yeung.

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A retired Army man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The deceased, identified as Irdaus Lakra (68), had gone out to answer nature's call at his vegetable farm adjacent to his house in Sithra village under Chhal forest range in the wee hours when he was attacked by the elephant, he said.

"Lakra, a retired Army man, died on the spot in the attack. After being informed about the incident, forest personnel reached the place and sent the body for post- mortem," the official said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000, he added.

According to the official, a herd of 11 elephants has been spotted in this forest range and the forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on their movement to avoid untoward incidents.

After the incident, local residents staged a protest and blocked the Dharamjaigarh road for about three hours, demanding protection from the wild elephants.

The villagers also asked the forest department to keep them informed about the movement of wild elephants and provide them equipment like torches to keep the pachyderm away from human habitations. The protesters were later pacified by the forest officials.

The forested Surguja division comprising five districts- Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Balrampur and Surajpur- and two other districts- Korba and Raigarh- of Bilaspur division, are notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.

The region, which falls in northern part of the state, has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in past years.

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Not farmers' income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former minister alleged Saturday.

The also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

"Farmers' income will be doubled (if the comes to power). In the last five years, farmers' income has not doubled but their debt has doubled," told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 400,000 vacant posts in the government will be filled when the comes to power, he said.

said another issue is farmers' distress.

"I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014," the Congress said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

"Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJP's alliances," he said.

The BJP won all the seats in and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in in the last elections, but Prime Minister did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 1.5 million in of every citizen and 20 million jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congress's election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people."Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room," Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJP's manifesto, they are discussing the Congress's, he said.

On his party's proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise India's economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.
A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

"Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Arjun Singh is known for his local connections and strong booth management skills but sitting TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi dismisses the chances of his former chief election manager in their fight for supremacy in this seat, saying he is a non-factor in this poll.

Having a 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, Barrackpore is one of the key seats where the Modi-Mamata factor has turned the contest into a prestige fight for both the TMC and the BJP.

With Trivedi eyeing a consecutive third term from the seat, which goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6, Singh, who defected to the BJP recently, is hoping to upset the former Union minister's applecart.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in West Bengal had claimed that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to accuse him of engaging in horse trading and demanding for cancellation of his candidature.

"After this statement and counter statement, the election in this seat is more about whether the BJP and Modi will be able to make a penetration in Bengal or Mamata Banerjee will be stop them and become the next prime minister," says a senior TMC leader of North 24 Parganas district.

Even wall graffiti mention a Modi vs Mamata fight.

"It is a fight to make Didi (Mamata Banerjee) prime minister and stop horse trading of MLAs", says a wall writing here whereas another writing goes: "Vote to re-elect Modi as PM and end the misrule of Mamata".

Barrackpore, situated in the north western part of Kolkata, has about 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, which had migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the past few decades. They are likely to be a deciding factor in the polls.

Though Singh is a four-time former TMC MLA from the Bhatpara assembly constituency and is said to have considerable influence among the Hindi-speaking population of the area, Trivedi asserts his rival is a non-factor in the elections as he has lost connection with the masses.

"He was never a factor in this seat. His tall claims that it was his organisational skills that helped TMC win the seat would fall flat in the Lok Sabha polls. He will get to know his political stature once the results are out on May 23," Trivedi, who was railway minister from July 2011 to March 2012, told PTI.

Singh, who was the main election manager of Trivedi since 2009, had switched over to the BJP in March, after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from this seat.

Once also known to be close to former CPI (M) MP from Barrackpore Tarit Baran Topdar, Singh was considered a game-changer for the TMC in several elections, from panchayat polls to parliamentary battles, due to his local connections and strong booth management skills.

"The people of this seat will vote for BJP and Modiji. Trivedi has been a complete failure as an MP. People will oust him," Singh told PTI.

At present, all the seven assembly seats in the Lok Sabha seat are held by the TMC.

There is also a minority-dominated Amdanga assembly segment and the TMC eyeing these votes.

Apart from Trivedi and Singh, the contest has also become a prestige issue for BJP leader Mukul Roy whose son Subhranshu Roy is a TMC MLA from Bijpur assembly seat which falls under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.

The onus on Roy is to ensure victory of Singh from Barrackpore, whereas for Subhranshu it is a fight to prove his loyalty to the party.

Roy, once considered number two in the TMC, had switched over to the BJP in 2017. Many also consider him to be the BJP's key organisational man in engineering defections in the TMC.

"It's has nothing to do with father-son relationship. I can ensure you that TMC would win from this assembly segment with a big margin," Subhranshu says.

In 2014, Bijpur gave the TMC the highest lead among the all seven assembly segments in the constituency.

But with the fast changing political equations in the area, both the TMC and the BJP have kept the cards close to their chest.

The Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, which has been a CPI(M) stronghold since early sixties, had elected Trivedi for the first time in 2009.

Also in the fray are Gargi Chatterjee of the CPI(M) and Mohammed Alam of Congress.

Trivedi won the seat in 2014 by defeating his nearest rival of the CPI(M) by a margin of over two lakh votes. The constituency at present has 14,33, 276 voters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol.

Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Donald Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation.

This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration.

"One of the things that everybody in this country needs to think about is when the president denies the Congress documents and access to key witnesses, basically what they're doing is saying, Congress you don't count," said Rep.

Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. "We cannot we simply cannot have a presidency that is run as if it were a king or a dictator in charge," said Cummings, D-Md. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversight and Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do so is testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

Trump derides the oversight of his business dealings and his administration as "presidential harassment" and has the backing of most Republicans in Congress. With Mueller's work completed, Trump wants closure to what he has long complained was a "witch hunt."



"No more costly & time consuming investigations," Trump tweeted.

Stunned by the administration's refusal to allow officials to testify or respond to document requests, lawmakers have been left to think aloud about their next steps against the White House.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding a redacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge.

Barr could face another subpoena to appear before Nadler's committee after skipping a hearing Thursday in a dispute over the rules for questioning him.

Nadler, D-N.Y., also has subpoenaed testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

Cummings is considering what to do on several fronts, including about testimony from Carl Kline, the White House's personnel security director.

Cummings said Kline declined last week to answer specific questions in a closed-session hearing about the security clearances granted for White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president's son-in-law and daughter.

Also, the House Ways and Means Committee is being refused access to Trump's tax returns. Republicans are largely declining to join Democrats in pursuing the investigations any further.

"It is over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Barr testified last week before the committee.

Graham, R-S.C., has asked Mueller to respond to Barr's testimony, particularly after the disclosure of a letter the special counsel sent Barr complaining about attorney general's summary of the 400-plus page Russia report.

The rejection of oversight is the latest and perhaps most high-profile example of the new normal in the Trump era.

Gone are the daily White House press briefings, once a fixture in Washington.

Top department vacancies go unfilled, leaving fewer officials to respond to congressional requests.

Agencies across the government seem more insular than before. Princeton professor Julian E Zelizer said what's unfolding between the White House and Congress "fits in a long history of bad moments when the branches clash over vital information."



While other presidents, including Barack Obama, have resisted congressional oversight in certain situations, including during Attorney General Eric Holder's blockade of the "Fast and Furious" gun-running investigation, Zelizer said "Trump is going further by saying no to everything."To Zelizer, "certainly there are echoes of Watergate when the administration did everything possible to stonewall Congress as they undertook legitimate investigations and hearings into presidential corruption."He said presidents with "too much power" can easily make decisions that undermine government operations in everyday lives.

"Should citizens care? Of course, the restraint of presidential power is an essential part of our Constitution and the health of our democracy," Zelizer said.

Impeachment is being shelved, for now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her leadership team are taking a step-by-step approach to the White House standoff, declining any rush to impeachment proceedings, as some in her party want, for a more incremental response.

Pelosi did note this past week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there?" Pelosi said Friday.

"I don't agree with that."



Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt.

They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jail time.

Capitol Hill has been buzzing about the unlikely prospect of using a jail that some say exists somewhere in the Capitol and that was used in the past to detain those in contempt of Congress.

But the House and Senate say no such facility exists. "No evidence suggests that any room in the Capitol was ever designated for use as a jail," says an entry on the House website's historical pages.

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A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see if he is still fit to rule.

The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible", according to the ruling seen by AFP Saturday.

Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.

But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.

"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads up one of the groups behind the bid, said.

Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered on October 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.

During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum.

A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.

But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial enquiry into his state of health.

Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.

Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who ruled from 1967.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farmers' organizations alleged Saturday that the Gujarat government had yet to consult them or the cultivators sued by PepsiCo India for growing a 'protected' variety of potato in its discussions with the company.

PepsiCo has decided to withdraw the cases filed against nine farmers in Gujarat following an outcry.

"The Gujarat government, after making itself a mediator in this controversy, has not consulted the farmers sued by PepsiCo and has not involved any farmers' organizations in the discussions it is holding with PepsiCo India," farmers rights groups said in a joint statement.

They also said they would intensify their agitation, if the government, as reported by an English daily, tried to persuade farmers not to grow the variety of potato for which PepsiCo is claiming Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights, or tried to persuade farmers to sell the produce only to the company.

"Why should the government try to persuade the farmers when they have not committed any crime under our law?" the statement asked.

No permission is required to be taken by farmers for growing any variety including registered ones as per the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001, they said.

PepsiCo India Thursday announced that it will withdraw cases filed against potato farmers in Gujarat.

On Friday, representatives of the company held a meeting with the Gujarat government officials and called for an "amicable solution for everyone".

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by the company for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which it has claimed PVP rights.

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Shops and other businesses in Gujarat can remain open round the clock now with the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 coming into force from May 1, the government said.

The act, passed by the state Assembly in February, was notified on May 1, a government release said Saturday.

With this, commercial establishments in municipal corporations limits, or those near national highways, railway stations, state transport depots, hospitals and petrol pumps will be allowed to operate 24 hours.

The shops and commercial entities operating near state highways and within municipality limits can now operate between 6 am to 2 am.

The act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act of 1948, which prohibited shops and other businesses from operating between 12 am to 6 am.

Under the new act, shops and commercial entities employing more than 10 workers will require one-time registration with no need for renewal, while those with less than 10 employees will need no registration.

Employees will get twice the regular salary for working overtime, against the one-and-a-half-time as provided under the earlier act.

Under the new act, working hours for women employees can be between 6 am and 9 pm, which could be relaxed only if a written request is made and after the authorities consider safety issues.

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(ANSA) - Turin, May 3 - A three-man gang sold drugs as Communion wafers in Turin, police said Friday.

A 31-year-old Ivorian, a 27-year-old Gabonese and a 22-year-old Mauritanian were arrested at their underground drugs lab.


US President Donald Trump has said that he had a very positive conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Venezuela, emphasising that Moscow was not looking at all to get involved in the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump on Friday spoke with Putin for about an hour, during which Venezuela was one of the major topics of discussion.

I had a very good talk with President Putin -- probably over an hour. We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump told reporters.

Stating that he too wanted something positive for Venezuela, Trump said the US was willing to help the nation with humanitarian aid as people were starving.

We want to get them some humanitarian aid. Right now, people are starving. They have no water, they have no food. This is one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago, and now they don't have food and they don't have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis, he said.

Responding to questions, Trump said the alleged Russian interference in the US election was not discussed.

We didn't discuss that. Really, we didn't discuss it. We discussed five or six things. We went into detail on various things, especially, I would say, the nuclear. Especially, maybe, Venezuela. We talked about North Korea at great length, and pretty much that's it, he said.

The two leaders also discussed trade.

We intend to do a lot of trade with Russia. We do some right now. It's up a little bit. But he'd like to do trade and we'd like to do trade, he said.

Getting along with Russia and China, getting along with all of them is very good thing, not a bad thing. It's a good thing. It's a positive thing. We want to have good relationships with every country, he added.

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Police in Sri Lanka on Saturday asked members of the public to hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police station after a haul of such blades were recovered from mosques and homes during searches following the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara that the knives which are used for day-to-day "domestic" and "justifiable" purposes were not required to be handed over to police.

Apart from large blades, Gunasekara said that police and army uniforms or such camouflaged materials, which are in possession with the common people should also be hand over to the police.

"This will be in effect from today until tomorrow", he said, adding, "If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station".

The move came after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, and camouflaged materials during searches of mosques and houses following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

According to the police, several people including politicians were arrested for possession of sharp-edged weapons like swords since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests to identify around 56 bodies, laying unclaimed in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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SAD candidate from the Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday accused the Punjab government of failing to procure gunny bags that led to "stalling" of wheat procurement process in the constituency.

"The Congress government's criminal negligence in failing to procure gunny bags has choked all the grain markets in the constituency, besides stalling the wheat procurement process and causing untold misery to farmers," she claimed.

Holding Amarinder Singh responsible for farmers' "hardships", the Union minister said the farmers had the right to know why their chief minister had "let them down".

"Raja Sahab you are accountable to the people. You should tell farmers why your government failed to procure gunny bags in advance by placing orders in time. It is condemnable that you are still not paying attention to this problem forget about identifying those responsible for this lapse and taking strict action against them," she said.

She advised Singh to lead from the front and address farmers' grievances.

Badal said the CM had made only one visit to a grain market while enroute to a political function more than one week back.

She said with no political will to mitigate the problems of farmers, the administration as well as procurement agencies were now also giving a "raw deal" to the farmers.

Badal said she was getting complaints from all mandis in the constituency, including Bhucho, Naruana and Kaljharani, besides the local mandi that despite complaints to staff, no attempt was being made to lift wheat from the mandis.

She said farmers were complaining that the procurement process had also been delayed.

"Even commission agents are suffering due to lack of lifting," she added.

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BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday that if an alliance of opposition parties came to power, there will be a different prime minister every day.

The Opposition is leaderless, Shah said, addressing an election rally at Govindgarh in Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.

"Friends, tell me who will be the leader of the alliance....I am asking who will be their leader, but there is no reply," he said.

Quoting a WhatsApp message sent by a BJP worker, he said, "...if an alliance government is formed at the Center, on Monday, Mayawati will be PM, Tuesday Akhilesh (Yadav), Wednesday Sharad Pawar, Thursday (H D) Devegowda, Friday Chandra Babu (Naidu), Saturday Mamata Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and on Sunday the country will go on holiday!"



"Can a country be run like this? The country needs a strong leader and a strong government at the Center. Congress government will not help the poor. It will not fight terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give a befitting reply to Pakistan," the BJP chief said.

Referring to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's suggestion that Jammu and Kashmir should have a separate prime minister, Shah alleged the Congress wanted the same.

"But the Modi government will never allow secession (of Kashmir) from India," he said.

"Anti-national slogans like 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge' were shouted in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). Shouldn't these people be sent to jail?" he asked.

On Congress leader Sam Pitroda's statement that India should hold talks with Pakistan, he said, "Rahul Baba's guru Sam Pitroda made a statement....tell me, should we talk to those who killed our 40 jawans (in Pulwama terror attack) or should we attack them? This is a Narendra Modi government which will reply to gunfire with a bombshell."



When the whole country was rejoicing over India taking revenge of the Pulwama attack (by conducting air strike at Balakot in Pakistan), Shah alleged that there was gloom only in Pakistan and "at (houses of) Rahul Gandhi and (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Kamal Nath".

Congress leaders were sad after the Balakot air strike because "their vote-bank was sad", he added.

Even if people do not wish to vote for the development carried out under the BJP, they should elect Modi (as PM) for strengthening the country's security, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut Saturday advised Sitaram Yechury to drop his first name after the CPI(M) general secretary said Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were replete with "violence".

Raut also asked Yechury if he would term as "violence" the action of security forces while defending the country against Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

"If Sitaram Yechury calls Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu violence, then he should remove Sitaram from his name," Raut added.

In an article for the CPIM mouthpiece, People's Democracy, Yechury had said the BJP's decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal is an expression of its efforts to consolidate the Hindutva "communal" vote bank.

Yechury also took on Narendra Modi for his claim that Hindus can never be violent, alleging that the Prime Minister erases Indian history replete with gruesome battles and wars.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

Raut said, "What do you mean by saying Hindus are violent? The Ramayana and Mahabharata conveyed a central message -- victory of good over evil, truth over falsehood. Ram, Krishna and Arjuna are symbols of truth."



"If this is the meaning they interpret, then tomorrow they will say our soldiers fighting against Pakistan is 'violence'. When we defend ourselves against Pakistani acts of terrorism in Kashmir, is that violence?" he asked.

"Sitaram Yechury's intentions are clear: it is to attack Hindus and make oneself a secular person," the Sena Rajya Sabha MP alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here convicted two persons, including a woman, in the abduction and rape case of a 13-year-old girl.

While the court sentenced Jhalawar's Chitawa village resident Inderraj Gujjar (25) to life imprisonment till the remainder of his natural life, Seema Saina (27), a resident of Salora village in Jhalawar, was given 10-year rigorous imprisonment.

In the order that was delivered on Friday, the man and the woman were also told to pay a fine of Rs 95,000 and 50,000, respectively.

The convicts had abducted the minor from Kanwas in Kota district in May 2015. The police had rescued her after two months from Jhalawar district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a 'Pathalgadi' area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering don't strike a chord in Jharkhand's Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or 'Pathalgadi', declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where 'gram sabhas', or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes don't recognise any authority and don't owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6 BJP's former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress' Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

"Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes," proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through 'Pathalgadi' leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

"We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference," Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers' outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, "It is no subject."



"There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here," he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, "No one has reached us."



The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhand's high profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their "jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land)".

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, "We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us."



"Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat," added an elderly man. "We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright."



To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Munda's home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India could soon be facing a predicament of having more writers than readers, feels iconic author Ruskin Bond.

Bond also said the publishing industry in the country has developed and matured over the years, benefitting young writers.

The 85-year-old author was in the city recently to launch 'myELSA', an English learning app for school students.

"Publishing has come of age and more and more writers are making a good living out of it... But, I think with so many people writing now, there is a danger of having more writers than readers," he said in reply to a question on the present Indian literary scenario.

"After all, we want people also to buy them (books)," the celebrated author told PTI.

In a word of advice for budding writers, the 'Padma Bhushan' awardee said they must be sure to be able to write first. "Confidence in the language is a must. You should have something to say and be able to research on it well. Clarity is key."



On the increasing trend of people turning to e-books and other alternatives on the digital platform, Bond said the printed book is still the first choice for those in love with literature and reading.

"I would call e-books and other such apps an extension, in a way, of people's reading habits. They offer convenience and are useful for seeking information or hone one's writing and speaking skills. But, printed books are here to stay as a form of pleasurable reading," he said.

Talking about his favourite authors, Bond said there have been "too many" since his childhood days, but Charles Dickens, Somerset Maugham and Rabindranath Tagore are among his most-loved writers.

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India, close on the heels of getting Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar blacklisted, has given a clarion call at the UN for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending global convention on international terrorism amidst increasing terror attacks on places of worship across the globe.

India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at a solemn commemorative event Friday for victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, said the early adoption of the global framework to combat terrorism will be a "tribute" to those killed and injured in the "barbaric and cowardly" terror attacks in the island nation last month.

"The barbaric and cowardly attacks on places of worship and recreation, that took lives of hundreds of innocent people of different nationalities, is a reminder that terrorism aims not only to disrupt livelihoods, destroy lives and traumatise people, but also rupture societies, destabilise states and undermine the fabric of human beliefs by creating panic for the sake of panic," he said.

Akbaruddin highlighted the efforts by Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Amrith Rohan Perera over the last two decades towards achieving an outcome on the CCIT.

"Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of a putting in place a global legal framework to counter a global scourge," he said at the event co-organised by the President of the General Assembly and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN.

India's clarion call to adopt the CCIT came just a day after it won a massive victory in the fight against terrorism with the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The blacklisting of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief on Wednesday came 10 years after India first moved a proposal in the UN body to sanction him.

Perera underscored the need for the international community to demonstrate a "political will" to adopt the legal framework to combat international terrorism, saying "too much blood" has been spilled due to terrorism and nations can no longer remain deadlocked over the issue.

"I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue. The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy," the Sri Lankan envoy said.

Akbaruddin stressed that the challenges posed by the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka reflect threats to the common heritage of mankind that nations strive to build at the UN.

"Terrorists, globally, seek to lay the foundations of edifices built on violence, even as we strive here to promote the culture of peace. They are antithetical to all that we promote here. Terrorism fundamentally stands for the denial of all that we stand for here at the UN - peace, development, security and human rights," he said.

UN leadership and members expressed their condolences to Sri Lanka for the attacks that killed over 250 people and injured close to 500.

Nationals from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US were among those who lost their lives or were affected by the attacks.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the commemorative meeting that "tragically", again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become "killing grounds and houses of horror".

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said, adding that "as a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance".

Mohammed said the world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, voicing concern that today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet.

President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly Mara Fernanda Espinosa said the attacks, targeting worshippers, families, workers and holidaymakers, ignited fear among communities in Sri Lanka a country still grappling with the deep wounds inflicted by three decades of civil war.

"Against this backdrop, I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage, resilience and unity," Espinosa said.

On March 15, a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and injured as many others in two Christchurch mosques, the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history.

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A group of 18 Indian fintech companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme.

The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually.

"These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT).

"The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming our nation as the best place to raise capital for foreign investment," he said.

The Indian delegation included Nomisma Mobile Solutions, Nineroot Technologies, Chillar Payment Solutions, Rupeepower, Credenc, Lithasa Technologies, CredRight, Fingpay, Aye Finance, StashFin, Intelligence Node, Safehouse, Zuper, Oro Wealth, Clensta, Zest IOT, Inclov and Mobile Wallet.

At an event organised by the City of London Corporation and the Indian High Commission in London, the companies attended a fintech roundtable at India House on Friday to discuss barriers to entry in the UK and how these can be addressed.

Led by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Charanjeet Singh, the event brought together stakeholders from Innovate Finance, Grant Thornton, Santander and investment firm CoBa to share their expertise on the UK-India relationship.

"India and the UK have much to gain by increasing ties in fintech, an area seeing significant growth and innovation in both our countries," said Estlin.

"Many Indian firms have expressed interest in setting up in the UK, but market access remains an issue for some, especially smaller companies. This meeting in London aims to explore what support organisations like the City of London Corporation can provide to address this and further open our doors," he said.

According to the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the financial heart of London known as the Square Mile, the UK's fintech sector is worth around 6.6 billion pounds to UK GDP and accounts for 76,500 jobs.

The latest Indian fintech delegation follows a visit to India in October 2018 by former Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, who led a UK fintech delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The delegation from India coincided with the UK Fintech Week, backed by the UK government and City of London Corporation.

UK Fintech Week, which concluded on Friday, was designed as a think-tank and collaborative approach to cover topics such as post-Brexit UK, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cyber security.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian man in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 15 million (USD 4 million) in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi, the latest addition to the long list of lucky winners from India.

Shojith KS, who lives in Sharjah, won on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket series draw which was livestreamed on Youtube.

Shojith bought his winning ticket online on April 1, but is unaware that he is now a multi-millionaire as he repeatedly rejected the calls of the officers who tried to get in touch with him.

"If (our calls) don't get through we will keep on trying. And if we still can't get in touch with Shojith, we are going to his house - we know where he lives in Sharjah," Richard, who conducts the Big Ticket Raffle at the Abu Dhabi International Airport every month, told the Khaleej Times.

Another Indian expatriate Mangesh Mainde won a BMW 220i in the draw, it said, adding that eight other Indian nationals and one Pakistani won 9 consolation prizes.

Last year, Indian driver from Kerala John Varughese won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw.

In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.

Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic State (ISIS) is an "extremely dangerous" terror organisation, which is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, Dr Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has said here.

He was delivering a lecture on 'Israel, Iran and the Arabs: The Middle East of the 21st Century' at the Pune International Centre here on Friday.

"We have to distinguish between the IS as a territorial facet in the region, which I think has been demolished...But ISIS is internationally extremely dangerous, not because of their military power, not because of their territorial base, which has disappeared, but because ISIS is a source of inspiration for international terrorism," he said.

Since it is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, it is very difficult to combat, he added.

"ISIS has the capacity to engage in terrorism. We have seen it in France, we have seen it in Sri Lanka," he said.

Giving the example of Israel, Susser said the country fought terrorism fairly successfully due to its "outstanding intelligence" and "effective military force".

"The problem of those who stand up to ISIS, they have neither of these capacities...take the example the European Union. Their intelligence on ISIS and military capabilities are relatively poor. Although every EU member has its own intelligence operations, they do not cooperate," he said, and called for greater international cooperation.

Prof Susser said the Middle East of the 21st century is not the Arab world as it used to be.

"Arab countries have declined economically, politically and also in terms of their power in the region. This is due to lack of political freedom, deficit of first world education and gender equality," he said.

Former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also present at the talk.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public Saturday for the first time since his succession, expressing hope for Japan to keep pursuing peace.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the palace ground, Naruhito thanked throngs of well-wishers for congratulating him.

"I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today," said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

"I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further."



As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long lines outside the palace.

More than 140,000 people came to celebrate, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 59-year-old new emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after World War II and the first who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death. Still, there has been a lack of discussion about maintaining the monarchy's male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is still recovering from stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Naruhito's succession leaves only two younger male heirs in line for the throne, his 53-year-old younger brother Fumihito and 12-year-old nephew Hisahito.

Adding to the issue, the family faces a declining royal population because female royals are stripped of their status when they marry commoners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday accused the Congress of damaging constitutional institutions and patronising corruption during the UPA regime.

He claimed that it was Congress' character to give threats of impeachment to Supreme Court judges.

"The Congress-led UPA government gave 2G scam, CWG scam to the country. The party is known for corruption in every deal and for taking commission in different forms," the minister alleged.

"The Congress has now come up with a claim that surgical strikes were carried out in its rule also but Union minister and former army chief V K Singh, in whose tenure the strikes were claimed to have happened, has also said that he is not aware of any such action during his tenure," he said.

He also alleged that then prime minister Manmohan Singh did not give permission for surgical strike after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 but Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his assent to the Indian Air Force after the Pulwama attack.

Javadekar, who is BJP's poll-incharge in Rajasthan, said security of the nation was the main issue in the election and people have expressed their faith in the leadership of Modi.

He exuded confidence that the BJP would win more than 300 seats in the ongoing polls.

"We will win more than 300 seats in the country and will maintain the record of 2014 Lok Sabha polls of winning all the 25 seats in Rajasthan," he said.

Javadekar said the BJP has done intense campaigning in the state where top leaders of the party, including Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, addressed public rallies and conducted roadshows.

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Seeking to promote use of public transport and make commercial areas pedestrian-friendly, the north corporation has hiked parking fees for using a Karol Bagh street in this popular marketing zone in Delhi.

The move comes right after a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road in the area was made pedestrianised on Wednesday.

Senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials Saturday said, the approval for the project and on parking fee hike was taken just before the elections dates were announced.

Ajmal Khan Road for decades has been clogged with traffic and haphazard parking leading to discomfort for visitors.

"This project had been first conceptualised in 2010 but could not take off for some reasons. So, we picked up this zone, as soon I took charge at NDMC, and we engaged with market associations and created off-street parking spaces by utilizing old, defunct municipal spaces," NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

On Wednesday, visitors taken by surprise, when they found a stretch of the nearly one-km road, decongested, and pavements lined with benches and the street decorated with flower pots.

"About 600 metre of the Ajmal Khan Road has been pedestrianised, rest of it being done. People were taken by surprise, as we did most of the work at night time, from installing benches to painting kerbs, etc, she said.

The street has been marked with yellow and white strips demarcating space for hawkers. Besides, bollards have been put at the entry points of Ajmal Khan Road on Pusa Road and Arya Samaj Road to restrict entry of vehicles to the road.

Joshi said, the project could not have been executed without arranging for alternative parking spaces, and so, off-street parking zones were built in a couple of places nearby, adding, the idea is to enhance shopping experience and encourage walking among people.

In pursuance of its pilot project to decongest Karol Bagh and disincentivise use of private cars, the NDMC has increased the surface parking rates on portion of Arya Samaj Road.

The civic agency has increased the parking charge for cars from Rs 20 to Rs 40 for the first hour. For the second hour, the charge will be Rs 50; between two and three hours, the rate will be Rs 60; between three and five hours, it will be Rs 70; and for over five hours, the charge will be Rs 300.

Also, instead of perpendicular parking, parallel parking is being implemented to give more access of the Arya Samaj road to pedestrians, the commissioner said.

The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation has also launched a similar project to remove vehicles from Chandni Chowk, and work on which is currently underway.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act".

Police said the man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway.

Kejriwal was on an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before he was pulled off the jeep.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park area.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj too alleged that the BJP might be behind the attack and asserted the incident would not deter the spirit of the party.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi," he said.

BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari condemned the incident and said the AAP might have "scripted" the incident.

"We do not support violence and condemn such action by anyone. But I have doubt as to why such incidents happen with Kejriwal in election time only.

"I doubt this incident may have been scripted by Kejriwal himself," Tiwari alleged.

Kejriwal was holding the roadshow in favour of New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the Lok Sabha seat.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally. Earlier, he was also attacked with ink and spices.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited and for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka mulls regulating Madrasas under religious and cultural ministry

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in and Kerala, the chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka police arrests Indian photo journalist on trespassing charges

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security".

He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the chief added.
Madrasas in should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Prime Minister has said, days after the country's worst terror attack killed over 250 people.

Authorities are on high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring about 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Wickremesinghe has stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror newspaper.

Earlier, Kariyawasam had said that the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.

Some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at Madrasas, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, adding that they had arrived on tourist visas and therefore should be deported.

has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.

Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
A city-based advocate Saturday approached police over an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana which called for a ban on burqas in India.

In the editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqas and other face-covering garments in India considering the threat it poses to the nation's security.

Police said advocate Munsif Khan has approached Santa Cruz police station demanding action against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut and others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

"The Constitution of India has given right to life and liberty to the citizens of India and it allows the citizens to wear clothes of their choice and there is also freedom to follow religion," Khan's complaint stated.

When contacted, senior inspector Shriram Koregoankar of Santa Cruz police station said police had received an application from Khan but no case has been registered as yet.

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The Press Club Leh has accused the BJP of trying to bribe its members by offering "envelops filled with money", a charge denied by the party which said the allegations were "politically motivated".

BJP state president Ravinder Raina also threatened to file a defamation suit if the body did not issue a public apology.

"The BJP will not tolerate such allegations. It will file a defamation suit in the high court against the press club if it fails to make a public apology," Raina said.

He said the charges were "baseless and false propaganda" and it was a "politically motivated move".

A two-page letter signed by several members of the Press Club was circulating on social media, seeking an FIR against Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa for allegedly trying to bribe journalists by offering money in envelops to influence the outcome of elections.

Press Club, Leh, president Morup Stanzin confirmed that the letter was written but said they had not lodged the complaint with the police.

"We have lodged our complaint with deputy commissioner, Leh, who is also the returning officer on Friday... After a press conference, Randhawa handed over the envelops filled with money to some journalists who returned these to him immediately," Stanzin told PTI.

Raina refuted the claim, saying he had left the room immediately after the press conference was over on May 2 around 1.30 pm as he had interviews lined up with media groups.

The Ladakh parliamentary constituency is going to polls on May 6.

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Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Saturday visited Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the force in the sector.

The GOC-in-C Northern Command visited the headquarters of Fire and Fury Corps, a defence spokesman said.

The Army commander was briefed by Lt Gen Y K Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on the operational readiness being maintained in the Ladakh sector, he said.

Lt Gen Singh appreciated the high standards of professionalism displayed by all ranks of the Corps, the spokesman said.

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Winning this Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma claimed, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

The seat was won by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee five consecutive times between 1991 and 2004, and Sharma believes that Singh will win as he has carried forward the BJP stalwart's "vision for development".

Lucknow is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and will go to polls on Monday, the fifth phase of the general elections.

While the SP-BSP-RLD alliance's Poonam Sinha, who is backed by her actor husband and former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, is making her political debut, the Congress has fielded self-styled spiritual guru Pramod Krishnam, who had unsuccessfully contested Sambhal in 2014 and got just 1.52 per cent of the votes.

Krishnam is seeking votes invoking Vajpayee's legacy and has promised that if he wins, he will build a grand statue of Vajpayee in the UP capital on the lines of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.

The statue in Gujarat is designed as a memorial to India's Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In the midst of his hectic campaigning, Sharma told PTI: "The (Lucknow) seat will be a cakewalk for Rajnathji, who has carried forward the vision for development of Atalji in this constituency."



Singh was a minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet between 2003 and 2004, and also the president of the BJP from 2013 to 2014 before Amit Shah took over.

He was made the district chief of the Jana Sangh in 1975, became an MLA in 1977 and an MP in the Rajya Sabha in 1994.

Campaigning in Lucknow, an urban constituency, has been peaceful, with Shatrughan's daughter Sonakshi Sinha adding a tinge of glamour towards the fag end of hectic electioneering by her mother.

On his part, Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister between 2000 and 2002, during his campaign, tried to portray a balanced image by visiting temples and Muslim clerics.

Since Muslim voters are a force to reckon with in Lucknow, with around 13 per cent of the city's residents belonging to the community, every party has been making efforts to woo them.

Singh met with some Muslim clerics, including Lucknow Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali.

Rasheed, however, downplayed the meeting as "non-political", saying it had nothing to do with the elections.

Poonam Sinha, too, has been meeting Muslim leaders. "We are meeting Muslim clerics because we feel they are important. We need their blessings," she said.

During most of his public meetings, the Union home minister has harped on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India has surged ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has acknowledged the fact that Modi has done wonders to help the country attain great heights," he has been telling voters, sounding confident of a big win from Lucknow.

He led a massive road show in the Uttar Pradesh capital in April before filing his nomination.

Similarly, gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLD alliance) candidate Poonam Sinha held public meetings in Aminabad, an area in old Lucknow with a large Muslim population, and famous for 'chikan' (thread work).

Khalid, a rickshaw puller who mostly plies his cart between Qaiserbagh and Hussainganj, hoped that Muslims will vote for the SP-BSP alliance candidate.

However, in the busy commercial zone of Hazratganj, a Muslim youth, requesting anonymity, said young voters would back the BJP for Modi's "vision and dynamic personality".

Poonam Sinha is relying on transfer of votes from the BSP along with SP's own votes.

"But, presence of a Congress candidate will queer her pitch," said, Harish Tiwari, who runs a betel shop outside Charbagh railway station.

"Ultimately, Rajnath Singh will emerge victorious," he said, with a BJP party flag fluttering atop his kiosk.

Tiwari pointed out that Singh has been a politician for over four decades.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."



"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message.

"The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation." This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.

"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving." Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go.

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Mahindra wants to make South Africa the hub of its exports into the rest of the Africa, a senior official of the company has said.

Arvind Mathew, Chief of International Operations at Mahindra & Mahindra, joined Rajesh Gupta, CEO of the company's local subsidiary, Mahindra SA, on Friday to launch two models in the 7500 series and three in the 6000 series of its tractors from its farming equipment range, which are very popular in India and several other countries.

Africa is the future agricultural base of the world, Mathew told reporters and farming sector representatives at the event in the heart of the farming community in North West Province.

In the15 years that Mahindra has been in South Africa, it is very well recognised in the automotive and information technology sectors, and today we are announcing our advent into this sector with our farming equipment, he added.

Alongside the two tractors, the guests were also introduced to the entire range of farm equipment, including Mahindra implements, Sampo Combines, and Hisarlar implements sourced from India, Turkey and Finland.

With the strong historical bonds between India and South Africa, we have embraced South Africa as our home outside India and have already established a strong presence in the automotive business.

South Africa will always be our base for Africa. We have our assembly plant in Durban and we have built our brand in automotive, he said.

Mathew was referring to a plant which was set up a year ago to assemble its Pik Up-range, that is now among the top six brands in this category in South Africa.

We have also seen initial success in our generators and construction equipment businesses. We feel this is the right time for us to introduce our wide range of farm solutions.

Gupta explained that extensive research across South Africa had shown that farmers wanted versatility, efficiency, reliability, comfort and good service, which matched exactly what the two models of the Mahindra range of tractors which were unveiled offered.

Mahindra is the world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume and many of our models are designed for markets that demand tough and efficient solutions which are also effortless to operate in harsh conditions.

Our initial market study shows that these attributes are in high demand in South Africa as well and we trust that it will find favour with our customers, he said.

Gupta said Mahindra South Africa was now among the fastest growing automotive brands in South Africa for its range of bakkies and SUVs in a market where the industry overall was going through a difficult time amid the economic slump in the country.
The main accused of kidnapping and killing a minor boy here was nabbed after a gunfight with the police at HapurModinagar road, a day after his four accomplices were arrested, officials said Saturday.

Aditya Bansal, a student of Class 6, was kidnapped by two bike-borne men on the evening of April 27 and his body was recovered the next morning from a jungle under the Niwari police station area, Superintendent of Police (rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

During its routine checking late Friday night, the police had signalled a bike to stop, but the rider took a U-turn and sped away, Jadaun said.

The bike-borne men then entered inside a sugarcane field and fired upon the police team. During exchange of fire, a goon and constable Irfaan sustained bullet injuries. They both were immediately rushed to hospital.

The injured youth has been identified as Dinesh alias Ajay, who was riding the bike. He confessed to killing the boy, the SP said.

Police have recovered two country made pistols, three live and two used cartridges from his possession, Jadaun said.

Four people, including a woman, were arrested Friday in this connection.

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The Thane district court in Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

Judge S A Sinha also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 42-year-old man (name not disclosed), a resident of Uttan in the district, after convicting him under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC on Friday.

The victim and the convict, who worked as a security guard, were neighbours, said Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar Saturday.

On August 27, 2018, the victim and her younger brother had gone to the convict's residence to play with his cat, she said.

The convict sent the boy outside to purchase something and raped the girl.

After the girl narrated the incident to her grandmother, a complaint was lodged against the convict at the Uttan Sagari (Marine) police station, Moholkar said.

The judge relied on the victim's testimony as well as on the medical evidence, the prosecutor added.

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PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the Centre and the militants to announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir for the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan so that the "people get some relief".

"The month of Ramzan is starting after a couple of days and so, I appeal the Government of India that ours is a Muslim-majority state and people here are facing difficulties.

"It is a month of prayer and so I request them (Centre) to announce a ceasefire like the last year so that crackdowns, search operations and encounters are stopped and people get some relief, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told reporters here.

She also asked the militants to stop attacks on security forces.

I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attacks in this month, she said.

Ramzan is likely to commence from Monday or Tuesday.

The Union government had in May last year directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". Mehbooba was at that time heading a PDP-BJP coalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

Mehbooba said Ramzam ceasefire would be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he was following former prime minister A B Vajpayee's policy of "insaniyat', jhamooriyat' and Kashmiriyat".

Modi keeps on saying that he wants to follow Vajpayee's policy of insaniyat, jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat and I feel that announcing a Ramadhaan ceasefire will be the biggest proof of democracy and humanity, she said.

The former chief minister said while elections were going on in the country, the Centre has turned Jammu and Kashmir "into a battlefield" and slammed decisions like ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and JKLF, suspension of cross-LoC trade and the closure of highway for civilian traffic for two days a week.

The PDP president said since the elections started, youths have been arrested "in the name of stone-pelting" especially from south Kashmir where from she is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if anti-militancy operations like the Friday's in Shopian would have any impact on the polling in the two districts of Shopian and Pulwama in the last leg of the three-phased polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mehbooba said naturally, it will have an impact.

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Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad laughed off some of the allegations that the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has levelled against him, in his book 'Game Changer'.

In the book, which is officially launched in Pakistan on Saturday, Afridi described the former captain Miandad as a small human being.

Claiming that Miandad didn't like him and his batting style, Afridi said one day before the first Test against India at Chennai in 1999, the 61-year-old didn't even give him time in the nets to practice.

Miandad laughed off the allegations.

"I leave everything to Allah but how is it possible that a player is not given net practice a day before a Test match he is supposed to play," Miandad laughed as he told PTI.

Miandad said it is true that he had his issues with Afridi but they were purely professional.

"I always told him the potential he had he could have been a much better player for Pakistan. There were times I spent hours with him in the nets trying to improve his temperament and batting techniques," claimed Miandad.

The former batsman added that he is not surprised by the content of Afridi's book as nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies and autobiographies.

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Dozens of shocked passengers were evacuated to safety from the wings of a stricken Boeing 737 on Saturday in Florida after the jet made a rough landing in a lightning storm and skidded off the runway into a river.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."



Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, the Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told reporters it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven air crew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft," NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a 16-member team had arrived on site to investigate the incident, and would brief the media later in the day.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident was and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the rough landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters were on the scene.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US military base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to the FlightRadar24 website.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa occurred shortly after takeoff.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks courage to speak even a word about the poll promises, including on jobs, that he had made in 2014 and said a strong leader should be able to apologise for failing to keep his word.

Addressing an election meeting here, Gandhi repeated the claim that six surgical strikes were conducted during the tenure of the UPA and said his party never used it for political benefit.

He said the prime minister must tell as to how the youngsters will be given employment after 2019.

"Modi is unable to speak even a word about his earlier promises.

"If Modi had the guts, then he would have said that I had spoken about giving two crore jobs every year in a rush of blood but I have made a mistake. But, this man lacks courage....

"A strong leader is the one who accepts the truth. A strong leader is the one who would tender an apology for failing to provide two crore jobs to youngsters and Rs 15 lakh, and then talk about rectification (of the mistake)," Gandhi told voters in the constituency from where the BJP has fielded Maneka Gandhi, the estranged sister-in-law of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress has given ticket to Sanjay Singh, while the BSP has nominated Chandrabhadra Singh.

Gandhi said the entire country has understood that the "chowkidaar is doing chowkidaari of Ambani, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. This chowkidaar has spoken lies before the country."



"The lion-like Congress workers have burst Modi's balloon which was inflated by the media," he said.

A day after Modi mocked the Congress saying the party, which first ignored the surgical strikes carried out under his government across the Line of Control and then opposed them, was now crying me too, me too, Gandhi reiterated his party's stand.

"There were six surgical strikes during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress never used it for political purpose and neither wants to say anything now. It gives the credit for this to the Army, and not to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress president also said that "India's ideology is influenced by love. Nothing can be derived from hatred. But, the BJP people speak about violence.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are likely to conduct roadshows in Kolkata before the last phase of elections on May 19.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said though the dates are yet to be fixed, the two leaders are likely to hold separate road shows in the city.

"Both the prime minister and our party president have addressed rallies in each and every phase (of polling). But they have not conducted any roadshow. They are likely to hold separate roadshows in Kolkata. The dates will be fixed by next week," Ghosh told PTI.

BJP sources said the decision to conduct roadshows of Modi and Shah is a reflection of the "special focus" that West Bengal has in the party's scheme of things.

Shah has set a target of winning 23 out of the 42 seats in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier had rescheduled the election rallies of Modi and Shah in coastal districts of West Bengal where cyclone Fani was supposed to have an impact.

BJP general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Friday that Modi's May 5 rallies in Tamluk and Jhargram were rescheduled to May 6.

Similarly, Shah's rallies scheduled for May 6 at Ghatal, Midnapore and Bishnupur will be held on May 7.

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More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organisation had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began.

Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."



The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert.

This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."



In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

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The opposition BJP Saturday released an 'aarop patra' or charge sheet against the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh, targeting it over its "failure" to deliver on the promises it had made to the people.

The charge sheet, which is a 12-page booklet, lists the "unfulfilled promises" of the Congress, which formed the government in the state in December last year.

The saffron party alleged that among other things, the Congress duped farmers in the name of loan waiver. It also said that the ruling party has disappointed the people of the state as its assurances have remained "only on paper", as against its claim of implementing 83 promises.

However, the ruling party hit back at the BJP saying the allegations against it were "baseless".

The booklet was released at the BJP's state party office by former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party's national vice presidents Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Prabhat Jha, among others.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Chouhan said, "The farm loan waiver scheme of the Congress, on the basis of which it came to power, has been a complete failure. Not a single farmer in the state has received a loan waiver certificate."



"Although the Congress government had issued an order of loan waiver, the debts of not a single farmer have been written off.

"Farmers across the state are setting on fire the copies of false certificates, while Congress leaders, including party chief Rahul Gandhi and CM Kamal Nath, claim that the government has waived loan of up to Rs two lakh as promised, which is actually false," Chouhan alleged.

Referring to the power outages in the state, he said, "It reminds us of the 'Bantadhar Yug' (ruined state) when electricity cuts had become routine."



Chouhan's 'Bantadhar Yug' remark indirectly referred to former MP chief minister Digvijay Singh's rule.

He said, power had tripped even when Nath had gone to cast his vote in his constituency.

"It shows the kind of situation in the state and the government is blaming BJP for it instead of tackling the issue...They are so afraid of power cuts that now the CM has provided a mobile generator to (Digvijay) Singh for his campaign to deal with power cuts," Chouhan added.

Singh is Congress' candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, polling for which will take place on May 12.

On the Congress's promise of providing Rs 4,000 as unemployment allowance to the youths in the state, the BJP national vice president claimed that nobody has got the assistance so far.

He also alleged that a number of welfare schemes launched by the erstwhile BJP government led by him, were closed due to paucity of funds, including the scheme under which Rs 5,000 used to be given for performing last rites of poor people.

Chouhan said instead of improving the situation in the state, the Congress government has launched a "transfer industry to mint money".

"The recent I-T raids on persons close to Nath in which Rs 281 crore worth illegal assets were unearthed shows the kind of government in the state and reflects the nature of the Congress," he alleged.

Chouhan said that after the Congress came to power, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

"The recent rape and murder of a minor girl and shooting down of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in his residence in Bhopal are just some examples of it," he said.

Responding to his charges, state Congress media cell chairperson Shobha Oza said, "BJP's charges are baseless. BJP and Chouhan ruled the state for nearly 15 years, during which over 21,000 farmers committed suicide and 25,000 to 30,000 incidents of rape and gang rape occurred."



"Then why did Chouhan remain a mute spectator all these years?" she asked.

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The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges.

"The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf.

According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added.

In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.

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The RJD on Saturday demanded resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in view of the CBI's revelation in the Supreme Court that 11 minor girls were allegedly murdered in the Muzaffarpur shelter home where a sex scandal has broken out in 2018.

If Kumar does not quit on his own, the RJD said, Governor Lalji Tandon should dismiss his government for its inability to protect the lives of 11 inmates of the state aided shelter home.

The party of Lalu Prasad stepped up its offensive against the Bihar government a day after the CBI, in an affidavit, told the apex court that 11 girls were murdered by Brajesh Thakur, the key accused in the Muzaffarpur home sex scandal case, and his accomplices, and "bundle of bones" were recovered from a burial ground inside it.

"We request the governor to sack the Nitish Kumar government immediately following its involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case," RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "If there is any shame left in Nitish Kumar, he should tender an apology after evidences have been found in Muzaffarpur shelter home case Why Nitish Kumar used to go to Brajesh Thakur's home at Muzaffarpur?"



The leader of opposition in Bihar assembly also asked, why an FIR was not lodged initially against Thakur, and when it was lodged, why he was not booked under the POCSO act.

RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha, who held a press conference here on the issue, said Kumar should resign on his own and if he does not resign, the governor should sack him.

"After the CBI's confirmation that 11 out of 42 minor girls were murdered at the shelter home, the chief minister has no moral right to continue in the post," he said.

"We demand that Nitish Kumar resign taking up moral responsibility in the matter. If he does not resign, the governor should sack his government," Jha said.

Asked whether the RJD will approach the governor to press for the demand, Jha said the party will wait till May 6, when the matter will be heard again in the apex court.

Tejashwi, through his tweets, also wanted to know whether the 11 missing girls of the shelter home were buried after being killed as it appeared that they were not cremated following Hindu traditions.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The probe into the case was transferred to CBI and the agency has chargesheeted 21 people, including Brajesh Thakur who, as the head of an NGO, used to run the home.

Tejashwi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not utter a single word on this issue as Kumar and several BJP ministers in Bihar government are involved in it.

The PM addressed an election meeting in Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the RJD spokesman Jha defended fielding Vibha Devi, the wife of former RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav who was convicted for raping a minor, from Nawada seat.

"Raj Ballabh Yadav was convicted in the rape case but his wife was not. If someone is convicted, you cannot hold the entire family guilty," he said.

To another query whether or not Tej Pratap Yadav's comment that his father-in-law and the party's Saran Lok Sabha candidate Chandrika Rai is an "impersonator" amounts to indiscipline, Jha replied in the negative saying statements sometimes flow in the heat of electioneering.

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A newly-married couple was found dead at Visva-Bharati university campus in Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.

The bodies were found near Cheena Bhavana, located within the campus, on Friday late night, the police said.

The Department of Chinese Language & Culture of Visva-Bharati university is known as Cheena Bhavana.

The deceased were identified as 18-year-old Somnath Mahato and 19-year-old Abantika, a police officer said.

The couple had got married recently and both of them were students of Srinanda High School at Bolpur, the police officer said.

Somnath had appeared for Higher Secondary Examinations this year and Abantika had appeared for class 10 board examinations, he said.

Though it appears to be a case of suicide, it can be confirmed only after the most-mortem examination report arrives, a senior officer of Bolpur police station said.

"Our security personnel informed us about the matter after they spotted the bodies near Cheena Bhavana," the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Visva-Bharati, Anirban Sarkar, said.

"We will look into the matter and the authority may issue an order to find out how they had entered the campus at late night," the PRO said.

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Except for damaging a few huts, cyclone Fani did not cause much havoc in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as the severe cyclonic storm weakened Saturday morning and headed towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

While flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am, train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) also resumed its routine operation this morning at both Haldia and Kolkata docks.

"The entire administration was awake the whole night. We were very worried about the cyclone Fani," Banerjee said.

Banerjee had cancelled her election programmes and stayed put at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation arising out of the cyclone.

"There were not much damage in the state. At least 850 mud houses in the districts were partially damaged while 12 were completely destroyed," she said.

Banerjee said the state government will extend help to people whose houses have been damaged due to the cyclone.

Trees uprooted in different parts of the state due to speedy wind have been removed and the roads cleared for plying of vehicles, the chief minister said.

Restoration of electricity snapped in different districts is underway.

"Around 42,000 people have been evacuated by our people who took them to relief shelters. The civic services have been restored in Digha, Mandarmoni, whereas it is work in progress at other places," she said.

The storm weakened on Saturday morning and moved towards Bangladesh. Kolkata witnessed wind speed of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am Saturday, officials said.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district from where it will go to Murshidabad district before entering Bangladesh. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation.

"We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Much to the glee of passengers, flight operations, which was suspended from 3 pm on Friday, resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.

Air India was the first airline to start operating out of Kolkata airport, the AAI official said, adding that a GoAir flight from Delhi was the first flight to land in Kolkata at 10.10 am.

The AAI official said that airlines had refunded fares of cancelled flights to the passengers and took care of them.

Very few passengers had stayed back at the airport on Friday, the official said.

Out of an average 224 daily flights only 110 flights operated on Friday, the official said.

Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal, officials said.

The ferry services on river Hooghly, however, were yet to resume.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in central Kolkata's Beniatola Lane, police said.

All the five injured persons were released after treatment.

Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said there had been no damages to the port infrastructure. "Operations at both Kolkata and Haldia docks have resumed since morning.

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With the rollout of the agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications from May 1, the number of Indian students in French universities will go up substantially, a senior French diplomat has said.

Talking to PTI here on Friday, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Sonia Barbry, said the number of Indian students in her country may go up to 15,000 by 2025 from the current figure of 9,000.

Four Indian academic qualifications -- Senior School Certificate (SSC), Bachelor's and Master's degrees and PhDs - from government-approved institutions have been recognised by the French government from May 1.

Barbry said inviting Indian students to study in the universities of France has been one of the priorities of the consulate.

"We want to have more Indian students. Now, we have 9,000 students studying in France. They are studying business management, engineering, social sciences and others. We have a number of courses in English and they need not learn French," she added.

"This has been made possible by an agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications signed during President Macron's visit to India last year," she added.

The agreement was signed during the India-France Knowledge Summit, the first high-level summit for university, scientific and technological cooperation held by the two countries.

The diplomat said that five years ago, only 3,000 Indian students were studying in France.

"President Macron gave us an objective of 10,000 Indian students by 2020, now we are almost there. We want to have 15,000 in 2025 or 20,000 in 2030," she said.

According to Barbry, the course in France have better value for money.

"Basically, we have a very high quality higher education, which is recognized all over the world and it is very affordable for Indian students. If they study in France, they get two year visa to work," Barbry said.

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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted.

In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

"It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Four foreign nationals including one from Pakistan who violated immigration and emigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested persons include two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 people.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

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Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

"It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families," another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.

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Gazan authorities reported a pregnant Palestinian mother and her one-year-old daughter killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, but an Israeli army spokesman challenged the Palestinian account of the incident.

The Gazan health ministry said in a statement Falestine Abu Arar, 37, died from the "Israeli targeting east of Gaza".

It had earlier announced the death of her 14-month-old daughter in the same incident as Israel carried out strikes in response to some 250 rockets fired from Gaza.

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesman on Twitter questioned the claim and suggested Palestinian fire may have been to blame, but did not provide details on what he believe occurred.

"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike," Avichay Adraee said.

He added that pictures from the day "clearly show the launching of rockets from crowded areas."



Israeli army international spokesman Jonathan Conricus declined to provide more clarity.

The army said earlier it was only targeting military sites in Gaza. The incident took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw significant damage to a building. Neighbours said an area outside had been hit by an Israeli strike.

Two other Palestinians were also killed in the Israeli strikes Saturday, according to the ministry, bringing the death toll to four.

In Israel, one woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Israeli police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

Medics said the woman was 80 and the man 50. A house near Ashkelon was damaged while other rockets hit open areas.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."



Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans. In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'chowkidar' of his industrialist "friends" and accused him of speaking one lie after the other.

Gandhi was addressing his first poll rally in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress has fielded Ajay Singh Yadav from the Gurgaon parliamentary seat.

"During last elections, PM Narendra Modi made different promises to people of this country and Haryana Modi speaks one lie after the other. He said he will give two crore jobs to the youth, put Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts, remunerative price for farmers' produce and will double farmers' income," Gandhi said.

"Did you give farmers the right price for their produce? Did you put Rs 15 lakh? No," he said.

"He (Modi) waived loans worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore of 15 industrialists of this country," Gandhi claimed.

"I want to ask how much loans of farmers of Haryana he waived," Gandhi asked the gathering.

He also spoke about how the Congress, after coming to power in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, waived farmers' loans.

When the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and in Haryana, the MSP was hiked from time to time. Modi is not your Chowkidar, not Gurgaon's chowkidar," he said, claiming that the prime minister was a 'chowkidar' of a "big" industrialist.

Referring to alleged Rafale scam, the Congress chief Rahul claimed that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to an industrialist's company.

"Modi stole your Rs 30,000 crore and put it into his (industrialist) accounts," he claimed.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Gandhi said, "To seek votes, whatever comes to Modi's heart, he utters from the stage without applying the mind".

Referring to Modi's statement made from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Rahul said he said that the "elephant was sleeping" before he came to power.

Gandhi said Modi was trying to project as if nothing had happened in the country before the BJP came to power.

"Modi said nothing happened in the country before he came to power," he said.

"Gurgaon was not developed by Narendra Modi, but its people, its youth, labourers, farmers. Gurgaon was world famous before you (Modi) came, it was an IT hub. What have you given to Gurgaon, what have you given to Gurgaon and its people. Did you bring Metro?" he asked.

"When Modi says from the ramparts of the Red Fort that elephant was sleeping before he came, he insults you, your parents, your forefathers. The country is not built by one person, but crores of its people. Its farmers, labourers, mothers and sisters build this nation.

"Gurgaon is an example where people of various castes and communities co-exist peacefully. Before the BJP came, people lived peacefully in entire country. Wherever Modi goes, he spreads hatred, speaks lies," he alleged.

Congress president further accused the PM of "destroying" small trade and businesses with demonetisation and GST that he described as 'Gabbar Singh Tax.'



"Entire Gurgaon knows how adversely these decisions hit them. Fugitives were given money and they fled the country," he claimed.

He also said no farmer who failed to repay his loan will be arrested if the Congress comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Hardworking farmers of this country tell me that when they take loans and are unable to pay, they have to go to jails. But rich industrialists, who borrow money and don't repay and then flee the country, are not caught.

If the Congress comes to power at the Centre, a law will be brought so that no peasant who is unable to repay loan will have to go to jail, he said, adding that a separate budget for agriculture will be brought out.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies on May 10 and May 13 in Punjab, where polling for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 19.

Modi will address first rally in Hoshiarpur on May 10 and second in Mansa on May 13, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma said on Saturday.

The BJP has fielded Phagwara legislator Som Prakash from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) seat and he is pitted against Congress candidate and MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal.

Modi's second rally will be held in Mansa which falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency from where Akali candidate and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting for the third time.

BJP chief Amit Shah will also hold rallies on May 5 in Pathankot and on May 12 in Amritsar, said BJP's national secretary Tarun Chugh.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement, Akalis will contest on 10 seats while the BJP on three seats.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday wished speedy recovery to javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who underwent an elbow surgery.

"Undergone elbow surgery in Mumbai...Will require some months of rehabilitation...Every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before," Chopra tweeted on Thursday.

Modi wished him well, saying he is a brave youngster who has been making India proud continuously.

"Everyone is praying for your quick and complete recovery," the prime minister tweeted.

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Sri Lankan police on Saturday directed the public that those who are in possession of any sharp-edged weapons like swords or Kris knives, and uniforms similar to that of the Army and the Police should deposit them at the nearest police station by tomorrow.

The move was taken after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, during searches of mosques following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said "This will be in effect from today until tomorrow".

"If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station," he said.

The police said that several people including politicians were arrested for their possession of sharp-edged weapons like sword since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests on them as around 56 bodies, laying in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary, are yet to identified.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Saturday appealed to industry chambers to organise relief operations for helping people affected by Cyclone Fani.

"Appealing all in commerce & industry organise relief for the unfortunate affected by #FaniCyclone. We will organise best possible way to ensure the help reaches those who needs it most. All Chambers must immediately respond to this calamity," Prabhu tweeted and tagged industry chambers CII, Ficci and Assocham.

Cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people. Fani or the 'Hood of Snake', labelled as a category 4 storm on a scale of 1 to 5, made landfall around 8 am in Puri on Friday, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

The storm has weakened as it entered West Bengal last night.

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: A priest was killed and another was injured allegedly by a masked robber-gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy Temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying tobreak the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday directed minister Brahm Mohindra to meet representatives of government employees and resolve their issues after the Lok Sabha elections.

Singh reviewed the issues relating to government employees with top officials and directed the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mohindra to meet their representatives on May 27 to work out an early resolution.

Polling to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on May 19.

Since the government can not take any decision in the matter till the model code of conduct is in place, it was felt that a meeting should be held immediately after the declarations of results to resolve the pending issues, an official spokesperson said.

The government employees under the banner of 'Saanjha Mulazam Manch' had protested against the government in March, seeking clarity on dearness allowance issue, regularisation of contractual employees, reducing the term of probation period, restoration of old pension scheme, among others. PTI CHS VSD



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As turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on Saturday.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."



Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."



Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if loses."



Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."



Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday accused the Congress of doing a U-turn on the issue of surgical strikes, saying the party which earlier sought proof from the Modi government, was now claiming that six such operations were carried out during the UPA rule.

He claimed that people came to know about the phrase 'surgical strike' thanks to the Modi government.

The chief minister also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have become the butt of jokes on social media.

"Congress, which was seeking a proof of air strike and surgical strike, had to say yesterday that it had conducted surgical strike six times. It means looking at the mood, enthusiasm and patriotism of people, you have made a U-turn. You would ask for proof earlier, but now you accept that it has happened. Now you say we (UPA) also conducted it," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"It means you have quietly accepted that there was a surgical strike (under the Modi government)...The truth is that the people of the country learnt about the word 'surgical strike' from Modi government, which conducted the operations in response to the terror attacks in Pulwama and Uri. People were not even aware of the word till then. And India made it possible," he said.

The Congress had Friday stated that it conducted six surgical strikes between June 2008 and January 2014.

On the controversy surrounding the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said, "Congress is blaming the Election Commission. It will start blaming the EVMs. These machines worked fine in three state elections (where Congress won), but they will be called faulty when it is defeated."



He also targeted Congress in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her meeting with snake charmers in Uttar Pradesh, and said that she and her brother Rahul Gandhi have become the butt of joke on social media.

"Priyanka Gandhi is playing with snake charmers. This is childishness. Both the bother-sister have become the butt of joke on websites, YouTube," he said.

He said the Congress will get the least number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

"Congress is left with nothing but hopelessness. People want a strong government, which only Modi can give," he said.

He also attacked the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh alleging that they failed to deliver on the promises of loan waiver and unemployment allowance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday cited a media report to attack Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a defence deal under the UPA government in which an alleged business partner of Gandhi had got an offset contract.

According to Business Today magazine, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm in which Gandhi owned a majority stake received defence contract as an offset partner of a French company when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

"With Rahul Gandhi's midas touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," Shah tweeted, tagging the report.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge conducted a two-day hearing here to ascertain whether there was sufficient cause to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an unlawful association.

The tribunal, presided by Justice Mukta Gupta of the Delhi High Court, began its hearing on Friday in Pune and it concluded on Saturday.

Founded in 1977, SIMI was banned in 2001. The tribunal, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was constituted by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 21 this year after the five-year ban on SIMI ended on January 31.

Officials from the Maharashtra Police's Crime Investigation Department, the state Anti-Terrorism Squad and State Intelligence Department deposed before the Unlawful Activities Tribunal, to justify the ban on SIMI.

Among officials who deposed before the tribunal were Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS), Ganesh Shinde, Special Branch (CID), Mumbai Police and Nisar Tamboli, Deputy Commissioner, State Intelligence Department.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who is part of the tribunal, said the three nodal officers from the state CID, ATS and Intelligence deposed before the tribunal stating the ban on SIMI is essential in view of national security and to ensure there are no anti-national activities.

"All three officers deposed and briefed about the pending trials, discoveries and seizures made and information gathered regarding SIMI activities and how the ban is essential in view of national security," she said.

DCP Tamboli, while deposing before the tribunal Saturday, informed there are about eight cases involving SIMI.

He also told the tribunal that if the ban on the organisation is lifted, it will regroup and carry out anti-national activities.

ATS SP Pardeshi, who deposed on Friday, justified the ban on SIMI and submitted information about the Mumbai local train bombings of 2006 and also briefed about a SIMI operative who was convicted by the court.

He also submitted that the lone convict in Pune's German Bakery blast case, Mirza Himayat Baig, had links with SIMI.

DCP Shinde from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cited a 2001 case from Mumbai where a SIMI operative was arrested and some incriminating material were recovered.

Anand said the tribunal will head to Hyderabad for the next hearing and, thereafter, will return to Maharashtra, where a hearing is likely to take place at Aurangabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six persons, including three women, were injured when two groups hurled stones at each other over a minor dispute at Khaikheda village under the Kakroli police station limits in this district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

According to Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Jitender Kumar, the incident occurred on Friday, following an altercation between a man and a woman. The altercation turned into a violent clash involving two groups which hurled stones and bricks at each other, the officer said.

The injured -- Bidyawati, Rinu, Mamta, Chatrapal, Deepak and Prince -- were rushed to a hospital, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."



Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."



"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...for development to take place in real sense."



Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the SP, BSP and Congress of "trampling upon" principles for gaining power, and said they were so obsessed with poll arithmetic that they treat people merely as vote banks.

Addressing an election rally here, the PM continued his 'mahamilawat' (grand adulteration) jibe at the opposition alliance and predicted that the bonhomie between the parties fighting the BJP together was short-lived. They will be at each others' throat after May 23, when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared, he said.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and the BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

The PM said NDA's work culture was different from that of the 'mahamilawati' alliance. "We want to decentralize the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said, adding his government has worked strongly keeping development in mind.

"When your 'sevak' goes to different parts of the world, they realise the power of 130 crore Indians," Modi said.

He also referred to the UN listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

"Earlier governments used to cry over activities of Pakistan. They were more concerned about their vote banks than the country's enemy. There was a time, when Indian leaders were seen crying, and today Pakistan is going around crying," he said.

Attacking BSP chief Mayawati over her recent tweet that number of violent incidents during her government was fewer than that during the BJP's, Modi listed out some such incidents in Uttar Pradesh from Mayawati's 2007-2012 tenure.

"On May 23, 2007 there were serial blasts in Gorakhpur, whose government was there? Six months later, there were serial blasts in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Lucknow, whose government was there then? In 2008, there was an attack on CRPF camp in Rampur, and in 2010, a blast took place at Dashashwamedh Ghat, whose government was there at that point of time?" he asked.

He also slammed the three parties over the "condition of Poorvanchal".

"When the Congress was in power at Centre, and the SP and BSP governments were in the state, what was the condition of Poorvanchal? You know it very well. The lives of the children were in danger due to Japanese Encephalitis, and they (political parties) were busy in vote bank "



Modi also said those who are contesting just eight seats have readied themselves for taking oath as the prime minister.

"Those who are fighting just 20 seats are also salivating. And those who are fighting 40 have given their their clothes for stitching," he said.

"Tell me which is the face that can eliminate terrorism? Who can rise beyond casteism and think about the betterment of the country?" he asked the gathering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a big game against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Addressing BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, Modi said the SP-BSP alliance partners will be at each other's throats when the results are out on May 23.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh.

He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about respect towards her.

It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now 'Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said.

"By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that the Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four persons, including two minors, resting under a tree alongside the Lucknow-Varanasi road here were killed after being run over by a speeding car, police said Saturday.

The accident took place in Mahkani village and the deceased were identified as Mamta Devi (30), Gudhiya Devi (32), Neeraj (5) and Suman (4), Additional Superintendent of Police Avneesh Mishra said.

The four were rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, he said.

The car also overturned and fell into a ditch, he added.

The driver of the car was taken into custody and the bodies were sent for post-mortem, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK president M K Stalin Saturday blamed the ruling AIADMK government for not holding civic polls and said it was the reason for problems related to provision of basic amenities like drinking water and roads.

Addressing people in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency here, which goes to the bypolls on May 19, Stalin said his party had held over 12,500 village level meetings (Ooratchi Sabai) and listened to the grievances of the people.

"You have listed the problems of your region.

If you look at the basic problems, there are several of them like providing drinking water, road and bus facilities, and sanitation and hygiene," he said.

"If you ask the reason for such problems, this government has not held the local body elections. Had civic polls been conducted (and if elected bodies had taken charge) there is no scope for such grievances," he observed.

Local body elections were originally scheduled to be held in October 2016.

Subsequently, the DMK moved the Madras High Court and the State Election Commission had said in January this year that notification for the civic polls would be issued in May.

Days ago, the SEC has again approached the court, seeking three months time for issuing the notification.

Assuring that DMK would solve the problems of the people, Stalin said the government should address issues pertaining to the handloom sector (Tirupparankundram is home to handloom weavers), with the Centre's support.

"This (State) government, however, is unable to solve even basic problems...this is a minority government (alleging that AIADMK does not have majority support in the Assembly) which is not worried about the poeple," he alleged.

The DMK had for long been working for the welfare of handloom weavers, he said and recalled that party founder C N Annadurai and late leader M Karunanidhi had sold handloom goods by going door to door for the benefit of handloom weavers.

Also, 100 units of electricity was provided free of cost to handloom weavers to help them, he said.

"This is the history of DMK," he said and assured that such bonding with handloom weavers would continue for ever.

Stalin alleged that the AIADMK, the ruling party for eight years, was giving several assurances since bypolls were around the corner, and all of these were nothing but a "deceitful drama."



"On May 23, (the day of counting of votes) there will be a change of government at the Centre and State and after that the grievances of weavers will be addressed.

I would like to assure you that the DMK will take resolute steps to ensure that," he said seeking support for his party candidate, P Saravanan (Tirupparankundram).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma' (duty as a husband), she will also play her 'patni dharma' once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."



When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the one-man show' and the two-man army will not return.

The 72 year-old quit the BJP after being sidelined for years.

Sinha, who had served as minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has often targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

His exit from the BJP was precipitated by that party's announcement that Ravi Shankar Prasad will contest from Patna Sahib, the seat Sinha won in 2009 and 2014.

In the build-up to the inevitable breakup, Sinha needled his party bosses repeatedly on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.

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: Additional general manager of Southern Railway Rahul Jain inspected the Pamban railway bridge Saturday and said the bridge was strongand that the construction of the new railway bridge has been speeded up.

Talking to reporters here, he said the construction of the new Pamban bridge would be done without affecting the marine resources.

The first phase of work on the extension of train service to Danushkodi has been completed, and the rest of the work would begin soon, he said.

The new bridge uses 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally. In the new bridge, a 63-metre section would lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck. It would be done using sensors at each end, an official had told PTI.

The entire bridge, including the navigational span, was being designed keeping in mind the railways electrification plan, according to PTI.

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President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."



"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."



Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognized as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduro's days are numbered -- but experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leader's strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trump's position -- that "all options" are on the table -- Shanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

"I'm trying to avoid walking into 'We could do this or we could do that,'" he said.

"What people should feel confident about is we have... there's depth to these plans."



"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and I'm just going to leave it at that."



Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

"Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections," Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered out -- with 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas -- sparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez -- who made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arrest -- has since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuela's military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesday's failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing "a very confusion situation," a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

"The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united," he said.

"There are cracks, but not in the military leadership," said the source. "International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"



Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles." But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly. "We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards." Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.

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Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing e-rickshaws after offering the drivers cold drinks laced with sedatives in northeast Delhi, police said Saturday.

The accused, identified as Dheeraj Pal (32) and Gaurav (25), were operating the infamous 'Jahar Khurani' gang, they said.

The arrest was made on Friday after a trap was laid at the Dharampura red light following a tip-off that two persons travelling in an auto-rickshaw would be coming towards Seelampur from Shastri Park, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) said.

Eight stolen e-rickshaws were seized from them, he said.

The accused duo used to offer cold drinks laced with sedatives to e-rickshaw drivers and then fled with their vehicles, he added.

They used to dispose off the vehicles out of Delhi, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice has been the major achievement of Narendra Modi government during the last five years.

He said Prime Minister Modi has put corruption on 'ventilator' and development on 'accelerator' in the last five years.

"This has made the champions of corruption feeling suffocated in the atmosphere of honesty and transparency," Naqvi said at an election meeting here in support of the party's Jaipur candidate Ramcharan Bohra.

He said in the last five years PM Modi has restored the dignity and stability of the government.

"The Modi government has removed policy paralysis by taking bold and tough reformist decisions keeping in mind the welfare of the common man. It has proved to be a government of 'Iqbal' (authority), 'Insaaf' (justice) and 'Imaan' (integrity)," he said.

Naqvi said PM Modi has provided equal opportunities of development to every needy of the society without 'vote bank politics'.

"No section of the society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on the basis of caste, religion, region or state. All the sections have been provided equal opportunities for socio-economic-educational development," the minister said.

He claimed that "loot and leakage" of the public money has stopped in Modi-led central government.

"Our Government has created 'high-way of development' by demolishing 'speed breaker of corruption', he stressed.

Hitting out at the Congress, Naqvi said the party wants a "contractual prime minister who can be remote controlled."



"But the people of the country do not want a prime minister on 'rotation and contract' for 6 months," he said.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



His speech at a military base came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

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Idea said Saturday it will seek its shareholders' approval on June 6 to transfer optical fibre assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Towers Limited.

The company has proposed to hive off its telecom fibre infrastructure to Towers before monetising it and approached the National Company Law Tribunal Ahmedabad on April 11, 2019, for its approval.

"NCLT has directed a meeting to be held of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company... notice is hereby given that a meeting of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company will be held...on Thursday, the 6th day of June 2019," said in a regulatory filing.

According to an industry source, (VIL) has received valuation of around Rs 15,000 crore for its around 156,000 kilometre long telecom fibre assets.

"... the Transferor Company (VIL) believes that it would be beneficial to restructure its business by divesting the Fibre Infrastructure Undertaking into a separate legal entity with sharper and dedicated focus on the fibre infrastructure business so as to achieve greater infrastructure sharing, operational efficiencies and cost optimization resulting in more affordable and reliable telecommunications services to its consumers," the filing said.

VIL in the filing said that there would be neither any change in its the capital structure nor in the Vodafone Towers pursuant to the sanctioning of the scheme.
A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of AgustaWestland chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan, in a black money and laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to Ritu Khaitan after she appeared before the court in pursuance to summons issued after filing of charge sheet.

In the same case, the court had on April 16 granted bail to Gautam Khaitan and had put various conditions on him, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.

The fresh criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Gautam Khaitan and his wife on the basis of a case lodged by the Income Tax Department against him under the provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP's Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

His remarks came a few days after Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia joined the Congress.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

"Everyday, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return," said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of "jhadoo" to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the "unparalleled" work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for "ruining" Punjab.

"In Punjab, you have seen divisive in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues," he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state government's 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar' scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsiders -- Hardeep Puri and Sunny Deol -- from Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

"Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections," he said.

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A woman was arrested for allegedly blackmailing a BJP corporator from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and extorting money from him, police said on Saturday.

The woman was identified as Priya Chandrakant Kharat (28), police said.

Corporator Daya Gaikwad, who is also the Kalyan unit chief of BJP's backward cell, had lodged a complaint at Khadakpada police station against her.

"In the complaint, he said that after befriending him on a social networking site a few years back, the woman started demanding Rs 10 lakh from him. But when he did not pay heed to her demands, she allegedly filed a false case of rape against him in September 2017," police said.

"On April 15 (last month), she again demanded Rs five lakh from him and threatened that if he failed to pay, she would lodge a similar complaint against him. She forcibly took him to an ATM and made him withdraw Rs 5,000," police added.

Based on the complaint, police arrested Kharat, a resident of Thane, on Friday night, and booked her under IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 500 (defamation).

Further investigation is on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna visited Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart to commemorate the first anniversary of the partnership between the two companies, the e-commerce company said Friday.

McKenna who is on a four-day internal business (April 30 to May 3) visit to Flipkart, interacted with the company's top management and employees, Flipkart said in a release.

Richard Mayfield, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Walmart International and Leigh Hopkins, Walmart's International Strategy Head were also a part of the interaction.

The company said Judith praised the "creativity and passion" of the team and commended the Flipkart leadership for its commitment to bringing e-commerce to more Indian consumers to make their lives better.

She also met with the top leadership and employees of Flipkart Group companies- Myntra & Jabong & Phonepe. Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer met Mckenna to update her on how the cash-and-carry business is changing the lives of kiranas (general stores) in India, the statement said.

During the visit, Walmart International's Judith McKenna had expressed confidence in team Myntra as well. Judith along with Kalyan and Amar Nagaram, Head Myntra and Jabong, announced the launch of Myntra's first of its kind service kiosk that offers shoppers a host of value added services such as flexible pickup and drop, instant returns, trial room and free alteration of products.

Judith also met with Flipkart employees at its head office and with PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam and his team at the PhonePe office. McKenna visited a Flipkart fulfilment centre to understand the supply-chain efficiency which Flipkart is bringing to the country, and also met with kiranas (general stores)that are a part of the Myntra's unique MENSA (Myntra Extended Network for Service Augmentation) network.

Judith said she was "delighted" to see Flipkart excelling by leveraging its homegrown innovations, cutting-edge technology and deep customer centricity and making the most of synergies with Walmart as it seeks to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online.

After Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon's visit to Flipkart a few weeks ago, she met with the PhonePe staff and said she appreciated the work they were doing to revolutionise financial payments through technology.

"Flipkart's partnership with Walmart is helping the Group better serve Indian customers and accelerate its growth with products and solutions that solve real problems in the country. These include supply-chain infrastructure that is disrupting the industry to benefit local consumers, suppliers and manufacturers, "Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Walmart in May 2018, had announced that it is buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about Rs 1.05 lakh crore, it's biggest deal which will give the US retailer access to Indian e-commerce market that is estimated to grow to $200 billion within a decade.

Also Read:Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Birla Corp profit surges 66.10% to Rs 255.70 crore in FY19; board declares dividend of Rs 7.50 per share
After PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah took on Rahul Gandhi over reports that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. Jaitley said Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself has been involved in corruption.

Meanwhile, PM Modi Saturday tore into Congress saying that the party leaders who shared the stage with BSP supremo Mayawati, betrayed her "so cunningly" that even she is not able to understand it. "Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP.

Cyclone Fani has thrown a lot of poll campaigns of political parties in the run-up to Lok Sabha Election 2019 out of gear especially in the eastern states. While PM Modi's public meetings took a hit in Tamlik and Jhargram in West Bengal which were scheduled on May 5 but have been scheduled to be held on May 6, Shah's rallies in Ghatal and Bishnupur (West Bengal) on May 6 have been pushed back to May 7.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee also announced Friday that her party has cancelled all its poll campaigns and political programmes for the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, top leaders across the political spectrum including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will campaign across the states today.

Where PM Modi will canvass for BJP in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Pratapgarh and Basti followed by a public rally in Ramnagar in Bihar's West Champaran district, Shah will campaign in Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Rewa, he will also, hold a roadshow in UP's Amethi and address a public meeting in Rohini, Delhi. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will canvass for his party in Harayana's Gurugram and UP's Dhammor. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal will hold a roadshow in South Delhi where he will campaign for AAP candidate Raghav Chadha.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details

Here is the timeline for Lok Sabha election 2019:

7: 30 pm: Union Minister VK Singh hits out at Congress party over its claim of having carried out 6 surgical strikes when the UPA government was in power.

The BJP candidate from Ghaziabad and the current member of Parliament from the district in a tweet questioned the claim of Congress that surgical strikes had been conducted between 2008 and 2014.

Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS. Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story . - Chowkidar Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) May 4, 2019

7:10 pm Election Commission gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on April 21. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

6: 57 pm: Electioneering ended Saturday evening for 12 Rajasthan constituencies, which saw hectic campaigning by the BJP and the Congress over the past week. Election campaigning for 14 Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituencies also ended today evening. Polling for the fifth phase on Monday will see a clash of titans including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6: 45 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah accuses the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23. Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

6: 20 pm: Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Sharma says winning Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

6: 10 pm: Man taken into police custody. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

6: 00 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by a man during his roadshow in Moti Nagar, Delhi. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4 - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

: Chidambaram said, "Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person."

5:20 pm: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram over banning of terrorist Masood Azhar by United Nations

Chidambaram asked, "We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie and only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?"

4:59 PM: PM Modi takes on RJD in Bihar

Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar says Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs.

4:45 pm: Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" Jaitley said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

4:35 pm: RED CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF TWEETS

PM Modi's higher overall reach also is on account of a larger number of tweets. Since 10th March, Modi has tweeted 654 times (excluding retweets) - the highest among all leaders.

4:30 pm : After Modi, FM Jaitley hits back at Rahul Gandhi over defence offset clause deals during UPA regime.

Jaitley in a press conference said, "It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher & today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge. "

4:00 pm: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offered prayers in Amethi today.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offers prayers at Hazrat Meer Imamuddin dargah in Amethi. pic.twitter.com/DsgcKFJF3m - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3:46 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank politics during a rally in Basti and said they consider even a "human being just a number". Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the Congress and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

3:25 pm: ORANGE CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NET ENGAGEMENT

In terms of total retweets and favourites in this election season, PM Modi is far ahead than Rahul Gandhi. PM's total engagement--retweets and favourites combined--over the given time period was 20.7 million, which is 5.5 times more than Rahul Gandhi's 3.7 million.

3:20 pm: BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani held a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency.

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3.00 pm: Manoj Tiwari gives a rebuttal to Kejriwal on his "naachta bahaut acha hai" remark

"By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it," says Tiwari.

Manoj Tiwari on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's remark 'Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai,is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena,naachne wale ko vote mat dena': By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it pic.twitter.com/J5LZmJWw8U - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

2.45 pm: Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP during rally in Barabanki, UP

"BJP wale kinhe utar rahe hai sadak par,dekha hai kabhi?Saand aa rahe hai aur aisi BJP ki sarkar hai,saand logon mar raha hai.Agar saand maar de kisi aadmi ko,bataye humari police kaunsi FIR hogi uspe? Agar saand maar raha hai toh FIR CM pe honi chahiye," says Yadav.

1:59 pm: PURPLE CAP FOR RAHUL GANDHI: HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT PER TWEET

However, in terms of engagement per tweet, Rahul Gandhi beats the Prime Minister. Gandhi, on an average, got 8,094 retweets per tweet, compared to Modi's 4,844. Same for favourites: Gandhi got 30,673 favourites per tweet, on an average; Modi got 19,242.

1.50 pm: Congress leaders betrayed Behenji (Mayawati): PM Modi in Pratapgarh

"Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP

1.45 pm: Kejriwal attacks BJP's Manoj Tiwari, says "naachta bahaut acha hai" (dances very well).

"Manoj Tiwari dances very well, Dilip Pandey (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate) doesn't know how to dance, he only knows how to work. This time vote for the one who works, not the one who dances," says Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, hitting out at BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi.

#WATCH Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai, Pandey ji (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey) ko naachna nahi aata, kaam karna aata hai, is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena, naachne wale ko vote mat dena. (03/05/2019) pic.twitter.com/a3EuxyNytP - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

12.40 pm: The Central Government Saturday filed a fresh affidavit inRafale review case pertaining to the deal in the Supreme Court saying that theDecember 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiatedmedia reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in aselective manner cannot form the basis for review, ANI reported.

Centre files fresh affidavits in Rafale review case in SC saying- the Dec 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form basis for review. pic.twitter.com/oMfFYdZltG - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

11.15 am: Amit Shah alleges Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA.

BJP Chief Amit Shah Saturday slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi after a Business Today story alleging a company associated with Gandhi's former business partner received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way." Shah tweeted.

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

10.00 am: Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi at press conference.

On Unemployment Issue: "The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

On Surgical Strikes on Pakistan: "The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army," says Rahul.

On Chowkidar Chor hai jibe: "Process is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' will remain our slogan," says Rahul.

On UN ban on Masood Azhar: "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt," says Rahul.

On BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," says Rahul.

On PM Modi: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down," says Rahul.

9: 05 am: GREEN CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

With over 47 million followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is far ahead than any other leader.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," PM Modi tweeted.

Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts. - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

8.30 am: Poll campaigns across parties have been rescheduled in Basirhat, Jaynagar, Diamond Harbour, Medinipur, Ghatal, Howrah, Hooghly, Kanthi, Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency which are either adjacent to Odisha or close to the sea, IANS reports.
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Penticton

Penticton city hall story of the year: Byelection brings controversy Contentious byelection Casey Richardson Castanet is revisiting the top stories of an eventful 2021. Today, for Penticton's City Hall Story of the Year, we are looking at the controversy that was brought when a managing editor of a local paper won a councillor seat. Penticton residents went to the polls in 2021 to fill an empty council seat left by Jake Kimberley, who retired following a stroke. Ten candidates came forward in the by-election, many taking a second shot after losing in 2018. On June 19, Penticton Herald managing editor James Miller took the seat with 33 per cent of the votes. But his win didnt come without controversy. As a local newspaper editor, he would have to make some changes, limiting his writing and editing coverage. During his election campaign, Miller had taken time off from the paper and hired freelance reports to cover his run. Miller felt he had prepared the right tools in order to succeed. Im gonna have obviously a lot of strict guidelines. I tried to test run before I even announced to see if I can do it. As I said, and thank you to the 1,666 people who, who trust me when I said, I can wear two hats, but not at the same time. I will not be mentioning City Council, I will not be writing on it, he said on election night, after his win. When council has their bi-weekly meetings, Miller stated he planned to not be in the Herald building at all and assured that he would absolutely not mandate to staff what they are to report or say. The union that represents some Penticton Herald reporters and employees expressed their concerns after Miller won, citing conflict of interest of retaining both positions. We have concerns when the editor of a paper is elected to council and wants to hold onto his newspaper job. There's a very serious conflict of interest there, and it certainly raises ethics concerns as well. And it puts our one remaining reporter there in a very awkward position where he is reporting on his boss, Jennifer Moreau, the secretary treasurer for Unifor Local 2000 told Castanet back in June. Miller joins Barbara Roden, Mayor of Ashcroft and editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, as one of the few in B.C. who work in both a journalist and local politician role. Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs of people in power. And in this case, you have someone holding both positions. So I don't know how you can be a watchdog of people in power and also be sitting on council and keeping your position at the newspaper. I just don't see it working, Moreau added. Miller was sworn in to council on July 6. Penticton will once again head to the polls in the fall of 2022. When Castanet reached out to the union for comment in December, president Brian Gibson said he was unable to comment, since the organization was currently in collective bargaining with the newspapers in Penticton and Kelowna.







Oliver, Osoyoos mayors grateful for town spirit throughout 2021 Mayors talk town resiliency Photo: Casey Richardson The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire sat between Oliver and Osoyoos throughout the summer of 2021 It was a long year of pandemic, drought, wildfires, intense heat and evacuations for the South Okanagan. The mayors of Oliver and Osoyoos look back on 2021 as a time when the community came together through hardships. I just think that the town is showing leadership. We're getting on with our lives with COVID, Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen said. Tight restrictions were still in place at the start of the year, and care homes throughout the region dealt with outbreaks. Oliver saw a handful of their own deal with rising case numbers in staff and residents. McKinney Place care home had an outbreak that took the lives of 13 residents. When the pandemic restrictions allowed visits with friends and family again, things began to find new normal. Then, restrictions from the provincial government in the spring limited hotels, accommodations and campsites in the South Okanagan, with non-essential travel cut off for BC residents outside their own health authority regions. As vaccine doses continued to roll out, the area saw an increase in their visitors with travel limits taken down. I guess one of the positives about living in Osoyoos is that we didn't see as much of the lack of tourists or lack of business as other places did. We were kind of a go-to spot during tourist season for a lot of people in B.C. and certainly we had many from Alberta as well, Osoyoos Mayor Sue Mckortoff said. The area suffered a loss in the spring when a church was set ablaze near Osoyoos in April. Fire crews in Oliver were called to a church on Nk'Mip Road on Osoyoos Indian Band land on June 21, the same day Penticton fire crews had responded to the fire at Sacred Heart Church on Penticton Indian Band land. Then in July, wildfire season kicked off with the Wolfcub Creek wildfire that destroyed one home. Two weeks later, the massive Nk'Mip Creek wildfire that would rage for over two month between Oliver and Osoyoos, sitting mostly on OIB land, would officially claim three properties, burning through rural areas and forcing people from their homes. One thing that does stand out for me is how the community came together during the wildfire. It was inspiring to see the support of those that were impacted by evacuation orders and it was pretty intense there in July and August, Johansen said. The fire season was a huge, huge issue around Osoyoos. And the heat, oh my goodness, it's kind of scary, isn't it? To think of all the things sort of gone wrong, McKortoff added. The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire reached over 20,000 hectares and lasted until September as a wildfire of note. The final evacuation alerts associated with the wildfire were also rescinded then. It definitely took centre stage for quite a while here and the town of Oliver stood up. Our emergency support services put in more hours than I think anyone in the surrounding South Okanagan, as well, Johansen said. We are doing a post-review on how things rolled out during the fire and what we could do better when another one comes. This is our second one in a couple of years. You have to plan for more because I don't think this is the last one that we're going to see. The situation presented challenges for peak summer tourism as well, with some visitors impacted by evacuation orders debating whether to go home or not. I did say that, if they were in an evacuated area, they should probably consider going home. It was probably safer to do that, McKortoff said, adding that she was never encouraging all visitors to leave. But the skies were full of smoke and the community was on edge, which did push some visitors from the area. South Okanagan tourist towns were hit further as they faced more challenges seeing visitors drop due to BC's vaccination passport program. We're going to have to learn to adapt and live with COVID. It isn't going anywhere. It isn't going to suddenly disappear. But we just need to find a way forward to keep everybody safe and keep getting back to the things that everybody likes to do, Johansen added. Both towns saw phenomenal support and turnout at local events that were allowed to proceed. There's a lot of pent up demand. We just need to find ways to get back to having the festivals and events and the programming and having our town open for business and open for the community, Johansen said. The town of Oliver ran events, celebrations and a history exploration for reaching their centennial year. Snowbirds and other travellers were eager to cross the Canada-U.S. land border in Osoyoos in November, with non-essential land travel resuming for the first time in nearly 20 months. Certainly the day that the border opened in November you could see the cars and trailers parked up the highway for about three miles. Pretty well close to town, McKortoff said with a laugh, adding that it levelled off after that first weekend. People were happy that that is an available route now. But I sure don't see it as busy as it could have been or I thought it might be. Even throughout a tough year, both towns saw a boom in development and construction for the area, including Canada's first wine village finally opening in July. All that development that is getting started, I'm looking forward to seeing it getting completed, Johansen said, pointing to plans for further affordable housing developments, condos and industrial buildings. Mckortoff added that Osoyoos has seen around 20 new businesses open up since January. Last year, our building report showed, I think about $7 million in building and this year it's close to $30 million. It just shows that there is a great deal of work going on here. And the mayors look forward to the continued growth heading into 2022. They shared excitement to see projects move forward, developments come to fruition and hopefully, more of their usual celebrations. I think that we have to kind of look at ways that we can help one another and celebrate things but do it in a safe way and I think we've been able to do that. So we'd sure like to have music in the park next year and all of the events that people normally put on, McKortoff said. I think that there's so much COVID fatigue going on, but I just hope you know this new variant coming out, you can just see the ripple of concern, but just hoping that we can continue to move forward, Johansen added. While next fall will bring municipal elections, both Johansen and Mckortoff are considering it as they work through the next ten months, but neither confirmed whether they would be running for re-election. I love the job. I think it's fascinating. I'm so lucky to be in this job. Yes, there are some negatives because there certainly are some people who don't agree with what we're doing and that's totally understandable. You're never going to have everybody on side. But the bottom line is we're trying to look at the whole picture, what's best for our town and our citizens, Mckortoff said.

Highway 97 Brewery opens its doors after moving into downtown Penticton Brewery opens its doors Photo: Facebook Pull up a bar stool at a familiar brewery in a new spot in Penticton. Highway 97 welcomed customers through their doors on Ellis Street, with their grand opening on Wednesday. The brewery has been open since 2017 at its location on the highway across from the South Okanagan Events Centre. "We will be opening with minimal food until the new year but will have all our delicious beer flowing. Come check out our new digs and celebrate our opening," they shared on their Facebook page. Highway 97 Brewing got an official thumbs up from Penticton city council to move forward with their plans to take over the former Mile Zero bar on Ellis Street in January. The boutique-style family-owned and operated craft brewery is also dog-friendly. The brewery will also be operating with limited holiday hours until the new year. Find out more information on their Facebook page here.







Penticton gym asking for locals to help out fitness centres as closures come down Help out the local gyms Photo: Contributed One Penticton business is feeling the impact of nearly two years of the pandemic as gyms and fitness centres are dealing with another closure, with provincial restrictions coming into effect. City Centre Fitness Owner Kirby Kirby Layng explained that he thought classes might be cancelled in the midst of rising numbers, but the full closure was a complete shock. The gym has dealt with changing restrictions, class size allowances and vaccine passports. "A [number] of fitness clubs have already closed down across Canada...So this is just going up that number. There's a little bit of government help, but in a lot of cases, it won't be enough." There comes a question on looking after not only an individuals physical health during this time, but their mental health. "It's a tough time for people since you can't really exercise outside, especially with the coming cold weather. It's gonna be a tough one. So yeah, just really try and stay healthy and watch your nutrition, of course, this time of year, which is tough," Layng added. But the gym is hoping to keep people active with online classes starting in the new year on Zoom. "We're open for supplement purchase. The other thing we are doing is we're renting out some equipment as well. Spin bikes, weight equipment and dumbbells and selling gift certificates." Keep an eye on your own gyms or fitness centre website or social media page for updates on what they're offering and how to support.

Penticton mom gifted a free vehicle and holiday feast from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Deserving mom gifted a car Photo: Casey Richardson One family in need had Christmas come early on Thursday afternoon, when they were given a car for free from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Penticton. Courtney Brown walked into the dealership with her mom expecting to help her find a car and instead was greeted with a giant surprise. I had no idea what was going on. My mom had just told me that she had something for me. So she asked if I was able to leave work early. I thought we were coming down here to look at cars for her. And little did I know, I was coming in to find a car for myself, she explained. This is so wonderful. I am still in such complete shock. The dealership gifted Brown a 2013 Grand Caravan, along with three months insurance, an extended warranty and a Christmas feast with some presents for her two kids. Brown had been trying to save for a car for the past year, to help take her kids to school, go to appointments and make it to work. But just like anyone else, things come up with the kids. I just didn't have the funds at the moment. Huber Bannister Chevrolet started taking nominations in the beginning of December and had over 50 submitted for families or friends that could use a car. With everything that's been going on this year with COVID and with floods, we had a lot of nominations and that's without even expanding it to too much, General Manager Julian Smallbone said. Everyone deserves to get one but we found this would really help this family. Tears of joy shed down Browns face after being given the car. I've had to rely on my mom. I've had to rely on some friends to help me out over the last couple years. And so this is just going to help so much, she said. It is amazing. I could not thank the staff here at Huber Bannister enough. The idea came from Sales Manager Will Seguin, who wanted to spread some Christmas cheer, especially this year. If we had more vehicles, I would love to give them all the way. There were so many. It's really tough to decide on the submission and some tears are shed when we were reading those things, he added. Seeing the look on their face when they actually get the keys in their hand is probably my biggest achievement. The dealership hopes to see others join in the holiday giving over the coming years. What we are hoping to do is to make it into two cars next year, three and four afterwards. Again, we're going to have to get other other businesses support to be able to do that, but we are hoping to be able to give away more cars in the future, Smallbone explained. Photo: Casey Richardson

COVID-19 has caused the BCHL to cancel its 60th Anniversary event BCHL cancels all-star game Photo: BCHL COVID-19 has caused another cancellation. The BC Hockey League is postponing its 60th Anniversary event which was scheduled for January 2022 due to increased provincial restrictions around events and a spike in COVID-19 cases in B.C. The event, was going to feature an outdoor 3-on-3 All-Star Series, skills competition and alumni game, as well as a Top Prospects Game, over several days, Jan. 14 to 16 in Penticton, B.C. We are extremely disappointed to announce todays news that, in the interest of public safety, we have decided to postpone our 60th Anniversary event to next year, said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. We are disappointed for our loyal fans that were planning on attending the event, but we feel the worst for the 50 players who were set to participate in the weekends festivities. The outdoor game was also set to be a Save Pond Hockey event, in partnership with the Climate and Sport Initiative. We are grateful to all our event and league partners who supported us and are eager to work with them again next year to make the event even bigger and better. The silver lining is that the event will go ahead next year in Penticton at the newly built outdoor arena, if health protocols allow.

Princeton continues to work on flood recovery and housing for the community Overcoming all together Photo: Contributed The Town of Princeton continues to work on getting interim housing in place for the residents displaced by the floods. Mayor Spencer Coyne shared an update on Wednesday night from town's facebook page, amid ongoing discussions with the Province. "We have identified a temporary area and hope to have some answers soon," he stated. "We are working on a Resiliency Centre that will help navigate our communities recovery stage." Emergency Support Services are being carried out through Red Cross with the Province and those in need are asked to contact them if not already done so. Do not consume and boil water orders still stand for much of the community and Princeton hopes to see answers come in the next week, waiting on information from the health authority. Much of their water and sewer infrastructure was damaged. "We are working with NGOs and Provincial agencies to bring mental health supports into the community. We understand that this is a hard time of year and moving forward things will get harder we want to have the supports in place to assist not only with what is to come next, but the realization of what has just happened," Coyne said. "We have lobbied hard to get our community those much needed supports." The town is working on syncing their recovery with that of surrounding rural communities that were effected including Tulameen and Coalmont, so services can be provided to throughout equally. "We are in this together and we want to overcome this together." "I know some days it seems as nothing is happening or that we have hit a wall. I will reassure you all that there is still an army of volunteers and town employees and outside agencies working tirelessly to try and bring some sense of normalcy back to our community. We are Princeton Strong as people have started to say and we will overcome this and we will do it together." The town will have a long road ahead of extensive, expensive cleanup. To contribute to Princeton residents who need help in the wake of flooding, click here. Casey Richardson

Some facilities to close at Penticton Community Centre Community Centre changes Photo: Contributed The City will be closing Penticton's Community Centre fitness room, as a response to new health orders issued by the province on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the city announced the changes, along with a note that all customers who hold valid passes will receive an extension to their pass equal to the duration of the closure. All of the land-based fitness classes are suspended as well. Clients who are impacted by the fitness class cancellations and facility rentals impacted by the restrictions will be contacted by staff. Currently, all other recreation programs and services are able to continue as scheduled, including public swim, public skating, drop-in sports and general recreation classes. These closures will begin at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 22 and run through Jan. 18.

Baldy Mountain Resort sees strong opening week with fresh powder and new snow activities Fresh powder on opening Photo: Troy Lucas Try out your volleyball skill's at Baldy's new snow court Baldy Mountain Resort was ready for opening on Dec. 17 with a snow packed hill and groomed runs for power hounds to enjoy. "We had a great snow this year, because we had lots of time to groom it and pack it," Troy Lucas, operations manager with the resort shared. "Lots of snow and there's a lot coming." Opening numbers were a little smaller start but Lucas expects that to progress as people take time off heading into the holidays. "The local community we had a dry run with, we put on a lunch for them," he added. "We got rave reviews from them and they even sent us emails and thanked us because it's first year they've done that up here, inviting all the locals to meet our staff and get to know the community." On top of the 110 cm base and all lifts open, the resort has a snow volleyball court set up on 'Baldy Beach', along with a frisbee golf course through the forest, an improved picnic area and an outdoor s'mores pit. "We've kind of re-done the kiosk and the picnic area for lunches because of obviously COVID and seating so we have that outdoor seating all good to go and the umbrellas up." The focus this year was to make the resort very family friendly. "This is more of a family mountain," Lucas added. The resort also spent part of the summer working with the Ministry of Transportation on the road heading up to the hill. Check out Baldy's snow report on their website here. Photo: Contributed
Photo: The Canadian Press TransCanada Corp. president and CEO Russ Girling addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary.

TransCanada Corp. topped expectations as it reported a profit of $1.00 billion in its latest quarter, up from $734 million a year ago, as its revenue edged higher.

The pipeline company says the profit amounted to $1.09 per share for the quarter ended March 31. That compared with a profit of 83 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for what was the company's first quarter totalled $3.49 billion, compared with $3.42 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

On a comparable basis, TransCanada says it earned $987 million or $1.07 per share for the quarter, up from $864 million or 98 cents per share a year ago.

Chief executive Russ Girling says the increase was due to the strong performance of the company's legacy assets, along with roughly $5.3 billion of growth projects that were placed into service in the quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 99 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
A joint investigation with special agents from the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with multiple East Tennessee law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a New Market police officer for arranging to have sex with a minor.

At the request of 4th District Attorney General Jimmy B. Dunn, TBI agents, along with investigators with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the 4th Judicial District Attorney Generals Office and the Knoxville Police Department, began investigating New Market Police Officer Joseph Ray Miller, 43.

During the course of the four-week investigation, agents developed information that indicated Miller attempted to arrange through an adult to engage in sexual activity with a female under the age of 13.

The investigation revealed Miller intended to pay money to the juvenile for engaging in the act, and to the adult for making the arrangement.

On Friday night, TBI agents, with the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, arrested Miller and charged him with one count of solicitation of a minor. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail. His bond will be set at his next court appearance.
The two religious leaders sign a joint declaration of solidarity with the victims in Sri Lanka. Those who sow death are "the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth." This is why it is our duty [. . .] to banish them".

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  The head of the Catholic Church of India and the leader of one of India's most important Islamic groups signed a joint declaration this morning in Mumbai, expressing their solidarity with the victims of the Sri Lanka bombings and condemned the bloodshed in three churches and three hotels in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

For Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), and Mawlana Mahmood A. Madani, general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, "The persons and the groups responsible for the serials blasts are anti-human, anti-civilization and anti-God.

According to the two religious leaders, those who killed at least 257 people "are the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth. To associate them with any faith would be most sacrilegious to the faith itself. Therefore, the people of all faiths must disown and condemn such barbarous individuals and groups. It is our duty to expose them and banish them from civilized society.

In their statement, the cardinal and the mawlana list five points in which they lay out their rejection of violence perpetrated in the name of religion and call for the elimination of terrorism. The points are:

1) The terrorist attacks become all the more gruesome if launched under the garb of religion and holy mission. Besides causing great loss of innocent lives, peace and harmony is destroyed. It is the prime duty of all faith leaders to stand up and use all our resources and to cleanse society of this evil.

(2) Attacks on religious places and during religious festivals such as Easter are perpetrated with a design to cause a divide between people of various faiths and communities. Therefore, we feel it all the more necessary that we stand together with our Christian brothers everywhere and assure them that we share their sorrows and pains and express our solidarity with them.

(3) We appeal to the government and law-enforcement agencies all over the world to be more vigilant and take effective precautionary measures making it impossible for any terrorist groups to play havoc with the life and property of civil society anywhere.

(4) Sri Lanka being our closest neighbour, we are ready with an offer of help to enable the victims to get over the unprecedented crisis in their lives. We propose to depute a high-level delegation of various faiths to Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of cooperation and also to offer our sincere condolence to the bereaved families.

(5) We sincerely hope that media and peace-loving citizens of this country will extend their fullest cooperation for our endeavour against terrorism. We express our resolve to continue our struggle against terrorism and for global peace. We appeal to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste and creed to come forward to save humanity and to maintain social harmony and peace.
Sugar-white beaches and aqua blue waters have drawn sun seekers to Anna Maria Island for more than a century. Yet, the seven-mile-long barrier island off the coast of Bradenton, Florida, seems to be a well-kept secret among loyal visitors for whom it reflects a bit of old Florida with understated charm.

Notwithstanding recent growth, Anna Maria has intentionally kept its local flavor, respectful of the natural habitat and with an eye towards sustainable development. There are no high-rise hotels or chain restaurants; the island character is a blend of retro bungalow and Key West chic  with an element of funky flair.



Thanks, Fig Newton



The first wooden bridge was built from the mainland in 1922, but development on the island began in 1897 by the family of homesteader George Emerson Bean and Charles M. Roser, inventor of the Fig Newton. Roser sold his would-be famous cookie recipe to Nabisco, and reportedly funded early building and infrastructure on Anna Maria.

Three towns, three vibes



Surprisingly, the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay comprises three distinct municipalities: the town of Anna Maria at the north end, Holmes Beach at mid-island, and Bradenton Beach at the south end near the bridge to Longboat Key. There are countless small hotels, resorts and vacation rentals in each township.

The north end is mostly residential and quiet, but its charming Pine Street is a village hub with great restaurants, boutiques, and LEED-certified buildings. The middle of the island is the main commercial area and further south, Bradenton Beach is the hot spot with lively restaurants, Tiki bars, and the historic Bridge Street, where the original wooden bridge once stood and is now a popular fishing pier.



You can explore the island by bike or car (be forewarned that car parking is limited in busy areas) or take the free island trolley that operates daily. Another option is the Monkey Bus, a color-schemed minibus that offers rides for tips only.

A three-day jaunt



Despite frequent visits to Floridas west coast, I only recently discovered Anna Maria Island on a weekend getaway, thanks to Allegiants new flights to Sarasota/Bradenton from Nashville. The island is a 30-45 minute drive from the airport (or one hour from Tampa/St. Pete).

Even a short stay allowed us plenty of time to enjoy the pristine beaches and activities such as biking, fishing and kayaking. My husband and I stayed at the new Anna Maria Beach Resort at Holmes Beach (formerly the Blue Water Beach Motel) which is completely renovated and well appointed with luxury upgrades, a lovely walk-in pool, Jacuzzi and beach access. Some suites have full kitchens and living space with mesmerizing views overlooking the Gulf.



We set off to explore the island on colorful cruiser bikes available to motel guests, heading north to the town of Anna Maria, which has bike paths and quiet roads along the bay side. After passing several beach access points we finally propped our bikes against a picket fence and walked through a nearly hidden tunnel of palms before the wide expanse of beach known as Bean Point opened before us. The tip of the island is stunningly beautiful and a favorite spot for beach walks and watching sunset.



Out on the water, we took a guided kayak tour with AMI Paddleboard Adventures, a wonderful outing which led us through mangrove tunnels, bayous and lagoons. We also signed on with Paradise Boat Tours to see dolphins, manatee, herons and other wildlife that inhabit Sarasota Bay. Our knowledgeable captain shared interesting tidbits about the habits of the various species we spotted; even my skeptical husband was most impressed with the eco-tour.



Seafood and champagne sunsets



Youll find front row seats for sunset at several beachfront restaurants, but the place to be for toes-in-the-sand dining and the fresh catch of the day is The Sandbar, where sunset is our big event every night, our waitress told us. If you correctly guess the exact minute of sunset, you win a bottle of champagne. Another dining favorite for fine food and a romantic experience is Beach Bistro, top-rated by Zagat.

Gulf Coast seafood reigns on Anna Maria, though there are plentiful culinary options. We found wonderful choices for brunch or lunch, including Eliza Anns Coastal Kitchen, the Waterfront Restaurant for new American cuisine and delicious salads, and the irresistible Poppo's Taqueria for a healthy, fresh take on Mexican. Dont miss the Donut Experiment  fun for families, where every donut is your creation and choices range from plain Jane to glazed keylime and Sriracha.



Make sure to stop in at The Doctors Office, creatively themed after the actual doctors office it once was, and now serving craft cocktails and fresh, ingredient-driven bar fare. The Painkiller  made with Pussers Rum, fresh pineapple, orange juice and cream of coconut  cures what ails you.



Anna Maria has not lost sight of its greatest assets and experiences  from beachcomber mornings to nature activities and the celebrated sunset hour. Even the locals say, Anna Maria Island is where old Florida still exists. https://www.bradentongulfislands.com/



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Ann Yungmeyer is a travel writer and frequent contributor to print and digital publications.


There is a problem in one area of Soddy Lake that is out of the jurisdiction of the city of Soddy Daisy. Caused by flooding at the end of September 2018, a lot of debris washed into the lake and collected in the area between State Highway 27 and Dayton Pike in the area known locally as Soddy Embankment. In that area, which is always shallow, just one foot deep in some places, there is a path almost 200 feet wide now filled with dangerous pieces of jagged metal, wood and other materials that have accumulated. The trash lies just below the surface and cannot be seen from above. With the temperatures warming and people increasingly using the lake, there is a real fear that jet skiers, boaters and children being pulled on inner tubes could be seriously hurt if they run into the rubbish.

Mayor Gene Shipley said the city has made every effort to clean out that space but has been unable to. The water level never has dropped low enough because of the huge amount of rain this winter and spring. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for cleaning it up and keeping people safe, he said. Officials from the city have met with representatives from TWRA to ask for help by putting up buoys as markers and signs of warning until they are able to get rid of the debris. In the meantime, the mayor is asking to get the word out through social media about staying away from the dangerous area.



A public hearing was held at the commission meeting Thursday night about an amendment to the city code that will allow beer sales every day of the week, 24 hours a day. Just one resident of Soddy Daisy spoke saying he was in opposition and asking instead for the city to allow no alcohol sales at all. The commissioners voted five to one to change the law. The state controls the sale of wine and spirits and has made changes to times that is allowed. The new hours approved for beer sales will match those for alcohol and will reduce confusion by retailers who sell both.



City Manager Janice Cagle received approval from the commissioners for several expenditures including $24,400 for a contract with Johnson, Murphy and Wright for yearly auditing services. The public works department has paved several roads and payments of $27,465 for labor and $64,040 for materials to pay for the work was authorized. Some fire hydrants in Soddy Daisy were originally installed in the 1940s and parts are no longer available to repair them. There are 10 hydrants that are scheduled to be replaced this year. Only one bid was received for $23,500. These were planned for in the budget, said Recorder Burt Johnson.



A solution is being sought for speeding cars that several commissioners routinely hear complaints about. Commissioner Rick Nunley said that the city has tried using rumble strips, posting signs, putting up speed displays that show how fast a car is traveling and giving tickets, but he said, "We are not getting anywhere." He asked the commissioners to consider enhancing existing rumble strips and adding new ones.

City Manager Cagle questioned that being the answer, because she said, where they have been used in the past, people living nearby call and wanted them removed. The people that are speeding most often are residents who live in the neighborhood where they are stopped, she said. The possibility of putting in speed humps was also discussed. City Attorney Sam Elliott said the city has been advised that its insurer considers them to be a liability. He suggested talking to the liability carrier for their advice.


Kelly Ann (Richie) Burns, 51 of Chattanooga, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Kelly was born on June 5, 1967, in Chattanooga, to Gene and Norma (Bolton) Richie.



She received her Masters of Science in Accountancy from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2007 and worked in payroll supervision for the past 4 years. Most recently, she was the payroll supervisor for the Hamilton County Department of Education.



On May 26, 2006, she married the love of her life, Barry Burns. Kelly was the proud mother of Jonathan Chase Hudson, a 2013 West Point graduate, and currently serving as a captain in the United States Army.



Kelly loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her family, people, and life. Her interests were varied and included sewing, traveling, motorcycles, and pets. Her smile was infectious and she touched many lives.



She is survived by her husband, Barry; her son, Captain Jonathan and his wife, Lisa; her parents, a sister, Chris and her husband, Doug; and a large number of extended family.



A celebration of Kelly's life and her Savior will be held at noon on Tuesday, May 7, at Stuart Heights Baptist Church, 3208 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, with Pastor Gary Jared and Pastor Doug Raynes officiating. Burial will take place at the Chattanooga National Cemetery at 2 p.m.

Those wishing to memorialize Kelly's life are encouraged to contribute to the Stuart Heights Baptist Church's Chosen Ministries.

Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort.



Visitation will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the church.



Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421.


Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo recently surprised fans with the announcement that they were moving to Los Angeles. The couple posted some information on their blog, and everyone was extremely thrilled to see the two branching out on their own  and heading to a city thats so different from where they were raised. But now, fans are a bit confused about the move, since Jinger keeps posting photos from Laredo, Texas, where they currently live. Are they still moving?

Jinger Duggar with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo and daughter, Felicity Vuolo. | Jinger Vuolo via Instagram

Duggar and Vuolo recently announced theyre starting a new chapter in Los Angeles

A few months ago, Duggar and Vuolo took a family trip to California and allowed their followers to live vicariously through all of their Instagram photos from the trip. Fans loved how much fun the two seemed to be having, and several people suggested Los Angeles might make a perfect home for the couple and their young daughter, Felicity. Not long after the family returned home, they made a huge announcement on their blog  they would, indeed, be moving to Los Angeles.

People were thrilled to see the couple taking their lives into their own hands

When Duggar and Vuolo made their announcement, everyone was extremely happy for them. Duggar has been dubbed the most rebellious of the family, since she broke away from some family traditions once she got married. While shes still extremely religious, she wears pants and tank tops now, and reportedly even stood up for transgender rights. People were excited to hear that the Vuolos would be moving to a city as liberal and accepting as Los Angeles, because it might make them see that all kinds of people deserve to be loved and respected.

Fans keep asking Duggar if shes still moving to California, since she keeps posting photos from Laredo

Although Duggar and Vuolo made their major announcement, fans have been a bit confused about their timeline. Duggar recently posted a photo of Felicity sitting on a friends couch in Laredo, and her followers were confused. Are you guys still moving, one user wrote. Are yall still moving to Cali? Another questioned. The comments section saw several confused fans wondering what the couples big announcement meant, since they still havent moved.

We have some BIG NEWS to share with all of you  https://t.co/ui64DhFKUT  Jinger Vuolo (@jingervuolo) March 25, 2019

To clear things up, Duggar and Vuolo wont be moving to California until July. Vuolo will be starting graduate classes out in Los Angeles in the fall, which is why the couple is waiting until the summer to move. The move is still in place, but they have a few months left in Laredo before they start a new life in California.

People clearly favor Duggar and Vuolo over the other Duggar family couples

When it comes to the Duggars, Jinger Duggar flew under the radar up until she married Vuolo. When the two started their own life together, fans realized how funny and friendly Duggar seemed, and they loved that she didnt always play by the rules. According to a poll conducted by InTouch, Duggar is the overwhelming favorite of fans among any of her siblings. She received 33% of the vote; Jana Duggar came in second with 21%. All of the other Duggars received less than 10%. Fans will continue to follow Duggar as she makes her move out to California and eventually grows her family even more (were still waiting on a baby no. 2 announcement).

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Dannielynn Birkhead, 12, and her father Larry Birkhead have officially made their yearly pilgrimage to Churchhill Downs. She is looking even more like her mother with each passing day. The father-daughter duo was first spotted on Friday evening at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala, an event held in honor of the upcoming race each year. The pair is expected to stay in Louisville through the weekends festivities. They will be on hand for Saturdays officially running of the 145th Kentucky Derby. This year marks Dannielynns 10th appearance at the event, according to People.

Why is the Kentucky Derby important to Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead?

arry Birkhead and Dannielynn Birkhead | Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/WireImage

Dannielynn has been residing with her father, Larry in rural Kentucky for years now, but thats not how it always was. Dannielynn, born to Anna Nicole Smith in September 2006 was at the center of a custody battle when she was just a few months old. Birkhead had been purposefully left off of the childs birth certificate, and a bitter court battle ensued following Smiths untimely death at a Florida hotel.

I cant catch a break even on my birthday! But I am proud of Dannielynns grades! #birthday #honorroll #bankrolled pic.twitter.com/Ex7TDkzO8A  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) January 22, 2019

Birkhead eventually won the battle, proving he was the biological father of the child and had every intention of raising her. Since then, they have kept a low profile  even moving to the rural Kentucky area to allow Dannielynn to be raised in relative anonymity. The duo does surface each year for the famous horse race for one important reason; its precisely where Larry Birkhead met Anna Nicole Smith so many years ago. According to the Courier-Journal Birkhead told Steve Harvey I make it as normal as I can. Shes like any other kid; she goes to school with every other kid, and shes a girl scout. She does things that I think her mom would be really proud of her for,

Kentucky Derby time once again. Dannielynn looks pretty in pink in her dress by Junona and her Moms hat from her unforgettable appearance at The Kentucky Derby in 2004#KentuckyDerby2019 pic.twitter.com/5oUZfcGfbW  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) May 4, 2019

The event at Churchhill Downs is a way of connecting Dannielynn with her mother. The younger Birkhead surely doesnt remember much of her mother, but Birkhead is dedicated to keeping the memory alive while raising the tween in a healthy environment.

How did Anna Nicole Smith die?

Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at around 1 pm on February 8, 2007. Smith was rushed to a local hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. An official autopsy report noted the existence of 11 drugs in the 39-year-old models system, many of which had never been prescribed to her. The lethal concoction is blamed for Smiths demise.

Anna Nicole Smith | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Smiths death came on the heels of the passing of her son, Daniel. Daniel died while visiting Smith in the Bahamas following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn. An inquest found that Daniels death was caused by an accidental overdose. Birkhead has suggested that the 20-year-old may have stolen his mothers methadone; methadone was one of three drugs found in his system.
No one was too surprised to hear the newsafter months of keeping so many details of the pregnancy private, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted that they were taking it one step further. Instead of posing for a post-birth photo a few hours after Baby Sussexs debut, the couple announced that they have taken the personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private and that they look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.

Understandably, the decree drove royal fans into a frenzy. As the hours ticked by towards the speculated (yet unconfirmed) due date, conspiracy theories abounded. Did Meghan Markle already have the baby in secret? Could we guess the plans based on Prince Harrys travel plans? How long would the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make everyone wait before sharing the news?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

This babys birth feels even more exciting than any of Prince William and Kate Middletons kids, which is weird because he or she is even further from the throne. The mystery is part of the appeal. However, there are critics who believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a huge mistake by being so secretive.

Meghan Markles influence has changed Prince Harry

Whether its good or bad is up for discussion. But theres no denying that Prince Harry is a much different man these days than he used to be, and many say its Meghan Markles presence that inspired the change.

Before Markle came along, Prince Harry was known for wild partying and controversial antics. He had calmed down in recent years, but he seemed perfectly content to hang out as the third wheel with his brother and sister-in-law. Thats all different now.

Ever since they became serious, Prince Harry has been forging a new path with his wife by his side. First, it was the break from offices at Kensington Palace and starting his own official household apart from Prince William. Now its throwing up walls of privacy where none existed before.

Critics think Prince Harry is shirking his royal responsibilities

Meghan Markle joined the royal family with little exposure to their customs. It makes senseMarkle is an American Hollywood actress, not a British socialite. Its logical shed expect a different approach.

But now people are miffed by her reticence and failure to do those things that the public expects from the royal family. It may not go along with Markles agenda, but in certain ways the royal family belongs to the public, and allowing them access to their big life events is part of the deal. This whole veil of mystery was fun at first but its starting to make people irritated.

Prince Harry may be intentionally punishing the media

There are lots of people blaming Meghan Markle for keeping all the birth details secret, but there are just as many fans who think it stems from Prince Harry, too. Its common knowledge that the Duke of Sussex has a complicated relationship with the press and some say hes hiding royal baby details on purpose to punish them.

As Sun photographer Arthur Edwards told the New York Times: Its the way Harry is at the moment, hes just got this bee in his bonnet that all the media are to be ignored.

But destroying his relationship with the media could prove disastrous for Prince Harry, especially as he and his wife are trying to get specific issues (such as mental health) into the spotlight.

The next few weeks will reveal more about Prince Harry and Meghan Markles deeper agenda. For now, we all just have to wait some more.
Anna Duggars announcement of her sixth child with Joshua Duggar was met by fans with a mix of concern and sadness. While another baby is undoubtedly a happy occasion, fans have long wished Anna would leave the man who spent a good portion of his time in Washington D.C trolling the internet for extra-marital affairs. While the news of Joshuas indiscretions broke back in 2015, fans have held out hope all these years that Anna would finally take a stand.

#Throwback to when Jill, Joy & I were pregnant together!Currently, there are 4 Duggar sisters/sisters-in-law that have shared expectant baby news! I wonder how many more new cousins will be announced before https://t.co/IelSs196ih  Anna Duggar (@Anna_Duggar) May 2, 2019

The announcement of their 6th child together have evaporated those hopes, but are fans the only ones disappointed in Annas decision to stand by her man? What does her large, ultra-conservative Christian family think of her choices?

Anna Duggars brother has offered her a chance to escape

While the majority of the Keller family has stayed mum about their feelings for Joshua Duggar, there is one Keller who has held nothing back. Daniel Keller, the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family, has been outspoken about his feelings regarding Josh. In fact, Daniel has informed fans he offered Anna the chance to escape. Not only was he willing to give the homeschooled mom a place to stay, but he even offered to pay for her childrens needs.

Daniel has not spoken publicly about Anna since the 2015 scandal, but if his words from back then still apply, hes likely not thrilled with the recent turn of events. Daniel stated that he wouldnt stop trying to get Josh out of his family.

Annas parents might be part of the reason she stayed

According to In Touch, the Keller family does not consider divorce an option, under any circumstances. Mike and Suzette raised their large family in Florida, and while they adhere to most of the Duggar family rules, insiders allege they take the conservative rules around dating and marriage even more seriously. Divorce would be seen as a massive sin, and Anna may have been advised by her parents to stick it out.

In 2017 an alleged insider posted an AMA on Reddit and noted that things were really rocky when the news first broke about Joshs cheating. According to the insider, Michelle Duggar was under the impression that Anna was planning to leave the family, but something happened that changed her mind. Some fans surmise that watching her divorced siblings being treated with icy indifference was enough to make her stick it out with Josh.

The Keller kids dont all adhere to the rules

While Anna and her siblings were all raised in an ultra-conservative household, they all dont share their parents moral leanings. In fact, two of the Keller kids are officially divorced. Rebekah Keller, who was married to Joshua Macdonald in 2005 filed for divorce from her husband in 2015.

Happy Thanksgiving for our family to yours! We have so much to be grateful for and what a better time then today to give thanks to God and others for all that has been given and done for us. @annaduggar @susanna_keller pic.twitter.com/ZPOqFIWCu6  David & Priscilla W (@DavidNCil) November 23, 2018

According to Radar, the reasoning for the divorce is purposefully vague, but its clear Rebekah broke all the rules. Not only was she the one to file the paperwork, but she also requested full custody of the couples two children. The divorce was finalized the following year.

Daniel Keller also called it quits with his wife. Keller married a woman named Candice in 2008, but their marriage dissolved in 2016. They share one son. Neither Daniel nor Candice have ever spoken publicly about their marriage or divorce.

Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar | Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images

Rebekah and Daniel arent the only Keller kids to face romantic issues. Younger sibling Susanna broke free from the Keller family years ago. She gave birth to a child in 2013; she never married the father of her daughter. Susanna was featured on several episodes of 19 Kids and Counting during Josh and Annas courtship.
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are officially a married couple.

Shortly after the 2019 Billboard Awards, the famous couple headed to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas to take their relationship to the next level.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas |Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Getty Images for dcp

Though none of us saw this spontaneous wedding coming, Jonas and Turner tied the knot while they were in Sin City for one particular reason.

Their marriage needed to be legal in the U.S.

On May 1, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner shocked us all when it was revealed they had tied the knot immediately following the 2019 Billboard Awards.

Shortly after Joe Jonas performed alongside his brothers and Sophie Turner presented, the couple, along with their friends and family, headed to A Little White Chapel to say I do at the Sin City locations Chapel LAmour.

Videos from the wedding were caught and shared by Diplo on his Instagram Story.

Those in attendance were Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Kevin Jonas, and Danielle Jonas. The country duo Dan + Shay even sang their smash hit Speechless during the ceremony.

Though many fans knew Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were planning on getting married, they were not expecting a ceremony to happen so soon.

Jonas and Turner have discussed their plans to get married this upcoming summer in France but there was a reason the couple decided to tie the knot in Vegas.

According to sources, if the couple only got married in France, their marriage wouldnt be legal in the United States.

They knew they needed to have a legal ceremony in the U.S. and decided a few weeks ago to do it in Vegas after the Billboard Awards, a source revealed to E! News. Some of their friends and family would be there so it felt like the perfect timing.

It was just the right time

Though Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopras wedding was well-thought out and beautifully executed, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turners Las Vegas wedding was in the spur of the moment.

Since they were already in Vegas for the Billboard Awards, what better way to end the night than getting married in a wedding chapel?

Their wedding this summer will be a lot more formal, but Jonas and Turner just couldnt wait any longer to be man and wife.

They booked the chapel for a big block of the night to make sure they had it to themselves and that the timing could be spontaneous, an insider shared. A friend paid and set up the entire thing.

Instead of exchanging wedding bands, Joe and Sophie gave each other ring pops and couldnt be happier that they are officially married.

A source says that the couple is just so excited to be together and to be married.

As for their summer wedding in France, the couple still plans for that to happen.

The ceremony will be a lot more formal than the one in Vegas and more of their family and friends will be in attendance.

It looks like multiple wedding ceremonies are a thing in the Jonas family!
It was only a few weeks ago when reports of a new royal feud were underway. It started with The Sun publishing the first story about Kate Middleton and her once good friend Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The two were believed to be good friends and were often seen together at royal gatherings. The Duke and Duchess had also been on several double dates with Hanbury and her husband. Now it seems there is a rift between them and rumors say infidelity is to blame.

When the article first came out in March, it only covered the alleged feud between Middleton and Hanbury. What happened next caused a social media firestorm and even bigger rumors to circulate.

Rumors of Prince Williams infidelity are going viral

According to Page Six, it was In Touch Weekly that first published cheating allegations against William. It was their unnamed source that claimed Middletons friend and husband had an affair together, causing the end of their friendship and marital problems. However, there is no tangible proof that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are having marriage problems and no evidence of infidelity.

The public cant seem to drop it. Its just too juicy of a story to let go. Social media has also exploded with opinions. It seems people are divided. Some believe William is having an affair, taking after his father, Prince Charles. Others believe that the duke and duchess are too in love to worry about the Marchioness. Still, others wonder why the British media isnt covering the story.

Why isnt the British media covering Prince Williams alleged affair?

While many American media outlets have started covering the rumors of Prince Williams affair, the British press seems decidedly absent. This has caused even more speculation, as the British media never stay quiet on these matters. They are known to be the most aggressive in their search for the truth or a good story.

Some have taken to Twitter, questioning why theres a lack of coverage. It could be that he is the future king, and they dont want to get on his bad side. We should also remember that he and Kate have sued them in the past for publishing inappropriate photos of the duchess, and they won.

According to the Daily Beast, the royals had their lawyers send a letter to the media outlets that said: In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights.

It might be that the British press is worried about another lawsuit. After all, there is no evidence to support the rumors as of yet. Then again one Twitter user, @Celia, wrote, How much tax money does the British monarchy give to the British media to keep quiet about Prince Williams affair?

How much tax money does the british monarchy give to the british media to keep quiet about Prince William's affair ?  Celia (@_MrsWanted) April 24, 2019

There is plenty of coverage for Meghan Markle

Still, one cant help but wonder why the British media can trash Meghan Markle in the press when they rarely have proof. A Twitter user, @Wiltshire said: The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story theyre threatening to sue the media over is probably true! 90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didnt notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!

The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story they're threatening to sue the media over is probably true!



90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didn't notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!  Wiltshire (@SocialIssueNews) April 23, 2019

Another reason, Williams affair rumors arent being covered might be due to Meghan and Prince Harrys baby. They have had a lot of media attention over the past year. It could be that the Sussex celebrity status is bigger than the Cambridge celebrity status right now.
Russell Finex, worldwide suppliers of high quality separation equipment, celebrate 80 years of experience in chemical sieving and filtration. With innovation at the core of their business, their wide range of vibratory sieves, liquid solid separation equipment and self-cleaning liquid filters have been the answer for many customers within the chemical industry around the world. Russell Finex work closely with renowned chemical companies, providing them customized solutions to their unique separation and filtration needs.



Russell Finex are aware that every process or application is different and choosing the right machine is essential to assure a maximum throughput. Therefore Russell Finex provide their machines for trials at either the customers site or at their specialized test facilities. By offering this service customers are assured they have the right machine for the application.



With offices in the UK, Belgium, USA and India and a broad network of agents, Russell Finex serve over 140 countries offering the support you need. Within the chemical industry Russell Finex have offered screening solutions such as the precise filtration of liquid paint, the sieving of chemical powders and separation or recovery of plastic. Below you can read more about the machines suitable for these applications.



Liquid paint filtration



The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter has been used by many coating companies for the filtration of liquid paint. The filter provides a fine and continuous filtration down to 15m, removing any impurity or skins from the paint at the end of the production line. The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter is a major advancement compared to bag- or cartridge filters. It has a stainless steel re-usable filter element which is continuously cleaned by a wiper system. This way product loss is minimized and costs for replacing bag or filter media are eliminated.



Sieving chemical powders



Russell Finex have often provided the Russell Compact Sieve for the sieving of various chemical powders. This vibratory sieve meets the high standards of the industry. It is a reliable machine providing a consistent high capacity and accurate fine screening. In combination with the Vibrasonic Deblinding System, which uses ultrasonic frequencies to keep the mesh clear, sticky or porous chemical powders can be easily screened down to 20m.



Separation or recovery of plastics



The Finex Separator is a multi-purpose machine which can be used for separation, grading, screening, dewatering or recovery. This high performance machine is often used for the grading of plastics pellets such as masterbatch. When installed with up to 4 meshes, the Finex Separator is able to provide 5 accurate product fractions. The Finex Separator is also used to process recovered or recycled plastics, like UPVC. The machine separates unwanted material from the plastic and grades it leaving a pure fraction fit for reuse.



Please visit the Russell Finex website for more information about separation equipment for the chemical industry.
The ceremony began at 10.09, an auspicious time. The rituals of purification and anointing turned the man into a Buddhist deity. The king ascended to the throne in 2016, following the death of the late monarch Bhumibol.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) - This morning King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned king of Thailand, at the start of three days of ceremonies.

Dressed in the golden robe required for the occasion, the 66-year-old monarch placed the 7.3 kilo Great Crown of Victory on his head before issuing his first royal command: "I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever.

The coronation began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, with the purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

The king received the five Royal Regalia - the symbols of kingship - which include the Great Crown of Victory, the Royal Slippers, the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Sceptre.

The celebrations will last until Monday and represent the kings transformation from human into a divine figure.

Today, in addition to the coronation and gifts, Rama X will visit the Emerald Buddha temple (Wat Phra Kaew), where he will proclaim himself Royal Patron of Buddhism. Afterwards, he will symbolically move into the official Royal Residence with a housewarming ceremony.

Tomorrow he will ride the Royal Palanquin allowing people to pay homage to him. On Monday, he will grant a public audience on a balcony in the Grand Palace.

Born on 28 July 1952, King Vajiralongkorn is the second child (only male) of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He has an older sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya  who recently put herself forward as a candidate in an election, only to be forced to withdraw because traditionally the royal family remains above politics  and two younger siblings, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn Walailak.

He studied abroad, in Great Britain and Australia, and was proclaimed heir to the throne on 28 December 1972.

King Vajiralongkorn, who will be known from now on simply as Rama X, is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since in 1782.

He ascended the throne in 2016 following the death of his beloved father, but had to wait until after a long mourning period before he could be crowned. Two days ago, in a surprise move, he married Queen Suthida Tidjai, his former bodyguard.
Guest Commentary

As president, Donald Trump has leaned heavily upon what he has called an America First policy. This nationalist approach involves walking away from cooperative agreements with other nations and relying, instead, upon a dominant role for the United States, under girded by military might, in world affairs.

Nevertheless, as numerous recent opinion polls reveal, most Americans dont support this policy.

The reaction of the American public to Trumps withdrawal of the United States from key international agreements has been hostile. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in early May 2018, shortly before Trump announced a pullout from the Iran nuclear agreement, 54 percent of respondents backed the agreement. Only 29 percent favored a pullout.

In July 2018, when the Chicago Council on Global Affairs surveyed Americans about their reaction to Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement, it found that 66 favored remaining within the Iran accord, while 68 percent favored remaining within the Paris accord  an increase of six percent in support for each of these agreements over the preceding year.

Most Americans also rejected Trumps 2019 withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. A survey that February by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reported that 54 percent of Americans opposed withdrawal from this nuclear arms control treaty and only 41 percent favored it. Furthermore, when pollsters presented arguments for and against withdrawal from the treaty to Americans before asking for their opinion, 66 percent opposed withdrawal.

In addition, despite Trumps sharp criticism of U.S. allies, most Americans expressed their support for a cooperative relationship with them. The Chicago Councils July 2018 survey found that 66 percent of Americans agreed that the United States should make decisions with its allies, even if it meant that the U.S. government would have to go along with a policy other than its own. Only 32 percent disagreed. Similarly, a March 2019 Pew Research poll found that 54 percent of American respondents wanted the U.S. government to take into account the interests of its allies, even if that meant compromising with them, while only 40 percent said the U.S. government should follow its national interests when its allies strongly disagreed.

Moreover, despite the Trump administrations attacks upon the United Nations and other international human rights entities  including pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council, withdrawing from UNESCO, defunding UN relief efforts for Palestinians, and threatening to prosecute the judges of the International Criminal Court  public support for international institutions remained strong. In July 2018, 64 percent of Americans surveyed told the Chicago Councils pollsters that the United States should be more willing to make decisions within the framework of the UN, even if that meant going along with a policy other than its own. This was the highest level of agreement on this question since 2004, when it was first asked. In February 2019, 66 percent of U.S. respondents to a Gallup survey declared that the UN played a necessary role in the world today.

But what about expanding U.S. military power? Given the Trump administrations success at fostering a massive military buildup, isnt there widespread enthusiasm about that?

On this point, too, the administrations priorities are strikingly out of line with the views of most Americans. A National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey of U.S. public opinion, conducted from April through November 2018, found that only 27 percent of respondents thought that the U.S. government spent too little on the military, while 66 percent thought that it spent either too much or about the right amount. By contrast, 77 percent said the government spent too little on education, 71 percent said it spent too little on assistance to the poor, and 70 percent said it spent too little on improving and protecting the nations health.

In February 2019, shortly after Trump indicated he would seek another hefty spending increase in the U.S. military budget, bringing it to an unprecedented $750 billion, only 25 percent of American respondents to a Gallup poll stated that the U.S. government was spending too little on the military. Another 73 percent said that the government was spending too much on it or about the right amount.

Moreover, when it comes to using U.S. military might, Americans seem considerably less hawkish than the Trump administration. According to a July 2018 survey by the Eurasia Group Foundation, U.S. respondents  asked what should be done if Iran gets back on track with its nuclear weapons program favored diplomatic responses over military responses by 80 percent to 12.5 percent. That same month, as the Chicago Council noted, almost three times as many Americans believed that admiration for the United States (73 percent) was more important than fear of their country (26 percent) for achieving U.S. foreign policy goals.

Unlike the president, who has boasted of U.S. weapons sales to other countries, particularly to Saudi Arabia, Americans are also rather uncomfortable about the U.S. role as the worlds pre-eminent arms dealer. In November 2018, 58 percent of Americans surveyed told YouGov that they wanted the U.S. government to curtail or halt its arms sales to the Saudi Arabian government, while only 13 percent wanted to maintain or increase such sales.

Finally, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to express their support for nuclear arms control and disarmament. In the aftermath of Trumps withdrawal of the United States from the INF treaty and announcement of plans to build new nuclear weapons, 87 percent of respondents to a February 2019 poll by Chicago Council said they wanted the United States and Russia to come to an agreement to limit nuclear arms.

The real question is not whether most Americans disagree with Trumps America First national security policy but, rather, what they are willing to do about it.

Dr. Lawrence Wittner syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor of history emeritus at SUNY/Albany. He is the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).
Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T) has known that the hydropower cable that connects Haines and Skagway to the Kasidaya hydropower project has been vulnerable to damage for years, predicting the faults that the cable would develop with great accuracy. Still, no steps were taken to provide maintenance.

An average household in Haines or Skagway pays between $200 and $250 a month for power, according to AP&T power operations manager Darren Belisle

They charge us a lot of money for the electricity we use, and maintenance has to be a part of their budget, said veteran Haines Borough planning commissioner Rob Goldberg.

We dont have any routine maintenance, Belisle said. Because its hard to do when its in such deep water.

Belisle explained that there are only a few ships in the world capable of dealing with a hydropower cable at that depth, and it costs at least $250,000 to bring one of them here. The 17-mile armored cable is 4.5 inches in diameter and rests below 800 feet of water at the place where the cable is damaged worst.

On March 3, AP&T first lost communication with the Kasidaya plant and realized that some of the cables fiber-optics were damaged. The company contacted a remotely operated submarine to assess the damage. It arrived two weeks later, which Belisle said is a fast response time. The submarine found significant damage caused by underwater landslides, which are frequent occurrences in the Taiya River Delta. Since the end of March, AP&T has known that the cable is on the verge of failure.

Nothing has changed, said Belisle. Now, AP&T is going through the process of a long and complex contingency plan. AP&T is just beginning to talk to the municipality about other places to relocate the cable.

In 2011, then AP&T operations manager Danny Gonce predicted that one or more faults would develop on the cable within the next 10 years.

Its not a question of if, its a question of when our cable is going to fail, the CVN reported that Gonce said.

When exactly the cable might failThats the million-dollar question, said Belisle. Reading all of the documentation on them, they last from 20 years to 50 years. Theres quite a large gap there, said Belisle.

The hydropower cable was bought for $6 million in 1998. According to CVN reporting from 2011, the Italian manufacturer that built the cable, Pirrelli, guaranteed it for 30 years. Since then, Pirelli has been taken over by a company called Prysmian, and Prysmian did not respond for comment about the cables warranty. The cable is now 21 years old. Belisle estimated that a new cable would cost $7 million.

If that cable does have an expected life span, then its a maintenance item. And if its a maintenance issue, it should be replaced in a timely manner, said Goldberg, We said it back (in 2011), why dont you just schedule this and replace it if its a maintenance item? But they didnt do it.

AP&Ts explanation for not providing cable maintenance was that it was unaffordable and impractical to do so.

If the power cable fails, it will take at least six months to replace it, according to Belisle, meaning that for at least six months, Haines would rely on diesel power.

In 2010, AP&T first proposed to build a hydropower project closer to Haines, on Connelly Lake, which many opposed due to environmental concerns. In 2013, due to the high cost of the project, AP&T scrapped its Connelly Lake plans.
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.
Q&A with Greg Laurie: America ripe for spiritual awakening

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SoCal Pastor Greg Laurie caught up with My Faith Votes recently at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He talked openly with us about his new book, Jesus Revolution, Americas need for another spiritual awakening, the churchs role as salt and light and where our ultimate hope lies. For a few truly uplifting moments, watch the full interview.

Standing in front of the colorful Jesus Revolution bus, Pastor Greg Laurie shared his testimony of becoming a Christ-follower during Americas last great spiritual revival  the Jesus Movement  in the 1960s and 1970s. He believes America is in desperate need of spiritual revival today and that the apparent divisions in our country over race, economic status, politics, religion, etc., poses no obstacle to God. In fact, Laurie suggests the timing might be more ripe for spiritual awakening because most revivals seem to happen during times of conflict.

Laurie says Christians must pray for spiritual revival in their own lives as a catalyst for America to experience spiritual revival and must recommit to follow the biblical exhortation to live as salt and light in our culture. By comparing believers to salt, Laurie says the Bible calls Christians to be cultural preservatives, and the best way to do that is to proclaim the gospel. As light, Christians are to beat back the darkness and stop the spread of evil.

Along with prayer and preaching, Laurie suggests a practical way for Christians to oppose evil is to register and vote. No candidate will ever align perfectly with biblical values but, he says, find one that is as close to biblical values as possible and vote for them.

Thats our core mission at My Faith Votes. We work every day to empower Christians to put their faith into action. That means helping Christians to be informed and think well about the issues being decided at the ballot box, to pray for our country and our leaders and, ultimately, to live out our faith by voting.

There is no perfect political or cultural solution for America. Our hope is in nothing that human beings can do, Laurie says. Our hope is in God. The Bible calls that our blessed hope.
National Day of Prayer: David Platt on the 'greatest hindrance' to advancing the Gospel

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WASHINGTON  Influential megachurch pastor and best-selling author David Platt voiced concerns about a trend within church culture that he suspects might be the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel today.

As Americans celebrate The National Day of Prayer Thursday, Platt spoke before a group of church leaders gathered for the Mens and Womens Prayer Breakfast Wednesday morning at The Willard Hotel located about a block from the White House in Washington, D.C.

The Radical author and former leader of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board explained that church and ministry leaders are too frequently tempted to accomplish their ministry goals through human abilities and ingenuity without the presence of God.

I believe you and I are tempted in a strangely similar way all across our church culture, said Platt, the teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. Think about it. You and I are tempted every day in our lives and in our churches to do the work of God apart from the power and the presence of God.

Lets be honest with each other. We have created a whole host of means and methods to our ministry today that require little if no help at all from the Holy Spirit of God, he continued. We dont have to fast and pray for the Church to go. We have marketing for that today.

It's dangerously possible for leaders to carry on the machinery and activity of churches and ministries," the 39-year-old pastor said. "All of it to be successful in the eyes of the world and we can never notice that the Holy Spirit is totally absent from it, Platt worried.

If we are not careful, we can deceive ourselves by mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a building for the existence of spiritual life in a church. I wonder if the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel in our day may be the attempt of the people to do the work of God apart from the power of the Spirit of God.

He suggests that the greatest barrier to spreading the Gospel might not be the self-indulgent immorality of our culture but rather the self-sufficient mentality in the Church evident in our prayerlessness.

Earlier in his keynote message, Platt explained that he recently returned from a preaching trip in South Korea. He said it was a trip in which the Lord convicted him in a fresh and deep way after seeing how hours of intentional prayer, repentance and fasting played a major role in the spiritual awakening in the country.

Platt noted that around 1900, less than 1 percent of the Korean Peninsula was Christian. But in 2000, there were as many as 10 million Christians in South Korea. Today, the country is only second to the United States in the number of missionaries sent around the world.

At the church I was preaching at recently, they still gather every morning. They have a prayer gathering every Friday night, all night to pray. There's not a formal event for them once a year. Prayer is a way of life every single day in the church. And I walked away convicted because I have not led the church well in this way, in a country where I am part of the church culture where I preach at conferences and events filled with hours of talks and sermons and relative minutes of prayer and confession.

Platt warned that leaders in the American Church culture are known for preaching and teaching, writing and blogging, organizing and strategizing, planning and planting.

But we are not known for our praying and fasting, He added. And in this, we're in profound danger of missing the whole point. When was the last time we got together with the church just for worship on Sunday and crowds of people fell on our faces weeping for hidden sin in our midst, crying out for God's mercy upon us? We have no room because we need to get on to the next song we have planned, the next program that is waiting.

What kind of church culture have we created where we pastors, members of churches like ours, are content to go week after week after week in church, watch what happens on stage and then move on with our lives? Platt asked.

Platt pointed to Exodus 33, a story in which Moses and the Israelites were faced with the possibility of having to journey to the promised land flowing with milk and honey without the presence of God.

So what does Moses do when faced with the prospect of doing Gods work apart from Gods presence? He prays. He goes in the tent of meeting, Platt explained. You should see this scene.

Platt detailed the scene in which Moses goes far outside of the camp to set up a tent in which he meets face-to-face with God just as a man speaks to a friend. A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Moses as he entered the tent and were struck with awe when the pillar of cloud came down to speak with Moses.

This is one of those places where you cant believe this is in the Old Testament, right? Platt commented. We didnt gather here today to watch Ronnie [Floyd] go into a tent or anybody go into a tent. Every single one of us can go into the tent. We dont have to go anywhere. You are the tent.

Platt added that Christians today have the privilege to speak with God face-to-face before they even get out of bed in the morning, a privilege that we have that Old Testament saints could only long for.

We have the privilege of knowing God face-to-face through Jesus what He has done on the cross for us, Platt said. What a privilege we have. Lets not forsake this privilege. Moses goes in and he says, I cant do this without you. He pleads for Gods presence to go with him. And God answers.

Lets do this. Lets get on our faces before God, not just these couple of days but day after day, all night in our churches and say, God we cant do this without you. We need Your grace. We need Your mercy. We need Your presence among us.

Platt called for ministries in the U.S. to throw aside their damning dependence on natural ability and human ingenuity and plead for God to do in our churches, across our countries and among the nations what only God can do.

Keep on pleading until the day when Scripture promises we will see His face and all His unchanging perfections, Platt concluded. Purposes and promises will come to pass in His ever-unfolding plan in which you and I get to play a part. Lets play our part.

In addition to various National Day of Prayer events held throughout the country on Thursday, a national observance ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Child sex trafficking victims, ex-drug addicts find healing in Duck Dynasty star's jewelry line

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Driven by her belief that God is a God of grace, forgiveness, and redemption, Missy Robertson is giving hurting and broken women a second chance at life through her new jewelry line.

The former Duck Dynasty star told The Christian Post she created Laminin by Missy Robertson back in 2016 to provide jobs for women in the West Monroe, Louisiana, area coming out of the sex industry, addiction, and poverty, among other life issues.

When women come to apply for a job, they dont fear checking that box that says have you ever been convicted of a felony? That doesnt scare us, and it doesnt stop us from hiring you, Robertson told CP. I strongly believe in second chances, and Laminin is about second chances.

But that wasnt always the goal.

Robertson, a mother of three, admitted that when he first conceived of Laminin  not without the help of her mother-in-law, Miss Kay, she said  it was with the intention of helping women like herself.

I pictured women who had married early and didnt have a college degree but were working and at the same time trying to be involved in their children's lives, she said. But Gods will is different from ours, and it takes a while to see it.

The women who applied were nothing like me, she continued. Theyd had tumultuous backgrounds and many of them were basically the result of being on drugs, whether their choice or their parents choice. Many of them were trying to stay out of trouble and had lost everything they had because they had been in prison.

Robertson recounted the story of Brandy, a former Laminin staff member who has overcome a life of drugs, crime, and unimaginable abuses. She shared how Brandy was born with drugs in her system and at the age of 9, was sold by her own mother into prostitution.

Her own mother took her to men at truck stops to fuel her drug habit, Robertson said. She would be tied to a bed and given drugs so that these men could do what they wanted to her.

Addicted to drugs and desperate to make ends meet, Brandy ended up prostituting herself and eventually ended up in prison on a slew of charges. While in prison, Brandy found Christ and decided to turn her life around.

While working with Robertson at Laminin, Brandy went on to finish school and earned her degree in counseling. Now married, she has a daughter of her own and works to help save other women from the life that nearly destroyed her.

I would just say one word, and thats God, Robertson said. Its truly amazing how He works.

The former A&E star shared another story of a Laminin employee who was previously involved in the mafia: One day, she was put into a vehicle, blindfolded, Robertson said. They took her to this area where a man was tied to a tree. They said, This man was caught talking, and heres what happens to people who talk. They shot him, right in front of her.

These things happened right in my hometown, she continued. This is a huge problem, and what were trying to do is provide them a safe environment to come to and give them the skill to create something thats useful and beautiful. It gives them purpose and value.

This month, the Laminin website was re-launched. Each piece of jewelry available is handcrafted and consists of natural stones and beads with mixed metals, deer horns, Druzy stones, leather, rosary beads, and more. Robertson emphasized that Laminin is a business  not a charity.

Thats something I feel strongly about, Robertson said. If this was a charity, these women would have their hands out. Theyve learned how to manipulate the world around them to get what they can to survive. If this business grows and thrives, its because of their commitment to it. Every time I walk in with another success story, whether its a new account or business, they get so excited and thrilled because they feel that what theyve done is valuable.

She explained that Laminin is a molecular protein that holds everything in our bodies together. If seen through a microscope, laminin is in the exact shape of the cross. The organizations mission verse Colossians 1:17: He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

This year alone, weve had three women come to Christ at Laminin, Robertson shared. God has His hand all over this ministry. When women come to work for Laminin, not only do they get a second chance at life, they learn about the greatest gift there is  and thats a relationship with the Lord.

Yes, its a business, but its a ministry, too, she added. What greater way to grow the kingdom of God.


Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian writer, dies at age 37

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Rachel Held Evans, a New York Times best-selling progressive Christian writer, has died at age 37.

Evans died Saturday morning at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after she had been in a medically induced coma for several weeks.

It is with a broken heart that we share with you that Rachel Held Evans died early this morning. She took a serious turn on Thursday morning and deteriorated quickly. Rachel died in the very early morning hours of May 4, 2019. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends  we sang and we prayed and we held her always. We are grateful for your prayers and for all the ways you have supported not only her but her family especially Dan and the kids, wrote Sarah Bessey, a feminist Christian author and friend of Evans in an update on the official GoFundMe page for the family.

In a public statement on the crowdfunding page, Evans' husband, Dan, wrote:

"Rachel was slowly weaned from the coma medication. Her seizures returned but at a reduced rate. There were periods of time where she didnt have seizures at all. Rachel did not return to an alert state during this process. The hospital team worked to diagnose the primary cause of her seizures and proactively treated for some known possible causes for which diagnostics were not immediately available due to physical limitations.

"Early Thursday morning, May 2, Rachel experienced sudden and extreme changes in her vitals. The team at the hospital discovered extensive swelling of her brain and took emergency action to stabilize her. The team worked until Friday afternoon to the best of their ability to save her. This swelling event caused severe damage and ultimately was not survivable.

"Rachel died early Saturday morning, May 4, 2019.

"This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her."

In an email to Ruth Graham of Slate on Saturday, Dan Evans added: She put others before herself. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

Evans announced on April 14 that she was in the hospital to treat the flu and a urinary tract infection and had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. She then began experiencing symptoms that caused her to have constant seizures and was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Jeff Chu, a reporter and friend of Evans, wrote on Twitter Saturday: She gave me some of the best advice I ever received. She loved me so, so, so welland I know I'm not alone in that, because she gave so much of herself to others. Last night, a few of us gathered to say goodbye to her. I got to hold her hand and thank her for being who she was.

Pray for Dan and their two beautiful children. And I love you, Rachel, and I miss you so much already, he added on Twitter.

Chu and Bessey are co-curators with Evans for the Evolving Faith Conference. They, along with Jim Chaffee, started the GoFundMe page that has raised over $122,000 to help pay for the cost of Evans medical care.

Christian writer Jen Hatmaker, who made headlines in 2015 for voicing support for the legality of same-sex marriage, also shared her reaction on Twitter Saturday: Eshet chayil, beloved Woman of Valor. You ran a beautiful, faithful race. We are crushed. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Evans was a former evangelical who joined an Episcopal church and operated a blog that is popular among progressive Christians.

She wrote the book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a New York Times best-selling e-book in 2012. She also authored other titles such as Searching for Sunday, Faith Unraveled and Inspired.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, continued to call for an outpouring of support from believers across the political and theological spectrum for Evans' family.

On Saturday, Moore extended his public condolences in a post on Twitter: "I am shocked and broken-hearted to hear of the death of @rachelheldevans. Please stop right now and pray for this young family."

He also encouraged believers to continue to donate to Evans' family to help pay for expenses incurred for treatment at the hospital: ".@rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills."
North Korean defector details decade of abuse, forced labor at orphanage

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WASHINGTON  A North Korean defector recounted Thursday the hell she experienced during a decade full of abuse, starvation and enslavement as an orphan in the rogue nation, a fate that too many children are still experiencing today under the Kim regime.

As part of a weeklong advocacy effort in support of human rights reform in North Korea, Park Ji-Hye told attendees at an event held at the Family Research Council headquarters that she spent time in two different orphanages after her father died of starvation during a famine in the 1990s.

With her mom having been trafficked to China, Park said she knows too well the desperate situation facing North Korean orphans today, as they have no social protections guaranteed by the government and are treated as property in the country that has been ruled by the repressive Kim dynasty over the past 70 years.

It was just like going through hell for me to live in an orphanage, then running around by myself and being trafficked to China, Park said through a translator during a 45-minute recounting of her life. It was a long journey of suffering. I know for sure even now there are people going through the same thing, whether it's in an orphanage or in China.

While much attention has been paid in the last several years to the fact that thousands of Koreans are worked to death in labor camps, not as much focus has been paid to the human rights abuses being committed in North Korean orphanages, said Suzanne Schulte, head of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a key organizer behind North Korea Freedom Week.

I can tell you when we brought the first survivors of the political prison camp to testify [before Congress] in the late 1990s, people did not believe the stories because there were only a few witnesses, Schulte said.

Now, there have been hundreds of folks that have been able to escape and testify about the horrible political prison camps that are really death camps for innocent men, women and children. Today, we're facing that same issue except now it is the orphans.

Schulte, who has been involved in North Korea human rights advocacy for over 20 years, said that many people dont know what is happening to orphans in North Korea because there are very few survivors.

Thursdays North Korea Freedom Week event at FRC was the first time Park has shared her story on the international stage, according to an event organizer.

Life in two orphanages

Park was born into a family of four children. She has a younger sister, an older sister, and a younger brother and her mother left home on a quest to run a business in hopes of supporting her family. However, Parks mom ended up being trafficked into neighboring China.

In the 1990s famine spread throughout North Korea. It's been estimated that between 330,000 up to 3 million people died as a result of starvation. One of those people was Parks father, who worked as a miner.

While her younger sister was adopted and her older sister was allowed to live at her grandmothers house (before defecting at the age of 13), Park and her younger brother were not as fortunate.

The first orphanage they went to, she said, was a state-run orphanage where countless children were being housed in a three-story building.

The facility was awful and they didnt provide any food to children, she explained. So many children tried to escape and jumped out of the building.

Park and her younger brother eventually escaped and fled to their grandmothers house. During that time, her brother became ill and they both stayed at their grandmothers house until he recovered before being sent to a second orphanage where they were held for about 10 years.

She said it was a private orphanage run by a married couple. The couple themselves were honored as heroes by the Kim regime, she recalled.

According to Park, there were 170 children at the orphanage. Each bedroom housed as many as 30 children, she added.

The family that ran the orphanage also ran a farm at the same time. Park said that a typical day for the orphans started at 4 a.m. as they were forced to work for two hours on the farm.

At 6 a.m., she added, the children would then be forced to march in the streets to wake people up. Following that, they would head back to the orphanage for breakfast.

After breakfast, the school-aged children would go to school while the rest of the children would go back to work in the field.

At school, Park said, the facilities were awful and only one textbook was provided for the whole class. Also, the students were not provided with lunch at the school.

After school, the orphans returned and were forced to go into the mountain to fetch firewood. According to Park, each orphan had a quota to meet. If the orphan didnt meet his or her quota, they would not be given dinner.

This meant that Park, whose younger brother was only 6 at the time and too weak to carry his weight, had to work doubly hard to ensure that both she and her brother would eat each day.

At night, the children would be called into self-criticism sessions, park added.

Not only did we have to confess what we did wrong that day, we also had to criticize others for what they did wrong, she remembers. Since we lived together, we basically took a turn to say, I would criticize you today and you can criticize me tomorrow.

Those who made mistakes, they were scolded and punished, she continued.

Following the self-criticism session came the recreation session, when the children were made to sing and dance.

But even if the children cried, they had to smile and pretend they were having a good time during singing and dancing, she said.

It wouldnt be until about 10 p.m. that children would be allowed to go to bed on most nights, Park explained.

That is how I lived for about 10 years of my life, she contended.

The three sons

Park said that manual labor was only part of the problem with the orphanage. The worst part of the orphanage, she recalled, was the three sons of the couple that owned the orphanage.

Although the sons were all married, they considered the girls in the orphanage as their possession or slave they could use.

Whenever they liked, they designated one person. There was no choice for the girls that were designated and anyone who did not fulfill their needs or request, then all the children were summoned. In the morning, we found out the first thing, they would share who was called and who got pregnant by the three sons.

Park said that the mother who ran the orphanage tried hard to cover up what her sons were doing.

Most of the time the pregnant girls had an abortion, Park explained.

Park detailed that one of the sons tried to abuse her. However, the mother prevented Park from getting abused by the son because Park has family on the outside. She said that children with family on the outside of the orphanage were largely protected from such abuses.

However, Park wasnt completely shielded from abuse. She recalled a time in which the mother of the orphanage allowed her to borrow a bicycle and go to the market to buy something.

But when she returned, she said that one of the sons summoned all the children because he was furious that the bike was taken without his permission. Park told the son that his mother had allowed her to take the bike. As punishment, the son forced all the children to stand outside barefoot for 30 minutes in the winter cold.

During this time, Park said the son started beating the orphans with his belt.

He started to beat me also with the belt but the female owner came in and screamed at her son, she said.

For the next month, the female owner allowed Park to stay in a special room with just her and her husband to recuperate from the scars all over her body. After the husband tried to abuse Park, she asked to move back into the room with all the other children.

Eventually, the female owner got Park out of the orphanage by sending her to work and live at a restaurant. But during her three months at the restaurant, Park said she was treated like a slave.

The husband of the owner of the restaurant was disabled. After long hours of work at the restaurant, I would go back to the house and take care of the husband, she recounted. After three months, I got ill because of the hard work in the restaurant.

She was then forced to move back to the orphanage. She stayed there for about another year before she finally escaped at age 19.

I decided to escape from the orphanage and live my own life, she said.

Living her own life

Park said she immediately went back to her grandmothers house but was scolded for fleeing from the orphanage. So Park asked one of her grandmothers neighbors if she could stay at their house, which she was allowed to do.

Eventually, the orphanage released her younger brother at the age of 16 because he was on the verge of death from starvation. Park said they released her brother so that he wouldnt die in the orphanage. The orphanage, she said, was more worried about keeping its reputation intact than helping her brother.

He came back to my grandmother's house and stayed there to recover. My grandfather decided to let both of us go because he couldnt take care of us anymore, she said. We started wandering around in the street. In order to support my younger brother, I started my business in the market.

Park said she was inspired to go into the market because her sister who was adopted did. Eventually, Park rented a room in a small house that she and her brother could stay in.

Park also borrowed money on high interest in order to start her business and pay for her brothers expensive medication. She was eventually beaten because she was not able to pay back the lender.

Trafficked to China

After being beaten, Park decided to flee to China. But without money to flee, she decided that the best route was to get trafficked to China.

I stayed there about a year-and-a-half in China and I married a Chinese man and gave birth to a son, she explained, adding that her child was stateless because he couldnt be registered to a government.

In China, Park reunited with her two sisters and as a family they fled to South Korea.

When they arrived in South Korea, Park said the sisters discovered that their mother, who had been trafficked to China when they were children, had also resettled in China.

All four members in my family reunited and having a great life in South Korea now, she said.

Whats happening now?

Although Parks horrifying past is behind her, she recognizes that there are still helpless children in the same shoes that she was in.

I am a mother with two children now. I have my own family, she said. Whenever I see orphans, I feel the same pain that they might be going through. I really urge that the international community will get together to solve this North Korean human rights issue.

Kim Yong-Hwa, a former military officer who escaped North Korea in 1988 and founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association, told the audience that the Kim regime has put up propaganda-type orphanages that foreign delegations are sent to in order to get the idea that orphans in North Korea are well cared for.

These are orphanages set up to show the outside world, Kim said. This is for Kim Jong-Un, he wants to promote that he loves children, which is show and nonsense. This show and a lot of people are believing in the nonsense that he has set up for the outside world.

At the private orphanage that Park was at, she explained that it received humanitarian support from humanitarian associations from other countries because it was famous for being run by so-called heroes.

As soon as officials from the humanitarian associations left, two of the North Korean officials arrived and took half of the aid we got from them, she explained. After that, the family of the founders took most of the leftovers which left us almost nothing. Children in the orphanage were starving.

After listening to Parks experience, Kim vouched by saying that orphanages in North Korea are like a slavery facility.

When you hear the word orphanage, you think of a place where kids can be safe and be adopted, that is not what orphanages are like in North Korea, Schulte added.

In addition to the orphans in North Korea, Kim said there are as many as 40,000 North Korea orphans who have crossed the border into China.

Recently, we have seen even the boys are being sold and trafficked. They are being sold to coal mines as workers or as hard laborers in mountains and woods. Even if they die, there is no compensation. There is nothing. Even if the employees dont get money, there is nothing to complain about with the Chinese government [which repatriates defectors back to North Korea]. There is really no way to improve the circumstances for them. As they have lived as slaves in North Korea, even in [China], they are also living as de-facto slaves.
Why Is Kim Jong Un Afraid of Christianity? Group Points to Clash Between Jesus and 'Supreme Leader'

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A persecution watchdog group has explored the reasons why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains "afraid" of Christianity, which go to the heart of people's beliefs about Jesus.

"It's likely because people who are following Jesus and who are committed to one another mean there are people he can't control, and who follow a greater King. It means there are people who practice radical love for each other and for Jesus  who won't so easily follow him and the lies of his regime," Open Doors USA suggested.

"This is why Christians continue to be seen as 'dangerous' and are also part of the hostile class, according to the country's social system called songbun. What this means is that anyone who is known to be a follower of Jesus is immediately assumed to be a hostile political figure."

The organization, which lists North Korea as the No.1 worst persecutor of Christians around the world, noted that Christianity "directly challenges the notion of any Supreme Leader and the idea that there is any master outside of Jesus Christ. Additionally, Christianity offers a new way and identity for people in North Korea. Both aspects of faith are direct threats to the ruling family of North Korea."

Kim has reportedly made the unprecedented move of inviting Roman Cathoic leader Pope Francis to visit him in Pyongyang, with reports indicating that the pontiff is considering agreeing to the meeting.

Kim, who earlier this year met U.S. President Donald Trump in another controversial and unprecedented meeting, has been criticized by the United Nations for human rights abuses in the country's labor camps.

Kim continues making moves to meet major world leaders, though the consequences of that for the suffering minorities in his country, including close to 300,000 Christians, are yet unclear.

Back in May, the congressionally-mandated 2017 International Religious Freedom report by the U.S. found that there are between 80,000 to 120,000 people trapped in North Korea camps, many imprisoned for their faith.

"The government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in almost any religious practices through executions, torture, beatings, and arrests," the report stated.

"An estimated 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, some imprisoned for religious reasons, were believed to be held in the political prison camp system in remote areas under horrific conditions.

"Religious and human rights groups outside the country continued to provide numerous reports that members of underground churches were arrested, beaten, tortured, and killed because of their religious beliefs."

Christian defectors have spoken of torture they have suffered at the hands of the North Korean regime. Believers are often thrown in prison or even executed if they are found with a Bible.

Amid the uncertainty for believers, Open Doors urged people to pray.

"Please continue to join your brothers and sisters in North Korea in prayer. Pray for their strength in the face of a regime that views their faith as a special threat. Pray for God's grace in every situation. And pray for a change in the hearts of the regime, that they would see the love of Jesus as the road to truth and peace," the group stated.
Alabama lawmaker defends abortion: 'You kill them now or kill them later'

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A Democratic state representative in Alabama justified the practice of abortion during a debate over a pro-life bill by arguing that some kids are unwanted" and you either "kill them now or kill them later."

Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham garnered widespread condemnation for comments he made during a debate over House Bill 314, which makes most abortion procedures a felony. The bill eventually passed by a vote of 743.

Rogers argued that he was opposed to the bill because he believed it was a womans choice whether to abort her children, and then went on to say that some kids are unwanted.

Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later, said Rogers.

Rogers' statement was posted to social media on Wednesday by Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra, whose tweet got as of Thursday afternoon over 7,700 retweets.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Saavedras post and weighed in on the comments by Rogers, describing them as stomach curling.

Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we've seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening, tweeted Trump Jr.

Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review called the comment horrifying and chilling, adding in an opinion column that she believed it was a striking reminder of how rarely abortion rights activists openly admit the reality of the right they are demanding.

Most often, they dismiss unborn human beings as a clump of cells or a parasite within the mother, wrote DeSanctis.

Rogers has exposed those lies, admitting, as abortion defenders so rarely do, that every abortion procedure  no matter when or how it takes place  intentionally ends an innocent human life.

For his part, Rogers has defended his comments, saying in a statement on Thursday that his comments were centered on his belief that Alabama in general does not value human life.

Weve closed 13 rural hospitals in this state, including Cooper Green. We have put hundreds of people in jail. Making it hard for you to get food stamps. In other words, if youre on drug tests, you cant get food stamps, said Rogers, as reported by al.com.

And then youve got at least two people a night dying in our Alabama prisons. It just doesnt make sense. So why do you want to bring these people in the world and then deny them the right to process and live in Alabama?
The murder took place on the morning of 17 October 2011. The defendants are the two alleged killers, a tribal leader and three militants, and the member of a paramilitary group. Charges against the former mayor of Arakan and two army officers previously investigated have been dropped. The four key witnesses are under the protection of the authorities.

Manila (AsiaNews)  A court in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, has remanded seven people for trial in connection with the unsolved murder of Fr Fausto "Pops" Tentorio (picture 1), a priest with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), this according to Fr Pietro Geremia, also a missionary with the Milan-based Institute in Mindanao.

Fr Tentorio was killed on the morning of 17 October 2011, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Aid in Arakan, North Cotabato (Mindanao). He had been in the Philippines for more than 32 years

Because of his work in favour of Manobo tribes threatened by mining, the missionary was not liked by the Filipino military. In December 2017, the case took a new turn when new suspects came into the picture.

Now a court has now decided to try the new suspects: Jimmy and Robert Ato (the suspected killers); Jan Corbala, commander of a group of tribal militants called Bagani, and three members of his unit; and Nene Durado, a member of the Ilaga movement, a group of fanatic Christian settlers who have been fighting against Muslims and tribals since the 1970s and who still continue to steal land from them.

It should be noted that the charges against some people who had previously been investigated were dismissed. These are the former mayor of Arakan, Romulo Tagpos, and two businessmen from the city; the Lieutenant Colonel Joven Gonzales and last Major Mark Espiritu, officers in command of the 57th Army Battalion and Special Forces units at the time of the killing of Fr Fausto.

In the brief filed on 1st April by Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan G. Parrocha (picture 2), the circumstances of the missionarys murder are summarised: "That on or about 7:20 oclock in the morning of October 17, 2011, at the compound of Our Mother of Perpetual Help parish, Arakan, North Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and mutually aiding one another, with the aim of accomplishing a common design, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously kill FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO.

The indictment goes on to say that the accused, with treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, and with evident premeditation, as shown by evidence that such killing was previously planned on October 20, 2011 at Sitio Kamanagan, Brgy. Ganatan shot and hit said harmless victim FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO, several times using 9mm caliber firearm with frangible bullets, hitting him several times on his head, trunk and the different parts of his body, which caused his instantaneous death.

As preparations for the trial get underway, "The four key witnesses and their families are kept in a safe house under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Fr Geremia noted. There are also new witnesses preparing to testify.

"The trial can identify the perpetrators and the motive for the killing. It can obtain at least partial justice for Fr Fausto and other similar Extra Judicial Victims (EJK). The trial can provide more security to the witnesses so that they can return to their homes and their jobs.

"It can also provide more security for those who continue the programs of Fr Fausto and all those who serve the Tribals all over the country, and it can even inspire more volunteers to serve the poor.

Finally, "It can bring some comfort to the Tentorio family and to the PIME family and to all the communities who shared Fr Faustos activities. In particular, it can contribute to the peace process in Arakan and Mindanao.
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Speaking at a campaign event last week in Nevada, Democratic Presidential candidate Robert Francis Beto O'Rourke was asked by a student how he will protect a womans right to access safe and legal abortion.

During his response, ORourke reiterated his support for abortion rights. This was unsurprising. Every Democratic Presidential candidate this election cycle is a vocal proponent of legal abortion. However, during his response, ORourke raised eyebrows with his effusive praise for Planned Parenthood. He stated that Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women.

Here O'Rourke is misinformed. Planned Parenthood is America's number one performer of abortions. Their most recent annual report indicates that they performed over 330,000 abortions in 2017. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood's annual reports indicate that the number of abortions they perform has been consistently increasing, while the number of other health services they offer has been consistently decreasing. Specifically, between 2005and 2017 Planned Parenthood conducted 64 percent fewer breast exams and 69 percent fewer cancer screenings  while performing 26 percent more abortions.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that funding Planned Parenthood improves other aspects of public health. In his remarks, O'Rourke referenced high rates of maternal mortality. However, reports of high maternal mortality rates in Texas are based on a flawed study that was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2016. A 2018 study published in the same journal finds that due to coding errors in the 2016 study  the maternal mortality rate in Texas is half of what was previously indicated. Furthermore, there is no evidence of any kind that funding reductions to Planned Parenthood has increased maternal mortality rates.

In 2011, the Texas state legislature and former Governor Rick Perry took the lead in cutting off taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Many media outlets and health professionals confidently predicted doom. The New York Times, The Texas Tribune, and NPR cited a Legislative Budget Board analysis which predicted an increase of over 20,000 unplanned births. Similarly, a Guttmacher Institute analysis, according to a piece put out by The Nation, predicted that in the absence of funding for family planning, abortions would increasb e by 22 percent in the Lone Star State.

However, since that time, many public health trends in Texas have been very positive. The most recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicates that since 2011, minor pregnancies have declined by 33 percent, minor births have gone down by 30 percent and minor abortions have been reduced by over 48 percent. The total number of abortions in Texas has fallen by 22 percent since 2011. The record indicates that Beto O'Rourke is incorrect. Planned Parenthood is not saving lives. Indeed, ORourkes home state of Texas is faring very well without forcing its taxpayers to fork over millions of dollars annually to Planned Parenthood.

Originally posted at cnsnews.com

Michael J. New is a Visiting Associate Professor at Ave Maria University and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
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Some questions come from people who are skeptical about the Christian faith. Some come from believers who have skeptical friends. And some come from believers who are struggling with the issue themselves.

Our question is found in the hearts of all three.

Who of us hasnt wondered at times why we believe this ancient book is the revelation of the God of the universe?

Think about it for a moment: The Creator of all that exists reveals himself to a small group of former Egyptian slaves in a remote corner of the globe. Not to kings and emperors, or to scholars in leading universities, but to shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, refugees. On documents which no longer exist so that we must depend on the copies that history has handed down to us. Through circumstances completely foreign to our culture and lives today.

Think of King Arthur and Camelot, and you envision ancient history. The Bible sitting on your shelf is more than twice that old. If we arent sure King Arthur existed or why he matters, what of this ancient book upon which we build our faith? Why should we believe it to be the word of God?

The Bible claims to be the word of God

This fact does not settle the issue, of course.

The Koran claims to be the word of Allah; the Book of Mormon claims to be the revelation of God. But at least we know that Christians do not believe something about the Bible which it does not claim for itself.

Paul was convinced that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). He meant the Old Testament, which was the Bible of his day.

Peter, the leader of early Christianity, considered Pauls writings to be Scripture as well: [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16, my emphasis).

Jesus believed his words to be divinely inspired: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Luke 21:33).

Speaking of the totality of biblical revelation, the writer to the Hebrews claims, The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Someone said, God said, I believe it, and that settles it.

His friend replied, No, God said it and that settles it, whether I believe it or not.

J. I. Packer called the Bible God preaching. Augustine described it as love letters from home.

The copies we possess are trustworthy

Now, lets turn to objective evidence that the Bible is right in its self-description as Gods inspired, authoritative word.

We begin with the manuscript evidence. No original manuscript of any ancient book exists today. The materials used in that era could not stand the effects of elements and time.

For instance, we have only nine or ten good copies of Caesars Gallic Wars, none made earlier than nine hundred years after Caesar. Tacitus, the greatest ancient Roman historian, wrote fourteen books of his Histories; we possess only 4, none made earlier than the tenth century AD. We can find only five manuscripts of any work of Aristotle, none copied earlier than fourteen centuries after Aristotle wrote the originals.

By contrast, we possess five thousand ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and ten thousand copies in other ancient languages. Fragments and parts of these copies date back as early as thirty years after the originals were written. Complete versions of the Gospels, Acts, Pauls letters, and Hebrews date to the early part of the third century. Revelation dates to the latter half of that century. Complete volumes date to the fourth century. Extensive quotations of Scripture in the letters of early Christians date to AD 100.

Textual critics are scholars who devote their attention to comparing ancient manuscripts and trying to produce a copy as close to the original as possible. Those who work with biblical texts believe that the Old and New Testaments we possess today are virtually identical to the originals. The only questions that remain affect matters of spelling, punctuation, and isolated verses. None relates to essential doctrines or practices of the faith.

Archaeology confirms the biblical record

Archaeological finds continue to give us confidence that the biblical writers accurately recorded history.

For instance, the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) was once dismissed as non-historical. Now, tour guides in Jerusalem point groups to its location in the northeast quarter of the Old City. Ive seen the ruins myself.

We have a stone inscription documenting the life and office of Pontius Pilate; the ossuary (coffin) of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the crucifixion; an inscription found at Delphi that describes the work of Gallio, proconsul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17); and scores of other artifacts that document the accuracy of biblical history and description.

The best test for the Bible

There are strong evidential reasons to believe the Bible is Gods word. But the best test comes from personal experience.

I once owned a 1965 Ford Mustang and found myself under its hood as often as I was behind its wheel. Chiltons Car Repair Manual became my constant companion. I learned to trust its advice because it worked.

Try living by the Bible. Accept its Savior as yours. Make its principles the guideposts of your life. And youll learn for yourself that its words are the word of God.

What makes the Bible different from other religious books?

My grandfather was born before the turn of the twentieth century. In his lifetime, he saw the advent of the automobile, commercial airplanes, and the computer. But he never met a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Mormon. Our question never occurred to him.

Today, its a common issue: Why do we believe the Bible is right and other religious books are wrong?

Other religions are just as sincere in their commitment to their sacred writings as Christians are to ours. Is it not the height of bigotry and hypocrisy to claim that our book is right and theirs are not?

In our post-9/11 world, there has been an explosion of interest in Islam and an accompanying cry for tolerance. When we claim that our holy book is true and theirs is not, arent we just as intolerant as those who attacked our nation?

Different paths, different mountains

Conventional wisdom these days dictates that the various religions are just different roads up the same mountain. It doesnt matter which God you trust because they are all the same. Allah is Jehovah; Buddhists and Hindus seek the same God we worship. Different holy books are simply religious diaries. Whos to say that your diary is right and mine is wrong?

Such an approach to world religions and their writings feels tolerant and hopeful. But is it true? Do other religions agree with this characterization of their faith commitments?

In a word, no.

Buddhist beliefs

Buddha taught that there is no god, despite the fact that some of his followers now worship him. He instructed his disciples to avoid all material desires that they might cease their sufferings. The Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path are the keys to enlightenment. The Tripitika is the oldest compilation of the rules, sermons, and doctrines of this approach to life.

Hindu beliefs

Hindus believe in thousands of territorial deities but no Lord of the universe; Brahman is the divine force that sustains the universe, not a personal God to be worshiped. The Rigveda, their earliest scriptures, refer to Brahman as the power that is present in religious sacrifices and actions. Their Upanishads glorify the concept of Brahman over other inferior forms of personal deities.

Muslim beliefs

Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) is the one supreme ruler of the universe, that Jesus was a prophet but not the divine Son of God, and that salvation comes through obedience to the Koran. This book is Allahs self-revelation through his prophet Muhammad. All other holy books are inferior to it, for its pages alone contain the very word of God.

Jewish beliefs

Jews believe that Yahweh revealed himself through the Laws and Prophets of their Scriptures, that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the New Testament is not the Word of God. They base their hope of heaven on the mercy of God in response to their lives of obedience and morality.

Mormon beliefs

Mormons believe that God revealed himself in the Bible but also in their Book of Mormon, a history of the early peoples of the Western hemisphere. Joseph Smith translated the book from golden plates that he claimed to have received from the angel Moroni. Doctrine and Covenants contain further revelations received by Smith from God. The Pearl of Great Price contains more writings of Smith. They picture God as an eternal being of flesh and bone who had physical relations with Mary to produce Jesus. Salvation and heavenly rewards come through obedience to these revelations.

If any one of these religions is right, the others by definition are wrong. None believes that other religions are equally correct or divinely inspired. The scriptures that the various world religions trust do not describe different paths up the same mountain but very different mountains.

Examine the evidence

So far, we have demonstrated the fact that the worlds great religious books cannot all be right. In fact, if any of them is correct in its teachings regarding the supernatural and eternal, the others are by definition wrong.

So, how do we decide which documents to trust?

Examine the evidence for their truth claims.

Hindu documents, for instance, posit an afterlife filled with reincarnations. Is there any historical support or objective evidence for such a position?

Does objective, independent evidence exist to document the Buddhas enlightenment or Muhammads experiences with Allah?

A number of cities, inscriptions, and places are described only in the Book of Mormon. To date, none have been found by archaeologists.

Conversely, independent evidence for the existence and deity of Jesus Christ is remarkable. Manuscript evidence documenting the trustworthy nature of the biblical materials is overwhelming. There are excellent reasons to believe the Bible is what it claims to be: the word of God.C

What makes the Bible different from other holy books?

In a word, Jesus.

He taught that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). The Bible was written to help us believe in him and find life in his love (John 20:31).

The sacred writings of the various world religions each tell a different story about the divine, the afterlife, and the purpose of life today. Different roads lead to different destinations. The road you choose determines where your trip will end.

Choose wisely.

Isnt the Bible filled with contradictions?

Here is one of the most common ways skeptics justify their skepticism about the Bible. The question is based on the commonplace supposition that contradictions are bad. If you can find a statement I make that disagrees with something Ive already said, youll feel justified in rejecting both. Even though one may be right. Even though they both may be.

Why?

Contradict the contradictions

We have Aristotle (384-322 BC) to thank or blame. In his desire to compile all knowledge into an organized system, he devised laws of logic as organizational tools.

One of them is called the law of contradiction: A cannot equal B and at the same time not equal B. A fish cannot also be a mammal, if a biologist like Aristotle is going to classify it. From then to now, we Westerners have adopted Aristotles law as the basis for determining all truth. If we can find a contradiction in the Bible, we have reason to dismiss its veracity.

But theres a fly in the ointment. Aristotle applied his laws to physical and rational truth, not to spiritual or relational experience.

It may appear contradictory to claim that you love your children and yet sometimes wish theyd never been born. But if youre a typical parent, both are sometimes true.

Jesus claimed to be fully God and fully man; God is three and yet one; the Bible is divinely inspired but humanly written; God knows the future but we have freedom to choose. Inside every essential Christian doctrine, there is a paradox, an apparent contradiction.

Many of the so-called contradictions in the Bible fit into such spiritual or relational categories. For instance, the Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet it also states clearly, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). And it warns, For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Romans 2:8).

How can God both love and hate? Dont ask Aristotle. But you can ask any parent.

Not all truth fits into test tubes. My seventh-grade geometry teacher claimed that parallel lives never intersect. But to prove it, hed have to draw them forever. Black and white are not the only crayons in the box.

Consider the context

The second category of apparent contradictions in the Bible is more historical and factual.

For example, here are two of the common questions Ive been asked. Each is clarified when we understand the larger context of the text in question.

The Old Testament teaches, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. Which is right?

Both.

Moses was dealing with an ancient culture in which blood vengeance was common and drastic. If you kill my son, I kill your entire family. To limit retribution to the actual criminal and crime was a great step forward.

On the other hand, Jesus was speaking to the issue of personal insult. People in his day used only the right hand in public (as the left was used for personal hygiene). To strike you on the right cheek (Matthew 5:39) with my right hand meant to slap you, a threat to your social standing but not your life. Here you are to forgive rather than punish.

Matthew says that Judas hanged himself; the book of Acts says he fell down and died. Which is it?

Matthews gospel does indeed record Judas suicide by hanging (Matthew 27:5). In Acts 1, Peter says, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out (v. 18).

It may be that Judas body decomposed so that when the rope broke or was cut, it fell as Peter describes. Or it may be that the Greek word translated hanged is actually the word impaled (both meanings are possible) so that Peter describes more vividly the way Judas killed himself.

Either option is a possible way to explain the apparent contradiction.

When we consider the intended meaning of the text and its larger context, such apparent contradictions are resolved.

Check all the options

The third category of supposed contradictions is not the result of context.

For instance, 2 Samuel 24:1 states that the Lord incited David to take a census of the people; 1 Chronicles 21:1 records, Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

But the Jewish people saw all that happens as within the providence and permission of God, so that Satans activity (1 Chronicles) was permitted by the Lord and thus attributable to him (2 Samuel). And the people grew in their knowledge of God so that the Chronicler (writing four hundred years after 2 Samuel) could record Satans activity in more detail than the people had earlier understood.

Matthew 4 records Jesus temptations in a different order than does Luke 4. But neither claimed to be writing chronology, so the order is immaterial. One could set them in time order, the other in spiritual priority, for instance.

1 Kings 7:13 states that Huram, one of the builders of Solomons temple, came from the tribe of Naphtali; 2 Chronicles 2:14 says his mother was from the tribe of Dan. But she could have lived in the territory of Naphtali, or her parents could have come from both tribes.

The real contradiction

The next time someone claims the Bible is full of contradictions, ask him if he has read the Bible. Then ask if it is a contradiction to dismiss a book he hasnt read. Then offer to help him study the Bible and meet its Author.

It is a contradiction to me that a holy and perfect God would want me to live in his perfect paradise.

Im glad its not a contradiction to God.

Who decided what books should be in the Bible?

My earliest experience with the Bible was leafing through an ancient King James Version my parents kept in the guest room. The fountain-penned family tree calligraphied in the first pages fascinated me. The printed thees and thous made no sensethe begats even less. I assumed the entire thing had been handed from God to man in black leather.

Most people know better. Theyve heard somewhere along the way that some books were excluded from the Bible and wonder why. Maybe a group of church officials decided the whole thing. Maybe there were books that told a different story than the one we have in our Bibles. Maybe there was a smoke-filled room somewhere. Maybe there were hanging chads.

The actual story is nowhere near that interesting.

How the Hebrew Scriptures came to be

Christians typically call this section the Old Testament, but those who wrote the New Testament didnt.

When Paul, writing from death row in Rome, asked Timothy for his scrolls and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13), he was asking for his copies of the only Bible he knew. Most scholars appropriately call these thirty-nine books the Hebrew Scriptures, in deference to the Jewish faith they express.

The Hebrew Bible was first divided into Law, Prophets, and Writings, the arrangement current in Jesus day (see Luke 24:44).

The Jews numbered the Scriptures as twenty-four books, combining Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the 12 Minor Prophets as The Twelve. These books were written and compiled over centuries of use.

According to Jewish tradition, a council of rabbis and scholars met at Jamnia on the Mediterranean Sea in AD 90 and again in AD 118. They finalized the list of books as we have them today, recognizing what their people had accepted as Gods word for centuries.

How the New Testament joined the Old

Eventually, the Christian movement began recording its faith and doctrines as well. The eyewitnesses to Jesus life and ministry were dying or growing old. Fraudulent claims were beginning to appear. Believers needed a canon (rule) by which to measure truth and defend the faith. The New Testament was the result.

Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

1. The book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony.

Matthew, the tax collector, was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John.

Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Acts 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Pauls second missionary journey at Troas (note Acts 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from they to we). He wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Luke 1:1-4).

Pauls letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Acts 9:1-6), as did the letters of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John.

This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon.

2. The book must possess merit and authority in its use.

Here, it was easy to separate those writings that were inspired from those that were not.

For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24).

It wasnt hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

3. A book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation.

Pauls letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter that became circular in nature, i.e., read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status.

By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally by the church, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. Others were not considered to be inspired by God.

4. A book came to be approved by the decision of the church.

The so-called Muratorian Canon was the first list to convey the larger churchs opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around AD 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius in AD 367. His list was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God.

By the time the councils had approved the twenty-seven books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

So, who decided what books should be in the Bible?

Ultimately, their Author.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical revelation (2 Peter 1:20-21) led the Christian movement to those books he inspired.

You can know that the Bible you hold today is the book God means you to have.

He did, in fact, hand it to man, through manthough the color of the cover is your choice.

Originally posted at Denison Forum.
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Six-year-old Biola, four-year-old Leona, and eleven-month-old Seth were dressed in their Sunday best by their parents Rangana and Danadiri to attend St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka Easter Sunday to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Christian faith. Moments after arriving for worship, the entire family was brutally murdered by an Islamist terrorist who detonated a bomb inside St. Sebastians.

This beautiful Christian family represents five of the 359 killed and more than 500 injured in a wave of bombings targeting Christians on Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. Suicide bombers hit churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa as worshipers celebrated the resurrection of their savior.

The horrific scenes across Sri Lanka are an abomination to the world and a brutal reminder that terrorism from ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for Sundays bombings, and other Islamist groups are still a significant threat to peace-loving citizens across the world, particularly Christians.

Christians are being persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith across the world. Unfortunately, the coordinated attacks targeting Christians in Sri Lanka were not isolated incidents. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS suicide bombers killed 45 Coptic Christians in Egypt as they worshiped. A Taliban suicide bomber killed dozens of Christians celebrating Easter in 2016 in a public park in Pakistan. A Boko Haram killer took the lives of 38 Christians worshipping on Easter Sunday in 2012 in Nigeria.

U.S. State Department estimates show that over 250 million Christians suffer some form of oppression for their beliefs around the world, most notably in North Korea and Iran. Recent studies show that 215 million Christians in more than 50 countries currently experience extreme levels of persecution  simply because they believe in Jesus Christ.

Christian communities in have existed for nearly 2,000 years in Iraq and Syria, but in the past decade have been nearly exterminated by Muslim extremists. More than a million Syrian Christians have been killed, forcibly converted, or chased out of their own country. Iraq, which once was home to 1.5 million Christians, has just 200,000 Christians left after years of violence. In Iran, Christians face imprisonment, torture, and execution for their faith. Last August, a Christian couple was sentenced to one year in prison in Iran on the charge of propagating against the Islamic Republic in favor of Christianity." These Christian converts were arrested in 2015 and held without trial for three years before being sentenced.

Anti-Christian violence is also spreading throughout Asia and Africa. Christians in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan report increasing occurrences of Muslim and government-sponsored persecution. In North Korea, a recent defector described a life of hell for her nations Christian population as the Kim regime kills, imprisons and tortures Christians found practicing their faith. In Nigeria, the killing of Christians because of their faith shot up by more than 62 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The list of atrocities committed against Christians peacefully practicing their religion is taking place in more than 50 countries all across the world. Places like China, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, and Indonesia continue to crack down on churches and worshippers who dont adhere to their respective regime's rules of worship. Even political allies of the U.S. such as Saudi Arabia and India have seen dramatic increases in the number of Christians persecuted or killed for their faith.

As the most religiously tolerant and free nation on earth, the United States must lead the way for the rest of the world in allowing believers of all faiths to live the tenets of their religion peacefully. However, as the data surrounding religious freedoms around the globe illustrates, it is imperative that President Trump and Congress continue efforts to insist that nations that do business with the U.S. must defend the rights, liberties, and lives of all people, including Christians, in their countries.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have displayed strong leadership on the international stage to advance the cause of religious liberty. Christians around the world are counting on the United States to continue to lead the way in stopping religious persecution and protecting the rights of Christians and other religious minorities around the world.

Tim Head is the Executive Director of Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Interfaith leaders slam US law firm lobbying for Chinese govt, other repressive regimes

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An interfaith group of religious leaders and human rights activists asked one of Americas top international law firms Wednesday to stop representing foreign governments known for their repeated human rights abuses.

In a joint letter sent to the chairman of Squire Patton Boggs, 44 leaders and activists from various faiths and political backgrounds voiced their concerns about the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered organizations representation of foreign governments that are among the worlds most aggressive persecutors of people of faith.

It is deeply troubling to us that your prestigious firm and the many good people it employs are currently associated with and providing legal counsel, representation and other services to such nations, the letter reads.

SPB has 47 offices in 20 countries and has clients that range from local and national governments to large corporations and emerging businesses. Wednesdays letter specifically calls out SPBs relationship with the governments of China, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Surely, Squire Patton Boggs attorneys and advisors  including former House Speaker John Boehner and other prominent, retired American lawmakers  and your firms other clients, have no desire to be associated with, let alone involved in defending or otherwise being implicated in, these governments odious practice, the letter contends.

The letter is spearheaded by the grassroots organization Save the Persecuted Christians and its president, Frank Gaffney, a conservative security analyst and a former acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

Save the Persecuted Christians is pleased to join with others determined to hold accountable those who persecute people of faith  including lobbyists who, as a practical matter, work to enable the persecutors to do so with impunity, Gaffney said in a statement. This is an important initiative in STPCs effort to build a grassroots movement that will help create real costs to the perpetrators for their crimes against humanity.

Included as a signatory in the joint letter is former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican who is considered by many to be an icon in the international religious freedom movement and is the namesake of the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act.

Wolf has been vocal over the years about his concerns with SPBs work for governments in countries like China and Sudan, among others.

Pastor Bob Fu, a religious freedom advocate who runs an influential Chinese religious freedom watchdog, the nongovernmental organization China Aid, also signed onto the letter. Fu has on different occasions testified before Congress about Chinas abuses against Christians.

Signatories also include Foley Beach, the primate of the Anglican Church in North America; popular conservative Christian radio host Eric Metaxas; Greg Mitchell, a longtime lobbyist for the Church of Scientology and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable; Omer Kanat, director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project; and Lily Zhang, director of government and advocacy for the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Association of Washington, D.C.

The letter notes that the communist government in China has systematically repressed every religious minority group in the country through means that include controlling what citizens can access on the internet.

The Uighur Muslim community has greatly been impacted by Chinas intolerance to faith as hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been imprisoned in concentration camps.

Some such camps have reportedly, chillingly had crematoria installed for disposing of the bodies of those who die while interned, the letter explains.

The letter also stresses that the Chinese government has destroyed countless underground Protestant and Catholic churches and regularly arrests pastors who are not registered with a state-sanctioned church. The letter adds that the Chinese government has begun offering rewards for information about secret worship gatherings.

As for other faiths, Falun Gong believers are being subjected to organ harvesting while Tibetan Buddhists are suffering from a cultural genocide.

As for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the leaders contend that the country is systematically repressing its own people, especially women.

The monarchy places a particular emphasis on the suppression of religious freedom at home, the letter states. "As a result, Christians and other faith communities in the Kingdom risk imprisonment and gruesome corporal punishments, including decapitation.

Last week, Saudi Arabia received much criticism from the international religious freedom community when 37 Saudi nationals, most of whom were Shia Muslims, were executed.

The joint letter also criticized the Saudi regime for promoting intolerance in its textbooks, mosques and overseas madrassas.

The leaders specifically pointed to the killing last year of journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

On the basis of the KPIs, unquestionably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most egregious offenders of religious liberty and that is why it is a [a country of particular concern], Commissioner Johnnie Moore from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said this week during the rollout of USCIRFs annual report.

Moore was among a group of evangelical leaders who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year as part of a USCIRF delegation that met with Saudi religious police.

Qatar is ranked as the 38th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA. Open Doors warns that the Qatari government has engaged in heavy persecution of Christians.

The letter contends that Qatar is funding terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and propaganda outlets like Al Jazeera. The letter adds that Qatar is promoting intolerant practices worldwide toward people of other faiths or not faith at all.

As advocates for suffering religious communities globally, we are determined to hold accountable those responsible, the letter concludes. We respectfully call upon your firm promptly and fully to disassociate itself from and cease all work on behalf of the governments of the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Christian Post reached out to SPB for a response to the letter. A response is pending.
From Paris to Boston, the crucial role of fire chaplains

Chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, Jean-Marc Fournier, is credited with saving several items of great significance  such as the crown of thorns  from the Cathedral of Notre Dame as it burned.

Previously a military chaplain in Afghanistan, Fournier also cared for survivors from the 2015 terrorist rampage at the Bataclan in Paris that killed more than 100 people.

Fournier is not alone in placing himself at great risk in service of others. Mychal Judge, the first casuality of 9/11, was a Catholic chaplain to the New York City Fire Department.

Although rarely seen by those on the outside, fire departments across the country include chaplains. They provide care to firefighters, family members and members of the public in a range of crucial ways.

Regardless of their own faith background, they typically work with people of all faiths and beliefs, outside of traditional congregations or parishes.

The chaplaincy context

Historically chaplains were required in the military, federal prisons and the Veterans Administration.

But as congregations shrink and growing numbers of Americans move away from organised religion, it is chaplains that are often doing the work of spiritual care.

Chaplains these days are mostly present in health care settings such as hospices, hospitals and some nursing facilities where people are more likely to need end-of-life spiritual care.

They are also to be seen in airports, seaports, car racetracks and in areas where disasters have struck. There are chaplains even for pets and their owners.

Some chaplains have graduate degrees and extensive clinical training while others may not.

Fire chaplains in Massachusetts

As scholars of contemporary religion and its practice, we interviewed 65 chaplains in a range of sectors over the past three years and spent time with fire chaplains who work across the greater Boston area.

The Boston Fire Department appointed its first chaplains in the early 1900s and since then chaplains have served continually in the Mass Corps of Fire Chaplains. Over the course of the 20th century, several of them have put themselves at great risk to serve firefighters and others in need.

During the 1942 fire in Boston's popular Coconut Grove nightclub in which more than 450 were killed and 160 injured, chaplains were a steady presence and served in whatever way was most helpful.

In another devastating fire in Hotel Vendome in 1972, in which nine firefighters died, James Keating, Catholic chaplain to the fire department, crawled into holes dug in the rubble to administer last rites to two of the firemen who had died in the collapse.

In 1973, Father Daniel Mahoney provided support at Logan Airport when a flight crashed, killing all 89 on board.

In 1983, Father Maloney entered Temple Tifereth Israel in Everett to save the precious Torah scrolls during a fire. Like Fournier in Paris, he took an extraordinary risk to save religious items. Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains later honored him for his distinguished service.

The emotional work

Fire chaplains also serve firefighters and their families when they are sick, getting married or have other needs.

In our interviews, one fire chaplain described blessing the bodies of firefighters killed in the line of duty and accompanying their families and coworkers through memorial services and months of grief. He explained how chaplains try "to bring some solace," when there is loss of life during a fire. "Whether it's through prayer or just chatting with them or .. blessing a body  the whole entire reverence that takes place at that time is important," he said.

Chaplains help firefighters cope with other difficulties as well. Witnessing injuries, losing colleagues in the line of duty, or recovering the remains of fire victims all take an enormous emotional and mental toll on firefighters.

"Chiefs appreciate our role," one reflected, "I look at the scene and I have been around long enough to assess this is going to be a three-hour operation so it is worth rolling the rehab truck up."

Sometimes this includes being a resource for fire victims. One chaplain remembered a time when the fire had been put out and everyone was ready to leave. He said, "And there is one man who lived there and he was waiting," as the Red Cross had not shown up yet. He recalled thinking,

"I can't walk away and just leave this man here by himself. So I sat there with him for like almost two hours before the Red Cross finally came. No one even really knew that I did that and that is one of the things we do. We are silently there and do what needs to be done."

Chaplains are a central, if often overlooked, element of the changing American religious landscape.

Jean-Marc Fournier's service is a reminder of the role many play. Often it is quiet and behind-the-scenes.

Wendy Cadge, Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University and Michael Skaggs, Executive Director, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Brandeis University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
India: decades of hostility against NGOs have worsened under Narendra Modi

India has nearly 3.4m non-governmental organisations (NGOs), working in a variety of fields ranging from disaster relief to advocacy for marginalised and disadvantaged communities. They are a major part of civil society which bring rapid change and social transformation.

NGOs are considered as independent of the state, and voluntary in nature. They depend on individual donations, foreign funding and aid from different government agencies and private donors. Their work helps rid India of

prejudices, corruption, illiteracy and poverty.

But in recent decades, India has been a difficult environment for a number of organisations  particularly those working to empower people against unjust government policies, question structural discrimination and advocate for the rights of Dalits, tribal people and other deprived groups. A succession of Indian governments have tried to curb their activities.

The most draconian attempt to crack down on NGOs came in 2010 with amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA) by the Congress government of the then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The law was first enacted in 1976 by the Congress government to prohibit the use of foreign funding in political activities in an effort to restrain foreign interference in domestic politics. But the 2010 amendments meant "any organisation of a political nature" was forbidden from taking foreign funding. This vague definition allowed the government to question those NGOs demanding better government accountability about their funding sources.

Soon after Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister in May 2014, a leaked report from India's Intelligence Bureau accused NGOs such as Greenpeace, Cordaid, Amnesty and Action Aid for reducing India's GDP by 2-3% per year. It helped to legitimise the government's actions against NGOs.

In late 2018, it was revealed the Modi government had cancelled the licenses of nearly 20,000 NGOs receiving foreign funds under the FCRA. According to a report on India's philanthropic landscape by the consultancy Bain and Company, there was around a 40% decline in foreign funding between 2015 and 2018.

Even NGOs such as the Public Health Foundation of India, which has expertise in public health policy, and Navsarjan, which works for the protection of Dalit rights, have had their licences to receive foreign funding cancelled.

In 2015, Greenpeace staff member Priya Pillai was taken off a flight on her way to a meeting in the UK about issues relating to the allocation of coal exploration licences and its impact on tribal people.

In 2018, a number of rights NGO activists were arrested and accused of being Maoists working against the state. This included Sudha Bhardwaj, general secretary of the Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties, who had worked for decades to empower disadvantaged, voiceless groups in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

Muzzling NGOs

Such clampdowns are not new and not merely the result of the ideology of Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) regime. They reflect decades of attempts under various governments, irrespective of political ideology, to curtail the work of NGOs.

In 2012, Singh's government cracked down on NGOs protesting against the Kudankulum nuclear power project, without recognising the fact that NGOs were representing and supporting people's safety and environmental concerns. At the time, Singh criticised NGOs, saying: "There are NGOs, often funded from the US and the Scandinavian countries, which are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces." Three NGOs lost their licence.

READ MORE: 'It Is Devastating For Families': How Compassion International Is Being Forced Out Of India

Modi has used his political platform to speak out against NGOs, in an attempt to fuel mistrust of their activities. In early 2016, he claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy by NGOs to finish him and remove his government.

Yet, in recent decades, many NGOs in India have assisted the state to serve its citizens by pushing for laws including those on the right to information, food security and rural employment.

Still, India's disproportionate number of NGOs and the sector's lack of transparency and accountability is clearly an issue that needs reforms. Nor should allegations of corruption against NGOs be ignored. In 2009, 883 NGOs were blacklisted after being found to have indulged in misappropriation of funds. In such cases, NGOs need to uphold probity in their work. But the government's tactics of cracking down on rights-based NGOs through vague legislation goes against the idea of justice.

Issues such as the rising cases of violence against Dalits and land grabs by the state in India provide an opportunity for NGOs to ask uncomfortable questions of the government. This particularly so at a time when the rights of those who don't agree with the state need to be protected.



Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Is Britain breaking up?

Is Britain about to break up? The argument is being made more frequently by the commentariat in London and Manchester  especially those who are opposed to Brexit. 'Look' they say, "Brexit will mean the break up of Britain" and this, along with the other apocalyptic predictions 'planes will stop flying, the NHS will collapse, the end of civilization as we know it', is being used as a weapon to prevent Brexit.

But how true is this meme? And does it matter from a Christian perspective?

I live in Scotland. I am a Scot. And I have been involved in the Scottish political scene since 1979. In 2014 the independence movement came very close to achieving its aim. David Cameron had granted a referendum on Scottish independence confident that he would easily win it and kill off Scottish nationalism for good (does that sound familiar?).

He was so confident, (polls were showing 70% for the Union) that he even allowed the leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, to draft the question; "Should Scotland be an independent country?" It became a close run thing with all the stops being pulled out, everything from Project Fear to Gordon Brown. The union survived 55%-45%, but the SNP thrived. Its membership quadrupled and in 2015 they won an astonishing 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the Westminster election.

In the 2016 EU referendum 1.6 million Scots (63%) voted Remain, 1 million (37%) voted Leave. The narrative since then has been that Scotland wants to remain and so will leave the UK in order to join the EU. This narrative is superficial and simplistic. It won't happen. In fact the opposite has occurred  instead of strengthening the chances of Scottish independence, Brexit has killed the possibility off for decades.

Why?

One third of SNP voters voted for Brexit and they cannot understand why the SNP would want Scotland to become independent of one union, only to join a larger one, where we would have less say. 'Independence in the EU' is to them an oxymoron.

Whatever the pros and cons of the EU, when your economies, laws and courts are largely controlled by an outside body, that is not what most would call independence. The obsession with Brexit seems to have turned the SNP into the EUNP. Ironically they now use the same Project Fear arguments against leaving the EU, as were used against leaving the UK. In the 2017 General election the SNP lost 21 seats and the Tories gained 12  largely because of the Brexit issue.

Secondly, as the UK has found with leaving the EU, breaking up is hard to do. If leaving a 50 year old union is hard, how much more complex will leaving a 400 year old one be?! That is why, despite the chaos in Westminster, polling figures show that support for independence has not risen, and may even have shrunk. In order to call a secnd independence referendum Nicola Sturgeon wants the polls to be at about 60% Yes. They are generally 15-20% short of that.

But didn't the First Minister talk recently about putting legislation for another Independence referendum before the Scottish Parliament? Was she bluffing? To put it bluntly, yes. She was speaking to a conference of SNP activists hungry for news and hope. She offered them the carrot of another referendum knowing that it is not going to happen.Because another referendum cannot happen without the Westminster government giving what is called a Section 30 order. Both the Tories and Labour have said they will not do this.

When the UK parliament refuses, this is a win/win for Sturgeon and the SNP. They don't have to fight a referendum they would almost certainly lose and they get to blame the bad politicians in Westminster yet again.

So if you are concerned about the breakup of the UK, relax. Scotland won't be leaving soon (although Northern Ireland is a different and even more complex story).

But should we care? And is there a particular Christian perspective on this? I think so.

There are Christians who want Scotland to be an independent country (I am one of them) and others who want us to remain within the UK. I hope that none of us will claim particular biblical sanction for our positions. Amazingly, the Bible says nothing about Scottish independence! But we should be concerned about the state of Christianity in our countries.

The 17th century was also a time of great turbulence in the British Isles  with a civil war in England being extended to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Amidst all the turmoil, including a king losing his head; parliament requested a large group of 'divines' (clergymen) to meet in Westminster to formulate a plan for uniting the churches, and thus the kingdoms, in Britain.

Although that didn't exactly pan out, it did result in the Westminster Confession of Faith (the basis of most Presbyterian churches). Ultimately by the end of the century we had a stronger parliamentary democracy and the union of Scotland and England.

Who knows but the current chaos in the land may yet lead to something better! We can only pray!

The United Kingdom was formed for economic, military and social reasons. But what is often forgotten is the fourth element  the United Kingdom was founded on the basis of Christianity.

Whether that was a good or bad thing  I tend to plumb on balance for the former  is not the question. The real question is now that we are removing Christianity can a United Kingdom that was founded upon it, remain? And do we want it to? Perhaps there is more that hangs on that question than we realise.

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He blogs at www.theweeflea.com
Will Europe's persecuted Christian refugees be acknowledged in Jeremy Hunt's review?

Many Christian refugees from the Middle East report facing persecution from Islamic extremists in the refugee camps and centres in Europe and converts from Islam to Christianity are in the worst danger, as they are considered apostates by the extremists.

Although protection policies exist in UN treaties and international refugee law, these protections are rarely implemented because officials fear that they will be accused of discrimination. In effect, most agencies and charities working with refugees in Europe choose to ignore the problem.

The interim report into persecution by the Bishop of Truro for the Foreign Secretary, released on Friday, also ignores the plight of Christian refugees in Europe, even when it was highlighted as part of the oral and written evidence submitted to the independent review panel in Westminster.

In fact, the report doesn't mention what is happening with Christians in Europe or Great Britain at all.

Yochana Darling, head of mission at (ICC), which manages a day centre and safe houses for Christian refugees in Greece, was one of those who gave oral evidence to the Westminster panel.

According to that evidence, Christian refugees in Athens were surrounded by Muslim extremists and shown videos of the Islamic State beheading Christians. They were told they would be next.

The review panel were told that when a family was relocated from a camp to official agency accommodation, they were attacked with knives.

An Iranian refugee in Greece suffered a heart attack when around fifty extremists surrounded their accommodation unit after he returned from church with his family. The extremists poured petrol on their temporary home and held knives to the throats of the women and children. The security guards were too afraid to intervene.

"Verbal abuse is normal," Yochana tells me. "Christians are mocked, ridiculed, and called kafirs [unbeliever]. That happens daily. More concerning though are the high numbers of regular death threats and threats of physical harm. Over the past three years, we have come across countless cases of actual physical and sexual assaults."

In 2016, both Open Doors in Germany and ICC in Greece published two separate reports on the persecution of Christian refugees. These reports were independent from each other but produced almost identical results: at the time, 87-88 per cent of respondents reported of persecution in refugee and migrant camps and accommodation. And because the persecution is ignored, it continues unabated.

"Rape is used as a punishment for conversion and a method of coercion to get apostates to repent and return to Islam," Yochana says.

"Women and children have had knives held to their throats, whilst fathers and husbands are beaten with metal pipes and other implements. Families have had petrol poured over them and threatened with burning alive, just because they were reading their Bibles together and singing some worship songs.

"Tents and accommodation have been destroyed and Christians driven out of camps and other accommodation.

"The police and camp officials don't intervene, and no protection is given."

In Greece, there have been many reports of male converts being gang-raped as punishment.

In the Moria camp, on the island of Lesvos, 95 per cent of Christian refugees told ICC it was unsafe to read the Bible. In Germany, an Afghan man was recently stabbed because of his faith. He survived but the police told him he was lying and that the attack had nothing to do with him being a Christian, so that it wouldn't be recorded as a hate crime.

Some Western Christians are sceptical about refugees converting to Christianity but the grim reality is that converting from Islam to Christianity can be dangerous anywhere in Europe. We hear similar reports of attacks on converts across Europe, including Britain.

Our contacts in Germany tell us that when Muslim converts to Christianity are attacked, the emergency services often delay their arrival. This has resulted in the death of some converts.

"It's a politically sensitive question but overwhelmingly the persecutors are fellow asylum seekers from the Middle East and from Islamic backgrounds," Yochana says.

"There are concerns about the number of extremist groups in the camps, and this is something that we are told regularly by our charity's beneficiaries, who are shocked that their persecutors in the Middle East have followed them into the camps.

She asserts that government and other official agencies "avoid looking at religion at any cost".

"The general policy is to not ask anything about religious beliefs or issues, and consequently, religious persecution is usually completely off their radar," she says.

"They fear political consequences or accusations of preferential treatment if they consider the dangers faced by Christian refugees and converts.

"People still tend to consider Europe as a Christian majority continent, and it can be challenging for people to understand that Christian refugees are a religious minority group in need of protection in certain situations."

ICC has a day centre in Athens specifically for the Christian refugees. They need to feel safe to access integration support services and other types of support, so it has become a vital hub for many of the organisation's beneficiaries.

So what does Yochana want to see happen?

"The first thing that needs to happen is recognition of the issue," she says.

"Fear of political backlash or accusations of discrimination is not an excuse to ignore serious violations of religious

freedom rights in Europe.

"More support needs to be given to this group, which is currently a hidden persecuted minority, and protection measures in camps and other accommodation need to be implemented. Currently this is not happening."

Yochana says that the wider refugee population also needs to be educated about religious freedom rights.

Many people working with refugees are willing to talk about the issue off the record but fear that talking about it publicly could endanger the important work they are doing improving the lives of the refugees. Also, they fear that the wider refugee population, who have nothing to do with the extremist groups, will be demonised and that public opinion that is often already hostile against refugees, will become even more so.

But we can't ignore these attacks any longer, she concludes.

"It would be wonderful to see the British Foreign Office take a stand in this matter and lead by example in upholding these fundamental human rights, which are currently being completely ignored for Christian refugees", Yochana says.

With the Bishop of Truro's full report due out in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the plight of Europe's Christian refugees is acknowledged then.
A pilot from Anahuac survived the second helicopter crash of his life Saturday afternoon, this time in New Caney.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported the helicopter crash just after 2 p.m in a parking lot near FM 494 and Antique Lane.
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Humble residents gathered at the Humble Civic Center on Thursday to love one another and to pray for the community and country, city officials said.

As part of the National Day of Prayer, residents, community religious leaders and city officials also offered prayers to the government, military, first responders, educators, businesses, families and the media.

The goal was to bring the community together.

This years theme is Love One Another, and it is taken from John 13:34, Jennifer Wooden, Humble Civic Center director said. Love one another just as I have loved you.

Back in 1952, Kansas Senator Frank Carlson and Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels initiated a bill asking Former President Harry S. Truman to set aside a day, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer.

It wasnt until 1983 when the first National Day of Prayer was observed and organized by the National Day of Prayer Committee. It took place in Washington D.C.

Former President Bill Clinton signed a bill that became law in 1998 recognizing the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring May 2 as the 2019 National Day of Prayer. Trumps proclamation acknowledges religious liberty as a natural right, given to us by our Creator, not a courtesy that government extends to us.

The City of Humble also gave a proclamation declaring May 2, 2019 as the National Day of Prayer in Humble, which was read by Mayor Pro Tem Norman Funderburk.

The city is pleased to serve as host for this significant event offering unified public prayer for our countrybringing us together from all backgrounds, transcending whatever differences that may exist between us, Funderburk said. Through our participation we become part of a movement nationwide where millions of Americans of all faiths praying for our country.

Many residents who attended the ceremony donned their patriotic colors as they prayed for the U.S. Many if not all who attended the ceremony believe prayer is a powerful thing.

Prayer is so important to me because without it, were nothing, Humble resident Pam Ripley said. We have to have our God for wisdom, guidance and direction. He loves us, and He hears our prayers.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
A longtime member of the Katy Social Services Advisory Board and a coordinator of the Katy United Methodist Church home-delivered meals program is the 2019 Katy Senior Citizen of the Year.

Peggy Dimmick, director of social services, said she nominated Nevelynn Melendy for the honor and her nomination was unanimously supported by the advisory board. Her name then was submitted to Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner and she will be honored at the May 13 Katy City Council meeting. May is recognized as Older Americans Month.

Dimmick said Melendys contributions to the Katy community through the years are the main criteria for her being selected this year for the honor.

Nevelynn is very special to us and has been an asset to our community ... we are all proud to honor her with this special Senior of the Year Award, added Dimmick.

Melendy was among seniors who participated in the August 2011 ground-breaking for the senior citizen center built at 5370 E. Fifth St. in Katy. She volunteered on the Katy Social Services Board at the Fussell Senior center from October 2001 to May 2018. For 14 years, she coordinated the meals program at the Methodist church first through the Stephen Ministry and then through Interfaith Ministries.

Born in Sweetwater, Texas, she moved with her family when she was about a year old to Katy where she grew up. After she married, she moved to Cypress for about 20 years before moving back to Katy. Shes lived in the Katy area for over 64 years, said William Melendy, of Houston and one of her three children. Her son, Wes, and her daughter, Patti, live in the Katy area. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When he was a youngster, William Melendy said his mom volunteered first with the Boy Scouts and then worked for them a number of years as director of handicapped Scouting before she retired. She also served in various positions with the AARP  Katy Chapter #2655.

Shes always been involved in the community, he added. Shes always there to lend a helping hand. Thats just my mom.

Her involvement includes teaching Sunday school at church and belonging to the Joyful Noise Makers choir which makes weekly visits to nursing homes as well as singing with the church choir.

A huge Astros fan, Melendy turned 85 on April 15. Through AARP, shes able to attend Astros games with her friends. If an Astros game is on TV, shes watching the Astros, added William.

karen.zurawski@chron.com
The woman who died after hitting a downed tree in a Kingwood street on Friday night has been identified as a fourth-grade teacher in the Humble ISD, according to Houston police.

Amy Woodeshick taught at Groves Elementary, the district confirmed in a letter sent to parents.

The 25-year-old hit the fallen tree around 8:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Kingwood Drive, a business and tree-lined thoroughfare near the HEB grocery store, according to officials.

An officer was flagged down to the crash and she was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where she died, police said.

"She loved helping children learn and grow, and she made students' school days bright," the Humble ISD statement said.

Counselors will be on hand to support students and staff on Monday.

Woodeshick was a graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball and the University of Houston. She previously taught at Humble Middle School and Shadow Forest Elementary.

The crash happened after several storm cells swept through Waller, Montgomery and north Harris County with multiple confirmed tornadoes, hail and flooded streets in the Spring area.

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Each year, they gather to celebrate accomplishments, raise money and have a little fun. But what makes the difference for those gathered for the annual Go Red For Women luncheon is that they leave the respective facility with a little bit of education.

Hundreds of women and men gathered Friday for the 2019 Northwest Harris County Go Red For Women Luncheon at The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.

The Go Red For Woman cause is to raise awareness among women about the health threat of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, one in three women are impacted by cardiovascular disease.

By the end of the luncheon, thousands of dollars had been raised to help the cause  through pledges and donated auction items  and stories were shared which punctuated the notion that women need to be aware of their heart health.

CVS Health serves as the national sponsor for Go Red for Women. Locally, Houston Methodist takes the reins as a top sponsor.

Emcee Lindsey Caldwell lauded the events 15th anniversary but cautioned against complacency.

The fight is not over, she said while pointing out 80% of heart events are preventable.

Go Red For Women Chair Darcy Mingoia said, The Go Red movement starts with us. We raise money. We also educate men and women in our community.

Telling their stories of heart disease were survivors Regay Hildreth and Temika Jones, who connected as young mothers and wives with heart problems.

Jones was just 32 when she ended up in the hospital when she landed in the hospital, where she was heavily sedated for a week as doctors worked to heal her damaged heart.

Hildreth has a history of parents and grandparents with heart disease and had a similar story to share.

Together, Jones and Hildreth led the way for the Open Your Heart campaign, which according to the American Heart Association $0.90 of every dollar raised supports research and education for women and heart disease.

For more information, go to GoRedForWomen.org or locally visit nwHarrisCountyGoRed.heart.org.

rkent@hcnonline.com
The largest tribe in South Dakota told the state's governor on Thursday that she is "not welcome" in its homelands, a sprawling reservation southwest of the capital city, Pierre.

The extraordinary step is the latest escalation in a years-long feud over the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, a conflict that now pits advocates of indigenous rights, environmentalism and free speech against the state government, the Trump administration and a powerful oil company.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted Wednesday to ban Gov. Kristi Noem, R, from its Pine Ridge Reservation and sent a sharply worded letter on Thursday.

"If you do not honor this directive," wrote tribe President Julian Bear Runner, "... we will have no choice but to banish you."

In response, Noem's spokeswoman said the governor was surprised at the letter but said she will "maintain her efforts to build relationships with the tribes."

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Bear Runner pledged that the ban would last until Noem rescinds her support for a pair of laws the state passed in response to promised demonstrations against the Keystone XL pipeline project. The laws, which codify "riot boosting," are designed to prevent protests that may disrupt pipeline construction.

Critics say the legislation was designed to prevent the sort of large-scale, high-profile protests that unfolded over the Dakota Access pipeline in neighboring North Dakota, which began in 2016 and lasted for months. Demonstrations there led to more than 750 arrests, and the policing effort cost the state $38 million.

Noem announced the bills in the waning days of the year's legislative session, and the state's Republican majorities pushed them through the House and Senate in just 72 hours.

"My pipeline bills make clear that we will not let rioters control our economic development," Noem said in a statement after she signed the bills into law in late March.

But the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have staunchly opposed the new laws, criticizing what they see as serious threats to free speech.

Together, the laws would allow officials to sue activists if violence or law breaking occurs at a protest they organized, promoted or somehow encouraged. Money collected from those lawsuits would be used to pay for damage claims stemming from that demonstration or for law enforcement costs.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new statute (and two existing criminal riot laws), claiming that it is too vague, too broad and impinges on protected speech.

"We believe they chill free speech and they are therefore unconstitutional," said Courtney Bowie, the legal director for the ACLU's South Dakota chapter, in an interview with The Washington Post. "I don't think anyone can accurately define what 'riot boosting' is ... the law is completely unclear and that's part of the problem."

Chase Iron Eyes, the public relations liaison for Bear Runner, told The Post that the laws pose a direct threat to members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, many of whom plan to oppose the pipeline project, which would run through, and could threaten, sacred tribal lands.

"We have a right to speak freely," Iron Eyes said. "We have a right to peaceably assemble."

Tribe leaders have said Noem and state legislators excluded them from the bill crafting process and instead elected to meet with TransCanada Corp., the company behind the $8 billion project. Iron Eyes said the effort amounted to a violation of the tribe's sovereignty and the treaty it signed with the United States.

"We don't feel Kristi Noem wrote this legislation for the good of South Dakotans, or our land, or our water," he said. "We believe big extraction wrote this legislation."

The tribe's response on Wednesday was an unprecedented step, said Iron Eyes, who couldn't recall another instance when leaders told a representative of state government that she wasn't welcome on their land. If Noem violates the resolution, she could face banishment, a serious formal tribal process - though Iron Eyes said he doesn't think it'll come to that.

Noem's press secretary, Kristin Wileman, said in a statement that the governor "has spent considerable time in Pine Ridge building relationships with tribal members."

"This announcement from Oglala Sioux tribal leadership is inconsistent with the interactions she has had with members of the community," Wileman said.

Noem visited the reservation in March, as residents were recovering from severe flooding in the region, a trip leaders welcomed at the time. However, Iron Eyes said, she made subsequent trips to the reservation without informing Bear Runner or other leaders, which, he said, was a lapse in diplomatic courtesy.

"It's unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux's leadership when resources were needed during recent storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community," Wileman said.

The letter is another sign of further fraying relationships between the state government and its neighboring tribes in the weeks since Noem proposed the protest bills. In mid-March, four tribal chairmen, including Bear Runner, asked the state not to display their flags at the Capitol, saying that the bills had "destroyed our trust" in South Dakota's leadership.

But Iron Eyes said he's confident the laws will be struck down eventually.

"We're on the right side, here, of spirit and morality," he said. "And the legality just needs to come along. We've got to evolve."

From the Oval Office, however, President Donald Trump has tried to muscle the pipeline project through its court challenges. Days after Noem signed her bills into law, Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to clear a path for pipeline construction. That, too, now faces legal challenges.
High school students from Spring, Klein, Tomball, Humble and The Woodlands raised their right hands and pledged to serve in the U.S. Army on Wednesday, May 1.

While most of the 52 student recruits dressed in matching black shirts taking the oath were high school seniors, Caston Benoit of Klein Collins High School, is still a junior.

I just hope to be on base and work on the big trucks, all of the equipment and do my best, he said.

After completing his basic training, Benoit said he will return to complete his last year of high school in September, less than three weeks after the year officially begins.

While getting ready to take the oath, he said he enjoyed getting to know the other recruits.

Its like a big family  a bunch of brothers and sisters. It doesnt take long to get to know someone, he said.

Other students, like Mirakle Clayton, a senior at Westfield High School, said her decision to enlist was more practical.

Eventually, she also plans to enroll at a university when she can obtain financial aid and pursue her studies in microbiology.

Wherever Im stationed, I will look up universities, she said.

As the first in her family to join the military, Gina Lucciono, a senior at Spring High School, said she wanted to join so that she could travel around the world.

Lucciono said that while shes still not sure what she wants to study, she plans to eventually enroll at a university wherever she is stationed.

After a year or two, Im hoping to start college while Im deployed, she said.

While on stage with the other recruits, Lucciono said that reciting the oath reminded her of her commitment.

It gives you that rush of anticipation. You know its happening. Youre not quite there yet, but youre saying this stuff. Youre ready to go, she said.

The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the Church at Creeks End in Spring as a way to honor families and encourage students for their upcoming military service, said chamber president Jenan Blank.

With the way the world is right now, who knows if some of them are coming back. Why not support them and their families? Whether you agree with whats going on politically or worldwide, these kids still believe in our country enough that we can believe behind them, she said.

Tariq Carter, a senior at Tomball High School, said his family talked him into enlisting so that he could receive help with tuition costs once he enrolls in college classes.

Carter said he hopes to stay in Texas so that he can close to his family and eventually take film studies courses at the University of Texas or the University of Houston.

While he was taking the oath along with the other recruits, he said he would take his responsibility seriously.

I was just thinking its real. Its a big commitment youve got to make. I was just thinking to myself, This is what I want to do, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
May 3, 1621  Sir Simonds DEwes published his political biography of Sir Francis Bacon, in which he accuses the great lawyer, scholar of his most abominable and daring sin. DEwes continued, I should rather bury in silence than mention it, were it not a most admirable instance of how men are enslaved by wickedness and held captive by the devil. DEwes accused Frances Bacon of keeping still one Godrick, a very effeminate-faced youth, to be his catamite and bedfellow deserting the bed of his Lady. That same year, Bacon resigned as Lord Chancellor over accusations that he accepted payment from litigants, which, while against the law, was a widespread and accepted practice at the time. He quickly confessed to accepting payments, a confession that may have been prompted by threats to charge him with the capital offense of sodomy.

Wrote DEwes:

. . the favour he had with the beloved Marquis of Buckingham emboldened him, as I learned in discourse from a gentleman of his bedchamber, who told me he was sure his lord should never fall as long as the said Marquis continued in favour. His most abominable and darling sinne I should rather burie in silence, than mencion it, were it not a most admirable instance, how men are enslaved by wickedness, & held captive by the devill. For wheeras presentlie upon his censure at this time his ambition was moderated, his pride humbled, and the meanes of his former injustice and corruption removed; yet would he not relinquish the practice of his most horrible & secret sinne of sodomie, keeping still one Godrick, a verie effeminate faced youth, to bee his catamite and bedfellow, although hee had discharged the most of his other household sevants: which was the moore to bee admired, because men generallie after his fall begann to discourse of that his unnaturall crime, which hee had practiced manie yeares, deserting the bedd of his Ladie, which hee accounted, as the Italians and the Turkes doe, a poore & meane pleasure in respect of the other; & it was thought by some, that hee should have been tried at the barre of justice for it, & have satisfied the law most severe against that horrible villanie with the price of his bloud; which caused some bold and forward man to write these verses following in a whole sheete of paper, & to cast it down in some part of Yorkehouse in the strand, wheere Viscount St. Alban yet lay: Within this sty a *hogg doth ly,

That must be hangd for Sodomy. (*alluding both to his sirname of Bacon, & to that swinish abominable sinne.) But hee never came to anye publicke triall for this crime; nor did ever, that I could heare, forbeare his old custome of making his servants his bedfellowes, soe to avoid the scandall was raised of him, though hee lived many yeares after his fall in his lodgings in Grayes Inne in Holbourne, in great want & penurie.

At a time when moralists described gay love as unnatural lust, and a variety of other degrading terms, Sir Francis Bacon was the first person in the English language to use the non-stigmatizing phrase masculine love

May 3, 1921  Dr. Clarence P. Oberndorf, a New York City psychoanalyst, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Brooklyn about one of his patients, a 74-year-old Civil War veteran who suffered from depression, saying For sixty years I have been leading a double life. He became aware of his feelings for other men at a very early age. He preferred rough, coarse men, like longshoremen, husky and full of vitality. These he sought at intervals, while his acquaintances knew him as a refined gentleman interested in art and literature. He never married. Oberndorf quoted tim: In my younger days, I used to grieve because of my affliction, but in later years I have become indifferent.

Oberndorfs goal was not to cure homosexuality per se. Where treatment is undertaken for passive homoerotism in the male,  active homosexuals, or tops, were not considered truly homosexual in the early 20th century  psychoanalysis may powerfully influence the attitude of the patient toward his malady by removing some of the urgent neurotic fears which accompany the inversion. After analysis such an invert at least feels himself more reconciled to his passive homoeroticism than previously. I have had male passive homoerotics seek treatment with just such stipulations  not to be cured but to be made more content with their lives.
ALBANY  Presidential candidate Tim Ryan on Friday spoke to more than 1,000 delegates at the New York State United Teachers convention at the Capital Center.

Of the 21 Democrats running for president, the Ohio congressman is one of the more obscure candidates but that was OK. In fact it may have been one of the reasons he was there.

Thats because NYSUTs national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, is taking a decidedly different approach toward the 2020 presidential race in comparison with 2016.

AFT, considered an essential pillar of support for any Democrat, was badly burned the last time around when their leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, a full year before the convention. The early support of Clinton angered those union members who wanted to support Bernie Sanders and it left them on the losing end of the race to Donald Trump.

Union leadership, as well as rank-and-file members, has conceded that. I think there was a significant backlash, said Jennifer-Jo Moyer, a teacher from New York City attending Fridays convention.

So this year, AFT is trying for a more inclusive and deliberate process.

AFT President Randi Weingarten, in her speech before she introduced Ryan to the crowd, noted that the union has a website devoted to gathering input from members on the upcoming races. Answer the questions. Tell us what you think, she told NYSUT delegates.

And following his talk to union members, Ryan participated in a Town Hall style meeting with a small group of activists.

Topics ranged from the high cost of college and the subsequent loans, to mandated testing. One union member asked Ryan how he plans to win over voters in New York City, which is several times larger than the candidates hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

More for you With new Democratic Senate, education debate could grow protracted, complicated

My experience is that people are people, he said.

AFT says there will be a number of such meetings with candidates this year. And during her speech, Weingarten did mention other Democratic candidates the union is engaging with, including Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.

Normally, endorsing early can have benefits.

Its rational from their perspective. You get on the train early and you get rewarded, said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College and a longtime electoral observer.

But these arent normal times, with Trumps unexpected win in 2016. Public sector unions like NYSUT/AFT are also under additional pressure due to last years Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case, which can make it easier for people to leave their unions. That doesnt appear to be happening at NYSUT, but Janus has caused a rethinking of how labor leaders have to keep their members happy.

The historically large field of Democratic candidates is another complicating factor. There are too many candidates, said Muzzio. Its more problematic.

The NYSUT gathering marked the largest convention to come to the Capital Center since it opened in 2017.

That was welcome news to Jill Delaney, president and CEO of Discover Albany, which promotes visitors and tourism in the Albany area.

Overall, more than 2,000 union members were expected for the event, which runs through Saturday.

Were using all of our properties congruently, said Delaney. In addition to filling up the Capital Center, spaces in the adjacent Empire State Plaza also are being used. There are 1,700 room-nights, or rooms booked for the event, and Delaney said $1 million would be a super conservative estimate about the economic impact on the area. That represents money spent on ancillary services like restaurants, Uber drivers, bars and other businesses in town.

This is our proving ground for a multi-site event, she said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
Authorities said theyve confirmed that a human foot found in April in a pond in northwestern Indiana was that of a missing Indianapolis-area woman.

Police responded in Crown Point after a fisherman reported snagging what appeared to be a human foot. Officers determined the remains were human and a distinct tattoo led authorities to believe the remains belonged to 30-year-old Najah Ferrell of Avon, who has been missing since mid-March.

The Avon Police Department said Wednesday that the identification was confirmed by DNA analysis and comparison.

Family members have said that Ferrell left for work early March 15 and never made it. Ferrells vehicle was found March 26 abandoned in Indianapolis and some of her belongings were located along an interstate.

SPILLED GRAVY: A simple accident revealed child porn on a man's computer

The investigation into Ferrells disappearance is ongoing.

"It's a very disturbing a case of this magnitude. A mother of 5 just simply vanishes. It doesnt just happen on its own. Somebody has some involvement," Avon Police's Deputy Chief of Investigations Brian Nugent told Fox 59.

Nugent said investigators recognize foul play is involved and understand residents are concerned.

"We certainly agree that there is concern about what took place. Does that make one area more unsafe in our community than another? I dont believe so," Nugent said.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to Ferrells disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477).
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the end of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election during a lengthy phone call Friday but said he did not raise concerns about the possibility of Russian interference to come in the 2020 contest.

Trump also contradicted his top national security aides on Russian motives in Venezuela, where the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a deadly political schism.

The two leaders, during their first known conversation in months, also discussed North Korea, whose leader met with Putin last month, and a potential nuclear arms control deal.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the call with Putin, Trump described a brief exchange about the conclusion of the two-year investigation. Mueller found that while Russia interfered "in sweeping and systematic fashion," there was not a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's campaign.

"We discussed it. He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse," Trump said. "But he knew that, because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever."

The two leaders could not see each other during the call. Trump's description was meant to convey that it was a light moment, a spokesman said.

Trump was asked repeatedly whether he raised the issue of election interference or warned Putin not to do it again.

"We didn't discuss that," Trump said eventually. "Really, we didn't discuss it."

In the past, Trump has bristled at criticism that he has not forcefully confronted Putin over Russian actions aimed at influencing the election and undermining Americans' faith in their democracy.

After the two leaders met in Helsinki last July, Trump accepted what he called Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of election interference, despite the opposite conclusion by American intelligence agencies.

Trump's comments Friday came shortly after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Mueller report was discussed "very, very briefly" during the morning phone call, which lasted slightly more than an hour.

"It was discussed, essentially in the context that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," Sanders said.

Sanders said most of the conversation was devoted to other topics, including nuclear agreements, North Korea, Venezuela and trade.

Trump later tweeted about the call, referring to the Mueller investigation as the "Russian Hoax."

Russian election interference in 2016 included a social media campaign that favored Trump and disparaged Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as the hacking of computers maintained by allies of Clinton and the subsequent release of stolen documents.

The special counsel did not find sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy with Russia against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. The report did not offer a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General William P. Barr later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for obstruction of justice, but House Democrats are continuing to pursue that issue.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned last month that Russia is continuing to attempt to undermine U.S. elections, including the presidential election next year.

Putin has echoed some of Trump's talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has also denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

"We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand," Putin said last month. "Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump."

Trump also contradicted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other advisers who have said this week that Russia propped up embattled Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and blocked what might have been a peaceful transfer of power to the U.S.-backed opposition.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said after the conversation with Putin, which had been arranged in large part to air differences over Venezuela and de-escalate a brewing proxy fight.

Instead, Trump appeared to take Putin at his word that Russia wants to help ease a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Right now, people are starving. They have no water. They have no food."

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the White House had said that Russia "must leave" Venezuela and "renounce their support of the Maduro regime." Russia has significant investments in Venezuela and has been a strong backer of Maduro.

Pompeo delivered the same message in a Wednesday call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Pompeo will see next week in Finland. Pompeo had said that Russia had told Maduro not to step down and accept an offer of passage to Venezuelan ally Cuba.

"It's the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he's not going to govern," Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday. "Structurally, there's no way he stays in power. It's time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door."

A day earlier, national security adviser John Bolton had said that if Russians continue to ignore U.S. warnings about malign influence in Venezuela, they "will do that at their own cost."

The Kremlin said that Putin "underscored that only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country, whereas outside interference in the country's internal affairs and attempts to change the government in Caracas by force undermine prospects for a political settlement of the crisis."

Sanders said Trump reiterated "the need for a peaceful transition."

Trump said he and Putin also discussed the possibility of extending a current nuclear agreement or creating a new one that includes China. A trilateral agreement among the world's major nuclear powers would be significant advance in arms control.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now," Trump told reporters.

It was not clear whether he was referring to an extension of the existing New START accord limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons with Russia, or a separate compact. The 2011 New START accord expires in 2021 but can be extended for five years by mutual agreement.

Regarding North Korea, Trump's focus was on "the importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," Sanders said.

- - -

Troianovski reported from Moscow. The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
A teenager was shot at an after-prom party at Preet Banquet Hall off Fairbanks North Houston Road in northwest Houston late Friday, authorities said.

A sheriff's deputy said there had been a high school party when one boy was shot in the torso at around midnight. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. It's possible a white sedan four-door vehicle was involved, deputies said.
A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Kent State University School of Information (iSchool) presented Library Media Specialist Angie Jameson, Chagrin Falls Schools, with its Dan MacLachlan Award in Library and Information Science on April 25.

The award is given to a library media specialist who exhibits creativity, leadership and dedication in his/her school. Each year, the university recognizes the alumni who are transforming the global information environment.

Dr. Meghan Harper, MLIS program and school library media concentration coordinator, nominated Jameson for this award, which is named for Dan MacLachlan, Riedinger Middle School Librarian from 1984-1993.
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Democracy Day was observed Thursday (May 2) in South Euclid, as people from several communities gathered at City Hall to center on the themes that corporations are not people and that corporations have too large an influence on todays elections and lawmaking.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in the case Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that corporations are entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections as natural persons.

Those who gathered Thursday believe the decision restricts the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity.

Hence, this decision supported the increasing amounts of money being spent by corporations to influence election results and legislation at federal, state and local levels, said South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo, the first of 14 people to speak at the Move to Amend, non-partisan event.

In November 2016, South Euclid voters joined a list of communities in Ohio -- including Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lorain, Lyndhurst and Mentor -- as well as about 800 others throughout the country and 19 states, in seeking change.

Seventy-seven percent of South Euclid voters approved Issue 201 in 2016, which called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights; and that money is not equivalent to speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Until a constitutional amendment is ratified reflecting the principles listed above, Welo said, South Euclid will continue to hold a public meeting (a Democracy Day) every two years where our citizens will have an opportunity to speak on the impact that uncontrolled political contributions have on local governments.

Thursday marked the second such meeting held in South Euclid since the 2016 passage.

After each public hearing, a letter will be sent to key elected leaders of our state and federal government, including a reminder that in 2016 the citizens of South Euclid voted in support of this constitutional amendment, Welo said.

As was the case in 2017, South Euclid resident Madelon Watts organized the event. Watts has also worked in other Ohio communities to forward the cause.

Speakers included interested parties from across Northeast Ohio. Tish ODell, of Broadview Heights, said that corporate influence is present when many of our countrys laws are written.

Were following, very obediently, laws written by corporations, ODell said. Thats got to change.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Sara Continenza took to the podium, which had on it logos of corporations such as Exxon, McDonalds and GE under the statement End Corporate Personhood."

I recently read an article that Amazon paid zero dollars in taxes to our federal government -- zero, Continenza said. "Yet, they have over $10 billion in profits. Meanwhile, we have someone working 40-plus hours a week at minimum wage with a family paying more taxes than that.

So we have to really think where we cast our votes, and every dollar we spend is a vote we cast. She urged shopping at mom-and-pop stores and curbing urges to always shop online.

Brecksvilles Jack Petsche spoke of how the costs of elections have been on the increase in the eight years since the Supreme Court decision.

The 2018 election was the most expensive midterm ever by a large margin, with total spending surpassing $5.7 billion, he said. That cost exceeded the 2016 presidential election, in which $5.3 billion was spent.

In 2018, Petsche said, "a blue wave of money helped Democrats crush House Republicans. Democrats outspent Republicans across the board in the 2018 cycle.

Ten individual mega-donors combined to pour $436 million into the election, displaying the widespread influence of wealthy individuals in the post-Citizens United era.

He concluded by saying, I ask my Republican friends, Democrats and independents to join forces and fight to obtain reasonable regulation of money in politics so that our individual votes do count, and our great democracy survives and thrives far into the future.

The event attracted Shaker Heights High School students Lauren Sheperd, a sophomore, and senior Christos Ioannou, who spoke about the harsh realities of school shootings, as well as Suzanne DeGatano, owner of Macs Backs bookstore on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights.

Ioannou said of firearms in society, This is not just a gun issue, its an empathy issue." He said that politicians are "dehumanizing human beings.

DeGatano said of her bookstore and the online competition it faces, I feel we can compete with online sellers. Were in touch with the community.

Cleveland Heights residents Carla Rautenberg and David Berenson took a different approach to attempt to show the absurdity of the Supreme Court ruling by performing a pair of skits.

In one, Rautenberg played a driver and Berenson a judge in a skit based on an actual California case in which a woman was cited for driving alone in the carpool lane. She answers the charge by saying that the photograph in her car that day of a corporate charter was her passenger that day. Like in the skit, Rautenberg said the person in California had her case dismissed.

Watts said anyone wishing to join the Cleveland East Move to Amend affiliate and help pass a 28th Constitutional Amendment can do so by visiting movetoamend.org/oh-cleveland-east, or Facebook.com/movetoamendclevelandheights.

See more Sun Messenger news here.
WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Chase, Interstate 90: A Westlake police officer at 1:15 p.m. April 27 stopped a vehicle on the Crocker Road overpass for equipment and moving violations.

As the officer got out of his cruiser and began to approach, the vehicle drove off and committed several traffic violations while fleeing westbound on I-90, according to police. The officer pursued the fleeing vehicle for two minutes before calling off the chase for safety reasons.

The vehicle, which belonged to an Elyria resident, soon was reported stolen to Elyria police. It was reported stolen from an apartment complex in Elyria.

Arrest on warrant, I-90: Police at 11 a.m. April 29 found a pedestrian walking along the highway near Crocker Road.

The man told police he was walking back to Cleveland. Police discovered that the Parma Police Department had a warrant for the mans arrest for a dangerous-drug charge. Westlake police arrested the suspect and turned him over to Parma police.

Westlake police also warned the Cleveland man against walking on the highway and for a marijuana pipe they confiscated from him.

Theft by deception: Westlake police arrested a suspect April 29 on several warrants for theft by deception.

Police said the suspect on multiple occasions approached local business owners asking for loans. The suspect claimed to be a small businessman who had locked himself out of his building or out of a car and needed to borrow money to hire a locksmith.

In one instance, the suspect got away with $40 and in another, he got away with $60.

The suspect never returned with the cash. The suspect is being held on $7,500 bond.

Felony theft, Center Ridge Road: Management at a business contacted police at 7 p.m. April 30 to report that they suspected one of their employees had stolen more than $1,500 in gift cards.

A 25-year-old female employee from Lorain admitted to the theft, and police arrested her for felony theft.

Prostitution arrests: Westlake police arrested three people accused in two suspected prostitution cases.

At 7:30 a.m. May 1, investigators learned that a woman was advertising online that she would provide services at the Red Roof Inn on Clemens Road. Police stopped a suspicious vehicle leaving the motel, and two woman inside admitted to soliciting prostitution.

The women, 30- and 31-year-old Cleveland residents, also were charged with drug possession for suspected ecstasy found in the vehicle.

In the second incident, at 7:30 a.m. May 2, investigators learned that a female suspect was advertising services online at the Super 8 Motel on Sperry Road. Officers again responded to the advertisement and arrested the suspect as she walked from the room. The 24-year-old Cleveland woman was charged with soliciting for prostitution.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the West Shore Sun here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man with a service dog was taken into custody then hospitalized Saturday after he bit a Cleveland police officer.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police were called to assist TSA with a man who was being disruptive, police said.

The man became combative and bit one of the officers, police said. Police did not say where the officer was bit.

He was taken into custody and admitted to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for an evaluation, police say.

Police took the service dog to the citys kennel, police say.

The incident is still under investigation and the officer was not seriously hurt, police say.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland judge is calling on U.S. Attorney Justin Herdmans office to consider reaching a consent decree with Cuyahoga County over conditions in its jail, where eight inmates died in 2018.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Michael Nelson hand-delivered the May 1 letter, which cites the recent indictments of several jail guards, along with the former director and warden, as underscoring ongoing dysfunction thats eroded public confidence in the management of the jail.

Nelsons letter says it is time Herdmans office consider meeting with the County to carve out a consent decree to ensure the jail is run in accordance with state and federal law, according to a copy of the letter provided to cleveland.com.

Read the letter below.

Nelson first spoke out in October about jail conditions later deemed inhumane by the U.S. Marshals Service. He vowed not to send people charged with most crimes to the county jail because he believed it unsafe following a spate of six deaths over a four-month span.

Two more died in 2018. The county is now facing several lawsuits and a federal civil rights investigation over inmate conditions. The administration of County Executive Armond Budish says it continues to implement reforms.

The dysfunction directly impacts on the fair pursuit of justice, which is the lynchpin of a civilized society, the letter says. It appears from all of the preliminary reports that the County cannot protect the rights of detainees without the intervention of your department.

Nelson in an April 17 interview with cleveland.com called for a U.S. Justice Department consent decree, but had yet to ask Herdman to begin the process. U.S Attorney spokesman Mike Tobin declined comment at that time about whether his office is considering such a proposal.

Cleveland.com previously reported that the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI are looking at the Nov. 21 marshals report that said inmates civil rights were routinely violated.

U.S. Attorneys offices elsewhere in the county have pursued consent decree agreements with jails and prisons, including through intervention in existing lawsuits. One filed in December on behalf of seven Cuyahoga inmates has called for a federal monitor.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Theft, Shopping Center: After a high school-age boy was heard asking if a cell phone on a restaurant counter belonged to anyone at 3:15 p.m. April 22, an employee noticed hers was gone.

She said it had been behind the beverage containers and on the employee side of the counter at Einstein Bagel. The $800 phone was deactivated with the carrier, but the owner would like it returned to her.

Identity theft, Nob Hill: A man received an email April 22 indicating that he had an outstanding bill for $3,700 from a Good Sams reward Visa card. The bank for the credit card will investigate.

Animal at large, High Street: A homeowner, 47, was cited for not containing his dogs on his property at 9:56 a.m. April 22 and faces a Bedford Municipal Court date.

His two dogs charged out from a yard at walkers in Whitesburg Park. He had been warned for the same infraction the previous week.

Disturbance, Hall Street: Police arrested an Avon Lake woman, 28, for obstructing official business at 1:20 a.m. April 27. A man had called police when his intoxicated passenger would not get out of the car at his home. The woman would not cooperate with police, either.

EMS checked her out and she was transported to the Bedford jail.

Suspicious, South Franklin Street: A worshiper contacted police during a church service at 11:20 a.m. April 28 after seeing a man in the front row with a guitar case large enough to contain a weapon.

The Chardon man with the guitar checked out fine, but he said he could understand the concern.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Disturbance, Pekin Road: Police were called at midnight April 28 about a large party with numerous vehicles stopped -- blocking both lanes of travel -- and more than 200 party attendees.

Police backup was called for from South Russell, Chester and the Geauga County Sheriffs Office. The homeowner was extremely agitated about the police presence. Officers stood by to keep the peace until all the vehicles were moved.

Drunken driving, Sunrise Lane: Police responded at 4 a.m. April 22 to a one-car crash with an unresponsive driver. Upon arrival, the driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Theft, Chillicothe Road: Police detained a man at 1:17 a.m. April 27 after he stole two cases of bottled water from Circle K. He also had an outstanding warrant and was taken into custody.

Traffic stop, Kinsman Road: An underage driver, stopped for ignoring a traffic signal at 10:45 p.m. April 26, was found to have alcohol beverages and a fake ID. He will face charges for those offenses.

Suspicious vehicle, Kinsman Road: An officer on patrol at 1:30 a.m. April 23 encountered a man in a parked car. The man explained that he had been kicked out of his home and was sleeping in his car. He was advised of park hours and available resources and sent on his way.

Animal at large, County Line Road: A Hunting Valley resident found a brown and white female cat, approximately 1 year old, in her yard April 23 and took it to the Happy Tails cat sanctuary. She reported it to police in case someone was looking for the cat.

Suspicious, Chillicothe Road: After receiving an email that he had purchased a ticket to Boise, Idaho, and receiving a Federal Express package from the same location, a man called police April 29. He had not purchased a ticket, and was told it was a scam that he should not respond to.

When the package was opened at the police station, it was discovered that he had ordered those items.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Noble Prize-winning economist, says there are "several problems facing the global economy."

These challenges range from President Trump's protectionism to trouble in Europe and concerns about the stability of growth in China.

He points to the increased deficits from Republican tax cuts, which he says are "not well designed," as the primary driver of increased growth in the United States. He expects a growth slowdown moving forward.

Stiglitz, a longtime skeptic of the broad benefits of globalization, also discusses Trump's strategy of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

"Many of us who were critics of the WTO, and I think correctly, didn't really appreciate the virtues of the WTO until we actually confronted the reality of a world without rules," he says.

Watch the video above to hear more from economist Joseph Stiglitz on risks to the economy and global trade.

See more:
Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a small stake in Occidental Petroleum, people close to the matter told CNBC on Friday.

The company is in the middle of a rare bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum, having bid $38 billion for its smaller rival. Chevron had previously bid $33 billion for Anadarko.

Shares of Occidental jumped 2% in extended trading Friday, immediately following the news.

The size of Icahn's stake is still unclear, and Bloomberg  which first reported the stake  reports Icahn hasn't decided whether to push for changes at the company. Still, the stake throws another heavyweight name behind a bidding war that's already captured Wall Street's attention.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $10 billion in Houston-based Occidental in an effort to help the takeover bid. CNBC reported earlier Friday that Buffett was willing to invest as much as $20 billion.
Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters

WASHINGTON This one is both highly personal and disturbingly global. On Wednesday afternoon this week, fifth grade students of Sidwell Friends Middle School walked down Wisconsin Avenue to the Washington National Cathedral to say goodbye to one of their own. A suicide terrorist's bomb  at an Easter Sunday brunch at a Sri Lankan hotel  had taken the life of their classmate, Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, age 11. They gathered in pews with parents to celebrate the life of Kieran, who had died along with more than 250 others in nine coordinated attacks. They heard about his pet ball pythons and the wooden mazes he built for them, about his too-long showers and tendency to misplace things, about his knack for math and science and his gentle spirit and captivating smile. Our daughter Johanna, also 11, had been a classmate and friend of Kieran since pre-kindergarten. Like her classmates, she was looking forward to his return from a year abroad in Sri Lanka. Like the others, she couldn't fathom why God would take this sweet soul so prematurely, this boy with the biggest heart and the most inventive Halloween costumes. The pastor couldn't help them. "How did this happen? Why did this happen? These are the questions that haunt us," said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. "Why God allows such tragic events to take place, I do not know." Yet he did offer a response: "We have to push back against the evil that would divide us, the evil that seeks to create fear, hatred and destruction. We have to push back, not with violence but with a renewed commitment to reach out to one another, to be like Kieran and seek to build new relationships, new understandings, to live with love and hope and courage." "This is Kieran's example to us."

A global and more coordinated response

What Reverend Hollerith didn't say was that events of recent weeks have underscored that the community that pushes back would need to be global and more coordinated and resourceful than is currently the case. The ISIS terrorist cancer that took Kieran's life isn't defeated or even in remission, but rather it is metastasizing since its loss of a caliphate first in Iraq and then finally Syria. The Trump administration's national security strategy has represented a shift from the post 9-11 emphasis on fighting terrorism to address a new era of major power competition with China and Russia. However, what's growing clearer with each day is that the United States and its allies will likely have to contend with extremist, Islamist terrorism for decades to come. On Monday, just two days before Kieran's funeral, the so-called Islamic State released a video of its leader and the world's most wanted man, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, signaling this new challenge. "Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy," he said in an 18-minute video, "and they must know that jihad will continue until Judgment Day." He praised the Sri Lanka Easter attacks as an act of vengeance against "Crusaders" for ISIS' last loss of territory in Baghouz, Syria and added "Praise to Allah" that "among the dead were Americans and Europeans." Much remains to be explained about the video and what it says about the well-being and location of the ISIS leader and the capabilities and reach of his terrorist organization. The apparent intent of Baghdadi's decision to surface, despite a $25-million bounty on his head, is to reassert his authority and send a signal that the Islamic State still exists and that he is still in charge, even after having lost his caliphate. It's believed several thousand battle-hardened ISIS combatants have now re-formed as an international network of militants that will sometimes remain silent and at other times launch unpredictable attacks in under-prepared settings like Sri Lanka. In a piece in The Atlantic, Graeme Wood studies the image Baghdadi projects in the video, his first since declaring the caliphate in 2014. He has morphed himself from the religiously robed, rhetorically grandiose leader of a caliphate with a well-armed military, tax collectors and health inspectors to "a terrorist leader, an insurgent, a shadow leader of a subterranean movement of global reach." The garb is a pocketed vest, rifle by his side, with a sheet as backdrop.

Terrorism 3.0
Isabel Diaz Tinoco (L) and Jose Luis Tinoco speak with Otto Hernandez, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as they shop for insurance under the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of Americas on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images

The Affordable Care Act once again faces legal hurdles after President Donald Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit questioning the health-care law's constitutionality. If the lawsuit succeeds and the courts decide to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans could lose their health care if a replacement plan is not established. Though Trump wanted to replace the law with a new Republican plan before the 2020 elections, the GOP refused to bring forward its own proposal until it wins a majority in the House of Representatives. The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn Obamacare after a federal judge in Texas ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the removal of a tax penalty levied against citizens without health insurance. The Trump administration reduced the tax penalty, called the individual mandate, to $0 in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Though Obamacare remains law while it awaits deliberation in the courts, about 25 million Americans may be left uninsured if the law is struck down in its entirety. Here's who is at risk of losing their health insurance if Obamacare is repealed:

Exchange plans

Approximately 11.4 million Americans enrolled or re-enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan in 2019. Obamacare established public marketplaces for individuals and families to shop for insurance plans that are compliant with ACA regulations. The exchanges also let citizens see if they qualify for federal subsidies that can help reduce health care costs. Twenty-eight states use federally run marketplaces, while 12 states use their own state-based marketplaces. Eleven states use either federally supported state marketplaces or marketplaces that are run by a partnership between the federal government and the state. But those exchanges would likely cease to exist if Obamacare is repealed, according to Cori Uccello, a senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries. "If the entire law has to go, then what is an exchange?" asked Uccello. Uccello said she is not sure what would happen to the state exchanges, but people who got their plans on the federal marketplace would almost certainly lose their coverage. States could potentially step in and fund their own exchanges, according to Ben Sommers, professor of health policy and economics at Harvard University, "but that's not a straightforward process," he said.

Medicaid expansion

Medicaid enrollment increased by 16 million people since Obamacare went into effect, with 13.6 million of those people living in Medicaid expansion states. Obamacare expanded Medicaid eligibility to cover adults at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid was also expanded to make uninsured children and many people with mental illnesses eligible for coverage. Thirty-six states and D.C. have adopted Medicaid expansion and 14 states have not. As of now, the federal government pays 90% of the cost in states that have expanded Medicaid, but if Obamacare is repealed, states would no longer receive that funding. Sommers said states don't have the resources to continue Medicaid expansion without federal funds, which could cause the people now insured through expanded eligibility to lose their coverage. "We're talking about millions of low income adults that become uninsured," Sommers said.

Pre-existing conditions
Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images

For Emmanus Stephen, an Uber driver from Asbury Park, New Jersey, earning enough to pay the bills means strategizing carefully about where he will work each day. Local, short-distance rides near his home on the Jersey Shore are convenient for him, but they don't pay well  "You drive all day and you can make $100," says the father of six. So to pay the bills, he'll often drive the 45 miles to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he can shuttle travelers on longer distance, more lucrative trips. He works all night to beat the New Jersey traffic, then heads home at 4 a.m., dropping his children off at school before getting some shuteye. With Uber preparing for an IPO, the issue of whether gig economy workers like Stephen can earn a living wage is likely to reemerge. For publicly traded companies, the issue of social impact is a growing issue. Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers, according to The State of Independence in America 2018 report by MBO Partners, which studies the freelance economy. For those millions of full-time gig workers, getting recognized as a full-fledged employee  at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere  is not coming anytime soon. This week the Department of Labor clarified that these workers are to be classified as independent contractors that are not entitled to health insurance and other benefits that would force companies to follow federal minimum-wage laws. (However, companies still have to abide with local minimum wage requirements.)

Making a living wage

Steve King, an analyst at Emergent Research, which studies independent workers, says Uber and Lyft drivers net $12 to $15 an hour after costs, based on his firm's calculations. "That is substantially below what you need to earn to have a middle-class job," says King. The median household income in the U.S. was $63,378, according to Sentier Research, which bases its calculations on U.S. Census Bureau data. But many ride-share drivers don't have the skills required for jobs where they could earn more and would otherwise have to take a minimum-wage position somewhere, notes King. For them, gig work offers a benefit they would not have in a lower-skilled, hourly job. "They have more flexibility and freedom driving," he says. More from At Work: 4 gig economy trends transforming the job market

What's key for workplace happiness That said, many gig workers earn far more than ride-share drivers do. "A lot of them are highly skilled and paid that way," says King. The Freelancing in America 2018 survey, run by the giant platform Upwork, found that 31% of freelancers earn $75,000 a year or more, up 15 points since 2014. Among respondents who left a traditional job to freelance, 73% said they earn more now freelancing than they did at their prior, traditional job.

Julie Ewald, founder of Impressa Solutions, a marketing firm in Milwaukee, got her start as a solo freelancer on Upwork eight years ago. She made enough to quit several part-time jobs she was juggling and has since expanded her business by bringing on a small army of contractors she found on Upwork. Being very specialized has helped her to command healthy fees, she says, and she does not find she's an anomaly in the world of freelance workers. "Some of the folks I meet are doing really, really well," she says. Jeff Brown, a radio veteran turned podcaster from Nashville, Tennessee, who runs an online event for freelancers called The Boss-Free Virtual Summit, says the best paid freelancers generally aren't "trading time for money" like Uber and Lyft drivers but instead are creating products or recurring services that tap into their knowledge. "Create something once and sell it hundreds, if not thousands, of times," he advises. In his own case, he started a paid, subscription-based book club.

The talent chase heats up
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of his country's own Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017.

North Korea launched "several unidentified short-range projectiles" on Saturday, a South Korean military official told NBC News.

"We confirm that what North Korea launched today was not ballistic missiles," the official told NBC News.

The official said the projectiles were launched at about 9:06 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. Korean Standard Time from Wonsan's Hodo Bando area in a northeastern direction. The official said the projectiles traveled about 70 to 200 kilometers (about 43 to 124 miles).

Officials had originally said there was one missile launched.

"The National Security's chief, the Minister of National Defense, the head of the National Intelligence Service have gathered at South Korea's presidential office and are monitoring the current situation and are sharing information closely with the U.S. counterparts," a South Korean's presidential spokesperson told NBC.

The Associated Press reported that Japan's Defense Ministry does not see any immediate risk to the country's national security as the missiles did not enter the territory.

South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the situation, the military official told NBC, adding that the South Korean military has upped its surveillance and on the look out for more launches.

A senior administration official told NBC that National Security Advisor John Bolton has "fully briefed" President Donald Trump on the situation.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

This incident comes a little over two weeks after Pyongyang said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of a new type of tactical guided weapon.

Saturday's launch is the second time North Korea fired a missile since talks collapsed between Trump and Kim in February. The two men had met in Hanoi to discuss the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, but those talks ended abruptly without a deal. That summit had followed the historic meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June.

In April 2018, North Korea had pledged to cease its nuclear and long-range missile tests. But suspicions about that promise flared when satellite images surfaced suggesting that a long-range missile test site was undergoing "rapid rebuilding."

Saturday's missile launch risks reigniting tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

The Trump administration has been pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons but so far Pyongyang has resisted. On Friday, Sanders said Trump pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage Kim to denuclearize. But the Russian leader responded by urging the U.S. to ease its sanctions on the isolated state.

The North Korean leader had his first meeting last week with Putin. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin discussed that meeting and his takeaways with Trump.

 CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed reporting.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at federal court, April 4, 2019 in New York City. A federal judge will hear oral arguments this afternoon in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seeks to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal.

Tesla's security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who "will do anything to see us fail" are "targeting" employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, "Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges."

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, "In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists."

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

Tesla's beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the company's recent accomplishments including:

Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

CEO Elon Musk's promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So it's not surprising that Tesla's security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

Here's the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges. As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day. When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they "will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish" any of Tesla's confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted]. If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted]. The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary. We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization. Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information. If you're unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences: * This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day. * A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information. * A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets. * Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations. * In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Tesla's Communications policy. It's every employee's responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Tesla's mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

WATCH: Elon Musk is interested in buying $25 million Tesla stock
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.

OMAHA, Neb.  88-year-old Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway shareholders another hint about who his successor (or successors) will be, but once again refused to tip his hand too much, frustrating some in the audience at the company's annual meeting who repeatedly asked him for more information on the matter.

The chairman and chief executive officer said at the company's annual meeting that longtime executives Greg Abel and Ajit Jain could one day join him and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on stage and answer questions from shareholders.

For years, Buffett and Munger have taken questions from Berkshire shareholders without sharing the stage at an arena in Omaha. But Buffett said Saturday that "this format will not be around forever and if it's better to have them up on the stage, then we'd be happy to do it." He added that they thought of having all four of them on stage at the same time.

Abel and Jain were promoted last year, with Abel running Berkshire's noninsurance businesses while Jain handles all insurance-related operations. These promotions made them the clear-cut favorites to succeed Buffett once he departs from his post.

Jain and Abel even answered shareholder questions on Saturday at Buffett's urging, two rare occurrences at the annual gathering.

Still, Buffett shied away from hinting at exactly who is the frontrunner and when they would take over. Instead, he said of Abel and Jain: "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished."

Buffett made his remarks after hearing a shareholder's question on the succession matter. The crowd erupted in applause after the question was read, a sign of just how much the matter is weighing on their minds. Buffett has been running Berkshire since the 1960s and over that time the conglomerate has returned more than 20% annually, double the return of the S&P 500. Many shareholders want to know what the long-term succession plan is.

But Munger, Buffett's longtime right-hand man, said the way Berkshire operates makes succession questions tough to answer.

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," Munger said. "We don't have analyst committees deliberating forever and making bad decisions. We're radically different. It's awkward being so different, but I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us."

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People Ethan Miller | Getty Images

When Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping student debt forgiveness proposal last month, many borrowers imagined how their lives would transform if their loan balance shrank or disappeared. "Emotionally, it's the biggest thing in the back of your mind," said Dominic DeFelice, 23, who owes more than $100,000. "To have Elizabeth Warren actually come out and have a plan for it felt really good." On Twitter, people described what student debt forgiveness would mean to them and included the hashtag #cancelmydebt. Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans. Average debt at graduation is currently around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the early 1990s. Repayment is a challenge for many: Every day, 3,000 borrowers default.

Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "The time for half measures is over," Warren writes. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Critics of the proposal, which could cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, say much of the money would go to borrowers with high incomes who are capable of repaying their debt. Others say the plan only throws money at the larger problem of rising tuition. Still, more than half of Americans say student debt is "a major problem" for the country, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. And it's no wonder people saddled with student debt can't help but dream of a different life (even if the candidate with the proposal trails in the polls): 67 percent of people with student debt say the loans delayed them from buying a house, car or large appliance. Forty percent claimed the debt caused them to put off having a child or getting married. CNBC spoke with borrowers about how the Massachusetts Democratic senator's proposal would change their circumstances.

Dominic DeFelice Source: Dominic DeFelice

DOMINIC DeFELICE'S bachelor's degree in geology left him $120,000 in the hole. "That amount of money is incomprehensible to someone like me," said the 23-year-old DeFelice. "I should have known that at 17." The entry level jobs to which he's been applying since he graduated last year from Juniata College in Pennsylvania offer annual salaries of around $30,000. After taxes, he calculates, he'd have $2,200 a month to live on. His student loan bill is more than $1,300. (The loans are currently on pause, accruing interest.) "I invested in an education and I don't see a return in sight," DeFelice said. He said his brother, who is 2 years younger and never went to college, makes more money as a security guard. DeFelice noticed a lot of the environmental jobs he hoped to fill require a graduate degree. And so thanks to a grant he received, he recently enrolled at Brooklyn College to get his master's degree in geology. However, he decided to leave school after just one semester, realizing that, given the high cost of living in New York, he'd still have to take out some loans.

I could actually plan my life. Dominic DeFelice

"It could really amplify my earning potential, but I just can't," he said. "I'm just digging myself deeper when I'm already at rock bottom." Education loans, ironically, can be a barrier to education: One study found that bachelor degree recipients without debt are 70% more likely to enroll in further schooling than those with debt. Under Warren's plan, DeFelice would have $50,000 of his federal loans wiped away, and potentially some of his private loans, too. With a smaller debt load, he said, he could likely finish his schooling and not have to move back in with his parents or his girlfriend's, a reality now on his horizon. "I could actually plan my life," he said.

Kanu Mendoza Source: Kanu Mendoza

KANU MENDOZA wishes she could work less, but she owes more than $50,000 in student loans. When a disk in her back ruptured, the 52-year-old had to leave the Navy after a two-decade career. To advance in the Navy, she pursued a bachelor's degree in leadership and then a master's in public administration at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Currently, she's a supervisor at an aerospace manufacturing company in San Diego. "If I didn't have that debt hanging over my head, I'd probably find a less demanding job," Mendoza said. "It's difficult when you're in so much pain you don't want to move, but you have to get up and go to work." Student debt is growing fast among older people: In 2018, Americans over age 50 owed more than $260 billion in student loans, up from $36 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Mendoza said her $400 monthly student loan bill makes it hard for her to save for retirement. Her pension is just $1,500 a month. "If I didn't have that debt I could retire in the next few years," Mendoza said. "With it, I'm going to be in the workforce another 10 years, if not longer."

Morgan Hopkins has paid off more than $12,000 in credit card debt during the break for student loan borrowers. Source: Jaheem J. Green

MORGAN HOPKINS would like to start a family. But she owes more than $75,000 in student loans, for her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and women's studies. "If I could understand the implication of having this debt forever, I might have made a different choice," Hopkins, 31, said of her education. Today, she works as a national field manager at a nonprofit in Denver. She said it's going to take years of planning for her and her boyfriend to be able to have a child and buy a house  and even just a financial cushion should one of them lose their job or fall ill. "If I didn't have half-a-rent payment in student debt, I'd have an emergency savings plan," she said.

How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life? Morgan Hopkins

Her monthly student loan bill is more than $900, most of which she said just goes to interest. "I haven't seen any significant reduction," Hopkins said. Under Warren's plan, half of Hopkins' debt would be canceled, and all of her boyfriend's loans would be forgiven. The result: She could see a future. "I have a lot of financial stress now, as a lot of our generation does," Hopkins said. "How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life?"

Madeline Smith Source: Madeline Smith
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday retweeted messages from conspiracy theorists and far-right figures after Facebook banned several right-wing personalities for promoting violence and hate.

Trump has lashed out against Facebook following the bans, tweeting on Friday that he is "continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms." On Saturday morning, he retweeted a number of Twitter users who defended the far-right personalities, including one of the banned users.

Later in the day, Trump questioned why The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were allowed on Facebook and Twitter, saying much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

Trump resumed his attacks on tech giants on Saturday afternoon, asking how it is possible for a "strong but responsible Conservative Voice" like actor James Woods to be banned from Twitter. Woods got locked out of Twitter for posting the hashtag #HangThemAll in an apparent reference to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, according to a screen capture shared by Woods' girlfriend Sara Miller.

Tweet

Facebook on Thursday banned Infowars, as well as its founder Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, the former editor-at-large for the website, which is notorious for pushing conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was staged. Facebook also banned far-right media personalities Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as Paul Nehlen, who has run for Congress in Wisconsin and is widely considered a white supremacist.

"We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today," Facebook said in a statement.

Trump on Saturday retweeted two messages from Watson, the former Infowars deputy who now hosts a YouTube channel called Prison Planet Live known for its nativist screeds. On Friday, Trump tweeted that he was "so surprised" to see "Conservative thinkers" like Watson and Woods banned from Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

He also promoted a tweet by Lauren Southern, a far-right author and activist who backed the anti-refugee campaign Defend Europe, which sought to harass boats attempting to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, Southern and activists from the nativist Generation Identity movement filmed themselves firing flares at a Doctors Without Borders vessel.

The president on Friday retweeted an anti-Islamic video shared by Deep State Exposed, an account tied to author Jeremy Stone, who is associated with a pro-Trump conspiracy theory called QAnon.

The video shared by Stone and resurfaced by Trump shows a bearded man with subtitles saying Muslims will conquer the U.S. and kill Americans, take their women and smash their churches if they do not convert to Islam. The last subtitle highlights the words "this is Islam."

Stone boasts in his Twitter profile that he has been retweeted by Trump nine times.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to promote his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for the two countries to have a good or great relationship.

Trump suggested the "Fake News Media" is not covering that potential fairly. He alleged the media misled the public about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media," he tweeted.

Tweet

Trump and Putin spoke for over an hour on Friday, the White House said. The two discussed the Mueller report, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea and nuclear arms control.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are currently heightened on several fronts.

Washington backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in his bid to push strongman Nicolas Maduro from power, while Moscow is supporting the Maduro regime. The Trump administration also suspended a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia this year, and U.S. sanctions remain in place on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and its role in the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in order to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster Trump. Mueller indicted 13 individuals and three entities in Russia on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by posing as Americans to stoke political and racial tension on social media during the election.

Mueller's report concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's assistance in the 2016 campaign but found insufficient evidence to bring a charge of conspiracy. American law enforcement warns that Russia will likely step up its efforts during the 2020 election.

Trump continued his long-standing criticism of the media's coverage of the investigation on Saturday, saying "Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.'"

"When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!" Trump tweeted earlier on Saturday.

Trump questioned why the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC are allowed on Twitter and Facebook. He said much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

In fact, Mueller's investigation did not attempt to assess whether collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place. Collusion is not a legal term. The special counsel considered whether there was evidence of criminal conspiracy.

 CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a break in talks at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on February 28, 2019.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with North Korea 'will happen,' hours after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had fired new tactical guided weapons.



Trump said he believes Kim Jong Un will do nothing to interfere with the "great economic potential" of North Korea.



"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me," Trump said. "Deal will happen!"



Trump tweet: Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!



The South Korean military said Sunday that North Korea fired multiple rocket launchers including new tactical guided weapons. A military official told NBC News that Pyongyang did not launch ballistic missiles.

Seoul originally said the North had launched a single missile, but subsequently changed its language and said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified, short-range vertical objects.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the projectiles landed in the sea east of the Korean peninsula and never posed a threat to South Korea, Japan or the United States.

"We know that they were relatively short range and beyond that we know they weren't intercontinental ballistic missiles either," Pompeo said.

The South Korean president's office said Seoul and Washington are sharing detailed information and analyzing the material used in the projectiles and what exactly they were.

"In particular, we do notice that North Korea's action this time has taken place when the de-nuclearization dialogue is in lull state," presidential spokeswoman Koh Min Jung said. "We do hope that North Korea would positively participate in efforts to resume the dialogue."

A senior U.S. administration official told NBC News that National Security Advisor John Bolton had "fully briefed" Trump on the situation.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration is aware of North Korea's actions: "We will continue to monitor as necessary," she said.



In April, North Korea claimed to have "tested a powerful warhead" in the first public weapons test for the regime since Trump and Kim met for a historic summit in Singapore last year.



Trump and Kim held a second round of talks in Vietnam February of this year, but negotiations collapsed after Trump reportedly handed Kim a note demanding he turn over the North's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel.
Warren Buffett has shown a bigger interest in the oil industry with Berkshire Hathaway's recent $10 billion investment to back Occidental Petroleum's bid for Anadarko Petroleum, and he said it's a bet on the Permian Basin.

"I mean the Permian Basin is four million barrels a day. It's incredible," Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an interview before the start of Berkshire's 2019 annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Remember it was the last great find in the United States 40 years ago or more...The United States is producing 12 million barrels and four million" are from the Permian, he added.

Occidental revealed this week that Berkshire has committed to invest $10 billion in the company to help fund its proposed acquisition of Anadarko. Berkshire would make the investment by purchasing 100,000 shares of preferred stock, which pays out an 8% annual dividend.

Backed by Berkshire, Occidental's bid topped an earlier bid by Chevron. However, the "Oracle of Omaha" doesn't consider it to be a hostile deal because Anadarko wants to sell its properties.

"I mean it's not a hostile deal in that Anadarko had been talking to Occidental about the sale of their properties...It's different than Coca-Cola or something like that. You are buying physical assets...Anadarko wanted to sell...It wasn't like a private company being sold or a management controlled company," Buffett told Quick.

When asked about why Buffett didn't buy Anadarko outright, Buffett said he's not an expert on the oil industry.

"Charlie is quite impressed with the Permian Basin. He knows more about oil than I do, which isn't really much praise, but we both follow that," Buffett said.

The Permian Basin, which is 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, stretches from New Mexico to Texas and holds more than 20 of the top 100 oil fields in the country, according to Chevron.

"You can mess up oil fields very easily. A lot of that was done in the early days, so you can take a field that is huge and by foolish production techniques you can reduce the recoveries dramatically," Buffett said.

At a Q&A session at the annual meeting, when asked if Berkshire will do other large financing transactions in the future, Buffett said "Maybe there's one three or four years from now, it won't be identical. I hope it's larger. The point is we are very likely to get the call because we can do something that really no institution can do it."

"Well I like it," Charlie Munger, Berkshire's Vice Chairman and Buffett's longtime partner, said at the annual meeting, referring to the Occidental investment.
Warren Buffett tours the shopping kiosks at the 2019 BHASM in Omaha, NE on May 3rd, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway's Amazon bet seems to stray from Warren Buffett's value investing style, but the Oracle of Omaha said the e-commence giant still meets the philosophy.

"The people making the decision on Amazon are absolutely [as] much value investors as I was when I was looking around for all these things selling below working capital years ago. That has not changed," Buffett said Saturday during a Q&A session at Berkshire's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. "The considerations are identical when you buy Amazon versus ... say a bank stock that looks cheap against book value or earnings of some sort."

Berkshire Hathaway revealed this week that one of its investment managers has been buying shares of Amazon. The news sent Amazon's stock soaring more than 3% that day. The stock is up 30% this year.

Buffett said the money managers who bought Amazon shares took into consideration a slew of financial metrics including the company's sales, margins, tangible assets, excess cash and excess debt.

"All those things go into making a calculation as to whether they should buy A versus B versus C and they are absolutely following the principal...I don't second guess them," he added.

Berkshire has been sticking with big value companies such as Coca-Cola and Bank of America over the years, missing out on the big tech boom that saw some of the so-called FANG names crossing $1 trillion market cap. Buffett just started purchasing Apple as recently as February 2017.

Berkshire's vice chairman and longtime investing partner, Charlie Munger, said he'd forgiven himself for not investing in Amazon earlier, but missing out on Google is a hard one to swallow.

"Warren and I are a little older than some people... Of course if something extreme as the internet happens and you don't catch it, other people are going to blow by you ... I give myself a pass. But I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google better. I think Warren feels the same way," Munger said Saturday.

"We saw it in our own operations and how well the Google advertising is working and we just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger added.

Google parent Alphabet's stock has surged from about $96 a share at its inception in 2004 to about $1,189 today.
Warren Buffett's aversion to bitcoin just escalated.

"It's a gambling device... there's been a lot of frauds connected with it. There's been disappearances, so there's a lot lost on it. Bitcoin hasn't produced anything," Buffett told a group of reporters ahead of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"It doesn't do anything. It just sits there. It's like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me," he added.

Buffett even compared the cryptocurrency to a button on his jacket.

"I'll tear off a button here. What I'll have here is a little token...I'll offer it to you for $1000, and I'll see if I can get the price up to $2000 by the end of the day... But the button has one use and it's a very limited use," Buffett said.

Buffett had previously called bitcoin "rat poison squared," and Berkshire's vice chairman Charlie Munger said trading in cryptocurrencies is "just dementia." Bitcoin rallied to a six-month high on Friday, rebounding from a steep loss last year.

However, the Oracle of Omaha acknowledged the blockchain technology that bitcoin is built on has some promise.

"Blockchain...is very big, but it didn't need bitcoin. J.P. Morgan of course came out with their own cryptocurrency," Buffett said Saturday.

Asked if Buffett will get involved with blockchain, he said "We are probably doing it indirectly, but no, I wouldn't be the person to be a big leader in blockchain."
Max Beaverbrook: Not Quite a Gentleman by Charles Williams

Max Beaverbrook is one of the most entertaining figures ever to have sat in a British Cabinet. He did so twice, during both the First and the Second World Wars, despite being detested and distrusted by a large part of the Establishment.

And yet the Beaver, as he was known, has slipped almost into oblivion, a name but not much more to most people under the age of 70. This book performs the valuable task of bringing a strange and gifted figure once more before the public.

Charles Williams provides, at the start of this biography, a useful list of some of the people who loathed Beaverbrook. They included Kings George V and VI, Stanley Baldwin, Clement Attlee, Lords Alanbrooke and Curzon, Hugh Dalton, Ernest Bevin and a large segment of the Canadian political and industrial establishments.

But Winston Churchill decided he was just the man to put in charge of aircraft production in May 1940, and David Lloyd George entrusted propaganda to him in early 1918, when the Germans were gathering themselves for a last attempt at a knockout blow in the west.

Beaverbrook was an adventurer who spotted opportunities where others could only see problems; a businessman of genius whose early fortune was founded on attaining, by devious manoeuvres to which this author devotes too much attention, a near monopoly in Canadian cement.

He was born Max Aitken in 1879, the third son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who had emigrated to New Brunswick, in Canada, as there were no jobs going in Scotland. Max was a rebel who started out with nothing except a knowledge of the Bible, but who soon displayed astonishing gifts as a financier.

Having made large sums and a reputation for sharp practice in Canada, he moved to Britain, where in December 1910 he was elected Conservative MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. At the same time he made friends with Bonar Law, like him the son of a minister in New Brunswick, who the following year became Conservative Party leader.

Aitken was at the heart of the manoeuvres which at the end of 1916 saw Asquith supplanted as Prime Minister by Lloyd George, after which Aitken was raised to the peerage as the first Lord Beaverbrook.

The King was not pleased, nor were the upper reaches of the aristocracy. But Beaverbrook had taken control of The Daily Express, and was turning it into an enormous success, the greatest mid-market newspaper of its time, smart and popular and a source for its proprietor of great influence, for there could be no doubt who decided the editorial line.

Beaverbrook sent jolts of electricity through any outfit where he took control. He was a malicious bully who was also capable of great generosity, and who stood by friends when they got into trouble. He had a brilliant eye for talented subordinates.

He despised Stanley Baldwin, who dominated the Conservative Party for the 14 years after Bonar Laws death in 1923. Baldwin tempted Beaverbrook into overplaying his hand, and gave him and his fellow press baron Lord Rothermere a bloody nose by accusing them of exercising power without responsibility  the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.

It seemed as though Beaverbrooks career, except as a newspaper proprietor and a writer of vivid and perceptive books about Lloyd George and other men of power he had known, might well be over. Then the nation turned to Churchill, an outsider in Conservative Party terms, and Churchill needed to recruit other outsiders who could help him to grip and dynamise Whitehall.

This is the most exciting part of Williamss account. The pace quickens as Beaverbrook seeks to ensure that the RAF gets the planes it needs. He picks tremendous battles within the bureaucracy, threatens at frequent intervals to resign, but is told by the Prime Minister that he is indispensable.

For Churchill, Beaverbrook is a boon companion, a friend with whom in the darkest days of the war he can find relief from the almost intolerable burden of leadership, an ally who can be sent to negotiate with Stalin and Roosevelt, and who charms them too. Clementine Churchill, by contrast, regarded him with lifelong distrust.

The first sentence of this book reads:

Lady Diana Cooper, in her day one of Londons leading society lionesses, described Max Beaverbrook as this strange attractive gnome with an odour of genius about him.

The word lionesses will not do as a category in which to place Lady Diana. Nor is there any need for in her day. But the quotation which follows is wonderful.

This mixture runs through the book. Williams can be cloth-eared, but has a keen eye for good material. The dust jacket notes that he is 86. His industry puts many younger biographers to shame.

At times, however, it is excessive. He sketches more of the background to various early transactions than we really need, and this thoroughness is accompanied by a sense of responsibility which sometimes gets in the way of conveying his subjects utter irresponsibility.

He is not unscrupulous enough to revel in Beaverbrooks exploits. The author remarks that his own wife, Jane Portal, who got to know Beaverbrook in her capacity as Churchills secretary, still describes him as somebody you would instinctively walk away from.

Her instinctive reaction was right. Beaverbrook usually treated the women in his life, who were numerous, with cruel neglect once his eye had been attracted by new conquests.

To get an idea of how intolerable but also invigorating Beaverbrook was, the short sketch of him in old age by his great-nephew, Jonathan Aitken, published as the first essay in Heroes and Contemporaries (2006), is in some ways a better place to start.

Williams quotes an admirable description of Beaverbrook by Peter Masefield, who worked for him during the war:

He was unlike any other man I ever knew. For all his foibles and tough exterior, he was at heart deeply sensitive and often lonely. Critical, thrusting, demanding, self-centred and intolerant, he could be kind and even generous, just as he could be hasty and vindictive. He could reverse passionate feelings within hours. He perpetually maintained a hard front, even when the man inside had softened. I often thought of the frightened little boy in Canada, whose Presbyterian father had drunk away the familys slender funds.

The religion mattered. Beaverbrook was steeped in it, and said it was better to be an evangelist than a cabinet minister or a millionaire. As a lapsed Calvinist, he suffered from deep feelings of guilt, and was profoundly hurt by the scathing reviews given to one of his last books, The Divine Propagandist, which attempted to present the life of Jesus as it appears to worldly men of my generation.

Williams touches on the religion, but does not convey how important it was. Perhaps that is an impossible task. Beaverbrook was good at covering his tracks, and in 1964, shortly before his death, had a lot of his personal papers burned.

He liked buying up other mens papers, and controlling access to them during his lifetime, but there were strict limits to how mischievous the great mischief maker wanted anyone else to be at his own expense.

It is a pity he is not better known today, for among many other qualities, he was a remarkable journalist, who for over 60 years cultivated at his various houses a range of contacts of which most people could only dream, and was ruthless and vulgar enough to publish what they told him, except when he was covering up Churchills stroke or Tom Dribergs trial for indecent assault.

Beaverbrooks refusal to treat the Establishment with the respect it believed it deserved was attractive to men of the Left such as Driberg, Michael Foot and A.J.P.Taylor.

But it was not attractive to Attlee. When Churchill said during the 1945 general election that a Labour government would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo  an accusation against his wartime coalition partner which was generally reckoned to have gone much too far  Attlee was quick to counter-attack, while at the same time exculpating Churchill, whom he liked and admired:
Local elections 1) The Conservatives lose 1,300 councillors, the worst results since 1995

The results in full  BBC

Conservatives must change course, or die  Leader, Daily Telegraph

The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blairs humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago as they lost 1,269 council seats. Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a devastating voter backlash over Brexit. On a night described as brutal by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live TV interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents. Labour, which had expected to profit from the Conservatives failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful Opposition leader of the past 40 years.  Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: The local election aftermath. May and Corbyn are like two spooked children, drawing nearer for comfort as the thunder rages.

>Yesterday:

Local elections 2) There is worse to come, warns Javid.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted voters had issues of trust over Brexit, and said the European elections would be even more challenging. But, in a rallying cry to Conservatives in Aberdeen, he said that a divided party cannot unite a divided nationThe home secretary said the party risked losing voters trust after not delivering on a promise at the heart of our last manifesto. And, speaking about the European elections, due to take place on 23 May, he said: We shouldnt be surprised if people tick the protest box on the ballot paper. Without anything else at stake, it will be a verdict on the delivery of Brexit.  BBC

Home Secretary vows to secure more funding for the police  The Sun

Local elections 3) May to be told she must set a departure date

How can the battered Tories defend themselves with a leader whos keeping them on their knees?  Leader, The Sun

One member of the 1922 Committee  has already told colleagues that he has changed his mind and would now favour a rule change to allow a challenge  James Forsyth, The Sun

Theresa May will be told by senior Tories that she must set a date for her departure next week after their party was given its worst drubbing in local elections in almost a quarter of a centuryThe head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, will meet the prime minister when the Commons returns on Tuesday to request that she set a timetable for her departure. It is understood that Sir Graham met Mrs May before the elections on Thursday but agreed to defer the committees demand for her to set a date to leave until after the vote. Yesterday a source on the committee said that if Mrs May refused to set a date they could move to rewrite the rules to allow a fresh no-confidence vote in her leadership. Priti Patel, the former cabinet minister, led calls for Mrs May to go while Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, called on the 1922 Committee to take action.  The Times

.>Today: Dinah Glover on Comment: The Prime Minister lacks empathy, negotiates badly  and doesnt lead. The Conservative Party needs to get her out now.

>Yesterday: WATCH: May heckled at the Welsh Conservative conference. Why dont you resign?

Local elections 4) Labour lost seats too

Labour had expected to make gains, but instead suffered a net loss, and lost control of a string of councils, including Burnley, Darlington and Wirral.Many Labour MPs suggested the results underlined the urgency for Labour to shift to a full-throated remain position. But Corbyn insisted: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done. Parliament has to resolve this issue  I think that is very, very clear. Close Corbyn allies Ian Lavery and Richard Burgon echoed his message, saying Brexit was detracting from a string of other crucial issues, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the message from voters was: Brexit  sort it.  The Guardian

Sir Tony Robinson resign from the Labour Party  The Sun

McDonnell had predicted 400 net gains  Daily Express

How Corbyn was snared in a death trap by trying to appeal to either side of the Brexit debate but ended up offending both  Peter Oborne, Daily Mail

Local elections 5) Lib Dems feeling tiggerish

Pavement politics can still matter  Sir John Curtice, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 6) Charge of the independents

Sir Vince Cable, who is preparing to stand down as leader, described his party as the big success story of the night. He took a swipe at Change UK, which also backs a second Brexit referendum, saying: We are clearly the dominant, successful Remain party. Change UK was not formed in time to compete in the local elections but will field candidates in the European elections on May 23. A Lib Dem source said that their party had a bounce in our step and we are feeling Tiggerish, a play on Change UKs first name, the Independent Group (TIG), and the Tiggers nickname given to its members. On a bruising night for the two main parties, the Lib Dems scored a victory in Leave-supporting Chelmsford, Essex, where they are now in control of the council. They also took councils including North Devon, North Norfolk, Winchester, Cotswold and Vale of White Horse in OxfordshireThe Lib Dems also did well in typically strong Labour areas like Hull and Barnsley. Lib Dem sources played down the idea that the party was simply the beneficiary of protest votes, pointing out that it had taken seats in areas where it had a strong local history.  The Times

A community fed up with party politics has seized control of its council as independent candidates made big gains across the country. Voters in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, elected a new independent party to 30 of the councils 35 seats amid anger at Brexit wrangling. Only three Conservative councillors and two Labour survived as 65 per cent of the working-class districts voters backed the Ashfield Independents, with candidates in some wards taking 90 per cent of the vote. The humiliation for Labour in Ashfield came as independent candidates made sweeping gains across the UK, with more than 575 new councillors elected and 997 independents taking seats. In North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, the Tories lost control as eight independents were elected, while in the Labour heartland of Bolsover, Derbyshire the party lost control of the district council for the first time in 40 years. Among 11 new independents was Ross Walker, a bricklayer who went into politics after the council cut down a sycamore tree commemorating his grandfather.  The Times

Local elections 7) Green Party boasts of phenomenal gains

Local elections 8) Thousands of spoiled ballot papers

The Greens have hailed a phenomenal set of local election results Bartleys co-leader, Sian Berry, said the party had won its first councillors in areas not seen as traditionally Green areas, including South Tyneside, Sunderland, Colchester, Folkestone and the Cotswolds. Weve broken through on to the councils to become the new voice, she told BBC News. Weve done that through hard work, basically. I can pretty confidently say were going to have a record number of Greens on a record number of councils. In Sunderland, the Greens defeated Labour in Washington South. In South Tyneside, the party crushed Labour as its candidate took more than two-thirds of the vote to become the first Green member of the council.  The Guardian

Election results were delayed in parts of England overnight after so many people had deliberately spoilt their ballot papers. Some voters scribbled Brexit means Brexit, Get May out and us out of the EU or traitors on their forms and refused to mark crosses against any candidates names. Each of the spoilt papers had to be individually adjudicated and the number to be examined was higher than normal in Ipswich, Suffolk  delaying the result.In Basildon alone there were 800 spoilt ballot papers, reported BBC Essex. Brexit Party MEP candidate Michael Heaver said the figure showed huge anger out there. It was 200 in Immingham, Lincolnshire, with councillor David Watson saying: That is a phenomenal amount. The residents have disengaged with the political process. Meanwhile there were 414 in Castle Point, 600 in Tendring and 539 in Chelmsford, all in Essex, plus 647 in Folkestone & Hythe, Kent, and 693 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.  Daily Mail

Local elections 9) DUP holding up in Northern Ireland results so far

Son of murdered prison officer ecstatic as he thanks supporters after election  Belfast Telegraph

Local elections 10) Rees-Mogg: It could be a blessing in disguise

It was a good day for the Alliance and a bad one for the UUP and the TUV. Sinn Fein and the DUP look to be holding up their vote. Greens and People Before Profit had notable victories while the new pro-life party Aontu secured its first seat. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (which finished up at 6am), Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Mid Ulster councils have all completed meaning with still have eight councils still to declare.  Belfast Telegraph

People who normally vote Tory either stayed at home or voted for a protest party, be it Liberal Democrats, Greens or independents. Labour suffered too because it also failed to deliver on its Brexit promises. Thus, the warning shot has been fired and the Conservative Party must heed it. While the importance of local government must not be understated, this could possibly be a blessing in disguise as it now gives the Tories the opportunity to make the things right that have gone wrong. Inevitably, this will be with a new leader. Mrs May has already announced that she will retire before the next election but it must be someone who will advocate Conservative principles, put them into action and ensure that promises and deeds match.  Jacob Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 11) Parris: These results show remainers must unite

The Voters Verdict  Leader, The Times

Something is rotten in Britains political system  Leader, Financial Times

Leadership 1) Davis declares for Raab

Surely this cries out for a temporary alliance of Remain-leaning political movements, and a temporary coming-together of Remain-leaning voters? Its too late for this in the European elections due on May 23. Change UK appears to have blocked co-operation. The Lib Dems are open to it. The Greens just might. But a leaked alleged strategy document from the Tiggers makes ugly reading. Strategy: Win over LD activists and members . . . attract support and resources from LD backers . . . draw attention to any ex-LD [parliamentary candidates] joining TIG . . .. Change UKs response when this was published was hardly a denial. And an article by Umunna, defending his partys disinclination to get into bed with anyone else, was shot through with an overconfident, even conceited, expectation of a moment that never came.  Matthew Parris, The Times

We will need a leader with focus and drive, a combination of conviction and tenacity. There is no shortage of talent in our party, but the demands on him or her will be great. Bluntly Brexit alone will require a unique combination of intellect, determination, decisiveness and courage. The next stage of Brexit, and the coming election will both be a real test of the character of the next prime minister. With all these considerations the standout candidate is Dominic Raab, so I will back him if he runs. I have known and worked with Dominic over the last 13 years so I know he has the vision and personal attributes required to lead us at these crossroads in our history.  David Davis, Daily Mail

Leadership 2) Gove claims to be a team player

Leadership 3) Hunt speaks out against the Customs Union

Michael Gove has insisted he has not gone soft on Brexit as he pledged to strive to get it over the line in the wake of the Tories disastrous local election resultsSpeaking from his parents home in Aberdeen, he also said he had learned from his botched 2016 Tory leadership campaign and insisted he was now a team player. Although he refused to be drawn on whether he intends to stand again in the race to succeed Theresa May, he argued that his conduct since being recalled from the subs bench showed his fellow Tory MPs that he is trustworthy. With his mother and father watching on, he paid tribute to them for instilling in him compassion and being unafraid to tell him home truths over his mistakes.  Interview with Michael Gove, Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt makes another thinly veiled leadership pitch by speaking out against the prospect of Britain staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit. The Foreign Secretary warned that it would fail British exporters because the UK would have no say in trade deals the EU signs with third countries.His comments came in an interview with the Press Association where he refused to reveal the naughtiest thing he has done  because its too X-rated. But the Foreign Secretary said it was definitely naughtier than running through a wheat field, which Theresa May famously said was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.  The Sun

Foreign Secretarys wife is his secret weapon  Daily Telegraph

Leadership 4) Hancock: Voters want the centre, not the extremes

Sedwill accused of failing to investigate troop numbers leak

 We need to deliver Brexit and then turn the page and we need to deliver from the centre ground, says Matt Hancock. The 40-year-old health secretary could be the new-generation Conservative leadership candidate. He is wearing jeans, a T-shirt and trainers when we meet the morning after the local elections at a cafe packed with mothers and babies in Kensal Rise, northwest London, where he orders us all a latte and fried banana bread and leans back to discuss the results.He dislikes the way some in his party, including the prime minister, have disparaged citizens of nowhere who havent stayed close to their roots.We need the Conservatives to be not just comfortable with modern Britain but champions of modern Britain.  Interview with Matt Hancock, The Times

Sir Mark Sedwill, the man behind the leak inquiry that led to Gavin Williamsons sacking, has been accused of refusing to investigate a leak which risked putting soldiers lives in danger. Allies of the former minister claimed Sir Mark had declined to intervene when a newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was to almost double the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr Williamson was so concerned that the story would compromise troop safety that he had tried to issue a D-Notice  the mechanism used to prevent newspapers reporting the most sensitive security issues. Sir Mark, however, declined to instigate a leak inquiry despite two separate requests from the then minister, according to Mr Williamsons allies.  Daily Telegraph

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy demands to see the evidence against Williamson  The Sun

Davidson promises an end to constitutional games

News in brief

The age of political volatility  Sunder Katwala, CapX

How the Tories can turn their dire election results around  James Forsyth, The Spectator

Grieve escapes deselection proceedings despite losing confidence vote  Independent

This climate change fantasy will cripple our economy  Benny Peiser, Conservative Woman

Neoliberals must retake the reins of the Conservative Party  Samuel Prosser, 1828

Ruth Davidson will deliver a withering assessment of Nicola Sturgeons record in government on Saturday as she promises no more constitutional games and no more referendums if she becomes Scotlands next First Minister. The Scottish Conservative leader will tell delegates at the party conference that the country must get out of the trenches of the last decade of Yes and No, Leave and Remain. Setting out her plan to replace Ms Sturgeon in 2021 she will pledge to build a better Scotland now, using the Scottish Parliaments powers, rather than blaming Westminster and agitating for independence.- Daily Telegraph
74%

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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-20, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-25, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
You might think that archaeology is nothing but sifting through the dirt trying to find 3,000-year-old toilet pits. But since we make the past every single day, the whole field of preserving history has had to step up its game. That means we're digging up 20th-century artifacts in places that are far stranger than any viking crapper. For example ...

5 The Original Lunar Photos Were Recovered From Somebody's Filthy Backyard

From '66 to '67, five NASA lunar orbiters took pictures of the moon's surface to pinpoint the best landing sites to model Stanley Kubrick's set after. These pictures, including the first-ever earthrise image, were beamed directly into magnetic tape decks. And in deference to their lofty purpose, these tapes were preserved with the same dignity afforded to your weird uncle's collection of 1970s amateur porn. They were printed once, in really terrible quality, and then shoved in a dusty box to be forgotten

Fast-forward to 2004, when NASA hackers in an old Usenet group learned that retired archivist Nancy Evans had saved the tapes from being destroyed in 1986. And when they tracked Evans down, they found both the tapes and the refrigerator-sized drives to read them on in her backyard garden shed, surrounded by farm animals. Together, Evans and the hackers launched the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (or LOIRP), tasking themselves with recovering the history trapped inside the hundreds of tapes. They established their base of operations in the greatest symbol of JFK's America: an abandoned McDonald's.
The AIDAstella made her inaugural call to Gibraltar on Friday, April 26, according to a statement.

Minister for Tourism Gilbert Licudi QC said: The call by the first AIDA cruise ship is significant and shows that Gibraltar continues to be an important port of call for cruise ships in the Mediterranean.

As with other inaugurals, there was an exchange of plaques onboard the ship between the Captain and representatives of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, the Port Authority and local shipping agents Lucas Imossi.
STRATFORD  Oronoque Village will host its sixth annual Mini Walk and Car Show to benefit the Alzheimers Associations Connecticut Chapter on Saturday morning, June 1 (rain date is Sunday, June 2).

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the South Clubhouse parking lot on South Trail and the short walk, loops around South Trail, starting at 9:30. The recommended entry donation is $10 per walker, but donations above the entry are very much appreciated. Water will be provided for the walkers. At 10 a.m. the Car Show begins in the back parking lot. A $10 entry donation per car is recommended. There will also be a bake sale so please bring money to indulge in our delectable baked goodies after the walk!
Contributed Photo / Google Maps

STRATFORD  Melanie M. Ordner, a 55-year old Stratford resident, was found dead in a vehicle in a New Hampshire store parking lot on Thursday, state police there said.

Around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, troopers from Troop A in New Hampshire responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the southbound State Liquor Store parking lot along Interstate 95 in Hampton, N.H., state police said.
Our own Bruce Siwy and Eric Kieta talk about their true-crime cases in Return To View: The Roundtable
CRUDE OIL PRICE FORECAST  TALKING POINTS

Selling pressure in crude sent oil prices tumbling over 2.5 percent before trimming losses during Fridays session to finish the week roughly 1 percent lower

A surprise stockpile build in the US sent oil prices swooning while calls on OPEC to increase production countered the prospect of supply constraints from the expiration of Iranian sanctions

Crude oil price outlook now shifts focus to the possibility of a US-China trade deal next week which could boost future demand for the commodity if materialized

Crude oil dipped 1.17 percent to $62.15/bbl over the last 5 trading days, inking back-to-back weekly losses for the commodity. The primary driver of recent downside could be attributed to reports from the EIA that crossed the wires during Thursdays session which stated US crude stockpiles skyrocketed 9.9m/bbl to their highest level since September 2017.

US OIL PRODUCTION AND CRUDE INVENTORIES

Source: EIA, Reuters | Henning Gloystein

Ballooning crude oil production in the US now tops 12m/bpd and largely contributed to the recent bulge in oil inventories. The trend looks to continue after the Trump administration announced that the Interior Department released a fresh set of regulations last week that makes offshore oil drilling easier for energy companies.

Furthermore, President Trump continues to demand that OPEC increases its output after oil prices have soared since the start of the year  but the recent threats of higher supply has sent crude plunging in response. Also, Saudi Arabia is already rumored to have plans in place to boost production ahead of an expected spike in domestic demand during the summer.

That being said, the updated EIA short-term energy outlook report is due for release on May 7 and looks to provide oil market participants with the latest comprehensive insight over potential supply and demand imbalances.

OIL DEMAND & US-CHINA TRADE DEAL

Looking forward, however, global demand for crude oil  and consequently its price  hinges principally on the final outcome of US-China trade talks which are now expected to conclude within the next two weeks. A positive outcome where the worlds largest two economies reach a trade deal looks to provide a solid boost to global growth and thus demand for oil.

Although, this scenario has largely been factored into market pricing already and may limit potential upside in oil prices. On the other hand, a negative outcome where the US and China fail to reach an agreement could quite possibly derail bullish prospects for oil demand and prices.

TRADING RESOURCES

Whether you are a new or experienced trader, DailyFX has multiple resources available to help you: an indicator for monitoring trader sentiment; quarterly trading forecasts; analytical and educational webinars held daily; trading guides to help you improve trading performance, and even one for those who are new to FX trading.

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MIDDLETOWN >> Approximately two dozen residents of Chester and Delaware counties, joined by state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, and a representative of U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, met Friday morning at the site of Sunocos latest known sinkhole along Route 1 in Middletown.

Since assuming office in 2016, Quinn has repeatedly expressed his concerns about the risks to public safety associated with the proposed Mariner East pipelines.

Shut it down, said Quinn. Ive visited the sinkholes in the Lisa Drive area, but this area is built on granite.

There shouldnt be sinkholes here  yet there are. Its like youre driving a car when a warning light comes on. You need to stop immediately and get it checked out. Im calling for an immediate halt to construction and operation of these pipelines.

Signs were held high for the benefit of drivers on Route 1.

Gov. (Tom) Wolf needs to shut down these dangerous pipelines now, said Linda Ciavarelli, a Middletown resident and health care provider whose property lies in the blast zone of Sunocos proposed hazardous, highly volatile liquids export project, marketed as Mariner East.

There is no way that this sinkhole did not expose the leaky old 12-inch workaround pipeline. This project is putting our community, our first responders, and workers at unacceptable risk.

Delaware County Council procured an assessment of the risks associated with Mariner East, which was publicly released in November 2018. It predicted lethal blast and thermal effects resulting from a leak of highly volatile liquids from Mariner East could extend a mile and a quarter from the point of a release.

The 12-by-12- by-12 foot sinkhole opened near the State Police Barracks in Middletown on Wednesday, April 24. Apparently, before notifying appropriate regulatory agencies such as Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utility Commission, or Middletown Township, Sunoco filled the sinkhole with flowable fill, a kind of concrete.

While the sinkhole appears to be directly over the centerline of the 12-inch workaround pipeline, these agencies currently have no knowledge of whether this sinkhole exposed the line. The nearby 8-inch Mariner East 1, another 1930s-era Sunoco pipeline, was shut down by the PUC in 2018 and again in 2019, both times after the pipeline was exposed by sinkholes in Chester County.

Middletown Council Chairman Mark Kirchgasser wrote to the chairman of the PUC on April 29. In his letter, Kirchgasser stated on behalf of a unanimous township council, We have grave concerns that despite an unexplained subsidence with no determined cause in an otherwise stable area that an aged, repurposed 12-inch line carrying highly volatile liquids is allowed to continue to operate without a clear cause for the event, or any knowledge of what an adequate remedy to the subsidence issue could or would otherwise be.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Sunoco continue to investigate the subsidence that occurred in front of the State Police barracks; both parties assert to the township that the 12-inch HVL line is safe to operate. While Sunoco has answered all of our inquiries, Middletown Township firmly stands by our letter to the chairman of the PUC and requests that the 12-inch HVL line be shut down until a clear cause of the subsidence has been made.

The sinkhole is next to the shoulder of heavily trafficked Route 1, adjacent to the Pennsylvania State Police Media Barracks, and across the street from Granite Farms Estates retirement community and the Rocky Run YMCA.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance, said there is no prof that the sinkhole is related to the pipeline.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has proven itself to be an effective watchdog that relies on science and engineering before rendering decisions. There has been no definitive report to conclusively determine cause in this area, and there is risk. No portion of the pipeline was exposed, Knaus said.
If Shakespeare had titled Attorney General William Barrs appearance on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he would have called it Much Ado About Nothing.

Democrats seized on the supposed bombshell that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Barr expressing dissatisfaction with the attorney generals four-page memo to Congress from March 24, declaring it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of his report. Barr told senators upon receiving the special counsels letter that he immediately called Mueller and said Bob, whats with the letter? Why dont you just pick up the phone and call me if theres an issue?

Heres a better question he should have asked: Bob, why didnt you accept my offer to review the memo before it was released to the public?

The fact is, Barr gave Mueller the chance to go over the document, and offer comments or suggested edits, before the attorney general made it public. Mueller declined to do so. Sorry, you dont get to turn down an opportunity to review a document before release, and then complain about it later if you dont like how it is being covered by the media.

And putting his complaints in a letter  going to paper in Justice Department parlance  the details of which (surprise, surprise) were then leaked to the media on the eve of Barrs testimony, was dishonorable. The entire episode hurts Muellers reputation more than it does Barrs.

Moreover, officials told The Washington Post, When Barr pressed [Mueller] whether he thought Barrs letter was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not, but felt that the media coverage of the letter was misinterpreting the investigation. So, there was nothing wrong with Barrs letter per se. What Mueller really wanted was for Barr to release more information  specifically the introduction and executive summaries of each volume of the report, which he had marked with redactions to remove any information that potentially could be protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure that concerned declination decisions; or that related to a charged case.

But, as Barr testified on Wednesday, even if he had agreed that releasing the introductions and executive summaries was a good idea (which he did not), he could not have done so because they required additional redactions from the intelligence community. Barr did not want to release the report piecemeal. I thought what we should do is focus on getting the full report out as quickly as possible, he said. The attorney general did just that.

Regardless, the whole issue was moot by the time Barr testified, because the entire 448-page report  including the introduction and executive summaries  has been released to the public. That did not stop Democrats from using it to attack Barrs credibility. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told Barr you lied to Congress and had chosen to be the presidents lawyer rather than Americas lawyer. She announced that she had asked the Justice Department inspector general to investigate his conduct. She called on Barr to resign. Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. It was a disgusting partisan display. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rightly chastised Hirono, declaring, You slandered this man from top to bottom.

ar from lying, Barr has bent over backward to be open with Congress and the American people. He overrode Justice Department regulations, and released the full Mueller report with only minor redactions. Thats virtually unprecedented. And he has made an almost completely unredacted version of the report available to members of Congress, who now have access to all but one-tenth of 1 percent of the document. And while the Justice Department worked overtime to speed the redaction process, he released a memo which accurately informed the American people about Muellers bottom line conclusions. It is a fact that Mueller declared that his investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

And it is a fact that while the report does not exonerate him of obstruction it also does not conclude that the President committed a crime. For two years, Trump was falsely accused of being a Russian agent and colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin  including by many of those on Capitol Hill now attacking Barrs credibility. If members of Congress want examples of dishonesty and efforts to mislead the American people, they can start by looking in the mirror.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post Writers Group
Only a fool believes the political landscape will never change. As the Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan once told his aides: There are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of.

As it happens, Callaghan said those words almost exactly four decades ago, as he was preparing to lose the 1979 election to Margaret Thatcher.

Perhaps the Tories should reflect on the irony that yesterday, which saw one of their most wretched electoral performances in recent times, was the 40th anniversary of one of their greatest landmarks, when Margaret Thatcher won her first General Election.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion.

Triumphant: Margaret Thatcher, flanked by husband Denis and son Mark, salutes the party faithful on May 4, 1979

The truth, however, is that the political landscape over which the Iron Lady presided has largely disappeared.

Voters today are angrier, more frustrated, less deferential. Influenced by social media more than ancestral loyalty, they are more likely to swing between extremes, and much more likely to be wooed by radical new groups.

A number of voters took to social media to boast of spoiling their ballot papers in the local elections. People shared images of voting slips with messages including Get May out, Brexit betrayal and Traitors written across them.

These are not normal times.

Despite the Tories taking a battering and Labour performing wretchedly, their spokesmen yesterday robotically intoned prepared lines about their determination to listen and learn from voters frustrations. But if the two main parties think things will soon return to normal, they are deceiving themselves.

For with Brexit having rewritten the rules of British politics, I believe these local elections are a last warning for the two historic parties of government.

Unless something changes radically, the local elections may well go down in history as the first part of a three or four-act drama that could reshape the landscape of British politics to an extent not seen since the 1920s.

And with European elections likely to follow on May 23, and a possible General Election or second referendum to come, both the Conservatives and Labour are in serious danger of being torn apart completely.

Conservative MP Vicky Ford after the Tories lost a comfortable majority in Chelmsford, Essex

Much of this story, of course, is about Brexit. For as soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box.

The Prime Minister can hardly blame them. For almost three years, she has assured us that her priority is to deliver Brexit. Yet the original deadline for leaving the EU has come and gone, and she has conspicuously failed to do so.

This is not entirely her fault. If all Tory MPs had backed her withdrawal deal, their party would surely not be in such a mess. But the British people are perfectly entitled to conclude that many Tory MPs have completely lost the plot, and are more interested in ideological posturing and self-promotion than in reaching a compromise in the national interest.

It is true, of course, that Conservative governments often do badly in local elections.

It is generally forgotten, for example, that David Cameron lost a whopping 2,000 council seats between 2012 and 2014, but still won an overall majority at the next General Election.

Yet if the Tories think they can easily repeat the trick, then they are even more deluded than I thought.

Whatever you think of Mr Cameron, his government gave an impression of competence and unity. By contrast, these abysmal results come against a background of unprecedented Tory divisions, infighting and paralysis.

No wonder that, among the public at large, frustration and anger are running higher than at any time I can remember.

Leave voters, in particular, are outraged that Britains exit from the EU seems to have been delayed indefinitely. But many Remain voters, too, can barely contain their exasperation with a Government that seems incapable of winning a vital vote in the Commons.

The one consolation for the Tories is that Labour is doing equally badly. For while governments almost always lose council seats, it is extraordinary to see the main Opposition party haemorrhaging seats, too.

In other circumstances, Labour might expect to be celebrating a tremendous night.

Under Ed Miliband in 2012, Labour won more than 800 seats. Yet on Thursday, facing a far weaker Tory Government, it lost at least 87 seats, which suggests it would find it very hard to win a majority at a General Election.

Labours performance in many working-class Leave areas was astonishingly bad.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion

In the West Midlands it lost control of Dudley, while the Tories gained control of Walsall.

And in the North East, Labour lost control of Hartlepool, shed seats in Sunderland and lost the mayoralty of Middlesbrough to an independent.

The explanation is no mystery.

Labours flagrant dishonesty on Brexit has disgusted Leave voters, who rightly suspect most Labour MPs would like to pretend the referendum result never happened.

Yet at the same time, Jeremy Corbyns refusal to back a second referendum has alienated enthusiastic Remainers, who turned on Thursday to the Lib Dems. So in effect, Labour has tried to be all things to all men and ended up pleasing very few.

On top of that, Labour is suffering badly from the Corbyn factor.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst.

Social media data shows hard-Left websites are losing support. And Mr Corbyns shameless evasions on Brexit have clearly alienated thousands of youngsters, who care more about staying in the EU than they do about his weird enthusiasms for Palestine, Venezuela, punitive taxes and the nationalisation of water.

The longer Mr Corbyn remains as Labour leader, the more he looks like just another shop-soiled, dishonest politician.

Indeed, given that almost every week brings some new accusation of anti-Semitism, I find it hard to see how his personal ratings, already dire, can ever improve.

As soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box

What both major parties need is a long break to rest and reflect  but that is precisely what they are not going to get. For, barring some miraculous breakthrough in their Brexit talks, the bloodied, weary combatants will have to drag themselves back into the ring for the dramas second act: the European elections.

And although it is never wise to make predictions these days, I am very happy to stick my neck out.

Turnout will almost certainly be dreadful. The Tories will do abysmally, probably sinking below 20 per cent of the vote. Labour will lose votes to the Lib Dems, the Greens and the new Change UK party, which will divide up the Remain vote between them.

Above all, the big winners, sweeping up Leave supporters across the country, will be the Brexit Party, with perhaps as much as a third of the vote.

The day after the results come through, every paper will carry a prominent picture of a grinning Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, raising a pint in victory.

In other words: chaos. And if that scenario does materialise, I dont expect things to become any clearer over the summer.

If the Tories do as badly in the European elections as everybody expects, the pressure on Mrs May to stand down will probably become intolerable.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst

That would mean the Tories could face a summer leadership contest, which could well tear the Conservative Party in two and see the Government fall from office.

Most Tory insiders think that if a Brexiteer such as Boris Johnson made it to the final run-off between two candidates, he would almost certainly sweep to victory with the partys national membership.

But if he did win, many pro-Remain MPs might refuse to support a Johnson government, forcing him to call a snap election.

Alternatively, Tory MPs might gang up to keep Mr Johnson (or another Brexiteer such as Dominic Raab) out of the final two. If that happened, the grassroots could revolt en masse.

In turn, that would be a huge boost to the Brexit Party and could create an irreparable rift between Tory MPs and party activists.

In other words, the Conservatives would be damned if they did and damned if they didnt.

For Labour, the picture is scarcely brighter. If it does badly in the European elections, there could be more defections to Change UK.

And if Change UK and the Lib Dems have the sense to strike a formal alliance, the newcomers could easily position themselves as the natural home of liberal, do-gooding Remainers.

That would leave Labour as well, as what?

As the natural home of working-class Leavers? That doesnt seem likely, given the pro-European predilections of many of its MPs.

As the last redoubt of anti-Semites, crypto-Communists and the Fidel Castro fan club?

That would be true to Mr Corbyns convictions, but I cant imagine such a party would fare very well at a General Election.

Should anything like this come to pass, all bets would be off. Anyone who claims to know what the political landscape will look like this time next year is a fantasist.

Not since the early 1920s, when Labour supplanted the Liberals as Britains main anti-Conservative party, has politics been so fragmented. And the comparison seems particularly apposite because then, as now, seismic change led to the proliferation of insurgent alternatives, rather like todays Brexit Party and Change UK.

Among the candidates at the 1922 election, for example, were 334 Liberals, 155 National Liberals, three Independent Liberals, 20 Independent Conservatives, five Communists, four Agriculturalists and four Independent Labour candidates. And although things had calmed down a bit by the 1924 election  the third in three years  there were still 12 Constitutionalist candidates, among them a certain Winston Churchill.

The big winners in the end were the Tories and Labour. But had the Liberals remained united, they might have seen off the Labour challenge and political history would have been very different.

The fate of those Liberals, once a mighty party of government, should be a chilling warning for todays mainstream parties.

Adrift in this bewildering new world and apparently baffled by Brexit, they seem incapable of charting a new course. And if they continue to haemorrhage votes, the next General Election could see one, even both, swept away.

Given how both the Tories and Labour have behaved over the past three years, I suspect few people would mourn their demise.

Yet the alternative  a fragmented, European-style mosaic of squabbling parties  would hardly make for effective Government.

And if that sounds bad, theres an even grimmer possibility.

What if the Tories fall apart and Labour dont? What if a chaotic General Election ends with Jeremy Corbyn walking into No 10, to the cheers of assorted Communists, Trotskyists, anti-Semites and the Russian secret service?

You might think it could never happen. But if the political shocks of the past few years have told us anything, it very certainly could.
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Julian Coulston's battle with a rare bone cancer wasn't one he was left to fight on his own.

His girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018, with doctors in Melbourne, Victoria, telling the couple chemotherapy had failed.

And she stood next to him on March 28 at their dream wedding ceremony, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.

Sadly, that only meant another eight days for Julian.

Julian's girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, (both pictured) stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018

The 27-year-old was told by specialists that the last round of treatment had been ineffective and they would have to remove 100 per cent of his sacrum - which is connected to the pelvis - if he wanted any chance of survival.

Vital nerves that control bowel and leg function would also be taken out as a result and he'd be unable to walk.

Above all else, surgery couldn't promise that the cancerous cells wouldn't return a third time either.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle.

So she reached out to volunteer group My Wedding Wish in hopes they could help make their special day come true.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle (Ayla pictured)

The company provides free weddings - with the help and support of the local community - to terminally ill brides and grooms.

Julian and Ayla's application was approved within the hour.

'The only issue was that Julian was currently in Peter Mac Hospital undergoing pain management protocols. We all had to wait, eager to create magic, but unable to without a time or place for the wedding,' the company wrote on their Facebook page.

'On March 26 a date was set because doctors couldn't get Julian's pain under control and we were concerned this may change. We had two days.

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day.'

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day,' My Wedding Wish wrote on Facebook

My Wedding Wish organised the cake, Ayla's wedding dress, a suit for Julian and the legal proceedings in just a few short hours, with a photographer, celebrant and makeup artist soon to follow.

With Julian's health deteriorating the wedding was set to be one of the most emotional days for the two families joining as one, with images from the day showcasing just how close the couple were.

'The next day, Thursday March 28, 2019, a stunning autumn day, close friends and family gathered at 2pm to watch Julian and Ayla marry in a moving ceremony,' the team at My Wedding Wish wrote online.

'There were a lot of tears and there was so much joy.'

In writing to the charity foundation a few days after her nuptials, Ayla expressed extreme gratitude for the team who brought her the greatest gift of all: Eternal love.

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' Ayla said

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' she said.

'I can't believe the generosity of everyone who helped pull off the wedding.

'I cried out of bittersweet happiness because I finally married my best friend of seven years and it will always mean the world to me.'

In the weeks prior to the wedding, Ayla had been packing up their home in Melbourne to move as Julian wanted to be in New Zealand surrounded by family when he died.

They were due to fly out on the evening of April 3, 2019, and that night the new little family prepared to jet off abroad.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand

Harry from Melbourne Portraits dropped by that evening to deliver their wedding album. Julian was able to reminisce on the day he married his wife.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand.

He was in too much pain to board the three-and-a-half hour flight and had to be admitted back into hospital.

Julian died two days later in the arms of his beloved wife on April 5 and his funeral will be in the country he had hoped to return to on May 4.

You can donate to Julian's funeral fund by visiting this website.
From Victoria to The Crown, we cant get enough of TV dramas about British royals.

The latest to hit our screens is about another queen of England, albeit one who has often seemed like the side story in the bigger tale of her husbands murderous reign.

The Spanish Princess, a sequel to the hits The White Queen and The White Princess about the Wars of the Roses and the early days of the Tudor dynasty, centres on Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs first wife.

It shows her before she was scorned in favour of a younger model who might be able to give Henry the male heir he so desperately wanted.

Catherine is typically portrayed as little more than the older, uglier, spurned wife whose refusal to go quietly led to Henrys break with the Catholic Church.

A new series retells the love story of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon (pictured) - to whom he was married for 17 years

But in this retelling, which like those previous series is based on books by Philippa Gregory, she is much more than that.

Catherine is perceived as an older woman who was unwanted baggage for Henry VIII, when in fact she was the love of his life, says the dramas co-writer Emma Frost.

They were married for 17 years before he took up with Anne Boleyn, and we felt it necessary to dignify Catherines place in history with a retelling of her story.

This starts in Spain with Catherine, daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile, being brought up to believe its her destiny to be queen of England because, as a direct descendant of John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV, shes an heir to the English throne.

Played by British actress Charlotte Hope, Catherine arrives in England at the age of 15 to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales.

The princesss arrival in this dour, warring nation from what was then the most powerful country in Europe is a culture shock for her.

Shes surrounded by enemies, in particular Maggie Pole, played by Downton Abbeys Laura Carmichael  her brother Edward Plantagenet, a nephew of Richard III, had been killed to ensure there were no challengers to Arthurs  and so Catherines  path to the throne.

British actress Charlotte Hope (pictured right) stars as Catherine alongside Ruairi OConnor (pictured left) as Henry VIII. The drama begins with Catherine preparing to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales

Most marriages come with a degree of pressure, says Emmas co-writer Matthew Graham.

But this one particularly so because the security of Europe hinges on it being successful.

When, less than five months after their wedding, Arthur dies of a disease known as the sweating sickness, Catherine is forced to take destiny into her own hands.

From the age of four shed been told God was giving her the throne of England, says Matthew.

When circumstances changed and the throne seemed to be out of her grip, she refused to believe that was Gods will.

'She had to fulfil the destiny God laid out for her.

So we see Catherine spin the tale that will lead to her becoming queen of England  she claims her union with Arthur was never consummated, something that would allow her to marry his younger brother Henry (Ruairi OConnor), now the king himself after the death of Henry VII.

The drama's co-writer Emma Frost says Henry was obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife (pictured: Catherine and her retinue arrive in England in the new drama)

Catherine is such a fascinating character because she has this absolute belief in what her destiny should be, says Emma.

She makes dangerous choices to get where she wants to be.

Although her marriage to Henry, five years her junior, was convenient as it meant her valuable dowry stayed in England, it also turned out to be a real love match, Emma insists.

But when Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry became obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brothers wife, says Emma.

It becomes a story about a lie. The series looks at the decisions she made and their consequences.

'Its a strong story of a woman trying to define her place in the world, and one modern audiences will be able to relate to.

The Spanish Princess will be on Starzplay (via Amazon Prime and Virgin) from tomorrow.
Whether it's nature or nurture, what makes someone a killer is something that's long been debated by psychiatrists.

That question is even trickier when you apply it to child murderers - how does an innocent young person turn into a cold-hearted killer?

FEMAIL spoke to Dr Keri Nixon, a consultant forensic psychologist, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series which focuses on the deadly crimes of young people.

She told how generally, people who commit murder or acts of extreme violence have usually got troubled backgrounds.

'That's the case for some of these perpetrators,' Keri explained. 'But interestingly with some of the cases this series covers, many of them haven't, which makes them quite unusual.'

Here Keri gives her take on some of the UK's most famous child killers - and whether murder was inevitable or could have been avoided.

The mystery: William Cornick

The nation was horrified when model student William Cornick, then 15, stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish lesson

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed his Spanish teacher Ann Maguire to death during class

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014.

He left his classmates in a state of shock when he casually walked up to Ms Maguire and stabbed her seven times while she was writing on the whiteboard.

The teenager was described as a 'a clever child from a loving middle class home' and the 'most unlikely perpetrator of a crime that would shock Britain'.

The teacher in charge of his year said he was 'a delightful pupil who always gave his best', while fellow pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College said he was a just a 'typical lad' who rarely misbehaved.

'William Cornick doesn't fit the profile of what we would usually see,' Keri told FEMAIL.

'As a forensic psychologist, I can honestly say that the majority of murderers or violent offenders that I've worked with, whether that's young people or adults, have got that history of dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyles.

FEMAIL spoke to forensic psychologist Keri Nixon, pictured, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series examining the crimes of young people

'There were some dark sides of his personality, but it's easy for us to unpick that with hindsight.'

Keri suggested that, had Cornick come from a dysfunctional family and had previous convictions, people may have taken his threats to kill his teacher more seriously.

' I think people thought his disturbing behaviour was just him being a bit bizarre, a bit dark,' she said.

'There was evidence of personality disorder and psychopathic traits, although you can't diagnose somebody at that age because he's far too young. But some of his behaviour was evidencing of that.

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014

'People talked about him being a loner, a bit odd, but didn't consider him a genuine threat because he didn't have those risk factors, so I think there's a bit of confirmation bias going on.'

She said 'bystander apathy' also came into play, with people presuming someone else would raise concern about the violent threats he was making.

'Nobody takes on the responsibility for reporting it themselves because they assume somebody else is doing it,' she explained.

'I think also, we'd be quite surprised and troubled if we could hear a lot of the conversations that go on between adolescents, especially on social media. I think a lot of adolescents make some quite throwaway comments and threats, but they don't take each other seriously.'

Flowers and tributes left the entrance to Corpus Christi College in Leeds following the shocking murder of teacher Ann Maguire

Ann Maguire's family say they still don't know what caused him to kill - except for severe hatred for the teacher.

Cornick told a psychologist: 'I wasn't in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still do.' The criminal also said after the killing that he thought everything he had done was 'fine and dandy'.

Speaking about the 'nature versus nurture' debate, Keri said the two are very much entwined because a person's environment impacts on their brain.

But the fact Cornick showed no remorse makes one question whether there is something within him that drove him to commit such an unprecendented atrocity.

Britain's youngest female double murderer: Lorraine Thorpe

Lorraine Thorpe, pictured age 16, was given a life sentence for killing her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009

Age: 15

Crime: Murdered her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt

Lorraine Thorpe became Britain's youngest female double murderer when, aged 15, she smothered her father Desmond Thorpe to death in the hope he wouldn't tell the police about her killing a stranger, Rosalyn Hunt, following a row over a dog in 2009.

Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days, with Thorpe responsible for kicking, punching and stamping on her head.

Her father, 43, a 'vulnerable' alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about her first crime.

She was given a life sentence, with the judge ruling she had been brought up 'with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong'.

She was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who five years later was found dead in his cell.

Thorpe, now 24, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Thorpe was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, pictured, who five years later was found dead in his cell

Mr Justice Saunders said she could be 'manipulative' and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: 'She found violence funny and entertaining.'

The judge said Clarke, also an alcoholic, was the 'instigator' in the murder of Ms Hunt, although Thorpe 'played a full part'.

'Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head,' he said.

For Keri, Thorpe's crime is one that could have been prevented - especially if she had never met Clarke.

She explained: 'I start to feel complete empathy for the girl that was let down, by society and professionals. No girl should be living with her alcoholic father at the age of 12.

Keri said she very much feels Lorraine Thorpe's crimes could have been prevented had she not been let down by society and professionals

'She was lost. She went from her mother to foster care, and then she ran away to be with her father and eventually social services lost her and she was living on the streets drinking with alcoholic men. That shouldn't happen in our society.

'I believe she was groomed by Paul Clark and living a life that no teenager should be living.

'But then we look at the level of violence she enacted on Rosalyn Hunt. It was so extreme, so vicious, and that's where it's difficult to look at the vulnerable girl.

'Would those murders have taken place if she wasn't part of that drinking community, and if she hadn't met Paul Clark? No, I don't believe they would have done.'

Britain's youngest serial killer: James Fairweather

James Fairweather was just 15 years old when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex - and was set to kill again

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed two people, stopped while planning a third

James Fairweather was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins.

Fairweather was branded a monster at Guildford Crown Court in 2016 when he was found guilty of two murders and was sentenced at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Spencer, who said the killings were 'brutal and sadistic'.

He was caught after a dog walker spotted him lurking in woods 'lying in wait for his next victim'. After his arrest, he admitted he had been hunting down a third victim.

Fairweather's first was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014.

Three months later the 5ft 6in schoolboy - who was 'obsessed' with killers including the Yorkshire Ripper - attacked Saudi PhD student Nahid Almanea, 31, knifing her 16 times with a 10-inch bayonet on a public footpath.

Both victims were stabbed in their eyes. During the two-week trial, the jury was shown clips from Fairweather's police interviews in which he provided 'chilling' details of his attack on Mr Attfield.

Fairweather, who told a psychiatrist he could have killed another 15 victims, committed the murders under the noses of his parents James, 45, a cleaner, and Anita, 45, a McDonald's worker.

Keri said Fairweather's obsession with serial killers and other 'warning signs' could have made these crimes preventable.

'There had been a previous non-custodial sentence for armed robbery where he'd used a knife on a newsagents, so again I think with this one there were definitely warning signs there,' she explained.

James Attfield, pictured with his mum Julie Finch, was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014 by James Fairweather

A knife used by James Fairweather, the teenager who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper and murdered two innocent people

'Apparently after he was in a psychiatric unit he did start to respond well to some treatment. He's got autism, and he was obsessed with serial killers, and that's something that we see with autism - that obsession and absolute focus on something.

'It doesn't mean people with autism are more likely to commit violent crime, absolutely not, in fact we know studies have shown that it doesn't increase a predisposition to violence.

'However, somebody who has got autism and was not given that support, plus the different difficulties that he has, then he's certainly somebody that became quite obsessed with violence.'

She added: 'This is a young man that needs treatment in a hospital, not a prison, in my opinion.'

The Twilight Killers: Kim Edwards & Lucas Markham

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards, right, was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, left, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016

Age: Both 14

Crime: Killed Kim's sister, 13, and mother, 49

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016.

Edwards and Markham, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders.

In his police interview Markham described with a complete lack of emotion how he killed Elizabeth and Katie Edwards by 'stabbing them in the neck'.

The couple, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders

TIMELINE OF HORROR May 23, 2015 - Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham began their relationship, shortly before he was excluded from Sir John Gleed school just a year before the murders. March 17, 2016 - Edwards, who had been assessed by mental health professionals after expressing suicidal thoughts, makes an attempt on her own life and spends two days in hospital. April 11, 2016 - During a conversation in the back garden of the Edwards' family home, Markham and his girlfriend agree to kill her mother and sister. April 13, 2016 - Markham smothers and stabs both victims through the neck. April 14 - Edwards and Markham are reported missing to the police by their school and his aunt. April 15 - Police find Ms Edwards and Katie dead in their beds. Both defendants are arrested on suspicion of murder. April 17 - Both teenagers are charged with two counts of murder. September 6 - Edwards and Markham both admit manslaughter but plead not guilty to murder. October 10 - Markham admits murder and is remanded in custody October 11 - Edwards is found guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict. November 10 - Edwards and Markham are both given life sentences with minimum terms of 20 years. June 9, 2017 - Their minimum terms are reduced to 17 years the Court of Appeal which also rules they can be named. Advertisement

The lovers hatched the gruesome plot after Elizabeth tried to break them up, and also as revenge because Edwards believed her mother favoured her sister Katie over her.

The clinical justifications they gave for their crimes in police interviews were so startling officers took the unprecedented decision to make the recordings public, because of the danger they believed the teenagers represented to society.

Markham pleaded guilty to murder, and Edwards denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - a defence rejected by the jury. They were both sentenced to 20 years in prison, but this was later reduced to 17 following a hearing at the Court of Appeals.

Liz Edwards with daughter Katie Edwards who were both found dead in their house in Spalding, England

Keri said she believes had this pair not been in a 'toxic relationship', it's likely these killings would not have happened when they did.

She told FEMAIL: 'I don't believe that individually, each of those two people would have killed at that particular time. That's not to say that neither of them would have gone on to do something else at some point.

'They both had difficult childhoods, Lucas Markham in particular had a very dysfunctional background and was desperate for love and attention, and I think he had a toxic relationship with Kim Edwards. I think they both had a toxic relationship with each other.'

Likening the case to that of Lorraine Thorpe, Keri said the threat of an outsider on their relationship and situation was the 'trigger' for them to kill.

'Just before the murders occurred, the families had separated them; there was this dramatic, "You two or not going to be together," and the murders took place shortly afterwards,' she said.

'All these factors that have been put forward, that she hated her mum and was jealous of her sister, but I think fundamentally the key trigger was when their relationship was threatened and they were being kept apart.'

Killed his girlfriend for a free breakfast: Joshua Davies

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast

Age: 15

Crime: Bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her by bashing her over the head with a rock so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him.

In the court case the following year it emerged that in the time before the meet-up in October, the killer had been publishing hateful material about Rebecca online and bragging to friends that he was going to poison her with plants like deadly nightshade, or push her over a quarry or into a river.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca, pictured, for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him

'Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now,' Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley later said.

'In January 2010 he left Becca for another girl. She was absolutely devastated and I hated seeing her so hurt. But in time she started going out with another boy herself - only for Josh to convince her to end it and to meet up with him.

'She did so, almost instantly, thrilled at the thought of their reconciliation.'

As the day of the meet-up wore on, concern started to grow as Rebecca failed to return home.

Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now.

After a night of searching, Rebecca's body was found at around 9am the next day near Aberkenfig. The wooded area was said to have been popular with teenagers.

Davies, who had since turned 16, was accused of Rebecca's murder after bludgeoning her to death with a large rock.

With Rebecca's mother sitting in court alongside family and friends, the horrifying details of what happened that day began to emerge.

It was heard that Davies had told a friend he was going into the forest with Rebecca and smiled as he said 'the time has come'. The same friend later phoned Davies to ask if he was with Rebecca. The defendant replied with two words - 'define with'.

After summoning the fellow 16-year-old into the forest, the murderer then told his friend he had hit Rebecca from behind with a rock until she stopped screaming, before discarding the bloody weapon into the undergrowth.

Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley said she believes there was a controlling element to Rebecca and Davies' relationship

His demeanour was described merely as 'cool'. Together the boys went home, in full knowledge that Rebecca's body lay in the woods behind them. Davies even sent texts to Rebecca's phone, knowing she was dead, pleading with her to let people know where she was.

Keri said she believes Davies was a very controlling individual with 'all the hallmarks of a domestic abuse perpetrator'.

'None of these people can be diagnosed with any personality order because of their age, but he is certainly demonstrating traits that would point to that direction in the future,' she explained.

'The complete lack of remorse, the planning; people thought that he was not possibly serious because of the way that he would calmly talk about what he was doing.

'He wanted to take control of her, break her down and destroy her, and he ultimately did the worst thing he possibly could.'

Gang of sword-wielding baby-faced murderers: 'The Liverpool Launderette killings'

Andrew Hewitt (right) and Corey Hewitt (left) who murdered an apprentice bricklayer in a launderette then boasted about the killing in September 2013

Five teenagers attacked and murdered a man in a Liverpool launderette when two of them were only 13 in September 2013.

The gang chased Sean McHugh, 19, into a launderette and killed him. As he lay dying in hospital, the yobs sent each other a series of chilling messages mocking their victim.

Liverpool Crown Court heard gang member Keyfer Dykstra, just 14 at the time of the murder, posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty  we always knew ye was a p***y'. Shockingly, 11 people 'liked' the comment.

Keyfer Dykstra, 14, and Corey Hewitt, then 13, plus his 15-year-old cousin Andrew Hewitt, and Joseph McGill, who was also just 13 at the time of the attack, were all convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with 19-year-old Reese OShaughnessy.

Recorder of Liverpool, Clement Goldstone QC, took the unusual step of naming the young gang members after a jury found them guilty.

Keyfer Dykstra, pictured, far left, was 14 at the time of the murder, and posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty.' The ringleader Reese O'Shaughness, 19, pictured middle, had been carrying the sword stick weapon. Joseph McGill, just 13 at the time of the attack, pictured right, was given a minimum sentence of nine years

Victim Mr McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang. As Mr Williams sought refuge inside a nearby newsagent, Mr McHugh, who was known as Shorty, was chased back into the launderette they'd just come from.

O'Shaughnessy, who was carrying a sword stick - a walking cane with a blade hidden inside - and Dykstra, armed with a knife, arrived a short time later and the gang kicked the back door of the shop open.

Victim Sean McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang - and he was chased into a laundrette

Prosecutors were unable to prove just who struck the fatal blow but argued that all involved in the attack were guilty of murder, whether they held the blade or not.

The boys were slammed by a detective in the case, who said they had shown little remorse for their actions, including the suffering heaped upon Mr McHugh and his family.

The senior police officer also said he heard the boys laughing and joking as they sat in the dock.

Corey Hewitt, 13, pictured left, was convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with his cousin Andrew Hewitt, 15, pictured right

Keri put this brutal crime down to 'gang mentality'. She explained: ' None of those young people intended to go out and take somebody's life that night. They intended to do harm, because of the weapons they went and got, but the they didn't intend to go out and kill that man that night.

'However that doesn't make it any less horrific; what happened was awful. But the gang mentality kicked in there - that pack mentality where they all get involved.

'They all had difficult lives; I worked with Merseyside Police looking at knife crime 10 years ago and I looked at the backgrounds of 105 young offenders who used knives and guns, and they fit every single characteristic of the ones we looked at.

'They've come from dysfunctional backgrounds, poverty, they've got no hope, they've got no identity apart from the identity of this low level, geographical gang. It gives them something.

'It means they have little respect for life, and it's incredibly sad. It's something social workers are dealing with all over the country right now.'

Britains Deadliest Kids premieres at 10pm on Saturday 11 May on Quest Red.
A British man has become the first patient in Europe to undergo walk-in, walk-out prostate surgery  carried out while he was wide awake in an outpatient clinic. The procedure, for an enlarged prostate, requires only a local anaesthetic and the 76-year-old patient was allowed home just hours later.

Its hoped the procedure will soon be offered at community clinics, benefiting thousands of men with prostate problems.

Those suffering from prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are currently offered major surgery as a last resort, which is effective but can cause loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence. Some are too frail for the operation, which is called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP.

Others, understandably, are simply unwilling  up to 42 per cent of those needing it delay it due to fears about complications. The TURP operation can mean three nights in hospital.

The new treatment will hopefully mean no more rushed trips to the toilet (a man using a urinal, pictured above)

The UroLife treatment works by firing clips into the prostate which hold the urethra open

The new procedure, called UroLift, has been available for about ten years but this is the first time it has been carried out as a walk-in, walk-out case, with no need for an operating theatre or an overnight stay.

The new operation was offered to John Penny, from Thornton, near Crosby on Merseyside. He had had BPH for a decade, getting up five or six times a night to go to the toilet.

John kept postponing his operation because a traumatic surgical experience in his teens left him terrified of going under the knife. I nearly died having my appendix out when I was 18, recalls John. Every time I go into hospital, my blood pressure, which is usually absolutely healthy, shoots up.

Now, eight months after the UroLift procedure, his symptoms have eased considerably and he is sleeping much better.

An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties (stock image of man and woman holding in their urine)

The prostate, a walnut-size gland, sits beneath the bladder and is essential for producing components of semen. An enlarged prostate is not linked to cancer  yet the symptoms are similar, so men with the problem are tested to make sure their prostate is not cancerous.

Although two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with BPH, it is thought to affect as many as half of those over 50, and 60 per cent of those over 60. Many suffer symptoms without realising the cause.

The most common sign is a frequent, urgent need to urinate, even throughout the night. An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties. As a result, men often find they are unable to go, even when they are desperate to.

Enlarged prostates are thought to be linked to hormonal changes as a man gets older. John recalls: About ten years ago, I starting having difficulty peeing. My GP told me I had an enlargement of the prostate, due to my age, and put me on tablets. Things did improve but I was still waking five times a night, so I never got a proper nights sleep. I even moved out of the bedroom, as I was disturbing my wife Lorraine.

It was very stressful. It takes over your life because it is constantly on your mind.

Treatment for BPH usually begins with medication to relax the bladder muscles and shrink the prostate. John was told he needed TURP surgery  carried out on some 18,000 men a year in the UK  when he began to worry that wouldnt be able to go to the lavatory at all.

He says: My GP again asked me to think very carefully about surgery, but I was very nervous.

In the meantime, he read an article in a newspaper about UroLift, which described how it was done as a day case under a local anaesthetic. After showing the newspaper clipping to his GP, John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital, who offered the procedure.

John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital (pictured above)

Mr Lucky says: Its been available as day case surgery on the NHS since last year and has far fewer complications than TURP. It involves no cutting or incisions, and men who may have heart problems that make them unsuitable for major surgery can have it.

It is a huge development, and means we could see community clinics offering it in the not- too-distant future, meaning that patients could be treated without even visiting hospital.

A catheter is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder and anaesthetic is injected through it. The catheter is then removed and a protective sheath, about 7mm in diameter, inserted into the urethra to protect it against damage from instruments used in the procedure.

The UroLift device itself is a handpiece  a little like a gun, with a trigger  with a long, fine metal tube on the end.

The tube goes through the sheath to where the prostate is enlarged and the trigger pulled to fire a tiny clip into the organ, anchoring it to the tissues beside it. This lifts the gland away from the urethra, allowing urine to flow again.

Several clips can be used  John had three  and the operation can be repeated if necessary.

Consultant urologist Professor Roger Kirby, director of The Prostate Centre, London, welcomed the advance, saying: UroLift is better at preserving sexual function than other procedures, and now it can be done without a hospital admission, which will provide a cost-saving to the NHS.

It doesnt work so well for very large prostates as the tiny implants [clips] may not be able to hold the tissue back. In these cases, a type of laser treatment may be a better alternative. UroLift is still relatively new, so we dont totally know how durable the procedure is. But it looks promising.

John recalls: I was quite nervous but I couldnt believe I was only in there for 15 minutes.

He was home later the same day. Its been a vast improvement, he says. Id recommend it. It hardly feels like youre having a serious operation.
Tolkien Cert: 12A, 1hr 52mins

Rating:

Tolkiens The Lord Of The Rings was first published in the mid-Fifties, understandably giving rise to the idea in some quarters that the author had got his inspiration for the endless battles and marauding orcs of Middle-earth from the Second World War.

A new biopic  recently disowned, it must be quickly said, by the Tolkien estate  knocks that notion very firmly on the head. It places the books origins 30 years earlier amid the mud, shell holes and carnage of the First World War, the horrors of which John Ronald Reuel Tolkien  now often described as the father of modern fantasy fiction  experienced first-hand.

Whatever the estates misgivings (its brief statement did not elaborate), the movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Finnish film-maker Dome Karukoski, nevertheless comes across as plausible, tender and, for the most part, extremely watchable.

Tolkien begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) is desperately searching for news of a friend

Anyone who was ever a Tolkien fan  even if only for a few brief teenage years  will find something to interest and enjoy here.

It begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien is desperately searching for news of a friend. But, to the despair of his batman, he cant find the right regiment and the trenches are under constant bombardment.

Wounded and exhausted, he collapses and so the flashbacks begin.

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Geoffrey Bache Smith (Anthony Boyle), Robert Gilson (Patrick Gibson) and Christopher Wiseman (Tom Glynn-Carney)

What follows is a tale of triumph over adversity  Tolkien had lost both his parents and anything resembling family money by the time he was 12  and of enduring male friendship, with Tolkien winning a scholarship to King Edwards, Birmingham, where he made the sort of friends you assume are made for life.

Unless, of course, the war to end all wars is just around the corner.

I love this section, with the younger Tolkien, already skilled in several languages and knowing his Chaucer by heart, very nicely played by Harry Gilby until Hoult takes over.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Robert Gilson, Geoffrey Bache Smith and Christopher Wiseman. Together they are four impetuous, intelligent boys with a love of tea and cake and a touching desire to change the world through the power of art.

One of them, of course, in a film not exactly subtle in tracing cause to effect, will. With two of the boys, Tolkien included, hoping to go to Oxford and two to Cambridge, its atmospherically reminiscent of Alan Bennetts great tale of grammar-school success, The History Boys.

At Oxford, the film begins to lose a little traction, despite the best efforts (and they are uniformly good) of Messrs Hoult, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle and Tom Glynn-Carney.

This is partly because were very used to the sight of posh white boys in tweed jackets getting drunk in pretty quadrangles and partly because the screenplay, by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford, has made its one serious mistake.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches, fencing and drunken run-ins with the police.

IT'S A FACT Tolkien and fellow author CS Lewis once dressed up as polar bears to attend a New Year's Eve party - which wasn't fancy dress. Advertisement

Meanwhile, as anyone who heard the 2017 Radio 4 drama Tolkien In Love may recall, the real action was taking place in Cheltenham, where Edith, banned from seeing the smitten Tolkien until he was 21, was on the verge of marrying someone else, and Tolkien was desperate to stop her.

Here, however, we see and feel almost nothing of this romantic tension, leaving Collins little to do except flounce out of a teenage high tea and improbably mime her way through Wagners Ring.

Despite liberties clearly being taken with the chronology, and the fact that were never quite sure whether the war scenes are real or hallucinatory (Tolkien was eventually diagnosed with trench fever), theres no doubt that the film has a real emotional power, underpinned by the enduring idea that brave men died in the mud of the First World War so that others could live to do great things.

J R R Tolkien did not let his friends down.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

Long Shot (15)

Rating:

This is surely one of the most welcome surprises of the cinematic year, with Jonathan Levines enjoyable film showing that unorthodox casting combinations can work and that there is still life in the romantic comedy. Hurrah!

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky, whos just lost his job.

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky

They used to be childhood friends, reconnected as adults, and when Charlotte decides to run for President and finds herself in need of a speechwriter well, Fred seems perfect for the job.

What ensues is intelligent, funny, bang up to date and without stereotypes. Amid the romantic fun, look out for a bedroom scene that is not only very funny but mildly sexy too.

Vox Lux (15)

Rating:

Brady Corbets cautionary tale of fame and pop music has real quality, particularly in the first half, as the actor-turned-film-maker tells the story of Celeste, a young pop wannabe who achieves overnight success when she survives a high-school shooting and writes a haunting musical tribute to classmates who did not.

With Jude Law playing her manager, we see the still-only-14-year-old Celeste  played very well by Raffey Cassidy  taking her first steps to fame and fortune. Then the story jumps 16 years and Natalie Portman  in a very big performance  takes over as the, by now, badly damaged diva.

The film will divide opinion but the late Scott Walkers score is wonderful.

A Dog's Journey (PG)

Rating:

A surely unwanted sequel to A Dogs Purpose, the 2017 oddity about seemingly endless doggy reincarnation. With Baileys original owner now very old, a new succession of pooches  all reincarnations of Bailey  are charged with looking after his granddaughter.

Josh Gads canine voiceover is as testing as the near two-hour running time.

The Curse Of La Llorona (15)

Rating:

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity, murders her children and has been killing other peoples children ever since.

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity and murders her children

Expect a Seventies Los Angeles setting, plenty of jump-scares and a generous dollop of The Exorcist.
Man Of La Mancha

London Coliseum Until Jun 8, 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

Kelsey Grammer  the great sitcom star of Frasier  is the nicest performer to interview. I saw him in his first major Broadway Shakespeare, in which he acted just as he seemed off-stage: a friendly, cheery, charming man incapable of violence.

Unfortunately, he was playing Macbeth.

Now Grammer is better cast in Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darions Sixties musical retelling of Cervantes novel about Don Quixote, the shows windmill-jousting hero who does knightly deeds in an unchivalrous age.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical

Grammer sings the shows only hit, The Impossible Dream, in his sturdy baritone, and he does it well. But when the show opened in 1965 it ran for almost six years. Watching this plodding London revival, I couldnt see why.

Director Lonny Prices conception for the show doesnt help. Its set in a concrete bunker-like prison in some modern fascist state ruled over by the Inquisition (theyve dropped the Spanish).

The author Cervantes (Kelsey Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel

The author Cervantes (Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel and leaves its fate to the jury of captives, who take various parts.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical.

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea. De Niese is a feisty presence but her brutal rape scene at the hands of the villagers proves a terminal downer in an evening that trades in comic whimsy.

Peter Polycarpou comes off best as a charming Sancho Panza.

As long as karaoke exists, The Impossible Dream will never die. But I am not so sure about this musical. Grammer fans like me will still worship at the altar. But he looks too unsure of himself to ride to the rescue here.

Ghosts

Royal & Derngate, Northampton Until Sat, 2hrs 25mins

Rating:

This is the play that was deemed a public health hazard in the 1890s. The Norwegian writer Ibsen wilfully dragged syphilis, incest and assisted dying into this drawing-room drama in which the truth will out.

And boy it does, when the son of the widowed Mrs Alving returns home, having inherited syphilis from his debauched father, whose reputation his mother loyally shielded from scandal.

Penny Downies ramrod Mrs Alving is superb  severe but with occasional bright flashes. Lecturing her on her past failure as a mother is Pastor Manders, expertly played by James Wilby with a greasy smirk and a bad temper.

As her son Osvald, Pierro Niel-Mee is steeped in self-loathing.

For the family, the sins of the past are the unavoidable ghosts. The diseased, futureless Osvald and his adoring mother end up alone with a stash of morphine.

Lucy Baileys classy production comes with the sound of ceaseless rain and a lively new English version by Mike Poulton.

A cracking evening.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Rose Theatre, Kingston Until Sat, touring until Jun 29, 2hrs 50mins

Rating:

The book that spawned a thousand holidays to Cephalonia arrives onstage, 25 years after it became a publishing sensation.

Louis de Bernieres novel about a romance between an Italian soldier and a Greek woman during World War II is in safe hands with adapter Rona Munro and director Melly Still, who knows how to mount big, beautiful productions of bestsellers (see also The Lovely Bones and My Brilliant Friend).

This is a hugely enjoyable evening, reminding audiences why de Bernieres sweeping historical fiction was so popular, while also finding new theatrical means of telling the story.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia is irresistible

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat being played  very charmingly  by actors. But Still also fills the stage with epic, evocative images and movement, whether suggesting changing seasons or the horrors of war.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia, portrayed with real freshness by one-to-watch Madison Clare, is irresistible  although given that he doesnt arrive until halfway through the show, the relationship occasionally feels oddly rushed.

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat (Luisa Guerreiro) being played  very charmingly  by actors

Two crumpled copper panels loom over Mayou Trikeriotis sparse set, and with Malcolm Rippeths gorgeous lighting, you can almost feel the Mediterranean sun on your face.

Warmly recommended.

Holly Williams

captaincorellismandolin.com

This Is My Family

Minerva Theatre, Chichester Until Jun 15, 2hrs 20mins

Rating:

Tim Firths musical about a family who go on a terrible camping holiday is given a warm, fuzzy staging by Daniel Evans that has a campfire-cosy glow.

Firth (who wrote Calendar Girls) has a pleasingly light touch: this is a sitcom with songs, the humour broad and relatable. Its pretty predictable, from the male midlife crisis to the overlooked mum, from the moody teenager to the grandma losing her marbles.

Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock (pictured with Kirsty MacLaren) steals them back with a bittersweet performance

But in turning hackneyed gripes into nimble songs with comic observation, it feels familiar and fresh.

James Nesbitt is touching as the emotionally constipated dad, with Clare Burt nicely shaded as his long-suffering wife. Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock steals them back with a bittersweet performance, both mischievous and melancholic.

Holly Williams
Britains best-known brothel-keeper cheered up the nation, remembers Rowan Pelling

Madam Cyn flicks the V-sign

I was 12 when Cynthia Payne  Madam Cyn  was found guilty of running a disorderly house and sentenced to 18 months in prison. I read my dads newspaper on the school run, risking car sickness to devour every last salacious detail of the trial. Scriptwriters couldnt have dreamed up a more British tale of suburban swinging  down to the fact that her ageing clientele paid for sexual services with luncheon vouchers.

The police infiltrated Cynthias South London home during a sex party, where they found 53 men  allegedly including a lord, an MP, a couple of vicars and a clutch of lawyers  queuing for, or enjoying, the ministrations of 13 scantily clad women. PC Stewart Taylor told the judge he posed as a client and went upstairs with a woman called Isobel, who explained in a German accent that her specialisms were bondage and domination.

The timing of the trial, in the early months of 1980, couldnt have been more fortuitous. Britains steel workers had gone on strike for the first time since 1926 and the years headlines were dominated by soaring unemployment. The country was in drastic need of cheer and Cynthia delivered it in spades. In the dock she explained her ideal slave was someone who does all the housework and in return he likes a little bit of caning, insulting and mild humiliation. Judge Brian Pryors sentence was widely viewed as overly harsh and the term was reduced on appeal to six months.

This photo shows an exuberant Cynthia on her release, giving a V-sign to the establishment as she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to a champagne reception. The trial elevated her to national treasure status  two films were made of her life and she even stood for parliament, as a member of the Payne and Pleasure party. So when I became editor of the Erotic Review magazine, I was able to remind my anxious mother that being a woman of ill repute hadnt harmed Cynthia Payne.

Sebastian Coe (right) won gold in the 1500m event at the Moscow Olympics

Also that month
Trophy hunters are paying huge sums to shoot big game animals  including endangered species  and its all legal. Lady VICTORIA HERVEY reports on a bloody trade thats attracting women in ever growing numbers

To my left is a magnificent lion standing regally at the centre of an African landscape. To the right crouches a beautiful leopard, while in the distance a cheetah lies sprawled in a tree. This is not, however, the Serengeti plain. Nor am I watching these creatures through the lens of a camera in the bush.

I am, in fact, in the US  thousands of miles from their natural habitat  under the gaudy neon lights of a convention centre in Reno, a casino town in the Nevada desert. Here the natives are paunchy Americans and their camouflage-clad wives who are sipping cocktails at 9am while plotting their next hunting safari. The animals around me are stuffed and lifeless, victims of one of the worlds most senseless hobbies.

Lady Victoria Hervey with trophies on show at the Safari Club International Conference in Reno

I am here for the Safari Club International (SCI) convention, the worlds biggest gathering of trophy hunters. I have been interested in conservation for more than a decade. Ive done everything from vaccinating wolves in Ethiopia to making a documentary about the illegal bushmeat trade of gorillas and chimps in Cameroon. But in November 2017 I decided to take direct action after the Trump administration announced plans to lift the outright ban on importing elephant kills to the US. Although approval is still on a case-by-case basis, it effectively means these animals can be butchered, stuffed and hung on ranch walls. So I started my own foundation, Preserve Our Wild, to highlight crimes against wildlife, and this is what has brought me here today.

Billed as a hunters heaven, this event sees 20,000 people from more than 100 countries flock through its doors over four days. More than 800 exhibitors peddle everything from the latest guns and wolf skins for little over 100 to week-long trips that offer the chance to kill a rhino for somewhere in the region of 100,000. Within minutes of entering the conference centre, Im offered a ten-day stay at the Okarumuti Game Lodge in Namibia where I could hunt eight different animals, including a zebra and a giraffe. A snip at 13,326. Nadia Savoldelli, the Okarumuti Game Lodge representative at the show, adds conspiratorially that: This is the only place you are going to be able to kill a Hartmann mountain zebra.

You may have seen pictures of these safaris on the internet, featuring people grinning broadly while holding up the head of some of natures most extraordinary, and rare, creatures. Indeed, most of those I spoke to at the convention dreamed of bagging the big five  an African elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo, African lion and African leopard  and were willing to pay up to 100,000 for the privilege. And its all completely legal. Despite pressure on the UK government to ban trophy-hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were brought into the country last year, the law has yet to be changed.

Larysa Switlyk

The SCI has more than 50,000 members worldwide. Most of those here today are white men dressed in camouflage hunting gear. Most accents are American, but I also hear Russian, Spanish and Italian. Some brag to me that they are the messengers of death. The one thing they all bond over is the thrill of a kill. What surprises me more are the women and children  babies in camouflage onesies; toddlers gazing in awe at guns bigger than they are  who are here, albeit in smaller numbers. What was traditionally a rich white mans sport has seen increasing numbers of women flocking to pay 90 to kill a baboon or 2,940 to gun down a giraffe. In many ways women are the perfect hunters, Nadia told me. They typically dont have as big an ego as men and are more patient.

Gun camps with names such as Babes with Bullets encourage women to join. Over the past few years a record number of women have joined the organisation. And who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare, had been old and she was simply participating in conservation through game management. Even Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whose father is associated with a hunting safari in Zimbabwe, has been spotted at SCI conventions.

Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year. Set up three years ago to teach hunting skills to women, it has doubled in size every year since, and camps get booked up months in advance. Women listen, recognise the guides skills and follow instructions. Men are more governed by their egos, co-founder Shannon Lansdowne says. Ive hunted all my life and the thrill of the kill never goes away. When you pull the trigger and know this beautiful animal has given their life for you it is an emotional moment.

Who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare

She Hunts, along with many other hunting companies, peddles the same message that the slaughter is somehow necessary in the name of conservation. I was told repeatedly that money earned from hunting safaris funds preservation, that older animals need to be culled and that, thanks to the millions of dollars raised through legitimate hunting safaris, the economies in poor African countries are bolstered, creating a regulated environment where endangered species can thrive. Yet a report by Washingtons House of Natural Resources Committee in 2016 found that there was little evidence of the money being used to help threatened species such as lions, rhinos and leopards. Instead, corruption and poorly managed wildlife programmes take it all. The report reached the damning conclusion that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals, including elephants.

At a stand for Charlton McCallum Safaris, I watch a horrific video showing an elephant hunt. Two men appear to shoot randomly at a herd of elephants charging towards them as an elephant drops to the ground. We only kill the older male bulls and the ones that are causing a problem for the rest of their herd, one of the men on the stand tells me. But studies claim younger elephants depend on their elders to teach them to forage and raise a family. Dan Bucknell, executive director of Tusk Trust, an organisation that protects African wildlife, says: Elephants are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals that are known to mourn their dead. Killing any individual is traumatic for those that remain, while shooting older herd members removes decades of ecological knowledge and social experience that is important for the herd. Far from being past their prime, the older males that get targeted are often the prime breeders and leaders in male society; younger males become more aggressive when theyre not around.

Victoria at an exhibition stall targeting women. She writes: 'Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year'

There are hundreds of hunting trips advertised here, with names such as The Grizzinator and Blazin Hot Guide Service. How much you spend depends on what you want to kill. When, at one stand, I enquire about rhino hunts, Im asked whether I prefer white or black. The rare subspecies of white rhino is critically endangered after the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 80s. The southern white rhino is classed as near threatened while the black and Sumatran rhinos are also critically endangered. Yet a trophy hunter can still kill these animals in places such as Namibia and South Africa legally, albeit with a licence. Its mind-boggling, until you see the numbers. One pound of rhino horn is worth around 150,000 on the Asian black market, where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Last year China partially reversed a ban on the trade of rhino horn to allow parts from captive animals to be used for scientific, medical and cultural use  a move the World Wide Fund for Nature said would have devastating consequences.

It is even possible to hunt big game on US soil. The Ox Ranch in Texas breeds exotic animals specifically for hunting. To shoot a zebra costs 4,000; a kangaroo 5,300. If all this continues, we risk making these creatures extinct for little more than machismo, and the facilitators profit. The future must be one where we shoot wild beasts with cameras not bullets.

For more information on Victorias foundation, visit preserveourwild.org
How to help yourself heal

How do you learn to live again when life as you knew it has fallen apart? When her marriage broke down, Mary Jane Grant discovered that the little pleasures can make the biggest difference

After her husband Stuart announced he wanted a separation from their 25-year marriage in November 2013, Mary Jane decided to move from their home in Canada to London to be near her son, Ryan. She told herself that this was a test of their relationship and that they would find a way to get back together. But in London she found some simple but effective ways to help ease her sadness, which made her feel more alive than ever

Mary jane With her son ryan

The pleasure of living in the moment

The vibrant city of London was at my feet and I was barely taking it in. Upon seeing something remarkable, I would instinctively reach out to touch my husbands arm and say, Will you look at that? but nobody was there and I felt the sting of rejection. Youve been discarded, remember? Then I went into a tea shop and came face to face with a display of small white pots filled with different types of tea. Smell the teas said the laminated sign. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and picked up a cup labelled tranquillity. The scent of lavender hit me first but also something citrus.

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, then opened them to look at the tea  tiny buds of pale purple lavender and dried lemon peel. I was present and it felt wonderful.

I walked back to my rented room and instead of looking down, I looked up at the faces of people coming in the opposite direction. Sometimes my eyes met theirs and I must have been smiling because several smiled back at me.

Cool air, I said to myself as the damp evening chill touched my cheeks. Spicy curry, catching an exotic scent as people went into an Indian restaurant. Listen. The sounds of rush hour swirled around me. As I walked home I clung to the five senses. For the first time in months, obsessive thoughts of what a lifetime of loneliness might look like were refreshingly absent.

By focusing on the moment, I was not stuck in the past or worried about the future. I could calm the mind and soothe the spirit by doing something blissfully ordinary. Paying attention to our senses is intelligent, not indulgent. It is, in fact, the only way to live fully connected to the world and to each other. The choice was stark  I could continue to stumble through life, senses dulled, heart aching for what wasnt here, or I could live right now.

The pleasure of wandering

I began to walk everywhere. Using my senses had started to make me feel more alive. Now, more than ever, I wanted the journey and the day, the space and the time to simply unfold. I could appreciate what Rebecca Solnit said in her book Wanderlust, Part of what makes roads, trails and paths so unique as built structures is that they cannot be perceived as a whole all at once They unfold in time as one travels along them.

Is that a metaphor for our journey through life? I wondered. No matter how much we plan and worry, we can never see round the next bend. Immersed in the green of trees, the cool of the air, the scent of autumn leaves, I had nothing to do but feel the simple pleasure of moving through the world at this moment. The never-ending script that had been my constant companion, so full of babble, interior dialogue, worry and what-ifs, had been nudged out of the frame by a quiet awareness, a simple noting of this and that and a most welcome peacefulness that was new to me.

You dont live for 80 years. You live today and then today. You dont live yesterday, you dont live tomorrow. You can only be alive one moment at a time. This seemed suddenly obvious to me, but why had I lived my life up until now as though something else was true? As if tomorrow mattered more than today? I realised I had spent most of my time designing a future life, while forgetting to live the only current life I have.

If my life is only one moment long, how do I choose to live each moment? If I am ready with a kind word, I will live a life of kindness. If I am quick to offer someone a warm embrace, I will live a life of compassion. If I ask why? then I will live a life of curiosity. If I stop to savour beauty, my life will be lifted by what is beautiful.

The pleasure of letting go

In London, I was living in a much smaller place and carrying few possessions. I was feeling freer and happier than when I energetically chased happiness and meaning. Living lightly, I was starting to sense what it felt like to have, do and be enough.

A friend invited me to a fundraiser one evening. But I dont have anything to wear, I said. Its ten in the morning, youre in the middle of London and you have a credit card, she replied.

I met my son Ryan, who lives in London, and we went shopping. I found a little black dress made of light wool, cut in a slim silhouette. I tried it on and it looked as though it had been tailor-made.

After showering, I put on the dress. It was perfect paired with my new suede high heels. So far, my time in London had been solitary  save for when I got together with Ryan. I was feeling a little nervous when I arrived at the party but as the evening went on I felt my confidence coming back. By the way, I love your dress, my friend said when I found her to say goodbye.

What happened next came as a surprise  I started to wear that little black dress everywhere. In my previous life, after its initial debut, this special dress would have hung unworn in the wardrobe for months. But now, with limited choices, I wore it often. Every time I did, it reminded me I was living a full life in this fantastic city and doing it all with so little. I thought about all the striving I was leaving behind. I had been trying to have it all, do it all, create a more beautiful home or fashionable wardrobe. Slowly, I was moving away from that, towards a state that felt like enough.

The pleasure of doing what you love

I could see that the void created by the loss of my marriage was now available to be filled with something new. And that was the opportunity to do something that I loved. A new routine took shape. I rose early and walked from my flat to the British Library. My days began to acquire a sense of purpose and focus.

As I spent my time reading and writing, I felt a deep connection with something  creativity brought a feeling of satisfaction and meaning that had been missing in recent months. Working in the library with hundreds of other people eased my feelings of isolation. In following my instincts, I was bringing something  my writing  into existence. No matter how it might turn out, the process of creation produces something that can never be wrong  engagement, meaning and aliveness.

The pleasure of appreciation

What am I doing here? Isolation swirled around me just before Christmas. I was painfully aware of my husbands absence. Was he sitting in front of the fire with this new woman now?

I held my tear-soaked face in my hands. I remembered what the writer Julian Barnes said after the death of his wife. All couples, even the most bohemian, build up patterns in their lives together and these patterns have an annual cycle. As the morning progressed, I moved like someone recovering from a fall  bruised and sore but knowing it was better to work through the discomfort than resist it. Remember, I reminded myself, thoughts and feelings, good and bad, will come and go. Nothing lasts for ever.

To chase only the good feelings while resisting the bad would be living half a life. Wasnt this what I had been experiencing in the past few weeks? Being present, loving the here and now and allowing life to unfold in the moment? I could see that I had been operating with an implicit assumption: if I got through the pain, I would reach a better, brighter place. What if this pain and sadness was worth much more than that  not something to endure but embrace?

There was a silver lining to what had happened. I got to live in the incredible city of London and spend time with my son, seeing him working and happy. I was free of the obligations that had stolen my creative life in the past. And I was becoming reacquainted with myself  rediscovering parts that had been suppressed for years.

The poet David Whyte says, We use the word heartbreak as if it only occurs when things have gone wrong. But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human And of coming to care for what we find along the way.

The pleasure of starting a new life

On a surprisingly warm autumn day in 2016, I briskly walked through the streets of Soho to a small bar on Dean Street. I had dipped my toe into the world of online dating and I was going to meet someone I liked, at least on paper.

And here he is today, just returning from his morning run through Greenwich Park. In less than a month we will be returning to that same bar on Dean Street to celebrate the second anniversary of the day we met. We dont know what life will bring, but we are living it together now, one small pleasure at a time.
The police forces in England and Wales that are most - and least - likely to cancel a speeding fine has been revealed.

There's a huge difference in the chances of being let off a speeding fine depending where in the country you've been caught, according to Home Office data.

For instance, three in five motorists are let off a fixed penalty notice (FPN) related to speeding by City of London, while drivers are pretty much banged to rights by North Wales police, according to a new report.

These are the police forces that cancelled the highest percentage of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences in 2017-2018

Analysis of government data covering the 12 months to the end of March 2018 was conducted by vehicle finance provider Moneybarn.

The figures not only highlighted which police forces have dished out the most FPNs for speeding during that period but also revealed the ones most and least likely to cancel them for one reason or another.

Exclusive data for This is Money showed the top 10 forces that ripped up speeding tickets more frequently and 10 who cancel fewer than four per cent of fines they issue for the offence of driving over the limit.

Police forces that cancel the most speeding fines 1. City of London - 62.6% 2. Cambridgeshire - 30.6% 3. Greater Manchester - 26.7% 4. London Metropolitan - 24.2% 5. Bedfordshire - 23.2% 6. Hertfordshire - 21.3% 7. Warwickshire - 17.9% 8. Northamptonshire - 15.0% 9. Avon and Somerset - 14.9% 10. West Midlands - 13.0% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

City of London was way out in front for the most commonly canceled speeding fines.

Some 62 per cent issued to motorists over 12 months were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons.

This includes:

The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) had incorrect details about the nature, time or location of the alleged offence

The alleged speeder wasn't driving when the offence took place

The road signage for speed limits was missing or incorrect

The speed measuring equipment had not been calibrated or was being misused

Cambridgeshire police are the next most likely to revoke a speeding FPN, with just over 30 per cent being cancelled.

Manchester Metropolitan police tore up more than a quarter, while Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police also revoked more than 20 per cent of speeding tickets they issued.

Some 62% of speeding fines issued to motorists caught by City of London police were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons

Some police forces are not quite as forthcoming when it comes to cancelling speeding FPNs, the figures reveal.

North Wales police are least likely to let a driver off, with almost 99 per cent of speeding fines upheld.

Police forces that cancel the fewest speeding fines 1. North Wales - 1.3% 2. Devon & Cornwall - 1.6% 3. Dyfed-Powys - 1.8% 4. Wiltshire - 2.1% 5. Nottinghamshire - 2.1% 6. Cleveland - 3.3% 7. Gwent 3.3% 8. South Yorkshire - 3.3% 9. Surrey - 3.8% 10. Humberside 3.9% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Devon and Cornwall police is second in the table, revoking just 1.6 per cent of tickets, while Dyfed-Powys was third with just 1.8 per cent of intended prosecution notices for speeding being overlooked.

The minimum penalty for a speeding ticket in England and Wales is 100 and three points added to a driver's licence.

If you're caught by a camera, you will receive an NIP and Section 172 notice in the post.

You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.

After you've sent the Section 172 notice back and admitted you were at the wheel, you'll be sent a FPN requesting a payment of 100 or more, depending on the severity of the offence and punishment.

Last week, information released by forces in England and Wales identified the tolerances set for speed cameras in different regions, with most operating a 10 per cent plus 2mph threshold.

Motorists caught speeding by an officer will be handed a FPN on the spot or will have one issued in the post.

You're least likely to get off a speeding fine if you were caught in Wales. Though stats also suggest the chances of being caught driving over the limit is less likely than in England

Moneybarn's stats also revealed which police forces handed out the most fines.

Avon and Somerset issued the largest number of fixed penalty notices FPNs for speeding, with a staggering 199,337 brandished to motorists during the 12-month period - the equivalent of 548 issued each day.

The vast majority of drivers would have been caught by the 800 active speed cameras - both fixed and mobile - in the area rather than the 3,000 officers in its constabulary.

West Yorkshire and London Metropolitan follow in second and third place, with 174,796 and 135,430 FPNs issued for speeding.

The police forces issuing the most and least speeding fines (Apr 2017-Mar 2018) FORCES ISSUING MOST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs FORCES ISSUING LEAST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs 1. Avon and Somerset 199,337 1. Gwent 242 2. West Yorkshire 174,796 2. Dyfed-Powys 793 3. London Metropolitan 135,430 3. Wiltshire 1,191 4. Thames Valley 131,401 4. City of London 3,888 5. Greater Manchester 101,421 5. Durham 8,802 6. Essex 95,967 6. Derbyshire 10,480 7. Norfolk 92,750 7. Cleveland 11,308 8. Hampshire 79,126 8. Kent 18,878 9. Bedfordshire 74,297 9. North Wales 20,462 10. Surrey 74,163 10. Gloucestershire 21,727 Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Welsh police forces dominated list of areas where the lowest number of speeding fines were issued - though we now know that most of these are upheld.

Gwent police - which has just eight active speed cameras - issued the lowest, at just 242 speeding tickets.

Knowing that 96.7 per cent are upheld, by our calculations that means just eight drivers have their FPNs rebuffed.

Dyfed-Powys and North Wales also feature. It means you're least likely to be hit with a speeding fine in Wales, but if you are there's very little hope of squirming out of the fine and penalty points.
Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of its burgeoning population.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts.

Former farmland on the edge of Sydney is being consumed by new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits.

Australia's biggest city could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of a population boom (pictured is Oran Park in Sydney's outer south-west)

In just a decade, the population of the Camden local government area ballooned by 58 per cent, surging from 49,645 in 2006 to 78,218, Australian Bureau of Statistics Census figures show.

That rate of growth was more than triple that of greater Sydney - at 17 per cent - over the same period, as the population climbed to 4.8million, fuelled by high levels of immigration.

In Sydney's south-western outskirts Oran Park, a former car race track, mushroomed from less than 200 people in 2011 to 4,765 people five years later.

In another part of Sydney, the opening of the Metro Northwest railway line is also underpinning apartment construction near the Rouse Hill station, almost 50km from the city.

Nearby, West Schofields is expected to house another 45,000 people between 2021 and 2031, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment projected.

Mark Steinert, the chief executive of residential building group Stockland, this week predicted Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade.

Hemmed in by the Blue Mountains to the west and national parks to the north and south, there was little room for further expansion.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses (Oran Park pictured) are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts

Former farmland (Narellan pictured) on the edge of Sydney is making way for new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits

'There's very little housing land left in Sydney, in fact we'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years,' Mr Steinert told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon.

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would unavoidably lead to high-density housing, killing off the backyard.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert: 'We'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years'

'What has been Australian life will vanish inevitably,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'You cannot ramp up the population of the Sydney basin with the highest level of immigration of any developed country - in proportion to the existing population - without forcing the city to go up in increased densities.

'We are now looking at the last land available for broad-acre subdivision and development.

'We were never going to be able to sprawl forever.'

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would eventually kill off the backyard

Australia's population surpassed the 25million mark in August 2018, 24 years earlier than predicted in the federal government's first inter-generational report of 2002.

The 1.6 per cent population growth pace is also more than double the rich-world average of 0.7 per cent.

Mr Carr served as foreign minister in 2012 and 2013, as Australia's annual net immigration level surged above 200,000 for the first time, when Julia Gillard was prime minister.

'There was no discussion in cabinet on immigration levels,' he said.

'They continued to be pumped up but there was no opportunity to have a broad debate on migration and population.'

Since the late 1990s, backyard sizes in new Sydney houses have shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres, in places like Oran Park in the Camden Council area.

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said backyards had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres (new house at Oran Park pictured)

Sydney's median house price has fallen by 16.1 per cent since peaking in July 2017.

But at $880,369, detached homes with a backyard are still more than 10 times an average full-time salary of $83,500, which is forcing couples with children to move to an outer suburb.

How backyards are shrinking or disappearing Griffith University senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning Tony Matthews said backyards, during the past two decades, had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres. Tony Matthews: 'We're running out of greenfield land' The traditional 'quarter acre block' backyard was becoming rarer as houses grew larger and in many cases, land sizes became smaller. 'The building footprint fills up a considerable portion of the block, maybe as much as 90 per cent,' Dr Matthews told Daily Mail Australia. High land costs were also encouraging developers to fit in more master-planned houses to get higher yields. 'The cost of land is so high developers or master planning development companies need to get a yield that will allow them to make sufficient profit to go ahead with the actual development,' Dr Matthews said. The lack of new land in Sydney was also contributing to smaller backyards and more apartment towers. 'We are basically running out of greenfield land,' he said. 'Within our existing urban areas and our existing suburban areas, and even our existing outer-suburban areas, what has been a planning priority over the last 20 years is to try and curtail sprawl development, particularly at the edge of the cities. 'That's also why we've seen so much high-rise development.' Advertisement

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said many parents were moving to small blocks 60km from the city to find somewhere affordable with a vague semblance of a backyard.

'Their priorities shift when they have children and they starting thinking about, "You know what, I'd really rather raise my children in a more conventional house",' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're prepared to sacrifice their backyard or a large backyard.

'There has been a long history of reluctance to equate family living with apartments in Australia.'

The excessive commute times in Sydney were also creating 'socially detrimental consequences'.

'You've just got less time with your kids or one parent has less time with their kids,' Dr Matthews said.

'Children end up often being not just in daycare but long daycare so they might be there from 6am to 6pm, which isn't necessarily optimal for them for their social development.

'The amount of time that you spend commuting is almost directly proportional to the amount of time that you are likely to engage with your community and participate in things like voluntary activities.'

Camden Liberal councillor Peter Sidgreaves, who until recently was mayor, said population growth was a problem in his area.

'I have to say that the traffic congestion is getting worse,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

An influx of new immigrants - from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal - were moving into the area, 65km from Sydney's city centre.

'Yes, that's certainly a major change to Camden and that's something as a community we're dealing with,' Mr Sidgreaves said.

At this stage, Mr Sidgreaves said Camden's population increase was fuelling more demand for house and land packages than apartments.

'There have been a lot of residential developments and that has been happening in the south-west growth centre precinct,' he said.

Late this week Dart West Developments, the group behind the new Narellan Town Centre, lodged a council application to knock down 11 houses to build a new four-storey apartment complex along Somerset Avenue.

Whether they sell for a good price is another matter, with New South Wales already home to almost half of Australia's apartments.

While younger people may prefer apartments (Sydney Olympic Park pictured), Dr Matthews said parents with young children were preferring to live in house, even a long way from the city

Tim Lawless, the head of research with real estate data group CoreLogic, said younger people were preferring to live in apartments closer to the city instead of houses a long way from work.

'We are seeing a gradual shift towards medium to high-density preferences,' he said.

Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics; House of Representatives Standing Committee for Long-Term Strategies, December 1994 Advertisement

'Those people look to, say, sacrifice the Hills Hoist in their backyard and live close to the city where they can perhaps live in medium to high-density but also be much closer to where they work, closer maybe to transport connections, social opportunities, perhaps where their parents live.'

At the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon, in Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel overlooking The Rocks, the Property Council of Australia's group executive of policy and advocacy Mike Zorbas slammed Mr Carr's suggestion as premier that Sydney was full.

Mr Carr said big business and federal Treasury economists were wedded to 'remorseless population growth as the underpinning of our economy'.

'It is the orthodoxy that links business and the Canberra bureaucrats,' he said.

He said Mr Steinert's prediction of land running out in Sydney 'confirms the warnings I've been making for over 20 years about the "more the merrier" ideology'.

'The inevitable depletion of the land supply mandates a basin filling with towers.'
Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate, lifestyle and safety.

A report by AfrAsia Bank found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running.

In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular.

Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate and lifestyle (pictured is the Sydney Opera House at night)

'Sydney is one of the top financial centres in Asia and has become one of the most sought-after destinations for the world's super-rich due to its lifestyle, safety and climate,' the 'Global Wealth Migration Review' report said.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

Despite having had seven prime ministers since 2007, Australia was also regarded as being the 'most politically developed country in the world'.

'Politicians in Australia are seen as everyday public servants and do not have extreme power,' the report said.

A report by AfrAsia Bank, with headquarters in Mauritius, found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running. In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular

'Notably, the Prime Minister of Australia is often replaced between elections if party members feel they need a change.'

After Australia, the U.S. was the second most prevalent destination for the rich, with 10,000 high net worth individuals moving there last year, as 108,000 wealthy people migrated globally.

By comparison, 4,000 wealthy people moved to Canada as another 3,000 relocated to Switzerland.

The United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean, which includes the tax havens of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, each attracted 2,000 very rich migrants.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised in the AfrAsia report for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, Portugal, Greece and Spain each welcomed 1,000 wealthy new residents last year.

Australia was regarded as the best place for the rich which, unlike the U.S., doesn't have inheritance taxes, is free from gun massacres and has accessible universal health care for everyone regardless of their income.

'Australia is also a particularly safe country to raise children,' the report said.

'The U.S. has some safety problems especially in the big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.'

Australia was also praised for having the 'highest minimum wage in the world' and a migration program biased towards those with skills instead of family reunion.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, from billionaire Meriton Group founder Harry Triguboff (left) to online retail millionaire Ruslan Kogan (right)

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996

'Most of the immigrants that are allowed into Australia are professional people (i.e. doctors, lawyers, engineers),' it said.

'Notably, in Australia there is only a small difference in wages between manual labour jobs and corporate jobs - this encourages a more equal society.'

Apart from Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts, Perth and Brisbane were popular with rich migrants.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, with their ranks including billionaires Harry Triguboff, the 86-year-old Chinese-born founder of the Meriton apartment building group, and Westfield shopping mall founder Frank Lowy.

Young entrepreneurs born overseas include 36-year-old online retail king Ruslan Kogan, who moved from Belarus as a child and grew up in a Melbourne housing commission flat.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996.
A wild raccoon has moved into a zoo - and keepers can't kick him out.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover the uninvited guest inside the existing raccoon enclosure on Friday, Germany's Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung reported.

It's not known how the animal managed to get through the security barriers keeping the animals inside, but he has been integrated into zoo life.

Keepers, who have nicknamed him Fred, have seen him getting along with the seven other raccoons in residence, the publication reported.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover a wild raccoon had moved into the raccoon enclosure (stock image)

'Fred came to us and got used to the good life in the zoo,' Sandra Reichler, mammal curator at Heidelberg Zoo told the publication.

While Fred initially had issues adapting, Ms Reichler said: 'he has become accustomed to the zookeepers and also adapted his daily rhythm to his conspecifics in the zoo.'

The raccoon can now expect to a live comfortably alongside the captive raccoons for the rest of his life.

The 2015 EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species forbids wild animals from being released back into the wild after life in captivity.

The wild creature, nicknamed him Fred, can expect to live 'the good life' from now on as EU law forbids him from being released back into the wild (stock image)

Despite upgrading to a life of luxury, Fred will unlikely produce any offspring with potential mates at the zoo.

Fred will also need to be castrated, as per the 2015 EU Regulation.

Raccoons are considered an invasive alien species that may pose a threat to European plants and animals under rule.

Wild raccoons in Europe are the descendants of animals that escaped from fur farms decades ago.
The family of a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death in east London have paid tribute to the 'loving, caring boy' who had an 'infectious laugh'.

Detectives believe aspiring musician Tashaun Aird was killed after a 'fracas' with a group of young people in a park in Hackney on Wednesday evening.

His family went to the scene of his death in Somerford Grove, Hackney, with one woman heard screaming: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

He was described by friends as a 'good guy' and produced Afrobeat and drill music.

In a statement released by Scotland Yard on Friday, they said: 'Tashaun was family orientated, he loved his family and we loved him dearly. He was passionate about his music and he loved drawing. He was a loving, caring boy with an infectious laugh.

The family of aspiring musician Tashaun Aird, 15, have paid tribute to him after he was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday evening

'There are no words to avoid this empty void we now have, a huge part of us is now missing. He was a talented young boy and worked hard in his studies, particularly with his English.

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by our loss; we have lost a dear son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson and an uncle in Tashaun.'

Another teenager, 16, was riding a bicycle when he was stabbed and chased, before he sought refuge in a convenience store.

He remains in hospital after he was found with stab injuries in nearby Shacklewell Road, but police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Tashaun Jones, 15, was described by friends as a 'good guy' who produced drill music

There have been no arrests and police are appealing for information.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Rance said: 'Tashaun's family have been left devastated by the sudden loss of their son and we are continuing to do everything we can to find those responsible.

'We believe both victims were attacked following a fracas with another group of youths in a park near Somerford Grove before both fled.

'Although we are following a number of leads we are urging anyone who has any information that may help our investigation to get in touch with us or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

The killing, which is the 43rd homicide in the capital this year and the 27th fatal stabbing, happened in Somerford Grove on Wednesday night.

Despite efforts of medics to save him, he was pronounced dead at 9.49pm. He is the eighth teenager to die violently so far this year.

A post-mortem examination gave his provisional cause of death as a stab wound to the lung.

Members of the victim's family were seen today at the estate in Hackney, East London, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son'

Police in Hackney, East London, this morning after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death

A blue tent was erected overnight in Hackney as police continue to investigate this morning

A friend who visited the scene of the boy's death said: 'It's sad. It came to us as a surprise because he was a good guy.

'We did music together. He didn't only produce afrobeats, he made drill music as well. He also sold some beats to some big artists.

'I never thought that any of my friends would be murdered. I'm shocked.'

Another friend added: 'I'm so done. It doesn't feel safe anymore.'

Family members leave flowers at the scene in Hackney on Thursday following the stabbing

Police officers investigate the scene in Hackney after the boy was stabbed to death

There have been 43 murders in London so far this year, and another on a London-bound train

Members of Tashaun's family were seen at the estate, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'I am deeply saddened by the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy in Hackney. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

'This horrific violence has absolutely no place on our streets. To anyone with information - please contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

No arrests have been made and the Metropolitan Police put a Section 60 order in place for Hackney, which allows officers to stop and search anyone in the area.
Police said Aida Melcado, 18, is one of two women who stole 2,000 pairs of underwear from a Pennsylvania Victoria's Secret store

Police in Pennsylvania have identified two suspects accused of stealing $21,000 worth of Victoria's Secret underwear last month.

Lower Allen Township police said Aida Melcado, 18, and a minor identified as 'BC' were behind the theft of 2,000 pairs of underwear from the Victoria's Secret store at the Capital City Mall near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 7.

Authorities said Melcado and BC were identified and arrested during a drug investigation in Virginia's Fairfax County on April 18, according to Fox 43.

The duo was said to have had the stolen underwear with them at the time of the arrest and that police later found their 'booster' bags  specially lined to prevent electronic security tags from working  which they allegedly used during the robbery.

Melcado and BC are believed to gone into the Victoria's Secret store at about 3 p.m. on April 7. Each was said to have been carrying a large, black shopping bag while using their cell phones.

Police said that the pair took the underwear off of a display table and out from inside the size drawers. BC was said to have acted as the lookout while Melcado secreted the huge quantity of underwear into the booster bags.

Authorities released surveillance pictures of the two women accused of stealing the underwear. It's believed that the woman in these images is Melcado

Police also released this image of the second suspect in the theft, who was identified as 'BC'

Melcado and BC are accused of having lifted the 2,000 pairs of underwear from this Victoria's Secret in Pennsylvania's Capital City Mall

Police said the pair stole 375 hipster panties (similar to left), 375 cut thongs (similar to right), 1,000 thongs and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties from the store display

The theft occurred at a time when the Victoria's Secret employees were busy assisting other shoppers, police said after releasing surveillance pictures of the suspects during their initial investigation of the crime in early April, CBS 21 reported.

All told, Melcado and BC are accused of having swiped $21,000 worth of merchandise, which was broken down as being 375 hipster panties worth $3,937.50; 375 cut thongs worth $3,937.50; 1,000 thongs worth $10,500, and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties worth $2,625.00.

On Friday, police issued an arrest warrant for Melcado, who now faces a felony charge of retail theft and conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of an instrument of crime, according to Penn Live.

BC faces juvenile charges as well, although the specific charges are unclear.
Jeremy Corbyn was humiliated in Labours heartlands yesterday as the party lost councillors on a night it had hoped to gain hundreds.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils.

The party suffered a string of stunning reverses in heartlands and Leave- voting areas such as Hartlepool and Bolsover, the local council of Left-wing firebrand Dennis Skinner.

By 7.30pm last night, Labour had recorded a net loss of more than 70 councillors.

Despite Theresa Mays extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour (Jeremy Corbyn is pictured left) recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils. Despite Theresa Mays (right) extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives

As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats

The astonishing scale of Labours failure came as a total shock to the party leadership. As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats.

By yesterday morning he was forced to admit the voters message from the local elections was: Brexit  sort it.

He added: Message received. Mr Corbyn could only say he was very sorry at the scale of the losses. Last night, an internal row broke out over the partys Brexit policy, with backbench MPs saying the poor performance was because of its mixed messages on the issue.

Former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw said: When you cower in the middle of the road on the biggest existential crisis facing Britain for generations, you get squashed.

I quit after 45 years, says furious Baldrick He once had a cunning plan to get Labour in power. But thats all history now, as Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson last night quit the party over its complete s*** leadership. The actor, who played Baldrick, said he had left Labour after 45 years because of Brexit and anti-Semitism. Actor Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder He described as duplicity the partys decision not to come down fully on the side of a second referendum. Sir Tony has appeared in party political broadcasts for Labour and has served on its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from 2000 to 2004. He tweeted: Ive left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at branch, constituency and NEC levels, partly because of its continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of its anti-Semitism, but also because its leadership is complete s***. Sir Tony tweeted to say he was leaving the Labour party Actress Tracy Ann Oberman replied: I feel your pain. Huge part of our identity  gone x. But one Corbynista said: The middle-classes always cave in, they never have the stamina for a long fight. Another wrote: Bye bye, sulky saboteur. During the 1980s Sir Tony played Baldrick, famous for his cunning plans, across four series of Blackadder. Advertisement

Remain-supporting Labour MPs said the fact that both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens had done well showed the party should back a second referendum.

Jess Phillips said: Those who had a clear message last night seem to have prospered much better. People dont know where the Labour Party stand on Brexit.

But MPs in Leave areas claimed the polls proved the party would prosper only if it helped to facilitate Brexit.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery told the BBC the clear message from the local elections was that the two parties need to get on and get Brexit sorted.

One MP, Neil Coyle, blamed Mr Corbyn himself for the poor results, saying: The number one negative for Labour was Jeremy Corbyn.

Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, said Mr Corbyn was losing the support of the working classes. Its a mixed picture for us, but the key worrying trend is the white working-class moving away from Labour, she said. Its a long-term trend, but Brexit has put rocket boosters under it.

Labour celebrated taking Trafford Council in Greater Manchester, and it made gains in Amber Valley, High Peak and Calderdale.

But results elsewhere were disastrous. The party in Barnsley said it was their worst night in years, with a 17 per cent swing to the Lib Dems. And Labour lost control of Bolsover for the first time in 40 years. Outgoing Labour leader Ann Syrett said: What weve met on the doorstep is that its just not clear to people what Labour means on Brexit. It simply isnt clear.

Visiting Trafford, where the party won overall control for the first time since 2003, Mr Corbyn said he was very sorry at the scale of losses. I wanted us to do better, of course, he said. Results across the country are interesting, to put it mildly. But I also say the swings to Labour in many parts of the country show that we can win seats in a general election, whenever that comes.

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis said: Last night John McDonnell was boasting about winning more than 400 seats.

Theyre actually going backwards, which is a dreadful place to be in Opposition.

Former Labour minister Chris Bryant said: I never thought constructive ambiguity would survive the white heat of the ballot box. Voters want to know what theyre getting from a party. Fudge just sickens them.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: Whats important is that before the European elections, we have clarity in relation to our position on Europe. In my view, that means giving the British public a final say on whether they accept the deal negotiated by the Prime Minister or the one which has the most support in Parliament, with the option of remaining in the EU.

But shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: We are not a second-referendum-at-all-costs party.
Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country, it was announced Friday.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Donald Trump cabinet member in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described 'prison-like' conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida and the news has already been condemned by several senior democrats.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was 'corruption at its absolute worst,' and Sen. Cory Booker said Kelly's actions were 'disgusting.'

U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district where the facility stands tweeted: 'This is unforgivable. It confirms what we knew about the President - that he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.'

But CEO Van Dusen said: 'With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team.'

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate operating the largest facility for migrant children in the country

An executive order on ethics issued by Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities. Trump and Kelly are pictured here in 2017

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space.

It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

CBS News first reported on the board appointment in a Friday news report.

Kelly revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was already affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.

Kelly was seen last month touring the migrant teen detention camp in Homestead, Florida, where he was also spotted by activists protesting over the detention of children.

The new conglomerate formed last year by DC Capital Partners consolidated four companies. One of them is the facility contractor, called Comprehensive Health Services.

About 2,500 children are detained at The Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Florida. The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space

Children are seen as they walk through the facility in February. The facility is the nation's largest for housing migrant children

Among its executives, Caliburn also has a high-ranking military officer who advised President Donald Trump his first months in office, and a former Department of Defense inspector general.

'It appears to be a strategy of trying to leverage Washington insiders to help the company win contracts,' said Mandy Smithberger, a director at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog group.

The government recently gave the company new contracts to run other facilities in Texas and awarded it $340 million to expand its Florida operation in a no-bid phase.

The corporation's chief compliance officer, Lynne Halbrooks, served as Department of Defense's principal deputy inspector general from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015. She is included in a 'revolving door' database by an independent watchdog group of military officials who are now working for companies they used to oversee.

The chief strategy officer for Caliburn is Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, who was an assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 2015 to August 2017.
A father-of-three who was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on issued a chilling warning about the dangers of the machine just days before he died.

Craig Tanner, 42, from Engadine, 33km south of Sydney, had been working as an industrial cleaner for an ink plant in Auburn when he was fatally struck by a mixing blade that abruptly began moving in December 2017.

It's now emerged that Mr Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services and was working at the site on a contract basis, had predicted his own demise in an eerie caution to his brother-in-law Mark Riach.

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Craig Tanner, 42, (pictured right alongside his wife Rachel Tanner and three sons) was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on

'Craig said to me, "I'm scared the ink vat is going to turn on one day",' Mr Riach told The Daily Telegraph.

Tragically Mr Tanner's worst fears were confirmed just days later when he was trudging through the ink tank and it suddenly revved up and trapped his leg and crushed his pelvis.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident.

Another worker, 29, was injured while a third man, 28, sustained leg injuries when he tried to save his co-workers at the DIC Australia premises on Chisholm Road.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death (Mr Tanner pictured alongside his three sons)

Ms Tanner (pictured alongside her three sons) said she struggles with the lack of closure from not knowing the exact circumstances around her husband's death

Mr Tanner has left behind a loving wife Rachel Tanner and three young sons all under the age of ten.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death.

'Craig was my best friend and soul mate. He was such an involved father that loved nothing more than his sons. He loved taking them on adventures and they worshipped him,' she said.

Ms Tanner said she struggles with the lack of closure from still not knowing the exact circumstances surrounding her husband's death.

'I'm his wife. I should know what happened to my husband. I can't even tell my sons why their father was killed. It's difficult to explain that we have no answers,' she said.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident

The incident occurred at DIC Australia factory on Chisholm Road in Auburn, western Sydney

A man dressed in protective clothing stands in the factory metres from where the accident occurred

At the time of his death SafeWork NSW issued multiple safety notices to the Auburn plant which, according to the government agency, have now been complied with.

SafeWork NSW and the police have also submitted an investigation into Mr Tanner's death to the coroner.

However, Jacob Carswell-Doherty who works as a lawyer for Ms Tanner, said the investigation had taken far too long.

He also said that while he understood the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation there had not been an adequate amount of transparency.

A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW told the publication the agency was committed to continue to provide 'significant resources' to the ongoing investigation.

The case will be reviewed at the NSW Coroner's Court on June 28.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Tanner for comment.
A cancer sufferer has received disgusting abuse online after she reached out to a Facebook group for help to save an injured ibis.

Chelsea Campbell, 21, who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across the injured bird on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday.

She immediately reached out to NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), who contacted Sydney Trains to help save the injured bird.

Chelsea Campbell, 21 (pictured), who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across an injured ibis on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday

But when the transport authority was unable to provide immediate assistance, and Ms Campbell commented about it on Facebook, she was slammed by trolls.

'Basically the response I got was, 'Is she kidding?',' Ms Campbell told Yahoo News Australia.

The 21-year-old said she was horrified to read the replies to her post about the ibis - which is often referred to as a 'bin chicken' for its scavenger eating habits.

Initially, Ms Campbell was ridiculed for suggesting Sydney Trains should intervene, but eventually the comments took a dark turn, she said.

She said 'some really nasty people' began leaving horrific messages on her Facebook post, in relation to photos of her taken during cancer treatment.

One Facebook user replied to her call-to-action post by commenting on a photo of Ms Campbell without hair, saying she resembled an ibis herself.

While another disgusting message told the 21-year-old to 'go kill yourself'.

The post quickly garnered more than 50 negative comments, before the Facebook group's admin intervened and removed it from the page.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued (stock)

Ms Campbell, who suffers from anxiety and depression, was so traumatised by the comments that she reached out to her family, who have slammed the online haters.

Her aunt, Sam Ward, was so angered by the actions of the trolls that she took to Facebook to share her concerns over the incident.

'How would any of you feel if your son, daughter brother, sister, mum, dad was told to go 'kill themselves' when asking for help?!?! (sic),' Ms Ward wrote.

She told Yahoo News the people responsible for the hateful comments have no right to be so judgmental and should be ashamed of themselves.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued.
He has launched a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools

Pushy parents are driving teachers out of their jobs by ranting on social media when their children get told off, the Education Secretary has warned.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies.

He revealed that he plans to update guidance for heads and teachers on what to do when they are cyber-bullied by parents and pupils.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn [File photo]

He told the conference of the NAHT school leaders union: Teachers and leaders should not be subject to online abuse simply for doing their jobs. He also said social media companies had a role in protecting victims.

Speaking earlier to the Daily Mail, he said it used to be that if you were in trouble at school you were in trouble at home.

He added: Thats still true in lots of cases but there is this minority. In the very worst cases  and I do stress this is a tiny minority  social media then comes into play.

Social media changes everything. It does concern me greatly because I want to attract and retain the very best people into teaching. I dont want there to be any untoward thing that makes that profession less attractive.

Some parents were also quick to phone or email schools, very ready sometimes to be over-challenging of what schools are doing.

Mr Hinds warned: School teachers are in charge of schools and its really important for good discipline, good behaviour, that everybody knows where they stand.

These cases are a small minority of parents, but it would be crazy to say there isnt that problem. With some families there is a much quicker willingness to say, Why are you taking this action against my child?.

He said that for teachers who are considering leaving the profession, behaviour is one of the key things that is part of that consideration. He added: When you ask parents and grandparents, what is it about the school system that they care about most, behaviour comes out really high.

And one of the reasons for that is, its what they are hearing from their children.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies [File photo]

Mr Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn.

He was speaking before the launch today of a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools. It will create a network of head teachers who have a track record on improving discipline to provide bespoke support for other schools.

From next year mentor schools will provide advice on issues including detention and sanction and reward mechanisms.

More than 82 per cent of parents consider good discipline in the class a key factor when choosing a school for their child, according to research. However, more than a third of schools are currently judged as not having good enough behaviour by Ofsted.

Mr Hinds, 49, a father of three, said children were most likely to reach their academic potential if they have clear boundaries where everyone has mutual respect for each other.
Gary Hill was caught having sex with Crystal Frances Monday night in Florida. Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public

A Florida man has arrested after being caught having sex with a woman outside a police station following them downing a pint of vodka.

Gary Hill was spotted on North Roosevelt Boulevard Monday night with his short around his ankles and a woman passing by alerted cops at headquarters in the immediate vicinity.

A police report states the witness told cops via dispatch telephone in the Key West Police Station lobby that she saw two subjects who appeared as if there were about to have sex.

His partner in the 9pm clinch Crystal Frances was found on the sidewalk by a pond with no underwear or clothing on her bottom half.

According to a report after the incident, Hill and Frances were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' between a metal fence and concrete barrier when law enforcement went to investigate.

When confronted Hill told Officer Brian P Leahy: 'It was a Key West moment.

'I'm horny. She was giving it up to me right then and there.'

The couple is said to be homeless. Hill's address was listed as a general reference to Key West.

Police said Hill put his clothes back on when prompted.

However Frances angrily refused and cops took her to hospital after being led to believe she was intoxicated. The report stated her speech was not understandable.

A woman passing by Key West Police Station spotted them appearing as if they were about to have sex. They were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' when police arrived

Officer Leahy called in Sergeant Siracuse for backup and he handcuffed Frances after she eventually did put clothes on.

The reporting officer stated Hill had 'glassy/bloodshot eyes' and emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath.

'I observed Hill to have slurred speech and be unsteady on his feet,' Leahy wrote.

Hill, 46, told cops he and Frances had consumed a pint of vodka between them earlier in the evening.

Police found a half empty bottle of vodka near where they were caught having sex.

Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public.

Police said they aimed to obtain a warrant for the woman's arrest on once she's released from hospital for treatment of alcohol consumption and 'possible ingestion of narcotics'.
A mother and son have opened up about their terrifying ordeal when a group of robbers strapped bombs to the pair in an elaborate plot to rob the son's bank.

Matt Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home.

Matt was then zipped and headphones were placed over his head so that the robbers could speak with him, saying that he would need to go the credit union where he worked and steal money.

Matt Yussmann opened up about terrifying moment he was held hostage by a gang of robbers who strapped a bomb to him in a plot to steal millions of dollars from the bank where he worked

Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home

'It was a very specific amount. We want $4.2 million in cash,' says Matt in a clip obtained by DailyMail.com.

'They knew where I work. What I did. That I had my mother in the house.'

The men then showed him the explosives he would be wearing, and that would be placed under this mother's bed, if he did not comply.

'They said, "Do you know what this is ?" And I said, "No",'says Matt.

'And they said, "This is C4 explosive. We're gonna make an explosive device and we're gonna strap it to you because we don't trust that you're gonna do what you're told."'

His mother could also hear the men from the next room.

The men broke into Yussman's home in Bristol, Connecticut (pictured)

'And then I could hear them unwrapping duct tape, lots and lots, I could hear that unwrapping. And that must've been when they were strapping it around him,' says Valerie.

'And I began to cry harder and really panic because - as you're laying there, and I'm thinking, "they're putting a bomb on him".'

Yussman told police that two men confronted him when he arrived at his home in Bristol after work. The suspects bound Yussman and his mother and held them for hours before sending Yussman out at daybreak to get money from a branch of the credit union in nearby New Britain, police said at the time.

When Yussman arrived at the branch, he called a fellow credit union official, who called police.

Minutes later, police found Yussman alone in his car outside the New Britain branch of the credit union with the bomb strapped to his chest.

Attempted heist: Police swarm around the Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Connecticut on February 23, 2015, after Yussman was found in the parking lot with a device strapped to his chest

Public works trucks were brought to the scene as 'shields' because they would be large enough to withstand a blast or stop a car from fleeing if needed.

The state police bomb unit was called in and rendered the device safe, police said.

The suspects had disappeared by the time police arrived, fleeing in a white older model four-door Mazda, according to reports at the time.

The incident sparked a massive police response involving dozens of officers and SWAT equipment. Schools were put on lockdown and roads were closed.

Yussman, 46, was treated at a hospital for exposure to freezing temperatures while having to sit in the unheated car while authorities removed the device, police said. His mother wasn't harmed.

Police withheld many other details at that time, including whether the suspects made off with any money and whether Yussman was an unlucky victim or part of the plot.
Authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao have announced they will quarantine a ship carrying 300 people, after confirmation that a female crew member has measles.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, and is set to dock early Saturday.

Health officials say they will board the vessel when it arrives and assess who has been vaccinated for measles or has had the virus previously.

They say proof will be required, and that those who do not comply will be vaccinated immediately, regardless of their religious views.

The Church of Scientology website describes the Freewinds as a floating 'religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion'.

It is normally docked in Curacao when not in use, but Church officials have not returned messages for comment.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, will be quarantined when it arrives in Curacao on Saturday

Detained passengers were pictured on the deck of the vessel in this picture during its mooring at St. Lucia earlier this week. The passengers were not let off the ship, and it has now turned back to Curacao

The ship departed Curacao for the nearby island of St Lucia on April 28.

Prior to departure, a female crew member had visited a doctor for cold symptoms. She told medics that she had recently been in Europe.

A blood sample was taken, but by the time officials diagnosed her with measles, she had already left port on the ship.

Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia, who banned passengers from disembarking when they reached island. The ship has now turned back to Curacao.

Officials urged anyone who visited the Freewinds ship from April 22-28 to get a medical checkup.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks, in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
Derryn Culverwell and her children survived but her husband Alan was shot dead

The wife of a man shot dead at close-range by callous Caribbean pirates, who raided the family yacht on a round-the-world trip, survived the traumatising ordeal despite being brutally attacked with a machete.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht near Morodub island in the Guna Yala district in Panama's northeast at about 2am local time on Thursday.

It's understood Mr Culverwell was attacked after he was woken up by a noise on the yacht's roof, but when he went upstairs to check what the noise was he was fatally shot.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of Mr Culverwell, local media outlet TVN Noticias reported.

The former paua diver's wife Derryn and daughter Briar, 11, were also set upon by the hooded assailants, but the mother and daughter managed to stay alive because Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

'There were about two hours where Derryn just sheltered with the kids in the boat,' Derryn Hughes, Mr Culverwell's sister, told Stuff.co.nz.

Despite suffering with knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand who helped the family get back to safety.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean

'As a family, we are so proud of her,' Ms Hughes said.

Ms Hughes also said she believed both her sister-in-law and niece, who had been taken to hospital in Panama City, had now been released from hospital.

The couple's son Flynn, 11, was not injured in the attack, it's understood.

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean.

Panama was to be their final destination before making their way back to New Zealand.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the incident and the director of the Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, confirmed an investigation was ongoing.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

A GoFundMe page had been set up by loved ones to help the Culverwell family (pictured) in the wake of the traumatising incident

He also said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.
A man who called police to report his cannabis plants were stolen was charged when officers allegedly found more illegal plants in his house.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in Tennant Creek, a Northern Territory town, on Friday.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants (pictured) at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in the Northern Territory on Friday

'Police were alerted to the presence of the plants when the male called them to report that a number of individuals had been stealing them,' a Northern Territory police spokeswoman said.

'A search warrant was executed at the property.'

The man was charged with cultivating a commercial quality of cannabis, supplying a dangerous drug and possessing a trafficable amount of cannabis.

He was issued a notice to appear at court.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants (pictured) ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material
A New York schoolteacher who was jailed for murdering her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus, 55, murdered her lover's wife Betty Jeanne Solomon in 1989 by shooting her in the back with a gun nine times.

She was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail in 1992 for the bloody murder, which drew parallels to the famed film Fatal Attraction that came out just two years prior in 1987. In the film the main character is obsessed with her lover and seeks to harm his wife.

After decades behind bars, a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison on Friday, and she could get out as early as June 10.

'Fatal Attraction' killer Carolyn Warmus, 55, was granted parole on Friday. In 1992 she was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail for the bloody murder of her lover's wife in 1989. Warmus pictured left in 2017 and right in court in 1991

A three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10. Pictured above in New York Supreme Court in 2017

The convicted teacher was denied parole after her initial board appearance in 2017.

Warmus is the daughter of a millionaire insurance executive and worked as a teacher at Greenville Elementary School in Scarsdale, New York in the late 1980s.

She was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him.

Then on January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back.

After she committed the horrific murder she met up with Paul for drinks at a hotel bar and reportedly had sex with him in his car.

Warmus was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him. Solomon pictured above with his wife Betty Jeanne at their wedding

Paul Solomon pictured testifying in her murder trial in 1991

On January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back. Paul Solomon pictured above talking with a friend as he left court in 1992

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

Warmus pictured above in her high school year book photo

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus has always maintained her innocence.

At her first parole hearing she insisted she was innocent and 'was found guilty because of the media attention and the publicity', as per the New York Post.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, 'We are indeed pleased that release has been granted.' He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting 'the particulars of her future' in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.
Had his chips: Gavin Williamson posted this picture of himself in McDonald's last night

Gavin Williamson has received the backing of more than 200 Conservative MPs since his brutal sacking by Theresa May, friends revealed last night.

Amid mounting Tory unease at Mr Williamson's dramatic ejection from the Cabinet, allies of the former defence secretary said around two-thirds of the party had sent him supportive messages.

He is also understood to have received a consolatory call from DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose MPs prop up Mrs May's Government.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  allegations he strenuously denies  is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name.

He told the Mail last night: 'I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.'

Downing Street had reportedly decided that Mr Williamson was guilty of leaking 48 hours before he was given an ultimatum of quitting or being sacked.

Sources told The Times that it was apparent on Monday that Mr Williamson no longer had a place in Theresa May's government - two days before he was sacked.

A cabinet source had said: 'Everyone knew [Mr Williamson] was a serial leaker so the onus was on him to disprove it. The test is whether he has the prime minister's confidence.

'That is the only test that needs to be applied.'

Mr Williamson is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate. Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who oversaw the inquiry, has also resisted calls to ask the police to investigate, despite opposition claims that the leak  which revealed secret details of Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G mobile network  constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act which can carry a two-year jail term.

Mr Williamson has claimed Sir Mark was engaged in a 'vendetta' against him amid suggestions that he found him guilty before the inquiry even began. One Whitehall source yesterday said Sir Mark had told a meeting of officials on the morning the Huawei leak was reported that he believed Mr Williamson was guilty.

'Sedwill was telling people last Wednesday that Gavin was guilty,' the source said. 'It raised a few eyebrows because at that stage no one can have known.'

His astonishing 'F*** the PM' memo Mr Williamson scrawled 'F*** the Prime Minister' across an official memo as his relationship with Downing Street deteriorated, it emerged last night. Friends of the former defence secretary confirmed that he had written the aggressive message in frustration after Theresa May overruled his controversial decision to deploy the UK's new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. Word of Mr Williamson's angry response in February spread like wildfire around the Ministry of Defence and is said to have reached the ears of Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who would play a central role in his downfall. Mr Williamson's announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to the South China Sea underlined his position as the Cabinet's leading hawk on China's expansionist policies. He said the UK had to be prepared to use 'hard power' against countries that 'flout international law', as critics claim Beijing has done in the disputed South China Sea. The decision angered Beijing and caused consternation in Whitehall, where officials were eyeing up a potential trade deal with the communist giant. China's rulers were so irritated that they cancelled a planned visit by the Chancellor Philip Hammond. Downing Street responded by overruling Mr Williamson, with the PM's official spokesman making it clear that she would make the 'final decision' on the route taken by the aircraft carrier when it is deployed to the Pacific. The row highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Mrs May and the man who masterminded her 2016 leadership victory and forged an alliance with the DUP that kept her in power following the disastrous 2017 general election. Mr Williamson had been one of Mrs May's most trusted allies. But, as No 10 came to be dominated by Brexit, relations grew more strained. The former Remainer became an increasingly vocal advocate of a hard Brexit. He was one of a handful of Cabinet ministers urging Mrs May to leave the EU without a deal if she could not get her plans through. Advertisement

Mr Williamson and Sir Mark are known to have clashed in recent months.

The Cabinet Secretary, who also serves as the PM's national security adviser, was said to be 'sore' after coming off second-best during a clash over defence spending last year when Mr Williamson secured more cash for conventional forces at a time when Sir Mark was pushing for the money to be invested in cyber defences.

One source said: 'Gavin and Mark basically agreed on 90 per cent of things.

'In most relationships that would be enough for two people to get along.

'But Mark is someone who if you are not 100 per cent with him, he sees you as being 100 per cent against him.'

Yesterday, Parliament's cross-party National Security Committee demanded that Sir Mark, Britain's top civil servant, hand over the evidence that led to Mr Williamson's sacking.

Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, who chairs the committee, told Sir Mark that MPs had to be 'apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry,' adding: 'This directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the National Security Council.'

The involvement of Huawei in the rollout of the high-speed, next-generation 5G network is highly controversial. The Chinese firm insists it is a private company, but ministers have been told that the security services judge it to be under the control of Beijing's communist regime. The United States, which has banned Huawei from its networks, has warned that intelligence sharing with the UK could be jeopardised if the deal goes ahead.

No 10 yesterday denied tensions between Mr Williamson and Sir Mark had coloured the inquiry. A spokesman said the investigation, led by the Government's chief security officer Dominic Fortescue, had been conducted 'fairly and impartially'.

In the PM's letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, she said the investigation had found 'compelling evidence' that he was the source of the leak.

But the former defence secretary has told friends the only evidence produced against him by the PM was an 11-minute phone call with the Daily Telegraph journalist who reported the leak. The inquiry is said to have found that the reporter later spoke to 'several' other ministers and officials who attended the National Security Council meeting on April 23.

Mr Williamson, who was refused access to the inquiry's findings, pointed out that he had reported the phone call himself and flatly denied divulging any details of the Government's dealings with Huawei.

Mrs May yesterday said it had been a 'difficult decision' to sack Mr Williamson, adding: 'This was not about what was leaked, but where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

But she ducked a direct question about whether she was 'convinced' that Mr Williamson was responsible, telling ITV News: 'I took the decision I did. It was the right decision.'
Sir James Dyson's former PA has hit back at claims that she stole family secrets including his wife's medical records.

The inventor and his wife Lady Deirdre are suing Lynette Flanders for allegedly plundering emails, family records and photos of their grandchildren at their 20million mansion.

But Mrs Flanders, 50, branded the claims 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files.

Lynette Flanders has been accused of 'spying' by her former boss, businessman James Dyson

James Dyson and his wife Deirdre are suing his former PA Lynette Flanders for 50,000

She also said she had only taken photos of framed family snaps to remember their position on a windowsill so she could return them to the right place after tidying.

The Dysons, who are worth 9.5billion, have lodged High Court papers demanding 50,000 compensation from Mrs Flanders.

The married mother-of-three joined their staff as a cleaner in 2007 and rose to become the 35,000-a-year house manager of Dodington Park, where the couple live, with a staff of 100.

Lawyers for the 72-year-old vacuum cleaner tycoon said this gave her 'extensive access to private and confidential information' before she was made redundant last August.

In May last year, she allegedly created a folder called 'Deirdre' on her work laptop containing 'private, confidential and sensitive medical records' of Lady Deirdre, then later copied it to a portable data storage USB stick.

She also copied 5,000 emails to her personal email account and sent herself five photos taken on her phone inside the Dysons' home, it was claimed.

Mrs Flanders, 50, denies the allegations, saying they are 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files

On another occasion, it was said, she copied a list of guests invited to a 'private opera' the Dysons were hosting, including their private email addresses. It is also alleged she made a secret recording of a conversation between two senior estate staff.

The Dysons, who bought their 300-acre Georgian estate in south Gloucestershire in 2003, said there was 'no legitimate basis' for her to have the data.

But Mrs Flanders, of Bristol, denies their claims of breach of contract, breach of confidence, misuse of private information and causing distress and anxiety. She admits creating a computer folder called Deirdre and moving records of the work she had done for Lady Deirdre into it 'in an effort to try and tidy the electronic files', her lawyer said.

She later copied it to a USB device 'in order to retain a profile of the work she had undertaken as an aide-memoire'.

To the claim that she photographed pictures of the Dysons' children and grandchildren, she said it was for a 'legitimate work-related purpose'.

The couple's sprawling country home, the 300-acre 20million Dodington Park in Gloucestershire

Her lawyer Allan Roberts said: 'These photographs were a general view of a windowsill area, which contained items including photographs. The windowsill was to be cleared and the photographs taken to enable the items to be returned to their original place.'

He added that Mrs Flanders had intended to send them to her work email address 'but inadvertently selected her personal address'.

The opera guest list was indeed sent to Mrs Flanders's personal email address, he said, but this was because she was working from home and could only print it out from her home computer, not her work laptop. The recording of a staff conversation was also made as an aide-memoire, he added.

Mrs Flanders claims Lady Deirdre, 76, was well aware of her using her personal email address for work because the tycoon's wife had often sent work emails to it. She had never been asked to delete the files in her personal email account, her lawyer said.

Mrs Flanders denies all the Dysons' claims and says they are 'retaliation' for her intention to sue the billionaire couple for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

No date has yet been set for a court hearing. Neither side wished to comment last night.
Ministers have set up a Line of Duty-style anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drug-taking in prisons.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'.

But there is growing evidence the drugs are being smuggled in by prison officers working for organised gangs.

A new anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drugs in prisons will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty (pictured)

Police chiefs strongly suspect gang members are encouraging associates or family members to get jobs in prisons to bring in banned substances.

In one unnamed jail in the West Midlands, up to 13 employees were suspended last year for smuggling in drugs.

The Counter Corruption Unit was launched this week and will pursue any officers suspected of corruption in prison and probation services.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'

It will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty, which is tasked with rooting out police corruption.

The unit will consist of intelligence analysts who will work on tip-offs from prison staff to identify culprits.

Prison employees can already report wrongdoing anonymously via a hotline.
Travel broadens the mind, but it can broaden other things, too.

Two pies, two haggises, two whisky and lemonades and two packets of crisps, please, is the dinner order from my neighbours at the next table in the restaurant car on the Caledonian Sleeper.

If an alien with even a faint grasp of cultural indicators were to beam down from Mars and hazard a guess at what was going on, it might conclude that I am on a Scottish train with Scottish people heading to Scotland for a Scottish break, and it would be entirely correct.

But it is not just any old Scottish train.

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous! The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life

With the help of a 60 million subsidy from Scotlands government, the services giant Serco has spent 150 million relaunching the ageing sleeper service whose previous set of carriages had ploughed up and down between England and Scotland for the past 40 years. It is not before time.

For decades, regular passengers like me increasingly despaired at the decrepit carriages on the sleepers, the balding carpets and the prison-like sleeping berths where every expense was spared and comfort was as thin as the duvets.

Now the 75 ageing carriages have finally been replaced by a spanking new fleet which came into service this week on the Lowlander trains, which run between London and Glasgow or Edinburgh. Highlander trains to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William are due to get the new carriages next month.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine

The trains boast the first commercial sleeper cabins to offer double beds, complete with mattresses from the Queens own supplier.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel.

Certainly, the prices dont make sense to ordinary travellers, who might find that it is cheaper  and quicker  to fly or drive.

What can I tell you? The high-profile launch was, alas, a complete disaster.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night

The first train from London rolled into Glasgow three hours late and blushing with shame.

The journalists, dignitaries, passengers and MPs on board endured lost bookings, delays, unmade beds, water leakages and even a shortage of butter, shriek.

A signal failure at Carstairs Junction, South Lanarkshire, was blamed for much of the woe. Did matters improve for my midweek journey from London to Glasgow a few days later?

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous!

The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life.

Just as before, the train splits into two (or joins up, on the reverse journey) at Carstairs Junction, a violent shunting process that traditionally and infuriatingly wakes everyone up in the wee small hours.

But not any more, as train bosses promise a smooth new transition in every way. Well, we shall see about that.

At least we leave on time, just before midnight, sliding quietly out of London on the long journey north.

I paid a rather gasping 270 for my First Class Solo Cabin ticket  one way!  which provides an ensuite toilet and shower, a sink, a little desk, space under the bed to stow your luggage and coat hooks.

There is a smart plaid carpet, pleasant lighting, power and recharging points, but best of all, the whole cabin seems to be hermetically sealed from your neighbours. What utter luxury.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel. The club car is pictured above

But whats this! On a hook, there is a grotty mesh nylon bag crammed with crushed towels and a spare loo roll; like something you would be handed before going into solitary confinement at a maximum security facility.

Are those towels clean, I squeak? Yes, we just havent thought of a better way of storing them, says the steward. After she has gone, I cant figure out how to use the sink tap, and have to wash my hands with bottled water before going to dinner.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy.

Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals.

Dishes include a traditional hand crafted pie, 7.50.

Oh, what is it today, I ask, expecting something glorious and gamey, such as venison or grouse. Pork, says the waiter. He makes a circle with his hands. Its about that big with a thick crust.

Instead I have the haggis, neeps and tatties (9).

The tasty haggis is supplied by Cockburns of Dingwall and is actually not bad, but the vegetables are lumpy and the dish is so badly made and terribly served  slumped on a plate with a splat of whisky sauce on top  that it looks like an unspeakable effluence that has been ejected at speed from the Monarch of the Glen himself.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap

Nothing is actually freshly made on site but cooked and pre-plated elsewhere in the dreary modern way, before being heated up in the trains warming ovens.

Still, at least there are some genuine Scottish delicacies on board, in the form of Mackies haggis crisps (1.10), and Tunnocks teacakes (50p), hurrah.

They also charge 50p for an apple  at these ticket prices youd think they could find it in their hearts to give them away free, but no.

Back in my cabin I snuggle under the crisp cotton sheets and lulled by the rocking of the train, fall into a deep and lovely sleep.

Sleeper travel has always been expensive, but for me travelling home on the Highland line, to Perth and beyond, is more convenient than flying.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night.

I have booked breakfast in the dining car at 6am but oversleep. At 6.10 I am woken by a female Scottish voice crackling through my ears. Hello! Hello! Jan. Thats your breakfast ready. Repeat, your breakfast is ready for you.

What? Is that my mother? Mum? Whassgoinon? I had no idea they had a kitchen to cabin intercom system. But now I do.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy. Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals

Yet despite all the improvements, a part of me does mourn the sleepers of old. Even I can remember when dining cars had genuine kitchens staffed with real chefs, who would sizzle bacon, fry farm eggs and cook up proper breakfasts for 50 in a space the size of a telephone box. The porridge was historic and always made with water and salt, never with Sassenach cream and sugar, in the proper Scottish way.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap.

Whisky or brandy, madam? they would say. How civilised. Still, progress means we have more comfort and less pain, give or take the loss of charm.

Yes, the Carstairs shunt is more of a gentle bump  that really is progress  and you can even have a shower in your room, can you imagine!

So back in my cabin, I get in the shower cubicle, switch on the tap and wait to experience the latest in luxury train travel.

Except there is no water. Of course there isnt. I should have known.
A Central California school district has allowed a high school newspaper to publish a risque profile of an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry and has earned as much as $475 in three hours from selling nude images.

The Lodi Unified School District didn't stop the story from running Friday in the Bear Creek High School paper, The Bruin Voice, where Caitlin Fink says that one of the hardest things since leaving home after a fallout and moving in with her friend's parents, is earning enough money.

But she quickly learned some tough lessons

'I used to sell my content first before receiving any sort of payment, and when I asked for the payment, [buyers would] save my content and block me,' Fink said in the article Friday. 'I've also had to put my name on pictures sometimes because people would try and sell them, claiming them as theirs.'

Lodi Unified School District didn't stop a story about Bear Creek High School student Caitlin Fink's porn career from running Friday in The Bruin Voice

The editorial team of the Bruin Voice and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby (right), fought hard to get the article published, saying that the piece humanized Caitlin Fink (left) and tells the story of the challenges she has faced

The lawyer who represents teacher Kathi Duffel (left) and student writer Bailey Kirkeby (right) concluded that the story didn't violate education codes

The paper's adviser, English teacher Kathi Duffel, had accused district officials of censorship after they demanded to review and approve the article before publication.

In an April 11 letter, district Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of possible discipline, 'up to and including dismissal' if she refused.

Duffel refused on free speech grounds, and officials in the San Joaquin Valley district, which has about 31,500 students, agreed to let an attorney review the story.

Matthew Cate, who represents Duffel and the student who wrote the article, concluded that the story didn't violate education codes.

A lawyer for the district, Paul Gant, wrote to Cate Wednesday to say the district wouldn't prevent publication of the story. But Gant also called Duffel insubordinate for refusing to submit the article for review, and said, 'There is no question that the article could be lawfully reviewed or censored,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Duffel refused to let district review story she oversaw before its publication

California English teacher, Kathi Duffel (pictured), could lose her job after overseeing a high school newspaper story about senior, Caitlin Fink, 18, who is working in the porn industry

'Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,' the district said in a statement. 'Because we are charged with the education and care of our community's children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law.'

The Bruin Voice tweeted Thursday that Duffell said: 'This is a whole new level of district administrators who have lost their minds, quite frankly.'

Duffel, who has taught English for 33 years in the Lodi School District, believed that Fink should be able to tell her own story.

Fink says in the piece: 'When I first started selling, it was just for money. But then I liked the attention I got, [such as] being called beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me feel good about myself.'

The article profiles a student who sells nude videos and aspires to be a stripper

Fink works as a part-time dishwasher and pays a friend's parents $300 per month to live with them. Duffel said the teenager wanted to share story and challenges that led her to do porn

She details how she was 'so excited' when her agent told her about scenes she was going to do under her professional contract with Pornhub. She passed mandatory blood test every two weeks in order to film sex scenes but was told to get her body acne cleared because the camera picks up details.

Her first professional porn shoot was cancelled as a result and she hasn't earned anything so far with the website.

Fink has a second job as a dishwasher to make ends meet.

'You can choose how you get paid,' Fink shared. 'It usually goes by view count, or you can sell your videos if [users] want to download them. There is also a tip option on [member's] profiles. Pornhub sends money to your PayPal.'

Officials from Bear Creek High School believe the Bruin Voice (file image) story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'

Video courtesy KTXL

Fink aspires to be a stripper where it's easier to rake in the cash.

'When I auditioned at a strip club, I made $80 in what felt like five or six minutes,' Fink - who calls herself a 'lovey-dovey, old school romantic' reveals.

She warns in the Friday article that her onscreen encounters do not reflect real-life sex.

The district believes the story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'.

The editorial team and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby, said the piece humanizes Fink.

'I am very proud of the story and how it turned out,' she told the Chronicle.

Duffel contacted an attorney after the district warned (letter picture) her that she would be personally liable for any legal claims that could result from the article and if she failed to provide a copy of the story, she could face 'dismissal'

Duffel had told the paper that the article doesn't glamorize pornography, but it 'will help students think more critically about the choices they do make at this age in their lives.'

The student who was interviewed said she wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm 18, what I'm doing is legal, and I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,' Fink said.

California law ensures that the First Amendment applies to student journalists. It prohibits prior restraint of school newspaper stories unless they are obscene, libelous or slanderous or incite unlawful acts or school disruptions.

Duffel's students 'are getting a front-row seat to our government in action,' she told the Chronicle. 'What better way to teach the value of the First Amendment than by teaching them firsthand not to have their voices silenced?'

Duffel has relied on the law before to block censorship attempts over her nearly three decades advising the Bruin Voice. For example, in 2013 the principal at the time confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper when students exposed inaccuracies in the school safety handbook.
A conman has launched an appeal against his eight-year sentence while on the run, in an echo of notorious speedboat killer Jack Shepherd.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue.

It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction.

Raja, 32, a cold-call scammer from Grays, Essex, who duped elderly victims into handing over their life savings by posing as a broker, fled to Dubai before his trial. In January he was sentenced to eight years in jail for his part in the 2.4million fraud, which he had used to buy an Aston Martin and a 4,000 Rolex.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue. It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction

Yesterday, at a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, it emerged he is launching an appeal from his hideaway. Prosecutor Paul Casey said: We understand Mr Raja is contesting his conviction.

Judge Christopher Hehir replied: It seems to be in vogue these days, that one contests ones conviction having fled overseas.

Shepherd, 31, was convicted in his absence after he fled to Georgia instead of attending his trial for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, who died in December 2015 when Shepherds defective speedboat capsized on the Thames, throwing the pair into the freezing water.

He triggered public outrage when he was granted legal aid to fund his appeal, but was brought back to justice last month after a Daily Mail campaign flushed him out in Georgia, where he was working as a web designer.

Back in London, he was given an extra six months on his sentence for running away by a judge who praised the Mail for finding him. His appeal has yet to be heard.

Shepherd has been found guilty of manslaughter after Charlotte Brown, 24, died in 2015 when his speedboat flipped on the Thames while they were on a first date

Raja was found guilty in his absence of six counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Victims received unsolicited calls from brokers who used high-pressure sales techniques to persuade them to invest in the scam products. As a fugitive in Dubai, he is believed to still be running Sami Raja Consultancy, which claims to help investors set up and expand their businesses in the UAE and the UK.

Senior investigating officer Hayley Wade, of the City of London Polices fraud squad, said: Raja cruelly targeted often elderly individuals with the intention of defrauding them of their life savings. He clearly felt no remorse.

Raja was one of five men convicted over the scam, which saw 130 victims conned between 2012 and 2013.
A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies.

In a thread of communications between the teacher and a year 13 student, seen by Stuff, the Auckland teacher allegedly discussed meeting up and going for a drive.

The teacher then allegedly recalled sexual dreams she had about her student, which included kissing him all over and 'sensuous' oral sex.

A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies (stock image)

The male student and female teacher are connected on social media and have shared their phone numbers.

The Auckland college where the teacher was employed denied to comment on the alleged dirty texts but said the matter was before the Teaching Council.

A spokeswoman confirmed to Stuff they were following up a report lodged by the college but were unable to comment further.

She said teachers who did not maintain their professional boundaries with students were in breach of the profession's Code of Professional Responsibility.

'Also, serious misconduct as defined in the Education Act 1989 and the Teaching Council Rules 2016 includes breaches of professional boundaries such as engaging in an inappropriate relationship or any behaviour or communication of a sexual nature with a student.'

A parent at the school alleged the teacher had also sent nude pictures to students amid the offending.

The parent told Stuff she understood the teacher had been dismissed.

The register of New Zealand teachers says the student voluntarily agreed to step away from teaching.
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Shoppers were sent jumping out of the way as a huge tree fell in strong winds on Soho Square in the centre of London as gusts came in from the North Sea earlier today.

Racegoers at Newmarket had to cling onto their hats and umbrellas as they battled the bad weather during the first day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival.

Arctic winds and biting rain blasted attendees, with temperatures reaching just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area.

This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a chilly one, in stark contrast to the warmer climes seen this time last year and over the Easter holiday.

Many of us are still sporting tans from the glorious sunshine over Easter but the heatwave is now long gone, with unseasonably cold temperatures and even hail forecast for the May Day bank holiday weekend.

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday.

Saturday will see a cold and frosty start for many with possible heavy showers for the Midlands and South East, and a risk of hail.

A tree fall that squashed a van has blocked off Soho Square in central London, as strong winds hit the country and the capital faces hail, showers and wind

This woman was left holding on to her hat as arctic winders battered the Newmarket racecourse today

Others struggled to control their umbrellas as rain fell during day one of the QIPCO Guineas festival

Temperatures reached just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area today

Elsewhere, an inch of snow couldn't stop the Shepherd family from Dornoch eating their breakfast outside at a campsite near Aviemore today

Wendy Stewart and Marilyn Hemingway went out for a run in the snow near Aviemore with dogs Chunk and Rowan

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.' Pictured: the Inverness to Edinburgh citylink bus near Inverness

Waves crashed over the sea wall at Tynemouth earlier today as Brits prepared for a chilly Bank Holiday weekend

Pictured: People braving the rain to go punting on the River Cam in Cambridge

Sunday is set to be dry except for showers in the North East, continuing into Monday.

Andy Page, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: 'After cold, frosty starts and cool days for many across the Bank Holiday weekend, daytime temperatures will gradually recover early next week.

The daytime average for the start of May is around 16C (61F) - and the top temperature over Easter was 77F (25C).

The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather  including 28.7C (83.7F) at Northolt, north-west London, the warmest since records began in 1910.

The lowest temperature ever recorded on the early May bank holiday weekend was -6.4C (20.5F) in Grantown-on-Spey in 1981 and then again in Kinbrace in 1988 - a figure that could be beaten this weekend in Scotland.

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.

Pictured: snow on the hills of Herefordshire near Longtown today. The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather

Tourists didn't let the wet weather in Cambridge stop them from going punting on the River Cam

People watch others surfing in the Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships held at Perranporth, Cornwall

This group of tourists huddled under umbrellas on the River Cam in Cambridge earlier today

Huge waves pound Seaham lighthouse on the North East coastline as cold weather beckons for the bank holiday weekend

People out punting on the river Cam in Cambridge today get caught in one of the rain showers

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday. Pictured: Tynemouth today

'What we are expecting is a weather 'battleground' as we are seeing influences from all parts of the compass. Higher parts of the country, including the Highlands, will see some snow over the weekend, as will the Southern Uplands.

'It will be a cold and frosty start to Saturday but the day is expected to produce plenty of sunshine as well. That will help keep up day time temperatures, even though it is a cold air mass moving down from an Arctic direction.

'It will feel chilly but it shouldn't stop you getting out and about this Bank Holiday  even if you need extra layers.'

Mr Madge added: 'We might see night-time temperatures getting pretty cold. The cities should not drop too far below freezing but in sheltered spots in the north of Scotland, expect it to get down to 3C, 4C or possibly even 5C over the next few days.'
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said - a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington over its nuclear arsenal.

Missiles from Hodo peninsula flew for between 70km and 200km before landing in the sea, according to Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details, South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said.

If Saturday's activity in the city of Wonsan between 9.06am and 9.27am is confirmed as a firing of banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.'

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast. It's two months since Kim Jong Un (pictured April 24) and President Trump (pictured Friday) didn't come to an agreement at a nuclear summit

If confirmed as a firing of a banned ballistic missile, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Pictured is North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang on August 29, 2017

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

Their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February ended without an agreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry said it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the US mainland

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.' Trump met with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC Friday

Last month Pyongyang said it was testing a 'tactical guided weapon' conducted in 'various modes of firing at different targets'. They demanded that Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations.



Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to 'cautiously respond' to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

North Korea has claimed to have ballistic missiles that could reach the US mainland. The country also says it has developed a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a long-range missile.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday

Japan's Defense Ministry said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security. In Tokyo people walk past a screen showing a TV news on unidentified short-range projectiles fired by North Korea

As the projectiles were launched it was still Friday in the US when Trump hosted reporters during his meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

North Korea's vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the United States will face 'undesired consequences' if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

'The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today,' said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times 'the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.'

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone

'With North Korea never promising to completely stop all missile testing - it only promised a self-imposed moratorium of testing long-range missiles such as ICBMs that can hit the US homeland - we should not be shocked by North Korea's short-range launch,' Korean studies director at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, Harry J. Kazianis, said.

'Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough. It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump Administration's position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'.'

Experts believe that the North has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons.

In this April 18, 2019 photo, a mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, center, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea

North Korea said last month it had test-fired a new type of 'tactical guided weapon' and demanded Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations. Pictured above, visitors watch a photo showing North Korea's missile launch at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea on April 19

During the diplomacy that followed a rocky 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

However satellite images last month indicated radioactive material could be being turned into bomb fuel.

A short-range missile would not violate that self-imposed moratorium.

It may instead be a way to register his displeasure with Washington and the state of talks meant to provide sanctions relief for disarmament without having the diplomacy collapse.
A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier.

Nick Rose, 32, was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo.

'I was in total shock to see this dog running towards us like that, stopping and then just lunging,' Mr Rose told Daily Mail Australia.

A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo (pictured) needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier

Following the savage attack, Cosmo (pictured) was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated

He said the attack wasn't about dominance as the comparatively huge dog locked onto Cosmo's leg and wouldn't let go - thrashing him around like a rag doll.

'The bull terrier latched on and started to twist and turn its head,' Mr Rose said.

He recalled how terrifying it was to witness what was happening to Cosmo, and at one point he heard the dog's leg snap and twist around at the weirdest angles.

'I heard the cracks as its (the bull terrier's) teeth were chipping the bones and everything,' he said.

Desperate to free Cosmo from the other dog's grasp, Mr Rose kicked, punched and screamed at the bull terrier, but try as he might, he couldn't separate the animals.

He said it felt like the longest time had passed before help eventually came in the form of a horse trainer called Jason, who was passing by the field.

'Jason had the lead rope from some horses he'd just taken to the stables nearby, which he clipped onto the bull terrier's harness and started pulling,' Mr Rose said.

As Jason pulled the lead, the bull terrier started to let go of his grasp, and when he finally did, Jason led him around the field in a circle to keep him away from Cosmo.

Nick Rose, 32 (pictured), was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo

Cosmo (pictured) is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest

'If it hadn't been for Jason, Cosmo would have died,' Mr Rose said.

When the dog's owner eventually turned up and saw Cosmo's leg wound, he simply said 'aw, mate' before putting his lead on the animal and walking off.

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving.

He said rangers are investigating the matter and a number of people have come forward to say they have seen the man around the streets of Hamilton South.

Following the savage attack, Cosmo was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated.

Mr Rose (left) said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving

Cosmo is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest.

'The amount of damage and dead tissue has prevented blood flow to the area so, even after amputation, the whole thing (the wound) is breaking down,' he said.

Mr Rose said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000.

'I've borrowed from family and friends, sold off what I can and maxed Vetpay for almost everything to date but there's still money owing on vet bills,' he wrote.

Mr Rose, who describes Cosmo as his first born child, said while he doesn't like having to ask for help, the idea of putting him is just devastating.

'Help me get this guy back on his feet and give him at least another 5 years of Hawaiian shirts, stolen cheese and cuddles,' he wrote.
Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate

The acclaimed poet Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate to focus on her own work.

Miss Dharker, who was widely tipped to receive the highest honour in British poetry, would have been the first Asian laureate in the posts 350 years.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing.

I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands pf a public role. The poems won, she told The Guardian.

It was a huge honour to be considered for the role of poet laureate and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and encouragement from all over the world.

Miss Dharker, who was born in Lahore but grew up in Glasgow, was due to be announced as the next laureate - taking over from Dame Carol Ann Duffy who has been in the post for 10 years this month.

The Queen presenting Imtiaz Dharker with The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

It is understood that any formal selection was yet to take place but an announcement is expected this month.

The honorary position expects doesnt entail any specific duties but he holder is expected to write verse for significant national and royal occasions.

It is now up to the individual whether or not to produce poetry for royal occasions.

Some former poet laureates have said the role has not been kind to their own their work.

Andrew Chalice, who held the position from 1999 to 2009 said the role was very, very damaging to my work. While still in the post he said: I dried up completely about five years ago and cant write anything except to commission.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing

A stipend of 5,750 is given to the laureate and traditionally a butt of sack equivalent to roughly 600 bottles of sherry.

Ms Ann-Duffy, 63, used her money to fund a poetry prize.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said yesterday: The recommendations of an independent panel have been considered in the usual way. An appointment has not yet been confirmed
President Trump says he is 'closely monitoring' Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after the social media giants removed a number of conservative figures from their platforms.

Right-wing personalities Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer were banned from Facebook this week, as the site attempts to combat criticism that it spreads misinformation and hateful content.

However, in a flurry of Tweets on Friday, the Commander-in-chief seemed to imply that the purge was merely an attack on right-wing voices and that shutting off their access to social media may be a violation of first amendment rights.

'I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America  and we have what's known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH!' Trump wrote in one post.

He added: 'We are monitoring and watching, closely!!'

President Trump took to Twitter Friday to declare that he is monitoring social media sites for censorship of conservatives. It comes in the wake of Facebook's announcement that it was banning several far-right figures from its site

Trump shared a flurry of outraged tweets - clearly unimpressed by Facebook's recent purge of controversial users

Later, the president posted a tweet referencing Diamond & Silk, right-wing commentators who were briefly blocked from Facebook last year amid claims that their page was 'unsafe'.

'The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we're looking into.

'It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media! ' he proclaimed.

Trump then shared a link to a Breitbart article that discussed the social media bans of two more famous right-wing figures.

'So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook!' he tweeted sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. also weighed in on Facebook's recent purge.

'The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @Facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears they're taking their censorship campaign to the next level.

'Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back,' he implored.

Despite the president hitting out at the social media giants, he is still a prolific user of Twitter.

He has tweeted a whopping 41,600 times and he boasts an incredible 60 million followers.

Donald Trump Jr. joined his father in criticizing Facebook and other big name social media sites

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site.

They additionally blocked Paul Nehlen, a white nationalist who ran for Congress in 2018.

However, the social media giants have also barred other controversial voices who do not identify as conservative or right-wing.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was one figure who was blocked from the website, following accusations of antisemitism.

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site (pictured is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg)

Alt-right radio host Paul Joseph Watson, also a writer and conspiracy theorist, is among the right-wing personalities banned from Facebook this week

A Facebook spokesperson told Dailymail.com that it conducts a lengthy process to determine which people or groups it considers to have a violent or hateful mission.

Among the factors include whether or not the person has called for or directly carried out acts of violence against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity or national origin.

The firm also considers whether they're a self-described or identified follower of a hateful ideology, use hate speech or slurs in their bio on Facebook, Instagram or other social sites, and whether they've had pages, groups and accounts removed from Facebook or Instagram for violating its hate speech policies, the spokesperson added.

Facebook's policies around dangerous content are further detailed on its site.

The company first signaled a broader crackdown on content when, in March, it banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform.

As part of the sweeping crackdown, Facebook said it would no longer allow posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer' to remain on its site.
A Texas woman's world was turned upside down when she took a genetic history test and learned that a sperm donor she believed was her father, wasn't her dad - her mother's fertility doctor was.

Eve Wiley, 31, spent years looking for her father after she learned she was conceived by artificial insemination in 1987. Fourteen years ago she traced her mother's sperm donor Steve Scholl - known as Donor #106 - and over time they've built a loving father-daughter relationship.

But that relationship was rocked when she took genetic history tests on 23andMe and Ancestry.com and learned that her true father was fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries.

McMorries had quietly mixed in his sperm with that of the donor after the donor sperm failed to impregnate Wiley's mother Margo Williams after five tries.

He used his own sperm that he donated to a sperm bank from his medical school days - and succeeded in getting her pregnant.

But he didn't tell a soul.

Dr. McMorries has now defended his actions, claiming they were 'acceptable practice for the times.'

'I had no idea, 33 years ago, the importance of an offspring's desire to know their biological identity. At that time, the anonymity was supposed to be permanent,' he added.

Texas woman Eve Wiley, 31, was shocked to learn that her mother's fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries (right) is her biological father after he artificially inseminated her mother using his own semen, without her knowledge. The truth finally came to light after Wiley took 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on learning her true father's identity on ABC's 20/20

Margo Williams (pictured) was artificially inseminated by her fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries after Williams and her husband experienced fertility problems

But the truth finally came to light when Wiley decided to learn more abut her family and medical health history and took the genetic 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

The hits however, didn't match that of her believed sperm donor father Scholl who she spent years developing a close relationship with.

'I call him dad. We say I love you,' Wiley told the Dallas Morning News, referring to Scholl, 'We spend holidays together and he actually officiated at my wedding.'

The hits of her genetic family tree matched her to someone in east Texas  where neither Scholl or his family ever lived. After she found a biological first cousin and traded information, she learned the truth.

'I have one uncle,' her first cousin said when Wiley asked him about his family. 'He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas, and his name is Kim McMorries.'

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on ABC's 20/20.

Neither Wiley nor her mother ever knew that McMorries had used his semen in the procedure.

The family even has a picture showing McMorries carrying her in his arms after delivering her.

'It looks like he's holding me like a prize. You can see him smiling through his mask with his eyes, and he's holding me up... It's his little secret,' Wiley said on the photo.

Dr. McMorries pictured carrying Wiley moments after delivering her in 1987

McMorries is considered a reputable and respected doctor in Texas and runs the McMorries Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility clinic in the small town of Nacogdoches

McMorries says that he mixed his semen with the donor's as a practice he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. He says he couldn't tell Williams he was the donor because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation

Williams said she had no idea that Dr. McMorries had mixed in his own semen with that of a donor to artificially inseminate her

Sharing the hard news to Scholl and her mother, broke Wiley's heart.

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' she said.

'I was just in shock. I was shaking. I couldn't believe it. I really trusted him,' her mother Margo Williams said.

Finally Wiley confronted McMorries in a letter explaining their genetic connection.

McMorries then replied in a letter saying that Donor 106 failed to impregnate Wileys mother six times, leaving him to resort to mixing Donor 106's sample with another local sample.

Mixing was a practice he claimed he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. The doctor claimed that Williams was on board with the mixing plan.

When Williams is asked if she knew he was using local donor sperm she shook her head and says, 'Absolutely not. That never happened.'

Wiley believed sperm donor Steve Scholl was her father and developed a father-daughter relationship with him 14 years ago

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' Wiley said on breaking the hard news to Scholl

Wiley has a half sister who was conceived naturally by Williams and her husband 14 months after Wiley's birth

She said she didn't want to mix to avoid the chance of Wiley growing up and discovering she had a half sibling in town.

Nonetheless McMorries fetched his own sperm from his donor days back in medical school and continued with the fertility treatment.

Though McMorries declined to be interviewed for the ABC special, he maintains he couldn't tell Williams that he was using his own sperm because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation.

He argued 'there is no law that requires the disclosure of donor identity'.

He used semen from his donor days back in med school (above) to artificially inseminate Williams

In Texas, the act is not considered a crime as the state does not include rape by deception charges.

But Wiley wasn't satisfied and asked if he had inadvertently fathered any other children in the same way.

The doctor said he knows of one to two other women who became pregnant after he mixed his semen in with a donors.

'It is easy to look back and judge protocols/standards used 33 years ago and assume they were wrong in todays environment,' Dr. McMorries wrote. 'However, it was not wrong 33 years ago as that was acceptable practice for the times.'

Dr. McMorries still runs an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility clinic in Nacogdoches called the Womens Center. Its website says the clinic offers 'conservative values with personal health.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor

His lawyer defended him saying: 'Dr. McMorries is a good and fine man who is an excellent, well respected ob/gyn. He has a reputation for trying to help his patients as much as he possibly can.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor.

She has visited more than 20 legislative offices to press for passage of bills that would change the law in Texas to categorize fertility fraud as sexual assault.

'It's really important to protect vulnerable people,' she told The Dallas Morning News. 'You spend a lot of time with those doctors. There's a lot of trust. You are trusting them and you are incredibly vulnerable.'

If the bill goes into law then offenders can expect a punishment of between six months and two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee have unanimously approved the bill and sent it to the full Senate.
Elvis Presley was not hurt in the 1973 Las Vegas crowd attack but was 'rattled' and bought the weapon

Elvis Presley's gun, bought after a four-person onstage attack in Las Vegas left the star 'rattled', is to be auctioned next weekend along with other personal pieces.

Other lots include chest x-rays taken just months before his death by heart attack, golden jewellery owned by the king of bling and Graceland documents.

The personal pieces are expected leave bidders 'All Shook Up' when they go under the hammer with GWS Auctions in Beverly Hills next weekend, Saturday May 11.

Elvis's Smith & Wesson handgun bought by the star after he was attacked onstage in 1973 could sell for up to 15,300.

He was left unhurt by the attack at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada, but was believed to have been so 'rattled' by the encounter that he purchased the weapon.

According to a provenance letter, the 'Shook Up' star then added black grips and filed the hammer down so he could 'strap it to his right leg while onstage'.

The Smith and Wesson handgun bought by Elvis after he was attacked onstage in 1973 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada. Expected to sell for up to 15,300 ($20,000 USD)

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000USD). It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD)

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death has an estimate of $3,000 USD.

The x-ray that could have been taken to analyse chest pains, with the cause of Elvis's death in August 1977 ruled as a heart attack.

Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand scanning for a potential break or fracture where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot.

A dimpled signet ring owned by the star, diamond and white gold, with Elvis Presley's initials E.P. spelled in diamonds

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with KING is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present

The 10-karat gifted watch bares an inscription on the back plate reading 'KING' in true Elvis style

A 14-karat yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing. It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back - To Bobby from 'Squirrly'

Brigitte Kruse, of GWS Auctions, said: 'When Elvis was attacked on stage by a crowd of people during one of his it rattled him and put things into perspective.

'He was able to get away and from my understanding his security team would have been able to mitigate the situation.

'I don't think he was harmed but it was a wake-up call for him.

'Being a performer on stage, you don't know if someone is coming at you to cause harm to kill or embrace you, it really scared Elvis.

'What he did with this revolver was file it down to fit in his boot, that way he could wear it on stage, should something happen.

'There has always been this crazed fanbase surrounding Elvis Presley and then The Beatles, people tried to steal Elvis's body after it was buried the first time.

'The chest x-ray was before Elvis passed away, I can only speculate but it's quite possible that Elvis had chest pains - ultimately passing away due to heart issues.

In these shots you can see Elvis and his gold bracelets. Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand for a potential break or fracture, where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death that could have been taken to analyse chest pains. The lot could sell for up to 2,300 ($3,000 USD)

A chest scan. The cause of Elvis's death in August 1977, was ruled to from a heart attack

'He had heart disease and what is amazing to me is that in September 1976, less than year before his death, he was obviously complaining of chest pains.

'I would say in the medical realm of memorabilia these are extremely rare because unlike pill bottles, x-rays are kept in medical files.

'What's also really neat is that in the hand x-ray you can see his gold bracelet, it's something very different and you won't see this kind of item again.'

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000 USD).

It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD), where he would live for 20-years.

Brigitte said: 'I have never seen anything with all three of their signatures on it, which is just incredible.

'Elvis loved his parents so much, so to be able to have something like this and share such success with them, makes it one of the most notable pieces.'

Some of the elaborate jewellery of Elvis is also up for sale including his iconic diamond and 14k yellow/white gold nugget ring bearing his initials.

Elvis Presley Custom Made Solid 18K Yellow Gold Guitar Brooch with tiger eye inlay. It was given to Aunt Delta, with a certificate of authentication. He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, Flying Lady and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornaments. Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet

An 14k yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing.

It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back 'To Bobby from Squirrly EP'.

Although misspelled by the engraver, the nickname 'Squirrley' was given to Elvis due to his 'fooling around' during rehearsals.

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with 'King' is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present.

Brigitte said: 'Jewellery was Elvis's way of decorating himself, you realise his parents were sharecroppers.

'For someone of such humble beginnings, he could never have dreamed about owning jewellery, so then to become one of the most famous people in the world.

'I think jewellery was the first thing attainable to him, it was something he never had before and could only have dreamed of those finer things as boy.

A rare pair of unused concert tickets from The Tour That Never Was a mere month after Elvis's death

Gold Record to commemorate Suspicious Minds selling more than one million copies

'When he found a piece that he really loved he would buy five or ten, he was a very giving person, gifting jewellery and cars.'

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, 'Flying Lady' and 'Spirit of Ecstasy' hood ornaments.

Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death - it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet.

He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death, and also received a custom made 18k yellow gold guitar brooch.

Jimmy said: 'Delta disclosed that she was going to pass away soon and wanted me to purchase all of the things which Elvis had given her over the years..'

These feature alongside a rare pair of unused concert tickets from 'The Tour That Never Was' a mere month after Elvis's death and 1969 RIAA Gold Record to commemorate 'Suspicious Minds' selling more than one million copies.

An autograph book with Elvis, his girlfriend Anita Wood and uncle Vester Presley's signatures, a promotional collection from Blue Hawaii, and a sympathy acceptance card from the Presley family to a fan.

Other headlining pieces include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather.

The timepiece that is engraved with 'Vito's' after his character Don Corleone and 'MB' his initials, could sell for $10,000 USD.

Other headlining pieces in the May 11 auction include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather. Expected to sell for 7,600 ($10,000 USD)

Marlon Brando's watch. The timepiece is engraved with Vito's after his character Don Corleone and MB his initials. It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship

It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship.

Brigitte said: 'This is a pretty incredible find and has never been offered at auction, it's a piece no one knew existed.

'It's arguably the most significant film of all time, Marlon Brando and Don Vito Corleoni, in the film world that's as good as it gets.

'Patricia built such a great rapport and relationship with Brando that he said, "This will probably fit you and I want to give it to you."'

The Archives of Hollywood & Music auction will take place on May 11 starting at 10am PST (6pm UK time), for more information or to place a bid visit: www.gwsauctions.com
The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship.

A Labor candidate is also in hot water over anti-refugee comments posted on social media.

According to The Guardian, Ms Zaki declared she had renounced her Afghan citizenship on April 16, but the document she provided to the Australian Electoral Commission and Afghan citizenship law both suggest an additional step is required for complete renunciation.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship.

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The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship

In 2018 the High Court ruled - in the midst of the dual citizenship crisis of the 45th Parliament - that the 'reasonable steps' defence for renouncing foreign citizenship was insufficient.

This is the first election where all candidates are required by the AEC to fill out an eligibility checklist declaring whether they have any issues, such as bankruptcy or dual citizenship, that could put them in breach of section 44 of the constitution.

While the Canberra seat is notionally held by Labor on a 12.9 per cent margin, uncertainty about another candidate's eligibility will rock the Liberals who have already lost nine candidates since the election was called.

Meanwhile, Labor is under pressure to disendorse their candidate for the Western Australia seat of Durack over anti-asylum seeker posts on social media.

The West Australian reported that Sharyn Morrow made her comments on Facebook in 2013 in response to a riot at the Nauru detention centre.

'These trouble makers should be sent back to where they came from, they do not deserve our charity. When will we see a government that understands charity begins at home.'

Questioned by reporters about Ms Morrow's comments shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it was the first he'd heard of her remarks.

'We have processes to look at these things. We would need to look at that closely,' he said.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship

Environment minister Melissa Price holds the seat of Durack on a margin of 11.1 per cent.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said that all parties would be examining their processes after the election, including candidate endorsement.

'All parties have been struggling with candidates that have not quite met the mark for both the parties they choose to represent but also the broader Australian public,' she told the ABC.

So far fifteen candidates have either been sacked or stood down ahead of the federal election because of a string of scandals.

From rape jokes and Islamophobic comments to anti-Semitic remarks, the controversies have involved candidates from a number of parties.

Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery. She stepped down on Friday.

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

Earlier in the week One Nation candidate Steve Dickson resigned after footage emerged of him making inappropriate comments at a strip club in the United States.

Dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity

Ms Whelan was accused in Parliament of advocating the genital mutilation of Muslim women and selling them as slaves, and of saying Tasmanians 'don't bloody want' to take in Syrian refugees.

A Facebook profile under the candidate's name recently commented on a post about US police officer Mohamed Noor, saying: 'He's a filthy Muslim!'

Her second alleged remark was under a Reclaim Australia Rally's Facebook post about Iraqi and Syrian refugees being settled in New South Wales.

'Don't bloody send them to Tasmania. We don't want them. Nick McKim, the biggest waste of space in politics, does not represent Tasmanians,' the same account wrote.

Ms Whelan has denied the allegations, but stepped down as the candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club.

The recording was captured by an undercover journalist and was leaked to Nine's A Current Affair, which broadcast the footage on Monday night.

Mr Dickson, who is married, called one of the dancers a 'bitch' before describing her as 'hot' and could be heard saying Asian women don't know what they're doing during sex and 'white women f*** a whole lot better'.

Liberal candidate Jeremy Hearn was also dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light.

The House of Representatives candidate for Victoria state wrote online in 2016 that taxpayers should not fund Muslim schools because they were 'fomenting rebellion against the government'.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club in the US

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson (pictured) online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE RESIGNED OR BEEN SACKED SO FAR Jessica Whelan (Liberal, TAS) - Facebook comments about Muslims Luke Creasey (Labor, VIC) - Rape jokes and memes on social media Jeremy Hearn (Liberal, VIC) - Anti-Muslim Facebook posts Wayne Kurnoth (Labor, NT) - Anti-Semitic Facebook posts Peter Killin (Liberal, VIC) - Homophobic blog posts, insulting Tim Wilson Murray Angus (Liberal, VIC) - Breaking party rules Melissa Parke (Labor, WA) - Anti-Israel comments Steve Dickson (One Nation, QLD) - Strip club scandal ELIGIBILITY PROBLEMS: Kate Oski (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Vaishali Gosh (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Helen Jackson (Liberal, VIC) - Public servant Sam Kayal (Liberal, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Courtney Nguyen (Liberal, NSW) -citizenship doubts Mary Ross (Labor, NSW) - Citizenship doubts James Harker-Mortlock (Nationals, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Advertisement

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected.

Liberal candidate Murray Angus, 71, was disendorsed after breaking party rules.

The candidate for Corio in Geelong, Victoria, told News Corp papers he thought Labor opponent Richard Marles was a 'good bloke'.

Helen Jackson was dumped as the candidate for Cooper in Victoria as she was an employee of Australia Post.

Labor candidate Mr Creasey resigned from his party after it emerged he once joked on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

The 29-year-old faced calls to step down for sharing porn and rape memes and insulting working class voters on Facebook in 2012.

In the posts in 2012, Mr Creasey shared one meme titled 'overly attached girlfriend' which read: 'Hey I just met you / If you don't date me / You'll go to prison / I'll say you raped me.'

Another meme he shared, designed to insult people with concerns about immigration, said: 'Complains refugees waste tax dollars / Uses Centrelink money to buy drugs and alcohol.'

Mr Creasey also insulted working class voters in Scott Morrison's south Sydney seat with a post that read: 'Endorsement by those who call the Sutherland Shire home is not something that anyone with decency should aspire to.'

He also shared a link to porn involving the sexual kink pegging.

Another Liberal candidate, Jeremy Hearn, was dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook

In the latest post to emerge, he joked about watching a female friend have sex with several people and wanting somebody to 'roughly take her virginity'.

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook.

Mr Kurnoth, who was set to run for the party in the Northern Territory, was given the boot by Labor after it was revealed that he shared a video by controversial British lecturer David Icke.

In the clip, Icke claims that the world is being run by shape-shifting Jewish lizards.

Mr Kurnoth shared the conspiracy theory - in which Icke also alleged that the Rothschild banking family are controlling the world - on his Facebook page in December 2015, according to The Australian.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten might still be leading the polls, but the Labor leader has not been able to avoid the scandal brought to his party by its candidates

Mr Kurnoth was already under pressure after being caught posting an image of Malcolm Turnbull beheading ABC journalist Emma Alberici, and making offensive remarks about former MP Natasha Griggs.

Labor candidate Melissa Parke quit the party after a controversial speech which outraged the Jewish community.

The candidate for Curtin at Perth, Western Australia, described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 'worse than the South African system of apartheid' while speaking to pro-Palestinian activists last month.

Labor's Mary Ross and the Liberal party's Kate Oski, Vaishali Ghosh, Courtney Nguyen and Sam Kayal all pulled out over citizenship uncertainty, as did the Nationals' James Harker-Mortlock.


The mother of a toddler who was punched by a shopper has revealed how a malfunctioning self-service checkout sparked the Kmart clash.

The mother, identified as Rebecca, was purchasing her items at the store in Westfield Albany, Auckland, when the alleged assault occurred on Thursday at about 12pm.

Rebecca recalled joining a fairly long queue at the checkout with her three young sons in tow, NZ Herald reported.

A woman believed to be in her 60s is accused of punching a two-year-old boy and pushing a trolley towards him after he threw a tantrum at Kmart in Westfield Albany (pictured)

The boys, aged six, four and two, became increasingly restless and her youngest began to throw a tantrum.

She tried to console him by explaining they would leave soon to visit their grandma's but the meltdown only got worse.

'He wouldn't usually behave like this, but I've got to admit - it was a really bad tantrum. Probably one of the worst I would have seen,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items.

She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

'I had my two-year-old in my arms and was trying to scan my products with the other arm it was getting quite bad,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items. She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

She then put her son down in front of the shopping cart when a woman, believed to be in her 60s, appeared to have lost her patience with the young family.

Rebecca claims she turned around to see a trolley being pushed straight towards her son by the woman.

When the mother moved to stop the attack, the woman hurled abuse at her, telling Rebecca to 'take him bloody home'.

Rebecca said people watched on in shock as the woman screamed at her.

She continued to scan her items as she tried to come to terms with what had transpired and her son quieted down.

A stranger came over to tell her she was doing an 'amazing job' as she finalised her shopping.

After the alleged attack, Rebecca approached Kmart staff to see what could be done, and CCTV footage allegedly shows the woman appear to intentionally steer her trolley towards the young boy.

A store worker said they would review the footage further, file a complaint and see if they could find the woman, and Rebecca left the store.

The woman has not been identified, but police are investigating the allegations

Later that day, the man called Rebecca with more terrible news.

'We've reviewed the video footage in detail and we can see that she has actually punched your son in the head with quite some force, when your back was turned,' he told Rebecca.

A spokesman for NZ Police told Daily Mail Australia an investigation had been launched.

'Police were notified on Thursday afternoon about an earlier incident where an assault was reported to have taken place,' he said.

'Police will be looking into the matter and will be following up with the complainant.'
Fire and Rescue crews rushed to Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night after a military charter plane carrying 143 people skidded off the runway and plunged into water.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing shortly after 9.30pm.

The plane was not fully submerged in the water, and all passengers were evacuated safely.

Two people were treated for minor injuries, according to CBS.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

Pictures show the plane in shallow water, with crews working to control jet fuel which had spilled out of the aircraft

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing will be investigated.
This is the moment staff and customers in a South Carolina McDonald's watched as a homeless man smashed up the front windows then waited for police to arrest him.

The man is seen on video taking a brick to break glass as shocked spectators urge staff to call law enforcement to detain him.

At the same time onlookers are concerned for the man who later smashes another area of the fast food chain's window using only his forehead.

A homeless man smashed up a South Carolina McDonald's then waited for police to arrest him

He's seen throwing stones outside the fast food restaurant and angrily demands attention from people inside

'He's going to kill himself,' one woman is heard yelling in the clip filmed from a witness inside the restaurant.

When the cell phone recording begins the man knocks on the door and window to get the attention of people inside the McDonald's branch then begins throwing stones.

At first onlookers sound amused then realized real damage could be done and begin to question where the cops they called earlier could be.

After destroying multiple areas of the glass front, the shouting man then plants himself on top of a bush and patiently waits for law enforcement.

He then smashes glass with a brick and uses his forehead to break the windows if the venue as customers stand back. One window near a children's play area is pictured broken

The voice of the woman's recording the incident states that the commotion began when 'he grabbed my hand when he asked for mustard'.

She adds: 'Y'all are blaming this on mental health problems. That's crack. That's heroin.'

But another concerned woman warns the person filming to quieten down predicting the man will get upset if he hears.

'Don't say that to him because that makes him angry,' a woman says, noting that he comes in regularly and predicting he'll simply return are temporarily being taken to a psych ward.

The camera shows the restaurant covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'.

The restaurant was covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'

The man wearing a high visibility jacket then patiently waited for a policeman to detain him

Later in the 10-minute-long video the witnesses are appalled when a policeman finally shows up six minutes into when they first began recording the man who appeared to have earlier been locked out.

However a woman explains that the door was in fact not locked.

They then note how only one officer arrived to detain him in what seems to be a lengthy process getting him into a car.

'He probably did that just to get somewhere to stay,' one man is heard saying as staff continue to take customer's orders.

Staff express their frustration at how difficult it will be to find someone to fix the windows on the same day. The woman filming points out that police are quick to stop people but take an alarming long time to respond to a scene like this.

'South Carolina is crazy', she adds.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been ruthlessly mocked online for cringeworthy memes about 'Star Wars Day'.

May 4 has been dubbed as 'Star Wars Day' for its similarity in sound to the movie's famous catchphrase 'may the force be with you'.

But Mr Morrison's attempt to connect popular culture with the impending Federal Election backfired with Star Wars fans and voters alike questioning the Liberal Party's bizarre ploy.

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday.

'The economy is strong with this one,' the meme, written in Star Wars text, said.

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

A second meme, with Mr Shorten dressed as Emperor Palpatine, suggested the Labor Party's 'debt' was similar to the death star.

The moon-sized weapon lurked over Australia and the meme was covered in a red tinge, reminiscent of the Opposition Party's colour.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read

Mr Morrison was even transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers'

One unimpressed Twitter user hit back with Princess Leia saying 'no thanks'

They hit back with more Star Wars memes, including Princess Leia saying 'no thanks' and the movie's famous yellow opening text.

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read.

'This is not the hot take you're looking for,' another person wrote in response to Mr Morrison's Obi-Wan portrayal.

Mr Morrison was also transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers' with his head planted on to his body.

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' an image of Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca read

Despite being labelled as 'embarrassing' some viewers requested more of the 'great' memes

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text.

Despite numerous attempts to mock Mr Morrison, some viewers enjoyed the Party's humorous take on Star Wars Day.

'Please continue to make more of these,' one person tweeted.

'Keep going these are great,' tweeted another.
Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a ship off the Great Barrier Reef after getting caught in fishing nets.

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year and obtained by WWF, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe.

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Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a fishing ship off the Great Barrier Reef after meeting their fate with destructive fishing nets

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said.

'These pictures show that gill nets are indiscriminate killers in that they drown whatever swims into them including many iconic and threatened species.'

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines.

The photos of the bloodied and lifeless sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off.

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said

Scalloped and great hammerheads are both listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List as endangered.

A marine turtle was also snapped caught in a net on the deck, with their rostrums cut off.

WWF-Australia is advocating for a 85,000 square-kilometre safe space, where gill nets would be banned from the north of Cooktown through to the tip of the Cape.

Supporters of WWF had previously helped the organisation buy and retire three commercial gill net licences operating on the Reef.

'We're calling on the next Australian government to help create a Net Free North and to end targeted shark fishing in the Great Barrier Reef by providing adequate financial adjustment for affected fishers to remove the last 3 remaining industrial sized gill nets from the whole GBR,' Mr O'Gorman said.

The photos of the bloodied and lifelesss sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines

GILL NETS The nets are used to target species, typically, gummy shark, saw shark and elephant fish. They are long rectangular panels of netting with diamond-shaped mesh. Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net, their gills, fins and spines become entangled. The are normally implemented in waters less than 100 metres deep. SOURCE: Australian Government: Australian Fisheries Management Authority Advertisement

In 2018, 125,000 sharks were caught in nets according to data from Fisheries Queensland, the Cairns Post reported.

Of the total, 41,000 were discarded and 84,000 were processed.

The fillets of small sharks can be sold as 'flake' in fish and chip shops but larger sharks are not appropriate for human's to eat.

Their fins, however, are usually cut off from their discarded bodies and are exported.

Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the government was taking the necessary steps to encourage sustainable fishing.

'There is already an existing catch limit on commercial harvest of sharks, which can be harvested sustainably, particularly smaller, faster growing sharks like black tip sharks,' he said.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data
Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers.

The cigarettes are then sold for less than the lollies and chocolates sitting on the counter nearby.

Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers (stock image)

Health advocates believe the practice is aimed at children who can't afford more than $20 for a pack but can use their meager cash to buy one or two at a time.

Cigarettes can only legally be sold in packs of at least 20 and shops can be fined up to $19,028 for selling 'loosies'.

The ban was brought in as part of the Tobacco Act of 1987 specifically to protect children, who are particularly prone to nicotine addiction.

The Geelong Advertiser visited 10 convenience stores and milk bars undercover and found two in Norlane that sold single cigarettes.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers (stock image)

One sold them for 50c each and their other for $1.50, and the customer merely had to ask before the cashier opened the secret drawer.

Norlane and neighbouring Corio have the highest smoking rate in Victoria with 30 per cent of the population describing themselves as 'current smokers'.

The local council is responsible for cracking down on illegal sales but would not reveal how many fines it had dished out.
The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse.

On Friday, a Church spokesperson slammed an article published by Vice News, which questioned whether a 24-hour abuse help line was effective in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.

'Abuse is taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' the spokesperson said.

'The Church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse'.

The helpline is available to its 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents so that they can report suspected cases of criminal behavior.

But, earlier this week, Vice published its bombshell article alleging that the hotline may actually be used 'to shield the Mormon Church from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to them'.

The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse

Vice claims that calls to the hotline were 'funneled' through to law firm Kirton McConkie so that they could help the Church identify cases that might pose a high financial risk

According to the publication, calls to the the hotline 'are not immediately transferred to authorities', but are rather 'funneled' through to the law firm Kirton McConkie, which has close ties to the Church.

The publication quotes a source as saying that one lawyer from Kirton McConkie 'acknowledged that that they [the firm] uses information gleaned from helpline calls to identify cases that pose a high financial risk to the Mormon Church.'

The Church does not publicly disclose the number of calls that are made to its hotline.

Vice claims that the 'lack of transparency contrasts starkly with actions taken by other religious groups and institutions' and that it is a 'visible symptom of a system that appears to place Church interests ahead of abuse victims.

Church practices surrounding the hotline were reportedly brought to light in a sexual abuse-related civil lawsuit brought against the Church by six plaintiffs in West Virginia.

All plaintiffs say their children were abused by convicted Mormon sex offender, Michael Jensen.

'Helen' spoke with Vice about the alleged sexual abuse suffered by her son at the hands of his babysitter, Michael Jensen

One of the plaintiffs, known only as Helen, was interviewed by Vice, and relayed harrowing details of the alleged abuse her child suffered at the hands of Jensen.

She said her four-year-old son tearfully told her that Jensen 'made him suck his privates' while he was employed as their babysitter.

In 2013, Jensen was jailed for the abuse of two other children in the community whilst working as a babysitter.

He is currently serving 35 years in prison without parole.
A paedophile wanted in Australia was able to roam free and commit a series of sickening crimes against young boys in the UK after he slipped through the net.

Barry Radford, 53, who resided in Northumberland, in the northeast of England, was wanted by New South Wales state police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999.

But the British-born spray painter moved back to the UK the year after he committed the alleged crimes.

Barry Radford (pictured) resided in Northumberland, in northeast of England, and was wanted by New South Wales police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this week, after he admitted to committing multiple offences including inciting a child into sexual activity, grooming and possessing indecent images.

Radford had taken indecent images of one of his victims on two occasions.

On one occasion the boy had passed out after taking drugs and drinking, and another he had paid the boy in a bid to let him take the inappropriate images.

He also possessed more than 1,000 indecent images of other children.

Radford's heinous crimes were only alerted to authorities last year when one of his victims came forward.

In 2007 Australian authorities issued an arrest warrant and Interpol got in touch with Northumbria Police after Radford had been stopped for a driving offence.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and trampoline parks

But two years later New South Wales authorities revoked the warrant when it did not lead to Radford being sent back to Australia for the alleged offences.

Meanwhile Radford was left to prey on teenage boys in the Northumberland area.

It's understood Radford would groom the young men by giving them money and buying them expensive gifts such as trainers.

He allowed the teenagers to drink and smoke cannabis, a class B drug in the UK, at his home where the boys could also play pool.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and to trampoline parks.

Throughout a lengthy grooming process Radford conned one boy's parents into trusting him.

One of Radford's victims described him as a 'very dangerous man' and said he had known 'exactly what he was doing'.

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) earlier this week

Handing down the sentence, Judge Amanda Rippon noted Radford's action had had a 'profound effect' on his victims and their mental health.

Radford's lawyer said his client was remorseful and had taken the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.

Outside the courtroom a spokesperson for New South Wales police said in 2000 authorities had established that Radford had fled to the UK.

'In 2000, it was established that the man had left Australia and travelled to the UK.

'In 2002, NSW Police issued two warrants for his arrest, however a decision was made to revoke them in 2009.

'Given the man remains before the courts in the UK, it would be inappropriate to comment on further action by NSW Police,' the spokesperson said.

But a Northumbria police spokesperson said they were made aware of Radford in 2007.

'We can confirm we were made aware, by international partners, of Radford in 2007, who was suspected of living in our area at the time.

'This was an intelligence-led request by police in Australia. This was an investigation by NSW Police and we had no power of arrest.

'We are unable to comment on this any further,' the spokesperson concluded.
A man who was seen wearing a Nazi swastika armband while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community.

The man was riding his bike along Atherton road in Oakleigh this week, when a shocked member of the Jewish community saw him and took a photo.

The identity of the man is not known.

The Jewish man then sent the photo to the Anti-Defamation Commission - an organisation that keeps track of anti-Semitic activity and tracks perpetrators.

A man who was seen wearing a Nazi Swastika armband (pictured) while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community

Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich responded to the incident by issuing a statement, where he slammed the man's actions.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol.

'No one can feel safe when such sickening incidents happen, and we should not stand for this heinous behavior,' Dr Abramovich said.

He said people shouldn't have to see such things - especially after Christchurch and San Diego when white-supremacist ideology manifested itself in such a deadly way.

'It is chilling that anyone would so openly exhibit the ugly Nazi swastika - a universal symbol of genocide and evil, Dr Abramovich said.

'This open display of hatred, which would have caused enormous distress to a Holocaust survivor, should anger all people.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol (stock)

'During a week, in which we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the millions of victims who died at the hands of Hitlers regime, it is abhorrent that individuals filled with hate are intimidating and terrifying community members.'

The chairman said the 'repulsive display of racism' is an attack against all Australians and violates the memory of courageous diggers who fought to defeat Hitler.

'At this time, we repeat our call for federal and state governments to ban the public displays of symbols from the Third Reich,' he said.
Australian voters trust New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern far more than any Aussie politician - as it's revealed female candidates are more 'believable' than men.

The country's leader was 24 points more trustworthy than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the 'Believability Index' by OPR.

Ardern scored 77 out of 100 while prime minister Scott Morrison scored 43 and Bill Shorten scored 42.

The top four positions were all taken by women with Senator Penny Wong in second, Julie Bishop in third and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek in fourth.

The NZ PM was 24 points more believable than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the Belivability Index by OPR

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said

The most believable Australian politician was Senator Wong with 53 points, closely followed by Julie Bishop with 52 and Tanya Plibersek with 50.

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said.

Politicians and business people were assessed across six 'dimensions of believability' by 1400 people in March and April.

The dimensions were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important.

Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton and Clive Palmer all performed poorly in integrity and were the least believable politicians with scores of 36, 34 and 30, respectively.

Prime minister Scott Morrison (left) and Labor leader Bill Shorten (right) were neck and neck in the believability index. Mr Morrison beat out Shorten by one point

The dimensions of believability were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important

Greens Party leader Richard Di Natale scored 45 and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson scored 44, both beating out the major party leaders.

Anthony Albanese scored 46 to beat Shorten by four points, suggesting Labor may have backed the wrong horse in the 2013 party leadership election.

Australians even found business leaders more believable than politicians.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose scored 64 points.

Former Fortescue CEO Twiggy scored 53, tying with Senator Wong.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose (pictured) scored 64 points, 11 more the most trusted Australian politician Penny Wong
Former Vice President Joe Biden charged Saturday that Jim Crow is 'sneaking back in' as he emphasized the need to ensure voting rights are protected, which he said is lacking under the Trump administration.

Biden drew several hundred people to a community center in Columbia as he opened his presidential campaign in South Carolina, home of the first-in-the-South primary and where black voters play a major role in the Democratic nominating process.

In criticizing Republican attempts to reconfigure voting rules, including establishing identification requirements, Biden recalled the racial segregation laws of the past known as Jim Crow.

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, (left), has attacked Donald Trump, (right), for letting 'Jim Crow sneak back in' by attempting to reconfigure voting rules in his latest campaign appearance

'You've got Jim Crow sneaking back in,' he said, and added: 'You know what happens when you have an equal right to vote? They lose.'

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House, continuing to make his campaign a full-throttle assault against President Donald Trump.

'Quite frankly, I've had it up to here,' he said. 'Your state motto is, "While I breathe, I hope." It's not a joke. We're breathing, but God, we have got to have hope.'

Biden's initial campaign agenda to South Carolina included a fundraiser and a Sunday morning visit to a black church in Columbia.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now, Biden is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. The laws, which existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964, were meant to return Southern states to a two-tier class structure by marginalizing black Americans.

Biden recalled racial segregation laws of the pasts as he took a swipe at Trump. He is pictured taking photos with supporters following the first rally of his 2020 campaign on Saturday

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House

The dawn of the 20th century saw states across the south ratcheting up Jim Crow laws, which affected every part of daily life.

Laws forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas.

Signs posted at town and city limits warning African Americans that they were not welcome were also a familiar sight. The post-World War II era then saw an increase in civil rights activities in the black community, with a focus on ensuring that black citizens were able to vote.

This heralded the era of the Civil Rights Movement which resulted in the gradual removal of Jim Crow laws in various states.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended discrimination and segregation that became entrenched in American society.

Biden claimed the Trump administration was allowing 'Jim Crow to sneak back in.' He was referring to a set of laws that legalized racial segregation. The regime existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964 with the start of the Civil Rights Movement

Laws also forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas across the South

Meanwhile the latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. He is pictured posing for photos with audience members during a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday

Biden has attacked many of the policy areas and changes presided over Donald Trump, (pictured), since launching his presidential campaign last month

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.
A father-of-two was knocked out with a single punch and left in a heap on the floor after becoming caught up in a wild street brawl.

Footage shows the 26-year-old man was knocked unconscious during a mass fight on Hindley Street in north-west Adelaide late on Friday evening.

South Australia police attended the scene just after midnight and the violent altercation is still under investigation.

A 26-year-old father-of-two (pictured) has been knocked out by a single punch in a violent altercation

The man could be seen among a group of other men who were fighting.

The reason for the attack is not clear from the video.

A man could be seen grabbing the young father by his t-shirt during the melee.

He then punched the man square in the face, causing the target of the attack to be seemingly knocked out cold.

The man then punches him one more time before he hits the floor.

The young father appeared to lie completely still on the ground.

No arrests or charges have been made but police are investigating.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said the current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming.

Buffett, 88, notes that the current climate is an unusual one with unemployment at the lowest levels for a generation, inflation and interest rates staying low and the U.S. government continuing to spend more money than it brings in.

'No economics textbook I know that was written in the first couple of thousand years that discussed even the possibility that you could have this sort of situation continue and have all variables stay more or less the same,' Buffett mused in a CNBC interview on Friday.

Warren Buffett notes that unemployment remains its lowest since 1969, yet interest rates and inflation are not rising

Speaking on CNBC Buffett notes how the U.S. continues to spend more money than it takes in

A shareholder arranges her belongings under a large graphic of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. An estimated 40,000 people are expected in town for the event

A shareholder and his son, both dressed in suits with pictures of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, try to get a glimpse of Buffett as he arrives at the 2019 annual meeting

Shareholders linedup before dawn to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett

'These conditions are not sustainable for the long term', Buffett said during the broadcast which came one day ahead of the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha this weekend.

'I don't think our present conditions can exist in terms of fiscal and monetary policy and various other elements across the political landscape,' he said. 'I think it will change, I don't know when, or to what degree. But I don't think this can be done without leading to other things.'

The figures tell the story. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April on Friday, the lowest since 1969.

Inflation was up just 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, well below the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is surrounded by press and fans as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting

The current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming, Warren Buffett said

Shareholders gather to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska

Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett (not pictured), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway,

Buffett doesn't believe today's current economic conditions are sustainable for the long term

A cutout of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett holds Duracell Batteries during a shareholders shopping day in Omaha

The third-richest man in the world also revealed that his firm has been buying shares of Amazon.

On Saturday, he will appear at the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire.

The 'Oracle of Omaha' and his 95-year-old business partner Charlie Munger will take more than five hours of shareholder questions posed by three journalists.

Two questions are sure to come up, as they did last year: 'Who will succeed him?' And 'When does he intend to retire?'

Buffett will also meet privately with investors and business owners, many of whom are making the trek to Nebraska.

Jaymee Wei of Taiwan poses with a life-size photo of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett

He is attending his firm, Berkshire Hathaway's, annual meeting Saturday

Last year, about 40,000 people made the trip to Omaha, a leafy city home to about 410,000 residents, to hear him speak. Lines start forming at 4am to enter the theater and by 8am all the seats are gone.

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Does he believe in the strength of the sharing economy, symbolized by companies like Uber and Airbnb?

What does he think of artificial intelligence and self-driving cars?

David Kass, finance professor at University of Maryland, has made the trip each year for the past decade, sometimes with MBA students, a number of whom were granted private meetings with Buffett.

'It's pretty much a hobby,' said Kass, a Berkshire shareholder since 1985 and the author of a blog on Buffett.

This year he invited 200 of his students to follow the proceedings along with him, broadcast live in one of the university's auditoriums.

Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' with 'festival-goers' hailing from the Who's Who of the American business community.

People pass an illustration of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, during the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists'

In addition to well-known names like billionaire Bill Gates - Buffett's friend and bridge partner - business executives and investors come to seek the approval of the well-liked, folksy mogul at a time when appearing elitist can be a curse.

'He sets a great example for the leaders, especially business leaders, setting a great example for young people. He gives his money to help other people... and I think there is something we are missing now in this world,' said Indian millionaire Paul Singh, 68, who became an angel investor after the sale of his Primus Telecommunications company.

Singh's son Jay Phoenix, 32, a psychiatrist who became a millionaire after selling his startup, said Buffett represents a long view.

'Because you are getting wealthy and you are hitting those numbers, it doesn't mean that your lifestyle has to change that much,' he said. 'It's... about how you treat other people and the integrity that you have.'

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.

Apart from surveillance cameras, no other security is visible, but if a visitor takes photos, an agent will come out and ask 'nicely' what they will be used for.
Scott Morrison had to hit the ground running as he became Prime Minister just ahead of a series of regional summits.

But the newly-minted leader had an experienced ally to show him the ropes as he entered the world stage - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Mr Morrison spoke of his admiration for the veteran head of Australia's second-biggest trading partner, calling him 'the senior figure' among Asian leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of his admiration for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

'He's got a real wisdom about him which I found really helpful and which I have leaned on,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Morrison said a dinner in Darwin together with their wives stuck out among the many meetings he had after he replaced Malcolm Turnbull.

'It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had... and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period,' he said.

'Because I became prime minister and went pretty much into the summit season.'

Mr Morrison said his Japanese counterpart was particularly useful in helping him balance Australia's strong alliance with the US with its proximity to regional power and huge trading partner China.

Japan has to navigate a similar situation and Mr Morrison said this meant his new friend had a wealth of experience to share.

He said the Japanese Prime Minister was similar to 'us' as the country also has an important relationship with the US.

Mr Morrison explained the connection with China was intercultural and economic, while the US attachment was based on values and history.

He said maintaining a stable relationship with the south-west Pacific is a priority.
A mother has made a heartbreaking plea to find the people responsible for a brutal bashing that has left her two sons in hospital.

Lochie, 20, and Rueben Higgins, 17, were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, about 3am on Saturday.

The pair's mother, Amanda, took to Facebook to share photos of her badly beaten sons following the attack.

'These are my two boys at the Alfred [Hospital] Emergency Department. Both king hit early this morning.'

Lochie and Rueben Higgins (pictured) were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, at around 3am on Saturday

The photos show her injured sons (pictured, Lochie) wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds

The photos show her injured sons wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds.

Dry blood is splattered across the face of one of the men, and his left eye badly bruised.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward.

The brothers are understood to have been walking through the car park in front of the supermarket on Railway Grove at the time.

The pair became involved in an argument with a group of men, before they were knocked to the ground.

Bystanders intervened before the attackers fled in an unidentified car.

Both victims were taken to hospital with non-life threatening head injuries. One of the men is in a serious condition.

A 28-year-old man presented himself to police in the afternoon and is assisting officers with their inquiries.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward (pictured, social media post made to Facebook following the attack in front of a Mornington Coles on Saturday)
An earthquake shook homes in Surrey's leafy commuter-belt overnight as residents in the county's tremor hotspot were panicked by rumblings for the third time in three months.

'Scary loud bangs' were reported by people in the Crawley area and a seismograph from the British Geological Survey confirmed the quake happened at 1.19am.

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years.

Last night, one concerned resident tweeted: 'Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!'

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years

A seismograph from the British Geological Survey shows the tremor at 1.19am BST

'Scary loud bangs' and 'shakes' were reported by people in the Crawley area overnight

Another said: 'Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up'

The magnitude of the tremor is not yet clear.

It follows a series of earthquakes in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration in Horse Hill, but this has not been proved.

However, Professor Stuart Haszeldine of Edinburgh University believes that the recent tremors are a direct consequence of drilling into known fault lines.

And the geoscience expert, who has described the Surrey patch as an 'earthquake zone', told MailOnline that the tremors are likely to become more frequent over time and could even see buildings damaged.

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport

He said: 'We know that there are fault lines and that the oil company has said the oil production has drilled into these.

'To me it's entirely unsurprising that is has caused some movement'

'As this goes on this is just going to get worse and I think the frequency with which they occur will increase.'

This is because the rocks below the surface are under more pressure and will be more likely to shift which could lead to buildings on the surface cracking.

MailOnline approached UK Oil and Gas, which is drilling at Horse Hill, for comment.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were 'keeping an open mind', there was 'still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities'.

He said: 'It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.'

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
Sydney train services were thrown into chaos after a passenger was hit by a train at Town Hall station.

A woman is understood to have walked onto the train tracks before she was injured at around 4.30pm on Saturday.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia the passenger has since been transported to hospital for treatment.

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed as a result.

Sydney train services have been cancelled amid reports of a commuter being hit by a train at Town Hall station

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed on Saturday afternoon

Trains travelling through Platform Three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line.

'We temporarily had to suspend services over the bridge,' Sydney Trains said on Twitter.

Passengers took to social media to vent their frustration when trains suddenly came to a screeching halt.

'So there is someone on the track between Central and Townhall... Whats going on?' one person tweeted.

A Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia police had been investigating the incident..

'We can't say how long delays will take as police are currently undertaking their investigations,' a Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Only earlier today, an electrical fire in the roof of the station forced train services to skip platforms two and four.

The delays come as hundreds of rugby league fans make the commute to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Roosters face off the West Tigers.

If you are in need of advice or assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Trains travelling through platform three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line and services leaving the city
Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after drunken visitors caused fights and had too many accidents.

Hikers, Kayakers and campers in the Ardeche national park won't be able to indulge in a cheeky alcoholic beverage from May 1 to September 30 this year.

Officials said it was is in response to regular fights at the only campsites, Gaud and Gournier, and accidents caused by drunkenness.

The famous gorges, such as the natural Pont d'Arc bridge, are visited by around 1.5million people, and 180,000 kayakers, including people from Britain, according to the Syndicate of Management of the Gorges de l'Ardeche.

Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after hikers and campers caused too many accidents

The park in southeastern France is well known for natural features including the famous Pont d'Arch natural bridge (pictured)

Francoise Soulimane, the state prefect for the Ardeche, made the temporary order.

'It is forbidden for hikers and users of boats to hold alcoholic beverages for consumption in the bivouacs (tents) of Gaud and Gournier [the only areas where camping is allowed in the gorge] or on the fluvial area,' it read.

Anyone caught flouting the rules to sneak in a bottle of wine, beer or spirits, will face a 28 (23.83) fine, reports The Times.

Once taken, the drinks can be reclaimed from authorities headquarters in Vallon Pont d'Arc village for up to a week.

Founded in 1980, the park covers 32km of gorges carved from limestone rocks by the river Ardeche.

The Ardeche gorges are located in southeastern France near Avignon, Nimes and Valence
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Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public for the first time since his succession - as more than 65,000 people queued up in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, Naruhito thanked tens of thousands of well wishers for congratulating him.

'I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today,' said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greeted the public for the first time since his succession from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today

He greeted well wishers waving hundreds of Japanese flags alongside his wife Empress Masako and other members of the royal family

Naruhito's father, Akihito, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor. Pictured: Princess Tomohito, Princess Kako, Princess Mako and Princess Kiko

In this aerial shot, thousands of well wishers can be seen queuing for the chance to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

Emperor Naruhito was joined on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by Japan's Crown Prince Akishino

The area in front of the balcony was filled with a sea of Japanese flags and cellphones as people scrambled to take a picture of their new emperor

During his speech, Naruhito said: 'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further'

'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further.'

As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace. An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate.

Pictured: crowds queuing up outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate. Pictured: people wait in line to see Japan's new Emperor

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace

People walk towards the Imperial Palace as they are led by Imperial Guard officers ahead of the emperor's speech

People wave Japanese national flags and try to take photos of the new emperor in Tokyo earlier today

Here, a group of Imperial Guard officers stand in front of the gate at the palace earlier today

The 59-year-old emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after the Second World War and one who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death amid the lack of discussion about the significance of maintaining the social upper-class bound by its male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, Harvard-educated former diplomat Masako, is still recovering from her stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.

But her parents, from Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay 3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.

They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

Claire told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her  and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'

The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.

It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.

The letter they received asked that Martin pay 2,038.62 and Claire contribute 1,595.

He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'

The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.

Gretna Green (pictured) was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'

Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.

At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.

Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.

As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.

The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.
Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal.

The Environment Secretary said that he is opposed to the prospect of a customs union but said that there is no 'arithmetic' in the House of Commons for Britain to leave the EU without a deal.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures.

Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal (Pictured today at the Scottish Conservative Party conference)

He said in an interview with The Telegraph at his parents' home in Aberdeen that he had not 'gone soft' on Brexit, but instead said that the country and his party had to 'face facts'.

'At the moment the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal,' he said.

'There would be economic challenges. We could get through them but they would undoubtedly be there in the short term.'

Mr Gove added that leaving without a deal would 'undermine the Union' and that the best way of 'bringing the country together is to leave with a good deal'.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures

Outlining his opposition to a customs union, Mr Gove said that he wanted Britain to have an 'independent trade policy' and that the best way to secure it was to 'get the Withdrawal Bill' through and persuade Labour 'of the merits' of it.

The Brexiteer also said he had learned from his failed 2016 Tory leadership campaign, in which he dramatically withdrew his support for Boris Johnson's bid before announcing his own candidature, saying that he is now part of a team.

However, he refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May, but said that his conduct since being made Environment Secretary showed that he is trustworthy.

He said that the local council results, in which Labour lost seats in areas which had voted strongly for Leave in the referendum, showed that Jeremy Corbyn should help the Government pass a deal and ditch any prospect of a second referendum.

Despite his own party's disastrous results, Mr Gove said that Labour should have done 'much better' in the elections after nine years of Conservatives' in power.

'I hope they will recognise that they need to work with the Government in order to deliver Brexit,' he said.

The father-of-two has become a leading Cabinet figure again after many accused him of 'treachery' over the way in which he brutally torpedoed Boris Johnson's chances of becoming Tory leader in 2016.

Since then, he said the pair had 'worked well' on issues such as the 'Brexit strategy' and the illegal wildlife trade.

The results left the two-party system at breaking point and the Conservatives lost 1,335 seats

Mr Gove refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May. Mrs May said he had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted that Brexit was an 'added dimension' to the results

He added that Johnson remained 'a friend' who he held in 'enormously high regard'.

The Surrey Heath MP was at his parents' home in Scotland ahead of his keynote speech to the Scottish Conservative Conference today, in which he is expected to pay tribute to Ruth Davidson's leadership.

He was born in Edinburgh but adopted by Ernest and Christine Gove when he was just four months old.

The couple, now aged 82 and 79 respectively, live in the same house in which Gove grew up in from the age of eight.

Following the disastrous results yesterday, Theresa May claimed she had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted Brexit was 'an added dimension' to that result.

'There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit,' Mrs May said.

'This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that,' Mrs May told the Welsh Conservative Conference.
An explosion at a Chicago chemical plant on Friday night has left three people dead and four others injured, officials have confirmed.

The blast erupted at the AB Specialty Silicones plant in Waukegan at 9:45pm last night, leveling the large structure.

A local resident's doorbell camera captured the dramatic moment a ball of fire erupted into the night sky, causing surrounding homes to tremble as and debris to fall to the ground below.

Another terrified local remarked that it 'felt like an earthquake' had struck the Illinois town.

Waukegan Police Commander Joe Florip described it as a catastrophic explosion and said an employee at the plant was found dead this morning shortly before authorities suspended their search due to structural instability at the site.

The search could not be continued, officials said, as heavy-duty equipment needed to be brought in to dig further beneath the rubble to find those who remained missing.

However by 11:30am, officials confirmed that the bodies of two other employees who were previously reported missing had been recovered.

Firefighters are seen battling a blaze at a chemical plant in Waukegan, Illinois, on Friday

The AB Specialty Silicones plant was reportedly leveled by the blast at around 9.45pm

Pictures taken on Saturday morning show the horrifying aftermath of the explosion

Debris can be seen scattered across the roads nearby. Local residents said houses shook for miles around

Officials say the cause of the explosion is still not yet known. The victims' identities have not yet been released.

All of those affected by the blast are employees of AB Specialty Silicone. The four injured workers were taken to local hospitals with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

The plant was open and in operation when the blast rang out.

Ablaze for several hours, all fires at the dilapidated building have now been fully extinguished.

Hazardous materials technicians and other specialist crews are also at the scene to assist local emergency responders.

Twitter users living nearby said the blast shook houses for miles around.

One wrote: 'Huge explosion across the street from me, my friend over 10 miles away said he heard it... felt like an earthquake.'

The Lake County Sheriff's office said on Twitter last night that it was aware of a very loud explosion sound and the ground shaking.

They have asked residents living nearby to avoid the area.

They wrote: 'Fire, police, and paramedic personnel are working diligently at this scene.

'Again, please stay out of the area and let the first-responders work.'

A doorbell camera captured the moment the 'catastrophic' explosion occured

As of Saturday morning, three people were still unaccounted for

Footage captured by ABC 7 Chicago on Saturday morning showed the devastation at the scene.

Florip estimated that damage to buildings in the area is likely to exceed $1 million. At least five surrounding structures are thought to have been affected.

Many neighboring properties are going to have damage, he said. I would categorize this as a massive explosion.

He added they have no concerns about air contamination or quality and insisted theres no need to seek immediate shelter.

The plant has been very responsive and was safety cautious after the incident from the previous fire, Lenzi said in a press conference. We have had no instances as far as code violations or anything like that with the plant.
A British father and son who travelled to Spain in March for a six-day road trip and haven't been heard from since 'may have come to harm' detectives have admitted.

Daniel Poole, 46, and his 22-year-old son Liam, travelled to Malaga on March 31 for the short break.

The pair, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex were last in contact their their family on April 1.

Daniel Poole, 46, left, and his son Liam, 22, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, flew to Malaga on March 31 and hired a car for a six-day road trip. They were last in contact with their family on April 1

The pair had checked into the Valle Romano Hotel, pictured, before they vanished. Police are becoming increasingly worried about their safety and fear they may have come to some harm

The Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team are now investigating the case to find the pair from Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

They are working with the Spanish authorities to investigate the circumstances of their disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Heater of Sussex Police said: 'We are working closely with the Spanish Police.

'One possibility that must be considered, as they have not contacted family or friends, is that they have come to harm.

'Their family are very concerned about them as they last heard from them on April 1, the lack of contact is out of character for the pair. The family are being supported by family liaison officers and are being kept informed.

'We know that Daniel and Liam hired a grey Peugeot 308 car when they got to Spain but this has not been returned to the car hire firm. We would like to hear from anyone who has seen them, the car or has any information about their whereabouts in Spain or any other location since March 31.'

The father and son flew to Spain on March 31 and checked into a hotel.

Detective Sergeant Alan Fenn of Sussex Police's missing persons team said last month: 'This is extremely unusual behaviour from Daniel and Liam to not be in contact with their family.

'They have been on holiday together before, but never have they lost contact with family members in Burgess Hill where they live.

'We, and their family, are eager to hear from anyone who has made contact with either Daniel or Liam since Monday April 1.'

The men were reportedly staying at the Valle Romano Hotel, after arriving in Estepona on March 31 for a six-day holiday.

Daniel's wife, Tara Poole, told The Olive Press last month: 'This is completely out of character for them. They never have their phones off and always keep in touch - we are so worried.'

Tara said she last spoke to Daniel, who runs a car repair shop in Burgess Hill, at about 6.30pm on April 1.

Sussex Police said that Daniel, 46, is white, 5ft 9in tall, of heavy build and with short grey hair.

Liam, 22, is white, 6ft, of medium build and with short light brown hair.
Magistrate Richard Pithouse (pictured) told Rex Morgan, who had refused further testing, not to call him 'bro' and to 'drop the attitude'

A man has been slammed by a magistrate after he called him 'bro' and gave him 'attitude' in court.

New Zealand man Rex Morgan appeared Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria this week after he reversed his car 30m on the opposite side of the road and up a driveway before crashing into his neighbour's fence.

Police observed the crash and the man tested positive for alcohol in a preliminary breath test, he was then asked to undergo further testing at a police station.

Morgan refused and told officers 'just charge me bro, I don't care', the Herald Sun reported.

Magistrate Richard Pithouse was not impressed with his behaviour.

'Don't call me bro,' Magistrate Pithouse said.

'Drop the attitude, take your hands out of your pockets and start showing some respect to the court,' he said.

Morgan was convicted and given a three-year cancellation on his license along with a $1,500 fine at Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria (pictured)

During proceedings, Morgan claimed he had no idea why he had been forced to attend court as he claimed to have only consumed one drink.

Morgan claimed he was the designated driver at a friend's 21st birthday party and the only drink he had consumed was in his car while in his own driveway before the crash.

The magistrate berated Morgan over his refusal to take a breath test and said that the police had every right to demand he undertake further testing.

Mr Pithouse convicted the man and cancellled his licence for three years - a full year over the required minimum for refusing a breath test.

Morgan was also fined $1,500.
Despite having some of the best wines in the world, France is turning towards craft beers, stouts and British-inspired pale ales.

And one micro-brewery launched by a French man and his British neighbour in the wine-soaked Loire valley last year UK-origin pale ales.

France has been flowing to these alcoholic beverages for some time, with the number of breweries in the country almost tripling in eight years from 387 in 2010 to 1,100 in 2018.

Their number looks set to rise too as demand went up by up to 4.2 per cent alone last year.

The number of French breweries has tripled in eight years to 1,100 in 2018 (stock image)

A French man and his British neighbour have started a brewery together making UK-inspired India pale ale (stock image)

Dominique Terray, 63, who spent 40 years advising Loire vineyards, teamed up with his British friend Simon Armstrong, 42, to produce the alcoholic beverages, reports The Times.

The pair were neighbours in Chinon, Loire valley, and used to go on beer tasting holidays to Britain together.

Mr Armstrong moved back to Somerset as a stonemason, but then returned to Chinon last year where he began brewing in the kitchen.

Describing the choice to brew pale ales, Mr Terray said it was because of their fruity scent with a hint of honey.

'When you swill it around the glass it exudes a scent that is fresh, fruity and floral, with a hint of malt and honey. Once in the mouth, the taste is full and rounded and capped by a well-controlled bitterness.'

They sell an India pale ale and an extra pale ale, both priced at 2.90 (2.50) for a 33cl bottle, and a black India pale ale for 3.30 (2.81).

France has the third highest number of breweries in Europe, behind Britain with 2,250, and Germany with 1,408, according to organisation the Brewers of Europe.

The country has the second highest area of land devoted to wineries at more than 800,000 hectares according to Eurostat, while Spain has the most land for making wine at 941,000 hectares.
A British music teacher who plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines has been jailed.

James Alexander, 42, was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017.

British music teacher James Alexander, 42, plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines. He was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Illigan City, in Northern Mindanao

Forensic analysis of his electronic devices showed Alexander, of Beeston, Leeds, sent at least 15 money transfers to abuse facilitators between August 2017 and June 2018.

It also showed that Alexander tried to arrange with abuse facilitators over Skype and WhatsApp to travel to the Philippines to abuse little girls himself.

Alexander admitted one count of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence; three counts of attempting to cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

He was prosecuted under section 72 of the Sex Offences Act 2003, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed abroad.

Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard Alexander had a discussion with one female facilitator about a 13-year-old girl, in which he said: 'If I meet anyone else I would like younger'.

He then asked the facilitator for pictures of her 12-year-old daughter.

It is believed indecent images of the 12-year-old were sent to him, as his recovered chat history shows he said: 'nice baby * now take the other pictures I asked.'

On 1 February 2018 Alexander and the woman discussed plans for him to meet the girls in a hotel and he asked: 'Are you going to bring them both with you and stay also'.

He added: 'You'll show them what to do.'

The woman told Alexander she had other daughters aged nine, six and four.

Alexander, who taught in Leeds and Malaysia before moving to Thailand, asked for sick images of the girls aged nine and six posing in a certain way, and asked what the six-year-old would do with him.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017. Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (Photo supplied by the National Crime Agency)

He also explained how he would like to sexually abuse the four-year-old.

Alexander told another Filipino mother - who says she will make her daughters do anything for money - that he wants to have sex with her seven and 11-year-old girls. He directed them to pose for photographs.

NCA officers also discovered other WhatsApp messages where Alexander asked a 10-year-old to send him images of her posing, and asked if he could meet her.

There were no records of Alexander ever travelling to the Philippines.

In-country investigations into the facilitators continue, but as a result of NCA intelligence, one suspect was arrested and several children safeguarded.

Alexander taught at Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok, Thailand, which dismissed him upon notification of the investigation. Safeguarding checks were made at the school and there was no evidence of Alexander offending there.

Alexander's phone contained child abuse images.

He was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court. He was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Speaking after the hearing, Hazel Stewart, NCA senior investigating officer, said: 'Alexander clearly tried to manipulate and exploit the poverty of the vulnerable in order to gratify his sick sexual desires.

Alexander was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order at Leeds Crown Court which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life

'He believed he could abuse Filipino children safely from his home and wanted to visit the Philippines to carry out the sexual abuse himself.

'The NCA has strong partnerships with law enforcement in the Philippines. We work together to combat this kind of offending.

'We and UK policing will never give up our pursuit of offenders who commit these horrendous crimes.'
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A Cambridge postgraduate student has reportedly been arrested for forcing himself upon a female student in his college dormitory.

The 27-year-old suspected rapist is thought to come from a 'wealthy overseas family' according to a source who spoke to the Sun.

He allegedly sexually attacked a 20-year-old undergraduate but is believed to deny these claims.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year (stock pic)

Instead, he is reportedly insisting it was consensual sex and has been bailed until May 22.

A source said that the alleged rape has caused 'considerable shock'.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year.
Three people - including a minor - have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday.

His daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury.

Three people were arrested following the attack and will front court in Colon, a city in Panama, on Sunday, the NZ Herald reported.

A minor and two other people have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack (pictured, Alan Culverwell with partner Derryn)

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea-bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday (pictured, Derryn, Briar, Flynn and Alan)

Mr Culverwell's daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury (pictured, Alan Culverwell)

Mr Culverwell is understood to have been sleeping below deck with his family when he heard a noise on the yacht's roof.

When he went up to check on the cause of the noise, he was fatally shot.

His wife, and two children, managed to stay alive after Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

Despite suffering knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand.

'He kept Derryn on the phone and as calm as he could,' Mr Culverwell's sister Derryn Hughes said.

'The attackers had left the boat at that stage, but Derryn was very scared but trying to keep it together for the kids.

The friend notified authorities in Panama and New Zealand Police, before the family was finally rescued.

A tracker was also installed on the boat, which helped rescuers locate the vessel.

Ms Culverwell received stitches for her injury and left hospital with her two children on Saturday.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Mr Culverwell's stepson and a close friend are understood to be leaving New Zealand to be by the family's side.

Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela has since appeared on television and publicly apologised to the Culverwell family.

During the broadcast, Mr Varela promised that the attackers would pay for their crimes.

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island.

The father used the money to purchase the 65ft yacht from a seller in Florida, US.

'It was a beautiful big boat that had been owned by someone with way too much money and [Culverwell] just timed it perfectly, he bought it in Florida for way less than had been spent on it,' Paua Industry Council chief executive Jeremy Cooper said.

The family were sailing the newly-bought boat back from the place of purchase, making numerous stops along the way.

They made a stop at the Panamanian island of Bocas del Toro and were to make their way back to New Zealand before they were intercepted.

Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.

The family are in the process of also arranging Mr Culverwell's body to be transported back to New Zealand.
Andrew Marks (pictured) who is running as a United Australia Party candidate is the youngest member in the federal election

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook.

Andrew Marks is representing the United Australia Party at this year's federal election, and is the youngest candidate running for a seat.

The 18-year-old has been criticised after he posted a meme referencing Hitler on Facebook in 2016.

Mr Marks, who is studying accounting and communications at university, shared an image of a man giving a Nazi salute.

He also shared a meme of a character using a time machine to applaud Hitler.

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook

Election candidate Andrew Marks has been slammed for sharing memes about Adolf Hitler on Facebook in 2016 (pictured is an image shared by Mr Marks)

His father, Robert Marks, who helped set up the UAP and is also running as a candidate, said his grandfathers fought against the Nazis and the family aren't anti-Semitic.

'We are absolutely anti-Nazi. My son was 15 when he posted those memes. He is now 18,' Mr Marks told The Sunday Telegraph.

'The memes are from a WWII Facebook history page that my son signed up to. It may be substandard to us but this is how the kids communicate these days,' he said.

The co-chair executive officer at the executive council of the Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said these memes harm and are damaging to the Jewish community.

Mr Marks had also previously shared an image referencing school shootings.

The post which pictured chips, a bag of McDonalds and a rifle, said: 'Everyone wishes that they were your friend when you bring these to school!'

His father Robert Marks (pictured) said they are anti-Nazi and his son was 15 when he shared the posts on Facebook

A number of UAP candidates have also been criticised for inflammatory social media posts.

North Sydney's Peter Vagg shared a post about stopping Muslim extremists and African gangs from immigrating to Australia.

Mr Vagg also shared images calling for a ban on the burqa and a ban on school excursions to mosques.

Also, the candidate for Greenway, Scott Feeney, posted an image of comedian Bill Cosby following his sentencing for sexual assault.

He captioned the photo: 'Holy crap, Morgan Freeman just got sent to prison.'

Mr Feeney said the post referred to a joke officers made while he was in the navy and he is not a racist.
A snake catcher has found a huge python that had slithered under the bed of an unsuspecting woman.

The photo of the two-metre long carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was posted online by snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie, who found the intruder in a woman's bedroom on Friday.

A neighbour had spotted a snake in the area but after the woman's bedside lamp blew out she wasn't able to spot it easily, Mr Mckenzie said on Facebook.

The photo of the two-metre carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was uploaded to Facebook

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?' snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie asked

'I relocated this Carpet Python out of the ladies' room and back in to the bush,' Mr Mckenzie said.

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?'

He said that while the snake is not venomous, they can still be dangerous if they grow bigger, noting that he has caught ones as big as 3.3m long.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Mr Mckenzie said.

The snake catcher said the it was able to get inside the house due to an all too common mistake.

'The screen door to the house was left open so the dogs could come in and out, unfortunately that means other wildlife can come in and out too!' Mr Mckenzie said.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Stuart Mckenzie said (pictured)

The Carpet Phython is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland

'You can leave your screen doors open if you are there, but if you are leaving the house you have got to shut everything up, especially at night because that is when they get in.'

He ended the post by asking people how they would react to seeing such a large snake in their house.

The carpet python is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland.

Some commenters were braver than others but many people said they would happily run away from their houses or 'burn the house down'.
A mother of a ten-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome claims her daughter was left in tears after she was refused entry into a trampoline park.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana, pictured, was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out trampolining park, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment

She said she was told by Flip Out staff that neither would be a problem and had taken her daughters to the park in the past, the Daily Record reported.

However, when the family arrived, Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment.

Ms Henry tried to speak to staff about her daughter's condition, but said they were 'not in the slightest bit interested'.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer

The mother-of-two said that the family were served by a male member of staff who 'was gone for approximately five minutes' after seeing her daughters.

She said they were then asked to go to the manager's office and was told that Dana's Down's Syndrome meant that she could not take part.

'The manager said: "Sorry we notice your daughter has Down's syndrome and the policy that has come in means she won't be able to take part,"' she said.

'As I stood there I felt like my heart was ripped out with my daughter at my feet and she started sobbing,' she added.

People with Down's Syndrome who want to participate in gymnastics require a medical screening and approval under requirements issued by the British Gymnastics Association.

Ms Henry said she then tried to clarify her daughter's condition and explained that she was 'registered under the British gymnasium and is more than able'.

But she said the manager refused to let Dana get on the trampolines because 'his mind was made up'.

The family were then taken to reception and given a refund.

'I was totally heartbroken,' she added and claimed that, rather than being taken to one side to be told away from her daughter, Dana 'heard everything'.

She said that Flip Out staff have since failed to resolve the the situation and said she had to call the firm four times before they responded.

However, when the family arrived at Flip Out (pictured), Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment

A Flip Out spokesman apologised for the 'misunderstanding' and stressed that their policy 'follows the advice given from the Down-syndrome.org website and the British Gymnastics Association which strongly recommends screening before any trampolining activities for people with Down-Syndrome.

'We then require a GP's approval letter confirming the participant is safe to take part in trampolining activities,' they added.

The firm invited the family to return as a 'treat' and said they had 'put on additional training' to 'further increase awareness.'

MailOnline has approached Flip Out directly for comment.
Lancashire police confirmed a body found in the woods near Parbold railway station was missing teenager Alex Davies, pictured

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of a Home Bargains worker who was found dead in the woods.

Victim Alex Davies, 18, had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire on Monday when he got a taxi to Parbold railway station.

A murder probe was launched after his body was discovered off Parbold Hill in West Lancashire on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives were initially unsure if the body was a man or woman.

Mr Davies had recently been promoted to the job of lead sales assistant at Home Bargains in Skelmersdale, and was looking forward to the future, friends said.

A post mortem examination has been carried out and the cause of death has been established but for operational reasons we cannot disclose this at this time.

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said yesterday: 'We recognise the impact this investigation has had in the Parbold area and would like to thank the community for its support.

'We can confirm officers investigating Alex's death have tonight arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He is currently in custody.

'This is a truly shocking murder of a young man and my thoughts are with his family and friends at this desperately sad time.

'Alex was a much loved son and brother and his family are obviously distraught by what has happened.

Police cordoned off an area of woodland where the missing teenager's body was found

'I have a dedicated team of officers and staff working on this enquiry.

'We are keeping an open mind for the reason Alex was in the Parbold area. I would appeal to anyone with information which could assist to come forward.

'We are carrying out CCTV and house to house enquiries in the area to try and piece together Alex's movements but I need the public's help as someone out there could hold the key to solving this horrendous crime.

'Furthermore, if you have seen anyone acting suspiciously or any unusual behaviour in the area in recent days, please come forward.

'You may think you are doing the right thing protecting them but if anyone does have suspicions about an individual I would ask them to search their conscience and do the right thing and contact police.'

Mr Davies had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire and his body was found off Parbold Hill two days later

On Thursday before his body was discovered, his boss Gerard Boylan said: 'This [going missing] is not something that he does.

'It's a complete mystery. Alex had his whole future ahead of him, and he loves his job and had recently got himself a promotion.

'He comes from Skelmersdale and lives with his mum.

'He's an energetic, kind and helpful lad, who loved working with customers.

'He's not a shy bloke, and is the type of person who would talk to anyone.

'He's a brilliant lad.'

Mr Davies had worked for Home Bargains for the last two years. He had not used his mobile phone since Monday afternoon.

Lancashire Police launched a missing person enquiry, which was upgraded to 'high-risk' on Thursday with the search reaching into its fourth day.

Police cordoned off two areas of field - one leading up towards Wrightington and a further field towards High Moore Lane.

A shocked passer-by said: 'Nothing ever happens here, I'm shocked to see so many police cars here.'
Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn.

They say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity in jeopardy unless immediate steps are taken to reverse climate destruction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests (Amazon pictured) and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction

Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn (Young eco-activists chain themselves to the Houses of Parliament yesterday)

It is the first dossier of its kind since 2005 and is due to be released in Paris on Monday, but a preliminary copy has been leaked to the Guardian.

Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told the paper: 'There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

'We are in trouble if we don't act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.'

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population (Pictured: deforestation on Indonesia's Borneo Island)

The experts say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity (pictured: Hong Kong Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday)

Hundreds students took part in the School Strike for Climate yesterday as the global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - was leaked

The global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - will construct several scenarios for the future based on likely decisions taken by governments and policymakers over the coming years.

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population.

The report comes after scores of eco-activists rallied in London to raise awareness of climate change and its global impact.

Extinction Rebellion protesters paralysed parts of the capital for ten days as they blocked roads and caused transport chaos.

And earlier this week Members of Parliament approved a Labour motion calling on the government to declare a 'climate emergency'.
A police dispatcher has sued the state of Queensland for causing her post-traumatic stress disorder after she was forced to listen to the murder of a young mother in a chilling triple-0 phone call.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie boyfriend Lionel Patea on a Gold Coast road on September 8, 2015.

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call.

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond.

The 50-year-old has blamed Queensland police for the lack of support following the call, which led to her PTSD leaving her unable to work for 15 months, and has sued the state for $615,572.

'It's with me every day. I can replay every moment,' Ms Jansen told The Sunday Mail.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie ex-boyfriend Lionel Patea

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call. Pictured: Patea, left, and Ms Brown

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond. Pictured: Patea and his child

Ms Brown made the emergency call as she was chased by her tattooed partner who was driving a black Jeep on the morning of September 8.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries.

A neighbour was initially helping Patea smash the windscreen of Ms Brown's car, thinking he was trying help the woman get out.

Ms Brown was heard yelling out for her young daughter Aria by a witness and brave mother- of-four Leesa Kennedy, who tried to help stop Patea from murdering her.

Ms Kennedy, who said she had been haunted by vicious dreams since the murder, said the distressing event felt like 'it went for hours but it was really just 15 minutes'.

Ms Jansen remembered trying to find out where Ms Brown was and was told Patea was threatening her with a knife.

The dispatcher had asked not to deal with emergency calls but was only taken off the job for two days.

TARA BROWN'S CHILLING EMERGENCY CALL In the call, which left senior police officers traumatised, Ms Brown was heard repeatedly asking Patea to stop the attack that ended in her death a day later in hospital. Ms Brown phoned emergency services after she left the Nerang childcare centre, on Queensland's Gold Coast, where she had dropped off her daughter about 8.45am. Just 40 seconds later, the 24-year-old mother was heard begging for Patea to go away and then a huge crashing noise rings out. The noise was the moment Patea used his car to deliberately run Ms Brown's off the road. Advertisement

'The next minute he'd just run her off the road. I could her screaming. I just prayed she would talk to me, but she couldn't,' she said.

'It was 40 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to me.'

She was able to send emergency services to where the young mother was, despite the fact she was no longer responding.

Ms Jansen was unable to attend work after she was haunted by numerous news reports about Ms Brown's murder, including CCTV footage and details about the pre-trial hearing.

Apart from the lack of support, she also claims no one had done a welfare check on her.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyer Beth Rolton backed Ms Jansen's claim of being given no support for dealing with one of the most distressing phone calls.

'I never knew of a murder that has taken place while a person was on the phone, Ms Janson, who now works with Queensland Police as an acting executive secretary, said.

She said her new role has put her in a lower salary in comparison to her previous role.

Ms Jansen, who filed her personal injury damages to the District Court, is waiting for the response of the State Government.

Ms Brown and Patea shared a daughter, Aria, born in 2012.

Former Bandido sergeant-at-arms Patea was jailed for life on February 27, 2017 after pleading guilty to the murder of Ms Brown at the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Tara Brown's mother Natalie Hinton read out a victim impact statement to the court about the 'monster' who claimed her daughter's life.

'Tara was empathetic, warm and trusting. She was a lover of life from a very young age,' Ms Hinton said.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home at about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries

'The monster was now in control, she feared him. He took full advantage of her vulnerability. I was oblivious to the extent of his sickening actions.

'My whole world caved in around me as this misogynistic narcissist murdered my baby girl.'

Ms Brown had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at day care when Patea chased down her hatchback with a four-wheel-drive.

She had been hiding from him at a safe house and friends' homes since taking out a domestic violence order against him just days earlier.

Witnesses saw the pair reaching speeds of more than 100km/h and Patea bashing on Ms Brown's driver's side window with both fists when she had to stop at red lights.

Patea (left) ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's (right) car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle

Patea ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle.

He used the metal slab weighing 7.8kg taken from the side of the road to repeatedly bash her head, causing 'non-survivable' brain injuries.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Ms Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

It wasn't until they heard her crying out that they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he fought them off.

Emergency operators listened helplessly as the mother cried for help - as more than a dozen 'thumping' sounds were recorded over the phone.
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was subjected to homophobic heckling during an event in Texas on Friday night  but one of his Democratic challengers was quick to come to his aid.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by anti-LGBT+ remarks on four separate occasions.

Marriage is between a man and a woman, shouted one protester. Repent, added a second.

CNNs DJ Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by four protesters

The protesters' cries were in reference to biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were 'reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy'

Others shouted marriage is between a man and a woman.' Another protester repeatedly shouted repent, during Buttigieg's speech

After the fourth heckler - all of whom were part of a group for truth and justice who oppose same sex marriage and abortion - called out, Buttigieg reminded his audience of why he decided to enroll in the military and serve in the Middle East.

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance.

He also deadpanned that it was a lively room, adding later that he was just thinking of that scripture that says bless and do not curse.

Each of the protesters' cries were in reference to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Bible claims were reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy.

It's believed their group is led by Randal Terry, who founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue in the 1980s.

The good news is the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you, Buttigieg responded in stride as the protesters were ushered away. Remember the beauty of our democracy. Everyone here gets the exact same voice and vote. Feels like the numbers are on our side, he added.

CNNs JD Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door

Demonstrators also positioned them outside of the Hilton Anatole, in Dallas, ahead of Buttigieg's arrival

Buttigieg, the first gay presidential candidate in history, married his partner Chasten Glezman in 2018

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, came out as gay just four years ago when he was 33.

He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in US History  but his trailblazing hasnt come without adversity.

As a result of his sexual orientation, Buttigieg has been heckled a number of times already early in the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in April.

But this time, Buttigieg didnt have to face the jeers alone.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred,' O'Rourke wrote. 'Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

ORourke also spoke in Texas on Friday night, where he hosted a town hall rally in downtown Fort Worth Texas, thirty minutes west from Buttigiegs event in Dallas.

This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through, O'Rourke told the assembled audience.

Long a Republican stronghold, Texas has seen an influx of Democratic presidential candidates flock to the state early in the trail for the 2020 bid.

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance

Last week, Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be hosting an event there on Saturday.

Before launching his campaign last month, little was known of 37-year-old Buttigieg outside of Indiana.

However he is now emerging as a serious contender, placing third in the late April polls at a ranking of 5%.

Only former president Joe Biden (17%) and Bernie Sanders (11%) are besting him.
The charity allowed Kamran Hussain (pictured) to give sermons in front of an ISIS flag and tell three-year-old children that martyrdom is better than school over a period of four months

A charity which ran a British mosque has been dissolved after it allowed a radical Imam to tell three-year-old children martyrdom is better than school and give sermons in front of an Islamic state flag.

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was closed for 'facilitating terrorism' by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from running a charity in future.

It comes after radical Imam Kamran Hussian was allowed to speak at its mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, over a period of four months in 2016.

Hussain was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2017 after being convicted of six charges of encouraging terrorism and two of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic state.

An inquiry, opened by the commission last year, said the trustees 'failed to properly manage, administer and protect the trust and its resources, resulting in it being used to facilitate terrorism offences'.

It was also found the trust did not have a viable future leading to its dissolution with 132,000 funds split between five charities in Stoke-on-Trent which have similar objectives.

The Charity Commission's director of investigations, Michelle Russell, said what happened was 'unacceptable' and a 'clear failing on the part of the charity's trustees as its custodians'.

'Our actions will reassure the public that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated.

Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust, based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was closed by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from setting up a charity in future

'While instances of abuse of charities for terrorism are rare, such links undermine public trust and confidence in charities, and the vital work that charities do. It is right that those responsible have been held to account for their actions.'

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was set up in 2003 with the aim of 'educating all people, particularly children and young people, in the Muslim religion and Urdu language and the advancement of the Muslim religion through collective prayer meetings and otherwise'.

As part of the investigation, the Charity Commission carried out an unannounced visit and scrutinised material seized by the police including bank statements.

The report reads: 'The inquiry found that the charity's premises had been misused, by the Imam, to encourage terrorism and encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic State.

'The fact that the sermons delivered by the Imam which resulted in his conviction were delivered over a number of months compounds the failure on the part of the charity's trustees to ensure that the charity and its property were not used for criminal purposes.

An entrance to the charity's mosque, pictured off the side of a street in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

'Trustee A (Fazal Ellahi) advised that he was not aware of what the Imam had said and that there had been no complaints made about him by those in attendance at the mosque.

'It is unclear whether the trustees were present for some or all of the Imam's sermons between June and September 2016 which resulted in his conviction; irrespective of whether or not either or both of the trustees were present, the inquiry found that the trustees failed to manage the charity's resources appropriately and that their failure to do so facilitated their use for terrorist purposes.'

Hussain, 40, of Knightsbridge Way, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed at the Old Bailey in September 2017 after anti-terror police planted an undercover officer in the Tunstall mosque.

The officer recorded 17 sermons and six were found to have 'crossed the line' by encouraging terrorism and two encouraged support for Islamic State.

The court heard Hussain would often deliver speeches in front an Islamic State flag and laud the values of terrorist groups.

In one he told the congregation: 'Inshallah...we will see the black flag rise over Big Ben and Downing Street.'

The preacher supported the virtues of killing, martyrdom and violent jihad and endorsed the efforts of those who had undertaken such acts.

And he told worshippers the UK government funded far-right groups to attack Muslims.

Hussain said: 'The kuffar (unbeliever) will attack you and kill you.

'Stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to stand in the face of the elements of Shaytan (Satan), be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt.'

It is not yet clear what the charity's dissolution means for the mosque, which had around 40 worshippers.
The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden (left), who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders (right)

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll of Democrat voters was conducted from April 30 to May 1

The poll represented a surge in support for Biden following his announcement. The previous Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted in March, prior to Biden entering the race, showed him at 35 per cent and Sanders at 17 per cent.

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop Saturday in Columbia, the capital, followed by a fundraiser.

Biden, seen campaigning in Iowa this week, opened with an appeal to white, working-class voters. Now he is jetting to South Carolina to test his message with crucial black voters

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now Biden now is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.

Outside those early-voting states, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is in Houston, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio visits Michigan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee is in California.

Maverick businessman Andrew Yang, who proposes instituting a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for every U.S. citizen, is holding a campaign event in Detroit.
A 23-year-old man with a took his own life while under investigation for rape which his family claim is false.

Mark Hunton, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation.

Mark Hunton, 23, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him

Devon Live reported that the pressure of the investigation contributed to Mr Hunton's mental health issues, his father Nick said.

He added that he does not know how he will return to normality after the tragedy.

The family said: 'Despite our best efforts to look after him, Mark's mental health deteriorated and collapsed under the strain.

'When Mark took his own life he effectively took ours with him.'

The family have now turned to crowd funding in the hope of raising 25,000 to secure legal representation at the upcoming inquest into Mr Hunton's death.

In a tribute written on the day of his cremation, Nick Hunton wrote of his grief after having his son cremated 'in the presence of his mother and two brothers'.

'No mourners, no service, no friends and family to grieve only our boys who we truly trusted. No one to ask why, no awkward questions or explanations to provide,' he added.

'Asking each of my family in repeated turns 'Are you OK' - perhaps the most stupid words I've ever spoken - in sure and certain knowledge that they were not, but hoping that my two surviving sons would one day return to some level of normality. But how are we to return, Judy and I.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation

'They said that there was nothing worse than to out live your child. No one has yet, I don't think, tried to categorise the severity of that tragedy.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'We are aware and continue to look into concerns raised by the family in relation to Marks' death.

'At this point, due to active and ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

For confidential support in the UK: call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
A man struggling with a severe lung condition and given just two years to live by doctors has been deemed fit to work and has had his benefits slashed.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions after attending a mandatory work capability assessment.

Mr Nicholson, from Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: 'I failed even though my condition has worsened. But because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work.'

The widower, who lost his wife to cancer when she was 36, previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month directly into his bank account.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions. He said: 'Because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work'

But after being put on Universal Credit, his money has been halved to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat.'

The payment he receives just covers his expenses including 48 phone bill, 60 per month for electric, and 10.37 for gas, and around 15 per week for food.

'I'm not expecting to go on holiday or buy a car. I'm just expecting to be able to live. Sometimes I only have one meal a day, and there are days where I go with no food.

'This has a knock on affect and means that I can't take all of my medications because you have to take food with them. I've lost half a stone.

'A downside of my illness is that my immune system is weak and it will only weaken.

He underwent a mandatory reconsideration which was rejected and is now awaiting a tribunal.

'I should be focusing on life instead of this. I have spoken to people about work, but I don't know what I could do to be honest. I am stage three and would have more sick days than working days,' he said.

Mr Nicholson applied for two more benefits - the illness and disability enhancements on Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment - and has called the process humiliating.

Mr Nicholson previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month but has had his money slashed to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat'

'I know I am going to die young. I was young when I got diagnosed, now I'm 47, and have been told I could live until I'm 50.

'Someone who does not understand this condition made this decision, with someone with even less understanding making a final decision.'

Mr Nicholson said the mandatory reconsideration process needs overhauling and the tribunal service needs to clear its back log, starting fresh.

'I'm wanting to share this not just for me, but for the thousands of other people who are also affected. It is atrocious and is like going back to the Second World War. It is like a slow genocide.'

A DWP spokesman said: 'Decisions for ESA are made by medical professionals following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including evidence from their GP or medical specialist.

'There is a free and independent appeals process where claimants can provide any further documentation.

'Mr Nicholson continues to receive benefits and support during his appeal and is not required to seek work.'
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the National Security Council leak as a 'shabby and discredited witch hunt' and called for a 'proper, full and impartial' investigation into it.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked after he was accused by PM Theresa May of leaking details from the top secret meeting wants a full investigation into the scandal.

His comments follow the decision by Britain's top anti-terror officer Neil Basu to recommend no further police action into the Huawei leak. Assistant Commissioner Basu said the contents of the leak did not warrant further action as they 'did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'.

Commissioner Basu is the head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations and is the senior officer in charge of counter terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations said there was no evidence to suggest the Huawei leak which led to Gavin Williamson's sacking breached the Official Secrets Act

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured on his last official duty on board a nuclear submarine was sacked after Theresa May accused him of leaking details from a top-secret National Sercurity Council briefing to a newspaper

Mr Williamson, pictured yesterday on his Instagram feed, strongly denied allegations that he was responsible for the NSC leak

In a statement, Commissioner Basu said: 'I have spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material that was discussed in the National Security Council. This material was used to inform a discussion, the outcome of which was subsequently disclosed to the media. I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

'I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice. I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

'Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

'At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

'No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage Misconduct in a Public Office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.'

The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

The SO15 officers have special arrangements with government to examine information to determine whether a criminal prosecution was necessary.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured, insisted sacking Mr Williamson was the correct decision

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in 'non-core' elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was 'compelling evidence' he was behind the leak - something he denies.

Downing Street insisted the leak probe into the NSC affair was carried out 'fairly', however, friends of Mr Williamson dismissed it as 'slipshod' and 'rushed'.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The investigation was conducted fairly by officials operating impartially.'

The chairwoman of Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Dame Margaret Beckett, wrote to Sir Mark Sedwill  who is also Prime Minister Theresa May's National Security Adviser  seeking information on the inquiry.

'The committee notes your ongoing inquiry into the leak of the National Security Council's decision on the use of Huawei in the UK's 5G telecommunications network,' wrote Dame Margaret.

'As this directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the NSC, the Committee would like to be apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry once it is complete.'

Following the sacking, PM Theresa May insisted it was the correct course of action.

She told ITV News: 'I did take a difficult decision.

'This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: 'I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.'

How Huawei leak sunk Gavin Williamson's ministerial career Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson's sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UK's National Security Council. Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry: Gavin Williamson, pictured, was sacked as Defence Secretary after a leak from the National Security Council to the media. Mr Williamson, pictured, strongly denies the allegations April 23 - A meeting of the UK's National Security Council (NSC), the country's top national security body, is held. April 24 - The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting. Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council. April 25 - Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is 'deeply worrying'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is 'completely unacceptable' for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should 'absolutely be looked at'. Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible. In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had 'divulged information from the National Security Council'. April 26 - An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions. Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak. Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved. Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved. April 27 - It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill. Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting. China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure. April 28 - Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone. He says the UK should exercise 'a degree of caution' about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei. April 29 - The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers. May 1 - Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information. Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having 'lost confidence in his ability to serve'. May 2 - Gavin Williamson says he would be 'absolutely exonerated' if there was a police investigation into the leak. May 4 - The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was 'satisfied' that the details disclosed to the media did not 'contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'. Advertisement
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Archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC.

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday.

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah.

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre.

Khafre, also known as Khefren or Chephren to the Ancient Greeks, built the second of the three famous Pyramids of Giza as well as the Sphinx.

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, statues of jackals, as well as hieroglyphs.

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today: 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty.'

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday

An excavation worker carefully uses a tool inside a burial shaft at the Giza pyramid plateau following the recent discovery of the tombs

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah

This excavation worker carefully brushes dust from the face of the sarcophagus

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre

Another member of the excavation team carefully brushes away sand and debris from the sarcophagus

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, as well as statues of what appear to be jackals

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today : 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty'
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Palestinian militants fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

On Saturday video footage of a family screaming in fear during rocket attacks was posted on social media.

A picture taken in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2019 shows an explosion following an airstrike by Israel

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators (pictured: A target explodes during airstrikes in Gaza City, May 4)

An explosion is pictured among buildings during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 4, 2019

Palestinians gather on the beach in Gaza City as smoke and fire billow following airstrikes by Israel in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites (pictured: Gaza City)

Missiles are fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells,

Gaza's militant strongholds came under fire (fireball pictured) from Israeli troops after they launched rockets into southern Israel

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 13 miles from the Gaza border, police said (pictured: Gaza City)

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire.

In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

Pictured: Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza city Israeli airstrike

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them (pictured: An explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike)

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday (pictured: Fire rises in Gaza on May 4)

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said 'the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.'

'We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks,' she said in a statement.

Smoke rises after Israeli army carried out airstrike in Rafah, Gaza on May 4, 2019

Israeli bomb squad inspect the remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Yad Mordechai

A picture taken from the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara shows an explosion caused by an Israeli air strike across the border in the Gaza Strip

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a 'high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel' that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to 'de-escalate' and restore recent understandings.

A missile fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells races towards Gaza

Damage to a house is seen after a rocket fired from Gaza Strip hit in the southern Israeli city Kiryat Gat, May 4

A statement from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, allied to Hamas, claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary (pictured, rocket fired from Gaza towards Israel)

'Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all,' he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying 'firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.'

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas, 70, from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied.

People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court.

But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Legal scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been the 'senior associate justice' on the Supreme Court since Anthony Kennedy retired in 2018

Many Americans know Thomas from his 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill (center)

He is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September.

Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas became the high court's longest-serving justice, the 'senior associate justice,' when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer.

Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White on October 18, 1991. Scholars say Thomas is an 'originalist' who believes in interpreting the Constitution as it's written, the way its authors intended

Thomas is also a staunch conservative who recently was joined on the court by President Trump's right-leaning nominees Neil Gorsuch (top left) and Brett Kavanaugh (top right)

But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump. As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas 'highly underrated.' Trump said Thomas has 'been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.'

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump.

Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the current President and First Lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as 'terrifying to many progressives.'

(Front row, left to right) US Supreme Court Justices Elena Kegan, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservative justices are now firmly in control of the court, which is expected to rule on issues like abortion, gun control and LGBT rights in the near future

Thomas and his wife, Virginia (left), herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas.

Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as un-influential, but Rossum disagrees.

'He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake,' Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, 'Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.'

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

Thomas' far-right rulings have earned him praise from President Donald Trump. More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump

Thomas is now on a court with at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, according to political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist, believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant.

He feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.'

He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both 'notoriously incorrect.'

Thomas recently called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law'

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as 'abdicating our judicial duty.' Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained: 'My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.'

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news.

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

'Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale, where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice.

But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: 'It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning.'
A 97-year-old New Jersey man's indomitable work ethic is earning him praise and admiration from peers in his town.

Second World War veteran Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto of Edison, New Jersey, has been working a regular job virtually his entire life and refuses to stop doing so now, even though he's nearing 100 years old.

Ficeto currently bags groceries at the Stop & Shop grocery store in his community, doing four-hour shifts two days a week.

He technically retired from his job as a cosmetics company warehouse supervisor back in the 1980s, but told CBS News he's been doing odd jobs ever since because he has always loved putting in a hard day's work.

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Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto, 97, of Edison, New Jersey, bags groceries at his local Stop & Shop grocery store four hours a day, two times per week

Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner during WWII. He flew a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy

The store's manager says he tries to make Ficeto take required breaks, but the 97-year-old yells at him, saying 'Don't tell me how to work'

'Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy,' store manager Sal Marconi told ABC 7 NY.

Stop & Shop assistant manager Mike Moss said he's tried to make 'Bennie' take his mandatory 15-minute break during shifts, but Ficeto just yells at his boss, saying 'I don't want to stop. Don't tell me how to work. See the light on? That's where I'm going.'

'I don't take no breaks,' Ficeto told CBS. 'Why would I take a break when I only get to work four hours?'

Ficeto's attitude about work may have a lot to do with his time serving in the US Army Air Force during WWII.

In his youth, Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner, flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy.

Bartholomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto (center) and members of his 310th Bombardment Group 428th squadron during WWII. Ficeto, a gunner who flew missions on a B-25 Mitchell, was a barber and he shaved his soldiers head with the word, 'victory.'

Ficeto supposedly retired from his job as a warehouse supervisor for a cosmetics company in the 1980s, but he's been doing odd jobs ever since

Ficeto told reporters he wants to work until he drops dead

'I was scared every time I had to get into the plane. But the Lord took me back,' Ficeto said. 'The day I didn't fly, they shot my plane down. And I don't know where they went down.'

The loss of his brothers in arms seems to have stuck with Bennie throughout his life. He told reporters he isn't that old and still has all his wits about him, so doesn't plan to stop using them and will work until he drops dead, according to ABC 7.

'I get a feeling that I did something good. You can't just stand around, like an idiot. You have to have a reason to keep alive,' Ficeto said.
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A funeral service has been held for the three children of the Asos billionaire who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Fashion tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen was seen comforting his wife Anne and daughter Astrid as the flower-covered coffins of his three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes emerged from their hearses at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark.

Astrid was seen walking with her parents towards one of the three hearses to cut a bouquet of balloons from a coffin.

Today's service was attended by members of the Danish Royal Family and the country's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Crown Princess Mary could be seen holding her daughter Princess Isabella as she was flanked by her son Prince Vincent and daughter Princess Josephine.

At a memorial service last week Mr Povlsen described the family's loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' but thanked family, friends and neighbours in the Danish town of Brande for their love and support and promised to come through the tragedy 'together'.

He was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant.

His son Alfred and two daughters Alma and Agnes were killed in the blast, while his third daughter Astrid survived. It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt.

Flowers are pictured covering the coffins of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes as they arrive at Aarhus Catherdral in Denmark today. He is pictured with his daughter Astrid, who survived and his wife Anne

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid as she prepares to cut a bouquet of balloons from one of the coffins

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne stand before the three flower-adorned coffins of their children as their surviving daughter Astrid holds a bouquet of balloons outside Aarhus Cathedral

Anders Holch Povlsen, his wife Anne and their surviving daughter Astrid walk towards the three hearses of their murdered children Alfred, Alma and Agnes

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne watch as their surviving daughter Astrid releases the bouquet of balloons into the air outside the cathedral

The bouquet of balloons floats into the sky as a choir sings outside the cathedral in Aarhus at the funeral service

The coffins are carried out of Aarhus Cathedral by family and friends of the children after the funeral on Saturday

The coffins adorned with flowers and framed pictures of the children were carried out by family and friends of the victims

The girls' coffins were covered with pink and purple balloons along with their smiling faces in picture frames

Alfred's coffin with a bouquet of balloons attached and blue flowers was the first to be carried from the cathedral followed by those of his sisters

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid outside Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark on Saturday

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne walk across the cobbles outside the church with their surviving daughter Astrid

Anders Holch Povlsen and his Anne and daughter Astrid stand outside the Aarhus cathedral (far right) as the bishop looks on at their coffins

One of the children's white coffins adorned with pink flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

One of the children's white coffins adorned with blue flowers has a bouquet of balloons attached to it which young Astrid Holch Povlsen cut with a pair of scissors

One of the children's white coffins adorned with purple flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (pictured centre) and her children Princess Isabella (centre being held by her mother), Prince Vincent (left), and Princess Josephine (right) attended the funeral service for the three children

The wife of Asos tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, Anne, is pictured holding back tears as she watches her children's coffins emerge, embracing her husband and surviving daughter Astrid

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary consoles her daughter Princess Isabella outside the cathedral

Denmark's ambassador to India, Peter Takse-Jensen, confirmed that one family member was injured but was discharged and returned home.

At a memorial service in Brande, Denmark, last Thursday, the family expressed their loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' in a text message.

Reading the message to a crowd of around 700 well-wishers, pastor Arne Holst-Larsen said: 'The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred are completely incomprehensible.

'With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

'We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.'

Mr Povlsen's children were killed just days after he revealed plans to hand his Scottish estates to them, in the hope they'd carry on his legacy of conservation.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (right) also attended the funeral today where hundreds paid their respects

Other mourners outside Aarhus cathedral on Saturday as friends and family of the Holch Povlsen family paid their respects

He has been working via his Wildland project to 'rewild' parts of Scotland, bringing back endangered species by reviving long-lost habitats.

In an open letter posted on the firm's website, Mr Povlsen and wife Anne Storm Pedersen wrote that the project will take longer than a lifetime to complete and so would be carried on by their children after they died.

He wrote: 'From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape.

'As the holdings have grown and our common vision for the work becomes ever clearer, we have incorporated the entirety of the project into a venture we call Wildland.

'It's a significant and lifelong commitment that we have made - not just for ourselves but for the Scottish people and Scottish nature too - a commitment which we believe in deeply.

An emotional funeral service is being held for the three children of the billionaire Asos tycoon who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka

Friends and family left floral arrangements outside the church in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier today as Anders Holch Povlsen held a funeral for his son Alfred and daughters Alma and Agnes today

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant

It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt

Povlsen, 46, and Anne Storm Pedersen, pictured together, met when Anne began working in sales for Bestseller

Pictured are daughters Astrid and Agnes alongside son Alfred, in an image taken by daughter Alma. Mr Povlsen has confirmed that Agnes, Alfred and Alma died in the terror attack, while Astrid survived

Mr Povlsen and his wife described the loss of their three children as 'utterly incomprehensible' but vowed to overcome the tragedy 'together' (pictured are Astrid, Agnes and Alfred in an image taken by Alma)

The Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka is pictured after it was targeted by two suicide bombers on Easter Sunday morning

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo, when it was targeted by two suicide bombers identified as suspected plot mastermind Zahran Hashim and Ilham Ibrahim

Sri Lankan Police officers inspects a blast spot at the Shangri-la hotel in Colombo a day after a bomb ripped through the building on Easter Sunday

A map showing where the eight blasts went off, six of them in very quick succession on Easter Sunday morning

'We wish to restore our parts of the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state and repair the harm that man has inflicted on them.

'There are many vulnerable properties across all of the holdings that we have the wonderful and privileged opportunity to rehabilitate and restore to life; there are also archaeologically important structures that we have the responsibility to protect.

'Our vision of Wildland is of a project that provides security and an enduring connection, not just for those that work and live on our estates but also for the greater communities.

'We are working towards an entirely sustainable model; everything in balance a project that can endure beyond what Anne and myself can ever expect to see in our own lifetime.'

Just days before the devastating attacks, Alma had shared a holiday snap of her siblings next to a pool.

Sri Lankan officials have blamed a little-known Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the terrorist attacks, adding that the organisation had 'international help'.

A video has emerged of eight men pledging allegiance to ISIS and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before the attack.

The bombers co-ordinated their attacks targeting five-star hotels and churches on Easter Sunday in an apparent deliberate attempt to target westerners and Christians.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' after the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

The death of Mr Polvsen's three children came just days after he revealed plans to pass on his estates in Scotland - where he is the country's largest land-owner - to them after he died

Memorial services were held for the three children in Stavtrup, a suburb of Aarhus where the family lives, last Thursday, ahead of the funeral today, as a torch-lit walk went from the town centre to their house

Walkers gathered outside the Povlsen house before Anders and Anne emerged and stood with them for a few minutes

As well as the memorial in Stavtrup (pictured), commemorations were also held in Brande last Thursday, where Mr Povlsen's fashion empire is based, the capital Copenhagen and third-largest city Odense

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

'Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism,' Sirisena said.

'We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them,' Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 'active members' linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: 'It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organisation made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.'

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end

Sirisena said more needs to be done: 'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers'

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasised that more needs to be done.

'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.'

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo last Monday - the country remains on high alert

Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

'This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement,' Sirisena said. 'Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.'

Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

'Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas,' he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a 'big blow' by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

'It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry,' Sirisena said. 'For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.'
Channel Nine star Erin Molan has helped convict a troll who sent her disgusting online threats about her unborn baby daughter.

Molan, 36, was 33 weeks pregnant when she reported the man's string of violent Facebook messages, including one hoping she would give birth to a stillborn baby.

'I wish u a f** still born I use u a f** still born I wish u a f** still born AND U DIE IN THE PROCESS ... hip hip hooray hip hip HOORAY,' one of the threats said.

'I am used to copping nasty comments, I am not a snowflake,' Molan told the Sunday Telegraph.

'But when it gets to the stage when I felt unsafe and I was heavily pregnant, and someone is threatening my life and the life of my child, it's too much.'

Erin Molan (pictured) was the host of the The Footy Show when she was bombarded with violent threats

A Facebook troll had sent her a string of offensive messages, including one wishing she would give birth to a stillborn when she was pregnant with her daughter

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages

Ms Molan was initially abused online for being the host of the NRL Footy Show, before receiving frightening messages about her unborn daughter.

'Get the f** off the footy show you fake f** slag...guarantee you are killing the show...maybe go do the weather report on channel 2 wheir ya belong yiu f** rag,' one message read.

'... pls i mean pretty please have a still born birth ...im praying u do,' another read.

The harasser also told Molan he would hunt her down and kill her.

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages.

Molan reported the messages to Chatswood Police after she felt the threats risked the safety of her and her child .

She had also reported the threats to Facebook but received a slack response from the platform saying the messages weren't 'abusive or offensive' enough to be taken down.

Facebook eventually deleted two accounts linked to the man.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence for the threats

Facebook Policy Communications Manager for Australia and New Zealand Ben McConaghy said the platform is meant to be a space 'where people feel safe to express themselves'.

'Our bullying and harassment policies are clear; we don't allow this type of vile content on Facebook and we'll remove it as soon as it's reported to us,' he said.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence.

He was initially arrested after failing to appear in court.

Molan gave birth to her daughter Eliza Ogilvy in 2018.
Former Tunnel Bore Machine Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph at Samphire Hoe, Dover

A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's 'greatest achievements' but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

'I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit,' the 70-year-old told AFP. 'I don't see that as incompatible.'

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

Graham Fagg engineer (aged 42) from Dover (left) greets his French counterpart Phillippe Cozette in the Channel Tunnel as they make the first break through on December 1 1990

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community - the forerunner to the EU - in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

'We voted for a trade deal,' he explained. 'I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'.'

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph next to the cooling facility for the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg looks at a memorial to workers who died in the construction of the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

'Little bit overwhelming'

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

'I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other,' Cozette told AFP this week.

The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

The former miners of the Channel Tunnel - France's Philippe Cozette (left) and Britain's Graham Fagg, who dug the last meters of the Eurotunnel and met in a maintenance tunnel in 2014

'I don't think it will drive the English and French apart,' he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered 'it was all a little bit overwhelming' and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

'They had champagne, wine, food,' he said. 'On our side we had just tea, coffee and water - and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!'

French President Francois Mitterrand (R) welcomes Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) as she disembarks from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France in May 1994

Francois Mitterrand (2L) and his wife Danielle Mitterrand (L) welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) and Prince Phillip as they disembark from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France

'I had other plans'

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

'The faster we went, the more money we got,' he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

'I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough',' he added.

'I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans.'

A Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international terminal at Waterloo Station in London

'Historical moment'

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

'It's a great engineering feat,' he said. 'It's good that people enjoy it.'

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

'It was a historical moment,' he recollected of his famous handshake.

'The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you.'
Facebook has been slammed for banning a breast cancer advertisement that featured topless survivors.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) was ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests.

In a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite earlier approving the campaign.

According to the BCNA, the decision was made because the photographs violated the social media site's partial nudity policy.

'We certainly understand that the ads are promoting awareness for breast cancer, however the images associated with the ad are in violation of our policies for partial nudity,' a Facebook employee told the organisation.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) were ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies

'We will uphold the disable here until the ads can be modified for compliance.'

Outraged cancer survivor, Emma featured in the advertisement and slammed Facebook's decision.

'That's not nudity, it's joyful and it's ridiculous that they would stop and look at something like that,' she told breakfast talk-show Today.

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies.

Bakers Delight had provided the cakes used to cover the victims.

Slogans for the advertisements read: 'Breast cancer comes in all shapes and sizes' and 'Every fun bun counts.'

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate for its advertisements, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors.

'Every single one of those images is just amazing and the campaign has been set up as 'breast friend'. So we all got to come to shoot with our 'breast' friends and people who support you through what is a really awful journey  the campaign sends a wonderful, wonderful message.'

BCNA's Kristen Pilatti picked up the thread and said the campaign gave a voice to the victims.

Though in a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite approving the campaign last month

'We know that the physical and psychological scars of breast cancer can often be invisible to the wider community and this campaign lifts the t-shirt on the reality of the disease while reinforcing the importance of support,' Kirsten said.

'The campaign is also a celebration of those people in your life who support you during a diagnosis.'

She told the ABC campaigns like this were vital to raise money to help BCNA provide the necessary resources to victims.

'The opening days of the campaign are where we raise the most money for BCNA to ensure we can provide free resources to those people with breast cancer.'

'Facebook is a very important tool for us to promote the campaign.'

While the images will not be used as ads in Facebook, the social media site will still allow them to appear on the BCNA and Bakers Delight pages.

'It does seem to me that Facebook need to review their policies and have some consistency but, probably most importantly, some common sense around what they do approve and what they do reject,' Ms Pilatti said.

ANZ Facebook head of communications Antonia Sanda told CBS News on Friday that the social media giant would only allow the ads if they complied to its policy.

'I love these ads and our team has been working hard with Bakers Delight to allow them to run on our platforms,' she said.

'We recognize the importance of ads about breast cancer education or teaching women how to examine their breasts and we allow these on our platforms.

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors

'However, these specific ads do not contain any of these messages, rather it is a brand selling a product.'

Ms Sanda said Facebook had been working with the advertiser for weeks in the lead-up to the launch of the campaign.

She claimed they had not taken their advice into consideration.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling out fellow tech industry titans for violating users' privacy rights and expressing concern about he much time iPhone customers and their children are spending using Apple products.

Cook also mentioned Facebook and Google after criticizing sites that sell people's data, saying such sites can obtain more information in secret than a 'peeping Tom.'

His highly-critical comments were made during an exclusive ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer that aired on Friday.

The 58-year-old leader of the world's most profitable tech company was discussing the issue of online privacy and ways to help Americans spend less time looking at smartphone screens during a conversation about how technology is damaging people's lives.

'When I was growing up, one of the worst things other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the peeping Tom, you know, somebody looking in the window,' Cook told Sawyer.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave ABC News an exclusive interview that aired Friday

Cook told Diane Sawyer that some companies know a lot more about you than a 'peeping Tom,' which he described as 'one of the worst things'

'The fact is that the people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window, a lot more. Because you tend to put your thoughts online, what you think about something.'

Facebook, for one, has been embroiled in major privacy-related scandals over the last year or so.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the political data firm provided the 2016 Trump campaign with data from more than 50 million Facebook users, including information about their identities, who their friends are and what they've 'liked' on the website.

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify

Facebook vowed to improve its privacy features while announcing a new version of its site at the company's F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday

The world's largest social media company has vowed to change the way it manages users' private data.

During its F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday, Zuckerberg told a crowd of revelers Facebook's 'future is private,' as the company announced a redesign of its main app and website and plans to one day unify the site with the company's other platforms, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

'We dont exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But Im committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product,' Zuckerberg said. 'Over time, I believe that a private social platform will be even more important to our lives than our digital town squares... We believe that for the future, people want a privacy-focused social platform... This is about building the kind of future we want to live in.'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October.

Apple offers Google apps including the search engine company's Chromes web browser, in its App Store. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed disapproval of Google's data collecting, but said Apple believes Chrome is the 'best web browser'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October

He characterized the issue of online privacy as a 'crisis' on Friday.

'Privacy in itself has become a crisis. I think it's a crisis,' he said.

Sawyer pointed out Apple offers Facebook and Google apps like Chrome in its App Store and also does business through data collecting apps.

'You're making money through the App Store on the apps that are doing things that you think have got us in a crisis,' she said.

'We don't make any money on Facebook,' Cook responded pointedly. 'Google, we do make money on the browser. We selected Google, frankly, because we believe it's the best browser.'

American adults spend what amounts to 49 days per year looking at their smartphone, according to a 2018 Nielsen report.

That adds up to one and a half months staring at a phone screen over a lifetime.

During the interview, Cook said overuse of tech products concerns him, particularly how it is affecting parents and children.

He pointed out Apple created ways for parents to control screen time on specific iPhone apps in 2018, allowing them to track and police what children are using and how long they are using Apple devices.

'We have been working hard to add key capabilities into our products to help people find a better balance,' he said.

Cook emphasized that Apple makes most of its money from selling iPhones, iPads and other hardware devices, but the company doesn't want customers to overuse the products and miss out on real-world experiences.

'You make money from how long people stay on the app,' Sawyer challenged.

'No. No, we make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone. And so it's kind of a straight forward and honest business model. But I don't want you using the product a lot. In fact, if you're using it a lot, there's probably something we should do to make your use more productive,' Cook responded.

Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to request for comment on Cook's comments.

The Apple CEO also said his company prioritizes customers' privacy and that other companies need to do the same to solve the growing problem.

Apple also installed a system on its Safari web browser in 2018 that allows users to limit access to their personal data.

'We treasure your data. We want to help you keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side,' Cook said. 'This [privacy crisis] is fixable... We very much are an ally in that fight.'
Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc.

Mr Juncker, 64, who is set to leave his role as president of the European Commission in November, was speaking a few days before a leaders' summit on the future of the bloc in the Romanian city of Sibiu.

He told German newspaper Handelsblatt: 'We have lost our collective libido  Five or six years after the second world war there was one.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc

'Yet these days it should be much easier for Europeans to fall in love with each other than it was in 1952,' he added in the light-hearted analysis.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and as he took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'.

He said: 'Brexit is a special case. If you pepper a nation for 40 years with the message that it doesn't actually belong in the EU, then the decision to leave is the logical outcome. The bride was systematically reviled and then rejected.'

'The European commission is doing its best, but it cannot solve every problem,' he added.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'

'The commission cannot compensate for the weaknesses of the national governments and democracies in Europe. Look at the United Kingdom.

'The fact that the government and the opposition there only started to talk to each other three years after the Brexit referendum is hardly a sign of strength for the British democracy, he added.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg went on to defend his leadership of the European Commission and said that it no longer got involved in 'every tiny detail' of citizens' lives.
President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after a string of social media bans on controversial, mostly right-wing, figures sparked uproar.

'When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning, apparently referring to revelations of FBI surveillance on his campaign.

'Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!' he continued.

It followed a string of retweets of criticism aimed at Facebook for its recent ban of several controversial figures, which the company labeled 'dangerous individuals'.

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet reading ''If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll,' a paraphrase of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after the companies banned controversial, mostly right-wing, figures

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet paraphrasing a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote

Facebook's ban on Thursday included right-wing personalities Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as radio host Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

Facebook also banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, an ally of left-wing Democrats.

Trump retweeted former InfoWars editor-at-large Watson, who wrote: 'The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don't let it rest.'

Trump's retweets included a range of commentary blasting Facebook's ban as politically-motivated censorship.

'When did we decide, as Americans, that it's ok fo govt & 3d parties to censor/ curate our info? That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info?' read one tweet by Sharyl Attkisson, host of the Sinclair Broadcasting television show Full Measure News.

'Lmao at establishment conservatives who think they won't be labeled the new 'dangerous' / 'extremist' voices when those to the right of them are all banned. Good luck with that one guys,' wrote author and filmmaker Lauren Southern.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew criticism after the company banned a range of controversial figures on Thursday

Facebook said the newly banned accounts violated its policy against 'dangerous individuals and organizations'.

The company says it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

It added that when it bans someone under this policy, the company also prohibits anyone else from praising or supporting them.

It is not clear what events led to Thursday's announcement. In a statement, Facebook merely said, 'The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.'

Asked to comment by AP on the bans, Yiannopoulos emailed only: 'You're next'.

Jones reacted angrily Thursday during a live stream of his show on his Infowars website.

'They didn't just ban me. They just defamed us. Why did Zuckerberg even do this?' Jones said, referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Jones called himself a victim of 'racketeering' by 'cartels.'

'There's a new world now, man, where they're banning everybody and then they tell Congress nobody is getting banned,' he said.

Also on Saturday, Trump tweeted about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said the door was still open to de-nuclearization talks with North Korea after a weapons test on the peninsula early on Saturday, and said a phone call with Putin on Friday was productive.
Madeleine McCann could have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, a think-tank has claimed.

The shocking allegations were made by John Whitehead, president of US-based Rutherford Institute and author of a recent report on child sex abuse in the US, who said he believes she was taken in the same way as other children.

This comes after police began investigating an alleged foreign paedophile who was in the area in May 2007, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard, according to Portuguese media.

Maddie has been missing for 12 years since she disappeared from her hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents had dinner in a nearby restaurant. She had been with her younger twin siblings.

Madeleine McCann may have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, claims a US-based think-tank

Kate and Gerry McCann posted on their website findmadeleine.com where they said they would like to 'fast forward' the first couple of weeks in May (Madeleine pictured above)

When asked whether he thought Maddie was taken in a similar way to other children, Mr Whitehead told the Daily Star: 'Oh I think she was. Kids are being snatched all over the world.

'When you look at migrant children coming across the border in the US, they just go missing.

'It's big business. You can get more money than from drugs and guns because you have kids doing multiple sex acts a day and they're being filmed'.

Whitehead also claimed the child sex industry was being made possible by 'predatory cops' - although there is no evidence to suggest Portuguese police were involved.

The Rutherford think-tank recently published a report on child sex trafficking, entitled The Essence of Evil: Sex with Children has become Big Business in America, which looked into how kids are bought, sold and exploited sexually.

Portuguese detectives were recently given extra resources to look into a new suspect, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard.

Authorities are said to have 'many doubts' that Maddie is still alive amid claims police are 'nearer to knowing what happened'.

A report by news website Expresso said the enquiry 'relates to a complaint made about a foreigner who was in Portugal in May 2007.'

'The suspect is no stranger to Portuguese police,' it goes on.

'At the time the PJ investigated him on suspicion of being involved in cases of paedophilia but in light of the information coming from London, the investigators are looking into this case in more detail.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation was 'ongoing' but said they would 'not provide a running commentary'.

Lisbon-based newspaper Correio da Manha said prosecutors had turned down a request to see material in the case because of 'active lines of investigation'.

'Police are following new Maddie kidnap clues,' the newspaper claimed.

'More inspectors are advancing with an investigation into a new suspect. A new clue and a new suspect, which the PJ are trying to keep an absolute secret, has led to new resources being put in place to investigate the little girl's whereabouts.'

A spokesman for Portugal's attorney general said: 'Regarding these facts, as is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing. It is under investigation.'

The latest development came as Madeleine's parents vowed to carry on looking for their daughter 'for as long as it takes'.

Kate and Gerry, who cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie could still be alive, tell of their 'comfort and reassurance' that the police hunt to find her carries on.

In a message to mark the latest harrowing milestone which they wish they could 'fast forward', they share their heartache that Maddie would soon be turning sixteen.

In a posting on the Official Find Maddie Campaign website the couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, jointly say: 'It's that time of year again. As much as we'd like to fast forward the first couple of weeks of May, there's no getting around it.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured above) have vowed to continue to look for their daughter Madeleine, who went missing in 2007

Three-year-old Maddie vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals at the seaside complex.

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker and eminent heart doctor Gerry, 50, said continued supported from family, friends and the public boosted them.

In a joint message they write: 'The months and years roll by too quickly; Madeleine will be sixteen this month. It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.'

They add: 'Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief. For as long as it takes.' before signing off Kate and Gerry.

The couple (pictured above) have remained extremely grateful to Scotland Yard

The Facebook page, run by a close friend of the McCanns and seen by millions across the globe, has updated its cover photo with the couple's key words 'For as long as it takes.' in yellow, a couple representing hope in Portugal.

Kate and Gerry's message entitled '12th Anniversary of Madeleine's Abduction (3rd May 2019)' was posted just hours before they are due to join well wishers tonight to remember their daughter during a poignant prayer service in their home village.

Family, friends and locals will gather at the war memorial where a lantern - a beacon of hope - still shines brightly around the clock for the world's most famous missing child.

Maddie's parents remain extremely grateful to Scotland Yard who have actively been searching for their daughter for the past eight years.

Madeleine McCann (left and right) would be turning sixteen this month and her parents posted a heartfelt piece on their website

Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick confirmed yesterday that the force had applied for more money from the Home Office to continue its Operation Grange search for Maddie.

She said: 'We have active lines of inquiries and I think the public would expect us to see those through. A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding.'

Kate has previously said in a log standing post on the Find Maddie website: 'As a parent of an abducted child, I can tell you that it is the most painful and agonising experience you could ever imagine. My thoughts of fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable - crippling.'

A controversial new Netflix documentary re-examining Maddie's kidnap was released last month, triggering a barrage of online abuse against Kate and Gerry by heartless trolls. They pair, who refused to take part in the eight hour programme series, slammed it for 'potentially hindering' the search for their daughter while an active police hunt is ongoing.
A farmer who objected to the way Rihanna was dressed while she filmed a music video in his field has lost his council seat.

Alan Graham, of the Democratic Unionist Party, hit headlines across the world after voicing concerns over the revealing outfit Rihanna wore while recording for her 2011 hit We Found Love.

Mr Graham, who had agreed for one of his fields in Bangor, County Down, to be used for recording, said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain'.

Alan Graham said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain' (pictured: Rihanna on the first day of filming We Found Love in Northern Ireland, 2011)

Alan Graham, left, said he had not halted the filming, adding that Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke (pictured right: Rihanna during filming in the New Lodge area of North Belfast, September 2011)

The farmer, who was 61 at the time, said Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke, and they had 'parted company on good terms'.

Carry On and EastEnders star Barbara Windsor spoke out in support of Mr Graham's stance, commenting at the time: 'I don't blame him. How old is he? Does he need that at his time of life, seeing Rihanna taking her top off? He doesn't.'

Mr Graham has been a councillor on Ards and North Down Council for several terms.

He is known for his conservative views and last year objected to a proposal to light up Bangor Town Hall in the rainbow colours for a Pride event.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land'

The DUP veteran lost his council seat on Saturday morning to Alliance Party representative Scott Wilson.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land.

Someone explained she was as big as it gets as far as pop stars were concerned. I am a bit illiterate about those issues.'

After the issue came to light in 2011 it was reported that Mr Graham had said: 'I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God.'
Royal Navy supply vessels could be built in Spain as a result of Brexit negotiations regarding Gibraltar, union leaders say.

The GMB has raised fears that contracts worth 1billion to build the vessels could go to a naval yard in northern Spain.

The union said the contract for Fleet Solid Support ships could go to Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company.

A contract for Fleet Solid Support ships (pictured) could go to a Spanish shipyard as a result of Brexit negotiations, according to union leaders

Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company that could win the contract for the Royal Navy supply vessels

The trade union said there were rumours that the decision to give the work to Spain is linked to negotiations over the future of the British territory of Gibraltar.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said: 'If the contracts for these ships go abroad, the Government is basically sticking two fingers up to shipbuilding communities and the entire manufacturing industry in the UK.

'No other government would outsource national security.

'If it is true this deal is being done because of ministers' abject failure to sort out Brexit then it's not just negligent, it's grubby and reeks of self-preservation and putting party politics ahead of people's livelihoods and communities.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said the potential deal is 'grubby and reeks of self-preservation'

'If this is what the Government is planning, it needs to think again.'

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We are required by law to procure the Fleet Solid Support ships through open international competition.

'We issued formal tender documents to bidders, including a UK consortium, in late 2018.

'The final decision regarding the winning bid will be made in 2020.'

There are believed to be five bidders to build the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, with the Rosyth yard in Fife, Scotland, in line for work if Babcock wins the contract.
King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace, the 64-year-old is the only son and male heir of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain, including King's Mead School, Seaford, Sussex, and then at Millfield School, Somerset. After, he embarked on a military career, training in Australia.

In 1976, he graduated as a newly commissioned lieutenant with a liberal arts bachelors degree from the University of New South Wales.

After graduating he started a career in the military training with US, British and Australian armed forces. He also qualified as a a fixed wing helicopter pilot in the late 1970s in the Royal Thai Army.

His military career was interrupted in 1978 so he could be ordained for a season as a Buddhist monk, as is customary for all Thai Buddhist men.

He married his first wife in 1977, a cousin, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978. They divorced in 1993.

Nine months after his daughter was born, the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with whom he went on to have a total of five children and a tumultuous relationship.

Three years later his relationship broke down with Ms Polpraserth as she fled to the UK in 1996, after a spectacular bust up.

In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee, describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone' and like his previous relationships there were to be a number of controversies in their time together.

In 2007, footage published online showed the couple throwing a party for his pet poodle - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Princess Srirasmi, a former waitress, who sang happy birthday to the dog topless, also got on her knees and ate from a dog bowl in the same video.

In late 2014, Srirasmi suffered a very public fall from grace when several members of her family were arrested as part of a police corruption probe and charged with lese majeste (treason).

Vajiralongkorn later divorced her and she lost her royal titles . The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

Despite holding a number of military titles, including Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems, the prince admitted to an interviewer he was unable to tie his own shoe laces aged 12 because courtiers had always done it for him.

The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, living overseas in Germany, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

In August 2015 he led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance.

He was drafted in as King in October 2016, 50 days after the death of his father, the highly revered Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had to fly back from Germany after learning of his father's deteriorating health in the days before.

Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne with tthe statement: 'The government will inform the National Legislative Assembly that His Majesty the King appointed his heir on Dec. 28, 1972.'

However, in a shock move he requested to delay his coronation and ascension to the throne for a year to mourn the passing of his father.
Private security contractor Erik Prince's connection to the right-wing activist group Project Veritas has been revealed.

Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, a self-described 'activist journalist', even visited Prince's family ranch in early 2017 to learn 'spying and self-defense,' according to a report Friday in The Intercept.

Prince, 49, famously founded Blackwater Worldwide, the private security company that subsequently changed its name and was sold after its guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

In late 2015 or early 2016, Prince became involved with Project Veritas, according to a former Trump White House official cited by the Intercept.

Private security contractor Erik Prince (left) invited Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe (right) to his family's Wyoming ranch in February 2017 for 'spy training'

Project Veritas uses hidden cameras and phony identities to attempt to catch subjects making embarrassing statements.

The group generally targets left-wing subjects, and first shot to fame in 2009 with video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

More recently, the group has sought to expose liberal bias in big tech and the media, and targeted teachers' unions.

According to the Intercept, Prince arranged for O'Keefe and Project Veritas to receive training in intelligence and 'elicitation' techniques from a retired military intelligence operative named Euripides Rubio Jr.

After several weeks of training, the frustrated Rubio quit, saying that the Veritas activists weren't 'capable of learning,' the report says.

The relationship between Prince and Veritas continued, however, with O'Keefe and his colleagues visiting Prince's family ranch in Wyoming in February 2017.

O'Keefe posted this photo on Instagram showing him on Prince's ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer, saying he was 'learning some new skills on spying and self-defense'

O'Keefe posted on Instagram and Twitter at the time that he was at a 'classified location' where he was learning 'spying and self-defense,' in an effort to make Project Veritas 'the next great intelligence agency.'

A photo O'Keefe posted on Instagram shows him on the ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer.

In response to questions from The Intercept, Prince's spokesperson said, 'Mr. Prince supports Project Veritas's mission of uncovering government largesse and corruption, and has allowed Project Veritas to use his family's ranch in Wyoming.

The statement said that Prince has no business relationship with James O'Keefe or Project Veritas.

The Intercept report also gives a detailed account of Prince's dealings in Africa and the Middle East after selling Blackwater in 2010.
Penny Mordaunt (pictured on Friday) leaving Westminster Abbey after attending a service to recognise fifty years of continuous at sea deterrent

New Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt delighted the Royal Navys top brass on her first day in the job by sporting an honorary submariners badge.

The silver dolphin pin is awarded to submariners when they complete the final part of their training and, in an old tradition, they have to catch it between their teeth while drinking a tot of rum.

Ms Mordaunt, the first female head of the Ministry of Defence, who is herself a naval reservist, had previously served at the department as junior Minister for the Armed Forces in 2015.

During her tenure, she successfully completed the boozy submariners challenge and earned her own dolphin pin, which she chose to sport on her first official outing in the new role.

On Friday she joined the Duke of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey to commemorate Britains nuclear submariners, just hours after being promoted to replace sacked Gavin Williamson.

The service, attended by 2,000 naval representatives and their families, was in recognition of the Royal Navys commitment in maintaining Operation Relentless  the longest sustained military operation ever undertaken by the UK.

Since April 1969, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at least one British nuclear-armed submarine has been on patrol.

Prince William (pictured above) also attended the event

Ms Mordaunt said: We pay tribute to those incredible crews, their supportive families, the Royal Navy and the thousands of industry experts who will continue to sustain this truly national endeavour for many years to come. A Royal Navy source added: The dolphin was a really nice touch. Went down very well at a difficult time.

Ms Mordaunt vowed to channel her inner Nelson in her new role, putting up a picture of Britains greatest naval hero in her office in the MoD as one of her first acts in charge.

And The Mail on Sunday understands that she is poised to lambast France and Germany for not paying their way on Nato commitments. The move is likely to endear her to Washington, as Donald Trump has made such complaints a central part of his defence outlook.

All major Nato members have vowed to increase defence spending to two per cent of their economic output by 2024, but to date, only the US and UK have hit that target.
Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440-foot ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told The Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

'We will go on board and do our job,' he said, adding that aut horities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

The Freewinds cruise ship is docked in the port of Willemstad, Curacao early on Saturday. Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded the ship to start vaccinating people

A 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, SMV Freewinds, is docked under quarantine from a measles outbreak in port in Willemstad, Curacao on Saturday

'If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when we're talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance,' Gerstenbluth said.

Authorities worry people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St. Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St. Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early Saturday.

A passenger is seen on the deck of the Freewinds as the ship docks under quarantine

The Church of Scientology says the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling'

Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it's a small ship.

'This is what happens when we don't vaccinate,' he said.

Church officials have not returned calls for comment.

According to the church's website, the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling.' It says religious conventions and seminars also are held aboard.

Though Scientology takes a well-known stance in opposition to psychiatric medication, the church does not oppose standard medical treatment for physical illness and injury.

The Church of Scientology has previously said that it takes 'no position' on the question of vaccinations.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms of measles include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
The Russian ambassador to London is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy.

Alexander Yakovenko, 64, became a contentious figure after making mocking remarks about the Salisbury poisoning attack, which nearly killed Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and led to the death of British mother Dawn Sturgess.

In March, a Mail on Sunday investigation suggested Mr Yakovenko was expelled from the US during a purge of agents at the height of the Cold War.

Experts believe our expose could be behind the decision to send him back to Russia.

Russian ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko (pictured with his wife Nana) is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy

The revelation, which Russia has strenuously denied, centred on Mr Yakovenko's disappearance from the US in 1986 at the time the US was sending dozens of Soviet diplomats working in New York back home.

Tory MP Bob Seely and Independent MP Ian Austin, who both sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, have written to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US.

Russian media has reported that Mr Yakovenko will leave his London post in midsummer to become head of the Russian diplomatic academy in Moscow.

An intelligence source said of his recall: 'The more direct attention being paid to his activities, including the news of his likely expulsion from New York, then the less able he was to do his job. His recall, and probable replacement by a more conventional mainstream diplomat, likely reflects an awareness in Moscow that an increasingly sceptical British Government is paying greater attention to who Russia chooses to represent it.'

Tory MP Bob Seely (left) and Independent MP Ian Austin (right) both wrote to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US

Dr Andrew Foxall (pictured) said: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight... it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change'

Mr Seely said: 'The ambassador allowed himself to become a figure of comedy rather than a serious diplomat. The Mail on Sunday's brilliant expose of him as someone who was, very probably, a former spy, compounded his problems.'

Dr Andrew Foxall, director of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, added: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight. Given that eight isn't easily divisible by three or five, it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change.'

The Foreign Office last night confirmed the ambassador would be leaving his post.

The Russian authorities have dismissed accusations that Mr Yakovenko was a spy as 'a blatant lie'. Last night they did not respond to requests to comment on his departure from London.
In public, she has been the soul of discretion throughout her long reign.

But a very different side of the Queen is revealed today with the extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated.

According to a senior diplomat's diary, Her Majesty said she was 'surprised nobody had found means of putting something' in the coffee of the Jordanian king's 'wicked' uncle.

And in a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools.

A very different side of the Queen (pictured with Former Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden) is revealed with an extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated, according to a senior diplomat's diary

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis.

At the time, Britain feared that Jordan's King Hussein, an Old Harrovian aged 19, was under the malign influence of his uncle and aide-de-camp, Sharif Nasser Bin Jamil.

Evelyn Shuckburgh, Assistant Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, wrote on July 7, 1955: 'After lunch I had what seemed like 20 minutes' conversation with the Queen, mostly about King Hussein of Jordan and his new Queen Dina.

'I told her the sad story of their estrangement and the machinations of the wicked uncle, Nasser. The Queen said she didn't really think it a good idea to send Arabs to English public schools.

'She had seen poor little Hussein, fresh from Harrow, a year or two ago and all he could do was stand stiffly to attention, saying, 'Your Majesty' and not another word.

'As for Uncle Nasser, she said she was surprised nobody had found means of putting something in his coffee.'

In a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools (Pictured: Prince Hussein of Jordan, who studied at Harrow, aged 17)

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis (pictured)

Mr Shuckburgh had revealed to Her Majesty that King Hussein's uncle wanted to expel British soldiers from Jordan. It was then that the Queen joked somebody should assassinate him. The quip was not that far-fetched: British intelligence was involved in plots to kill Egypt's Nasser.

Mr Shuckburgh's diary entry was found by Dr Rory Cormac, professor of international relations at Nottingham University, and will be shown in a documentary tonight that also reveals King George VI's intelligence role in the Second World War.

Prof Cormac said: 'It shows the closeness between the Monarch and the secret state.'

In March 1956, British troops were expelled from Jordan, just a few months before the humiliation of the Suez Crisis.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on 'private conversations from more than 60 years ago'.

D-Day: The King Who Fooled Hitler will be shown on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.
With 4,000 animal kills to his name, including hundreds of lions, Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth.

The 89-year-old Spaniards appalling lifetime tally of kills includes 1,317 elephants, 127 black rhino, 167 leopards and 2,093 buffalo, along with 340 lions.

And disturbingly  despite the carnage  for some he is an object of adulation, celebrated as the worlds most dangerous and experienced game hunter and with a formidable reputation as a marksman who builds his own game cartridges and rifles, each one with his name engraved in gold on the barrel.

Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth. Over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards

He is a close friend of Spains former King Juan Carlos, who was discredited and dropped as honorary president of the countrys World Wildlife Fund branch after it was discovered he had hunted and killed elephants and buffalo in Botswana.

With astonishing hypocrisy, Sanchez-Arino has even had the temerity to say he fears the African elephant will be hunted to extinction in the wild within our lifetime, to the shame of humanity.

He made the jaw-dropping remark in his book Elephants, Ivory And Hunters, published in 2002, in which he describes how he has devoted his life to the pursuit of this magnificent animal.

Having gone to Africa on his first hunting safari at 21, he has since been hunting for ivory, guiding trophy-hunting clients and adding to his tally of big game, which he does for eight months each year, mostly in Botswana and Tanzania.

He was still leading safaris in his mid-80s and, although he has begun to slow down in his advanced age, over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards.

Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: This man is little more than a serial killer of wildlife. Governments give them licences to kill, and the hunting industry lavishes them with awards.

Cold-blooded killers like Sanchez-Arino should get prison, not permits and prizes.
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A powerful Walther PPK pistol and a spear gun would seem excessive for most anglers  but then most anglers aren't James Bond.

Our exclusive pictures show Daniel Craig filming on set in Jamaica for 007's latest adventure.

And while there is no Pussy Galore, the spy's latest feline co-star clearly enjoys the finer things in life.

Daniel Craig looks down the sights of a Walther PPK pistol as he plays James Bond while filming on the Jamaican coast

The spy who love me: A very happy cat gets to share some of the delicious red snapper caught by a smiling Daniel Craig

Fishy galore for Bond's pussycat: Daniel Craig fed the cat as his feline friend took a liking to the fish 007 had caught

Tinned fish just won't do. Instead, Bond feeds it fresh red snapper killed with the spear gun and filleted on the beach.

But this being a Bond film, danger soon approaches and the secret agent has to reach for his pistol, main picture, left.

Like the cat, Craig, 51, is also being well looked after  with a physio, trainer and chef to ensure his physique is impressively ripped for Bond's 25th outing, and the actor's fifth as the British spy.

The unnamed film  scheduled for release next April and rumoured to be a remake of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby  opens with Bond having left active service.

Unfortunately his retirement is interrupted by the arrival in Jamaica of his CIA friend, Felix Leiter, who persuades him to help rescue a kidnapped scientist.

Bond's arch-enemy will be played by Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Craig chomping on a cigar as he walked along the boardwalk for a scene for the upcoming film set in Jamaica which is rumoured to be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Bond caught a red snapper with a harpoon gun and chomped on a cigar as he filmed for the new Bond movie, for which he is rumoured to be getting 50 million

James Bond carrying a huge red snapper fish in his right hand and a harpoon in the other (left) as he holds a handgun close to his chest (right)

More familiar faces include Ralph Fiennes as M, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Jeffrey Wright as Leiter.

Craig can certainly afford the cigars he was seen, left, enjoying during breaks in filming.

He is rumoured to be getting 50 million for his latest  and, he insists, final  Bond adventure.
Theresa Mays relationship with sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson collapsed after No 10 was told he had been spreading claims that her health was failing, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Mr Williamson  who was fired on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister.

The claim infuriated Mrs Mays allies, who say she is in robust health despite having to inject herself with insulin at least twice a day.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation.

Gavin Williamson was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister

Reacting to an announcement by Scotland Yard that the leak did not breach the Official Secrets Act, he told Sky News: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation, it is clear that a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled.

As the recriminations continued, this newspaper has also been told Mr Williamsons friends believe that one of his Ministers, Tobias Ellwood, reported him to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill over unfounded claims of a bullying management style and briefing against him.

This included disputing Mr Ellwoods heroics when he fought to save the life of stabbed PC Keith Palmer during 2017s Westminster terror attack.

Sir Mark oversaw the inquiry which concluded that Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak  which revealed details of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G network, which critics have warned poses a national security threat.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation (pictured: Gavin Williamson with Sir Mark Sedwill)

Will he do 'a Geoffrey Howe'? Gavin Williamson used his Instagram account to give a coded warning to Theresa May last night, appearing to question her loyalty and whether she was acting in the national interest. The spurned Tory posted this picture, above, of Margaret Thatcher at No 10, praising her for standing up for her party and country. It came amid speculation he could be planning to give Mrs May a Geoffrey Howe moment in the Commons. In 1990, Howe, who had been Deputy PM, gave a withering resignation speech criticising Mrs Thatcher, which triggered a leadership contest. Advertisement

Mr Ellwood infuriated Mr Williamson by making repeated criticisms of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, who he accused of holding Mrs May hostage and blocking the progress of her withdrawal agreement.

He has also indicated his support for a second referendum. Mr Ellwood, a former Green Jacket, was hailed as a hero when he tried to save the life of PC Keith Palmer  although an unfounded whispering campaign claimed his actions had actually impeded the work of the emergency services.

A source close to Mr Williamson said: Tobias and Gavin always worked closely together on military affairs, and no complaint was ever made regarding bullying.

But an ally added: Gavin did grow frustrated at the amount of time Tobias spent on the airwaves making the case for a second referendum and slagging off the ERG.

MPs were left reeling by Mrs Mays decision to sack Mr Williamson last week, despite the only publicly acknowledged evidence being an 11-minute phone conversation with the Daily Telegraph journalist who wrote the story.

One source said: She would only have done that if she had been presented with incontrovertible evidence in black and white.

In her letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister said that the investigation had found compelling evidence that he was the source of the leak.

There have even been claims in Whitehall that Mr Williamsons office in the MoD was being monitored by the security services at the behest of the Americans, who were angered by his claim last year that the Russians posed a threat to European energy supplies, which Washington said came from classified US naval intelligence.

'Don't underestimate how vindictive I can be' It was a cold January day and in a scene more akin to the politics of a Tudor court, powerful mandarin Sir Mark Sedwill gave Gavin Williamson a chilling warning that he was determined to oust him. According to the former Defence Secretarys account, the Prime Ministers seething enforcer stopped him in Cockpit Passage, the red-brick corridor that is the last surviving part of Henry VIIIs Whitehall Palace  and the scene of many historic executions. Do not underestimate how vindictive I can be Mr Williamson, the usually silver- tongued official is said to have spat towards his nemesis after yet another testy meeting where they had clashed. It was all very dramatic, Mr Williamson told friends, and further proof, he said, that there had been a long-running campaign by Sedwill for his head. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sir Mark confronted Mr Williamson as the pairs working relationship deteriorated. The extraordinary moment came after Mr Williamson jettisoned a plan by Sir Mark  the Prime Ministers National Security Adviser  to hive off part of the defence budget to use on his pet cyber security projects. The row saw two of Whitehalls most Machiavellian characters pitted against each other. Mr Williamson is said to delight in his image as a master of the dark political arts. He once said: I dont very much believe in the stick, but its amazing what can be achieved with a sharpened carrot. Meanwhile, Sir Mark has always been keen to play up his spooky securocrat image. This was all about spies v soldiers and in the end Mark got his revenge, just as he told him he would, said one observer. Last night the Cabinet Office refused to comment on the allegation against Sir Mark, but a supporter said: Dont believe everything you hear. Advertisement

Mr Williamson rose quickly under Mrs May, running her successful leadership campaign in 2016 and being rewarded with the job of Chief Whip.

He became Defence Secretary the following year after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over the pestminster scandal, but the relationship with No 10 started to sour after Mr Williamson lobbied for greater funding for the Armed Forces.

A senior party figure is understood to have reported to No 10 that they heard Mr Williamson suggesting her health condition meant she was not fit to continue as PM.

One of Mrs Mays allies said: Its absolutely outrageous he would attempt to use the Prime Ministers health condition against her and to suggest it makes her too frail and ill to be the Prime Minister.

When Mrs May revealed in 2011 that she had diabetes, which carries the risk of heart attacks and strokes, she said: The diabetes doesnt affect how I do the job or what I do. Its a case of head down and getting on with it. She is often seen wearing a diabetes monitoring patch, which helps sufferers keep track of their sugar levels without having to resort to fingerprick tests.

It was also revealed yesterday that Mr Williamson had scrawled f*** the Prime Minister across an official memo in February after Mrs May overruled his decision to deploy the UKs new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea.

Friends of Mr Williamson say he has received the backing of more than 200 Tory MPs since his sacking. He said yesterday: I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report that sealed his fate. Mr Williamson is weighing up whether to make a speech about his sacking in the coming days.

Last night, a source close to him said it was nonsense that his office had been bugged because the MoD office is a secure zone, with no mobiles allowed.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have strict security measures in place to prevent the use of listening devices in all sensitive areas of the MoD.

Mr Ellwood did not respond to requests for comment.

You'll never guess where Williamson's nemesis is jetting off to this week!

By Harry Cole, Deputy Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
It was the television advert that captured the nation's heart.

A young boy valiantly pushes a bike loaded with bread up the steep cobbled hill of a post-war British town.

Now, 46 years after it first aired, Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time.

Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time

Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a gorilla playing the drums is another of the nation's favourite adverts

Set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony, the 1973 advert was directed by Sir Ridley Scott six years before his Hollywood debut with Alien.

Although the commercial is supposed to be set in a fictional Yorkshire town, it was in fact filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, which has one of the steepest streets in Britain.

Once the young boy reaches the top of the hill, he excitedly freewheels back down with a smile on his face, declaring in a heavy Yorkshire accent: 'T'was like taking bread to top of the world. T'was a grand ride back though.'

The advert was later parodied by numerous comedians, most famously by The Two Ronnies.

The 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book made the top five

Coca Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing is another of the nation's favourite adverts

In the poll it beat Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a 'gorilla' drumming along to Phil Collins's hit In The Air Tonight, and the 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book.

Research firm Kantar conducted the poll.

Other adverts that made the top five included John Lewis's 2010 Always A Woman and Coca-Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing.
A new suspect police want to quiz over Madeleine McCann's disappearance 12 years ago is understood to be a German child sex fiend killer.

Detectives in Portugal are closing in on a foreign paedophile of 'considerable significance' following a tip off from Scotland Yard.

Prolific pervert and convicted triple-murderer Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on and are set to quiz behind bars.

Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry are yet to be informed of any fresh leads.

Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on (left), and a previously issued suspect's photofit (right)

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz as a three-year-old in May 2007

Ney was jailed for life in 2012 for abducting and murdering three young children and abusing many more, The Sun reported.

The killer, known as the 'masked man', was reportedly known to haunt the Algarve and travelled throughout Portugal in the 1990s.

He revealed in chatroom messages, under the username GerdX, he had dressed in camouflage to jump out of bushes, 'in children's playgrounds if a beautiful boy goes past,' The Sun reported.

He also wore masks, balaclavas and replied 'yes' when one girl awoke from a nap and asked if he was her daddy.

Ney was jailed for killing Stefan Jahr, 13, in 1992, Dennis Rostel, eight, in 1995, and Dennis Klein, nine, in 2001.

His known victims are all boys, but experts claim gender is often unimportant for paedophiles.

It was reported last year that Ney confessed a fourth killing to a cellmate, that of 10-year-old French school boy Jonathan Coulom, who was kidnapped and killed from a holiday camp in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in 2004. This has not resulted in a charge.

He was also investigated over the disappearance of German boy Renee Hasse in Aljezur, Portugal, in 1996, but never charged.

He is known to have finished his teacher training aged 21 before travelling to Ecuador in 1993, Peru in 1995 and Portugal a year later. He was jailed in 2012 after a wide scale police operation.

Former disgraced Portuguese Police chief Goncalo Amaral gave a recent interview to Australian journalist Mark Saunokonko in which he claimed police were on the verge on naming a new Maddie suspect, a German paedophile whom he didn't identify.

Family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said of potential new kidnapper Ney: 'It might be him and he fits the profile, he is a known predatory paedophile and he's a foreigner.

'He wore camouflage gear, carried knives and jumped out of bushes to pounce on victims.'

Ney is believed to have leapt out at children from behind bushes wearing a mask and dressed all in black (photofit pictured)

He told MailOnline: 'It is quite possible and plausible police are looking at him again but it could be someone else. There is a degree of credibility it is Ney but we cannot speculate.

'Ney has been previously interviewed by detectives over Madeleine's abduction, and denied it. He is in a German jail now.'

Mr Mitchell said that Portuguese Police's fresh bid to close in on Maddie's kidnapper was 'action on a tip off from Scotland Yard.

He explained: 'The Yard has been doing a fair amount of work on this new person of interest and they then ask Portuguese officers to nail it down.

'If activity needs to be done, the local police have to do it even if it's a foreign force's investigation. And if Ney is the person of interest a German force will then have to get involved to interview him on their soil.'

He added: 'Kate and Gerry are not in a position to comment on this, nor would they because it is operational detail and they will not discuss it.

Police are reportedly pursuing two theories and two potential suspects including the German paedophile and another revolving around a suspect in another country

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are focusing on a convicted German paedophile

'It is purely for the police if they choose to comment. The family will wait to hear of any developments and remain grateful to the British police for everything they are doing.'

A close friend of the McCann's said: 'If Ney is the suspect can you imagine how Madeleine's parents will be feeling, knowing that a child killing pervert may be involved in their daughter's kidnap. It is beyond horrendous.'

Kate has previously said there is 'always the worst case scenario' as she told of her need to know if Maddie dead or alive.

She said in an interview to mark the seventh anniversary in May 2014 that not knowing was the worst thing.

She said: 'But there is always the worst case scenario. That's always been a possibility and anyone who thinks that we're blinkered doesn't know us.

'We obviously want Madeleine back number one, but we want an answer whatever.

'I'm not underestimating the blow of hearing bad news that your child has been killed, because obviously we're not going to go 'OK, at least we know.'

'But I've spent hours thinking about that and, each time, I still come up thinking we need to know.'

It is understood the new suspect, who is already in prison, has only been recently identified

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker, told in her 2011 best seller book 'Madeleine' that several witnesses reported seeing 'men behaving suspiciously' around the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz where Maddie vanished from as a three-year-old in May 2007.

Kate of Rothley, Leicestershire, said: 'The witnesses helped to produce images of these men.'

Of four, two look very similar and have been likened to Ney.


Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

A Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, the source said

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
Tickets can cost up to 18,000 and create nearly two tons of carbon dioxide

High-flying hypocrite: Dame Thompson is spotted on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning, despite earlier demanding: We should all fly less

Left-wing actress Dame Emma Thompson was branded a first-class hypocrite last night after jetting to New York just days after backing climate protests that brought chaos to London.

The Jeremy Corbyn supporter took her personal booth in the luxury cabin of a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning after earlier demanding: We should all fly less.

First-class BA flights to New York cost up to 18,000 and generate nearly two tons of carbon dioxide  the main driver of climate change  for each passenger in the elite cabin.

Onlookers claim the multi-millionaire activist also drank Laurent-Perrier champagne and dined on beef carpaccio  even though cattle farming is also a major contributor to greenhouse gasses.

Dame Emma has also previously called on people to eat less meat in the name of preserving the planet.

Cows produce methane  which is 23 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide  while clearing forests for pasture and to grow feed for livestock also drives global warming.

Just two weeks before her 3,400-mile flight, lifelong Labour supporter Dame Emma, 60, joined the Extinction Rebellion protests that shut down swathes of Central London, climbing aboard a pink boat the activists had used to blockade Oxford Circus.

The group wants to curb air travel and even made an abortive attempt to close Heathrow Airport, from where she departed at 11.20am on Friday for the eight-hour journey. Her share of the carbon dioxide generated by the flight was the same as that emitted by heating an average house for nine months.

The 60-year-old jetted 5,400 miles from Los Angeles to join Extinction Rebellion protestors who had taken over swathes of London's streets, closing off Waterloo Bridge for days and bringing Oxford Circus to a standstill

Airbus A380-800 Super Jumbo airliner with it's four engines creates a vapour trail (pictured above)

Dame Emma was spotted in 2F  one of the most exclusive seats on board the Boeing 777-200, which accommodates just 14 wealthy passengers in the first-class cabin.

An onlooker said Dame Emma  who has previously championed the Meat Free Monday movement which aims to raise awareness of the environmental damage caused by eating meat  was tucking into those bovines who produce all that methane.

Extinction Rebellion believes that there is now a climate crisis and has suggested that flights be used only in an emergency.

Dame Emma was previously criticised after flying 5,400 miles from her 60th birthday party in Los Angeles to join their protests over the Easter weekend. On Good Friday, the Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street.

The Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street on Good Friday

I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion. We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed, she told the protestors in an address from a large pink boat

Addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

She told them: I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion.

We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed.

At the time, the group defended its celebrity backer. It insisted that the tons of carbon her flight produced for her to be at their protest was an unfortunate cost in our bigger battle to save the planet.

And addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

Yes, its unhappy and an inconvenience and were often involved in situations where we will be hypocritical, but if we dont address this we are failing our children and our grandchildren.

The plane pictured above is the same model which Emma Thompson has been pictured on

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night. It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade

Wearing gold sandals and dungarees, Dam Thompson struggles for a few seconds to disembark the large pink ship in the centre of Oxford Circus

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

But she insisted: We should all fly less, the future of this planet is at stake and thats perhaps more important than our own reputations.

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said: If Emma Thompson wants to come and help out, thats great  shes using her platform which is incredibly valuable to anyone. If she has to fly around the world like a climate lawyer might have to fly around the world, it seems counter-productive in the short term but we are looking at the bigger picture.

But last night critics branded the excuses nonsense.

Tory MP David Morris said: This is typical Left-wing Do as I say, not as I do. Dame Emma Thompson is clearly a first-class hypocrite and a champagne socialist.

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night.

It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade.
In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
Hilarious footage has emerged of Star Wars' character Chewbacca speaking English to Han Solo during an outtake for The Empire Strikes Back.

Video shows Chewbacca, a Wookiee warrior who mumbled much of his dialogue and didn't speak English, welding piping while scolding Harrison Ford's character Han Solo in his native London accent.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Han Solo's hirsute and lovable sidekick, died of a heart attack aged 74 on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played the character Chewbacca in Star Wars, died of a heart attack on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height

Fans around the world have been paying tribute to Mayhew as a day of celebration for the iconic film series, dubbed 'May the fourth be with you' takes place on Saturday.

Mayhew was born in Richmond-on-Thames in London 1944 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2005.

In the footage, Chewbacca tells Han Solo in his native Cockney accent: 'Where the hell have you been?.' Solo then replies: 'Alright, don't lose your temper, I'll come right back and give you a hand.

Chebacca responds: 'Where you going? Tell them we're leaving,' to which Ford responds: 'Alright I'm tell em.'

Harrison Ford led the tributes to Mayhew at news of his passing, having last appeared on screen with him in 2015's The Force Awakens.

He tweeted: 'Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.

'These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him.

Video shows Chewbacca welding piping while scolding Ford's character Han Solo in an outtake for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back and unusually speaking English

Chebacca, a Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk, was Han Solo's hirsuit and lovable sidekick in the film franchise and starred in most of the franchise's nine movies

He added: 'He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience.

'Chewbacca was an important part of the success of the films we made together. He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them.'

Mark Hamill, who played Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the franchise, also spoke out - praising Mayhew as 'a big man with an even bigger heart' and said that he was 'forever grateful' for the memories they had shared.

Mayhew, (pictured in 20017), was a mainstay at Star Wars conventions around the world, including the bi-annual Star Wars Celebration, and he was heavily involved in the Make-A-Wish foundation. He is pictured in character in 1978, (right)

His costars and fans around the world paid tribute to him following his death last Tuesday. He is seen in character with actors Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in a promotional shot Star Wars Episode Vi - Return Of The Jedi - 1983

Mayhew landed the role of the Wookie due to his towering 7ft 3ins frame.

He came to the attention of film casting agents by chance while working as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital when a reporter for a local newspaper took his photograph for an article about men with big feet in 1976.

Seeing the picture, producer Charles H. Schneer invited Mayhew to audition for a film he was working on - Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger - and he was cast as the Minoton, a robotic creature based on a Minotaur.

A short time later Mayhew was spotted by George Lucas who was looking for a large man to play the Wookie in his upcoming film, Star Wars.

He is sen here in costume as Chewbacca in 1983 with American actress Carrie Fisher, who played the role of Princesss Leia and died of a sudden cardiac arrest in December 2016

Lucas had originally cast 6ft 6ins bodybuilder David Prowse in the role, but he ended up playing Darth Vader. Lucas was desperate for a taller actor for Chewbacca, and said all Mayhew had to do to get the part was 'stand up'.

Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing film of all time.

It has been followed by another seven canonical films, with an eighth episode due this December, two standalone films, and has spawned TV series, video games and books.

Incredibly, Mayhew went back to his job at the hospital following the first Star Wars film and continued working there until Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, was released in 1983.

Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in five films, most recently in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. By that time Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones

After that he quit and made his living off the character, giving speeches and appearing at fan conventions.

Mayhew would reprise the role twice more - in 2005 for Revenge Of The Sith and 2015 for The Force Awakens.

By the time Force Awakens was produced, Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones.

Producers gave him a courtesy call to say they would be casting a new actor in the role but Mayhew, who had just undergone a double knee transplant, insisted he could make himself fit enough to play the role one more time.

He underwent a physical training regime for three hours a day, every day, for four months. That was enough to get him out of the wheelchair and he was able to reprise the role alongside Ford as Solo.

Joonas Suotamo was then brought in to take over the role of Chewbacca after The Force Awakens.
Federal investigators have retrieved the flight data recorder to investigate why a chartered jet ran off a military base runway and into the St Johns River in Florida Friday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted aerial photos of the Boeing 737 stuck in the river along with a picture of an investigator holding the orange recorder that was recovered Saturday.

The military charter landed hard in a thunderstorm carrying 143 people from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overran the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Everyone on board survived without serious injuries, leading one former transportation official to liken the event to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson landing.

However, the animals on board were not so lucky. At least four pets are presumed dead after being transported in the luggage compartment below the plane when it landed in the river.

Miami Air International Boeing 737 crashed into Jacksonville's St Johns River on Friday night and is still stuck in the shallow water

The plane was carrying 143 passengers and seven crew members from Guantanamo Bay. All people on board were rescued, with two passengers treated for minor injuries

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee told Fox: 'I also call it a miracle in St. John, akin to the miracle in [the] Hudson with the great Captain Sully.'

Ten years ago, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger and co-captain Jeff Skiles saved all 155 people on board Flight 1549 when both engines blew out after striking Canadian geese.

The hero pilot made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River on a chilly January morning.

Now this Boeing 737 remains stuck in the riverbed, with the bottom of the fuselage under water and the plane's nose cone missing.

Marine units from local sheriff and fire departments joined first responders from the naval air station in helping passengers and crew who had lined up on the plane's wings to safety.

NTSB investigator Dan Boggs holds the flight data recorder to investigate why the plane overran the runway

At least four pets that were stored below the plane are presumed dead

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee likened the water landing to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing is still being investigated.
Demands for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour to face a full-scale anti-Semitism probe intensified last night with the delivery of a 'damning dossier' alleging hundreds of incidents of anti-Jewish prejudice within the party.

Equality watchdogs were sent a huge file alleging 'endemic' anti-Semitic behaviour in Labour and the party's apparent 'don't care' attitude to the problem.

The digital dossier  equivalent to 15,000 pages  was delivered by anti-Semitism campaigners to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which is now considering whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into Labour.

Embarrassingly for Mr Corbyn, the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice by revealing her own 30-year-old daughter Ruby had now quit the party 'in disgust'  partly over his failure in dealing with anti-Semitism.

Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Manchester on Friday), the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice

Mr Corbyn leaving his home on Thursday - he has been challenged by Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton after her own daughter quit the party 'in disgust' over his Brexit policy and the anti-Semitism row

Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton tweeted: 'Well done @jeremycorbyn  the teenager who canvassed with you and for you in 2005 and who voted for you, has left the party in disgust at your failure to deliver party policy on Brexit and deal with anti-Semitism.

'My daughter along with many others  heartbroken.'

The EHRC said yesterday that it had yet to decide whether to launch a full investigation into how the Labour Party handled claims of anti-Semitism.

But campaign group Labour Against Anti-Semitism revealed that it had submitted a detailed dossier involving over 15,000 screenshots taken from hundreds of Labour members 'and officials' promoting anti-Semitic views.

Group spokesman Euan Philipps said the file provided evidence of anti-Jewish racism on a massive scale within the party and a lack of commitment to deal with it.

Mr Philipps said: 'Over the last two years, our team of dedicated volunteers has systematically collected and detailed evidence of Labour Party members promoting anti-Semitic views and tropes across a range of social media platforms.

'This has all been reported to the party's compliance team, in a format suggested by them and including a significant level of detail.'

But he claimed the response by the party had been 'shocking and alarming', with reports ignored and party members suspended for only weeks at a time.

'Most distressing of all, reports containing the most appalling levels of racism have been given only the lightest reprimand.

'The message again and again has been the same: we don't care about this issue.'

Last night, Lady Thornton said she shared her daughter's 'frustration' but said she did not intend to resign from Mr Corbyn's front bench.

Responding to the dossier last night, a Labour spokesman said: 'This has not been submitted to the party so we cannot establish whether or not these relate to party members.'

Mr Corbyn was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband (pictured in Washington on Wednesday), who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'

They declined to comment on Baroness Thornton's remarks.

In the latest anti-Semitic row to hit the party publicly, Mr Corbyn himself came under fire last week for having endorsed a book containing anti-Jewish ideas.

As a backbench MP in 2011, he wrote the foreword for a new edition of J. A. Hobson's 1902 book Imperialism.

His aides said Mr Corbyn completely rejected the 'anti-Semitic elements' of the book.

But he was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'.
Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister uses an article in todays Mail on Sunday to appeal directly to the Labour leader to reach an agreement. She hopes such a deal could avoid the UK having to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

But last night, Tory Eurosceptics reacted with fury to the plan for a so-called customs framework or customs arrangement, describing it as abject surrender.

Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU

Downing Street hopes that Mr Corbyns poor showing in Thursdays local elections, when Labour lost dozens of seats in heartland Leave-voting areas, will motivate him to strike a deal.

Do they have the numbers? The hopes of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn of achieving a controversial customs union Brexit will rest on whether they can bring the so-called middle 400 MPs on board. Those are the Tory, Labour and other MPs who just want a Brexit deal passed to avoid either No Deal or a second referendum. If the Prime Minister can get most of the 270 pro-deal Tories to back her and Mr Corbyn can cajole even half of his 246 MPs to follow him, the deal may yet get through. Advertisement

The Tories were also punished over the Brexit impasse, losing 1,300 seats  their worst result in 24 years.

Mrs May writes that reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides  but promises her MPs that if the UK enters the arrangement now in order to secure cross-party support, they will be able to unpick it at a future date.

This deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead, she says. This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

She adds: To the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, Tory negotiators have told Labour that the Government would accept UK membership of a customs union  a red line for Brexiteers  but on condition that they called it something else to avoid inflaming party anger. One source said: It must look like a duck and quack like a duck, but it doesnt have to be called a duck.

Gove and The Saj play their leadership cards Values: Michael Gove makes his pitch in Scotland Two leading contenders to replace Theresa May made major pitches for the keys to No 10 yesterday as the battle for the Tory leadership intensified. Environment Secretary Michael Gove gave an emotionally charged address to the Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen, where he was raised by adoptive parents. In a well-received speech in which he gave his clearest hint yet that he is preparing to run to be Prime Minister, Mr Gove set out a vision of how he would lead the country based on the values taught to him by his mother and father. He said his parents values included: A belief that business is a force for good. A faith in education as a good in itself. A compassion for those less fortunate, which leads to action not just words. A big heart that they dont want to wear on their sleeve. A willingness to take risks and believe the best in others. A basic sense of justice, combined with a readiness to forgive. He later refused to rule out running in the looming contest when asked by The Mail on Sunday. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Sajid Javid also used his life story to set out his stall. In a clear pitch to the Left of the party and Labour voters, he spoke at the Welsh Conservative Party conference about how the state had helped him rise up from being a working class child in Rochdale to a City high-flyer. Straying way beyond his Home Affairs brief, he said: Health, education, work and pensions. For many in Westminster, these are the names of departments to be managed. But for my family growing up, they were our lifelines, and ultimately the ladder to my success. Referring to his brothers, he added: Theyre one reason that my parents, themselves raised by dollar-a-day farmers in rural Pakistan, could go on to raise a chief superintendent, an entrepreneur, a finance professional and a Cabinet Minister. Advertisement

Government sources insisted last night that an arrangement would differ from a union in that the UK would still be free to strike trade deals with non-EU countries. It could also be written directly into the Withdrawal Agreement Bill without approval from Brussels.

But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith branded the idea of a customs union deal as total anathema. He said: The idea we would leave the EU but have the EU decide all our future trading arrangements, decide what our tariffs are  basically, thats the most ridiculous position to be in.

Mr Duncan Smith added: The election result was so devastating that the Prime Minister now has to consider herself a caretaker PM.

She must now move fast to resolve this matter of leadership urgently because everywhere you went [during campaigning], the element of trust in the PM had completely broken down.

The idea that she is now able to do a deal with an equally discredited Labour Party is ridiculous. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory partys Brexiteer European Research Group, condemned a customs union deal as symbolic of an attempt by the political establishment to avoid Brexit, to have a pretend Brexit. He also appeared to suggest it was Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill who was making the decisions, not Mrs May. She seems at the moment to have such authority as the Cabinet Secretary allows her, Mr Rees-Mogg said.

Tory arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said any customs union deal would amount to an abject surrender. He added that in the wake of the local election results, his Wellingborough Tory association executive had called on Mrs May to resign by May 23 and for Brexit to happen on No Deal/World Trade Organisation terms. The warning was echoed by Alanna Vine, chairman of the Cheadle Tory association, who said: If we dont change course, bin the non-Brexit withdrawal agreement, prepare properly for a WTO deal, immediately cease discussions with Corbyn about remaining in the EU Customs Union and stop endlessly extending our leaving date, our party will be wiped out for a generation.

In her MoS article, Mrs May apologises to Tory councillors who lost their seats, saying: Voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

She adds: The Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency in this.

Now that's what you call a people's vote! The scale of grassroots anger over the Governments failure to deliver Brexit was reflected in the blizzard of spoilt ballot papers across the nation in Thursdays local elections. A social media campaign, using the hashtag SpoilYourBallot, led to thousands of voting papers being scrawled with Brexit Party and Brexit means Brexit. Others said: None of these deliver Brexit. One ballot paper, in Staffordshire, had written next to Jeremy Corbyns candidate: Led by a terrorist sympathiser. Next to the Tory candidate were the words: Theresa May betrayed Brexit. Other voting slips stated simply, again in reference to Brexit: Traitors. Advertisement

My Message to Jeremy Corbyn: Let's do a deal

By Prime Minister Theresa May

In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
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Country House has won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after first-place finisher Maximum Security was sensationally disqualified in a stewards' call.

Maximum Security had crossed the line first, but was taken down due to an incident on the final turn when he veered out of line and impeded War of Will and Long Range Toddy.

Jockey Luis Saez was able to straighten Maximum Security up almost immediately, but the stewards ruled it was a foul after reviewing footage.

The 150,000 spectators who descended on Churchill Downs in Louisville to watch the race were forced to wait for more than 20 minutes for a victor to be declared.

The decision left 65-1 long-shot Country House to be declared the winner of the world-famous $3 million race.

The shock decision marks the first time in the race's 145-year history that the victor has been changed on the day.

And it's possible the situation doesn't end here. There could be appeals to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or the courts.

Controversy rocked the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, after first-place finisher Maximum Security (right) was disqualified shortly after the race

Maximum Security crossed the line in first place, but the victory lap was short-lived, with the thoroughbred subsequently disqualified in a stewards' call

Country House (right) crossed the line in second place, but was later crowned the winner

Country House jockey Flavien Prat was seen celebrating after his surprise victory

Maximum Security's jockey, Luis Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict- seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations

Country House was the second longest shot to win in the history of the Derby and paid out $132.40 on a $2 bet.

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby.

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations.

He later said: 'No words can describe this. It's amazing.'

'I really lost my momentum around the turn,' he said of Maximum Security's foul, which came as several horses were gaining ground on the leader.

The stunning outcome gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first Derby victory at age 65.

'It feels pretty darn good,' an elated Mott said after the race.

'It was an odd way to do it and we hate to back into any of these things. It's a bittersweet victory but I've got to say our horse ran very well and our jockey rode very well.'

He added: 'You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the very good horse and great athlete that he is.

'Due to the disqualification, I think some of that is diminished.'

Country House is pictured in the winner's circle following the most dramatic Kentucky Derby in history

The disqualification was a crushing turn of events for Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis and jockey Luis Saez, who already had begun celebrating what they thought were their first Derby victories.

Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict - and was seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed.

Maximum Security - owned by billionaire philanthropists Gary and Mary West - was the odds-on favorite to win the Derby, making the disqualification all the more heartbreaking.

"I never put anybody in danger," Saez said.

Servis backed up his jockey, saying: "He's right. He straightened him up right away and I didn't think it affects the outcome of the race."

Prat claimed that Maximum Security ducked out in the final turn and forced several horses to steady, including Long Range Toddy. War of Will came perilously close to clipping heels with Maximum Security, which could have caused a chain-reaction accident.

The only other disqualification in Kentucky Derby history occurred long after the race in 1968.

In that race, Dancer's Image, the first-place finisher, tested positive for a prohibited medication, and Kentucky state racing officials ordered the purse money to be redistributed. Forward Pass got the winner's share. A subsequent court challenge upheld the stewards' decision.

Saturday's race came at a time when the sport has come under scrutiny following the death of 23 horses at the famed Santa Anita track in Southern California since Christmas.

The spate of fatalities has prompted an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and led to protests by animal rights activists at the track, which is scheduled to host the Breeders' Cup in November.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks

While there was certainly plenty of drama on the track, there was much happening elsewhere at Churchill Downs.

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks - with female racegoers sporting stylish hats and stylish fascinators.

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions.

Organizers cautioned guests to bring a pair along a pair of flat shoes as the 'historic grounds can be tricky to maneuver and the day is long'.

No doubt, the sensible footwear came in handy, as the rain intensified over the course of the afternoon, creating mud and slush as punters prepared to head home.

Plenty of men at the event also made sure to dress to impress for the occasion - wearing stylish suits and trendy hats
Facebook is allowing anti-Christian extremists freedom to peddle hate despite closing down accounts of far-right and anti-Semitic leaders, MailOnline can reveal.

The social media giant this week said it had shut down profiles belonging to Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were thrown off Facebook, along with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and the white nationalist Paul Nehlen, saying they had violated its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

But the company was today accused of hypocrisy when hordes of anti-Christian fanatics and anti-Semites are allowed to function freely on the site despite a raft complaints.

They say hate preachers like the Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik  spreads anti-Christian rhetoric to thousands of followers on the network.

Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year.

Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik - spreads anti-Christian rhetoric - and is still allowed to remain on Facebook

He also praised the murder of Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah by Islamists in Glasgow in 2016.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the anti-racism group Faith Matters, reported him to Facebook in November 2017 amid concerns that his hatred was influencing British Pakistani communities.

But no action was taken and the fanatic remains active on the social network today.

'How long can this farce continue when Facebook says it acts and then does not?' Mr Mughal told MailOnline.

'How long can violence inspirers have Facebook pages? This man has praised the murderer of a British resident for allegedly 'blaspheming'.

'It is like we are back in the barbaric Dark Ages with Facebook giving us spin, whilst the founders lounge in San Francisco, batting away these issues with slick public relations statements.'

Rizvi is not the only Islamist using Facebook to spread his messages of Christian-hatred.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) had his Facebook account deactivated

Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation, said that the platform has become 'a sewer of poisonous anti-Christian hatred and anti-Semitism'.

'Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood are very active on Facebook, both as organisations and as individual members,' he said.

'They have been reported so many times but Facebook does nothing. In fact, when a Muslim friend of mine wrote an article that was mildly critical of Islamic fundamentalism, Facebook removed it.

'Sometimes I wonder whether the platform is really being run by Islamists.'

Mr Aleji demanded to know why Facebook purge hasn't included Ayat Oraby, the Egyptian blogger linked to the Muslim Brotherhood living in the US.

'Some of the things she writes on Facebook about Christians are truly poisonous, especially in Arabic,' he said. 'People have complained many times. Yet she is allowed to carry on freely.'

Far-right British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has also had his Facebook account deleted

It comes as a report by the Foreign Office found Christians are 'by far the most persecuted' religious group and are enduring what amounts to genocide in some parts of the world.

They are being driven out of the Middle East in a modern-day exodus that means the religion could be wiped out in parts 'where its roots go back furthest', the study found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed 'political correctness' for a failure to confront the oppression of Christians, which he called the 'forgotten persecution'.

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi (pictured), a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa during his five-day tour of Africa, Mr Hunt  who is a committed Christian  said: 'I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

'I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.'

As well a Christian haters, Jewish groups have also long complained that Facebook tolerates anti-Semitism while coming down hard on pro-Israel sentiment.

Alison Chabloz, the Holocaust denier who was convicted of hate crimes last year, remains active on Facebook, often using it to promote her vile views  even though a court has banned her from using social media.

Similarly, Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Israel firebrand who lost a court case last year over his claims that anti-Semitism was invented to defraud the taxpayer, has a large Facebook following.

Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir (Facebook profile image pictured) and the Muslim Brotherhood are still active on Facebook, Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation claims

And David Icke, an arch conspiracy theorists who was banned from entering Australia and has been thrown out of numerous venues in Britain, operates openly on the social network.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'While we welcome Facebook's removal of a handful of bigots, this is mere virtue signalling as the platform remains a vehicle for hatred.

'The fact is that Facebook is where neo-Nazis, Islamists and far-left extremists feel at home, using it to spread poisonous hatred against Jews and many others.

'Facebook is the only major social network that refuses to talk to us about our concerns.

'For years, Facebook has done its best to avoid stamping out incitement on its network. This is too little, too late.'

A Facebook spokesman told MailOnline: 'We work hard to make Facebook a hostile place for extremism and do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism.

'We have invested heavily in specialist teams, expert partnerships, and new technology to identify, review and remove extremist content.

'99% of terrorist content which is removed from the platform is done so proactively before it is reported to us. '
Q. I would like to hitchhike or catch buses following the Mississippi River. What do you recommend? I am 66.

Tommy MacDonald, Chelsea, London

A. Hitchhiking could be risky, as well as tiring.

Rides on Greyhound buses from Minneapolis in Minnesota to New Orleans in Louisiana, stopping for a few days at St Louis in Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee, to get a flavour of life by the river, would come to about 200-250 (greyhound.com).

Long and winding: The Mississippi River is one of the longest rivers in the world and the route along it is well-served by Greyhound Buses

Q. We are going to a wedding in Positano in Italy, flying in to Naples. Can you advise on the best, and cheapest, way to get there from the airport?

Mrs Sam Pugh, via email.

A. For an adventure, take the 20-minute airport bus (4.30) to Garibaldi Station in Naples.

Then catch a 68-minute Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento (3.90). From Sorrento, its a 35-minute ferry to Positano (18, directferries.co.uk).

Or, much easier, a shared shuttle bus direct to your Positano hotel is from 48 for two (positanoshuttle.com).

Pretty as a picture: To reach Postitano, pictured, from Naples take the train to Sorrento then a 35-minute ferry for 18

Q. We want to go to Florida for a holiday, then hop over to Cuba for a week before flying back to Florida. Can we do this?

Chrissie Mobbs, via email.

A. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says: Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the U.S. to Cuba is not allowed under U.S. law. See gov.uk.

If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card. These cost 25 (cubavisa.uk).

Colourful: If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card costing 25

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions and provide tips for your precious time off. Send questions to: holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk or write to Daily Mail Travel, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT  and include your contact details.

We will do our best to answer your queries but we cant reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Britain has over 1,000 islands and many of them, as a fascinating new book reveals, are ripe for exploring.

Islandeering: Adventures Around The Edge Of Britains Hidden Islands, by Lisa Drewe, charts 50 hidden islands, many accessible but little known  all perfect for adventure and circumnavigation.

The new book underscores what each island is best for, with categories including skinning dipping, epic tidal crossings and pubs. Here we pick out our favourite examples. Scroll down to behold some of Britains last undiscovered wildernesses

Best for epic tidal crossings: Worm's Head

Worm's Head, pictured, is described as 'one of the UKs most exhilarating islands by Lisa Drewe in her Islandeering book

Drewe describes Worms Head  on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea - as one of the UKs most exhilarating islands.

Not least because the jagged causeway to the island is submerged at high tide.

Handily, a large board below an old Coastguard lookout reveals the safe crossing times.

In the book, Drewe also lists the following islands as being best for tidal crossings: Lihou, Foulness, Scolt Head, Lindisfarne, Chapel, Hilbre, Ynys Lochtyn, Oronsay/Colonsay and Vallay.

Best for skinny dips and secluded swims: Sark

The potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches on Sark (pictured) is huge, writes Drewe. She lists it as one of the top spots for skinny dipping

Channel Island Sark, says Drewe, is a quirky, timeless island with a coastline thats packed with caves and swimming spots.

Perfect, the book points out, for skinny dipping.

Drewe, who lives in Wiltshire and the Isle of Skye, continues: Once ashore you seem to have inadvertently stepped into a time warp: This island has no cars, has its own parliament and the potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches is huge.

Drewes other skinny dipping hotspots are Lihou, Scolt Head, Cei Ballast, Ynys Gifftan, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Vatersay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for wild and remote: Steep Holm

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year to Steep Holm (pictured) and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds

Getting to Steep Holm, which is off the coast of Weston-super-Mare, isnt easy, but your efforts will be rewarded with panoramic views of the Somerset coast.

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year  roughly  and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds.

The island is now a nature reserve but used to be a military outpost. Today, says Drewe, its packed with signal stations, watchtowers, gun batteries and underground munition stores  and about 2,000 pairs of nesting gulls.

The other wild and remote islands listed in the book are Samson, Foulness, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Oronsay/Skye, Vatersay, Eriskay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for glorious beaches: Vallay

Vallay is Drewe's favourite island. She says that it's a 'great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot'

Vallay is not only a glorious beach spot but Drewes favourite island overall.

Drewe, who spent the past 10 years researching this book, told MailOnline Travel: It has everything for me. There is an epic two-kilometre crossing to the island on tidal sands and stunning views out to the remotest part of Britain, the St Kilda archipelago, with the sea in between uplit by the bone-white sands.

This is a great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot. This is freedom.

The other islands listed as having glorious beaches are Samson, St Martins, Herm, Scolt Head, Llanddwyn, Vatersay, Berneray, Taransay and Great Bernera.

Best for ruins and ancient remains: Great Bernera

At Great Bernera there's an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known

Great Bernera, off the west coast of Lewis, is an island with a passionate history, writes Drewe.

The highlights include an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known.

And theres a bonus, apparently  great cakes at the community centre.

Other islands that excel in the ruins and ancient remains department are Samson, Steep Holm, Alderney, Skomer, Flat Holm, Kerrera, Flotta, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for cafes, local food and inns: Muck

The cafe at Port Mor on Muck is, by all accounts, a great place for a scone, a cup of tea or a beer

Muck, in the Inner Hebrides, has much to recommend it, enthuses Drew  not least the cafe at the islands main hamlet, Port Mor.

She says that the owners are a hoot and serve up great scones, beer and tea.

And the cafe generally stays open until the last ferry leaves.

The island also boasts the Godag B&B, which is stunningly located on the northeast shore.

Other islands picked out for their cafes, food and inns are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Lundy, Mersea, Luing, Kerrera, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for families: Brownsea

Brownsea has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, writes Drewe

Brownsea, in Poole Harbour, was voted the best nature reserve in the UK, and Drewe can understand why.

She says that it has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, from pine-woods to meadows, crammed with flowers and wild creatures.

Heading to the peaceful South Shore for a swim is highly recommended.

The other family friendly islands listed in the book are Looe, Lundy, Lihou, Herm, Thorney, Llanddwyn and Flat Holm.

Best for birds, wild creatures and flowers: Skomer

Skomer is home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect

Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, is the location for one of Britains greatest natural spectacles, says Drewe  the nightly return of thousands of Manx shearwater sea birds, back from a days fishing.

Its also home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect.

Plus, there are lots of wildflowers. Springtime bluebell walks on the west coast are a must.

The other islands listed as best for birds, wild creatures and flowers are Looe, Brownsea, Lundy, Alderney, Two Tree, Canvey, Scolt Head, Vatersay and Taransay.

Best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks: Ynys Lochtyn

Ynys Lochtyn 'is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure'

This tidal island on the coast of Cardigan Bay is described by Drewe as a rocky adventure.

She continues: It is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure.

If youve got adventure in your veins, she says, this island will not disappoint.

The other islands listed in the book as being best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks are Bryher, Lundy, Sark, Hilbre, Worms Head, Davaar, Iona, Oronsay/Skye and South Walls.

Best for trail running: Thorney

On Thorney there's an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior

This West Sussex MoD-owned island is a haven for wildlife and the wild, says Drewe.

Theres an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior and a nice sandy beach at the southern tip thats great for a swim.

For a change of pace, pop into atmospheric St Nicholas Church.

Other islands highlighted for their trail running potential are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Alderney, Mersea, Lindisfarne, Ramsey, Flotta and Papa Westray.

Best for contemplation and retreat: Iona

Iona is the perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation. Must-visits include the abbey and St Martin's Cave. Heading along the north coast, youll see a Bronze Age stone circle on the peninsula of Aird an Uan, which leads to Eilean nan Each (Horse Island)

This sacred Inner Hebrides island is adorned with rock pools and secluded white-sand beaches, says Drewe.

The perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation.

Must-visits include the abbey, which is guarded by an array of beautiful Celtic crosses, and the remote and mesmerising St Martins Cave.

Other islands you should consider for contemplation are Lindisfarne, Llanddwyn, Bardsey, Holy Island (Arran), Davaar and Oronsay/Colonsay.

Best for spotting whales and dolphins: Bardsey

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place

HOW TO STAY SAFE 'The most important thing is to understand the tides around the island,' says Drewe, 'particularly if you need to cross tidal sands or causeways to get there. Not only the times of the low tides but also their depths as these can vary between spring and neap tides and could mean the difference between a walk, wade or swim. Tide tables are available but if in doubt the locals are the experts. They also know about water flows if you are thinking of a swim.' Advertisement

From the summit of Bardsey, which lies at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, its possible to spot pods of Rissos dolphins cavorting in the sea.

And seals and porpoises can be seen on the harbour beach.

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place.

Don't forget to climb Mynydd Enlli summit for panoramic views, says Drewe.

Other islands that are prime spots for wildlife spotting are Lundy, Ynys Lochtyn, Ramsey, Davaar, Eriskay, Berneray, Taransay, South Walls and North Ronaldsay.

This graphic indicates 12 of the 50 islands that are featured in Islandeering - and what they're best for
She recently shared her fears over giving birth after stumbling upon a book about childbirth.

But Gemma Atkinson, 34, looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during Strictly Come Dancing's professionals tour.

The former Hollyoaks star concealed her baby bump in an all black ensemble as she smiled for the cameras.

Radiant: Pregnant Gemma Atkinson, 34, smiled for the cameras as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, on Friday

The English star sported figure-hugging black leggings and an unbuttoned cream shirt as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by the BBC One stars.

Gemma kept her hands in the pockets of her stylish black coat as she she stepped outside to meet the chilly weather.

She completed her look with a pair of sleek flat shoes and a handbag slung over her shoulder.

Also making an appearance at the Manchester theatre was actress Denise Welch who was accompanied by her husband Lincoln Townley.

Mum-to-be: The actress looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Manchester venue to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals Tour

Looking good: Gemma sported a casual look as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by dancing stars

Smile: The beauty sported a stylish black and a pair of sleek flat shoes as she arrived at the theatre

The former Waterloo Road star donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper, a pair of blue jeans and white trainers as she came to support the Strictly professionals.

Gemma's appearance comes less than a month after she discovered the unsettling reality of what might occur during her labour.

Writing to her 988,000 on Instagram the actress wrote: 'Baby books are fine until you read the part where you "May tear from your vagina to your bum"'.

Strike a pose: Also arriving at the Manchester venue was soap actress Denise Welch and husband Lincoln Townley

Keeping it casual: Denise donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper and a pair of blue jeans as she arrived at the theatre

Gemma and professional dancer Gorka Marquez, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, are expecting their first child later this year.

The couple, who went public with their relationship in February 2018, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram.

Since sharing their news the Gemma and Gorka, who is currently on tour with his Strictly co-stars, have been keeping fans up to date with the pregnancy on social media.

Joining Gorka for this year's Strictly tour are professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Oti Mabuse, Karen Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, AJ Pritchard, and Pasha Kovalev.

Horror: Gemma recently revealed her horror after stumbling upon a baby book that gave the gory details of childbirth

Chilling: The couple, who met in 2017, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram




Paris Jackson and Caroline D'Amore go together like pepperoni and cheese.

The 21-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson hosted a dinner party to celebrate the new Pizza Girl by Caroline DAmore pasta sauce at the private home of the CEO of Absolut Elyx, Jonas Tahlin.

The Chanel model wore a dramatic, low-cut black crop top that showed off her chakra tattoos and patterned boho pants.

Empowered women empower women: Paris Jackson hosted an event in Los Angeles on Thursday to support her friend's new product

She wore a number of bracelets ad three necklaces, each draped at different lengths around her neck.

The 21-year-old musician also wore a pair of large, beaded hoop earrings.

Paris wore her hair in tight curls and finished off the boho-rocker look with dramatic winged black eyeliner.

Gal pals: Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore

Pizza girl: Pizza, pasta, salad and specialty cocktails were all on the menu

Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore, 34, in celebration of the new Pizza Girl sauce she created.

Notable attendees included Ashlee Simpson, Emile Hirsch, Ryan Cabrera and Evan Ross.

Ashlee and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm and were happily enjoying the beautiful night before before taking their seats at the beautiful outside tables for the sunset dinner.

Guests of honor: Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm

Feast fit for a king: Dozens of guests gathered round the dinner table

Be our guest: Attendees feasted on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe

Just before 8pm guests sat down at the magical poolside dining table to feast on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe.

Guests were also treated to specialty cocktails made with Absolut Elyx.

The most popular cocktail of the night was named 'Thats DAmore.'

The outing comes less than two months Paris was hospitalized.

Paris denied a report that she had attempted suicide, and sources told DailyMail.com that the King of Pop's daughter had been 'partying' very hard and cut herself with kitchen scissors after she had gotten out of control.
Nina Dobrev knows how to show a friend a good time.

The Vampire Diaries star, 30, helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress posted videos to social media on Friday.

And 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina.

Gal pals: Nina Dobrev (L) helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's (R) bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress, 30, posted videos to social media on Friday

Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out.

Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic.

Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil.

She not only models, but is also an aspiring actress.

Stunners: 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina

Impressive: Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out

Keleigh appeared in the short film Opeth: The Devils Orchard in 2012 and in the short film Dance in 2017, according to IMDb.

And Keleigh recently partnered up with Wells of Life, whose mission is to bring clean water to the villagers of Uganda.

She posted a picture from a Wells of Life meeting with the caption: 'Thank you Kingdom of Uganda for your partnership,agreement, and donation to breaking ground on our sanitization compound to keep these wells in Uganda clean'

Seductive: Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil

Sweet snap: Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic

Keleigh's sister Christie revealed in 2017 that Miles had popped the question to Keleigh while the pair were on a romantic safari holiday in Africa after dating for nearly four years.

Miles even brought Keleigh home to meet his whole family.

'I brought her to meet my grandparents,' he said in a 2014 interview with Elle magazine. 'My grandma tweets my girlfriend.'

Gangs all here: A gaggle of gorgeous girls help Keleigh celebrate

Last name! The ladies surprised her with balloons spelling out her fiance's last name

Keleigh and Miles have been a couple since way back in 2013, the year he drew attention for his high school film The Spectacular Now.

Meanwhile, Miles is busy wrapping up his highly anticipated sequel to Top Gun.

The film - directed by Joseph Kosinski - is subtitled Maverick with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles.
They have remained on great terms following their split.

And Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday.

The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple.

Family time: Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday

Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat.

Under the jacket the blonde kept it casual in denim jeans and a camel knit.

She boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a burgundy handbag from FRAME.

Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up.

Trendy: Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat, and she carried her favorite burgundy red bag from FRAME

Yum! The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple

Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper.

Tom caught the eye in bright blue trousers and a matching jacket underneath a navy raincoat.

Later on, Sienna seemed to step away from Marlowe and Tom as she took a phone call.

Fashionable: Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper

Sienna previously gushed to Harper's Bazaar that Tom was her 'best friend in the entire world' - and that while they don't share a property, they often stay together to spend mutual time with their little girl.

Admitting their close bond has not broken since they cut romantic ties in the summer of 2015 after four years together, she explained: We still love each other.

'I think in a break-up somebody has to be a little bit cruel in order for it to be traditional, but its not been acrimonious in a way where you would choose to not be around that person.'

Trendy: Sienna boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a oxblood handbag

Natural: Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up

Sienna is now dating Lucus Zwirner, 28, the pair went public with their romance in January.

The couple, who met through mutual friends in New York, went public with their romance last year when they attended her ex Tom's birthday party in London together.

Lucas, who currently oversees 25 book releases a year as editorial director of David Zwirner Books, is a Yale-educated literature aficionado.

The star famously dated fellow A-lister Jude Law on-off from 2003, with the actor famously issuing a public apology to her after having an affair with his children's nanny.
Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children.

The 56-year-old reality star, according to The Blast, told a South Carolina court his ex-girlfriend Dennis, 26, has had her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, watch their two children - Kensie, four, and Saint, three - in the latest chapter in their bitter custody fight.

Dennis's time with the kids should immediately be suspended pending Price moving out of her home, Ravenel told the court.

The latest: Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 56, claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis, 26, foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children

Ravenel, a one-time treasurer for the state of South Carolina, was responding to a previous request Dennis made that the court bar Ravenels girlfriend Ashley Jacobs from contacting the two children; or posting their images on social media.

Dennis has also requested the court give her a temporary order that would award her primary custody and Ravenel visitation (in which he'd be barred from consuming alcohol); and modified child support to reflect the arrangement.

Ravenel told the court Dennis's request for an immediate result was unwarranted, as there have been no drastic changes in their parenting arrangement as of late.

He chalked her requests involving Jacobs to jealousy, saying they were a means of control; and said that Dennis has past told the children he wants to harm and kill her, according to the outlet.

Romance: Dennis was seen with her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, in an Instagram shot

On the offense: Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her

Ravenel also requested child support from Dennis, saying she has a six-figure income.

Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her, after her custody was revoked three years ago after she failed a drug test (She has since finished a rehab and been granted joint custody).

The custody battle last year involved Bravo, as Ravenel sued the network in November to cease broadcasting content that hadn't previously been aired (linked to a discussion about his ongoing sexual assault case).

Bravo encouraged Dennis to enter a long custody battle with him in hopes of creating content for their series, Ravenel told the court.

Southern Charm comes back on May 15, airing on Bravo at 8/7c.
She first revealed her burgeoning pregnancy back in January.

And Kate Mara covered her growing bump during a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon.

The 36-year-old actress and heiress was pushing along a stroller, presumably for one of the other women's children.

Day out: Kate Mara, 36, was seen going for a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon

The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a black shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket.

She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag.

The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week.

Back in black: The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a blakc shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket

Matching: She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag

New 'do: The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week

Kate was chatting with two friends who were recent mothers while pushing a stroller, though her own baby is still on the way.

The happy news was first reported in early January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans while waiting in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes.

She revealed she was pregnant after A Quiet Place's Emily Blunt commented on her growing breasts.

She was reportedly five-months pregnant at the time, suggesting she's close to her due date now.

Revealed: The news was first reported in January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans after Emily Blunt remarked on the size of her breasts while in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes

This will be the first child for Kate and her husband Jamie Bell, whom she married in July 2017.

The two began their relationship in late 2015, after working on the doomed superhero flick Fantastic Four.

This baby will be her first, though Jamie shares a five-year-old son with his former wife Evan Rachel Wood, whom he divorced in 2014.

The Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool actor will next be seen in the Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which he'll play John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.

Kate will appear in the TV movie A Teacher. She played Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, a young campaign worker who was killed while riding with the late Senator Ted Kennedy when his car plunged off a bridge.
She's getting ready for another showstopping appearance at Monday's Met Gala.

But Kim Kardashian wasn't waiting to steal the spotlight as she commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday.

The 37-year-old reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe while eldest sister Kourtney's ex Scott Disick joined in on the fun.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian, 37, commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday

Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle.

Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders.

Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots.

Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades.

Impressive: Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle

Sister act: The reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe

The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022.

And the reality TV star proved how focused she is on becoming a lawyer in a preview for Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The Selfish author was looking through letters from prisoners asking for her help with clemency when her mother Kris Jenner entered the room to give her some compliments about her new career goal.

Rear view: Kim put her pert derriere on full display as she was joined by Scott Disick

They could be twins! Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots

Kim is sitting on a sofa when she says, 'I'm reading this letter from prison and this one's a good one.'

Kris asks, 'How many cases do you do at a time?'

'The average time to get someone clemency is seven to 10 years,' said Kim, who did not finish college but is able to take the bar with proper studying. She has to pass a mini bar this year.

Hair story: Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders

Casual cool: Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades

'I'm super proud of you Kim, you take this all seriously and I think that they're lucky that you listen,' added the momager.

'If I see something that I feel like has a real shot and just like moves me, then I'll send it to my attorney's who look over everything just to make sure it's legitimate,' she tells Jenner.

She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer.

Meanwhile, Kim is getting ready for another appearance at the highly anticipated Met Gala in New York City on Monday.

Aiming high: The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022

Inspired: She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer

This year's exhibition, titled Camp: Notes On Fashion, will examine 'how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.'

'We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures,' curator Andrew Bolton told the New York Times in October.

How 'camp' went from the margins to mainstream

Inspired by the Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on Camp, the exhibition will comprise more than 250 objects, dating from the 17th century to the present.

These objects will take visitors through the evolution of camp, from the royal courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV at Versailles, to the American and European queer subcultures of the 20th-century, according to CNN.
Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun.

A source told the publication that the actress, 23, had been approached to appear on the show last year, but was banned from such deals under strict rules by ITV bosses.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced she would be leaving Coronation Street in 2020, making her seventh cast member in three months to quit the show.

Dancefloor ready: Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun

The source said: 'Lucy is a huge fan of Strictly and was invited to watch last year's live show in Blackpool. When Strictly bosses realised she was keen, they told her she'd have to quit Corrie because of its ban on deals.

'Lucy took the plunge as she knows her acting career has more opportunities ahead than sticking around in Weatherfield.

'Talks have started between her representatives and Strictly bookers. Some male dancers already want to partner her.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing and Lucy Fallon for comment.

Next big thing: The star had reportedly been approached to appear on the soap while she is stil playing Bethany Platt, but is banned from such deals by ITV bosses

Lucy would not be the first Corrie star to appear on Strictly after quitting the soap, joining stars such as Natalie Gumede and Georgia May Foote.

Gemma Atkinson also appeared on Strictly in 2017 after leaving Emmerdale, but it is unclear whether the same rules apply to the stars of ITV's rival soap.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020.

She's off! The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020

In a statement the star told MailOnline: 'After the most incredible four years, I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave Coronation Street at the end of my contract in 2020.

'It's hard to put into words how much this show means to me. I've made lifelong friends with some of the most talented and hardworking people in the industry, I've had some terrific and immensely important storylines and I've laughed with the best people everyday.'

The star added: 'I'm so thankful to Iain and everyone at Coronation Street, I owe everything to them and I will miss them greatly.'

Sequins at the ready: Several Coronation Street stars have gone onto take part in Strictly, after they left the soap (last year's winner Stacey Dooley pictured above)

Lucy then went onto clarify her decision in a tweet, writing: 'My decision to leave was made in August last year and has nothing to do with ANYONE at Coronation Street. I didn't make it lightly and I am going to miss every single person there.'

The beauty has joined stars such as Faye Brookes, Katie McGlynn and Kym Marsh who have recently decided to leave the soap, with a total of seven stars quitting in the last three months alone.

It comes after it was claimed by The Irish Sun that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as several stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary and long hours, as well as their bans on performing in panto and other big brand deals.

A source said: 'Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won't let her take them on.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coronation Street for comment.

Mass exodus: Lucy has joined seven other stars who have decided to leave the soap in the past three months
They first met on an international flight in August last year and since then, their relationship appears to have gone from strength to strength.

So much so, that Sophie Monk looked completely smitten with boyfriend Joshua Gross as they enjoyed a date night together while holidaying in the Maldives.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the Love Island host, 39, shared a sweet snap of herself and her beau staring into each other's eyes, as they cuddled up together.

The look of love! Sophie Monk and boyfriend Joshua Gross looked nothing but smitten as they cuddled up together for a new Instagram post shared by the Love Island host on Friday

In the photo, Sophie stunned in a plunging white crochet dress that tied together at the waist and teased a look at her ample bust.

Joshua was also dressed in white and wrapped his arm around Sophie, while she affectionately leaned on her love's shoulder.

Sweetly looking at each other, the couple looked the picture of happiness as they continued to mark their first relationship milestone - their very first holiday together.

Stunning: Sophie jetted to the Maldives for her first holiday away with boyfriend Joshua, who she met in August last year on an international flight

Sophie has been sharing plenty of snaps from their romantic getaway for her followers to see, including one of her posing in a low-cut fitted dress and round shades by the sea.

Other photos saw the beauty flaunting her enviable frame in a cut-away scarlet red swimsuit, as she posed by the water and alongside her beau.

Sophie's romance with businessman Joshua follows her less-than successful relationship with millionaire publican Stu Laundy, who she met on The Bachelorette in 2017.

Smitten: The TV star has been sharing snaps from their romantic break away with her Instagram followers, including a picture of herself and Joshua posing together by the pool

Wow: Other holiday snaps saw Sophie slip into a stunning scarlet red swimsuit that teased a look at the beauty's enviable frame with its cut-out panels

Monk has spent two decades in the spotlight and recently confessed, as she approaches turning 40 later this year, that she thought she'd now be living a 'normal life' with four children and a husband.

Speaking to TV Week, she said: 'I thought I'd have four children and be married.

'I thought I'd be in this industry for a little bit and then get out and have a normal life, where I'd pick up the kids from school, but I've realised that's not going to happen.'
Line of Duty star Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into his cab earlier this week.

The 34-year-old actor was reportedly left 'shaken' but unscathed after the HGV ploughed into the side of the vehicle he had been sitting in during a taxi ride through Salford, Manchester, on Thursday.

According to reports, one of cab's door's had been left completely destroyed following the crash.

Narrow escape: Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into a taxi he had been sat in during his journey through Salford, Manchester on Thursday

Dashcam footage obtained by The Sun shows the moments after the star escaped serious injury as he was being driven back to his hotel in the city.

Taxi driver Derek Burton, 71, who claimed he had been waiting at a red light when the accident took place, described the moment the large truck smashed into his vehicle.

He told The Sun: 'There was a thundering bang. I thought it was a bomb. Martin screamed. We didn't know what happened. We hadn't seen the truck.

'It smashed into where he was sitting. Martin's door was bashed in. It was probably doing 10mph but was so big it destroyed the cab.'

Fighting crime: Footage obtained by The Sun shows the star after he escaped serious injury

On the hunt: The actor is currently starring in the fifth series of the BBC drama Line of Duty

Footage following the crash shows the Line of Duty actor walk around the cab as the taxi driver and the HGV driver exchange details.

The actor, who currently stars as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the BBC One series, recently shared his thoughts on the countless fan theories surrounding Jed Mercurio's plot.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast he said: 'I saw some people the first time saying, 'I can't believe they got that wrong, that's a mistake.'

Theres no mistakes with Jed Mercurio. Hes got every single thing thought through.

Earlier this year, the award-winning drama, which follows the controversial police anti-corruption unit AC-12 and is currently in its fifth series, confirmed it had been renewed for a sixth season.

MailOnline has contacted Martin Compston's representatives for comment.
She has been embracing her newly-single status after announcing her split from husband Lee Henderson in October last year.

And showing her former love exactly what he's missing, Jackie O stunned as she stepped out for a Mother's Day High Tea hosted by her best pal Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta.

The radio presenter, 44, looked sensational in a chic all-black getup that made for a very leggy display.

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Sensational: Jackie O, 44, (pictured) looked incredible as she made a very leggy appearance at the Mother's Day High Tea hosted by Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta on Friday

Jackie paired together a black square-necked top and tailored shorts that were cut just above the knee.

She wore a stylish long blazer on top of her outfit choice and added a boost to her look with a pair of clear perspex heels.

Her footwear only emphasized her incredibly toned pins further and she finished off her outfit by styling her blonde locks into soft curls that framed her face.

Smile! The radio presenter was seen rubbing shoulders with her BFF Roxy (pictured far right) and other guests at the stylish event

Gorgeous! Jackie favoured a chic all-black getup that teamed together a long blazer and tailored shorts cut just above the knee

The mother-of-one wore glamorous make-up that boasted a dramatic smokey eye, bronzed cheeks and a glossy nude lip.

She was seen posing on her arrival to the event and flashed a smile alongside BFF Roxy, who dazzled in an off-the-shoulder pink layered dress, and other guests.

Jackie's appearance at the tea comes after she was recently heard discussing dating again on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, following her split with husband Lee last year.

Jackie joked that she could see herself dating a celebrity chef next, as her co-host Kyle Sandilands teased: 'You'll probably end up with one!'

Ready to find love again? Jackie recently joked on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she'll probably end up dating a celebrity chef following her split from husband Lee Henderson

She announced her split with Lee in October and stressed the decision to end their marriage after 18 years together was 'not made lightly'.

The exes have remained amicable despite separating and are now actively co-parenting their eight-year-old daughter Kitty.

Speaking on her radio show, Jackie, who has been supported through her split by close friend Roxy, explained: 'It's not a decision we took lightly at all.

'Lee and I have been so lucky that our separation has been extremely amicable.

All over: The star and husband Lee announced their split in October last year - they have separated after 18 years together, but continue to co-parent their daughter Kitty (pictured)

'I know everyone says that, but we actually have remained really good friends throughout this.'

She added that the pair were separated for quite some time before announcing their split, but decided to play things out privately at first, and still speak every day.

In December, just two months after news surfaced of their split, Jackie and Lee took their daughter Kitty on holiday together in Fiji.

Jackie and Lee married in 2003 - three years after first meeting in a bar in Sydney, when Lee had been backpacking around Australia in 2000.
Luke Perry was buried in an eco-friendly mushroom suit.

His 18-year-old daughter Sophie took to Instagram to confirm the news as well as share a cute story about how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet.

She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday with the caption: 'In December I went to San Francisco with two of my best friends.

'One of them, had never never been to California, so we went to show him the Redwoods. I took this picture while we were there, because i thought, "damn, those mushrooms are beautiful."'

Bond: Sophie Perry revealed that her father Luke was buried in an Infinity Burial Suit after his untimely death in March

Interesting: The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms

Sophie goes on to explain that mushrooms mean an entirely different thing for her as she goes on to explain the concept of an Infinity Burial Suit.

She continued: 'Any explanation i give will not do justice to the genius that is the mushroom burial suit, but it is essentially an eco friendly burial option via mushrooms. '

The teenager goes on to suggest that her followers read up on the suit as she shared that it was one of her father Luke's final wishes to be buried in one.

Sophie said: 'My dad discovered it, and was more excited by this than I have ever seen him. He was buried in this suit, one of his final wishes.

'My dad was more excited by this than I have ever seen him': She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday as she revealed how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet

'They are truly a beautiful thing for this beautiful planet, and I want to share it with all of you.'

The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms.

It has three main functions: aid in decomposition, neutralizes toxins found in the body and transfer them to plant life.

Sophie has been doing plenty to honor her father's name as she has had a school named after him just two months after his untimely death.

Earlier this week she took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star.

She shared a group photo which included her mother and Luke's ex wife Minnie Sharp in front of the building which had his name emblazoned on the side.

Amazing gesture: Earlier this week Sophie took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star

Alongside the image, Sophie wrote a thoughtful caption which read: 'Thank you to everybody who donated to help with our projects!

'Our first school is finished and I cant tell you how proud and excited I am to see it open on Wednesday. Thank you to my amazing partner Ruben for everything. Especially for fighting to name the school after my dad.'

Over the past few months Sophie and her friends Gabriella and Ruben have been living in the southeastern African country serving as development instructors to help build preschools in rural communities.

Back in early March, Sophie rushed back home after the Riverdale star had suffered a massive stroke. He later died at the age of 52.

Since his untimely death, his daughter and 21-year-old son Jack Perry have gotten back to work.

Jack made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month and posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day.

Back: After spending the last month grieving, Jack Perry made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month

The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match.

'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video.

Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory.

Volunteer work: Sophie Perry also revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to her volunteer work in Malawi while wearing an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her dad

Triumphant return: The 21-year-old wrestler posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day

Work: The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match

Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event.

'Unfortunately Jungle Boy will no longer be wrestling at our March 13th show,' the promotion said on its Twitter account. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.'

Luke Perry - who shot to fame in the early 90s playing Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 - died March 4, about five days after he suffered a massive stroke at his Sherman Oaks, California home February 27.

Changed: 'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video

Motorcycle ride: Sophie also shared a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle

Sophie meanwhile revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to Africa to continue her mission work.

She posted a selfie wearing a blue cap with an Andrews Construction label while traveling in a vehicle and also a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle for her roughly 92,000 followers on Instagram.

Luke at the time of his death was portraying Fred Andrews on Riverdale who owned his own construction company Andrews Construction.

Charity trip: The teenager cut short her six-month charity trip when Luke suffered the stroke

TV tribute: Sophie in a selfie wore an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her father's character Fred Andrews on Riverdale

Sophie wrote in the caption: 'First few days back in Malawi have been very emotional but it feels right to come back, to finish what I started, to do the most with whatever time we have left.

'I recently learned that may not be as much time as we think. It was quick and scary to leave home again so soon, but theres a job to be done, and someone to make proud,' she wrote.

Sophie added: 'Also excuse my ''post 30 hours o travel'' face'.

Good times: She was back in Malawi where she was volunteering to develop pre-schools

In September Sophie, who lived in Dowagiac, Michigan, posted a video describing her charity work for non-profit One World Center, and asked for fundraising help for her trip.

'I'm in a group of eight people, seven of us are going to Africa and one of us is going to Brazil,' she said.

'We're going to be there for six months, and we're going to be working on community development projects. These can range from teaching teachers, building schools, helping with agriculture, providing water purification, all types of good stuff.'

Technique: Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory

Moving forward: Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event

Loving: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began

Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52.

'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began.

'He loved supported me in everything, and inspired me to be the best that I could possibly be.'

Jack continued: 'I've learned so much from you, and my heart is broken thinking about everything you wont be here for.

Touching: Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52

'I'll miss you every day that I walk this earth.

'I'll do whatever I can to carry on your legacy and make you proud.

'I love you Dad.'

Memories: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began
Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night.

The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer.

Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand.

On the town: Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night

She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs.

Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos.

The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection.

When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby.'

Chic to the hilt: The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer

Family matters: Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand

What a look: She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs

A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

The caption set online tongues wagging, and an E! News insider gossiped: 'Kylie talks about having another baby very frequently'

To hear this source tell it: 'She would love to have another baby with Travis and would love to be pregnant by next year. She talks about it all the time and feels like she was truly meant to be a mother.'

Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga.

Hoofing it: Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos

Recovery: The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection

Bombshell: When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby'

Late that year, she was the subject of a storm of pregnancy rumors, but kept publicly mum on the subject until their baby was born in February 2018.

In the midst of a widely covered scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had sex with U.S. President Donald Trump, the baby was named Stormi.

Tyga has a six-year-old son called King Cairo with Blac Chyna, who shares a two-year-old daughter called Dream with Kylie's half-brother Rob Kardashian.

Specifics: A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

History: Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga

Steamy: The mom-of-one set pulses racing later with a provocative Instagram post
Brittney Weldon just finished her stint on Australia's Bachelor in Paradise, but she's already keen to join the American version of the show.

When asked about it by fans during an Instagram Q&A with her Bachelor in Paradise co-star Rachael Gouvignon, the reality star said she'd 'definitely' be up for a stint on the American series.

'I totally would, but I haven't been asked!' the 26-year-old exclaimed.

'Definitely!' Bachelor in Paradise star Brittney Weldon has revealed that she's keen to star on the American version of the show

Rachael was more hesitant about doing another season of Paradise, offering a less enthusiastic 'maybe' when pressed.

On Friday, Daily Mail Australia revealed that producers behind The Bachelor franchise in America are considering casting some Aussie talent for the show's upcoming sixth season.

A handful of names are already being thrown around, with Rachael and Alex Nation at the top of the list.

Coming to America? Producers behind the American Bachelor franchise are looking to cast stars from the Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise. (Pictured: Alex Nation)

'Bachelor in Paradise is far more extreme in the US than Australia, so producers are only interested in people who are outgoing and dramatic,' an insider revealed.

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up,' the source continued.

'Plus, she's been on the show three times now so she's knows what's expected and how to deliver on camera.'

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up!' Rachael Gouvignon (pictured) and Alex Nation are the main names being considered for the show

Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise.

'She's gorgeous and she forms connections with a lot of people in a short amount of time, both men and women,' the insider said of Alex.

'Her sexuality will bring some much needed diversity to the show, which is something fans have been clamouring for.'

'She's gorgeous!' Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise

Paddy Colliar, James Trethewie and Brittney Weldon are also being considered.

'Paddy and Brittney are hilarious and would fit right in with the American version, which is a lot funnier and more tongue-in-cheek,' the source said.

'James could be good but he's more reserved than the others, so producers need to find him an American match who is genuine about finding love to make it worthwhile.'

Comedic relief? Brittney Weldon (pictured) has also made the list thanks to her hilarious antics on Bachelor in Paradise this year

Producers are only looking at Bachelor stars that are currently single, leaving some regretting going public with their relationships.

'So many people went public with new relationships recently and I know they must be kicking themselves right now!' a Bachelor source revealed.

This isn't the first time that Aussies have been cast for the American Bachelor franchise.

Bring the boys out! Producers are also keen on Paddy Colliar and James Trethewie for the show

Producers first toyed with the idea back in 2016 for the third season, before Keira Maguire was officially cast as an intruder for the fourth season.

However, right before flying to Mexico to start filming, a sexual incident between cast members Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson resulted in production being halted - leading to Keira's role being canceled.

The Bachelor spin-off Winter Games went on to cast a number of international participants last year, including Australia's own Tiffany Scanlon and Courtney Dober.
Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth was on lunch duty at Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a suspected knife attacker on the school grounds, it has been reported.

Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler, 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday.

Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Private Sydney on Saturday, the couple were actually on the grounds during the police lock-down.

Thor blimey! Chris Hemsworth (pictured) and his wife Elsa Pataky were reportedly on the grounds of Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a person who allegedly stabbed a teacher in the face on Tuesday

The school was locked down for four hours during the alarming incident.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Chris Hemsworth's management and Byron Bay Public School for comment on this story.

Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is recovering after receiving cuts to his face and and arm at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Close call! Chris and Elsa were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Confidential on Saturday, the couple were reportedly on the grounds during the four-hour police lock-down

Hands-on dad! Earlier that day Chris and Elsa, who live in Byron Bay, arrived with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the school canteen

Chris and Elsa, who are parents to daughter India, six, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, five, had arrived at the school with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the cafeteria.

Police allege that Sbaraini and Mr Vockler were 'speaking on the premises before she approached him with what's believed to be a pair of scissors'.

Sbaraini fled the scene after the alleged attack, but was later arrested at her home on Beachside Drive in Suffolk Park at about 10.30am.

Disturbing incident: Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler (left), 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday

She was found crouching in her backyard when police arrived and questioned for hours before being taken to the station.

Later that day, she was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and trespassing.

She was refused bail and will face Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

In footage shared to Instagram just hours after the alleged incident, Chris and Elsa were seen carrying food into the school before helping out at the canteen.

Elsa captioned one of the clips: 'Another dad to help in the canteen today!'

Another video showed them inside the canteen preparing food with the other parents.

Having a laugh: Footage shared to Instagram showed Chris and Elsa inside the canteen preparing food with other parents

At one stage, Chris said, 'I've got a bigger pile than you', and gestured towards a mound of sushi rolls wrapped in paper on the table in front of him.

He then started rolling out more sushi servings while singing happily: 'Roll, roll, roll your boat!'

The other volunteer parents smiled and told Chris he didn't do 'too bad', to which he replied: 'Too bad? We dominated! Dominated!'
She has been giving fans a better glimpse into her life as a mother-of-one, by sharing more and more pictures of her daughter Mae, four, on social media.

And proving just how smitten she is with her mini-me, Kate Ritchie penned an open letter to her daughter in the new issue of Marie Claire, ahead of Mother's Day.

In the heartfelt note, the former Home and Away star, 40, gushed that life without Mae would be 'unimaginable', as she revealed becoming a mother has taught her to 'accept herself and her body'.

'Life without you seems unimaginable' Kate Ritchie, 40, has penned a heartfelt open letter to her daughter Mae, four, in the new issue of Marie Clarie

Addressing her daughter, Kate wrote in part of the letter: 'A life without you seems unimaginable and goodness knows who I'd be today if you hadn't come along to change me and my life.'

The actress added: 'You are teaching me to accept myself and value myself, especially when it comes to my body.'

She also credited Mae for helping her to be 'brave' and 'patient'.

'Greatest gift': The former Home and Away star described her little girl as an 'inspiration' and said Mae has helped her to 'accept herself and her body'

Kate concluded: 'You are my greatest gift, achievement and inspiration and I will feel this way even when you're a teen slamming doors in the hallway, just as I did.'

The letter made no mention of Kate's husband of nine years, Stuart Webb, who was charged with drink driving in March.

Stuart, 38, reportedly ran a red light on Avoca Street in Randwick, just a short distance from the couple's home.

Family: Kate's letter didn't mention her husband of nine years Stuart Webb, who is facing drink driving charges after running a red light in March

Police later learned he was also allegedly driving on a suspended licence.

If convicted, the former Sydney Roosters and St George Dragons player faces a further six-month licence suspension for the drink-driving offence alone, while driving without a licence carries up to 12 months in prison.

Kate, who shot to fame as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away, married Stuart back in 2010.

They share daughter Mae, who is now featuring more regularly on Kate's social media channels.

Showing her off: Kate has been giving fans a better insight into her life as a mother by posting more frequent snaps of daughter Mae online

Previously, Kate wanted to protect her daughter's identity and refrained from posting her face on Instagram.

She has since changed her mind and explained to fans that she was 'tired of protecting' Mae and wants to 'rejoice' in her little girl instead.

Kate said: 'I don't often share this most precious being but sometimes I am tired of protecting her and want to rejoice in her.

'She is full of wonder in so many ways and she also helps me to simply be me.'
Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York.

The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience.

Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa, 40, posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators.

Limelight: Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York

The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side.

She balanced on a pair of gold ankle-strap stilettos and wore her wavy hair down, turning to the side to treat the audience to multiple angles of her outfit.

While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania.

Dolores herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin.

Fun for the whole family: The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience

Life begins at 40: Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators

When you got it, flaunt it: The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side

Mingling: While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania

What a night: Dolores (right) herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to former New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin

At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider.

Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants.

While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno.

Fabulous: At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs (center) and Jackie Goldschneider (right)

Exquisite: Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants

Date night: While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno

However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand.

Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie.

Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress.

Feel the heat: However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand

Dynamic duo: Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie

Night out: Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress

Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway.

The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13.

Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa.

Jennifer Aydin, one of the newest members of the hit Bravo series' cast, arrived at the fashion show on the arm of her besuited husband Bill Aydin.

Heartthrob: Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway

Party of three: The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13

Spot the resemblance: Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa
She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson.

And Anne Hathaway landed in JFK on Friday to continue the public relations media blitz for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake.

The 36-year-old Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport.

Model traveler: Anne Hathaway, 36, landed in JFK on Friday

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner was seen with no shirt on as she wore suits for the latest issue of Shape.

The mother-of-one talked about trying to stay positive. 'Finding yourself takes as long as it takes, and I'm still in the process,' said the brunette.

The star has had plenty of his and lows since she became famous with The Princess Diaries. After she won an Oscar for Les Miserables, trolls attacked her viciously. But she has found a way to handle herself.

'Some days are still like, Whoa, I just fell off this cliff again! But learning how to be kind to yourself while youre discovering who you are is something I wish for everybody.

Stunner: The Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport

'Not having all the answers, not knowing what to do, and making mistakesthose arent reasons to beat yourself up.'

And she has also slowed down. 'Before I had my son, I sensed this pressure to fill my schedule,' she said. 'If I wasn't working, I felt like I was wasting time. Now I know I have to build in breaks in my year, and there are times when I'm just not available to work because it's important for me to be home with him.'

Anne's appearance comes after the star admitted she big plans in place for when her little boy is grown, admitting in a candid interview with ITV's Lorraine that she'll spend 'the back half of my life completely sloshed.'

Working hard: She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson

The Hustle is a female-centric remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin.

The Sydney-born star explained that in one of her improv scenes with Anne, she suggested The Devil Wears Prada actress call her a 'big-t*tted Russell Crowe'.

'I insulted Anne a lot in that film and she didnt have many back so I gave her that one,' Rebel told Fitzy and Wippa.

'Thats not really an insult. I think thats a compliment.'

Anne shares three-year-old son Jonathon with her husband Adam Shulman.
Between the Billboard Music Awards and her brother-in-law Joe Jonas' surprise Vegas marriage to actress Sophie Turner, she's had a huge week.

But Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight.

The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top.

Looking good: Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight

The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal.

Chopra clad her feet in patent leather high heeled boots and wore her raven tresses loose and with a center part.

The Baywatch star needed only minimal makeup for the day, allowing her naturally gorgeous features to shine through.

She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year.

Feeling fine: The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top

Strut: The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal

However Nick's brother spent considerably less on his own nuptials to his Game Of Thrones star fiance.

Joe Jonas, 29, surprised fans by exchanging vows with fiancee Sophie Turner, 23, after the awards show in a wedding chapel on the Vegas Strip on Wednesday.

The two, who got engaged in October 2017, opted for a quickie $600 ceremony presided over by an Elvis impersonator and with candy rings.

Priyanka, who has become close friends with the X-Men: Dark Phoenix star, served as Sophie's maid of honor while Nick and brother Kevin were Joe's groomsmen.

Her man: She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year. The pair are seen here Wednesday night
The Hollywood actress recently announced that she is raising her eldest son Jackson, seven, as a girl.

And fully supportive of Jackson's decision to identify as female, Charlize Theron insisted it's 'not for her to decide' who her children are and will instead 'celebrate, love and support' their choices.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's BW magazine, the 43-year-old said she wants her children to enjoy figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Supportive: Charlize Theron has said her children's choices are 'not for her to decide' but to 'support and celebrate' after revealing her eldest child Jackson identifies as a girl

Speaking of the prejudice her children may face, Charlize told the publication: 'My oldest is already a little aware, but I watch that she enjoys this moment.'

'She gets to find herself and who she wants to be - for both my kids, that's not for me to decide.'

Charlize pointed out: 'My job as a parent is to celebrate that and to love and support that... to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be who they want to be.'

'That's not for me to decide, they are born who they are': The 43-year-old actress says she wants Jackson to enjoy finding out who she is without the fear of prejudice

The Long Shot star is he mother to two adopted African-American daughters, now three and seven.

She had introduced her eldest child Jackson as a boy when she first adopted her brood and over the years, rumours circulated suggesting Charlize was raising Jackson as a girl.

Addressing the speculation in April, Charlize confirmed Jackson identifies as female to the US Daily Mail.

When asked about Jackson, she said: 'Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three-years-old and said, "I am not a boy!"'

'So there you go! I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive.'

Charlize, meanwhile, also spoke about her single status in her interview with BW and admitted she always tends to 'make herself smaller' when she is dating to try and 'better' her relationship.

As a result, she admits she would rather 'stay single' instead of changing who she is for a partner, as it only leads to resenting the other person.

'I'd rather be single': Charlize also discussed dating in her interview with BW magazine and insisted she'd rather be single than changing who she is to be in a relationship

Charlize recently found herself at the centre of rumours she is dating Brad Pitt, but was quick to deny such speculation and shut down the claims.

She previously dated her Trapped co-star Stuart Townsend between 2001 and 2010, with the actor giving her a 'commitment ring' during their relationship.

Charlize later became engaged to Sean Penn. They were together for two years, later ending their relationship in 2015.
Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green.

The 'Hot Felon', 35, shared a snap of the Topshop heiress, 28, alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine, in Monaco.

Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours.'

Love: Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green, sharing a photo of her alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine

Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage.

The model's tribute to his other half comes after rumours of a split swirled after Chloe stepped out without her 'engagement' ring in London earlier this week.

Chloe ditched her sparkling diamond band for a photocall, although she has been seen without the bling before.

The couple are parents to son Jayden Meeks-Green, one, and in October Jeremy hinted that he is set to wed Chloe imminently.

Post: Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours'

They fuelled engagement rumours after she was spotted flashing a jaw-dropping diamond ring on her wedding finger last year.

When speaking to US Weekly, the model teased 'maybe' when asked if they were set to take the next step in their relationship anytime soon.

Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht.

Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength and the couple welcomed Jayden at the end of May last year.

Split: Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage

Romance: Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht

In March, Chloe and Jeremy looked happier than ever as they jetted off on a romantic break to Thailand and shared a slew of snaps from their idyllic getaway.

The couple enjoyed some alone time together as they continue to settle into their roles as parents.

Before their holiday, the lovebirds were hit with rumours they had a public spat in Dubai in February, where hunky Jeremy stormed out of a club - leaving Chloe alone.

However, insiders revealed to MailOnline of their latest sighting in Thailand: 'They seemed really happy in each other's company and there was no sign of a strain in their relationship as has been reported recently.'
She's been dating NRL star Braith Anasta since early 2016.

And on Friday night, Rachael Lee and Braith looked as loved-up as ever as they celebrated the brunette beauty's 31st birthday in Sydney.

Heading to China Doll restaurant, Rachael shared photos from the night with her hunky boyfriend, labeling him: 'The absolute love of my life.'

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'Absolute love of my life!' Rachael Lee cuddles up to NRL boyfriend Braith Anasta in a thigh-skimming yellow frock as she celebrates her 31st birthday in Sydney on Friday night

Rachael stunned in a thigh-skimming yellow floral dress, as Braith looked smart in jeans and a black T-shirt.

Braith, 34, also uploaded an affectionate image of the pair from the evening to his Instagram, as they sporting huge smiles.

'Yes I know... I'm batting overs,' he wrote in his caption.

It all started with a kiss: Braith, 34, also uploaded to his Instagram the same picture where the pair can be seen sporting huge smiles

Time to celebrate: Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photo's with friends from the evening sharing laughs at dinner

In another photograph, Rachel can be seen giving Braith a big smooch on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photos with friends from the evening.

The entourage then appeared to go to another bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations.

'Amaaazing night w my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote

Heating up the dance floor: The entourage then went to a bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations

'Amaaazing night with my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote.

The couple, who welcomed their first child together, daughter Gigi in January last year, have been dating since 2016.

Rachael is also a mother to eight-year-old son Addison from a previous relationship, while Braith is a father to five-year-old Aleeia from his former marriage to Jodi Gordon.

Jodi and Braith confirmed their separation in 2015 after three years of marriage.
They welcomed their first child together, a son, in February this year.

And now Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday.

The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre.

Happy: Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday

Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms.

He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look.

Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels.

Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection.

Loved-up: The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre

Laid back: Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms

The couple looked more loved-up than ever as they hugged and laughed on the red carpet.

Richard even lovingly put a protective arm around his wifes waist as they smiled for waiting photographers.

The pair were joined by a plethora of other celebrities at the event including Robert De Niro, 75, and Michael Douglas, 74.

Keeping things casual: He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look

Glam: Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels

Dressed to impress: Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection

Gangs all here! Billy Lyons, Robert De Niro, Wynn Handman, Michael Douglas and Richard posed for a group shot

Also in attendance at the premiere were Billy Lyons and Wynn Handman.

It Takes A Lunatic is a documentary film about the life and pioneering work of Wynn and The American Place Theatre.

According to the Tribeca Film Festival website, the film focuses on Wynn who was 'known for bringing voices worth hearing to the American stage'.

Oh baby! Richard and his wife Alejandra welcomed their first child together in Febrruary, a son born in New York City (pictured together in May 2017)

Richard and Alejandra, who's son Alexander was born in New York, revealed that they were expecting their first child together back in September.

Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama - who put his hand on her bump to bless the unborn child. Gere is a long-term friend of the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled spiritual leader.

A Buddhist himself, Gere is a prominent advocate for human rights in Tibet - something he says led to him being blacklisted in Hollywood. His support for the state also led to him being banned from entering China.

News: The couple announced they were expecting their first child together back in September, when Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama

Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together.

Respected Madrid-based daily newspaper ABC broke the news of Geres wedding to the pretty Spaniard, 33 years his junior, earlier this year and first reported the pregnancy last month.

Pretty Woman star Gere tied the knot with Alejandra at a civil ceremony in Spain in April before celebrating the occasion with friends and family at his home near New York the following month.

Love and marriage: Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together. (pictured in October 2018)

Both Alejandra and Richard are already parents to a child each from previous relationships. Richard has a son called Homer  who celebrates his 19th birthday this month  with former wife Carey Lowell.

They married in 2002 and split 14 years later. He had previously been married to first wife Cindy Crawford for four years between 1991 and 1995.

Alejandra, who met her current husband while divorcing her first husband Govind Friedland, the son of mining magnate Robert Friedland, has a five-year-old son called Alberto, who she affectionately she calls Albertino.

Gere met wife Alejandra back in 2014 at a luxury Italian boutique hotel Alejandra bought with her former husband and was managing at the time.
She recently revealed how menopause has 'crippled' her sex life and left her 'wiped out physically and mentally'.

But Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram.

The blonde beauty, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach with her hands on her hips.

Pose: Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram

Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace which settled on her trim frame.

And she wore her blonde locks loose around her shoulders as she dried off after a dip in the Aegean Sea.

Meg later posted a clip of herself on her seventh day of weight training inside the lavish Macakizi Hotel.

Relax: The entrepreneur, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach

Delicate: Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace settled on her trim frame

In the caption of her snap, she wrote: 'Day 7 feeling better chest infection / cough still not feeling great but having my implants out have been the best thing I have done.

'But hanging in there as don't want to spoil this much needed rest and ... and the sun and sea ... #megsmenopause #menopause #53 #lovelife #noimplants #silicone free'.

It comes after Meg revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'.

The 53-year-old spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers.

Getting older: Meg recently revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'

Breaking the stigma around menopause, she told Closer Magazine: 'I lost all my libido, I was like "urgh, dont come near me", I just wanted the whole bed to myself.'

'The minute he wanted to have sex with me I was like, "get off", it was the last thing that I was feeling.

'But you need keep masturbating because when you stop having sex, you don't miss it, after four or five weeks, you're much happier to just cuddle up with your dog.'

Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set.

Honest: Meg spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers (pictured last month)

In the 90's Meg would spend her nights partying away with the likes of Kate Moss, Davinia Taylor and Sadie Frost.

So when menopause hit her 'like a tsunami' at the age of 48, Meg initially feared her rock 'n' roll lifestyle had caught up with her because she didn't realise her symptoms were the onset of menopause.

The entrepreneur stayed in the house for the next three months battling social anxiety and mental issues which made her life feel 'really overwhelming'.

Party girl: Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set (pictured with Kate Moss and Fran Cutler in 1988)

Reformed: Meg is now a devoted mother-of-one to her 19-year-old daughter Anais (pictured in February) and prefers a quieter life than her 90's rock 'n' roll lifestyle

The mother-of-one, who shares 19-year-old daughter Anais with Noel, started taking hormone replacement therapy a year later and found her symptoms alleviated.

She has since launched her own MegsMenopause product range to help women cope with the symptoms.

The reformed party girl recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health.

She shared a number of lists to show the negative side effects of having the cosmetic procedure, alongside a candid before and after shot of herself.

The side-by-side comparison saw her pose in the same coral pink bikini which had a patterned hem, and in the first image the top could barely contain her assets before the removal.

Happy: Meg recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health

Alongside it, Meg posed for a mirror selfie so that she could showcase her noticeably smaller chest, as large plasters were placed on either side of her rib cage, and stuck out from underneath the bikini top.

Speaking honestly, she wrote: 'The best thing I did was taking my implants out 2 years ago.'

In December 2017, she admitted to Lizzy Cundy during an interview on Fubar Radio that it was time to 'take it down a notch', and has said goodbye to fake nails and false lashes as well as going back to a B cup from a DD.

The '90s it girl explained that she had been struggling with social anxiety and not able to leave the house, and that she felt better when she removed her implants 21 years after getting them done.

Meg admitted she said that she wished she had done it ages ago, as she said: 'You get in to your 50s I think we try and stay young, I thought just let it go, come to terms with it.

'I can still wear all my clothes  they just look better. I have a Celine [the French luxury label] cashmere jumper and, with big boobs, it looked rubbish. Now, it looks amazing. I was a DD; Im now a B.'
Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview.

The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby for Hunger magazine in 2013.

Phillip - who was a CBBC host from 1985 to 1987 - told Holly he 'partied a bit' as a 'lad' but never lost his 'son of Enid Blyton' image because he knew to stay out of central London.

Confession: Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview

He said: 'It wasn't a case of hiding it. I did the same as everybody else. I was a lad, we partied a bit, but I didn't hide anything. It's just that nobody bothered to look in the right place.

'We were simply getting leathered in Chiswick where we lived at the time. Everybody knew us and nobody was bothered, and nobody would tell. So I got away with it.'

The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Past: The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star for Hunger magazine in 2013 (Pictured with Sara Greene of Going Live! in 1990)

Scandal: The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall

Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes.

He confessed: 'We got in the car and we drove through Checkpoint Charlie with these two East German hookers, no questions asked. God knows what the children's television would have thought!'

But despite his boozy past, the presenter - who has daughters Ruby, 23, and Molly, 26, with wife Stephanie Lowe - said he 'never got much into drugs' because he 'wasn't very good at it'.

Drinking buddies: Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes (Pictured with Holly and Steve Wilson)

His confession comes after Holly evealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out.

The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air.

The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio.

Nightmare: It comes after Holly Willoughby also revealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out

However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning.

She told the Mail On Sunday's Live magazine: 'There were times when we went straight from the hotel bar to going live on air.

'Everyone in children's TV drinks until 5am. If you mess up, no one cares. It got a bit too wild when my breast popped out of my dress.'

Had a shocker! The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air

Messy: The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio

'It doesn't help when you read the script and you've got to drink anchovies in custard with some eight year old. No matter how hard you scrub in the shower, you can't get the smell of custard pie off your skin.'

Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV children's game show which saw Holly dress as a French maid and even boast a cockney accent, encouraging her guests- and celebrity guests- to catapult sweet treats off a skateboard.

The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood.

Yuck! However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning

Co-hosts: The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood

Holly and Stephen have stayed firm friends over the years after their two-year presenting stint together on the children's television show.

As their friendship has flourished over time, their presenting careers have blossomed in the limelight.

Holly's most recent success includes reportedly securing a six-figure sum to step into the embattled star Ant McPartlin's shoes for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

Day job: She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip Schofield since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm

She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm.

Holly's hectic schedule has also included her Dancing On Ice hosting role, which she reprised in 2018 after the show returned following a seven-year hiatus.

Despite her clean-cut image, Holly also showcases her cheekier side during appearances on Celebrity Juice, which she has been a team captain on since 2008.

Holly is a firm fan-favourite on the programme, which she worked on alongside her pal Keith Lemon and best pal Fearne Cotton, until she left in 2018.

True love: During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side throughout, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin

Big brood: They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four

Before embarking on her TV career, she was signed to British icon Kate Moss' former modelling agency Storm Models at the tender age of 14.

During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin.

Sparks first flew between producer Dan and Holly when they met during their time on Ministry Of Mayhem and enjoyed a secret romance.

Speaking of their relationship, Holly previously explained: 'At first, I didn't fancy Dan at all  I didn't even think about it,' she revealed to Woman & Home. 'I don't think he could have fancied me either because it was such a genuine friendship.'

However their friendship proved to be a firm foundation for their romance, as six months after meeting they embarked on a relationship.

After just 18 months of dating Dan popped the question and the couple later tied the knot in 2007 in a lavish ceremony.

They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four.
She has just returned from a sun-drenched trip to Dubai.

But no sooner had she landed, Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page.

The Love Island star, 21, showcased her peachy posterior in a very high-rise white swimsuit as she leaned against the pool bar in a casual fashion.

'Not your baby: Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page

She added a defiant caption to the image which read 'Not your baby', following her recent split from her convicted fraudster ex Medi Abalimba.

Georgia looked typically glamorous in the visually pleasing snap, as she showcased her glowing tan which was only accentuated by the bright white swimwear.

She coordinated her stylish look with a pair of kooky white cat-eye shades, which helped to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunshine.

Beach babe: Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches

The Celebs Go Dating star opted for a signature full face of make-up, while wearing her glossy locks in perfectly styled curls.

Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches.

She rocked a skimpy neon green bikini for the shot, while wearing her long locks in French braids and posing up a storm for the camera.

Wow! Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection

Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection.

The appearance follows Georgia's emotional interview with The Sun earlier this month, in which the Celebs On The Ranch star said: 'I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone.

'I was in my flat and I've never been in a situation like that in my life. I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.'

Ex: She recently claimed her ex Medi Abalimba had stolen 'tens of thousands of pounds' from her following their split, despite her former flame, 26, protesting it had 'nothing to do with him'

She added that she had confronted Medi about her missing funds, but he said it was nothing to do with him.

Georgia said the matter is now in the hands of the police and MailOnline contacted her spokesperson for further information at the time.

The Love Island star has just appeared on Celebs Go Dating after splitting from ex-boyfriend Sam Bird in 2018 after moving in to their very own love pad together following the hit ITV2 show.
She regularly turns heads with her sensational sense of style.

And Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday.

The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim miniskirt.

Stunning: Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday

She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt and styled her blonde locks into loose waves.

The reality star is one of several famous mothers who are currently selling their children's used clothes online.

Ferne, who is worth a reported 2.7million, is the most active on the Market For Mums app with 26 listings for clothes worn by her 18-month-old daughter Sunday, and has so far made 257 from the site.

The app, which promises buyers gorgeous one-offs from celebrity mums', is where Ferne is selling her daughter's used items, ranging from 5 for a pair of baby top to 25 for a 'balloon dress and frilly knickers' set.

Fashion: The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim mini-skirt

Other celebrity mums are also a fan of the app, with Mario Falcone's wife Becky Miesner selling her breast pump.

Love Island star Tyla Carr's items are on sale on the app too, as well as Teen Mom UK's Amber Butler's belongings.

The Market of Mums website revealed: 'Were a group of Mums and shopping experts who got fed up hunting through apps to find nice stuff for our kids.

Style: She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt

Ensemble: Ferne also sported cream handbag and a pair of bracelets for the fun event

Look: The TV star styled her blonde locks into loose waves for the day

'So we made our own, for busy parents like us.'

Last month, Ferne informed her Instagram followers of the app, revealing: 'Hey parents. Ive just joined a great app called @marketofmums where you can sell all your unwanted or second hand baby items.

'Its ideal for clearing out all your childrens outgrown clothes and accessories whilst supporting other parents! Ive added a few items already and all the sales made through the app help support the childrens charity BLISS.'
Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'.

The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview with The Guardian's Weekend magazine.

But Richard added that he firmly believes directors should cast 'the best actor for the role' - regardless of their personal life or sexual orientation.

Terrible: Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'

He said: 'It's a really terrible route to go down if we start restricting people's casting based on their personal lives. We have to focus more on diversity and having everyone represented, but also I'm a firm believer in the best actor for the role.'

Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic.

Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality after he famously came out as bisexual in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976.

Backlash: Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic

Candid: The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview

Richard, who plays Elton's manager and lover John Reid in the film, went on to describe the Tiny Dancer hit-maker as a 'very interesting and interested man'.

The role is the latest in a long line of impressive bookings for the actor - who has previously starred as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and the Prince in Disney's live-action retelling of Cinderella.

The actor said he put on weight through on-set catering when he was younger - but decided to shed the extra pounds when he applied for drama school at 18.

Good choice? Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality

He said: 'I didn't want to be the fattest boy in drama school'.

Richard also revealed he doesn't like the look of himself in the mirror, and joked he loves 'a high waist, always good for a fat lad'.

The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard.

On playing the stony-faced character, he said: 'Likable is the actor's flaw. It's something I've tried to shake off over the years.'

Smash hit: The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard (Pictured with Keeley Hawes)

Anxiety: Taron, 29, admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24

Richard's comments come after Taron admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24.

Speaking in GQ magazine's May edition, the actor spoke candidly about the life changing role as he discussed possible LGBTQ backlash, taking on a musical icon, and why life will never be the same from now on.

He reasoned: 'I've approached it wholeheartedly and I hope that for that reason people accept me [as Elton].

'The LGBTQ community has always been about inclusiveness, hasn't it? Not about "We're here. You're there." In fact, if you want to come in, come on in.'

He continued: 'It was a fairly revolutionary time. Men were more outlandish. We didn't have role models like that when we were growing up. Sometimes, I think I'm from a time gone by, born too late.'
Margot Robbie jetted home to the Gold Coast in time to attend her grandmother's burial on Saturday.

First reported in the Sydney Morning Herald's Emerald City, the Australian actress left New York on Friday after having attended the Tribeca film festival.

The 28-year-old joined her loved ones, including brother Cameron Robbie, at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs.

Loss: Margot Robbie, 28, flew back home to the Gold Coast in time for her grandmother Narnie's burial on Saturday. Pictured on April 29 at the Tribeca film festival in New York

Emerald City understands that Margot's family held a funeral service on April 26 at Southport's Trinity Lutheran Church.

However they decided to delay the burial until Saturday in order for Margot to arrive home in time.

Margot's grandmother Verna, 92, who was affectionately called 'Narnie', passed away on April 13.

Just days prior to the burial, the I, Tonya star was pictured looking understandably downcast in New York.

Support: Margot is understood to have joined her loved ones at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs, in time for Saturday's burial. Pictured at the Tribeca film festival on April 28

Margot had been attending a slew of events at the Tribeca film festival, promoting her latest movie Dreamland.

She stars in the film opposite Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Kerry Condon, Finn Cole and Darby Camp.

Margot plays a seductive bank robber on the run in 1930s Texas while Cole is an innocent young man who falls under her spell.

The drama, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, is adapted from a screenplay by Nicolaas Zwart and got its official premiere last Sunday at Tribeca.

Prior to the festival Margot and her English husband Tom Ackerley returned from a vacation in the Caribbean.

The pair wed in a private Byron Bay ceremony on the New South Wales coast of Australia, and are now based in Los Angeles.
Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason is ready to admit he has issues he needs to work on, following a brutal incident that left their family dog Nugget dead.

Eason has apparently come to terms with the fact he has serious anger issues, according to an insider who spoke to TMZ, and is now 'ready' to seek therapy or get into an anger management program.

But the reality person can't undo the damage done to Teen Mom 2, which has lost a number of key sponsors amid the controversy.

Ready for help: David Eason, the husband of Teen Mom 2's Jenelle Evans, is ready to admit he has serious anger problems and get help following a brutal incident that left their family dog death

Eason has come to terms with the fact that his anger issues are out of control and is ready to get the help he needs. It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant, and had previously admitted that she's 'thought' about divorce.

All the while, MTV is dealing with the fall out from the controversy, even though they already axed David from the show last year for making homophobic and transphobic comments online.

The pet company Greenies was one of the first to take a stand, tweeting: 'We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty. We can now confirm that, as a result of this incident, our GREENIES ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming.'

Chipotle also announced they were pulling their support, tweeting: 'We are no longer airing our ads during episodes of Teen Mom.'

Dove Chocolate echoed those sentiments, writing, We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.

Twix candy echoed the sentiment, writing: We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.'

Blow back: Teen Mom 2 has lost several sponsors over the dog controversy, even though Eason left the show last year

It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant

David admitted to killing the family dog via social media earlier this week.

He defended killing the defenseless animal on social media Wednesday, sharing a video on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face.

Eason took to his HickTownKing Instagram page and posted the clip showing Nugget on the couch with his daughter Ensley who tries to go in for a kiss.

Instead of intervening between the animal, who is clearly uncomfortable as it cowers and pulls away from the little girl, Eason sits across the room and films the dog nip back at the girls face, causing her to cry.

He also shared a photo of a tearful toddler after the incident with a slight red welt on her cheek, the skin having not been broken by the dogs teeth.

Heartless: In response to the accusations that he killed the defenseless animal, Eason shared a video in his defense on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face while he sat across the room and watched

Proof? Eason shared a photo of his daughter after the nip that showed a small welt as the dogs teeth had not broken the skin

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption.

'I'm all about protecting my family, it is my lifes mission,' he continued.

He wrote: 'Some people are worth killing or dying for and my family means that much to me. You can hate me all you want but this isnt the first time the dog bit Ensley aggressively. The only person that can judge weather or not a animal is a danger to MY CHILD is ME.'

Eason turned off the comments function on the video post.

People were horrified when the brutal details of the dog murder emerged earlier this week.

The hunting enthusiast was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast.

Horrible: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast; seen on Instagram

Sad: The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death

The Teen Mom 2 star 'grabbed the dog by the throat and slammed it on the ground' before throwing the helpless animal into the kitchen table after filming the French Bulldog nipping at their two-year-old daughter Ensley.

The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything' to Jenelle.

The Attorney General's Office in North Carolina reportedly received 138 complaints from the animal welfare office once news broke that the dog had been killed, according to TMZ.

Sources revealed to the publication that Animal Control will be sending an officer to Jenelle's home on Thursday to 'confirm the dog is dead' and verify who has 'possession of the dog's corpse.

Law enforcement officials did later confirm to TMZ that a home check did take place, and the officers were able to drive onto the property through an open gate.

The Animal Control officers did see a grey pit bull on the porch, along with numerous 'No Trespassing' signs.

Sources claim that the Animal Control officers feared for their safety and left the property, alerting the Sheriff's Department who would come in and complete the visit.

Officers were hoping to determine whether or not Nugget was still alive, and whose name was on the ownership papers for the dog.

Later this afternoon, a source close to Jenelle told TMZ that right after Nugget 'nipped at his daughter,' David took the dog out back and slammed it repeatedly into their backyard shed, and then took the dog into the woods and shot it.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything to Eason

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office confirmed later on Thursday afternoon that they are conducting a 'joint investigation into allegations of animal cruelty' with Columbus County Animal Control.

Jenelle told US Weekly that she's had 'thoughts' of divorcing Eason, 'but nothing is finalized,' adding that 'David and I are not on talking terms.'

In North Carolina, killing a dog is a Class H Felony under the Animal-Cruelty statute.

But officials told TMZ on Wednesday that they will only go after David if Jenelle reports him.

On Tuesday unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter.

Eason's reality star wife took to social media to express her grief at the situation.

'Nugget... Im crying everyday. I love you so much and Im so sorry. Im speechless. You were my side kick and knew the moment I felt bad and would cuddle with me,' she penned.

Adding: 'You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons. Everyday I wake up youre not here, when I come home youre not here, when I go to bed... youre not here. Youre gone forever and theres no coming back. #Heartbroken #Distraught.'

Jenelle had adopted the French bulldog in August and the couple also has two Pitbulls.

Unsafe: The couple have two other dogs, pitbulls, the safety of status of which are unknown

Eason made it clear he had no comment about the incident when he appeared in court to pay $5k of back child support Friday in North Carolina.

David proved he was not to be trifled with when a photog/reporter for local station WSFX asked about the canine's murder.

'Don't get in my face, bro. I promise you don't want to do that,' 2nd amendment enthusiast Eason threatened in video obtained by TMZ .

Eason and the photog's tense exchange happened after the former appeared in court over $5187 he owed in child support.

Though he was at risk of being sent to jail for failing to pay child support, Eason originally showed up to court without the money he owed.

The judge granted him a small reprieve, allowing him to come up with the money by the end of day. He returned with the money shortly after time in court.

But Eason still faces serious accusations from Olivia Leedham, a woman he dated briefly in 2013 and subsequently had a son with.

Tough guy: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason threatened a photographer who asked him questions about killing the family dog when he appeared at a North Carolina courthouse Friday. He was in court over $5k of unpaid child support

Horrifying: An unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter

The pair have been embroiled in a tense custody battle for years.

In court, Leedham claimed Eason was physically abusive to her. Among her her claims, that Eason shoved her while eight-months pregnant and that he left her in the middle of the road at night when she was seven-months pregnant.

She also said Eason was 'thousands' of dollars behind in child support.

Eason has been accused of domestic violence in the past. Last fall Evans called 911 claiming her husband 'assaulted' her, causing her to break her collarbone.

'He got violent because he's been drinking,' Evans sobbed to the 911 operator in October.

'I'm recovering from a surgery on Monday. I can't breathe. I have four kids in the house with me right now. They're all sleeping. I don't know what to do. He left the house. I don't know what to do right now.'

But the reality star later dismissed the incident as a drunken misunderstanding.




Her glitzy looks and outrageous curves have made her a style icon.

And Dolly Parton is now throwing her cowboy hat into the fashion ring, set to launch her own clothing line according to WWD Friday.

The Jolene crooner, 73, explained how 'excited' she is about her forthcoming line of clothing, jewelry, accessories and home goods in a statement to the publication.

Fashion icon: Dolly Parton (above 2016) is giving fans the opportunity to embrace her style, set to launch a fashion line with IMG

Speaking about her multi-year partnership with high-powered management company IMG, she said: 'I am excited to be working with IMG on a global scale to give my fans products that they will cherish for years to come.

'You might even see my mug on a mug,' she joked.

IMG's VP of licensing Gary Krakower explained how 'thrilled' the company is to work with Dolly, telling WWD: 'Dolly Parton is an international icon and we are thrilled to be working with her.

'Together, we look forward to building cohesive lifestyle brand products that will celebrate Dolly and bring her iconic style and personality to her millions of fans worldwide in engaging new ways.'

More information about the line and its release date will be forthcoming.

Yee-haw! Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late. Above the beauty is seen in '77

Signature style: Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour. Above Dolly's seen in 2017 on The Tonight Show

Dolly has never shying away from sartorial drama through her six decade career.

Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour.

And it's said that Parton and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year.

Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late.

Lots o' looks! It's said that Parton (2002 above) and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year

Muse: Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection

Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest. Her face was also emblazoned onto a sweater.

Though she'll be a newcomer to fashion, Dolly has a number of other business ventures.

Her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee will celebrate its 33rd anniversary next year.

And later this year Netflix will debut an eight-part film anthology series, Heartstrings, inspired by her music.

True star: He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest and emblazoning her face onto a sweater
Kylie Minogue has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children.

Reflecting on her 2005 diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family, the pop icon told Sunday Times Style: 'I was 36 when I had my diagnosis (breast cancer). Realistically, youre getting to the late side of things.'

The petite beauty, 50, also spoke to the publication about her new relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons, who is the creative director of British GQ.

'Late side of things': Kylie Minogue, 50, has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children

Speaking of her desire to have children, Kylie explained: 'While that wasnt on my agenda at the time, it changed everything.'

Revealing how she has remained positive, she added: 'I dont want to dwell on it, obviously, but I wonder what that would have been like. Everyone will say there are options, but I dont know.

'Im 50 now, and Im more at ease with my life. I cant say there are no regrets, but it would be very hard for me to move on if I classed that as a regret, so I just have to be as philosophical about it as I can. Youve got to accept where you are and get on with it.'

Kylie also couldn't resist gushing about her new beau Paul, admitting: 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'.

'It changed everything': The pop icon reflecting on her 2005 breast cancer diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family (Pictured 2005)

'Have to accept it and move on': While Kylie admitted that having children 'wasn't on her agenda at the time', it changed everything

She shared: 'I can feel my face going, people say "Your face changes when you take about him," and it does.

'Happiness. Hes an inspiring, funny, talented guy. Hes got a real-life actual job! Its lovely.'

Meanwhile, Kylie has bagged herself a space in the famous afternoon Legend Sunday slot of the Glastonbury festival coming up this summer in 2019.

She was previously booked to play at the festival in 2005 but was forced to bow out after being given a breast cancer diagnosis.

'Happiness': The petite beauty also spoke to the publication about her relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons who is the creative director of British GQ

Smitten: Continuing to gush about her new beau Paul, Kylie revealed 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'

Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday.

She said: 'I keep losing my breath. Everytime someone mentions Glastonbury Im like, "yup, thats happening.

'It was 2005 and that was thrilling at that time that I was going to play Glastonbury. Then I received my diagnosis which put a halt to everything.

'All these years have passed and I was thinking, "well I guess thats never going to happen for me, I missed the boat on that."

'Then bang, I was offered the Legends slot which is incredibly exciting to me.'

Exciting! Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday

Kylie has been reported to be writing and recording new music recently for Glastonbury.

A source told The Sun: 'Kylie's been writing and recording new music for a while and its likely fans will hear some of the material when she plays Glastonbury in June.

'She's just registered a song called A Rose Is A Rose which she wrote with producer EG White.

'He worked with Kylie on her most recent album and has written songs for big-name artists including Adele and Celine Dion.'

Read Kylie Minogue's full interview in Sunday Times Style.
Line Of Duty wraps things up tonight with a special extended episode.

In theory anyway...

Put another way, only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions.

What's next? Line Of Duty wraps things up tomorrow with a special extended episode, and put another way, that leaves only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions

Why did Supt. Ted Hastings misspell definately for example, and why did no one else in AC-12 notice?

Why had he accepted that 50, 000 in cash but not spent some of it on a better hotel - one where he could actually flush the toilet?

Had he really lost thousands in something called The Kettle Bell Complex, which sounded more like one of a conspiracy anthem by Radiohead than a serious investment?

Was Gill Bigelow a baddie or just habitually bitchy? Was it true that you couldnt send flowers to people in hospital anymore, as she told like when she told the Deputy Chief Constable? And were muffins really the right alternative as DCC Wise decided (for Teds wife)?

Dramatic: Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent

Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent. And thats even if Mercurio wanted to, which frankly seems unlikely based on the previous four series.

You might be thinking the big issue in the finale is meant to be: will Superintendent Hastings turn out to be the high-ranking police officer/organised crime boss known as H?

Ironically though, thats the one thing we dont need to worry about.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! (As Ted would say.) Of course he isnt. Hes Ted Hastings!

Hes the last person who could be H.

So many questions: Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow

Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow.

Who is H?

Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out.

But here are 20 questions that should be answered in the Line Of Duty finale.

1. Is Ted Hastings H ?

Just because Hastings told the OCGs Lisa McQueen and Miroslav Minkowicz he was H, has spent the whole series seemingly helping the gang as H would, and misspelt definately like H didnt mean that he was H. We didnt float up the Lagan in a bubble you know Jed.

2. Will Ted go down for being H anyway?

This would give Mercurio a sensational ending for this series and a way to start the next (Arnott and Fleming trying to get him out of prison by exonerating him). Mercurio has dug such a deep hole for his hero its hard to see how he can come up with a convincing story to explain all Teds uncharacteristically strange behaviour and bad decision-making.

Bizarre: Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out

3. For instance why did Supt. Hastings furtively take his laptop to be disposed of in an Electronics Disposal Centre as soon as he learnt Arnott had made contact with undercover cop John Corbett?

This not only seemed highly suspicious but like a lot of trouble to go to  rather than just sticking it in a bin-liner and throwing it away. Where did Ted find a shop like this? Do they even exist?

4. And why had Ted Hastings accepted that Jiffy bag stuffed with 50K in cash and then just kept it on his desk, staring at it for several episodes, for AC-3 to find and use as evidence against him?

Teds explanation to DCS Patricia Carmichael was dodgy ex-detective Mark Moffatt had given him the money using false pretences and that hed been in the process of returning it. Clearly not only inadequate excuses but just not true.

5. Was Ted/Mercurio seriously going to claim hed been posing as H in order to discover Hs identity/trap H?

If Ted was going to use this (ridiculous) defence he was in trouble. H would not be living in a grotty Travelodge like Alan Partridge for a start and wasnt even a good cover story  given that H would want to maintain anonymity and Teds financial difficulties actually attracted suspicion that he was open to corruption.

Pretending to be H was a rubbish plan, as was proved when Lisa McQueen refused to believe H would break his cover at such a dangerous time after all those years undetected. Surely even Ted could see his trap could never work. H would know that Ted wasnt really H - because he was.

Odd: So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

6. If Ted was innocent why didnt he have anyone to corroborate that hed been pretending to be H? Or had been framed and by who?

Ted indignantly insisted to DCS Carmichael that hed been set up, but didnt have the foggiest clue who by. Ted had basically framed himself. He had nothing to corroborate his story about the 50, 000 because - much to Teds amazement, Moffatt hadnt left his fingerprints on the cash. And his visit to OCG member Lee Banks in Blackthorn prison - unaccompanied, unrecorded, and unbeknownst to any of his colleagues in AC-12  looked even more unwise/dubious when Banks failed to deny the accusation Ted had tipped the OCG off that Corbett was an undercover police officer (thus sealing his fate) by answering no comment to AC-3s questions.

7. Why had Ted Hastings spent THE WHOLE SERIES looking so shifty or sweating like the pilot in Airplane?

God knows how Mercurio would explain Teds behaviour  ordering Steve Arnott to shoot Corbett, moving armed officers away from the OCGs raid (allowing the balaclava gang to get away with 50m of stolen goods), panicking when AC-12 discovered a surveillance photo of the figure in the flat cap, or when corrupt PC Jane Cafferty revealed whod recruited her to the gang. No wonder at one point DI Kate Fleming even asked Ted: are you alright Sir?

8. Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

Ted Hastings had clearly been un-co-operative/ wilfully obfuscating regarding his involvement in the murder of John Corbetts mother - a police informant during The Troubles when Hastings was a young officer in the RUC.

Motives: Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

9. So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

Every time Ted said we will get our man or Lisa McQueen argued this is how he operates it seemed more like a red herring.

10. So could Gill Bigelow be H?

The PCCs legal counsel and Ted Hastings man-eating stalker was evil enough. Poor woman, she sighed, about the attack on his wife. At her age... She certainly seems keen on what she called a non-exclusive relationship with the truth. And the way she headed straight into the bathroom when Ted took her back to his hotel was suspiciously gratuitous. Had she been plotting to stitch him up by planting his DNA amongst the condoms discovered in AC-12s raid on the OCGs brothel?

11. Could DS Amanda Powell, DCC Andrea Wise, or DCS Patricia Carmichael be H or corrupt?

Any of these would be a cheap shot by Mercurio given that they had hardly featured. DCC Wise was also nice enough to send Roisin Hastings those muffins.

Sinister: Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

12. Were any minor characters working for the OCG  the likes of PC Tatleen Sohotra, authorised firearms officer Sergeant Kyle Ferringham, AC-3s Martina Trantor, or DS Arnotts ex-girlfriend for example?

The way Tatleen was running AC-12 virtually singlehanded seemed suspicious and DS Sam Railston rather desperate to get close to Steve.

13. Was Ryan Pilkington, the OCG thug who slashed PC Maneet Bindras throat, the new Dot Cottan  the next gang member to be planted in AC-12? (And was he really the kid on the bike in Series One nearly SEVEN years ago?)

It didnt bode well when Lisa McQueen asked Ryan how his exams had gone and heard back that he was preparing for an interview that ruled him out of any more fun with the OCG.

14. Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

Her emotional reaction to the death of Maneet Bindra and the way she spared PC Caffertys life in episode one still contradict her image as the OCGs toughest cookie.

Who is it? Were any minor characters working for the OCG?

15. Could Lisa McQueen be the secret love child of series ones protagonists corrupt cop DCI Tony Gates and his lover Jackie Laverty - whose legs were in Terrys freezer?

This would explain why she seemed so satisfied by John Corbetts demise.

16. Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

Lisa McQueen and the gang had identified Steve from Terrys photos of AC-12 raiding the OCGs print shop.

17. Was DI Kate Flemings life in danger from the OCG?

The way Kate kept telling people like Steff Corbett that shed worked undercover seemed unwise/unprofessional and the soppy scenes of her life at home with her kids and (grumpy) husband worryingly uncharacteristic for Line Of Duty.

Scared: Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

18. Could Kate Fleming be H?

Admittedly the most outlandish rumour amongst LoD websites.

19. Does H actually exist?

The entire theory about the codename H stemmed from Dot Cottan blinking to confirm it just before he died. Kate Fleming was rushing through the alphabet so quickly some fans theory is that he really indicated G.

20. Should the next series of Line Of Duty be about AC-3 given that AC-12 are so useless?

Patricia Carmichael may be more icy and less noble than Ted Hastings but she would be a worthy replacement. And if AC-12 cant even arrest Terry  who lived in the flat opposite the OCGs print shop with Jackie Lavertys legs in his freezer all that time  it seems unlikely they will ever discover who H is.
She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015.

And Bella Hadid made sure her look for this year's affair would be picture perfect, as she headed to a final fitting in NYC on Saturday.

The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers.

Finishing touches: Bella Hadid got ready for Monday's Met Gala by going to a dress fitting in NYC on Saturday

The black and white and red all over Miaou pants, which retail for just under $300, rose high up her hips and featured a row of slick silver buttons and a cropped hem.

Keeping her look nonchalant, she tossed a crisp shirt on top.

Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble while she topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant.

The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun, also framing her face with hoop earrings.

Read all about it! The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers

Bun in the sun: The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun

Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion, which is inspired by the similarly titled Susan Sontag essay Notes On Camp.

Defining 'camp,' the public intellectual described the concept as 'the metaphor of life as theater.'

And while the Gala is known for bringing out the dramatic, stars are said to be worried sick about how to tackle this year's theme.

Cool kicks: Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble

Accessories: She topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant

Camp chic: Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion

'I know some A-listers who regularly attend were unhappy with the looks designers were pitching them,' one fashion insider told Page Six.

'The idea of "camp" is out of their grasp. One major hairstylist to an A-list actress told me, "Shes freaking out because she just wants to look pretty."'

Meanwhile, many are worried about offending the tastes of Ms. Anna Wintour.

As one insider explained: 'You get to the top of the stairs [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art] and... if she isnt smiling, your dress sucks.'

Previous years' themes have include 2015's China: Through The Looking Glass, 2016's Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, 2017's Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, and 2018's Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination.

Freshman year: She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015, above
Billie Lourd honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, marking May 4 Star Wars Day.

The 26-year-old actress posted a shot of herself and her mother with a caption of emojis honoring the nostalgic celebration that plays on the date and a key line throughout the Star Wars anthology, 'May the force be with you.'

Lourd had initially posted the mother-daughter shot prior on December 14, 2015 prior to screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which marked her onscreen entry into the Star Wars universe as the Lieutenant Connix character.

In her heart: Billie Lourd, 26, honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, which marked Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Fisher died at 60 on December 27 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, four days after she had a heart attack on a December 23, 2016 flight from London to Los Angeles.

Her mother and Billie's grandmother, Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds, died after a stroke December 28 as she was planning Fisher's memorial.

Lourd in December took to Instagram with a tribute to her late mother with clips of herself playing the 1967 Nico song These Days - a favorite of Fisher's - on a family heirloom piano.

'It has been two years since my Momby's death and I still don't know what the "right" thing to do on a death anniversary is (I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way about your loved ones),' the actress wrote.

Cherished memories: Lourd posted a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away Thursday

Icon: Fisher was seen in this still from the initial Star Wars film released in 1977

Lourd said that she's coped with the tragic experience by staying busy and keeping good company.

'I've found that what keeps me moving,' she wrote, 'is doing things that make me happy, working hard on the things that I'm passionate about and surrounding myself with people I love and making them smile.

She added that she hoped the emotional clip would inspire others 'feeling a little low or lost to "keep on moving."

'As my Momby once said, "Take your broken heart and turn it into art" - whatever that art may be for you,' she added.

Lourd, who's been seen on Scream Queens and American Horror Story, took to the site Friday with a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew - who passed away Thursday.

Classic: Mark Hamill, Fisher and Harrison Ford are seen in this shot from Star Wars

On the move: The trio was pictured with classic Star Wars characters Chewbacca (played by the late Peter Mayhew) and CP-30 (played by Anthony Daniels) in this shot from 1983's Return of the Jedi

No bargain: The Leia character found herself chained to Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi

Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, John Stamos, Jimmy Fallon and Bret Michaels paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists.

Also chiming in were Star Wars alums Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, who have appeared in recent Star Wars films in the anthology.

Star Wars with the stars: Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists

Hey there: Hollywood stalwart John Stamos posed alongside a shot of of R2-D2 in this retro post he brought back for the special day

Lots of laughs: The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon hearkened back to a bit based on the films

Cloud City checks in: Billy Dee Williams, who plays Lando Calrissian, took to the site with an uplifting message

Amusing: Mark Hamill's tweet inspired a back-and-forth with pop culture king Jeff Goldblum

Nothing but a good time: Poison's Bret Michaels shared a lively concert pic for the occasion

Hulk meets Chewy: The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno shared this shot with characters from the film
Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks

US authorities are seeking to sell a $39-million luxury mansion in Los Angeles allegedly bought by a Malaysian financier with money looted from scandal-hit state fund 1MDB, court documents showed.

Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks.

Financier Low Taek Jho is suspected of playing a central role in the fraud and has been charged in absentia in Malaysia and America, which is seeking to recover assets allegedly bought with looted funds via civil lawsuits.

Among these assets is the mansion in Beverly Hills, a wealthy area of LA that is home to many Hollywood stars, said to have been bought by Low in 2012 with stolen money.

US prosecutors and Low's holding company that owns the property have agreed to try to sell it, according to documents filed in a California court Friday.

"The property is at risk of deterioration and damage as it will likely be uninhabited during" ongoing legal action unless it is sold, the filings said.

"The expense of keeping the property is excessive and/or is disproportionate to its fair market value," they added.

The US legal action linked to the mansion will continue despite the agreement. Proceeds from any eventual sale will be held in a government account until the action ends, the filings said.

Low's spokesman in a statement welcomed the "mutual effort to preserve the property's value while ensuring the owners' claims are protected and may proceed in a timely fashion".

The current whereabouts of Low, who gained a reputation as a jet-setting playboy, are unknown. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The 1MDB scandal played a huge part in the election loss last year of Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

The ex-leader has since been arrested over the fraud and went on trial last month.

Malaysia's new government has re-opened investigations into 1MDB and vowed to get back stolen money. The US is getting ready to return about $200 million of recovered funds to Malaysia, Bloomberg News reported this week.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month's first round.

Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a country deeply polarized between the governing Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE conservatives. Turnout will be crucial, with 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past that point, with a turnout of 41.8%.

Campaigning in the first round centered on a recent deal the Balkan country reached with neighboring Greece to rename itself North Macedonia in exchange for Athens dropping objections to it joining NATO and the European Union. This time round, the candidates have focused more on the issues of corruption, crime, poverty and brain drain.

Here is a look at the two contenders for North Macedonia's presidency.

____

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63 - The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock 'n' roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

A woman walks past a poster of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan "Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls." She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country's name to North Macedonia and had hinted she would challenge the name agreement in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But last week, Siljanovska said during a debate on national television MTV she will not "spend the whole mandate in reviewing the name agreement with Greece."

"I will fight for democratization of the undemocratic Macedonian political system," she added.

During a campaign speech, Siljanovska said her country needs a "radical reversal," and described it as being "in many elements a failed state."

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country's first constitution.

____

Stevo Pendarovski, 56 - A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovski's second bid for the presidency after being defeated by Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He has defended the name deal with Greece, arguing it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan "Forward Together" reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring foreign investment, jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

"People should know what is at stake, they should not stay passive," he said during the television debate. "They have to go out and choose between two concepts - the one that is for progress, cohesion and integration in the strongest international organizations, (and) the other that draws the country back in time."

People walk past a campaign poster of Stevo Pendarovski, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads: "Together Forward", in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Campaign posters of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, left, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, which reads in Macedonian: "Justice for Macedonia" and a poster of Stevo Pendarovski, right, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads in Macedonian: "Together Forward", are placed in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied. People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some "pretty radical" decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high court's longest-serving justice, the "senior associate justice," when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas "highly underrated." Trump said Thomas has "been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit."

FIILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as "terrifying to many progressives."

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

"He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake," Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, "Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise."

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as "policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law ." He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both "notoriously incorrect."

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as "abdicating our judicial duty." Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : "My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances."

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

"Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest ... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: "It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning."

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 1991, file photo, Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White. Watch from left are first lady Barbara Bush, President George H.W. Bush, behind Thomas, and Thomas' wife, Virginia Lamp Thomas. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2011, file photo Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laughs while talking with other guests at The Federalist Society's 2011 Annual Dinner in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, from left, Supreme court Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts arrive for services for former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 1991, file photo, newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talks to reporters while posing on the plaza of the court in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP photo/Dennis Cook, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include the new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DOHA, May 4 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways' return to flying over Syria as its eight-year war dies down is part of its efforts to grapple with a nearly two-year Gulf dispute that has blocked it from using the airspace of many of its neighbours, CEO Akbar al-Baker said on Saturday.

Syrian transport minister Ali Hammoud said last month that his country had approved a request by Qatar Airways to begin using the country's airspace for routes, one of the first airlines to do so. Qatar did not comment at the time.

Qatar's state-owned carrier has had to re-route many of its flights since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with the tiny Gulf state in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

The adjusted routes have increased the duration and cost of flights moving west and south of the Gulf, and in March the company reported an annual loss for the second consecutive year.

"This is all about the blockade," Baker said of the decision, referring to the 2017 boycott. "We are blockaded, so we have to find ways to fulfil the requirements of my country. It's very simple".

Baker said the restored routes, which analysts have said include flights to Doha from Beirut and Larnaca, do not pose safety issues.

"You know Qatar Airways would not fly anywhere that is not safe. We have to protect our passengers and our crew," said Baker. (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was later quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency as saying the military had killed 23 militants in retaliation for the attacks from Syria.

A Turkish security official told Reuters that the army was carrying out small operations to eliminate threats from the Tel Rifaat region, but that it could launch "a bigger operation" if necessary.

Separately, three Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after Kurdish militants shelled the region, the defence ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy militant targets.

Akar said the military had killed five other militants in the cross-border operation into northern Iraq, and a total of 28 militants in response to the two attacks.

"We neutralised the 28 terrorists who carried out the attacks. Our operations both inside and outside our country continue with great determination," Akar said, according to Anadolu.

Turkey's military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defence ministry said Turkish and Russian forces had carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Holmes, Jan Harvey and Hugh Lawson)
BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theatres of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces", said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defence ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
Any reform in any community is sustainable in the long run only if it follows internal churning. It shouldnt be thrust down a community's throat, ideally, but it should come after debates, discussions and deliberations from within.

This, of course, applies only to practices that are not a threat to human life.

It is beyond time the Muslim community itself banned the burqa. (Source: Reuters)

The move of Keralas Muslim Educational Society (MES)  which controls 150 educational institutions  to ban any dress that covers the face for girls on all the campuses is thus a positive move.

The MES will not encourage any type of veils on its campus... Managers of each MES institution will have to ensure that girl students do not come to the campus with their faces covered. They are hereby asked to include this as a rule on the campus from the academic year 2019-20, the MES circular read.

It has for long been maintained that regressive practices within the Muslim world must be questioned  from within.

While many say that covering the face is a matter of 'choice', the hard fact is, millions of women in the world are forced to cover up their bodies, including their faces. The hard fact is also that in some countries, women can be stoned to death for not covering up. Every call for a ban on the burqa is met with senseless rebuttals, stating it is a matter of choice  and also a fashion statement for many. Both these weak defences either naively or deliberately miss the hard truth behind the practice.

But this glamorisation of the burqa by some has proven to be an incarceration of sorts for many others, who have risked their lives fighting for their right to walk with their faces uncovered and their heads held high.

However, when countries like France implemented this ban without much debate, almost as a diktat, they faced backlash. The implementation of a similar move is currently under discussion in Sri Lanka, following the terror attacks on April 21 that claimed over 300 lives.

Such a 'burqa ban' by a state, topdown and sans sufficient consensus, actually furthers divide  but when such a move is implemented from within the community, it creates room for positive dialogue.

Why should men be given the right to enforce a ban on women leaving their faces free? (Source: Reuters)

Some would say Keralas MES should have waited for a consensus to build on the subject. But that makes little sense, given that the burqa has been in existence for pretty long and has been implemented with such an iron fist for so many women that it needs to be done away with  now.

There is no reason for women to cover up their faces, just as there is no reason for women to join their deceased husbands on a funeral pyre, just as there is no reason for women to be killed while they are still a foetus.

Burqa is not a matter of choice of choice for many. It is a marker of deep misogyny. If there is a God, why would s/he want women to cover their faces and let men beat them up for not doing so? If womens faces were indeed problematic, why would that Supreme Being create them in the first place?

As the debate gathers steam, Kerala MES has made a very good beginning.

It is time more Muslims support it and speak out against the veil.

Also read: AR Rehmans daughter wearing the veil is her choice. But it's still a hugely regressive one
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Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC.
BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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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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Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is engaged principally in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing, management and ownership of an industrial global rental portfolio of properties in North America and Europe leased primarily to Magna International Inc. and its automotive operating units. It is a service REIT with an international portfolio consisting of over 100 properties. It provides a range of services that includes sourcing and real estate acquisition, site development, assisting with government approvals and re-zoning to specific uses, build-to-suit construction, property renovation, project management and long-term leasing. In November 2013, Granite Real Estate Investment Trust completed its acquisition of a 2.5 million square foot portfolio of seven properties located in Germany and the Netherlands from funds managed by AEW Europe.

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Shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF reverse split on the morning of Monday, November 7th 2016. The 1-2 reverse split was announced on Friday, October 14th 2016. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the market closes on Friday, November 4th 2016. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split.
Power Financial Corporation provides financial services in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers life, disability, critical illness, and health insurance products, as well as wealth savings and income products, and specialty products. The company also provides financial products, including employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, enrollment services, communication materials, investment options and education services, fund management services, and investment and advisory services. In addition, it offers protection and wealth management products, such as payout annuity products; reinsurance products; and sub-advisory services. Further, the company provides mutual funds, pooled funds, segregated funds, separate accounts, and other investment vehicles; securities, mortgages, and other financial services; and investment management services. It offers its products primarily through distribution network of third-party financial advisors, consultants, and independent financial advisors. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Power Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada.

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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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4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Dimeco has received 32 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Dimeco has received 16 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Dimeco has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Dimeco and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe DIMC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe DIMC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
The Williams Cos., Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico; Northeast G&P; and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment comprises of interstate natural gas pipelines, Transco and Northwest Pipeline, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment includes midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation businesses in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment consists of gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of south Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins. The company was founded by David Williams and Miller Williams in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa,

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African Battery Metals Plc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for and exploits mineral resources. It explores for cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, gold, and other battery metals. The company holds interest in cobalt-copper exploration licenses, which include the Kisinka license covering an area of 50 square kilometers; and Sakania license covering an area of 140 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also holds interest in the Ferensola Project, a gold, iron, and coltan deposit covering an area of 153 square kilometers located in Northern Sierra Leone. The company was formerly known as Sula Iron & Gold plc and changed its name to African Battery Metals Plc in January 2018. African Battery Metals Plc was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in long-term, investment grade municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock MuniHoldings Insured Fund II, Inc. BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. was formed on February 26, 1999 and is domiciled in United States.

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CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bioxyquell Limited, CALGON EUROPE LIMITED, CALGON LLC, CID LINES HOLDING NV, CID LINES INVEST NV, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstaff Inc., Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AP Holdings LLC, Ecolab AT 2 GmbH, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab B.V.B.A./S.P.R.L., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH, Ecolab CH 5 GmbH, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co., Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 S.a.r.l., Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab NL 4 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V.B.A., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Guangzhou Green Harbour Environmental Operation Ltd., HYDROSAN LIMITED, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BVBA, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., London & General Packaging Ltd, MALAYSIA SDN. BHD, MANUFACTURING S.R.L., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Europe Limited, Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, Midland Research Laboratories UK Limited, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM BVBA, NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND MANUFACTURING GMBH UND CO. KG, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO LUXEMBOURG HOLDINGS SARL, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO NORTH AFRICA LIMITED, NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO ZAO, NALFLOC LIMITED, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC, Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Nalco Gulf Response Corp., Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Shield Salvage Associates Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, Technical Textile Services Limited, Techtex Holdings Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, Wabasha Leasing LLC, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.
ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V..
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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Intu owns and manages some of the best shopping centres, in some of the strongest locations, in the UK and Spain. Our UK portfolio is made up of 17 centres, including eight of the top-20, and in Spain we own three of the country's top-10 centres, with advanced plans to build a fourth. We are passionate about creating compelling experiences, in centre and online, that make our customers smile and help our retailers flourish. We attract around 400 million customer visits and 26 million website visits a year offering a multichannel approach that truly supports retail strategies. Our strategic focus on prime, high-footfall flagship destinations, combined with the strength and popularity of our brand, means that intu offers enhanced footfall, dwell time and loyalty. This helps our tenants flourish, driving occupancy and income growth. We are committed to our local communities, with our centres supporting nearly 130,000 jobs (representing about 3 per cent of the total UK retail workforce), and to operating with environmental responsibility. We have already met or exceeded a significant number of our 2020 environmental targets.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF's stock was trading at $20.50 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, BBJP stock has increased by 170.4% and is now trading at $55.43.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Heap of Dirt Abandoned at Bamenda Food Market Camera

Inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have been inhaling strong smell from the heaps of dirt dumbed along major areas in town, after the company in charge of keeping the town clean, HYSACAM, abandoned duty for security reasons.



Following the kidnapping of four workers of the waste disposal company few weeks ago in Bamenda, council officials expressed doubts if HYSACAM would continue cleaning the town.

Suspected separatists kidnapped four workers and seized a truck, around the dumpsite in Mankon on Thursday, April 11. The truck driver was freed along with the truck but the company had to pay ransoms for the other three to be released, although they didnt state how much.

Today the Bamenda Food Market is littered with dirt, stinks and makes the environment, quite uncomfortable for business persons, who say they dont have a choice, because they still have to earn a living, despite the condition they face.

Similar attacks on the company few months ago, pushed HYSACAM authorities to suspend its activities in three towns in the Anglophone regions. In January 2019, the company suspended its activities within the city of Bamenda. In a press statement, it explained the company was exposed to violence, perpetrated by armed separatists in the North West. They announced they had lost close to FCFA 1Billion.

Suspected separatists, damaged the bridge, connecting the city to the waste management center This grounded HYSACAMs activities for 15 days with no way to carry on with waste disposal in Bamenda.

The main bridge leading to the dump site in Mbelewa- Mile Four Nkwen in Bamenda 3 subdivision was broken by unidentified gun men, trying to restrict the movement of cars into certain parts of Bafut thus rendering the dump site inaccessible to trucks of the company.

HYSACAMs Communication Officer, Funwi Jude said their man power and machinery is ready to keep Bamenda clean but they couldnt access the dump site . The company also announced that same thing was done in Buea on the 2nd of December 2018. In Kumba, separatists burnt down two new brand trucks of theirs, that had just been commissioned. HYSACAM employees all over Anglophone regions, were threatened and some received calls to contribute to the war.

Since the arrival of HYSACAM, commended efforts have been done to clean up the city of Bamenda, to the acknowledgement of the population. As the Anglophone crisis intensified, the company has on several occasions complained of being attacked by separatists, as they carry out their activities.

However, the council has not released any official statement, on its activities in Bamenda.
Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 11 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 97.53%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.17% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $80.84 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, HYG stock has increased by 7.8% and is now trading at $87.16.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares MSCI India ETF's stock was trading at $28.76 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, INDA shares have increased by 56.8% and is now trading at $45.10.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
UN Security Council concerned about humanitarian situation in Cameroon Internet

According to French magazine, Jeune Afrique, the United Nations Security Council will meet on May 13, to discuss the ongoing unrest in Cameroon's North West and South West regions.

The paper says the United States is behind the initiative, that will focus on the humanitarian aspects of the conflict that began since 2016. No statement is expected to be released by the council, after the meeting.

The magazine quoted a statement from the US mission to the United Nations, who said the situation in Cameroon had caught their attention, especially with the devastating humanitarian crisis.

"We hope that this meeting will encourage a more robust regional and international response (...) to avoid further deterioration of the situation," the source added.

Many diplomats and international bodies have voiced out on several occasions, the need to push forward the ongoing sociopolitical unrest in Cameroon, to the United Nations Security Council.

At least four million persons need humanitarian assistance in the English a speaking regions of Cameroon . The International Crisis Group, recently reported that over 500,000 persons have been displaced as a result of the crisis, while 1,850 persons have died as a result of the crisis.

Cameroonian government continues to believe that it can take control of the situation in the Anglophone regions by exerting force, while armed separatists believe that they would achieve independence at any moment from now.

A humanitarian assistance response plan, carried out by Cameroon and other international partners have seen an inadequate response, according to UN resident coordinator, Ms.Allegra Baiocchi.

Meeting in Yaounde on Friday with the national coordinator of the Humanitarian Response plan, Ms Allegra and Minister Atanga Nji Paul, announced they had created a platform to effectively account to the distribution of humanitarian needs.
The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; premium fleet services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment processing solutions for payment and transaction monitoring needs. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented and that require pre-authorization; and prepaid and gift card products that enables secure payment and financial management solutions with single card options, access to open or closed loop redemption, load limits, and with various expirations. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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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..
5 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for bioMerieux in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" bioMerieux stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in BMXMF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for bioMerieux or view top-rated stocks.
Kouam Wokam Paul Atia Azohnwi

The Divisional Officer (DO) for Buea, Kouam Wokam Paul has fired a missive at Chief Mafany Njie Martin of Liongo Village in Buea who doubles as President of the South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC.

In a "letter of observation" dated May 3, 2019, the Senior Civil Administrator conveyed to Chief Mafany Njie his "total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct." It was sent to the recipient through the President of the Buea Chiefs Conference.

The DO's epistle follows a letter signed by Chief Mafany Njie in his capacity as SWECC president in which he condemned the South West Governor Okalia Bilai Bernard's "ordering" of Chiefs to march on May 20 along with their subjects under pain of losing their royal crowns.

In a communique signed Tuesday April 30, 2019, Chief Mafany Njie Martin on behalf of his peers said the governor did not have to remind them of their civic responsibilities.

"We, the South West Chiefs categorically condemn the demeaning and threatening manner by which the Governor of the South West Region reminded us of our usual civic duties, which we have always performed so diligently without be ordered to do so by whosoever," the statement in response to Governor Okalia read.

The regional chief executive had on Thursday April 25, 2019, as he chaired a preparatory meeting ahead of the 47th edition of Cameroon's National Day nationwide celebrations billed for May 20, said chiefs who fail to march with their subjects will be sanctioned severely 30 days after the national unity feast.

"During the 20th May this year, all the Chiefs will march with a placard indicating their village and with their population behind them," Okalia said, adding that, "If that is not the case, it means those chiefs don't exist. And if you don't exist as a body, as a village, then you should neither be called a village nor be counted among villages."

"I said this some two, three years ago but the Chiefs refused to do it because they were still volunteer Chiefs. But today, know that the volunteerism is finish. Tradition is there, but you are tied to the state with an obligation. Eh Chief? You know noh? I don't want to disclose it here. But we understand each other," Okalia said with a feigned smile.

In a firm tone, he handed down a subtle threat: "If you fail to do what I am instructing, you'll see 30 days after, the consequences of that disobedience."

Okalia turned to the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge to know the number of villages within his municipality and the mayor's response put smiles on his face. He then instructed the Mayor to prepare placards bearing the names of all the villages in Buea - which placards will be carried by the Chiefs as they lead their kits and kins during the National Day parade.

"So Lord Mayor, prepare the placards because soon they will say they don't have money. Prepare it. How many villages do we have in Buea? Ah! a hundred, put them on placards. Every Chief will march. And those who are in exile in Douala or Yaounde, Let them stay there. When they come back, they'll find someone else as chief," Okalia decreed.

The chiefs say their native laws and customs do not allow them as natural rulers to march past the grandstand during official ceremonies, according to the Chief Mafany Njie signed statement.

"We completely dissociate ourselves from such a representation and remind the public that the traditions and customs of the South West people are full of values of respect, tolerance, nobility and unity. We therefore call on our population to remain calm and positive as we look forward to accompanying the State in all national events like we have always done," the chiefs said through their president.

But in a rare outing, the Divisional Officer for Buea set the records straight.







What the DO "observed":

"It has been brought to my attention that in a declaration dated 30th April 2019 addressed to the general public and currently circulating in the social media, you took upon yourself on behalf of traditional rulers of the South West region to denounce, in calumnious language to the person of H.E. the Governor of the South West region the appeal he made on the 30th April 2019 during the first preparatory meeting for the 20th May 2019 at which you were conspicuously absent, an appeal made to traditional rulers and community leaders of Buea Subdivision for the mobilisation and massive participation of their population in the celebration of the National Day in Buea.

"Further thereto, I have the honour to observe that by embarking in this exercise of the deliberate distortion and manipulation of the words of the Governor, your statements which are characterised by untruths and gratuitous assertions could not be only demobilise to the population that you are expected to be catering for but to also severely undermine the relentless efforts deployed by public authorities to ensure the success of this event in Buea - the cradle of our National Unity. In this light, your statements constitute a sort of caution for the actions of enemy forces that have made the disruption of the celebration of this solemn event on of their main objective.

"At a time when I expect to see you actively engaged in the company of your peers within Buea Subdivision in action geared at ensuring a commendable representation of your respective communities through various socio-cultural associations and traditional dance groups, I regret to realise that you are rather actively trying to dubiously involve the entire body which you now chair of South West traditional rulers who were never mentioned at any point whatsoever of this working session.

"I deem it necessary to remind you that in your capacity as auxiliary of the administration, such agitation is punishable both at the administrative, disciplinary and penal levels especially in this period of security challenges.

"Consequently, this letter of observation is intended to convey to you my total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct."






Rutherford said King sexually assaulted the victim and took advantage of her by taking her to get clothes and food when she was in need. He described her as the perfect victim.

Thats whats so horrible about this case, Rutherford said.

He requested King serve a 10-year sentence and said the defendant deserves every day of that time behind bars.

He takes advantage of girls who are in need, Rutherford said. Thats his M.O.

Rutherford submitted a victim impact statement from the victims mother, which Garrett initially ruled would not be allowed as evidence after hearing a defense motion, but the judge later reversed the decision.

Lamson said though King has some criminal history he has no previous sex offenses. He said King has helped teenagers in the area and others find employment, overcame his background as a felon by starting his own business and has spent more than $60,000 on his defense, which caused stress for his family.

In serving just more than two years in jail already, Lamson said King already exceeded the low end of the time sentencing guidelines called for and requested time served.
 Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association (Rixeyville) holds Gospelfest, featuring the Swanee Quintet of Augusta, Georgia, and others at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Womens Auxiliary holds a Prayer Luncheon at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. 15044 Ryland Chapel Road. (540) 661-2013.

 Zion Union Baptist Church Womens Fellowship hosts a Prayer Breakfast with the Rev. Denise Watson-Smith at 9 a.m. Saturday. Womens Day will be observed with performances by various gospel groups at 3 p.m. Sunday. 1015 Preston Ave. (434) 297-2271.

This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication, including an address and phone number, should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication.

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WASHINGTON  Heres how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending May 3:

House

Keeping America in climate accord. The House on May 2 voted, 231 for and 190 against, to continue U.S. participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The bill (HR 9) would deny funding to carry out President Donald Trumps plan to withdraw the United States from the global pact in November 2020. The bill also requires the administration to develop a plan for achieving voluntary carbon-reduction goals to which America subscribed when the Obama administration joined the agreement in 2016. Those goals would be reached primarily by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Signed by 195 nations, the Paris Agreement is designed to limit the increase in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (about 1850) levels. Each participant is responsible on a voluntary basis to meet emissions targets it negotiates with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The United States is the only signee nation to have disavowed the agreement.
Now a corner of Madison County has gotten its shot at world-class status.

We all knew that Old Rag Mountain was a challenging and rewarding hike, and we knew that it wasnt a local secret. Old Rag attracts tons of hikers, to the extent that it often can seem overcrowded.

Now Outside magazine has listed Old Rag as one of the 25 best hikes in the world . That puts it right up there (pun intended) with such sites as Everest Base Camp in Nepal and the Lares Trek in Peru.

Now we can expect more visitors.

That should be good news for Madison County (Old Rag lies in Madisons portion of the Shenandoah National Park) and for nearby counties.

Outside magazine acknowledges the crowding issue and suggests hiking the 9.2-mile loop (rock-scrambling might be more like it) during the winter at midweek instead of spring, summer or autumn weekends.

But the National Park Service warns against making the attempt in wet or icy conditions. (The website www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/old-rag-hike-prep.htm has more information.)
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:41PM

Well, this killed any remaining mystery surrounding the more affordable Google Pixel devicesspecifically the Pixel 3a XL. The phone was spotted at a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio. The phones were kept under glass but it showed the two previously leaked colours, Purple-ish and Just Black. The phone was being rumoured for a launch at Googles I/O event on May 7th. This seems to confirm that the phone will make an appearance then. The rumoured specs of are 5.6-inch for the Pixel 3a and 6-inch for the Pixel 3a XL. The phones will reportedly run on a Snapdragon 670 and 710 processors, respectively, with 4GB of RAM and the same Pixel Visual Core that runs on the cameras of the current Pixel 3 phones. The prices are said to be US$399 for the Pixel 3a and $479 for the Pixel 3a XL. While this seems legitimate, the launch hasnt happened yet, so as usual, its best to take this information with a grain of salt.

Source: Android Police
Under the insolvency proceedings, 41 per cent of the members of the committee of creditors (CoC) voted against the proposal, while 23 per cent were in favour.

New Delhi: Financial creditors of Jaypee Infratech on Friday rejected Suraksha Realty's bid for the debt-laden firm as the offer was low on upfront cash payment and will meet on May 9 to discuss the future course of action, sources said.

Mumbai-based Suraksha group was the lone contender in the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd on the grounds that the offer did not have approval from various government departments.

NBCC wants its bid to be reconsidered, while Adani Group has also shown interest in acquiring Jaypee Infratech and completing over 20,000 delayed flats in Noida.

Interestingly, Jaypee Group's promoters too have put in a bid to retain control of the company.

Under the insolvency proceedings Friday, members representing 41.85 per cent of voting rights were against the proposal, while 23.47 per cent were in favour.

Most of those voting in favour were homebuyers, who hold about 60 per cent of the voting rights in the CoC.

The remaining around 34.69 per cent homebuyers abstained from the voting process, which started on April 30 and concluded on Friday.

"Section 28(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code stipulates that 'No action shall be approved by the committee of creditors unless approved by a vote of 66 per cent of the voting shares'.

"Since the members representing 23.47 per cent of the voting rights assented to the matter, the decision on the item stands rejected," Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain said in a statement.

The CoC will meet again on May 9 to decide the future course of action, sources said, even as the court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution process ends on May 6.

Lenders have sought extension of the deadline and the matter is pending before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

IDBI Bank, India Infrastructure Finance Company, LIC, SBI, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank, ICICI, IFCI, Axis Bank and SREI Equipment Finance voted against Suraksha's offer. Only J&K Bank voted in favour.

Among homebuyers, 8,019 people voted in favour, 860 against while 14,632 abstained.

Suraksha Realty had in this round offered lenders Rs 18.55 crore as upfront payment and land parcels worth Rs 5,000 crore to settle the debt. It also proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital to complete pending flats.

After its bid got rejected, NBCC Ltd got the necessary approvals from various government departments for its offer and has written to the IRP that its bid should be reconsidered on merit.

Last month, business conglomerate Adani Group too wrote to the IRP, expressing its interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group's promoters too are keen to retain control over its realty arm and have already submitted their debt resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Meanwhile, the lead lender IDBI on April 29 approached the Allahabad bench of the NCLT seeking extension of insolvency proceedings beyond the May 6 deadline.

In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after the NCLT admitted the application by an IDBI

Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee Group's flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates, owes nearly Rs 9,800 crore to financial creditors.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the IRP to oversee the affairs of the company and conduct the bidding process to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech who can complete pending 20,000 flats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the company's net worth and assets as well as liquidation value of about Rs 14,000 crore.

In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT's direction.

To protect lenders interest, NBCC has offered Rs 5,000 crore worth land as well as 100 per cent equity of Yamuna Expressway, the only cash generating asset with Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur has promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore to complete pending apartments over the next four years. The group had submitted a Rs 10,000-crore plan before lenders in April 2018 as well, but the same was not accepted.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with the NCLT.
The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated. (Photo: Representational | ANI)

Panaji: The Government of France is planning to organise an investment conclave in Goa in October this year, to encourage French companies to invest in various sectors in the coastal state.

A proposal to this effect would be submitted to the Goa government soon, Consul General of France in Mumbai Sonia Barbry said here on Friday.

The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated, she said.

"During that conclave, a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LOI) were signed between French and Indian companies. Now, we will try to bring in French investment into Goa," she said.

The 'Franco Goa Investment Conclave' will look at investment in the field of green marinas, health, medical equipment and waste management besides others, Barbry said.

"We have some companies in France that know how to make sustainable marinas without disturbing the environment," she said.

Barbry, who was in Goa to oversee Indo-French Naval Exercise 'Varuna', met Goa Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Thursday and discussed economic interests of France in Goa.

She said some French companies were interested in investing in Goa in different fields.

During her visit, the Consul General also met Goa University Vice Chancellor Varun Sahani to discuss about preparations for the upcoming workshop for French teachers to be held from May 20-25 at Goa University.

She said around 130 teachers from various colleges from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal would take part in the workshop, which will improve their pedagogical skills.
Dabangg actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is currently shooting for Salman Khans Dabangg 3, took some time off from her hectic work schedule to head to Lucknow. There, the actress was seen campaigning for her mother, Poonam Sinha, whos contesting the General Elections as a candidate from the city.

Sonakshi, who is active on Instagram, also posted pictures of her with her mother Poonam in Lucknow as an Instagram story.

Reportedly, Sonakshi spent time meeting Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple and the rest of the family. Later in the afternoon, she participated in the road show that started from GPO in Hazratganj and urged people to vote for her mother. A huge turnout was seen, as many wanted to catch a glimpse of actress,while Sonakshi was seen waving to the crowds.
Based on Anna Todds successful fan fiction series on Harry Styles, After is being brought to the big screen. PVR Pictures is all set to charm the country with its release on 3rd May 2019. This romantic drama introduces us to the journey of a young woman who falls for a guy with a dark secret and the two embark on a rocky relationship. Directed and written by Jenny Gage, After is based on the 2014 fiction novel of the same name by Anna Todd. The movie features Hero Fiennes Tiffin(Hardin) and Josephine Langford(Tessa) in prominent roles, alongside Selma Blair, Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder, Swen Temmel, Inanna Sarkis , Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals , Pia Mia, Meadow Williams, Dylan Arnold.

We found Hero early on in the process, remembers Director Jenny Gage. His tape from London was one of the first auditions that we all saw. We didn't meet him in person until later, but even on tape there was something about his vulnerability in his performance that really captivated me. He was perfect for Hardin.

The character of Hardin Scott is described as having intense green eyes, an English accent, brooding good looks, and a piercing stare. Todd knew the moment she saw Hero that he was the perfect choice. When I got in the room with Hero, about 30 seconds in, I said to Jen, What just happened? This is it. No one else can be Hardin." Todd continues, I was to the point where I was literally saying, If you guys even think about trying to hire someone else, were going to be making a mistake. Hero has something.

Despite being unaware of the source material, the actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin was interested in what makes Hardin Scott tick. I had never heard of the book After when I first auditioned, but as soon as I mentioned it, everyone and their mum around me knew what it was, remembers Fiennes Tiffin. I don't relate to Hardin in too many ways, and that's why I find him funny to play, because there are aspects of his personality that interest me  his lack of self-control, the fact he's very logical but also impulsive and can be very erratic and unpredictable. Hardin is a womanizer who changes throughout the film, thanks to Tessa. Hardin is a dangerous character, he can go either way, you think you know him and then he will surprise you.

Hero comes from an incredible lineage of actors: his uncles are Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, states producer Mark Canton. Also, Josephines older sister Katherine, has been a big star on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. But it was more than their famous gene pools that made Josephine and Hero right for these roles.

The search for the role of Tessa proved to be more challenging and continued until just before shooting began. At the exact right moment, this girl happened to Skype in from Perth, Australia auditioning for the role of Molly, and the second she came on screen, I said That is our Tessa, explains producer Jennifer Gibgot.

Josephine Langford recalls, I was back home and did a self-tape for Molly, then I did a Skype callback, then a week later when I was waiting to hear back about Molly, I got a call at 5:00AM from my agents who said, The producers want to meet with you for the lead role. So I got on a plane with about sixteen hours notice, read the script on the plane to LA, had a meeting and about two other meetings and then got the job.

When asked about working with each other Fiennes Tiffin shares, I could go on for ages about working with Josephine, but Ill start with her acting ability, which helps me so much, and the fact she's such a nice, considerate person. She acts so well, especially in emotional scenes, and really gives me a lot to feed off. Shes really carrying this film,.

Langford is equally complimentary of her leading man. Hero brings this vulnerability and sincerity to Hardin which is difficult to find with a character like that. Ive loved working with him, Langford comments. When you're doing this type of content - a lot of intimate and intense scenes  its so important that you feel safe and comfortable with the person youre working with. So I feel lucky to have had him as a partner through this experience.

Catch this saga of love on the silver screen on 3rd May 2019 in the cinemas near you.
Bengaluru: Two BMTC bus drivers and a photographer were arrested recently by the Yelahanka police while they were trying to circulate fake notes.

The arrested were identified as Somanna Gowda, 38, from Raichur and working as a driver and conductor in BMTC, Nanje Gowda, 32, from Channarayapatna and works as a driver in BMTC, and Kiran Kumar, 24, who is from Hassan and a photographer. The police seized around Rs 81 lakh worth of fake notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations.

The police also raided a room in Garvebhavipalya, which was rented out by the trio. They had a computer and scanning and printing machines. They used to scan and print the notes and circulate them.

A couple of days ago, they were near Kogilu Circle trying to circulate the money. Based on a tip-off, the police went to the spot in civil clothes, identified the trio and started questioning them. The three tried to flee, but were arrested. The police found fake notes in their possession, the police said.

A case was registered at the Yelahanka police station and investigation is on.
Rameswaram: Bharathan, a Rameswaram fisherman who went missing after his fishing boat capsized in 1996 while he was fishing on the high seas, is alive 23 years later. He has been sighted among beggars in Colombo, his family members here claim.

The fisherman, who was 42 then, had set out for fishing in April 1996 along with five others when the boat capsized. While others were rescued, Bharathan went missing. He could not be traced for the next couple of months and there was no report of his body being washed ashore.

Believing that he had drowned, his wife, two daughters and a son conducted the rituals. As the fisherman had set out for fishing in the name of another fisherman Raju, the family members did not seek any compensation from the government.

The family had given up all hopes of his survival, when Rajesh, the fishermans grand nephew, an auto-rickshaw driver in Rameswaram, spotted him among beggars while watching a YouTube clipping of a special story done by Jaffna Tamil TV about a beggar millionaire in Colombo.The video clip showed beggars who had been begging for more than two decades in Colombo and one beggar had striking similarities with the missing Bharathan.

Rajesh showed the clip to his mother-in-law and Bharathans daughter - Saravana Sundari, 42, and she confirmed the man was her father.

On seeing the picture, Sundari wailed saying it was that of her father, Her husband Ramesh, also an auto-rickshaw driver said, after seeing the picture she is crying and is refusing to even take food.

Bharathans other daughter and son also confirmed that the beggar was their missing father, he said.

The fishermans wife Sarasu, however, is mentally unstable and is in no position to identify her husband, he said.

The family has no idea as to how Bharathan reached Colombo. They suspect that he may have lost his memory.

M. Karunamurthy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Meenpidi Thozhirsanga Kottamaippu has proposed to take the family members to the district collector so that steps could be taken to secure Bharathans return.
Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.

KOCHI: The health department has issued an alert against an outbreak of infectious diseases such dengue fever as summer showers intensified.

Residents of those areas where dengue fever was reported earlier have been told to be extra careful. The other vulnerable areas are plantations and migrant labourers' colonies.

The conducive climatic condition - drought, followed by intermittent summer rains - is a major reason for the increased breeding of anopheles aedes mosquitoes. The high daytime temperature coupled with evening showers also helps increase mosquito density.

Acute fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and pain around the eyes are the preliminary symptoms of dengue.

People have been asked to take preventive measures such as source reduction, proper waste management and obser-ving dry day against vector-borne diseases. Chances for outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases are higher this year as the city corporation is yet to intensify the pre-monsoon cleaning.

Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.
Kozhikode: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Hussain Madavoor on Friday came out in support of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) banning face-covering dress for female students in its educational institutions.

He said face-covering dresses like burqa or niqab had not been recommended in the Quran.

The MES circular last month banning face-covering dress from 2019-20 academic year had sparked controversy with Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SKJU) coming out against it.

Quran only directs covering the body parts that create sexual urges in men. It can be a sari or a churidar provided it decently covers the female body, he told DC.

In schools, there can be law and order issues as even a boy could move around in such a face-covering dress, he said, adding that religion need not be mixed unnecessarily with all such issues.

He believes that the diktats to cover the face of women came in a later period through the interpretations of covering the body by the religious scholars.

Meanwhile, MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor, who issued the circular, said in Mukkam near here that the society was undergoing fast changes which the communities also should adopt.

"Those who believe that another should not see ones face should remain at their homes. It is time we gave ear to the changing times, he said.

Many scholars think that the veil is the dress in the deserts, not Islamic. Among the over 150-crore Muslims living all over the world, Arabs are only around ten crores.

In that too, hijab covering the face is used only by a few such as Yemenis and Saudis which is not limited to women as they protect them from sandstorms.
Ramani had pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar. (Photo: File I PTI)

New Delhi: In a heated courtroom drama that lasted for almost two hours, former Union minister M J Akbar on Saturday recorded his statement and was cross examined in a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "malafide" and "defamatory".

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, cross examined Akbar on details regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age, among others.

However, Akbar responded to most of the questions as "I do not remember". Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations. The court has posted the matter for the next hearing on May 20.
'The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official said. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kozhikode: The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges. "The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added. In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.
The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

Kollam: In the wake of intelligence reports about possible terror attacks in the state, a luxury car with the caricature of deceased Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was seized here on Thursday.

Though the police could not find any link to terrorist groups, the issue is being investigated by the local police.

The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

The car was plying under the nose of the police for nearly a year, but was seized only after its pictures turned viral on the social media. The photos of the car bearing a West Bengal registration number with Bin Ladens caricature on its boot and his name written on the rear windshield were circulated on social media after it was spotted at Thattamala, Eravipuram and Mayyanad areas. A complaint about it was also received by higher police officials, following which action was taken.

The car was seized by Eravipuram police while it was being used by a young couple for their marriage at Ayathil on Thursday. Upon inspection, the car was found to be registered in the name of Praveen Agarval of West Bengal. Muhammad Haneef had bought the car about a year ago from his friend in Bengaluru for Rs 4.5 lakh, but the ownership was not yet changed. He told the police that the caricature of the terrorist was printed at a sticker shop at Mundakkal and intended just for fun. The police are further verifying the ownership details and whether the car is involved in crimes.
Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kamareddy: A police official here attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

Speaking to media on Friday, Kamareddy DSP Laxminarayana said earlier in the day, Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

"He was immediately shifted to Kamareddy government hospital for treatment. Doctors have said he is out of danger. We are shifting him to Hyderabad for better treatment," he added.

The DSP said the reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained.

"Further details will be revealed after investigation," he added.
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has started an inquiry to identify officials said to be leaking information about the goings-on in his office to the Chief Ministers Office. This come just a day after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took umbrage at Mr Subrahmanyams absence from his review meeting.

According to reports, some officials were relaying information from the Chief Secretarys review meetings to the CMO.

Citing an instance, sources said that Mr Subrahmanyam had recently conducted a review meeting about a corporate hospital in Nellore demanding the organs of a brain dead patient in lieu of the bill payment. The matter was leaked.

Information of several other review meetings also leaked to the CMO, sources said, which left officials at the Chief Secretarys office worried. According to sources, Mr Subrahmanyam himself found some persons leaking information and had decided to take action.

Further, Mr Subrahmanyam had ordered an inquiry into alleged double payments in the Comprehensive Financial Management System and into payments of bills to contractors and firms by the finance department, which the Chief Ministers Office reportedly tried to stop.

Sources claimed that Mr Naidu had tried to stop Mr Subrahmanyam from holding reviews meetings by lodging complaints with the Election Commission but in vain.

Mr Naidu has been critical of Mr Subrahmanyam from the time he was appointed by the Election Commission. He has called the official an accused in the quid pro quo cases of YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, something that has angered IAS officials.

Officials are worried that the tussle between Mr Naidu and Mr Subrahmanyam will split the bureaucracy into two groups which would not good for the administration.
Vijayawada: In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has alleged that Naidu deceived people of AP State on Polavaram funds, by taking Polavaram construction into his hand, for political benefits.

He stated that AP Re-organisation Act, 2014 mandates that the Central Government shall take over the Polavaram Project and complete it on expedient public interest. The Congress MP alleged that Naidu helped the contractors by paying variation charges from the year 2013, resulting in Rs 30,000 crores as burden for AP exchequer.

Mr Ramachandra Rao said that the then UPA Cabinet had also taken a decision that an Exclusive Authority (Special Purpose Vehicle) shall be constituted for the construction of Polavaram and also, entire cost escalation on the project due to cost and time overruns and also, the new Land Acquisition Act shall be borne by the Central Government.

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu both deceived AP People and the Central Government renounced the responsibility over the project reconstruction, agreeing to Mr Naidus requests and put several conditions on the expenditure of the project.

Mr Rao said that in a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee of Water Resources in February, the Committee approved the project cost of Rs 55,549 crore at the 2017-2018 price-level. He stated that in the same meeting, the Advisory Committee also approved the estimates of Polavaram, at the 2013-14 price-level, at Rs 27,082 crore.

He lamented that now, according to the Central Governments decision, the Centre will only bear the price at the 2013-14 level and the difference in price- Rs 28,467 crore has to be borne by the AP Government.

Mr Ramachandra Rao alleged that Mr Naidu also issued GO 22 and GO 67 to help the contractors and spent several crores of rupees in the name of site visit of people, foundation and inauguration of several gates and pillars of head works and also Gallery Walk, family trip etc., giving an additional burden to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore to the State.

The Congress MP claimed that due to the greed of Mr Naidu, now AP was burdened with Rs 30,000 crore and also, AP is compelled to bear the entire expenditure of Polavaram initially and later, seek the funds from the Central Government and wait for their mercy.

He said that the Congress-led UPA Government had taken every precaution to safeguard the interests of APs people after bifurcation. He stated that the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, will not allow AP to lose further and it will assure that every provision of the AP Reorganisation Act will be implemented.

He urged Mr Naidu to ask an open apology to the people of AP for the loss that occurred to them in Polavaram, due to his selfish attitude.

Mr Ramachandra Rao further demanded Mr Naidu to immediately ask the officials concerned to file a counter to the PIL filed in AP High Court, requesting to issue an order directing the Central Government to bear the entire cost of Polavaram Project, without any conditions.
Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines.

Thrissur: Security will be tightened for the Thrissur Pooram in view of the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the Easter day and the terrorists threat to attack targets in South India.

The public will not be allowed to take carry bags to the site of the Pooram to be held on May 13. The police will take other precautions too to avoid any untoward incidents, said Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the Pooram at the collectorate here on Saturday. Collector T.V. Anupama and city police commissioner Yathish Chandra also attended the meeting.

Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines. The PESO officials in the regional office at Sivakasi had declined permission for the chain cracker citing a Supreme Court order in connection with festivals. The Pooram organising committee had sought permission from the Chief Controller of Explosives at the head office of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) at Nagpur last week.

The functionaries of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, who conduct the fireworks display said at the meeting that they had moved the Supreme Court over the matter and that the court was expected to take up the matter on Monday.

The decision to lift the ban on star elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran who had killed two persons during private celebrations at Kottappadi, Guruvayur, in February was not discussed in the meeting, Mr Sunil Kumar said.

Kerala Elephant Owners Federation functionary P. Sasikumar said that as the forest secretary was on election duty in Delhi, the forest department would issue an order to lift the ban on Ramachandran only after his return to Kerala.

Sasikumar also said that the ban on Dr P.B. Giridasan, veterinary doctor treating elephants in Thrissur, from issuing fitness certificates for parading captive elephants had been lifted. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (forest management) had asked the director of animal husbandry department on Saturday to keep the earlier direction issued by PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden on May 2 in abeyance and conduct a detailed inquiry into the complaints against the veterinarian.
'Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher,' Yogi said. (Photo: File)

Fatehpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday hit out at Congress general secretary for UP, Priyanka Gandhi, over a video in which children were seen using objectionable language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Terming Priyanka Gandhi as "shehzadi", the UP CM claimed, "I was seeing a video of the Congress' "shehzadi" (princess) which went viral. At an age, when kids should be taught about 'cultures', she is sowing poison in their hearts. She is teaching them to abuse. This is the reality of the Congress party"

"Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher. When there is flood and drought, then they do not remember India. At that time, they go to Italy. When elections are around, they begin to tour to show that they are the biggest well-wishers," he said addressing an election rally here.

The chief minister also boasted about dealing with criminals with a heavy hand.

"We made it clear that criminals will either be in jail or they will be on their way to "Ram naam satya hai"," said Yogi Adityanath.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting Masood Azhar listed as a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "You would have read that UNSC has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This has happened due to PM Modi's diplomacy. The countdown for Masood Azhar has begun just like Osama bin Laden."

Yogi also accused the rival parties of being soft on terrorism.

"First job that SP government took after coming to power in 2012 was to take back cases against terrorists," he said while referring to the various terror attacks between 2005-2014.

"Why are Congress, SP, and BSP being so generous towards terrorists?" the CM questioned.

Taking a dig at BSP president Mayawati, the BJP leader said, "I want to ask Mayawati jee, how did you go to seek votes for the people who insulted Baba Sahib?"

The Lok Sabha polls in the state are scheduled to be conducted in all seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 06, 12 and 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he 'insulted' the armed forces by taking credit. (Photo: ANI)

Chennai: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into politics.

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading.
Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday. (Photo: File)

Patna: Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JD(U) and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly.

Hyderabad: A detailed analysis is under way in the Telugu Desam and YSRC camps of candidates who are most likely to win, which will come handy for the last-minute strategies that could well be adopted by both parties.

Simultaneously, there are quite a few hush-hush brainstorming sessions in which some super rich men have been heard discussing scenarios and possibilities if either political party falls short of 10 or 20 seats.

Top government sources told Deccan Chronicle that a few trusted aides of the powers-that-be were analysing the chances of candidates who contested on YSR Congress tickets. Right from ground reports to their financial status, their family background, their support and dominance in their respective constituencies are being analysed, sources said.

The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly. The analysis is part of the preparations for worst-case scenarios which may emerge on the day the results are announced, they said.

It is unclear if feelers were being sent from either party to the candidates who are sure to win. The possibility always exists till the results are out, sources said.

It is believed that the bitterly fought elections has led to a polarisation in the state due to which various caste groups, it is learnt, are willing to help the party of their choice in any way possible to steer them to power.

Such meetings, or rather brainstorming sessions, have come to notice mostly in Guntur and Krishna districts in the last few days, where participants are discussing all sorts of possibilities on the day of results.

It is learnt that a similar exercise is going on in the YSRC camp, where leaders are trying to identify candidates who are sure to win. Obviously, the exercise in the YSRC is not on the same scale which the TD loyalists are doing as the ruling party has an edge over the rival parties it has the Intelligence department working for them, which collates ground reports and gets huge feedback about the candidate. The YSR Congress has some trusted people within the government who are helping them in the analysis, sources said.

The YSR Congress had won 67 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections and the party raised a hue and cry when 23 legislators switched sides and joined the TD.

Since there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, one can expect anything, one official said indicating that both parties are preparing for worst-case scenarios.
New Delhi: Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major national parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Hyderabad: The local income-tax office has issued notices to around 40 MLAs, all belonging to the TRS, demanding explanations for the increase in the value of their movable and immovable assets. These MLAs include those in the state cabinet and the TRS top brass.

Sources have confirmed that nobody from the Opposition has received such notices.

The income-tax investigation team studied the affidavits filed by the legislators before the Election Commission in 2014 and compared them with the affidavits submitted ahead of the Assembly elections last year. Those legislators whose records reflected a large difference in their I-T payments and assets are the ones who have been issued the notices, an official said.

This newspaper inquired with at least 10 elected representatives from Karimnagar, Medchal, Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthi, Adilabad, Asifabad, and Khammam districts, who confirmed receiving the notice.

Notices were issued to those whose incomes were found to have increased tenfold over a span of 4 years, since the previous election. The Income Tax department has asked the legislators to submit annual records explaining their source of income and legitimate reasons for the increase in their income. The MLAs have been given time to respond to the notice.

It is learnt that many legislators are seeking the assistance of their accountants and consulting chartered accountants to prepare their explanation.

According to the affidavits submitted, the highest increase in assets (movable and immovable) has been noted in the case of the Nagarkurnool MLA Marri Janardhan Reddy at Rs 160 crore, followed by the former finance minister Etela Rajender at Rs 42.41 crore, TRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, Parkala MLA Dharma Reddy, Wardhannapeta MLA A. Ramesh, and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took everyone by surprise when she named Saradha scam accused Madan Mitra as the party's candidate for the by-poll to the Bhatpara Assembly seat. It was widely believed that Mr Mitra had fallen from grace after he was jailed in connection with the infamous Saradha chit fund scam. Though he was released more than two years ago, the Trinamul chief had chosen to keep him at arm's length. But Ms Banerjee had her reasons for rehabilitating Mr Mitra. The move was necessitated after she received feedback that Dinesh Trivedi, sitting MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, was being given a tough time by BJP's Arjun Singh, who had recently left the Trinamul Congress in a huff when he was denied a ticket by Ms Banerjee. Mr Singh is a known bahubali and the genteel Mr Trivedi was ill-equipped to deal with his rough ways. So, Ms Banerjee pulled out Mr Mitra from oblivion and named him candidate from Bhatpara, an Assembly seat in Barrackpore constituency. Mr Mitra is also a known bahubali of the area and, more importantly, Arjun Singh was once his protege. The upshot is that Mr Trivedi can now breathe easy as his chief opponent Mr Singh is being ably handled by his former mentor Mr Mitra.

The four-term chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, is known to be low-key, understated and reclusive. He barely moves out of the state and is seen and heard on a few occasions which had led to a lot of speculation about his failing health. However, in this election  Odisha has simultaneous state and Lok Sabha polls  Mr Patnaik has turned a new leaf. He is now more visible and vocal. Faced with a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in his home state, the chief minister has been campaigning actively, has given several interviews and has also reached to the youth through social media. In addition, he has put out video clips about his exercise regimen to dispel the widespread impression that he is ailing and, therefore, incapable of discharging his duties as chief minister. In fact, he has publicly blamed his former party colleague, Jay Panda (now with the BJP) for spreading rumours about his ill health in Delhi. This reference to Mr Panda and his health has touched an emotional chord among the people, especially women, who are clearly upset and angry about how Mr Patnaik had been backstabbed by a party member. All these efforts are working to Mr Patnaik's advantage who may well return as chief minister for a record fifth term.

The Bharatiya Janata Party cadre is wondering if it was necessary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a massive road show in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. His two-day stay in the city involved hectic preparations by party workers in the midst of an election and was also an expensive affair with several hundred tons of rose petals being showered during the seven-kilometre roadshow through the streets of Varanasi. It is believed that Mr Modi's programme, which would normally have been scheduled just before polling, was held earlier to pre-empt and overshadow the announcement about Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's candidature from Varanasi. However, the Congress backed off from fielding her, as a result of which the main purpose of Mr Modi's roadshow was defeated. While questioning the need for scheduling the programme, BJP members said it was unnecessary considering Mr Modi's victory in Varanasi is a foregone conclusion. Instead, the BJP's star campaigner could have been utilised in constituencies where the party needs a boost.

The Trinamul Congress and the Congress may be busy attacking each other on the campaign trail but they are also keeping their options open for a post-poll rapprochement. Last week, a delegation of Trinamul Congress leaders approached the Election Commission to complain that the Bharatiya Janata Party's name was being displayed along with the party symbol on the electronic voting machines during a mock drill in West Bengal's Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. On learning about this, the Congress also decided to reach the Election Commission with a similar petition. Congress leaders were, however, baffled about their involvement in this case as they felt that their petition was unnecessary and uncalled for. Apparently, it was Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel's idea that the Congress also led a delegation on the same issue on the same day the Trinamul Congress leaders were reaching the Election Commission. The canny politician that he is, Mr Patel later explained to his doubting colleagues that this display of solidarity with the Trinamul Congress was needed as it could become necessary to build bridges with Mamata Banerjee after the Lok Sabha elections.
RTHK: North Korea tests short-range missile

North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06am to 09.27am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres towards the Sea of Japan the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong-un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong-un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The decision of Gujarat state last Thursday to deny the CBI sanction to prosecute suspended senior police officers D.G. Vanzara (who in an explosive letter of resignation from service, written from prison in September 2013, condemned the "betrayal and treachery" of then BJP general secretary Amit Shah, who had been minister of state for home) and N.K. Amin is an administrative, political and judicial scandal.

Mr Vanzara, who was a DIG of police and headed the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad at the time of a series of high-profile police encounters  those of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan, Tulsiram Prajapati and Sadiq Jamal  was arrested by the CID in April 2007. These encounters looked like extra-judicial killings.

The controversial police officer was released on bail in February 2015 and acquitted in the Sohrabuddin case in 2017, but not in the other cases. Last Thursday, the state government denied the CBI special court permission to try him, leading to all the cases being dropped.

Foremost among these was the much-talked-about Ishrat Jahan case in which a 19-year old girl was shot dead in circumstances that appeared to be cold-blooded murder. The manner in which events have panned out, it would seem no one killed the teenager.

Administratively, withholding permission to prosecute uniformed personnel charged with heinous crimes suggests the existence of an unaccountable government which permits those accused of high criminality by a leading organ of the state to roam free.

In his high-voltage letter of resignation, Mr Vanzara called then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi his God, but blamed the CM's government for his own woes. In the ten-page letter to the Gujarat Home department, the suspended officer did not once plead his innocence. He insisted that every act that he had committed was government policy.

I, along with my officers, stood beside this government like a bulwark whenever it faced existential crisis in the past, the disgraced police officer wrote. He wrote that between the government and the police, there ought to be a relationship of mutual protection and reciprocal assistance. It was his grievance that this turned out not to be the case.

He was deeply aggrieved that while Mr Shah had managed to secure his release in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, after being externed by the Supreme Court for two years from Gujarat, the state government had clandestinely made efforts to keep him in jail to save its own skin. This appears to be the crux of the matter on the political side. If, like Mr Shah himself, Mr Vanzara and others were not discharged from various cases, they would always remain a threat.

But the dead deserve justice. The system needs to be healed. The police personnel can have a fair trial only when the state government's order is challenged and reversed.
The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

After pushing along for several months, the Modi sarkars move on lateral entry into government has finally become a reality. The government has selected nine private sector specialists for appointment to the post of joint secretary in the Government of India on a contract basis.

But still playing it safe, these appointments have to wait for clearance from the Election Commission.

The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

Those selected are Amber Dubey (for civil aviation), Arun Goel (commerce), Rajeev Saksena (economic affairs), Sujit Kumar Bajpayee (environment, forest and climate change), Saurabh Mishra (financial services) and Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale (new and renewable energy). Suman Prasad Singh has been selected for appointment as joint secretary in the road transport and highways ministry, Bhushan Kumar in shipping and Kakoli Ghosh for agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare.

The newly appointed joint secretaries include IIT, IIM and Oxford alumni who have worked with the United Nations and renowned multinational financial organisations.

Mr Saksena is a former banker who has worked at the Saarc Development Fund, Mr Dubey is an IIT-IIM alumnus who is a partner at KPMG, while Ms Ghosh holds a doctorate in plant sciences from Oxford University.

The lateral entry mode, which relates to the appointment of specialists from the private sector in government, is an ambitious step of the Modi government to bring in fresh talent in bureaucracy.

Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by IAS, IPS, IFoS and IRS officers who are selected through a three-step process undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In June last year, however, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) had invited applications for 10 joint secretary-rank posts through the lateral entry mode.

While nearly 6,000 candidates had applied for the posts, only 2 per cent of them qualified for the interview stage.

The long delay, sources say, was due to the government having to surmount opposition from entrenched babus who fear encroachment on their turf. The entry of domain experts from the private sector would mean relinquishing their carefully protected dominance of government administration.

The announcement of these appointments has, predictably, set tongues wagging. The civil service babus are expressing worries about conflict of interest due to the new appointees experience in the private sector during which they were advising private companies while liaising with government officials.

The other chief concern, it emerges, is that the appointments would undercut the heavily defined hierarchy in the administration, since some of the appointees are felt to be too junior for such key decision-making positions.

It is clear that the appointees have joined an elite club, but where despite their professional expertise, they will still need to earn their spurs! Fortunately, unlike on previous occasions when individual domain experts were inducted into government and had done well in their respective fields but were inundated by the vast civil service apparatus, the lateral entry move is strongly backed by the Niti Aayog.

Even then the government was moving slowly to avoid a pushback from the babus. Which is why the announcement, coming in the midst of elections, has taken many people by surprise.

With electioneering in full swing, it was widely believed that any development on this front would have to wait until the elections were over and a new government had taken over.

So typical of Narendra Modi to spring a surprise!
In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates. (Photo: File)

There is no precedent for the massive protest that was undertaken by the Congress before the Supreme Court of India on April 28. The Apex Court agreed to urgently hear a Congress petition that said the Election Commissions (ECs) ongoing silence on complaints regarding vitriolic speeches and the misuse of Indian forces as propaganda by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president, Amit Shah, was tantamount to a tacit endorsement of their conduct.

A bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, had consented to hear on April 30 a petition, whose urgency had been stressed by lawyers A.M. Singhvi and Sunil Fernandes.

In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates.

The Congress said that no action had been taken by the commission on the many petitions of violations that the Model Code of Conduct had moved so far. The delay, the Congress emphasised, was a deliberate action itself. According to the petition, since the notification of the election in March, the Prime Minister and Mr Shah had specifically in sensitive areas and states, ex-facie violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Rules.

The petition described at length the reported remarks of Mr Modi that allegedly contravened the code of conduct. For instance, Mr Modis utterances presented Rahul Gandhis choice of Wayanad as a seat where the minority is majority and called for votes in the name of the troops killed in the Pulwama attack in February. The petition alleged that the lack of action by the commission against the Prime Minister and Mr Shah was a tacit endorsement of their statements and a clean chit to the individuals.

Inaction on the part of the Election Commission is a sign of invidious discrimination and is arbitrary, capricious and impermissible ... certain selected very powerful individuals have been permitted to gain an unfair electoral advantage by their material infractions of the Representation of the People Act, Election Rules and Model Code of Conduct.

Eyebrows were raised when the present Chief Election Commissioner and his two subordinates were appointed brazenly without any consultation with the Opposition. On April 30, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to explain its silence against the hate speeches alleged against it in a 146-page affidavit. Forty representations had been now made against them since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 10.

Not since the days of Indira Gandhi (1972-77 and 1980-1984) have institutions been suborned as under Mr Modi. What is now directly in issue is the state of the Election Commission and its bogus code of conduct, which is of recent origin. The commission once based its rules on the rulings of the Supreme Court. The Model Code of Conduct that was enforced by the commission had no statutory back-up. It is well settled, since the days of A.V. Dicey that executive action against a persons rights are devoid of legality.

The time has come in 2019 to amend the Constitution to make consultation with Opposition leaders imperative in the appointment of all Election Commissioners and make it obligatory on the commission to seek legal opinion on whether the facts warrant a prosecution. The Election Commission seems to obey no rules except its own. Constitutional legislation is imperative if the situation is not to get out of hand. For this, an all-party consensus is essential. But that can be attained only after the elections. Indian political parties abhor consensus. We are in an acute dilemma.

By arrangement with Dawn
You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query. (Photo: Pixabay)

Google released its Chrome OS 74 which promises bug fixes, enhanced hardware support, and more importantly, a unified search experience.

As Engadget reports, the reworked search experience unifies Google Assistant, on-device and web search. You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query.

Other improvements include USB camera support for Android Camera app, output audio for Linux apps, and document annotation in Chrome PDF viewer.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie.

Google has built a new AI that uses your selfie and combines it with your choice of words to create your unique portrait, overlaid with poetry.

Called PoemPortrait, the online collective artwork is a combination of poetry, design, and machine learning. As Google explained in its blog, starting today, you can create your own custom portrait with poetry.

To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie. Each word is then expanded into original lines of poetry by an algorithm that has been trained using nineteenth-century poetry.

The AI then provides a unique PoemPortrait of the face, illuminated by the original lines of poetry. All the lines are then combined to form an ever-evolving, collective poem.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

US trade officials rejected Tesla Incs bid for relief from President Donald Trumps 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot brain of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to Chinas industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the US Trade Representatives office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed strategically important to the Made in China 2025 program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: Our costs for producing our vehicles in the US have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China.

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart Chinas efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of US intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing Chinas prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and US demands for sweeping changes to Chinas policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the brain of the vehicle when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability.

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Teslas request because it concerns a product strategically important or related to Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs. USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a US government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corps Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit, Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training.

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China, Tesla wrote. When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers lives due to a defect from a supplier.

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls the brain responsible for Teslas Autopilot functionality and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of US sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent US tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of US Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

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Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1. (Representational Image)

Washington: A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the ISIS and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the ISIS and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group. "Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for

Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well. The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Koreas missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang during a news show at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyong-yangs first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washin-gton with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The US and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyangs concessions on its atomic arsenal. North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06 am (0006 GMT) to 9.27 am today, the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 km towards the East Sea, the JCS added. In an earlier statement, it said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions reli-ef, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyon-gyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean vice-foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea. Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on. The White House said it was aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was no confirmation of ballistic missiles entering its territory.

At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used as a training area for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.
The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice. (DC)

Colombo: Sri Lankas Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter suicide bombings that killed 257 people, a spokesman said.

Father Edmund Tillaka-ratne said public masses were suspended for a second week, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television. It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live, Tillakaratne said.

Ranjith, who is also archbishop of Colombo, said on Thursday that a reliable foreign source had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for the second week. The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution, the Cardinal said. Official sources said the Thewatte National Basi-lica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security, a police official said.

The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice.
A woman reacts as she stands amidst scattered objects in a house that was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip in the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara, on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed one Palestinian gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Pales-tinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Israel hit Gaza with air strikes and tank fire after Palestinian militants fired about 150 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. The Israeli military said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike.

The Gaza Health Ministry said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

The Palestinian Educa-tion Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Across the border, rocket sirens sent Israelis running to shelters, and the Magen David Adom ambulance service said one woman was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the city of Kiryat Gat. Many of the missiles were intercepted, the military said.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene his security council, comes days before Muslims begin Ramzan.
In what is the biggest seizure of smuggled gold from an individual this year at the Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials confiscated gold worth Rs 1.19 crore from a passenger.

The man, who hails from Chamarajanagar, was travelling to Bengaluru from Dubai and had hidden the gold in a bench vice. He hid two gold bars worth one kilogram each and four cut pieces of a bar.

They were wrapped in black insulation tapes and were neatly packed in a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice, an official of the customs department said.

Having concealed the gold inside the bench vice, a thick iron sheet was welded and ground over the compartment to cover the area. The vice was painted to make it appear genuine. Besides the essential parts, around 7.6 kilograms of iron was packed with the bench vice to hide the gold. The item appeared to be suspicious when we scanned it. Air Intelligence officials then questioned the passenger. His responses prompted the officials to thoroughly check the vice, and they found the gold, a source said.

In a separate instance, officials also arrested a passenger flying in from Muscat, who attempted to smuggle in 358 grams of gold worth Rs 11.75 lakh. The man hid the yellow metal as 14 pieces in his trolley bag.

Officials found four very thin strips of gold painted in aluminium colour on the trolley bags handle and two black-painted gold buckles in the strap, besides eight thin straps of aluminium-painted gold strips fixed inside the bags metal casing.
India may engage with Pakistan soon after its parliamentary elections get over  notwithstanding the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's high-pitched poll-time rhetoric against the neighbouring country.

Though the formal dialogue, which remained stalled since January 2013, may not restart immediately, India and Pakistan are likely to have some engagements after the Lok Sabha elections, beginning with a bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two nations on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek  the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

If incumbent Narendra Modi retains the office of Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections, he is likely to attend the SCO summit in Bishkek on June 14 and 15. In case the poll results in a change of guard in New Delhi, his successor may take part the summit of the eight-nation bloc, which admitted both India and Pakistan as its newest members in 2017. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also likely to attend the conclave.

Pakistan is learnt to have informally conveyed to India through China and Russia that the opportunity presented by the presence of the leaders of the two South Asian neighbours at the SCO summit in the capital of Kyrgyzstan could be utilized for a bilateral meeting between them so that they could at least explore the possibilities of further engagements.

The top brass of the government in New Delhi did not turn down the proposal outright but asked for an assessment on the pros and cons of having a meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Bishkek. A source told the DH that the political leadership of the current dispensation in New Delhi might not be averse to have a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the SCO summit, but would like to make it sure that such engagements would not be misconstrued as resumption of the formal bilateral dialogue.

New Delhi would never budge from its stand that talks and terror could never go together, the source said, underlining that the onus to set the stage for resumption of the structured bilateral dialogue would remain on Imran Khan's Government, which would have to take credible, effective and verifiable actions to address India's concern over cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend a meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers in Bishkek on May 21 and 22  just after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on May 19 and before the counting of votes on May 23. Her counterpart in Pakistan Government Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also likely to take part in the meeting. It is still not clear if Swaraj and Qureshi are going to meet on the sideline and explore the possibility of a meeting between the leaders next month.

Another source in New Delhi said that the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the forthcoming SCO summit could not be ruled out, but much would depend on the political situation that would emerge after the Lok Sabha polls. If a new government with a new Prime Minister takes office after the poll, it would possibly like to review the status of India-Pakistan relations before deciding on such a meeting, he told the DH.
A girl has made a suicide attempt in her college campus in Thiruvananthapuram accusing the college union of forcing her to political activities and not allowing to study.

The incident took place at University College in Thiruvananthapuram, a decades-old prestigious institution.

Meanwhile, in a statement given to the police on Saturday, the girl maintained that she wrote the letter accusing the college union activists owing to the mental condition and she did not want to proceed with any complaint against anyone in this connection.

The first-year degree student, reported missing since Thursday, was found unconscious in a waiting room in the college on Friday morning with her wrist nerve severed. A note recovered by the police from her revealed that she was under stress from the Students Federation of India (SFI) led college union.

Even as the SFI denied any sort of pressure on her, the incident could trigger fresh discussions on banning politics in college campuses.

The condition of the girl was stable by Saturday morning and the police would be recording here statement in detail. Based on her statement further steps would be taken against any SFI activists, police sources said.

University College situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city has been a stronghold of SFI over these years. There used to be even allegations that SFI cadres would not allow any other political parties to function in the campus.

According to sources, the girl said in the note that some college union leaders were forcing her to participate in the union's programmes during the class hours and hence she could not study properly. She was also learnt to have shared this concern with some of her classmates and wanted to resist such acts by the college union. But most students feared of hostile measures by the union activists.

Meanwhile, SFI Kerala state secretary Sachin Dev told DH that there were no such issues at the college. "I had enquired about the incident. There was no pressure on any students to take part in union activities. Moreover, now it is vacation time at the college and hence no union activities used to take place these days," he said.

Despite restrictions imposed by High Court several times earlier, campus politics with the backing of mainstream political parties continues in Kerala college campuses. The brutal killing of a college student in Kochi last year over campus political rivalries had also triggered demands to strictly ban politics in campuses.
India has been invited to the G-7 (Group of Seven) summit which France would host at Biarritz on its southwestern coast from August 24 to 26.

Alexandre Ziegler, Paris's envoy to New Delhi, on Friday, told journalists that India had been officially invited to the G-7. He said that France had also invited India to take part in the preparatory meetings during the run-up to the summit.

The G-7 at present comprises France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States  the seven of the advanced economies designated so by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Russia was also a member of the bloc from 1998 through 2014, a period when it was known as the Group of Eight (G-8).

The bloc, however, suspended Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

Sources said that New Delhi had about a month back received the French Government's invitation for India to attend the G-7 summit and the invitation had already been accepted.

If incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be in the office after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, he, himself, may attend the summit. In case of a change in the regime in New Delhi after the elections, the new government would take a call on the level of participation, sources told the DH.

Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh had attended an outreach session of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles in the United Kingdom in July 2005. The bloc had then also included Russia. The UK, which had hosted the 2005 summit, had invited not only India but also Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa in the outreach session.

Sources in New Delhi said that the French Government's invitation to India to attend the G-7 summit this year had reflected growing stature and economic clout of the country.

The G-7 represents 58% of the global net wealth, more than 46% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on nominal values and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity. It came into existence in 1975 as a Group of Six with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US. Canada joined the bloc in 1976 making it Group of Seven or G-7, which remained as an important forum of the industrialized democracies for coordinating economic, security and energy policies. Its relevance, however, came under questions in the recent years, particularly after the G-20 came into existence in 1999 as an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union and started expanding its agenda in 2008.

India is a member of the G-20 and the Prime Minister  Modi or whoever else succeeds him after the LS polls  is expected to take part in the summit of the bloc at Osaka in Japan from June 28 to 29.
Chinas move to lift the hold on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee resolution to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist is a well thought-out move on the South Asian chessboard, part of a much larger diplomatic effort to preserve peace in the region so as to avoid any adverse impact on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Protecting this signature trillion-dollar initiative from any form of conflict is now the highest Chinese foreign policy priority, especially on two of the six BRI routes  the China-Pakistan and China-Myanmar corridors  threatened by durable disorder.

Pakistan and Myanmar provide China with important land-to-sea access that helps Beijing get around the Malacca chokepoint and hugely reduces transportation cost for its energy imports. The Chinese live in dread of a US naval blockade of the Malacca Straits in the event of exacerbated conflict. Hence the determined effort to cultivate Pakistan and Myanmar to seek an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Chinas geostrategic weakness of a small East Asia-focused coast (in contrast to Indias location in the middle of rimland Asia, with large coastlines in both East and West) has influenced much of its recent foreign initiatives, the BRI included.

Having interacted with a large number of Chinese academics, business and political leaders in recent weeks, many of them with links to decision-makers in Beijing, I got the feeling that China was almost desperate to avoid escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict post-Pulwama. If Kashmir, including the Pakistani part of it, became a battleground post-Balakot, the Chinese would not be able to operationalise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which begins in that area. The Balakot airstrike and Pakistans retaliatory air raids raised the spectre of an India-Pakistan war and left Beijing worried, because that would unsettle the CPEC at its point of origin. Who would believe that Chinese maps put up at the April 25-27 BRI conference showing the whole of Kashmir (and also Arunachal Pradesh) as Indian territory were a mistake! It may be one subtle effort to signal to Delhi that BRI would not undermine its sovereignty concerns on Kashmir. And why such a move just when Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visits Beijing amidst the humdrum of the BRI conference that India boycotted a second time!

The Chinese apprehend that Indian tit-for-tat covert operations inside Pakistan could intensify. Indian intelligence has assets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amongst the Shias, who resent resettlement of Sunni Punjabi ex-servicemen in Gilgit and Baltistan. A serious Indian effort to get them to attack Chinese-funded Pakistani assets is not a threat that Beijing can wish away. The Chinese already have trouble where the CPEC terminates  in Balochistan. The April 18 ambush in that restive province, in which Baloch rebels dressed in Pakistani military uniforms pulled out bus passengers, segregated military personnel, and shot 14 of them, has raised the hackles in Islamabad and Beijing. The Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an united platform of three separatist rebel groups, have stepped up the heat in Pakistans most-endowed province, beginning with the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi late last year. That attack showed that the Baloch rebels were now willing  and somewhat capable  of hitting even outside their province.

With huge investments in Balochistans mineral resources and in the deep sea port of Gwadar, the Chinese surely dont fancy a powerful Baloch separatist movement that India (and now Iran) may back to counter Pakistans terror exports to Kashmir (and Sistan). In his book Kaoboys of R&AW, the late B Raman wrote about how India had used its assets in Sindh in the late 1980s to force Pakistan to stop making mischief in Punjab. That could be repeated in Balochistan. Indeed, early in his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the prospect, as had NSA Ajit Doval.

Baloch rebels

The Jaish-ul-Adl ambush on Irans Revolutionary Guards, in which 27 died, a day after the Pulwama suicide bombing, has left Iran fuming. The Revolutionary Guards chief even threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if such attacks continued. Pakistan has recently alleged that the Baloch rebels who murdered 14 Pakistani military personnel at Ormara came from Iran, where they now have bases.

This is Pakistans (and Chinas) worst nightmare  a joint India-Iran covert effort to arm and shelter Baloch rebels. Pakistan has already announced plans to fence its border with Iran. Insurgencies in PoK and Balochistan do not augur well for the smooth functioning of the CPEC  and the one way to prevent India and Iran from backing them is to restrain the Pakistani deep state from its terror exports. Withdrawing the hold on the UN resolution against Masood Azhar is Beijings first symbolic gesture to placate India and signal to Iran that Beijing will try to rein in the Pakistani terror factory. Pakistan itself has much to do to escape blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force. Just grey-listing is costing its economy nearly $6 billion annually.

The Chinese are also making a serious effort to get the Burmese peace process going. The Burmese army recently declared suspension of operations for two months against the Northern Alliance rebel groups in Kachin and Shan provinces. Of them, the Kokang group MNDDA is a Chinese surrogate. Peace in North Myanmar is crucial for the Chinese to implement their projects under the BRI and exploit the regions considerable natural resources. That the Burmese army announced suspension of operations after its chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaings visit to Beijing (followed by Aung San Suu Kyis visit to the BRI conference) is significant. China now has a huge interest in regional peace to ensure that its BRI routes are not affected by any conflict.

(The writer is a veteran BBC journalist and author)
CHESTER  Widener University President Julie E. Wollman announced last month the appointment of Andrew A. Workman, Ph.D. as the next provost of the university.

Workman, who is currently the interim president of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, will serve as the chief academic officer at Widener, comprising the main campus in Chester, Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Del.

As provost, Workman will play a significant role in advancing Wideners ongoing growth as a thriving, nationally ranked university that offers innovative programs, taught by faculty who are leaders in their fields, and that puts students on an inside track to success. He will oversee the full student experience, including student affairs and academic affairs.

My academic and administrative experience has prepared me to help lead a dynamic university like Widener, Workman said. Its history of growth and change demonstrates the universitys willingness to make the strategic moves that strengthen its core programs, embrace new opportunities, and move it toward an even stronger national profile. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute my talents at such a vibrant place.

He will begin his new position on July 17.

Kutztown draws up winning graphic design program

KUTZTOWN  Kutztown Universitys Communication Design program was ranked third in Animation Career Reviews 2019 Top 10 Graphic Design School Programs in Pennsylvania. This 2019 list is Animation Career Reviews fifth annual ranking compilation for graphic design. More than 700 schools with graphic design programs were considered in preparation for this years rankings.

KU was the lone state system university recognized.

Animation Career Review considers every degree-granting four-year school. The organizations goal is to give students and their parents access to ample information as a starting point for students to discover the schools that are the best fit for them and make an informed decision about their program.

High school students noted for leadership by Widener

CHESTER  Widener University, one of the nations premier universities for civic engagement and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, is proud to recognize the 2019 winners of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.

In its eighth year, the program recognized 163 students from high schools throughout the region for their abilities to stand up for what is right, address a wrong and make a difference in their communities or schools.

ASTON: Meaghan OBrien.

BROOKHAVEN: Bryson Eldridge.

BROOMALL: Hanna McDermott.

BRYN MAWR: Noor Bowman.

DARBY: Lowoe Samolu.

FOLCROFT: Anna Conrad.

GARNET VALLEY: Reece Gabriele.

GLEN MILLS: Thomas Carney.

HAVERTOWN: Gwendolyn Pfister.

MEDIA: Ann Crockett.

NEWTOWN SQUARE: Kathleen Till.

RIDLEY PARK: Ethan McKellar.

SPRINGFIELD: Elizabeth Lynch.

UPPER DARBY: Ciro Diop and Raisa Sharif.

VILLANOVA: Kian Bina.

WALLINGFORD: Grayson Ray.

WAYNE: Isaac Debrosse.

YEADON: Maya Taylor.

Glen Mills student inducted to Lebanons honor society

ANNVILLE  Julia Brewer of Glen Mills, was inducted into Phi Alpha Epsilon, the Colleges honor society celebrating academic achievement and volunteer service. Brewer, a graduate of Garnet Valley High School, is pursuing a bachelor of science and doctor of physical therapy in exercise science and physical therapy.

Widener expands international footprint

CHESTER  Widener University is pleased to announce it will build on its strong partnership with American Community Schools of Athens  a prominent K-12 school based in Greece  to begin offering graduate programs that focus on international school leadership.

An agreement signed recently by leaders of both institutions offers:

A doctoral degree, the Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

A masters degree, the Master of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

Access to online undergraduate coursework in general education subject areas, for qualified ACS Athens high school and non-ACS Athens students through Wideners Center for Extended Learning.

The masters and doctoral level programs are designed for people who want to be leaders in international K-12 schools. They may already be teachers or mid-level school administrators, either in public or private U.S. schools, or at institutions around the world.

These programs will position educators who want to advance in international K-12 school settings to compete for leadership opportunities, said Robin Dole, dean of Wideners School of Human Service Professions.

Bloomsburg claims fourth at national sales competition

BLOOMSBURG  the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania professional sales team recently finished fourth out of 75 teams competing at the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Kennesaw, Ga. It was BUs best finish ever.

Kimberly Oaster, of Springfield, along with Austin Collins took third place overall in the graduate competition.

The NCSC is a university sales role-play competition for more than 400 of the top university sales talent along with college sales professors during the three-day event.

Ashland University

ASHLAND, OHIO  Alana Waldt of Swarthmore, will receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing during Ashland Universitys spring 2019 commencement ceremonies on May 4.

Central Penn College

SUMMERDALE  Drexel Hill residents Nasir Copeland and Sabir Copeland were both named to the winter 2019 deans list at Central Penn College.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

MADISON, N.J.  Grace Schug, of Villanova, and Aleah Stevens, of Darby, made deans list at Fairleigh Dickinson Universitys Florham Campus for carrying a 3.2 GPA or higher for the fall 2018 term.

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

BRADFORD  The following students graduated at University of Pittsburgh at Bradfords commencement exercises on April 28.

COLLINGDALE: Mercy Johnson.

DARBY: Aaliyah Hyman.

MEDIA: Darien Talley.

UPPER DARBY: Malcolm Hardie.

Western Governors University

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  A number of local residents earned their degrees from the online university during a number of commencement exercises held from late last year to early this year.

BRYN MAWR: Stacey OBrien.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS: Belgica Urena.

SPRINGFIELD: Melissa Brennan.

UPPER DARBY: Emanual Amadiguwe.

YEADON: Kalese Dawson.
CHESTER  The citys Polish community gathered downtown Friday morning at the 1724 Courthouse to commemorate the 228th anniversary of the worlds second oldest democratic constitution. Members of St. Hedwigs Church were joined by leaders of Polish-American groups from throughout the region and city officials to honor Polands short-lived but long influential Constitution of 3 May 1791.

It is said that our Polish constitution was the culmination of all that good in our Polish culture, said keynote speaker Richard Piascik, a Philadelphia native and member of the Polish American Congress, Eastern Pennsylvania District. The constitution, in effect for only a year-and-a-half, followed shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and brought greater political equality to all classes of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Poland would soon be divided amongst surrounding kingdoms and remain non-existent as a political entity until the end of World War I.

Organizers estimated the annual courthouse event has been held since at least the 1970s, continuing despite a declining Polish population in the West End and 2019 marking 25 years since the process of redesignating St. Hedwigs Parish as a worship site and linking it with Scared Heart Parish in Clifton Heights was completed.

As long as were still here, well keep on doing it, said David Chominski, president of the Polish American Heritage Association of Delaware County. Back in the day when we had (St. Hedwigs School) open, we had the children doing Polish dancing, said Judy Kuchinski, vice president of the county heritage association and chairwoman of the constitution day event. This place used to more packed, but people are getting older, Kuchinski said, as both noted the challenge faced by many civic and fraternal groups of getting younger generations involved to carry on events. Kuchinski remained optimistic, however, saying her grandchildren are receptive to Polish traditions, singing holiday and celebratory songs in the Polish language.

City officials were on hand for the ceremony, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams giving an opening speech on the Chesters role in the founding of Pennsylvania. He landed here in Chester  not Philadelphia, Williams said. History started right here in Pennsylvania under William Penn, and our city is known as the Seat of the Nation, she said.

Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland presented a city proclamation honoring the anniversary, stating, in part, that the constitution serves as an everlasting platform for social justice and equality.

During his closing remarks, Chominski referenced Williams remarks about Chesters place in colonial history. Stating St. Hedwigs has been a major part of the citys recent history, he said We were in Poland back in 96, our (parish) was suppressed in 92. (Polish residents) asked where we were from and we said St. Hedwigs, and they said Chester,' he said. I think thats pretty cool  and Im proud to say Im from Chester, and that our church is from Chester.

Piascik provided a keynote address on his family history and their efforts to establish successful lives in America. I stand before you now on the shoulders of two great, heroic, and patriotic families, who through hard work and sacrifice got to live the American Dream, Piascik said. All while keeping what was good and Polish alive in me; I am proud of my Polish and American heritage. Piasciks familys process of emigrating to the U.S. meant enduring both world wars, German and Soviet occupation and the rise of the Eastern Bloc.

He first told of his paternal side, emigrating to America at the turn of the 20th century before returning to Poland with his young U.S.-born grandfather. His grandfather would return in 1931, intending to send for his wife and infant son. The scheduled October 1938 would be delayed eight years due to the outbreak of World War II, with Piasciks grandmother and father enduring slave labor amongst other oppression under the German occupation.

Piasciks maternal family endured both the Soviet and German occupations of then-eastern Poland, avoiding death in a mass execution in their village during the German occupation. A person pulls the trigger, but God guides the bullets, he said. Piasciks mother, then 13 years old, escaped execution while standing in the front of the crowd 15 yards from the machine guns. Finding themselves in newly claimed Soviet territory after the war, they then trekked back into Polish lands, where Piasciks mother worked in a fishery while completing a college degree. While on a U.S. visit in 1961, she met Piasciks father and soon married. She worked as the financial and operations officer of her husbands general contracting and rental property businesses  which he founded after arriving in the U.S. speaking no English and taking work making steel casting molds.
The stories coming out of Venezuela and Washington are complicated and confusing. Political cartoonists put their spin on these stories and more throughout the week.

Venezuela has been all over headlines this week.

The country's opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has been asking armed forces for the last few months to join his side to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido challenged the country's leadership when he declared himself interim president two weeks after Maduro was sworn in for his second term back in January. Thousands of protestors supported Guaido and several countries, including the United States, recognized him as the head of state.

Guaido spoke with the military base Tuesday in the capital of Caracas, signalling the military may finally have sided with him.

This caused serious clashes to happen outside the base when Maduro's government and supporters suspected an attempted coup.

Venezuela is one of Latin America's most prosperous countries, but the political upheaval has created an economic and humanitarian crisis.

Attorney General William Barr was also a big name to know this week.

Barr appeared before a Senate panel Wednesday and said he thinks "spying did occur" against the presidential campaign of President Donald Trump.

He did not define what sort of "spying" occurred.

Barr skipped a house hearing Thursday.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., made headlines for sending a message to Barr by placing a bucket of chicken in front of Barr's empty chair.

The large number of Democratic candidates is still making news.

Commentators are worried about the variety in platforms and the confusion it may cause voters.

Other stories this week included the fate of Social Security, infrastructure week and the recent tragic acts committed against religious communities.
When I first saw the original print of Andrew J. Russells East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of the Last Rail from the Union Pacifics Historical Collection at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, I found it surprisingly ... small. I had always imagined this iconic photograph, also known as the Champagne Photo, to be grandiose, superlative and towering compared to its hundreds of counterparts in the collection.

Over the course of a century and a half, this photo has been framed by historians, scholars and educators to encapsulate the entire narrative of the construction of the nations first transcontinental railroad. Yet, there it was before me, a standard imperial print measuring 10 inches by 13 inches like most of the other photographs.

The Champagne Photo is both a source of pride of accomplishment and a painful reminder of exclusion. While the old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words, it may not always tell us the entire story. As a member of the organizing entity to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, I and my colleagues hope to widen the lens of history to truly understand the magnificence of this project.

In Russells Chinese laying the last rail on May 10, 1869, eight Chinese railroad workers are placing a ceremonious rail just moments prior to the driving of a golden spike into a polished laurel tie.

Same day. Same photographer. Different story.

While teaching professional development to fourth-grade teachers across the Wasatch Front as part of the new Utah history curriculum, nearly all the teachers recognized the Champagne Photo and nearly all have never seen the photograph with the Chinese workers. One teacher even confessed to me she was surprised to learn the Chinese even worked on the railroad in Utah.

Not only did the Chinese work in Utah, they were part of a more than Herculean effort to lay an unfathomable 10 miles of track from sunup to sundown on April 28, 1869, to help settle a wager between Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific and Doc Durant of the Union Pacific. On that day, an estimated 4,000 Chinese workers along with a handful of Irishmen lifted more than 4.4 million pounds of materials including 25,800 ties, 55,000 spikes and 3,520 rails each weighing 560 pounds. These railroad workers were asked to do the impossible and they delivered the impossible.

The construction of the combined 1,776 miles by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads gave America its independence to move into the modern era of industrialization and to rise as a global power. On the other hand, there was undoubtedly collateral damage. In just a half century, the bison population declined from an estimated 30-50 million to just a few hundred. The way of life for the Native Americans was irrevocably altered. The Chinese became scapegoats for economic and labor woes and eventually became the first and only race to be excluded from immigrating to the United States with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

The stories behind the construction of the transcontinental railroad are exponentially greater than an image of a single photograph. In order to navigate our countrys present and future, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of our past. Flaunting the celebratory while flouting the dolorous is a disservice when it comes to fully recognizing and honoring the perseverance, resilience and fortitude of all those involved in the building of not just a transcontinental railroad but of Utah and America.
Despite decades of general knowledge about the negative effects of smoking, the effort to reduce the number of smokers and incidents of nicotine addiction never ends. Now, new research highlights the gaps in knowledge and the lack of education about the latest form of tobacco use  electronic cigarettes.

Recent numbers estimate that about 30% of youths between 13-18 have used e-cigarettes. A gap in language, however, reveals that the statistic could be much higher. U.S. health officials are having a hard time measuring underage vaping because to many young people, juuling is its own verb and is considered separate from vaping. To get a more accurate number, pollsters have now added juul as its own option.

The slim, sleek design of Juuls stands out from other popular vaping products and has caused the product, manufactured by Pax Labs, to become popular among youths. Its easy to conceal, and the company came under fire earlier this year for ads that appeared to target an underaged demographic. Last year, studies revealed that youths also were unaware that vaping can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

We have previously cautioned against using a product whose side effects still arent fully known. Evidence also shows that teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to convert to traditional tobacco products eventually. These troubling facts indicate that decades of effort to reduce smoking in youths, which had seen tremendous progress, are starting to decline in effectiveness.

In an effort to combat this trend and prevent a new generation from becoming tobacco users, a Utah congressman and senator are among those who want to raise the legal smoking age to 21. A new bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would raise the age for the legal sale of tobacco products, which includes e-cigarettes.

Additionally, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is among a bipartisan group that supports prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. This effort echoes the example set here in Utah, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to raise the smoking age incrementally to 21 by 2021.

The number of youths who have been duped by sleek devices, fun flavor names and a trendy term may be troubling, but hope abounds. Efforts to crack down on underage vaping and to educate teens about the dangers of smoking and nicotine addiction have ramped up significantly in the last year. Lawmakers around the country have taken note, and even youths themselves are becoming advocates to fight the trend.

More precise language will give better insight into just how pervasive the problem is. Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step in finding ways to tackle it. Significant steps already have been taken, but its ultimately the responsibility of parents, educators and lawmakers to take initiative in educating youths about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes, even by any other name, are still tobacco products. Juuling may be considered a part of the youth lexicon, but the repercussions of a new generation becoming addicted lasts much longer than those teenage years. Increased education and smart lawmaking decisions are steps toward a healthy, addiction-free future.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Pew Research Center study released April 22 finds that people across the globe say their country has increased in diversity and gender equality while at the same time the role of religion has become less important and family ties have weakened.

The study surveyed over 30,000 people in 27 countries.

In the U.S., it finds 71 percent are in favor of more gender equity and 68 percent say gender equality has increased over the past 20 years. It also reports a majority  58 percent  of Americans say religion plays a less important role today than it did 20 years ago.

The exact link between these two phenomena  rising gender equity and the changing role of religion  is the topic of much debate.

In an April 2017 article, City University of New York professor Peter Beinart comments on a cultural departure from religion in the U.S.:

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.

Beinart explains that this separation from religion has results on the political left as well.

In 2016, the least religiously affiliated white Democrats  like the least religiously affiliated white Republicans  were the ones most likely to back candidates promising revolutionary change.

A cultural movement away from religion could offer the possibility of change in other areas, such as gender inequity, as the shift in focus allows society the space to address neglected issues, Beinart writes.

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.  City University of New York professor Peter Beinart

Religion itself can also be a driver of the trend toward gender equality.

While religion is historically seen as perpetuating gender norms, society often overlooks feminisms roots in those seeking equality within religious practice, explains the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

And women of faith have long been integral in changing gender inequality, argue Rachel Koehler and Gwen Calais-Haase of the Center for American Progress. As women assume leadership positions within their faith communities, serve in public office and advocate for immigrants and against sexual harassment, religious women make a societal space for women to flourish.

Additionally, Courtney McCluney writing for the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan suggests that because churches are not regulated by government policies seeking to amend wrongs toward women, congregations make their own decisions about putting women in religious leadership positions. Within many denominations, including predominantly black churches in particular, women are fighting against traditional religious patriarchy.

Efforts to promote religious freedom also have been integral to creating a greater platform for gender equality around the world.

A 2014 study by researchers from Georgetown University and Brigham Young University found that governments denying religious freedom contributes to economic instability  and this also impacts gender equality. Countries with severe religious intolerance affect womens financial empowerment by limiting their ability to participate in the economy, according to the World Economic Forum.

The restrictions present in religiously hostile environments threaten elements necessary for sustainable economic development, such as entrepreneurship  a component women often participate in both in the U.S. and around the world.

This correlation suggests that in places of religious tolerance  including religious indifference  women have increased opportunities to thrive.

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred.  New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof

Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, writes: (W)omens status, power, wealth, and life choices are stronger/better in the most secular societies on earth today, and weaker/poorer in the most religious."

He also suggests a clear relationship between religious decline and the rise of gender equality:

(T)he scriptures of major world religions contain explicitly misogynistic passages that cannot be equated to any similar such sentiments in modern, secular-humanist manifestos or declarations.

Zuckerman suggests that religion currently plays a lesser role in society than it has previously because many traditional religious tenets are so disparate from todays social practices. This contrast has resulted in the present-day shift that enables increased gender equality.

Whether one is religious or a proponent of gender equality, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof writes that because religion is changing, society is also:

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred. But just as religion was initially used to justify slavery but later to inspire abolitionists, faith is now evolving from a rationale for suppressing women to a means for empowering them.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Canadian amputee has filed a new petition to have his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission after officials at an airport in Calgary reportedly confiscated the batteries he needs to power his scooter, CBC reports.

The Canadian man, Stearn Hodge, lost his left arm and right leg from a workplace accident in 1984. Since that time, he has used a scooter that uses lithium batteries to move around.

In 2017, Hodge traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife for their wedding anniversary. A security agent at the Calgary International Airport, who was also a representative from United Airlines, told him it was unsafe to fly with that battery, which cost $2,000, CBC reported.

Without the batteries, the scooter wouldnt work, which left Hodge confined to his bed for three weeks.

Hodge said he earned approval from the International Air Transport Association with prepared documents. But no one would listen to him, according to CNN.

"I still remember the CATSA agent saying, 'Well, you could get a wheelchair.' How's a one-armed guy going to run a wheelchair?" Hodge told the outlet. "How am I going to go down a ramp and brake with one hand? But that shouldn't even have to come up."

Hodge asked a United Airlines agent to confirm that he received permission, but the agent sided with the security team, according to CBC.

"We are looking into the allegations, and because of the pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment," Andrea Hiller, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, told CNN. "That said, the experience described falls far short of our own high standard of caring for our customers. We are proud of the many steps we have taken over the past few years to exhibit more care for our customers and we are proud to operate an airline that doesn't just include people with disabilities but welcomes them as customers."

According to The Hill, an airline complaint resolution sent an email to Hodge that there may have been a violation of federal disability requirements. The email reportedly offered Hodge and his wife an $800 travel certificate.
SALT LAKE CITY  An 83-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a young boy outside of a church nearly a decade ago was charged Friday.

John "Jack" Gordon, of Salt Lake City, was charged in 3rd District Court with sodomy on a child and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies. A $750,000 warrant was issued Friday for his arrest.

According to charging documents, sometime between 2008 and 2010, a boy, who was 7 or 8 at the time, was waiting outside a Salt Lake City church for his dad when Gordon approached him, according to charging documents.

He told the boy "he had some trinkets to show him if he would walk to the back of the building," the charges state. Once the two went behind the church, the boy was sexually assaulted, according to the charges.

The assault was reported to a police agency in Davis County in December, according to a search warrant affidavit. Gordon denied the assault when interviewed by police.

Court documents do not indicate why the allegations were being brought up 10 years after the alleged incident or what other evidence police may have collected.

According to state court records, this is the first time Gordon has been charged with a crime in Utah.
HELPER  A semitrailer hauling two tankers of crude oil rolled near Helper on Friday, dumping about 5,000 gallons of yellow sludge onto the roadway and into a creek, troopers reported.

They have not released a cause of the double-tanker crash that happened about 7 a.m. Friday on Highway 191, about 7 miles north of Helper. Crews were working to contain globs of waxy crude that had solidified in chilly Willow Creek about 5 miles downstream. Drinking water is unaffected.

Troopers said a portion of the road would be closed into Saturday and asked travelers to instead use U.S. 6 and state Route 40. They released drone footage showing the tankers tipped on their sides and surrounded by the waxy crude oil in both lanes.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Lawrence Hopper said the truck driver did not sustain injuries serious enough to be transported to a hospital. Hopper said the agency did not immediately know what caused the crash. No other cars were involved.

Scientists were taking samples from the creek, but results won't be available until Monday, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said on Twitter.

The truck had been carrying 280 barrels but 120 spilled out of the truck, Hopper said.
PROVO  A woman who admitted to having marijuana in her system when she caused a crash that killed a South Jordan teenager has been ordered to speak with students about the dangers of driving distracted or impaired, in addition to time behind bars.

Kali Shae Hardman, 31, was sentenced Friday to more than five months in jail in the death of Baylor Christian Stout, 13. Baylor, who loved loved hiking and motorcycles, had hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder, according to his family, and tried to make the world better with little acts of kindness.

He was killed July 22 after Hardman's Kia Sedona drifted into oncoming traffic on U.S. 89 near the small community of Birdseye and hit a Ford pickup truck head-on, troopers reported. Baylor, who was travelling in the truck with his father, was rushed to a hospital where he later died. Both had been wearing a seatbelt.

Hardman pleaded guilty in March to driving with marijuana in her system and causing a fatal crash, a third-degree felony, and driving without insurance, a class C misdemeanor.

Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell ordered her on Friday to three years of probation, and to pay roughly $35,000 in restitution to a hemophilia charity, court documents show.

Baylor's parents, Marty and Staci Stout, said they are satisfied with the sentence because it reflects the profound impact of Hardman's actions, but still gives her a chance to make a positive contribution.

But they also believe their son's death exposes a gap in Utah law that imposes lesser penalties on those impaired by certain drugs, including marijuana, than by alcohol.

"Whether it was marijuana or alcohol," Marty Stout said outside the courtroom, "this tragedy still had the same impact on our family, so we'd like to see more equity in the sentencing guidelines."
SALT LAKE CITY  In a rare action, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced a news story reported by Vice News, saying Friday that the media outlet irresponsibly mischaracterized the faith's response to sexual abuse.

"In short, Vice News chose to misreport this story," said Eric Hawkins, the church's director of media relations. "Abuse is a matter taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he added. "It is not tolerated, and the church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse."

On Thursday night, HBO's Vice News Tonight aired a story about the ongoing pain and suffering of Christopher Michael Jensen's sexual abuse victims and their families in West Virginia. A print version was published Friday on the Vice News website. Both versions incorrectly reported the church's name multiple times.

Jensen was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children while babysitting as a teenager. Vice News interviewed the attorney and two of five families who sued the church in 2013 regarding the Jensen cases, alleging the church acted improperly in its response to Jensen, a church member.

The families and church settled the suit last year. The church, which excommunicated Jensen in 2013, denied any wrongdoing and the settlement amount is confidential.

The Vice News story focused in part on the 24-hour abuse help line the church makes available to its approximately 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents. Those leaders, who are not professional clergy, are instructed to call the hotline promptly about every situation they believe includes abuse or neglect or risk for either, Hawkins said. The goal, he said, is to prevent abuse and advise bishops about compliance with local abuse reporting laws.

Vice News said its reporting "suggests that the system serves a very different purpose: to shield the 'Mormon Church' from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to the church."

Timothy Kosnoff, the attorney who represented the families in the lawsuit and who according to Vice News has been involved in more than 100 cases against the church, alleged in the story that the church uses the hotline to intimidate victims into not suing the church for possible liability in the abuse.

Hawkins called those claims an egregious mistake and said the hotline is designed to maintain confidentiality.

"We are deeply disappointed by Vice News' irresponsible mischaracterization of the church help line," he said.

West Virginia requires clergy to report abuse allegations and Hawkins said that contrary to Vice's reporting, the church complied with every reporting requirement in the Jensen cases, "and in years of investigation and legal process, no church leader was ever charged with a failure to report or to comply with the law."

"We disagree with many of the statements made by the plaintiffs in this story and are frustrated that no fact-checking appears to have been done to verify what individuals told Vice," Hawkins added. "Their statements to VICE are wildly different than (what they said in) police reports, depositions and court testimonies."

He pointed to the example of a victim's mother who told Vice that when she couldn't reach the bishop about Jensen's abuse, she called police.

Hawkins said she testified differently in court, that when she couldn't reach her congregation's bishop, she instead called his first counselor in the bishopric.

"She testified in court," Hawkins said, "that when she reported the abuse to him, he told her, 'this is a crime,' and provided her with the phone number so that she could call the police. The church leader then called the church help line, and the church then called the police to make sure a report had been made."

Hawkins said that was the most egregious fact withheld in the story. He also said the case is a positive example of the church's local leaders correctly using its hotline system and generating a criminal report.

Vice News representatives did not immediately respond to messages for them left Friday afternoon seeking comment on Hawkins' statement. Kosnoff, the families' attorney, also did not immediately return messages left for him and the families.

"To be very clear," Hawkins added, "the case in West Virginia is very different from the types of cases where churches have been held liable for not preventing or even covering up abuse. None of the abuse happened on church property or during a church activity. None of the abuse was committed by a church officer or leader. Tragically, a number of children were abused by a teenage member of the church, Michael Jensen, while babysitting or vacationing or temporarily residing in their or his homes. Jensen is in prison, as he should be, for a very long time."

Vice News said the church's hotline is operated by LDS Family Services and Kirton McConkie, a law firm retained by the church.

The church created the abuse hotline in 1995. A church document released last year states, "When bishops or stake presidents call the help line, legal and clinical professionals will answer their questions and provide instructions about how to assist victims, comply with local laws and requirements for reporting abuse, and protect against further abuse."

Hawkins said the legal advisers on the hotline strongly encourage and assist bishops and stake presidents to report suspected abuse to law enforcement whether reporting is required by local laws or not.
The Salt Lake City Jewish community held the event in response to the recent shooting attack at Poway Chabad in California, which took the life of 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three other worshipers. Houses of worship in the faith were encouraged to #ShareShabbat by encouraging synagogue attendance in the wake of the shooting. While the lighting of Shabbat candles is uniquely tasked to Jewish women, all wishing to show support were welcome to attend. In a statement, Rabbi Benny Zippel, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, said This coming Friday evening, May 3rd, Jewish women and girls the world over are being called upon to kindle Shabbat candles, in loving tribute to Lori, and in prayer for peace and tolerance amongst all of humanity.

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SALT LAKE CITY  Patient advocacy groups in Utah have dropped their argument in a legal challenge that lawmakers made broad changes to a voter-approved plan legalizing medical marijuana at the behest of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The groups' Friday court filings now focus on claims that lawmakers violated voters' constitutional rights and passed directives that conflict with federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal drug.

The recrafted argument comes after the Utah Attorney General's Office contended in filings last week that lawmakers had the authority to change the law. The office asked a judge to toss the suit, arguing the church was exercising its right to free speech when it called on lawmakers to find a different solution to Proposition 2, and when the church announced it was working to identify legislation it believed to be appropriate.

"The church was simply expressing its views and desires on a matter of public interest, as any person or group has the right to do," the Attorney General's filing says.

A church representative declined comment Friday. When attorney Rocky Anderson, former Salt Lake City mayor, first published a letter threatening legal action regarding Proposition 2 last year, it said it stands behind the compromise.

Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, or TRUCE, and the Epilepsy Association of Utah sued the state in 3rd District Court in December in an effort to block the replacement law, a compromise reached by legislators, plus backers of the ballot measure and opponents, including the church. The groups asked a judge to impose the voter-approved plan instead.

Ahead of the November election, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, brokered the legislation in private talks. The Utah Patients Coalition, the campaign that promoted and helped author Proposition 2; Libertas Institute, the campaign's largest in-state donor; the Utah Medical Association, a fierce critic of the initiative; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, another critic of the measure, all agreed to support the contents of a sweeping medical marijuana compromise bill following dozens of hours of negotiations.

The groups that hashed out the compromise said the measure created legitimate access to medical marijuana while also involving medical providers more with patients and guarding against recreational use. The bill, sponsored by Hughes, passed overwhelmingly at the Utah Legislature during a December special session. Herbert signed the bill later that day.

The lawsuit fighting the compromise maintains that it "unconstitutionally undermines or entirely defeats core purposes of Proposition 2" and "severely reduces or eliminates" some patients' medical marijuana access.

The groups previously contended the bill had violated Article I Section 4 of the Utah Constitution, which states "there shall be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate the state or interfere with its functions." But the new legal complaint filed Friday leaves out those arguments.

The suit names Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, as defendants.
SALT LAKE CITY  American International School of Utah is asking the Utah State Board of Education to forgive $360,000 of $514,000 in special education funds state officials say must be refunded because the money was used for "unallowable expenditures."

The full State School Board will consider the appeal during its June meeting. The boards finance committee on Friday referred the matter to the state's full school board without addressing the appeal or making a recommendation.

Following a review of the schools special education expenditures for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, State School Board staff notified the public charter school in late March that it must repay more than $500,000 in state and federal special education funds plus interest.

The appeal comes as the charter school's governing board is contemplating the future of the K-12 public charter school that serves 1,300 students amid growing concerns about its financial viability.

"Every effort is being made to keep the school open until the end of the year. There's a whole lot of work going on to try to make sure that happens," said Kent Burggraaf, chairman of AISU's governing board.

Still, "it's a dire circumstance," and it remains uncertain whether the school will remain open until the end of the academic year, he said. Earlier this week, the school's governing board voted to postpone a vote on the school's future.

Repayment of the special education funding is just one of the school's challenges.

Given state reviewers' findings with special education funds, instead of automatically disbursing restricted funds to the school, the state is reimbursing AISU as it presents documentation for those expenditures.

"The school has to front those costs," some $300,000 a month, Burggraaf said.

Earlier this year, the school received an unanticipated $250,000 property tax bill from Salt Lake County. Burggraaf said the school pays property tax as a condition of its lease.

It had no grounds to appeal the assessment so it wrote a check to the county, Burggraaf said.

"This SPED (special education) funding issue takes it over the top," he said.

According to state officials' letter to AISU, the state review determined that both state and federal special education funds were used to pay for expenses not supported by proper documentation.

The letter, dated March 28, said the funds need to be repaid "out of unrestricted funds within 90 days of receipt of this letter." The school had 30 days to appeal the state's findings, which it did.

The review by state special education staff found that during the 2016 fiscal year, "it appears" AISU incorrectly allocated more than $157,200 of federal special education funds to pay for "unallowable health insurance premiums and salaries and benefits of teachers."

A review of account records and supporting documents such as invoices, teacher contracts, schedules, payroll time cards and personnel activity reports did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act special education fund, the letter states.

The review also found that in the 2017 fiscal year that "it appears that American International School of Utah has incorrectly allocated $154,197.44 of state special education funds to pay for unsupported salaries and benefits of school administrators, teachers, social workers and health insurance premiums."

The letter goes on to say the review of document and records "did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the state special education fund."

In an earlier interview, the school's executive director Tasi Young said about 25 percent of AISU students receive special education services.

Burggraaf said the school has submitted additional documentation to the State School Board to support its position special education funds were spent appropriately.

AISU is described on its website as a "public-private hybrid STEAM international charter school in Murray, Utah." It has a partnership with Realms of Inquiry, a private school also located at 4998 S. Galleria Drive, the site of the former Galleria Mall.

The public charter school was placed on warning status by the Utah State Charter School Board in December 2018. It is a formal action taken by the state charter board after a school has not resolved deficiencies previously identified by regulators.

"Warnings require the school to take action," the state charter board's annual report explains.

The process includes developing a timeline to address the deficiencies and can result in "possible removal of board member, director or business manager."

AISU contracts with Charter Solutions as its business manager. The firm's president is Lincoln Fillmore, according to its website. Fillmore is a Utah state senator. He did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Friday evening.

Charter Solutions was selected as the school's contract business manager through a request for proposals in 2017 and "was fully in place by January 2018," said Burggraaf.

Speaking during a governing board meeting at AISU Wednesday night, Fillmore urged the school's directors as they weigh the future of the school to keep in mind "it's not your money that you're spending. It's taxpayers' money. That taxpayers' money is a trust that the taxpayers of Utah have given to you to spend but they're wanting it to be spent on the education of students."
MOUNT PLEASANT, Sanpete County  Emily Wheeler said the last day she spent with her big sister, Kodi, and her best friend, Julie, she tried to join in on their secret handshake, but she couldn't quite match what they had already mastered.

"They were so perfectly in-sync," Emily Wheeler said. "They were perfect."

Now, Kodi and Julie are gone.

"It wasn't real," Emily said. "It's not real now."

Emily, 15, said she was "shaking" in the car when she heard the news after she and her mom drove to the scene of the crash.

There, on Power Plant Road in Sanpete County, 16-year-old Kodi Wheeler, 16-year-old Julie Oldroyd, and 18-year-old Ryan Lyman died after their vehicle rammed into the back of a slow-moving flatbed truck and burst into flames Friday night.

Emily said she and her family are in shock.

"Kodi's been by my side my entire life," Emily said. "And to have her not by my side, it feels like she's still gone hanging out with her friends, like she's coming home. And it's like half of me is gone.  It's been the hardest moments of my life, to not have her come home."

The girl choked back tears as she spoke.

"When you're a little girl, you dream of growing up together, being at each other's weddings, doing all these things together," Emily said. "She was my everything. And now I'm just here."

The group of high school kids were in a sedan, driven by a 16-year-old female, and were traveling west at about 9:20 p.m. when they came over a hill directly behind the slow-moving truck. The driver of the sedan tried to stop but was traveling too fast. The car hit the back of the flat-bed truck and burst into flames, Utah Highway Patrol reported.

The driver was taken to the hospital with a head injury but was later released.

Front-seat passenger, Lyman, of Ephraim, and back-seat passenger, Oldroyd, of Fountain Green, were both killed on impact, UHP reported. Wheeler, who was also in the back seat, was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.

All three teenagers who died in the crash were not wearing seatbelts, UHP Cpl. Colton Freckleton said. The crash is still under investigation, but drugs or alcohol are not suspected, the corporal said.

The 16-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger of the truck received minor injuries and were later released by the hospital, Freckleton said.

The six occupants of the two vehicles were all students at North Sanpete High School, according to Freckleton.

The Facebook account for the North Sanpete Hawks, the high school's mascot, posted a statement Saturday morning saying counselors and administration officials would be available Saturday afternoon in the counseling center at North Sanpete High School. A state crisis team was also expected to come to the school Monday to give students support.

"We are all in this together, and we will stand by each other," the post said.

As news of the crash spread Saturday, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox lamented the loss to his community.

"A horrific tragedy in our small communities last night," Cox tweeted. "Our hearts are broken for these kids and their families."

Emily said her sister and Julie were "like two peas in a pod" and "did everything together. She said they had plans to raise lambs together for this year's local lamb show.

Emily said her sister and her best friend could "make anybody laugh" and connected with each other on an extraordinary level.

"I think that's something we can all look for in a friendship, is what Kodi and Julie had," Emily said.

Contributing: Tania Mashburn, Wendy Leonard
GILLETTE, Wyo.  Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for a fifth term in 2020, costing the GOP a loyal conservative senator but likely not the seat.

Enzi, 75, announced his pending retirement in his hometown of Gillette, where he owned a shoe store and "never intended to get into politics." But his election as mayor in 1974 was the start of a successful political career that led him to the Senate in 1996.

"I have much to get done in the next year and a half," he said. "I want to focus on budget reform. I don't want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this year, I'll find other ways to serve."

During his tenure in the Senate, Enzi has gained a reputation of being low-key and willing to work across party lines to produce results.

"I didn't get into the Senate for the fancy titles," Enzi, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Saturday. "I like passing legislation."

President Donald Trump sent out a tweet Saturday night praising Enzi: "Mike has been a fantastic Senator!"

With Enzi's retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. It's expected to remain in Republican hands. Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in over 40 years. The state's other senator, Republican John Barrasso, easily won re-election last year.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that he's confident Wyoming will elect "another Republican who will best represent the state's values."

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and Democrats are looking to flip a number of Republican seats to win a new majority in 2020.

Enzi's departure could open the way for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Five years ago, she launched an ill-fated challenge against Enzi. She dropped out of the race before the primary after being labeled a carpetbagger for having moved to Wyoming from Virginia barely a year earlier. Still, she was elected to Congress in 2014 and was re-elected last year.

Cheney has been a rising star in Congress and already is the third-most senior House Republican.

In a statement Saturday, Cheney didn't mention any further intentions for the Senate seat.

She praised Enzi for his service to the state and country.

"He never forgot where he came from and always put the interests of Wyoming first, constantly championing our Western way of life," Cheney said.

A phone message left with her spokesman was not immediately returned Saturday.

Enzi said Saturday that he envisions Cheney eventually becoming speaker of the House.
OREM  Former state lawmaker Derek Brown's easy win Saturday in the race to lead the Utah Republican Party was hailed by Gov. Gary Herbert as a "new beginning" for a party split by years of infighting over a controversial election law.

The governor told reporters the party now needs to stay out of efforts to change the law still known as SB54 that creates a signature-gathering alternative to the party's traditional caucus and convention system for nominating candidates.

"Let's not say, 'I'm more pure than you're pure. You're not really a true Republican and I am.' That stuff has got to be over inside the party," he said. "This is a new beginning, a new opportunity, for us to unite and stand together as Republicans."

Brown, who has served as Sen. Mike Lee's deputy chief of staff, was elected state Republican Party chairman with the support of more than 62 percent of the more than 2,300 delegates attending the convention held at Utah Valley University.

The new chairman said delegates made a "decision not to look backwards but to look forward in the future," by choosing him over three other candidates including Phill Wright, a leader of the faction of the GOP behind the battle over SB54.

"The SB54 fight is over because the Supreme Court has decided not to take it," Brown told reporters after his first-round victory. "The Legislature can do what they want to do, but as a party, we're going to look forward."

Wright, who ended up with about a third of the vote, a second-place finish ahead of Chadwick H. Fairbanks III and Sylvia Miera-Fisk, said he felt like he heard more support in the college arena.

"It is what it is," Wright said. "I'm a Republican. I'll support our chair."

Brown said in his speech to delegates he wasn't aligned with either side of the election law debate but is "the win elections guy. I'm the put Republicans in office guy," promising to maintain Utah's status as a reliably red state.

Wright told delegates "winning elections isn't just about winning elections. It's about making sure we elect candidates that have the same principles and values that we do."

Before the convention started, Brown and Wright campaigned at booths set up just outside the hall. While both candidates attracted supporters, Brown drew a much bigger crowd, including a number of elected officials.

Earlier in the week, Lee endorsed Brown as having the skills needed to "give the Utah GOP a fresh start." So did Sen. Mitt Romney, who did not attend Saturday's convention because of a family commitment out of state.

The governor, who paid for the more than $18,000 electronic voting system used at the convention out of his political action committee funds, had also encouraged Brown to get in the race.

Brown had briefly considered running for party chairman two years ago, when Wright lost to Rob Anderson. The now-former chairman campaigned on ending the SB54 fight, blamed for a debt that currently adds up to about $100,000.

As a member of the party's State Central Committee, Wright sparred with Anderson repeatedly over continuing the legal battle. His boss, Entrada CEO Dave Bateman, has picked up the legal cost.

But financial support for the state's dominant party slowed after the Utah GOP sued the state over SB54, which created an alternative path to the primary election ballot by allowing candidates to gather voter signatures.

The bill was passed in 2014 by the GOP-controlled Legislature as a compromise with supporters of the Count My Vote initiative that would have replaced the caucus and convention system with a direct primary.

The state won legal challenges to the law in federal district court in Salt Lake and in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case earlier this year.

Anderson, who chose not to seek a second term, told delegates the convention was paid for thanks to contributions by the governor and others. The price tag for the event was about $20,000.

The governor said the "clean sweep" of party offices, which included replacing now-former Utah GOP Secretary Lisa Shepherd with Kendra Seeley, means the financial situation should improve.

"It takes you a while to get into the hole, it takes you a while to get out of the hole," he said. "Those who have said, 'You know what, I'm going to sit on the sidelines,' I hope they will take a new, fresh look at the party and say it's time to re-engage."

Anderson said the message the convention results send to donors is positive enough that the party's debt could be retired in the next month or so. He said unlike when he took office, rent and utility payments are current.

GOP delegates gathered in the university's arena moved relatively quickly through the convention agenda, deciding not to take action on a long list of proposed bylaw changes and resolutions, including a call to repeal a new hate crimes law.

Speeches by elected officials largely focused on uniting against an increased interest in socialism and Democratic candidates in next year's elections, and the convention ended in less than four hours.

The usual sparring over procedural issues was kept to a minimum. State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the sponsor of SB54, presided over the convention until voting for party offices began.

The governor said delegates, which included the first lady, don't want the divisiveness of past conventions.

"They want to be able to work together with people, with respect and civility," Herbert said. "I think you saw an uprising here today that said, 'We don't have to have this elongated debate on silly issues."

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated SB54 was passed by the Legislature in 2015. It passed in 2014.
Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr. Paul Kehoe, T.D., paid tribute to the members of the 114th Infantry Battalion who will leave in the coming weeks for service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Minister was accompanied at the review by Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces , Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

In his address to the troops the Minister said: "I have had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas in Lebanon on several occasions and on each visit, I have seen the fine work that our personnel are doing on the ground, to help bring stability and peace to the region. Irish peacekeepers play an important part in improving the lives of vulnerable citizens on the ground."

The Minister went on to say that he was impressed by the strong relationship forged between our personnel and the local communities in which they serve. Liaison with the local population and the provision of support and humanitarian assistance is one of the hallmarks of Irelands approach to involvement in peace support operations.

Soldiers from 29 counties around Ireland were represented among the 450 strong battalion deploying to UNIFIL. Personnel from the Armed Forces of Malta will also deploy to UNIFIL for the second time as part of the Irish Battalion.

Minister Kehoe noted: Also today, we have twenty eight female personnel ready to deploy as part of this Battalion. Irish women peacekeepers have proven that they can perform the same roles, to the same standards and under the same difficult conditions, as their male colleagues.

The UNIFIL mission represents Ireland's largest overseas deployment. Following Finland's withdrawal from a joint Battalion in November 2018, Ireland increased the number of personnel deployed and assumed the full duties and responsibilities of the Battalion for a twelve month period. Earlier this year it was confirmed that a contingent of the Polish Armed Forces together with a contribution of troops from Hungary will join the Irish UNIFIL contingent in November 2019. The Minister today again welcomed this development commenting "Partnership with other States is an important element of peacekeeping operations."

The Minister thanked the families and friends for the support they provide to those serving overseas and concluded by wishing the 114th Infantry Battalion a safe and successful mission.
Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties such as Donegal who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region.

In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Donegal. Key findings from the report from a Donegal perspective included:

 60% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal are holidaymakers

 26% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal visit from mainland Europe ie Barcelona, Milan

 Overseas visitors spend an average of 6 nights in Donegal when visiting the region

Hiking, cross country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Donegal. 32% of overseas visitors coming to Donegal said an event or festival was also one of the highlights of their stay in Donegal. In addition the Wild Atlantic Way, Sliabh Liag and Malin Head featured as three particularly popular attractions for visitors coming to Donegal.

Visitors to Donegal through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 57% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a hotel or B&B during their stay in Donegal whilst visitors to Donegal estimated they spent on average 697 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016.

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019.

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Donegal & the entire region.

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland.

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said: "The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region.

"The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Donegal economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism."

Seamus Neely, CE, Donegal County Council, said: We welcome these research findings which will be of great value to us in determining future marketing strategies for the development of our tourism sector. Access and ease of access are important factors in growing visitor numbers in Donegal.

"Ireland West Airports plans for continued route development for overseas markets particularly through new European and US routes will benefit Donegal from both an economic development and inbound tourism perspective."

Pictured with this story: Members of the region's Local Authority delegation pictured in the new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre at Ireland West Airport Knock. Pictured with Board Chairman Arthur French and Airport Manager Joe Gilmore, were from left Donegal Head of Tourism, Barney McLaughlin, Sligo Cllr Paul Taylor, Sligo Co Council Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes, Mayo Co Council CEO and airport board member Peter Hynes, Galway Co Council Chief Executive Kevin Kelly, Roscommon Co Council's Leas-Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher, Galway City Council's Chief Executive Brendan McGrath, Roscommon Co Council Chief Executive, Eugene Cummins and Leitrim Co Council's Director of Services Joseph Gilhooly. Picture Henry Wills.
Donegal beef farmers are on their knees. That is the stark succinct warning from recently elected county Donegal IFA chairman Brendan McLaughlin, who called a crisis meeting earlier this week in the Clanree Hotel Letterkenny, to highlight the current crisis in the livestock industry locally.

And he called for immediate help from the government and the EU to help alleviate this crisis. Mr McLaughlin said the reason for the meeting was that the beef farmers in Donegal are all on their knees at the moment.

There is a major beef crisis here at present and farmers have been losing from 100 to 300 in the price they get for their animal. It is as high as 300 in some cases.

Mr McLaughlin said there were two major factors causing this crisis-market forces and the grave uncertainty over Brexit.

Supply and demand always govern prices. There are not enough live exports going abroad to Europe because of a recession.

You need that competition with the beef factories to keep the prices up for the farmers.

He added: The negativity on Brexit is also causing big problems here and is discouraging in investment in beef. This is a scare mongering game and that should not be happening.

Nobody knows what is going to happen in Brexit and Britain could still stay in, so how can the factories and the farmers know? The threat of Brexit means we will have no investment. We export 50 per cent of our beef to Britain. If tariffs go up and if you have an animal going for 1,000 to Britain, the farmer could be paying a tariff of up to 700. So that would put us out of business in the morning and lamb is much the same.

He added: There could be tariffs of up to 70 per cent on beef and we can do nothing about that. It is not the farmers fault and it is not the factories fault, it is to do with the EU and Britain and I think Europe has to compensate us in some way or another to save farming.

The suckler farmer is the basis for farming in Donegal and the West of Ireland and we need the beef man around the ring to buy our calves that we rear, the weanlings. And if we dont have those men, we are finished, beef men will not invest anymore because of all the uncertainty.

He added: "We are lobbying the government and Irish farmers in general have lost 102m since last September on beef alone. We want the government and the EU to do something. We want the government to stop hiding behind the EU and the EU to stop hiding behind the government.

And that is why I called the crisis meeting in Letterkenny on Monday night, the IFA is doing its very best for the farmers of Donegal," he added.
Following highly successful workshops over the past two months, a third workshop for Donegal businesses to get customs-ready for Brexit will take place on Thursday, May 9 in Solis Lough Eske, Donegal town.

The feedback on the first workshops has been very positive and businesses attending, engaged on six key steps to prepare their business for Customs after Brexit.

Any businesses in Donegal planning on moving goods to, from or through the UK after Brexit are being urged to prepare by attending the one day interactive workshop.

Previous workshops were oversubscribed and with demand once again expected to be very high for the limited places, businesses are being asked to make sure they book in good time.

Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, have stressed that the workshop is open to businesses from all sectors.

"If the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market, it will become a 'Third Country' for customs purposes. At this workshop businesses can learn about the potential impacts, formalities and procedures you will need to adopt when trading with a country which is outside the Single

Market and Custom Unions (a 'Third Country')," Head of Enterprise in Donegal, Michael Tunney said.

He added that the workshop is fully funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and is delivered by BDO Ireland on behalf of the Local Enterprise Offices.

"It will cover areas such as what export and import procedures apply, how tariffs work and how to correctly classify goods," he said.

This workshop is open to businesses from all sectors and the aim is to help Donegal businesses understand:

- The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) process

- The Administration process around import and export procedures.

- Custom formalities at borders

- Tariffs and cost implication of tariffs

- Import procedures, such as the Electronic Declaration Process and

- Automated Entry Processing (AEP)

Places are booking up fast, so interested businesses are asked to call book online on: localenterprise.ie/donegal or call the office on 0749160735



Local Enterprise Office Donegal is supported through co-funding from the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund 2014 - 2020. To contact the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal, log on to www.localenterprise.ie/donegal or phone 0749160735.
Two brave and heroic youths who saved the life of their friend were recognised for their courage at the National Garda Youth awards.

Odhran O'Neill from Ballyshannon and Ruby Hurst from Rossnowlagh were presented with their award on April 17, in Portlaoise.

Garda Grainne Doherty warmly congratulated the two youths this week.

She said: They showed immense bravery and remained very level-headed and they saved the life of one of their friends," she said.

They were very deserving winners of the award.

Recognition was also paid to the Irish Water Safety organisation in Ballyshannon where the two youths voluntarily undertook the CPR course.

Ruby said: We were at school, in a PE class and the student, he collapsed and started into cardiac arrest. Odhran immediately went for the defib.

The two youths then began to perform CPR on their friend and awaited the arrival of the paramedics.

Odhran said: Since we were eleven we have been training with Irish Water Safety in the Ballyshannon pool and the training kicked-in and the adrenaline kept us calm."

He paid tribute to his PE teacher, Michael Doherty, from Ardara, whose very presence kept both youths calm during the course of events and cleared the hall for them.

He let us take over the situation. If he hadn't been there I don't think we would have been as calm.

Ruby said that both youths worked well together as a team.

We both took turns doing compressions because it is very physically demanding.

Odhran commended the early intervention of the paramedics who were at the scene within around five minutes.

Ruby praised the Irish Water Safety Organisation which supports and facilitates people with the skills to save peoples' lives.

It is not just a skill for the day - it is a skill for life, she said.

Both youths work as lifeguards on beaches during the summer.

Garda Doherty said that without the training by the Ballyshannon organisation lives would have been lost.
An investigation into allegations that a Dothan High School teacher had been having sex with a student yielded an arrest Friday afternoon.

Julia Engle, 29, of Dothan, is charged with one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19. Dothan Highs website lists Engle as a math teacher.

According to a Dothan Police Department release, the agency began an investigation into the allegations Friday. Officers took Engle and two students to the police station for interviews, and Engle was arrested following the conclusion of interviews.

She faces a $30,000 bond on the charge. Other charges could be filed since the investigation continues.

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For example, under the 1872 law it's perfectly legal for foreign interests (many mining companies are based abroad) to stake claims on U.S. public land, and remove valuable "economic minerals." These companies make billions of dollars in profit, but they don't have to pay a dime in royalties to our government for the privilege, costs and enduring problems of mining public land. Safeguards to protect water, air quality and wildlife are virtually absent from the Mining Act. State and federal environmental laws can be marshalled against mining companies to some degree but state law in particular is provisional, changeable, and the Mining Act still enshrines the right of corporations to scar our mountains, foul our streams and pollute our air. If environmentalists file lawsuits, companies can declare bankruptcy or retreat to offshore unaccountability.

The rationale for the Mining Act's sweeping support for extraction above all else is as dated as the law: The urgent need to open the West to settlement and commerce. The ethos of the 1870s wasn't sustainability, let alone conservation. From the beginning, the Mining Act was steeped in corruption because it was written by the very industry that benefited from its passage. It has become only more advantageous to contemporary mining corporations with time, technology and greedy globalism.
We realize a citizen's video of the arrest was already circulating on social media, which likely contributed to Anderson's decision to release the footage. After viewing that citizen's video, our impression, like Anderson's, was that the officers had not gone too far, even though at one point one of the officers hit the woman with his baton, forcefully. Without context, without knowing what came before or after or what might have happened that we couldn't see, we wanted to know more to determine whether it was newsworthy.

Too many times the media have jumped to conclusions on something like this, only to learn that first impressions were wrong. Usually, that has meant someone was cast in an unfavorable light that turned out to be unfair. This case appears to be the other way around. The body cam footage showed the execution of an arrest that seemed well out of proportion to what the circumstances required. Not only was the arrest unnecessarily physical, the woman was threatened with bodily harm  You do anything other than what you're told to do right now and I'm going to kick you in the teeth  and subjected to a stream of profanity.
Bronac Mackin is the Business Development Manager at Carlingford Lough Ferry

Whats your favourite thing about Dundalk?

I know its been said a million times before but my favourite thing about Dundalk is undoubtedly its people.

My father was a Dundalk man born and reared, as is my husband and the entire Mackin clan!

When Im at family occasions or nights out in the town, I get that feeling of being at home. The craic is not the same anywhere else as it is in Dundalk town.

What would your perfect day in the local area be  and why?

Hands down my favourite place to spend some time is on the Navvy Bank.

A morning walk down towards Soldiers Point does the soul good. I love nature and and there is nowhere better in the area to get a glimpse at the abundance of wildlife that inhabits the shores of Dundalk Bay.

After that I would go to the Isle De France for a bag of chips! I would then spend the afternoon in Faughart Graveyard.

This is where I ran about as a child and still go to for peace as an adult.

Faughart Graveyard has the most stunning views of the mountains and sea and the town itself, especially at night when the entire town is illuminated!

What would you like to change about Dundalk?

I would love if more shops took up residence in the town centre.

As a child, my mam always took us up town on a Saturday and we spent the whole day in Clanbrassil Street, Park Street and the square going from shop to shop.

While I know there is work being done at present in the town centre, I hope that this brings some life back to the main streets and helps the traders who are fighting tooth and nail there at the minute.

What annoys you about the town?

The cycle lane coming up Chapel Street, from the Home Bakery to Ta Tas really annoys me.

I know that cycle lanes are important but the positioning of this one and some other cycle lane locations in Dundalk make absolutely no sense and are more dangerous than advantageous.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?

The ferry is getting busier with each passing week and we expect the coming summer season to be a bumper one so the rest of my working year will consist of getting out and about promoting the ferry business and the area, and encouraging new visitors to Dundalk and surrounds.

Over Easter weekend we welcomed over 6000 passengers onboard the ferry which contributed to a good boost to the local economy.

20+ national and international tour operators are committed to including the ferry and the area in their itineraries this coming season, and this number is growing.

So I will spend a lot of time getting to know business owners and providers in the locality to confidently showcase what this area has to offer.

Outside of work, I am looking forward to spending lots of family time with my husband and three girls.

How would you describe Dundalk people?

Dundalk people are down to earth, welcoming and full of life, but are always ready for a good slagging match!

Nowhere else do you get the type of caustic wit that exists in the town  if theyre not verbally hammering you  chances are they dont like you!!

What's your favourite story you've heard about Dundalk?

There are so many hilarious stories about Dundalk and a lot of emotional ones too, but my favourite is a story that everyone of a certain age can remember and most people tell.

When we had the old town square with the big fountain in it, every teenager at some point in their school career got a bottle of washing up liquid and emptied it into the water.

The suds would be everywhere and lasted for hours. Seems silly now but it was hilarious at the time.

What's your favourite Dundalk phrase?

Alright horse or Well hen!!

Is Carlingford Ferry a popular tourist attraction for Dundalk people?

We are seeing more and more Dundalk people using the ferry service.

Before the existence of Carlingford Lough Ferry, people from the town were not as likely to visit the tourist offerings that exist on the other side of Carlingford Lough like the St. Patricks Centre in Downpatrick, Castle Ward, Kilbroney Park, Spelga Dam, The Silent Valley and the seaside town of Newcastle to name but a few.

The ferry really adds to the whole day out experience and we are delighted that the service has been embraced by so many Dundalk people.

These days we all need some time to put down the phones and enjoy being outdoors.

The stretch of water that the ferry traverses is the most scenically beautiful in the country and people use the 20 minute crossing time to relax and breath while taking in some of the most stunning views in the area.
Photo: Contributed There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown Kelowna museum.

The Okanagan has the greatest biodiversity in all of Canada, and Kelowna Museum is celebrating some of that diversity in a new exhibition.

The museum is hosting Birds of Prey, a bilingual travelling exhibition from the Royal BC Museum. There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown museum, including barred owls, ospreys, turkey vultures and peregrine falcons.

Curatorial manager Amanda Snyder believes the intriguing birds will leave people impressed.

This exhibit presents a truly unique opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close, to analyze their details and to see what makes them so special. Im sure our guests will be fascinated by these beautiful birds," she says.

Theres an opening celebration today, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Snyder, who happens to be a bird watcher, is particularly excited about Birds of Prey, but believes it will have broad appeal with local audiences.

Birds of prey have what people might refer to as a wow-factor  theyre impressive and engaging I genuinely believe this exhibit will appeal to bird novices and avid watchers alike.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 5.
YouTube executives have been unable or unwilling to rein in toxic content because it could reduce engagement on their platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

In a 3,000-word article, Mark Bergen wrote that the US$16 billion company has spent years chasing one business goal: engagement.

In recent years, scores of people inside YouTube and Google, its owner, raised concerns about the mass of false, incendiary and toxic content that the worlds largest video site surfaced and spread, he noted.

Despite those concerns, YouTubes corporate leadership is unable or unwilling to act on these internal alarms for fear of throttling engagement, Bergen wrote.

The problem with the social internet, IMO, is metrics. They're almost always a false indicator  shock rather than quality  but because businesses are built on KPIs, they will always manage by any given numbers, even bad ones. https://t.co/peTyXPb6BR

 Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 2, 2019

Tackling Tough Content Issues

YouTube did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but in a statement provided to Bloomberg it maintained the companys primary focus has been tackling tough content challenges.

Some of the measures taken to address the toxic content challenge:

Updating its recommendations system to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation by adding a measure of social responsibility to its recommendation algorithm, which includes input on how many times people share and click the like and dislike buttons on a video;

Improving the news experience on by adding links to Google News results inside of YouTube search, and featuring authoritative sources, from established media outlets, in its news sections;

Increasing the number of people focused on content issues across Google to 10,000;

Investing in machine learning to be able to more quickly find and remove content that violates the platforms policies;

Continually reviewing and updating its policies (it made more than 30 policy updates in 2018 alone); and

Removing over 8.8 million channels for violating its guidelines.

Bad Virality

Corporate culture began to change at YouTube in 2012, Bergen explained, when executives like Robert Kyncl, formerly of Netflix, and Salar Kamangar, a Google veteran, were brought in to make the company profitable.

In 2012, Bergen wrote, YouTube concluded that the more people watched, the more ads it could run  and that recommending videos, alongside a clip or after one was finished, was the best way to keep eyes on the site.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At that time, too, Kamangar set an ambitious goal for the company: one billion hours of viewing a day. So the company rewrote its recommendation engine with that goal in mind, and reached it in 2016.

Virality  a videos ability to capture thousands, if not millions of views  was key to reaching the billion-hour goal.

YouTube doesnt give an exact recipe for virality. But in the race to one billion hours, a formula emerged: Outrage equals attention, Bergen wrote.

People inside YouTube knew about this dynamic, he explained. Over the years, there were many tortured debates about what to do with troublesome videos  those that dont violate its content policies and so remain on the site. Some software engineers have nicknamed the problem bad virality.'

Borderline Content

The problem YouTube now faces is how to create an effective mechanism to handle problematic content, observed Cayce Myers, an assistant professor in the communications department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Much of this content doesnt violate YouTubes social community standards, he told TechNewsWorld. This is content that is borderline.

Any mechanism that removes content from a platform creates risks. You run the risk of developing a reputation of privileging some content over others as to whats removed and whats not, Myers explained.

On the other hand, if something isnt done about toxic content, theres the risk that government regulators will enter the picture  something no industry wants.

Any time you have government intervention, youre going to have to have some mechanism for compliance, Myers said.

That creates an expense, an added layer of management, an added layer of employees, and its going to complicate how your business model runs, he continued.It may also affect the ease at which content is populated on a site. Regulatory oversight may take away the kind of ease and quickness that exists today.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

From Lake to Cesspit

Its doubtful that government regulation of YouTube would be beneficial, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California.

Though Facebook and YouTube and Google execs have claimed for years to be doing all they can to curb toxic content, the results are pretty dismal, he told TechNewsWorld.

The video shared by the suspect in the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque massacre is just their latest failure, King remarked. That said, its difficult to envision how government regulation could improve the situation.

Companies ought to be concerned about toxic content because it can have a negative impact on a companys brand and financial performance, he pointed out.

You can see evidence of that in various consumer boycotts of advertisers that support talk show and other TV programs whose hosts or guests have gone beyond the pale. No company wants to be deeply associated with toxic content, King added.

Failing to control or contain toxic content can poison a platform or brand among users and consumers. That can directly impact a companys bottom line, as weve seen happening when advertisers abandon controversial programs, he explained. In worst case circumstances, the platform itself may become toxic. With inattention and pollution, a popular mountain lake can quickly transform into a cesspit that people avoid. Commercial companies are no different.

Trump Card

Meanwhile, YouTubes efforts to manage toxic content may get more complicated due to a federal court ruling in New York state. That decision stems from President Donald J. Trumps blocking of some Twitter followers critical of his job performance.

We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account  the interactive space where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the Presidents tweets  are properly analyzed under the public forum doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.

That public forum analysis has social media executives wondering about the legal status of their platforms.

Everybody is concerned that rather than being a private club where everybody can have their own dress code, theyre more like a public forum or town square where theyre subject to the First Amendment, said Karen North, director of the Annenberg Online Communities program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

If theres a question of freedom of speech, then everyone is wondering where they can draw the line between what should be available and what should be blocked, she told TechNewsWorld. Some pretty vile and toxic speech is legal, and in the town square that speech is protected.
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By Kaitlin Grable

1. The media still isnt addressing climate change in a way that matches the urgency of the problem. Despite years of record-breaking extreme weather, the climate crisis usually gets minor mentions when mainstream news comments on climate-linked disasters or Trump's pro-fossil fuel rhetoric. Climate change shouldn't be a footnote  it should be center stage. Holding a climate-focused debate will ensure that the climate crisis is treated as a serious issue to address, not an opinion to be questioned. It would push the candidates to specifically address how they will tackle one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime, and give us all the ability to make an informed choice on who will lead us into an era of bold climate action that's accountable to communities.

2. We need bold, visionary leaders to beat Trump in 2020. We've spent more than two years resisting a racist and destructive Trump agenda. With daily attacks on our values and freedoms, this administration has attempted to divide us and wear us down. But people power has given us a record number of women in Congress, voting rights restoration in Florida, and the beginnings of an ambitious Green New Deal. This is just the start. Now we need presidential candidates that will look beyond the status quo and reimagine what's possible. The next president should have the guts and vision to move us toward a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future where we reject the politics of fear and exclusion  while directly confronting how corporate polluters tarnish our air, our water and our climate without repercussions. It's not the time for half-measures if we want to beat Trump. For decades, the bar on climate policy has been incredibly low. If a politician says they believe in man-made climate change, they've been lauded as progressive on climate. Agreeing with nearly every climate scientist in the world isn't leadership. We all deserve to know whether each Democratic candidate has a well-thought-out plan for the climate crisis and go toe-to-toe with the oil and gas industry. Here's what a climate-focused debate could reveal: Who supports the Green New Deal and who doesn't; How the candidates will stop the fossil fuel industry's influence on our democracy; Who will push our economy to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy; How candidates will support communities affected by climate disasters; Who will make a responsible plan to phase-out fossil fuels while protecting workers.

3. Communities across the country are being badly hurt by the effects of climate change. Politics has always been divisive. But recently the emphasis on "us versus them" has gone too far. Instead of creating common goals for thriving communities, with healthy air and water, and shared access to clean energy, the calls of "fake news" and "build a wall" put people in conflict with one another. We need to hear how candidates for president are going to bring us together  because we need everyone in this fight. If we don't shift the way we produce energy in this country, the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis will continue to suffer the most from devastating extreme weather events and environmental pollution. The time for talk has passed. We need to move to a 100 percent renewable energy economy and hold corporate polluters accountable for the damage they've caused.

4. We only have just over a decade to take drastic action on climate change. Scientists tell us we have until 2030 to cut carbon pollution in half to stave off the worst effects of climate change. You do the math. Our future rests on the shoulders of whoever we elect as the next president. Every day we allow to pass without taking action is one day we come closer to an irreversible ecological tipping point. Since we have just over 10 years to take major steps forward on climate, the coming years will be a critical time to make up for all the years of climate inaction on both sides of the aisle. The next president of the U.S. must take bolder, faster climate action than any leader has before. We want to see who is going to claim the mantle of climate leadership, and the best way to do that is for the candidates to debate their plans face-to-face on the debate stage.

Together, we can build a powerful movement to make sure that bold climate action is at the top of presidential candidates' priorities  but we need everyone on board.
Photo: Colin Dacre Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre, speaking to SILGA delegates in Penticton on Friday.

A regulated and decriminalized drug supply.

Thats what mayors and councillors from across the Southern Interior heard is the answer to the opioid overdose crisis, in the opinion of the woman leading the provincial agency trying to get a handle on the emergency that killed nearly 1,500 British Columbians last year.

Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre within the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, spoke at the Southern Interior Local Government Association convention in Penticton Friday morning to update politicians on the provinces response to the post-fentanyl era.

In response to a delegate question about what law enforcement is doing to stem the tide of fentanyl in communities, Patterson qualified her answer as her own opinion and not that of the ministry.

Not sure if anyone in this room is going to like my answer, she said. But the answer is regulation.... There are harms from the illicit, illegal, toxic drug supply and there is criminal activity that surrounds that.

Like what happened with the prohibition of alcohol the answer is I believe regulation [and decriminalization], but it takes political bravery to take that step.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made similar public comments last month.

Patterson told delegates overdose is now killing more people in B.C. than motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides combined, making it the leading cause of unnatural death. Fentanyl was detected in 87 per cent of fatal overdoses in 2018, up from just four per cent in 2012.

Presented statistics showed the emergencys impact on segments of society outside the stereotypes. Sixty per cent of fatal overdose victims are not intravenous drug users, 40 per cent were employed at the time of their death and 68 per cent in Interior B.C. died while using at home.

Patterson spoke at length about the need to reduce the stigma associated with drug use, telling the room substance-use disorders are a health issue.

Not a failure of character, not a moral issue, but a health issue, she said. Because of stigma, people are more likely to use at home alone and die, alone.

The provincial government has been rapidly distributing naloxone kits throughout the province since declaring a public health emergency in 2016. The drug quickly reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Patterson said 45,000 kits have now been distributed in Interior B.C., with estimates of one life saved for every 65 kits handed out.

Opioid-replacement therapy like methadone or suboxone is also being made more accessible, with enrolled participants climbing from 14,000 in 2015 to 22,000 today.

While this is an improvement, this number represents less than half of all individuals diagnosed with an opioid-use disorder, Patterson said, noting there are hundreds of thousands more undiagnosed.

She said many of those now addicted to opiods started with prescriptions from doctors following an injury or surgery, with Canada very well known in the international context for liberally prescribing opioids. The country would benefit from a new, less opioid-dependant, pain management strategy, she said.
Primary school singing extravaganza to hit Villa Marina stage

More than 600 of the Islands primary school pupils will take to the Villa Marina Royal Hall stage next month.

The Sound of Stories will take place on Wednesday 12th June and features a variety of songs from films and musicals that have been adapted from books, stories and tales. 23 local primary schools, plus two local singing schools and choirs, will take part in the mass singing concert.



Organiser Katie Lawrence, a music teacher at Ballacottier Primary School, explained: The concert will showcase classics and family-favourites from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Wicked, Oliver and The Little Mermaid, amongst others. Its an opportunity for the children to just have fun and enjoy singing alongside their friends, without any sort of competition pressure.



Ive wanted to bring this idea to life for some time now and I decided 2019 would be the year I finally put it into action. There will be a live band and the evening promises to be something really special  certainly a feel-good night to remember!



Tickets for The Sound of Stories are priced at 10 for adults and 5 for under 16s and are available to buy online from www.villagaiety.com or by calling the Villa Gaiety Ticket Hotline on 01624 600555.
Education system praised in recent visit

The quality and diversity of education in schools in the Isle of Man has been praised following a recent visit from Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research at The Edge Foundation.

The Edge Foundation is an independent education charity dedicated to shaping education in the UK.

The focus of the visit, which took place at the beginning of April, was to research and gain an insight into the education system on the Isle of Man.

Following the visit, Olly Newton praised the Isle of Man Governments innovative approach to learning.

In his recently published blog, Olly Newton summarised:

The Isle of Man presents an excellent example of what can flourish when schools are released from the strictures of the rigid EBacc and academic curriculum. Head teachers with greater autonomy, a broader curriculum, inter-disciplinary learning and early access to vocational opportunities  all giving young people on the Isle of Man more opportunities to develop the skills that our research shows that employers are looking for.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A northern Ontario First Nation where a mother and four of her children died in a house fire this week has no effective means or equipment to fight fires, a spokesman said Friday as the community grappled with its loss.

Sam McKay, spokesman for the chief and council of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, said the community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay has a fire truck that doesn't work, a fire hall that was never completed and no fire hoses.

There are fire hydrants in some parts of the community of roughly 1,000, but not everywhere, he said. At times, the community has used drinking water delivered there by truck to combat flames but that's not enough to put them out, he said.

"When there's a fire, you pretty much stand and look at the building burn and make sure there's nobody there," he said. "At this time we were very unfortunate that we lost five people."

Thursday's fatal fire happened around 3 or 4 a.m. so no one was around to help at first, McKay said, though some rescue attempts were made later. Three people were airlifted to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and other injuries after they tried to go into the burning home, he said.

Seamus O'Regan, the federal minister of Indigenous services, expressed his condolences in a tweet Thursday evening and said his department was working to provide assistance to the community.

Ontario's minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford, said in a statement that the province will also offer support to the community.

McKay has said the victims of the fire were a single mother and four of her children  aged six, seven, nine and 12. Her older daughter was away at the time and survived, he said.

A prayer vigil was held at the site Friday morning at the request of the family before police began their investigation, he said.

Ontario's fire marshal's office, coroner's office and forensic pathology service have also been dispatched to the community.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, has said a team of crisis and support workers would also be sent there.
Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries.

A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the US outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

HARD LANDING

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the sheriffs office said on Twitter. The sheriffs tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into East Sea

North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Koreas military said.

North Korea fired unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, according to South Koreas state-run Yonhap News Agency.

"MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF MISSILES"

Yonhap cited South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. today".





The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles seem to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The incident comes more than a year after the country fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details of the launch, the agency said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it has been certified to represent hundreds of flight attendants at WestJet Encore.

The union says the decision was made by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after a majority of flight attendants signed cards in support of unionization.

The unionization of about 600 flight attendants at WestJet's regional carrier comes after their colleagues at WestJet's mainline carrier were unionized last July.

Together, nearly 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are unionized, while CUPE says it is continuing efforts to add flight attendants as WestJet's low-cost carrier, Swoop.

Meanwhile, the Calgary-based airline says that 92 per cent of its Encore pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association voted in favour of a five-year agreement that runs until Jan. 1, 2024.

Canada's second-largest airline saw the repercussions of labour strife last May, when WestJet pilots voted in favour of strike action before the Air Line Pilots Association and the company agreed to a settlement process two weeks later.
Pentagon: No F-35 for Turkey if it acquires Russian S-40

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated US opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Michael Shanahan said Turkey would not receive F-35 fighter jets if it proceeds with its purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, the Washington Examiner reported.

"ONE OR THE OTHER"

US officials have repeatedly said the S-400s could be used by Russia to collect sensitive information on the F-35s if the two systems are used simultaneously. They have threatened to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme and not deliver the 100 fighter jets it has ordered from the United States.

"There's no confusion on our part," Shanahan said at a House of Representatives Appropriations Committee hearing. "It's one or the other".





The US Congress passed legislation last year to block the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey if the Turkish government took delivery of the Russian missiles. Washington has also offered to sell Patriot air defence batteries to Turkey, of Ankara cancels the S-400 purchase.
The culture of political opportunism and hyper-masculinity fails the cause of womens representation.

The intention behind the demand for an increase in the representation of women in electoral politics has been to not only ensure the physical presence of women in the political arena, but also influence a change in the dominant political discourse rife with opportunism, sexism and, hyper-masculinity. Incidents like Priyanka Chaturvedis move from Congress to Shiv Sena, however, bring to attention a tragic irony. Chaturvedi, who left the Congress on grounds of inaction by the party on sexism and lumpenism against her, instead, chose to be co-opted by a political party that can hardly boast of a bright record on gender justice. While justifying her move up the ladder, Chaturvedi also reiterated her commitment to womens rights.

Such a move, though not in the least isolated, brings to focus the new normal of politics: a naked careerism bereft of principled or ethical stands, commitment, and guilt. It is important to interrogate this normality. This incident also reflects how parties may end up looking at their members as employees on a payroll, whose job is to market the partys brand and image. Such members could, however, not be considered politicians inasmuch as they are not expected to have any deep connect with people or even with the partys core beliefs and ideology. This also makes a switch between parties normal as it is in a corporate culture.
Indian sociologists and historians have retained a certain foundational bias and blindness regarding caste. M N Srinivass theory of Sanskritisation saw underprivileged castes as aspirational, seeking social mobility. Socio-economic changes were seen as destabilising caste relations and leading to their disappearance. The persistence of upper-caste hegemony, and the resistance to it from underprivileged sections, does not corroborate the thesis forwarded by Srinivas and other sociologists and historians. The neglect of B R Ambedkar has been part of a strange refusal to acknowledge the political in caste.

The intellectual discourse in India has since long been sitting comfortably in its deliberate blindness towards certain proper names of suffering. The proper name of caste struggled to find place in the world of social science theory as upper-caste academicians did not care or pay attention to it. Both liberals and Marxists in India have been reluctant to expand the terminologies of their discourse to include caste as a political category deserving theoretical investigation. Caste was of course mentioned, but never in terms of a political hierarchy that thwarted social change. And Untouchability was addressed not in its radical (meaning, radically exploitative) specificity but as a feature within the caste problem. The left and liberal discourse that supported reservations did so through the Western narrative of positive discrimination, or affirmative action. It was welcomed within the narrative of special, legitimate rights. But this did not simultaneously translate into a political discourse of caste erasure, of challenging the ideological edifice of the caste system.

The grounds were laid by a host of Indian political and social thinkers. In The Discovery of India (1964), Jawaharlal Nehru (1985: 85) speculated on the fluid condition of caste in its earlier stages, and rigidity coming in only later. According to Nehru (1985: 216), the institution of caste, with all its evils  was infinitely better than slavery. Unlike slave-labour in Greece, Nehru found a measure of freedom in the fixed occupational system of caste. This led, according to Nehru (1985: 216) to a high degree of specialisation and skill in handicrafts and craftsmanship.
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement today of its short list of finalists to host the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) underscores its unilateral and evidence-lite approach to addressing the future of US food and agriculture research.

"Any gains that USDA asserts will result from relocating ERS and NIFA away from our nation's research, food and agricultural policymaking are overwhelmingly outweighed by the detrimental impacts," stated Ron Wasserstein, executive director of the American Statistical Association (ASA). "Further, USDA has neither made a compelling case for such an upheaval nor listened to their own stakeholders, experts and leaders. Adding insult to injury, they have bypassed the 155-year partnership with land grant universities and Congress that has been a hallmark in determining American agricultural and food research policy."

ASA leaders also reissued their points made regarding USDA's March release of the "middle" list:

"We're disappointed to see USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue persisting in his plans to uproot the USDA research arm, despite the overwhelming concerns of its former leaders and the greater statistical and agricultural research community," said Wasserstein. "The USDA leadership developed their plans without consulting any of the agency's current or former research and statistical heads or the broader research community. With that community now having strongly voiced its concerns and opposition, USDA seems intent to proceed without course corrections." "We thank Congress for expressing its concerns and seeking clarity from USDA for both the rationale and the costs and impacts of the ERS/NIFA move," said 2019 ASA President Karen Kafadar. "Regrettably, USDA's announcement today dismisses the input from ERS/NIFA's customers and stakeholders, primarily policy- and decision-makers. We continue to believe that this move is not only costly to US taxpayers but removes ERS from its critical mission, 'to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision-making.' We strongly urge Congress to halt USDA's plans to move ERS/NIFA to protect the research and statistical foundations of our food, agricultural and rural economies."

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See also the March 25 press release, 101 Agriculture, Food, and Science Organizations Urge Congress to Block USDA Moves; the March 12 press release, American Statistical Association, Other Leaders Maintain USDA's Upheaval of Research Arm Unwise, Counterproductive; and the December 5 press release, The American Statistical Association Board of Directors Decries USDA Undermining of Federal Statistical Agency and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Contact: Steve Pierson, pierson@amstat.org, (703) 302-1841.

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.

As part of ASA's commitment to support the importance of government statistics for evidence-based policymaking, ASA created Count on Stats. In partnership with over a dozen organizations, the initiative is designed to educate and inform the public about the critically important nature of federal data. Without federal agencies' data collection and analysis, we would not have key insights into nutrition, economic trends, community issues, public safety, agriculture, and countless other facets that are vital to our society. For additional information, please visit the Count on Stats website at http://www.countonstats.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

###

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 8987 2499

Mobile: +33 (0) 7 8531 2036

Email: press@escardio.org

Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews

Notes to editor

The hashtag for EuroHeartCare 2019 is #euroheartcare.

Funding: This work was supported through the Swedish National Science Council (K2013-69X-22302-01-3, 2016-01390), Swedish National Science Council/Swedish research council for health, working life and welfare (VR-FORTE) 2014-4100, The Swedish Heart and Lung Association E085/12, The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20130340 and 20160439), the Vardal Foundation (2014-0018), the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS 474681).

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1The abstract 'Cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure: a descriptive international study' will be presented during Moderated poster session - Heart Failure on Saturday 4 May at 10:45 to 11:45 CEST in the Moderated Poster Area.

About the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions

The mission of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) is to support nurses and allied health professionals throughout Europe to deliver the best possible care to patients with cardiovascular disease and their families.

EuroHeartCare is the annual Congress of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

Information for journalists attending EuroHeartCare 2019

EuroHeartCare 2019 will be held 2 to 4 May at the Milano Convention Centre (MiCo) in Milan, Italy. Explore the scientific programme.
New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layers - which include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

###

The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.

The Paper's authors are Dr Min Zhang, Professor Corina Sas and Dr Zoe Lambert, of Lancaster University, and Dr Masitah Ahmad, of Universiti Teknologi MARA.
New analysis of 16th-century drawing by Italian doctors concludes da Vinci's right hand affected by ulnar palsy, rather than stroke

A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."

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The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) is a leading voice in the UK and internationally for medicine and healthcare. Published continuously since 1809, JRSM features scholarly comment and clinical research. JRSM is editorially independent from the Royal Society of Medicine, and its editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.

JRSM is a journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it is published by SAGE Publishing.

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com
Richard Perez, the president of San Antonios Chamber of Commerce, apologized Friday for suggesting domestic violence allegations are not a business issue.

The comment, made Thursday after the chamber hosted San Antonios final mayoral debate at KLRN-TV, drew criticism from city leaders such as Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

After the debate between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and challenger Greg Brockhouse, a reporter asked Perez why the moderator did not ask Brockhouse about past police reports of domestic violence. The councilman was not arrested in either incident and has denied any wrongdoing.

We didnt really see it as a business issue, Perez said at the time.

In a statement from her campaign Friday, Gonzales said the comment was alarming.

I want to be very clear about this, domestic violence is very much a business issue, said Gonzales, herself a business owner. To deny this is at best willful ignorance and at worst conscious neglect.

On ExpressNews.com: In final debate, San Antonios mayoral candidates agree: They present a clear choice

Gonzales said people cant work when their basic needs arent being met, and safety is a basic need.

This is about basic human principles and as our city closes in on making important representative government decisions, its the best and proper time to talk about it, she said.

Soon after Gonzales released her statement, Perez said there had been a misunderstanding and apologized.

I explained our focus was on business issues rather than the allegations against (Brockhouse), Perez said. I, in no way, meant to imply that domestic violence is not a business issue, and I apologize for that.

Perez called domestic violence a vitally important issue that needs to continue to be a priority for our entire community.

Others were upset by Perezs initial comments as well.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO, said she read the statement in the newspaper Friday and was immediately upset.

Domestic violence should be an issue that everyone should be discussing, Chavez-Thompson said. The fact of the matter is we dont get enough attention in San Antonio, or even nationwide, on the issue of domestic violence.

She said she heard from a number of friends who were similarly troubled. Chavez-Thompson said she has reached out to Perez and wants to see if the chamber could do something to bring more awareness to the issue in the future.

The Express-News reported in March that Brockhouses ex-wife and current wife accused him of domestic violence in separate police reports in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He was never arrested or charged and his wife has repudiated her earlier account to police.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayoral candidate Brockhouse told debate moderators he would leave if they asked about domestic violence police reports

At a previous debate held by the nonprofit Rivard Report, Brockhouse told a moderator he would leave if asked about the reports.

I just told them Im not answering any more questions on it, Brockhouse said then. (My wife has) fully denied them. Ive denied them. I dont know what else there is to talk about.

Before Thursdays debate, Brockhouse said he would answer a question about the reports if asked. But Jim Forsyth, the moderator for KLRN, did not broach the topic.

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
Photo: The Canadian Press A Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River.

A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the U.S. military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing onto the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members came to a stop in shallow water in the St. Johns River. Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

Marine units from the sheriff's department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Capt. Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

"I think it is a miracle," Connor said. "We could be talking about a different story this evening."

Several pets were on the plane as well, and their status wasn't immediately clear. A navy statement early Saturday offering "hearts and prayers" to their owners said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

It wasn't immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information." The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

It wasn't known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.
Ethan Miller /Getty Images

More than 65,000 people have donated to Julian Castros presidential campaign, providing more assurance the former San Antonio mayor will appear on stage during the first Democratic presidential debates in June.

Castro, one of more than 20 candidates vying for the nomination, had already qualified for the debates by reaching 1 percent in three approved polls. That was one of two ways to qualify in rules laid out by the Democratic National Committee. The other way is by having at least 65,000 unique donors.
Arlis Olson wants mandatory trash service for suburban neighborhoods in unincorporated Bexar County. So do her neighbors Karen Roth and Mallie Van.

They are tired of picking up the trash others leave behind. Tired of seeing dumped mattresses, couches and TVs at empty street corners. They are disgusted by trash bags piled high behind a strip mall near their Candlewood Park neighborhood on the Northeast Side near Kirby. They are exhausted by asking the county to do something even though they know that something is never enough.

This is a slightly different story than The Glen, a Northeast Side neighborhood where garbage can pile 5 feet high, and it oozes and seeps across the street. It is an out-of-control public health crisis.

That doesnt happen at Candlewood Park, just beyond the city of San Antonios limits. The trash problem is not nearly so extreme here. But that doesnt mean there should be a trash problem  and it points to the failure by the county and state lawmakers to meaningfully address this issue.

Candlewood Park has the familiar and orderly trappings of the suburbs. Good schools. Spacious homes. Quiet streets. Part of its allure is being beyond city limits, and development signs herald the lack of city property taxes.

Its a fine place to live. Many military families call this neighborhood home, Van said. Its a mixture of rentals and longtime residents. But, yes, there is dumping and trash.

As Olson wrote in a letter to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in March, We have a cleanup crew of neighbors that pick trash a couple of times a week. Our efforts are the only things keeping our neighborhood from swimming in trash like other unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

Some of that dumping is coming from beyond the neighborhood. But some of it is coming from neighbors who dont have private trash service, the three women said.

Its just an ongoing problem, Roth said. Its time for us to have mandatory garbage collection.

It was a sunny April morning, and the three women sat around Olsons kitchen table as a breeze drifted through open windows.

It wont solve everything, Olson said of mandatory trash service. But it would help.

Van agreed, but added she would like to see regular bulky pickup to deal with the mattresses, sofas and TVs.

None of this is unreasonable. Its not unreasonable to want your neighborhood to be free of garbage and dumping. Just as its not unreasonable to look at the mounds of garbage in The Glen and be disgusted, not just by the trash, but the inaction from the county and state.

Why is it two years after legislation was passed to grant the county the power to mandate trash service, so many Bexar neighborhoods continue to have trash problems? Why is it nearly four years after the city and county successfully partnered to provide mandatory trash service in the Camelot II neighborhood, no such partnership can be formed for The Glen? Its the next neighborhood over with nearly identical conditions.

The answer to these questions resides in that 2017 legislation. When state Sen. Jose Menendez filed it, the legislation originally included language that required landlords to provide trash service. But that language was stripped away.

Menendez said the law still gives the county the authority to do something, and they are choosing not to.

This may be so  never underestimate the power of indifference  but there is no doubt removing the landlord language undercut the intent.

Why? Because as many residents in The Glen and Camelot II have said, much of the trash problem in these neighborhoods is tied to rental properties.

But wait, there is more.

While the law allows the county to contract with the city or private haulers to provide mandatory trash service, it also allows residents to keep their existing trash service. This is problematic because the city would never provide such a service to a patchwork of homes (and the city has no interest in serving the unincorporated county). And if residents can keep their trash service, the county cant put an entire subdivision out to bid for one hauler.

Menendez said its probably too late in the session to fix the legislation. Hes hoping to meet with county officials.

In other words, its a political and bureaucratic mess  and Olson, Roth and Van are stuck with the cleanup.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
In case youre thinking of wearing a big sombrero to a Cinco de Mayo party  dont.

Please dont. Just take a few minutes and rethink the hat.

I know, theyre just hats. Its just a costume. Its fun, right?

Not really.

Its not so much that dressing up like a Mexican from 1915 is offensive, although people are offended when they are openly mocked. To be clear, speaking with an exaggerated accent, joshing about citizenship and tossing out punchlines involving the words siesta, beans, arriba, no bueno, ole and ay-ay-ay are  in most cases in which a Mexican costume party is concerned  mockery.

And silly stuff happens when people are in costume.

Still, were used to it. People have been putting on sombreros and quoting Speedy Gonzales to us since Richie Valens changed his name.

We are used to non-Latinos picking out a few cultural markers and using them as props and party favors during Fiesta, and on Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis  although in San Antonio, a fiesta can happen on any day.

Most of us dont give this more than a smirk or an eye-roll, as this doesnt directly take food off our table. In fact, for those of us who know how to properly make enchiladas or form a pinata the way God intended, it actually puts food on our table.

But unless youre a mariachi or are planning to spend a long day out in the sun, the sombrero is impractical. Thats why we dont wear them.

The glittery velvet numbers you see on mariachis and charros are ceremonial. Mariachis play at weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries, special dinners and happy events during which we like to hear songs that remind us of our past.

But we dont all dress like this, and even the charros and mariachis who do only dress up when theres a performance involved.

And that big straw sombrero? That is a throwback to an agrarian life that went away a long time ago. Today, we wear cowboy hats, Spurs caps and Selena newsboy hats  the same stuff you wear. Even my grandpa was a Resistol guy. Those of us who do work out in the sun all day have figured out a better way to stay cool than those hats worn by El Guapo from The Three Amigos.

So when we see you wearing a big sombrero at the party  or a bright sarape or a fake Emiliano Zapata moustache  we know where youre coming from. Youre wearing a silly, outdated caricature of us.

That you think its OK to do this shows us that you arent worried about what we think about that caricature. It shows us you dont know us at all.

My Mexican mom taught me that everyone deserves respect. Those whom we dont know, especially, deserve respect because how we treat them defines not only who we are but also how we will be perceived.

Think about this before you put on my great-great-grandpas hat so you can get your party on. None of us are wearing it; a few of us will take offense, but most of us will just roll our eyes.

But everyone will see you coming.

Mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
In the normal course of events, the successful demagogue demands and receives cringing deference. But how about a little empathy now and then?

Everyone loves heroic dissidents like Sir Thomas More, at least when canonizing them has no cost. They get all the best press and plays about them. Yet who stops to consider the predicament of the prince? He can always find some lickspittles who will do as they are told. But the problem with lickspittles is their darned undependability. Men or women who are subservient out of self-interest will turn against the prince when their interests change, or when they get a plea deal. One day they are drinking at a princes open bar. The next they are talking to 60 Minutes or congressional investigators. No matter how much the Michael Cohens of the world are favored and rewarded, their allegiance will go with a better bid.

Deep down  at their most honest and vulnerable  what demagogues really want is sycophants who act out of conviction. Is it too much to ask for servants who grovel because they really mean it?

By this standard, Donald Trump must be a very happy man. In Attorney General William Barr, he has finally found someone who licks his boots out of principle.

Barr was clearly chosen for his position because he genuinely believes in expansive executive authority. But his performance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee went a step further. Barr made an argument for expansive and largely unaccountable executive authority.

The attorney general essentially argued that if a president really, really, really believes he is innocent of a crime, then he can undermine an investigation of that crime without the corrupt motive required to prove obstruction of justice.

Said Barr: If the president is being falsely accused  which the evidence now suggests that the accusations against him were false  and he knew they were false, and he felt that this investigation was unfair, propelled by his political opponents, and was hampering his ability to govern, that is not a corrupt motive for replacing an independent counsel.

This is a remarkable claim on several counts. The evidence from the Mueller report does not provide evidence that the accusations against Trump were false. It found that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a criminal conspiracy. If the accusation is that the Trump campaign had extensive, disturbing contacts with a hostile foreign power in an attempt to gain political advantage, then the Mueller report comprehensively proves the charge. This tendency by Barr to equate the absence of a crime with vindication for the president is what makes him sound like part of Trumps defense team. It is also what seems to have rubbed special counsel Robert Mueller the wrong way, provoking his snitty letter of protest to Barr.

It is the broader implications of Barrs view of obstruction, however, that should concern us the most. He is claiming that Trumps belief in his own innocence, along with his conviction that political opponents were out to get him, constituted a sufficiently pure motive to fire Mueller (and much else) without incurring the guilt of obstruction of justice. But what president  Richard Nixon included  does not believe in his own innocence until a smoking gun appears? What president does not believe that his opponents are unfairly accusing him? And how should an attorney general determine that such beliefs are sincerely held?

The standard that Barr sets essentially makes obstruction of justice by a president impossible to demonstrate. And this amounts, for a president such as Trump, to preemptive permission.

I have no doubt that Barr believes his own argument. But this is what should please Trump the most. Barr is not merely summarizing Muellers findings. He is providing justification for Trumps whole approach to the Mueller investigation  the presidents charge of a witch hunt, his raging paranoia, his belief that everyone who serves at his pleasure should do his bidding. Barr is bowing and scraping with complete sincerity. Finally, Trump has found a man of integrity to bless his corruption.

Does this mean that Barr should resign as attorney general? He has diminished the independence of his office, not just in fact but in theory. He has removed a check on presidential power within the executive branch. This does damage to the effectiveness and standing of federal law enforcement.

But Barr, by his own lights, is performing his duty. And his boss has every reason for satisfaction. Why begrudge a prince his fondest wish?

michaelgerson@washpost.com
West Kelowna's Kalamoir Regional Park was filled with dozens of people looking to prepare the area for the upcoming fire season.

Friends of Kalamoir, a local community group dedicated to maintaining the regional park, teamed up with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan to clear wildfire fuel from the 27-hectare park's forest floor.

While the cleanup event was scheduled for two hours, the turnout was much better than expected, and the group of volunteers filled up the large bin with pine needles, pine cones and small branches within 45 minutes.

We're really kind of overwhelmed, said Cathy MacKenzie, parks natural resource technician with the RDCO. They've covered an amazing amount of ground in that amount of time.

MacKenzie said the main thing they were looking to remove from the site was smaller ground fuels that a fire could get started in, as well as some of the ladder fuels that can move a fire from the ground into the top of trees.

Saturday is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Canada, and the event in Kalamoir Park was an educational experience for those in attendance.

(The volunteers) learn about Fire Smart activities for their own homes and what to do around their own homes to help prevent forest fires, MacKenzie said.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund stopped by the park Saturday.

Every little bit of work helps, so seeing a community cleanup in the park here today is a really great thing, Brolund said. That's a whole big, huge bin load of material that's no longer in the park to burn.

The problem is so huge but every little drop in the bucket helps.

The waste material collected Saturday was taken to the Glenmore landfill's OgoGrow composting program.
The ancient hatred has migrated to the internet.

The San Diego synagogue shooter was self-radicalized on a right-wing message board on the website 8chan, posting before he went on his rampage a thank-you to the boards users: what Ive learned here is priceless.

The attack, which killed one and injured three, came six months to the day after the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11. The San Diego shooter declared the Pittsburgh shooter  also a creature of fringe internet culture  one of his heroes.

Anti-Semitism is a millennia-old phenomenon, and anti-Jewish shootings in the U.S. arent new either (several occurred while George W. Bush and Barack Obama were president).

Whats disturbing about the latest spate of violence is the common thread of white-nationalist ideology, propagated and readily available on the internet and developing its own twisted culture of mass shootings. What happened two decades ago with the Columbine shooting  which set the predicate for years of copycat killers, each soaked in the iconography of Columbine and seeking their own moment of notoriety  is being replicated by a loose collection of sick racists.

The San Diego shooter attested to how quickly hed been prepped for mass murder by 8chan, where white nationalists push one another to undertake acts of violence that they call real-life effort-posting. He said he never could have imagined killing even a few months ago and that he planned the attack in four weeks.

He explained that he was inspired by the Christchurch mosque shooter, who killed 50 in New Zealand and came from the same white-nationalist 8chan sewer. The San Diego shooter aped his hero by also posting a similar long manifesto to the site and attempting to livestream his crime.

Todays internet anti-Semitism is based on very old lies, at the bottom of which is the belief that the Jews are an alien, parasitic force conspiring against their host  in this case, supposedly the white race. The San Diego shooter even cited a notorious lie dating from the 15th century that Jews had used the blood of a Christian boy to bake their Passover matzos.

The addition the 8chan haters make to the anti-Semitic oeuvre is their very internet in-jokes and memes, underscoring their rancid nihilism.

Because everything must be about Donald Trump, the left blames him for Pittsburgh and San Diego. His critics point to his shabby response to Charlottesville (Trump actually did condemn the white nationalists and neo-Nazis, but posited fine people on their side who didnt exist). Yet Trump was explicitly rejected by the San Diego and Pittsburgh shooters, precisely because hes so pro-Israel.

His State of the Union address earlier this year was notably philo-Semitic. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism or those who spread its venomous creed, he said while recognizing a hero of the Pittsburgh massacre. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.

At the same time that an extreme fringe on the right marinates in its own malice, a different sort of anti-Semitism, rooted in hatred for Israel, is getting normalized on the left. It can be seen in the refusal of House Democrats to forthrightly condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar for her anti-Semitic tropes and in the astonishing publication by the international edition of the New York Times of a political cartoon worthy of Der Sturmer.

Its not the 1930s again, but the elite atmosphere is becoming more hostile to Israel than it has been for many decades, and the physical threat to Jews is growing. According to news reports, the San Diego shooting might have been much worse if the Poway Chabad congregation hadnt recently practiced shooter drills, and other synagogues will have to take note. If the freaks on 8chan have anything to say about it, there will be a next time.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The charge was criminal trespass, but Jack Michael Ule was put in jail because he was homeless and mentally ill. He died there, a tragic example of the criminal justice reform needed but that too many are still trying to stymie.

Ule spent two weeks in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center for a nonviolent misdemeanor simply because he could not afford a nominal bond. He spent two weeks locked up, and he never saw a judge.

Tragically, this is all too familiar. The contours of Ules death on April 18 mirror the December death of Janice Dotson-Stephens, another inmate in the Bexar County Jail. Both had schizophrenia diagnoses. Adults in their 60s, both were charged with criminal trespass and held on low bonds. For Ule, bond was $500. For Dotson-Stephens, it was $300. Neither received representation at their bail hearings, nor appropriate mental health treatment while languishing in jail.

Their deaths were four months apart, but each is the same damning indictment of a broken system desperately in need of the very reforms Bexar Countys judges continue to resist and reject. If Bexar Countys judges had embraced bail reform for nonviolent misdemeanors, Ule would never have died in jail. If Bexar Countys judges truly embraced public defender representation for all defendants at bail hearings, Ules mental health issues may have been flagged, and again, he may never have ended up in jail.

But he did end up in jail. Just like Dotson-Stephens was placed in jail. Just like countless others who are homeless or have mental health issues find their way into jail each day.

Ule was from Ohio. He was a bright student, earning straight As in grade school and high school. He studied agronomy at Ohio State University, his brother Joseph Ule told us. But as an adult, he was kind of diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Joseph Ule said.

He could be difficult when not on his medication, which was often. But he made his way, working at times as a cook and living with his mother, Sylvia Ule, in Richmond Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland.

After his mother died about four years ago, Ule became homeless. Sylvia was behind on her property taxes, and Joseph Ule said the house had to be sold.

He didnt understand why he had to move out of the house, said Peggy Taksar, Ules sister. He kind of just went on his own.

Joseph Ule lives in Kansas City and said he offered his brother a place to stay there, but his brother wasnt interested. Instead, Ule drifted across the Southwest. Phoenix. Albuquerque. Colorado. El Paso. North to Ohio and then south to the sunshine.

It was hard to keep tabs. Joseph Ule was battling pancreatic cancer back in Kansas City, and his brother was an adult. Ule might have been schizophrenic, but his siblings couldnt force him into treatment. As long as he wasnt a danger to himself or others, he was free to come and go. Joseph Ule said he had long been dreading the call he received about his brother.

His family didnt know how long Ule was in San Antonio or what brought him here. Joseph Ule thought it was the warm weather. Taksar thought her brother might have been making his way to El Paso.

But we know from a University Health System police report that he received medical assistance in February, and that UHS police had warned him about criminal trespass in March. We also know he listed Haven for Hope, the communitys homeless shelter, as his address. On April 4th, UHS police arrested Ule, 63, for criminal trespass at University Hospital in the Medical Center.

It was 12:08 a.m., and he was watching television in an unoccupied waiting area without an appointment, wrote officer Edwin Bell.

Ule said he had recently been discharged from the hospital and he wanted to rest and watch television. Bell said he was loitering.

University Hospital is the immediate alternative to jail for people in mental health crises, but in this case the system worked in reverse. The hospital sent a person with mental illness to jail. Why?

In a situation where we have a disturbance at the hospital or another University Health System facility, officers are faced with three options: asking the person to leave, making an arrest, or putting the person in emergency detention, wrote Elizabeth Allen, a public relations manager for UHS. The officer, like the majority of our officers, has had crisis intervention training to accurately assess these things, and this person did not qualify for emergency detention.

But that doesnt mean he should have qualified for jail.

In jail, his case was fast-tracked. It moved so fast the public defender never had the chance to meet with Ule and represent him at his bail hearing. It moved so fast no one took into account his previous mental health history.

Consider this timeline:

2:30 a.m. Ule entered the countys Justice Intake and Assessment Center.

2:42 a.m. The public defenders office received his booking slip.

3:30 a.m. Judge Celeste Ramirez set his $500 bond.

There are two problems here. The first is that even though the public defenders office is supposed to represent defendants at bail hearings, that representation comes with caveats. Per a district judge order, the public defender cant represent defendants with existing representation or another bond.

In real terms, that has meant public defenders have to jump through many hoops to determine if someone is eligible for representation. In our view, this obstacle reflects the district judges resistance to expanding the public defenders office and providing representation at bail hearings.

The second problem is that beyond bail hearings, the public defenders office primarily represents mentally ill defendants accused of low-level offenses. People just like Ule. But in this case, Ule was assigned a private court-appointed attorney.

He would have been the perfect candidate for our program, said Bexar County Chief Public Defender Michael Young. He had indicated some mental illness. He was charged with a low-level offense.

But the public defender never even had the chance to speak with Ule.

Instead, he spent the next two weeks in jail, a homeless man from Ohio with a $500 bond. It might as well have been $5 million. His family would have paid the bond in a heartbeat, but they had no idea where he was.

People being thrown in jail because they are homeless, said a disgusted Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who oversees Commissioners Court. Because they got a mental problem. Because they cant afford to pay a bond. Thats what the justice system is? No, its not.

In jail, Ule joined a cadre of people charged with criminal trespass who couldnt make nominal bonds. According to data from the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the week Ule died, 54 people were in jail for criminal trespass. Their bonds ranged from $100 to $2,000.

Ule died April 18, and the cause of his death remains unknown. A press release from the sheriffs office cites ongoing health issues as a possible factor. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he will no longer prosecute people charged with criminal trespass.

There are exceptions to every rule, but as a general matter, I dont think we need to have the homeless population in the Bexar County Jail because they are homeless, he said.

And Ules death was one of the reasons Bexar County Commissioners decided to have city of San Antonio judges oversee bail hearings. Municipal Court Presiding Judge John Bull has welcomed the public defender and said the defense and prosecution will be present at all bail hearings.

As welcome as these changes are, they are not enough. Meaningful criminal justice reform must be embraced by Bexar Countys felony and misdemeanor court judges, and this includes a better job identifying mental health issues to keep people out of jail.

There will be one more journey for Jack Ule. His ashes will be sent to Kansas City where there will be a service at a Slovenian church to honor his heritage, Joseph Ule said. His remains will then be buried in Ohio, beside his mother.
Being tough on crime means being smart on crime.

It means recognizing what cases to prioritize and how best to use limited resources. It means understanding some people accused of crimes should never be in jail, but others should not be released pretrial out of concern for the safety of victims and the community.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales gets this. Its early in his term, but Gonzales is moving forward with a number of smart and overdue reforms that should keep more people accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes out of the overcrowded Bexar County Adult Detention Center, and hes offering opportunities for these defendants to avoid ever being charged for these crimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, prosecutors have been working nights and weekends to address a backlog of family violence cases  another campaign promise from Gonzales.

By far the biggest reform Gonzales has promised voters is a meaningful cite-and-release program. This is when certain nonviolent misdemeanors are treated similarly to tickets. Picture charges such as marijuana possession of 4 ounces or less, criminal mischief, theft and theft of service  not paying for ones bill at a restaurant.

Under this program, defendants facing such misdemeanors will be given tickets and asked to appear at Bexar Countys Reentry Services building within 30 days. They may be asked to take a course, perform community service or enter drug treatment. If such conditions are met, then charges are never filed. And, of course, if conditions are not met, then charges will be filed and its back to the old way of doing things.

But the old way of doing things isnt always the best way of doing things. Thats the point of cite and release and other reforms.

Gonzales had hoped his cite-and-release program would be running by now, and so did we. But it looks as if it wont launch until this summer when new ticket books finally arrive. Part of this delay reflects the work Gonzales has put in to get this right. Gonzales has buy-in from the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the two largest local law enforcement agencies.

Gonzales told us a successful program might serve 100 people a month. In terms of dollars and cents, that would mean 100 people a month who arent languishing in jail for minor crimes at considerable taxpayer expense. In terms of supporting families, that would mean 100 people a month who could stay employed and live with their families, or who might participate in a program to meaningfully change their lives.

But this is also not the only reform in play.

Gonzales will no longer be charging most homeless people with criminal trespass. This policy change follows the tragic case of Jack Michael Ule, 63, a homeless man from Ohio who died in jail in April. He was charged with criminal trespass.

There will be exceptions to this rule, but the basic premise is that homeless people need to be guilty of something more than being homeless to be jailed for criminal trespass. We agree.

Ule was in jail on a $500 bond, which is yet another reminder about the inherent unfairness and absurdity of the cash bail system. One that rewards wealthy defendants, but punishes poor defendants and has absolutely nothing to do with community safety.

Gonzales has said he has instituted a policy for prosecutors to recommend personal recognizance bonds for such nonviolent cases. Hes going where Bexar Countys judges have refused to go.

Hes also considering declining charges for small amounts of marijuana possession and trace amounts of other drugs.

These are all welcome reforms that highlight an intention to bring fairness to the system, but its more than that. Its also about focus. The community is better served prosecuting violent crime (remember the backlog of family violence cases he inherited) than clogging the jail with low-level offenses.

Gonzales is lighting the way, and Bexar Countys judges, who have been so resistant to bail reform and other changes, should follow.
Re: Gun owners alerted to vehicle theft, Metro, April 24:

Do local authorities truly believe I am not aware of the possibly of theft if I leave my firearm in my vehicle? I can assure you that is not the case.

The off-the-cuff solution is to prevent law-abiding citizens from being forced to disarm whenever they enter certain venues, but I do respect the property rights of business owners who erroneously believe that I am the cause of violent crime in our society.

Instead, I exercise my right to do business elsewhere when possible, and I encourage other law-abiding armed citizens to do the same. Perhaps, if we work together, we can combat theft of firearms from vehicles and make society safer by starving gun-free zones of the monetary funds needed to continue business in their inherently unsafe spaces.

Robert E. Thornburgh III, Canyon Lake

Get armed, ladies

It seems like every couple of days one hears of a lady jogger or other women being attacked and sometimes killed. After watching the news or otherwise knowing about these attacks, I cannot fathom why girls still fail to arm themselves when continually being in situations where they are completely alone.

For heavens sake, ladies, I think a trip to the local gun dealer, a concealed carry license and a firearms course would be better than losing your life to some maniac. Just because you may have been getting away with it for a while doesnt mean that tomorrow you wont die!

Get armed, and dont be afraid to use the weapon. They make fanny packs especially for concealed carry that you could use. Protect yourselves!

John Burner

Really look at Trump

Re: Breaking the bank, Your Turn, April 23:

Larry Kovalchik overlooks the most glaring part of the issue. He is fine with criticizing Beto ORourke and Kamala Harris, but he never mentions the abomination he obviously voted for in the last election, who has not and will not ever release his tax records voluntarily.

Our liar in chief has defied even legal requests for these documents, and his supporters are more than willing to defend his actions. His protectors ignore every one of his egregious actions even when it involves cozying up to our enemies.

So, Mr. Kovalchik, please dont lecture about Rep. ORourke and Sen. Harris, when the biggest penny pincher is in the playpen with you.

Jeffrey Hall

Theyre the worst

Both parties have produced rotten presidents. But two presidents stand out: Richard Nixon, meet Donald Trump.

And to seal the deal, Attorney General John Mitchell, meet Attorney General William Barr.

William Larson, Universal City

Pick up a shovel

If the president is so obsessed with a wall around the border, I believe we should get him a hat, a pickax and a shovel, and tell him to start digging. Maybe then he will get some common sense.

Rolando M. Pena

Do they care?

Listening to the news, I fail to understand why we are trying to downgrade President Donald Trump, but our supposed Congress and senators cannot address or care about all the people coming illegally into our country and for whom we are paying  and at 77, Ive been paying for a long time.

Do our elected officials not care?

Patricia J. Wood

Why 20 years?

It is absolutely ridiculous that our penal system takes 20 years, on average, for a person to be executed on death row. How can anybody justify housing and feeding prisoners that have taken someones life? I can't understand why our supposed leaders of the state never touch that issue.

They are much more interested in getting their face in the newspaper or getting reelected than wasting taxpayers money housing killers. Instead of building new prisons, we need to clean out some and make room for more. That might even deter a few criminals once they see it happen.

Michael B. White

Never forget the past

Re: Statue must be placed in a museum, by columnist Josh Brodesky, Opinion, April 21:

History, like current news, is not always fair and balanced. More often than not it is mythologized, conflated and convoluted, as pointed out by Mr. Brodesky.

In bright daylight, place American romantic-nationalistic Confederate statues in museums. Red-blooded, American-soil heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Stephen F. Austin and William B. Travis, all who owned slaves, were no doubt held in high regard by the average Confederate soldier.

Slavery was not Americas so-called original sin. In fact, for centuries, it had been defended and condoned by the Bible. Removing Confederate statues is surely not enough. Truly, we must apply ethical reason, hard facts and abundant evidence to not forgetting what we did  and do.

Jesse L. Howell

A new work program

I have read that there was a Bracero program during World War II. The program was, for the most part, between the U.S. and Mexico, and was ended a long time ago. The program provided farm field workers. While it was not perfect, maybe Congress can come up with a better program and add other services such as caregivers, cafeteria workers and construction workers, to name a few.

They would be screened and given work visas that would permit them to legally work and file the proper U.S. income tax returns for income earned in the U.S. Would that not solve some of the immigrant claims that they come to the U.S. to find a job?

Manuel Vera Jr.
GREENWICH  Greenwich Hospital will spearhead an effort to help doctors better recognize the symptoms and signs of ovarian cancer and breast cancer and more effectively diagnose the potentially deadly diseases.

Town resident Kaile Zagger and Dr. Elena Ratner, a leader in the field of gynecological oncology, co-founded the MAT Education Program, which will provide doctors with a rigorous curriculum to help them to better understand the vague signs and symptoms of the two cancers at an early stage.

The issue is meaningful to Zagger, whose mother, Marilyn Ann Trahan, died after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. It was Trahans struggle with the disease that inspired the MAT initiative, which bears her initials.

She was a warrior and waged repeated battles with the horrific nature of ovarian cancer, Zagger said. In 1999 at the age of 46, she succumbed to the disease. My family was splintered. ... The impact was devastating.  Cancer doesnt just impact the patient. It traumatizes families, creates financial devastation, depletes communities and leaves scars that are unable to be healed.

The MAT program is designed to identify women who are at an elevated risk of breast or ovarian cancer as well as find those showing initial signs of the diseases sooner. Primary care physicians and specialists will learn more about the signs and symptoms, with a goal of diagnosing women sooner, instead of when they reach Stage 3 or Stage 4.

In the U.S. last year, nearly 300,000 new cases of breast and ovarian cancer were diagnosed. Of those patients, 55,000 women died.

Studies show that women with ovarian cancer have the disease for 24 months, and they have seen four to six physicians before it is diagnosed, Zagger said. Symptoms are vague, they whisper, but they are there and they are just enough for us to ignore and prioritize something more interesting.

And when some women seek medical care for abdominal pain, frequent urination, bloating, trouble eating, mild back pain, rashes, exhaustion or even flu-like symptoms, the diagnosis is not made. Saying the puzzle is not being completed, Zagger said the health care community needed more training to understand breast and ovarian cancers.

The curriculum was designed by Ratner, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Yale School of Medicine and clinical leader for the Gynecological Oncology Program at the Smilow Cancer Hospital. Her colleagues helped with the curriculum, which she will take to physicians working in a variety of specialities at Greenwich Hospital.

This truly will change the future of womens care, Ratner said. Greenwich Hospital will soon set an example for other hospitals and health systems to follow, she said.

We need to not only find these cancers early, we need to prevent the cancers, she said. The future is prevention. Im not only going to cure your cancer or find it early, were going to find it before it even happens so you never have to hear those words  that you have cancer.

The MAT program has partner organizations from around the community, including town government, the Greenwich-based Breast Cancer Alliance, YWCA Greenwich and the UJA-JCC of Greenwich.

The effort at Greenwich Hospital will officially launch June 1 with the goal of completing training by Oct. 31.

The MAT Education Program was celebrated May 1, with a special proclamation ceremony at Town Hall. First Selectman Peter Tesei presented the formal proclamation to Zagger and her two children, Geralyn Grace and Colton.

Tesei recounted that his mother and wife have both been treated for breast cancer, and his aunt died from it.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing together the resources medically, in research and within the professional medical community, to put this together, Tesei said. What youre doing is saving lives and saving the future for those women and their families. Ive seen first hand what happens when a parent doesnt survive and how it indelibly changes the future for those children.

During the ceremony, Greenwich resident Diane Powis, discussed what she is facing as an ovarian cancer patient. Her mother died from breast cancer, as did both of her mothers aunts. Because of her familys Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish descent, which research has shown is of high risk for breast cancer, Powis said she was hyper-vigilant about checking for any sign of breast cancer.

But when Powis became ill, neither she nor any of her doctors had any idea what was happening as she got sicker and sicker. It was only after she went for a colonoscopy that she found out that she had a large cancerous mass inside her that was caused by Stage 3 ovarian cancer. It had gone undetected and spread like sand thrown sideways inside her, she said.

When I was finally diagnosed in 2013, my prognosis was, at best, five years, and I am acutely aware that I am only still alive today because of recent advances in gynecological oncology as well as the amazing work of countless health professionals who have guided me through multiple surgeries, years of chemotherapy infusions, two clinical trials and my current regiment on a PARP inhibitor, Powis said. She wondered how her life would have been different had MAT training been in place and her cancer had been detected sooner.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
People of West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as severe cyclonic storm Fani weakened on Saturday morning and was moving towards neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official of the regional meteorological centre said.

The city witnessed wind speeds of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight, he said. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed, officials said. "Fani is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours.

"It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and enter Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am on Saturday.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district...and is moving towards Murshidabad district," Bandyopadhyay said. A senior official said apart from a few mud houses collapsing and tress falling, there were no reports of casualties from any of the districts. "However, we are awaiting further details," he added.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation. "We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Meanwhile, flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am on Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Flight services were suspended at the airport from 3 pm on Friday. Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections were also getting back to normal, the officials said.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in the central part of the city's Beniatola Lane, police said. All the five injured persons were released after treatment. The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans.

The cyclone barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.

-PTI
British pig producers are 'furious' at the 'dismal' prices currently being offered at a time when the global pork market is buoyant.

The UK's competitors are enjoying increased prices on the back of soaring Chinese demand as the world's biggest pig producer comes to grips with the African swine fever (ASF) crisis.

Following recent small increases, the EU-spec Standard Pig Price (SPP) rose by just over 1p to reach 139.84p/kg last week.

This increase represents the largest weekly rise since June last year and the highest price since the first week in January.

Nonetheless, the price is still around 6p below the price this time last year. The National Pig Association (NPA) says the increases seen in April 'pale into insignificance' in comparison to what is happening in the EU.

'Game-changer' for UK's competitors

Danish Crown, Europe's largest pork producer, recently described the surge in demand for EU pork from China as a game-changer  the processors export volumes to China have doubled since February.

The latest Eurostat figures show EU fresh and frozen pork shipments to China were up by 16% (+19,600 tonnes) year-on-year in January and February, which has had a big impact on EU pork prices.

Meanwhile, the EU reference price has soared from 117p/kg in early February to nearly 146p/kg in the week ended April 22.

Most major producing countries have seen massive hikes over that period.

The China effect is being seen on prices all over the world, including the US, where prices have almost doubled since February.

UK pork exports to China were up 40% year-on-year in February  and yet the UK price is still almost exactly where it was at the start of February.

'Dismal prices'

The NPA says it has received a number of calls from concerned pig producers who want to know what is happening.

Chairman Richard Lister said the price British producers are getting is 'dismal', especially in the context of what is happening with China.

As the EU pig price surges ahead, UK pig producers are left feeling like the modern day Oliver Twist, he said, faced with heavily over-stretched overdraft facilities, producers were entitled to breathe a sigh of relief at the increase in EU prices.

Sadly, this relief has turned to anger and frustration at the scraps being offered over the last four weeks. Processors will know full well the pressures producers are under, with owning so many of their own sows, and having seen another significant independent producer disappear.

He added: I have had numerous producers ringing me during the last fortnight wanting to understand why we are not seeing a proper and significant recovery in their price.

It is important producers make their feelings known to processors and marketing groups because we need a fairer share - just like Oliver Twist, he said.

The NPA has been collecting data from members about the current market situation, which chief executive Zoe Davies said was proving to be illuminating.

The group is demanding 'rapid and significant change' from processors in the prices being paid.
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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan.

I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.

-PTI
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Autodesk, Avigilon, CommScope, Finastra, McAfee, Poly and T-Mobile honored for channel program excellence at Impartner's annual customer and channel management conference

SALT LAKE CITY, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Impartner, the world's best-selling pure-play Partner Relationship Management solution today announced the winners of its fourth annual customer awards, which were presented at ImpartnerCON19, the company's annual global customer and channel management summit. The theme for this year's conference, which is now the largest conference of channel chiefs in the industry, was Elevate, with the focus being on helping companies prepare for 2020 and the decade beyond. Following are the winners of this year's Impartner Elevate Awards, which are presented to companies setting the pace for channel operations:

Autodesk: For pushing the boundaries of personalized channel communications in eight languages using Impartner's News on Demand solution.

Avigilon/Motorola: For innovation in CPQ functionality for partners and spectacular growth in partner engagement.

CommScope: For completely transforming their CRM and PRM solutions simultaneously and in record time, and at the same time, delivering an innovative, ground-breaking partner experience.

Finastra: For pioneering use of PRM in the fast-growing fintech industry.

McAfee: For a rapid, streamlined, efficient implementation of a PRM solution, despite the complexities of a major organization.

Poly: For nimbleness in transformation of the company's channel management solution, all while integrating a major acquisition.

T-Mobile: For the creation of a unique partner and distribution experience to enable an unparalleled, more comprehensive market presence.

At the event, Impartner also presented its first Partner of the Year Award to AchieveUnite, for being the company's highest producing referral partner.

The 4th annual conference comes as Impartner continues a growth streak that's driven by an ever-increasing slate of customer wins from Fortune 100 corporations in multiple verticals from tech, to manufacturing, to oil and gas, to fintech, all of which has resulted in a 10x growth in new customer logos in the same four-year time period. During the conference, the company also announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate direct and indirect sales by co-marketing and co-selling Impartner PRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

About Impartner

Impartner helps companies worldwide transform the performance of their indirect sales, increasing revenue an average of 31 percent and reduce administrative costs as much as 23 percent in the first year of use alone. Impartner's SaaS-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software is the best-selling, most award-winning pure-play solution on the market and can be up and running in as few as 14 days. For more information on Impartner, which is based in Utah's tech hotbed, the Silicon Slopes, visit www.impartner.com , or in the United States call +1 801 501 7000, for EMEA general call +33 1 40 90 31 20, for London call +44 0 20 3283 4465, and for LATAM call +1 954 364 7883.

Follow Impartner on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .

Contact:

Kerry Desberg

Impartner

425-231-9529

Kerry.desberg@impartner.com

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By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday. The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares

By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday.

The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares.

The conversations have been ongoing with companies that seek exposure to the Gulf of Mexico, the people said, but did not specify which companies the talks were with.

Fieldwood has both deepwater and shallow-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico, including a stake in more than 500 platforms, according to its website. With over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in output, it is the sixth-largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, marginally ahead of Exxon Mobil Corp, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.

Fieldwood declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. Barclays facilitated the meetings, two of the people said.

Fieldwood has grown to operate more than 1,000 wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since its formation in 2013 by buyout firm Riverstone Holdings. The company has acquired assets from oil firms exiting the Gulf, including Apache Corp, Noble Energy Inc and SandRidge Energy.

Fieldwood also operates two fields in Mexico's shallow water Bay of Campeche.

The company's fortunes have see-sawed in part due to an oil price rout that began in 2014 and to the massive onshore shale ramp-up in the United States, where production costs are generally lower than offshore operations.

Like a number of offshore producers in 2016 and early 2017, Fieldwood filed for bankruptcy in February 2018. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in April after restructuring its debt.

Fieldwood retained advisers to study an IPO last year in hopes to list on the stock market in 2019, seeking a valuation of more than $5 billion, according to media reports in September.

However, Fieldwood has been unable to pursue an IPO after several years of underperformance in the stock market by oil and gas producers compared with other economic sectors, the people said. In the last 12 months, energy companies in the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 index are down 12 percent, compared with a 10 percent gain for the broader index.

(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S

By Julia Harte

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

The Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must be approved by federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump's presidency and first disclosed by Reuters, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits.

Congressional staffers confirmed to Reuters that the Trump World Tower lease requests were never submitted to Congress. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said his committee has been "stonewalled" in its efforts to obtain detailed information about foreign government payments to Trump's businesses.

"This new information raises serious questions about the President and his businesses' potential receipt of payments from foreign governments," Cummings said in a statement to Reuters. "The American public deserves full transparency."

A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved "matters related to ongoing litigation." The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which declined to comment before publication.

Following publication of this article, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten sent an email to Reuters describing the story as "inaccurate" and "misleading". He said Trump World Tower is owned by its third-party condominium owners and therefore Trump would not receive proceeds from the lease of such units.

Six legal experts said that regardless of who owns those units, the fact that Trump was collecting fees for managing the building while foreign governments were paying to live there represents a potential breach of the emoluments clause. Certain constitutional scholars counter that the definition of "emolument" should be more narrow, a view that Trump's attorneys share.

The 1982 Foreign Missions Act requires foreign governments to get State Department clearance for any purchase, lease, sale, or other use of a property in the United States. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Reuters obtained diplomatic notes sent to the agency under this requirement from early 2015 until late 2017.

The records show that in the eight months following Trump's January 20, 2017 inauguration, foreign governments sent 13 notes to the State Department seeking permission to rent or renew leases in Trump World Tower. That is more solicitations from foreign governments for new or renewed leases in that building than in the previous two years combined.

The governments of Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Thailand and the European Union got the green light to rent a combined eight units in Trump World Tower and followed through with leases, according to other documents viewed by Reuters and people familiar with the leases. Five of those governments - Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the European Union - had also sought to rent units there in 2015 and 2016, State Department records showed.

Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait.

"Letting this go without Congress knowing about it condones the creation of a second, opaque track of foreign policy," said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor at Yale Law School and former legal adviser at the State Department. "What it might lead to is a group of countries enriching the people in power on the mistaken belief that it's going to improve their access."

(For a graphic on foreign government leases at Trump World Tower, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2DHJKOS)

PAYMENT CHAIN

The 18-year-old luxury skyscraper is located next to the United Nations headquarters near the East River, and is not to be confused with Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue landmark where Trump maintains a residence.

Although Garten, the attorney, contended the emoluments question is moot because Trump World Tower units are owned by third parties, Trump does earn income through the Trump Corporation, a Trump-owned company that manages Trump World Tower and draws its income from fees paid by unit owners, according to the building's financial records.

In 2017, the president earned more than $15 million in management and related fees through the properties managed by the Trump Corporation, according to the president's financial disclosure. The document did not reveal how much of that sum came from Trump World Tower.

In at least eight instances in 2017, third-party owners in Trump World Tower leased their units to foreign governments. When privately-owned units are leased, their owners typically use that rental income to cover management fees and other common charges, according to two unit owners in Trump World Tower and four real estate experts interviewed by Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine exactly how the owners who leased the units to the foreign governments paid their fees.

But even if the condominium owners did not use their rental income to pay their common charges, it still could be considered an emolument because the foreign governments helped those owners defray their costs, with the benefit flowing to Trump, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law who has studied the history of Justice Department interpretations on the subject.

In other words, Clark said, payments passing through a chain of intermediaries to a U.S. official could still constitute emoluments because they could ultimately enrich and influence the behaviour of the official.

In legal opinions issued under previous administrations, Clark said, "the Justice Department has expressed concern that foreign governments would use companies as conduits for foreign emoluments."

However, South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said that foreign government payments that enrich a U.S. official should only constitute emoluments if they are "tied to the discharge of official duties." He has filed briefs in each emoluments lawsuit against Trump endorsing this view.

While U.S. presidents have rarely needed to seek approval of payments from foreign governments in the past, Trumps continued ownership of his vast network of businesses has left him exposed to more potential emoluments issues than any previous U.S. president, according to legal and ethics experts.

The revenue Trump draws from foreign government business at his properties, such as the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has sparked lawsuits by U.S. lawmakers and the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, alleging this income violates the emoluments clause. Defining exactly what constitutes an emolument is at the heart of those cases.

Trump's attorneys have argued in court that the Constitution only requires him to seek congressional approval for foreign emoluments offered in connection with his role as president. Trump has retained ownership of his global business interests while president, but handed off day-to-day control to his oldest sons and a longtime company executive.

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge denied Trump's motion to dismiss one of the emoluments lawsuits against him, saying Trump's narrow definition of emoluments was "unpersuasive and inconsistent". Courts may ultimately decide whether some of Trump's business dealings violate the Constitution.

Issuing such judgements is not the job of the State Department office in charge of reviewing foreign government property requests, according to Patrick Kennedy, who from 2007 to 2017 was the top State Department official in charge of the internal administration of the agency. He said that office's mandate is to screen for national security and diplomatic concerns, not for potential emolument violations.

If the State Department began obstructing requests from foreign governments to lease units in Trump-affiliated properties, he said, it could prompt them to retaliate against U.S. diplomats seeking housing in their territories.

"The State Department's interest in saying 'no' is probably zero if there's no security threat and we have good reciprocal relations with the countries," Kennedy told Reuters.

'CONVENIENT AND COMFORTABLE'

According to the State Department records obtained by Reuters, which covered the period from January 2015 through September 2017, Trump World Tower was the only Trump-affiliated building in the United States where foreign governments sought to lease or buy units.

In 2017, the median monthly asking rent for units in Trump World Tower was $8,500, according to real estate website StreetEasy. That was more than 2.5 times the median in the surrounding neighbourhood, known as Turtle Bay.

Some of the foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, had previously purchased property in the building, where the average unit currently sells for nearly $7 million, according to StreetEasy.

Mohammad Alkadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Mission to the United Nations, said Trump World Tower's prime location near U.N. headquarters was the kingdom's motivation to lease there.

"The governments pay for these units in the building not to get favours from Trump or anything, but just because it's very convenient and comfortable for us," Alkadi said. He said he moved into his own unit in Trump World Tower at the end of 2017.

Slovakia, another Trump World Tower renter, said in a statement that its lease was "fully in line with U.S. legislation and our internal guidelines." Slovakia's prime minister is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House today to discuss security cooperation and other issues.

The Malaysian mission to the United Nations said it was not currently renting a unit in Trump World Tower when reached by phone in April. It declined to comment on the unit it rented in 2017. That lease was confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the transaction.

All the other governments that sought to rent units after Trump's inauguration declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Jason Szep and Marla Dickerson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution.

The largest U.S. oil producer is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents had waived Title III of the Act, under which anyone whose property was nationalized after the 1959 Cuban Revolution can sue any individual or company profiting from their former holdings.

On Thursday two Cuban-Americans sued Carnival Corporation for using Cuban ports nationalized from the family members who owned them.

Exxon Mobil accuses the Cuban defendants of "unlawful trafficking in Plaintiffs confiscated property in violation of Title III of the ... Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996," according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Standard Oil refinery at Havana Bay, now operated by CUPET, was the first U.S. property taken over by Castro and his bearded revolutionaries after the company refused to process oil from the Soviet Union as tensions mounted with the United States.

CIMEX operates gasoline stations in Cuba with CUPET.

Standard Oil was broken up into several companies, one of which was Exxon, which merged with Mobil in a 1998 deal.

In the 1960s the United States certified 5,913 claims against Cuba valued at $1,9 billion of which Standard Oil and Mobil each have a claim valued at a combined $245 million according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York - based organisation whose expertise includes U.S. claims.

"This filing is significant. This is the fifth-largest company in the world using Title III of the Libertad Act to sue a company owned by the government of Cuba," said John Kavulich, president of the council.

"This provides comfort for other large claimants to sue, will increase fear by companies in other countries from engagement with Cuba due to the reach of Exxon Mobil and is consistent with Exxon Mobil efforts to recover assets in Venezuela and defend themselves in other countries," he said.

Under a Cuban law passed in 1996 in response to the Helms-Burton Act, certified claimants who take advantage of the Act will be disqualified from future settlements.

CUPET and CIMEX were not immediately available for comment.

An Exxon Mobil spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Cuba charges Title III violates international law because its nationalisation of property was legal and also because Cuban-Americans were not U.S. citizens when their properties were taken.

All other nations settled their citizens' property claims decades ago. Certified U.S. claims by American citizens at the time of expropriation were never settled.

Canada, the European Union and other countries charge the United States has no jurisdiction over their citizens' activity in Cuba and they will take the issue to the World Trade Organization, among other actions.

International opposition, and the fear that thousands of suits brought by Cuban-Americans would clog U.S. courts, led previous U.S. presidents to waive implementation of Title III.

Title I and II of the Helm-Burton Act codify all previous sanctions into law and set conditions for the U.S. Congress to lift them.

Title IV bans executives and their families from the United States if they profit from expropriated properties.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered.

The Gujarat government wants the best possible deal for farmers and has told PepsiCo India it can play the 'umpire' in its contract farming arrangement with potato farmers, Gujarats Chief Secretary J N Singh said.

Singh said the company was paying 'a good price' to farmers and the government wanted the contract farming programme to go 'smoothly'. He had suggested tripartite agreement as a model, where the government would be a party to a contract between PepsiCo and potato farmers.

Singh spoke to Firstpost after PepsiCo offered to withdraw the cases it had filed against nine farmers and two traders-cum-farmers for allegedly using its protected FL 2027 variety, which it sells under the trade name FC 5. PepsiCo had sued some farmers for Rs 20 lakh each. From others it had sought damages of Rs 1.05 cr each. A PepsiCo executive said the higher damages were meant to fast track the litigation and not for monetary gain.

The FL 2027 variety was registered in the United States in February 2004 and enjoys protection there till February 2024. PepsiCo India Holdings commercialised the variety in India in December 2009. It applied for registration under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 in February 2011, two months after the PPVFR Authority allowed new varieties of 11 crops including potato to be registered. Registration for FC 2027 was granted in February 2016. It will remain protected in India till February 2031.

PepsiCo was forced on the back foot by a backlash on social media. More than 190 organisations and individuals which claim to speak for farmers urged PepsiCo to take back its suit. The company was also on weak grounds legally because Indian law gives not just exemptions from breeders rights to farmers but also active entitlements. Congress Party leader Ahmed Patel chided the company and the Gujarat government. PepsiCo felt isolated.

Rather than risk further damage to its reputation, Pepsico India withdrew the litigation. This has been passed off as a triumph of the underdogs and a reminder to multinational corporations that however high they might be, the Indian law is above them.

Ashwani Mahajan, Co-Convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar which supports economic nationalism tweeted that it was a moral victory for farmers.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch had condemned PepsiCos decision to sue farmers in Gujarat. Pepsi: PepsiCo should have apologised for intimidation of farmers; ASHA - The Economic Times https://t.co/Nc2kt7ICtd  ASHWANI MAHAJAN (@ashwani_mahajan) May 3, 2019

Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable settlement to all issues around seed protection, PepsiCo India said in a statement.

If PepsiCo had persisted with the litigation, an opportunity would have been afforded to the courts to clarify the extent to which the entitlements of farmers could abridge the rights of breeders, a legal executive at an Indian agricultural biotechnology company with a portfolio of IPRs said. The section of the PPVFR Act granting farmers the exemption to save, share, exchange and sell produce and seed of even protected varieties (in an unbranded form) has not been legally tested, she said.

The Act says farmers will be deemed to be entitled in the same manner as before the law came into force. The legislative intent, she said, was to permit the customary practice of farmers using saved seed for sowing. The courts would have been able to say when a farmer selling the seed of a protected variety became a trader.

PepsiCo is the largest procurer of chips-quality potatoes. It buys 3 lakh tonnes annually from 24,000 contract growers. It paid about Rs 10 a kg in the last season. That would have resulted in a transfer of Rs 300 crore to farmers. The sued farmers were not on contract to PepsiCo India. If they wanted to supply chips-quality potatoes to PepsiCos rivals they have a choice of non-protected varieties like Lady Rosetta, ATL or Atlantic and Chipsona 1, 2, and 3.

PepsiCo India executives say they have been advertising in local newspapers that FC 5 is protected. They have distributed pamphlets in villages to create awareness and also told cold storages not to stock FC 5, which is meant for is captive use.

PepsiCo India had offered to buy FC 5 produce from the sued farmers and invited them to become its contract growers the next season. It had sold FC 5 seed to its contract growers at Rs 20-25 a kg depending on size and had brought produce from them at about Rs 10 a kg.

PepsiCo India executives say FC 5 gives it a competitive advantage. It is higher-yielding, has a higher proportion of dry matter and lower percentage of reducing sugars. But Vinay Bhardwaj, Head of Crop Improvement at the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, says ATL was better in some respects. Ismail Sheru, a contract grower in Banaskantha of French fry-quality potatoes for McCain, a Canadian supplier to McDonalds was also of the same opinion.

PepsiCos rates were similar to those offered by Hyfun Frozen Foods, which has 1,200 farmers on contract and procured 62,000 tonnes of potatoes in the last season. The company has a processing plant at Mehsana and supplies French fries to Burger King and KFC. It charged Rs 26 a kg for seed and paid Rs 9 a kg for potatoes at the farm gate.

The backstory is that Fulchand Kachchhava, the Managing Director of Tirupati Balaji Potato Chip, a company that procures potatoes for Balaji Wafers is orchestrating the agitation. The companys registered office is in Deesa, Banaskantha. Kachchhava and his brother, who are also potato growers, were among the 11 who were sued.

Kachchhava admitted to Firstpost that he was procuring 40,000 tonnes of potatoes. He had bought at the rate of Rs 9.50-10 a kg. These were both cooking variety and chip quality. He said he went by the characteristics of potatoes and not their trade names. He denied backing the sued farmers or engaging a PR agency to smear PepsiCo. I dont know what a PR agency is, he asserted.

Kachchhava said farmers were agitated by PepsiCo action. Till it withdrew the suits, farmers unions have decided to continue with the 'seed andolan' or protest at its potato collection points. They might even boycott its contract farming programme, he added.

Contract farming is good for farmers. It gives them the assurance of prices. India wants to encourage it. It has drafted a model law for the states to enact. Farmers also gain from hand-holding in good agronomic practices.

PepsiCo says it encourages sustainable practices like water-saving drip and sprinkler irrigation, the application of precise quantities of liquid fertilisers and the use of labour and cost-saving machines for planting, spraying and harvesting.

In the late 1980s, when PepsiCo sought a license to ply its soft drinks business in India, the government made horticultural development a pre-condition. Under the leadership of Ramesh Vangal, PepsiCo India set up a tomato processing plant in Punjab. It got farmers to grow tomatoes under contract. The varieties they planted were tall with fruit at various stages of ripening. These could be plucked manually with family labour.

Since the harvesting was in instalments and not in one go, the processing plant was smaller than in the developed countriesappropriate for a country with scarce and expensive capital. The pasteurised paste was of a quality that was acceptable to the finicky Japanese market. PepsiCo also introduced techniques like deep chiselling to break the hard pan that was formed about two feet below the surface in Punjabs fields due to compaction by tractors. This allowed plants to access underlying nutrients.

Another contract buyer, McCain, also changed the way potatoes were grown in the Banaskantha region. Before it began its operations in 2006, farmers would flood irrigate their fields. They would tap into the aquifers recharged by the River Banas. The water used over the course of a four-month period, from sowing to harvesting, if stacked, would rise to a column about two feet high.

McCain converted the farmers to micro-irrigation. With information provided by its weather stations, its agents in the field would tell them when to irrigate and how much. Not only was water saved but pests and diseases caused by humidity decreased. Jalgaon in Maharashtra has become a banana hub because of Jain Irrigation. The state is the second largest producer of bananas. Jain Irrigation promoted the cultivation of the fruit through a combination of tissue culture, drip irrigation and fertigation. It replaced traditional varieties with the high-yielding Grand Naine from Israel in the early 1990s.

While speaking at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association in Delhi in December 2017, NITI Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand said the involvement of companies was essential for profitable and innovative agriculture. But their share in agricultural investment at 2 percent was very low compared to that of farmers (84 percent) and the government (14 percent).

Indias milk revolution was brought about by Amuls contract dairy farming and the Green Revolution in north-west India was due to the price, procurement and hand-holding support given by the Indian government.

It will be a hollow victory for farmers if companies like PepsiCo India who benefit farmers through contract farming arrangements are painted as villains for trying to protect their intellectual property.

(The author is a senior journalist. He tweets @smartindianagri)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

ANI reported while Kejriwal was waving to the people at the roadshow he was holding for the Lok Sabha polls, an unidentified man climbed his car and slapped him. CNN-News18 further reported that the man who slapped him has been taken into custody by Delhi Police.

The Delhi chief minister has been attacked several times since he entered public life.

On 20 November, Kejriwal was attacked by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

The incident occurred at 2.10 pm when the chief minister was leaving for lunch.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal for his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Transport Nagar of Rajasthan's Bikaner district, PTI reported.

Following the ink attack, ABVP activists Dinesh Ojha and Vikram Singh were taken into custody.

In April 2016, a man identified as Ved Sharma and claiming to be from the Aam Aadmi Sena (a breakaway faction from Aam Aadmi Party) threw a shoe at the Delhi chief minister when he was addressing a press conference in the secretariat.

Sharma was eventually detained by the police.

In March 2016, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Punjab's Ludhiana. The car's windshield was broken in the attack, The Hindu reported. Kejriwal was in Ludhiana on the last day of his tour to Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI
Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said

Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. IMD also said that it is expected to further weaken over the course of the day on Saturday.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 on Saturday with four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, three each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and one each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, briefed the media after the storm ebbed on Saturday and said, "A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri and almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers."

In West Bengal, a total of 52,297 people were evacuated from 131 gram panchayats and put up in 723 rescue shelters. However, some people returned to their homes as the situation improved on Saturday. At least 771 houses have been fully or partly damaged.

Disruptions in traffic were reported in Garb2, Kharagpur 1, Keshiary and Mohanpur blocks due to broken trees. Power supply has also been restored by WBSEDCL

The cyclone left a trail of destruction to life and property after it made landfall in Odisha's Puri on Friday morning, with several structures collapsing in the district's temple town. The cyclone then moved into West Bengal via Kharagpur in the wee hours of Saturday. The effects of the cyclone were also felt in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Kolkata airport resumed operations, however, dozens of people were stranded at Howrah station in the city as most trains under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway remained cancelled. National carrier Air India offered to deliver relief material to affected areas free of cost. The airline resumed operations at Kolkata airport around 9.30 am on Saturday.

The CS FANI over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards & weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 0830 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6N & long 88.8E. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs. pic.twitter.com/VzDrqMJK2F  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 4, 2019

The airport in Odisha's capital, Bhubaneshwar, is likely to resume operations on Saturday. The equipment at the airport was significantly damaged on Friday but flight operations are expected to begin by 1 pm, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The passenger terminal building at Bhubaneswar has been considerably damaged, particularly at the rooftop and facades... Based on the feedback and action taken, it was decided that Bhubaneswar will resume commercial flight operations with effect from 1300 IST on May 4, 2019," the statement said.

However, as state governments and the Centre took stock of the damage in the wake of the storm, reports said that even though Digha was expected to face a major impact of the cyclone, the situation seemed calm on Saturday morning despite heavy rainfall on Friday night.

The IMD in Alipore was quoted as saying that there was no more threat from Cyclone Fani for West Bengal, as it has headed towards Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governors of West Bengal and Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situations and said that he will visit Odisha on Monday, 6 May. Monday also happens to be the election day for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election. He also said that he had spoken to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and "assured continued support" from the Centre.

During his conversation with West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centre's readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," Modi said in a tweet.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans were expected to be hit by the storm that then moved towards Bangladesh and is likely to taper off.

Modi also extended the Centre's support to Odisha governor Ganesh Lal and said that the people of the state had shown "exemplary courage" in the face of the "natural disaster".

The United Nations agency for disaster reduction on Saturday commended the IMD's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life.

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Goa President, Ahraz Mulla has written a letter to the President, Prime Minister and Union HRD Ministry requesting them to postpone NEET exam, in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone 'Fani' in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," the letter reads.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm. The storm was initially categorised as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" by the IMD.

Effects of Cyclone Fani were felt as far as the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying. The Nepali government issued a warning that heavy snowfall was expected in the higher mountain areas with rain and storms lower down, and asked trekking agencies to take tourists to safety.

Hundreds of climbers, their guides, cooks, and porters huddled at the Everest base camp, according to Pemba Sherpa of Xtreme Climbers Trek, who said weather and visibility were poor. May is the best month to climb the 8,850-foot Everest when Nepal experiences a few windows of good weather to scale the peak.

It is still the beginning of the month, so there is no reason for climbers to worry that weather from the cyclone will cost them their chance to reach the summit, Sherpa said.

With inputs from agencies and 101 Reporters
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Priya Ramani, then began her cross examination of MJ Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details.

New Delhi: Former Union minister MJ Akbar came face to face with journalist Priya Ramani during a courtroom battle on Saturday. Akbar, who has slapped a criminal defamation suit against Ramani for going public with sexual misconduct allegations against him, recorded his statement in the case. When it came to the cross-examination, however, Akbar did not reveal much, choosing instead to claim that he did not have much memory of what happened then.

Several prominent women journalists were also in attendance in court, in a show of support to Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "unwarranted, defamatory and mala fide". India's one-time Minister of State for External Affairs, Akbar began by essaying his careergraph  often a technical necessity in defamation cases, seeing that to put forth such a charge one would need to prove that there was a reputation of some worth to begin with in the court.

After speaking of his lengthy career spanning several publication houses and ultimately in the North Block, Akbar went on to say that he was in Africa when the allegation against him was levelled by Priya Ramani. "There was a curious anomaly. The original article in Vogue did not contain my name. I can infer that this was because the inclusion of my name would have been defamatory. The tweet however referred specifically to me, MJ Akbar," he said, alleging that the allegations had adversely affected his public life.

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, then began her cross examination of Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details. However, Akbar responded to most of the questions with "I do not remember".

John began with an examination of why Akbar had not mentioned in his detailed deposition that he had been a Congress MP from Bihar's Kishan Ganj from 1989 to 2002, a spokesperson of the party in 1988, and that he had lost on a Congress ticket in 1991. Moving on from her allegation of Akbar's "political opportunism", displayed by several U-turns in his political career, John went on to ask him if the Delhi High Court had indeed issued a contempt notice to him in 2003, when he was editor-in-chief of The Asian Age for "deliberate false reporting court proceedings."

A verbal battle broke out between Luthra and John over the former's interjections several times in the course of the cross-examination at this point. This was also the point from which onwards Akbar noted not remembering much. Among things he claimed to have never known or forgotten were where Ramani studied, whether he had asked her to meet at a hotel after 7 pm, and whether a friend had dropped her to the hotel.

Proceedings then had to be stopped for the day as Akbar's counsel claimed he had engagements for the day. Judge Vishal, while agreeing to the request, ended with a curt advice to "come prepared for the full day on the next date."

The court posted the matter for the next hearing on 20 May.

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on 17 October last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations.

With inputs from Bar & Bench and PTI
A string of incidents of people being injured because of explosives detonating accidentally have been reported in Kashmir.

On a Friday afternoon in February this year, a loud bang left two children soaked in blood at Rahmoo village in Jammu and Kashmir. After a grenade exploded near a river bed, eleven-year-old Intizar Bashir and his 12-year-old playmate Junaid Bilal lay writhing. Five days later, the older one died at a hospital in Srinagar. Hours before the explosion, the curious children had brought the grenade from a gun battle site in the neighbouring village of Drubgam, in which two militants were killed on 1 February, according to a police report.

The explosion led to injuries to Intizar's face and arm. His father, 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad Bhat, said, "The blast tore off the flesh from my sons face, and we had to get his arm operated...The children just picked up the shells out of curiosity. Security forces told us that my son was lucky that the grenade did not explode in his hands but hit a river bed."

Junaid's father Bilal Ahmad Wani said that his son succumbed to multiple shrapnel wounds that he had received in the head and limbs. A fragment of a shell had hit him in the head and he died at a hospital in Srinagar, he said, adding, I was praying at a mosque when I received a call from a neighbour telling me that my son was wounded. I was deeply shocked and it left me shattered.

Wani said that the government is considering compensating the families as "the police report mentions that they are not involved in any criminal case. He added, We have filed an application for compensation with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.

The explosion at Rahmoo is among a string of such incidents reported in Kashmir. Several people have sustained injuries, while some people have died due to leftover shells exploding. In some cases, children collect shells from sites of gun battles between security forces and militants. In some other cases, blasts take place while people remove the rubble of damaged houses.

In a recent such example, on Wednesday, two boys were wounded as they were playing with a shell in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. They were fiddling with the shell near a water tank, when it burst, leaving them injured, said a police official. He described the blast as mysterious, adding that the nature of the explosive that resulted in minor injuries to the boys is being ascertained.

In Kashmir, for several years, human rights activists had campaigned against the use of a large swathe of a land close to a civilian area in central Kashmirs Budgam as an artillery firing range. Following public pressure, the army abandoned the area. But now, explosives that are not cleared from encounter sites are posing a new threat.

In the past four months, fatalities have been reported in at least half a dozen explosions across Kashmir. In October 2018, 6 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at an encounter site at Kulgam. In another incident, a shell exploded as a boy was playing with it, while another one detonated at a school in Sirnoo area of Pulwama, leaving several injured. Fatalities in similar incidents have been reported from Shopian as well.

Human rights activists have denounced authorities for their failure to clear shells from gun battle sites. Activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo said that it is the responsibility of the government forces to clear explosives from gun battle areas.

In some cases, bodies of militants are left badly charred as the houses are blown up through the use of heavy shells. The forces are not adhering to their own standard operating procedures (SOPs). They dont sanitise areas to clear explosives, he said.

However, Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Kulgam, Gurinderpal Singh, said that youth converge at gun battle sites, and disrupt operations launched to clear the areas of any explosives.

We even put up banners asking the youth not to gather near encounter sites until combing has been completed. But they dont adhere to the advisories, due to which, at times, it becomes difficult to ensure a foolproof clearing operation, he said.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar.

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The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'. With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj said on Saturday that while Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati had allegedly called him a "gunda" or thug at a rally in Gonda, "she is Uttar Pradesh's gundi." Singh added that Mayawati had allegedly threatened to throw him into jail after elections.

Sam Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress chief said on Saturday that the BJP was sure to lose the Lok Sabha election and slammed its charge over citizenship against Rahul Gandhi. "He has been a Member of Parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the Parliament. You worked with him in Parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate the intelligence of Indian people," Pitroda told ANI.

"...you are a hilarious man!!! Anyway, we are still granting visas to Pakistanis for medical tourism. I will personally take you to a psychiatrist," Gambhir tweeted. He is the BJP candidate for the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Afridi in his just-released autobiography Game Changer had sarcastically referred to Gambhir as someone who "behaves like a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond," and has a "lot of attitude and no great records"

Not known to pull back punches, Gautam Gambhir hit back at Shahid Afridi, offering to take him to a session with "a psychiatrist" after the former Pakistan captain wrote a few uncharitable things about the Indian opener.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

He also accused the Congress of playing fast and loose with Mayawati's confidence. "Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behen ji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. A party which was staking a claim to the prime minister's post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said.

Narendra Modi, at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday, directed a tirade at the alliance, calling it a 'mahamilavat'. He said the alliance had five evils, including corruption, unstability, communalism, dynasty and misrule. He particularly cited a news report which claimed Rahul Gandhi's one-time business partner had received offset contracts during the UPA's rule, just what the Congress has been accusing Modi of orchestrating for Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal. He also alleged that several summons had been sent to Rahul by the government, presumably to deal with his corruption, but said that Rahul was waiting for the time when his government would come in power and these cases could be done away with. It is not known which cases Modi was referring to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

But the poll panel was unanimous Thursday disposing a third complaint against Modi, finding no violation of the poll code by him in his speech in Barmer in Rajasthan where he had warned Pakistan, saying Indias nuclear arsenal is not meant for Diwali, Express has reported.

A high-ranking source in the Election Commission told NDTV that on five occasions, one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let PM Modi and Amit Shah off the hook for their comments.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said.

On the Congress' claim that as many as six unpublicised surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA's tenure, the party's adviser on matters of national security said, "Call them surgical strikes, call them cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of the exact dates and areas that have been brought out."

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Yoga exponent Ramdev, along with a few other godmen, have filed a complaint with the Haridwar SSP against CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury for his statement, "Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence and battles,"

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the only Member of Parliament, who holds the distinction of being thoroughly disliked as the serving representative of the Amethi parliamentary constituency and yet having been re-elected from there three consecutive terms. Since the last 15 years, thousands of people  who even say that he has consistently failed on every count for last three term  would still vote for him because of the emotional connect they have had with the Gandhi-Nehru family.

'Won't abandon Rahul Gandhi when he needs us most': Amethi voters admit to lack of development but are 'bound by emotions'

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Jharkhand: A polling station in Ramgarh, under Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the looks of coaches of a train. The Parliamentary constituency will undergo voting on 6th May, in the fifth phase of #LokSabhaElection2019 pic.twitter.com/5WHVsS6G9P

A polling station in Ramgarh, under the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the look of a rail coache. The Parliamentary constituency will go to polls on 6 May, in the fifth phase of the election.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister and the party's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani are holding a roadshow in Amethi, a seat held for generations by members of the Gandhi family.

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

At his Basti rally, Narendra Modi once again spoke of Diwali as a synonym for warfare on Pakistan. "Every Indian has waited for the day when Pakistan-supported Masood Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the world's biggest organisation. Our government was so powerful that Pakistan must wait for Diwali now or find itself compelled to deal with Masood Azhar," Modi said, adding that his own strength had compelled Pakistan to deal with the problem.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said. Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'.

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the chowkidar chor hai jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The army, air force or navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are . When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

On the last day of campaigns before the fifth phase of the election on Monday, Modi will campaign in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister is scheduled to hold rallies in Pratapgad and Basti in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, he is expected to address rallies in Valmiki Nagar.

BJP president Amit Shah is expected to hold a roadshow in Rahul's home constituency of Amethi. He will also address rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to declare a ceasefire during Ramadan and stop crackdown and search operations during the holy month

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the government of India that just like a ceasefire was put in place during Ramadan last year, crackdowns and search ops should be stopped, so that people of Jammu and Kashmir spend at least this one month in relief," Mufti said addressing told media.

"I would also like to appeal to the militants that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," she added.

Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

"Whether it is imposing a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF and after that the manner in which business was stopped on Muzaffarabad Road and it was announced that highway will be closed for two days. It feels like the government of India wants to break the backbone of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the garb of militancy. They want to completely end our economy," Mufti said.

"Ever since the elections have begun, a lot of people are being arrested in the name of stone pelting. In this kind of an atmosphere, it is difficult to understand how they will be able to work with people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"They have left no stone unturned to push people of Jammu and Kashmir to the war. Because of this alienation is increasing. The space of the Jammu and Kashmir people - democratic space, economic space or financial space - they all are being choked... They have made life hell for the Kashmiris," the former chief minister added.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

NEET dress code 2019: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), the nodal body for the country's biggest undergraduate entrance test for medical courses, has prescribed a specific dress code for the applicants, which has been mentioned in the official brochure too. The 2019 NEET dress code is well-defined by the NTA in terms of clothes, footwear and other accessories.

This has been done to prevent cheating and to maintain the fairness of the exam. The exam body said: "The NTA believes in the sanctity and fairness of conducting the Examination, however, it also believes in the sensitivity involved in frisking (girl) candidates and will issue comprehensive instructions accordingly to the staff and other officials at the Examination Centres."

NEET 2019 dress code has been mentioned in the brochure on page 52 along with the list of barred items that cannot be worn or carried to the exam hall. The NEET dress code 2019 will also be mentioned in the admit card of the candidates to point out what would be allowed and what would not be allowed on the day of the exam.

However, we are listing down the major highlights here for convenience.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is allowed?

Male examinees are advised to wear simple shirt or t-shirt without any elaborate embroidery, multiple pockets, large buttons or patchwork motifs. The simple shirt or t-shirt qualifying as NEET dress code 2019 should be of half sleeves. Candidates wearing trouser, slippers or sandals are allowed to appear for the examination. Kurta pajama is not allowed for male aspirants.

Likewise, women candidates are asked to opt for simple kurtas in half sleeve without any embroidery or pockets. As per NEET 2019 dress code, Salwars and trousers are suggested for women candidates. All female aspirants are advised to wear slippers or sandals with low heels as shoes are not allowed in the examination hall.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is not allowed?

Light clothes with half sleeves and long sleeves are not permitted. Closed footwear, like shoes, is not permitted to the exam centre. Candidates who wish to wear cultural or customary dress to the exam centre should report at least an hour before the reporting time for proper frisking.

Burqa or head scarves come under this section. As per the Delhi High Court order, Sikh candidates will be allowed to carry traditional kangha kara and kirpan with them. These articles will be considered as a part of the customary dress.

Any footwear that causes obstruction in searching or frisking will have to be removed by candidates before entering the exam hall.

Other sundry items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap etc are not allowed inside the exam hall. Watches/wrist watches, bracelets, or any kind of elaborate ornaments are also barred from the examination hall.
If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Some things never seem to change. One of them may well be the United States department of defences cartographic perception of the India-Pakistan boundary, which seemingly has not changed from the Cold War-era when India was seen to be a Soviet bloc follower. If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Released on Thursday (2 May), the Pentagon's much-awaited 123-page annual report to the US Congress called Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China 2019, had at least 10 maps of the relevant region where Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is shown to be inside Pakistan. The delineation of the India-Pakistan boundary lies in the realm of political controversy because of the Kashmir issue.

While Indias claim over PoK is ignored, the region is shown to be a part of Pakistan as a result of which the disputed status of the region is glossed over. But at the same time, the disputed status of the Aksai Chin region which Indian claims, but is under the effective control of China, is acknowledged.

In one particular illustration on page 78 of the report, the 1972 Line of Control (LoC) is mentioned on the map but the area India referred to as PoK is shown to be totally under Pakistan. Pakistan calls a large swath of this region Azad Kashmir. The LoC is the line that divides Kashmir and signifies the military control on either side.

The Pentagon is another name for the United States department of defence which is mandated to submit such a report to the US Congress every year. This year, the report has been prepared at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. In the past too, India had complained to the US several times whenever official US government maps failed to acknowledge Indian territorial claims. In most cases, the US made the appropriate rectifications.

While omitting any reference to the disputed India-Pakistan border, the report specifically mentioned the bickering over the India-China border. It says: Tensions remain with India along the shared border over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is part of Tibet and therefore part of China, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau. Chinese and Indian patrols regularly encounter one another along the disputed border, and both sides often accuse one another of border incursions.

Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a bitter 73-day stand-off in the Doka La near Sikkim before it ended on 28 August, 2017. The Indians objected to Chinese road building in a disputed area. It was followed by another incident at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, but that was also resolved.
The government in its Saturday response held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The Centre, Saturday, filed a fresh affidavit in the Rafale case, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions demanding a detailed investigation into the case on the grounds of national security. The BJP-led central government has argued that disclosing the procurement process will have "grave repercussions on existence of Indian state" and on national security, given the current environment in the country, as well as in neighbouring ones.

The Centre had been asked to file a reply latest by today (Saturday) on petitions seeking review of last December's verdict in which the apex court had dismissed pleas challenging India's deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

In its 14 December order, the Supreme Court had ruled that it was satisfied by the government's submissions and dismissed all petitions demanding a probe into the controversial defence deal. The court had asserted that the Rafale deal was not a case of "commercial favouritism", as opposed to what was being alleged by Opposition parties.

However, in the light of some media reports highlighting fresh facts about the negotiation process of the deal, and the alleged "parallel negotiations" by the prime minister's office, the Supreme Court had agreed to review its order.

The government, however, in Saturday's response, held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The reference here was to a report in The Hindu, which leaked a "dissent note" by a defence ministry official objecting to the PMO's parallel discussions which has weakened the negotiation of the MoD and the Indian Negotiating Team.

The government had then opposed the admissibility of these documents as proof, stating that these were stolen from classified government files and had submitted that the "privilege documents" were procured by petitioners illegally. However, the court had shot down this "peculiar argument", maintaining that documents revealed by media without authorisation can also be treated as admissible evidence in public interest.

Now, the Centre has admitted to the PMO's intervention in the negotiation process but has claimed that mere "monitoring" by the prime minister's office of an important deal did not translate to conducting "parallel negotiations" with the French side.

"Monitoring of the progress by PMO of this Government to Government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations," the government told the Supreme Court.

The government also raised questions on the Supreme Court order of 10 April, allowing the submission of these documents saying that the by letting closely guarded State secrets be obtained through whatever means will have "great repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State".

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. A deal to procure the jets was signed between India and France in 2015. The delivery is expected to begin in September this year.

With inputs from @utkarsh_aanand and @ANI
By Azera Parveen Rahman Like fish trapped in a net, Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in the Kutch region, Ismael pointed at the massive structure of an ultra mega power plant releasing water from its outfall channel. Another power plant stands on the other side. They said it (power plant) would not adversely affect us. Truth is, it has driven away the fishes and nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing, he said. Ismael Ali does not have scientific data to support his claim. But when he, and other traditional fishermen like him in Traghadi, talk about the drastic drop in their catch ever since the 4000 megawatt Tata Mundra Power Plant came up in Tunda, in the vicinity of their village less than a decade ago, it strongly indicates the correlation. Before the thermal power plant came up, we used to fish here, in this intertidal zone and get 60-70 kilograms of fish every day. We now barely get two kilograms, he said. Pagadia fishing nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing is a traditional form of fishing in the intertidal waters of Kutch wherein the fishermen use only nets; pag from Pagadia means foot, indicating they go as deep into the water as their feet can take them. Mundra falls within the seven-kilometre intertidal zone where these fishermen live, and this type of fishing typically takes place during the 'off-season', between April/May to August, when the monsoon winds pick up, making it unsafe for boats to venture deep into the sea. For as long as I can remember, this type of fishing helped us sustain during the off-season, and we would get a very good catch. The women would sell the fishes in the nearby town and villages, Ismael said. But now, because there is not enough to sustain ourselves and we dont know any other work, the fishermen families go to moneylenders to help them see through this period. The debt builds up, and the rest of the year goes in repaying that.

Hussain and Ismael (L to R). Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

The imported coal-fired thermal plant became functional in 2012, but Hussainbhai, another Pagadia fisherman of the same village, said that not only were they "not consulted beforehand, but were later told the water from the outfall channel would be let off in a different direction that would not affect them in any way. However, the released water which is much hotter  seven to eight degrees warmer  came where we typically went fishing. Over time, the fisheslike pomfret and lobsters that were found in abundance earlier  started disappearing. Malai, Ser, Khagai (local names), all migrated elsewhere. Now we mostly get small fishes, thats it, he said. The Gulf of Kutch has nearly 200 species of fishes. Standing close to the Tata Mundra Power Plant is the Mundra Power Project by the Adani group. Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) which works for the fishermen community, said, The Tata Mundra Power Plant uses an open-cycle cooling system and releases 6,000 lakh (600 million) litres of water of higher temperature through its outfall channel, per hour. The Adani power project has a somewhat lesser impact because it uses a close-cycle cooling system, which means it cools the water before releasing it back into the sea; it releases 600 lakh (60 million) litres per hour. Although a 2015 law required all plants to install cooling towers to minimise thermal pollution by the end of 2017, the Tata plant has failed to do so, he added. In 2008, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a pan-India wildlife research organisation, assessed the possible future effect of the Tata Mundra Power Plant on the surrounding coastal and marine biodiversity, so that proactive measures could be taken to minimise the ecosystem damage. Published on the companys website, the report says that the 4.9-kilometre-long outfall channel through which the sea water is released into the open water of the Gulf of Kutch, crosses the Modhva creek. The channel will be carrying the saline water having seven degrees higher than the intake channel seawater, it said. The shoreline, intertidal area and the open sea adjacent to the outfall channel is rich in fisheries resources including elasmobranch (sharks). Traghadi, Salaya and Modhva have been considered as important fish landing centres. All these fall in the impact zone of the outfall channel, the report said. However this is a temporary (fishermen) settlement and is active only during the fishing season, i.e. September to May. Nearly 10 years on, the local fishermen say that not only has fishing during the peak season been affected  they now have to venture deeper into the sea, often risking venturing into international waters  but also during the off-season, nearly wiping away Pagadia fishing.

An abandoned fishermans settlement (left) near the outfall channel of the power plant in Mundra. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

Patel said that in the Mundra-Anjar region, 10,000-15,000 fishermen have been directly impacted by the industrialisation process along the coastline. Kutch also supplies the bulk of crude oil production. This and other factors have led to busy port traffic that also affects fishermen, he added. Coal ash from thermal power plants threatens life and livelihood The BNHS report also mentioned the adverse impact of high-temperature water on the breeding ecology of turtles. This area is an important nesting site for two endangered species  green sea turtle and the olive ridley turtle. Another impact on the fishermen is by the coal ash generated by the power plants. Although the Tata Mundra Power Plant says that all the coal ash it generates is stored within the plant premises and dry ash is transported in sealed carriers to the cement industry, the locals complain of its adverse effect on them. Gajendra Sinh, the Panchayat leader of Navinal village in the same area said, The coal ash from the power plants stains the fish that are left to dry, thereby reducing its market value by a big margin. Navinal has at least 40 fishermen families. Coal Kills, a joint report by the Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace estimated that the two coal-fired power plants in Mundra put the lives of 100-120 people of the region at risk of premature death. The clash between industrialisation and coastal ecology in Mundra with a direct socio-economic impact on the local population is just a sample of what is happening along Kutchs, and the rest of Gujarats, coastline. Nearly 60 percent of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) undertakings are along the coastline. In Kutch, particularly post the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, there has been a spurt in industries taking root, mainly cement, salt, and, along the coastline, of thermal power plants and ports. Mangroves are under threat too Yet another concern from the rapid industrialisation along Kutchs coastline, particularly by the salt industry, is mangrove destruction. Mahendra Bhanani of Sahjeevan, an NGO that works on the welfare of pastoralists and for the unique Kharai camel of Kutch, said that industries typically block a natural creek and create bunds that dont allow natural tidal water to come in. This dries up the mangroves and makes it easier for heavy machinery to uproot them, and create salt pans. The Rabari community  the tribe that typically owns the threatened species of Kharai camels that are highly dependent on the mangroves for feeding  near Tunda, voice a similar concern. The warmer-than-normal water from the power plants, they say, has been detrimental to the mangroves. In a village here, there was a time when almost every family owned Kharai camel. When the two power plants came up, its access to the sea was cut off by the canal and the conveyor belts built by the companies. So they now have to walk a much longer route to reach the sea, for the camels to swim to the mangrove islands. From around 2,500 camels a decade back, less than 200 remain in the village today. No hope from political leadership At a time when Indian political parties are going all out to appease voters and promising to meet their demands in the backdrop of the national elections, these local communities have little hope from them. For the villagers of Traghadi for example, politics makes no difference to their lives. It doesnt make any difference to us if Modi comes back to power or Rahul [Gandhi]. We are on our own, the Pagadia fishermen said.

(L to R) Bharat Patel, Jam Ismael, Hussainbhai. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

MASS filed a suit against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bankwhich had financed the Tata power plantin the US Federal Court in 2015 for failing to ensure that the plant complied with the environmental and social conditions of its loan. Although the US district court ruled that the IFC had absolute immunity, the US Supreme Court, on 27 February this year, gave a ruling in the Kutch fishermens favour, saying that the IFC does not have absolute immunity and can be sued. This was a landmark moment for us, said Patel, We are now pursuing the case legally. As part of their corporate social responsibility, the thermal power plants in Tunda have supplied drinking water to the villages in the vicinity. We dont want the lights, the water, nothing. Just give us our livelihood back and we will take care of ourselves, Ismael said. There was no official response from the Tata and the Adani group despite attempts to get one. The BNHS did not respond either. However, in a recent development, an official statement from the Tata group said that its Mundra plant is making consistent, significant losses and that its experience (in Mundra) has helped convince the company to turn away from new coal-fired power. *** This article was originally published on Mongabay.com Mongabay-India is an environmental science and conservation news service. This article has been republished under the Creative Commons licence.
Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

New Delhi: Stepping up the attack after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, finance minister Arun Jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on Saturday and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's ," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 percent stake) and US national Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.
The Bhil community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

Jaipur: Miffed at constant neglect from the government, a section of tribals inhabiting parts of central and western India have organised themselves as a formidable political force pushing for a separate state.

The Bhil tribe is demanding a separate Bhilistan state comprising 22 districts of four states: Rajasthan (five districts), Gujarat (seven), Madhya Pradesh (five), and Maharashtra (five). Their evolution in the political field is indicative of their commitment to the cause.

They first tasted success in 2017, when their student wing  Bhil Pradesh Vidyarthi Morcha (BPVM)  secured a clean sweep in colleges across Dungarpur, Sagwara, Banswara, and Khairwada in Rajasthan and came second in Udaipur, trouncing heavyweights ABVP and NSUI.

The 70-year-old slogan of Jai Bhil Pradesh resonated in the Rajasthan Assembly when it gathered for its first session in February. It was raised by two legislators belonging to the newly-formed Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), formed by Chotubhai Vasava, a legislator from Gujarat, in 2017. Rajkumar Roat won from Chourasi seat and Ramprasad Dindor won from Sagwara, both with decent margins. BTP contested 11 seats, won two, and did well in two other seats.

A fight for tribal might

Roat said, All we want is our rights as tribals, as Bhils. It hurts us when we are compared to Naxals. We are not against the state or union of India. All we want is reservation within reservation. Out of the 12 percent reservation for tribals, one community takes up 11 percent and all other tribals get a mere 1 percent. This must end.

BTPs MLA from Sagwara, Dindor, seconded him. Ensuring tribal rights is our main aim. For that, the formation of a separate Bhilistan is necessary. This was the slogan we raised in the Assembly on the first day, when we took oath in the name of nature  the sun, moon, rivers, mountains, and forests; these are our gods. We have arrived on the platform from where our voice can reach people, he said.

The Bhils are tribals, classified as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tripura.

In Rajasthan, they are the largest tribe. As per the 2011 census, there are more than 92 lakh people belonging to Scheduled Tribes in the state. This is 12 percent of the states total population and nearly 40 percent of its tribal population.

The Bhils established Rajasthans Banswara, Udaipur, and Dungarpur kingdoms, which are now districts. They also fought alongside Maharana Pratap in the Haldighati battle against emperor Akbar.

BTP state president Dr Vela Ram Ghoghra confirmed, We have fielded candidates from four seats, Banswara-Dungarpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Jodhpur. We hope to register our presence in the Parliament this time. Our candidates are Sansi Lal Roat from Banswara-Dungarpur, BL Sanwal from Udaipur, Amar Singh Kalunda from Jodhpur and Prakash Meena from Chittorgarh. We will regularly raise our demands through rallies, first in Rajasthan and later in Delhi."

Ghogra further said, Why is it that governors and Presidents, who are our guardians as per the Constitution, never took up our cause? Its time they did now.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be held on Monday, during which some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls.

How Bhils emerged in politics

Before jumping in the political arena, Bhil leaders had changed tactics and started initiatives to infuse pride in their historic icons among community members and establish the tribal identity. Over the last decade, birth anniversaries of community leaders and icons have been celebrated with increasing enthusiasm and participation.

In 2017, Adivasi Parivar, a Gujarat-based community-funded organisation helped to form BTP.

The RSS did intensive outreach programmes through its Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad. But it failed to stop Bhils from gravitating towards their own party.

The community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

The 2018 Assembly polls saw the BTP polling 12.5 percent votes in Bhil-dominated seats of Banswara, Dungarpur, Sagwara, Bagidora, Chorasi, Ghatol, Kushalgarh, and Gadhi in Rajasthan.

The Bhilistan dream

The demand for a separate state for Bhils was prominently discussed at the annual convention of the Adivasi Ekta Parishad organised in Silvasa on 14 and 15 January this year. The Parishad is the largest body of tribals.

The community wants Bhilistan formed out of Udaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Aravalli, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, a part of Surat, and Panchmahal in Gujarat; Nashik, Thane, Dhule, a part of Pune, and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra; and Jhabua, Dhar, Barwani, Khargone, and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

The 22 districts have a dominant population of Bhils, a tribe unique to these areas. Historians confirm that, during the British Raj, these areas were called Khan Desh for their mineral mines, and were also called Bhil Patti (strip). They have one language, one gotra, and similar food styles, traditions, and rituals.

(The author is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com)
Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only 'on paper' and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

New Delhi: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists  Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh  were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the army," the Congress chief said.

He said the army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it? It is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

Thursday, 2 May was quite an unusual day on Prime Minister Narendra Modis calendar. He stayed put in Delhi.

In a departure from his routine since the election season took over the country, he did not hop from state to state holding three rallies a day.

But today he will be back to that punishing schedule. It is likely to remain so for most of the remaining days of campaigning that ends on 17 May 5 pm.

Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

In around 125 days  from 25 December to 1 May  Modi has held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories. Directed at the ongoing elections, these programmes, however, have been only a part of all the activities that Modi has been a part of in this period. He has chaired 14 Cabinet meetings in the interim.

This post on Narendra Modi's website gives an account of his campaign and how he has been juggling politics and administration.

Take for instance, the days of 25 and 26 February just two months ago. Modi delivered a keynote address at the inaugural of the two-day Rising India Summit 2019 of News18 at Taj Palace hotel. He left the venue around 9 pm on 25 February, six hours before the air strikes on Balakot. He remained awake throughout the night to keep himself abreast of the IAF operation to destroy Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps at Balakot around 3 am on 26 February.

After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his next days schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am.

He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. Soon thereafter, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi and took a Metro ride from Khan Market to attend an event at ISKCON temple in the city.

"There can't be any substitute to Modi ji as PM. Our country needs an energetic, strong and vibrant leader like him. It's always easy to criticise ones work, but through his hard work and perseverance, Modiji has set an example before the young generation," says Atanu Das, a grocer in South Delhi.

In fact, Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah seem to have taken the wind out of the Oppositions sails with their whirlwind election campaigning.

One of enduring images from the 2019 election campaign will be the sea of humanity that took to the streets to welcome their MP, Narendra Modi, when he landed in Varanasi to file his nomination papers. Slowly winding through the streets of the city, the juggernaut of the procession underscored yet again the strength of Modis grassroots connect.

His connect with the masses has always operated at several levels such as the Townhall programmes, Pariksha Pe Charcha through which he has connected with students, Main Bhi Chowkidar programmes that have touched the nationalistic chord among the voters, or the radio programme Mann Ki Baat that gets citizens in the remotest corners tuned in to listen to their leader.

"Whether one likes or dislikes Narendra Modi or many of his statements and ideas, what can't be ignored is his die-hard spirit and energy that he brings to his election campaigning, besides running the country simultaneously as prime minister," says Rajeev Bakshi, an engineer working with an ITES company in Noida.

But the Prime Minister is a multi-tasker who did not allow the approaching elections to cast any shadow on the ongoing work of the government, even though the country knew that polls would have been the top priority for all political leaders in the last year of the current government in power.

Two big successes for the nation that the PM oversaw just before the elections were announced were the Balakot air strike and the successful conduct of the Anti-Satellite Missile Test (A-SAT) on 27 February.

Its quite clear that being on the go 24x7 and not showing any stress from it is one of the biggest assets that Modi takes to elections. That at 68 he can maintain a schedule over such a long time is a vote-catcher.
For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. BJD is expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 election.

For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. His party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)  named after his father Biju Patnaik  is widely expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly election.

However, Patnaik doesnt seem to be comfortable with the B factor. For the names of his two former associates-turned-bete noirs, start with the second letter of English alphabet: Bijoy Mohapatra and Baijayant Panda. Both are in his enemy camp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contesting polls. It was evident all within a space of less than a week on either side of the poll.

In the last and final phase of polls on 29 April, the entire state watched keenly the high voltage tussle between BJD and Naveens political enemy Baijayant Panda, seeking re-election from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. All thought the drama ended there. They were wrong.

On 30 April, while most of the leaders, following the grueling month-long campaign in terrible heat and energy-sapping humidity, searched for a welcome breather, Patnaik, who had also extensively held roadshows and addressed rallies for his party candidates, was in New Delhi.

He met the Election Commission (EC) and urged it to postpone polling in Patkura Assembly seat and withdraw the Model Code of Conduct for all the coastal districts in view of the severe cyclonic storm Fani. Polling in Patkura has been rescheduled for 19 May, following the death of the BJD nominee Bed Prakash Agarwal.

BJP knew what Patnaik exactly aiming at. So on 1 April, a BJP delegation, led by Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met the EC and urged it not to postpone the polls in Patkura seat  under Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat  from where its candidate Bijoy Mohapatra is contesting.

"The chief minister in his letter to the EC has mentioned that the cyclone is likely to hit Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. This is not correct. The cyclone is likely to hit Krushna Prasad block under Brahmagiri Assembly segment, which is 150 km from Patkura," Pradhan said in a statement.

Both politicians and experts realised that Patnaik's demand for postponing the elections in Patkura was a ploy to block his longtime rival Mohapatras entry into the Assembly. Mohapatra, who is at the centre of this political drama, doesnt seem to be bothered though. He has been through worse. Mohapatra said that Patnaik tried his best to postpone the election but when that failed, he went to the EC to delay it post 23 May. It shows his mindset. I cant imagine how someone can be so mean, Mohapatra said in between answering calls.

He exuded confidence that both he and Panda are going to win and Patnaik is aware of that. I have noticed from the minds of the people that they are very unhappy with Naveens tactics. There is a sympathy wave in favour of me. Baijayant Panda will also win, he declared.

Mohapatra said that Patnaik is scared of him. He is highly scared, therefore adopting such dirty politics. Naveen is just the opposite of his father and has a very small heart, he added.

Even leaders of the Congress, BJPs principal enemy, criticised Patnaik for such a move. They believe Patnaik is trying to scuttle Mohapatras attempt to get inside the Assembly, by hook or crook.

Naveen is in the habit of playing this type of politics. He dislikes honesty and efficiency. He thinks he can play with the entire democratic system, maintained senior Congress leader and Cuttack Lok Sabha candidate Panchanan Kanungo. He wants people around him who would remain surrendered and never raise their voice. When the state is about to face a natural calamity, the chief minister went to Delhi with his own personal agenda. This is really unfortunate, Kanungo, who once was the finance minister in Patnaiks cabinet, added.

Senior journalist Rajaram Satpathy, who hails from Patkura constituency itself, during his long career as a reporter has seen Kendrapara and Odisha politics closely. He too has watched political careers of Patnaik, Panda and Mohapatra, equally from close quarters.

According to him, Patnaik doesnt like to see the rise of the Panda-Mohapatra duo. Patnaik is against Panda due to his growing popularity. Panda as a two-term MP has done quite a lot of good work and is liked by the people of Kendrapara. Naveen is aware Mohapatras presence in the Assembly would create horrors for him. Otherwise, he wouldnt have forced Bed Prakash Agarwal to contest against Mohapatra, Satpathy believed.

But the BJD leaders are not ready to accept any such argument. Our president has always worked hard in the best interest of the state. If the BJP or others are thinking that BJD or our leader is against a particular leader, they are free to do so. Its their problem, said a block-level leader of the party. However, when asked about the reasons behind fielding an ailing Agarwal, he tried to avoid the question and said, Wait. The people of Patkura will tell us in the election what is right or wrong.

Incidentally, the entire state was baffled when Naveen announced Agarwal as BJDs candidate for Patkura. Consider this. While Patnaik chose to give rest to many seventy plus leaders like Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik (Berhampur), Jugal Kishore Patnaik (Bhadrak), V Sugnan Kumari Deo (Kabisuryanagar) and Jogendra Behera (Loisingha), he thought it prudent to nominate the 83-year-old Agarwal.

Not only that. The veteran leader, who was fighting for life in the ICU of a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar couldnt come to collect his ticket for nearly a week. Incidentally, Agarwals wife and son had met Patnaik and pleaded that the ticket be given to someone else in the family. But Patnaik maintained silence. On the other hand, he thought it apt to give tickets to sons of Pravat Tripathy (Banki) and Pravat Biswal (Cuttack-Choudwar). Both of them served jail terms for their links in the chit fund case.

The image of Agarwal filing nominations in a wheelchair, as beamed across TV channels, shocked all, as they dreaded the obvious. Agarwal passed away on 20 April. Ironically, the BJD then nominated his widow Sabitri Agarwal.

The voters have seen everything and they know the truth. Therefore, the sympathy wave that Naveen thought would help his party is not going to happen. Perhaps Naveen knows it and thats why he had approached the EC to postpone the election in Patkura, Satpathy said.

Patnaik-Mohapatra rivalry is part of the Odisha politics folklore. In the 2000 elections, Mohapatra headed the BJDs powerful political affairs committee. He was distributing tickets. He had filed his nomination and was sure of a successful return to the Assembly for a possible bigger role.

However, just a couple of hours before the deadline for filing nominations ended, Mohapatra, who was chairing a meeting of party leaders in Bhubaneswar, was informed of the cruel truth: someone else had filed nomination on the partys ticket. He didnt have the required time to even reach Kendrapara, let alone file nominations.

Since then, he experimented but remained in political wilderness.

Ironically, both Mohapatra and Panda were not only among the founding members of the BJD but they also regard Patnaik's maverick chief minister father with great respect and admiration. While the Twitter savvy, suave Panda always refers to Biju as 'uncle' for his familys long association with the senior Patnaik, Mohapatra, who welded immense power during Bijus rule (1990-95), cant stop lavishing praises on him. Biju babu was not only a great leader but also had a large heart. You rarely see such great men in Indian politics, Mohapatra said.

Kendrapara district was known as Biju Patnaiks karmabhoomi. The district has been loyal to the Biju family for over fifty years.
The 'full commission' which takes such decisions comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

On Saturday the Election Commission Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on 21 April. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

One of the two election commissioners gave a dissenting view in the decision of the 'full Election Commission' to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said on Friday.

The 'full commission', which takes such decisions, comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. In the past three days, the commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Congress against the prime minister, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

One of the election commissioners, according to the sources, gave a dissenting view in EC's decision to give clean chit to the prime minister on his speech at Wardha on 1 April where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Wayanad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama martyrs in Latur on 9 April.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the poll panel was unanimous in disposing of a third complaint against the prime minister for his speech in Rajasthan's Barmer where he warned Pakistan about India's nuclear arsenal. Every other day they used to say we have nuclear button, we have nuclear button. What do we have then? Have we kept it for Diwali? he said, as per the report.

However, NDTV reported that one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah off the hook for their comments on five occasions, as per a high-ranking source. In addition to Modi's speeches in Karnataka and Maharashtra and his questioning of Rahul Gandhi selecting the Wayanad seat, the fifth instance related to Shah's comments, also on Wayanad, where in a speech in Nagpur, he said "Rahul Gandhi is contesting in such a place where it is impossible to say when a procession is taken out, whether it is a procession in India or Pakistan."

Since it was not a quasi-judicial decision, the dissent was not recorded. It was a view verbally presented in the meeting, a functionary explained. The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 states that if the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The commission transacts its business by holding regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All election commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the commission.

With inputs from PTI
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, the Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modiji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modiji, it is a hollow structure and in 10-20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground." He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"The Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Rahul.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got the defence offset contract during the UPA's tenure, Rahul said he is ready for the investigations.

Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army. pic.twitter.com/wAPPISCXUq  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Rahul told reporters.

Rahul also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar chor hai' as he hasn't apologised for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan. "The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologise to BJP or Modiji. 'Chowkidar chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised, and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for 6 May. The results of all the phases will be announced on 23 May.

Rahul also slammed Modi for raising suspicion over the claims of the surgical strike during the UPA regime and asserted that doing so is an insult to the Army. On Thursday, Congress party claimed that six surgical strikes were conducted during former prime minister Manmohan Singh's regime from 2004 to 2014.

On Friday, Modi, in a rally in Rajasthan had said that the Congress had first objected "decisive" action against terrorist by way of surgical strikes and then claimed that they had also done the same. He also said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

In response, Rahul said: "The Army, Air Force or Navy is not personal properties of Narendra Modiji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress, but the Army. These air strikes were done by the Army and we do not politicise the Army. The prime minister should not insult the Army."

Rahul also claimed the Congress's internal assessment is clearly saying that the BJP is losing. "More than half of elections are over and there is a clear-cut feeling that Narendra Modi is losing. The main issues are jobs, farmers, corruption by the prime minister and attack on an institution.

"People of the country are asking questions. Unemployment is the biggest issue in front of the country. The country is asking that Narendra Modi had promised employment to 2 crore people, but today there is maximum unemployment in the country in 45 years. In Congress's manifesto, we have the first chapter on jobs whereas Narendra Modi is not speaking a word on jobs because he cannot speak over it.

"He cannot speak because he has no plan or vision on the issue," said Rahul.

The Congress president once again attacked the BJP on the issue of release of Masood Azhar and said, "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Government."
What makes things worse in the case of Rahul Gandhi is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse.

The India Today interview of Rahul Gandhi that was published in the groups magazine but wasnt aired on its TV channel (despite promos and teasers) for reasons unknown, proves a simple point. The Congress president is unfit for any public office, leave alone serving as Indias prime minister.

It is difficult to reach any other conclusion after going through the transcript of the interview. The interviewers were sympathetic. Not too many tough questions were asked, Rahul was given a free pass on dubious claims and allowed to go unchallenged on what he claimed were facts. They let him speak  and that is all the encouragement that the dynast needed to expose his ineptitude anew.

Obviously, this wasnt the first time Rahul has made a case against himself in public life. What came through in the interview, however, was that the Gandhi scion has sank deeper into his dystopian reality and started believing in own delusions.

This happens when a cocooned dynast  who has not been exposed to the rough and tumble of life, or has never done a real job to earn a living  is airdropped onto the top of an organisation not on merit but entitlement, and surrounds himself with sycophants who are determined to tell him only what he wants to hear.

The leader becomes cut off from reality, develops an exaggerated sense of self-importance and starts believing that the world revolves around him. It isnt a crime for a leader not to be an orator. For instance, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee are not known for their oratorical skills. Yet, they have repeatedly won electoral success and established their credentials as chief ministers and mass leaders.

It is possible that Rahuls grasp of reality is not sound enough for him to be able to deal with complex questions on policy and politics that he is expected to answer as a challenger to the prime minister. Then, he needs to do his homework and come up with sane responses to legitimate questions. The answers that he came up with are beyond belief.

What makes things worse in Rahuls case is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse. This has degraded his ability to self-detect the inconsistencies and gaps of logic in his arguments. And since nobody within his party dares point out to him these anomalies, his delusion becomes progressively deeper and may eventually become incurable.

For instance, when asked in the India Today interview whether he would like to be the prime minister or is ready to be one, the Congress president comes up with a sensible answer. Who am I to say that? About 900 million people are casting their votes, its up to them to decide. Whoever they choose, Im happy with that.

He says much the same thing in a recent NDTV interview.

This would mean that Rahul grasps the key factor in a democracy  it is the people who decide and choose their leaders. Keeping this in mind, let us see scrutinise his answer to a rather innocuous question on his fitness mantra. While describing the value of persistence in fitness, Rahul draws a political equivalence.

Everyone told me Mr Narendra Modi cant be defeated. I said, 'Yeah, you really think so? I asked them, Tell me what Mr Narendra Modis strength is. They said, His strength is his (incorruptible) image. I said, Okay, Im going to rip that strength to pieces. Im going to take it and shred it. And Ive done it. Persistence, my friend! Keep going and keep going and keep going. And I will keep going until the truth on Rafale is out!

This is an extraordinary comment at multiple levels. At one level, it shows Rahuls confusion about key tenets in a democracy. It is not for Rahul or any other politician to rip into shreds the reputation of a rival who enjoys popular support and mass appeal. Even after five years in power as prime minister, Narendra Modis popularity far exceeds that of his rivals, and he punches even above the weight of his own party. His popularity graph, according to surveys and opinion polls, instead of dipping towards the end of tenure seems to have got a second wind after the Balakot air strikes.

It is breathtakingly arrogant for the Gandhi scion to assume that he can make the electorate think on his terms and sway their opinion. The logic behind his assertion isnt clear.

At another level, these comments reveal that Rahuls charges against Modi on the Rafale deal are fictional. These charges are not based on facts but driven by Rahuls self-declared urge to rip Modis strength (incorruptible image) into pieces. Whats more, Rahul is convinced that he has done his job (of damaging Modis image ostensibly through concocted charges and insinuations). This may also explain why Rahul continues to play truant with facts on the Rafale deal "controversy" and remains entitled to his own unverified and constantly fluctuating statistics.

We shall soon know whether Rahuls confidence is well-founded or misplaced, but from surveys and reportages, it seems that allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal have failed to catch public attention and Modi still enjoys an image of incorruptibility despite Rahuls effort to rip it into pieces.

Rahuls comments on the privatisation of public sector entities such as Air India are equally worrying. Not because he believes in socialism, capitalism or market economy. It is not clear what exactly he believes in, because his answers are fuzzier than mist on a winter morning in Delhi.

The question by the India Today interviewers was rather straight: Are you for or against public sector disinvestment? Does Air India need to be shut down?

Rahuls answer: This, if I may be blunt with you, is too basic a question: are we against it or for it? He goes on to say that the Congress has a strategy on public disinvestment, and he hates being asked these simplistic questions. This is not the kind of question you should be asking a national political leader, its the kind of question you ask high school kids. Come at me with sophistication and Ill come back at you with sophistication.

It is unclear what exactly Rahul means by sophistication. Perhaps it is his belief that "my mother is my sister. My sister is my mother." He insists, "They are the same thing, the same force. They are not different." This level of sophistication, one suspects, might boggle the minds of ordinary folks.

Rahul shows the same level of sophistication while dealing with a question on his favorite fruit. According to him, vipassana has made his mind so adaptable that his mind can construct the flavour of the fruit. Which apparently means that, You can choose to like mango, you can choose to hate it. You can choose to like poor people, you can choose to hate them. You construct everything in your mind. The mind decides everything.

Interestingly, the India Today group seems to have chosen not to telecast the interview on its TV channel. One of the journalists belonging to the group clarified on Twitter that this was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week."

This was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress Presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week. https://t.co/yAd6xop0ZE  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 4, 2019

This clarification, however, runs thin on facts, because the media house had run promos and teasers of this interview on its channel.

And you say "watch" the most in-depth interview. pic.twitter.com/YNi804gdYH  Arun (@nonemnura) May 4, 2019

Dear Rahul kanwal, Your channel ran a ticker to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview at 6:30 on 2'nd of may Your channel's Twitter feed asked people to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview Now tell me how was it supposed to be a Print interview when you asked people to "watch" it https://t.co/yUBDWvVjnP     (@indiantweeter) May 4, 2019

It is quite clear that the understanding was that this interview was meant to be aired. The group wouldnt have run promos based on the Congress material. It is not clear at what stage it was taken off air, why and whether the group came under any sort of political pressure in not airing it.
Agence France-Presse

The fossilised remains of an early human cousin found in the mountains of Tibet prove mankind adapted to live at a high altitude far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

A jawbone dating from at least 160,000 years ago of a Denisovan  a now-extinct branch of humanity  is the first of its kind discovered outside of southern Siberia, and experts believe it holds the key to understanding how some modern-day humans have evolved to tolerate low-oxygen conditions.

Contemporaries of the Neanderthals  and like them, possibly wiped out by anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens  the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago.

Their existence was determined through a piece of the finger bone and two molars unearthed at the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia's Altai Mountains and dated to some 80,000 years ago.

But the new remains  discovered in passing by a local monk nearly thirty years ago  has led researchers to conclude that Denisovans were far more numerous, and far older than previously thought.

"To have beings, even if a little archaic, living at 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) on the Tibetan plateau 160,000 years ago... That's something that no one could have imagined until today," said Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Max Planck Institute's Department of Human Evolution.

The bone, found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe, China, was donated by the monk to a local museum, before scientists set about analysing its composition. It was so old no DNA could be extracted.

But Hublin and his team used the latest protein analysis to date one of its teeth and to link it genetically to Denisovan specimens found in Siberia.

"From my point of view it's confirmation of a working hypothesis I've had for a while: Nearly all Chinese and East Asian (hominim) fossils between 350,000-50,000 years ago are probably Denisovan," said Hublin, lead author of the study published in Nature.

Extraordinary

A recent research paper suggested that humans only reached the Tibetan plateau  a vast area of mountainous terrain north of the Himalayas  around 40,000 years ago.

"Here we have something that's four times older," said Hublin. "It's absolutely extraordinary."

The jawbone discovery also solves a riddle that has troubled anthropologists for years.

In 2015, researchers found that ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese living at altitude had buried in their genetic code an unusual variant of a gene, EPAS1, which regulates haemoglobin, the molecule that hauls oxygen around the blood. At high altitude, common variants of the gene overproduce haemoglobin and red blood cells, causing the blood to become thick and sludgy  a cause of hypertension, low birth-weight and infant mortality.

But the variant found in Tibetans increases production by much less, thus averting hypoxia problems experienced by many people who relocate to places above 4,000 metres in altitude. The mutation is nearly identical to that found in the DNA of Denisovans discovered in Siberia  at an altitude of less than 700 metres.

"That was something that no one really understood, because the Denisovans weren't known to live at altitude, so they didn't really need that gene to survive," said Hublin. "Now we know why. It's not the DNA from Denisovans from (Siberia), it's the DNA from the Denisovans of Tibet."
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday when a sniper from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired at Israeli troops across the border wounding two of them, according to the Israeli military. A retaliatory Israeli air strike then killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired more than 200 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. In response, the Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft carried out attacks against more than 30 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby was killed by one of the Israeli strikes and at least 13 other Palestinians were wounded throughout Saturday. Residents identified two of them as militants.The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby, said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. An Israeli military spokeswoman made no immediate comment.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. Across the border, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two people were wounded by shrapnel. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

In a joint statement in which they claimed responsibility for firing rockets, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression.

Egyptian mediation

Although Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets from Gaza are a frequent occurrence, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent any further escalation of hostilities. Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel but there is no conclusion yet, said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairos mediation efforts.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day. Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Fridays events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairos mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza.
Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

Seoul: North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland. The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (US-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong-un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

After the launches, South Koreas presidential national security adviser, the defense minister and the intelligence chief gathered at the presidential Blue House to monitor the situation, according to the Blue House. It said South Korea and the United States are closely sharing information about the launches.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.
Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

Bangkok: Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago. The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favour the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralise royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers  though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said. A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometre (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election. In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so. On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning: 'The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions,' Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election.

In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning:

"The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions," Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday.

"The very system of government in the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator is very much at stake."

His remarks came after Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, refused to attend the same hearing before Nadler's committee, which is examining Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's efforts to stifle the probe.

In an unprecedented approach, Trump in recent days has filed lawsuits meant to block congressional subpoenas that were sent to two banks and an accounting firm that have worked with his businesses, which he did not divest when he took office. The subpoenas seek access to past financial records for Trump.

A businessman-turned-politician, Trump also still refuses to disclose any of his annual tax returns, rejecting decades of practice by recent presidents.

Standing by their president, Republicans in Congress dismissed as hollow Nadler's rhetoric about Trump's defiance and played down Barr's refusal to attend the House hearing.

The Republicans complained that Nadler wanted committee staff lawyers to be able to question Barr, a departure from the standard hearing format where lawmakers do the questioning.

They stressed Barr's readiness to defend his handling of the Mueller report before a Republican-controlled Senate panel on the day before he skipped the House hearing.

On Nadler's comments, Republican Representative Tom Cole said, "It's over the top. The attorney general showed up before the Senate committee and took every question."

POLITICAL RISKS

The partisan shouting match in Washington is intensifying as a platoon of Democratic presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail, with Trump lobbing Twitter insults at the front-runners.

Both sides run risks in ramping up their confrontation. The Democrats could turn off voters if they push too hard to investigate, and perhaps ultimately try to impeach Trump, allowing him to play the victim, a role he excels in.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading Democrat in opinion polls, said this week that Trump's stonewalling left no alternative but impeachment, which other Democrats have urged.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed the public split evenly over impeachment, with 40 percent in favor and 42 percent against it.

On the other hand, Trump's behavior may already be worrying Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump with a 37 percent approval rating after the Mueller report's release, his lowest of the year. [L1N2210EG]

Any further erosion will likely be muted by the economy, which is churning along in its 10th year of expansion. But if economic growth were to falter, the stand-off in Washington could become a bigger issue ahead of the November 2020 election.

MUELLER'S FINDINGS

Mueller's 448-page report, almost two years in the making, unearthed numerous links between Russians and Trump's campaign, but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

It described attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller's probe, but stopped short of declaring that Trump had committed a crime.

House Democrats are treating the report as a guide book for more investigations. Shortly after its release in redacted form on April 18, Nadler subpoenaed an unredacted version, as well as the underlying evidence that informed it.

Barr's Justice Department has refused to comply and Nadler is weighing a contempt citation against Barr over the matter.

In response to Nadler's and other inquiries, Trump has dug in. In a letter obtained by Reuters, the White House argued that Trump is within his rights to order his advisers not to testify before Congress, even though he allowed them to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, accused Barr of lying to lawmakers about his interactions with Mueller. "That's a crime," she said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman called Pelosi's allegation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on Nadler's panel, said Democrats are resorting to hyperbole because the Mueller report did not land a knock-out legal blow on Trump.

"If you don't have the facts and you don't have the law, the old joke is that you stand on the table and yell. Well, he's just standing on the table and yelling now," Collins said, referring to Nadler.

(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Kieran Murray and Howard Goller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the United States Steel Corporation's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder today's call is being recorded.

I'll now hand the call over to Kevin Lewis, General Manager of Investor Relations.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning. On the call with me this morning will be US Steel President and CEO; Dave Burritt; Executive Vice President and CFO; Kevin Bradley; and Sara Greenstein; Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions. Sara has responsibility for the Mon Valley and the new technology we announced yesterday.

After the close of business yesterday, we posted our earnings release and earnings presentation under the Investor Section of our website. Yesterday morning, we also post an investor presentation highlighting our announcement on Mon Valley. On today's call, we will walk through via webcast, select slides, highlighting our investment in first quarter results. The link to the webcast can be found on the Investor Section of our website. We also posted this morning slides to our website.

Before we start, let me remind you that some information provided during this call may include forward-looking statements that are based on certain assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings and actual future results may vary materially. Forward-looking statements in the press release that we issued yesterday along with other remarks today are made as of today and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to US Steel President and CEO, Dave Burritt, who will begin today's presentation on Slide four.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Kevin. Today is a great day for US Steel. I could not be more excited for our employees; for our community; for our customers and for our current and future stockholders. Before I get into our strong first quarter financial results, I want to take a few moments to provide context for yesterday's state-of-the-art high-tech transformational announcement.

We have all seen in the headlines some on this call have even said US Steel's competitive position has weakened. US Steel can't compete with recently announced capacity additions. We know the competition, we live it and we welcome it, we don't fear it, but we respect it. We love to compete, it's our competitive spirit, our unwavering commitment and our relentless focus that has brought us to yesterday's announcement.

First, before we get into the materials, I want to talk about some facts, then I'll talk about the future. These are the facts, US Steel is special and you know this, US Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the US and the only US headquartered steel company that can mine, melt, and make steel in USA, that's a fact. We have a world-class safety performance, you all know that, that's a fact.

And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry, we understand cash is king, that's a fact. We are executing projects better, here are few examples; in the last two years, we spent $800 million on North American engineering capital projects, 90% were on or under budget. On the last five major projects, we underspent them and had an internal rate of return greater than 22%, I'm talking about projects like galvanizing line upgrades at Midwest, pipe mill and threading line projects in tubular, caster upgrades at Granite City, pickle line upgrades in Europe.

We completed nine large infrastructure projects and underspent the budget. These projects include; multiple blast furnace steel rebuilds at various facilities and steel shop environmental projects at Great Lakes Works and Granite City Works. On finishing projects, all the can do projects for our tin business were right on budget. We are executing projects better, that's a fact.

Typically first quarter is always a lighter quarter for financial results. You know -- you now know these first quarter issues well, whether or like the Polar Vortex this year and of course we can't ship pellets from Minnesota Mines, because the Soo Locks are closed. By now everyone should know how difficult the first quarter is. But we beat even our own expectations in the first quarter, because we are performing better. Asset revitalization is working, our performance and productive capability are better, that's a fact.

We're now pivoting from playing defense to offense. So let me tell you a little bit about yesterday's announcement and the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Hundreds of US Steel employees welcomed local government and community leaders to Edgar Thompson, Pennsylvania. The support we have received for this investment and the value it will create for our company, our customers, our employees and our community is extraordinary. I thank each and every person, who has reached out to congratulate the company for bringing state-of-the-art sustainable steel advanced manufacturing to Western Pennsylvania.

Following the announcement of the EAF in Alabama and a Dynamo Line in Europe, yesterday's announcement is another step in our value creation strategy. Here are the highlights: we expect the investment to be about -- approximately $1.2 billion; we are investing in the first state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line in the United States; we expect to achieve a $35 per ton reduction in operating costs. We are creating new product boundaries that create a moat around the most attractive markets we serve. Gauge and width combinations not available today in the United States. And we expect to deliver significant environmental improvements.

Turning to Page five, we have been making significant improvements to our business over the past few years, enhancing our operational excellence, creating operating leverage through improved performance and investing in technology to improve our cost structure and expand our capabilities. Our strategy is straightforward and we continue to be guided by our critical success factors. We will move down the cost curve, we will win in attractive markets and we will move up the talent curve.

Turning to Page six. This investment is truly transformative, again here is the proof. The Mon Valley is currently a low cost mill in the steel industry and we are now combining the best of both, our high quality integrated steel making process with industry-leading casting technology. Again, we expect the investment to further reduce operating costs by $35 per ton, and we are equipping the facility with best-in-class capabilities that significantly improves the quality and product attributes to meet the needs of our customers today and into the future. This is a significant competitive advantage for our company, and it delivers enormous value to our customers, as we will be able to provide sustainable steel solutions many thought impossible. The lightest, thinnest, strongest and most formable steel available.

Turning to Page seven, as part of our investment in this new technology, we are also building a state-of-the-art co-generation facility at our Clairton plant. The facility will convert coke oven gas to electricity and steam, delivering significant environmental improvements within our facilities and across the region. Once completed, we expect our investments to significantly reduce emissions; including the following estimates: 35% reduction in particulate matter 10 and 2.5, 50% reduction in sulfur dioxide, 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide.

Turning to Page eight, we've been listening to what our customers are telling us and our strategy is clear, we're creating a moat around the attractive markets through dimensions and differentiation, and are expanding our capabilities to be the material provider of choice in growing markets. We know that sustainable profitability lies with being a flexible and agile steel producer capable of solving 21st century material problems.

From asset revitalization to endless casting and rolling, our investment strategy expands our capability and cost profile to win share. We are revitalizing and now we are revolutionizing. From wide to narrow and from light gauge to heavy gauge our footprint will be well positioned to win in the US market and will help shape the future markets, we will create with our customers. To be clear we are not adding steel making capacity, instead we are transforming our footprint to capture market share. I have never been more confident in our future than I am right now.

With that I'll turn to Page nine and Kevin Bradley. Kevin?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Dave, and good morning everyone. Given yesterday's announcement, Page nine provides a helpful visual of the work we've done on our capital structure over the last two years. We've made great progress reducing our overall debt and shifting our maturity profile. We've reshaped our capital structure having eliminated or refinanced over $1.8 billion in debt. We've extended our maturity profile with no significant maturities until 2025 and beyond.

In addition, our strong liquidity at $2.5 billion including cash of $676 million and $1.8 billion of availability on our US and European revolving credit facilities, positions the company well for strategic investments like the one we announced yesterday.

Turning to Page 10, let's talk about the investment in Mon Valley. At a $1.2 billion level of investment, we are estimating a return of 15% or higher. You can see the expected cash requirements between today and 2022 with just over a $1 billion being required between 2020 and 2021. We are planning to fund the investment from a combination of vendor-supported financing and senior unsecured notes. The vendor-supported financing will be approximately $250 million, and we'll have flexible draw-down terms to match project cash flow requirements.

Slide 11 provides a summary of our recent technology investments. In January, we announced the construction of a new Dynamo Line at our European steel mill. We expect that this $130 million capital investment over the next two years will deliver an annualized run rate EBITDA benefit of $35 million. Full year EBITDA benefits are expected in 2021. In February, we announced the restart of the tubular EAF in Fairfield, Alabama. We expect annualized run rate benefits by 2021, up to total approximately $80 million from our $280 million capital investment to complete the EAF. This investment makes our tubular business self-sufficient on round substrate for the seamless pipe mills, resulting in significant cost savings.

Yesterday's announcement of the endless casting and rolling line is targeting first coil in 2022. With a full year $275 million EBITDA benefit expected in 2023. The combination of these three technology investments totaled approximately $390 million EBITDA expansion over the next three to four years.

Before I turn it back to Dave, let's recap some of the first quarter highlights on Page 12. Total adjusted EBITDA of $285 million was, up $30 million over the prior year quarter, and up approximately $60 million versus our expectations. Overall, it was a strong first quarter. We gained market share and continue to see opportunities to improve our competitive position. The better-than-expected results in our Flat-Rolled segment were largely driven by increased shipments and strong operational performance. I was very impressed with the team's execution across the Flat-Rolled footprint.

Our European segment performed in line with our expectations, while our Tubular segment capitalized on an improved commercial environment to deliver material upside. First quarter adjusted EPS of $0.47 was significantly higher than the first quarter of 2018 at $0.32.

Please note our Q1, effective tax rate was 12.4% as you know we released a significant portion of the valuation allowance against our NOLs at the end of 2018. That action is resulting in a more normal annual rate for the company. Our tax rate also reflects the benefits of the depletion, deduction generated by our mining operations. While, our reported tax rate should be higher than prior years going forward, we do not expect to incur US cash taxes for a few more years, due to the NOLs. As discussed in January, we will provide quantitative guidance later in the quarter, but given today's environment, we currently expect Q2 adjusted EBITDA at the enterprise level to be similar to Q1. The Flat-Rolled segment should benefit from stronger sheet and third-party pellet shipments. However, our European business is being negatively impacted by increasingly challenging market conditions across Europe. Overall, we feel good about the company's performance and our ability to execute our strategy and deliver results.

With that let me turn it back to Dave.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Kevin. Before we turn to the Q&A, we've covered a lot today, so I want to take a moment to recap. As Kevin said we are obviously happy with the first quarter. We have some serious headwinds in Europe that we have to work through, the market is certainly more challenged than anyone anticipated when we entered the year. But overall we feel good about the business and 2019.

Lastly, we have some really exciting news yesterday, we think this unleashes value in so many ways. It's a big time capability improvement and big time cost improvement and it's a big time sustainability improvement. It checks all the boxes. Strong strategic rationale, high levels of value creation and our capital structure is well positioned to support this investment. I couldn't be happier for our employees, the community, our customers and the returns this will yield for our long-term stockholders.

Kevin let's move to Q&A.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, Dave. We have a lot of people in the queue today. So, we'd appreciate your cooperation help us get everybody to questions. Greg, can you please queue the line for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instruction) Your first question comes from the line of Martin Englert from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Hi, good morning everyone.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Good morning.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

So for the Mon Valley project you've highlighted potential sources of funding of $250 million, I believe you said from vendors and then also unsecured notes, as well as cash and the revolver. Can you provide a rough breakdown of the remaining allocation? And also remind us of your targeted leverage metrics and what comfortable ranges?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we're in good shape and I kind of talked about the timing of the requirements, so I think overall we would look to fill most of it. You know, other than the vendor supported with high yield. But we're going to be opportunistic pick the right time, we want to make sure our message here is being absorbed and so we're in no hurry to go out there until the market is right and we need to. But I would say the majority ideally would be high yield and the vendor-supported financing.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay, and the leverage metrics that you're comfortable with?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, I mean given where we are now right, with this project and the Dynamo and the EAF, we're still very comfortably within our goal, which is kind of, you know, when we double the range. I don't think at any point we get to more than three times the total debt through this list. Obviously subject to market conditions as always. But you know given where we're starting from in terms of total and net debt leverage, we feel really good about our ability to pull this off and stay strong.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for that. and if I could one last one. The new Mon Valley project is potentially a significant support for the company. Can you discuss from a high level, if other similar transformational projects are potentially under consideration?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, of course, we're always looking at opportunities, I will say this is such a big transformational project for us this is one of a kind we don't see another project like this coming on for anyone, anytime soon.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for the detail there and congratulations.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Gagliano from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay great. Thanks for taking my question. I'm sure a lot of people are going to questions on Mon Valley. So I'll try and focus in on just one piece of it. Thanks by the way for the additional information on the longer-term targets here. I was wondering, if you can give us more details behind the targeted $275 million of EBITDA in 2023 that incremental contribution; for example what price is that based on or there offsetting reductions since I -- it looks to me like this is an upgrade to existing downstream production mix that kind of thing. And any other additional detail behind that $275 million would be great. Thank you.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understood. This is Dave, but the way I interpret your question is what are driving these EBITDA benefits, you know, there's yield improvement, there's reduced externally purchased energy, there's more efficient staffing, there is improved operational efficiency, there is all those things that are going to be making the business stronger and better in fact, if you think about this investment we are already low on the cost curve this will make us from a variable cost perspective, the -- from our out side in-look, the lowest in the United States and maybe Sara you can provide a little more color on this issue.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Sure. Thanks, Dave. This is Sara Greenstein, you know, when you think about what this icon -- what this iconic investment does, it does a couple of things; it makes the Mon Valley Works, one of the lowest cost steel mills in the world; able to profitably compete with both domestic and foreign steel producers; delivering sustainable profits through cycle. The other thing it does is enables the Mon Valley Works to be the producer of choice for the lighter, wider, stronger and more formable steel.

So the combination of this advanced manufacturing technology when combined with our integrated steel making process at the Mon Valley enables us to do what no other North American steel producer can do today. We will be able to produce our proprietary advanced high strength steel, substrate at the Mon Valley making the strongest, most formidable products available to allow our auto customers to continue to lightweight their end products previously incapable -- when we were previously incapable of doing this at the Valley.

We will continue to support our appliance, our construction and our industrial customers from the Valley and provide both our current and future product capability to them as they continue to lightweight their products, driving innovation and growth for them. But the profitability piece, which was the core of your question, really lies in the fact that we as Dave mentioned in his earlier comments will be the material solution of choice for these end markets, that we seek to serve, while simultaneously reducing $35 a ton reduction in our overall conversion costs, reducing our overall sustaining CapEx, and then all the things that Dave just mentioned, improving yield, lower energy consumption and greater production efficiency.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

You know, thanks for that, Sara. You know, I'm just, I'm sitting here holding a piece of steel in my hands, it's a sample of a 0.6 millimeter thick hot-rolled strip and that's 0.236 inches hot-rolled that is a thickness nobody in this market comes close to making today. We're going to unlock solutions for our customers that they've never thought possible to allow them to reengineer what they buy. This is clearly breakthrough folks.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And in addition to the investment that we're making at the Valley, our ability to be able to produce the thinner, lighter, wider product then frees up our Gary facility and all the investments that we've recently made in our hot strip out there, to go after the sicker, wider, heavy gauge product especially focused on the API market.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So the thick and thin of things are, we got the thin inside and we got to thick side, you know, what we're doing in Gary, $0.5 billion investment on hot rolled, and so we're building the moat on that side and the moat here on the thin side. So we feel very good about where we are on this journey and we're sort of over the top excited about the possibility. So thanks for the question, sorry for the very long answer. One more thing, Kevin Bradley --

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

One thing, Dave. It's a great question. You mentioned the commercial piece just, you know we model the IRR on this at 50% or higher. We're using a backward-looking through-the-cycle, you know, CRU. So this did not based on today's market this is a much more conservative assumption that, you know, the market would revert back to. We always look at it on a backward looking, so if you believe there's a new normal or that today's pricing is better and sustainable, the 15% would be much higher.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Just my follow-up question here. Just curious how much capital has actually been spent at Mon Valley as part of the asset revitalization program, so far. And how much additional CapEx at Mon Valley tied specifically to that, you know, the ARP piece?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

So, this investment that we announced yesterday is in addition to the revitalization investment that we've made at the Mon Valley. And all in on -- across the Mon Valley, we will have spent a $200 million revamping our primary end and our finishing line.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

But think of this as a technological breakthrough. This is not revitalization, this is revolutionizing the way steel is made.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

And, specifically you know the hot mill has not received, you know, very much capital investment the last couple of years. So that's part of the question. We want to clear on that, as well.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The cold mill there is a significant, critical -- one of the 13 critical assets we talk about and is receiving capital.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And is our primary end.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Terry from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Hi guys and thanks for taking my questions. Just in terms of the technology given you'll be the first in the US. Can you just talk through your conference on the reliability, and the technology itself? And then just -- I know you touched on this in some of the earlier questions. but why Mon Valley specifically? And how long have you been looking at this investment? What's the decision -- time line that you've been doing the details in this process. Thanks.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, this is Dave. First, the way we approach this when we look at our strategy, of course we look at our global footprint and make sure that we're optimizing the value we have, the rigorous capital allocation process. And then through that process we find out where the attractive markets are, and we focus on those markets where they have sufficient size, and have adequate margins and they're continuing to grow. And then we look at our capabilities and say how do we fit those capabilities into the markets that we want to pursue, and we looked at our footprint and we looked at the opportunities it was clear that Mon Valley was the place we knew, we need to be doing some upgrades on the 1938 mill at that time, and this was going to be something that would take this not just to a good level, but to an absolutely great level.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you, Dave. And if I could just add a bit, the state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling technology, while the first of its kind to be introduced in the US is actually in operation and it has been for years in other countries around the world. So this is a proven technology and capability. We are bringing it to the US and we are combining it with our lowest cost facility already and the integrated steel making process, and as a result have the ability to make products that no one else in this country can.

So, it's deploying proven advanced manufacturing technology with our integrated steel making process that allows us and positions us to really make a game changing difference in this industry in this country. But why the Mon Valley? I talked about some of these things. The first and foremost it expands our structural cost advantage at the Valley. We are currently a low cost provider, this move has even further down the cost curve. It provides us as US Steel greater footprint optionality. I mentioned what this allows us to do and focus on now at our Gary Work facility. It upgrades a 1938 vintage hot strip mill and takes us from being more limited in what we can do to being the most capable field producer in terms of thinner, wider, stronger product in this country. And finally it enhances the number of markets that we can and intend and will serve.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well said, Sara, you know, it's -- and there's obviously going to be a lot more discussions that we have on this. We have models that have built that will bring this to life to you. But if you think about this technology and think about the four processes of steel making, you've got iron making, steel making, hot rolling, you know, and then finishing. And where we've been challenged is typically at our mills. Liquid steel, we do exceptionally well and integrated mills have this great cost advantage from our mine side and from our coke making, because we can use that energy to power the facilities, still there's a lot of advantages that we have with liquid steel. Where we've had trouble is providing the extra variety of steel, the extra capability and this now expands our capability and moves us further down the cost curve. So that we can be a -- if not the leader certainly one of the leaders in US, because we are clearly in a great cost position when this is finished.

So it's really important to understand the benefits of this because it has the conversion costs benefits as we use our state-of-the-art PRO-TEC XG3 steel at -- in Ohio, where we'd be starting to run coils at the end of this year. So all of this connects very well with the footprint that we've been working on for quite some time. And we're finally able to get it announced to you folks. But it's going to take a while for you to digest it and understand it, and we have some models that we can be taking you through at the appropriate time.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Just a follow-up question on the CapEx and the layering of the asset revitalization program about $900 million still to spend at EAF at Fairfield and now Mon Valley. Is there a way to maybe delay this? So you saw a sense of urgency, as well, a limited time frame to get this and/or do you think the balance sheet can handle it?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understand you're breaking up a little bit, but we don't intend to slow down the asset revitalization we've always said, if we can get the returns faster we're going to go after them. So we need to make sure that we get ourselves positioned well and the revitalization is well under way we're executing, and so we don't want to move slower, we want to move faster.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Karl Blunden from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Hi, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the question. I guess on the side of funding here when you think about funding all of the CapEx and organic investment on Mon Valley. Are there any non-core assets in the portfolio that you've taken a look at that may help you raise some of the cash there and reduce the debt burden you're going to take on?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Well, we're always looking at our footprint and you know and you've heard me say this so many times everything's for sale all the time, but you know we certainly like our footprint currently and we're basically doing our best to create monetized value from all of our assets and upgrading them and improving them, so that we will be positioned here with this breakthrough investment for a better tomorrow.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Got you. And historically there was some discussion of the European asset. Is the environment now just not conducive to raising capital from that market through asset sales?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, I think you know about the Dynamo Line, so that's an important investment force and that is a extraordinarily well-run asset and it's been throwing off substantial EBITDA for the -- from well-run operations, you know, this is one of those businesses that makes money in the trough, and so it's an ideal asset for us and we'll continue to make sure that we manage that well and with the Dynamo Line that also gets us a additional EBITDA.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Okay, and just quick one. You mentioned unsecured debt in your slides, wondering if you'd be open to secure debt, as well if that's needed given the funding costs?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're always going to be open to anything the company needs at the same time we don't see that as a requirement, so that is not a preference for us, we'd like to stay unsecured, and that's our intention.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Thanks for your time.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And maybe that gets into a little bit here of our capital allocation strategy, because you know what we're -- it's really important people understand this because we're always looking at throughout the business cycle and the way we manage this, and we have these three priorities for cash and that gets into what you're kind of walking around here on the balance sheet. We've got to have a strong balance sheet that's supportive of the company's strategic objective that's first and foremost and we'll do what's required in order to deliver that. We're investing now and the second one is investing in operational excellence, investing in technology, investing in innovation that's aligned with these critical success factors that we mentioned. Moving up the talent curve and moving down the cost curve and then winning in attractive markets, we got to take share.

And then finally this -- the third priority here is return capital stockholders, who have consistent dividend payments and opportunistic stock repurchases. This is what we want to construct here and with these types of improvements that we're making over the last few years, if you think about the clean up of the balance sheet, the cleanup of the operations and taking the operations to a better level or increasing our execution capability and demonstrating that we can perform. Now is the right time for this announcement for us to accelerate and set the stage for people that were, you know, we'll still play some defense, but mostly we're going to be pushing forward to show that we're a leader now and not somebody that's having market share taken from us, we're going to be taking it from others.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Nicholas Jarmoszuk from Stifel. Please go ahead.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning. Had a question on the CapEx outlook. We've got the Fairfield project, we have the Mon Valley provided the -- how that's going to be spent over through 2022? The Dynamo line, you have the ongoing asset revitalization and there's going to be a line for sustaining CapEx. Can you give us a sense for what those various line items are going to be for the next couple of years?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I'm not going to break it down. Let me let me start by saying that you've got the new updated guidance on CapEx moving up to 1.3. That reflects all the projects that we've announced, so in total and sustaining capital and all engineering capital, that's all in what we know today and what you know today is reflected. Clearly the icon, the project in the Valley et cetera is going to increase that going forward. Next year is our last year of revitalization and so it will be -- you'll see the same level coming through. There is going to be some spillover because of payment terms into the following year, as well from revitalization. But we're not going to, you know, forecast beyond this year in terms of CapEx. But as I shared earlier very comfortable with our liquidity, our cash flow position, the balance sheet strength and our ability to handle this lift.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

And then regarding that 275 uplift from the Mon Valley project. So if you're saving $35 per ton and the production is still going to be roughly 2.6 million tons, there I can account for roughly $90 million of EBITDA uplift. Can you talk about the remaining amounts in terms of how to think about the buckets in terms of the thinner gauges, the better pricing on that regard. How we can think about, what was it, the lower purchases of energy purchases, better staffing. How could we think about the bridge from the $90 million -- from $0 million to $90 million to $275 million?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sure. Nick, you've summarized the calculation, the cost reductions appropriately that is about approximately $90 million of the EBITDA benefits expected as a result of this investment. Additionally we're sizing the commercial opportunities about 50% of the $275 million, so that's everything we're looking through for additional mix improvements and all the benefits that Dave and Sara have described here on this call today.

And then we have some other benefits from the co-generation facility and just some overall efficiencies throughout the entire Mon Valley footprint. So kind of to summarize the variable cost is about a third of the improvement with the half attributable to the commercial benefits. So that should give you some good insight to the anatomy of where the EBITDA is coming from on a run rate basis.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Hi, good morning. I want to ask little bit about the quarter, if I could just steer things that way. First half the decline in prices for the Flat-Rolled segment was a lot smaller than the spot price obviously you have annual contracts. But just as you see the current environment, so we expect to see, kind of, the same, kind of, decline going forward given the recent spot declines and on the Tubular side, you saw prices go up and PIPELOGIX price fell about $40 a ton. So, can you just provided a little bit more color on kind of the trends you're seeing in pricing?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, so Timna. I'll talk a little bit first maybe about the 4Q to 1Q change in Flat-Rolled. I think we saw a really good improvement in our mix, we were able to capture some high-end hot-rolled and some other project business that kept our average selling prices pretty resilient in this spot market environment that we were in. It also reflects the success we had in our annual contract, so we were pretty happy with where we came in for the first quarter from an average selling price perspective.

On the Tubular side, we did see some good improvements in pricing, mostly on the seamless side. So early mix, nice mix change there with the -- with seamless and which contribute a lot to the commercial uplift in the Tubular segment from a 4Q to 1Q perspective.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. Helpful. And then did ask a little bit about like it's that's -- if either one or both of those are trends that you could see continuing. And then separately can you give us your perspective and the updates you're seeing on the air quality issues in Clairton, I think, I saw last night or this morning comes through a lawsuit claiming $50 million in damages. Just wanted to get your response to that. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

So, Timna, maybe I'll take the first question on the trends, and then maybe ask Sara to give an overview about where we are at Clairton. So, I think we all seen the recent move down in spot prices, so we certainly expect that to impact our commercial portfolio. But we remain committed to kind of the mix improvements and going after those markets as described by Sara and Dave. So you could certainly model through the impact of a decreasing price environment here on the business. But overall our strategy remains to make sure that our mix is strong, and we can generate the right types of average selling prices and different types of the -- through cycle environments.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes. Thanks, Kevin. And while we don't nor will we comment on any legal activity as it relates to Clairton, what I will comment on is, and I think you all know we experienced a catastrophic event on December 24th and couldn't be prouder of the people and the team and the community that came together to support us and getting us back up. As of April 4th, we restarted the desulfurization process facility at the Clairton plant. We -- as of that date we're desulfurizing a 100% of the coke oven gas that we generate at that plant. And in fact on our January earnings call, we had forecasted about a $40 million impact from this fire. And we had about a $31 million impact in the quarter primarily really due to the purchase of natural gas and inefficiencies that we experienced. But we are backup, we are running and that's where we're at.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, thanks for taking my question. You know, forgive sort of an equity question from a debt guy. But you know, I thought share buybacks were really sort of something you did when you didn't have anything better to do with the cash. If you guys have identified $3 billion of value-add projects. What's the hurry in getting cash back to shareholders at this time?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're not seeing it as a hurry, when we announced the program last year, what we're trying to do is make sure we've got a balanced capital allocation methodology. So the $300 million over the two year period, we think, is an appropriate level and we're kind of committed to it. So we're going to continue to do that. Agree, we've got some very high and exciting opportunities, high return exciting opportunities. We want to make sure we're balanced as we go through it. So for now, we feel good about the program, we're executing against it, we think appropriately and you can expect that to continue.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Then one quick follow up, as you think about coming to the high yield unsecured market, you'd mentioned sort of a leverage cap, if you will of around 3 times, and you've referenced, you know, a strong balance sheet a number of times today. I mean is that your sense that up to 3 times levered balance sheet would sort of maintain that strong balance sheet?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

No. And I didn't mean to imply it as a cap, What I was saying is what we've announced, you know, we don't think over the coming years would put us above 3 times. So what we said is you know and we've been talked with the agencies regularly, you know, under 4 times we think is a BB, and that's our medium to long term goal. And so I'm not implying a cap at three, I'm just saying given where we are and what we've announced in terms of investments, I don't think we go above three with that.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Tumazos from Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you very much. Could you give us a little more explanation as to the physical breakthroughs of the new rolling mill. How much wider is it? You already gave us thinness. Forgive me. Could you describe the scientific measures of improved ductility or formability that you refer to qualitatively? How much wider will this steel be for an automaker, because it's thinner, stronger, more ductile. Forgive me for my specificity and enthusiasm, please.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a very detailed question, and I think I'll keep it back to the -- is it strategic, we're going thinner and we're going thicker on the strategy, and we can get you more details on those specifics at another time. But I think today we're talking what the strategy is, and if we can get into those details at this point.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Congratulations.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you. What I can tell you just very quickly, as you know, we can go down to 0.03 on gauge and we can go as wide as 77 inches.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Phil Gibbs from KeyBanc. Please go ahead.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Hey, good morning. Thanks for all the good details this morning, appreciate it. I have just a question on the guidance for the second quarter, I know European spreads have been weak. Are we -- should we be expecting Europe to on an EBIT basis be in the red in the second quarter similar -- similarly should we expect that for Tubular given a little bit of softness in that market. And do you expect Flat-Rolled volumes to be higher relative to Q1 in the US?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

What I would say, you know, we're not going to give specific quantitative especially at the segment level. But given my comments you can expect Europe to be down from Q1. And we do expect shipments in North American Flat-Rolled to be up in Q2 sequentially, if that helps. But we're going to -- later in the quarter we're going to come out with more quantitative guidance and give you much more clarity around what to expect.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's no question, there's pressure in Europe and we see the economic reports and we feel the pressure on margin, no doubt about it. But as you look at this year and where we started this year and where we are right now, we feel as good about the year now as we did then. Now the mix of where things are has been shifting a bit, but the first half will be about the same as what we thought it was at the beginning of the year and we're going to have a really good 2019, that's where we are.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks. And then just have a follow-up question. Just wanted to be clear so the $1.2 billion investment on Mon Valley, obviously need to support that with capital. Are we expecting that $1.2 billion to be syndicated right now? Meaning are you going out and raising those funds in the market today? Or is that going to be staggered through time. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we went through this a little bit, but the bulk of the requirement is in 2020 and 2021. So, yes, we're in good shape right now, we can be opportunistic. We want to pick the timing, we don't need to get out too far ahead of it. So when the market's right and we're ready we'll go in, but there's no hurry here for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Gambardella from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, David and team and congratulations on the quarter and more importantly the project in Mon Valley. My question is really around the strategy with Mon Valley and the rest of your projects. A lot of other domestic steel producers have opted to import semi-finished or intermediate steel and then do the downstream finishing in the US. With some recent announcements by the administration with exemptions being denied out in California steel, I know you don't do stainless, gratings and some others, the administration is clearly saying we want domestic industry to invest in the US and invest in US jobs, like you're doing at Mon Valley. What assurances do you have from the administration that they'll be able to maintain that stance, and how do you think they'll address trade in terms of trend shipping, which, in my mind, is the key to fair trade and eliminating trend shipping?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's a lot in that question. I'll just say first on the slab things, we're open for business and so if anybody needs slabs we can certainly provide that. As far as assurances nobody can give anybody assurances on any of these things, but we have enough contacts and enough connections here that we just can't imagine this administration blinking and at a time like this, I mean there's a lot going on and we know it's very heavy, you got to get three different governments to agree on USMCA, you got Canada, you got Mexico, you got the United States so this is a heavy lift.

And also the more important issue is related to China, and China is the one with the excess capacity and to your point until you apply these things everywhere you're still going to have some leakage. So we have some leakage of unfair trade. That's happened in Europe right now and that needs to be shored up. And when that gets shored up, we'll start seeing a better pricing environment in Europe, as well. But as far as assurances, I don't know that anybody could say that, but we feel strongly that the 232 will continue and we're going to continue to operate our facilities and our business to the best we can within the current environment, and also continue to be more nimble take costs out, so that if it does change we're still going to be able to generate value. So it's really a hard question to speculate on. But we're optimistic that we'll get to the right conclusion with this administration.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I agree, Dave. Just want to add a reminder. When we model out our strategy we absolutely try to look at it from a standpoint of not depending on things that we can't necessarily predict. So our strategy holds up on a through-cycle basis on a look-back. But agree completely. We feel the group -- the strong support from the administration, and we expect that to continue.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a great point, we're focused on what we can control the -- we understand this whack-a-mole thing that you've been talking about for a long time, you know, the Vietnam case, and we have had changes with CBD and the whole trade situation. So certainly there are several provisions designed to increase the use of USMCA original steel and increased trade enforcement coordination among the three countries, and we look forward to getting an agreement there that's in the best interest of all, and we think we will. We absolutely think that there will be always some type of appropriate measure, maybe moving more toward quotas than tariffs for the USMCA, but we'll have to wait and see in any case we're optimistic that it will be a good result.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

The West Coast market is pretty much served for carbon sheet by your joint venture with POSCO, UPI and California Steel, which was recently denied exemption on the slabs they have to import to finish. Are you shipping or intend to ship a fair amount of slabs, hot band out to the West Coast, which would move it out of the Midwest market?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Go ahead, Kevin.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So I was just going to -- yes, we have been shipping to our JV, UPI, for a few years now and that's continuing this year. So we're the primary supplier of substrate to that joint venture today.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Piyush Sood from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Hey, guys, good morning. A lot of questions have been covered, couple more from me. Once you're done with the Mon Valley investment and maybe reusing some of that equipment elsewhere. Is there a need to do something similar elsewhere down the line in a few years?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Good question. Really what we are putting in is brand-new technology. And what we are -- we'll no longer use is a 1938 hot strip mill. So I don't imagine that being redeployed anywhere else.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

So you probably get rid of the old equipment, but this one to understand, if the other operations need a similar upgrade down the line?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Hey, Piyush. Yes. so as Dave described earlier when we look at our footprint, we look at the markets where we want to participate, and then we understand our capability to serve those markets. So with that strategy in mind that's what we found particularly compelling about this investment, the Mon Valley. As we evaluate our footprint and the capabilities required to serve the markets we find attractive. We will choose the investment strategy required to kind of satisfy that strategy. So that's the lens through which we look at these types of projects. And similarly, the Gary hot strip mill, we understood what it's capabilities were, what markets we wanted to serve out of that facility, how they are best positioned to serve those markets. So we'll continue to do that type of analysis on our footprint and we will invest in those types of projects that return value.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Charles Bradford from Bradford Research. Please go ahead.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Good morning. Do you have any current blast furnaces offline and/or any -- about to go offline. Hello?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're planning right now for us to turn off any blast furnaces today with the exception of planned outages for revitalization. But there's no plans to take anything offline today.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I'm not sure I understand. I think you're asking about major outages that we have scheduled for the second quarter, because we have Mon Valley the blast furnace number three Great Lakes split, B2 furnace and a shorter duration outage at number 14 in Gary. Is that what you're referring to because we have no plans to shutdown any blast furnaces.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

No, I was thinking specifically about number 14 and that state problem.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Okay. So, yes, we did have an outage in Q1.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, which was normal, and that was a high-tech improvement. That's a whole another discussion that we could have, that was incredible, awesome work. This was rehearsed. The team pulled it together. This is something you guys ought to come visit to see what the people did. This was absolutely remarkable. So, yes, that was an improvement that we made there and then that's behind us. Big success story for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Fields from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, everyone. Don't want to be the dead horse on the funding issue. But noted your preference for unsecured bonds for the $1.2 billion. Is it are you willing to consider a short-term bond like a five year issue inside of your current maturities. Or is it important to be out there beyond 2026?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yeah we kind of -- we like the runway that we've created so we want to preserve that. So that's our intention. Again we're going to be nimble and flexible, we're going to do what's in the best interest to have an efficient capital structure. So we'll look at our options and pick the right option at the right time. But I'm indicating longer term high yield is the likely anchored tenant in the funding strategy for this project.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. And then what was the look-back CRU price through the cycle that you used for your IRR calculation?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. It's just mathematical so you can do it yourself. But we're looking you know just above 600, that's kind of a multi-year look-back through cycle average for hot rolled.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay, great. And then last one from me. I appreciate the color on Clairton. I know you can't talk about existing litigation. But --

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Operator?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Can we loop him back?

Operator

Matthew Fields, your line is open.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hello?

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Yes, Sorry Matt. You have to jump off there for a moment. So continue with your question please.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Just with regards to Clairton. Are you currently fully in compliance with your air emissions permit?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

We are.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Alright. That's it from me. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Tyler Kenyon from Cowen. Please go ahead.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Hey good morning. So appreciate all the colors, so far. But my first question was just related to the Mon Valley investment. And are you expecting any improvement, reduce bottlenecks or commercial optionality across the rest of your US Flat-Rolled operations outside of Mon Valley? And if so can you talk a bit about those?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

The answer -- the short answer is, yes, we are. And I think you might have heard Dave talk about we're going to be able to go thinner, lighter, wider and thicker, heavier and build moats around the markets that we are seeking to serve in a very differentiated way. So we've talked a lot about the investment and the technology investment at the Valley and then at Gary through our revitalization efforts have put significant money into our hot strip mill there and downstream assets there, that have positioned us to be able to serve the API market, the packaging market in a very differentiated cost competitive way. We're leveraging the best of our footprint with the best technology available to deliver to the market that we will serve and creating moats around those markets as we do so.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

And so our -- are all of those benefits captured in your projected EBITDA contribution from the $1.2 billion or could those be in addition to what it is that you've laid out here?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

It would be in addition.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

So we're closing up on our time here, 9:30. So on behalf of the entire leadership team here at US Steel, we appreciate everybody's strong interest in the company, and the investment we made yesterday. And we are certainly available to take any additional questions that you have. And so with that, I'm going to hand it back over to Dave as we wrap up today's call.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Thanks everybody for your interest in US Steel, and as Kevin just said we know there was a lot to take in -- on the call the day, so obviously, you know, we're incredibly excited about this transformative announcement. So for those not able to have their questions answered on the call, our team is available to continue that dialogue. But before I sign off, I do want to recognize our US Steel employees, you finish the first 123 days of 2019 with all time record safety results as measured by days away from work. Thank you for making safety first, not a slogan, but a reality. Your hard work has gotten us to today and our announcement at the Mon Valley. This investment is a sign of our continued confidence in your abilities to deliver high quality sustainable steel solutions to our customers. Competitive pressures are increasing, but so is your fight and perseverance. We have made good progress so far, but I know our best days are ahead. Let's get back to work with safety and environmental stewardship as our core values.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

Duration: 61 minutes

Call participants:

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

More X analysis

Transcript powered by AlphaStreet

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.
In 2015, a waste containment dam ruptured at one of Vale's (NYSE:VALE) Brazilian mines. Earlier this year, another of the global iron ore miner's Brazilian containment dams broke. Lives were lost in both instances, but, understandably, the government of Brazil is taking a harder line with the company after the second mishap. Still, following a broad shutdown, Vale has been allowed to increase production at a key mine in the country. But if you step back and look at the big picture, most investors should remain wary of Vale stock despite this good news. Here's why.

Stop and start

After a mine waste containment dam broke at Vale's Samarco joint venture with BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) in 2015, the Brazilian government stepped in and hit the pair with large fines. However, when a similar disaster occurred at the company's Brumadinho mine earlier this year, the company and the government were faced with a bigger question: Were there broader concerns about the safety of Vale's facilities? When it turned out that Vale may have known about the risks at Brumadinho, the best course of action was obvious -- err on the side of caution.

Thus, Brazil suspended operations at a number of Vale's mines pending deeper reviews of the facilities. (Other miners voluntarily followed suit, to ensure the safety of those who live near mining assets.) Vale announced that the forced shutdowns would result in a roughly 20% reduction in its iron ore output in 2019. That's a huge drop, amounting to a reduction of around 75 million metric tons of iron ore. Iron ore prices moved higher on the news. The company also decided to part ways with some of its top brass, including the CEO, as it looked to hit the reset button.

Now, the company has announced that it has been allowed to restart some of its operations. The move will eventually mean the return of around 30 million metric tons of iron ore to Vale's production. Investors reacted by pushing iron ore prices lower. While this change is notable for the industry, and will likely be a benefit to Vale's business, it doesn't remove the big-picture problems the miner is facing today.

Not so big a deal

The first real indication that the restart isn't as helpful as it may appear is the simple fact that Vale didn't increase its production guidance for the year. It's maintaining the lowered range it announced following the government-imposed closures. It's possible that new management is simply taking a conservative stance, but the truth is, it kind of has to tread cautiously given the circumstances.

Two similar mine disasters in such a short period of time speak to bigger issues at the company. With the government taking a harder line, Vale can't politically afford to be overly aggressive in any way. It needs to show a significant level of contrition, if for no other reason than to convey it accepts responsibility for what happened. The impact that the production increase will have on the iron ore market, realistically, is almost immaterial to Vale's situation right now. The bigger problem the company faces is going to be on the legal and regulatory fronts.

For example, Vale and BHP have yet to settle all of the outstanding legal issues surrounding Samarco. According to a federal prosecutor, the $41 billion settlement agreement over that disaster is on hold until there's further clarity on the more recent disaster. If Vale turns out to be at fault, the Samarco deal could cost more, or at least end up being more complicated to finalize.

Vale is responsible for at least half of any costs associated with Samarco. It will likely be fully on the hook for any legal costs stemming from this year's dam failure. And, at this point, there's no way to tell how large the costs will be. What is clear, however, is that there are a number of very negative inputs. Those include the fact that this is the second disaster in a short time and that there were considerably more lives lost because of the second dam breach. Whatever the outcome is, conservative investors should probably see the $41 billion figure from Samarco as a low estimate for what Vale will face this time around.

Even if Vale is allowed to spread out the payments over a number of years, any fine will create a long-lasting bottom-line headwind. And that will be on top of the impact that comes from the Samarco settlement, the cost of which may actually go up. With so much legal uncertainty surrounding it, Vale is, at best, a special-situation stock right now. Most investors should avoid it.

Not worth the risk

Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore miners. What happens with its business has a major impact on the global supply dynamic in the industry, so investors do need to pay attention to what's going on with the company. However, amid uncertainty regarding the longer-term impact of the two mine disasters at Vale facilities, most investors would be better off avoiding Vale's stock. That remains true despite the fact that some market watchers are suggesting Vale's stock is undervalued. It's too hard to quantify the financial headwind that legal costs will impose, and they will likely hit the bottom line for years to come.
Oil giant Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) desperately wants to buy rival Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). It's so intent on making a deal that company executives flew out to Omaha, Nebraska last weekend to meet with super-investor Warren Buffett. They wanted his help in funding their battle with oil behemoth Chevron (NYSE:CVX) for control of Anadarko and its prime position in the oil-rich Permian Basin.

Occidental walked away from that meeting with a $10 billion commitment from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B), which gives it ammunition in its hostile fight for Anadarko. The deal, however, doesn't make much sense from Occidental's perspective. Not only is it willing to pay a high price for Buffett's support, but it has offered a significant premium to beat out Chevron. That seems excessive, since Anadarko's not the best strategic fit.

An epic battle in the oil patch

Occidental Petroleum has long admired Anadarko Petroleum, which holds an expansive position in the Permian Basin, as well as the Rockies, the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Africa. It sees those assets as highly complementary to its portfolio, which includes a leading position in the Permian, as well as Latin America and the Middle East. That's why it has made three offers to acquire Anadarko since late March. However, instead of engaging with Occidental, Anadarko agreed to merge with Chevron in a stunning $50 billion transaction that was below what Occidental offered.

Undeterred, Occidental took its battle public, reiterating its proposal to acquire Anadarko for $76 per share, well above the $65 per share it accepted from Chevron. CEO Vicki Hollub also went on CNBC to drill down into why she believes Occidental is the right buyer for Anadarko. She stated that:

We are the right acquirer for Anadarko Petroleum because we can get the most out of the shale. We have a lot more experience [in the Permian]. We are performing really, really well, and what hasn't been talked about very much is that the upside in this deal is the shale play.

She noted that Occidental's wells in the Permian perform 74% better than Anadarko's and that it spends less money on drilling and fracking. Because of that, the company believes it can extract more value out of Anadarko's assets. That leads the company to estimate it can capture $3.5 billion in cost savings and other synergies by combining, which is well above the $2 billion Chevron believes it can deliver.

Occidental has also directly addressed the concerns analysts and investors have with the deal. While Anadarko's positions in the Gulf of Mexico and its Mozambique LNG project line up well with Chevron's expertise, these assets only comprise about 15% of the deal's value according to Hollub. As such, they're not as meaningful as it might seem.

Another issue raised by analysts is that Occidental will need to take on a significant amount of debt to close this deal. They see the company's leverage ratio zooming from less than 1 times debt-to-EBITDA up to about 2.4 times its anticipated EBITDA in 2020. The company plans to address this issue by selling $10 billion to $15 billion in assets within a year or two of closing the deal. Investors, however, worry that the company might stretch itself too thin, especially if oil prices plunge again in the meantime.

Backing from Buffett

Occidental is working to address those balance-sheet concerns by bringing Buffett on board to help fund the deal. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to invest $10 billion into Occidental in the form of cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The preferred stock will pay Berkshire an 8% annual dividend, which works out to a hefty $800 million in cash flow per year heading from Occidental to Berkshire.

Buffett's company also will receive warrants to buy up to 80 million shares of Occidental's common stock at $62.50 apiece, which is a bit below the current price. That represents another $5 billion of potential investment in the oil company. It's also worth noting that Occidental can't redeem the preferred stock for a decade, though there's a mandatory redemption feature upon certain capital return events like a stock buyback. Meanwhile, Buffett has 11 years to exercise the warrants.

It's an excellent deal for Buffett and Berkshire since the preferred stock pays a very high rate. On top of that, Buffett picks up low-risk upside from the warrants that could pay off spectacularly if the merger delivers the benefits Occidental envisions.

This funding agreement, however, makes no sense for Occidental investors. For starters, the company would pay nearly twice the rate on the preferred stock as it would if it issued new debt to fund the deal. While they would help ease the potential leverage burden, the company is paying a high cost for Buffett's support since most analysts believe that the company could issue preferred stock in a public offering at 6%.

Further, the warrants give Warren Buffett the option to buy enough shares to dilute existing investors by 10%. As such, it transfers some of their upside potential to Berkshire Hathaway.

This battle could end badly for Occidental

Occidental Petroleum is doing everything in its power to position itself to emerge as the victor over Chevron in the fight for Anadarko. It's not only willing to pay a much higher price for the company, but it's prepared to secure expensive and potentially dilutive financing to ensure it has the firepower to compete against the big oil behemoth.

While that could be enough for it to win the bidding war, Occidental might not end up victorious in the end. The extra interest payments could hamper the company's ability to operate -- and might even put its high-yielding dividend in jeopardy -- especially if oil prices tumble. That's why its deal with Buffett doesn't make as much sense for Occidental's investors, though it certainly does for Berkshire shareholders.
Albo pointed out that several witnesses confirmed the suns glare was extremely potent that morning. One man said hed lived in that area since 1999 and it was the worst glare hed ever seen.

The defense attorney said Vancamp was the victim of a massive blind spot created by the sun and the shiny tanker truck, which was stopped at the time of the collision.

Its a sad and tragic situation, Albo said. But just because someone dies doesnt make it a crime.

Bird said that Vancamp was clearly not following his training by driving nine miles over the speed limit and not slowing down until an instant before the impact. The investigation showed that Vancamp traveled 1,948 feet in a straight line prior to the crash.

He was checked out, Bird said. I dont know why. But he certainly wasnt paying attention to what he was doing.

Bird pointed out that the other drivers adjusted for the suns glare by slowing down. She said a trained, certified driver should have done at least as much.

Vancamp was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail following his conviction. Because his conviction is a misdemeanor, he will only have to serve half of his time, or six months.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The Virginia Supreme Court, stating it was not filed in a timely fashion, has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multi-year battle with the town of Culpeper over the 2013 condemnation of 5.4 acres.

In July of 2017, a Circuit Court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in in just compensation for the property the town took through eminent domain to build the four-lane Col. Jameson Boulevard in an area he had envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer had asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, what he estimated as its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the jurys just compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, which heard arguments on it. On March 28, the court dismissed the case, agreeing with the town that the appeal was filed after the 30-day deadline to do so.
You have to take a look at how you think about where you locate them, how it doesnt end up affecting your power rates because of the enormous amount of power they use. And are there ways to do that and to make sure that theres going to be good jobs to go along with them? Because a lot of those centers dont bring a lot of employment, Warner said.

Del. Bob Thomas, RStafford, expressed his views on the Interstate 95 corridor with hopes to accelerate the process to relieve congestion in the area through local efforts and a push at the federal level.

This is the one thing that I need the federal government to step up onespecially on interstates, because its their responsibility, said Thomas. I think its good to know that even if theres not a major infrastructure package coming right now, that if we do come up with a proposal for 95which were going to study this yearto be able to take it not only to Congressman [Rob] Wittman, but also to Sen. Warner to help push this through the process. That would be a tremendous help. Its a non-partisan issue. Weve got to fix the roads.

Supervisor Gary Snellings also found another ally to help with Staffords transportation woes.
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How to make Adjarian Khachapuri at home - GeorgianJournal
Amazon Summer Sale on Nokia smartphones: Get attractive offers and discounts Features oi-Harish Kumar

The Summer sale is currently running over Amazon's shopping platform. Under this sale, you can purchase devices, gadgets and other wares at amazing discounts and other exciting offers. Those who are keen on having Nokia phones can follow our list. The enlisted devices from Nokia are the ones which will leave you satisfied with the features they are coming with.

Offers provided by Amazon, until the sale gets over include- no cost EMI option on all major credit cards and select debit cards, amazing cashback and exchange offer, 10% instant discount up to Rs. 1500 on minimum order of Rs. 3,000 with SBI Debit and Credit cards and Credit Card EMIs, get up to Rs. 2,400 cash back(on Swiggy, BookMyShow, Netmeds, Yatra) and on recharges & bill payments, and get GST invoice and save up to 28% on business purchases. The platform also offers a 100% purchase protection plan on these devices. You can find detailed offers, after following the devices individually.

17% off on Nokia 6.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.8-inch (2280  1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio with 96% NTSC Color Gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM, 64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android P

16MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP secondary rear camera

16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size

Fingerprint sensor

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 15% off on Nokia 5.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.86-inch ( 7201520 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass 19:9 aspect ratio display

Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor with 800MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU

3GB RAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS, upgradable to Android P

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

13MP rear camera and secondary 5-megapixel rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typcial) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 6% off on Nokia 8.1 Best Price of Nokia 8.1

Key Specs 6.18-inch (2246  1080 pixels) Full HD+ Puredisplay

Octa Core Snapdragon 710 10nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 616 GPU

4GB (LPPDDR4x) RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP rear camera and 13MP secondary rear camera

20MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3500mAh (typical) / 3400mAh (minimum) battery with fast charging 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.84-inch (2244 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ HDR 10 display with 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP (Monochrome) secondary rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh battery with fast charging 50% off on Nokia 3.1 Best Price of Nokia 3.1

Key Specs 5.2 Inch HD+ IPS Display

1.5GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750N Processor

2/3GB RAM With 16/32GB ROM

Dual SIM

13MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

8MP Front Camera

4G VoLTE/WiFi

2990mAh Battery 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

6 inch FHD+ 2.5D Curved Display

2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

12MP + 13MP Dual Camera With Dual-Tone LED Flash And PDAF And ZEISS Optics

16MP Front Facing Camera

USB Type-C

Fingerprint Sensor

3300 MAh Battery 10 % off on Nokia 8 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.3 inch 2K 700 Nits Display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono) Camera

13MP Front Facing Camera

Quick Charge 3.0

Nokia OZO 360 Degree Audio

3090 MAh Battery 22% off on Nokia 3.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

13MP+5MP dual rear camera | 8MP front camera

15.24 centimeters (6-inch) capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio

Memory, Storage & SIM: 3GB RAM | 32GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB | Dual SIM dual-standby (4G+4G)

Android v8.0 Oreo operating system with 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6762 octa core processor

3500mAH lithium-ion battery

Best Mobiles in India

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HTC might soon launch an entry-level smartphone with 6 GB of RAM reveals Geekbench listing News oi-Vivek HTC = High Tech Computer

HTC or High Tech Computer, a Taiwan tech-company was the first smartphone maker to launch a smartphone powered by Android OS. In the last decade, HTC has launched a good number of smartphones with a lot of innovative features. However, the last few years have been very challenging, where the Chinese smartphone brands have been offering affordable smartphones, and HTC fails to cope up with the same.

An entry-level phone with 6 GB RAM

The recent listing on Geekbench suggests that the company is working on a new entry-level smartphone, which might launch in the coming day. An unknown HTC smartphone with model number HTC 2Q741 has been spotted on Geekbench.

Geekbench listing reveals that the smartphone scores 897 points on single core and 4385 points on multi-core performance. As per the listing, the smartphone is powered by an Octa-core chipset from MediaTek (Probably the MediaTek Helio P35), coupled with 6GB of RAM.

The benchmark scores reveal that the smartphone will sport an entry-level processor with 6 GB of RAM, which is a bit strange, considering the performance of the device. The listing also reveals that the smartphone will run on Android 9 Pie OS, probably with a custom skin on top.

Do note that, the company is also working on a similar smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC with the model number HTC 2Q7A100. It looks like the company will launch the Qualcomm variant in select markets, and the remaining countries will see a MediaTek variant.

If HTC price their devices competitively, then HTC still has brand value, at least in the country like India, where HTC is considered as a premium smartphone maker. What is your opinion companies using a MediaTek or a Qualcomm chipset? Which one do you prefer over one onther MediaTek or Qualcomm? Let us know in the comment box below.

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Pornhub wants to acquire Tumblr and bring adult content back News oi-Karan Sharma Verizon looking to sell Tumblr and Pornhub is ready to grab the opportunity. All you need to know.

Verizon has seemed to be interested in selling its blogging platform Tumblr which it has acquired two years back as part of its Yahoo acquisition. Now Pornhub has announced that it is interested in buying the blogging site after which it will end the porn ban which is imposed by Verizon.

"Verizon Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for blogging website Tumblr, according to people familiar with the matter, as it tries to steady a media business that has struggled to meet revenue targets," as per The Wall Street Journal report.

Just after the news broke Pornhub quickly showed its interest in buying the site. However, it is not clear that both companies have talked so far or not. Back in December 2018, Verizon banned all the adult content from Tumblr. It seems this Pornhub want to restore the site with all the adult content which were removed by the company.

"There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr," Pornhub VP Corey Price said in a statement to Ars. "We're extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content."

The announcement and interest of Pornhub buying Tumblr were first reported by BuzzFeed. Just to recall, back in 2013 Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. In June 2017, Verizon acquires Yahoo's operating business, including Tumblr, for $4.48 billion. Now, Verizon is also selling the blogging website.

Let's see who is going to buy Tumblr, would it the Pornhub or some other company. Hope we will see some acquisition soon in the near future.

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Tech Mahindra launches Blockchain Technology to curb spam calls News oi-Priyanka Dua Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share.

Tech Mahindra has announced the deployment of a cutting-edge solution leveraging Blockchain Technology aiming at mitigating spam calls for the telecom sector in India impacting 300 million mobile subscribers.

Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share, in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of TRAI in order to enable Telecom providers to prevent unauthorized access of their subscribers' data.

Further, the firm is also demonstrating Blockchain capabilities in diverse sectors including Telecom, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech Industries, and Financial Services.

"Blockchain is a focus for corporates and government alike and is expected to be a trillion-dollar market by 2030. With the concerted and coordinated efforts by the Indian government and the industry backed by appropriate regulation, India can continue to sustain and enhance its leadership position in Blockchain technology. At Tech Mahindra, we are betting big on Blockchain as part of our TechMNxt charter, to deliver tangible business value and empower our customers to provide a completely differentiated experience to their end customers," Rajesh Dhuddu, Global Practice Leader, Blockchain, Tech Mahindra, said.

The digital transformation provider has already identified and is working on a holistic framework called Block Ecosystem that comprises of various levers; Block Studio, Block Engage, Block Talks, Block Geeks, Block Accelerate, Block Access & Block Value, which create industry-leading applications that are architected on innovation and human excellence to unlock significant value for all stakeholders.n

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How to get 25% cashback from BSNL annual broadband plans News oi-Priyanka Dua Customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

The State-run telecom Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has once again extended the deadline for the 25 percent cash back on its annual broadband plans till May 31, 2019.

BSNL also tweeted that through its official Twitter handle saying,"-Get flat 25 percent off on BSNL annual subscription."

For the unaware, this cashback offer was first announced last year in December for its landline and broadband customers.

However, there are some terms and conditions for this scheme as this cashback will be credited when a customer opts for an annual plan and makes payment timely.

In fact, the customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

Meanwhile, telco installed 54000 towers during 2018-2019, which is higher than the combined figures of the previous three years.

BSNL has also started installing 4G towers during the financial year 2018-2019 and has installed approx.

Subscribers have welcomed the network expansion and attractive plans offered by joining BSNL and leaving other operators in large numbers. During the year 2018-2019 more than 50 lacs subscribers have ported their number to BSNL from other operators, utilizing the MNP facility. BSNL is one of the two operators showing net addition of more than 9 lakh subscribers, during February 2019, as per the latest TRAI report.

Recently BSNL has also offered Eros Now premium subscription free of cost with unlimited movies and exclusive video series to its consumers of select STV/plans of Rs.78, Rs.98 and Rs.298.

Source

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Jordanian king sacks senior intelligence chief, security officials, fearing plot: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 09:43AM

Jordanian King Abdullah II has sacked his intelligence chief along with other senior security officials, fearing a plot to destabilize the kingdom, according to a report.

The removals followed reports that several senior Jordanian officials were found to have planned mass demonstrations against Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper says.

General Intelligence Department Chief General Adnan al-Jundi was among the most influential officials to have been sacked by the king, along with other figures in the country's defense establishment and police force.

Following the removals, the king explained that the measure came in response to reported shortcomings in the country's intelligence apparatus, with some officials allegedly using their positions to advance personal interests at the expense of the kingdom.

Jordanian officials have said that they expect further changes to take place at the palace and in the country's security apparatus.

The abrupt dismissal and concerns over instability come as Jordan fears Saudi Arabia's recent push to normalize relations with the Israeli regime, in line with the US-proposed "deal of the century", may greatly destabilize the kingdom.

The plan formulated by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will reportedly deny Palestinians any right to a sovereign Palestinian state while recognizing further Israeli rule over the occupied territories.

Jordanian officials have expressed concern that Riyadh may be seeking to compromise the special status of Jordan as the custodian of the Haram al-Sharif in East Jerusalem al-Quds and surrender the Palestinian right of return in order to achieve the deal.

"Half the population of Jordan are Palestinians and if there is official talk in Riyadh about ending the right of return, this will cause turmoil within the kingdom," said a senior official close to the royal court in Amman speaking to the Middle East Monitor.

King Abdullah has strongly voiced his opposition to any plan compromising Palestinian right to return in recent months.

Although many Palestinians in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and access to medical care, they are under-represented in parliament and have insignificant presence in the country's security services.

Jordan countering Israel

Jordan's heightened concerns over an impending Tel Aviv-Riyadh deal come as the country has recently taken a more vocal stance against Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that King Abdullah had ordered a review of the country's controversial multi-billion-dollar deal to import natural gas from the Israeli-occupied territories.

Jordan has also recently warmed ties with Tehran. Last year, King Abdullah met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for the first time in 15 years.

Last month, Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh and Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed the importance of Muslim unity against the Israeli regime during a meeting.

The Jordanian speaker said concerns over Israeli aggression on the al-Aqsa mosque make it necessary for Muslim states to pay special attention to the issue of Palestine.

King Abdullah has also recently expressed hope for improved relations with Syria and Iraq, hailing the improved security situation in the two countries.

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Jordan's King Sacks Intel Chief, Senior Officials Amid Plot Suspicions  Reports

Sputnik News

07:04 03.05.2019(updated 08:03 03.05.2019)

Jordanian King Abdullah II fired several senior officials, including the general intelligence chief over the past week following reports of a plot to destabilise the kingdom.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, citing anonymous sources, reported that several senior and influential Jordanian figures had conspired to hold a mass protest outside the royal palace in Amman to demonstrate a lack of public confidence in Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and thereby create instability in the kingdom.

The Jordanian King replaced the director of the General Intelligence Department, General Adnan al-Jundi, who held one of the most influential positions in the country. The palace issued a statement stating that the king had decided to retire Jundi, replacing him with General Ahmed Husni, who has served in several senior intelligence posts.

The king said in the statement, cited by Haaretz, that the move was prompted by complaints of shortcomings in the management of the intelligence system and finding that some people were using their status and positions to advance personal interests at the expense of those of the kingdom. Before Jundi, the king also replaced several officials in his bureau, including the head of policy and information.

Jordanian media reported that changes had also been made in the defence establishment and police force, with new commanders appointed for some regions. According to Jordanian officials, additional changes are expected to take place at the palace and in defence-related positions.

Haaretz also noted that Jordanian officials are worried about the repercussions of the Middle East peace proposal that the Trump administration is gearing up to present. The concern is that the plan could destabilize the kingdom and undermine its relations with the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and other Arab countries.

The Jordanian King has previously said that he has been subject to heavy pressure in the course of preparations to release the plan, noting that Jordan "will not compromise on issues of principle such as the Palestinian right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, as well as the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees".

Jordanian officials have firmly denied reports that the kingdom will grant citizenship to more than a million Palestinian refugees in exchange for generous economic assistance, estimated at tens of billions of dollars, as part of the peace plan. A senior Jordanian official told Haaretz on Thursday that King Abdullah has set clear red lines and would not "surrender to dictates that infringe on the Palestinians' basic rights." Jordan would not become an alternative to a Palestinian state, the official added.

 Sputnik

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3 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/3 19:21:37

Three militants were killed and a trooper wounded on Friday in a fierce gunfight with government forces in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out at village Aadkhara, Imam Sahab of Shopian district, about 58 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A gunfight broke out this morning between militants and joint contingents of army and police here. The militants present inside a house fired upon search party, which was retaliated by it resulting into a stand-off," a police official posted in Shopian told Xinhua.

Police said the identity of slain militants was being ascertained. However, local media reports said the three were local cadres of region's indigenous militant outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to police, the operation in the area was launched on specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the districts, south of Srinagar, in the wake of the gunfight.

Locals said clashes broke out between youth and government forces in the area following the killing of three militants in the gunfight.

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NATO Secretary General praises the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's long-standing contribution to Euro-Atlantic defence and security

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

03 May. 2019

"For seven decades, NATO has defended the way of life, and the values that underpin it: freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. This makes the job of SACEUR one of the most challenging  and most important  military positions in the world," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today (3 May 2019), during the change of command ceremony for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons (Belgium).

"Those who have held the title 'SACEUR' have led our Alliance during the Cold War, deterring the Soviet Union. They stopped brutal wars in the Balkans, helped to defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and spread freedom and democracy across the nations of Europe," Mr. Stoltenberg said. Speaking of General Scaparrotti, Mr. Stoltenberg said: "Your leadership and vision have proved critical to strengthening our Alliance. Under you command, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation, we have deployed four multinational battlegroups in the eastern part of our Alliance, and we have enhanced the readiness of our forces. You have been instrumental in the development of NATO's Hub for the South, increasing our understanding and approach to challenges in the Middle East and North Africa," the NATO Secretary General added.

"But now it is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters," Mr. Stoltenberg said. "As SACEUR you will now take command of forces from across our Alliance, ensuring the safety and security of the 29 nations of our NATO Alliance; standing up to current challenges as well as new evolving threats. I know you will continue to demonstrate the same levels of excellence you have become known for throughout your career," he pointed out.

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USS Louisville Returns to Pearl Harbor

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS190503-02

Release Date: 5/3/2019 9:25:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shaun Griffin, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment, May 2.

"Louisville Sailors are some of the finest in the world," said Cmdr. Robert W. Rose, from Garland, Utah, and Louisville's commanding officer. "Their hard work, ingenuity, and constant effort kept Louisville ready for every phase of deployment. As commanding officer, it is my absolute privilege to lead this crew in carrying out our nation's most important tasking."

During the deployment, 27 Sailors were promoted and 26 Sailors and six officers earned their submarine warfare qualification.

"Our strength on Louisville has always been our teamwork and mentorship; it's what enables us to succeed," said Senior Chief Fire Control Technician Teruedum A. Cox, a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina and Louisville's Chief of the Boat. "The senior members of our crew did an incredible job training our junior Sailors on the deck plate level. My hat's off to our entire crew."

While deployed, Louisville conducted port visits in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets and hosted several Royal Thai Navy dignitaries during the bilateral exercise Guardian Sea.

"Seeing the crew serve as great hosts to our Thai allies on board speaks to the Louisville way," said Senior Chief Yeoman (Submarine) Gary White, a native of Dallas, Texas. "For many on board, this was the first time they interacted with foreign Sailors, and it was an awesome opportunity for them to learn about a different culture."

"Experiencing different cultures in the 5th and 7th Fleets was certainly a highlight of this deployment," said Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Alex York, from Tucson, Arizona. "This will stick with me for many years."

Louisville is the fourth United States ship to bear the name in honor of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. She is the 35th nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the Los Angeles-class design. The completion of her deployment in the 5th and 7th Fleet area of operations marks her last deployment as she prepares for decommission.

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Afghan president expresses readiness to declare ceasefire with Taliban

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:50PM

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

"If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it," he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as "a gesture of goodwill".

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatar's capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to "declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire."

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

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Exclusive: Hamas official says Palestinians will resist Trump's 'deal of century'

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:59PM

A senior Hamas official has told Press TV that Palestinians will resist the so-called deal of the century proposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, stopping at nothing less than creating an "independent Palestinian state."

"As Palestinians, we will not accept such ideas. We will resist. No one can accept selling his own land. We will not accept Jerusalem al-Quds being the capital of another state; it will be the capital of the Palestinian state forever," said Hamas' international relations committee head Osama Hamdan on Friday.

Hamdan made the comments on the sidelines of the first "Return of the Century" international graphic arts workshop for Palestine, which is currently being held in Mashhad, Iran.

The workshop has been held in a bid to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation of Palestine as well as Trump's "deal of the century," which is designed to do away with the Palestinian people's right of return to their own land.

Trump's "peace plan" is expected to be unveiled at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in June.

Describing the so-called plan as "a new Israeli-American arrangement" for the region, Hamdan said that Palestinians stood united against any concessions on the liberation and sovereignty of Palestine.

"We have to liberate it. There are Palestinian refugees that have to return to their homeland and we have to create our own independent state on all the Palestinian lands from the river to the sea," he said.

Hamdan also made reference to what he described as the Palestinian nation's objection to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's Camp David negotiations with Israel.

"If anyone of the Arabs is seeking to have relations with Israel, he can bring the Israelis to his homeland, [not Palestine]," he said.

The Hamas official added that, "if anyone wants to do anything good, he has to help the Palestinians and the resistance against the occupation."

Hamdan went on to laud the weekly "right to return" marches that have been held in the Gaza Strip since March 2018 as part of the "resistance against the occupation."

"We will continue the resistance, be it by either the return marches or by military action against the occupation. We will do it until the occupation ceases to exist on Palestinian land," he said.

The "Return of the Century" workshop, which kicked off on May 1 and will continue for three days, is attended by graphic designers from 12 countries. Thirty artists from Iran are also participating in the event.

According to organizers, 40 posters will be selected to be showcased by pro-Palestinian groups around the world on Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) as well as the International Quds Day.

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US Senate fails to end military assistance to Saudi war in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:38AM

The US Senate has failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution demanding an end to American military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, a country plagued by more than four years of a devastating conflict.

The vote on Thursday was 53 to 45, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, despite a handful of Trump's fellow Republicans joining Democrats in backing the War Powers Act, which limits the president's ability to send troops into action without congressional authorization.

The resolution's passage earlier this year marked the first time both the Senate and House of Representatives supported the provision of the War Powers Act.

Supporters of the resolution said they wanted to reassert the constitutional power of Congress to declare war, and send a strong message to Saudi Arabia about the devastating civilian toll of the war in Yemen.

The Saudi-led war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world's most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the former Saudi-sponsored government back to power.

The US along with some Western countries are complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

Last November, Washington stopped providing aerial refueling for the coalition's warplanes. It only halted the support after the coalition grew independent of it.

Many members of Congress have also become angry with Riyadh over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and columnist for the Washington Post.

US intelligence agencies believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

However, some observers believe the anti-Saudi sentiment in Congress is not genuine and Riyadh continues to have widespread support in Washington.

Riyadh spent $27 million on hiring lobbying firms in 2017 to influence Congress, compared with $10 million in 2016, according to the Center for International Policy, which tracks foreign influence spending in the US.

The Senate vote on Thursday comes less than two weeks after the beheading of 37 Saudi nationals across the kingdom.

World leaders and several human rights organizations have expressed shock and condemnation over the mass execution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that most of those beheaded were minority Shia Muslims. She also voiced concern about a lack of due process and fair trial in the kingdom amid allegations that confessions were obtained through torture.

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Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Calls For Immediate Cease-Fire

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

A Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, has wrapped up in Kabul, with leading Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire to help settle the nearly two-decade long conflict in the country.

Some 3,200 representatives, separated into dozens of individual committees, met in the Afghan capital under tight security to find common ground and discuss methods of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban militant group.

According to the state-run Afghan broadcaster RTA World, the Loya Jirga also called for a prisoner exchange and the opening of a Taliban office in Afghanistan.

Reacting to the Loya Jirga demand for a cease-fire, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was "prepared to implement the fair and legitimate demand" for a truce but stressed it "cannot be one-sided," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The Taliban later rejected calls for a truce, which the Loya Jirga proposed should start on May 6, the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, the Taliban said waging jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan had "even more [holy] rewards."

They called the Loya Jirga "symbolic" and a "failure."

The Loya Jirga said the government in Kabul must have a central role in the peace process with coordination provided by the international community. It also said human rights, including women's rights, must be protected in Afghanistan.

Some opposition politicians boycotted the assembly, saying they had not been consulted by the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who organized the event. Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, was among those saying he would not attend.

Ghani has alienated much of the country's political elite, who say they have been sidelined from the government's peace efforts.

Many concerns remain within Afghan society about a potential peace deal with the Taliban, with some people expressing worries that the militant Islamists would try to seize power and reverse advances in women's rights, media freedoms, and legal protections.

Hundreds of women attended the assembly and set out their "red lines" for any negotiations with the Taliban.

Semin Noori, head of one of the assembly committees, said that "withdrawal of foreign forces should not mean that all advances made in women's rights are forgotten and we are forced to suffer again."

Many leaders said the government and the Taliban must immediately agree to a nationwide battlefield truce as a prelude to a peace deal.

Abdul Hannan, a committee chairman who traveled from the south of the country to attend the assembly, urged "both sides to announce a cease-fire."

"The war will end only when both sides stop fighting before they sign a permanent peace agreement," he added.

"Every day, Afghans are being killed without any reason. An unconditional cease-fire must be announced," said Mohammad Qureshi, another committee leader.

Taliban negotiators have so far refused to negotiate with the government, calling it a puppet of the West, and have insisted on the withdrawal of foreign forces before talks with Kabul can begin.

The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support, a NATO-led mission that provides training and assistance to security forces in Afghanistan as they battle Taliban fighters and other extremist groups.

The Taliban now effectively controls or influences about half of the country. Dashing hopes for any quick cease-fire, the militant group has announced the start of its spring offensive, despite taking part in several rounds of talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar.

Even if U.S. and Taliban negotiators strike a deal to end fighting in the 18-year war, the militant group would still need to reach agreement with Afghan politicians and tribal leaders before a sustainable cease-fire could begin.

Loya Jirga is an ancient Afghan tradition that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle major disputes. It plays a purely consultative role but usually carries much influence in Afghan society.

The most recent jirga was held in 2013, when the Afghan government endorsed a security agreement allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond their planned withdrawal in 2014.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-loya- jirga-assembly-wraps-up-statement- possible/29918505.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 Top NATO Military Officer Sworn In

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

MONS, Belgium -- U.S. General Tod Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the NATO military alliance.

Wolters became supreme allied commander in Europe, a post always held by a U.S. military officer, at a ceremony on May 3 at NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

At the ceremony, NATO's top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said the command is "one of the most challenging and most important military positions in the world."

"It is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters. Tod, as an Air Force pilot you have fought in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The leadership, professionalism, and dedication to duty you showed in the air has been an essential part of your career on the ground," Stoltenberg stated.

Wolters, who replaces U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, will also be commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

"Fifty-seven years ago my dad, then-Captain [Thomas] Wolters, was a NATO F-102 pilot out of Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, and he was responsible for securing West German skies. Thirty-two years ago, this Captain [Tod] Wolters was a NATO F-15C pilot out a Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, responsible for achieving local air superiority in the vicinity of the East German border. NATO had changed, yet the prospect of surviving a conflict in dad's F-102 and my 1987 F-15C was a challenge," Wolters said at the ceremony.

He takes over at a time when the alliance is preparing for the likely demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a U.S-Russian disarmament pact that has protected Europe for the past three decades.

Wolters had served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe -- Air Forces Africa based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Wolters is a fighter pilot by training, with more than 5,000 hours through his nearly 32-year military career, according to his Air Force biography.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/new-top-nato -military-officer-sworn-in/29919201.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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Pentagon May Deploy Submarines in the Arctic to Deter Alleged Chinese Threat

Sputnik News

16:18 03.05.2019

Last year, China released its Arctic Policy, in which it vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a key stakeholder in the region.

On the pretext of China's growing activity there, the US may expand its military presence in the Arctic and deploy submarines, the Pentagon announced in a report published Thursday.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region," the report said.

This follows the publication of China's Arctic Policy, released in June last year, in which Beijing vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a major stakeholder in the region.

In the document, the Asian superpower introduced its plans to create shipping lanes opened up by global warming to develop a "Polar Silk Road" that relies on China's President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative; the programme's key aim is to develop infrastructure and boost ties between Eurasian countries.

The Polar Silk Road project is of great significance to China, as it allows the Asian state to ship goods to Europe faster than via the Suez Canal; shipping via the Arctic route may save Chinese vessels around 30 days.

In addition, the recently released Pentagon report showed its concern with the alleged Chinese threat after last month Beijing showcased a nuclear-powered submarine for the first time during a key international naval parade, held on the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy's founding. The parade was held in the western port city of Qingdao, featuring 32 naval vessels led by China's latest and largest Type 094 (Jin-class) nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub.

The document went on to note that US submarines might be used "as a deterrent against nuclear attacks."

 Sputnik

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India-Pakistan Nuclear Exchange Would 'Immediately' Kill 20 Million  Official

Sputnik News

13:04 03.05.2019(updated 13:12 03.05.2019)

Earlier this week, the Pakistani Army blasted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks about New Delhi's willingness to use its "mother of nuclear bombs" to retaliate in case of a nuclear war between the two South Asian powers.

A nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India would quickly turn into a "nuclear Armageddon" affecting the whole world, Sardar Masood Khan, president of the Pakistani-administered jurisdiction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has warned.

"If there was a nuclear conflict between the two countries, 20 million people would die immediately," Khan said, speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs in Istanbul, Turkey, with his remarks cited by the Anadolu Agency.

According to Khan, the long-running Pakistani-Indian conflict over Kashmir, which came into being immediately after the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947, "should be resolved and peace should be established. We have no other options," he stressed.

Among the three wars India and Pakistan have fought, between 1948 and 1971, two of them were over the Kashmir region, with low-intensity conflict raging inside the divided Kashmir region for decades, claiming thousands of lives and occasionally spilling out into broader tensions.

"The conflict in Kashmir is not only related to politics, economy and geopolitics, but it is also a human tragedy," Khan noted, adding that India and Pakistan might turn to the United Nations and neighbouring powers in a search for ways to resolve the problem.

Earlier this week, a Pakistani Armed Forces spokesman urged New Delhi not to "test" Pakistan's "resolve," saying that nuclear weapons were "a weapon of deterrence that should not be mentioned lightly."

The comments were a response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told supporters at an election rally last month that India had the "mother of nuclear bombs" and would never yield to what he described as Pakistan's attempts at nuclear blackmail.

According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan and India have a total of between 140-150 and 130-140 nuclear weapons, respectively. Both sides also have access to air-launched, land-based and sea-based nuclear delivery systems.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in mid-February, when al-Qaeda* affiliated terrorists believed to be operating from the Pakistani side of the border in Kashmir attacked an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 personnel. India retaliated by launching airstrikes inside Pakistan in late February, with these resulting in a series of clashes along the Line of Control border area which have continued to this day.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Indian Forces Kill Three Militants in Kashmir, 20 Hurt Protesting the Move

Sputnik News

11:51 03.05.2019(updated 13:51 03.05.2019)

The authorities have suspended Internet services across south Kashmir following clashes and a gunfight; a shutdown is being observed in the state's Shopian sector and other parts of neighbouring districts.

New Delhi (Sputnik): At least 20 civilians suffered pellet injuries in Jammu and Kashmir state on Friday during clashes with the Indian security forces that erupted after the killing of three militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.

The clashes occurred in the state's Shopian district in the morning.

Three out of the 20 hit were struck by by pellets in their eyes, and were referred to a hospital in the state capital city of Srinagar for specialised medical attention while the others were being attended to in Pulwama and Shopian, other sectors of the state, a Police official said.

The security forces lobbed tear smoke shells and resorted to firing pellets to quell the stone-throwing crowd, witnesses said.

Earlier in the morning, a gunfight occurred after a joint team of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Adkhara village in the Shopian district.

According to police, Lateef Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pulwama district and the lone surviving terrorist of Burhan Wani group, was among the three terrorists gunned down by security forces. The two others were identified as Tariq Molvi and Shariq Ahmad Negroo, the residents of local villages in Shopian district.

"The trio was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen militant group," a police official said.

Burhan Wani was a commander of Kashmiri group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, perceived to be a prominent face of resurgence of terrorism in Kashmir whom security personnel neutralised in 2016. His killing had triggered massive civilian unrest, especially in the form of stone-pelting crowds, in which around 100 protestors were killed and thousands others were injured mostly with pellets.

 Sputnik

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Taliban Reject US, Afghan Demands for Cease-Fire

By Ayesha Tanzeem May 03, 2019

An Afghan grand assembly, or loya jirga, ended Friday with the delegates in Kabul demanding peace with the Taliban, as President Ashraf Ghani promised to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, which begins in a few days.

The Afghan Taliban, for their part, responded harshly to demands for a cease-fire, saying the United States should end the use of force instead.

"@US4AfghanPeace should forget about the idea of us putting down our arms. Instead of such fantasies, he should drive the idea home (U.S.) about ending the use of force & incurring further human & financial losses for the decaying Kabul administration," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, who started a sixth round of direct negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday as the jirga was taking place.

"It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace," Khalilzad said on Twitter.

Cease-fire vs. foreign troop exit

The government says the jirga was convened to allow delegates from Afghan society to formulate the parameters of negotiations with the Taliban.

In its final resolution presented Friday, the jirga demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The Taliban in turn issued their own formula for peace in the form of an op-ed on their website, titled, "What is the path towards Peace?"

"[O]ccupation and war are tied on a linear string as cause and effect," the piece read, adding that without the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, peace cannot be achieved.

The Taliban insist on postponement of an intra-Afghan dialogue involving the current Kabul administration until foreign troops are out of the country. Pressure has increased on the Taliban to include the government in peace negotiations as China, Russia and other regional countries add their support to this U.S. demand.

"So, when the occupation ends and the foreign aspect of war [is] removed from the equation, peace then requires the Afghans, especially the political class to be lenient, cordial and forgiving by learning from historic experiences and working hand in hand with one another to achieve the common goal of the people, a peaceful Islamic government," the opinion piece stated.

Prisoner release

Even though the Taliban have engaged with Afghan stakeholders in the past, including opposition politicians, they refuse to have direct talks with official representatives of the Kabul government, labeling it a puppet of foreign occupiers.

Ghani announced that he was ready to implement more than 20 recommendations of the jirga immediately. As a gesture of goodwill, Ghani pledged to release 175 Taliban from Afghan prisons.

Apart from an immediate cease-fire, the jirga also recommended the opening of a Taliban political office in Afghanistan, a prisoner exchange, preservation of human rights, including the rights of women during negotiations with the Taliban, and the formation of an all-inclusive negotiation team to talk to the Taliban.

Ghani has repeatedly asked the Taliban to move their peace negotiations to Afghanistan and promised them a political office and security. So far, the Taliban have ignored his requests, and usually meet Khalilzad and his team in Doha, where they have maintained an unofficial political office for years.

While the loya jirga does not have legal status, analysts say its recommendations will put public pressure on the Taliban.

The jirga was not without controversy. A majority of opposition politicians, including 12 presidential candidates, boycotted the jirga, calling it a waste of money and a campaign stunt by Ghani, who seeks a second term in presidential elections scheduled for September.

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European Security Chiefs Alarmed at Threat From Far-Right Terrorism

By Jamie Dettmer May 03, 2019

When British police first visited 41-year-old Steven Bishop at his home in the ethnically-diverse London suburb of Thornton Heath he told them he was planning a fireworks display.

But officers, who had been alerted by one of Bishop's co-workers who feared his colleague was making a bomb, examined the fireworks and discovered they had been tampered with.

Last month, Bishop, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, pleaded guilty to terror charges, including planning an attack on a nearby mosque in revenge  as he saw it  for the 2017 Manchester Arena suicide bombing by a radical Islamist that left 23 dead and 139 wounded, half of them children.

From Germany to Britain, alarm is rising across Europe about the terror threat from fringe far-right groups and their supporters. Analysts and intelligence officials say the groups are studying the tactics of jihadist factions, like the Islamic State terror group, and copying their bomb-making methods and social-media propaganda techniques, using YouTube and messaging platforms to radicalize others.

This week, German authorities said the number of far-right extremists and fringe groups has jumped by 50 percent over the past two years.

In Britain, intelligence agencies are now being drafted to help police tackle the far-right terror threat with authorities saying four attacks have been foiled since 2017. The country's Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, which is coordinated by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, has been tasked to assess the threat posed by militant right-wing terrorism.

Britain's interior minister, Sajid Javid, told reporters last month, "The marked shift in the nature of extreme right-wing activity, and in the organization of such groups and their reach, from being small groups mainly focused on promoting anti-immigration views and white supremacy to actual engagement in terrorist activity, has resulted in this aspect of the threat presenting a higher risk to national security than it previously has."

The alarm in London, Berlin and other European capitals has jumped since the live-streamed shootings in April at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 50 dead and 50 wounded. It emerged after the massacre that the 28-year-old assailant had ties to so-called Identitarian (white nationalist) groups in Europe, having sent donations to France's far-right anti-immigrant movement Generation Identaire and to an Austrian affiliate.

In an analysis of far-right extremist activity, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, warned that monitoring far-right militants with violence in mind is becoming increasingly challenging and labor-intensive. Traditional extremist groups have fragmented into even more shadowy and secretive factions. The potential for 'lone-wolf' attacks has increased dramatically, the agency warned.

"They are developing in different currents and spectra of the right-wing extremist scene, but also on the fringe or entirely outside of organized right-wing extremist tableaus," the report said. Online surveillance must be increased to try to keep tabs and head off attacks in the early stages of planning, the agency counseled.

The overall assessment of the threat from right-wing terrorism and violence has changed dramatically. Until two years ago, analysts were reporting that the number of deadly incidents perpetrated by far-right militants had declined considerably between 1990 to 2015, although they noted that that in most Western democracies, the number of deadly attacks motivated by far-right beliefs was higher than those motivated by Islamism, including in the United States.

Writing in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism in 2016, Jacob Aasland Ravndal, a Norwegian analyst of militant activism and political violence, noted the decline was puzzling given that the conditions commonly assumed to stimulate such violence were plentiful. "These conditions include increased immigration, enhanced support to radical right parties, Islamist terrorism, and booming youth unemployment rates," he wrote.

But intelligence officials across the Continent now say jihadists and the far-right militants are feeding each other, using similar methods to radicalize people quickly and to inspire loners to carry out copy-cat attacks. A London court heard last year how Darren Osborne, who drove a van into pedestrians in the capital's Finsbury Park neighborhood near a mosque, had been radicalized in a matter of weeks. Osborne was cited by the Christchurch attacker as an inspiration.

"Evolving technologies and increasing exploitation of social media for the purpose of spreading terrorist material and radicalizing others poses a particularly difficult challenge," Javid told reporters in London last month. Analysts say social media can indeed help turn political extremists into violent ones and the fear is that the trajectory may be shifting and that right-wing motivated violence may be heading back up.

Researchers at the University of Maryland, who compile the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism database (START) on terrorist attacks in North America, Western Europe and Oceania say "a spate of right-wing terrorist attacks broke out after a lull in the early-to-mid 2000s, just as social media began to gain popularity."

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Bahrain - Patriot Missile System and Related Support and Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-06

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain of various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.478 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Bahrain has requested to buy sixty (60) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, thirty-six (36) Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, nine (9) M903 Launching Stations (LS), five (5) Antenna Mast Groups (AMG), three (3) Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III, two (2) AN/MPQ-65 Radar Sets (RS), and two (2) AN/MSQ-132 Engagement Control Stations (ECS). Also included is communications equipment, tools and test equipment, range and test programs, support equipment, prime movers, generators, publications and technical documentation, training equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training, Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT), U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO), field office support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $2.478 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a Major Non-NATO ally which is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance Bahrain's interoperability with the United States. Bahrain will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats. Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 Missile is Lockheed-Martin in Dallas, Texas. The prime contractor for the GEM-T missile is Raytheon Company in Andover, Massachusetts. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require approximately 25 U.S. Government and 40 contractor representatives to travel to Bahrain for an extended period for equipment de-processing/fielding, system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Patriot Missile System and Related Support Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-37

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to United Arab Emirates of four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.728 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested to buy up to four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE). Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design, U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics, sustainment and program support. The estimated cost is $2.728 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important ally which has been, and continues to be,' a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modem systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance the UAE's capability to meet current and future aircraft and missile threats. The UAE will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. The UAE will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 System will be Raytheon Corporation, Andover, Massachusetts, and Lockheed-Martin, Dallas, Texas. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed program will require additional contractor representatives to travel to the UAE. It is not expected additional U.S. Government personnel will be required in country for an extended period of time.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Air Force Research Laboratory completes successful shoot down of air-launched missiles

88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published May 03, 2019

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Research Laboratory Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator Advanced Technology Demonstration Program successfully completed a major program milestone with the successful surrogate laser weapon system shoot down of multiple air launched missiles in flight, April 23.

The SHiELD program is developing a directed energy laser system on an aircraft pod that will serve to demonstrate self-defense of aircraft against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.

"This critical demonstration shows that our directed energy systems are on track to be a game changer for our warfighters," said Dr. Kelly Hammett, AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate director.

During the series of tests at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility, the Demonstrator Laser Weapon System , acting as a ground-based test surrogate for the SHiELD system, was able to engage and shoot down several air launched missiles in flight.

The demonstration is an important step of the SHiELD system development, by validating laser effectiveness against the target missiles. The final SHiELD system, however, will be much smaller and lighter, as well as ruggedized for an airborne environment.

"The successful test is a big step ahead for directed energy systems and protection against adversarial threats," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander. "The ability to shoot down missiles with speed-of-light technology will enable air operation in denied environments. I am proud of the AFRL team advancing our Air Force's directed energy capability."

High Energy Laser technology has made significant gains in performance and maturity due to continued research and development by AFRL and others in the science and technology ecosystem. It is considered to be a game changing technology that will bring new capabilities to the warfighter.

For more information about the Air Force Research Laboratory, visit www.afresearchlab.com.



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May 3, 2019

News

By Jim Garamone

Defense.gov

DOD Official Details Continuing Chinese Military Buildup

WASHINGTON -- China continues to build up its military to challenge and supplant the United States as the preeminent power in the Indo-Pacific region, the assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs said today.

Randall G. Schriver briefed the Pentagon's press corps following the release of the new China Military Power Report. He said China continues to challenge U.S. military advantages, such as America's ability to deploy and sustain forces anywhere in the world and its unparalleled alliance system.

China is investing money and time into capabilities and capacity, Schriver said.

"Our 2019 report finds that in the coming decades, China seeks to become both prosperous and powerful, and the report notes that China has a stated goal of becoming a world class military by 2049," he said.

China Building Military

China is continuing to build its missile force, Schriver said, and it has begun building a second aircraft carrier. The nation is sailing two new cruisers and is building more, he said. And China's air force has flown its J-20 fifth-generation aircraft, Schriver said. The aircraft has stealth characteristics and many U.S. officials have said they believe it may contain technologies stolen from U.S. manufacturers.

Chinese conventional forces are moving to improve training and evaluation of ground, sea and air forces, he said. Newly published doctrine "emphasizes realistic and joint training across all domains and tasks the PLA to prepare for conflict aimed at 'strong military opponents,'" Schriver said.

China is emphasizing civil-military integration with civilian companies entering the military market to achieve greater efficiencies, innovation and growth, he said.

The report also touches on Chinese espionage, including cybertheft, targeted investment in foreign companies with crucial technologies and its exploitation of access that Chinese nationals may have to U.S. technology. "In 2018, we saw specific efforts targeting such areas as aviation technologies and anti-submarine warfare technologies," Schriver said.

DOD officials have said they expect China will increase its military footprint, both in and out of the Indo-Pacific region. "We believe China will seek to establish additional bases overseas as well as points for access," Schriver said. He cited Chinese desires to establish military bases in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.

International Status-Seeking

China has been working seriously to bulk up its worldwide status for more than 20 years. China's economy is expanding and the Chinese Communist Party can mandate a strategy unchecked by democratic forces in the nation. Two programs  the "Made in China 2025" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives  point to the path China would like to take to ensure it is the preeminent power in the region.

Schriver said the initiatives have caused concern in many nations that following them would mean a loss of sovereignty if the nations by into the Chinese strategy. "Chinese leaders have softened their rhetoric and sought to rebrand [the initiatives], however the fundamental goals of these programs have not changed," he said.

The report covers Chinese efforts in "influence operations"  Chinese efforts to influence media, culture, business, academia in other countries to accept the Chinese way.

China continues efforts to claim the South China Sea and East China Sea. They continue to claim land on its borders with India and Bhutan.

China's attitude toward Taiwan continues to be threatening as they use elements of persuasion and coercion against the island," Schriver said. He said this is destabilizing to the entire region.

The U.S. National Defense Strategy says the United States is in competition with China, but that does not preclude the United States and China from working together when the interests align, Schriver said. "We continue to pursue a constructive results-oriented relationship between our countries, and it is an important part of our regional strategy to have stable, constructive relations with China and a relationship which mitigates the risk of incidents or accidents."

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US alarmed as China flexes military muscle with bases

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:22AM

The United States has expressed disquiet over Chinese increasing military activities, including the deployment of submarines to the Arctic Ocean as well as the construction of military bases around the world.

The US Defense Department released a report on Thursday, saying Beijing was planning to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in its trillion-dollar project, known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The initiative would reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects for international trade in an effort to counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies.

The US report said China, which currently has just one overseas military base in Djibouti, is believed to be planning others, including possibly in Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower.

"China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries," it said.

The report also said the target locations for such bases could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

The report was issued as Beijing and Washington are locked in dispute over US military presence in resource-rich South China Sea.

The US has been taking sides with several of China's neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, stepping up military presence under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

China has constantly warned Washington that close military encounters by air and naval forces of the two countries in the region could easily trigger miscalculation or even accidents at sea or in air.

'China's activities reaching the Arctic'

The Pentagon report noted that China has been accelerating military activities in the Arctic as well.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The eight-nation Arctic Council will convene a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday with the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Chinese military presence in the region.

The expansion of submarine forces is just one element of China's broad and costly modernization of its military, according to US experts, who believe the move is largely aimed at deterring any action by US armed forces.

The Pentagon assessment also mentioned Beijing's military actives in Taiwan, the self-ruled island, over which Beijing asserts sovereignty.

China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing's leadership pursues their reunification.

In 1979, the US adopted the "One China" policy, but under the administration of US President Donald Trump, it has courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China.

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful "reunification."

Beijing has accused Washington of making "a series of moves" on Taiwan and "other issues" that harm China's sovereignty.

The self-ruled island is only one of a growing number of sticking points in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war initiated by the US as well as an aggressive campaign it launched against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei's equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company's 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the law calling the bans unconstitutional.

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China May Create Bases in Pakistan to Protect Silk Road, Pentagon Report Claims

Sputnik News

11:24 03.05.2019

The Belt and Road Initiative, which was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe; the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt deals with Russia as well as countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Beijing may create more military bases across the world to protect its investments in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments.

With China currently having just one overseas military base in Djibouti, target locations could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific, according to the report.

"China's advancement of projects such as the 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative will probably drive military overseas basing through a perceived need to provide security for OBOR projects," the document pointed out.

The document singled out China's push to "establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries".

In March, Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the US White House's national security adviser urged the Italian government not to participate in China's BRI, calling it a "vanity project".

Shortly after, however, Italy became the first major Western country to support the BRI, which stipulates promoting investment in projects that would link dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe through the creation of infrastructure networks similar in purpose to the ancient Silk Road trading routes.

During a recent BRI Forum in Beijing, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaie, in turn, said that major EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding on BRI as a group rather than as individual states.

As for the Pentagon report, it comes at a time of ongoing Indian-Pakistani tensions, which escalated after the 14 February Pulwama terrorist attack in which at least 40 Indian security personnel were killed.

Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and New Delhi accused Islamabad of harbouring and sponsoring the Islamist terrorist outfit, a charge which Islamabad denies.

 Sputnik

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Pentagon Warns of Chinese Military Spying

By Carla Babb May 03, 2019

China's two decades of military modernization has paid off big in missile development and domains like cyber and space, but the Pentagon says China is still relying on spying on others to steal the latest military technology.

"China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals' access to these technologies, as well as ... computer intrusions and other illicit approaches," according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Thursday.

Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters Friday at the Pentagon that China frequently uses tactics that fall just short of armed conflict to reach its goal of becoming a "world-class military by 2049," from threats and coercion against media and academia to jamming systems against ships in international waters in the South China Sea.

The report said China has used these illicit approaches to acquire military-grade technologies from the United States that ranged from antisubmarine to aviation equipment.

He said the Chinese were "very aggressive" with modernization and had made "significant progress" in their ballistic and cruise missile development, but he stopped short of calling Beijing an adversary.

"We certainly don't see conflict with China, and it doesn't preclude cooperation where interests align," Schriver told reporters.

Arctic

The report also shows increased Chinese activities in the Arctic region.

Arctic states have expressed concerns that Beijing could use its presence there to strengthen China's military reach, mirroring worries about Chinese military presence in Africa and Latin America following its Belt and Road economic initiative.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report notes.

The Pentagon report noted that European allies like Denmark have expressed concern about Chinese proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station in Greenland.

Concentration camps

Schriver also noted the U.S. military's concern that the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission has taken sole authority of the People's Armed Police, China's primary force for internal security.

He accused China of imprisoning close to 3 million Chinese Muslims in "concentration camps" that "erode the rules-based order." He later defended his description, which harks back to the Jewish concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as appropriate, given the magnitude of the Chinese detentions and the goals of the camps based on public comments from the Chinese government.

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Seoul Confirms North Korea Tests Short-Range Missile

By William Gallo May 03, 2019

North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest small-scale provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the missile toward the east from the eastern town of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

No other details about the missile were immediately available, but a short-range missile would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirt the line of moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang said. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.

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India Considers Purchasing Russian Ka-31 Helicopters in $500 Mln Deal - Reports

Sputnik News

12:17 03.05.2019(updated 12:42 03.05.2019)

India recently also started formal negotiations with Russia to purchase 21 MiG-29 fighter jets, worth over $800 million, to bolster the ageing fleet of the world's fourth-largest air force. In January, India approached Russia for 18 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft, worth $700 million.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Having concluded multi-billion dollar deals since last October, the Indian government is likely to begin dwelling upon purchasing 10 Kamov-31 helicopters from Russia later this month for aircraft carrier operations and deployment on future Gregorivich-class warships.

The Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopter is based on the Ka-27 (Ka-28) design and its development started in 1987.

"The Defence Ministry is scheduled to take up over $500 million proposal for buying around 10 Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control choppers for the aircraft carrier operations and deployment of future warships of the Gregorovich class," reported Indian news agency ANI, citing government sources.

Russia has supplied a total of 14 Kamov-31 helicopters to the Indian Navy since 2003. The first four were inducted into the Indian Navy in April 2003 and the second batch in 2005.

The helicopter is powered by 2  Isotov TV3-117VMAR turboshafts generating 1633 kW (2217.7 hp) each driving contra rotating rotors, which allow the helicopters to be stowed on board frigate-sized ships.

Currently stationed on INS Talwar class frigates, Ka-31s will be based on the INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy's new aircraft carrier. The radar antenna of the helicopter can be folded and stowed under the fuselage during cruising.

The Koryo-A radar, produced by Phazotron NIIR Corporation, gives the Ka-31 the ability to monitor airspace all around it, up to a radius of 250 km. The radar detects and tracks aerial as well as surface threats using an electro-mechanically steered antenna. It can pin-point the geographical locations of the threats with co-ordinates, allowing data linked surface ships (Talwar class frigates, INS Vikramaditya) or airborne aircraft (MiG-29Ks operating from INS Vikramaditya) to engage the targets without turning on their own sensors and giving their position away.

Amid the backdrop of last year's annual summit in October 2018, which witnessed India and Russia sealing a $5.43 billion deal for S-400 air missile and defence systems, the old friends have inked defence deals worth over $7 billion, including the sale of submarines, short range air defence systems, frigates, and assault rifles by Russia to the Indian Armed Forces.

 Sputnik

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No looming war between US, Iran: Zarif

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he believed no military confrontation between Iran and the US is imminent and stressed that accidents like lack of communication with Iranian forces controlling the Strait of Hormuz could lead to conflict.

The Independent's journalist, Negar Mortazavi, released Thursday a summary of her recent talk with the Iranian foreign minister at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In the conversation, Zarif sees no possible war between the US and Iran as imminent but says that the lack of communication between the American ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf with Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) which is in charge of controlling the strategic strait on Iranian side might result in military confrontation.

IRGC, a major part of Iran's official Armed Forces, was listed by the US on terrorist organizations.

Zarif tried to highlight the consequences of such move when it comes to the oil lifeline in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian minister described lack of communication with IRGC as an 'accident' the other instance of which was the detention of US Navy boats in the Persian Gulf in 2016.

The incidents, however, were handled by Zarif and his then American counterpart John Kerry who were in touch directly following the nuclear deal that was signed with other permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Foreign Minister Zarif had also told the media in the past, that he had the authority to make prisoners swap deals with the US, but the swap would not include Europeans, the Independent added.

Commenting on his interview with the Fox News in New York, Zarif argued that speaking to the other side is sometimes important, according to the Independent.

In the interview, the Iranian foreign minister warned about the consequences of the 'B-Team' efforts, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, US National Security Advisor John Bolton, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and United Arab Emirates Prince Bin Zayed who are trying to exert a great influence on Trump's policies toward Iran.

9156**1424

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Iran's missile program 'national defense issue': Envoy to UN

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New York, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations reaffirmed that the country's missile program is non-negotiable and Tehran will not retreat from its stance on the program as it is a matter of national defense.

Responding to a visit by the US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, to New York for mobilizing UN Security Council members against Iran's missile program, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said Thursday, 'In a statement we announced our stances. Our missiles are by no means subject to the Resolution 2231. The Resolution that was proposed and ratified by the US itself and other countries stipulates that only the missiles that are designed for carrying nuclear warheads are forbidden.'

The permanent representative added that the Iranian missiles are not meant for such a purpose and Tehran has repeatedly announced and clarified the issue.

The 14 reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are evidences that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, Takht-e Ravanchi said.

The issue raised by Washington is not legitimate at all, he said adding that this was the US that had to explain why it withdrew from the nuclear deal and violated the Resolution 2231, as the deal was a part of the Resolution and Washington's pull-out from the deal was a blatant violation of the Resolution 2231.

'In the statement the US Secretary of State has issued on the visit of the official to New York, the Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal have not been mentioned, and this is evidence that they are misleading others, but they will get nowhere,' he said.

Iran's stances are absolutely clear, he said adding that the country is in contact with the opposed members of the Security Council.

'The missile issue is a matter of national defense, and therefore, it will not be negotiable, and there is no contradiction between the program and Resolution 2231 whatsoever,' the Iranian permanent representative to the UN said.

Hook has convened a meeting with the Security Council members on Iran's missile program.

9156**1424

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US imposes sanctions on Iran enriched uranium exports, but renews nuclear work waivers

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 08:19PM

The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium but at the same time renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with the Islamic Republic on civil nuclear program.

"Any involvement in transferring enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium will now be exposed to sanctions. The United States has been clear that Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the State Department announced in statement issued on Friday.

Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran is limited to keeping 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent. As part of the JCPOA, Iran is allowed to sell any enriched uranium above that threshold on international markets in exchange for natural uranium, with Russia a key player.

The waivers, due to expire Saturday, are extended for 90 days, the State Department statement added.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the JCPOA, reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

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FM Zarif rules out US-Iran war, but says 'accidents' possible

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 02:40PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismisses the likelihood of a war between Iran and the United States but says certain "accidents" might ignite a military confrontation.

In a recent interview with the British online newspaper Independent at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Zarif said although he did not think a war between Iran and the US was imminent, "accidents can happen" that then spiral into a "military conflict."

In response to a question about the nature of such accidents, Zarif gave the example of a recent move by US President Donald Trump to put Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on its blacklist of foreign "terrorist" organizations.

A lack of "vital communication" between the IRGC forces and ships going through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where most of the world's oil exporters pass through, can easily lead to conflict.

The United States in April officially registered the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization," according to a notice published on the website of the US Federal Register.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) slammed the US government as "supporter of terrorism," designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization."

In a statement, the Iranian top security council said the designation came as a "reciprocal measure" against US President Trump's "illegal and unwise" move to blacklist the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

In a meeting with IRGC personnel and their family members in the capital Tehran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the recent US decision is rooted in America's "rancor" against the force, which has been in the forefront of the fight against enemies.

"The IRGC is the vanguard both on the field confronting the enemy on [Iranian] borders and even several thousand kilometers away [in Syria] as well as on the political battleground against the enemy," the Leader said, adding that Americans hold a grudge against the force for that reason.

Also in his interview, the top Iranian diplomat mentioned an incident happened in the Persian Gulf in January 2016 when the IRGC naval forces arrested 10 US sailors after their patrol boats entered Iran's territorial waters.

Zarif said that "a direct line of communication" between him and his US counterpart at the time John Kerry let the two top diplomats control the situation and secure the quick release of American sailors, adding that no such communication channel exists today.

"So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," he said.

On January 13, 2016, the IRGC announced that ten US Marines, who had drifted into the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and had been taken into Iranian custody, had been released after Americans apologized for the incident.

When asked about Zarif's interview with Fox News, the Iranian foreign minister said he wanted to reach out to Trump's base in American mainstream "because it is important to speak to the other side sometimes".

However, he noted that it was not his first interview with Fox and that he had talked to the channel years ago when he was Iran's ambassador at the United Nations in New York.

In the interview with "FOX NEWS SUNDAY", the top Iranian diplomat said all measures adopted by the administration of President Trump in dealing with Iran conveyed a message that "the United States is not reliable."

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Iran won't let US threaten Persian Gulf Security: FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 10:17AM

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran does not seek to escalate tensions with the United States, but it will not let Washington disrupt the security of Persian Gulf, the "lifeline of Iran".

"We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation," Zarif said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera TV, which is to be aired on Saturday.

"We have been clear that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are our lifeline. We depend on them for our livelihood, and we want them safe, secure, and free for navigation of all countries, including Iran," he said.

"As we have stated before, Iran won't permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf," the foreign minister added.

The US has vowed to cut Iran's oil exports down to zero, prompting Tehran to warn that it will not allow any other country to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz if Tehran cannot sell its crude.

Last Sunday, Iran's top military commander said Iran wants the strait  through which nearly one-third of all oil traded by sea passes  to remain open and secure, warning that the country will not allow anyone to destabilize the waters.

"As oil and commodities of other countries are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, ours are also moving through it," said Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri.

Iran "will definitely confront anyone who attempts to destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, and if our crude is not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, others' [crude] will not pass either."

The Iranian commander explained, "This does not mean [that we are going to] close the Strait of Hormuz. We do not intend to shut it unless the enemies' hostile acts will leave us with no other option. We will be fully capable of closing it on that day."

The US administration said in a statement on April 22 that buyers of Iranian oil must stop their purchases by May 1 or face sanctions. The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

The US also said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would "more than make up the oil flow difference" to make sure that global markets were not unsettled. The two OPEC members are close Washington allies and firmly back US President Donald Trump's hostile Iran policy.

"We will continue to sell our oil and we will seek customers, and we will always remember those who worked with us during times of difficulty," Zarif said.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani played down Washington's plan to cut Iran's oil sales to zero, saying Tehran has its own ways of selling oil and will keep up its exports despite US pressure.

"America's decision to block and cut Iran's oil exports to zero is wrong and we will not let this decision become operational," Rouhani said during a ceremony commemorating Workers' Week in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has also said that the US administration's hostile attempts to block Iran's oil sales will lead nowhere, and that the country will export "as much crude as it needs and wishes" in defiance of American sanctions.

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Iran to respond to threats made by other OPEC members if interests are threatened: Iranian Minister of Petroleum

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:00AM

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has warned that Iran will reply in kind if its interests in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are threatened.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organization seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh said on Thursday.

The petroleum minister made the comments after a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo who had arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to participate in the 24th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition.

"I told Barkindo that OPEC is threatened by the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organization may collapse," said Zangeneh following the meeting.

Barkindo said that the organization seeks to reach decisions collectively.

"We have seen numerous times in the past how one-sided decisions made by state-members have failed to be effectual. The same will happen again this time," said the OPEC chief.

OPEC and its allies are set to meet in June to decide on any supply changes.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member-states, have however pledged to step up oil production to substitute Iranian barrels in line with the US policy of zeroing out Iran's oil exports.

The US announced last month that it would not renew waivers that allowed Tehran's eight largest customers to purchase its oil. The exemptions expired on May 1.

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of exaggerating their ability to replace the country's oil.

Countries affected by US sanctions have so far opposed the expected move, citing tight market conditions and high fuel prices that are harming oil-dependent industries.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US decision to end sanctions waivers had even angered Washington's allies.

"People are not happy. China is not happy, Turkey is not happy, Russia is not happy. France is not happy. US allies are not happy that this is happening and they say that they will find ways of resisting it," said Zarif.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned of the repercussions of the American sanctions on Iran, saying they negatively affect the entire region, including his own country.

Regarding the expiration of the waivers, the top Turkish diplomat said his country cannot quickly abandon Iranian oil.

"The refineries in Turkey are not adapted for Iraqi oil," said Cavusoglu.

Last week, China slammed the US sanctions, saying the country's dealings with Tehran were in accordance with international law, "reasonable and legitimate".

Bejing also warned that Washington's decision would "intensify turmoil" in the Middle East and in the international energy market.

On Monday, Chinese tabloid newspaper the Global Times said China and India could work together "to form a buyers' bloc" to counter US sanctions on Iran.

Opposition parties in India have also urged the government to push the US to reconsider the Iranian oil ban, describing the sanctions as a violation of India's sovereignty.

Earlier this week, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj accosted her US counterpart Mike Pompeo, saying immediate arrangements for alternative supplies to replace Iranian oil were "not possible,"

South Korea and Japan have also sought negotiations with the US, calling on Washington to backtrack on its decision.

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Turkey Says Unable To Quickly Diversify Away From Iranian Oil

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Turkey says it will not be able to diversify oil imports quickly after the United States ended sanction waivers on purchases from Iran, and Ankara continues to urge Washington to reconsider its decision.

"It does not seem possible for us to diversify the sources of the oil we import in a short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on May 2.

Turkey has reduced its heavy reliance on Iranian crude in the past year  traditionally some 1 million barrels a day --- but Ankara said its refineries were not suited to handling oil from some other countries.

"We have to renew the technology of our refineries when we buy oil from third countries. That would mean the refineries remaining shut for some time. This, of course, has a cost," he added.

The statement comes a day after the United States told international buyers to stop oil purchases or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers for eight countries to continue buying Iranian oil to ease disruptions on their own economies.

Washington has encouraged countries to find alternative sources and has pressed Persian Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to export more oil to meet potential shortages arising from Iranian sanctions and prevent a spike in prices.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on April 26 said Turkey was working to persuade Washington to allow oil refiner Tupras to continue crude imports from Iran.

"Tupras is following the subject closely. The characteristics of their refineries are suitable for Iranian oil. We are trying to convince the U.S.," Aksoy said.

Turkey and China are the only two countries so far to have expressed a need to continue substantial purchases of Iranian oil. Others, such as India, Japan, and South Korea, have indicated they will comply with U.S. demands.

China last month said it opposed "long-armed jurisdictions implemented by the United States" and would continue "rational and legal" cooperation with Iran.

The United States has said it wants to cut Iranian oil exports to zero as it looks to pressure Tehran for what it has called "malign" activities in the region, including support for extremists and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the accusations.

With reporting by Reuters, CNBC, and TRT

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-says- unable-to-quickly-diversify-away-from- iran-oil/29918502.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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State Dept Threatens Sanctions for Helping Expand Iran's Nuclear Power Plant

Sputnik News

23:59 03.05.2019(updated 00:38 04.05.2019)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States may impose sanctions against actors providing assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant starting on May 4, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a press release on Friday.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable," the release said.

Iran reached a deal with Russia on the first stage of the Bushehr project  the Bushehr 1  in 1992. Russia and Iran signed an agreement in 2014 to build the second and third reactors for the Bushehr plant.

The press release says that the United States will no longer permit storage for Iran of heavy water in excess of limits related to its nuclear program.

"We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the release said on Friday.

US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also said that the United States calls on Iran to stop all proliferation-sensitive actives and warned Tehran that transferring enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the release said. "Activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable."

 Sputnik

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US Grants Shortened Waivers to Iranian Nuclear Power Sites - Report

Sputnik News

23:53 03.05.2019(updated 23:55 03.05.2019)

The Trump administration has decided to renew waivers for Iran's limited nuclear power program, albeit on terms half as long as before. However, it has also revoked other waivers allowing disposal of excess nuclear material, putting pressure on Tehran to end all uranium enrichment to stay within the international deal signed in 2015.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ended international sanctions against Iran in exchange for its rejection of a nuclear weapons program. The deal, signed by Tehran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, provided for a limited amount of nuclear fuel to be produced by Iran for experimentation and nuclear power, but not of the quality or quantity necessary to produce a nuclear bomb.

While Washington unilaterally left that agreement last May, it has permitted nations that remained in the deal to engage in nonproliferation activities and nuclear research at three sites in Iran  Fordow, Bushehr and Arak  without facing sanctions. Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Ford announced on Friday that these waivers would be renewed, but this time only for 90 days instead of 180 days, as they had been before.

However, that deal has come at a price: Washington has also revoked two waivers allowing Iran to send its excess heavy water to Oman and to export excess enriched uranium, a practice it used to remain within the strict limits of the JCPOA. In turn, Tehran received from its trade partners "yellowcake" uranium, a type of the radioactive element with a much lower concentration than enriched fuel.

"We are tightening restrictions on Iran's nuclear program as part of our pressure campaign," US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Bloomberg for a Friday article. "Iran cannot have any path to a nuclear weapon."

Two of the three facilities given waivers have relationships with foreign countries; the heavy water reactor at Arak is being redesigned with Chinese help, according to the JCPOA; the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was built with help from the Soviet Union, and today Russia supplies enriched uranium for the plant and takes away its spent fuel rods. The third site, Fordow, is a uranium enrichment facility. Its inclusion in the waivers has drawn heavy criticism because of the potential for the facility to be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is derived from uranium.

While US President Donald Trump and hawkish associates such as National Security Adviser John Bolton have pressed for a total cessation of all Iranian nuclear fuel refinement, the US State Department is forced to navigate a difficult and narrow path between, on the one hand, constraining Iranian production so as to avoid the perceived danger of an Iranian nuclear program, and on the other, pushing Tehran into such a desperate situation that it departs from all cooperation with the JCPOA powers and resumes its pre-2015 activities  something it's threatened to do more than once in the last year.

"Our leadership is not comfortable with any mechanism that allows uranium enrichment," Ford said. "We don't want to give Iran a supposed excuse to continue to enrich."

 Sputnik

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Zarif Warns Iran-US War Possible If 'Accident' Spirals Into Military Conflict

Sputnik News

17:08 03.05.2019(updated 20:01 03.05.2019)

Tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to mount amid US threats to bring Iranian oil exports down "to zero" and Iranian officials' warnings that the country may close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if its security was threatened.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe that a war between Iran and the US was imminent or inevitable, but does not exclude the possibility of some "accident" 'spiraling' into a military conflict.

Speaking to The Independent, the foreign minister indicated that the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 percent of the world's oil supplies pass, may be the spark that could ignite a war, particularly in the event of a lack of communication between the US military and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with each side recently labeling the other as "terrorists," in this narrow passageway.

Zarif also recalled a January 2016 incident in which two US Navy vessels entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and were detained by the IRGC. Here it was possible to avoid escalation thanks to the existence of a direct line of communication between Zarif and then-Secretary of State John Kerry. "But today there is no such line of communication between the Iranian foreign minister and US Secretary of State. So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," The Independent noted.

Zarif spent much of last week in the US, making appearances on US media and speaking to policy experts about the dangers of another war in the Middle East. The trip included an interview with Fox News, during which the foreign minister said he felt President Trump himself had no interest in war, but that some of his officials and US allies, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Prince Bin Zayed, were interested in "dragging the United States into a conflict."

In a separate event last week, Zarif warned that Iran would continue selling its oil abroad despite US threats and warned that Washington should prepare to face "consequences" if it took "the crazy measure" of trying to prevent Iran from selling its oil.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and the United States took a turn for the worse in May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and began slapping Iran with several rounds of sanctions, including energy restrictions aimed at bringing Iran's oil exports down "to zero", as well as banking restrictions and other measures meant to cripple the country's economy.

In late 2018, the US granted eight major importers of Iranian oil with temporary waivers exempting them from the possible US secondary sanctions. The wavers formally expired on Thursday, with the US Treasury giving no indication of any plans to extend them. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have promised to increase oil production to substitute Iranian oil, with Iran warning that its fellow OPEC members' policy would not be left unanswered.

 Sputnik

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Iran Vows Response to OPEC's 'Threats', Warns Organisation of 'Collapse'

Sputnik News

15:54 03.05.2019

The warning comes after Washington claimed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member states, promised late last month to increase oil production to substitute Iranian crude, in line with the US policy of bringing Tehran's oil exports "to zero".

Iran will respond in kind if its interests in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are damaged, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said after his talks with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organisation seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh underscored.

He added that he had told Barkindo that OPEC, in turn, is damaged by "the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organisation may collapse".

Additionally, Zangeneh accused "certain" OPEC members of exaggerating their capacities to compensate for any shortfall in the oil supply caused by a tightening of US sanctions on Iran, aimed to zero out Iran's oil exports.

"As I have already said, the US wishes to cut Iran's oil exports to zero but this is a pious hope. Any independent market expert knows that a surplus of capacities declared by certain countries is exaggeration and overstatement", Zangeneh told the opening of the 24th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran on Wednesday.

In late April, Zangeneh did not mince words and berated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for overstating their oil capacities.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, for his part, noted that he did not see any need for Riyadh to raise oil output in response to the tougher anti-Iranian sanctions, but added that Saudi Arabia would supply "more oil if asked to by its customers".

This came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recalled that Washington would not renew any exemptions from US sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil, and that he had received a commitment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE ensuring that oil supplies will remain stable.

The six-month waivers from oil sanctions against Iran were granted by the US in early November 2018 to Greece, Italy, Taiwan, China, India, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea.

The move followed the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

After that, Washington has repeatedly stressed that it wants all importers to eventually cut their oil sales from Iran to zero, in what the US claims will have a significant impact on the Islamic Republic's economy.

 Sputnik

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China, Turkey, India Silent on Buying Iran's Oil as US Ban Begins

By Michael Lipin, Anjana Pasricha, Hilmi Hacaloglu May 03, 2019

Iran's biggest likely remaining oil customers, China, Turkey and India, were silent about purchases of Iranian crude Thursday as a total U.S. ban on such trade took effect, leaving their next moves a mystery.

The Trump administration was equally silent about what action it might take if any of the three countries continues to purchase Iranian oil after Thursday, with no statements on the subject issued during the day by the departments of State or Treasury.

A six-month grace period granted by the United States for China, Turkey, India and five other governments to reduce their Iranian oil imports to zero expired Wednesday. In an April 22 statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said no nation would receive any further exemptions or waivers from U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's oil industry last November. The sanctions are part of a U.S. bid to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal to end its alleged nuclear weapons program and other malign behaviors.

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful and it intends to keep exporting oil, its main revenue source, in defiance of the U.S. sanctions.

Washington has been encouraging Iran's oil customers to switch to other major oil producers such as Gulf Arab nations that have pledged to keep energy markets appropriately supplied. Pompeo also has said the United States will enforce its unilateral ban on Iran's oil trade and warned that paying Iran for its crude entails "risks" that will "not  be worth the benefits," a reference to the possibility of purchasers facing U.S. secondary sanctions.

Turkey

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said diversifying Ankara's oil sources in a short time "does not seem possible."

Cavusoglu said Turkish refineries that have been processing Iranian crude are capable of handling oil from Iraq but not from many other nations, whom he did not name. He said Turkey would need to upgrade the technology of its refineries in order to import oil from those other countries, requiring the refineries to be shut down for a period of time.

"This would have a cost. However you look at it, the unilateral decision made by the U.S. is adversely affecting everyone," Cavusoglu said. "The U.S. should review its decisions."

The top Turkish diplomat did not say whether Ankara will buy Iranian oil in future.

But Turkey has been significantly reducing its reliance on Iranian imports since the start of the U.S. sanctions waiver. Data from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority show the country imported an average of 209,000 tons of Iranian crude per month from November through February, the first four months of the waiver period. It had been importing an average of 701,000 tons per month in the prior 10 months, accounting for around one-fifth of its total oil imports for the period.

China

China, Iran's biggest oil customer, made no comment on Thursday's expiry of the six-month U.S. waiver for buying Iranian crude. But its initial response to the U.S. decision not to extend the waiver was similar to that of Turkey. In an April 24 news briefing, Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing also opposes the unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdictions" of the United States. He also urged Washington not to undermine what he called Beijing's lawful and legitimate "cooperation" with Iran.

India

India also did not comment Thursday. In an April 23 tweet, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said New Delhi has a plan to maintain an "adequate" supply of crude to Indian refineries, adding: "There will be additional supplies from other major oil-producing countries."

Pradhan did not name those countries or say whether the additional supplies would completely replace crude from Iran, which had been India's third biggest supplier a year ago.

Indian media have said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj appealed to Pompeo in an April 27 phone call for New Delhi to have more time to import Iranian oil without being hit by U.S. secondary sanctions. Swaraj was quoted as calling for flexibility in the U.S. position because India is in the midst of a general election and wants the next government to make decisions about whom to buy oil from.

China and India had been reducing their dependence on Iranian oil before the end of the U.S. waiver period. An April 30 report by Reuters showed both nations significantly cut their Iranian crude imports in the January to March quarter compared to the same period a year before, with China making a 28% reduction and India a 40% reduction in imported barrels per day.

What will the three do?

Frank Verrastro, a Washington-based energy analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told VOA Persian he expects further reductions in China's purchases of Iranian oil.

"They have been increasing purchases of similar-quality Saudi oil as well as looking at alternative supplies from the U.S., other Mideast nations and Russia," Verrastro said in a Tuesday email.

But Verrastro said Beijing also may try to keep importing some Iranian crude in ways that bypass the U.S. financial system and sanctions regime. He said China could barter with Iran, enable Iran to repay loans with oil, or make non-U.S. dollar purchases of Iranian crude.

Indian strategic affairs analyst Manoj Joshi of New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation told VOA the U.S. ban on Iranian oil exports presents India not just with an economic challenge but also a foreign policy one.

"It puts us in a very awkward spot," Joshi said in a Thursday interview, noting the move will hurt India's ties with Iran. "The U.S. may be our partner, but we cannot have a congruence of interests in everything. When there are no options, what do you do?"

Turkey is likely to wait and see what Iran's bigger customers China and India do before deciding whether to keep importing Iranian oil, according to Hakki Uygur, acting director of Ankara's Center of Iranian Studies. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Turkish, he said that if China and India maintain their recent levels of imports, Turkey may do the same.

"But if the U.S. sanctions are enforced strictly, Iraq would be one of our most important secondary sources of oil," Uygur said.

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service. Anjana Pasricha contributed from New Delhi and Hilmi Hacaloglu contributed from Istanbul.

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Five terrorists killed in Pakistan near Iran border

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 3, IRNA -- Pakistani security forces have killed five terrorists in two separate operations in Pakistani province of Balochistan near Iranian border, local media reported.

The security forces conducted operations in Khuzdar and Turbat areas of Balohcistan province of Pakistan.

The police also recovered radio sets, transmitters, GPS devices, explosives and huge cache of arms from the terrorists.

Pakistani province of Balochistan has faced a number of security challenges in recent months, with security personnel in the province often being targeted by roadside improvised explosive device (IED).

Last month at least 14 security officials were offloaded from buses and were shot dead by terrorists on the Makran Coastal Highway.

In the same month 22 people were killed and several others injured in a terrorist attack in Quetta targeting Shia community.

272**1416

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South Korea Approves $6.3 Billion Deal for New Warships

Sputnik News

21:58 03.05.2019

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has approved the construction of three more KDX-III Sejong the Great-class destroyers, along with three more KSS-III diesel-electric attack submarines. The procurement is worth $6.3 billion.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee, a division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, decided on Tuesday to OK the $6.3 billion deal, which will enhance South Korea's ballistic missile defenses above the waves and its offensive capabilities below. The vessels are expected to join the Republic of Korea Navy by 2028, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 11,000-ton Sejong the Great-class destroyers carry the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system, giving them upgraded air defenses as well as ballistic missile defense. The Diplomat notes the ships, roughly comparable to the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, will carry the SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missile and SM-3 Block IB missie, both of which are made by US defense giant Raytheon and are used for different types of anti-air defense.

While three of the destroyers have been in service with the navy since 2008, the KSS-III submarines, also called the Jangbogo-III-class, are new and of an indigenous design.

The first boat, dubbed "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho," only put to sea for the first time in September 2018, Sputnik reported. The 3,450-ton sub is Seoul's first ballistic missile submarine and by far the largest of South Korea's 18 submarines, sporting 10 vertical launch tubes that can carry either ballistic missiles or cruise missiles.

However, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho is still being tested and won't be delivered to the navy until at least 2020. That hasn't stopped Seoul, though, which hopes to have all four KSS-III subs in service by 2025.

 Sputnik

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Damascus won't let Turkey control even one centimeter of Syrian territory: Deputy FM

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 04:54PM

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad says the Damascus government "will not allow Turkey to control even one centimeter of the Syrian territory," stressing that Ankara should know that "Damascus will not accept the survival of militant groups" in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

"The Damascus government's resolution is to liberate every inch of the Syrian territory, and Idlib is no exception," Mekdad said in an exclusive interview with the Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network.

He added, "The Turks and others should know that the Syrian government is determined to recover all of Syrian soil. Turkey must also understand that its support for terrorism and its occupation of the Syrian territory will not guarantee security."

The high-ranking Syrian official then advised US-sponsored Kurdish militant groups active in northern Syria to stop being used as a pawn by Washington, and to prove loyalty to their homeland.

Mekdad told the pro-government and Arabic-language al-Watan daily newspaper on November 4 last year that "occupation" forces from Turkey must depart the territories of his conflict-plagued Arab country in order for security and stability to be restored there.

"The Syrian Arab army is the only party that stands against the Turkish occupation of the Syrian territories," he said.

"We believe that these (Kurdish parties) should return to the spirit of citizenship and to believe in their homeland; not to use Americans, Israelis and others against the interests of their native soil," Mekdad said when asked about calls by some Kurdish militant groups in the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stand against Turkish attacks.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister added, "The Syrian army stands with all groups, parties and tribes in order to tackle terrorism for the benefit of Syrian people."

He stated that Syria will eventually emerge victorious over terrorism and its sponsors, and all areas will be liberated from the clutches of Americans, Turks and separatists, thanks to the high motivation and sacrifices made by the Syrian nation and Syrian army.

The senior Syrian official highlighted that the Damascus government cannot trust Turkish assurances, because Ankara's objectives are colonial and expansionist.

"The Ankara government misleads the public opinion inside Turkey and in the (Middle East) region by announcing something but implementing something else," Mekdad commented.



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Militant attempt to shell Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria foiled, no one injured

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 12:46PM

A high-ranking Russia military official says foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants have attempted to shell the country's strategic Hmeimim airbase in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia, but it was successfully foiled.

"On May 2, militants from illegal armed groups, who hold positions near the towns of Qalaat al-Madiq and Bab al-Atika, made another attempt to shell the Hmeimim airbase. Their attempt was repelled. No Russian servicemen were injured, and no damage was done to the facility," Major General Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation, said on Friday.

He added that Takfiri militants had also launched barrages of shells at the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, Handarat town north of Aleppo city, as well as the city of Mahardah and Saklabiya town in Syria's western-central Hama province over the past 24 hours.

Kupchishin said on Wednesday that the Russian military had repelled 12 drone and rocket attacks by terrorists based in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib against Hmeimim airbase and positions of Syrian government forces in Latakia since early April.

Russia Defense ministry rejects reports on death of four soldiers

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry has dismissed media reports that four Russian servicemen had been killed as terrorists shelled an area in Syria's Hama province.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, described the reports as "fake news," stressing that all Russian forces deployed in Syria are well and fulfilling their duties.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other foreign-backed terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russian air cover.

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Military Escalation Continues in Northwest Syria

By Sirwan Kajjo May 03, 2019

Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighboring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA.

The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.

"The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.

"This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to northwestern Syria, it's only Russia who calls the shots," Abdulrahman added.

Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.

Russia has been backing the Syrian regime since 2015, helping government forces and allied militias recapture rebel-held cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Damascus suburbs.

Idlib is under the control of a former al-Qaida affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The Syrian province is the last stronghold of rebel forces battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. stance

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, the U.S. has twice carried out airstrikes against Syrian regime targets, punishing Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus and elsewhere.

The U.S., which has led a coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) terror group in eastern Syria, does not have any military presence in northwestern Syria, including Idlib. In the past, however, U.S. officials did voice concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of foreign fighters, including al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, in the province but cautioned against full-scale military operations, maintaining that doing so would lead to a humanitarian crisis, as the province is home to 3 million people.

"Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaida affiliates in the world right now," Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said this week during remarks at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

"We have very limited insights as to what's going on," he added.

Idlib is one of several de-escalation zones in Syria that were created in 2017 after trilateral talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran to try to prevent further escalation among warring parties.

U.S. officials have urged Russia and the Syrian regime to comply with their commitments in Idlib, which were to ensure that the zones remain free of escalation.

"The violence must end," Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement this week. "The United States reiterates that any escalation in violence in northwest Syria will result in the destabilization of the region."

Turkey's role

Turkey and Russia reached an agreement last September that prevented a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border. Turkey assured Russia that the local rebel and militant groups, some of which are allied with Ankara, would not assault Russian and Syrian government forces.

However, HTS's advances in Idlib earlier this year, which led to the terror group's consolidation of power over most of the province, has put an already fragile agreement between Russia and Turkey at further risk.

One point of the Turkey-Russia deal was that Ankara would work to disarm and dislodge the jihadist group and other extremists from Idlib. But Turkey has so far been unable to implement that part of the agreement.

"Turkey has two options. The first one is to give in to Russian demands by entering a war with HTS and its allies," said Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian army general who is now a military analyst based in Istanbul.

"But this unlikely because the jihadists are based in a civilian area where more 3 million people live. Turkey cannot enter such a war because it would create a major refugee and humanitarian crisis. That's why Ankara is pushing for a diplomatic solution."

The other option for Turkey, according to Rahal, is to yield the way for its allied Syrian rebel forces to enter an open-ended war with Syrian regime troops.

Military buildup or containment?

Pro-regime Syrian media outlets on Thursday reported a continued military buildup by regime troops near the southern part of Idlib, in what appears to be a final preparation for a ground offensive against rebel forces.

But experts say a major offensive carried out by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is unlikely at this point.

"I don't think the Syrian regime would launch a large-scale ground offensive in Idlib," said Fabrice Balanche, a professor at the University of Lyon in France who is an expert on Syria and follows developments in the country.

He told VOA the ongoing movements of Syrian government forces in south Idlib could be part of the "Syrian regime's policy of containment" to ensure that jihadists would not be able to expand their operations into Idlib's neighboring provinces.

Civilians displaced

The U.N. has blamed the Russia and Syrian regimes for the damage to a medical center and two hospitals resulting from the airstrikes in northwestern Syria this week.

While thousands of civilians have already evacuated from Idlib and its surrounding areas, the U.N. fears that such military activities could result in a massive refugee crisis in the region.

"Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib," said David Swanson, an official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"Between 1 and 28 April, it's estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates," Swanson told AFP.

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China could use force against Taiwan in push for unification: Pentagon

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 16:22:28

Washington, May 2 (CNA) China could use force to push Taiwan into unification or into unification dialogue, the United States Department of Defense said in its annual military report, which was issued Thursday.

In the 2019 report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon said China is likely to pursue a measured approach by demonstrating its readiness to use force or take punitive actions against Taiwan.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) could also conduct a more comprehensive campaign designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or unification dialogue, under China's terms," said the Pentagon report, which focuses on military and security development involving China.

According to the report, Taiwan remains the PLA's main strategic direction and serves as one of the geographic areas the Chinese government identifies as having strategic importance.

"China's overall strategy toward Taiwan continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence," the Pentagon said in the paper.

To force Taiwan into unification or unification dialogue, China is likely to employ an air and missile campaign against Taiwan, the report said.

"China could use missile attacks and precision air strikes against air defense systems, including air bases, radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications facilities, to degrade Taiwan's defenses, neutralize Taiwan's leadership, or break the Taiwan people's resolve," the report said.

Taiwan has much smaller military capabilities than China, and the gap is growing, the Pentagon report said.

According to its estimate, China has 2,600 fighter jets, including 1,100 fighter trainers, while Taiwan has only 450 fighter jets in total.

China also has special mission aircraft, 450 transport planes, 450 bombers and 150 special mission aircraft, while Taiwan deploys only 30 transport planes and 30 special mission aircraft and has no bombers, the Pentagon said.

It said that while China speaks of peaceful unification with Taiwan, the Chinese government has never given up the use of force as an option, and continues to develop and deploy advanced military capabilities, paving the way for a potential military campaign to increase the pressure on Taipei.

Chinese President Xi Jinping () said in a speech on Jan. 2 that China is willing to talk with any party in Taiwan to push forward the process of peaceful unification on the basis of the "one China principle," but said he was making no promises to "renounce the use of force and reserved the option of taking all necessary means" to achieve that end.

In its report, the Pentagon said that in the event of a protracted conflict, China might resort to escalating cyberspace, space, or nuclear activities.

Alternatively, China might choose to fight to a standstill and pursue a political solution, the report said.

The Pentagon said the U.S. supports a peaceful resolution of China-Taiwan issues, and under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), will contribute to peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan Strait by providing defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain adequate self-defense capability.

According to the Pentagon, Washington has announced more than US$15 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010.

The TRA was signed in April 1979 by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a few months after the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

(By Lu Tzu-ying and Frances Huang)

Enditem/pc



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Expert praises Taiwan's plans to purchase F-16V jets

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 22:57:30

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A Taiwanese military expert on Friday hailed the government's decision to purchase F-16V fighter jets from the United States for deployment in eastern Taiwan as a "correct strategic choice."

The F-16V jets are to replace the aging fleet of F-5E fighters at the Chi-Hang Air Force Base in Taitung County, which will be out of the reach of China's S-400 anti-air missiles, Su Tzu-yun (), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA.

Although the S-400 Triumf missile is intended to hit targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers, Su said, they are only capable of covering the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's western half, given the geographic features in eastern Taiwan, which has the Central Mountain Range and Coastal Mountain Range running down most of it.

Under such conditions, Taiwan's Air Force will gain an air supremacy in the region with the F-16V jets, he contended.

Su's comments came after the U.S. Defense Department published a report on Thursday warning that "China's leaders are leveraging China's growing economic, diplomatic and military clout to establish regional preeminence and expand the country's international influence."

Beijing in particular increasingly sees the U.S. as becoming more confrontational and trying to contain China's expanding power, the report said.

According to Su, since Chinese President Xi Jinping () assumed power, China has begun to incorporate its economic might into its military strategy, and it is seeking to further strengthen its military and economic power by building a strong national defense industry.

China's brisk military sales have made it the world's fourth-largest exporter of arms and weapons, Su noted.

Taiwan has officially asked to buy 66 F-16V jet fighters from the United States and Washington is expected to give a response in July.

(By Flor Wang and Yu Kai-hsiang)

Enditem/cs

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Russia 'ready to cooperate' to sell Turkey Su-57 fighter jets: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:25PM

The chief executive of Russia's state-owned hi-tech industrial development conglomerate, Rostec Corporation, says his country is "ready to cooperate" to sell Turkey Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets in case Ankara is excluded from the F-35 fighter jet program with the United States.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Sergey Chemezov told Turkey's official Anadolu news agency on Thursday.

He noted that Moscow would "gladly evaluate" any Turkish suggestions for the localization or transfer of technologies of Su-57 warplanes as well as advanced S-400 air defense missile systems.

"We are ready to support Turkey's desire to develop its own defense industry," Chemezov said.

The Russian official went on to say that Turkey, irrespective of US-led pressure regarding the S-400 deal, is holding a very direct and consistent position concerning implementation of all provisions of the contract.

"We signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries," Chemezov commented.

He also said Russia welcomes Turkey's participation in the development of S-500 missile system.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defense system without equal throughout the world," Chemezov said, stressing that both countries had the capacity to contribute to such a project.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 stealth fighter jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

On April 24, Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country will look elsewhere for an alternative to American F-35 fighter jets if Washington blocks the delivery of its advanced stealth warplanes to Ankara.

"We are already partners in the F-35 manufacturing program, we participate in this project, we have paid the necessary amount. There are currently no problems with this," Cavusoglu said.

"But in the worst case scenario, we will have to satisfy our need in another place, where the best technologies will be offered," he added.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017.

Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

A number of NATO member states have criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

They also argue that the purchase could jeopardize Ankara's acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in US sanctions.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against Ankara in July 2016.

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Turkey says not moving away from NATO with S-400 deal

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:41PM

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar says his country is not distancing itself from the US-led NATO military alliance by acquiring Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Akar said Ankara should not be excluded from the F-35 fighter jet production program over the deal, noting that such a move would put "very serious" burdens on the other partners in the project.

"There is no clause saying 'you will be excluded if you buy S-400s' in this partnership. Excluding us just because any one country wants so would not be in line with justice, laws or rights. This should not happen," Akar said in an interview with broadcaster NTV on Friday.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017. Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

The US and a number of NATO member states criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The US also warned of tough sanctions if Turkey pursued plans to acquire S-400. Ankara, however, said it would not go back on the deal with Russia.

Turkey also proposed to form a working group with the US to determine whether the S-400s pose a threat to the F-35s, but says US officials have not responded to the offer yet.

Akar said that Ankara was attempting to clarify to the US and other partners in the F-35 project that the S-400s would not pose a threat to the F-35s, and added that his country had taken measures to prevent that.

President Erdogan on Tuesday criticized the US for threatening to stall the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to his country, saying "The F-35 project is bound to collapse if it excludes Turkey."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish minister said his country was still assessing the latest US offer to sell Raytheon Co. Patriot missile defense system, which he described as more positive than Washington's previous offers.

Turkey said two weeks ago it expected US President Donald Trump to use an S-400 sanctions waiver, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Ankara could face penalties under a law that calls for sanctions against countries buying military gear from Russia.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against the Ankara government in July 2016.

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Russia Ready to Sell Su-57 to Turkey if Ankara Quits F-35 Programme - Rostec CEO

Sputnik News

20:09 03.05.2019

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.

Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.

 Sputnik

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Russia Hails Turkey's Push for S-500s Amid Ankara's Adherence to S-400 Deal

Sputnik News

17:05 03.05.2019(updated 22:06 03.05.2019)

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara's commitment to its deal with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, adding that Turkey may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.

Sergey Chemezov, head of the Russian state-owned corporation Rostec, has told the Anadolu news agency that Moscow would welcome Turkey's desire to join the project on developing the sophisticated Russian S-500 missile systems.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defence system without equal throughout the world", Chemezov said, adding that Turkey has the necessary technological capacity to contribute to such a project.

Separately, he touched upon the S-400 deal between Russia and Turkey, saying that "we signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries".

The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Ankara's readiness to look into buying the S-500 systems in the future during his interview with Kanal 24 in March.

This followed Erdogan telling the Turkish broadcaster in June 2018 that Ankara is looking forward to the joint production of the S-500s; he said that he had "contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal" on the matter.

The development comes against the background of tensions between Ankara and Washington over Turkey's push to purchase the S-400 systems.

Turkish officials have repeatedly indicated that Ankara has no plans to abandon the S-400 deal, with deliveries due to start in July, despite heavy pressure to do so from Washington.

The US alleges that the S-400 systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards, and pose a possible danger to the F-35's stealth technology. Washington has threatened to withhold the sale of the fighters to Turkey, or to slap Ankara with anti-Russian arms sanctions if it goes through with the S-400 deal.

Meanwhile, Russian Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov disclosed last month that the development of the S-500, the successor to the S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, had reached its final stage.

With the S-500's specs remaining officially classified, the system is reportedly capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away, and it is also believed to be able to track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (approximately Mach 20).

 Sputnik

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Zelenskiy: Relations Between Moscow, Kyiv Far From 'Brotherly'

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that current ties between Kyiv and Moscow cannot be called "brotherly," and the two countries now have little in common outside a shared border.

In a Facebook post on May 2, Zelenskiy reacted to recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Russians and Ukrainians had "lots in common."

"The reality is that today, after [Russia's] annexation of Crimea and [its] aggression in [Ukraine's eastern region of] Donbas, the 'common' thing that is left is the state border: 2,295 kilometers and 400 meters. And Russia must give back to Ukraine control over each millimeter. Only after that can we look for what is still 'common' between us," Zelenskiy wrote.

Zelenskiy said Russian actions such as banning oil exports to Ukraine, holding Ukrainian citizens in Russian jails, issuing passports to residents in territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists "do not bring our countries' relations one bit closer."

"And it is definitely impossible to call such relations 'brotherly,'" Zelenskiy added.

On April 29, Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians "may at the end of the day have common citizenship, as we have lots in common."

Zelenskiy's Facebook statement came a day after Putin signed a decree to fast-track passports and citizenship for people in Ukraine and Soviet-era deportees.

Before that, just days after Zelenskiy's April 21 victory in a presidential runoff, Putin signed another decree that simplified the process to get Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia-backed-separatist-controlled territories in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Putin's moves were decried by Ukraine and the West as an attempt not only to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty but Zelenskiy's electoral win.

Zelenskiy mocked the passport offer, telling Ukrainians not to bother since Russian citizenship means "the right to be arrested for peaceful protests," and "the right not to have free and competitive elections."

Meanwhile, separatists controlling parts of the Donetsk region have announced that they will start accepting applications for Russian citizenship from local residents as of May 3.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy- relations-between-moscow-kyiv-far- from-brotherly/29919040.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, Putin discuss possible new US-Russia nuclear accord: White House

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:06PM

US President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour, discussing the possibility of a new nuclear accord, North Korean denuclearization, Ukraine and the political situation in Venezuela, according to the White House.

Trump and Putin talked on Friday about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear accord between Washington and Moscow or an extension of the current US-Russia strategic nuclear treaty, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The New START treaty, which was signed in 2011, is the only US-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed nuclear weapons.

The accord expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree.

Trump has called the New START treaty a "bad deal" and "one-sided."

"They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well," Sanders said.

The two men also discussed briefly about the report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 US presidential election.

The Mueller probe discussion was "essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," said Sanders.

Trump told Putin "the United States stands with the people of Venezuela" and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, Sanders said.

Sanders also said the two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump canceled a summit meeting with Putin in late 2018 after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on November 25 and arrested 24 sailors.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Kim has yet to agree to a denuclearization deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

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New York, NY, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York, opening at the Museum of the City of New York on May 1, will trace how New York became the most unionized large city in the United States. For more than two centuries, New York City has been an incubator and battleground of movements by and for working people and today, 24 percent of New York City workers are unionized, compared to the national average of 11 percent. This exhibition will examine the social, political, and economic story of the diverse workers and movements in New York through rare documents, artifacts, photographs, archival film footage, and interactive features.



You cannot understand the history of New York City without understanding the history of labor movements here, said Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. Through this exhibition, visitors will learn how labor movements evolved over two centuries in New York, the current state of affairs for workers, and what the future may hold.



"Labor movements have been central to the rise of the city that we know today. It's exciting that City of Workers, City of Struggle explores New Yorks rich labor history, and also gives voice to contemporary labor activists and working people as they face the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing urban economy," said Steven H. Jaffe, curator of the exhibition.



City of Workers, City of Struggle will follow the progression of the labor movement by breaking the history into four segments and then looking toward the future. The exhibition begins with the section In Union There is Strength, which documents the 19th century when there was a shift from the artisan to wage worker through the development of new patterns of work and employment, as well as new technology. This will be exemplified in the exhibition by an enormous wrench used to build the Brooklyn Bridge. It will also include an illustration of the day in 1882 when New Yorks Central Labor Union launched the nations first Labor Day to underscore Labors efforts to secure better pay, hours, and working conditions.



The exhibition moves on to the period of 19001965 with the section Labor Will Rule, looking at an era when New Yorks unions gained monumental power. By 1950, New York City had about one million union members representing at least a quarter of the entire workforce. However, this power was not equally shared as female, African American, Latino, and Asian American New Yorkers still fought obstacles to their presence in union ranks and leadership.



Sea Change, the third section, focuses on the years between 1965 and 2001. Over the preceding decades, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants had joined African Americans from the South and Puerto Ricans in coming to New York to seek opportunity. The citys fiscal crisis in 1975, and a growing anti-union mood in local and national politics, led to challenges for the movement to organize labor. These developments coincided with court and federal agency decisions that scaled back legal protections earlier won by organized labor. Together, they began a long weakening of unions economic and political power, as many New Yorkers worried about the costs of union contracts to the city and as the number of unionized workers declined nationwide. Between 1960 and 2000, New York City lost more than 650,000 manufacturing and port jobs as businesses automated or moved away in pursuit of lower wages and taxes, and fewer regulations.



By the 1970s, a new militancy fueled the activism of previously marginalized workers: women, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans were challenging union establishments. As union membership declined in private industry, organizations of government employees and service workers (hospital, maintenance, security, clerical, and others) increasingly became engines of upward mobility for thousands of New Yorkers.



The last section, New Challenges, looks at how New York activists after 2001 continued to reshape the future of labor by broadening the agenda to confront issues ranging from racial profiling to sexual violence, LGBTQ equality, environmental safety, and citizenship status. Worker Centers and other new community organizations used foundation grants, legal action, and public pressure to help non-unionized and undocumented workers. In a changing economy, this Alt Labor or New Labor movement also mobilized people who worked as freelancers or in a succession of jobs.



Although New York remains the most unionized city in the United States today, current realities are challenging. Conflicting visions for the citys future have sometimes pitted different groups of organized workers against each other. Yet local labor activists have also achieved important recent victories, including paid family leave, guaranteed sick leave, and a $15 minimum wage.



The exhibition is organized by curator Steven H. Jaffe with the help of a distinguished panel of scholars.



A companion publication takes a deeper dive into some of the topics touched in the exhibition. City Workers, City of Struggle features essays by leading historians of New York along with vivid depictions of work, daily life, and political struggle. Edited by Joshua B. Freeman, Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, it is published by Columbia University Press and is available for $40 in the Museum shop.



City of Workers, City of Struggle is presented in collaboration with the Kheel Center at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.



City of Workers, City of Struggle, its associated programs, and its companion publication are made possible through the generous support of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.



Additional support for the exhibitions companion publication is provided by Atran Foundation, Inc., and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and other generous donors.



Made Possible in part by The New Network Fund, supported by JL Greene.



Exhibition Committee

Governor David A. Paterson, Co-Chair

Patricia Smith, Co-Chair, Senior Counsel, National Employment Law Project Law Project; former New York State Commissioner of Labor

Vincent Alvarez, President, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Esta R. Bigler, Director, Labor and Employment Law Program, Cornell University ILR School

Marco Carrion, Commissioner, Mayors Office of Community Affairs

Janella T. Hinds, UFT Vice President, Academic High schools, United Federation of Teachers

Ed Ott, Active in the Labor Movement for more than 50 years

Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor

Lorelei Salas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Maritza Silva-Farrell, Executive Director, ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York

Lara Skinner, Executive Director, The Worker Institute, Cornell University ILR School

Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City



Scholarly Advisory Committee

Joshua B. Freeman, chair, Rachel Bernstein, Michelle Chen, Margaret Chin, Richard Greenwald, Louis Hyman, Alice Kessler-Harris, Richard Lieberman, Stephen McFarland, Premilla Nadasen, Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Christopher Rhomberg, Aldo Lauria Santiago, Robert W. Snyder, Michael Spear and Clarence Taylor.



Public Programs

Uncovering the Lost Lives of Workers: The Archaeology of Labor

May 8, 6:30pm  8:00pm

$15 Admission | $10 Members

The New York City we know today was profoundly shaped by workers. Not only did workers build and maintain the physical city, but their struggles over pay, power, and inclusion have made and remade the city many times over. Join archaeologists Dr. Meta Janowitz, Dr. Jean Howson, and Alanna Warner-Smith as they share their latest findings about New York Citys working and living conditions. Moderated by Sharon Wilkins, Deputy Borough Historian of Manhattan.

Meet the Curators: Steven H. Jaffe

May 14, 4:00pm  5:00pm

$40 Admission | $35 Members

Join Curator Steven H. Jaffe as he guides you through City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York. Did you know that some of the nations foremost labor leaders have been New Yorkers? Ask questions, give feedback, and learn something new with your fellow New Yorkers (or New Yorkers at heart) during this truly behind-the-scenes experience.

New Labor in New York and the Fight for Workers' Rights

May 22, 7:00pm  8:30pm

$20 Admission | $10 Members

Join three of New York's most dynamic new labor activists, Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Allison Julien of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Michelle Miller of Coworker.org, for a conversation about recent gains (and setbacks) in their movements to protect the workers who make this city run. Moderated by Ed Ott, former Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council.

Moonlight & Movies Series

$15 General Admission

9 to 5

June 20, 8:00pm  10:30pm

This classic 1980 feminist satire 9 to 5 still remains all too relevant in today's #MeToo America. Prior to the screening, Jessica Bennett will share her perspective as the first-ever gender editor for The New York Times, working to expand the newsroom's coverage of social issues and culture through the lens of gender.

En el Septimo Dia

July 16, 8:00pm  10:15pm

En el Septimo Dia follows Jose, an undocumented bike delivery worker, over the course of seven days. Prior the screening, director Jim McKay and Make the Road New York's Mel Gonzalez sit down for a conversation about the contemporary immigration and labor issues that inspired the film.

Modern Times

August 21, 7:30pm  9:30pm

Charlie Chaplins timeless 1936 masterpiece, Modern Times, was the last outing for his iconic Little Tramp character, who stars as an inept factory worker caught up in the cogs and sprockets of modern industrialization. As one of the last great films of the silent era, Modern Times represents Chaplin's rejection of the forward march of modernization.

On the Waterfront

September 10, 7:00pm  9:30pm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan introduces this outdoor screening of Elia Kazans 1954 classic On the Waterfront. Egans latest novel, historical noir thriller Manhattan Beach, navigates the crime-ridden underworld of New York Citys shipyards in the 1940s.

Labor Day week union member discount

The Museum is offering a 50% discount on admission for union members who show any union card from Sunday, September 1st through Saturday, September 7th in honor of Labor Day week.

#CityofWorkers

About the Museum of the City of New York

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the worlds most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the citys past, present, and future. To connect with the Museum on social media, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumofCityNY and visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MuseumofCityNY. For more information please visit www.mcny.org.



Press Contacts:

Mary Flanagan | 917-492-3480 | mflanagan@mcny.org

Sarah Jackson | 917-492-3483 | sjackson@mcny.org

Attachments
Upon assuming office as the Nassau County, N.Y., executive in 2018, one of Laura Currans top priorities was to build more transparency and accountability into the jurisdiction.Nassau County is home to nearly 1.4 million residents, situated in western Long Island beside the New York City borough of Queens. In recent years, the jurisdiction has had some controversy in its local government stemming from malfeasance by elected officials. Specifically, the county executive that proceeded Curran, Ed Mangano, was convicted in March in the wake of a 13-count federal indictment related to fraud and bribery. Curran, who said she doesnt like to focus on the countys past troubles, is now using a number of tech-based projects to push forward and foster more transparency and accountability.When I ran for office I knew it was very important to deliver on the promise of transparency, making sure that it was up to us now to win back the trust of the people, Curran said. The trust really was frayed. You can talk about transparency and accountability, but you have to do concrete things to show people youre serious about this.The concrete things that Curran is doing now are wide-ranging, to be sure, including many that arent related to technology at all, such as signing an executive order that prohibited her from giving jobs to anyone whod donated to her campaign. Whats happening in Nassau County involves technology being used as part of a unified philosophy around bolstering the governmental investment in transparency and accountability.This has resulted in a number of tangible projects in just the first nearly year and a half she has been in office. In conjunction with the office of the comptroller, the county has launched a new open checkbook , which details more than a billion dollars of annual county outside expenditures in an easy-to-read format.The county has rolled out an 18-month pilot program partnership with the private company Exiger. This partnership gives the county access to the companys Insight 3PM platform, which streamlines due diligence vendor research to help the county spot red flags that might be related to a conflict of interest.Not all of the work with tech to prevent malfeasance is that complicated, though. In fact, some of it is as simple as moving from paper-based to digital workflows. Curran said that when she first took office there were many vital documents being kept on paper and filed away in cardboard boxes, sometimes in a basement.These things included the financial disclosure forms required of county employees. They were being filled out on paper and filed away in physical containers, a format that inherently makes them easy to forget about and very difficult to search.People would have to dig through reams of paper to find this contract or that agreement, Curran said. Now with a click of a button, its right there.Moving forward, the county is working on a way to enable vendors to track where they are in the governmental procurement process. This is part of a larger idea to simplify the procurement process in general, bolster competition among the companies that the local government works with, and also open the doors to smaller, more agile companies like tech startups.Nassau County is far from alone in using digital tools in this way. In fact, it is part of a larger movement of jurisdictions that are putting an increasing amount of governmental business online, where it can be more easily accessed by both the public and other internal agencies. As this software has become cheaper and easier to develop or use, the prevalence of it in local government has gone up, thereby enabling counties like Nassau to combat long-standing accountability challenges with tech.
(TNS)  5G, the fifth generation of wireless, promises lightning-fast download speeds and could lay the foundation for high-tech advancements like self-driving cars. But like many new technologies, its sparking concern about potential health issues.The first generation of wireless ushered in mobile phones and 2G brought texting. 3G laid the groundwork for smartphones, and 4G allowed video streaming and more. 5G is expected to download data 20 times faster than its predecessor, and some experts argue it could be much faster.And its not just about streaming data faster, its about streaming more of it. On a 5G network, a user can download a movie instantly and data will flow between connected objects without delay. The amount of data people use on mobile devices has gone up 40 times since 2010, and is only expected to increase. 5G networks are wireless companies attempts to satisfy that demand.5G taps into millimeter waves at the top of the radio spectrum, which have not previously been used for telecommunication. The higher waves allow for faster transfer of data, but they also dont travel through buildings, trees and rain like previous generations of wireless, which operate on lower wavelengths.That means wireless companies must install more equipment with 5G than they did with previous generations of wireless. That includes new base stations and antennas on parking garages, or equipment on light poles that fill gaps for cellular coverage.The untested nature of 5G, and the extensiveness of its infrastructure, has some worried that the increased exposure could have serious health effects.Wireless safety advocates have called for more studies on the effects of the exposure, and one group is trying to stop the rollout of 5G networks in Chicagos neighborhoods. Verizon and Sprint turned on their 5G networks in parts of Chicago earlier this year, putting the city among the first in the nation with access to 5G. AT&T plans to turn on parts of its Chicago network later this year, and T-Mobile is aiming for 2020.The federal government has safety rules that wireless companies must abide by that limit human exposure to radio waves, including frequencies used with 5G. Wireless industry association CTIA says typical exposure to 5G infrastructure is comparable to Bluetooth devices and baby monitors, and there is no scientific evidence of adverse health effects.The companies, for their part, say they abide by the wireless network standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.Still, assurances from government agencies and industry operators are not enough for Chicago resident Judy Blake. Additional studies on 5Gs health impacts likely wouldnt soothe her either, she said. People cant choose whether or not to be exposed to this radiation.I dont need another test. The only test thats going to happen now is peoples lives, said Blake, 67.Though little is known about the long-term health impact of the millimeter waves that 5G operates on, some research has shown short-term exposure could be problematic, said Joel Moskowitz, a public health expert at the University of California at Berkeley.The eyes and sweat glands are among several body parts studies have shown could be at risk, Moskowitz said. Insects and plant life could also be affected, he added.Additionally, studies on the impact of radiation from radio waves used by previous generations of wireless have raised health concerns, and some 5G networks will operate in part on those lower-frequency waves too.The findings concern Chicago resident Kristin Welch.We absolutely need to study these high-frequency waves  before you put (this new equipment) in front of someones home or a school, said Welch, 39. Were putting the cart before the horse here.Cellphone radiation study finds biological changes in animals; human implications unclearThe mother of three recently co-founded a Facebook group called Stop 5G Chicago, aimed at halting the rollout of the network in residential areas. Welch said she is especially worried about the impact the radiation could have on vulnerable populations, like children and pregnant women.This is not an unreasonable thing to be concerned about, Welch said. We are now in a position where this untested technology is going to be widespread throughout our city.The wireless companies are using different technologies and techniques to achieve the new 5G standards. Sprint, for example, is building out its 5G network mostly on top of its 4G footprint in Chicago. Its installing new radios and other equipment on existing stations.The millimeter waves used in 5G are absorbed by the upper layers of skin, potentially causing the temperature of the skin to rise, said Suresh Borkar, senior lecturer in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The effects of extended rises in skin temperature becomes a big unknown, he said.Wireless industry association CTIA said in a statement that cellphone users safety is important, and it follows the guidance of experts regarding health effects.Following numerous scientific studies conducted over several decades, the FCC, the FDA, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society and numerous other international and U.S. organizations and health experts continue to say that the scientific evidence shows no known health risk to humans due to the RF (radio frequency) energy emitted by antennas and cellphones, the CTIA statement said.This isnt the first time people will come into contact with millimeter waves: Theyre also used in airport body scanners, said Lav Varshney, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Still, its the first time the high-frequency waves will be used on such a scale, and concerns surrounding new technologies are common throughout history.When cars first started replacing horse-drawn carriages, people were afraid of what the health impacts of traveling at high speeds would be, Varshney said. There has always been occurrence of this fear.
Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High near 55F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Irizar has signed a contract for 15 zero emissions electric buses and charging infrastructure for Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The energy needed for the charging stations will be generated by the Rhine River as it passes through Schaffhausen.





Irizar was awarded the supply contract for the first line of electric buses for the city of Schaffhausen by public tender. The contract includes 15 Irizar ie tram model zero-emissions electric vehicles (7 of which are 12 meters and 8 are 18 meters long); 12 fast charging stations; and 16 in-depot charging stations.

This is a lighthouse project with the aim of electrifying public transport in the city of Schaffhausen. There will be the possibility for a second phase in 2022-2027 when the amount could rise to 47 vehicles, 20 quick charging stations and 51 in-depot charging stations.

The Irizar ie tram model includes integrated Irizar Group technology in its electronics, energy storage and communications.

This is a unique project in Switzerland and in Europe where 12 fast charging points of 600 kW will be installed in one of the main avenues of the city and charging will be done using green energy generated by the river Rhine as it passes through Schaffhausen. Once more the Irizar Group is showing its capacity to provide turnkey solutions by supplying buses and charging stations that meet specific requirements of a city. Hector Olabegogeaskoetxea, Manager Director of Irizar e-mobility

Irizar e-mobility aims to provide comprehensive electric mobility solutions for cities, both in terms of manufacturing zero emissions 100% electric vehicles, and in terms of manufacturing and installing the major infrastructure systems necessary for charging, traction and energy storage, all designed and manufactured using 100% Group technology, with the Irizar guarantee and service quality.

The Irizar ie tram is a 100% electric bus that combines the large capacity, ease of access and internal configuration of a tram with the flexibility of a city bus.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Maid of the Mist, which has been navigating the waters of the Lower Niagara River since 1846, will launch later this year two new all-electric, zero-emission passenger vessels constructed in the United States.





Rendering of the new electric Maid of the Mist vessels

The catamaran-style vessels will provide more than 1.6 million guests from around the world with an up-close, iconic view of Niagara Falls. The vessels feature a wide stance, resulting in a smooth, quiet ride, allowing guests to better enjoy the roar and majesty of Niagara Falls.

Designed by Propulsion Data Systems, the new totally integrated vessels are currently under construction by Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wisc. In mid-May, the modules will be transported to Niagara Falls and lowered onto the Maid of the Mist dry dock and maintenance facility for assembly. Following completion of construction, launch and certification, the new vessels will be placed into service in mid-September.

ABB will supply a comprehensive integrated power and propulsion solution for the new-build vessels, including lithium-ion battery packs and an onshore charging system, enabling sustainable operation with maximum reliability.

Powered by ABBs zero-emission technology, the two fully-electric vessels will take tourists to the heart of the Niagara Falls, undisturbed by engine noise or exhaust fumes. Batteries will be recharged for seven minutes after each trip to 80% capacity, allowing for maximum efficiency and battery life.

The hull of the new vessels features an icon of the electricity symbol within a water droplet surrounded by a turbine with Niagara Falls in the background. The color scheme is environmentally-friendly green combined with the blue of the water.

Maid of the Mist VI (1990) and Maid of the Mist VII (1997), will be retired from service when the new vessels begin operating.

New York is leading the way in the transition to an electric transportation system. The Maid of the Mists conversion to an all-electric fleet is a bold move that shows the world we take our commitment to lowering carbon emissions seriously. The Niagara Power Project has been a long time partner to the Maid the Mist and we are pleased to support the Maid going electric and making our environment cleaner and greener with every trip.  Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO at the New York Power Authority

Maid of the Mist first launched in 1846, making it one of North Americas longest running tourist attractions. Maid of the Mist vessels have been continuously operating tours to the base of Niagara Falls for 134 consecutive years, providing guests from around the world with an iconic experience.

In 2012 Maid of the Mist faced closure in the absence of storage space for its boats on the New York side of the river. Governor Cuomo struck a deal to keep the boats running and produce increased revenues for Niagara Falls State Park. The Maid of the Mist Corporation agreed to invest $32 million in the former Schoellkopf Power Station site near the falls to make it suitable for the winter storage and maintenance of its boats. Under the memorandum, the company agreed to increase its license payments to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, totaling $105 million over 30 yearsthree times the revenues that were projected for the 30-year period when a contract was initially approved in 2002.

The new Maid of the Mist vessels build on a $70-million revitalization of Niagara Falls State Park. The initiative has renewed the parks major viewing areas including Luna Island, Prospect Point, Lower Grove, Three Sisters Islands, North Shoreline Trail, Luna Bridge, and Terrapin Point with new pedestrian walkways, enhanced landscaping, new benches, light posts and railings. Under Governor Cuomos NY Parks 2020 program, the state has made a multi-year commitment to revitalize state parks and includes $110 million in the 2019-20 State Budget for park improvement projects.
From December 19th through December 26th we will be granting free access as a gift to our readers presented by High Point University
The Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha dates to 1965 and was inspired by the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes from the early 1600s.

It may not be surprising, then, that Triad Stages artistic director, Preston Lane, felt the need to set his companys production in a more contemporary situation.

Similar to the original musical written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, this Man of La Mancha is set in a jail.

But this jail is modern, perhaps even futuristic. It has chain-link fences, barbed wire, security cameras and other current fittings. It has harsh lights, along with projections that include the watching eye of Big Brother when they arent setting a scene for the imagined adventures of Don Quixote.

Its inmates, similarly, wear individualized, up-to-date clothing (designed by K. April Soroko).

As Lane says in a program note, I was determined to shake off the 1960s theatricality and place the musical firmly and immediately in our times.
Participants also visit classrooms, ranging from talking about Native American boarding schools in AP History classes to presenting a Native American dance for elementary students. Malesovas said they'd welcome more chances to visit schools.

Academic support is a big part of the program's mission. There's a library of laptops, calculators and school supplies at students' disposal.

"We offer students the opportunity to participate in college visits in the fall and spring," said Malesovas, adding that she shares information about scholarships.

The American Indian Education Program has another feather in its cap  literally.

"Beginning last year, our graduating seniors were eligible to wear a coup feather in their graduation regalia, as a symbol of the milestone that they are achieving," Malesovas said.

The feather was given to the seniors by the American Indian Education Program at its annual student recognition banquet.

"Not every school district has that," she said.

Contact Cindy Loman at cindy.loman@greensboro.com, 336-373-7212 or on Facebook at Cindy News-Record Loman.
20190505g_nws_native americans "People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," says UNCG student Raven Dial-Stanley, a member of 

In February, a stare-down between a Native American man beating a drum and a white teenager in a MAGA hat caused a national stir outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Three years ago, President Trump began calling U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas.

And 10 years ago, Leslie Locklear, a member of the Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan tribes, was a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill when classmates asked if she lived in a teepee.

As a younger Native woman, I spent countless hours explaining myself and my race, she said. It was both infuriating and exhausting to have the same conversation, in every class, with every new group of people, for countless semesters.

Raven Dial-Stanley, a third-year UNCG fashion design student and a member of the Lumbee tribe, knows how Locklear feels.

A college classmate told her "I didn't even know we still had Indians in the U.S.," Dial-Stanley said.

"People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," she said.

General confusion about Native American culture and history remains.

Locklear said her peers comments were the fault of an American public school system that doesnt teach the roles of American Indians in an accurate way. Educators see long-term problems with glossing over Native American history starting in elementary school.

Not only is it not accurate, there is a significant portion of information missing, said Locklear, now the program director for the First Americans Teacher Education Program at UNC-Pembroke.

Dial-Stanley agrees.

"If it wasn't for the knowledge my mother and my people instilled me in, I would be ignorant of my history," she said.

Dial-Stanley, 21, is passionate about her culture. She has been a member of the One Spirit Cultural Class and Dance Team and the N.C. Native American Youth Organization and as a freshman at UNCG, she was president of the Native American Student Association, chairwoman of the UNCG Pow-Wow Committee, and president of the founding class of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, the nations oldest Native American Greek letter organization. She attended the United National Indian Tribal Youth Conference and the 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering in Washington, where then-first lady Michelle Obama was the guest speaker.

In Guilford County, indigenous students have resources that aren't available in most school districts. Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers monthly extracurricular classes that focus on academic and cultural elements "intended to further enhance the childs education and exposure to Native traditions," said Mia Malesovas, American Indian Education coordinator for Guilford County Schools.

The classes are created for Native American students, but others are welcome, Malesovas said. She and others also visit schools by invitation to share lessons and demonstrations on Native cultures.

Native Americans compose about 1 percent of the U.S. population. American Indian/Alaska Native residents make up 1.8 percent of North Carolinas population as of 2014. N.C. was one of only 15 states to have 100,000 or more people from this group.

When a voice is so small, its very easy to overlook it, Locklear said.

Kayla Trevethan, who teaches social studies in Wake County, thinks her first- and second-grade students arent getting much information about Native American life and history even though they could handle it.

I dont really think that, you know, its the best teaching practice to be reading and sharing literature with younger kids that pretty much just paints this happy-go-lucky picture of Native American lives, she said. Because that is not what happened.

Dial-Stanley graduated from Glenn High School in Kernersville, and her twin brother graduated from Atkins High in Winston-Salem. Their mom used to go to their school open houses and ask to see her kids' history books.

"If you're going to be teaching my children our history, I want to make sure it's done correctly," her mom told the teachers, Dial-Stanley says.

Her mom also volunteered to talk to classes and share that history, she said.

According to the N.C. State Board of Education, teachers are required to teach changes in American Indian life before and after European exploration in the fourth and eighth grades, but Locklear said this leads primarily to discussions of the Trail of Tears and thats it.

Some educators say whats taught is whitewashed.

Christopher Scott, an assistant professor at UNC-CH and member of the Lumbee tribe, said classroom instruction enforces that the world just began when Christopher Columbus came to the new world.

We dont teach kids that a holocaust happened in our country to the natives that were here, Scott said.

Dial-Stanley said most people don't know that indigenous children were placed in boarding schools in the late 1800s, torn from their families and culture for years at a time.

When she was a kindergartner in Charlotte, Erin Stacks learned about Thanksgiving by dressing up and joining her fellow Indian and Pilgrim classmates to peacefully eat a meal together. They held hands and broke bread, learning that the Indians and Pilgrims were allies who shared knowledge and thrived together.

This rendition of the Thanksgiving story has been played out for decades, but it glosses over the true relationship between indigenous people and Pilgrims.

Today as a senior at UNC-CH, Stacks has seen improvements in her peers education on native culture but there are still glaring gaps of knowledge.

You can ask people when did blacks in our nation receive the right to vote, when did women receive the right to vote; people know these things, she said. But you ask someone when did Native Americans receive the right to vote, and people dont know that it was 1924 because its not taught as intensely in our school system.

While the North Carolina education standards for elementary school call for a discussion of the Trail of Tears in the fourth grade, Locklear does not think this goes far enough to educate students about tribes outside of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee.

A study conducted by social studies scholars in 2013 found that 87 percent of state-mandated K-12 education standards placed Native Americans in a solely pre-1900 context, not mentioning the ongoing battle for civil rights.

Trevethans second-grade students learned about Native Americans by studying the concept of artifacts left behind from past civilizations.

Im not totally sure that (my students) have an awareness that there are still Native Americans today, almost like it was a thing of the past, Trevethan said. Wow.

Scott and Locklear worry about American Indian students sense of identity.

Scott, a former elementary principal, has seen the education system penalize students for displaying their culture. For example, students who are Lumbee have a linguistic marker that varies from standard English. Because of this, Scott said they cant write the way they speak at home because it is viewed as incorrect. These punishments for showing ethnic identity in the classroom can lead students to choose between success or showing their heritage.

You learn to hide, he said. You learn these traits of invisibility. You learn to mask who you are because thats safety.

Locklear sees the same thing.

Im spending 12 years in a school system that does not mention my people, does not recognize my people, she said. And then in those critical middle school, early high school years, where Im trying to develop my identity and all I see in the media is Pocahontas, and the savages, and the cowboys and the Indians, it almost harms that positive identity development.

Stacks said that her sense of Native American identity started forming because her family kept traditions alive, but she had to explain to students what her culture was.

It kind of started in middle school, she said, when I kind of realized that Native Americans live in society normally and that my classmates didnt understand that.

Today, Stacks answers more questions from college classmates about cultural appropriation than the questions Locklear faced during her time at UNC-CH.

Around Halloween, Stacks and the Carolina Indian Circle carry signs in the heart of campus to educate their peers about costumes that hypersexualize native women or fuel cultural stereotypes. At UNCG, the Native American Student Council put up a display spotlighting indigenous cultures with posters that said "We're a culture, not a costume."

Stacks can provide this education, but she said the earlier people can be taught about Native American tradition and culture, such as in elementary school, the better.

The State Advisory Council on Indian Education advocates to end low achievement rates among Native American students and provides an annual report to schools displaying the achievement gap between Native students and others in the subjects North Carolina tests.

Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers resources in academics and culture Mia Malesovas holds a position not many school systems in North Carolina have: American Indian Education coordinator.

Guilford's American Indian Education Program addresses that gap with academic support, mentoring and tutoring.

Olivia Oxendine, member of the state Board of Education and member of the Lumbee tribe, said the gap was startling. By providing an annual report highlighting the difference in testing between Native students and other groups, Oxendine said creative teachers can build lesson plans around this information.

The standards might be too skimpy and too focused on only one tribe, but publishing information on the achievement gap and requiring it on every schools website is a step in the right direction, Oxendine said.

The advisory boards website provides resources on teaching about Native Americans and, for instance, how to teach about Thanksgiving.

Scott said that the burden of accurately teaching this information cant just lie on educators, but also on policy.

Right now, Stacks calls the amount of information in the school systems about her people empty, but she has hope that will change one day.

I feel like society is slowly moving toward becoming more receptive and more aware, she said.

According to Dial-Stanley, "There's no subject in school that isn't touched by indigenous people."

For educators like Locklear, theres no reason why the learning shouldnt begin at a very early age.

To me, it is just the right thing to do, to tell the truth, she said, to not basically lie about the history of what this country was founded on.

Sophie Whisnant is a senior in the UNC School of Media and Journalism studying reporting. She is from Wilmington. News & Record Editor Cindy Loman contributed to this report. Contact her at cindy.loman@greensboro.com or 336-373-7212.
The report also advises city officials to require any group that discharges contaminating foam to clean it up afterward by containing, treating and properly disposing of the substances before they reach stormwater drains or sink into the ground.

Greensboro officials have linked pollution problems to years of actual firefighting and training exercises in the airport area, as well as to industrial plants that use the compounds either in production or in their fire-suppression systems.

For example, PTIs fire department is required by federal regulations to conduct annual training drills using PFOS-containing foams, a requirement that apparently would supersede any state statute. But Congress passed a law last year ending the PFOS requirement in October 2021, so that could change.

Over the years, other fire departments also have used the area for testing because of its industrial character, which includes the massive gasoline tank farm near PTI.

Greensboro officials discovered that the local water supply was contaminated by PFOS and PFOA while participating in federally mandated testing for unregulated emerging contaminants five years ago.
Climate change pact: The House has passed the Climate Action Now Act, which would require the president to submit annual plans for the U.S. to meet a goal set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change of cutting its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 26 to 28% by 2025, and request that other large economies meet similar emissions reduction goals. The vote Thursday, May 2, was 231-190.

Nays: Walker, Budd

U.S. Senate

Energy Department lawyer: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Cooper to serve as the Energy Departments general counsel. Cooper is a senior counsel at the McConnell Valdes law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former legal official on various House energy and natural resources committees. The vote on Tuesday, April 30, was 68-31.

Yeas: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, both R-N.C.
Attorney General William Barrs testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee was an exercise in what committee member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accurately described as masterful hairsplitting.

But give Barr credit for making one thing clear: We must hear from special counsel Robert Mueller, directly and publicly.

At one point, under the Whitehouses questioning about the special counsels report, the attorney general said: I dont want to characterize Bobs thought process here. Except he did. Again and again.

Most strikingly, Barr told a blatant falsehood about Muellers reaction to the attorney generals efforts to portray the report as an exoneration of President Donald Trump. Barr did that twice  first in a four-page letter March 24 summarizing the findings of the report, and then in a news conference shortly before the 448-page document was made public April 18.

Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate, Barr said during his testimony. I certainly am not aware of any challenge to the accuracy of the findings.
A threat made by a student to shoot up Weston Middle School was investigated by police and school officials.

In a letter to parents, Weston Middle School principal Daniel Doak said a number of students knew about these threatening statements for several days and perhaps, as long as three weeks.

Fortunately, one student turned to a trusted adult to report these comments and that adult passed the information on to the middle school administration. We immediately called the Weston Police Department.

Through our investigation, we quickly determined the nature of the comments and the time frame. We interviewed several students who had knowledge of the threatening comments. When we asked these students why they hadn't reported them to an adult (parent, teacher, counselor administrator), the consistent response was we knew it was just a joke.

In meeting with all three grades in the school, Doak told them we must never assume that a threatening comment is a joke, adding even if it is meant as a joke, is a very serious violation of our code of conduct with school and legal consequences.

Doak said some students mentioned a specific date for a shooting to take place (June 13) and several students referenced a list" of targeted individuals.

For the record, we have no evidence of a physical list. No student claims to have seen a list of names. Many students gave very different versions of who might be on the list. If we had knowledge of a list of that type, we would immediately notify all affected individuals.

Doak said students were not a risk and the situation is under control.

Police determined the student accused of making threats did not have direct access to firearms.

Doak said school officials and police would not allow us to open the school if we believed that our students, staff and visitors were not safe.
Last week, we reported that Nokia 3.2 and 4.2 were listed on the company's official India website hinting at an imminent launch. Now HMD Global, via Nokia, has shared a video teasing the May 7 launch date of the Nokia 4.2 in India.

This video shows off the dedicated Google Assistant button on the Nokia 4.2 which is located on the left side of the phone. The 3.2 also has this dedicated Assistant key on its left bezel, and it remains to be seen whether it will debut alongside the 4.2 in India on May 7, or will launch at a later date instead.

All your answers are a tap away. 4 days before you can #DoItAll

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/r4Jwsxj744  Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) May 3, 2019

The flagship Nokia 9 PureView, announced back in February at Mobile World Congress is also expected to go official in India soon. The smartphone was teased by the company in March and it recently bagged a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, hinting at an imminent launch in the country.

Source
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND  Celtic won the Scottish league title for the eighth straight year on Saturday, completing the second leg in its bid to clinch a domestic treble for the third straight season.
Xiaomi seems to be quite deliberate in its efforts to muddy the waters surrounding its upcoming Redmi flagship device. Conflicting info has been floating all over the place and it seems that Lu Weibing - the brand's general manager remains one of the only fairly reputable sources on the matter. Thankfully, he is quite active on social media and willing to interact with fans. That's precisely how the latest revelation of an ultrawide camera on the phone came about.

To be more specific though, it is more of a reaffirmation, since a previous specs leak did mention a 48MP, plus 13MP and 8MP setup for the upcoming flagship phone. Coincidentally, that seems to be the exact setup on the Mi 9 SE, which would make a lot of sense.



Leaked specs of Redmi flagship

Other bits and pieces of info Lu Weibing has also spilled or at least eluded to on social networks include a 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming device, as well as NFC. Some other leaked alleged specs for the Redmi flagship include a 6.39-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display, Snapdragon 855 chipset and an 8GB/128GB memory configuration, which could be one of a few available. On the selfie side, rumors hint at a 32MP snapper, likely mounted on a periscope.

We only say likely since the design in question last appeared in a rather questionable, potentially photoshopped render, along with the mention of the Redmi X moniker. All the while, in yet another informative post, Lu Weibing noted that the Redmi flagship will not be called the Redmi X and will instead have "a better name". Now, that could either be interpreted as Redmi X being an internal codename for the product or, alternatively as the name of yet another unreleased Redmi device. Unfortunately, to further add to the confusion, rumors have mentioned that a Snapdragon 730 Redmi phone is also currently in the works.

Circling back to our original point - info on the upcoming Redmi flagship is messy and incomplete to say the least. We'll be sure to keep you posted if we get a clearer picture in the upcoming days.

Source (in Chinese) | Via




Haiti - Environment : A businessman blocks the landfill of Limonade





Esaie Lefranc, Deputy Mayor of Cap-Haitien criticizes the behavior of the businessman Lesly Nazon, who claims the land located in Mouchinette, in the commune of Limonade where the construction of the landfill, started to serve the populations of Limonade, Quartier-Morin and Cap-Haitien.



A claim followed by a decision that is the basis of the blocking of work.



Esaie Lefranc regrets that despite the energy and money spent by the town halls of the communes concerned in concert with international partners to carry out this project, nothing else moves because of the ownership claim of this businessman. For the Deputy Mayor the approach of the businessman is part of a "plot conspired with State authorities, especially at the north department to confiscate the land."



He recalled that following a popular protest organized by some inhabitants of Limonade, the 19 families who occupied the land at that time had submitted invoices confirming that they had paid taxes to the DGI as owners, stating that these people had already started to receive some of the money provided for compensation he wonders where was Lesly Nazon during this first stage of the process...



The Deputy Mayor is counting on the popular movements of citizens aware of the importance of a dump site in the corridor Cap-Haitien, Quartier-Morin and Limonade, to force the entrepreneur to listen to reason and withdraw his decision.



In the meantime, despite the resentment of the residents of the Madeline area, in the communal section of Petite-Anse, it is in the mangroves located near the habitats that the waste is thrown away. A practice that should no longer be appropriate, recall the Deputy Mayor.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Drug Trafficking : The Haitian Justice extraded Gregory Georges in the United States





Rebound in the case of the Panama-flagged "MV Manzanares" vessel carrying sugar from Colombia for the Nabatco Company (owned by Haitian businessman Marc Antoine Acra) and where a significant amount of cocaine and of heroin was found on board in various caches in April 2015 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html by agents of the Brigade for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (BLTS) coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a final estimated quantity of between 700 and 800 kg of cocaine and 300 kilograms of heroin with a market value of approximately $ 100 million.



This operation led to the arrest of 16 people including 3 Haitians https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html then to the arrestation of several members of an important family https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-more-members-of-a- large-family-Haitian-inculpes.html



Gregory Georges, aka "Ti Ketan" presented as a "lieutenant" of an international network of traffickers, only of all suspects apprehended in this case to be incarcerated in prison first in the national penitentiary and then in isolation for his safety at the civil prison of Croix-des-Bouquets, having survived 6 assassination attempts was extradited to the United States.



Arrived Friday on American soil in Florida, "Ti Ketan" will appear on May 6 before a federal judge where he will be tried for conspiracy to distribute drugs. For the US authorities this is a key witness in this case that could reveal names and bring down heads in the business community both in the US and Haiti, circles that have not ceased to accuse him of lying... what contradicts the many assassination attempts in prison to silence him...



This extradition to the United States was authorized by Jean Roody Aly, the Minister of Justice.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-several-members-of-an-important-haitian-family-accused.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17272-haiti-flash-burglary-of-the-government-commissioner-s-office.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-15537-icihaiti-justice-11-crew-members-of-manzanares-released.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The Minister of Tourism meets French-Chilean investors

Thursday, Marie Christine Stepheson Minister of Tourism, spoke with Franco-Chilean investors. The discussions focused on the opportunities offered by Haiti in terms of tourism potential.



Words of Jovenel Moise

"I welcome the work of the press on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd. I urge press workers to be more respectful of ethical rules and more responsible in the exercise of their noble mission," Jovenel Moise.



Beekeeping source of income

Beekeeping is one of the income generating activities that Food for the Poor (FFP) facilitates across the country. The organization accompanies beekeepers, from training to setting up hives and inspection. As Roselaure, mother of 4 children in the commune of Gros Trou(Fond des Blancs), the inhabitants of Gros Morne (Department of Artibonite), the Small Artibonite River and Mole Saint Nicolas (North-West Department) can take care of their families through hive products. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22216-haiti-agriculture-beekeeping-an-alternative-activity-for-fishermen-in-st-jean-du-sud.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22870-haiti-environment-development-of-the-beekeeping-industry-in-the-south.html



Response Plan to the Southeast Food Crisis

Launch of the Food Crisis Response Plan in the Southeast. This two-month project aims to strengthen the resilience of inhabitants of the communal sections of La Montagne and Bas Cap Rouge to cope with food insecurity. About 800 families will benefit from this project, which will be implemented in close collaboration with the CASECs of the two communal sections and the organized groups of women living in these areas.



New union

A delegation from the Office of Citizen Protection took part in the launch of a union within the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights. This delegation, headed by the Coordinator of Territorial Presences, Mrs. Yolande M. Jodeph, was composed of Mrs. Erna Eloi, Head of Complaints and Investigations Department, Ms. Berline Jean Pierre, Legal Counsel and Mr. Jean Jolin Dodier, Communication Advisor. In her remarks of circumstance Ms. Joseph insisted on the bad conditions in which work citizens and the non respect of the quota 30% of the women in the decisional positions within the public administration.



The Minister of the Environment in DR

As part of the Cuba - Haiti - Dominican Republic Corridor Biological Project https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12513-haiti-environmentcaribbean-biological-corridor-signature-of-a-tripartite-agreement.html , Joseph Jouthe, the Minister of the Environment at the head of a delegation is in Santo-Domingo (3-4 May) to give a speech during the graduation of the 15th class of graduates executives in environmental management and natural resources. The Haitian delegation will take advantage of his stay to meet the management team of the Corridor Biologique project to discuss the progress and next steps of the project.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Getting millennials to move to San Diego has been a concern of business leaders who are struggling to fill highly skilled jobs. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. launched a campaign last year to attract workers, many of whom are millennials, in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.
Recerca

Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumor with no cure, usually associated with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The main EGFR mutation found in this tumor known as EGFRvlll- is treated with the antibody mAb806, a drug developed by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (United States) about twenty years ago, although its action mechanism was unknown. Now, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) reveals for the first time the action mechanism of this antibody on the mutated EGFR receptor.

The results of the study, which open new pathways for the treatment of cancer, suggest the antibody mAb806 could be used in many tumours in which EGFR has mutated and not only in a specific mutation like researchers believed so far. The study counts on the participation of experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the University of California (United States), among other institutions.

Moreover, the scientific team proved that, even if EGFR has not mutated yet, it can be treated to make it sensitive to the protocol with the antibody mAb806. These findings provide the rational basis to conduct anti-EGFR therapies combined with antibodies and kinase inhibitors, instead of blind testing them, as it has happened so far, notes Modesto Orozco, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB, head of the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Lab at IRB Barcelona and member of the Bioinformatics Barcelona platform (BIB).

Universitat de Barcelona
Two friends have been sent for trial accused of having more than 13,000 of cocaine in the west of the city.

Carley O'Connor (30) and Gemma Reilly (26) had books of evidence served on them when they appeared at Blanchardstown District Court.

Ms O'Connor, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, and Ms Reilly, of Briarfield Grove, Kilbarrack, are both charged with possession of more than 13,000 of cocaine, with intent to sell or supply.

They are also charged with related counts of simple possession and sale or supply of the drug. The offences are all alleged to have happened at the Outer Ring Road, Clondalkin, on November 24, 2017.

A State solicitor said books of evidence were ready and had been served on the accused.

The DPP was consenting to their return for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Warning

Judge David McHugh gave each woman the formal warning that they must provide details of any alibis they intend to rely on in their trial to the prosecution within 14 days.

Free legal aid had been granted previously, after the court heard they were both working but their earnings came in under the threshold to qualify.

A lawyer for the accused asked Judge McHugh to extend legal aid to cover a senior counsel as well as a junior given the potential sentences on conviction.

Judge McHugh said that although he would not refuse the application, it should be renewed in the circuit court.

The accused have not yet indicated how they intend to plead to the charges, which are under Sections 3, 15 and 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They were remanded on bail under existing terms, to appear in the circuit court later this month.
'Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.' (stock photo)

A young man who claimed a stolen phone was his own but could not open it when challenged by gardai had told a "likely story", a judge said.

Christopher O'Grady (27) first said he bought the phone, which had a picture of women socialising on the cover, but then maintained he found it outside a McDonald's.

Judge Michael Walsh ordered him to carry out 120 hours of community service, instead of a three-month prison sentence.

O'Grady, of Cedarwood Park, Cox's Demesne, Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

He was not charged with stealing the phone.

Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.

When asked why he was doing this, O'Grady "said he was not".

When searched, he had a mobile phone in his pocket with a picture on the cover of three women socialising.

He said the phone was his property and gardai told him to enter the pin but he said that the battery needed charging.

Threatening

However, it was turned on and he said he was unable to enter the pin. He then told gardai he had bought it for 50.

He was asked if he was aware of the value of the phone and he said: "Yeah, a couple of hundred euro."

The phone had been stolen from a woman while she was socialising in Temple Bar the night before, the court heard.

Separately, O'Grady admitted threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour when he was caught smoking drugs in a city centre car park.

The court heard that last February 13 gardai were called to Fleet Street car park, where security said a man became aggressive after refusing to leave when he was seen smoking heroin from a metal pipe.

The accused had had problems with heroin over the years, his lawyer said. He had a relapse after a bereavement.

The accused maintained he had found the phone outside McDonald's and had been "foolish" in keeping it.

"A likely story," Judge Walsh said.

The phone had now been returned to its owner.

O'Grady had previous convictions for public order offences.
Prices Lane where the innocent victim was brutally beaten

A man has been arrested over a random attack that put an innocent man in hospital with serious injuries.

The man, who is from Moldova, was not previously known to gardai for involvement in serious crime.

Most of his previous encounters with officers are said to be for minor matters, including public order offences.

Violent

The 32-year-old suspect, who is living in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin, was arrested by detectives from Pearse Street in Dublin yesterday morning as he made his way to work in the south inner city.

Detectives believe he launched his "violent attack" after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol.

The victim, a respected 46-year-old family man, was attacked by the crazed thug in Prices Lane, Dublin, at around 10.25pm on April 26 as he made his way through the city centre.

Earlier this week, the victim's niece shared heartbreaking photos of him in a serious condition in hospital.

It is understood there is high- quality CCTV of the attack.

The victim and attacker are completely unknown to each other.

"This poor man was just walking along, minding his own business, and his assailant went for him, violently attacking him in an entirely unprovoked incident," a senior source said.

"Gardai believe his attacker was heavily under the influence."

"A 32-year-old man was arrested this morning, Friday, May 3, in Dublin in relation to a serious assault in Prices Lane, Dublin 2, on Friday, April 26," a garda spokesman said yesterday.

"He is detained at Pearse Street Garda Station under the Provisions of Section 4 - Criminal Justice Act 1984."

"The injured man remains in hospital with serious injuries. Investigations are continuing."
This court finds it unsettling, nay, repugnant, that after violating the public trust, Mr. Boyle should stand poised to collect a pension, Judge Martin said in November 2009. However, the court is duty bound to apply the law. There is simply nothing in the record before this court that points to Boyle using any of his training as a fireman to further the commission of his felonious activities.
Eads said $1.3 million of the general fund increase is offset by state and federal funds, and the actual rise in city spending totals about $900,000.

The majority of that goes for raises for employees  $400,000  information technology is $70,000 [one position with benefits] and to fund capital [expenses] is $345,000, Eads said. The other piece was $50,000 for the CVB, which puts it where it was last year. It was also based on conversations with council in June or July of last year. When it was cut, I know there was a change of heart, and we discussed during the fall maybe CVB needed to be funded on a percentage level.

The mayor said its too soon to give additional funds to the bureau, and more study is needed to show what the citys return on investment of taxpayer dollars is from the tourism promotion organization.

Both Mumpower and Wingard also spent several minutes revisiting their concern that the city employs too many firefighters given its land size and population. And both renewed calls from 2017 to close a fire station, reduce staffing and relocate station one from next to the city courthouse to a more central location.
Superintendent Keith Perrigan said Friday the issue is timing.

The School Board will be in Marion that night for input for changing the SOQ [state Standards of Quality] as well as other conflicts, Perrigan said. I will try to make it back and some are trying to change their schedules, but no one is able to commit at this time.

Hopefully, in the future, Perrigan said they can work together to plan activities to ensure optimum participation.

Some members of City Council are expected to attend.

Chapter members have met with parents and other community members to gauge their thoughts about school consolidation, according to the statement. The reaction was overwhelmingly against closing our neighborhood schools. Its Virginia Organizings role to give voice to community thoughts, Melissa Roberts, parent and chapter leader, said in the statement. City leaders and School Board members continue to say the barrier is a lack of communication. We are holding this forum so they have the opportunity for discussion.

According to its website, Virginia Organizing, based in Charlottesville, is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives, especially those with little or no voice in society.

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She was a teacher and college counselor at Gerard High School in Phoenix. (I wrote about her once before.) She convinced me to apply to Pomona College in California. My parents, who were in dire financial straits, knew nothing about colleges or applications. And given that they were preparing to move our family into a motel room during my senior year, my college quest was not high on their agenda.
He said he was scared, but kept looking over his shoulder as he ran away.

As I was running, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I was too scared to notice much, but I saw him take out the money and run up to the main road.

Police said they were on the lookout for an old model black sedan with Tennessee license plates. Barnett described the holdup man as white, between the ages of 25 and 30, with blue eyes and sandy, curly hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, gray trousers and brown shoes.

Barnett said after the man left, he returned to his truck and tried unsuccessfully to chase him down.

Police searched for the suspect for several days, but its not clear whether anyone was ever arrested. The Abingdon Police Department has no record of the case in its current files.

We do not have many open case reports from that far back, Abingdon Police Department Community Relations Coordinator Tenille Montgomery said. This case could have been handled by us, the Virginia State Police or the WCSO [Washington County Sheriffs office]. For a long time, towns were not allowed to investigate felonies. Once they were granted authorization, many still relied upon the VSP or the county sheriff.

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Robert Sorrell Follow Robert Sorrell Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
A multi-state investigation into the armed robbery of a Marion, Virginia, business has resulted in the arrest of a Newport, Tennessee, man.

Travis Day, 47, has been charged via a federal criminal complaint with one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence.

On Thursday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, along with Marion Police Department Detective Wes Tomas, executed a search warrant in the 700 block of Raven Way in Newport at Days residence.

Marion Police Chief John Patrick Clair said Day was the primary suspect in an armed robbery that occurred April 18 at the Fas-Mart in Marion. A person with a gun entered the store and removed cash from the register, Clair said.

As a result of information obtained during the search warrants execution, Clair said Day was located by ATF agents in Morgantown, West Virginia, and was taken into custody without incident.

Clair said the investigation, which involved Marion police and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, led officers to Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Bidens well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasnt that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

Id never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Bidens explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.
(We must be clear, however, that case files remain open to the public and the news media.)

Del. Mike Mullins, a Newport News Democrat who led a bipartisan group of legislators in 2018 to work on legislation addressing transparency in the court system, was less than impressed by the high courts new rules. Speaking with the Daily Press, he was blunt in his assessment: You could drive a truck through these [rules].

And hes right; these rules are designed for the benefit of judges and court officials, certainly not the public.

The battle over court openness began more than three years ago when the Daily Press embarked on a statewide investigation project examining the differences in sentencing across the state, with an eye toward the defendants race and what type of legal representation the person had. The papers reporters discovered there was a tremendous discrepancy between counties regarding how such records were assembled and maintained, but that there was also a much more sophisticated database at the Supreme Court level. The paper sued for access to that database, but lost in court. From that legal battle, came the effort in the General Assembly to address transparency in the court system.

And not just the judicial systems case records shielded from the public: The new rules put information about the court systems finances and administration off limits to the public. Why the justices enacted these sweeping rules is anyones guess, but we believe they went much further than the Assembly intended in 2018. We hope, in 2020, legislators revisit the matter and pry the courts open.
The other day I overheard a person (white older male) comment that that he was tired of seeing all these immigrants coming in and stealing jobs away from good, hard-working Americans and he especially didnt want any of them around HERE! I felt compelled then to answer him in this letter.

Sir, have you noticed that the population of Southwest Virginia is shrinking? We are losing folks, not gaining them. The young people are leaving, by and large, and it is the habit of old people to die. That alone would seem a rather good reason to be welcoming immigrants, not discouraging them.

And, let me say, they are indeed NOT taking jobs away from hard-working Americans. Have you seen any immigrants lazing around the streets or just hanging out at a coffee shop? Id hazard a guess not. Chances are the immigrants you HAVE seen have most likely been working harder than many Americans would at the jobs they have and doing them very efficiently while learning a new language, to boot. Think about that the next time you talk about stealing jobs.

And have you SEEN all the help wanted signs out? Americans arent lining up for these jobs.
A Provo family caring for foster children needs help with Christmas magic

A Provo family needs help to make Christmas magical for their foster children this year. Maya and her family had cared for three foster children years ago who suddenly needed to stay with them again. According to Maya, the sudden change in family size has been a difficult adjustment. She has struggled to get enough sleep in addition to supporting all of the kids. Its hard to give everyone the attention they need, Maya said. As a previous Sub for Santa volunteer, Maya understands the tremendous impact that the program can have on a family. Using this service will help her to ...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago by Montgomery Ward copywriter Robert L. May to sell toys in 1939. Heres how the popular Christmas character  and its author  went down in history.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago: Here's how the story became a book, song and TV special
Once is enough when it comes to big news stories
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted to set up shop here, at least for now. Instead, the focus would be on small craft growers, with an emphasis on helping people of color become entrepreneurs in the weed industry. In addition, adults would be allowed to grow up to five plants per household, in a locked room out of public view, with the permission of the landowner.
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Grand Prize Winner: Donna Rickey Blog Winners: A Song for her Enemies by Sherri Stewart: Mary Ann Hake Spies & Sweethearts by Linda Shenton Matchett: Connie Ruggles Sword of Trust by DebbieLynn Costello: Brenda Walters Justice for Julia by Donna Schlachter: Natalya Lakhno Party Prize winners: Sherri Stewarts Winners A Song for her Enemies: Angie Pool Bottle of Dutch Syrup: Carol Koch Alscheff Corrie ten Boom book: Deb Gramie Burgess Linda Shenton Matchetts winners: $5.00 gift card to online retailer or choice (Kobo, B&N, AppleBooks, Amazon): Karen Hadley A Bride for Seamus: Carol Osterhouse Wotring DebbieLynn Costellos winners: Sword of the Matchmaker: Melissa Planas Sword of Forgiveness: Paty Hinojosa Gomez Shattered Memories: Charlene Zall Capodice Sword of the Perfect Bride: Licha Haney Donna Schlachters winner: Leather Journal: Lisa Turley

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HICKORY  Thomas Dufour, son of Harold and Jennifer Dufour of Hickory, was recently honored for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, scoutings highest achievement. In addition, he was awarded a Bronze Palm for having completed an extra five merit badges more than the 21 required for Eagle.

Only seven percent of Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle and less than one percent earn a Palm. The ceremony was held in the Althouse Room at Corinth Reformed Church and officiated by Scoutmaster Brad Lasecki and Committee Chairman Mark Faruque. A closing prayer was given by Pastor Peggy Stout of Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ.

Dufour, 16, a junior at Newton-Conover High School, has been active in scouting since first grade when he joined Pack 231 at First Presbyterian Church as a Tiger Cub. He continued through to Boy Scouts joining Troop 351, which later merged with Troop 1 at Corinth Reformed Church, where Thomas is currently an active member. He has enjoyed many camping excursions through scouting such as: hiking part of the Appalachian Trail, Mountain Man Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee, and sailing around the Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. John with Seabase Scout Camp. When wildfires struck New Mexico last summer, a planned trip to Philmont Scout Ranch was cancelled because the ranch was forced to close for the entire summer. Now that the camp is back in operation, he plans to attend Philmont next year.
A year before he left the assessors post, Hynes was tapped with heading up President Bill Clintons re-election campaign in Illinois, chairing what has become a routine staple of Illinois politics  the coordinated campaign which linked national and local Democratic candidate strategy and fundraising. So successful was the effort that Democrats, after two years as the minority, won back control of the Illinois House despite a Republican-drawn redistricting map. It also returned Michael Madigan to the speakers chair after the only two years he has not held the post since 1983.
The Islamic Research Foundation of Dr. Zakir Naik who is overtly supporting terrorism and propagating the ideology of terrorism was banned in India by the Indian Government on 17.11.2016. Even after that, the terrorists have committed bomb blasts in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, by taking inspiration from the speeches of Dr. Zakir Naik. A chargesheet submitted recently by the Enforcement Directorate in the court mentions that the illegal property of Dr. Naik worth Rs. 193 crores was found.

Similarly, the National Investigation Agency has claimed that the literature of Dr. Zakir Naik was found with the terrorists of Islamic State in Kerala. Therefore, if the Indian Government claims that Dr. Zakir Naik is dangerous for the national security, why the Facebook accounts of Dr. Naik himself and those of Islamic Research Foundation have not been banned so far by the Government ?

If Dr. Zakir Naik is allowed to propagate through an effective medium such as Facebook, the ban imposed on him appears pretentious. Therefore, the ban should be imposed immediately on the Facebook and other social media groups of Dr. Zakir Naik and his organisations, demanded Mr. Ramesh Shinde National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

After the Central Government imposes a ban on the organisation, as per the prevalent rules, the organisation or its activists cannot remain active in the interest of that organisation. Still, 1.7 crore followers are active on the Facebook account of Dr. Zakir Naik and 6 million followers on the Facebook account of the Islamic Research Foundation.

An official complaint was lodged on 5th June 2017 with the Union Home Ministry, Home Secretary and National Security Agency by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti demanding a ban on both the Facebook accounts. A memorandum to this effect was also personally submitted to the Minister of State of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir. Despite the lapse of 2 years, why is the Government has not taken any action in this matter ? Is the Government waiting for the terrorist attacks in India too on the lines of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ? These questions were also raised by Mr. Ramesh Shinde.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was eligible for the National Film Awards under the rules. According to the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the awards, Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for Awards.

The only condition for an artist under the rulebook is that his or her name should appear in the credit line and the person should be a resident of India.

Clause 7.1 of the regulations say that Only those persons whose names are on the credit titles of the film and are normally residing and working in India will be eligible for the Awards.

When a row broke out on social media about Akshay Kumars national award, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia made a similar point and said that foreign nationals can get National Awards.

Akshay Kumar was named for the Best Actor award for 2016. Akshay issued a statement on Friday regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He says he has never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport and that he doesnt understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about it.

I really dont understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years, Akshay tweeted.

I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others, he added in the statement.

He concluded by saying: Lastly, I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.

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Actor Priyanka Chopras to be sister-in-law Ishita Kumar has deleted every wedding-related picture from her Instagram account, after it was rumoured that her wedding to Priyankas brother Siddharth had been called off. Priyanka had recently come to India for the celebrations, which were reportedly supposed to take place at the end of April. Her cousin Parineeti Chopra, too, joined the family in Mumbai. But the actors flew back without any vows having been exchanged between Siddharth and Ishita.

Ishita had earlier deleted pictures from her and Siddharths roka ceremony and had shared fresh pictures of herself, hinting at new beginnings and beautiful endings. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Ishita has now deleted her solo pictures from the roka ceremony as well as the bridal shower that took place in London.

Ishita has posted a new picture of herself hanging out at a restaurant with the caption, Cheers to new beginnings. With a goodbye kiss to beautiful endings. Her mother Nidhi Kumar had written on the post, Close old book and write, whereas her father had commented, We are with you; Feel the expanse of the universe and be the star you were born to be.

Earlier, it was reported that the bride-to-be had undergone an emergency surgery just days before the wedding, which was thought to be the reason for the postponement. There has been no official word from the family regarding the matter.

Priyanka, however, ended up attending brother-in-law Joe Jonas surprise wedding with fiance and Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner in Las Vegas. Sophie and Joe tied the knot in a private ceremony soon after attending the Billboard Music Awards with the rest of the family. The Jonas Brothers performed at the awards and were cheered on by their wives, after which they headed to the Little White Chapel for the wedding. Priyanka was wearing a halo of white ribbons and is assumed to have played one of the bridesmaids to Sophie.

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If, as most polls suggest, Narendra Modi is likely to return as Prime Minister albeit weakened by the loss of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) majority, its time we took seriously some of his partys manifesto commitments. The ones I want to focus on concern Kashmir. It is, undeniably, one of the most serious challenges awaiting the next government and, arguably, very poorly handled by this one.

Compared to 2014, terrorist incidents have increased nearly 300% according to home ministry figures. Bomb blasts have gone up by 330% according to the National Bomb Data Centre of the National Security Guard put out by PTI. Last year, the people killed in Kashmir was the highest in a decade, according to the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The number of local Kashmiris joining militancy was also the highest in a decade, according to army sources quoted in PTI. Today its not uncommon for young Kashmiris, often young girls, to throw stones at security forces to prevent them from capturing militants. These young teenagers show no fear. It seems weve alienated them.

Its in these circumstances the BJP manifesto commits the party to abrogating Article 370 and annulling 35A. Other than BJP supporters, practically everyone else believes this will inflame the situation. Its a recipe for making things worse.

The key question is: Does the BJP mean what its manifesto says or is this political posturing to enthuse and consolidate its voters in the rest of the country? Until last weekend, there were few doubts but then general secretary, Ram Madhav, queered the pitch. Speaking in Anantnag, he said the issue will be decided by the Parliament. The BJP is fighting in Kashmir on the agenda of development, so lets now focus on this. He then proceeded to speak about Insaniyat, Jamooriyat, Kashmiriyat, the Vajpayee formula of two decades ago.

So was Ram Madhav tweaking the manifesto commitment? Was he, subtly, telling Kashmiris not to take it seriously? Possibly. That conclusion was seemingly corroborated when, a day later, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh reiterated in strong terms the commitment to abrogate. But they were speaking in Barabanki and Lucknow, far away from the Valley.

The truth is the BJP position on 370 has repeatedly changed since the mid-1990s. In 1996 and 1998, it promised to abrogate. In 1999 and 2004, it was silent though LK Advani publicly said (24 March 2004) that this was not the right time to abrogate. In 2009 and 2014, the BJP, once again, decided to abrogate. A year later, in 2015, in the Agenda for Alliance with the People Democratic Party (PDP), it committed itself to retaining 370. Now, in 2019, its gone back to abrogating.

So what should we make of the latest commitment? To whom is it addressed? And if the party wins, will it be implemented or forgotten? Whilst clear answers are awaited, one thing is certain: If the commitment is serious its certainly no more so than it was in 1998 and 2014, when the BJP-led governments that followed did not even for a moment consider abrogation.

This time around the commitment has provoked anger in the Valley. That, perhaps, is what the BJP wanted. It has the right effect on its supporters in the rest of the country. But lest the situation in Srinagar and Anantnag get out of control, Ram Madhav sought to delicately defuse it. And in case that sent the wrong message south of the Banihal, Shah and Singh trumpeted the undiluted commitment.

This feels like different strokes for different folks. Of course, thats what the BJP has been attempting for two decades. But does it reveal Modis BJP in a flattering light? Or suggest a preference for opportunistic tactics over conviction and principle? I wonder how Modi would answer that question.

The views expressed are personal

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India is being acclaimed around the world for upholding democracy by conducting the largest general election ever held. But this election once again raises two questions. How democratic is Indias democracy? And, is parliamentary democracy right for India?

It is often suggested that presidential democracy would be preferable to parliamentary democracy in India, that a president would be able to deliver development more efficiently than a prime minister. Certainly a president elected by the people is far freer to act than a prime minister because he is not answerable to the Parliament, and doesnt have to restrict his choice of ministers to members of parliament (MPs). But a president is less of a democrat than a prime minister because so much power is concentrated in his hands. That is dangerous and not necessary. Its often forgotten that two prime ministers whose powers were particularly limited by the constraints of parliamentary democracy were the most successful economic reformers  PV Narasimha Rao, who headed a minority government, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had to hold a jumbo coalition together.

It can certainly be argued that India would be more democratic if its MPs, now elected by being first-past-the-post in their constituencies, were elected by proportional representation (PR). There are different forms of PR but the basic principle is that seats in Parliament are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes each party wins. In other words, a party winning 30% of the votes gets approximately 30% of the seats in Parliament.

The results of the 2014 election demonstrate how undemocratic the first-past-the-post voting proved to be. We have come to believe that a popular wave swept Narendra Modi into Parliament, whereas, in fact, most Indians voted for parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party Modi led won 282 seats with just 31% of the votes. This is the lowest percentage of votes ever to win an absolute majority in Parliament. The Congress performance wasnt as miserable as its tally of seats, 44, suggests. Its vote share was 19.3%. Third came the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 4.2% of the vote which didnt give the party even one seat. If the election had been held under PR and if the voting had been similar, the BJP would have been well short of a majority, with about 170 seats and the Congress would have had a more respectable total of nearly 110 seats. The BSP would have found itself with 23 MPs. These figures show that under PR there is much more chance of every voters vote getting him or her representation in Parliament.

The main argument against PR is that it would lead to unstable coalitions . As Vajpayee showed, coalitions dont have to be unstable. The Congress coalition under Manmohan Singh survived for 10 years but it has to be said that apart from those two prime ministers, the survival rate of coalitions has not been encouraging. Against that, the long years of the Congress dominating Indian politics are not an advertisement that first-past-the-post can lead to stability because they favour bigger parties. Speaking in the Rajasthan town of Jalore in this campaign, Amit Shah called on Rahul Gandhi to give an account of what he called 55 years of Congress rule. With his call for a Congress-free India, Shah is now trying to create a one-party democracy under the BJP rule. Speaking on another occasion in Rajasthan, he said the BJP will now rule for the next 50 years.

I believe PR elections resulting in coalitions would be the most democratic way for a country as diverse as India to choose governments, rather than first-past-the-post elections, which might lead again to one-party domination. However, I doubt whether politicians can exercise the discipline and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices of personal interests and ambitions for multi-party coalitions to work. So maybe the best outcome for India after all, would be first-past-the-post elections leading to a two-party democracy. That would require the Congress to revive and the BJP to temper its ambition.

The views expressed are personal
Three men from Bangladesh  who allegedly used to take flights to Delhi to commit dacoity in different Indian

states before flying back to evade arrest  Friday landed in Delhi Polices net.

The stolen valuables and the passports used for the frequent trips have been seized from them, police said.

Police said the three are members of a larger gang that operates in different states of India. Besides the several crimes they have committed in Delhi, police officers maintained, five dacoities reported from Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Dharwad and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh have been solved with their arrest.

According to police, the three arrested men have been identified as Kamrul Kamaal (42), Sahidul Islam (38) and Nazrul (36)  all of them Bangladesh nationals. Kamaal was lodged in a jail in Delhi between 2003 and 2010, and then, at a jail in Muzaffarnagar between 2011 and June, 2017, police said, adding that Nazrul is involved in at least 21 cases and has been convicted in several of them. Islam, meanwhile, has six cases of robbery, theft and cases under the Arms Act registered against him, police maintained.

G Ram Gopal Naik, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said recently, a number of dacoities were reported from different states. All of the incidents were reported late in the night by a gang comprising six-eight members. The gang used to cut open window grilles and tie up all members of the targeted houses at gunpoint before fleeing with their valuables. During investigations into the case, it was revealed that a Bangladeshi gang is involved in these cases, and therefore, we put Bangladeshi gangs active in India under surveillance, Naik said.

Elaborating further, Naik said police managed to zero in on one Kamrul Kamaal, who was suspected to be leading the gang. Following an input of his presence in Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, our team swung into action and arrested Kamaal and two of his aides, later identified as Islam and Nazrul. Two countrymade pistols were recovered from their possession, he said.

During questioning, the trio told police that all of them are Bangladesh nationals. They said Kamaal and Islam had entered India with passports after procuring a visa while Nazrul had sneaked in through border, illegally. Passports revealed Kamaal visited India eight times since July, 2017, and Islam entered India thrice since. Nazrul said he had gained entry illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying R5000, the DCP said.

Police said the gang targeted houses in posh colonies. If any member resisted, they did not hesitate to kill them. They mostly stayed near railway stations or in the forested areas of the city. After committing the crime, the gang used to return to Bangladesh. Since the other two used to fly back, Nazrul, who used to sneak in illegally, used to carry the stolen valuables, which the gang later distributed equally, Naik said.
It was a two-minute conversation that 27-year-old doctor Chandra Prakash Verma had with his mother over the phone Thursday morning that led police to him.

Police tracked down Vermas last phone call location to Uttarakhands Rishikesh, but it took them more than 24 hours to identify the guest house where he was staying. They finally nabbed him from Roorkee when he was about to jump into the Ganga canal.

Vermas phone was switched off near NH-24 around 10pm Tuesday, almost two hours after he allegedly murdered his flatmate, Dr Garmia Mishra, a crime branch officer said.

As Verma did not turn up at his family home in Bahraich nor at his relatives or friends houses, we were waiting for him to switch his phone on or try to contact someone from a landline. The phone numbers of his family, relatives and friends were on surveillance, the officer said.

On Thursday, around 7am, Verma called his mother and said he had committed a big mistake and sought her forgiveness. He told her that he was going to kill himself and disconnected the call, the police said.

The call location was traced to Rishikesh. The police teams visited over 30 guest houses in Rishikesh found the one where he had stayed till 6am Thursday, the crime branch officer said.

Police said the guest house staff told them that Verma had been enquiring about the depth of the Ganga, the points where the river was very deep, and the chances of survival if he jumped into the river. The staff told him that the Ganga canal is much deeper at places in Dehradun and Haridwar. Our team began scanning areas along the river and the Ganga canal. They spotted him standing on a bridge in Roorkee and caught him. He confessed to killing his roommate and also admitted that he was about to kill himself, DCP (crime branch) G Ram Gopal Naik.

During questioning, Verma revealed that he tried to kill himself thrice but could not do so.

Verma said on Wednesday, at the guest house in Rishikesh, he planned to hang himself from the ceiling fan but dropped the idea as he thought that the fan would break, the officer said.

The second time, he tried to get himself electrocuted by touching a power transformer in Haridwar. But since Verma had dealt with cases of attempted suicides gone wrong at the hospital, he knew the problems the families of such people faced and decided to drop the second plan, the officer said.

He then decided to jump into the Ganga canal and reached the Roorkee bridge. But we caught him before he could jump, the officer added.
Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was booked on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after Baba Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in Haridwar.

Yechury had in Bhopal on Thursday said, Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Taking objection to the comments, Ramdev lodged a complaint with senior superintendent of police Haridwar, Janmejaya Khanduri.

Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies, Khanduri said.

A case under IPC Section 153(a) has been registered against Yechury.

Reacting to the case, member of CPI(M) state secretariat, Bacchiram Konswal said, Ramdev is working for BJP and his complaint is part of BJPs polarisation efforts. Yechury didnt make the statement against Hindus but on a statement of the BJPs Bhopal candidate. He never said anything against any community.
A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.
Two branches of Bank of Baroda in Surat sparked a controversy on Saturday for banning entries of customers in burqas and helmets and then backtracked following protests from Muslims.

Notices saying remove burqa/helmet and no admission with burqa and helmet had come up at Ambaji Road branch and New Civil Hospital branch in Surat. On Saturday, Muslims raised objections over the ban on burqa which is a religious tradition.

As Muslim leaders raised objections, the bank said it did not intend to hurt sentiments of any community and removed the notice.

Bank officials maintained that the notice was put up after recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka. Only two branches of the bank in the city had the notice.

There was no ill intent behind the notice. Also, it was not meant to target any community. It was done for security reasons. And it has been removed now, Ambaji road branch manager Navin Gohiya told the media.

But not everybody was convinced with the explanation.

Such notice definitely targets the Muslims. Helmets can be removed anytime. But Muslim women put on burqa to follow the religion. They are not supposed to remove it, said Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh.

The ruling BJP maintained that the government was not involved in the in the banks decision and said that peoples consent is required even in the matters of security measures.

The government has nothing to do with the banks decision. But the BJP believes that even for security steps, consent of people or community should be taken. Besides, the rules should not be the cause of inconvenience for anyone .
After cyclone Fani weakened into a severe depression and moved course towards Bangladesh by Saturday morning, chief minister Mamata Banerjee resumed campaigning, as she had put them on hold to monitor relief efforts, a day after she had cancelled all her political programmes for 48 hours.

PM Modi called up Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and expressed his concern and directly asked Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prepare a report.

An irked TMC secretary general and minister Partha Chatterjee said, In a federal structural a state government has its own position and rights. The Modi government never respected that.
A woman lawmaker in Telangana, who recently defected from the Congress to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, faced the fury of her former partys supporters who attacked her with stones and chappals on Saturday when she entered a village in her constituency to campaign for a TRS candidate in the local body elections.

Banothu Haripriya Naik, who represents Yellandu assembly constituency in Khammam district, visited Govindrala village of Kamepalli block in the morning to campaign for TRS candidate Lakhavarthu Sunitha contesting as mandal parishad (block) territorial constituency member.

As the MLA entered the village in an open-top vehicle, followed by the local TRS workers, irate villagers, mostly Congress supporters, shouted at her and asked her to go back. They questioned how she dared to enter the village after betraying them by defecting to the TRS.

We toiled day and night in the assembly elections held in December to get Haripriya elected braving tough fight with the TRS. But within a couple of months becoming the MLA, she joined the TRS betraying our faith, an angry Congress worker told local reporters.

As the Congress workers started pelting stones and chappals at Haripriya, the TRS workers formed a shield around her and saved her from the attack. The shocked MLA got back into her car and left the village, while the TRS workers retaliated by pelting stones back at the Congress workers. At least five people were injured in the stone pelting.

Police stopped the situation from getting out of hand by dispersing the warring groups. We immediately shifted the injured to the Yellandu hospital for treatment. The situation is under the control now, sub-inspector Tirupati Reddy said.

Police beefed up the security it the village and are trying to pacify the leaders of both parties to bring normalcy.

Haripriya could not be reached for her comment.

The Telangana unit of the Congress has been protesting against alleged illegal poaching of its MLAs by the TRS to eliminate an opposition in the state. The Congress won 19 seats in the elections to 119-member assembly in December and of them, 11 MLAs have defected to the TRS, leaving the grand old party with just eight members.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who began Prajaswamya Parirakshana Yatra (Save Democracy tour) from Khammam on Monday , called upon the party workers to pull up the defected MLAs for ditching the party.

He demanded that the turncoat MLAs be booked under Section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code, as they cheated the people who voted for them against the TRS.

Defecting from one party into other party was a matter of concern to all people. The Constitutional bodies should respond to the issue without delay, he said.

A TRS leader said on condition of anonymity that defection of MLAs from the opposition to the ruling party was not a new phenomenon. Even during the Congress regime between 2004 and 2009, then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy poached several TRS MLAs into the Congress, he pointed out.

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Dismissing the Congress as a vote cutter party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the grand old party has now stooped to maligning his honesty and hard work.

Addressing a rally in Pratapgarh on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase of national elections, Modi said till the first phase, Congress leaders were looking at the prime ministers post. But after four phases of polling, they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter, Modi said.

He said the Opposition was not able to accept the mandate given by the people to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the four phases of polling so far. Desperate Opposition is now trying everything up their sleeves to keep Modi out of power, the Prime Minister said.

Modi also accused Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav of cheating his Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair. However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the

Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he said.

If they [Opposition] see the crowd in my meetings, they will be rattled. I have never seen so many people gathering for a political cause in the month of May, said Modi, in a choked voice.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as maha milavati [adulterated], the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance  corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule, and misgovernance.

Dubbing Congress president Rahul Gandhi as naamdar, Modi said the Congress president has accepted that his motive was to malign his image by harping on false issues. Naamdar, listen to me. Modi has grown up eating dust of Bharat mata and has lived for Bharat mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceits, he added.

He also accused the Congress of not doing anything for the poor. Rahul [Gandhi] wants proof of Modis works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our jawans, as the conscience of country has awoken. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi while seeking support for BJP candidates from Basti, Siddharthnagar and Sant Kabeernagar.
Friday started on an unforgettable note for Sana, the daughter of a cook at the Walled Citys iconic Al Jawahar restaurant. She got a call from Manish Sisodia, Delhis deputy chief minister and education minister, congratulating her for topping the Class 12 school-leaving examination across the citys government schools.

The 17-year-old humanities student from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Chandni Chowk scored 97.6% overall and scored a perfect 100 in history. I received a call early in the morning, saying the minister wanted to speak to me. I thought it was a prank call. I believed it only after I heard him speaking! she said.

A bright student right through school, Sana never wanted to switch to a private institution. There were instances when my friends in the neighbourhood advised me to switch to a private school. They used to say I cannot do well in life after studying in a government school. But the private schools were expensive for us. I did not care about the suggestions and worked hard. I did not even take tuitions, said Sana, who wants to be an IAS officer.

First. I want to pursue BA (Honours) in Political Science from a top Delhi University college, and then will prepare for the civil services exam, she said.

Sanas father Niazuddin, whose secret twist to the butter chicken, is renowned across the city, cooked for the family on Friday as a special treat. My father loves to cook for us on big occasions, Sana said. He has always encouraged me and my four siblings to work hard. Even my sister had topped her school in Class 12 in 2017.

Niazuddin, who has been working at the Old Delhi restaurant for the last 35 years, said he takes care of its kitchen along with assisting the head chef who cooks the iconic delicacies, including the butter chicken. I am overwhelmed today. Despite all odds, my daughter has made us all proud, he said.

Gyan Kaur, 17, a student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Ramesh Nagar, got the second rank across Delhi government schools, scoring 97%. Kaurs father works in a cement company. She scored a perfect 100 in Economics and wants to pursue Political Science (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College.

The topper in the Commerce stream across the Delhi government schools is Pooja Singh, whose parents have hearing and speech disabilities. A student of Government Senior Secondary School in Sant Nagar, she got 481 marks out of 500. Her father works in Delhi University as a staffer. I want to pursue my career in finance, she said.

Sisodia said on Friday that the Class 12 results were unprecedented, with the overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools 94. 24% in the Central Board of Secondary Education exam. The results could have been better if the Delhi government was given land to build more schools. But our teachers and students worked very hard to make it possible. Even the results of our evening shift schools have improved to 89.3% from last years 83%, he said.

The results have improved even as the number of students appearing in the Class 12 exam rose from 112,826 last year to 129,917 in 2019.

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In a major security breach, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was attacked during his roadshow in New Delhis Moti Nagar area on Saturday.

The incident took place when Arvind Kejriwal was holding a roadshow in favour of his partys candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the New Delhi seat.

In the video, a man wearing a red shirt can be seen climbing atop the open jeep and slapping Kejriwal across the face before he is pulled off the jeep.

The assailant, identified as Suresh, 33, who has a spare-parts business in Kailash Park, was immediately apprehended by the AAP workers around the jeep and handed to the police. He has been taken to the Moti Nagar police station.

Heres the video:

This is not the first time that the Delhi CM has been attacked.

In November 2018, a man had thrown chilli powder on him outside his office in the Delhi secretariat.

In 2016, a man had thrown a shoe at Arvind Kejriwal when he was giving the details of the phase 2 of the odd-even scheme. Around the same time, a woman had also thrown ink on him at a thanksgiving gathering at Chhatrasal Stadium.

In 2014, an autorickshaw driver had slapped Kejriwal while he was campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections in Sultapuri in northwest Delhi. Kejriwal had suffered a black eye at that time.

Earlier, he has had engine oil and eggs also hurled at him.
India has conveyed to Pakistan its concerns about the security of its high commission in Islamabad and complained about the harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month, people familiar with developments said on Saturday.

Concerns about the security of the high commission were conveyed in a demarche submitted to Pakistans Foreign Office recently, the people said. They declined to go into the details of the security threat but indicated it was a serious matter.

In a separate note verbale sent to the Pakistani side on April 25, India protested about the harassment and detention of two of its diplomats at Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The diplomats, who were at the shrine to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were locked up in a room for close to half an hour by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, the people said. The intelligence operatives also questioned the diplomats and searched their belongings, they added.

Before letting the diplomats go, the intelligence personnel warned them not to come back to the area, the people said.

The note verbale asked the Pakistani side to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to ensure such incidents did not occur again.

Indian diplomats have been repeatedly harassed while trying to assist and facilitate visiting Sikh pilgrims at several gurdwaras in Punjab province. Indians pilgrims have also been confronted with propaganda by pro-Khalistan groups.
The chief of Sri Lankas army said some of the people who carried out the April 21 serial bombings in his country had travelled to regions such as Kashmir and Kerala in India to possibly be part of terrorism training activities, according to an interview with the BBC published online on Friday.

The comments by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke is the first confirmation by a senior security official in either of the countries of the terrorists having travelled to India, a link that Indian security agencies have been pursuing since shortly after the attacks in the island nation.

They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us, Senanayke said.

Asked if he was aware of the purpose of those visits, the army commander replied: It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

WATCH: Moment of explosion at Sri Lankas Kingsbury Hotel caught on CCTV

Counter-terror agencies such as the National Investigation Agency have carried out raids in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they have picked up several people for suspected links to the Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group that claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Indian officials who have not to be named, at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

A Union home ministry official did not comment on the Sri Lanka Army chiefs comment. Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation, a senior official in the security establishment, who did not wanted to named, said. Till now, Indian investigators have not mentioned a Kashmir link to the Lankan bombers, though leads were still being followed.

One of the key suspects who is believed by Indian officials to have visited India is Islamic preacher Maulvi Zahran Bin Hashim  leader of Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and the ringleader of Easter Sunday attackers.

Indian officials refused to share details about the purpose of Hashims visit or the people he was in touch with. Hashim, an official said, was initially associated with Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ) but the organisation was not found involved in any terror activities. He subsequently broke away from TNTJ to form his own  Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and started preaching violent form of Islam in the island nation.
The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case after the head of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), who banned wearing niqab, the face veil, on campus of his institutions complained of receiving a death threat.

I received a call on my mobile phone on Friday evening threatening to kill me. He was very agitated and heaped abuses on me. He told me not to fiddle with religious issues, said MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor. I tried to reason with him but he was not willing to listen.

But Gafoor insisted his group will go ahead with its decision to ban the veil.

The police later found that the threat call came from one of the countries in the Middle east which has a sizeable non-resident Indians. The police did not name the country.

The MES had issued the circular on Thursday citing a recent Kerala High Court order to ban hijab which covers a womans head in all its institutions. The MES runs 150 institutions.

While many progressive Muslim outfits have welcomed the decision saying face veil was nothing to do with the religion but many traditionalists opposed it vehemently dubbing it an incursion on religious freedom.

Samastha Kerala Jemiayathul Ulema president Muthukoya Thangal criticized MESs move saying: The MES has no right to dictate terms to believers. Burqua is the identity of Muslim women and nobody can deny this, and demanded the withdrawal of the circular. Jammat e-Islami has also criticised the move.

But the dominant Muslim political party, the Muslim League, is yet to comment on the issue. The ruling Left Democratic Front has welcomed the move. Even while performing the Haj pilgrimage women never cover their face. It is nothing to do with religion and we should promote such saner voices from the community, said K T Jaleel, state minister for local administration.
A 56-year-old villager was killed on Friday when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to be planted by Maoists to target security personnel, exploded in Aurangabad district of Magadh region, about 125 km south of Patna, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred between Pachrukhia and Langurahi forest area where road construction work was on. The villager who was herding his cattle home stepped on the IED which blew up injuring him seriously. He succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.

The deceased was identified as Karu Bhuiyan of Koilwa village Madanpur Tehsil. A police official said Karu had gone to the area to bring back his cattle when he stepped on the IED.

The official said the Maoists often plant IEDs to target security forces who regularly visit the area on routine patrol. A police team rushed to the spot after the blast and Karus body was sent for post mortem.

Additional Superintendent of Police (operations) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that a case has been registered in this connection. Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras, he said.

Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the ongoing parliamentary election, have stepped up violence in their areas of influence.

On Friday night, suspected Maoists blew up the election office of Jharkhands former chief minister and BJP candidate from Khunti Arjun Munda.

On Wednesday, Maoists blew up a vehicle in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district killing 15 policemen and the driver on Dadapur road.

Shortly after the attack, Maoists set ablaze at least six vehicles and other machines of a construction company engaged in road construction in Bihars Magadh division.
India is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of buying more American shale oil, which the US has been pushing to counterbalance the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

Indias main problem with US shale is that it will be more expensive for Indian refineries to process it, effectively increasing the price of the output.

The officials, who didnt want to be named, said that once the US sanctions on Iranian oil kicked in, Indias future purchases from alternative energy suppliers will be finalised keeping in mind the countrys energy and commercial security.

Also Read | India could cut US shale import to offset Iran loss

The US sanctions will disrupt supplies from Iran, which accounted for 10% of Indias energy imports in 2018-19, but the officials said relying on US shale oil will be more expensive and require changes in the configuration of refineries currently set up to process Iranian and other crude.

This, in turn, will make output costlier, and hence, economically unviable, they added.

Were already taking a hit due to the disruption of supplies from Iran. It makes no sense if we have to take a bigger hit by sourcing oil that is more expensive from an alternative source, said an official familiar with developments.

The officials said India is reconsidering a decision to import more shale oil from the US.

Only a handful of new refineries, such as Indian Oil Corporations (IOC) Paradip Refinery, can process shale oil as its composition and properties are different from crude oil. The officials said shale oil processing requires refinery recalibration, which is not commercially viable, especially at a time when the country has been hit by the economic impact of the disruption of Iranian crude supplies.

Also Read | Easter bombers visited Kashmir for training: Sri Lanka army chief

On April 22, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to any country importing Iranian oil. India had been hoping for an extension of the six-month exemption or Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) that had been granted to it last November.

India imported oil and gas worth close to $4 billion from the US last year, and Indias envoy to Washington, Harsh Shringla, said in January the country is committed to buying American oil and gas worth $5 billion per annum.

IOC executives confirmed the company imported 3.8 million tonnes of shale oil from the US during 2018-19 for Paradip Refinery. Even earlier, we imported some shale oil from the US from the spot market in absence of any NOC [national oil company] in America. Now we have term purchase (long-term supply contract), an executive said, requesting anonymity.

The chief executive of a private refinery said on condition of anonymity: The government cannot force us to buy oil from the US if that does not make any economic sense.

Crude or shale oil have different assay, and refiners extract value based on that. One would buy crude oil or shale oil depending on the value one gets. It is a purely commercial consideration, he added.

Asked about Indias future oil purchases once the US sanctions kicked in on May 2, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a briefing on Thursday that all decisions will be taken on the basis of the countrys energy security, commercial considerations and economic security interests. He said the petroleum ministry has a robust plan for obtaining additional supplies from other countries.
India may use a mix of Euros and a Rupee-Rouble transfer to pay for new defence platforms it is buying (or which it has recently bought) from Russia to avoid attracting sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) even as New Delhi continues to explore options of a waiver from Washington, a senior official aware of the details said on condition of anonymity.

A team of senior defence officials led by the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was in Russia last week and one of the issues discussed was the payment channel. Over next few years, India will have to pay approximately $ 7 billion to Russia for weapon systems such as the surface-air-missile Triumf or the S-400, the leasing of the second nuclear-propelled submarine, and the two warships being built in Russia. The S-400 alone is likely to cost India 40,000 crore alone. This surface-air-defence system detects incoming threats at a distance of about 350380 km and its induction is likely to give Indian air-defence a major boost.

The Donald Trump administration passed CAATSA in 2017 with the aim to hurt Russia, Iran and North Korea through punitive measure  primarily sanctions. As many as 39 Russian entities have been placed on the blacklist. An entity dealing with them could attract sanction . Some of the Russian entities are Rosoboronexport, Almaz-Antey, Sukhoi Aviation, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, and United Shipbuilding Corporation. CAATSA came into force from April 2018; since then India has deferred its payments to Russia. Indias problems are at two levels: legacy equipment, most of which are of Russian origin, and which require spares or ammunition; and new weaponry. Washington understands India cannot stop using Russian origin equipment, payment for new equipment, however, is a tricky issue, a second senior official aware of the details said, asking not to be identified.

The Indian delegation met Dmitry Shugev the head of the Federal Service for MilitaryTechnical Cooperation, the body that regulates military-technical cooperation issues, the second official added. Rupee-Rouble trade was discussed as one possible avenue, he said. India, however, needs to make some payment in hard-currency and thats where the Euro comes in. Some countries like China, for instance, have used barters to settle payments with Russia. but that isnt an option for India. India doesnt export enough to Russia to cover the entire amount of the cost. In 2018-19, Indias exports to Russia in 2018 stood at about $2.1 billion whereas it imported about $8 billion from Russia last year.

Payment in Euros to Russia isnt entirely risk-free because it will have to be made through the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and attract sanctions. While the issue of paying Russia without attracting sanctions hasnt been sorted completely, we are closer to a solution, the second senior official said. Sanctions are currency neutral, but there are a lot of ifs and buts, but I am sure that if India has the political will, a way forward will be there and the deal will go through, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Country is run by small-scale shopkeepers, farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand that the nation is not run by a few industrialists but by small-scale shopkeepers and businessmen, said Rahul Gandhi while concluding his rally in Haryanas Gurugram.

We want nyay, not two Indias: Rahul Gandhi in Haryana

We want nyay, not two Indias. As soon as PM imposed demonetisation, you stopped buying and the producers stopped producing. The shopkeepers of Gurugram understand the loss very well. Now we introduced this scheme which will ensure 6,000 goes to every poor persons bank account. Yearly, you will get 72,000. In addition, small shopkeepers and youth will get benefitted. People will start spending on small things and the economy will benefit from it, said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Gurugram

PM Modi is reluctant to use the word chowkidar now in his rallies, lest someone shouts back chor hai, said Rahul Gandhi.

Man who assaulted Arvind Kejriwal during road show held

The man who assaulted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during road show in Moti Nagar area, was held and taken to Moti Nagar police station. He was recognised as Suresh (33).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by man during his road show

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was assaulted by a man during his rally in Moti Nagar area today. :ANI

They are trying to push you back in the lalten era: PM Modi in Bihar

Nitish ji removed Lalten (RJDs symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the lalten era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. :ANI

Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other: PM Modi

Unlike Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh- Uttarakhand, Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other, said PM Modi.

It has become fashionable to spread lies on reservation to divide community: PM Modi

It has become a fashion to spread lies on reservation to divide the community.

Congress, RJD want to save face through playing dirty politics: PM Modi

Congress and RJD now want to save face through playing dirty politics. Their intension is not to serve the people of Bihar. They do not consider themselves servants of the democracy, but rulers. They can go to any extent for their betterment, said PM Modi.

Amit Shah, Smriti Irani hold roadshow in Amethi

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. :ANI

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

BJP candidate hospitalised after SUV rams his car

Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Partys Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, West Bengal, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. :ANI

West Bengal: Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. pic.twitter.com/w8DBpl8gga  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

People of Bihar did not let mahamilavati allies strength increase: PM Modi

Congress, RJD and their allies have cheated this land. The youngsters of this land have been cheated. Bihars dreams were broken, and you all are witness to it. But Bihars people did not let these mahamilavati peoples strength, said PM Modi.

Sisters like Bhagirathi Devi leading new India commendably: PM Modi

It makes me happy when sisters like Padma Sri Bhagirathi Devi lead the new India commendably, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar.

After four phases, they are preparing ground for defeat by insulting me, EC: PM Modi

They used to insult me all the time. But after four phases, they have started insulting the Election Commission and blaming the EVMs too. This is nothing but their excuse for not winning the elections, said PM Modi.

PM Modi addresses public meeting in Bihars Valmiki Nagar

Bihars Champaran has lead the country into understanding the concept of cleanliness, said PM Modi in Bihar.

PM Modi addresses public meeting at Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. Dial 9345014501 to listen LIVE. #DeshKiPasandModi https://t.co/zD6kA12z6u  BJP (@BJP4India) May 4, 2019

Congress and its mahamilawati allies dont want stable government: PM

Congress and its `mahamilawati allies dont want a stable government, PM Modi at rally in Uttar Pradeshs Basti.

BJPs next 5 years will take the country to a new high: PM Modi

They raised bogey of Hindu terrorism in a way that even big terrorists managed to get away but we have changed this. We are promoting defence, farming and other industries in this region. The past 5 years were laying foundation stone of development and the next 5 years will take the country to a new high, said PM Modi

Under BSP rule, nothing or no one was safe: PM Modi

In BSP rule, neither the Taj mahal nor the ambulances were safe. Be it sand or anything else, nothing was safe

its clear that SP under guise of alliance have taken advantage of Mayawati: PM

Now, it is clear that SP under the guise of alliance have taken advantage of behen Mayawati, by keeping her in dark, telling that they would make her the PM but now it is becoming clear to her that SP and Congress have played a game for themselves. Behenji is now openly opposing and criticising Congress, said PM Modi

UP has decided to vote for development: PM Modi

I bow down my head to salute you. You have supported me wholeheartedly. You have already decided to vote for development. The opposition are at their wits end as to what to do to save themselves, said PM Modi

People of UP have decided what poll outcome going to be: PM Modi

The people of UP have already decided what the outcome of the polling is going to be. Bracing such scoching heat, you are standing on roof tops to bless me. I am sure none has been able to get such blessings. I urge caution to people standing on walls that they do not fall off, said PM Modi in UPs Pratapgarh

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan: Rahul Gandhis return fire at PM

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan, said Rahul Gandhi in a return fire at PM Modi. Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by UN on May 1.

Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt, said Rahul Gandhi.

Still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

I apologised to Supreme Court for misquoting their statement, but I still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan, said Rahul Gandhi.

Our main aim is to defeat PM: Rahul Gandhi

Our main aim is to defeat PM Modi. Our manifesto is an effective document, it talks about main issues faced by our country like jobs and farm woes, said Rahul Gandhi.

BJP insulting armed forces: Rahul Gandhi

The BJP is insulting our armed forces. Army is not their property. The strikes were done by them and not by the prime minister, said Rahul Gandhi.

Modi damaged economy, NYAY will give it a jump-start: Rahul Gandhi

PM Modi has completely damaged the economy. He doesnt say anything about jobs. Our NYAY scheme will give it a jump-start. Our ,said Rahul Gandhi.

Our assessment, BJP is going to lose LS polls: Rahul Gandhi

It is now clear that BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha polls. You can see it in the prime ministers face that he is losing. Our assessment says that the BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha elections, said Rahul Gandhi
PM Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up the political temperature on Saturday with a volley of attacks aimed at each other, two days before the fifth phase of the ongoing national elections amid a slugfest over anti-terror strikes conducted in Pakistan during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

At rallies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two key heartland states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting to repeat its impressive 2014 performance, Modi called the Congress a vote-cutter and said the people will reject selfish parties that insulted the countrys soldiers. He also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav, of cheating his so-called Bua, or aunt (ally and Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayawati), by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair.

However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he alleged in Pratapgarh.

Gandhi responded in a speech in Delhi, saying the defence forces were not the PMs personal property, and took a swipe at the BJP for the previous NDA governments decision to release Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Indian Army. We do not politicise the Indian Army, said Gandhi. The comment came a day after Modi said the surgical strikes conducted during the UPA tenure  the Congress has claimed there were six  were only on paper or in a video game.

Gandhi also hit out at the Election Commission of India (EC) and said that the poll watchdog was on the straight line when it came to complaints from the BJP but was completely biased when it came to Opposition complaints.The EC cleared Modi of any wrongdoing in six cases of alleged poll code violation and BJP chief Amit Shah in two. Gandhi himself has been cleared in one case. The EC did not immediately respond to Gandhis charge.

Responding over allegations against the EC, Modi said: These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness. The 48-year-old Congress president also criticised Modi for taking credit for the United Nations Security Council designating Masood Azhar a global terrorist earlier this week. Gandhi said it was the BJP-led government under AB Vajpayee that released Azhar. Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? Did the Congress party do it? Who bowed in front of terrorism, he asked.

The war of words took place in the middle of a general elections in which nationalism and national security, opposition alliance arithmetic, unemployment, and agricultural distress have emerged as big issues.

In Uttar Pradesh, Modi dismissed the Congress as vote cutter party and said it was maligning his honesty and hard work. Till the first phase, the Congress leaders were dreaming of PMs chair, but after four phases of polling they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter party, said the Prime Minister in Pratapgarh.

It was a reference to remarks attributed to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that the party had fielded weak candidates in some constituencies in UP just to cut into the votes of the BJP and help the SP-BSP alliance.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as Maha Milavati (mega adulterated), the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance which were corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule and mis-governance. Naamdar [dynast  a reference to Gandhi], listen to me. Modi has grown up with the dust of Bharat Maa and had lived for Bharat Mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceit, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our soldiers as the conscience of country has woken up now. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi.

He also accused his rival parties of mismanaging law and order. During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SPs tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared, he said. In Bihars West Champaran district, Modi warned people against gimmicks by the Congress to dupe poor farmers.

Later in the day in Delhi, Gandhi credited his party for demolishing Modis image. He is using nationalism as a means to distract. We have fought him in four-five elections, in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like the seaplane in Gujarat. That was a reference to Modi landing on the Sabarmati river in a seaplane towards the end of the Gujarat poll campaign in 2017. He signed off by asking the PM to address at least one press conference before the elections end. It is really looking very bad. He is looking terrible...
Former Union minister MJ Akbar was cross-examined for the first time on Saturday in the criminal defamation suit that he filed against journalist Priya Ramani, who accused him of sexual harassment last year.

Akbar had resigned from his position as minister of state for external affairs in November 2018 after Ramani named him as a harasser.

The case pertains to Ramanis allegations of sexual misconduct against Akbar, dating back to 1993 when he was editor and proprietor of the Asian Age, and she was applying for a job at the paper. I do not remember that Priya Ramani met me in my office in December 93 or that she was looking for a job in Asian Age, Bombay, Akbar told the Ramanis counsel, Rebecca John.

He further added that he does not recollect calling her to a five star hotel in Mumbais Nariman Point in the evening.

Ramani wrote two tweets in October that accused Akbar of sexual misconduct at the workplace. Her tweets also tagged other women, who had similarly accused him of the same.

Soon after the allegations surfaced, Akbar issued a statement that said, The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice.

On October 15, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, stating that his reputation had been irreparably damaged. If proven, Ramani could go to jail for two years in prison. The case will continue on May 20.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday that the Congress lacked the political will but Prime Minister Narendra Modis diplomatic skill led to the UN declaring Jaish-e-mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and the isolation of Pakistan in the international community.

She said the demand to declare Masood Azhar a global terrorist was being raised since 2009 but due to Modis diplomatic skills, Azhar was declared a global terrorist on May 1.

After the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, the then UPA government could have isolated Pakistan but it could not due to lack of political will. Our government has given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, she said while addressing the Vijay Sankalp Samwad in which women from various fields and different sections of society participated.

She said Prime Minister Modi is among the prominent leaders in the world and is now setting the global agenda.

She said in the last five years, Indias respect in the international stage has grown and a lot of development work has taken place. Five years back India was among the weakest economies in the world while now it is the worlds sixth biggest economy.

She said any Indian citizen who sought help on twitter was given assistance and resolution of their problems within 24 hours. She said the Indian government has been successful in bringing back 2.75 lakh persons stranded in other countries.

She said the government had made its slogan sabka saath, sabka vikas a reality. Our government has given 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS), has increased tax exemption limit to 5 lakh for middle class and given constitutional status to the OBCS. The Haj quota for Muslims has been increased and Muslim women has got a reprieve from triple talaq, Swaraj said. This all became possible becase Modi hai toh mumkin hai.

At another press conference, BJP leader and former minister Vasudev Devnani said Lok Sabha election results would be a jolt to the Congress, claiming that the BJP will win all 25 seats. He said political equations in Rajasthan would change after declaration of results.
There will be no water cuts in the city till June-end, said Girish Bapat, guardian minister, on Friday. The minister said that a review of water stock in dams will be taken every ten days.

Bapat said, We have water to suffice only for May and June, and rains are expected in June. So, by considering this, there is no need to cut water supply till June-end.

The minister urged residents to use water judiciously.

We will take a review of the water level in dams every ten days and if needed will take appropriate decision at that time. Also, if needed, we will use water from dams dead stock, said Bapat. Bapat advanced the review meeting, scheduled for Saturday (May 6), to Friday. He held a meeting at Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters where officers from the civic body and irrigation department were present.

Last year on the same day the water level was eight thousand million cubic (TMC), but now it has come down to six TMC.

An official of the irrigation department on condition of anonymity said, At least half TMC water would be needed during the Palkhi procession and half TMC water will evaporate.

Meanwhile, as the civic administration plans to implementing water cuts in the city, the opposition targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bapat on the water issue.

Congress leader Mohan Joshi said, Bapat has released more water to rural areas during the voting period to attract votes for BJP candidate in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc at the pilgrim town of Puri with wind speed in excess of 220 km per hour, the district administration still grappling with the devastation which includes damage to parts of the Jagannath temple.

So far 16 people across Odisha have been killed in the cyclone due to wall collapse, falling of trees and flying debris. But officials said the death toll may go up as rescuers are unable to reach several places of the coastal districts which are still inaccessible.

Till now we are unable to reach disconnected blocks like Krushnsprasad, Bramhagiri and Astaranga. Though we have managed to somehow clear the national highway connecting Bhubaneswar and the roads in the town, many interior roads are still inaccessible. We have pressed NDRF and ODRAF teams for the job. We have opened around 25 free kitchens in the town, said Puri district collector Jyoti Prakash Das.

For people in Puri however the words were of little consolation as sweltering heat and lack of drinking water have made their lives miserable. Officials said it would take at least a week to restore power supply in the temple town.

In Kashiharipur village on Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, housewife Pushpalata Patra said she is at her wits end on how to feed her kids.

I have lost my home to the cyclone. Theres nothing to eat and not a drop of water to drink. I am forced to buy bottled water. How do I feed my five kids, asked Patra. In Batagaon village, 70-year-old Hatu Jena wept inconsolably over thinking of ways on how to survive after his small grocery shop was blown away. How do I feed my wife and grandchildren?  asked Jena.

Also read: Towns in darkness, deserted villages: Fanis destructive trail

In Ramchandi sahi slum of Puri, 55-year-old Sushmita Sahu too was distressed over her next meal after she discovered the 10 kg of rice that she stored had turned soggy.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said his government was trying hard to help people in the aftermath of the cyclone, but conceded that the challenge was huge.

Fani is one of the rarest of rare cyclones  the first to hit in 43 years and one of three to hit in 150 years. Because of the rarity, the prediction and tracking of the cyclone was challenging. In 24 hours, one was not sure of the trajectory it was going to take. Fani after landfall, tore apart the infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply,  said Patnaik, adding that the districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh have also been affected.

In the meteorological centre of Puri, weather officials said Fani was possibly as strong as 1999 super cyclone. The anemometer in our centre broke after clocking gusts of 148 knots (274 km per hour). This was the strongest cyclone I have ever experienced in my life, said Hrusikesh Panda, the officer in charge of the weather office.

Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said getting power and mobile connectivity was a huge challenge considering that thousands of kilometres of low tension and extra high tension lines have been snapped by the cyclone and hundreds of mobile towers wrenched apart. By Monday we are trying to restore BSNL connectivity in Puri and Bhubaneswar. We are trying to restore power in large parts of Bhubaneswar by Sunday. In Puri power restoration will take at least a week, he said.

Odisha energy secretary Hemant Sharma said 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar have been completely damaged affecting 30 lakh consumers. Electricity supply will be restored in 25 per cent area of the Capital city, he said. The electric poles and uprooted trees have brought traffic to a standstill on several national and state highways.

Also read: In Puri, Cyclone Fani terrorizes residents, submerges temple town

In Bhubaneswar, the East Coast Railway officials resumed operations on Saturday by running three special trains including one to Bangalore. The Airports Authority of India resumed operations in the afternoon.

The 500 odd hoteliers in Puri who depend on tourists, said they were worried over piling losses. Laxmidhar Sahu, who owns Hotel Shakuntala on the Puri sea beach, said he cant even think of the losses. The rooms in my hotel are stinking after the cyclone swept seawater. The beds are covered with thick layers of sand. I dont know when will the officials restore power. It will take at least three months to bring my hotel back to shape, said Sahu.

The fishing community in Puri too has been hit badly. In Balinolia sahi, the fishermen were glum over their overturned boats. Earlier we never feared the sea. But after Fani, we are not even thinking of going to sea. We have never seen the sea so violent, said P Dhananjay Swami.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi said he will visit Odisha on Monday morning to take stock of the post cyclone situation.
An analysis of Pakistans air strikes against Indian Army installations along the Line of Control on February 27 by a reputed think tank indicates that while the neighbour wanted to be seen to be retaliating against the Indian Air Forces strikes in Pakistans Balakot a day earlier, it carefully planned its response to misguide its domestic audience and ensure that the conflict did not escalate into war.

A new paper published by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) on Friday said Pakistan was fully aware that it was no match for India in a conventional conflict and the air strikes were merely a demonstration of will and did not intend to target Indias military or civilian assets. The paper, titled Reality of Pakistans Counter Air Strike on February 27: A Demonstration that Failed, noted that Pakistan was encouraged by false bravado and with the intention to misguide their masses.

It said the hurried announcement about the early repatriation of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also indicated Pakistans reluctance to escalate the military situation. Varthaman was captured by the Pakistan Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down. He downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan before his plane was hit. Varthaman was released on March 1. The paper, written by CENJOWS senior fellow Group Captain GD Sharma (retd), noted that Pakistan planned its strikes at an altitude that cost them stealth and launched the attack during the day when its strike package could be easily detected.

It appears that Pakistan planned strikes at 7000-10000 feet. Clearly, this denied them stealth and also gave Indian air defence a warning time of 10-12 minutes strikes planned at lower levels could have remained undetected for a larger portion of their flight, the paper noted, questioning the strike planning. Planning of strike at 9000h-1000h is militarily illogical as strikes are planned at a time to achieve surprise. At late morning hours, air defences could be expected to be at their best performance augmented by visual observers to detect flights which escape the radar detection, it added.The paper said the PAFs objective was not to strike targets on the ground. It noted that only three F-16 attempted shallow ingress of less than 10 km and then exited with the Bison on their tail. Missing a target is difficult unless the intention is not to hit. The only inference one can draw is either poor state of training or intended drop of arsenal was not meant to hit any military or civilian target, Sharma wrote.

CENJOWS director Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), who has commanded an army division along the LoC, said the area targeted by the PAF has a high density of military and civilian population along with other installations, and its near impossible to miss a target there. The paper said it was clear that Pakistan could not afford armed conflict with India because of its precarious financial situation. At the same time, it did not want to present an impression to its masses that it has chickened out of the prospective conflict..., it added.

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A radio-tagged female Amur falcon, which flew non-stop for five days covering thousands of kilometers to reach Somalia in November last year, has returned to the Indian sub-continent on her way to her breeding area in northern China, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said on Friday.

After the long open ocean journey, the bird skirted the coastline of Diu and flew straight over to Surat instead of Mumbai, scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is currently monitoring the route of the migratory bird, said. Right now she is in Maharashtra, he added.

Longleng, a female Amur falcon named after Nagalands district was radio-tagged and arrived in Somalia on April 18 from her winter sojourn in South Africa and started her four day return passage to India on April 29 flying at a speed of 45 km per hour, the WII scientist said.

The bird was radio-tagged in October 2016 as part of projects to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

The smart small raptor weighing around 175 grams, depending upon the weather condition is likely to fly across Nagaland and Manipur for her onward journey to China via Myanmar after passing through Bangladesh, Kumar said.

It seems she is tracking Cyclone Fani, Kumar, who has tagged 10 birds over the last five years, said. So lets wait and watch her next move as Cyclone Fani is heading towards her migratory route.

Two more Falcons-Tamenglong (female) and Manipur (male), were also tagged in Tamenglong district in Manipur on November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, Manipur was found dead four days later while Tamenglong has lost contact after reaching Zambia.
Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after yoga guru Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechurys statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ramdev led a delegation of seers to submit his complaint to Haridwars senior superintendent of police (SSP) Janmejaya Khanduri.

Confirming the complaint, SSP Khanduri said, Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

After receiving the complaint, Khanduri directed the local police to take required action on the complaint after which a case was registered.

Based on the complaint we have registered a case against Yechury for promoting enmity between religious communities under section 153(a) of IPC. Investigations are on, said sub-inspector Thakur Singh Rawat, in-charge of Roori-Belwala checkpost.

Earlier before lodging the complaint, Ramdev addressed a press conference along with other seers comprising ex-ShankaracharyaSwami Satyamitranand, Mahamandaleshwar Harichetnan and Maharaj during which he attacked Yechury for his statements.

By making such a statement against Hindus, he has committed a sin ob both religious and social grounds. Calling it a national crime wont be wrong, he said.

He added, Yechury whose own name comprises name of lord of Ram, should be ashamed of what he has said. He should change his name to Kans, Babar or Ravana.

Ramdev called for the boycott of communists in the country.

People should launch a protest against them in states where they are in power. They should also burn their effigies and this should continue till he offers an unconditional apology for hurting sentiments of crores of Hindus, he stated.

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Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the central government to announce ceasefire and stalling of operations against militants in the month of Ramzan starting next week.

After two days the month of Ramzan will begin. I request government of India that J&K is a Muslim majority state. People here are already facing hardships. Ramzan is the month of prayers ...So I request the government of India to announce ceasefire like last year. Crackdowns, search operations should stop so that people of J&K could pass the month peacefully, Mehbooba told mediapersons.

Mehbooba also urged militants against attacking the security forces during the month.

Last year, the Union home ministry had announced ceasefire in Kashmir ahead of Ramzan, however, the month had witnessed a spike in militant attacks. Despite requests from then CM Mehbooba Mufti, operations against militants resumed after Ramzan ended as Centre had refused to extend the ceasefire.

...Modiji has been repeating that he believes in ideology and follows insaniyat and democracy of Vajpayee ji. And for that,... the government of India should announce ceasefire, she said. Whether it is the ban on Jamaat, JKLF, stopping of cross-LoC trade or the closure of national highway, the government of India is trying to destroy the economy of the state, she said accusing the Centre.
Facing a sharp attack by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday offered to face a probe over allegations that his former partner in a UK-based company had acquired defence offset contracts when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power

At the same time, Gandhi called for an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the 59,000 crore contract signed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government

At a press conference, Gandhi said: Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale.

According to a news article posted on the website of Business Today magazine, the co-promoter of Gandhis UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets under the UPA regime. Ulrik Mcknight was 35% co-owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned the remaining 65%. The company, founded in 2003, was wound up in 2009. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the article claimed.

The article offered instant ammunition for leaders of the BJP, which Gandhi has doggedly pursued over the deal for 36 Rafale jet fighters signed by the NDA government, alleging that the aircraft cost three times the initial bid by Dassault Aviation, the maker of the planes, when the UPA regime was trying to buy the warplanes. He has also alleged that the deal was signed to offer an opportunity for businessman Anil Ambani of the Reliance Group to win an offset deal from Dassault. Both the NDA government and Reliance Group have denied any wrongdoing.

Defence offsets require a foreign supplier to source a certain percentage of the value of the contract from Indian sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally on Saturday: Today, I read that during UPAs tenure, one of naamdars [dynasts] business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha.

The Hindi quote translates loosely as: His government, his friend, even the defence deal was big. That means the cream was ready to be served to the dynast.

BJP president Amit Shah took to Twitter to attack Gandhi. Midas Touch, no deal is too much! he wrote.

When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga.

After the remarks by Modi and Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a more elaborate attack on Gandhi at a press conference. Jaitley claimed that on May 28, 2002, a company was formed in India named Backops Services Private Limited with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as its directors. On August 21, 2003, another company was formed in Britain with the same name  Backops Limited  which had Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight as directors, the minister claimed.

This in itself is quite innocent but what does Backops mean. It was not a company that was into services or manufacturing but naturally into liasioning. Its an influence-for-cash company. We will use influence to get your work done, he said.

Jaitley alleged that Mcknight was also part of Rahul jis social gang and the son-in-law of a senior Congress leader from Goa and his wife was a journalist by profession.

After Backops wound up, Mknight continued his work through different companies, including one named Optimal, Jaitley claimed. In 2011, when the French company, DCNS (former name of Naval Group), got the contract to build six Scorpene submarines in Visakhapatnam, a small Indian company  Flash Forge  acquired two companies of Ulrik. And the offset contracts of the Scorpene deal were bagged by this company, Jaitley claimed.

Hindustan Times could not independently verify any of the allegations made by the minister or the magazine article.

Referring to Congress allegations on the Rafale deal, Jaitley said the party had set in place new norms that not the law of evidence but rules set by Rahul Gandhi apply. Now those standards will apply to Gandhi himself, Jaitley said.

He demanded a response from the Congress.

Did he [Gandhi] want to start as a defence dealer, disguised defence dealer, proxy defence dealer, facilitator. What is the meaning of Backops? It is a serious issue and we would want the Congress leadership to answer it as early as possible, he said.

It is the story of a man who once aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be the prime minister. It is a serious charge, he added.

Incidentally, Backops also figured in the row over Gandhis citizenship sparked by a home ministry notice to clarify his position on a claim by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy that Gandhi had mentioned his nationality as British in annual returns filed by the company in 2005 and 2006.
Saudi Arabia is learnt to have arrested Maulana Rila, brother-in-law of the Islamic State inspired Shangri-La hotel bomber Zahran Hashim, and a colleague of his, who just goes by the name Shahnawaj, last week on the basis of inputs from Indian intelligence. Hashim was the leader of National Towheed Jamaat and chief radicaliser of the hardline salafi group responsible for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. India is believed to have provided several warnings on the attacks, including time- and location-specific details, which were ignored by Sri Lanka.

Officers in Indian security agencies say they are already in touch with their Saudi Arabian counterparts to find out on any links between the IS cadres responsible for the Sri Lanka attacks and Kasargode (Kerala)-Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) module in India, with Colombo on the verge of sending a team to Saudi Arabia.

After the Easter Day bombing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is believed to have called up the top-brass of the Tata owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) to ask them to install security scanners and metal detectors at their three properties in Sri Lanka because all the suicide bombers are still not accounted for. The IHCL owned Taj Samudra had a lucky escape on April 21 as UK educated suicide bomber Abdul Latif Mohammed Jamil entered the hotel but could not trigger the device. He later died in a blast at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala suburb with a couple also losing their lives in the blast.

For the record, Indian intelligence alerted Sri Lankan police and security agencies on April 4, 10, 16 (the day the device was tested in a motorcycle), 20 and two hours before the multiple suicide bombings on April 21, the last with the names of three churches under imminent bombing threat.

The IS inspired bombings in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns over spread of this Islamic group in India through the virtual space as the rabid group hardly holds any territory in Syria or Iraq. IS handlers are radicalising cadres in India through cyber-identities such as Yusuf al Hindi/ Abu Hurairah (used by Indian Mujahideen absconder Shafi Armar), Sameer Ali (used by Shajeer Mangalassery of Islamic State in Khorasan Province, killed in Afghanistan), Gold Dinar (used by Abdul Rashid Abdulla, main motivator of radicals from Kerala in ISKP and Babyboy111/Snickers021/Anwer (used by Ashfaq Majeed, who hails from Karala and belonging to ISKP). Since the rise of IS in 2014, around 115 Indian nationals have been radicalised and reached various conflict zones where the group held sway.

Around 81 reached Syria, Iraq and Libya, another 34 reached Nangarhar province of Afghanistan largely. From this original group of 115, 24 died fighting in Syria and Iraq and 11 lost their lives in Afghanistan. In addition to this 35 Indians were deported to India. Around 126 individuals are under the scanner of law enforcement agencies in India with 8 Indian nationals under arrest for their affiliations in other countries. So far nine persons affiliated to Islamic State, J&K have died in encounters in the state with security forces with eight of them hailing from Valley.

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Minister of state for foreign affairs and former chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on Saturday took on the Congress, which claimed that operations across the Line of Control (LoC)  the de-facto border between India and Pakistan  by the Indian military did happen in the past as well. In a tweet, he said: ... Will you please let me know which So called surgical strike are you attributing to my tenure....

General Singh was chief of Army Staff between April 2010 and May 2012.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress both slugged it out politically, former chiefs and veterans made a clear distinction between operations in the strategic and tactical domain.

Yes, we do carry out cross the border, but these operations are tactical in nature, carried out at the initiate of local formations, there was no political clearance, a general officer, who retired as director general of military operation, said on conditions of anonymity. Importantly, the scale of the previous cross-LoC strikes were limited. The targets were single unlike the 2016 operations when multiple targets spread across an arc of 250 km were hit simultaneously, he added.

General Deepak Kapoor, who led the army between 2007 and 2010, underlined the difference between strategic and tactical level operations across the LoC.

Local or tactical level operations dont have political clearance or backing, he said and are generally done by local commanders for reasons that are completely local, whereas the magnitude of the strategic operations are much bigger in magnitude and nations use to message adversaries. By claiming the 2016 operations, the government backed the operations and therefore should get credit, he said and added, Government backing gives credibility and shows strong resolve. General Kapoor, however, had a word of caution; The Indian Army is a professional military and should be kept away from politics.

General Syed Ata Hasnain who commanded Srinagar-based 15 corps echoed a similar view. The politics around cross-border operations is unfortunate. Local operations at the initiate of senior commanders do happen. But 2016 strikes across the border or the 2019 airstrikes, had a strategic message behind them: India is capable of hitting back, he said and added Comparing the operations of the tactical domain with those in strategic domain are like comparing apples to oranges.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by raising the question of who had released the terrorist in 1999.

Saying that the strictest of action should be taken against Masood Azhar, he said, Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan? Did Congress send him to Pakistan? Which government negotiated with terrorism? Congress didnt send him there, he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

Also Read | I apologised to Supreme Court, not PM Modi. Stand by chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

The reality is that BJP compromises with terrorism. Congress has never sent anyone to Pakistan and we never will, he said.

Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist on May 1 by the United Nations Security Council. Masood Azhar was among the three terrorists who were released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers aboard flight IC-814 which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

We deal with terrorism with a strategy, not with revenge, Rahul Gandhi said while referring to the recent air strikes at Balakot in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives.

He said, if voted to power, his party would adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government has displayed.
Political parties in West Bengal enthusiastically plunged back into campaigning on Saturday after cyclone Fani lost severity upon hitting the state on Friday.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, on Friday morning, had announced the cancellation of political programmes for 48 hours and positioned herself right on the projected path of the storm in Kharagpur to monitor and coordinate relief efforts, participated in two roadshows in Ghatal and Chandrakona in West Midnapore district.

We are happy that cyclone Fani had no major impact in Kolkata and Bengal. Our campaigning schedule will follow its normal course, said Sayantan Basu, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Bengal unit.

Even when the disaster was looming, our candidates conducted door-to-door campaigns as far as possible. Saturday will be a normal day, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sujan Chakraborty. On Friday, Left candidates went door to door in Tamluk in East Midnapore district, one of the areas where the cyclone was supposed to hit the hardest.

Saturday was the last day for campaigning for seven constituencies in Bengal where polling will be held during the fifth phase on Monday.

#Odishas emergency helpline number for #CycloneFani +916742534177, Control room number of different districts:- pic.twitter.com/aMoXKgDFJf  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 3, 2019

Though the damage to the Bengal districts from cyclone Fani is yet to be documented fully, the chief minister said on Saturday morning that 12 brick-built houses were flattened and 825 houses were partially damaged. We will build them again. I have told the district magistrates, she said on Saturday morning. Mamata Banerjee also said that power supply was disrupted in some areas since electric poles were toppled on Friday night.

The state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) evacuated 42,000 people. The KMC mayor and his team of civic officials stayed awake on Friday night to meet any eventuality, said the chief minister, adding that the roads had been cleared of uprooted trees. Banerjee also expressed the hope that those evacuated would be moved back to their homes quickly.

Damage was mostly reported in the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. In some areas of West Midnapore, farmers began harvesting paddy since the wind and rain flattened the ripe crop.

Though meteorological officials said on Friday that Fani would hit Bengal as a severe cyclone between midnight and early morning, the storm lost its sting by the time it reached Bengal.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director, IMD Kolkata, said on Saturday morning that Fani will start moving into Bangladesh by 10 am.

Rain was predicted in some areas of Nadia, Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas.

Kolkata airport began operations from 8 am on Saturday after remaining closed for 17 hours.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday he will stand by his Chowkidar Chor Hai jibe as it is a reality and continue using the slogan again Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference in New Delhi that he apologised to the Supreme Court as he felt he had made a mistake.

There is a process is going on in the Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologised. I did not apologise to the BJP or Modi ji. Chowkidar Chor Hai will remain our slogan, he said.

As he launched another attack on the Prime Minister, he took on the issues of unemployment and agrarian crisis and criticised Modi for insulting Indias armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi said that it is clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is losing in the Lok Sabha election 2019 and is conducting a panicky campaign.

More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing  Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections, Rahul Gandhi said.

The reality is that Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face, he said.

The main issues facing the country, he said, were unemployment and the crisis facing the farmers of the country but the Prime Minister said nothing about the concerns of the common people.

The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. The country is asking that Modi ji you promised us two crore jobs, what about that? He doesnt speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, Rahul Gandhi said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: Modijis entire strategy is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like he brought seaplane in Gujarat.

The Congress does not politicise the army, Rahul Gandhi said, and it is not anyones property as Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned the Congress claims that the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes during its tenure.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the army, Gandhi said.

The Congress presidents remarks come a day after the Prime Minister said during a public meeting in Rajasthans Sikar that the party which questioned the surgical strikes is now saying me too, me too.

The issue of surgical strikes has been a regular refrain in PM Modis electoral speeches after the IAFs air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility at Balakot in Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF jawans had lost their lives. He had even asked the first-time voters to dedicate their vote to Balakot.
The election commission will welcome 999 centenarian voters in Himachal Pradesh with roses and other flowers at polling booths on the May 19, when the state goes to polls.

Out of about 53 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh, 999 are more than 100-year-old. They include 377 male and 622 female voters. The highest number of centenarian voters  293, including 111 males and 182 females  are in Kangra district. Lahaul Spiti district has only 5 such voters, including two males and three females, lowest in the state.

Special facilities will be provided to voters who are more than 100-year-old at polling booths, said chief election officer (CEO) Devesh Kumar.

The list of the centenarian voters also includes the name of 102 year-old Shyam Saran Negi of Kinnaur, who is said to be the first person to cast his vote in independent India on October 25, 1951.

Himachal Pradesh also has 5,775 voters with visual disability, 4,366 with hearing and speech impairment, 19,173 with locomotor disability and 8,538 with other disabilities.

The state has 53,30,154 electorate, including 27,24,111 male, 26,05,996 female and 47 third gender voters.

As many as 1,52,390 voters  82,500 males, 69,880 females and 10 third genders  will exercise their franchise for the first time.

Of the 7,730 polling booths in the state,seven have been set up for the convenience of senior citizens and differently abled voters, the CEO said.

In Kangra district, two auxiliary polling stations  in an old age home at Dari in Dharamshala and at GHS, Bara Bhangal  had been set up for the convenience old residents, he said. Another such booth would function at an old age home at Key in Lahaul-Spiti district, he said.

Key Gompa, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries, is situated 4166 metres above sea level in the Spiti valley.

Two auxiliary polling booths have been set up in Mandi district, and one each in Shimla and Solan districts, he added.

In Mandi, the auxiliary booths had been set up in ICSA building at Sundarnagar to facilitate differently-abled voters and at Balh Bhangrotu-I, Vridhashram Bhangotu, for the convenience of old age home inmates.
Barely two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was widely seen as the party all set to end the dominance of traditional parties that had dominated the electoral politics in Punjab for decades.

Its leaders, many of them first generation politicians lured into politics by party chief Arvind Kejriwals appeal and his promise of corruption-free, transparent government, were scenting power in the state assembly polls. But, it is an entirely different story today. A sub-par performance in 2017, frequent squabbles and splits have left hurt the party badly. And, the party is a pale shadow of its former self in the state with a flagging support base and an organisational set-up in total disarray.

SHRINKING SUPPORT, LIMITED CONTEST The AAP has had to struggle to find candidates for several of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. Its poll battle is limited to just Sangrur seat from where state unit chief and sitting MP Bhagwant Mann, the partys best bet in the May 19 polls, is in the fray. The stand-up comedian-turned-politician is in a tough three-way contest with Kewal Singh Dhillon of the Congress and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa of the SAD in his re-election bid.

In almost all other constituencies except Faridkot where sitting MP Sadhu Singh is the AAP nominee, the contest is directly between the Congress and the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine or is being made triangular by other smaller outfits. The mood is not the same in most constituencies, but Mann is doing well, thanks to his rural connect and image. This is one seat where we have a strong chance and have gone all out, one of the senior-most state leaders said, requesting anonymity.

Mann, the face of the party in Punjab, is mainly caught up in his own fight and not gone out much to campaign for other candidates. A bit of a letdown from a party that had pulled off a stunning performance in the 2014 parliamentary polls in Punjab as a rookie player by winning four seats  Sangrur, Patiala, Faridkot and Faridkot  with 25% vote share.

Prof Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science, Panjab University, said the AAP was in a moribund state in Punjab because the leadership failed to build a vibrant organisation, did not develop local leadership and got hampered by lack of resources. Though it promised internal democracy and transparency, the party leadership lost its basic moral fibre by taking decisions arbitrarily, leaving those who had joined the party driven by idealism disappointed.

COMPETING AMBITIONS, FREQUENT UPHEAVALS Though the party had its share of internal squabbles from the start, things got worse after the 2017 assembly polls in which it emerged as the principal opposition party, pushing the SAD to the number three position. The Punjab leaders and their supporters blamed the central leadership, which virtually controlled the state unit, for flawed ticket distribution and not allowing the state leadership a free hand, leading to state affairs in-charge Sanjay Singhs resignation.

There was no observer for eight months even as several state leaders with competing ambitions and distrustful of each other created chaos and the party did poorly in byelections and civic polls.

Kejriwal appointed his close aide and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, but he, too, could not set the house in order.

All hell broke loose after Kejriwals apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia to settle a drug charge-related defamation case. Most of the 20 party MLAs led by leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira challenged his authority. Though a split was averted, it set off a chain

of events that led to revolt by eight of the 20 party MLAs in July 2018, demanding autonomy, when Khaira was removed from his post.

The party has been plagued by desertions since.

The Delhi chief minister, whose own charisma was the prime reason for the groundswell of support for the party, also seems to be focusing more on Haryana (his home state). However, AAPs campaign committee head Aman Arora said the state leadership was concentrating on the entire Malwa region with Sangrur being the epicentre.

He said Kejriwal would spend five days in Punjab after polling in Delhi and Haryana on May 12 to address a series of public meetings and hold a road show.
As another year marked by the global pandemic comes to an end, our photojournalists remain challenged  and, frequently, awed - by the constant state of change.



We documented our ever-evolving world in ways few photo staffs could as we all worked to regain normalcy amid COVID-19s seemingly unbreakable hold on our communities. We showed the relieved faces of people receiving a coveted vaccine, telling the story of a scientific breakthrough with images of those benefitting from it. We covered new workplace policies, school protocols and policing practices. We traveled half-way across the world to an Olympics where the athletes couldnt hug each other, masked medalists step atop the podium and no one came to watch.



The Chicago Tribune faced its own series of changes, too. We have new owners. New bosses. Endured another move. Gained new talented journalists and lost many others from the newsroom ranks. The one constant has been our dedication to providing photography on a daily basis that is relevant to the communities we cover: The joy of picnicking at the lakefront on a summer afternoon, the pain of children, police officers and neighbors all falling victims to violent crime. Documenting whos in and whos out in the political landscape, escaping to your favorite cultural event or sports competition.



We hope this installment of the annual Photos of the Year project reminds us of the moments that shaped our lives and the thoughtful way we portray them. Its also a platform for acknowledging the talent and dedication of Tribune photographers, and all photojournalists, who make change a way of life.



The Chicago Tribune staff photographers for 2021: Brian Cassella, Erin Hooley, Terrence Antonio James, Vashon Jordan Jr., John J. Kim, Youngrae Kim, Jose M. Osorio, Antonio Perez, Armando L. Sanchez, Chris Sweda, Abel Uribe, E. Jason Wambsgans, Stacey Wescott and Raquel Zaldivar.



Tribune visual editors: Mark Hume, Andrew Johnston, Marianne Mather, Steve Rosenberg and Peter Tsai.

- Todd Panagopoulos, Director of Content/Visuals
A Christian priest prays for his victory as union home minister Rajnath Singh, who has had several Muslim clerics supporting him in his bid for a second term as Lucknow MP, patiently meets everyone at the residence of his lawmaker son Pankaj Singh.

In a poll season marred by Ali vs Bajrang Bali controversy, Rajnath has blended his campaign with temple visits, sandwiched by visits to Muslim clerics and churches.

Rajnath is up against the Alliance candidate Poonam Sinha, whose daughter and actor Sonakshi Sinha and actor-turned-politician husband Shatrughan Sinha are drumming up support for her, and Congresss nominee Pramod Krishnam.

In an interview to Manish Chandra Pandey, Rajnath spoke on a range of issues including elections, patriotism and Kashmir. Excerpts:

Patriotism and nationalism have become poll talk. Congress has accused the BJP of politicising the valour of the armed forces. What is your take?

Every Indian, who values nationalism, is a patriot. Praising a commendable work undertaken in the interest of the country from poll stage doesnt come under the violation of model code of conduct. Cant we even praise our security personnel who toil so hard for the country?

Why then is the BJP being accused of politicising patriotism?

Its a baseless charge. We will praise our security forces come what may. Nothing is bigger than the country and those who guard it.

BJP chief Amit Shah has spoken of scrapping Article 370 and giving special status to J&K. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti says Kashmir would burn if that happens. What do you have to say on this as well as Omar Abdullahs two PMs statement?

We will review both Article 370 and Article 35 A of the Constitution when we return to power. It must be examined whether these instruments have helped the border state or not. We will scrap it if we find that it hasnt helped the state. So far as Omar Abdullahs two PM statement is concerned, I condemn it in strongest possible terms. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had given the slogan of Insaniyat (humanity), Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri values) and Jamhooriyat (democracy) that made him popular in the Valley. When you talk of reviewing and scrapping Article 370 and 35 A, dont you think it is contradictory to Vajpayees mantra? A: No. We remain committed to insaaf (justice) and insaniyat (humanity). Our policy is clear. Justice to all, appeasement of none and thats what we would do.

What has been the change you have witnessed in Kashmir in the last five years?

A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done. The people of Kashmir want peace and development. Under PM Modis stewardship maximum financial help has been given to the state. It needs to be seen who is blocking the states progress. This is a cause for concern. This is the first time that SP-BSP have teamed up against BJP in Lucknow where Congress has fielded a seer against you. How are you facing the challenge? Coolly. I am getting support from all sections. I have never done politics of caste, creed or religion. Our PMs motto is sabka saath, sabka vikas. Our political opponents try and create fear of BJP, marketing it as communal. But, the fact is that they create sense of fear among minorities and now, people are seeing through their game. We have initiated works and projects worth 24,000 crore for Lucknow. This will benefit all.

While poll discourse is plummeting we saw your son Neeraj touching the feet of Congress candidate in Lucknow during campaign. How do you see it?

Its nice as I myself have never engaged in politics of hate.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition at a rally in Rajasthan on Friday over a spate of complaints against him by the Congress and other parties to the Election Commission.

Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word Abhinandan, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.

Then their one man or chela will go to the Supreme Court. The court will ask the EC to decide the matter in one week and then EC will say that Modi did not violate he just greeted people. The Congress would then do a press conference. They are just playing this game, Modi said in Rajasthans Sikar.

Modis comments come at a time the EC is looking at several complaints against him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC)  the poll watchdog has already cleared the PM in five complaints of violating the MCC.

The principal opposition party had also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the poll watchdog of inaction and prompting the top court to set Monday as the deadline for acting against the complaints.

Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman hit headlines in February after he downed a Pakistani jet during a dogfight, that came a day after Indian forces struck terror targets deep within Pakistan in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama attack that killed 40 troopers on February 14. Varthamans jet was shot and he was captured by Pakistani forces, and returned a few days later.

One of the cases in which Modi was cleared by the EC this week pertained to a speech where he referred to the air strikes in Pakistans Balakot. The EC has since issued an advisory against the use of defence personnel as a part of political campaigns and a number of BJP leaders have got into trouble for featuring Varthaman in their election posters.

The Congress was not amused by Modis comment. Modis desperation is written all over his face. Bereft of issues and lost in the web of his own lies, he is mocking the entire nation and its institutions...Such arrogance is always given a befitting reply and that reply would have a resounding impact in his defeat on May 23, said the partys chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

At a rally later in the day in Bikaner, Modi questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism, saying the party could not stop Indias share of river water flowing to Pakistan. Was it right to give our share of river water to Pakistan? he asked the gathering, adding if he came back to power, he would prioritise giving water to the states farmers. Twelve remaining seats in Rajasthan go to polls on Monday.

He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her interaction with some snake charmers in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, The PM has flagrantly violated the model code of conductHe is a repeat offender, calls for multiple gag orders.
Senior Congress leader and the partys candidate from North East Delhi, Sheila Dikshit has no regrets that the party could not stitch an alliance with AAP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress is too big a party and far too historical a party while AAP is too small and just confined to the national capital, she told Hindustan Times. Dikshit had been a sharp and loud critic of the idea of the Congress teaming up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.

Also Watch: AAP too small, BJP main rival in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit on campaign trail

Reacting to colleague and Congress candidate from the New Delhi seat Ajay Makens recent statement that had the Congress-AAP alliance materialised, the grand old party would have won all 7 Delhi seats and with margins of more than 2-3 lakhs each, she said it was his personal perception.

But we contest elections not with perceptions. We contest them because we are contesting, she added. The buzz over a possible tie-up between the Congress and AAP continued for weeks before nominations for the polls. But all speculations were put to rest when the two sides were unable to work out a seat-sharing formula for the alliance.

Sheila Dikshit is also the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi constituency and is banking on her 15-year stint as chief minister to wrest the seat from sitting BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. AAPs Dilip Pandey is the other candidate in the fray in the three-cornered contest.

I am going to compete with both of them, says Dikshit, adding that she considers BJP to be the bigger competitor as the party holds all the 7 seats in Delhi as of now. AAP only makes a lot of noise about itself, she added.

Asked how many seats the Congress would win in Delhi, she refused to speculate saying, People are beginning to evaluate the candidates in the fray. I would not like to comment on the outcome of the elections since there are about ten days left for the electoral process to be over, said Dikshit as she signed off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

The prime minister was speaking at an election rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh. He was accompanied by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. The prime minister has election rallies in UP and Bihar scheduled for today. In Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi has two rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, while in Bihar; he will address a public meeting at Valmiki Nagar.

Now it has become clear that the Samajwadi Party under the guise of a grand alliance has used Mayawati. They have been shrewd with her and kept her in the dark about their intentions. They also went to the extent of promising to make her the PM. Now, Behenji has realized their ploy and hence openly criticizes the Congress, PM Modi said.

Making a reference to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi sharing the stage with SP leaders he said, SP keeps very quiet when asked about the Congress and on the other hand Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies and sharing the dias with SP leaders. They should not have tricked Mayawati in such a cunning manner. She is still not able to understand how they tricked her. Truth always comes to the forefront. It cannot be hidden for too long.

The party which in the first phase of polls was portraying their leader as a PM candidate have now started confessing that they are merely there to cut votes

Cutting votes and tearing bills are the character of the Congress, the prime minister said.

Now even Congress is openly accepting that they cannot win over Modi till they malign Modis honesty and hard work, he added.

This Maha Milawati Panja is very dangerous. Whenever they have come to power, the country has had to bear a heavy price. There are five major dangers of this alliance: corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic politics and bad governance, he said.

These people do not trust outsiders and therefore just keep their family members in power. Anyone who starts to emerge as an alternative is destroyed, the prime minister said signing off.
Two weeks after 257 people were killed in suicide bombings across three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka, the churches in the city are contemplating measures to upgrade their security.

Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay  the apex body for Roman Catholic churches in the city  told HT that they are planning to restrict vehicle parking 40 feet away from the church. There will also be a prohibition on haversacks and large bags being allowed inside the church premises. The decision was taken during a meeting conducted by the archbishop of Mumbai, cardinal Oswald Gracias, with priests from the Roman Catholic churches on Thursday.

Last week, the archbishop held at meeting at his house, which was attended by representatives of various churches and the Mumbai police commissioner. Based on those discussions, we decided to take these measures, Barrett said.

He added that the cardinal has also asked the priests in-charge of various churches to take all necessary security measures after consultation with the local police.

Gracias along with Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind (body of Islamic scholars), also issued a joint statement condemning the terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

Apart from causing loss of innocent lives, terrorist attacks leave an impact on the peace and harmony of society. It is the duty of all religious leaders to stand up and use all our resources to cleanse society of this evil, read the statement.
There is a distinct similarity between the 2004 campaign of Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) first prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modis 2019 campaign - they share what can perhaps be best described as a feel good factor.

But what are the elements that set the two elections, and election campaigns, apart?

For starters, any dissatisfaction with Modis performance as Prime Minister does not appear to be necessarily leading to anger directed at him. This is a big advantage for Modi during this election season. His perceived iron-fist policy on security, his projection of nationalism, and his messaging on welfare programmes, is making supporters feel good about having him at the helm. But since this is accompanied with the subtext of Hindu consolidation, it causes a counter polarity of the Muslim vote, whose imprint will be more visible this time as compared to 2014, when not a single Muslim candidate was elected from Indias largest state Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP appears to be reaping a rich harvest from its schemes to provide toilets and housing in rural areas. The relative spread of public conveniences has brought about a behavioral change, and the roof over head mantra has struck a chord. These factors kept coming up in discussions with the locals during my travels in different parts of the country over last month.

By the end of 2018, Modi faced two distinct challenges  mushrooming farm distress, and disenchanted upper castes. The farmers complained about declining profits and the upper castes resented Modis restoring the provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court. Both played a role in BJPs defeat in the December assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states.

In the last three months, Modi has managed to address both. The second instalment of ~2,000 is going into the bank account of farmers even as India is still voting, and the 10% quota in jobs and education to the poor among the general category has changed the mood among the BJPs upper-caste supporters.

Also, the corruption charges that the Opposition threw at him with its chowkidar chor hai slogan, have managed to get only a limited response in most parts. On the ground, Modis image remains his strongest draw.

Notwithstanding this background, a question needs to be asked: Can Modi lose, like Vajpayee did despite his high personal popularity?

To answer this, a comparison needs to be drawn between the BJP of 2004 and 2019. The partys character has evolved since 2004, and how it has modified its campaign for different states makes the Modi of today different from the Vajpayee of 15 years ago. The BJP, too, has grown in size over the last five years.

The story of 2019 lies in Modis ability to keep Indias most backward communities, particularly in UP and Bihar, invested in him. He is winning new support from Dalit groups as well. Both these are different from Vajpayees support base in 2014.

With some exceptions, my trips indicated that there isnt too much dent in the support that Modi received in 2014  171.6 million votes to be precise. His challenge is to get the same number of seats as last time when Opposition unity is greater.

The upper-castes remain with him, so does the umbrella coalition of smaller caste groups that appears to identify better with Modi than with regional players in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These are the two bellwether states accounting for 120 Lok Sabha seats. Modi has also achieved this by altering his speeches in a way that touches the different set of constituents in different states. The BJP has carefully avoided a one size fits all campaign, a trap in which many other political parties find themselves caught in.

In West Bengal, the BJP tapped the nationalist space and talked about Mamata Banerjees pro-Muslim. The decline of the Congress and the Left helped it emerge as the main opposition. If Modi speaks of development and roads in Jharkhand, a tribal state that suffered on account of political instability for years, he goes out of the way to display soft Hindutva with an aarti on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi.

The Balakot air strike and corruption remain common refrains in his speeches. This has helped him traverse the journey from leading a suit boot ki Sarkar to emerge as a socialist leader whose welfare programmes touch a billion people.

If an India Shining moment sank Vajpayee, Modi chose to be careful in articulating that his ek bharat, shrestha bharat (one India, best India) was a work in progress that may need a second shot in power to be complete.

When the results are out on May 23, Modi could well prove that feel good is not a bad phrase in politics.

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The Bihar State Minorities Commission has requested the government to ensure a better civic amenities like water, electricity supplies and cleanliness in state capital, especially in the areas having high Muslim population during the month of Ramzan.

In a letter written to the urban development department, the Bihar State Minorities Commission has asked the department to make proper water supply facility in these areas especially at the time of Sehri (pre-dawn meal).

Sehari is consumed before the dawn breaks by the people who observe Roza or the day long fast during Ramzan and is considered obligatory for the people on fast. The month long festival is to begin in couple of days.

Often, the Sehri is observed at around 3 AM and during the time there is no water in the tap in many households in our city, as the municipal corporation starts supplying water at 6 AM, Prof Md Yunus Hussain Hakim, chairman of Bihar State Minorities Commission, said.

Faroque Zaman, an official from the Bihar State Minorities Commission, said that a large population in the city is still dependent upon government water supply facility.

Considering their conveniences and requirements, the minorities commission has reminded

the urban development to ensure uninterrupted water supply, especially at the time of Sehri, he said. There are many areas in the city with substantially higher Muslim population which include Aalamganj, Sultanganj, Patna City, Sabzi Bagh colony, areas around Gol Ghar, Samanpura, Raja Bazaar, Deegha, Danapur, Maner, Zaman said.

Masod Iqbal, a local from Sultanganj locality, said water and electricity supplies in areas like Sultanganj, Aalamganj and Patna city often remain disrupted. Instances of demonstrations, demanding to restore and regularise the water and electricity supplies are very common here. People demonstrate to press for the demands, he said.

Irregular water supply is a big problem here and may prove to be very inconvenient for the local Muslims during Ramzan, he said.

The minorities commission official said that Muslims are also concerned about the polling in Patna Sahib and Patliputra Lok Sabha constituencies. Visiting polling booth is not a big problem, but standing in queue for hours to cast votes while being on fast may prove to be difficult for many. Its the peak summer season and even those who are not observing fast, prefer not to go outdoors during the daytime, he said. The best thing is polling is to start at early morning, he added.

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Taking serious cognisance of the Thursday drowning incident that claimed the lives of three MBA students, Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud, on Friday decided to send alert messages on social media platforms to students. The messaging service will contain various measures that the students must keep in mind before planning an excursion.

Vernekar said, The college administration is in constant touch with the family members of the deceased students. We have extended all possible assistance to the bereaved families.

Giving details about the alert messaging service, Vernekar said, Considering the incident that took place on Thursday, we have now decided to send an alert message to all the students starting Friday. The messages will be sent on WhatsApp, phone message and email. The message will contain precautionary measures and dos and donts that the students must take before they plan an excursion. We will also ask the students to avoid going near dams, rivers and unknown water bodies.

Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Besides that, for every new batch that joins the institute, we have organised an induction programme for both students and parents. As many students come from different places, they either stay at the college hostel or private residences. I would personally address the programme and inform them about the safety measures and their responsibilities while pursuing their education here. We will also take regular counselling sessions for students.

Talking about the incident, Vernekar said, The ten students who had gone to Mulshi dam were not residing at the college hostel. They did not have any restrictions and hotel deadlines. No such excursions are planned by the college and the students had gone on their own. The incident is extremely unfortunate.

Vernekar said, When we were informed about the incident on Thursday morning, a team from the college, including senior management officials, rushed to the spot. I was continuously following up with the college administration until all the bodies were recovered and their family members reached Pune.

The dean said that when the institute officials spoke to the other seven students who were in that group, they said that they have been to Mulshi dam several times in the past and were familiar with the nearby areas.

The students said that only Shubham Raj Sinha and Shiv Kumar knew how to swim and they rushed to rescue Sangita Negi. However, it was very unfortunate that all three of them drowned, Vernekar said.

Alert messages will carry precautionary tips

1. Carry safety equipment along with you on picnics/outings.

2. Carry preventive medicine/drugs

3. Keep your parents informed

4. Do not go with unknown persons and to unknown area

5. See that you are back home/PG/hostels by 10 pm

6. Read and follow safety signs

7. Follow traffic rules

8. Wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler

Students say

Though I have not met the victim students personally, I am shocked. We are a group of eight boys and, after this tragic incident, we have decided to not plan any excursion near an unknown water body.

Abhijit Koturwar , 1st year MA student

It was an unfortunate incident. The students should think about their family members before planning an excursion that involves a risk of any kind. They must inform their parents about their whereabouts at all times.

Sarita Anand, first year master in social work student

We must always carry safety equipment when we go for an excursion. If the outing involves trekking, one must carry a rope and a torch. These equipment can help during crisis and also save lives.

Suraj Devkar, second year MA student

We have the right to know the truth about Shivs death

The bodies of the three MBA students who drowned at Mulshi dam were kept at the dead house (morgue) of Sassoon General Hospital, before it were handed over to their family members on Friday.

The body of Shiv Kumar, one of the deceased, was collected by his father Gopal Krishna Kumar and uncle Bantu Sharma.

An inconsolable Sharma said, We would like to know if the incident was an accident or was he pushed into the deep waters. His friends at the college are not divulging any details. We at least have the right to know the truth.

Speaking about Shiv, Sharma said, He was loved by one and all and completed his graduation in commerce. He even won gold medals in academics. He was an ex-student of GLA university, which is considered as a top university in Uttar Pradesh.

We have not informed our family members about the incident. They have been told that Shiv is in the intensive care unit (ICU). I can imagine my sisters condition after knowing that her son is no more. She would be devastated.

Kumar, who is a police officer at Mathura, said, I was posted on election duty in Dholpur, Uttar Pradesh. I was unaware of the incident. As soon as I received information about the incident I rushed to Pune with my brother-in-law. I have three children and Shiv was the eldest. The youngest is disabled and my daughter is 17-years-old. I never thought that such an incident will happen with my son. My family members have not been informed yet. This is a very difficult time for us. Shiv was a brilliant student and has been residing in Pune for only one year.
HIV-suppressing medication can make the AIDS virus untransmittable even among couples who have sex without using condoms, new research showed Friday.

The Europe-wide study monitored nearly 1,000 gay male couples over a period of eight years, where one partner was HIV-positive and receiving antiretroviral (ART) treatment, while the other was HIV negative.

Doctors did not find a single case of in-couple HIV transmission within that time, raising hopes that widespread ART programmes could eventually end new infections.

Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero, said Alison Rodger, from University College London, who co-led the research published in The Lancet.

They support the message... that an undetectable viral load makes HIV untransmittable. This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face.

Researchers estimate that ART prevented around 470 HIV transmissions within couples during the study period.

HIV and the fatal illnesses it provokes remain one of the worlds largest health crises despite much progress in recent years.

More than 21 million people currently receive regular ART medication, which suppresses the virus - only around 59% of global HIV sufferers. The authors of the study noted several limitations, including that the average age of the HIV-negative men was 38. Most HIV transmissions occur in people aged under 25.

Individuals currently on ART must take medication almost every day for the rest of their lives, and treatment is often disrupted for a variety of reasons.

But the fact that couples can have unprotected sex for years without passing on the virus was still worth noting, experts said.

Timely identification of HIV-infected people and provision of effective treatment leads to near normal health and virtual elimination of the risk of HIV transmission, said Myron Cohen, from the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases.

Yet maximising the benefits of ART has proven daunting: fear, stigma, homophobia, and other adverse social forces continue to compromise HIV treatment.

The study shows that we can pass the message there is no risk, said Aurelien Beaucamp, the head of the French lobby group Aides.

The UN goal is for 90% of HIV-positive people to know their status by 2020. Of these, at least 90% must receive ART, and the HIV virus be suppressed in 90% of those. AIDS has killed 35 million people since it emerged in the 1980s and 78 million people have been infected with HIV.

There were 1.8 million new HIV infections, down from 1.9 million in 2016 and 3.4 million at the peak of the epidemic in 1996, according to UNAIDS. The number of deaths dropped by 50,000 year-on-year to 940,000, compared to 1.9 million in 2005 when a mere 2.1 million infected people had access to life-lengthening ART.

But for this, money is needed. And the global effort is short about $7 billion (six billion euros) per year, according to UNAIDS.

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Actor and comedian Kapil Sharma is all set to welcome his mother on The Kapil Sharma Show. The actor has released a teaser of the upcoming Mothers Day special episode in which he can be seen introducing his mother, Janak Rani to the audience. He captioned the teaser on his Instagram account, This weekend. The one n only #superstar my mother #mothersday special #love #blessings #mother.

In the teaser video, Kapil can be seen making the viewers emotional by welcoming his mother on stage, who is seen in a midi dress. He says that whole world asks a man about his salary, a mother asks her child if he has eaten food or not. He also reveals that his mother is usually present on the sets of the show. She says in the clip, It feels nice to watch him.

Badhaai Ho actors Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao will also be seen on the show this weekend. The promo shows comedian Kiku Sharda cracking a joke on the meaning of Gajrajs name. He says, Gajraj Rao ji, mujhe aapka naam bahot pasand aaya. Gaj matlab haathi (elephant). Haathi jo hota hai, woh uttpaatt machaata hai. Film mein, dekhiye, aap ne bhi machaa diya. As Neena Gupta, judge Archana Puran Singh and rest of the audience burst out laughing, an embarrassed Gajraj covered his face.

Kapil tied the knot with Ginni Chatrath in twin ceremonies in December 12 in Jalandhar. This was followed by three wedding receptions in Amritsar, Mumbai and Delhi. All from actors Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar to Rekha had attended the star-studded party in Mumbai.

Also read: Priyanka Chopras brother Siddharths fiance deletes all proof of bridal shower, roka ceremony from Instagram

Kapil was missing from action for several months as recovered from his ill health. He had attended the Drug Free India event in Chandigarh a few months ago and had spoken about his experiences of dealing with alcoholism. A source had told DNA, Kapil spoke about how he was consumed by the bottle. He recalled seeing his mother break down. Thats when he decided to kick the habit.

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My two sons who are involved in this and I have been in business now for nine years and weve been doing a lot of local county fairs and such and decided to branch out, Pomales said. Were in a spot where wed like to expand and people from Illinois have been coming out for so long to get our food, we thought it was time we brought it to them.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each others intentions, arms control advocates say.

Trump cited the expense of keeping up the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a motivating factor behind wanting to limit how many weapons are deployed.

Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he said.

Trump said China during trade talks had felt very strongly about joining the United States and Russia in limiting nuclear weapons.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves maybe to start off, and I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about non-proliferation, well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind, and I think itll be a very comprehensive one, he said.

The New START treaty required the United States and Russia to cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades, and limit delivery systems - land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

It also includes extensive transparency measures requiring each side to allow the other to carry out 10 inspections of strategic nuclear bases each year; give 48 hours notice before new missiles covered by the treaty leave their factories; and provide notifications before ballistic missile launches.

Trump has called the New START treaty concluded by his predecessor, Barack Obama, a bad deal and one-sided.

The Kremlin said the two sides confirmed they intended to activate dialogue in various spheres, including strategic security.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, briefly talked about the report by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Putin seemed amused, said Trump.

He said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain, and it ended up being a mouse. But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. Pretty much thats what it was, he said.

The Kremlin said the call was initiated by Washington. It said the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts on different levels and expressed satisfaction with the businesslike and constructive nature of the conversation.

With the United States concerned about a Russian military presence in Venezuela at a time when Washington wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, Trump told Putin the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin told Trump that any external interference in Venezuelas internal business undermines the prospects of a political end to the crisis, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump cancelled a summit meeting with Putin late last year after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on Nov. 25 and arrested 24 sailors. Putin also told Trump that the new leadership in Ukraine should take steps to solve the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has yet to agree to a disarmament deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. The Kremlin said both leaders highlighted the need to pursue denuclearisation of the region.

During an April summit with Kim in Vladivostok, Putin expressed Russian support for a gradual process of trading disarmament for sanctions relief.
North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Koreas joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analysing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Koreas presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
School teachers have found a unique way to ensure their students behave in class. They are threatening to reveal key plots of the highly anticipated film Avengers: Endgame that had a massive opening this weekend.

With most students yet to watch the film, the threat by teachers is proving to be an effective step to keep students in line according to posts by users on Reddit and Twitter.

In the past week, various Reddit and Twitter users have posted pictures and videos showcasing an innovative strategy employed by their teachers: using the threat of spoilers as a way to ensure students behave well in class and stay focused.

One humorous and devious photo showed a substitute chemistry teacher allegedly writing letter-by-letter of a sentence that allegedly spoils part of the movie, whenever students spoke out of turn in the class

Another post from a Twitter user explained how a fellow classmate chose to answer every question to a recent assignment with a spoiler from the film, leaving the teacher unable to grade it.

According to Business Insider and as cited by People, New York high school teacher Rebecca Shamsian shared that she first began threatening her students with spoilers, after one of them accidentally said that he hadnt seen the film yet.

When that same student spoke up in class later that day, Shamsian said that she told him that if he didnt stop distracting people right now, I would tell him an Endgame spoiler.

She couldnt believe how effective the tactic proved to the students.

I could see his eyes widen, and immediately he closed his mouth and turned towards the assignment. I have literally never seen such an instantaneous result with a student, she shared. Needless to say, the rest of the period was perfectly on task.

Although not everyone may agree with this method, Shamsian said its particularly difficult to keep students engaged in whats going on in the classroom as summer break approaches.

When the weather is warm and the years almost over, the usual method of reminding them that their grade will be affected, or warning that you will call home, doesnt make an impact, she said. But the one thing I know my students care about is Endgame.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few showers early, becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Mary Jo Viero, who also works for BAPA, grew up in the neighborhood, as did her husband. When they moved back as adults, they had a four-level Tudor home. But as her father-in-law became dependent on a wheelchair, it was too difficult for him to maneuver throughout the home. They had a new Tudor home built a few blocks away, which melds with the neighborhood, but has an open floor plan and an accessible bathroom in a first-floor bedroom suite.
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"Just because someone believes differently than another, it is not cause to hate them. Our places of worship are the least places where we expect someone to attack and take innocent lives," Fakhruddin said.
Swiac said one of her first patients was discharged on her rotations last day. The patients gratitude "gave me a picture of what it would be like to be a nurse," she said, figuring working in obstetrics and delivery or the emergency room would be "a good place to use my critical thinking."
Rebranding

3 May 2019

Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Fountains Hotel in Cape Town announce the rebranding of the Fountains Hotel.

With 156 guest rooms and suites, the Best Western Fountains Hotel is located in the heart of Cape Town's central business district. Ideal for both business and leisure travelers, the hotel offers a choice of comfortable bedrooms, the majority with views over the harbour, the bustling Thibault Square or Table Mountain.

The hotel boasts a range of rooms, with air-conditioning, safe, coffee-and-tea making facilities, satellite TV's, mini-bars and complimentary WiFi. The restaurant offers a sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner all in convenient buffet style, whilst 24-hour room service is available as well. Breakfast includes international as well as cooked South-African choices, freshly baked bread, rolls, pastries all from their in-house bakery as well as a range of fruits and yoghurts.

Cape Town, South Africa's Mother City, and the location of the established Best Western Cape Suites, is renowned for its pleasant climate. The city offers many memorable experiences including the famous Table Mountain, a stroll around the city centre or to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, Cape Town's most visited tourist destination, whilst the Cape Town International Convention Centre is a mere 500 meter walk from the hotel.
Now Open

4 May 2019

AC Hotels by Marriott, AC Hotels by Marriott, a design-led European lifestyle hotel brand from Marriott International, recently announced the opening of the AC Hotel Lima Miraflores, located in the Miraflores district with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

AC Hotels by Marriott celebrates the beauty of classic modern design with its European soul and Spanish roots, born from the signature vision of the renowned hotelier Antonio Catalan, who founded the brand in 1998 and grew it into one of the most respected hotel brands in Spain. Following its success in Europe, a joint venture was formed with Marriott International in 2011, which has since launched AC Hotels by Marriott globally in France, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and now Peru. The new AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is the second AC Hotel by Marriott in South America.

On the other hand, Jorge Melero, CEO of Intursa (Tourism National Investments) - partner of Breca and Marriott International in Peru - shared that the investment made for this project in Lima amounted to roughly $28.9 million dollars. This new project is part of a franchise deal with Marriott International.

The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is 18 stories high and has 150 rooms, 11 suites and 2 meeting rooms with a total area of 882 square feet and a capacity of 90 people. The hotel is also surrounded by boutiques, trendy restaurants and other local attractions. AC Kitchen serves European inspired dishes and the hotel's trendy AC Lounge offers guests a chic, open and comfortable ambiance, ideal for socializing. The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores also has a rooftop with beautiful views of the city.

AC Hotels by Marriott is a brand with a new understanding of the hotel industry, a modern design and constant evolution in its services, aiming to offer its guests surprising experiences. It allows travelers to know the quality of Marriott International hotels at affordable prices in some of the most interesting cities in the region and promising destinations.

Based on the idea that purposeful design improves lives, AC Hotels by Marriott carves away what is unnecessary, in order to provide guests with thoughtfully designed moments of beauty; experiences that elevate their stay and help them focus on what is important to them. The result is sophisticated yet unpretentious style, innovative food and beverage programming with locally inspired experiences for both guests and locals.

AC Hotel Lima Miraflores will provide employment to over 98 people and create approximately 120 jobs, said Juan Antonio Sanchez. "I've estimated that the hotel will be 60 percent occupied by the corporate segment and the remaining by conventional tourists, a segment that has been growing steadily," added Juan Antonio Sanchez.

Lima is one of the most important cities in South America, which continues to grow in tourism as a business hub and as the gastronomic capital of America. Thanks to its Convention Centers, international tourism has grown in the city.
The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension.

The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension. The new select-service hotel combines the premium elements guests desire with an affordable travel experience and builds on the company's eight decades of expertise in the midscale segment.T

he 72-room Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs features custom murals showcasing popular Sulphur Springs attractions in each room, a brand hallmark that brings the hotel's location to life for every guest. Located at 411 East Industrial Drive, the new hotel is near Interstate 30 and well-known local attractions, including Hopkins County Veterans Memorial, Coleman Park, Main Street Theatre, and The Hopkins County Museum and Heritage Park.

"Clarion Pointe came to life faster than any brand in the company's history, and the first hotel in Sulphur Springs is proof of this powerful select-service conversion concept," said Anne Smith, vice president, brand management, design and compliance, Choice Hotels. "Choice continues to lead and shape the midscale space to meet the needs of franchisees and guests alike. Since unveiling our Clarion Pointe extension in September of last year, the brand has been in high demand."



Nearly 30 Clarion Pointe hotels are expected to open and 10 are planned for this year, including in Medford, Ore.; North Charleston, S.C.; Oklahoma City; and Rochester, N.Y. Influenced by the Clarion brand promise of creating environments for people to connect and socialize, Clarion Pointe allows guests to maximize their travel experience with "focal pointes," including:

Contemporary design touches, including signature murals in guest rooms and the lobby that reflect local points of interest.

Curated food and beverage, like free premium coffee and tea from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as free breakfast with fresh and nutritious items. Craft beer and select wines, juices and smoothies, and small bites are available for purchase in the hotel's marketplace.

On-demand connectivity that lets guests stream content from their mobile devices onto 49-inch TVs with casting capabilities and free streaming-strength Wi-Fi.

Modern fitness space featuring cardio equipment and a strength-training station.

"The interest in Clarion Pointe gives us a solid foundation for growth in the years ahead," said Tom Nee, vice president, franchise development, Choice Hotels. "Clarion Pointe is ideal for owners who want a hotel concept that resonates with today's travelers, from a company that's proven successful in the midscale segment. Owners gain access to Choice's extensive resources, from in-market support and help with the conversion process, to tools that assist with improving ongoing daily operations."

The new Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs was developed by Helm Hotels Group, a family-owned company with over 35 years of experience in Texas.

"Our years of hospitality experience coupled with Choice's invaluable resources and established brands makes us excited to be at the forefront of the new Clarion Pointe brand," Charles Helm, Owner, Helm Hotels Group. "We know guests will love the brand, which offers a premium local experience, and all of the amenities to make for a great and memorable trip."

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The chaos surrounding the vicious murder of Nipsey Hussle is beginning to subside as mourners continue to grieve and celebrate the life and legacy of the rapper. Brooklyn-born rapper and former gang member China Mac rocked him "prolific" pullover as he sat down with Vlad TV to discuss Nipsey's death and the impact it's had on hip hop and pop culture.

There's no mistaking that Nipsey has gone from an independent rap star to a household name, but unfortunately, it was his death that made millions aware of who he was as a businessman, philanthropist, and community leader. According to China Mac, Nipsey's death is one of the most significant moments in history and it's reverberated globally and brought people into a higher vibration.



Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

"That's crazy," he says of the Staples Center maxing out tickets for Nipsey's funeral. "Because of that, I say his death was more powerful than say, Malcolm X. It was more profound. 'Cause you just look at...when Malcolm X died, it wasn't really much. A lot of people was hurt. A lot of people loved Malcolm but it wasn't...when Nipsey died he's selling out the stadium. You got the ex-President saying something. You have gangs unifying. You got people from all over the world traveling to the place where he got murdered at and showing love."

"I just feel like Nipsey's death...I just feel like it's a powerful...it's powerful and it's great for our generation to see something like that," he said. "Because the last person to have that type of effect was a Malcolm or a Martin [Luther King, Jr.]. And that was a long time ago. So for somebody to stand for something positive and stand for the community and to have this happen..." he expressed as his thoughts trailed off.

"Like I said, I feel like yo, it's a sad thing," he continued. "Nobody wants to see anybody go. It's always sad when it happens like that, but at the same time, I feel like that it was powerful. I feel like...he's the type of person that if he could choose, if he could have made a decision [to] end like this but you make this type of impact and you make this type of movement, or you just don't do nothing and you end like this, you live a longer life and whatever. I don't know him, but I would think he would make the choice like, 'Aight, I'mma go like this.' Like a martyr."

China Mac goes on to say that now Nipsey's message is "loud and clear" and will continue to have a lasting impact on communities, artists, and fans worldwide. Watch his entire message below.
Joe Biden's found himself in some hot water, once again. The Democratic nominee has been on his campaign in an attempt to lead the Dems into the White House during the next election. However, he's been dealing with a few controversies in recent times that might impact his chances in the election. Most recently, his comments about his trek to the "hood" have left many wondering just how out of touch he actually is.

Joe Biden's looking to win over the votes of the African-American community but as a politician, referring to inner-city communities as "the hood" is probably not the best way to go about it. During a stop on his campaign trail in Iowa, the former vice president spoke about the efforts to evolve the economy in cities such as Detroit which is when he brought up how he went to the hood to teach women of color how to code.

"Through a program, we had through community colleges, we said look, put together a program for us where we could teach people how to code, he said. "We went out, literally into the hood, and they found, turns out, 54 [people], they happened to be all women, the vast majority were women of color, no more than a high school degree, aged 25-54, and a third of them only had GEDs.

According to the Washington Examiner, there was an audible yikes from an audience member but his overall point was met with applause.
It's public knowledge that the Kardashian-Jenner crew make bank from social media posts, but the exact number of what they receive for peddling products hasn't been confirmed. However, court documents revealed just how much companies are willing to pay to have Kim Kardashian West pose with their items on Instagram.

Kim has sued Missguided USA clothing company for illegally using her image and likeness to sell their products. Back in February, Business Insider reported that Kim filed a complaint against the company, accusing them of "unlawful misappropriation" by stating, "Like other 'fast fashion' companies, Missguided ... has become notorious for 'knocking off' the clothing worn by celebrities like Kardashian."

"But Missguided does not merely replicate the looks of these celebrities as seen on red carpets, in paparazzi photos, and in social media posts," the complaint goes on to say. "Missguided systematically uses the names and images of Kardashian and other celebrities to advertise and spark interest in its website and clothing."

Also in the documents are details regarding how much Kim charges for her social media posts, and it states that the business mogul receives $300K to $500K per Instagram post. Although there are plenty of companies who are willing to write out a check for Kim to help them promote their products, the documents say that Kim regularly turns down offers because she doesn't want to be associated with the brand.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star claims that her personal brand is being damaged by the association so she's suing for $10 million. According to The Fashion Law, as of April 1, Missguided hasn't responded to the lawsuit.
A video of the violent arrest of a black woman who called the police for help has gone viral. Loving, the victim involved in the brutal arrest, stated to have called the police on March 5th following an altercation with her white neighbor who then allegedly went onto making shooting threats and yelling racial slurs. According to The Daily Beast, the mother of three felt menaced and called the police as she feared for her safety. Upon the police's arrival, Loving states to have been questioned vehemently and then physically assaulted by officer Alejandro Giraldo and three others. The latter is said to have occurred after Loving requested "to make contact with her children."

The viral video depicts the Miami police officer violently arresting Loving by first slamming her against a metal fence. Furthermore, the brutal assault continues with the officer placing the 26-year old in a headlock and forcing her onto the ground. The entire thing was captured on video and resulted in a public outcry. As such, recent reports by the Daily Beast now affirm that Giraldo has since been charged on two counts: third-degree official misconduct and a misdemeanor count of first-degree battery.

In response to Giraldo's arrest, Loving adds: "Im happy that officer Giraldo has been charged, but it does seem like its a slap on the wrist. And what about the other officers who were there? They should be held accountable for what they did to me too."

[Via]
After sweeping Nigeria's NET Honours 2019, with numerous trophy, wins based on national polling results, Tiwa Savage is ready to make her splash on the Global stage. Say what you will about the commercialization of music in the 20th cent. and beyond, but those who love Afrobeats took an interest long before it became a commodity.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1123890671570575362



As of this week, Nigerian phenom has been snapped up by Universal Music Group in what they're calling a "global recording dealing" similar to the contracts signed by WizKid and Davido not too long ago. In addition to the big three garnering the interest of the big multinationals, Warner Music Group recently struck a deal with an entire Nigerian music factory, the "Chocolate City" label based out of Lagos (with offices in Abuja and Nairobi, Kenya). Tiwa Savage expressed her delight in a message issued to the international press.

My biggest goal is to make Africa proud, said Savage in a statement. Im so excited for this moment and Im thankful to [UMG CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge and my new UMG family for their belief in my dreams. Im looking forward to this next chapter in my career and Im more ready than I have ever been."

As for the NET Honours gala that took place late last month, the following is a rundown of who in Nigeria is gaining the most attention on social media. It's no secret Nigerian spend a lot of their downtime on the Internet, so these polling results reflect the popularity dynamics in the more urban sections of the country.

NET Honours 2019 Winners

Most Searched Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Searched Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Popular Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Actor  Jim Iyke

Most Popular Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Searched Actor  Odunlade Adekola

Most Searched Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Popular Couple  Davido and Chioma

Most Popular Media Personality -Tosyn Bucknor (RIP)

Most Searched Media Personality  Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

Most Popular Person  President Muhammadu Buhari

Most Popular Comedian  Alibaba

Most Popular African Celebrity  Juliet Ibrahim

Most Popular Global Celebrity  Kim Kardashian

Most Popular Event  Big Brother Naija 2018

Top Big Brother Naija Star 2018  Tobi Bakre

[Via]
Munster High School has advanced into the top 50 of the Vans Custom Culture Competition to earn a chance to compete for a grand-prize of $75,000 for the school art program. As part of the contest the Vans corporation sent two white pairs of Vans shoes that students drew on and customized along two themes. The first theme is Local Flavor and the second is Off the Wall. The top 50 designs in each category are voted upon by the public with the top five schools receiving monetary prizes ranging from $10,000-$75,000. The public can cast their vote at https://customculture.vans.com. The money would go toward the development of a Digital Design suite within the school specifically geared to the needs of the art department. If Munster were to field a winning entry, specialty shoes would be produced for the design team and a school wide-BBQ would be held with a mystery musical guest flown in to perform for students and staff.
The way to get a company to respond to a complaint is to boycott, and in this social media generation, if you can get something to go viral, you may even get an apology. Earlier this year, Gucci found itself on the wrong side of rapper T.I. after they released an item of clothing that was deemed to be racist. Many people said the balaclava sweater resembled a Golliwog, a black caricature that has black skin, frizzy hair, and large, bright red lips, and they called the company out for allegedly being racist.

Following the backlash, T.I. hopped on social media to not only announce that he would be boycotting the brand, but also to urge others to do the same. "As a 7 figure/yr customer &long time supporter of your brand I must say...Yall GOT US f*cked UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED," he wrote. "Our culture RUNS THIS SH*T!!! We (People of color) spend $1.25 TRILLION/year (but are the least respected and the least included)and if we stop buying ANYTHING they MUST correct any and ALL of our concerns. Thats THE ONLY WAY we can get some RESPECT PUT ON OUR NAME!!!!"

For the last few months, there have been a few celebrities who have followed suit, while others haven't taken the boycott seriously. In a recent interview with Ebony, Waka Flocka Flame and his wife Tammy Rivera shared their thoughts on the Gucci boycott. "A lot of stuff that we claim that's 'for blacks' from schools to books we read to lifestyles...it's not owned by a black person," Waka said. "So how can it be for blacks? I'm just being real. And I know that, so anytime I see cappin' going on, I'm gon' check it."

"And nobody can blame kids for wearing it," he continued. "I snap when I see a guy like me [wearing it]. We know, bro. We grown men. Now, to see a younger kid, like a young thug have it on, that's different. He a thug. He younger. It takes somebody like me to [say], 'Yo, bro you know that's uh...nine times out of ten, when I call them and say it, they be like, 'Whoa, big homie, for real? Man that's crazy. I ain't even know that.' People don't know."

"Like, women don't know why they wear high heels...It was made for men to have an arch, but that's different. But it becomes fashion today," he shared. Waka also says that it's hypocritical for someone to tell others not to wear certain designers because of racism or bigotry if they're wearing high fashion that mirrors exactly what they're against. "I would love for other people to know things," he said. "We just need high fashion black people. That's all I'm saying. [If] you're a black man, you should go to high fashion black men, that's all I'm saying. You wonder why the pants slippin' off your ass. 'Cause they're not made for you."
This weeks Texas Inc. is a salute to the 51st annual Offshore Technology Conference, which is bringing tens of thousands of the energy industrys best and brightest to the worlds energy capital.

Well be keeping an eye on attendance as a pulse on the industry. The conference at NRG Park once drew more than 100,000 visitors, but by last year, it had fallen to 61,300.

Oil prices have risen this year, but we just dont have the $100 a barrel oil that the industry came to expect about five years ago. Drilling offshore is expensive. And theres plenty of juice flowing from land, where its cheaper to drill and more efficient to produce thanks to fracking technology.

Themes at OTC this year center around lowering costs and using more renewable energy sources on offshore rigs.

The industry is looking for exploration and production opportunities that are lower cost, OTC chairman Wafik Beydoun Beydoun told reporter L.M. Sixel. At the same time, you have more societal and environmental awareness both onshore and offshore.  We have more than a dozen including offshore wind.

Energy reporter Jordan Blum details the many ways the offshore oil and gas industry is looking to trim expenses.

The offshore sector globally has been challenged by cheap sources of oil and gas, Vaseem Khan, vice president of global engineering for McDermott International, the Houston engineering and construction firm, told Blum. I dont like the phrase cutting costs. What were doing is removing waste from the industry.

Removing waste. Cutting costs. Its just semantics. If oil sells for less than it costs to produce, drilling for it is not a viable business.

Adding to the costs are increasing regulations as the nations around the world demand solutions to climate change.

Our columnist Chris Tomlinson skillfully argues that the OTC crowd is not paying enough attention to the threats it faces.

The dirty, big secret that only attracts brief mentions and side-long glances at OTC is greenhouse gas regulation, and the worlds need to slash carbon dioxide emissions, Tomlinson writes As the climate changes and people around the world demand action, the oil industry generally--and offshore drilling specifically--face near extinction without adaptation.

It something we must all adapt to eventually. But this week lets learn all we can from OTC. If it werent for the industry, Houston would likely still be a swamp.

Welcome to Texas Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- The National Transportation Safety Board will evaluate a range of factors that could help explain how a Boeing 737-800 plane arriving from Cuba slipped into a river after skidding off a runway in Florida, from human error to the weather to the airports systems.

We are very early in the beginning phase of this investigation, Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman, said during a news conference on Saturday.

The chartered flight operated by Miami Air International Inc. was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew when it left the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday evening, Boeing Co. said in a statement. Authorities said there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

The NTSB quickly dispatched a Go Team of 16 to lead the investigation.

NTSB recovered the flight data recorder, which has been sent to Washington for evaluation, but the cockpit voice recorder remains inaccessible in the plane, which is still partially submerged, said Landsberg. The plane had no prior history of accident or incident, and is one of over 4,000 of such planes worldwide, he said.

The Jacksonville airport runway has pavement that isnt grooved, Landsberg said, adding that it was unclear if the lack of grooves was a factor in the skid. Runway grooving can be an aid to drainage.

More for you SpaceX vehicle was destroyed during last month's 'mishap,' company confirms

The NTSB said they couldnt confirm that pets on board the plane had died, but an investigator didnt spot any pet carriers above the water line, said Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The investigations team has expertise in aircraft operations, structures, power plants, human performance, weather, airports and other areas, the NTSB said earlier. Boeing said its providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the NTSB.

While it isnt clear yet what led to the plane ending up in the river, the incident comes as Boeing remains enmeshed in one of the biggest crises in its century-long history.

The plane maker has been on the defensive since its 737 Max planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people in a span of five months. The 737 Max plane has been grounded as the company tries to convince airlines and regulators it will be safe once a software update is installed.

The chartered flight in Fridays crash arrived from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, according to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in a post on its Facebook page. Images show the plane partially submerged in the St. Johns River.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said soon after the accident on Friday that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water. The St. Johns River is the longest in Florida, flowing some 310 miles, and is a major shipping route around Jacksonville.

(Updates with NTSB comments from first paragraph.)

--With assistance from Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at sadam2@bloomberg.net;Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, James Ludden

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON - Six decades ago, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro ordered federal inspectors to raid Standard Oil offices there, seizing maps and geological records in what was to become the first step in an expropriation that would go on to include a refinery, ports and more than 100 gas stations.

Now Exxon Mobil, Standards successor, is suing Cubas national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Washington Thursday seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest.

The legal action followed an announcement by the White House last month that President Donald Trump would allow companies and individuals to go ahead and sue in U.S. federal court for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution, breaking with more than two decades of diplomatic norms.

Exxon, the first publicly traded company to file a claim, declined to comment on the reason for the litigation Friday. But in the lawsuit, Exxon claimed the assets seized six decades ago, are still in use today even though [Exxon] has never received any compensation for this property.

The Cuban embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Ranging from hotels to ports to communications systems, the assets seized by Cuban forces beginning in the late 1950s have been valued at approximately $8 billion by the Justice Departments Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Congress passed a law allowing companies to sue for compensation in 1996, but European nations, concerned about how such a law might affect their trade relations with the Caribbean nation, threatened to file a claim against the United States at the World Trade Organization if the lawsuits went ahead.

The Maduro factor

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all chose to suspend the provision of the law that allows companies to sue. But unhappy with Cubas decision to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid growing international outrage over the regimes human rights in Venezuela, Trump has decided to allow the litigation to move ahead.

Havana continues to prop up Maduro and help him sustain the brutal suffering of the Venezuelan people, National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a speech in Miami in April. As President Trump has said, Maduro is quite simply a Cuban puppet.

Under Trumps order, companies were allowed to begin filing suit for Cuban claims as of midnight Thursday. So far, Exxon is the only publicly-traded company to do so, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a business organization advocating for greater trade between the two nations.

Exxon has said nothing. This is hugely surprising, he said. Exxon Mobil is going to be the accelerant for others to decide to sue. It gives a lot of companies political cover and commercial justification to move ahead on their claims.

Other companies with claims against Cuba include the hotel group Marriot International, retail giant Office Depot and oil major Chevron, which has a claim on a refinery seized by Cuba valued at $56.2 million. But its unclear whether they and other companies will follow Exxon Mobil.

Cuban companies do not recognize the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, making it difficult to recoup any damages assessed against them by U.S. courts, said Philip Brenner, a professor studying U.S.-Cuba relations at American University in Washington. He added that many U.S. companies have deals in place or plans to develop business in Cuba in the future and might be reluctant to anger politicians there through litigation.

Political decision

The reality is Exxon Mobil has written this off long ago, as have other large companies, Brenner said. It looks wholly like a political decision to support the Trump administration.

So far, only two other lawsuits have been filed seeking compensation for assets seized by Cuba, both by individuals against the Miami-based cruise line Carnival, Kavulich said. They claimed Carnival operates on docks and other port facilities seized from their family by the Cuban government.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
From a tourists perspective, driving through small-town Texas can be a hit-or-miss affair. Main Street is usually the bellwether. In a typical Central Texas town, many of the mom-and-pop food stores and clothing shops have closed and remained boarded up, or have been replaced by tourist-oriented businesses, such as antiques stores and bed-and-breakfast hotels.

The vacuum along these once-bustling main streets can be explained by driving a few miles out of town where a giant Walmart Supercenter acts as a swirling black hole of commercial activity, sucking all the demand for daily necessities to its irresistible pull of low prices and one-stop-shopping convenience.

Lamenting the loss of traditional mom-and-pop shops to the draw of stores such as Target and Walmart is a fools errand. Consumers vote with their wallets, and by that measure, big-box stores are the winner.

I am often asked if the same thing might happen in the barbecue realm. Big-box shops such as Rudys Country Store and Bar-B-Q, Corkys BBQ and H-E-Bs in-store True Texas BBQ are expanding at a rapid pace. Will they replace the beloved mom-and-pop joints for which Texas is known?

I can say with certainty that they will not. Small, family-owned Texas barbecue joints are thriving, even with the additional competition from chain restaurants. Why? The main reason is the nature of the product being sold.

Love the smell of wood smoke in the morning? Join J.C. Reid, Alison Cook and Greg Morago as they discuss barbecue culture with special guests by subscribing to the Chronicle's BBQ State of Mind podcast on Apple's Podcasts, or visit houstonchronicle.com/ bbqpodcast. See More Collapse

A small, family-run food store is essentially selling commodity products. In most cases, theres no difference between the milk and flour you buy at a small store as you do at a big-box store. When it comes to commodities, small stores will never be able to compete on price with big retailers.

But when you move into more specialized products, small businesses have a better chance.

Consider hardware stores. In theory, big-box hardware stores such as Lowes and Home Depot should have killed off small hardware stores long ago. And yet I still find myself shopping at Southland Hardware in Montrose or the local Ace Hardware. Small hardware businesses have stubbornly resisted the draw of big-box retailers by offering an array of specialty items and, more importantly, the one-on-one customer service that consumers need to make educated purchasing decisions.

Small barbecue joints also provide the specialty items and personal customer interaction. If Im in the mood for pastrami, I know to go to Roegels Barbecue Co. on a Thursday. Craving wet-mopped pork ribs? Im heading to Pinkertons Barbecue. For an old-school rib sandwich, Im heading to Burns Original BBQ on a Wednesday. And in most cases, the owner/pitmaster will be taking my order or carving the meat right in front of me, ready to answer any questions or just greet me with a nod and smile.

The bottom line is that there is enough demand and differentiation for big-box barbecue and mom-and-pop joints to co-exist  and even thrive  side by side.

Indeed, if there is any danger of barbecue outlets closing, it will probably be the big-box versions, because of competition among themselves as well as with other casual-dining chains. For chains like Rudys or Corkys, the competition isnt from mom-and-pop barbecue operations but rather from other chains like Chilis and Outback Steakhouse.

In a case of American capitalism coming full circle, mom-and-pop craft-barbecue joints are now expanding to small-town Texas, joining antiques stores and bed-and-breakfasts in a revival of tourist-oriented businesses. Micklethwait Market & Grocery in Smithville, Louies BBQ in Buda and Bretts Backyard Bar-B-Que in Rockdale have all made the commitment to the thriving Texas tradition of family-run barbecue restaurants.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtx
Financial assistance is still available for homeowners who are still rebuilding their homes or seeking reimbursement after Hurricane Harvey.

Representatives from Harris County Commissioner 4 Jack Cagles Office spoke during the Humble Biz Com at Humble High School on Thursday to update the northeast Houston area on one of Harris Countys flood recovery initiatives called Project Recovery.

Homeowners can visit the Project Recovery website or call 832-927-4961 and see what kind of financial assistance program is best for them. Homeowners can also visit one of the countys intake centers to receive in-person assistance selecting a program.

Colin Gary, a public affairs specialist with Outreach Strategists, LLC, who has been collaborating with Harris County on Project Recovery, said over $200 million has been specifically allocated to homeowners outside of the Houston city limits.

RELATED: Harvey housing aid program delayed over vacancy provision

Harris County has just recently received in the last two weeks funding from the federal government for long-term housing assistance for homeowners who were affected by Hurricane Harvey, Gary said. Theres assistance available now for the community.

Financial assistance includes reimbursement up to $50,000 on funds used to remodel homes; up to $80,000 for homes that are still partially damaged and in need of repair; and up to $160,000 for homes that over 50 percent damaged.

More Information Intake Centers are open Monday- Friday from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 13101 Northwest Freeway Ste. 215, Houston, TX 77040 12941 North Freeway Ste. 600, Houston, TX 77060 14700 FM 2100 Ste. 2A&2B, Crosby, TX 77532 3315 Burke Rd. Ste. 204, Pasadena, TX 77504 See More Collapse

Gary said the pre-application process takes about five minutes and Harris County officials should get in touch with the applicant shortly after to help them fill out the full application.

RELATED: More than $1 billion in housing aid headed to Houston

I know its (almost) two years after the storm but (funding) is here now, Gary said. One other clarification is that this assistance is for people who live in Harris County but outside of the Houston city limits.

Gary said due to federal regulations, 70 percent is reserved for people who are on a low to moderate income and the rest is everyone else.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
Beginning on June 1, Bobby Lieb will take the helm of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, the organization announced on Monday, April 29.

Currently the chambers vice president, Lieb will succeed Barbara Thomason, who announced her retirement in March and will step down at the end of May after leading the chamber since November 2005.

In the two years Ive been working economic development here, I have grown to have a deep appreciation of this community. I hope people that live here realize how much theyve got up here and the positive attributes to it, Lieb said.

Before arriving at the chamber in May 2017, Lieb served in Colorado as a county commissioner of La Plata County and executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

Lieb said he found his niche when he began to focus on community work after leaving the private sector.

After two years with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, Lieb said the challenges the community faces are mainly with crime, flooding and generating more jobs.

While violent crime along along FM 1960 is down, the recurring burglary, robberies and other crimes are tarnishing the image of the community, he said.

Its a very long-term problem. There are solutions. They require a lot of community buy-in, he said.

Another major issue facing both businesses and residents is the recurring flooding from the Memorial Day flood in 2015, the Tax Day flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The chamber has previously hosted flood control meetings to advocate for more infrastructure and flood mitigation projects.

You cant tell me that flooding doesnt have an adverse impact on the economy. The solutions clear. Theres lots of hurdles to overcome, but assigning focus and resources to it and then deploying those resources in reducing the level of flooding that does occur is paramount, Lieb said.

Lieb said that while he acknowledges challenges the community faces, the variety of jobs along Beltway 8, Springwoods Village, University Park and the North Houston District have been a benefit to the area.

One of his aims as economic director of the chamber has been to encourage companies and businesses in the community.

Theres lots of good jobs and what I like about it is the variety. Theres a job for every sector of this community. Many communities would kill for what weve got in terms of the diversity of jobs weve got, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
During a luncheon hosted by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 3, business owners and residents voiced support for the high speed train expected to travel between Houston to Dallas. David Hagy, regional vice president of external affairs for Texas Central, provided an project update to luncheon guests.

Robert Maxwell from Tomball, said he became a fan of high speed trains after riding one in France and was impressed by the speed and efficiency.

You could live in Houston and go to (Texas) A&M (University) and back on the train or go to Dallas, he said.

During a transportation meeting hosted by the chamber in April, business owners said they were skeptical of the plan to join the two cities through the high speed train.

Texas Central, the company behind the project, is planning to build 240 miles of tracks so that two trains traveling 205-miles per hour can make the trip between both cities in about 90 minutes.

The project is estimated to cost $12 billion and would seek private investors to fund the construction.

As no high speed rail exists in the U.S., Texas Central would employ a Japanese-style Shinkansen bullet trains, along with Renfe, a Spanish company, to operate the trains.

Hagy said the company acknowledged that the property acquisition process was one of the most controversial aspects of the project, which is currently being disputed in court.

All of our routes are really trying to minimize the impact on private property. Because we are not a government entity, we can pay more for appraised or market value (for properties), he said.

Texas Central is seeking to construct a raised track along the proposed route so that property owners along rural areas can still move their livestock as well as to minimally impact wildlife.

Maxwell said he understood that some property owners were reluctant to sell their property.

Its like someone walking and knocking on your door and saying, I want to buy your house. You get to name your price. To me, thats a benefit, he said.

Maxwell said he is on board with the project as he and his staff have to travel to Dallas to work. He even created a Twitter account called Texans4HighSpeedRail.

As the population in both cities is expected to grow, the train may also get commuters out of cars and provide an alternative to airplanes.

Art Barash, an investment adviser with Baron Financial Advisors in Spring, said he was also excited about the project, but hoped newer technology would be utilized in Houston so that commuters could have an easier time getting around.

The major corridors, such as the Katy Freeway, the North Freeway and U.S. 290 could benefit from rail transport, he said.

Im in favor of the train. Im more in favor of the technology being applied in Houston, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
The Woodlands Townships governing committee for design standards is in the midst of revising several aspects of the townships complicated covenants as challenges have arisen from short-term rentals as well as the recent trend of tearing down older homes and replacing them with new structures.

Walter Lisiewski, the chairman of the seven-member Development Standards Committee, presented an update to township directors on Wednesday, April 24, explaining how the committee and its legal team are coping with the increase in short-term rentals in the township  a development that has irked many residents who feel homes in their neighborhood are becoming hotel-like in nature  as well as tear-downs and rebuilds of older homes.

Weve been working on an update of the standards, Lisiewski said. As The Woodlands grows and gets older, redevelopment is a very vital part of sustainability and keeping property values up.

The committee heard 268 variance applications in the first quarter, which was a more than 35 percent increase from the same time period in 2018.

New changes to the covenants include requiring mandatory drainage engineering plans for swimming pools; a new prohibition on filing for a design variance if a home or business owner has an existing outstanding covenant violations on their record; the official OK to use the controversial Edison lights as well as LED lights  with the caveat the lights do not negatively affect a neighbor. Artificial turf-like will also be allowed now in limited areas, specifically in side yards and in backyards, and must be professionally installed. Some standards governing tree removal were clarified and strengthened to prevent unneccessary cutting down of trees.

Weve updated our standards on new (building) materials. There is a lot of new product out there now, roofing, solar panels  so , we updated that, Lisiewski said. Home fueling stations  after Harvey, everyone has one now. We want to make sure everyone realizes there are state codes governing that and make sure the fire department knows there is a storage tank and where it is.

Short-term rental policy being developed

Lisiewski said the legal staff that works with the DSC as well as the six other members are waiting until the Texas legislative session ends in May or June before making any final decisions on short-term rentals, notably because two possible pieces of legislation have yet to be acted upon and whatever happens with the two proposals, it will likely affect the DSCs policy on the issue.

As you know, short-term rentals have been a big topic of discussion. We have all the (short-term rental) standards updated, but there are two bills in Austin right now, Lisiewski said. Were going to wait until those are resolved. It doesnt make any sense to change the standards and then have to change them again to comply with a new law. We think well be able to control short-term rentals.

Tear-downs & rebuilds a concern

As The Woodlands ages, especially older neighborhoods in original villages like The Village of Grogans Mill, Lisiewski said it is natural for new home buyers to possibly want to merely destroy an old, out-dated home and rebuild a totally new structure. The issue has become controversial in recent years and flared in mid-April when two residents of the Village of Grogans Mill made accusations during public comment on April 18 that a new homeowner was not following covenants and had plans for a building that did not fit the area.

Lisiewski said some of the comments the resident had made to the Board of Directors on April 18 were not accurate, and that the home in question had not had construction started on it. He also said accusations that DSC member Robert Heineman had been disrespectful to homeowners was false.

The Woodlands is getting older, and there is redevelopment taking place  not only residentially but on the commercial side, he said. Were going to see more and more of that. You have to redevelop.

Township board Chairman Gordy Bunch said he is aware of the need to redevelop older, aging homes, especially ones that may not have been maintained or have suffered wear and tear over the decades since they were first built.

Lisiewski said the DSC will ensure all covenants are followed, but in reality there will be new homes with different designs than what was popular in the 1970s or 1980s. Another factor in trying to replicate the style of older homes on a street is that many of the materials, colors and other elements used in construction of homes in the 1970s is simply not available anymore.

It is not going to be exactly the same, Lisiewski said of rebuilt homes. There are some cases that came out recently in Grogans Mill and Panther Creek for redevelopment. We go by the standards on that, we make sure there are some people who are not going to like it. But you have to redevelop.

jeff.forward@chron.com
It was in Christmas 1984, while visiting his wifes family in Louisville, Kentucky, that Kercheval said he first sampled the regional popcorn brand called Old Capital. The already established popcorn company, based in tiny Corydon, Ind., since 1948, had just been purchased that same year for $2 million by married couple Edward and Linda Phillips. The brands name came from the fact that from 1813 to 1816, Corydon had been the state capital of Indiana. Kercheval said he had always dreamed of owning a popcorn farm in his Indiana home state so he contacted the couple and offered to buy the business.
The school was founded in 1896 and its building constucted in 1921. While it was originally created by and to serve German immigrants, demographic changes led to immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries, according to its website.
In announcing that he wont challenge Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn next year, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro explained that he wanted to focus on the important and meaningful work he is doing in Congress.

Many Texas Democrats were saddened by this news because they were hoping Castro would run statewide. Others were disgruntled by it because they would like to flip the Senate seat, and Castro would have been a strong candidate in a year when Democrats hope to recapture control of the U.S. Senate.

I would have been proud to vote for Castro, but have little sympathy for those who denounced his decision as overly cautious. Both he and his twin brother, Julian, have faced this criticism at various points during their respective careers in electoral politics, and its not entirely baseless. The Castro twins are deliberate in their decision-making, and reluctant to take unnecessary risks.

This approach has served them well. Julian Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, at age 26, and went on to become mayor in 2009. He left that office in 2014, to serve as Barack Obamas secretary of housing and urban development, and is currently running for president himself. Joaquin Castro was elected to represent the 20th Congressional District in 2012, after a decade in the Texas House of Representatives; by most accounts, he would have had a real chance of becoming the first Mexican-American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Its hard to put exact odds, though, on Castros chances of winning the Senate seat next year.

Cornyn was re-elected by a 26-point margin in 2014, but he can hardly be considered invincible given the strong showing of Democrats in last years midterm elections. Other Democrats have taken notice. M.J. Hegar, an Air Force veteran and the 2018 Democratic nominee in Texas 31st Congressional District, threw her hat in the ring last month. Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards is also mulling a bid, and other contenders may come forward now that Castro has taken a pass on a 2020 Senate race.

And although there's a sense among Democrats that now is the time to stand up Preisdent Donald Trump, it's worth remembering that Castro is already in a position to do that as a member of Congress. He represents a heavily Democratic district, and is unlikely to face a primary challenge. His stature in Washington has grown with the Democratic takeover of the House last fall, as has his presence in the national media: hes a frequent guest on cable TV news shows to discuss the Russia investigation or Trumps border policies.

Frankly, Castro can probably serve as the congressman from Bexar County until he decides to do something else. The 20th Congressional District is relatively compact, heavily Mexican-American, and historic; its gerrymandered, but not incoherent. And Castro, who grew up on San Antonios Westside as part of a politically active family, has deep roots in the community.

Cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why Castro was looking at taking on Cornyn in the first place, or for that matter challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in last years Senate race. Both would have represented major gambles that entailed giving up his safe House seat.

And that would have been a loss for his constituents  many of whom have been put at risk by Trump in various ways. His successor in the House probably would have been a Democrat, but one with no seniority in Congress, and less relevant experience. As a Democrat who spent 10 years in the Texas Legislature, Castro has dealt with Republicans who are drunk on power. In the aftermath of Trumps election, that has come in handy. In fact, Castro has been the most effective member of our states congressional delegation these past two years.

The Democrats unhappy with his decision aren't thinking about it in those terms; they're prioritizing partisanship over people. For Democrats to win statewide in Texas would be a victory with massive implications for both parties. But Republicans will likely retain control of the Senate, even if Democrats pick up a Senate seat. And Castro, in any case, doesnt work for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He works for the Texans who live in the 20th Congressional District, which was a full-time job even before Trump was elected president.

The leadership Castro has shown since 2016 as the congressman from Bexar County would have distinguished him as a Senate candidate. But hes right to say that he can continue doing important and meaningful work in the House  and Democrats who are unhappy with his decision should remember that theres more than one way to step up to the plate.

erica.grieder@chron.com
A China-donated sculpture has been unveiled in Florence, Italy as part of the activities marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci's death, sources with the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) said.

The work by Chinese sculptor Wu Weishan, director of the NAMOC, features Da Vinci and Chinese painter Qi Baishi having dialog, and is on exhibition in the Accademia Delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing).

It marks the first time for the academy in its over 450 years' history to collect and exhibit the work of a Chinese sculptor.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a famous Chinese painter noted for watercolors featuring a huge variety of subjects.

"Though Leonardo da Vinci and Qi Baishi lived hundreds of years apart, they have both contributed a lot to human civilization, and they could have a conversation that transcends time and space," said Wu.

Wu is an internationally renowned sculptor. His portraits of many great historical figures of Chinese culture, including Confucius and Laozi, have been exhibited in many countries across the world.
When the call came, Ken Hughes had no second thoughts. The state of Texas needed him or, more specifically, its sprawling prison system needed drugs that he could make.

That was in 2014, and for the next 14 months, the lifelong Texan  a gun-carrying conservative and devout Christian  became one of his states lethal injection suppliers, compounding the deadly drug pentobarbital inside his familys West University store.

It ended four years ago, and his wife, whod always been deeply conflicted about it, breathed a sigh of relief. But Hughes decision would come back to haunt him and his family. The source of lethal injection drugs has always been controversial, and  thanks to restrictive shield laws and tight-lipped corrections officials  often cloaked in secrecy. But in November, BuzzFeed News identified Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy and Gifts as one of the suppliers of the states execution drugs, an unexpected stain of notoriety that sparked protests, fear and angry phone calls.

At the time, Hughes would only say that his small business didnt make the drug anymore. But this week he and his family sat down with the Houston Chronicle to talk about the fallout, the turmoil, and the decision that started it all.

This is a death state, Hughes said. Texas is what it is.

Those things conflict me

Ken and Nancy were born and raised in Texas  she in Midland, he in San Marcos. They came to Houston for college and, though hed been raised a Methodist, the pair met at the Second Baptist Church.

Nancy worked as a youth minister and prekindergarten teacher. Ken launched his career at Hospital Pharmacies Incorporated and later worked as head pharmacist at a local hospital.

They were married in 1980. Ken made enough money to be comfortable and start a family, but he saw unfilled need among customers.

There were a lot of people not getting help with their regular medications, he said. Their dosage fell between the commercially available dosages and they were getting too much or not enough.

And some speciality medications  certain variations of prescription eyedrops to fight eye-eating amoebas and fungi  werent widely available elsewhere.

So together, he and Nancy bought the pharmacy and opened their doors in 1992. The business started with three employees, a family-run operation then in an industrial park on Brays Bayou. The couples two children worked in the store as soon as they were big enough to see over the counter.

My older brother taught me how to sneak candy and hide the wrappers behind the register, Amanda, now 30, recalled. Though their primary moneymaker was the niche doses of drugs and prescription eyedrops, the store also featured a kitschy gift shop, a room of baubles and Christmas ornaments meant as a distraction from whatever ailments brought in the clientele.

Greenpark was already compounding the powerful barbiturate pentobarbital for use by veterinarians when prison officials contacted the company to get some made for the states death chamber. Citing current secrecy laws, a state prison spokesman on Friday declined to offer other comment or confirmation.

Ken and Nancy are reluctant to offer details about any exchanges, agreements, or promises made with the state. Aside from short sighs, heavy looks, and the repeated reminder that capital punishment is the law in Texas, Ken is taciturn about explaining his thought process. But Nancy is quick to say that, for her, it was troubling from the moment they made the decision.

I have been struggling with it ever since, she said. It really upsets me to know that there are cold-blooded people among us  but Im still conflicted. I mean, I dont believe in abortion. But Im conflicted; those things conflict me.

For the sake of their marriage, they kept work at work and when they were at home, they didnt talk about their occasional customer.

Looking back, Ken doesnt remember exactly how many transactions there were or how many doses - and the paperwork he might have had to prove it is long gone, shredded and tossed away after the state-mandated retention period ran out.

But in 2015, he said, Greenparks manufacturer stopped selling the raw drug and the pharmacy sold to the state for the last time that April.

I cant prove it to you, that we dont do it anymore, Nancy said.

After a moment of thought, her husband chimed in: I cant even prove that I did it.

Threats and protests

For three years, the Hughes family went on with their business and didnt think much about it. Then in late 2018, an employee came to them with a letter  from then-BuzzFeed reporter Chris McDaniel, who said hed identified Greenpark as one of the states lethal injection suppliers.

It was a blockbuster story, revealing a tightly guarded state secret. As the death drugs have become harder to get, corrections departments across the nation have refused to name their suppliers for fear that drugmakers and compounding pharmacies will cave to pressure from anti-death penalty activists and stop providing the pharmaceuticals.

In Texas, a shield law prevents the state from releasing the name of any lethal injection supplier since late 2015  and the Texas Supreme Court recently decided officials dont have to release the name of the supplier from before then, either. So the public identification of Greenpark was a rare peek behind the curtain of lethal injection secrecy.

Unsure how to handle the media scrutiny, the Hughes family called up the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for advice. Officials sought to reassure them, Nancy said, advising them not to talk to anyone and to wait out the storm  surely this would blow over.

A few days later, they said, a prison official called to warn them about a protest planned outside the store. Since then, its been steady  sometimes a stream, sometimes a trickle  of calls, emails, threats, and protests.

Its always non-violent, but always unnerving.

Some of the claims in the story the family still takes issue with. First and foremost, they say they are no longer the states death drug supplier and havent been since 2015, a claim partially at odds with the BuzzFeed story. Citing federal documents, McDaniel reported that the company had compounded drugs for the state two times  once in 2015 and once in 2016.

But the story also dinged the pharmacy for its track record, including a major mistake the family says was horrible, but taken out of context and something theyve worked hard to correct.

In fall 2015  after they say theyd already stopped providing drugs for the prison system  the pharmacy got in trouble with the State Board of Pharmacy and ended up with two years of probation and a $2,500 fine when one of their workers accidentally switched two drugs. She then hurriedly signed a quality control form herself, forging the signature of the supervising pharmacist.

The mistakes came to light after three children took the improperly mixed medication, accidentally ingesting the antianxiety drug lorazepam instead the antacid drug lansoprazole. One ended up in the hospital, and the childs parents later filed suit.

Greenpark settled the case and fired the worker.

Although they racked up other minor violations over the years, State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Allison Benz confirmed that the medication mix-up was the only matter serious enough to net state disciplinary action any time in the companys 27-year history.

But that wasnt the only problem BuzzFeed reported. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited Greenpark for possible sterility violations. The pharmacy responded by saying that theyd make some corrections and pointing out that everything theyd done had been in compliance with state guidelines. The matter didnt lead to any disciplinary action.

Now, Nancy said, the store has completely revamped its procedures, creating different forms, moving medications so that drugs with similar names are not next to each other, adjusting sterility protocols and changing some processes in the lab.

They completed their probation last year, and expected to return to business as usual  until the BuzzFeed story hit. Then, they worried about protests, hate mail and whether whether they could maintain relationships with their drug suppliers. One has already dropped them.

Confronting the issue

Since November, Amanda has been a constant ball of stress. Artsy and liberal, the tattooed University of Houston graduate is always kinetic and full of worry. She might have worried more four years ago, when her family still made drugs for the state  but she didnt find out until afterward.

I was torn, she said. I didnt even know you could make that. It was a thing I didnt really even think about.

But then she started reading news coverage, and following Twitter on execution days  and she came to a conclusion.

I am against capital punishment, because personally I believe there is only one person who gets to make that decision, she said. And that is Jesus Christ.

Regardless, she would support her parents. So last month, when she heard that another protest was scheduled outside the store, Amanda took matters into her own hands.

Late one Friday night, she phoned Gloria Rubac, a well-known death penalty opponent and perennial protester.

Greenpark doesnt make it anymore, she told her. Rubac was skeptical, demanding to know more.

By the end of the call, Rubac said, she was convinced.

We canceled that protest, Rubac said. If they did that in the past, well, shame on them, but if theyre not doing it now, okay.

She still wants to figure out who the states current supplier is, with the hope of protesting there until they stop. But if its not Greenpark, she understands.

Theyll never see us again, she said. We cant make them do penance for the past.

Every single day

Ken is a man of few words. Whatever second thoughts he has, he rarely shows them, save for a pause that lasts a few beats too long, or a vacant gaze out the stores front window.

For him, the world is black and white: Lethal injection is legal in the state of Texas.

Yet, when asked if he has any regrets, he lets out a sigh and falls to silence.

His wife is quick to answer, though, the tears rising in her voice.

Every day, she says. Every single day.
AUSTIN  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen proclaimed Friday they will muster the votes to pass a bill to cut property taxes and increase sales taxes, despite opposition from fellow Republicans and Democrats who call the swap a bad idea.

The public display of optimism came as a new state analysis shows households earning less than $100,000 a year would pay more in taxes after the swap, while businesses and wealthier households will see a reduction. In a press conference Friday, the leaders did not address that analysis, simply saying their plan would reduce property tax bills for homeowners across the board.

I have confidence that SB 2 is going to make it to my desk and be signed into law, Abbott said as he sat between the two other top Texas Republicans in his Capitol office.

While those three present a united front, there are key lawmakers who are not on board.

For subscribers: Ahead of 2020, Texas Republicans take a risk with sales tax swap plan

More Information How the plan would work A trio of bills in the Legislature aim to boost funding for schools while reducing property taxes and reining in future growth. The tax swap would raise state sales taxes by one percentage point - to the highest rate in the country - while buying down property taxes by an estimated 15 cents for every $100 in value. Renters are one group that may only see a net tax increase from the swap, unless landlords pass the property tax savings on by reducing rents. Another bill would cap what cities and counties can raise in property taxes each year, without first seeking a vote from residents. The measure would lower the cap to 3.5 percent from 8 percent. Local school districts, meanwhile, would be limited in what they could raise each year. Those provisions would slow the future escalation of property taxes, supporters of the bill say. Cities and counties protesting the legislation say funding for police, firefighters and other city services would suffer. A third bill would boost education funding by raising teacher salaries and increasing state spending by pupil. See More Collapse

One notable opponent is State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who has authored other tax relief proposals. He has repeatedly warned that tax swaps have historically failed. On Friday, Bettencourt renewed his objection, saying that homeowners would be left paying increased taxes in the end under the plan before the Legislature now.

Weeks earlier, Bettencourt said there was not a tremendous appetite among members of the Senate for the idea.

Texas has the third-highest property tax rate for single-family homes in the nation, according to a study by ATTOM Data Solutions, trailing behind only New Jersey and Illinois. Texans who own a home valued at $200,000 paid an average of $4,360 in property taxes in 2018, with an average effective property tax rate of 2.18 percent per year, the study found.

Republicans have proposed a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax to raise billions of dollars to deliver promised relief for skyrocketing property tax bills. If successful, the tax swap would raise sales taxes to 9.25 percent for most Texans, making it the highest state sales tax rate in the nation. In 2020, the proposed sales tax increase is projected to raise $5 billion that lawmakers say would be used to buy down school property tax rates across the state. The owner of a $200,000 house would see a reduction of about $260 a year on property taxes.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

But the tax swap would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-class Texans, the analysis found.

You should expect the people struggling to support their families are going to have a harder time, and those who are already doing pretty well will be a little better off, said Dick Lavine, a senior fiscal analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Under that proposal, households that make less $38,000 a year would pay an effective local and state tax rate of 13.8 percent, according to the analysis released Friday by the Legislative Budget Board, which calculates costs of legislation. Households making more than $149,500 a year would pay an effective tax rate of 3.4 percent.

Texas businesses would see a decrease of about $638 million in tax collections, while households would pay nearly $413 million more in taxes, the analysis says.

The analysis does not calculate savings offered in a package of bills that would would restrict property tax increases enacted by cities and counties in the future. One bill would cap property tax collections for cities and counties at 3.5 percent without voter approval. Local school districts would be capped at 2.5 percent. The bills would also provide a further reduction in property taxes collected to fund schools  the decrease of about four cents per $100 of a homes value, would save the owner of a $200,000 house about $80 a year.

Lawmakers are grappling with two possible ways to pass the legislation. The current proposal would make the swap a constitutional amendment that voters would need to approve in the November 2019 election in order for it to take effect in 2020. However, that legislation would require approval by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate, a difficult threshold. Making it a constitutional amendment would ensure that the sales tax money would be dedicated to property tax relief into the future.

Otherwise, the Legislature could increase the sales tax to buy down property tax rates without an election. That route would require a simple majority in both chambers to pass  but lawmakers cannot guarantee that money will continue to be used to reduce property taxes.

Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen have just 24 days left to strike a deal before the legislative session adjourns on Memorial Day.

Allie Morris contributed to this report.
Civil rights groups asked a three-judge panel in San Antonio on Thursday to force Texas to submit its election maps to federal supervision for the next decade to make sure they dont discriminate against minorities.

But lawyers for the state urged the judges to deny the motion, saying the plaintiffs failed to meet requirements for such a request.

After listening to the arguments at a two-hour hearing, the judicial panel gave little indication on when it will rule on whether Texas should again be placed under federal electoral supervision called preclearance.

PURO POLITICS PODCAST : Tensions flare as election night nears

The plaintiffs request is the latest in an 8-year-old redistricting lawsuit that began when Texas redrew its political maps after the 2010 census.

Texas and other states had been required to preclear their political maps under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which mandated supervision for states and local governments with a history of racist voting laws. But in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that part of the law.

The plaintiffs asked the panel to return Texas to preclearance restrictions under a different part of the Voting Rights Act, Section 3, which requires, among other things, a showing of intentional discrimination. Case law on that matter is scant, the panel noted.

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, reminded the panel that it found, after a trial in the redistricting court battle, that Texas intentionally discriminated in several congressional and state House districts when it drew its maps in 2011. The judicial panel came up with interim maps for the 2012 election, which the state adopted in 2013 with no change.

These findings of intentional discrimination in this case  are also bracketed by discrimination in voting before and after the 2011 redistricting, Perales said. Since Texas was covered by Section 5, beginning in 1972, it has never stopped discriminating in its redistricting.

OnExpressNews.com: Pre-k 4 SA's future will rest with 2020 election voters

She argued that after Texas was freed from preclearance in 2013, the state continued to discriminate with laws requiring voter identification and a recent attempt to purge voters the state wrongly claimed were noncitizens.

But state Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick argued that while the Legislature sometimes gets it wrong, Texas has not engaged in pervasive discrimination or constitutional defiance that would drag the state into preclearance again. He also argued that the voter purge efforts and voter ID requirements were necessary for integrity in elections.

They want to strip Texas of its sovereign power to enact laws, Frederick argued. They want to do so despite the states adoption of remedial plans that the Supreme Court has now deemed were not intentionally meant to discriminate.

The Justice Department under the Obama administration had sided with the plaintiffs, which include minority voters and some Democratic lawmakers. But under the Trump administration, the department switched positions, and one of its lawyers, John Gore, backed the states arguments Thursday.

It is now time to bring this case to an end, Gore told the panel, adding that future violations can be addressed through other lawsuits on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Justice can bring those cases where appropriate.

Last June, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld 10 of 11 congressional and state House districts that the maps challengers said intentionally undercut the voting power of Hispanic and black voters, usually to keep white incumbents in office. The court found that the evidence was plainly insufficient to prove that the 2013 Republican-controlled Legislature acted in bad faith when it enacted the districts.

But the court agreed with minority groups that Fort Worth-based House District 90 was an impermissible racial gerrymander because lawmakers illegally used race as the predominant factor in deciding its boundaries.

OnExpressNews.com: San Antonio judge approves settlement ending state's voter purge attempt

The plaintiffs submitted to the three-judge panel a new House District 90 map Thursday that fixed the violations, and the state agreed to it.

The Supreme Court said last year, there is no need ... to prolong this already protracted litigation. ... And you want 10 more (years)? one of the panels jurists, Judge Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court said its over. I dont understand it.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, the chief justice of the San Antonio-based Western District of Texas, wondered if Section 3 requires actual injury or only threatened harm as part of its provisions to kick in preclearance. He got opposing responses.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, the third judge on the panel, asked if the state would stipulate that, after next years census, Texas would have full, fair and transparent hearings ... with (redistricting) maps for the public to see and the opportunity for the public to have meaningful input.

I couldnt even begin to consider it, Frederick answered.

So if the state cant stipulate to it, how can it object to preclearance? Rodriguez queried.

Frederick replied that there had been public hearings the last time around but that nobody is happy when they dont get what they want.

Rodriguez countered that the public hearings were held in unusual locations, with little advance notice or on or near holidays. Rodriguez pressed again on state stipulation.

I cant stipulate because the terms are not defined, Frederick answered. I dont know what I would stipulate to.
In less than 10 seconds, Zhou Bin, a resident in Fuzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province, can access his social security and provident fund accounts on his cell phone.



"In the past, you had to find different official websites for different formalities and also apply for the verification code via your cell phone every time you log in," said Zhou.

But now, he said, the mobile app called "e-Fuzhou" covers almost all aspects of government services and approvals in daily life, saving the city's residents from the red tape.

The leapfrog offers a glimpse of China's digital efforts to improve its governance capacity and efficiency.

Startups can now complete registration procedures and obtain licenses at the self-service registration machines in the city of Pingtan without long queues and onerous paperwork.

The machines, connected to the government database and supported by facial recognition technologies, help streamline the application process and reduce the required time from days to just minutes.

A slew of digital technology applications, including the big data credit inquiry system, the online tax bureau, and the paperless customs clearance system, have also been developed in the province over the years.

Digital technology also has its presence in law enforcement and crime prevention.

Xiao An, a police robot, is now in charge of patrolling the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a famous scenic spot in Fuzhou.

The white robot, which is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 80 kg, moves at a speed of 0.4 meters per second in the designated area, almost the average walking pace of human beings.

Equipped with high-definition cameras on its heads, the robot can take pictures along its routes and send the collected information in real time to the backstage, where the data is further analyzed and nearby police forces can be dispatched accordingly.

The robot also provides tourists with services such as voice navigation and broadcasting lost and found notices.

While the citizens are reaping rewards of e-government data sharing, China has also beefed up laws and regulations to better protect the personal information of its citizens.

Tong Pingping, a government official in the city of Xiamen, said that citizen's sensitive information is encrypted and processed by computers, while officials only have access to information that would prove whether or not a person was involved in a crime.

"Making sensitive data invisible would encourage departments with rich data resources to open data-sharing ports," said Tong, stressing that data security of citizen information is the top priority in e-governance.

China will hold the second summit on digital development from May 6 to 8 in Fuzhou. This year's summit aims to serve as a platform for people at home and abroad to cooperate and contribute to digital China.

Fuzhou, where the first summit was held, has witnessed bourgeoning development of the digital economy in the past year, attracting famous businesses such as Alibaba to invest in the city and nurturing a batch of high-quality digital companies.




Hurricane Harveys 140 mph winds wiped homes completely off the map along one stretch of Copano Cove Road in Rockport, leaving nothing of some of them but a few wooden planks.

But while 11 homes were destroyed and dozens of others badly damaged along the road, one thing didnt change at all: the property tax bills that came later that month.

Just a fraction of over 200,000 structures that were damaged in the 60 counties declared disaster areas were reappraised to ensure that residents recovering from the storm werent hit with unfair tax bills to boot. In Harris County, which has more than 500 taxing districts, only 10 agreed to reappraise properties to reflect their post-storm value, which ultimately helped the owners of 14,000 properties, mostly within the Katy and Humble school districts.

Unconscionable, said Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who is pushing legislation in Austin that he says will give homeowners a chance to fight back against unfair property tax bills after the next monster storm.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Already the Texas Senate has passed a bill that will completely rewrite the rules on reappraising homes after natural disasters to assure that any homeowner can apply for a reappraisal without local taxing jurisdictions standing in the way.

"Nothing makes home and business owners madder than paying full property taxes on a damaged or destroyed property," Bettencourt said.

His legislation, which has cleared the Senate and could be ready for a vote on the House floor next week, would essentially cut cities, counties and other governmental agencies out of disaster reappraisal decision-making.

In 2017, many of those governments said their decision not to rework the tax bills wasnt because they lacked sympathy for homeowners  rather, they worried about losing tax revenue as they faced an epic crisis. Some county officials warned that just the cost of doing reappraisals would cost millions in some cases, and then result in lost revenues to pay for police and fire protection.

But not everyone buys that argument.

All it was, was greed, Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl E. Johnson told Senators in a hearing on the issue last month.

She said local governments were more concerned about the revenues than the owners of 20,000 properties in Galveston County that were badly damaged. While governments can find other revenue sources, she said residents have much more limited options, especially after losing their homes.

But Bettencourts Senate Bill 1772 still has key hurdles to overcome. Even if the bill passes, a change the state constitution would be required to assure the change can be made. That means the Legislature would have to put a ballot item to the public this November.

Its a far different approach than efforts that have failed in the past. In 2017, the state lawmakers twice nearly passed legislation that would have forced all governments to reappraise after a natural disaster. State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, got that idea through the House, but the Senate passed a different bill that never lined up with her proposal, and it died.

Davis and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed similar legislation this year, but their bills have stalled.

While that approach would also assure homeowners get reappraised, local appraisal districts have warned that the time to get those appraisals done in large counties would be daunting and expensive.

In Harris County, where more than 70,000 properties were flooded during Harvey, Harris County Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said it would have cost taxpayers an estimated $2.7 million if all governments were required to redo appraisals. Bettencourts bill would require homeowners to apply for reappraisals of damaged property, which Altinger said would reduce the cost to less than $500,000.

He said after Harvey, when just 10 taxing jurisdictions asked for reappraisals, it cost those entities $543,000 and his appraisers struggled because of the volume of work. But if it has been a more targeted application process, he said the cost would have been less than $100,000, and the reappraisals would have taken a fraction of the time.

Bettencourt was among those who called for making all disaster-struck counties do mass re-appraisals, instead of making it optional. But he said as he talked to appraisal districts, it became clear that the practicality of that was an issue.

It wasnt going to be workable, Bettencourt said.

Bettencourts proposal does more than just create an application process. It also spells out guidelines of how the assessors must do the work. If the assessor declares a property between 15 percent to 29 percent damaged, the assessed value of the home would drop 15 percent. If the damage is between 30 percent and 60 percent, the assessed value drops 30 percent. If the damage is at least 60 percent, the assessed value drops 60 percent. And if a home is a total loss, the value drop would be 100 percent.

In any scenario, the reductions are pro-rated based on when a storm or other disaster hits.

For a home in Houston valued at $200,000 before the hurricane, but worth just $30,000 after, a property owner would have seen a $700 cut just in school taxes, according to a report by Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit tax advocacy group based in Austin.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said it was disappointing to see how few local governments stepped up and were willing to lower tax bills.

We should not be kicking the taxpayer when they are down and they need help, he said.

On Copano Cove Road after Harvey, homeowners instead paid their full tax bill on the first year, and did not see any break until 2018 when the tax bills of many of the homes dropped 30 to 40 percent to reflect the damage.
[Thumbs up] Its Dave Wards birthday Monday, but hes the one who has a gift for Houston. The longtime KTRK news anchor is holding a book launch for his memoir, Good Evening, Friends: A Broadcaster Shares His Life. The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Dave Ward Building at Crime Stoppers of Houston, 3001 Main St. The book covers his life from son of a Baptist preacher to a radio news guy to certified Guinness World Record-holder (no spoilers, but its TV-related). Over his storied career, Ward covered NASA, the opening of the Astrodome, hurricanes, and the energy biz boom and bust, all on the way to becoming, for many Houstonians, the most trusted voice in news. Congratulations on the book and a happy birthday from the Thumbs!

[Thumbs down] A U.S. district judge clearly doesnt understand the power of true crime series on basic cable. How else do you explain his audacity in requiring Kelly Siegler, former Harris County prosecutor and current star of Cold Justice, to appear at a hearing for a death row inmate who claims Siegler improperly used prison informants? When Siegler didnt show on Monday, the judge, who had threatened her with contempt, decided to give her another chance. A spokeswoman for the Oxygen network told the Chronicle that Siegler was on location shooting new episodes. Fortunately for all involved, Siegler agreed to testify via video link later in the week. The Thumbs wonder if her lawyers got through to her. Or maybe it was her agent, offering her a role on MSNBCs Lockup: Harris County that changed her mind?

[Thumbs down] The Thumbs are huge fans of The Simpsons, so when they hear the word paddling they cant help but picture substitute teacher Jasper threatening kids to a paddlin if they talk out of turn or look out the window. But theres nothing funny about hitting children or how H.B. 420  which would prohibit corporal punishment in Texas schools  has languished without a hearing in the Public Education committee. Hitting, spanking or slapping is ineffective and harmful to children, yet Texas ranks No. 2 nationally in the number of paddlings, according to a report from Education Week. Minorities, as usual, get the short end of the stick (or maybe the long end of the paddle?): They are more likely to be punished than non-Hispanic white students. While many school districts in the state already have bans against corporal punishment, why is this still a thing in Texas?

[Thumbs down] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a tweet this week that a recently passed House bill that would lower penalties for pot possession is dead in the Texas Senate. This came on the heels of the Senate approving the use of herbicides to fight Carrizo cane along the border, so maybe Patrick doesnt so much dislike pot as he just hates weed(s). Attitudes over putting people in jail over marijuana use are softening in Texas, and H.B. 63 reflects that. The bill would change possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor  basically like a traffic ticket. Patrick should reconsider his position and stop harshing the mellow on this bipartisan bill.

[Thumbs down] May 4 is Star Wars Day, but you must forgive the Thumbs and other fans of George Lucas space saga if our celebration is muted this year. Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and in 2015s The Force Awakens, died Tuesday in his North Texas home. At 7 feet 2 inches, Mayhew ably brought the ace Wookiee pilot, devoted companion and big walking carpet to life, becoming a beloved character in the series and one of the few to appear throughout (please save your arguments that the prequels dont exist for later). We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him, said Harrison Ford. Hundreds of millions of fans around the world share that love.
Today we welcome author Amra Pajalic to share the inspiration behind her new book Things Nobody Knows But Me.

Amra Pajalic on the inspiration behind Things Nobody Knows But Me

I have been writing this book most of my life in different incarnations. I first began it when I was 20 and studying a writing course. I began a memoir in my non-fiction subject and titled it Sins of the Mother about being the daughter of a Bi Polar sufferer and about the hardship that my mother endured being from a Non-English Speaking Background while suffering from a mental illness. I was very judgemental about the decisions my mother made and the way these had impacted me. I completed enough chapters to submit for the subject, received a mediocre grade, and hid it in my (metaphorical) bottom drawer.

I turned away from non fictionit demanded an honesty and rawness I wasnt ready to bring.

Instead I concentrated on fiction and my debut novel was heavily inspired by my teenage experiences. When I had my daughter my childhood memories resurfaced and now that I was a mother myself I felt more compassion toward my own mum. I had every advantage possibleI was 31-years-old, my baby was from a much wanted and planned pregnancy, and I had an incredibly supportive husband that I had been married to for ten years at that pointand yet I flailed. When my baby was 10-months-old I was felled by post-natal depression.

My mother, on the other hand, had every disadvantage possible. When she was 15-years-old, my mother found herself in an arranged marriage. At 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. Her life was extraordinary because of her ability to survive all the upheavals that she faced.

I found myself compelled to tell her story because there was a need for a story about mental illness from the perspective of those from a Non-English Speaking Background.

Mental illness carries with it stigma and shame in any cultural context, however Bosnia which was once a part of Yugoslavia, was a communist country and people with mental illness were shunned and segregated. This led to a mistrust and misunderstandings about mental illness that affected my mothers access to treatment. For many years she called her illness nervous breakdowns and did not actually know the name of her disorder, Bi Polar, or understand the symptoms and treatment. It was only when she learnt about these things that she was able to take control of her illness and achieve a better quality of life.

While I writing Things Nobody Knows But Me I spent a year interviewing my mother and trying to recreate her perspective. She was very open and honest because she wanted this book to help others who are Bi Polar sufferers and to help readers understand this illness. I found the process of interviewing and writing about her experiences healing. All the judgement that I had carried about the ways my mother failed me as a child: the upheavals, the bad relationships, the changes in school, going into foster homes, being left to live my grandparents for two years in Bosniawere forgiven. In writing this book I came to understand she was a victim of her brain chemistry and she did the best she could with what she had. Thats all a daughter can ask for.

~

Disclosure: If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

Things Nobody Knows But Me Synopsis:

Brave, compassionate, searingly honest and funny, this is a memoir in a voice like no other. Amra Pajalics love letter to her mother is a book that grabs at your heart and doesnt let go until the final page.  Alice Pung

When she is four years old Amra Pajalic realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia.

At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellors office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mothers confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient.

Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiska in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.

(Transit Lounge Publishing, 1 May 2019)

Get your copy of Things Nobody Knows But Me from:

Amazon | Booktopia(Aus/NZ) | Kobobooks | iBooks | Transit Lounge

About the Author, Amra Pajalic

Amra Pajalic is a Melbourne-based author of Bosnian background. Her debut novel The Good Daughter (Text Publishing, 2009) won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literatures Civic Choice Award, and was a finalist in the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award. Prior to publication it was shortlisted in the 2007 Victorian Premiers Awards for Best Unpublished Manuscript. She is also the author of a novel for children, Amir: Friend on Loan (Garratt Publishing, 2014).

Amra is co-editor of the anthology Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2019) that was shortlisted for the 2015 Childrens Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. She also wrote the teaching notes published by Allen & Unwin.

Amra has appeared on panels at conferences and literary festivals including at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Reading Matters Conference Panel, and the VicTESOL Conference. She has delivered workshops and presented at various library and community organisations, and was a judge and convenor of the Premiers Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript.

She was funded by Artists in Schools to be an Artist in Residence in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in high schools, and in 2014 received funding from Creative Victoria to be mentored by Alice Pung to work on her memoir.

She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
China expects to further optimize the investment and operating environment for foreign investors in its financial sector with new measures to open the field wider, according to the country's top banking and insurance regulator.

A total of 12 new rules will be released soon following profound research and evaluation, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said Wednesday.

"These measures will also encourage the stronger presence of foreign investment in the development of China's financial sector," spokesperson for CBIRC Xiao Yuanqi told Xinhua in an interview.

Detailed rules in regulations for foreign banks and foreign insurance companies have been revised in accordance with the new rules and will soon be released, Xiao said.

The playing field for foreign and domestic companies will be further leveled, said the spokesperson, citing the simultaneous removal of upper shareholding limits for a single Chinese-funded bank and a single foreign-funded bank in a Chinese commercial bank, as an example.

At present, the shares of foreign-funded banks and insurance companies' total assets have reached 1.64 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively, in China.

According to the new measures, asset requirement for foreign banks to set up foreign-funded legal person banks or branches will also be removed in a bid to further diversify the structure of banking institutions in China.

"This does not imply a lower standard of supervision, but rather an emphasis on the foreign banks' capability, quality and benefits," said Xiao.

The top regulator also expects to encourage quality firms with latecomer advantages into the Chinese market and increase global conversation and cooperation.

While allowing overseas financial institutions to hold stakes in foreign-funded insurance companies operating in China, the regulator also plans to remove requirements for foreign-funded insurance brokerage firms regarding business and total assets.

"We believe that this round of new measures will significantly enhance the openness and marketization of the banking and insurance sectors," Xiao said.




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 Flash

Egyptian Minister of Transportation Kamel Al-Wazir stressed the importance of implementing a new electric train line around Cairo which is financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) with 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The minister called for immediate start of the civil works of the project while activating investment cooperation with the China EXIM Bank, during a meeting with heads of companies executing the electric train late on Thursday, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Al-Wazir stressed that the companies should start immediately to provide the work sites with equipment in order to start the work on the ground as of next week.

The minister said that during his visit to China recently, he toured the factory that will manufacture the electric train, where he witnessed "the great potential of the factory."

With the new 66-km network line, Egypt hopes that it can redevelop its exhausted railway system that has witnessed deadly accidents in the past few years.
Imperial Valley News Center

President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini

Washington, DC - Joint Statement from the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini:

Thirty years ago, the Velvet Revolution inspired the world. The people of Czechoslovakia took destiny into their own hands and cast off decades of communist oppression. Seventy-five years ago, the Slovak resistance movement against Nazi occupation launched the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, and this movement contributed to the defeat of Nazism and fascism. This year, the United States and the Slovak Republic mark these notable anniversaries together along with 15 years of Slovak membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance.

These milestones reflect Slovakias determination to anchor itself firmly within the Western community of nations. Now, our two nations are bound together by shared and timeless valuesamong them individual liberty, prosperity, the rule of law, democracy, sovereignty, and a commitment to peace and security.

As leaders of the United States and the Slovak Republic, we recognize that safeguarding these values requires strength. We believe the NATO Alliance is the best guarantor of transatlantic and European security. We reaffirm that our collective security demands that each Ally meet the Wales Pledge to devote two percent of gross domestic product to defense and twenty percent of defense spending to investments in new equipment.

The United States recognizes the significant steps the Slovak Republic has taken in the past year to increase its defense spending and modernize its armed forces, including the historic purchase of United States F-16 aircraft. We seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement between our countries.

We praise the courage of American and Slovak troops serving together in Afghanistan and Iraq and as participants in NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups. We remain firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and energy security, including through Slovak reverse gas flow to Ukraine. Continued sanctions against Russia must remain in force until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.

Our countries also affirm that energy security is fundamental to national security. We reiterate our opposition to the use of energy projects as geopolitical weapons, including Nord Stream 2. We commit to deepening our cooperation in cybersecurity and to working to develop and implement telecommunications security principles.

The United States and Slovak Republic believe in fair and reciprocal trade. We support an approach to United States-European Union trade relations that will bring jobs and growth to both sides of the Atlantic. We commit to explore opportunities for increasing investment between our countries and to strengthen our trading relationship further. We will work together to unlock the inherent innovation potential of our two economies.
Imperial Valley News Center

Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Opelousas, Louisiana - Remarks by Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here. I want to thank Reverend Jack and all the pastors from the churches impacted by the fires a little more than a month ago.

What happened here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys was evil. But these communities of faith have overcome evil with good.

And I wanted to be here today just simply to tell all of you, on behalf our President, on behalf of all of the American people, that were with you.

PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Were praying for you. And were standing with you. And we know these churches and this community will rebuild bigger and better than ever before.

PARTICIPANTS: Amen.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your resilience and your faith and your courage in the wake of this unspeakable evil has inspired the nation.

Now, I had to come here to express that to you. But not just me. Im honored to be joined by other public officials whove made time to be with us today and I know who have been standing with you from the very first day and the very first fire. And I want to thank Governor Edwards for being with us today, for the outstanding effort your law enforcement team at the state level did.

I want to thank Attorney General Landry, who is with us today. And I met the law enforcement officer today who brought the suspect to justice just a few short days after these horrific fires. And we commend the law enforcement community at the state and local level for the outstanding work that they did working in this community to bring that person to justice.

And I also want to thank Senator Cassidy and Congressman Scalise and the better part of the entire delegation in the Congress from Louisiana who are joining us today.

It blesses my heart to be with all of you today and to see the way this community has come together with a commitment to rebuild and to rebuild on a foundation of faith.

You know, sadly, we live in a time when attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent. The fires here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys are part of a story that continued last week in California at a synagogue; last fall, in Pittsburgh; at a mosque in New Zealand; and at churches on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

No one should ever fear for their safety in a house of worship anywhere in this country, anywhere in the world. And these attacks on communities of faith must stop.

Let me say to each and every one of you gathered here, though, that your example in the wake of this evil  and not just of the churches of Mount Pleasant and Saint Marys and Greater Union, but also, Reverend Jack, of all of the communities of faith in this area and all across Louisiana has truly been inspiring. To see the way people of faith responded not with anger but with charity.

And to think of churches burning one day after another, and how people might have responded, and to see the way people, here in these churches and this community and across Louisiana, responded is an inspiration to the nation.

After what happened at Saint Marys and here at Mount Pleasant and Greater Union, you overcame evil with good. And, Reverend Toussaint, I particularly was moved when you said, after the suspect was apprehended, that weve got to forgive him. You lived out your faith and had a testimony for Christ that echoed across the country. And I must tell you also: It was very inspirational to us to know that you still had Easter services right here at Mount Pleasant.

Theres a verse that says, If the foundation crumbles, how can the righteous stand? And as I arrived today, the pastors and I spoke about the fact that while these  the structure of these churches burned, what was evident to people all across the America is the foundation was firm  a foundation of faith and heart to charity.

And I know, in my heart of hearts, based on that witness of faith and the generous outpouring of people across this state and across this nation, with great leadership at the state and federal level, and with great leadership in the pulpits of not only these three churches but all the churches across this area, that the best days for these three churches, for faith in Louisiana and faith in America, are yet to come.

So thank you all very much. (Applause.)

Reverend Jack, did you want to say a word?

REVEREND JACKSON: Well, were more than thankful that the President and the Vice President of these United States of America thought well enough to come out and share, through way of expression, their love and concern for the wellbeing of these three families who have lost their places of worship.

And just, Vice President Pence, his presence of being here today lets us know that theres hope not only for today but also hope for tomorrow, and that we have the support of all of Gods children across the globe.

And so were just happy that he thought well enough to come out and share with us, even if just for a short moment. And we are very thankful for that. And we want to thank you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Jack. Were with you. Were with you.

Reverend Toussaint?

REVEREND TOUSSAINT: I just want to say thank you, Vice President Pence, for showing the love of God thats spread abroad in all of us. We have to know that there is something better for this country than hatred, envy, and strife. We are built  this country is built on God. We are one nation under God. And God is love.

If we dont continue to show each other love, why would you wake up in the morning to hate somebody? You should be making yourself a better person to wake up in the morning, to do whats best for your neighbor, do whats best for your fellow man, and then you will fulfill out the Scriptures, which is the  the fullness of Scripture is love. Thats the complete of the Commandments is love, the greatest of them all.

And I thank you for coming and taking your time out to come. Theres nothing better or more important than this visit because it shows me that God is in the White House. His presence is there, and we thank God for you. May God forever keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you peace. (Applause.)

REVEREND SYLVESTER: Vice President Pence, I want to thank you for just coming out and just showing your support. It speaks volumes. And I just want to tell everyone thats here, I want to tell you, I want to tell America, the world: Thank you.

The outpouring, the outreach  mind-blowing. And it just proves that we live in a world where people still care about each other.

And the people that do that  weve got to make sure that we dont lose heart, we dont get all hate  you know, all that hate in our heart. And remember that were here to help one another and be there for one another.

So, once again, I just cant say it enough  and I know I speak on behalf of the other pastors: Thank you, America. Thank you, the world. Thank you, Vice President Pence, for all that youve done to support us and to be there with us. And God is smiling down upon us (inaudible). God bless you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

REVEREND RICHARD: Vice President Pence, I really appreciate the effort that you have taken to come and be with us during our times of trials. You know, the Bible is saying in this world we will have trials and tribulations. Its always good to know that that theres somebody there to help you. And we appreciate you taking out the time, as well as all of the other law enforcement and the governor, and all the help that you guys have given us. I cant express enough how the love of God has shown up in you guys.

You know, oftentimes, when we come to Christ, we say, We come to Christ, but we have to realize that God comes and uses us. Hes in control. And were just instruments. And if youre willing to be used by God, I know weve got great things ahead of us.

God bless you. God bless you, Mr. Vice President. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you again. These three pastors, their faith in the wake of this unspeakable act of evil, is in keeping with the best traditions of our faith. And, frankly, we have the best traditions of our country.

And Im deeply inspired, as people are all across this country, by the courage and the resilience of these communities of faith, these families of faith, but also by the generous support of the people of Louisiana and people all across the country.

I know you have a ways to go. I was told that were going to start hearing hammers pretty soon  (laughter)  at Saint Marys, and Greater Union, and here at Mount Pleasant.

And we have every confidence that with your continued testimony and leadership, with the generous strong support of your governor, your senator, your members of Congress, with an outpouring of support from people all across this state and this nation, I know that the best days for Mount Pleasant, Greater Union, Saint Marys, and Louisiana are yet to come.

So, thank you all very much, and God bless you.
Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

After more than 20 years, you'd think there'd be leaping for joy.

For so many of those years, Flight Attendants had been wondering whether their 8-hour rest periods between duty days were enough.

After all, if you still have to get to a hotel after a long day and then wake at the crack of dawn to get back to the airport and be on your next flight, you're not going to get eight hours' sleep, are you?

Seven fatigue studies ultimately declared in 2015 that the correct and safe amount of resting time should be 10 hours.

Pilots already had that privilege.

Finally, as my colleague Bill Murphy Jr. reported, last September at 2.52 a.m on a Saturday morning, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

Within it was a mandate to the airlines to institute the new, scientifically suggested rest period.

It hasn't yet happened.

First, the Department of Transportation didn't update the regulation, in which there were dozens of other safety initiatives embedded.

Then came the Government Shutdown and the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.

Yet many Flight Attendants are wondering whether one or more airlines are stalling on the hard-fought stipulation.

Because, oh, it can't be money behind this, can it?

Please forgive me, that was my own dry fear.

Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and in her spare time a United Airlines Flight Attendant, told me her members -- Flight Attendants at 20 airlines in all, including United, Alaska and Spirit -- are intensely frustrated.

She also intimates dark forces may be at play. She told me:

We have learned through multiple conversations with industry, regulators, and other sources all over Washington, Delta Air Lines has been pushing the the Department of Transportation and the FAA to slow down implementation.

Nelson told me she's heard Delta is telling the regulators it needs to hire 2,000 more Flight Attendants in order to comply. This could take two years.

Why would Delta want to hold back such an apparently sensible, science-based, safety-orientedf regulation?

A Delta spokesman denied the airline was doing any such thing. He told me:

We're preparing now by hiring flight attendants and making adjustments to our scheduling technology, so that we can support the change once it's implemented.

The airline refutes any suggestion that it would be against the new regulation at all.

Whispers from several thousand feet, however, suggest Delta doesn't necessarily view the new regulations with untrammeled joy.

Nelson is a touch skeptical too. She told me:

If you had a union on the property, you'd know scheduling systems can be a bear to update, but not simply changing a modifier like this.

Delta is alone in its Flight Attendants being non-unionized. Some, though, might find it odd that the airline wouldn't be a touch more gung-ho.

If you're renowned for your customer service, held in high esteem by all your rivals, wouldn't you want to be in the vanguard of such employee-friendly and safety-minded rules?

Safety is, after all, very much in passengers' minds currently, after two awful crashes involving the MAX 8. In one survey, more than half of Americans now say they don't want to fly it.

And when there is a safety issue or even an emergency, it's Flight Attendants who are most often at the forefront.

I asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain what's going on. A spokeswoman told me:

We're in the process of initiating rulemaking on the Flight Attendant duty and rest rules. The change directed by Congress requires that we go through the traditional rulemaking process to revise the rules.

There's a tantalizing kink to all this. As the FAA spokeswoman told me:

Air carriers can adopt the new rest requirements on their own.

So American, Southwest and the rest can simply say Yup, Here We Go and it will be perfectly legal.

Why don't they?

An American Airlines spokesperson told me:

The FAA has not issued its final rule yet detailing the rest requirements. We are in compliance with the current FAA regulations.

But the FAA has said you can go ahead. It told me. It's OK.

Southwest offered a similar line to that of Delta:

Southwest is working to develop technology requirements to support the scheduling requirements of the new rest rule while also working with our Flight Attendants' union to review the implications to our collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, we are coordinating with the FAA to incorporate agency guidance and conform to the specific elements prescribed by the Reauthorization Act of 2018 as we develop and enhance our policies and procedures.

Then again, Nelson told me such procedures should have taken six months at the most.

Are you ready for a touch more irony?

United already has the 10-hour rule, negotiated as part of a 2016 agreement. Yet the airline still doesn't appear to be pushing for the dozens of other associated safety-minded regulations to speed through.

It all seems quite curious.

It could be that some of these airlines are being sincere, given the many trials they've undergone this year.

Oh, but this couldn't be about money, could it?

If you have to give Flight Attendants more rest, you might have to pay more Flight Attendants. That would hurt.

Given the decades-long gestation period, you'd think airlines might have created contingency plans for the day.

Perhaps they never thought it would happen. Or perhaps they always hoped it wouldn't happen.

Nelson told me her union will be organizing protests with a view to speeding up airlines' thinking:

We launched a petition on fightfor10.org to call on DOT and FAA to immediately implement the law, and to encourage members of Congress to hold them accountable. We will ramp up additional actions in the coming weeks and months to hold airlines and regulators responsible for complying with the law.

She explained that May 5 will represent six months since the regulation should have been updated.

Will Flight Attendants have to wait another six months? Or will it be more?

And will passengers be looking at them, wondering if they've had enough rest?

If I'm on a morning flight, I do.
Spreading its arches far and wide? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

McDonald's is very good at doing what it does best.

For so many years, customers knew what to expect and understood that the core of the brand lay in simple, familiar fare.

The Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder were known all over the world.

And no one seemed to mind if they were frozen.

Until the brand seemed frozen in time.

Suddenly, it lagged behind more innovative competitors. It's still catching up with essentials such as fresh beef.

There's more work to do.

Rumor has it, though, that the burger chain is changing its menu, too, in a way that few might expect.

And a certain few may not tolerate.

You see, Business Insider reports that McDonald's has resorted to going, gasp, overseas for new menu items.

It's one thing to feature overseas items in its flagship worldwide headquarters in Chicago.

It's quite another to turn to Spain and import one of that country's dishes in order to put them in U.S. restaurants.

Yet here we seem to be.

The Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger from Spain will join the Stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands in making the trip from Europe.

A shorter journey awaits the Tomato-Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Canada.

Yet it's Australia that might be contributing the most tantalizing item: Cheesy Bacon Fries.

How can America not have invented that?

This glorious quartet will allegedly adorn McDonald's menus from the very point that its Signature Crafted sandwiches shuffle away. Which would be in the first days of June.

It's an extremely curious strategic twist when the chain initially said it was removing the Signature Crafted delights in order to have fewer menu items.

I contacted McDonald's to ask for its thoughts. The deeply cryptic response from a spokeswoman was:

Geen commentaar.

Because Absurdly Driven is reserved for the erudite, you'll know this is Dutch for no comment and PR for Yeah, but we're not admitting it yet.

The chain did confess last year that it was testing one or two of its international favorites in South Florida.

It seems, then, that there were some winners.

I wonder, though, how much or how little the chain will laud the provenance of these fine dishes.

It will be fascinating as to whether the fact they're from foreign lands will be an additional attraction or whether our nation's current, slightly inward-looking penchant will prevail.

You might think that a mere four menu items is nothing so extraordinary.

But in a market as deeply competitive as fast food, it's a sign that the blinkered thinking of promotions and discounts isn't quite enough.

McDonald's, just like Starbucks and many others, has to prove its freshness all the time.
In Berlin, most of the Second World War bullet holes have been filled in, the legendary 1990s rave venues redeveloped. Rents are rising and so are block after block of luxury apartments. Tech startups are flourishing.

Berlin is no longer poor but sexy, as its mayor at the time said in 2003. But with an officially estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including international stars such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and Sean Scully, the city still has the reputation of being the creative capital of the European art world. How is that reputation shaping up to reality in todays troubled times?

Last week, some 45 dealerships participated in the 15th edition of Gallery Weekend Berlin, a slickly organised collaboration that gives collectors and curators a sense of the latest in the citys art scene. Equally important, it gives galleries a chance to make some sales.

Berlin is an uber-cool city. The economics of the city allow dealers to have really great spaces, says Danny Goldberg, a collector based in Sydney, Australia. Goldberg was viewing new canvases by Leipzig-based painter Matthias Weischer and a video and sculptures by French artist Camille Henrot in Konig Galeries converted brutalist church in a less gentrified part of the citys Kreuzberg district.

A regular visitor to Gallery Weekend Berlin for the past five years, Goldberg, like many visiting collectors, says he values the more considered process of viewing and discussing art in galleries, and in artists studios, rather than browsing booths at art fairs.

10 best European art galleries Show all 10 1 /10 10 best European art galleries 10 best European art galleries The Peggy Guggenheim, Venice The only gallery Ive ever visited by water taxi, this little canal-side museum is a tiny gem  and its ideal for ticking off your Venice to do list without having to head back to the hotel for a lie down after. Housed in famed art collector Peggy Guggenheims old gaffe, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, it comes complete with an adorable little sculpture garden and yes, of course theres a cafe. Expect to see lots of paintings you recognise including Picassos and Pollocks, Mondrians and Miros. All the big names in a bite-sized space: bliss. Getty 10 best European art galleries The Picasso Museum, Barcelona There is only one art gallery I have broken down and cried in, and this is it. I think it was just the sheer volume of work, the guy never stopped experimenting and making stuff. He might not have been the nicest person, but youve got to take your hat off to him: he could do anything and everything. And, it's central location makes it perfect for heading out to lunch after working up an appetite learning all about cubism. Getty 10 best European art galleries Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen This gallery is situated about 40km outside of Copenhagen which means you get to go on an exciting train ride through the posh suburbs of Copenhagen  all very Borgen. A 15-minute walk from the station, the gallery itself sits in stunning landscaped gardens slap bang on the Danish coast with a view over the Sound across to Sweden. Expect top class international art, both indoors and outdoors, plus the best open fishy sandwiches on pumpernickel you could hope for. Yum. Rex 10 best European art galleries Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo This is a smart little place on the edge of the freezing fjorde waters of Oslo. I visited in January and basically slid over from the hotel next door  which offered free entry along with our stay. Hugely more enjoyable than the Munch Museum, which I found slightly miserable. This is a light-filled modern gallery with ever-changing exhibitions as well as a permanent collection of names that even the most clueless of us have heard of. Hirst cows are in there for example, alongside Jeff Koons disturbing Michael Jackson with monkey sculpture. It also has a cafe and shop but prepare to choke slightly over the prices. Rex 10 best European art galleries Miro Museum, Palma A must for Miro fans, there are buses from the city centre but we cheated and got a cab. Essentially its a massive Miro fest with some lovely quirky architectural details  Miros studio for example is a primary colour 1960s design classic. Theres also a sculpture garden, coffee bar and obligatory shop where you can buy all things Miro: mugs; fridge magnets; tea towels etc. Rex 10 best European art galleries Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki This was a gallery the old man and I stumbled on whilst strolling around Helsinki, around a decade ago. We were over visiting a production of Grumpy Old Women Live which was being performed in Finnish in the city centre. And after perusing such delicacies as traditional bear pate in the market we needed something a bit more contemporary. Expect cutting-edge modern, colourful and fun, a mix of installation, photography and painting. The exhibitions change seasonally, as does the lunch menu in the cafe, good work Helsinki, though I'd give the bear pate a miss. Rex 10 best European art galleries The Black Horizon Art Pavilion, Lopud Island, Croatia OK this one is a bit off the beaten track, for starters youve got to get a ferry from Durbrovnik to the tiny island of Lopud, from there you either walk, cycle or golf cart it to this wonderful magical box which basically squats in the middle of nowhere. Basically its a wooden shed, designed by our very own David Adjaye, which houses a lighting installation by the artist Olafur Eliasson. It showcases the colour changes on Lopuds horizon over 24 hours on a repeating 15-minute loop. Expect to have your mind blown, but dont expect coffee or cake  there is no cafe. I repeat, there is no cafe. Zoran Marinovic 10 best European art galleries Museum der Dinge, Berlin This isnt strictly an art gallery, its a collection of things, displayed over 500 metres in a former workshop. Its one of my favourite back street hot spots, and features a beautifully curated collection of design and everyday objects from the 20th and 21st century. This might be anything from dolls house furniture to kitchen utensils. Imagine a modern day equivalent of the Victorian collector, where plastic and mass produced household items replace eggs and butterflies. No cafe, but there are lots of cool places to hang out locally. Its so Berlin it hurts. Rex 10 best European art galleries Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery, Croatia A second Croatian gallery, guess where I like to go on my hols? This one is in Dubrovnik and if its getting a bit hot out there on the beach, this is the idea place to take shelter. Fabulously cool and blissfully empty, the exhibitions change regularly, but I remember being mightily impressed when I visited a few years ago. I seem to remember some kind of refreshment facility but I dont think it ran to a decent light lunch menu, so bear that in mind when you visit (or smuggle in a sandwich). AFP/Getty Images 10 best European art galleries Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery, Berlin This is a massive gallery housed in an old train station. Its home to some of the worlds best contemporary art, so you can wander round and tick off all the big names. Its pretty exhausting but dont worry, if you need a pit stop theres a proper restaurant with fancy beers and a comprehensive menu which features the Berlin classic currywurst, chips and homemade ketchup. Oh God, I might just have to catch a plane. Rex

Im art-faired out, says Goldberg, vowing to kick the habit of visiting half a dozen such events a year. Its just more of the same, he adds.

While fair fatigue has become a common complaint among collectors, Berlins leading gallerists value events like Art Basel, FIAC and Frieze as a way of making contact with a global clientele. Unlike New York, London and Paris, Berlin doesnt host any major international art fairs or auctions.

There isnt the social structure or the mentality that supports a collector base here, says Barbara Huttrop, director of the Berlin galerie Kewenig, which exhibits at the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Theres no industry, adds Huttrop, whose gallery in a historic house has yet to attract significant collectors from Berlins tech sector.

Kewenigs The Palace of the Perfect, a presentation of 13 works from the 1980s from the estate of admired American conceptual artist James Lee Byars was, for many, the standout show of the weekend. Byars unique brand of magical minimalism was perhaps most powerfully represented by The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 that consists of an enormous gilded amphora lying in the gallerys red-painted hallway. It was priced at $5m (3.8m).

For us its the most important weekend, says Huttrop, who was hoping to greet at least 20 of the gallerys most important international clients.

Did they turn up? Top collectors such as Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Turin, Anita Zabludowicz from London and Uli Sigg from Switzerland were certainly in Berlin. But some Gallery Weekend regulars noticed a more general shortage of foreign visitors. American accents were rarely heard.

The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 by James Lee Byars (Alamy) (Alamy Stock Photo)

I never saw so few international buyers, says Magnus Resch, the founder of Magnus, an app likened to Shazam for the art world, who is based in New York but has an apartment in Berlin.

The art world calendar is saturated with events, particularly with 2019 being a year of the Venice Biennale, which attracts droves of international collectors hoping to discover the next big names before the market does.

But the shock of the new was in short supply at Gallery Weekend. There was little in the way of performance, installation or digital art. Painting and sculpture by German artists predominated.

By Saturday afternoon, at least half a dozen of Weischers 16 enigmatic and painterly images of interiors had found buyers at Konig Galerie, priced from 24,000 to 175,000.

Similar works were popular with collectors in the late 2000s when Weischer, along with several other contemporary German painters, had been market darlings. Then, large canvases sold for as much as 450,000 at auction; more recently, they have been selling for between 40,000 and 77,000, according to the Artnet database of salesroom results.

Berlin has an estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including Ai Weiwei (AFP/Getty)

Konrad Fischer Galerie formally inaugurated its spectacular new space in an old transformer station with a show of works by Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Long. Granite Crossing, a new and characteristic large-scale floor sculpture made of pale red rocks was priced at 250,000, and was not snapped up by Saturday.

More zeitgeisty works by young Brussels-based German painter Jana Euler were at least in demand at Galerie Neu in Mitte in a show titled Great White Fear.

Euler jokily incorporated her own features in eight 10-foot-high paintings of a breaching white shark that resembled an erect phallus. All subtly different in their expressionistic technique, these sold out, priced at between 40,000 to 75,000.

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For all Berlins reputation as a melting pot of artistic innovation, many visitors were disappointed by the amount of older works on display and the conservatism of the new presentations. I only saw known artists, no new discoveries, no disruption, no innovation. Where are the wild days gone? says Resch, the app founder.

With Hong Kong and Los Angeles both attracting growing attention as must-visit art world hubs, and the calendar getting ever more crowded, Berlins Gallery Weekend needs to embrace change. Just as the city itself has.

 New York Times
Renowned as the Eye of Istanbul, the work of late photojournalist Ara Guler has been on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London before embarking on a worldwide showing.

Guler, who passed away in October last year at the age of 90, was known by many as one of the greatest photojournalists of his time, working for Time Life magazine, Paris Match and Magnum Photos. He was awarded the title Master of Leica in 1962 and, in 1999, was honoured with the Turkish Photographer of the Century award.

Capturing the daily lives of Turkeys working class through the years, Guler also worked as a portrait photographer, intimately depicting the most famous and inuential individuals of the 20th century. I believe that photography is a form of magic by which a moment of experience is seized for transmission to future generations, he once said when asked to explain his art.

The exhibition not only places special emphasis on Gulers striking images of Istanbul, but also gives prominence to fascinating scenes from Anatolia and different parts of the world. It also offers a selection of signicant historical portraits, including Picasso, Dali, Ask Veysel and Nazm Hikmet. The London exhibition features portraits of John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the UKs history and cultural life.

Recommended The winners of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards have been reveal

The exhibition of Gulers works, hailed by the British Journal of Photography as one of the seven greatest photographers in the world, was established by the Turkish presidency. The Europe minister Alan Duncan and Turkish ambassador Umit Yalcn opened the exhibition at the famous art venue, and while underlining that Guler is one of the best photographers in the world, Duncan said Guler never thought of himself as an artist.

He saw himself as a visual historian, as a photojournalist. He put the plight of his fellow men at the heart of his visual histories, particularly in his evocative black and white portraits of Istanbul, hustling and bustling in the age before the nasty motor car.

Following the exhibition in London, Gulers work will move to Paris Polka Gallery in late May. The third exhibition will be beyond Europes borders, at Kyotos Tofukuji Temple. Late June will mark the opening of this exhibition, at the time when the G20 Summit is held in Japan. The fourth iteration is to be held in New York in late September, at the Smithsonian National American Indian Museum, and is expected to attract large crowds from different cultures and nations from across the world, who will visit New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly. The exhibition will then meet art lovers at Romes Trastevere Museum at the end of the year, and nally at the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu by 2020.

The Ara Guler Exhibition runs at the Saatchi until 5 May
 Flash

Thousands of voters in Britain punished the two main political parties on Friday over their failure to resolve the Brexit question by firing hundreds of councilors serving on city and town councils.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives suffered the brunt of public anger, but the main opposition Labour Party also paid the price for the ongoing impasse over Britain's departure from the European Union.

With the counting of votes at the half-way stage by daybreak Friday, results showed the Conservatives had so far lost more than 400 seats in council chambers, and Labour around 90 seats.

The big winners of Thursday's poll have so far been Britain's third political party, the Liberal Democrats, who have won over 300 seats, mainly at the expense of the two big parties.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis admitted it had been a tough night for his party.

"We always knew this would be a tough year for us," Lewis said, adding that he recognized there is huge frustration about Brexit from the British public.

"There's a very clear message to both parties that we have got to get on with getting Brexit done," he said.

The Liberal Democrats spokesman and Westminster Member of Parliament (MP) Ed Davey described the results as fantastic and added, "We are back in business."

His party was punished in 2015 for its part in its coalition with the Conservative Party, when it suffered a near wipe-out at the ballot box.

Davey told Sky News many voters had turned to the Liberal Democrats over their Brexit policy and demanded a second referendum.

The Conservatives MP Crispin Blunt said the Brexit mess in Westminster had hit his party in the local elections.

He warned the outlook for the European Parliament elections, which are planned for later this month, could be even worse as the focus will be on Europe.

"Plainly we are going to need to get a new leader at some point and get a clear strategy to get Brexit across the line," Blunt said in a breakfast radio interview in reference to May's days at 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Gwynne, national campaign coordinator for the Labour Party, said it had been a tough set of elections for his party, and while local factors were at play, Brexit had undoubtedly played a part in the results.

"The point is that for many people, it was their first opportunity to express that sense of frustration and I think the two main parties have borne the brunt of that," Gwynne, Labour Party's shadow communities secretary, told the BBC.

Approaching the half-way stage, the Conservatives had lost control at 16 town halls and Labour three, with leadership in more council chambers certain to change hands as counting resumed Friday morning.

The Green Party was also the beneficiary of public dissent as thousands of traditional Conservatives and Labour voters turned to it.

Elections expert Professor John Curtice from Strathclyde University said the Green Party has had its best ever results while the gains of the Liberal Democrats had restored it to the traditional party of so-called pavement politics, while independent candidates had gained major ground.

"The picture of local government is going to be different after these elections," Curtice said.

"This has been a night under which the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour over politics in Britain has come under substantial challenge. Very unusually both parties have seen their vote fall back and both are suffering loses," he added.

Curtice told the BBC there has been a north-south divide, with Conservatives shedding more seats in the south of England and Labour losing more in its traditional northern heartland.

Both the Conservatives and Labour were bracing themselves for more bad results as the counting continued, with the picture expected to be completed by early afternoon.
Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8

Game of Thrones fans rejoiced during last weeks episode, when Arya Stark killed the Night King and Westeross greatest threat  the White Walkers  was finally annihilated. Yet, the shows creators, David Benioff and DB Weiss, dont want you to get so comfortable.

The pair stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to answer a few questions about the finale season. The host began: A couple of questions  I dont know if youll be able to answer them. Are we for sure done with the White Walkers?

The duo paused and looked at each other, before Benioff replied: Were not gonna answer that. Could Benioff and Weiss be bluffing or is a major twist about to be unleashed on fans?

The next episode appears to move events to Kings Landing, as the survivors of the Night King battle prepare to take on Cersei Lannister, Euron Greyjoy and The Golden Company.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Show all 9 1 /9 Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan

Photos show Jon, Daenerys, Tormund, Grey Worm and Samwell bearing torches in memory of Theon, Beric, Lyanna and Ser Jorah.

The creators also revealed that Mike Pence got a stealthy shout-out during the Battle of Winterfell. According to Weiss, director Miguel Sapochnik asked Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, to say something in Valyrian.

Jacob was so tired and so delirious and so out of it that all he could think to yell was Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Weiss said.

The audio was later dubbed over, so the vice presidents name cannot actually be heard, but that is what Anderson was yelling, the co-creator added.

Game of Thrones is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK, and on HBO in the US.
The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earths plants and animals by people, leading scientists have warned in a dramatic report.

Loss of biodiversity threatens the human race just as much as climate change, the experts believe, with up to a million species facing extinction in the worlds sixth mass die-off.

The UNs global assessment on the state of nature  published on Monday, and the most comprehensive of its kind  says that without urgent action, the wellbeing of current and future generations of people will be at risk as life-support systems providing food, pollination and clean water collapse.

The 1,800-page report lays out a series of future scenarios based on decisions by governments and other policymakers, and recommends a rescue plan.

It highlights how man-made activity has destroyed nature, such as forests, wetlands and other wild landscapes, damaging Earths capacity to renew breathable air, productive soil and drinkable water.

Endangered and threatened species of Britain Show all 10 1 /10 Endangered and threatened species of Britain Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hedgehog In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million hedgehogs in the UK, there are now only one million Getty/iStock Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hazel dormouse The population of the hazel dormouse is thought to have declined by over one third since 2000. It is threatened by loss of habitat Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Red squirrel Famously ravaged by the North American grey squirrel, the red squirrel is nowadays very rare with a population of around 140,000 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Mountain hare The population in Scotland stands at 1% of its 1950 level and only one colony remains in England in the Peak District Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Natterjack toad Threatened by the disappearance of their coastal habitats, the natterjack toad is now only found at a handful of site across the UK Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Water vole Once found across Britain, the water vole is no longer anywhere to be seen in 90% of waterways Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Turtle dove On the Red List of conservation concern, the turtle dove population has declined by 97% since 1970 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Small tortoiseshell butterfly Amid a general decline in butterfly population since records began in the 1970s, the small tortoiseshell saw a 38% drop in population in 2018 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Noble chafer beetle Classed as vulnerable, the noble chafer beetle became increasingly rare throughout the 20th century due to habitat loss. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species gbhone Endangered and threatened species of Britain Stag beetle Their population is not known but due to habitat loss and other threats they are a protected species. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species Getty

The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human wellbeing, said Sir Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in a paper previewing the report.

Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come. Policies, efforts and actions  at every level  will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence. This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides.

The report warns the destruction of nature threatens humanity at least as much as human-induced climate change.

Diplomats from 130 countries met in Paris to launch the report which has been in development for three years and has involved hundreds of experts.

Sir Robert told The Guardian: There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

We are in trouble if we dont act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.

Many species will die out within decades, scientists say, while ocean fish are being plundered to the edge of sustainability.

The loss of pollinating insects, especially bees, will undermine supplies of food crops.

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Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years, WWFs Living Planet Report last year said.

The global assessment report comes at an opportune time when the world is waking up to dual threat of biodiversity loss and climate change, said Guenter Mitlacher, a biodiversity expert at WWF Germany.

This report will play a pivotal role in informing governments and policymakers of the risks of nature loss for future development of societies and economies.
Anna Wintour has revealed her dream guest list for the annual Met Gala would include two members of the British royal family.

During an interview with Todays Jenna Bush Hager, the Vogue editor-in-chief discussed details of the upcoming Met Gala, which takes place on Monday, including everything from the colour of the red carpet to the no selfie rule.

But, according to Wintour, who oversees every detail of the exclusive celebrity-studded event, there are two guests she wishes would attend - the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge.

In response to a question about her dream guest, Wintour said: I would love to have the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge together.

That would be my dream couple, she said, before adding: They could leave their husbands at home. Its the two of them I want.

10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Show all 10 1 /10 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Diana, 1996



Princess Diana attended the 1996 Met Gala alongside friend and former Harper's Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis. The royal wore a navy blue camisole dress from John Gallianos debut couture collection for Dior and a pearl, diamond and sapphire choker around her neck. AFP/Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Lee Radziwill, 2001



Lee Radziwil, the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, attended the Met Gala in 2001 wearing a flowy white gown with intricate embroidery. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Andrea Casiraghi, 2006



Andrea Casiraghi - the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the Met Gala in 2006 with his now wife, Tatiana Santo Domingo. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2007



Queen Rania of Jordan made an appearance at the Met Gala in 2007 wearing a navy silk gown featuring a wide black belt. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Charlotte Casiraghi, 2016



Charlotte Casiraghi - the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the event in 2016 wearing a tiered floor-length dress by Gucci. The colourful gown featured an ombre effect from canary yellow to fuschia pink and purple. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 2016



Socialite Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a cream strapless mini-dress by Balmain with pointed thigh-high boots. 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2016



In 2016, Queen Rania of Jordan was the definition of elegance as she attended the Met Gala in a black and white feathered Valentino gown. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2016



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis - the daughter of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis - attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a gold mini-dress by Mary Katrantzou. The royal accessorised her look with a metallic choker, matching handbag and feather ear piece. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2017



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis also attended the Met Gala the following year wearing a pale pink overcoat designed by Simone Rocha. The garment was covered in 3D floral embellishment and paired with red square toe heels. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Beatrice, 2018



For her first time attending the Met Gala in 2018, Princess Beatrice wore a purple floor-length gown designed by Alberta Ferretti. The dress featured sheer sleeves, a high neck and embellishments across the bodice. Beatrice accessorised the look with a beaded headband and gunmetal silver clutch bag. Getty Images

Although it is unlikely Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton will be in attendance this year, as the royal baby is expected any day, royalty have attended the fashion-focused event before.

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Last year, Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attended the gala in a Grecian-style gown by Alberta Ferretti.

And in 1996, Prince William and Prince Harrys mother Princess Diana was in attendance, dressed in a navy slip dress by John Galliano for Dior.

This years theme is Camp: Notes on Fashion - which Wintour confirmed is nothing about nature and instead about everything completely artificial and fake and not really what you think it means.

As for how she hopes guests will interpret the theme, Wintour said: We want them to take risks, to be fearless, to have fun with fashion.

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We all need to laugh at ourselves too.
The two old boys were having lunch. On the table was a bottle of wine. When they ordered a second, there was an audible ripple of admiration around the room. Fellow diners smiled in their direction.

This scene unfolded recently in a City restaurant. Indeed, the two men looked as if they had met for a bit of a stockbroker reunion, to reminisce about their share trading, and lunching, days.

Hardly anyone has a two bottler any more. Not at lunch on a work day. One bottle is rare, but a couple  that is going some.
Lynne Colston is reading out a postcard from the future.

Her descendants in the village of Aberfan, in Merthyr Vale, south Wales, have written to tell her that climate change has resulted in food shortages. But thanks to Colston, who started localised growing programmes in 2018, her descendants have survived. Her great-great-great-great granddaughter is sitting at a table made from oak grown from an acorn Colston planted, and harvested at a a sawmill established under Colstons watch, which has brought business back to the valley. Thank you for making change happen and thank you for our future, the descendant writes.

Its Wednesday lunchtime in an empty shopping unit in the Capitol Centre, Cardiff, and Colston is one of of a handful of residents presenting their vision for the future of the Welsh valleys. Nearly 100 people are gathered, including Welsh assembly members, local councillors, forestry authorities and community groups. The Skyline Project has spent nine months engaging artists to unlock residents ideas about their natural environment. The resulting maps and quotations are pasted all over the gallery walls, including dreams of swimming pools, walking routes, honeybees and wild birds.

Colstons postcard might be fantasy today, but Skyline sees this artistic reimagining as the first step to a community action plan for the land.

One man is here to show them whats possible. Alastair McIntosh was one of four founders of the Isle of Eigg Trust in 1991, which in the space of six years wrested the island in the Scottish Hebrides from rich owners and put it in the hands of the community. Its not about sloganising politics, its about figuring out things that are going to work, he says. You have to start digging with a teaspoon, then a spade, then a digger, and then political confidence to flow into those channels.

But Scotland has a very different tradition of land ownership. As well as positive examples of community ownership, Scotland has a history of crofting, or long term leases of private land to stewards, and momentum is growing for further reform. An investigation by the Scottish Land Commission found that concentrated land ownership in Scotland, where 1,125 people own 70 per cent of the land, has held back prospects for economic, housing and community development. The commission went so far as to describe the concentration of land ownership in Scotland as socially corrosive.

The situation in Wales is different. Wales has fewer private landowners. It also has much more public land. The question for the groups involved in Skyline is whether they can get public bodies to support their ideas. Being able to get land is a political thing, says Mark Walton, the co-director of Shared Assets. In Scotland it required legislation. Whats exciting is that Skyline is looking at what is already publicly owned land. It is in the gift of authorities to transfer ownership to communities or give them leases to allow the to manage productively. Thats a massive opportunity because it overcomes the main barrier to entry, which is the cost of buying the land.

Walton says that an ambitious programme of land transfer to communities in urban areas has the potential to revitalise areas still reeling from the death of traditional industry, particularly in Wales and the north of England. But he acknowledges that is it sometimes difficult for authorities to cede power: Authorities are afraid because this fundamentally changes the relationship between the state and the people. It changes the way the civil servants behave. It changes the dynamic  and that is scary.

Ian Thomas, runs Welcome to Our Woods, a community partnership in the upper Rhondda Fawr making local natural resources accessible to residents. In May, Welcome to Our Woods was awarded 90,000 in grants and loans from the Co-op Foundation, to put towards its project converting waste wood into furniture and biomass fuel, generating income. The money has been generated by the sale of 5p bags in the Co-ops Welsh supermarkets.

Project Skyline, which is exploring land ownership in the south Wales valleys, visited community forests in Scotland in October (Mike Erskine)

In October, Thomas, Colston and other volunteers from other valleys groups visited the Kilfinan Community Forest in Tighnabruaich, which manages ownership of 434 hectares of Acharossan Forest. Chris Blake, who started the Skyline Project, says that the trip proved the possibilities. To see for yourselves what the forest crofts has achieved in eight years was quite staggering, he says. At the end of the day we sat down and suddenly we realised it can be done.

Geraint Davies, the Plaid Cymru councillor for Treherbert ward, is among those at the event in the shopping centre. As visitors browse the exhibition, he remembers playing in the mountains as a child: We used to be up there making dams, but you dont see children up there now.

Would he support community ownership of the land? I think that would be wonderful, he says. Its very important to get people committed to the area through ownership. In the past people have come in, done things, and gone again.

Lee Waters, the deputy minister for economy and transport at the Welsh assembly, sees Skyline as part of a broader movement for the democratic ownership of land and the economy that is going on in places like Preston in Lancashire and Barcelona in Spain.

Recommended How South Wales is learning from community forests in Scotland

There has been a profound change going on in the valleys in just two generations. Theres been considerable depopulation and some areas are returning to semi-rural, which creates a range of policy challenges but also opens up a new way of doing things, Waters says. Might the Welsh government give Skyline funding for land? Theres absolutely no reason why we wouldnt. Wed have to see some detail but I think its got huge potential.

Thomas says the seeds of change have already been planted. When we looked at our land we found that 85 per cent is public estate, he says. So were not talking about ownership because as far as were concerned we already own the land. Its about what level of stewardship we get. What we are looking at is a micro-hydro scheme, a sawmill, solar farms and forest crofts. This land is opportunity for us.
Over 1,000 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the deadliest outbreaks of the disease in history.

With efforts to bring it under control hampered by civil war and mistrust, health minister Oly Ilunga said 1,008 lives have been claimed by the virus.

While the crisis is a long way off the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africas Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which killed more than 11,000, people experts warn its true extent in DRC is not clear.

There might be double this many cases in reality that were just not aware of, Tariq Riebl, emergency response director for the Ebola response crisis with the International Rescue Committee.

Despite the risk of spread across the highly porous borders with Uganda and Rwanda or further afield, in April the World Health Organisation (WHO) again opted not to declare a global health emergency.

Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Show all 27 1 /27 Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 During Ebola, they quarantined areas. My husband was at Kailahun and couldnt cross the boundary, so we were separated. They taught us how to wash our hands and we were all washing our hands every day; even my children were washing their hands. Haja is the mother of three surviving children, two of her children died from diarrhoea WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 This is the finished toilet that we have built in our compound, I am very happy to have my own toilet and I will be proud to use it WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 All the parents came together and built a school in the village, we have just opened the school. The children are at assembly with no uniforms. I am the teacher at the school so I took this photo to show how we have been working hard for our children to be educated WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Here is my son, Sessay (left), with his friends. I was happy to snap them. I have given birth to six children, but only three are still alive. The first one I lost was three years ago, and the second was two years ago. Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature. He was really, really sick, he wasn't even taking breast milk, and he died. My heart was broken. My baby used to be strong. He was able to sit by himself and was just starting to practise to crawl and reach for things. He laughed a lot when I played with him, Id clap and dance. I have a happy moment when he started sitting by himself and learning to crawl. Those are the happy moments that makes a mother most happy. The moment I remember most about Lahai was when he was breastfeeding and was playing with my neck and chin with his hand. I look to the future and hope that such things won't happen again, and that God will give me children that stay with me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 My step brother Ibrahim is building our toilet with loamy soil because we dont have cement. WaterAid taught us about good sanitation and I want to show that we are now building our own toilets so that we will not go to the bush or use the stream as a toilet that is why I took this photo WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna, 33 Washing in the stream: When we came here the water system was very bad. I know that when I drink dirty water I get sick. We are getting diarrhoea because we are drinking that type of water. If I am sick I am not able to earn money because I am not able to go to work, and I have to stay at home, which is very difficult for me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah These are the contractors that came to build the water well, and they are mixing the stones and the cement to build the cover of the well WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah I started tree climbing when I was living with my grandmother and she was trying to get some palm kernels and process them to make the oil that we use. I didnt like doing the processing part so I decided to climb the trees to do the harvest instead. Tree climbing is very difficult. At times you can be confronted by a snake, as you are going up you just see one and it will hiss at you. If you are not strong you are going to fall out of the tree, and could die! I am just doing it for necessity sake. I dont want to do this job really, but at the moment I have no other means of making money, so I have no choice but to do this to manage my family WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 They killed my uncle during the war. I was not in this village during the war; I was in Guinea. Just after the war, my mother asked me to come back home. There were no houses when I returned; it had all been destroyed WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah This is my son Bockarie. He reminds me of his mother, who is not presently here with me, and he resembles me. Recently my son was very sick and we had to take him to the clinic to get treatment. Even getting to the clinic costs money. I didn't have any money, so I had to borrow money from the community people so I could take him to the hospital. Having very good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yujah Sidique is 21 years old, he is my daughters husband and is drinking from the stream we use to fetch water. Our forefathers created this village, and the water was good. They covered it with a concrete box to keep it safe, but all of that fell down during the war, and afterwards no one could repair it. The water is not good here now and I have worms as a result. It will be very good to have clean water; it would give us a long life. If you have good drinking water, then your life is safe, but if you dont then your life is not secure. Having good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 We the women of this village are experiencing the problems with lack of water and we pray that things will change. The rain washes everything, including faeces into the water. The children get diarrhoea from the water. With clean water, I would be clean and would not suffer from sickness WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 This is my brothers wife, she is holding both her daughter and my granddaughter WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 Matu is the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun. She is a traditional birth attendant and plays an important role within the womens society. Matu suffers from poor health; she has stomach problems caused by the dirty water WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 My name is Amadou Kokoyeh, but I am more familiar with Kokoyeh [Bush Chicken]. The name Kokoyeh was given to me by fathers older brother. Its meant to be a bird that is in the bush and mostly eats other peoples groundnuts when they plant them. WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my father helping to dig the water well, so that we will have clean water to drink. I am happy because we are going to have a well in my village. I dont think the water we currently collect from the muddy spring is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my family  my mother, father and younger brother. When Im not with them this picture will make me feel closer to them WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 Moserie Yajah was lying down in the grass, and asked me to get a shot of him. At the moment, every day people ask me to get a photo of them. I feel very happy when people ask for a picture. What I love most to get a shot of is people that are well dressed, sitting in a chair or in a very comfortable area that I can snap WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 We were going down to Matus place, and my friends and brother decided to cover themselves with that fishing net, and asked me to take a shot of them. The fishing net was taken from Ginnahs mother (Massah) and I think the picture is really good. I like the photo mainly because they are standing close to the wash yard, where people go to heat their water and wash. I love it because they are all my brothers, and we look out for each other WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 I love this picture. I took this photo of Bockarie when he was drinking water. The water was collected from the muddy spring where everyone collects water. I dont think it is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre. If it rains, we harvest rainwater WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my cousin Papay; we are very close  he lives nearby and we spend lots of time together. In this picture he is messing around. On his head is what our fathers make to catch fish in small streams. We then eat some fish and they sell the rest. It is important for our survival WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 The community people helping to build the water well, I was glad about this, that is why I took this photo. Kempah is a youth leader and mechanic from Tombohuaun WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 These children are our next of kin, my children and their friends. They are wonderful children WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Jeneba, 13 Here, my father, brothers and aunt are separating cocoa fruit from pods. By selling cocoa, my family earns enough to pay my school fees WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 We have now built a small school in our village. This is inside the class for my childrens first day in school. I took this picture to show them in the future so they will know that I want them to be educated and also free from diseases WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 This is my Aunt Mamie Ansumana. She is 40 and is a farmer. She loves going to the farm and likes to smile. She looked after me when my children died. The dirty water caused the death of two of my children; I dont want anything to happen to the others. She took me from the room where Senior Lahai died to her own room. I slept in her room for some time. I want to thank to her because she is still taking care of us WaterAid

Ebola treatment centres have come under repeated attack and many international aid agencies have pulled staff out of hotspots, like the towns of Katwa and Butembo, leaving government health workers struggling to cope.

Last month a Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the WHO was killed during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.

Insecurity has become a major impediment to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHOs health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drives community rejection of health personnel.

Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events, Mr Ryan said.

He added they were anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission of the disease.

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WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border.

Many people fear going to Ebola treatment centres, choosing instead to stay at home and risk transmitting the disease from the virus to family and neighbours.

Residents of highly volatile Butembo believe Ebola was brought to the city on purpose, said Vianney Musavuli, 24, adding: I am deeply saddened to learn that the number of Ebola deaths has exceeded 1,000.

The problem is that people here in this area [people] believe Ebola is a political thing, and thats why residents are still attacking the teams in retaliation.

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Insecurity also has prevented vaccination teams from getting to some areas, further limiting the health response.

However, more than 109,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine.

Mr Ryan said authorities are looking at introducing another one. He called for more help from Congo and elsewhere to close an urgent, critical gap of some $54m in containment funding.

Additional reporting by AP
People who spread myths about the harms of vaccines have blood on their hands the health secretary has said as he refused to rule out compulsory immunisations.

While Matt Hancock downplayed suggestions that it would be made illegal not to vaccinate children, he said it could be considered if stalling immunisation rates are not addressed.

Vaccines are good for you, good for your children, and good for your neighbour who may have a medical condition that prevents them having the vaccine, he said.

Those who have promoted the anti-vaccination myth are morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible and have blood on their hands, he added.

His comments came in the wake of an investigation by The Times which found 40,000 UK parents are members of a single online group calling for children to be left unimmunised against life-threatening disease.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was never the same after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

Social media platforms like Facebook have been seen as key conduits for the spread of anti-vaxxer fake news which is having harmful consequences, according to UK health authorities.

However medical experts blamed government health reforms for falling immunisation rates, which have seen MMR uptake drop four years running.

Last month a Unicef report found half a million UK children went unvaccinated over the past seven years.

World Health Organisation figures show global measles cases rose 300 per cent in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The UK also saw its highest number of cases for a decade in 2018.

Mr Hancock said he was completely open to all options on bolstering vaccination rations, something which has previously been interpreted to mean banning unvaccinated children from schools.

Asked about the proposals on BBC Radio 4s Today programme Mr Hancock said: I dont want to reach the point of compulsory vaccination. I said Ill rule nothing out, but I dont want to reach that point, I dont think were near there.

Doctors were divided on the proposals, anaesthetist Dr Dave Jones backed compulsory vaccination.

But Dr Max Davie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said they first needed to undo the damage caused by underfunding and Conservative-led NHS reforms in 2012 which split responsibility for immunisation.

The difficulty is that the recent spike in UK cases does not appear to be due to a drop in public confidence, but in administrative and resource problems resulting from the split of public health to local authorities, he wrote on Twitter.
For Conservatives, there is no more salutary historical lesson of the consequences of leading a divided party than the experience of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850).

Elected with a governing majority of 76 in the general election of June 1841, the party was split for a generation after Peel insisted on pursuing a policy of free trade, through the repeal of the Corn Laws, five years later.

The party, created in the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act, divided, with roughly one-third acting as Peelites until the 1860s and the other two-thirds continuing without them. Many leading Peelites joined the newly formed Liberal Party after 1859 and the Conservative Party did not form another majority government until Benjamin Disraelis triumph at the general election of 1874.
A police force has condemned people for making racist comments about offenders and assumptions about their backgrounds on its Facebook page.

The colour of someones skin or a name thats not traditional is usually a trigger for these assumptions, Gloucestershire Constabulary wrote. Despite commenters not knowing the citizenship of offenders or whether or not they have spent all, most or even just a small part of their lives living in the UK, we often get told to deport them.

It added that a small but vocal number of people were making assumptions.

Youre free to criticise us on our posts and we rarely remove comments, it said. What we wont accept you doing here is writing comments below our posts that encourage xenophobia; the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.

The force it will consider blocking regular commenters who make statements of a xenophobic nature.

Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Show all 10 1 /10 Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland is lead away in handcuffs to a prison van PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A photo of Geoffrey Crossland's property, which contained a secret bunker PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland (right) is lead away after being sentenced PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The pensioned (right) has been jailed for more than 12 years PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the weapons found at the pensioner's property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old had built a bunker complex beneath a outbuilding PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A drawing of the bunker complex at the property of Geoffrey Crossland PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the guns found at the property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA

The negative impact of prejudice and hate meant a number of incidents went unreported, it said.

It also added it would welcome support in challenging the comments from the majority of people who dont post such comments.

 Police take on protesters and neo-Nazis in clash during May Day riots in Sweden

A majority of the comments were positive and supportive of the post.

Thank you for addressing this difficult issue. There will always be a presence from this sector of the public, and my hope is that education and awareness might lead to better understanding and tolerance, one wrote.

Another said: This is the attitude I want to see from my police force, thank you! I do try to challenge racist and xenophobic statements, but Im not always mentally prepared for the inevitable backlash of abuse.

One person was surprised it had taken this long to impose, adding, better late than never!

While some questioned why people making xenophobic comments were not arrested and cautioned, others expressed empathy with people of colour by stating how the response of trolls being challenged gave a taste of being on the receiving end of hate crime.

Others were less positive and the force blocked a comment from a Tommy Robinson supporter who used the word Nazi.

Screen shot of a comment made by a Tommy Robinson supporter on the Facebook page of Gloucestershire Police (Gloucestershire Constabulary/Facebook)

Meanwhile, others said the police post was a threat to freedom of speech, with one person stating: Turning into communist state telling you what to think, say and do, gonna control what we see on the Internet, what is this China?

A spokesperson for the force said it had not prosecuted anyone for xenophobic comments on its page.

They added: We have noticed a number of comments that while not meeting the threshold of a criminal offence are prejudiced or xenophobic and that is why we have taken the decision to post this message.
Julian Assange was given a disproportionate sentence for a bail violation, the United Nations has said as it accused British authorities of breaching his human rights.

The WikiLeaks founder was handed a 50-week sentence earlier this week and is being held at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. He is fighting an extradition request made by the US over an alleged hacking conspiracy.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said it was deeply concerned about the disproportionate sentence and claimed that violating bail was only a minor violation.

The working group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence, it said.

This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.

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 panel added: It is worth recalling that the detention and the subsequent bail of Mr Assange in the UK were connected to preliminary investigations initiated in 2010 by a prosecutor in Sweden. It is equally worth noting that that prosecutor did not press any charges against Mr Assange and that, in 2017, after interviewing him in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, she discontinued investigations and brought an end to the case.

The same panel of legal experts previously stated that Assange was arbitrarily detained in the Ecuadorian embassy and should have had his liberty restored.

Mr Assange lived inside the embassy for almost seven years before being dragged out by police officers last month.

Pro-Assange protesters outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday (AP)

WikiLeaks has said Assange is now living in appalling conditions at the prison, spending 23 hours a day in his cell.

The activist told Westminster Magistrates Court that he does not consent to being extradited to the US.

Speaking via video link from Belmarsh prison at a 10-minute hearing, Assange said: I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.

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US authorities have charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the US at the Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, said there were computer room chats showing real-time discussions between Chelsea Manning and Assange over cracking a password to gain access to classified US documents and the public release of the information.

The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States, Mr Brandon said.
 Flash

Mosquito-borne diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe, and a record number of Europeans contracted West Nile Fever last summer, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Friday.

Climate change and globalization have led to an increase in tropical diseases that have previously been limited to warmer regions.

Cases were recorded in Italy, Greece, France and Croatia. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found as far north as northern Germany and France.

"Italy is now, at times, a tropical country. This benefits the spread of diseases that previously only existed in warmer climates," Jan Semenza of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told SVT.

Globalization is another major contributing factor. The transportation of people and goods facilitates the spread of disease and the mosquitoes that carry it. An Asian tiger mosquito carrying dengue can spread with products like plants and car tires. It can also be spread by travelers and gain a foothold in areas with favorable conditions.

"We travel to or trade with tropical countries where viruses are present, and thus we transport it home. If the climate is favorable at home, the virus can spread," Semenza told SVT.

Those considering travelling to the Mediterranean this summer have been warned to be careful.

"You should avoid mosquito bites. Use mosquito repellent and do not have the windows wide open," Semensa told SVT.

According to Lakartidningen, a Swedish medical journal, the virus that causes West Nile Fever is spread by the Culex mosquito, which in turn contracts it from infected birds. It can then be passed on to animals and people.

In 80 percent of cases, those who are infected may have no or only mild symptoms. In severe cases, coma, seizures, muscle weakness and paralysis can occur. About one in 150 of those infected become seriously ill.

The ECDC, headquartered in the Swedish capital since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases.




North Korea has slashed official food rations to just 300g per person per day after suffering its worst harvest in more than a decade, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The country could face famine within a matter of months, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) warned.

A year of unexpected dry spells, heat waves and flooding, as well as well as ongoing international economic sanctions have all been blamed for the severe shortages.

The dire assessment comes after authorities in the secretive communist state asked the WFP to assess its food security.

It found the country was some 1.36m tonnes short of supplies and estimated 40 per cent of the population  about 10.1 million people  do not have enough to last until the next harvest in the autumn.

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

Mario Zappacosta, a senior economist at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, who worked on the assessment in April, said: It used to be they only reached this low level in July, August, and September. If the international community does not take action somehow, and quickly, there are some social groups who will suffer - the kids, the pregnant women, lactating mothers."

Speaking to the BBC, he added: "This year they have had a real series of weather shocks. They had everything. Low rains, then a heat wave, then floods."

The US blamed the North Korean government, saying its chronic mismanagement was responsible for the potential tragedy.

A spokeswoman for the state department said the "regime continues to exploit, starve, and neglect its own people in order to advance its unlawful nuclear and weapons programme."

North Korea has continually struggled with food production under the decades of its one-party rule.

A famine is estimated to have killed up to three million people in the mid-1990s, while, even at times of high production, most citizens live off just 500g of food a day, mainly consisting of rice and kimchi.
Buildings shook after the latest in a series of earthquakes struck Surrey in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Residents described fearing there had been an explosion after the 2.5 magnitude shaker hit at 1.19am.

It follows at least 20 similar quakes in the county in little more than a year  with many residents saying they fear the new seismic activity may be linked to oil and gas exploration being conducted at Horse Hill near Gatwick airport.

A spokeswoman for the British Geological Survey said: Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience. Typical reports described windows and doors shook, felt like some sort of explosion and a loud bang woke me up.

How fracking works and where it could happen Show all 2 1 /2 How fracking works and where it could happen How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingHowItWorks.jpg How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingMapWeb.jpg

One Crawley resident, Samantha Ferguson, wrote on Twitter: My whole flat just shook underneath me.

Preliminary information indicated the quake centred on the village of Newdigate  also close to the Horse Hill drilling site  and had struck at a depth of 2.3km.

Speaking after the four previous tremors, Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said scientists were keeping an open mind on possible causes.

He said: It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.

But Stuart Haszeldine, a professor with the University of Edinburghs geology department, told the BBC he believed the well  drilled by UK Oil and Gas  was responsible for the unprecedented seismic activity.

Whenever the oil and gas operators start preparing for some intervention, then there is a set of earthquakes, he said. Its pretty straightforward.

Previous quakes in the area  which included four in a single fortnight in February  have reached as high as 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Michael Gove has paved the way for overturning the curbs on shooting birds which triggered death threats against TV naturalist Chris Packham.

Natural England has been stripped of its power over the permits by the environment secretary  who has ordered his own investigation by officials with intensity and urgency.

The move follows calls by angry Tory MPs for Mr Gove to take back control from Natural Englands new chief Tony Juniper, a leading environmentalist and former head of Friends of The Earth.

In a letter to Mr Jupiter, Mr Gove said he was responding to concern that has been generated by the decision to revoke permits allowing farmers to cull pest species of birds, such as crows and wood pigeons.

My judgement is that the present situation needs to be considered with particular intensity and urgency, Mr Gove wrote.

I want to gain a clear understanding of the implications for the protection of wild birds, and the impacts on crops, livestock, wildlife, disease, human health and safety and wider nature conservation efforts.

Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal  effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord  agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe

The restrictions were introduced after legal action by Mr Packham, a BBC presenter  who then revealed death threats and parcels containing human faeces had been sent to his home.

Mr Gove intends to finish the investigation by the end of next weekend and to make a decision just one week later.

Mr Packham revealed the impact of his intervention on Tuesday, saying: Weve had packages sent containing human excrement. Last night, a much more serious thing  death threats of a very serious nature.

Ian Bell, president of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) welcomed Mr Goves decision, stating: BASC hopes this is the first step to resolving the current chaos in the countryside.

This shambles of the last week or so was created by Natural Englands ill-advised decision to withdraw all licences without consultation or notice and, in effect, remove pest control at a critical time of year.

James Cartlidge was among Conservative MPs who had held a private meeting with Mr Gove in the past few days, in an attempt to force his intervention.

People are incredibly angry, a lot of it is going back to how it happened, he told The Daily Telegraph.

He [Mr Gove] said Weve just got to get this sorted and get the new licensing regime up and running so people arent breaking the law when they do the usual things they do to protect livestock and crops.

Natural England had promised to rush out new permits to replace general licences, but Mr Juniper asked for that responsibility to be taken over by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Critics had argued the revocation of the licences means farmers risked prosecution if they shoot wild birds that attack livestock and decimate crops.
Jeremy Hunt has said that a royal yacht or a plane would be attractive options to promote post-Brexit Britain on the world stage.

The foreign secretary, who is regarded as a contender to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, said he is a big believer in flying the flag for Britain overseas but also acknowledged there are other ways of projecting the UKs national self-confidence.

His predecessor Boris Johnson first floated the idea of a Brexit plane during a trip to South America last year, when he complained that the RAF Voyager jet  shared with the prime minister and the royal family  never seems to be available.

Pressed on the idea during a week-long trip to Africa, Mr Hunt said: I think weve got other priorities that we would focus on long ahead of that, but whats important is the foreign secretary is out and about.

Im a big believer in flying the flag for Britain and projecting our national self-confidence. But I think real self-confidence comes from getting the fundamentals right.

And so, attractive though it is to have a royal yacht or a plane for the foreign secretary or whatever else, in the end much more important is that currently, despite all the predictions, the British economy is generating 1,000 jobs every single day.

But the move was criticised by anti-Brexit campaigners, who said Mr Hunt should be focused on solving the Brexit crisis rather than his job perks.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who supports the Best for Britain campaign, said: All this talk about a royal plane shows the foreign secretary has his head in the clouds.

Were in the midst of a national crisis, with thousands of businesses, and consequently, jobs at risk.

The utter shambles that Hunt has been so intimately involved in should be occupying all of his head space, not the chance of more job perks.

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Meanwhile, Mr Hunt also expressed his desire to reset the UKs links with Africa and move away from a relationship where the main motives are aid budgets.

He said: Our TV screens talk about the cyclones, the famines, the terrorism  but actually, what you see is skyscrapers, tech parks, young entrepreneurs, who are all part of a different narrative which, for much of Africa, is Africas future.

Africa has got the capitalist bug in the last 20 years since I started coming here and they look at Britain and they want Britain to be part of Africa.
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve will not face deselection proceedings despite losing a confidence motion at his Beaconsfield Constituency Association in March.

Jackson Ng, chair of the Conservative association, wrote a letter to Mr Grieve which was also sent to all association members.

The Executive Council has decided that this is not the moment to commence such procedures as it serves no constructive purpose, Mr Ng said in the letter.

The chair noted that Mr Grieve had served the constituency loyally for 22 years, but warned the MP that no one can take the loyalty and continued support of our members for granted.

Although Mr Grieve, a pro-Remain Conservative, has escaped deselection, it is clear that the association expects him to support Brexit.

Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage has spent his political career campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson's support for Brexit took many by surprise before the EU referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to agree on a withdrawal deal. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises This was taken from a 2012 speech delivered by Mr Davis. He does not currently support a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson now supports a hard Brexit and resigned from the cabinet in 2018 over Theresa May's strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The US recently issued trade negotiation objectives for future talks with the UK. The country made clear that it expects access to the UK's agriculture industry, reviving the debate about chlorinated chicken. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage does not support the current campaign for a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Despite this quote, in February 2019 Boris Johnson said a no deal Brexit "may yet be the best option for the UK". Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to begin negotiating a deal regarding their future relationship. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May announced that the UK would be leaving the Single Market in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Her withdrawal deal is yet to be passed. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises A classic from the 2015 general election campaign. David Cameron resigned on 24 June 2016, following the EU referendum result. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises David Davis resigned from his post as Brexit secretary in July 2018 after disagreeing with Theresa May's negotiation strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Michael Gove was one of the most influential Leave voices during the EU referendum campaign. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backbencher, does not support a second Brexit referendum. He has called the use of this quote "fundamentally dishonest" as it was taken from a 2011 speech discussing the option of referendum before David Cameron entered negotiations with the EU. Such a vote was never held. Twitter/Led By Donkeys

The overwhelming view of our membership is that the government must deliver Brexit and respect the views of the voters in the referendum, Mr Ng wrote.

The view of our association membership is that they profoundly wish for you to play a more positive role in the coming months on this matter.

We feel it is crucial that you should do so.

Video footage from the March confidence vote appeared to show some constituency members calling Mr Grieve a traitor and a liar.

Mr Grieve lost by 182 to 131 votes and later said he had faced an orchestrated campaign calling for his deselection.

When he tried to explain the political consequences of leaving the EU at the meeting, angry Brexiteers heckled him with calls of lies and rubbish.

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At the time Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support and said the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

Boris Johnson and former chancellor George Osborne also voiced support for the embattled politician.

The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Mr Grieves Beaconsfield constituency, narrowly voted to Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has attacked the investigation that led to his firing, labelling it a shabby and discredited witch hunt.

He has also called for a proper, full and impartial inquiry into the probe.

With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill, the politician said in a statement released on Saturday.

Mr Williamson was dismissed after Theresa May said there was compelling evidence he was behind a leak from the National Security Council (NSC).

He strongly denies the allegation.

Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Show all 5 1 /5 Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by Nigel Farage on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message to the EU on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter

The leaked reports from an NSC meeting last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Chinese company Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Political insiders were taken aback by the leak and an investigation was swiftly launched, led by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamsons fate was sealed after officials uncovered an 11-minute conversation with The Daily Telegraph reporter who revealed the Huawei decision.

A spokesperson for No 10 also criticised his lack of candour about the calls contents.

On Saturday the Metropolitan Police said it was unlikely a crime had been committed when the information was leaked.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that he was satisfied the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Basu said he had made the assessment after speaking to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed at the top-secret meeting.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged, he said.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

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The former defence secretary has previously called for a full criminal investigation into the leak.

Mr Williamson earlier said that such an investigation would absolutely exonerate him.

I did take a difficult decision, Theresa May told ITV News on Friday.

This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from.

It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.
Senior cabinet ministers have rallied around to save Theresa May ahead of a showdown meeting to decide her fate following the local elections massacre.

The prime minister will face fresh demands from Tory grandees on Tuesday to set a fast timetable for quitting, as a shocked Conservative party contemplated the loss of 1,334 local councillors.

The dire performance  the worst for a quarter of a century  has triggered further pressure for her to resign, including from former foreign office minister Hugo Swire, until now a loyalist, who said: We now urgently need a new leader.

Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, is expected to meet Ms May on Tuesday to again urge her to set a date for her departure.

If she refuses, they will consider rewriting the rules to allow a fresh vote of no confidence this summer  a move the 1922 stepped back from last month.

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

But three cabinet ministers, led by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said the party must continue to focus on passing a Brexit deal, not on a change of leader.

Taking on Tory Brexiteers, Mr Gove said: We have to face facts. At the moment, the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal.

He warned that whoever succeeds Theresa would inherit her difficulties, unless the Brexit crisis was resolved first.

David Gauke, the justice secretary, said: I am confident that Theresa May is the right person to lead us through this process.

We have got to deliver phase one of leaving the European Union and the idea we should be changing the leader before we do that is not something that I think would be sensible.

And Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said: I dont think changing the leadership would mean a change to the arithmetic.

The government had to find a majority that will work, either with Labour or by having talks with others and having further votes in the Commons.

But Sir Hugo said the Tories had no time to waste, after suffering their worst local elections day since the dog days of John Major's government in 1995.

These are challenging times for Conservatives and we now urgently need a new leader to reinvigorate the party if we are to prevent an extreme left-wing government that will bring this country to its knees, he tweeted.

Ms May is expected to renew her efforts to strike a cross-party deal with Jeremy Corbyn, hoping to force it through the Commons by the end of June.

It is too late to prevent the European elections taking place on 23 May but Brexit could still be delivered in time to prevent MEPs actually taking their seats in July.

However, there is huge opposition to such a deal  based on a form of customs union  in both main parties.
Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a trip to the US after facing a backlash from protesters and officials in New York City.

The 64-year-old was supposed to be honoured as person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) at a gala dinner on 14 May.

Mr Bolsonaros office sought to blame protesters and city officials for the trips cancellation.

His spokesperson said he would not be attending the event due to the resistance and deliberate attacks by the mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, described Mr Bolsonaro as a very dangerous human being in an interview with WNYC radio last month.

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Show all 20 1 /20 Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro waves as he drives past before his swear-in ceremony Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters wait in front of the Planalto Palace, where he will take office EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress before he is sworn AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters take pictures as Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Flanked by first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro waves to the crowd, as he rides in an open car after his swearing-in ceremony AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro reacts as he drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration The National Congress before Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is sworn in AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty

The choice of President Bolsonaro is a recognition of his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States and his firm commitment to building a strong and durable partnership between the two nations, BACC said on its website.

But the far-right politicians history of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks led to a series of venues refusing to host the event, including the American Museum of Natural History.

The museum had been urged by public figures, including Mr de Blasio, to withdraw from hosting the dinner.

Several companies, including Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co, also withdrew sponsorship funds from the dinner earlier this week.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, a Bain spokesperson said.

Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co all refused to comment on whether they would withdraw their support for the event.

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The dinner is still scheduled to go ahead, despite Mr Bolsonaros withdrawal.

The Chamber hereby affirms that the Gala Dinner will take place as scheduled, a BACC spokesperson said.

The organisation is also honouring US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as its US person of the year.

Additional reporting by agencies
An Afghan assembly to discuss peace with the Taliban has been criticised for making female delegates feel unwelcome, with one woman told she should be in the kitchen.

The assembly, known as a loyal jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organisers said that around 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalised or patronised. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries.

Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

On the second day of the assembly, a female delegate who rose to speak was ordered to be quiet by a male delegate.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! said Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under sharia, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which sharia law, the Taliban sharia law or Isis sharia law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to the Islamic State.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Male delegate Behnoh Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

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For many women, the jirga got off to a bad start when Ms Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights.

When a female delegate complained directly to Mr Sayyaf , she was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Mr Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator.

Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

On Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said delegate Taiyaba Khavari.

Ms Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with comments from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Mr Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off.

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The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Mr Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organisers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organisers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organised the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Mr Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

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Among other recommendations accepted by Mr Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

New York Times
The three-day coronation of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend includes a mixture of Buddhist and Brahmin traditions.

Thai royal practice reflects the traditions of ancient India, with the king transformed through ritual from a member of the royal family to a "Devaraja" or living god.

The king's new title will be revealed on the first day of the main coronation ceremony. It will be unveiled on a golden plaque where it has been inscribed, along with the king's horoscope, which is determined by a royal astrologer.

The king underwent a purification rite, the "Muratha Bhisek" earlier today. Dressed in white, he was showered in water gathered from nine sacred sources of water from around the country.

Scholars says this ceremony is a simplified version of a ritual performed in ancient Indian courts.

Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures REUTERS Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AP Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Getty Images

The king then changed into full royal uniform and sat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne inside the Grand Palace where he received sacred water on his hands.

The water was poured by selected officials from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

It was collected from 108 sources from around the country and blessed in temples by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests.

After the purification and anointment, the king sat under a nine-tiered umbrella which signifies full kingship. He received the monarch's regalia, including five key objects: the great crown of victory, the sword of victory, the royal sceptre, the royal fan and fly whisk, and the royal slippers.

The king will later meet with royal family members, his privy council, and the cabinet, and senior officials at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

Recommended Thai king Vajiralongkorn marries bodyguard making her queen

In the afternoon he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to declare himself the patron of Buddhism, the religion followed by more than 90 per cent of Thais.

After the rituals, the king will attend a "housewarming" private ceremony at the Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace Complex, accompanied by the female members of the royal family.

On Sunday morning the king will grant new royal titles to members of the royal family at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

That afternoon, the king, seated in a palanquin, will be carried in a procession though Bangkok's old quarter, in a traditional display of the new monarch to the public.

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He will visit three temples, Wat Bovoranives, Wat Rajabopidh, and Wat Phra Chetuphon, to pay homage to the main Buddha images and give alms to monks.

On Monday afternoon, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida, who he married on Wednesday, will greet the public from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace before granting an audience with foreign diplomats.

Reuters
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The UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame on Friday said that Libyan journalists face rising threats and violence in the war-torn nation.

"I am reminded today of the risks Libyan journalists face while doing their job every day. We cannot let the truth become a casualty of the fighting. On this day, let us remember the journalists and media workers who sacrificed their lives over the past years while covering the events in Libya," Salame said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

"Journalists, like all civilians, must be protected. I remind all parties that the threats and violence against journalists are prohibited under Libyan law as well as International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws," Salame added.

Salame also called on Libyan officials and the international community to protect journalists and create proper work conditions.

According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), journalists in Libya face "repeated harassment, including refusals to issue or recognize press cards, denials of visas, accusations of spying, discrimination, and threats of death or violence."

"Tragically, journalists have also been beaten, arrested and detained without charge, kidnapped and killed in the line of duty in Libya," the Mission said.




Turkish president Recept Tayyip Erdogan has officially inaugurated the countrys largest ever mosque, an elaborate Ottoman-style house of worship atop a storied Istanbul hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.

The Great Camlica Mosque is the most prominent of numerous Ottoman-style houses of worship built across Turkey under the 17-year rule of President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Its enormous dome and four 107-metre high minarets are visible across much of the city of 16 million people.

During a speech attended by several international leaders and other luminaries, Mr Erdogan described the structure as a monument befitting contemporary Turkey.

The mosque has many symbols that belong to our history, civilisation, and beliefs, he said.

People visit the Camlica mosque the day of its inauguration (AP//Lefteris Pitarakis)

He also spoke out against a recent spate of attacks targeting religious institutions across the world, including attacks on mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka.

Those who attack mosques and those who target churches have the same dark mentality, he said. Massacring the innocent and bombing houses of worship is not jihad. It is terror, atrocity and murder.

Camlica was built at an estimated cost of $100m (76m) over the last six years. Resting atop a storied Istanbul hill, it accommodates up to 63,000 worshippers. It includes an educational complex, museum, gallery, and a conference centre.

It has been criticised for its remote location, at the top of winding road hillside away from any of the citys neighbourhoods.

People attend the official opening ceremony of Camlica mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENCY HANDOUT) (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT)

"Whose idea was it to build a 60,000-person mosque on the top of Camlica Hill? Temel Karamollaoglu, leader of a small Islamist opposition party, quipped last month. If they fill it even once, I'll kiss their hands.

Turkey under Mr Erdogan has modestly expanded the number of mosques, building Ottoman-style houses of worship throughout the country and even abroad. His supporters say the country lacks sufficient numbers of mosques.

But critics point out that polls have shown Turks are becoming increasingly irreligious. The 3,400 or so mosques throughout Istanbul rarely fill up, except for Friday prayers.

The mosques, often using public funds, also are built by powerful and well-connected developers that are close to the AKP.

Turkey recently inaugurated a new airport, dubbed the worlds largest, and plans to build a new canal that cuts through far western Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Developers have also been trying to access publicly owned land to build luxury shopping malls and high rises in deals criticised as giveaways to political allies. But Camlica was reportedly funded by donations.
On paper, 1968 was a great time to be an American.

Young soldiers returning from Vietnam that June saw an economy which had just created 250,000 jobs. Middle class families saw an 8 per cent increase in their household income. GDP growth for the full year hit almost 5 per cent, an incredible number for a modern economy.

1968 was also the year a white supremacist murdered Martin Luther King. It was the year 125 cities across the United States burned in race riots. It was the year that shredded the social fabric of the United States in ways we have yet to fully recover from. And it was the year Senator Robert F Kennedy asked students at the University of Kansas what it really meant to foster a strong economy.

The gross national product .. .measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Even as President Trump celebrates a strong April jobs report, African Americans in Flint, Michigan face their fifth year without drinkable water. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, our core infrastructure  the roads, bridges and waterways that form the lifeblood of our economic vitality  is falling apart.

This is the same America where corporate profits are scraping record highs, and General Motors closing an Ohio manufacturing plant walks hand-in-hand with increases in executive-tier bonuses. The American economy is booming  for some. Dont expect it to trickle down.

Despite the flashy employment numbers and White House spin, only a sliver of Americans stand to gain from nearly a decade of post-Great Recession economic recovery. Here are just a few of the numbers President Trump wont be tweeting about tonight.

Unemployment among African Americans remains at a near-recession level 6.7 per cent, almost twice the unemployment rate of white Americans. Worsening the racial divide, African American families have on average only 10 cents for every dollar of white family net worth.

But what about people who already have jobs, you ask? Lets start with hourly workers  their wages remained flat in April, even as the basic cost of living expenses increased. Thats not so bad, you say? At the same time, employers also reduced the number of hours given to part-time and hourly employees, cutting their take-home pay even further.

 Trump claims that the US economy wasn't the biggest in the world when he became president

Those flat wages and declining hours arent new  wages have been stagnant since President Trump took office. Voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are already feeling the pinch and, despite the economy working out well for Silicon Valley tech founders and the Wall Street banks that fund them, most Americans saw no benefit from this stellar economic readout.

One of President Trumps key 2016 campaign promises boldly promised to bring back coal to states like West Virginia. But todays jobs report shows no evidence the Trump administration takes that pledge seriously: the mining sector lost jobs again in April, as it has nearly every month since President Trump took office.

President Trumps economy offers a look at two different Americas. For the Mar-a-Lago Brunch Buffet crowd that fills President Trumps world, profits are up and the markets are strong. The skies are darker for young workers facing a 13 per cent unemployment rate and a collapse in retail hiring. Or that Trump-supporting family in West Virginia whose water is poisoned by drilling chemicals.

Senator Kennedy was right: instead of celebrating a superficially positive jobs report, we must ask ourselves who the government has decided not to celebrate. An economy disproportionately benefiting wealthy, white business owners is not an economy working for the vast majority of the American people.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

In a circus campaign environment like 2020, its possible we wont even be talking about the April jobs report by the end of the day. But those families left behind by President Trumps lopsided economy will wake up tomorrow to the same poisoned water, the same crumbling bridges, and the same broken promise that President Trump is just about to lift them into the middle class.

On paper, 2019 is a great time to be an American.

Max Burns is a Democratic messaging strategist and Political Contributor for Millennial Politics. He is a past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia Technology Working Group
Scratch the surface of the current plans to decarbonise the economy and replace it with renewable energies and beneath it lays the same logic that has made the UK the 6th richest country in the world. Britain is planning to go green through a new phase of resource and wealth extraction of countries in the global south.

At the heart of our economic system fuelled by the City of London is a belief that the UK and other rich countries are entitled to a greater share of the worlds finite resources irrespective of who we impoverish in doing so, or the destruction we cause.

This green colonialism will be delivered by the very same entrenched economic interests, who have willingly sacrificed both people and the climate in the pursuit of profit. But this time, the mining giants and dirty energy companies will be waving the flag of climate emergency to justify the same deathly business model.

In this new energy revolution, it is cobalt, lithium, silver and copper that will replace oil, gas and coal as the new frontline of our corporate destruction. The metals and minerals needed to build our wind turbines, our solar panels and electric batteries will be ripped out of the earth so that the UK continues to enjoy lifeboat ethics: temporary sustainability to save us, but at the cost of the poor.

Extinction Rebellion supporters Show all 19 1 /19 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent

Reducing fossil fuel dependency by itself certainly doesnt solve the crisis of inequality and poverty faced by the majority of the worlds citizens, two billion of whom dont even have access to electricity or clean cooking.

The scale of new extraction needed will come to dwarf the current relentless drive for resources that capitalism is built upon. The OECDs Global Resources Outlook to 2060, modelled on an annual 2.8 per cent global growth in GDP, estimates that extracted resources would increase from 79 to 167 billion tonnes. This is a 111 per cent increase overall with a 150 per cent increase in metals and a 135 per cent increase in minerals.

Resource extraction is responsible for 50 per cent of global emissions, with minerals and metal mining responsible for 20 per cent of emissions even before the manufacturing stage.

And behind each tonne of extraction is a story of contamination and depletion of water, destruction of habitats, deforestation, poisoning of land, health impacts on workers and hundreds of environmental conflicts  including the murder of two environmental defenders each and every week.

In a final ironic twist the extraction of the very minerals needed for our new green technologies will result in a weakening of the resilience of eco-systems that crucial buffer us from and mitigate the impacts of irreversible climate change.

Much talk in the Labour Party and left sections of the Democrats in the US is of a just transition  transitioning from fossil fuel-intensive jobs to green jobs  and moving to 100 per cent renewable energy. Yet these movements fail to realise that these social democratic fixes would be disastrous for much of the worlds population. A green new deal in the mould of current thinking will lead to a new form of green colonialism that will continue to sacrifice the people of the global south to maintain our broken economic model.

The demand for renewable energy and storage technologies will far exceed the reserves for cobalt, lithium and nickel. In the case of cobalt, of which 58 per cent is currently mined in the DR of Congo, it has helped fuel a conflict that has blighted the lives of millions, led to the contamination of air, water and soil, and left the mining area as one of the top 10 most polluted places in the world.

Some studies estimate that the demand for cobalt by 2050 will be 423 per cent of existing reserves, with lithium at 280 per cent and nickel at 136 per cent of current reserves. Tellurium for solar panels could exceed current production rates by 2020. Rather than face up to the reality that capitalism requires relentless growth and is simply incompatible with tackling climate change, a new scramble for mineral extraction is already being planned with proposals for deep sea mining, that will wreck some of our most fragile ecosystems with more extraction planned across Brazil, China, India and the Philippines.

Last week Chilean community leader Marcela Mella warned that the plans of mining giant Anglo-American to extract 400,000 tonnes of copper per year for the next 40 years from Chiles Andean glaciers, could lead to the destruction of vital ecosystems which also supplies water to the 6 million people living in Chiles capital, Santiago. The mining executives told its AGM our products are essential to the transition to a low carbon economy. The new wave of green extraction promises to be as deadly and dirty as fossil fuel extraction.

Asad Rehman is executive director of global justice charity War on Want
Bank of Ireland reported an increase in customer lending in the three months to March 31, 2019 but its share of new mortgages slipped to 23pc.

The bank, headed by CEO Francesca McDonagh, said customer loans stood at 79.1bn at the end of March, an increase of 2.1bn since the end of December 2018.

The increase was primarily driven by corporate lending at home - including through acquisition - and retail loans in the UK. The overall rise was 600m on a constant currency basis.

Customer deposits were 79.7bn at the end of March - highlighting the extent to which the bank lending is financed from savers rather than the capital markets.

Meanwhile, operating expenses fell 3.5pc compared to the same period last year, according to a trading update from the bank.

Bank of Ireland's net interest margin for the period - a key barometer of a banks profitability - fell to 2.1pc from 2.2pc at the end of 2018. However, in a note analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said the bank's mortgage market share for the three month period was "weak" at 23pc.

"But activity levels on drawdowns and approvals increased as the quarter progressed, indicating that a recovery back to the target share range of 25-30pc should occur over the remainder of the year," analysts said.

Small business lending by the bank picked up despite a perception that nervous managers were waiting to see how Brexit played out before committing to new borrowing.

There was "activity, confidence and credit demand" among small businesses the bank said, with "positive momentum" continuing in the second quarter of 2019.

Since March 31, the bank has acquired KBC Bank Ireland's corporate loan portfolio of roughly 260m.

Bank of Ireland said last month that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming months, was consistent with its plans to grow its lending volumes.
Spanish coffee company Cafento has bought Irish coffee roaster and distributor Java Republic in a deal reckoned to be worth around 30m.

The Irish management team led by Grace O'Shaughnessy and Jeffrey Long will remain in place after the deal, while Cafento intends to oversee Java Republic's domestic and international expansion. Owner David McKernan put the Irish company up for sale last year having founded the business 20 years ago at the start of what has become an explosion in coffee drinking.

Mr McKernan has spoken publicly about the strain on the business during the crash, after borrowing in 2007 to fund a major 7m capital investment in its Ballycoolin, Co Dublin, coffee roastery But the firm is profitable. In 2017, profits came to 409,000, according to the most recently filed accounts. Last year the business invested 500,000 in reinvigorating its brand and has said 2018 was a record year. Java Republic has 80 staff and supplies more than 1,200 offices, hotel groups, cafes and catering services. Customers include Aer Lingus and its IAG sister British Airways. The 'Sunday Independent' first reported in December that Java Republic had been put up for sale. Musgrave Group had been tipped as a potential buyer. It is acquisitive and has its own Frank & Honest coffee brand and owns the La Rousse catering supply firm.
KINGSPAN has "moved on" from its failed attempts to buy some or all of Belgian rival Recticel.

Last week Recticel formally rejected Kingspan's 700m offer - made on April 16 for two of its units - and said the Irish company had also made an approach for the entire business.

A new approach is now unlikely, Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh told shareholders at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

"I wouldn't hold out much hope on [the offers] being revived, it would have been a nice bolt-on, but that's it," he said.

The cost to Kingspan of its acquisition attempts was "not significant", he said.

"At the end of the day [Recticel's] insulation business has about 270m revenue, so ultimately we were going to end up there."

Kingspan has around 500m a year to spend on acquisitions, and has a "very healthy project pipeline when it comes to acquisitions, more than we are capable of executing", Mr Murtagh said.

At the AGM 16pc of Kingspan shareholders voted against the re-appointment of founder Eugene Murtagh as chairman - up from 9.9pc opposition last year.

Eugene Murtagh (76) founded Kingspan in 1965 and was chief executive of the group until 2005, when his son Gene took up that role.

Shareholder advisors ISS and Glass Lewis had recommended shareholders back the re-election of Eugene Murtagh.

Just over 23pc of shareholders voted against the company's remuneration policy.

CEO Gene Murtagh said the board would "absolutely" take shareholder concerns into consideration.

"That's not to say that we'll particularly change," he added.

The group reported a "positive" start to 2019, with sales up 18pc to 1.06bn in the three months to March 31. Sales increased 6pc on an organic basis.

In Ireland Kingspan reported a "strong" start to the year.

UK sales activity was positive, but order intake in insulated panels was relatively subdued, with people "obviously a bit nervous" about Brexit, Mr Murtagh said.

"We don't get absorbed by this [Brexit], it's so unknown, so unquantifiable, it's business as usual until it isn't."

Shares in Recticel fell and were down around 3pc in afternoon trading yesterday.
Question: Over the last couple of years my work set-up has migrated more to my home, so much so that I have agreed that by the end of the year I will be working almost 100pc from my home. I only go to the office intermittently for meetings and presentations. My employer is going to buy some work-related items, such as a new laptop and a phone, and has offered to pay something small towards my overheads. What does this change mean from a tax perspective?

Answer: Becoming an e-worker should not result in any increase in the amount of tax you pay, according to commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics (computer, print, office furniture, etc) you need for work, without you having to pay benefit in kind so long as they are used primarily for work purposes.

And your employer can pay you up to 3.20 tax-free for every working day, to assist with your utility costs. You don't mention how much you employer intends to pay in this regard but even if it does pay the full 3.20 and/or if your working from home costs exceed this, then you will be entitled to a refund of some sort on this money, Ms Devereux said.

Any claims made will need to be supported with evidence in the form of receipts and a letter from your employer stating that you do work from home and that it does not reimburse you for these expenses. You will also need to let Revenue know the number of rooms in your home and whether or not it is a house-share.

The allowance, or rebate, claimed must be reasonable, allowing for the fact that the utilities are for both personal and work and benefit everyone else in the home. This means the refund received will be based on only a portion of the overall expenses.

Question: I want to downsize my work van from my current 2.2 litre Ford Transit. Will buying a smaller van help to bring down my insurance costs? I have been driving for 15 years and have a full no-claims bonus, but I feel I am still paying over the odds.

Answer: In terms of lowering your insurance costs, when it comes to changing your van there are several consideration which will significantly impact your premiums.

These include vehicle specifications, model, and engine size and most importantly the carrying capacity of the van itself, according to Jonathan Hehir, the managing director of InsureMyVan.ie. Each van will have its own specific insurance risk and cost placed against it. Before making a purchase, work out what size van fits your needs best. There is no point getting a large van, which could add to your insurance costs, if you only need a small van to carry out your work.

The basics that apply to reducing car insurance also apply to van insurance so your age, your licence type (ie, full/provisional) and the number of years on your no-claims bonus will be key considerations. Van insurers also place significant emphasis on what the van is being used for, so you must be clear about the purpose of your new van. It is important to ring around and get cost comparisons as the insurer that was best on price for the big van, may be the worst for the smaller van.

Question: My employer has paid my health insurance premiums since I began working with them in 2013 and along with my company car, I pay benefit in kind on these subsidies every year. I recently read that PAYE workers get tax relief on health insurance premiums. So it seems that I am at a disadvantage because my employer pays mine, even though I pay benefit in kind on the premiums?

Answer: You are not at a disadvantage tax-wise, according to the commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux. She said that like thousands of other workers in your position, you have not been made aware that you can claim tax relief on the premiums paid by your employer. If you were to fund your private health insurance yourself, your relief would be deducted at source and you would not need to alert Revenue, but because your employer pays that means you have to take some action.

Contact Revenue directly and notify them of the gross premium paid on your behalf by your employer, on which you have been charged benefit in kind (BIK). Revenue will run the calculations and refund you any mony due.

While you can't claim as far back as when you first started working with your employer, you can go back four years when claiming your tax entitlements.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics you need for working at home without you having to pay benefit-in-kind tax.

Many people are not aware that they can claim tax relief from Revenue on health insurance premiums that are paid for by their employer.
The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles, his representative said (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles on Monday, his representative has said.

Singleton, best known for making 1991 drama Boyz N The Hood, died on April 29 almost two weeks after suffering a stroke.

The 51-year-old will be laid to rest in his home city of Los Angeles in a ceremony for family and close friends, his spokeswoman said.

Expand Close John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The funeral will be a very small, intimate goodbye to the filmmaker, a representative said, and will not be open to the press or public.

However, his family is planning a larger memorial in a few weeks to celebrate his life.

Singleton, a father of seven, died after being taken off life support. He suffered a stroke almost two weeks earlier.

Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute, saying he opened doors for filmmakers of colour to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.

Condolences to the family of John Singleton. His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth. He opened doors for filmmakers of color to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 30, 2019

Boyz N The Hood was based on Singletons upbringing and shot in his old neighbourhood.

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It starred Cuba Gooding Jr as a rebellious teen whose single mother sends him to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles.

Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination, and the youngest to do so, and also received a screenplay nomination.

His other films included Poetic Justice, Rosewood and Shaft.
Imagine if your college English paper was corrected by JRR Tolkien, one of the world's most famous authors. Such was the rare event confronting university students in 1949 and 1950, when the man who would go on to write Lord of the Rings was the external examiner to the English Department at what is now NUI Galway. As the Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford, Tolkien's summer job in Galway led him to becoming captivated by the West of Ireland - a region that would go on to have a direct impact upon his iconic novel, then in progress.

He became particularly fascinated by the Burren - a place whose topography bears a striking resemblance to the 'Misty Mountains' of Middle Earth. Tolkien became particularly taken by Poll na gColm cave - a location that may well have influenced the creation of one of the author's most famous characters, Gollum.

JRR Tolkien first came to Ireland in 1926 on a walking tour with his friend, CS Lewis, who would later author The Chronicles of Narnia - a visit that began a lifelong love of Ireland for Tolkien, and which would eventually have a direct influence on his own literary output.

In 1949, during his tenure as Professor of English at Merton College, Tolkien readily grasped the summer work opportunity as external examiner at what was then known as University College Galway - an annual task that would bring him back to Ireland on a number of occasions over the following decade.

During his time at the university, he lodged with Dr Florence Martyn at Gregans Castle, the Martyn ancestral home at the foot of Corkscrew Hill at Ballyvaughan, in the heart of the Burren. Peter Curtin, founder of the Burren Tolkien Society, has devoted much of his life to investigating the possible links of the area with the characters and places in Lord of the Rings. "From studying Tolkien's works and correspondences, as well as having spoken with people who knew the man, we are certain that his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings, was inspired, at least in part, by his experience of the Burren," he says.

Curtin believes that Tolkien denied the Burren links when his masterwork was published in 1954 as he might have feared that admitting to such Irish influences might have been unpalatable to his largely English audience at the time. "In the few years leading up to his death in 1973, however, Tolkien spoke more openly about how his writings were influenced by the themes and ideas of Irish and Celtic mythology," Curtin said.

Although Tolkien referred to Gaelic as "an unattractive language", he admitted that he had studied it and found it to be of great historical and philological interest. "In one of his letters, he said he was 'suffering from acute Eire-starvation', having not visited his favourite counties of Clare, Galway and Cork for a number of years."

Back in the 1970s, Curtin made the acquaintance of Miss Crowe, who was Dr Martyn's housekeeper when Tolkien was a guest during his university visits. "Miss Crowe believed that the rugged, mysterious landscape of the Burren, which was in sharp contrast to the idyllic English countryside familiar to Tolkien, inspired him in creating the journey from the Shire, which features prominently in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."

Tolkien published The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Rings trilogy, in 1954 - by which time he had visited the Burren on many occasions. The Burren is also home to the largest cave system in Ireland, compromising 15 miles of underground passages. The entrance is called Poll Na gColm, phonetically enunciated as 'Gollum'.

In The Book of the Burren, co-author Anne Korff notes the cave as a natural habitat of the rock dove - a bird that makes a distinctly guttural sound, also very similar to Tolkien's throaty Gollum. "I believe that Tolkien, in writing the way he did, demonstrated the necessity for us to keep the umbilical connection with our natural instincts, and our environment alive and healthy," Curtin believes.

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Yet another indicator that Tolkien might have found his inspiration for the Lord of the Rings there is the topography of the region, which bears some striking resemblances.

Dr Charles Travis, a geography research associate at Trinity College, compared the actual topography of the Burren - particularly around Gortaclare Mountain - with the Misty Mountains from Middle Earth's Rohan region in the foreground.

"Dr Travis confirmed that the curve of the Misty Mountain range in Tolkien's 'imaginary' map seems to fit the actual topography of the Burren, and could arguably support the case of it being one source of inspiration for Tolkien."

Yet, while Tolkien clearly held a great curiosity for the landscape and people of the West of Ireland, his comment to an academic colleague, George Sayer, Professor of English at Malvern College, Worcester, that Ireland was "a place full of evil that could be felt everywhere from the trees to the peat bogs to the cliffs" remained a source of some controversy.

"Rather than referring to any perceived evil in the Irish people, I believe Tolkien meant the evil that permeated the Irish landscape and mythology," says Dr Francis McCormack, lecturer at NUIG in medieval languages and literature.

"It is likely he was talking about those mischievous and malevolent spirits who dominated the Irish imagination, like the banshee, the fairies or the leprechaun."

Dr McCormack, who is also an MA in Old and Middle English Language, believes Tolkien wrote about Ireland and its landscape in a very affectionate way: "It does seem a possibility that those evocative places he visited so many times did influence his writings."

'Tolkien', starring Nicholas Hoult as the author, is in cinemas now

Tolkien: the gentle soul who thought out loud

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Rose MacNamara, daughter of Professor Diarmuid Murphy, with whom JRR Tolkien sometimes stayed during his West of Ireland visits, recalls the author as a kindly, sometimes eccentric, individual with an obvious love of nature, who frequently took afternoon naps in the open air amongst the crags and rocks of the Burren.

Aged just 16 when she met the author for the first time in 1949, she often accompanied Tolkien (above) and her father, who was head of the English Department at University College Galway, on their long drives around Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

"He loved nature, and would never allow us to pick a wild plant. 'It's just not done,' he would always say," she recalls.

"He was a very gentle man, tall with long grey hair, and was often inclined to think out loud and say what was on his mind. Sometimes I didn't know if he was addressing me or thinking things out," she remembers of a person completely at ease in a place that inspired him.

In later life, as a nun based in India, Rose received a letter from Tolkien following the death of her father, informing that his son, Father John, had said a Latin Mass for the repose of his old friend's soul, and at which he was the server. He finished the letter with a request: "Spare me a prayer, I have need of it."
It is the day after the killing in Derry of journalist Lyra McKee, and David Holmes is angry. The proud Belfast man abhors the violence that marred the daily lives for so many during the Troubles and he is desperate for all the bloodshed to be left in the past.

"That was absolutely horrendous," he says of McKee's death. "A human being is a human being but to find out how talented she was and it sounds like she was at the beginning of an incredible career. It's just so f***ing senseless. And for what?

"You look at who's in charge up here and you look at who's in charge in England and you think to yourself, 'Oh my God - are we potentially heading into another nightmare?' The person who killed that girl was probably not even born before the Good Friday Agreement. They've not one f***ing reason to be in a movement like - inverted commas - the Continuity IRA, the Real IRA or whatever the f*** they're called."

Like so many of his generation, the revered DJ and film composer - now 50 - has his own very personal memories of the heartache caused by the Troubles. Growing up in a Catholic family in a largely Protestant part of Belfast, he recalls how two of his brothers were essentially driven out of the province during the height of the conflict.

"I remember a young guy, a friend of my brother's, getting shot on our street in 1972. My family weren't political and a local UVF commander came to my father to warn him to get rid of my brother - who was 17 - because he was going to be shot.

"So he came home from work and when he saw the bags packed he asked, 'Who's home?' He was told then that he'd be going to Chicago. My father had a brother there."

Another sibling wound up in the Windy City, too. "He kept getting stopped and searched and beaten up by the British army. One day, he just went, 'F*** this' and he left."

Despite such tribulations, Holmes says he had an exceptionally happy childhood and, as the youngest of 10, he was given a rich cultural upbringing. His oldest sister, Maggie, was 19 when he was born and went to London to be a fashion designer. "She would come home at Christmas with an extra suitcase and in that case were clothes, records, books, magazines - all the stuff that we weren't exposed to. She had all this culture - it was a like a treasure chest.

"And my brother was a huge Jam and Clash fan. When I was eight, I was listening to the Pistols and the Clash and the Damned. I didn't even know how to spell 'anarchy' [in reference to the Sex Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK'] let alone tell you what it meant but it had an energy and emotion that did something to me."

His mother played her part, too. "She had a very open-minded attitude," he says, "and really loved music. She was a huge Gladys Knight fan. She loved Sinatra. She loved Elvis, The Kinks, Simon and Garfunkel. And when she'd go to see my brothers in Chicago, she'd bring me back all these amazing soul and rhythm 'n' blues records and then during the Acid House period, she would come home with all this really cool stuff - and it was perfect because Chicago is where house music began."

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And it was thanks to this middle-aged Irish mammy walking into Chicago record stores and asking staff for recommendations for her music-mad son back home that Holmes began embarking on what would be a magnificently esoteric career.

First, he blazed a trail in the early 1990s as one of the most in-demand DJs the island of Ireland has ever produced - comfortably playing to sell-out crowds in venues like the Point Depot.

Then, at the end of the decade, he was being lauded for cinematic sounding albums like Let's Get Killed. It wasn't long before Hollywood - in the shape of indie auteur Steven Soderbergh - came calling. The result of their first collaboration was the romantic crime caper, Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.

Twenty years on and Holmes and Soderbergh have a partnership every bit as enduring as that of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock and John Williams and Steven Spielberg. "The man is a f***ing genius," he says of Soderbergh. "He's one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever met. He knows exactly what he wants and he can articulate what he wants amazingly well."

He has recently finished the score for Soderbergh's forthcoming film, The Laundromat, which is based on the Panama Papers scandal and stars Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman.

"He sent me the script and a note saying, 'I want you to embrace your inner unhip white man' and he sent me a playlist of the kind of world that the music should be in." He worked with Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and a jazz quartet, and after four productive days in a London studio, he sent the finished product to Soderbergh.

"He got back to me and said, 'This is perfect' and the next time I heard the music, he had cut it into the finished film and I am thinking, 'This fits like a f***ing glove'. That's his genius - not mine. Some directors will micromanage stuff and they'll almost give you too much information, but he knows exactly what he needs to say to you and what he needs to give you. It's a classic case of less is more and being very articulate with very few words."

It's been a highly productive 12 months for Holmes. He has also scored a new Irish film, Normal People, a two-hander with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. "It's made by friends of mine [directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn who did [the Belfast-set] Good Vibrations and I think it's a gorgeous film." He says the central performances are "outstanding" and he is relieved that Neeson has weathered recent controversies, arguing that his words - deemed by some as racist - were taken out of context. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the kicking Neeson received, Holmes isn't keen to get into the nuts and bolts of the argument.

He's on much steadier ground when the subject of Killing Eve comes up. Holmes, along with his Unloved bandmates Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent, have supplied the music that's helped make the BBC spy series such a global TV hit. They soundtracked the first season and the second season features yet more of the sophisticated retro-inspired music that has become Unloved's stock-in-trade.

"I think it works very well," he says of the collaboration with Killing Eve, adapted for television by the much-lauded and newly named James Bond scriptwriter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. "And it's the fruits of the good fortune of being in LA working on a Steven Soderbergh film and meeting [by chance] Keefus and finding we not only got on, but worked very well in the studio together." Jade Vincent is Ciancia's partner in life and art, and once she was recruited to the Unloved cause, the band took off.

"A lot of the stuff that I was playing like Brigitte Fontaine, The Shangri-Las, people like Broadcast and Cat's Eyes became the foundation for Unloved," he says. "It's got this melange of West Coast girl groups, but it's also got this European psychedelic feeing, too.

"Unloved," he adds, "was a name I had in my mind for a while based on the Samantha Morton film."

The trio's second album, Heartbreak, was released to considerable acclaim earlier this year. And while he will support Ciancia and Vincent with a DJ set in Dublin next week, he is not part of the Unloved live show. Touring, he jokes, is not something that appeals to him. "There's not one part of me," he insists, "that wants to go on tour. I'm 50 years of age!"

For now, though, Holmes is enjoying the business of being at home in Belfast and slowing down a little. "I'm taking two months off," he says. "I just hit a brick wall where I was taking on too much stuff and you reach a point where you need to give your creative juices a chance to flow again."

The time-out is unlikely to stretch any longer, though. Holmes enjoys being creatively restless and working with like-minded people like Steven Soderbergh.

He laughs heartily at how his career has turned out. "I'm the luckiest f***er in the world," he says. "I really am."

Unloved play Whelan's, Dublin on May 9, and David Holmes plays a support DJ set
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Russia condemns Washington's recent decision to apply the full weight of an act to step up blockade on Cuba and urges the international community to pool efforts to terminate the blockade, Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Washington's move to tighten the anti-Cuba blockade in the spirit of "Monroe Doctrine" is "overt encroachment" on the sovereignty of Cuba as well as other states including U.S. allies, which violates the norms of international law.

The White House recently announced it was activating Title III of the Helms-Burton act, paving the way for U.S. lawsuits over properties nationalized or expropriated by Cuba's government, and potentially scaring away investors with the prospect of lengthy litigation.

"We emphasize again that the methods of blackmail and pressure used by Washington are absolutely illegal. We call on all responsible forces to defend the UN Charter and international law in order to jointly put an end to the anti-Cuba blockade," the ministry said.

It added that the Cuban leadership has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resolve existing contradictions with the U.S. side on a bilateral basis, which Moscow believes is the only way.

The Helms-Burton act, named after the legislators that sponsored the bill, contains a precept called Title III that would mire Cuba in the courts by allowing Cubans who fled the island following the 1959 Revolution and settled in the United States to claim rights to properties nationalized or confiscated decades ago.

After the U.S. Congress passed the law during the Bill Clinton administration, the Title III rule has been waived by every president ever since, including Clinton.
Court: Geraldine and Patrick Kriegel, parents of schoolgirl Ana Kriegel, arrive for the case yesterday. Photo: Collins Courts

A dog walker thought one of the boy's accused of murdering Ana Kriegel looked "rough" when he saw him in the park.

The witness told the Central Criminal Court that he first spotted a young lad from a distance, who appeared to be "walking with a funny gait".

When the boy got closer he realised it was Boy A, who he knew.

He said Boy A "looked like he'd been hit or something".

The witness said he was concerned for Boy A, possibly that he'd been attacked. The witness asked Boy A whether he was ok and he said he was.

Boy A "looked in rough shape", he said, and there appeared to be something that could be blood on his T-shirt.

The witness said Boy A told him that he took a fall and hit his knee.

Boy A also seemed "embarrassed" and the witness felt that someone had bullied him, and he just wanted to go home.

Earlier, a girl who saw Ana Kriegel in the park with Boy B said they were "laughing and talking" and "they seemed to be having a good time".

The girl gave evidence to the Central Criminal Court that she was out walking her dog when she saw Ana with Boy B, both of whom she knew.

She said the two were "having a brisk walk", were "laughing and jumping" and seemed to be having a good time.

In cross-examination, the teenager described it as a "sort of skip run".

"Ana seemed happy," she said. "She was laughing along with Boy B.

"They did a sort of a skip run, like the kind you'd do with your friend."

The teenager said she was too far away from Ana and Boy B to talk to them and she didn't think that they noticed her.

Another juvenile witness said he was friends with Boy A and Boy B.

On the day Ana disappeared, he answered the door to Boy A. It was shortly before 6pm, the court heard.

"He was limping and holding his chest. He had his arm up to it," the youth said.

He also gave evidence that he noticed blood on Boy A's T-shirt.

"Boy A looked scared," he said.

He asked Boy A what happened and he said he had been attacked by two older teenagers in the park.

The witness was asked by prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC if he remembered talking to Boy A or Boy B after Ana's body was found.

He said Boy B was "sad" and he didn't remember anything else specifically.

In relation to Boy A, he said he couldn't really remembering talking to him about Ana.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys, Boy A, has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's naked body was found by gardai at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen leaving her home with Boy B at 5pm on the day she disappeared.

It is the prosecution's case that Boy B "lured" Ana to the derelict farmhouse and then watched as the other boy sexually assaulted and murdered her. The trial continues.
'The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.' Stock photo: Depositphotos

The President of the High Court will decide at a later date whether several parties are entitled to a copy of an interim report by inspectors investigating matters at Independent News & Media (INM).

The applications were each objected to by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), whose probe last year led to the appointment of the inspectors, barrister Sean Gillane SC and solicitor and corporate governance expert Richard Fleck.

Their interim report was provided to the court last month.

However, the only party who has an automatic entitlement to the report is the ODCE.

Applications were made yesterday by INM, former INM chief executives Robert Pitt and Vincent Crowley, former INM Ireland chief executive Joe Webb, former INM chairman Leslie Buckley, former INM non-executive director Allan Marshall, the Central Bank, Sunday Independent journalist Maeve Sheehan and public relations practitioner Rory Godson.

Applications were also made by DMZ IT Limited, Specialist Security Services Ltd, Reconnaissance Group Ltd, Resilient Defence Ltd, and four individuals linked to those firms.

The firms have been associated with an alleged interrogation of data taken from INM's premises.

Neil Steen SC, for the ODCE, said the report did not reach any findings or conclusions and its disclosure could adversely affect the progress of the investigation.

The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.

Mr Steen said that if the report was not released to any of the parties there would be no potential for reputational damage.

He said it had been a feature of the matter to date that information tended to percolate into the public sphere once it was outside the control of the ODCE.

The barrister said the investigation was in its early stages and akin to a police investigation. Nobody, he said, would be entitled to material from an ongoing police inquiry.

But Shane Murphy SC, for INM, said the company was in a unique position and its interests would be directly affected by any inspectors' report, whether interim or final.

He said past practice of the High Court was in favour of releasing the document.

Mr Justice Kelly said he would reserve his judgment on the various applications.

The inspectors are investigating a range of issues at the company, which owns flagship titles including the Irish Independent, 'Sunday Independent', the 'Herald', the 'Sunday World' and the 'Belfast Telegraph'.

These issues include the alleged data breach in 2014, when it is feared data tapes were taken off-site and searched for information relating to at least 19 people.

INM has said this exercise was carried out at the behest of its former chairman, Leslie Buckley, and that the rest of its then board did not know about it.

Mr Buckley has pledged to robustly defend himself.

According to the ODCE, the exercise was paid for by a company owned by INM shareholder Denis O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien has yet to comment on the matter.

The inspectors' terms of reference entitle them to investigate most of the issues raised by the ODCE, including the adequacy of the INM board's response to protected disclosures made by former chief executive Mr Pitt and former chief financial officer Ryan Preston.

Also being examined are concerns over the circumstances surrounding a proposed acquisition by INM of Newstalk, a radio station owned by Mr O'Brien.
A NEW mum who was given temporary release from prison to visit her baby went shoplifting within hours of getting out of jail, a court heard.

Sylvia Hickey (23) also hurled abuse at nurses in a maternity hospital on the same day.

She had intended to go to visit her child at home but ended up being arrested and refused bail.

Judge John Hughes said what she did flew in the face of justice and jailed her for six months.

Hickey, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to theft and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard that on the morning of April 10, Hickey was given temporary release from a prison sentence at Mountjoys Dochas Centre, subject to conditions with which she had to comply.

That afternoon, she went to Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and stole cosmetics worth 147.

On the same day she went to Holles Street hospital and began hurling abuse at nurses over a medical diagnosis she was unhappy with.

The court heard Hickey had 27 prior convictions for theft, prescription forgery and other offences.

The birth of her first child in November had been a wake-up call for Hickey, her lawyer said.

She had been doing well in prison and was granted temporary release, intending to travel to her mothers home to visit her child.

However, she had a drug addiction and suffered lapses.

Hickey was remorseful for what had happened and she had missed an opportunity to reconnect with her child.

She was very embarrassed and distressed to be in court, her lawyer said.

Judge Hughes said the accused had been unlawfully at large on the day as she broke the conditions of her release.

I am amazed that somebody who was granted temporary release, with so much to look forward to, would go and commit offences of this nature on the very same day of her release, Judge Hughes said.

He said he was satisfied Hickey was aware of the nature and terms of her release and what she did flies in the face of justice.

Hickey wept as the judge passed sentence.
Patrick Quirke left the body of Bobby Ryan (pictured) in a run-off tank after killing him

Patrick Quirke's wife Imelda outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial. Photo: Colin Keegan

Convicted killer Pat Quirke previously threatened murder victim Bobby Ryan and was charged with assaulting their love interest Mary Lowry.

Mr Ryan's former girlfriend Mary Glasheen has told how Quirke had threatened the part-time DJ. However, she was not able to mention this in court.

More details can be revealed today about the violent nature of the killer, who is beginning his life sentence in Mountjoy.

Ms Glasheen said Quirke "threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about".

Quirke (50) was convicted this week of the murder of Mr Ryan, a part-time DJ known as 'Mr Moonlight'.

The 15-week trial heard Quirke had an affair with Ms Lowry, the sister-in-law of his wife Imelda Quirke, after the death of Ms Lowry's husband.

But Quirke was also previously before the courts on a charge of assaulting Ms Lowry, who was the subject of intense jealousy when she started a relationship with Mr Ryan. The charges were later withdrawn by the DPP.

As Quirke begins life in jail, wife Imelda, who stood by him during the trial, is expected to visit him in Mountjoy today. He is likely to be moved, possibly to the Midlands Prison, in the near future.

Expand Close Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry

Ms Glasheen previously told the murder trial that she had a relationship with Mr Ryan but was delighted when he met Ms Lowry and could be happy, hopefully.

She had a three-month relationship with Mr Ryan starting in January 2008 after she separated from her husband, who subsequently passed away the following year. She described Mr Ryan as bubbly, kind, liked dancing, happy.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, Ms Glasheen said Mr Ryan told her about a threatening phone call he had received from Quirke in the months leading up to his death.

He threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about, she said. However, I wasnt given a chance to use it as evidence in court because it was deemed as hearsay.

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Statements made by someone other than the witness themselves normally are ruled as inadmissable.

She added that the past two nights since Quirkes conviction had been very tough.

I had a rough night yesterday and didnt sleep too well. Its been very tough but thank God its all over.

However, she also expressed her dismay at the prospect of Quirke appealing his conviction. Hopefully, it wont happen. Fingers crossed.

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Further details of Quirkes previous court appearances can also be revealed now that the murder trial is dealt with.

In 2014, Quirke, of Breanshamore, Tipperary, was charged with assault causing harm to Ms Lowry at her home in Fawnagown, Tipperary town between August 1 and 31, 2012. Quirke was also charged with burglary at the same address and handling stolen goods on December 3, 2012. The charges followed a Garda investigation into complaints of burglary at Ms Lowrys home. She became so fearful for her safety at Fawnagown that she had an elaborate CCTV system installed.

At the time, Sergeant Cathal Godfrey told Tipperary District Court that the case file was submitted to the DPP in late March 2014.

The DPP has directed that all three charges now be withdrawn, Sgt Godfrey said.

According to sources, Quirke is showing no signs of stress or anxiety in Mountjoy prison as he begins his life sentence.

It is expected that his wife will visit him over the weekend having stood with him throughout the trial. He is now in a cell on the C1 landing in the main prison with around 25 inmates who are described as quiet and obedient.

Its like theres not a bother on him. He looks like hes taking it in his stride, said one source. Staff are unsure whether Quirke, now known as prisoner 107243, is genuinely unfazed by his new surroundings or if he is good at hiding his real feelings.

He has been assessed by medical and psychological staff after being incarcerated on Wednesday afternoon.

He would have been placed in a quiet environment within the prison deliberately, until he gets used to the prison life and regime.
'Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages' (stock photo)

Ambulance services face disruption during two 24-hour strikes this month and next due to a long-running paramedics' dispute.

Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages.

They are planning a 24-hour strike at the end of this month and another one at the start of June, although the dates have not yet been set.

Previously, the 500 paramedics held shorter stoppages.

Army ambulance crews helped shore up services during six previous 12-hour strikes in the row over union recognition.

The members of Nasra, which is a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, want the HSE to recognise their union.

They claim the HSE is forcing them to be members of unions they do not want to join. The HSE has said it recognises Siptu as the main paramedic union.

Health Minister Simon Harris said it is regrettable that Nasra has decided to escalate the dispute.

"The HSE will continue to ensure patient safety through robust contingency planning," he said.

A HSE spokesperson said the national ambulance service recognises Siptu, Unite and Forsa for staff in the service.

"In particular, Siptu is the recognised trade union for front-line staff," they said.

"Recognition of other associations or unions would undermine the positive engagement that exists and would impair good industrial relations in the national ambulance service."

Meanwhile, psychiatric nurses who are also members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association are due to meet HSE officials next Tuesday in a bid to end a separate row over pay.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to an Irishman who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller, who was originally from an unspecified location in Northern Ireland, was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

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Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Hammersons designs for OConnell St area include a proposed roof over a shopping shopping area by Moore Street

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson

BUSINESS leaders believe plans for a new shopping and cultural quarter for Dublin's OConnell and Moore Street have the potential to mark the start of a bright new era.

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson.

Designed by German architect Friedrich Ludewig, it portrays a vision to restore historic streets, including the creation of a 1916 trail to commemorate the Easter Rising.

And a new 2,000sqm residential area has been proposed, with 23,500sqm of shopping space, 31,500sqm of office space and a 4,700sqm hotel.

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Dublin Chambers head of communications Graeme McQueen said: The north of OConnell Street has been lying idle for far too long.

He said OConnell Street should be the jewel in the crown of Dublin.

The plan from Hammerson to redevelop the entire area is very welcome and has the potential to be the start of a bright new era for both OConnell Street and the wider north city centre area.

This project, in combination with the redevelopment of the Clerys building and other developments, will breathe new life into an area of Dublin that has underwhelmed for too long.

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These moves are hugely exciting for Dublin and for Dubliners, he said.

Architect Ludewig, of the firm Acme, has designed a new pedestrian area running from OConnell to Moore Street, to include a large square at the centre and a smaller square at the junction of Moore Lane and Henry Place.

Mr Ludewig has previously worked on award-winning city schemes, including Victoria Gate in Leeds, Westquay South in Southampton, Highcross in Leicester and Melbournes shopping district Eastland.

It is also understood that the Carlton Cinema, closed in 1994, will have its facade restored.

But the iconic movie theatre will not be returned to its former use the proposals instead see it as a venue for retail outlets.

We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis regarding the future development of the Moore Street area, ahead of wider public consultation, a spokesperson for Hammerson said.

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Hammerson seeks to protect and enhance the Moore Street areas unique heritage, including its market and connections with 1916, while at the same time delivering clear economic benefits and employment opportunities locally, they said.

We have appointed Acme to look at options for the entire site, which stretches from Upper OConnell Street to Parnell Street to Moore Street and Henry Street.

The proposals will reinvigorate this part of Dublins north inner city.

The company also revealed how it had used local knowledge in making its plans.

Acme has been working with the DIT School of Architecture, commissioned by the Moore St Advisory Group,to develop a historically sensitive vision for the area acceptable to stakeholders.
THIS is the face of convicted killer Patrick Quirke photographed just minutes after he was arrested for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan.

The photo shows Quirke in early 2017 as he was processed by gardai who were preparing to question him about the murder of his love rival.

He could receive his first visitor today after being incarcerated in Mountjoy on Wednesday for the murder of Bobby Ryan.

Now known as prisoner number 107243, Quirke (50) has spent his first couple of nights getting used to his new surroundings.

Early indications are that he is keeping his head down and is probably in shock after the jury verdict.

Arriving in the committal unit of Mountjoy late on Wednesday afternoon, he would have had his first look at the prison menu.

He would then have received a standard prison tea, which would have included fruit and bread.

Because he is new to the system, and is older than most other inmates, he will initially be under constant watch.

He was seen by the prison doctor, governor and most likely a psychologist, as is standard

practice.

This is to ensure that his physical, mental and emotional health is assessed and recorded.

Quirke will be allowed to wear his own clothes, but will likely be kept on suicide watch,

when he will be checked every 15 minutes.

This is considered normal procedure and does not mean that Quirke is at any more of a threat of taking his own life

than any other inmate under the circumstances.

Quirke will spend a number of days, and possibly weeks, in the committal unit before he is

designated a cell in the regular prison system.

He may also be moved to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois, or Limerick Prison.

However, there is more space in the Midlands, so it is likely he will serve his sentence there.

Quirke will now also be getting used to the visiting regime, and his first visitor is due today or tomorrow.
'IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.' Stock photo: PA

Prison officers have expressed concern about handling Islamic State (Isil) radicals if they are ever convicted and imprisoned here.

The issue arose as Prison Officers' Association president Tony Power addressed delegates at its annual conference in Sligo this week.

He raised concerns that officers had not been trained in how to handle or treat prisoners involved with Isil.

"We have read recently of the possibility of some Irish citizens returning from involvement with IS and perhaps spending time in our prisons," said Mr Power.

"And if this happens, prison officers could be involved in a deradicalisation process.

"And are we trained to do this? No."

However, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has played down concerns of prison officers that they could be involved in the deradicalisation of Isil fighters.

IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.

She also said the IPS is monitoring the situation in Ireland and is prepared for any changes that may occur.

Mr Power was speaking following speculation that Irish woman Lisa Smith, who went to live in an Isil camp in Syria, wants to come home to Ireland with her two-year-old daughter.

The former member of the Defence Forces has denied fighting for Isil, but her request for assistance to come back to Ireland has sparked debate.
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The UN envoy for Afghanistan met last month with Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, said a spokesman.

"I can confirm to you that Tadamichi Yamamoto, the (UN) secretary-general's special representative, had met in late April with Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

The meeting was part of a regular dialogue between the United Nations and the Taliban on human rights, humanitarian assistance, and the peace process, he explained. "The UN mission conducts frequent meetings with all parties to the conflict as part of its good offices work to support the Afghan people and government to bring an end to the war."

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which is led by Yamamoto, has been engaged in regular meetings with the Taliban in Doha in the past several years, said Dujarric.

The UN mission advises all parties to the conflict of its regular contacts with the Taliban in key areas, he said.
Nineteenth-century Dublin was the whiskey powerhouse of the world. The city's half dozen distilleries produced 10 million gallons every year; one gallon in seven of all those produced in the British Isles. The top distilleries - both in quantity and quality - were the "Dublin Big Four": George Roe (established 1757), William Jameson (1779), John Jameson (1780), and John Power (1791). Pot still whiskey from these four distilleries was considered the finest in the world and the benchmark for all other whiskeys.

"Just as the names of Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini give Italian motor cars a cachet far beyond that of the bulk-selling Fiat saloons, so the great Dublin distillers of the mid-19th century bestowed on the whole Irish whiskey industry a reputation," writes Brian Townsend, author of The Lost Distilleries of Ireland, (1997-1999). "Scotch, at that time, tended to be the poor relation."

Of Dublin's Big Four, George Roe Whiskey was the oldest and eventually became the largest. It began in 1757, when Peter Roe bought a small distillery on Thomas Street. Between 1757 and 1832, the business passed through the hands of many family members, during which time Nicholas Roe founded another distillery on Pimlico Street. Then, in 1832, George Roe took over both distilleries and brought them together to form a larger complex.

By 1887, George Roe & Co Distillers of Thomas Street was the largest distillery in Europe. It covered 17 acres with eight pot stills, producing more than two million gallons of whiskey a year, and employed 200 workers of every skill and trade, including 18 coopers to make and repair barrels. George Roe whiskey was highly regarded, but not quite in the same league as that of the John Jameson or Power distilleries. Now, it's one of the rarest Irish whiskeys in the world.

"Unfortunately, these bottles were just drunk and not saved," says Bryan Mee, auctioneer. A bottle of whiskey made in the 1890s by George Roe whiskey of Thomas Street in Dublin (est 6,000 to 12,000) is coming up for auction at Victor Mee's Irish Connection sale of May 8 and 9. "It's been well cared for and kept out of sunlight so the bottle itself is in excellent condition. There's only a little bit of evaporation. The artwork on the bottle is fabulous - it shows the Thomas Street Distillery and it's a lovely thing to look at."

Mee has only been able to confirm the existence of two other bottles of its kind, one in Belfast and the other in the US. Both are owned by private collectors. This one comes from the Northern Irish collector, Des McCabe, and has been in private ownership for a very long time.

By the end of the 19th century, the Golden Age of Irish Whiskey was drawing to a close.

"The Scots - harnessing their legendary sense of thrift and efficiency - had found a way to make a palatable whiskey more cheaply and eventually elbowed the Irish whiskey distillers out of the market," Townsend writes. In 1889, George Roe & Co Distillers joined William Jameson & Co and the Dublin Whiskey Distillery (DWD) to form a trading unit called the Dublin Distilling Company Ltd. Each distillery continued to market its own whiskey under its own name. They continued to produce whiskey until 1926, leaving large quantities of unsold stock. In the mid-1940s, Geo Roe & Co Distillers dissolved and the site was taken over by Guinness. Now, the most visible reminder of the former Thomas Street distillery is Saint Patrick's Tower, a brick-built windmill that was constructed in 1757 and believed to be one of the oldest surviving smock windmills in Europe.

The sale will also include a 1940s JJ & S Liqueur Dublin Irish Whiskey, a blend of 100pc John Jameson whiskey, distilled and bottled by John Jameson & Son Ltd (est 800 to 1,200). It comes in a hexagonal bottle with a label that states "Not a Drop is Sold till it's Twelve Years Old". This particular bottle was imported into the United States by WA Taylor & Co, New York and was probably brought back to Ireland as a gift by a distant cousin of the vendor. Like the George Roe whiskey, this bottle also shows some evaporation due to age. Over the past two years, Bryan Mee has noticed a surge of interest in Irish whiskey at auction, with enquiries about the George Roe bottle coming in from as far away as China. "Collecting whiskey is a very male hobby," he says, "but there's also a lot of interest among publican and distilleries wanting to assume a collection for display in their visitor centre." Diageo is due to launch a new blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co in June 2019. The whiskey is named in honour of George Roe and made at the new St James's Gate distillery, just a stone's throw from where George Roe & Co Distillers once stood.

The Irish Connections Collectors Sale will take place at Victor Mee Auctions, Cloverhill, Belturbet, Co Cavan. Viewing from tomorrow to Tuesday.

See victormeeauctions.ie.
How do you feel about being on your own - does the thought of a night in alone fill you with dread or joy?

What about being stranded on a desert island - would you be lonely or would you relish the time to yourself? Are you the kind of person who goes to the cinema on their own, enjoys eating dinner alone or even holidays solo?

For many people, time spent alone is essential to their mental well-being, while others regard it as a strange quirk of personality. Some people, typical extroverts, even have a word for people who don't seek out the company of others - loners.

But just how much alone time is healthy and how much is a sign that it might be time to seek help? The answer depends on the person, because one person's ideal quiet night in on their own is another person's depressing night of solitude.

"I recently booked a night away in a hotel on my own, and to be honest it was fantastic," says Thomas Crosse, also known as Crossy. With a demanding job as a DJ and presenter with the Dublin radio station FM104, where he produces the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Crossy says he is more than happy to spend time on his own. In fact, he craves it.

"My ideal night is to be home alone with some takeaway Thai food, some wine and some great TV. I talk all week and deal with people all week, so I need time to just turn off and not feel under pressure to perform for anyone," he says.

So what did he do on his night in a hotel? "I went to the gym and the pool, had a few beers in the bar and spent the evening watching TV. It was great not having to worry about what someone else wanted to do. I could do what I want and I highly recommend it."

He's planning a trip to Rome soon and has deliberately arranged to travel on his own.

"I've always wanted to go and I've said it to loads of people, but they're either going out with someone who doesn't want to go, or they don't have enough holidays left from work to take the time, so I'm going by myself," says Crosse.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and enjoy their company, but I have absolutely no problem booking a restaurant table for one and going out for dinner with myself. It can be difficult to coordinate schedules with friends when everyone is so busy, so if I want to try out a new restaurant, I'll happily go on my own with a newspaper or even just my phone to read."

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Emma Jane Leeson lives outside Prosperous in Co Kildare and works in the human resources department of the multinational Kerry Group. She writes children's fiction in her spare time and her series for kids, The Adventures of Johnny Magory, has been well received. Carving out time to be alone is a crucial part of her mental health routine.

"My job means I see people all day every day and it's extremely tiring. I run the social media accounts of the company I work for so, to be honest, I feel I've had enough of dealing with people quite quickly. I have to get out, be on my own with no humans around. I make an exception for the dog and my favourite thing to do is to walk on my own around Ballynafagh Lake near where I live," she says.

"If I don't do it, I become short-tempered and my mood is massively affected. I am drained by other people and need the release.

"Ironically, I know I'm an extrovert and do like being around people but I have this introverted tendency and once I've had enough, I've had enough."

Leeson says she's always been like this, but in her mid-20s the need for alone time started becoming more pronounced. "For me, it's correlated with being in a corporate and people-focused environment. I recently handed in my notice as I want to give full-time writing a shot and of course, it'll be heaven to be in my own company while I write. We'll see if it lasts though. Perhaps I'll get lonely," she says.

There's a fine line between voluntary solitude and the kind of loneliness that can impact on a person's mental health. Plenty of people experience loneliness and find it far from enjoyable. According to consultant psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy, while some people are naturally introverted and comfortable being alone, there are others who crave interactions with others and can become depressed if they don't have it.

"There are also other individuals who would like to be part of a group but who experience social anxiety and find being around people stressful and difficult. It's important to distinguish between the two. One group chooses solitude for healthy reasons and the other group make choices to be alone because it's the only way they know to cope with their distress," he says.

Loneliness is a big issue for the Irish public. Dr Murphy was part of the National Loneliness Taskforce which published a report that concluded that involuntary loneliness can take three years off a person's life.

"It has the equivalent effect on a person's health of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and affects around one in 10 people in Ireland. On the flipside, there are plenty of people who seek out being on their own and have no negative consequences as a result," he says.

According to Dr Murphy, it's a scientific fact that some people are extroverted and some are introverted - being one or the other has no great bearing on a person's overall level of happiness.

"Some people are happy doing their own thing and being on their own, while another person in the same situation might find themselves experiencing high degrees of loneliness. People have different ways of engaging with the world around them," he says.

Knowing what kind of person you are can be a valuable tool in making good life decisions that work well for you. For example, Dr Murphy suggests that a person's nature can make them more or less likely to be happy in certain jobs.

"One person might find the stress of dealing with the public too much, while an office job might be ideal. Conversely, there are people who might be bored silly at a desk and very happy interacting with people all day long. There's nothing wrong with either of those - it's a case by case thing," he says. "Social connection is important for everyone but it's the degree that differs."

There are some extreme cases of people shutting themselves away from daily life. In Japan, such people are known as hikikomori and an estimated half a million of them live as virtual hermits, rarely, if ever, leaving their homes. These people withdraw from life and the pressures they feel to be successful, hold down jobs and be functional members of a society that can expect a lot from its members.

A controversial theory about the cause of this condition is that it's brought on by the isolating influence of modern technology. Initially psychologists thought that Japanese society was uniquely susceptible to this condition, but a 2015 study by Japanese psychiatrists found cases of the condition in the US, South Korea and India, too.

Few people would argue this is a healthy reaction to stress and pressure, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of pressure on people to present a public face through social media that is often at odds with how they feel about themselves.

Roisin Connaughton is a 29-year-old student in her final year of a medical degree, and to say she leads a busy life would be an understatement. Her time is spent in hospitals dealing with patients, doctors, tutors and the public, in libraries studying, or at work trying to support herself.

"I really like spending time on my own, and I don't mean on my own in a coffee shop or in a shopping centre, I mean at home alone with nobody else around. I find that time almost impossible to get, but it's the one type of time that makes things slow down," she says.

"I need to get away from the expectations of others and the pressure to interact with others. I'm easily distracted and get drawn into thinking about what's going on around me. I'm very much an extrovert - I do like other people and I'm quite outgoing - but I really need time on my own to empty my brain and be myself."

Sleep is a particular challenge for Connaughton because her brain runs so fast that it can take quite a while for her to wind down enough to fall asleep: "My mind races and I need to calm it down with quiet and solitude to be able to really relax. I sleep much better when I've had time by myself to do nothing. I don't even read a book or watch TV - I just do nothing. And that can be hard to explain to people."

Connaughton says that her situation has arisen throughout her 20s and she doesn't put it down to the pressures of her studies.

"The funny thing is that as children, everyone has loads of time to themselves. You spend time being bored and finding things to do with your time, but as an adult your time is so heavily scheduled that you often don't have any free time at all unless you carve it out. Some adults are literally never alone and find it difficult to be on their own. I'm the opposite," she says.

The pressure of dealing with people is something that Colin Harmon well understands.

Harmon is well known on Dublin's coffee scene as the owner of the 3fe coffee shops and Gertrude restaurant, and despite having worked directly with the public for years, he describes himself as an introvert.

"I no longer work directly on the coffee bar but I did it for years, and while you have hundreds of interactions with people every day, they're not typical interactions. It's not like meeting your friends or meeting people on an equal footing - you're in the hospitality industry, so you have to be positive with everyone. That's not normal," he says.

"It's incredibly draining and you have to present a slightly fake gloss to the public. Even when you're talking to your colleagues behind the coffee bar, you're still slightly on display to customers, so you guard what you say and make sure you're being professional."

Harmon's favourite time of day is his hour-long commute home in the evening.

Driving his car, he can be alone and either sits in silence or listens to podcasts - either way, it's time he feels is absolutely crucial to staying centred.

"When I get home, I have kids and a wife who deserve my attention and who have their own worries and concerns that they want to communicate, and I need to be there for them too. And I love being there for them, but I also need time to be on my own and recuperate," he says.

"I go running as much as I can, despite being not very good at it. For me, it's about the silence and time alone... as much as it is about exercise. It's about headspace."

Harmon says he has old friends who find his 'coffee personality' entertaining as they know that he's not naturally an extroverted person. He says when he shops for clothes, he prefers to avoid busy periods and hates it when shop assistants ask if they can help.

"I can go up on a stage in front of thousands of people to speak publicly no problem, but in restaurants I get my wife to order the food to avoid the social interaction. I guess we're all a mix of these contradictions."

Picture: Frank McGrath

Picture: Steve Humphreys
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Billy Keane Opinion Incident of the woman who stayed in bed for 40 years brings pirates and Fine Thick Men to mind

This is some of the story of the woman from Taunton, in England, who stayed in bed for 40 years. The reason she stayed in bed for 40 years was because her doctor told her not to get up until he called back. She had the flu and the doctor never came back, so she stayed put. The woman was 34 at the time.
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Mary Kenny Opinion Aviation opened up the world to us, now it needs our support to get airborne again

My mother came of age in the early years of the Free State, and over the course of her lifetime two aspects of being Irish made her hugely proud. One was the little green passport with Eire embossed on the front cover. The other was the sight of an Aer Lingus aircraft flying the flag to international destinations.
Today the Irish Defence Forces family will once again parade, this time in Cork, to protest and highlight the continuing decline of conditions within our armed forces.

In support of my former comrades, I will attempt to explain to those not directly involved with defence issues why this matters.

Recently I encountered a foreign official with many years of experience in the Middle East and elsewhere. He spoke incisively about the role of the Irish Defence Forces on a variety of UN missions, especially the more recent one on the Golan Heights.

This individual was heavy in his praise about how their professionalism, capability and experience were well recognised in the upper echelons of international political circles as a game-changer in many conflict management spheres.

To show he wasn't just spoofing me with nice sentiments, this individual made references to certain specific skill sets and tradecraft of the Irish professional soldier, demonstrating real awareness of the work done by our troops on various missions.

It is ironic it took a foreigner to demonstrate this. Our own politicians, and indeed population, have rarely ever expressed such an awareness.

Most of us have encountered nurses and gardai in our daily lives, but many of you reading this will ask the perennial question: what does the Army do?

Many times you may have heard references to the work of the Naval Service or Air Corps or, indeed, the specialist work of the bomb disposal personnel or the Army Ranger Wing.

However, the very essence of any military force is embodied by a body of troops called the infantry. They are the combat arm of the army, the ones who must get close with the enemy and destroy them if required, or hold ground against heavy odds as the troops who fought at Jadotville did. This is also the body of troops most likely to be called out in support of civil powers during emergencies at home.

From rescuing Filipino peacekeepers under fire on the Golan Heights to clearing snow off roads in Ireland, that is the infantry. All arms, all adaptable, all weather.

What makes the infantry stand out compared with more hi-tech specialists is that it specialises in teamwork in adversity. Troops are taught at an early stage in their career to embrace hardship and develop physical robustness and mental resilience. These are not the skills acquired in institutes of technology or universities, they are learned in the winds of the Wicklow mountains, the rivers of the Glen of Imaal and the sands of South Lebanon.

Coupled with these old-school disciplines are the skills of physical command and leadership in the field from corporal to colonel. This type of stuff takes years upon years to develop to a high functioning level in any individual.

But to develop this year in, year out in a unit of 500 or 600 soldiers of all ranks to the point of it continuing to work in situations of life-threatening stress can take generations. The infantry is the team of teams of our Defence Forces. Imagine stripping away the club sides of the GAA or regional and town teams of the IRFU and then wondering why the county and national teams fail to perform.

This is why the retired veterans of the Defence Forces and their families and friends are marching today. To warn the country, the people, the politicians, that when you hollow out a force like the infantry, it cannot be rebuilt over a few years with regular recruiting.

The culture of leadership in adversity and the embracing of hardship are not easy skills to inculcate into an organisation. Once lost, they are hard to regain.

If others from beyond our shores, as I mentioned at the start, can see the value in our forces, then maybe it is time our politicians and people should place the same value on them.

Declan Power is a former career soldier and author of 'Siege at Jadotville'
Somehow, somewhere along the way, a click went off in his brain. We will never know when his first murderous thought took hold. In the cascading turmoil of his recent life the memory of that singular moment may be lost forever.

Murder since time immemorial has had many guises. It ranges from random instinctive killing to detailed pre-planning for the ending of human life. But always, always, demons within will have been in ferment. The likely cocktail of emotion, swarming in Pat Quirke's head propelling him to kill, has been well recounted. But it is all too easy to presume it was sexual jealousy that nudged him towards the cliff edge.

He may have had his moments brooding as a jilted lover battling rejection. But greed, a lust for cash, and a desire to become a really rich man are what lured Quirke into a space where human empathy deserted him.

His own holding of 67 acres had become far too modest for his money-making schemes. Over the years he had 'diversified' into various non-farming activities. He had shown himself to be especially well informed when pursuing sundry investments.

But a story as old as time itself is the mixed emotions of a man with limited acreage living near somebody with much more land at their disposal. In such a scenario, human nature - with its proclivity for endless comparison - can sow the seeds of seething jealousies and life-long resentments. Mary Lowry, with a much bigger farm and able to access substantial amounts of cash, made Quirke almost starry-eyed with money-making opportunities on his doorstep. This was the lever which would free him to indulge his more grandiose plans.

Financially speaking, he felt he was on a rollercoaster through his relationship with Ms Lowry. Under his instigation, her money became tied up in various financial schemes.

Even complicated 'contracts for difference', outside the ken of many Irish farmers, were part of his 'financial portfolio'.

The land she owned had become the golden ticket which could make Quirke the kind of wealth he craved. Even better times were on the horizon for a man whose mother claimed he had used sharp practice to seize control of the family home.

But when 'Mr Moonlight' came on the scene, Quirke's dream of a monied future collapsed overnight. His personal relationship with his near neighbour was the key to everything.

We don't fully know why Mary Lowry called time on what she termed their 'seedy' affair. But it is clear she had emotionally moved on. Despite some frantic efforts on his part, Quirke was out of her life. The nightmare, from his viewpoint, was that she planned to take back full control of her farm. It would be a major coming down in the world for her former lover.

What gave this case a special piquancy is that a saga of sex, land, and money was played out against the hinterland of rural Irish life. The key players were middle-aged farming folk.

Deeper psychologies of what prompted Quirke to murder are rooted in his own background and formative years. What made him so lustful for land and cash? He just could not let things lie. Living in the local agricultural bubble, he was reminded all the while of the Lowry acreage and the money he could be earning from it.

And so when he carried out the fateful deed, a deluded sense of injustice had overpowered him. He felt he had been wronged. It seemed something he regarded as rightfully his had been plucked from his grasp. His anger was all-consuming. Disposing of his victim's body so near the Lowry home was macabre; but there is no evidence he was tortured by any kind of haunting presence.

Many mysteries remain when murderers do not confess their guilt.

The pudgy, middle-aged Tipperary farmer strode in and out of court each day with his trademark cap and laptop. His face - despite a hint of menace - remained inscrutable all the while.

We will never know. Maybe he himself does not know. But the evidence suggests Pat Quirke murdered part-time DJ Bobby Ryan not over matters pertaining to sex.

He was motivated by something he considered much more important than affairs of the heart. Money.
Former Rose of Tralee and army crack-shot Maria Walsh has insisted she will not resort to force of arms in her election turf wars with party rival Mairead McGuinness.

In fact, both Fine Gael candidates agreed yesterday that their aim was to each win one of the four Euro seats in the 13-county Midlands North-West constituency, as they made light of the reported spat about campaign ground rules.

Ms Walsh, a political newcomer, downplayed reports that she was at loggerheads with Ms McGuinness, a European Parliament vice-president seeking election for the fourth time.

The Mayo woman, crowned Rose of Tralee in 2014, and also an active member of the Defence Forces Reserve (DFR), took issue with alleged encroachments into her designated territory. "As a 31-year-old woman, I have a crown and sash from the Rose of Tralee in one hand, and in the other hand my marksmanship is 37 out of 40 shots with a Steyr rifle. I'm not here to be pushed over," she had told the 'Sunday Independent'.

But at the Fine Gael campaign launch yesterday, in Moate, Co Westmeath, Ms Walsh said she had been merely answering media questions and was not responsible for headlines. She was proud of both her DFR membership and her Rose crown - but would shun negative campaigning and heartily endorsed Ms McGuinness's assertion that they can win two seats for the party.

A diktat issued by Fine Gael headquarters just three weeks ago stated that Ms McGuinness and her team were to canvass Louth, Meath, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan, while Ms Walsh was to focus on Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.

But Ms Walsh was concerned that Ms McGuinness was active in her territory before the divide was fixed - and more recent local ads in Galway and Mayo for Ms McGuinness neglected to mention her running mate.

Ms McGuinness got a round of applause and provoked much hilarity from party supporters at the campaign launch as she refused to take her rival's reported comments too seriously. "I did frisk her before she crossed the border into Westmeathwe will return the arms when they go back across the Shannon," she said to much laughter from colleagues.

The three-time MEP said she had fought many campaigns but avoided negativity in all of them.

She cited the 2004 Euro campaign battles with Avril Doyle of Wexford, where keen rivalry resulted in a surprise win of two out of three seats, boosting the battered fortunes of Fine Gael at the time.

In the 2004 campaign, Ms McGuinness was banned from canvassing in Ms Doyle's Wexford home base. On the other hand, Ms McGuinness was given sole campaign rights in her home base in Co Meath.

But there were several high-profile reports of boundary incursions on both sides.

One involved Ms Doyle's mobile electronic hoarding appearing at Fairyhouse race course, only to have the display covered with posters for Ms McGuinness.

On May 31, 2004, just as polling day approached, McGuinness posters appeared in Ms Doyle's Wexford base.

Fine Gael backroom operators had to intervene on many occasions to restore campaign order and discipline. Curiously, much of the details of these spats did make it into the public domain.

The friction led to publicity, which in turn led to votes.

Fifteen years on, Fine Gael strategists hope history can repeat itself.
Over 40 years ago, the modern Irish Independent changed hands for the first time since its foundation in 1905. When the young entrepreneur Tony O'Reilly acquired control in 1973 from the Murphy family, it was largely on the basis of his hunch that - as we entered the EEC - the domestic newspaper business was, of all Irish industries, probably one of the best protected from foreign ownership and competition. The wheel has now come full circle with the takeover offer from Belgian-Dutch media group Mediahuis, but in circumstances neither he nor anyone else could have predicted even as recently as five years ago.

One of the defining characteristics of the new owners is that they regard media, and newspapers in particular, as more than just businesses. Newspapers are, warts and all, institutions that have a huge public service remit and a public responsibility. One of the greatest and most permanent of those responsibilities is holding the feet of the powerful to the fire and, as a great US journalist once put it, comforting the afflicted as well as afflicting the comfortable.

The foundational Murphy era in Abbey Street was remarkable for its consolidation of the middle market at a time when social and even technological change was proceeding at a snail's pace. It was hardly coincidental that its 50th anniversary was marked by the publication of a congratulatory message from Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin, or that - on another famous occasion - newspaper vans were despatched at high speed in the middle of the night to successfully retrieve all early copies of the Independent from a town whose deceased and highly regarded parish priest, the type-setter had mistakenly recorded, was survived by two sisters and three brothels.

Newspapering has also, traditionally, been a fellowship as well as a competitive market-place. When the 'Irish Times' was replacing its presses, and enhancing its competitiveness, it was actually printed - at commercial rates, naturally - by its rival in Abbey Street.

When O'Reilly took over in 1973, it was not only at the dawn of an era of seismic social and economic change, but it was also an end to the days when the office managers in the Independent would economise by carefully cutting pencils in half before supplying reporters with these tools of their trade.

The eventual demise of the peculiarly managed 'Irish Press' group consolidated the Independent's position in the market-place, even though this was compromised from time to time by experiments with MMDS (multi-media distribution systems, a failed precursor of the internet), problematic experiments with radio stations in the US, and the high-profile but ultimately sacrificial adventure involving the London 'Independent'. Management, under the late Liam Healy in particular, seemed to have a Midas touch.

This was buttressed by conservative, commercially sensitive editorial policies and by an investment policy based on borrowing to buy assets rather than on weakening board control by broadening and increasing shareholder investment.

The O'Reilly era was marked by extraordinary and profitable expansion into Australia and New Zealand and South Africa, its role in South Africa in particular coinciding significantly with the end of apartheid and the support for Mandela.

Subsequent events, however, demonstrated that even major and apparently invulnerable institutions can sometimes develop weaknesses that few could have predicted. In the case of the Irish newspaper industry, two factors were involved.

One of them is the advent of the internet, and the inability or unwillingness of governments everywhere to realise that the lack of regulation and accountability of this new economic model posed a threat, not just to so-called 'legacy' media, but to public life and standards generally. There are, thankfully, some signs that the EU and national governments are now taking this threat seriously.

When external threats like these suddenly appeared contemporaneously with internal difficulties such as the boardroom battles which hobbled Independent News & Media in recent years, it is close to becoming a perfect storm in which only the fittest will survive. In this context, a major problem facing the Independent group has been its inability successfully to manage simultaneously both the new technological, commercial and editorial challenges, and the internal civil war which inevitably consumed huge swathes of everyone's time.

Many years ago, I was a member of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. So was David Palmer, then managing director of the Independent group. While David and I agreed on little, we achieved harmony on one issue: management always had the right to change an editor, but - if they had any sense - they should not interfere with editorial policy. That sums up the peculiar nexus of the newspaper industry: it is private enterprise, but with a public purpose, and its success depends not only on its management but on the skill, commitment, and values with which its journalists approach their societal role and responsibilities.

The media will always be a locus for contention and controversy - which is as it should be. Variety in ownership and control will enhance the growth of adaptability that will help ensure the success of newspapers into the future. We once thought, after all, that television heralded the end of the cinema! And public measures aimed at supporting the media's role in providing readers with essential information and opinions are what will enhance public debate, inform public and private decision-making, and support the endless disagreements that enliven, vivify and inform civil society.

John Horgan is emeritus Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University, and served as Ireland's first Press Ombudsman
The lesson from the North's local elections is unambiguous. It is that no matter what - if the flood waters are rising or the Last Trumpet is sounding - people there vote along tribal lines. That's just how it is. Depressing but true.

What could have signalled the potential for Armageddon more starkly than Brexit, with its threat to the open Border? But it made no difference - clearly, both Sinn Fein and the DUP read their electorates accurately because their voters haven't blamed them.

During the economic crash, Fianna Fail was punished by the public and its recovery on the national stage has been slow. But there's been no backlash against either Sinn Fein or the DUP. No payback for the former's absence from Westminster, no payback for the latter pushing a hard Brexit agenda.

From this, we can conclude something germane to the Good Friday Agreement. It delivered. But it fell short. Peace came but not reconciliation. Integration - of education and housing - was essential but slipped off the agenda.

In Britain, the local elections have delivered a frustration vote, a protest vote, an anti-stasis vote. The Brexit Backlash, it's called. Not so in Northern Ireland, where inertia has no repercussions.

Northern Ireland did not mirror the British trend, where the two dominant parties were punished for being unable to settle on a Brexit deal. The two largest parties in the North couldn't cut a much less complex agreement, to restore Stormont, but received no reprimand - perhaps because people are resigned to failure in the North.

In Britain, although the election was local, the issues were national. In Northern Ireland, everything stayed local. Consequently tribalism held its ground: for God and Ulster on one side, Our Day Will Come on the other. No Stormont Backlash then. No lending out your vote in hopes of sending a message to politicians.

A resurgent SDLP didn't materialise, despite the link-up with Fianna Fail, which is looking like an increasingly bad idea. As for the UUP, its message simply hasn't connected and unionism is becoming interchangeable with the DUP. Peadar Toibin's Aontu, a conservative religious party in its first electoral outing, hasn't made a significant impact on voters, which tells us people in the North are ahead of parties on social policy, as in the Republic.

Candidates had a better than one-in-two chance of getting elected in the locals because there are so many seats relative to the number of contenders. So if someone is left chosen, quite a strong message is being sent.

News that Bombardier was selling its Belfast operation broke as people went to the polls. The Canadian company is one of the region's largest employers with 3,600 working in plane-making activities; overall, some 12,000 jobs may be impacted because of the supply chain. In 2017, it was estimated the wages of the company's employees put 158m (185m) into the local economy annually.

Bombardier had already indicated the DUP stance on Brexit was a worry. Subtext: why would it continue to invest in a place so dysfunctional a government couldn't even be set up? The company is for sale and we don't yet know if some or all of those jobs are safe. What we do know is there's no functioning Stormont to fight for them.

In the last local government elections in 2014, the DUP and Sinn Fein emerged as the two largest parties. Five years on, there is no alteration to that position. Same old, same old. The upsurge for change in the wake of Lyra McKee's killing has not carried through to the ballot box. How to interpret that? Perhaps it is that people want the parties they have always voted for to shift the dynamic, as opposed to taking a chance on anything new?

Last Sunday at Arbour Hill in Dublin, Micheal Martin said Northern Ireland had normalised the abnormal idea that the existence of a government is negotiable: "What they don't seem to understand is that, for democrats, a parliament is a place you go to solve problems - not a place you refuse to go unless your problems are sorted in advance."

This acts as a rebuke. Chiding others is easy. Understanding their position, helping them to move on from it - that's harder. Mr Martin's criticism overlooks the reality that, for most of Northern Ireland's existence, nationalist people there have not felt adequately represented in either Stormont or Westminster.

The Good Friday Agreement transformed that, but the DUP didn't sign up to it. Perhaps that is why neither of the two largest parties was taken to task by electorates for failing to reach agreement and return to Stormont. Those outside attach more weight to Stormont than those in the North, who question its effectiveness.

Obviously, Sinn Fein and the DUP must compromise if Stormont is to be restored. But this vote does not incentivise concessions. It is bound to hamper the talks process due to start next week. Punishment at the ballot box is language which politicians hear loud and clear but they have not been reprimanded - on the contrary, both are likely to feel they have been delivered stronger negotiating hands.

A spirit of cooperation needs to be fostered in the North. 'Ni neart go cur le cheile' - no strength without combination. That was the motto of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, founded by reforming landlord Horace Plunkett. This pioneer of the co-operative movement, who understood the importance of co-operation, was a unionist MP in the House of Commons and later a senator in Dail Eireann. It is examples such as his which have to be invoked.

Unfortunately, the division between Sinn Fein and the DUP is not just political but social. Sinn Fein has evolved to become more socially liberal while the DUP remains conservative. Furthermore, Sinn Fein remains focused on a Border poll - and this will cause tensions within unionism.

Where are the moderates? They do exist but they aren't winning huge traction. Nevertheless, it was a good day for Alliance and the Greens. That represents some progress. Real progress, however, would be signalled by translating those gains into a European seat. One each is guaranteed for the DUP and Sinn Fein but seat number three is up for grabs. Could Alliance make a breakthrough?

Finally, let's look again at what happened in Britain. The Lib Dem tide is a reaction, not a trend. One Tory voter who switched told me he did it for the locals but wouldn't vote for them at national level. Two lifelong Labour voters who went Lib Dem said they did it to send a message that they want Brexit stopped.

British politicians are coming under pressure thanks to this election but their Northern counterparts aren't experiencing the same heat. Their voters aren't saying take Stormont out of cold storage, or else. Dublin and Westminster take note.
Sisters-in-law, once so close they used to go away on family holidays together.

Both slender, dark and fine-featured, their physical resemblance was close enough for it to be remarked on by several onlookers at the longest-running murder trial in the history of the State.

Mary Lowry outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial

Once secret rivals for the love of Patrick Quirke, now Mary Lowry and Imelda Quirke are privately, and in their own way, dealing with the devastating fall-out of his murder of Bobby Ryan.

The two women have not spoken since Ms Lowry, feeling guilty over her affair with Imelda's husband, sent her a blank card saying 'sorry' - much to Quirke's fury.

Asked during the trial why she had done it, she said she supposed sending the card had made her feel better.

"It took some of the guilt away," she explained.

The defence was more sceptical about her actions, with Bernard Condon SC claiming she had done it to "soothe herself, not Imelda".

"You must agree you sent it to make yourself feel better," he put it to her.

"I was very sorry and regretted the affair and I was ashamed about the affair," Ms Lowry insisted, repeating her answer several times.

Regardless of why she had done it, the gesture marked the end of their friendship.

Moments after her husband was found guilty of murder, Imelda rushed to be by his side, ushered into the holding cell at the side of courtroom 13, along with Quirke's sister.

Imelda's devastation was appallingly evident, her face ashen. She did not re-emerge.

And though the photographers waited hours for her to come out of the CCJ complex, mystifyingly, there was no sign of her.

Her life crashing around her, it was clear she had been compassionately spirited out of the building by the gardai.

Back to the dairy farm at Breanshamore, Co Tipperary.

And yet, the removal of her husband from her day to day existence may be the best thing that could possibly have happened to her.

A controlling individual on every level, Quirke's demeanour as he came and went from the trial every day showed demonstrable signs of unpleasantness.

He was seen snatching an object from his wife one day, while another, he was witnessed carelessly jostling her as they entered a door.

She catered to his every need, preparing a packed lunch for her husband every day and she readily supplied bottles of water to him when he gestured to her in court.

She was by his side faithfully, making the trip up and down on the train from Limerick Junction with him every day in a 14-week-long ordeal that was clearly exhausting - her dramatic weight loss throughout was testament to that.

There was nobody in the court who did not have sympathy for Imelda.

Right throughout the terrible events that transpired around the murder and discovery of Bobby Ryan's remains, Quirke seemed to rely heavily and unfairly on his wife's personal strength of character and ability to 'cope.'

He used her birthday as an excuse to flee the scene after the murder in June 2011, booking a weekend away to the Heritage in Portlaoise, which was unusual for them.

Imelda was the first person he called after "discovering" the remains of Bobby Ryan.

A garda later put it to him that if it had been his wife, he would not have liked her to have seen the body in the tank.

Quirke's reply was that Imelda would know what to do.

It was she who had alerted the authorities - in a panicked 55-second phone call to Garda Tom Neville, known to her through her sons' under-age GAA training.

He calculatedly used his wife's innocence to deflect from his own guilt in a most despicable way.

And even as gardai questioned him about his internet searches for the rate of human decomposition, urging him to own up to being at the computer in order to do the right thing by his wife and children, Quirke would not.

He claimed he loved his wife - but the evidence shows that he had roundly abused her just as much as he had Mary Lowry.

During the trial, Quirke and Imelda had gone for leisurely walks hand in hand through Tipperary town with their dog every day after getting off the train from Dublin.

"It was like he was trying to show people that he had nothing to worry about," said one local businessman.

A senior source claimed locals were "afraid" of Quirke and had feared he would not be convicted. They did not want him back amongst them.

But now, the domineering presence of Patrick Quirke has been removed from Breanshamore.

It will be amid some difficulty that Imelda and her two sons can move on with their lives. It was clear they still love and stand by him.

But the support of their extended family and their community will assist them greatly as they adjust to their new reality.

Read More

As for Mary Lowry, the sense of relief will be palpable and she will shed no tears at his predicament.

She had suffered at the hands of Pat Quirke, she had told the trial.

He had manipulated and used her - for sex and for cash, as well as for the magnificent lands of Fawnagown.

He had attempted to frame her for the causing the death of Bobby Ryan.

On the day that Bobby's remains were found on her farm, Mary Lowry upped sticks and left Fawnagown forever. She and her sons had moved in with her brother and then into a rented house in the locality.

She then built her own two-storey house in Bansha, described by one person as a "country dream house", surrounded by many potted plants and a long gravel driveway.

Mary's future is bright.

The man who had coldly snuffed out the life of Bobby Ryan, who had, chillingly, reported her to the social services claiming she had neglected the emotional well-being of her children, and secretly recorded her chatting with her then boyfriend, Flor Cantillon, is now behind bars for life.

She would not talk to media in the aftermath of the trial - stoically saying only: "I'm not too bad. Sure, we have to try and get on with it."

With her privacy stripped from her so comprehensively during the gruelling trial process, who could blame her for seeking it now?

But Mary Lowry is a survivor - her testimony was proof of that.

She was able to stoutly defend herself against the most vigorous efforts by the defence to discredit her.

Her natural good humour was evident on Quirke's secret recordings, when her peals of laughter rang out in court.

Despite the efforts made by Quirke to tarnish her reputation as a mother, her sons are a credit to her - polite, articulate and well able for the toughest of questioning.

As a family, they will blossom after this, the weight of the investigation and trial lifted from their shoulders.

Read More

And it is all thanks to Mary Lowry, who selflessly put her reputation on the line - willing to put everything on the table and to have her personal life mercilessly dissected.

She had "bared her soul" to get justice for Bobby, she told the trial.

It can not have been an easy thing to do - least of all when living in a small, tight-knit community.

But her sacrifice was not in vain.

And now she and Imelda can get on with their lives without the menacing shadow of Patrick Quirke looming large.
 Flash

The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilot strike has ended after an agreement was reached late on Thursday night. All flights in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will resume as soon as possible, Swedish News SVT reported on Friday.







"It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again and that we will be able to pursue our commitment to travelers to, from and within Scandinavia," Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS, wrote in a press release issued by SAS shortly before midnight on Thursday.





The strike lasted for a week, resulting in 4,015 cancelled flights and affecting approximately 360,000 passengers.





SAS has been hit hard financially by the strike, with SVT reporting that it cost the airline an estimated 60-80 million Swedish krona a day. Gustafson told SVT on Friday that it is too early to calculate the total cost.





"I have to admit there is a great deal of talk about it," Gustafson said. "But I want to wait for an exact amount, because we have not yet been able to calculate everything."





According to Gustafson, SAS has no plans to raise airfares to cover losses incurred during the strike.





"It is clear that I would have preferred to use this money to invest in our future than to burn it up in a conflict," Gustafson told SVT. "But now we have ended up here and I deeply regret that we ended up in a conflict."





After over 30 hours of negotiations between SAS and the Swedish Air Line Pilots Association, a new three-year collective bargaining agreement is in place. The new agreement concerns predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries. In the press release issued on Thursday, SAS said the terms are "on par with the industrial benchmark for the Swedish labor market."





SAS traffic is expected to be fully operational again by Saturday morning. (1 U.S. dollar = 10.22 SEK)




Pat Quirke, Prisoner 107243, has become a member of a select group within the ranks of Ireland's most notorious murderers; people whose shocking crimes will be enshrined in the collective public memory and the annals of the Irish criminal justice system.

The 50-year-old farmer - convicted of murdering his love rival after the longest murder trial on record - joins a small gang of other prisoners who became household names for the worst of reasons. Names such as Joe O'Reilly, Graham Dwyer and Brian Kearney.

Like the others, Quirke is responsible for a particularly callous and cold-blooded murder that captivated the public during long and hard-fought courtroom battles to prove their guilt.

He shares many common traits with O'Reilly, Dwyer and Kearney including the fact none of them had ever been involved in crime before and were seen as respectable middle-class, law-abiding citizens.

All of them displayed narcissistic tendencies - as evidenced by a common belief that each one of them had carefully planned and executed the perfect murder.

In each case, the killer demonstrated the attitude that he was cleverer than the force and could easily outwit it, which in turn led to some of the best examples of detective work in the history of An Garda Siochana.

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One insight gleaned from Quirke's computer, which was not allowed into evidence, was an interest in the notorious case of wife killer O'Reilly.

O'Reilly bludgeoned his wife and mother of his two young children Rachel to death when he made a mid-morning visit to the couple's home in the Naul, north Dublin, in October 2004.

He had devised an elaborate plan to murder his wife and make it look like an intruder had attacked her. He built a false alibi that he was busy working in Dublin at the time of the crime.

O'Reilly even appeared on 'The Late Late Show' to appeal for information on the murder alongside Rachel's mother, who by then suspected he was the killer.

He was eventually convicted after a long and dramatic Garda investigation blew his alibi apart by tracking his movements through his mobile phone.

It is reasonable to assume that by searching the online blog "Why Joe O'Reilly thought he had committed the perfect murder", Quirke was trying to learn from O'Reilly's mistakes.

Another individual Quirke is likely to encounter is Brian Kearney, whose cold-blooded murder of his wife Siobhan in February 2006 earned him his place in the pantheon of notorious killers.

His motive for murder was that she intended leaving him causing him financial problems.

Kearney also put on a false face and attempted to brave it out, but came unstuck after another intensive Garda investigation.

Graham Dwyer is a household name who will always be synonymous with one of the most grotesque and depraved murders ever to come before the courts.

Elaine O'Hara, a vulnerable woman with a history of mental illness, had been groomed by Dwyer over a number of years during which they were involved in a BDSM relationship.

The Foxrock architect hid from the world his perverse fascination for piquerism, which involves inflicting pain on a victim using knives and drawing blood for the purpose of sexual gratification.

Dwyer probably reckoned that he had learned from the mistakes of O'Reilly and Kearney when he decided to finally fulfil his ultimate fantasy and murder Elaine O'Hara in August 2012.

Ireland's latest inductee to this notorious lifers' club will have plenty to discuss as they while away the slow passage of prison time.
The graffiti on some walls in Creggan in Derry shows Saoradh and its henchmen in the New IRA are nothing more than intimidating thugs who like to throw their weight around and sow fear wherever they go.

Their threat to "execute" informers takes us back to the bad old days when we saw bodies dumped along the Border or buried in shallow graves by the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.

Saoradh's attempt at distancing itself from the New IRA after the killing of Lyra McKee is like saying Sinn Fein was never the political mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA or that Gerry Adams was never a member of the Army Council.

Who are they trying to cod? Everyone, including the dogs on the street, knows who these terrorists and their supporters are.

We have seen them on display going to or coming from court in Derry or standing in front of Saoradh's former offices when red-painted hands were daubed on their offices after Lyra's murder.

What we need is the political will in Northern Ireland to deal with these terrorists and that everyone supports their police service in preventing further outrages.

Let us not forget Lyra's sacrifice and her will to have a more open and loving society. Not one filled with hate, but one where we all respected each other and had those difficult but vital conversations.

Christy Galligan

Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Abortion vote means children are still dying

I want to begin with a word of praise for John Lynch of Cork for his balanced, objective letter on April 24 and his positive acknowledgement of the work done by nuns in the mother and baby homes.

These homes were in poor condition and had very limited resources, but they did provide an open door for pregnant women who had no place to go at a very dark time in our history.

These women, of different ages and levels of maturity, would have surely been severely traumatised by the experience of being rejected by their own families before they ever set foot inside those institutions.

I cannot understand why the narrative around all of this continues to target and blame the Catholic Church for all the woes of that era. I acknowledge there was much scandalous abuse among some of its community, including priests, family members et al, and this has only surfaced gradually and in relatively recent times. It was covered up, put away and shrouded in secrecy.

At that time, poverty was widespread, housing was cramped and the family configuration was very different from today. A child born outside wedlock was clearly not wanted or welcomed, was described as illegitimate and ruled out of many life privileges.

The pregnant girl was excluded from the family and was not returning, not because of the fear of the Church's teaching nor the parish priest's Sunday sermon. No, this paled beside the fear of what the neighbours over the road would think of an otherwise respectable family. So the family disowned the girl and child.

But doesn't every child have a mother and father? The fathers got away. Where were they then and where are they now, when Catherine Corless is talking about exhuming the remains of infants buried in a chamber over a septic system in Tuam? Whose responsibility is this now, 50 or 100 years on? She talks about identifying these infants and giving them a dignified burial. How can she suggest this is even remotely possible?

What I find troubling is the inability of our politicians to connect with the past in a constructive manner and move on to a better way, with or without the Catholic Church.

In this context, let us briefly reflect on present reality - as a nation, we voted to legalise abortion, resulting in a two-thirds majority. It was sickening to see Government personnel, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, rejoicing that Ireland was entering a new dawn of modernity, enlightenment, speed of access to information and, above all, freedom to choose.

They just may have forgotten a third of us voted No and we are still around. They somehow expect us to accept the awful circumstances around the killing of human embryonic life in the womb. It has become for some children the most threatening and dangerous place to be, in spite of all the vetting and safeguarding courses for child protection. I hope and pray the medical profession will not contribute to this most violent assault on humankind, causing termination of life.

Of course, this is not to rule out medical intervention and ethical decisions in cases of illness and conditions which threaten the life of mother and/or child. There are two patients to be considered.

In the new Ireland, where everything can be open and accepted, what can we now expect when these little innocents have their lives violently snuffed out before they can see the light of day?

Both parents and possibly extended family can be present at an appropriate interment service, giving them the dignity and respect they deserve, just as much as the infants in the former mother and baby homes, and not discarded as clinical waste.

The children who died in Tuam, Cork, Sean Ross and elsewhere can rest in peace. This is not naive or fanciful thinking. We must all take responsibility for our behaviour. It is where I believe we need to go as a society if we are to pursue goals of truth, goodness, compassion and real freedom, and steer ourselves and others away from the darkness of cosmic proportions and individual and collective destruction.

Whatever God we believe in, we need a seismic shift in attitude, thinking and action. I remain hopeful there is enough goodness in human beings and an objective moral conscience to discover a way of seeing reality differently.

Sister Cristin Guerin

Ashbourne Avenue, Limerick

Is misdirected mail a data protection breach?

I read with interest that An Post had removed all bins from the GPO in case personal data falls into the wrong hands, in breach of GDPR.

I'm sure many of your readers have incorrectly received post which was addressed to one of their neighbours. Such letters may contain personal data which would be a breach of GDPR.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that An Post stops delivering post.

Niall McInerney

Malahide, Co Dublin

Be careful what you wish for in the polling booth

There are a lot of things to think about when someone asks you to vote for them in the upcoming elections.

Have they acted in your favour since the last election or interacted with you on what they are doing about the housing crisis, the patients on trolleys, plus funding for penny dinners, Fr Peter McVerry, Focus Ireland, and the Kinsale rescue service?

Does the candidate portray a sense they can do good for us or are they someone with too much time on their hands or ego seekers?

Always choose wisely when casting your vote.

Noel Harrington

Kinsale, Co Cork

Only stand for Europe if you mean to stick at it

With canvassers calling to your doors looking for votes the most important question, especially for the European candidates, is: "Will you, if elected, serve the full term as an MEP or will you be returning to national politics next spring when a general election is called?"

One of the most annoying and, in my opinion, undemocratic things that has been happening in recent years is the practice of an MEP stepping down after a year and being replaced by a party supporter who we have never heard of.

The best example of this was when Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party won the last European seat in the Dublin constituency and after a year or two he stepped down.

He was replaced by Paul Murphy, who went on to become a TD and cause mayhem during the water charges protests. Now that seat was held by Eoin Ryan, who was an excellent MEP. Now I ask you - is that fair?

If Clare Daly or Billy Kelleher gets elected to the European Parliament will either of them be returning to national politics when a general election is called?

I think candidates should be up front with the electorate and let us know their intentions.

Eamonn Kitt

Tuam, Co Galway
Twenty-two arts and community groups in Louth applied for funding for community projects under the Creative Ireland initiative with 13 groups being successful.

The grants which have been approved are: Ablevision,  5,000; Castlebellingham Environment Committee, 462; Drogheda Classical Music 5,000; Droichead Youth Theatre, 4,842; Drumshallon Forge Heritage Centre, 4,000; Dundalk Youth Centre, 5,000; Gathering Heritage, 2,746; Grow Music, 500 (Development Grant for 2020); MAD Youth Theatre 4,000; Oriel Traditional Orchestra

3,400; RehabCare Carroll Village Resource Centre, 4,050; Upstate Theatre Project/Cathal Thornton 500 (Development Grant for 2020); and Upstate Theatre Project/Declan Mallon (500, Development Grant for 2020).
On Saturday night I headed for the Windsor where a special 40th birthday party was being held for Brendan McArdle from Ard Easmuinn and there to make sure he had a great night was his wife Fiona, sons Oisin and Ciaran, parents Gerry and Elizabeth from Brid-a-crinn, brother Barry and Louise who were down from Belfast and a big collection of well wishers.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Brendan who is an engineer in Dublin and he was having a laugh with his old schoolmates Breffni Lynch from Beacon Court and Oliver Morgan and Brendan Byrne from Meadow Grove who were hot off the campaign trail for Oliver and were taking a rest from going door to door to celebrate with Brendan on his big night.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with cousin-in-law Bronagh Richardson who was with Sean Dillon both from Cooley who told me it was excellent night and wanted to wish Brendan a very happy birthday.

They were sitting with family friends Colman and Leona Burgess from Donaghmore who were delighted to be there (in the Windsor) but weren't sure if they wanted to be linked to the party though!

Seated close by were Claire and Neil Richardson from Kilkerley who were having a right old laugh with Gay and Josephine O'Loughlin from Carlingford and their delightful daughter Clare who wanted to wish Brendan a very happy 40th.

Not too long later I got a word with sister-in-law Louise McArdle who was down from Belfast with Brendan's brother Barry and told me the night was going to be great with everyone there to enjoy the party.

I then headed for the front bar in the Windsor where well known physio from Precision Sports, Paul Cheshire from Medebawn was also celebrating his 40th birthday party with a bit of a party and there to make sure he had an excellent night was wife Rosalynn and friends, kids Evan and Chloe were being babysat so the adults could have a bit of a night together.

I wasn't too long in when I got taking to Bobby and Eilish McCarthy from Old Muirhevna who have been friends for years and wanted to make sure Paul had a totally mad night.

Next, I got talking to neighbours David Hazzard, Marcus West, Michael McGee and Karl Cullen all from Medebawn who told me Paul is a really decent guy and they were going to make sure he had a totally mad night.

Also in their company were Daragh McKeown, Karl Lynch, Fra Martin and Vinny Rogers all from Medebawn who told me the crack was only getting going and it was going to be an epic night for sure.

After this I headed over to the ladies and met up with Lisa Rogers from Medebawn who was chatting to Ellie Biggs from outside Bandon in West Cork who had come up specially with husband Shane Beggs to be there and said they definitely weren't going to miss such a monumental occasion, the fact that they had got away without the kids had also turned it into a major bonus.

At an adjacent table I then caught up with Ciara Hazzard, Geraldine Lynch, Shirley McGee, Becky Cullen, Caroline Martin, Pamela McKeown and Laura West all from Medebawn and Louise Moran who had come from Slane specially for the party and the girls were already in party mode, having a brilliant night together and wanted to wish Paul all the best on his big night.
One party I certainly wasn't going to miss on Friday night was Charlie Fee from Ballybarrack's 80th and a huge crowd had turned out specially for the occasion. There to make sure he had an epic night were wife May, kids Maria, Kenneth, Martin, Anthony and Charlie and a special mention for daughter Carol over in New York along with a huge collection of family and friends.

Charlie, who worked for CRV and Ola Oils, also trained teams for St. Dominics in his day and is a huge Man Utd fan, but now he has become his grandchildren's chauffeur according to all his kids!

I then headed for one of the adjacent tables where I met up with Carmel Muckian from Mountain View Crescent who told me his son Joe is married to Charlie's daughter Maria. She was enjoying the evening along with Ann Carroll from Carol Meade who told me she has been a family friend for years, wanted to wish him a happy 80th, would be coming back in 20 year's time for his 100th and it won't be long coming around.

They were enjoying the company of Brigid and Raymond Grant and Maeve Holland all from Ballybarrack who wanted to make sure Charlie had a wonderful night.

Next, I met lifelong friend of May's, Brigid Quigley who was there with Mary Breen both from Upper Faughart and they said they couldn't have missed the party for anything.

Meanwhile up near the bar I got a quick word with Adrian and Carol Sheelan from Cooley who said they too are family friends and were up for a mad one with Charlie and his family.

Making my way through the crowds I then got talking to John and Susan Knipe from New Rath who were with Charlie and Anne Fee from Ballykelly who had kids Caitlin, Regina, Charlie and Dylan and were just abut ready for a major night of fun with the big man.

Heading for another Table I then caught up with Charlie's daughter-in-law Cathy Fee who was over from Long Island with Charlie's son Kenneth and grandson Conor and she was enjoying a laugh with Charlie's nieces Patricia O'Donoghue and Geraldine Hoey both from Carrickmacross and Mary McCarron from Monaghan and the ladies were already having an excellent night together.

At another table I then caught up with Pauline O'Kane from the Quay who told me she was there with her mum Carmel Muckian whom I'd met earlier and she wanted to wish Charlie a very happy 80th.

Next, I had the pleasure of meeting granddaughters Kellie Fee from Ballybarrack, Regina Fee from Inniskeen, Cara Roddy from Bay Estate and Lucymay Fee from Forkhill who all wanted to wish granda Charlie a very happy 80th and hoped he had a brilliant night.

Not too log later I then got talking to Catherine and Barry McKeown from Earl Place Mounthamilton who are family friends and looking forward to an exciting evening with Charlie and his family.

I then headed over for a chat with my old friend Beany Grant from Ballybarrack who was having a laugh with Clare Fee-Grant and Nicholas Hordnes from Norway who both live in Southampton and had come over specially for her granda's big night.

Meanwhile up near the bar I managed a quick word with sisters Audrey Mackin and Susan Fennell both from Ballybarrack who were with their mum Nuala Mackin who wanted to wish their next door neighbour a very happy 80th.
All roads lead south this week as the Drogheda Arts Festival gets underway today (Tuesday) and continues for seven days in venues across Drogheda with arts events for all ages and interests.

Co-Chair of the 2019 Festival Elaine Cronin explains 'We design the programme to bring something new and thought-provoking to local audiences. Each year, we work with local artists, writers, actors and musicians to develop new pieces of work for the Festival. We want to showcase the best of emerging and established professional local artists.'

The festival programme highlights the wealth of talent in all sectors of the arts that exists not just in Drogheda but the wider north east region.

Among the highlights of the programme is the world premiere of Canadian composer Nicole Lizee's Spielberg Etudes in St Peter's Church of Ireland on Saturday at 8pm.

It will be performed by fellow Canadian, Megumi Masaki, who has worked closely with the composer over the last decade.

The programme will also include two of her earlier compositions, Hitchcock Etudes and Kubrick Etudes. In all these pieces, her musicianship will be meshing with film excerpts shown on screen, the original soundtracks and other recorded material.

This concert is being promoted by Louth Contemporary Musical Society which was founded by Dundalk resident Eamonn Quinn.

Dundalk brothers and All-Ireland winning traditional musicians Saran (concertina) and Tadgh (fiddle and bouzouki) Mulligan will be playing with guest musicians in the wonderful space of Highlanes Gallery on Sunday at 4pm.

The Highlanes Gallery is also the venue for a new exhibition 'Disruptors' which opens on Friday with an artist's talk at 7.30pm.

'Borrowed Ground' at the Droichead Arts Centre is housing eight purpose built studios for eleven different artists from April until July 14.

Artists from Dundalk's Creative Spark and Art as Exchange will be in St Dominic's Park running workshops and demonstrations for the family fun day on the Bank Holiday Monday.

One of the theatrical highlights of the week will be the performance of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece', by the Gate Theatre Company, starring the wonderful Camille O'Sullivan. The Belfast Ensemble, will perform the world premiere of their re-imagining of 'Ten Plagues', a collaborative project with local artists Declan Kelly and Els Boghart,

Check out the full line-up and book your tickets now on www.DroghedaArtsFestival.ie. For those aged 18-25, discover the Youth Pass with entry to 3 events for just 20.
Dundalk is set to get a lot brighter thanks to the SeekDundalk, an exciting new visual arts festival set to take place in mid-June.

The festival will see three internationally acclaimed street artists creating striking murals which will tell the town's story.

Dundalk's own OMIN will be joined by Dublin artists James Early and Aches, for the four day event which runs from June 15 to 19.

Speaking on behalf of the Seek committee, Town Centre Commercial Manager, Martin McElligott, said he is delighted to announce the latest addition to their 2019 festival plan. 'The festival is centred around promoting visual arts in Dundalk over a five year period by commissioning established and emerging artists, locally, and nationally, to help promote the town culturally and artistically, repositioning the area as a vibrant hub for creativity'.

David Callan explained that Dundalk has a wealth of history, with many historical layers throughout the ages which are being forgotten.

'This year's programme highlights the importance influence art can have in the public domain, its role as a catalyst for change, helping reinvigorate and refresh some of our town centre spaces.'

The festival sees Dundalk following in the footsteps of other towns and cities in Ireland and across the world that have used street art to striking effect. Notably, Belfast, Derry, Limerick, and Waterford have paved the way in Ireland for facilitating street artists to create large scale works which have the power to transform the streetscape and provoke conversation.

Martin continued: 'We have been working with stakeholders and sponsors, which include Louth County Council, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Dundalk Museum, Creative Spark, Grandson Design Studio, Imperial Hotel, OHR Marketing, The Hairshop, Glengat House and Thinking Cap, to ensure that not only the people of Dundalk rediscover its heritage, but that visitors to the town will get a better sense of the area and its heritage over the many ages right up to the present day.

Colourtrend paint are the headline sponsor for the 2019 festival. Managing Director of Colourtrend, Kevin O'Connor said they were 'honoured to be sponsoring Seek Dundalk 2019. As an Irish family brand, it is important for us to celebrate and support local culture. We are delighted to be in a position to assist in bringing the colour of this wonderful festival to life, celebrating the culture of Dundalk through creative murals. We look forward to seeing what the incredible team of talented artists come up with this summer.

Sarah Daly from Creative Spark said: 'The Seek committee has been one of the most creative she has had the privilege of working on to date, drawing expertise from Killian Walsh, Grandson design and lead designer on the project, local artist Barry Finnegan(Thinking Cap design), Martin McElligott (Dundalk BIDs), and artistic curator, Dave Callan. Events are never easy and people give up a lot of their free time making them happen, but when you get this much creativity in one room, good things happen.'

The artists taking part are Dubliners Arches James Earley and Dundalk's own Omin. This year's festival is focused on figures associated with the town. Omin will create a piece on pioneering engineer Peter Rice, James Earle will produce a piece based on the mythology of Cuchalainn and Aches will focus on the story of the 'Last King of Ireland Edward Bruce who is buried in Faughart graveyard.
The ever popular annual Car Boot Sale and Coffee Morning will be held on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, from 11am - 3pm in the Presbyterian Church grounds in Jocelyn St., Dundalk. Admission 2, children free. If you wish to participate, vehicles will be admitted from 8.45am. Cars 15, Vans 20 (includes refreshments)

Quiz night

A table quiz in aid of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 611 takes place on Thursday May 9 in The Glyde Inn, Annagassan. Organised by St Finian's NS, Dillonstown, there will be prizes for top three teams and a raffle on the night. Admission 40 per table of four.
Local Fine Gael candidate Roisin Duffy has questioned the cost of the additional Garda support that was required in Carlingford on Easter Sunday to keep law and order on the streets of the village following several public order incidents in the previous 2 years.

Roisin said: 'I spent a good part of Easter Sunday afternoon with my husband and children in Carlingford and while there was no trouble or any sign of trouble there was a surreal atmosphere in the village. I counted 10 members of the Garda Public Order unit walking through the village some of whom had dogs under their control. In addition there was also a large presence of regular uniformed Garda patrolling the village'.

The pubs in Carlingford were full from early afternoon with many patrons queuing outside some premises for anything up to 2 hours despite the pubs charging for entry. A bye law regarding drinking in public places was adopted by Louth County Council on 16th July 2018 effective from 16th August 2018.

Roisin Duffy noted 'I walked around the village twice and did not see any signs on display confirming that it was unlawful to drink in public. This is not to say that such signs were not on display somewhere but they were most definitely not on prominent display in the centre of the village'.

Roisin requested that 'The cost of the Garda Public Order unit together with the cost of uniformed Garda should be disclosed so that a full analysis can be undertaken of alternatives. We need to work on the root cause of what attracts these young people to Carlingford for this particular weekend. They don't come to Carlingford to enjoy the scenery or make any positive contribution to the village. They come for a few hours and basically hold the village to ransom for a few hours before they clear off not to be seen until the same weekend the following year'.

Roisin said 'asking Louth County Council to work with Newry Mourne and Down council to highlight Louth County Council's bye laws on public drinking was pointless. Newry Mourne and Down twitter account had one retweet of a notice requesting that people respect local bye laws regarding the consumption of alcohol. Carlingford was not even mentioned in the twitter post. This would have had no effect on the number of buses and young people travelling from Northern Ireland to Carlingford on Easter Sunday'.

Roisin said that 'perhaps we need to be more innovative in our dealings with major influxes of buses from Northern Ireland on particular weekends'.

While acknowledging that the weekend had passed off without any major incidents Roisin Duffy said that this was only due to the huge cost that had been incurred in maintaining public order.
Dundalk resident Billy Byrne is turning to Argus readers to solve the mystery an old crucifix after museums in Ireland, the UK and Amsterdam were unable to cast light on its origins.

Billy says crucifix belonged to his aunt Elizabeth Duffy who lived in Channonrock. After she passed away 40 years ago, Billy found the crucifix when he was clearing the house where she had lived all her life.

As his aunt had never travelled, he is curious as to how the cross came into her possession and also about its origins. 'If she had gone to Dublin, that would be the height of it.'

'It's very unusual, not like anything I'd seen before,' says Billy. 'The figure of Christ is made from lead which was poured into a mould. The cross is 33cms in height and 18cms wide so it should have been quite inexpensive to make and thus quite common, yet no one can shed any light on it.'

He has looked through various books and has been in touch with the National Museum and the Hunt Museum in Limerick, which holds a large collection of religious objects, as well as museums in the UK, and none of them could give him any information about the cross or where it came from.

He also got in touch with a museum in Amsterdam, thinking that it might have been continental, but they hadn't seen anything like it either.

If any readers have any information or suggestions about the possible background to the cross, Billy would appreciate it if they contacted him by email at billyby7@gmail.com.
The son of an elderly woman who was locked in the bathroom of her Dundalk home for hours by masked burglars has spoken of the trauma she experienced.

The shocking incident which unfolded early on Thursday evening began when the 79 year old had been at home on St Alphonsus Road, after her husband had gone out around 5pm.

Her son told the Argus: 'She heard a noise in one of the rooms, and thought maybe it was my father back. When she went to look suddenly she was confronted by two men, one of them grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her down. She was terrified.'

The men then locked her in the bathroom before ransacking the house, stealing a quantity of jewellery.

'It was two hours before my dad came back. My mother was bruised along her arms, and just in a lot of shock. They couldn't face staying in the house that night.'

The alarm was raised and gardai arrived at the scene, along with forensics teams for a technical examination of the scene.

It is believed the burglars may have gained entry by forcing a door at the rear of the property.

'I just want to appeal to everyone to be vigilant,' added her concerned son.

'This happened in broad daylight, when my mum was at home. Elderly people especially should not open their door to anyone they don't know, and check that windows and doors are locked, even when they're at home during the day.'

The terrifying incident was the second in the last week, where elderly people have been targetted in their own home.

A couple in their 80's were hospitalised for shock after an aggravated burglary in Blackrock on Tuesday evening last. The couple, who live on the Rock Road, were tied up by two men, who wearing ski masks, at their home around 8pm.

It was reported that those involved in the break in were aged in their late teens to early 20s and were armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a knife.

After tying up the couple in an upstairs bedroom, the thieves ransacked the house before escaping with a small amount of cash and the couple's car, which was abandoned later in the Rathmount estate.

Gardai are reported to be investigating if the two incidents are linked as another similar incident was reported in Terenure, Dublin in the same week.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact gardai on 042 93 88400 or on the confidential garda line 1800 666 111.
Fledging Louth businesses have the chance to win 100,000 in the InterTradeIreland's Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition.

The largest business competition of its kind, Seedcorn offers a total cash prize fund of 280,000, with 100,000 earmarked for the overall winner. Since its inception in 2003, the total awarded to innovative companies stands at 4.5 million.

As well as the chance to win a substantial cash prize, entrants will benefit from guidance, advice and feedback from business experts, investors and other entrepreneurs through a series of business planning workshops and mentorship support throughout the competition.

Seedcorn entrants from Leinster have historically performed well at the competition with Nebula Innovations, a software and game development from Louth, through to last year's regional final.

Shane O'Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager, InterTradeIreland: 'Louth is a hub of innovative business talent and we are keen that local start-ups and up-and-coming companies take advantage of the Seedcorn competition, responsible for many of the biggest success stories we have seen at InterTradeIreland.

'The support Seedcorn has given to new start and early stage businesses goes beyond the 4.5 million cash funding. It includes the invaluable advice from industry experts and the wider investment community designed to help these young companies refine their business plans and improve their pitches to potential investors."

InterTradeIreland will host a free workshop in Dundalk on May 8 aimed at helping those who are considering applying for this year's Seedcorn competition to prepare their entries. The closing date for entries is Friday May 31 at 1pm.
Charlie Burke from Coillte, Minister For Mental Health Jim Daly, Joe Healy from the IFA and Hazel Brennan from See Change at the launch of the Green Ribbon Walk at Avondale Forest Park this Sunday

Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum will host a Green Ribbon Walk on Sunday, May 5 as part of a series of walks taking place at Coillte forest parks and trails to raise awareness to improve mental health.

Just like the pink ribbon became a symbol for breast cancer awareness the Green Ribbon has been established as the international symbol for mental health awareness and has been introduced to Ireland by See Change.

The Wicklow event is hosted by Coillte in collaboration with Wicklow IFA at Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum at 3 p.m., located two kilometres south of Rathdrum on the L2149.

The event provides an opportunity for friends, families and communities to connect with one another whilst being mindful of their own and others' mental health and wellbeing.

There are a variety of walks to suit everybody including a buggy friendly walk, mindfulness in the woods and a mental health talk, there is also playground and face painters for young and not so young to enjoy.

There will be refreshments after the walk. Car parking is free of charge and All are welcome to attend.
Wicklow's Climate Adaptation Strategy will go first go out on public display before coming back to the elected members to adopt at a future meeting due to take place after the elections.

A peaceful demonstration outside the county buildings from members of the public preceded the meeting, with many of the protesters also present in the Council chamber for the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy.

A notice of motion in the name of Cllr Tom Fortune and from Greystones Municipal District was also agreed, with Cllr Fortune thanking the action taken by local young people for helping to inspire the notice of motion.

Reading out the notice, Cllr Fortune said: 'That Wicklow County Council acknowledge and support recent Climate Strikes driven by the young people and families in Greystones, Bray, Arklow, Dublin and around the country.

'That Wicklow County Council have listened and understood the deadly urgency felt by the young people and their demand that all stakeholders and representatives act immediately to ensure that young people have a liveable future in Wicklow, in Ireland and on plant Earth.

'That Wicklow County Council agreed that the evidence is overwhelmingly from IPCC on Climate and from WWF LPR on Biodiversity. That Wicklow County Council agreed that, while relatively small in global terms, Wild Wicklow, previously acknowledged as the World's most liveable community, can and must step up and show visible leadership.'

He went on to outline steps which need to be taken by the local authority, such as declaring a climate emergency for Wicklow, publish a climate action plan, declare a biodiversity emergency for Wicklow, update and publish a biodiversity action plan and report regularly on progress on both action plans.

Jim Callery, Environment Awareness Officer for Wicklow County Council, made the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy, outlining actions which the local authority plan to take.

'There is a risk of increased event like Storm Emma which we need to plan for. Temperatures are rising and sea levels are rising. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are changing,' said Mr Callery.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore felt that Wicklow County Council urgently required the appointment of a climate change officer, along with an evaluating committee.

'This has been led by students and the youth. They spoke loudly and clear and we are listening. Now we have to show the leadership you are looking for because this hasn't just popped up. It has been going on for years now and we haven't been listening,' sad Cllr Whitmore.

Cllr Steven Matthews, Green Party, warned that 'unpopular decisions' would have to be made in order to reduce emissions but asked 'that the people stay with us.'

He added: 'This is the very reason I got involved in local politics, so we would have proper planning and environmental protection. We have been talking about it for 20 to 30 years with no action whatsoever. This needs to be followed by actions.'

However, he was disappointed with the contents of the draft document.

'It's 101 pages but only ten pages are about strategy, a lot of which isn't funded and a lot of which is aspirational.'

Cllr Gerry Walsh pointed out that Ireland has consistently lagged behind in reaching its emissions target.

'We haven't been meeting all of our emission targets and are bottom of the league. This provides a road map for a more sustainable future.'

Cllr Mary Kavanagh read out a list actions which she wanted Wicklow County Council to take in order to tackle climate change, such as the non use of pesticides which include glyphosate like Roundup, no cutting back verges, no felling of healthy trees and no hedge cutting during nesting season.

The draft will go out on public display this week and has to be adopted by September 30.
Two walkers out night hiking fell on steep ground in Glenmalure and had to be rescued, with one of the walkers receiving multiple injuries.

The alarm was raised at 1.34 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, as both the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to assist in the rescue operation.

Mountain rescue personnel located to the injured walkers in a wooded area, on very steep ground and below a small crag. It proved an extremely area to access and required the first mountain rescue members on the scene to cut through thick undergrowth so they could reach both patients.

One walker was treated by medics for multiple injuries and lacerations, while the other walker only sustained minor injuries.

Following assessment of the patients and possible evacuation routes, a request for air support was made to Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116.

The nature of the terrain meant an airlift wasn't possible from the incident site. A suitable airlift site was identified in a clearing approximately 70m uphill.

The patient with more serious injuries was packaged into a stretcher and, using a rope system, hauled uphill to the clearing. The other injured walker was assisted to the same clearing, using a rope for assistance and safety.

Rescue 116 arrived overhead at 5.45 a.m. and airlifted the first patient at 6.15 a.m.. The second patient was assisted to a waiting mountain rescue vehicle and transported to a waiting vehicle. The incident was stood down at 8.39 a.m..

Wicklow's mountain rescue teams would like to thank the Glenmalure Lodge for feeding their volunteers after a long, night-time rescue.
San Remo nursing home in Bray is expected to close as the cost of necessary renovations has become too high.

The nursing home wrote to families of residents this week to confirm what they had already been told by telephone.

San Remo has been operated in Bray by Willis Care Group for more than 35 years. The group has another facility, Ferndane, in Blackrock.

A HIQA inspection was completed at the Sidmonton Road facility in September 2018. The inspector found that the design and layout of the centre did not meet the needs of the residents in several areas.

'While we have submitted a plan to HIQA to bring the facilities up to the mark, recent increases in construction costs have made it impossible to implement,' wrote senior manager Patricia O'Reilly in the letter. 'Consequently, we have no choice but to close San Remo in the next six months. 'Obviously, our first concern is to make sure that all of our residents find somewhere new to live, ideally within the Bray area or closer to their own relatives,' wrote Ms O'Reilly.'With regret, we have to examine the viability of San Remo and with that in mind we have notified the residents (and their families) and the staff that its closure is likely,' said owners in a statement.

'We are now involved in the mandatory consultation period with staff to decide whether another course of action is possible. Until the mandatory consultation period is complete, we cannot speculate any further regarding the future of the home. We have been contacting other nursing homes in the area to see what capacity is available and whether groups of friends from San Remo could be accommodated together should San Remo close. Our priority throughout will be to ensure that our clients and our staff are treated well.'

The nursing home has nominated case workers to each resident to support and assist them and to help with any other issues that arise.

In a further report published early this year, the HIQA inspector found that planned building works needed to be completed to ensure that the premises would meet the needs of its residents. According to the report, works to redevelop San Remo were expected to begin in January 2019.

San Remo has a maximum occupancy of 51, and there were 39 in residence on the date of the last HIQA inspection in January.

Election candidate Grace McManus said that this is now a very vulnerable time for the residents and their families. 'It's an immediate need presenting in the community. We need an immediate response from the HSE,' said Ms McManus.

Deputy John Brady said that a number of families affected are troubled by facing finding alternative accommodation for their loved ones, any of whom have dementia.
Village life was the theme of Fermoy Camera Club's April monthly competition, which attracted an impressive 17 entries, giving judges a tough task in choosing the winners.

"Many miles were travelled and home towns revisited during April in order to catch that perfect image. All of the entries were of the highest quality and the judging was great fun and a wonderful learning experience for us all," said PRO Helen Arnold.

Grade one and overall winner Eimear Quigley travelled many miles before heading west to the Beara Peninsula and capturing a beautiful image in the village of Eyries.

Michael Walsh also travelled to Eyries, with his image taken from the other side of the village coming second overall.

Third overall and first in grade two was Deirdre Casolani's image captured during a recent visit to her home village of Birgu in Malta, while grade three winner Norma Brennan did not have to travel quite as far to capture the colourful image of the local butcher in her home village of Golden in Tipperary.

The next club meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14, where, amongst other things, there will be a demonstration on camera cleaning with members welcome to bring along their camera. Entries for this months competition, the theme of which will be 'Shapes & Curves', will be accepted up until May 28.

Other upcoming competitions over the next few months include 'Action', 'All Creatures Great & Small' and a picture inspired by a poem.

"New members are always welcome, so come along to our fortnightly meetings at the Community Centre in Fermoy, meet our members and find out how to become part of this vibrant club," she said.

For more information about the club visit www.fermoycameraclub.ie.
Communities across north and mid-Cork have been urged to 'get their ducks in a row' and prepare applications for the 2019 round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

The initiative is a key element of the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development and is one of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural regions under the Project Ireland 2040 programme.

Launching the 2019 scheme Michael Ring, the Minister for Community and Rural Development, said it will support projects that enhance town and village centres environments.

"It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work," he said.

"Proposals seeking to develop projects the encourage town centre living will be particularly welcome, as will projects that stimulate activity between a town/village and its neighbouring townlands. I would also encourage proposals that have clear positive impact on a town or village in terms of regeneration," he added.

North Cork based Cllr John Paul O'Shea (FG) pointed out that since the introduction of the scheme in 2016 almost 53 million has been allocated to more than 670 projects across the country.

"These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs," said Cllr O'Shea.

He said the scheme is specifically targeted towards town and villages with a population of less than 10,000,

"To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages," said Cllr O'Shea.

"He encouraged communities to work with Cork County Council in preparing "innovative and well-thought-out projects" under the scheme.

"In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Cork County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department by the end of June," he added.

Full details of the scheme, along with the application form, are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website, at www.drcd.gov.ie.
Two north Cork based artisan food producers have been selected to represent the county at the inaugural Local Enterprise Office (LEO) 'Meet the Buyer' expose later on this month.

They are among a trio of Cork producers who will represent the Rebel county at the event, which will take place on 'The Street' at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) on Thursday, May 23.

Glanworth based Clotilde's Fruit Compote produces hand-made compotes without any added sugar, preservatives or additives and Bo Rua Farm Fermoy, is home to the Dineen family who use milk from their herd of Montbeliarde cows to make a range of mouthwatering natural cheddar cheeses.

They will be joined at the event by West Cork-based Schull and Crossbones, the only Irish producer of dairy and lactose free alternatives to yoghurts as well as their vegan-friendly Coconut Treasure range.

One of the largest food producer expositions of its kind in the country, it showcases produce from a carefully selected cohort of up-and-coming Irish food producers to key supermarket groups and retailers from across Ireland and the UK.

Deirdre O'Mahony of the Cork North and West LEO said the event would provide small and medium food enterprises with a wonderful opportunity to avail of new distribution channels for their produce and to get expert advice on how to succeed.

"The event is trade only, so it is open to buyers from across the food industry who will be able to sample a wide range of the finest new Irish produce and meet the passionate and talented artisans behind it," said Deirdre.

She emphasised the role that the LEO was playing in supporting local producers through financial assistance, training and development and providing these kinds of networking opportunities.

"The Meet The Buyer event will assist these producers to develop new markets and outlets for their produce and will enable them to benchmark their products against the best from all over Ireland," said Deirdre.

"I expect this event to grow in the coming years and to become a key annual event for not only producers but also for buyers," she added.

Buyers who are interested in attending this event can register their interest by emailing helen.lyons@emap.com.
According to a Lightstep Microservices Trends report, most IT professionals (86%) expect microservices to be the default by 2022, affirming the notion that we are well into the next significant transformation of digital architectural design.

On the trajectory from client-server to web to mobile and now to a world of extreme digital transformation, were now fully into the age of microservices.

But how will we secure data and protect applications from attacks in this more granular world? Given the agility of microservice applications, the value is undeniable. But if these services are rolled out with security  and the network  as an afterthought, we could be in for serious risk and the usual unanticipated consequences of racing to adopt better, new technologies without considering the dark side.

Microservices are truly disruptive, not only because of the architecture but because they are most likely to be deployed using containers, and concerns about protecting an even more fragmented and growing attack surface are keeping security and network operations professionals awake at night. Why? Because now they are responsible for delivering secure app endpoints.

This takes us to what an endpoint is, which itself is morphing especially as the IoT brings more and diverse things to enterprise, government and organizations connected environments. Microservices are enhancing edge applications, even as the edge of the network is taking on more compute responsibilities for all the right reasons.

And every endpoint needs to be secured against attack and exploitation as the attack surface grows, and this is slowing down, in some cases, adoption of highly valuable solutions given concerns about everything from direct attacks to pivot attacks.

We asked Rick Conklin, CTO of Dispersive Networks, what can be done to address security for microservices in as scalable as way as possible to make implementations viable long term.

Microservices rely on a loosely coupled and independently deployable model, Conklin explained. They can be spun-up anywhere and on-demand. Those services will require connectivity, and that connectivity must support that elastic deployment model, and it must be secure while leveraging the ubiquitous public Internet. Deploying microservices over the public Internet is best done using a virtual network overlay that supports microsegmentation, zero trust, and an elastic, on-demand model while providing the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and performance that the end user demands from those microservices.

Conklin also recommended a strategy for APIs which can be created to establish virtual application endpoints in the same way applications are spun up and scaled on bare metal virtual servers.

The legacy SD-WAN solution is optimized for site-to-site connectivity, not mobility, not IoT, not blockchain, and certainly not microservices, Conklin said. We need a better model for micro-services including software-defined perimeter and zero trust to ensure that every session can rely on the network to ensure integrity, confidentiality, availability, authentication, authorization, access, and performance while operating in a zero-trust environment with zero-touch provisioning. That includes confidentiality for sensitive data that is normally sent in the clear including TLS 1.2 headers, DNS requests, and key negotiation. Were in a completely different game with microservices, which is why weve been building networking software which includes security that can protect every endpoint and service.

Using a virtual endpoint can also be enhanced with software that defends against attacks, including rate limiting and bot detection. Rate limiting prevents microservices from being overwhelmed, and bot detection can prevent automated scanners from finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in microservices.

Microservices allow enterprises and governments to free themselves from expensive, complex, monolithic architectures when building and deploying applications, Conklin said. Microservices offer advantages and disadvantages when it comes to security; given the proliferation of separate APIs and ports per app, there are simply more doors for adversaries to access within an application.

While containers can serve as an excellent security perimeter for microservices, its important to take into consideration the full requirement for a software-defined perimeter.

Containers enable you to apply security to each individual service  making them ideal for microservices. And no matter the application, putting it in a container provides an added layer of security, said David Lawrence, a senior software engineer at Docker. We see a common trend across enterprises is to containerize legacy applications, and as a result, gain the immediate benefit of hardened security  in addition to cost-efficiencies and portability to hybrid cloud environments.

In summary, microservices security brings with it new challenges. The DevOps, network ops and security ops teams in every organization must be on high alert, even more, vigilant against unauthenticated access to data and weak policies and enforcement of policies which can lead to man-in-the-middle attacks, and the loss of sensitive and confidential information.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
The Mallow Integration Forum has issued an open invitation to join them for their fourth annual 'Africa Day' celebration, which will take place at the Mercy Centre on Fair Street from 1pm on Saturday, May 18.

Billed as a 'celebration of the diversity of Africa', the event will showcase the many different cultures and traditions of the vibrant African community now living in the wider Mallow area.

Designated by the African Union as an annual celebration of the continents unity, Africa Day is an opportunity for communities across the globe to celebrate the continents rich and diverse cultures.

Africa Day has been celebrated in Ireland since 2008, with events taking place at various locations across the country including Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny and Cork City.

Following on from the success of the previous three Mallow events, the 2019 Africa Day celebrations will feature slide shows about each of the countries represented and live music with visitors also invited to taste some sumptuous African cuisine.

Formed in 2014 by former local RAPID co-ordinator Margaret Desmond, the Mallow Integration Forum was established in order to bridge the gap in cultural diversity between Ireland and the expanding immigrant community.

The chairman of the forum, Nigerian native Emmanuel Adebesi, said she was able to do that by bringing together people from different cultures under a single unified umbrella group.

"Ireland is constantly changing and we are striving to let people know there is a thriving African community living in Mallow," said Emmanuel.

"Our vision is to strive for a society that respects multiculturalism, diversity, welcomes new arrivals and facilitates integration to Irish culture," he added. The forum meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Le Cheile Centre and has been proven a vitally important tool for helping promote integration through educational workshops and other inclusive events.

Admission to the Africa Day event in Mallow is free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about the Mallow Integration Forum contact Emmanuel on 022 20477.
The proposed design plans for Ballydesmond village will be on display until late May as part of the part eight week planning process.

The village renewal scheme for Ballydesmond includes a range of public realm works to improve pedestrian connectivity for vulnerable users with the urban environs in the village and to enhance the urban centre for leisure activities.

According to Cork County Council, there is a "significant residential population living in the environs of the urban area, with potential for further development. There is potential for walking to and from local amenities such as the park, playground, church and school. It is important that the required infrastrucutre is either in place or planning providing the framework for future development work to facilitate this."

The plans of the proposed development are available for inspection, or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, from now until Friday, May 24 and may be inspected during public opening hours at the Cork County Council office in Millstreet.

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O'Shea has welcomed Cork County Council's plans for a Village Renewal Scheme along the R577 in Ballydesmond.

He said such developments by Cork County Council are subject to the Part 8 planning process, which consists of a public consultation process, and he encouraged community members in Ballydesmond to engage in this process. Any submissions received by the Council are considered in the Part 8 Manager's Report which is prepared and presented to Councillors for adoption.

The proposed development in Ballydesmond includes: public realm works, new pedestrian footbridge, replacement footpaths, new footpaths/buildouts, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and public lighting upgrades.

The proposed project objective of the scheme is to increase the safety of vulnerable users within the speed limits of the village, which is proposed to be accomplished by a mixture of traffic calming within the centre of the village and the provision of uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

Furthermore, it is the objective to control vehicular speeds on approaches to the main street with a combination of wider footpaths and concrete buildouts combined with speed ramps/raised table.

Plans are also available for inspection and to print at www.corkcoco.ie.

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposed developments, dealing with proper planning and sustainable development of the area may be made on or before Friday, June 7.

Submissions and observations can be made in writing to: Senior Engineer, Cork County Council, Regional & Local Roads Design Office, Innishmore, Ballincollig, P31 WT69; or in email to: part8.rlrdo@corkcoco.ie.
A Slovakian man who died after becoming involved in a row with two Polish truck drivers at a filling station in North Cork was found to have a significant injury to the back of his head by paramedics called to treat him, a trial has heard this week.

Father of two Ludovit Pasztor (40) from Glencullen, Duntaheen Road, Fermoy was lying unconscious on his back between two trucks when local HSE paramedics Andrew McCrea and Gillian Kinahan arrived at the Amber Filling Station at Carrrignagroghera, Fermoy at 10.25pm on February 21, 2017. Mr McCrea said that there was blood coming from Mr Pasztor's ears and it was starting to congeal and they noticed "a significant injury to the back of the patient's head" while they also detected asystolic rhythm, suggesting he had suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest and they ceased CPR.

He was certified dead at 11.50pm.

Details of Mr Pasztor's injuries emerged on the second day of the trial of Polish truck drivers, Marcin Skrzypezyk (31) and Tomasz Wasowicz (45), who both denied murdering Mr Pasztor.

Witness, Marta Baranska testified on Tuesday that she was working at the filling station when the deceased came in around 9.45pm with his friend, Mariusz Osail (40) who was buying eight cans of Carlsberg. She said Mr Osail was in confident form having been drinking and he was joking as he bought the drink and left the premises with Mr Pasztor.

Ms Baranska said everything was quiet when she went to lock up the off-licence at 10pm ... but when an ambulance called to the shop shortly after 10.20pm to inquire about the incident she saw Mr Osail by the trucks at the rear of the filling station. She said Mr Pasztor was lying by the rear of one of the lorries.

Witness Niamh Dillon said she had been out walking with her friend, Marie O'Mahony, passing the filling station at around 9.55pm. "There were four men standing at the back of a truck. They were talking quite loudly and animatedly. It was getting rough. They were talking very loudly to each other. There was nothing physical, just hand gestures. I felt it was going to escalate into something more," she said.

Earlier, opening the state's case, prosecution counsel Siobhan Lankford SC told the jury that they would hear how the deceased and his Polish friend, Mariusz Osail, had been drinking on the night. The jury would hear the two men were leaving the filling station at 9.45pm when they heard Polish voices and engaged in conversation with Mr Skrzypezyk and Mr Wasowicz who were both working as drivers for Macroom Haulage, but who had arrived separately.

She said the jury would hear that they had been chatting in Mr Wasowicz's truck but they got out of the cab to go to the toilet when they encountered Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail but that the conversation turned sour and they began to engage in verbals before Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail left.

She said that the jury would hear that Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail returned to Mr Osail's house, nearby, where they picked up two bars from a dismantled trampoline before returning to the truck parking area at the rear of the filling station where they knocked on Mr Wasowicz's truck door.

The jury would hear that both Polish truck drivers got out of the truck and a physical altercation ensued with Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail, who both ended up on the ground, where, the state alleges, they were hit with the iron bars by the accused after they had disarmed them.

Ms Lankford said the jury would hear that Mr Osail rang 999 and gardai were alerted at 10.15pm and officers arrived at the scene at 10.22pm where they found Mr Pasztorz on the ground and an iron bar lying near him under a truck while they found the second iron bar in a field nearby.

The trial continued on Wednesday
At 8pm on the 4th May next, the Lord Mayor's Show, proudly reinstated by Mayor Frank Godfrey into the musical life of Drogheda, will take place in the Barbican Centre.

On stage on the night will be one of Ireland's most accomplished artists, acclaimed international soprano Celine Byrne, who will be joined by St. Peter's Male Voice Choir and its musical director, Edward Holly.

Choir PRO Anthony Moore said "We are really honoured to have been invited by Mayor Godfrey to perform on the night, which will be a superb treat for music lovers. We are particularly delighted to join with Celine Byrne, who has sung with us on a number of occasions in recent times. She is an outstanding talent and we are looking forward immensely to singing with her again. This is a show not to be missed."

Admission is  20 and tickets are available from the Barbican Centre, ph: 041 9807416 and and www.ticketweb.ie. All proceeds go to local charities: Alzheimers Drogheda, SOSAD Drogheda and the Deceased Musicians Memorial.
While on a walk down a country lane on one of the dry, warm, sunny and calm days that marked the Easter weekend, it was nice to see several species of butterflies on the wing in the space of a kilometre or two.

The Peacocks were particularly noticeable and are arguably the most colourful member of the 30 or so insects that comprise Ireland's butterfly fauna. With a global range that extends from Ireland to Japan, these common and widespread butterflies hibernate as adults and emerge of the first warm days of late spring heralding the changing of season. Their striking colours and their large eyespots are indeed spectacular.

Named after their eyespots reminiscent of those on the display feathers on the huge tails of the peacock bird, the purpose of the markings is a subject of debate. One interpretation of the eyespots on butterflies is that the insects may flash their wings when threatened by a predator to alarm or deceive it or to draw its attention away from the more vulnerable body parts.

Obviously, the purpose of eyespots on the display feathers on the extravagant tails of male Indian peafowl are unlikely to play a role in deceiving any potential predator of these turkey-sized birds. It is much more likely and is generally accepted that they are display aids in communication and courtship among other members of the same species.

With so many species under threat and with many wildlife populations in steep decline, it is nice to know that the Peacock butterfly is bucking the trend; its numbers are increasing, and its range is expanding.

The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, organised by Tomas Murray at the Waterford-based National Biodiversity Data Centre, began in 2008 so the details of the scheme are now well established. The recently-published Newsletter No 11 reveals that last year, 110 volunteers walked 115 transects and recorded more than 46,000 butterflies. Peacock and Silver-washed Fritillary showed the strongest growth in populations, whereas the Small Heath experienced the strongest decline.

The overall trend in Irish butterfly populations since 2008 shows a decline of 6% but as a consequence of the dry and warm weather experienced in 2018, overall populations of our commoner and widespread species were up by 29% last year.

Full details, together with species by species fast fact files, are in Newsletter No 11 of the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme that can be accessed at http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/latest-news/.
Are election posters not just an insult to the electorate's intelligence? Like, what is it exactly they are supposed to achieve that a five-year track record in office hasn't? And if the candidate is new to the local hustings, how does knowing what they look like suggest a suitability for public office? Surely a vote based on a nice smile, or a twinkle in the eye, is a precarious one?

This week Ireland's unofficial election historian and archivist, Alan Kinsella, told The Irish Times that he believed the lampposts are an important part of democracy. They 'level the playing field' and inform people that there's an election on, because 'not everyone knows, you know', he is reported to have said.

Oh God.

Election posters are an attempt to subliminally brainwash the voter with face recognition, not so subliminally, plain and simple. They're saying to pen-poised voters in polling booths: remember me, you've seen me before, no matter when or where.

That's a Mad Men-esque way of doing business - establish a brand by saturation and ensure recognition by repetition, just like flashing cue cards to a three-year-old eventually teaches them to read.

Fortunately in Arklow, Aughrim and Avoca the Tidy Towns Committees have managed to clamp down on the practise in picturesque south Wicklow. In poor old Dalkey, the Tidy Towns committee actually had to threaten to remove legally erected posters in the salubrious south Dublin suburb, but after a bit of a kerfuffle they backed down.

It isn't that politicians aren't crucial to our society at both European and local level. They are the lynch-pin of the democratic process and, in the case of the local council's, definitely more requiring of people driven by a vocation rather than intent on a career move.

It's just that posters of airbrushed mugs in public places are not a million miles from the murals of despots in the Middle East; they're ego trips, symbols of who's who and who might be, in terms of standing in our society. Imagine the outcry if, as a result of Google analytics, they started invading a computer screen the way they do our streets (probably not a million miles away).

At a cost 5 each (not factoring the cable ties or the time of the person up the ladder), that's the same price as a McDonald's meal, which would be better spent feeding the people lying in the doorways of the streets they number.

Politicians should leave the lampposts to the canines when it comes to marking their turf.
Mid Louth election candidate Hugh D Conlon from Dunleer has been forced to resign from the Joint Policing Committee because he has declared he's running in the local elections.

'The" PPN Secretariat" rang me earlier this month to tell me that because I was running for the forthcoming local elections there was a requirement that I step down from my position as a member of the Policing Forum, but that I could remain as a member of the PPN,' he stated in a letter of resignation this weekend.

'He very kindly sent me a copy of the relevant guidelines which surprisingly seems to indicate clearly that I would need to step down from both bodies. He told me that he would send the matter to the Policing Forum Secretariat to let them handle the matter. To date, I have heard nothing from the Policing Forum,' he added, stating that he put in his nomination papers for the election on Saturday.

'If the copy of the regulation that I was sent is correct, and I take it that it is; then I have no other option but to tender my resignation from the Mid Louth PPN and also the Ardee & Mid Louth Joint Policing Forum. If I don't take this action I run the risk of possible challenges to the validation or not of my nomination, or fingers crossed my election in the future.'

He says he strongly protests with regard to the way that this requirement was introduced since 2014 and how it is impacting on him and other members of PPNs in the country in general.

'I have no doubt that this sneaky piece of regulation was contrived by councillors and TDs and has strong political considerations in its drafting. All the big parties funded by the tax payer of course have loads of money to spend on their back room boys to come up with their worst when it comes to the protection of their own empires.

' It is clear that during the drafting of this regulation the" Fianna Fail" " Confidence and Supply" arrangement is holding up nicely, and the silence of the so called opposition is unsurprising to.

Sinn Fein remaining silent when it suits their interests to do so because in this case they know that it is their support base that could firstly be eroded by the emergence of the PPN members into the Local Political Arena such as myself.'

He says all six Mid Louth councillors, two Fine Gael/ two Sinn Fein/ one Fianna Fail and one Independent on the Policing Forum are allowed retain their seats and still run for the council elections.

'However I as a Community Representative am being asked to step down under the new Legislation. This is not a level playing pitch scenario going into an election in four weeks time.

'It is very unfair and sends a negative message to the community bodies who participate on the PPN s. Also coming at a time when the people of Mid Louth are going through a very bad spate of drug related crimes which has brought further trauma to the community.'
A 9m high work of art, made by Cisco Engineering in Drogheda, and designed by renowned Rathmullen Road artist and sculptor Ronan Halpin, is now winging its way to Dallas, Texas to sit proudly by the lakeshide at a multi million dollar development.

'Icarus' is the focal point of the project and took some six weeks to put together.

And for Ronan, who is now based on Achill Island, it is certainly his biggest commission to date.

But how did the Drogheda man secure such a large scale project?

Last year, Lucy Billingsly, the head of the Billingsly Corporation, who are developing a major centre in Fort Worth, to include housing, schools and offices, was visiting Co Clare and spotted a piece of Ronan's work.

She was deeply impressed and asked about him.

She got in touch and asked for some ideas and 'Icarus' was born. Ultimately, he got the commission.

He got designing and when it needed to be constructed, he headed back home to Drogheda and Cisco Engineering.

'I have worked with them before and they've been very good to me,' he stated. 'They took on board what I wanted with this.'

For weeks, the team there worked on his idea and last week, the finished project was crated into a 40ft container, sent to Dublin and on to Rotterdam and is presently en route to Houston.

In late May, early June, Ronan and his wife, Amanda, will travel to Dallas to oversee the installation of his artwork.

'At the moment, we don't know if it's going to be placed in a lake or by the lakeside, but either way, given the scale of the development, we knew it had to be big and impressive,' he stated.

Stuart Carolan from Cisco said this was the fourth project they had worked on with Ronan and was pretty special.

'It was very much a bespoke project. We went through the ideas and sorted out the problems as they arose.

'We started on it in early February and spent about 1,000 hours working on it.

'At the end, we had 14 to 16 hour days and when we were finishing off , everything else stopped and we had 12 people involved to make the deadline,' Stuart remarked.

He says they'd certainly welcome doing more projects like this.

'We are 44 years here and this was something great to be involved in.'

Ronan Halpin's rise in the world of art design began in 1979 when he attended the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.

Son of Gavin and Aileen Halpin, he was later offered a scholarship to attend Yale School of Art, in New Haven, USA, where he received a Masters Degree in sculpture.

In 1985, he returned to Dublin where he worked for a number of years before moving back to Drogheda. He opened his studio in Fair Street and worked there for five years before moving outside the town to Fieldstown. In 1998 he moved, with his wife Amanda Mac Mahon and two children, to Achill Island in Co Mayo where he now lives, works and runs a gallery.

'Achill was always special to me,' he admits. 'My parents, Gavin and Aileen, met there in the mid 40s and 20 years later bought a cottage om the island and I spent my summers there.'

Ronan works mainly with steel, brass and bronze. Examples of his large scale works can be seen throughout the country, from the 'King & Queen' in Trim Co Meath, to the six metre high sculpture of 'Amergin' in Co Kerry.

In 2016, Ronan was commissioned by Westport Town Council to create a sculpture to celebrate The Irish Times 'Best place to live in Ireland award'. The bronze sculpture 'Sentinel', which stands at the bottom of Peter Street in Westport, was the result of this commission.

His work is well represented in Drogheda; 'The Shaft of Light' the 'Pinnacle' at Millmount and the 'Source at St Oliver's School on Rathmullen Rd, are among his better known works.

The 'Icarus' commission for Dallas is constructed in Corten steel, Bronze and stainless steel and stands nearly 9 metres high.

Like most artists, resting on laurels is not something Ronan can afford to do and really works from job to job.

'It is one job at a time as you don't know where your next commission will come from.

'We will be opening up the gallery on Achill again for the summer and it's near Keel,' he revealed. No doubt if any locals are heading west on their holidays, a visit is a must.

The past few weeks have allowed Ronan plenty of time to see his brothers and sisters still resident locally, with others having travelled far and wide.
The victim of an alleged IRA man who raped two teenage boys at a "republican safe house" two decades ago said his dream life was in "tatters" from the moment the man entered his house.

Seamus Marley (45) of Belfield Court, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of sexual assaulting and anally raping two boys in Co. Louth on dates in the early 1990's.

After a six day trial the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on a total of six counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape.

A character reference from Marley's pastor described him as "an excellent Christian" with a "charitable spirit".

During the trial Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the two complainants lived in a large home owned by a "dedicated republican" and that it began to be used as a "safe house".

Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Mr Gageby that Marley was one of these guests and that he was welcomed into the family.

The older of the two victims woke up one night to find Marley raping him. After the incident Marley warned him off telling anyone what had happened and said he "could be found dead on a border road".

The younger victim was given alcohol by Marley and was groped or masturbated by him on three or four occasions and raped in a tent nearby his house.

Marley has no previous convictions. The court heard that he is from a large family in Belfast and that his father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the older victim said he has spent the previous 27 years living in despair and looking over his shoulder. He said he had finally reached the end of the tunnel and was taking his life back.

The younger victim, who also read his victim impact statement, said that as the house was beside a graveyard they had "quiet neighbours, dead ones. He said that he had learned that it is "not the dead we should be afraid of, but the living".

He said that Marley "preyed on me, groomed me, abused me and raped me". He said the life he had dreamed of was in "tatters" from the moment Marley entered the house.

"Marley was always lurking in the back of my mind," the man said. He said that the "fabrication of stories" to discredit him made the trial so much harder.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the man in custody and adjourned the matter for sentencing on Thursday, next.
The true spirit of Drogheda was never more evident when a supervisor at Starbucks in the Laurence Shopping Centre saved the life of a customer.

When Marion Walshe from Slane began to show signs of suffering a stroke while in the cafe, Platin Road man Jonathan Fitzpatrick immediately recognised the symptoms .

'I noticed her sitting down and she didn't seem right. She got sick and I was worried for her. 'My own mum suffered a stroke, so I knew a bit about it,' he stated.

He stayed with the woman and asked her to perform various tasks that can indicate a stroke and when she couldn't raise her arm or speak properly, he rushed to manager Niamh Madden and they rang for an ambulance.

'They were here within five minutes which was great,' Jonathan stated.

Speaking to the Drogheda Independent, Marion stated that doctors said that only for the action of the Starbucks workers, she would have died as she had suffered a bleed on the brain.

'I rang Jonathan to thank him and we both cried. He's a great guy,' she said. Marion revealed that she woke up that day with a dizzy head, feeling it was stress as her husband had just gone into hospital.

'I went into Drogheda but didn't feel good. I decided to go for tea in Starbucks but I couldn't order as the words wouldn't come out and I got sick.

'The man behind the counter saw me and he was very decent and came over. They rang an ambulance and the doctors said that saved my life.'

The incident took place some weeks ago and Marion has now recovered very well and now wants to recognise the efforts of the young man who saved her.

'I contacted him and we both broke down. I was in hospital for seven weeks in Drogheda and Dundalk. I was lucky, I was blessed,' she said.

Jonathan was very humble about the incident, just delighted that he could help Marion on the day.

'I asked her to look at me and could see the left side of her face was dropping and she couldn't raise her arms properly. I asked her had she ever had a stroke and she said she didn't, so that alarmed me further.'

As Marion got colder, Jonathan and Niamh decided to act and rang the emergency services who arrived very promptly.

Jonathan got a letter from his head office, commending him for his actions. They said it showed that Starbucks is not just about coffee, it's about looking after customers.

'I went into retail to try and make life good for others, so this was special,' he admits. Starbucks Manager Niamh Madden was proud of the team and their efforts that day.

'We are always told to look out for people and we are trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator, but this was different. It shows what can happen.'
The Return of Lightning Comedy to the Lord Mayor's Pub comes this Sunday on May 5.

Hosted by award winning local playwright, actor and comedian, David Gilna who says that a 'night of lightning and laughter always guaranteed' at these regular Lightning Comedy nights at the Lord Mayor's

There's a variety of top class International comedians and a few locals in the mix as always.

Making her debut to stand up is local Nadia Missaoui and there's the return of Dakota Mick, Christina McMahon (Ireland's Got Talent) John O'Keeffe (Bray Comedy Festival Best New Act) Emily Ashmore (Breakout Cherry Comedy Act of the Year) , Billy DeCourcy, Mustafa Saed and all the way from America, Alan Henderson.

The doors will open at 8pm and the laughing will start at 8.30pm when the show begins.

Tickets are 10 on the night or you can purchase tickets online at eventbrite.

David will be hosting a special night for Lightning Comedy in aid of AWARE this July 18 at Swords Castle to kick off the Swords Summer Festival and more details about that exciting event will be announced soon.

Until then there is another Lightning Comedy night to enjoy on Sunday night and the Lord Mayor's is the place to be if you want a fun night out in the company of a great host and a great-line up of top class comedy acts including some of the best of our own home-grown comedy talents.

It is not to be missed.
A Balbriggan man is encouraging everyone to get behind a special event to raise awareness about organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation.

Colin White from Balbriggan is this year's Race Manager for the Irish Kidney Association's 'Run for Life', a family fun run which takes place at Corkagh Park, Clondalkin on Saturday May 25 at 2pm.

'Run For Life' aims to raise awareness about the plight of people in organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation and transplantation.

Colin, Race Manager and National Projects Manager of the Irish Kidney Association said: 'This will be the 11th annual Run for a Life event, which has developed a loyal following over the years and has become a strong platform for the promotion of organ donor awareness.

'We are looking forward to another successful event on May 25, which offers a great day out for all the family.

'Over 500 participants from throughout Ireland took part in last year's event, and we are optimistic for another great turnout this year.'

Sam Kinahan (5), who is waiting for a kidney transplant, his older sister Ali (age 8), and their parents Chloe and Ivan from Baldoyle were joined by Susan Mulligan from Castlerea at the Phoenix Park for a photo call on April 23 in the run up to the event.

Chloe Kinahan, a native of Mullingar, said: 'In his short lifetime, my son Sam has been receiving dialysis treatment for four years and eight months, and that's almost as long as he has been alive.

'Sam is a patient at Temple Street Hospital and has soldiered through his illness as a happy little boy who seldom complains.

'A donor kidney will be the catalyst for transforming Sam's life, and a new kidney will be his transformer!

'Sam has attended the annual Run for a Life every year since his first as a baby, being pushed along in his buggy by his father.

'We look forward to attending the event again this year and hopefully by then we will have received welcome news that Ivan (Sam's father) can be Sam's donor.'

'Run For Life' is open to people of all ages and levels of fitness, who can choose to walk, jog or run in the chip-timed event, which offers prizes for winners of the 2.5km, 5km and 10km distances.

Broadcaster Ray D'Arcy, the National Ambassador for Organ Donor Awareness 2019 and an enthusiastic runner, will also take part in this year's event.

The 'Run For Life' entry fee is 20 (adult), 10 (child) and 45 per family of up to two adults and four children.

All finishers will receive a medal, and entry fee also includes a light lunch.

For more information on the event visit website www.runforlife.ie

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association at: 01-6205306 or free text 'DONOR' to 50050.

You can also obtain an Organ Donor Card by visiting the Irish Kidney Association's website: www.ika.ie
Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) members from Malahide were among over 1,000 members of the Society who gathered in Dublin's Convention Centre recently to celebrate SVP's 175 years in Ireland.

Some of the members of St. Sylvester's Conference, Malahide who attended included Sean Nugent, Bernadette Martin, Patsy McGuirk (president), Breeda Corrigan and Kathleen Morgan

SVP is the best known and most widely supported organisation of social concern and action in Ireland with over 11,500 volunteers active in every county in Ireland.

Since its foundation in 1844 it has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

For decades the Society has provided help and support to those most in need through the Famine in the 19th century, two World Wars, an Uprising, a Civil War and cycles of economic austerity.

'Sadly today we still see poverty in many different situations and circumstances' said SVP national president Kieran Stafford.

"There are nearly 800,000 living below the poverty line including 100,000 people at work; record numbers of homeless; 50% of lone parent families experiencing deprivation and 61% of families struggling with education costs.

'We know and meet the people behind the figures every week bringing friendship and support.' he said.

The anniversary event under the title 'Serving in Hope - Past, Present and Future' was formally opened by President Michael D. Higgins.

Speakers traced the history of SVP and outlined its role in social justice and education.

Members of Young SVP showed how its Youth Development Programme is shaping the volunteers of the future.

Regina Doherty, TD Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection also addressed the gathering.

Other speakers were Katriona O'Sullivan who shared her story from being a homeless, young mother, parenting on her own to being a university lecturer with a PhD and an advocate for equality and equity.

Brian Cody, Kilkenny Senior Hurling manager spoke about leadership.
A Fingal mum, Maeve McAuley ran her first ever 10 mile road race and organised a 12 hour marathon shopping-centre collection to thank staff at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles St. for saving the lives of her premature babies.

Maeve recently presented a cheque for 2789 to the NMH Foundation, Holles St to repay the hospital for all the care and kindness she received when her triplets Meadow, Madison and Morgan were born at just 25 weeks.

Maeve was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, four years before her triplets were born.

She said: 'By the time I was diagnosed in June 2009, it was stage 3. However, Hodgkin's lymphoma is a curable cancer so I was 'lucky' in that sense.

'I ended up having 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months. Before the treatment, the doctors warned me that I might not be able to conceive because of the chemotherapy.

'So I was delighted when I found out I was pregnant. But when I found out it was triplets I was astounded.'

She explained: 'My miracle babies were born at 25 weeks at the NMH, Holles St. Madison was born first weighing 660grams, Meadow was born next weighing just under a lb at 440grams,.

'Morgan was born last and was the biggest weighing 740 grams. Meadow was very sick and it was touch and go. Sadly after two days she had a massive pulmonary haemorrhage and passed away.

'Madison and Morgan ended up spending three and a half months in the Neonatal unit at the NMH, Holles St. I will be forever grateful to all the staff who worked so hard to save their lives.'
Funding of up to 200,000 is available for rural towns and villages across Fingal through the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has become an integral part of the Government's drive to support rural Ireland. It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work.

The scheme is specifically targeted at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000.

Senator James Reilly welcomed the funding opportunity and said: 'Balrothery and Balrothery Community Council are a great example of what this scheme can do for a village.

'Substantial grants were approved for this village, delivering village improvements in co-operation with the excellent active community council and Fingal County Council.

'Recently a MUGA Multi Use Games Area was opened in the Village substantially funded by this scheme.

He explained: 'Naul Village and other villages in rural Fingal could benefit substantially from this scheme and indeed any town below 10,000 population.'

Senator Reilly said: 'Fine Gael is delivering 'Project Ireland 2040' which will ensure sustainable growth over the next twenty years for all parts of Ireland.

'To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages.

'Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016, almost 53 million has been approved for over 670 projects across the country. These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs.

'I strongly encourage towns and villages in Fingal to work with Fingal County Council in preparing innovative and well thought-out projects under the scheme and I look forward to the announcement of the successful recipients of funding in the coming months.'

He added: 'In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Fingal County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications.'
Calls for the council, in conjunction with other Dublin local authorities, to construct a purpose built dog rescue centre in Fingal were opposed by Fingal County Council's executive recently, despite councillors claiming an existing facility at Ashtown was not being run in a 'satisfactory' manner.

A motion at a recent council meeting heard that the operation of the rescue centre in Ashtown was an 'absolute disgrace.'

Through a number of emotive contributions from councillors, the council heard that conditions at the Fingal pound were 'unsatisfactory', and that either a purpose built rescue centre should be built in the county, or the operation of the existing pound assessed.

Cllr Jimmy Guerin (NP), noting the 'emotive' comments made from other councillors, said that, as a dog owner, he would 'not like to find my dog staying in such a place.'

Cllr Guerin added, however, that he would 'like to go to a place where I find that my dog has been rescued', and that, although conditions at the pound were 'not ideal', it was his understanding that there were regular veterinary inspections which had the approval of the DSPCA.

Stating he was 'willing to listen to experts' on the issue, Cllr Guerin said an 'honest debate' was needed before such a new facility was built.

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF), said that given the concerns raised by councillors, 'current arrangements' needed to be looked at.

The cost of such a facility would need to be determined, he said, and in the context of a three year capital programme.

Raising concerns about the Council's assertion that the current rescue centre was being run satisfactorily, Cllr Joe Newman (NP) said he would like to see the criteria against which the current assessment had been carried out.

A council official, responding to the councillors, noted that 'given the context of the meeting', 'I think people have made their minds up, right or wrong.'

The majority of dogs housed at the rescue centre, he said, were re-homed 'within a very short period', and only 'a very small percentage' were 'euthanised', which he said was 'a big change over the last 20 years.'

A report issued by the council in response to the call, stated: 'The current contracted service is operating satisfactorily and in a cost effective manner.'

The local authority report further stated: 'There are no plans at present by either Fingal or the other Dublin Local Authorities to develop and construct a purpose built centre.'
Building on the success of last summer's community dig at Drumanagh promontory fort, Fingal's Community Archaeologist Christine Baker is undertaking another excavation at Drumanagh promontory fort with a team of professional archaeologists and volunteers from the local community and beyond.

Drumanagh is a nationally important archaeological site and is of international significance in terms of Ireland's relationship with the Roman world. 'Community excavation is an objective of the Drumanagh Conservation Study and Management Plan, so it is fantastic to be undertaking another season of excavation at the site' said Christine.

She explained: 'Last year we concentrated our explorations near the Martello Tower and this year we will be investigating the original road to the tower, to the other end of the site.

'What we uncover will inform the future management of the site.

'It is also hugely exciting for the local community who have such a love for the site'.

At a recent talk to the Loughshinny & Rush Historical Society, Christine presented the results of the 2018 dig. The material uncovered relating to Martello Tower during the nineteenth century has shown just what life was like for the occupants. Animal bones retrieved shows there was eating of beef, pork and mutton as well as fish and seabirds.

Wine was being drunk, tobacco smoked and a number of marbles indicate how they passed the time.

Of even more significance was the uncovering of evidence for the Iron Age at the site, with pottery from Roman Spain that would have held olive oil found at the site.

Two decorated antler combs and a hilt from a small sword can all be dated to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Radiocarbon dating of two human bones and seeds reflect a similar date range.

'The people of the Iron Age were known as the invisible people. Here at Drumanagh we have evidence for settlement, trade, death and burial from two thousand years ago, all uncovered by the community of today' said archaeologist Christine Baker.

Season two of the community excavation Digging Drumanagh will take place between 15 May and 29 May 2019.

If you want like to take part or would like more information please contact Fingal County Council's Community Archaeologist, Christine Baker at christine.baker@fingal.ie
Barbecue for Hospice - North Wexford Hospice Nursing Trust is holding its annual barbecue on Saturday, May 11, in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey.

A delicious steak supper will be served from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. followed by dancing with music from Theresa and the Stars with supporting music from Tina Carter.

Tickets are 25 and are available from James Tomkins, Isuzu garage, Gorey 086 2604097. Dr Michael O'Doherty, 053 9421303 or any of our hospice committee members.

In the barbecues 27 years, there has been generous support coming from the people of north Wexford and beyond. The team are looking forward to seeing you all again this year.

Gorey Active Retirement

All booking, payment and inquiries should be made on Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Loch Garman Arms. Members are reminded that the 2019 membership is now overdue.

If you have forgotten please pay on Friday and ensure you are insured at any Active Retirement event nationwide. Non-members are invited to check out our activities by dropping into Loch Garman Arms, there is some activity on most days of the week.

Gorey Active Retirement is thinking Youghal for September break, please put name down ASAP if interested and the cost price will be advised shortly.

Please note the change of Date for Gowran Park Races to Sunday, June 16, NOT 23. Please book early with committee. Also be aware of the Trade and Tourism Show, taking place on June 5, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Punchestown Events Arena. Admission is free and all ARA members welcome.

Courtown Lifeboat shop

The RNLI Shop on the North Pier in Courtown Harbour will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., all welcome to call in and browse the new stock of souvenirs, clothing etc for all occasions. Shop for gifts that help saves lives at sea.

Colour Run

Registration is now open for this year's Courtown Colour Run which takes place on Saturday, July 13.

There will be 3km and 6km distances. Register now for early bird rates, which can be done online popupraces.ie/race/courtown-colour-run-2019.

Gorey Musical Society

Calamity Jane was a great success and the Gorey Musical Society would like to extend its thanks to the prime sponsors, sponsors, patrons and associate members, without such generous support this production would not have been possible.

Thank you to the director Chris Currid, musical director Conor McCarthy, choreographer Clodagh Leacy and the fabulous cast and costume team. Thanks to the raffle organisers, make up artists, Paul, Frank and all of our back stage crew, front of house, ushers, Gorey Little Theatre and last but not least to the faithful audience.

Darkness into Light

The annual Darkness into Light Walk 5km will take place in Courtown again this year on Saturday, May 11, beginning at 4.15 a.m. from Flanagan's Wharf. Each year the community comes together to walk or run in support of Pieta House.

Last year over 1,000 people attended the Courtown walk and raised over 28,000, which goes to supporting the work of the charity such as one to one counselling services as well as the 24-hour suicide helpline. To register now for the event or find out more about the work of Pieta House, visit darknessintolight.ie/event/courtown.

Bridge club holiday

This year's bridge club holiday is to Spain, and the club members will jet off from September 17 to September 24. This year's' package, which costs 795 per person sharing, includes return flights from Dublin to Malaga with 10kg checked bag, airport transfers, a day trip to Granada with an English speaking guide, seven nights in the four star Plas Granada Club Resort on half board basis including wine with dinner and of course five nights of bridge. Phone Podge for more details at 053 9482740 or book direct with Killester Travel at 01 833693.

Choir Festival

The festival of choirs will take place over four days from Thursday, May 9, to Sunday, May 12, and will consist of 25 choral groups taking part of all ages and range. The largest event being organised will be a special celebration of a gala concert to mark Gorey 400, taking place at the Ashdown Park Hotel at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 10.

Other events will take place in Gorey Library, Ashdown Park hotel, Gorey courtrooms, St Michael's Church as well as Creagh School.

Primary and post primary school children will be taking part, as well as adults of all ages, and listeners can enjoy a lot of variety during the festival, from jazz music to acapella and light popular music.

No tickets will be required for any of the events but donations are welcome, with all funds raised going to Wexford Hospice Homecare Service. For more details visit Gorey Festival of Choirs' Facebook page or call 087 9890470.

Afternoon tea

On Sunday, May 5, Wexford Lavender Farm at Coolnagloose, Inch, is hosting afternoon tea from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to support breast cancer research. The cost is 14 per person, which includes refreshments, cakes and sandwiches.

There will be live music from the Cantabile choir. Booking is available online.

Gorey Youth Needs AGM

On Friday, May 3, at 11 a.m. Gorey Youth Needs will host its AGM in Gorey Youth Needs Centre, which is located on Mary Ward Lane, St Michael's Road beside Gorey Community School.

This open meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to get a snapshot of the services provided by Gorey Youth Needs, including Little Daisies Childcare as well as Gorey and Courtown youth training initiatives, and all are welcome to attend.

Gorey-Malawi presentation

The Gorey-Malawi Health Partnership will hold an information meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, at Gorey Library.

There will be presentations from staff and those involved in the locality, as well as people from Malawi visiting to discuss their work and association with the health partnership.

All are welcome to attend to learn more about the medical work of the organisation.

Druid Theatre

Druid Theatre will be performing at Gorey Little Theatre between April 30 and May 1. The theatre will perform Furniture, a selection of three one-act plays by Sonya Kelly and directed by Cathal Cleary.

Garrett Lombard, one of the stars of the show, hails from Gorey and began his acting life in Gorey Little Theatre.

His mum and dad are still prominent members of the group. The show is touring nationally and is long listed for the Irish Times award getting rave reviews. Tickets are 25 and available to purchase from goreytheatre.ie.

Author Visit

Irish author, Anne Griffin, will talk about her writing and her journey to publication at Gorey Library on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

Anne's critically acclaimed debut novel 'When All is Said' is topping the charts and has gotten her noticed by other authors, such as John Banville, calling her book a 'rare jewel'. Please phone Gorey Library at 053 9421481 to book a place.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill Gorey shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The team are currently accepting donations of clothing, footwear, homewares, CD/DVD and furniture. To volunteer, please call into the shop for a form.

SVP shop

The St Vincent de Paul furniture shop in Gorey welcome donations of good clean furniture, bric-a-brac, etc. They will collect furniture if needs be.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For more information, call 086 3962260 or 089 4439667.

Shedfest

The annual Shed Fest at Buffers Alley will take place on Saturday, June 22.

Details will be announced at a later date.

Work Matters

Work Matters Start-Up business event will take place on the Tuesday, May 7, in Gorey Library, aimed at helping local entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. The library are happy to welcome Dermot Casey, Venture Investment Leader with the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), which aims to build and invest in very young digital companies, or startups. It provides startup teams with supports such as cash investment, accelerator programmes, mentoring with industry experts, workshops, networking events and other opportunities to develop your business. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and for more information on the event call Gorey Library at 053 9421481.

Gorey ICA

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the Loch Garman Arms at 8 p.m., new members welcome. Congratulations to Nola Farrell Gorey ICA Guild on coming third in the Comortas Gael Linn.

400 reasons to love Gorey

The Gorey Polish Cultural Association are getting behind the '400 reasons to love Gorey' campaign. The group is inviting the public contribute and give a reason why they love living here in Gorey, visit the Facebook page or search gorey.pl/gorey400 to take part. On completion of the project, a mural will be created.

Coffee Time

Gorey Methodist Church invite all to Coffee Time a free coffee morning that occurs every Wednesday, from 10.30 a.m. till 12.30 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to come in for a tea or coffee and of course a chat on the day.

Thank you

Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club committee chairperson Monica Fallon would like to thank Cllr Robert Ireton and his wife Mary for their continuous support, and all the other ladies and gents as well as young children, who came along to the Easter bonnet parade which was held on the Easter bank holiday Monday.

Monica also extends her sincere thanks to those who donated prizes for the best in show, and altogether the club collected 257 during the parade.
Visual artist James Kirwan is from Gorey and he has been making a name for himself both around Ireland and on an international basis, and in autumn he brought his artistic talents back home when he completed a mural in spray paint entitled 'Albino baby Alligator' on the wall at Different Strokes art shop on St Michael's street in Gorey.

'When I completed that mural in Gorey, I just back from a trip to Canada, and that photo realism was something I haven't done in years. It was great to put those skills into practise but I surprised myself on how it turned out, it was so realistic,' said James.

He said that his murals 'all come about differently,' as sometimes he is invited to create one, it could be collaborative or else a spur of the moment.

James looks for reaction in his work, and he specialises in experimental work with form, abstraction, colour and subject through painting, drawing and digital work.

Enjoying the natural world, he took inspiration from the rural environment and landscape, growing up on the outskirts of Gorey, between the town and Carnew, and he spent his youth and his teenage years discovering his passion for art.

'Living in Gorey, where my parents still live, you walk in one direction you're in town and the other direction you're in fields, Gorey is small enough to be surrounded by nature, and my art was influenced by that,' he said.

'Art was something I loved doing in school, and I was good at it from an early age. I decided I wanted to go to art college early on and this direction for me really was a no brainer,' he said.

He took great inspiration particularly from his art teacher, Paul McCluskey at Gorey Community School.

James went to Gorey CBS national school and then Gorey Community School, before going on to study fine art at the National College of Art and Design until 2005.

After this, James lived and worked in Westport, County Mayo and from there went to Porto in Portugal to do an artist residency.

He currently lives and works in Dublin, being based from his own studio and is involved with creating work for exhibitions, commissioned pieces as well as his own solo ventures.

He explained that with his art, the wall comes first as the backdrop before an idea comes to him about what to put on the wall and he often does free styling from there.

'Dublin is keeping me busy and has been doing so for the last year or two,' said James, adding that he likes to come back to Gorey every few months.

'There's definitely more potential for art in Gorey, because there's so much creativity there between artists and musicians,' said James.

'As an artist, you're trying to better yourself and I look forward to experimenting new avenues and see where it'll lead me,' James explained.
Some of the attendance at the Easter Commemoration ceremony

Oulart is an area with a proud history and this history was well and truly reflected on Easter Sunday as locals gathered to mark 103 years since the 1916 Rising at the Mise Eire monument.

An ever-present, local historian Brian Cleary was master of ceremonies and spoke wonderfully about the contribution that young men from the area had made to Irish independence, linking the past with the present in typically articulate fashion.

The sun shone beautifully as Breda Jacob read aloud the Proclamation in front of the beautiful monument that was officially unveiled in October 2017.

With great reverence Brigid Mythen, whose father Luke and uncle Jim had been involved in the Rising as young men with the Oulart company of Irish Volunteers, listed off the names listed on the monument of local men who fought bravely for Irish freedom.

This was followed by a resounding performance of 'Amhran na bhFiann' while veteran 1798 pikepeople Maggie Furlong of Kilnamanagh and Jim Dunne of Moneyboe looked on in full costume.

The event saw a great attendance, among them Cllr Willie Kavanagh, Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, and James Browne TD.

'It was a simple and dignified event,' said Breda Jacob afterwards.

'We intend now for this to become an annual event. History is ongoing and it's important. We must remember where we are and where we've come from in order to understand where we are going so we're going to try and keep this tradition up.'
Experience life as a Norman at the Bannow 1169 Norman Festival this May Bank Holiday Weekend.

In May 1169 the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach in County Wexford and this weekend the village of Carrig on Bannow will hark back to life in Norman times for the Bannow 1169 Festival.

The festival will host battle re-enactments, and commemmorative ceremonies.
The sounds of North Connacht are to get the North Kerry toes a-tappin' at St John's shortly as Roscommon-based trad greats Gatehouse perform in Listowel on Thursday, May 9, next.

The concert comes as the group - comprised of well-known trad musicians John Wynne (on flute); John and Jacinta McEvoy (on fiddle and guitar/concertina respectively) and Rachel Garvey on vocals - releases its new album Heather Down the Moor.

St John's is the venue for a group that's been together for just the past few years, with the group posting their delight on social media at their imminent return to the intimate venue.

Gatehouse is steeped in the traditions of North Connaught, as well as the sean-nos traditions of Connemara in a repertoire drawing on the canon right back as far as another big Roscommon figure - Carolan. Former All-Ireland winner in both Irish and English singing Rachel meanwhile brings one of the most celebrated young voices in the trad scene to bear on proceedings.
Forty three people living in Kerry are among those who received Irish Citizenship at ceremonies in Killarney this week.

More people from the UK are seeking Irish citizenship because of the 'uncertainty' of Brexit according to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. 309 UK citizens were granted Irish Citizenship at citizenship ceremonies in Killarney on Monday.

In total 2,400 new Irish citizens were welcomed from 90 different countries.

409 Polish nationals were granted Irish citizenship along with 309 from the UK, 281 from Romania and 189 from India.

The presiding officers at the ceremony were Retired High Court Judge Byran McMahon and Retired District Court Judge Paddy McMahon. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan was also in attendance and he welcomed the new citizens. He said Ireland is a place of "openness and diversity".

"Today, you take an oath of fidelity to our nation and loyalty to our state. You will do so in the knowledge that this is a relatively young state - still less than a century since our independence was gained - is a place of culture where traditions are cherished and history is ever present. And to be sure, too, that this state is a place of diversity and openness," said Minister Flanagan.

Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, Ms Justice Tara Burns, addressed the three ceremonies at the INEC in Killarney and urged the new Irish citizens to vote in the upcoming referendum on divorce on May 24.

Voting rights in referendums and presidential elections are among the rights granted to the new Irish citizens.

In an interview with Radio Kerry, Minister Flanagan, said that people were not asked why they were seeking Irish citizenship but he said that Brexit had played a part in the increase in the number of UK residents seeking Irish citizenship.

"There has been an increase of people living in the UK of Irish descent and of UK citizens living here applying now to become Irish citizens...This is a trend following the uncertain discussion in Britain about their future relationship with Europe."
Campaigners against the encroachment of wind turbines around the village of Ballylongford are poised to fight what is effectively the same wind farm plan for a second time.

NMWT@Ballylongford group is now calling a public meeting in the parish hall for 11am on Sunday next to galvanise support ahead of a second campaign against efforts by firm Ballylongford Windfarm Group to erect 126.5m-high turbines outside the village.

The firm's plans for eight turbines were refused by the Council last year and An Bord Pleanala on appeal in January. But the firm is now submitting a fresh application for six turbines.

"We feel we are becoming locked in a permanent fight now against the plans to erect more and more turbines around our community," chairperson of the NMWT@Ballylongford (No More Wind Turbines) Tony Dowd told The Kerryman.

"There are now 31 turbines around Ballylongford with plans for forty more in train. It's a case now of 'welcome to wind farm alley' for people coming off the ferry."

Mr Dowd says the existing turbines are negatively affecting many, with people losing sleep.

"Decibel levels from a windfarm 700m from my home are equivalent to traffic from a major road. We need to start looking at off-shore wind power as is now happening in the UK, at a time when many of these windfarms here are being bought up by American investment funds."
The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme was officially opened by Minister Brendan Griffin and KCC Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley, pictured with KCC CEO Moira Murrell, CEO TII Michael Nolan, Ray OLeary of the Department of Transport and Director of Services at the Council Charlie OSullivan

More than 7,000 cars will use the new road between Milltown and Killorglin which was officially opened on Friday last.

The new route - already open to traffic for a number of weeks - has improved connectivity between north and south Kerry according to the local authority who were delighted to announce that the road was built in budget and on time.

The 11m project, one of the biggest road projects undertaken in the county in recent years, is a new 3.5km road between Milltown and Killorglin and one which allowed the removal of the dangerous Kilderry bends.

The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme, as the project was known as, was officially opened by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD and the Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley.

Contractors on the project were Sorensen Civil Engineering Limited. Planning approval for the scheme was granted in January 2014 and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the required lands was completed in June 2016.

The scheme was developed by the Kerry National Roads Office based in Castleisland. Friday's opening was attended by the Chief Executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Michael Nolan and the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell as well as local residents and many of the region's sitting councillors who have long campaigned for the necessary infrastructure for the local area and have welcomed the finalisation of the project for the region and all those who live and commute to the neigbouring towns.

Kerry County Council Chief Executive Moira Murrell thanked all 28 local landowners for their co-operation in providing the 42 acres of land required for the project. She added that the new scheme was vital for the mid-Kerry area and provided necessary infrastructure for the businesses located in the area as well as for local residents.

"This new road connects Milltown and Killorglin in the first instance. Milltown is a growing and vibrant town which has seen a huge increase in population over the past number of years and the development of two new schools, a new community centre and other facilities. Killorglin is a strategically important town which is home to a number of established industries including; Fujisawa Ireland Limited Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Temmler Ireland and Fexco Financial Services. It is crucial that those employers have improved access to their offices and factories," said Ms Murrell.

Minister Griffin said that he was thrilled to see this essential piece of infrastructure delivered for the benefit of residents, local businesses, tourists and all road users and he hoped that more such large-scale projects would come about in Kerry.

Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley said the opening of a piece of infrastructure worth 11m represented a very good day for the county. Cllr Foley remarked that the road offers spectacular views of mid-Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.

"I think it is fair to say that it offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the county, if not the country. The view over Callinafercy, Killorglin, Cromane, the mouth of the River Laune and beyond to the Dingle Peninsula is a sight to behold."
A man who racially abused and attacked a taxi driver in a shocking incident that went viral after a video was shared on line is understood to be from Kerry.

Gardai have questioned a man after a shocking video of a racist attack on a taxi driver appeared on social media.

The footage shows the man racially and physically abusing a taxi driver, and has been shared widely on Twitter over recent days.

It is understood the incident was recorded on Easter Sunday night in Dublin.

The man - who is sitting in the front passenger seat - is seen shouting "what's your favourite position?" in the face of the driver, before referring to him using a racial slur numerous times.

The man then proceeds to attack the driver, referring to him as a "f***ing c***" and punching him on several occasions.

The passenger, who is believed to be from Kerry, can then be seen to remove his seatbelt and accost the driver, requesting that he gets out of the car while claiming to be "a police officer".

Gardai have since confirmed that the suspect in the case is not a member of the Garda.

Gardai later confirmed in a statement that they had interviewed a man who had presented himself for questioning.

"Gardai in Clontarf are investigating the alleged assault of a taxi driver that occurred at approximately 10pm on the Malahide Road, Donnycarney on April 21," the statement said.

"A suspect in the case has presented themselves at a north Dublin Garda station and gardai are following a definite line of enquiry.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Clontarf garda station 01 6664800 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111," said a Garda spokesman.

Gardai have said that as the investigation is ongoing, they would not be commenting further at this time.

Derek Devoy, who founded Taxi Watch, a suicide prevention service run by taxi drivers, said he had been in contact with the man who he believes was the passenger involved in the incident.

Vincent Kearns, a former vice president of the National Taxi Drivers Union said incidents like this were not uncommon.

"There are no statistics on how frequently this type of abuse happens, but I can tell you, it's frequent enough. I've certainly heard of many cases of it," he said.
An intergalactic celebration will take place in west Kerry this weekend as Star Wars from across the world will gather for the annual 'May the 4th Be With You' festivals.

The celebration of all things Star Wars will include a host of fun activities for all-ages in Ballyferriter close to where the latest film in the blockbuster movie franchise was filmed.

Celebrating May the 4th, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe, a host of fun activities for all-ages will take place including an epic lightsabre battle, Yoda Yoga and outdoor drive-in movie screenings, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the West Coast.

Similar events will also be taking place in Portmagee and Valentia where scenes from the franchise were also filmed.

At the Ballyferriter festival fun family events for all ages include Jedi Training to help you find your inner Jedi; guided walks to explore film locations; Jedi Training with Ludosport Ireland; a virtual reality experience and children's storytelling by torchlight.

Visitors can also take a cruise aboard the MPV 'North Star' cruiser with a local skipper who will share local knowledge of Smerwick Harbour and Star Wars filming locations. There will also be guided walks to film location sites for all to enjoy.

Also new this year, Dingle native and five time World Champion Dancer David Geaney will bring his hit Broadway show, Velocity, to Ballyferriter alongside a John Williams musical tribute to Princess Leia, performed by the Kerry School of Music Orchestra.

Failte Ireland's Head of Festivals and Events, Ciara Sugrue said the event will not only celebrate the Star Wars Universe but the history and natural landscape of Kerry. For full details visit www.wildatlanticway.com
At the presentation of the 25,000 cheque (from left) front: Sean Furlong, Major Gifts Manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Colm Dolan and Stacey OConnor, New Ross Credit Union; back: Peter Walsh, Nick Cashin and John Dreelan

New Ross Credit Union recently made a donation of 25,000 to Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF), with money contributed from thousands of its members.

This donation was made from the local credit union's Third World Fund.

2 is donated to the fund from each member of New Ross Credit Union, and the chosen charity is decided at the company's yearly AGM. This money was donated to help Medecin Sans Frontiers with their works in Mozambique.

The impact of Cyclone Idai and flooding in parts of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe was devastating. Medecins Sans Frontieres teams were already on the ground when the cyclone hit, and once everyone was safely accounted for, they were able to assess the needs of affected communities, and rapidly deploy additional medical and logistical staff. Over 100 tons of emergency supplies were flown in. One month later, MSF has nearly 1,000 staff on the ground to respond to the disaster and they are supporting a massive cholera vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health in Mozambique to contain the spread of the outbreak.

So far, almost 750,000 people have received the vaccine.

A MSF spokesperson said: 'Many families are still struggling to find food, shelter, and healthcare services and it is critical that people in the areas hardest hit are not forgotten. People remain at risk of illnesses like malaria and malnutrition, which are common after natural disasters, and the local health system will take some time to recover. Thanks to MSF supporters, including the members of New Ross Credit Union, MSF teams will continue to provide medical care and other support to those affected by this disaster.'
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president, New Ross man Patrick Kent has rowed in behind Independent TD Mick Wallace, saying he has the bottle and ability to take on the big guns in the European Union, if elected in late May.

Having headed up the ICSA for almost three terms, Mr Kent stepped down from his position as leader of the body last week, to take up the role with Deputy Wallace, saying he left the organisation in a better shape than when he took on the role as its president in 2004. 'I was in the third quarter of my third term as president. It was an exit strategy.'

Mr Wallace is running for an MEP seat in the South constituency. Mr Kent will be advising him on agricultural policy. He is meeting Deputy Wallace this week to iron out the details of how he can assist him in his bid to get elected in Europe.

Mr Kent said the phone call from Mr Wallace had 'come out of the blue' and he has only met the candidate three times. He said he will take up the paid role and is focussed on getting Mr Wallace elected. He is second on a list of five replacements in the Dail named by Independents 4 Change MEP candidate Mick Wallace on his replacement list. Mr Kent has an in depth knowledge of Brussels, having bought cattle there since 30 years ago and lobbied for farmers in the city many times with the ICSA. 'We, in Ireland, are major food exporters. As lobbyists these are factors you have to take into consideration and Mick is aware of that and he will represent the farming sector in a very positive way.'

Although Mr Kent says he does not agree with Mr Wallace on everything, there are many synergies in how they view the importance of food and health in society. 'I think it's very important we have strong politicians in Europe. We need to fight in the place where the policies are made for Ireland Inc. Brussels can be a cold, austere city but Mick is well travelled and is not afraid to take on the big guns. We have elected people in the past who just don't have the bottle or ability.'

He said his time heading the ICSA has opened doors for him. 'I have no regrets. We have done a lot of lobbying and I will be pursuing different roles. Other options are appearing so we'll see what they offer.'
The quaint village of Carrig on Bannow will roar to life this weekend with an action packed 1169 Norman Festival.

It was exactly 850 years when the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach.

To mark the big anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in Irish history, the village will host battle re-enactments, a living history tented village, historical lectures, a commemorative ceremony and concerts featuring local and French musicians.

Visitors can enjoy an entire Medieval Living History Tented Village with 14 different living history tents which will showcase life some 850 years ago, 15 living heritage craft displays will also be showcased along with a display of Norman cavalry warfare and fully trained warriors will host battle re-enactments twice per day on Saturday and Sunday during the festival weekend.

Warrior training will be on offer for younger visitors with a chance to enjoy archery and a free replica Norman coin will be offered to all children who take part.

A civic ceremony will take place at Bannow Church on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. with officials from New Ross Municipal District in attendance. There will also be historical lectures in the marquee in the village.

On Saturday historian Turtle Bunbury will take to the stage and on Sunday Emmet Stafford will be the guest speaker. Both evenings will conclude with a musical concert marquee at Colfer's pub.

On Saturday the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned piece of music for the occasion by composer Greg French will be performed by local artists and guests and Normandy based band 'Strand Hugg' will headline the concert. Sunday evening's concert will feature Strand Hugg along with well-known local band Green Road.

Further details on all of the events can be found at www.bannow1169.com. Tickets for the Living History Village are 5 per adult, U18s go free; concert tickets are 15 per person.

Speaking of the festival weekend, one of the organisers John Murphy said: 'Bannow is a hugely historical location in Irish history. It is pivotal to the ancient heritage of Ireland's Ancient East and we are looking forward to bringing this history to life over the May bank holiday weekend with professional historical re-enactment groups who will create a fun fully impressive medieval experience for festival-goers.'

The Bannow 1169 Norman Festival takes place as part of a year-long programme of events in Wexford to mark the 850th-anniversary of the arrival of the Normans to Ireland.

Throughout the year historical talks and demonstrations, music concerts, landing re-enactments, workshops, medieval games and a Viking Fire Festival with a Norman twist, are all set to take place in Bannow, New Ross, Wexford town, Ferns and Enniscorthy under the banner 'The Normans Are Here.'
New Ross youths are benefiting from a pilot project aimed at helping 'detached' vulnerable people by alerting them about services they can engage in to help their personal, social and educational growth.

New Ross is one of ten towns nationally to benefit from the Detached Youth Work Programme.

Run locally by youth workers, John Caulfield and Hayley Rochford in New Ross since January, the outreach programme has already yielded some success stories.

Wearing a distinctive black jacket and casual clothes, John and Hayley are clearly identifiable as youth workers on patrol.

John said: 'It's a whole new concept. We don't use a youth centre; we're out walking the streets. The aim is to provide people with information on every service available to them in the New Ross and district area.'

Workers like John and Hayley engage with young people on the street on Thursday and Friday nights. Hayley said some youths act a bit wary when they are first approached. 'They have a joke and a laugh. We explain to them that they might see us around in the evening time. Some thought we were social workers. Our first engagement is to introduce ourselves. Some young people are happy enough to chat with us about CAO forms and jobs interviews and we give them the right route to information.'

This can involve directing them to Wexford Local Development's offices in New Ross, for example. 'They do a range of courses in their offices near Lidl and there is also the adult learning centre in Butlersland.'

Originally developed by Youth Work Ireland to identify "hot spots" in a locality, the Detached Youth Workers routinely visit these areas and gain the trust of targeted young people by talking to them and explaining who they are and what they do. Hayley said: 'The aim is to go out and identify young people who are at risk and who may have fallen through the cracks in society, be it in school, employment or mental health services. It's all based on an individual's needs. We got to young people who are vulnerable and get to know them and refer them to services. They feel like there is no place for them in New Ross to just hang out; there isn't even a McDonald's.'

She said the lack of adequate mental health services is impacting on many young people; some of whom are struggling with substance misuse issues.

'A lot of young people have to go through a referral route as there is nowhere for them to go.'

Both Hayley and John record the information surrounding the needs of vulnerable New Ross youths to stakeholders, without ever identifying the people they have come in contact with.

As John explains, it's all about building up trust with the people they meet.

'The big aim is to speak to the young people and to empower them and ask them what they need in their local area. We go out on the streets on a Thursday or Friday evening. It's early intervention work. We judge the situation and we have information on us from Youthreach, Youth New Ross and about training and courses and the Community Based Drugs Initiative Project.

We are a friendly face they can turn to. Sometimes they mightn't engage the first time we meet them but it's about building a relationship. From my experience as a youth work when you go to them in their environment they respond really well.'

Both Hayley and John are trained in child protection so they operate under child safety guidelines.

Hayley said: 'Parents can approach us about their son or daughter at home who is never off the computer; and it's within our remit to help. They might be always on their XBox or Playstation and the parents might have concerns about the child's social skills. Just from talking to people there is a lot of anxiety out there. You won't meet some of the young people on the streets (so we can go to their homes if requested to do so by their parents).'

John said school attendance and substance misuse are among the problems teenagers and young adults are contending with on a daily basis.

'People need a place where they can be a teenager that is not on the street. They need a safe environment to socialise in.'

Working with children aged ten right through to adults in their early 20s, Hayley and John said they have had a positive response so far.

'They are positive and want to have their voices heard. Looking at the facilities in New Ross for young people; they have nowhere to go unless you are involved in sports.'

The effectiveness of the three year programme is primarily demonstrated by the numbers of young people engaged each night, how many hours are spent engaged with the youths, and how many youth are referred to other agencies that focus on the youth's needs.

The Detached Youth Worker's goal is to improve the outcomes of youth lives in the short term as well as the long term by focusing on their individual well-being and their social interactions in the community in which they reside. This includes working to improve the youth's self-esteem, self-awareness, and empowerment. Building individual confidence in the youth helps the youth in the future because they will then be more independent, less inclined to engage in high risk behaviour, and have better overall health. The social implications for the youth include more stable family life, improved well-being, and increased community cohesion.

In the long term, the individuals are more likely to stay in school, so they are more likely to have better jobs and the community overall will be safer.

The Detached Youth Work model can be applied to both rural and urban settings and John said there are plans to roll it out to Campile and surrounding villages.

Hayley and John also plan to give talks to 5th and 6th class schoolchildren alerting them to the service they provide and are liaising with local principals.

'Hopefully more and more local youths will start using the service. I think the older ones are easier to engage with,' John said. He said there are services youths can join in New Ross, including at The Shambles youth centre at the bottom of Barrack Lane, where a youth drop-in service is provided, along with a Traveller Girls group meeting, among other services.

'By going out on the streets it shows to vulnerable young people that someone is taking an interest in them. Many youths engaged with us on the youth forums, we are trying to create a positive environment in New Ross.'

Hayley said: 'I think young people are tarred with the one brush. The perception that (many) older people have of young people in New Ross is very negative and a lot of them aren't giving young people the benefit of the doubt. The youths are still responding and positive towards us even if they are behaving in an anti-social way.'

John agreed, saying: 'Out of the kids we have met on the streets about only 1 per cent of them have been disrespectful.

'Respect works both ways. If we see someone standing in a shop doorway we tell them "you can't do that; there is someone living upstairs in an apartment". Many are frustrated with the lack of facilities.'

Kieran Donohoe of FDYS said: 'Detached youth work is quite innovative in that it tries to meet young people where they are. Not all young people are engaging with youth services so this is a way of making them aware of what services are available for them in New Ross and we are hoping to try and form some form of link between them and the services that are there.'

Mr Donohoe said the programme has given the FDYS a real insight into the needs of local youths.

'As a result the FDYS are starting to tailoring our services to meet those needs.'

This includes funding being provided to refurbish The Shambles and for the drop-in service to be opened two evenings per week; (it is currently only open on Friday evenings).

New couches and a sound system are being purchased for The Shambles after funding was released following a youth forum meeting in New Ross recently.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to work with a youth worker at the centre can contact John Caulfield.

He can be reached at john.caulfield@fdys.ie or on 086 8152381 and Hayley can be reached at hayley.rochford@fdys.ie.
New Ross Drama Workshop is in the final stages of preparation for its production of 'The Anniversary' by Bill MacIlwraith.

Directed by Rojer Whieldon 'The Anniversary' is a hilarious comedy set in the 1960s, brimful with sharp wit, sarcasm and caustic one liners!

The central character in this play, is 'Mum'- played by Margaret Rossiter. Margaret has great fun with the mischievous character

As we meet this 'unorthodox' family at curtain up, two of three sons have something important to tell Mum. Terry, (Shane McDonald) the pensive middle son, wants to leave the family business to emigrate to Canada with his wife (Brid Moloney) and children.

Tom, the youngest, (Nicky Flynn) wants to marry the latest in a long line of girlfriends, Shirley played by Seona O' Connor. Their problem is how and when to deliver their news - that is, if they can muster the bravery needed to tell her at all - because Mum, evil, malevolent and fanatically domineering, is used to getting her own way and intends to keep her world intact at any cost.

Throw the eldest son Henry (Peter O' Connor) into the mix and the family soon learn that all is not as it should be.

Director Rojer Whieldon is delighted to be directing his first full-length production with New Ross Drama Workshop and is ably assisted in the venture by his right hand woman, Kitty Warren. Carmel Furlong is production assistant for 'The Anniversary' with Nancy Rochford Flynn leading the stage management team of Carmel Furlong, Ann Kissane and Annette Stacey.

Costumes are being looked after by Peggy Hussey and Brid Walsh with Paul Walsh and Brian Geoghegan taking charge of lighting and sound for this production. Fully authentic 1960s hair styles will be created for the cast by Jenny Murphy-O'Neill of Vibe Salon in Rosbercon and Kitty Warren is change of make-up. A host of well-known faces from the group will be looking after the front of house. Terry Brennan and Macdara Murray have been tasked with the job of recreating the beautiful drawing room of the dysfunctional family.

The play takes place on May 9, 10 and 11 in St Michael's Theatre. Tickets are now on sale at St. Michael's Theatre on 051-421255.
A childcare group has taken issue with local and EU election candidates for their failure to mention the issue of childcare as a priority.

Referencing the candidate profiles in The Sligo Champion recently, the Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee expressed their disappointment that no candidate took on the issue of childcare as a priority.

"Childcare costs for parents are one of the most expensive in Europe. Parents are paying from 1,000 to 1,400 a month on childcare fees.

"Early Years Educators are earning just above the minimum wage, and Providers are struggling to keep their doors open," outlined a statement from the group.

A statement from the committee went on to explain that the Government spends 0.2% of GDP on Early Childhood Care and Education.

The committee outlined that the average spend in Europe is 0.7% and cited that the Government's spend has resulted in high childcare fees and low wages for educators.

SIPTU's Big Start Campaign is campaigning for proper Government funding for decent pay for qualified early years practitioners and high-quality early years services for children.

Commenting on the lack of representation for the sector by candidates, SIPTU Big Start Activist Lucy Davey stated, "In last week's Sligo Champion, 26 candidates seeking election in upcoming local and European Elections, set out their priorities.

"Although they all raised important issues such as housing, health, and education from primary school to third level, not one candidate mentioned the Early Years sector, despite it being the most underfunded sector in Irish society."

She added: "It is children and parents who would benefit from a properly funded childcare system. The childcare sector has been ignored and made feel invisible for too long. This is changing because we are now building a strong union in the sector, however, we would like to see more of our local politicians supporting our cause."

A member of Sligo Early Years Managers Network, and Big Start Activist Michelle Maitland said the workforce within the sector have no decent quality of living because of poor wages, resulting in staffing issues.

She cited that 28% of staff are leaving their job every year. "Our children deserve quality childcare, our early years professionals deserve a decent wage," she concluded.

SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Co-ordinator Ann O'Reilly said: "The Early Years Sector has been ignored by successive governments and public representatives for years, however workers in the sector now have a voice through the Big Start Campaign, they are taking a stand and refusing to be ignored any longer."

The statement from the group acknowledged that a number of councillors expressed their support for the Big Start Campaign at a recent Big Start Tree Planting event in Sligo IT on April 5th to celebrate National Tree Week.

Following this, Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee will be advising its members of those candidates at an upcoming Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) Information Event hosted by Sligo Early Years Managers Network which will take place on Monday, May 20th in the Sligo Park Hotel at 7.30pm.

The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2017/2018 covers the first year since all families became entitled to some State subsidy when using full-time, registered care for children aged up to six.

In this report is showed the average cost of full time day care costs 153.48 in Sligo.

Figures from the 2016 census revealed the average cost per week per child for pre-school children was 118.00, while the average weekly cost per primary school child was 73.00.

The average weekly cost for a child aged zero to 12 was 96, while the average weekly cost for one pre-school child was 133, 118 per child for two pre-school children, and 103 per child for three or more pre-school children.

Census figures set out that the average household weekly expenditure on paid non-parental childcare is 155.60. This was an increase from 2007, when the corresponding figure was 123.20. However, it should be noted that the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced in January 2010.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney previously quoted figures that funding for childcare had risen from 265 million to 574 million in the last four budgets and 200,000 children were now in subsidised childcare.
The correct cancer diagnosis of a mother of two could have prevented her months of bleeding and discomfort, her husband has said.

Jonathan Costello's wife Charlotte is currently undergoing a second round of treatement for a rare and aggressive type of cancer called leiomyosarcoma, which Sligo University Hospital failed to look into fully when she was admitted with severe bleeding last October.

The 44-year-old from Cartron Estate but living with her husband and two daughters in Glencar, was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe bleeding.

Jonathan told The Sligo Champion that even though Charlotte was bleeding heavily and was 'very sick' she was discharged from Sligo University Hospital on the same day.

"They said it was just the fibroids that she had a history of, that this causes this type of bleeding, which it does."

Jonathan explained that a radiographer who performed a scan said Charlotte probably needed a more detailed one because one of the fibroids was 'very very big' as opposed to the others.

"When we met with the consultant's registrar they said he felt it was more than likely an enlarged fibroid and that we'd be called in due course."

Charlotte was not called by the hospital for a follow-up consultation until December.

"A couple of weeks later she was getting sicker and sicker and we couldn't be waiting for them [Sligo University Hospital] to come so then we had to go private," explained Jonathan.

With no health insurance, the couple privately paid for a biopsy at the Galway Clinic and soon costs began to mount.

On November 1st she was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb and just one week later they were told it had spread to her lungs.

Jonathan described the period between being discharged from Sligo University Hospital on October 1st, to having surgery on December 9th in Galway, as 'horrific'.

"Because they said it was just fibroids and didn't do anything about it, Charlotte was bleeding all the time, everyday. You think in a modern system this wouldn't happen."

He continued, "A few days we'd have to rush down the road to Galway, she was losing litres of blood."

Jonathan stated that he does not assume his wife's cancer would have been eradicated if diagnosed in October in Sligo, but does believe her treatment was impeded.

In Novemeber Charlotte's tumour was showing on her abdomen.

Jonathan highlighted that Charlotte could not be operated on in Galway for some time as the tumour was too big and had to be shrunk first.

"Whatever about questioining if it would have spread [if a diagnosis was reached quicker], they couldn't operate straight away because they had to shrink the tumour because it was too big."

He recalled that on December 9th last things came to a head.

"She nearly bled to death on a Sunday morning.

"They had to do this operation and she ended up in intensive care."

Charlotte had to have a hysterectomy,

"If she was dealt with earlier all that bleeding and discomfort she went through, for private health service, she could have been dealt with two months before that."

Jonathan believes that if Charlotte's bleeding was looked into enough in Sligo she would have been spared months of discomfort.

"I did say to them up there [Sligo University Hospital] that we have two young kids and we are very concerned, the bleed was so heavy, yet we were discharged."

Father to Julianna, aged six and Alicia aged four, Jonathan explained that Charlotte finally got a letter from the Sligo hospital for a follow-up consultation a week after her surgery in December.

"We finally got a letter after everything was done, diagnosed, tumour removed and into starting chemo. It's ridiculous. I was raging, I couldn't believe it. It's such a joke."

He went on to explain that though the situation is not good, if they had waited for a follow-up consultation in Sligo things could be a lot worse.

"As bad as it is, we could be dealing with a situation where it could have spread further and we could be looking at months to live. That's how bad it is."

After a scan last February doctors told the Costellos that although the cancer hadn't spread, the tumours remained unaffected, and further stronger chemotherapy would be necessary.

"We're waiting on results of her second line chemo that she's on at the moment. When we get that then we'll know more and if it's working to try and hold it at bay or shrink it," he explained.

Looking forward in terms of ongoing treatments, Jonathan admitted that his wife will need 'a miracle' but is positive that further medical avenues are available.

As Charlotte's cancer is one of the rarest of its kind, Jonathan explained that this is why alternatives abroad are being considered depending on the outcome of the current regime of chemotherapy.

"Ultimately Charlotte will need a miracle for it to stop altogether, there's not loads it has happened to, but it has happened to people, so we have to try and hope that she'll react longer."

Referring to other drugs and treatments, Jonathan said in some cases people have got a year or two years on one drug which has stopped the progress of the cancer.

Charlotte is down for clinical trials at St James Hospital if needed and it is hoped there will be more alternatives available to her as time goes on.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of a GoFundMe page raising funds for possible alternative treatments abroad, the family are considering every option.

"We're waiting to see how her chemo's going to go first here in Ireland before we go and get the advice abroad, but we will have to get advice abroad at some point.

"Treatment abroad would be into the hundreds of thousands. It was 90,000 for Charlotte's last treatment here that didn't work," explained Jonathan.
Sligo University Hospital is providing a weekly outreach antenatal and gynaecology service from the Ballymote Primary and Mental Health Care Centre.

Ballymote was chosen as the location to cater for the large catchment area of South Sligo which includes the towns and villages of Ballymote, Tubbercurry, Riverstown and Geevagh. Also in this catchment area are the towns of Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon and Charlestown in Mayo and many other towns and villages in between.

This is the fourth outreach antenatal and gynaecology service provided by Sligo University Hospital in addition to the existing clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon.

Dr Ravi Garrib, Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology at Sligo University Hospital will lead the clinic in Ballymote, supported by Midwife, Leona Mulvey and the medical team. He said: "The aim of the new clinic is to bring high quality care as close to where the women who will use the service live and to avoid unnecessary trips to outpatient appointments in the hospital.

The women availing of the service in Ballymote will be seen by me and my team and this is exactly as it would be if we were running a clinic in the hospital. The outreach clinic is in a comfortable, modern building which is easy to access. Once the clinic is established it will also offer midwifery-led care.

"The outreach clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon have proven to be very successful and we expect the same for Ballymote. Women living in the catchment area will automatically be offered an appointment at this clinic from now on."
'We're being treated like cattle'. That was the opinion of matriarch of the McGinley family on Tuesday last following the seizing of cars and the partitioning of the halting site in the Connaughton Road car park.

Speaking to The Sligo Champion, Tilda McGinley said Sligo County Council were at fault and said they were given no prior warning to Tuesday morning's activities, which saw approximately seven cars removed from the car park where four generations of the family live.

The operation has also resulted in the top part of the car park now being cordoned off with the McGinley families being sectioned off by fencing and concrete kerbing to the lower part.

Mrs McGinley said the saga at the car park has been ongoing now for 35 years with Sligo County Council refusing to meanfully engage with the families in relation to sourcing a suitable site to relocate to.

Currently there are four families living on the site which is owned by Sligo County Council.

"This has been going on 35 years. We just want a site where we can be what we are and live the way we live. They're pushing us further down, the young children can't live like this."

She added, "When I came here 35 years ago I didn't think we'd be here this long, we don't want to be here, but my late husband refused to move out to Finisklin years ago because it wasn't healthy."

Asked if they would leave the site, Mrs McGinley expressed doubt citing that the younger people of the family were in school locally. Referring to previous interactions with the council, Mrs McGinley said the council would not listen to the family.

"We're trying to tell them that there would be no trouble if we moved to a proper site." Mrs McGinley said the council have ample amount of lands on the Old Bundoran Road.

She told The Sligo Champion she had no issue with the gardai but did say she believed Tuesday's events were a result of the council, gardai and business people in Sligo town working together.

"Look around you, there's plenty of places left empty by rich people. And this is what is being done to us. We're being treated like cattle and being pushed"

She added, "We were given no warning, they arrived here at 9.30am and the rest of the town knew."

Another member of the McGinley family described the events as 'scandalous and unfair'. Asked how she felt about the events, Mrs McGinley said she was 'ashamed and embarrassed' by it all.

"I offered cups of tea to the gardai they're just doing their jobs, it's the council who are at fault. We don't cause trouble when they come up here."

When asked about the issue of scrap cars at the site, Mrs McGinley said the cars were brought in to highlight to the council the need for a suitable site for the families.

"They [cars] were put in here so the council would see this isn't right, that we're here living like this."

Barney McGinley said: 'They're trying to break up the family', referencing previous occasions when the families were offered relocation sites miles from each other.

Mrs McGinley went on to explain that other locations were simply not suitable for personal reasons regarding tragedy in the family and health risks to children.

"Where they wanted to put us before there would have been trouble. We tried to explain that to them but they won't listen. If they put us on the Old Bundoran Road there wouldn't be trouble."

The family were offered a place in Finisklin many years ago but refused it as they felt living beside the dump and industrial estate was not suitable for young children.

In a previous interview with The Sligo Champion, Barney McGinley had indicated that the family were not seeking compensation in order to relocate. The family took issue with the level of garda presence at the site during Tuesday's events and outlined a previous incident when gardai had visited the site.

"They would be better off trying to solve murders in the town than be here," said Mrs McGinley, whose own son was murdered in 2005.

"Look at the amount of gardai that are here today. If there was an ATM pulled out of a wall you'd only have one or two gardai there. It's madness," said a younger member of the family.

Mrs McGinley singled out Chief Executive Officer of Sligo County Council, Ciaran Hayes for his role in Tuesday's operations.

"Ciaran Hayes is behind this. Would you want your children living like this?," Mrs McGinley asked.

In a response to media queries in relation to works at the car park, Sligo County Council confirmed it was carrying out the works and set out what was being undertaken.

The response detailed that a 'clean up of the area' was being done, which would involve the removal of 'end of life vehicles, scrap, waste, containers, etc'.

The statement continued, "Numerous complaints have been made to the Council relating to the activity and behaviour of those resident in the car park and the manner in which activities in the car park detracts from the area." It outlined that repairs and improvements to the height control barrier were also being carried out.

"The barrier was the subject of an attack in which it was damaged and rendered ineffective. Today's work will restore height control to the car park."

According to the council, part of the car park that was cleared of waste will be restored and returned to its 'original condition'. Addressing the heavy garda presence, the statement detailed a 'risk assessment for the site'.

"As with all construction operations planning for the work includes a risk assessment. Given the history relating to the site which includes violence to Council staff, the Gardai are in attendance to ensure safety of the construction workers and maintenance of public order."

The Council said it was not in a position to comment in relation to discussions with the residents of the car park concerning 'provision of accommodation or offers of accommodation made to individual families.'
A new Customs Training Workshop to help companies with importing and exporting when the UK leave the European Union is being run by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow.

The course, which is free and is taking place on Monday, May 13 in Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew. It is open to all small businesses and business people in the region who may be directly or indirectly affected by Brexit.

The workshop, which is an initiative of the Government of Ireland being delivered by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, will help businesses understand all elements of dealing with the UK as a 'third country' outside of the EU single market. This includes administration around imports and export, customs formalities at borders, tariffs and the possible knock on effect of these tariffs and import procedures such as Electronic Declaration process and Automated Entry Processing.

Vibeke Delahunt Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Wicklow said; 'The Local Enterprise Offices have been working closely with their 7,000 client companies ever since Brexit was announced in 2016. Each one of our companies has been contacted directly in relation to Brexit supports and in 2018 we had over 4,000 attendees at Local Enterprise Office Brexit information events. These Customs Training Workshops provide practical information to these businesses to ensure when the UK leaves the European Union, there are no shocks for them. We would say that any small business that has yet to plan for Brexit, it is not too late and the door of your Local Enterprise Office is open to help you plan for this year and beyond.'

The Customs Training Workshops are just one strand of the supports that the Local Enterprise Offices have supplied to their clients on behalf of Government across the country since Brexit was announced in 2016. This includes scorecards from Enterprise Ireland to evaluate exposure, financial support to trade online, Brexit loans, grants to support exporting into new markets and LEAN programmes to increase company performance, competitiveness and resilience.

The Customs Training Workshops were officially launched in February by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D., and Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., to aid all small businesses deal with customs procedures ahead of the UK leaving the EU single market.

To secure a place on the Customs Training Workshop head to Local Enterprise Office Wicklow's website www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said of people who protested at his home in Greystones on Sunday that their mask has slipped.

'Their mask slipped, we see now where their allegiances lie and it is not to our republic,' said Minster Harris on RTE Radio's News at One on Monday.

Around eight members of a group calling themselves 'Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group' protested outside the houses of Minister Harris and former banker Sean Fitzpatrick, also in Greystones.

A garda spokesperson said that gardai attended the scene of a protest at a Greystones House. 'Protesters have left the scene peacefully and enquiries will be carried out,' they said.

This was the second time the group targeted the house of Minister Harris, where his wife and baby daughter also reside.

'It's an attempt to intimidate,' said Mr Harris. 'This is the second time they have visited my home. It causes huge disruption to my family and neighbours.

'It's very important to send a message that as a people, as a Republic we don't support their actions. I know the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner are going to continue to monitor the situation. There is an obligation to make sure that these things are managed and that people's dignity is maintained.'

In a statement, the group wrote: 'On Sunday, the 29th of April [sic], we conducted a peaceful assembly at two of this states [sic] most notorious figures.

'To hold them accountable for their actions, which have directly affected the health and financial wellbeing of the nations [sic] people. The first was Simon Harris, who's [sic] actions or in some cases lack of actions have directly resulted in the death of our people. The second was Sean Fitzpatrick who's [sic] criminal actions directly affected the financial depth of our people.

'The state has failed once again to act in the interest of the people and hold their elite friends accountable for their actions.'
Selma Blair cannot imagine feeling okay again following her MS diagnosis.

The Cruel Intentions star - who has seven-year-old son Arthur Saint Bleick with former partner Jason Bleick - revealed in October she had been diagnosed with the illness, which affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

And she has now said her battle against the condition has left her feeling sick as all hell, and shes not sure if shes ever going to feel better.

Posting on Instagram, she wrote: Heres a truth. I feel sick as all hell. I am vomiting and all the things which are not polite to speak of. My son ran away. From me. I have to get him to school. The medical treatments take their toll. I am going to get through this. We do. This will pass. And to moms and dads who watch their kids sick on things we take to get better... I hold you. So glad this is me and not my child. I cannot imagine ever feeling ok again. #roughday. We get through. #realitycheck (sic)

Expand Close 91st Academy Awards  Vanity Fair  Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 24, 2019  Selma Blair. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok / Facebook

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The post comes just one day after she shared an image of herself getting a plasma infusion, as she said she was grateful to the universe for helping her cope with the illness.

She wrote: "This is not a sad post. Nor am I showing any tubing although I find it all curious. This is me grateful. Thank you universe. Thank you donors. Thank you my friends and all who aim to find their way to feeling their strongest. Whatever form that takes."

Selma, 46, revealed her MS diagnoses in another Instagram post thanking her Another Life costume designer Allisa Swanson for helping her to get dressed.

In October, she wrote: "She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understand producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for direction from a broken gps. But we are doing it."
The administrators of the collapsed Orla Kiely fashion empire raised 75,000 from a sale of leftover designer goods.

Administrators organised direct sales of Ms Kiely's signature quirky print items via a pop-up shop in the run-up to Christmas and three auctions.

The details are in the first progress report filed to Companies House in the UK by the administrators of Kiely Rowan, which went out of business last September with debts of 7.25m (8.1m).

Joint administrator Chris Newell previously estimated the sell-off of stock would realise around 45,000 to 60,000 (53,000-70,000).

He also confirmed a further 30,000 (35,000) was raised from the sale of items in the US that was not anticipated in the firm's statement of affairs.

However, any gains made from the higher than expected realisation of stock have been almost wiped out, with Mr Newell writing off the prospect of recovering 26,000 (30,500) owed to the firm by debtors.

A connected entity, Killyon Stem LLP, held licensing agreements with manufacturers on behalf of the brand. Administrators for that firm are expected to receive a minimum of 73,000 (85,800) in royalties.

Mr Newell said he expected there to be a payment from the administration of Killyon Stem LLP into the Kiely Rowan plc administration but that the final amount was uncertain.

The firm's secured creditor, Metro Bank, is owed 2.15m (2.52m) and Mr Newell says "it is not anticipated the secured creditor will be paid in full".

Mr Newell's colleagues had to assist former Orla Kiely staff to obtain payments from the UK Redundancy Payments Office.

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He said 'preferential claims' relating to holiday pay and wage arrears were estimated to be at 97,412 (114,551) and to date preferential claims had received of 41,398 (48,684).

Unsecured creditors will be left empty-handed. The administrators currently estimate a deficiency in assets of 7.3m (8.58m).
Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2019 in London

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

(L-R) Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L), talks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (R) as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand by attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex waves after attending an engagement with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) at City, University Of London on January 31, 2019

They say the baby might be on its way! read my text to my mum the other night.

Hmmm, I think itll be a boy, came the swift reply. James, Arthur or Alexander do you reckon? I write back. No, this isnt me who is about to give birth, its not even a close friend or relative, but my mother and I instinctively know who were referring to: Meghan Markle.

Since the moment the 37-year-old shed her Suits star title and took on the mantle of Duchess of Sussex, speculation has been rife about when wed hear the pitter patter of tiny royal feet.

Since confirming the news last October, the royal pregnancy has been a veritable feeding frenzy: bump speculation, bump shaming, doula and home-birth shocks...and much like many others, Im slightly ashamed to admit that Ive been lapping it all up.

Expand Close Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

Of course there will be plenty of people reading the royal baby headlines and rolling their eyes asking the inevitable question of commenters 'round the world, 'Why is this news?' But there's undeniable public interest in the workings of Meghan Markles womb, bizarre a construct as it is.

This however, begs the question - is her pregnancy one of those occasions where what constitutes public interest isn't actually in the public interest and do we really need to know everything about Baby Sussex's arrival?

I had a baby almost exactly a year ago so its fresh in my memory just how irksome speculation in ones unborn infant can be. People mean well, but particularly if youre a geriatric mother (something Meghan and I have in common) then carrying a baby and delivering one can come with a large dose of anxiety and you really dont need any added stress on your plate.

It was initially reported that the duchesss due date would be the end of April, now making her overdue, something fairly common with a first child. Both my boys went 16 and 12 days over respectively and I was ready to punch people in the face for texting and querying any baby yet?, I can only imagine what its like to have the worlds press doing the same.

Then theres all the judging. Every new parent just wants to do the best for their child and Harry and Meghan will be no different. Ive no doubt the parents-to-be will have done their research and if the home birth, doula route is what theyre hoping for then theyll have come to that decision themselves for the best reasons.

Again, I feel a kinship here having opted for a doula with my second-born, but while I just had the occasional elderly relative raise a confused eyebrow at the word doula, Harry and Meghan have had to deal with reams of press and online coverage dissecting and weighing their decisions.

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While its unlikely the Sussexes are wading through the comments section of every article written about them, but the establishment of their Instagram page (and the very clear voice of Meghan that one hears reading that page) suggests a certain level of media savvy and engagement with the online world. Who knows what shes read and how upsetting that might have been?

The lines of royal private life  and indeed all our lives  are increasingly blurred by the accessibility and intimacy of social media. Everything is content. I personally posted a snap to Twitter soon after I had my baby and the wave of likes only added to my post-birth, oxytocin high. I was in love with my little bundle of joy and had an overwhelming urge to share that. Perhaps Meghan will be the same.

Expand Close Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Should she feel under pressure to share a newborn photo? No.

Should she, like her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, feel compelled to don high heels and blow dry to pose for a post-delivery photo just hours after delivery? Dear Lord no.

Should Meghan and Harry feel any duty to disclose the details of labour, cord-cutting and birth weight? Absolutely not.

As royals, their role is to show up for ribbon cuttings, champion good causes and try not to cause a scandal.

Theres something very uncomfortable about the tone of some of the royal baby watch coverage, that seems to suggest that just because Meghan and Harry are in the public eye and part of a family that receives publicly funded money, then the public is somehow entitled to ownership of them and their offspring.

No matter what your status and finances are, no one has the right to tell you what to do with your body or the little person that might come out of it. Everyone should have the right to personal autonomy, something I feel is especially pertinent when it comes matters around women and their bodies.

By choosing not to follow protocol and keep the public up to date on babys arrival (imminent or already past) Meghan is actually sending a much more powerful message that, regardless of who you are, youre entitled to privacy. No womans womb should be up for public debate.

So even though Im nosey and dying to hear all about the squishy newborn, keen to see who he or she looks like and curious to learn how the delivery went  I hope its only because the royal couple choose to share those details, not because they feel obligated to.

Until then, mum, myself and the rest of the world will just have to keep playing the guessing game and checking that Sussex instagram page.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

May The Fourth Bewitch You  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 4, 2019

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine attend the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, and his wife Anne attend the funeral service for their three children who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark May 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

The billionaire behind online clothing retailer Asos and one of the UKs largest private landowners bid farewell to three of his children at their funeral today.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, is Denmarks wealthiest man and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

They set up the company Wildland in 2007 with the stated aim of restoring and conserving landscapes for future generations.

They lost three of their four children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks on Easter Sunday.

Expand Close People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Today, they bid a final farewell to their three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes at a funeral service. It was attended by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine.

Their daughter Astrid cut a bunch of balloons free from one of the coffins outside Aarhus Cathedral.

Expand Close Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsens wholesale fashion business Bestseller, told the Press Association in the hours after the attacks that the couple had lost three children.

Mr Holch Povlsen has a net worth of 7.9 billion US dollars (6.1 billion), according to Forbes.

Expand Close The Bestseller company owner Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne in a file photo. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Jonas Olufson via REUTERS / Facebook

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The businessman owns the international clothing chain Bestseller and is the biggest single shareholder in fashion retailer Asos.

He and his wife have acquired several Highland estates over the years, including Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms, Strathmore in Sutherland and Braeroy in Fort William.

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On the Wildland website, Mr Holch Povlsen writes: "From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape."

He describes the couples responsibilities as landowners as a "labour of love", adding: "It is a project that we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands."
Well-wishers arrive for the first public appearance of Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's child population has declined for the 38th year in a row and is now at a record low, the government said.

The number of children younger than 15 stood at 15.22 million on April 1, down 180,000, or 1.2%, from last year, the Statistics Bureau said.

It is the lowest number since comparable data became available in 1950.

The figures were released ahead of Children's Day on May 5.

Japan's birthrate has remained low amid a lack of support for working women, who continue to face the burden of homemaking and other traditional roles, as well as excessively long working hours and high education costs.

With children making up just 12.1% of its population, Japan ranks lowest among countries with a population exceeding 40 million, followed by South Korea at 12.9% and Italy and Germany at 13.4%, according to the Statistics Bureau figures.

As of 2017, Japanese women on average gave birth to 1.43 children during their lifetimes. That compares with nearly 1.8 in the US and Britain.

According to the latest government statistics, the number of births in 2018 fell to 921,000, the lowest since Japan began recording such statistics in 1899.

Japan's total population fell by 448,000 people, a record decline, to 126 million.

The population is forecast to fall below 100 million by 2050, barring a huge influx of immigrants.

Japan last month started allowing more foreign workers to ease a labour crunch.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe has said ageing and the low birth rate are a national crisis. He has promised labour and other reforms to help alleviate the burden on families that discourage couples from having more children.

Longer life spans in Japan have added to rising costs for elderly care and social security.

Conservative legislators in Mr Abe's government have at times blamed the elderly or childless for long-term demographic trends.

Gaffe-prone finance minister Taro Aso earlier this year had to apologise for saying childless people are to blame for Japan's rising social security costs and declining population.
Indonesia made a stunning announcement this week that it will relocate its capital from Jakarta. The decision validates decades of warnings about the city's catastrophic flood risk due to sinking land and rising seas. While Jakarta is especially vulnerable to the threat of rising seas, it serves as a wake-up call for hundreds of major cities.

In making his decision, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the city can no longer support its massive population in the face of environmental threats, as well as concerns of traffic congestion and water shortages. Top of his concerns is surely the fact the city is subsiding. In the past 30 years, Jakarta sank more than three metres, a problem made only worse as the world's great ice sheets melt.

Jakarta is an extreme case, but by no means unique. Although Miami is often cited as the city most at risk, there are many highly vulnerable - and highly populous -cities around the world, including Mumbai and Calcutta in India, Shanghai, Lagos in Nigeria, Manila, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Tokyo, London, Houston and Tampa. In fact, thousands of coastal cities and rural communities globally are not only at risk, but already experience increased flooding during extreme high tides.

The swelling oceans demand we start designing for and investing in the future now. The latest projections for average global sea-level rise this century range from about one metre to as much as 2.5. Keeping it to the lower part of that range largely depends on extreme global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases far beyond current efforts. But even a 30cm rise in sea level can dramatically increase coastal flooding. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk.

Indonesia's decision to be proactive is something all coastal cities should do - what I call "intelligent adaptation". Instead of spending hundreds of millions on futile efforts to protect Jakarta from the dozen rivers which run through it - extending fragile walls never engineered to cope with the present threat - it will now start investing in a new capital city with a sustainable future.

Aggressively reducing carbon emissions could avert the worst scenarios, but sea-level rise probably cannot be stopped this century. The planet has already warmed 1C, meaning glaciers will go on melting for centuries.

Engineering for greater "resiliency" - the new buzzword - is a great idea to prepare for short-duration flood events such as from hurricanes. But preparing for rising sea level requires adapting to a new normal.

Coastal communities should be crafting 30-year masterplans to positively address the threat. For example, Washington is on the Potomac, a tidal river, and already experiences occasional flooding during extreme high tides and stormy weather. Rising seas will make that worse, but the city can probably protect itself with various forms of flood barriers.

Most vulnerable cities are not so fortunate. The sea is rising. We must rise with the tide.

 The Washington Post
Cyclone Fani is the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years (stock photo)

Three people died as the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years left a trail of destruction through the north-eastern coastal state of Odisha yesterday.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri with wind speeds exceeding 200kmh before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswar and forcing more than a million people to take refuge.

Arun Bothra, inspector general of Odisha police, described the damage in Bhubaneswar as "massive".

Winds were so severe that they ripped roofs off buildings and toppled industrial cranes, trees and double-decker buses.

At least 160 people in the town were injured. In Puri, a teenager was reportedly killed when a tree collapsed on him, while in Nayagarh district a woman died when she was struck by flying concrete. The third casualty was a woman (65) who died of a suspected heart attack after seeking refuge at a cyclone shelter.
Authorities in Curacao have boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440ft ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth told the Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

We will go on board and do our job, he said, adding that authorities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when were talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance.

Expand Close The Freewinds docked in St Lucia (Bradley Lacan/AP) / Facebook

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Authorities are concerned that people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Dr Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor on April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early on Saturday.

Dr Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it is a small ship.

This is what happens when we dont vaccinate, he said.

Symptoms include a runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in some cases.

Measles has affected more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

According to the Church of Scientology website, the ship is the home of a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling. It says religious conventions and seminars are also held aboard.
Candles are placed next to a photo of Madeleine McCann inside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2017, where a special service was held to mark the 10th anniversary of her disappearance. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Scotland Yard commissioned the last official age progression of Madeleine McCann in 2012.

MISSING: One of the last pictures taken of toddler Madeleine McCann

Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.

Scotland Yard passed information to Portuguese police about the apparent kidnap suspect, who was in Portugal in May 2007, the Lisbon-based Expresso newspaper reported.

The man had been investigated over alleged child sex offences at the time, according to the paper, which quoted a judicial source.

The reports come on the 12th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance as her mother Kate attended an emotional prayer vigil at her home village in Rothley, Leicestershire, marking the occasion.

Madeleine's father Gerry, a heart doctor, was reportedly in Italy on work business as Kate and her twins Sean and Amelie attended the service at a local Baptist church.

The girl was three when she vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz on the Algarve coast on May 3 2007.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Thursday the force was pursuing "active lines of inquiry" and has asked for more funding from the Home Office.

British police launched their own investigation, Operation Grange, in 2013 after a Portuguese inquiry failed to make progress.

Expand Close Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire / Facebook

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Force bosses have been applying for funding from the Home Office every six months to continue the inquiry, which has cost about 11.75 million so far.

Ms Dick said: "We have active lines of inquiry and I think the public would expect us to see those through.

"A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding."

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Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors and devout Catholics, have always pledged never to give up the search for their daughter.

In a statement on Friday, the 12th anniversary of her disappearance, they said: "The months and years roll by too quickly, Madeleine will be 16 this month.

"It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.

"Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief."
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the UK's Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

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The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

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Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The British Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the UK government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blair's humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago after they lost almost 1,200 council seats.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a voter backlash over Brexit.

On a night described as "brutal" by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live television interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents.

Labour, which had expected to profit from the Tories' failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful opposition leader of the past 40 years. Mrs May has been warned by her own ministers she must not now bow to Labour demands for a customs union with the EU ahead of fresh Brexit talks with Mr Corbyn, or she will face further electoral disaster.

In separate interviews, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt said the UK had to be in control of its own trade policy after it leaves the EU, rather than letting Brussels remain in charge.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the Tories faced an "existential threat" from Mr Corbyn, while Tory Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin said the party was "toast" unless it delivered Brexit.

As she addressed the Welsh Conservative Conference, Mrs May was heckled by a party member who shouted: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you!"

The Tory MP Michael Fabricant said "the cancer in the Conservative Party must now be excised" as he launched a vicious attack on Mrs May's leadership, saying "a new leader and a clean break from the EU" were needed.

With fewer than 10 councils still to declare last night, the Tories had lost control of more than 40 councils in a result that far outstripped their worst fears of an 800-seat reversal.

It was the party's poorest showing since 1995 when they lost more than 2,000 seats to a rejuvenated Labour Party that swept them from power in Westminster two years later and kept them out for 13 years.

The Tories were not alone in being punished for their Brexit failings, as Labour - which had predicted widespread gains - ended up with almost 70 fewer seats. Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, said the party had been "speaking with two voices" on Brexit and had been punished as a result.

The big winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained more than 600 seats, while the Greens won more than 160 extra seats on the back of recent climate change protests, and independents gained more than 200 seats.

If the results were replicated in a general election, Mr Corbyn would be prime minister if he could form a Labour-SNP-Lib Dem coalition, with neither of the two main parties coming close to winning a majority. Mr Corbyn hinted that a cross-party Brexit deal was in the offing as he said there was now a "huge impetus" on every MP to "get a deal done".

Downing Street has said it wants its Brexit talks with Labour to be wrapped up by the middle of next week, leading to speculation that Mrs May is about to cave in to Mr Corbyn's insistence on a customs union.

Mr Gove, the environment secretary, said a customs union was not "the best solution for Britain" because it was "critical" the UK maintained an independent trade policy.

Mr Hunt, the foreign secretary, said, "I am not a supporter of the customs union" and also said the UK had to be able to "negotiate our own trade deals".

At the Scottish Conservative Conference, Mr Javid said: "We are seen as a divided team. A divided party cannot unite a divided nation. The only winner from that is Corbyn."

 Daily Telegraph London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
After World War I and World War II, officials decided to dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of munitions into the oceans around Europe, which at the time appeared the most easily accessible disposal ground.

Some of the weapons - including mines containing mustard gas - were simply dropped into the Baltic and North Seas rather than being taken to faraway dump sites near the Arctic Circle.

But the hidden legacy of those world wars may come to haunt the continent for decades to come.

This week, Belgian newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported that officials have grown concerned one of the dump sites, close to the Belgian coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist, has started to leak. At the site, two out of 23 probed locations showed signs of contamination.

The revelation followed months of inquiries into what authorities fear could be a mounting public safety threat.

Used as a potentially deadly chemical agent during World War I, mustard gas can burn victims' skin, respiratory tract and eyes.

While mustard gas leaks from Europe's underwater weapons cemeteries were long considered a worst-case scenario, officials also are expressing alarm over leaks of explosives such as TNT from dumped land or sea mines.

While those substances have been contained inside metal cases for eight decades in the case of World War II, and about a century in the case of World War I, the metal has rusted and become porous.

Activists have blamed the leaks in part for decreasing biodiversity in the Baltic Sea.

More than 80,000 mines are believed to be lurking beneath the surface of the Baltic. Unlike the North Sea's mass dump sites, the locations of single mines are more difficult to track down. There are only vague maps of where the mines might be hidden, and most appear to be spread out across hundreds of miles.

Reminders of their potentially deadly impact have mounted. In 2005, three Dutch fishermen were killed after they accidentally caught an American-made World War II bomb in their fishing net.

Similar discoveries regularly trigger mass evacuations - last August in the Polish resort city of Kolobrzeg, for example, when three bombs were discovered in the nearby bay.

European navies help out with remote-controlled vehicles and clearance divers within their own territorial waters, but in some areas the density of explosives is believed to be so high that fishing is still prohibited there a century later.

Pipeline construction companies often hire private mine-clearance contractors to do the job if there is no way around it and when the explosives are found far out at sea, where European navies do not claim responsibility.

"It's unbelievable how many mines there still are," said Commander Peeter Ivask, the head of Estonia's navy. "Our mission here will last decades."

 The Washington Post
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Expand Close Israeli citizens look at the damage caused by a rocket fired from Gaza into the city of Ashkelon (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) / Facebook

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has said President Nicolas Maduro's generals are willing to defect from his regime imminently, as Spain vowed to protect the politician.

Speaking from the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Mr Lopez said: "It's a crack that will become a bigger crack... that will end up breaking the dam."

Mr Lopez said he had spoken with senior members of the military who supported the end of Mr Maduro's socialist government amid a failing economy and nationwide blackouts.

Spain has refused to hand Mr Lopez, a leading figure in the country's opposition movement, over to Venezuelan authorities, saying: "Spain trusts that the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of the Spanish ambassador's residence."

The politician had been under house arrest for months but escaped to appear alongside his successor in the movement, Juan Guaido, on Tuesday as they called for a military uprising aimed at toppling Mr Maduro.

He later sought refuge in the Spanish embassy after the uprising stalled.

Mr Lopez claimed he had met generals who were committed to ending Mr Maduro's "usurpation" and helped him escape his house arrest.

"I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he said, adding he believed Mr Maduro's government would fall "in weeks".
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
John Ruszczyk, father of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, speaks after the verdict was announced that Mohamed Noor former Minnesota policeman was found guilty for fatally shooting an Australian woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Craig Lassig

Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million for the family and $2 million to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

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Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia's prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defense after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by U.S. police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Boom: A missile is launched from a Chinese submarine during a military exercise in Chinas Shandong peninsula. Photo: Reuters

Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon has said.

The assessment is included in the US military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June.

In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a "Polar Silk Road" - building on President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative.

China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland, starting on Monday, which comes amid concerns over China's increased commercial interests in the Arctic.

The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

The Pentagon report noted that China's military has made modernising its submarine fleet a high priority. China's navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The report said China had built six Jin-class submarines, with four operational and two under construction at Huludao Shipyard.

In a January report, the Pentagon's Defence Intelligence Agency said the Chinese navy would need a minimum of five Jin-class submarines to maintain a continuous nuclear deterrence at sea.

The US and its allies, in turn, are expanding their anti-submarine naval deployments across East Asia.

The expansion of China's submarine forces is just one element of a broad, and costly $175bn (156.5bn), modernisation of its military, which US experts say is designed largely to deter any action by America's armed forces.
There are almost too many Democrats to count in the 2020 primaries - but any of the top five leading candidates would beat Donald Trump in a general election, according to the latest polling.

Despite the majority of those surveyed saying the president is doing a good job with the nation's economy (56pc), each of the five highest-polling Democrats on the campaign trail beat Mr Trump in CNN's head-to-head polling conducted by SSRS.

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Beto O'Rourke bests Mr Trump by the highest margin, with 52pc of voters saying they would vote for him compared to 42pc who said they would vote for the president in a race against the Texas Democrat.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each beat out Mr Trump as well with a 6pc and 7pc advantage respectively, while Kamala Harris leads the president by 4pc.

Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg - who has climbed in the polls in recent weeks and proved effective at national fundraising despite little name recognition - also would beat Mr Trump by 3pc, according to the poll.

Elizabeth Warren appears to be the only candidate polled in the SSRS survey who did not beat out Mr Trump, though the two politicians are effectively neck-and-neck.

While Mr Trump holds 48pc in a race against the liberal Massachusetts senator, Ms Warren maintains 47pc of support if she were to secure the Democratic nomination.

Mr Trump's acting chief of staff suggested voters would effectively return him to the Oval Office in the 2020 elections during a talk this week in California, where he foreshadowed the economy would serve as one of the top factors in his re-election victory.

"You hate to sound like a cliche, but are you better off than you were four years ago?

"It's pretty simple, right? It's the economy, stupid. I think that's easy. People will vote for somebody they don't like if they think it's good for them," Mick Mulvaney said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday passed their first climate change bill since regaining control of the House of Representatives, ordering Mr Trump to renege on his move to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accords at the end of his first term.

It also requires the president to meet US obligations agreed to by the Obama administration under the Paris Agreement of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28pc below 2005 levels by 2025.

The bill passed 231-190, with just three Republicans crossing the divide.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, however, warns it shall not pass, dismissing the gesture as "political theatre".

Even if it were to be allowed to reach the upper chamber for debate and went on to secure an unlikely Republican rebellion, Mr Trump would simply veto it as soon as it landed on his desk - as he did the recent motion of disapproval against his national emergency declaration - rather than row back on a campaign promise.

But that's not the point. The move allows the Democrats to capitalise on the urgency introduced to the subject by progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal, dragging global warming back into the national spotlight in time for 2020 and placing renewed pressure on the Trump White House to revise its view before the last grains of sand tumble through the hourglass.

Attorney General William Barr's snubbing of the House Democrats has ramped up the tensions between the White House and Congress, pushing the House closer to holding the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress and prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to liken Mr Trump to ex-president Richard Nixon.

The almost daily confrontations between the two branches of government increase the pressure on Ms Pelosi to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, a politically fraught move that she has resisted in the absence of strong public sentiment and bipartisan support. Many Democrats argue that the 2020 election is the best means to oust the president. But Democrats are infuriated with Mr Barr, who refused to testify on Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled hearing on his handling of Robert Mueller's report, and Mr Trump's defiance in the face of multiple congressional requests for documents and witnesses. ( Independent News Service)
Authorities work at the scene of a plane in the water in Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Sheriffs Office via AP}

A charter plane carrying 143 people has ended up in a Florida river at the end of a runway, though no critical injuries or deaths were reported.

The Boeing 737 slid off the runway and into the St Johns River after arriving at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged. Everyone on the plane is alive and accounted for, the agency posted, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

While the crash certainly was not ideal, Capt Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

It is not known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Capt Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

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He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Liz Torres told the Florida Times-Union that she heard what sounded like a gunshot on Friday night from her home in Orange Park, about five miles south of NAS Jacksonville. She then drove down to a Target car park where police and firefighters were staging to find out more.

Ive never seen anything like this, she said.

Ironically, our Special Operations team trained for an incident like this today with the marine units.  THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) May 4, 2019

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene and monitoring the situation, with family members who were expecting the arrival of passengers instructed to stand by.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.

Capt Connor said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are already on their way.
A SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying a load of supplies lifts off from Cape Canaveral (Nasa/AP)

SpaceX has launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station following a pair of power delays.

A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500lbs (2,500 kilograms) of goods.

The recycled Dragon  which is making its second space trip  is due to arrive at the orbiting lab on Monday.

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The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceXs rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic.

Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.

Minutes after lift-off, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the launch site.

SpaceX could not resist the Star Wars Day connection  Saturday is May 4  with the phrase May the fourth be with you being a pun on the movie series famous line: May the force be with you.

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station! Capture by the @Space_Station crew set for early Monday morning pic.twitter.com/oGs4IrBW9h  SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 4, 2019

Dragon is now officially on the way to the space station, the SpaceX launch commentator announced once the capsule reached orbit and its solar wings unfurled.

Until next time, may the fourth be with you.

The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the accident on April 20 which destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.

Earlier this week, SpaceX vice president Hans Koenigsmann said the company still does not know what caused the empty capsule to burst apart in flames on a test stand.

The capsules SuperDraco launch-abort thrusters were just a half-second from firing when the blast occurred.

And we have LIFTOFF! @SpaceXs #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station. For updates, visit https://t.co/FRrjhINIvY. pic.twitter.com/GSNtBBEl9i  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This first crew capsule had completed a successful test flight, minus a crew, to the space station in March.

SpaceX intended to re-fly the capsule on a launch-abort test in June, ahead of the first flight with astronauts on a new crew Dragon. The schedule is now up in the air, as SpaceX scrambles to identify and correct whatever went wrong.

SpaceX has been restocking the station since 2012.

LIVE ROCKET LAUNCH! Tune in to see us send more than 5,500 pounds of cargo to the @Space_Station aboard @SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Watch the countdown to liftoff at 2:48am ET: https://t.co/w9kweKx0Tn  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This latest cargo Dragon  the companys 17th shipment  is carrying equipment and experiments for the six space station astronauts, including an instrument to monitor carbon dioxide in Earths atmosphere.

The California-based company is also under contract with Nasa, along with Boeing, to transport astronauts to the space station.

It is unclear whether these commercial crew flights will begin this year, given the Dragon accident and Boeings own delays with its Starliner capsule.

Astronauts have not launched from Cape Canaveral since the last space shuttle mission in 2011, instead riding Russian rockets at a steep cost to Nasa.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
A man in jail after being charged with the murder of a young Davidson woman was found with a weapon this week.

Joshua Wade Kennedy, 35, was charged with felony possession of a dangerous weapon in prison on Wednesday, May 1. WBTV reported that deputies found a filed down toothbrush they said had been fashioned into a weapon.

Kennedy is in jail under no bond after being charged in the murder of Lakyn Jade Bailey in January. He is a registered sex offender in West Virginia and had been living in Iredell and Rowan counties.

Back in January it was determined that Baileys murder was a result of a meth drug deal that turned violent. She was found shot to death inside a car parked at the Country Cupboard Store on Statesville Road in Salisbury.

James Christopher Rife is also charged with murder and attempted robbery in the case.

The toothbrush was discovered inside Kennedys cell and he admitted it belonged to him.

WBTV reported that Kennedy told deputies he was using the toothbrush to pack paper into an abscessed tooth and he wasnt planning to use it as a weapon.
The Catawba Nation settled its land claim against the United States almost three decades ago but the tribe has yet to reclaim the territory promised by Congress.

When the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act became law in 1993, the tribe had a 1,017-acre reservation, Chief Bill Harris said in testimony on Wednesday. Only 317 acres have been acquired since then, far less than the 4,200 acres that were promised by Congress.

To help move closer to the goal, the tribe is hoping to add a mere 17 acres to its land base. S.790 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acquire the land, located in North Carolina, and ensures that gaming can be conducted there.

"We are staying in our heartland," Harris told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the hearing, The Shelby Star reported.

Chief Bill Harris of the Catawba Nation testifies before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 1, 2019. Photo: SCIA

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for the site more than five years ago. But the BIA hasn't publicly issued a decision, which prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham R-South Carolina) to introduce S.790 in hopes of resolving any uncertainties regarding the 1993 settlement act.

"The tribe is locked in poverty and the tribe's understanding that it had negotiated to acquire land within its Congressionally-established service area in North Carolina has been disputed, largely due to poor drafting of the act," Graham said on Wednesday. He is not a member of the committee but was invited to present a statement during the hearing.

The 17-acre site is located in Cleveland County, which is within the service area defined by Congress. It's about 47 miles away from tribal headquarters in neighboring South Carolina.

"It's clear that the benefits that Congress intended for the tribe through the settlement act have not been realized and this has resulted in disparate treatment for this tribe, when compared to other federally recognized tribes," John Tahsuda , the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior , said at the hearing.

Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image: Catawba Nation Project Brief

Despite that favorable comment, Tahsuda did not outright commit the Trump administration's support for S.790. However, he did not present any major obstacles to passage of the bill and his written testimony merely offered technical suggestions that he said would ensure the land could be placed in trust for the tribe.

The committee did not hear from any opponents of the bill at the hearing. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has raised objections.

"The proposed casino off of I-85 in Cleveland County would encroach upon Cherokee aboriginal territory - territory ceded by the Cherokee by treaty, and territory recognized as Cherokee territory by the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. The Catawba have no valid aboriginal or historical claim to Cleveland County," Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement on Wednesday

Generally, land placed in trust after 1988 can't be used for a casino. But Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act contains an exception that applies for tribes with land claim settlements, such as the Catawba Nation.

The exception has only been utilized sparingly. Since 1988, only two tribes -- the Wyandotte Nation and the Tohono O'odham Nation -- have opened casinos in connection with land claim settlements and only after lengthy political, legal and regulatory battles.

S.790 seeks to avoid such uncertainty by outright confirming that the land acquired for the Catawba Nation in North Carolina can be used for a casino.

The tribe otherwise is barred from following IGRA on its lands in South Carolina. The 1993 settlement instead authorized bingo halls for the tribe, subject to a tax paid to the state.

The operation eventually closed in 2017 due to limited viability. In his written statement, Chief Harris said the state got $12 million in taxes.

"As a result, the tribe essentially paid for its own settlement," he said.

The Eastern Cherokees operate the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and the newer Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel . Both are in the far western part of North Carolina, more than 130 miles from the area in which the Catawba Nation is seeking to open its establishment.

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Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif share a sizzling chemistry on the big screen and the success rate of their films are proof. After Bharat, the on-screen pair might reunite again. Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar has confirmed that the story for the third installment of the Tiger franchise has been found and is being developed. He has also discussed the story with the producer Aditya Chopra.

The first installment of the franchise, Ek Tha Tiger was helmed by Kabir Khan while the second, Tiger Zinda Hai, was directed by Ali. Both the films featured superstar Salman Khan alongside Katrina Kaif.

The director says he is yet to put pen to paper and will only start working on the project once his upcoming Bharat is out of his system.

I will wait for Bharat to release first. But Ive discussed the idea with Salman and Aditya Chopra both. I think there is a great film there in the story.

The director, who is currently busy on his upcoming film Bharat, might just cast Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together in the third part of the film series. Just a few days ago, Katrina had the most dignified take on her friendship with him. She had said,

"The best thing about me and Salman coming together to work is that theres no sense of us taking it for granted. We dont go to the sets thinking, dekhte hai. He knows that Im going to come after putting 1000% of my time and effort behind finding the character, doing my prep. He has that confidence in me and I know when he comes, hes going to come up with something unique. However, well, I know him or whatever our equation is, when we come on a set, we both come respecting that this is the producer and directors place and not a playground. Its not about fun and games but a professional territory. We come and we do our scenes and rehearsals. Thats how we work well together. Theres no sense of taking anything easy or for granted."

Bharat, a remake of the 2014 Korean drama Ode to my Father is scheduled to release on 5 June.
Director said, Only Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. Thor in this movie couldnt do it. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresees, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap. People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldnt feel too sad or angry about it.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Producer Boney Kapoor still finds it tough to come to terms with the death of his wife and actress Sridevi, and says it is impossible to forget her. At a recent talk show, Boney is seen opening up about how he is still trying to cope up with the loss.

Seeing the terrible situation in the country, slew of Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Riteish Deshmukh have prayed for the safety of those who have been affected by the cyclonic storm Fani. Here's what Bollywood celebrities have tweeted.

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport.
Years ago, he did a film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra that was a dramatic commentary on the socio political situation of the country. Actor Siddharth played a crucial role in Rang De Basanti that released in 2006, which is 13 years ago!

Screengra

Who would have thought that in 2019, he would be the one moral-policing and taking hilarious jibe at people? From taking a dig at PM Modi for his biopic to targeting Akshay Kumar for his so-called non-political interview with Modi, Siddharth is one actor who is using social media aptly!

People love him for his take on things around him and no wonder he has a large social media following.

After calling him the 'most underrated villain', Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his non-political interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Twitter

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Hey @realDonaldTrump since you're getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality. I have an Indian passport. DM me please.  Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) May 3, 2019

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added, "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots. One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time." Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others." Here are some of the most funniest responses to Siddharth's tweet:

Obviously. One needs to pay tax amounting to trillions, serve in Army for 150 years, Donate billions in natural calamities to ask very crucial questions like whether The President of USA eats mango.   Jack (@RoflJack_) May 4, 2019

Sorry Sid! The #Canadian may beat you to it!

Shorter flying time   Shazia Bakshi  (@Shazia) May 4, 2019

But dont forget to ask him whether he brushes from RtoL or LtoR...  Praky (@Praky18cool) May 3, 2019

Just one day ago, Akshay Kumar had clarified every speculation that raised questions around his citizenship. "I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport,"Akshay had tweeted.
After witnessing continued set of allegations and speculations around his citizenship, actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said his aim is to make India a stronger nation even though he holds a Canadian passport.

The actor, who recently made headlines for his candid and completely non-political chat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the subject of intense speculation about his citizenship after he did not vote in Mumbai on April 29 in the fourth round of the seven-phase polls.

Agencies

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport. His statement reads:

"I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others."

He also assured and added that he will continue contributing in his small way to causes he believes in and to "make India stronger and stronger".

Agencies

On Tuesday, a day after the elections, reporters tried to attack him during the special screening of the film "Blank"

Faced with questions on why he hadn't voted, the actor walked off, saying "Chaliye chaliye (let's go, let's go)."

Akshay is not the only one who has been in the spotlight for citizenship speculations as Deepika Padukone too was under a similar radar. But Padukone had cast her vote in Mumbai and shared a picture of her where she made her point loud and clear.

"Never has there been any doubt in my mind about who I am or where I'm from. So for those of you confused on my behalf... please don't be! Jai Hind! Proud to be an Indian go vote," Deepika wrote in her tweet.

In a video online, Deepika was also seen battling a tricky question on her citizenship at a press event. She said, "I hold an Indian passport... from where do you get this information anyway." Later, when she was cross-questioned about having been born in Denmark, Deepika said,

"But I still have an Indian passport. There's a lot of complication and I am very much an Indian, a proud Indian citizen."
Getting adequate sleep helps us lead a healthy life and now researchers claim to have figured out why lack of sleep increases susceptibility to heart diseases.

According to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Physiology, chronic short sleep is associated with increased risk of clogged arteries, heart disease, and thus increased morbidity and mortality.

Doctors have also identified the patients who might need to change their habits before they develop the disease. Heart diseases causes due to many reasons, but it is said that if you do not take adequate amount of sleep then it might affect your heart.

unsplash/representational image

In adults who regularly slept fewer than 7 hours per night, the levels of certain microRNAs (molecules that influence whether or not a gene is expressed) were lower.

These molecules play a key role in regulating vascular health and thus their levels are now recognised to be sensitive and specific biomarkers of cardiovascular health, inflammation and disease.

In other words, a lowered level of these molecules is associated with heart disease, so they could be used as a biomarker to determine who is more susceptible to disease.

unsplash/representational image

Researchers tested sedentary, middle-aged adults without heart disease then they were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to accurately estimate average nightly sleep and a small amount ofblood was taken from each subject after an overnight fast.You can always try new methods if you have a problem in sleeping like sleeping music.

Jamie Hijmans, one of the authors of the study, said: "The link between insufficient sleep and cardiovascular disease may be due to, in part, changes in microRNAs. These findings suggest there may be a "fingerprint" associated with a person's sleep habits, and that fluctuations in microRNA levels may serve as a warning or guide to disease stage and progression."

(With agency inputs)
Karishma Arora, 18, student of a Muzaffarnagar school, topped the country in the recently declared CBSE results by scoring 499 marks out of 500.

But she is the topper with a difference. Fond of dancing, Karishma travels to Delhi along with her father every week to receive training in Kathak from famous Kathak dancer Gitanjali Lal.

During spare time, she has also been training specially-abled children in the dance form. She aspires to become a psychologist in future.

facebook

Karishma, who topped the exam with humanities stream, has also joined a unique school where she is trying to learn how to communicate with hearing impaired and mentally challenged kids as she teaches them Kathak.

The Arora family lives in an apartment in the citys New Mandi area and her father Manoj Arora runs a business.

Karishma said she would study for 20 hours on a few days but she never expected to be the topper. However, she said if she had scored just one mark in economics, her result would have been cent percent.

facebook

An avid reader, Arora likes reading autobiographies of renowned people and says that her favourites are those of Malala Yousafzai and APJ Abdul Kalam. Reading autobiographies of successful people helps me get an insight into their lives which motivates me, Karishma said.

Her father, Manoj Arora, said, I got the information when I was out for some work. As I rushed back home, I was crying all along. I have got no words to express how much she has done me proud.
A 10-year-old, Mohammed Abrar from Pakistan is the worlds heaviest boy weighing 196 kg, and needs a life-saving surgery before it's too late. He is unable to stand after meals, that can be served to four people, his parents said.

His doctors claim that he is the heaviest boy in the world and weighs even more than Indonesias Arya Permana. Abrars mother, Zareena said that she couldnt change his nappies alone and had to get a specially-made bed to take his weight.

Caters News Agency

According to LadBible, Zareena said, "He weighed eight pounds (3.6 kg) at birth but his weight never stopped growing. He used to drink two litres of milk when he was only two years old. It was like his stomach never filled up. He always cried for more food."

"It was very difficult for me to even carry him. We had to make a special swing and a bed for him to change nappies," she added.

Due to his size, Abrar is unable to play with his siblings and has never been to school. The operation that he will undergo will reduce the size of his stomach and will involve the insertion of a gastric band.

Caters News Agency

Zareena said, "We struggled a lot finding the right treatment for him. We never lost hope of getting medical help. I am happy that finally Abrar will get the operation he needs to help him live a normal life."

Dr Maaz - Abrars doctor - said that he has an 'endless appetite'. Dr Maaz said, "When he came to us he could not even take three steps at a time. He is an obese child although there is no history of obesity in his family. His parents and the two siblings are perfectly normal. He has an endless appetite and his parents said he ate a lot for his age."

Caters News Agency

The doctor added, "We are going to perform a laparoscopic sleeve surgery on him as it is best for people under 25 years of age. Although I usually take 30-40 mins to carry out the surgery on him we are expecting it to last for an hour."

We wish a healthy life to Abrar!
Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha Coast on May 3 and it is being considered extremely severe. Locals along with the Indian Armed forces and police force are helping people who are stuck or need to be rescued.

It made landfall in Puri after Odisha received heavy rain and storm that started around 8 am, said the Indian Meteorological Department. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are on stand-by and more than 11 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in less than 24 hours.

In these hard times, local police forces have shown utmost courage and dedication towards their work. One such lady police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara is making headlines for her commitment towards work. Her picture is going viral on social media, where she can be seen evacuating people to safety.

In action: Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara !!

Braving all odds and adversaries, our officers are making all the possible efforts to evacuate each single person to the safety. #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/jbHRUYauRy  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 2, 2019

After this, people started lauding the lady police officer:

1.

Hats off to this Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara. Helping the Locals just before the Extreme Severe Cyclone, Fani. The women in Odisha are strong enough.

#MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/gTicdvZGjo    (@Th3Snehasish) May 2, 2019

2.

Salaaaam! Thats our officers work and dedication to save every life. We are with you.  #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani https://t.co/Z5DsqKhmiw  Nila Madhab Panda (@nilamadhabpanda) May 2, 2019

3.

Many of time we fight, argue, blame with police personnel but when there is any tragic they stand with us each and every time. They have also families but duty comes first for them. I salute all police personnel. Without you we are nothing. Be with us always. Jai Hind.  Deba Prasad RTI Activist (@DPS_RTI) May 2, 2019

4.

Respect  CA Binod Parida    (@B1nodP) May 4, 2019

5.

Good job odisha police  sanjib subudhi (@sanjibsbdh4) May 3, 2019

6.

Salute Her  Tushar Kranti (@Tushar__Kranti) May 3, 2019

7.

good job sister  Rajesh (@Rajesh_490) May 3, 2019

8.

Inspirational... made my day  Sushree (@spriyadarshin10) May 3, 2019

9.

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming pic  Ratikant Satpathy   (@Ratikant70) May 3, 2019

10.

Salute to your brave Team .#FaniCyclone  Laxmi (@LAXMIPRADHAN3) May 3, 2019

There are more such pictures where local police officers can be seen helping people out, making sure they are able to evacuate safely.

Carrying few injured people in #Cuttack to the nearest medical facility where doctors are attending them with required medical care. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/HrS6N6z04S  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Moving people to safety, sensitizing people in cyclone shelters and clearing out the roads @spkendrapara and his team is putting in all possible efforts to help and calm people in this difficult time. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/247GBdCrfo  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals from Kendrapara where our officers are carrying infants and guiding children, women, and other locals to safety.

Nothing deters our personnel's determination! #DutyAvoveElse #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/Uo2GTIZ0lR  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Relocating people to safe zones, clearing roads and providing drinking water and essential food items to the needy. @DCP_CUTTACK and his team under the guidance of @DGPOdisha carry-on its sincere efforts in helping and assisting people at this crucial hour. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/75yU0gt6ne  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals of our officers in Balasore making all possible efforts to move elderly people and children to safe designated cyclone shelters! pic.twitter.com/Dxfjxknitn  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Odisha on May 6 to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Till now three people have lost their lives in the cyclone. A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district. Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her. In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after a suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter.
Remember the ugly naked guy from FRIENDS? He used to be naked all-day in his apartment where there were windows and people could obviously see him. Dont know if this man was ugly or not but he was definitely, naked.

A bizarre photo from the pre-wedding photoshoot of a couple from San Diego is doing rounds on the Internet. The couple was getting some pictures clicked at a beach for their wedding invite, when an elderly man, butt naked, walked into the frame.

Amy Sefton and her fiance Jake, visited the San Elijo State Beach with their photographer Austin Whitesell on March 14 to get some candid photographs clicked. As the couple started posing on the beach, the photographer suddenly noticed that an elderly naked man with his back facing the camera had photobombed their picture.

While speaking to the People Magazine, Sefton said, I was shocked at first glance. But then I found the moment hilarious and began to laugh.

What is more interesting is that the beach was a family-friendly beach and the couple had not expected the naked old man to be there.

Any other photographer would have waited for the old man to move, but Whitesell found it amusing. Describing it as "comical, random and very California", the photographer said that he asked the couple to lean back to capture the moment.

He captured their photo as it is - the couple holding hands and looking at the old man who is photobombing.

The couple further said that the photo added to the major milestones in their relationship that happened at the beach.

That lifeguard tower in the back of the photo with the naked dude is actually where I asked her to be my girlfriend, says Jake, and then also where I proposed.
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Indian American actor Vinny Chhibber, currently seen as Liam Bhatt, an openly gay Muslim high school teacher in the new CBS show, The Red Line, has also booked a recurring role in the TNT drama, Animal Kingdom. (Sela Shiloni photo)
Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is  well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star...
Abdulrauf Modibbo, the APC member elected to represent Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State at the National Assembly has been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to reports, Justice Inyang Ekwo nullified Modibbos victory, over certificate forgery.

Modibbo was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress primaries that was held back on October 7, 2018, in Yola and went on to represent APC in the 2019 general elections, where he also won the election.

However, Mustapha Usman dragged Modibbo to court after the elections, on grounds that the latter forged his age making him not qualified to contest the APC primaries.

Usman asked that the court disqualifies Modibbo as the APC candidate for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency.

Justice Ekwo in his judgement declared that Modibbo was not qualified to contest the APC primaries, as well as the 2019 National Assembly election while declaring Usman as the lawful winner of the October 7, 2018, APC primaries.

The judge further held that Usman also proved that Modibbo did falsify his age in order to contest the election by submitting forged certificates so he could contest in the partys primaries.

It was also revealed in court that Modibbo was still a Corps member when he contested the primaries, saying this action breached Section 4 of the NYSC Act, 2004.

A person who is a lawbreaker cannot be a lawmaker. This illegality is one that cannot be wished away.

Justice Ekwo then declared that Usman, who polled the second highest number of votes in the October 7, 2018 primaries, be declared the winner of the Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State and ordered that his name be replaced with Modibbos as the lawful candidate of the APC and winner of the election.
Popular social media commentator and media personality, Dr Joe Abah, has joined millions of Nigerians in reacting to the now-viral news that police boss, Abayomi Shogunle, has been transferred to Nkalagu, Ebonyi state.

Dr Joe Abah in his reaction advised Yomi Shogunle to note the following when he gets to Ebonyi state.

Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi in Ebonyi state.

He added that he would not be posted to the state capital.

Also, he would be busy with serious issues and wont have time for controversy on Twitter.

And lastly, younger boys in his new work station would address him as punish and not police.

What he said:

https://twitter.com/DrJoeAbah/status/1124438409005686785
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has come for Prince Ifeanyi Dike, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, after the body threatened her with a sanction following her outburst on social media with her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Tonto Dikeh who spoke through her Instagram page labelled the Chairman of the body a stupid fool who has not sanctioned actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside.

Her post;
Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has fired heavy shots at fellow Nollywood colleague, Anita Joseph, for supporting Tonto Dikehs media outrage on ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Uche who spoke through his Instagram page said it is unimaginable that Anita Joseph would support Tonto Dikeh for coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child.

His words:

If you cant advise your friend to GROW up spiritually, keep quiet @anitajoseph8 is it possible to give something you dont have? Please, which Counsellor or psychologist told you that people can HEAL emotionally or psychologically by coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child? Is that healing process only exclusive to radical for Jesus actresses? Because Ive never seen where someone can RISE or heal by pulling down another. Can you imagine, youre allegedly saying if your FRIEND wants to talk from now till next 2 years, let her talk, wait, is that the kind of advice you two give yourselves? @anitajoseph8 Even a primary school girl has enough wisdom to know that such kind of attitude is only causing more harm to her child in FUTURE, by constantly mocking the father, let us fear God oh @anitajoseph8 Listen, Ive gotten the attention of @chrissyteigen an A-List American celebrity, my dear, before you or your friend gets such international attention, it would take more hard work and years, but my only advice to you is this, King will grow up, and definitely ask you this same question, if you dont advice his mother correctly.

His words:
A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has decried the state of security in Nigeria especially banditry and kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Speaking on Saturday at a conference on migration, themed Action against irregular migration of Nigerians in Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan asked those without any knowledge in education and security not to go into politics.

If you have no idea of how to develop Nigeria through education, security, amongst others then, do not go into politics, he said.

This same kidnapping issue happened along Lokoja-Kabba road some years back; I could not travel then. I could not understand that 30km of the road cannot be policed. It just gives you a very sad impression that we are really at the mercy of the criminals. So you get ready to pay them, this is not the way to live.
The Sharia police (Hisbah) has announced that people who eat outside during the Muslim fasting period (Ramadan) would be arrested and prosecuted according to Islamic law.

This was made known by the commander-general of the security operative, Nabahani Usman, who stated that people would only be released if they can provide proof that they are ill and present a medical report from a government hospital.

He added that these are the only categories of people exempted from participating in fasting.

His words:
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle has earned himself the mockery of Nigerians on Twitter after it was announced that he has been posted to Nkalagu in Ebonyi state.

Nkalagu is in Ishielu Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, Nigeria. It is the town where the defunct Nigerian cement company (NIGERCEM) is located.

Nkalagu is known to have a large deposit of limestone which provided the raw material for the large cement plant of the Nigerian Cement Company (Nigercem).

After making countless insensitive remarks on Twitter, earning the wrath of Nigerians severally  Most recently was his statement on the Abuja women raid  which caused them to sign a petition against the police officer.

The satisfaction from Shogunles redeployment couldnt be missed in several tweets by Nigerians since his transfer to Nkalagu was announced.

See reactions

We might all rejoice at yomi Shogunle's transfer to Nkalagu(and it's a small victory to be celebrated especially if it'll make him shut up) but the truth is public officers need to know that they can loose their jobs when they make statements like that. He should have been fired  Dr. Anita Mudiaga (@fav_eyedoctor) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Omobaadewunmi/status/1124417428564389888?s=19

https://twitter.com/harvardsport/status/1124636962630008832?s=19

I wish the redeployment of @YomiShogunle was to Zamfara state. The Criminals in Nkalagu have human face and understand English but in the other end, only God will help him do interrogation  Mike Jonah (@mikejonah247) May 4, 2019

Ebonyi welcomes @YomiShogunle to Nkalagu. Please note:

1. Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi here.

2. You will not be in the state capital.

3. You will be busy with serious issues and should not have time to mis-yarn on Twitter.

4. Small boys will call you Punish, not Police.  Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Adeola0503/status/1124428753633972224?s=19
An incoming member of the House of Representatives, Akin Akabi says he doesnt know why Nigerians on Twitter are celebrating Yomi Shogunles transfer.

The Nairabet owner in a few tweets on Saturday afternoon said if the Assistant Commissioner of Police, did badly in his position in Abuja  a transfer wouldnt stop him.

Yomi Shogunle had sexually earned the backlash of Nigerians over some insensitive statements he makes on Twitter concerning the plight of Nigerians.

From the #EndSars campaign and recently to the #AbujaWomenRaid, Shogunles statements seem to always up Nigerians in a bad mood.

Therefore his transfer yo Nkalagu in Ebonyi state was a sort of victory for many.

He tweeted: I dont understand the celebration over @YomiShogunles transfer to Nkalagu. Looks like some people think life starts and ends on twitter.

I dont know what his new positions are all about. Maybe its even a promotion, I dont know. My problem is if he is as bad as Twitter says, will he stop being bad now that he is in Nkalagu?

Or are we saying? now he can no longer do anything to us on Twitter. He can go ahead and do nonsense in Nkalagu? Isnt that being a typical Nigerian? As long as my people & I are safe, the rest can go to hell. We are happy because those of us on twitter is no longer affected.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched "#MoreFunForever," a campaign aimed at promoting sustainable tourism for the present and future generations.

What use is growth and progress if it doesnt trickle down to the grassroots? Tourism Assistant Secretary Howard Uyking said during the campaign's launch in Boracay on April 29.

It makes sense to launch the initiative in the birthplace of its framework, seeing as just last year, Boracay was shut down amidst apprehensions of escalating degradation in its water quality, waste management, and general environmental impact. Its annual Labor Day celebration brought in a whopping 1.7 million tourists on an island whose carrying capacity is well below 100,000 people. A decision was made to close off the islands to tourists entirely for six months. The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) was formed, comprised of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DOT among others. The BIATF was designed to create solutions for the current problems within the island, from long-heeded infrastructural improvements from the locals to managing the excessive influx of tourists and their succeeding noise pollution and material waste.

Local business owner Victor Sacdalan recounts his personal experience as both a businessman and a resident during the closure, saying, I could not imagine closing our business for six months because our employees are the soul of our business. Rebuilding Boracay was really a struggle for the stakeholders, residents, workers, and families. A lot of struggles, financially and emotionally. But I think the idea of the rehabilitation was to prepare us to be stronger and better stakeholders. He adds that seeing the island fully cleared of tourists reminded him of what Boracay could be. As a businessman, I forgot what the island has given me. Boracay needed intervention.

Rebuilding Boracay

Boracay reopened in October of 2018 with a slew of new regulations. The Labor Day parties had officially become extinct. A 25+5 easement had been established, where a previously established 25-meter no-build zone had been extended with an additional 5 meters where establishments and roving vendors were not allowed to block with stalls or any sort of materials. Ordinances had been put in place, allowing local enforcers to penalize guests and locals for smoking or drinking within the easement as well. Fines run anywhere from 1,000 pesos to 2,500 pesos per violation. The Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG, formerly BIATF) notes that DPWH has reported a significant progressive decrease in violations over the last few months, which not only determines compliance, but a possible greater understanding among both tourists and residents of what the regulations serve to protect.

The ocean clean up also saw a decrease in algal bloom, and a cleaner shoreline has been aesthetically pleasing to many who come to the island. The movement in waste management has been manifold, educating locals and business owners on the need to decrease the use of single-use plastics and investing in eco-friendly solutions. BIARMG Deputy Commander Al Orolfo says, We are bringing in big suppliers of green technology so that businesses here will have access to the supplies.

In terms of infrastructure, there is still much work to be done, which is part and parcel of the #MoreFunForever campaign. Whereas Rome wasnt built in a day, the task of rehabilitation also takes time, and BIARMG is setting its sights on the islands interior.

Theyre optimistically looking at finishing the road work by the end of the year or early 2020. Parallel to that, the drainage system which the DOT, through its infrastructure arm TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority), is investing in," DOT Undersecretary Art Boncato said, "In addition to completing the roads, theyre laying down the drainage system to accompany that so that the whole island is covered. Thats where we are in this phase of development and we are continuing what we started.

Boncato adds that ensuring the progress isnt just in material improvements, but in the alignment of all concerned. Were ensuring that local communities are integrated in the tourism sector, tourists are following our regulations, and the government agenciesthe task force here, the local government in the province, the national government agenciesare on the same page each time so were able to move the development forward faster and more efficiently.

Forever Fun

With all these changes in mind, the DOT aims to move forward with its #MoreFunForever campaign holding up Boracay as its standard bearer. The agency may have launched the campaign in Boracay, but its scope goes at scale; a nationwide rally that encourages Filipinos, from businesses to tourists down to communities, to put forward and choose sustainability wherever they are.

The department has since established three tenets for sustainable tourism as seen from the islands progress in rehabilitation. First is responsible tourism, which relies on the ordinances put forth by the DOT to secure the natural environment, creating a culture of accountability among residents and guests. Second is environmental compliance, where local businesses are subject to a no accreditation, no operations policy following an assessment of sustainable and environmentally sound business practices.

Last but not least is inclusive growth, which encourages the hiring of locals, especially with the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). DOT hopes to adopt this framework towards the rehabilitation and preservation of other local destinations, starting with El Nido, Panglao, and Manila Bay.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explains the true depth of #MoreFunForever, saying, Were privileged because we have many natural wonders like those here in the Philippines. And as the globe learns more about our other attractions and makes us a top-of-mind destination, its opened up a host of opportunities. As people, weve been recognized as hospitable, friendly, and warm still, its a great and serious responsibility that we share as stewards of these special, wonderful destinations. Its on us to ensure all our natural wonders stay more fun, forever.
Washington's move is expected to face pushback from major importers

The initial 180-day waivers that the United States granted to buyers of Iranian oil expired on Thursday. Experts argued that Washington's intention to cut off Iranian oil exports completely might backfire both at home and abroad, Xinhua News Agency said in an analysis.

The White House announced on April 22 the US sanctions would be reimposed on all countries that import oil from Iran from Thursday on.
Brazil Court - Large

Brazils Federal Revenue Office published normative instruction No. 1862 on December 28 2018, addressing the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax responsibility, the situation where a taxpayer and third party may be jointly and severally liable for a tax obligation.

Among the novelties addressed, those related to the moment and procedure deserve more attention. According to the normative text, the tax authorities may now establish liability of third parties before judgment by the first instance and once the administrative proceeding is concluded, as well as in cases discussing tax compensation claims.

In this scenario, according to the text of the normative instruction, when the establishment of liability occurs during the tax administrative proceeding (before the first instance decision), and in cases of tax offsetting, the third parties may present their defenses according to the procedure established in Decree No. 70.235/72. In these cases, it is also possible to appeal to the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF).

In cases where such an establishment takes place after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, the third party shall file a request for reconsideration to the same tax auditor who made the establishment. In case it is not upheld, the request may also be considered by the officer of the Internal Revenue Service unit and by the Regional Superintendent.

It is important to observe that these new procedures brought by the normative instruction challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, which is express in assigning the tax authority to identify the taxpayer and the parties jointly and severally liable for the tax obligation through tax assessment notice (i.e not along or upon conclusion of the tax administrative procedure).

In cases where the establishment of liability is made after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, and there is a clear violation of the right to contest, they will have to defend themselves through an internal procedure of the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service, and are not granted access to the procedure of Decree No. 70.235/72 (and to the judgment by the CARF, which is a technical and joint body council).

Notwithstanding the considerations, normative instruction No. 1862/2018 also set forth provisions aimed at assigning more transparency to the taxpayers and to the administrative and judging authorities regarding the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax liability.

As noted in Article 1, the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service explains that the tax liability established to a third party, who is not a taxpayer nor a tax substitute, presupposes the existence of a specific rule, and is different from the one that gives rise to the tax.

Furthermore, the normative opinion clarifies the requirements that must be included in the tax assessment notice in order to establish tax liability. These are qualification of the third party, description of the facts that give rise to the establishment of liability, and the legal classification and the delimitation of the tax credit to be ascribed to the responsible party.

In conclusion, the new rules regarding the establishment of joint and several tax liability after the issuance of the tax assessment notice, especially after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, deserve attention since they challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, and the right to contestation and a full defense of the responsible third parties.

On the other hand, it has also brought new rules that should assign more certainty regarding the procedure of establishing tax liability.



Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto

Leonardo Fernandes Rebello

This article was written by Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto and Leonardo Fernandes Rebello of Mattos Filho.

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So thats Friday nearly wrapped up. Heres some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

TO INFORM

Ana Kriegel: A dog walker has told the trial of two teenagers, charged with murdering Anastasia Kriegel, that he saw a schoolboy make a beeline for the abandoned farmhouse where shes alleged to have been murdered half an hour later.

An order restricting the reportage of Ana Kriegels murder trial until its conclusion has been lifted for all but one publisher.

Ruth Morrissey: Terminally ill Ruth Morrissey may have won her landmark High Court action and been awarded a total of 2.1m against the HSE and two US laboratories over the testing of her CervicalCheck smear slides, but there was little to celebrate as she left the Four Courts.

NI elections: The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay election candidate has been elected.

Theresa May: British Prime Minister Theresa May was confronted with anger from her own party after local election results which she admitted were very difficult for the Conservatives.

Sterling: Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Munster fan banned: Munster Rugby have banned the supporter who appeared to confront Saracens player Billy Vunipola after the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at Coventrys Ricoh Arena.

TO ENGAGE

Mary-Lou McDonald: You dont need much self-awareness to realise that if youre making the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, sound reasonable, youre in trouble.

Cork on the Rise: The prioritisation of the car and poor land use have polluted and ghettoised our cities, but a sustainable approach can change all that, says Abhas K Jha.

TO ENTERTAIN

Eco-friendly bathrooms: Just a little thought is all it takes to make a big  and almost effortless  improvement in bathroom eco-friendliness without compromising personal hygiene and housecleaning.

Chewbacca: Star Wars fans have paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew as they gathered in Ireland for the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Most read story today

Madeleine McCann: Scotland Yard apply for more funding as local police reportedly have 'new suspect'.
A man who found sensitive patient data on a city centre street and who highlighted his concerns in the media has been accused by the HSE of a data breach.

Luke Field, who found data containing patient names and details of surgical procedures on the pavement of South Terrace, Cork City on Friday, April 26, attempted to report his find to the appropriate data protection officer in the HSE South the following day. However, the office was closed over the weekend.

He then contacted Cork University Hospital (CUH) as the data related to patients attending its plastic surgery department, and was advised by a staff member to return the data to reception in a sealed envelope, and that it would be processed after the weekend.

Mr Field, a Labour candidate for Cork City South Central in the upcoming local elections, said he held off on returning the data as he wanted to hand it back to someone with direct data protection responsibility. He decided to contact the media to highlight the delay he encountered when trying to report his find to the appropriate official, as there was no out-of-hours contact service.

However, the HSE said because Mr Field voluntarily disclosed the data to a third party  the Irish Examiner  this constituted an unauthorised disclosure of personal data and that Mr Field is now obliged to report his own disclosure as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Irish Examiner contacted the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to inquire if a breach had occurred, as there is an exemption when processing personal data for the purpose of exercising the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes.

The commission said it understands that there are data protection issues in relation to this, however we cannot comment further as we would need to examine the details in full.

Mr Field said that as far as he is concerned, he doesnt believe there is any merit in the suggestion that he has committed a data breach, but he is happy to co-operate with the Data Protection Commission in their investigation of the HSE breach.

He said he is disappointed with the HSE response because the real story is that there have been two major HSE breaches in patient data in the space of a week [the other related to patients attending Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda] and this seems like an unfair attempt to divert attention away from that.

The HSE said CUH is taking the data breach very seriously and is currently investigating the incident.

The breach was reported to the Data Protection Commission and all data subjects will be contacted in line with HSE policy, the statement said.

The statement also said the deputy data protection officer was subsequently made aware that the data was shared with a third party (journalist), either prior to or after returning the data to the HSE.

The person who discovered the data and voluntarily disclosed it to the third party has been advised by the HSE that as this constitutes an unauthorised disclosure of the personal data, there is now an obligation on that person to report this as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commission.
The passenger jet that crashed into a river in the US last night is leased from an Irish company and visited Shannon earlier this year.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 jet ran off the end of the runway at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida while trying to land in a thunderstorm.

There were 143 passengers and crew on board the flight which was arriving from Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station in Cuba, when it slid off the runway into the St. Johns River at 9.42pm local time (2.42am Irish time).

All 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued during a massive operation and while 21 people were transported to hospital, their injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening.

It has emerged that Miami Air International leases some of its 8-strong fleet of aircraft from two Irish leasing companies including the jet at the centre of this incident.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

The aircraft, (registration N732MA) listed as being leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon, also visited Shannon Airport on March 12 this year.

The airline is one of a number of civilian carriers that undertake charter flights for the US Department of Defence and use Shannon Airport for refuelling stops.

On March 12, the same jet landed at Shannon while en route from Athens to the US while other aircraft in the fleet have also visited Shannon in the past and as recently as last month.

According to records, the incident jet is leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon which lists Miami Air International as one of its 150 customers worldwide.

The airline has leased at least two aircraft from Avolon along with two others from another Irish company, AerCap.
Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire at a house in Blanchardstown in Dublin this morning.

The two people in the home managed to escape unharmed.
Victims of the CervicalCheck scandal are pleading for other women to be spared the ordeal that a terminally-ill cancer patient was put through, to win her landmark compensation case.

They called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to honour his promise that no woman would be dragged through the courts, and urged him to reconsider the terms of a planned compensation tribunal which they say will operate just like a court, but behind closed doors.

Their calls came after Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul, of Monaleen, Co Limerick, were awarded 2.1m in damages against the HSE and two laboratories that failed to spot problems with her smear tests in 2009 and 2012.

The 37-year-old mother of a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and has been told she is unlikely to survive beyond two years.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Kevin Cross said her life had been ruined.

The HSE, which runs the CervicalCheck screening programme, and the two companies, MedLab and Quest Diagnostics, which analysed her smear tests, denied responsibility and fought Ms Morrissey for 37 days in the High Court, but Mr Justice Cross held them jointly and equally liable for what happened.

A relieved and emotional Ms Morrissey left court saying: I just want to move on and spend whatever quality time Ive left with my daughter.

Yet just hours later, MedLab issued a statement welcoming the determination that its lab was not negligent in its review and interpretation of Ms Morrisseys 2012 slide, and said it would be reviewing the judgment in full with a view to appeal.

Solicitor for the Morrisseys, Cian OCarroll, said the companys statement was poorly judged.

Its amazing how they can be so delighted when the court said that they are equally responsible with the HSE and Quest Diagnostics for the full value of 2.16m in damages for costing a woman her life, he said.

If an appeal is lodged, it need not necessarily delay the payout of damages.

Mr OCarroll said it would be at the judges discretion to direct full or partial payment or a stay on payment when the court resumes to consider the matter next week.

Ms Morrisseys case is the first to go to full hearing since screening blunders emerged when Vicky Phelan took her case last year, followed by the late Emma Mhic Mhathuna.

Both of their cases were settled, so the significance of Ruth Morrisseys win is that it establishes firmly that the HSE bears responsibility for the failings of the companies it contracts to carry out work, so that in future, women should only have to take on the State instead of preparing cases against multiple defendants.

Ms Morrissey, standing with the aid of a crutch, held back tears as she thanked her extended family, medical and legal team, and especially her husband Paul, my rock.

The couple kissed to mark the end of their long legal battle which began last summer, but Ms Morrisseys thoughts were with the other women whose fight is only beginning.

I did not think I would be in this position because our Taoiseach told us none of us would have to go through this, but unfortunately I am the one who had to do it, she said.

I hope thats a positive thing, so the women who are left, they dont need to do this and fight for their right to have a good life of what theyve left.

She also encouraged all women to continue getting smear tests. Its very important. Even though it failed me, it does save many many lives.

More than 200 women developed cancer after CervicalCheck failings, and dozens have lodged papers with the High Court, though they may opt for the tribunal whenever it begins.

Reminded of his pledge last year that women would be spared court trials, Mr Varadkar said he had genuinely hoped that no woman would have to go to court, but it was clear that not all cases could be resolved without litigation.

He said he was working with Health Minister Simon Harris and the attorney general to finalise the arrangements for the tribunal as soon as possible.

Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died after her tests were misread, urged them to hurry, describing what Ms Morrissey had been put through as inhumane.

The 221 Plus advocacy group also criticised the court process.

Cases like this are a no-win situation for all involved. It highlights our deepest concerns about the raw and needless cruelty of forcing women, who it is accepted have already been wronged by the State, into an adversarial public legal process that makes them feel like they are on trial just to establish the profile or the extent of that wrong and how it happened. This is simply unacceptable, it said.

A better and more compassionate mechanism is required as a priority to enable those involved establish the basis of the wrong done to them in private, without being put through that adversity.

Reservations have also been expressed about the planned tribunal, which will also be an adversarial forum. The tribunal is not to settle cases  it is the High Court behind closed doors, said Mr OCarroll.

Vicky Phelan said she was also concerned that women opting for the tribunal would still be required to take a stand and argue their case, just without publicity.

The State can do something here, she said. The State can go ahead and intervene so that these cases can be settled faster, in a more conciliatory way.

She pointed out that the State did not have to be at a financial loss, as under an indemnity clause, it could pursue the laboratories for losses due to their failings.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed the Taoiseach's apology for his comments about the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford.

Leo Varadkar issued a statement earlier saying 'this is one he got wrong'.

He said there were conflicting accounts about the mortuary last week and he didn't want to jump to conclusions - but he now accepts subsequent statements support the consultants' claims about conditions.

Deputy McDonald said the consultants deserved an apology - but it should now be followed by action.

She said: "The Taoiseach now, having apologised, needs to make absolutely sure, as head of Government, that the full facts surrounding the complaints made by the pathologists are set out in a clear fashion.

"I think it's also necessary for the hospitals to come before the Oireachtas and for elected representatives to have an opportunity to ask questions."

Leo Varadkar issues apology over mortuary claims

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised unreservedly for failing to treat seriously the concerns about mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford.

Mr Varadkar admitted he got it wrong after claiming there was no evidence to back up allegations that dead bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys at the hospital.

Four consultant pathologists wrote to the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year stating the pressing need to have inadequate facilities at the hospital mortuary addressed.

The consultants said bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys and that it had led to closed-coffin funerals in some instances.

It also emerged last week that dead bodies had been stored on the floor of the mortuary at the hospital.

In a letter dated March 26 to the South/South-West Hospital Group, the four consultant pathologists reiterated their concerns about unacceptable mortuary conditions at the hospital.

They described body storage on the floor of the mortuary following a surge in activity.

Earlier this week, the Taoiseach claimed there was no evidence to back up the claims.

However, in a statement issued on Saturday the Fine Gael leader said he made the comments because of conflicting accounts.

He said: On the one hand, a letter from four consultants making deeply disturbing claims about conditions in the mortuary and on the other hand, a statement from hospital management saying there was no evidence or supporting complaints to back up the claims.

I did not want to jump to conclusions or to side with one group of staff against another without knowing facts or before an investigation was carried out.

Thats why I said that I did not know if the claims were true or not.

Over the course of the week, corroborating statements have come to light and complaints have been made that I believe support the views expressed by the four consultants. This is one I got wrong.

I want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels that I did not treat this issue with the seriousness or sensitivity it deserved.

As I have said before, my over-riding concern is for the dignity of patients in life and in death.

It has never been in dispute that the mortuary is sub-standard and needs to be replaced.

He added that planning permission has been granted for a new mortuary at the hospital while temporary measures are being put in place in the interim. - Press Association
Two Irishmen arrested in Melbourne over an Irish roof scam spent the cash on high-end Rolex watches and designer clothing, police allege.

The pair were arrested as part of Operation Gentium, an investigation into travelling conmen who are operating such alleged scams in Melbourne.

It is alleged the two Irish nationals illegally obtained AUD$260,000 (162,000) from one of their victims.

A police statement alleges the funds were used to purchase luxury Rolex watches and expensive designer clothes.

One of the men, 28, was arrested and charged with ten counts of obtaining property by deception.

The second man, 29, was charged with six offences against the Migration Act.

The pair were arrested after a series of raids were carried out by the Eastern Region Crime Squad, with assistance from the Australian Border Force across Melbourne on Thursday.

Both men have appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court and will re-appear at later dates.

Acting Inspector Scott Dwyer said the alleged scam targets the most vulnerable members of society with pensioners often the victims.

He said: This investigation demonstrates the lengths police will go to find the people involved in these types of crimes and the partnerships that we have with other law enforcement agencies.

These strong relationships allow us to apprehend people even when they are outside Victoria.

He urged people to make sure tradesmen are legitimate before engaging them for work.

He said: We know that travelling conmen predominantly doorknock or letter-drop homes and businesses offering to do maintenance and repair work, such as asphalting, roof cleaning/tiling, painting or tree lopping.

If you want work done on your property, we ask that you don't just use a flyer to make a decision, make sure you shop around for more than one written quote.

These types of deception offences can have a significant impact on peoples lives and are often targeted at more vulnerable members of our community. We dont want to see anyone else fall victim to travelling con men.

We strongly encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of travelling conmen or fake tradies to report it to their local police as soon as possible.

Investigators believe a number of people may have been affected by the alleged scams and further enquiries are still being made by police.

In March, police were forced to issue a warning about a group of conmen with Irish accents who said they were from a business called First Choice Home Solutions, which was a fake company.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Conor Kane, and Elaine Loughlin

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must apologise directly to families whose dead relatives were treated appallingly at University Hospital Waterford after it emerged that two families have made formal complaints.

Opposition parties demanded Mr Varadkar meet with anyone affected after he twice rejected calls to apologise for his dismissive approach to four doctors who first raised the concerns.

Despite a week of denials from the Government and the HSE, the hospital confirmed yesterday that two families have made formal complaints  including relatives of one person who, the Irish Examiner understands, was buried in a closed-casket funeral.

While declining to comment on specific cases, a UHW spokesperson said the facility is currently engaging with the families concerned, that it will always take complaints very seriously, and treats deceased patients with respect and dignity.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, Labour health spokesman Alan Kelly said despite the hospitals claim, the fact that two families have made complaints over the treatment of deceased relatives means Mr Varadkar must now apologise to anyone affected.

The Taoiseach has either lost the plot on this or been sold a pup by the HSE. He is being very badly advised on this. I dont care what he has said, he should meet with and apologise to the families involved, said Mr Kelly.

Asked about the issue yesterday, Mr Varadkar twice declined to fully apologise for his response to date.

While accepting he regrets the tone of his comments questioning if the doctors who first raised the concerns are right, he stopped short of a full apology, saying:

I didnt question what they said, I just pointed out that there are different accounts from different members of staff at the hospital and I dont think its for me to adjudicate on that.

I have always encouraged people to raise issues and if people have issues about the services they work in, bringing them to the attention of management is absolutely the appropriate and right thing to do.

It has separately emerged that the four consultants who first raised the mortuary concerns warned management in March they may remove their services after being left to wait for six months for any response to their concerns.

Sinn Feins Waterford TD David Cullinane released a letter outlining the warning yesterday, alongside a separate letter from a senior HSE official warning HSE financial officials of the appalling standards at the morgue last July.

David Cullinane.

The Government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry, saying the hospital and the Health Information Quality Authority could examine the case.

However, Hiqa said last night that the morgue concerns are outside its remit.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people have turned out for a parade in Cork city to show support for the Defence Forces.

The 'Respect and Loyalty Parade' has ended for the day - the aim was to highlight dissatisfaction over pay and conditions.
There are many simple steps to help green tourism without limiting your horizons, says Thomas Breathnach

Green tourism, eco-friendly, carbon-footprints. Theyre the travel buzzwords of our generation.

However, while many cultural campaigns tend to trend and fade, theres a real stand-out factor when it comes to the sustainable travel movement. The truth is: its here to stay. Today, global tourism accounts for almost 10% of all carbon emissions, meaning the planet has never needed its globetrotters to be more green when they travel. And just like with the food and fashion industries, slow-tourism is now starting to emerge as a strong sector  with immersive travel in one area in, country-ticking for Instagram bragging rights out. Thats not to say you need to staycation in Ireland for life  but whether youre holidaying in Bantry or Bora Bora, little choices can make a big impact.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles

As islanders, we need to get places but once you do get to your base, consider train travel. While the industry may have gone off the rails with the advent of low-fare airlines, trains are making a comeback  allowing travellers to engage with a world better than flying at 30,000 feet. Need inspiration? Interrail (interrail.eu) offer myriad packages for over 30 countries across Europe  think a month pass for Italy from 95 or for Turkey from 46.

Once in your destination, shared bike schemes like Citi Bike in New York or Bycyklen in Copenhagen make a fun way to feel the pulse of a city without fumbling for underground fares. And if you are hiring a motor, Hertz (hertz.ie) now offer a green fleet of hybrid and electric cars  perhaps a good way to take a test-drive on your next holiday?

Choose your Airline

Theres no escaping the impact flying has on the environment, and while the airline industry is largely embracing the green-race, electric jets are not predicted to emerge from the hangars for another decade. For Irish consumers, thanks to its modern fleet of Dreamliners and 737s, Norwegian has been voted most fuel-efficient long-haul airline by the International Council of Clean Transport, with Aer Lingus sitting mid-table and BA almost brexiting the standings. There is good news for the majority who fly economy, however  youre actually flying more efficiently than those sipping prosecco in business.

Support a greener Ireland

According to a 2019 survey by travelcounsellors.ie, 57% of Irish consumers dont consider sustainability when booking a trip  but that pendulum swings when it comes to our younger travellers.

The point? Irish tourism needs to tap into emerging green trends as much as the consumer needs to support those who do. Fortunately, many Irish regions and businesses are already going the extra (carbon-reduced) mile to protect the environment.

The Burren (burren.ie) has positioned itself as perhaps the leading sustainable destination in the country with its own eco-network of tourism businesses. And elsewhere, there are scores of pioneering outfits going green: Ard Nahoo (ardnahoo.com) is a yoga retreat in Leitrim created with locally salvaged wood, Cool Planet Experience (coolplanetexperience.org) in Wicklow is a new climate change museum for kids, while in Wexford, the stunning Hook Lighthouse attraction (hookheritage.ie) run a zero-plastic policy.

Theres immense opportunity for Ireland to harness its potential as the leading eco-friendly destination. After all, we already have the green branding down  we just need to own it.

Location, location.

When travelling overseas, you should support countries and destinations with strong sustainability game. Norway, for example, is the first country to ban deforestation, Namibia is the only nation in Africa which protects the environment in its constitution, while Costa Rica has almost built its entire tourism industry on the eco-travel niche.

But amid all the recent cloud bursts of eco-friendliness, do be aware of greenwashing when it comes to businesses marketing as green with token gestures: sometimes it takes more than not washing your bath towels to really make a difference. Take the Bali Diving Academy in Indonesia who add an genuine element of conservation to their tours by leading underwater and beach plastic clean-ups. (scubali.com).

Pack Light

Heres a way to save the planet  and your coffers too. Extra baggage increases fuel consumption massively, which explains why we pay for it so handsomely nowadays. And while only MEPs might be expected to get by with emerging laptop bag allowances, perfecting your carry-on technique for European and even long haul getaways is a smart and surprisingly adaptable move.

Need the gear? Samsonite (samsonite.ie) now offer a new eco-range of carry-ons and backpacks made from 100% recycled water bottles.

For toiletries, soap is your friend. Kilkenny company myskin.ie creates all-natural, durable bars which save you dipping into your hotels micro-bead toiletries when you land. For on the go, invest in the likes of food-containers, bamboo sporks (thats a spoon/fork hybrid) and a re-useable water bottle from thelittlegreenshop.ie. Both Dublin and Cork airports offer hydration stations or water fountains beyond security, so you no longer have to purchase water on the fly.

Fair Food

From finding a farm-to-table restaurant in New York to opting for meat-free Montag in Berlin, making mindful decisions with your food when travelling can make a world of difference. So whats the recipe? Opting for organic produce, supporting artisan traders and yes, reducing meat, are all effective ways to reduce your footprint. As is shopping local  after all, what better way to immerse yourself in a new area than with a visit to a public market (note: dont forget that tote bag).

Vegans need to take stock too. While avocado toast looks great on Instagram, try to opt for fair trade options which are kinder to farmers in what is often a sinister industry. Going dairy-free? Be aware of water-guzzling milk alternatives like almond and soya while at the breakfast buffet  so use oat milk for your granola where possible.

The demand for local is even taking off in the skies. Aer Lingus are currently reviewing their menus to increase sustainability, Singapore Airlines launched a new a farm-to-plane agreement with the Aero-Farms company this month while Virgin Atlantic have removed unsustainable ingredients like beef and palm oil from their inflight menus.

Love Nature

Biodiversity is vital to Mother Natures natural balance, so the planet needs flora and fauna as much as you need a reusable coffee mug. And theres ways to protect that when travelling. Rule of thumb is if youre riding or kissing a creature youre likely to see on National Geographic, youve inched too close. When overseas, avoid buying animal products like sea-shells or exotic feathers, resist the likes of camel-riding and exotic monkey selfies, and dont be that guy on Facebook posing with a tranquillised tiger in India. These practices often have unsavoury back-stories and can fuel an illegal animal trade. They aint cool.

If you really want to get up close with animals in an impactful way, consider activities like walking rescue dogs in the BARC shelter in Brooklyn (barcshelter.org) or volunteering at an ethical elephant orphanage in Thailand (elephantvalleys.com). If the elephant is painting, chances are youve gone to the wrong one.

Go Camping: Leave no trace!

When it comes to going green, theres no more sustainable holiday than a camping trip  particularly when it comes to pitching up in Ireland.

For camping overseas, remember that most airport security wont permit tent poles in your hand- luggage, so youll need to purchase check-in luggage beforehand. But just think what youll save once on terra firma! Camping in Europe opens up a catalogue of otherwise pricey destinations - from sleeping on the foothills of the Swiss Alps (campingjungfrau.ch 18pp) to a cool summer in Scandinavia? Sweden  famous for its right-to-roam freedoms  has such a liberal camping policy, theyve even listed their entire country on Airbnb.

You can drop your price filter for the USA, too. Overnighting in epic locations like Yellowstone National Park (nps.gov) costs as little as $15 per night, while new start-up Hipcamp (hipcamp.com) allows you to book dream tenting spots across America from back yards to vineyards. Sustainable travel might not limit your horizons  it could just broaden them.
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Nama is 10 years old. Brian Lenihans brainchild to fix our collapsed banking system is about to reach its due completion date, but does so under a cloud of controversy which has dogged it since day-one.

It also bears a highly mixed legacy, to say the least, with calls this week that Nama more than anything else is responsible for the countrys housing crisis.

Nama and its defenders will say it will return a profit of 3.5bn back to the State; that it has been a success in cleaning up bad loans and distressed property assets; and it has done it efficiently and well.

Established in April 2009 by Lenihan as a means of stripping all of the bad debts from the bailed-out banks and restoring credit back into the system, Nama has been engulfed in mystery and treated with suspicion from many quarters.

Nama has destroyed the property market. The minister should call the people from Nama into his office and tell them to put 2bn or 3bn of property on the market at fire sale prices.

"These may be sold too cheaply but at least that would establish a floor in the property market and people would start again.

"Currently, everybody is watching prices continually falling and nobody will get into the market. They believe prices will fall further and are waiting for the bottom, is how Michael Noonan viewed Nama in 2010 just months before he would become finance minister.

As leading Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, put it: Namas structure and objectives create negative value, destroying incentives that can hurt... the economy.

Namas plan was to take loans, good and bad, with a book value of more than 72bn off the bailed out banks, paying just 32bn for them. It was given 10 years to work out those loans in order to return as much money as possible to the taxpayer.

We will chase developers to the ends of the earth, was Namas rallying cry in its early days.

Its job was to rid the busted banks of their toxic development loans and recapitalise them so they could lend again. Secondly, to restore a functioning property market.

Nama will ensure that credit flows again to viable businesses and households by cleansing the balance sheets of Irish banks. This is essential for economic recovery and the generation of employment.

"It will ensure that we avoid the Japanese outcome of zombie banks that are just ticking over and not making a vibrant contribution to economic growth, Lenihan said.

Its own mission statement read: Nama will conduct its activities in a way which assists the property market to operate efficiently and in a way which achieves longer-term sustainability.

Certainly, in the first five years of its existence, Namas record on both fronts was extremely dubious, and the availability of credit within the system has only fairly recently returned to a more normalised situation.

Bank lending remained unnaturally low, the property market went from a moribund wasteland to one where chronic shortages of adequate housing exist, particularly in the greater Dublin region.

Having said it would chase the reckless developers to the ends of the earth, Nama became engulfed in controversy when it was revealed that it was, in fact, working with same said developers and allowing them salaries of up to 200,000 a year.

Then along the way, it was decided that rather than chase and seek to recoup as much of the 72bn book value of the assets taken over by Nama, its remit was to merely break even on what it spent on the loans, ie the 32bn.

By doing so, Nama was crystalising a whopping 40bn loss to the taxpayer.

But it was not couched in terms of a loss  we have been told repeatedly by Namas bosses Frank Daly and Brendan McDonagh, the Department of Finance and even the Comptroller and Auditor General that it will make a profit.

Even Michael Noonan, who had demonised Nama in opposition, came to be one of its strongest supporters in Government and fell into line on the profit spin.

This very topic was the subject of pertinent questioning by Fine Gaels Michael Darcy of NUI Galway economics professor Alan Ahearne at the Oireachtas banking inquiry in 2015.

As Mr Lenihans special adviser from March 2009, Mr Ahearne was a key player in Namas development.

Here is how the exchange proceeded.

Mr DArcy: Would it be fair, then, to say, according to the Nama numbers, that therell be a loss of 41bn in the entire figure, on the 74bn?

Mr Ahearne: The banks would have lost 41bn on the loans that they made during the bubble, yes on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Yeah. So the conversation about Nama making a 1bn loss can I ask you your view on that? Is it a 1m  sorry, a 1bn profit, or is it a 41bn loss?

Mr Ahearne: The banks have made losses of 40bn off it  on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Which is the fairest? Is it Nama making a 1bn profit or the banks losing 41bn?

Mr Ahearne: Well, you can say both of them.

Mr DArcy: Well, Im asking you. Mr Ahearne: Because theyll both be true.

Mr DArcy: Im asking you which is yours.

Mr Ahearne: Id say both.

As Nama looks to the end of its original projected lifespan and its legacy will be examined, it must start being honest with itself and the public about the basic facts of its

existence.

I am not saying it lost this money. The idiot greedy bankers, along with their Fianna Fail cheerleaders and their developer clients, did the damage.

Namas job was to clean up the mess and it has managed to make progress.

But given how secretive Nama is about its dealings, it is difficult to make a considered judgement on its work as of now.

Aside from its secretive modus operandi, Nama has been engulfed in various controversies.

In 2016, ex Nama official, Enda Farrell, pleaded guilty to eight charges of leaking potentially commercially sensitive information to third parties between May and July 2012, some months after leaving Nama.

Reports from the time state that Farrell sat stony-faced in the dock as the sorry tale of his misdeeds dating from 2012 was explained to Judge Karen OConnor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

These actions breached two sections of the Nama Act 2009 which underpinned the establishment of the agency, gave it extensive powers, and made Farrells actions a criminal offence.

More serious than that, is the still yet to be concluded Commission of Investigation into the sale of Namas Northern Ireland loan book, given the title Project Eagle, following months of controversy.

The Commission of Investigation into Project Eagle has asked the Government for a six-month extension to the end of June for a final report to be completed.

The Government appointed retired High Court judge John Cooke in June 2017 to investigate Namas 1.24bn (1.38bn) sale in 2014 of the portfolio to US distressed-debt firm Cerberus.

Independent TD, Mick Wallace, had alleged in the Dail that 7m in fees related to the transaction had been lodged in a bank account in the Isle of Man that was reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or party following the transaction.

It is also under investigation by British authorities.

Former Cabinet minister-turned-broadcaster, Ivan Yates, has accused Nama of continuously licking themselves in terms of their public relations machine.

He added bluntly that its holding of so many properties, making it, at one time, the largest property portfolio in the world, has precipitated the housing crisis.

Nama are responsible for the housing crisis because they got all this land and turned development land into a commodity, they sat on the land.

"They were asleep at the wheel and they should have been building houses, said Yates.

So, as we reach this 10-year milestone, it might be noted that it has had some success, but Namas bib is far from clean.
For the journalist Gauri Lankesh, railing against Indias right-wing nationalism was a birthright and a calling. In an increasingly intolerant country, it was also a death sentence, writes Rollo Romig.

Gauri Lankesh usually worked late on Tuesday nights. The exuberantly leftist weekly newspaper she edited, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, went to press on Wednesdays, and she had to finalise the articles.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, she drove home early, around 7:45 pm; she had an evening appointment with a repairmen to fix her TV. The last person she spoke to before leaving the office was Satish, the papers information-technology manager (who goes by a single name).

At its peak, Gauri Lankesh Patrikes circulation numbered only in the high four digits, and Lankesh mostly wrote in Kannada, a regional language understood by only 3.6% of Indians (though in hyper-populous India, that is 48 million people, more than the population of Spain).

However, her political activism and her lively social media presence extended her reach far beyond the papers print run.

At a time of intense vitriol against the press in India, she was a fearless, sometimes reckless critic of the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which has held power in India since 2014.

Her paper was a tabloid in every sense, gleefully sensational and indifferent to decorum.

However, the vehemence and humour of her polemics in defence of pluralism and minority rights had made her a beloved figure to an increasingly embattled opposition.

She was more vulnerable than she sounded on the page. She reminded one friend of a sparrow: her head topped with a feathery whorl of short gray hair, bursting with noisy argument but fundamentally gentle.

At 55, she was 5ft and a half-inch tall  she always insisted on the half-inch, her ex-husband, the journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, said  and skinny, possibly because of her heavy smoking and her tendency to work through mealtimes.

She lived alone in an unusually quiet pocket of Bangalore, the capital city of the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Her lone concession to friends and family concerned about her safety was a few closed-circuit TV cameras she installed half a year earlier  cameras that captured some of what happened on the night of September 5.

Just after 8pm she parked her car, a compact white Toyota, at an indifferent angle, then jumped out to open the gate. From the camera footage, it appeared that she hadnt noticed the motorcycle with two riders that had followed her home.

The moment she got her gate open, the motorcycles passenger rushed up and shot her with a crude pistol. Two bullets hit her in the abdomen, one passing through her liver.

Lankesh turned to run, and the third shot missed her and struck a wall. A fourth bullet hit her in the back, passing through a lung and grazing her heart before exiting through the left cup of her bra.

The whole encounter lasted about five seconds. Within a minute, the repairmen pulled up and found her splayed across the entryway to her house in a pool of blood.

About 20,000 people attended a Bangalore rally in her honour a week later. Her friends marvelled not only at the number of supporters but at their variety: writers, students,

activists, members of the marginalised Dalit and Adivasi communities, transgender women, rickshaw drivers, landless farmers, Muslims, Christians.

Large I Am Gauri demonstrations arose nationwide in outrage at the increasing attacks, rhetorical and physical, on Indian journalists.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, routinely tweets condolences after aeroplane crashes in foreign countries but made no comment about Lankeshs murder.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has been keeping track of 35 cases of Indian journalists murdered specifically for their work since 1992, and only two of these cases have resulted in a successful conviction.

Indias newspaper culture has long been among the most varied and vigorous in the world, which the countrys free-speech laws help enable.

However, India has no explicit constitutional protection of freedom of the press, and the laws that do exist are easily curtailable in the interest of security, public decency or religious sentiment.

The situation has unquestionably deteriorated over the past several years  a fact that owes much to the ascent of the BJP. In the 2014 elections, the party won 282 of the 545 seats in the lower house of Indias Parliament, which determines the prime ministership.

The Congress Party, which has led nearly every Indian government since independence, won only 44. Political pressure on journalists is nothing new in India, but the current government is the first in many years to treat them as an ideological enemy. Since he took office in 2014, Modi has not held a single news conference in India.

Among BJP politicians, a popular term for journalists is presstitutes. A dispatch on Indian journalism last year by the Committee to Protect Journalists described an unprecedented climate of self censorship and fear, reporting, the media is in the worst state India has ever seen.

By the end of May, national elections will determine if Modi and the BJP are elected to another five years. Hostility toward journalists and opposition figures is intensifying as voting day approaches.

The investigative journalist Rana Ayyub, best known for her investigation into BJP complicity in religious riots (which Lankesh had published in a Kannada translation), wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year that she has been the target of an unrelenting online assault by right-wing activists: Her face was grafted on a pornographic video; her home address and phone number were circulated; there were threats of gang rape.

Lankeshs murder seemed to fit what was by then an unmistakable pattern of assassinations of intellectuals who opposed the fundamentalist-Hindu ideology that animates the BJP, all of which remained unsolved.

Between 2013 and 2015, three religiously freethinking Indian writers and activists were shot dead near their homes by assailants who escaped on motorcycles: the doctor Narendra Dabholkar, in Pune; the politician Govind Pansare, in Kolhapur; and the scholar MM Kalburgi, in Dharwad.

After Kalburgis murder, scores of Indian writers returned their awards from the National Academy of Letters to protest both the lack of progress in the murder investigations and the BJPs silence over rising intolerance,

to no effect.

There was much anxious speculation over who might be the next writer to die. However, few thought it would be Lankesh, in part simply because she lived in Bangalore.

Situated on a plateau at the centre of Indias southern triangle, Bangalore has a reputation as an easygoing, tolerant place. It reflects Indias diversity  its melange of cultures, languages, religions and histories  more than most places.

It is a city that attracts migrants from all over the country. Indias science-research efforts have centred on Bangalore for more than a century as has, in recent decades, its information-technology industry, and the city consequently has one of the worlds most educated workforces.

According to the Karnataka Police, a year can pass in Bangalore without a single instance of a gun used in a crime. To many Bangaloreans,

Lankeshs murder felt like the violent announcement of the end of an era  an era that had arguably sprung from the imagination of Lankeshs father, P Lankesh.

A commanding figure with huge eyeglasses and a generous moustache, Lankesh was a compulsively productive, endlessly quarrelsome English professor, fiction writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker, essayist and journalist.

He dominated the cultural and political discourse in Karnataka for the 20 years in which he edited Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid he founded in 1980.

Gauri Lankesh grew up in her fathers shadow. When he died in 2000, it was unthinkable that anyone could fill his shoes  least of all his daughter, who was then barely literate in Kannada. However, her family legacy proved irresistible, and she moved back to Bangalore to serve as the papers editor.

Lankesh found she loved it. She never approached her fathers literary talents in Kannada but was his equal in pluck. Her immersion in Karnatakas problems transformed her into a leftist and an activist, and Lankesh Patrike transformed with her.

Its new direction led to an ideological rift with the papers owner and publisher, her brother Indrajit. In 2005, she left the paper, and the next week she started a new tabloid of her own: Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

There are two main rival ideas of India. One idea is the pluralist, multi- religious, multicultural vision on which the country was founded in 1947. The other is known as Hindutva: a fundamentalist, majoritarian movement that seeks to codify and enforce orthodox Hinduism and to define India as an explicitly Hindu country (despite the fact that India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world).

The most important Hindutva organisation is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a powerful Hindu-nationalist paramilitary group that was founded in 1925 and reportedly has millions of members.

The Hindutva groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are known collectively as the Sangh Parivar. One of them is the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress Party, whose politics are generally secular and social democratic, has undoubtedly been guilty at times of suppressing the press and of condoning the mass slaughter of religious minorities.

However, many Indian liberals fear that the BJPs overwhelming victory in 2014 marks the most profound threat to Indias democracy and pluralism since its founding.

The BJP had controlled the prime ministership before, for six years, after breaking the Congress Partys longtime hold on the office in the 1998 elections, but only as part of a coalition government that required it to tamp down its hardline positions.

A BJP re-election this year would be seen as a mandate to fully implement the partys ideology. In the BJPs rhetoric, being Indian is equated with being Hindu, and religious minorities are spoken of as if they were foreigners. Critics are branded as anti-national.

Advocates of a secular Indian state  which the Indian constitution calls for in its very first sentence  are called sickulars.

Such talk has already emboldened a surge of vigilantism. Since the BJP took power, what is known as cow protection has become increasingly a matter of national politics  the cow holds religious importance to many Hindus  and lynch mobs have murdered scores of people, largely Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or selling cattle.

In July last year, a BJP minister invited to his home eight men who had been convicted in such a lynching and presented them with garlands and sweets.

By the time the BJP won in 2014, Lankesh had, for nearly a decade, been using her own newspaper to thrust herself into the centre of local debates over Hindu nationalism. She sometimes got death threats at the office, either by phone or by mail. She would ignore it, her colleague Satish said.

She would say, who will shoot me? We didnt take it seriously. Like her father, she often treated political argument like sport.

She loved it, Lankeshs sister, Kavitha Lankesh, said.

She loved fighting, she loved voicing her views, she took great pleasure in standing up for people. She would make a joke, saying, I am on the hitlist, and she felt proud to say that.

More than once, her subjects reported her to the police for criminal defamation and libel.

Such charges rarely hold up in Indian courts, but they are effective in harassing journalists because the accused must show up in court wherever the charge is filed. Lankeshs opponents would file cases all over the state.

Her lawyer, Venkatesh Bubberjung, would advise Lankesh to be more careful in her words.

Shed say: I am going to call a scoundrel a scoundrel! Its your job to defend me, he said.

In November 2016 she was finally convicted in a criminal defamation case over a story she published eight years earlier claiming that several BJP leaders had defrauded a jeweller and was sentenced to six months in jail. (The sentence was immediately suspended, and when she was killed, she was awaiting appeal.)

I asked Venkatesh if Lankeshs rhetoric went overboard at times.

Frequently, not at times! he said.

In one example that particularly offended her opponents, in response to a campaign to mail sanitary napkins to Modi to protest a new tax on menstrual hygiene products, she suggested on Twitter that women mail napkins that had already been used.

However, Lankesh had defenders among mainstream Indian liberals too, like the historian Ramachandra Guha.

There is no such thing as overboard, he insisted, pointedly paraphrasing an adage that had been a favourite of the former BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

The answer to a piece of writing is another piece of writing. Its not murdering someone.

For nearly six months after Lankeshs murder, there were no arrests. However, in May, the Karnataka Polices special investigation team filed a charge sheet against a Hindutva activist named KT Naveen Kumar.

Fifteen more suspects have been arrested and charged in the months since then; all are in jail awaiting trial and are expected to plead not guilty. Police are still searching for two more.

The accused include a young utensil salesman named Parashuram Waghmare, who the police say confessed to pulling the trigger. The police also say that Waghmare wasnt familiar with Lankesh when the conspirators asked him to kill her, so they showed him YouTube videos of her speeches to persuade him to commit the murder.

They gave him 10,000 rupees, or around 140. The police suspect that the accused are part of an apparently nameless, multi-state right-wing assassination network with at least 60 members.

Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has kept his silence. He has never publicly mentioned Lankeshs name or referred to her case.

In the months since Lankesh was shot, some of her friends and colleagues have grown more cautious about what they write and say and post to social media, even as this years unusually fraught and uncertain Election Day approaches.

Others have found themselves speaking out where they wouldnt have before. Prakash Raj, a popular film actor and friend of Lankeshs who had previously been quiet on politics, is now running for office on what could be called the Gauri platform.

When we buried Gauri, we were actually sowing her, he said at a literary festival in January.

They thought she could be silenced, but she lives through us. And if I end up in the parliament, it will be Gauris voice that will be heard there.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in The New York Times Magazine 2019 The New York Times
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 (12:01 am) - Score 2,110

Broadband is no longer a luxury good, but flows through households and businesses as freely as running water. Quality broadband allows us to live better and more fulfilling lives, and it is a lifeline for businesses to connect with the rest of the world.

In the thirty years since the launch of the world wide web, the world has gone from sceptically regarding the internet as a niche invention to being totally dependent on it. If you look at how broadband speeds have become faster and faster over the last few years, it is clear that technology is improving at a quicker rate than ever. This makes you think, if broadband already plays such a big part in our lives, then how much more dependent are we going to be on broadband over the next thirty years?

NOTE: This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ). The views of this author are their own and may not represent those of this website.

Encouragingly, the UK Government understands the positive economic value of broadband, and has rightly set out its ambitions to provide full fibre broadband nationwide by 2033. ISPA fully supports this ambition, and our members have been working tirelessly to design, build and fund broadband rollout to make this vision a reality.

However, the simple truth is that unless the Government takes a more active role in facilitating the rollout of broadband, it runs the risk of not achieving its ambition of full fibre availability by 2033. As I will outline, this vision is still achievable, but it will require direct action from the Government to mitigate a series of barriers prohibiting the efficient rollout and delivery of broadband.

Government Funding

The first hurdle the Government ought to look at is whether its commitment to funding this project actually matches the lofty ambitions it has set out for itself? To be clear, broadband investment is primarily funded through private investment with some public support through the various Government initiatives (e.g. Digital Investment Fund and LFFN).

In order to be cost effective, the focus of ISPs is often on prioritising the rollout and delivery of broadband in areas where it is economically viable. This conflicts with the Governments ambition, which is to provide nationwide full fibre access. There are firms willing to address these areas, but they need to have a regulatory framework that is both light touch and supportive.

ISPs are constantly criticised by rural communities and their MPs about insufficient broadband access in these areas. Considering it is the Governments ambition to provide nationwide access to full fibre broadband, surely it is right that they put their hand in their pocket to do more to fund the rollout and delivery of broadband in these rural areas?

Of all the projects that the Government has committed to in recent years, which will deliver the most benefits for greater connectivity and for the UK economy in the long term? It is not hard to come to the conclusion that nationwide broadband rollout tops this list. So, the Government should be far more willing to match its lofty ambitions with the necessary funding to provide broadband access for these hardest to reach areas.

Barriers to broadband rollout

Although insufficient Government funding will impact the long-term vision of broadband availability, there are a set of immediate challenges that are preventing ISPs from rolling out broadband effectively, and urgently need addressing. These barriers divert resources, waste time and ultimately hinder the progress of delivering broadband infrastructure.

Burdensome business rates are a significant barrier because they limit how much ISPs can invest into rollout and takes away the very funding that Government provides elsewhere. ISPA believes that if these rates are relaxed  or at the very least reformed to be equitable, transparent and simpler  then ISPs would be allowed to focus more of their funds and attention on delivering broadband infrastructure.

Additionally, there are several more physical barriers that have proven detrimental to our mission. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, ISPs are often forced to devote time and resources to navigating layers of red tape. Whilst the Government have begun work to ease these pressures with upcoming legislation around granting access to buildings, there is a still a need to engage with and upskill local authorities to ensure that these infrastructure projects are properly prioritised, and implemented consistently, across the country. The administrative burden of complying with these barriers inevitably causes delays, impacts operational efficiency and increases costs. ISPs should be building networks, not jumping through hoops.

There is also an unnecessary obsession from Ofcom and consumer groups such as Which? about the price of broadband. This culture of price obsession has encouraged a race to the bottom for the broadband market, where value for money takes precedence over the quality of service, and the provider who offers the lowest prices is often seen as the most appealing. This is counterproductive to the rollout and delivery of broadband, as it simply means that ISPs have less revenue to invest in our mission.

Online Safety

It is important to highlight that in addition to rolling out and delivering broadband, ISPs also have a responsibility to ensure online safety. This is a responsibility that ISPs take extremely seriously, and our members have continually worked with Government and other stakeholders to help make the internet a safer place. There are also technical changes such as DNS over HTTPS that could bind the hands of ISPs to tackle online safety effectively.

The recently published Online Harms White Paper was significant because the only proposal relevant to our members was for ISPs to block non-compliant websites and apps. The Government has recognised the good work that our members are doing in this area, and it is clear that the onus is now on social media sites and other parts of the internet value chain to step up and take more responsibility for the content on their platforms.

We believe that this is a positive step to combat online harms, but one that should be handled carefully. ISPs already have to divert enough resources and funding to tackle the administrative burden that is created by the regulatory spaghetti of multiple regulators and government departments making demands of our members.

By highlighting that additional measures to tackle online safety must be implemented by online platforms instead of ISPs, it allows ISPs to focus on the rollout and deliver of broadband nationwide.

Conclusion

To conclude, the message here is simple. If the Government wants to achieve its ambition of providing nationwide full fibre coverage by 2033, then ISPs desperately need a more accommodating framework to work under. The challenges that we face are serious, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the barriers that prevent the nationwide rollout of full fibre broadband. It is encouraging that the Government did not target ISPs for extensive further responsibilities in the Online Harms White Paper, but it needs to go much further to create a regulatory and practical framework that will unleash broadband rollout.

We should not underestimate the value of this project. It is perhaps the single most important infrastructure project that the UK will undertake in our lifetime to guarantee the long-term economic health of the UK. Failure to achieve this vision risks the UK falling behind other countries that have prioritised innovation and technology as the foundation of their economies. Our industry is united in our call to the Government to work with us to get on with the job of rolling out full fibre and 5G for all.

 Andrew Glover, Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
May 4, 2019



POCATELLO  Idaho State University graduates were encouraged to continue their Bengal roar as they head out into the world at ISU spring commencement ceremonies May 4 in Holt Arena.

After graduation you will have the right to forever to call yourself a Bengal. The right to tell the world, proudly, that you are a graduate of Idaho State University. That is your right, said Kevin Satterlee, ISU president. Now, here is your responsibility, and I charge and task you with this, right here and right now  go out in the world and make us proud. Live that better life and never forget your roar.

Graduate and Associated Students of ISU President Logan Schmidt, spoke about the challenges he and other students met on the way to earning their degrees and thanked those who supported them.

I want to challenge all of you to continue your roar, and be a mentor, a leader or a hero for someone else now, Schmidt said. Give them the love and support your family did. Show them the possibilities a college degree can provide for them. Show them the path of excellence and bring as many individuals up in this world as you can, because that is what Bengals do.

A total of 2,553 graduates received 2,714 degrees and certificates. One hundred fifty-nine students received multiple certificates and/or degrees.

The breakdown of graduates included 38 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 11 Doctor of Education degrees, four Doctor of Arts degrees, six Doctor of Audiology degrees, 14 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 25 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 78 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, 11 Educational Specialist degrees, 508 masters degrees, 53 academic certificates, 1,259 bachelors degrees, 472 associate degrees, and 235 certificates from the College of Technology.

ISU student Tara Cluff performed the national anthem. The faculty mace was placed by the 2019 Distinguished Teacher, Marco Schoen.

Satterlee greeted the audience and conferred the degrees.

ISU Executive Vice President and Provost for academic affairs Laura Woodworth-Ney recognized the distinguished faculty who are Schoen, Distinguished Service Cindy Seiger and Distinguished Researcher Kathleen Lohse.

Presentation of graduates was by the University deans.

Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2019 are: Doug Butler, Dallas, Texas, College of Arts and Letters - Social and Behavioral Sciences; Stefanie Pemper, Annapolis, Maryland, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Brent J. Stacey, Idaho Falls, College of Science and Engineering; Rick K. Eskelson, Pocatello, College of Technology; Dan and Barbara Fuchs, Twin Falls, College of Pharmacy; Kelly Rae, Reno, Nevada, College of Education; Dan Mills, Salt Lake City, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Heidi Halverson, Missoula, Montana, College of Health Professions; Joan Agee, Nampa, College of Nursing; Larry Bird, Boise, College of Business; and Bruce Kusch, Salt Lake City, Graduate School.

Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2019 are Kirby Kinghorn, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions; Cassandra Smith, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions  Dental Hygiene; Trager Hintze, Purcell, Oklahoma, College of Pharmacy; Jenna Strop, Boise, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Whitney Heuer, Idaho Falls, College of Nursing; Eighdi Aung, Yangon, Burma (Myanmar), College of Science and Engineering  Engineering; McKenzie Mangun, Caldwell, College of Science and Engineering  Natural and Physical Science; Brittany Garrett, Riverton, Utah, College of Education; Logan Schmidt, Pocatello, College of Business; Jessica Hamway, Boston, Massachusetts, College of Technology; Rachel Godin, Eagle, College of Arts and Letters  Social and Behavioral Sciences; William Veloso, Meridian and Gold Beach, Oregon, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Alyssa Millard, Merrill, Wisconsin, Graduate School  Masters Recipient; and Omid Heidari, Ghaenshahr, Iran, Graduate School  Doctoral Recipient.

Graduates are encouraged to share their memories on social media at #isugrads.

Photo information: ISU President Kevin Sattterlee addressing graduates and guests at commencement.
The company is conducting its own review and has taken remedial and improvement measures based upon this review, including replacement of a number of employees in China and enhancements of company policies and procedures in China.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey called the two legal and regulatory issues significant overhangs following Herbalife successfully fending off in 2018 the multiyear attack of billionaire hedge-fund activist Bill Ackman.

It would be super nice to put these matters to rest and would make the next debt deal much easier, Ramey said.

Yet, one has to say that the risk profile of Herbalife is perhaps the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Ramey said Herbalife may be preparing for another Dutch auction of its stocks after Aug. 19, which could allow its largest investor, billionaire hedge-fund activist Carl Icahn, to sell off more shares.

Companies use the Dutch auction method to repurchase a predetermined value of shares within a set price range in a relatively short amount of time, typically one to two months, according to analysts with SeekingAlpha.com.
The next day, he filled out another Healthcare Request where he wrote I have Asthma and I take steroids. They have ran out and its really affecting my breathing.

That same day, he filled out a grievance form: I feel that my life is in jeopardy because I have severe asthma and I cant get my inhaler when needed. I have asked over and over that something be done to no response. My next step is to bring someone of a higher power... He told jail staff to call his doctor to explain his condition and repeats his need for steroids.

Please someone respond, Coley said, according to the lawsuit.

Surratt, a licensed practicing nurse, saw Coley the next day at 2 a.m.

He was audibly wheezing, with crackles in both lungs, grunting, using accessory muscles to breathe, and leaning forward to breathe, commonly referred to by medical providers as tripodding, the lawsuit said.
UNCSA awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 246 students. More than 1,000 people, including their parents, friends, children and spouses, attended Saturdays ceremony.

John Russell of Greensboro was among the students who received a masters degree in filmmaking. Russell pursued his graduate degree while he worked full time as a library specialist at Winston-Salem State University.

This means everything to me, Russell said of his diploma. It took a long time and a lot of energy.

During her speech, Campbell advised the students to keep a realistic outlook on life as she congratulated them.

There is no person, no relationship, no job, no reward, no outfit, no body type, no material possession and no amount of money that will make you happy forever, Campbell said. So stop looking outside yourself for it because it does not exist.

Set goals, dream big, make improvements upon yourself, she said. Work hard, be kind, show up, love yourself and what makes you different and amazing things can happen for you. ... Now get out there and make the world a better place for all of us.
President Trump last week tried to justify his defense of the 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville by invoking the memory of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. The demonstrators, argued the president, doubling down, were indeed very fine people because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.

Lee was indeed a great general. But so what?

For more than 100 years, Lee and other generals of the Confederacy have been invoked to justify the cause of segregation and Jim Crow bigotry. Their statues  including the one of Lee in Charlottesville  were erected in the South when the federal government abandoned Reconstruction and allowed Southern whites to disenfranchise, and then terrorize, the newly freed African Americans living among them. Those statues, and the romanticized memory of the Confederate cause that they are intended to evoke, serve a bad cause. Last week, Trump again identified himself with that bad cause.

We already have a better way to look at Robert E. Lee. Not an angry way, but a just one.
Sasses bill  recently blocked by Senate Democrats  does precisely what its unwieldy name implies. It deals only with the case of an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a child born alive. And it does not mandate medical care even in these cases. Instead, it requires doctors to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Cases in this category are admittedly tiny in number. The only remotely authoritative figures I have seen come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (by way of FactCheck.Org). In the period from 2003 to 2014, the CDC recorded 143 cases in which children were born alive after attempted abortions. (Because it is sometimes difficult for the CDC to distinguish induced from spontaneous terminations, the overall number is probably a bit higher.) In 2017, for example, Minnesota had three reported cases of attempted abortions that produced infants born alive. In one case, according to the state Department of Health, the infant was given comfort care until it died.
Part of our history

Our Dixie fairgrounds are at issue. I think our thinking should be fair! Slavery was horrible, but that was then. We live in the South and we have our traditions and history.

I was not upset with Silent Sam being on the UNC Chapel Hill campus because it was a part of our history. I was not upset with our statue at the old courthouse. This was a part of our history. Should we move the Washington and Jefferson memorials in Washington, D.C. because George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? How can we erase part of our history? We can learn from it, however.

Bob Matthews

Winston-Salem

Negotiations

It doesnt bother me that the U.S. pledged to pay North Korea $2 million to free American hostage Otto Warmbier. Nor does it bother me that we wont pay North Korea (though considering President Trumps habit of lying, its not going to surprise me if we learn that we did pay North Korea).


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Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.

The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the states governor Hashim Khalid.

About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp but it they soon unleashed violence on a unit of armed forces, in Nyala, Khalid said.

Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left critically wounded, he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.

After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the regions military headquarters and organised by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.

The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.

It called to reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala.

Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum since weeks.

Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the countrys army rulers hand over power to civilians.

A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudans western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoums Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.

Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.

In recent years Darfur has seen an overall fall in violence, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
Ankara on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for the bombing of a building housing the Turkish state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

We condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms for targeting a building in Gaza, in which the @anadoluagency office was located, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidencys chief communications director, said on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone, he said.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff had been evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a tyrant after Netanyahu called him a dictator and a joke.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  A mother from Grants Pass accused of eluding police as she absconded with her kids during a custody dispute was later tracked down in Las Vegas, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS).

On April 12, police officers visited 33-year-old Tiffany Gallego in an attempt to serve her with a court order. Her 4-year-old son's father had been granted full custody of the child. Instead, GPDPS said that Gallego fled in her vehicle with three of her children in the car, leading officers on a short car chase.

"Officers terminated the pursuit due to the reckless driving behavior of Gallego and the risk of harm to the children and the public," the agency said.

Detectives came to believe that Gallego was trying to leave the state with the 4-year-old child. It took cooperation from a number of agencies between the Rogue Valley and Nevada, but Gallego was eventually located in Las Vegas on May 2.

According to GPDPS, officers took Gallego into custody without incident, finding the 4-year-old in the motel room "safe and sound." The 4-year-old is being returned to his father, and officers found one other of Gallego's children in the room who is now in the care of the Department of Human Services. GPDPS did not mention the third child that was supposedly with Gallego at the outset.

Gallego has been charged with two counts of Custodial Interference 1, three counts of Reckless Endangering, Felony Elude, Reckless Driving, and Interfering with a Police Officer.

"An AMBER Alert was not utilized in this investigation as it did not meet the requirements, as there were no facts to indicate the child was in any danger of harm," the agency said. "Amber Alerts have specific criteria in place to prevent overuse of the system. Detectives utilized several other resources and partner agencies in order to attempt to locate Gallego and ensure the safety for all involved."

GPDPS was aided by the Pacific Northwest Violent Task Force (Medford), Las Vegas Metro Police, Henderson Police, and the Las Vegas Sex Offender Predator Apprehension Team and Vigilant Solutions.

"Grants Pass Department of Public Safety want to express their appreciation to the agencies that assisted in the safe recovery of the child and the apprehension of Gallego," the agency said.
MEDFORD, Ore.  For decades, the nonprofit Sparrow Clubs has seen burgeoning participation and popularity with their programs in Oregon, making heart-warming pairings between kids in medical need and young students who become their biggest champions. Now the organization is spreading its wings and bringing the same programs to other states.

Sparrow Clubs announced that it had established a new chapter at Boise High School in Idaho on Thursday, sponsored by Black Rock Coffee Bar. A post from Sparrow Clubs showed the students of Boise High welcoming their first Sparrow, Jorge.

"Jorge is 16 and is fighting bone cancer now for the third time. This show of support was just what this courageous teen and his family needed today in the midst of this battle," the organization said.

Meanwhile, Sparrow Clubs has been making inroads in Arizona since 2018. The nonprofit recently received support from Black Rock and the Arizona Diamondbacks to establish more programs in the Phoenix area, and there have been several Arizona Sparrows already.

The Sparrow Clubs programs have become deeply rooted in the Southern Oregon community. Every Sparrow sponsored represents a partnership between a child who might otherwise be considered an outsider, the students of a local school, and community partners looking to make a difference. While the partners commit funds to help pay for a Sparrow's medical bills, the students commit to acts of service as a way of showing their support.

For more stories on Sparrow Clubs from NewsWatch 12 from past and in the future, you can visit our Sparrow Clubs page here.
The prosecution noted that the mens cooperation in the investigation and testifying at Quinns trial was valuable. The prosecution stated that these men did make terrible decisions, but each of the men had minimal criminal history before this case and were at low risk to offend again.
You stride purposefully into the living room and then, your mind goes blank. You cant remember what you planned to do. Or you memorize a short grocery list. But when you arrive at the supermarket all you can recall is yogurt. What else were you supposed to buy?

Then there are those times you bump into whats-his-name at work. Or struggle to dredge up the title of that book you wanted to buy or movie you saw last week.

Such lapses are presumed to be a normal feature of the aging brain. They cant be helped.

Or can they? Researchers at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine and Boston University report tantalizing progress in related experiments to boost short- and longer-term memory. The first type is working memory. Thats whats used to remind yourself of a phone number you just heard, or to take your medication. Then theres longer-term memory that helps you recall something that happened weeks or years ago.
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions, which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out, and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic Cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send all questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Father Tom Hartman.

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All throughout Kenosha County, you may begin to notice a blue, plastic shopping bag delivered to homes soon.

This signifies that the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is almost upon us.

Food will be collected Saturday, May 11, at the time your mail is delivered.

This food drive allows all of us in the county the ability to contribute to our very own community without needing to leave the comfort of our homes ... or rather I should say only having to go as far as the mailbox.

NALC Food Drive

Many years before the official start of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive in the early 1990s, a number of mail carriers at branches throughout the nation collected food for those in need as part of community service efforts.

A coordinated event was initially piloted in 1991, with such success that bringing the food drive nationwide came soon after.

The event was tweaked after consultation with food banks and pantries, ultimately bringing the food drive to its home on the second Saturday in May.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive continues to be present in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam and is the United States largest single-day food drive. Stamp Out Hunger is carrying out its 27th annual event this year.

Kenosha Countys Stamp Out Hunger

This year, the food collected will be distributed by local food pantries: 1Hope, Salvation Army, Shalom Center and Sharing Center.

This four-legged network of pantries has worked together to acquire the donation bags, coordinate advertising, assemble volunteers and ensure distribution.

Kenosha County post offices participating in the event include Bristol, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Salem, Silver Lake, Trevor and Wilmot.

Good news: If you forget to place your donations by your mailbox on May 11, they can be dropped off at the local participating post offices or food pantries by May 13.

Even better news: If you misplace the official bag between now and then, you can place donations in any bag and place it near your mailbox on May 11.

Food donation tips

Barbara Ingham and Jennifer Park-Mroch of UW-Madison Division of Extension offer guidelines in ensuring safety and quality of food donations:

Avoid donating items with high amounts of sugars, salt or that would be difficult to incorporate into a nutritious meal.

Inspect the package to ensure products are not opened, damaged or leaking.

Check the Better if used by/expiration/pull by date on food.

Preferred donations:

Canned vegetables (ideally without added salt).

Canned fruits in juice or unsweetened applesauce.

100 percent fruit juice.

Dried fruit.

Canned meats and fish.

Whole grain pasta, rice, crackers or popcorn.

Canned beans.

Peanut butter.

Whole gran, low sugar cereal or oatmeal.

Soup or broth (reduced sodium).

For more information about the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive visit https://nalc.org/food and for information about Kenosha Countys efforts visit https://www.facebook.com/events/565959597235635/.

Mary Metten is health and well-being educator for Kenosha County University of Wisconsin-Extension.

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Tremper High School will be adding more staff to monitor doors during arrival and dismissal, according to district officials, after a former student entered the school earlier this week and made threats to kill people.

Tanya Ruder, Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman, said the decision was made after a debriefing with school officials and Trempers school resource officer from the Kenosha Police Department.

Student and staff safety is a top priority of the district, and we are confident that things were handled very well by our staff and students in this situation. In addition, we greatly appreciate the support and prompt response of our local law enforcement, Ruder said Thursday.

According to Ruder, protocols and procedures were correctly followed in the incident and that the increased staff presence would bring added security.

On Monday, the former student showed up at the high school and walked into the building, speaking with other students in the commons area, according to a Kenosha Police Department report.

Witnesses said the former student began talking about committing homicide, pulling a Confederate-flag bandana over his face and announcing he was ready.

Students reported the incident around 7:30 a.m. Officials reviewed video surveillance which showed the former student leaving the campus at 7:22 a.m.

The student was expelled in December and was not supposed to be on campus. He was referred to police for trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. He was placed in juvenile detention.

According to police, he had already been on an ankle monitor for other pending charges. No weapons were found in his home.

It is important to note Wisconsin Act 143 requires that any exterior door left unlocked during the school day, from student arrival to dismissal, must be monitored by a dedicated staff member, Ruder said in a statement.

Accessible doors

In fall of 2018, all KUSD schools underwent a safety assessment led by our facilities team and building leadership to determine any gaps in safety protocols. At this time, it was discovered that Tremper had more doors accessible than necessary, and they immediately adjusted their procedures and protocols to allow only two doors near the commons area to be open for arrival and dismissal periods. These doors are monitored by dedicated staff members during this time, she said.

In addition, one or two other doors may be utilized as needed for students with special needs, but they also are monitored by dedicated staff. After the arrival period ends, all visitors are required to enter through the locked and monitored main entrance.

We are extremely proud of our students who immediately reported the incident and concerns to administration and the swiftness in which the administration and the Kenosha Police Department handled the incident, she said.

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Its not typical for us, as elected officials, to make public recommendations for or against the release of a prison inmate.

But given the crime he committed, premediated and without a real motive, we do not believe Eric S. Nelson is a typical prison inmate.

Last month, we joined the family of the late Joseph Vite in calling for the Wisconsin Parole Commission to deny Nelsons release. Now, as the commissions May 14 hearing date is nearing, we would like to reiterate our request that the community join us in signing a petition opposing parole for Nelson.

Nelson is the man who fired the shot to the head that killed Vite, after lying in wait to attack in Vites Bristol home, on Jan. 16, 1985. Nelson was acting alongside Daniel Dower, Vites foster son, who spent months planning the murder.

On the evening of Vites murder, Nelson was in violation of a court-ordered curfew, set just two days before the murder, for a separate case in which he was charged with the armed burglary of another victims private residence.

Its important to note that Nelson had apparently never met Joseph Vite before committing his murder. And thats why we believe it is imperative that he remain in prison.

Most people who commit murder have an ax to grind with the victim, or theyre in it for significant personal gain, monetary or otherwise. Nelson does not fit that profile.

Nelson was willing to adopt someone elses feud, just for a few guns and a small amount of money. He was willing to end someones life for little more than a thrill and a road trip in a stolen car.

We believe in rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Kenosha County demonstrates that principle through our commitment to programs such as the criminal diversion treatment courts, which place an emphasis on turning over a new leaf and starting a new life, rather than spending a life behind bars.

Nelsons actions years ago give us pause. His brutal slaying of Joseph Vite devastated a family, and demonstrated a character that cannot be trusted to be free in our community.

If Nelson and Dower had committed this crime a few years later, Wisconsins Truth in Sentencing Law may likely have precluded their release from prison. But under the law in place when they were convicted in 1985, they are eligible to apply for parole. Nelson has made numerous attempts at release, but only recently came as close as he is today, in a minimum-security, pre-release facility near Green Bay.

The Vite family, which has fought for years to keep Nelson in prison, are not taking this lying down.

Last month, they launched an online petition drive that the public can sign at http://bit.ly/NelsonParolePetition. Theres also a blog with more information about the case at https://keepamurdererbehindbars.home.blog.

We strongly encourage you to read up on the case, and sign the petition in advance of the Parole Commissions hearing on May 14. This is about keeping our community safe.

Jim Kreuser is Kenosha County executive. Michael Graveley is Kenosha County district attorney.

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Attorney General Josh Kaul wants to strengthen Wisconsins efforts to combat human trafficking, calling for six new positions at the Department of Justice to help with investigations.

Theres both sex trafficking and forced labor, Kaul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ... Its in my view an outrage that this is a crime that still exists. Its important we raise awareness of it.

Kauls remarks came just a few days before our stories today about a community effort to open a safe house in Kenosha County. It would be the largest house operated by Selah Freedom, a Florida-based nonprofit with a mission to end sex trafficking.

The house will be staffed 24 hours a day and provide a safe residential program for survivors. Kenosha County was chosen as the location because of its proximity between Chicago and Milwaukee.

When the girls walk through our house, we want them to feel valued, Jennifer Skanron, a Selah Freedom board member and Pleasant Prairie resident, told reporter Jeffrey Zampanti. Their lives were not made to be trafficked. They are a person of value and theyre important. All of this is for them. There are people here who are ready to help them transform their lives.

Sex trafficking is the second-largest organized crime behind drug trafficking. Every year, over 300,000 American children are trafficked.

Its everywhere, said Neal Lofy, a nationally recognized investigator of the Racine Police Department, told Zampanti. These are people that live in our community that were either thrown away by their families or stuck in a lifestyle that theyve been groomed by a trafficker. Theres not a shiny sign on them that says Im a human trafficking victim ...

The state Department of Justice holds training for law enforcement, both in how to conduct human trafficking investigations and teaching about the signs of trafficking. One of the problems with this issue is its been under-reported, Kaul said. We dont think theres as much awareness as there should be, and so making sure that people in law enforcement know what to look for  and know the signs of trafficking  is an important part of combating it.

Kaul said four of the positions hes requesting would join the DOJs digital forensics unit, which focuses on recovering evidence from electronic devices. They would assist law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin.

People involved in all sorts of crimes use electronic devices, just like everybody else, Kaul told the Journal Sentinel Being able to recover evidence from those devices helps with all sorts of investigations, including human trafficking investigations.

The other two positions would join the Internal Crimes Against Children Task Force and help ensure prompt referral and investigation of tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He said they would help with case follow-ups.

Gov. Tony Evers has included the new positions in his budget plan. Heres an area where the Democratic governor and the majority Republicans in the legislature should agree.

Our community, by rallying to help get the Selah Freedom home open, has shown the urgency required. Legislators on both sides should too.

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Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

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The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Childrens Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day.

Its an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your childrens lives with all of us. Speaking for the staff of the childrens hospital, thank you for letting us care for your family.

Im awestruck to be in the company of all of you today. Because its always a little bit intimidating to meet your heroes, and when I think of our patients and their families, the word that fits is just that: heroes.

In medicine, it is always our greatest hope that patients who come to us for treatment leave better  cured of their disease, recovered from their trauma, grown large enough to feed themselves and breathe on their own.

But as you know too well, sometimes our patients dont respond to treatment. Some have injuries that are too severe to survive, some are too young or fragile for medical technology to support. Too often, the medicine we need to help a child get better hasnt been invented yet.

As a doctor, helping children get well means everything to me. When we lose a child, all of us who have supported your child and family along the way  doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers, therapists, environmental services  feel that loss, remember that child, and recommit to making medicine better in their memory.

In those memories and that recommitment, your child has left a profound legacy. Because its the children we cant save who push us to develop new therapies and try new techniques. They are the patients who do the most to make medicine better, who make it more likely that the next child will survive.

It wasnt so long ago that medical care looked pretty barbaric. Your barber was your surgeon, and your internist was prone to cover you in leeches! I like to tell my residents that if we do our jobs right, our grandchildren will think we were barbarians, just the way we look back on the medicine of 100 years ago and wonder, What were they thinking?

But really, I think we know what they were thinking, which is the same thing I think when I see a patient for whom we have no good answers: were going to do our best. Were going to try everything we know, then were going to push the boundaries, and were going to honor our patients and families by learning from their experience to make care better for the next kid.

Ive been interested in medicine and surgery for as long as I can remember. And its remarkable to think about how far weve come in what I still like to think is a pretty short lifetime.

I remember learning as a kid that there was simply no way for babies to survive before a gestational age of 26 or 27 weeks. As I progressed through my training, that number dropped. 25 weeks. 24 weeks. 23. 22. Now, 26 weeks isnt even considered extremely preterm.

In the 1970s, less than one in ten kids with acute myeloid leukemia survived. 80 percent of patients with brain tumors or neuroblastoma died. We have a long way to go, but those numbers keep getting better.

When I was a kid, children born with common congenital anomalies like esophageal or duodenal atresia almost all died. Now surgery on newborns is routine and death is rare.

That happened because of a lot of hard work in labs and hospitals, and because of new technologies and techniques. But fundamentally, it happened because those children that exceeded our abilities at the time  and their families  pushed us to get better.

The reason we go to work every day committed to making medicine better is because we have the faces of your children  the kids we couldnt save  in our heads every day when we walk into work in the morning to try something new, and every night as we go to sleep  or dont go to sleep  thinking of what to try tomorrow.

Im so sorry that your childrens journeys were cut short. Im so sorry that we havent yet found a way to fix all the bad things that can happen to kids. Its the extraordinary honor and privilege of medicine that we get to care for every child and family that comes through our doors. But its a special honor to care for a patient who dies, because they and their families are the ones who do the most get us closer to the day when we can find a cure. They are the heroes who have created the medicine we have today, and who make the world better for children tomorrow.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

Jonathan Kohler is a pediatric surgeon.and founder, RxCreative.com. He can be reached on Twitter @jekohler.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3)  The 2018 Bar topnotcher is not shy about his sexuality.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, 2018 Bar Exams topnotcher Sean Borja said that he is a proud member of the LGBT community.

"I'm a very proud member of the LGBT Community," said the Ateneo Law School graduate.

And while the patriarchal society might provide a lot of challenges, Borja said that the LGBT community can be a source of greatness.

"I want to show through my accomplishments that people like me, people from my community can also be great if given a chance to do so," he said.

Borja currently works in a law firm that handles public-private partnerships in government infrastructure. He also has his sights set on litigation.

Meanwhile, the De La Salle University College of Law finally has a bar topnotcher in Kathrine Ting, who ranked 8th in the 2018 exams.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Ting said that she wants to be a great lawyer.

The law has often been quoted as having the role of the "great equalizer." And perhaps that can be more than just a quoted statement with these two new lawyers.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 51F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
RTHK: Thais await first coronation since 1950

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be crowned Saturday in an elaborate show of pageantry, marbled by Hindu and Buddhist ritual, two years after ascending the throne following his father's death.

At the auspicious time of 10.09 am the public will be given a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation begin.

King Vajiralongkorn is known as Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

Saturday's ceremony will begin with sacred water from across Thailand anointing the white-robed king inside the Grand Palace.

Hindu Brahmins and Buddhist monks will attend the ceremony which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to divine figure.

Then he will take his seat under the nine-tiered umbrella of state where he will be handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3 kilogram headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

For most Thais it will be the first time they have witnessed a coronation  the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Late on Friday, the new king arrived at a hall in the Grand Palace in his favoured cream Rolls-Royce along with his new wife  now Queen Suthida  a former air hostess turned royal bodyguard.

Their marriage was unexpectedly announced on Wednesday.

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible.

Thailand's normally hyperactive social media has been subdued in the days leading up to the coronation.

But enthusiasm bubbled on the streets around the Grand Palace where hundreds bedded down for the night on Friday to get a prime spot for the weekend's royal event. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Canadian government has offered to ship back to its country tons of decaying garbage that have been staying in Philippine ports since 2013.

This was confirmed by the Canada's environment department in a statement sent to CNN Philippines on Saturday.

"The Government of Canada remains committed to working with the Government of the Philippines and has made an offer to repatriate this Canadian waste," Environment and Climate Change Canada said. "Canada hopes to finalize an agreement with the Philippines shortly to return the waste to Canada for appropriate disposal."

There is no official statement from the Philippine government yet, but Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. on Friday said the two countries are in "delicate negotiations."

When asked by a reporter for an interview on the Canadian waste, Locsin tweeted, "Let me ask the Canadian ambassador; we're in delicate negotiations."

Meanwhile, Malacanang has been mum since reports of Canada's offer made headlines on Friday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he has "no info" on it yet.

On Wednesday, Locsin said the garbage "will be on ship in 15 days," but did not elaborate on how this would happen.

The illegally dumped garbage was brought back to the spotlight as President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go to war against Canada if it would not take the trash back. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quick to clarify that the President did not really mean war, but was just expressing his "extreme displeasure." The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines responded that Ottawa is "strongly committed to shipping the trash back. Malacanang was not satisfied with Canada's statement and warned that further delay in the repatriation of trash could result in severed diplomatic ties.

Benny Antiporda, Environment Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns, told CNN Philippines the only thing blocking the return of the garbage to Canada was the expenses. The Manila Regional Trial Court in May 2017 already ordered the return of 50 container vans carrying Canadian garbage, to be paid for by the Canadian private company that had it shipped.

A total of 103 container vans containing trash weighing over 2,000 tons were shipped to the Philippines in several batches from 2013 to 2014. Canadian-based firm Chronic Plastics, Inc., which exported the vans, declared their contents as plastic scrap materials. The Environment department in 2014 found that the shipments contained municipal solid wastes, which should be immediately disposed and cannot be recycled. In 2015, some of the garbage were dumped in a private landfill in Tarlac while the remaining wastes stayed at the country's ports.
The Taste of Lake Geneva festival is coming to an end after 10 years of showcasing Lake Geneva's local eating establishments.

Organizers at the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District have announced that they will not be bringing the outdoor food festival back in 2019.

Bridget Leech, executive director of the downtown business district, said the Taste of Lake Geneva no longer meet her organization's mission.

"The event was always a great day, and we appreciate every restaurant that has taken part in it," Leech said. "This event is not one that brought the greatest value to the organization."

Started about 10 years ago, the food festival was held in September for many years, but organizers last year moved it to June to coincide with the kickoff for Lake Geneva's Restaurant Week. Last year's festival included about a dozen restaurants along with live music in the city's downtown Flat Iron Park.

Leech said she hopes another organization will bring back the food festival in the future.

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The Hilal committees in various countries and across the globe are on the lookout for the crescent moon on the final day of lunar calendar month, which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Namibia and other places have been told to testify if they spot the Crescent moon on Saturday. The month is also known as Ramazan in the Indian subcontinent. Stay tuned above for the live news updates on Ramadan 2019 moon sighting.

The sighting of the crescent moon will mark the beginning of the Holy Ramadan across the globe and in Southern African countries. The Holy Ramadan would begin as and when the Hilal committees testifies or the citizens and individuals confirm that they have spotted the moon. The Holy Ramadan would begin and fasts will be observed from tomorrow, Sunday, May 5. Muslims all over the world are duty bound to abstain from food and water between dawn to dusk throughout the next 29 or 30 days.

In the Western Hemisphere, it is expected that the crescent moon will be cited today on Saturday or tomorrow, Sunday. In the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes the Indian Subcontinent, the crescent moon marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan or Ramazan is expected to be spotted tomorrow, Sunday, or day after on Monday.
Chuck Kinder, the novelist who became known for inspiring the central character in Michael Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys, has died. He was 76.

Kinder, whose death was confirmed by friends and associates, died Friday of heart failure in Miami.

A literary force with a larger-than-life personality, Kinder published his first novel, Snakehunter, in 1973, followed by 1979s The Silver Ghost, 2001s Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale and 2004s Last Mountain Dancer: Hard-Earned Lessons in Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life.

Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, set mainly in the Bay Area in the 1970s, was perhaps his most famous work and became something of a myth to those who knew him, as the author is believed to have struggled with it for more than a decade. It tells the story of two bad-boy American writers and is based on Kinders real-life friendship with short-story author and poet Raymond Carver.

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"[Kinders] work was and remains outstanding and fresh. He was a born storyteller with an instinct for myth, which was not exactly in favor compared to pared-down modernists like John Updike, said novelist and screenwriter April Smith via email.

Smith first met Kinder in 1972 as a graduate student in Stanford Universitys creative writing program and added that his work is important for its bold original voice and synthesis of elegant literary style with genuine feeling and down home observation.

The novelist was known for creating a safe harbor for other writers, and often threw parties for fellow writers and other creatives with his wife of more than 40 years, Diane Cecily, at their home. As a teacher and mentor, Kinder fostered the writing careers of authors including Chuck Rosenthal and Gretchen Moran Laskas.

Kinders most famous writing student is Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whom Kinder taught as an undergraduate in the 1980s. Kinder is thought to have inspired the fictional Grady Tripp, the disheveled, pot-addicted writer and professor at the center of Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys. The novel was adapted into the 2000 film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Michael Douglas as Tripp.

Born in 1942 in West Virginia, Kinder grew up writing poetry and listening to the great storytellers in his family  his grandmother and his aunts. He began honing his craft at West Virginia University, where he earned a masters degree in English and wrote the schools first creative writing thesis. In the 1970s, Kinder lived in San Francisco and was awarded a fellowship followed by lectureship in fiction writing at Stanford University.

Kinder took positions as the writer-in-residence at UC Davis, and the University of Alabama, before settling in Pittsburgh, a city he called the Paris of Appalachia. For more than 30 years he taught at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a reputation as a generous, gregarious professor.

On Saturday, former students paid tribute to Kinder on social media.

When I first came back to Pittsburgh for what I thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical, I met a great teacher/writer/human being named Chuck Kinder who embraced me so warmly, it was one of the reasons I felt like staying, wrote Carl Kurlander in a blog post.

He gathered together people who loved words and storytelling and by his very nature, weeded out the pretentious and those of self-importance, Kurlander continued.

After suffering several health challenges in recent years including two strokes, a heart attack and triple-bypass surgery, Kinder retired as director of the creative writing program in 2014 and settled in Key Largo, Fla., with Cecily.

There he returned to his early love of poetry, publishing several collections including last years Hot Jewels.

He is survived by Cecily.

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster
Stirring photography, music inspired by the Silk Road and everything you needed to know about the Tony Award nominations but were afraid to ask. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks essential culture news, plus some words about the unexpected death of former art and music reporter Mike Boehm.

Poetry in ordinary life

At the Underground Museum, a new exhibition by the late Roy DeCarava, writes Times contributor Leah Ollman, dwells in photography as any everyday act  a ritual not that different from prayer in its assertion of purposeful connect between individual and wider world.

Ollman also reviews Arlene Shechets recent sculptures at Susanne Vielmetters new downtown L.A. space  an absolute jawbreaker of a show, she reports  and the stark photos of Simon Norfolk at Gallery Luisotti, which show the feeble ways humans are attempting to keep Switzerlands Rhone Glacier from melting.

A detail from Simon Norfolks Shroud (8), 2018, at Gallery Luisotti. (Simon Norfolk)

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Tony, Tony, Tony!

The Tony Award nominations have landed! Musicals Hadestown, Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations and Tootsie are in first, second and third place respectively, with 14, 12 and 11 nominations. Times culture reporter Ashley Lee breaks down who got what, who got snubbed (a lot of high-profile names) and what industry peeps have to say about it.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty analyzes what the nominations mean in an eclectic and erratic season. Old formulas proved unreliable and a few long-shot experiments yielded unexpected rewards, he writes. The nominations sent a message of support to artists with fresh and forward-leaning sensibilities, no matter if these endorsements occasionally came at the expense of recognizing worthier work.

Andre De Shields in a memorable, Tony-nominated performance in Hadestown. (Matthew Murphy / DKC O&M Co.)

Contributor Josh Getlin looks at how Tootsie adapted a 1982 movie for the post-#MeToo age. Reporter Ashley Lee talked with featured actress nominee Amber Gray about her Hadestown audition from hell. And contributor Stuart Miller chatted with Laurie Metcalf, who nabbed her sixth nomination for playing Hillary Clinton in Lucas Hnaths Hillary and Clinton. I have no interest, frankly, in doing Shakespeare, she tells him. Im interested in contemporary pieces.

Plus, McNulty sat down with Aaron Sorkin, whose adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird was conspicuously snubbed in the best play category, but nevertheless received nine Tony nominations, including one for star Jeff Daniels. McNulty turned his Sorkin conversation into a screenplay: Zoom out as Critic asks how our divisive political environment has affected the cultural reception of this new Mockingbird. Sorkin, squinting at the hazy question, says he could write a 5,000 word essay on the subject. Paging CAA. I think Charlie is ready to option

Aaron Sorkin, writer of the adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. (Marc J. Franklin)

Because we are handy that way, The Times has the full list of Tony noms.

And if youre looking for some local Tonys action, Jessica Gelt reports that Heidi Schrecks What the Constitution Means to Me  nominated for best play and lead actress for Schreck  will land at the Mark Taper Forum, as part of the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere on the Stage

F. Kathleey Foley reviews Gay Walshs The End of Sex  a nuanced comedy-drama about the battle between the sexes  at the Big Victory Theatre in Burbank.

Contributor Lisa Fung looks at the ways in which the public setting of theater can instigate the private act of crying in connection with Nia Vardaloss Tiny Beautiful Things, currently at the Pasadena Playhouse.

At REDCAT, Margaret Gray checked out performance artist John Kellys autobiographical one-man show Time No Line, rich in biographical detail  a bit too rich, she notes. But as a survivor of the AIDS pandemic, he has taken on the responsibility of representing his lost generation.

John Kelly in Time No Line at REDCAT. (Steve Gunther)

Your support helps us deliver the news on the culture stories that matter most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

Classical notes

Yo-Yo Mas Silkroad Ensemble performed at Santa Barbaras Granada Theatre, the Soraya in Northridge and Costa Mesas Segerstrom. After 20 years, the cross-cultural ensemble is at a thematic and professional crossroads, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Yet there were seductive moments, like the natural way of using instruments and musical techniques from one culture to express something about another one.

Silkroad Ensemble performs Kayhan Kalhor and Hamid Rahmanians The Prince of Sorrows. (David Bazemore / UCSB Arts & Lectures)

Swed also checks in with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, soon to be led by Spanish conductor Jaime Martin. Swed says a rousing program at UCLAs Royce Hall bodes well for the orchestras future.

The Times Makeda Easter reports on the Long Beach Operas adaptation of Philip Glasss 2000 opera, In the Penal Colony, featuring formerly incarcerated Cal State Long Beach students in starring roles. For some of the actors, it was a role so deeply familiar, writes Easter, that things got surreal.

In the Penal Colony director Jeff Janisheski, center, with Irene Sotelo and John Pizzini. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Essential Image

When the late Paul R. Williams designed a botany building for UCLA in the 1950s, it included plans for a 285-square foot mosaic lobby mural echoing the banana leaf print wallpaper the architect had installed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. When L.A.-based firm CO Architects undertook a remodel of the La Kretz Botany Buildings lobby last year, they came across Williams remarkable drawing (see below) for the never-built mural and decided to install it. See the final results on the firms online journal.

A 1957 drawing of a mosaic mural for UCLAs Botany Hall by architect Paul R. Williams. (UCLA)

Egg-cellent

Little Tokyo is home to a gallery in a kiosk: the artist-run 123 Astronaut has been around for five months. I spent some quality time with the current exhibition, which features a hypnotic video about a cultish, corporate egg, courtesy of the mysterious Wong Group.

Spectators check out The Auspicious Egg, by the Wong Group at 123 Astronaut (Collin LaFleche)

Ready for the Weekend

Margaret Gray rounds up whats doing in L.A.s 99-Seat theaters, including Nilo Cruzs Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics.

Ive got all the latest art happenings in my weekly Datebook, including a show by Daniel Gerwin that puts parenting on canvas.

Plus, Matt Cooper has the week ahead in art, dance, theater and classical music, as well as his weekend picks, including the Los Angeles Master Chorales Great Opera & Film Choruses.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Grant Gershon. (Marie Noorbergen / Tao Ruspoli)

In other news

 San Diegos Cassirer family has spent a decade trying to secure the return of a Nazi-looted painting that once belonged to their family. On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ruled against them.

 Venice Beach may lose a landmark sculpture by Mark di Suvero.

 ArtCenter College of Design is taking over the downtown L.A. space once occupied by the Main Museum, which shut down abruptly last year.

 Why cant we have passports as cool as Norways? Or currency as cool as Canadas?

 A trove of historic assessors photos of San Francisco has been made available to the public.

 A new documentary examines how and why, in the 70s, the Bronx burned.

 Union Station is turning 80. There is reason to celebrate, but the buildings history  well, its complicated, writes David Ulin.

 A great long read: Sam Bloch on how Los Angeles isnt providing equitable access to shade.

 The Instagram aesthetic is getting messier.

 As Sarah Whiting becomes the first woman to lead Harvards Graduate School of Design, Mimi Zeiger examines the womens expanding role in architectural academia.

Last but not least...

This week, I got the news that former Times art and music reporter Mike Boehm had died unexpectedly from a cardiac condition.

Mike and I only intersected for two years, but in that short time, he was a tremendously generous and good-natured colleague. He was also a dogged reporter, writing up major stories about MOCAs financial troubles in 2008, and turning the 990 tax forms of various L.A. nonprofits into his bedtime reading. (There probably isnt a culture publicist in SoCal who hasnt been on the receiving end of a late-deadline call from Mike, asking about finances.)

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Boehm in 2013. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Even after he left The Times in 2015, Mike remained engaged, sending me notes about some of my stories and offering tips on others he thought I should be pursuing. He remained engaged with other subjects too. Last month, he took issue with The Times criticism of rock music (which he loved) and fired off a tart letter to the editor on the subject: If your critics think rock is a pox on todays musical landscape, and needs to be ignored and forgotten, it would be far more interesting and useful to see them argue the case in full-length commentaries backed by examples and evidence.

The world will be a less-informed place without Mike. In his honor, I may have to download some 990s  and start making calls.

carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah
Pastry chef Shelly Acuna Barbera has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York and now bakes at Little Bread Pedlar in London, but her sweets are rooted in her Los Angeles upbringing.

Barberas parents came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, and her mom used cooking, baking and eating as ways to share stories of her heritage with her children. As Barbera and her brother grew older, her mom realized that many of the Mexican celebrations in California, most notably Cinco de Mayo, bore little resemblance to what she knew from her own upbringing. Cinco de Mayo is an important date  its when the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862  but its not considered as significant as is the countrys independence day on Sept. 16.

Rather than ignore Cinco de Mayo, Barberas mom used it as an opportunity to teach her kids more about it. Barberas mom remembered traveling to Puebla as a small child and enjoying the tortitas, which originated in that citys Santa Clara convent. Barbera said, My mom knew Cinco de Mayo was more than just tacos and margaritas  even though theres nothing wrong with that!  so she started to make tortitas de Santa Clara so we could experience a traditional food from Puebla to commemorate Mexicos victory in that city. The confections are a cross between cookie and candy with a small buttery shortbread shell and a chewy candy-like pepita filling.

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Barbera remembered, I love this cookie because it reminds me of growing up in L.A. and baking with my mom. Tortitas de Santa Clara are not commonly found in L.A.  or at least they werent while I was growing up  so we came up with our own version. Every time my mom and I made them together, we adjusted the recipe. First, we swapped lard out for salted butter and then we changed the shape. The tart reminded me of a large thumbprint cookie, so we eventually started shaping them as thumbprints.

Barbera carries on her family tradition of tortitas de Santa Clara now that shes on the other side of the Atlantic  a remembrance of her roots in each batch.

Tortitas de Santa Clara

View this recipe and more in our California Cookbook 

1 hour plus chilling and cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

12 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Spread the pepitas on an unlined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool completely on the sheet. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl and turn the speed to low. Gradually add the flour and beat just until incorporated, then beat in 1 tablespoon milk until smooth.

4. Divide the dough into 24 even pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using your thumb or the handle end of a wooden spoon, make a round indentation in the center of each ball. Press the tines of a fork against the edges of each round to imprint decorative lines. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, puree the cooled pepitas in a food processor until they become a soft, smooth paste, about 5 minutes. While the pepitas are processing, combine the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally to evenly cook the sugar, until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees, about 5 minutes. (Tilt the pan if needed for the thermometer to register the temperature.) Remove from the heat and carefully add the pepita paste. Stir until smooth. When the mixture stops steaming, stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons milk. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. Put a tablespoon of the pepita filling in the thumbprint center of each cookie and spread into an even round. Let stand until the tops of the filling are dry to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Make Ahead: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Here we go again, tumbling down the shaft and into a bizarro world in which school libraries lock out students who need them most.

L.A. Unified elementary school libraries are on the chopping block once again, and library aides, many of whom could lose their jobs, are screaming for justice.



For the record: Pacoima was misspelled Pacioma in a previous version of this column.

Some L.A. Unified board members, meanwhile, have made passionate pleas to keep the doors open.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, said board member Scott Schmerelson, who has introduced a resolution calling for the district to come up with the necessary funding.

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But just a few months after the L.A. Unified teachers strike drew strong public support for better pay and more resources for the struggling district, budget woes are forcing miserable choices that will hit students hard.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, said Meredith Kadlec, a second-grade parent who has been writing letters in the campaign to ward off cuts. Imagination is born from books, and what about the kids who dont get that enrichment at home? I feel like were going the wrong way in America when libraries are at risk.

Theyve been at risk for years now in L.A. Unified. Many years ago, every school had a fully funded librarian. But as budget problems became more severe, teacher-librarians gave way to library aides, who then got laid off by the hundreds before being rehired. In the recent past, some libraries have been locked up despite the district having spent millions on new books. Typically, elementary school libraries are open only every other week as it is, and aides split their time between two schools.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, Scott Schmerelson, L.A. school board member

The strike settlement earlier this year resulted in teacher raises and promises of eventual reduced class size, nurses on every campus, and a commitment to have a teacher-librarian on every middle and high school campus.

But elementary schools got no commitment on library aides. In recent years, those positions  which used to be directly funded by the district  became optional expenses made at the discretion of principals. But those principals have to make gut-wrenching decisions with limited discretionary funds at their disposal. And the needs, in a district in which 80% of the roughly 600,000 students live in poverty and 90% are minorities, always exceed the available money.

At Pacoimas Telfair Elementary School, where nearly one-quarter of the students have been categorized as homeless in recent years, Principal Jose Razo said he has decided to fund a library aide on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Tuesday. To do so, he has cut two teacher aide positions from six hours daily to three hours.

Thats typical of the Sophies Choice decisions made by principals who need social workers, janitors, office aides, tech support, assistant principals and other positions, but cant afford to pay for everything.

L.A. Unified officials say there is no less money budgeted for elementary schools in the coming year. But the district recently indicated it would no longer cover the health and welfare benefits of teacher aides, as it had in the past. That was seen as an added expense for principals as they drew up their budgets, and they also had to factor in the cost of small raises given teacher aides in the current contract.

By the time complaints led to the reinstatement of district coverage of benefits for the coming year, some principals had already eliminated those positions. Library aide Franny Parrish, union rep for the California School Employees Assn., said a districtwide survey indicated that 132 elementary schools have not budgeted for a library aide in the coming year, although most elementary schools would still have at least part-time aides.

Im in [the library] every day and I know what the students want, Parrish told me at Dixie Canyon Community Charter in Sherman Oaks.

A first-grade teacher joined the conversation to plug Parrishs contribution.

Miss Franny reads expressively and brings story time to life, he said. She has her own special touch, and the library cant function if its left to other staff. You need someone whos qualified, and trained, and loves the library.

Not long ago, in the endless funding uncertainty, Parrish was laid off four times before building up her seniority. You establish relationships with the students, she said, and learn how to nurture individual curiosities. And then youre gone. She said shes been in touch with library aides sure to lose their jobs because of low seniority.

It just makes me want to cry that 10 years later were still fighting the same stinking battle, Parrish told board members at the April 23 board meeting.

L.A. Unified has a $7-billion budget. Library aides make about $11,500 a year, plus benefits, and cost somewhere in the $15-million range.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, Meredith Kadlec, parent

District Supt. Austin Beutner told me that with limited funds available, he wants local school communities rather than the central bureaucracy to make decisions on what will best serve their students.

All of us believe we should have teacher-librarians and teacher aides in all the schools. All of us. Theres nobody in the community that doesnt want that, he said. But with money in short supply, he said, awful choices have to be made.

Beutner said the parcel tax measure on the June ballot, which would help fill part of the budget gap, is a chance for those who spoke up in favor of public education to weigh in again.

I believe its time we joined the ranks of Oakland, San Francisco, Torrance, Burbank and Santa Monica, where communities have  provided a measure of local funding for schools, Beutner said. Not more money to Sacramento. More money to fund local schools. If we have that funding, we will not be left with a series of poor choices.

Board chair Monica Garcia spoke to that very issue at the April 23 meeting.

I appreciate your frustration and your tears, she told library aides, but she added that compelling arguments could be made by advocates for every job classification thats underfunded.

Adequacy is not available in L.A. Unified, Garcia said, noting that Californias national ranking in per student funding is near the bottom.

For me, said board member Richard Vladovic, a library is a core unit of any educational facility. We need to have libraries. Thats where kids dream.

The choices are tough, for sure, and they may get even tougher.

But the mere possibility of locking up books in a state that ranks as the sixth-largest economy in the world is an obscenity and a gross disservice to students whose potential we cant afford to fritter away.

That is the first and last chapter on school libraries, and keeping them open is not an option, but a moral responsibility.

@LATstevelopez

steve.lopez@latimes.com
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent to John Sanders, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.

This has led to catastrophic and unwarranted results, she wrote.

Feinstein (D-Calif.) cited the fact that Border Patrol chases have resulted in 22 deaths and 250 injuries from 2015 to 2018, figures first revealed as part of an analysis published by ProPublica and The Times on April 4.

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Reporters from both publications mined more than 9,000 federal criminal complaints filed against suspected human smugglers from 2015 to 2018 to build a database about Border Patrol pursuits and tactics. The documents described agents reasons for initiating a pursuit, whether there was a crash and how it happened. The database is almost certainly an undercount, as it does not include cases in which the driver got away or died, because the complaints are filed only after arrests.

In those four years, Border Patrol agents engaged in more than 500 pursuits in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Of those, 1 in 3 ended in a crash. The number of people hurt in Border Patrol chases increased by 42% during President Trumps first two years in office, compared with the final two years of the Obama administration.

The deadly trend has continued into 2019. Two people died and six others were injured in a pair of Border Patrol chases that took place on the same night near San Diego in February. Last week, another Border Patrol chase left one person dead and four others hospitalized near Chula Vista, authorities said.

In her letter, Feinstein cited three chases that left seven people, including a child, dead in San Diego County in 2017 and 2018. She also asked Sanders whether Border Patrols pursuit policies are in line with what the U.S. Department of Justice considers to be best practices regarding car chases.

Many major American policing agencies have tightened restrictions on when their officers can engage in pursuits, while some have invested in technology that is likely to reduce the risk of injury during a chase.

ProPublica and The Times reviewed the pursuit policies of police departments in the five largest cities in the U.S., as well as a dozen jurisdictions in the states that touch the border. All but one policy were more restrictive than the Border Patrols.

The analysis found agents repeatedly deployed spike strips against vehicles fleeing at extremely high speeds, a tactic heavily criticized by experts on high-speed pursuits. Geoff Alpert, a criminal justice professor at the University of South Carolina who has authored national reports on pursuit tactics, previously said he was asked to help reform the agencys pursuit policies during the Obama administration, but his warnings went unheeded. He has questioned the agencys habit of engaging in potentially deadly car chases solely on the basis of a suspected immigration violation.

The Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Times spoke earlier this year with Border Patrol agents in El Centro who said agents feel compelled to chase vehicles suspected of smuggling for fear of what those vehicles might contain.

But in the cases examined as part of the analysis, agents never recovered caches of weapons and only rarely found drugs. In 504 pursuits over four years, agents found drugs in nine cases and personal guns in four.

Surana is a former ProPublica staff writer.
An Orange County infant too young to have been vaccinated and a Long Beach man are the latest confirmed cases of measles in Southern California, officials said Saturday.

The baby, who is younger than 1, is being treated at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a statement. The child has no history of international travel. It was Orange Countys second reported measles case this year.

The Long Beach man, a graduate student at UC Irvine, had been vaccinated and also had no recent history of travel outside the country, said Emily Holman, a spokeswoman with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

The man had been on campus on three days while suffering from the measles, exposing others there to the highly contagious disease, authorities said. Health officials are investigating how he contracted it.

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The two incidents come as cities across the nation grapple with the largest outbreak since 1994 of a disease that was declared eradicated in the U.S. as recently as 2000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 704 cases in 22 states this year, according to the most recent statistics ending April 26.

In Los Angeles County, seven residents have been afflicted with the illness as well as five nonresidents traveling through the region, according to a May 2 statement from the countys public health department.

UC Irvine is not the only Southland college campus affected. The disease has touched students and staffers at UCLA and Cal State L.A. as well.

Orange County officials warned Wednesday that a woman with measles had exposed a Fullerton theater full of moviegoers.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing, but the virus can linger in the air for two hours after the sick person leaves the room. People can spread measles for four days before they develop a rash.

About 90% of people who have never been immunized against measles will become ill seven to 21 days after exposure, according to the Long Beach Department of Health.

Most cases of measles in the U.S. begin with people who have traveled to countries where the disease is prevalent.

A small percentage of vaccinated people can still become affected, as was the case with the UCI student, Holman said. Their symptoms are usually milder, and they tend to experience fewer complications from the measles, she said.

The UCI student attended classes Monday and Tuesday before seeking medical care at the Student Health Center on Thursday. A day later, he was confirmed as Long Beachs first reported case of measles since 2015 and the third known exposure this year in Orange County.

The man visited multiple locations in Orange and L.A. counties, including restaurants, shops and the AMC theater in Long Beach, where he most likely saw Avengers: Endgame, according to showtimes and length of stay. Coincidentally, the audience in the Fullerton theater saw the same film.

Hes now recovering at home, officials said.

On Saturday, in an open letter, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman identified four buildings the student visited: the Humanities Instructional Building 100, Krieger Hall, Humanities Hall 112 and the health center.

Those who were in the affected areas described above are encouraged to determine their measles immunity through their health records or medical provider, Gillman said.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.
A new investigation into how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Californias 11 other Roman Catholic dioceses handled sex abuse cases could uncover more disturbing details of misconduct and institutional failures. But its an open question whether it would lead to more criminal charges.

News of the statewide investigation brought new hope for some victims of abuse, along with caution.

The California attorney generals office this week asked church officials at each of the dioceses to preserve an array of documents related to clergy abuse allegations. Among other things, prosecutors are examining whether church officials adequately reported allegations of sexual misconduct, as required under Californias Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act,

Former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who as the countys top prosecutor charged two dozen priests and used a grand jury to extract records from the archdiocese, said the probe may generate more information, but criminal charges are much harder to lodge against the church hierarchy.

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Cooley said that because the Los Angeles Archdiocese delayed and blocked disclosure, the efforts to hold church officials accountable have been stymied.

Conspiracy charges are based on the last overt act. The statute for conspiracy is based on the underlying crime, Cooley said. Here that could be obstruction of justice, and that is just a few years.

The L.A. Archdiocese has paid a record $740 million in various settlements to victims and pledged to better protect its members. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez succeeded longtime Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the scandal that undercut his moral authority as one of Americas most important Catholic leaders. In the wake of the settlement, the church imposed a series of reforms.

For nearly two decades, the archdiocese has been roiled by allegations that church leaders mishandled abuse cases, sometimes moving clergy suspected of wrongdoing to other parishes rather than punishing them and informing law enforcement. Individual priests have been criminally prosecuted, but investigations of church leaders ended without charges.

Attorney Anthony De Marco, who helped secure the $740 million in settlements, said its encouraging that the attorney general is investigating but too soon to tell what will come of it.

I am a little more measured, as time and time again law enforcement agencies have talked of actions and nothing has come of it in terms of the churchs higher-up figures and their behavior, he said.

The people I represent and survivors in general are just thrilled, added another victims attorney, Joseph George of Sacramento. I love the idea that law enforcement would come in with warrants and subpoena power and really get things done.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in a letter to the dioceses requested records that include all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors received from 1996 to the present, regardless of when the misconduct took place, along with any actions taken against any individual who was accused or who failed to report allegations to law enforcement.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said the Los Angeles Archdiocese had not yet received the letter but planned to respond cooperatively as we have with the past three Grand Jury investigations of the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to transparency and has established reporting and prevention policies and programs to protect minors and support victim-survivors in our parishes, schools and ministries, the statement said. The Archdiocese was one of the first dioceses in the nation to publish a comprehensive report in 2004 listing accused clergy both living and deceased, and released clergy files as part of a 2007 global settlement.
Dr. Eric Scott Sills, a successful Orange County fertility specialist, told investigators he awoke early on a November morning in 2016 to find his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs of their $1-million San Clemente home.

Initially, it appeared that 45-year-old Susann Sills had fallen to her death, but prosecutors say an investigation that has spanned more than two years suggests more sinister circumstances.

Orange County prosecutors on Friday charged Eric Sills, 54, her husband and business partner, with murder in connection with her death. Authorities have not released how the woman died or how they connected her husband to her demise. He has not yet entered a plea.

Sills defense attorney declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

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Orange County sheriffs deputies began investigating Susann Sills death after they were called to the couples home on Via Cancion on Nov. 13, 2016. The Sheriffs Departments homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unknown nature of the death, prosecutors said this week.

Based on the investigation and autopsy, authorities determined in 2017 that she had been killed. Over the next year, homicide detectives and the district attorneys office continued to investigate, and last month, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for the physician.

The warrant, filed in Orange County Superior Court, is sealed, which shields it from public view.

Eric Sills was arrested April 25 on his way to work. He was booked into the Orange County Jail and released four days later after posting $1-million bail, according to jail records.

Sills graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1992 and received a doctorate from the University of Westminster in London in 2013, according to his online resume.

The couple had been married for more than a decade and had two children. They also went into business together, according to public records.

Susann Sills, who earned an MBA from the University of Miami in 2000, was the co-founder of Center for Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic in Carlsbad, according to an obituary published in the Los Angeles Times. Eric Sills serves as medical director at the clinic.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet. Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, however, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families stay in the workforce. So as the economy improved, lawmakers and former Gov. Jerry Brown slowly pieced the states safety net back together again.

But some important benefits have yet to be restored, a full decade after the recession ended. A good example is the subsidy Medi-Cal eliminated for eyeglasses. The program will pay when poor Californians visit an optometrist to find out how bad their vision is, but wont help cover the cost of the glasses or contact lenses they may need to drive a car, operate a machine or read a manual  in other words, things they may need to do in order to hold a job.

Similarly, Medi-Cal no longer covers speech therapy, audiology, podiatry or incontinence supplies  the sort of treatments and supplies that can enable people living at or below the poverty line to be more productive and, potentially, start climbing up the income ladder.

Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families.

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In the big scheme of the state budget, these are not expensive programs. Plus, if they were added back, the federal government would cover roughly two-thirds of the tab. Restoring vision coverage would cost the state about $22 million a year, and restoring all of the lost benefits would be about $34 million.

On the other hand, those are annual expenses, not one-time costs. And the state has other, expensive healthcare needs and wants. Two of the biggest are proposals aimed at achieving universal coverage in California by making health insurance more affordable for moderate-income Californians and extending Medi-Cal to immigrants living in the state illegally.

Make no mistake  universal coverage would be good for all Californians, including those who already have insurance. Beyond the strong moral argument for providing treatment to everyone who needs it, there are good economic and public health reasons for bringing every resident under the insurance umbrella and providing timely, efficient care.

The steps required to make coverage available and affordable to all Californians, however, would cost the state $6 billion or more per year. And while Sacramento has been riding a wave of budget surpluses, the state cant afford to have its obligations grow faster than its economy. Thats a recipe for disaster in the next downturn. As Gov. Gavin Newsom warned on Wednesday about the current extended economic expansion: What were experiencing right now is simply without precedent in modern American history and it is not a new normal. Any time people talk about the new normal, thats when things collapse.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

So it makes sense for the state to continue to advance cautiously on the healthcare front, restoring cuts before offering new benefits and looking for ways to pay for expanded coverage. One good idea on the revenue front is Newsoms proposal to impose new state tax penalties on adult Americans who dont sign up for health coverage, replacing the federal penalties that Congress eliminated in 2017.

Thats a twofer: The penalties would encourage younger, healthier Californians not to go uninsured, and they would raise money to help pay for premium subsidies to moderate-income families who would otherwise have to spend too high a percentage of their monthly income on insurance. Its not clear, however, that Newsoms proposal would generate enough money to cover the full cost of the subsidies.

One possible answer is to renew the tax on managed-care organizations that is set to expire at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1. The tax, which generates money for Medi-Cal that the federal government then matches, raises about $1.5 billion a year. When combined with the state funds Newsom has proposed to spend, that would be more than enough to cover the subsidies cost and help extend Medi-Cal to more Californians. The Trump administration had pushed back on such taxes, and Newsom didnt seek to renew the states version for fear of jeopardizing other healthcare-related assistance the state is seeking from the feds. But with the administration approving Michigans proposal for a tax similar to Californias, the door seems open for the state to continue the levy, as it should.

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If this country is ever going to disentangle from the Trumpism thats choking the life out of it, were going to need escape routes.

Weve heard plenty from self-congratulatory Democrats, cerebral #NeverTrumpers and aloof European historians who warn about the perils of authoritarianism in our naive nation.

What we need is advice from people who have been fully enchanted by President Trumps racism, corruption and assault on the rule of law.

People like Atty. Gen. William Barr, Trumps latest fixer, though Barr seems prepared to go to his grave in Trumps harness.

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But really, we dont have to wait for Barrs white-light conversion. We have three extraordinary examples of figures who broke free of Trumpism and the man himself. Trumpism is such a totalizing belief system that the country is going to require a thorough, even spiritual, metamorphosis.

Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

The first heretic is Michael Cohen, Trumps formerly slavish Guy Friday. The second is James Comey, the self-righteous former director of the FBI, who wrote an op-ed this week that probed Barrs and former Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosensteins appalling submission to Trump  as well as his own.

The third is Katie McHugh, a former avatar of the alt-right and suck-up to the Trump family. According to a riveting profile by Rosie Gray in BuzzFeed News, McHugh has renounced what she now sees, in a rigorous religious framework, as her sins.

Two months ago, Cohens testimony to Congress about his fall into Trumps clutches also had a religious note. Swept up in Trumps nonstop bellowing, Cohen felt complicit, intoxicated; he began to lie for him. Now hes especially ashamed of enabling Trumps florid racism, which he sees as an affront to his father, who escaped the racist genocide in Nazi Germany.

Reaffirming his commitment to the values he shares with his family  and facing prison  Cohen had to hit bottom to clear his mind.

Comey had to just about bottom out too before he caught himself. After he lost Trumps support and was dramatically fired as FBI director two years ago, he discovered that he had bent his carefully cultivated Methodist rectitude to the pressure to back-slap with the president.

According to his op-ed, when Trump raved to him about his fever dreams  largest inauguration crowd in history  Comey stayed silent, too cowed to challenge him.

Trump eats your soul, said Comey, and you end up making various deals with yourself and the devil. You cant say this out loud  maybe not even to your family, he wrote.

Like Cohen, Comey felt that in standing by Trump he was betraying not just his conscience but his family.

The far-right blogger McHugh, a onetime protege of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon, has a more tragic story than either Cohen or Comey, but shes also the one who has done the most to make amends.

Lost and isolated at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, the conservative McHugh, according to Grays profile, moved from supply-side economics and family values to hotter niches, like, say, Holocaust denial. Her undergraduate antics drew the attention of the alt-right godfathers, including Bannon, who gave her a job at Breitbart News.

While boosting Trump, her posts helped pioneer a scrappy, reckless new kind of Twitter-optimized racism. Then she went too far even for Breitbart in a tweet about Muslims and had to ply her wares at seedier and seedier joints, pushing the far-far-far-right boundaries of white supremacy.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Finally, without health insurance and suffering from diabetes, McHugh found that her strategy of moving further right to get attention and jobs failed her. It was the 5th century works of St. Augustine that brought her back. If she renounced her misdeeds and recommitted herself to a dignified life, she, too, could be forgiven.

McHugh did more than that, though. She turned over to Gray emails showing former Department of Homeland Security official Ian Smiths ties to white nationalists, and Grays resulting article helped get Smith fired.

This is how escapees from Trumpism can help break its spell for the more casual devotees: Expose what the high-ranking Trumpers espouse in order to enlighten the members of the fabled base about their mistakes.

At the very least, Trumpites seem to recognize that they will need to atone. Even Trumps mouthpiece lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani may see the writing on the wall. He told a reporter, I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.

To all Trumpites  rank-and-file or highly public  who likewise may be starting to grapple with what will happen to them when they meet their makers, Cohen, Comey and McHugh offer guidance: Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

Twitter:@page88

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To the editor: As a 95-year-old Jew, I would love to accept the upbeat assessment about the support Jews have in America despite the April 27 attack on the synagogue in Poway, Calif. But the vicious attacks on minorities lately, including Jews, bring back memories of the not-too-distant past.

When I read about President Trumps edicts on those fleeing their home countries so they can make a better life for them and their children in the United States, I am reminded of the 1930s, when a boatload of German Jews seeking safety in our country were turned away. All of the passengers were returned to Europe, where many of them were murdered in the Holocaust.

People who are ready to kill others out of hate are empowered by the likes of Trump and the groups that support him. Its not just Jews who are at risk; just about anyone who has a different view of the world, people of different colors or ethnic backgrounds and even journalists also face danger.

We must all speak out against hate. When one minority suffers, all minorities are at risk.

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June Sale, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Although Eshman paints an optimistic portrait of Jewish life in America, he fails to mention two of the greatest threats facing Jews, one internal, the other external.

The internal threat is Jewish secularism. According to a Pew Research Center study, 62% of American Jews say that being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture. With that, 79% of married Jews of no religion have a spouse who is not Jewish, and nearly 40% of intermarried Jews who are raising children say they are not raising those children Jewish at all.

An external danger is the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel permeating our universities. A 2016 study by the AMCHA Initiative found a strong correlation between anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses and the following: the presence of anti-Zionist student groups, the presence of faculty who have expressed public support for an academic boycott of Israel, and BDS activity on campus.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spewing historically anti-Semitic tropes and the New York Times publishing an admittedly anti-Semitic cartoon post greater dangers than a few fringe neo-Nazis.

Jack Saltzberg, Valley Village

The writer is founder and president of the Israel Group.

..

To the editor: My neighborhood is home to a well-known Jewish temple. The complex is on a large property enclosed by a tall iron fence that, although attractive, serves an obvious purpose.

Eshman may be correct that Jews have more allies than enemies in standing up to hate, but the sight in my neighborhood of a security guard carrying a conspicuous firearm is heartrending.

Babette Wilk, Valley Village

..

To the editor: As a professor and student of Jewish history, I can list the many differences between the recent attacks on Jews in this country and the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the Holocaust. The number and ferocity of these attacks do not approach the heinousness of previous, systematic and institutional acts of anti-Semitism  except, of course, to the individual victims.

We have a saying in Judaism that can be paraphrased as this: If you save one life, its as if youve saved the entire world. Similarly, for the family and friends of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who died in Poway, all historical comparisons are irrelevant.

Circumstances change, but Jews continue to be hunted down, even here, even now.

Michael Davidson, Altadena

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To the editor: Nadra Widatalla is right that the term people of color erases black people, but I would retire it for a different but related reason: It privileges whiteness.

Obviously, the terms black and white are metaphorical when applied to human skin, whose actual color range is more like pale peach to dark greyish-brown. (And, of course, black and white are loaded words with deeply ingrained negative and positive connotations, at least in Western languages).

Calling non-Caucasians people of color posits Caucasians as colorless, as a default from which other colors are a variation, like the white canvas that other colors are applied to. It does not locate Caucasian skin colors as equal points along the continuum of humanity.

We need to change our thinking and our language to reflect reality, which is why its time to retire people of color.

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Kay Gilbert, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: I was about to be persuaded by the authors eloquent plea to get rid of the term people of color, but then I noticed on the same days op-ed page a piece by columnist Virginia Heffernan, who uses that exact phrase to end her evaluation of former Vice President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign kickoff: His savior complex, in particular, is in danger from the women and people of color who are his rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Then I saw a photograph, also in Sundays newspaper, of Trump supporters greeting him at an April 27 rally in Green Bay, Wis., none of whom appeared to be, well, people of color.

Apparently, the term people of color still has some value and is not ready to be retired yet.

Dienyih Chen, Redondo Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
During his short career in the California Assembly, Joaquin Arambula has worked to persuade Fresno voters to believe in him. Now the Democrats political fate could hinge on whether his legal team can convince a jury that his 7-year-old daughter didnt tell authorities the truth.

In an unusual case that has dominated news in the Central Valley, the Democratic legislator is standing trial on a misdemeanor count of willful cruelty to a child after his daughter told police in December that Arambula struck her in the face. Photos showing a 1-inch bruise on the childs right temple were shared with jurors this week.

The girl, at times clutching a stuffed animal, told a packed Fresno courtroom on the first day of the trial Friday that the assemblyman pinned her down on her bed and grasped her head, his ring hitting her by accident. She said she remembered telling authorities that he slapped her face, but now believes the appropriate word is grasp.

Fresno County Assistant Dist. Atty. Steven Wright told the jury that Arambulas children have alleged a history of abuse at the hands of their father.

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Youll hear the other instances of him being upset, losing his temper and committing other acts of violence against his children, such as squeezing, such as kicking, such as hitting, such as elbowing, Wright said.

The 7-year-old girl later said on the stand that her father had also squeezed her to the point where she struggled to breathe.

Arambula, who maintains his innocence, has offered no explanation for his daughters bruised face. According to court records, the girl originally told her teacher that she fell when she was playing with her sister but later walked into the campus administrative office, asked for an ice pack for the bruise and said her dad slapped her on the face.

Arambulas defense attorney said in opening statements that evidence would show inconsistencies in the girls statements and an inclination toward fantastical details.

You will see that [Arambulas daughter] has an answer for everything, said Margarita Martinez-Baly, Arambulas defense attorney. Those are the kind of things we ask you to look at. Does it all make sense? Is she credible?

Fresno police arrested the assemblyman Dec. 10 at his daughters elementary school after Child Protective Services reported that the girl said her father struck her on the face. In the four months since, Arambula and his attorneys have publicly sparred with the police chief and the county district attorney as the case unfolded.

Arambula defended himself in a round of interviews with reporters two days after police took him into custody. The politician and his defense attorneys have sought to cast Arambula as a devoted father who acted within his legal right to spank his child and as the victim of a politically motivated attack by local officials.

After Arambulas media interviews, Police Chief Jerry Dyer publicly disputed the legislators account and told local news outlets that the girls injury was not consistent with a spanking.

When Fresno County Dist. Atty. Lisa Smittcamp filed the charge against Arambula in March, the assemblyman responded in a statement that said politics may have motivated the decision and called the allegation false and unthinkable. Arambula didnt elaborate on the alleged political motivation.

Smittcamp, who typically refrains from commenting on open cases, disputed Arambulas assertion in an interview with the Fresno Bee and said she based her decision on facts alone.

Arambula, a 41-year-old physician and member of a prominent Fresno political family, won a special election in 2016 to represent the western part of the city in the 31st Assembly District, a seat held by Democrats for more than a quarter of a century. He has headed a budget subcommittee on health and human services for the last three years. Some political supporters in Fresno have mentioned Arambula as someone who could eventually rise to become Assembly speaker like Cruz Bustamante, a former lieutenant governor who held Arambulas seat in the 1990s, or run for Congress.

Arambulas father, Juan, started his political career on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees in the late 1980s before winning an election for county supervisor and later the same Assembly seat his son now holds. A Democrat often at odds with leadership, the senior Arambula famously renounced his party membership the year before he termed out of the lower house.

But the younger Arambulas decision to blame local officials and evidence of the bruise have led some political observers to question whether the familys time in politics could end with the misdemeanor trial.

Democratic legislators from the region declined interview requests about the case, and none has publicly come to Arambulas defense. The sensitive nature of the case, involving a young child and a family, has made it a delicate subject across the political spectrum.

Youve seen cases of politicians in Fresno with DUIs, maybe even some accusations of spousal abuse, or bar fights, said Thomas Holyoke, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I cant remember anything like this.

Local politicians are already eyeing a run at Arambulas seat, should the lawmaker be unable to return to his post in Sacramento. Arambula took a voluntary leave of absence from the Legislature in March, a move Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said at the time he supported.

If it turns out that [a jury finds] he genuinely hit his child, hes probably politically dead at that point, Holyoke said.

Arambula and his daughter tell two different versions of what took place in the familys home on a Sunday evening when his wife was out of town.

In separate interviews, the girl told a social worker and a police officer that her father hit her on both sides of her face in her bedroom after she made her 6-year-old sister cry. She said his ring caused the bruise, according to court documents.

In a later conversation with a specialist trained to interview child witnesses, Arambulas daughter said her fathers ring finger hit her twice, describing one of the blows as an accident after he slipped on a toy. According to court documents, the child also alleged that her father had kicked, squeezed and struck her in the past, and said her mother sometimes spanked her with a stick.

Two days after his arrest, Arambula told The Times that he spanked his daughter with his hand to discipline her for acting out. He denied that he hit the childs face and said he saw no physical marks on her body.

Ive never hit someone in the face  man, woman or child, Arambula said in December. Im literally struggling to figure out how to reconcile the situation that were in now.

Spanking a child is generally legal under California law unless the act is considered excessive or unjustified. This week, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense grilled potential jurors about their beliefs on corporal punishment.

Arambulas attorneys offered a more detailed version of the events in a motion filed with the court last week. The lawyers assert that he tripped on a toy on the floor that night as he entered a dimly lighted room shared by his daughters. He said his daughter jumped off the bed to get away from him and he caught her, turned her over and spanked her twice on her bottom.

The assemblyman has said his daughter was angry that evening and the next day when she went to school.

Defense attorneys say Arambula does not know how the injury to his daughters head occurred. The lawyers have focused their attention on what they say are inconsistencies in the childs statements, saying the child is embellishing, making up stories and not a reliable witness.

I think shes a really smart kid and she wants her way, Arambula attorney Martinez-Baly said in an interview Thursday. She was angry that she was spanked. She was angry that she felt that her dad wouldnt listen to her side of the story and they always side with her sister.

Regardless of the trials outcome, political experts say the allegation alone has damaged Arambulas political prospects, and future opponents could raise questions about Arambulas decision to allow his attorney to cross-examine his daughter at trial.

I think thats definitely a line of attack in the future, said Jeffrey Cummins, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I think it does permanent damage to his reputation.

Martinez-Baly acknowledged that Arambula is in a no-win situation. She said he feels strongly that hes innocent and wants to clear his name.

Its going to be his word against hers, she said. Im sure some people out there wont like that and think he should have taken a deal to spare his daughter. It was his decision, and I cant say I blame him. I would want to defend myself.

Arambulas three daughters were taken from his home by Child Protective Services the evening after the incident and were placed in the care of his parents for two days. After conducting an investigation, CPS allowed the girls to return home and closed the case in March, citing insufficient evidence of physical abuse, according to the defense.

Smittcamp, who declined an interview request, decided to charge Arambula with a misdemeanor. The prosecution has argued that striking a 7-year-olds head hard enough to leave a mark is excessive and unreasonable.

John Myers, an expert on child abuse cases and a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, said the decision to prosecute in such a case is uncommon.

In a case like this where you dont have very serious physical injuries, it would be more common for CPS to get involved and work with the family to help them, and for the D.A. to decline to press charges, Myers said. But he noted that prosecutors and Child Protective Services have different roles in such cases; district attorneys focus on whether a crime has been committed, while CPS bases its decisions on whether a child would be in danger if allowed to remain in the home.

More stories from Taryn Luna 

taryn.luna@latimes.com

Follow @tarynluna on Twitter.
The 53rd annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition will bring together 135 artists who will display 245 works of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center on 100 Civic Center Drive.

The variety of works, which will be for sale, come from people ages 18 to 85 who responded to the exhibitions call for artists earlier this spring.

We typically have regional artists who participate but also artists from all over Southern California and afar, said Arlene Greer, a Newport Beach City Arts Commissioner. One year, we had an artist from as far away as the south of France.

The free one-day show is organized by an exhibition committee and members of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, which consults with the City Council on artistic and cultural matters within the city.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from art sales will contribute to the citys Arts Commission programming.

Cow sculptures in the Civic Centers Cows4Camp exhibit will also be up for a silent auction during the event, with a majority of those proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House and a small amount going toward Newport Beach arts programming.

The bids for Cows4Camp Saturday will coincide with online bids for the works on biddingforgood.com, which will close July 13.

Curator and art advisor Dana Yarger will lead tours of the sculptures on Saturday.

The event at the Civic Center will also include live music and $9 box lunches from The Bungalow in Newport Beach.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. will honor participating artists with awards presented by Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon.

This years juror David Kiddie, a faculty member from the Wilkinson College of Arts at Chapman University in Orange, will determine the winners for categories in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and the jurors choice.

Visitors will also be able to submit ballots for a peoples choice winner at the exhibition.

[The exhibition] is a great opportunity for artists who have exhibited elsewhere or artists who have never exhibited before, Greer said. The most significant benefit of this is that it brings people from all seven districts and afar to the Civic Center to enjoy a one-day exhibit where they can meet, mingle and make new friends.

For more information on the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, call the Cultural Arts Office at (949) 717-3802.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Pete Truxaw, founder and owner of Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach and Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails in Los Alamitos, has opened his third Mamas eatery in Newport Beach.

Newports Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails is a casual restaurant and bar offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with Thrifty ice cream served by the scoop.

After a three-month renovation of the former Pizza Nova/Josh Slocums restaurant building at 2601 W. Coast Hwy. along Newports Mariners Mile, Truxaw and partner Robert Corrigan opened Mamas doors last weekend. The restaurant has 250 feet of exclusive docks available for guests who visit by boat.

We are thrilled to bring Mamas to such a historic Newport Beach restaurant location, Truxaw said in a statement.

The restaurants interior decor features beach-style colors, exposed brick walls and a photo wall featuring hundreds of pictures of local moms.

Truxaw founded Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach in 2011. Mamas Comfort Food opened in Los Alamitos last year.

Tony Hawk and former Playmate open GuacAmigos in Newport Beach

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk recently opened Mexican restaurant GuacAmigos in Newport Beach with former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

GuacAmigos, a new restaurant by pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly, opened recently in Newport Beach.

The restaurant at 2607 W. Coast Hwy. replaces a Joes Crab Shack.

GuacAmigos features Mexican fare, tequila drinks and local seafood with a spicy twist.

Its April 27 ribbon-cutting featured Hawk and guests doing a skateboarding demonstration that raised money for Hawks foundation.

GuacAmigos also displays several action-sports artifacts: a surfboard from Kelly Slater, a snowboard from Shaun White, a skateboard from Lizzie Armanto and the BMX bike that Mat Hoffman used to break a high-air record, according to a news release.

H.B. businessman named California Small Business Person of the Year

The Orange County/Inland Empire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration will honor Jeff Perry, president of All Industrial Tool Supply in Huntington Beach, as California Small Business Person of the Year in the agencys annual Small Business Week awards program.

Perry and other honorees will receive their awards June 7 during a program at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Were celebrating manufacturers, young entrepreneurs, technology firms, businesses that help build our infrastructure, not to mention critical collaborators such as cities and chambers of commerce, because they all play a role in the success of the region, Christopher Lorenzana, the SBA Orange County/Inland Empire districts deputy director, said in a statement.

Hoag debuts new 7D surgical technology

The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach recently added a 7D surgical system used in spinal procedures, making it the first West Coast hospital to do so.

The system contains the same technology found in self-driving cars, according to a news release, enabling a surgeon to have an unprecedented level of surgical navigation for radiation-free placement of spinal implants.

The technology allows for faster, safer surgery with a reduced recovery time for patients, according to Hoag.

H.B. man recognized with womens advocacy award

A Huntington Beach man recently won the Catalyst for Change Award presented by the Orange County chapter of Connected Women of Influence.

Kevin Walton, a Boeing systems engineer, was recognized for his advocacy, mentorship and recruiting efforts for women at Boeing.

Walton, an Air Force veteran, also is an ambassador for the Foundation for Women Warriors, advocating for women veterans in their transition to corporate America, according to a news release.

Digital marketing to be topic of Costa Mesa event

Small Business Sales Intelligence and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a presentation Thursday covering the details of a digital marketing campaign, including costs, how to determine whether a campaign is working and tips for cutting costs.

The event, featuring guest lecturer Matt Zimmer, creator of StackTek, will run from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at CrashLabs, 234 E. 17th St., Suite 117, Costa Mesa.

Registration is required. To sign up or for more information, visit meetup.com/salesintelligence/events/260945018.

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In the Christian Era, Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not Moses 5/04/2019 Christianity , Jesus Christ 12 Comments





It is quite frustrating that even if we are already in the Christian dispensation lots of people are still affected by the laws of Moses, to the point that if they find the said law to be inconsistent with the state of things, in reality, their tendency is to question the authenticity of the Bible.

For example, under the law of Moses, the hare had been classified as unclean and, therefore, should not be eaten because it ruminates and it is not cloven-footed. In line with that prohibition, somebody asked me if such a pronouncement would not jeopardize the authenticity of the Bible inasmuch as, in reality, hares are cloven-footed and they do not ruminate.

First of all, allow me to give you an insight about the laws given by God, through Moses, to the Israelites  they being the first people who served God.

In the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, one of the important things he wrote concerned the prohibitions on what they should and should not eat or ingest.

HEBREWS 9:10 says,

Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

There were ordinances regarding meats, drinks, and diverse washing, or cleansing of the body that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, implying that there was an appointed time that these laws would be reformed. There was an appointed time set by God that these laws would be superseded by another set of laws. And that appointed time had come, according to the Apostle Paul in HEBREWS 7:12 , which says,

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

So, it was necessary for the law to be changed because there had been a change in the priesthood. HEBREWS 3:1-3 says,

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

The verses clearly tell us that the high priest that had been replaced was Moses, and his replacement was the Lord Jesus Christ. In those verses, the Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews who were converted to Christianity during the first century of our era, and not to the Hebrews who remained in their Jewish religion. He was telling them that our Apostle and High Priest of our profession is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was found to be more glorious than Moses as a priest. So, He was called the High Priest of our profession.

When the priesthood was changed, there was a necessity to also change the law. And the law that was replaced was the law that was administered by Moses. It had been replaced by another law.

ACTS 13:39 says,

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

The law of Moses was found to be insufficient for the justification of believers in the Christian era because, in the Christian era, justification rests on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the faith of Christians must be based on the law of Christ, and not on the law of Moses.

Let us be definite. What is being referred to as the law of Moses?

MALACHI 4:4 says,

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

So, it was the law given by God to Moses in the mountain. Specifically, what was that law?

EXODUS 31:18 says,

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

They were the laws that were contained in the two tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God. And those laws included statutes and judgments.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13 says,

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Therefore, the law of Moses being referred to was the ten commandments. And these laws, together with the statutes and judgments, were meant for the Israelites. For instance, there were statutes regarding what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink which the Israelites had to observe.

But in our dispensation, we do not have problems about what to eat and what not to eat. In the New Testament, there is another law that was explained by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In MARK 7:19, it says,

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the type of food that the Israelites had been forbidden to eat did not go to the heart, but only to the belly. And He had purged, or cleansed, all of those. The Apostle Paul explained in 1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 ,

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

So, even if it is pork, which was regarded as unclean during the time of the Israelites, in the Christian dispensation, when the priesthood had been changed from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, those meats that had been declared as unclean had been purged, or cleansed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sanctified by the word of God, by the decree of God, and by prayer. Through the power of prayer and by the word of God, those things which had been considered abominable then are cleansed. Therefore, there is no longer any problem with eating pork, or any meat from those that do not chew the cud, or from those that have no cloven feet.

Bear in mind that we are in the Christian era. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, and not Moses. If we are truly Christians and we believe that we are living in the Christian dispensation, we have to refer to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not of Moses. Moses is no longer our high priest but the Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation that the Lord Jesus Christ carries with Him is the revelation that we must receive now.

HEBREWS 1:1-2 says,

1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God had spoken to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son. So, if we want to know about Gods words and teachings we will learn them through His Son, not through Moses. But if you keep on observing the laws of Moses, you are at the wrong track. You are out of time; you are out of place.

LEVITICUS 11:1-7 says,

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

If you are a meticulous reader of the Bible, as early as verse 2 , you will realize that, if you are an American or a Filipino, you are not a concerned party because those words were only meant for the Israelites.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

At this point, allow me to give some clarifications concerning verse 6 because this is the part being questioned by one reader of the Bible. According to him, what the verse states is a challenge to the authenticity of the Bible because what it said is contrary to reality. It stated that the hare should not be eaten because it chews the cud and is not cloven-footed when in truth, hares have cloven feet and they do not ruminate or chew the cud.

Let me make it clear that what the Israelites were forbidden to eat were animals, or beasts, that ruminate and are cloven-footed. Those two characteristics must be present in one particular beast. If one characteristic is absent, then, it should not be eaten. In the case of a hare, its hooves are divided but they do not ruminate, so the Israelites were forbidden from eating it.

But, granting that Leviticus 11:6 should have described the hare the other way around, that is, it does not chew the cud and it has cloven feet, still, that would not make the prohibition wrong. It, still, should not be eaten because one of the characteristics of a beast or animal that should be eaten is absent.

Indeed, there are people who challenge the authenticity of the Bible. They are those who do not consider human error. They always blame the Bible for errors which could have been committed by the people who did its translation.

Actually, people who question the authenticity of the Bible would never run out of issues to raise against the Bible. Let me cite an example. The Bible classified bats as birds because birds fly by their wings, and bats fly because they are also winged. So now, people who try to discredit the Bible accuse the Bible as speaking of lies because, according to them, bats are not birds but mammals. Let us accept that a bat is classified as a mammal, the question is, who did the classification and when was the classification made?

Remember that when the Bible was written there were no classifications yet as to whether a creature is a mammal, or a reptile, or a bird. The classification happened only very recently, specifically, thousands of years after the Bible was written. And the classification was made by man only. Who knew about mammals during the time of Moses? The word mammal was coined by Linnaeus only in the 18 th century, whereas the book of Leviticus was written more than 3,000 years ago (1512) by Moses at the wilderness of Sinai. So how would you expect the Bible to classify bat as a mammal when the word mammal was coined only in 1758? So, that time, the Bible was absolutely correct when it classified bat as a bird because it flies.

But whether or not there were pronouncements in the law of Moses which do not jive with the actual characteristics of certain animals in reality, like the case of hare, for me they are immaterial. Still, the hare was rightfully included among the animals that the Israelites should not eat because its characteristics fail to meet the qualities of a beast or animal that they could eat. Although the hare is cloven-footed, yet, it does not chew the cud, so the Israelites should not eat it.

But inasmuch as we are not under the law of Moses but of the law of Christ, there is practically no need for us to be troubled about the kinds of food that the Israelites had been prohibited from eating. First, we are not among the Israelites that Moses led so the prohibition does not concern us; second, Christ had cleansed all that were regarded unclean during the time of the Israelites; and third, through the power of prayer, our food could be sanctified.
The Costa Mesa City Council will consider adopting a new policy Tuesday that would potentially clear the way to fly commemorative flags such as the pride flag at City Hall.

Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds asked city staff last month to draft a resolution for council consideration that would authorize displaying the rainbow banner at the seat of local government.

As proposed, the pride flag would be unfurled at City Hall annually from May 22 to June 30.

May 22 is Harvey Milk Day, which honors the man who became the first openly gay elected official in state history when he took his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated in 1978, less than a year after taking office, and is widely recognized as a pioneering gay-rights activist.

June is LGBT Pride Month  an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and commemoration of the history, contributions and sacrifices of those who comprise them.

While Costa Mesa has traditionally raised city, California and American flags, as well as the POW-MIA flag, at municipal facilities, there is currently no formal policy on the books regarding such displays.

The proposed language up for the councils review outlines the procedures and standards for the display of flags at city facilities, including the display of commemorative flags at City Hall, according to a staff report included in Tuesdays council agenda.

Commemorative flags would only be flown if the council authorizes them as an expression of the citys official sentiments, that report continues. So, should council members adopt the overall flag policy, they would still need to specifically sign off on displaying the pride flag.

The citys flagpoles are to be used exclusively by the city, where the City Council may display a commemorative flag as a form of government expression, the staff report states. The city will not display a commemorative flag based on a request from a third party, nor will the city use its flagpoles to sponsor the expression of a third party.

Additionally, the city could not place a pennant that shows religious preference or encourages a specific vote in a particular election, according to the staff report.

As our community has re-engaged in human relations efforts and honest conversations about inclusion and diversity, Ive been heartbroken to hear the experiences of people who are afraid to express who they are or who feel unwelcome by their peers, Reynolds said Friday. Honoring Pride is an important and valuable expression from our city to let our LGBT community members, especially our young adults, know: we care about you, and we welcome you.

However, Councilman Allan Mansoor expressed some concerns in a public Facebook post Friday, writing that the pride flag may mean different things to different people.

To some, it may mean that we should treat everyone with respect  which, if that were the sole symbolism of the flag, I would support it, he wrote. To some, however, it may mean intolerance or hostility to anyone who morally or due to religious conviction does not support some of the things in the LGBTQ agenda, even though they do not support harassment or violence.

Do we want to play into division on such a controversial issue? he added.

Tuesdays council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St.

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A street dog from Thailand has found her fur-ever home in Huntington Beach.

Dr. Lisa Chong and Tara Austin spotted the year-old Thai Bangkaew dog dragging its body on its two front legs across a busy street while they were there last December to volunteer at Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai.

The tale began to unfold after dinner one night during their stay. During the meal, Austin shared with Chong her admiration for Frida Kahlo, an artist who remained dedicated to her art despite becoming bedridden after a bus accident.

On their way back to their hotel following dinner, the two childhood friends spotted the dog. Without consulting each other, they both walked onto the street to stop traffic and to shepherd the dog to safety. While Chong used dog treats to gauge the dogs friendliness toward humans, Austin flagged down a cab to take them back to their hotel.

Austin also asked people at nearby businesses if they knew the dog, but no one claimed her. Austin and Chong, who gave the dog the name Frida after the famed Mexican artist, believe she might have been dropped off at a nearby temple where other stray dogs congregate.

She had this fighter spirit, Austin said, referring to Fridas attitude on the drive back to their hotel. The dog, she said, calmly sat in the car and looked out the window.

Chong, an OB-GYN, said they didnt realize the extent of Fridas poor condition until they took her back to their hotel room. Ticks covered the dogs body and her paws were covered in dirt as a result of dragging her body, she said.

An X-ray at a 24-hour hospital just outside Chiang Mai later revealed Frida had a lumbar fracture and is missing several bones in her paws. She didnt have any fur on her paws at the time.

23. Lisa Chong poses for a photo with Frida in her kennel cage while boarded at the vet. Tara Austin created a watercolor painting for Frida, which is placed above her kennel. (Photo courtesy of Tara Austin)

She was really infected, Chong said. You could just feel the heat coming out of her legs, thats why she was panting. She didnt even know how to drink water. She had been a street dog for so long she only understood how to drink water off the pavement. She didnt understand the concept of a cup of water.

Chong said hospital staff recommended amputating Fridas hind legs, but Chong wanted that option to be the last resort. She said they had hoped Frida would one day walk again.

The two visited Frida in the hospital for several hours every day during their trip. They noticed a slow shift in the canines behavior. It was apparent to them she was gaining more confidence. Fur started to grow on her two injured paws.

Chong said the decision to formally adopt Frida was gradual. They realized the dog likely wouldnt be the first choice for adoption by a family. They also didnt want to financially burden the animal sanctuary by lodging Frida there, she said.

Before they left Thailand to head home, they purchased a dog collar with a tag embossed with Fridas name as a promise they would soon return for their four-legged friend.

Chong brought Frida home on a first-class flight from Thailand to Los Angeles last week. Frida is currently lodged at the Two Hands Four Paws Foundation, a animal rehabilitation facility in L.A. where shell learn how to walk again before moving into Chongs home in downtown Huntington Beach.

Chong and Austins shared love for animals has led them to spend more than $13,000 to give Frida a second chance at life. Fundraisers are being planned to pay for medical costs as they see if doctors can help Frida use her two hind legs to walk again.

They created an Instagram account to document Fridas journey and a GoFundMe page to gather donations.

Part of me is sad knowing [Frida] is leaving her homeland and shes leaving everything shes ever known but I think she has a bright future ahead of her, Chong said.

To help Frida, visit gofundme.com/meet-frida-our-paralyzed-thai-street-pup.

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Superheroes will be busting out of a telephone booth and geometric shapes will be casting dancing shadows on the City Hall lawn in Laguna Beachs latest round of temporary art installations.

On Monday, the red telephone booth on Forest Avenue will transform into a Super Hero Changing Station under the hand of local artist Robert Holton of Drizzle Art. Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman costumes will drape from clothes hangers inside the booth, above a replica of Captain Americas shield and Thors hammer.

One side of the booth will be lined with superhero quotes, such as Flashs Life doesnt give you purpose, you give life purpose and Batmans Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

Holton said he hopes the installation will inspire small acts of kindness and an overall awareness that you dont need superpowers to be a superhero, as one of the quotes reads.

A giant gloved fist punching through the top of the booth in superhero-like triumph is meant to represent all superheroes, heroes in all of us, the artist said.

What Im trying to say is, normal people can be heroes, said Holton, a six-year resident of Laguna Beach and a presenter at the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival. In a minute way, whether its helping somebody through the door, walking the dog. I think we need more of that in the world.

The city Arts Commission will hold a dedication for the new installation at the phone booth at 5 p.m. May 14. Holton said he plans to invite children and families to show up in their favorite superhero costumes.

Im hoping people will step up and be a superhero, Holton said. You dont have to do something death-defying or something to be a hero.

Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl said the tradition of putting an art display in the red phone booth dates to 2013, a year after the public phone was deactivated.

Poeschl said the city chose Holtons work, which will be on display for two years, from among 25 proposals.

The exhibits are part of the Arts Commissions temporary sculpture program, which is funded by lodging establishments and the city of Laguna Beach.

This past Monday, an exhibition called The Shape of Light appeared on the lawn outside City Hall from Oakland-based artists Yelena Filipchuck and Serge Beaulieu, who make up the married art duo Hybycozo. The couple designed the trio of geometric sculptures from laser-cut metal and LED lights that cast shadows on the lawn at night.

Filipchuck said each piece has a distinct shape, but together they celebrate the universality of math and the beauty of proportion.

The hexagonal sculpture was inspired by physicist Garrett Lisis TED talk about E8, a theoretical mathematical explanation of everything. The way Lisi mapped the mathematical concept onto particle physics made for beautiful visualizations, Filipchuck said.

It was this resonant feeling, like, of course the structure that makes up the universe would feel beautiful to us, she said. Its an innate beauty.

The two quadrilateral sculptures in the exhibit also stem from mathematical concepts, Filipchuck said, such as ancient Islamic geometry and the way math emerged from intricate drawings.

Back then, there was not really a distinction between an artist, an artisan and a mathematician because they were kind of the same thing, she said. The way that they represented like a higher kind of understanding of the universe was through proportion and through what they thought were rules sent from beyond. When you divide a 9 by a 3 and it creates these amazing proportions, they thought that was divine intervention.

To us, that is what is harmonious and beautiful about this type of art  it is almost meant to be created in these rules.

The polyhedrons will be on display in front of City Hall through July 31, Poeschl said.

In March, the city brought Michigan-based artist David Zinn to scatter chalk art in various rocks and crevices around the city. Artist Scott Froschauers The Word on the Street exhibit of five road signs offering affirmative messages will be on display until May 15.

We have really diverse programming and installations in process and reflects the commitment of the Arts Commission and City Council in elevating and evolving the public art experience, Poeschl said.

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The last night of Wendi Millers life was spent doing things she loved.

On April 19, Miller went with a friend and her son to a Dana Point church to celebrate Good Friday. She sat with the friend, Dayna Camarena, who was struggling with a personal crisis, and held her hand throughout the service and prayed for her and Camarenas son.

They went out for a pasta dinner before spending the evening dancing to 80s music.

We did three things Wendi loved all in one night, Camarena said. Usually we only have the energy to do one.

Camarena spoke as an overflow crowd gathered at Mariners Church in Irvine on Friday to remember Miller, 48, who was found slain the night of Easter Sunday in a Newport Beach condominium.

Man and woman found dead in Newport Beach condo are identified; police conduct homicide investigation 

Friends said they last saw the Costa Mesa resident at about 1:45 a.m. April 20 before leaving the Sandpiper bar in Laguna Beach. She was giving Darren Partch, whom she had met that night, a ride home to the Newport condo.

When Miller didnt show for Easter festivities, friends and family members launched a search for her on social media. Just after 9:30 p.m. April 21, the owner of the condominium returned home after being away for the weekend and found Miller and Partch, 38, dead inside. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, the Newport Beach Police Department said. Authorities believe they died April 20.

A Huntington Beach man was arrested April 25 and has been charged with their murders.

H.B. personal trainer charged with special-circumstances murder in Newport Beach slayings 

If Wendi were here, she would have invited all of us on a bike ride to the beach, friend Niki Wetzel said Friday.

Miller was the kind of joyful person who made friends with everyone, friends and family said.

We were strangers for about 90 seconds, Wetzel said, recalling their introduction.

Joy is a gift  remember, its the foundational emotion that leads to contentment, peace, fulfillment and happiness, Wetzel said. And my sincere hope is that whenever we remember Wendi we remember joy.

Eric Boogie Rose, a college classmate of Millers and a leader at Branches Church in Huntington Beach, described her as fearless and too big for one church, noting that she was involved in many churches in the area.

There werent enough people for her to pour into, Rose said. He didnt realize how widespread her involvement in his congregation was until the community was mourning her loss.

She jumped in and impacted everyone, and because of that, everyone is mourning, Rose said. If you knew her, you would know she would want you to have this life, and this life to the full.

Neighbors and friends memorialize Costa Mesa woman found dead in Newport Beach condo 

Millers daughter, Cambria Carpenter, said her mom would have loved the gathering held in her honor because she loved talking to people.

She was the light of my life completely, she said.

Mourners throughout the room wiped tears from their eyes as Carpenter sang Carrie Underwoods See You Again in remembrance of her mom.

The week she learned of her mothers death, Carpenter was set to perform in a school musical, she said. Despite her director and family urging her to consider withdrawing from the show in light of the tragedy, she remembered that her mom had bought tickets, and she decided she had to perform.

Performing was a way to heal, Carpenter said. The director dedicated the show to Miller.

She changed so many peoples lives, her daughter said.

Miller was born in Long Beach and grew up in Cerritos. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She lived in Michigan, Colorado and Texas before returning to California.

Miller was a vibrant, bubbly person who always made you feel like you were her best friend, said her mother, Mary Lu Miller.

Wendi Miller was chief executive of the Newport Beach-based nonprofit Wings of Justice, which advocates for children and parents in the family court system. She also was an advocate for people who have experienced domestic violence.

To you, no one was a stranger, just a new friend in waiting, Millers son, Luke Carpenter, said as he read a letter addressed to his mom, whom he credited for inspiring him with her amazing spirit of light and positivity.

The huge turnout at the afternoon service overwhelmed the venue, which was prepared for 600 guests. Extra seating was arranged around the perimeter of the multipurpose hall, which was filled with banquet tables and flower arrangements prepared by Millers family.

Its a testimony to her, Millers sister Tracy Dawson said of the large crowd.

Relatives organized an online fundraiser titled Wendi Miller Celebration of Life Memorial Fund that has brought in more than $17,000 since it was established April 23.

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In case Crescenta Valley High School student Lyron Co Ting Keh needed validation he was, indeed, young and innovative, the senior will soon receive more than his share of confirmation.

Co Ting Keh, 17, was named one of five Young Innovators to Watch from the United States and Canada by technology and lifestyle event producers Living in Digital Times, and is heading to Las Vegas to be honored at a giant consumer electronics show produced by Living in Digital Times on Thursday.

Im honored, humbled and I didnt expect any recognition for my work, in general, Co Ting Keh said. Its surprising.

Co Ting Keh and his mother, Rowena, father, Edmundo, and older sister, Lace, are all flying to Las Vegas for the honor.

Along with airfare and a hotel stay, theres $500 in prize money, Lenovo computer equipment, a tour of the show, which is closed to minors, and three minutes to pitch his product to industry professionals.

Im looking forward to seeing what other innovators and other peoples opinion of my work is, Co Ting Keh said.

The teen created a machine-learning algorithm model called HICCUP, which stands for Hierarchical Classification of Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Cancer of Unknown Primary, or CUP, is defined by the American Cancer Society when, cancer is found in one or more metastatic sites but the primary site cannot be determined.

The American Cancer Society estimates 31,810 cases were diagnosed in 2018, which accounts for 2% of all cancer cases.

Co Ting Keh has calculated that his model is roughly 18% more accurate than industry standards in diagnosing CUP.

HICCUP requires a blood sample to track DNA released by a cancerous tumor into the bloodstream, a test he contends is considerably cheaper and less invasive than other industry procedures.

Current methods to carry out the diagnosis, like MRI and biopsies, are often costly, inaccurate or harmful, Co Ting Keh said. Thats what drove me to develop HICCUP.

Co Ting Keh created HICCUP while at Stanford Universitys Alizadeh Lab, where hes been working on and off the last two years in between attending Crescenta Valley High.

Every summer, I go up there and work there pretty much full-time, Co Ting Keh said. I go up there for Thanksgiving break and winter break and fly up and work whenever I can.

Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, said the selection of Co Ting Keh was a no-brainer after committee members who eventually chose him did a little research.

What kind of kid works at a lab at Stanford? Raskin said. We thought, Well, maybe hes just regurgitating what theyre teaching or talking about at the lab? We called up the lab, and they said he was the brains behind many of the algorithms they were using. We were amazed.

Co Ting Keh was selected out of a pool of 100 candidates and is one of two winners from California, joining Cupertino Highs Kumaran Akilan.

While Co Ting Keh has already been accepted to Yale University, hes still waiting to make an official collegiate decision until hes received word from all prospective schools.

Until graduation, hell continue his work at the lab during breaks and also via remote access.

The recognition is nice, Co Ting Keh said, but the work continues.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
The Arcadia Unified School District family offers our deepest condolences to the Lin family, their friends and loved ones. We are beyond saddened to learn of the death of the Lin brothers, William and Anthony, who attended Arcadia High School. The loss of William and Anthony will be felt by the thousands of students, staff, friends and family that loved and knew them well in our tight-knit community. We know our community will stand united as we go through this unthinkable tragedy together. We ask everyone to please respect the Lin familys privacy during this extremely difficult time.

While this tragedy did not happen on campus, it will undoubtedly have an enormous impact throughout all our schools. We will provide additional counselors and support services this week when students return to school, and for as long as they are needed. Arcadia Unified prides itself as being a positive leader in this great community, and will continue to make the well-being of our students and staff a priority. We appreciate the many condolences and support for the Lin Family. We know this will continue, and we thank you all.

Ryan Foran

Public Information Officer, Arcadia Unified School District
This years Kentucky Derby, at least on paper, is one of the most competitive in many years.

Youve got Bob Bafferts trio of Game Winner, Roadster and Improbable, all within half-a-tick of each other on the morning line.

Youve got undefeated Florida Derby winner Maximum Security and Wood Memorial winner Tacitus, who jumped to first and second in early betting.

Youve got the always present buzz horse, who this year is By My Standards, winner of the Louisiana Derby.

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And, youve got Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor getting some second looks after Mike Smith replaced Corey Lanerie as the jockey.

But the real deciding factor of who wins the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday could be, to steal a line from the Masters, a tradition unlike any other: lots of rain on Derby Day.

A vicious torrent of rain soaked Churchill Downs on Friday morning, subsided in the afternoon, but is expected to return just in time for the races Saturday.

Last year was the wettest Derby in history with around three inches of rain falling during the day. While it doesnt appear as if Saturdays totals will be record worthy, the past few years have had their share of precipitation.

Justify (2018) won over a sloppy track, Always Dreaming (2017) over a wet fast surface and Orb (2013) also over a sloppy track. Historically 44 Derbies have been run over a surface that was not listed as fast, leaving the other 100 on a fast track. Of course, when determining how to label a surface, most tracks tend to err on the side of making things sound better.

A track is labeled muddy if the water seeps into the dirt to create a mixture, which most people know as mud. A sloppy track is one that has usually been sealed  pressed down hard to keep the water from entering the dirt  keeping the water on top of the surface.

I think Ive got three nice horses, but its still a very wide-open race, Baffert said. There are 10 horses that I think are within a length of each other. Its whoever gets the trip. And especially now that its going to rain, we dont know what is going to happen. Its too bad the weather is not going to work with us. Well just have to deal with it.

Most trainers can figure a way to make it sound as if their horse would be undeterred by a wet track. But the bettors tend not to listen.

Game Winner, who was the 9-2 early morning-line favorite, slipped to the fourth-most bet horse in early wagering, no doubt because he has never run on an off surface.

Tacitus and Maximum Security were one-two in early betting, probably because they have won on a wet track. Maximum Security won by 6  lengths on a muddy track under a hand ride.

He won on an off-track, trainer Jason Servis said of Maximum Security. Hes checked a lot of boxes. He won a major prep  the Florida Derby. He won in the mud. He lay third and came off the pace. Hes undefeated. His mare is a half to Flat Out, who won the Jockey Gold Cup twice at a mile-and-a-quarter.

It doesnt matter what you like or dont like, hes checking a lot of boxes.

Vekoma, whose pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, trains in the rain Friday morning. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

An almost all-the-box-checker is Vekoma, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. If you throw out a third in the Fountain of Youth, losing to Code Of Honor, hes undefeated, winning at three different tracks. But he hasnt run on an off surface.

He is bred to handle it, trainer George Weaver said. I always thought [Churchill Downs] is one of the best when it was wet. He should be forwardly placed and hope he doesnt have to eat too much mud.

Vekomas pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, which along with Game Winner is the highest in the field. Vekomas mother, Mona De Momma, won the Humana Distaff at Churchill in 2010 in the mud.

I told him that his momma liked it, Weaver said.

In a neglected cemetery lie black jockeys who helped create the Kentucky Derby 

During Fridays exercise, Plus Que Parfait, winner of the UAE Derby in Dubai, seemed to have an easier time over the slop than many of the other horses.

I barely asked him to do anything, said Tom Molloy, an assistant to trainer Brendan Walsh. He didnt mind the mud one bit as all.

As difficult as it to predict how a horse will do on off tracks, there seems to be some compelling evidence on how horses do when they ship from Dubai to run in the Kentucky Derby. In 13 tries, the best a Dubai runner has finished was a fifth by Master Of Hounds in 2011.

I would think that running any after Dubai on just 35 days is a little quick, but sometimes they surprise you, Peter Miller said of his colt Gray Magician, who finished second in the UAE Derby. I thought initially he would need 60 days because Ive had some that even needed 90 days off, but with him I think it felt like a trip up the 405.

If that is correct, then you can expect the race to be run in a very, very slow time.
I broke my own cardinal rule by asking Josie out during the holidays. (In college I had determined that any guy who asks a girl out in November comes across as desperate for someone to spend Christmas with.)

But this was different. I was coming out of a crumbling, 10-year relationship, and adjusting to life back in the U.S. after a tour of duty in Iraq and three deployments to South Korea. I had no plans on making a new love connection. My single objective was to get her on the back of my chopper and take her to an annual spring motorcycle rally in La Puente. I had attended the same rally earlier that year with friends. I had decreed right then and there that if I came back the following year, I would have a date on my arm. Josie was perfect.

She wasnt some groupie who worshiped guys with immaculate bikes. She was from the Midwest and had moved into my northeast Los Angeles neighborhood to make it as an actor. Id met her at my American Legion club room. She was a hasher  you know, a member of that drinking club with a running problem. They were having drinks in our bar after a run. I was the post commander and offered a tour. By the end of it, I asked to add her on Facebook, rascal that I am. My date to the rally was nearly secured.

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

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Even though it was the middle of November, I messaged Josie to ask if shed like to go out to dinner. The rally was still months away, but I figured if I didnt act fast, I ran the risk of being forgotten by the time the rally rolled around. She agreed, so long as it was platonic. I assured her that it was. Came to find she lived not far from me in Highland Park.

I picked her up just two days before Thanksgiving on my fully-customized 2005 Harley-Davidson Softail, raked and stretched with a purple metal flake paint job and an all-chrome torqued out S&S engine. We rode to Little Tokyo to a sushi spot I knew. The trees at Tokyo Village were already adorned with holiday lights and we took two empty seats at the bar. After a shared rainbow plate, we were hitting it off quite handily.

I explained my situation. I was just ending one relationship, and faced with starting all over again, not sure of my next step. She was receptive, understanding and gorgeous. Toward the end of dinner I admitted that my only goal that night was to not fall on my face. She assured me I hadnt.

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The next day she invited me to join her as she checked out a new drinking-and-running route for her club. We plotted a trail, visited a few watering holes, and high-fived our success when we were done.

Soon, we were spending nearly every day together, at my place or hers. We would walk to Maximiliano for pastas and red wine. We caught up with GLOW on her iPad. She traveled home for Christmas, but upon her return I made her tacos. She made meatball sandwiches for us a few days later.

I had been daunted at facing reentry back into the dating scene, but she was making the transition easy for me. That is, until she told me she was worried things were getting too serious. For me, it was still too early to say that. So when she said she needed more room to spread her wings, I gave it to her and told her I was OK with just being friends. Truth be told I felt accomplished. Like I had nothing more to prove.

A few weeks later, when her theater troupe needed someone to do tech in L.A. for a play she was in, I volunteered. It meant I got to see her every Thursday for the shows run. For the first show, we drove over together in my car and sang along to the Smiths How Soon Is Now? By the second show, Josie drove herself. She said we could still hang out, but that she still had feelings for her ex. Dutifully, I completed my volunteer tech work but cringed on the nights she departed without me. She was beautiful in her part in an adaptation of Reservoir Dogs. By the fourth show she was applying dramatic pauses at key scenes, capturing my heart.

A few weeks after the last show, I texted Josie and reminded her about the rally, which was then just a few days away. She admitted that she had forgotten about it but was still willing to go. I was proud to have her on my arm. There, she pulled me out to the dance floor and we freaked like high school kids until the music ended. We came back to my place and cuddled, but that was all. Josie said we could only be friends and neighbors. I walked her home.

You already know the end of the story. Despite my own insistence to not let it happen, I had developed feelings for that girl.

The contest of love is the only one where it doesnt matter who comes in first. What matters is who finishes last.

I cant be unhappy over the outcome, however.

I overcame my expectations, and got myself back out there. She reminded me of all that was good about being back in the United States. And she got me through the holidays after a bad breakup.

A couple weeks later, I left good-bye flowers on her doorstep.

All in all, not a bad run.

The author is a writer and Army reservist. His website is la1news.com.

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: 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.

MORE L.A. LOVE STORIES 

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North Korea has apparently fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast, in what could mark its first missile launch in nearly a year and half, according to the South Korean military.

North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017 and has since refrained from launches amid unprecedented diplomatic talks between President Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

There is a possibility North Korea has fired multiple short-range missiles, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency quoted a military source as saying.

The South Korean militarys joint chiefs of staff later adjusted their wording from missiles to projectiles, saying they were still working to determine what exactly was fired. The shift in wording may reflect South Koreas concern over how news of the test is received by Washington.

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The launch, if verified, would probably mark a continued return to low-level provocations from North Korea, expressing its displeasure at the stalled talks with the U.S. since a summit between Trump and Kim over the Norths nuclear program ended without a deal in February.

Saturdays launch comes after Kim last month oversaw a test of a new unspecified tactical guided weapon capable of carrying a powerful warhead.

Kim said in April 2018 that North Korea had completed its missile program and no longer needed to conduct nuclear or ballistic missile tests. Recent military actions by the North stop short of violating that self-imposed ban but nonetheless are a reminder of what a North Korean official has warned would be undesired consequences should nuclear talks collapse.

Trump has touted the missile moratorium as a sign that his engagement with North Korea was working, saying Kim pledged to him in Hanoi that the moratorium would stand.

North Korea test-fires new tactical guided weapon, with Kim Jong Un there to observe 

In a speech before the North Korean legislative body last month, Kim said he was willing to wait until the years end for a breakthrough in talks with the U.S.

As blowing winds create waves, the more explicit the U.S.s hostile policies toward North Korea become, we will act accordingly, he said in the speech.

Trump administration officials have said the ball is in North Koreas court after the talks in Vietnam fell apart because Kim was willing to discuss only a portion of the nations nuclear arsenal while seeking large-scale sanctions relief.

Representatives for Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they were monitoring the situation.
This month ushers in an era of new beginnings for royal families in Japan and Thailand.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, Thailand is crowning a new king. Maha Vajiralongkorn took the throne when his father died 2 years ago. On Saturday he was officially installed as king as part of a three-day ceremony drawing on Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

In Japan, Crown Prince Naruhito became the countrys 126th emperor on Tuesday, after his 85-year-old father, Emperor Akihito, stepped down.

Dozens of countries still have royal families. Some monarchs go by the title of king or queen while others are referred to as emperor, sultan or emir.

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The level of power they exert depends on the country.

In Norway, Spain, Britain and Sweden, the royal positions are purely ceremonial. Several countries in Africa and Asia have similar figurehead monarchs, among them Lesotho, Cambodia and Malaysia.

In Thailand, the king has the power to pardon criminals and is viewed as a force for helping unite a deeply divided nation.

Then there are royals who continue to rule like monarchs of old.

Saudi Arabias King Salman also serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power. (Fethi Belaid / Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, a kingdom ruled by one person. In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud took on that role. In addition to being the king, he serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power.

Key support positions, such as the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, are given to members of the royal family.

King Salmans son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is next in line to the throne.

Since taking power, Salman and others in the royal family have taken measures to tighten their grip over their subjects. Once seen as a reformer, Crown Prince Mohammed has faced international condemnation after Octobers grisly murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

In April, King Salman ratified a royal decree to behead 37 Saudi citizens, most of them Shiite Muslims  a minority in a country ruled by Sunni Muslims. Officials said those condemned had engaged in terrorism-related offenses, allegations questioned by human rights advocates.

The monarchy has also ordered the arrest of womens rights activists, including protesters of the nations since-lifted ban on women driving.

Swazilands King Mswati III rules Africas last absolute monarchy. (Paballo Thekiso / AFP/Getty Images)

Swaziland

Swaziland, home to 1.3 million people, is Africas last absolute monarchy. The small country in southern Africa has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.

A majority of the population in Swaziland live in poverty in rural areas.

In 2006, the ruling family introduced a new constitution that included a bill of rights. But human rights activists say the monarchy has continued to restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association.

In 2018, Mswati announced that he was renaming the country the Kingdom of eSwatini, meaning the land of Swazis, though the name change has not been embraced by most of the rest of the world. The announcement was made on the countrys 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

Monacos leader, Prince Albert II, shares legislative power with the National Council. (Julien Warnand / EPA/Shutterstock)

Monaco

Monaco is a hereditary constitutional monarchy led by Prince Albert II. It was established in 1911.

Tourism drives the economy in the postage stamp-sized nation of 39,000 people.

In 1962, the countrys constitution was reformed to provide independence to portions of its judicial and legislative bodies.

For instance, legislative power is now shared by the prince and the National Council  a group of 24 members elected by popular vote every five years. The prince proposes laws and the National Council votes on them.

The prince also appoints a president to the seven-member Crown Council, which advises the prince on domestic and international issues, such as ratification of treaties and the granting of amnesty and citizenship.

In 2002, Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa changed Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom and gave himself the title of king. (Ludovic Marin / AFP/Getty Images)

Bahrain

The small Persian Gulf island has been ruled by the Khalifa family since 1783. Members of the royal family control the ministries of Defense, Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

The countrys political system has undergone shifts over the last three decades.

Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa, who took power in 1999, turned the emirate into a kingdom three years later and gave himself the title of king.

Human rights groups have criticized the monarchy for its clampdown on dissent. According to a 2018 Amnesty International report, authorities arrested activists and political opponents who criticized the monarchy ahead of parliamentary elections in November 2018.

Bruneis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, right, shown with Malaysian Sultan Syed Sirajuddin in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, has ruled the tiny oil-rich Asian kingdom for more than five decades. (Jimin Lai / AFP/Getty Images)

Brunei

For more than five decades, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has reigned over the tiny, oil-rich Asian kingdom.

The monarchy, which has been around for hundreds of years, has endured turbulent times. In the late 19th century, Britain intervened in the countrys affairs, and Brunei became a British protectorate in 1906 under a treaty that allowed the ruling dynasty and its line of succession to remain intact.

During World War II, between 1941 and 1945, Japan occupied the country.

As head of state, Bolkiah also serves as prime minister, in charge of the countrys armed forces and Finance Ministry.

The monarchy sparked international outrage when it announced in April that it would begin stoning those charged with adultery or homosexuality under a new penal code based on sharia law.

Celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John quickly condemned the crackdown and called for a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and seven other hotels in Europe owned by the sultan.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
Palestinian militias launched more than 250 rockets into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, in the latest escalation of violence in the long-simmering conflict.

An Israeli man in Ashkelon died in the bombardment when his apartment suffered a direct hit. Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that five Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The circumstances under which they died remained unclear.

The Israeli army said its retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire struck more than 120 targets belonging to Hamas, the Islamist paramilitary group that controls Gaza, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ, a rival group that joined Hamas in the cross-border attacks.

The army also said it destroyed a PIJ tunnel connecting southern Gaza and Israel that was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack inside Israel.

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Air raid sirens blared in the city of Beer Sheva, a major Israeli metropolitan hub in northern Negev. The spread of violence to the city represented a significant escalation in the conflict.

The latest round of violence began with gunfire during Fridays Gaza border protests, in which two Israeli troops were wounded by a PIJ sniper, the Israeli army said.

According to the army, several dozen rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israel killed two Hamas operatives in airstrikes Friday, and two Palestinian protesters died in the border clashes.

An army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said that five or six Hamas and PIJ terrorists were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

The renewed fighting threw the south of the country onto war footing, sending Saturday beachgoers into shelters and marring weekend plans for some 2 million people. School was canceled across all of southern Israel Sunday.

Conricus condemned the reckless and coordinated rocket fire effort.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Qanou said the militant group will continue to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow Israel to shed the blood of our people. He said Hamas was committed to defending and protecting the Palestinians in Gaza.

The escalation between Israel and armed factions in Gaza comes at a delicate moment  less than a week ahead of Israels memorial and independence days, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who retained his post after a close race last month, tries to form a coalition for his next government.

In addition, Israel has been gearing up for the Eurovision Song Contest, a marquee event that will be broadcast around the world.

Former army chief Benny Gantz, Netanyahus principal rival in the elections, blasted the prime minister.

When a lack of policy and consistency meets acquiescence to Hamas blackmail over the past year, we are met on a Saturday morning by heavy barrages on Israel and another round of extortion [by Palestinian terror groups], he said, at a public event.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Saturday called on Hamas and PIJ to end the attacks.

The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel, Ortagus said. We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks.

Before the latest intensification of clashes with Gaza, the city of Tel Aviv had heightened security preparations in anticipation of thousands of incoming Eurovision fans.

According to Israeli analysts, Hamas may hope that the pressure of the upcoming public events will improve the chances that the escalation will lead to a compromise and greater concessions for the Palestinian factions.

While the fighting was underway, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and PIJ leader Ziad Nahala were in Cairo, where Egyptian intelligence officials have spent months attempting to negotiate a long-term cease-fire with Israel.

Criticizing Israels tacit participation in the negotiations, Gantz said the Israeli government must reassert deterrence and only then seek a long-term agreement, without security compromises and without extortion.

More than a year after the regular Friday border protests began, with close to 200 Palestinians killed and with few tangible benefits, Hamas is eager to show Palestinians it made some strides against Israel ahead of Sunday night, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of family gatherings, festivities and spending.

Instead, the Israeli army announced the return to a stricter blockade of Gaza, which has been isolated by Egypt and Israel since 2007, when Hamas, which Western countries have listed as a terrorist organization, took power.

In a joint statement, Hamas and PIJ warned Israel that its response would be stronger and more widespread if Israel continued its strikes on Gaza.

Special correspondent Abu Alouf reported from Gaza City and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem.
- Atiku Abubakar has again condemned the claim by APC that he is not a Nigerian

- The PDP presidential candidate for the 2019 general election said the ruling APC is full og hypocrites

- Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the home to hypocrites who speak from both sides of the mouth.

Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians.

Vanguard reports that Atiku's spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, in reaction to the claim that the PDP candidate is a Cameroonian said the APC is chasing shadow instead of substance in an election they massively rigged to profit themselves.

Afegbua said: "At first, they said Atiku Abubakar was not a Nigerian. Again, they said we hacked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC server.

When Atiku Abubakar was donating money to them in the APC, they decorated him with golden ornaments; when he was providing logistics, they were all swarming around him, calling him the great Waziri," Afegbua said.

READ ALSO: Countries with the lowest minimum wage in 2019

He also said that those who preached integrity suddenly joined the hypocritical chorus, sheer double standards and a character profiling that exposes the dubiety of those APC chieftains.

Suddenly they remembered that Atiku is no longer a Nigerian, a former Vice President at that, a business tycoon whose productivity is not in doubt. A man who has impacted positively on thousands of Nigerians by way of employment.

But we will not be distracted by their double speak. Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar won the election and even the APC knows that in the hearts of Nigerians, they didnt win the election, but we will shock them with further proofs at the tribunal.," he noted.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Atiku had commended the appointment of Kaycee Madu as the first Nigerian elected member of the Parliament in Alberta, Canada.

Atiku Abubakar said upward mobility and local and international successes, of the type displayed by Madu who was appointed minister of municipal affairs in Alberta go a long way in changing the international narrative of Nigeria.

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In a statement released on Thursday, May 2, Atiku said seeing Nigerians prosper in Nigeria, and around the world, has always been the cornerstone of his vision.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
- A Nigerian student schooling in Canada has cried out over racist experience

- The student revealed that she has been a victim of racism and discrimination

- Ife also revealed that many of the black students in her school have also been victims

Legit.ng has come across the sad story of a Nigerian graduate schooling in Canada. The lady identified as Ife had taken to popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter, to share her experience of racism and discrimination.

The young lady explained that she is a student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she claimed to be a victim of racism and discrimination.

Ife called on Nigerians and the world to come to her aid. She also explained that many of the black students in the school also experience the same racist attacks.

READ ALSO: Student, 22, overcomes struggles, obtains 21 distinctions at DUT

According to the chemistry student, some people in the school who discriminate against them are working together. She also claimed that they all work on covering their tracks.

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Nigerians had replied to her tweet, sharing options on how she can solve the problem. They also showed support to her, praying that God continue to keep her safe and protect her from any threat.

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READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian man had accused University of Nigeria, Nsukka of bribery. The man claimed that the university normally collects N800k bribery for acceptance to study medicine in the school.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Top 3 World Universities And Their African Students - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We cant leave; this is our home. We cant express an opinion with some family members because wed get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didnt think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; its a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where were coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter dont mind and those who mind dont matter.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
A comprehensive plan is underway concerning 10 municipalities in the Nazareth area.

Members of the Nazareth Area Council of Governments have agreed to update their multi-municipal comprehensive plan.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission will work with the Nazareth Area COG to create the plan, which will focus on strategies to address growth, infrastructure and community needs.

Funding comes from a $40,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant.

Nazareth Area COG members include, Bath Borough, Bushkill Township, Chapman Borough, Hanover Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Moore Township, Nazareth Borough, Stockertown Borough, Tatamy Borough and Upper Nazareth Township.

Among the members, there is a combined population of about 49,900 people living in an area totaling 96 square miles.

The beauty and the benefit of having communities work together is they can coordinate transportation, identify where to share, and govern things like land use, housing and jobs, LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said.

The current Nazareth Area COG multi-municipal plan was completed about 10 years ago. Bradley said the new plan will consider the increased development and other changes that have occurred in the last decade.

In most cases, state law requires every municipality to allow for every type of legal zoning use. However, Lower Nazareth Township Manager Lori Stauffer said, with a multi-municipal plan, those zoning uses can be distributed across all participant municipalities.

Instead of each municipality providing every type of use, we can plan regionally, Stauffer said. A certain type of use can go wherever it is most appropriate.

Stauffer said a Nazareth Area COG committee consisting of elected and other municipal officials will begin meeting on the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Upper Nazareth Township municipal building to draft goals and create the plan.

Meetings are open to the public. The goal is to complete the plan by the spring of 2020, Stauffer said.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com.
The trial of a woman who lives in Laois and is accused of murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him in the chest has heard that a garda found the deceased lying on his back with blood around his left armpit when he arrived at the scene.

The jury was also shown CCTV footage of the accused, who was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, arriving at a garda station at 2.30am on the morning of the incident.

Sergeant Tony Hanrahan was giving evidence on Friday in the Central Criminal Court trial of Inga Ozolina (48), who is charged with murdering her boyfriend Audrius Pukas (43) over two years ago in her Co Tipperary home.

Ms Ozolina, originally from Latvia, but with an address at Old Court Church, Mountrath, Co Laois has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Pukas at The Malthouse, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on November 20, 2016.

The trial has previously heard that the accused and deceased were in a tempestuous and volatile relationship which was violent at times and the prosecution contends there is no question of self-defence in the case.

Giving evidence today, Sgt Hanrahan told prosecution counsel Paul Murray SC that he was on duty in Roscrea Garda Station on the night in question when Ms Ozolina came to the door.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that his colleague spoke to the accused. Following this, Sgt Hanrahan and two other gardai went to Ms Ozolinas home in Roscrea.

The witness said he was brought by the accused to the rear door of her apartment at The Malthouse, where Ms Ozolina gave him her keys. The witness unlocked the door and entered the property while the accused stayed outside.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that he saw Mr Pukas lying on his back on the floor of a downstairs bedroom when he opened the door. He was wearing only underwear and there was no movement, he explained.

The witness said he approached Mr Pukas body and felt for a pulse but could not detect one.

There was blood around his left armpit as well as on the bed sheets, he said, adding that his body was still warm.

Following this, Sgt Hanrahan went outside the apartment and noticed blood on Ms Ozolinas calf muscle on her lower leg. The witness asked his colleague to bring the accused to the patrol car.

Paramedics later arrived and advised Sgt Hanrahan that the injuries sustained by Mr Pukas were incompatible with life, the court heard.

Ms Ozolina was arrested on suspicion of murder at 3.43am that morning and brought to Nenagh Garda Station.

Under cross-examination by Caroline Biggs SC, defending, Sgt Hanrahan agreed that he had previously made a statement that Ms Ozolina was in a very distressed state at the time.

The witness further agreed that a yellow blood-stained t-shirt and dressing robe were located adjacent to Mr Pukas body in the bedroom.

Paramedic Ronan Wall gave evidence that he arrived at the scene at 2.50am and found a male lying in the bedroom of the apartment. No pulse was found and he noted a wound to his left armpit, the court heard.

Mr Wall said he asked Ms Ozolina if she required medical assistance and she replied no.

Earlier, CCTV footage was shown to the jury of Ms Ozolina arriving at Roscrea Garda Station on November 20 at 2.30am.

Sgt Hanrahan agreed with Mr Murray that Ms Ozolina can be seen alighting from her car and making her way in a hurried fashion to the front door of the garda station.

Ms Ozolina is wearing a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, the court heard.

The witness pointed out in the footage that Ms Ozolina speaks with Gda Diarmaid OConnor before she followed him and another garda outside.

Sgt Hanrahan said that Ms Ozolina got into her car and drove in the direction of The Malthouse. She is followed by two gardai in their patrol car, the court heard.

The trial continues on Tuesday before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury of seven men and five women.
A High Court judge has ordered the extradition a man who absconded to Ireland after spending 31 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was a child.

Roy Norman Kenyon came to Ireland in 2003 while serving his sentence for the murder of Margaret Potts, an elderly shopkeeper, whom he beat to death with a poker in 1971. Having lived in Ireland under an alias for 15 years, the 64-year-old will now be returned to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The court has previously heard that Kenyon lived in Tullamore under the alias Alan McPherson, before being arrested in the village of Eyeries, Co. Cork on May 2, 2018. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly today rejected Mr Kenyon's points of objection and made an order to surrender him to the UK authorities within 25 days.

Outlining the facts of the original trial, Ronan Kennedy BL for the State told the court earlier this year that Kenyon was 16 years old and had been drinking alcohol on the night of his crime. He left the pub to purchase more alcohol from Mrs Potts, got into an argument with her and hit her two times in the head with a poker while she sat in an armchair.

Opposing the application for his surrender to the UK last month Sean Guerin SC said his client is not a risk to society. The barrister said his client is now an adult but was sentenced as a child and was considered to be at greater risk to society than the average prisoner because he had spent a longer time in custody. The lawyer said this logic was "fallacious" and unsupported by the evidence placed before the court.

Counsel said Kenyon has been at liberty for a long period of time and did not appear to have exhibited a risk to the public.

Mr Guerin pointed out that his client was eligible for release in the 1980s when he completed the punitive portion of his sentence. However, he will now serve an "indeterminate" sentence if he is surrendered to the UK. There is no evidence in terms of his behaviour to suggest that he poses an "unacceptable risk" to the public, he added.

Mr Guerin also submitted that there is no commitment from the UK authorities that Kenyon's case will be reviewed at anytime before 2021. He said that his client is likely to find himself "back in the twilight zone" of having his life sentence reviewed every two years and further conditions being imposed.

Ms Justice Donnelly said it is not "egregious" for a person sentenced to life as a child for murder to be held in prison and pointed out that his continued detention in the UK was a result of parole hearings which assessed the risk to the public of granting his freedom.

On surrendering him, she said, he will be entitled to seek release and his case will be reviewed within two years. This, she said, complies with his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. She added: "It cannot be egregious as a matter of law to require a person who has absconded while serving a life sentence to return to the issuing state where they will have the full panoply of the European Convention on Human Rights available to them."

Justice Donnelly further noted that this was not Mr Kenyon's first time absconding from custody after being placed in open prisons. On previous occasions, he was caught trying to leave the country and when returned to prison he was put "at the bottom of the penal ladder". This behaviour, she said, shows he does not want to be monitored and raises concern about his risk to the public. Justice Donnelly said it has not been established that he is no longer a risk or danger to the public.

She also noted that there was no "professional evidence" of his rehabilitation and said the Court does not accept his claim that he forgot about a previous time when he absconded from custody for some months. She also rejected his claim that he had not engaged in the use of controlled drugs.

The Court further rejected a claim that Brexit posed a risk that he would no longer be able to rely on the rights and entitlements guaranteed by EU law.
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Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, Irelands premier provider of research-based consultancy services in Ireland, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region. In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Leitrim. Key findings from the report from a Leitrim perspective included:

-27% of overseas visitors who visit Leitrim are holidaymakers-

- Overseas visitors spend an average of 7 nights in Leitrim when visiting the region

- Those who visit and stay in Leitrim spend the most time there and the most money there on their trip to the region

- Natural landscape and the outdoors the most popular reasons for visiting Leitrim

Hiking, Cross Country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Leitrim with over 75% of overseas visitors surveyed partaking in these activities

Visitors to Leitrim through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 45% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a Hotel or B&B during their stay in Leitrim whilst visitors to Leitrim estimated they spent on average 708 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Leitrim and the entire region

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region. The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Leitrim economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism.

Speaking at the airport during last weeks local authority update, Joseph Gilhooly, Deputy Chief Executive, Leitrim County Council, said Leitrim County Council are very happy to be involved in the Local Authority partnership with Ireland West Airport. The Airport provides a key piece of infrastructure for the continued development of the region. Leitrim County Council would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the Airport Board, Directors, Management and Staff in continuing to grow the business of the airport and to secure investment for the continuous programme of development of the airport facility
THE PROBLEM with drink driving is the mourning after say Limerick Macra who have been praised by the CEO of the Road Safety Authority.

On the morning after their Easter Ball, attended by over 300, they took the innovative approach of setting up a breathalyser stand.

Limerick Macra PRO Brian OShaughnessy said they did it so people could ensure that it was safe to begin the journey home.

It was very popular and weve got a lot of positive feedback. We took 140 readings that morning in the Woodlands House Hotel. Everybody wanted to check themselves and see. Even people who werent driving wanted to see out of curiosity, said Brian, who came up with the idea with Limerick Macra chairperson Vanessa Crean.

Brian has his own breathalyser so they purchased two more. They ran the stand from 9.30am to 1pm.

There was a couple of people who thought they should be all right but they were told, No, youve another hour to wait. Everybody gave themselves an extra hour after what the breathalyser said to be on the safe side, said Brian.

One man wasnt allowed to drive until 6pm.

He knew he was going to be well over. He wasnt driving anyway, he had someone coming to pick him up, said Brian.

It is the first Macra event or, indeed, event of any kind that has had a dedicated breathalyser station that he is aware of.

As well as saving lives, the Limerick Macra PRO said it is in response to the drink driving law change. Since the end of October anyone caught with 50-80 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood will be disqualified from driving for three months and receive a 200 fine. Previously, they would have received three penalty points and a fine for a first offence rather than an automatic ban.

It is mainly rural people we are dealing with and if you get put off the road in rural Ireland there are no buses around for you, said Brian, who is from Kilcornan.

The breathalyser stand didnt take from the Easter Ball which he said was a fantastic night. Coincidentally the band was called Traffic.

Brian says they will bring the breathalysers to every future Macra overnight event to promote their message of, Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Caption above: Louise Crowley and Vanessa Crean, Limerick Macra Chairperson, promoting the initiative

Moyagh Murdock, CEO in the RSA, said she welcomes any initiative which aims to promote or further the interests of road safety.

The use of breath alcohol testing devices is of value once alcohol consumption has ceased for several hours, such as in a morning after situation, remembering that even very low levels of alcohol can impair driving, said Ms Murdock.

Investigation files for fatal collisions, by the RSA, shows that 11% of fatal collisions in which a driver had consumed alcohol, occurred between the hours of 7am and 11am.

Read also: County Limerick farmer over the limit on the morning after Munster final

Drink driving at any time of the day or day of the week is drink driving, which is why you must take extra care the following morning if you have been drinking the night before.

While many people accept the dangers associated with drink driving, some people often overlook the potential dangers of driving the morning after drinking the night before. Its important to remember that if youve been drinking the night before, there could still be alcohol in your system the morning after, said Ms Murdock.
A GROUP of women who have devoted countless hours to making clothes and other items for the less fortunate in Limerick and around the world, have been honoured with the Limerick Person of the Month award.

Crafty Angels, a group of 30 ladies, meet every Monday in the Millennium Centre in Caherconlish for two and a half hours. They combine a chat, a cuppa, and an interest in all forms of craft with charity work.

Liz Stanley, from Caherline, set up the Crafty Angels with the late and much missed Maureen Kenny towards the end of 2013.

We had a group there previously and that was coming to an end and we wanted to keep the people together. Its more of a social group than anything else - its like Mens Shed for women, Liz explained.

One of the charities to benefit greatly from their work is KidzCare which provides care, education and love to underprivileged and orphaned children in Tanzania. The group made the connection with the charity through their friend Imelda O'Riordan who lives in Bruff.

The first time we joined up with Imelda we learned of little children who couldnt go to school because they didnt have a uniform, Liz explained. One of our members had died and her husband had given me a bale of black fabric - 25 yards of black fabric. He handed it to me and said, you might be able to do something with that.

About three weeks later Theresa Riordan from Meanus rang me up asking if we still had the black fabric and she told me about Imeldas girls needing skirts.

The Crafty Angels, around 17 of them, gathered together one Monday with their sewing machines. Theresa had made patterns in three sizes for them to follow.

We cut and we sewed and in three hours we made 65 skirts. Imelda then packed them up and took them off with her and she brought back pictures of the little girls. It was lovely.

Imelda, who joined a number of the Crafty Angels, at the Person of the Month presentation in the Clayton hotel this Monday, transports the items to Tanzania in huge suitcases.

 I take a lot of things out each year so Im taking six 23 kilo bags of baby clothes, school supplies and things the group make, Imelda explained.

The group also made around 220 toiletry bags this year for secondary school students in Tanzania who lost everything in a fire and had to go to the river to wash.

Another charity to benefit from their selfless deeds is ACER in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

A friend of ours, Rose Little from Castleconnell, goes out there and she started up, with a friend of hers, a project for women who had no way of making extra money for themselves. She taught them to sew cushion covers and things to sell and now they help to pay for their children to go to school.

Incubator covers, tiny little caps and snuggle blankets were given by the group to the neonatal ward in University Maternity Hospital Limerick and therapy dolls and Freddy bags for the Ark Unit in University Hospital Limerick.

The Crafty Angels hail from Kildimo, Murroe, Doon, Caherconlish and Mitchelstown.

Speaking on behalf of the entire group, some of whom couldn't attend the presentation, Liz said it was a real honour to receive the person of the month award. Its tremendously exciting, she smiled. When I heard the news I couldnt gather my thoughts. I sat down and realised I was shaking. We are absolutely delighted to be recognised.
A CROWD estimated to be around 300 people marched on the local HSE offices in protest at the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The march, organised by Solidarity, drew widespread support, as frustration and anger at the dozens of people waiting on trolleys in the emergency department at UHL boiled over.

The trolley figures, published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reached a 63 in the last week. But last month, a new high of 81 patients on trolleys was recorded.

And the Limerick Leader this week revealed how a 92-year-old woman had been left waiting on a trolley in the emergency department for 105 hours.

Addressing a rally held at City Hall immediately prior to the march, Derek Cromwell, who works as a nurse in the emergency department said: Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures, and it destined to get worse. This isnt just now. Its been consistent over the last five years. Absolutely nothing has been done. The senior management dont seem to care, the government dont care. All they are worried about is their pensions, their next job and making themselves look good.

'University Hospital Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures. These numbers are just going to rise and rise': Staff nurse Derek Cromwell addresses the #EnoughisEnough hospital protest in the city. pic.twitter.com/ZtFIfFQuOb  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

'Healthcare is a human right, give it back or we will fight': A crowd of around 300 people are marching on the @HSELive offices at Catherine Street in protest at the UHL overcrowding crisis. #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/rxRyKDZVHL  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

There was criticism of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over his decision not to visit UHL and see the overcrowding for himself when he was in the city on Thursday, with members of the crowd chanting Leo, Leo, time to go.

Solidarity councillor Mary Cahillane, who organised the demonstration through Facebook, said: Leo Varadkar with his full complement of spin doctors has visited Limerick not once, but twice in the last two months. The first time he came he had the cheek to tell Fintan Walsh of the Limerick Leader that we need a different approach. Nothing happened. Seventeen beds had been closed by then, not once did Leo Varadkar say open them up. On Thursday, he took part in the most cringeworthy street busking event and at the end proclaimed he doesnt do bullshit.

Well Leo, all I can say to you is you are not fooling us and we call bullshit on your spin, your arrogance and your lifes, she added to cheers.

After the rally, the protestors marched around the city streets up to the HSEs offices in Catherine Street.

The Limerick Leader is running a major campaign to highlight the continuing overcrowding crisis in University Hospital Limerick. For more information, click here.
SENATOR Maria Byrne has been appointed as Fine Gaels director of elections ahead of the plebiscite on proposals for a directly elected mayor.

Senator Byrne, who served as Mayor of Limerick in 2010/11 will oversee the partys campaign ahead of the vote on Friday, May 24  the same day as the Local and European Elections.

As a former Mayor of Limerick, I believe cities can benefit from strong, visible leadership and international standing that a mayor, elected with a clear mandate, can bring, she said.

Around the world, including in London, a mayor has become a vital part in ensuring that a great city has a strong voice and can attract investment from home and aboard. We need a strong voice in Limerick to create a strong city to drive the region, she added.

Senator Byrne will be one of a number of speakers who will address a town hall meeting at Thomond Park this Thursday.

The Fine Gael event will be hosted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Rose Hynes, chair of the Shannon Group and John Moran of Liveable Limerick will also speak on the night.

Mr Varadkar will canvass members of the public for a yes vote in Limerick ahead of the town hall event. Senator Byrne, who will contest the next general election in the Limerick city constituency, says shes in favour of the proposals for a directly elected mayor.

This plebiscite is about the people of Limerick giving a mandate to a political leader, enabling them to create a new vibrant Limerick.

All the key ingredients will soon be in place  a deep sea port, an international airport on our doorstep, and a motorway link to Dublin and Cork.

Having previously served as a councillor I know how fundamentally important it is for joined up thinking at local government level, she continued.

The mayor will be paid an annual salary of around 130,000 and will be entitled to hire two advisors.
A Twitter user has shared her first chat with a man on LinkedIn and where it ...




Former Mr Nigeria, Bryan Okwara has made a joke out of an interview that Tonto Dikeh recently granted to address her failed marriage to Churchill.

During the interview, Tonto alleged that her ex-husband suffers premature ejaculation and only lasts "40 seconds".

Web users quickly turned this into a joke and Bryan Okwara has now joined in.

Sharing a photo of himself getting out of a car, he wrote: "She called me and I came in 40 seconds. She was shocked i keep to time."
Later in his career, Leonardo da Vinci's ability to use his right hand appeared to be hampered  a problem long thought to have been caused by a stroke. But a new analysis suggests that it was nerve damage to his hand that instead caused this paralysis.

In the paper, published today (May 3) in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, two Italian doctors argued that Leonardo's hand paralysis may resulted from traumatic nerve damage that occurred after the artist fainted. Their conclusion is based on an analysis of a 16th century portrait of Leonardo.

Leonardo was left-handed, but previous studies, including a new handwriting analysis, have suggested that he was also adept at using his right hand. Though he mostly wrote and drew with his left hand, evidence suggests that he typically painted with his right, according to the paper. [5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Leonardo da Vinci]

The portrait at the center of the new analysis, drawn in red chalk sometime in the 16th century by Italian artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino, depicts an older Leonardo. In the drawing, the famous polymath's right arm is wrapped up in a bandage-like cloth and his right hand is "suspended in a stiff, contracted position," the authors wrote in the paper. In other words, his fingers are slightly bent inward.

But the hand drawn in the portrait doesn't depict the "clenched hand" typical of patients with muscle contractions caused by stroke, they wrote. Rather, "the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand," co-author Dr. Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, said in a statement.

Ulnar palsy is a condition in which fingers become bent like an animal's claw due to damage to the ulnar nerve  a major nerve that runs from the neck down to the fingers and gives the lower arm and hand sensation and the ability to move.

Lazzeri and his co-author Dr. Carlo Rossi, a neurologist at the Hospital of Pontedera in Italy, suggested that his ulnar palsy could have resulted from a trauma, such as fainting and falling down.

What's more, because Leonardo didn't also experience cognitive decline or any other movement issues, a stroke was not likely the cause, Lazzeri said.

Ulnar palsy "may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter, while he continued teaching and drawing," Lazzeri said.

Originally published on Live Science.
In 1980, The New York Times featured a full-page ad from an animal rights group, which lambasted a prominent cosmetics company for testing its products on the eyes of rabbits. The campaign was so effective, it led to several beauty companies pledging hundreds of thousands of dollars toward research to find alternative testing methods that didn't involve animals.

Almost 40 years later, what are some of these alternatives, and how much progress have we made?

Before we delve into the answer, there's one important distinction to make: although "animal testing" usually conjures up the image of defenseless rabbits being prodded and poked in the name of beauty, the use of animals in research  and the search for alternatives  stretches far beyond the cosmetics industry. Animals like mice and rats are widely used in toxicology, the study of chemicals and their effects on us. Animals are also a crucial to drug discovery and testing. In biomedical research, animal models are the foundation of many experiments that help researchers investigate everything from the functioning of circuits in the brain to the progression of disease in cells. [Do Animals Get Seasick?]

Despite their importance in these fields, there are now efforts to reduce the number of animals used in testing. That's due, in part, to ethical concerns that are driving new legislation in different countries. But it also comes down to money and time.

"In theory, non-animal tests could be much cheaper and much faster," said Warren Casey, the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, which analyzes alternatives to animal use for chemical- safety testing.

Another concern is that in some types of research, animals are too different from humans to successfully predict the effects that certain products will have on our bodies. "So we've got ethics, efficiency and human relevance," Casey told Live Science, the three main factors driving the hunt for alternatives.

So, what are the most promising options so far?

Data, data, everywhere

One approach is to replace animals with algorithms. Researchers are developing computational models that crunch huge quantities of research data to predict the effects of certain products on an organism.

"This is a very applicable approach. It's very cheap," said Hao Zhu, an associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Zhu is part of a research team that has developed a high-speed algorithm that extracts reams of information from online chemical databases, to compare thousands of tested chemical compounds with new, untested ones by identifying structural similarities between them. Then, it uses what we know about the toxicity of the tested compounds to make reliable predictions about the toxicity of the untested varieties with a similar structure (assuming that this shared structure means the compound will have similar effects).

Typically, identifying the effects of a new compound would require scores of expensive, time-consuming animal tests. But computational predictions like this could help to lessen the amount of animal research required. "If we can show that the compound we want to put onto the market is safe, then I think these kinds of studies could be a replacement for current animal studies," Zhu said. A similar study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland showed that algorithms could even be better than animal tests at predicting toxicity in various compounds. [How Psychedelic Drugs Create Such Weird Hallucinations]

Miniature organs

In recent years, scientists have started growing cultured human cells on scaffolds embedded on plastic chips, forming tiny structures that mimic the functioning of our heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. Known as organs-on-a-chip, these could provide a novel way to test the effects of new compounds or drugs on human cells.

Testing on these simplified, miniaturized versions of our physiology could deliver more human-relevant results than animal experiments. Crucially, the tests could also replace the use of whole animals in the exploratory stages of early research, when scientists don't necessarily need to test on whole systems. Organs-on-a-chip "for the most part address a single output or endpoint," Casey said  because all that may be required at this early stage is to test the behavior of one cell type in response to a drug or a disease, as a way to guide future research.

This could "help in most cases to reduce the amount of animal tests researchers are planning within ongoing projects," said Florian Schmieder, a researcher who is working on that goal by developing miniature kidney and heart models at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, in Germany. As well as lungs, livers and hearts, some companies are developing artificial 3D structures that replicate human skin. That's particularly important in toxicology, where animal skin tests have long been a baseline for understanding the effects of new, untested compounds.

Replacing this with a harm-free model is now a reality, Casey said: "Skin tissue models have really proven to be pretty effective. They can provide insight on the acute changes  whether something's going to be corrosive and damage skin."

Human studies

One idea that's frequently raised as a counter to animal testing is that if humans want to benefit from new treatments, drugs and research, we should instead offer ourselves as the test subjects. That's quite a simplified and extreme view  and in most countries animal tests are required by law before drugs are given to humans, for instance. So it isn't necessarily practical, either.

But, there are carefully controlled forms of human testing that do have the potential to reduce animal use, without endangering human health. One such method is microdosing, where humans receive a new drug in such tiny quantities that it doesn't have broad physiological impacts, yet there's just enough circulating in the system to measure its impact on individual cells.

The idea is that this cautious approach could help eliminate nonviable drugs at an early stage, instead of using thousands of animals in studies that may only establish that a drug doesn't work. The approach has proved safe and effective enough that many major pharmaceutical companies now use microdosing to streamline drug development. [Why Do Medical Researchers Use Mice?]

"There will of course be ethical concerns, but these could easily be outweighed by the potential gains in bringing safer and more effective medicines to market more efficiently," Casey said.

Where are we now?

So, what do these alternatives mean for the future of animal testing? In some areas of research like cosmetics testing  where so many existing products have already been proved safe through animal studies  there's a growing recognition that testing new products is something we really don't need to advance this industry. That's borne out by regulations like the one put forward by the European Union, which now bans animal testing on any cosmetic products that are produced and sold within the EU.

We're also seeing advances in toxicology research. Toxicologists have long relied on six core animal-based tests that screen new products for acute toxicity  checking whether a product causes skin irritation, eye damage or death if consumed. But in the next two years, these baseline tests will likely be replaced with non-animal alternatives in the United States, Casey said. The reason for this progress is that the "biology underlying these types of toxicity is much simpler than other safety concerns that can arise after [an animal is] exposed to a chemical for an extended period of time, such as cancer or reproductive toxicity," Casey said.

But in other areas of research, where the questions being investigated are more complex, animal models still provide the only way we currently have of fully understanding the varied, widespread, long-term effects of a compound, drug or disease. "Physiology is really, really complex and we still don't have a handle on it"  nor anything that legitimately mimics it aside from animal models, Casey said.

Even despite the most promising advances like the development of organs-on-a-chip, that's still a long way from anything representing a connected human body. "The major problem in developing artificial organ systems is to gain the whole complexity of a living organism in vitro," Schmieder said. "The problem here is to emulate the kinetics and dynamics of the human body in a really predictive way."

While organs-on-a-chip and other inventions might help answer simpler questions, right now whole-animal models are the only way to study more complex effects  such as how circuit functions in the brain are linked to visible behaviors. These are the types of questions that help us understand human disease, and ultimately lead to lifesaving treatments and therapies. So, the animal experiments that underlie those discoveries remain crucial. [Do Animals Have Feelings?]

It's also worth noting that some of the most promising non-animal tests we have today  like algorithms  work only because they can draw on decades of animal research. And to advance in the future, we will need to continue this research, Zhu said.

"We can't use computers to totally replace animal testing. We still need some low-level animal testing to generate the necessary data," Zhu said. "If you asked me to vote for a promising approach, I would vote for a combination of computational and experimental methods."

So, are there alternatives to animal testing? The short answer is yes  and no. While we have several options, for now they're not sophisticated enough to eradicate animal testing. Crucially, however, they can reduce the number of animals we use in research. And with new regulations, and ever-smarter alternatives, we can at least be hopeful that in the future, the number of animals will continue to decline.

Originally published on Live Science.
Ramadan, which lasts a month and requires Muslims to fast all day, begins this year at sundown Sunday. Thousands of observant Muslims in the Capital Region will fast along with millions around the world with the aim of cleansing their bodies and spirits.

Fasting is mentioned in the Quran. "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so you may learn self-restraint." (Chapter 2, verse 183) The Quran was revealed in Ramadan. Muslims consider it the word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad by means of the angel Gabriel.

Charity is encouraged during Ramadan and Muslims donate generously believing their reward will be manifold. They also focus on prayer and self-accountability.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five "pillars" of Islam, the other four being faith in one God, daily prayer, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are physically and financially able.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This is year 1440. Since it is a lunar calendar, Ramadan starts about 11 days earlier each year. Those observing the fast get up early to take a pre-dawn meal called suhoor. Once the sun rises, a complete fast begins, with no food or drink, not even water until after sundown. The evening meal is called iftar.

Shakira Baig and Zarina Chaudhry are both longtime congregants at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. They are involved in volunteer and interfaith activities and are part of the team that organizes the annual ICCD interfaith community iftar.

Shakira Baig was born in Chennai, India, and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in botany from Karachi University.

She emigrated in 1979 to New Orleans with her husband. They moved six months later to Houston where she worked at Eckerd, raised two children and then owned and managed a Pakistani restaurant for five years.

Her husband's employer eventually transferred him to Albany in 2001. He has worked mostly in Hyatt and Hilton hotels.

She worked at Albany Med as a phlebotomist for eight years. She and her husband, Mirza, live in Guilderland. They have two grown daughters, Sadaf and Shazia.

Zarina Chaudhry was born and raised in Hyderabad, Pakistan. She has a master's degree in botany from Hyderabad University. There was no girls school in her area then, but her father was a staunch believer in education for girls, so he sent Zarina and her sisters to a school where she and her sisters were the only girls in their classrooms.

She came to New York City in 1973, where she was married and had three children. The family moved to Albany in 1979. She was a substitute teacher for 14 years in the Cohoes School District, teaching classes from elementary through high school. She retired in 1999 and then worked in the former Caldor's store in Latham for 10 years. She and her husband, Ashraf, live in Niskayuna and have three grown children, Sofia, Saadia and Amir.

You are both active members of the Islamic Center of the Capital District.

Baig: We joined ICCD when we moved here 18 years ago. Our younger daughter attended the weekend school there and I began to do some volunteer work with the children. Then I arranged for Friday fundraiser lunches by getting meals from local restaurants or asked people to cook. Volunteers helped sell the boxed meals after the Friday prayers to benefit the AnNur Islamic School.

For the last two years, I have been involved with the food pantry at the Islamic center  shelving, cleaning, organizing, arranging, distribution.

During Ramadan for four years, I also arranged for daily evening meals for 25 people, mostly students and newcomers to this region. Now we serve about 60. I still help but am not in charge.

Chaudhry: I have also been involved with the food pantry since it began in February 2017. It is held the second Saturday of every month. I go a day earlier to help set up. On that Saturday, I am there most of day.

I am a member of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady and attend meetings and events.

How would you describe the observance of Ramadan?

Chaudhry: The prophet said, "Fasting is a shield against the fire of hell." We fast from dawn to sunset. We give a lot of charity, pray more and try to get close to Allah. It is a month of building patience.

In the evening, we break fast together with friends or family. Our Islamic center hosts Saturday dinners during Ramadan, as do most Islamic centers in North America.

Almost 400 people attend our community iftar on Saturdays. We do it on a smaller scale daily and arrange the evening meal for about 50 people.

During Ramadan, we sleep less and try to eat less too but often we eat more.

Baig: We give generously of charity, including zakat (an annual payment made, compulsory for Muslims, on some property. Zakat is used for charity or and religious needs). We get more reward for charity during Ramadan.

We have special nightly prayers, called taraveeh. They start after the nightly isha prayers, which will start at 9:30 on the first night of Ramadan and will start at about 10:15 on the last night of Ramadan.

So, after attending them, we reach home after midnight.

How different is Ramadan in the Capital Region compared to how you experienced it growing up?

Chaudhry: I enjoy Ramadan here. Growing up, women didn't go in the mosque.

Baig: We used to cook food at home in Pakistan and send it to the mosques. There are lot of poor people there who deserved the homecooked meals.

At most offices in Pakistan and in many Islamic countries, workdays are shortened. During the last week of Ramadan, school and colleges are closed so people can go home and enjoy the holiday with their families.

Here, there are no shorter days, neither for school nor work. Also, we use personal time here for religious holidays.

School calendars, including ones in the Capital Region, have been acknowledging Ramadan and Islamic holidays for many years now.

Muslim kids who are fasting during school can be excused from gym and can go and rest in the library or do some reading.

For several years, the ICCD has been hosting an interfaith community iftar.

Baig: About 50 to 60 people from different faiths attend our annual event, even though it is rather late in the evening. They are Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian. We save a table for our Hindu friends and order vegetarian for them. We start with a program, then break our fast with sweet dates, which is how Prophet Muhammad used to. The Muslims pray maghreb, the sunset prayers, and our guests watch us. Some join us. After that, we all sit down and enjoy dinner. Our guests love the food. It is a popular event and many people like to be invited again.

ahaqqie@timesunion.com  518-454-5651
WHARTON - Wharton resident Alicia Flores couldnt be happier about her daughter Juliet being accepted into the Realizing Our Academic Reward (ROAR) Academy. After all, Juliets older sibling, Jazmine, was in the inaugural program and is now studying at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Coming through ROAR really helped her focus on her studies and helped her stand out when it came to getting scholarships, Flores said. This is a great program.

Through ROAR, Juliet and 24 other Wharton High School freshmen this fall will get the opportunity to begin earning college credit while seeking their high school diploma. A collaborative effort of Wharton Independent School District and Wharton County Junior College, ROAR enables students to earn up to 60 college credit hours during high school. The program begins freshman year and is offered free of charge to participating students. Books, supplies, and an electronic device like a laptop or a tablet are provided at no cost.

On March 28, Wharton ISD officials held a lottery at WCJCs Wharton campus to determine the newest ROAR Academy class, which is the fifth one since the programs inception. Chosen by random selection were 25 students. The ROAR Academys Class of 2023 includes Venicio Aguilar, Christian Avalos, Melanie Callejas, Cherish Evans, Juliet Flores, Lucy Garcia, Jazir Guajardo, Jason Guzman, Zarion Jones, Kateria Knight, Trayvion Levatino, Shaylynn Longoria, Litzy Martinez, Kameron Mitchell, Ali Pabani, Evelyn Pereyra, Bobbie Richards, Angel Riojas, Alaija Sanders, Janaesia Sanders, Ariana Thompson, Isabell Vargas, Leilani Veazey, Seth Velasquez and Miguel Zarate.

Wharton ISD Superintendent Tina Herrington expressed her thanks to WCJC for helping the district offer such a rewarding program. The inaugural class was launched in 2014.

I want to begin by thanking WCJC for beginning this partnership, she said. WCJC is such a valuable resource and its really exciting for the students to have this opportunity.

Herrington noted that last summer seven students from the ROAR class of 2018 graduated with their high school diploma and an associates degree at the same time. Many others such as Jazmine Flores completed enough college hours to transfer to a university as a sophomore or junior.

The point of ROAR is to provide students - some of whom are the first generation in their family to go to college - with the resources and support needed to further their education.

Its going to be hard. Its going to be tough. But with our support and with your parents support, we have no doubt you will succeed, Wharton High School Principal Olatunji Oduwole told the new class.

I congratulate you on taking on this endeavor, added Bryce Kocian, WCJCs vice-president of administrative services.

Wharton students Ariana Thompson, Janaesia Sanders and Kateria Knight admitted after the lottery ceremony that they are nervous about taking college classes. But they each recognize the unique opportunity they - and their families - have been provided.

I feel like this is going to be a great experience, said Knight, who plans to become a pediatrician.

Im looking forward to seeing how it feels to take college classes, added Sanders, who wants to go into business.

Thompson has intentions of being a lawyer and said she was most nervous that her name would not be called and she would miss out on the program.

I am so happy that I feel like Im going to cry when I get home, she said.
Tammy Jackson was ushered into an empty jail cell by sheriffs. Then one morning, she was there with someone else: her newborn baby.

According to a letter dated May 3, written by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein, the full-term, mentally ill 34-year-old began complaining to officers about contractions around 3 a.m., April 10, the Miami Herald first reported.

More than four hours later, members of the sheriff's office spoke to the on-call doctor, who said "he would check when he arrived," according to Finkelstein. And when the physician clocked in, he did.

That was around 10 a.m.

For the seven preceding hours, Jackson was locked in a jail cell, alone. She was bleeding, in labor, and then forced to birth her baby on her own - conduct which Finkelstein called "outrageous" and "inhumane" treatment.

"It is unconscionable that any woman, particularly a mentally ill woman, would be abandoned in her cell to deliver her own baby," he wrote in the scathing letter, excoriating the Sheriff's Office. Although Jackson and the baby are both healthy, he wrote, "Not only was Ms. Jackson's health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk."

Finkelstein says Jackson was obviously pregnant and the child came at-term - something the Sheriff's office would have known, given they placed her in infirmary care specifically so she could receive proper medical attention. After her arrest a month earlier, Jackson was placed on medical monitoring for the pregnancy, precluding the possibility that those charged with her custody - employees of the Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Jail - were unaware.

When Jackson began contractions and called for help, guards did not take her to a hospital, where she could have given birth safely. Instead, they attempted to contact an on-call doctor. It took four hours for guards to reach the doctor, Finkelstein said, and then it took the doctor another hour and a half to get to the jail. In all, it took 6 hours and 45 minutes for Jackson and her newborn to receive care after initially asking for help.

"Medical records indicate her baby was born at term; the birth was not premature or unexpected," Finkelstein wrote. "Yet in her time of extreme need and vulnerability, [Broward Sheriff's Office] neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve."

The North Broward Bureau, where Jackson was held, is a "special needs detention facility" that houses "mentally ill, medically infirm and special needs" inmates among its 1,200 person population, according to its website.

Prison births have been scrutinized in recent months. The First Step Act, the criminal-justice-reform bill that Congress approved in December, addresses the use of restraints on prisoners during birth. Several states have similarly begun revising their policies surrounding the use of solitary confinement and handcuffs during pregnancy and labor.

Finkelstein demanded an "immediate review of the medical and isolation practices in place in all detention facilities."

The Post could not independently reach a spokesperson from the Sheriff's Office or North Broward Bureau for comment, however the Herald reported that the Sheriff's Office's internal affairs unit launched an investigation into Jackson's treatment.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The kaleidoscope of Kentucky Derby weekend escaped year-long closets again Friday and flooded the Kentucky Oaks racing day long adored by Louisvillians. Women wore shoes of daredevil heights. Churchill Downs brimmed with attire of the greenest greens, the yellowest yellows and the pinkest of that official color, pinks. Some dudes wore horse hats.

Soldiers and police patrolled here and there. Dogs sniffed beneath vehicles. An announcement near the gate prohibited bringing in a drone. (OK.) People outside sold flip-flops and ponchos for $10 in case the rain returned - it didn't - while others sold tickets and religion.

Everything seemed as ever.

Yet the 145th Kentucky Derby, the biggest annual event for a niche sport that takes its national attention in fleeting bites, might carry a tad more importance than usual. Saturday's edition will be horse racing's first nationally spotlighted event since the dreadful winter at Santa Anita Park, the California track where 23 horses died between Dec. 26 and March 30 before the track shut down for eight days to investigate and make adjustments to the course's dirt racing surface.

"You bet, yeah," trainer Wayne Lukas, the 83-year-old winner of 14 Triple Crown races, said in the paddock Friday. "Nobody here is worried about that now. That's history. This is the one that picks everybody up every year."

"For the sport, period," said Mike Smith, the jockey who won the Triple Crown last year aboard Justify for trainer Bob Baffert and who on Friday rode McKinzie to victory for Baffert in the Alysheba Stakes. "It's always good for the sport. You know, good Lord willing, we'll have a great, clean and safe day, all the horses will return happy and healthy and sound, and then our sport will thrive after that."

As to whether this weekend constitutes something of a recovery, Smith said, "I think it will, definitely. Without a doubt. I know it will."

It matters a tad more.

"It was so unusual and horrible, what happened at Santa Anita," said Kenny Rice, in his 20th year broadcasting horse racing for NBC. "I don't know anyone who remembers anything like it."

Rice noted the number of contenders at Saturday's Derby who race at California's most famous track. "What's interesting, even with all the problems Santa Anita had, Omaha Beach has scratched now, but coming into this Derby, probably the top four horses were all based in Santa Anita: Baffert's three (Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster), and Omaha Beach," he said. "Probably the best filly, Bellafina, running in the Oaks today, was based at Santa Anita. How strange is it for the catastrophe that they had out there with the fatalities, that they would have five horses of this crop come out of Santa Anita? And that's kind of the interesting part about it all that really isn't mentioned all that much."

Rice considered the various factors that might have contributed to the horse deaths, including a dirt track that some theorized suffered during unusually rainy winter weather, increasing stress on the animals' legs.

"It's important because there's so much confusion about what all went on. And it's easy to say it was just the track," he continued. "I think there's other things involved, not in a cryptic way, but maybe some of it's medication, maybe some of it's breeding. A lot of the horses that broke down were in the morning during training, so it really isn't an issue about using the whip or about race conditions. So there's still that cloud of getting exactly what happened and trying to pinpoint that. Santa Anita and all of racing needs to know, if they can find out exactly."

The ongoing mystery at Santa Anita and scrutiny from lawmakers and animal rights advocates appeared to nudge the sport toward a new, transitional paradigm.

Yet nobody protested Friday at Churchill Downs, if two walks around the edges of the giant premises were any indication.

David Peele, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in an email that the organization held off on protesting this year because its senior vice president, Kathy Guillermo, "spoke at the recent Churchill Downs shareholder meeting and the company agreed to look at all the issues that she raised, so we are giving them a chance to take appropriate action."

As Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported, Churchill Downs has lost 43 thoroughbreds to racing injuries since 2016, or 2.42 per 1,000 starts, 50 percent higher than the national average. Some of the proposed changes at both Santa Anita and Churchill Downs involve a phasing-out of Lasix, the diuretic and anti-bleeding medication long used in horse racing. Others wondered if the sport needed to change anything other than the Santa Anita track surface.

"Well, Santa Anita, they lost the racetrack, and they blamed everything - motherhood, apple pie, whips, Lasix - but the blame was [on] what they were standing on," Lukas said. "You know, they just had to fix it. They got bad weather. To their credit, they tried to Band-Aid it, I think, a little bit, and if they had just taken a stand and said, 'Look, we're going to fix it, and racing will be back to normal, I think it will be all right.' Instead, we got a lot of bad publicity, and we tried to, like with anything like that, throw the blame somewhere else."

In the run-up to the ninth race Friday, a few hours before the feature Kentucky Oaks with its 2-year-old fillies, Baffert, 66, the trainer of the moment, came over to Lukas, who previously had a long turn as trainer of the moment. The friends, titans of the sport, chatted. Each had a horse in the race. Lukas would say he still gets excited about his 2-year-old crop, still gets a little pit in the stomach in pre-race.

Neither titan's horse won that one, but the scene of the two of them here did have its unmistakable normalcy.
CARACAS, Venezuela - In the intoxicating early hours of Tuesday morning, Venezuela's opposition saw a historic goal within reach: President Nicolas Maduro, they were certain, was about to step down. But by noon, a dull panic began to surface. A plan rife with intrigue and betrayal had begun to go south.

Leopoldo Lopez - the country's most famous political prisoner and mentor of opposition leader Juan Guaido - helped broker a deal. While still under house arrest, he'd met in secret with top Maduro loyalists - including the defense minister - inside Lopez's cement compound in eastern Caracas. The agreement: The loyalists would give Maduro up, and retain their positions inside a new interim government headed by Guaido.

"We moved forward out of trust that the top ranks [of the government] would make announcements against Maduro," said Freddy Superlano, a senior opposition lawmaker and the architect of Guaido's Operation Freedom to "liberate" the nation. "Maduro was going to respond by leaving. We agreed, because he depended on them, nothing else but them sustained him."

The plan was rushed into action a day early, opposition officials say, after chatter surfaced of Guaido's possible arrest. Just hours after Guaido's call for an uprising of the military, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.

This account provides previously undisclosed details of the plan to oust Maduro and is based on interviews with seven opposition officials with direct knowledge of the developments. Most spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Promised declarations of support from Maduro's inner circle never came. Instead, Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Maduro's defense minister and one of the key loyalists meeting with the opposition - went on national television to denounce what he called a "coup." Suddenly, the dashing Leopoldo Lopez - who had escaped house arrest with help from Maduro's own intelligence police - was forced to scramble to the Chilean, and then the Spanish embassy, to seek protection. For hours, Guaido disappeared. Maduro's spy chief - a senior conspirator - fled the country.

U.S. officials have claimed that Maduro was en route to the airport to flee to Havana, before being stopped by the Russians. Senior opposition officials say they never received that information.

A plan meant to end two decades of Venezuelan socialism had collapsed, signaling a pivotal twist in the campaign to oust Maduro.

But if the failed plot illustrated the lack of a tipping point in Guaido's military support, it also underscored Maduro's fundamental weakness. While Maduro has called Guaido an outlaw, his forces have yet to attempt to arrest Guaido.

On Saturday, the opposition is poised to push again, calling a large-scale march toward military instillations even as it seeks to pick up the pieces of the most pivotal week in their effort to oust Maduro

"It's not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out," said Superlano. "We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesn't it make sense to take it, especially if you don't have another tangible plan?"

"If that's naive," he said, "then let critics crucify us."

- - -

At 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Superlano, a senior lawmaker at Guaido's National Assembly, arose early and sped in his beige Toyota to the military base where Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez had already arrived.

In a country teetering on economic collapse and suffering from fast-spreading hunger, Guaido, Venezuela's self-declared interim president, has called Maduro an "usurper" for claiming to have won elections last year that were widely discredited. That morning, Guaido stood with members of the armed forces and Lopez.

"Guaido was serene, as always. Leopoldo tends to be more effusive, but he was calm that morning," Superlano said. "The environment was tense. But at that point, I think they both expected the bid to succeed."

Lopez, outside the residence of the Spanish ambassador on Thursday, said that he had met with senior generals to hatch a plan. But, Superlano said, Lopez and other senior opposition operatives had also been negotiating with Defense Minister Padrino Lopez and high court head Maikel Moreno.

At first, the talks were exploratory. But eventually, the opposition began to see "trustworthy" signs that the Maduro loyalists were ready to turn. In fact, they were showing passive support.

Guaido was being permitted to move freely across the country, and no effort was made to arrest him even though he violated a travel ban by going to Colombia in February to help lead an effort to bring in humanitarian aid.

To close the deal with senior Maduro officials, Lopez offered to let them stay on as part of a transitional government, and guaranteed they would not be prosecuted.

One key mystery remains why Padrino Lopez and two others senior loyalists backed out at the last moment. Some have suggested that Leopoldo Lopez's public appearance may have spooked them, describing his arrival in front of the cameras immediately after being freed as an act of grandstanding. Still others suggest they were double agents who remained loyal to Maduro.

Superlano insisted they had not backed out because the plan was launched a day early. "Padrino knew it would happen on the 30th," he said.

Yet in a country where security forces have used violence to put down street protests - leading to four deaths just this week - keeping former Maduro officials in a transition government could be highly unpalatable to a significant segment of the population. But opposition officials say they have to remain focused on a single goal: to get Maduro out.

"We have to offer them a role in the transition, and give them more than just amnesty or guarantees," said Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's designated "ambassador" to the United States. "The discussions are centered on ousting Maduro, and calling for elections to achieve progress."

But within a few hours after their arrival at the La Carlota air base, the expectations of the opposition leaders sank, especially after Padrino Lopez and the other top Maduro officials did not come forward.

At that point, key opposition figures left the La Carlota base and headed to the city's eastern Plaza Altamira. Guaido spoke from the roof of a car before leading a march to the west, in which protesters encountered security forces wielding tear gas and rubber bullets.

"It was around noon that we decided that [Leopoldo] Lopez had to seek protection at the Chilean embassy," Superlano said. Manuel Figuera, Maduro's spy chief who had aided in Lopez's liberation, had fled - Superlano believes to the United States.

Both he and Vecchio pushed back against the narrative of a bungled opportunity. What some hoped would happen in one day, would still be achieved, opposition officials insist. Superlano said negotiations with members of Maduro's inner circle "are still happening," and claimed that the regime is "collapsing" from within.

It may simply take longer than hoped.

"Maduro will not sleep calmly a single night of his life," Vecchio said. "He knows he can trust no one."
SEBEWAING  Strides continue to move forward to revitalize downtown Sebewaing.

The village of Sebewaing will host a community meeting 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sebewaing Township Library, located at 41 N. Center St.

During the meeting, there will be a presentation on the progress that has been made and information on some of the future projects being planned.

Special guest speakers during the event will be Christopher Germain and Charles Donaldson from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Carl Osentoski, director for the Huron Economic Development Corporation.

Since the effort began, several of the empty storefronts in the downtown area have been filled with businesses, and some others are works in progress.

The community has done a variety of things to generate interest in business development.

Village leaders worked with the Michigan State University do to a study. For the study, representatives from Michigan State University visit a community and do an assessment of their first impression of a community as a first-time visitor. Their assessment helps a community learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Sebewaing also gained broadband Internet service.

The village will host a spring clean-up week from May 6-10.

Village residents may haul their own grass clippings and leaves to the compost pit at 145 W. Main St. at the DPW garage. Brush may be hauled to the village brush pile south of town on Liken Road, but building materials are not allowed there.

Brush must be placed in separate piles along the street. Grass and leaves may be placed together on the edge of the street, but no vines or brush can be in the grass and leaf piles. The DPW will pick up those items.
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar police had two Reuters journalists behind bars, but they wanted more.

The reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were lured into a meeting with police in December 2017 and arrested on claims of violating state secrecy laws as they reported on atrocities against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The journalists' detention was quickly condemned by media-freedom groups and rights activists around the world. Myanmar authorities, meanwhile, were not swayed by international pressure. As a next step, they wanted to comb the reporters' cellphones, according to court documents and an attorney for the journalists.

Authorities turned to a cellphone-breaching technology from an Israeli company, Cellebrite, according to the documents and a defense lawyer's account.

Cellebrite - which has since left the Myanmar market - was one of numerous technology companies that rushed into Myanmar as the country opened to greater foreign investment in recent years.

The deals made at the time did not bring any complaints of violations of international laws.

But the case against the journalists laid bare the potential risks of making deals with governments that could use the foreign forensic and surveillance technology in hard-line crackdowns and prosecutions.

In the case of the journalists, the files pulled from the phones later became a core element of Myanmar's accusations.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting last month - were found guilty in September of possessing state secrets and intending to share them and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The two journalists were left out of a mass prisoner amnesty held annually during Myanmar's traditional new-year celebrations in April. Of the thousands of people freed, just a handful were political prisoners, rights groups said.

Later that month, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the two journalists, effectively ending their bids to overturn their sentences through the legal system.

Last year, Cellebrite halted new sales in the country and stopped servicing equipment that was already sold, its Myanmar distributor said in an interview.

Cellebrite does not comment on "specific incidents, customers or territories," the company said in a statement.

"Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements," the statement added. "We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrite's values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements."

Myanmar has received substantial third-party assistance to train and equip its police in recent years.Activists say that companies and donor countries are providing advanced tools to help police further repress perceived dissent. Proponents argue the work is needed to help professionalize the police force.

The police worked alongside the armed forces during its August 2017 crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, according to U.N. investigators who say the minority group was targeted by security forces with "genocidal intent."

The Myanmar military and the civilian government lead by Aung San Suu Kyi have dismissed evidence of abuses as biased and unfounded.

Other than journalists, the police continue to detain peaceful protesters and critics, including a prominent filmmaker, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was recently arrested for criticizing the military on Facebook.

Cellebrite's technology is widely used by law enforcement around the world. The company began selling its products in Myanmar in 2016 through MySpace International, a Yangon-based cybersecurity and digital forensics firm, MySpace officials said. The company has no relation to the U.S. social media website Myspace.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, MySpace's chief executive, said Cellebrite stopped its dealings with the country late last year.

Police in Myanmar, however, still have the technology at their disposal, said the MySpace CEO.

In a July motion to dismiss charges against the two Reuters journalists, attorneys for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo noted the police officer who carried out the search of the reporters' phones had an expired training certification from Cellebrite.

"They said that he was a technical expert, that he is well trained by Cellebrite, but his Cellebrite certificate was out of date," said Than Zaw Aung, an attorney for the journalists.

Thandar Moe, an officer in the commercial and information section of Israel's embassy in Yangon, said the embassy was unaware of Cellebrite's business in the country and declined to comment further.

Cellebrite equipment pulled documents from the reporters' phones including itineraries for Pope Francis' visit to the country and the vice president's travels, as well as details of the military's campaign in Rakhine, according to the court documents and the defense lawyer.

A judge deemed the information to be secret. Defense lawyers argued that the information was already widely available to the public and that the reporters were set up by police.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, who served in the military, said the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military-controlled ministry overseeing the police, is a major customer.

The company had a "very close" relationship with Cellebrite but was informed four or five months ago by the company that it would stop business in Myanmar, he said.

In a statement, Interpol, the international police organization, said it also provided digital forensic equipment manufactured by Cellebrite and three other unnamed companies to the police. The software licenses for the tools provided by Interpol ended in early 2018.

Two PowerPoint presentations by the Myanmar Police Force showing crime data from 2016 and 2017, reviewed by The Washington Post last month, said authorities acquired a range of Cellebrite's Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) equipment used to hack smartphones. This included the UFED Chinex Kit, used to extract data from Chinese mobile phones, and UFED 4PC, a software system that Cellebrite promotes as "flexible and convenient."

A spokesperson for the police did not respond to requests for comment.

Reseda, California-based MediaClone, which produces data collection and cellphone extraction tools, confirmed that it did a deal with MySpace in 2016. Company CEO Ezra Kohavi said that he did not know which ministry received its equipment, but Kyaw Kyaw Htun said it was being used by the police.

Business, however, has slowed considerably in recent months because of "the Rakhine state situation," Kyaw Kyaw Htun said, a reference to the Myanmar military's August 2017 campaign against the Rohingya, which sent some 730, 000 people fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh after militants claiming to represent the minority attacked police posts.

"It's very tough for us, you know," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Aung Naing Soe in Yangon and Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced a program Friday that deploys state-licensed volunteer reserve deputies to protect worshipers in churches, synagogues and mosques in Bexar County.

Salazar recalled the scene of the 2017 shooting at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs that claimed 26 lives in neighboring Wilson County, and said he never wants to see a repeat of that in his career.

Providing extra security will enable clergy and church members to focus on worship, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Sheriffs Office to provide reserve deputies at schools

You want people to feel comfortable concentrating on that, and not have to worry about watching the exits, Salazar said.

Since September, a similar program has put reserves at schools in the East Central and Southwest independent school districts, providing 1,700 hours of additional security, valued at roughly $51,000, at no cost to taxpayers, Salazar said.

Churches, school officials and prospective reserve trainees can call Deputy Fred Feliciano at 210-372-5879 about the programs. To help sponsor reserve training, call San Antonio College, 210-486-1692.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
What a jerk you were to let me dump you.

Thats the message the Trump administration is sending to some of our closest allies and most important economic partners. The most recent target is Japan, whom our U.S. ambassador berated last week for not giving us a favorable deal that Japan actually did give us  before we abruptly ripped it up.

The United States spent eight years negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This 12-country Pacific Rim trade pact was partly designed to build an economic and diplomatic alliance that would keep China, which had been excluded from the deal, in check.

But the United States objective was also to open up new markets for U.S.-made products, especially U.S. agricultural goods. A 2016 analysis from the International Trade Commission found that agriculture and food would be the U.S. sector that saw the greatest percentage gain in output growth as a result of the TPP.

Greater access to the Japanese market was particularly enticing to U.S. farmers and ranchers. Japan is a wealthy, mature economy  where high-income consumers can afford high-end U.S. beef and high-quality U.S. grains  but its also an economy that has had high barriers to agricultural trade.

And so, as part of the TPP talks, the U.S. trade team spent about a year negotiating one-on-one with Japan about agriculture, with the understanding that whatever concessions the United States won would be granted to the other TPP member countries as well.

This allowed us to design the shape of a package that catered to U.S. priorities, explains Darci Vetter, then the chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Of course, some of those priorities overlapped with those of other TPP countries. Both the United States and New Zealand were eager to sell more dairy and wine to Japan, for instance. Both the United States and Canada wanted Japan to lower tariffs on wheat. Which is why other countries were more than happy to let us push for as many concessions as we could.

Japan determined that the overall pact would be so valuable that it made the politically contentious choice of agreeing to our requests. Incidentally, the agricultural terms wed negotiated in the TPP also became the template for a trade deal that Japan would separately negotiate with the European Union.

President Barack Obama signed the TPP in 2016. But Congress dragged its feet in ratifying it. Among President Trumps first actions after his inauguration was to pull us out of the deal, with generally incoherent reasons for doing so.

Disappointed that wed reneged, the remaining 11 TPP countries nonetheless decided to continue without us. Their new deal, sometimes called TPP 2.0, formally went into effect on Dec. 30, 2018. Just over a month later, Japans new trade deal with the European Union became effective.

This means that dozens of other countries now benefit from changes we persuaded Japan to make. And our farmers are about to lose out, big time.

Japans beef imports were already up 25% in the first two months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported. The biggest beneficiaries were Canada and New Zealand. This makes sense: As members of TPP 2.0, they have a huge price advantage. U.S. beef is tariffed at 38.5%, and TPP 2.0 countries beef is now at 26.6%, with further reductions slated for coming years.

Even before then, these other countries advantages will widen. If frozen beef imports surpass a certain threshold, as is expected soon, a safeguard tariff will automatically kick in and raise tariffs on our products  but not TPP 2.0s members  to 50%.

With U.S. farmers quietly freaking out, pressure is mounting to seal a new bilateral trade deal with Japan. But rather than coming to Japan hat in hand, were scolding it for keeping its word when we could not be bothered to do the same.

By implementing these agreements before addressing our bilateral trade relationship, Japan is effectively redistributing market share away from its strongest ally, the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, told Nikkei.

I asked Vetter what she made of Hagertys remarks. She noted that the whole point of the TPP was to deepen member countries economic and diplomatic ties. From that perspective, then, the Trump administration is just angry that its working.

Frankly, she said, you cant leave someone at the altar and then be surprised or upset that theyve moved on.

crampell@washpost.com
Since the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump has insisted on the need for a border wall in the face of a crisis at our southern border. Until recently, the numbers indicated we were nowhere near a crisis; the number of immigrants crossing the border was quite low compared to previous years.

Recently, the numbers have spiked, including the number of families. However, even at the current levels, they do not approach those seen in the early 2000s. In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, changed course from detaining as many families as possible to releasing families at the border to appear in court in the future.

As we recently learned, the president has advocated for busing recently arrived migrants to sanctuary cities, those deemed to be welcoming to immigrants and/or hostile to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It certainly raises the possibility that the release of large numbers of families on the border is intended to provoke backlash from the communities that have fought the crisis narrative.

Those striving daily to help the migrants provide a vital dose of hope during trying times.

It is important to note that numbers dont tell the whole story. The families entering the United States are not trying to evade detection. They are entering in plain sight of CBP and turning themselves in because that is the only alternative to waiting for days, weeks or even months in Mexico to be processed at the port of entry for asylum.

With the recent departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security and Ron Vitiello from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we are braced for another crackdown as both reportedly left because they were not tough enough on immigration and border enforcement.

Being an immigration lawyer in the age of Trump is challenging. It is filled with uncertainty, frustration, injustice and rapid change. While I know that more bad policy awaits, I have managed to find hope because my fellow immigration lawyers and activists are not fighting these policies alone. The reactions of average Americans give me hope because I see that they value the contributions immigrants make in our country. No matter the rhetoric or who is in power, the response to harsh policies and inhumane treatment shows that there is little support for these policies outside the minority of the presidents base.

When the travel ban was enacted and travelers were stuck in airports or prohibited from boarding U.S.-bound flights, protesters and lawyers showed up at airports, courts intervened and the president was forced to revise the ban, greatly diminishing the number of those impacted. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a revised version of the travel ban, Congress introduced legislation seeking to repeal it.

When children were ripped from their parents arms, the outcry was immediate and sustained by lawyers, physicians, mental health professionals and, most important, Americans with no unique knowledge or experience, driven by the sheer inhumanity of the actions. Nearly a year later, grassroots efforts to support reunited families with travel funds, housing and legal representation continue across the country.

When asylum-seekers were illegally made to wait in Mexico, sometimes for months, to apply for asylum, again Americans (and many Mexicans) responded by organizing, gathering donations and providing the humanitarian aid that should be the responsibility of the government or the international aid community, like the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

From San Diego to Brownsville, Americans from all walks of life have responded with open arms and so much more. From the Angry Tias & Abuelas group organizing at bus stations in the Rio Grande Valley to the underground network of volunteers who provide food and shelter to released migrants in Arizona, Americans are demonstrating that we are still a nation of immigrants, a nation that embraces your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free  those who seek safety here.

We are the people who will step up to provide help where it is needed when our government fails to do so. Citizens have donated millions of dollars to support bond funds to help people leave detention and to organizations fighting anti-immigrant policies in court.

Should it be this way? Should it fall on the rest of us to make up for the cruelty of our elected officials? Certainly not, but the fact that at each turn there is resistance, sometimes outspoken and other times peaceful and almost unnoticed, suggests that this cruelty, too, shall pass.

Where immigration officials bring inhumanity, San Antonio shines. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition, San Antonio Sanctuary Network, Catholic Charities, American Gateways, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, San Antonio Mennonite Church, Travis Park Church and, most important, people from all walks of life have shown over and over again that we will not be complacent in the face of injustice.

We will find ways, formal and informal, to help. Students from elementary school to law school have organized blanket and backpack drives to make sure that migrant families have some comforts for their long journeys.

As border cities and even San Antonio have seen large numbers of families released from CBP custody, they have stepped up to provide emergency services. San Antonios resource center is just one example of city officials providing support to local nonprofits whose capacities have been stretched to the limits.

Despite the Trump administrations efforts to find new ways to limit immigration, each initiative has been met with resistance that demonstrates that most Americans want us to be that beacon of hope for those fleeing harm. The restrictionists are vocal, but they are not the majority.

There will be countless challenges ahead as new political appointees seek to implement the presidents anti-immigration agenda, but I believe the actions of the American people will speak louder than the words of those who demonize immigrants.

The recently arrived migrants have long and difficult roads ahead. Navigating the bureaucracy that is stacked against them is daunting. Attaining their American dream will be fraught with hardship. But for a moment, when they were weary, strangers welcomed them. Strangers fed them. Strangers sheltered them.

Most important, these unsung heroes living among us treated them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve. That is what makes American great.

Erica B. Schommer, J.D., is a clinical associate professor of law and immigration law expert at the St. Marys University School of Law. The views presented are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of St. Marys University.
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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After many years of dedication to the Irish League of Credit Unions and to the local Credit Union network, Gerry Thompson of Ballyleague has been elected the new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions.

Gerry was formally elected at the AGM in the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Sunday, April 28, having previously served as chairman of Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union.

Gerry is the son of Pete Thompson, who was a founding member of the Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union in 1965.

Gerry takes on the role from outgoing president, Charles Murphy, and will be helped out by newly elected vice president, Mr Eamonn his late father Pete Thompson and he also acknowledged the support of his wife Martha and his family.



Speaking of his new role, Mr Thompson said: I am proud and humbled to be elected to this position and very much look forward to working with all our affiliated credit unions, and the broader credit union movement, as they continue to engage in the further development and diversification of services.

As a firm believer in the massive potential of credit cooperation to improve peoples lives worldwide, I will work to ensure the unique credit union model of cooperative financial services continues to prosper across Ireland. I am proud of the ILCUs all-island remit, and aspire to see credit union services ultimately become the first financial choice for all our citizens, both North and South.



Mr Thompson will now lead a board of 12 other directors over the course of a two year term.
Cavan Older Peoples Council take a new play entitled The Best Years of Our Lives Are Yet to Come to the Corn Mill Theatre stage on Friday, May 10.

This moving and hilarious play is co-written by the members and theatre practitioner Maura Williamson who also directs the play.

This drama captures the richness of older peoples experiences and allows the audience to understand the issues they face in negotiating a range of everyday situations.

The performance takes us through several scenes, giving us an insight into their perspective on life as an older person in todays society.

The age-friendly social commentary uses humour to point out instances of older peoples unique perspective on the world.

Bob Gilbert, Chair of the Older Peoples Council said, I believe that drama is one of the most effective vehicles for exploring and raising awareness of issues affecting our society.

This drama project explores several issues encountered by older people in their daily lives. The issues raised were suggested by the participants and the scenarios were created by them.

This is proof of the enormous contribution that older people are making to our society.

The end product was all made possible by our marvellous Maura Williamson who encouraged our creativity and collated the various contributions into a cohesive final script.

Catriona O'Reilly, arts officer complimented the group for their commitment to the project and the work over the past months with the guidance of Maura Williamson, which has culminated in a really successful production.



This theatre project is an initiative of Cavan County Council Social Inclusion Office and the Arts Office and is supported by the Arts Council.

This Older Peoples drama project won the 2019 All Ireland Community and Council award for Best Community Initiative and is on tour also to Ramor Theatre Virginia on May 17 the Civic Centre Belturbet on May 24.

Doors at 8pm at Corn Mill and booking at 0872570363 bookings@cornmilltheatre .com.
The saga of what the media has dubbed the fall of the taikun", or the "the fall of the titan", began on November 19, 2018. On that day, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet at Tokyo airport. Since his arrest, a successive series of charges and legal cases have been brought against him. Ghosn was released on a $ 9 million bail on March 6, 2019 after serving 108 days at Kosuge Detention Center (north of Tokyo), only to be re-arrested on April 4. He was later released from jail on April 25 after posting a multimillion-dollar bond for the second time in two months. Already facing three charges for underreporting his pay and on aggravated breach of trust, the former chairman was indicted for allegedly misappropriating Nissan company money.

Carlos Ghosn was presented as guilty from the very first moment said Francois Zimeray, the Ghosn familys French lawyer, in an interview with LOrient- Le Jour.

Zimeray specifically denounced Ghosns April 4 arrest on additional legally dubious charges, saying he was previously detained for more than 100 days under unfair, cruel, and unjust conditions in an effort to coerce a confession before ultimately being released on strict bail conditions, with which he has scrupulously complied.

The conditions under which he was re-arrested, at dawn, with twenty agents rushing in[to] his home, [and] the media informed ahead of the re-arrest, clearly show a desire to humiliate him Zimeray added.





"Wrongly accused"

Upon his re-arrest, 65-year-old Ghosn was questioned about money transfers made by Nissan to an auto dealer in Oman. In total, Ghosn allegedly used $5 million of the transferred funds for personal enrichment, according to the Japanese prosecutors office.

The former Renault-Nissan boss is suspected of having used a Lebanese company, Good Faith Investments, to divert some of the money paid by Nissan to Suhail Bahwan Automobile, the Renault-Nissan dealership in the Sultanate of Oman, between 2012 and 2018. According to excerpts from Nissan's internal investigation as reported by news agencies, a portion of these funds ended up in the accounts of a company called Beauty Yachts headed by Ghosn's wife, Carole Ghosn, and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Based on sources close to the case cited by AFP, the allegedly misappropriated sum was deposited through a company in Lebanon into a fund called Shogun Investments LLC controlled by his son Anthony in the United States.

Asked to comment on these new accusations, Zimeray simply responded Mr. Ghosn has said that he is innocent of all the charges held against him. He is adamant, he is wrongly accused and unfairly detained on unfounded charges. We will therefore concentrate our efforts for Mr. Ghosn to have a fair trial.





"Treason"



In a video recorded before his second arrest and broadcast a few days later, Mr. Ghosn stated that he was innocent of all charges brought against him, claiming to be a victim of "a plot, conspiracy and treason".

Emails reveal the true story (...). Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was working with Nissan executives to block the formal merger of Nissan and Renault favored by Carlos and to preserve Nissans autonomy at all costs, Carole Ghosn claimed in a column published in mid-April in the Washington Post, adding What should have been settled in the Nissan boardroom has been turned into a criminal affair.

Last week, The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan Motor Co. will reject a management integration proposal from their French partner Renault and will call for an equal capital relationship.

Nissan's management feels that the Japanese company has not been treated as Renaults equal under existing capital ties, and that a merger would make this inequality permanent, the Nikkei quoted sources as saying.

In its proposal, Renault has argued that integration would maximize synergies within the French-Japanese alliance, according to the Nikkei.

Asked about a possible plot by high ranking Nissan officials, Zimeray replied that media outlets had reported that Ghosns plan to merge Renault and Nissan before his arrest was a deal that Nissan and the Japanese government were looking for ways to block.

Moreover, the lawyer said it has been reported that Mr. Ghosn reflected on the Nissan dismal performance, recent profit warnings and emissions scandals.

Knowing that they were in danger of losing their jobs because of Nissan's declining performance, he believes that some Nissan executives collaborated to prepare a case against him, under the cover of an internal investigation, Zimeray remarked.

In his video, Ghosn named those who, according to him, were behind the "plot", but his lawyers decided to edit the information out "due to legal repercussions" in case the identities of the people in question were made public.

Mr. Ghosn is committed to revealing the truth. We are confident that if tried fairly, he will be vindicated, Zimeray told lOLJ.





"hostage justice"

Zimeray, who was a Human Rights Ambassador under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2008 to 2013, and then became the Ambassador of France to Denmark, said that, for him, this case is not only a fight for one man, but a fight to defend universal principles: the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right for dignity in all circumstances.

The detention of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, which appears neither necessary nor reasonable and which occurs under harsh conditions, illustrates the Japanese hostage justice system for the purpose of obtaining forced confessions, Zimeray noted. He further revealed that a petition has been initiated by renowned figures of the legal world, academics and practitioners in Japan to end this hostage justice system.

In March, the Ghosn family, represented by Zimeray, decided to appeal to the United Nations, claiming that Ghosns "fundamental rights" were not respected.

According to Zimeray, Mr. Ghosn was interrogated for hours each day without the presence of his attorneys during his detention. The interrogations used to go until 10:00pm, and his access to counsel was limited, according to Zimeray. He was confined to an unheated cell with three meals of mainly rice and given 30 minutes to exercise daily excluding weekends and bank holidays. His visits were limited to 15 minutes of conversation with the presence of a guard and separated from him by a glass window.

He further added that while in detention, Ghosn was denied his medication and did not receive appropriate medical care for his chronic health issues, warning that these health issues were exacerbated by the deliberately harsh conditions of his detention.

Carlos Ghosn suffers from high cholesterol levels and the treatment he is following has caused both chronic kidney failure and rhabdomyolysis, a disease that causes muscle cells to break down, his lawyers said in a document seen by Reuters.





(This article was originally published in frenc in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 25th of April. The interview was done before Ghosn was freed and the article has been consequently slightly modified in its english version?)




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was unfair for an independent poll watcher to claim the upcoming midterm elections was vulnerable to attack.

This, after the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has withdrawn its accreditation as the citizens' arm of the Comelec, after the government poll body declined to provide voters' data.

In a manifestation submitted to the Comelec on April 30, Namfrel said, "Without open access to information and data, Petitioner (Namfrel) is unable to participate in the RMA (random manual audit) because the inaccessibility diminishes the verifiability of data separately provided during the RMA."

Speaking to CNN Philippines Saturday, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said, "Medyo harsh naman yata 'yon. Just because sila hindi nabigyan, vulnerable na 'yung elections? Samatalang, up to the point na humihingi sila niyan, bahagi sila ng proseso sa paghahanda para sa random manual audit  isang proseso na sinalihan nila nung nakaraang halalan at naging bahagi sila ng paghahanda para doon. So ngayon sasabihin nila, just because hindi nila nakuha yung gusto nila, medyo vulnerable na. That's a little unfair, I think."

[Translation: That seems to be a bit harsh. Just because they weren't given what they want, the elections are automatically vulnerable? But up to that point, they were involved in the preparations for the random manual audit  a process they were part of during the last elections. And now they will say, just because they didn't get what they want, they say it's vulnerable. That's a little unfair, I think.]

Jimenez added the Namfrel's claim was "a stretch," and that it was "inappropriate" to say those things at this point in time.

The Comelec spokesperson said the Namfrel submitted two documents: one for accreditation as a poll watcher, and another for access to the data.

Jimenez said he has not seen a denial of Namfrel's request for data access.

"It's simply at this point, all I can say really, is that it hasn't been granted," he told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.

Jimenez said there was no danger of the elections being compromised, as an extensive source code review was conducted "internationally and locally" where political parties participated, as well as representatives from the joint oversight committee.

Namfrel said it would continue to "perform its mandate to endure free and honest elections."
Imagine the dread that took a hold of Cherie Scalf after learning that her husband, Master Sgt. Bill Scalf, had suffered two strokes while serving with the military in Afghanistan and was being airlifted to a hospital somewhere in Germany.

She had no passport, it was late on a Friday, and most of the government offices that could help her get to her husband were already closed for the weekend.

Add to that the fact that dealing with the United States military can involve a lot of red tape and hoop jumping.

Yet, before it all sunk in, she was on a plane headed for Germany to be with her husband.

Obviously this was a situation where we werent going to sit around on our hands for a weekend, said Brig. Gen. John Slocum, who transferred the command and care for the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base this Saturday to Col. Rolf Mammen in a news release from SANG. Fortunately, we knew who to call.

Answering his call for help was U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, whose district includes the Harrison Township base. After Slocum called Mitchell, the Congressman called the White House, and by Sunday, he had an appointment at the U.S. State Department office in Chicago. There, a passport was issued for Cherie so she could travel abroad to be with Bill.

This is one of the most important things we do, Mitchell said, shortly after a visit he had with the Scalfs at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where Bill continues his recovery. Our servicemen and women give their all for this country and it is our highest duty to support them and their families in a time of need.

Slocum said he wasnt surprised by the Congressmans quick response.

Part of what makes the 127th Wing such a special organization is the support we have from our elected leaders at the local state and federal levels, Slocum said.

Also no surprise was the quick action of Bills squadron.

He and several hundred Selfridge Airmen and their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft were deployed to a base in Afghanistan. On Jan. 30, after he and his fellow crew chiefs from the 191st Aircraft Maintenance had been there for about a month, Bill suffered the first of two strokes.

He was out working on the aircraft, said Cherie. I guess he was getting it ready for the next days mission. One of the other guys, Mike Campbell, saw Bills flashlight moving around in a way that wasnt normal and went to check on him.

Bill, who has been a crew chief on Air Force aircraft for about 30 years, is very dedicated and when Campbell suggested he take Bill to the base hospital immediately to get checked, Bill said he wanted to get the aircraft ready to go first.

But the guys insisted that he get checked. If they hadnt, I really dont know if he would be here today, Cherie said. Each of the people in his unit, they were just amazing at making sure he got the help he needed.

Hospital staff immediately administered a drug known as the clot-buster used to treat stroke patients. After that he appeared to be fine and back to his normal self. But the military doctors in Afghanistan decided he needed to be airlifted to a major U.S. military hospital in Germany for further care. Once he arrived, he was able to reassure Cherie, who was still at home in Warren, in a Facetime chat that he was fine.

But he wasnt fine. Shortly after his arrival he had a second, larger stroke. It was then that doctors in Germany decided to quickly transport him to a local civilian hospital staffed with specialists who were better equipped to deal with his condition, and things really got serious.

Thats when Selfridge kicked into high gear in support of Bill, Cherie and their three children Rebecca, Emily and William.

One of his commanders called me, Cherie said. The next thing I know, Im at Selfridge and having a meeting, and I counted and there were 14 people in the room. It was Gen. Slocum and all the top people. I dont even know who everyone was. But they, each one, were there to help.

Historically, the Air National Guard is known for its Citizen-Airman concept. That means that people in the local community are the ones who also serve in uniforms. Bill as with many members of the Guard enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school but after being discharged and home for a few years missed it. So, he joined the Air National Guard, which allowed him to stay in Michigan with his family and still serve his country. Eventually, he was hired on as a civilian technician at Selfridge.

I have to admit that I really didnt know how the military system worked, but thats where everyone has been so helpful, Cherie said.

After Bills second stroke Slocum appointed another 191st crew chief, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Wolford, to serve as the familys advocate including having him travel to Germany to help Cherie navigate her way through the militarys red tape and other processes along the way.

Honestly, without Erik, I think I would still be stranded at the airport in Frankfort (Germany) trying to figure out what to do next, Cherie said.

After spending about a month at the hospital in Germany, Bill was transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital near Washington D.C. In April he was moved to U-M, where his recovery is supported by his medical team along with his military team and family.

It has been a long road, but they are a great family. Everyone who knows Bill, like him, so we are all in his corner, said Wolford, who has remained as the familys chief liaison. The deployed Selfridge Airmen have all since returned home, and are among the many members of the military who check in on Bill regularly.

This kids and I know what kind of guy Bill is. But to witness his co-workers have rallied behind him, it has really been something to see, Cherie said.

So much for red tape and hurdles  according to Slocum taking care of airmen and their family is a foundational element of service in the 127th Wing.

We count on our Airmen to do their part in a very important mission, being a part of the defense of this great country, said Slocum. To be able to do that, we want their families to know they can also count on us. Master Sgt. Scalf is an important part of our family, so we are doing all we can to let his family know we are there for them.-It is believed that after his recovery Bill will retire from the military, although he recently told his commanding officer that hes anxious to get back to Selfridge, check in with his co-workers, and, most importantly, give his aircraft a thorough check-up.

Im still a crew chief. Im not retired yet, Bill said, to his recent visitors who included Slocum and Mitchell.

 Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily
Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming appreciates Southwest Virginia modesty as much as the next guy, but he says that can have drawbacks for a technology scene making a name for itself.

He listed some of the local technology industry wins over the past year ahead of his keynote address at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Councils 20th annual TechNite awards ceremony Friday night. 1901 Group is adding 580 workers. Block.one has planted its flag in Blacksburg. Auto giant Daimler Trucks acquired a majority stake in his own company.

I dont think we do as good of a job as we should do in celebrating and promoting these wins, Fleming said. The downside of being humble is sometimes its a little challenging to promote yourself. Humility is not being passive.

Fleming spent his time on stage at the Hotel Roanoke highlighting his companys story, from the time a group of Virginia Tech students decided to start an autonomous vehicle company in 2005.

Torc Robotics grew over the next decade to around 100 employees as it built an international reputation. And then in April a subsidiary of Daimler, the German company behind brands like Mercedes-Benz, acquired a majority stake in Torc.

The news marked one of the biggest acquisitions for a local technology company in years, and also the entrance of a billion-dollar industry giant to the burgeoning technology hub in Southwest Virginia.

But Fleming said its not a coincidence that this happened in Blacksburg. Torcs story couldnt have happened anywhere, as he said the companys hometown has been a key ingredient all along.

Employees in this region stick with the companies for the long term, he said before the event began. They dont job hop. Great things are just not accomplished in short order.

Flemings remarks kicked off the RBTCs annual award ceremony, an event designed to serve as the kind of celebration he said he would like to see happen more often.

The 2019 TechNite Award Recipients:

The Rising Star award was presented to Block.one, a blockchain software company that launched one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in 2018 and raised over $1 billion. The companys growing Blacksburg office is led by Dan Larimer, a Virginia Tech alum considered a cryptocurrency thought leader.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is Michael Fleming, CEO of Torc Robotics.

The Innovator of the Year is Luna Innovations, a publicly traded company with offices both in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Luna struggled for years, but the companys stock price climbed through 2018 as it returned to consistent profitability and completed several acquisitions.

Two Regional Leadership awards were presented to Carilion Clinic CEO Nany Agee and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. The pair have been instrumental in the growth of a medical school and research institute in Roanoke.

The Company of the Year is 1901 Group, a Reston-based IT services company that is building a new operations center in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. That office will employ 580 new workers, the company has said.

The Ruby Award went to Heywood Fralin, who gave a record $50 million gift to Virginia Tech to expand research at the recently named Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke.

In addition to the awards, the RBTC inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame Kenneth Ferris, President of Brookewood Management Advisors and member of the RBTC advisory board, and Marty Muscatello, President and CEO of FoxGuard Solutions and previous member of the RBTC board of directors.
Authorities have identified the Allston man killed in a quadruple shooting in Dorchester Wednesday evening as 33-year-old Kevin Brewington.

Brewington and three other men were shot in the area of 32 Windermere Road around 6:26 p.m., police said. Three of the men were taken to local hospitals with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening while Brewington was pronounced dead at the scene.

Boston police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
A mans body was found following a three-alarm fire in Chelsea Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes tweeted that the deceased man in his early 30s was found in a small room at the back of 48 Watt St., where a three-alarm fire had broken out earlier in the evening.

The fire, which began in the two-family home around 5 p.m., quickly spread to a neighboring house at 109 Highland St. About 30 people were displaced and damages were estimated at $150,000.

Authorities told The Boston Globe that the mans body, which was found on a rear enclosed porch, was only discovered after the fire was knocked down and crews began opening up ceilings to check for additional hot spots.

Residents of the house told the newspaper that they had not seen the man in several days.

He has not been publicly identified.

The fire remains under investigation by fire investigators and state and local police.
Authorities have identified the 43-year-old woman allegedly stabbed to death by her husband in an attempted murder-suicide in Stoughton Friday night as Telma Bras.

Police forced their way into the couples apartment on Bennett Drive after receiving a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found Bras dead of an apparent stabbing in the living room, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

Her husband, 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues, was laying nearby and suffering from self-inflicted cuts consistent with a suicide attempt, authorities said.

Mr. Rodrigues was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries, Morrissey said.

Authorities said the couples children, a 17-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy, were home at the time of the stabbing.

Morrissey said the teenager called a relative after hearing the commotion, who in turn called 911.

Both this children at this hour are safe, he said. They have a significant bit of trauma to overcome.

Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned from his hospital bed or in Stoughton District Court as soon as possible, the district attorney said. He is expected to face a murder charge.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department has no history of calls from the couples apartment and Rodrigues does not have a criminal record.

She commended the police officers who responded to the call, saying they did not know what they would face on the other side of the door.

They showed both bravery and extreme compassion last night on that scene, she said.
Very likely qualifying as "the greatest restaurant show on earth," the National Restaurant Association Show 2019 will open on May 18 and run through May 21. Held at Chicago's McCormick Place exposition center, the Show offers something for everyone interested the restaurant industry.

The show floor itself at the 2019 Show will be featuring some 2,300 exhibitors. The layout will be so vast that show organizers suggest two days minimum will be required to adequately explore the entire exhibit space.

Supplementing those displays of food, equipment, and supplies is an extensive program of seminars, demonstrations, and themed exhibit pavilions.

This year marks the shows 100th anniversary, a milestone that will be marked by an evening gala on Monday, May 20 as well as by daily celebrations on the show floor itself.

Among the many presentations at the this year's show will be a panel discussion focusing on "The Future of Dining," which will take place on Sunday, May 19. Another high-profile presentation, "The Future of Restaurants" will offer an in-depth focus on how technology and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the dining out experience.

Information on the National Restaurant Association Show 2019, including details about show registration, lodging, and transportation arrangements, can be found at nationalrestaurantshow.com. The Show's customer service number is (800) 439-2968.

Side dishes

Its commencement season in the Pioneer Valley, a happy time when restaurateurs find their reservation books full and their dining rooms populated by newly minted graduates and their proud families.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst will be holding its Undergraduate Commencement on Friday evening, May 10, with the Graduate Commencement to follow on Saturday morning.

Coupled with Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12, restaurants in Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton will most likely be running at capacity all weekend, and the traffic in all three communities will be, to put it charitably, "challenging."

It's thus a good opportunity to expand one's gastronomic horizons by seeking out restaurants in other locales, where a less frenetic dining experience will most likely be on offer.

Smith College in Northampton and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley will be observing their Commencement Weekends on May 18 and 19, making those two days into "reservations a must" occasions in the host communities of those two institutions.

Belle Rita Novak, the manager of the Farmers' Market at Forest Park, sent along a reminder to all those who crave "locally grown."

The Market begins its 2019 summer season on May 7 and will continue weekly through the month of October. She says that many long-time vendors will be returning; several new growers and producers are also joining the line-up.

With the Sumner Avenue access to Forest Park closed for culvert repairs, Novak reminds all that the Farmers' Market can be accessed through the Park's Trafton Road entrance.

May is National Burger Month, and b Restaurants (formerly known as Plan B Burger Bars) in Massachusetts and Connecticut will be celebrating with a number of promotional events.

A "Build-a-Better-Burger" contest is already underway; last month b Restaurant locations solicited burger recipe ideas from guests. Each restaurant subsequently picked their two favorite recipes and posted them on Facebook, where they will be visible starting May 7. Fans of b Restaurants can vote for their favorite recipe until May 13, at which time a "fan favorite" will be chosen.

In order to make the voting more interesting, some b Restaurant locations will be giving away samples of the burger recipes they are sponsoring in the contest.

The winning "better-burger" will be featured on the menus of all b Restaurants for the rest of the month of May, and the customer who originally submitted the winning idea will be awarded a free burger a week for the rest of 2019.

"Free Mini Mondays" will be another part of the National Burger Month celebration, with b locations giving away free mini burgers on specific Mondays throughout the month.

For the b Restaurant location in Springfield, May 27 will be "Free Mini Monday." To register for the event, go to Facebook and download a "free mini" coupon via email. The printed-out coupon can then be used at the b Restaurant at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue.

For more details on these promotions, go to burgersbeerbourbon.com/burgermonth.

Three Franklin County restaurateurs are being honored with Franklin County Community Development Corporation's 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year award. Jim Zaccara, Maggie Zaccara, and Evelyn Wulfkuhle, who operate Hope & Olive in Greenfield, will be honored on May 9. The ceremony, which will be held at Hawks & Reed in downtown Greenfield, will begin at 5 p.m. Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served, and live music will be featured.

To mark the occasion, Jim Zaccara has created a special cocktail he's dubbed the "Franklin No. Nine"; the drink will be served by the occasion's celebrity bartender John Howland, whose "day job" is President of Greenfield Savings Banks.

Suggested donation for the event is $10; those planning to attend can RSVP at bit.ly/May09_5pm.

The Franklin County Community Development Corporation answers at (413) 774-7204.

On Sunday, May 19 Figaro Restaurant in Enfield, CT will be hosting "Wild Heart," a tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Seating for the evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner of Italian-American classics will be offered. The show will begin at 7 p.m.

Charge for the buffet is $21.95 and tickets for the "Wild Heart" performance go for $25. Reservations for this event can be made by calling Figaro Restaurant at (860) 745-2414.

In celebration of the chain's 50th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations have introduced Southern Fried Chicken to their menus. Authentically prepared and served as a dinner-style entree, the portion of chicken includes breast, thigh, leg, and wing, all a double-breaded with a custom blend of spices. Two sides and biscuits or cornbread are included; the suggested menu price is $10.79.

Starting May 20, the fried chicken will additionally be available as a "Picnic Box" 12-piece family meal, a package deal that can be supplemented, for an additional charge, with iced tea, lemonade, banana pudding, or cookies.

There are Cracker Barrel locations on Whiting Farms Road in Holyoke, on Route 20 in Sturbridge, and in East Windsor, CT.

IHOP locations have introduced two new International Pancake offerings as a limited-time only menu additions.

Italian Cannoli pancakes come three to an order; they're made by rolling and filling the chain's signature buttermilk pancakes with ricotta cream and chocolate morsels. Cannoli shell crunch, chocolate morsels, and whipped topping garnish the creation.

IHOP's Mexican Churro pancakes are stacked with cinnamon spread, decorated with crunchy mini-churros, and drizzles with cream cheese icing.

There are IHOP locations at 270 Cooley Street and 640 Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
Two Boston men have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to working with nine other men to transport large quantities of methamphetamine to Greater Boston for distribution, then laundering the cash proceeds from the sales.

Mario Castro, 50, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston to 57 months in federal prison. Jorge Grandon, 49, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months.

The two were part of a group of 11 people indicted following a two-year investigation into trafficking of methamphetamine from California to Massachusetts. Once the drugs were sold on the Eastern Seaboard, the proceeds were shipped back to California, where the cash was laundered.

Prosecutors said agents in December 2015 seized about 75 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine that was hidden in Castros pants. The drugs had been ordered by Grandon, prosecutors said.

Castro and Grandon appeared before Judge George A. OToole Jr. He sentenced each on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The two were also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

All of the group have pleaded guilty to charges. One other defendant has been sentenced. Christopher Halford appeared before OToole on April 29 and was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison.
HOLYOKE  A drug raid resulted in seizures of approximately 5,000 bags of heroin, $7,000 in cash and the arrest of a city man.

Members of the Hampden County Narcotics and the Holyoke Police Department executed search warrants at three separate locations in Holyoke, resulting in seizures and the arrest of Kenneth Torres, 23, of Holyoke, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gullini.

Police raided an apartment at 140 Essex St. at about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and found approximately 500 bags of heroin, a quantity of cocaine and about $7,000 in cash. At simultaneous raids at 125 and 127 Beech St. authorities seized 4,500 bags of heroin, 100 grams of cocaine and an untraceable 9mm firearm with an extended magazine.

It was the second large confiscation on Wednesday, Gullini said. Several addresses in Holyoke were raided late Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after a trafficking arrest had been announced at another Holyoke site.

Torres was arraigned in Holyoke District Court Thursday on charges of possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute and possession of a Class B substance with the intent to distribute. He was released on $300 cash bail pending a July 9 court date.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, authorities announced a raid on an Essex Street location where some 5,000 bags of heroin and about $112,000 in cash was confiscated and another Holyoke man, 25-year-old Tahge Pedrosa was arrested and charged with trafficking in heroin. He was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.
Two verification pharmacists were found guilty in the last trial of employees and owners of New England Compounding Center, the epicenter of a fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 that sickened hundreds of patients and killed over 100.

Kathy Chin, 47, of Canton And Michelle Thomas, 35, of Cumberland R.I., were each found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Boston Thursday of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription with the intent to defraud or mislead government regulators. Chin was found guilty of two counts while Thomas was convicted of four counts.

The two will be sentenced on Aug. 8 and 9 respectively.

At the end of Thursdays trial, 13 former NECC employees, including Chin and Thomas, have been convicted of 178 charges.

New England Compounding Center was shut down after regulators found it was the source of fungal meningitis among patients who used its medications. Reuters reported that hundreds of people were sickened and prosecutors said more than 100 died.

In addition to unsanitary conditions in the prescription compounding areas, regulators found widespread fraud and company-wide steps to prevent the FDA from conducting effective oversight.

Chin and Thomas were accused of issuing bulk prescriptions to accounts in the names of various celebrities as well as fictitious names such as LL Bean, Filet OFish, Rug Doctor, Squeaky Wheel, Coco Puff and Harry Potter among others.

Prosecutors said the fake prescriptions approved by Chin and Thomas allowed the company to operate as an unregulated drug manufacturer.

At the same time Chin and Thomas were convicted, another verification pharmacist was sentenced for her part in the fraud.

Alla Stepanets, 38, of Framingham was sentenced to one year of probation. She was convicted of six counts of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription.
An adult male was found shot and stabbed on High Street early Saturday morning, Springfield police said.

Department spokesman Ryan Walsh said Springfield police officers located a man on High Street at about 1 a.m. who was seriously injured with one gunshot and several stab wounds.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Walsh said the departments Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene of an afternoon shooting that sent a Springfield man to the Baystate Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound.

Authorities were called to 192-194 Dickinson St. at about 3:40 p.m. There they apparently the victim, reportedly a male in his late 20s or early 30s. Neighbors said the man lives on the first floor of the two-family home located at the intersection of Dickinson St. and Crystal Avenue.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center where his exact condition is unknown. However, police at the scene said they believe his injuries are non-life-threatening.

Investigators believe the man was shot inside the home but are dealing with conflicting information from some witnesses.

A Massachusetts State Police ballistics technician arrived at the scene to aid the city investigation, police said.
Jack Nicholsons famous line in A Few Good Men, still echoes at movie trivia contests today. You cant handle the truth! his character bellowed from the witness stand.

The real truth today is that Americans cant handle the misinformation and sort out whats real. The acclaimed Information Highway, which was supposed to put access to unprecedented news and knowledge at our fingertips, is instead littered with lies, half-baked theories and disingenuous campaigns that batter us daily - threatening our outlook on politics, institutions and each other, and now our very health.

At a time our technology is hurtling forward, we seem to be hurtling backward and revisiting demons we thought we had beaten for good. The latest is measles, which are being reported at their highest clip in 25 years - in large part by unfounded fears being peddled by self-appointed authorities, who say the vaccine leads to autism.

This alarmist claim has been disproven and debunked by medical science, over and over. So whats the problem? Its that we dont trust the scientists or medical people, because we no longer trust anybody.

When respected scientists warn about climate change, citizens who wouldnt know a neutron from an electron laugh at them. We dont trust educators, politicians, business executives and certainly not clergy. The only people whose word is treated as fact seem to be entertainers, whose qualification to analyze complicated things is usually limited not to informed insight but to their access to a public platform and well, how much they care.

Much of this mistrust of qualified advice is the result of abuse of that trust. Medical people urging families to take the simple step of getting a shot are not among the guilty. Our ability to control or eradicate frightening diseases is one of our proudest 20th Century accomplishments, and should be among the most unquestioned.

Until just recently, it was. Only a small number on the fringes protested. But today, the fringes control the dialogue on most issues, increasingly including this one.

The measles outbreak is not so much a questioning of expertise but a protest against all expertise. If Jonas Salk were around today, he wouldnt be accepting honors and gratitude, hed have to endure public ridicule.

There were 704 reported measles cases as of May 1, the most since the official removal of its designation as a contagious disease in the United States in 2000. It looks certain the 1994 total of 963 will be passed, possibly before 2019 is half done.

About 75 percent have come in the state of New York, primarily in two Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities and most involving non-vaccinated people. Religion has always been a factor (and often an obstacle) in promoting mass vaccinations, as it was in 2014, when 383 cases were reported in the Amish communities of Ohio.

Center for Disease Control officials say the incidence of non-vaccination is spreading, though. Its not just an Orthodox Jewish issue: most Ultra-Orthodox rabbis do not oppose the vaccine and urge inoculation, but there is pushback from individuals both inside and outside those communities as social media, hotlines and material from outcast sources pepper parents with fear.

Reported cases in Massachusetts have tripled from 21 to more than 60 in the comparable time period.

If you want to believe your kid doesnt need that many shots, theres plenty of places to find people who agree with you. Its not so easy to discern what is real and what is not, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, former head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Its easier to disbelieve, because in modern America, thats what we do. Alternately bombarded by untruths and crestfallen upon learning weve been duped and deceived by people we trusted, we are turning into a culture that not only doesnt know whom to trust, but chooses not to try.

Since the measles vaccine was made available to the general population in the 1960s, there has never been any sound reason to dispute its effect or fear the consequences. If mistrust and misinformation are turning people away from this vaccine, its only a matter of time before chickenpox, rubella and bacterial meningitis make a comeback, too.

That would be a frightening price for misguided mistrust by selfish people who think my own decision has no effect on the health and lives of those around them. We dont have to trust everybody in a world where hallowed institutions have abused that trust. But medical officials urging families to get the vaccine are not among those people. We should trust them, the way we once did.
CHICAGO  Eduardo Nunez will be activated from the injured list Saturday (tomorrow). Tzu-Wei Lin is headed to the IL.

Lin suffered a sprained knee sliding into second base during Fridays game against the White Sox here at Guaranteed Rate Field. Lin will undergo testing back in Boston.

Hopefully its nothing that serious, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. Well see what happens.

Cora said head trainer Brad Pearson said its too soon to tell how serious.

Early it was bothering him on the outside, Cora said. Now its bothering him on the inside. So unplug him, send him to Boston and see what weve got.

The Red Sox initially placed Nunez on the injured list April 19 because of mid-back strain. He has gone 2-for-15 in four rehab games for Pawtucket.
The Red Sox have signed infielder/outfielder Cody Asche to a minor-league contract, according to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Boston purchased Asches contract from Sugar Land and assigned him to Portland.

Another day, another contract purchased.



Congrats to Cody Asche, who is heading to the Red Sox! He becomes our third player in 2019 to have his contract purchased by an @MLB organization!



FULL STORY: https://t.co/xNPwp20hye pic.twitter.com/IQbVfD41H0  Sugar Land Skeeters (@SL_Skeeters) May 3, 2019

Asche was Philadelphias fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft and hit .240/.298/.385 with 31 homers over four seasons with the Phillies from 2013-16. He has bounced around since hitting free agency after the 2016 season, appearing in 19 games for the White Sox in 2017 before short minor-league stints with the Royals, Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.

Asche, who turns 29 next month, hit .220/.304/.399 with 11 homers in 105 games at Triple-A last season and signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early February. He was released in late March and started the regular season with Sugar Land.

Asche has played both corner infield positions and left field in the majors, so hell provide an option in the high minors for the depleted Sox. Tzu-Wei Lin will join Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt on the injured list Saturday with a left knee sprain while Eduardo Nunez is being activated.
SPRINGFIELD  State legislators toured the Springfield Science Museum on Friday and learned of plans to update, refurbish, and add more interactive exhibits to the popular destination.

The museum has adapted in order to meet the interests of contemporary and diverse audiences, said Springfield Museums President and CEO Kay Simpson. We have been incorporating new technologies and experiences that complement the many curiosities and old favorites cared for in the museum.

Plans are currently underway for more positive changes, especially in our outreach to children and youth, she said.

The greatest impact of a revitalized Springfield Science Museum is as a vibrant, adaptable resource which will inspire generations of youth," said Dave Stier, director of the museum.

The hope is that new interactive exhibits and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, programing will help nurture interest at a young age and steer more people toward the helpful and lucrative STEM workforce.

Curator of Astronomy, Michael Kerr, told the legislators about hoped for updates to the planetarium, which houses the oldest starball in the United States.

We will retain the starball for its historic significance, Kerr said, And we will add digital machinery that will greatly increase the planetariums programming capabilities.

Kerr also noted the addition of an International Space Station exhibit with live-feed from the International Space Station and a hands-on STEM maker space where visitors can solve challenges with inventive solutions they dream up and assemble.
The American Antiquarian Society, a national research library for pre-20th Century American history and culture, recently completed a significant renovation to its 109-year-old Antiquarian Hall in Worcester.

On Saturday, the organization held an open house to celebrate the opening of the three-story, 7,000-square-foot addition that includes a new Learning Lab and state-of-the-art conservation studio.

The society boasts an impressive collection of documents, photographs, books and cartoons that includes the first book printed in British North America, the only surviving copy of the first modern novel published in America and the first Bible published in this country.

All but two of Paul Reveres engravings are among 200,000 graphic arts and ephemera items in the organizations collection, which also includes political cartoons, maps, lithographs, portraits, photographs and paintings.

Visitors to the Antiquarian Societys open house Saturday learned about its preservation efforts and enjoyed a number of exhibits, including historic childrens books, the Isaiah Thomas printing press, marbled paper displays and more.
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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 3, 2019

Microsoft Advertising may have purged several businesses in the past few years, only to regroup and rebuild, using the latest technology based on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For the past four years, Microsoft has been increasingly building intelligence into the Microsoft Advertising platform, formerly known as Bing Ads, said Steve Sirich, general manager at Microsoft.

Everything were doing around predictions and matching, we now have the capabilities and sophistication to bring back our ability to monetize a lot of the supply previously transitioned to AOL, he said. Much of that supply manifests in the Microsoft Audience Network.

In 2015, Microsoft sold its display inventory to AOL, allowing it to drive a more programmatic approach. The company transitioned the selling model for display. The move let Microsoft rebuild many of its platform on artificial intelligence.

Now, the Microsoft Audience Network allows the company to use the intelligence behind the Microsoft Advertising platform and the search signal to serve native ads in domains outside of a search-engine results page, such as MSN Outlook and the Edge browser.

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Microsoft now offers search through Bing, as well as native advertising and image ads through the Microsoft Advertising Network, which operates like a programmatic auction.

It is part of the reason were moving past a search-engine results page, he said.

Microsoft Advertising is testing video extensions, with a thumbnail that displays in the corner, but is not generally available.

Sirich said Microsoft continues to keep an eye on ecommerce ad products and the way Amazon monetizes Sponsored Products. Theres a lot of unmet opportunities in retail, he said.

Microsoft is rebuilding its Edge browser on Google Chromium, For advertisers, Sirich said it unhooks the browser innovation from Windows 10 innovation, making it easier to release more frequent browser updates.

It will allow us to innovate more quickly and drive demand for Edge around privacy and secure browsing, he said. We have a strong precedence and history in browsing, and on Chromium can build a very competitive product.
According to a new study, intensive treatment for high blood pressure may reduce the risk of death from any cause, including cardiovascular disease, in people with type 2 diabetes.

Share on Pinterest New research suggests that intensive blood pressure treatment may help those with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the most common and costly chronic conditions in the United States. Over 100 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the 2017 report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body processes glucose. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease, reduces the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When this occurs, blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of [the] arteries as the heart pumps blood. Hypertension happens when this force against the artery walls is too high.

Doctors measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The first number, or the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. The second number measures the diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart rests between beats.

Doctors define prehypertension as 120139 mm Hg for systolic pressure and between 8089 mmHg for diastolic pressure. They consider a pressure of 140/90 mmHg as high.
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The microfluidic device is an automated and small chip with a highly sensitive fluorescence sensing unit embedded into the device. Physicians take patient samples and add them into the device where Ebola RNA can be seen by activating the CRISPR mechanism. Du is also developing a device that could detect multiple virus strains from Ebola to influenza and zika, for example.The article "Rapid and Fully Microfluidic Ebola Virus Detection with CRISPR-Cas13a," features an international and multidisciplinary team assessing the use of CRISPR technology gene editing technology--to improve virus detection. The group members are from University of California, Berkeley; Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (China); Dong-A University (Korea); Texas Biomedical Research Institute; and Boston University."For this work, we are trying to develop a low-cost device that is easy to use especially for medical personnel working in developing countries or areas where there are outbreaks. They'd be able to bring hundreds of these devices with them for testing, not just one virus or bacteria at one time, but many different kinds," he explained.Researchers have tried for the past 40 years to develop an effective Ebola vaccine. Early detection remains an important strategy for controlling outbreaks, the most recent in the Congo, where more than 1,000 individuals have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control."If you look at this like influenza, and people don't look at it as a virus which also can kill people each year. Some strains may not be as deadly as Ebola, but we know that infectious diseases, regardless of the type, are problems that can threaten the public," Du said. "I grew up in China and experienced the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. I have seen many people lose their relatives and friends because of infectious diseases. If we can have early detection systems to help screen for all types of diseases and patterns, this can be very useful because it can provide information to medical doctors and microbiologists to help develop the vaccines, and early detection and identification can control and even prevent outbreaks."Source: Eurekalert
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The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London."This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition." The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments."IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine. The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier."I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."Source: Eurekalert
UPPER THUMB  Mid Michigan College is expanding access to educational opportunities in Huron and Tuscola counties.

Were excited to increase the number of courses, programs and training opportunities available to the residents of Michigans Thumb region, said Scott Mertes, Vice President of Community Outreach & Advancement at Mid. Students are now able to launch their higher educations with dual enrollment or short-term training and complete associate degrees. From start to finish, the ability to begin and complete an affordable education is now possible in the thumb.

For the fall 2019 semester, Huron Intermediate School District (ISD) is offering Mid Michigans medical assistant associate degree program along with Phlebotomy and CDL-A Truck Driving Short-Term Training. Both Huron and Tuscola ISDs will offer online and face-to-face courses, along with dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.

Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses  giving them a jump start on their college careers and equipping them with skills that help them succeed as they continue their educations, said Mertes.

Parents who want to learn more about dual enrollment can attend a free informational meeting from 6 to 7 p.m., Monday, May 6 at the Tuscola ISD. In just one hour, parents and students can learn how dual enrollment works, how students benefit, and how to get started.

Registration for all fall semester offerings is currently open and complete information, including courses and schedules, can be found online.

At Mid, we strongly believe in increasing access to educational opportunities that develop knowledge and ability within individuals and communities, shared Mertes.

Mids main campuses are located in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant, with satellite locations in Alpena, Huron, Mecosta, Osceola and Tuscola counties.

For more information about Mid offerings in the Thumb region, visit midmich.edu/thumb or contact Scott Mertes at smertes@midmich.edu or 989-386-6614.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  A photo of President Rodrigo Duterte watching a show on Netflix at home on Saturday broke what would have been a six-day absence from the public eye that fuelled speculation about his health.

In the photo sent to CNN Philippines by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, the President is seen on his bed, watching a movie from streaming service provider Netflix with a bunch of today's newspapers on his side. The photo was sent to her by someone from Duterte's team.

Puyat is in Fiji for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors. The President has called her to ask about her recent meeting with the Civil Aeronautics Board regarding the carrying capacity of Boracay Island.

She then told the President that some journalists who were with her wanted to know his whereabouts, and was sent the photo in response. The President's prolonged absence, like in the past, revived speculation that he is gravely ill. Duterte has refused to allow the Palace to issue medical bulletins on his health.

In another photo sent to Malacanang reporters, the President is seen reading the April 30 issue of a national broadsheet.

The President was last seen last Sunday at the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa in Davao City. He had come home last April 27 from his trip to China where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the Second Belt and Road Forum. During that trip, the 74-year-old President reportedly skipped a gala dinner due to a migraine.

Before he left for China, Duterte had attended major campaign sorties of the ruling PDP-Laban party. Administration candidates have dominated senatorial surveys weeks ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
HARBOR BEACH  When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health concern, sometimes its a lot to handle.

Its important to remember that mental health is essential to everyones overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.

May is Mental Health Month was started 70 years ago by national organization, Mental Health America (MHA). Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is joining this years national campaign to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone.

A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health.

That is why in 2019 the hospital is expanding upon last years theme of 4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level, as it explores the topics of animal companionship, humor, work-life balance and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

It is important to really look at your overall health, both physically and mentally, to achieve wellness, said Susan Rochefort, RN and program director of Senior Life Solutions. Finding a reason to laugh, going for a walk with a friend, meditating, playing with a pet or working from home once a week can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy  its all about finding the right balance to benefit both the mind and body.

MHA has developed a series of fact sheets  available at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may  to help people understand how their lifestyle affects their health.

We know that living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy, but it can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes, said Rochefort. Finding the balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both 4Mind4Body.

Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is an intensive outpatient group therapy program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression often related to aging.

For more information, call the Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program at 989-479-0200.
ELKTON  Comcast and The Village of Elkton Parks and Recreation recently assembled volunteers made up of employees, their families, friends and other community members, to assist in the beautification of Ackerman Park on Mullen Street.

The project was one of 28 service opportunities across Michigan during the 18th Comcast Cares Day. Projects began on April 18 and culminate on May 11.
PIGEON  Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker seniors Andrew Smith and Clara Tait will soon be figuring out what to take with them to Michigan State University this fall, but they already know they'll be bringing something very special with them that no other incoming student will have  the Gordon W. and Loyse B. Hueschen Science Scholarship.

This scholarship, available only to qualifying Laker seniors who are going into a science program at MSU, covers full tuition and board for four years. Seven seniors interviewed for the scholarship this year, and Smith and Tait feel very fortunate to have been selected for the prestigious award.

It was a big shock to me. I started shaking and crying, Tait said about finding out she was selected. It was a very happy time. I'm excited.

Smith also said he was shocked when he heard the news.

(Im now) able to progress toward the dream Ive had ever since I first stepped foot on the MSU campus in 8th grade for the FFA state convention, he said. As soon as I saw that huge open campus and all the FFA members and the energy I witnessed there, it was engrained into my head that this is where I want to be in my future. It's a huge honor to finally be able to live that dream.

Smith, son of Jeff and Sandy Smith, is the 2019 valedictorian. At MSU, he will major in agriculture, food and natural resource education. He plans to go into a career in agriculture policy, working with an agricultural-based organization in policy advising. He also has aspirations to run for state office someday and represent the agriculture industry.

Smith said multiple experiences have inspired him to go into the agriculture policy field. His family has been in agriculture for generations, and his FFA involvement has opened his eyes to the many facets of agriculture. He said government courses in high school and his involvement with the World Food Prize competition through FFA piqued his interest in the policy-making side of agriculture.

While at Lakers, Smith has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. Hes in FFA and has served in various leadership positions, such as president of the Laker chapter, regional secretary and treasurer for the state FFA association. He is the president of the Laker National Honor Society. Hes been involved in cross-country, track, Science Olympiad, Michigan Youth Leadership Conference and Rotary Interact. Smith also has served in many community service activities.

Smith said his experiences at Lakers have prepared him for college. Through the FFA, hes tried new things and taken on various challenges, such as leadership roles, which have all boosted his confidence.

Teachers have encouraged me along the way, he added. (Lakers has provided) an environment to facilitate my academic growth throughout the years. It's been really influential and very inspiring and it helped me get to where I am today.

Smith named ag teacher/FFA adviser Haley Schulz and former ag teacher/FFA adviser Don Wheeler as two very important inspirational teachers in his life.

They've pushed me to try new things over and over again, he said. They've both facilitated the growth I've had as a leader and an individual.

He also named English teacher Julie Stoyka as a great inspiration.

She's always believed in me so much, and it helps to have someone on the academic side of things to see my potential and stimulate that growth throughout the years, he said.

Tait, daughter of Michael and Mary Tait, will major in biochemistry at MSU. Her plans are to be a pharmacist. She said some of her science classes at Lakers inspired her to go into this field.

I really enjoyed Mrs. Hasselschwert's chemistry class, and before that, I enjoyed Mr. Lebsack's bio class, she said. I wanted to find a good happy medium. I did some soul searching, and that led me to biochemistry.

Tait has been involved in FFA and has served as a region officer and local chapter officer. Shes a co-captain of the Science Olympiad team and Laker Media chief editor. Shes also been in band, Academic Games, Rotary Interact, National Honor Society, VEX Robotics and the MDOT Bridge Challenge. Tait also has served in a variety of community service activities.

All of her extracurricular involvement will help her adjust well to college life, Tait said.

It has taught me very good time management, she said.

Tait said science teacher Deb Hasselschwert has been a big inspiration.

(Mrs. Hasselschwert) is not afraid to show her inner love for science and geek out about things, she said. That inspired me to show my love for science and not be ashamed of it.

Both Smith and Tait have been involved in the Mid-Michigan Community College dual enrollment program, which is offered at the Huron Area Technical Center. Smith was in the program for two years and will graduate high school with 42 college credits. Tait was in the program for one year and will have 20 college credits.

Tait and Smith have advice for underclassmen that aspire to be future Hueschen recipients.

Before you get to your senior year, do community service. Other than that, in the interview, be true and be passionate in your answers, Tait said. Don't make up some silly story about why you love science. Be honest.

Smith said students should try every opportunity they come across and not shy away from new experiences. He said this has truly helped him be successful.

You get so much growth by trying new things and going out of your comfort zone, he said. It also will help you set yourself apart from other (Hueschen) candidates.

The Hueschen Scholarship is awarded each year to one or more Laker seniors. The recipients are chosen based on academic performance, test scores, awards and honors, the number of science classes taken and the difficulty of all classes taken. Recipients need to be accepted into a science program at MSU.

The scholarship has been awarded since the mid-1990s.
MIDDLETOWN  Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry, the duo behind the Boston-based documentary film company The Film Posse, will join Wesleyan Universitys renowned film studies faculty this fall and will launch the Wesleyan Documentary Project, an initiative to teach, support and produce non-fiction film and video.

MacLowry, a 1986 Wesleyan alumnus, and Strain will also relocate their production company to Middletown, where they will continue to produce films for PBS and other outlets. Together, The Film Posse and Wesleyan Documentary Project will support filmmaking on campus, according to a press release.

Strain, a two-time Peabody Award winner, and MacLowry, a Peabody Award winner and two-time WGA Award winner, have produced over 20 documentaries, many through The Film Posse. Strain most recently produced, wrote and directed, and MacLowry produced and edited, Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017), the first feature documentary about African-American author and activist Lorraine Hansberry.

Sighted Eyes received the prestigious John E. Connor Film award from the American Historical Association, an NAACP Image Award for Strains directing, and a 2018 Peabody Award. MacLowrys recent film The Swamp, a riveting history of the Everglades, aired on PBS American Experience in January, the release said.

Through the Wesleyan Documentary Project, we aim to expand opportunities on campus for non-fiction filmmaking and study. Our world needs creative and diverse documentary storytellers more than ever. We are committed to helping them find their voices, Strain said in a prepared statement.

The Film Posse has a long history of selecting Wesleyan students as interns. Were excited to further integrate students into our professional activities, and aim to provide students with real-world professional experience tailored to a liberal arts setting. Our projects are well-suited to students intellectual interests and strengths, MacLowry said in the release.

In addition, the Wesleyan Documentary Project will institute a documentary hotline, a mechanism through which graduates can seek advice about writing grants, and producing and distributing their work. It will also host an annual event centered on fact-based storytelling with new works by leading artists.

We are thrilled to welcome Tracy and Randy to Wesleyan. They bring the professional excellence and teaching strength to reinvigorate the film departments already robust offerings in documentary filmmaking and study, Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image, the Charles W. Fries Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives, said in the statement.

Wesleyan has offered instruction in documentary making and study from the earliest days of its film program. In recent years, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Sadia Shepard has taught a popular documentary course in which students delve into the lives of ordinary local residents, and screen the resulting short films at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown.
"War Chief of the Crow Indians" isn't a title that's just randomly thrown around to any jackass who happens to own a gigantic, awesome-looking headdress and a really awesome traditional-style wooden bow made out of the bark of dead Treants.

You don't become a War Chief just because you're the oldest dude in the tribe, or the most badass hunter, or the only guy in your zip code capable of bench-pressing an automobile. It's an ancient, prestigious honorific bestowed only upon the bravest, the strongest, and the most hardcore asskickers around, and the only way to attain this hallowed title is by proving yourself in combat and unlocking the four achievements the Crow believed to be the most insanely-difficult things a warrior can attempt in battle -- leading a successful war party on a raid, capturing an enemy's weapon, touching an enemy without killing him, and stealing an enemy's horse.

None of this s--- is easy, and pretty much all of it requires you put your life on the line by voluntarily bringing yourself face-to-face with at least one warrior who is presumably in the process of actively trying to rip you limb from limb with a bowie knife and then splatter your corpse across the countryside with a well-placed headbutt. It's like the Crow Indians' way of making sure they don't have any suckass weaklings leading their tribe into combat.

Related:

At 102 years old, Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was the last surviving War Chief of the Crow Indians when he died in 2016. He is a hardcore, fearless, neck-snapping warrior who has accomplished all of these tremendous feats of bravery in combat and has proven himself a step above the majority of humanity on the badassitude scale.

And he did it in World War II.

Joe Medicine Crow was born on a reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana in 1913. Raised in the illustrious warrior tradition of the Crow, this dude had some pretty hardcore badasses to look up to as a young man -- his step-grandfather had been a scout for Custer at the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn (the Crow had a generations-long blood feud with the Lakota Sioux), and his paternal grandfather was a dude named Chief Medicine Crow who was like the Michael Jordan of Crow war heroes.

So, naturally, young Joseph was drilled into a tough warrior capable of handling himself in any situation. The majority of this young warrior's childhood was spent undergoing hardcore Spartan-style feats of strength, piledriving buffalo, riding horses bareback, swimming through mighty rivers, punching things, and running barefoot through snow-covered plains uphill both ways. He was taught to control his fear in the face of imminent peril, learned to hunt dangerous animals by himself, and trained his body to survive prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures.

He was also taught the war history of his tribe, and in addition to honing his body to the ultimate wilderness survival machine he also became the first member of his tribe to graduate with an advanced college degree, receiving his MA in Anthropology from USC in 1939.

Medicine Crow was in the process of working on his PhD when the United States entered World War II. Never one to back down from the opportunity to put his powers of mass destruction to good use, Crow enlisted as a scout in the 103rd Infantry and was sent to the beaches of Normandy to wreak havoc on the forces of European Fascism. Despite serving in a war dominated by automatic weapons, heavy artillery, and gigantic tanks armed with 88mm cannons, Medicine Crow held on to the time-honored practices of his tribe -- he always wore bright red war paint into combat, and he strapped a sacred yellow-painted eagle feather to his helmet for good luck.

He also counted the four coups required to distinguish himself as a Crow war chief, which is no small f------ task when one of those tasks involves stealing a horse from the enemy.

As an infantry scout, you probably don't get too many opportunities to lead a group of men into combat, but Pvt. Medicine Crow got the opportunity to do just that in snow-covered battlefields of Western France while the Allies made their push from Paris towards Berlin.

The border to Germany was a heavily-fortified wall of impenetrable machine gun bunkers, tank traps, trenches, moats and artillery positions known as the Siegfried Line, which was basically like a functional, not-worthless version of France's Maginot Line.

Well, during one particularly nasty portion of the battle for the Rhine, Medicine Crow's commanding officer ordered the Native American warrior to take a team of seven soldiers and lead them across an field of barbed wire, bullets, and artillery fire, grab some dynamite from an American position that had been utterly annihilated, and then assault the German bunkers and blow the ass out of them with TNT. This was basically a suicide mission, but, according to Medicine Crow, when he got the mission his CO's exact words were, "if anyone can do this, it's probably you."

That's not exactly a phrase that inspires tremendous confidence, but Joe Medicine Crow didn't give a s---. He charged out, evaded an endless rain of fireballs, shrapnel, and misery, grabbed the TNT from a supply crate while tracer rounds zipped past his head, and then charged balls-out towards some German machine gun nests while carrying an armload of ultra-high explosives. He somehow reached the wall in one piece and blasted a hole in the Siegfried Line so the infantry could advance. Medicine Crow received a Bronze Star for this action, and his squad did not lose a single man in the battle. I'd call that a win.

Shortly after moving through the Siegfried Line (I read in one source that Joe was photographed leading the charge and leaping through the breach he'd created in the wall, thus making him the first American soldier to set foot on German soil, though I wasn't able to verify this fact or locate the photo), the 103rd was ordered to capture a nearby town that was being staunchly defended by the enemy.

While the main elements of the 103rd moved into the well-defended main street of the village, Joe Medicine Crow's scouts were ordered to flank around through a back alley and get behind the German fortifications. Well, as this s--- was going down, Medicine Crow got separated from his unit, and while he was in the process of sprinting through some German family's backyard a random Nazi jackass stepped out from behind the wall with his rifle at the ready.

Joe didn't see this dude until the last second, and ended up running right into the guy

like the Juggernaut from the X-Men.

The two guys smashed helmet-to-helmet in a maneuver that would probably have netted Medicine Crow a 15-yard penalty in the NFL, and the force of the running mega Indian flying headbutt sent that Nazi jackass (and his rifle) sprawling across the lawn.

Joseph Medicine Crow, however, still had his rifle firmly wedged in his kung fu grip.

Joseph Medicine Crow now found himself standing rifle-to-face with an unarmed German soldier, but gunning down an unarmed man wasn't this guy's style -- he was much more of an "honorable combat" sort of badass, and he wasn't about to let this Nazi douchebag feel the sweet release of death without getting a nice red, white, and blue knuckle sandwich or two beforehand.

So Joe Medicine Crow threw down his rifle and hit him in the face Batman-style.

The two guys started going at it, and at one point the Nazi almost flipped the tables and pinned Joe, but the Native American warrior freaked out, grabbed the German dude by the throat, and started squeezing. Just as he was ready to choke the life out of his enemy, the German, sensing imminent death, started calling out for his Mom.

That kind of put the kibosh on Joseph's kill buzz. So he let the guy live, taking the German (and his rifle) as a prisoner of war and knocking out two War Chief prerequisites with one well-placed face-punch.

Of all the s--- on this borderline-impossible list, this is the one that seems like it would trip up the most people these days. But in early 1945 Joseph Medicine Crow stole 50 horses from a group of German officers.

The story starts with Joe and his men on a scouting mission deep behind enemy lines. While surveying the landscape for enemy troop movements, Medicine Crow's small team of recon experts just happened to come across a small farm where some senior members of the German officer staff were holed up -- along with a group of awesome thoroughbred race horses.

So, naturally, Joe had to steal them.

In the early hours of the morning, Joseph Medicine Crow, dressed in his U.S. Army uniform, snuck past the sleeping guards armed only with a rope and his Colt 1911 .45-caliber service pistol. He found the best horse in the group, tied the rope into a makeshift bridle, mounted the horse bareback, and then gave a super loud Crow war cry as he tried to herd as many goddamned horses out of the corral as possible before the Nazis started firing bullets at him. Hauling ass through though the German countryside in the dead of night, Joseph Medicine Crow sang a Crow war song while German officers ran outside in their underwear taking potshots at him with their Lugers.

This s--- is so crazy you couldn't even make it up.

In the last days of the war, Joseph Medicine Crow helped liberate a concentration camp in Poland (he and his commanding officer drove a jeep through the front gates and the SS guards immediately dropped their s--- and ran away without a fight) before finally heading home to his tribe in Montana. When the Crow elders heard about his through-the-roof Gamerscore they made Joe an official War Chief in the Tribe -- a post he now holds by himself. He was also made a Knight in the French Legion of Honor, received three honorary PhDs, authored nearly a dozen books on military history, stayed married to the same woman for over 60 years, and has been the official historian for his tribe for the last fifty years.

In August of 2009 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor awarded to American civilians -- for his combined military service and all the work he has done to help improve the lives of the people of the Crow people. The 95 year-old Medicine Crow personally led the ceremonial dance after the ceremony.

Links:

Billings Gazette

Joe Medicine Crow

Crow Nominated for Congressional Gold Medal

Wikipedia

Sources:

Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony. Penguin, 1999.

Robinson, Gary and Phil Lucas. From Warriors to Soldiers. iUniverse, 2010.

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Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier...
A second Marine commanding officer has been fired for allegedly driving drunk, just two weeks after another senior leader was also arrested and ousted from his job for the same reason.

Col. Douglas Lemott Jr., commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group, was relieved of his duties on Friday, five days after he was arrested in Virginia for allegedly driving under the influence.

Lemott, who could not be reached for comment, is at least the second commanding officer to be picked up in Virginia on drunk driving charges in the last month.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, carried out the latest relief after losing trust and confidence in Lemott's ability to command, Capt. Amanda Anderson, a Marine spokeswoman told Military.com.

"Underlying allegations are being investigated by the appropriate authorities," she said, referring additional questions to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office, where Lemott was arrested.

Lemott, 49, will head back to Fauquier General District Court on June 21, according to court records. He was released on bail following his arrest.

It's Lemott's first alleged drunk driving offense. If found guilty, he could have his driver's license revoked for a year and face a fine of at least $250.

Col. John Atkinson, commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion based in Quantico, Virginia, was relieved on April 26, two weeks after he was picked up for allegedly driving under the influence in Prince William County.

Atkinson is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Commandant Gen. Robert Neller earlier this week called out Marines' alcohol use as it relates to another crime: sexual assault. Neller has pushed long pushed for Marines to curb their alcohol use, launching a campaign encouraging them to protect the career they've worked hard to build.

"Marines ... know that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to a significant number of these incidents and other aberrant behaviors," Neller wrote on Twitter.

Col. Wendy Goyette, the former commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group has taken over for Lemott.

The unit, based in Fort Meade, Maryland, falls under Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command, whose mission it is to protect the service's critical infrastructure from attacks. The command includes about 800 personnel.

In February, Lemott received the 2019 Stars and Stripes United States Marine Corps Award. He was recognized as a leader shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and math, and for "serving with distinction while supporting the Marine Corps' efforts in mentorship, diversity and value-based service to the nation," according to a Marine Corps news release.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
The creator of "Terminal Lance" is back to writing about the heavier side of military life with a new graphic novel that follows Marines in Afghanistan's frigid mountain ranges.

Max Uriarte is taking an all-new cast of Marine characters to Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province in his upcoming graphic novel "Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli." The full-color, feature-length story follows Sgt. King as he leads his Marines in a fight against the Taliban in the province's cold, snowy mountains.

Uriarte, who served as an infantry Marine in Iraq, wanted to do something different from his last book, "The White Donkey," which follows the main "Terminal Lance" comic strip character to Iraq and back. Sgt. King, a young black infantryman, and the rest of the "Battle Born" characters are all new.

"I had never really seen a military infantry story with a black main character and thought that would be really cool," Uriarte told Military.com. "They would say you should make the story that you want to see, so I had decided to just go for it."

Uriarte also wanted to take Marines out of the desert. When he read about the Taliban illegally mining lapis lazuli, the blindingly blue, sought-after gemstone once popular with Egyptian pharaohs, he got the idea to send Sgt. King and his Marines into the valley where the group had taken hold.

Afghanistan has been one of the main sources for lapis lazuli for thousands of years, and the Taliban saw an opportunity in the gem. The group took over a mine once used for generations by an Afghan family in the import-export business, The New York Times reported. In 2014, the lapis trade was valued at about $125 million a year, according to the Times.

"I thought that was super fascinating stuff and a really cool setting for the story," Uriarte said. "And I found that the whole story, much like how I centered 'The White Donkey' around the donkey that sort of becomes a theme, I've centered it around the lapis lazuli, which is where the title comes from."

With an all-new location and set of characters, Uriarte set out to do his research. He was familiar with how Marines operated in the desert, but not the cold. So he embedded with an infantry battalion at the Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

"It was honestly so much worse than Camp Pendleton or Twentynine Palms. Everybody was miserable," Uriarte said. "... It gave me a good refresher on why I left the Marine Corps because you get really nostalgic, right? Then you get back into it, and you're in the field eating [tray rations] for a few days."

"Battle Born" is a more visual story than "The White Donkey," he said, with about a third more pages but half the dialogue. It's also illustrated in full color, a change from the "Terminal Lance" black-and-white style.

"I wanted it to be a beautiful book," Uriarte said. "One that you'll open, and it will kind of take you in, so I went full color. ... And I just wanted a story that was less dialogue, less talky and more, just sort of beautiful to look at.

"I really just wanted to make a war story that was beautiful because I hadn't really seen one."

"Battle Born" touches on serious topics such as colonialism and racism, which Uriarte describes as a very personal journey for Sgt. King. Its not without some of that salty "Terminal Lance" humor though.

"You'll find all your favorite Marine Corps staples like standing post and other bull---t," Uriarte said.

Overall, however, it's about a well-functioning small unit hard at work downrange. Given the author's longstanding tradition of celebrating junior Marines, it's perhaps only fitting the story doesn't include any pesky gunnys or first sergeants yelling at Sgt. King and his Marines.

"I didn't put a single staff NCO in the story," Uriarte said. "Sgt. King is the highest-ranking enlisted guy, and there's background to why that is in the story. But he basically just talks directly to the lieutenant, the only officer around and it's great. You take all the staff NCOs out, and everything works great."

"Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli" will be published by Little, Brown and Company this winter. It will be available in hardcover and in the Kindle Store.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.

Though the injury isnt said to be serious, its a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the leagues third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the leagues best.
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.

Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so its not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesnt start producing  though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.

Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.

In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
FLINT, MI -- A Genesee Circuit Court judge has given prosecutors a little more time to review what they say could be new information related to the Flint water crisis --- but not as much time as they requested.

Judge Joseph Farah on Friday, May 3, denied a request from prosecutors to wait six months until issuing his decision on whether the case against former state Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon can move closer to a jury trial, but said he would wait until June 14 before ruling on the most serious charges that are pending.

Its time for the midnight pizzas and Coca-Colas, Farah told Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud in making his ruling. It is time ... for everybody to roll up their sleeves (and) redouble their efforts ... Its time for that.

Before Hammoud filed a motion requesting a stay in court proceedings in the Lyon case, Farah had been expecting to rule by May 17 on a separate request from Lyons attorneys that the four criminal charges against him be dismissed because of errors during his preliminary examination in Genesee District Court.

The judge said Friday that his only consideration in deciding the motion to quash -- or dismiss -- the charges against Lyon is determining whether District Court Judge David Goggins abused his discretion in binding Lyon over for trial.

Farah said if prosecutors find information that helps or hurts their case against Lyon, it wont effect his decision on the dismissal question but could result in the case being sent back to district court.

Hammoud asked for a six-month delay after the discovery of what prosecutors described as a trove Flint water documents -- amounting to millions of pages earlier this year in the basement of a state-owned building.

That discovery, the solicitor general told the judge, led to the detection of a deeply flawed system for reviewing records turned over by state agencies in response to investigative subpoenas issued by former special prosecutor Todd Flood, who Hammoud fired just last month.

Flood agreed to a procedure for how those records would be reviewed that was deeply flawed, Hammoud said, resulting in prosecutors reviewing themselves only about 1.5 million of about 20 million discovery documents.

Among the problems, she said, was the involvement of a law firm that has been paid to represent former Gov. Rick Snyder in the record review.

We dont know what we dont know, Hammoud said of the need to do more work the records. We have an obligation to investigate."

Attorneys for Lyon argued against Farah delaying his decision, contending Hammoud was stalling as a new group of prosecutors acclimate themselves to eight criminal cases related to Flint water that are still pending.

They are simply saying, Give us time to figure out what (this) case is about, said Lyon attorney Chip Chamberlain. Thats something they can do on their own time -- not on Mr. Lyons time."

Lyon, 50, was arraigned on Flint water charges nearly two years ago.

As a member of Snyders cabinet, he was the highest-ranking figure in state government to have been charged with crimes related to the water crisis and was bound over to stand trial by 67th District Court Judge David Goggins on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office.

Farah said he will still make a decision whether to dismiss the misdemeanor charge against Lyon -- neglect of duty -- within two weeks.

Prosecutors have claimed Lyon is responsible for the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, two Genesee County men whom prosecution experts say likely died of Legionnaires disease, which spiked throughout Genesee County while the city used the Flint River as its water source in parts of 2014 and 2015.

The former director, who has pleaded not guilty of the charges, was among city, county and state officials who were aware of outbreaks of Legionnaires here and suspicions that Flints water was connected to them a full year before residents were told.

Lyon had a duty under state law to warn citizens of the outbreaks and to protect their health, according to the charges against him.

Water prosecutors claims of a flawed discovery process in the Flint water cases hasnt just caused fallout in the Lyon case.

Hammoud said shes spoken to attorneys for the seven other current and former city and state government employees also facing charges and is requesting delays in those cases as well.

Even though the un-reviewed water documents came from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the records or review process could still be relevant to those cases, Hammoud said Friday.

Court records show Genesee District Court Judge Nathaniel Perry has already agreed to delay preliminary examinations for former emergency manager Darnell Earley and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft until November.
SCIO TOWNSHIP, MI  Special needs education leaders in Washtenaw County are proposing a 0.37-mill tax increase to demolish and rebuild a school just outside Ann Arbor.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District is considering putting the $53.2 million bond proposal before voters to fund the project at High Point School, 1735 S. Wagner Road in Scio Township. The special needs school shares a campus with Honey Creek Community School and serves students across the county.

The school board will consider the proposal in a 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 meeting at 1819 S. Wagner Road.

If OKed by the board, residents would vote on the ballot measure Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Maneuvering through a maze of narrow hallways and tight corners on the campus has been difficult for staff and students, many who use mobility devices that need extra hallway space, Superintendent Scott Menzel said.

The building is almost 50 years old. It opened in 1975. There are significant limitations in terms of the infrastructure, Menzel said. (There are) a lot of exterior doors, which from an exit standpoint  makes sense. From a school safety and security point in the 21st century, thats not a really good model at all.

Here are five things to know about the proposal:

1. Conceptual plan

The proposed school would be 27,000-square-feet larger than the current building.

It would include 30 to 35 classrooms on one side of the building; additional rooms for use by physical therapists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other special needs workers; new equipment and furniture; storage space, technological improvements and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Classrooms would be nearly 1,000 square feet with individual bathrooms.

Supplemental rooms would be added for meetings or future classrooms, and ramps would be built across the campus. The plan is to create a structure that would accommodate the programs growth for the next 30 years, Menzel said.

The schools bus drop-off area is currently uncovered and stretches away from the main entrance, causing difficulties for staff to assist wheelchair users during rain and snow. The district wants to add heated sidewalks with an overhead shield.

The school would accommodate students ages three to 26, with fenced-off playgrounds for different age groups. Every classroom would have windows for daylight.

Update: an earlier version of this story reported the school would accommodate K-8. It was changed to reflect the accurate age group.

A life skills area, cafeteria, media center, music room and art room are also planned.

2. How much it would cost homeowners

The 10-year, 0.37-mill tax increase would cover the demolition and new construction, costing the owner of a $300,000 home about $55.50 annually, or about $4.63 a month.

The district could set aside funds from a special education millage as an alternative, but it would not fully cover the costs needed, Menzel said.

3. How the money would be spent

The proposed $53.2 million in bond funding would pay to demolish the current structure and construct a new building, while keeping the gymnasium and pool in place.

Mechanical, electrical, technological and infrastructure development alone would cost $18 million, Menzel said.

The funds would also purchase new equipment and furniture, new information technology systems, refurbishment of the pool and gym, new playgrounds and landscaping.

4. Who can vote

The proposal would not appear on every Washtenaw County ballot, Menzel said. Rather, its a constituent district vote of (Washtenaw Intermediate School District).

Residents in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti school districts would vote for it on Aug. 6.

5) How long it will take

Moving staff and students out and beginning work by January 2020 is the goal, which would involve relocating programs.

The ideal scenario would be to move back in fall 2021, Menzel said.

Options for relocation include using empty school buildings the district may lease for an 18-month period, possibly in Ypsilanti.

Gretchens House, a private childcare center that uses a few classrooms in the same building, would not move with the High Point and Honey Creek schools during the temporary period. It would operate in an alternate facility, Menzel said.
HILLSDALE, MI -- A part of Hillsdale history is being restored, as renovations to the century-old Dawn Theater are set to begin later this year.

A $1.4 million Michigan Economic Development Corporation Community Development Block Grant is helping to restore the currently vacant building at 97 N. Broad St., according to a news release.

The old theater will become a new venue for movies, special events and private rentals.

Given its history and what it means to the community now -- and 100 years ago -- it was important for us to try restore it, Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie said.

Planned repairs in the $1.7 million project include restoration of the original brick facade and windows, floor replacement, roof work and making the theater handicap accessible, the release said.

Expected to open in fall 2020, the new venue will create 27 new jobs, Mackie said.

The building is owned by the Hillsdale Tax Increment Finance Authority, Mackie said. The project is receiving $400,000 for the rehabilitation and $200,000 in TIFA funds for building acquisition and pre-development project costs, the release said.

The district and city administration are working together to improve the community, which the grant allows us to do, Mackie said. We are reinvesting in the structure, and hopefully secure it for another century.

The Dawn Theater has become a key fixture of downtown Hillsdale since opening as a single-screen theater in 1919, Mackie said.

The theater struggled with the rise of multiplexes and was turned into a nightclub in the 1990s. The nightclub closed in 2004 and the building was vacant until 2010, when it began hosting events until closing again in 2013.

Re-opening the theater will provide the town a much needed community space, Mackie said. State Rep. Eric Leutheuser. R-Hillsdale, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, praised the grant allocation and the restoration of the theater.

This is a tremendous opportunity to honor and preserve our rich local history while starting a whole new chapter in the story of our town, Leutheuser said.
JACKSON, MI  A city workshop held earlier this week to discuss Jacksons 2019-2020 budget proposal fell within a gray area of Michigans Open Meetings Act, according to a legal expert.

During workshops, city council members cannot deliberate toward or make decisions on future agenda items, said Jennifer Dukarski, deputy general counsel for the Michigan Press Association. Its up for debate as to whether Jackson City Councils Thursday, May 2 workshop fell within those perimeters.

The council invited the public to attend the workshop, but did not allow for public comment, angering many of the nine residents in attendance.

Cities arent required to have public comment during workshops, Dukarski said. The question is whether Thursdays get-together can be considered a workshop, rather than a meeting  in which public comment is required by law. The event was initially billed as a special meeting with public comment.

"This gets into a gray area, when the full board is there and they start asking questions," Dukarski said. "There's a very fine line between education and asking questions that will help you deliberate and make a decision on public policy."

Wheres the agenda and whens the citizen comment? resident John King said, interrupting the workshop. By law there has to be.

Officials didnt explain why public comment was being barred.

Mayor Derek Dobies and Councilman Jeromy Alexander agreed Thursdays gathering helped inform their decision on the budget vote, but both said they dont believe the talks could be considered deliberations.

A second budget workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 will include deliberations, Dobies said, and therefore will also include time for public comment. Theres also a public hearing scheduled for May 14 before the council votes on the budget May 28, Dobies said.

Whether public comment was necessary or not, Alexander said they absolutely should have had it during the first workshop.

"Even if public comment wasn't required, there's nothing that can stop us from having additional public comment," Alexander said. "I'd always rather have more input, more feedback from constituents."

Public comment was skipped because the workshop was purely informative, Dobies said Friday. Its the same way the council has done budget workshops in past years, he added.

We wanted to make sure we had time to be able to have that presentation, Dobies said.

The workshop ran about two-and-a-half hours.

Penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act are minimal, Dukarski said. Decisions made during the meeting could be invalidated  although there were no votes during Thursdays workshop. If taken to court, the act says an official intentionally in violation can be charged with a misdemeanor and $1,000 fine.

Jackson City Council typically allows for three minutes of public comment per person near the beginning of all meetings. Council efforts to alter the policy last spring were tabled, after citizens rebuked the new plan during public comment.
MUSKEGON, MI  After 73 years, World War II hero William Naill finally got his medal.

At age 91, Naill had essentially given up on the idea he would ever get a medal recognizing his service. He was just 16 when he signed up to fight, winding up on the island of Guam in the South Pacific struggling to stay alive even though the war was technically over.

He returned to his home in 1946 and carried on with life, working a variety of jobs, settling down and having a family.

On Friday, May 3, Naill finally got the overdue recognition he deserved. The U.S. Navy Occupation Service Medal was presented to Naill during a ceremony at the SKLD nursing facility in Muskegon, where his wife Betty now resides.

Im kind of overwhelmed by it, Naill said. I havent had this much attention since my mother had me.

Humor is second nature to Naill, who peppers his memories of war with quips.

Naill tried three times to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but couldnt because he was under age. Finally, he convinced his parents to vouch for him so he could follow in the footsteps of his older brother who had already joined the war effort.

They said I was born in September, and my brother was born in January, Naill said, a grin spreading across his face. Its possible -- thats nine months  though it would have been tough on my mother.

His reason for joining was simple: I wanted to win the war.

In 1945, he was sent to the Atlantic on a destroyer escort and soon, the European conflict ended following Adolf Hitlers suicide. Naill then was sent to the Pacific, and soon after Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered. That was on Aug. 15, 1945.

But fighting continued on Guam even after the surrender. Naill, who had been a fireman 2nd class and a gunner onboard ship, was one of two crew members dropped off at Guam, according to Naills son, Ed Naill of Muskegon. It was on the island where Naill switched from being a sailor to being a combat solider.

I served on ship and on land, Naill said. I couldve been an amphibian.

For the most part, he glosses over the horrors of war, saying he simply was doing his duty. But he provides glimpses of what he encountered fighting the Japanese when he was just a teenager.

They were killing us, he said. And we were killing them.

When he arrived back in the United States in 1946, Naill first went to work as a sign painter, later driving big rigs and working other jobs.

He was from Maryland, but his son was in Michigan and Naill followed, finding churches to pastor in Eaton Rapids and Ionia, later settling in Muskegon. He continues to preach at the Church of The Brethren in Muskegon.

When his wife fell ill and moved to SKLD, Naill began spending his days at her side. Hes at the nursing facility every day for seven to eight hours.

That was where he met Stephanie Jenkins, who works as a cook for the nursing facility. One day, noticing the veterans hat Naill was wearing, Jenkins thanked him for his service. He expressed surprise that anyone actually remembered the war that was fought so long ago.

That set the wheels in motion, and Jenkins reached out to her pastor, the Rev. Wesley Spyke, for help getting Naill the Occupation Service Medal he never received. Spyke and Jenkins husband are among a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who provide escorts for the remains of soldiers who die overseas. They show up at other veterans events as well, and four rode to the nursing facility on Friday to show their respects to Naill.

Spyke read excerpts from a letter of thanks Naills commander had written him so many years ago.

As family, friends, residents and SKLD staff watched, members of the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs gave him a certificate and pinned the medal Naill waited 75 years to receive onto the lapel of his suit.

I havent the faintest idea, Naill said when asked why it took so long for him to get the recognition.

His son, Ed Naill, said he thinks it was simply an oversight brought about by the chaos of the wars end and the return of thousands of the nations heroes.

Its just the way bureaucracies go, Ed Naill said. There were thousands and thousands of men coming out of service  and this was at the end of the war.
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SAGINAW, MI - Both Heritage High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA) hosted their proms at The Horizon Conference Center on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Around 400 Heritage juniors and seniors attended their prom, which was themed fiesta toda la noche which means party all night long in Spanish. They were set up in a large conference room, and pinatas, Mexican flavored sodas, and several different themed backdrops were some of the highlights. They also played a highlight video for the seniors that displayed photos of the class of 2019 and their four years at school.

SASAs prom was in a more intimate space, and their students dressed up to a Masquerade theme for the evening. Their DJ was a hit, getting almost every student on his or her feet to dance. They also had a miniature studio set up where a photographer took their photos with a themed backdrop.
ESSEXVILLE, MI - Bay City All Saints High School celebrated the school year with their prom at The Grand Banquet and Conference Center in Essexville on Friday, May 3, 2019.

A Masquerade theme had some of the 41 students who attended to bring along their masks and even their Crocs.

Senior Caitlyn McDonell brought her bright yellow Crocs and switched out her heels to show them off. She said that they wear them each day to school and they actually began a trend.

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Family members flooded the backyard of the venue to snap all the photographs possible of the students. Inside offered them dinner, professional photographs, soft drinks, desserts and of course dancing.

All Saints took fifth place in the Bay City, Midland and Saginaw 2019 Prom of the Week poll.
Months of insistence in Washington that the people of Venezuela stood by the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido basically went up in smoke when his Operation Liberty fizzled. The question now is whom to blame.

Senior US officials like National Security Advisor John Bolton and special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams expressed confidence in regime change in Caracas on Tuesday, named top Venezuelan officials ready to defect, and even spoke of signed documents to that effect.

Yet literally none of this happened, and by the early evening on Tuesday, the handful of Guaidos armed supporters were seeking sanctuary in foreign embassies.

Also on rt.com Coup fizzles? Guaidos mentor takes refuge in Chilean embassy as 25 military seek asylum in Brazils

Then came the spin. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on CNN and Fox News to claim that Maduro was getting ready to flee to Cuba, but the Russians talked him out of it. Bolton claimed Maduro was hiding in a bunker even as video evidence from Caracas showed him addressing supporters numbering in the thousands on May Day. The truth was inescapable, though: Guaido had failed.

The opposition took a step backward with the military, Rocio San Miguel, president of the Colombian NGO Control Ciudadano, told Bloomberg on Thursday. Guaido appearing with [his mentor Leopoldo] Lopez at a single point in the city with a few dozen soldiers and no major firepower showed their weakness.

So what happened? Several US media outlets have since sought to explain, citing anonymous sources allegedly privy to US government plots. These sources told Bloomberg they believe Maduro got wind of the coup on April 29, and Guaido rushed it ahead of schedule or it would all collapse.

Lopez was released from house arrest because the head of the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, General Manuel Christopher Figuera, had defected to Guaido, the anonymous and entirely unverifiable sources claimed, adding that it was Lopez resurfacing that might have spooked other senior officials  defense minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno, and military intelligence and presidential guard head General Ivan Hernandez.

According to these sources, Figueras wife left Venezuela on Sunday for the safety of the US, and the general left the country as well after he was sacked on Tuesday night, though his whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, AP published a long speculative piece about missed opportunities to turn senior Venezuelan officials, from Hernandez being denied a visa in 2017 for his 3-year-old sons brain surgery, to Padrino reaching out to the US government in early 2016, after a troubled Venezuelan election.

Padrino in particular has been seen as a potential white knight, being a graduate of the School of the Americas. Apparently, very little US influence in the Venezuelan army had survived what the AP described as thorough scrubbing by Former President Hugo Chavez.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

Theres a theory thats gaining ground, and I think theres some credence to it, that it was all part of a big rope-a-dope operation, whereby the Maduro officials pretended to go along with this coup to smoke out the opposition, Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, told RT.

Thats one possibility, the other is that Pompeos lying about Maduros attempted flight to Cuba, McAdams said, adding that neither reflects well on the US.

Whatever the truth, there is no escaping the fact that Washington has pushing for regime change in Caracas for months with sanctions and other forms of pressure, and openly since recognizing Guaido in January, to absolutely no avail. All the hot air coming from Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams and other high officials pushing the regime change narrative has had far more effect in the US than in Venezuela.

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President Trump took to Twitter to declare his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula, after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea, meanwhile, test-fired short-range missiles.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted on Saturday. But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Trumps tweet came after he spoke with Putin by phone on Friday. The two leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including nuclear arms control and the Korean peace process.

The president touted the success of the call on Saturday, heralding the tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. After the phone call, certain media outlets chided Trump for not pressing Putin on supposed Russian election meddling.

Despite Trumps insistence that a deal will happen with North Korea, results thus far have been lacking. A much-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year ended with a vague promise from Kim to work towards denuclearization, while a follow-up summit in Hanoi, Vietnam this year collapsed with no agreement when Trump found Kims demands untenable.

Kim has since broadened his horizons, meeting with Putin in Vladivostok last month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also reportedly considering a meeting with Kim, according to a Friday report in the Shankei newspaper.

Also on rt.com North Korea fires short-range projectiles eastward  S. Korea

Diplomacy aside, Pyongyang has reportedly reversed its dismantling of missile and rocket test sites in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit, and on Saturday morning fired a salvo of short-range projectiles out to sea from the city of Wonsan, on its east coast.

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Julian Assanges father John Shipton has blasted the US for seeking vindictive revenge on his son for WikiLeaks exposing the US destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria and the millions killed in wars.

Assange is being punished for exposing the grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century, Lipton told protesters at a rally in Sydney, Australia, on Friday.

Also on rt.com UN rights experts lambast Assanges disproportionate prison sentence in UK

The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge, he said.

Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison on Wednesday for breaching bail when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London seven years ago. He faces extradition to the US where he is accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for allegedly trying to help whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The war logs and cables leaked by Manning in 2010 revealed potential US war crimes and shocking details about foreign policy and civilian casualties.

Also on rt.com 'A testimony of evil': How Mannings 'Collateral Murder' revelation changed history

Part of this resentment against Julian revealing these crimes is manifested by the English magistrate judiciary," Lipton said, pointing to bizarre statements being made against Assange in court, like that he is a narcissist.

Lipton also took aim at Ecuador, telling the crowd that in order to get a loan, they sold an Australian citizen for money, referring to the recent $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan Ecuador secured before Assange was removed from the embassy.

He called on the Australian people to give the government the courage to stop assisting this by doing nothing, and help to bring Assange home to his family.

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Palestinian health officials said that at least one person was killed and several injured after Israeli military responded with force to a barrage of rockets coming from Gaza Strip this Saturday.

Four Palestinians have been injured in an Israeli airstrike around the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Palestines health ministry, was quoted by RIA Novosti. Later in the day, AFP reported that the Israeli strikes had killed at least one person in the area.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli armed forces said as many as 90 rockets were fired from inside Gaza Strip into Israel. Dozens of them were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense system. There were no immediate reports on casualties.

Also on rt.com Heavy barrage of rockets: IDF says 90 missiles launched from Gaza, dozens intercepted

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
The only gold ingot Estonias central bank has in storage is not pure enough for financial operations and is more suitable as a museum piece, the bank has revealed.

The piece of gold weights 11 kilograms and is valued at around 500,000, the head of the financial market division of the Bank of Estonia, Fabio Filipozzi, told Terevisioon, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). The gold bar is 97 years old  three years younger than the bank, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday.

Also on rt.com Russia tops global gold buyers list as it turns away from US dollar

The rest of the countrys gold reserves amount to 256 kilograms, but it is stored in foreign banks, and in the US in particular. The tradition stems from the first half of the last century, before World War II began, when the country decided to transfer the precious metal to keep it safe.

Tallinn sold most of its gold reserves in the 1990s and invested money in other liquid assets, such as bonds and equities, according to the bank official.

Estonias gold reserves are the second lowest among European countries, behind Albania by 1.35 tons, according to Trading Economics website data.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Europe would not enjoy the same level of peace and security that it does today if it werent for Turkeys willingness to host waves of refugees pouring in from numerous countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed.

If European countries are living in peace today, it is thanks to Turkey for hosting 4 million refugees, Erdogan said on Friday, as quoted by Anadolu.

In 2015, the EU agreed to pay Turkey 3 billion ($3.3 billion) in exchange for housing refugees and preventing them from entering the bloc. A year later, a formal deal was reached between Ankara and Brussels, stipulating that all migrants arriving illegally on European shores would be returned to transit country Turkey.

In exchange, the EU promised to speed up deliberations over Turkeys bid to join the bloc. As part of the deal, Ankara requested an additional 3bn to help cope with the humanitarian crisis.

Also on rt.com Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE owe their existence to Iran  Rouhani

The two sides have squabbled over exactly how many refugees Turkey hosts  and how much money Ankara needs to care for them. For example, last year the EU claimed that Turkey was holding less than 2 million refugees, while the Turkish government insisted the number was closer to 4 million.

Despite Turkeys best efforts, in the last few years Europe has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks, with some attributed to extremists who entered the bloc posing as asylum seekers.

While Ankara and Brussels have locked horns over issues ranging from visa-free travel to press freedoms, some European states have expressed gratitude to Turkey for its role in containing the influx of refugees trying to enter the bloc.

Also on rt.com Macron suggests shrinking Schengen zone because EU migration policies 'do not work'

Europes security today begins in Turkey, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto acknowledged at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday.

More than 1 million migrants poured into Europe in 2015. Although the influx has slowed considerably, the crisis has strained relations within the bloc and breathed new life into right-wing and anti-establishment parties across Europe, which are poised to make gains in the upcoming EU elections.

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A heavy barrage of rockets has been launched at the territory of southern Israel, the countrys defense forces (IDF) said in a tweet, claiming the projectiles were fired from Gaza.

Warning sirens blared in Israeli border communities on Saturday morning amid reports of multiple projectiles being launched from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack lasted for 10 minutes.

Residents in the towns of Ashkelon and Ashdod reported hearing blasts in the area. Meanwhile, several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome above Ashkelon, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing local authorities. The IDF also posted footage apparently showing the incoming missiles.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Indias space agency wants to touch down its rover on the Moons south pole, an area on the Earths natural satellite where no one has gone before. The launch is scheduled for July.

All the [ISRO] missions, whatever we have had till now [to the moon], have all landed near the moons equator. This is a place where nobody has gone, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, told the Hindu.

Indias second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, seeks to gain access to some new science and information, the chairman said. For example, one of the goals of the probe is to find water on the Moon.

Also on rt.com Greetings, Earthlings! 20,000 Russians snatch up land plots on the Moon

The space agency earlier said all three modules of the mission, Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyan), are set to lift off aboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket between July 9 and 16, with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The launch was initially expected last year, but it was delayed several times to conduct further tests.

India is not the only country attempting to reach the uncharted south pole of the Moon. China has recently announced plans to build a lunar research station in the same area. However, it will not happen in the near future, as Beijings mission is to be launched in about 10 years, according to Xinhua.

What they [China] are going to do, we dont know. The main reason [why India is going there] is nobody has gone [to] that side till now, Sivan said.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for resistance against US restrictions on its energy sector by boosting production and exports, as Washington tightens its sanctions grip on Tehran.

America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves... We have to increase our foreign exchange earnings and cut our currency expenditures, the Iranian leader stated on Saturday as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Rouhani said Iran has managed to reduce some imports and become self-sufficient with products and commodities, like wheat gasoline, and now can export them. Last year, the countrys non-oil exports stood at $43 billion, according to the president.

Also on rt.com OPEC likely to collapse thanks to some members unilateralism  Irans oil minister

We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist Americas plots against the sale of our oil, he added.

The statement came shortly after the US announced sanctions against Irans nuclear power plant at Bushehr and a ban on exports of heavy water and any further uranium enrichment.

In April, the Trump administration said it would not renew exemptions granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil in line with its plan to bring the Islamic Republics crude exports to zero. Tehran said the mission will fail, with its oil minister stating that Washington made a bad mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon in the fragile state of the market.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Hamas has vowed retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, that killed two people and injured two others. The strikes are seen as payback for two Israeli soldiers being wounded by sniper fire during clashes on Friday.

Although each Israeli serviceman suffered non-threatening injuries and was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital, the Israeli Air Force then attacked a Hamas outpost in the Gaza strip.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions remain at an all-time high, amid the ongoing weekly Great March of Return protests that erupted in late March last year. The protests have claimed more than 200 Gazan lives as Israel continues to use live fire to quell the Palestinian discontent.

At least four Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded, including 10 children, during the latest Friday protest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Three paramedics and a journalist are among the wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Source : RT - Daily news
Cuba vowed to protect its property and international business ties just as ExxonMobil began suing two Cuban companies for $280 million over assets seized after the revolution.

Cuba will protect Cubans and foreign entities operating in the country and will render void any claim filed under this law which is a miscarriage of justice, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted after the American oil giant became the first US company to take legal action against Havana.

Cimex Corporation SA, a Cuban state-owned business group, and the Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) are being sued over their use of an oil refinery, gasoline stations, and other properties that once belonged to the American multinational.

Also on rt.com Trump threatens Cuba with 'full embargo and highest-level sanctions' over Venezuela

The lawsuits, which seek $280 million in damages, were filed after Washington started enforcing a provision of a 1996 law known as the Helms-Burton Act that allows so-called victims of the Castro regime to sue companies that have used their previously held property on the island.

The Helms-Burton Act is illegal and in violation of international law, Rodriguez noted, stressing that it is inapplicable and has no juridical value or effect for Cuba.

Also on rt.com Contrary to intl law: Mogherini slams US full activation of Cuba embargo law, vows counter steps

This week, Canada and the EU agreed with Havanas assessment, claiming that the Helms-Burton Act has no jurisdiction over them and vowing to take up the issue with the World Trade Organization.

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America's most trusted talking heads are in meltdown mode, once again accusing Donald Trump of taking orders from Vladimir Putin, after the US leader was seemingly too soft with the Russian president in a recent phone call.

Rachel Maddow, Jake Tapper, and other spirited Russiagate promoters suffered full-on meltdowns upon learning that Trump apparently hadnt properly' discussed the issue of election meddling in his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since the Mueller report's release.

Rather, the two leaders spoke about "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, nuclear arms control" and "the Russian hoax" during the hour-long call, according to Trump's tweet.

Scandalously, the US president failed to press Putin about the most critical, life-and-death issue facing the United States  a massive flub-up that did not go unnoticed by the intrepid Washington press corps.

"Did you tell [Putin] not to meddle in the next election?" an unseen reporter asked the president during a Friday press conference.

"We had a good conversation about many different things," Trump replied. "We didn't discuss that."

As for Venezuela, Trump had the audacity to suggest that the Russian president "is not looking to get involved at all, other than that he'd like to see something positive happen" in the South American nation. Trump then showed his true collusion colors, admitting that he "feels the same away" about the ongoing political crisis in Caracas.

His comments were received with predictable hysteria.

CNN's Erin Burnett expertly deduced that Trump was "kowtowing" to Putin  on both "election meddling" and Venezuela.

"'Not looking to get involved' is just blatantly false  according to Trump's own top team," she sniffed, incredulous that Trump would contradict his more hawkish secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Earlier this week, Pompeo claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee to Cuba and was only persuaded to remain in Caracas because Russia allegedly convinced him to stay.

Also on rt.com We lied, we cheated, we stole: Pompeo offers honest, if disturbing admission about CIA activity

Burnett's colleague, Jake Tapper, was inconsolable as he attempted to wrap his head around the apparently unforgivable contents of a routine telephone conversation.

"He is giving Putin's point of view, almost as if he is the spokesman for the Kremlin!" the CNN anchor fumed, referring to the Russian president as "the man who led and continues to lead cyberattacks on the US." Not missing a beat, Tapper then proceeded to accuse Trump of "continuing to say things about the Mueller investigation that weren't true."

True to form, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow came close to suffering an on-air stroke over the phone call. Still reeling from her post-Russiagate ratings slump, Maddow looked at Bolton and Pompeo as similarly unmoored kindred spirits.

The MSNBC host addressed them directly during her broadcast: "Hey, John Bolton, hey, Mike Pompeo, are you guys enjoying your jobs right now?"

"How do you come to work anymore if you're John Bolton?" she added.

Also on rt.com Fixated on collusion, Dems seeking (again) to subpoena interpreter present at Trump-Putin meeting

Western media outlets have repeatedly expressed indignation over any attempt by the world's two largest nuclear powers to engage in dialogue. A meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, Finland was described as constructive by both parties, but the US president was still hounded for not excoriating Putin to the media's liking.

Likely anticipating similar hysteria over the phone call, Trump stated on Friday morning that "as I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing."

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President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked nuclear arms control in a phone call Friday. But what can be achieved when the US shreds treaties and Washington stays hostile to any communication with Russia?

Discussing disarmament is a step in the right direction, but the US recently pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, an arms-reduction pact signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The pullout stoked fear of a nuclear buildup in Europe, unseen since the Cold War, and is one of several international arms treaties shredded by the Trump administration.

Gorbachev himself penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late last month, lamenting the return of nuclear deterrence between the two great powers, and calling for increased communication between Moscow and Washington.

Also on rt.com Anything is possible: Trump talks North Korea peace after phone call with Putin

Gorbachev is exactly right, journalist Chris Hedges told RTs Rick Sanchez. This inability on behalf of the worlds two largest nuclear powers to speak and negotiate rationally is very, very dangerous.

There are various flashpoints, Syria being one, where this conflict could go wrong really quickly, so you want communication, you want discussion, Hedges continued.

However, detente, which was negotiated so successfully by the Republican administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, seems an alien concept when Trumps cabinet is staffed by war hawks like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and security adviser John Bolton.

Even post-Mueller, the current climate of hostility to Russia in American discourse only hinders disarmament efforts further.

Now the very word detente, as soon as Trump utters it the national security state goes berserk, Hedges said.

Nobody has to love Vladimir Putin or love Russia or anything else, he told Sanchez, but whats kept the world from committing acts of massive self annihilation has been forms of communication, which figures like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have no interest in doing. I think theyre probably incapable of speaking to anyone but themselves.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Trump said on Friday that himself and Putin discussed entering into a new nuclear arms treaty, this time a three-way deal with China. However, with an arms industry making billions of dollars refitting former Eastern Bloc countries with NATO gear, with a cabinet of war hawks, and with a Democratic party choosing to blame Russia instead of tackling the social issues that gave rise to Trump, Hedges concluded that a new age of detente is a long way off.

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Journalists covering the standoff at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC have been harassed by a group of Juan Guaido supporters, who demand that the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective vacate the diplomatic building.

Members of a Telesur crew covering tensions outside the diplomatic compound were verbally assaulted on Friday afternoon by a member of the Venezuelan opposition, who, in a tirade of perfect Spanish, insulted their looks.

Harassment, taunts, banging in their ears, [and] blocking cameras, appears to be an acceptable way to treat the media they do not think is on their side, the anti-war A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition pointed out.

Ive covered lots of protests over the years. Never seen more racism vocalized than what Im seeing from the Venezuelan opposition in DC. Not even in Charlottesville, independent journalist Alex Rubinstein, who has been living in the embassy, tweeted on Friday, in response to a harassment incident.

The US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela in February and told the diplomats representing Maduros government to leave the country. Activists opposing US interventionism in the Latin America have occupied the diplomatic compound for weeks, refusing to surrender the property to Guaido's supporters.

On Tuesday, at the height of Guaidos failed attempted coup in Venezuela, opposition supporters gathered en masse in front of the diplomatic compound. Chanting and waving Venezuelan flags, protesters immediately verbally engaged a group of anti-war activists being led by Code Pink.

Also on rt.com Guaido supporters confront anti-intervention activists at Venezuelan Embassy in DC (VIDEO)

That group is one of the organizations of the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective who have been holed up inside the Venezuelan compound in order to prevent diplomats loyal to Guaido from taking control of the building. The activists say they were invited in by embassy staff.

Amid the tense standoff Secret Service and police officers stood between the Maduro and Guaido protesters.

Unable to force the activists to leave the premises, the pro-Guaido protesters began to stop people, food, and supplies from getting into the building. Three activists, including Code Pink's national co-director Ariel Gold, were briefly detained on Thursday. Gold was charged with throwing missiles, after trying to throw bread, salad boxes, and tampons at those inside the embassy.

On Friday afternoon, Gold streamed a video showing an elderly gentleman getting booked by police for delivering food brushes to the activists. Venezuelan Embassy in DC is more wild, violent, racist, unlawful than my times in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine," she tweeted.

Video of the contraband consisting of basic necessities was shared by Alex Rubinstein online.

While the State Department on Thursday called on the trespassers to leave, claiming that Guaido has legal authority over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC, the anti-war lobby is committed to holding the fortress, even if it means arrests.

On Friday, Republican Congressman from Colorado Scott Tipton wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him to intervene to kick out the Collective from the embassy.



The opposition, meanwhile, continues their efforts to penetrate the compound.

Opposition continuing their aggressive & potentially deadly tactics, Rubinstein tweeted late on Friday evening, after the pro-Guaido crowd began flashing strobe lights, considered extremely dangerous to people with epilepsy and spectrum disorders. A man was arrested in the US for sending a GIF to an epileptic reporter yet cops do nothing to stop this. Its increasingly clear they are on State Dept. orders to let the oppo escalate.

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Rocket attacks on Israel continue into the night, even after the Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes and tank bombardments against Hamas and Islamic Jihad Targets in the Gaza Strip.

Sirens wailed and a rocket barrage rained down on the city of Beer Sheva just after 11pm local time on Saturday. The largest city in southern Israel, Beer Sheva is usually out of range of all but Hamas longest-range projectiles. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Source : RT - Daily news
Russias Federal Agency for Tourism has issued a special warning to tourists traveling to Mongolia after two fatal cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in the country.

Two Russians have died of the highly contagious disease, and reportedly became infected after eating contaminated marmot organs. The married couple from Siberia are believed to have come into contact with at least 158 people before they died. These people have been quarantined.

Also on rt.com BUBONIC PLAGUE scare puts Mongolia on high alert

The tourism agency said the deaths were recorded in the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ulgii, according to the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).

The agency asked tourists to take this information into account when planning trips to the region.

Rospotrebnadzor has taken steps to prevent infection at the border areas, including quarantine control and more than 90 percent of the population has been vaccinated. The agency is also in communication with health institutes in Mongolia.

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The phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was very important as Russia and US must maintain dialogue, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president and one of the signatories of the INF treaty, has said.

The two leaders talked on the phone of Friday, discussing nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine and bilateral trade among other things.

This isnt yet how relations between such powers as Russia and the US must be shaped like. But its important. Its dialogue, Gorbachev told RIA Novosti, as Moscow and Washington are going through the roughest period in their relations since the fall of the USSR.

In 1987, then-Soviet President Gorbachev and his US counterpart, Ronald Reagan, signed the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned the two countries from having ground-based missiles with a range between 500km and 5,500km.

The deal remained one of the cornerstones of international security for decades, until the Trump administration announced the unilateral withdrawal by the US from it in early February. The Kremlin said that one of the things that Putin and Trump discussed on the phone was the possibility of reaching a new version of the INF agreement that would also incorporate China.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Gorbachev markedly pointed out that the phone conversation had been initiated by the US.

Whats also important is the public statement made by Trump that relations between our countries have great potential. This is certainly the case.

Trump was very positive in his comments about the phone call with Putin, which he described as long and very good.

Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media, the US leader tweeted.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Gorbachev has been internationally praised for his liberal reforms and for his efforts to end the Cold War and improve relations with the US. Reagan acknowledged that his Soviet counterpart deserves most of the credit" for the drastic changes that happened in the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Also on rt.com US is going to trade a lot with Russia, Trump says, after long & very good phone call with Putin

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the Israeli military of targeting a building housing the Turkish Andalou news agency in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The agency shared a video on Saturday purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building. Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty, the minister added.

Israel launched air strikes and tank bombardments against the Gaza strip earlier on Saturday, after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants fired 200 rockets into Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces did not admit to targeting the Andalou Agency building, claiming instead to have struck 120 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, including an underground Hamas rocket factory, military intelligence and security offices, and other weapons manufacturing sites. The IDF also said it destroyed a terror tunnel used to smuggle Islamic Jihad fighters into Israel.

Also on rt.com 2 killed, including infant, several injured as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza - officials

Although the IDF claims it struck military targets, the Palestinian health ministry reported a pregnant woman and her one-year-old child among the deaths. A 22-year-old man was also killed, although it is unknown whether he was a Hamas operative or a civilian.

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel for hitting the office of Anadolu Agency during its airstrikes in Gaza, saying that it wont prevent Turkey from reporting on atrocities committed by the Jewish state.

Turkey and the Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, despite such attacks, Erdogan vowed on Twitter.

The Turkish news agency shared a video on Saturday, purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building which had hosted its bureau.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Also on rt.com Turkey FM accuses Israel of targeting Anadolu Agency news bureau building in Gaza (VIDEO)

The ministry called on the international community to to act swiftly in order to reduce the tension in the region with Israel's disproportionate actions.

Also on rt.com 3 killed, including infant & pregnant woman, as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza  officials

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The Washington Posts lengthy examination of Bernie Sanders much reported-on trip to the Soviet Union 31 years ago is being mocked online for repeating old news and attempting a new Red Scare.

The WaPo details a trip Sanders took to the then-Soviet Union in 1988, and starts describing the then-mayor being bare-chested, towel-draped, sitting at a table lined with vodka bottles, as he sang This Land Is Your Land.

The trip was made to establish Yaroslavl as a sister city for his hometown of Burlington soon after Sanders wedding and he joked it was a very strange honeymoon.

Also on rt.com Bernie Sanders stuns establishment with Fox News town hall success

Sanders apparently stood on Soviet soil and criticized the cost of healthcare and housing in the US, then stunned someone at a banquet by criticizing US foreign intervention. I got really upset and walked out, the delicately dispositioned David F. Kelley recalled. He admits later in the article that Sanders was right.

Sanders told a press conference upon his return to the US that he thought his criticism of the US made the Russians more appreciative of our criticisms we made of their own society.

Social media users were quick to mock the Post for its article, with many claiming it was a sign that the socialist smears against Sanders were being employed once again.

Sanders trip to the Soviet Union is old news, and was trotted out during the 2016 primaries to cast an ominous communist shadow on the Vermont senator, with many mediaoutlets, including the Post, reporting on it. Sanders was smeared as a dangerous socialist by a number of Democratic operatives.

He was questioned by CNNs Anderson Cooper about his honeymoon in Russia, and Lindsey Graham mentioned it in the Republican debates.

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Lawmakers had plenty of questions for US Attorney General William Barr about his assessment of Robert Muellers report on the 'Russia collusion' probe, but some seemed at a loss as to how to address him.

Thus, he was often called General Barr during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the special counsels Russiagate investigation and about his release of a redacted version of Muellers report.

Also on rt.com Mind-bendingly bizarre: Barr hearing shows Russiagate still has hold on US politics

Who is general Barr? And what army does the attorney command? One might ask. If he is not a commanding officer, which he is not, then what is the proper way to address an individual of such stature? A simple Google search would tell you that the correct way of calling a person holding the office is simply Mister or just as Attorney General.

RT Americas news host Rick Sanchez offers his take.

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Three days after clashing with police at May Day demonstrations, Yellow Vests protesters marched in Paris and across France, in the 25th straight weekend of anti-government anger.

According to the Interior Ministry, 18,900 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, the lowest turnout since the movement began as a protest against a planned fuel tax hike in November. However, the Yellow Vests have regularly disputed the figures released by the ministry, accusing officials of downplaying the scale of the protests.

In Paris, protesters demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Castaner had accused Yellow Vests protesters of staging an attack on a hospital in the city during Wednesdays May Day protests. Social media footage told a different story, with the protesters seeking refuge in the hospital to avoid police batons and tear gas.

Droves of protesters beat drums and chanted Liar Castaner.

Protesters in Toulouse also jeered at Castaner and demanded his resignation. The march in Toulouse quickly became violent, however, and clashes broke out between the Yellow Vests and police. Tear gas was deployed, and riot police at one point violently charged protesters.

Tear gas was also used by police in La Roche-sur-Yon, while protesters in Lyon joined a more peaceful youth march against global warming.

Although turnout on the streets was lower than on previous weekends, many Yellow Vests have not been pacified by President Macrons promise of tax breaks, with one dismissing the presidents offering as rubbish last week.

In the wake of Castaners hospital attack claim, 1,400 French artists, celebrities and creatives including movie stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart signed an open letter of support for the Yellow Vests, printed in left-wing newspaper Liberation on Saturday. In it, they slammed the French government and media for attempting to discredit the citizens movement.

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the complete review - fiction

Bellini and the Sphinx



by

Tony Bellotto



general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

Portuguese title: Bellini e a esfinge

Translated by Clifford E. Landers

Bellini e a esfinge was made into a film in 2002, directed by Roberto Santucci

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Our Assessment:



B : fine, light PI tale

See our review for fuller assessment.

Review Summaries Source Rating Date Reviewer Publishers Weekly . 26/11/2018 .

From the Reviews :

"(S)tarts off strong but falls flat in its overly familiar execution. (...) (T)he dialogue lacks the sharp grittiness of the hardboiled fiction of Hammett or Chandler -- Bellottos obvious influences -- and the ending feels pulled out of thin air." - Publishers Weekly

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review 's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.



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The complete review 's Review :

Bellini and the Sphinx is the first in a series of novels narrated by Remo Bellini. In his early thirties -- he celebrates his thirty-third birthday over the course of the novel --, he had initially followed in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer but abandoned that field and is now a private eye in Sao Paulo, working for Dora Lobo for the past year. He's also been married, but that, too, didn't work out and he's now been divorced for a couple of years. Among his other baggage is his name, which he detests, and the story behind it, his father having named him and his twin brother after the mythical Rome-founding twins, Romulus and Remus -- only for Romulo to die after just two days.

Each chapter in Bellini and the Sphinx covers one day, from 17 May through 7 June. The case he is presented with by his boss seems fairly straightforward: a pediatric surgeon, Dr.Rafidjian, is desperate to find a young woman, Ana Cintia Lopes, a dancer at a nightclub who apparently disappeared a few weeks earlier. But there's no trace of her -- indeed, no one recalls anyone by that name. Bellini and a colleague follow up with dancers who left the club around the time in question who might be the missing woman, under a different name -- but things take a turn when Dr.Rafidjian is found brutally murdered.

With their client dead there's nothing left to investigate -- for a while. But when his widow hires Dora Lobo they're back on the now expanded case again -- still looking for the mystery woman, and wondering what straight-laced family-man Rafidjian might have been up to.

Dora Lobo is particularly pleased to get a chance to investigate this puzzling case -- it's the sort of thing that is right up her alley:

"You're going to hit the street looking for hidden connections in Rafidjian's life. Start by finding out what the police learned. Boris will be glad to know we're back. He and I have solved some lovely cases. Difficult, intricate, magnificent case --"

"What makes a case magnificent ?" I cut in.

"A case that can't be solved by either logic or science. A case solved almost by accident."

I don't have any problem with sex. Just the opposite, I love sex. My pain is more serious. Deeper.

- M.A.Orthofer, 26 April 2019

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:

See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers

See Index of Latin and South American literature

See Index of Portuguese literature

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About the Author :

Brazilian author Tony Bellotto was born in 1960.

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Within two weeks of the Class 12 board examination results being declared by the board of intermediate education in Telangana, 20 students have taken their lives. The board officials have admitted to a 'technical glitch' that lead to erroneous marks being awarded to students. One student reportedly got 0 in a subject which was later corrected to 99 marks.

Though there has been a huge public outcry in the state over the matter, the board authorities seem lax in the investigation process, blaming the external examination partner instead. Due to the error, thousands of students have been failed as per the score-card. The board has now begun the process of revaluation.

As per government statistics, 9,474 students committed suicide in India in 2016. This was compared to 8,068 in 2014 and 8,934 in 2015. In 2016, a total of 2,413 students committed suicide after failing in an examination.

Board examinations in India are no less than a period of panic for both parents and students. Since future career choices, as well as the choice of the higher education institute, is purely dependent on the marks scored in the board examinations of classes 10 and 12, there is immense pressure on students.

No doubt that parents want the best education for the child. However, this is no excuse to push the child to score above a certain percentage, which depends on multiple factors. In the Telangana case, for instance, students who had topped in the past examinations ended up scoring less than 40 percent in subjects which was a software error.

Higher educational institutions like the Delhi University (DU) end up having unattainable cut-offs for admission. Those scoring below 90 percent don't even stand a chance to make it to the first list at some of the colleges under DU.

Schools are now going to the other extreme by ensuring that students literally slog it out last year. Uma Dhatre, whose son has just been promoted to Class 10 is upset that he does not have any summer vacations this year.

His school will be open all Saturdays and will conduct classes even in the humid summers of May. The reason? Board examinations are important.

Examinations are important, no doubt. They help analyse the knowledge of the student so that he/she is prepared for their future careers. But an often repeated fact needs to be drilled down; marks are not the only criteria. Former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had also tried to make Class 10 board examinations optional, however, that system was scrapped later.

Top corporate houses have stated that students passing out of institutes with the highest marks are not skilled enough for the job. Rote learning and aiming only for the highest marks will not surely get you the corner office role.

While all board examination results are being declared, it is time to sit back and introspect. If you have scored very well, congratulations. If not, do not worry. Life will present many more opportunities.
Here's a peek into the life of a successful trader. His work is over by 10 am, after which he sits and reads a journal or a book or watches the TV series  Billions. At the end of the day, the trader goes to the gym. Fridays are compulsorily meant for friends, and he takes about 2-3 road trips with his family and friends in a year. Not to mention watching most of the movies as soon as they are released.

Meet Kirubakaran Rajendran from Chennai who designed Trading Bots  An automated program which trades using a given set of rules  to do his trading. His current lifestyle was achieved after years of back-breaking work and learning from every possible mistake one can do and probably more.

However, Rajendran is not a conventional trader. He is among the few option traders who trade on an intra-day basis, more so without looking at option Greeks or technical charts. A student of statistics, Rajendran is in his 'zone' when surrounded by numbers. He has not only broken the code of successful trading, but also automated it with bots, which can be used by retail traders.

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Kirubakaran Rajendran talks about his humble beginnings, his years of struggle to become a successful trader and his various trading strategies.

Q: Can you walk us through your journey to the market.

A: It was my inquisitiveness that brought me to the market. It was during the 2007 boom when I just glanced through the news that Mukesh Ambani was among the richest person in the world because of his stake in the Reliance Group of companies. The news somehow stuck with me and got me thinking that if the owner of the company is among the richest persons in the world, surely his shareholders would also be rich. That got me started in looking for ways to participate in the market.

My humble beginnings only helped me in my resolve to chase my dream. I come from a middle-class family from Chennai. My father, a government office clerk and my mother, a tailor, had a tough time in providing for my basic education. After my schooling, I joined Loyola College for a graduation course in Statistics.

It was a good 30 minutes bus ride from my home to college. I utilised this travel time reading. This was in 2007 and all the papers were talking about was the wealth generated in the markets.

In South India, there was not much of an investor awareness in 2007. No one in my family knew anything about the market, there were no workshops back then, no Quora to help with information. The only way I could manage to get some help in my education on the market was through a small Indian community group on Orkut.

After reading a bit about the market, I decided to take the plunge at the beginning of January 2008. But just before this, I had noticed that the stocks that were in news used to go up for a few days. This was my 'strategy' of making money in my earlier days. I started off with a small Rs 5,000 account, money that I managed to save from my scholarship. But then by January 21, 2008, in less than a month, I was back to square one, thanks to the lower circuit in the market.

Q: How did you come back to the market?

A: My next tryst with the market was after I got a campus placement in Infosys with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. I used to work in the night shift in those days. I did not have an IT background and was tasked with doing a routine job.

I decided to automate the work so that I can get more time to read on markets. But in order to automate, I had to learn to compute, as my background was in statistics, and I had very little computing knowledge. I looked up ways to learn to code and automate my office work. As a result, a work which would take two hours was completed in 10 minutes giving me enough time to read.

In the beginning, my boss did not know about it, but when he did, he appreciated the work and got me transferred to mainstream computing.

Nonetheless, I kept on gaining as much knowledge as I could on the market from books, sites, and forums. I also started trading again. In those days I continued to trade in the way I did in early January 2008  on the news.

Buying stock on news and then holding it for a few days and selling it. I was making money in some trades and losing in others. This was when I was lured by options. I heard people say that it was the fastest way of making money. You put in Rs 100 and make Rs 1,000 in a few days.

I read a bit on options and then decided to trade long strangles  buying both Calls and Puts. I had seen and read that stocks generally move sharply after results, so I decided to take such a trade. Ironically, I decided to take a long strangle trade in the company I worked, Infosys.

A day before the result, I had built a position of Rs 1.5 lakh in Infosys strangles. I remember that I couldn't sleep that day with such a huge position. The next day, results were announced before market hours and when Infosys opened that morning, the value of my strangles had come down to Rs 20,000. I had lost more than three months of my salary in a single day.

This was a big lesson. Rather than running away from the market, I dove deeper into reading and researching what makes a successful trader click. This is when I decided to move from news-based trade to rule-based trade.

This was also the time when I read the book 'How I made $2 million in the stock market' written by one Nicolas Darvas, who was a ballet dancer by profession. It acted as a trigger that set me off into the fascinating world of trading. I realised that if a person with no background can make a good amount of money, then even I can. There is no closely guarded secret to trading success.

Q: How did you move after this enlightenment?

A: I put my computing knowledge to use and started building rules-based trading systems and testing them. Over the years, I may have tried and tested hundreds of trading systems. I have automated these strategies which would eliminate emotional decision making. If I found that they were working well in back-testing, I tested them in the market.

This was when I made my next big mistake. I borrowed money to trade in the market.

When my trades were profitable, there was no issue. But, even when there was a single loss, I would relate it to some day-to-day expenditure and weaken myself psychologically. So high was the positional leverage, that a single day fluctuation in my trading account was equivalent to a month's salary. It was taxing to trade in those days. I was trading Nifty futures but the lot size was more than what one would call comfortable.

In such a case, if there were three to four consecutive losses, I would change the strategy. It is said that algo trading takes emotions out of your trading, but with consecutive losses on a leveraged position, you start doubting yourself and your trading system. You will bring back discretion in your trading and move around in circles.

I somehow traded this way with bouts of profits and losses for a few years until I read a story which changed me from a normal trader to a consistent trader.

It was about a Greek wrestler named Milo who lived many years back. He was one of the greatest wrestlers from Greece who had won six consecutive Olympic medals. Everyone wanted to know what his secret was and how he managed to be so strong and successful.

The story takes us to his village where Milo started his training by lifting a newborn calf while his competitors were trying to lift bulls in their practice sessions. Now anyone can lift a calf, even you and I can do that, there is nothing great in it. So how did Milo become great by doing that?

Milo used to carry his calf everywhere he went. Over time, the calf put on weight but Milo was still carrying him around. Milo's body and mind were getting used to lifting the calf even as it slowly grew. By the time the calf became a bull, Milo could lift it effortlessly, while his competitors were still struggling to lift the bull.

This story opened the concept of position sizing for me.

I realised that it was not only the trading system but the trader who, by putting in various checks and balances in his trading system, makes money.

I realised that instead of putting all my capital or more specifically the borrowed capital, I should have started by trading with one lot. This way I would get used to the trading system without letting the daily market fluctuations affect my mental peace.

I followed this and progressively increased my lot size, as a result, I stuck to my system. After that, everything started falling in place.

Q: What are the strategies you trade?

A: I trade multiple strategies, all of which are automated. I trade in the weekly Bank Nifty in the options market and stocks in the cash market.

Many traders approach a strategy as trend following or one that is a reversal to the mean and then try to fit the back-tested data to the strategy. I, because of my statistics background am more comfortable dealing with data and deriving a strategy based on the output.

In Bank Nifty, I trade by selling options. It is known that selling options lead to money making two out of three times. So, I decided to work around options because of this bias.

I downloaded around 14 years of data from the NSE site and got down to designing my strategy. I am basically a day-trader, so I was looking to design a system where I would make money in most days and lose only a small amount in days where I am wrong.

I looked at the daily range but slightly different than how it is conventionally viewed. Rather than looking at the difference between high and low of the day, I looked at the difference between open and low and open and high. I plotted the data to get a normal distribution curve.

What I found out was that in most cases, Bank Nifty does not move beyond 1 percent from their open. The data corroborated with the conventional wisdom that says that the market stays in a range 70 percent of the time. Using this information as the basis I designed my options strategy around it.

I also found out that I will make money by selling call and put options if I select strike prices beyond these one percent range. However, there was a problem. If the Bank Nifty goes in one direction and beyond the range, the strategy would lose 2-3 months of profit in one day.

I looked for other data points to protect myself. I looked at open interest data to see where there is a position build-up and sell my options around them.

In this strategy, which I currently trade, I have three stop losses conditions which take me out of the trade if I lose around 1.5 percent of the capital. Using these stop losses, the strategy is now posting around 30-35 percent annualized return. Drawdown has never extended beyond 15 percent. Irrespective of the volatility level, the strategy has made money.

The period when this strategy is making losses is when there is a volatility shift from a low volatility phase to high volatility.

I start off the week with strangles but as the week progresses I take short straddle trades  selling call and put options at the same strike price. I do not use option Greeks for my entry or exits, nor do I do any adjustments to my original position as that would require me to sit in front of the screen. What I have observed is that when Bank Nifty moves beyond one of my extremes, it can continue to move in the same direction. It is better to accept it and exit rather than firefight it.

In the case of stocks, I trade in stocks which are in the derivative list. This way I do not have to worry about circuit filters preventing my exits.

Here, my data analysis has gone against conventional wisdom. What I have found is that if a stock gaps up at the opening, irrespective of the trend, the price tends to come down. Similarly, if there is a gap down, its price tends to go up, irrespective of the trend.

There is, however, a caveat here. I optimize the gaps  for example, I will weed out stocks where the gap opening is only 0.5 percent or if it is too large  say 4-5 percent.

Another strategy that I trade is by looking at the volatility file that is updated by NSE on its site during trading hours. I look for stocks where the volatility has gained the most but the stock is among the top losers. Such stocks tend to give explosive moves the next day or within a few days. It is better to trade in these stocks than a fixed set of stocks.

In positional trades in the cash market, I trade by buying high and selling higher. Here I look for stocks that are touching new all-time highs or 52-week highs.

I run a query at the end of the month to check out for such stocks. I then rank them based on the distance between the month end close and the 52 high levels. Suppose a stock made a high of 520 but closed at 500, I divide the two to get a ratio of 1.04. I calculate the ratio of all such stocks and buy the five strongest ones and balance them on a quarterly basis giving them enough room to perform.

This strategy is similar to the ones where relative momentum is used but here I enter a stock only when they were making 52-week highs. When the market crashed in 2008, there were no stocks touching 52-week highs from February 2008 to April 2009. Relative momentum would have given some whipsaw trades.

Q: And how are the returns?

A: The Bank Nifty option strategies I trade have generated an average return of 30-35 percent, without including the liquid bees which I use as margin. Including Liquid Bees, the return moves up to 40 percent. In positional stocks also, the return is between 30-35 percent. The trades are generally profitable 55 percent of the time and the average loss to win ratio is between 1:1.5 to 2. The gap based strategy has a slightly higher return.

Q: Can you tell us about your Trading Bots

A: My team and I have automated trading using the mobile app  Telegram. This way it becomes simpler to use for a retail trader. My site www.squareoff.in has multiple trading strategies that a retail trader can use.

When you subscribe, you get a trading bot which essentially does the trading for you. These are Black Box strategies. Rather than following the advisory method, we decided to use the trading bot route. When you buy an advisory service and get trading advice, by the time you enter the trade along with many others, you notice that price has already moved up.

In the case of trading bots, you will get a link at 09:30 am which you have to click, and enter your login and password. Then, one needs to enter his trading capital, risk percent, and profit percent and send the message to the broker. Say if someone has a trading capital of Rs 1 lakh, he can enter that and mention a risk or stop loss level of 1 percent and a profit target of say 1 percent. The trade will be executed and if any of the two levels are hit, the trade is closed. Our trading bot is presently connected to two brokers  Zerodha and Upstox.

The Bots are available at a nominal one-time charge, plus there are many free trading bots available on the site.

We have a team of five members who support the site. Subash Hundi, who heads the technology part of the business, used to be a branch manager with Karnataka Bank, which is just across the road from our office. A BITS-Pilani graduate, he is very strong technically and offered to work for free in order to learn the market. That's the level of passion in our team which works on something new continuously.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: We are working beyond price and volume by using alternate data sets. In a developed market, some large funds are using satellite images of the car parks outside Walmart to get an idea of how the company is doing.

We have started using machine learning in our trading. Presently, we scan the stock exchange announcements. A company in India has to first notify the stock exchange before it is released to the media.

Recently, we saw that the breakup between Amararaja Batteries and Johnson Controls put up on the exchange and was covered by media after a lag. The stock plummeted only after the news was flashed on TV channels. If you are attentive and manage to do it faster than when it is made public there is a good opportunity to trade profitably.

Q: You are among the few traders who use Quora more often than Twitter, why so?

A: I prefer Quora over Twitter because it helps in explaining a concept clearly without having word count restrictions. Further, the Twitter world is too crowded and noisy.

In Quora, I get the benefit of the experience of other traders and experts. There are occasions when famous authors have come and corrected me or helped in clarifying my doubts.

On Quora, I post strategies that I have back-tested. Even the ones that do not work have been posted so no one wastes their time behind it. I have posted over 700 articles on Quora which has seen 5 million views.

Q: Any words of advice to an aspiring trader?

A: For an aspiring trader, I would say always have a clear set of simple rules. Do not trade if you cannot explain in two lines. The more you complicate, the less likely the strategy would work.

People generally go for strategies which give higher returns without looking at the drawdowns. For example, if a strategy gives a return of 40 percent per annum with a drawdown of 15 percent, it is certainly better than a strategy giving 90 percent returns but having drawdowns of 40-45 percent. Chose the ones where risk is lower.
Rushabh Maru

The crude-oil market has turned quite uncertain and vulnerable. On the one hand, OPEC is committed to tightening the crude oil market. US President Donald Trump's unpredictable behaviour and ambivalent attitude, however, have led to sharp volatility in crude-oil prices. With his latest action, crude oil has entered uncharted territory.

The Trump administration recently announced that it would not renew the exemption granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil. Earlier, expectations were that the US would extend the waivers. Trump wants to bring down Iran's crude-oil exports to zero. As a result, crude-oil prices have been rising sharply.

However, Trump has now asked OPEC to raise crude-oil production in order to bring prices down. With the recent Trump googly, the crude-oil market has been plunged into a dicey situation. On the one hand, Trump is eager to cut out Iran's crude-oil production from the global oil market. Simultaneously, since the US presidential election is scheduled next year, Trump wants lower crude-oil prices in order to maintain his popularity.

The latest update shows that OPEC's crude-oil production in March further declined to 30.02 million barrels a day, from 30.56 million b/d the previous month. Steep declines in production in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iraq led to the price drop.

Saudi Arabia has signaled that it is determined to do whatever it takes to rebalance the market. It has cut production by more than it agreed to under the pact. According to the IEA, OPEC's compliance jumped from 94 percent in February to 153 percent in March. Venezuela's crude-oil production continues to fall due to US sanctions and a string of blackouts.

The IEA put Venezuela's crude-oil output as having fallen to 870,000 b/d. The US may impose additional sanctions in the future. The Trump administration has been pressurizing India and China to cut out oil purchases from both Iran and Venezuela. Hence, the situation in Venezuela is becoming even more difficult.

Renewed militant activity in Libya is a matter of concern for the market. Escalating tension might have an impact on crude-oil production. The situation is much worse than it was in 2011 during the civil war. Fears of a global economic slowdown persist.

The European countries' manufacturing PMI is declining sharply. In the US, the Treasury yield curve inverted in March, for the first time since 2007. This indicates an imminent threat of a recession. The US and China have shown tremendous progress in trade talks. However, given the nature of Trump, there are doubts about the sustainability of the deal, if it comes through.

The market expects OPEC to extend its production-cut deal till this year-end. OPEC's bi-annual meeting is scheduled for 25-26th June, at which it may decide to extend the deal or not. Since January, OPEC and its allies have been cutting production (by 1.2 million b/d) for six months to tighten the market.

The EIA has raised its Brent crude-oil price forecast for 2019 to $65 a barrel, up from its earlier projected $63 due to the tighter global oil market. Overall, much uncertainty prevails in the market. Hence crude oil is likely to be volatile in coming sessions.

The Author is Research Analyst, Currency and Commodity at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
E-commerce in India is growing at a rapid pace owing to the convenience it offers. Sellers sitting in a smaller towns are now able to sell their products across India and globally through these platforms.

Amazon India on April 30 said that it saw 56 percent rise in the number of local merchants selling to international markets through its global sellers programme. The export sales from India have hit $1 billion, the company said during a media interaction.

With over 140 million products on its platform and 50,000 sellers, mostly from small and medium sized vendors since the launch of the programme in 2015, the company is confident of reaching the $5 billion by 2023.

Gopal Pillai, Vice President of seller services, said that more than 80 percent of the company's current export vendors were from small towns and cities.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal on April 30 told media persons that the platform gives sellers from across the country, including tier II and III cities, and access to the global market for their products. Agarwal pointed out that small sellers from smaller towns such as Namakkal, Tamil Nadu were able to sell their product in Amazon and increase their reach. He gave an example of the tea brand Vadham that Opera Winfrey has said she loves.

As rosy as its sounds, the story is far from that for sellers, say trader bodies and other media reports. Even in India, which is one of the key markets for the company, sellers have not been a happy lot and have raised issues in the past.

The e-commerce giant was criticised by associations such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an association for small traders and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an RSS affiliate organisation. The backlash is primarily for promoting the fulfillment platform Cloudtail and Appario, which it partially owns through a joint venture and is know for deep discounting. A few have claimed that they do not provide its sellers a level playing field.

As per industry estimates, Cloudtail and Appario make nearly 50 percent of the daily volumes on the site. However the company has made some restructuring by selling its stake in Cloudtail over a revision of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. Some reports said that the company is doing similar restructuring in Appario as well.

Though Flipkart is the market leader with revenues up to $3.8 billion as opposed to Amazon India's $3.2 billion, the latter is catching up faster.

Praveen Khandewal, General Secretary, CAIT, said, the platform lacks transparency. So far the company has not divulged their business model in India like the business figures here. But at the global level they are doing it at a large scale.

While selling products that are made in India globally is good, Khandelwal pointed out that there is no regulation in place to scrutinise what kind of products they are promoting in the global sellers initiative. Responding to this reporters question of sellers claim, Agarwal, Amazon India head, did not respond directly. He said that while there will always be a section of sellers who will complain, there are many others who have been benefitted and that is where the focus should be.

at a recent seller conference held in India, Pillai, Amazon India's VP for seller services further added that the company has not gotten any complaints from sellers so far.

Despite this assurance, there have been concerns from sellers globally . Roomy Khan in her article in Forbes, said, While the growing Amazon Marketplace is attracting new sellers every day, it is also creating an unruly, frenzied out of control e-commerce environment. The bigger the marketplace gets, the harder it is to monitor the sellers and the products they sell.

Khan argues that while the opportunities are huge, Amazon has become a cesspool of unvetted merchants and unqualified products from all over the world, with fake products and paid reviews leading consumers astray.

Though there are guidelines in place, Khan said that it is unclear whether Amazon has any mechanism to enforce, verify or audit compliance with the published guidelines. The company mostly relies on the sellers to comply with the rules and has a laissez-faire approach towards enlisting new sellers, it added.

Another issue is the profitability for sellers. While Amazon provides a platform to sell products, Spencer Soper from Bloomberg said in a media report that Amazon has evolved from being a partner to competitor. That means that sellers have to shell out more to sell their products.

Citing the story of one merchant Jason Boyce, Soper explains how Amazon is making money at this merchants expense. The company now makes products similar to that his but is placed prominently and is less expensive.
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Cyclone 'Fani' has caused extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Puri, Bhubaneswar and some other areas of Odisha, while rail and air connectivity to the state is getting restored Saturday, the Centre said.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, reviewed rescue and relief operations in cyclone-hit areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, a day after the 'extremely severe cyclone' made a landfall in Odisha.

"Odisha informed that extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure had been caused in Puri, Bhubaneswar and other areas. However, due to advance precautionary measures taken and large scale evacuation, the loss of human lives was minimal," an official statement said.

The West Bengal government has reported mild impact of the cyclone, while the Andhra Pradesh government informed about heavy rainfall and some damage to crops and roads in Srikakulam district.

The railways has cleared the mainline and would start part of operations using diesel operated locomotives by Saturday. Flights to Bhubaneswar also resumed operations this afternoon, according to the statement.

The cabinet secretary directed the Ministry of Power and Department of Telecommunications to immediately assist the Odisha government by providing electrical poles, gang workmen and diesel generator sets of varying capacities for quick restoration of power supply. The transmission line supplying power to Bhubaneswar is expected to be restored by Saturday.

The Department of Telecommunications indicated that mobile services would also be restored partially. No damage to ports and refinery installations was reported, the statement said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has moved 16 additional teams, comprising about 45 personnel in each, for rescue and relief work in Odisha and has removed fallen trees and other obstacles on most of the roads.

The Union Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET exam in Odisha scheduled for May 5 based on the advice of Odisha government. It is also moving teams of public health experts to assist the state government in preventing outbreak of any epidemic.

Reviewing the relief efforts, the cabinet secretary directed that officials of central ministries and agencies should remain in close touch with the Odisha government and provide all required assistance expeditiously.

Enough supplies of food, medicines, drinking water and other essential supplies have been kept in readiness to be airlifted as per the requirements projected by the states.

The Railways and Civil Aviation ministries have made arrangements for free transportation of relief material to the cyclone affected areas, the statement said.

The chief secretaries and principal secretaries of the Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal governments participated in the NCMC meeting through video conference.

Senior officials from the PMO, ministries of home, defence, shipping, civil aviation, railways, petroleum, power, telecommunications, steel, drinking water and sanitation, food processing, health, fisheries, IMD, NDMA and the NDRF also attended the meeting.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was reportedly slapped on May 4 during a roadshow in the national capital.

According to multiple media reports, a man dressed in a maroon coloured shirt climbed on top of the AAP chieftain's car and slapped him while he was carrying out a roadshow ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls in the Moti Nagar area of New Delhi.

The man has since been taken into custody by Delhi Police, reported CNN-News18.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

Since entering politics, Kejriwal has been attacked several times.

He was previously attacked on November 20, by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani, who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal after his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Another incident took place in April 2016, when a man identified as Ved Sharma threw a shoe at the Chief Minister while he was addressing a press conference.

A month before the shoe incident, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Ludhiana. The attack broke Kejriwal's car windshield.

While the AAP has already declared its seven candidates in the state, they had not filed their nominations.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Delhi on May 12 , in a single phase.
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The Jharkhand government issued an advisory on May 3, asking all district deputy commissioners to set up control rooms to meet any exigency in the wake of the cyclonic storm 'Fani'.

An official release, quoting the regional meteorological department, said from the afternoon of May 3 to May 4, widespread rains accompanied by strong winds will occur in all the 24 districts of the state.

Several districts are already experiencing rains, officials said.

Meanwhile, a woman died after a wall of her house collapsed, following a sudden storm at Sajwan village in Palamau district, they said.

The woman, identified as Muni Kumari, died on the spot after the mud wall fell on her, the officials said.

The storm was not under the impact of 'Fani', they added.

All educational institutions in Palamau district will remain closed on Saturday, the release said.

Earlier on May 3, cyclone 'Fani' barrelled through Odisha, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people.
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on May 4 said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."

The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on May 3 that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.
Union minister Mahesh Sharma was on May 3 issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission for allegedly referring to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as "pappu" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as "pappu ki pappi". While giving the BJP MP 24 hours to respond, the commission reminded him of a provision in the Model Code of Conduct which states that politicians must refrain from making remarks on private lives of rivals.

A portion of the remark was reproduced in the notice. Sharma had allegedly said on March 19 in Sikandrabad, "Now that Pappu says that he wants to be the prime minister. Now, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Pappu ki pappi have also come...whether that Priyanka was not the daughter of the country ... what new has she brought..."

The Congress had moved the Election Commission with a complaint against Sharma.
Intensifying his attack on the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) will give rise to 'mahabhrashtachar' (grand corruption)'. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party and it will soon witness its "downfall".

"See its (Congress) downfall," he said, as he made a no-holds barred attack against party president Rahul Gandhi, warning him that he will succumb to "ahankaar" (self pride).

Modi said while a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the Samajwadi Party, an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi who was present at an SP meeting in Raebareli this week, the BSP is attacking the grand old party.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the grand old party," he said at an election meeting here, apparently to drive a wedge between the two allies.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said the "Mr Clean" image of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi became "corrupt number one".

He also recalled how the Congress had withdrawn support from governments at the Centre in the past leading to political instability.

"Only the BJP can give a stable government," he said, as he led the gathering chanting "phir ek baar ...Modi sarkar (once again, Modi government)".
Britain's two main parties suffered a drubbing on May 3 in English local elections, with Prime Minister Theresa May's governing Conservatives bearing the brunt of voter frustration over the prolonged Brexit deadlock. May's Conservatives lost control of several local authorities and well over a thousand seats, performing far worse than even the gloomiest predictions.

But the main opposition Labour Party also lost ground, with voters instead turning to smaller parties and independents in Thursday's polls.

"There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit," May said.

Britain's bitterly-divided MPs have been unable to agree on a divorce deal with the EU, with the two main parties in talks on breaking the impasse that have produced little fruit so far.

"This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that," May told the Welsh Conservative Conference, having faced down a heckler calling for her to quit.

The results raise the pressure on May and Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn to strike a deal and avoid having to hold European Parliament elections on May 23, where they face being wiped out by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which did not compete in Thursday's vote.

Corbyn said that he was "very sorry" for the party's losses, adding there was now "a huge impetus" for the talks to succeed.

May later said that her government and Labour were locked in "constructive talks".

After voting in June 2016 to leave the European Union, Britain was meant to depart on March 29 this year. However, its exit date has been postponed until October 31 due to the wrangling.

According to figures reported by the Press Association, the Tories lost over 1,269 seats, while Labour had lost 63.

Labour was expected to pick up seats as voters typically give the sitting government a kicking in such elections.

It will also be concerned about losing seats in its traditional heartlands, which voted heavily to leave the EU and which it would need to win in order to beat the Tories in a general election.

The party's Brexit position is described by some commentators as constructive ambiguity.

It is also losing support over the issue of anti-Semitism, which flared again this week when it emerged leader Corbyn had written the foreword to a book containing what the party called "offensive references".

If results were replicated nationwide, pollster John Curtice calculated that both the Conservatives and Labour would each get only 28 percent of the total vote, saying the days of two-party domination "may be over".

The centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens -- both anti-Brexit -- were the big winners, along with independent candidates.

Voters went to the polls in mainly rural and suburban areas of England, with more than 8,000 seats up for grabs.

All 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland were also contested among the province's own parties.

"The key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is 'a plague on both of your houses'," Curtice told the BBC.

They lost votes most heavily in the wards where they were strongest, he noted.

The council elections decide who sets local tax rates and runs community services but are often swayed by the national picture.

The Greens appear to have been boosted by the recent climate protests in London, which brought environmental issues to the front-pages.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said voters "no longer have confidence in the Conservatives, but they are also refusing to reward Labour while the party prevaricates on the big issue of the day." The problems for the two main parties could worsen at the European elections when they will also face two newly-formed forces: the Brexit Party -- which leads in the opinion polls -- and pro-EU centrists Change UK.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told BBC radio that if the centre-right party "doesn't mend its ways pretty quickly, the Conservative Party is going to be toast".
The Election Commission on May 4 gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Patna speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot. This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the EC's decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said that Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturday's decision, the EC said, "...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted."

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of "consequences" if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said that the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.
Taking umbrage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that the Congress is lying about surgical strikes under the UPA government, the party on May 3 said it has never used the strikes as election fodder and the statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers.

"Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party.

"The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said.

"I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters, "My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?"

He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

"In the Congress, we have always said that such operations were conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added.

The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure.

"The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces. The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told the reporters, "Fifteen commandos died in Gadchiroli. Will the PM and Maharashtra CM answer why they are not giving funds, which forces asked for in 2014, to purchase special equipment that could have stopped the IED blasts?"

Fifteen policemen and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle in Jambhurkheda area of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Talking about the 11 complaints filed by the Congress against the PM and BJP president Amit Shah, Sharma said that the Election Commission is ignoring even the reports filed by the chief electoral officers of the states where the speeches were made.

"These decisions in the EC are not unanimous. There are two opinions even in the EC itself," he said.

According to a media report on Friday, the EC's decision to give a clean chit to PM for his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes in Latur on April 9 and his "minority-majority" speech at Wardha on April 1 was not a unanimous one.

"The prime minister and the ruling party's president are continuously violating the code of conduct. No action is being taken and because of this, it can be said that the EC is not capable of fulfilling its constitutional responsibility," Sharma alleged.
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As the latest, greatest election in the world rolls along, we have now completed 5 out of 7 phases, I think. Were almost at the playoff stage where teams...wait, thats the IPL. Theyve both been on for so long that Ive lost track.

Anyway, the 2019 election. Protracted as it is, this years election allows us the opportunity to examine our political landscape in a bit more detail. In todays podcast, we will examine the role that women are expected to play in this years lok sabha election - as voters, and as the leaders.

Women voters

Okay, Ill admit that the phrase women voters is more than a little ungainly. Because women dont vote en masse. In fact, they average over 65% in voting percentage for parliamentary elections, compared to 67% for men. Almost neck-and-neck there. If the recurring promises by politicians to declare prohibition in their states are any indication, women voters are even addressed directly by leaders across the spectrum. One gentleman by the name Nitish Kumar did so not too long ago. What Im getting at is, women tend to vote differently than men. And in 2019, estimates claim that around 430 million women are eligible to vote in India. Women voters have, over the course of years, taken an increasingly active part in the electoral process.

Women in India were granted voting rights in 1950 by universal suffrage, which is enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian constitution. Remarkably, women in the United States had been allowed to vote for just 30 years at the time, following a landmark ruling that granted women citizens of the US the right to vote in 1920, after a gap of 113 years. Given the literacy levels in India in the 50s and 60s, its probably doesnt come as a surprise that there was a big gap in the voting percentages between the two genders. A Times of India report claimed that the gap in turnout between men and women was 16.7% in 1962, but that gap fell to around 4.4% in 2009, and just 1.79% in the 2014 lok sabha polls. According to the book The Verdict, which is written by Indias veteran news anchor, and head of NDTV, Prannoy Roy along with election researcher Dorab Sopariwala, In 1962, womens turnout was 15% lower than mens turnout; but by 2014 womens turnout had almost reached parity with men, short by only 1.5%. In a rough estimate, if earlier it was three women to every 10 male voters, now the numbers are up to seven women voters for every 10 men.

That progress notwithstanding, Roy and Sopariwala speculate that 21 million women did not get to vote in 2014 because they were not registered. They said Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar ranked the worst in terms of women turnout while West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha were among the best, as were smaller regions like Lakshadweep, Nagaland, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

An analysis in Scroll put forward an interesting conjecture, that is perhaps not unfounded - There are a variety of reasons for women going out and exercising their franchise in bigger numbers than ever before...political fortunes can swing on the basis of just a single percentage point increase in vote share(that) appears to have encouraged parties to focus more specifically on appealing to women voters and ensuring they make their way to the polling stations. That analysis claims that in 2019, Indias female voting-age population is expected to be around 97.2% of the total male population. One would expect the same proportion for voters, except women voters are just 92.7% of the male electorate. That is a 4.5% shortfall, or 21 million people.

Roy and Sopariwalas book claims that the 21 million number is equivalent to every single woman in any one of the states like Jharkhand, Haryana, Telangana, Kerala or Chhattisgarh not being allowed to vote at all. Alright, hyperbole aside, the NDTV analysts claim, 21 million missing women translates to 38,000 missing women voters in every constituency in India, on average. There are a large number of Lok Sabha constituencies  more than one in every five seats  that are won or lost by a margin of less than 38,000 votes.

Kill your stereotypes

According to Business Insider, the proportion of women who stepped out to vote surpassed that of men in the assembly elections held in 2017 and 2018. It was as high as 70% for women in the last two years, compared to 43% among men. That data set addresses the six states that went to polls in the last two years - Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In fact, several districts in Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Sikkim have closed the gender gap and, in some of them, more women are voting than men. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, women voters outnumbered their male counterparts. About 63.26 per cent of women voters in the politically crucial state went to the polling booths as against 59.43 per cent of the men. In Karnataka, the number of women voters increased by 13% following the revision of electoral rolls in 2018. In Kerala, women voters outnumber the men and no political party can afford to ignore their preferences.

All political parties are paying attention to this change on the ground. Theyre tweaking their political messaging campaign strategies to appeal to women voters since there is enough empirical evidence to suggest that women voters can swing elections. India Today claimed that In December 2018, the Congress carried out a survey of approximately 40,000 women in Karauli, Rajasthan, to understand their voting behaviour. The survey asked about their access to information, political choices (were they different from those of their husbands, brothers or fathers). The findings were striking - nearly 75% of the respondents said they get information independently of the men and are independent in their political choices, a near complete reversal of their responses after the 2008 assembly election, when most said they voted for whoever the family voted. Karauli, incidentally, has a lower literacy rate than the national average and is classified as an under-developed district.

Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, whose research focus is the political economy of India, believes this moment belongs to the ladies. He said, "For the first time in history, we are seeing the gender gap close. Women are coming out to exercise their franchise, which makes them swing voters. These are people you can convince to join your side. We have seen it in 2014, in places where women's turnout increased, the BJP benefitted more." Roy and Sopariwala claim the BJP-led NDA had a lead of 9% among women voters, compared to a lead of 19% among men.

An analysis in India Today claimed that women vote on very different issues compared to men. While more men are likely to vote on the lines of caste, religion, nationalism and identity, women are more likely to focus on economic issues which have a direct bearing on the quality of their life. A congress party analysts observed that "For the female voter, it is about the present and future, while for the male voter it's about identity." Women are likely to vote over job opportunities for themselves or their children, as well safety and security.

And politicians are paying close attention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech recently, Our country is moving from women's development to women-led development. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal said, I want to give 10 crore toilets to my sisters and mothers so that they get dignity of life. That programme cannot wait even if it means I have to borrow a little more. Platitudes aside, as per an analysis by India Today, The importance of the Indian woman voter is reflected in the political rhetoric across parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship schemes-whether it be Ujjwala or the sanitation campaign of building toilets or prioritising ASHA (centred around maternal health)-are all focussed on women as key beneficiaries. Politicians are also extolling the virtues of women as better money managers and homemakers.

The opposition isnt far behind. The India Today piece also noted that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made a fervent poll pitch, saying if voted to power his party would ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, which proposes to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Bringing Priyanka Gandhi to a crucial, strategic position in the party is also a move to directly reach out to women voters. Praveen Chakravarty, chairman, data analytics department of the Congress party, explained that the old concept of a 'household vote' is all but gone. He said, "I think in a household now, there could be four different votes...The year 2019 will be an information election. There's been a dramatic change in the way political parties are viewing this election."

Much of this change is owed to the increasing ease of access to information. While we wince over what our mothers and fathers receive and forward on WhatsApp, the fact is that with over a billion mobile connections cutting across social sectors, access to information has become easier than ever before and Indian women are consume it fervently. Shamika Ravi, director of research at Brookings India, cited a study she conducted on Bihar's two assembly elections in 2005. With no clear winner in February, president's rule was declared, with re-elections eight months later in October-November. Her comparative analysis of electoral outcomes for the 243 constituencies showed that the winning party changed in 87 constituencies, meaning 36% of the previous winners were voted out. She explained, That brought an end to the RJD rule of 15 years and led to the emergence of JD(U) as the single largest party. There were no new policies in these eight months. The explanation for the changed result was the voter turnout of women in Bihar. More women came out and voted against the previous winners the second time. The beneficiary of that increased turnout by women voters, current CM Nitish Kumar, paid heed to the winds of change in his state. Ever since, many of his programmes, from the bicycle scheme to liquor prohibition in the state, seem to suggest that he recognises the power of those voters.

Here is another interesting observation by Shamika Ravi that I must include here. She explains that the results of her study indicated that a spurt in female voter turnout reduced the re-election chances of a party, while the rise in the number of male voters improved it. When women exercise their vote independently, they show that their interests are distinct from the other half of society.

Women and political leadership

Women, who vote for different reasons, require representatives who reflect their own ideas and aspirations. But that change has been slow to come about. The current union cabinet has 9 ministers, the most in independent Indias history.

A recent analysis by Narayan Ramachandran of InKlude Labs in Mint explained that India ranks 153 out of 190 nations in the percentage of women in the lower house of world parliaments. India had 65 women out of 545 members of Parliament elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014, for a 12% representation. According to a list compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Rwanda ranks first with 61% of its lower house representatives being women. Nordic countries, as a region, are the leaders in this regard, with an average of about 40%. The UK and the US are relative laggards with 32% and 23%, respectively. Pakistan, with 20% participation from women, is also ahead of India. Prior to the 15th Lok Sabha, that number was stagnant at 9% for decades.

But the tide is turning. Women now account for 46% of elected representatives at the various levels of panchayati raj institutions, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Bidyut Mohanty, who heads the Womens Studies division at Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences, told Scroll, Nearly a million women have gone through the panchayat system as elected leaders and another two million have contested the elections and lost. They are very aware voters, aware of development and other issues of their villages.

This change at the grassroots is heading upwards as well. Two political parties - Naveen Patnaiks Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress in West Bengal - announced they will be fielding a significant number of women for the 2019 elections. That is a welcome change in a country where women comprise 48.1% of the population but hold only 12.1% of Lok Sabha seats. Patnaik famously announced he will earmark 33% (or 7 out of 21) of the BJDs parliamentary election tickets for women. As of now, only 3 out of the 21 MPs representing Odisha are women. In the 147-strong state assembly, women account for just 8% of all legislators, less than the national average of 9%. Another surprise here: Haryana has the highest proportion of women MLAs at 15% of the total Assembly strength. In Kerala, womens representation peaked at 9.3% in the 2001 election but has steadfastly remained below 6% ever since.

In Odishas neighbouring state West bengal, TMCs firebrand chief Mamata Banerjee released a list of party candidates to Parliament for 2019. Of these, 41% are women, which is unprecedented for any election ever in the history of Indian democracy. Womens voter turnout in Bengal exceeded that of men even in the 2011 assembly election - the election that saw Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress end 34 years of uninterrupted Marxist rule in a communist bastion. Scroll noted that In the next assembly election, while womens voter turnout remained higher than that of men, more women also contested the election as candidates. The results were proof Mamatas popularity was unparalleled in Bengal. The Communist Party of India-Marxist was relegated to number three in the state while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition, signalling a new era in the states politics.

However, the two national parties are yet to fully throw their weight behind this change. Of the 184 candidates announced in the first list by the BJP, only 23 were women, making that 12.5%. In the Congresss list, 17 of 143 candidates, or 11.9%, were women. Shaina NC, party spokesperson and treasurer of the Maharashtra BJP, has been vocal about her disappointment with this state of affairs. She said, The BJP has already earmarked 33% to women within the organisation. But that is not sufficient. Fighting elections is most important. She also tweeted, Upset and appalled to know that other than @MamataOfficial...and @Naveen_Odisha...all other parties only pay lip service to our cause...What is worrisome is that we are still having dialogues and discussions on the most basic rights that any human being should be entitled to. That's why a 33 per cent reservation must be a collective, concerted, conscious effort of all women in public life...Here on, I will champion the cause of reservation even if I have to fight the male chauvinistic mindset in my part(y)...(and) in all other parties too.

That said, lets not forget that this is the year Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra enters the fray as a game changer, and Smriti Irani is expected to upset Rahul Gandhi in the constituency of Amethi. The final world on this subject goes to the trenchant analysis by India Today: The 2019 election promises to be one in which the rules of engagement will change further as will the political discourse. As women come out in greater numbers, they will seek more accountability and are more likely to vote for development than caste and identity. If that happens, the country will be (so much) the better for it.
As Congress turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the Congress and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on May 4.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the Congress a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."

Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."

Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if Sonia Gandhi loses."

Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."

Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as cyclonic storm 'Fani' barrelled into Bangladesh on May 4, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, media reports said.

However, Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry officially confirmed four deaths -- two in Barguna and one each in Bhola and Noakhali -- on the basis of "initial reports" from the three coastal districts and said it was yet to compile the details of the casualties and damages caused by the cyclone.

"The detailed information from all the affected districts is yet to reach us," State minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman told reporters here.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the sky in several parts of Bangladesh remained overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds continued to lash the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of electricity and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel 12 flights, the report said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.
In the aftermath of the devastation caused by severe cyclone 'Fani', the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy has launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation effort in Odisha.

Two Maritime Recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy revealing widespread destruction localised around the temple town of Puri, according to an official statement.

The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command personally undertook aerial survey of the cyclone affected area Saturday morning and visited INS Chilka to review the relief efforts, it said.

The 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, officials said.

Based on the aerial surveys, the Eastern Naval Command is undertaking a three-pronged rescue and rehabilitation effort centred around Puri and its suburbs in coordination with the state government and the district administration.

"Relief and rehabilitation 'bricks' and 'pallets' (Naval parlance for containerised relief stores) comprising food material, essential medical supplies, clothing items, disinfectants, repair material, chain saws for removing damaged trees, torches and batteries, etc have been sent to the INS Chilka, a naval establishment at Odisha, closest to Puri," it said.

The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) is centrally coordinating distribution of these relief materials and a community kitchen is being planned to be set up.

Simultaneously, three eastern fleet ships are undertaking rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Indian Navy ships Ranvijay, Kadmatt and Airavat with three helicopters are presently operating off Puri and coordinating aerial survey and immediate response through their integral helicopters.

As the first responders, helicopters from the ships have been able to provide immediate support. In order to coordinate the relief efforts, the Eastern Naval Command has pre-positioned Liaison teams in the cyclone affected areas around Puri, who in turn are directing the rescue and relief efforts being undertaken by the ships, the statement added.

"With the likely opening of the Bhubaneswar airport today, Chetak and UH3H helicopters are being positioned there by the Navy to launch rescue efforts and air-dropping of relief material to the inaccessible and remote areas.

"The deployment of the helicopters at Bhubaneswar would enable aerial rescue of stranded personnel to safer areas as well as access to areas without road connectivity," it said.

The statement said in order to sustain the rescue and relief work over the next few days, the Eastern Naval Command has additional ships with standby relief material.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding that detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command made an urgent Disaster Assesment and On site Review in the wee hours of 04 May 19, post striking of Extremely Severe Cyclone FANI' at Indian Naval Base, INS Chilka, the premier training establishment of the Indian Navy, said Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma

"The Flag Officer took an on ground stock of the situation and damage to the assets, men and material during his approximately one-hour long visit to the location. The Admiral commended the Staff for their proactive preparatory activities to mitigate effects of the cyclone. He was happy to take note of the various Relief Operations and Medical Assistance being rendered by the unit to the neighbouring villages such as Gadadwar, Amritpur, Kharibandh and Athrawati," he said .

Singh also expressed confidence that the Naval Base would make an early come back to normalcy in the next few days.

"He also hoped that the Indian Navy's efforts in providing assistance would augment the efforts of other government agencies to bring solace to the affected people of Odisha. He also shared that Naval Ships were already at sea off Puri to render any Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance, as necessary," Sharma said.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of Indian Navy. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) East, will be the first helicopter pilot of the Indian Navy to become Chief Naval Staff.
Indonesia and Egypt have been making the headlines over their decision to shift their respective capital cities to a new location. However, this is not an unprecedented trend. Read on to know which countries have shifted their capital cities. (Image: Reuters)

Indonesia | The government had announced its decision to relocate its capital outside of the main island of Java as it is one of the fastest sinking cities in the world. It is also Southeast Asia's most polluted city, with snarling traffic jams being the norm on its streets. (Image: Reuters)

The Philippines | The capital city Manilla has seen its fair share of flooding, which prompted the central government to build another city named as New Clark City as a back-up in the event of Manila being destroyed by a natural disaster. (Image: Reuters)

Nigeria | The Nigerian government shifted the capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 due to overcrowding and public safety issues. (Image: Reuters)

South Korea | In 2012, it was announced that the capital of South Korea would be shifted from Seoul to Sejong City. Fertility rates in the country's new administrative capital shot through the roof after the announcement, making it the city with the highest fertility rate among 17 Korean provinces and cities. The country is known for having some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. (Image: Reuters)

Egypt | Congestion and overcrowding have plagued Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is why the foundation stone of the new capital city was laid in 2015. The new administrative capital will cover 700 square kilometers and is modeled to be a smart city in the desert with high-rises, luxury housing, wide roads and lush greenery. (Image: Reuters)

Russia | The former superpower's capital city, for close to 200 years, was St Petersburg. The year World War I ended in 1918, the new Bolshevik government, led by Vladimir Lenin, shifted base to Moscow. (Image: Reuters)

Brazil | Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, was designed by Lucio Costa, who planned it out in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. The city officially took its mantle from Rio de Janeiro in 1960, with Oscar Nimeyer, its head architect, having designed several of its iconic administrative and civic buildings. (Image of Brasilia: Reuters)

Pakistan | After its partition from India, the government of Pakistan decided to change its administrative capital from Karachi to Islamabad in 1959. It was a new planned city, and work began only in 1961, taking many decades to finish. (Image of Islamabad: Reuters)
Facebook is taking stern action against those propagating violence and hatred on its social media platform. The company is also banning pages, groups and events associated with the banned individuals, from its core social media network and photo-sharing app Instagram. Take a look at a few prominent people who have been banned by Mark Zuckerberg's company. (Image: Reuters)

Louis Farrakhan | The leader of US-based Nation of Islam was banned for preaching black separatism and making anti-Semitic remarks. (Image: Reuters)

Milo Yiannopoulos | A far-right British public speaker, political commentator, and writer who is known for talking against Islam, atheism, feminism, social justice, and political correctness was banned by Facebook. (Image: Reuters)

Paul Joseph Watson | Known to promote conspiracy theories on YouTube as a radio host, Watson describes himself as part of the "New Right". He has been accused of spreading fake news and conspiracy theories such as the claim that 9/11 was an inside job. (Image: Paul Joseph Watson Youtube image)

Paul Nehlen | An American politician who is an avowed white supremacist. He ran for Congress in 2018. (Image: The Rebel Media Youtube)

Alex Jones | An American radio show host and far-right conspiracy theorist, Jones runs the website, Infowars.com. He has been accused of circulating fake news and conspiracy theories including accusing the US government of planning September 11 attacks, and falsifying some details regarding the first moon landing. (Image: Reuters)

Laura Loomer | A far-right American political activist who was previously a reporter for Canadian far-right website The Rebel Media, has been banned by the social media platform. (Image: The Rebel Media YouTube)
Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that your phone is eavesdropping on you?

Perhaps you were talking about a holiday you want to take, or a pair of jeans youve been looking at buying, only to receive oddly specific advertisements for the rest of the week.

Sure, sometimes it can be useful. The product youve been considering buying is now right at your fingertips, following you around digitally and teasing you to purchase it. Aside from the fact its mildly psychologically manipulative, it can be very convenient.

However, most of us have had that disconcerting feeling that our privacy was being invaded. And that our phones, instead of sitting idly in our pockets like theyre supposed to, are perhaps the stealthiest spies to ever exist.

In fact, if you actually take the time to read your mobiles user agreements, youll find that your suspicions arent completely unfounded.

Most modern smartphones are equipped with AI assistants that are responsive to voice commands like Hey Siri and OK Google. And unless you disable those functions, the reality is that theyll always be switched on, waiting with bated breath for you to mention a product like a seagull waits for you to drop a hot chip.

If you have the right permissions enabled, third party apps like Instagram and Facebook can then take that information and target you with a level of nuance that was never before possible.

Although Facebook and other applications deny exploiting the microphone feature, cyber security consultant Dr Peter Henway believes otherwise:

Whether its timing or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically.

However when it comes to your privacy, the sneaky marketing techniques used by media conglomerates are the least of your worries.

As weve learned recently, the most powerful spy you need to watch out for is the government.

Aussie government taking notes from the Chinese

According to an article recently published by the ABC, both the Labor and Liberal parties, the Greens, and lobby groups like GetUp and Advance Australia had tracking devices in the campaign emails they sent out to the public.

The tracker is in the form of a tiny pixel image, which upon opening the email is downloaded and has the potential to compile an array of details about the recipient.

According to data law expert David Vaile, in the past emailing was a relatively safe system that wasnt crawling with surveillance and tracking tools. And tracking devices remained confined to the real of online marketers and news organisations. But for this federal election, the government is stepping up its game.

The tracking pixels allow the sender to see if youve opened the email, and what links youve clicked on. And as such, theyre able to discern what marketing techniques are effective on you personally.

As James McDonald, head of digital marketing firm Audience Group explains, the intention behind this technique is to create more nuanced political campaign strategies:

If youve got your base divided by swinging voter, by issue, by seat or by polling booth, all of a sudden, if you analyse that correctly, youve got talking points for the local member when he turns up at the bowls club, which will be different from when you go to the shopping centre.

This extra data could be the difference between an election victory and loss. But thats not the governments only method of gathering data on the public

Lets say, for example, youre an undecided voter who wants to make an informed decision with the federal election coming up later this month.

With all of the propaganda coming from all sides, and innumerable policies to consider, most people find it hard to garner to motivation and time to sort through all the information. As an undecided voter myself, I can attest to that.

Which is why services like the ABCs Vote Compass are so popular. Essentially, through a series of 30 questions which discern your opinion on topics ranging from refugees to economic policy, the compass places you on a political scale and suggests which party would best align with your views.

At time of writing, Vote Compass has 861,392 responses  belying how popular the service is. However as Sam wrote in Money Morning earlier this week, the compass may have a more sinister agenda:

After all this the survey asks about your voting preferences, who you voted for previously, your gender, year of birth, if youve been a student, your occupation, religion, language, whether youre Australian or not, your cultural background, how many people live in your house, your income, if youre politically left or right, and a few more very detailed personal questions.

The compass now has almost one million responses, which all potentially contain information that was completely irrelevant to the original service being offered. And considering the ABC is government-owned, who knows what that information, along with your IP address and your email data, could be used for

Of course, the election process is just one example of an area that is becoming increasingly more data-driven year after year. The sheer mass of data floating around the interwebs (2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every single day to be exact) is only going to keep growing to numbers which exceed human comprehension.

This absolutely has implications for privacy. But a more pressing issue is bandwidth and internet speed. A problem which 5G technology promises to solve.

Already this technology is being rolled out across the globe and our own nation. And the wealth of opportunities for investors are sitting there waiting to be pounced on.

This week in Money Morning

There is a lot of media attention on the water buybacks by the government in the MurrayDarling Basin over the last few years. Which is why on Monday, Murray decided to cover the state of water markets in Australia and whether there was a way to invest in the rising value of water. His findings could be of interest to you.

To read his full article, click here.

If you have ever traded any positions in the past you probably know the mental anguish that can arise as prices fly around. Whether you are in the money or out of the money, there are plenty of things to worry about. Which is why on Tuesday, Murray outlined his strategy for keeping your emotions out of your trades.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Wednesday, Murray covered the latest from the US Fed. After 10 years of pumping the markets higher to escape the GFC, Murray honestly thought that we had finally reached the point where the powers that be would attempt to normalise rates. If only in fear of creating a larger monster down the track if they didnt act. But as weve seen recently, thats not the case. And the repercussions could be sweeping

To learn more, click here.

Are you socially conservative or socially progressive? Are you economically left or economically right? Do you see yourself as left leaning, far right or are you centrist? Well, with the ABCs Vote Compass tool you can find out easily. But as Sam wrote on Thursday, the data being collected to determine your political position could be doing more harm than its worth.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Friday, Phil wrote about the birth of reality television. Or to be more exact, the reality-style show that is currently occurring in the White House. If you pay enough attention, you can see the tactics Trump is using to stay on the air and in favour with his fans.

But for how long will this be effective? Click here to find out.

Until next week,

Katie Johnson,

Editor, Money Weekend
(Bloomberg) -- As oil workers struggle to find affordable housing in the booming Permian Basin of West Texas, thousands of abandoned pets are also in need of new homes.

An animal rescue group in Midland, the fastest-growing U.S. city, is in the process of raising $3 million to build additional shelter facilities as the region struggles with a large number of pets left without owners.
After months of speculation about her political future, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has decided to stay local.

Gaspar put to rest rumors she may mount a second bid for Congress when she announced late Thursday, May 2, that she will seek a second term on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Its never an easy decision, but San Diego is a place Ive grown up and Ive always said from the outset I appreciated the opportunity to serve here, she said, "...and having the opportunity to really dig into the work over the past year made the decision to run for re-election a lot easier.

Her supervisorial district, District 3, includes part of San Diego and the cities of Encinitas, Escondido, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Gaspars announcement positions Republicans to unify behind a single candidate ahead of what is expected to be a competition that will shape the Board Supervisors future with the boards majority at stake.

New Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Jim Desmond, a Democrat and Republican respectively, will have two years left on their first terms after 2020, but San Diegos two longest serving Supervisors, Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, both Republicans, will leave office at the end of 2020 due to term limits.

Coxs seat representing the South Bay is a safe bet to flip for Democrats, given that partys more than 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration in the district. Jacobs East County seat is likely to remain in Republican hands because there is a Republican advantage in her district by about 17,000 voters, although Democratic registrations are trending upward there while Republican registrations are trending down.

That leaves the District 3 seat, which Gaspar currently holds, as the swing seat in 2020 and a battleground for a serious fight.

Gaspar, who lives in Encinitas with her husband and three children, has a few things working to her advantage as she mounts her re-election bid.

Shes an incumbent, and prior to last year it was rare for incumbents to lose any office in San Diego barring a serious scandal. She also can point to her experience on the board and time as chair, advancing such programs as The Other Side Academy, which is planned as a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts.

Gaspar said the program is an example of a proactive community solution.

Im excited about where that work is heading and this new approach to homelessness and incarceration, she said in an interview Friday, May 3.

However, the former mayor of Encinitas also faces several obstacles that didnt exist when she unseated scandal-plagued incumbent Dave Roberts in 2016.

When Gaspar won there were about 2,500 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. Today that Democratic edge has grown to more than 17,000.

Gaspar will also face off against more formidable Democratic opponents this time, including Terra Lawson-Remer, an economist and attorney who was a former senior adviser in the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration; Olga Diaz, an Escondido City Council member and interim Dean of Counseling at Palomar Community College; and Jeff Griffith, a fire captain and member of the Palomar Health Board of Directors.

I always have the philosophy that I always run like Im running from behind and as always Ill give this race everything Ive got, Gaspar said.

Gaspars biggest challenge may lie in her connection to President Donald Trump, who is unpopular with many in the district and lost it to Hillary Clinton by 20 points in 2016.

Some of her opponents already are fundraising and enlisting volunteers based on her Trump connection. The county Democratic party immediately pushed a news release labeling her a Trump Republican in the wake of her announcement.

Gaspar was a big supporter of the county joining the lawsuit the Trump Administration filed against California over so called Sanctuary policies. She also has met with the president at the White House and was the lone supervisor to oppose the countys decision in February to sue the Trump Administration over its handling of asylum seekers.
James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Crude futures dipped Friday but ended the week with a 1.8 percent gain. Concerns about the deepening U.S.-China trade war impacting economic growth outweighed concerns about heightened tensions in the Middle East impacting supplies.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 11 cents to close the week at $62.76 a barrel, up $1.10 from last Friday's close. The posted price ended the week at $59.25 a barrel.
Midland Crime Stoppers

Midland Crime Stoppers needs help identifying two suspects involved in an aggravated robbery.

Two people walked into a business -- Burrito El Aguaje -- located at 700 E. Florida. Ave. at about 3 a.m. April 27. The subjects were armed with guns and made the employee lie on the floor while they searched him for his wallet or anything else of value. The suspects took his wallet, pistol-whipped him in the head and kicked him while he was on the floor. A customer walked into the business, saw the robbery and ran out of the business. The suspects caught up with the customer and also assaulted him.
Muhlenberg Joins Liberal Arts Diversity Officers Consortium

The College is the newest member of the consortium, which promotes best practices and innovative strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro Friday, May 3, 2019 01:48 PM

Muhlenberg is now one of 32 institutional members of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers (LADO) consortium nationwide. LADO provides opportunities for chief diversity officers at liberal arts colleges to collaborate and provide leadership in implementing and publicizing effective diversity strategies at their home institutions.

Founded in 2007, LADO member institutions are private, selective colleges with a focus on undergraduates. They must also have a staff member serving in a diversity leadership role.

This is an opportunity that came with the creation of Muhlenbergs diversity leadership position, says Vick, (pictured left), who joined the College last fall in the new administrative role of associate provost for faculty and diversity initiatives.

I was impressed with LADOs goals, and this will be a great partnership for us as we continue to develop our capacity to recruit, retain and support underrepresented faculty, staff and students, she added.

As a member of LADO, Muhlenberg will also now partner with the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), which is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. C3 develops, disseminates and promotes new strategies for fostering the full participation of diverse students and faculty. In doing so, it serves as an incubator of innovation for institutional diversity and equity.

The C3 Undergraduate Fellowships program, for example, provides underrepresented students from LADO colleges the opportunity to do paid and mentored graduate-level research, plus helps open doors to graduate schools and internships. This includes training about applying to and succeeding in graduate school.

LADO and C3 representatives also make over a dozen visits to top research universities a year to meet with underrepresented graduate students and encourage them to consider faculty positions at liberal arts colleges. This includes providing information about specific teaching opportunities and the faculty job search process at liberal arts institutions.

Citing the benefits of an effective consortium, Vick says, There are things we can do better together than alone, including developing collaborative solutions to shared challenges. LADO will help us do this.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Anti-smoking advocates with the American Cancer Society want Illinois lawmakers to hike the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

It is a proposal backed by Democratic senators who pushed to raise the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, and comes as legislators are seeking sources of revenue in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker initially introduced a 32-cent tax increase in his February budget proposal, which would change the current rate from $1.98 to $2.30 a pack.

The Governors Office of Management and Budget estimated that increase would generate an additional $55 million to be used toward Illinois Medicaid program and schools.

But Shana Crews, government relations director for the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, said bumping up the Democratic governors idea by 68 cents would be a win-win solution for the state.

Not only would a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase prevent 28,700 Illinois youth from becoming adults who smoke and help 48,700 adults who smoke quit, but its also expected to generate more than $159 million in new annual revenue, Crews said. Thats money that could be put toward public health programs and help Illinois pay down its high deficit.

Language for the tax bump has not yet been filed but is expected to appear in the Senate next week.

Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, sponsored legislation in 2007 to ban public smoking and was a proponent of the Tobacco 21 initiative. He said Illinois is a long way from ending its campaign to end smoking.

We know that were saving lives by stopping people from smoking and stopping e-cigarette [use] in the state of Illinois, Link said. If this $1 a pack doesnt start sending [smokers] another message, I dont know whats going to, but weve got to make sure that people do not start smoking.

Crews said lawmakers should consider implementing a tax on all other tobacco products to avoid pushing people toward those goods when the price of cigarettes increases.

The Cancer Society recommended hiking the tax on cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco by 64 percent of the wholesale price.
The governor made a disaster proclamation for dozens of counties Friday as flood fighting efforts continue and more rain is forecast to arrive before the Illinois River is expected to crest next week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation Friday afternoon for 34 counties, including Brown, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler and Scott.

River levels are rapidly rising and with more precipitation in the forecast, many communities will need additional assistance, Pritzker said in a statement. The state of Illinois is ready to help our communities as they work to protect our residents and critical infrastructure.

Flood fighting operations started late this week and will continue through the weekend in Meredosia and in Scott County, while Cass County has been making preparations.

Major flooding is expected along the Illinois River into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

At Meredosia the river is expected to crest by Thursday morning, reaching 27.5 feet, and at Beardstown its expected to crest by Wednesday evening, reaching 28.5 feet. The water was over 21 feet Friday morning at both points on the river.

The National Weather Service is predicting more rain is on its way, with the chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday through Thursday of next week.

More Information VOLUNTEERS Scott County  To help at Big Swan Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 395 Big Swan Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday.  To help at Bloomfield Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 496 Bloomfield Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday. Morgan County  To help in Meredosia, volunteers should go to the sandbagging location on the south side of the Meredosia Boat Dock. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if possible. See More Collapse

The state is already reporting record river crests, residential evacuations and flood-related infrastructure damage are already affecting some areas along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

Among the state agencies and organizations that have been directed to assist in flood fighting efforts, the Illinois Department of Corrections has activated around-the-clock work crews to help with sand bags, according to the governors office.

Corrections crews arrived in Meredosia Friday morning and were hard at work all day.

With the help of the inmates and volunteers with at least a half dozen utility vehicles, layers of sand bags were laid along the north levee in Meredosia.

Village Trustee Ernie Gregory was moving sand bags to where the inmates and volunteers needed them. He said they would work all day and get as far as they could.

Its going really well. These inmates are doing a really good job. Without them, wed be in trouble, he said.  And weve got a pretty good crew of volunteers. Weve all done it before.

William Smith used to live in the area  both before and after the levee was built  and was helping move sand bags Friday.

Well, its a civic duty, man, he said over the sound of his vehicles motor. Its a small town. Youre supposed to help.

Morgan County Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty said the predictions on the rivers crest would put it 1.5 to 2 feet above the top of the levee the crews and volunteers were working on Friday. The river is already above the National Weather Service flood stage in Meredosia, but McCarty said when the river reaches 24 feet, that is when officials become concerned and the water begins to put pressure on the levees.

The sand bags should reinforce the levee and hold back the water to protect about 75% of the town.

The 75% number is not an exact science, but we know that it would critically impact the community if it flooded, he said, adding efforts to protect the town have been successful over the years.

McCarty said they will work through the weekend and hope to be done on Monday  and stay ahead of when the river is expected to crest.

Flood fighting is also ongoing at the Big Swan and Bloomfield drainage and levy districts in Scott County and emergency management staff was evaluating the river in Naples on Friday evening, Scott County Emergency Management Director Justin Daws said.

Cass County sent out a meeting notice Friday for the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District, which is set to meet every day next week.

Scott and Morgan counties were seeking volunteers to help with flood fighting efforts over the weekend and McCarty said donations can be sent to the Praireland United Way and American Red Cross. People and local retailers have also donated water bottles and supplies to support volunteers.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is reminding people in affected areas to be prepared to evacuate if floodwaters reach their homes by packing essentials and planning for all family members, including pets.
It's not every day you see one of the world's biggest rock stars hanging out right near where you're out to eat.

But Daniel Poe was in that position on Wednesday night when he spotted Dave Grohl at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler.

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"It's always a pleasure to meet people you admire, especially someone of Dave's caliber. He was just as warm and friendly as you would hope him to be," Poe, a Tyler resident, told Chron.com.

Grohl was the drummer for the legendary Seattle grunge band Nirvana, later forming his own group, Foo Fighters.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston Barbecue Festival wows smoked meat lovers

"It was surreal to have such casual conversation with someone who has shaped the face of rock and roll the way he has. This man has had his hand in several of my favorite records, from the Foos, to QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age), to McCartney. All the better to visit with him at my favorite BBQ joint."

Grohl is in East Texas to film a documentary about mothers of musicians, Stanley's owner Nick Pencis told KLTV.

Round two: Find out which international music sensation is already returning to Houston on HoustonChronicle.com

The multi-talented artist told the station he is planning to interview the mother of award-winning musician Miranda Lambert. the country music legend grew up in Lindale, a town located just north of Tyler.

Of course, much like her son, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, isn't afraid to let people know what's on her mind.

In 2017, she published "From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars."

So what does a rock legend at at Stanley's? "He had a whole tray of ribs in front of him at one point ha ha," said Poe.

It's unknown how long they lasted.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | 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.
A 10-year-old boy is dead and his 12-year-old sibling has been charged with murder after a shooting Saturday in Conroe, authorities said.

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constable's deputies were the first to respond to an emergency call at about 2:40 p.m. in the 10700 block of Stidham Road near Fenley Road, followed by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, Lt. Scott Spencer said in a statement on Twitter.
Converse police arrested Eduardo Gonzalez, 61, Thursday on suspicion of indecency with a child stemming from an alleged groping incident of two girls at a family Mother's Day celebration in 2017.

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No one enjoys getting impeached, and if it happens to him, Donald Trump will be no exception.

On the other hand, its hard to imagine any potential target of impeachment in Anglo-American history relishing the fight more than Trump. Hed rather be done with the Mueller investigation in all its permutations, but theres no one better suited to being at the center of a harshly partisan, deeply personal political and legal donnybrook that will ultimately be just for show.

Trump famously told top aides at the beginning of his administration that he wanted them to view each day as a TV episode. Impeachment would be a helluva season, matching a momentous process of American government with low political melodrama.

This may feel like a devolution from the buttoned-up Mueller probe, but the House should have been the locus of the Trump investigation in the first place.

Because Justice Department policy says a president cant be indicted, Robert Mueller was never going to reach a legal conclusion about alleged obstruction. The question was whether the presidents conduct constituted an abuse of power that Congress would deem impeachable; in other words, it was a political question.

Congress, then, was always the most appropriate venue for the investigation and disposition of this matter, not the office of the special counsel.

But our habit of transmuting broad political questions into narrow legal ones and Rod Rosensteins panicked appointment of Mueller  after the firing of FBI Director James Comey that he participated in  ensconced the probe within the Department of Justice.

Instead of being out in the open, it was behind closed doors. Instead of being nakedly political, it was clothed in thick legal analysis. Instead of being a struggle between the branches, it was a struggle within the executive branch.

Trump was deeply conflicted. He hated the investigation and came up with schemes to crimp it, all of which came to nothing. At the same time, the White House cooperated with Mueller. It was a twilight struggle between the president and the special counsel, with Trump not able to fully fight what was, in effect, an impeachment inquiry because any wrong move would be interpreted as yet another alleged act of obstruction.

Now, the battle is truly joined. The body that is going to make the ultimate decision of what to do about Trumps conduct, if anything, is on the hook. It has to decide what goes too far and not far enough. Should it subpoena Trumps children? How much time should it devote to investigations as opposed to its policy agenda? And, of course, should it impeach?

For his part, Trump is liberated to fight like a caged animal, asserting executive prerogatives vis-a-vis the legislature and engaging in flat-out partisan combat.

Trump would prefer a world in which hes universally praised, but short of that, this is his element. Despite all the press coverage over the past two years saying hes on the verge of some sort of breakdown, hes handled every controversy or fight  no matter how personal or treacherous  with the same straight-ahead aggression.

Trump is almost certainly better prepared and temperamentally suited for thermonuclear war with a Democratic House than he was to get substantive achievements out of a Republican House. He obviously hadnt thought through an actionable populist-conservative policy synthesis, but he has a lifetimes experience resisting and belittling enemies and extemporizing his way from one crisis to the next.

It may be impossible for him to stop impeachment, certainly not if Nancy Pelosi supports it. But hell be the focus of a historic drama that will rate  or at least be remembered and analyzed  for a very long time. He will have succeeded in making the Democratic House majority all about him, and if not getting convicted by the Senate counts as a victory, he will win in the end.

The post-trial tweetstorm will be something to behold.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The basis for congressional oversight of the executive branch is in the implied powers the Constitution grants Congress. But dont let that word implied throw you. The Supreme Court has upheld House and Senate oversight powers  deeming them guaranteed by the Constitutions necessary and proper clause. This means Congress is empowered to do what is necessary and proper to execute the express powers spelled out in the Constitution.

Congressional oversight of U.S. presidents is part of a broader system of checks and balances.

President Donald Trump, however, says he intends to resist all subpoenas from Congress.

As if on cue, Attorney General William Barr  after appearing before a Senate Committee the day before  refused to testify before a House committee on Thursday, objecting to the format because it will include questioning from a committee lawyer  as Christine Ford was interviewed during the Kavanaugh hearings. He now is subject to being held in contempt.

Consider the sweeping nature of Trumps refusal. Hes not saying  as past presidents have  that he will challenge each request individually on their merits (usually invoking executive privilege) or that he will negotiate whether aides will testify or whether requested documents will be provided. Were fighting all the subpoenas, he said last week. Period. No negotiation. A simple stone wall, though he did relent in one case after a plea from a fellow Republican.

This is dangerous, even with the single partisan accommodation. No matter how you feel about impeachment, this refusal threatens a system of checks and balances necessary for a functioning democracy.

Yes, other presidents have challenged congressional oversight  and have generally been slapped down by the courts.

President Barack Obama resisted congressional oversight of his administrations Operation Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation. The courts said the administration had to comply, and it did.

But presidents  in accordance with the Constitution  have generally complied with requests in other instances. Thats because oversight authority of Congress has been acknowledged as early as George Washingtons administration.

And then theres Trump, who has claimed an exoneration that doesnt exist in the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Congress is fully empowered to investigate any and all allegations contained in that report, which didnt rule out obstruction of justice. And while saying there was no coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, it also laid out many contacts between the two and campaign eagerness to receive and benefit from any information provided by the Russians. And no one in the Trump campaign picked up the phone to report a foreign effort to subvert the election for Trumps benefit.

This is troubling.

We have counseled against immediate impeachment proceedings. And we continue to. But the House still has a responsibility to investigate possible presidential wrongdoing. This is true even if the special counsel didnt recommend criminal prosecution  especially because the Justice Department said he couldnt seek the indictment of a sitting president in any case.

Congress cannot ignore the Mueller report and must exercise its oversight powers if the public is ever to have any confidence in the investigation or in Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

There will certainly be legal challenges to the presidents refusals. And this could run out the clock before Election Day in 2020. The rationale for the presidents refusals go something like this: House Democrats are acting purely out of partisan spite or seeking partisan advantage.

Well, we would not be a bit surprised by partisan motivations from Democrats, though there is, in fact, a split in the party on impeachment  and still there is that Mueller report full of items worth investigating and the congressional responsibility to do so, even if impeachment is ultimately off the table.

But the charge of partisanship is hollow coming from folks who cheered the incessant investigations of Hillary Clinton. The offenses alleged in the Mueller report are at least as bad as what Clinton allegedly did (those investigations substantively coming up empty). And we note that Barr appeared before a GOP led Senate committee but refused to appear before a Democratic controlled House committee. So, whos partisan?

The president should relent. A stone wall has all the signs of merely being a convenient hiding place. The public is ill-served by lack of knowledge. Texas congressional delegation should buck the president on this.
I was recently running in Monte Vista and noticed a police car go by, then circle back around twice. I waved, kind of puzzled, then I rounded the corner to Temple Beth-El and realized that it was Passover, and because of the recent attack in Poway, Calif., there was a heightened police presence.

I still thought it was odd how the officer circled around me three times, then I realized that as a white male of a certain age, I fit the profile of the recent attackers on Jewish Americans.

It was a chilling thought, but unlike other groups who shout to the rooftops about being profiled, I had zero issue with it. As a police officer, why wouldnt you have a heightened awareness of certain groups who are committing certain crimes? Profiling is just intelligent police work.

My deepest condolences to members of the Jewish faith, who have given so much to American culture and deserve our love, not our hate.

Shannon Deason

How much better?

Re: The future of Pre-K 4 SA rests with voters in 2020 election, by columnist Gilbert Garcia, Metro, Sunday:

Mr. Garcia tells us taxpayers spent $47.6 million on 2,000 children. That is $23,800 per child. By how much have the attendeesperformed better than their peers? Guess that metric doesnt matter. How much of the money went to staff salaries versus teacher compensation? Guess it doesnt matter either.

Steve Weakley

No powdered booze

Re: Push Legislature to keep powdered alcohol out of Texas, by Nelson Wolff, Another View, Tuesday:

For once I have to agree with County Judge Nelson Wolff. We already have enough serious traffic accidents caused by overindulgence in alcohol.

While I don't drink now, I used to. I am not anti-alcohol, just against overdoing it and then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The last thing we need in Bexar County or Texas is concentrated powdered booze. While I am not in favor of legislating morality in broad-brush fashion, I believe that this is an instance where our Legislature needs to act appropriately.

William Barone
A powerful cyclone has slammed into Indias eastern coastline, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 200 km/h (125mph).

Cyclone Fani, one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent years, made landfall at 08:00 local time (02:30 GMT) on Friday.

More than one million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha.

A state official said two people had been killed.

Flooding has also been reported in several areas, and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m (5ft) could threaten low-lying homes.

The cyclone made landfall in the tourist town of Puri, which is home to the 858-year-old Jagannath temple.

It is expected to hit 15 districts in Orissa, one of Indias poorest states, before weakening on Saturday.

Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said $140m (106m) was being allocated for emergency relief.

Numerous flights and train services in and out of the state have been cancelled, while schools and government offices are shut. Operations at three ports on Indias eastern coast have also been shut down.

Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The countrys National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.

Indias National Disaster Management Authority has warned people along the east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are phenomenal.

The agency said the total destruction of thatched houses was possible, as well as extensive damage to other structures.

I can confirm two deaths for now, Orissa special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told AFP news agency.

[A] man in one of the shelters died because of a heart attack. Another person went out in the storm despite our warnings and died because a tree fell on him, he said.

The cyclone is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

It coincides with high tides in the country, which may exacerbate potential flooding issues there.

 BBC

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Jacob Ngarivhumes Transform Zimbabwe dumps MDC Alliance.

TRANSFORM Zimbabwe (TZ) has pulled out of the MDC Alliance pact, choosing to go it alone than to dissolve and be part of the grand MDC, whose congress is to be held later this month.

Seven political parties came together on August 5, 2017 to form an electoral pact for the 2018 harmonised elections with an understanding that they would continue with the partnership in forming a government in the event that they won the elections.

An amalgamation process of the political parties is underway and two parties, Peoples Democratic Party formerly led any Tendai Biti and the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, have since dissolved and integrated into the Nelson Chamisa-led mainstream MDC.

We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision. said Ngarivhume.

The party urged its members not to participate in the upcoming MDC congress.

During the alliance tenure, many TZ officials were left disappointed after some of their allocated seats in the agreement were taken up by the mainstream MDC on the basis that the party had no numbers.

Its leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, and another official in Harare South were left competing with their alliance partners in the fight for parliamentary seats.

Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.

Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue.

I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status, he said.

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How vanishing lizards in Madagascar led to a troubling discovery about deforestation and climate change Yale Climate Connection

How a Lone Norwegian Trader Shook the Worlds Financial System NYT. Interesting article systemic issues with central counterparties (see Auerback today), despite the finger-pointing clickbait headline. Also a carbon emissions permits debacle.

If This Is a Tech Bubble in Stocks, Its the Expansionary Phase Bloomberg

Why Tesla is taking a different approach to self-driving cars FT

The smart diaper is coming. Who actually wants it? Vox

Could a popular food ingredient raise the risk for diabetes and obesity? Harvard School of Public Health

Brexit

Devolution at 20 Institute for Government

Venezuela

China

North Korea

RussiaGate

2020

Why Universal Health Care, Higher Wages, and Free Public Education Are Crucial Issues for Black Women Vogue

Health Care

Boeing 737 MAX

Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe USA Today. A ***cough*** civilian charter ***cough***.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

None of Your Business The Nation

Everything Was Done To Make Julian Assanges Life Miserable (interview) Der Spiegel (GlennF).

The Racistand High TechOrigins of Americas Modern Census Yasha Levine, OneZero. A must-read.

Class Warfare

Make Debt Service You Jacob Bacharach, Hmm Daily

Hiring surge pushes US jobless rate to 49-year low FT

With a Simple Twist, a Magic Material Is Now the Big Thing in Physics Quanta. A new type of superconductivity.

Between Worlds Orion Magazine

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here
Lambert here: Dont look back. Something might be gaining on you. Satchel Paige

By Franck Portier, Professor, University College London and CEPR Research Fellow. Originally published at VoxEU.

Business economists argue that the length of an expansion is a good indicator of when a recession will hit. Using both parametric and non-parametric measures, this column finds strong support for the theory from post-WWII data on the US economy. The findings suggest there is good reason to expect a US recession in the next two years.

This summer, the current US expansion, which started in June 2009, is likely to break the historical post-WWII record of 120 months long, which is currently held by the March 1991-March 2001 expansion. It is already longer than the post-WWII average of 58 months. Should we be worried? Is the next recession around the corner?

Yes, according to business economists. For example, according to the semi-annual National Association for Business Economics survey released last February, three-quarters of the panellists expect an economic recession by the end of 2021. While only 10% of panellists expect a recession in 2019, 42% say a recession will happen in 2020, and 25% expect one in 2021.

No, according to the conventional wisdom among more academic-oriented economists, who believe that expansions, like Peter Pan, endure but never seem to grow old, as Rudebusch (2016) recently argued. As he wrote, based only on age, an 80-month-old expansion has effectively the same chance of ending as a 40-month-old expansion. This view was also forcefully expressed last December by the (now ex-) Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen, who said  I think its a myth that expansions die of old age. I do not think they die of old age. So the fact that this has been quite a long expansion doesnt lead me to believe that  its days are numbered.

My research with Paul Beaudry and Dana Galizia tends to favour the former view, that we should be worried about a recession hitting the US economy in the next 18 months.

There are two reasons why we reach this conclusion. The first relies on a statistical analysis that uses only the age of an expansion to predict the probability of a recession. The second digs deeper into the very functioning of market economies.

First, we estimate in Beaudry and Portier (2019) the probability of the US economy entering a recession in the following year (or following two years), conditional on the expansion having lasted q quarters. This can be done in a parametric way based on the Weibull distribution, or non-parametrically using Kaplan and Meiers estimator of the survival function. Regardless of the method, and using post-WW2 US data, there is consistent evidence of age-dependence, as shown in Figure 1. For an expansion that has lasted only five quarters, the probability of entering a recession in the next year is around 10%, while this increases to 30-40% if the expansion has lasted over 35 quarters. Similarly, if looking at a two years window, we find the probability of entering a recession in the next two years raises from 25-30% to around 50-80% as the expansion extends from five quarters to 32 quarters (the exact probability depends on whether we use a parametric or a non-parametric approach).

Figure 1 Probability of an expansion ending in the next year, next year and a half, or next two years (parametric and non-parametric approach)

Notes: the dots are the non-parametric estimates. The thick lines are smoothed version of the dots. The dashed lines are the parametric estimates. Estimation is done using quarterly NBER data for expansions and recessions for the post-war sample (September 1945 to January 2019). The age of the expansion is in quarters.

The non-parametric estimates suggest that duration dependence is minimal for expansions lasting up to 25 quarters. But after 25 quarters, the duration becomes very apparent. For example, when an expansion ages from six years to nine years, the non-parametric estimates suggest that the probability of a recession within a year almost triples. If one looks in more detail at the initial phase of an expansion  up to eight quarters  there is also some evidence of positive duration dependence, reflecting the possible occurrence of double-dip recessions. Then from eight to 25 quarters, there appears instead to be negative duration dependence as the expansion takes hold, that is, during this phase the probability of entering a recession appears to decrease as the expansion ages. Finally, after 25 quarters the probability of entering a recession increases rapidly as the expansion gets old. This suggests that, when they are older than six years, expansions may be favouring the growth of certain vulnerabilities that may make the onset of a recession more likely. In other work (Beaudry et al. 2016), we have shown that US real and financial series tend to follow a cycle of length about ten years. Of course, this does not mean that there are deterministic cycles of ten years, but such a statistical regularity makes a recession all the more probable when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Obviously, we recognise that all our calculations are based on a small sample of data since recessions are rather rare. Our results are the best inference possible given this limited data.

Second, our recent work (Beaudry et al. 2016, 2017) has shown that a market economy, by its very nature, may create recurrent boom and bust independently of outside disturbances. This idea is well captured by the statement that a bust sows the seed of the next boom. Although, such an idea has a long tradition in the economics literature (e.g. Kalecki 1937 or Hicks 1950), it is not present in most modern macro-models. According to this view, the economy builds up sources of vulnerabilities in expansions. Those vulnerabilities could be of a financial nature (for example the accumulation of debt/leverage or the concentration of risk or collateral among small sets of agents) or of a real nature (for example the excessive accumulation of durable goods or investment in housing). Because of such a build-up, one need not expect a bad shock to trigger a recession. Such a mechanism creates the type of duration dependence we have seen in the data, namely that as an expansion grows old, eventually the probability of a recession should increase.

To conclude, let us emphasise that the evidence and theory we are bringing forward do not imply a deterministic view of the business cycle. We shall not expect a recession to happen with probability one when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Analysts might find reasons to be concerned (Chinese slowdown, yield curve inversion, etc.). What we suggest is that, even in the absence of a sudden adverse shock, a recession is most likely to happen in the next one to two years, and that this risk is higher than what it was two years ago.

References available at original.
Yves here. To add to Marshalls tally of ticking time bombs in finance-land: another source of systemic risk is central counterparties for derivatives. They were supposed to reduce risk by shifting clearing and settlement of many types of derivatives out of banks and over to entities that would be well capitalized and at arms length to the banks. Weve written how the central counterparties are new TBTF entities, since charging high enough margin and other loss reserves to provide for enough liquidity to handle a serious shock would make many derivatives uneconomical.

We summarized some of the failings in a 2018 post, which included key points from a recent Bloomberg op-ed by derivative maven Satyajit Das:

First, oversight is fragmented. Second, the system assumes traders can meet margin calls at short noticeIn practice, volatile market conditions require higher margins, which exacerbate systemic cash needs, force mass liquidation of positions and increase the central counterpartys risk. Third, initial margin-setting relies on risk models  based on assumed price behaviors and historical volatility and correlation data  that have repeatedly failed in the real world.the ability of non-defaulting members to bear losses may be lower than expected. Even single counterparty limits, designed to avoid concentrated exposure, are imperfect, as Norways case highlights. Fourth, central counterparties have adverse incentives. To gain market share, they might undercut each other on margins or default fund contributions, thus undermining the stability of the system itself. The default waterfall also entails moral hazard: Strong firms, forced to bear the liabilities of the weak, have little motivation to become clearing members.

By Marshall Auerback, a market analyst and commentator. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute

Judging from the public conversation were having as we head into the early stages of the 2020 presidential election, bankers no longer appear to be public enemy number one. Big tech appears to have that title.

Still, lets not forget that the actions of several large financial institutions in the run-up to 2008 were largely responsible for catastrophic job losses of millions of households, the repossession of their houses, the destruction of their retirement savings, the collapse of a multitude of businesses, an ongoing stranglehold into myriad forms of debt, and a relentless lobbying machine that exonerates it from any kind of oversight with real teeth.

The legislative response to this fiasco, the Dodd-Frank Act, is being undermined every which way, and wasnt all that strong to start with. It was passed in order to promote financial stability, lift our economy, and end too big to fail, argued financial observer Tyler ONeil, and the bill has achieved none of those goals. In fact, it created a host of perverse incentives that have likely made our problems a whole lot worse. Financial reform might be yesterdays news, but we are inching closer to another economic crisis, in which the old news might very well become new and relevant again.

Why is that? For one thing, Dodd-Frank did not structurally alter the banking system (in contrast to the aftermath of the Great Depression via Glass-Steagall). The big too big to fail (TBTF) banks got bigger. And by bigger, were talking about a sizable ownership stake over 60 percent of GDP.

One prominent example is the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPBan Elizabeth Warren proposal that actually initially proved to be one of the few effective reforms introduced by the new banking legislation). The CFPB has been largely gutted by acting head, Mick Mulvaney. Likewise, the oversight provisions for big banks have been watered down by the appropriately named Crapo Bill, and Dodd-Franks detailed rule-making injunctions have largely been left to the discretion of bank-friendly executive agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all of which have historically shown themselves to be prone to regulatory capture.

Even one of Dodds contributing architects, Lawrence Summers, in a piece co-authored with Harvard Ph.D. candidate Natasha Sarin, found no evidence that markets regard banks as substantially safer today than they were in the pre-crisis period. Many of the same practices that led to the collapse of the financial system in 2008 are as prevalent today as they were in 2007. These include the revival of some of the most toxic products that contributed to the last crash, such as the synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and the related collateralized loan obligation (CLO), along with an ongoing regulatory culture that still expresses itself in policy preferences that favor industry interests over those of ordinary citizens.

Given the Democrats renewed enthusiasm for antitrust (at least as it applies to big tech), the question is whether break em up to foster greater competition is the way to go with banks, or whether a more function-centric approach to regulation makes more sense going forward. On big tech, Ive written beforethat size per se may not be the best benchmark to establish optimal regulation. The same might be true for banks.

Simply mandating a breakup in the sector, married to free market competition and other market-based reforms, is unlikely to do the trick (that criticism applies as much to GOPers as it does to Democrats). As professors Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia have observed, greater competition could be a good thing in industries producing, say, widgets, since the lower the price that could potentially ensue as a result of lower profits and greater productivity that would be impacted by the competition would have positive welfare benefits for the community at large. But Lavoie and Seccareccia also recognize that banking is not only about profit for profits sake or competitive free markets; therefore, applying these principles of competition to the banking sector, where there exists tremendous externalities, could be disastrous.

One of those externalities arises from the fact that the banking sector has a unique social dimension that in many respects does not readily lend itself to all of the dictates of a competitive free market system. There is a reason why our government made a conscious policy decision after the Great Depression to guarantee the liabilities of the banking system via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It was to protect the integrity of the payments system, the lifeblood of an economy, as well as the businesses and consumers who relied on the provision of credit provided by the banks.

A controlled oligopoly that disincentivizes banks from embracing risky speculation is one way to go (it works reasonably well in Canada, for example) because it focuses the regulatory thrust on function and outcome, rather than size alone. However, the U.S. banks are much bigger in asset size. Too big to fail (TBTF) is relevant here because Dodd-Frank has done nothing to stop the banks from getting bigger, even though they pursue many of the same reckless policies that caused their banks to blow up in the last cycle. In fact, the implicit TBTF safety net has virtually guaranteed that bankers would continue to take on excessive tail risk (i.e., too high a risk of ruin), argues Professor Edward Kane.

It is in that sense that size matters: much as the costs of a massive environmental cleanup increase in proportion to size, so too are the social and economic externalities much higher when associated with a big bank. But at the core, it is function married to TBTF that creates the root problem; simply using antitrust to foster competition is unhelpful if all such competition does is to drive banks, regardless of size, to embrace increasingly reckless activities that augment their respective bottom lines, and do so in a way that ultimately compromises the integrity of the payments system. There are some things banks should not be allowed to do, period.

So whats the right approach: do high levels of concentration in the banking sector promote greater financial instability, or is it a question of function? In truth, they are interrelated, but function matters more.

Ask any neutral observer today whether Goldman Sachs or the Japan Post Bank (the worlds biggest deposit holder) poses a greater threat to financial stability and virtually all will agree that it is the former. That is because systemic risk is largely engendered via function, and interconnectedness, rather than asset size. In contrast to Goldman Sachs (or virtually any large American commercial or investment bank), the range of activities of the Japan Post Bank is limited to a fairly mundane roster of traditional banking functionsit is primarily a savings institution. As its Wikipedia page notes, its only loan products are overdraft lines secured by time deposits and Japanese government bonds on deposit with the bank. This makes it highly stable, despite its massive size.

Nobody is realistically suggesting that we restrict our banks functionality to the degree of the Japan Post Bank. We cant turn back the clock that far. But the Japan Post Bank example is an important illustration that a simplistic focus on size isnt enough.

The corollary also applies: a group of relatively small institutions that act in a correlated fashion can be just as dangerous to the payments system as one large entity if the underlying activity in which they engage collectively is unsafe. Lehman Brothers activities were being replicated elsewhere (the interconnectedness problem), by others. Had it just been one small bank, the problem could have been better contained. Again, function supersedes size in terms of regulatory priority.

By the same token, its too pat a conclusion to argue that the collapse of a small institution such as Lehman Brothers somehow absolves the big banks. The root cause of Lehmans failure was that it was a relatively small institution struggling to compete with the TBTF banks, whose massive balance sheets gave them a built-in advantage over the smaller competitor. Working to match the returns of the bigger banks, Lehmans smaller balance sheet forced management to undertake further riskier activities (as well deploying dangerous levels of leverage). The resultant toxicity of their balance sheet made Lehman unsalvageable, leading the government to let it go bust.

Let it go bust is harder to do with a bigger bank. The externalities can be catastrophic. At the same time, the public instinctively understands the benefits of the implicit TBTF backstop accorded to big banks and hence continues to vote with its deposits. Which is to say that banking customers have increasingly migrated to these very same behemoth institutions precisely because the government has repeatedly shown that it will not let them go under (in contrast to smaller institutions like Lehman). Americas three largest banks by assetsJPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargohave added more than $2.4 trillion in domestic deposits over the past 10 years, a 180% increase, according to an analysis of the regulatory data conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2018. (In the case of Wells Fargo, this ongoing deposit growth is truly incredible, given that the bank has seen its already low reputation decline further, in light of the scandalsthat have recently been uncovered.)

The same WSJ report goes on to note that this deposit growth represents an increase from 20% of the countrys total deposit base in 2007 to 32%, an amount [that] exceeds what the top eight banks had in such deposits combined in 2007. Add Citi to this group, and you have four banks holding almost half of Americas total deposit base.

The WSJ article also points out that 45% of new checking accounts were opened at the three national banks, even though those lenders had only 24% of U.S. branches [whereas] regional and community banks had 76% of branches but got only 48% of new accounts. That matters because new checking customers, who tend to be younger, are valuable to banks because they often provide more business later on by, for instance, taking out a mortgage or opening a brokerage account. Rapid, unchecked business expansion, combined with regulatory laxity and TBTF bailouts, has therefore given banks an enormous incentive to get as big as possible. Dodd-Frank hasnt changed that. In fact, a working paper commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia by authors Elijah Brewer III and Julapa Jagtiani has furnished multiple examples of banks paying significant premiums to ensure that they would be over the asset sizes commonly viewed as the requisite thresholds to become too big to fail.

But TBTF is even worse than that, because in many cases, it can actually sustain the lifespan of an otherwise insolvent bank, what Professor Ed Kane calls zombie banks: Insolvent Living-Dead firms whose creditors would force them into bankruptcy were it not for various governments implicit TBTF guarantees (Deutsche Bank is one example that immediately springs to mind). That matters because if youre a bank CEO and you know that in reality your bank is already insolvent, whats the disincentive from continuing to speculate with the banks balance sheet? TBTF enhances reckless moral hazard.

Although banks consistently lobby the government when an attack is made on their profit-making activities, the focus of those lobbying efforts obviously shifts to bailouts, the minute they are about to blow up. All of a sudden government-led socialism doesnt seem so pernicious. It is not unreasonable to restrict the banks activities, especially when deposit-taking institutions are in a position unique to virtually any other business. The government underwrites their main liabilitiesi.e., their deposit basevia the FDIC. No other business is afforded this level of protection.

Likewise, regulation has become increasingly complex and cumbersome in direct proportion to the complexity of the activities undertaken by the banks themselves. Thats often used as an excuse to minimize regulation, when in fact it should provoke a different response: namely, restricting the range of systemically dangerous activities/financial innovations, so that the regulation accordingly can be simplified, and easier to enforce. (Parenthetically, a function-centric approach is better here than simply focusing on boosting capital buffers, which many bank reformers have advocated. To be sure, capital buffers do constitute an important insurance policy for a bank in the event of a financial calamity, but regulation optimally should tackle the activities that give rise to the need for the insurance policy in the first place.)

If banks persist in undertaking a proscribed activity via regulatory arbitrage, or some other form of legerdemain, the challenge for policy makers/regulators is to contain the resultant fallout so that it does not endanger the financial system as a whole (as well as jailing the offending bankers so that too big to fail doesnt morph into too big to jail, as clearly occurred in the 2008 crisis aftermath). At a bare minimum, the goal should be, as Keynes argued in Chapter 12 of the General Theory, for finance to act as a handmaiden of industry (or productive enterprise) rather than the other way around, since the latter condition results in an overly financialized system that is dominated by largely unfettered rentier speculative activity.

Unfortunately, Keynes aspirations remain unfulfilled. Banks dominate industry and work in ways that derogate from broader public purpose. The tolerance of TBTF doctrine illustrates that we dont yet have the political will to curb the speculative activities of the large deposit-taking institutions (again, another byproduct of their size, as it gives the banks more lobbying muscle to resist such changes). But if we dont come to grips with this problem, there will inevitably be another crisis. In fact, its almost certainly too late to avoid that eventuality. But at a minimum, lets hope we do better when the next banking crisis hits, as it surely will, much as night follows day.
(Natural News) Without warning, Facebook on Thursday unilaterally banned several people from its platform that the speech Nazi has deemed controversial and, as such, not worthy of being heard.

In an effort to make it seem as though the lifetime bans were bipartisan, Facebook booted conservative pundit Alex Jones along with well-known anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan in what can only be described as the most draconian measure yet taken by a social media behemoth.

In addition to Jones and Farrakhan, former Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson, former Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, conservative Jewish activist Laura Loomer, and others were also shown the virtual door by Facebook after the platform labeled them extremists and dangerous.

Few people were fooled by the appearance that Facebook was banning Left and Right. (Related: President Trump must seize and shut down the techno-fascists, journo-terrorists and domestic enemies who are censoring conservatives and patriots.)

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more, writes senior Breitbart News tech correspondent Allum Bokhari on Twitter  before he, too, gets banned.

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more.  Allum Bokhari (@LibertarianBlue) May 2, 2019

The deplatforming of Jones goes much further, however. Facebook says its censors will remove any Infowars content and could even move to ban/deplatform people who share it.

Journalist Nick Monroe noted: Read my lips. This is WORSE than the usual sorts of bans. Facebook/Instagram: will remove ANY content containing Infowars videos, radio segments, or articles, and Facebook will remove any Groups set up to share Infowars content Thats TOO MUCH power to give Facebook.

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/1124075733859688453

For his part, Watson, who recently launched his own website, Summit News, lamented that Facebook did not give him any reason as to why he was banned nor did he break any of the companys rules.

Can government fix this?

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit Summit.news while it still exists, he tweeted.

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Naturally, authoritarian Leftists are celebrating the deplatforming of Jones and others because they are of like mind and agree that censorship ought to be employed against anyone with whom they disagree. What they cant understand and dont yet see is that when an entity is allowed to wield the kind of power Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been given, they almost always wield it tyrannically. Allies today who somehow fall out of favor with the gods at a later date will eventually be victimized as well.

But conservatives believe the banning of anyone is harmful to our country and a major insult to our Constitution.

Mike Tokes, CEO of YukoSocial, tweeted, Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries [sp] PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.

Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.  Mike Tokes (@MikeTokes) May 3, 2019

As in, Congress and/or the Trump administration will have to step in at some point and impose new regulations on the the social media behemoths to ensure that people cannot be persecuted for their ideas and their speech, even if such speech or such ideas are not mainstream or offend even a majority of Americans.

The solution to this problem isnt going to come from government, however. It will have to come from the free market. The Facebook disaffected and banned will simply have to find a social media platform of their own that they can build into an entity just as large and influential  but without the political persecution.

Read more bout how the tech giants are practicing widespread censorship at TechGiants.news and Censorship.news.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) Blocking payments to individuals or groups by financial service firms impedes freedom of speech in a free society, journalist Ben Swann has told RT, following reports that MasterCard is allegedly on course to censor the far-right.

(Article republished from RT.com)

The New York-based firm is reportedly being forced by left-leaning liberal activists to set up an internal human rights committee that would monitor payments to white supremacist groups and anti-Islam activists.

The problem is that everyone has their own views and, in a free society, the idea of a free society is that you are free to have your belief systems, as long as youre not harming anyone else physically, Swann told RT America. But your belief system belongs to you and you have the right be wrong. White supremacists have the right to be wrong.

MasterCard is not the only holder of purse-strings that is mulling the selective banning of individuals from their services and funds. Patreon and PayPal have previously barred individuals from receiving payments using their platforms, due to their extreme views.

But unlike crowdfunding platforms, being cut off from one of the leading American multinational financial services corporations will, most likely, have a much greater impact on the financial stability of an individual or a group, especially after the US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly blessed MasterCards undertaking. By doing this, Swann believes the government granted big corporations the ability to control what voices are heard.

The issue with such an approach, the investigative journalist argues, would lead to a wider crackdown on financial payments to anyone who the government would see as unfavorable.

The fact that the SEC has given a green light to this essentially says the SEC supports the idea of censoring these groups in order to freeze out essentially anyone you dont agree with, the journalist said.

It is such a dystopian 1984 world view and yet were living through it right now, the journalist observed.

Watch the entire interview.

Read more at: RT.com or Orwellian.news.
(Natural News) When it comes to milk, you generally have two choices: You can get fresh milk and consume it quickly before it goes bad, or you could get UHT milk that can stay on the shelf unopened for months on end and accept the compromise in flavor and potential digestion problems this option brings.

Soon, however, consumers may not have to make this choice as an Australian company has announced a new technique that can extend the shelf life of fresh milk to more than 60 days.

The company, Naturo, doesnt rely on the high heat used in pasteurization, and the resulting milk is said to retain its natural color and taste just like it came right from a cow.

Although the company hasnt released a lot of details, likely due to confidentiality reasons, they have said they based their process on existing technologies and it does not involve the addition of additives or preservatives. The companys CEO told ABC Australia that they dont use the aggressive pasteurization process of heating to 162 degrees Fahrenheit followed by homogenization.

The treatment has already gotten the stamp of approval from Australias Dairy Food Safety Victoria, and it meets the standards for killing any pathogenic microorganisms that could be present in the milk. In fact, they say it kills off even more pathogens than pasteurization does, including Bacillus cereus, which isnt always removed in pasteurization. Best of all, it does this while retaining vitamins and enzymes.

The same company also came up with an air pressure process that can preserve avocados and prevent browning, and it is possible the milk procedure works on a similar principle. Naturo CEO Jeff Hastings said: It is safer, better for you and lasts longer. The primary difference between our milk and pasteurized milk is the fact that we dont cook the milk to make it safe for human consumption. Our milk is much closer to milk in its original state and is independently proven to be nutritionally superior.

New possibilities for more environmentally-friendly milk

The process could help dairy farmers expand their reach dramatically as theyll be able to export milk to more far-flung locations without having to deal with the possibility of it going bad in the meantime. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also means that more environmentally-friendly and slower methods of transportation can be used to distribute the milk.

The Queensland government is fully onboard, committing $250,000 to scale their operation, and sites are being scouted for a production facility. Theyre hoping to be able to produce 10 million liters of milk a year using the new process, which they say can be applied to milk from goats, sheep and camels in addition to that of cows.

The plan is to find export opportunities to places in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, China and Singapore that havent historically had good access to fresh milk.

The new process, which took five years to develop, could be the biggest breakthrough in the dairy industry since pasteurization came about in 1864. Although considered groundbreaking in its time, pasteurization is believed to destroy vital nutrients in milk that protect people from certain sicknesses and allergies. This invention could help people around the world gain access to healthier, longer-lasting milk.

Read FoodScience.news for more daily coverage of breakthroughs in the realm of food science.

Sources for this article include:

ABC.net.au

ScienceAlert.com
A woman is still looking for answers after her 13-pound poodle was lost while she flew American Airlines from the San Francisco International Airport to Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this week.

Amber Dalton said that though the pup is alive and well, it took the airline a while to figure out where they sent her.

"I was pulled out of line at boarding and told that the flight that was going through Chicago, was not safe for pets," she said.

Dalton had checked her poodle Beast into the cargo hold because he was too big to fly with her at her seat. So instead of flying through Chicago, they would have to fly through Dallas.

However, Beast and the rest of her luggage went through Chicago anyway and the pup didnt get to Raleigh that night.

It took gate agents a few hours to track him down.

"They actually did not know where he went," Dalton said. "Then at about 10:30 they let me know that he had been put on a flight to Philadelphia."

American Airlines has since apologized for the mishap, issuing a statement that read, "A conflict in our customers routing and policies caused us to keep their pet overnight in Philadelphia at a local pet hotel."

Dalton had to leave Raleigh and head to Roanoke, Virginia so American Airlines flew the dog to Raleigh then drove him to Roanoke where they were finally reunited a day and a half after they left San Francisco.

Dalton said she appreciates the airline gave her a free flight voucher and waived her luggage fees.

"Thank you, but how did you do this?" she said. "And what are you going to do to make sure this doesnt happen to another dog?"
Teslas security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who will do anything to see us fail are targeting employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists.

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

-Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

-A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

-Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

-Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

-Teslas beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the companys recent accomplishments including:

-Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

-The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

-Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

-CEO Elon Musks promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So its not surprising that Teslas security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

---

Heres the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges.

As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day.

When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish any of Teslas confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted].

If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted].

The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary.

We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization.

Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information.

If youre unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences:

* This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day.

* A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information.

* A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets.

* Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations.

* In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Teslas Communications policy.

Its every employees responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Teslas mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com More from CNBC:

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Chickens, moon cycles, herbal tea and a bulls horn. What might sound like the ingredients in a witchs brew is the newest trend in winemaking as Bay Area vintners embrace biodynamics as a way to ween off pesticides in favor of natural methods for grape growing.

It seems like there can be a lot of hocus pocus, said Griffin Beemiller, winemaker at Nella Terra vineyards in the Livermore Valley, but I think theres a lot of factual evidence behind some of these things.

On a recent day, Beemiller stirred up a batch of horsetail tea on the bed of his pickup truck, even taking a sip to demonstrate it was in fact  regular tea. He dumped the brew into a sprayer and began dusting his vines with the concoction.

That essentially acts as a fungicide, Beemiller said, as well as other things in the vineyard.

Biodynamic winemakers such as Beemiller have also recently turned to teas such as chamomile and nettles to control weeds and pests in their vineyards. Its a trend that is sweeping across the winemaking world as farmers seek natural ways of improving soil quality and wine quality.

Biodynamic winemaking expert Tommy Vanhoutte, who serves as a consultant to a number of Bay Areas wineries, said another tenement of the practice is farming according to cycles of the moon and stars.

According to this configuration of the moon phases, Vanhoutte said in a thick French accent, some days would be preferable to plow, some days would be preferable to work on the trunk or on the vines, or on the fruit itself.

Dane Stark, owner of Livermores Page Mill Winery said it makes sense that moon and sun cycles would impact grapes since their polarity also affects ocean tides and other bodies of water.

They also have an effect on the lifecycles of the plants and the mildew and everything thats growing in the soil, Stark said.

Another implement of biodynamics seemed to tip the scale even further toward science fiction as Vanhoutte picked up a bulls horn to demonstrate how he makes fertilizer. He described filling the horn with manure and burying it in the ground for six months. Once dug up, he said, the horn contains a concentrated fertilizer so potent it can cover multiple acres of vineyards.

Vanhoutte said hes tried replicating the experiment with ceramic vessels but according to scientific analysis on the final product, has yet to to find something that works as well as the horn.

So the horns matter, Vanhoutte said. We dont know why very honestly, theres something that happens in this horn that science cant explain.

Vanhoutte acknowledged skeptics might find his methods a bit of new age theatrics  and once counted himself among their ranks .

And then you start speaking about the horn and then the people like me about 15 years ago, he said, Im just like, ok Ive got to go.

Now approaching his thirty-first vintage, Stark is all-in on biodynamics, enlisting chicken and sheep to live among his vines to eat weeds and bugs while providing their own method of fertilizing. Stark said he covers the ground beneath his vines with plants to infuse more nutrients into the soil.

Rather than treating the vineyard like it provides us with what we need, Stark said, we treat it as an organism.

Stark said the winery, which his parents founded in 1976 originally in the Santa Cruz mountains, recently made the shift from organic farming to biodynamic means. Since making the switch, he said last years crop was the cleanest hed ever seen. While his first batch of biodynamic wine is still a couple years from the shelf, he has tasted other makers products.

So when you taste this biodynamic wine, Stark said, the difference is they bring this longevity, this extra balance, and this ethereal nature.

The techniques of biodynamics are already well entrenched in other parts of the world. Hundreds of wineries, including many prestigious French wineries, are now certified biodynamic.

Beemiller said hes experimenting by growing a biodynamic plot of grapes astride one that uses more conventional methods. The true test, he said, will come in a few years when he can compare the Pinot Noir wines made with each technique.

Were constantly striving to make our wine better, Beemiller said standing among his hillside of vines. So anything that can help us in that well give it a shot.
Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.

Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.

Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.

The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.

The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.
On Wednesday, the High Speed Rail Authority released its latest project update which scales back the original route going from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in favor of building a 171-mile stretch of regular speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. As the estimated price tag to connect the Bay Area and Southern California balloons north of $80-billion, the Authority believes this new "building block" approach will give the state more time to raise funds and expand the system. But critics and even supporters of high speed rail are less convinced, saying this isnt what the public signed up for.

HIGH SPEED RAIL AND PROP 1A

Environmental attorney Stuart Flashman has litigated several cases against the High Speed Rail Authority on behalf of municipalities, preservationists, and rail industry professionals. He believes the Authoritys latest proposal violates both the spirit and the letter of Prop. 1A, the $10-billion high speed rail bond measure approved by voters in 2008.

"[In 2008] voters were very skeptical and the legislature knew they were very skeptical. So [the legislature] said here's what we're going to do, we're going to put in a lot of protections to make sure this isn't a boondoggle," Flashman said.

One such protection in the bill authorizing Prop. 1A states, "The planned passenger service by the authority in the corridor or usable segment thereof will not require a local, state, or federal operating subsidy."

According to the Authoritys report, rail service from Merced to Bakersfield would not have enough riders to cover operating costs, requiring a monthly subsidy to the tune of millions. Flashman believes this is a clear violation of Prop. 1a and potentially illegal if the state goes through with the plan.

"Its certainly not what the voters thought they were voting for," Flashman said. "Theres very strong legal exposure here and I dont think the legislature can get [the High Speed Rail Authority] out of this."

Flashman said he and government watchdog groups will be watching closely to see if the state proceeds as planned.

"We have to talk to the clients. Its worth [filing another lawsuit] but we have a case thats currently pending."

BRINGING HIGH SPEED RAIL TO THE BAY AREA

State Senator Jim Beall [D-San Jose] serves as an Ex-Offio board member at the High Speed Rail Authority. Beall disagrees that the new plan violates Prop. 1A, but he still calls the proposal unacceptable because it leaves out Silicon Valley.

"I'm not too happy with [the update]. They're going to build from Merced to Bakersfield and I think that's what the Governor wants to do. But I want him to do this stuff in Silicon Valley too, Beall said. I think if we do that, we'll make the project closer to reality."

Beall believes he can still salvage the project and bring high speed rail to the Bay Area by 2030. He wants to extend the state cap and trade program through 2050 and apply for additional federal grants to help finish the job.

But getting more money from the feds could be a challenge. In February, the Federal Rail Authority revoked a $900-million grant to help lay rail in the Central Valley due to the Authoritys inability to build on schedule.

 Bullet Train Delays Jeopardize Funding for Other Projects

Longtime critic Assemblyman Jim Patterson [R-Fresno] is calling for Californias Attorney General to investigate how this massive project got derailed.

"The problem I have with the way high speed rail goes about this is that they change definitions. This is a shell game," Patterson said. "The final nail in the coffin here was [NBC Bay Areas] exhaustive investigative reporting."

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-8477, or you can reach us via email at TheUnit@nbcbayarea.com
Former Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes died early Saturday morning at age 80, officials said.

Hynes serves as president of the Illinois Senate and served as county assessor for 19 years starting in 1978.

"Due to his 18 years as Cook County Assessor, his 8 years as Illinois State Senator and 25 years as 19th Ward committeeman, there can be no overestimating the influence of Tom Hynes on city, county, and state politics," read a Cook County Assessor's Office Facebook post. "His impact was felt even decades after he held office."

With his passing, Tom Hynes leaves behind an outsized legacy for the people of Illinois, issued Governor Pritzker in a statement.

On top of his many accomplishments, including his early support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Tom raised a family of committed public servants who are making a difference that will endure for generations. Every parent hopes that will be the mark they leave. Im proud to call two of his sons, Dan and Matt, my dear friends, and the values of service, decency and hard work that they learned from their father live on in them.

Similarly, Mayor Emanuel also released a statement Saturday.

From his earliest days in the Illinois State Senate, including serving as Senate President, through his years as Cook County Assessor, Tom Hynes was a dedicated public servant and a true gentleman who represented his constituents and residents across Illinois with consummate class and dignity. A lifelong Chicagoan, his personal life exhibited a devotion to his cherished friends and family, in whom he instilled the same recognition of the value and promise of public service.

Tom leaves a special mark on our city. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hynes family during this difficult time.
A "ground shaking" explosion that occurred in Waukegan, Illinois, Friday night has resulted in at least two deaths, and two more workers at a cosmetics plant are missing and presumed dead.

On Saturday night, the Lake County coroner confirmed that rescue workers have recovered one body at the scene, and that another person who was transported to a local hospital in the aftermath of the explosion has died.

Two more individuals are missing in the building, and are presumed dead, according to authorities.

Authorities said early Saturday morning at a press conference that they found the structure too unstable and thus unsafe for crews to continue the search, though three missing bodies were unaccounted for at the time.

Nine people were inside the building at the time of the incident, the company's spokesperson Anthony Madonia said.

Authorities held a press conference early Saturday morning to release new details on the Waukegan explosion that took place at an industrial plant on Friday night.

The identities of the individuals affected have yet to be released, police said.

A Twitter user posted video of what appeared to be the massive blast which occurred in the 3700 block of Sunset Avenue in Waukegan shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.

A fire official said the decimated structure was home to a business called AB Specialty Silicones. Waukegan fire Chief Steven Lenzi said four people were sent to the hospital but did not provide their conditions. Two were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center and the other two were taken to Vista Medical Center-East, he said.

Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said a search and rescue operation was underway for other second-shift workers who may have been in the plant. There is no hazardous material concern for the debris scattered across the streets and in the air, officials said.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

"If you have first-hand knowledge of the incident please call your local law-enforcement," the Lake County Sheriffs Department said. "If youre not in danger and dont have info, please dont call 911."

STAY OUT of the area of Sunset Avenue from Green Bay to Delany, Waukegan!! Please allow first-responders to conduct operations!! Area first-responders are on the scene of an explosion/building fire.  Lake County Sheriff (@LakeCoILSheriff) May 4, 2019

Before official information trickled out, Twitter users from all over the Lake County area were vexed by the "sonic boom," as one person described it. Users from as far away as southern Wisconsin reported feeling the shockwave.

Emily Laughlin, who lives in the area, snapped photos of the large emergency response near the Waukgean/Gurnee border. She said authorities near Northwestern and Sunset avenues were telling cars to turn away from the burning husk of the silicone facility.

"Something exploded," she said in a phone interview. "It looked like it was a building but they stopped everyone from getting closer."

Nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were without power and viewers calling NBC 5 said windows in homes were shattered throuhgout the area.

No other information was immediately available.
Power utilities around the world are supersizing their solar farms, with a collection of more than 5 million photovoltaic panels in southern Egypt set to be globe's largest, NBC News reported. The $4 billion Benban solar park near Aswan will cover an area 10 times bigger than New Yorks Central Park when completed next year and generate the equivalent output of two nuclear power plants combined.

There are huge savings for larger projects, said Benjamin Attia, a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Logistics, transport, construction and installation all benefit from scale economies."

A challenge with solar farms is that typically they are located in remote locations. The grid around new solar or wind farms will not be very strong," Daniel Kirschen, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, said. "So youre going to need to reinforce the grid, and that can get quite expensive.

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share, NBC News reported.
A Bridgeport veterinarian is accused of animal abuse and theft after police say he performed an unnecessary procedure on a dog and then left the dog without proper feeding for days.

Dr. Amr Wasfi, who worked at the Black Rock Animal Hospital, faces charges of animal cruelty and third-degree larceny.

The arrest warrant shows that police received at least two complaints about Wasfi.

The arrest warrant details one complaint regarding the treatment of a dog named Monster. According to the warrant, Monsters owner brought his pet to Black Rock Animal Hospital on February 14 with a limp. The owner said he was told that Monster had a sprained knee and was sent home with pain medication. One week later Monster was still limping and so they returned to see Wasfi.

According to the arrest warrant, on March 2 Wasfi told the owner that Monster had a fractured pelvis and needed surgery. The owner was told Monster would need to stay until March 7.

The owner told police that he contacted the vet on March 7 and was told Monster had to stay a few more days for monitoring. The victim began trying to visit his dog and was refused. According to the warrant, he finally contacted Animal Control and got Monster back on March 25.

According to the document, Monster went in originally weighting 63 pounds, and when he was released to his owner, he weighed only 46 pounds.

The owner took Monster to the emergency room at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. The veterinarians there determined Monster never had a fracture and that the surgery, which included putting a screw in his pelvis, had been unnecessary. One of those veterinarians also told police that Monster was being treated for refeeding syndrome and dehydration, which happens when an animal is without proper food or water for at least 10 days.

The owner told police Wasfi charged him $3,330 for the surgery.

In another complaint, a former Black Rock employee reported that she witnessed Wasfi hit a kitten that was under anesthesia so hard that the kittens intestines popped out of an incision. She also said that Wasfi was agitated and threw surgical tools around the room, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, the complainant said she raised her concerns to another employee and said she was going to file a complaint. She told police she planned to resign the next day, but when she showed up for work the employee she confided in met her at the door and handed her a box of her belongings, telling her she had been fired.

Wasfi was arrested Wednesday and released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.

Ernest C. LaFollette, who is representing Wasfi, told NBC Connecticut that Wasfi has been in business since at least the 1980s.

"Many people speak highly of him as having been their veterinarian for many years. All kinds of peoples bring animals with many different problems," LaFollette wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut.
A Connecticut mayor is seeking community input in the search for a new police chief amid controversy over a shooting involving two police officers who opened fire on an unarmed couple.

Hamden Mayor Curt Leng announced late Friday that he has formed a committee to see what residents want in a new chief.

Deputy Chief John Cappiello has served as acting chief since Chief Thomas Wydra left the department last fall to take a state job.

The April 16 shooting in New Haven sparked several protests and remains under investigation.

Authorities say a Hamden officer and Yale University officer fired at a car when the driver got out abruptly during a traffic stop related to a reported attempted robbery in Hamden. A woman in the car was shot but survived.
A Bristol credit union employees harrowing experience was detailed on Dateline.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt.

NBC Connecticuts Caitlin Burchill sat down with him Friday to check in.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt. He sat down with NBC Connecticut's Caitlin Burchill to reflect on the experience and how it's changed his life.

Yussman said things will never be quite the same for him since the events of Feb. 23, 2015, but he chooses to talk about what happened to heal, and the help other people.

They picked the perfect house because you know my neighbors house right there have no windows there, Yussman said.

There was no way anyone was going to see anything and that year was so much snow.

Four years ago February, Yussmans home was a crime scene. Two masked men held him and his mom hostage in her attached in-law apartment.

I literally spent that whole night in her apartment, blindfolded, zip tied, he told NBC Connecticut.

In the morning, police said Yussman was tasked with robbing the bank where he worked in New Britain with what he thought was a bomb strapped to him.

Longest minute of my life is when Im sitting there and Im staring at my phone and its saying 10:59 and you think youve got one minute to live. That was pretty awful, he said.

In a moment that played out like a movie, police intercepted Yussman, and the suspects left the state.

Yussman said while he knows police had a job to do, it was the months following that fateful day that were the worst.

The 12 hours were just awful, being held at gun point, seeing my mom held at gun point going through all the trauma was just intense, but it was over in 12 hours. For the next nine months I was considered a suspect, Yussman said.

Two men were eventually convicted and connected with an extortion and robbery spree spanning several other states.

They had told me kiss my mother goodbye and I refused to do so, he said.

You know four years later and I still dont want to give in to them. Im not giving them the satisfaction of making me scared.

The suspects sought out his daily routine by stalking him on social media. While hes not scared, Yussman says hes more careful now, and tries to stay aware of his surroundings.

While he still works at the same credit union, he now also speaks to folks around the country about safety after his experience.
A Cedar Hill pastor whose body was found inside his burning home last February died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. The pastor's two daughters and wife died in the fire, whose origin remains unclear.



At about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28, a Cedar Hill police officer was the first to arrive outside a burning home at 705 Lovern Street. The officer spotted several people on the second floor trying to escape the flames and drove his squad car onto the lawn to use as a makeshift ladder to help pull them to safety.



Firefighters arrived a short time later and began attacking the fire. Once the fire was out, the bodies of three people were found inside -- Pastor Eugene Keahey, his wife Deanna Keahey and their 15-year-old daughter Camryn Keahey. Keahey's 17-year-old daughter, Darryn Keahey, was hospitalized after the fire and died of her injuries more than a month later, on April 1.



The Keahey's lived in the home with two other family members, both of whom escaped the fire without serious injury.



On Friday, the medical examiner said Eugene Keahey died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while his daughters and wife died of burns and smoke inhalation.

For neighbors here on Lavon street, news of the medical examiner's report is difficult to accept.

I was shocked, I really was, I didn't know what to think I was shocked, said King.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's report paints a clearer picture of what happened inside of the home by revealing that Eugene Keahy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

I think it is going to answer a lot of questions for a lot of our community members who were trying to determine why or what happened. and now we have another piece of the puzzle, said Chief Eli Reyes, Cedar Hill Police.

Neighbors say the Keahy family kept to themselves but news of their death hit the community hard...

I still look at it and think people lost their lives in there, and they could have had a well long life if they had just reached out, said neighbor Chihauna Hunter.

The cause of the fire, considered suspicious, is also still unknown. The Cedar Hill Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office are waiting on laboratory results from samples submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory to determine how the fire started. Meanwhile, the Dallas County Medical Examiner has classified the deaths of the pastor's teenage daughters and wife as homicides.



The pastor's cause of death being ruled a suicide by gun gives credibility to reports from neighbors who said they heard gunfire before seeing smoke and flames coming from the home. Cedar Hill police initially discounted those reports suggesting neighbors may have heard aerosol cans exploding or windows breaking.
A transgender woman said she was assaulted in downtown Denver last week by two men who targeted her because of her identity. The Denver Police Department is investigating the attack, NBC News reports.

Amber Nicole, 23, said she had gone out to enjoy Denver's nightlife and drink and dance with friends last Saturday, when she was assaulted outside her friend's car after leaving a downtown bar.

A Denver Police Department report said that an unidentified male suspect struck "the victim three (3) times in the face with a closed fist causing a suspected broken jaw." "We're still investigating it as a normal assault, but our bias-motivated crime unit is involved in the investigation," Carlos Montoya, public information officer for the Denver Police Department, told NBC News.

Nicole said she woke up the next morning with her jaw resting on her neck because it had been dislocated. It had also been broken in three different places, requiring it to be wired shut, she said. Blood vessels burst in her left eye, she said, adding that doctors told her she may not recover from the nerve damage on the right side of her face.
One convicted killer has been accused of beheading another in what authorities call an exceptionally sadistic torture slaying at a California prison.

Corcoran State Prison inmate Jaime Osuna removed several body parts from his cellmate, Luis Romero, Assistant Kings County District Attorney Phil Esbenshade said Friday. Charges accuse Osuna, 31, of repeatedly cutting Romero last month using what the prosecutor called a sharp metal object wrapped in string and attached to a handle.

It's not clear how much happened while Romero, 44, was still alive or whether anyone heard the overnight assault, but "we do believe that the victim was conscious during at least a portion of the time," Esbenshade said in an email. "This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying."

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is conducting an internal investigation, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Officials wouldn't provide more details on how prisoners are overseen overnight.

Osuna pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at his first court appearance Thursday. They include several special circumstances that could bring the death penalty, including that the slaying "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity."

Defense attorney Melina Benninghoff was appointed to represent him but was home sick Friday and did not respond to telephone and email requests to comment on his behalf.

Osuna also is charged with torture, mayhem and weapons possession. The torture charge alleges that he acted "with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose."

The state corrections department said guards found Romero dead in his cell about 7:30 a.m. March 9 at the prison, which houses more than 3,300 inmates about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of Sacramento.

Romero bled to death from "multiple sharp force trauma injuries," and his body was mutilated, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Osuna was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty in 2017 to killing Yvette Pena, 37, at a Bakersfield motel in 2011, according to media reports at the time.

Romero also was serving a life term for a Los Angeles County slaying, but with the possibility of parole.

Osuna has been transferred to a Stockton prison for inmates needing medical or mental health care, though officials wouldn't say why, citing privacy laws.
An Illinois judge set bail at $5 million each for the parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund one day after the Crystal Lake couple was charged with murder in the death of their 5-year-old son.

Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, appeared separately on Thursday morning at the McHenry County Jail during a hearing in which a prosecutor told Judge Mark Gerhardt that Freund allegedly beat Andrew "AJ" Freund and forced him into a cold shower.

Read the full complaints against them (Warning: disturbing details)

Authorities dug up a body Wednesday later confirmed to be that of AJ, who was reported missing a week ago. The McHenry County Coroner's office on Thursday identified the body as AJ's and said the cause of death was "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries."

Cunningham cried as the judge read the charges against her while Freund Sr. sat silent. Prosecutors initially called for $10 million bonds for each parent.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

The judge's order means the parents would each have to post 10%, or $528,000, to be released from jail and would be subject to electronic monitoring. They were told they cannot contact each other or anyone under the age of 17 and must surrender any firearms and consent to random drug testing, should they post bond.

Prosecutors had originally asked for a bond of $10 million. The two were next expected to appear in court April 29.

Crystal Lake police said Wednesday that investigators located a body wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave in a remote area of Woodstock, just a few miles from the family's Crystal Lake home.

The discovery came a week to the day since AJ's parents said they last saw the child after putting him to bed around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report AJ missing, telling a dispatcher they'd checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere,"in the house to no avail, according to the 911 call released Tuesday. But investigators quickly knocked down the possibility of a kidnapping.

LISTEN TO THE 911 AUDIO HERE

Police said both parents were questioned overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. After investigators confronted them with cell phone data evidence "both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," said Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.

Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's Dolve Avenue home.

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.

"To AJs family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said Wednesday. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heavens playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."

Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was removed from the family home following AJ's disappearance and is in custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Democrats are splintered by calls to impeach President Donald Trump. But they have found another common enemy and an alternate political foil in Attorney General William Barr.

Calls for Barr's resignation erupted across the Democratic Party this week after he testified before the Senate and rebuffed the House twice, first by denying Democrats a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, and then by skipping a hearing to review it. In response, Democrats threatened to hold Barr in criminal contempt of Congress  a lengthy legal process that could go on for months.

The feud with Barr has animated Democrats and temporarily shifted attention away from impeachment  and by extension, the party's divisions over whether to pursue it. But with Trump resisting other congressional investigations, and testimony from Mueller likely on the horizon, the impeachment question seems unlikely to subside for long.

For now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead impeachment proceedings, are putting their emphasis on investigating Trump, his business dealings and his administration. If Democrats do decide to impeach the president, they will have already made part of the case through oversight. Trump's refusal to comply with their requests  with Barr just the latest example  will only strengthen the case.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there? I don't agree with that," Pelosi said Friday at an event in Medford, Massachusetts.

Pelosi hasn't held back in her criticism of Barr, accusing him of committing a crime by lying to Congress about his communications with Mueller. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Pelosi's accusation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Other members of Pelosi's caucus are going after the attorney general in even stronger terms.

"This is serious misconduct, this is a serious effort by the administration to prevent Congress from doing its oversight, and in fact could form the basis by itself of articles of impeachment," said Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, a member of the Judiciary panel, after Barr skipped the hearing Thursday.

Republicans say the Democrats are focusing on Barr as a substitute for impeachment, to avoid the political backlash that would come with official proceedings against Trump.

Nadler "can't try to pacify his liberal base by pretending to do impeachment without actually taking the plunge," said Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called the strategy "impeachment in drag."

The Barr saga appears destined to end up in court. Nadler threatened Friday to hold Barr in contempt if he did not comply with a final request to turn over the Mueller report and the relevant investigative materials. The Justice Department is unlikely to comply, likely prompting a vote of contempt in committee and then the full House.

"The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department," Nadler wrote to Barr. "But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse."

The Justice Department declined to comment on Nadler's latest threat of contempt. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes "at no point will it ever be enough" for Democrats.

While a contempt vote would send a message, it wouldn't force the Justice Department to hand over the report. Nor would it guarantee criminal charges against Barr: House approval of the contempt citation would send a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department official who is likely to defend the attorney general.

But if the U.S. attorney declines to prosecute, Democrats have other methods to force compliance with witnesses, like hefty fines for witnesses who fail to appear.

Even as Democrats struggle with Barr, they are in hot pursuit of Mueller's testimony. Nadler said the panel was "firming up the date" for Mueller's testimony and hoped it would be May 15. Trump signaled he won't try to stop it. During a brief Oval Office session with reporters Friday, Trump deferred to Barr, saying, "I don't know. That's up to the attorney general, who I think has done a fantastic job."

It's possible that Barr could block Mueller from appearing, since the special counsel is still a Justice Department employee. But Barr has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says he doesn't need Mueller to testify to his panel. But he is willing to hear Mueller out on one, narrow matter. On Friday, he offered to let Mueller provide testimony "if you would like" as to whether he felt Barr misrepresented Mueller's views at the Senate hearing.

Barr testified Wednesday that Mueller didn't challenge the accuracy of his memo summarizing the principal conclusions of the special counsel's report, including when they spoke on the phone. Barr made that assertion despite a letter he received in March from Mueller complaining Barr's summary didn't fully capture the "context, nature and substance" of his nearly 400-page report.

Graham invited Mueller to provide testimony "regarding any misrepresentation by the attorney general of the substance of that phone call." He did not specify whether he wanted Mueller to appear in person.
While candidates were focused on campaigning in 2016, Russians were carrying out a devastating cyber-operation that changed the landscape of American politics, with aftershocks continuing well into Donald Trump's presidency.

And it all started with the click of a tempting email and a typed-in password.

Whether presidential campaigns have learned from the cyberattacks is a critical question ahead as the 2020 election approaches. Preventing the attacks won't be easy or cheap.

"If you are the Pentagon or the NSA, you have the most skilled adversaries in the world trying to get in but you also have some of the most skilled people working defense," said Robby Mook, who ran Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. "Campaigns are facing similar adversaries, and they don't have similar resources and virtually no expertise."

Traditionally, cybersecurity has been a lower priority for candidates, especially at the early stages of a campaign. They need to raise money, hire staff, pay office rents, lobby for endorsements and travel repeatedly to early voting states.

Particularly during primary season, campaign managers face difficult spending decisions: Air a TV ad targeting a key voting demographic or invest in a more robust security system for computer networks?

"You shouldn't have to choose between getting your message out to voters and keeping the Chinese from reading your emails," said Mook, now a senior fellow with the Defending Digital Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

Mook has been helping develop a plan for a nonprofit to provide cybersecurity support and resources directly to campaigns.

The Department of Homeland Security's cyber agency is offering help, and there are signs that some Democratic campaigns are willing to take the uncomfortable step of working with an administration they are trying to unseat.

DHS has had about a dozen initial discussions with campaigns so far, officials said.

Its focus has been on establishing trust so DHS can share intelligence about possible threats and receive information from the campaigns in return, said Matt Masterson, a senior DHS cybersecurity adviser. The department also will test a campaign's or party's networks for vulnerabilities to cyberattack.

"The challenge for a campaign is they really are a pop-up," Masterson said. "They have people coming in and coming out, and they have to manage access."

It's unclear how much campaigns are spending on cybersecurity. From January to March, 12 Democratic campaigns and Trump spent at least $960,000 total on technology-related items, but that also includes technology not related to security, such as database or website services.

Former congressman John Delaney, the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for president , said he viewed cybersecurity as a fixed expense.

"It's not supercomputers cracking through your firewalls," he said. "It's really tempting emails that people respond to and give away information."

Candidates can get some advice from the Republican and Democratic national committees, which are in regular contact with Homeland Security and focus on implementing basic security protocols.

Republican National Committee press secretary Blair Ellis said the group also works with state Republican parties and emphasizes training. The organization is also developing an internal platform to share real-time threat information with state parties.

"Data security remains a top priority for the RNC," she said.

The Democratic National Committee last year hired Bob Lord, formerly head of Yahoo's information security. He has created a checklist that focuses on basics: password security, web encryption and social media privacy. This is a bigger priority than talking about the latest network protection gadget.

"What's new and interesting is fine, but it's really just about being incredibly single-minded about the basics," Lord said. "It's not glamorous, but neither is the advice for staying fit."

The 2016 attacks were low-tech, with Russian agents sending hundreds of spearfishing emails to the personal and work emails of Clinton campaign staffers and volunteers, along with people working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

After an employee clicked and gave up password information, the Russians gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's networks and eventually exploited that to gain entry to the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, fell for the same trick on his personal email account, which allowed Russians to steal thousands of messages about the inner workings of the campaign.

But it wasn't as if the Clinton campaign ignored cybersecurity. Mook said training was extensive on cyber threats, two-factor authentication was mandatory, and multiple fake emails were sent to test staffers' ability to detect phishing attempts.

The relative ease with which Russian agents penetrated computers underscores the perilous situation facing campaigns. Clinton has been talking about this with Democratic presidential candidates.

"Unless we know how to protect our election from what happened before and what could happen again ... you could lose," Clinton said in a MSNBC interview. "I don't mean it to scare everybody. But I do want every candidate to understand this remains a threat."

California Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign said it also was preaching the basics of cybersecurity with staff, such as requiring two-factor authentication and using encrypted messaging.

"All staff is being trained on threats and ways to avoid being a target," Harris spokesman Ian Sams said.

Others running in the Democratic primary avoided discussing the topic. Some campaigns, including those for Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, would not comment. The campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trump's re-election campaign wouldn't talk either.

The president has often downplayed Russia's interference in 2016. And his staff told former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen not to bring up election security during her meetings with him  saying she should focus on border security, his signature issue, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Administration officials insist election security is a priority.

"We're all in in protecting 2020," Chris Krebs, head of DHS' cyber efforts, told lawmakers Tuesday at a House committee hearing-. "I'd ask, each of you: Do you know if your campaign is working with us?"

Associated Press writers Chad Day, Zeke Miller, Juana Summers, Will Weissert, Meg Kinnard and Sara Burnett contributed to this report.
A Vista, California, Fire Department captain and lifelong Star Wars fan who famously dresses up as Chewbacca on his days off was hit hard by the death of actor Peter Mayhew, a man he said was everything, for everyone.

"It's hard to put into words what Chewbacca meant to the ['Star Wars'] community, Vista Fire Dept. Capt. Samuel Craig told NBC 7 earlier this week. He was the passion; the teddy bear; the loyalty. He was everything, for everyone."

"When something bad happened on screen, you got the visceral reaction from him, Craig added. You got to see the raw passion and he really reflected what you saw.

Mayhew, 74  best known for his iconic role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars series  died April 30 at his home in Boyd, Texas. The 7-foot-2 actor was the man inside the Wookiees furry suit in five Star Wars films beginning with the original trilogy released from 1977 to 1983.

Mayhew put the Chewbacca suit on again in 2005 for Revenge of the Sith, and in 2018 for The Force Awakens. The actor also voiced the character in cartoons and video games, and attended countless conventions, meeting fans at every turn.

One time, one of those fans was Craig.

Everywhere he goes at Comic-Con, a Vista Fire Department captain turns head with his huge Chewbacca costume and impersonations. NBC 7s Steven Luke has more on the costumes surprising origins.

For the fire captain, it was one of those moments in life that never leaves your heart.

Craig was wearing a life-size Chewbacca costume when he met his hero. Mayhew was impressed by the get-up and humbled to see the impact of his character on Craigs life. They took a few photos together.

He was so gracious, Craig recounted. It was a really great moment.

Craig said he was raised on the magic of Star Wars. In fact, it was the very first movie he ever saw in a theater.

My dad took me when I was young, on opening day, in 1977, he said. I still dont know why he took someone that young to see the movie. Growing up, my entire life was about Star Wars and Chewbacca was just always a favorite. He stands out; he was everything  he was the friend.

Craig passed down his love of Chewbacca and Star Wars to his own son. He was able to take his son to the movies in 2015 to see The Force Awakens.

He also involved his son and wife in the making of his Chewbacca costume, which he has famously worn to San Diego Comic-Con International.

In 2015, the costume was a showstopper among Comic-Con fans who lined up to take pictures with Craig.

Our whole family has a connection to the character, he added.

The costume took the Craig family 18 months to make. His son was only 5 and 6 years old at the time of the crafty undertaking. Each strand of hair was painstakingly placed on the costume and colored to match Chewbaccas appearance.

When Craig donned the costume at Comic-Con, he walked on 15-inch stilts, making him 7-foot-8  pretty close to the height of the real Chewie.

"[My] Chewbacca costume is as close to screen-accurate as my family and I were able to make it," Craig explained.

Today, when hes not wearing his fire captain uniform, Craig continues to suit up in his Chewbacca costume, wearing it to community and charity events around San Diegos North County.

In fact, he was on the phone setting up his next gig as Chewbacca earlier this week  for May the 4th, of course  when he heard news of Mayhews death.

He was crushed.

His son, knowing Craigs love for Chewbacca, was worried about his dads feelings.

[NATL] In Memoriam: Influential People We've Lost in 2019

Although Mayhew is gone, Craig finds solace in the fact that the actors legacy and all that Chewbacca stands for will never fade.

All fans need to do is turn on a Star Wars movie to feel the powers of Chewie.

Peter Mayhew was this wonderful man, and that really comes out in the character of Chewbacca. If you watch the performances carefully, you can occasionally see when its a stunt person in the costume. Peter Mayhews personality really came out, Craig explained. That couldve so easily been a character in a furry costume. So many of the mannerisms  so much of the heart  he really created a character where I dont really even know if it was meant to be.

Thats what made it an endearing character, he added. It wasnt the costume, it was the man inside the costume. For me, he was loyalty. He was this friend who stuck with Han Solo through everything. He really showed the best of what that world could be, which really had a lot to do with the actor that was inside that costume.

Craig is far from alone in his love for Mayhew. The "Star Wars" universe is grieving.

Earlier this week, Star Wars cast members and devoted fans of the franchise mourned the loss of the gentle giant, and the joy his footprint left on their lives forever.
The body found in a car in El Segundo was identified Thursday as that of a 19-year-old woman from Guatemala.

Karla Cristina Morales-Escobar was found dead at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of California and East Elm streets, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An autopsy was pending.

Famiy members in Los Angeles said she had been in the United States for about a month. They are making plans to bring her body back to Guatemala.

Someone had called to report an abandoned car, and when officers arrived, they found her body.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were assisting El Segundo police in the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
The family of a Claremont man who was murdered in Mexico have recently found a new clue in the case.

Almost exactly 6 months to the day since he was murdered in Mexico, Taylor Meyer's father, Kris, says he stumbled upon a lead during a trip to the bank and it took this investigation to Oklahoma City.

For months, Kris Meyer feared the investigation into his son Taylor's murder was going nowhere.

"I don't wish this on anyone, it's absolutely horrific," Kris Meyer said.

Now, nearly six months later, detectives release security photos of a man and a woman at an atm drive through trying to use his son's credit card in Oklahoma City.

Kris Meyer talked to NBC4 describing the moment he saw the footage.

"Seeing the person that could potentially either he could have been involved in the murder or has connections to the people who were involved in the murder, it gave me a very eerie feeling," Kris Meyer said.

Authorities say Taylor was murdered while vacationing with friends in Playa del Carmen in November.

His father believes he was killed shortly after he withdrew money from an atm there. Months later, as Meyer was closing out his son's bank account back home he noticed something suspicious.

"It also showed 2 other transactions on December 7th, from banks in Oklahoma City," Kris said. "The bad guys may have forced him to give up his pin number."

It's unclear how the two seen in the security footage are connected to Taylor's murder, but this break could be what investigators need to solve the case.

"I think it was a cruel thing obviously, I would like justice, but i really don't want anyone else murdered in mexico," Kris said.

Kris says he forgives his son's killer, or killers, but does want them to be brought to justice.
A stretch of road in Los Angeles has been renamed after former President Barack Obama.

A concert and ceremony Saturday unveiled Obama Boulevard. The street replaced Rodeo Road, a 3 -mile street that runs across the city's historic black neighborhood. It also intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and further establishes a "presidential row" that includes Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti noted at Saturday's ceremony that Obama Boulevard is in a section of the city that has a number of other streets named after presidents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"As we drive through this city and we see past presidents on Adams, on Washington, on Jefferson, now we'll have one that was in our lifetime, who was a president for everybody: Barack Hussein Obama," Garcetti said.

A couple who proposed the name change told the Times they wanted to raise the profile of the road, attract more funding for the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood and honor the 44th president.

"With this change, we are publicly documenting what Obama's legacy as our nation's first black President means to our city and our South Los Angeles community," City Council President Herb Wesson said in a statement.

"For every child who will drive down this street and see the President's name, this will serve as a physical reminder that no goal is out of reach and that no dream is too big."

While residents were receptive to having a street named after Obama, some believed organizers should have chosen a more prominent street. Wesson argued Rodeo Road was symbolically important: The road is home to Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president in 2007.

For decades, discriminatory practices, including the use of racially restrictive covenants on deeds to keep people of color from buying homes, kept the area off-limits to non-whites.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed housing discrimination, and segregation was scaled back, black residents moved into the formerly white enclave of Baldwin Hills and established the first of L.A.'s black middle- and upper-class neighborhoods.

Black-owned businesses and cultural activities once thrived on Crenshaw Boulevard. But over the years, they struggled and there are ongoing efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and author who has lived in the area for 50 years, said he hopes the name change will lead to more investments in the neighborhood.

"The area needs not just street name change, but also fresh programs, initiatives and spending on jobs, education, and housing programs for the mostly black and Hispanic low-income residents that live on or near Obama Boulevard," Hutchinson said. "This will truly be the greatest way to pay tribute to Obama."
Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
What to Know After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead.

The estranged husband of the Weston mother of three, who was found murdered inside her home earlier this week, killed himself following a standoff with police in Central Florida, officials confirmed.

Broward Sheriffs Office officials said that 39-year-old Angel Sanchez was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an incident inside his home in Highlands County on Thursday evening.

According to their report, SWAT officials from the county went to the home of Sanchez  who 34-year-old Carolyn Espinosa had begun the process of filing for divorce from  shortly after Espinosa was found dead inside her San Simeon Circle home on Wednesday.

After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead. Officials did not release additional details on that portion of the case.

Neighbors told NBC 6 Espinosa was a mother of two boys and one girl and had moved to Weston from New Jersey. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay several bills, including funeral expenses.

Anyone with additional information in either case is asked to call Broward CrimeStoppers.
Florida's U.S. senators are increasing pressure on the Trump administration to act on the crisis in Venezuela, calling it a national security matter.

After a Friday discussion with Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles, Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio chastised Cuba for aiding socialist president Nicolas Maduro in a standoff with U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Cuban government denies accusations that it has troops in Venezuela.

The U.S. and more than 50 nations view Maduro's re-election last year as illegitimate because of fraud.

Rubio mocked reports that Maduro was defeating Guaido three days after the opposition leader called for a military uprising on Tuesday that failed to push Venezuela's military into rebellion.

"This notion that Maduro is winning is ridiculous," he said. "This is a peaceful movement of civil disobedience."

Rubio said there are no questions there's a real threat to the U.S. Rubio said the U.S. government must be prepared to face Venezuela, and suggested the militant Hezbollah group is present in the South American nation. The leader of Lebanon's militant group has denied the claim.

Scott said the U.S. military must deliver humanitarian aid to stop what he called a "genocide," caused by shortages of food and medicine. He warned Venezuela could become the next Syria.

"You look at all the bad players and see what happened there. You got Russia, you got Iran, you got Hezbollah. They are all there," Scott said. "To think that we are not going to have Syria in this hemisphere if we don't deal with this now. It's going to happen, it's just when it happens."

The lawmakers met with Romy Moreno, the wife of Guaido's chief of staff Roberto Marrero. Marrero was jailed last month by Venezuelan authorities, who accuse him of being involved in a scheme to overthrow Maduro.

Also on Friday, the Trump administration ended a week of pointed but vague threats of a military response to the Venezuelan political crisis with a meeting at the Pentagon to consider its options, though there was still no sign any action was on the horizon.




By Town Hall, May 01, 2019





A number of Democratic lawmakers are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign from office over his handling of the Mueller report's release, and his answers before Congressional committees on the subject. These demands are baseless, partisan nonsense. Barr has comported himself properly and honorably, fulfilling the two core promises he relayed to Senators during his confirmation hearings: First, that the Russia probe would be permitted to play out without interference, and second, that he would make Mueller's findings available to the public in the most transparent way possible. He's betrayed neither of these promises. Mueller completed his work without any limitations, and 92 percent of his final report has been accessible to the American public for weeks. The balance of the document is blacked out with uncontroversial redactions, made in concert with Mueller's team, with certain members of Congress having access to an even less-censored copy.
North Korea insisted the U.S. agree to pay $2 million in medical costs in 2017 before it released detained American college student Otto Warmbier while he was in a coma, a former U.S. official said Thursday.

An envoy sent to North Korea to retrieve the 21-year-old student signed an agreement to pay the $2 million on instructions passed down from President Donald Trump, the former official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter.

The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the situation, first reported the demand and that the envoy signed the agreement.

The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained  unpaid  throughout 2017, the newspaper said. It is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump's two summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump on Friday said on Twitter that "No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else." He went on to criticize the Obama administration for its $1.7 billion payment cash payment of Iranian assets that had been unfrozen. That January 2016 payment came on the day Iran released four American prisoners.

Trump also criticized the Obama administration for the 2014 prisoner trade with the Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had deserted his post in Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said the administration does not comment on hostage negotiations. U.S. policy is to refuse to pay ransom for the release of Americans detained abroad.

While the majority of Americans detained by North Korea have been released in relatively good condition, Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, died in June last year shortly after he was flown home comatose after 17 months in captivity.

Warmbier was seized from a tour group while visiting North Korea in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

North Korea, which has denied accusations by relatives that it tortured Warmbier, has said he was provided "medical treatments and care with all sincerity."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the United States doesn't owe North Korea anything.

"Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused," Portman said. "No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything."

Parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier are from suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robert Lewis, a spokesman for the law firm that filed suit against North Korea on behalf of the Warmbier family, declined comment.

Yun told CNN on Thursday that he could not discuss details of his diplomatic discussions. He said his orders from Trump were to "do whatever" he could to get Warmbier back.

Asked if it would be unusual for the U.S. to pay medical costs of detainees, Yun said: "There was some expectation the North Koreans might raise hospital costs." He said that in past instances not involving Warmbier "some money could have been handed over, yes."

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
It looks like Keira Knightley will soon become a mother for the second time.

On Thursday, the British actress appeared to debut her baby bump while stepping out for a Chanel-hosted cocktail party in Paris, France. Keira, 34, was joined by husband James Righton.

Dressed in a Grecian-inspired, empire waist gown and chunky gold heels, the A-lister lovingly placed her hand on her belly as she made her way past photographers.

In 2015, the notoriously private couple welcomed their first child together, a baby girl Edie Knightley Righton. Two years prior, Keira and James tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the South of France.

Last year, the Pirates of the Caribbean star spoke candidly about the impact motherhood has had on her acting career.

Celebrities Who Managed to Hide Their Pregnancies

"There's that sense of, like, I don't give a f--k," Knightley joked to Harper's Bazaar.

She continued, "Once you've had that whole experience of leaking breasts everywhere and the messiness of it--there's no control, it's animalistic. I feel that in a funny way with acting it sort of helps; there is no embarrassment any more."

Knightley also penned a controversial essay about her childbirth experience, in which she critiqued Kate Middleton's postpartum actions and compared them to her own. The actress would later clarify her remarks.

She's already instilling her feminist beliefs within 3-year-old Edie, recently revealing to Ellen DeGeneres that there are a few Disney films that the toddler is "banned" from watching.

[NATL] Celebrity Baby Boom: Christian Slater u0026 Wife Welcome Daughter

As Keira described, "Cinderalla" is a big no-no "because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don't! Rescue yourself. Obviously! And this is the one that I'm quite annoyed about because I really like the film, but 'Little Mermaid' [is banned, too]. I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello! But the problem with 'The Little Mermaid' is I love 'The Little Mermaid!' That one's a little tricky--but I'm keeping to it."

E! News has reached out to her rep for comment.
A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News.

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
Employees at a New Jersey White Castle are credited with helping to save a man who staggered into the restaurant with stab wounds.

The 34-year-old victim sat down in a booth in the White Castle in Clifton early Saturday and workers saw he was bleeding badly. A pool of blood was forming at his feet.

"It was very bad there was a lot of blood," said Romie Foster, who works at the restaurant.

Employees called 911 and first responders arrived minutes later.

"Most times people turn their heads and walk away but there are good people," customer John Richard told NBC 4 New York.

The victim, who lives in Passaic, was hospitalized in critical condition, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

It's not clear where he was stabbed, Valdes said. No one has been arrested.

Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutors at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Clifton Police Department at 973-470-5900.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchy's power after the October 2016 death at age 88 of Vajiralongkorn's revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued his post-coronation royal command, which is supposed to set the tone for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father's first command.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said, according to an unofficial translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since assuming the throne. On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed the crown atop his head. The "Great Crown of Victory," said to date from 1782, is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high, weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces of royal regalia, including the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, presented in homage to his power.

Absolute rule by kings ended with a 1932 revolution in Thailand that ushered in a constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, Thai kings are regarded as almost divine and have been seen as a unifying presence in a country that has seen regular bouts of political instability as it rotates between elected governments and military rule.

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has tightened control over royal institutions and acted to increase his influence in his country's administration. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Like kings before him, Vajiralongkorn is protected by one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, which makes criticism of him and other top royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison and has dampened open debate about the monarchy's role in society.

Vajiralongkorn began Saturday's coronation proceedings wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony, completed the consecration portion of his coronation, giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king. Vajiralongkorn  having changed into gold-embroidered royal vestments  was seated on an octagonal throne, with the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass, and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy water over the king's hand, along with a ninth representing the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his full consecration.

"This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation," said Naowarat Buakluan, a civil servant. "If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, it's because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king."

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, "doesn't like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper." When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn "insisted that everything had to be done properly."

"Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesn't mind the expense, but it has to be done properly," Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country's queen. His father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just a week before his own coronation, at which he named her his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the 2  hours of ceremonies ended, Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person, civil servants in uniform and members of the public wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside the Grand Palace to pay their respects.

"I feel glad and hopeful that the king ascends the throne after his father, King Rama IX, to be a guardian and the hope of the Thai people," said onlooker Amornrat Wangpan from Uttaradit province, 433 kilometers (269 miles) north of Bangkok. "It will be a civilized era having many things. I feel that Thailand is now opened to the light and now civilized."

Later Saturday, the king held an audience for members of the royal family, the Privy Council and the Cabinet, among other senior officials, where they vowed their allegiance to king and country, and he promised to work with them for the nation's benefit.

Some carefully vetted members of the public admitted to the palace grounds got a thrill later when Vajiralongkorn was carried on an ornately decorated palanquin to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha  usually considered Thai Buddhism's holiest site site  by a specially trained contingent of soldiers dressed in colorful ceremonial uniforms who marched in strict precision. The king, like his predecessors, made the short journey to vow to defend the Buddhist faith, the religion of more than 90% of Thailand's people.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, in which the king will again be carried on his palanquin through nearby city streets to visit four important temples and allow the public to pay homage to him.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.

Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders return to Omaha every year to learn from Warren Buffett and celebrate the company he built through acquisitions and investments.

But with the 88-year-old Buffett and 95-year-old Charlie Munger leading the company, it's hard for shareholders not to wonder how much longer the revered investors will be in place. And the fact that Berkshire is holding more than $114 billion in cash and short-term investments raises questions about what Buffett might buy next.

Shareholder Stephen Teenois, 30, made his first trip to this year's meeting on Saturday after owning the stock for several years because he wanted to experience the event where Buffett and Munger spend hours answering questions.

"I just want to soak in everything I can and learn from him," said Teenois, who is from Houston.

Buffett has said that Berkshire has a succession plan in place for whenever it is needed. Neither Buffett nor Munger has any plans to retire. Two longtime executives, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, have been promoted to vice chairmen to help oversee Berkshire's businesses. One of them will likely eventually be Berkshire's next CEO.

Buffett said Saturday that both Abel and Jain have done a great job since they were promoted into the new roles in early 2018, and both earned about $18 million last year. Jain oversees the conglomerate's insurance businesses while Abel oversees non-insurance business operations.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit," Buffett said.

Jim Weber, CEO of Berkshire company Brooks Running, said the transition from reporting directly to Buffett to reporting to Abel has gone smoothly.

"I've enjoyed working with him. He's incredibly smart," Weber said about Abel.

Berkshire's eclectic collection of more than 90 businesses includes a variety of industries. Previously, Abel oversaw Berkshire utility businesses.

Shareholder Bill Laub, 67, of Moline, Illinois, said he wasn't worried about Buffett's successor or the future of the company because he has faith in the team behind him.

"If something happened to Warren, there would be the shock and the blip, and then it will all be over," Laub said.

Laub said he hopes there is another big acquisition in Buffett and Berkshire's future. Buffett has said that he has had a hard time finding acquisitions selling for reasonable prices in recent years because the market has soared.

"I hope he finds something good to buy," Laub said.

Buffett faced several questions about whether relatively recent deals, including Kraft Heinz, were paying off for Berkshire:

Buffett said he's happy with Berkshire Hathaway's partnership with the Brazilian firm of 3G Capital. The companies worked together to buy Kraft and Heinz, but recently the combined food giant had to write down the value of its brands by $15 billion.

"I'm pleased that we are partners, and it's conceivable that something else could come up," Buffett said.

Buffett said the main problem with the Kraft investment is that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for it. Buffett also said that he and 3G underestimated the challenges branded foods face from retailers and the growth of private label products.
What to Know A bill in Pennsylvania would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary race.

Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years,.

Pennsylvania: Land of Disenfranchisement?

It's not the state slogan, but Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly and sparks a debate in Pennsylvania's Legislature for the first time in memory about opening up party primaries.

It helps that it is led by a high-profile backer, the top Republican in the GOP-controlled state Senate, Joe Scarnati, who has his own story about switching his registration to independent in 2000 to get elected.

"As I look at extremism that takes place in primaries today and lack of participation, I want to increase that participation in the primary process," Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in an interview Wednesday. "And I think it is a start, it's not a solution, but it is a start to start getting some moderation in our primary process."

Scarnati's bill, which would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary, received a hearing this past week in the Senate State Government Committee as part of a broader election reform package.

It has the support of the committee chairman, Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, as well as backing from the Senate's ranking Democrat, Jay Costa, Gov. Tom Wolf and good-government groups Common Cause and the Committee of Seventy.

Costa, of Allegheny County, said he sees the bill as a way to get more voters engaged.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years, reflecting national trends that are fueling activism around the cause of opening up primaries.

Here's the catch: researchers don't find that open primaries have much, if any, effect on increasing turnout or moderating politics.

One paper, published in 2011 by researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California, Princeton University and the universities of Denver and Chicago, found that "we should expect little from open primary reform in the modern political age."

"In fact, most of the effects we have found tend to be the opposite of those that are typically expected: the more open the primary system, the more liberal the Democrat and the more conservative the Republican," it said.

Many independent voters don't pay close attention to politics and are among the least likely to vote, researchers say. Meanwhile, independent voters are not necessarily moderate, and are just as likely to have party-aligned ideologies as party-registered voters, researchers say.

"Most people who call themselves independent or unaffiliated actually vote pretty consistently with one of the major parties," said Seth Masket, who chairs the University of Denver's political science department and helped author the paper. "They just prefer not to call themselves a member of that party or be identified that way."

States have a hodge-podge of primary election laws, and Pennsylvania is among the most closed states, along with heavily populated New York and Florida, analysts say.

There is movement, albeit slow, among states to open up primaries, say researchers from the National Conference on State Legislatures.

Pennsylvania, since at least 1937, has had closed primaries, and researchers say primary elections were originally created as a way to smash the influence of party brass over picking nominees.

Now, a constellation of advocacy groups want to open primaries for a similar reason: to smash the influence of parties over the political process.

Jen Bullock, a Montgomery County psychotherapist and registered independent, said this is the most traction she's seen 15 years after founding the group Independent Pennsylvanians.

An open primary system can erode the outsized influence of political parties over a system of elected government that doesn't address issues of concern to ordinary citizens anymore, Bullock said.

"I don't think the parties should be gatekeepers to our voting rights," Bullock said.

Party officials are keeping a low-profile on the issue. Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills said she would leave the matter to the party's elected officials, while Scarnati said Republican Party officials have told him "they're not happy about it."

But, he said, he has come to the conclusion after 19 years in office that he is right, and that willingness to compromise is badly needed in the state Capitol.

"The upside for political parties," Scarnati said, "is far greater than the downside."
President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed what Trump again dismissed as the "Russian Hoax" in their first known phone call since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election meddling. Putin chuckled about Mueller's findings, Trump said.

During their conversation on Friday, which the White House and Kremlin said lasted more than an hour, they also discussed a possible three-party arms control pact with China, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Ukraine and the crisis in Venezuela, where Moscow is propping up the current government over the U.S.-backed opposition.

"We had a good conversation about many things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said the two leaders were considering a new nuclear agreement "where we make less and they make less. And maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now." He said they had discussed the possibility of including China in the deal and that China would "very much would like to be a part of" it.

But more interesting, perhaps, was what was left unsaid.

Trump said that, at no point, did he warn Putin not to meddle in the next election. And while he and Putin did discuss Mueller's findings, they appeared to gloss over Mueller's description of the extensive efforts Russia took to interfere in the 2016 election, including the 25 Russians indicted for that effort.

"We discussed it," Trump said of the report. "He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that, 'It started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse,'" Trump said of Putin. "But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. So pretty much that's what it was."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said Trump didn't tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election because he's made that clear in the past. "He doesn't need to do that every two seconds," she said.

Mueller's report concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "sweeping and systematic." Ultimately, Mueller's investigators did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, but they found multiple contacts. Indeed, the report concluded that "the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."

Trump tweeted after the call that the two had discussed topics including the "Russian Hoax."

"As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing," he wrote.

Trump said he and Putin had instead focused on other topics, including the possibility of the new nuclear arms deal between the U.S., Russia and China. He said U.S. officials had broached the idea with the Chinese during ongoing trade talks and that China was "excited about that, maybe even more excited than about trade." Discussions on a new nuclear deal, he said, would likely begin shortly between the U.S. and Russia, with China potentially added "down the road."

Trump did not say which arms control agreement he and Putin had discussed, but the Russian state news agency Tass reported that they talked about the New START treaty, the last major arms-control treaty remaining between the U.S. and Russia.

The treaty, which was signed in 2010 and expires in 2021, restricts both the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on a maximum of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

"There was a discussion about having  extending the current nuclear agreement  as well as discussions about potentially starting a new one that could include China as well," Sanders said.

Trump earlier this year announced that he was pulling the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Trump accused Moscow of violating its terms with "impunity" by deploying missiles banned by the pact. Moscow denies violating it and has accused Washington of being in non-compliance.

Trump's decision to exit the INF treaty reflected his administration's view that it was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. China's military has grown mightily since that treaty was signed, and the pact had prevented the U.S. from deploying weapons to counter some of those being developed by Beijing.

"The world has moved on from the Cold War and its bilateral arms control treaties that cover limited types of nuclear weapons or only certain ranges of adversary missiles," national security adviser John Bolton told The Associated Press last week. "Russia and China must be brought to the table."

A Kremlin readout of the call said the two presidents confirmed their mutual desire "to intensify dialogue in various fields, including on issues of strategic stability," but gave no details about a possible arms deal.

Trump said the two also spoke extensively about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last week to meet with Putin. Sanders said Trump said several times that it was important for Russia to continue to help put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

The statement released by the Kremlin after Friday's call said Putin stressed that "Pyongyang's conscientious fulfillment of its obligations should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce sanctions pressure on North Korea."

On Venezuela, Trump insisted that Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela." That's despite the fact that Russia has forged a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

The U.S. and about 50 other nations take the position that Maduro's re-election last year was irrevocably marred by fraud and he is not the legitimate president. In January, the administration took the unusual step of recognizing Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, as interim president.

The Kremlin said that during the call, Putin stressed that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine the future of their country. The statement said that outside interference in internal affairs and attempts at forceful regime change in Caracas undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis.
A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.

John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy after 15 days of jury deliberations. Four ex-employees of the Chandler, Arizona-based company, including the former exotic dancer, were also convicted.

Some of the most sensational evidence in the months-long federal trial included a video of employees dancing and rapping around an executive dressed as a giant bottle of the powerful opioid spray Subsys, and testimony about how the company made a habit of hiring attractive women as sales representatives.

The case threw a spotlight on the federal government's efforts to go after those it views as responsible for fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.

Opioid overdoses claimed nearly 400,000 lives in the U.S. between 1999 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illegal drugs such as heroin.

Kapoor and the others were accused of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys and misleading insurers in order to get payment approved for the costly drug, which is meant for cancer patients in severe pain. The bribes were paid in the form of fees for sham speaking engagements that were billed as educational opportunities for other doctors.

The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.

"We will continue the fight to clear Dr. Kapoor's name," defense attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. She said the long deliberations prove it was "far from an open-and-shut case."

A former sales representative testified that regional sales manager Sunrise Lee once gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to a doctor whom Insys was pushing to write more prescriptions. Lee's lawyer said she will challenge the verdict.

Jurors also watched the rap video meant to motivate sales reps to push doctors to prescribe higher doses of the drug.

The company's former CEO, Michael Babich, pleaded guilty and testified against his colleagues. He said Insys recruited sales reps who were "easy on the eyes" because doctors didn't want an "unattractive person to walk in their door."

Kapoor's attorney sought to shift the blame onto the company's former vice president of sales, Alec Burlakoff, who also pleaded guilty.




By Israel Hayom, May 01, 2019





It turns out that the Islamist terrorists who slaughtered more than 350 people in Sri Lanka came from one of that countrys wealthiest families. This news will surely come as a surprise to those who have become accustomed to hearing political leaders and pundits claim that poverty is what drives young Muslims to become terrorists.





The whole premise behind the more than $10 billion that the United States gave to the Palestinian Authority from 1994 to 2017 was that Palestinian unemployment will lead to Palestinian terrorism  so we better give them money, and lots of it.
A vigil was held for a 13-year-old boy who died Friday night after getting hit by a car in a tragic accident in Lemon Grove.

The boy has since been identified as Trevon Harris, by his mother, Tanya Harris, who spoke to NBC 7.

Dozens of people attended the vigil held Saturday night, including Mayor of Lemon Grove Racquel Vasquez. Many brought balloons, flowers, and even stuffed animals to leave at the scene.

Trevons mother said she wants the community to remember her sons love for life, his love for his little brother, and his dreams of becoming a basketball player.

We ought to celebrate his life today, said Tanya.

Tanya shared that Trevon dreamed of making it to the NBA as he was a big Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry fan. He was on The Lemon Groves recreational team called, The Young Bulls.

Tanya Harris/NBC 7

She shared the last moment she spent with him at the hospital saying that when she held his hand, she felt his spirit saying, Mom, Im ok.

The tragic accident happened in front of San Miguel Elementary School at around 6:19 p.m. Friday night, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department.

Witnesses told NBC 7 Trevon ran from his front yard between two parked cars, slid on loose gravel, and fell forward into the street as a car was coming by.

Tanya was turning the car around to pick him up when the collision happened, witnesses said.

Trevon was then taken to Rady Childrens Hospital with severe head injuries. He was pronounced dead a short time later, said SDSO.

On Saturday, the Lemon Grove School District released a statement saying:

"On Friday evening, a 7th grade Lemon Grove Middle School student was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Lemon Grove. On behalf of the Lemon Grove School District, we want to extend our deepest and most profound sympathy to the family, friends, and community during this most difficult time.

"The mental health and well-being of our staff and students will be at the forefront for the foreseeable future. District staff will have counseling support in place at Lemon Grove Middle School and San Miguel Elementary School Monday morning. Please contact your school principal if your child is in need of additional support. Over the coming days, in particular, we ask staff, students, and the Lemon Grove community alike to seek support if needed."

Trevons family has organized a Go Fund Me page to help pay for funeral expenses.

The accident is under investigation but officials do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors. The driver remained at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators. Witnesses said the driver knelt on the side of the road and prayed for the victim.

Anyone with information on this incident can call the Lemon Grove Station at (619) 337-2000.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the boy was 14 years old. NBC 7 has since spoken with the boy's mother, who told NBC 7 the boy had just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago.
Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wife's ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called "marital rape exemption" or "spousal defense" still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

"No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books," Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. "The concept of a pre-existing relationship defense should have never been part of our criminal statutes."

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as "appalling and archaic."

"Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force," she said. "You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and it's not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and it's not a crime. It was really troubling."

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by women's rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states' marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victim's capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for "smacking the other's behind" during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

"If your religion believes if you're married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption?" he asked.

"No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment," replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But that's no place for the General Assembly."

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hale's premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses can't be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isn't serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the state's marital rape exemption.

"I was beside myself," she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

"I thought if I can't have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it," she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teeson's advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

"She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story," Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. "Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Let's do the right thing. Let's right this wrong."

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said she's not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

"In the past, I know that there's been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth," Tobin said. "But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for."

Boggs' bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohio's criminal code. Her argument in favor of it is straightforward.

"Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldn't give you permission to rape them," she said.

Associated Press writer Brian Witte and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.
Washington, D.C. has a well-known rat problem. Rodent complaints to the citys 311 line have been steadily increasing over the last few years and the citys mayor has now led two rat walks in an effort to track the growing rodent infestation. The District is even trying birth control on rats.

But for the last few years, the Humane Rescue Alliance has been spearheading a creative, though not exactly unheard of, way to fight the rat kings and queens of the District of Columbia: pairing local businesses and communities with feral, unsocialized cats to hunt and kill their natural prey.

First developed in 2017, the HRAs Blue Collar Cats program takes stray, feral cats that end up in its care, spays and neuters them, and then matches them to businesses or homes to catch and deter unwanted rodents, HRA Vice President Lauren Lipsey told News4.

Our original goal was to do a handful in the first year, but we didnt recognize the number of property owners that would be interested, Lipsey said.

The program started off with a bang, with 20 feline placements around the city and a waiting list more than 40 people long, Lipsey said.

We had an initial boost with great publicity, Lipsey said. It became attractive to cat aficionados and people who previously did not have an interest in cats.

Now, Blue Collar Cats are at work in the most populous area of the city, prowling the streets of Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Petworth and Shaw for those squirmy tails and furry shadows that haunt D.C. residents.

Lipsey also said that she and the HRA were surprised to see how many homeowners were interested in sponsoring a Blue Collar Cat in their neighborhood, given that they marketed the program as a way for businesses to deal with pests.

We anticipated mostly businesses, and then homeowners contacted us, which was not necessarily how we marketed the program, Lipsey said. But there was also excitement to see properties accept pairs of cats together.

To assign a pair of cats together is a big accomplishment, Lipsey said, because their feral nature makes them fearful of humans and other animals. By definition, feral cats are unsocialized, usually wandering cities lonelily and scavenging for food.

If we get two cats and we can match them together, they can be social with each other, Lipsey said. It works with cats because unsocial cats can wander alone when they are spayed and neutered.

And 2018 was another year of success for the program, Lipsey said. The HRA was able to place 110 cats around the city, with 17 businesses taking 25 cats and 62 homes taking 85 cats.

One of those businesses is D.C.s own Right Proper Brewing Company in Northeast Washington.

At this Brookland facility, co-owner Thor Cheston said his feline staff member does his fair share in keeping the barley and hops fermenting.

There is a theory that links the domestication of cats to the development of brewing, that the reason why cats were domesticated in the first place was to guard grain, Cheston said. Cats were following the food source, rodents, and the rodents were following their food source, grain.

Cheston said this history drew him to want to recruit a Blue Collar Cat.

Breweries having or employing a cat or multiple cats goes back centuries, Cheston said. So when I learned about the Blue Collar Cat program, I jumped all over it. It just seemed so natural.

Right Proper Brewing has had two rat-hunting cats, Cheston said. Their first employee, named Barley, worked for the brewery for six months before running off in 2017. The brewery now has a younger cat, named Oats, who joined the team in 2018.

Barley was great. He was a little bit older so he didnt grow as attached to us as our current cat is now, so eventually he did run away, Cheston told News4. But he was very effective at his job.

Still, though Oats, is more energetic and relatively more friendly, he still keeps his distance, Cheston said.

He still doesnt let us touch him, we cant pet him, he does not care too much for that interaction but its almost like we have an understanding, Cheston said. We have a professional courtesy I would say.

Lipsey said Right Proper is a perfect example of the kind of relationship between cat and partner that succeeds.

Theyve been huge supporters and they are a good member of the community, Lipsey said. They really serve as an example to other businesses.

And Cheston said the presence of a cat is often enough to scare away rats.

We had an issue with this one rat that was eating through installation and working his way through drywall and barley and he nixed that. I think the word got out very quickly, Cheston said.

And Cheston said he has no intention of letting Oats go.

We havent seen any activity since hes been here, Cheston said. Hes our guy.

Learn more about the Blue Collar Cats program here.
A Maryland man faces a felony charge for attempting to have sex with a horse and has been ordered to stay away from all animals while he awaits his day in court, authorities said on Friday.

Officials say 67-year-old James Von Dundas from North Potomac, Maryland, was charged with attempted carnal knowledge of an animal after soliciting an undercover Loudoun County Animal Services officer on Thursday for the opportunity to have sexual relations with a horse.

Police arrested Von Dundas at Balls Bluff Park in Leesburg, Virginia, where he "indicated his intent to engage in the illegal activity" to the animal services officer, police said.

He has been charged and was released on $2,500 bond.

April is "prevention of cruelty to animals month." News4's Sheena Parveen talked to Chris Schindler from Humane Rescue Alliance to find out how the organization handles animal cruelty.

Loudoun County has zero tolerance for criminal acts that include cruel and heinous behavior towards animals, Animal Control Chief Chris Brosan said in a news release. We routinely conduct investigations to protect all animals in Loudoun.

Von Dundas is also prohibited from being in contact with any animal species before his court appearance on May 6, officials said.

Under Virginia law, crimes against animals are a Class 6 felony, which can lead to a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In January, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld Virginia's ban on bestiality, saying that animals are not able to provide consent.

We recognize that proactive investigations are one of the best ways to ensure the community is safe, said Department of Animal Services Director Nina Stively in a news release. We do not want to wait for crimes against animals to happen, we want to prevent them.
If ever there was a topic that might easily lend itself to bipartisan agreement in Massachusetts it would be lobster, the tasty crustacean that's long been both a staple of New England cuisine and a vital part of the region's economy.

Democratic and Republican leaders on Beacon Hill are moving toward consensus on legislation that seeks to expand lobster processing, in turn growing markets and giving consumers a wider selection of lobster products at restaurants and local supermarkets. The plan received a major boost from the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, which in a recent report concluded it would deliver "economic benefits throughout the state's seafood supply chain," along with "greater access to desirable seafood products."

Pending final approval from the lawmakers, the state's lobster regulations would change to allow for in-state processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell _ claws and tails, for example _ and permit seafood dealers to import shell-on lobster parts for further processing.

Current law is more limited. You can, of course, sell whole lobsters cooked or uncooked, and the meat can be sold canned or at restaurants; think lobster rolls. In 2013, the Legislature amended the statute to allow frozen shell-on tails that weigh at least 3 ounces to be sold, as well.

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has for several years pushed to further expand legal lobster processing in Massachusetts, citing figures that show about 80% of the state's lobster catch now being shipped to Maine or Canada for processing.

"This legislation modernizes those lobster laws to bolster the fishing industry and give consumers, including local restaurants and food stores, more choices while sustainably supporting coastal fishing communities," Tarr said in a statement.

The Republican represents the coastal city of Gloucester, the state's No. 1 lobstering port. Massachusetts as a whole boasts the nation's second-largest lobster harvest, about 11% of the U.S. total. Maine, which liberalized its processing laws about a decade ago, is far and away the largest catcher, with 83% of the domestic haul.

Relaxing the current regulations would create new business opportunities in Massachusetts, Tarr and other supporters contend. One company, Topsfield-based East Coast Seafood, has already told state officials it would look to expand its processing facilities and create new jobs if the bill becomes law.

The measure easily cleared the Senate last year with support from key Democrats in coastal districts, including Sens. Mark Montigny, of New Bedford, and Michael Rodrigues, of Westport. But the House wasn't quite ready to fully embrace the idea.

First, House lawmakers sought assurances from the Division of Marine Fisheries that easing current restrictions wouldn't harm lobster conservation efforts and that regulators would be able to prevent the illegal breaking apart of juvenile lobsters that are below minimum state and federal size limits.

The agency's report, issued in December, foresaw no negative effects on Massachusetts' largest fishery.

"This is because the existing regulations and processing requirements provide multiple opportunities for law enforcement to monitor and enforce against violations of lobster conservation regulations," the report said, citing Maine's experience among other factors.

As for consumers, the availability of shell-on lobster parts such as tails and claws fits a trend toward foods that are quicker and easier to prepare and eat, the study noted. Anyone who has wrestled a live lobster into a pot of boiling water and struggled to crack shells or pry meat out with tiny forks might agree.

Encouraged by the report, House backers including Democratic Rep. Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, successfully attached language similar to Tarr's bill to a state budget that cleared the chamber last month, boosting chances of it eventually becoming law either through the budget process or separate legislation.

Peake pointed to potential benefits in coastal communities, where restaurants and seafood markets do booming business selling live lobsters during the summer tourism months, only to struggle the rest of the year.

"As the fall starts to roll in and the lobsters are still abundant, you have fewer of those clam shacks that are open and you have an overabundance of lobsters that are being landed and not enough consumers still interested in consuming the whole lobster," Peake told House colleagues. "This bill will help stabilize that and provide markets for Massachusetts lobstermen that currently don't exist today," she added.
Saturday is Green Up Day in Vermont  one of the state's longest-running and most iconic annual traditions.

For 49 years now, volunteers have fanned out across the state on the first Saturday in May, picking up litter across some 13,000 miles of roadway.

Friday, some Vermonters got a head-start on the work.

Employees of the Winooski soap manufacturer TwinCraft Skincare picked up litter on streets surrounding their headquarters.

Participant Jason Smith found an old vacuum dumped in the woods and hauled it out.

"I've done these [clean-up efforts] before in other areas, but it's amazing just across the street in the woods there how much trash we pulled out," Smith told necn. "There was probably four bags, just across the street!"

Last year, the effort reached 240 towns statewide, with 23,000 people collecting 225 tons of trash, according to Green Up Day organizers.

"That's a lot," Twincraft's Lisa Ashley said. "I think when the snow melts, everyone's a little surprised at what's hiding underneath."

Gov. Phil Scott did his part Friday, along with members of his administration, by picking up litter along Route 2 in Middlesex.

The governor calls Green Up Day key to Vermont's reputation as a good place to enjoy the outdoors.

"To have our roadsides cleaned up is really a statement about who are, and I think it's inviting to a lot of our tourists that come to the state," Scott said at a press conference Thursday promoting Green Up Day.

This year, Green Up Day is going high-tech, with a new app available to help volunteer groups figure out which parts of their cities and towns need attention.

Lisa Ashley said she hopes the spirit of Green Up Day lasts throughout the year in Vermont.

"I feel like we can all do our part, and if you walk by something, just pick it up so it's not just once a year," she said. "Everyone has to go out and be cleaning this up."
Massachusetts State Police diverted traffic on Route 1 in Chelsea after a tractor-trailer jackknifed Saturday morning. Officials cleared the scene around 10 a.m. and reopened traffic.

Police said the incident occurred on the northbound side and traffic was temporarily diverted onto Route 16 in Chelsea.

Chelsea firefighters responded to the area, assisted by MassDOT, when the fuel tanks ruptured.

Initial reports did not indicate any injuries in the crash, which was reported about 7:20 a.m. Reporter Nia Hamm said the highway reopened at 10:09 a.m.
Results and reaction as they come in

ELECTION results for Newbury and Thatcham town councils, plus some parish councils, will be announced today (Saturday).

Yesterday saw the Conservatives maintain control of West Berkshire Council with 24 councillors, holding on with a majority of five.

It was a historic day for the Green Party, who saw three of their candidates elected to the district council for the first time.

The Liberal Democrats took the 16 remaining seats, including six of Thatcham's seven and seven of Newbury's 12.

There are 23 seats up for election on Newbury Town Council, split between five wards  Clay Hill, East Fields, Speenhamland, Wash Common and West Fields.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 17 councillors to the Lib Dems six.

The Conservatives are fielding 22 candidates, the Lib Dems 21, Labour five, Greens two, UKIP one, while one independent candidate is standing.

In Thatcham, there are 18 seats up for grabs on the town council, split between four wards  Thatcham Central, Thatcham Crookham, Thatcham North East and Thatcham West.

Five candidates each will be elected to represent Central, North East and West, and three to Crookham.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 14 councillors to the Lib Dems four.

The Conservatives are fielding 18 candidates, the Lib Dems 15, Greens two, UKIP two and Labour one.

Elections for a number of other town and parish councils across the district will also be held today. These include Burghfield, Inkpen, Stratfield Mortimer, Theale, and Woolhampton.

4pm

Thank you for following our live blog. Don't forget to pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News next Thursday for all the results, in-depth reaction and photos from a dramatic couple of days.

Theale Parish Council results, elected were Clint Rolfe, Becky Williams, Alan Clark, Zoe Fenwick, Paul Clifford, Stuart Coker, Dan Baker, Lisa Cox, Iain Hopcroft, Jan Richardson, and Katie Leanne Gash

3.50pm

An incredible day for the Lib Dems, who have won 19 out of the 23 seats on Newbury Town Council and 15 of the 18 seats on Thatcham Town Council.

The party also took 16 seats on West Berkshire Council yesterday (a gain of 11).

Lib Dem Jeff Brooks said that a "yellow tide had swept away the blues".

3.05pm

The full results for Newbury East Fields are as follows:

Billy Drummond Liberal Democrats 896 Elected

Olivia Marie Elizabeth Lewis Liberal Democrats 820 Elected

Erik Pattenden Liberal Democrats 819 Elected

Jon Gage Liberal Democrats 809 Elected

Vaughan John Miller Liberal Democrats 794 Elected

John Henry Bennett Conservative Party 362 Not elected

Norma Murray Conservative Party 359 Not elected

George Paterson Conservative Party 337 Not elected

Archie William Denison-Smith Conservative Party 332 Not elected

Dave Joseph Mbawa Conservative Party 300 Not elected

Malik Kamail Pasha Azam UK Independence (UKIP) 179 Not elected

2.59pm

What a day for the Lib Dems. They have taken five more seats on Newbury Town Council after a clean sweep of the Newbury East Fields ward.

2.55pm

A flurry of results as three wards come in quick succession.

The Lib Dems have taken back control of Thatcham Town Council with 15 of the 18 seats. Stark contrast to four years ago when the Lib Dems had three seats to the Conservative's 15.

The Tories have been reduced to two seats, while the Green Party have their first councillor on Thatcham Town Council.

Deputy mayor Richard Crumly loses his seat, while his wife Ellen Crumly retains her seat in Thatcham Central. Steve Ardagh Walter is the other surviving Tory.

Former headteacher Paul Field is elected for the Greens.

Elected to Thatcham Central were: Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, 1050), Jennifer Walker (Lib Dem, 971), Nassar Kessell (Lib Dem, 951), Paul Field (Green, 695), Ellen Crumly (Con, 585).

Not elected: Janet Cover (Con, 577), Richard Crumly (Con, 564), Robert Denton-Powell (Con, 522), Marigold Jaques (Con, 480), David McMahon (UKIP, 321).

Elected to Thatcham West were: Jeff Brooks (990), Keith Woodhams (869), Mark Lillycrop (811), Simon Pike (808), and David Lister (755).

Not elected Helen Picken (Con, 435), Ian Causer (Con, 430), Karen Manley (Con, 427), Gary Clarke (Con, 417), Jane Livermore (Green, 366), William Russell (Con, 325), Gary Johnson (UKIP, 290), George Rattray (90)

2.10pm

Some big name casualties for the Conservatives in Wash Common, with Newbury Town Council leader Adrian Edwards and three former mayors - Howard Bairstow, Anthony Pick and David Fenn - all losing their seats.

The results in full are as follows:

Roger Hunneman Liberal Democrats 1828 Elected

Chris Foster Liberal Democrats 1809 Elected

David Ralph Marsh Green Party 1779 Elected

Sarah Collette Slack Liberal Democrats 1773 Elected

Tony Vickers Liberal Democrats 1749 Elected

Gary Arthur Norman Liberal Democrats 1697 Elected

Adrian Arthur Walter Edwards Conservative Party 1112 Not elected

David Robert Fenn Conservative Party 1061 Not elected

Howard Martin Bairstow Conservative Party 1010 Not elected

Lorna Holmes Conservative Party 918 Not elected

Anthony Corbett Pick Conservative Party 879 Not elected

Mark Anthony Jones Conservative Party 817 Not elected

Andy Wallace Labour Party 306 Not elected

Peter Charles Tullett Labour Party 257 Not elected

2.05pm

The Lib Dems take five of the six available seats on Newbury Wash Common ward, with the Green Party taking the other.

After taking 14 seats, the Lib Dems have now regained control of Newbury Town Council.

Full results to follow.

1.45pm

The results are in for Newbury West Fields ward and the Lib Dems have taken all five seats.

Mary Martha Vickers Liberal Democrats 1268 Elected

Andy Moore Liberal Democrats 1263 Elected

Martin Eric Colston Liberal Democrats 1244 Elected

Elizabeth Rosemary O'Keeffe Liberal Democrats 1219 Elected

Nigel Peter Foot Liberal Democrats 1178 Elected

Richard Gordon Willis Conservative Party 620 Not elected

Edward John McDonald Amies Conservative Party 567 Not elected

Joseph Alvin Clarke Conservative Party 547 Not elected

Philip Charles Gilbart Witheridge Conservative Party 514 Not elected

Mark Andrew Wilson Conservative Party 488 Not elected

1.30pm

Green councillor Steve Masters tells us: "As a student of history Speenhamland was a very attractive area ward to stand in. It's a great privilege to represent it. I'm looking forward to it, we have got some fabulous green spaces in Newbury like Victoria Park and the allotments and part of the tenure of the town council is to maintain this for the public, and I look forward to being involved in that."

The results in full for Newbury Speenhamland are as follows:

Stephen Michael Masters Green Party 513 Elected

Jo Day Liberal Democrats 354 Elected

Jeanette Clifford Conservative Party 309 Not elected

Mauline Lucy Akins Conservative Party 274 Not elected

Bert Clough Labour Party 95 Not elected

Paul Pugh Labour Party 73 Not elected

1.23pm

The results for Newbury Speenhamland are in and its another historic moment as the Green Party gain their first ever seat on Newbury Town Council after Steve Masters is elected.

Lib Dem Jo Day has taken the other seat.

Its been an unbelievable 24 hours for Steve Masters after being elected to West Berkshire Council yesterday.

Conservative Jeanette Clifford has just lost her town council seat having also lost her district council seat yesterday.

1.21pm

The results for Burghfield Parish Council are in. 22 candidates battled it out for the 19 available seats.

Elected

Royce Longton, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Margaret Gallagher, Jane Ansell, Tim Ansell, Nick Morse, Ian Morrin, Ian MacFarlane, Bill Neilson, Alison May, Graham Harris, Tricia Hipwell, Libby Sharp, David Godwin, Daniel Kellaway, Maureen Cresser, Andrea Hales, Paul Lawrence, Christopher Greaves, Duncan Godding





191

Not elected

1.13pm

The Lib Dems take two of the three seats in Thatcham Crookham. Conservatives take the other.

John Boyd (Lib Dem, 471), Richard Foster (Lib Dem, 452) and Steve Ardagh Walter (Con, 489) are elected.

Julie Goode (Con, 389) and Paul Mather (Con, 425) miss out.

12.51pm

The Lib Dems have taken all five seats in Thatcham North East.

Lee Dillon (1046 votes), Mike Cole (1041), Jeremy Cottam (990), Christine Rice (930), and Lourdes Cottam (916) all elected.

Town council leader Jason Collis loses his seat along with former mayor Sheila Ellison.

Jason Collis (673), Simon Carr (Con) (652), Carla Denton-Powell (Con, 603), Sheila Ellison (Con) (594), Iain Murphy (Con) (487), Lou Coulson (Lab) (208)

12.35pm

Here are the results for Newbury Clay Hill in full:

Jeff Beck Conservative Party 594 Elected

Pam Lusby Taylor Liberal Democrats 579 Elected

Phil Barnett Liberal Democrats 574 Elected

Sue Farrant Liberal Democrats 533 Elected

Jeffrey Graham Cant Conservative Party 505 Elected

George Kenneth Charles Davis Liberal Democrats 496 Not elected

Margo Payne Conservative Party 492 Not elected

Sarah Elizabeth Lowes Liberal Democrats 484 Not elected

Anthony Vincent Stretton Conservative Party 459 Not elected

David Goff Conservative Party 423 Not elected

Gemma Elizabeth Lowe Labour Party 272 Not elected

12.32pm

The results are in for Newbury Clay Hill and the big news is Newbury mayor Margo Payne has lost her seat. So has the council's former Conservative leader Tony Stretton.

The Lib Dems took three of the five seats, with the Conservatives taking the other two.

12.09pm

Green councillor David Marsh, who was elected in Wash Common ward yesterday, said: "We have only got two candidates standing in each of the town councils, but I am pretty confident about Newbury if you look at what happened in Wash Common and Speen yesterday we ought to get those two seats."

Mr Marsh and Steve Masters, who won a seat in Speen yesterday, are both standing for Newbury Town Council. The party is fielding Paul Field in Thatcham Central and Jane Livermore in Thatcham West.

11.50am

The results for Inkpen Parish Council are in. A total of 13 candidates battled it out for seven seats.

Claire Jane Jones 212 Elected

Simon David Hanna 181 Elected

Bob May 177 Elected

Mark Christopher Bates 165 Elected

David Hamilton Thomas 163 Elected

Jennifer Lou Edwards 145 Elected

Moira Ghislaine Eileen Marriott 145 Elected

David Peter Lester 142 Not elected

Alex Popplewell 122 Not elected

Andrew Christopher Mario Zollo 118 Not elected

Vanessa Maria Philomena Tomlinson 115 Not elected

Anna Bidwell 107 Not elected

James William Ashley Jones 89 Not elected

11.33am

UKIP candidate for Thatcham West Gary Johnson says he was feeling confident last night of being elected to the town council.

Mr Johnson beat Green candidate Jane Livermore by one vote in yesterday's district council result. Both seats were taken by the Lib Dems.

Mr Johnson, a former Lib Dem mayor for the town, said: "It's a little bit difficult to know whether I will have the opportunity but I'm looking forward to the result anyway, and I hope that I will qualify to be a councillor for Thatcham West."

11.07am

Thatcham's deputy mayor Richard Crumly, who lost his seat on West Berkshire Council yesterday, said he was "disappointed that we weren't able to get our message across. The Brexit blues have served to undermine us on the doorstep along with the green bin, that's still floating around, and we tried to say 'this is not about Brexit or the chaos at Westminster', this is about local services and local people.

"We think we Tories have been doing a good job since 2005, please give us another four years, but in challenging times to rearrange local government finances."

11am

There's optimism in the Liberal Democrat camp. Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) tells us: "We had a very good day yesterday and we expect to take both the town councils today. That will give us the ability to employ some of our policies and show people how we can be ready to run West Berkshire Council in four years' time."

On the Lib Dem surge yesterday he said: "Clearly there's a national issue but we worked very hard locally and there was a sense among the population that it was time for a change."

10.13am

Counting is underway
The Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business Scene May 16 in New Milford and a seminar, How to Grow Your Business, May 21 at the Apple Store in Danbury.

The Business Scene, an informal networking opportunity, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cookhouse at 31 Danbury Road.
Cervical cancer is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of adequate screening such as routine Pap smear testing. These countries have high incidences of cervical cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Due to lack of resources for cancer screenings, these countries account for 85% of all cervical cancer cases.

A group of researchers from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, have introduced an inexpensive DNA-based testing protocol for HPV in Honduras. The team found that of 1,732 women screened, 28% were positive for a high-risk HPV type and of those, 26% had more than one HPV infection. Results also showed that the most common HPV genotypes detected during testing were different than those commonly found in the United States. Their findings, "Screening for Human Papillomavirus in a Low- and Middle-Income Country" are newly published in ASCO's Journal of Global Oncology.

"We have shown that cervical cancer screening can be implemented in low-resource settings using this method, and that women are very interested and engaged in testing and follow-up clinic visits when necessary," says Tsongalis. "This study also identified something we were not expecting and that is a very significant difference in the types of high-risk HPV that we were detecting."

Such findings could mean profound implications for vaccination programs. "The causes of cervical cancer, while viral in nature, are not always the same type of virus and that could impact aggressiveness of disease, vaccinations and therapies," says Tsongalis.

The team would like to use their findings to guide studies of actual cervical cancer tissue and also to formulate therapeutic vaccine trials. "Being able to screen individuals who have never been tested before and studying the impact of the testing on their healthcare as well as our understanding of the biology of the disease is most exciting," says Tsongalis.

Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, as well as Director of Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology and member of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Research Program at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. His research interests include development of advanced diagnostic technologies and disease biomarker discovery.
To model human health and disease, organ-on-a-chip technology mimics the human body's organ structure, functionality and physiology in a controlled environment. These miniature systems, which serve as accurate models of various organs from the heart and lungs to the gut and the kidneys, can use a patient's own cells to test drugs and understand disease processes to help determine the right treatment for the right patient.

For 10 years, Hyun Jung Kim, a biomedical engineering assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and assistant professor in the Department of Oncology in UT's Dell Medical School, has been developing organs-on-chips, specifically examining inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer. In 2018, Kim led the first study to determine how an intestinal disease develops using human organ-on-a-chip technology, confirming with his "gut inflammation-on-a-chip" system that intestinal barrier disruption is the upstream initiator of gut inflammation.

Now, thanks to a new $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Kim will apply his technology to better understand Crohn's disease -- an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe adnominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and malnutrition. He and his research team will develop their Crohn's disease-on-a-chip system to gain greater insight into what can cause and exacerbate the disease, with the goal of developing new treatments.

"I am humbled by the generosity of the Helmsley Charitable Trust," Kim said. "I am also excited by the opportunity to help find answers to the root cause of a disease where much more research is needed."

It is estimated that half of the 3 million Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease have Crohn's disease. While the cause of the disease is currently unknown, doctors and researchers believe that genetic, immune and environmental factors contribute to disease onset and progression.

"Crohn's disease is an extraordinarily complicated disease to figure out," said Declan Fleming, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at the Dell Medical School who will work with Kim on this project. "We believe this research can lead to a new tool to help us address the complexity of this disease. This could lead to improved treatments or possibly even to reverse the progression of Crohn's disease altogether."

Helmsley has made Crohn's disease one of the top priorities in their focus on developing programs that improve life in the U.S. and around the world. With the number of people around the world affected by Crohn's disease steadily rising, the organization sees an urgent need to prevent, diagnose early and reconcile the most effective and appropriate treatments for patients.

"There is a pressing need for more effective treatments for Crohn's disease, and Helmsley is committed to finding more personalized options for patients," said Garabet Yeretssian, director of Helmsley's Crohn's Disease Program. "This innovative 'gut-on-a-chip' technology has the potential to uncover triggers of Crohn's disease, which will lead to improved therapies and ultimately better health outcomes."

Source: https://www.engr.utexas.edu/news/archive/8801-gut-on-a-chip-research-aims-to-find-personalized-treatment-for-crohn-s-disease
American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

The i-HOPE Study, led by Luci Leykum, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., of UT Health San Antonio, sought to give patients, families and other stakeholders a voice in setting priorities for improving hospital care. Eight hospitalist researchers and their patient partners conducted the study, in which 499 patients, caregivers, health care providers and researchers stated their priority unanswered questions to improve hospital care. Respondents included 244 patients and caregivers. Forty-seven organizations partnered with the Society of Hospital Medicine to conduct the study.

Out of nearly 800 submitted questions, 11 were identified as top priorities. Topics included shared decision-making, patient-provider communication, care transitions, telemedicine and confusion about medications. "If answered, these questions could lead to significant improvements in hospitalization," Dr. Leykum said.

Two-way communication

The top-ranked question is, "What interventions ensure that patients share in decision making regarding their goals and plans of care?" Studies before i-HOPE showed that while physicians were skilled at providing health information, they were less skillful at seeking feedback from patients, assessing patients' level of understanding, or meaningfully incorporating patient preferences into treatment plans.

Communication between physician and patient is crucial throughout a patient's hospital stay, from discussing treatment options to making joint decisions to knowing who to call after discharge, the study authors wrote. "Relationships between patients, caregivers and providers are critical for effective solutions and represent an important area for improvement," Dr. Leykum said. "i-HOPE showed this."

Committed team of diverse voices

The study has limitations. For example, although patients, caregivers and patient and family advisory councils were included from across the country, they may not be representative of all patients because the i-HOPE group of investigators is already engaged in improving health care delivery.

The study also has strengths. Questions were identified and prioritized by "a diverse group of voices and perspectives that typically are not included when prioritizing hospital research and improvement efforts," the authors wrote. The innovative partnership between researchers, patients, caregivers and stakeholders ensures the relevance of the results.

Driving the national conversation

"We hope that patients and caregivers will use our results to advocate for research and improvement in areas that matter the most to them," the authors noted. They also hope the results will drive a national conversation about how best to address the priority areas. Details on how the study was conducted are available at i-HOPE Study. The Twitter handle is @iHOPEstudy. The 11 priority questions are listed here.

"We invite patients and caregivers to have their seat at the table," Dr. Leykum said.
Author Meredith Battle revives the layered history and traditions of the Blue Ridges forcibly displaced population in her recently published debut novel, Go Down the Mountain.

The 224-page book is believed to be the first fictionalized version based on the true story of the people whose land was taken by the state and federal governments in the 1930s to make way for Shenandoah National Park, formed from eight counties, including Greene, Madison and Rappahannock.

I thought the most exciting part about writing this novel would be getting to hold the book in my hand, but it was actually hearing from descendants of the displaced, said the 46-year-old writer, who lives in Loudoun County. I have received so many messages thanking me for writing this story and photos of their family members from back in the 1930s before they left the park. It has been very moving.

Though fictional, Go Down the Mountain is very much rooted in documented truth. It is set in mythical Lovingston Hollow, inspired by the real-life Corbin Hollow of Madison County. The books main character is a nervy mountain teen named Bee, whose father suddenly dies in a snake-charming accident, leaving her to live with an abusive mother.

In the books first chapter, A Deal that Would Make the Devil Flinch, they get a visit from a government agent intending to take their land.

A state man called Rowler was the cause of it. He came by our place and said the state had given our land to Uncle Sam for a park. We were to be out in five months or be considered at odds with the law. Mama told him wed sell. Our land was worth fifteen dollars an acre, she said. She made a big speech about how we wouldnt take any less for it.

While she talked, Rowler looked me up and down and licked his lips like I was a slice of scrapple fresh from the frying pan. He was the kind of husky white man who had a layer of pasty fat on him from sitting on his ass in a desk chair, his cheeks flushed pink from sneaking sips of whiskey. His brown mustache twitched even when he wasnt talking, until I thought it might jump off his face and scurry into a hole in the floorboards.

He told Mama we wouldnt get squat since Daddys people never filed papers with the county courthouse. I figured as much. Daddy always said the Livingstons didnt need papers when a handshake and a mans word would do. Seems like we didnt need a deed when the whole goddamned Hollow was named for us, Battle writes.

As a girl growing up in Fairfax, the author regularly visited Shenandoah NP and the mountains, calling it her happy place. Battle said she never once learned in school about the thousands of people who were displaced from its storied hollows or the hard path ahead they faced. As an adult, she came across stone walls and a bit of a chimney in her Shenandoah hikes.

I was just shocked. I had no idea people had lived there. When I started to look into the story, I just couldnt let it go, Battle said.

The more she learned, the more she had to know. The author started digging into the history while living in California two years ago, when her husband was stationed there with the military. The research helped her feel closer to home and it was eye-opening, she said.

The more I researched, the more I found these people could have been my people, Battle said, mentioning her own father grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama. They look like my dads family, they lived like his family, I felt like I knew them and understood their stories.

Digging deeper, the author was shocked at the notion of how the government took their land or purchased it for meager Depression-era prices. Some of the poorest hollow folks, Battle recounted, were taken to an asylum, and in some cases, medically sterilized without their consent, based in part on filmmaker Richard Knox Robinsons first-person interviews.

The Charlottesville area filmmaker said in an email nearly a dozen Corbins were taken after they were moved from the Park (and later forcibly sterilized) to Amherst County, outside of Lynchburg, to a place known as The Colony or Central Virginia Training Center.

More than his interviews, Robinson said, it was court documents unearthed in the Madison County Courthouse that revealed the institutionalization of the Corbins.

"Aside from my interview of Mary Francis Corbin who was born in the Park, this was largely unknown even by former residents of the Park," the filmmaker stated. "The commitments and sterilizations have been confirmed by recently released documents at the Virginia Library and the 1940 US Census."

The sociologists and journalists who arrived to see the mountain people for themselves seemed singularly focused on the dirt-poor residents of Corbin Hollow, writes Battle in her afterword.

In their book, Hollow Folk, sociologist Mandel Sherman and journalist Thomas Henry referred to unlettered folk, living in mud-plastered log cabins. They described them as almost entirely cut off from the current of American life.

A letter from a visiting social worker was equally ill-informed, describing hollow folk as steeped in ignorance and possessed of little or no ambition, little sense of citizenship, little comprehension of law, or respect for law, these people present a problem that demands and challenges the attention of thinking men and women.

The misrepresentations helped the government market the proposed assimilation of these people into modern society as a humanitarian effort, Battle writes.

Rejecting this mischaracterization, the author got to know the real mountain people in her research, including listening to hours and hours of recorded interviews done in the 1970s through James Madison University. They talked about things like hog killing day and picking apples and all their traditions and way of life, Battle said.

These people were intelligent, successful business peoplesome had large orchards earning thousands of dollars. They were tenacious people, beautiful storytellers with such a strong culture and families, she said. With this book, I hope I have been able to reclaim some of that for all of those who lost their homes.

About 500 familiesmore than 2,000 peoplewere removed by the state of Virginia from counties spanning the future national park over a period of 10 years. In 2013, the Blue Ridge Heritage Project formed with a mission of establishing stone chimney monument sites in each of the counties where people were displaced. To date, seven have been established, including the first in Madison County in 2015. A committee is now being formed in Augusta County complete the last monument, according to Project Founder Bill Henry.

At the time the Shenandoah National Park was proposed in the 1920s, more than 3,000 people lived in this part of the Blue Ridge. The mountains were alive with small communitieshouses, farms, churches, schools dotted the landscape. Some of the families had resided in these mountains for over a hundred years, according to Blue Ridge Heritage Project.

In addition to establishing chimney monuments, the Project aims to preserve the history and culture of the people of the Blue Ridge, Henry wrote in an email to the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

"We are beginning to organize and sponsor events that help the public learn the human history of SNP. Our Mountain Homecomings - annual pot luck lunches open to anyone - feature traditional music and displays of storyboards of family histories and photographs,: he stated. "Our monument sites, when completed, will have interpretive displays telling visitors unfamiliar with the formation of the Park how the land was acquired and will help give context to the chimney and the names."

In addition, a Mountain Heritage Book Discussion Group formed in Rockingham County focused on books related to the people who once lived in the Blue Ridge, an idea Henry said he hoped would spread to communities around the park. He punctuated the importance of preserving the stories of the mountain folk.

"If this story does not continue to be told it will very soon die out as those who learned it from their parents and grandparents pass on," Henry said. "The rich culture of the mountain people could quickly be lost as younger generations lose interest in the stories."

Knowing the backstory of Shenandoah National Park, he added, will give visitors from around the world a deeper understanding and appreciation of the park and its past, as well as providing some context for the artifacts, foundations, cemeteries, etc. that hikers find while walking the park trails.

Released Tuesday through publisher Mascot Books, Go Down the Mountain is also available at Amazon.com.
Thumbs up to Bryan Baine, who announced hed be opening a third location of the popular Baines Books and Coffee in the Second Stage building in the town of Amherst. It will be his third shop  the original location is in the town of Appomattox and the second is in Scottsville in southern Albemarle County.

Second Stage is a nonprofit arts and community center that operates out of the old Amherst Baptist Church facility on Second Street. It hosts numerous events throughout the year, rents studio space to artists and small businesses. Theres also a farmers market every Thursday from May through October.

Baine told our sister newspaper, the New Era-Progress in Amherst, that he had been scouting locations in the town for several years. The Second Stage location was just perfect for what he wants to do with the business.

The shop, obviously, will sell coffee along with a wide selection of books, but there will also be bagels, baked goods and sandwiches on the menu, too. It will be a smaller version of what we do in Appomattox, Baine said. The Appomattox location opened 15 years ago, while theyve been in Scottsville for seven years.

Congratulations to one and all.

* * *

Thumbs up to the folks in Nelson County who have successfully launched the countys second craft beverage trail for locals and tourists alike.

Nelson 29 Craft Beverage Trail is modeled on a similar trail on Virginia 151 in the western half of the county in the Rockfish Valley. Known as Nelson 151, it includes six wineries, threw breweries and two cideries. Its been up and running for about 10 years, growing in popularity and recognition throughout the state.

Nelson 29 traverses about 20 miles from Blue Mountain Barrel House in Arrington all the way up U.S. 29 to DelFosse Vineyards and Winery in Faber. In between are Lovingston Winery, Virginia Distillery Co., Brent Manor Vineyards and Wood Ridge Farm Brewery.

Sarah Craun, an employee at the Virginia Distillery Co., broached the idea to Maureen Kelley, the director of the Nelson County Tourism and Economic Development Office, and the two ran with the idea from there.

On Sept. 7, Nelson 29 will hold a festival to officially introduce itself to the community and celebrate the launch of the countys second craft beverage trail. Mark your calendars now!
(Newser)  David Green was out of sick days when he learned just how much his colleagues cared, CNN reports. The Alabama history teacher's daughter, Kinsley, is receiving cancer treatments 100 miles away from their Huntsville homebut he had no more sick days to visit her. So his wife went on Facebook and asked if other teachers would donate one day each. All the Greens needed were 40; little did they know. "I could not imagine having a child and being away from the child," says Wilma DeYampert, an elementary-school assistant principal who has breast cancer. "So, I just thought it was the right thing to do. My mom always said, 'You don't have to be rich to bless someone.'" DeYampert is undergoing chemo herself but still gave two sick days, per WHNT.

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Before the Greens knew it, they had 100 extra days. "We were blown away with the response that we received with the sick days." says Kinsley's mother, Megan Green. "It is a huge blessing and we can't wait until we are in the position to give back and help others." The story highlights American teachers' low pay, which keeps them from dealing with emergencies, and lack of paid leaveusually just one sick day a month. It's also about a 16-month-old daughter's lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis, which entails months of inpatient treatment and two more years of treatment after that. The Greens have started a GoFundMe page to pay for medical costs and other needs, per People. (Another teacher posted her salary. Then came the Amazon boxes.)
(Newser)  An early weekend surprise emerged out of North Korea on Saturday: the launch of a "barrage" of short-range "projectiles," which flew for up to 125 miles before landing in the East Sea, per the Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the "multiple rounds" originated in the eastern coastal town of Wonsan between 9:06am and 9:27am local time. Fox News notes that South Korea initially said the North fired short-range "missiles," but then changed that simply to "projectiles." If confirmed they were missiles, it would be the first such launch out of North Korea since November 2017, though ABC News notes that was a long-range Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. "Korea and the United States are working closely together to maintain their ready preparedness," the JCS said in its statement.

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The White House weighed in as well. "We are aware of North Korea's actions ... [and] will continue to monitor as necessary," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. The AP notes that the launch is "a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington." The fact that the projectiles fired were short-range ones has kept concern somewhat tamped down. "I don't think we should get too excited about a short-range test unless someone can tell us that it was a long-range test that failed," ex-State Department official Stephen Ganyard tells ABC. "A short-range test is Kim demanding attention, not making a statement." (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  A Washington state man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and charged with making interstate threats, including against President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Seattle Times and Washington Post report that 27-year-old Chase Bliss Colasurdo of Kent was detained six weeks after federal agents were first alerted on March 16 to threatening posts he apparently made online. On Feb. 27, a pic on Instagram from Colasurdo's account appeared to show him holding a handgun, along with the caption, "I made a death threat against [J.K] yesterday and have not been arrested yet." That threat he seemed to have been citing was found in a cyberstalking investigation of his Gmail by the Los Angeles Police Department, turning up a Feb. 26 email that read: "I'm going to personally execute [White House Senior Advisor JK] for his countless treasonous crimes."

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That email was sent to five different media outlets. Another online post, on March 4, took aim at Donald Trump Jr., noting, "I would like to let the secret service know that I am going to Execute this [expletive]." His social media also contained anti-Semitic posts. Someone from the public contacted authorities after seeing one or more of the threats, and for six weeks the FBI says it kept tabs on Colasurdo. An affidavit notes that during that time, he started accumulating ammo, bulletproof attire, and a concealable gun holster; he also tried to get his hands on a semiautomatic pistol but was rejected because he'd been flagged in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. "When [federal agents] became aware of his attempts to purchase firearms, they quickly moved to arrest him," a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle said. If convicted, Colasurdo could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  At least four people were sent to the hospital after what police are calling a "catastrophic" explosion at a factory in Waukegan, Ill. CNN reports the blast at AB Specialty Silicones, which authorities say happened around 9:30pm local time, also left others unaccounted for. Waukegan's fire marshal, Steven Lenzi, says at least three people are missing, with rescuers sifting through the rubble at the Lake County factory to see if they can find other victims, per NBC News. It's been reported those who were hurt suffered moderate to serious injuries.

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The Lake County Sheriff, which initially received reports of "a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area," asked locals to stay away from the scene while firefighters, cops, and paramedics tended to it. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all involved in this horrific incident," Lenzi said in a statement. "Our personnel worked tirelessly through the night to control this scene with help from many neighboring agencies. This was a very large-scale team effort." After assessing the scene, authorities say they don't believe locals need to worry about air quality issues. (Read more explosion stories.)
(Newser)  Florida police were surprised to find a couple having sex on the sidewalk outside the station Monday night, the Smoking Gun reports. "I'm horny," alleged copulator Gary Hill told an officer when confronted outside the Key West Police Station, per a police report. "She was giving it up to me right then and there." His pants still down, Hill described it as "a Key West moment." The 46-year-old was charged with indecent exposure and held on $7,500 bond, while companion Crystal Frances was taken to a hospital for over-intoxication. She was also angry and unwilling to comply with police, NBC Miami reports. Seems the pair downed a pint of vodka before following nature's call. (Read more police stories.)
(Newser)  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with a white nationalist rally in Virginia and political rallies in California, the AP reports. Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot. Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques. Two other members of the groupCole White and Thomas Gilleneach previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

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All four men admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. Prosecutors said photos and video footage showed the men attacking counterprotesters in Charlottesville and also participating in violence at political rallies the same year in Huntington Beach and Berkeley, Calif. Each man faces up to five years in prison on the charge, but defendants often get less than the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.

(Read more white supremacist stories.)
(Newser)  Angry pilots have prompted the US Navy to draft new guidelines about UFO sightingsbut it seems that information will be kept from the public, Newsweek reports. "There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air spaces in recent years," says the Navy in a statement, per Politico. "The Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities." Until now, an official says, possible UFO sightings were "treated as anomalies to be ignored." But in the future pilots will have a formal procedure for documenting unexplained encounters, per the Washington Post.

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Intrusions have been spotted several times per month since 2014, with pilots describing spherical or Tic Tac-shaped objects that move quickly and have no exhaust, wind, or air intake. For example, a 2017 New York Times article included Navy video of unknown objects that reportedly appeared at 80,000 feet, plunged to 20,000 feet, hovered, then either vanished from radar range or flew back up. "At a certain point there ended up being multiple objects that we were tracking," said a petty officer stationed on the nearby USS Princeton, per Slate. "That was towards the end of the encounter and they all generally zoomed around at ridiculous speeds, and angles, and trajectories and then eventually they all bugged out faster than our radars." (Pilots spotted UFOs over Ireland.)
(Newser)  They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol. Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation, the AP reports. This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversightand Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do sois testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding an unredacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge. Nancy Pelosi noted this week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Nixon. Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt. They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jailing people on Capitol Hill, but the House and Senate say stories of jail facilities existing on the Hill are innacurate.

(Read more Capitol Hill stories.)
(Newser)  A helicopter plunged into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and triggered a desperate search for survivors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Per eyewitnesses and officials, the two-seater hovered over a nearby farm before turning toward the bay and crashing about 3/4 of a mile out. The Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived at roughly 12:30pm at Bloody Point, known as the "The Hole," the bay's deepest area at 174 feet. The Coast Guard has sent out search boats from its Annapolis station, per CNN, while WBAL-TV notes that fire officials are joining Queen Anne County authorities with a dive team and boats. Two people were said to be on board. (Read more helicopter crash stories.)
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New Delhi:

A 32-year-old man and his 33-year-old childhood sweetheart were arrested for allegedly killing the formers wife and trying to project it as a suicide in southwest Delhis Kishangarh, the police said. The accused, Rahul Kumar Mishra is a mechanical engineer and Padma Tiwari, who works at an MNC in Gurugran, were arrested on Wednesday, they said. On March 16, the Kishangarh police station was informed by Fortis Hospital that one Pooja Rai was brought to the hospital by her husband and she was declared dead there, police said.

Since Pooja died within seven years of marriage, the Mehrauli executive magistrate was informed an enquiry was initiated. Her autopsy was conducted at the Safdurjung Hospital and the reports showed that her death was homicidal. Pooja was found to be strangulated and had injury marks on her occipital bone. Her fathers statement was recorded and a probe initiated to ascertain the cause of death. Her husband, other family members and his friend Padma, who was said to have visited Rai on the day of her death, were kept on technical surveillance, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

On Wednesday, the accused were interrogated and confronted with the discrepancies in their statements. During inquiry, it was revealed that the childhood lovers had hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Pooja in order to re-unite, he added. The accused told the police that they were schoolmates in Padma and Rahul had studied together in Jharkhands Sindri Dhanbad and were in a relationship but eventually lost touch.

They reunited in 2015 and wanted to get married, however, their parents opposed the relationship citing different castes. Rahuls marriage was fixed to Pooja, who also belonged to Sindri, Jharkhand, in January 2017. Rahul told Pooja about their relationship with the hope that she would refuse to get married to him but she didnt and they got married in April that year.

Meanwhile, Rahul and Padma continued their relationship. Eight months ago, Rahul asked Pooja to take Padmas help in securing a job. Pooja allegedly taunted Padma over her relationship with Rahul. They then hatched a plan to kill Pooja, the officer said.

On the day of the killing, Padma went to meet Pooja at her house in Kishangarh as per plan. They had breakfast together, but Padma had to wait to execute the plan as the domestic help was still present there, he said.

Later, Padma overpowered Pooja and hit her head on the ground several times and smothered her. Then, she kept a letter close to the body to mislead the police. In the evening, she told Rahul on phone that she had murdered Pooja, the police said.

In the four-page fake suicide note, Padma mentioned that a man had committed suicide because of Pooja, which is why she was committing suicide. "The fake suicide note written by Padma spoke about how Pooja had 'cheated' a man, which led to him committing suicide. The note mentioned how this has affected her badly and prompted her to take the extreme step, the police said. The accused wanted to make it seem like Pooja had committed suicide out of guilt and wanted to defame her.

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New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted something that most people have been missing so far  the difference in the approach of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its Uttar Pradesh ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Congress. Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh, the prime minister said that while the Samajwadi Party uses soft approach when it comes to the Congress, the BSP takes on the Grand Old Party in a more blistering way.

Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in their rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend, Modi said during the rally.

While both the Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party and Maywatis BSP are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance, their approach against the Congress, who could not be part of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance despite several efforts, has been a little different and it was quite evident.

During their joint rallies, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav centres his attack around the BJP and PM Modi, the BSP chief equally takes on the Congress as well as the BJP. Mayawati has even threatened the Congress of pulling out her partys support from its government in Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks of the prime minister are also significant in view of recent statement from some of the BJP leaders praising Mayawati. BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy had recently said that in case the BJP-led NDA fails to get full majority, Mayawati could become the prime minister and wont support the Congress.

Mayawati has been in alliance with the BJP in 1995, 1997 and 2002. And experts believe that there are chances that the BSP, despite their anti-BJP alliance with the SP and the RLD, could again go with the saffron party.

During his rally, the prime minister also said that the Congress party, which was staking claim to the PM post before the first round of polling has now become a Vote Katua (vote cutter) party.

He was referring to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis remark that the Congress has carefully chosen its candidates to eat up the votes on the BJP where the party thinks its chances of winning are bleak.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during an election roadshow in Moti Nagar area on Saturday. The attacker, identified as Suresh who is a resident of Delhi's Kailash Park, has been arrested. He being interrogated at a police station. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when the man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

The AAP quickly condemned the incident, calling it the aOpposition-sponsored attacka.

aAnother negligence in the security of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi,a AAP tweeted.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi. a AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

Kejriwal has frequently been the target of attacks ever since he entered public life. In February,A the Delhi government claimed that Kejriwalas vehicle was attacked by BJP workers in the presence of police personnel in Narela. Kejriwal had gone to Narela to attend an event when BJP workers gathered in front of his vehicle and held a protest.

In April 2016, a man, who identified himself as a member of a breakaway faction of the Aam Aadmi Party threw a shoe at Kejriwal while he was addressing a press conference inside the Secretariat.A The man shouted something about a sting operation on a CNG scam before he hurled the shoe which fell on the table in front of Kejriwal. The attacker was whisked away by Secretariat officials before being detained by police.A

In November 2013, while the AAP was holding a press conference in Delhi, Nachiketa Vaghrekar, who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, attacked Kejriwal with black ink.



In March 2014, a similar attack took place in March 2014, when Kejriwal was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi, some unidentified people threw ink at him. The agitated people even threw eggs at the open vehicle in which Kejriwal was travelling.

In the same year, Kejriwal was heckled and attacked physically. He was attacked during his roadshow in south Delhias Dakshinpuri area. While Kejriwal was shaking hands with his supporters, a person punched him on his back and even tried to slap him.



In April 2014, four days after Dakshinpuri incident, Kejriwal was slapped by an auto driver, Lali, during his roadshow in Sultanpuri area of Delhi.




New Delhi:

Congress leader Sam Pitroda on party president Rahul Gandhis citizenship issue said how can someone sit in parliament for 15 years if he is not an Indian citizen. He has been member of parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate intelligence of Indian people, news agency ANI quoted Pitroda as saying.



Chief of Indian Overseas Congress Pitroda said the Congress party is winning the elections. Based on our assessment we believe we are winning. We are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi Govt did not deliver, he said.



Reacting to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati speech where they slammed Congress, Pitroda said that there is nothing to worry about. I dont think there anything to worry, they will all come together at the right time, I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal, they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace, he said.



Pitroda had earlier Rahul Gandhi has experienced the trauma of terrorism and those questioning him in the matter should feel ashamed. The remarks come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders had often attacked the Congress president on the issue of terrorism and national security in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.

In an interview to PTI, Pitroda had said Rahul Gandhi lost his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) and father (Rajiv Gandhi) to terrorism and that the leader understands the trauma and suffering associated with it. He said those doubting Rahul Gandhi's nationalism should be ashamed of themselves.

Seven-phase elections, which began on April 11, will end on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.
New Delhi:

Ahead of the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Polls on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh and Basti and at Valmikinagar in Bihar today. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today. Today is the last day for campaigning before the fifth phase of polling.

Here are the latest updates:

21:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our policy is clear, if Pakistan hurls bricks, we will throw mortar: BJP chief Amit Shah at Delhi rally

21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

#WATCH Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Akhilesh Yadav in Gonda says, "Mukhyamantri ji ne (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chillam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chillam wale" pic.twitter.com/4rVeAwAWxU

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul baba says, Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap Sedition Law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail?: Amit Shah

17:38 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

CM Yogi Adityanath: 2017 mein Uttar Pradesh ke iss mahan janata ne pradesh ke do ladko ke jodi ko khariz kiya tha. Kaha tha ki do ladko ki jodi nahi hoti, jodi toh bailo ki hoti hai. pic.twitter.com/sAZvHr84OD

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



17:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person: P Chidambaram

17:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie & only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?: P Chidambaram

16:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work & provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji & his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs: PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar.

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been 5 years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye: PM Modi in Bihar's Ramnagar

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In During Atal Ji's tenure three states were formed. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh&Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. These three states were separated cordially: PM Modi in Ramnagar

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji and BJP is winning here in this elections. Opposition will stop making any claims after the result, BJP will form govt with massive majority: Amit Shah

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In For the first time Amethi is feeling that development is possible here as well. Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came: Amit Shah in Amethi.

14:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda on Congress's claim '6 surgical strikes were carried out during UPA tenure: Call it surgical strikes, call it cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of exact dates & areas that have been brought out.

14:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our work culture is to decide a goal and work towards fulfilling that. The working culture of the "Mahamalivati aacoalition" and NDA is quite different from each other. We want to take the government out of Delhi, while the Mahamalivatis are desperate to come to Delhi in the greed of the power: PM Modi

14:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chandigarh Nodal Officer has issued show-cause notice to BJP's Kirron Kher, stating'you have shared video on Twitter account which shows children being used for campaign through slogans 'Vote for Kirron Kher'&'Abki baar Modi sarkar.' Admin has demanded reply within 24 hrs.

14:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In I want to thank you for supporting us in 2014 and now we want your blessings for the next 5 years, says PM Modi in Basti.

12:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Narendra Modi in Pratapgarh: Na main gira aur na meri ummeedon ke minar gire, par kuch log mujhe girane mein kayi baar gire. (neither i fall, nor the minrates of my hopes but some people fell in their attempt to fall me.)

12:54 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Modi accuses Rahul Gandhi of favouring his former business partner in getting defence offshore contracts.

"Today I read that during UPA one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

12:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

12:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

PM in Pratapgarh: Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter.



12:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

10:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In As per our internal assessment, BJP losing in LS polls: Rahul Gandhi.

10:14 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army.



10:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, says Rahul Gandhi in press meet.

07:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi adityanath will address several rallies in the state.

07:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sunny Deol to hold roadshows in Allahabad, Rae Bareli and Phulpur.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP president expected to participate in a roadshow in Amethi to garner support for Smriti Irani.

07:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today.
New Delhi:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday cornered Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a media report claiming that the latters former business partner got defence offset contracts under the UPA regime.

Addressing a press conference, Jaitley alleged that Rahul and his sister Priyanka were directors in the UK firm Backops Private Limited, which associated with Congress chiefs former business partner Ulrik Mcknight and received defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Jaitley said Ulrik Mcknight, at Backops Ltd in the UK, had got offset defence contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011 during the UPA rule.

"It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge," said Jaitley, referring to Rahul Gandhi.

Jaitley's reference was to a Business Today report on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

Ulrik Mcknight was 35 per cent co-owner of Backops UK, in which Rahul Gandhi owned a majority 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

"On May 28, 2002, a company is formed in India named Backops Private Limited. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka become companys director. In 2003, a company with the same name is formed in Britain. Rahul, along with a US citizen, become companys directors," he said.

"This company, Backops Pvt Ltd, doesnt have any manufacturing unit. This is kind of a liasoning firm. This means we will get your work done and will charge you for it," the Finance Minister added.

Jaitley further alleged that Rahul "became part of a corporate group which had no business except pushing transactions."

"Now Rahul Gandhi is going to be judged by the standards and level of proof he's laid down," he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah too cited the media report to launch a scathing attack on Rahul and Congress.

"With Rahul Gandhis Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," he tweeted.

On the other hand, Rahul, refuting the charges, said that he was ready for any kind of investigation. "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale," he said.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's had allaeged links with the Scorpene deal and stated reports that mentioned how Gandhi's former business partner benefited from the deal. The PM was addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. PM Modi was referring to a report which stated that the co-promoter of UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets during the UPA regime. According to filings made by the Backops UK, Rahul Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. Ulrik McKnight was the 35% owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. McKnight was later director in a company ythat acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

Rahul Gandhi has also been associated with a company with similar name Backops Services Private Limited where his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as a co-director.

On April 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. "Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read. The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, it a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had 65% stake while McKnight had 35%.

In 2004, in his election affidavit, Gandhi had declared moveable assets belonging to Backops UK. The company was subsequently dissolved in February 2009 along with the Indian entity Backops Services Private Limited.
Dehradun:

Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence. In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said. An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man during his roadshow in Delhis Moti Nagar area. Ever since he entered politics, this Aam Aadmi Party chief has been a target of public attacks. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

Kejriwal, who now has a Z-plus security, has been attacked several times since 2013. Here is a look at the previous incidents:

February 2019: Kejriwals car was allegedly attacked by a mob armed with sticks in Delhis Narela. A group of about 100 men tried to stop Kejriwal's car and attacked it with sticks. The incident occurred when Kejriwal had gone to the outer Delhi locality to inaugurate development works in 25 unauthorised colonies.

November 2018: A man flung chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. The accused was targeting the bespectacled chief ministers eyes, according to police. After throwing red chilli powder on the Delhi CM, the accused threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail.

April 2016: An Aam Aadmi Sena member hurled a shoe at Kejriwal while he was announcing details of the second phase of the odd and even road rationing scheme.

Barely a minute after the CM began reading details, man identified as Ved Prakash shouted that an odd even scam was being done by giving away CNG stickers through illegitimate means, following which he hurled a show towards Kejriwal but failed to hit him.

March 2016: A mob pelted Kejriwals vehicle with stones and broke its widnscreen at Punjabs Hassanour village. Kejriwal escaped without injury though the shattered glass fell on him.

January 2016: In first attack on him since he became the chief minister of Delhi, Kejriwal was attacked by a woman who threw ink on him alleging a CNG scam in the national capital.

April 2014: During his roadshow in Delhis Sultanpuri area, Kejriwal was attacked by an auto rickshaw driver who slapped him twice after garlanding him.

Delhi Assembly elections 2014: Holding a roadshow in Delhis Dakshinpuri area, Kejriwal was punched on his back by a man while the former was shaking hands with his supporters.

March 2014: Some people threw ink at Kejriwal and even threw eggs at his open vehicle when he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi.

November 2013: A man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare, threw ink at Kejriwal when he was holding a press conference in Delhi.
New Delhi:

Game of Thrones fans is yet to recover from the shock of the last episode, the one which fans loved for its unexpected turn of events and hated for its gloomy scenes that were hard to decipher.

As the rest of the world prepares to witness some mind-numbing war strategies, plotting and unmasking, end moment revelation of characters in the final game of earning the Iron throne, creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss spilt some beans on the HBO's popular fantasy drama's future episodes.

The duo recently made an appearance on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and answered three most pertinent questions that gives birth to fan theories and unending debates about the state of the final season.

Without digressing, here are the three questions asked and their answers .

Will someone take the Iron Throne? Answer: "Possibly."

Did Bran know that Arya was going to kill the Night King? Answer: "Possibly."

Have we seen the last of the White Walkers? Answer: "Yeah, we're not going to answer that."

Meanwhile, Vladimir Furdik, the man behind the mysterious and terrifying character of Night King, who was killed by Arya, has spoken out for the first time about his death.

"It was a very emotional day and night," Furdik told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was so strong. I spent all my energy playing it, and (Williams) as well. It was not an easy day. It was cold. There was rain. She was on a wire, in a harness, jumping many times. It wasn't just the one time; it was maybe 15 times. When I have to hold her under the jaw and it looks like she dies, we had to spend a lot of energy on that particular scene. It was very, very difficult. We are very good friends. We know each other. It wasn't easy for me to (pretend to) hurt her. When I grabbed her under the jaw, it wasn't easy (on a practical level). If you make a bad move -- if you don't grab her well -- she could have an injury. So I was under pressure and she was under pressure. It was not an easy day."

Jason Momoa aka Khal Drogo also made a brief playful appearance on Kimmel as he announced that he doesnt care that his character was killed off in GoT anymore as he is Aquaman now.

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New Delhi:

After much speculation about who will play the female lead in Irrfan Khan starrer Angrezi Medium, it was confirmed that Kareena Kapoor has been finalised for the project. The actress will reportedly start the shooting from May 15 and then fly to London in June where a major part of the film will be shot.

Mumbai Mirror quoted a source saying, ''Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative.''

On Kareena Kapoor joining the cast of Angrezi Medium, film's producer Dinesh Vijan had said in a statement, "Kareena is a great addition to our franchise. Angrezi Medium is a very special film and I'm excited that she's going to be a part of it. We wanted to introduce this character who would be taken forward in the franchises to come and she's perfect for it," reported news agency IANS.

Kareena and Irrfan are coming together for the first time in Angrezi Medium. However, Kareena will not be romantically paired opposite Irrfan. The film, directed by Homi Adajania, went on floors recently and also stars Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal, among others. Irrfan plays Champak from Udaipur who is in the mithai business for 'Angrezi Medium'. Radhika Madan will play the role of Irrfan's daughter who wants to go to abroad for studying. Kareena will be seen playing the role of a cop in Angrezi Medium.



Soon after Angrezi Medium, Kareena will begin shooting for Karan Johars Takht.

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New Delhi:

Asaram Bapu was much in news after he was convicted for rape in April 2018. A year after his conviction, the author of a book investigating the case announced a movie adaptation of it.

Ushinor Majumdar has penned "God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu" -- which will be cinematically adapted by filmmaker Sunil Bohra for his latest biopic on the disgraced godman and the women who took him down reported IANS.

"We've seen a lot on the godman both in print and television. This is the first book of its kind reporting on every aspect of the criminal empire of a bogus godman.

"I hope that the world now gets to see the story of three courageous women who fought for justice -- the gutsy survivor who was a minor when she took on the larger-than-life godman, and two efficient women police officers who exposed father and son for what they are," Majumdar said in a statement released by the book's publisher Penguin India.

The film will be made by the producer of "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Tanu Weds Manu" will not tell the story of his rise to stradom and becoming a popular 'godman' but and will focus on people who played significant roles in the fight for justice against the self-styled godman and facts as relayed in the book.

The book introduces Asaram Bapu as someone who presided over a politically influential empire built on blind faith for decades.

"Along with his son and heir, Narayan Sai, he has now become an example of everything that is wrong with self-styled godmen and the cults they spawn.

"The two stand accused of sexual assaults on vulnerable devotees, land grabbing, money laundering, intimidation, exploitative black magic rituals and the horrific murder of witnesses who testified against them," it says.

The publisher, while maintaining that the book is a stellar example of investigative journalism, looked forward to its movie adaptation.





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New Delhi:

Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark of Game of Thrones fame surprised all her fans with her private wedding at a Las Vegas Chapel without any lavish ceremony, elaborate wedding list and official announcement. Heads turned not because the 23-year-old actress married secretly but how low profile it was considering the extravagance of her sister and brother-in-laws, Priyanka and Nick Jonas wedding in December last year.

Well, with every passing minute, more and more information about the close-knit ceremony is coming to light. According to a report in E Online, the newly married couple like any other regular couple opted for $675 package deal. The wedding package includes 36 digital photos, a bouquet, boutonniere, complete footage of the ceremony and a limo service before 10 p.m.

What looks like a last minute decision, was actually planned much ahead, as a source close to the couple spilt beans To People magazine that they had planned for a Europe wedding but had to be officiated in the States first.

Sophie ditched the traditional white wedding gown for a silk white Bevza jumpsuit for the ceremony. Now with deets pouring in, its being said that the jumpsuit along with the Loeffler Randall mules cost $650 and $395 respectively. So if you tally it all then her outfit costed more than the entire wedding combine. Groom Joe Jonas, on the other hand, stuck to a sober light grey suit.

According to People, the two after the wedding returned to Los Angeles in a private jet and spent a honeymoon night at the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood.

As their fans wait for an official announcement, photos and wedding footage, it would take some time to sink in that at the times of lavish wedding a high profile couple whose love story was always on the limelight choose to be a part of such an intimate, pocket-friendly affair.

However, according to sources, the newly married couple that got engaged back in 2017 with a whopping $30,000 engagement ring will host a lavish ceremony in Paris later this summer.

On work front, the Jonas Brothers  Happiness Begins has been set for a June 7 release while Sophie is gearing for the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on the same date after from the finaal episode of Game of Thrones that airs on May 19.

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New Delhi:

A BJP worker, identified as Gul Mohammed Mir, was on Saturday shot dead by terrorists in Verinag area of South Kashmir's Nowgam village. The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and a search operations is underway to locate the terrorists.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

This comes two days after a former BJP worker was shot at and injured by unidentified gunmen in Tral area of south kashmirs Pulwama district. The injured was identified as 40-year-old Abdul Rashid Bhat alias Madan Lal, son of Ghulam Ahmad of Kuchmulla village in Tral.

On April 9, two days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected militants killed a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader and his personal security officer (PSO) inside a hospital in the Chenab Valleys Kishtwar district.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version.

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New Delhi:

After killing at least 16 people in Odisha on Friday and leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, the "rarest of rare" summer cyclone Fani on Saturday claimed another 14 lives while leaving 63 others injured in Bangladesh.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing on Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas.

The storm unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal.

Around 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and one lakh officials, were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, spoke to Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of Fani's landfall, is likely to visit the affected areas either on Sunday or Monday, CMO sources said.

The prime minister has assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.

The districts of Puri and Khurda were the worst-affected, the chief minister said, adding that Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh were also hit by the cyclone.

West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as Fani weakened on Saturday morning before moving towards Bangladesh. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed.

With the cyclonic storm moving away, flight operations resumed at Kolkata and Bhubaneswar Airport on Saturday. On Friday, the equipment and infrastructure at the Bhubaneswar airport was considerably damaged due to the cyclone 'Fani'.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. According to the Meteorological department, the extremely severe cyclonic storm relatively weakened after entering coastal Odisha and transformed into avery severea as it approached Bengal.A The cyclone has weakened and is heading towards Bangladesh.

aThe severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishaas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph,a Regional Meteorological Centreas Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

aIt is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains,a Bandyopadhyay said. The storm is now lying close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

SCS aFANI over Coastal Odisha at 2330 hrs IST of 03rd May, 2019 about 45 km north-northeast of Balasore (Odisha), 60 km southwest of Midnapore (West Bengal) and 140 km west-southwest of Kolkata . It is very likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/cIxcNpKaNH a India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019

Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai. Parts of Kolkata and the suburbs also received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The effects of the storm could also be felt in cities like Kharagpur and Burdwan as trees were uprooted and metal hoardings collapsed.A The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad where the cyclone passed through has experienced rainfall since Friday night with light winds.A

The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph. A aThe rains will continue till early morning on Saturday, and the weather will start improving by evening,a he said.

The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts.A Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani entered Bangladesh at noon on Saturday after hitting West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon. The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. The Indian Railways will run special trains for helping stranded passengers.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, Regional Meteorological Centres Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

Catch all the LATEST updates here:

17:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India (AAI), North Eastern Regional Headquarters, today announced that 81 flights have been cancelled across parts of Northeast India because of Cyclone Fani.

17:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

IMD: MeT analysis&numerical model guidance suggests widespread rainfall activity across NE states on 4 May, fairly widespread rainfall activity over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, widespread rainfall activity over Arunachal on 5 May & reduction thereafter pic.twitter.com/aqELQr57vH

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



16:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In NDRF: 65 rescue and relief teams of the NDRF are pre-positioned in various parts of the vulnerable states. Odisha (44 teams), West Bengal (nine teams), Andhra Pradesh (three teams), one team each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and two teams each in Jharkhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

16:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India, North Eastern Regional Headquarters: 59 flights cancelled in Guwahati, 8 in Agartala, 2 in Dimapur, 2 in Lilabari, 4 in Dibrugarh, 6 in Imphal.

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik: A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers. According to our latest reports, deaths are in single digit.



A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers: #Odisha CM @Naveen_Odisha

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



12:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded due to Fani in Odisha. A flight for Delhi from Bhuwaneswar will be operated at 3 pm and another one at 5.45 pm. Passengers who have valid Air India tickets may reach the airport, the airlines said.

12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Pradeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations,NDRF: Cyclone Fani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal.



#CycloneFani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of @NDRFHQ are present in Bengal: Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations



(ANI) pic.twitter.com/Mpn5DZeQyz

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," PM Modi said in a tweet.

10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.



Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.

 Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

10:15 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governor of the state, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centres readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani, Modi said in a tweet.

10:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India: To re commence operations at Kolkata airport at 09.45 am.

08:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In IMD: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 5.30 am of May 4. It will weaken into a deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.



IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



08:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear.



08:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Metro trains in Kolkata still running at half capacity as mentioned on Friday.

08:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Trains are still being tied to railway tracks. Other train services like local trains have resumed (some trains only).

08:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am. Airport authorities will have to bear the backlog of cancelled and rescheduled flights for the next 24 hours of flights.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts. (Photo: PTI)



08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph.

08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. (Photo: PTI)



08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha.

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New Delhi:

Earthquake in Assam: A moderate intensity earthquake tremors measuring 5.4 magnitude jolted Guwahati, other parts of Assam and Northeastern states on Saturday evening. The epicentre of the quake was Sagaing region in Myanmar. There has been no reports of any casualty or damage to property so far. Many users took to social media to express their concern over the tremors.

According to reports, the tremors were felt around 4.32 pm in Assam and several parts of the Northeast.

On April 24, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Assam region, the US Geological Survey said. The quake's epicentre was located 114 kilometres northwest of the town of Dibrugarh, at a very shallow depth of 9 kilometres, the USGS said. The quake struck at 1.45 am on and could also be felt across the border in Tibet, the USGS said. The Assam tea-growing area near the Brahmaputra river is close to the border with China and is sparsely populated.

Aarthquake 'forecasting' website Ditrianum had recently reported that a huge earthquake with potentially a high 7 to 8+ magnitude could strike the Earth on Friday and if it does then the massive destruction was inevitable. Described as critical geometry in the solar system could cause widespread destruction on Earth, a conspiracy theorist has warned. According to Ditrianum, Neptune, Venus, Mercury and the Sun were all positions in specific places in the solar system which could effect Earth.

This was because a gravitational tug of war could build tension in the tectonic plates of Earth, which could be unleashed in a devastating fashion. In last week, Frank Hoogerbeets, who runs Ditrianum, had predicted that a potentially civilisation ending tremor can strike Earth between April 30 to May 3.

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New Delhi:

In the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take stock of the situation that claimed at least 10 lives across the state.A The PM spoke to the Odisha Chief Minister and assured all necessary assistance from the Centre in restoring normalcy across the cyclone-hit state.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani. a Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

He also spoke to the governor of Odisha Professor Ganeshi Lal on the situation in the state. The PM assured all possible help from the Centre to the people of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.

Puri, where the cyclone made landfall, was the most hit by the severe cyclonic storm, which enteredA West Bengal post-midnight and unleashed heavy rainfall in the state.

The Prime Minister also spoke to the governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centreas readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm.

aAlso conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani,a Modi said in a tweet.

Fani barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, officials said.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans are likely to be hit by the storm that would then move towards Bangladesh and taper off.

CM Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state on Friday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Patnaik said that in the past 24 hours, over 12 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts to safer locations.

"Just now, I reviewed the cyclone situation with the state's Chief Secretary and other senior officers. Our first priority is to evacuate people living in vulnerable areas, including kutcha houses. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters. As we speak, Fani is still passing through Odisha, and an assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state," he said.A

"Restoration of electricity is a challenge. Electricity supply will be restored in Ganjam by Saturday. Restoration of communication has been completed in Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Patnaik added.A

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New Delhi:

Consumer Electronics maker Sony India expects audio segment to be one of its growth driver, which will contribute around 20 per cent of revenue in next 3-4 years, said a top company official. Sony India is encouraged with the growth in segments such as headphones, sound bars and party speakers.

The audio market is growing very fast. We can expect around 18-20 per contribution coming from the audio segment, Sony India Managing Director Sunil Nayyar told PTI Friday.

When asked about the time frame, he said: It could happen in next 3-4 years.

Presently, Sony India gets its 65 per cent revenue from TV segment, 15 per cent from audio, 10 per cent from camera and rest 10 per cent from other verticals.

According to Nayyar, Sony India had registered around 50 per cent growth in the fast-emerging headphone categories.

Besides, it also has plans to introduce some more products in the segment to maintain its lead.

Strengthening its portfolio in the segment, Sony India Friday introduced new outdoor party speaker GTK-PG10.

Priced at Rs 19,990 the company is targeting the young and millenial segment with features like wireless connectivity and a long battery life.
New Delhi :

The attackers involved in the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka had travelled to Kashmir, Kerala and Bangalore in India possibly to receive training, the Island nations Army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said. In an interview with the BBC published on Friday, Senanayake said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us. It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country."

As many as 257 people, including foreign tourists, were killed and over 500 others sustained injuries in the April 21 serial blasts in three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. The ISIS took the responsibility for the worst attack in the history of Sri Lanka.

India had warned the Sri Lankan authorities through diplomatic channels about the attacks well in advance but due to the lack of coordination between the countrys security agencies, the attacks could not be stopped.

So far, there was no immediate response from India on the Sri Lankan Army chiefs claims but a Union Home Ministry source, on the condition of anonymity told the The Hindustan Times: "Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation."

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New Delhi:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has now been engaged to her long-time partner Clarke Gayford, her spokesman said on Friday. Ardern was seen at a ceremony on Friday wearing a diamond ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Her spokesman then confirmed that the pair got engaged over Easter. Last year, Ardern and Clarke gave birth to a daughter named Neve Te Aroha. "I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility because he's a parent too, he's not a babysitter," Jacinda Ardern had told this to told Radio NZ.



Jacinda Ardern is the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.





Ardern and Gayford became a couple after he approached her about a constituency issue in her Auckland electorate of Mount Albert about five years ago. Gayford's television show, "Fish of the Day," has been sold to 20 countries.



The 38-year-old Ardern was widely praised for the compassion and leadership she showed after a gunman killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.

Time magazine last month included Ardern on its list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.

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Washington:

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistans unwavering support to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate as team per the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for hard decisions by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas, he said.

We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added. Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood, said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Washington :

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence on Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not break his promise, following what if confirmed would be North Koreas first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it, he added.

He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last months test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making foolish and dangerous comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the Norths demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the USs insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But a statement from South Koreas presidential Blue House said it was greatly concerned, calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearization action if it wants sanctions reliefthe issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles, according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-inwho brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leadershas tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyangs state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase, criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturdays launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seouls nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyangs latest launch, the Souths foreign ministry said.

Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day, said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday called for moves to strengthen the national front by deepening the international partnership and enhancing cooperation among media, educational, cultural, religious and human rights institutions.

This is necessary amid the ongoing regional and global upheavals, increasing attempts to fuel sedition, sow division and incite hatred, enmity and terrorism, said HM the King adding: Especially in light of the current digital era and rapidly growing social media networks.

HM the King was speaking on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and 80 years since the issuance of the first newspaper in Bahrain. HM the King stressed that the Bahraini national media has throughout its long history, promoted noble principles, raised awareness and played its cultural and cognitive enlightenment role.

It is a source of pride that our celebrations of this international event, this year themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation coincide with the success of the Kingdoms democratic march to a new phase of progress, HM the King said. HM King Hamad affirmed that the national media has proved its outstanding ability in supporting the reform and modernisation process and pushing the nation-building and sustainable development march forward.

We extend our thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Information Affairs and all its affiliates for the efforts they are exerting to develop the sector. HM the King further expressed his pride in womens participation in the media work. We strongly believe that journalists and media personnel are the cornerstone for building and promoting a democratic society in which security, peace and justice prevail, HM the King said.
A Bangladeshi man agreed to smuggle around 2,400 narcotic pills in return for a free trip to Bahrain, the court heard. This was unveiled during the trial of the man before the First High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to five years of imprisonment, to pay BD3,000 and permanent deportation.

According to court files, the defendant was arrested on December 22, 2018, upon his arrival at the Bahrain International Airport, coming from Dhaka. At the airport and while at the airport security check queue, an officer of the Customs Department turned suspicious about the defendants luggage, as the officer reportedly noticed unusual objects in the pull handle and bars of the mans suitcase.

Further inspection of the handlebar of the suitcase showed that the defendant had concealed 2,379 narcotic pills. Laboratory examination of the pills proved that the pills consisted of Methamphetamine. He was immediately referred to interrogation and later to the Public Prosecution.

He told the interrogators that he smuggled the pills for a fellow Bangladeshi man, who allegedly paid for the mans flight tickets and gave him an amount in cash (not specified).
The Kingdom yesterday hailed its press strides in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as it marked the World Press Day in great fervor.

Media experts and journalists highlighted the successful role of the media in taking the Kingdom forward. Article 23 of Bahrains constitution guarantees the right of opinion and expression. Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused, the article says.

The National Institution of Human Rights (NIHR) yesterday acknowledged the prosperous media strides as the Kingdom joined other nations, in celebrating the freedom of the press. This year, the day was marked under the theme Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

The World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCOs General Conference to endorse the Declaration of Windhoek. Speaking to Tribune, Ahdeya Ahmed, President of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), said: On May 17, the BJA will host an event to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Our role as journalists is to see what is wrong and criticize. Its also our responsibility to maintain the security and stability of our nation.

Moreover, our leaders have always encouraged us to have a free press, which means that we are strongly supported by the leadership of the country and it also means our leadership is entrusting the journalist with a very important tool.
Batelco yesterday announced several executive appointments in line with the separation requirements and the companys strategic vision. The 4th National Telecoms Plan requires turning Batelco into two main entities, one for the Retail and Enterprise operation and the other for the New National Broadband Infrastructure. Batelco named Mikkel Vinter as the CEO for Batelco Bahrain, which will be responsible for the retail and enterprise operation.

Among his previous roles, Vinter founded Virgin Mobile, Middle East & Africa in 2006 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. Before setting up Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, he held senior roles with Nawras in Oman, TDC in Denmark and Singtel in Singapore. The newly formed National Broadband Network entity will be responsible for the Kingdoms broadband network and providing telecom services to all licensed operators.

Mohamed Bubashait takes on the role as CEO of the National Broadband Network. He lead the separation programme since he joined Batelco as CEO of the Bahrain operation in October 2017, to implement plans for the legal separation of the Company. Ihab Hinnawi was named as the CEO of the Companys International investments and will assume new responsibilities. He will oversee the restructuring of Batelcos international operations. Hinnawi held the role of Group CEO since December 2015.
The United Nations is celebrating World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 under the theme Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. World Press Day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The UN position is that media freedom and access to information feed into the wider developmental objective of empowering people.

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain control over their own lives. This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby participating in the active life of the community. The United Nations also believes that the media plays a critical role in supporting public dialogue and enhancing knowledge on ways to support sustainable development and achieve the SDGs.

Taking this into consideration, the UN launched the SDG Media Compact to raise awareness of the Goals, to help galvanize further action, and to help support governments to achieve the Agenda 2030. The United Nations considers media as one of the effective tools to disseminate and raise awareness about development concepts, particularly regarding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their main pillars: People, planet, prosperity, peace, partnership. The focus of peace is what the media can support and strengthen; Media can mobilize the international community to end conflicts and wars. Development cannot be achieved without peace, and vice versa.

This is underlined by SDG 16, which aims to promote universal access to justice; and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and to ensure that the public has access to the right information which is instrumental in protecting their fundamental freedoms. The press corps - with all its institutions and journalists - has a major role to play in delivering information or news to all of us. It is required to provide the community, local and national government, the private sector and civil society and parliaments with sound and accurate information and analysis.

Any misinformation will have a negative impact. As we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, the world is still facing two main persisting challenges exists: first, the freedom of speech to reveal the facts and the right to access information, and second, journalists safety and protection. According to UNESCO, almost one hundred journalists were killed in 2018, while hundreds more are imprisoned. When media workers are targeted, societies pay a price. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed his deep concerns at the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity.

The role of the press cannot be carried out without the support of governments, in line with national legislations and international conventions. In this context, we in Bahrain witnessed the great role of the media during the 2018 elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the governmental facilities provided to the workers in this field; the wide coverage of the events locally, regionally and internationally, especially as it recorded a historic achievement for Bahrain where 6 women secured seats in the Parliament. Social Media also played a great role because of the popular interest in the event, and the candidates social media platforms were used very effectively to provide all needed information to all.

Sharing of information in Bahrain during the election period has been characterized by equal and balanced media coverage for female and male candidates, as well as sharing of information and analysis which helped the electorate to identify their candidates in a transparent and fair manner and to give the electoral the ability to choose. Here we quote the UN Secretary-Generals when he said: No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information.

It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power. On this day I would like thanks the journalist and media personal in Bahrain for their work and dedication and wish them and their families a blessed Ramadan.
Hillsborough couple Bruce and Davina Isackson are the first parents to plead guilty in taking part in a college admissions bribery scheme  and their plea could signal more indictments are on the way.

The Isacksons pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson also pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States for deducting those bribes from their taxes as charitable donations.

The couple left the courthouse without commenting. They are the only parents who have agreed to cooperate with investigators, and it was recently revealed they will testify against others if asked.

Former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon says their cooperation also likely means there will be a new wave of indictments, as the pair may name other people who participated in the scheme.

12 other parents have made agreements with prosecutors to plead guilty, including Felicity Huffman, however, they are awaiting court dates.

ALSO: Lori Loughlin reportedly wants to stand trial, sees it as a path to 'redemption'

The Isacksons are accused of paying $600,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. Authorities say the Isacksons paid to rig the entrance exam score for one of their daughters and get both girls admitted to school as fake athletic recruits.

Among their falsified accolades, one daughter's athletic profile touted her as a "Varsity 8 stroke" for the Redwood Scullers. Another daughter, Lauren, was identified by the Los Angeles Times as a former UCLA women's soccer player, despite never playing competitive soccer before. The Times reported she did play on the practice squad in 2016, but a school spokesperson said she was no longer on the team.

Bruce Isackson, who works as a real estate developer, transferred over 2,100 Facebook shares to pay for his daughters' guaranteed college admission, according to the Department of Justice. In a conversation with scam coordinator Rick Singer transcribed in the affidavit, Isackson allegedly said, "I think we'll definitely pay cash this time, and not, not  not run it through the other way."

"No words can express how profoundly sorry we are for what we have done," the Isacksons wrote in a statement earlier in the month. "Our duty as parents was to set a good example for our children and instead we have harmed and embarrassed them by our misguided decisions. We have also let down our family, friends, colleagues and our entire community. We have worked cooperatively with the prosecutors and will continue to do so as we take full responsibility for our bad judgment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday acknowledged errors made in attempting to stir a military uprising, and he did not discard a U.S. military option in Venezuela alongside domestic forces - saying he would take any such offer from Washington to a vote in the country's National Assembly.

After a dramatic week that saw a clandestine plan to oust President Nicolas Maduro fall apart on Tuesday, Guaido conceded that the opposition had miscalculated its support within the military.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Guaido suggested that he expected Maduro to step down amid a groundswell of defectors within the military. Instead, Guaido's call for the rank and file and senior brass to abandon Maduro did not produce mass defections. Maduro's security forces then quelled street protests and left Guaido's U.S.-backed opposition on its heels.

"Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution," Guaido said. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."

Guaido - the head of the National Assembly who in January declared Maduro a usurper and claimed the legitimate mantle of national leadership - did not back unilateral U.S. military intervention. He made clear that any American military support must be alongside Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro, but gave no further specifics on what would be acceptable.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table, and its hawks have pressed the Pentagon for possible military involvement. But the administration has not clearly signaled whether it would favor intervention against Maduro.

Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: "Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If it's necessary, maybe we will approve it."

The remarks were among the strongest Guaido has issued yet on the delicate subject of U.S. military assistance - an option that remains largely unpopular even among Venezuelans opposed to Maduro.

Guaido said he welcomed recent deliberations on military options in Washington, calling them "great news."

"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the U.S. are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it."

He added: "I think today there are many Venezuelan soldiers that want to put an end to [leftist guerrillas], and help humanitarian aid get in, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end usurpation. And if that includes the cooperation of honorable countries like the United States, I think that would be an option."

Yet after Tuesday's failed uprising, Guaido may now be fighting a two-front battle: both to oust Maduro and keep the opposition united.

Guaido, a 35-year-old industrial engineer and former student leader from Venezuela's Caribbean coast, has ignited new hope in the opposition's ranks since he emerged as the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly - a body stripped of its powers by Maduro in 2017 but widely recognized internationally as the country's only democratic institution.

Guaido's claim to be Venezuela's rightful interim president has been recognized by more than 50 nations and strongly backed by the Trump administration. Guaido said he had been in contact with U.S. officials during the week.

Yet the unraveling of a carefully laid plan to oust Maduro, including negotiations with his senior loyalists, has generated rifts within the opposition. Some of its senior leaders have issued recriminations over what went wrong. The sniping risks robbing the opposition of what became its single strongest asset in recent months: unity.

Some frustrated opposition members are blaming Leopoldo Lopez, Guaido's mentor, who escaped house arrest and appeared with Guaido on Tuesday morning, for upending the plan.

Lopez was one of the key architects of secret negotiations with government loyalists who were supposed to turn against Maduro on Tuesday. But his triumphant public appearance after escaping a military base, insiders say, was not expected. Some argue that it may have disrupted a carefully laid plan in which some of Maduro's senior loyalists were poised to force him out.

What actually persuaded Maduro's inner circle to close ranks instead remains a mystery. And Guaido would not discuss the negotiations nor the specifics of the opposition's plan. But the internal sniping poses a new challenge for an opposition that before Guaido's rise in January was largely seen as ineffectual and divided.

"The event shook Venezuelan politics," said Carlos Romero, a Venezuelan political analyst. "People are confused, wounded, unmotivated."

"I have heard some politicians call it a "Leopoldada," he continued, using a word that in Spanish suggests a maverick act by one person. "And the most affected one is Guaido, who has been selling himself as a unitary leader. To appear with Leopoldo in a position like that one may have reduced some leaders' trust in him."

Guaido offered a brief and lukewarm defense of the actions of Lopez, his political mentor.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I don't have information of that."

Guaido sought to downplay internal divisions in the opposition, however, saying "there's absolute unity. As always there are some differences in specific things. But I think a single cause unites us, not only as opposition but civil society too."

Asked if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had damaged opposition negotiations by mentioning the names of the alleged conspirators who were willing to turn against Maduro - including his defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Guaido said Pompeo had not. Rather, he called Pompeo's move a demonstration of "important support."

The plan moving forward, he said, remains a combination of international pressure, attempts to woo Maduro loyalists, and street action. But Guaido is confronting the additional challenge of exhaustion and frustration in the Venezuelan street.

Corruption, mismanagement and failed policies have brought Venezuela to its knees, sparking hunger, a mass exodus of migrants and the collapse of the public health system as well as the electricity and water grids In addition, anti-government protesters have confronted violent repression from Maduro's security forces - including four deaths during the past week.

A march on Wednesday - immediately after the failed uprising - drew many thousands. But by Saturday, a march called by Guaido to military installations largely fizzled, drawing nowhere near the crowds of previous protests.

"We have been doing this for 20 years," Guaido said, referring to the rise of the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 after naming Maduro as his anointed successor. "Getting frustrated and tired is part of it, but Venezuelans have demonstrated that they always take the fight again when they have to."

He tacitly acknowledged that the plan put in place by the opposition did not work, and said that his camp was seeking to do outreach with Maduro's military and senior civilian backers. But he did not suggest that the opposition was close to another breakthrough.

"Because the fact that we did what we did and it didn't succeed on the first time, doesn't mean it's not valid," he said. "We are confronting a wall that is an absolute dictatorship. . . . We have recognized our mistakes - what we didn't do, and [what] we did too much of."

International calls are rising for the opposition to sit down in official talks with Maduro's camp. But Guaido reiterated his opposition to talks without the precondition of negotiating Maduro's departure.

"Sitting down with Maduro is not an option," he said. "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017. . . . The end of usurpation is a precondition to any possible dialogue."

Yet if the week's events underscored that the opposition's hand is not yet quite as strong as it hoped, he said it also showed that Maduro is weaker than many had anticipated. He suggested that Maduro's spy chief - who disappeared on Tuesday - had defected, though he would not elaborate. And despite Tuesday's call for a peaceful uprising, Maduro has not ordered Guaido's arrest.

Why?

Because Maduro, he insisted, "is scared."
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.
WALLINGFORD  Two town residents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on I-691 West in Meriden Saturday morning, according to state police.

The two residents, one a 42-year-old man, the other a 41-year-old woman, were traveling down the highway on a motorcycle at approximately 6:48 a.m. when the man lost control of the vehicle, state police said in a release.
NEW HAVEN  Cooperative Arts and Humanities sophomore Lihame Arouna, 15, was elected Friday to a two-year term as a nonvoting student member of the Board of Education.

Lihame won 64 percent of the vote in a race against New Haven Academy sophomore Sofia Morales. In total, 2,389 votes were cast.

Id like to thank the student body for advocating for me, and Id like to advocate for them, Lihame said after the votes were counted.

Lihame said one of her key issues will be improving communication between the Board of Education and students. Throughout the year, she said, many students have been unclear about whether their teachers will stay in their classrooms and whether their schools will stay open, as the district continues to battle a budget deficit, considering several cost-saving options.

This weeks election nearly did not happen, as one of the two candidates initially came one signature short of making the ballot, before the Student Elections Committee decided that an initially discounted signature from a local charter school could be counted, as there is a petitioning process for charter school students to run for the position.

Lihame will join Nico Rivera, a rising senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, on the board.

Fridays election marks the fourth student election for a seat on the Board of Education since the citys charter was revised.

The student elections committee has spent months trying to drum up student interest in the race after Rivera was the lone declared candidate in 2018. After a majority of school board members voted to hire current Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks in late 2017 against the wishes of many in the community including student board members Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, students in the Citywide Student Council began to express their concerns that the adults on the school board use student board members as window dressing.

In the last competitive race in 2017, Dawkins  who graduates from James Hillhouse High School this year won 48 percent of the 3,287 cast ballots for four candidates.
NEW HAVEN  The administrator of the Democracy Fund has decided to follow earlier protocols and match all qualifying funds 2-to-1 for Justin Elickers mayoral campaign.

Elicker is challenging Mayor Toni Harp for the Democratic nomination for mayor as she seeks a fourth term in office.

Alyson Heimer, who runs the Democracy Fund, had excluded the first 200 donations of at least $10 from New Haven residents from the match.

But she said she researched the actions of her two predecessors in the administrative post and said she would follow their lead. I didnt want to break with their protocol, she said.

The overall purpose of the fund is to help candidates who show broad support be competitive against opponents who take donations up to $1,000 from individuals, as well as money from PACs and lobbyists.

The goal is to limit the influence of bigger donors.

Aaron Goode, one of the members of the board of the Democracy Fund, said both Robert Wechsler and Kenneth Krayeske agreed that all the qualifying donations to candidates participating in the fund should be matched.

Wechsler was in charge from 2008 to 2009, while Krayeske administered the funds for years afterward.

Elicker is participating in the publicly financed fund that provides for a 2-to-1 match for donations between $10 and $30, with top contributions capped at $370 per individual. He submitted 609 donations from New Haven residents to Heimer to review.

He already has received $16,180 from the fund and qualifies for a $19,000 grant, which he can collect once he has obtained ballot access. Heimer said Elicker will pick up just about $11,000 now that all his qualified donations can be matched.

Whoever loses the Democratic Town Committee nomination in July will have two weeks to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot.

Before the 2020 election, Heimer would like to see the Democracy Fund ordinance amended so campaign finance filings could be done electronically, as well as clarify some provisions. She said the section on matching the first 200 donors  needed to get the basic $19,000 grant  is really vague. It is gray.

Goode said the board gave Heimer the ability to check future donations to Elicker as he turns in the paperwork and then submit it to the citys finance office for the matching money. She will present a report to the board monthly.

At its May meeting, Goode said there will be a discussion on the decision to match all qualifying donations as it was not clear at the April meeting that it would become an issue.

Elicker had raised $117,692 in the first quarter through March 30, to $26,392 taken in by the Harp campaign in the same period.

The mayors campaign still has to update its 2017 election filings to show who made between $80,000 and $100,000 in contributions to that race. The State Elections Enforcement Commission voted to investigate a complaint made by Elicker about the missing information.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
Mary Anne Hardy is carrying on what she calls a family legacy by hiking, researching and writing to compile the new, sixth edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut.

The cover of this 320-page paperback guide (The Countryman Press, $21.95) lists only Mary Anne Hardy as the writer. But when you turn to the main title page within, the credit goes to: Mary Anne, David, Gerry and Sue Hardy.

Mary Anne is the daughter of Gerry and Sue Hardy, and is Davids sister. The dedication page makes it wistfully clear two of them have died: In memory of Gerry and David Hardy, who so loved the woods and contributed richly to its preservation and enjoyment.

Her parents wrote the first edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut in the mid-1970s. Four subsequent editions were published through the efforts of Gerry and Sue Hardy and their son.

Now the mantle has been passed on to me, Mary Anne wrote on the acknowledgments page of the new edition. She said its a privilege to celebrate my family and love of the outdoors.

When I came upon Hardys book at the Barnes & Noble in North Haven (where she will give a talk May 18 at 1 p.m.), I looked through the (revised) 50 choices, especially those in the New Haven area. I was surprised to see a write-up on Peters Rock in North Haven.

Peters Rock? I recalled only hearing the name once in a passing reference from somebody. I had never been there.

Well, as Hardys book showed me, Peters Rock is only about a mile from the New Haven Register office: directly north up Route 17 (Middletown Avenue), shortly after you cross from New Haven into North Haven. Yet, virtually none of my work colleagues I consulted nor, I would bet, the general public know about this pleasurable public expanse of nature.

This is a real hidden gem, Hardy said when we met at the gazebo marking the entrance to the park last Wednesday afternoon. Its an odd little tucked-away place. But were only minutes from downtown New Haven.

In her book, Hardy provides directions to each of the 50 sites. But if youre seeking an address for Peters Rock, you could use the one for First Fuel Oil, 133 Middletown Ave., which has an adjacent driveway to this park.

Hardy begins each of her 50 chapters with a brief history of the site. She wrote that Peters Rock has had many names over the centuries. During colonial times it was called Indian Rock, as it was reported to be a Native American look-out post. She noted it has also been called Rabbit Rock because there were so many hopping around the property.

Hardys history includes much of what you can read in an account by the Peters Rock Association posted near the gazebo. It tells us: Peters Rock was named for Peter Brockett, a crippled Revolutionary War veteran who lived on the north slope of the summit.

The associations history continues: In the late 1800s a group of young businessmen leased the land from North Haven and used it for outings and recreation. They built a one-room building called the Hermitage, with an observation deck.

Those lucky businessmen enjoyed a panoramic view from the summit, where they had erected their lodge. But the association account adds: The Hermitage was destroyed in the early 1900s by a fire caused by a cooking accident.

Informational write-ups near the gazebo state the park is owned and maintained by a small land trust in North Haven, which is the association. There is also this heads up for hikers: Peters Rock offers several trails of varying difficulties. All are under one mile in length but can be walked in different combinations to create longer hikes. The red trail to the summit is steep and difficult but rewards the hiker with serene views.

This summit is 373 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in North Haven, Hardys book tells us. Peters Rock contains 22 acres, the largest parcel of open space in the town.

Hardy lives in North Haven and teaches math at North Haven High School. This park is only five minutes from my house, she said as we began our hike up to the summit.

During our outing up there and back, which took about 90 minutes, we encountered only two people, each of them walking a dog. Jordan Brandon of New Haven, who was walking his dog Loki, said: I love it. I can take my dog for a walk and we can be in nature.

A few minutes into our hike, we heard a woodpecker; Hardy perked up at the sound of it drumming into a tree. Shortly afterward, she pointed out the lush leaves in a collection of skunk cabbage. When I was a kid, wed stomp on it and release the skunky smell. I love the green of that cabbage because its the first green you see coming up in the spring.

As we followed the red blazes (painted markers) on the trees, we came upon a footbridge spanning the Little River, a bubbling treat. Eagle Scouts built the bridge in 2008.

While we walked, I asked Hardy why East Rock and West Rock parks didnt make it into her book. She said East Rock is not well-marked as to where to go. She said West Rock was included in an earlier edition but my understanding from my parents was it became not all that safe. There was a lot of vandalism.

Because Hardy will bump a site out of her book if the trails arent maintained, she is able to replace them with new places. The new edition includes Peters Rock for the first time as well as Osbornedale State Park in Derby. Another one in our area is Westwoods in Guilford.

Sleeping Giant State Park is among the books 50 hikes but Hardy told me in advance we could not meet there for our hike. The devastation caused by last Mays tornado was so severe that the park remains closed. Hardy quoted a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official who said Sleeping Giant will open sometime before the summer. Until then, Hardy said, you could be arrested if you try to hike there.

Hardy said she likes Peters Rock because, unlike Sleeping Giant before the tornado, You dont see a lot of people here, which is refreshing.

On our way upward, Hardy paused to take a photo of mushrooms growing out of a tree. At another point, she called out: Oh look! Violets!

Soon afterward, following a tough patch where we scrambled up a rocky trail, we reached our destination, an area of flat rocks overlooking miles and miles. This is the summit! Hardy announced. We beheld Sleeping Giant, East Rock, the Quinnipiac River, wetlands and the traffic on State Street.

As we headed back down on the same trail, Hardy said, Its great to be out in the woods. Its healthy and its beautiful nature. It settles your mind. Its stress-reducing.

She said re-doing the book took her about seven months because she re-hiked every site. Its not a money-maker; its a family legacy.

Hardy said her brother became too ill to help with the latest edition. She added, My dad died last year but I was able to talk with him about this new one. He was very excited it was coming out and staying in the family. And my mom went to my first book talk.

When I asked Hardy if shell be willing to do a seventh edition, she replied: Oh yeah! Probably every four years. I think my (three) kids would be interested in doing it. They all love to hike.

When we made it back to the gazebo, she showed me the first edition of the book. It had an inscription from her parents, saying they were glad she had rejoined their hikes. In the early years, you were always out in front.

Contact Randall Beach at 203-680-9345 or randall.beach@hearstmediact.com.
It was a night to remember for Buena Regional High School students as they celebrated their prom at Massos Crystal Manor in Glassboro on Friday night.

Prom-goers arrived dressed to the nines as they socialized, posed for photos and danced the night away.

Check back at nj.com/south for other local high school prom coverage. And be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

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Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Lori on Instagram at @photog_lori and Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Once he understood what a doctor does, Timothy Malone knew thats what he wanted to do with his life.

The kid from Mahwah was only 5, maybe 6-years-old when he made that decision.

Malones thinking wasnt challenged -- until his health tilted out of control in 2010.

Constant headaches came out of nowhere in high school. He lost 30 pounds, thinking that was normal for a 16-year-old teen getting in shape. He had a pale complexion and itchy skin that bled from his scratching. Doctors thought he had allergies. A chest x-ray saw something else.

Thats when they found the tumors," Malone said.

He had Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymph system, turning his life upside down.

I wanted nothing to do with hospitals," Malone said. It made me want to run in the opposite direction."

But Malone, now 25, is sprinting back toward his childhood dream. Hes a first-year medical student in Grenada at St. Georges University, which has a teaching partnership with the Bergen County hospital that helped him beat cancer.

Meridian Healths Hackensack University Medical Center has been in Malones life ever since. After nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2010, Malone stayed in touch with the medical center through the Tomorrow Childrens Fund, a program started by parents to help their children and others like them with cancer and serious blood disorders.

Timothy Malone, left, a cancer survivor is with staff at Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center. To his right are Jill Brooks, Judy Solomon, Hope Castoria and Dr. Michael Harris. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media

Malone volunteered in fundraisers, participating with tricky trays and 5K runs. His involvement, however, didnt lead him back to the profession, not even on follow-up visits.

Malone was tired of the hospital and treatment regimens, even though he had a positive attitude about ridding cancer from his body. He willingly signed up for clinical trials and new drug combinations, anything that was available to treat his disease.

Whatever God has in store for me, it must be some reason why he gave it to me to overcome," he said.

With a new outlook, Malone returned to high school after he was cancer free. He focused on perfecting his percussion skills as the drum line captain in the high school band. Instead of becoming a physician, Malone figured hed be a music teacher, or so he thought when he majored in music education at William Paterson University.

But Malone missed the sciences and math classes, and traditional academia. Music was great, just not satisfying. The bug to be a doctor was surfacing, and the desire was sealed when Malone became an emergency medical technician in Mahwah.

That steered me into medicine again," he said. I loved it." His family did, too. Theyve been in the emergency services field for 50 years either as firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

Malone shadowed a physician, then sat in meeting rooms with other doctors who treated him at HackensackUMC. On his checkup visits, he talked about his goals with Dr. Michael Harris, who is chief of the Cure and Beyond Program, for childhood cancers survivors.

Harris said Malone is an intelligent young man with compassion and empathy, character traits that that will help him treat patients.

I think the experience of going through Hodgkins gives him a unique perspective on what patients go through," Harris said. He wants to learn what it is to be a doctor, and (will) continue to go into that direction, but will always be a physician I believe, who will do good by his patients."

In January, Malone started medical school on a full-tuition City Doctors scholarship that he received from St. Georges University on behalf of Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center.

Malone will spend two years in Grenada, then return to HackensackUMC, where hell train to see what area of medicine he would like to pursue. Hell do rotations in different specialties from internal medicine and surgery, pediatrics and psychiatry, obstetrics and family practice. Malone would love to practice pediatric oncology, considering his personal experience with cancer.

After the rotational tour, his residency follows for another two years. That assignment, ironically, could be at HackensackUMC if he gets accepted.

There are no guarantees. Malone has to apply, but he is excited about the unique possibility. The hospital in which he was treated for cancer will teach him how to be a physician, and it could be the place where he works one day.

Its one thing to have a dream as a child that you want to be a doctor, but how many of them actually make that happen?" said Dr. Fred Jacobs, who is also executive vice president of St. Georges University. When you actually see someone doing it and getting it done, its an inspirational story."

The disease that made him turn away from medicine has brought him back to where he wants to be in life.

If had to do it again, Ill accept and beat it (cancer) again."

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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A 26-year-old man was found stabbed to death Friday morning in Camden, authorities said.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office said Gloucester City resident Ryan Harter was found by police unconscious with multiple stab wounds shortly before 11 a.m. near the 1000 block of South 5th Street in Camden.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made at this time, authorities said, and no additional information about the incident was immediately available.

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Michael Cohen, former fixer for President Donald Trump, will report to prison on Monday. When he arrives, two New Jersey celebrities will already be there.

The Associated Press confirms that Cohen, 52, will start his sentence on May 6 at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, where both Mike The Situation Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame and Billy McFarland, a co-founder of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, are incarcerated.

In December, Trumps former lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to not paying $1.4 million in taxes and admitted to lying to Congress about Trumps business ties in Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen also admitted to breaking campaign finance laws when he set up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Sorrentino, 37, graduated from high school in Manalapan and lived in Long Branch before he reported to prison in January. In October, the reality TV star, who shot to fame in 2009 on MTVs Jersey Shore, was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. His sentencing and the fallout will be a part of the upcoming third season of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

McFarland, 27, is from Short Hills. In 2017, his canceled music festival left concertgoers stranded in FEMA tents in the Bahamas. In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for Fyre Festival fraud and selling fake tickets to other events. According to a recent report from New York Magazine, McFarland, who is writing (and plans to self-publish) a memoir about the music festival and his other ventures, plans to organize a second Fyre Festival, despite his fraud convictions.

The reality TV personality and the Fyre guy have gotten friendly during their time living in the low-security area of the prison, located in Orange County, New York, about 20 minutes from the New Jersey border.

They play Scrabble together, Sorrentinos Jersey Shore Family Vacation" castmate, Paul DJ Pauly D DelVecchio, told Jenny McCarthy in April.

In the same interview, another of Sorrentinos Jersey Shore friends, Vinny Guadagnino, pointed out that the two New Jersey-connected celebrities also share space in the prison with George Garofano. He was one of four hackers implicated in a 2014 phishing scheme that leaked nude photos from various celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and McCarthy herself.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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Some New Jersey school officials are kicking out students who commute into their town to attend their public schools.

Woodbridge Township announced last month that it caught dozens of students illegally attending its 25 schools. The township has sought to expel the students and fine their parents  and so far, they have recouped $100,540 in unpaid tuition, township officials announced.

A joint task force of the Office of School Security team and the Woodbridge Police Department reviewed over 1,800 cases, finding that 89 students were illegally enrolled in its schools, which educate nearly 13,600 kids, officials said.

After school, some students would walk straight to the train station or catch a cab, Mayor John E. McCormac said.

That is pretty much a dead giveaway, he said.

While many of the students were older, they seemed to live in several surrounding towns, officials said. One parent lived an hour away but worked in Woodbridge and would drop the child off on the way to work, he added.

Tuition costs about $1,300 per student a year, said John Hagerty a township spokesperson. In some cases, the township has taken their parents to court in an effort to get tuition dollars back.

Hagerty said no extra employees were hired by the school district or the town for the investigation, officers were just re-routed from other tasks. An estimated cost of those employees hours, or court costs associated with recuperating the money from parents, was not immediately available.

The township, officials said, started the crackdown to protect Woodbridge taxpayers money, and they are continuing to investigate cases.

It is unclear how often districts crack down on out-of-town students, Janet Bamford, director of communications and publications for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said. But, she added, most districts have discretionary policies that allow them to kick non-resident students out.

Some districts allow non-resident students to attend their schools if their parents work for the district, or if they choose to foot the tuition bill, she said.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom . Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips .

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Dear Annie: I just turned 39 and am freaking out about my next birthday, when I will go from being a young person to a middle-aged person. I remember when I was a child everyone making such a fuss over my parents turning 40. And now here I am turning 40. Do you have any suggestions for coping with this monumental change of life? -- Scared of Aging

Dear Scared: Its as monumental as you make it, and try not to make a molehill into a mountain. Your actual age is nothing but a number, and, as they say, 60 is the new 40. And if you keep a good mental attitude and take care of yourself physically, you could feel even better at 60 than you do at 40.

Dear Readers: Many of you wrote in about Deeply Hurt in Florida, who was offended by the way she was addressed on the invitation to her grandsons wedding. Here is a sampling of comments and advice:

Dear Annie: My husband and I enlisted the help of friends to address our wedding invitations nearly 17 years ago. I remember that day making last-minute changes to names, and Im sure we made some mistakes. I also remember feeling stress because it was the first big project my fiance and I had ever tried to manage together.

I hope Deeply Hurt in Florida will offer grace, much grace, to her grandson and his fiancee. Many weddings are needlessly stressful times for the bride- and groom-to-be. -- Offering Perspective to Deeply Hurt

Dear Offering Perspective: Thank you for sharing your story. The fact that your fiance is still your husband is what really counts when it comes to wedding planning, and I agree that much of the stress involved is needless. Brides and grooms frequently will have other people write the invitations. Whatever the cause, it is nothing to be alarmed about, as the next letter, from a grandmother and great-grandmother, points out.

Dear Annie: I could not believe the grandma in Florida was so upset by her correct name being on the invitation. It could be that others were helping write the invitations and did not know her preferred name.

As a grandmother of 21 and great-grandmother of seven, I would not let anything so minor affect my going to a family wedding. You were right. Ask that the placecard be corrected and enjoy the occasion.

I have not written to a columnist before but could not believe the grandmother could be making such a mountain out of a molehill. Isnt she fortunate to see a grandson married? -- Grandmother and Great Grandmother

Dear Grandmother and Great Grandmother: Youre the best! I love your attitude, which, as you can see, is shared by a reader from New Hampshire who wants nothing more than to have grandchildren.

Dear Annie: Regarding Deeply Hurt in Florida, I find it sad that she may not attend her grandsons wedding over such a minor detail as being addressed as Judy instead of Chris.

Does she know how fortunate she is to have her grandson in her life? Many of us dont have the pleasure of having grandchildren or great-grandchildren in our lives, and how heartbreaking that is. We have so much love that we cannot share with them. --Heartbroken in New Hampshire.

Dear Heartbroken: You address the real issue, which is love.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

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A New Jersey native admitted in court Friday he duped the U.S. government out of millions of dollars by taking federal rebates for solar panels he never installed.

Charles E. Kartsaklis, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden to one count of wire fraud.

Kartsaklis, who previously lived in Erial but now resides in Davenport, Florida, was the president of now-defunct Code Green Solar LLC. He falsely claimed Code Green installed solar panels at five different New Jersey businesses and obtained more than $3 million in federally funded rebates, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Kartsaklis submitted proposals to the five businesses in 2011 and 2012, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Those businesses rejected the proposals, but Kartsaklis applied for the rebates anyway, authorities said.

Authorities allege he created phony documents and sent them to the U.S. Treasury Department, including applications for the money, Solar Power Purchase Agreements" emails verifying the installation of the panels and five annual reports, which claimed the panels were still generating electricity.

Kartsaklis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kartsaklis agreed to make full restitution by paying $3,081,938.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, 2019.
A former YMCA employee was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping girl and filming a boy who was using the bathroom.

Jermaine Ward, who worked in after school programs for the YMCA of Burlington and Camden counties, was arrested in June 2018 and pleaded guilty in December to aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a release.

Wards crimes occurred between the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018.

The girl was asleep during the assault, which happened in Maple Shade, and the boy was not aware that he was being recorded when the crime occurred in Pennsauken, Coffina said.

Ward knew the girl he assaulted and her family, as well as the boy he filmed, officials said.

The names of the young victims and other details about the incidents were withheld by the prosecutors office to protect their identities.

Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time, but this defendants heinous actions threatened to destroy that oasis for these young kids, Coffina said. Our Office will continue to do everything within its power to make sure that anyone who harms a child is brought to justice.

Ward will serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, a facility which houses sex offenders.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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By Tom Malinowski

When I visit a synagogue or Jewish community center in my congressional district, I usually pass by armed security. Inside, people sometimes share heartfelt concerns about boycotts of Israel or the controversy over remarks about Israel by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. But those aren't the reasons for the guard at the gate.

From time to time, I also attend Friday prayers at local mosques. Recently, there have been state police officers standing watch outside.

Political debates in the United States can be untethered from facts, but threats to life focus minds on reality. The reality today is that when it comes to organized violence, Jewish and Muslim Americans, as well as members of other minority groups, face the same threat: white-supremacist terrorism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the overwhelming majority of terrorist killings in the United States since 2009 have been committed by white people motivated by a specific ideology: the belief that America belongs to them, and must be protected from "globalist" (read: Jewish) elites and immigrants of all kinds.

Over the past two years, white supremacists have plainly been emboldened. The evidence can be seen in the crackpot conspiracy theories spreading virally on social media, the Unite the Right marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and swastikas suddenly appearing in schools. (Summit, New Jersey, a city inside my district, has had six such incidents in the past five months). Anti-Semitic incidents, including bomb threats, assaults and cemetery desecrations, rose by 60 percent from 2016 to 2017.

If the threat came from outside the United States, these facts would be enough to galvanize Americans around a plan of action. But this threat comes from within. And because it originates on the political right, describing it accurately can be difficult to do without sounding partisan, without making one side feel uncomfortable. So we blame the violence on vague boogeymen of intolerance and hate - which we acknowledge exist on the left as well as the right.

Anti-Semitism does, indeed, come from both sides. But this new wave of terrorism does not. The accused killers have clearly announced who they are, and we have to understand their inspirations and motivations to know how to stop them. The alleged shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last October was obsessed with migrant caravans from Central America, and blamed a Jewish aid organization for bringing "invaders that kill our people." The alleged shooter who gunned down Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March also said he acted to stop immigrant "invaders." The suspected gunman in San Diego last month said in a manifesto that he was inspired by the terrorists in both Pittsburgh and Christchurch, and that he had tried to torch a mosque before attacking a synagogue.

In the past, every authoritative voice in the country would be communicating to these people that they are isolated in their crazy beliefs. Now, they find validation in the president of the United States, who, on the day of the New Zealand attacks, referred to an immigrant "invasion" of the United States, and who seems incapable of calling white-supremacist attacks terrorism. These bigots hear politicians and cable-news hosts attacking the FBI, alleging "deep state" coups and calling fact-based journalism "fake news," reinforcing their mistrust of authority and conspiratorial thinking.

What would we do if we could forget politics and just focus on keeping people safe?

Congress would be considering a domestic-terrorism statute, which would make it easier to arrest suspects before they can carry out murderous plots. Democrats and Republicans would be working urgently together to elevate the offices at the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security that combat domestic terrorism, and to give them more resources. Given white supremacists' transnational links, we'd be encouraging U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share information about them with allies around the world, as they do with information about backers of the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Wed be telling social media companies not just to put out fires by banning extremists from their sites, but to make their product less flammable by changing the algorithms that suck users into extremist bubbles.

We in Congress would also react with bipartisan revulsion when an American leader employs words and ideas that mirror those used by terrorists.

That doesn't mean Americans can't respectfully debate immigration policy, or support Trump's border wall. But talk of immigrant "invasions" or of immigrants as killers and rapists - reinforcing the delusions of the people responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks against Americans today - should be intolerable. I recently introduced a resolution in the House that condemns this language, while embracing President Ronald Reagan's belief that "if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." Surely, we can still agree on that.

Tom Malinowski, a Democrat, represents New Jerseys 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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By Salaam Ismial

Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgroves resignation doesnt come close to addressing the departments racist history and current approach to policing the community..

Cosgrove came into the city with a hard line approach and refused to institute community policing, which would have required officers to use more understanding and to work with the community and not against it.

Black people were brutalized and more than twice as likely to be shot in Elizabeth, according to NJ Advance Medias police use of force data. Of the more than 4,600 cases where force was used against people under 18, slightly more than half the subjects were black, though they represent only 14.5 percent of the child population in New Jersey.

Ive lived here for decades and know that Elizabeth has a racist past. In 1967, then-Mayor Tom Dunn ordered police officers to shoot anyone who attempted to riot the summer that Newark and other cities rebelled. In the 1980s, Dunn once ordered that all city businesses must Speak English Only, and angered many in the Hispanic community.

Cosgrove had to go after he used the n-word to refer to black officers and the c-word to refer to women. He resigned only after constant community protest, 1,000 signers on a petition and calls by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for him to resign.

Other blatant forms of racism exist in the staffing of the Elizabeth Police Department. Currently, there are approximately 340 officers, of which only 28 are black. Of the only supervisors, there are only five black sergeants, and three of them came by way of a discrimination lawsuit.

The departments Juvenile Division is comprised of six detectives who concentrate on the gang problem, and yet not one of those officers is black. The departments swat team/emergency services division has about 30 officers, yet not one is black. There are zero blacks in the departments special narcotics division.

The DARE Division, which comprises of three officers who focus on elementary school children regarding drug awareness, has no black officers. In the Community Policing Division, which purposes to build ties and work closely with members of the communities, only two of about 25 officers are black. But mostly the department fails when it targets and arrests mostly black people.

The city of Elizabeth paid out hundreds of thousand of dollars in police brutality cases including a 2018 payout of $250,000 to Jerome Wright, who was beaten by a number of cops after a traffic stop. Wright was sprayed with Mace, kicked and punched by as many as four police officers. The city of Elizabeth paid Sharif Tankard $750,000 in 2017 after he was shot and critically injured by a police officer at Oakwood plaza apartment complex. Police say they were there to investigate an incident at the location but the grand jury rejected charges against Tankard and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

While Cosgroves offenses are clear and blatant he wasnt the only person to let racism fester in the department, which is why the Union County Prosecutor has taken over the departments internal affairs division and is reviewing the departments policies and practices.

While Chief John Brennan, the top cop responsible for the day-to-day operations, was quick to file a complaint about Cosgrove's racism, he did nothing to stop constant abuse by his rank and file officers. The Internal Affairs Department is widely known in the black community for its lack of investigation into police abuse. In addition, patrol officers with the Union County Sheriff Department carried out their abusive "Stop and frisk" policy on innocent young black men and had confrontations that ended in unwarranted arrests.

The initial investigation by former Union County Prosecutor Michael Monahan was seen by many in the black community as not trustworthy and lacked transparency. Some believe Monahan was too close to the local and county Democratic Party. Also, the Union County Prosecutors Office has its own problem with diversity, where out 70 prosecutors none are black men. Yet, they arrest and prosecute a large number of black males in the county.

The only way to resolve this racist system is to completely overhaul the department. We must identify all the problems and ills and move fast to move racist staff and policies out and move reform in. All the divisions, departments and special units should be reviewed by the State Attorney General and Union County Prosecutor offices.

The community must be a major part in advising Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and law enforcement officials about what the community needs. There must be transparency and trust, and we must move fast, because the citizens are fed up.

Salaam Ismial lives in Elizabeth and is the founder of the National United Youth Inc.

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It has been established that William Barr has a snitty relationship with the truth, and that his misrepresentation of the Mueller Report was an insult to the author himself.

We know this because Robert Mueller said so, though this was already plain to anyone who had read the Special Counsels magnum opus. Where the country sought elucidation on potential criminal behavior by the president, the Attorney General offered mostly obfuscation, legal mush and sophistry washed down with weak tea.

So hours before Barr played dodgeball with the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Mueller released a letter from March 27 that disclosed how he felt about Barrs whitewashed interpretation of the report last month: The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Offices work and conclusions, Mueller wrote to his boss.

He was especially concerned that Barrs mischaracterization threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

After that, anything out of Barrs mouth required a laugh track.

Garrett Graff, who authored a book about the FBI under Muellers magisterial leadership, said his jaw became unhinged when he read the rebuke.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published, Graff said. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison.

In other words, Mueller expresses contempt only for the jailers of the Lockerbie bomber and the Attorney General of the United States.

So it hardly mattered what Barr said during his duplicitous performance Wednesday. It only matters that the country hears Mueller speak for himself before Congress, which thankfully is under negotiation, because he didnt dedicate 22 months on an investigation just so an operative like Barr can repackage it as a political cudgel for Donald Trump.

In earlier testimony, Barr also misrepresented Muellers assessment about the AGs four-page summary. He told Congress he had no knowledge of how Mueller felt about it, even though Muellers snitty missive had landed on his desk weeks earlier. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasnt wrong when she called Barr a liar for that.

We can agree that hes a master of the Q-and-non-A format, a champion at parsing words such as suggest and summary.

Time would be better spent reviewing the substantial evidence in the report that detailed the presidents habitual obstructive behavior. The problem is that Barr is ill-equipped to discuss it: Sen. Kamala Harris got Barr to admit he never looked at the underlying evidence before exonerating Trump of obstruction. He did that despite Mueller affirming it does not exonerate the president.

An objective reading of the report shows obstruction is prima facie. Mueller needs to testify and speak plainly about whether charges are warranted. At least we know he read the report.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison. https://t.co/DorCXEgzIG  Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) May 1, 2019

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A LaPlace woman is accused of forging insurance documents for her driving school and creating a fake email address to support the fraud, Louisiana State Police say.

Detectives discovered that the policy listed by Gemyra Williams, 37, for her Safe Driving Academy LLC was cancelled, police said. When asked for an updated policy, Williams created a fake email address purporting to be a legitimate insurance company and emailed ... a fraudulent certificate of insurance in an attempt to show coverage. Detectives determined that Williams created the fake information on a computer belonging to her, police said.

Williams was booked Wednesday (May 1) at the St. John the Baptist Parish jail with forgery of a certificate of insurance and computer fraud
Police are searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting the father of his girlfriends children as he waited for the children to return from school Friday afternoon (May 3) in Kenner.

Lyndell Alford, 34, of Kenner is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing, reported about 4:30 p.m. on Phoenix Street, according to the Kenner Police Department.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the victim, identified as 30-year-old Remus Lambert of New Orleans, seated in his vehicle in the 2600 block. He had been shot more than once and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Michael Cunningham said in a news release.

Alford and Lambert have had an ongoing dispute involving Alfords girlfriend, with whom Lambert has children, Cunningham said.

Man shot dead in Kenner Friday afternoon

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Lambert was parked near the home of Alford and his girlfriend when the shooting occurred. Investigators believe he was waiting for his children to return home from school, officials said.

According to Kenner police, Alford and the girlfriend drove past Lambert and parked in front of their home. Alford got out of the vehicle and walked into the home  but then, minutes later, came back outside and confronted Lambert. Investigators believe Alford then took out a handgun and shot Lambert before fleeing the scene in a green Infiniti G35 with Louisiana license 290BZI.

Alford has a criminal history and is currently on parole for illegal use of a weapon, distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Anyone with information about the homicide or the whereabouts of Lyndell Alford is asked to call the Kenner Police at 504-712-2222 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The Vermilion Parish public school system, ranked fourth of 71 in Louisiana, is the latest to consider going to a four-day academic week. The School Board plans to debate the idea Wednesday (May 8), according to public records.

Vermilion would hold classes Tuesdays through Fridays under the proposal. Proponents say it might help save money.

The school system received a 90.2 performance score on the states 150-point scale in 2018. That gave it an A grade, one of only four in the state. By Louisiana standards, its an average-sized system with 9,676 students across 20 schools.

Four-day school week? Avoyelles Parish is trying it

More than 500 U.S. school systems have switched to four-day weeks, with some in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico and South Dakota making up the vanguard, according to a June report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education. They drop one day and lengthen the instructional time on the others. Research into the effect on academic performance has been mixed.

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In March, the Avoyelles Parish School Board voted 7-2 to switch its C-graded system to a four-day week, eliminating Monday classes for students beginning in August. The Caldwell Parish school system, graded B in 2018, already operates on a four-day week.

4-day school week? Denver area system goes there in cost-cutting move

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1.
As a scientist at LSU, Dr. Catherine O'Neal knew the COVID-19 vaccines had undergone rigorous safety testing before they were made available for children. But when the time came to sign her own kids up for the jab, the mother of three experienced 
OMAHA  Online retailer Hayneedle is laying off 239 workers in Omaha as part of a restructuring, company officials said Thursday.

The jobs being eliminated are in the Omaha-based companys corporate office as well as its call center, and they represent a sizable portion of Hayneedles workforce in the city. The company has recently employed nearly 700 workers in Omaha at three sites, including its corporate office near 90th Street and West Dodge Road.

According to the Nebraska Department of Labors layoff notification web site, 180 workers were in the firms call center in Sarpy County and 59 in its headquarters building.

This is a difficult decision in a business, and were focused on taking care of the people who are affected, said Tiffany Wilson, a spokesperson for Hayneedles parent company, Walmart. And we remain committed to our hometown of Omaha and our vision to be the best specialty online home retailer.

Hayneedle was founded in Omaha in 2002 merely selling hammocks online. But it expanded into a wide range of home furnishings and housewares, posting sales in 2016 of more than $500 million.

The company is now an affiliate of Walmart, having been bought by another online retailer in 2016 that was subsequently purchased by Walmart. But Hayneedle has continued to operate as an independent business unit with its own president.

Wilson, the director of communications for Walmart, said that the layoffs in Omaha on Thursday were due to changes specific to the Hayneedle brand and that the decisions were made at the Hayneedle level.

This was not a Walmart decision; it was a decision made by Hayneedle, she said.

Wilson said both companies do share the same approach of evaluating strategy, structure and operating costs to find ways to grow. Hayneedle, she said, decided to invest in some new areas, create new roles and restructure in ways that help the company move faster.

Hayneedles parent company has been known for paying close attention to costs. Walmart uses a zero-based budgeting strategy, asking managers to justify costs regardless of previous spending levels.

Workers said they began being notified of the layoffs with 9 a.m. phone calls and group meetings. Some workers were terminated immediately, while others will still have jobs until May 17.

Hayneedle is offering assistance to the workers who lost their jobs, Wilson said.

Each worker will get a 60-day paid period to search for new work. If they do not find work in that time, they may be eligible for severance based on years of service. Employees are also being offered help in finding new work inside or outside the company.
After a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant lost out on a new Audi due to a technicality -- even though she answered the puzzle correctly -- the car company said it would gift her the vehicle instead.
Jesse Shea, project manager of Titan Roofing and Exteriors in western Iowa, has an opportunity to for the public to support a local veteran as he introduces his company to the area.

Sponsored by Titan Roofing and GAF, which is a roofing materials company, a local veteran will be chosen to receive a new roof with their choice of GAF Timberline HD shingles.

Based in Des Moines and operated by veterans, Titan Roofing and Exteriors mission is to provide superior customer service and honesty through the restoration process  which includes philanthropic contributions to veterans in need through the Titan Project, a nonprofit organization that provides support to veterans and their families.

The partnership is giving away a free roof to a Pottawattamie County veteran in need. The winner will be announced around Memorial Day and the roof installed in June.

Nominations can be submitted by a veteran or someone else and should include a paragraph on why the award is deserved. Titan Roofing will inspect all the houses submitted and a nonpartisan group will grade each applicant on the condition of the house and story submitted. Being a veteran who lives in Pottawattamie County is the only requirement to be eligible for the award.

Having a new roof provides the veteran with a piece of mind and protects all that is important to them, just like how their service protected all of us, Shea said.

The free roof work will be done by soldiers from the 168th Infantry Regiment.

Applications are due by May 22. Shea said they are willing to extend the deadline if needed. Applications can be submitted online at https://bit.ly/2DMiWx6.

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Hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges is a tradition that dates back to the early 1900s. Today, more than 370 refuges are open to the public for hunting and more than 310 are open to sportfishing.

Here in the Midwest, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas are a huge part of this tradition. Both Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges are proposing to update their hunting programs. Refuge staff are seeking public comment on the changes.

Area residents are invited to review draft documents related to these changes, including the draft hunting plans, draft environmental assessments and draft compatibility determinations for each refuge.

The documents are available through May 31.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, near Missouri Valley is proposing to expand turkey hunting to include the fall archery season.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 14 at the refuge headquarters, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide your comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, is proposing to open up portions of the refuge to archery spring and fall turkey hunting and archery deer hunting opportunities.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 15 at the Fort Calhoun Library. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Draft documents are available from the refuge office. You can contact the refuge at 712-388-4803 or peter_rea@fws.gov to request either printed or electronic copies. Alternative formats are also available.

For more information, contact 712/388-4800 or email the refuge at desoto@fws.gov. Go online to fws.gov/refuge/desoto or fws.gov/refuge/boyer_chute for refuge updates.
The new ThinkBook S models may replace the 13 and 14-inch Ideapad S-series models, at least in China. They appear to have updated designs with improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table, while the specs include Intel Core i7-8565U CPUs, up to 16 HB RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs. The more expensive variants may integrate discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPUs.

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The EEC just issued certificates for ThinkBook 13S-IWL and 14S-IWL models, so the new brand is essentially confirmed to be official in Europe.

Lenovo may be preparing to launch a new brand of laptops, as Notebook Italia spotted a pair of 13 and 14-inch models going by the ThinkBook S moniker at a recent trade show in China. These models are also mentioned in a few European online retailer listings, and it looks like they could be shipping by late May for around 1,000 Euros.



According to a video posted by Notebook Italia, the new ThinkBook S-series might replace the 13 / 14-inch models from the Ideapad series, but it is unclear if regions outside of China will be getting these models under the new moniker. The new models also come with updated designs, including improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table. The only difference between the two models is the screen size, as both come with a 1080p IPS displays, shuttered 720p webcams, and backlit keyboards featuring a fingerprint sensor on the power button.



Spec-wise, both models feature the Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake CPUs coupled with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSD storage. The more expensive variants will also include a discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPU. The battery should last for around 11 hours and the connector suite includes 3 x USB-A + 1 x USB-C, and HDMI out and an audio jack.
The wet, snowy weather over late winter and early spring kept LCCDC from holding a formal groundbreaking for its latest duplexes, Bodeen said while contractor John Lee pushed dirt with a small bulldozer behind two recently prepared foundations.

They sit behind the first pair of North Sheridan Estates duplexes finished and rented out in 2017. Site preparation has begun on the third pair of duplexes, which will be built just north of the second pair now being built.

The third pair has not yet been funded, and a timetable for building that pair is not known, Bodeen said.

Regarding the second pair, we have people calling (and) wanting to know when these are going to be done, she told onlookers including LCCDC board members, Nebraska Department of Economic Development staff members and leaders of the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corp.

Bodeen said grants of $177,160 from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and $159,750 from the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund helped make possible the North Sheridan redevelopments four-duplex second phase. LCCDC, Great Western Bank and First National Bank of North Platte also have provided funds.
The United States Steel Corporation announced on May 2 that it will invest more than $1 billion in constructing cutting edge facilities in western Pennsylvania, drawing praise from President Donald Trump.

The company said the new investment will improve its environmental performance and energy conservation with a new sustainable endless casting and rolling facility at its Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock and a cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant. Both facilities will be part of the companys Mon Valley Works.

Trumps tariffs on imported steel and other efforts to boost American manufacturing have helped to revitalize a steel industry that has been in decline for decades. The billion dollar investment comes as the White House on May 3 touted a number of positive economic indicators, including a strong jobs report for April with the addition of 263,000 new hires and a declining 3.6% unemployment rate.

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working, Trump wrote in a May 2 Twitter post. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING!

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING! https://t.co/XPXjxli6uc  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

The new technology will make Mon Valley Works the first facility of this type in the United States, and one of only a handful in the world, the company said.

This is a truly transformational investment for U. S. Steel, said David B. Burritt, president and CEO of U. S. Steel. We are combining our integrated steelmaking process with industry-leading endless casting and rolling to reinvest in steelmaking and secure the future for a new generation of steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania and the Mon Valley.

The steelmakers cogeneration facility will feature an emissions control system that can convert some of the coke oven gas generated there into electricity to power other parts of the plant.

Tens of thousands of American workers have faced layoffs and dozens of factories have been shut since 2000 due to imports, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a nonprofit organization formed by manufacturers and United Steelworkers. With the recent tariffs on imports, the steel industry is starting to seeing some positive signs.

Over the past few decade, steel imports have steadily increased, comprising nearly 33 percent of the U.S. steel market in 2017. The majority of U.S. steel producers have been taking losses since 2009, losing their ability to invest in new technologies and labor.

The Pittsburgh-based company expects the first coil production facility to be operational in 2022. Its the second major operational upgrade U.S. Steel has announced this year.

In February, the company announced it was restarting construction on an idled manufacturing facility in Alabama, crediting Trumps trade policies. U.S. Steel said Trumps strong trade actions were partly responsible for the resumption of work at a plant near Birmingham.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports last year. The company reported adjusted earnings of $957 million in 2018.

The United Steelworkers trade union said in a statement that they welcomed the new investment. The unions international vice president Tom Conway said the proposed improvements will not negatively impact employment, but will instead bolster the long-term job security of the employees at the companys new facilities.

Together, these projects will reduce U.S. Steels carbon footprint significantly and improve regional air quality by reducing emissions of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, Conway said. Just as importantly, these investments will provide much-needed job security for current employees and future generations of Steelworkers at this historic and soon-to-be much more modern integrated steelmaking complex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

From The Epoch Times
The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), a San Fraancisco, CA-based sustainability-focused early growth stage investment firm, closed its third fund, at $100m.

EIF III has made six investments towards Series-A and B rounds for high-growth, early-stage cleantech, electric vehicle and other sustainability-focused companies and has a signed term sheet for a seventh.

Investments include:

 EV Connect (EV charging);

 eMotorWerks (EV charging demand management, acquired by Enel);

 Pegasus Solar (solar mounting);

 Opti (water management);

 Flying Embers (probiotic adult beverages) and

 Bluon Energy (efficient HVAC).

Fund III will make up to eight investments targeting companies with proven technology and commercial traction.

Led by Managing Partners James Everett and Devin Whatley, and Partners Geoff Eisenberg and Sasha Brown, EIF is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. The firm has raised over $175 M for sustainability-focused investment.

The firm is responsible for five of the most successful venture exits in sustainability-related companies, led by ZepSolar in 2013. EIF Fund I launched in early 2011, manages $19.6M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies. It has had two exits to date. As of September 30th, 2018, Fund I had a net to LP IRR of 34.4% and a DPI of 1.84x, placing Fund I as the #1 ranked 2011 venture fund Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Benchmark Index, Q3 2018).

EIF Fund II launched in 2014, manages $57M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies.

FinSMEs

04/05/2019
"U.S Steel is special and you know this," Burritt said during the conference call. "U.S. Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the U.S and the only U.S.-headquartered steel company that can mine, melt and make steel in USA. Thats the fact. We have world-class safety performance, you all know that. Thats the fact. And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry. We understand cash is king. Thats the fact."
The board unanimously approved a motion to send a cease and desist letter to Sips & Stones and look into whether the restaurants promotion violated campaign law.

Were happy to be rightfully exonerated, Panczuk said of the outcome. We look forward to getting on with the campaign.

Blazak said the Barenie groups complaint was a late attempt by the St. John Republican Party to undermine the campaigns of disfavored candidates.

We did nothing wrong, Blazak said of the Facebook posts. This is them just trying to give us a hard time.

Lake County Councilman Christian Jorgensen, who doubles as the chair of the St. John Republican organization, had a different take on the outcome. He noted that the boards decision to probe the origins of the Sips & Stones promotion could reveal the restaurant did not come up with the idea for the promotion on its own.

The owner of Sips & Stones is going to get an order to appear before the elections board, and they are going to ask if these candidates had anything to do with it, Jorgensen, who is backing Barenie and the other petitioners for re-election, told The Times.
WOODSTOCK, Ill.  Video that police recovered from an Illinois woman's cellphone showing her bruised 5-year-old son prompted the boy's father to lead investigators to the child's body, according to newly released court records.

JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. of Crystal Lake are charged with murder in Andrew "AJ" Freund's death. Investigators found his body April 24. The court records offer details about the investigation into the boy's disappearance and death.

The video, dated March 4, shows AJ lying naked on a mattress, covered in bruises and bandages, according to an affidavit from McHenry County Sheriff's Detective Edwin Maldonado. Freund told investigators his role in AJ's death when they confronted him with the video, which police recovered after it had been deleted from Cunningham's phone. Maldonado wrote that a female voice "consistent with Joann's is holding the phone and videotaping. She is berating AJ for urinating his bed."

Freund led police to the boy's body near Woodstock, wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave covered with straw, records show. Cunningham and Freund had reported AJ missing April 18, three days after he died.
INDIANAPOLIS  Part of a nearly $1.3 million state grant will go toward converting an old railroad bridge into pedestrian use along a northern Indiana city's recreational trail where two teenage girls were hiking when they were killed two years ago.

The project will include the addition of decking and safety rails for Delphi's Monon High Bridge, which rises more than 60 feet over Deer Creek.

It was among $25 million in grants for 17 trail projects across the state announced Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Most go toward new paved trails, with the largest grant of $4.9 million going to the Marion County town of Speedway.

The grant money comes from a $1 billion payment from the Indiana Toll Road operator in a deal allowing fee increases for large trucks.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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INDIANAPOLIS  Indianapolis police say they have two suspects they're searching for in connection with the shootings of two southern Indiana judges attending a judicial conference in Indiana's capital.

Police on Friday released surveillance video showing the two suspects getting out of an SUV outside a downtown restaurant where the shootings of Clark Circuit Judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams occurred early Wednesday. Police asked for the public's help in identifying the two suspects.

Police say an argument between the suspects and the judges escalated to the shootings. They say they've found no evidence to suggest the judges were targeted because they're judges.

Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael says both Jacobs and Adams remain hospitalized in stable condition.
Rafael Hernandez Colon, a three-term governor of Puerto Rico who argued for the preservation of the islands commonwealth status while others were calling for either statehood or independence, died on Thursday at his home there. He was 82.

Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Ricos current governor, announced the death and declared a 30-day mourning period. Mr. Hernandez Colon had been undergoing treatment for leukemia.

Mr. Hernandez Colon had led the Popular Democratic Party, assuming the mantle from its founder, Luis Munoz Marin, in the early 1970s. He was governor from 1973 to 1977 and, in two consecutive terms, from 1985 to 1993.

He made some bold decisions in his first term, seeking to increase the islands autonomy in its complex relationship with the United States.
In the 1930s, when students, supported by underground operatives of the C.C.P. (which was illegal then), took to the streets to demand that Chiang Kai-sheks ruling Nationalist Party do more to protect China from Japan, they invoked the May Fourth spirit. The Nationalist Party also claimed that it best exemplified that spirit. The contest to appropriate the legacy of Wusi was on.

Come 1989, it was the leaders of the C.C.P. themselves  by then long in power  who were targeted by a fresh generation of students calling for a New May Fourth Movement.

Once again, the most important site of protests was Tiananmen. In the 1950s, the area in front of the gate had been turned into a square filled with monuments, including one at the center honoring Chinas revolutionary heroes. A frieze at the foot of that central structure depicts young men and women taking to the streets in 1919. It was in front of it that the students of 1989 set up their main base of operations.

On May 4 of that year, as the C.C.P. commemorated the 70th anniversary of Wusi inside The Great Hall of the People, to one side of Tiananmen Square, the protesters held a competing event on the plaza. Once again, two opposing political camps were both claiming the mantle of the 1919 movement. Exactly one month later, the Peoples Liberation Army rolled in, killing hundreds, probably several thousands, of demonstrators and residents.

What are widely known in the West as the Tiananmen Square protests are called Liusi Yundong, or the June Fourth Movement, in Chinese  a reference to the day of the massacre in 1989, of course, but also an echo of the uprising of 1919.

And yet today, while Wusi appears in many online and print publications across the Chinese mainland, Liusi is taboo.

Under President Xi Jinping, the C.C.P.s efforts to control the meaning of the Wusi protests have continued unabated. The movement holds a revered place in official chronologies, as a turning point and the start of modern times in China. The party, playing on the kind of national pride extolled back in 1919, boasts today that China no longer appeases, but leads, on the international scene.
In other words, its a cynical exercise in abdication dressed as an act of responsibility. Knock a few high-profile bigots down. Throw a thick carpet over much of the rest. Then figure out how to extract a profit from your new model.

Assuming thats Facebooks deeper calculation  its hard to think of another  then it may wind up solving the companys short-term problems. But it might also produce two equally dismal results.

On the one hand, Facebook will be hosting the worst kinds of online behavior. In a public note in March, Zuckerberg admitted that encryption will help facilitate truly terrible things like child exploitation, terrorism, and extortion. (For that, he promised to work with law enforcement. Great.)

On the other hand, Facebook is completing its transition from being a simple platform, broadly indifferent to the content it hosts, to being a publisher that curates and is responsible for content. Getting rid of Farrakhan, Jones and the others are the easy calls for now, because they are such manifestly odious figures and they have no real political power.

But what happens with the harder calls, the ones who want to be seen publicly and cant be swept under: alleged Islamophobes, militant anti-immigration types, the people who call for the elimination of Israel? Facebook has training documents governing hate speech, and is now set to deploy the latest generation of artificial intelligence to detect it.

But the decision to absolutely ban certain individuals will always be a human one. It will inevitably be subjective. And as these things generally go, it will wind up leading to bans on people whose views are hateful mainly in the eyes of those doing the banning. Recall how the Southern Poverty Law Center, until recently an arbiter of moral hygiene in matters of hate speech, wound up smearing Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz, both champions of political moderation, as anti-Muslim extremists.

Facebook probably cant imagine that its elaborate systems and processes would lead to perverse results. And not everything needs to be a slippery slope.
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Is Donald Trump an aberration? If he is, Joe Biden is the perfect Democratic candidate to defeat him next year, the steady hand that can restore decency, steer a middle course between Wall Street and Main Street, and reinvigorate the shaken liberal democratic order.

I dont think Trump is an aberration. On the contrary, hes the face, however duplicitous, of a revolution against the Party of Davos, the network of elites whose economic and cultural prescriptions came to be seen by myriad voters across the United States and Europe as camouflage for a self-serving heist. Biden has been a regular attendee at Davos.

Trumps brilliance lay in seeing that he could become the perfect impostor, the wealthy and highly visible figurehead of a 21st-century movement of the dispossessed and the invisible. He could be their voice. He could say the unsayable. He could disrupt. He could restore violence to a wan political stage of PowerPoint slides. He could take on the China that had put millions of people to work on the cheap in its factories and so, from the Midwest to the British Midlands, de-industrialized much of the West.

If people felt like nobodies, felt abandoned, felt there was not only growing inequality in wealth but inequality of recognition, felt their very language had been anesthetized by all-knowing elites more at home in global capitals than in the provinces of their own countries, then somebody could speak for liberalisms disappeared  and maybe even win. Steve Bannon saw this. Trump grasped this and did win, not as the creator of a movement but as the media-savvy messenger of a groundswell.
MAGAZINE

An article on Page 64 about the acquisition of Remington by Cerberus misstates the birthplace of Stephen Feinberg, a founder of Cerberus. He was born in the Bronx, not Spring Valley, N.Y., which is where he grew up.



An article on Page 54 about Meow Wolf, an art collective that creates immersive and interactive experiences, refers imprecisely to Creative Startups. It is a start-up accelerator, not a business incubator.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Monday about the former United States senator Richard G. Lugar referred incorrectly in part to his service in the Navy. He enlisted in 1956, not 1957, and he was commissioned an ensign, not a second lieutenant. It also misstated when he married Charlene Smeltzer. It was after he studied at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, not before. In addition, the obituary referred incorrectly to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, a program to help destroy surplus stocks of nuclear weapons. Congress passed it shortly after it was proposed by Mr. Lugar and Senator Sam Nunn in 1991; it did not take almost a decade to persuade Congress of the need for the program. The obituary also mistakenly included one item on a list of issues addressed by the Lugar Center, which Mr. Lugar established after leaving office. The center has not sponsored studies of education.



A picture caption with an obituary on Friday about the fashion designer Corinne Cobson misstated where she was in the photograph. She was in the center, not second from the right.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.


How did your family react to the news that you would be out in the bush without any guns or weapons?

My husband was very positive about this. He said, You are going to make a change in our communities and in our kids and in our future generations.

My mother was scared. She said, These people are going to kill you! I explained that its not only for me but for future generations. They need to see wildlife in real life, not in postcards.

She is not scared anymore because she realized how great a job we are doing. My life is not in danger. These poachers are not in the reserve for the human beings, they are there for the animals. If they see us they dont come after us. They just run away.

I know how to interact in the bush. So, I dont feel in danger when Im in the bush. I dont go alone. We work in a group.

What was your scariest moment?

In 2014, I was with two of my colleagues patrolling the fence. There was a car parked next to the fence. They were outside the reserve and we were inside. If we see cars we greet them with smiles, but these people did not want to speak to us. They were poachers. I was scared. But we were not going to leave them there. We needed to show them that we are here with pride and we know what we are doing. They saw us try to take their number plate. We managed to scare them. They drove away.
Even Mr. Schumer conceded that Ms. Abramss decision came as a blow, though he tried to put a positive spin on it.

Stacey Abrams would have been a great candidate, and shed be a great senator, he said. But the good news is twofold: We have other good candidates, the polling data shows that Georgia is very winnable and Stacey is going to go all out in terms of registering voters, so that we can win in 2020.

Just who those other candidates are, however, is unclear. After Ms. Abrams bowed out, Teresa Tomlinson, a former mayor of Columbus, jumped in. Chuck Clay, a former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, called Ms. Tomlinson a strong and viable candidate. But the national party has not embraced her, and Mr. Schumer is said to be looking for other contenders.

Still, many strategists say the outlook for the party is not all bad. Democrats have had strong success in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is challenging the Republican incumbent, Senator Martha McSally. Ms. McSallys hold is tenuous; she lost to Senator Kyrsten Sinema last year but was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator John McCain. And Mr. Kelly already has an advantage of $1 million cash on hand.

Democrats are extremely enthusiastic about the candidacy of M. J. Hegar, a motorcycle-riding, Purple Heart-winning woman who is a former Air Force helicopter pilot and who is challenging Senator John Cornyn in Texas. Ms. Hegar narrowly lost a House race in November, and some party strategists say Democrats can coalesce around Ms. Hegar now that Mr. Castro has decided not to run.

This is a really great environment for Democrats, and in key races we have really strong candidates, said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster whose firm advises Senate candidates. How can you argue with Mark Kelly and Ben Ray and Hegar? he added, referring to Representative Ben Ray Lujan, who is seeking to succeed Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, who is retiring.

And while the map, as Ms. Duffy said, may not be as friendly to Democrats as the numbers suggest, it does look better for them in 2020 than it did in 2018, when the party was defending 10 seats in states won by Mr. Trump. This election cycle, Democrats are defending only two seats in those states: Alabama and Michigan, where Senator Gary Peters so far has no credible Republican challenger.
More than a year has passed since the resignation of Jorge Dominguez, a Harvard government professor who was accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen female students and junior faculty members over decades.

But his case has continued to prompt soul-searching and angry questions from students about a university culture that allowed him to stay employed and even get promoted, despite repeated complaints about his behavior.

Now a committee formed by the government department has joined a growing number of students and faculty members calling for an external review of Harvards response to complaints against Dr. Dominguez. The committee issued a 52-page report detailing recommended changes  including hiring more female professors and creating an anonymous reporting system for harassment  to ensure that such a case does not happen again.

Generations of students warned one another about Dominguezs behavior and developed coping strategies for interactions with him, the committee wrote in a letter delivered on Wednesday to the university president, Lawrence Bacow. Some students changed the focus of their research  at great cost  in order to avoid such interactions. This deplorable situation went on for more than 20 years.
Experts thought the settlement was necessary for the city. A jury could give $100 million, so they wanted to avoid that, said Walter Signorelli, a lawyer who represents clients suing the police, who is also a former deputy inspector of the New York City Police Department.

But social justice advocates, who have already noted what they see as troubling racial dimensions of the case, said the unusually large settlement further illuminates the difference between white and black victims of police violence.

[Read more about reactions to the Noor verdict and its racial components.]

The fact that this is the largest known case of a police abuse settlement in the history of Minneapolis, and that its on behalf of an affluent white woman, reinforces that there are two systems, said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and activist in Minneapolis. There are many people of color who have not received a dime from the city in the aftermath of their loved one being shot by the police.

Ms. Levy Armstrong said that government leaders were sending a signal that a white life is more valuable than a black life. She pointed to the $3 million settlement for the family of Philando Castile, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in a suburb of St. Paul during a traffic stop in 2016, as a prime example of the inequity. (The officer in that case was Latino; he was acquitted of manslaughter charges but left the police department.)

Chicago has paid two of the largest previous settlements in police shooting cases: $16 million to the family of Bettie R. Jones in 2018, and an $18 million settlement with the family of LaTanya Haggerty in 1999. The latter was believed to be the highest settlement in a fatal police shooting until Friday. Both of those victims were African-Americans.

But nationwide, the vast majority of families who lose someone in a questionable police shooting get nothing, experts said, and many cases are dismissed before trial. Last year, a Florida jury awarded $4 to the family of a man who was killed when the police fired through his closed garage door after a dispute in which they said he was holding a gun.

Another expert said the attention on the Noor case and on the large settlement reflected how significant police shootings have become in the public eye.
Cynthia Warmbier, the mother of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died in 2017 after being imprisoned for months in North Korea, said on Friday that diplomacy with its leader, Kim Jong-un, was a charade and likened Mr. Kims regime to absolute evil.

Its obvious to the world that were on to him, she said of Mr. Kim. But unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change, and Im very afraid that we are going to let up on this pressure.

She added: Theres a charade going on right now. Its called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? Thats what I want to know. Im all for it, but Im very skeptical.

She made the comments at the Hudson Institute in Washington, where she sat on a panel during a seminar on the abduction of Japanese, South Korean, American and nationals of other countries by North Korea, according to the institute.
RIO DE JANEIRO  President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil decided on Friday to cancel a trip to New York this month following weeks of controversy over the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerces decision to honor the far-right leader at its gala this year.

The chamber has been scrambling to keep the event on track since it announced last month that Mr. Bolsonaro had been selected to receive its person of the year award.

The honor set off outrage among environmental groups, gay activists and New York politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called Mr. Bolsonaro a dangerous man whose overt racism, homophobia and destructive decisions will have a devastating impact on the future of our planet.

The pushback began when the American Museum of Natural History, which had agreed to host the event before the honoree had been announced, reacted with dismay to Mr. Bolsonaros selection.
His work with these exceptionally talented musicians, who receive coveted fellowships lasting up to three years, has already had a lasting impact on classical music: Many alumni now play with major professional orchestras and ensembles.

That the current roster is inspired by Mr. Thomas was evident on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall, when he led the first of two New World programs to conclude his Perspectives series this season. The concert opened with the New York premiere of Julia Wolfes Fountain of Youth, all rumbling percussion, spiraling riffs and eerily cresting sustained sonorities, swirling in a musical melange with hints of indie rock and Minimalism.

Then the pianist Yuja Wang, also concluding her Perspectives series at Carnegie, was a fearless soloist in Prokofievs seldom-heard Piano Concerto No. 5. Completed in 1932, this compact, five-movement piece shows Prokofiev in his neo-Classical vein, though doing everything possible to disrupt the musics neo-Classical niceties. A stretch will start out sounding like some jovial toccata, then break into fractured phrases, brutal rhythms and gnashing harmonies.

The program ended with a freshly imaginative performance of Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. Mr. Thomas and his players conveyed the voluptuous colors and wildness of the music, but also, and more unusually, its refinement and delicacy, as in this excerpt from the waltzing second movement. (The video begins with the smoldering conclusion of the Prokofiev concerto, and the entire concert is available for viewing on medici.tv for three months.) ANTHONY TOMMASINI
BAKHITA

A Novel of the Saint of Sudan

By Veronique Olmi

Translated by Adriana Hunter

Veronique Olmis novel retells the story of a strong young woman who was exploited and dehumanized before finding herself in more merciful and hopeful circumstances. In Bakhita, fraught personal experiences intersect with historical and political events and time-honored religious practices, all encompassed within the span of the protagonists own life  which moves from a village in late-19th-century Sudan to a convent in post-World-War-II Italy, and from slavery to sainthood.

Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter into clear and affecting prose, Bakhita unfolds a distinctive array of timely concerns  the subjugation of women of color, human trafficking, female solidarity, personal and institutional conflicts that knot together issues of race, class, gender and religion  and explores them through the suffering, willpower and undiminished dignity of a small frightened girl turned resolute young woman turned gentle old nun. The novel also joins a much larger tradition of accounts of holy women and men that have been compiled over the centuries, including the Storia Meravigliosa (marvelous or wonderful story), a 1931 chronicle of Sister Josephine Bakhitas life that was disseminated by the Italian religious order she had joined.

To be sure, there is nothing wonderful in the first half of the novel, never mind the evidence for the meaning of Bakhitas name, lucky one in Arabic, which she is caustically assigned by one of the slave traders who sell and resell her and subject her to unspeakable barbarity. She never replaces it because she cant remember her real name or that of her village and family, all destroyed when she was first captured at about the age of 7, in the mid-1870s.

Image

Olmi traces out the childs successive captivities and introduces us to the fellow slaves she befriends and loses while being marched in chains from Darfur to Khartoum. In excruciating detail, Olmi describes whats done to Bakhita and what she sees done to others  women, children and babies  along a vulture-shadowed slave route and as an urban house slave. This could come across as gratuitously lurid, not least because the narrative is focused on and through Bakhita, whose psychological scarring is outpaced only by her physical scarring. On occasion, however, Olmi shifts into a cooler, more documentarian perspective that emphasizes the factual basis of both the individual story and its larger historical events. This prevents us from becoming either desensitized or cheaply fascinated by the otherwise relentless chronicling of Bakhitas misery-filled Sudan days.
Flowing next to and around these security and economic crises, Kershaw traces several positive, long-term trends in European history from 1950 to 2017 that are downright miraculous. Most important, most of the Continent lived in peace during the Global Age, a sharp contrast to the horrific atrocities chronicled in Kershaws previous volume in this series, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949. Second, partly as a consequence of this first achievement, Europeans on average became richer than at any time before. In Kershaws estimation, the period between 1950 and 1973 was especially prosperous  a golden age or an economic miracle for the western part of the Continent, and even a silver age for the Communist bloc. Eventually, as Kershaw celebrates, almost every European country embraced democracy, starting with transitions from authoritarian rule in Greece, Portugal and Spain, and following with an explosion of new democracies in Eastern Europe after the collapse of Communism in 1989. As Kershaw sums up, Europe is more peaceful, more prosperous and more free than at any time in its long history. Alongside these three positive trends of peace, prosperity and democracy, cooperation among European countries expanded dramatically, culminating in the creation of the European Union and the euro.

To be sure, all of these amazing trends have slowed or stalled. Europe has yet to fully recover from the 2008 financial crisis; autocratic restoration looms threateningly on the E.U.s borders in Turkey and Russia, and even inside the union in Hungary, while liberal democracy has yet to consolidate in several countries in the post-Communist world. With the departure of Britain, the European Union is, for the first time, retracting in size. And war returned to Europe in 2014 in Ukraine, where Russian annexation and intervention have sparked a military conflict that has already led to 10,000 lives lost and millions displaced. It would be premature, however, to predict a new negative trajectory. Peace, prosperity and democracy in Europe still have serious momentum.

Europes future is especially hard to predict, as Kershaw emphasizes, because it is easy to underestimate the role of contingency in historical change. Refreshingly, and against the grain of some current intellectual fads, Kershaw allows for the possibility that individuals  not just innate structural forces  can shape history. For instance, Kershaw assigns a pivotal role to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in transforming Germany from a Continental menace to an anchor of stability and prosperity. Khrushchev gets a big role in Kershaws narrative, too, for reducing repression in the Communist world. And Kershaw reminds us that Prime Minister David Camerons decision to hold a referendum on Brexit underscores how the tactical decisions of individual leaders can have strategic consequences. Kershaw ascribes the greatest agency of all to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The magnitude of Gorbachevs personal contributions to the dramatic change, not just in the Soviet Union itself but throughout Eastern Europe, can scarcely be exaggerated. This is not to say that Kershaw highlights only the role of political leaders  for good and for ill  in his narrative. He also brings in the masses, recounting how mobilized citizens destroyed Communism; an entire chapter is devoted to Power of the People.

Kershaws theory of agency in the making of history allows for a range of possibilities about the Continents future. European leaders should read The Global Age to be reminded of the incredible progress of the last 70 years  and told that such progress is something they have the power to sustain through their individual actions. American leaders should also read this book to learn how much better off we have been and could continue to be in concert with a continent of free, secure and prosperous allies.
Dr. Bridget Catherine Dowd and Dr. Samuel Joseph Kiernan were married May 4 at the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, N.J. The Rev. James J. Grogan, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony.

The couple met at Georgetown, from which each graduated cum laude.

The bride, 31, who is taking her husbands name, is a fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. In July, she is to begin an advanced clinical and research fellowship in nutrition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She received a medical degree from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

She is the daughter of Susan Clark Dowd and Charles J. Dowd of Fair Haven, N.J.

The groom, 32, is a resident in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He completed his premedical post-baccalaureate program at Columbia, and received a medical degree from Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

He is a son of Lisa Edmondson Kiernan and John S. Kiernan of Pelham, N.Y.

The groom is a paternal great-great-great-grandson of Thomas F. Gilroy, the mayor of New York City from 1893 to 1894.
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If the questions that were asked of prospective jurors are any indication, the racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Keith Raniere, founder of the cultlike group Nxivm, may require not only stamina from the jury, but also the ability to listen to potentially uncomfortable testimony.

Before choosing a jury on Monday morning, a judge in federal court in Brooklyn winnowed the pool of possible jurors with a questionnaire appeared to ask, among other things, whether they can be fair to someone with multiple sexual partners and how they feel about sexually explicit images and possibly skin modifications (such as tattoos and branding).

They also may have been asked if they had ever taken Scientology courses or participated in self-help groups like the Landmark Forum or EST, according to a draft of the juror questionnaire.

Mr. Raniere stands accused of running Nxivm, which billed itself as a self-help group, like a cult, subjugating and abusing women who joined, and former members said, punishing those whose disobeyed his orders to have sex only with him.
Richard A. Brown, the Queens County district attorney who in almost three decades in that office prosecuted police officers accused of committing unjustified killings, robbery defendants who executed potential witnesses and a doctor convicted of murder for fatally botching an abortion, died on Saturday in a hospice care facility in Redding, Conn. He was 86.

The cause was complications of Parkinsons disease, his son, Todd Brown, said.

In January, after seven terms in office, Mr. Brown announced that he would not seek re-election. In March, with his seventh term in office scheduled to end on Dec. 31, Mr. Brown announced that he would step down on June 1, the 28th anniversary of my first assuming this office.

He said he had hoped to finish out the term, but given his health issues, it had become increasingly difficult to fully perform the powers and duties of my office in the manner in which I have done since 1991.

Mr. Brown, a former judge who left the calm of an appellate court for the pressures of a big-city prosecutors office, was known in his early years on the job for showing up at crime scenes, an unusual practice for the citys district attorneys.
But his efforts had caught the attention of San Diegos city attorney at the time, John Witt. Mr. Witt called Mr. Gwinn to his office and told him it was going to be difficult, but he understood what Mr. Gwinn had tried to do. He told me to go out and figure out how to win these cases, Mr. Gwinn said.

Mr. Gwinn began ordering 911 tapes in all domestic violence cases. He asked the police to take pictures of everything: the crime scene, the victims, even the perpetrators raging in the backs of police vehicles. Any possible shred of evidence that existed, Mr. Gwinn wanted. He began to go out to local police departments to enlist them in his mission. When one sergeant told Mr. Gwinn that he was never going to prosecute these cases successfully, Mr. Gwinn created a messaging system to let the police know how their cases were resolved. It gave the officers a sense of agency, learning their efforts could actually make a difference.

Mr. Gwinn tried 21 cases in a row, all domestic violence misdemeanors. All without the victim testifying.

He won 17 of them.

By the mid-1990s, Mr. Gwinn had become a national leader in evidence-based prosecution; he and a colleague trained thousands of lawyers around the country. He believed fervently that if we could prosecute murderers without a victims cooperation, we could prosecute batterers.

The movement gained momentum across the country, particularly in left-leaning states and states with stricter domestic violence laws. Still, there were many rural and conservative areas where it hadnt gained much traction  places like Montana.

Could evidence-based prosecution have saved Michelle Monson Mosure and her children? In addition to her affidavit, had anyone investigated further after she recanted, they might have learned how Rocky had threatened his family once with Michelles grandfathers gun, or how hed sometimes take the children as leverage to coerce Michelle into obeying him. They might have learned he was stalking his wife when she left the house, isolating her from friends and family  all of which could have come together to paint a picture of a family in serious danger.

In the end, its impossible to say whether Michelle could have been saved. But three years after her death came Crawford v. Washington, the case that nearly crushed two decades of progress.
After searing investigations by journalists and patient advocates, the F.D.A. has promised to make transformative changes to medical device regulation. But so far, the agencys suggestions have been meager at best. And in the meantime, regulators have accelerated the device approval process, not slowed it down.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of the agency office in charge of device regulation, has suggested that the benefits of bringing innovative products to market quickly are worth the increased risks.

Its true that devices have restored hearing, vision and the ability to walk and have provided many other benefits to millions of people. But the drive to innovate does not justify the growing catalog of medical device disasters. Patients should not have to wonder whether devices will save their lives or destroy them. Reasonable changes could greatly improve the current system.

Image Credit... Sofia Pashaei

Tighten approval standards. Regulatory loopholes  some of which date to the dawn of device regulation and were not meant to be permanent  enable companies to bring new or updated medical devices to market without testing them in human trials first. Companies need only to convince regulators that their products are similar to ones that are already approved, even if the other products are decades old or were subsequently pulled from the market. Eight years ago the Institute of Medicine advised the F.D.A. to abolish at least one of these loopholes, whats known as the 510(k) pathway. Its past time for the agency to heed that advice, and to ensure that no medical device intended for permanent residence inside a human body is used on patients without first being rigorously tested.

Fix post-market surveillance: Industry proponents say that medical devices can be brought to market quickly and safely by having companies conduct rigorous testing after products go to market instead of beforehand. But companies often fail to complete such studies, even when theyre ordered by regulators. Whats more, device makers frequently skirt rules requiring them to report publicly all incidents of malfunction, injury or illness  often through mechanisms that the F.D.A. itself created. And after years of wrangling, the industry and its regulators have still not fully put a system in place to better notify patients of product recalls and other safety issues.

The F.D.A. has vowed to fix some of these lapses. Theyve promised to abolish reporting exemptions  as detailed by Kaiser Health News  that keep safety issues hidden from the public and to promote breast implant registries that monitor patient outcomes.
The second explanation involved forgetting or obliviousness. A mother in Illinois said: My husband is a participatory and willing partner. Hes not traditional in terms of I dont change diapers. But his attention is limited. She added, I cant trust him to do anything, to actually remember.

A dad in San Francisco said that many of the tasks of parenting werent important enough to remember: I just dont think these things are worth attending to. A certain percentage of parental involvement that my wife does, I would see as valuable but unnecessary. A lot of disparity in our participation is that.

Finally, some men blamed their wives personalities. A San Diego dad said his wife did more because she was so uptight. She wakes up on a Saturday morning and has a list. I dont keep lists. I think theres a belief that if shes not going to do it, then it wont get done. (His wife agreed that this was true, but emphasized that her belief was based on experience: We fell into this easy pattern where he learned to be oblivious and I learned to resent him.)

A father in Portland , Ore., confirmed that his wife takes on more but said: It has to do with her personality. She always has to stay busy. No matter what day of the week it is, she has a need to be engaged, to be doing something.

Many mothers told me they had tried to change this and had aired their grievances with their partners, only to watch as nothing changed. A mother in Queens said she spent three years trying to get her husband to do more before coming to terms with the fact that maybe it was never going to happen. He notices the unfairness, but he just accepts it as something we have a disagreement about, she said. How much convincing of the other person can you do?

All this comes at a cost to womens well-being, as mothers forgo leisure time, professional ambitions and sleep. Wives who view their household responsibilities as unjust are more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not, one study says. When their children are young, employed women (but not men) take a hit to their health as well as to their earnings  and the latter never recovers. Child-care imbalances also tank relationship happiness, especially in the early years of parenthood.

Division of labor in the home is one of the most important gender-equity issues of our time. Yet at the current rate of change, MenCare, a group that promotes equal involvement in caregiving, estimates that it will be about 75 more years before men worldwide assume half of the unpaid work that domesticity requires.
They calumniated the dignified professor in front of her parents, calling her a liar, a fantasist, an erotomaniac and a vengeful scorned woman. I remember chasing Arlen Specter, the usually moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, down the hall of the Russell Senate Office Building after he slandered Hill as a perjurer.

Priding himself on his comity with his Republican colleagues, Biden set up the rules to favor Thomas.

First, Hill says, he reneged on a promise to let her testify first. Then he agreed to go along with Republicans contention that the judges behavior outside work was not relevant, which prevented testimony about Thomass taste for porn.

Yet Biden let Orrin Hatch, the Republican Savonarola from Utah, imply that Thomas could not possibly know the vocabulary of porn and suggest that Hill had gotten the pubic hair line from The Exorcist, which she had never read. (This, even though reporters had Thomass list of porn rentals from a local video store.)

Biden was striving to be fair to his vicious, duplicitous Republican colleagues who were jamming an arch-conservative liar onto the Supreme Court.

Comey also got tangled up on the issue of fairness, with disastrous results. Afraid that he would be blamed if it was discovered that the F.B.I. had been secretly investigating the woman expected to be the next president, the then-F. B.I. chief violated his own agencys norms to announce that he was reopening the inquiry into Hillary Clintons emails on the cusp of the election.

But he did not tell the public that the F.B.I. was also looking into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. As The Times has now revealed, the F.B.I. was worried enough to set up a honey trap, sending a comely government investigator posing as a research assistant to draw out George Papadopoulos , a Trump campaign adviser, in a London bar.
Over the last week, weve been focused on Attorney General William Barrs distortions of the Mueller Report, but many years ago he did something even more damaging. In his first stint as attorney general, Barr in 1992 issued a report called The Case for More Incarceration. He was one of many politicians and officeholders, Democrats as well as Republicans, who led the United States, with 5 percent of the worlds population, to hold almost 25 percent of the worlds prisoners.

Finally, America is beginning to unravel this historic mistake.

The best thing the Trump administration has done so far is its backing of the bipartisan First Step Act on criminal justice reform. The act, signed into law by Trump in December, marked a turning point away from mass incarceration, and small numbers of federal offenders have been released early since then.

I saw the new mood on criminal justice while moderating a panel the other day at the Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles. Beside me was Republican Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi, a conservative with whom I agree on nothing else, but he has worked heroically since 2014 to reduce Mississippis prison population by 11 percent. This has saved the state $46 million, he said.

Bryant also argued in the panel discussion for ending Americas system of de facto debtor prisons, in which poor people end up jailed because of an inability to pay fines. This is a problem in many states: One day when I visited the Tulsa county jail, 23 people were locked up simply for failure to pay government fines and fees.

Another conservative on the panel, Mark Holden of Koch Industries, spoke eloquently about how our criminal justice system traps people in poverty when they need second chances. He said that the system is so flawed that it needs to be blown up, quite frankly  in a nonviolent way.
When Dr. Courtwright met with the patients wife to recommend another procedure, she surprised him with her response: You need to look me in the eye and tell me youre recommending that because you think he is going to get better, not just because you want to keep him alive for another three months. Dr. Courtwright did believe that his patient could ultimately improve, but he could understand her worry. Thats where the one-year mortality metrics really create some paradoxical incentives, and the impression of paradoxical incentives, he said.

In response to these concerns, the Department of Health and Human Services called for comments on a proposal to do away with the one-year metric for transplant program C.M.S. reaccreditation, though the metric will remain in the initial accreditation process. And we continue to know relatively little about how patients are doing beyond whether they are alive or dead. I could get anyone to a year, said Dr. Formica.  But do you get back to work? Do you get back to being with your family? We dont know.

Indeed, despite all the clinical data that transplant programs are required to report to regulatory bodies, there is no similarly rigorous tracking of health-related quality of life. One reason is that mortality is easier to measure; the level of functioning that is important to an individual varies from person to person and changes over time.

Perhaps there is no single metric that defines success, said Dr. Hilary Goldberg, who heads the lung transplant program at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Sitting with patients in the transplant clinic, trying to help them imagine life after this momentous surgery, she hopes for a more fluid system of reporting that is able to weigh factors based on what different people need.

The question for me becomes, Who is the audience we are trying to satisfy with these metrics? she said. Patients, regulators and doctors might all value slightly different measures, which is challenging. But if we wanted to define the perfect system, it has to be more malleable.

Its been almost a year and a half since Ms. Favazzas transplant. She said it seemed as though she spent all her time returning to the hospital for a clinic visit, a new scan or a procedure. But she can run her daily errands without carting around her oxygen. She no longer needs to worry when she cant find a parking spot near a store entrance. After years without travel, she is planning a trip to Florida.

Her surgery is a success story by any metric, not just by the one-year mortality measure.

Its about being able to breathe and to do what you need to do, she told me. Then she paused. No  not just what you need to do, but what you want to do. Being able to do the little things, kids birthday parties, Easter. For me, its being able to do all of that again.

Daniela J. Lamas is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

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Q: I rent a market-rate apartment on the Upper West Side. About two months ago, moths started appearing in my closet, destroying my sweaters. The building has sent an exterminator twice, but the problem persists. Do I have grounds to break my lease?

A: Your landlord must provide you with a habitable apartment, one that does not endanger your health, safety or well-being. However, it is unlikely that a judge would let you out of your lease because of moths, even if they are decimating your wardrobe.

While certainly an annoyance, Im not seeing how this particular situation adversely impacts the units habitability, said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate attorney and adjunct professor at New York Law School.

If you simply break the lease and move out, you could be on the hook for the balance of the lease and any legal fees the landlord assumes  a sum that could be quite substantial, Mr. Ferrara said.
James: When he talks about the past, he looks at me.

Charles: Im just so relieved. I thought that I was the oldest one here, but then I saw you and, thought, Oh, thank God.

Jack: I was rereading the Sontag essay in preparation for this, and I do think that camp is a sensibility, an aesthetic sensibility. I would imagine it really derived from gay culture, gay male culture initially, and then has widened through every different group. Sontag starts with Oscar Wilde, which is a reasonable place to start because he was such a funny commentator on the unnatural.

At the time, people wouldnt have necessarily expressed their antipathy to same-sex sexuality through what we call homophobia, but they would have said, This is unnatural. And so, you could say that one of the foundational gestures of camp is to say, Its unnatural? Absolutely.

Zaldy: The term was in black and white in the dictionary in the last century, but camp and its queer roots have been there as far back as it goes. Its just  camp. I mean, imagine Roman orgies  thats camp! That is full-on camp.

Charles: If we were back at the Roman orgy, itd be our perception of it as opposed to somebody elses. Maybe a heterosexual person at the Roman orgy might just be going at it from purely the sex angle, but if we were there, wed be amused at the look of it, or the person whos posing and looks foolish because they want to be something that they actually are not. I think an element of camp is what the truth is and what the perception is, when theyre two different things. Thats where often the humor comes in.

Carmelita: I also think that its really important to put women in. I came from the 80s, but women were also dressing up and were also acting out in cabaret around that time. Maybe they were not as visible.
Any settlement will also be looked at as a measure of the Trump administrations willingness to penalize one of the countrys most valuable and influential companies. The administration has whittled away regulations in many industries, but President Trump has repeatedly said tech giants like Facebook and Amazon have too much power.

Many Democrats have led efforts to rein in Silicon Valleys power.

This is a hugely important decision because it will be watched by all these big companies to see if there is actually going to be a new day on the enforcement front, said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed for Mr. Zuckerberg to be held personally liable in any settlement.

Rohit Chopra, one of the two Democrats on the commission, has publicly urged stronger punishment of repeated offenders of F.T.C. rules.

But Mr. Simons has appeared unwilling to force the issue and drag the case to court, which could be a risky move. He has recently intensified his efforts to get at least one of the two Democrats on his side, according to one of the people with knowledge of the talks. But the internal disagreements have held up a final agreement.

In addition to the fine, Facebook has agreed, as part of a proposed settlement, to create new positions that would be focused on privacy policies and compliance, two of the people said. The agency, in coordination with the company, would set up an independent committee to oversee Facebooks privacy efforts. That committee and the F.T.C. would appoint an outside assessor to monitor the companys handling of data.

The company has also agreed to assign an executive as a privacy compliance officer, making privacy oversight a job within the top ranks, the people said. Mr. Zuckerberg could be given the job, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, although another person expressed doubts.
MIAMI  For Darwing Silva, the first sign that something was amiss when his flight landed in Jacksonville, Fla., during a thunderstorm late on Friday was that it seemed the jet did not brake after hitting the runway.

Lights zoomed by the window. He traded worried glances with other passengers.

Then came the jolt.

It was just the biggest impact Ive ever felt in my life, Mr. Silva said on Saturday. Like an explosion, almost.

He lurched forward in his seat  14B, the middle seat in an exit row  and hit his head on the seatback in front of him.

Seconds later, Mr. Silva felt water. Up to my ankles, he said. And there was water coming in from above the roof of the plane.
It seemed no accident that Mr. Biden quickly took his deal-making case from the swing state of Pennsylvania to Dubuque County, which flipped from the Democratic column to Mr. Trump in 2016, and sits in the middle of the densest stretch of counties in the nation that made the same shift to Mr. Trump.

Yet many on the left believe that Mr. Bidens nostalgia for a bygone era of comity, compromise and civility  while appealing  is misplaced, or even naive. They question whether historic pragmatism can even be considered pragmatic anymore in an era of norm-busting hyperpartisanship.

Joe Biden knows better, said Brian Fallon, a former top spokesman for Hillary Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer, because Joe Biden was the wingman for Barack Obama, who in his first year in his presidency had Mitch McConnell say his No. 1 objective was that Barack Obama wasnt re-elected.

Mr. Fallon acknowledged the political temptation to be less partisan sounding, by condemning only Mr. Trump in an attempt to appeal to disaffected Republicans. Im not saying a candidate needs to go around preaching doom and gloom, he said. But for the good of the country  beyond the short-term political calculus  we need someone who is cleareyed about the situation they will be inheriting if they win the White House.

Some Democratic strategists point to Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a candidate who grasps the challenges to bipartisan deal-making. While he has offered rhetorical gestures to Republicans  casting himself as a consensus-seeking executive in a red state, Indiana  he has embraced more radical ideas that would help Democrats bypass the opposition party, such as eliminating the filibuster and stacking the Supreme Court with additional justices.

It took Ms. Warren only two days after the 2016 election to cast Mr. Trump as an outgrowth of an electorate demanding change. The final results may have divided us  but the entire electorate embraced deep, fundamental reform of our economic system and our political system, she said then.
WASHINGTON  Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said on Saturday that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term, the third Republican senator to do so ahead of the 2020 campaign.



Mr. Enzi, 75, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, has held his seat since 1997, making him the longest-serving Wyoming senator in modern times. Speaking at a news conference in his home state, he said he planned to spend the rest of his tenure focusing on budget overhaul.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, Mr. Enzi said. I want to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt.

I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign, he added.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, praised Mr. Enzis time in the Senate, calling him a respected moral leader.
Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling author who challenged conservative Christianity and gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville. She was 37.

Her husband, Daniel Evans, said in a statement on her website that the cause was extensive brain swelling. During treatment for an infection last month, Ms. Evans began experiencing brain seizures and had been placed in a medically induced coma.

I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake, Mr. Evans said in a statement. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all, and her work will long survive her.

An Episcopalian, Ms. Evans left the evangelical church in 2014 because, she said, she was done trying to end the churchs culture wars and wanted to focus instead on building a new community among the churchs refugees: women who wanted to become ministers, gay Christians and those who refuse to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith.
KINSHASA, Congo  More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the countrys health minister said on Friday, the second-worst outbreak of the disease in history behind the West African one in 2014-16 that killed more than 11,300.

The toll came as hostility toward health workers continued to hamper efforts to contain the virus.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that four deaths in the outbreaks center, Katwa, had helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo. The outbreak was declared almost nine months ago.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the spread of the disease in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have been repeatedly attacked, leaving government health officials to run clinics in the hot spots like Butembo and Katwa.

International aid organizations stopped working in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the World Health Organization was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
JOHANNESBURG  The war room for the African National Congress candidates running in local elections three years ago was an elaborate operation with new computers, wall monitors, lodging for volunteers and catered food three times a day.

But the A.N.C., the party in power for the 25 years since the end of apartheid, did not fund its own war room. A South African company named Bosasa paid for everything, including the wages of the so-called volunteers, according to recent testimony at a government inquiry on corruption.

Now as South Africans prepare to vote in a pivotal general election on May 8, the public does not know where the A.N.C. and the opposition parties raised the tens of millions of dollars needed to run rallies, print posters, buy television ads and perform myriad other tasks as part of their campaigns across a vast land of 57 million people.

Though South Africa has long been held up as a model of democratization, revelations at the inquiry indicate that the financing of its elections appears to be riddled with the same kind of corrupt practices that have consumed the nation in recent years.
Campaign for European elections : Demonstrations at AfD event in Bonn

Bonn On Friday, a hundred police officers secured an AfD event at the Haus der Bildung in Bonn and counter-demonstrations. Employees of the Volkshochschule protested against the use of their rooms by the political party.

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According to the German Constitution, everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely. All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully without permission. Two opposing camps made use of those two fundamental rights on Friday. The police showed a strong presence and reported in the evening: No violence, no special incidents.

The municipal House of Education used the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for an election campaign event for the European elections on May 26, almost 80 listeners accepted the invitation of the opponents of the Euro and immigration. Outside, on two sides of the completely closed Mulheimer Platz, several hundred people gathered for a counter-demonstration called by various left-wing groups, church organisations and trade unions.

It was necessary to "oppose the racist party at every point", but also to talk to those who, out of pure dissatisfaction, were looking for a political alternative, said Diakonie chief Ulrich Hamacher, one of the speakers on the stage of the group "Bonn crosses the line". In the passage between Karstadt and Cassiusbastei, mainly young counter-demonstrators chanted slogans against the AfD. Their visitors were led by the police via Munsterstrae to the Haus der Bildung.

Compared to the outside scenes, the atmosphere was quite calm and concentrated inside the hall. Hans Neuhoff, deputy AfD district chairman, spoke about the "construction errors of the EU" before the external guests, Christian Loose and Sven Tritschler, members of the state parliament, also had the opportunity to speak. In the beginning, Neuhoff thanked the Haus der Bildung and the city for making the event possible.

As reported, there had already been discussions in the run-up to the event about the young right-wing party, which represents the largest opposition faction in the German Bundestag and hopes for a two-digit election result in the European elections. At first, the AfD criticised the city administration because of alleged unequal treatment with the letting of urban areas. Mayor Ashok Sridharan (CDU) rejected the accusations: "Of course the city of Bonn treats the AfD like all other admitted parties", the Mayor told the General-Anzeiger.

While the case seemed solved for the time being for the administration due to the neutrality obligation, the controversy went on. Still, on Friday a group of lecturers of the adult education center expressed their protest against the AfD meeting in the rooms in which they teach regularly German and which they use themselves with much commitment for tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and integration. Values which the AfD stands programmatically against. They expressed their concern in a letter to the VHS management. But there were also other voices in the debate about the event. CDU Council member Nikolaus Kircher, for example, clearly rejected the call for the closure of municipal buildings to selected parties: "The dispute should be conducted politically and not by denying rights", said the Christian Democrat.
SHANCHONG, China  China has made your iPhone, your Nikes and, chances are, the lights on your Christmas tree. Now, it wants to grow your cannabis.

Two of Chinas 34 regions are quietly leading a boom in cultivating cannabis to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating compound that has become a consumer health and beauty craze in the United States and beyond.

They are doing so even though cannabidiol has not been authorized for consumption in China, a country with some of the strictest drug-enforcement policies in the world.

It has huge potential, said Tan Xin, the chairman of Hanma Investment Group, which in 2017 became the first company to receive permission to extract cannabidiol here in southern China. The chemical is marketed abroad  in oils, sprays and balms as treatment for insomnia, acne and even diseases like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. (The science, so far, is not conclusive.)
They agreed that the partys attempt to rout out black money by invalidating most of Indias currency, known as demonetization, had not really worked.

But the question of whether Mr. Modi was responsible for his governments more polarizing moments divided them.

Ms. Khichi, a senior who plans to work for the consulting company Deloitte after graduating, said bad people in Mr. Modis party were taking advantage of his popularity to insert religion into politics.

It is not Modi who is promoting Hinduism, she said. It is the people behind him.

Mr. Parmar raised the case of Gauri Lankesh, an Indian journalist and critic of the government, who was murdered in 2017 by members of a militant Hindu group.

After her death, a man who described himself on Twitter as a Hindu nationalist wrote: One bitch dies a dogs death all the puppies cry in the same tune. Mr. Parmar pointed out that Mr. Modi was following that person.

It means Modi is supporting him, he said.

The third person in the classroom, Mr. Kirar, 23, said he was still undecided. Choosing between the B.J.P. and the Indian National Congress, he said, was like picking one of two snakes.

Regardless of which gets chosen, he said, they are both going to bite you anyway.
JEJU, South Korea  When North Korea launched a volley of projectiles off its east coast on Saturday, it sought to escalate the pressure on President Trump to return to the negotiating table with a compromise on easing sanctions, analysts said, by signaling that it could scuttle his biggest diplomatic achievement with the North.

Saturdays weapons tests were the most serious by the North since the country launched its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017. Although North Korea has not gone so far as to renege on its moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests, which its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced last year, the Saturday launch indicated that Mr. Kim was toying with the idea of lifting the moratorium, analysts said.

[Update: North Korea fired a projectile on Thursday. The launch was its second weapons test in less than a week.]

Mr. Trump has repeatedly described the moratorium as his biggest achievement on North Korea, citing it as proof that his diplomacy with Mr. Kim has been working. The leaders have met twice: first in Singapore in June and again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February.
After Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China talked over a steak dinner in December at a Group of 20 meeting in Argentina, the administration decided to shelve the proposed sanctions, according to the American officials. The two leaders had set a deadline of March 1 to reach a broad trade agreement, and American officials decided the sanctions could wait until after that deadline. But trade negotiators failed to reach a deal by that date, and talks are still continuing.

China has cracked down on ethnic minorities like the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking group of mostly Sunni Muslims, who form the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang. For decades, many Uighurs have resented Communist Party rule, saying Chinese officials suppress their culture and religion and practice widespread discrimination.

Officials in Beijing say they fear terrorist ideas have taken root among the Uighurs and point to outbursts of violence in recent years, particularly a deadly riot in the capital of Xinjiang in 2009. A vast internment program began soon after, largely under the orders of Chen Quanguo, who became party chief of Xinjiang in August 2016, after a stint in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Of the majority-Muslim nations, only Turkey has strongly denounced the recent mass detentions and surveillance in Xinjiang, though Ankara maintains strong economic ties to Beijing.

Beijing hasnt significantly changed its policies in Xinjiang, said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch. So its still appropriate the United States go ahead with the sanctions.

As a last-ditch effort, activists are now pushing American officials to insert the humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang into the trade talks, which may wrap up next week in Washington, or to impose sanctions to pressure China to end persecution in the region.

On Friday, a group of about a dozen demonstrators, many of whom are Uighurs living in the United States, gathered in Washington outside of a conference focused on sanctions policy to pressure Treasury Department officials to take action against Chinese officials involved in the Xinjiang abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act.
In the weeks before North Korea fired rockets and guided weapons on Saturday, President Trump countermanded the Treasury Department, reversing an announcement that it was tightening economic sanctions against the country.

The reason, his press secretary declared, was that President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

Now, nearly a year after beginning a bold experiment in the power of personal diplomacy, Mr. Trump has run headlong into its limits. He has discovered that friendship between leaders of bitter nuclear rivals may produce good television, but that it is not a counterproliferation strategy.

After gaining few tangible economic benefits from two summit meetings, the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, is now turning to a well-worn playbook written by his father and grandfather. On Saturday, the North fired a volley of projectiles off its eastern coast in a move that analysts said was intended to escalate the pressure on Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table. And as Mr. Trump heads into the 2020 election, that strategy may threaten what the president has trumpeted as a signature diplomatic initiative, depriving him of the stump-speech moments to declare he brought peace where his predecessors failed.
Empty beer cans found : Police stop drunken bus driver in Bonn

Bonn A bus driver apparently drove under the influence of alcohol on a scheduled route from Rheinbach to Bonn on Thursday evening. A passenger had reported the 51-year-old. Police found three empty beer cans in his pocket.

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A passenger called the police late on Thursday evening at 11 pm on his way from Rheinbach to Bonn because of the unsafe driving style of a bus driver. The officers then stopped the bus on Rochusstrae in Duisdorf, according to the report. A breathalyser alcohol test showed that the 51-year-old driver was behind the wheel with a 0.5 alcohol level per mille in his breath.

Three empty beer cans were also found in the man's pocket. Because of the special responsibility for passenger transport, bus drivers are subject to an absolute ban on alcohol. The driver had to leave the bus and accompany the officers to the station. There, a blood sample was taken from him because of the suspicion of the endangerment of the road traffic by driving under the influence of alcohol. His driving licence was seized.
Jain suggests researching where you are going by checking for travel warnings and outbreaks in the area. Other factors to take into consideration are whether your baby was born full-term and is healthy.

"I think you have to think very, very hard about it," Jain said. "Common sense would be critical." Jain has a 6-week-old and has decided to not travel outside the United States this summer.

If a child has not been vaccinated, is older than 12 months and international travel is planned, the initial MMR shot and a booster can be given within 28 days of each other. Traces of immunity are detectable within a few days, according to the CDC, and a person can be fully protected within two to three weeks.

If a child cannot be vaccinated due to an immunosuppression, the CDC says, travel should be delayed because the child is more likely to experience severe complications if they get the measles.

Protecting your child when travel is necessary

Vaccination is the easiest way to protect your child before traveling, but if the baby is too young to receive the vaccination or wasn't able to as an infant, there are a few things you can do to help minimize the risk of infection.
Its almost summer, and that means one special thing in my house  traveling!

I think the best education comes from travel. As a kid, I learned the importance of seeing and experiencing the world around me. I swam in the ocean, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate giant hamburgers in Pittsburgh, drove through the Midwest pretending I was in a covered wagon, spent the 4th of July on the levy in Louisiana, road a ferry in Seattle, saw the beauty of Oregon's Crater Lake and the history of South Dakota's Mount Rushmore. As an adult, I have been fortunate to add many others to that list.

My travels throughout the years created a lot of enjoyment and memories, but they also taught me extraordinarily important lessons I couldnt have gotten anywhere else. That's something I think is imperative for my kids, as well. I am passionate about the role travel can play in the educational development of children. Here are 7 reasons why its important for kids to travel.

1. Youll learn about other cultures. Whether here in the U.S. or abroad, traveling is the best way to get to know what other cultures are all about. What people wear, how they speak, their customs and cultural norms, hobbies, manners and etiquette.
A shareholder asserted that Berkshire would have expanded its cash pile to $155 billion from $118 billion if it had kept the cash in a stock index fund versus U.S. Treasury bills.

Its a perfectly rational observation, Buffett said.

Buffett expressed a willingness for Berkshire to change its investment strategy around its excess cash in the future. He said the change would be something his successor might wish to employ.

Buffett said he and Munger have liked having a lot of money to be able to make big moves fast. Opportunities tend to come in clumps when other people dont want to deploy cash, Buffett said. The two believe the capital on hand will be well-deployed and be better than an index fund.

Munger said its not a sin for such a large company to be strong on cash. Were not going to change.

Online competition for Berkshire retailers

Buffett said the jury is still out on how rapidly growing online retailers will do over time. Investors so far, he said, seem willing to look at losses as OK as long as sales are increasing, hoping better days are ahead.
The Bookworm bookstore in Omaha has a booth at the annual meeting displaying books approved by Warren Buffett for sale at the meeting.

More than 45 books are on the approved list, including many about Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway and investing as well as more general-interest books.

The two new books Buffett requested to be sold this year are:

Letters to Doris  One Womans Quest to Help Those with Nowhere Else to Turn. Doris Buffetts vision sounds simple: Provide people and families who have fallen on hard times with a place to be heard and match them with resources to help address whatever challenge they face. This effort is difficult, sometimes messy, and a constant reminder of the limitations to truly changing someone elses circumstances. At the same time, the stories contained in this book present a slice of the community that Doris created with the Letters Foundation.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

For the last 20 years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. Melindas unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention. She writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world  and ourselves.
A Douglas County jury on Friday ordered the Elkhorn Public Schools to pay a developer $4.6 million for land it acquired for a new high school near 180th Street and West Maple Road.

Jurors found that a board of appraisers $2.6 million award to the developer was not a fair market value for the 43.6 acres along the heavily traveled road.

The school district seized the land through a condemnation proceeding.

The extra $2 million takes into account the value of the land and the decrease in value of the adjacent 30 acres that the developer is left to work with, according to the jurys verdict.

The school district chose the land as the location of Elkhorn North High School. The school is slated to open in August 2020.

According to court documents, the land was owned by Tribedo, a Nebraska limited liability company. Arun Agarwal, a real estate developer with White Lotus Group, is listed as Tribedos registered agent in state government documents.

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Members of a Hamburg, Iowa, family returned to their flood-damaged home on Easter morning to discover that it had been looted.

After almost two weeks of investigating, police have arrested two suspects from Omaha.

A joint investigation by the Omaha Police Department and the Fremont (Iowa) County Sheriffs Office led to a man and woman in Omaha.

The pair were arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief.

When the family returned to the home to gather belongings on April 21, they discovered that it had been forcibly entered and that thousands of dollars worth of property was missing, police said. The driveway and yard were also damaged.

Both suspects were arrested in Omaha and are being held at the Douglas County Jail.
The writer is the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants and author of The Capitalist Comeback. This appeared in the Washington Post.

Some may question the economic acumen of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination is clearly no slouch when it comes to the art of politics. So, when Sanders says, as he did during an April 15 Fox News town hall, that illegal immigration has become a serious problem that merits government action, Democratic legislators should listen. Or pay attention to a Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday indicating that Democratic voters concern about a crisis at the southern border has jumped 17 points since January.

Maybe Democrats in Congress should work with Republicans to resolve the crisis before the 2020 election.

The recent surge of Central American migrants  more than 100,000 were apprehended or denied entry in March, the most in one month in a dozen years, according to the Washington Post  is beginning to play right into President Donald Trumps hands, and experienced politicians such as Sanders know it. Thats why he called for sensible immigration reform to accommodate an overflowing immigration system.
Personal finance decisions can have a far-ranging impact on ones life. Able management can provide long-term security or, at a minimum, help one cope with short-term financial stresses.

Draft standards for Nebraskas social studies curriculum call for helping young people develop financial literacy. Its a worthy goal the State Board of Education should include.

Nationally, most of the U.S. students participating in an annual financial literacy test by the National Financial Educators Council dont fare well. The average score was 66% last year for the 5,647 students nationwide, ages 15-18, who participated. The figure for Nebraskas 213 participating students was 66%; for Iowas 372 participants, it was 61%.

About 210 of Nebraskas 244 school districts offer a personal finance class. Of these, 95 districts, representing about 60% of the states students, require completion of a personal finance class for graduation.
Winning chances of crorepatis and candidates with criminal background in Delhi elections

SC tells political parties to upload on website, why tickets were given to criminal candidates

West Bengal elections: 35 constituencies to go to polls in final phase, fate of 283 candidates to be sealed

189 with pending criminal cases, 311 crorepatis contesting 6th phase of Lok Sabha polls

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: 189 candidates with pending criminal cases and 311 crorepatis will battle it out in the 6th phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms states that 189(20%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.

146(15%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

4 candidates have declared convicted cases against themselves. 6 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section -302) against themselves.

25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves.

5 candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping (IPC Section-363) and Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364), against themselves.

21 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354), husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A) etc and Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509) against themselves. Among these 21 candidates, 2 have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376) against themselves.

11 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

Among the major parties, 26(48%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 20 (44%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 19(39%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 34(11%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 18(33%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 12 (26%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 17(35%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 27(9%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Just 12 per cent of candidates are women in 5th phase of LS polls

34 out of 59 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those constituencies where 3 or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Financial:

There are 311(32%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more.

Among the major parties 46(85%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 37(80%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 31(63%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 6(50%) out of 12 candidates from AAP and 71(23%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 election is Rs. 3.41 crores.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 54 BJP candidates is Rs. 12.70 crores, 46 INC candidates is Rs 22.37 crores, 49 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 6.93 crores, and 12 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 3.01 crores.

Other details:

340(35%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 465(48%) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 153(16%) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. 7 candidates have not given their age. 2 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years.

83(9%) female candidates are contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:32 [IST]
AgustaWestland: Court pulls up ED for chargesheet leak

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: A Delhi Court pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged leak of a supplementary chargesheet in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case to the media, saying the denial given by the agency did not inspire any confidence and was not worthy of reliance.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar further directed ED's Director to ensure that no such incident like the leak of the documents is repeated in future in any matter.

The court was hearing a plea by Christian Michel, alleged middleman arrested in the case, seeking an enquiry into the leak in the money laundering case.

Michel had accused ED of politicising the case by passing the documents to the media.

AgustaWestland case: Advocate Gautam Khaitan granted bail by court

The ED had refuted the allegations of handing over the documents to the journalists and had filed a status report claiming there was no leakage of the chargesheet on its part and "most likely" the leak to the media was caused from an extra copy that was left with the court staff.

The court staff had denied receiving any extra copy from the ED.

In the order, the judge said the status report was "not worthy of reliance" as he noted that there was no direction from the court to the ED to file any additional copy, neither did the agency mention earlier that it had submitted an extra copy.

"Even if the version of ED is believed, it was totally uncalled for and negligent on the ED official to leave a copy with the Ahlmad (court staff)."

"The allegations made by the ED, on face of it, appears incorrect. The version of the ED is not inspiring any confidence and is not worthy of reliance," the court said.

The court refused to go into the issue regarding the media getting the access of the supplementary of the chargesheet and whether giving it to the scribes was a deliberate act or a result of negligence or carelessness.

"However, I deem it fit to direct the Director, ED, to take necessary steps to ensure that no such incident is repeated in future in any matter whatsoever. Further, this court does not find any contempt of court being committed (on part of ED)," the court said.

Earlier during the arguments, the ED had told the court that there was nothing wrong if the media published or broadcast its contents as the court has already taken cognisance of the case and only the fresh accused had to be summoned.

The agency had told the court that the charge sheet was a public document and there was nothing wrong if someone accessed it.

Michel's lawyer had told the court that there was a media trial due to the leakage of the chargesheet.

Michel, currently in judicial custody, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year after his extradition from Dubai.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the chopper scam by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

Production warrant issues in AgustaWestland chopper case

The agency had earlier told the court that Michel received 24.25 million euros and 1,60,96,245 pounds from the AgustaWestland deal.

The ED told the court that it had identified Michel's properties purchased with the proceeds of the crime.

The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:04 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

BJP leader shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir: Report

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 05: Gul Muhammad Mir, a BJP worker, was on Saturday shot dead by suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The party has alleged that his security was recently withdrawn by the state administration, currently run by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Mir, who was BJP's vice district president of Anantnag district, was hit by bullets on chest and abdomen. He had unsuccessfully contested Assembly Elections for Dooru assembly segment in 2008 and 2014.

Unidentified terrorists fired at the BJP leader at Nowgam Verinag, a police official told PTI.

Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

He was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he died of his injuries.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the attack.

"Ghulam Mohd office bearer of the BJP in South Kashmir has been shot & killed in Nowgam, Verinag. I condemn this dastardly act of violence & pray for the soul of the departed. May his soul rest in peace," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has also condemned the killing.

"I strongly condemn the killing of BJP leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

The area has been cordoned off.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:59 [IST]
Can you party on New Years in Karnataka? Here is what you should know

BJP will try to 'destabilise' Karnataka govt if it replicates 2014 LS feat: Minister

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, May 04: Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."

"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 19:14 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet

Congress, Samajwadi Party betrayed Mayawati: PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

"Congress leaders happily share stage with the Samajwadi Party in the rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati is attacking the Congress, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP, Modi said.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at a Samajwadi Party meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," he said.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party for cutting the votes of other parties and it will soon witness its downfall.

Attempting to draw a wedge in the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Modi claimed that BSP chief Mayawati has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a "big game" with her.

"Now, this is clear that the SP has derived mileage from Mayawati through the gathbandhan. She was kept in dark. There were talks about respect. It was said that you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now Behenji has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said there are dangers of corruption, opportunism, casteism, dynastic politics and non-governance from this alliance.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

"The panja (hand) of mahamilaawat is very dangerous," he added.
EC clears Shah of Wayanad-Pak remark but the decision was not unanimous

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president, Amit Shah were cleared in four complaints of alleged poll code violation by the Election Commission of India.

Of the four decisions, one was not unanimous and there was disagreement within the poll panel. The complaint related to Amit Shah's speech in Nagpur on April 9 where he likened Wayanad to Pakistan. This is the second seat on which Congress president, Rahul Gandhi is contesting the elections.

The final decision on this complaint was taken by a 2:1 majority. Shah had said Rahul baba for the sake of an alliance had gone to such a seat in Kerala, where when a procession is taken you cannot make out if it is India or a Pakistan procession. He made the comment in an apparent reference to the Indian Union Muslim League flags that were seen during the procession.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

In its reply to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, the EC said that the matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and after examination of complete transcript of speech of six pages sent by DEO, Nagpur, Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of MCC or ECI's instructions is made out.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:06 [IST]
Mamata to join hands with BJP again in case of hung assembly in Bengal: Sitaram Yechury

Yechury says India now an electoral autocracy

Yechury raises suspicion over EC decision to put on hold poll to RS seats in Kerala

Sitaram Yechury's son Ashish dies of Covid-19 at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram

Decision to bring in new faces in LDF cabinet taken in CPI(M)'s long term interest: Sitaram Yechury

This is daylight highway robbery of national assets, Sitaram Yechury on Air India returning to Tatas

FIR against Sitaram Yechury for hurting hindu sentiments

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 04: Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechury's statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating "Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata."

It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

Sitaram Yechury lashes out at EC over clean chit to PM Modi

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

"What is the logic behind saying there is a religion which engages in violence and we Hindus don't," Yechury said.

Yechury also attacked the BJP for fragmenting the society for votes through its divisive policies.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 23:14 [IST]
Foni, Mala, Nargis: How are cyclones named

Feature

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, May 04: Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer are some of the biggest names in Bollywood. However these are also names of cyclones, most of which have been lethal.

As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as 'Foni', means a snake's hood. But how are cyclones named? The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its twenty-seventh session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.

Cyclone Fani that killed 8 hits West Bengal with wind speed of 90 kmph

The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically -- Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested 'Onil' the first in the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named 'Vayu', suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised. Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

"A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly.

"If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria," a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

Baby born amid fury of the storm named after Cyclone Fani

"The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning," it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD. According to the IMD, in the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily.

Laxman Singh Rathore, a former director general of the IMD, said the practice of naming the storm first started in the United States. This helped identify it and also aided the researchers. Earlier, the storm was named after the coast it hit, Rathore added.

"Then the mid-1900s saw the start of practice of using feminine names for storms. In the pursuit of a more organised and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alphabetically," the IMD said explaining the genesis of the naming process. "Before the end of 1900s, forecasters started using male names for those forming in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Centre. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation," the IMD added. Storms over South Pacific and Indian Ocean are known as cyclones. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used.

The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon, according to the National Ocean Service of the US' National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Has the Islamic State tied up with PFI? NIA probe on

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The raids conducted at 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu in a PFI related case could paint a larger picture.

The National Investigation Agency is now examining the possible links to the Islamic State. The NIA is questioning several persons in connection with the case and is trying to ascertain if there were links between some members of the PFI and the ISIS.

NIA officials say probing this link is necessary as the ISIS is known to tie up with regional outfits. This was seen during the Sri Lanka blasts, where the ISIS had aligned with the National Towheed Jamath.

On Thursday the National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became India's most radical outfit

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:49 [IST]
It slipped out says Jiten Manjhi after Masood Azhar saheb remark

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Patna, May 04: Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi courted controversy by addressing Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar as Saheb, drawing sharp criticism from BJP.

Later, Manjhi retracted and termed the remark as "slip of tongue."

Manjhi, an important leader of mahagathbandhan in Bihar which comprises Congress and the RJD, made the comment Thursday while replying to mediapersons query on United Nations declaring the Pakistan based terror mastermind Masood Azhar as global terrorist.

PM does branding of everything which is wrong the efforts were on to get Masood Azhar Saheb designated as global terrorist since Manmohan Singh's time but it was just a coincidence that the decision has been taken now. I think that this is not correct for BJP or Narendra Modi to take credit of the issue", Manjhi said.

Video of the Manjhi's comment that has gone viral showed him saying that "Had Vajpayee government not taken Masood Azhar Saheb to Kandhar in plane his game was over then only."

The HAM chief is the second grand alliance leader to address Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief as Masood 'saheb'.

Earlier, in the first week of April, RJD Baisi (Purnia) MLA Abdus Subhan, while addressing an election rally at Kishanganj had addressed Masood Azhar as Saheb.

Not returning to NDA says Manjhi

Manjhi, a BJP ally in 2014 general election as well 2015 Bihar polls, had switched sides to mahagathbandhan on the eve of the ongoing Parliamentary election.

While, BJP pounced on Manjhi's use of honour for the Pakistani terrorist, leaders of his party as well some from alliance partner RJD came in his defence.

By addressing Masood Azhar as Saheb, Jitan Ram Manjhi has proved that Congress and its allies have soft corners and special honour for terrorists. Is it in their political agenda to glorify those who bleed our innocent people of the country. Please reply Manjhi Saheb," Bihar BJP leader and states health minister Mangal Pandey said in a tweet in hindi.

HAM spokesman Danish Rizwan,however, made a defence of Manjhi in a release issued on behalf of the party.

Jitan Ram Manjhi ji always addresses people with respect but he has clarified his position before the media with regard to his comment on Masood Azhar. Jitan Ram Manjhi ji has clearly said that it was a 'slip of tongue'. He also said that probity and dignity in politics also does not warrant anyone to abuse anyone which the BJP has been doing, Rizwan said in the release.

Rizwan said that NDA leaders were trying to flare up the issue witnessing their imminent defeat in the four phases of polls held in the state so far.

RJD leader and MLA Vijay Prakash said that the issue has nothing to do with Bihar.

This is an international issue. It has nothing to do with Bihar, rather it has to be dealt on international level. The issues which are related to Bihar are corruption, jumlebazi, unemployment, price rise etc. Why BJP does not offer any reply on these issues, Prakash said.
JNU situation is "disaster" by VC: Former faculty member

Parliament panel 'anguished' at shortage of faculty in IITs, IIMs

Faculty cannot pursue full time course while teaching says HC

Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President gets death threat for banning veils

India

oi-Vikas SV

Thiruvananthapuram, May 04: Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President Dr PA Fazal Gafoor has reportedly filed a police complaint stating that received a death threat for a circular issued him which banned female students and faculty on its campuses from wearing niqab, the face veil.

The decision to ban the face veil had invited condemnation from some Muslim groups. Some fundamentalists accused the MES of interfering in the religious practices of students and faculty.

Even within the MES, Gafoor faced a backlash for circular disallowing veils. The Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoor's father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

Muslim education body in Kerala bars female students from wearing face veil

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses.

From 2019-20 academic year, heads of institutions and local managements must ensure that female students do not come to classes with their faces covered, the circular said.

We must discourage all undesirable tendencies in campuses the circular signed by Dr P A Fazal Gafoor said.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 13:39 [IST]
Maha govt challenges HC order saying no to EBC, Maratha quotas in PG courses

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: The Maharashtra Government on Saturday challenged the order by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay Court which had ruled out reservation for the Educationally Backward Classes and Marathas in some Post Graduate courses.

The Maharashtra Government reportedly filed a Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court today.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court had held that the decision of implementing 16 percent Maratha quota to PG medical admission process this year as "arbitrary". The HC noted that the PG medical admission process had already commenced at the time when the quota came into force.

Maharashtra approves 16% Maratha quota in jobs and education

The division bench of honourable Justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had ruled in their order that the March 8 notification about the implementation of the new 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community, under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) quota; shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier, reported PTI.

On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra Legislature had passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs. In November last year, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed bill giving 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in jobs and education. This was separate reservation from existing OBC and SC ST reservations already in place.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 14:04 [IST]
Going slow on Hafiz Saeed, looking up to Azhar, Pak is only worsening its case at FATF

Did Pakistan ever act against Azhar? Intel reports show, he remained protected always

Masood Azhars life in danger, ISI shifts him to a safe house in Rawalpindi

After hearing an October 2018 Azhar speech, Dar offered himself as Pulwama bomber

From plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much

Masood Azhar: How additional evidence led China to cave in

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: China was given a set of additional evidence about Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's involvement in terrorist activities, days after it blocked a fresh proposal at the UN on March 13 to designate him as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council declared him as a global terrorist after China removed its technical hold on a proposal moved by the UK, France and the US. Following the UN announcement of Azhar's listing, China said it took the decision after carefully studying the "revised materials".

Sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on Azhar's involvement in terror strikes in India including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack in the UN notification banning Azhar.

With Azhar banned, Pak will use Mohammad Rauf, Athar Ibrahim to run JeM

France, the UK and the US had moved the fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, China put a technical hold on the proposal on March 13, blocking it for a fourth time to designate Azhar.

Initially, China felt it was not provided with sufficient evidence about Azhar's involvement in terror activities, sources said, adding additional evidence was given to Beijing after it put a technical hold on the proposal to list him as global terrorist.

Asked about the impact of India's strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, sources said there was no reason to doubt it.

The diplomatic sources also said that the European Union is likely to conclude the process soon to designate Azhar as a terrorist although the UN ban on him will cover member countries of the grouping.

Germany initiated the move at the European Union, days after China blocked the proposal at the UN to ban him in March.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.

An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

Behind the scenes: How India's relentless push ensured Masood Azhar was banned

In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a global terrorist.

In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 -- the US, the UK and France -- in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again.

However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 04: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Centre to declare a ceasefire in the state like last year in view of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Sunday.

"Request GoI to cease crackdowns, & search operations during Ramzan this year so that people aren't subjected to harassment & can observe the holy month in peace. Last year's ceasefire helped in providing a huge sense of relief. Hope electoral compulsions are put aside," Mufti wrote on Twitter.

The PDP chief also asked militants to stop attacks on security forces. "I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attack in this month," PTI quoted her as saying.

Last year, the Centre had directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". At that time, Mehbooba was heading a PDP-BJPcoalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 21:04 [IST]
#MeToo: Court likely to pronounce verdict today in MJ Akbar's defamation case against Ramani

#Metoo: Feel vindicated on behalf women who spoke against sexual harassment, says Priya Ramani

Me Too: Timeline of events in Priya Ramani-MJ Akbar case

MJ Akbar cross examined in Priya Ramani case

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Former Union Minister MJ Akbar who appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in connection with his defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, was on Saturday cross examined by Ramani's lawyer.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John appeared for Priya Ramani while Akbar was represented by senior Advocate Geeta Luthra. MJ Akbar's cross examination will continue on May 20.

Court had in April framed defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

MJ Akbar's statement disappointing, ready to fight defamation complaint: Journalist Priya Ramani

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 12:20 [IST]
Modi has abused bravery of soldiers: Congress comeback on Modis surgical strike jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Congress party hit back after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the party was lying about the surgical strikes carried out under the UPA government.

In a statement, the Congress said that Modi's statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers and it has never used the strikes as election fodder.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers."Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party."The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! The Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said. "I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters,"My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?" He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

EC gives clean chit to Modi for Nanded, Varanasi speeches

"In Congress, we have always said that such operations have been conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added. The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure. "The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces.

The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:22 [IST]
Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media

Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh

'Do you work for govt?' Rahul Gandhi asks reporter; BJP calls him entitled brat

Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi

Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi

Nurse who witnessed Rahul Gandhis birth questions Swamys nationality jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Kochi, May 04: Rajamma Vavathil, a retired nurse and a voter in Wayanad, says forcefully that no one should contest Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's citizenship status -- after all she was one of those on duty at Delhi's Holy Family Hospital on June 19, 1970 when he was born.

The 72-year-old, who was still in training to be a nurse at the time, said she was among the first to take the infant Rahul in her hands.

I was lucky as I was first among the few who took the newborn baby in my hands. He was so cute. I was witness to his birth. I was thrilled... we all were thrilled to see the grandson of prime minister Indira Gandhi, Vavathil told PTI over phone from Wayanad.

Rahul takes offence to 'videogame jibe', hits back saying Modi insulted Army

Forty-nine years later, the "cute baby" is Congress president and a contestant from Wayanad. And Vavathil, who now describes herself as "nearly a housewife", said she couldn't be happier.

She remembers the day well.

Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi and uncle Sanjay Gandhi were waiting outside the labour room of the hospital when Sonia Gandhi was taken for delivery, Vavathil recounted.

It's a story she has often told her family.

The retired nurse said she is saddened by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's complaint questioning the Congress president's citizenship status.

According to Vavathil, no one can question Rahul Gandhi's identity as an Indian citizen and Swamy's complaint about his citizenship is baseless .

All records about Rahul Gandhi's birth would be there at the hospital, she said.

Vavathil, who completed her nursing course from Delhi's Holy Family Hospital, later joined the Indian military as a nurse.

A Wayanad voter is a retired nurse who witnessed Rahul's birth; says he was "cute baby"

After taking VRS from service, she returned to Kerala in 1987 and is now settled in Kalloor near Sulthan Bathery.

Vavathil expressed the hope that she would be able to meet Rahul Gandhi when he visits Wayanad next time.

Wayanad, which came into national prominence after Congress chief's Rahul Gandhi's candidature, registered record polling of 80.31 per cent in the polls held on April 23.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 11:56 [IST]
Govt schools in Punjab are in bad shape, seek people's support for improving them: Arvind Kejriwal

Uttarakhand polls 2022: Kejriwal promises Rs 1k to women, Rs 5k to jobless youths monthly if voted to power

Kejriwal to launch AAP's UP poll campaign from Lucknow on Jan 2

Opposition leaders condemn attack on Arvind Kejriwal

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 05: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Several opposition party leaders also tweeted to condemn the "attack".

Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu denounced it as a dastardly act.

Taking to twitter Naidu wrote: "After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a Twitter post wrote, "Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point".

Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point. https://t.co/9oFmcpcq3j  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien also came out with a scathing remark directed at the BJP in which he said that the act only goes to prove the saffron party's defeat in Delhi.

"They are desperately creating incidents to try and find 'game-changer'....Modi is OUT," he said while referring to a separate controversy around a "doctored" video of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Former BJP leader and a vocal critic of the Modi government, Yashwant Sinha, also condemned the "cowardly attack" on the Delhi CM.

Condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack on CM Delhi.  Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) May 4, 2019

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:46 [IST]
Shatrughan Sinha likely to join TMC, may be sent to Rajya Sabha

Stood by wife Poonam, done my 'pati dharma': Shatrughan Sinha

India

pti-PTI

Patna, May 04: Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' (duty as a wife) and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma (duty as a husband), she will also play her patni dharma once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."

When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Lok Sabha 5th phase election 2019: Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha richest candidate

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the "one-man show" and the "two-man army" will not return.

PTI
Top naxal with Rs 16 lakh reward behind Gadchiroli attack

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, May 04: The police have named a top naxal leaders among others in its FIR that was filed in the aftermath of the Gadchiroli attack which claimed 16 lives on Wednesday.

The police said that it has named Bhaskar, the North Commander of the CPI (Maoist) and 40 others in its FIR. They have been booked for murder and conspiracy, the police also said. The police have also invoked the provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the naxalites.

Bhaskar is a top naxal and is on the most wanted list. He has been active now for 15 years and also carries a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head. He was behind both the planning and the logistics relating to the attack.

Lack of intel led to Gadchiroli naxal attack

Investigations show that after a lull of three years, the naxalites were aiming to make a comeback in Gadchiroli. The police say that the explosive material recovered from the site has been sent for forensic examination.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:28 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Why is Ladakh seat important for BJP?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 04: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in strategically important Ladakh parliamentary seat in 2014 general elections by winning it for the first time.

In 2014, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang had defeated an Independent Ghulam Raza by a margin of only 36 votes. Chhewang had also won the seat in 2004 as an Independent. However, Chhewang had resigned from both the BJP and the Parliament last year.

The BJP is also worried because it performed very poorly in the Kargil and Leh civic body elections in October 2018 when it failed to win even a single seat.

Phase 5 elections: The seven seats that the BJP would be worried about

The BJP had promised in 2014 to grant Ladakh the status of Union Territory, but didn't fulfil it. It's notable that the demand of UT status to Ladakh predates the Telangana movement.

After sensing the discontent in Ladakh and its repercussions on the electoral politics, the Narendra Modi government made Ladakh a separate Division in February with Leh as its headquarters.

The leaders from Kargil district opposed the decision of Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik tooth and nail.

Muslim-majority Kargil fears that the decision to make Buddhist-majority Leh the seat of governance for the new division would give the Buddhists the upper hand in administration.

Kargil continues to oppose the Buddhist demand for Union territory status for Ladakh.

According to 2011 census, Ladakh's population is 2.73 lakh, including 1.26 lakh Muslims, 1.07 lakh Buddhists and 0.36 lakh Hindus, mostly soldiers and their families from other states.

According to the sources, Ladakh is more than a parliamentary seat for the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"The saffron leadership wants to have political control over Ladakh because of its strategic importance as well as to counter alleged Love Jihad, " says a source.

It is notable that Ladakh Buddhist Association's president PT Kunzang in an interview to a news portal had claimed that a systematic Love Jihad is being carried out in Ladakh to change the religious data of the area.

He had said in 2017 that around 97 Buddhist girls have been converted to Islam in the last four decades.

Reports suggest that as many as 45 Buddhist girls married Muslim men in Ladakh since 2003.

The BJP hopes that making of Leh as headquarters of Ladakh division will help its candidate in the upcoming polls.

BJP has fielded 33-year-old Jamying Tsering Namgayal, who is the current Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

Congress candidate Rigzin Spalbar is the former Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC, Leh.

The two main regional political parties, National Conference and People's Democratic Party, did not field their candidates and decided to extend support to Independent Sajad Kargili, who also enjoys the support of the influential Islamic School, Kargil.

Another Independent Asghar Ali Karbali, a former Congress party lawmaker, has also served twice as the CEC of LAHDC, Kargil.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 18:44 [IST]
In Rohtak, PM warns voters, asks them to take note of Sam Pitroda's 'Hua So Hua' remark

Why talk about Rahul's citizenship now, he has been MP for 15 years: Sam Pitroda

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Exuding confidence that the Congress is going to win the elections, Sam Pitroda asked why the BJP is raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi's citizenship now when he has been ' member of parliament for 15 years'.

"Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he added, and further said that the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Pitroda said there has been a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years.

"Based on our assessment we believe we are winning , we are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi government did not deliver," he said.

Pitroda, Gandhi family confidante and Indian Overseas Congress Chief, made headlines last month when he questioned death toll in Balakot air strike

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Sam Pitroda questions death toll in Balakot air strike

When asked about BJP's Subramanian Swamy approaching the court over Rahul Gandhi's citizen ship, Pitroda questioned its timing.

He has been member of parliament for 15 years ,you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament.Why did you wake up today with lies?You think people are stupid? Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he told ANI.

Swamy had reportedly alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

On asked if the opposition which seems scattered would come together after polls, Pitroda said all are clear on the common goal.

"No, do not think there anything to worry ,they will all come together at the right time , I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal ,they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace," he added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:12 [IST]
'Will thrash them like dogs': BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh threatens TMC workers

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, May 05: BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh, who used to call Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "mother" on Saturday courted controversy after threatening TMC workers saying that she would pull them out of their houses and "thrash them like dogs".

Ghosh said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Cyclone Fani: Mamata Banerjee cancels rallies, asks people to stay indoors

Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nominated for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less

important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:29 [IST]
With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became Indias most radical outfit

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places has seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI. Let us take a look at the journey of the PFI from when it was set up and how it turned out to be one India's most radical outfits.

PFI as an organisation came into existence in 2006. However, it dates back to 1993 when an organisation called the National Development Front was formed to protect the interests of Muslims in Kerala following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.

Sword, knife, documents among incriminating material seized by NIA in PFI related raid

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu. By 2009 more organisations merged with the PFI.

They were Goa Citizen's Forum, Rajasthan's Community Social and Educational Society, West Bengal's Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samithi, Manipur's Lilong Social Forum and Association of Social Justice, Andhra Pradesh.

The PFI has often been accused of associating with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. Most of the office bearers of the PFI have been associated with the SIMI in the past. They have held positions in the SIMI before it had been banned.

The Intelligence Bureau has said that the PFI is violent in nature. They one point agenda is to attack the Right Wing. They preach to their cadres that attacking those who oppose Islam would earn them religious rewards. the PFI has been accused of chopping off a professor's hand who had allegedly hurt religious sentiments in Kerala. 37 PFI cadres were arrested. In an affidavit before the Kerala High Court, it was submitted that the PFI was involved in 27 murders. In another report, the Kerala government said that there was 87 attempt to murder cases against PFI cadres.

The NIA speaks about the killing of RSS worker Rudresh in Bengaluru. Further, it details the professor's hand chopping case at Idukki. While giving details about a Kannur training camp from where country-made bombs and swords were seized, the NIA report to the Home Ministry also speaks about an Islamic State module case.

The NIA says that the approach of the PFI is radical in nature. It speaks about recruiting only committed Muslims into its fold. It also states that the cadres train with clips of the Babri Masjid demolition and this is clearly a sign that it is trying to radicalise its cadres. It is trying to run a parallel administration the NIA states.

It speaks about the Darul Khada an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. This was set up in 2009, by SDPI national chief E Aboobacker.

The NIA says that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a host of issues. The NIA dossier also states that in July 2009, a Kerala level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Malappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but get all issues sorted out by it.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:44 [IST]
Romance fraudster of Indian origin jailed for 6 years

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

London, May 04: A 32-year-old Indian-origin man, dubbed as a "romance fraudster" by UK police, has been jailed for six years and one month after he was found guilty of conning six women he met online and luring them to invest huge amounts in non-existent companies.

Keyur Vyas, from east London, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of a four-year-long investigation by Scotland Yard into his fraudulent activities.

The recruitment agent would befriend women online with the pretense of building a relationship with them by wining and dining them. The Metropolitan Police investigation found he had committed fraud against six different women, with his overall fraud estimated at over 800,000 pounds.

Indian origin habitual prank caller sentenced to 3 years prison in Singapore

"Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies," said Detective Constable Andy Chapman, from the Met Police's Central Specialist Command.

"He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money. Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them," he said.

The Met Police began an investigation into Keyur Vyas' activities in October 2014. They found that between 2014 and 2017, he was employed as a recruitment agent who would befriend women online under false pretenses.

The court was told that he would romance them and trick them into believing he was an affluent man working in finance. He would use commonalities with the victims, such as religion and his wish to start a family, to build trust with them.

Once he had gained their trust, Vyas would encourage them to invest in various business ventures for a large return. However, these ventures did not actually exist and he would use the money to gamble.

Vyas would also put pressure and be abusive to the victims to continue to invest more money in order to get the promised returns. He also used fear tactics and warned his victims that if they went to the police, they would lose all their money.

Man sentenced for 10 years for attempting to murder a teenage girl

"Unfortunately, we see cases like this fairly often and my advice to anyone in an online relationship whatever the nature is never to send personal details or money to someone who you have never met in person," said Detective Chapman.

It was only when they did not receive their money back that the women began to report their concerns to the police.

Vyas pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation in March this year, while the remaining two charges will lie on his file. The total loss for all the charges is approximately logged at 808,942 pounds.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:17 [IST]
Sri Lanka won't be allowed to be used for 'any activity' against India: President Rajapaksa

Sri Lankas Easter bombers travelled to Bangalore, Kerala and Kashmir

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Sri Lankan bombers had travelled to various parts of India, the chief of Sri Lanka's army said. The comments were made by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke in an interview to the BBC.

They had gone travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala according to the information available, he said. When asked about the purpose of the visit, he said it was for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

Indian agencies are hot on the trail of several Islamic State linked operatives since the past few weeks. The agencies are trying to ascertain the Indian connection to the Easter bombings. Indian officials have learnt that at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

Colombo bombings: Photographs of suspects released

An Indian intelligence official tells OneIndia that there is not much information on the travels by the Sri Lanka bombers. The information shared with us by Sri Lanka is not much as of now. We are conducting our independent investigations and will have more information soon, he also added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:52 [IST]
BMC decides to reopen schools in Mumbai from this date

Mumbai schools to reopen for Classes 1 to 7 from December 15

Maharashtra: Fire at a Thane building

Mumbai

oi-Vikas SV

Mumbai, May 04: A massive fire broke out at a building in Maharashtra's Thane this morning. The flames engulfed a building in Patlipada area, said reports.

No injuries or casualties have been reported as yet. The fire fighting operations are underway.

On April 22, a massive fire broke out at a factory in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtras Thane district and the firefighters managed to control the blaze after five and a half hours. The fire had broken out at a paintbrush and colour manufacturing factory-godown in Jai Mata Di compound in Kalher. At least 40 workers were asleep on the terrace of a nearby under construction building when the building caught fire.

[Massive fire at chemical factory in Delhi's Naraina]

On April 30, a fire broke out in housing in Big Bazaar outlet in the Mumbais Matunga West area. Five fire engines, a Quick Response Vehicle, one ambulance, and several Fire Brigade personnel were rushed to the site for operations.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:01 [IST]
+17% CAGR will Achived By Closed System Transfer Device Industry by 2025 | Major Market Players: Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc

Closed System Transfer Device Industry

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The Closed System Transfer Device Market is expected to reach USD 2,432.4 Million by 2025 from USD 921.2 Million in 2018, at a CAGR of 17.57% from 2019 to 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of 17.57% amid the gauge time of 2019-2025. The market development is predominantly determined by the rising number of patients requiring medicinal treatment and particularly developing therapeutic research exercises. Expanding medications production, better accessibility of cytotoxic medications at the work environment or at the clinic, along with progressions in the field of restorative devices are additionally responsible for the exponential development in the market. Further, as of late rising instances of malignant growth, to endorsement for the oncology drugs is additionally anticipated to drive the demand for such Closed System Transfer Device.Ask for Sample of Closed System Transfer Device Industry:The market is examined crosswise over four geographical regions, in particular, North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and RoW (Latin America, Middle East and Africa). North America region holds the most elevated market about 85% of absolute market share in 2018. Further, Asia Pacific market is considered as one of the quickest developing regions with the CAGR of 28.8%. Increment in the frequency rate of disease, implementation of better administrative rules is the key elements energizing the development of the Closed System Transfer Devices (CSTD) market amid the anticipated period crosswise over the globe. It is normal that at a national level, the U.S represents the biggest offer of income by 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is segmented on the basis of Component, End Users, By Types and by Region. The two Component types in this Market are, Vial Access Devices, Syringe Safety Devices, Bag/Line Access Devices, and Accessories. In which Vial Access Devices holds the %% of market share. And is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of %% in the anticipated period.Key companies profiled in the report are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc, Caragen Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Corvida Medical, ICU Medical, Inc. The continuous research & development activities to address changing demand of the industry companies spend heavy on the R&D expenses.Directly Purchase this Report USD 2990 atClosed System Transfer Device Market Segmentation:Closed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By ComponentVial Access DevicesSyringe Safety DevicesBag/Line Access DevicesAccessoriesClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By TypesMembrane-To-Membrane SystemsNeedleless SystemsClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By End UsersHospitalsOncology Centers & ClinicsOthersClosed System Transfer Device Industry Overview, By RegionNorth America USA CanadaEurope Germany U.K. France Italy Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW Latin America Middle East & AfricaAsk for Customized Report As per Your Business Requirement:Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction1.1 Industry Vision1.2 Limitations1.3 StakeholdersChapter 2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Process2.1.1. Secondary Research2.1.1.1. Key Data from Secondary Research2.1.2. Primary Research2.1.2.1. Key Data from Primary Research2.1.2.2. Breakdowns of Primary Interviews2.2. Industry Size Estimation2.2.1. Bottoms-Up Approach2.2.2. Top-Down Approach2.2.3. Annual Revenue Process2.3. Data Triangulation2.4. Research Assumptions2.4.1. Assumption3. Executive Summary4. Industry Overview4.1. Introduction4.2. Strength4.3. Weakness4.4. Opportunities4.5. Threats4.6. Regulations4.7. Supply Chain/Value Chain Analysis4.8. Patent & Standards5. Industry Trends5.1. Introduction5.2. Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2.1. Threat of New Entrants5.2.2. Threat of Substitutes5.2.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers5.2.4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers5.2.5. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry6. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Component6.1. Vial Access Devices6.2. Syringe Safety Devices6.3. Bag/Line Access Devices6.4. Accessories7. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By End Users7.1. Hospitals7.2. Oncology Centers & Clinics7.3. Others8. Global Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Type8.1. Membrane-To-Membrane Systems8.2. Needleless Systems9. Geographical Analysis9.1. Introduction9.2. North America9.2.1. U.S.9.2.2. Canada9.2.3. Mexico9.3. Europe9.3.1. Germany9.3.2. France9.3.3. U.K.9.3.4. RoE9.4. Asia Pacific9.4.1. China9.4.2. Japan9.4.3. India9.4.4. RoAPAC9.5. RoW9.5.1. Latin America9.5.1.1. Brazil9.5.1.2. Argentina9.5.1.3. Rest of Latin America9.5.2. Middle East and Africa10. Company Profiles10.1. Becton10.1.1 Company Overview10.1.2 Financial Overview10.1.3 Product Overview10.1.4 Current Development10.2. Dickinson and Company10.3. Equashield, LLC10.4. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd10.5. Corvida Medical10.6. ICU Medical Inc.10.7. B. Braun Melsungen AG10.8. JMS Co. Ltd.10.9. Yukon Medical10.10. Victus Inc10.11 Caragen Ltd.11. Competitive Analysis11.1. Introduction11.2. Industry Positioning of Key Players11.3 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading Players11.3.1. Investments & Expansions11.3.2. New Product Launches11.3.3. Mergers & Acquisitions11.3.4. Agreements, Joint Ventures, and Partnerships12. Appendix12.1. Questionnaire12.2. Available Customizations12.3. Upcoming Events (Trade Fair, Exhibitions, Conferences)About Global Reports StoreGlobal Reports Store firm produces its customers equation for growth, whether you need to determine potential opportunities, understand the market dynamics or proliferate your profitability. We give the most recent altered and syndicated explore alongside counseling administrations. Our immense extent of administrations helps you in arranging your development in the predefined showcase industry, as well as the system and innovation required for the predictable achievement.Contact Us:JonManager [Business Development]Global Reports Storesales@globalreportsstore.comMob: +91-739-102-4425
Ureteroscopes Market Development Industry 2019 Featuring with Major Players Medical Industry & Trade, AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM , Prosurg, SOPRO-COMEG

Ureteroscopes

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Ureteroscope is a device, which is used for examining upper urinary tract and the technique is called ureteroscopy. Ureteroscope works similar to a cytoscope, however, it is longer and thinner than cytoscope, and is passed through the urethra to the bladder and then into the ureter (the tubes, which carry urine from kidneys to bladder). Ureteroscope has illuminating light and lens for capturing images of urinary tract organs for presence of tumors and calculi. This device helps to find the position of stone in ureter and is also used for the removal of kidney stone. Ureteroscopy is less harmful and less time consuming procedure to remove kidney stone and shows high accuracy and less complications than conventional methods such as percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).Ureteroscopes Market DriversIncreasing approvals and launches of new ureteroscopes devices is expected to be a major factor for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. For instance, in 2016, Boston Scientific Corporation launched its new LithoVue single-use digital flexible ureteroscope in the U.S. and Europe market. LithoVue is used in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of kidney stones and other conditions of the kidney, ureter, and bladder.Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel the market growth. For instance, according to the data published by National Kidney Foundation in 2016, globally, over half a billion people suffer from kidney stone annually. According to data published by National Institute of Health, in 2016, globally, total prevalence of chronic kidney disease is around 14.0% of the general population.Request For Sample Copy:Moreover, prevalence of kidney stones also increases with increasing age. According to the data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2017, in Mainland China the prevalence of kidney stone was 5.96% in the people aged between 30-39 years, while the prevalence was around 9.68% in people above 60 years of age. Hence, rise in geriatric population is also expected to increase incidence of kidney stone, which in turn is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel market growth in the near future. For instance, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2016, around 547 million people were aged above 60 years in Asia Pacific and the number is projected to reach around 1.3 billion by 2050.Ureteroscopes Market Regional AnalysisNorth America is expected to hold the dominant position in global ureteroscopes market, due to presence of key players in the region and high success rates of ureteroscopy. For instance, according to data published by Department of Urology, New York Medical College, in 2016, after a single procedure, around 37% of patients who had undergone flexible ureteroscopy were stone free as compare to only 21% of the patients who were treated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Moreover, Boston Scientific Corporation and Stryker Corporation are the two U.S.-based major players in this market. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone in the U.S. is also expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes, which is turn is driving the market growth in North America. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2014, according to survey done by National Health and Nutrition Examination in 2012, around 10.6% of men and 7.1% of women in the U.S. are affected from renal stone disease and there is a rapid increase in prevalence of urinary tract stone disease. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit significant growth in the global ureteroscopes market, owing to increasing incidence of kidney stone disease in population in India and China. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2017, the prevalence of kidney stone in Mainland China was estimated to be around 10.34% in males and 6.62% in females.Ureteroscopes Market RestraintHigh cost of ureteroscopy procedure is expected to be a major restrain for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. The average cost of ureteroscopy in the U.S. can go up to around US$ 3,000. Such high cost procedures are not easily affordable by everyone and hence it restrain the market growth.Ureteroscopes Market Key PlayersKey players operating in ureteroscopes market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Stryker Corporation, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, Richard Wolf GmbH, PENTAX Medical, Elmed Electronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM Inc., Prosurg, Inc., SOPRO-COMEG GmbH, and others.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didnt see the lurking snake  until it bit a toe on her right foot.

I was really scared, Oakley said. I thought that I could either get paralyzed or could actually die.

Her camp counselors suspected it was a copperhead and knew they needed to get her medical attention as soon as they could. They had to keep her as calm and motionless as possible  the venom could circulate more quickly if her heart raced from activity or fear.

One counselor gave her a piggyback ride to a van. Others distracted her with Taylor Swift songs and candy as the van sped from their location in a beautiful but remote part of the Shawnee National Forest toward help.

First responders met them and recommended Oakley be taken by air ambulance to a hospital.

The helicopter flight transported Oakley 80 miles from a school parking lot just outside the forest to St. Vincent Evansville hospital in Indiana, where she received four vials of antivenin and was then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for observation.

Her parents, Josh Perry and Shelli Yoder, were already in bed that night when they got the call about what had happened to Oakley. They jumped in the car and arrived at Riley about two hours before their daughter. Once she made it, doctors closely observed her condition, her toe still oozing and bruised. By lunchtime, Perry said, physicians reassured the parents that Oakley would be OK.

It was a major comfort for me to realize, OK, were getting the best care possible, said Perry, who is a health care ethics professor at the business school at Indiana University Bloomington. Less than 24 hours after the bite, Oakley left the hospital with her grateful parents.

Then the bills came.

Patient: Oakley Yoder, now 10, of Bloomington, Ind. Insured through Indiana University Bloomington, where her father and mother work as faculty.

Total Bill: $142,938, including $67,957 for four vials of antivenin. ($55,577.64 was charged for air ambulance transport.) The balance included a ground ambulance charge and additional hospital and physician charges, according to the familys insurer, IU Health Plans.

Service Providers: St. Vincent Evansville hospital, part of Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic health system. Riley Hospital for Children, part of Indiana University Health, a nonprofit health system. Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance provider.

Medical Service: The essential part of Oakleys treatment involved giving her four vials of snake antivenin called CroFab.

What Gives: When someone is bitten by a venomous snake, there is no time to waste. If left untreated, a venomous bite can cause tissue damage, hemorrhaging and respiratory arrest. Children tend to experience more severe effects because of their relatively small size.

CroFab has dominated the U.S. market for snake antivenin since its approval in 2000. When Oakley was bitten, it was the only drug available to treat venomous bites from pit vipers. (Oakley probably was bitten by a copperhead snake, a type of pit viper, the camp directors told her parents.)

In short, the drugmaker, London-based BTG Plc, essentially had a monopoly.

The average list price for CroFab is $3,198 per vial, according to the health care information tech company Connecture. Manufacturing costs, product improvements and research all factor into the drugs price, said Chris Sampson, spokesman for BTG.

A Mexican version of snake antivenin can cost roughly $200. But it couldnt be sold in the U.S. (More about that in a moment.)

Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute, a venom research center at the University of Arizona, acknowledges that some of the price in the U.S. can be attributed to strict Food and Drug Administration requirements for testing and monitoring.

But more than that, she added: Its a profitable drug, and everyone wants a piece of it.

She should know: Funded by government grants and at times working with colleagues over the border in Mexico, her group was instrumental in developing CroFab.

Antivenins were first developed more than a century ago. Although CroFab is safer and purer than antivenins of the past, the process  while labor-intensive  remains fundamentally the same. Snakes, spiders and other creatures are milked for their venom, then a small amount of the toxin is injected into animals like horses or sheep. They then make antibodies without falling ill, and the protective molecules are extracted from their blood and processed to make antivenin.

Despite the longtime use of antivenins, CroFab and other such products remain a lucrative prospect for manufacturers. Who wouldnt pay top dollar for an antivenin when their child has been bitten by a venomous snake?

What patients pay for CroFab can widely vary. Treatment may require a few vials or dozens of them  it depends on factors like the size of the patient, the potency of venom in the bite and how quickly the patient is treated. The more antivenin needed, the higher the cost.

But hospitals also jack up the price, even though some of these facilities purchase the drug at a discount, said Dr. Merrit Quarum, chief executive officer of WellRithms, a health care cost containment company.

In Oakleys case, St. Vincent Evansville hospital charged $16,989.25 for each unit of CroFab, according to the facilitys bill. Thats more than five times as high as the average list price.

WellRithms analyzed Oakleys bill from St. Vincent Evansville at Kaiser Health News request and found providers generally accept $16,159.70 for all four vials of the drug.

In a statement, St. Vincent Evansville noted that the family was not responsible for that full tab and instead was expected to pay less than $3,500. But the facility appears to have since lowered its price for CroFab. According to its price list  posted online to satisfy a recent federal requirement  the drug now costs $5,096.76 per vial.

And the snake antivenin market now has another drug competing for patients: Anavip. The Mexican product  launched in October  has a list price of $1,220 a vial in the U.S, a fraction of what Latin Americans pay for it, according to Rare Disease Therapeutics, which distributes the drug in the U.S.

Anavips arrival was stalled by a lawsuit filed by BTG in 2013 that claimed the drug infringed on its patent.

The drugs true effect on the market remains unclear. CroFab and Anavip are not entirely interchangeable. (The FDA hasnt approved Anavip for copperhead bites, for instance.) And, as part of the legal settlement, Anavip makers must pay royalties to BTG until the CroFab patent expires in 2028.

Resolution: The insurer, IU Health Plans, negotiated down the antivenin and air ambulance charges and ended up paying $44,092.87 and $55,543.20, respectively. After adjustments to additional bills, IU Health Plans paid a total of $107,863.33. Oakleys family did not pay a dime out of pocket for her emergency care, but such high outlays contribute to rising premiums.

Secondary insurance offered through the summer camp covered $7,286.34 in additional costs that otherwise would have come out of Perry and Yoders pockets for their deductible and coinsurance. The policy covers up to $25,000 in damages.

Oakleys foot is healed, but her toe bends slightly downward and is sensitive to pressure. She intends to return to the same camp this summer.

Perry teaches a course on the ethics of the health care industry, and yet he said the cost of Oakleys care shocked him. But he is aware of how rarely a patient ends up paying nothing for health care. I know that in this country, in this system, he said, that is a miracle.

Takeaway: Hospitals and insurers can negotiate; snakes dont. If youve been bitten by a snake, take care of your injury, said Boyer. Dont wait while you worry about the cost.

When you get a bill, compare what the facility charged against other health care providers prices using their public charge lists online. Cost estimation tools like Fair Health Consumer or Healthcare Bluebook allow you to see how your bill compares with the average.

Momentum is growing for government action on drug prices. In states and in Congress, various proposals have been floated, which include: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, tying the U.S. price of expensive drugs to the average price in other developed countries and allowing the government to inject competition into the market when there is none  such as by speeding generic drug approvals or allowing imports.

Consumers should keep an eye on these proposals as they move through the political process.

NPR produced and edited the interview with Kaiser Health News Elisabeth Rosenthal for broadcast. Jake Harper of WFYI in Indianapolis provided audio reporting.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPRthat dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!
The owner of Portland bar Cider Riot is suing Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson for $1 million, claiming Gibson and several other right-wing protesters showed up at the business on Wednesday and fought with customers, causing mayhem and physical injury to at least one person.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong, who owns Cider Riot, is suing the Patriot Prayer organization as well as Gibson, Ian Kramer and 25 others who he says were involved in the incident. The claims include negligence, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On Wednesday, Cider Riot hosted a May Day celebration, at which people who had participated in demonstrations earlier in the day gathered to listen to live music. About 20 right-wing protesters, including Gibson, arrived at the business, and a clash between them and patrons of Cider Riot ensued. Video of the incident shows people deploying pepper spray, and several people fighting. According to the lawsuit, Kramer, a frequent Patriot Prayer rally participant, hit a female patron of Cider Riot on the head with a baton and knocked her unconscious.

On Friday, Goldman-Armstrong said he couldnt comment further on the lawsuit. The organization representing him, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, issued a statement saying that Goldman-Armstrong had the right to operate his business in peace, and that Portland residents had been terrorized by Gibson and his associates for too long.

Our community is suffering and we must respond to the seriousness of the threat posed by the actions and words of white nationalists, white supremacists and the alt-right, the group said. We need to send a message that their brand of hate is not welcome in Portland.

In response to the suit, Gibson said he was the one who was assaulted while standing on a public sidewalk.

I walk into dangerous situations, I never fight back, he told the Oregonian/OregonLive. He said his intention in going to Cider Riot that day was to take video and show the event that Cider Riot was hosting. He said the event was co-hosted by Rose City antifa.

To me its very odd that a place serving alcohol has 80 people masked up, he said.

He said when he got there, people were drinking on the patio and wearing masks, and several had cans of bear spray. He says neither he nor the people he came with had spray or any sort of weapons, although video footage shows people from both groups deploying bear spray, and members of the group that came with Gibson throwing projectiles at the bar patrons.

Warning: Video contains graphic language.

breaking: far-right protesters and Proud Boys have arrived at Cider Riot. Cider Riot has done benefits for antifa and has also been vandalized in the past. RIOOOT. huge fight! pic.twitter.com/PKeRdYCF6d  Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) May 2, 2019

Goldman-Armstrong said this is not the first time Gibson and Patriot Prayer have targeted his business. He said they have sprayed graffiti on his building and stolen a flag that hung in front of the business.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Portland police are looking into reports of a shooting near Northeast Portlands Gateway shopping center on Friday afternoon, but so far have not found any victims.

Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 10000 block of Northeast Halsey Street around 4:15 p.m. Friday. They found shell casings at the scene but have not found any victims.

According to a Portland Police Bureau news release, several parked cars had bullet strikes, and witnesses reported seeing multiple males, including at least one with a gun, running after another group of males.

The area is also near the Gateway Transit Center. Officers are investigating the incident, and asked anyone with information or video of the shooting to call 503-823-3333.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Oregon softball rallied to tie but Utah took the series opener in walk-off fashion and put the Ducks in must-win mode for their remaining five games.

BreOnna Castaneda went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including the walk-off RBI single to give Utah a 4-3 win over Oregon in Salt Lake City Friday night.

In desperate need of wins and run support for ace Jordan Dail, Oregon couldnt score with the bases loaded and no outs in the first.

In the bottom of the inning, Utah (16-32, 5-14 Pac-12) loaded the bases and scored on a hit by pitch and Castaneda singled to make it 2-0.

A passed ball made it 3-0 after three innings.

The Ducks (21-26, 4-15 Pac-12) rallied with four straight one-out hits in the fifth.

Allee Bunker and Shaye Bowden hit back-to-back singled and after a pitching change Rachel Cid singled to put Oregon on the board and April Utecht tied at with a two-run home run. Bunker, Bowden, Cid and Utecht each had two hits for Oregon, which must win its last five games to finish .500 and be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Dail got the Utes to strand the bases loaded in the fifth and two more in the sixth but couldnt get out of the seventh as Castaneda hit a two-out single up the middle to score Alyssa Barrera.

Dail (17-14) allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and five walks and struck out seven over 6.2 innings.

Sydney Sandez (9-8) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings while earning the win for Utah.

The teams will play game 2 of their series at 11 a.m. PT Saturday.
When Oregon voters approved a 2016 measure to bolster funding for programs that prepare students for life after high school, the millions of dollars doled out by the state Department of Education were meant to come with strings attached.

School districts would apply for Measure 98 grants and outline how theyd use the money to accomplish the laws three mandates. The Oregon Secretary of States office would then perform audits to ensure the cash was properly used.

Toya Fick, one of the measures authors and executive director of education nonprofit Stand for Children, said those steps were meant to hold districts accountable for funding they received.

What we really wanted to see was a new way of doing education funding in Oregon, she said. We wanted to make sure the programs that schools are adding and the resources theyre adding are moving the needle on student success.

Her determination to make sure the money delivered the biggest possible payoff for students sounds similar to speeches lawmakers have made during debate over a much bigger cash infusion from a $2 billion corporate tax package making its way through Salem.

It would put more than $500 million a year in the hands of school boards who would have wide latitude to choose how its spent.

Measure 98 and the $2 billion tax package both include accountability provisions. Rather than give school districts carte blanche to spend state money, there are guidelines for how the money is to be used. Both include an auditing component meant to determine whether districts are using the cash to produce the desired outcomes.

But in the case of the measure passed by voters in 2016, state oversight has so far been so light that district spending has been almost entirely self-policed.

Districts identify their own goals, explained Laura Foley, director of the states high school success team. They are also left to decide whether to raise their own red flags if their schools are struggling to comply.

The Education Department disbursed the first batch of the Measure 98 money  $83 million split across 193 districts  just before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Portland Public Schools, the states largest district, received $6 million.

The state handed out $86 million more for this school year.

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, center, chats with Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, during a House floor session in 2016. Smith Warner is one of the architects of the $2 billion corporate tax package for K-12 funding making its way through the legislature.Oregonian file photo by Denis Theriault

But state auditors are unlikely to release their findings on how those funds were spent until late 2020, nearly 3  years after districts first received Measure 98 money. In fact, officials in the Secretary of States audit division told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they havent even begun drafting plans to comprehensively check how the money was used.

Thats the way the law was written.

The measure as passed by voters requires the Secretary of States office to audit initial spending by Dec. 31, 2020. The Measure 98 audit is one of 13 performance audits the agency aims to launch by June 2020.

That means financial reports on money intended to raise graduation rates by expanding career-tech offerings, college-level courses and anti-dropout efforts may not be published until after districts receive the much bigger cash infusion from the $2 billion corporate tax deal.

If its approved, districts that apply for the first round of that cash will likely get the money in July 2020.

That huge bump-up in funding for Oregons 1,300 schools is not just school advocates pipe dream. Oregon lawmakers struck a surprise deal with the states largest business group Monday to pass the tax plan to do just that, House Bill 3427, out of committee. The House approved it on a party-line vote Wednesday, and the Senate could vote on it as soon as Tuesday.

The legislation would impose a so-called gross receipts tax equal to 0.57 percent of sales for Oregon businesses with at least $1 million in sales.

It would raise more than $1 billion a year, and more than half of it would go to school districts to double Measure 98 spending, reduce class sizes, add instructional time, broaden course offerings and improve student safety and well-being.

The way House Bill 3427 is written, the state Department of Education would be responsible for assessing whether districts used their share of corporate tax money properly, the step the Secretary of States audits division is charged with for Measure 98 funds.

The Education Departments oversight of Measure 98 suggests it is a soft-touch money monitor. It mostly relies on district officials to contact their regional point person if they struggle to implement their plans. And site visits have yet to occur.

There are reasons to think some school districts dont always make smart choices about how to deploy their money. In 2018, the audits division dispatched four officials to Portland Public Schools for one year to audit the districts spending and render an opinion on its equity work.

The resulting report, released in January, described inefficiencies in the way educators used spending cards and concluded Portland students of color were routinely short-changed by a district that did not take sensible steps to place excellent principals in high-need schools or work to retain them.

But auditors with that agency wont know how long it will take them to audit Measure 98 spending until they begin an evaluation of the projects scope, always their first step when performing an audit.

Then, auditors will request information from the states many school districts.

At that point, were giant sponges trying to gather as much information as we can in a quick manner, Jamie Ralls, an audit manager in the Secretary of States office, said.

The simplest type of audit the agency performs are financial checks that require little else than an auditor cross-checking contracts and spending reports. Did a district or contractor spend money on the things they claimed they would?

Even those relatively simple audits take three weeks, possibly more, Ralls said. A staffer works under the direction of a lead auditor, who then reports to a manager in the Secretary of States office.

Thats because the math needs to be checked and double checked nearly constantly as auditors compile their reports.

We want to be right. We want to be accurate. Thats our bread and butter, Ralls said.

Oregon high schools are currently spending the second dose of Measure 98 funding they received in summer 2018 and can expect a third dose later this year. The money has strict spending requirements.

All but the smallest districts must spend it on three separate initiatives: career-tech offerings, anti-dropout efforts and college-credit-level courses. And each school must have added those offerings, not merely maintained classes or programs it offered prior to 2017.

There are signs around the state that districts are using those cash infusions to great effect. In Lincoln County, district officials used a portion of $750,000 received in grant funding to open a daycare center in one high school and raise the percentage of freshmen who are on track to graduate from 55 percent to 75 percent. In John Day, the local school district applied for and received grant money to set up an automotive shop at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School that has students revved up to learn more.

A fraction of the money can be spent to bolster services to eighth-graders, but that cant exceed 15 percent of a districts windfall. Another 4 percent can be spent on what Education Department officials call indirect costs, like equipment or software necessary to implement the new programs.

But no one in state government has checked schools spending yet.

Fick said the audit timeline for Measure 98 was constructed with the idea that districts would have time to implement the plans laid out in their applications for funding.

It would allow the Secretary of States office to publish a report on the first three years worth of program funding in time for the Legislature to consider those findings as lawmakers discuss funding and program rules for the 2021-23 biennium, she said.

We wanted to make sure there was a cycle of full funding, Fick said. We wanted to make sure there was a little bit of time for the measure to be fully implemented.

Meanwhile, Education Department officials intermittently check in with school districts as they build out those programs, Foley said. Most of those check-ins have so far been initiated by the districts themselves.

She oversees six people who review Measure 98 grant applications and also act as regional ambassadors to the districts awarded that funding. Every request is reviewed by at least three employees in the Education Department, she said.

The state hasnt rejected a single application outright, Foley said. Instead, if team members arent certain a proposal meets requirements, they work with districts to refine their plans and ensure they meet the spending requirements set forth by state law, she said.

Districts decide which outcomes they want to chase and report back to the Education Department if they need help reaching their goals, she said. The agencys regional ambassadors will begin doing site visits in the coming school year.

The timelines are meant to ensure districts have time to evaluate their own programs and check in with the Education Department as they tinker with them in response to students needs. And the more data the state has to work with, department officials say, the better.

We want to make sure every student has the opportunities to succeed as they look forward to their next phase of life, whether thats going into the workforce or a post-secondary education, Foley said.
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We can't leave; this is our home. We can't express an opinion with some family members because we'd get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didn't think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; it's a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where we're coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."

"Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie" is out now! Annie Lane's debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
The family of a 32-year-old climber who died in 2017 after falling hundreds of feet down Mount Hood and then waiting hours for a helicopter rescue has settled a lawsuit against Clackamas County for $25,000.

The family of John Thornton Jenkins had originally sought $10 million -- faulting the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and Clackamas County 911 for a series of missteps that the familys lawsuit says contributed to a more than four-hour wait before Jenkins was rescued off the mountain.

The suit had been scheduled to start trial Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court, but a settlement was reached in recent weeks.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a written statement this week that he hadnt wanted the county to settle even if it was for a nominal sum to avoid the costs of litigation.

Death is an inherent risk any climber takes, especially in an environment as dangerous as Mt. Hood, Roberts wrote. I was surprised and deeply disappointed to be sued by the deceaseds family after our search and rescue teams made every effort to save Mr. Jenkins' life. Tragedy can happen without fault.

Roberts said the settlement sets a troubling precedent for all Sheriffs Offices required by law to conduct search-and-rescue operations in their counties.

Roberts offered his condolences to Jenkins family.

The county, through its spokesman, also offered condolences.

This was a tragic accident and a reminder of the dangers of climbing Mount Hood or any of our iconic Cascade peaks, said county spokesman Tim Heider.

Jenkins, an experienced climber, tumbled about 600 feet from the area near the mountains summit at about 10:40 a.m. on May 7, 2017, according to the lawsuit and news reports at the time.

The lawsuit states that eight minutes later, another climber reached Jenkins and called 911 for help, but an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter didnt arrive until 3:11 p.m. As rescuers tried to secure Jenkins in a basket to lift him off the mountain, he stopped breathing, lost his pulse and ultimately was pronounced dead at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, according to the suit and news reports.

The lawsuit described an alleged bungled response to repeat calls for help -- stating that the first 911 caller was transferred by a dispatcher to the Sheriffs Office, which told the caller to contact Timberlines ski patrol. Thats even after being told Jenkins wasnt a skier and had fallen outside the ski area, according to the lawsuit.

The ski patrol called the countys 911 center, which again transferred the call to the sheriffs office, the suit states.

The helicopter was requested about 1 hour and 40 minutes after the initial 911 call, and arrived 2 hours and 40 minutes later, according to a timeline laid out in the lawsuit.

At approximately 11,239 feet, Mount Hood is Oregons most attempted climbing peak.

The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote extensively about the fall and rescue attempt.

Under the terms of the settlement, the county will make a $5,000 donation to Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer nonprofit search-and-rescue organization that responded to Jenkins fall. A team leader from the organization was by Jenkins side as he was loaded into the helicopter.

The settlement agreement also calls for more training and refined communication procedures for the countys emergency responders. Among those changes:

-- Sometime in the next year, the sheriffs office will hold a mountain search-and-rescue training conference dedicated to the memory of Jenkins. The conference will train the countys team members, along with other groups that respond to calls for rescue on Mount Hood.

-- Search and rescue coordinators with the sheriffs office shall be promptly notified of all search and rescue calls for help in their service area.

-- County officials will meet with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Portland Mountain Rescue, Timberline ski patrol and other groups to make sure everyone is familiar with best practices for requesting helicopter rescues on the mountain.

-- The county will create a plaque in memory of Jenkins and place it somewhere on county property.

Jenkins lived in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. He is survived by his two parents, who live in Kansas.

Jane Paulson, the Portland attorney representing Jenkins estate, said Jenkins family sued to determine what caused the delays and to prompt changes in the system.

This case has never been about money for the family, Paulson said in an email. Now that the county has agreed to make the necessary changes regarding how search and rescue operations are conducted, the familys goal of making Mt. Hood safer for others is complete and is the best method for the family to honor the memory of their son.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Menlo Park, CA, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young women in high school, community leaders and Silicon Valley executives had a lively discussion today about gender inequity in tech and how to inspire the next generation of women to lead the industry. The third annual Girls @ The Tech Luncheon by The Tech Museum of Innovation featured a lively discussion with Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo and Autodesk, and PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young, recently named one of Americas Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.



"Intelligence and hard work and talent are widely distributed, but (the tech industry) only looks like one type of person, Young said, encouraging young women to persist in their path to leadership. We are literally missing out on some of the smartest people in the world solving these problems. It is our responsibility to make sure more people pursue these careers.



"You have to get them started early and not be afraid of failure, Bartz told the parents in the room. What's a failure? A failure in one person's mind is success in another. Get rid of that criticism and fear.



Students from high schools across Silicon Valley attended the luncheon, a key event supporting The Techs initiatives to build a pipeline of young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Many were grateful to hear about some of the challenges and opportunities women encounter in these professional fields. Leonela Villalobos, a sophomore at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, said she felt inspired by the event to pursue a career in more male-dominated fields.



The best piece of advice was not to take criticism from people you wouldnt take advice from, Villalobos said. I think thats so important and hadnt thought about that before.



Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil also spoke about how young girls are leading the way in creating technology that will help humanity solve some its biggest challenges.



"The people who are going to solve these problems are the next generation, Patil told the young women in the room. We can set the framework. But you're going to be the ones developing genomic therapies, using data in dynamic ways and figuring out creative ways to make AI work for everyone."



The event also featured remarks from Jessica Garrison, technical marketing engineer at Juniper Networks; Gretchen Walker, vice president of learning at The Tech; and Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech.



I hope The Tech can be a place where young women can be inspired to look for problems to solve, be irreverent, be courageous, risk failure and be OK with asking for help, Ritchie said.



The Girls @ The Tech initiative launched in 2015 to build a pipeline of opportunities for girls that nurture their interest, boost their skills and solidify their confidence in STEM. The initiative supports a series of Girls Days @ The Tech that engage girls and their families in STEM activities and mentor them to pursue STEM careers; girls participation in the annual youth engineering program The Tech Challenge, which has a high percentage of female participants; and professional development for educators focused on inclusion and engineering design.



Girls @ The Tech is made possible by the generous support of The Junior League of Palo Alto - Mid Peninsula, Gilead, eBay, KLA Foundation, Milligan Family Foundation, NetApp, Arm, EY, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Hitachi Vantara, Intel, Trine Sorensen & Mike Jacobson, PayPal, United Airlines, Cisco Systems, Cooley, Dr. Myriam Curet, Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, Gregory P. Luth & Associates, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Marvell Semiconductor, Mayfield, Qualcomm, Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Silicon Valley Bank, Zoom, and additional assistance from Cushman Family Foundation, Mauria Finley and Greg Yap, Fossil Group, Bev Huss, Janie and Wayne Lambert and Cindy and Randy Pond.





About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum  located in the Capital of Silicon Valley  is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech for Global Good, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

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Controversial Judge Charles Bailey sent a blistering email lambasting a colleague that touched off what sources described as a courthouse investigation before he stepped down as Washington County Circuit Courts presiding judge.

Bailey criticized the character of Judge Eric Butterfield and copied the email to all 13 other Washington County judges.

A day earlier, Butterfield had put his name in the running to become the next presiding judge  an administrative leader whose duties include assigning cases to other judges.

In his email, Bailey implied that Butterfield was vindictive, lazy and shirked his workload in favor of riding his motorcycle. Bailey said he planned to tell the chief justice why you would be an absolute disaster as a presiding judge.

The Oregon Judicial Department released the email Friday after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The email illustrates what players in the justice system say is yearslong infighting and disagreement among members of the Washington County bench.

The email also depicts what many lawyers who have practiced in Baileys courtroom say is his abrasive style.

Two sources with knowledge of the inquiry told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Baileys email led at least one judge and possibly others to contact Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Lee Walters with concerns about Bailey. They said Walters in turn launched an investigation into Bailey. One source said every judge in the courthouse was questioned.

Bailey announced a week ago that he would resign as presiding judge, even though his term wasnt supposed to end for another eight months. His resignation from the leadership position becomes effective May 10. Bailey will remain a judge for the court and continue to hear cases.

In the email, sent in December, Bailey wrote he doubted Butterfield would be selected as his successor.

Even if you got it you wouldnt last more than a month before you would quit or make life difficult for everyone around you like you have done many times in the past, Bailey wrote.

Butterfield declined to comment on the email.

The history of what led Bailey to write the email isnt clear but he appeared to reference history with Butterfield.

You cant start something and quit it after a short period because it is too hard or too much work, Bailey wrote. ...You cant tell another judge to F off. ...You cant get to work just before your docket begins.

Bailey wouldnt comment publicly about why hes resigning from his presiding judge position, but the Judicial Department released his resignation letter Friday in response to the public records request. Bailey wrote in that letter that he believed the chief justice and other judges were discontent with him.

Although my time as the Presiding Judge in Washington County has been, for the most part, satisfying and productive during the last four plus years, over the last few months I have become unsatisfied with the work situation, Bailey wrote.

More importantly, I believe you and a few judges in Washington County are also not satisfied and have lost confidence in my ability to run the Washington County Court, he continued.

Bailey also implied that he felt closely watched by Walters, who appoints presiding judges in her role as chief justice.

(Y)ou deserve to have a Presiding judge that you have faith in and will not feel the need to micro-manage, Bailey wrote to her.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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UPDATED Nov. 8, 2019: Gerald Bruce Newman was convicted Thursday of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records. KPTV reports he was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

***

Clackamas County Sheriffs deputies have arrested a 59-year-old man on accusations that he tried to kill another man by shooting him in the chest in the parking lot of a bar in Boring on Friday night.

Deputies booked Gerald Bruce Newman into jail under accusations of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon at the Not So Boring Bar & Grill at 28014 S.E. Wally Road.

The victim was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for treatment, and his current condition isnt known, said a sheriffs spokesman in a news release Saturday morning. He is expected to survive his injuries. Authorities identified him as Dustin Schaffer.

Gerald Bruce Newman, 59, is accused of attempted murder stemming from a shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019, at a bar in Boring. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office).

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019. (CCSO)

Deputies were called to respond to a possible fight at the bar at about 11 p.m. Deputies then received more information that a man had been shot.

Upon arrival, deputies detained Newman without incident, according to the news release. They also confiscated a pistol as evidence.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Police on Friday said they no longer consider the death of a man found collapsed in the doorway of his Northwest Portland home to be suspicious.

They received the results of an autopsy and would release nothing further, they said in a statement. They didnt disclose what the autopsy revealed and a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiners Office referred questions to police.

Police responded Saturday morning to reports of a person stabbed with a weapon in the 9900 block of Northwest Hoge Avenue in the Linnton neighborhood, dispatch records show.

A pair of mail carriers found the man unconscious and covered in blood in the doorway of his home just before 10 a.m., neighbor Catherine Magasich told KATU News.

Homicide detectives completed an on-scene investigation that day. Police provided no additional information afterward, leaving those living in the area rattled and wondering how their neighbor died and whether there was an ongoing public safety threat.

Neighbors and the deceased mans employer identified him as 53-year-old Jon Kennith Ford. He had worked at Bridge City Steel on Northwest St. Helens Road since 2006, owner Chris Gaylord said.

He was our best employee ever, Gaylord said. He never missed a day of work. Never once.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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The Oregonian/OregonLives examination of medical decisions for Derrick Dahl led the newsroom to compile basic background material on Alternative Services-Oregon, the nonprofit operating the group home where Dahl receives care.

The search revealed an interweaving of family and financial interests within a nonprofit that gets $17 million a year from the state to care for adults with developmental disabilities.

Five relatives of Alternative Services executive director have worked for or contracted with the nonprofit, publicly available records show. Two board members personally own properties that they lease to the nonprofit.

The arrangements are not illegal, according to an expert in nonprofit tax law. But they do sound like potential conflicts of interest to me, said Sen. Sara Gelser, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Human Services.

Alternative Services officials said the nonprofits board ensured all individuals who benefited from hiring or rental decisions were walled off from participating in them. Company officials said all family members were highly qualified for their jobs.

Gelser predicated her comments by saying she doesnt know full details about Alternative Services. Gelser also said its common for family members to become passionate about developmental disability causes.

But Gelser said the amount of money flowing from Alternative Services to the same family raises a number of questions. Gelser added that board members ethically should not financially benefit from their own nonprofits by decisions that were made when they were on the board, even if they recused themselves from a vote.

Gelser said she believes the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section should review the matter.

The information is very concerning, said Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat. I think somebody should be looking into it.

After this story published online Saturday, state officials announced that the Department of Justice had recently taken an informal look into the nonprofits arrangements and did not indicate any specific concerns.

Alternative Services operates 37 adult group homes statewide under its contract with Oregons Department of Human Services. Their capacity is about 150 residents. The state pays Alternative Services for the cost of providing care to individuals. But it does not not cover room and board, which is typically paid to a group home through an individuals supplemental security income.

Tax filings for 2012 through 2016 cumulatively show Alternative Services paid a total of $2.4 million to family members of Pat Allen-Sleeman, the nonprofits longtime executive director. Her husband Scott, the clinical director, received compensation averaging $200,000 annually. Two daughters and a son worked in roles with compensation ranging from about $45,000 to $90,000 a year. A company run by Allen-Sleemans son-in-law was awarded $825,000 in construction contracts over the five years.

Thomas DLuge, Alternative Services board secretary since 1989, said the construction work was board-approved and covered major renovations. DLuge said Scott Sleeman worked at the nonprofit before the couple married and his salary is set by the board. Neither played roles hiring their children, reviewing their performance or setting their compensation, DLuge said.

All have college degrees, and a relative has a developmental disability, DLuge said. Family is held to a higher standard than other employees, he said, adding: It is unlikely that any candidate for any position held by one of Pat or Scotts family is more qualified.

DLuge and his wife, meanwhile, purchased a Portland home that the nonprofit leases for its clients who are developmentally disabled.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services approached the nonprofit two decades ago to see if it could buy homes to expand services, DLuge said.

But Alternative Services had trouble finding landlords willing to lease suitable properties for use as group homes, DLuge said. The nonprofit also found itself unable to secure financing in those years, DLuge said.

In 1998, the people who owned one of the homes Alternative Services leased wanted to sell. DLuge said he and his wife bought it to keep residents from having to move.

Alternative Services board approved the new lease with DLuge without his involvement, Allen-Sleeman said. DLuge said hes never increased Alternative Services rent.

Records show DLuge received $25,005 from Alternative Services in lease payments for the 2012 tax year. DLuge said he didnt know why subsequent tax filings dont disclose the payments.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services, also bought property in Portland between 1997 and 1999 that the nonprofit leases.

DLuge said that like him, Mack has never raised the rent on the three homes and Alternative Services board approved the leases without Macks involvement.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services-Oregon, personally owns three homes that he leases to the nonprofit. This is one in east Portland. Mack reported receiving $76,800 from the nonprofit for the leases in the 2012 tax year.

Records show Mack received $76,800 from Alternative Services in lease payments for three homes for the 2012 tax year. Payments are not disclosed in subsequent tax years.

DLuge said his mortgage is paid off, and property records say Macks were scheduled to be paid off last year.

DLuges property is now worth $438,000, or about $228,000 more than its purchase price, property records show. Macks three properties are valued at nearly $1.4 million combined, or about $805,000 above their purchase prices, according to records.

DLuge said he has spoken with a board member about offering the home he and his wife own to Alternative Services at a significantly reduced price when they decide to sell. Mack declined to respond to written questions.

The nonprofits board has a conflict of interest policy, according to tax filings. The policy says that when board members do business with people affiliated with the nonprofit, they should exercise due diligence and see if a better deal is available. If its not, the policy says, members should vote on whether the arrangement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Alternative Services.

As long as Alternative Services followed its conflict of interest policy at the time and paid fair market rent, Mack, DLuge and the rest of the board have likely satisfied their legal fiduciary duties and met relevant tax law requirements, said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at Notre Dame and an expert in nonprofit tax requirements.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services say they are not concerned by Alternative Services hiring practices or lease arrangements. In fact, property records show the state long ago gave Mack forgivable loans to make safety improvements at some properties.

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt
A Portland State University Board of Trustees committee voted Friday to consider increasing student tuition by 11 percent and cut about $10 million from its academic and student support budgets.

The full university board is scheduled to vote May 13 on the proposal.

The university outlined the proposal Friday in a news release, which stated the moves would be necessary unless state lawmakers set aside more funding for higher education. The proposals would be necessary to address cost increases totaling $18.6 million, according to Kevin Reynolds the universitys vice president of finance and administration

We need a commitment of additional revenue support from the state to cover significant cost increases, particularly those that arise as a result of the underfunded Public Employee Retirement System, Reynolds said. Otherwise, we will need to make another painful round of reductions and require that PSU students  58 percent of whom are on financial aid  will have to face a double-digit tuition increase.

Even if the PSU board approves the proposal, it would need the nod from Oregons Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The commission must approve any public university tuition increase of more than 5 percent.

Oregon lawmakers proposed to fund universities at roughly 5 percent above the governors flat-line budget as part of a broad spending outline released in early March. But university leaders from across the state have said that $777 million proposal wont be enough.

Oregon State Universitys board of trustees voted in early April to increase tuition by 4.29 percent for full-time Oregon resident undergraduates. The tuition hike also could be paired with a decrease in spending.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill said in early March that he plans $11 million in budget cuts to address a $12.9 million budget shortfall next year. He said he would also consider layoffs and a tuition increase if state lawmakers dont come through with more funding.
A Salem man was sentenced to more than six years in prison and a permanent revocation of his drivers license Thursday after driving drunk last July in Beaverton and causing a crash that killed his passenger.

Jonathan Guzman, 22, pleaded guilty April 19 in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants related to a July 2018 crash that killed 36-year-old Ariana Salgado-Guadarrama.

A judge sentenced Guzman on Thursday to six years and three months in prison, ordered his license be revoked for life and that he pay nearly $16,000 in restitution and fines. Guzman had no prior criminal history, according to Oregon court records.

A 2018 photo shows the aftermath of a crash in Beaverton which led to the death of a car passenger and the arrest of the driver. (Beaverton Police Department)

Prosecutors said Guzman was driving about 100 mph around 2:50 a.m. when he crashed into a light pole and tree along Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Several beer cans were found near the crash, and Guzmans blood alcohol level was found to be 0.16 percent, twice the state legal limit.

Beaverton police said at the time of the crash that the impact caused the engine of Guzmans Mazda M3 to be separated from the rest of the car and slide across several traffic lanes.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

TORONTO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MTC Growth Fund-I Inc. (MTC or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding letter agreements (collectively, the Letter Agreements) with: (i) shareholders of Medic Plast S.A. (Medic Plast or MP), a Uruguayan entity engaged in the pharmaceutical and medical device business, and Yurelan S.A. (Y), a Uruguayan entity engaged in an agricultural related business, to acquire MP and Y in exchange for common shares of MTC (the Resulting Issuer Shares) as it exists after the completion of the RTO (as hereinafter defined) (the Resulting Issuer); and (ii) Ramm Pharma Corp. (Ramm), a private Ontario company, and creditor to MP and Y, pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTC (Subco) will amalgamate with Ramm (the Amalgamation) on the terms and conditions of an amalgamation agreement to be entered into among MTC, Subco and Ramm.

Medic Plast is a leader in the field of cannabinoid pharmacology and product formulation for cannabis-based pharmaceuticals and other cannabis-based products. Founded in 1988 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Medic Plast is a well established pharmaceutical and medical product business and amongst the first and only companies in the world to have developed medically registered and approved plant derived cannabinoid pharmaceutical products. Medic Plast currently has multiple approved and registered products that have been authorized for sale in several Latin American countries, as well as a robust pipeline of new products in various stages of approval and development. Medic Plast is also in the process of finalizing a state of the art GMP certified cannabis extraction and formulation facility. With Yurelans large scale cultivation facility, the combined operations are expected to provide for complete vertical integration. Further to its industry leading activities in the cannabis sector, Medic Plast operates a successful pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical product development and medical services business which has been servicing the local market for 30 years.

We are very pleased to announce our plans to go public which marks an important milestone for our company. Years of global research, drug development, and physician education have positioned Medic Plast as a leader in the field of cannabis-derived prescription drugs and products, stated Armando Blankleider, President of Medic Plast. The company is comprised of industry leading experts and is backed by some of the most successful pioneers in the cannabis sector. The public listing and capital raised will help to accelerate our growth strategy as we continue to expand our distribution to meet the extensive and growing demand for cannabinoid-based prescription drugs and products globally.

The Letter Agreements outline the general terms and conditions pursuant to which the Corporation, MP, Y, and Ramm have agreed to complete a series of transactions (collectively, the RTO) that will result in a reverse take-over of the Corporation by the shareholders of MP and Y, and the shareholders Ramm, and holders of convertible debentures of Ramm (the Convertible Debentures). On completion of the RTO, each of MP, Y, and the entity resulting from the Amalgamation will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Resulting Issuer, and the Resulting Issuer will focus on the current business and affairs of MP and Y. The Letter Agreements were negotiated at arms length.

Completion of the RTO is conditional on the Corporation reorganizing from an investment fund issuer to a corporate issuer, effecting a subdivision (the Stock Split) of its issued and outstanding shares on the basis of 4.76648 new Resulting Issuer Shares for each one (1) MTC Share (as hereinafter defined), and the filing of articles of amendment to: (a) change the Corporations authorized capital to an unlimited number of common shares; and (b) change and reclassify all of its issued and outstanding redeemable shares into common shares (collectively, the Corporate Reorganization). The Corporate Reorganization must be approved by not less than 66% of the votes cast by holders of redeemable shares of MTC at a meeting of shareholders. It is expected that the Corporation will call and convene an annual and special meeting of the holders of its redeemable shares to approve, among other items, the Corporate Reorganization.

Concurrent Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that Ramm will complete a non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$1.35 per Subscription Receipt (the Issue Price). Each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration, one (1) common share of Ramm (an Underlying Share) upon satisfaction or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions (as hereinafter defined), with each Underlying Share to be exchanged, without further consideration, for one Resulting Issuer Share upon the completion of the RTO. MTC may sell subscription receipts having similar economic terms to the Subscription Receipts except that on conversion a holder will receive Resulting Issuer Shares (the MTC Subscription Receipts) in connection with the RTO. The sale of Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts are anticipated to raise aggregate gross proceeds of at least C$24,000,000 (collectively, the Offering).

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts and the MTC Subscription Receipts will be held in escrow (the Escrowed Proceeds) by an escrow agent acceptable to Ramm and MTC (the Escrow Agent) (the Escrowed Proceeds, together with any interest and other income earned pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, are referred to as the Escrowed Funds). The Escrowed Funds will be released from escrow to Ramm or MTC, respectively, upon the satisfaction of conditions which include the following (the Escrow Release Conditions) on or prior to September 30, 2019 (subject to extension to no later than October 31, 2019) (the Escrow Deadline): (a) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the completion of the RTO, including, without limitation, the conditional approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the Exchange) for the RTO; (b) shareholder approval of the Corporate Reorganization; and (c) Ramm or MTC, as applicable, having delivered a direction to the Escrow Agent confirming that the conditions set forth above have been met or waived.

If (i) the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before the Escrow Deadline, or (ii) prior to the Escrow Deadline Ramm or MTC, as applicable, announces to the public that it does not intend to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, the Escrowed Funds shall be returned to the holders of the Subscription Receipts or MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, on a pro rata basis and the Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, will be cancelled without any further action on the part of the holders.

In connection with the Offering, a cash finders fee of 6.0% of the gross proceeds sold by each finder may be paid, and common share purchase warrants (the Finder Warrants) representing 6.0% of the number of Underlying Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Subscription Receipts (or Resulting Issuer Shares issuable upon conversion of the MTC Subscription Receipts) sold by each finder may be issued, to qualified finders. Each Finder Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Underlying Share or one (1) Resulting Issuer Share, as applicable, at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months after the completion of the RTO.

Terms of the RTO

In connection with the RTO, MTC will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of MP and Y in exchange for an aggregate of 59,820,000 common shares of MTC (the MTC Shares) on a post-Stock Split basis, and then complete the Amalgamation. Under the Amalgamation, the name of MTC will be changed to Ramm Pharma Corp..

Following the RTO, an aggregate of 750,000 Resulting Issuer Shares will be held by the former holders of MTC Shares. After conversion of Convertible Debentures, Ramm will have an aggregate of 14,000,000 common shares outstanding which will be exchanged for Resulting Issuer Shares in connection with completion of the Amalgamation on a one-for-one basis.

Upon completion of the RTO, and assuming that the Offering results in the issuance of C$24,000,000 of Subscription Receipts, it is expected that, on a non-diluted basis, the current shareholders of MTC will hold approximately 0.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, purchasers in the Offering and holders of common shares of Ramm and Convertible Debentures will hold, in the aggregate, approximately 34.4% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, and the former shareholders of MP and Y will hold, collectively, approximately 64.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares.

Insiders, Officers and Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer

Upon completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of five directors. It is expected that Jack Burnett will serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Resulting Issuer.

Set out below are the names and backgrounds of all persons who are currently expected to be considered insiders of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the RTO.

Jack Burnett  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a Director

Mr. Burnett is a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years experience in capital markets and international corporate leadership roles. Mr. Burnett has led companies from inception to acquisition in multiple industries including real estate, insurance and telecom. His deep global business relationships span both private and public markets where he has been a director, officer and majority shareholder of successful multinational companies.

Dr. Armando Blankleider  Director

Dr. Blankleider is a Medical Doctor and the founder and President of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider has directly led Medic Plasts initiatives for the design and introduction of new products, as well as the design and monitoring of teams for the development of production processes and the general management of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider also has a depth of experience in Quality Management ISO Standards, has acted as a delegate to develop the Rules of Good Manufacturing Practices for medical products for the private sector within the MERCOSUR and is an active participant in international conferences for the medical and pharmaceutical products industry globally.

Daniel Augereau  Director

Mr. Augereau is a seasoned executive who has held senior leadership and board-level positions at companies spanning a diverse mix of industries over a 50+ year career. Since 2005, Mr. Augereau has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Synergie SA (Euronext: SDG), the French leader of temporary work and human resources management services for the industrial, tertiary, logistics, medical, building and public works sectors.

Conditions to RTO

The RTO is subject to receipt of the required regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, the approval of the Exchange, the execution of definitive documents giving effect to the RTO, and standard closing conditions. In addition, the RTO is subject to customary conditions including, without limitation, the following:

Each of MTC, MP, Y, Ramm and Subco will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the RTO.



MTC will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving, among other matters: (i) the Corporate Reorganization; and (ii) the approval of the RTO, if required by the Exchange.



Minimum gross proceeds of C$24,000,000 are raised pursuant to the Offering.

The ultimate legal structure for the RTO will be determined after the parties have considered all applicable tax, securities law, and accounting efficiencies and may change from what is described in this news release.

About MTC

The Corporation is an un-listed Canadian mutual fund corporation that was established under the laws of the Province of Ontario by a declaration of trust dated October 1988, with its registered and head office in Toronto, Ontario. MTC and is a reporting issuer within the meaning of the Securities Act (Alberta), Securities Act (Ontario) and Securities Act (Quebec).

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the proposed RTO; the terms and conditions of the proposed Offering; the ability of MTC to complete the RTO and the ability of Ramm to complete the Offering, respectively, on the terms described herein or at all; use of funds; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed RTO. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, neither MTC, MP, Y nor Ramm assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

For further information please contact:

MTC Growth Fund-I Inc.

Joseph Chiummiento

Tel: 905.851.8180
The Kirtland's warbler -- one of the rarest nesting migratory songbirds in the United States and Canada -- now has additional support, thanks to the establishment of an avian ecologist position geared to executing conservation activities on the bird's wintering grounds in The Bahamas. Scientist Bradley Watson has been hired by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) as part of the plan to keep the Kirtland's warbler population growing after its expected removal from the U.S. endangered species list this spring.

Watson, who is Bahamian, holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, along with a bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston. Prior to accepting the new position, Watson worked with the Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation. He has contributed to multiple studies on terrestrial ecology, while his graduate research focused on carbon sequestration in prairie systems.
McLaren Bay Region on Thursday recognized several nurses for exemplifying excellence in nursing during the 14th Annual McLaren Bay Region Nursing Excellence Awards.

"The Nursing Excellence recipients are nominated by their peers based on professionalism, excellence in nursing practice, education, leadership and community involvement," said Sandy Garzell, McLaren Bay Region director of Quality Improvement and Organizational Excellence. "They advocate for patients and families to provide a holistic plan of care."

Awards are given to individuals who regularly assist with process changes, education and teamwork within their departments to continually improve the care provided to patients.

The 2019 award recipients are:

 Brooke Getty, RN - Nursing Excellence. Getty has been a registered nurse for 12 years, and has earned her Clinical Ladder IV achievement. She works in the emergency department and is a member of the Nursing Practice Council and serves as a member of the stroke workgroup at McLaren Bay Region. Getty is known as a team leader within her department as she works to provide evidence-based care to her patients.

 Lisa Kukla, RN - Nursing Excellence. Kukla has worked at McLaren Bay Region for over 27 years after obtaining her BSN degree in 1993, and has achieved Clinical Ladder IV status. She works in the OB/women's health department, and her commitment to quality care is evident by her active participation in Michigan Hospital Association/Keystone Obstetrics. Kukla is known for her passion for nursing care changes that lead to improved patient care outcomes.

 Charlene Mayotte, RN - Nursing Excellence. Mayotte has been with McLaren Bay Region for over 40 years, where she has worked in neurology/urology, inpatient rehab and as a case manager. She is the first person nurses go to for the latest evidence-based information and is well respected by the medical staff. Mayotte is known as a caring, compassionate nurse who regularly advocates on behalf of her patients.

 Adam Kusz, Certified Surgical Tech - Nursing Support Excellence. Kusz has been on the McLaren Bay Region team since 2007 and works in the operating room. As a member of a unit-based team, he gives regular input on work flows to improve efficiency. Kusz is known for being a knowledgeable team player with a solid work ethic who is well respected by physicians and staff.

"We have a team of exceptional nurses and nursing support staff, and we celebrate their dedication all year long," said McLaren Bay Region Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Talbott. "We are proud to host this special event during Nurses' Week to highlight a few individuals who were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond."
Just as ripples may start small, but continue to expand, the Midland 100 Club has positively affected the community for the past decade. The group's generosity has helped students, the arts community, those with disabilities, foster kids, shelter animals and countless other lives. The club celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday night at Midland Center for the Arts.

"It's not a social club. It's a get-it-done club," stated member Julie Nunn, also the executive director of Cancer Services.

Midlander Bobbie Arnold developed the idea in 2009 after attending a party in Albion. At that time, societies were still dealing with the effects of the Great Recession in 2008.

"All the women were talking about the ability to get together as a community and put together 100 women, each willing to give $100 four times a year. The impact on the community would be amazing if we could do that," Arnold said.

The first meeting of the Midland 100 Club was held at Emerson Park. Since then, membership has expanded from 10 to 476 ladies. The group moved its location to Midland Center for the Arts, initially meeting in the Lecture Room, then moving to the Founder's Room and now to the Auditorium lobby due to the ever-increasing membership. Its next meeting will take place in the Little Theater.

"Here's the challenge: let's outgrow that. And then we have the 1,500 seat auditorium," Volunteer Chair Tina Van Dam addressed the club.

Membership is open to any woman who is able to give $300 annually. The club meets three times a year, in January, May and September. Each meeting is run like clockwork due to the efforts of Van Dam, and lasts only an hour.

"The very best thing that happened to the club was Tina Van Dam. She is truly the heart and soul of the Midland 100 Club," Arnold said.

Six local organizations get a chance to speak at the meetings, each for no more than five minutes. The first four are nominated by members to present while the other two are those who received funds from the last meeting. Over the past 10 years, the Midland 100 Club has given $835,420 in cash contributions, including matching grants, to 47 organizations, according to Van Dam.

"One of the things that's hard is there are so many great organizations in this community that you can't go wrong pulling any name," observed member Jennifer Heronema, president and CEO of the Legacy Center for Community Success.

To be eligible to receive funding, an organization is required to have a current and valid 501(c)3 designation, be located in the Great Lakes Bay Region and benefit Midland County. No political or religious groups are eligible. A group may be qualified to receive additional funding after three years; there have been a handful of local groups who have received support more than once.

One of those groups is Cancer Services. Started in 1948, its goal is to provide support to cancer patients and caregivers in terms of their physical, financial, emotional and spiritual needs.

"Most of our clients are with us for about a year. Some stay and just do monthly support groups," Nunn said. "We don't take a penny for anything that we do."

The Midland 100 Club first helped Cancer Services in May 2014 by giving $12,250, which helped provide over 41,000 miles of transportation for cancer patients. Cancer Services then received $18,500 in September 2017. This time, the finances purchased wood, propane and covered Consumers Energy heating bills for 63 families.

"We were fortunate. It felt like we were just eligible and then we were picked again," Nunn said.

The following May, the Midland 100 Club gave $19,700 to Fostering Hope in Michigan, formerly known as Royal Family Kids and Teen Reach of Mid-Michigan. Founded in 1995, the organization serves foster children through camps and mentoring services. Fostering Hope used the donation to fund a year of monthly Teen Mentoring Club meetings as well as two Teen Reach Adventure Camps where teenagers learn how to respond to life's challenges in a positive way.

"All of our campers and mentees attend our programs free of charge to the child/teen, their families, and the Department of Health and Human Services," explained Fostering Hope Board Chair Bill Clarkson. "The funds provided 'camperships' (scholarships for room, board and supplies), and funded activities such as our challenge course, zip line, and climbing wall experiences."

Clarkson has seen the camps' attendance double as well as the individual growth in campers; one camper with unique needs transformed into a positive role model for the rest of the participants.

At the following Midland 100 Club meeting in September 2018, one of the recipient organizations was the Legacy Center, which received $23,000 to support the Barton Reading and Spelling System. With Barton, pupils with dyslexia who are at least one grade level below where they should be receive one-on-one tutoring.

"Just being honored by that group with that much money at one time, you're just in awe for two or three days," stated Director of Student Reading Programs Kristi Kline.

"It was like we won the lottery," Heronema added.

Unlike most of the Legacy Center's programs, the Barton System doesn't have a steady funding source and must raise its own money. Due to the financial contribution, Barton served 140 to 150 people -- a record breaker for the Legacy Center -- and the staff was able to concentrate on other matters that needed attention.

"It just takes a lot of the pressure off," Kline said.

On Wednesday night, the Midland 100 Club met for its May meeting, but time was allowed to celebrate the group's accomplishments and acknowledge Midland's continuous support.

"If it's a good project, they find a way to get it done. It's an incredible community," Arnold said.

Both Arnold and Van Dam hope to see more growth in the club's future -- including younger members -- and are eager to increase their impact in Midland. Van Dam gave a virtual toast to the members at the end of the meeting before they withdrew to the reception.

"May your generous and kind heart reflect the better community we continue to build together," she said.

Those interested in joining Midland 100 Club can email midland100club@hotmail.com.
HUDSON, N.H., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GT Advanced Technologies Inc., the parent of GTAT Corporation (collectively, Company), has entered into a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to an investigation into events leading up to the Companys bankruptcy filing in 2014. The Company welcomes the conclusion of this matter which allows it to focus its efforts on its ongoing business.



Michele Rayos, who became the Companys Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in November of 2017, said that the Company is committed to operating its business with the upmost integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those relating to record keeping and financial reporting. We have implemented and continue to review our internal controls to ensure best practices in this area. Greg Knight, who became the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer in September of 2016 after its emergence from bankruptcy earlier that year, stated that we are pleased to have the investigation behind us, allowing us to focus all our efforts into expanding the availability and use of silicon carbide and sapphire into current and future markets. Our technical expertise in crystal growth technologies enables us to be a game changer in advanced materials and we are dedicated to continually improving our products while exploring new opportunities. We believe that we will make a difference in the markets that we serve.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is a privately held company. Its current shareholders are private equity firms and financial institutions, most of which were former creditors in the bankruptcy.



About GTAT Corporation
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sunday, May 5, the Fraser Institute will release the Report Card on Ontarios Secondary Schools 2019, the go-to source for measuring school improvement.



It offers parents information they cant easily get anywhere else by showing which Ontario secondary schools have improved or fallen behind, based on indicators derived from provincewide test results.

A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on May 5 at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

The complete results for all 738 secondary schools will also be available at www.compareschoolrankings.org .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela MacLeod

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duncan Park Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (TSXV: DPH) announced today that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") has approved its previously announced application to voluntarily delist (the "Delisting") its common shares from the TSXV. Delisting will be effective at the close of business on May 10, 2019 with trading on the TSXV to end as of the close of trading on that day.



Shareholders should refer to the Company's press release dated April 29, 2019 for an explanation of certain consequences of the Delisting and other related matters.

For further information, please contact:

David Shaddrick

Acting President and CEO

Duncan Park Holdings Corporation

Tel: (775) 746-2071

david@duncanpark.com

www.duncanpark.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 release.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Thursday, May 2

10:37 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 7000 block of Eastman Avenue.

9:53 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to Lee Township for a cow in the roadway. Deputies made contact with a man who said he was the owner of the cow. He transported the cow back onto his property, and refused to give any further information.

9:23 p.m. -- A 43-year-old Colorado man was arrested for a child support warrant following a traffic stop conducted in Jerome Township.

3:15 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Wackerly Street.

2:31 p.m. -- Officers responded to a retail fraud in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

1:41 p.m. -- A Larkin Township homeowner discovered an injured deer on their property and called 9-1-1. A deputy arrived and determined the injury was related to a car crash. The deer was put down, and Central Dispatch located an individual who would come pick up the deer.

12:12 p.m. -- A 38-year-old Shepherd man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Geneva Township. The man was stopped for a driving violation. He was cited for no insurance. The man's vehicle was towed by Coles Towing. The passenger was released to a friend who arrived on scene.

11:21 a.m. -- A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Mount Haley Township.

10:05 p.m. -- Officers responded to a crash resulting in property damage in the area of East Park Street and Sayre Street.

9:36 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a possible drug overdose at a location in Warren Township. Deputies made contact with a 48-year-old man and his 41-year-old wife at MidMichigan Medical Center in reference to their 18-year-old son who had overdosed. Deputies made contact with the son and completed a mental health petition. His parents planned on staying with him at MidMichigan Medical Center.

8:37 a.m. -- Deputies responded to a failure to pay for $53 in gas from a Warren Township service station. No license plate information was obtained. The vehicle was identified as dark SUV last seen heading west.

2:36 a.m. -- Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and Oakhaven Court.

12:40 a.m. -- A deputy struck a deer with his vehicle in Larkin Township.

12:09 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to an Ingersoll Township home for a possible breaking and entering in progress. The 22- and 27-year-old female residents said they heard some odd noises outside, and thought someone was attempting to gain entry. The deputies checked the area and the home, but did not find any evidence of an intruder or trespasser.
To the editor:

Noah Webster said in 1832, "The principles of all genuine liberty and wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man or woman who weakens or destroys the divine authority may be accessory to all public disorder which society is doomed to suffer."

George Washington said, " It is impossible to rightly govern the world without the Bible and God."

Our nation is reaping the consequences of ignoring their wise counsel and principles. Today religion, especially Christianity, is viewed as anathema by government, most of the media and the courts. Legislation seeks to isolate and cripple Christian influence. The result is moral chaos.

For example, about 50-60 years ago, when the Bible and prayer were still welcome in our education system, the major problems in school were: talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of line, wearing improper clothing.

But our government took a stance against the Word of God, and took the Bible and prayer out of schools. As a result, today's problems in our schools, and society in general, are: profanity, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, assault, murder, rape, suicide.

At Colorado Mesa University, Karissa Langner planned to tell classmates a humorous story about her nursing school experience, then briefly talk about overcoming adversity and acknowledge the role faith plays in her life. One school official said that speeches should be free of any one religious slant, and another threatened her with "repercussions" if she refused to change her speech. Karissa contacted Alliance Defending Freedom, and they took swift action, making sure that the school knew that censoring her speech was unconstitutional. As a result, the university changed its stance.

This issue was recently highlighted by President Trump, when he signed an executive order stating that public colleges and universities will lose federal research funds if they violate students' rights to free speech.

Taxpayer-funded colleges and universities will, without consequences, continue to trample on Christian students' rights, unless we all join together to fight the censorship and persecution.

LARRY ADAMCIK

Midland
To the editor:

The Midland Daily News website published an article called Social media: How good is this really for us? on March 17. It is wonderful to see mental health and the impact technology can have on us being talked about.

Tatiana Flowers brought up multiple important points, such as how there is a correlation between anxiety and social media, how people arent gaining valuable social skills, and also how technology may be becoming an addiction. There has even been talk about adding a form of technology/internet addiction to an updated Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM).

It is important to raise awareness about mental health and work to erase the stigmas associated with mental illness. Our community can create a positive change by talking about mental health and illnesses. People can also take steps to improve their own mental health by exercising, eating right, getting enough sleep, having a positive cognitive mindset, and promoting a good self-care routine.

Many people do not realize how seriously we should take our mental health, as it can have an even stronger impact on our lives than some physical ailments. We need to be more aware of who is vulnerable to the negative impacts of technology. Teachers, parents, and guidance counselors can help children by discussing how to use social media positively. By teaching humankind to care about their mental health, we give it value and can help break down some of the stigmas associated with mental illnesses.

MEGAN HERRON

Midland
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy. High 66F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA)  The terrorist organisation, Daesh, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a barrack that accommodates the Battalion 160 under the general commandment of the Libyan National Army in the city of Sebha (800 kilometers south of Tripoli), which left 9 dead
Paris, France (PANA) - The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored the violence that engulfed Benin's political circle after the parliamentary elections and regretted that the vote, which took place last Sunday, was not "inclusive and competitive "
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Deadlock seems to prevail in this deadly war that broke out since 4 April to conquer Tripoli, getting stuck as significant progress has not been made on the ground while the differences between countries involved in the Libyan issue have increased this blockade, whose double military and political effect reveals the tragedy suffered by civilians, the first victims of these clashes
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal's Minister of Culture and Communication Abdoulaye Diop on Friday highlighted the harm caused by social networks, and urged journalists to be vigilant and rigorous to safeguard the image of their profession
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - A three-day workshop to Validate Report on the Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming and Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the ECOWAS region, ended in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, with the validation of the Report and wide ranging recommendations, including a call on all EMBs to set up Gender Units
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington cellphone store was robbed at gunpoint Friday night, police said. No one was injured.

Officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to Boost Mobile, 603 S. Center St., just south of downtown Bloomington.

An employee described the robbers as three men wearing masks and said two of them displayed guns.

An undisclosed number of phones were taken from the store and the suspects fled in an unknown vehicle, police said Saturday.

No injuries were reported. Further details, including descriptions of the suspects, were not available Saturday.

This was the third armed robbery reported in Bloomington in the last month and the eighth in the Twin Cities this year.

In the two most recent business robberies, which involved Six Points Food and Liquor and Subway, two suspects were reported. Fridays was the first to involve three people.

Bloomington police have not indicated the robberies were connected, but after Six Points was robbed Monday, Public Affairs Officer John Fermon said the department is considering all possibilities in the investigations.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BLOOMINGTON  A newly-formed jury in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial went home without reaching a verdict Friday four hours after they were forced to restart deliberations because a juror was dismissed for violating a court rule.

Zimmerman is accused of killing his ex-wife, Pam Zimmerman, who was found dead with four gunshot wounds in her east-side Bloomington office on Nov. 4, 2014.

A woman was removed from the panel before lunch after she admitted she read a story in The Pantagraph two days ago. Jurors are barred from reading or viewing media accounts of the proceedings.

A male juror reported unspecified misconduct in a note to Judge Scott Drazewski. When called into the courtroom, the juror said the woman had disclosed reading the paper during a discussion of the spelling of a witness name.

Every day since the trial opened April 1, Drazewski has required jurors to sign a statement confirming their compliance with the order. All jurors have signed the form.

In her meeting with the judge and lawyers, the woman said she reads The Pantagraph daily for obituaries and the Dear Abby column. The woman acknowledged she read a story two days ago in The Pantagraph to determine the spelling of the name of witness Merrie Seip, who testified she heard what she thought was gunfire on Nov. 3 as she sat with a client in her counseling office near Pam Zimmerman's office at 2103 E. Washington St., Bloomington.

The article, she said, was the only time she strayed from the judges order.

The jurors admission spurred a request for a mistrial from defense lawyer John Rogers who argued the juror may have shared with other jurors additional information from Pantagraph coverage of the trial. The stories, he said, have included material from pre-trial hearings.

The judge denied the motion.

The first alternate juror, also a woman, became part of the jury before talks started over at 2 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, jurors requested video and documents to review during their second day of deliberations.

Drazewski granted their requests to see three video clips of Zimmermans visit to the Four Seasons health club on Nov. 3, 2014.

The judge also allowed jurors to see cell tower mapping from an expert who traced Zimmermans travel around Bloomington, and a trip he allegedly made to Indiana. A digital timeline of the defendants use of electronic devices also was provided. The exhibits were removed from the jury room when the deliberations started over but returned after the jury made a second request after all 12 jurors were involved in deliberations.

The new jury also asked to see the phone records of Scott Baldwin, the victim's fiance, and several satellite images of the parking lots area outside the victim's office and the location of several items from the victim's office located by police near Robinson Street.

The jury will not see a sample kit police use to collect gunshot residue from the potential evidence.

The jury deliberated about two hours late Thursday afternoon before going home and returning Friday morning to the Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington. The panel will resume talks Monday morning.

Photos: Closing arguments in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial
BLOOMINGTON  Several Central Illinois residents approved to use medical marijuana favor legalization of adult recreational cannabis, arguing it would give people another way to deal with diagnosed or un-diagnosed health problems.

But the medical community urges caution.

"It's about giving people another option in addition to pharmaceuticals," said Tyler Jon Hargis, 27, of Bloomington, a marijuana advocate and member of the Central Illinois Cannabis Community (CICC). "If cannabis can provide people with a helping hand, it's worth it."

Legalization of recreational marijuana is being considered by state legislators and has support from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It would allow legal access for people with un-diagnosed issues  such as sleepless nights or anxiety  who could benefit from marijuana, said Eric Chance of East Peoria, also a CICC member.

"We don't view cannabis as a cure-all," said Chance, 36. "But it definitely helps alleviate some symptoms. People need to find out what works for them."

But Dr. Paul Pedersen, vice president and chief medical officer of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center and an internal medicine physician in Bloomington, is concerned about reports of increases in traffic crashes in Colorado related to marijuanas use and reports of people with psychosis (disconnection from reality) coming to emergency departments after ingesting the drug.

He also is concerned about legalization of recreational marijuana exposing more children and teens to cannabis. "Certainly, nobody in our state is interested in having our children exposed," Pedersen said.

Illinois allows patients diagnosed with 40 debilitating conditions to be eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card. Conditions include HIV/AIDS, cancer, Crohn's disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), rheumatoid arthritis and seizures.

From Sept. 2, 2014, when the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications for the registry, through April 9, IDPH had approved 61,231 patients.

Hargis  who has suffered from anxiety, depression and migraines since age 13  began having seizures at age 22; fear of seizures resulted in PTSD.

He was approved for a medical marijuana card and takes different forms of cannabis along with pharmaceutical medicine. He believes the combination, along with exercise, have helped to reduce the intensity of his seizures, anxiety and PTSD.

Health systems' statements The Pantagraph asked several health systems for their position on potential marijuana legalization in Illinois. Here are their statements:

Chance injured his neck in a fall with a knife when he was 10 years old, resulting in 30 stitches, neck numbness and in night terrors and anxiety. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2017 and approved for medical cannabis. He uses a variety of ingestion methods.

"It has helped me to reduce anxiety and it has dulled my dreams and reduced my night terrors so I can sleep through the night," Chance said.

Kelley Theisen, 31, of Bloomington, was diagnosed in 2016 with autoimmune hepatitis, meaning her body started attacking her healthy liver cells.

She was placed on an immune-suppressing drug that caused her anxiety and stomach issues. She lost 70 pounds.

She was approved for medical marijuana that has helped to reduce anxiety and nausea, meaning her appetite has returned.

"We Americans like to talk about freedom," Hargis said. "Well, decriminalizing would help some people to find a better future. It would help to build community."

"Cannabis increases empathy," Chance said. "I think the world needs that right now."

"You would be getting it from a trusted dispensary who would get it from a trusted growth facility," Theisen said. "You would know what you're getting."

But Pedersen, in his role as president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said "This is a delicate issue within our state, to balance the potential financial gain from taxation with the potential substance abuse issues."

Dr. R. Scott Hamilton, a psychiatrist with OSF HealthCare Medical Group Behavioral Health in Normal, said he has certified 10 to 20 patients with PTSD for a cannabis card after they tried conventional treatments.

"Several have reported their overall levels of anxiety are better," Hamilton said. "A few did not have a good experience so they quit using it."

"I do think it helps in some of the conditions." he said. "It's not a panacea. Some patients do feel better using it. It is something useful to have. It's safer than opioids."

But Hamilton also opposes legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use because that would make it more accessible for children and teens.

Brains are developing to age 25 and regular marijuana use by adolescents could impair their memory and result in learning problems and psychosis, he said.

"Their brain will look for artificial rewards, which can result in bad things happening," Hamilton said.

"I hope there will be more research," he added. "There are hundreds of chemicals in marijuana. Some may be of benefit. Some may not. If we can isolate the ones that help, that could be good."

Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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Educators at Bloomington-Normals three nursing programs had to improvise and get creative when a worldwide pandemic shut down not only classrooms but the clinical sites. But they see some silver linings.
CHICAGO  The Crystal Lake father accused of murder and concealment in the death of his 5-year-old son, Andrew "AJ" Freund, was assigned a public defender Friday morning, hours before AJ's wake.

Andrew Freund, 60, a former local attorney, entered the McHenry County courtroom in jail-issued clothing and handcuffs attached to a leather waist belt. He told Judge Robert Wilbrandt he had $50,000 in credit card debt and owes $2,200 on a Chrysler. He also said his home on Dole Avenue is in foreclosure.

Wilbrandt assigned Henry Sugden as special public defender to represent him. He set Tuesday for the attorney to file motions.

A special public defender is often assigned to a case when there is a possible conflict within the county public defender's office.

Freund and the boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, who also is charged with murder and other crimes related to her son's death, are due in court May 10. Both are being held in the county jail with bail set at $5 million each.

Cunningham, 36, is being represented by Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof.

On the morning of April 18 Freund reported his son missing. After nearly a week of searching and questioning, the boy's parents were charged with murder and the boy's body was found in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic in a field near Woodstock.

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CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday he's reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce.

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldn't be issued until May and July 2020, the governor's office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal "starts righting some historic wrongs" against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

"This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for "social equity applicants." Those applicants would include people who have lived in a "disproportionately impacted area"  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

"The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth," said Kevin Samet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state."

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He's said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governor's office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the state's general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that "have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies."

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

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Theres a passage in a new book about Holocaust scholar and survivor Elie Wiesel that is at once frustrating and satisfying in its ambiguity and anger. It happens when the author, Howard Reich, amid many conversations with Wiesel, asks Wiesel the inevitable suite of questions: Why? Why is human history in part a story of anti-Semitism? Why did the Holocaust happen? Why are Jewish houses of worship targeted for violence today?

Why do they hate us? Why? Wiesel replies. So I know all the answers. In the beginning it was religious reasons. Other times, it was social reasons. They hate us either because we are too rich or too poor, either because we are too ignorant or too learned, too successful or too failing. All the contradictions merge in the anti-Semite. And yet, one thing he knows: He hates Jews. He doesnt even know who Jews are. In general, I say, the anti-Semite  let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Wiesels answer glides quickly past the obvious historical and cultural antecedents, and avoids the pat, poetic explanations a lay reader craves, to make a point the lay reader must confront: There is no rational reason for hating the Jewish people, or any people, because they exist. And no justification for the Holocaust or countless other acts of violence and bigotry against Jews, stretching from enslavement in ancient Egypt to last Saturdays mass shooting at a synagogue in Poway, Calif. In short, Wiesel provides both no answer and the right answer: Let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Reich, a Tribune critic whose parents survived the Holocaust, wrote The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel, as part of his own exploration of a dark past he didnt experience personally. Reichs parents were deeply scarred by their suffering under Nazi persecution yet sought to shield him from the details. They couldnt, of course. Reichs paranoid mother would spend nights in their Skokie home peering out the living room window, scouting for enemies who werent there. His father would his share happy, violent nightmares of revenge. I was killing Nazis good, he told young Howard. I was shooting them down.

Reich interviewed Wiesel for a 2012 Tribune event, which led to hours and hours of taped conversations over four years. As Reich says, the book is about two generations of Holocaust survivors speaking to each other from opposite perspectives of this cataclysmic event. One experienced the horror, the second was raised amid the active memory of its terror. The significance is that, even if there are no easy explanations to genocide, or solutions, the topic of the Holocaust must be broached, studied and passed down or it risks being forgotten, or refuted.

Wiesel, who died in 2016, wrote more than 60 books, including the acclaimed memoir, Night. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Reich tells us that Wiesels interest in cooperating with Reich  Wiesel was an eager interviewee  reflected his commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Wiesel said the Holocaust was about the Nazi desire to kill the past and future. What they really wanted to kill was the children because they carry the Jewish identity forward, Reich tells us.

Wiesels life is a testament to his defiance of the Nazi aim. He wrote about the Holocaust so future generations will understand what happened. In Wiesels words, To hear a witness is to become a witness.

Anyone who reads Reichs book will become a witness too.

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In 2008, when Sarah Palin entered the stage to debate her fellow vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, she asked him first thing: "Hey, can I call you Joe?"

It was a charming moment. In Palin's aw-shucks manner, she not only neutralized Biden as a formidable foe but reminded folks watching at home that she was just a gal from Wasilla, Alaska, who liked to keep things simple and personal. It may have been the only brilliant line to come from the then-governor of Alaska that night.

In reality, the reason she asked to call him Joe was because during debate preparations, according to her memoirs, she had called him "O'Biden." Obama, O'Biden, get it? Finally, her team advised her to just call him Joe.

A couple of years later, I asked Biden how much he had held back during the debate, figuring he had been instructed to treat her gingerly, to avoid appearing the bully or a show off.

He laughed and said, "A lot!"

But the truth is, Biden wouldn't have had to try very hard to be generous with Palin. Notwithstanding his handling of the 1991 interrogation of Anita Hill while chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Hill testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, Biden is naturally kind. And, as we've recently been reminded, affectionate.

Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Biden's well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasn't that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

I'd never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Biden's explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.

That Biden isn't a cauldron of raging hormones, or shouting slogans of radical change, is likely more comforting than not to many Americans, including baby boomers who aren't dead yet and who tend to vote. Moreover, he's a longtime populist and activist for America's working class, thus perfectly positioned to woo back some of the almost 40 million white working-class Americans who voted for Trump.

Unlike Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders  72 and 77, respectively  Biden isn't a grumpy old man. He's got a mega-watt smile and doesn't hide it behind a pout. He's imperfect, yes. But his malaprops and his too-affectionate ways are endearing compared with the boasts and bloody bombast of The Current Occupant.

Finally, age confers some privileges: Joe won't have to chop wood, shoot a gun or perform any of the other "manly" stunts male candidates often do, presumably to convey strength, stamina, virility or whatever. Really, hasn't this gimmick run its course? The presidency hardly requires that one mount a rough steed and spear an antelope for din-din. Besides, we've all witnessed Biden's suffering and profound grief. He doesn't have to prove a thing.

Come primary season, Biden may well be the only Democrat for whom Republicans could vote and, later, the only one who could graciously show Trump out. But all factors considered, he's not otherwise the obvious candidate. That person is a male veteran, a former Navy intelligence officer, who studied at Harvard and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Well-rounded, in other words. At 37, he's very young, but he speaks engagingly in ways that wouldn't strike fear in the elder heart.

Pete Buttigieg, who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, is the Barack Obama of his generation  a composite of opposites generated by an anti-Trump algorithm  and today's quintessential candidate. The country may not yet be ready for a gay man and his husband in the White House, but Buttigieg is in my view the most significant voice in the presidential race.

And, hey, you can call him Mayor Pete.

Contact Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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A new report by Law360, that came to light late last month by the Sophos news site called Naked Security, reveals that Massachusetts federal district judge Judith Dein gave agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the right to press a suspects fingers on any iPhone found in his apartment in Cambridge that law enforcement believes that hes used, in order to unlock the devices with iPhone Touch ID.

The ATF agent wrote in the requested warrant that "The suspect, Robert Brito-Pina, is suspected of gun trafficking. Hes a convict, which makes gun possession illegal. The phone is likely to contain a lot of evidence. In fact, the investigation that led agents to Brito-Pina was in large part enabled by information gleaned from other peoples phones, including text messages, drop-off locations stored in the Waze navigation app, and photos of illegal guns taken by people on their own phones  often featuring them posing with the guns.

In addition, ATF special agent Robert Jacobsen added that a web of illegal, interstate gun trafficking led to Brito-Pina. ATF agents have to get into any phones that he may have used, he said, given that theres a window of time to use to unlock iPhones with Touch ID before they require the passcode.

Attempting to unlock the relevant Apple device[s] is necessary because the government may not otherwise be able to access the data contained on those devices for the purpose of executing the requested search warrants. For more on this, read the full report here.

Last October Patently Apple posted a report titled "With a legally obtained Warrant, the FBI Forced a Suspected Child Pornographer to Open his iPhone X using his Face," based on a Forbes report.

The report noted that "The case marks another significant moment in the ongoing battle between law enforcement and tech providers, with the former trying to break the myriad security protections put in place by the latter. Since the fight between the world's most valuable company and the FBI in San Bernardino over access to an iPhone in 2016, Forbes has been tracking the various ways cops have been trying to break Apple's protections." The report goes into some depth about the ongoing battle between law enforcement and Apple. You could review that report here.

On the flip side, many liberal judges have denied warrants requesting the search of an iPhone using Face or Touch ID. The legal battle of law enforcement being able to override security features on smartphones via warrants will continue to be an issue for many years to come.





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 driver of a van involved in a reported child luring attempt at a Mechanicsburg school bus stop has been identified, according to local police.

On Saturday afternoon, a Mechanicsburg officer said he could not confirm whether an arrest had been made.

The reported attempted child luring took place about 7:40 a.m. Thursday at a school bus stop near the area of West Simpson and South Frederick streets, police said.

There, a gray or silver full-sized van approached the stop, where a group of middle-school aged children was waiting, police said.

Police said the vans driver  a gray-haired white man with a larger build  told a group of middle school students that he was working with the Mechanicsburg Area School District, and he was there to pick them up.

The man eventually drove away from the stop, police said, adding that none of the students got into his vehicle.

On Saturday, police announced in a news release that the driver had been identified, adding that an investigation is ongoing.

In the release, police also thanked members of the public for providing information that led to the identification.

A message left Friday afternoon with school district officials was not returned.
Our pattern of above-average rainfall shows no sign of slackening.

For the sixth straight month and the 14th month in the last 16, precipitation for Harrisburg finished above normal. Judging by the forecast for the next couple days, it doesnt appear that the trend since 2017 is close to ending.

Precipitation for April 2019 was 3.24 inches, only slightly above the norm of 3.10 inches. Still, it topped the average, maintaining a series of months that began with the rainiest November ever in 2018 and a stretch that goes back almost a year before that.

While AccuWeather is predicting hot temperatures and below-normal rain for the next three months, the National Weather Service (NWS) isnt fully ready to commit to the overhead spigot turning off. Meteorologist John Banghoff, talking from the State College office of the NWS, said Thursday that a look at the Climate Prediction Centers short-term forecast calls for a higher probability of above-average precipitation at least for the next couple weeks. Certainly, Friday nights cluster of storms that moved through much of central Pennsylvania with torrential rains gave some support to that prediction. More rain fell throughout the region Sunday.

He said that longer-range forecasts that stretch through July hint at average to above-average rainfall. At the same time, he said that summer rains can be so much more unpredictable because they bubble up as compared to the more organized systems that are commonplace fall through spring.

Banghoff noted that the amount of precipitation recorded through much of the first half of last year was not significantly above average until really mid- to late July. Thats really when the rains started and didnt stop, he said. So, you know, we were above average for the early part of last year, but not by a significant margin, as we were in the second half. . . . So far, 2019 is a very similar pattern to what the first half of 2018 was. Certainly were hoping it doesnt end up the way 2018 did, but right now its pretty comparable.

Pa. Governor Tom Wolf tours the heavily damaged section of River Road in York that was hit hard by flash flooding last September. Ten inches of rain fell in a little over 2 hours causing 1/4 mile of the road to be washed away. Above-average rainfall has continued into 2019. September 05, 2018 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

Heres a look at the monthly totals vs. average since the start of 2017, along with the day the most rain fell each of those months.

April 2019

Rainfall: 3.24 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 0.71 inches, 4/14

March 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

February 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

January 2019

Rainfall: 3.56 inches

Normal amount: 2.88 inches

Most on single day: 1.13 inches, 1/24

December 2018

Rainfall: 5.70 inches

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.16 inches, 12/28

November 2018

Rainfall: 8.56 inches, record

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.96 inches, 11/02

October 2018

Rainfall: 2.39 inches

Normal amount: 3.27 inches

Most on single day: 0.95 inches, 10/27

The flooding Yellow Breeches Creek causes the closure of Zion Road in South Middleton Township in September 2018. A stretch of above-average rainfall that began in 2018 has continued into the new year. September 10, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

September 2018

Rainfall: 6.91 inches

Normal amount: 4.07 inches

Most on single day: 2.54 inches, 09/09

August 2018

Rainfall: 5.28 inches

Normal amount: 3.20 inches

Most on single day: 0.96 inches, 08/01

July 2018

Rainfall: 12.09 inches, record

Normal amount: 4.61 inches

Most on single day: 3.26 inches, 07/23

June 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 3.60 inches

Most on single day: 0.88 inches, 06/10

May 2018

Rainfall: 5.71 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

April 2018

Rainfall: 3.98 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 1.59 inches, 04/16

March 2018

Rainfall: 2.97 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

February 2018

Rainfall: 5.44 inches

Normal amount: 2.39 inches

Most on single day: 0.87 inches, 02/07

January 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 2,88 inches

Most on single day: 2.06 inches, 12/23

Heavy rains flood Route 772 near Colebrook Road in Manheim. Above-average rainfall began in 2018 and has stretched four months into 2019.

Over the long haul

Average precipitation for the Harrisburg area has been 40.74 inches. Heres a year-by-year look at precipitation since 1990, to give you an idea of just how plentiful last years total was.

2019: 14.90 inches (11.86 is normal through April)

2018: 67.03 inches

2017: 44.52 inches

2016: 40.97 inches

2015: 42.05 inches

2014: 43.65 inches

2013: 42.63 inches

2012: 45.22 inches

2011: 73.73 inches

2010: 39.32 inches

2009: 45.33 inches

Swatara Creek covers part of Rt. 743 at the intersection with Lingle Avenue in Derry Township. Rainfall this year is about the same through April as it was last year. That all changed last July. July 25, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

2008: 46.26 inches

2007: 42.63 inches

2006: 46.08 inches

2005: 38.78 inches

2004: 53.34 inches

2003: 54.63 inches

2002: 40.84 inches

2001: 25.76 inches

2000: 42.23 inches

1999: 38.32 inches

1998: 45.96 inches

1997: 32.32 inches

1996: 52.43 inches

1995: 35.51 inches

1994: 46.16 inches

1993: 48.40 inches

1992: 35.52 inches

1991: 31.12 inches

1990: 44.12 inches
FRACKVILLE, Pa.  Ask Steven Blazer what kind of employee hes looking for, and the staffing agency manager rattles off a list:

Someone who will show up on time with a positive attitude. Someone who's physically fit. Someone who can work full time.

In today's tight job market, fueled by Pennsylvania's lowest unemployment rate in almost two decades, Blazer, of Surge Staffing in Schuylkill County, is having a difficult time finding workers who fit his list. With hundreds of warehouse positions to fill, he's looking in an unusual place for new hires: behind bars.

"We understand that people deserve a second chance," said Blazer, one of more than a dozen vendors at the Frackville state prison's recent career and reentry fair. "If a person wants to work, we want to talk to them."

The fair, held last week at the maximum security facility in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, about 60 miles northwest of Allentown, is part of a state Department of Corrections push to get inmates ready to return to their communities. More than 90 percent of the estimated 46,000 people in state correctional facilities return home after serving their sentences.

The job fairs, which began last year and are held annually at each of Pennsylvania's 24 state prisons, give inmates nearing their release date a chance to talk face-to-face with potential employers, as well as representatives from community colleges, religious organizations and self-help groups.

Gathering handfuls of flyers from companies such as Walmart, FedEx, Hershey and Lowe's, prisoners walked from table to table, chatting with sales reps and each other.

"I'm looking for something different," said Pete, a 49-year-old Philadelphia resident who worked in construction before coming to prison in 2004. Citing protocols, prison officials declined to release the last names of inmates interviewed for this story.

"I've looked at quite a few brochures today, and when I get out, I'm going to call quite a few people and see where it leads," Pete said.

A job fair inside a prison would have been unheard of just five years ago, said Jeff Cutler, a teacher at the prison. But a combination of criminal justice reforms and a shrinking labor pool has made employers more willing to consider former inmates.

"It used to be very hard for an ex-offender to get a job," Cutler said. "Everything has changed now."

Nationwide, nearly 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Pennsylvania's state prisons release about 19,000 people annually.

FBI statistics show that about 73.5 million people ? nearly 30% of the adult U.S. population ? have some kind of criminal record.

People who've been in prison are about five times more likely to face unemployment than the general public, according to the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative. But a raft of new laws in the past two years, mostly aimed at sealing old criminal records or requiring employers to interview potential hires before asking about criminal records, is chipping away at that statistic.

As they give more former felons a chance, employers are learning that many have learned things in prison that make them an asset to companies, Cutler said.

"A lot of the people on the streets don't want to work hard, and don't have any skills, while these guys are eager to work and have had training. They know they're on their second chance and they have something to prove," he said.

Like more than 80 percent of the people who enter Pennsylvania's prisons, Andre, 28, of Wilkes-Barre, did not have a high school diploma when he was sentenced nearly five years ago. He'd also never held a job.

During his prison stay, Andre earned his GED and OSHA certification, and completed training to work as a flagger, directing traffic around road construction crews. He came to the job fair hoping to talk to companies hiring near his hometown.

"It makes me feel better about myself, knowing that I did something to get ready for the future," Andre said.

Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons can earn certifications for a range of vocations, including barbering and cosmetology, truck driving, welding, Microsoft computer applications and eyeglass manufacturing.

They can also earn a high school diploma and some college credits. Leslie Bartholomew, director of returning adult and veteran services at Lehigh Carbon Community College, was at the fair to talk to inmates about enrolling in classes before and after their release.

"If they have a desire to learn, we can help them become a valuable member of society," she said.

One of the most popular tables at the job fair was a demonstration of new virtual reality goggles that allow inmates to "visit" places on the outside to prepare for release. Through the devices, prisoners headed to halfway houses can take a virtual visit to those facilities. Soon, the views will be expanded to include neighborhoods and places inmates who have been behind bars for decades may soon have to navigate for the first time.

"Walking into a place like a Walmart (Supercenter) can be very disorienting for someone who has been incarcerated for most of their life," said Lacosta Mussoline, a re-entry administrator.

A majority of the companies represented at the fair were from Schuylkill County. That's something organizers hope to change, Cutler said, because more than half of the inmates at Frackville come from urban areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Businesses from those areas sent flyers and brochures to the prison job fair, but few managers were willing to drive into coal country to attend.

Kathy Brittain, the prison's superintendent, said she was pleased that businesses near the prison were getting involved.

"It's excellent that, with the community's help, we're able to provide more resources," she said.

If the economy stays strong, Pennsylvania employers will likely continue to struggle to fill positions. The state's unemployment rate dropped in March to the lowest rate on record, as payrolls hit a record high and the number of people unemployed shrank to its lowest level since 2000, the state Department of Labor and Industry said.

Blazer, the staffing agency manager, thinks former inmates could help a lot of businesses keep up with production.

"So far, I have been really pleased with the people who've come up to talk to me today," he said. "They seem like they have a real desire to work."

___

Laurie Mason Schroeder, of The (Allentown) Morning Call, wrote this story.

Online:

https://bit.ly/2WbWZyz

___

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
It took more than half a century, but one Steelton veteran finally received the honor his family has been seeking after he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Reuben Garnett Jr. was killed on March 4, 1966, when trying to help his platoon leader who was shot in combat, WITF reported.

Now, 53 years after his death, a bridge was dedicated to Garnett on Friday, in front of his family and fellow veterans.

Pennsylvania Rep. Patty Kim helped with the dedication, saying in a Facebook post that Garnett was never properly honored for his sacrifice.

This was long overdue, and a wonderful moment for his family to finally see him recognized, Kim wrote to the page.

I was grateful to be able to help dedicate a bridge in honor of Reuben Louis Garnett Jr., a Steelton native who was... Posted by Rep. Patty Kim on Thursday, May 2, 2019

Garnetts family spoke to how it has been minority veterans who are often overlooked by dedications and appreciation ceremonies, WITF reported. Army representatives at the ceremony spoke to how hard Garnetts family worked to have the dedication happen.

Reuben Garnett Jr., 23, was killed in action while trying to help a fellow soldier during the Vietnam War.

The sign stays Specialist 4 Reuben Garnett, Jr. Memorial Bridge and will be placed on a bridge at the northern tip of Wildwood Lake, WITF reports.
Akeem Davis (left) and Anthony Lawton in "The Christians," through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Read more

Bristol Riverside Theatre closes its season with Lucas Hnaths The Christians, on stage through May 19. Area theatergoers will be familiar with the young playwrights oeuvre, which includes productions at the Arden (A Dolls House, Part 2), Theatre Exile (Red Speedo), and Philadelphia Theatre Company (Hillary and Clinton, now on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow). The Wilma staged The Christians in 2016.

Throughout his still-young but prolific career, Hnath has shown a keen interest in disrupting theatrical expectations. The Christians is no exception. Set in an unnamed megachurch (rendered authentically by set designer Paige Hathaway), it features a full choir that punctuates the action with spiritual songs and shouts. Hnath also has his characters speak nearly all of their dialogue, including private asides, into handheld microphones, resulting in a disquieting dissonance.

The play addresses how people handle challenges to their deeply held beliefs. Hnath depicts a church where congregants adore their leader, Pastor Paul (Anthony Lawton), and uphold his principles without question. So when Paul announces his newfound conviction that Hell doesnt exist, he effectively renders it doctrine  a move that forces his flock uncomfortably to abandon its core theology.

Paul holds a direct line to God, and, as Hnath presents it, he comes to hear a new note of mercy in the Lords voice. The bounty of His love envelops all; even Hitler could be saved by it. Paul no longer conceives Hell as a literal place, but rather as a metaphor for a soul in torment.

If the question of faith rests on a schism between the sinners and the saved, this radical view of Gods clemency surely unsettles many believers. Under Matt Pfeiffers precise direction, it even seems to subsume the man who professes it.

Lawton communicates the inner turmoil that causes Pastor Paul to cleave his congregation  his sunken, searching eyes burn with the assurance of his righteousness, but they also brim with vulnerability. He presents a person who understands the risk he takes in speaking his truth, and who maybe regrets putting himself on the line, but he acts in the only way he feels can align with Gods plan.

A sense of absolute clarity comes in the form of associate pastor Joshua, played with rock-ribbed rectitude by Akeem Davis. He belongs to the fire-and-brimstone tradition, the kind of faith that cannot abide wishy-washy concessions to doubt. He believes, with total conviction, that his backsliding mother suffers eternal damnation due to her rigid refusal to accept Christ.

Hnath allows enough backstory to suggest that unyielding faith is a life raft for Joshua, and it is a testament to Davis talent that this character never feels like a cartoonish caricature of dogmatic pomposity.

Paul faces challenges from all sides, including his wife (an affecting Susan McKey) and a well-meaning parishioner (K. ORourke) who clings to the church for a sense of purpose in her troubled life. Ultimately, The Christians introduces more questions than it answers, leaving its audience many avenues for extended dialogue about spiritual sustenance. Bristols fine production starts a conversation that should continue long after everyone leaves the theater.

THEATER REVIEW

The Christians

Through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol. Tickets: $10-50. Information: 215-785-0100, brtstage.org.
Stock image showing how tiny needles are used in acupuncture, an alternative medicine prevalent in China. Read more

Back pain. Headaches. Allergies. Arthritis. Anxiety. Morning sickness. Acupuncture practitioners claim their centuries-old school of alternative medicine can treat dozens of medical problems  with few side effects or risk of complications.

Some health-care providers see acupuncture as a possible tool to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic, which largely was brought about by legal prescriptions of painkillers. Recently, the American College of Physicians released a recommendation to use acupuncture as one of the first treatments for low-back pain. The Pain Management Standards from the Joint Commission  a nationwide nonprofit that accredits health-care organizations  now includes acupuncture as a non-pharmacological strategy for managing pain.

Western medicine proposes several theories on how acupuncture works. One premise: It releases the bodys own painkillers, or endorphins. Research finds that needle insertion prompts the flow of adenosine, a chemical that reduces inflammation. Another hypothesis, the Gate Control Theory of Pain, argues that the body shuts down pain receptors in response to acupunctures needling.

In Eastern medical lingo, ailments are described in terms of an excess of or deficiency in yin or yang, forces that are connected and interdependent. Energy, or qi (pronounced chee in Chinese), flows through the meridians or pathways of the body. These pathways connect via acupuncture points that relate to internal organs; acupunctures specialized needle placements restore the balance of yin and yang by reducing disruptions along the meridians, improving the flow of qi and promoting healing.

Although theres much evidence that acupuncture often alleviates pain and successfully treats a range of symptoms and diseases, theres no clear answer as to acupunctures true value. Clinical studies aimed at measuring its effectiveness are limited. Many skeptics argue that any benefits of getting stuck probably derive from a placebo effect.

Thats because its difficult to test the efficacy of acupuncture. In double-blind studies, the gold standard for testing effectiveness of drugs or treatments, neither participants nor experimenters know which group is getting which treatment. Typically, one group receives the conventional drug or treatment while another group receives a placebo. The problem is, there are no good placebo substitutes for acupuncture  even when testers use sham needles, patients typically know they arent really being poked.

Another problem in assessing acupuncture (and other treatments) is that ailments often simply resolve themselves. Back pain, Bells palsy, or insomnia may go away during a course of acupuncture treatment, but these problems might also have healed or disappeared on their own.

But because it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks, and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldnt overthink it.

After all, thousands of drugs and procedures are prescribed to treat conditions at enormous cost every day, often without a precise understanding of why they work, or whether they are effective compared with other approaches or doing nothing. Unlike acupuncture, these approved treatments often pose serious risks to patients.

And its clear that patients who try acupuncture love it. A recent study by American Specialty Health Inc. surveyed 89,000 patients who received treatment for chronic pain. It found a vast majority (87 percent) of patients rated their acupuncturists favorably (9 or 10 on a 0-to-10 scale), somewhat more favorably than patients rated conventional health-care providers (76 percent to 80 percent). Nearly all (99 percent) of the surveyed acupuncture patients rated their providers good or excellent, and almost none reported minor or serious adverse effects.

If youre looking for an acupuncturist, talk with your friends and physician for recommendations. The nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook regularly surveys local patients on their experiences with health-care providers, including acupuncturists. Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of acupuncturists to Inquirer readers through this link: Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Acupuncture. Ratings are available free of charge until June 8.

If the acupuncturist is a physician, look for certification by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (www.dabma.org). Alternatively, consider a physician who is a member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (www.medicalacupuncture.org).

If the acupuncturist is not a physician, check for certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (www.nccaom.org). NCCAOM-certified acupuncturists can add Dipl. Ac. after their names.

Here are some questions to ask:

How long has the acupuncturist been in practice?

What training, licensing, and certifications does the acupuncturist have?

Does the acupuncturist have experience treating your type of condition or problem?

What techniques does the acupuncturist use? Some acupuncturists use a wide range of complementary techniques such as tu nai massage, moxibustion, and cupping; Others use just one approach.

Is the treatment covered by your health insurance plan? Do you need a referral from your physician?

As there are many qualified acupuncturists, and other consumers tend to be satisfied with them, pay attention to prices. Checkbooks undercover shoppers called a sample of area acupuncturists for private treatment of arthritic knee pain and were quoted prices ranging from $60 to $260 for an initial session.

Checkbooks shoppers also asked about prices for community acupuncture, which is a growing trend  acupuncturists treating multiple patients in the same room. Prices quoted to its undercover shoppers for community acupuncture were far lower than those for private sessions, ranging from $15 to about $60 per session.

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Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates.
A 26-year-old Gloucester City man was found stabbed to death in Camden, Camden County police said Saturday.

Officers responding to reports of an unconscious male near the 1000 block of South Fifth Street in Camden shortly before 11 a.m. Friday found Ryan Harter lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests had been made, police said Saturday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042, or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
When it launched in New York three years ago, the smartphone app called Vigilante quickly sparked controversy. Its creators lauded it as a way for users to get and receive real-time notifications about crimes in their neighborhood.

Critics were wary, not just about the aggressive-sounding name but aspects like its report incident" feature that encouraged users to alert authorities to crimes in progress and a record button enabling them to upload photos or videos. The New York Police Department panned it, issuing a statement pointing out that crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cellphone.

Apple removed it from its app store.

So its creators rebranded it in 2017  as Citizen  and tried again. And now its come to Philadelphia.

Citizen sends users real-time alerts intended to keep everyday people informed with real-time notifications about nearby crime, emergencies, and ongoing incidents," according to J. Peter Donald, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who now serves as Citizens director of policy and communications.

He acknowledged the early struggles but said: Now we have a new name and a new mission.

Philadelphia is the companys fifth market, joining New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. It claims to have more than 600,000 users.

Heres how it works: A group of 50 employees  including former journalists, former first responders, and an ex-English professor  monitors 911 calls and dispatcher responses, mainly public-safety issues, and translates them in real time for its users. They send out about two million notifications per day across the five cities. Each alert is marked with a corresponding dot tacked onto a localized map.

The company says it instructs its app users to avoid these marked areas, but the app also includes a Record button, which would enable users to upload a live video or photos of an active crime scene. It says users have uploaded more than 100,000 videos, which the company wont sell but has shared with news organizations.

Donald said the company has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department, as well as local anti-crime groups and neighborhood watchers, but has not heard back from Commissioner Richard Ross. (The Inquirer also reached out to the Police Department for comment but messages were not returned.)

Despite the rebranding, its not clear that Citizen will receive a warm reception in the City of Brotherly Love. John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the officers union, wasnt convinced of the apps usefulness.

We have one already, its called the 911 app, he said. We got a police department that is very good at what they do, and for people to get into taking matters into their own hands, that could be a disaster. Somebody is trying to make money off people getting hurt and people being victimized, and its crazy."

Hans Menos, executive director of the Police Advisory Commission, cited issues that have cropped up with other apps such as Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused gossip forum, which encountered blowback when messages were labeled as racist.

One of the things that concerns me about these citizen-involved apps or platforms is they have a high potential for misuse, he said. But, in general, I like the idea that people can be more aware of whats going on in their neighborhood.

In San Francisco, where the app debuted in fall 2017, the reviews have been mixed.

Users have reported issues with its sources of information. The app developers do not have access to the 911 radio channel, but rather monitor scanner chatter. And the chatter is based on civilians who call 911 and their initial reactions to incidents, which are subject to interpretation.

But there have not been any reports of overeager app enthusiasts intervening in crimes in progress.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said police officials met with representatives of the app in 2017, but the department is not directly involved with the App or its developers. Officers dont need the video; they already have their own body cams, he noted.

We are still evaluating the pros and cons of the product, Andraychak said, but it doesnt factor into our day-to-day operations.
A teacher at a Burlington County middle school can keep his job despite having fathered a child with a teen when he was a Catholic priest decades ago in Connecticut, according to a labor arbitrator appointed by New Jersey.

Joseph M. DeShan, 59, faced the same controversy early in his career with the Cinnaminson Township School District, when it was revealed in 2002 that he made a 16-year-old girl pregnant while he served as a priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

DeShan was suspended for three weeks, but reinstated after the district concluded that he had violated no rules or laws as a teacher.

His past resurfaced last year when parents complained to the board of education.

A parent told the board, This man should not be here. Please protect our children, the Cinnaminson Sun reported in November.

In December, the district filed charges against DeShan with the New Jersey commissioner of education seeking his removal as a sixth-grade reading teacher at Cinnaminson Middle School for conduct unbecoming a staff member.

The district cited DeShans record as a priest and a recent incident in which he allegedly told a female student, Look at me. Let me see your pretty green eyes. You dont see them too much anymore.

The student said the comment made her uncomfortable and that he said it in a weird voice, according to the district.

In his April 2 decision, Walt De Treux, the arbitrator, ruled that the alleged comment was unsupported hearsay. He also ruled that the district, barring any new evidence of inappropriate conduct, must live with its 2002 decision.

The fact that some parents now demand his removal from the classroom does not give the [board of education] a second opportunity to revisit pre-employment conduct of which it has been long aware, De Treux wrote.

De Treux ordered the district to reinstate DeShan to his position with full back pay and benefits.

DeShan could not be reached for comment Friday.

Stephen Cappello, Cinnaminsons superintendent of schools, said Friday night in an emailed statement: Our district policy limits my capacity to comment about ongoing personnel and legal matters. We are certainly disappointed by the ruling, and we are currently working with counsel to determine our next steps. We will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and educational community.

The revelation that DeShan had gotten a teen pregnant while he served as a priest was first reported by the Hartford Courant in 2002, and gained national attention because it involved Edward M. Egan, who had been the bishop of Bridgeport and later became the archbishop of New York. Egan died in March 2015.

The newspaper reported that Egan failed to notify police when he learned about DeShans sexual relationship with the girl.

Egan allowed him to leave the priesthood and begin a new life as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey  with no record of sexual misconduct, according to the article.

The teen became pregnant in September 1989, two months after her 16th birthday, the newspaper reported. That same month, DeShan revealed his relationship to church officials and requested a leave of absence.

It was a consensual relationship that didnt work out, DeShan told the newspaper in a brief interview outside the school where he was then teaching fifth grade. He had since married a doctor, and they had two children.

The teen went on to raise their daughter as a struggling single mother, the Courant reported.

DeShan started his new career as a teacher in 1997.

The 2002 article led to DeShans suspension, but he enjoyed popularity in Cinnaminson and that made his return easier, the New York Times reported.

He did come back today," then-superintendent Salvatore J. Illuzi told the Times, and he was very positively received by his students and colleagues.
A screenshot of the video uploaded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Read more

A national Muslim group says it will conduct an investigation into an event at a Philadelphia Islamic center last month during which a group of youngsters sang songs it said were not properly vetted, calling that an unintended mistake and an oversight.

Youngsters at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in North Philadelphia are shown in video footage speaking in Arabic during a celebration of Ummah Day, said the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Middle East monitoring organization. One girl says "we will chop off their heads to liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to the MEMRI.

An English translation of the Arabic is included on the video. The Inquirer has not independently verified the translation.

Ummah is an Arabic word that can mean community or nation.

While we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and languages, not all songs were properly vetted, the Muslim American Society, based in Washington, said in a statement issued Friday. This was an unintended mistake and an oversight in which the center and the students are remorseful. MAS will conduct an internal investigation to ensure this does not occur again.

The statement was also posted on the Facebook page of MAS-Philadelphia Center late Friday night.

MAS has more than 50 chapters throughout the United States, according to its website.

As a faith-based organization dedicated to moving people to strive for God-consciousness and a just and virtuous society, we affirm our long-standing position on our shared values of humanity. We stand resolutely in our condemnation of hate, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and all the illnesses of hate that plague our society, MAS said in its statement.

In a subsequent statement late Saturday night, MAS said it has been informed that the person in charge of the April 17 event has been dismissed and that the organization in charge of it will form a local commission to aid in sensitivity training and proper oversight for future programs. MAS said it owns the property where the program was held and leases it to the schools operator.

According to MEMRI, one girl reads: We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture."

In other videos, students sing songs about the blood of martyrs and Rebels, rebels, rebels. The videos were posted on the centers Facebook page, the media monitoring group said, but the videos included in the MEMRI report appear to have been taken down from the centers page.

The Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia called the incident extremely disturbing.

Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace, the statement read.

The ADL called another report about the event misleading. An Arutz Sheva/Israel National News story includes a photo of children in front of what the ADL describes as a bazooka-wielding extremist, an image that does not appear to have been taken at the Philadelphia event, the ADL statement read. The article also implies that the event occurred at a Philadelphia school when it occurred at a private religious institution.

Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article.
Medics and protestors move a serious wounded girl, who was shot in her head by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, into the treatment room of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. Read more

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt.

The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.

Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.

The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.

The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator aged 31 had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.

Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.

Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Smoke rises from buildings after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants launched about 200 rockets and mortars into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian coastal territory. Read more

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired more than 250 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, and Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, ending weeks of relative calm and threatening efforts to forge a long-term truce.

Palestinians said at least four people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, were killed by Israeli strikes.

In Israel, rocket sirens blared, and thousands of Israeli civilians - as far as 30 miles from Gaza - spent the day in or close to bomb shelters. Rocket fire and airstrikes continued into the night.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its Iron Dome air-defense batteries intercepted dozens of the rockets. Israeli emergency services said an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel during the rocket barrage and a 50-year-old man was treated for moderate wounds.

In Gaza, health authorities said two men, aged 22 and 25, a 37-year-old pregnant woman and her 14-month-old daughter were killed as Israeli jets carried out airstrikes. An additional 18 people were injured. Israeli officials said they hit dozens of "terror targets" inside the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Saturday's violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.

However, the Israeli military said Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second-largest militant group, which is also involved in the negotiations, was responsible for the rocket fire.

It also said tanks and military jets targeted sites in the northern and eastern sections of Gaza, including an Islamic Jihad tunnel and Hamas military intelligence and general security buildings. The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, met with senior security officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to be briefed.

The Turkish news agency Anadolu said its Gaza office had been hit in an Israeli strike.

U.N. peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov called for calm.

"Continuing down the current path of escalation will quickly undo what has been achieved and destroy the chances for long time solutions to the crisis," he said in a statement. "This endless cycle of violence must end, and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Israel would "respond forcefully and swiftly to any attack on the security of our people."

Israeli authorities said schools in the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod would be closed Sunday.

In a joint statement, Gaza's militant factions said the rocket fire was in response to the "targeting and assassination" of their militants a day earlier. "Our response will be tougher and larger and broader in the face of aggression," they said in a statement.

The Israeli military reported on Friday that two soldiers were lightly wounded in a shooting incident along its border with Gaza. In response, Israel struck sites belonging to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, killing two fighters.

Also on Friday, two Palestinian protesters were killed taking part in ongoing weekly demonstrations at the border fence with Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"It's a reply to the Israeli targeting of peaceful civilians yesterday by Israeli snipers during the 58th Friday of Great March of Return," said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's bureau for international relations, referring to the weekly protests staged in Gaza since last year. "Also, to the procrastination policies of the occupation toward lifting the siege on Gaza."

Gazans have been holding weekly demonstrations along the border, protesting the dire humanitarian situation in the strip that worsens daily and the ongoing land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas forcibly took power in 2007. Egypt opens its border with Gaza only sporadically.

Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Qanoua said the group would continue to "respond to the crimes of the occupation" and "not allow the blood of our people to be shed."

Musab al-Buraim, spokesman of Islamic Jihad, said in a short statement that it too was committed to "resistance."

Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad visited Egypt this past week to discuss the understandings reached with Israel to reduce tensions. The Egyptians have spent months trying to forge a long-term truce between the sides in an effort to bring calm and ease the dire humanitarian situation for 2 million Gazans.

But Saturday's unrest, disrupting the lives of so many Israeli citizens, could impact attempts by Netanyahu to form a coalition after being reelected for a fifth term. His last government began to unravel after a similar flare-up with Gaza, when then-Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned after calling for a tougher approach to the rocket fire.

Standing down from his post in November, Liberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that agreeing to the cease-fire with Hamas was "surrendering to terror." He proposed firmer military action against Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza, even if that risked a wider conflict.

In March, Netanyahu's trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and speak at the annual AIPAC policy conference was cut short after a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a house in central Israel.

Rocket fire and airstrikes similar to Saturday's happens periodically.

In 2014, a 50-day deadly war between Israel and Hamas saw hundreds of rockets being fired into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv, and massive Israeli aerial bombardments, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians. More than 70 Israelis and one foreign national were also killed.

There were worries in Israel that unrest could disrupt preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, an international singing event taking place in Tel Aviv this month. Contestants from across Europe are already in Israel to prepare for the event.

- - -

Balousha reported from Gaza. Morris reported from Tel Aviv.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." Read more

(Bloomberg)  President Donald Trump brushed off news of a possible weapons test by North Korea  confirmed Sunday by state media in Pyongyang  and vowed that his long-sought denuclearization deal with leader Kim Jong Un will happen.

KCNA said in a statement early Sunday local time that Kim had supervised a strike drill  essentially, a test of combat readiness  of defense units in direction of the the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. The tests were done to assess the accuracy of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, the state media agency said.

South Korean authorities on Saturday flagged numerous short-range projectiles fired off North Koreas eastern coast. The move was seen as Kims most provocative signal of frustration over talks with Trump following the pairs failed summit in Vietnam in February.

The significance of the test was difficult to assess as South Korea revised its account of the nature and scale of the weapons discharged from the eastern port of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. Saturday local time. After first calling them missiles, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff later changed its description to projectiles, saying greater clarity would require more analysis.

The details are key since Trump has cited Kims self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue negotiations with the North Korean leader. South Koreas descriptions of the incident suggested shorter-range rockets or artillery that would be less likely for the U.S. to interpret as a violation of Kims pledge to refrain from testing.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. National Security Adviser John Bolton briefed the president about the launch, according to a senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter.

The weapons were fired from the Hodo Peninsula, which has been the site of past live-fire artillery exercises, and traveled 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles), the joint chiefs said earlier Saturday. The Yonhap News Agency later reported that the weapons fired were not missiles, citing unidentified lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials.

Missiles are projectiles, but South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff might be using projectile to imply an unguided rocket, like one of North Koreas older rocket artillery systems, said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. This could also be a politicized attempt to make the word missile not so prominent, in case that creates the kind of news cycle that Trump doesnt want.

The weapons test was nonetheless Kims most significant provocation since he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, declared his nuclear weapons program complete and opened talks. South Korea President Moon Jae-ins spokeswoman condemned the incident, saying in a statement that they go against a military agreement the two Koreas reached in September to halt hostile activities.

Kim has expressed increasing frustration since Trump refused his demands for sanctions relief and walked out of their second summit in Hanoi in February. After a year of talks, Kim has made only a pledge to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without defining the phrase.

The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of bad faith during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok last week. He had earlier told North Koreas Supreme Peoples Assembly that he would wait with patience till the end of this year for the U.S. to make a better offer.

A shorter-range test could also signal displeasure with South Koreas participation in joint military drills with the U.S., despite Trumps decision to scale down those exercises. North Korean state media has repeatedly complained about the drills in recent weeks and Kim pledged corresponding acts during his speech last month to the rubber-stamp parliament.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed Saturdays incident with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone, the ministry said in a statement. Nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon made a separate call to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Japans defense ministry said Saturday that the country had not detected any missiles entering its exclusive economic zone and as such there was no immediate impact to its national security.

Although Saturdays launch was the most significant since Kims detente with Trump, North Korea has announced more limited weapons tests in recent months. Kim personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon last month, which South Korea later said appeared to be a system intended for ground combat and not a ballistic missile.

Descriptions of the current incident suggested weapons ranging from rocket-propelled artillery to multiple rockets fired from launchers, analysts said. Firing such a weapon could serve a range of goals from pushing back against South Korea, to reassuring Kims domestic audience of his leadership.

The range they have would only be really good for hitting targets across the border in South Korea, said Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher. It could be seen that this was a signal to the ROK that the DPRK is losing patience, referring to South Koreas and North Koreas formal names.

With assistance from John Harney, Justin Sink and Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE - In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. Read more

(Bloomberg)  North Korea fired at least one short-range missile toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea said, the countrys first major weapons test since November 2017.

The test occurred around 9:06 a.m. local time from North Koreas eastern port of Wonsan, according to South Koreas defense ministry. The weapon was fired toward the East Sea, the ministry said, describing the water body also known as the Sea of Japan.

The test involved numerous missiles traveling 70-200 kilometers (45-125 miles), the Yonhap News Agency said, citing South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It was the first major weapons test since November 2017, when Kim Jong Un successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the entire U.S. Kims subsequent pledge to halt tests of nuclear-capable weapons has underpinned his negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

While a short-range missile wouldnt necessarily violate that pledge, it signals Kims frustration with talks since Trumps decision to walk away from the last summit in Hanoi in February. Top U.S. nuclear enjoy Stephen Biegun is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Last month, Kim also personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon. That test was the first announced by North Korea since Kims February summit with Trump ended abruptly ended without a deal.

Last week, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, and accused the U.S. of bad faith in nuclear talks.

Saturdays launch took place on Wonsans Hodo Peninsula, home to a live-fire training site for artillery exercises, according to a description by 38 North.

With assistance from Justin Sink and John Harney.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net;Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net
Black Horse Pike Regional Board of Education School Board President Bill Murray (2nd from right) speaks during a board meeting at Triton High School in Runnemede, NJ on May 3, 2019. Kevin Bucceroni, vice-president is to his left. South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned whether the two men had recruited a "phantom freeholder candidate" to clutter the ballot and confuse voters in the Camden County Democratic primary on June 4. Read more

Progressive Democrats who are trying to beat the entrenched Camden County Democratic Committee in the June primaries  under the hashtag of unplug the machine  are not just running against the endorsed candidates who have been in office as long as a decade.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats say they must also compete against phantom candidates who dont campaign but were recruited by the party establishment to clutter the ballot and confuse voters.

I dont know who they are, said William Tambussi, an attorney who represents the Democratic Committee and its unofficial leader, George E. Norcross III, when asked about the six so-called phantoms who filed petitions to run for two open seats on the freeholder board.

He apparently isnt alone, though the progressives say these candidates have ties to several elected members of the Democratic Committee. Democratic Committee Chairman Jim Beach did not respond to numerous calls for comment.

None of these freeholder candidates has a website or a Facebook page to tout accomplishments and make campaign pledges. None replied to numerous phone messages, texts, and emails when The Inquirer reached out to each of them to find out about their platforms and why they are running.

Two of the six candidates were Republicans until days before their petition to run for office was due last month, and two had never voted before in New Jersey.

Randall McGinnis Jr., the only candidate The Inquirer could reach for comment, said during a brief phone call: OK, no problem, but Im driving right now and can I give you a ring back? I dont want to get pulled over, so please call me back. He then hung up and didnt respond to further calls.

McGinnis, 50, of Clementon, was a Republican who switched parties a few days before he submitted his petition to the clerks office. His running mate, Steven Panarello, 28, of Gloucester Township, had never voted before and hastily registered around the same time, in late March.

Dori Larm, 58, of Gloucester Township, took an extra measure to stay in the background. She scrawled Do not publish phone # or email" on her petition. A few weeks later, her phone was disconnected.

Larm and her running mate, William Etymow, 26, of Mount Ephraim, were later disqualified because their petition fell short of the 100 signatures of registered voters a candidate must gather to run. Larm last voted in 2004, in a school board election. Etymow was a registered Republican until late March.

The partys picks for local, county, and state office  including incumbent Freeholders Ed McDonnell and Carmen Rodriguez  appear on Column One of the ballot. They are running together in a solid line.

Column Two and Three each contain the names of a pair of so-called phantom freeholder candidates. They are not aligned with any other candidates. McGinnis and Panarello are in Column Two, while Jason Witte, 60, of Bellmawr, and Amanda Semple, 26, of Glendora are in Column Three.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats, who are fielding an unprecedented 100 challengers for seats in all levels of government and in the party, all appear in Column Four, on the far right edge of the ballot.

The group could not participate in a drawing for a favorable spot on the ballot because only slates with freeholder candidates are eligible. The progressives two freeholder candidates were knocked off the ballot in April after Tambussi challenged their petitions, saying about 11 signatures that one of the candidates gathered were forged. He also argued that both candidates should be disqualified along with a proposed replacement candidate after one resigned.

Judy Amorosa, a lawyer and founder of the progressive group, which was organized in Cherry Hill two years ago, also challenged some petitions  those filed by the little-known freeholders in Column Two and Three. One petition didnt have the candidates names filled in, and just had signatures of voters who support them. Another contained signatures that also appeared to be forged.

But the County Clerks Office, run by Democrat Joseph Ripa, who is running for reelection as an endorsed candidate, dismissed the complaint as having no merit. Ripas office asked the county prosecutor to investigate Tambussis claim of forgery, but not Amorosas claim.

Ripa did not respond to calls for comment. Amorosa declined to comment.

Matt Friedman, a reporter with Politico New Jersey, reached Witte a couple of weeks ago, and asked what he would do if he was elected. Just stuff like parks and stuff like that, how kids dont really have anywhere to go or anything like that. ... I dont know, I didnt really think it was going to be taken as seriously as its being taken," he said. Witte also did not know his running mates name.

Then, Witte explained that Bill Murray, president of the Black Horse Pike Board of Education, recruited him and said he would put him in touch with his buddy, Kevin.

Murray and Kevin Bucceroni, the boards vice president, have both signed petitions of the so-called phantom freeholder candidates. And Bucceroni is an elected member of the Camden County Democratic Committee.

On Thursday, several members of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned Bucceroni and Murray during the public portion of a school board meeting in Runnemede.

Does this have anything to do with the school district? Bucceroni asked after Chris Emrich questioned his role with the phantom candidates. When pressed by Emrich, a Collingswood lawyer who is working with the progressives, Bucceroni said: Im allowed to have personal business.

Bucceroni, whos been on the Democratic Committee for years, has signed the petitions of several so-called phantom candidates, including the one filed by Larm and Etymow, though they were challenging the partys endorsed candidates. He also has received thousands of dollars for election work" and BBQ expenses" from the party organization in recent years, according to state election records.

After the meeting, he told The Inquirer: Obviously if you see my name on a petition and it matches my signature, I must have signed it. ... Someone asked me to sign a petition and I signed it.

Murray, the board president, told Emrich that Witte was bending my ear and I said, Then run for office and make the changes. I didnt recruit him, because he was complaining to me about these things and I said, Well run for office.  Afterward, he declined further comment.

Kate Delany, who accompanied Emrich and who is running as a progressive for the Democratic Committee in Collingswood, said she attended the meeting to follow up on the phantom candidates and find out why this was occurring. ... We were shut down and got no answers.

One reason phantom candidates are used by parties is to create clutter and mislead voters, said Yael Niv, a Princeton University professor who heads the nonpartisan Good Government Coalition of New Jersey. The solid party line of endorsed candidates on a ballot gives the appearance that these are serious candidates, Niv said. The rest of the candidates are strewn around the ballot and they look like kooks, not a person running a serious campaign.

The phantom candidates are often "family members or cronies of the political machine. ... They dont intend on winning, theyre just there to pad the ballot with names, so the contestors are just one out of 10 or more people running against the party, Niv said.

Rena Margulis, a founder of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats and a candidate running for county clerk, said another problem is the phantoms use the word progressive in their slogans and voters cant distinguish them from the candidates affiliated with the progressive group. So, this year the progressives are running together under the banner of Democrats of Camden County.

The Camden County Democratic Committee has been using phantom freeholders in order to prevent local candidates who are running against the machine from having a chance and a fair ballot position, she said.

(The story was updated to correct the spelling of the last name of Yael Niv.)
A MAJOR NEWS STORY in the international press this week concerned Thursdays announcement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be heading to Finland to participate in the 22nd annual meeting of the Arctic Council on May 7.

Some fear that the Council, which is largely planning to discuss issues relating to global warming, will have these concerns dismissed by the US delegation, who would rather discuss military strategy in the region in the light of a looming threat from Russia.

In other news, Finland is about to become one of the first countries in the world to have an official governing body regulating cryptocurrency transactions. The Act on Virtual Currency Providers comes into force next week and will force coin exchanges to submit to strict regulatory standards.

Meanwhile, the BBC has released a short documentary on a group of schoolchildren from the town of Ii in northern Finland, who they have dubbed the next generation of climate heroes.

Pompeo headed to Finland, Greenland to discuss Arctic policy

Axios

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit two places in the Arctic in the coming days, where it could be extremely difficult to ignore or downplay the reality and consequences of human-caused global warming.

Why it matters: The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the globe, setting in motion a transformation of a once-frozen region into a new state. Melting sea ice is quickly making the Far North more accessible, and marine traffic from container ships and cruise vessels is becoming more common, particularly in Russian and Canadian waters. As one of 8 Arctic nations, the U.S. plays a key role in setting policy for the region.

The big picture: On May 7, Pompeo will be in Rovaniemi, Finland where he will join foreign ministers from other Arctic nations to discuss issues of concern in the region within a forum known as the Arctic Council. Finland, which is hosting the meeting, has set an agenda that puts climate change high on the list of priorities.

But, but, but: Pompeo is likely to be more interested in regional security issues, given a recent Russian military buildup and growing interest in Arctic oil and gas resources. China, too, has been increasingly eyeing the Arctic.

"There has been a sustained effort by US military and Coast Guard officials to re-frame the issue of climate change in the Arctic as a security challenge," says Malte Humpert, the founder and senior scholar at The Arctic Institute.

"This avoids the political pitfalls of having to talk about climate change and jumps straight to talking about security implications."

The U.S., Humpert says, wants to demonstrate that it will "not surrender control over the region to Russia and China," as sea ice melts and the world heads toward a newly accessible Arctic Ocean each summer, and much thinner ice cover at other times.

The context: The U.S. under President Trump has vowed to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and has been pursuing policies aimed at boosting its production of fossil fuels that lead to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. has also deemphasized Arctic diplomacy by eliminating the position of a special envoy for the region, while also seeking to boost its military presence in the region.

Original article appeared in Axios on 02/05/19 and can be found here.

Finland begins regulating crypto service providers

Bitcoin News

Finlands president has approved a law to regulate cryptocurrency service providers including exchanges, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of cryptocurrencies. The law will enter into force next week. Crypto service providers will need to register with the countrys Financial Supervisory Authority and meet statutory requirements.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA), responsible for regulating Finlands financial markets, independently announced Friday:

The Act on Virtual Currency Providers enters into force on 1 May. In accordance with the act, the Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) will act as the registration authority and supervisory authority for virtual currency providers.

The Fin-FSA explained that registration is required for virtual currency exchange services, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of virtual currencies. These providers must comply with statutory requirements. For example, they must be reliable and able to hold and protect client money. They must also segregate client money from their own funds and comply with AML and CFT regulations

The Fin-FSA noted that these new requirements are based on the May 2018 amendments to the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the Fifth Money Laundering Directive), adding:

All EU member states must include services related to virtual currencies within the scope of AML/CFT legislation by 10 January 2020.

Further, registration with the Fin-FSA does not allow the service provider to operate in another EU country as each member state has its own law that must be followed.

Prior to the president approving the law, Helsinki-based crypto marketplace Localbitcoins announced that it had been working on improvement measures to conform to the new regulation and had launched a new account registration process where users can verify basic information already during sign-up.

Original article appeared in Bitcoin News on 28/04/19 and can be found here.

Finlands new generation of climate heroes

BBC

The town of Ii in northern Finland wants to be the world's first zero-waste community.

They stopped using fossil fuels - and the municipality is reducing CO2 emissions faster than any other community in Finland.

Their target is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2020, which is 30 years ahead of the EU's target.

Since 2012 they've invested heavily in geothermal, solar and wind energy projects that have paid off: they now generate a profit of half a million euros a year.

They believe the key to successful climate action is education from a very young age. So how is Ii raising an environmentally conscious generation?

Original article appeared on BBC on 28/04/19. You can watch the full documentary video here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@HelsinkiTimes)

Image Credit: Lehtikuva
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts for children in struggling families,...
Curtis

"Yo dawg, I heard you like brazing."

It's no secret the Brits have a penchant for anodized bits and the blue co-ordination on this bike is super satisfying.

Mawis Bikes

Starling

400 [Failed to load instagram embed]https://instagr.am/p/BuqJpSUlsv2&maxwidth=1000&hidecaption=1

Prova Hardtail

The purple to raw fade is gorgeous

Vywokrs Sequence Downhill Bike

I forgot to get a picture of the full bike so here's one from Crankworx last year.

That link will soon be matching the rest of the frame in carbon too.

Moulds ready to go for round 2.

Push Suspension

Butcombe

Craft beers are no strangers to events like Bespoked. Cheers!

The Curtis Thumpercross seemed to go down so well we thought we'd include the XR-650 in here too. It's fairly similar in design but the execution is what makes these bikes so special.Germany's Mawis Bikes turned up with this wild titanium hardtail. Up front is an old Cannondale Fatty fork that has been tinkered with to provide 80mm of travel and fit 29 inch wheels.Starling showed up with more than just the Spur prototype that found a spot on the homepage earlier. Not wanting to be left out in a show largely filled with road bikes, Joe has built himself up a commuter klunker.Ben Boxer, a student at Bristol University, has been working with Starling on his dissertation project and this is the result. His aim was to refine the yoke and upright region of the swingarm using generative design software from Autodesk. It's a pretty funky final result and you can see what it would look like on a bike in the Instagram post below:The Prova hardtail was flown around the world from the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia to the UK just for Bespoked and it's going to be flown right back around the world again afterwards. Now that's commitment.Vlad Yordanov was at the show with his Sequence Downhill bike. This is still the first generation model but apparently some updates are on the way including a carbon linkage and a new layup to reduce the weight. He was battling to get it ready for the show but unfortunately just missed out, so expect to see an update soon - probably Fort William.Push suspension are now distributed by Saddleback in the UK and had brought some cutaways along to show off.
Six Remain in 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event; Riess, Loeser Still in Contention

May 03, 2019 Yori Epskamp

The penultimate day of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour 5,300 Main Event saw a field of 30 hopefuls being reduced to the final six. Each of these six will look fondly back after all is said and done, with 152,800 already locked up for their efforts, but the grand prize of 827,700 and the title of EPT Champion awaits the eventual winner to be crowned on Saturday, May 4.

Starting from pole position is Nicola Grieco from Italy. Grieco is looking to become the first Italian EPT winner since Antonio Buonnamo in 2014 and with 7,160,000 in chips, he's the odds-on favorite to do so. The passionate Italian will certainly be hugging the spotlights tomorrow and isn't afraid of a personal vendetta at the tables. Conor Beresford was one of the players to fall to Grieco after some personal back and forths, and the Italian also pulled off a bold three-barrel bluff on German pro Manig Loeser to help him secure the overnight chip lead.

Big Names Chasing EPT Main Event Title

Loeser and Ryan Riess are the two biggest names that will return at noon to the Salle des Etoiles in the Monte-Carlo Sporting. Loeser jumped into the chip lead in the middle levels of the day, courtesy of a big cooler against Nicolas Chouity. Loeser turned a straight while Chouity turned a set, and the former EPT Monte Carlo champ wasn't able to get away from it. From there on out, it was smooth sailing for the German high staker, who will return fourth in chips with 4,005,000.

2013 WSOP Main Event champion Riess could become the first-ever player to win both the WSOP Main Event and an EPT Main Event, and he has a shot to accomplish the improbable coming into the final day with 3,585,000 in chips. While that places him fifth out of six, it's still sixty big blinds, plenty to work with.

Rounding out the final table are Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000), a 27-year old Maltese transplant from Hungary whose bread and butter are normally cash games, recreational player Wei Huang (5,690,000) who spun it up from the shortest stack at the start of the day, and Luis Medina (1,105,000), the only real short stack at the final table. One of them will walk away with the coveted prize and will be nearly a million USD richer.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 4 Action

While the aforementioned six made it to the final table, 24 others fell along the wayside and missed out on the opportunity for EPT glory on Day 4. One of the most notable to drop was Iranian beauty queen Melika Razavi, who had been tearing it up in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for two days straight.

After a strong start to the day, Razavi's bid came to a screeching halt when she flopped flush-under-flush against Huang, one of the few players in the field that had her covered. With no time banks left, there was no escape and Razavi bowed out before the final two tables.

Iranian star Melika Razavi had to settle for 17th place in the EPT Main Event.

Several of poker's greatest tournament stars, such as Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford (11th - 50,930), Sam Greenwood (12th - 45,570), Christoph Vogelsang (18th - 32,150), James Romero (21st - 27,680), and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (22nd - 27,680) all busted on the penultimate day, as did former EPT champs Nicolas Chouity (16th - 36,620), Paul Michaelis (25th - 23,210) and Remi Castaignon (26th - 23,210).

Another high stakes phenom, Timothy Adams, did make the final table but ended up busting in eight place (78,030) after running his pocket queens into a turned flush of Katzenberger. Last to bust out on the day was Rustam Hajiyev (7th - 109,510), who shoved ace-ten into Loeser's pocket queens and didn't improve.

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Payouts

Place Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 827,700 $925,949 2 503,960 $563,780 3 353,880 $395,886 4 265,620 $297,149 5 206,590 $231,112 6 152,800 $170,937

The animated Nicola Grieco leads the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo final table.

Be sure to check back regularly to PokerNews on Saturday, May 5, the final day of the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo as the Main Event plays down to a winner. Action will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and coverage will follow along with the live stream.
After ten quick levels of 30 minutes each, Day 1 of the 25,000 No-Limit Holdem has come to an end with 17 players bagging up chips out of 39 entries. The tournament clock showed 41 entries in total with 11 reentries even though two of those entries didnt take their seats during the day. So at least 19 players will return for Day 2 tomorrow, Saturday, May 4 as the registration period is open until the start. Claiming the Day 1 chip lead is Spains Adrian Mateos with 186,500.

Mateos hasnt had much luck in the events here during the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino EPT as he hasnt cashed yet and this might be the last chance for the Spaniard to save the week. Trailing Mateos is Seth Davies with 176,000. Davies has cashed three times already over the past days, two of them were earned while reaching a final table, the biggest for finishing in eighth place in the 50,000 Single-Day High Roller. Third on the podium is Jean-Noel Thorel with 165,000. The Frenchman has already reached two final tables this week and will be looking to add a third to his results here in the Monte Carlo Bay Resort & Hotel.

Ivan Leow, Isaac Haxton, Steve ODywer, and Joao Simao all used three bullets with the latter the only one to not survive in the end. Foxen, Kazuhiko Yotsushika and PokerStars Ambassador Andre Akkari were responsible for the other reentries in the tournament. Both Foxen and Akkari have made it through to the final day of the event and the festival.

Sam Greenwood was eliminated from both the Main Event and this tournament

Sam Greenwood joined the field after beingeliminated from the Main Event in 12th place for 45,570 and spent some of his prize money buying into this tournament. Unfortunately for him, he was eliminated during the night but might be back before the start of Day 2. Kristen Bicknell and Hideki Izutsu both min-cashed the 25,000 EPT High Roller earlier on the night and decided to jump into the tournament too. They both made it through but with a below average stack, there is some work left for them to do to make the money stages in this event.

Some of the players who were eliminated during the evening who might return to the felt included Andras Nemeth, Chin Wei Lim, and Mikita Badziakouski. If they return, Day 2 will resume at 12:30 PM local time in the Salle des Etoiles with Level 11 which features a small blind of 1,000, big blind of 2,500, and a big blind ante of 2,500. Play will continue until a winner has been crowned so make sure to return for the final day of the live coverage by the PokerNews live reporting team.

Day 2 Seat Draw
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Rep. Gregory Meeks who serves on the Financial Services Committee said that Democrats could subpoena Deutsche Bank employees who have seen Trumps tax returns.

Rep. Meeks responded to Bloomberg report that Deutsche Bank had seen Trumps tax returns on MSNBCs The Beat with Ari Melber,  My reaction has been the Congress along with the ways and means committee, as we know, that our chair there has subpoenaed the IRS for those records. And what we have done on the committee, subpoenaed the banks for those records. If it comes to it, we could subpoena individuals with the bank who have seen the records to come testify.

Video:

Congress will follow the money and get Trumps tax returns

There is too much information in too many places for Donald Trump to be able to keep it all hidden. The power of the presidency is immense, but Trump cant stop witnesses from testifying about what they saw in his tax returns. The president is scared because Deutsche Bank is complying with subpoenas. Congress will eventually get Trumps tax returns. The efforts to get the tax returns are too vast to be stopped. Someone is going to get Trumps tax returns to Congress, and when they do, those Deutsche Bank witnesses will be able to testify to the potential fraud and crimes of Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Donald Trump continued to praise brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Saturday, saying, I am with him hours after it was reported that the country fired more test missiles.

In a bizarre tweet, the president said, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea & will do nothing to interfere or end it.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

As CNN noted on Saturday, If confirmed, the test is understood to be the first missile launch from North Korea since late 2017  and the first since US President Donald Trump began meeting the countrys leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump had previously bragged that North Korea was no longer firing test missiles because of him, even going as far as saying he prevented a nuclear war.

Trump is being played by dictators

Trumps praise of Kim Jong Un on Saturday, even after the North Korean dictator is starting to show more aggression, is just the latest example in recent days of the president bowing down to an authoritarian.

The president has also returned to his habit of publicly conspiring with Vladimir Putin, speaking by telephone with the Russian leader on Friday and agreeing with each other that Robert Muellers investigation was a hoax.

As PoliticusUSAs Sarah Jones also pointed out, President Trump failed to bring up Russian President Vladimir Putins meddling in our elections when they spoke for an hour. He also failed to tell Putin not to meddle in the upcoming election.

Throughout his two years in office, Trump has repeatedly elevated Kim Jong Un on the world stage while simultaneously checking off Russias wishlist and bowing down to Vladimir Putin  all while straining relationships with American allies.

Americas adversaries have the United States exactly where they want it.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
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Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance blasted Donald Trump on Saturday for licking Vladimir Putins boots during a phone call this week.

Nance compared Trumps behavior on the phone call  from attacking the special counsel investigation to letting Putin off the hook for Russian election meddling  to a famous movie villain.

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor, he said. What we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump.

Video:

Nance said:

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor and you know Darth Vader is evil, but so the emperor is a higher evil power. And what we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump. It was a disgraceful display that he would go on there and literally talk to the person who attacked the United States and the fundamentals of our democracy and praise him and work with him to call this a hoax. Worse than that, he dropped a hint that very soon Russian sanctions will be lifted.

Trump is completely owned by Russia

As Robert Muellers Russia investigation has concluded and Trump and attorney general William Barr push the false narrative that there was no collusion, the president is once again returning to his usual habit of heaping praise on Vladimir Putin.

But as Malcolm Nance pointed out last week, the special counsel probe investigated criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice, but it largely overlooked the question of whether Trump is compromised by Russia.

Through his behavior, and his refusal to release documents that show his financial conflicts, Trump is answering that question for us. He appears to be completely owned by Russia and he feels as emboldened than ever to show that publicly.

And as Nance has said, each day Trump remains in the White House bowing down to foreign adversaries, America will be in a national security nightmare.

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Trump called for MSNBC and other outlets to be banned from social media after some of his biggest alt-right supporters were banned for hate speech.

Trump called for MSNBC to be banned

Trump responded to some of his biggest alt-right supporters being banned by tweeting:

When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen! Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Trump wants some of the most prominent free press outlets banned from Twitter and Facebook, but pro-Trump propagandists, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech peddlers should have an amplified platform. The presidents demand is in line with an authoritarian view of the press. Trump does not believe in press freedom. He wants a media does not challenge or investigate him.

The media is supposed to push his propaganda, brainwash the citizens, and glorify him.

Trump wants the United States to become North Korea.

The free press is democracys weapon against Trump

Trump conflated hate speech, conspiracy theories, and propaganda getting peddled by the banned alt-right Trump supporters, with the role of the free press in investigating his administration. The press did not get the collusion story wrong. The president lied in his tweet.

The notion that Trump was cleared of collusion which isnt a crime that exists in the criminal code is a falsehood that has been pushed by Trumps attorney general, the president and his defenders.

The Mueller report found lots of conspiracy between Trump and the Russians, but as the report noted, key witnesses suddenly developed memory problems when it was time to provide essential details to Mueller.

Trump is trying to destroy the free press because this nation needs the Fourth Estate to save the country from his endless pit of lies.

Donald Trump is losing. His hate speech spewing supporters are being banned, and the institutions that safeguard freedoms are prevailing over this president.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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[Editors note: Correction and clarification. This version of the story corrects the reference to B92, the fact that in functions today mostly as a web portal. We also clarify that the publication Nedeljnik carries a Russian state media advertising insert that runs in many media outlets].

Sputnik Srbija leads the ratings for political disinformation among Serbian-language foreign media operating in the Balkans, according to an upcoming report by the fact-checking organization Raskrinkavanje.ba, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The report, which will be released on May 13, found that the Belgrade-based Russian government-owned international broadcaster is part of a disinformation hub that targets Serbian language audiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje.ba (Disclosures). In contrast, the Serbian language services of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and the BBC did not even show up in the disinformation algorithm.

According to President Vladimir Putin, when the Russian government designed its foreign broadcast media project back in 2005, it intended to try to break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.

In the Serbian-speaking part of the Balkans, Putins strategy seems to have succeeded.

Few people in the Balkans appear to know that Sputnik and Russia Today are Russian government-owned broadcasters, as their information is widely republished by local news outlets. Sputnik Srbija presents itself as a local media outlet that claims to cover topics others do not. In addition to producing original stories, it transmits content from RT, which does not broadcast in the Serbian language.

As Polygraph.info has frequently noted, Russia Today and Sputnik are far from being regular media outlets. According to media watchdog organizations, they were created to serve as the Kremlins information arm abroad.

Polygraph.info video by Nik Yarst.

More problematic, however, are the means these two organizations use to serve Moscows goalsnot through independent journalistic reporting, but mainly through disinformation. By mixing fact and fiction, playing on popular sentiments among foreign audiences and trying to sway public opinion in a particular direction that serves Moscows interests, these two organizations systematically pursue the Kremlins geopolitical goals, while discrediting journalistic principles in the process, according to Precious Chatterje-doody of Manchester University in the U.K.

Sputnik in Serbia

Sputnik set up a sizeable operation in Serbia in 2015, which continues to expand. It just moved to bigger premises in Belgrade, hiring more journalists  allegedly, even reporters who used to work for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Its editor-in-chief, Ljubinka Milincic, served as Serbias cultural attache in Moscow in the early 2000s, where she developed a fascination with President Vladimir Putin and subsequently dedicated several books to him. One of them, titled Vladimir Putin - Moja Bitka za Kosovo (Vladimir Putin  My Fight for Kosovo) was published in Serbian in 2007, while another, titled Fenomen Putin - Covek Koji Je Stvorio Sam Sebe (The Phenomenon of Putin - the Man Who Created Himself), was published in 2011.

Under the slogan Sputnik Tells the Untold, the Moscow-launched news portal and radio program reaches large Serbian-speaking audiences as well as people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo, who understand Serbian.

The well-funded Kremlin media effort benefits from the predicament of Serbias cash-strapped news outlets, which are ready to republish free content to save money. And Sputniks stories, though widely seen as biased and misleading, are readily available for free distribution through numerous radio and TV stations throughout the Balkans, according to Jelena Milic, director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS) in Belgrade.

Serbia has too many media outlets that are not financially viable, Milic told Polygraph.info. Some of them serve as fronts for political influence and it suits them to have free-of-charge media production that favors Russia. Others simply dont pay attention to the accuracy of Sputniks stories. This allows the content of Sputnik and RT to proliferate in all Serbian media, turning it into a disinformation hub.

Disinformation Proliferation

Milic said that the most underestimated problem with Russian influence and disinformation in the region is the high-level of penetration of Sputnik Srbija in the local media environment, especially through popular radio stations. Sputniks news production has replaced all news broadcasts at the top of the hour as well as the main daily news and analysis broadcast of Radio Novosti and other stations in Serbia. In reality, there is no original news reporting by these stationsit is outsourced to Sputnik Srbija.

One of Sputniks main platforms is the B92 web portal, the successor of once-legendary Serbian radio station that earned awards for independent broadcasting during the final years of the Milosevic regime. RTV B92 today functions mostly as a web portal and operates Play Radio and O2.TV.

Another one is Studio B, which found itself in a difficult financial position after Western media assistance dried up. The radio station re-broadcasts Sputnik programs, along with those of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Germanys Deutsche Welle. This creates confusion among Studio Bs listeners: they can receive two completely different versions of the same event depending on the hour of the day they listen to the radio.

You have two diametrically opposed points of view, said Ivana Vucicevic, editor-in-chief of Studio B, in a May 2017 Reuters article. That way we can satisfy the broad spectrum of people who listen to us.

For example, on the 20th anniversary of NATOs military operation in Yugoslavia to prevent Slobodan Milosevics regime from killing and ethnically cleansing the Kosovo Albanians, Sputnik portrayed NATOS intervention as an act of aggression against the Serbian people. Sputnik is currently running a 79-days campaign to commemorate each day of NATOs intervention, under the slogan Serbia Remembers. The production uses a multimedia platform, combining online writing and graphics with audio and visual materials for a stronger effect.

This content has been widely broadcast by many local news outlets, amplifying Sputniks influence on the Serbian public. As a result, even if the countrys leadership wanted to move on from the painful spring of 1999, improve relations with Kosovo and join the European Union, the popular opinion shaped by the local outlets transmitting Sputniks content could become an obstacle, according to Milic.

Ready to Rectify

The media in Serbia and Republika Srpska have been compromised by political and economic pressure and they have become susceptible to Sputniks influence, said Ivana Cvetkovic Bajrovic, Associate Director for Europe at the National Endowment for Democracy. The political environment created by the leaders is not conducive to critical thinking about what that influence might mean.

Bajrovic told Polygraph.info that on the other side is the economic pressure -- the need to drive traffic to media websites. It is all about attracting visitors to the websites, often by packaging fake news to increase traffic and revenues. But when confronted about publishing disinformation, many news outlets seem ready to rectify the situation and take down the post. This has been the experience of the Bosnian fact check website Raskrinkavanje.ba https://raskrinkavanje.ba/, Bajrovic said.

The study by Raskrinkavanje.ba has identified a disinformation hub that targets the Serbian-speaking populations in the Balkans and covers Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje (Disclosures). The group has identified 30 outlets, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as sources and carriers of disinformation. One of them  Sputnik Srbija  is foreign, but two of the key local sources of disinformation are funded by the government of the BiH entity Republika Srpskathe Radio Television of Republika Srpska and the News Agency of Republika Srpska (SRNA). Moscow has long supported the government in Banja Luka, with the cooperation intensifying lately in the defense sector as well.

Apart from direct disinformation practices, Sputnik has had a clearly biased reporting of BiH politics, our analysis showed,Brkan told Polygraph.info. It is mostly demonstrated through a positive attitude toward the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), the ruling party in Republika Srpska, and its president, Milorad Dodik. Sputnik was also one of the media outlets advocating for the SNSD party during the election campaign in 2018.

Sputnik Narratives

According to Jelena Milic, the Russian broadcasters key mission in Serbia is to deconstruct the established narratives concerning Serbias responsibility for war crimes committed during the Yugoslav conflicts, and thus negate the rulings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It also aims to deepen the sense of victimhood that is deeply rooted in the Serbian society with the purpose of alienating it from the West.

The narratives offered by Sputnik and multiplied in the local media include:

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians.

Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians. Depleted Uranium Pollution. Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002.

Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002. Kosovo is Serbian Land. This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction.

This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction. Denying the Rulings of The Hague . Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague.

. Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague. Anti-EU Rhetoric. Sputniks anti-EU rhetoric is more careful, as Belgrade has repeatedly stated that it intends to join the EU while remaining Russias partner.

Moscows Influence - an Advertising Insert

The Russian government also spreads its influence in the print media in Serbia, as it does elsewhere in the world, by placing paid supplements or inserts in local media. One of them is R Magazin, is an 8-page paid insert, included in the widely-read weekly Nedeljnik ten times a year.

The supplement is funded by the Russian government and prepared by Russia Beyond the Headlines, a multilingual resource on Russian politics and culture sponsored by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia's state newspaper.

The insert, or similar ones, appear in other newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post as RT noted, at time in 2006. More recently, Western publications, including the New York Times, have faced criticism for publishing the broadsheet inserts published by the same entite

The operation ultimately failed. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport.

New York-based journalist Marija Sajkas reported for the Committee to Protect Journalists that all material appearing in R Magazin, including Serbian language articles and photographs, are delivered from Moscow and that the management of Nedeljnik has no influence over the supplements content.

Nedeljnik Managing Editor Marko Prelevic stated that, in the print edition, the supplement is clearly identified as sponsored content and so his editors do not verify the R Magazine content, but that most of the issues of R Magazine have almost no political content.

However, an insert featured a March 29 interview with Russian paratrooper Alexei Dogadin from the 2nd Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Kosovo crisis in 1999, who participated in the famous march on Pristina in June 1999 when his battalion made its way from Tuzla to Kosovo in an attempt to seize the Pristina airport.

The attempt ultimately failed, because Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria closed their airspace for Russian airplanes heading to Pristina to complete the takeover. This critical fact is omitted in the article. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport in Pristina.

The article was visible in the online version of the newspaper, initially, but appeared later to have been taken offline. Prevelic said R Magazine articles "are seldom published on our website."

Prevelic said he believes the insert was actually promoting the popular Russian movie that featured some Serbian actors. He said that (Russia Beyond) offers the most interesting reading materials on Russia and its rich history, the science breakthroughs and technology, the culture and the reportage from the largest country in the world.

However, Sajkas said the March 2016 issue included analysis about why Russia is the winner in the Syrian war and a memoir by a Russian war correspondent on the 1999 NATO bombing campaign that hit civilian targets in Serbia.

The Responsibility

Russian disinformation is burgeoning in the Serbian-language media space because of the lack of critical thinking among many politicians and some of the Serbian-language audiences about the sources of news and the implications of false narratives, according to Bajrovic.

Adnan Huskic, president of the Center for Election Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says that the absence of a strong media makes it easier for political elites to use disinformation in order to maintain control. When you dont have properly developed media systems in your country that are supposed to provide an unbiased and professionally ethical journalism then we have a huge problem, he said at a recent Atlantic Council event.

Milic argues that Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are particularly vulnerable to fake online information as their democratic systems are still fragile, including the rule of law and independent media.
The Carroll Building at the corner of North Market and East Bay street downtown is up for sale. Before Hooked Seafood opened in the building's corner storefront earlier this year, the Noisy Oyster had its downtown restaurant there. File/Wade Spees.
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The bones were to return to the ground. But not before they made one last journey.

They were the skeletal remains of six people. Two women, two men and two children. Held in white boxes, wrapped in indigo-colored blankets and riding in a horse-drawn hearse.

The bones were headed to what is now the site of Charleston's performing arts building, the Gaillard Center. It was near that same dirt, six years ago, that workers found them, more than 250 years after they were first buried. Saturday's solemn ceremony wasn't just for them: It also served as a civic act of remembrance for many, many like them.

The 36 whose remains were uncovered mostly had roots in west and central Africa. Others were from the Caribbean and South Carolina.

Coins found in graves Long-held traditions apparently followed at Gaillard burial site Copper pennies meant to cover the eyes of the dead were discovered with two individuals at the Gaillard grave site, an indication that one of 

Led by the hearse, dozens of followers crossed George and King streets in downtown Charleston. Many wore flowing robes, shirts and pants of golds and purples. Whites and yellows. Browns, oranges and greens. Onlookers gathered as the swell of people, some children and others up in years, passed by.

For a city still grappling with its dark and unequal racial history, the celebration of the remains presented a moment. The walkers' clothing, the metronomic drumming that guided them and the chanting that lifted them was purposefully rooted in Africa, in honor of the enslaved ancestors forced to toil its land.

In death, those same people were often forgotten in grave sites that were later covered up, forgotten or destroyed. The 36 people were found in what was another of those unmarked burying places.

As the walkers crossed Anson Street to join the 30 other remains already inside an open burial vault, a hundred or so people packed in close under towering oak trees. Crowding around the vault, they took pictures of the remains inside and the top that was about to seal them.

The rectangular top featured the names given, at an earlier ceremony a week ago, to each of the people found in the burial ground.

Each name was a nod to their African heritage. Written above them, on the top, were the words: "Into heaven your spirits we now release, we bless you and we thank you and pray your souls may know peace."

One by one, pallbearers clutching white wooden carriers moved the remaining boxes from the hearse toward the vault, near a freshly opened grave.

Dr. Ade Ajani Ofunniyin, founder and director of the Gullah Society, helped bring them through an opening in the crowd, placing each of the boxes inside the vault with the others. Ofunniyin followed by placing cards on top of the indigo blankets that covered the boxes, with messages written for the dead.

"To my beloved ancestors, thank you for life and making your journey to Charleston, SC," offered one person. "You are honored and may God bless your souls." It was signed "with love."

The drumming paused as the Rev. Willie Hill, from the nearby St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, gave a brief sermon. The bones of the people in the boxes in front of them were free, he said. Nothing could set them in bondage again.

Ofunniyin, followed by reading each of their names listed on the vault, which people repeated in response.

Coosaw. Risu. Kwabena. Kuto. Talata. Nina. Lisa. Pele. Ganda. Kidzera. Ajana. Nana. Rere. Juba. Kiana. Jode. Anika. Daba. Babatunde. Zimbu. Welela. Fumu. Amina. Leke. Lima. Tima. Pita. Banza. Ola. Omo. Mbangi. Isi. Wuta. Ulume. Yawo. Ori.

The drumbeat, singing voices in unison and swaying bodies continued as the final clods of dirt later thumped on the sealed vault, after it was lowered into the earth.

With names anew, they were returning to the Charleston soil once again.
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.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
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.
Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune.
St. Marks resumes community suppers

St. Marks Episcopal Church in Lake City, will resume its community suppers on May 8. The suppers run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Beginning this season, everyone is invited to join St. Marks for a special program, an organ presentation by Coleen Fowler, beginning at 4:15 p.m. in the church sanctuary. Enjoy a John Phillip Sousa march and, with audience participation, several patriotic anthems or American folk songs with improvisations in the accompaniment.

At the end of the performance the audience will write a song! The program is free; however, donations are accepted to start a music fund for future events. Please enter at the historic red door or handicap side entrance into the sanctuary. Everyone is welcome to join the community supper in McNairy Hall following the organ program.

The supper will include Tri Hotdish  tater tot, Italian or chicken rice  salad, dinner rolls, desserts and beverages. Coleen will provide piano selections during the supper. Audience participation is welcome. The Lake City Girl Scouts will be there to help prepare, serve and clean up to earn their community service badges. Please enter McNairy Hall at the parking lot side entrance for the supper.

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St. Marks is located across from Patton Park at 110 S. Oak St., Lake City.

Sunday-morning church services are at 10 a.m. The first four Sundays of the month, the service is held at St. Marks. The fifth Sunday of the month, service is held at the Mayo Clinic Health Care Center and everyone is welcome to join us there, as well. The Episcopal church invites everyone to receive Holy Communion.

Womens Connection hosts May luncheon

A May Flowers luncheon will be put on by Rochester Christian Womens Connection, 11:45 a.m. May 14 at the Rochester Eagles Club, 917 15th Ave. SE.

Dress Barn of Rochester will present the special feature, a spring fashion show. Nancy Bridges, of White Bear Lake, will speak on "The Challenges of New Beginnings," how to cope with lifes changes.

Cost to attend is $15 per person. Reservations are required by May 11. Call Jan, 507-288-1144, or email mploetz@hbcsc.net.

Cowboy Church is May 5 at Cherry Grove

Cherry Grove Cowboy Church will be held at Cherry Grove United Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. May 5. Singing starts at 5:45 p.m. Jim Pries will be providing special music.

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Cowboy Church is nondenominational and another way of spreading Gods message through music. The service includes a mix of country, Christian country, cowboy and Southern gospel, and bluegrass music.

Musicians are welcome, and should contact Cindy Seabright at seabright.cindy@gmail.com or 507-272-1682 one week prior to the service. Cowboy Church services are held the first Sunday each month.

Cherry Grove United Methodist Church is at 18183 160th St. in the small community of Cherry Grove, rural Spring Valley. The church is handicap accessible.

You dont have to be a cowboy to visit!

Artists will share lives, work

Artist Ann Riggott will be speaking at Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester, for A Time for Women, 6:30 p.m. May 9.

Her devotion is titled "Life as an Artist." Also on the program is a demo by Ardis Souhrada called "Stitches in Time." Souhrada is well known for her beautifully embroidered and quilted creations, which she will be talking about and showing.

Refreshments will be served. All women are welcome to attend.

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For questions or more information call or text 507-269-7653. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/a.time.for.women .

Calvary hosts six-week yoga event

Join a yoga and meditation event for six weeks this spring at Calvary Episcopal Church.

The series, "Sacred Circle Yoga and Meditation Spring Series: The Yamas of Yoga," begins May 21 and continues each Tuesday through June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the churchs Crawford Hall.

The yamas are the ethical principles that guide the physical practice of yoga and encourage a "right way of living." Patricia Barrier, a Rochester registered yoga teacher, will begin each class with instruction on a yama that will inform our gentle yoga practice and end with a short meditation helping us to apply that principle to our daily life. In this way, we move from the physical practice to a living yoga that informs our actions and helps us live compassionately and in harmony with all other people, creatures and our environment.

The class is suitable for beginners as well as those experienced in yoga who wish to deepen their practice. All aspects of the practice are adaptable to a chair or can be done with assistive devices. Yoga equipment is provided or bring your own mat.

The cost of the entire series is $90, payable upon registration. Please register by calling Linda in the church office, 507-282-9429. Payment accepted by cash/check, credit card or PayPal.

Calvary Episcopal Church is at 111 Third Ave. SW.

Program compares Luther, St. Francis

A program at Assisi Heights in Rochester, "Francis of Assisi and Luther of Wittenberg," has been rescheduled to 6:30 p.m. May 13.

The program compares the lives of two Christian historical figures.

Francis of Assisi preceded Martin Luther by 300 years. Both were shaped by the monastic life and both were concerned with bringing the "Good News" to the people in ways they could understand. This presentation will explore some of the things that Francis and Luther shared, as each left an indelible mark on the life of the Church.

Our presenters participated in the pilgrimage programs to Assisi, Italy. Dr. Phil Quanbeck II, Professor of Religion at Augsburg University in Minneapolis Minnesota, gives this presentation with Dr. Ruth Johnson, Consultant in Internal Medicine, who also serves in the Executive Health Program and in Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine.

Admission is $10 preregistered/prepaid, or $15 at the door.

Register online, tinyurl.com/y6eqrrfe , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.
DENVER

Jerry Burton has lived in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood here for the past few months, in an orange tent pitched on a sidewalk. He and the other homeless campers on the block  Burton proudly calls the encampment "Jerr-E-Ville," and has declared himself the unofficial mayor  are defying the citys urban camping ban, which means they are always bracing for a visit from the police.

A caseworker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to find permanent housing for the 57-year-old Marine Corps veteran whose tent is surrounded by his belongings neatly arranged in small plastic bags. In the meantime, Burton is hoping that Denver voters next week will overturn the citys camping ban, thanks to an initiative he and others petitioned to get on the ballot.

The ballot question, dubbed the "Right to Survive," would declare that everyone has the right to rest, eat and shelter in public places without being harassed. Supporters say it would shield people experiencing homelessness from unfair citations and arrests.

But business, environmental and social service organizations fear it would proliferate dangerous encampments in parks and on sidewalks without helping to house people.

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"I find Initiative 300 to be one of the most frightening and heinous initiatives that Ive witnessed in my career," said Jeff Shoemaker, a former Republican state representative and executive director of the Greenway Foundation, a nonprofit that works to revitalize the South Platte River and its tributaries.

First of its kind

The Denver initiative is the latest front in a campaign advocates for homeless people have been waging at the state level for years. Lawmakers in California, Oregon and Colorado have repeatedly introduced bills that, by articulating a "right to rest," would override local ordinances that penalize people for living in public spaces. Lawmakers in Washington state proposed similar legislation this year. None of the bills passed.

So Denver Homeless Out Loud, an advocacy group that backed the Colorado legislation, decided to take the issue to voters. If the first-of-its-kind "Right to Survive" ballot initiative is successful  a late January/early February poll taken by the opposition campaign suggested it could be approved  its supporters are likely to try to pass similar initiatives elsewhere in Colorado and across the West.

"If it passes, we hopefully may not have to run another statewide initiative," said Democratic Rep. Jovan Melton, sponsor of the Colorado Right to Rest bill. "We may be able to go just city by city to deal with this."

About 552,000 people in the United States are living on the street, in emergency shelters or in transitional housing, according to the latest count from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most people experiencing homelessness are clustered in expensive cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.

In Rochester, attention has come recently to an emerging issue of homeless people living and sleeping in public skyways. First-year Mayor Kim Norton convened a group of advocates, public officials and other citizens to find permanent housing for those homeless people.

Laws against lying down

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Cities nationwide have laws on the books intended to keep destitute people moving and out of sight. One-third of 187 cities surveyed by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, prohibit camping in public. About a quarter of cities surveyed prohibit sleeping in certain public places, and almost half prohibit sitting or lying down in public.

Even if a person is just sitting outside or sleeping in a clean tent, they can be told to either move on or be issued a fine, said Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney at the law center. "Even those activities are treated as public health and safety threats, when they are not."

The Denver City Council in 2012 passed an urban camping ordinance that prohibits people from pitching tarps and tents or even covering themselves with a blanket in public places. Other city ordinances ban aggressive panhandling, public urination, and sitting or lying down in a public right of way, among other activities.

Other Colorado cities have passed similar laws, said Nantiya Ruan, a law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. "In our largest cities, we disproportionately cite and jail those who are homeless for these types of ordinances, and it costs the city a lot of money to do so," she said.

A lot of sleep deprivation

But enforcement is spotty. Denver police officers typically tell people violating the camping ban to move rather than throwing them in jail. Under the ordinance, police officers are required to give offenders a warning and try to connect them to assistance, such as addiction treatment, before making an arrest.

The camping ban still has an effect, said Terese Howard, an organizer for Denver Homeless Out Loud.

"The impact is a lot of sleep deprivation, its a lot of stress and mental health struggle, for constantly not knowing where you can go; its physical health problems," she said. "Its safety risks, people being raped and assaulted after being forced to move into unsafe areas."

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Many people have no choice but to sleep outside, Howard said, because the city of Denver doesnt have enough shelter beds for the estimated 3,445 people who need them.

Even when beds are available, theyre not open to everyone. People cant enter shelters when they have alcohol or drugs with them. And some people dont want to stay in a noisy, crowded shelter, separated from their partner and their pets.

Julie Smith, director of marketing and community services for the Denver Human Services Department, said theres sufficient space in city shelters to handle demand. The Denver Animal Shelter can temporarily shelter pets and at least one city shelter will take people regardless of substance abuse, she said.

Some prefer it

Sitting in the sunshine outside Impact Humanity, a Denver store that gives away clothes, a young man with sandy hair who declined to share his name said hes been homeless for two years and prefers to sleep outside in good weather.

On winter nights, he said, homeless people may have to trespass to curl up in a sheltered place, such as an abandoned stairwell. "I notice a lot of people who freeze to death  you cant just throw up a tent and all the gear it takes to stay warm," he said.

Debbie Hyatt, 67, was also waiting for her turn to enter the store. She sat under an awning that cast a cool shadow on the pavement, shaping her nails with a pink nail file. She said she sleeps in a shelter now but slept on the sidewalk for a while after getting bedbugs from a shelter mattress.

Sleeping outside isnt ideal for anybody, she said. And it could be safer. "There needs to be a designated ground area," she said, protected from dangers such as cars skidding off the curb.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and other legal aid groups have successfully sued various cities to change policies that disproportionately affect people experiencing homelessness.

For instance, Denver recently pledged to give homeless people more notice prior to cleaning up camps and to offer more storage lockers, toilets and trash cans as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the citys homeless population.

Fierce fights

But when advocates take their civil rights arguments to state lawmakers, they face serious opposition. The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a San Francisco-based organization, has tried and failed for almost a decade to get "right to rest" legislation passed.

City leaders, law enforcement and business groups have pushed back every time, said Paul Boden, WRAPs executive director. In Colorado, Rep. Melton said, his Right to Rest bill was opposed by city leaders who didnt want the state to interfere with their ordinances.

The political fight in Denver, if anything, has been fiercer than the state battles that preceded it. The campaign against Initiative 300 has raised over $1.5 million, about 19 times the amount raised by the campaign backing the initiative.

The opposing campaign, funded primarily by business groups such as the National Association of Realtors and the Downtown Denver Partnership, says the initiative would stop the city from enforcing laws that protect public safety without helping people access housing.

"We do not believe this policy helps support those experiencing homelessness  or the broader community," said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, in an emailed statement. "We know that we can do better and believe we must work to expand upon services that support the dignity of people who are experiencing homelessness in our community."

The measure would supersede a host of local ordinances, including park curfews, according to city officials interpretation of the broadly worded measure. The city says it could make police officers, park rangers and outreach workers reluctant to help people living on the street, as doing so could be considered harassment.

The ordinance also could make it more difficult for city staff to address health threats such as hepatitis A, rodents, feces, urine and discarded needles, the city said.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has said he doesnt support either the Right to Survive initiative, or the state Right to Rest bill.

Trash, sanitation problems

Trash discarded by homeless people is already a problem along the South Platte River, said Shoemaker of the Greenway Foundation. Before taking kids on outdoor excursions, he said, members of his education team scour the area for drug paraphernalia and human waste. An explosion of encampments in the city would further threaten the rivers health, he said.

Denvers Right to Survive initiative has even been criticized by groups that supported the Colorado Right to Rest bill.

"I wouldnt necessarily say that were opposed to the measure, because we understand the need for this conversation," said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a housing, health care and supportive services provider.

But her organization worries that the initiatives language is vague, and that it doesnt allocate resources to address homelessness. "If it does pass  theres still no additional resources put into the system to make sure we dont have the need for something like Right to Survive," she said.

Ruan, the law professor, said courts would decide how to interpret the statute and noted that after six months the city council could step in to modify it. "It can be corrected by the city council, but it will force them to do something about this issue," Ruan said of the councilmembers.

Howard, of Denver Homeless Out Loud, said concerns about human waste and trash are distinct from the camping ban. "Absolutely, theres a desperate need for porta-potties, for trash services, and so on," she said. "But thats true regardless of whether we have the right to sleep or not."

People who live on the streets dont want the city to be overwhelmed with trash, either. "I dont know how comfortable I feel about the parks turning into wastelands and dumps and stuff," said the sandy-haired young man outside Impact Humanity. Maybe the city could do more to clean things up, he suggested.

They also want permanent solutions. "Hopefully, they will build housing that people can afford," Burton said.

Regardless of the May 7 election result, the people behind the initiative and the state bills like it say theyll keep fighting. "We understand that were going to hear no. And were really good at getting our asses kicked," WRAPs Boden said. "But were going to keep coming back."

Voters in Denver will cast ballots on Ordinance 300, the so-called "Right to Survive" initiative.

This is the text of the ballot question:

"Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt a measure that secures and enforces basic rights for all people within the jurisdiction of the City and County of Denver, including the right to rest and shelter oneself from the elements in a non-obstructive manner in outdoor public spaces, to eat, share accept or give free food in any public space where food is not prohibited, to occupy one's own legally parked motor vehicle, or occupy a legally parked motor vehicle belonging to another, with the owner's permission, and to have a right and expectation of privacy and safety of or in one's person and property?"
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 1, 2019 - Back in 2013, Timothy Koeth, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland, received a rather extraordinary birthday gift: a little cloth lunch pouch containing a small object wrapped in brown paper towels. As Koeth peeled back the layers, his eyes grew wide with astonishment. He immediately asked, "Where did you get that?"

Inside he found a heavy metal cube and a crumpled message, a provocative note wrapped around a stone that came crashing through the window of history. It read, "Taken from Germany, from the nuclear reactor Hitler tried to build. Gift of Ninninger."

Koeth's friend grinned, picked up the 5-pound block of uranium metal and handed it to him. Though modest in size, the cube was heavy, dense and steeped in lost history. Koeth accepted the cube and its note as an invitation to the adventure of a lifetime.

In the May 2019 issue of Physics Today, Koeth and Miriam Hiebert, a doctoral candidate working with him on this project at UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, describe what they've discovered while exploring the German quest and failure to build a working nuclear reactor during World War II.

Uranium is weakly radioactive, and this particular cube measures about 2 inches on each side. "It's surprisingly heavy, given its size, and it's always a lot of fun to watch people's reaction when they pick it up for the first time," said Hiebert.

A Chandelier of Nuclear Elements

This cube represents one of 664 uranium metal components that were strung together in a form reminiscent of a chandelier to comprise the core of a nuclear reactor experiment that a team of German scientists attempted to build toward the end of the World War II, including Werner Heisenberg -- a theoretical physicist and one of the key visionaries of quantum mechanics. The chandelier was submerged in heavy water to regulate the rate of fission.

The Germans' experimental lab was small and located underground in the town of Haigerloch -- it's now the Atomkeller Museum, which the public can visit. "This experiment was their final and closest attempt to create a self-sustaining nuclear reactor, but there wasn't enough uranium present in the core to achieve this goal," said Koeth.

One of the most surprising things Koeth and Hiebert have discovered so far is that while the 664 uranium cubes at Haigerloch weren't enough to build a self-sustaining reactor, an additional 400 cubes were located within Germany at the time.

"If the Germans had pooled their resources, rather than keeping them divided among separate, rival experiments, they may have been able to build a working nuclear reactor," said Hiebert. "This highlights perhaps the biggest difference between the German and American nuclear research programs. The German program was divided and competitive; whereas, under the leadership of General Leslie Groves, the American Manhattan Project was centralized and collaborative."

How Close Did the Germans Get?

How close did the Germans get to a working nuclear reactor? This is difficult to answer, but "it's been calculated that the reactor experiment in Haigerloch would have needed about 50% more uranium to run," said Koeth. "Even if the 400 additional cubes had been brought to Haigerloch to use within that reactor experiment, the German scientists would have still needed more heavy water to make the reactor work. Despite being the birthplace of nuclear physics and having nearly a two-year head start on American efforts, there was no imminent threat of a nuclear Germany by the end of the war."

Another important aspect of Koeth and Hiebert's work is an effort to track down the cubes recovered from Haigerloch that ended up being shipped to the U.S. "Cubes were distributed to various individuals around the country," Hiebert explained. "We don't know how many were handed out or what happened to the rest, but there are likely more cubes hiding in basements and offices around the country, and we'd like to find them!"

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

"We hope to speak to as many people as possible who've had contact with these cubes," said Hiebert. "As much as we've learned about our cube and others like it, we still don't have an answer about how exactly it ended up in Maryland 70 years after being captured by Allied forces in southern Germany."

Koeth and Hiebert are also trying to learn more about the fate of the other 400 cubes that ended up on the black market in Europe after the war.

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MIAMI  Why let the rising sea sink your Miami lifestyle when you can go with the flow aboard the Arkup houseboat?

Arkup features the ingenious engineering feature of four hydraulic pilings that stabilize the vessel on the sea bottom or allow it to lift like a house on stilts above floodwaters, king tides and hurricane-whipped storm surges.

South Florida sea levels are projected to rise 6 to 12 inches by 2030, 14 inches to nearly three feet by 2060, and 31 inches to nearly seven feet by 2100, according to the Southeast Florida Climate Change Regional Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group. Miami Beach and the Keys may be inundated first, but the entire region is recognized as one of the most vulnerable on the planet.

In this brave new waterworld, Arkup wants to keep you high and dry on your floating home.

Noah, who constructed his ark to withstand 40 days and 40 nights of apocalyptic rain and Biblical flooding, would approve. He probably could not afford the modern version, which has a sticker price of $5.5 million, but he would like the comfort, spacious bathrooms and retractable swimming platform.

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Arkup, solar-powered and equipped with a rainwater-collecting-and-purifying system, is a self-sustaining home, a green adaptation for our blue future.

"Its more like a house than a boat, but you never lose the unmistakable feeling that youre on the water," said Nicolas Derouin, managing director of Arkup.

Arkup was designed and built in Miami by Derouin and Arnaud Luguet, two French engineers who live here and have a passion for the oceans and environmental preservation.

They have witnessed the impact of climate change and sea level rise in their adopted hometown and around the world. On Monday, Indonesia announced it will move its capital out of Jakarta, a swampy, flood-prone and drowning metropolis of 30 million people.

"It is happening before our eyes," Derouin said. "Coastal areas are the most desirable but also the most at risk. Miami is implementing resiliency measures. We hope Arkup can be a small part of the solution."

Derouin and Luguet were inspired by the Dutch floating communities of IJburg and Schoonschip.

"In the Netherlands, one third of the country is below sea level," Derouin said. "They want to develop housing alternatives. Instead of fighting the water, live on it."

Lake Union in Seattle has 500 permanently docked houseboats. Paris has restaurants, a hotel and is building a 2024 Olympic venue on the River Seine. Dubai has floating vacation homes. In San Francisco, where Sausalito has a houseboat community, the Danish firm BIG has proposed building an archipelago of floating villages connected by ferries on the bay. The Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club in Weehawken, N.J., which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, may reinvent its marina as a houseboat haven.

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"We decided to design a boat that looks and feels like Miami, is compatible with a subtropical climate and gives the owner the freedom and flexibility to move," Derouin said.

Their ultimate goal is to create an affordable model, develop floating neighborhoods and partner with island hotels to build eco-bungalows on surrounding waters.

"We want to design small apartments on the water for students, townhouses for families," Derouin said. "We want to create housing solutions for a broader audience. Thats the vision behind Arkup."

Derouin and Luguet collaborated with Dutch firm Waterstudio and pioneering aqua-tect Koen Olthuis, who has designed a floating mosque, floating prison, floating spa and floating resort and helped conceptualize a proposed development of 29 private islands with lavish sustainable homes  a villa flotilla  on Maule Lake in North Miami Beach.

"He is an advocate of urban planning on the water," Derouin said.

Fom the outside, Arkup looks like a glass box. On board, it doesnt look or feel like a boat. No rocking, for one thing. It has two air-conditioned levels, with 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and 8-foot ceilings on the second. There are three bedrooms upstairs with three full and roomy bathrooms  no cramped and tilting heads on this boat  and two balconies.

Downstairs, theres an inviting living room, kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and a small room with a Murphy bed that could be an office or guest quarters. Interior design is by Brazilian company Artefacto. A sliding outdoor deck adds 500 square feet of floor space when fully extended.

At the stern, the swim platform can be lowered into the water to create a mini pool. Theres a boat lift for your kayak or amphibious vehicle.

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The bow deck has an outdoor kitchen and console controls for navigation and operating the 136-hp rotating electric thrusters, which emit no noise and require no diesel fuel, and the anchoring system, which allows adjustments of each piling to level the boat.

Arkup has a maximum speed of 7 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles that can be increased with additional battery banks or a backup generator.

"We cant match the navigational capacity and speed of a yacht," Derouin said. "You couldnt cruise around the world, but you could use Arkup in the Bahamas or British Virgin Islands, for example.

"Our vessel is 75 feet long and 32 feet wide and we have the same livable space as a yacht that is 110 feet long. Arkup is for people who prioritize space and comfort over speed and range."

Arkups steel hull and superstructure is built to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds (up to 156 mph). The 40-foot long pilings, or spuds, enable the boat to anchor in up to 25 feet of water and elevate above the waves. The draft is five feet. Its got a 4,000-gallon freshwater tank and an equal-sized tank for waste water. The 2,400-square-foot roof is covered with 36-kilowatt capacity solar panels that recharge the battery.

"A motor yacht is the opposite of sustainable," Derouin said, pointing to a gigantic yacht parked behind Arkup and to passing motorboats that pause while curious passengers take a look at Arkup. "Large engines. Massive fuel consumption. Pollution. On Arkup you can live completely off the grid with no bills for energy or water. It is zero emission, carbon neutral. In this house, you dont need to rebuild your seawalls or move your air conditioner to higher ground. Compared to the costs of a waterfront home, Arkup is competitive."

Plus its got panoramic views of the downtown skyline and dolphins swimming by the side deck.

So far, the partners have one buyer and a waiting list of potential buyers who want to take the boat for a test drive.

"Weve had an amazing response," Derouin said. "Our clientele includes owners of private Caribbean islands who think Arkup is better than building a beach house. Or people who live full or part time in Miami and want a toy for the weekends, to take friends out on the bay. We have people who live elsewhere and Arkup would be their second or vacation home. And people who see it as their primary home, docked at a marina. Its a luxury product for a niche market but our dream is to develop affordable versions with the same principles."

Miamians who dont want to flee could take to the sea. As oceans swell and coastlines shrink, trade house for houseboat.

"We need more entrepreneurs and scientists developing innovative ideas because climate change is not slowing down," Derouin said. "Heres one new way to live in harmony with the water."
The newest addition to the Med City restaurant scene started serving dinner this week.

Le Petit Cafestarted serving dinner on Thursday in the under-renovation historic Avalon building at 301 N. Broadway.

The European-style restaurant is the creation of Chef Deirdre Conroy, known locally for her food cart of the same name at the Rochester Farmers Market.

When asked to describe Le Petit, Conroy said, "We call it elegant dining. No TVs. Open and simple. Never rushed. I want people to feel as they would as guests in my house sitting by the fireplace."

Dinner, which includes two courses, costs $31. Diners have five entree choices as well as five starters and five desserts from which to choose.

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After selling food and drinks at the Farmers Market for the past two years, Conroy has a lot of contacts with local farmers to source pork, vegetables and milk. Eggs and other ingredients will come from her own farm.

"Everything will be as regional as possible," she said.

In addition to serving dinner, Le Petit also has a coffee and pastry counter thats open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Le Petit is ramping up to its full vision due to the ongoing construction as part of owner Angela Martins renovation of the 100-year-old building. The partially complete dining area now seats 50. That will grow to 73 once the sunroom addition to the southwest corner is complete.

On May 11, Conroy will add lunch from noon to 2 p.m. to Le Petits offerings. On Mothers Day, she will introduce a three-course Sunday afternoon tea.

"I hear some people are already buying hats for it," said Conroy with a grin.

Eventually, Le Petit will add an 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily breakfast into the mix.

Conroy feels the old brick building, arguably the most historic Rochester building without a direct Mayo connection, is the perfect setting for her restaurant.

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It was built in 1919 by a Jewish man named Sam Sternbergas the Northwestern Hotel, a place where Jews could stay at a time when most Minnesota hotels refused them.

Verne Manningbought the building in 1944 and changed the name to the Avalon.

It was the first hotel in Rochester to accept black guests, as well as white. Well-known people, such as Duke Ellington, stayed at the Avalon Hotel.

By the 1980s, the building was unused and run down. Myrna Hamiltonpurchased it in 1987 and renovated it to house her Hamilton Musicstore.

When Hamilton retired in 2008, Stephen Lalamabought it and moved in his Rochester Pro Music.He changed the name to Avalon Music, to honor the buildings history.

"Shes a dear of a building, bless her," said Conroy of it.
Three years ago, Craig Nelson was so close to graduating from Crossroads College that he had already lined up a pastors position at a Black River Falls, Wis., church.

But then the Rochester Christian college closed, and Nelsons employment situation looked as bleak as Crossroads future. When Nelson explained his predicament to the leaders of the church, they asked him to stay on as pastor anyway.

"Please, stay on as our pastor," Nelson recalled the leaders saying. "We dont want you to leave just because you dont have a degree on the wall."

Now, a happier ending may be beginning to unfold for Crossroads College as well.

Three years after suspending its operations, the college is being resurrected as a satellite of Hope International University, a private Christian university based in Fullerton, Calif.

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It is a modest beginning for the new entity, now called Hope International UniversityMinnesota, compared to what it once was. Unlike the plush, pastoral, 37-acre campus the college once occupied in southwest Rochester, its new home will be rented space at Rochester Community and Technical College.

And its first class, which started earlier this year, is made up of a mere three students. It has one faculty member.

Still, the opening of the Hope satellite is seen as the restoration of Christian, nondenominational education in the region, an official said.

Hope plans to grow enrollment to 20 students when the school officially launches this August  and then to between 50 and 100 students in the years ahead, says Todd Looney, the schools director of admissions and marketing. The school is also opening a satellite in Las Vegas.

Crossroads and Hope had earlier tried to work out a deal that would put Hope in charge of the campus, but Crossroads debt proved to be a stumbling block too big to overcome. Last year, Crossroads agreed to sell the campus to Bear Creek Christian Church for $3.95 million to clear its debt.

Yet hope for a rebirth of Crossroads never died, Looney said. Even after Crossroads closed its doors, the board of trustees never disbanded, ever hopeful of the possibility of a partnership with Hope, Looney said.

"This relationship goes back 20 some years. We were probably talking to Hope about partnering in 1998-99, but it never came to fruition," he said.

There is no reference to Crossroads in either the new schools name or logo. And new students may not be aware of the back story. But Hope is seen as carrying on the work and legacy of Crossroads and will benefit from the relationships and network of churches that has supported Crossroads over the years, Looney said.

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Crossroads started as Minnesota Bible College in 1913, and its first campus was in the Twin Cities. It moved to Rochester in 1971, where it later changed its name to Crossroads.

Hope offers a two-year Associate of Arts degree, which includes a certificate of Christian ministry. The program is a mix of online learning and traditional classroom work. Once completed, students can pursue Christian-based bachelor degree programs online via Hope or transfer to a secular four-year institution, Looney said.

Nelson, the pastor whose plans were almost upended when Crossroads closed, has a unique perspective on the schools history. He was one of its students when the school closed. He is now one of Hopes first three students.

Nelson said he was heartbroken when Crossroads closed. Family members had been attending the school back when it was a Bible college in the Twin Cities. So when he was offered a chance to complete his degree at the new school, he seized the opportunity.

"When I was approached, I said, Oh, absolutely. Sign me up," Nelson said.
Want to know whats being done to protect water in Rochester?

Troy Erickson, the citys water resources manager, will discuss the latest efforts in stormwater management at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Marys University of Minnesota  Cascade Meadow, 2900 19th St. NW

The 90-minute presentation is part of the citys Stormwater Presents Speaker Series, which presents free quarterly programs on topics related to stormwater management.

On Tuesday, Erickson will discuss the basics of the citys stormwater management program, as well as action taken in 2018 to meet Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements. He will also discussion plans for future efforts aimed at improving stormwater quality throughout the city.
BYRON  A pungent odor coming from a barrel on a rural Byron property resulted in an investigation Thursday by public safety officials.

A property owner called the Olmsted County Sheriffs Office Thursday afternoon to say a strong odor was coming from a barrel that had been on his property for several years. He noticed the odor after moving the barrel, which had caused a small amount of liquid to leak out.

The Rochester Fire Department Chemical Assessment Team assisted the Byron Fire Department in analyzing the liquid. It was determined that the substance is baling acid, which is used by farmers to reduce the potential for spontaneous combustion in hay. It is not a hazardous substance in its current state.

Also assisting at the scene were Byron First Responders and the Minnesota State Duty Officer. There were no injuries.
A Rochester man was arrested and will likely be charged with assault following an altercation Thursday afternoon.

The case began when an 18-year-old Rochester man went to the apartment of 49-year-old Gene Johnson in the 1900 block of 8-1/2 Street Southeast to collect a debt of $30, according to Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

The suspect had allegedly been "too high" on the first visit, Moilanen said, so the victim returned later. At that point, Johnson allegedly confronted the victim with a knife and chased him around the parking lot threatening to kill him.

When police arrived, Johnson was inside his apartment, where he was arrested. A knife was found in the residence, Moilanen said.

Johnson is expected to face charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats.

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The victim was not injured.
Without a new pretrial services program offered through Olmsted County Community Corrections, Douglas Ray Howard says he would have likely sat in jail, unable to make bail, awaiting trial on drug charges.

"It would have been majorly different outcome because I wouldnt have had a chance to take care of anything," he said. "A man who has nothing takes care of things differently than a man who has something, and this is a result of this program."

In the four months that the program has been an option, judges have referred more than 200 people to it. The program is for people who have been charged with a crime, but are assessed as not posing any public safety threat. Program participants are assigned a pretrial services agent who, at a minimum, reminds them of upcoming court dates but can also do required check-ins and help a person connect with the services they need. It gives judges a non-monetary option to better ensure a defendant will return to court.

Howard, with another program participant, Anne Marie Jessen-Ford, both spoke highly of it in a recent interview. On that day, Jessen-Ford officially finished her time with the program after being convicted and sentenced on the charge for which she was arrested.

Jessen-Ford said that without pretrial services agent Niles and one of her colleagues, she doesnt know where the couple would have been.

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Howard said: "It gives people a chance to show they are not all about what they have been charged with."

Knock on wood

While it is still too early to tell how successful the program is, many stakeholders have had positive things to say about it.

Cautious not to jinx the program, Travis W. Gransee, director of Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted Community Corrections, knocked on wood before saying that, overall, the program is going well.

"There are certainly people that have been returned to the community that have then struggled with some of their release conditions and that have been returned to custody, so I dont want to give the impression that things have gone super, super," Gransee said.

For those low- and moderate-risk clients and even high-risk clients who would have previously sat in jail, unable to make bail, Gransee said the program has been able to manage them in the community.

"The percentage of those that have been returned to custody is still pretty small," Gransee said.

There has been some anecdotal feedback from clients who have been through the criminal justice system before but this time recognize the program as something different, Gransee said.

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The pretrial program was created to address multiple issues  including a jail nearing capacity and a push nationally for pretrial reform.

"There should be another alternative for folks who cant afford to make bail," Gransee said. "We had a problem, we had a solution and, oh, by the way, the solution is also a solution for about three or four other things."

How it works

On Monday morning, Nikki Niles and her colleague Jamie Gascho went through the days arraignment list in advance of heading down to the Adult Detention Centers gym to meet with individuals who had been arrested over the weekend.

A few red lines crossed out the names and charges of those would be ineligible for the pretrial services program. If the person is in custody on a probation or family matter, they would be ineligible. The same is true if its a child support issue or a criminal charge that is low enough to not warrant any sort of monetary bail/bond amount.

As Niles and Gascho arrive to the gym at the ADC, a stack of completed pretrial assessment forms await them. One by one, the men and women waiting in the gym are called to sit with Niles or Gascho and go over the questionnaire. If one hasnt been done, they fill it in for the person as they ask each question. If the person has filled out the form, they still get asked each question again and are given a chance to expand on their yes or no answers. Notes are written on the sheet that will help Niles or Gascho once they go back to their offices to input the assessments.

Sitting with a client, Niles introduces herself and explains briefly what will happen in the coming hours.

"You will go to court," she said. "Recommendations will be made about your release."

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That could mean monetary bail/bond is set or the person could be released to the pretrial services program without monetary bond.

The Pretrial Services Program, Niles continued, is not probation and has two goals  making sure a person appears in court and ensuring public safety.

The questionnaire is used to create a report that is then given to the defendants attorney, prosecutors and the court, and it can be used to make arguments over the persons release.

Heading back up to her office, Niles will use the assessment in addition to information on the persons criminal history, conversations with someones probation officer if they are currently on probation and details from the brief conversation with the person that dont fit in a yes or no checked box.

The end of bail?

Lawsuits have been filed across the country alleging that setting cash bail unattainably high is unconstitutional. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union would prefer to entirely do away with a cash bail system.

"We abolished debtors prisons in this country decades ago, and the notion that somebody would sit in jail because they do not have financial resources is just anathema to our sense of justice in this country," said Teresa Nelson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

Historically, the only tool prosecutors have had to ensure a defendant returns to court is bail, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. But bail, he said, can sometimes be onerous.

"The idea behind this whole pretrial services program is really to try and remove that monetary condition and still give the court and all the participants some satisfaction that the defendant will be back and we can monitor their public safety," Ostrem said. "We are not trying to supervise these people but we are trying to, lets say, use some gentle reminders that they are supposed to be back in court. There are other tools we can use to ensure their public safety but we dont need to force some sort of a monetary condition on them to ensure that they come back."

Steps have been taken to make Minnesotas court system more uniform. The Minnesota Pretrial Assessment, which is modeled on an assessment created in Hennepin County and has been "statistically validated," is now required to be completed in all jurisdictions. The assessments goal is to look at an individuals risk factors through a series of questions. But some find the questionnaire problematic.

"The idea of having a tool that is statistically validated is a good instinct, but unless you are cognitive about the limits of data and the limits of algorithms in eliminating racial biases, you are going to be replicating systems of oppression for people of color," Nelson said.

Individual circumstances

She said it was important to look at the individual circumstances of a person.

Olmsted County commissioners approved approximately $290,000 to fund three employees to run the pretrial services program. All three pretrial services agents have been with Olmsted County Community Corrections for a number of years.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said the hard costs to house one detainee is $200 per day. If a detainee is being housed in Olmsted County for another county or for the Department of Corrections, they are invoiced for $55 per day, Torgerson said. The vast majority of those at the Olmsted County Jail are there pre-trial, meaning they have not been convicted of a crime and are therefore, not serving a sentence.

The daily average number of people has gone down since it spiked in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to 155 people per day, Torgerson said it was too soon to say how big of an impact the program has had on jail population numbers.

The conversation about alternatives to incarcerating people who cant afford bail began more than five years ago when the jail noticed a spike in numbers, according to Torgerson.

Getting some people out during pretrial might allow them to keep their jobs, Torgerson said.

"The charge doesnt go away but at least being able to get them out, maintain some sort of lifestyle, hopefully it would be a positive one," he said. "Get them out, get them home and yet still keep track of them and make sure they arent causing more trouble out there, we are all better for it."

The program doesnt just benefit those charged with crimes but also benefits the wider community.

"Any time people are in the community, working on their sobriety, working on gainful employment," said Lauri Traub, managing attorney for the Rochester office of the Public Defender Third Judicial District, "those are good things for the community."
Thumbs up to Soldiers Field track plan

Initial plans to pave the running track at Soldiers Field with asphalt met with resistance from local runners. Rather than push ahead anyway, Rochester city officials wisely held off on their plans and waited for the Save the Track citizens group to offer an alternative.

As a result, the track will be paved with a more comfortable running surface, and in turn, the Save the Track group will help fund upkeep of the track.

That qualifies as a win-win for everyone involved. Credit goes to city officials who took into consideration input from the community. It preserves a valuable resource in the hart of the city.

Now, the hope is we'll see more people make use of the track when all work is completed next summer.

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Thumbs down to winter driving

It's getting closer, whether we like it or not. This week's dusting of snow is a reminder that with November comes the need to refresh ourselves on safe winter driving practices.

First and foremost, of course, is to reduce your speed on icy and snowy roads. Along with that, increase the distance between your vehicle and the one you're following. Accelerate and decelerate gradually. Make sure your windshield wipers are in good working order, and that your windshield washer reservoir is full.

All of this is second-nature to most Minnesotans, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that winter driving is as much an art as it is a science.

By the way, don't forget to familiarize yourself with Rochester's new even-odd street parking plan for winter.

Thumbs up to Minnesota's ACT scores

Minnesota students have maintained their best-in-nation average score on the ACT college entrance exam -- at least among those states where the majority of graduating seniors take the test.

Minnesota's graduating seniors achieved an average score of 21.4, a slight improvement from last year's average score of 21.3, according to results released this week. By comparison, the national average is 20.7.

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In most states, a majority of students take the SAT college entrance test. In the Upper Midwest, though, the ACT is more popular. Wisconsin's average score was 20.3 and North Dakota's was 19.9

While improvement should always be a goal, Minnesota's schools are obviously doing a good job of preparing graduates for college success.
Every now and then we get the itch to travel. We want to leave Guam and see the world. Read more
With only 51 known reef manta rays off Guams shores, the death of a male ray named Streaker in Tumon is impactful, said Julie Hartup, executive director of the Micronesian Conservation Coalition.

He is one of our main males, Hartup said. So to have him gone is definitely going to be felt within the population.

Streaker was found dead in April after it appeared he had been hit by a Jet Ski or boat, according to Hartup, who was able to identify him from video taken by divers in the area. Hartup said that unfortunately, Streaker's remains could not be located.

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Hartup said while the reef manta ray is not on the endangered species list, MCC is working to change that because of their micropopulation.

The value of Streaker could be priceless, according to Hartup, who said studies have shown a single ray is worth about $5 million in ecotourism or potential tourism.

Rays such as Streaker, who Hartup estimates was at least 10 years old, can live for up to 30 or even 40 years and reach a length of up to 3 meters long. Female reef manta rays give birth to an offspring every three to five years, she said.

The rays are targeted in Asia and Indonesia for their gills, which are used for medicinal purposes in some cultures.

Hartup said the community can help keep the rays safe by not chasing them. Let them come to you, she said.

The reef manta rays are found primarily on the leeward side of the island, she said.

For those looking to do more to help the plight of the manta ray locally, the Micronesian Conservation Coalition offers an Adopt a Manta program where individuals or businesses can pledge money to help support and fund the study of the animal. More information on the program can be found on the MCC website at micronesianconservation.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
POTTSTOWN  Pottstown Police held a community meeting Thursday night to address the recent wave of violent crime in the borough.

Concerned residents were spilling out of the meeting room at borough hall looking for seats at the forum. A table outside offered handouts on this years crime statistics as well as pamphlets on making the community a safer place.

Im not trying to make Pottstown sound like its a crime-ridden town but I want you to know what the statistics are, said Pottstown Police Chief Michael Markovich holding a graph illustrating calls for service and crimes for Pottstown Police Department. The sky is not falling in Pottstown. This has been occurring in Pottstown my entire career.

To say violent crime has gone down over the past five years is just not true. Violent crime has gradually been going up in Pottstown over the past five years, specifically firearms, said Markovich.

Markovich noted that a majority of the crimes listed on the handout were thefts and that over the last five years, thefts have gone down, explaining the decrease.

He added that those numbers are likely related to incidents about five years ago in which he said the borough experienced a rash of thefts by young teenagers.

Markovich linked those incidents to current gun violence, stating:

About five years ago we had a bunch of young kids breaking into cars, breaking into houses and garages and sheds. We would come in in the morning and find out that 20 vehicles were broken into  what we had was a gang of 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds breaking into cars and houses for thefts. Fast forward five more years, now we have a problem with 17-year-old, 18-year-old and 19-year-old kids shooting people.

The discussion sparked a lot of responses from the community.

While some stated that there needs to be some accountability for the parents of these children, others noted that the problems are multifaceted.

While few younger people were present at the meeting, one 14-year-old addressed the group, reminding attendees that many children struggle at home with parents who are dealing with their own issues and, as a result, may resort to crime as a means of survival or for other reasons.

A lot of us are talking a bout helping the kids and everything but once they go back home, theyre in situations with parents who are addicts or cant read, they cant write. Im not saying they get an excuse for everything but some of them dont know how to come to a meeting or get support for their kid or get their kid the help that they need, said one attendee.

Everyone has said very similar things. We know that there are problems but unfortunately, you cant pinpoint all of the issues and name it as this is the reason, said Katina Bearden, Pottstown School Board vice president. Its a summation of several factors, including mental health, including family issues, including peer pressure. You can have five kids from the same family and not all five are going to turn out the same way.

A few in attendance had suggestions for how police could improve their relationship with residents in the community. While one resident suggested more contact with patrolling officers, such as a knock on the door to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, another posed questions about how to make citizens more aware of positive events happening in the borough.

Markovich added that they will be adding more officers to patrols over the next few months.

One of the common ideas shared among many of the attendees at Thursdays meeting was the need for developing a community relationship with youth.

We as a community have an opportunity right now to engage with the young people in the middle school. Young people need to know that you care about them, look in their eyes and talk to them, said David Charles. Theres students in the middle school that need you to connect with them. They are the now, theyre not the future.

To help kickstart community efforts, several attendees mentioned meetings planned to help improve Pottstown.

For all of you here this evening who are feeling encouraged to become more involved in the community, I want to invite you to our PCA meeting. It stands for Pottstown Community Action. It is being held this upcoming Monday the 6th at 6 p.m. at the Victory Christian Life Center on Washington Avenue. We are working really hard at getting involved at making this community our community, said resident Wendy Cangialosi.

Mayor Stephanie Hendricks also added that they are currently working on implementing a block captain program. The program would designate a person on a neighborhood block who will field issues, questions and help with communication in the borough. The hope is to help the community unite and to provide a person on each block that neighbors can trust.
NEWLIN  To environmentalists, preserving open space from development makes good sense. To economists, doing so makes good dollars and cents.

That is the message that a study commissioned by Chester County officials and completed, with input from a myriad of sources, concluded. That finding was highlighted during Thursdays event here marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the countys open space preservation program.

As part of the summit held at the Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Land Preserve, the county commissioners unveiled the results of the study, Return on Environment: The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Chester County.

The detailed report closely followed a similar survey conducted in 2011 by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Both studies argue that saving land from development has economic, environmental, and public health benefits. Its all not just maintaining pretty views for the tourists, the message is.

A video shown to those attending the event Thursday highlighted those benefits, illustrating that open space preservation has provided the county not only environmental but also financial benefits for the past three decades.

Chester County was the first in the region to formally set aside funds for a rigorous open space preservation program, and has now determined the economic value of the existing open space, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline while speaking to the crowd. Green fields, preserved farms and community parks are more than just pretty places that contribute to our quality of life  they are true assets that generate significant economic value for the county.

According to a county press release about the report, homes in the county are valued at over $11,000 more when they are located within a half-mile of preserved open space, according to the study. In total, its a gain of more than $1.65 billion for the countys homeowners and economy.

Protected open space is a major factor in planned growth of a community and contributes to the positive health of those who live there, Kichline said in the release. In fact, recreational activities on open space account for over $170 million in avoided medical costs every year.

There are also environmental benefits associated with open space preservation. If protected lands were lost to development, the county would need to spend about $97 million a year to replicate vital services such as flood control and air and water pollution mitigation through costly alternative methods, according to the report.

Open space is a big part of the cultural character of Chester County, stated commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone. Chester County conservancies are respected and strong  historically and in numbers. We appreciate all the work that the 11 land trusts in Chester County do to maintain the high quality of life here.

The study also notes that it is less expensive to preserve land than to develop it. Residential development often costs more through community services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance, sewer systems, and new schools. In contrast, farms and protected open space provide more tax revenue for local governments and school districts than they require back in service expenditures.

Open space creates jobs and attracts people who spend in the community. Each year open space accounts for $238 million in spending and $69 million in salaries. Protected farmland puts about $135 million back into the economy each year, and preserved open space accounts for roughly 1,800 jobs in the county, according to the report.

Steps taken by Chester County 30 years ago have more than paid off, noted Commissioner Terence Farrell. The investment is providing a great return and one that is unique to Southeastern Pennsylvania. Its impressive that nearly half  or 45 percent  of all conserved land in this region is in Chester County.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Alex Acosta, still somehow the Secretary of Labor, apparently wants us to believe that, if anything, he pushed too hard in prosecuting sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney generals office, and not because we werent doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive, Acosta told the House Education and Labor Committee in response to questions from Rep. Frederica Wilson.

Really? A federal investigation of Epstein revealed that he had engaged in sex-trafficking and the abuse of dozens of women, many underage. Yet, Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, allowed Epstein to plead to only two state prostitution charges, one involving a minor.

Consequently, Epstein served just 13 months in state prison. He was housed in a private wing at the Palm Beach County jail and allowed work release privileges. Epsteins year of incarceration reportedly included trips to New York and the Virgin Islands.

In addition, a federal judge found that the Epstein plea deal violated the Crime Victims Rights Act because of the decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility. The Department of Justice is currently investigating whether Acostas actions as U.S. attorney amounted to professional misconduct.

If the Epstein prosecution was too aggressive, what would an appropriate prosecution have yielded? An apology from the government and payment of Epsteins attorneys fees?
Advocates of abolishing the death penalty claim that innocent defendants have often been executed. Im not sure whether these advocates have been able to show that this has ever happened in modern times, but a New York Times piece by Nicholas Kristof makes a pretty good case that Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate, is innocent of the murders he was convicted of committing.

Cooper, an African-American, was convicted of murdering four people in 1983. The victims, all White, were a couple, their daughter, and a boy who was sleeping over at the couples house.

The couples son, who survived the attack, told police that the assailants were White. Hairs found in the victims hands seemed to confirm this account. In addition, a woman told police that her White boyfriend, a convicted murderer, was probably involved in the attack. To support this statement, she gave deputies his bloody overalls.

The deputies, says Kristof, threw away the overalls and arrested Cooper. He awaits execution.

Kristofs lengthy article is worth reading in full. I want to focus on the role of Sen. Kamala Harris, a candidate for her Partys presidential nomination, in the long legal battle that followed Coopers conviction.

Readers will recall that Harris was Californias Attorney General before she became a Senator. By the time of her involvement in the Cooper saga, DNA testing had become available for use in cases like this one. The availability of such testing is part of what gives supporters of the death penalty a high degree of confidence that the innocent wont be executed

Harris, though, refused to allow the use of DNA testing in Coopers case. Indeed, according to Kristof, she showed no interest in the case.

Its almost as if Black lives dont matter to Kamala Harris.

Harris did become interested in the case after the online version of Kristofs article appeared. She emailed him to say I feel awful about this.

Harris also put out a statement saying:

My career as a prosecutor was marked by fierce opposition to the death penalty while still upholding the law and a commitment to fixing a broken criminal justice system. Ive long been an advocate for measures to improve and make our system more fair and just. As a firm believer in DNA testing, I hope the governor and the state will allow for such testing in the case of Kevin Cooper.

Harris did not explain why, as a firm believer in DNA testing, she refused to allow it in Coopers case. Nor did she explain why, if shes a fierce opponent of the death penalty, she couldnt be bothered to look into whether a man who faced that penalty was innocent.

As for fixing a broken criminal justice system, a good start would be not electing grandstanding opportunists like Harris to positions as prosecutors.

Harris should feel awful. She is a hypocrite and a disgrace.
Justines family filed a civil lawsuit against former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis Police Officer Matthew Harrity, the Minneapolis Police Chief and the City of Minneapolis in federal court here this past July. On Thursday evening the city settled the case for $20 million, $2 million of which the family will donate to a Minneapolis Foundation fund to fight gun violence in the city, as the Star Tribune puts it in its article on the settlement. The MPR story is here.

The family retained Robert Bennett to bring the civil lawsuit. Bob is Minnesotas go-to attorney in police misconduct and excessive force cases. When I spoke with Bob after he filed the lawsuit this past July for Notes on the Damond Complaint, he told me the use of deadly force in this case was the worst [hes] seen since he took his first such a case in 1980. He paused to do the arithmetic for me: Thats 38 years. That remains true now that its 39 years.

As one might have anticipated from Bobs evaluation of the case, the settlement sets a new city record for the settlement of such cases. It is over four times as large as the citys previous record ($4.5 million). Bob also represented the plaintiff in that case.

Minneapoliss race hustlers are having another field day with the settlement. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could not bring himself to contradict them or say that the size of the settlement reflected the egregious facts of the case. He could not bring himself to deny that race and institutionalized racism in the police department had anything to do with it. At his press conference after the guilty verdict Frey yammered on about historical and ongoing racialized trauma.

Mayor Frey would only allow that the circumstances of this case were unique. He asserted that he could not say whether this was the worst [case] or not. If that is true, however, it is true only in a political sense. See Bob Bennetts July 2018 evaluation of the case quoted above.

The civil case had been stayed on the motion of the city while the criminal case against Noor was pending. It was settled at a previously scheduled mediation. Now that the case has been settled when the stay might have been lifted  I dont know whether it would have continued pending appeal  I think one can reasonably infer the city did not want Bob to conduct discovery in this case. At his own press conference following the settlement, Bob alluded to the policies that had allowed Noor to make it onto the force in the first place.

It occurred to me during the Noors trial that the price the city would pay in the civil case regardless of the outcome in the criminal case represented an especially appropriate form of justice. The citys taxpayers should rightly pay the piper for putting former Mayor Betsy Hodges and her handpicked police chief in positions of authority. That is one way of looking at the resolution of the civil case.
Frances Yellow Vest movement began as a grassroots protest movement with legitimate grievances, especially one over a government tax on fuel. For quite some time, though, the movement has been dominated by assorted thugs, including political extremists and anarchists, who get high on smashing windows and damaging property.

On Wednesday, May Day, the thugs once again took to the street, and not peaceably. In one incident, demonstrators entered the Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital. About 50 of them forced open a locked metal gate at the rear of the hospital and entered the grounds. Some ran up a stairway and tried to enter the intensive care department. Medical staff blocked the door.

Demonstrators claimed they were just trying to escape from the tear gas the police force had used to disperse them. Maybe. But I doubt that anyone needed to burst into the intensive care unit to avoid tear gas. Moreover, if the protesters hadnt thrown chunks of pavement at the police, they wouldnt have had to worry about tear gas and the hospital wouldnt have had to worry about an invasion.

When it was all over, Christophe Castaner, the French Interior Minister, said that protesters had attacked the hospital. The protesters called this fake news, saying that there was no attack, just an attempt to escape from tear gas. They demanded that Castaner resign.

Castaner is a crony of President Macron. Before the Yellow Vest street protests began, I wrote that he is not qualified to be in charge of French internal security. His failure to come to grips with the violent protests has confirmed my view.

However, the controversy over Castaners characterization of events at the hospital seems overblown. Attack or not, the protesters had no business disrupting a hospital. And they have been attacking shops and setting fires for months. If Castaner hurt their feelings, thats tough. They deserve no sympathy.

Castaner, while insisting that the demonstrators are generating fake controversy, has backed off from the word attack. He now describes what happened at the hospital as an intrusion, which it certainly was.

Can everybody go home now?
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Bone Marrow Processing System Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy are usually performed on the back of the hipbone, or posterior iliac crest. An aspirate can also be obtained from the sternum (breastbone). For the sternal aspirate, the patient lies on their back, with a pillow under the shoulder to raise the chest. A trephine biopsy should never be performed on the sternum, due to the risk of injury to blood vessels, lungs or the heart.The need to selectively isolate and concentrate selective cells, such as mononuclear cells, allogeneic cancer cells, T cells and others, is driving the market. Over 30,000 bone marrow transplants occur every year. The explosive growth of stem cells therapies represents the largest growth opportunity for bone marrow processing systems.Europe and North America spearheaded the market as of 2016, by contributing over 74.0% to the overall revenue. Majority of stem cell transplants are conducted in Europe, and it is one of the major factors contributing to the lucrative share in the cell harvesting system market.Get More Information About Bone Marrow Processing System Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3184 In 2016, North America dominated the research landscape as more than 54.0% of stem cell clinical trials were conducted in this region. The region also accounts for the second largest number of stem cell transplantation, which is further driving the demand for harvesting in the region.Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period, owing to rising incidence of chronic diseases and increasing demand for stem cell transplantation along with stem cell-based therapy.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3184 Japan and China are the biggest markets for harvesting systems in Asia Pacific. Emerging countries such as Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa are also expected to report lucrative growth over the forecast period. Growing investment by government bodies on stem cell-based research and increase in aging population can be attributed to the increasing demand for these therapies in these countries.Major players operating in the global bone marrow processing systems market are ThermoGenesis (Cesca Therapeutics inc.), RegenMed Systems Inc., MK Alliance Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG, Harvest Technologies (Terumo BCT), Arthrex, Inc. and othersReport Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/bone-marrow-processing-system-market View More: HEALTHCARE, PHARMACEUTICALS & MEDICAL DEVICESAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
Trends Market Research (TMR) has launched the report titled, Forage Seed Market : Research Analysis, Trends, Competitive Share and Forecasts 2018 - 2025: Trends Market Research.

Forage Seed Market

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The global forage seed market is expected to witness a stable growth during the forecast period. Owing to, increasing demand for forage feed from various agricultural farms and livestock farms the demand for forage seed is expected to increase throughout the forecast period. In addition, increasing number of poultry birds and cattle is also expected to boost the demand for forage feed. Increasing global meat consumption and demand for dairy products are also fueling the demand for forage seed. Livestock farmers in order to improve productivity are focusing on good quality of forage goods in order to meet changing customer requirements. The scope of the global forage seed market also provides an insight into value (USD Million) and volume (Kilo Tons) of forage seeds across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world.Forage feed manufacturers use legumes and grass seeds to plant pastures and hayfields. Based on product types, the forage seed market is categorized into alfalfa, clover, chicory, ryegrass, lablab, and fescue among others. Increasing meat consumption is one of the major factors driving the demand for forage seeds globally. Nowadays, consumers are very health conscious, and they prefer to consume organic food and meat products. To meet consumer requirements, producers are focusing on using high-yielding forage crops for feeding livestock instead of using additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Forage feed producers prefer to avoid additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Owing to these factors, the demand for forage seeds is expected to boost the demand for forage seed in the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3589 In addition, high yielding, forage seeds also help agricultural producers in crop rotation and risk diversification by enhancing the soil quality. These forage seeds are used for feeding livestock including poultry, cattle, swine, and aquaculture animals. Farmers prefer to use forage seeds for feeding purpose, as these are available at lower prices and cultivation of these seeds generates some economic benefits such as crop rotation, risk diversification, and improve soil structure and prevention of soil erosion.The global forage seed market, by livestock type is segmented into  poultry farms, cattle farms, pork or swine farms among others. Due to increasing demand for poultry meat and eggs, poultry farms are focusing on providing good forages to the poultry birds that increases the demand for forage seeds. In addition, the growing dairy industry is further contributing to the growth of forage crops that helps to increase the demand for forage seeds. Increasing livestock size helps to increase the demand for forage seed that are used for animal feeding.Request For Report Table of Contents@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3589 In this report, the market has been segmented into by product type, by livestock type and by geography. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), and supply chain of the forage seed market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2018 - 2025. We have also covered the current market scenario for forage seeds and highlighted its future trends that will affect the demand for forage seed.By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. The present market size and forecast till 2025 have been provided in the report.Geographically, the U.S. in North America is expected to experience robust growth in the coming years followed by France and China in Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. Currently, the market for forage seed in India and China are comparatively smaller as compared to other countries, but the forage seed market is expected to witness a decent growth in forecast period with a high CAGR growth rate.The report also analyzes different factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the forage seed market. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help the agricultural and livestock farmers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their business strategies accordingly.Report Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/forage-seed-market
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Liquid Applied Membranes Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Liquid Applied Membrane (LAM) is a lowly thickness waterproofing film that is employed in the form of a liquid covering to vertical along with horizontal surfaces. The LAM is, in addition, believed as a cutting-edge waterproofing chemical as well as its solid, consistent property, in addition to the ability to comply with each setup is making its need increase in the worldwide construction industry. Utilization of terrible value construction material before, trailed by poor support of the building construction is making a solid market for restoration as well as the repair that may possibly be settled by liquid applied membranes. Around 40-45% of the requirement for LAM originates from restoration and repair ventures. LAMs are additionally effective in lessening splits in the concrete, as a result driving its requirement all over the world.Governments of several emerging and emerged nations have covered the dual requirement for infrastructure evolution together with sustainability and durability. This is boosting the need for green buildings, subsequently bringing forth a strong market prospect for liquid applied membranes. The requirement for enlargement of the infrastructure industry in the emerging economies together with the high center on investment is likely to enhance the expansion of the market all through the years to come. The government is likely to take various activities relating to the sector that is likely to emphatically influence the market. All-inclusive research is being led by the makers with the end goal to create innovative products.The market players have been concentrating on item separation that is probably going to fuel the development over the approaching years.Get More Information About Liquid Applied Membranes Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3186 Expanding usage of bio-based and eco-friendly products is considered to boost the demand all over the years to come.Its properties, for example, environment-friendly nature, low viscosity, as well as low odor are probably going to encourage an expansion in the use of the product in the infrastructure industry. In addition, these have simple application over complex surfaces and are financially savvy when contrasted with waterproofing sheets. The product has a long time span of usability and is anything but difficult to re-apply which is foreseen to fuel the development throughout the following years. Also, LAMs are being favored for enhancing the general structure of industrial, residential as well as commercial buildings. They could be utilized related to high-performance polymers and materials with the end goal to improve their waterproofing properties.In terms of region, Europe and North America were the foremost markets for the product during 2016 on account of encouraging government policies in addition to recovery of the construction sector. Enhancing infrastructure in addition to expanding infrastructural expending combined with increasing disposable income of normal buyers is likely to fuel the market for the liquid applied membrane in North America.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3186 The Asia Pacific regional market is considered to be a standalone of the most attractive markets for liquid applied membrane because of higher economic expansion in China & India. Because of developing urbanization as well as industrialization in emerging nations, for example, China and India, development in the Asia Pacific are likely to be the most noteworthy in the following couple of years.The foremost worldwide market players active in this market comprise Pidilite Industries, Sika AG, BASF SE, Chembond Chemicals, The Dow Chemical Company and Fosroc International. During February 2013, Paul Bauder brought in BauderTEC SPRINT DUO, a novel bitumen waterproofing product with a self-adhesive coating. Likewise, several market players are incorporated all over the value chain that alleviates uninterrupted raw material supply in addition to less production expenditure.Report Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/liquid-applied-membranes-market View More:CHEMICALS & MATERIALSAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
The MTN Group has announced that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, will resume as a member of its board on July 1.

A statement released by the group also said another Nigerian, Aisha Abdulahi, was also appointed as a member of the International Advisory Board whose operations will commence in July.

While Mr Sanusi served as the governor of Nigerias Central Bank, Ms Abdullahi was the former African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs.

According to the statement, the IAB would be chaired by a former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, while a Kenyan national, Vincent Rague, will also join the board.

The Board has resolved to establish an international advisory board of prominent persons of considerable and wide-ranging experience, the group said in the statement.

The primary purpose of the IAB will be to counsel, guide and support the MTN Group from time to time in fulfilling its vision and objective of being one of the premier African corporations with a global footprint in telecommunications, contributing to increased digital inclusion in Africa and the Middle East, a pivotal aspect of the fourth industrial revolution, the statement added.

The group said the restructuring had become necessary in view of recent challenging regulatory environments and competitive trading conditions.

Meanwhile, over the next 12 months, the company said a significant change will see to the stepping down of the Chairman of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, from his position on December 15, 2019. He is expected to facilitate a smooth operation of the board and the establishment of the IAB.

In the meantime, the group said Mcebisi Jonas has been appointed Chairman-designate and would assume the position of Chairman of MTN Group effective December 15.

Similarly, the group said Khotso Mokhele would assume the responsibilities of Lead Independent Director while Alan Harper, Jeff Van Rooyen and Koosum Kaylan would step down from the Board after an orderly transition and handover to incoming directors.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday gave reasons why a civil society group has called for the immediate removal from office of its deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy Directorate, Joseph Nnanna.

The CBN said the call was part of a thicker plot by the immediate past management of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) to get even with Mr Nnanna over his order for a probe of allegations of fraud.

The immediate past management of the bank led by Robert Orya was in office till February 2016.

Since Mr Oryas exit, there have been reports of fraud linked to his management.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently confirm the allegations, as it has not been able to reach the former NEXIM Boss since he left office.

On Thursday, media reports credited to the Awareness for Good Governance Group (AGGG) called for the removal of the CBN deputy governor over allegations of fraud at NEXIM.

The group did not give details of the allegation.

Corruption fighting back

But the CBN, which described the group as faceless, said its call for the removal of Mr Nnanna was nothing, but corruption fighting back.

Mr Nnanna is the Chairman of the Board of NEXIM.

The CBN said in a statement that the call for Mr Nnannas removal might not be unconnected with the forensic audit commissioned by the new Board under his Chairman.

According to the CBN, the audit exposed different levels of procedural abuses by the former management of NEXIM fraught with high level of fraud in the disbursement of the loans.

Findings from sources within the Bank and those close to the audit firm, Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PwC), which conducted the audit, indicated there were several violations of laid down procedures the CBN said.

The CBN said such abuse of procedures increased the risk burden of NEXIM to the extent that its non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to about 91 per cent of loans it granted.

Prior to Mr Nnannas assumption of office as chairman of NEXIM Board in March 2018, the CBN said NPLs of the bank stood at about N48.9 billion out of a total loan portfolio of N53 billion.

This, the CBN noted, negated the corporate governance pursuit of the bank to have NPLs at a maximum level of 10 per cent.

The CBN said following alleged wrong doings by the former company secretary of NEXIM, the audit revealed that about 181 of the 191 loans granted before the assumption of the Nnanna-led Board were non-performing.

The CBN said as many as a third of the documents tendered in respect of the loans did not have supporting or verifiable evidence to justify the loan applications and subsequent disbursements.

That level of fraud within the NEXIM system is perhaps why the CBN is yet to activate the N500 billion Export Stimulation Fund set up to promote non-oil exports in Nigeria, the CBN said.

On its part, the management of NEXIM, in a statement, said allegations of corruption and fraudulent against the Chairman of its Board by protesters last Monday were not only false and misleading, but a mischievous attempt at tarnishing his good reputation.

The allegations are designed to divert attention from an on-going efforts by the Board to address a case of gross mismanagement and poor state of affairs of the Bank under the old management which had since been sacked by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, NEXIM said.

According to NEXIM, prior to the appointment of a new management for NEXIM in April, 2017, it had become almost insolvent with huge non-performing loans.

It said the situation was exacerbated by gross abuse of process, insider related loans and lack of professionalism in loan administration, amongst other issues.

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This led the Bank to commission a forensic audit to establish the true state of affairs before the new management came on board.

With two years of the new management, NEXIM said its fortunes under Mr Nnanna-led Board has changed remarkably for the better, with significant improvement in key prudential ratios.

The Bank is honouring its obligations and is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage two intervention funds, amounting to N550 billion, towards increased support to the non-oil export sector, it said.
Popular Kannywood film actress, Binta Kofar Soro, is dead.

Kofar Soro usually played motherly roles in Kannywood movies. She died on Saturday and has since been buried in Kano.

Kannywood actor and a close ally to the deceased, Nuhu Abdullahi, confirmed the death of the actress to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Abdullah said the Kannywood movie industry is shocked over the demise of the actress.

Hajiya Binta Soron Dinki is one actress that we all like to work with. Her role has always been motherly. Apart from just acting, she is always there to correct you as a mother. The whole Kannywood is mourning, Mr Abdullahi said.

Nigerian actors have changed their social media profile pictures, replacing them with the late actress picture, especially on their Instagram pages.

Rahama Sadau, Ali Nuhu, Fati Mohammed and others wrote short tributes praying for the repose of her soul.
Tonto Dikeh has reacted after the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threatened to sanction her over her continuous outbursts on social media.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga. If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA, Tonto said in response to the threats.

Ifeanyi Dike, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria threatened to sanction the controversial actress if she continues to exhibit bad behaviour, portraying the motion picture industry in a bad light.

This comes as the actress vowed to continue to fight dirty with her ex-husband and father of her son, Olakunle Churchill, because she has no shame.

Speaking to Newstimes Africa on Saturday, Mr Dike was quoted as saying, Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.

Issues like that is private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in a bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions do not speak well of the industry.

We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.

Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.

Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.

Meanwhile Tonto on Friday also revealed the only reason why she might consider getting back with her husband.

She said, Am I hurt? F*ck yes! (dont use me then come out to the world and lie on me. Use me and keep walking. Do I want him back? Even he knows the answer, Only maybe to KILL him( which I will never DO cause my baby gonno Holdup on me + Im better than Murder).
Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has formally declared his intention to vie for the presidency of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Mr Muhammad-Bande made the declaration at a cocktail party attended by world diplomats and delegates in New York on Friday evening.

This came barely eight days after the current UNGA president, Maria Espinosa, announced him as the first candidate for the position.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that election of the president of the 74th UNGA will hold at the UN headquarters on June 4.

In a statement on its website, UNGA said the presidency of the 74th session was zoned to Africa in full respect of the established principle of geographical rotation, among other reasons.

The current president, who is the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, was elected on June 5 and assumed duty on September 18, 2018.

Thus she will step aside on September 17 as the UNGA presidency runs on a one-year tenure

According to the statement, an informal interactive dialogue with Mr Muhammad-Bande is scheduled for May 13, in line with UNGAs resolution 71/323 titled Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly.

At the session, the Nigerian permanent representative will have the opportunity to respond to questions from other stakeholders.

Addressing guests at Fridays event, the candidate pledged to make the organisation stronger and work better for its member states and their citizens.

He said as president of the 74th Session, he would focus on the effective implementation of existing mandates, and make a contribution in all defined follow-up areas.

The candidate promised to promote international peace and security, prevent conflict, strengthen global action to tackle climate change, ensure inclusion, human rights, and the empowerment of youth and women.

He also pledged to ensure that the decisions reached and resolutions passed at the general assembly were implemented for the benefits of citizens.

Mr Muhammad-Bande, who hails from Zagga in present-day Kebbi State, has had an outstanding career as a scholar and diplomat.

He holds M.A in Political Science from Boston University, USA, in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987.

Between January 2000 and February 2004, he was the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco.

CAFRAD is Africas premier institution with responsibility for training and research in public administration and management.

Besides other positions both locally and internationally, he was the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) between 2010 and 2016.

He served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during the 71st session and remains active in several fora, including as Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34); Member, Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, and Chair of the ECOWAS Group (2018-2019).

Mr Muhammad-Bande has also been an assessor for the National Merit Award (Nigeria) and for professorial positions in universities.

He has won merit awards and honours from institutions and governments, including the United States and China.

Most notably, he is a recipient of Nigerias Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of the countrys highest national awards.

(NAN)

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Three separate queries bordering on allegations of travelling without permission, financial impropriety, among others, have been issued to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by the institutions Registrar, Oladejo Azeez.

The registrar acted on the instruction of the chairman of the universitys governing council, Wale Babalakin.

The universitys former Registrar, Taiwo Ipaye, also received three letters of query bordering on similar allegations, while the immediate past vice-chancellor, Rahamon Bello, was also issued one. The immediate past bursar of the university, Lateef Odekunle, and his successor, Lekan Lawal, was also queried.

Others affected in what some stakeholders in the university have tagged; harvest of queries, also include two incumbent deputy vice-chancellors- Folasade Ogunsola and Oluwole Familoni; a former deputy vice-chancellor, Duro Oni; former directors of works, Niyi Ayeye and Adelere Adeniran; head of the universitys procurement unit, James Akanmu; dean of students affairs, Ademola Adeleke; director of academic planning, L.O Chukwu and the director of the institutions foundation programme, Timothy Nubi.

The quartet of Ogundipe, Ogunsola, Familoni and Chukwu are also members of the governing council like the registrar and Mr Babalakin.

But the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has kicked against what it described as the dictatorial action of the council chairman, accusing him of flouting laid down procedures.

ASUU, in its letter to the affected union members, signed by its chairman, Dele Ashiru, said a purported report the council chairman is acting upon is yet to be submitted to the council for deliberation.

This arbitrariness and one man show is repulsive and unacceptable to our union as it smacks of vindictiveness, ASUU said.

Registrar Accuses ASUU Of Double Standard

In his reaction, the registrar, Oladejo Azeez, condemned ASUUs position, saying it shows dishonesty and inconsistency on the part of the union.

Titled; The Need to Tell the Truth, Mr Azeez, in his statement, challenged ASUU to cite specific sections of the institutions law that is flouted by the councils action. It accused the union of telling lies about various issues in the past, saying the union had always been defeated with logical argument and facts of history.

The statement is reproduced below:

The attention of the Registry has been drawn to the circular issued by Dr Dele Ashiru, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Branch, on 2nd May 2019. In the said release, the Union accused the Council of the University of tyranny because Council sought explanation of certain activities and expenditure in the university.

The notice did not identify any specific laws or regulation of the university that was violated by the Council. The office of the Registrar would be glad to receive the specific law or rule of the university that was breached to enable us pass it to Council.

It is noteworthy that on previous occasions within the tenure of this Council, ASUU has issued notices criticizing the Council for taking certain steps, and all these occasions ASUU was not right. For example, when ASUU issued a statement that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. It turned out to be wrong because previous Councils under Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Deacon Gamaliel Onosode had also had similar meetings with the Senate.

Similarly, ASUU issued a statement condemning the non-confirmation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a Distinguished Professor as an unprecedented violation of the academic autonomy of the university. Again, the statement turned out to be very wrong as it is clearly provided in the University of Lagos Act 1967 that the Council is the approving authority for all honours to be conferred by the university.

Wale Babalakin

It is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached/and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council had taken a decision to step down his appointment in plenary is now making a case that the Chairman of Council cannot act for Council outside plenary. A paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency.

We urge ASUU to remember that the University of Lagos is a centre of learning where the pursuit of knowledge is very paramount. There is nothing worse than the tyranny of ignorance.

Vice-Chancellor Queries Registrar

In a swift response and what looks like supremacy battle, the university Vice-Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has queried the authority of the registrar, to issue such a statement without his consent.

Mr Ogundipe, in his internal memo titled; Re: The Need to Tell the Truth: Request for Explanation, accused the registrar of usurping his power, and asked him to provide reasons behind his action.

According to the vice-chancellor, the communication unit of the institutions corporate affairs directorate, through which the information was disseminated, is under the office of the vice-chancellor.

The statement reads in part; In light of the foregoing, you are expected to explain the reason for the publication, bearing in mind Section 3 (1), 6 (1) of the University of Lagos Act (1961), as amended, which states inter alia- There shall be a registrar, who shall be the administrative officer of the university and shall be responsible to the vice-chancellor for the day-to-day administrative work of the university

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The VC also requested the registrar to provide approval for his released memo alongside his response to the query within the next 24 hours.

ASUU Fires Back At Council Chair, Registrar

In a scathing reply to the registrars statement, ASUU attacked both the council chairman and the registrar, describing them as liars.

ASUU said it had never attacked or condemned the council but that it would not allow an individual to usurp the power of the council.

The unions statement is also reproduced below:

The attention of our Union has been drawn to a most disparaging circular titled The Need to Tell the Truth signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq. the University Registrar. Ordinarily, our Union would not have dignified the voice of the Pro-Chancellor in the handwriting of Oladejo Azeez Esq but for the barefaced lies and falsehood characteristic of the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin. For the avoidance of doubt, the said circular indicated that our Union did not identify any specific laws or regulations of the University that was violated by Council. The correct position is that our Union has no problem with the University Council and has never accused it of any wrongdoing. Our grouse is the crude usurpation of Councils powers by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin.

The Registrar also claimed that at previous occasions, ASUU claimed that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. The Registrar should be reminded that Council is not the same as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. Our contention has always been that the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin cannot approximate the Council of the University of Lagos. Furthermore, the mere fact that an illegality has occurred in the past does not mean that it cannot be corrected when such is pointed out. All the fears expressed by this same Dr Ashiru as the said Senate meeting which the Pro-Chancellor shamelessly denied are now manifesting.

For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU is not bothered about whether the stepping down of Professor Olowokudejos appointment was unprecedented. Our unequivocal position is that Councils decision to step down Senate recommendation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a distinguished Professor is obnoxious, draconian and vindictive. It is shocking that the Pro-Chancellor and his puppet Oladejo Azeez Esq can assert that it is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council has taken a decision.. a paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency. This assertion of Oladejo Azeez begs for some questions; was Oladejo Azeez at the meeting where ASUU made this request? What were the circumstances surrounding ASUUs appeal to the Leviathan and tyrannical Pro-Chancellor? What eventually happened to Professor Olowokudejos appointment? At which plenary meeting of Council was Prof, Olowokudejos appointment ratified? Our Union wishes to state categorically that we shall continue to stand against the Pro-Chancellors tyranny and recklessness.

For the incompetent and willing inconsequential tool called Oladejo Azeez, who was smuggled into the office as lame duck Registrar and Secretary to the Pro-Chancellor, he should be reminded that there is a limit to sycophancy and flunkey bootlicking. Oladejo Azeez should get familiar with the function(s) of a seasoned University Registrar and stop deploying the paraphernalia of his esteemed office in the service of a brutish leviathan.

Other Governing Council Members Keep Mum

PREMIUM TIMES Efforts to get the reaction of other members of the universitys governing council have been unsuccessful.

When our reporter called on phone the representative of the Federal Ministry of Education in the council, Anne Haruna, she declined to comment.

She said as a civil servant, she is not expected to speak to journalists.

You know I report to the permanent secretary. So the permanent secretary is in the best position to talk to you, she said.

In a similar development, another council member, Alli Hussein from Katsina State neither picked calls to his mobile line nor replied a text message sent to him as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, on the part of another council member, who was identified simply as Soyombo, a professor, the matter is too sensitive to be discussed on phone.

He said; You know I dont know the identity of who am talking to. So I cannot speak to you on this matter except I see you physically. Thank you.

When PREMIUM TIMES spoke to those who have received copies of their queries too, including the former registrar, former vice-chancellor, among others, they also declined comment. They said they would talk at a time they consider appropriate.
The Nigeria Police have sacked the head of its public complaints unit, a senior official told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Yomi Shogunle, a controversial officer who at times rattled social media users with his posts, was removed from the Police Complaints Response Unit and posted to Ebonyi State.

The assistant commissioner of police was transferred on Friday morning to head the police area command in Nkalagu, Ebonyi State.

He was transferred on Friday morning after the Force Headquarters received too much complaints about his conduct, a police chief told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday afternoon.

Messages about the transfer first spread on social media Saturday morning, eliciting reactions. Many of his critics, however, suggested that only an outright dismissal would be sufficient for Mr Shogunles alleged misconduct.

Mr Shogunle was named as the pioneer head of PCRU after it was created to receive complaints against police officers in late 2015.

The department achieved initial credits by following up on allegations of misconduct against officers.

Social media also played a heavy role in amplifying the units activities and response time. But Mr Shogunle soon found himself consumed by social media distraction. He began to exchange regular insults with citizens online, especially on Twitter.

Some commentators said Mr Shogunles conduct undermined his units successes, and demanded his removal. Several petitions were filed online for his removal, but it seemed the latest one was what eventually did him in.

Amidst outrage over police clampdown on women in Abuja, Mr Shogunle justified the discriminatory arrests in a manner many considered too objectionable.

Since 2017, Mr Shogunle had also faced online scorn for his frequent ridiculing of #ENDSARS, a nationwide campaign to end police brutality. He described the movement, which has helped many citizens obtain justice against errant police officers, as a scam.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Saturday that the Force Headquarters had been observing the controversies being courted by Mr Shogunle, who has been based in Lagos.

We decided it was time to take him out of that important office because he had become an embarrassment, a police chief said. We wish him good luck in Ebonyi.

The senior official, who spoke under anonymity because he was not the polices spokesperson, said Mr Shogunles transfer signal was dispatched on Friday morning.

Police spokesperson Frank Mba could not be reached for comments Saturday afternoon.

Ebonyi police commissioner, Awosola Awotunde, told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday he had not received the signal. Depending on its urgency, a police signal usually take three to four days to reach recipients.

Mr Shogunle, too, did not respond to calls.
The Nigerian Army has said some unpatriotic elements, in collusion with their foreign collaborators, are planning to derail the swearing in of newly elected government on May 29 in order to scuttle the nations democratic process.

Some of these mischievous elements thought that we would not have a safe and successful general elections but were proved wrong, hence they want to derail the scheduled handing over later this month and to scuttle the democratic process in the country, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Musa alleged that the unpatriotic elements plan to do that by causing mischief and exacerbating the security situation in the country in particular and West African sub-region.

He further alleged that the group is making concerted efforts to further induce ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists and bandits with funds and other logistic supports.

Their body language and unguarded utterances seem to be in tandem with above and imply tacit support for the criminals.

For example, credible source has shown that some individuals are hobnobbing with Boko Haram terrorists, while others are deliberately churning falsehood against the security agencies with a view to set the military against the people and the government.

They are also demoralising troops and security agencies through false accusations and fake news, Mr Musa said.

He warned them to desist as the consequences of their intended actions would be calamitous to themselves.

We also noted that foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group, to resurrect, he said.

He, however, expressed confidence in the Federal Governments efforts at sustaining and reinvigorating the MNJTF to continue its good work.

Mr Musa also restated that the Nigerian army would not relent in clearing the visages and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers.

The Nigerian army is a stakeholder in our national security and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

Additionally, we are making this statement because the military, particularly the Nigerian army has always been called upon to intervene in conflict situations in order to resolve crises in most cases when they get worse, while the public expect miracles.

We will like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we are determined more than ever before, to continue to uphold the constitution and defend the territorial integrity of this nation from both external and internal aggression.

Nigeria is a sovereign country with clearly established judicial system, therefore all aggrieved persons and groups should take advantage of that and resolve their differences amicably, he said.

(NAN)
The need for protection of freedom of the press and opinion dominated speeches at an event to mark the 2019 World Press Freedom Day at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Various speakers took turns to decry the growing dangers to press freedom around the world, calling for action against those responsible.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply troubled by the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity targeted at media workers around the world.

Almost 100 journalists were killed in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned, says the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),

This brings to a total of 1,307 the number of journalists killed between 1994 and 2018, according to the organisation.

The UN chief noted that when journalists and other media workers are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price.

Mr Guterres emphasised that a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights.

On the theme of this years commemoration, Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation, he stated that democracy was incomplete without access to transparent and reliable information.

At a time when disinformation and mistrust of the news media is growing, a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights, he said.

In her statement, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), Maria Espinosa, said she was marking the day with a heavy heart, citing the UNESCOs statistics.

Ms Espinosa noted that the media space was shrinking across the world, as restrictive laws and policies are enacted, and media workers and their families are subjected to threats and reprisals.

Women are disproportionately affected, contending with sexist abuse and sexual harassment online, as well as physical sexual violence, including rape. Too often, these attacks go unpunished, she said.

The PGA said that high-quality journalism and diverse media was needed more than ever at a time when extremism, hate speech and lies spread like wildfire.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, said it was important that freedom of opinion was guaranteed through free exchange of ideas and information based on factual truths.

Ms Azoulay said societies that valued a free press needed to be constantly vigilant, adding that nations must act together to protect the freedom of expression and safety of journalists.

The Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists also noted that freedom of expression was indispensable for good governance, informed decision-making, democracy, free and fair electoral processes and accountability of governments.

The event, which featured a panel discussion on the theme of the day, was organised by the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO. (NAN)
An assistant professor at Howard University, Jennifer Thomas, has said the need for focused fact-checking and balanced story-telling with great accuracy has become very important for journalists around the world.

Ms Thomas spoke Friday at a World Press Freedom Day event organised by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Lagos.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Day was themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

My basic advice: be sceptical, consider the source, check the URL, look at the byline and quotes, review the photo. Be a curious journalist  question everything, said Ms Thomas, who teaches at the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film.

Today, there are websites dedicated to separating fact from fiction and even quizzing readers to see how savvy they are at detecting such information.

Even with these measures in place, we know that a tweet can become world headlines before a spellcheck is even conducted and a rant on a blog post may be repeated as a lead story on a newscast, without the news outlet doing its due diligence.

Ms Thomas said disinformation or fake news and the subsequent demonising of the media have created a climate for the news industry synonymous to a thunderstorm.

Add the unpredictability of social media and it becomes the perfect storm. In order to quell this tempest, journalists must ride out the storm and steady the ship through adhering to the fundamental principles of the profession.

In turn, journalism professors must be vigilant at teaching media history, literacy, and ethics while underscoring excitement for the profession. It is a daunting, yet surmountable task.

Ms Thomas noted that while the relationship between the U.S president and the American media had traditionally been a frosty one, the recent verbal attacks had led to increased incidents of intimidation and, sometimes, even violence against journalists by citizens.

Let me be clear  journalists are not the enemy of the people; we are the advocates for the people. Yet, the constant barrage of the term fake news is apparently having an impact on the publics perception of the industry, she said.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Russell Brooks, the U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, said the goal of the U.S. Mission is to promote democracy, to strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria and all over the world.

We believe, as it has been said many times, that the media represents the fourth estate of any democracy. It is crucial that the media play a significant role in holding the other three branches accountable, Mr Brooks said.

Its also been said that the most important element of any democracy is the citizens themselves and their right to vote. And while that is true, for citizens to exercise their votes in a responsible way, in an informed way they need the media to provide them with accurate information that will allow them to do so, to vote in a responsible fashion and ensure that their representatives are serving their needs in the fashion that they wish.

Mr Brooks said the media in Nigeria, the United States, and around the world is under enormous pressure around the world.

Whether its a matter of economic pressure, physical intimidation, violence  some cases have resulted in the media paying the ultimate price, for that reason we deserve to honour them at least once every year.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has begun a 28-million-euro project, sponsored by the Netherlands, to accelerate the fight against child labour in Nigeria and four other African countries.

This was announced by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, on the sideline of a two-day workshop on the project in Abuja on Friday.

The project, Acceleration of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL), was also being carried out in Mali, Malawi, Cote dIvoire, Egypt and Uganda.

The ambassador said the project was a long term one which focuses on the causes of child labour.

Netherlands is financing this project; it is actually a project that is going to be undertaken in five different countries in Africa; Nigeria is one of them.

The total funding for this project from the Netherlands for these five countries is 28 million euros.

It is a long-term project and is expected to take at least five years to reach the results that are expected.

We think that a child should have the opportunity to go to school, to be a child but we also understand, we had the same situation in Europe two centuries ago, that it is not just child labour.

It has to do with the whole of the economy, with the social situation, the economic situation of the parents and so forth, she said.

She said that ILO was trusted by the government of Netherlands to facilitate the project in African countries.

It is a complicated project; that is why we are happy that the ILO is taking this up. They have a good track record on joining employers, employees and state authorities to work together, she said.

Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, said the organisation had been working with the federal government to develop a policy on child labour.

Mr Zulu explained that the project would focus on the supply chains in cocoa and mining in the country and work with local authorities to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Now this project which is kindly being supported with funding from the Netherlands government will be looking at the supply chain in cocoa and artisanal mining.

This is because those are some of the supply chains where there is quite a high level of child labour.

So basically, the project will work with the local communities and support the provision of alternative livelihoods.

It will also withdraw children from child labour and support them by placement in schools.

So we will be working with local authorities and local governments to see how the children who are withdrawn from child labour can be placed in schools, providing some means of support to the families.

It is really working in a number of areas to ensure that Nigeria works towards the achievement of the SDG goals by 2030, he said.

The director added that the ILO was working with stakeholders to ensure opportunities of child labour in the cocoa and mining production processes were reduced or possibly eliminated.

We are trying to work with the communities to educate them but also to ensure that those who depend on child labour families are given alternative livelihoods so that they do not rely on children.

We are working with different stakeholders from the local communities we are working in and we will build the capacities of these stakeholders including law enforcement agencies and the communities where the children come from.

Addressing journalists, ILO Chief Technical Adviser, ACCEL Africa, Minoru Agasawara, said the project would work with stakeholders according to the priorities identified in the different countries.

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We are looking at legal framework, policy framework, capacity building, awareness raising, community mobilisation and also working with employers.

In addition to the employers and workers organisation, we also have the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ministry of Mines because they are working in the artisanal mine area in Niger State and Ministry of Agriculture because they are working in the supply chain of the cocoa in Ondo, she said.

The project is a four-year one, starting from November 2018 and would end in October 2022.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has released the statement below, detailing modalities for the sighting of the new moon to signal the commencement of this years Ramadan fast.

The statement also detailed the contact telephone and email addresses of 30 personalities across the country that should be contacted by anyone who sights the new crescent.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General (Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad) enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH.

If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

See full statement and contact details of the personalities below

FELICITATION AND MOONSIGHTING FOR RAMADAN 1440 A.H.

The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. present at his home), he must observe fasting that month (Q. Al-Baqarah 2:185)

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, felicitates with the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming Ramadan, 1440 A.H. The Council prays that Allah spare our lives to this and many more Ramadan on the surface of the earth and give us the ability to carry out good deeds as much as possible in the Month because of the multiple abilities of its virtues and the blessings of Allah.

In the same vein the Council hereby beseeches all Muslims to be prayerful unto Allah, especially in the Month (Ramadan), to help our Nation in general and our leaders in particular to be able to overcome, once and for all, the seemingly intractable security challenges as epitomized in the Boko Haram insurgency and the upsurge of armed banditry, kidnapping and related crimes.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

In addition to the established and traditional Islamic leaders in each locality, members of the (NMSC) who can be contacted for information and clarification are as follows:

S/N NAME PHONE NO. E-MAIL 1 Sheikh Dahir Bauchi 08036121311 Sayyadibashir26@yahoo.com 2 Sheikh Karibullah Kabara 08035537382 malamkabara@yahoo.com 3 Mal. Simwal Usman Jibrin 08033140010 simwaljibril@yahoo.com 4 Sheikh Salihu Yaaqub 07032558231 Salihumy11@hotmail.com.com 5 Mal. Jafar Abubakar 08020878075 Jaafaraa1434@gmail.com 6 Alh. Abdullahi Umar 08037020607 waziringwandu@yahoo.com 7 Prof. J.M. Kaura 08067050641 Jmkaura56@yahoo.com 8 Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar 08036509363 Baumar277@gmail.com 9 Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory 08023126335 habibelilory@ymail.com 10 Malam Nurudeen Ibrahim 08027091623 Nurudeen.a.o.ibrahim@gmail.com 11 Muhammad Rabiu Salahudeen 08035740333 muhammadrabiusalahudeen@gmail.com 12 Sheikh Abdur-Razzaq Ishola 08023864448 08051111063 hustaz@yahoo.com sheikh@al@abrartravels.com 13 Sheikh Abdur Rasheed Mayaleke 08035050804 jentleasad@yahoo.com 14 Dr. Ganiy I. Agbaje 08028327463 08057752980 Ganiy.agbaje@nasrda.gov.ng gagbaje@yahoo.co.uk 15 Gafar M. Kuforiji 08033545208 kuforijiabdulwasiu@gmail.com 16 Prof. Usman El-Nafaty 08062870892 elnafaty@gmail.com 17 Mal. Ibrahim Zubairu Salisu 08038522693 zubairusalisu@yahoo.com 18 Dr. Usman Hayatu Dukku 0805 7041968 udukku@yahoo.com 19 Imam Manu Muhammad 08036999841 limaminmisau@gmail.com 20 Qadee Ahamad Bobboy 08035914285 adamawaemiratecouncil@yahoo.com 21 Prof. Z. I. Oboh Oseni 08033574431 oseni@unilorin.edu.ng wazzioseni@gmail.com 22 Nurudeen Asunogie D. 08033533012 hamdallah1999@yahoo.com 23 Sheikh Bala Lau 08037008805 08052426880 balalaujibwisnigeria@gmail.com 24 Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir 08065687545 ustaznasirabdulmuhyi@yahoo.com 25 Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad 08023141752 aahmadimam@yahoo.co.uk 26 Muhammad Yaseen Qamarud-Deen 08055322087 crescentgroup2000@gmail.com 27 Sheikh Lukman Abdallah 08052242252 abuyatamaa@gmail.com 28 Sheikh Sulaiman Gumi 08033139153 ssgummi@gmail.com 29 Sheikh Adam Idoko 08036759892 imamidoko@gmail.com 30 Alh. Yusuf Nwoha 08030966956 08026032997 yusufnwoha@gmail.com

We wish all Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts all over the world happy Ramadan in advance.

Allahuma Baligna Ramadan! Amin

Signed

Prof. Salisu Shehu

Deputy Secretary-General

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
Days after his return from vacation, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has not been seen in public, sparking a heated debate over his health status.

The governor has avoided public appearances, and people were reportedly barred from taking his pictures at the airport when he arrived on Tuesday after many weeks of holiday. Up till now, no picture of the governor returning to the state has been made public.

The governor has also cancelled many public engagements since he arrived.

Rumours

There are rumours that the governor is ill. This could not be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES.

The governor has been avoiding public appearances and engagements since his controversial return to the state. We wanted to receive him at the airport but we were barred, but nevertheless, we wish him quick recovery, said a senior public servant, who requested not to be named.

Hundreds of workers who converged on the Jolly Nyame stadium for the workers day celebration were disappointed as the governor did not show up.

The governor is also yet to meet with the striking lecturers of the state university, though his aides had earlier assured that the governor would ensure university students return to the classroom, 24 hours after his return from vacation.

Our hope is dashed, because we were assured by the governors aides sometime last week, that as soon he arrived, His Excellency Governor Darius will meet with our leaders but we are yet to hear anything, said a lecturer who does not want to be named as well.

Sources said a traditional chief, who sought an audience with the governor, was not allowed after waiting for hours at the government house, Wednesday evening.

An online newspaper in the state, Taraba Truth and Facts had earlier reported that even the deputy governor, Haruna Manu, is yet to meet his boss since his arrival.

Manu has been making several calls to some of the governors aides and top members of his kitchen cabinet who told him the governor needs some rest after a long flight back to the country.

Another close watcher of event in the government house Jalingo told our reporter that the governors return from vacation was shrouded in secrecy, only few politicians were carried along, in fact his deputy was informed of his coming, but was not at the airport to receive him, the medium quoted a source.

The deputy governor did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone seeking comments.

But, an aide of the deputy governor, who did not want to be quoted as he did not have the permission of his principal to speak, said his boss met the governor yesterday. He did not disclose further details.

Governor full of life

The governors aide on political matters, Abubakar Bawa, dismissed rumours of his principals ill-health.

There is no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds in the state and beyond that Gov. Ishaku is either sick or dead, Mr Bawa said.

His Excellency is healthy, energetic and full of life, going about his official duties for the betterment of the state. I wonder why political detractors and enemies of progress would want him dead.

It is obvious that the Almighty God will give the Governor long life and good health to continue to serve as a pillar of support to his people, he said.

But when pressed further on the governors absence from public functions, he said: Must he be at all events? He is being represented by his deputy. During the workers day, he was represented by the deputy, so why must you people ask for his public appearance? I think some are out for mischief, he said.

Abigel Tor, a resident in the statem said it is unfortunate that politicians forget that holding public office means you are the peoples servant.

We are all human and can be sick, there is nothing to hide about it. If he is not feeling fine, we wish quick recovery but the people should be carried along so that they can all join in praying for him, he is our governor, she said.

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A public commentator, Musa Maraneyo, recalled how former Governor Suntais associates held Taraba to ransom for three years while he was sick.

On August 25, 2013, 10 months after his medical trip abroad, Suntai returned amidst reports that he could not talk, he said.

He was carried out of the plane by his aides because he clearly could not walk at the time. Umar, his deputy, was blocked from receiving him in Jalingo. Still, the people around him all claimed he was fit to return to his duty post. In fact, one even said at the airport that Suntai was mentally alert and lucid.

While we pray for his speedy recovery, we should also avoid a repeat of Suntais saga, he said.
The management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report which detailed the complaints of students on a shortage of toilets.

This newspaper reported how students decried the absence of clean and adequate toilets on their campus.

Many of them said they now resort to open defecation and in places where there are toilets, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that these are not well managed.

Some female students also narrated the difficulties they face during their menstrual circles.

Last week, the universitys Dean of Students Affairs, Wole Adebayo told PREMIUM TIMES he could not confirm whether there are toilets or not on campus for students use except he reaches out to the work department of the institution.

University Officially Reacts

Following the report, the Head of Information & Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, in a statement on Friday said there are seven blocks of toilets constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use.

For the information of the general public, seven blocks of toilets had been constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use. One block of toilet contains ten toilets each, with five allocated to male students, while the other five were allocated to female students.

These toilets are strategically located for easy access by the students and measures put in place for their regular maintenance. For the avoidance of doubt, these toilets are located in the Faculty of Engineering, Directorate of GST (beside the main library), Directorate of Continuing Education Programme and the University Health Centre.

Mr Olofinmuagun also said that the University, under the present leadership of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Olubunmi Ajayi, takes the welfare of both staff and students as priority and would ensure that nothing erodes its enviable track records that it has over the years.

Students Kick

Reacting to the university defence, a student of the university, Israel Paul told our correspondent the toilets are locked down and not in use.

Another student in the Faculty of Engineering, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that dysfunctional toilets cannot be count(Ed) as toilets.

Seven dysfunctional toilets! I could recall, as a fresher, that every fresh student who went for Urinalysis was given a test-tube for urine and asked to go to the back of the building (bush) and do their thing. A toilet is a decent and reasonable place to carry out such an act.

Also, Durotimi Aribisala, the President of Association of Campus Journalists, in EKSU said: The one opposite the security operations unit is not working. They just built it and abandoned. I pass through that side every day but I have never seen anyone making use of it. As far as I could remember, those toilets had been built during the time of the former VC, Prof Oye Bamidele and since then we havent seen or heard anything about again.
MAYS LANDING  An Egg Harbor Township man linked to the April Kauffman murder trial may face a year less one day in prison after pleading guilty to witness tampering, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced Friday.

John Kachbalian, 55, exchanged his plea for a recommended sentence of probation conditioned upon a 364-day sentence in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, a statement said.

Kachbalian, a retired Pagans motorcycle club member known as Egyptian, was arrested Aug. 30, 2018, following an investigation by the Prosecutors Office Major Crime Unit and a search warrant executed at his Spray Avenue home. He was charged with witness tampering, invasion of privacy and cyberharassment after posting on social media a seminude photo of one of the witnesses, purported to be Beverly Augello, and calling her a lying rat, as previously reported by The Press.

Kachbalian was held in the jail but granted release in October due to health issues. He was ordered by Judge Bernard DeLury to return to his home in Egg Harbor Township with a 24-hour curfew.
As the primaries approached, one Democrat after another announced campaigns for president. Most were senators. Some were governors. One came from a university town in Indiana. They spoke of a need to clean up an executive branch they said was riddled with corruption.

No, this isn't a description of the 2020 campaign. It was 1976 - the most crowded Democratic presidential field in modern American history, until the current election cycle, which boasts 21.

And, despite worries about a bruising intraparty battle, the little-known peanut farmer who won the primaries also won the White House. His name was Jimmy Carter.

How many Democratic candidates were there in 1976? One historian put the number at 17, though it depends on how you count them. Let's just say the race was remarkably fluid right up until to the last primary.

The first to announce was Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona in late November of 1974, almost a full two years before the election. The longtime congressman came from a famous political dynasty. (Four generations of Udalls have served in various elected offices across the American West.)
ATLANTIC CITY  Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White grew up here, rented his first apartment and bought his first home here.

But in 1998, he moved his family to Galloway Township, he said.

It was nothing to do with the city. Thats a part of me, said White, who still has many family members here, thinks highly of Atlantic City High School and spends virtually every day of the week here. We wanted a bigger home and yard, when the kids were little.

You can get more house and property for your money on the mainland, he said.

Two of his three grown sons have purchased homes in the city and live there. One is a teacher, the other a police officer, White said.

He would like to see more home ownership in the city because of the stability it brings.

Any time you can bring more middle class families back to the city, it helps, said White.

Low home ownership rates are associated with poverty, social problems and a lack of engagement with the community. In Atlantic City, where only one out of four homes are owner-occupied, increasing the level of home ownership is vital to the success of both the city and the county.

One of the fatal flaws is Atlantic Citys atrociously low percentage of people living in a unit they own, said 6th Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, a Republican who grew up and still lives in Chelsea.

A healthy neighborhood should have a mean of about 65 percent owner- occupied housing, Kurtz said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2013 to 2017, only 26 percent of homes in Atlantic City were owner-occupied, compared with 67 percent countywide and 64 percent statewide and nationwide.

Kurtz, a member of the citys Housing Authority board, would like to see the city increase its home ownership program and set a goal to get the city up to 40 percent owner-occupied housing in the next 10 years and 50 percent longer term.

Such an effort could go hand-in-hand with raising the number of residents here from the current 39,000 to about 50,000 over the next decade, as suggested by Mayor Frank Gilliam and others.

When people dont own where they live, there is a lack of investment in the city, Kurtz said.

That has played out in Atlantic City, where residents have not cared over the years about how public money has been spent.

Fiscal responsibility is the new hobby in town, whereas it should just be a part of the life of the town, said Kurtz.

The simple fact that some people prefer a more suburban lifestyle, like Chief White, has meant many successful people have left the city.

That has left a disproportionate number of poor living here, leaving the prospects of owning a home remote.

More than 40 percent of the citys population is poor, compared to 14.4 percent in Atlantic County and 10 percent statewide, according to 2018 U.S. Census figures.

A rate of 40 percent or above puts it into the category of extreme poverty, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Communities where poverty is so highly concentrated are associated with disadvantages for households living there over and above those disadvantages that might be expected because of the households limited resources, according to a 2009 Federal Reserve study on Atlantic City.

Those disadvantages include growing up with few positive role models, a poor quality of public services, and more.

The federal government defines poverty as an income of $25,465 for a family of four; or $17,242 for a single person under age 65.

A lot of (poor or modest income) people have problems it will take time to work out, said Mosheh Math of Home Initiatives Inc., a nonprofit that runs home ownership classes in Atlantic City. They need to get their credit score up, and do all the things to qualify for home ownership.

James Sonny McCullough recently moved back to the Chelsea section of the city from the Seaview Harbor section of Egg Harbor Township. He had a large home on the bay overlooking Longport, along with a $34,000 property tax bill.

Now, he has a bedroom condo high up at the Ocean Club, pays $7,000 a year in property taxes, plus a condo fee of $850 a month.

His southeast-facing balcony looks out at the ocean, the shuttered Atlantic Club and over to Bader Field. His unit is so high, he can read the faint outline of the name of Atlantic Clubs earlier incarnation as the Hilton casino at its very top.

But McCullough, a longtime mayor of Egg Harbor Township before stepping down last year, has no illusions about the difficulties ahead for the city and how that may discourage people from choosing to live here.

His reasons were varied. His wife Georgene (McCabe) grew up in Chelsea, he said, and wanted to be close to the beach and Boardwalk. His roots are deep here. His grandfather Anthony Ruffu was mayor when Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall opened in 1929.

I moved back because I care for city, said McCullough.

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Press Meteorologist Joe Martucci will be the featured guest at the New Jersey Coastal Coalitions weekly Tidal Flooding Talk broadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.

The Facebook Live event will take place at the Irish Pub on St. James Place in Atlantic City. Previous Press Meteorologist and current meteorologist for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dan Skeldon will host the talk alongside Palma Accardi, technical assistant construction official in Margate.

As Fall weather settles into South Jersey, Joe will answer any weather questions on your mind and talk with Dan and Palma about the upcoming winter.

The New Jersey Coastal Coalition is a nonprofit that seeks to build more resilient communities at the Jersey Shore by developing policies and practices that will anticipate future concerns and to create solutions to be shared by all participants. The group includes county offices of emergency management and local governments.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




PHNOM PENH, April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - "The rule of law and human rights are two sides of the same principle: the freedom to live in dignity" (United Nations). It is with dignity and with respect for the rule of law that the Asian Vision Institute invites you to take note of how Cambodia continues to evolve in the area of human rights.

In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords brought an end to decades of strife and ushered in what is referred to as a "negative peace" - the absence of armed struggle. In 1998, a full and lasting positive peace came to pass under the "win-win" policy of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia has since sought to focus on the future, to build state institutions and social cohesion and to adopt alternatives to violence based on the culture of dialogue and national reconciliation. Landmine and weapons reduction campaigns and conflict resolution programs are prime examples of these efforts. In addition to being one of the founders of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre, Cambodia has actively participated in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and demining operations. Some 6,000 Cambodian peacekeepers have been deployed in many parts of the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cambodia's liberation from the brutal genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge. This came in the wake of several years of brinkmanship by foreign powers. Forces once hailed as heroes became enemies overnight and a battered nation sought peace and stability. In 1979, it was with an unshakable resolve that the government of this nation committed to protecting its citizens from armed struggles and crimes against humanity.

Respect for this most basic of human rights and all others, remains a priority for Cambodia. Our nation is a party to eight core UN human rights treaties and is the only country in Asia to host a field office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nearly 80 percent of recommendations from the "Universal Periodic Review" of human rights records were accepted by Cambodia, following its most recent review cycle. The Cambodian Human Rights Committee disseminated these recommendations among relevant ministries and institutions and prepared an implementation report for the next review cycle.

With respect to labour and trade union rights and freedom of assembly and association, Cambodian garment workers, for example, are very well represented via some 2,500 unions present in about 1,000 factories. A national committee for review of international labour conventions and the Ministry of Labour have consulted with stakeholders to improve trade union laws. More than 80 percent of Cambodian exports originate with the textile, garment and footwear industries, where wages have more than doubled since 2013. These wages are untaxed, as are non-salary allowances and benefits. Employers contribute to the National Social Security Fund which provides for maternity leave benefits, workplace insurance and health care. A pension for workers in the garment sector will come into effect later this year and a similar program will be expanded to other sectors.

With respect to freedom of the press, Cambodians have access to 439 newspapers, 194 magazines, 20 bulletins, 171 news websites, 48 online TV channels, 40 press associations, 21 foreign news agencies, 83 radio stations, 137 provincial radio stations, 19 analogue TV stations, 8 digital TV stations and 210 provincial cable TV stations. Cambodians also enjoy freedom of expression via a variety of social media.

With respect to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Cambodia hosts one of the higher numbers of aid organizations per capita in the world. More than 5,000 NGOs operate in the country and provide social and economic development and environmental protection aid in accordance with applicable rules and norms. These NGOs operate freely and exercise their rights to play a complementary role in national socio-economic development, climate change adaptation and environmental governance.

Cambodia is home to the largest youth and adolescent population in Southeast Asia; "bamboo shoots" as they are called. "Youth for Peace" and the "Alliance for Conflict Transformation" are examples of initiatives that are designed to help a new generation to move forward.

The national election in July of 2018 was conducted in a free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner. Twenty political parties were in the running. Despite a call for boycott, a significant majority of registered voters expressed their will to see this nation remain on a staunch path of peace, stability and progress. As in any democracy, those who would violate the rule of law are subject to prosecution and they may defend themselves in keeping with their rights as guaranteed under the constitution.

Private land governance in Cambodia is in gradual recovery. Policy and legal frameworks are being refined in accordance with individual rights and land use guidelines. Efforts are being made to curb illegal occupation of land by those who would seek to pervert regulations for their gain. Pending disputes are being reviewed and addressed. Nationwide land registration procedures are to be completed by 2021. Concession procedures are in place to allocate acreage to the land poor for residential settlement and / or family farming. Communal land registration programs for indigenous communities and affordable housing projects are underway.

This is but a sampling of the measures that the Royal Government of Cambodia has put in place to promote and to improve human rights on its soil. These achievements derive from mutual respect for authority, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We firmly believe that concerted constructive engagement among stakeholders and government is the most viable option for strengthening and sustaining a foundation for peace, harmony, democracy and prosperity.

The Asian Vision Institute (AVI) https://www.asianvision.org/ is an independent think tank based in Cambodia.

SOURCE The Asian Vision Institute (AVI)

Related Links

https://www.asianvision.org/


HOUSTON, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), today announced that KIPIC has awarded McDermott a technology contract for the basic engineering, technology license and catalyst for an integrated Low Pressure Recovery (LPR) and Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) unit at KIPIC's Petrochemical Refinery Integration Project (PRIZe) in Al Zour, Kuwait. Once complete, this unit will produce 330,000 metric tons per annum of polymer grade propylene using refinery by-product streams.

"This award marks the 50th OCT unit that Lummus Technology has licensed, and we are honored to celebrate this milestone with KIPIC," said Leon de Bruyn, Senior Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "This is a significant achievement that highlights the trust that our customers have in our industry-leading technologies."

The Petrochemical Refinery Integration project (PRIZe) will add a gasoline block, an aromatics block, OCT unit, polypropylene units, associated utility and offsite facilities to the existing refinery site. The new units will be closely integrated with the ZOR Refinery and LNGI projects which will be operated as an integrated facility once complete.

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

About KIPIC

Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) is responsible for operating and managing the integrated complex for refining, petrochemicals manufacture businesses and liquefied natural gas import facilities at Al-Zour complex which is located about 70km south of Kuwait City. KIPIC planning to implement a world scale petrochemicals and gasoline manufacturing facility adjacent to the Al Zour refinery and LNG import facilities which are currently under construction.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 32,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about backlog, to the extent backlog may be viewed as an indicator of future revenues or profitability, and the expected value and scope of the award discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit markets, our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog, changes in project design or schedules, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties, changes in industry norms and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Scott Lamb

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 832 513 1068

[email protected]

Global Media Relations

Gentry Brann

Global Vice President, Communications

+1 281 870 5269

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mcdermott.com/


Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent. Funds raised through the event support PanCAN's critical pancreatic cancer research as well as its services and resources for patients and caregivers.

Trebek, who announced his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis in early March, inspired the crowd of survivors, caregivers and advocates when he took the stage during the event's opening ceremonies. "What we have heard from today's speakers is that there is always hope. I have now been a cancer survivor for sixty days and my hope is that I get to match their accomplishments."

Trebek was joined by a contingency of close to 200 family, friends and staff from his TV game show "Jeopardy!" as well as "Wheel of Fortune." Editorial Supervisor Michele Loud of "Jeopardy!", along with Supervising Producer Rocky Schmidt and Executive Producer Harry Friedman, created "Team Alex" for PurpleStride Los Angeles to raise money for PanCAN and to support their friend Trebek. "Team Alex" quickly became the No. 1 friends & family fundraising team for PurpleStride Los Angeles. To date, "Team Alex" has raised nearly $60,000.

"Alex is family to us," Friedman said. "Our goal was to raise $35,000 to symbolize the 35 years that Alex has been the greatest host of the greatest quiz show on television. And to quote him again, 'We will get it done!' Please help us continue to raise money to fight this disease."

Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN, praised Trebek's positive attitude and his decision to be on hand to personally address the crowd. "Pancreatic cancer does not discriminate. Having Alex here today gives survivors so much strength and positivity and will undoubtedly greatly amplify our urgent call to raise money for critical research on early detection and for better treatment options."

Since 2003, PanCAN has invested more than $56 million in research, led the effort to pass the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, created a grassroots army with 60 affiliates across the country, and is on track to launch its own clinical trial that will more quickly and more efficiently improve treatment options for patients.

"We have made tremendous progress since my own father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 20 years ago," Fleshman added. "There is hope for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

PurpleStride Los Angeles participants enjoyed the 2.2-mile walk throughout the Los Angeles Zoo. CBS2 This Morning co-anchor Suzanne Marques and Los Angeles Kings Radio Commentator Daryl Evans served as co-emcees for the event.

PurpleStride Los Angeles was supported by national presenting sponsor Celgene , presenting sponsor Kathryn Naficy Pancreatic Foundation, national gold sponsors AbbVie and Ipsen , gold sponsors Cedars-Sinai, Halozyme, Harry's Berries and Pom & Associates, gold media sponsor CBS2/KCAL9, and silver sponsors Crescent Capital Group and Cancer Care Institute.

To make a donation, visit pancan.org/teamalex.

To learn more about PanCAN and its signature walk PurpleStride, watch the PurpleStride PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfqCmz_4uY&feature=youtu.beand the History of PanCAN. Follow PanCAN on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is dedicated to fighting the world's toughest cancer. In our urgent mission to save lives, we attack pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy. Our effort is amplified by a nationwide network of grassroots support. We are determined to improve patient outcomes today and to double pancreatic cancer survival.

Media Contact:

Julie Vasquez

Public Relations Manager

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Direct: 310-706-3311

Cell: 310-697-9129

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Related Links

http://www.pancan.org


SAO PAULO, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, a corporation (sociedade anonima) duly organized under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), today announced the expiration and results of its offer to purchase for cash (the " Tender Offer ") any and all of its outstanding 4.750% Notes due 2024 (the " Notes "), guaranteed by Votorantim S.A. (f/k/a Votorantim Industrial S.A.).

As set forth in the Company's Offer to Purchase, dated April 26, 2019 (the " Offer to Purchase ") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (together, the " Offer Documents "), the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2019 (the " Expiration Deadline ").

According to information received by D.F. King, the information and tender agent for the Tender Offer, as of the Expiration Deadline, holders of the Notes had validly tendered and not validly withdrawn $263,021,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes (representing approximately 65.8% of the outstanding Notes).

Holders who (i) validly tendered their Notes and did not validly withdraw on or before the Expiration Deadline or (ii) delivered a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and all of the other required documents on or before the Expiration Deadline and tender their Notes prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 7, 2019, will receive for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted by the Company, a cash payment of U.S.$1,040.00 (the " Tender Offer Consideration "). The Tender Offer Consideration and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes accepted for purchase (including those tendered through the guaranteed delivery procedures) from the last interest payment date of the Notes up to but excluding the settlement date will be paid in cash on the settlement date, which is currently anticipated to be May 10, 2019.

The Company retained Banco Bradesco BBI S.A. (" Bradesco BBI "), HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (" HSBC ") and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (" J.P. Morgan ") to act as dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") in connection with the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to Bradesco BBI at +1 (646) 432-6643 (collect); HSBC at +1 (212) 525-5552 (collect) and +1 (888) 478-8456 (toll free); and J.P. Morgan at +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect) and +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll free).

Neither the Offer Documents nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer Documents or any related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase. The Tender Offer was made solely pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Company made the Tender Offer only in those jurisdictions where it was legal to do so. The Tender Offer was not made to, nor did the Company accept tenders of Notes from holders in any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdiction.

NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company and its affiliates that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to the Company's management, the Company cannot guarantee future results or events. The Company expressly disclaims a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
"Chris has a lot of talent, and he looks great the past two competitions that I've seen him at. I saw him at the Governor's Cup and again at the LA Grand Prix, and I could see how much a competitor he was, and that he had what it takes to make it big in this field," said Whitaker following a recent photoshoot outside Boston. "I am definitely looking forward to his next competition in San Antonio this summer."
Washington, May 4 : US President Donald Trump has said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an hour-long call, covering issues including the "Russian Hoax".

"Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin," the US President tweeted, the BBC reported on Friday.

Trump rebuked a reporter who asked whether he had warned Putin against meddling in the 2020 elections.

It was their first conversation since the Mueller report cleared Trump of colluding with Russia on the 2016 vote.

The Kremlin confirmed in a statement the two had spoken, saying the call had been initiated by the White House.

Trump and Putin last spoke informally at last December's G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, after Trump cancelled the two leaders' official meeting.

Trump tweeted on Friday about their latest conversation: "As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing not a bad thing."

When asked in the White House on Friday whether he had warned Putin that Moscow should not interfere in the next US presidential election, Trump told the reporter she was "very rude".

"We didn't discuss that," he said.

"Getting along with countries is a good thing and we want to have good relations with everybody."

But the White House said the matter of alleged Russian meddling had been broached in the call.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Very, very briefly it was discussed, essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place."

Sanders also said Trump and Putin had briefly discussed the investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The White House press secretary described the call as an "overall positive conversation".

A redacted version of the special counsel's report was made public last month. It did not determine that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, but it detailed repeated efforts by Trump to thwart an investigation he feared would end his presidency.

Mueller concluded his inquiry could not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice, noting Department of Justice guidance that a sitting president cannot be criminally charged.
Seoul, May 4 : North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.
Bangkok, May 4 : Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Watch Cyclone Fani hits West Bengal to continue further north east:

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone is about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people affected by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said.

"What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

-- With inputs from IANS
Mohali, May 4 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chasing 184, KKR rode on the unbeaten half century from Shubhman Gill as they easily crossed the line with 12 balls to spare at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night.

Gill, who opened the batting with Chris Lynn, remained unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls, his innings laced with five fours and two sixes.

After the match, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik praised the 19-year-old, saying the Punjab batsman, who has been promoted to open in the innings in place of Sunil Narine in recent matches, has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.
History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)
Brasilia, May 4 : Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.
Mohali, May 4 : Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.
Mumbai, May 4 : "Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.
Miami, May 4 : At least 21 people were injured after a Boeing 737 charter jet arriving at a naval air station in Florida from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off the runway into a river, authorities said.

All of the 136 passengers and seven crew members had been rescued by early Saturday morning, a Navy spokeswoman said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the plane had never been submerged. Photos showed it floating on the St. Johns River, The New York Times reported.

The accident occurred at about 9.40 p.m. on Friday as the pilot attempted to land the jet at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville amid thunder and heavy rains.

"I think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael P. Connor, the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at a news conference early Saturday. "We could be talking about a different story."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the White House had called to offer its assistance.

The flight was operated by Miami Air International, a charter company that shuttles military service members from the base in Guantanamo Bay to naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia.

The flights run every Friday and every other Tuesday, said Susan Brink, a Navy spokeswoman.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to start an inquiry. Boeing said it also was investigating, but did not provide any other details.

Friday night's accident comes as Boeing has been under intense scrutiny following two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX jet within months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March of this year.

The two accidents killed a total of 346 people and led to a global grounding of the aircraft.
Washington, May 4 : After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.
San Francisco, May 4 : Hackers have hit open source software development platform GitHub, removing code repositories and asking ransom from developers in order to restore their source codes.

According to a report in ZDnet late on Friday, hundreds of developers have had their source code repositories wiped and replaced with a ransom demand on Microsoft-owned GitHub.

"What is known is that the hacker removes all source code and recent commits from victims' Git repositories, and leaves a ransom note behind that asks for a payment in Bitcoins," the report added.

The hackers claim all source code has been downloaded and stored on one of their servers.

"To recover your lost code and avoid leaking it: Send us 0.1 Bitcoin (BTC) to our Bitcoin address and contact us by email at admin@gitsbackup.com with your Git login and a proof of payment," read the ransom message.

"If you are unsure if we have your data, contact us and we will send you a proof. Your code is downloaded and backed up on our servers.

"If we don't receive your payment in the next 10 days, we will make your code public or use them otherwise," the hackers' message read.

A GitHub search revealed that at least 392 GitHub repositories have been compromised.

Kathy Wang, Director of Security for GitLab, was quoted as saying that they immediately began investigation into the issue.

"We have identified affected user accounts and all of those users have been notified. As a result of our investigation, we have strong evidence that the compromised accounts have account passwords being stored in plaintext on a deployment of a related repository," Wang told ZDnet.

Jeremy Galloway, a security researcher at Atlassian, which owns BitBucket, told Motherboard that the company has seen a lot of users' repositories getting hit by these hackers.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and thpportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
Mumbai, May 4 : A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The "Khiladi" star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement. It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?"

His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as "Kesari", "Baby", "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" and "Airlift", with patriotism as the theme.
San Francisco, May 4 : Suggesting that the soon-to-open Apple Store at Washington DC's Carnegie Library will do much more than just selling iPhones and other products, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the outlet will focus on community and creativity, the media reported.

Due to open on May 11, Apple has spent an estimated $30 million in renovating the 116-year-old Carnegie Library into an Apple Store, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Carnegie Library store will utilise Apple's "town square" concept, making it one of the company's 13 high-profile locations across the world where each local staff offers a bevy of classes to help users to maximise their Apple products for photography, video editing or producing music.

"Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something," Cook told the Post in an interview.

People come to explore new products, but also get training and services for iPhones or iPads they already own, he said.

"We should probably come up with a name other than 'store,'" he said, "because it's more of a place for the community to use in a much broader way."

Reconstituting the Carnegie Library according to its original design standards was Apple's "most historic, ambitious restoration by far in the world", Cook claimed in the interview.
New Delhi, May 4 : The Centre on Saturday filed a fresh affidavit in Rafale deal in the Supreme Court seeking the application of review of the deal "ought to be dismissed with exemplary costs" as it signifies "complete misuse and abuse of the legal process".

The Centre expressed its commitment to provide the top court any document, which is required to read in detail.

The Centre informed the apex court that it had submitted access to all files, notings, letters etc., related to procurement "including the full pricing details" to the Comptroller an Auditor General (CAG).

The affidavit cited the CAG report on the deal, "...the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits, which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

The Centre also told the court that monitoring of the progress by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of this -- government to government process -- "cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations".

The Centre expressed its commitment on the transparency regarding the deal.

"The government remains committed to provide to this court any document or file, which it desires to peruse," said the Centre in the affidavit.

It also slammed the review petitioners' attempt "to call for production of the documents and in the process try and attempt to get a roving or fishing enquiry ordered" as gross abuse of the legal process.

The Centre also informed the court that "the Government of India has no role in selection of Indian Offset partner, which is a commercial decision of OEM."

The Centre said that the top court judgment passed on December 14, 2018, was well-reasoned, wherein the court gave a clean chit to the government on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and it could not be re-examined merely on the ground of stolen documents, revealing incomplete file notings.

This affidavit was filed, after court issued a formal notice to the Centre on the review petitions filed on its December 2018 judgement.

The Centre said the information submitted before the top court in terms of various orders passed from time to time while hearing the main writ petition "was based on contents of official documents and produced before this court with the approval of competent authority".

The Centre said the submissions of the applicants -- Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie, and Yashwant Sinha -- were bereft of any "particulars much less particulars; they are scandalous and false and baseless to say the least".

Earlier, the top court had said that it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the pricing of the fighter jets.

The Centre contended in the affidavit that "statements by the applicants (review petitioners) that the judgement being a fruit of poisonous tree must be recalled, brings this court to disrepute and lowers its image and majesty of law".

The Centre buttressed it is decision on the deal, and stated the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) -- the highest decision making body in defence matters -- and also Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) -- the highest decision making body in Ministry of Defence --, have made the decision "keeping in view all the facts of the case and the critical operational necessity of Indian Air Force".
Amethi, May 4 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of giving Rs 20,000 bribes to people in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

While addressing a gathering here, Gandhi said: "This is wrong... While the Congress is distributing its election manifesto, the BJP is sending Rs 20,000 each to the village heads."

She said that the BJP is under the misconception that it can buy the people's love and the practice of truthful politics in Amethi.

She said: "The BJP's intentions are bad and their policies are limited to benefitting some industrialists. They don't waive off farmers' debt, but in five years the party has waived off the Rs 5.50 lakh crore debt of these industrialists."
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against a Saudi Arabia-based businessman in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed the Enforcement Directorate's (EC) plea seeking issuing of the open-ended non-bailable warrant against Omar Al Balsharaf.

The ED told the court that it issued Balsharaf multiple summons to join the probe, but neither did he appear before it, nor provide it the information sought of him.

According to the agency, Balsharaf's questioning was required to unearth the conspiracy related to some suspected transactions.

The ED said its investigation revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius transferred $5,303,471 to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai, but the amount was maintained under the ledger head Balsharaf.

This transaction raised many questions and it needs clarification, the agency told the court.

The ED said that Balsharaf was evading the process of law and therefore a non-bailable warrant should be issued against him to secure his presence immediately.
Washington, May 4 : Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while PakAisAtan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to lawyer Gautam Khaitan's wife Ritu Khaitan in a money laundering and black money case.

Ritu Khaitan appeared before Special Judge Arvind Kumar in pursuance of summons issued against her.

The court asked her to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

Meanwhile, the court issued fresh summons to two companies -- Ismax and Windfor -- to appear before it as accused in the case through authorised representives on August 7.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed the money laundering case against Gautam Khaitan and others based on a case lodged by the Income Tax Department.

He was arrested on January 25, a week after the I-T Department searched his offices and other properties in Delhi and the National Capital Region. He was later granted bail on April 16.

Gautam Khaitan was earlier arrested in September 2014 for his alleged involvement in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

He received bail in January 2015 and was re-arrested along with Sanjeev Tyagi, another accused in the case, on December 9, 2016, by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He later secured bail.

The CBI chargesheet had described Khaitan as the brain behind the AgustaWestland deal.
Kolkata, May 4 : Shantanu Thakur, the BJP candidate from West Bengal's Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency, sustained head injury after his car collided head on with a vehicle bearing a police sticker on Saturday, party officials said.

The saffron party termed it a "staged accident" and claimed that there might be a conspiracy to kill Thakur ahead of the elections.

"Shantanu Thakur suffered serious head injury while on his way from Jagulia to Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district after his car was hit by a police vehicle coming from the opposite direction. He has been hospitalised," state BJP Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

"We suspect there is a conspiracy behind this accident. The way a government vehicle with just the driver collided with Thakur's car, it seems that the car was waiting for Thakur's arrival. It is possible that the accident was staged to kill him," Majumdar added.

The police said the car which collided with the BJP candidate's vehicle was hired by the state administration for ferrying central force personnel within the constituency. They also said the injury sustained by Thakur was "not severe".

"The vehicle was hired for ferrying central force personnel. However, only the driver was present in the car during the accident. The BJP candidate suffered head injury as he was on the front seat. The drivers of both the cars also sustained minor injuries," an officer from Gaighata police station told IANS.

He also alleged that Thakur's supporters agitated and vandalised a police vehicle when it reached the spot.

"His (Thakur's) injury was apparently a minor one. No stitches were required. However, when our officers reached the spot, the BJP supporters attacked us and vandalised a police car. We have lodge a case against them," he said.

The Bongaon parliamentary constituency will go to the polls on May 6. Thakur, the grandson of the late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakur, is locking horns with his aunt and sitting Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur.
Srinagar, May 4 : Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants here on Saturday implored External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help them obtain travel documents.

Dozens of Pakistani spouses of Kashmiri militants who came to Kashmir encouraged by the Jammu and Kashmir government's rehabilitation policy addressed a press conference.

Scores of these women who came with their surrendered militant husbands told the media their demand to get travel documents to see their parents (in Pakistan) were genuine and this should not be treated as part of politics.

They requested Swaraj and Governor Satya Pal Malik to help them get the necessary travel documents.

They claimed to have been running from pillar to post during the last decade to get travel documents for visiting Pakistan.
Chandigarh, May 4 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former state unit Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into the party.

The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, Amarinder Singh said.

Natt, who joined the Congress along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards Amarinder Singh for this opportunity.

A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga assembly constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and from Maur in 2017.
Gurdaspur : , May 4 (IANS) Amid blistering heat, a sea of people thronged actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol's roadshows vying for a selfie with their favourite candidate. True to star gesture, the Gadar star is also not missing an opportunity to get off from his vehicle to meet children.

It's star power in Punjab Lok Sabha elections again, literally.

The BJP-Akali Dal has fielded the 62-year-old from Gurdaspur, the seat represented four times by yesteryear actor Vinod Khanna, who died in April 2017 due to cancer.

Khanna, a native of Punjab, was a sitting MP at that time of his death.

Son of veteran actor Dharmendra, Deol, who does not have any direct connection with Gurdaspur city -- though his father hails from Sahnewal town near Punjab's industrial town Ludhiana, has a strong Punjabi appeal. He is a Jat Sikh.

Deol, whose main priority is creating employment for the youth, entered the Hindi film industry with "Betaab" in 1983 and his best hits include "Border", "Damini" and "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha".

Deol's unforgettable dialogue from 1990's Hindi film "Ghayal": "Jab yeh dhai kilo ka haath kisi pe padta hai na, toh aadmi uthta nahi... utth jata hai" (When this hand weighing 2.5 kg is kept on some person, they don't get up, they go up (they will die) echoes through out his meandering campaign trail here.

One of his fans handed him a hand-pump at a roadshow, a scene in his 2001 blockbuster movie "Gadar..." in which Deol uproots a similar pump to fight off a crowd, who were trying to attack a woman.

Deol is unfazed by the criticism and despite being dubbed an "outsider" by the Congress, the actor says: "I'm Punjab da puttar (son of Punjab) and farming is in my blood."

Landing here on Wednesday straight from Mumbai, Deol met families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation at a border village in Dinanagar area.

"I am not a hero as I only acted as a soldier. The real heroes are those who sacrificed their lives for the country," he told a family.

Gurdaspur lies in the north of Punjab, sharing an international border with Pakistan and the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is not as developed as other areas in Punjab.

Deol, who is not missing an opportunity to pay obeisance to Sikh shrines and Hindu temples during his campaigning, is pitted against Congress state unit President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election with a margin of 1.92 lakh votes.

The bypoll was necessitated with sitting MP Vinod Khanna's death.

The BJP did not give the ticket for the bye-election to Khanna's widow, Kavita Khanna, a strong claimant for the seat.

With the fielding of Deol, Kavita Khanna expressed her disappointment, saying she felt "betrayed" by the party.

The Gurdaspur constituency, which has 14,68,972 voters, including 72,6363 women, has nine assembly constituencies. It has a high number of serving and retired defence personnel and the BJP is trying to woo them by using the 'fauzi' image of Deol.

The former members of Parliament from Gurdaspur are Sukhbuns Kaur Binder of the Congress, who won the seat five times in a row till 1996 when she faced her defeat from BJP's Jagdish Sawhney; from BJP's Khanna (1998 to 2009) and Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa from 2009 to 2014.

Khanna got elected for the first time in 1998, followed by wins in 1999, 2004 and 2014.

He lost the poll in the 2009 general election to Congress leader Bajwa with a slender margin.

In 2014, Khanna had again won by a thumping margin of over 1.38 lakh votes. A local BJP leader told IANS: "Khanna won his last election not due to his stardom but because of Modi wave. This time too his magic will work here. Moreover, Deol is known for playing nationalist."

Locals believe the Modi wave might work for Deol, too. "Deol, who is a Jat Sikh, will help winning the state as the constituency is dominated by the Jat Sikhs," a senior BJP leader said.

A confident Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, though, said: "I have been a Dharmendra fan. I like Sunny Deol as an actor. The people will prefer a local than an outsider (Deol). I wish him all the best."

"He is unaware of the issues of Punjab and Gurdaspur. He should share his vision for Gurdaspur. What is his agenda for the people here?" asked Jakhar.

The Gurdaspur constituency has seen two major militant attacks by Pakistan-backed militant outfits in the recent past.

It is believed by the BJP that terror attacks and Deol's stardom will trigger the BJP magic.

"As Modi has sent the air force to destroy terror camps in Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, so is Deol who has thrashed militants with iron hands in movies. So people in Gurdaspur like both Modi and Deol. His stardom will catch votes for BJP," a local BJP leader said.

Tough road for Congress Hindu candidate Jakhar to retain the seat.

Jakhar, who started his campaigning well ahead of Deol, won the seat when the Congress government in the state just came at the helm. Now after two years, the government has anti-incumbency. This factor will make Jakhar's victory tough, admitted a senior Congress leader.

In 2017, most of the state ministers had campaigned for him. Now, even Jakhar doesn't enjoy a good relation with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The BJP in the state has an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. It is contesting three Lok Sabha seats (Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur), while the Akali Dal is contesting the remaining 10 seats.

Punjab will vote on May 19.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Mumbai, May 4 : Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Watch Akshay Kumar breaks silence over Canadian citizenship, issues statement:

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

-- With inputs from IANS
Pune, May 4 : An Indian family, including a set of 10-year old twin boys, have set a new record for family skydiving, as they jumped out of a plane over Amsterdam.

They are Shital Mahajan-Rane, her husband Vaibhav Rane, both professional skydivers, and their twins Vrushabh and Vaibhav.

"We have set two new records - first time ever an Indian civilian family has skydived together, and our two sons becoming the youngest twins doing their first tandem jump," Shital, a recipient of the Padma Shri, told IANS from Amsterdam on Saturday.

They accomplished the feat on Friday from a Super Caravan 206 aircraft flying at a height of around 13,000 feet above The Netherlands, she added.

"Our sons celebrated their 10th birthday on April 26 and it was their desire to make their first skydiving jump. So we came to Amsterdam last week and fulfilled their birthday wish," Shital said.

Shital has notched some 750 jumps all over the world while Vaibhav has 57 skydives till date.

To mark the 389th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shital performed skydiving jumps over the Great Pyramids of Giza on February 19.

First she jumped in a traditional Maharashtrian ;nau-vari' sari and then went for a repeat jump sporting the royal costume of the legendary ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, who ruled around 3,700 years ago, earning accolades from the Egyptian authorities.

She shot to global fame on April 18, 2004 when she became the first woman in the world to make her maiden jump - without practice dives - on the North Pole from a Russian MI-8 helicopter from 2,700 feet in minus 37 degrees.

On December 15, 2006, she made the world's first Accelerated Free Fall Parachute Jump on the South Pole in Antarctica, jumping out of a Twin Otter aircraft from a height of 11,600 feet on the icy continent.

That made her the first - and youngest (at 23) - woman in the world to accomplish successful skydives on both the poles.

She has now set her sight on two targets - skydiving over Mount Everest and above Agra skies, home to the monument of love, the Taj Mahal.
Gaza, May 4 : Israeli Army warplanes, drones and artillery continued striking militants' facilities in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to the firing of barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, the media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were wounded in the Israeli airstrikes on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said the Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli Army spokesman said in a statement that their warplanes struck with missiles over 10 targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations -- comprising the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the Israeli Army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and injured 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the "Great March of Return" and "Breaking the Israeli Siege".

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday was a response to an attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen in which two Israeli soldiers were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians has been taking place as two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
New Delhi, May 4 : Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.
New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) As curtains came down for the fifth phase of voting for 51 parliamentary constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in a TV interview slammed the principal Opposition party Congress and said that the people who commit irregularities must fear.

'Yeh dar achhe ke liye hai. Yeh dar achhon ke liye hai ((This fear is for the good. This fear is good for those who are innocent), Mr Modi said on being asked why he was creating fear in the minds of the likes of Robert Vadra, P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi.

In his interaction with senior television anchor Rajat Sharma, who is also Editor in Chief of India TV, the Prime Minister said: "You may remember, I had said in 2014 in Aap Ki Adalat show that people who commit irregularities must fear. 'Darna chahiye' . Yeh dar achha hai (When wrong doers fear, it is good).'

Mr Modi ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his tweets on government of India's China policy.

"Kya aap Kapil Sharma ke show ke script likhtey haen (Do you write for script for Kapil Sharma show)," , Mr Modi suggested that it was for the Congress party to see why such statements or tweets come from their leader.

Asked what he 'thought' on such missives on the micro blogging sites wherein Rahul Gandhi had taken potshot on Mr Modi for being over friendly to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister shot back in his irreplaceable style : "oos party ko sochne chahiye (This is an issue best left for the Congress party)".

Asked how India persuaded China to agree to the UNSC resolution declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist', the Prime Minister replied: "I think experts should slightly correct their analysis. What is the reality today? What was the situation earlier? Whenever Pakistan's terrorism issue cropped up, Kashmir used to become a stumbling block. Russia used to be the only country that used to support us, and the rest of the world used to side with Pakistan.'

This is the record of last 40 years, he said and pointed out - 'In the last five years, you might have noticed, only China supports Pakistan, and the entire world is with us. This is a very big change".

Mr Modi further said: "On terrorism, we had a consistent policy and there was no world forum where India did not raise the issue of humanity and terrorism".

'Experts will say that the force of this victory is greater than that of the surgical strike or air strike. The UNSC resolution will have a lasting impact."

Asked why the Opposition is seeking evidence of damages caused by IAF air strike on Balakot, the Prime Minister replied: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence, political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself".

Had there been no elections in India and bickering among leaders, Balakot air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world, Mr Modi said.

Asked about former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh claiming that Indian army had carried out several surgical strikes in the past, Mr Modi replied: "The Congress has only one ex-PM left. Earlier, they used to run the government through remote control, and now they are using remote control in order to make them such statements."

The Prime Minister said that he had made friendly gestures to both the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan and one former PM Nawaz Sharif but the biggest problem in dealing with Islamabad is that nobody knows who is running that country.

"The biggest problem with Pakistan is that nobody knows who is running that country and whom we should talk to," said the Prime Minister in the freewheeling interview in a packed audience of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come on the backdrop of the Pakistan Prime Minister's letter to Mr Modi, in which he had written that "resumption of bilateral dialogue is important to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir."

Mr Modi said he has struck a good personal rapport with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada. The latter had served him tea in special teaware when they visited India.

Similarly, he said, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife took him to an Indian restaurant in the city where they had South Indian dishes.

During the interaction, he said described at length how US President Donald Trump spent nine hours with him in the White House.


New Delhi, May 4 : India has raised its concerns with Pakistan over harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month and asked it to conduct an inquiry and prevent recurrence of such incidents, sources said here on Saturday.

It also conveyed its concerns regarding security of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Sources said that the concerns about the security of the mission were conveyed to Islamabad in a demarche.

India also sent a note verbale last month protesting about the harassment of two of its diplomats and their being locked up in a room for over 20 minutes at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The two Indian diplomats, who were at the gurdwara to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were also threatened and asked never come to the area again.

They were locked up in a room by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, their bags were searched and they were questioned.

India had earlier this year also raised concern over harassment of its diplomats with Pakistan.
New Delhi, May 4 : Yet another speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got clearance from the Election Commision, which said on Saturday that it did not violate the model code of conduct.

Modi in his speech in Gujarat's Patan on April 21 had said that his government kept Pakistan on its toes to secure safe release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

This is the sixth speech of the Prime minister, which has been cleared by the poll body. The EC has found nothing wrong in Modi's speech in Nanded, Maharashtra, in which he reportedly referred to the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

In his Nanded speech, Modi reportedly likened the current status of the Congress to the sinking Titanic ship. He reportedly said that people on the ship are either sinking or jumping off to escape.

Referring to Modi's Varanasi speech on April 25, where he had gone to file his nomination for Lok Sabha elections, the poll body said a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, has been obtained.

Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi and reportedly said that he had a selected a seat using a microscope to take on the BJP. Modi was apparently referring to the Wayanad seat in Kerala which Gandhi is contesting, besides Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi had reportedly said that the seat in Wayanad is a constituency where the country's majority is in a minority.

Earlier, the poll body had not found anything wrong in the Modi's speech at Wardha on April 1. He attacked Gandhi for selectively contesting from minority-dominated seat in Kerala.

The EC also cleared him for the appeal to first-time voters where he raised the Balakot air strikes; and Pulwama martyrs in Latur on April 9.
Gurugram, May 4 : In an attempt to dent the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote bank, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, here on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises, like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people and creating over 2 crore jobs.

"In last Lok Sabha elections, Modi had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people and bring 'ache din'. What happened to them," he asked.

Ridiculing Modi's claim on development, he said was the BJP responsible for growth of cities like Gurugram? "It's the people of the country who are responsible for this development," he said.

He also raised the issue of Rafeal jet purchase deal, demonetisation and the goods and services tax GST fiasco. Gandhi was addressing an election rally in support of Congress candidate Ajay Singh Yadav.

In his 30-minute speech, Gandhi said, "He is 'chowkidar' but not for the poor. He is the 'chowkidar' of his corporate friends, like Anil Ambani, Mehul Chowksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya."

The Congress President also criticised the Modi government for helping Anil Ambani's company secure a deal with the France-based Dassault Aviation and the French government in the purchase of Rafale jets, ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. "The entire exercise was done to benefit Anil Ambani," he said.

The Congress President said the NYAY scheme would definitely do justice to the people.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress has filed 10 complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the party says it is the highest number of complaints faced by any Prime Minister in a Lok Sabha election.

The Election Commission has given a decision on six of these complaints so far, giving a clean chit to the Prime Minister in all the cases. Sources said in two of these cases the decision was not unanimous with one of the two election commissioners registering his verbal dissent with the matter having been decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The complaints, which cover a period from March 20 to April 30, relate to several speeches of Modi including those in Maharshtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There is also a complaint about "illegal" roadshow in Gujarat on April 23.

On Saturday the poll panel gave Modi clean chit on compliant concerning his election speech at Patan in Gujarat on April 21.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said Modi has made history in terms of complaints filed against him with the Election commission and no other prime minister from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru has "violated" the election norms in this manner.

"No other prime minister has shown this disregard to constitutional authorities whether it is CBI, RBI or Election Commission. That shows his mindset. A Prime Minister should lead by example, should be a role model. But here we have a person who is acting worse than a commoner. If he had fulfilled one of his promises, he would not have needed to do this," she said.

Varun K, Chopra, an advocate representing the party before the commission, said the poll panel has taken decision in some cases. "For the remaining indecision is also a decision. Being watchdog of free and fair elections in the country, ECI should prudently exercise parity and level-playing field," he said.

He said only about 180 of 543 Lok Sabha seats are left to vote.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi had on Saturday morning accused the poll panel of being "biased" against the opposition and said that "capturing" of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," he said.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday directed the Election Commission to decide on the remaining complaints made by the Congress against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah for allegedly making hate speeches or violating the Model Code of Conduct.
Kolkata, May 5 : Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.
Washington, May 5 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.
Lee Spirits Company, a leading distiller of gin, fine liqueurs and blended North American whiskey, is pleased to announce its Co-Founder Ian Lee traveled to Hong Kong this week as part of a collective with the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association who is led by the US Department of Agriculture.

The envoy traveling to Hong Kong will spend five days meeting with regional distributors and manufacturers during Asias leading food and hospitality tradeshow HOFEX. Each attendee will work in conjunction with the United States Embassy in Hong Kong. Lee Spirits mission during the five-day event is to meet with importers to help increase dialogue around importing and exporting between the two nations.

This is a great honor for Lee Spirits Company to join the US Department of Agriculture, the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association, the US Embassy in Hong Kong and several US-based manufacturers on this trip, said Ian Lee. We are proud to join this effort for the second year in a row as a representative of the United States spirit marketplace. We are hopeful this effort will lead to increased trade between our two nations while opening advanced dialogue for Lee Spirits products to be distributed internationally. I am proud to say that we uncovered many distribution options in Singapore from last years envoy trip and look to make a significant announcement by the end of 2019 on this front. I am very confident the same results will develop from this years visit to China.

Lee Spirits Companys products are available throughout five states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

About Lee Spirits Company:

Lee Spirits Company is an award-winning Colorado-based distillery whose mission is to create the finest gin, liqueurs and blended North American whiskey to empower spirit-lovers to make authentic pre-prohibition classic cocktails.

In 2013, Lee Spirits Company founders and cousins Ian and Nick Lee had an idea to develop and manufacture the finest Gin in Colorado and the United States along with accompanying liqueurs that would fit into classic cocktail recipes exactly as originally written. To connect with Lee Spirits, visit their website or social media page.
This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members." said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. "I look forward to our continued partnership."

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has announced the promotion of Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan to the role of President. Daniel A. Nissenbaum will retain the CEO role, working with LIIFs board of directors to develop the vision, industry leadership and strategic direction that will achieve LIIFs mission. This change will enable LIIF, which has invested more than $2.5 billion to serve more than two million people, to achieve further growth and continued success.

Kims vision and drive over the past 11 years have spurred much of LIIFs programmatic and geographic growth, including launching our fresh foods, health, and housing initiatives, as well as the opening of our offices in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members. Our recent investment grade rating from S&P was driven in large part by the strong performance by Kims teams. I look forward to our continued partnership.

Kim has been a strong leader at LIIF, with a remarkably entrepreneurial spirit, which will position LIIF for success in its next phase of growth, said Derek R. B. Douglas, LIIFs board chair and vice president for civic engagement and external affairs at the University of Chicago. The Board is thrilled to have Kim in this role to build on her track record of success and commitment to LIIFs mission.

As CEO, Mr. Nissenbaum will continue to lead LIIFs strategy, sustainability and people. As President, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan will implement LIIFs strategy and grow its business, including continuing to oversee LIIFs lending activities and programmatic growth and developing new lines of business.

Ms. Latimer-Nelligan joined LIIF in 2008 and previously served as its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Community Investment Programs. Ms. Latimer-Nelligans background in community development is extensive. Prior to LIIF, she worked with Citibank for more than 20 years, most recently as the Managing Director of National Lending and Investments, overseeing a $3 billion business within Citibank Community Development. During Ms. Latimer-Nelligans tenure at Citibank, Citis national lending, structured finance and equity investments for community development were consolidated under her leadership.

While at LIIF, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan has overseen lending activities that reached a high watermark of $300 million deployed in underserved communities last year. She has also led the expansion of lending programs in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., and has worked to expand LIIFs national early care and education work, which has created 271,000 spaces in childcare facilities. Ms. Latimer-Nelligan received her B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her M.B.A. from Columbia University. She serves as the board chair of the Community Reinvestment Fund and on the boards of Raza Development Fund and the National Affordable Housing Trust.

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) invests capital to support healthy families and communities. Since 1984, LIIF has served more than two million people by providing $2.5 billion in financing and technical assistance. Over its history, LIIF has supported efforts to create and preserve 78,000 units of affordable housing; 271,000 child care spaces; 98,000 spaces in schools; and 36 million square feet of community facilities and commercial space. LIIFs work has generated $65.1 billion in family income and societal benefits. LIIF has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. http://www.liifund.org
We are thrilled to celebrate nurses week by recognizing health care professionals and educators. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care.

In celebration of the proclamation of Utah Nurses Week, Nightingale College invites the public to join them in thanking nurses on Monday, May 6 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the west side of the Salt Lake City and County Building's Washington Square. Thank you cards and notes will be provided for anyone wishing to express gratitude for nurses in the community or a specific nurse who has made a positive difference in their life.

We are excited to celebrate Nurses Week by recognizing health care professionals and educators," said Blake Halladay, Senior Manager of Partnerships. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care."

National Nurses Week was established by the American Nurses Association and proclaimed a national celebration by President Regan in 1982. Nurses Week remains a permanent celebration of the dedicated professionals who have become nurses or are pursuing a career in nursing.

The theme of this years National Nurses Week is 4 million Reasons to Celebrate, commemorating more than 4 million nursing professionals nationwide. The College has partnered with Compass Outdoor, Saunders Outdoor and Lamar to post billboards raising awareness for Utah Nurses Week. Nightingale College will also provide Thank You cards at Hub locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, for patients and family members to express gratitude for nurses who have made a positive difference in their life through compassionate care.

Each year, Nurses Week begins with Student Nurses Day on May 6 and concludes on May 12 to honor the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. As the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale is commemorated by those who carry her flame through to the next generation of nurses.

For more information about Nurses Week, please visit nightingale.edu/nurses-week/.

Nightingale College improves access to professional nursing education with its fully accredited distance education associate and bachelors degree nursing programs. Supporting the growing need for nurses and providing strategies to combat the nursing shortage, the Colleges programs work to not only grow but maintain homegrown nurses with the help of local health care systems. Nightingale College emphasizes graduating future nurses who are confident, competent and compassionate. Since its establishment in 2010 in Ogden, Utah, the College has graduated learners and contributed to strengthening the registered nurse workforce in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about the College, its mission and programs, please visit nightingale.edu.
Oral Surgeons Near Me in San Francisco Oral Surgery San Francisco has announced a post for residents entering oral surgeons near me' on search sites. The post cautions that proximity should not be the only factor in selecting the best oral surgeon.

Oral Surgery San Francisco, led by oral surgeon Dr. Alex Rabinovich, is proud to announce a blog post concerning how to choose the best oral surgeon near me' during an online search. Bay Area residents might desire to find a top-notch oral surgeon, yet be concerned about proximity. Oral surgery can require beyond-average skills to fix a broken mouth. Meeting with an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon could be worth traveling a few more miles.

"When planning any surgery in the Bay Area, people normally consider how long it will take to drive to, and park near, a facility. It can add extra time and money to a person's day, and we understand that," commented Dr. Rabinovich. "Our new post talks about weighing the benefits of driving a little further for a first-class oral surgeon vs. settling for just an average oral surgeon."

Bay Area residents can review the new post at the following URL: https://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/2019/03/some-of-the-best-oral-surgeons-in-the-world-are-in-san-francisco/. Surgical procedures for the mouth including maxillofacial, jaw repair or dental implants can require a first-rate surgeon to manage it successfully. A Bay Area local might find driving a few extra miles to meet an A-1 oral surgeon worth the extra effort. To learn more about oral procedures including dental implant surgery, please go to https://www.sfdentalimplants.com/. Dr. Rabinovich and staff are committed to a no-obligation consultation for patients.

LOCALS FIND ABOVE AVERAGE RESULTS FOR ORAL SURGEONS NEAR ME' IN SAN FRANCISCO

Here is the background for this release. San Francisco is a densely populated area, and people can consider travel time if deciding on a service. Choosing a great pizza place based on proximity to home might be the right decision for a local. If a Bay Area commuter needs to drop off dry cleaning, choosing a business close to the office can be significant. Proximity to home and work can play a part in selecting common services. If a San Francisco resident searches online for oral surgeons near me' the best choice might require driving a few extra miles.

For these reasons, San Francisco Oral Surgery has announced a new blog post. A few miles can make the difference between mediocre' and first-class' if a person searches online for oral surgeons near me.' A person suffering from a broken jaw or missing, unhealthy teeth might consider picking the best vs. the closest oral surgeon. Choosing a skilled, highly-trained surgeon to fix painful mouth problems can be key to a successful surgery. Planning to drive a few extra miles for first-rate oral surgery could result in a lifetime of oral health.

Bay Area locals searching for oral surgeons near me' are urged to read the new post and reach out to Dr. Rabinovich for a consultation.

ABOUT ORAL SURGERY SAN FRANCISCO

Oral Surgery San Francisco (http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/) is located in the Financial District of the City. Under the direction of Dr. Alex Rabinovich, a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon specializing in the field of oral surgery. This additional training, along with his years of experience, sets Alex Rabinovich MD DDS apart from the growing number of general dentists offering oral surgery and other dental procedures. Procedures include wisdom teeth extraction, Orthognathic or jaw surgery, sleep apnea mouth appliances, and dental implants. Dr. Rabinovich can be available as an emergency oral surgeon in San Francisco also. Oral Surgery San Francisco serves all neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco including Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Noe Valley.

Contact: Media Relations

Tel. (415) 817-9991
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller IIIs two-volume Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is not an easy readnot unlike those manuals that come boxed with easy to assemble multipart childrens toys on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, considering the exceedingly damaging effects Russiagate has had on America at home and abroad for nearly three years, the report will long be studied for what it reveals and does not reveal, what it includes and does not include.

Because of my own special interest in Russia, I read carefully the first volume, which focuses on that countrys purported role in the scandal. I came away with as many questions about the report as about the role of Moscow and that of candidate and then President Donald Trump. To note a few:

 Mueller begins, on Page 1, with this assertion: The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Maybe so, but Mueller, who is not averse to editorializing and contextualizing elsewhere in the report, gives readers no historical background or context for this large generalization. In particular, was the interferenceor meddling, as media accounts characterize itmore or less sweeping and systematic than was Washingtons military intervention in the Russian civil war in 1918 or its very intrusive campaign to reelect Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996or, on the other side of the ledger, the role of the Soviet-backed American Communist Party in US politics in the 20th century? That is, what warranted a special investigation of this episode in a century of mutual American-Russian interference in the others politics? Put somewhat differently: Readers might wonder if, had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election, there even would have been a Russiagate and Mueller investigation.

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 It has occasionally been suggested that Russiagate was originated by high-level US officials who disliked candidate Trumps pledge to cooperate with Russia. This suspicion remains unproven, but throughout, Mueller repeatedly attributes to Trump campaign members and Russians who interacted in 2016, potentially in sinister or even criminal ways, a desire for improved U.S.-Russian relations, for bringing the end of the new Cold War, for a new beginning with Russia. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have wanted reconciliation between the United States and Russia. (See, for example, pp. 5, 98, 105, 124, 157.) The result is, of course, to discredit Americas once-mainstream advocacy of detente. Mueller even brands American pro-detente viewsas Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan held in the 20th centuryas pro-Russia foreign policy positions (p. 102). Does this mean that Americans who hold pro-detente views today, as I and quite a few others do, are to be investigated for their contacts with Russians in pursuit of better relations? Mueller seems to say nothing to offset this implication, which has already adversely affected a few Americans mentioned and not mentioned in his report.

 As reflected in the text and footnotes, Mueller relies heavily on reports by US intelligence agencies, but without treating the recorded misdeeds of those agencies, particularly the CIA under John Brennan, in promoting the Russiagate saga. He also relies heavily on contemporary media accounts of Russiagate as it unfolded, but without taking into account their journalistic malpractices, as abundantly documented by Matt Taibbi, who equates the malpractice with news reports leading up to the US invasion of Iraq.

 Nor does Mueller consider alternative scenarios and explanations, as any good historical or judicial investigation must do. For example, he accepts uncritically the Clinton/Democratic National Committee allegation that Russian agents hacked and disseminated their emails in 2016. Again, maybe so, but why did he not do his own forensic examination or even mention the alternative finding by VIPS that they were stolen and leaked by an insider? Why did he not question Julian Assange, who claimed to know how and through whom the emails reached WikiLeaks? And how to explain Muellers minimal interest in the shadowy professor Joseph Mifsud, who helped entrap George Papadopoulos in London? Mueller reports that Mifsud had connections to Russia (p. 5), although a simple Google search suggests that Mifsud was indeed an agent but not a Russian one, as widely alleged in media accounts.

 Though he may do so in the second volume of the report, Mueller oddly does not focus in the first volume on the Steele dossier, where it surely belongs as a foundational Russiagate document and whose anti-Trump information is now widely acknowledged to have been salacious and unverified. At one point, however, Mueller delivers a telling report: Trump would not pay for opposition research (p. 61). Can this be anything other than a damning, if oblique, judgment on the Clinton campaign, which is known to have paid for the Steele dossier?

 Toward the end of the first volume (pp. 144, 146), Mueller produces a truly stunning revelation, though he seems unaware of it. After the 2016 US presidential election, the Kremlin appeared not to have preexisting contactswith senior officials around the President-Elect. Even more, Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.

So much for all the shameful Russiagate allegations of Trump-Putin collusion, conspiracy, even treason. Surely it means the United States needs another, different investigation, one into the actual origins and meaning of this fraudulent, corrosive, exceedingly dangerous, and still unending American political scandal.

Stephen Frand Cohen is an American scholar and professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University. His academic work concentrates on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and the country's relationship with the United States.

This commentary is based on Stephen F. Cohens most recent weekly discussion with the host of

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Vasily Grossmans novel Stalingrad, newly translated from the Russian by husband and wife Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and publishing in June from New York Review Books, is a book of three parts and 959 pages. It has an introduction, an afterword, and a pleasant forest-green spine. These markers of being are all the more remarkable given the fact that an original Russian edition of this translation of Stalingrad doesnt exist.

In truth, the Chandlers translation of Stalingrad draws on three published Russian editions of Grossmans novel, which are all different from one another, plus several typed drafts and handwritten notes. The new translation is the result of the Chandlers detailed comparison of the three versions, and of their determination to prove that the novel can stand up to its better-known sequel, Life and Fate, which has long been recognized as Grossmans masterpiece.

The idea that Stalingrad must be Grossmans lesser book is a legacy of Soviet censorship, Robert says. Grossman wrote the novel in the late 1940s and early 50s, when all literature in the Soviet Union had to follow the tenets of socialist realism. Official doctrine demanded a historically specific depiction of reality, in which characters would undergo ideological rework... in the spirit of socialism.

Writing that was judged insufficiently socialist realist by censors would remain unpublished, and its author might be sent to a labor camp or killed. Given these possibilities, Robert explains, no writer in the Soviet Union ever wrote without an awareness of how the authorities would react, and every editor was, in effect, a censor.

For Grossman, a sense of danger seems not to have been intuitive. Born in Ukraine in 1905, he studied chemistry in Moscow and then worked in a Donbass mine as an engineer. But writing drew him, and he returned to Moscow and published two novels and a short story praised by Maxim Gorky, then the Communist partys favored writer. During Stalins purges, Grossmans second wife was arrested by the NKVD, a forerunner of the KGB. Daringly, Grossman wrote a letter arguing for her innocence, and she was released. And when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Grossmana 35-year-old Jewish intellectual who couldnt shootvolunteered for the Red Army. He was sent to the front as a journalist for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

Elizabeth speaks of the emotional balance and steadiness of imagination characteristic to Grossmans prose. It was perhaps this equanimity, and his knack for getting a good interview, that made Grossmans articles the newspapers most popular pieces. In August 1942, he went to Stalingrad.

Grossmans evocation of the inner life of young men who know they are certain to die within the next 24 hours is remarkably convincing, Robert notes in his introduction to the novel. For much of the five-month Battle of Stalingrad, in which two million people died, Grossman lived alongside the Soviet soldiers fighting to take back Stalingrad from Axis forces. He spent hours talking with snipers, nurses, and divisional commanders; he saw them crossing the Volga under fire to enter the bombed-out city. Sometimes he traveled with them.

Writing of this wartime crossing in his novel, Grossman describes a sublime steppe landscape that becomes riddled with the corporealwith corpses: Millions of stars gazed down at the city and the river, listening to the murmur of water against the shore.... Some dark object slid down the river, painfully slowly, and there was no way of knowing whether it was a boat without oars, the swollen corpse of a horse or part of a barge destroyed by a bomb. Grossmans characters also embody this strange wartime synthesis: some are terrified while others sit calmly in their fired-upon barges and boats, making plans to read the days paper.

Like Grossman, the Chandlers also became interviewers as they worked on Stalingrad. Specialists and scholars, including Yury Bit-Yunan, Brandon Schechter, and Pietro Tosco, were particularly helpful, and there are dozens of other peopletranslators, writers, friends, military historians, historians of the coal mining industrywho have read drafts, Robert says. These readers helped the Chandlers accurately render details of life in the Soviet Union in the 1940s.

Under the title For a Just Cause, Grossmans novel was finally published in 1952 in a heavily censored version, Robert says. Two somewhat less censored editions followed in 1954 and 1956. The English translation of Stalingrad restores Grossmans preferred title and follows the third edition for the general plot and the ordering of the chapters.

It also includes, as the Chandlers often emphasize, several hundred of the vivid, comic, and surprising passages that were published in only some of the Russian editions, and passages that were never published, such as those describing a Red Army commander reminiscing about making his wife a dress, a doctor complaining about overcrowding at a hospital, a roach scuttling across a map of military operations, mentions of a postwar future, and a woman with a tomato.

The censors struck out anything that wasnt politically on-message, as well as any details that werent elevated enough, Robert says, to be mentioned in connection with the venerated Red Army. Men sewing, crowded hospitals, bugs, the future, and errant vegetables were, inconveniently, just realnot socialist realism.

In Grossmans reality, people were struck out too. He was one of the first journalists to write about the Holocaust, in which his mother was killed. But after the war, he signed a document giving credence to Stalins anti-Semitic purges. Its possible that Grossmans momentary lapse came because he feared that his next novel, Life and Fate, would be censored. He was right: Life and Fate, the sequel to Stalingrad, was clearly no longer bound by the strictures of socialist realism. The KGB confiscated the manuscript in 1961. Grossman died in 1964, and the book remained unknown until it was published in Switzerland in 1980.

It was through this Swiss, Russian-language edition, 40 years ago, that Robert Chandler first encountered Grossman. The art historian Igor Golomstock suggested that Robert take it on as a translation project. At the time, Robert was just starting out as a translator, and his immediate reply was that he did not read books as long as Life and Fate in Russian, let alone translate them.

The chapter that Robert eventually translated interested the British publisher Collins Harvill, who bought the book and published it in 1985. And the Chandlers collaboration began when Elizabeth retyped several chapters of Roberts full translation of Life and Fate and then offered to type his translation of Andrey Platonovs novel Happy Moscow. We gradually got into discussing, and improving, more and more passages, she says. Theyve continued this way of working through subsequent translations of Grossman, Platonov, and Pushkin.

Robert, who is the fluent Russian speaker, prepares drafts he reads aloud to Elizabeth. Whenever either of us feels that something is unclear or that the tone is wrong, we discuss that sentence, batting different versions between us, until we feel we have got it right, he says.

If translations fail, this is very often not because they are inaccurate but because they fail to convey an authors voice, Elizabeth says. With time, one gets a sense of what words a particular writer would or wouldnt use. Grossman, for example, is often extremely funny, but he is seldom mocking.

Life and Fate is the achievement of the broad, lucid view of Soviet life toward which Grossman had been working, and in which both humor and deep pathos have a place. But this view was already apparent in Stalingrad. In the novel, even Grossmans worst-tempered characters are afforded moments of insight and clarityand, Elizabeth says, unlike nearly all his Soviet contemporaries, he treats even his German characters with respect.
Deal of the Week: Montlake Pays Seven Figures for Sylvia Day Anh Schluep, editorial director of Amazon Publishings Montlake imprint, gave a big welcome to Sylvia Day with a seven-figure deal for Butterfly in Frost, Days first new book since 2016. It will be released this August. The deal for world rights was brokered by Kimberly Whalen of the Whalen Agency. Sister imprint Amazon Crossing will publish the book in translation in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to the publisher, the 203-page novella follows Dr. Teagan Ransom and artist Garrett Frost on their passionate journey to find redemption, hope, and, ultimately, each other. We are so pleased to welcome Sylvia Day into the Montlake Romance family, Schluep said. Sylvia is a powerhouse author with legions of worldwide fans, and were excited to bring Butterfly in Frost to them.

FROM THE U.S.

Atria Dons Another Pair of Jewells

Atria couldnt wait for more from Lisa Jewell. Ahead of the August paperback publication of Watching You and the October publication of The Family Upstairs,editorial director Lindsay Sagnette bought Jewells next two novels, which are not yet titled. In what the publisher described as a major deal, Sagnette picked up U.S., Canada, and open market rights, along with audio and first serial from Deborah Schneider of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners.

Public Affairs Buys Impact

Colleen Lawrie, executive editor at Public Affairs, preempted Impact: What to Do When You Want to Change the World but Dont Know Where to Start by Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts, founders of the nonprofit Shes the First, which provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries. It is one of the organizations with which Michelle Obamas Global Girls Alliance collaborates. Kathy Schneider of the Jane Rotrosen Agency sold world rights to the book, which will pub in fall 2020.

Abi Dares Debut Goes to Dutton

In her second deal since she joined Dutton earlier this year, executive editor Lindsey Rose preempted Abi Dares debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, inspired by the authors childhood in Lagos. Set for a spring 2020 release, the book follows a Nigerian girl who fights to get an education in the face of many obstacles, according to the publisher. The North American rights were brokered by Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown.

Post Hill Takes Bill Boggss Humor Novel

Anthony Ziccardi, publisher of Post Hill, picked up comic novel The Adventures of Spike the Wonder Dog from Bill Boggs, a four-time Emmy Awardwinning TV host of shows including Midday Live, NBCs Weekend Today in New York, and the Food Networks Bill Boggss Corner Table. The story, the publisher said, follows the exploits of Spike, an English bull terrier and TV and social media sensation with a heart of gold and a wickedly politically incorrect sense of humor. The deal was unagented. Publication is planned for May 2020.

Atria Battles Fatigue with Amy Shah

In an exclusive submission from Heather Jackson of her eponymous agency, Sarah Peltz at Atria bought world rights to Amy Shahs Why Am I So F*cking Tired? Shah is a medical doctor who received her training from three of the top schools in the country: Cornell for nutrition,

Harvard for internal medicine, and Columbia for allergy immunology. The publisher said that in Tired, she offers a solution to unexplained fatigue and explores other issues related to womens health. The book is scheduled for spring 2021.

Citadel Picks Up Fertility Nutrition Title

Denise Silvestro, executive editor at Citadel, won an auction for What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant by Nicole Avena, assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton. According to Linda Konner, who has an eponymous agency and brokered the deal, Silvestro paid high five figures for U.S., Canada, open market, and audio rights to the book, which offers a four-week science-based program to boost fertilityin women and menthrough nutrition.

GCP Signs Feminist Debut

Millicent Bennett at Grand Central preempted North American rights to A.E. Osworths 80085, a debut about a self-taught female video game coder who reports a workplace sexual harassment incident only to find herself fighting for her life in a game of cat and mouse against a violent stalker, according to the publisher. Christopher Hermelin of the Fischer-Harbage Agency, who negotiated the deal, described it as a feminist page-turnerThe Virgin Suicides meets Ready Player One.

Behind the Deal

Penguin editor Sam Raim won at auction world English rights to Rollo Romigs Two or Three Murders in South India, a true crime narrative that Raim said is centered on the 2017 murder of activist/journalist Gauri Lankesh in the South Indian city of Bangalore. Romig also touches upon other murders that share what Raim described as the irresistible elements of the criminal underworld, corrupt police, political controversy, shadowy religious groups.

But what is even more compelling, he added, is Romigs complex, empathetic portraits of Gauri Lankesh and the way he uses this story to illuminate a larger, urgent question: will India remain a country for all Indians, or will it come to be dominated by Hindu nationalism? Raim noted that through Lankeshs story, Romig explores many pressing global issues, including the decline of democracy and the attendant threats journalists face.

Romig is a journalist, critic, and essayist whose works have appeared in New York magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, and Travel + Leisure, among other publications. Im so excited we could land this brilliant journalist, who has been drawing wide accolades for his reporting on South India, Raim said. Sarah Burnes of the Gernert Company brokered the deal.

MOVIE DEALS

 Netflix has optioned feature rights to Jason Rekulaks YA novel The Impossible Fortress, according to Deadline. The author will adapt the novel, which was published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Aggregate Films and GoldDay will produce.

 TaleFlick, an online service that provides authors with a direct way to showcase their works to movie and television studios, announced two new deals via the platform: Robert Gatelys South of Main Street and Michael Bowkers French Affair: A Paris Love Story. The former was optioned by the Traveling Picture Show Company, the latter by Passage Pictures.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS

 According to the Bookseller, Democratic mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigiegs memoir, Shortest Way Home, found a home across the pond at John Murray, where it will be published in June. Joe Zigmond, who acquired the U.K. and

Commonweath rights, told the Bookseller, At a time when global politics have become so chaotic and negative, this book genuinely appeals to our shared wisdom and humanity.

 In another deal reported by the Bookseller, Hodder & Stoughton picked up U.K. and Commonwealth rights to Amy Engels second adult novel, The Familiar Dark, from Dutton. The book will be published by both houses in March 2020.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.

Correction: This article initially identified Sylvia Day's new book as a novel. It is a novella.
Report from the Field

The #2 book in the country is Scribners edition of The Mueller Report, which includes an introduction by Washington Post reporters Rosalind S. Helerman and Matt Zapotosky; other editions include Melville Houses mass market paperback and Skyhorses trade paperback, introduced by Alan Dershowitz. Though the report was an East Coast favorite, other titles fared better elsewhere. Jeff Kinney continued his reign across much of the country; E.L. James was on top in the East South Central U.S., and pastor Mark Driscoll did well in the region that includes his native North Dakota.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Sleeper Hit

Economist Emily Oster lands at #5 in hardcover nonfiction with her second book, Cribsheet, a data-driven take on parenting. Our review said, Parents new and old will find reassurance in this commonsense approach; in an interview with PW, Oster reinforced that sentiment by explaining her books big takeaway: Not everyone is going to make the same decisionsand thats okay. The book sold almost twice the number of print units in its first week as her debut, Expecting Better, sold in its entire hardcover run. The trade paper edition of that title has sold 62K copies.

New & Notable

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

#2 Hardcover Nonfiction

Gates delivers a thoughtful and empathetic treatise that demonstrates how empowering women can change the world and lift families from poverty, according to our review. Among those whose work she cites: Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, Dutch human rights activist Mabel van Oranje, and Gatess husband, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Machines Like Me

Ian McEwan

#14 Hardcover Fiction

Set in an alternate 1982 London, McEwans thought-provoking novel, our review said, is about the increasingly fraught relationship between a man, a woman, and a synthetic human. For a look at the real-world influence of AI on business and finance, see  Alexa, Balance My Portfolio. 

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid Jeff Kinney Amulet 46,928 2 The Mueller Report  Scribner 41,987 3 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 37,852 4 Neon Prey John Sandford Putnam 35,878 5 The Mister E.L. James Vintage 32,035 6 Redemption David Baldacci Grand Central 26,329 7 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 21,641 8 Oh, the Places Youll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 19,204 9 Educated Tara Westover Random House 16,751 10 The Moment of Lift Melinda Gates Flatiron 15,882

All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.
This years BISG annual meeting, held April 26 at the Harvard Club in New York City, surveyed a range of trends across the publishing supply chain. A daylong series of panels examined printing and paper capacity, the rights market, workflow and workforce issues, and book sales, and it featured an entertaining and thoughtful keynote address by Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn.

Tamblyns address, titled Leaving Money on the Table, combined wit and wisdom for a lively presentation focused on increasing book sales. Rakuten Kobo, he said, has focused on a global strategy, and the company has more than 35 million customers outside the U.S. He challenged the conventional wisdom that e-book sales are declining, saying that 25% of e-book sales are outside of traditional publishing. Publishers are in competition with platforms such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube for consumer attention, he stressed, adding, It is a war of books vs. everything else.

Tamblyn advised publishers to localize the timing of book releases overseas (Use a sensible local time); localize prices (Straight currency conversion doesnt work); test price elasticity (Pricing matters; indie authors tweak prices constantly); offer e-book rights aggressively (English sells everywhere); and use consistent and accurate book series data (Series are 52% of our sales).

Janet McCarthy Grimm, a v-p at Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, and Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturing Institute, kicked off the meeting with an update on challenges related to paper and printing capacity. McCarthy said 2018 was a perfect storm, combining a resurgence in demand for print books with a dramatic decline in paper capacity that caught the industry by surprise.

Grimm described a domestic paper market in transition, as mills shift production away from paper for books to growing demand for paper for packaging. And the business is facing a general shortage of labor that prevents expansion.

Baehr identified similar challenges in printing capacity, pointing to a lack of investment in new facilities and a labor shortfall.

Grimm and Baehr called on the publishing industry to begin a group dialoguewith participation from BISG and the Book Industry Guild of New Yorkon ways to address ongoing challenges facing printing and paper supply.

In a discussion on the rights market, panelist Debbie Engel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt v-p, director of sub rights, said that the biggest changes in the field relate to audio rights. At one time, she noted, audio rights were no big deal, but interest in audio has spiked.

Ginger Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown, cited the popularity of podcasts and the rise of podcast deals as evidence that consumers are moving from reading books to listening to books. Theres growth in demand for audio rights from foreign markets as well, she added, pointing to China and Poland as examples.

Technology hasnt necessarily created new kinds of rights, but it has changed how rights work is done, according to panelist Lance Fitzgerald, v-p and director of sub rights at Penguin Random House. We can get materials out quickly, and its easy to access every book ever published.

Clark emphasized the continuing need for face-to-face relationships among rights market players, despite the impact of technology. We need to go to book fairs and connectnot everyone has docuSign, she said.

The rights panelists all expressed a general wariness about the subscription access model. We dont understand the financial model, Fitzgerald said. The panel also called for a better way to share rights data, suggesting a UN or BISG for data sharing and alluding to the need to develop an industrywide rights platform.

On the panel examining workflow efficiencies, Michelle Yu, HMH director of business operations, gave a presentation on the houses use of robotics process automation, AI-driven technology, such as Automation Anywhere, aimed at automating repeatable mundane tasks. Yu emphasized that HMHs use of RPA is not trying to get rid of jobs; its purpose is to save employees time and allow them to do more with less, freeing people up to do more interesting tasks. HMH began using the software last year to scrape online data about production shipment schedules and to automatically generate emails about scheduling and delivery.

Dennis Abboud Jr., senior director of sales at Readerlink, was part of a panel focused on sales that featured Margaret Harrison, director of digital services at Ingram Content Group, and Bradley Metrock, executive director of Digital Book World. Abboud pointed to a reemphasis on books by the distributor and cited data showing that the demand for physical books is strong.

The panel emphasized the continuing importance of good metadata and the growing popularity of audio and voice technology, such as Alexa. Voice technology, Metrock said, is not a fad, though he acknowledged consumer concerns over privacy issues and data breaches.
At the beginning of the decade, American law enforcement received repeated warnings of how the improvised explosive devices (IED) employed by al Qaeda affiliates might soon make their way to the United States. The IED warnings proved correct. On January 17, 2011, police officers in Spokane, Washington, narrowly averted a disaster by re-directing a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march away from a remote detonated, shape charge loaded with shrapnel coated with a substance meant to keep blood from clotting in wounds. It wasnt al Qaeda or even an al Qaeda supporter that planted the most sophisticated IED to then appear in the United States. Instead of finding an international terrorism connection, the FBI, on March 9, 2011, arrested Kevin Harpham, a former member of the U.S. Army who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.

Not long after the election of President Barack Obama, all indicators pointed to a dramatic rise in domestic terrorism in the U.S. White supremacist threats mounted after America elected its first African-American president. Online conspiracy theories regarding the presidents citizenship and religion helped fuel a rise in racism intertwined with domestic politics. Alongside race-based groups, anti-government groups rose as well, powered by erroneous beliefs about abortion, repealing of the Second Amendment, or declaration of martial law.

Still, the U.S. focused its counter-terrorism efforts on al Qaeda and its spawn, the Islamic State. Homegrown extremists inspired by the groups were a more vexing problem at that moment. The Obama administration crafted policy and programs to develop community-oriented approaches to counter hateful extremist ideologies . . . including domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists in the United States. Years of conferences and outreach sessions commenced, but the focus remained on preventing jihadist terrorism and not domestic terrorism. Muslim communities saw law enforcement-led interventions, and Id spoil these discussions by asking, Where is the outreach to domestic extremists? Id point out that Kevin Harpham arose from Eastern Washington, not far from where FBI Agents in 1992 became embroiled in a disastrous standoff at Ruby Ridge with an alleged, anti-government group. Why dont we send some teams out to northern Idaho and eastern Washington to counter domestic terrorism? Id ask. No one responded, and the conversation would die because we all knew the answers. Domestic extremists have guns; al Qaeda wannabes generally dont. Domestic terrorists vote; international terrorists dont.

A decade of neglect and turning a blind eye to the rising current of white supremacist movements, combined with the rise of political divisiveness built on racial, religious, and ethnic divides, has brought an unprecedented modern wave of domestic terrorism. An African-American church became the scene of a horrible atrocity in South Carolina, and others recently burned in Louisiana. Mosques are attacked abroad and desecrated in the States. American synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego have become the site of mass shootings. White nationalist terrorism has long been on the rise. Why doesnt America do something about it?

A Big White Nationalist Terrorism Problem

The summer of 2016 brought an unprecedented global wave of Islamic State terrorist attacks. My commentary consisted of several articles and interviews describing how the Islamic State directed foreign terrorist attacks, relied on its network of affiliates and former foreign fighters to conduct others, and spawned as a result a contagion of inspired attacks as their successes rippled through global media. Cascading terrorism, as I referred to it, resulted in one attack begetting another attack, where the frequency and scale of each incident reflected the power of a global jihadi extremist movement.

While the Islamic State stole the headlines, behind the scenes though, my colleagues and I watched Russias disinformation storm build heading into the 2016 presidential election. Advancing anti-government conspiracies and amplifying racially charged divides in America represented one of the Kremlins principal avenues for infiltrating the electorate. Having stumbled onto the Russian trolls in early 2014, I only became convinced of Russias effectiveness in undermining American democracy after watching them elevate the Jade Helm military exercise conspiracy alleging the U.S. military would take over Texas.

After publishing our assessment of Russian influence headed into the election, I did not worry much about the outcome of the vote, but instead worried about domestic extremist groups turning to violence at polling places based on conspiracy theories of election rigging and voter fraud. Shortly after the election, such a scenario occurred when an armed man fired shots at a pizza place in the nations capital. The PizzaGate incident showed the power of online conspiracies to propel violence in right-wing circles.

For the last decade, Ive concluded counter-terrorism courses with a forecast comparing and contrasting the threat of international and domestic terrorism in the U.S. Four variables offer perspective as to where each category of extremist group might be headed. (Figure 1)

Similarities and Differences between International Terrorists and White Nationalist Terrorists

From 2001 to the summer of 2016, the threat of international jihadists far outpaced domestic extremists. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their legions of inspired supporters knew who they wanted to attack and why. They were highly motivated to commit violence to advance their agendas. The challenge for jihadists came down to whether they could gain access to high-profile targets and whether they had the weapons, bombs, skills, and experience to pull off an attack. For domestic extremists in America, nearly all had or could acquire weapons; some even had training, but few were focused on who and where to attackand almost none were willing to commit violence.

Today, domestic extremist violence outpaces Islamist extremism, and the character of the threat has changed dramatically in the last three years. Right-wing extremists and international jihadists from the last decade have many parallels and some differences. Al Qaeda networked its supporters on websites, YouTube, and in web forums. The Islamic State followed suit on Facebook and Twitter before being kicked off those platforms, and then descended on the lesser-policed app Telegram. Today, white supremacistshaving been largely pushed off mainstream social media platformsuse obscure sites like Gab and 8Chan to network, radicalize, share philosophies, and celebrate attacks. At the groups height, the Islamic States social media posts traveled widely and were empowered by global legions of supporters who further distributed the groups message. Today, white supremacists have grown so highly networked online that the Facebook Live video posted by New Zealand mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant was removed 1.2 million times at upload, and then another 300,000 copies were removed after posting. The Islamic State never achieved such an intense and capable network of online support.

Al Qaeda and Islamic State supporters looked to group leaders such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for targeting guidance, and to jihadi clerics such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Anwar al-Awlaki for religious justifications of violence. The global white nationalist terrorist movement today has its own heroes in Anders Behring Breivik, Dylann Roof, and now Brenton Tarrant, who inspire others to commit violence and establish their ideological direction through terrorist manifestos.

Both extremist movements have advanced through the inspirational contagion of successful attacks, which raise the respective ideologys profile, garner media attention, attract recruits, and inspire further plots. The difference between the inspired attacks of international jihadists and white nationalist extremists comes in the direction by which they coalesce.

Al Qaeda and the Islamic State formed as named groups that directed terrorist attacks on specified targets. Each group then used violence to recruit, train, and indoctrinate international foreign fighterscreating a global web of supporters and affiliates and launching networked attacks in coordination and under their banners. Directed attacks and networked attacks then cascaded into waves of inspired attacks by those believing in jihadi ideology, but often having no direct connection to the international group. The strength of al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the global movement that the two groups inspired could be felt by the breadth and frequency of this full spectrum of directed, networked, and inspired attacks under the banner of jihadreaching its violent zenith in the summer of 2016. (For reference, see, Inspired, Networked & Directed  The Muddled Jihad of ISIS & al Qaeda post Hebdo and Figure 2.)

White supremacist terrorism appears to be following the inverse model of international jihadists by forming from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. White supremacists live and operate largely in Western countries hosting substantial law enforcement. Adequate policing prevents the formation of named groups and squelches the organizing, training, planning, and preparation jihadist groups enjoyed in failing states like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or the Sahel.

Lacking a central core leadership, white supremacists emerge from grass roots, online organizing. Each attack inspires another one leading to a global network of online supporters spreading the ideology and offering technical and tactical assistance when possible to further additional attacks. Whereas jihadists needed money, training, weapons, and access to targets, white supremacists have easy access to African-American, Jewish, Muslim, LGBT, and other minority group targets; enough money to self-finance attacks; and plenty of weapons at their disposal. Continued successful attacks and online networking, if not addressed holistically by Western law enforcement, will likely lead to further in-person networking at rallies, movement to compounds domestically, or even regional or international white supremacist enclaves that could lead to the formation of named, global white supremacist groups. If left unabated, the pattern of jihadists (Top-down, Directed-Networked-Inspired) will reverse itself for white nationalist terrorists as they grow in strength (Bottom-up, Inspired-Networked-Directed). A good current example of this right-wing terrorist formation is Atomwaffena Neo-Nazi group linked to multiple murders in the U.S.

The West should now worry equally about the global networking, state sponsorship, and facilitation of right-wing extremists. Russias state-sponsored disinformation system amplifies racial divides in America, boosts anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment globally, and helps act as connective tissue linking like-minded white nationalist movements across the West. In Sweden, two of three bombers from the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement received military training in Russia before returning home to attack left-wing activists and a refugee home in Gothenburg. The Balkans and in particular Serbia, home to a long history of ethnic strife, surface regularly in white nationalist terrorism discussions, appear routinely in extremist circles, and may become an attractive hub for like-minded extremists seeking a new home abroad over time. A reminder, the Christchurch mosque attacker, Brenton Tarrant, was not from New Zealand, but Australia.

Signs already suggest the spike in white nationalist violence will likely lead to reprisal terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists and left-wing movements. Sri Lankas defence minister said that a preliminary investigation into the Islamic State-linked Easter bombings found the attacks to be in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch. New Zealands foreign minister later disagreed with this assessment and noted the Islamic States claim of responsibility didnt mention the Christchurch attack. But even the suggestion of such a reprisal attack points to the growing risk of reciprocal Islamic extremist attacks and left-wing inspired attacks in response to right-wing aggression. Literally, the name Antifa comes from anti-fascists, as a countermovement to right-wing extremists. This past week, the FBI disrupted a plot by a U.S. Army combat veteran to bomb a white nationalist rally. In sum, unchecked violence begets more violence.

Why the U.S. is hamstrung in the Fight against White Nationalist Terrorism

Americanswhether its the government or the mediatreat domestic terrorism different than international terrorism. Inside the FBI, international and domestic terrorism investigations employ different rulebooks. Cases against international jihadists generally follow the National Security Guidelines and if a nexus to a foreign power, foreign terrorist organization, or designated foreign terrorist surfaces, investigators can request searches via the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to preempt impending violence.

Domestic terrorism investigators use the U.S. Criminal Code to guide their investigations, and have a higher bar to hurdle for investigative approvals, far fewer resources at their disposal, and no formal domestic terrorist organization designation to power preemptive looks into extremist networks. There is a definition of domestic terrorism in U.S. code, but there is no specific criminal statute for domestic terrorism tied to that code. Domestic terrorism investigations thus often result in what appear to be one-off, reactive pursuits after violent attacks, as no legal avenue for upending domestic terrorism exists. As former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Gomez has explained over the years and in discussions with me, Absent a fully approved investigation into a designated domestic terrorism group, FBI agents are left with investigating dozens or even hundreds of individuals for conspiracy to commit a specific crime.

Short of violence or a full FBI-designated domestic terrorism investigation, preventing white nationalist attacks becomes nearly impossible for investigators. The First Amendment protects their speech, and the Second Amendment protects their access to weapons. The FBI, however, despite these challenges, should be applauded for successfully thwarting several domestic extremist plots in recent months suggesting those inside the federal law enforcement agency recognize the threat and currently pursue them to the best of their ability despite so many constraints.

The White House and Capitol Hill stymie aggressive policing of domestic extremists. Whether it is Richard Spencers rallies in Charlottesville, Congressman Steve Kings comments and actions, or even this past weekends white nationalist demonstration at a Washington, D.C. book talk, white supremacists and their law-abiding supporters represent a constituency, and Congress doesnt like to talk about them. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried in 2009 to warn of military veterans becoming right-wing extremists, Congressional Republicans admonished the agency, and the assessment was withdrawn. (Reminder, Kevin Harpham in 2011 was a military veteran). A decade later, DHS disbanded its domestic terrorism intelligence unit as part of a reorganization to eliminate federal redundancy.

What Can Policymakers Do to Fight White Nationalist Terrorism?

Elected leaders could do something more than offer their thoughts and prayers to challenge the growing threat of white nationalist terrorism. Our nations legislators could and should enact a federal crime for domestic terrorism (explained best by Mary B. McCord here at Lawfare). Another option for Congress would be to create a law for designating domestic terrorism organizations and domestic terrorists equivalent to the process conducted by the U.S. State Department for international terrorism. However, I have no confidence in our Congress during this time to enact such legislation and then fairly conduct oversight of such a designation process. Current legislative debates place equal emphasis on Black Identity Extremism and anarchists. There have been remarkably few violent incidents by Black Identity Extremists; according to the FBIs estimate, Violence has been rare over the past 20 years and there is sparse evidence of any convergence. The FBI and DHS assess that anarchists and Antifa principally target property, not people. FBI Director Wray has publicly called white nationalist terrorism a persistent, pervasive threat, and America has watched white supremacists kill and wound hundreds of its citizens. To place Black Identity Extremism and Antifa/anarchists on equal footing is simply silly, and shows gross negligence by our elected leaders and great weakness by our institutions.

Since our lawmakers cant pass laws designed to deal with the most pressing threats to American security, their committees could start by informing themselves and the public through a series of public hearings on domestic terrorism requesting the following information from the FBI and DHS:

Homeland Security & Judiciary Committees: The deaths, crimes, incidents, and estimated number of adherents for each category of domestic terrorism Summary of each incident resulting in casualties at the hands of a domestic terrorist Assessment of each domestic extremist ideologys threat to people and property A breakdown of resources dedicated to international and domestic terrorism by category An outline of how investigators will handle fringe social media platforms (8Chan, Gab) acting as hubs for domestic terrorists

Foreign Affairs & Intelligence Committees: Threat of foreign countries working to coordinate, infiltrate, and influence domestic extremist movements Summary of foreign intelligence collection related to: U.S. persons traveling abroad for ideological indoctrination and training in support of all extremist ideologies Suspected foreign agents inside the U.S. connecting with extremist groups

Armed Services Committees: The prevalence of domestic extremism, by type, in the ranks of the Armed Forces Foreign influence operations targeting current and former U.S. military personnel



White nationalist terrorism arises from individuals in a loose network, and the FBI can do something about it. The U.S. just went through a similar period with al Qaeda and Islamic States homegrown violent extremists. The FBI Director, ideally with the public support of the Attorney General and the president, should open a nationwide domestic terrorism case for White Nationalist Inspired Terrorism. Designating this case would allow for investigators and analysts to conduct assessments for detecting violent plots before they occur. In recent years, a similar case designation for al Qaeda and Islamic State-inspired, homegrown violent extremists helped the FBI catch up to the international jihadist threat.[1] In short, the designation will help the FBI dedicate more resources and personnel to white nationalist terrorism, may help them detect violent plots earlier, and increase the amount of information for sharing with state and local partners who may be better informed and positioned for thwarting extremist violence.

These small, simple steps can help stem the rising tide of white nationalist terrorism, but one thing above all could dramatically reduce domestic extremism: leadership. Offering thoughts and prayers via tweets accomplishes nothing. Elected leaders must acknowledge white nationalist terrorism now, publicly refute the divisive ideology, and affirm their commitment to protect all Americans against threats foreign and domestic. Until this happens, these elected leaders fail in their duty to lead our country, and all Americans will remain vulnerable to the violence of a growing strain of white nationalist terrorism.

Clint Watts is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. @selectedwisdom

Notes:

[1] See, the FBIs Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) for the difference between Assessments, Preliminary Inquiries, and Full Field Investigations.

This article appeared originally at Foreign Policy Research Insitutute (FPRI).
The trade negotiations with China provide an opportunity to advance human rights in China. A key strategy to do so is to free the Chinese internet market. Unfortunately, the current trade negotiations with China are missing this critical component. We argue that this must change. U.S. internet companies must have equal access to China that they are now denied. This is only fair based on the principle of reciprocity. Additionally, it will provide the United States with invaluable political and economic opportunities. There are three reasons why this is so.

First, the internet has changed not only how people buy things and entertain themselves, but also how they obtain information and communicate with each other. The free flow of information can promote Chinas democratic transition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is well aware of this threat to its power, as Xi Jinping's expressed in his January 2019 speech to the Politburo's 12th Study Group meeting. Xi argued, "Without cybersecurity, there is no national security. If we cannot overcome the internet barrier, we won't be able to hold power for a long period of time. The internet is a double-edged sword: a photograph and a video can become viral and spread explosively through all media outlets in a few hours." Moreover, he recognized that "It has a great impact on public opinion. If correctly used, this power of influence can benefit the country and the people; otherwise, it will bring unimaginable harm." Xi wants the CCP to have absolute control over the internet to win this invisible war on "the battlefield without guns." The U.S. should not let him get away with it.

The Chinese regime fully comprehends the double-edged sword of the internet. China wants the internet to promote economic growth. China's digital economy has experienced massive growth over the last decade under the regime's protectionist policy. According to a McKinsey report, ten years ago China accounted for less than one percent of the global e-commerce market; today its share is 42%. In comparison, the United States' share of the market is 24%, down from 35% in 2005. Furthermore, the Party leadership views suppression of internet freedom as the key to its perpetual totalitarian rule over China and its people, so it uses its vast state apparatus to censor, block, and restrict the ability of Chinese citizens to get or share information and opinions. According to internet NGO GreatFire, China currently has blocked over 10,000 domain names and 80,000 URLs under the country's internet censorship policy, which prevents users from accessing proscribed websites from within the country. China's vast censorship apparatus is also using a new technique for rooting out banned contents, phrases and words. At the same time, its immense and potent propaganda machine uses fake news and spreads lies to incite ultra-nationalism and hatred towards the U.S.

China is not content with controlling information within its own borders. Under Chinas policy of cyber sovereignty, China has used technology to censor content on non-Chinese websites, including many attacks on American websites for content it dislikes. China also exports its digital totalitarianism, destroying democracy and the free world as we know it.

Second, while asserting tight control over the internets ideological and political sphere, the Chinese regime has used the pretense of national security to protect its internet market and block companies such as American competitors. It sets insurmountable barriers for the American internet companies to enter the Chinese market as equals, thus creating a de facto ban on American companies such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Chinese Wikipedia, Mobile Wikipedia, Pinterest, Dropbox, Reddit, Bloomberg, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Twitter, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Blogspot, Flickr, Tumblr, and many others. Some American internet companies have gained limited access to the Chinese market, but only after they submit to demands such as back doors on their technology to permit access by the Chinese government. As a result, China's denial of its internet market costs trillions of dollars to the American advertisers, bankers, manufacturers, farmers and service providers. For example, the Chinese mobile payment market has grown many folds to today's $30 trillion in the past decade and is projected to grow to $97 trillion in 2023 according to Frost & Sullivan, but none of the American companies benefit from this growth, and Tencent and Alibaba have monopolized the market.

Third, while China hinders access by U.S. firms to their market, Chinese internet companies have been taking extraordinary advantage of the free U.S. market. The Chinese internet company giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, all came to the U.S. and were given full and unrestricted access to the American markets, including capital markets. In 2018, thirty-three Chinese companies went public in the U.S. and in 2018 raised over $9 billion, most of the companies are internet tech companies. China refuses to grant the U.S. any true reciprocity in the internet arena. This unfair and detrimental trade practice should be a priority in the current trade negotiations with China.

Ensuring internet freedom and the free flow of information must be a core component of U.S. foreign policy and trade policy concerning China. Washington must use the leverage it possesses to foster a genuine opening of the Chinese internet market. If there is a free internet market in China, it will become an open political space that inevitably will undermine Xi's rule. The Communist Party leadership understands this, and it is time the U.S. did as well.

Bradley A. Thayer is the coauthor of How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics.



Lianchao Han is a human rights activist, Vice President of Initiatives for China, and Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute.




Ray McGovern calls out the void of evidence at the heart of the Senate hearing with Attorney General Barr on Wednesday.



By Ray McGovern

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - G

eorge Orwell would have been in stitches Wednesday watching Attorney General William Barr and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spar on Russia-gate. The hearing had the hallmarks of the intentionally or naively blind leading the blind with political shamelessness.

From time to time the discussion turned to the absence of a legal predicate to investigate President Donald Trump for colluding with Russia. That is, of course, important; and we can expect to hear a lot more about that in coming months.

More important: what remains unacknowledged is the absence of an evidence-based major premise that should have been in place to anchor the rhetoric and accusations about Russia-gate over the past three years. With a lack of evidence sufficient to support a major premise, any syllogism falls of its own weight.

The major premise that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee and gave WikiLeaks highly embarrassing emails cannot bear close scrutiny. Yes, former CIA Director John Brennan has told Congress he does not do evidence. In the same odd vein, Brennans former FBI counterpart James Comey chose not to do evidence when he failed to seize and inspect the DNC computers that a contractor-of-ill-repute working for the DNC claimed were hacked by Russia.

Call us old fashioned, but we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) still do evidence  and, in the case at hand, forensic investigation. For those who can handle the truth, the two former NSA technical directors in VIPS can readily explain how the DNC emails were not hacked  by Russia or anyone else  but rather were copied and leaked by someone with physical access to the DNC computers.

We first reported hard forensic evidence to support that judgment in a July 2017 memorandum for the president. Substantial evidence that has accumulated since then strengthens our confidence in that and in related conclusions. Our conclusions are not based on squishy assessments, but rather on empirical, forensic investigations  evidence based on fundamental principles of science and the scientific method.

Bizarre, Medieval

All serious members of the establishment, including Barr, his Senate interrogators, and the mainstream media feel required to accept as dogma the evidence-free conventional wisdom that Russia hacked into the DNC. If you question it, you are, ipso facto, a heretic  and a conspiracy theorist, to boot.

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Again, shades of Orwell and his famous two plus two equals five. Orwells protagonist in 1984, Winston Smith, imagines that the State might proclaim that two plus two equals five is fact. Smith wonders whether, if everybody believes it, does that make it true?

Actually, the end goal is not to get you to parrot that two plus two equals five. The end goal is to make it so youd never even consider that two plus two could equal anything other than five.

During the entire Barr testimony Wednesday, no one departed from the safe, conventional wisdom about Russian hacking. We in VIPS, at least, resist the notion that this makes it true. We shall continue to insist that two and two is four, and point out the flaws in any squishy Intelligence Community Assessment that concludes, even with high confidence, that the required answer is five.

Doubtful Dogma

Wednesdays Senate hearing brought a painful flashback to a similarly widely-held, but evidence-free dogma  that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. attacked that country. It gets worse: Many of the same people who promoted the spurious claims about WMD are responsible for developing and proclaiming the dogma about Russian hacking into the DNC. The Oscar for his performance in the role of misleader goes, once again, to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whose credits go back to the WMD fiasco in which he played a central role.

Before the war on Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put Clapper in charge of analysis of satellite imagery, the most definitive collection system for information on WMD. In his memoir, Clapper admits, with stomach-churning nonchalance, that intelligence officers, including me, were so eager to help [spread the Cheney/Bush claim that Iraq had a rogue WMD program] that we found what wasnt really there. [Emphasis added]

Last November as Clapper was hawking his memoir at the Carnegie Endowment I had a chance during the Q and A to

on that and on Russia-gate. I began:

You confess [in Clappers book] to having been shocked that no weapons of mass destruction were found. And then, to your credit, you admit, as you say here [quoting from the book], the blame is due to intelligence officers, including me, who were so eager to help [the administration make war on Iraq] that we found what wasnt really there.

Now fast forward to two years ago. Your superiors were hell bent on finding ways to blame Trumps victory on the Russians. Do you think that your efforts were guilty of the same sin here? Do you think that you found a lot of things that werent really there? Because thats what our conclusion is, especially from the technical end. There was no hacking of the DNC; it was leaked, and you know that because you talked to NSA.

Evidence

Back to the Senate hearing on Wednesday: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), during a line of questioning about evidence of obstruction of justice, asked the attorney general if he personally reviewed the underlying evidence in the Mueller report.

No, said Barr, We accepted the statements in the report as factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate.

Harris: You accepted the report as evidence? You did not question or look at the underlying evidence?

Barr: We accepted the statements in the report and the characterization of the evidence as true.

Harris: You have made it clear that you did not look at the evidence.

It was crystal clear on Wednesday that Barr had bigger fish to fry, as well as protective nets to deflect incoming shells. He is likely to be preoccupied for weeks answering endless questions about his handling of the Mueller report. It is altogether possible, though, that in due course he plans to look into the origins of Russia-gate and the role of Clapper, Brennan and Comey in creating and promoting the evidence-free dogma that Russia hacked into the DNC  and, more broadly, that, absent Russias support, Trump would not be president.

For the moment, however, we shall have to live with The Russians Still Did It, Whether Trump Colluded or Not. There remains an outside chance, however, that the truth will emerge, perhaps even before November 2020, and that, this time, the Democrats will be shown to have shot themselves in both feet.

For further background, please see:

VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal to Interview Assange

VIPS: Muellers Forensics-Free Findings

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years, with special expertise on Russia, and prepared The Presidents Daily Brieffor Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

This article was originally published by " Consortium News " -

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It is hardly an auspicious time for geostrategic adventures for Turkey. The governance mess after the country's transition to an executive presidency system, a worsening economic downturn and mounting political tensions since the March 31 local polls require Turkey to focus on its domestic woes. Yet, on top of its Syrian stalemate and soon after landing in the losers' club in Sudan, Ankara is cruising into another regional crisis  the one in Libya.

Turkey came back into the spotlight in Libya's conflict after Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive on Tripoli April 4, having taken control of two-thirds of the country, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, has pinned high hopes on Turkey. Sarraj, who has mounted a counter-operation to defend Tripoli, asked Ankara for support in an April 28 phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/turkey-russia-ankara-double-down-in-libya-game.html#ixzz5mxe7vAjO
(FPRI)  After three days of talks in Turkey, representatives from Washington and Ankara failed to reach agreement on the terms of a proposed safe zone in northeastern Syria. The two sides, treaty allies since 1952, share such widely divergent interests in Syria that compromise appears exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The reasons for these divergent interests are often described as an outcome of a half-hearted American intervention in Syria, where a small and limited military operation to oust the Islamic State resulted in a military partnership with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliate in Syria, the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is the core component of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia that Washington depends on to hold the territory taken from Islamic State. This is only half the story and does not capture the nuance of the slow and painful deterioration of Turkish-American relations.
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By Brett Wilkins

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - As is all too often the case when the United States sets its sights on its next target for war or regime change, the corporate mainstream media  which supposedly exists to speak truth to power  is once again marching in lockstep with the government as it beats the drums of war, this time against Venezuela.

The media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has just released a survey of US opinion journalism on the Venezuela crisis which found that in the three-month period between January 15 and April 15, not a single voice in what it called the "elite corporate media" opposed regime change or supported Venezuelas democratically elected government. FAIR analyzed coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour and the Sunday morning talk shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. Of the 76 articles, opinion pieces and TV commentator segments focusing on Venezuela, 54, or 72 percent, explicitly supported removing President Nicolas Maduro from power. Only 11 pieces took no position on the matter.

The Times published 22 pro-regime change commentaries, three ambiguous ones and only five that took no position. The nations paper of record published a January 30, 2019 opinion piece by coup leader Juan Guaido calling on the entire world to stand behind his effort to usurp the Venezuelan presidency. The Post also ran 22 pieces supporting Maduros ouster and only four that were neutral. Not to be outdone by its main competitor, the Jeff Bezos-owned paper also ran an opinion article by Guaido in which he had the temerity to call Maduro "a usurper." Even the normally measured PBS NewsHour got in on the act, featuring a lengthy interview with Guaido in which he called the possibility of violent confrontation "worth it" and dismissed the possibility of negotiating with Maduro.

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FAIR called corporate news coverage of Venezuela nothing short of "a full-scale marketing campaign for regime change." Indeed, it noted that the Times produced an April 1, 2019 opinion video featuring Joanna Hausmann, a Venezuelan-American writer and comedian, which praises Guaido without disclosing that her father, Ricardo Hausmann, is his envoy to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a Washington, DC-based international financial institution dominated by the interests of banks and corporations in the US and other wealthy nations. Hausmann is a neoliberal economist who played a key role in devising policies that enabled the exploitation of Venezuelas economy in the late 20th century. These policies, while friendly to multinational corporations and international capital, devastated and impoverished millions of Venezuelans, sowing the seeds for the backlash manifested in the Bolivarian Revolution.

Despite the glaring breach of the papers own editorial standards, Times video producer Adam Ellick shrugged off criticism of his failure to disclose Hausmanns ties to the coup regime. We were aware of her fathers biography before publication, Ellick said, but Ms. Hausmann is an independent adult woman who has built a popular following on her own, by producing a portfolio of argued videos about Venezuela via her own YouTube channel.

FAIR has previously noted what it called the "corporate medias willful erasure of vast improvements to Venezuelan life" since the Bolivarian Revolution began with the election of former president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The watchdog also took the media to task for ignoring US-imposed sanctions, which according to economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have caused tens of thousands of premature deaths in 2017 and 2018.

"Its obvious that the corporate media has been following US policy," Venezuelan sociologist Edgardo Lander told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! during a Thursday morning interview. Lander, who is a member of the Citizens Platform in Defense of the Constitution, a leftist group opposing US intervention and calling for a popular referendum to decide Venezuelas future, added that "this isnt new."

"I mean, it happened during the Iraq War. Its happened in Libya. Its happened in all over the place," he said. "Papers like the New York Times turn to be critical after the facts. Maybe 10 years from now, theyll be critical of their position in relation to whats happening in Venezuela."

Indeed, while the Times did reflect critically upon its reporting during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion  which too often consisted of little more than parroting Bush administration talking points and even outright lies  and also in 2017 lamented "Americas forever wars," the paper has never acknowledged the role it has played in building and maintaining support for those wars.

In one 2017 opinion article, the Times editorial board repeated that most commonly-heard myth, deeply rooted in the notion of American exceptionalism, that "at least in recent decades, American presidents who took military action have been driven by the desire to promote freedom and democracy." Even the most cursory examination of events unfolding in Venezuela instantly belies this claim, which comes from a country whose government has supported nearly every right-wing dictatorship in the world over the past 75 years, and which has waged or backed wars costing millions of lives in order to crush popular liberation movements around the globe.

Brett Wilkins

This article was originally published by " AntiWar " -

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==See Also==

Venezuelan Coup Fails & So Does CNN - Jimmy Dore Show

Rick Sanchez & Chris Hedges explain media decay

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Glen Greenwald reams media for Collusion coverage Watch



May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Tucker Carlson, Its been a bewildering couple of months for Bill Barr. Barr first served as attorney general in the George HW Bush administration. That was 1991. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just turned two years old at the time. Thats how long ago it was. Then, this February, by process of elimination, Barr became attorney general again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job.



Barr probably didnt expect to become a major figure in the Russia story. He had nothing to do with it. As far as we know, Barr never met with secret agents in Prague. He never texted Vladimir Putin on his blackberry. He never managed a Macedonian content farm. If Barr betrayed his country for a sack or rubles and a case of vodka, nobody has ever proved it. But it doesnt matter. The Russia story cannot die. CNN, The Washington Post, and the Democratic Party have too much invested in it.



The fact its been proved a hoax is irrelevant to them. Bill Barr is a handy way to keep the Russia in the news. Watch todays talking point in action. Somewhere in the basement of the DNC, some a messaging consultant has decided that credibility is the most effective line of attack: Greenwald Reacts to "Rage" against AG Barr after Senate Hearing Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter ==See Also== What Are The Stakes Of Russia Sensationalism? Glenn Greenwald and Sam Seder discuss Russiagate. Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Every week, we select the best police reports from Athens and the University of Georgia for our website and newspaper. Today, were selecting the best of this year so far. From alien abductions to a nude dude, here are our favorite blotters from January to now.
The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market.

Demand for pre-owned cars remained strong in the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), crossing the 4-million unit mark, even as sales of new cars were in slow lane, according to a report.

The used cars segment is expected reach 6.7 to 7.2 million cars per year and be valued at Rs 50,000 crore by FY22, according to IndianBlue Book, the pricing and valuation arm of Mahindra FirstChoice Wheels (MFCW), the pre-owned unit of Mahindra and Mahindra.

The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market, according to the third edition of the report on IndianBlue Book.

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India advanced by a mere 2.7 per cent to 3.3 million units in FY19 - the slowest in five years as buyers deferred purchase amid high finance costs and uncertainty.

Encouraged by the growth prospect in the used car space, MFCW envisages selling 350,000 PVs in FY20, against 250,000 units in FY19.

It is also hoping to become a profitable company by the end of FY20 on the back of volume growth, Ashutosh Pandey, managing director and chief executive officer officer at MFCW, told Business Standard.

To tap into the growth opportunity, the company plans to step up the number of dealerships from the current 1,100 to 1,700 by FY20-end.

What drives the used car market is the migration up from the two-wheelers, said Pandey.

The pool of people willing to migrate from a two-wheeler is significantly large, he said, pointing out that the trend is being fuelled by the second-hand market getting increasingly organised, which in turn gives greater confidence to the buyers to opt for used cars.

The report said the number of consumers paying for an expert evaluation has jumped three times from 10 per cent to 29 per cent between FY09 and FY19, indicating the opportunities for the organised certified pre-owned market.

Some of the other trends, which the report highlights, include a strong preference for entry-level hatchbacks and sedans.

Seven of every ten cars bought comprise hatchbacks and sedans, similar to the new car market.

Typically, the cars bought are pre-dominantly from first owners, with 72 per cent of them being less than five years old.

The report also highlights the buying behaviour unique to pre-owned car buyers.

A pre-owned car buyer tends to be steadfast, with over 40 buyers sticking to a preferred model from research to purchase.

Hence, availability of the preferred model becomes the key enabler to choose the purchase channel.

A similar unwavering persistence is seen in the budget-to-purchase segment, with over 55 per cent buyers tending to stick to and limit the options within the budget.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

Calling for an "unconditional" withdrawal of its legal case, sued potato growers in Gujarat on Friday said that they have sought compensation from PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd (PIH) for harassment caused to them due to the lawsuit.

In a press briefing on Friday, three of the potato farmers sued by PepsiCo along with farmer union leaders and farmers rights activists asserted that Indian farmers' seed freedoms were non-negotiable.

With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

"PepsiCo should withdraw the cases unconditionally. The also company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through even though the law is clear on the subject," said Bipin Patel in a media briefing on Friday. Patel is one of the four potato growers against whom PepsiCo had filed a suit.

"We would like the state government to reveal the full details of the ongoing discussions with the company since we are demanding an unconditional withdrawal based on a reiteration of Sec. 39 (1) (iv) of PPV&FR Act 2001, and anything else is not acceptable," the sued potato growers said.

PepsiCo had earlier on Thursday said that it has agreed to withdraw cases against potato growers in Gujarat after discussions with the government.

The company had sued nine potato farmers in Gujarat, including five last year and four this year, for allegedly buying seeds and selling potato of the FL 2027 variety registered by PepsiCo.

The said variety is used by PepsiCo for making 'Lays' chips.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers.

"We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection.

"The company remains deeply committed to the thousands of farmers we work with across the country and towards ensuring adoption of best farming practices," the PepsiCo India spokesperson had stated.

The sued potato farmers also called for increased awareness of the legislation around plant varieties among farmers across the country.

"The court proceedings came as a shock to us, including the amount of damages that the company was claiming.

"It was clearly trying to intimidate and harass us. Its real intention might have been to wipe out competitors from the market, but it chose to harass farmers.

"The company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through," they said.

On the other hand, Maganbhai Patel of BKS said that it was possible to get a large multinational company to back out very quickly, given that the PPV&FR Act 2001 was clearly on the farmers' side.

The potato growers and farmer activists also sought support from the government for pressuring PepsiCo to agree to their demands for compensation.

"We are not going to approach courts for compensation but shall take a call as and when PepsiCo files for withdrawal of cases in the courts," the farmers said.

On Friday, farmers and activists also announced forming of a new outfit called Bij Adhikar Manch (Rights for Seeds Forum). A meeting of 30 members under the new entity, comprising farmers, farm leaders, civil right representatives, lawyers and scientists, was also held on Friday in Ahmedabad where the forum decided to call for a nation-wide boycott of PepsiCo products.

The forum will now continue to fight for farmers' sovereign rights seeds, said its co-ordinator Kapil Shah.

Friday also saw PepsiCo India officials hold a meeting with Gujarat government officials including chief secretary of the state and additional chief secretary for agriculture, Government of Gujarat in the state capital Gandhinagar.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting in Gandhinagar, Jagrut Kotecha, vice president snacks, PepsiCo India said, "We had come to update the state government about the statement we had issued earlier on Thursday and are looking forward to an amicable solution for everyone."

When asked about withdrawal of cases against the potato growers, Kotecha told mediapersons that PepsiCo India would withdraw the cases as and when the matter came up for hearing before the court.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for June 12 at a commercial court in Ahmedabad.

Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Narendra Damodardas Modi has upset the comfort zone of the secular cartel that represented a precipitated hate for the assertive Indian.

Still, the highly politicised and opinionated 'secular' media is able to speak falsehoods and hit hard at newly emerging assertive Indians and their spokespersons.

Their last battle to shield the 'bachaa-khucha' -- whatever is left -- of their empire is climaxing in mocking missiles on right-wing followers.

Their practice of ideological apartheid was so strong and overpowering that a journalist in her arrogance tweeted from her pedestal, 'We donated land to Yogi Adityanath's ancestors to build the Gorkahdham temple'!

Some cheek they have. They donated to us. Who are they? They align with the invaders. Who are we? They say we are the beggars, the vanquished people who received donations from the conquistadors. And then the same discredited Aryan invasion theory is projected.

Like the political Opposition, they believe if a blatant lie is spoken a thousand times, it gets registered as the truth in public perception.

The Yeti episode and the loud laugh by the chatterati 'secular class' at the Indian Army and my reply underline a mindset that is resisting the change. I saluted the Indian Army, felt proud about its achievement.

The Yeti has been an area of my study since my college days and I undertook two journeys to Tibet, that included visiting Yogi Milarepa's cave in the Ngari prefecture in my pursuit to gain more knowledge about the Abominable Snowman. But that's another story.

The falsification of my tweet is not a new thing -- the seculars are past masters in the Stalinised transformation of the truth into their convenient versions.

A clear divide is to be seen in the media, like in pre-Partition days. The secular class, against Ayodhya, Article 370 removal, common civil code, cow protection and Ram Setu is a consolidated, organised, sector in the media.

They must write against the armed forces, assertive Indians, celebrate Kashmir insurgents, befriend jihadis, publish columns by pronounced beef-eaters, and fulfill secular obligations by hitting us, whatever the occasion, whatever the time or matter.

They must raise their voice against assertive Indians, seeing absolutely nothing positive in us even if a larger part of the nation supports us and votes us.

They think all those supporters are wrong till they convert to the secular class's faith.

Proselytisers of another hue, these seculars have become more venomous and harsher than the Portuguese Jesuit harvesters of faith who used excruciatingly painful inquisition methods to convert Hindus in Goa.

They are the secular extra space leg people, whose daily life depends on doles from foreign agencies and NGOs, and have been spoilt by the likes of Nurul Hassan to Arjun Singh.

They have convinced themselves that they are the lone torch-bearers of Indian voices, whom the India desk on Capitol Hill and the European parliament, Amnesty, Unesco, and public diplomacy department of the MEA and Alliance Francaise de Delhi gave shelter, fat fees for new books and video films -- which none read or saw -- and invites.

With Modi's rise, their space has shrunk, their Siberias and Gulags on news desks are questioned, fellowships gone. Hence the hurt.

The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing. Nothing new.

The abuses and use of choicest bad words, against us, our leaders, was a creation of this left-Congress gang. They are now getting it back with interest added and that's shocking them -- oh, they know some English also?

Their eyes would squirm, their lips stiffen and eyes show an unmistakable charge of intense hate whenever they saw us in the holy precincts of their monopolised domination like the India International Centre or the Editors Guild.

Once I had lunch at the IIC and saw a known left journalist. I went to his table to greet him. He was shocked, and for a second looked frozen in disbelief. And the first sentence he uttered was, 'Arre, you are a member here? Who gave you membership?'

I returned to my table with sadness. We were supposed to eat in a dhaba, speak against reforms, against Muslims and Christians, against social amity and wear a shikhaa -- which they called head-tail.

To get their approval and acceptance we must support the invaders -- or at least show them as economic reformers who came from Ghazni to Somnath in pursuit to increase employment opportunities for poor, enterprising Afghans and free Hindus from the shackles of the priests.

For secular baptism, we must read Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, attend Sahmat meetings, buy Audrey Truschke's books and show them off to friends too, and write columns on how as god's special messenger in academics Wendy Doniger is once again civilising the Hindus through her masterpiece.

This was considered to be the first signature of a civilised, cultured, secular Indian.

The armed forces too have received their contempt and an unusual dose of verbal missiles. Never would we see a rally, a Jantar Mantar candlelight vigil, a jhola chhaap silent march in support of the Gadchiroli or Pulwama martyrs, or against the terrorist gangs of Naxals, and Kashmir jihadis.

These well-fed and well-paid mediapersons find it easy to hit us, but would not find the time to report on polling in Tawang and the fear enveloping Changlang. Or a report from Hebron, for obvious reasons.

They will never even try their investigative skills to report how the Church is openly funding and supporting the NSCN-IM and K and their idea of a greater Nagaland for religious expansionism.

For the Indian media, specially the secular class, anything that corrodes the boundaries of Hindu faith, and hurts the people who profess an assertive Indian dharma -- through the tricolour and the Constitution -- must be welcomed and if Islamists, the PFI, Jesuits or any section of the proselytisers hit at us collectively, that is secular tehzeeb and well within their rights.

Modi has punctured their fraud, their tirade of lies and falsification.

One must never forget that just before the 2014 election came to an end, an influential magazine published a cover story with the title, 'God of Hate', with a Modi picture.

Modi must not stop, and decimate this gang.

The only fear is that assertive Indians often fall prey to the same old Prithviraj Chauhan syndrome.

Not this time, please.

Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP, was the chief editor of the RSS weekly, Panchjanya, for 20 years.
Retired Lieutenant General D S Hooda said on Saturday that cross-border operations had happened in the past too but disapproved of politicising the matter.

Responding to a question on the Congress party's claim that six surgical strikes had been carried out during its rule too, Hooda told reporters in Jaipur, "Certainly cross-border operations have been carried out by the Indian Army in the past too. I am not aware of exact dates and areas."

The Congress on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during the United Progressive Alliance rule, asserting that it never tried to take political advantage from military operations as was being done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress released the list at a press conference after BJP leader Arun Jaitley took a jibe at the opposition party, saying its surgical strikes were "invisible and unknown".

The former chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command said it was not good to politicise the army.

"It is not a good thing to bring the Army in poll campaign by political parties. The Election Commission too has said this. Ultimately, it's the institution which suffers damage in long term," he said.

Hooda was in Jaipur to attend a dialogue on India's national security.

"Protecting our people is one of the most important aspects in the national security strategy we prepare," he said in the function.

Hooda, who recently headed a Congress panel on national security and submitted a report, also said that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is an important challenge being faced today.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.

Ajai Shukla reports.

The Indian Air Force has been told to keep on hold the findings of a court of inquiry that has conclusively determined that an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter was shot down by an Indian missile battery that was guarding the Srinagar air base.

A senior helicopter pilot, of the rank of air commodore, heads the CoI.

Six IAF personnel and a civilian on the ground died in that 'friendly fire' incident on February 27.

Top IAF sources say the incident occurred after officers from the ground missile battery misidentified the IAF chopper as a Pakistani aircraft on a mission to attack Srinagar.

The disaster took place the day after IAF fighters had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Pakistan to retaliate against a JeM suicide bomb attack 12 days earlier, which killed over 40 Indian troopers in Pulwama, near Srinagar.

The CoI has found that, with IAF and army units across Jammu and Kashmir in a state of hair-trigger alert against expected Pakistani retaliation, two crucial omissions led to the missile battery opening fire and downing their own helicopter.

First, to guard against misidentification of aircraft in the prevailing state of alert, all IAF aircraft coming in to land in Srinagar were required to approach the air base only through a designated air corridor.

Ground missile units would know that the aircraft approaching through the narrow 'funnel' was a friendly aircraft.

For reasons that remain unclear, the Mi-17V5 helicopter was not in the safe corridor as it approached from the direction of Budgam, to the south of Srinagar.

The ground missile units assumed the radar track they picked was that of a hostile aircraft.

Second, IAF aircraft are equipped with an electronic device called an Identification Friend or Foe system, which beams out a coded signal that identifies the aircraft as a friendly one to all IAF radars and IFF receivers.

The IFF system is required to be switched on, especially in a situation where ground missile units are on high alert.

For unclear reasons, the CoI has found that the ill-fated helicopter's IFF system was not switched on that day.

IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses. However, they are held back by a 'go-slow' order.

On February 27, the downing of the helicopter was obscured by the media attention on the downing of an IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's capture.

The IAF has declined to comment, stating: 'The CoI is still in progress.'

Asked specifically about the delay in finalising the findings of the CoI, the IAF said: 'The time line of any CoI cannot be predicted.'

It is learnt that the missile that was fired was an Israeli short-range surface to air missile (SR-SAM), which can engage incoming targets at ranges out to 20 kilometres.

While engaging targets at those ranges, there is no scope for visual identification. Aircraft are merely a blip on a radar.

The incoming helicopter was engaged with the permission of the base air defence officer at Srinagar, who was required to satisfy himself that a target being engaged is indeed hostile.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.

IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate an election victory. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

For the first time in the history of Indian elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting more seats than the Congress.

The BJP is contesting elections in 437 constituencies this election while the Congress is contesting 14 seats -- 423 -- fewer.

1984 was the first Lok Sabha election the BJP contested after it was born in 1980.

The BJP fielded 224 candidates in 1984 and won just 2 seats! The party won only 7.74% of the votes polled.

The Congress won 404 seats -- its highest ever -- and 49.10% of the vote in an election held weeks after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The two BJP MPs elected were Dr A K Patel, who won from Mehsana in Gujarat, and Chandupatla Janga Reddy, who won from Hanamkonda in Andhra Pradesh.

IMAGE: Lal Kishenchand Advani who rebuilt the Bharatiya Janata Party as a formidable election winning machine. Photograph: PTI Photo

In 1986, Lal Kishenchand Advani took over as BJP president from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a lot changed for the party when Advani was at the helm from 1986 to 1996.

The BJP won 85 of the 225 seats it contested in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.

Its vote share rose to 11.36%. The Congress won 39.53% of the vote, a nearly 10% drop from the election five years earlier.

The Congress won only 197 of the 510 seats it contested and lost power at the Centre.

In the 1991 Lok Sabha election, the BJP contested 468 seats -- the second highest it has fought since its founding -- and won 120 seats.

It also increased its vote share to 20.11%.

The Congress won 232 of the 487 seats it contested -- recovering ground after its leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the election campaign.

But its vote share dipped further -- the Congress won 36.26% of the votes.

1991 was the last election the Congress won a vote share of 30% and above.

The election to the 11th Lok Sabha were held in 1996. The BJP contested 471 seats -- its highest ever till date -- and won 161 of them.

The party vote share was intact at 20.29%.

The Congress won 140 of the 529 seats it contested, getting 28.80% of the vote share.

The mid-term 1998 election again produced a fractured mandate with the BJP winning 182 of the 388 seats it contested.

The Congress saw its seats decline to 141 seats.

The BJP equalled the Congress vote share for the first time.

While the BJP won 25.59% of the vote, the Congress vote share declined to 25.82% per cent.

Another mid-term election was called after Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government lost a vote of confidence -- when the AIADMK withdrew support -- by just 1 vote.

The 1999 general election saw the BJP making further inroads in the Congress support base.

The BJP won 182 of the 339 seats it contested though its vote share saw a marginal drop to 23.75%.

The Congress won just 114 of the 453 seats it contested, but its vote share saw a marginal rise to 28.30%.

The BJP cobbled up a coalition with regional parties and the National Democratic Alliance was born with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister.

The 2004 general election was a contest between the NDA and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

Despite its India Shining campaign, the BJP won only 138 of the 364 seats it contested.

The Congress won 145 of the 400 seats it contested.

The BJP vote share declined to 22.16%; the Congress vote share declined to 26.53%.

The Left -- which supported the UPA from outside -- made substantial gains, winning 60 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress formed the government for the first time since May 1991 with Dr Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 116 of the 433 seats it contested.

The Congress managed its best showing in the new century, winning 206 of the 440 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

The Congress increased its vote share to 28.55% while the BJP's vote share declined to 18.80%.

IMAGE: Narendra Damodardas Modi, who has restored and enhanced the BJP's electoral glory. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

For the first time since the 1984 Lok Sabha election, a party won an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha with the BJP winning 282 of the 428 seats it contested.

The BJP's vote share crossed the 30% mark for the first time -- under Narendra Damodardas Modi's leadership, it won 31.34% of the vote.

The Congress suffered its worst election defeat, winning a mere 44 of the 464 seats it contested.

The Congress vote share shrunk to 19.52%, its worst till date.

How many of the 437 constituencies will the BJP win this Lok Sabha election?

Can the Congress improve its dismal 2014 tally in the 423 seats it is contesting this time?

Text: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com. Graphics: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com. Data Source: Election Commission of India.
Some 1,100 years ago, Uthiramerur had an election system similar to what India has today.

T E Narasimhan reports.

IMAGE: The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Tucked away in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, 90 km from Chennai, is the small temple town of Uthiramerur.

It is located along national highway 45, running south-west of Chennai. A tight right straightens out on to the road that leads to this busy small-town market.

The 25-km road runs in the middle of the dry agriculture land on both sides slightly dotted by industrial establishments and education institutions

There are three famous temples in Uthiramerur -- The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple, dedicated to Vishnu; the Subramanya temple, for Muruga, and the Kailasanatha temple, for Shiva.

Besides, Uthiramerur has another rich institution it prays to, and that is 'democracy'.

Some 1,100 years ago, this town had an election system similar to what India has today -- including references to how elected members must be subjected to the right of recall.

Around the Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple there are about ten traditional houses. 82-year old Srinivasan lives here, as does Sridhar.

Their families have lived in Uthiramerur for many decades now, and they have many stories to tell.

Image: Tamil inscriptions, dating back to the 10th century AD, on qualifications required of candidates standing for election, at Uttaramerur.

The Paranthaka Cholas ruled this area and introduced systems of governance that were the precursors of today's governance.

There is also evidence of a perfect electoral system and a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections in the forms of inscriptions on the walls of the village assembly hall (grama sabha mandapa), which is a rectangular structure made of granite slabs.

"This inscription, dated to 920 AD during the reign of Parantaka Chola is an outstanding document in the history of India," says a representative from the Archaeological Survey of India at the site.

The inscription gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates contesting elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of elections, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of the committees and the power to remove the wrong-doers.

"On the walls of the mandapa are inscribed a variety of secular transactions of the village, dealing with administrative, judicial, commercial, agricultural, transportation and irrigation regulations, as administered by the then village assembly, giving a vivid picture of the efficient administration of the village society in the bygone era," the ASI official says.

As per the inscriptions, a huge mud pot (kudam) was placed at a central location of the town or village, which served as the ballot box.

The voters wrote the name of their desired candidate on the palm leaf (panai olai) and dropped it in the pot.

The leaves were taken out from the pot and counted. Whoever got the highest number of votes was selected the member of the village assembly, notes Ganesan, a former MLA.

The entire village, including the infants, had to be present at the village assembly mandapa at Uthiramerur when the elections were held. Only the sick and those who had gone on a pilgrimage were exempt.

According to the inscriptions, the village was divided into 30 families, and one representative was elected for each family.

Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest. The essential criteria were age limit, possession of immovable property and minimum educational qualification.

Only those who owned land, that attracted tax, could contest. Another interesting stipulation was that such owners should have a house built on a legally-owned site.

A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the three terms, each term lasting a year.

Elected members, who suffered disqualification, were those who accepted bribes, misappropriated others' property, committed incest or acted against public interest.

If one was proved corrupt during his tenure, he, his family members and even his blood relatives could not contest elections for the next seven generations.

A 10th century record, which was in the form of inscriptions at this site also reveals how the fines imposed on the wrong-doers of the village were administered.

Those who were fined for wrong deeds were called 'dhushtargal' (criminal).

The fines were imposed on them by the village assembly and the sitting elected members.

The fines imposed were to be collected from the 'dhushtargal' and settled by the village administrators through the assembly within the same financial year, failing which the assembly would intervene and get the matter settled.

Delayed payment of penalties had late fee attached to them.

Measures in place ensured that elected members of the village assembly do not escape fine or punishment using their influence. They were dealt with severely, if found guilty.

T Venkatesan from this panchayat town says even today candidates from the political parties visit this temple during election time to seek blessings.

The deity in the Vaikunta Perumal temple is referred to as 'Election Perumal' or the god for elections.

A DMK follower Kamala Kannan, a resident, points out another interesting factor -- whichever political party wins this constituency comes to power in the state.

Today, the temple town remains largely decrepit, dependent on sugar cane and rice farming, with just a few industries producing steel, cement and sugar.

When then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was touring Tamil Nadu, along with his wife Sonia Gandhi, he visited the temple and enquired about the history and how democracy was practised here.

Seshadri, who knew some English, was to do the explanation. However, before he could do so, Sonia Gandhi interrupted and explained, for about 10 minutes to Rajiv Gandhi, the significance of the place, recalls Seshadri.
Hong Kong: James Lau attends ADB meeting

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau today continued attending the Asian Development Banks 52nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji.

At the Business Session which closed this years annual meeting, he said uncertainties over international trade and economic prospects over the past year had rendered reliable partnerships all the more important at this juncture.

Mr Lau called on the banks members to work together to get the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time, adding it would be the key to sustainable growth in Asia.

As an international financial centre with deep and liquid financial markets in the region, Hong Kong would continue to play an active role in supporting and promoting infrastructure investment in Asia, he said.

Mr Lau also met Director General of the Department of International Financial & Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance Zhang Wencai, and Executive Director for China to the Asian Development Bank Cheng Zhijun to discuss Hong Kongs contribution to the banks long-term development.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - A new report provides information on which corporations are profiting from the private prison industry.

The report (pdf), which was released by criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, is based on a database run by the organization that lists a total 3,900 companies in 12 sectors that make money off of the prison industrial complex.

The scope of the income taken in by these companies, the report says, is in the tens of billions.

Today, more than half of the $80 billion spent annually on incarceration by government agencies is used to pay the thousands of vendors that serve the criminal legal system. They are healthcare providers, food suppliers, and commissary merchants, among others. And many have devised strategies to extract billions more from the directly impacted communities supporting their incarcerated loved ones.

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The database was first published last year, with 3,100 companies. Tuesday's update adds another 800 corporations to the list.

Bianca Tylek, the executive director for Worth Rises, said in a statement that the report will make it harder for prison profiteers to operate without scrutiny.

"Before this report, many of the companies involved in the prison industrial complex flew below the radar, often intentionally to avoid the headline risk that comes with profiting off mass incarceration today," said Tylek. "This data brings these companies to light and equips advocates with the information needed to challenge them."

The report presents the data mostly in raw form as a research service. The download link is in the report.

Adding more corporations to the list is part of a push to expose the predatory practices of the for-profit prison industry, Tylek said.

"This year's edition expands on our original report with the addition of more than 800 companies," said Tylek. "In publishing this report, we continue to expose the multi-billion-dollar industry built off the vulnerable communitiesdisproportionately black, brown, and cash poortargeted by the criminal legal system."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

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China and Russia: Whoopin' Uncle Sam at His Own Game

By Mike Whitney

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Your Geopolitical Quiz for the Day:

Two countries are embroiled in a ferocious rivalry. One countrys meteoric growth has put it on a path to become the worlds biggest economic superpower while the other country appears to be slipping into irreversible decline. Which country will lead the world into the future?

Country A builds factories and plants, it employees zillions of people who manufacture things, it launches massive infrastructure programs, paves millions of miles of highways and roads, opens new sea lanes, vastly expands its high-speed rail network, and pumps profits back into productive operations that turbo-charge its economy and bolster its stature among the nations of the world.

Country B has the finest military in the world, it has more than 800 bases scattered across the planet, and spends more on weapons systems and war-making than all the other nations combined. Country B has gutted its industrial core, hollowed out its factory base, allowed its vital infrastructure to crumble, outsourced millions of jobs, off-shored thousands of businesses, plunged the center of the country into permanent recession, delivered control of its economy to the Central Bank, and recycled 96 percent of its corporate and financial profits into a stock buyback scam that sucks critical capital out of the economy and into the pockets of corrupt Wall Street plutocrats whose voracious greed is pushing the world towards another catastrophic meltdown.

Which of these two countries is going to lead the world into the future? Which of these two countries offers a path to security and prosperity that doesnt involve black sites, extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial assassinations, color-coded revolutions, waterboarding, strategic disinformation, false-flag provocations, regime change and perennial war?

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Chinas Belt and Road Initiative: A Tectonic Shift in the Geopolitical Balance of Power

Over the weekend, more than 5,000 delegates from across the world met in Beijing for The Second Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation. The conference provided an opportunity for public and private investors to learn more about Xi Jinpings signature infrastructure project that is reshaping trade relations across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. According to journalist Pepe Escobar, The BRI is now supported by no less than 126 states and territories, plus a host of international organizations and will involve six major connectivity corridors spanning Eurasia. The massive development project is one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, .including 65% of the worlds population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. (Wikipedia) The improvements to road, rail and sea routes will vastly increase connectivity, lower shipping costs, boost productivity, and enhance widespread prosperity. The BRI is Chinas attempt to replace the crumbling post-WW2 liberal order with a system that respects the rights of sovereign nations, rejects unilateralism, and relies on market-based principles to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth. The Belt and Road Initiative is Chinas blueprint for a New World Order. It is the face of 21st century capitalism.

The prestigious event in Beijing was barely covered by the western media which sees the project as a looming threat to US plans to pivot to Asia and become the dominant player in the most prosperous and populous region in the world. Growing international support for the Chinese roadmap suggests that Washingtons hegemonic ambitions are likely to be short-circuited by an aggressive development agenda that eclipses anything the US is currently doing or plans to do in the foreseeable future.

The Chinese plan will funnel trillions of dollars into state of the art transportation projects that draw the continents closer together in a webbing of high-speed rail and energy pipelines (Russia). Far-flung locations in Central Asia will be modernized while standards of living will steadily rise. By creating an integrated economic space, in which low tariffs and the free flow of capital help to promote investment, the BRI initiative will produce the worlds biggest free trade zone, a common market in which business is transacted in Chinese or EU currency. There will be no need to trade in USDs despite the dollars historic role as the worlds reserve currency. The shift in currencies will inevitably increase the flow of dollars back to the United States increasing the already-ginormous $22 trillion dollar National Debt while precipitating an excruciating period of adjustment.

Chinese and Russian leaders are taking steps to harmonize their two economic initiatives, the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This will be a challenging task as the expansion of infrastructure implies compatibility between leaders, mutual security guarantees, new rules and regulations for the common economic space, and supranational political structures to oversee trade, tariffs, foreign investment and immigration. Despite the hurtles, both Putin and Xi appear to be fully committed to their vision of economic integration which they see as based on the unconditional adherence to the primacy of national sovereignty and the central role of the United Nations.

It comes at no surprise that US powerbrokers see Putins plan as a significant threat to their regional ambitions, in fact, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted as much in 2012 when she said, Its going to be called a customs union, it will be called the Eurasian Union and all of that, but lets make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it. Washington opposes any free trade project in which it is excluded or cannot control. Both the EEU and the BRI fall into that category.

The United States continues to demonize countries that simply want to use the market to improve the lives of their people and increase their prospects for prosperity. Washingtons hostile approach is both misguided and counterproductive. Competition should be seen as a way to improve productivity and lower costs, not as a threat to over-bloated, inefficient industries that have outlived their usefulness. Heres an excerpt from an article that Putin wrote in 2011. It helps to show that Putin is not the scheming tyrant he is made out to be in the western media, but a free market capitalist who enthusiastically supports globalization:

For the first time in the history of humanity, the world is becoming truly global, in both politics and economics. A central part of this globalization is the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region as compared to the EuroAtlantic world in the global economy. Asias rise is lifting with it the economies of countries outside Asia that have managed to latch onto the Asian economic engine.The US has also effectively hitched itself to this engine, creating an economic and financial network with China and other countries in the region The supercontinent of Eurasia is home to two-thirds of the worlds population and produces over 60 percent of its economic output. Because of the dramatic opening of China and the former Soviet Union to the world, almost all the countries in Eurasia are becoming more economically, politically, and culturally interdependent.  There is huge potential for development in infrastructure, in spite of some formidable bottlenecks. A unified and homogeneous common power market stretching from Lisbon to Hanoi via Vladivostok is not necessary, because electric power markets do not function in that way. But the creation of infrastructure that could support a number of regional and sub-regional common markets would do much for the economic development of Greater Eurasia. (Russian newspaper, Izvestia, 2011)

Keep in mind, the article was written back in 2011 long before Xi had even conjured up his grand pan-Asia infrastructure scheme. Putin was already a committed capitalist looking for ways to put the Soviet era behind him and skillfully use the markets to build his nations power and prosperity. Regrettably, he has been blocked at every turn. Washington does not want others to effectively use the markets. Washington wants to threaten, bully, sanction and harass its competitors so that outcomes can be controlled and more of the worlds wealth can be skimmed off the top by the noncompetitive, monopolistic corporate behemoths that diktat foreign policy to their political underlings (in congress and the White House) and who see rivals as blood enemies that must be ground into dust.

Is it any wonder why Russia and China have emerged as Washingtons biggest enemies? It has nothing to do with the fictitious claims of election meddling or so-called hostile behavior in the South China Sea. Thats nonsense. Washington is terrified that the Russo-Chinese economic integration plan will replace the US-dominated liberal world order, that cutting edge infrastructure will create an Asia-Europe super-continent that no longer trades in dollars or recirculates profits into US debt instruments. They are afraid that an expansive free trade zone that extends from Lisbon to Vladivostok will inevitably lead to new institutions for lending, oversight and governance. They are afraid that a revamped 21st century capitalism will result in more ferocious competition for their clunker corporations, less opportunity for unilateralism and meddling, and a rules-based system where the playing field is painstakingly kept level. Thats what scares Washington.

The Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union represent the changing of the guard. The US-backed neoliberal model of globalisation is being rejected everywhere, from the streets of Paris, to Brexit, to the rise of right wings groups across Europe, to the unexpected election of Donald Trump in 2016. The Russo-Chinese model is built on a more solid, and less extractive, foundation. This new vision anticipates an interconnected multipolar world where the rules governing commerce are decided by the participants, where the rights of every state are respected equally, and where the new guarantors for regional security scrupulously keep the peace. It is this vision of revitalized capitalism that Washington sees as its mortal enemy.
United Nations Special Rapporteur David Kaye speaks to the media about the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.

Governments and state media in Southeast Asia touted improving media liberty on World Press Freedom Day Friday, but critics were swift to point out limits on expression and the jailing of many journalists across the region.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye said in a statement that celebration alone to mark the day would be an insufficient way to observe a day created by the UN General Assembly in 1993 to assess the state of press freedom worldwide, defend the media from attacks on independence and pay tribute to journalists who have died in the line of duty.

Autocrats and demagogues too often denigrate the press, with dire consequences for safety, for democracy, and for the publics right to know, Kaye said in the statement.

Today more than ever, we need not just generic celebrations, but concrete steps to improve press freedom worldwide, he said.

The UN statement highlighted the case of two Reuters reporters in Myanmar, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who last month were denied their final appeals and must serve the remainder of their seven-year-sentences.

They were arrested in December 2017 while pursuing a story about the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during a brutal military-led crackdown in western Myanmars Rakhine state. Authorities detained them shortly after two policemen with whom they had dinner in Yangon handed them state documents related to the atrocities, in what was widely viewed as a police setup.

The statement indicated that press freedom in many parts of Asia is severely lacking, including in China where basic rights to seek, receive and impart information hardly exist.

The theme for this years World Press Freedom Day is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

Cambodia

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, currently in the midst of an 11-day visit to the country, posted her thoughts about the state of press freedom under Hun Sens regime.

I am concerned that Cambodia has slipped further one point to 143 over the last year, after falling 10 points from 132 the previous year in the Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedoms Index, she wrote.

She also gave advice to Cambodias government on ways to improve.

I encourage the Government to provide the space for a free media, both offline and online, including through the adoption and implementation of the draft Law on Access to Information, she wrote.

I also repeat my encouragement to lift the charges against the two former RFA journalists, she added, referring to Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta, who were arrested in November 2017 on suspicion of continuing to provide news about Cambodia to RFA after the U.S.-funded media outlet closed its office in Cambodia that September.

Cambodias fall one spot in the RSF index to 143, was matched by those of neighbor Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, which each fell one step. In a year-on-year comparison for 2018, Laos fell one spot from 170 to 171, Vietnam fell one spot from 175 to 176, and Myanmar fell one spot from 137 to 138.

Meas Sophorn, a spokesman for the countrys Ministry of Information told RFAs Khmer Service that Information Minister Khieu Kanharith held a press conference to mark the day where he said that press freedom is getting better each day within the kingdom.

The spokesman added that broadcast and print media are on the rise, and the country is showing how it respects human rights and press freedom, offering the press conference itself as an indication that press freedom is important to the regime.

But Long Kimmaryta, a journalist for a bilingual newspaper in Phnom Penh disagreed, saying that reporters and the press must now self-censor, after the government arrested reporters.

She said writing criticism about the government is risky in the current climate.

If we were to write positive stories about the government, then sources within the government are happier to talk to us, she said, adding that journalists in Cambodia can only write stories if they feel their safety isnt threatened.

Laos

Meanwhile in neighboring Laos, the deputy editor of the government-published Vientiane Times told RFAs Lao Service, I think we have all kinds of freedoms because we have media laws guaranteeing those freedoms, including the freedom to write news and freedom of expression.

We want to improve and upgrade our reporters knowledge and skills and we also need to diversify the way we [source] content for our news stories, said Deputy Editor Phonekeo Vorlakoun.

Of course, as reporters, we want to respond to the needs of our people, he said.

The deputy editors comments were contradicted by a local reporter stationed in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province who is covering the lasting damage caused by last years disaster at a nearby dam which claimed the lives of hundreds and has been described as Laos worst flooding in decades.

All news stories, even those on technical matters, must be approved by the leadership of the district and the province before we can publish anything, said the reporter.

An official of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism agreed with the reporter saying, The government will never force us to do anything, or order us how to do this or that, but if they say we cant publish the story, we cant publish it.

A citizen of Vientiane gave insight on how the people gain access to reliable news in the country.

If we need to speak out or want to know whats going on, we use Facebook. We cant rely on state TV, radio or newspapers because its too slow, inaccurate and restricted, said the citizen.

Facebook in Vietnam

But Facebook has also been the target of criticism, particularly for bowing to the whims of governments looking to restrict the publics access to information, such as in Vietnam.

According to an open letter to Facebook from 10 free expression and human rights organizations in Vietnam, the social networking behemoth has been blocking access to content on the request of the Vietnamese government.

The letter said that Vietnams 64 million Facebook users use Facebook as their primary news source, citing the absence of independent media within the country.

On January 1, a restrictive cybersecurity law went into effect in Vietnam but the desire of Vietnamese to stay connected and build community has not changed, said the rights groups in the letter, signed by Reporters Without Borders, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Viet Tan and other groups.

The Vietnamese government may want foreign companies to set up local data servers, censor content, and turn over private user data  but its up to Facebook to ultimately decide whether it will uphold human rights or not, they said.

The letter cited Facebook as saying that blocked content was based on local legal restrictions, but urged the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg to not become complicit in the human rights violations of authoritarian governments such as Vietnams.

Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur, States must move beyond words, beyond resolutions and take immediate and sustainable action to ensure safety of journalists, the independence of the media, the plurality of voices.

That is the challenge of the coming year: translating celebration into action, stigmatizing and penalizing those that attack journalism, and devoting resources to the great project of media freedom.

Additional reporting and translation by RFAs Lao and Khmer Services.
Myanmar military medics attend to a civilian wounded in an shooting this week in Rakhine state, May 3, 2019.

Injured survivors from a shooting this week in western Myanmars turbulent Rakhine state on Friday rejected the Myanmar armys account of the incident that killed six detained civilians and wounded eight others.

Four witnesses from Kyauktan village interviewed Friday by RFAs Myanmar Service rejected the account presented a day earlier by Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, who said villagers attacked security forces who were interrogating them and tried to take their weapons and the troops fired as a last resort.

Government forces had been holding 275 civilians in a school compound Rathedaung townships Kyauktan village since Tuesday to interrogate them about possible links to an alleged training camp of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine group that is battling Myanmar forces for greater autonomy.

A 48-year-old man who was injured in the shooting told RFA that the incident was sparked when a mentally disabled detainee started yelling loudly at 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

There was a mentally disabled man among the detainees. We asked the security forces to take care of him separately, he told RFA. They said, He is not mentally disabled. He is fine. He is just pretending.

The man started yelling run, run, run in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. The security forces didnt shoot at him. Instead, they shot at the crowd of other people. So, many people sleeping at the time died, the witness said.

A second witness who was present near the school supported the statement.

Some people tried to run at that time. But most people were lying on their chest. People who run away were not shot. But those who were sleeping got shot, the witness said.

No food or bathing

Another injured patient said the shooting lasted around 20 minutes.

A fourth injured witness said the military did not feed the 275 detainees or allow them to bathe.

We were not allowed take a bath. They didnt give any food the first two days. They only gave us a meal for dinner Tuesday. They said they would shoot and kill us if we tried to leave the school.

RFA has confirmed the identities of the witnesses but has withheld their names to protect them from possible reprisals by the military.

RFA asked Colonel Win Zaw Oo, commander of the Myanmar military's Western Command, about inconsistencies between the militarys announcements and the witnesses accounts.

What we have announced so far is the truth. We said it yesterday. The crowd was aroused to a dangerous situation. We responded with necessary measures to control the situation, he said.

They have their own accounts. But we have plenty of evidence to back up our accounts, Win Zaw Oo said.

At a military news conference at the Military History Museum in the capital Naypyidaw, army spokesman Zaw Min Tun denied the allegation that the security forces withheld food and drinking water from detainees at the school.

We have been interrogating 275 villagers in Kyauktan village. This morning, we have released 126 villagers who were found to have no connection with AA, he told the news conference. He said the others deemed to be associated with the AA would be charged under the law, but did not elaborate.

Some villagers were killed in the 2 a.m. incident, added Zaw Min Tun.

We have returned the bodies of the deceased villagers to the families at 9 a.m. this morning, he said, adding that family members of the dead villagers were given 300,000 kyats (about $200).

Campaign to 'instill fear' in Rakhines

AA spokesman Khine Thukha repeated his rejection of the militarys account of the shooting.

We can give a very clear answer: All the villagers they detained in Kyauktan village are just local civilians. They have no connection with AA, he told RFA.

We think it is the militarys strategy to instill fear among the Rakhine population by terrorizing a previously peaceful Rakhine village with violent detention and interrogations. Besides, their detention of the civilians is unlawful, said Khine Thukha.

They give an excuse that the detained villagers tried to attack them, cheering and taking the guns. This is unacceptable excuse, added the AA spokesman.

Political analyst Maung Maung Soe said the government should form an independent commission to probe the case.

In order to reveal the truth, the government should form an independent commission to investigate the case, he said. If such a committee is assigned to do investigations to find out the truth, I think we will have an account acceptable to all of us.

Win Zaw Oo, however, said the military would investigate its own.

Whenever there is an incident, we, the military, always have investigations as regular procedure. If it is necessary, we are going to conduct our own investigations, he told RFA.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said allowing media access to Rakhine would shed light on the dispute.

If the Burmese military genuinely believes that they are doing the right thing for Rakhine people, they should be giving full media access to Rakhine state. We welcome the media and guarantee the security of the reporters in AAs controlled areas, he said.

If the government is confident in their actions, give open access to media. Then, people will know what they have done and what we have done.

The eight injured villagers were receiving medical treatments at Sittwe General Hospital in the Rakhine state capital, while the six slain detainees were buried at Kyauktan cemetery on Friday.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Human rights activist Bach Hong Quyen arrived in Canada from Thailand On May 3, after narrow escape in Bangkok from being extradited to Vietnam for his role in helping a dissident blogger apply for asylum in Bangkok before he was abducted by Vietnamese agents. Truong Duy Nhat, an RFA contributor, disappeared in Bangkok in late January, and two months later was revealed to be in a Hanoi jail, a secret rendition that legal experts said was a violation by Vietnam's police of the country's criminal procedure laws. Quyen had fled to Thailand in May 2017 after Vietnamese police issued a warrant for his arrest for organizing a protest march on the anniversary of a 2016 waste spill that that polluted the coast of central Vietnam. Quyen, his wife Bui Huong Giang and the couples two daughters are in Canada under a refugee program funded by the Canadian government. He spoke to RFAs Vietnamese Service about avoiding the fate of blogger Nhat, who is in Prison T16 in Hanoi and as of late April had not been allowed visits from his wife. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: During your two weeks in the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, who came to see you?

Quyen: On the third day, the Vietnamese embassy asked IDC for my information: When I went there as well as my IDC number. A week later, last Tuesday, a Vietnamese embassy representative met me in the IDC for about one minute, then a U.N. High Commission for Refugees at the IDC took me to the UNHCR office. A UNHCR staffer asked me why the Vietnamese Embassy representative came and what questions he asked. He asked me how I lived in that cell and when I would go to the West.

RFA: When you were in the IDC, the Vietnamese government asked Thailand to extradite you to Vietnam. What do you think about this?

Quyen: It was not only when I entered the IDC that the Vietnamese side wanted to cooperate with the Thai side to take me back to Vietnam. Friends, staff at human rights organizations had already told me that before. When I came to the IDC, I was really worried about being extradited to Vietnam. I knew in advance that when you enter the IDC, the chance of immigration to a third country versus extradition to Vietnam is 50/50. By the time I got there, I learned that the Vietnamese embassy had asked the police at IDC about my information and after the meeting, I felt like I was even in more danger of being extradited to Vietnam. I was really worried. The UN gave me a notice from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on May 2 that I was scheduled to leave Thailand announced on May 29. Fortunately, due to the concern about my being extradited to Vietnam, IOM as well as the UN pushed hard my case for emigrating to a third countryCanada--and I am now in Canada.

RFA: Before going to the IDC, did you have to hide, especially after publicizing the urgent call for helping Nhat in that letter?

Quyen: I had to escape on March 1, after Thai police came to my house to ask for my information, not when the letter for help was issued on March 8. I had to constantly change the condos I rented to avoid Vietnamese security searches as well as some corrupt police in Thailand. When youre in hiding like that, the situation is really difficult. I had to find ways to disguise myself. Luckily I am now in Canada and I have been able to come to this country freely, and I don't have to worry like that anymore.

RFA: At the time of blogger Nhat's detention at T16 camp was confirmed by his family and friends in Vietnam, what did you think about how he was taken back to Vietnam?

Quyen: There has been a history of Vietnamese secret agents doing things like kidnapping (former head of PetroVietnam Construction) Trinh Xuan Thanh in the center of Berlin. So it is no surprise that secret Vietnamese agents would come to an ASEAN nation to abduct Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who revealed social injustices and internal information on the Vietnamese government. Such abductions will affect the reputation as well as the face of a police state, a dictatorial country. I see the Vietnamese government is willing to defy everything to achieve its goals. I found my escaping abduction and being safe today is a matter of me being luckier than Truong Duy Nhat. Truong Duy Nhat was unlucky. He ran to Thailand to seek asylum and while waiting for resettlement in a third country, he was abducted by the Vietnamese government.

Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen.
At least seven Afghan policemen were killed when suspected Taliban militants stormed checkpoints overnight in western Badghis Province, officials said.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said on May 4 that three other security personnel were wounded during the attack in the Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

Elsewhere, the Afghan Defense Ministry said two separate coalition air strikes on May 3 killed at least 43 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern Kunar Province.

In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted suspected IS militants in Chapara district. It said an unspecified number of Uzbek and Pakistani nationals were among those killed.

Analysts say both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan.

The reports of fresh violence come a day after an Afghan grand council convened by President Ashraf Ghani ended with a demand for an immediate cease-fire.

The council -- known as the Loya Jirga -- brought together more than 3,200 politicians, tribal elders, prominent figures and others to hammer out a shared strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban.

"I want to say to the Taliban that the choice is now in your hands," Ghani said at the closing ceremony in Kabul. "Now it is your turn to show what you want to do."

Ghani said the message of the five-day gathering was clear: "Afghans want peace" and offered a cease-fire, though he stressed it would not be unilateral.

Ghani also vowed to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which starts next week.

In a statement on May 3, the Taliban rejected a cease-fire, saying attacks will continue during Ramadan but said "fighters are very careful of civilians during any operation."

The group has rejected cease-fire proposals saying U.S. and NATO troops must withdraw from the country first.

The grand council produced a 23-point list for peace-talks with the Taliban, including a truce for Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn till dusk.

The Loya Jirga also urged the government to form a strong negotiating team and said at least 50 of its members should represent victims of wars.

The council also backed women's rights, in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters
An Iranian newspaper says one of its reporters was arrested by police earlier this week while covering a May Day protest, during which dozens of activists were detained.

The pro-reform Shargh newspaper said on May 4 that Marzieh Amiri was detained at a demonstration outside the Iranian parliament in Tehran.

The paper said authorities detained some 30 protesting workers, including two workers' leaders, Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reports that the detainees will be released soon, citing the general prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

Iran has witnessed protests over the past two years sparked by the country's worsening economic situation.

In 2018, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran after pulling out a 2015 nuclear deal that provided Tehran with sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Nationwide protests in 2017 led to 25 deaths.

Based on reporting by AP and Mehr
Stevo Pendarovski, backed by North Macedonia's ruling party, appears headed for victory in a presidential runoff vote that will be ruled valid after the minimum participation threshold was reached.

With just over 95 percent of the votes counted in the May 5 election, Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, had 52 percent to 44.4 percent for his challenger, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Just as important, the Central Election Commission said that turnout was 46.2 percent, erasing fears that the 40 percent participation threshold needed to make the balloting official would not be met.

Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova battled to a virtual draw -- 42.8 percent to 42.2 percent respectively -- in the first round on April 21.

That close outcome has put a spotlight on the Balkan nations ethnic Albanian minority, who strongly supported Blerim Reka in the first round, giving him 10.6 percent of the vote.

WATCH: Presidential Candidates Vote In North Macedonia's Runoff

With Reka out of the runoff race, many feared his supporters would boycott the runoff, which could have kept turnout below 40 percent. About one-quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, and overall turnout in the first round was just 41.8 percent.

The campaign itself was rather low key by Macedonian standards, with virtually none of the violence, dirty tricks, and sharp nationalist rhetoric that has marked previous votes.

While the president has a largely ceremonial role, the position does have some powers to veto legislation and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had warned the outcome of the runoff could trigger early parliamentary elections.

The race between the two academics was dominated by debate on issues such as integration into Western structures and a struggling economy, plagued by stubbornly high unemployment at more than 20 percent.

Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, has strongly supported the so-called Prespa deal signed with Greece last year to change the country's name, while Siljanovska-Davkova, the country's first female candidate and a university professor, has been critical of it, though the opposition has said it will not cancel the accord.

"I expect a massive victory in the run-off," Pendarovski told reporters after casting his ballot. "I expect the election day to be calm and that we -- the country which is expecting to get the date to start the EU membership talks -- are capable of organizing free and fair elections," he said.

Siljanovska-Davkova, who unlike her opponent opposes the name change, instead has tried to focus on the government's failure to implement much-needed economic reforms.

"I expect big turnout and I expect to win," she said after voting, adding that she will respect the fact that the country has a new name, "but I will never use it."

The signing of the historic agreement with Greece changed the country's name to North Macedonia and ended a decades-long dispute that had blocked the Balkan state's path to NATO and the European Union.



Pro-Western Pendarovski is supported by the ruling Social Democrats. Siljanovska-Davkova, 63, ran as an independent but is now backed by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Voter apathy has been fueled by a lack of jobs, which has forced many Macedonians to move abroad to find work.

One of the poorest countries in Europe with an average monthly salary of about $470, many voters say they're fed up with politicians on both sides of the legislature and voting for a president won't change their situation.

"I'm not going to vote because my ID is in my wallet and my wallet is empty. So when I look at it, it reminds me that I shouldn't vote," one voter said wryly.

If turnout fails to reach the minimum requirement, constitutional experts say a completely new vote must be called within 40 days.

During the interim period, the head of the National Assembly, Talat Xhaferi, would assume the function of president.



Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive five-year term.

Once a part of Yugoslavia, North Macedonia left Belgrade's umbrella when it seceded peacefully in 1991.



But it veered close to civil war in 2001 when ethnic Albanians launched an armed insurgency seeking greater autonomy, and subsequent elections have been stormy.

The election commission said that voting on May 5 went without any major incidents.

With reporting by AP and AFP
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg.

Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice Department.

"To the extent there was overreach, what we have to be concerned about is a few people at the top getting it into their heads that they know better than the American people," said Barr.

Barr will also review whether the infamous Steele dossier - a collection of salacious and unverified claims against Donald Trump, assembled by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign - was fabricated by the Russian government to trick the FBI and other US agencies. (Will Barr investigate whether Steele made the whole thing up for his client, Fusion GPS?)

"We now know that he was being falsely accused," Barr said of Trump. "We have to stop using the criminal justice process as a political weapon."

Muellers report didnt say there were false accusations against Trump. It said the evidence of cooperation between the campaign and Russia was not sufficient to support criminal charges. Investigators were unable to get a complete picture of the activities of some relevant people, the special counsel found. Although Barrs review has only begun, its helping to fuel a narrative long embraced by Trump and some of his Republican supporters: that the Russia investigation was politically motivated and concocted from false allegations in order to spy on Trumps campaign and ultimately undermine his presidency. -Bloomberg

As Bloomberg notes, Barr's review could receive a boost by a Thursday New York Times article acknowledging that the FBI sent a 'honeypot' spy to London in 2016 to pose as a research assistant and gather intelligence from Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos over possible Trump campaign links to Russia.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

The Trump re-election campaign immediately seized on the Times report as evidence that improper spying did occur. "As President Trump has said, it is high time to investigate the investigators," said Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale in a statement.

During Barr's Wednesday testimony, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told Barr "It appears to me that the Obama administration, Justice Department and FBI decided to place their bets on Hillary Clinton and focus their efforts" when it came to investigating the Trump campaign.

Depending on what Barr finds, his review of the Russia probe could give Trump ammunition to defend himself in continuing congressional inquiries -- and in a potential impeachment for obstructing justice. Barr told senators that Trumps actions cant be seen as obstruction if he was exercising his constitutional authority as president to put an end to an illegitimate investigation. Barrs efforts follow two years of work by a group of House Republicans who have been conducting dozens of interviews regarding the FBIs and Justice Departments conduct in the early stages of investigation of Trump and his campaign. -Bloomberg

On Thursday, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) issued a criminal referral for Nellie Ohr - a former Fusion GPS contractor who passed anti-Trump research to her husband, then the #4 official at the DOJ.

On Thursday, Meadows said that Barr's "willingness to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation is the first step in putting the questionable practices of the past behind us," and that the AG's "tenacity is sure to be rewarded."

The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign after a self-professed member of the Clinton Foundation, Joseph Mifsud, fed Papadopoulos the rumor that Russia had "dirt" on Clinton. That rumor would be coaxed out of the former Trump aide by another Clinton-connected individual - Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, who would notify authorities of Papadopoulos' admission, officially launching the investigation.

Barr says he wants to get to the bottom of it.

His review will examine the above chain of events that set the investigation into motion, and whether any US agencies were engaged in spying on or investigating the Trump campaign before the probe was officially launched.

Barr said hes working with FBI Director Christopher Wray to reconstruct exactly what went down. He said he has people in the department helping me review the activities over the summer of 2016. Notably, Barr said his aides will be working very closely with the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael Horowitz. Horowitz is conducting his own investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation and whether there were abuses when the FBI obtained a secret warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October 2016 to spy on another foreign policy adviser to the campaign, Carter Page. -Bloomberg

Barr will also investigate when the DOJ and FBI knew that the Democratic Party and Clinton was Steele.

More subterfuge, or is this really happening?

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Wildlife officials are investigating poisonings from a toxic pesticide that has killed seven bald eagles and a great horned owl along Marylands Eastern Shore  incidents similar to an unsolved case three years ago that left 13 bald eagles dead.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Natural Resources Police announced Wednesday a $10,000 reward for information about the latest incidents in Kent and Talbot counties.

Investigators said last week that on March 1, they found several dead or sick bald eagles and a dead great horned owl in Chestertown, Md. Officials initially had found three dead bald eagles at the location, then returned to find three more dead eagles.

About a month later, authorities said they found three more bald eagles that showed signs of being poisoned at a Talbot County farm. One died at the scene, and two were taken to a rehabilitation center and eventually released.

The birds all showed signs of having ingested carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide used on farms to get rid of insects until its granular form was banned in the 1990s.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and political rallies in California.

Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot.

Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques.

Two other members  Cole White and Thomas Gillen  each had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

All four admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 704 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. between Jan.1 and April 26. Thats the largest measles outbreak in this country since 1984. Most cases  88%  originated in small, close-knit communities with low vaccination rates. This is unacceptable. The CDC declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. On top of ensuring that every child who can be vaccinated is, doctors now are recommending that adults who were vaccinated between 1958 and 1986 speak to their doctors about receiving a booster shot. The protections of one of the measles vaccines administered during that period might have waned over time. Only a blood test can confirm your immunity. While youre at it, please make sure all of your vaccinations are up to date.

Human-borne illnesses arent the only diseases threatening Americans this summer. According to a news story by Cathy Dyson in The Free Lance-Star, health and pest-control officials are predicting that this summer is going to be doozy for ticks. Not only are the regular homegrown varieties, such as deer ticks and American dog ticks, going to be out in force, there is a new menace in town. According to Dyson, Last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started warning about a new invasive species called an Asian longhorned tick. It first surfaced on a New Jersey sheep in 2017. In just two years since that discovery, it has been found eight other states. Yes, Virginia, we are one of those. Here are some creepy statistics about the ugly little bugger: It can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time and is capable of reproducing without a mate. Imagine stepping on a nest full of newly hatched, hungry young ticks.
McDonald, who is African American, said voters here worry about health care and education. That is what is important to me as well, he said. That is why I am supporting Biden already.

The same goes for 22-year-old Hannah OToole, who sang the national anthem at the Workers Memorial Day celebration in Pittsburgh ahead of Bidens visit along with her father, 60-year-old Marty OToole, who is the business manager for Plumbers Local 27. Joe Bidens been a big part of the way we think and want to go and he has always been a front-runner for us here in Pennsylvania, said Marty OToole, who is personally supporting the former vice president.

Hannah OToole also is leaning toward Biden. Ive liked him since Obama, she said.

Darrin Kelly, president of the powerful local labor council here in western Pennsylvania and a city firefighter, said the party has drifted too far left. And this is the state where, not just in the general but mostly in the primary, that will be decided.

Today is an important reminder of what is important to voters in Pennsylvania in a Democratic primary and we expect the Democratic Party to truly start listening to what our message is, stop polarizing us and start welcoming us back, we want FDR-style politics, Kelly said. If our strength is truly our diversity, then the party has to start listening to the working class, they have to welcome us back and our voice will be heard in the primary in this state and that the message we want about job creation, health care and pension security is what will bring us out in a general.
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Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue.

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Column Policy

Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Cancun airport set to land one of its largest planes

Cancun, Q.R.  Air control personnel at the Cancun International Airport are set to land one of its largest clients, an A350.

The large evelop! plane is set to land at the Cancun airport May 6 from its origin city of Madrid. The plane, which has a seating capacity of 432, is covering the new Madrid-Cancun route. Although the route has been in operation already, this is the first time an A350 from that city will be landing at Cancun.

The Spanish charter Evelop Airlines took possession of their first A350 plane March 28 of this year and anticipate an A350-900 wide-body aircraft next year. The company, which is based in Madrid, uses the planes for routes to various Caribbean destinations.

Dario Flota Ocampo, director of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo, explained that the aircraft will cover the Madrid-Cancun route, and although this route is already operating, the significance of the occasion is the size of the plane, adding that a reception is being prepared at the Cancun airport.

Evelop belongs to the Barcelo group which allows us a greater number of seats arriving at the destination from Europe, he said. The Spanish market into Cancun has grown by 4 percent year-over-year for the last three, with nearly 184,000 Spanish tourists landing in Cancun last year.

Evelop Airlines are a subsidiary of Barcelo Group and operates short and long-haul flights on behalf of tour operators, mainly out of Spain and Portugal. They make two flights per week into Cancun.
New Colombian Consulate opens in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  A new consular headquarters has been opened in the city of Cancun where immigrants of Colombian nationality can go for assistance.

The new Colombian Consular office was inaugurated in Cancun, adding another facility to those already existing in the the region.

Margarita Manjarrez, Director of Migratorios Consulares y Servicio said that this new headquarters is added to the consular offices in Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as the honorary consulates in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

In these five states we have a very high rate of transient populations that need analysis. Cancun was identified as a gap that needed to be filled and fortunately was achieved with of the ministry of foreign relations who opened the consulate in Cancun, she explained.

Manjarrez said that the Colombian population figures throughout these five states are quite modest, totaling around 6,000 Colombians who reside legally or regularly, although they have evidence that there are many more, approaching the 25,000 mark.

However, the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Patricia Cardenas Santa Maria, says that Colombians are not illegally entering Cancun because since 2012, Colombians do not need a visa to enter Mexico.

Colombians cannot enter undocumented because we do not need a visa to enter Mexico since in 2012, the visa was abolished. We are working with the authorities and with the governments of Mexico to try and see how we can reduce the presence of that community that stay in Mexico illegally, she said.
The rom-com has officially been revived, and with new releases hitting theaters and flooding Netflix, the best ones always seem to turn out to be a twist on the genre. Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, puts the rom into the com of Machiavellian, Washington, D.C., political machinations. Its Veep, but less absurdly acid-tongued, and a lot more swoony. Still, the incisive cultural and political commentary cuts deep, and Theron and Rogen turn out to be a winning pair.

Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, the film follows a journalist for a Brooklyn alt weekly, Fred Flarsky (Rogen), who reconnects with his middle school babysitter, Charlotte Field (Theron), who has become the youngest secretary of state ever  and an eligible, workaholic bachelorette. She taps the newly unemployed Fred to punch up her speeches as she embarks on a worldwide tour touting a new environmental initiative and embellishing her public image for a future presidential run. The unlikeliest  or perhaps likeliest, considering the context  of flings blossoms along the way.

There is of course, pop nostalgia, and a whole lot of drug humor, because, well, Seth Rogen, but its a treat to see him back as the unlikely romantic lead, and to see the softer side of Theron, even as she remains in a powerful role. Sterling and Hannah put this particular gender dynamic  with a powerful female politician and a male Marilyn (as Fred dubs himself)  to work, upending regressive beliefs about politicians and sex. Why should sex be shameful? Politicians are people, too. The film also carefully threads the needle on the ways in which Charlottes gender informs her work (and her compromises), and unpacks the sexist beliefs that permeate society and systems of power.

What makes Long Shot work is the writing, which takes place in a heightened, almost fantastical reality, but always feels character-driven and grounded. This on-screen relationship is #goals, not because of grand gestures (though there are those) or steamy sex scenes (those are more funny than anything else), but because its clear the two characters know and like each other so well just as people. Astonishingly, one of the most romantic scenes of the year could be the two pogoing in a Parisian club, high out of their minds, yelling, I really like you!

Its just fun to spend time with these characters, and there a few incredible supporting turns by Ravi Patel as Charlottes bag man Tom, OShea Jackson Jr. as Freds bestie Lance and a deliciously witchy turn from June Diane Raphael as Charlottes aide Maggie, delivering lines and reactions so icily it makes one lament that she didnt have a meatier role on Veep.

But, speaking of TV, director Jonathan Levine for some reason has chosen an aesthetic for the film that can only be described as a very beige episode of some forgettable prestige drama. Long Shot is dim, dark and visually bland. Would it have killed cinematographer Yves Belanger to switch on a light or two? It just seems a shame, because this delightful comedy deserves a brighter style to match its undeniable romantic fireworks.
Virginia Tech is dedicating $400,000 to improving accessibility on campus, the university announced last week.

The university will make a number of improvements around campus, including around the April 16 Memorial on the Drillfield.

Its important to make all of Virginia Tech accessible, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said. This is a commitment we have in terms of accessibility. We cant be an open campus if we dont remove these barriers.

Tech will add points of entry around the memorial, widening them. The university will also add a new accessible bench, relocate handicap parking spaces and install curb cuts for people approaching the memorial.

The memorial improvements will be made in the next two to four weeks, Owczarski said.

Techs master plan calls for the accessibility improvements at the memorial as well enlarging the plaza in the coming years. However, there are no immediate plans to enlarge the plaza, Owczarski said.

Over the course of the summer of 2019, the university will also improve the entrance to Patton Hall by adding handrails and ramps, add a fully accessible path from the veterinary school and animal hospital to its nearby parking lot, and provide an accessible pathway to a Goodwin Hall courtyard, which offers picnic tables.

Improved signage pointing toward accessible routes around campus will also be added to the projects and across Tech, Owczarski said.

This is our effort to be mindful of accessibility issues that people are bringing to our attention, he said.

Ashley Shew, a Tech professor of science and technology in society and co-founder of Techs Disability and Alliance Caucus, said shes pleased with the moves. Theyre a lot of the changes that she and the rest of the caucus have called for in the past.

Im happy about this, Shew said. A lot of these things are things weve pushed for.

Shew said theres more work to do, though. She said she hopes that Techs leaders will listen to the needs of disabled people as the university continues its planned expansion. She and the rest of the alliance have pushed Tech to add more signs for three years, she said.

Signage is incredibly important for disabled visitors to campus who dont know how to get around hilly Blacksburg, Shew said.

Better planning in the past wouldve made these changes unnecessary and less expensive now. So better planning in the future for disabled people will be important, she said.

Shew, her colleagues and allies will continue to be vocal in pushing for awareness of the difficulties disabled people face around campus, both in the present and in the future.

Im happy that theyre listening to disabled people, she said. But theres more work to do.
CULPEPER  The Virginia Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multiyear battle over the 2013 condemnation his land for a new road.

In its decision, the court said Richard Dwyers legal appeal of this ongoing fight with the town of Culpeper was not filed in a timely fashion.

The local circuit court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in just compensation for the property in 2017 through eminent domain to build a new commuter route, called Col. Jameson Boulevard, in an area Dwyer envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, his estimate for its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.1 to $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, and in September the states high court issued notice it would hear the appeal.

After considering arguments, the court issued a notice of dismissal in the case in March, agreeing with the towns position that Dwyer filed his appeal after a legal deadline to do so.

Lawyers for Dwyer, meanwhile, argued the 2017 order was not final for purposes of appeal because it contained the language, the court shall retain jurisdiction.

We find Dwyers argument unpersuasive, the states high court found, according to the three-page dismissal order, citing legalese and state code related to condemnation actions being two-stage proceedings.

The court continued, The first stage addresses the confirmation, alteration, or modification of the report of just compensation  The second stage deals with the distribution of the funds paid into the circuit court, and any controversy pertaining thereto 

In addition, The Sept. 11, 2017 order confirming  the report of just compensation was the final order for purposes of appeal. Dywer did not make a timely appeal from that order. Accordingly, the Court dismisses the appeal in the case.

Dwyer said Wednesday he would rather hold my comments. Generally speaking, he added, I think it is a bunch of incompetent people in this world making a lot of decisions.

Asked why the appeal was not filed in time, the landowner said, Thats a good question, referring it to his attorney Steve Clarke with the Norfolk eminent domain firm of Waldo & Lyle.

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Clarke said the Virginia Supreme Court order in the matter was the final say, concluding many years of conflict in the land grab.

I dont think there is anything more we can really do, the lawyer said. The high court of Virginia has ruled on the issue. There is nowhere we could go from here.

Clarke said he disagreed with the court that the appeal was not filed in a timely fashion, referencing a new rule for eminent domain cases related to the final order, which sets the clock ticking for appeal. Inclusion of the phrase the court shall retain jurisdiction in the 2017 order was not enough to stop that clock, he said.

That phrase formerly meant it was not the final order, Clarke said, and therefore did not start the time-frame.

In dismissing the case for not meeting the appeal deadline, the Virginia Supreme Court did not reach any substance of the issue related to eminent domain and property values, the lawyer said.

Instead, Clarke added, the court punted on the procedural issue. Mentioning that the court did hear legal arguments in the matter, he said, it seemed like there was initial interest to hear the legal issues.

Eminent domain is a really difficult piece of law, Clarke said, noting the town of Culpeper spent considerably more than it wanted to defending itself in the suit.

Richard Dwyer feels like he was not made whole and he wasnt, he said.

Culpeper Public Services Director Jim Hoy was lead executive for the town throughout the long proceedings.

An important part of the story for people to understand is we dont go into right-of-way acquisition with the intention of having conflict with landowners, Hoy said. We do our best to reach a reasonable agreement and a lot of times we will go to extraordinary efforts to do that. But in spite of all of our efforts, we were not able to reach an agreement with Mr. Dwyer  thats why we went to court.

Hoy, acknowledging high legal fees to the town in the case, said it could have been worse, mentioning Dwyer wanted a jury award of $4.5 million for the land, far less than the more than the towns legal expenses.

The towns litigation expenses will be covered as part of the $10.1 million budget for Col. Jameson Boulevard  a joint project between the town and VDOT  and the rest from the general fund, Hoy said.

Because it was a jointly funded project, he added, the town was bound by state standards in offering compensation for Dwyers land based on an appraisal of fair market value.

At one point early on as the apartment project was progressing, Hoy said, Dwyer felt the land was worth $8 million. There are limits as to what we can offer a landowner, he said.

Did the town and VDOT get a fair deal? I think we did, Hoy said .

He added town motorists got a good deal with Col. Jameson Boulevard as well in that it has effectively alleviated traffic at the junction of East Evans and Main streets. It also provides an easier route for the many commuters living on the towns west side.

Dwyer said Wednesday he had no immediate development plans for the rest of his land in the area.

He previously stated the town took the prime part with development potential when they built the road through it.

Bottom line is I just got to deal with whats left, he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Yes, yes, we realize thats like saying President Trump said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Whats new, right? Peas. Pod. Two. Peggy Noonan, the former Republican speechwriter who is now a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote recently that Ocasio-Cortez is simply modeling behavior shes learned from another New Yorker  Donald Trump. Both are contributing to the coarsening of our civil discourse.

Usually, we try to tune all that out. If we wanted to hear white noise, wed buy an ocean machine to help us sleep at night. But Ocasio-Cortez has some local connection, at least indirectly, so lets parse it.

Heres what she said. It came in the form of a Twitter exchange over various policies. At one point she tweeted: True. Its been GOP vs. the people of the United States for almost my entire life.

Really? Really?? We flag this because this is a curious  but often popular use, misuse actually, of the phrase the people.

If its really been Republicans vs. the people for the past 29 years, how have Republicans been able to win any elections during that time?

Who have been voting for Republicans all that time? Aliens? Animals? Potted plants? Or is she saying that Republicans arent really people? OK, were being intentionally obtuse, of course, to make a point. The Ocasio-Cortez use of the people reflects a very specific mindset of just who the people are and what they want.

In some ways, this is just harmless rhetoric. What politician hasnt claimed to be for the people? Just about all of them at some point, both left and right. A quick run through websites of the 2020 presidential contenders (thats the year, by the way, not a count of how many candidates there are) shows Kamala Harris: For The People and Tulsi Gabbard  Fighting For The People. Theres a Facebook page called The People For Bernie Sanders. The people seem to be a very sought-after constituency.

John Lennon sang Power To The People. In some states, criminal cases are styled The People vs. . . . on the theory that the people, embodied as the state, were the victim of whatever crime is alleged. Our own Constitution begins with the grand words: We the People . . . In legal terms, thats been defined to mean all citizens of the United States. The candidates who claim to speak for the people may claim that all-encompassing rhetoric but are really referring to their preferred subset of the people.

Ocasio-Cortez won election in her New York City district with 78 percent of the vote, so perhaps it can be fairly said she represents the people there  although that raises the question of what the other 22 percent are, if not people. But what about Bland County, Virginia, which in 2016 gave Trump 82 percent of its vote, the highest percentage of any locality in the state? Who are the people there, in Ocasio-Cortez view of the world? If its really the GOP vs. the people, how can we explain the overwhelming numbers that the same GOP wins throughout most of rural America?

The Marxist answer is that those voters have been deluded by false class consciousness and dont realize they really should be on the side of their fellow proletariat and not the side of their capitalist oppressors. Communist regimes have often styled themselves The Peoples Republic, which made it awfully inconvenient for those rulers to explain why the people were rising up against their Peoples Republic  in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and all of eastern Europe in 1989. Simply saying you are for the people does not make it so.

This is one of many reasons we wish Ocasio-Cortez would accept the proffered invitation to speak at Liberty University, and use that as a springboard to visit rural Virginia. Shes unlikely to win many converts at Liberty but she might find a side trip to Bland County, or anywhere else in Southwest Virginia, educational. The world is more complex  dare we say, more diverse  than she realizes. Of course, shes not the only one who wrongly claims to speak for the people. Trump darkly refers to the news media as the enemy of the people, an ominous phrase because it was also a favorite of Nazis and Soviets alike. Ocasio-Cortez hasnt used that frightening formulation but may as well have if shes going to claim that its the GOP vs. the people  sort of the same thing. She and Trump surely cant be talking about the same people because theyre so politically different, but in some ways they are: Both portray the people as some virtuous, aggrieved underclass fighting against some malign and powerful other. And thats where harmless words become something more dangerous. When politicians claim to be for the people, they are effectively dehumanizing and delegitimizing the other side. We know what happened when the Nazis and the Soviets started branding people as enemies of the people.

So did Shakespeare, even long before the gas chambers and the gulags. Coriolanus tells the story of the Roman general-turned-politician Caius Marcius Coriolanus. The opening scene sets the dark tone:

First Citizen: First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people.

All: We knowt, we knowt.

First Citizen: Let us kill him, and well have corn at our own price. Ist a verdict?

Spoiler alert: That story does not end well for anyone.

In 2008, Sarah Palin  John McCains worst political mistake  went to Greensboro, North Carolina, and extolled small towns as the real America. On the one hand, a nice shout-out to rural voters. On the other hand, that was also effectively a declaration that everyone else may not be a real American. Umm, thats not the way it works. Were partial to small towns and rural areas because of where we live. But were all real Americans, no matter who we are or where we live. Were all the people, and sometimes we disagree. Even in Bland County, nearly 1 in 5 voters did not vote for Trump; in Ocasio-Cortezs district, more than 1 in 5 voters didnt cast a ballot for her. The people dont all speak with one voice, so perhaps politicians should refrain from trying to speak of them in the singular, when really the people are plural.
The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said. Only minor injuries were reported. Fire and rescue crews were at the scene. Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation, NAS Jacksonville said in the statement. 21 people were transported from the scene and taken to local hospitals in good condition. There were military personnel and civilians connected to the military in some way on board and there were families with young children on the plane.



Boeing in the St. Johns River

The plane is owned by Miami Air International, which operates charter flights from Guantanamo to Naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said authorities were working to control jet fuel that had leaked into the water and that his office received a call from the White House. The plane landed during a rainstorm with low visibility. An investigation is underway.
Captain Amarinder Singh welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt

Chandigarh, May 4: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into Indian National Congress (INC) family here. The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, said Captain Amarinder while urging him to put in his best towards completion of Mission 13.

Natt, who joined Congress alongwith his supporters expressed his gratitude towards Captain Amarinder Singh and thanked the Chief Minister for this opportunity. A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga MLA Constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and 2017.
Exxon Mobils first-quarter profit fell by half to $2.35 billion, its worst quarter since late 2016, as the company spent more on oil production and was hit by lower margins in its refinery business.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell in afternoon trading Friday.

The refinery side of the business posted a loss of $256 million after earning $940 million a year earlier. The company blamed lower margins due to high gasoline inventories, and an increase in refinery maintenance.

It was a tough market environment for us this quarter, Senior Vice President Jack Williams said on a call with analysts. Refining margins were the lowest Exxon has seen in a decade  historically low levels, and our results were in line with that margin environment, he said.

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Citi analysts said Exxons complex refining network was a disadvantage, as was the pace of maintenance activity. The refining and chemicals businesses are lagging the 2019 potential that Exxon laid out just a year ago, they wrote in a note to clients.

Earnings also fell by half in the chemicals business on weaker prices due to an increase in industry capacity.

Exxons exploration and production business was less profitable than a year ago both in the U.S. and overseas.

During the quarter, Exxon continued to build its operation in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico. That helped drive a 42% spike in spending on exploration and production, to $6.89 billion.

Production rose 2% to the equivalent of 4 million barrels of oil a day, with a contribution from higher output in the Permian.

Oil prices increased during the first quarter following an agreement by OPEC and allies including Russia to limit production. More recently, prices also rose after the U.S. announced it will end waivers from sanctions for countries that import oil from Iran, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Prices for natural gas, however, were hurt by warmer winter weather.

Exxons profit for the first three months of the year worked out to 55 cents per share, well below the 70 cents per share average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Exxon Mobil Corp. does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales, and in last years first quarter the company posted a gain from the $744 million sale of its 50% stake in a gas field off the coast of Australia.

Revenue fell to $63.63 billion from $68.21 billion a year, compared with the FactSet estimate of $63 billion.

Shares of the Irving-based oil and natural gas giant were down $2.48, or 3%, to $79.74 in afternoon trading.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A onetime Palmdale resident who had been couch-surfing in Sunland before camping in Griffith Park the past few weeks has been arrested and charged in the Jan. 16 fatal shooting of three men and the wounding of another on a remote, unlit road in Palmdale.

Jonathan Paul Misirli, 35, was arrested on the afternoon of April 30 as he walked out of Griffith Park on North Vermont Avenue near Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz, said Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Misirli was arrested without incident, Alfred said.

Investigators found the gun they believe was involved in the shooting inside Misirlis abandoned car in the Sunland area about two months ago, he said. Detectives believe Misirli had contacts in the Sunland area and had been hiding out, couch-surfing in their homes, until he left for Griffith Park sometime in April, Alfred said.

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Misirli had been camping in Griffith Park for at least the last two weeks, but he often walked into town to charge his phone or buy food, Alfred said.

Alfred said he couldnt reveal the suspected motive for the shooting that killed three Los Angeles-area men that cold, rainy night of Jan. 16 on Ranch Center Drive and 40th Street West in Palmdale.

The dead men were identified as Olukayode A. Owolabi, 27, of the South Bay community of Westchester; Sean B. Cowen, 24, of Van Nuys; and David Adalberto Hernandez-Licona, 24, of Boyle Heights. Investigators wont say why the men were together or whether they knew one another.

A fourth man was shot in the face but survived his injuries and was able to call 911 for help. That man has provided information that was helpful in identifying the suspect, Alfred said.

Misirli was charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery May 2. He is being held in lieu of $3,040,000 bail.

The shooting wasnt random, Alfred said, but he wouldnt say whether the five men drove to the location together that night, or what was taken in the suspected robbery.

Misirli is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Lancaster.

The case is still under investigation, but Misirli remains the only suspect in the shooting, Alfred said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

jeanette.marantos@latimes.com

@jmarantos
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said Friday that it is investigating a series of overtly racist messages shared in a private Instagram group chat that included students from Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.

In a statement sent to parents and the Newport Harbor community, the district stated that though these online interactions are not school-related, we address them as they come to our attention and when they impact the school. We are in the process of gathering information.

In a screenshot of one exchange that a student shared with the Daily Pilot, a participant in the conversation asked others if they wanted anything from alabama/mississippi? Ill get you a real confederate flag.

One person wrote back, Omfg yes plz, while another wrote, What do you want? Do they still sell black people down there?

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The first participant replied, If they do, Ill get everyone a new plantation worker.

One person who saw the exchange wrote on social media that Newport Harbor is really the home of some sketchy ... people. [T]hese are Newport students.

Another responded to criticism of the posts by writing, First of all, we are not racist people at all; the people who posted this literally dont like us and are trying to make us look bad for everything. Im tired of people always attacking us.

The incident comes two months after a highly publicized incident in which students from Newport Harbor, Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools were pictured on social media at an off-campus party gathered around a swastika made from plastic cups with their their arms outstretched in a Nazi salute.
The last of 24 bodies was pulled from the wreckage in the early hours of Easter morning.

Firefighters and soldiers had searched for more than 200 hours through what was left of the two Muzema neighborhood apartment buildings that collapsed on April 12, the end of a work week that saw Rio de Janeiro pummeled by torrential storms and severe flooding.

As the number of bodies continued to mount, so did the questions. Why did the buildings, home to blue-collar families thrilled to finally own their own apartments, come down? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy? And did the faceless paramilitary groups which have largely taken armed control of Rios working-class west end communities, known as favelas, bear responsibility?

Since first cropping up in the late 1990s as an antidote to drug gang violence and government corruption, the shadowy militias, said to be run mainly by current and former police officers, soldiers and prison guards, have charged residents and businesses on the periphery of the city for pirated TV and Internet connections, as well as water, gas and electricity  all under the guise of providing security services.

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Some are also believed to have a hold on housing in the communities where they operate, clearing land through evictions for construction companies they control, experts say. They also are thought to collect payments through agents who sell or rent out units in newly erected buildings, many of which have not been properly inspected because of threats made to authorities.

Arrest warrants have been issued for three men suspected of taking part in the construction and sale of the apartments in the buildings that collapsed last month. The organized crime unit of Rios civil police is investigating their possible involvement with the militia operating in Muzema, according to the municipal government.

Rios municipal government knew the buildings were unsafe long before they crumbled. The lot where they were located, part of a condominium complex called Figueiras do Itanhanga, is on a designated Environmentally Protected Area and was first embargoed by the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism (SMU) in October 2005. At the time, it was noted that the complex did not have proper drainage, sewage and water systems, and that the area was unpaved and without curbs.

Before the collapse, the SMU had issued 17 infraction notices for irregular construction and the Municipal Civil Defense condemned the buildings on Feb. 8 because of a risk of landslides and falling rocks caused by improper excavation. According to the citys Geotechnical Institute Foundation Slip Susceptibility Map, the area is classified as mid-high risk for landslides and mudslides.

Since the tragedy, Rios mayor Marcelo Crivella has announced that another 16 buildings in Muzema will be demolished because of the risk theyll collapse. The action, he said, follows an edict to identify buildings with structural problems.

Since 2017, when I signed this decree, we have run the entire city of Rio de Janeiro, handing out notifications to several construction sites, he said. There are embargoes, there are notifications of demolitions. Many of them were suspended by court decisions. Now, after this tragic accident that we had with the victims of Muzema, the justice system has ordered the demolition of several buildings.

The first of the 16 buildings came down on April 24, and work has begun on another that neighbored the two that collapsed.

The demolition process is slow. Because the buildings are close to others that still house tenants, explosives cant be used. Instead, technicians from the Municipal Secretariat of Conservation are manually disassembling the imperiled building.

In an unusual show of authority, police are providing security as the crews work, with military officers stationed at the communitys access roads and civil police surrounding the work site. Because of their presence, city workers have been also able to enter Muzema and do proper clean up and repairs that were needed after the storms.

Little remains clear, however, about the identity or size of the militia that has controlled Muzema or other favelas in recent years. Any data authorities do have on militias is kept tightly under wraps, which some view as a means for city officials to save face for having lost control of Rio neighborhoods.

Rare arrests and prosecutions of militia members became front-page news in May 2008 when a team of local journalists was kidnapped and tortured by the militia running Batan, another favela in the west end of Rio. That event led the states legislative assembly to create a parliamentary inquiry commission, which resulted in the indictment of 226 militia members, as well as affiliated politicians and businesspeople.

The commissions recommendations to dismantle Rios militias, however, were largely ignored. The focus on the paramilitary groups faded, only to reemerge last year after the assassination of City Councilwoman Marielle Franco, a vocal opponent of violence carried out by the militias in her community.

In March, two suspected militia members arrested for Francos murder were linked to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. One of the men lived in the same gated community as the president, and police also confirmed that Bolsonaros son had dated the suspects daughter.

Bolsonaro has played down the connection, saying he didnt remember either of the men, and tried to justify previous statements he made in support of the vigilante groups.

Back then, people applauded [militias], he told reporters.

Some did. In the beginning, the paramilitary groups sold themselves as a positive alternative, promising safety to the families who lived in favelas.

But according to Ignacio Cano, a sociologist and coordinator of Rio de Janeiro State Universitys Violence Analysis Laboratory, militias ended up being more similar to drug trafficking gangs than not. And because of the positions of power that members have often held in politics and on police forces, dismantling the organizations has proven even more difficult.

As members of the state, as police officers, they know how the state operates, can protect themselves, and sometimes they know when a police operation is going to happen, Cano said. The state has to  not return, because it was never there  but become the main actor in those areas for those groups to disappear.

Langlois is a special correspondent.

In Brazils slums, residents band together to protest police shootings 
Installed on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The long awaited coronation  the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades  melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a scepter, gold-embroidered slippers, a sword that belonged to his 18th century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

The daylong spectacle  the start of three days of ceremonies  was aimed at reasserting the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life.

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Far from a figurehead, the Thai king has veto power over key government decisions, such as executive appointments and constitutional changes, and is legally protected from criticism. Since taking over for his late father 2 years ago, Vajiralongkorn has sought to exert greater royal authority during a period of deep political and social divisions.

Five days from now, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of the gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

1 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn is transported on the royal palanquin by royal bearers Saturday in Bangkok. (AP) 2 / 13 Royal Guards attend the coronation in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 3 / 13 King Maha Vajiralongkorn, front right, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during the annointment ceremony Saturday in Bangkok. (Thai Royal Household Bureau / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida at the Grand Palace for his coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 13 People hold portraits of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn as they wait near the Grand Palace during the royal coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn sits on the throne and performs rituals as Queen Suthida pays homage at the Grand Palace. (AP) 7 / 13 People pray near the Grand Palace during the coronation. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 8 / 13 People watch a large screen outside the Grand Palace showing the coronation ceremony of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in Bangkok. (DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX / DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX) 9 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (HANDOUT / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, center, performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Thai people watch the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a large screen outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 12 / 13 Thai royal guards march outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 13 / 13 Royal Guards march during the coronation of King Rama X in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images)

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile to the royal establishment. On the eve of the election, Vajiralongkorn issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people  which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist Buddhists [who] revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signaled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide sat together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

Ubolratana, meanwhile, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony with another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Ubolratana pose for a photo in the Grand Palace on Friday. #coronation



nichax Instagram account pic.twitter.com/IxNVAUfPB9  Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) May 4, 2019

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity  it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The death of Vajiralongkorns father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seven decades, drew masses of tearful Thais into the streets of Bangkok and prompted weeks of official mourning. Vajiralongkorn, who lives much of the year in Germany, is a much more private and mysterious figure and far less well known to Thais despite efforts by the palace to portray him as a benevolent, youthful ruler keen on education and bicycling.

Crowds were sparse in the streets surrounding the palace, with few Thais braving security checkpoints to show their support for the new monarch. Police sources said only a few thousand people had come out, though they declined to be named lest they be seen as criticizing the king, a criminal offense.

Kittipawan Noenyai, 54, waited four hours to catch a glimpse of the kings vehicle arriving at the Grand Palace, carrying a portrait of him in military uniform as she stood along the route his car would take.

Finally, the car appeared shortly before 10 a.m., a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number 1. As Vajiralongkorn rode past, Kittipawan saw him waving from the back seat.

I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long live the king, hoping he would hear me, she said.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida for his coronation. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

Arriving at the cream-colored palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. Uniformed men knelt as he strode past along a red carpet, his new wife, Queen Suthida, following close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn performs a ritual with sacred water during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP/Getty Images)

Back inside the palace, the king changed into his royal vestments  an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches  and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, the king was handed the crown, created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him  just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son and presumed heir, Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

As the king walked out of the room, the royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet, an announcer said on Thai television.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The scale and pageantry reflected not only time-honored rituals but also the growing wealth of the monarchy, which controls tens of billions of dollars in banking and real estate assets that the king brought under his personal control after his father died. The government said the coronation would cost about $30 million.

The lavishness of the coronation indicates the association of the monarchy with material wealth that has become so pronounced during the past 30 or 40 years, said Michael Montesano, coordinator of the Thailand Studies Program at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Modern Thailand is a wealthy country, and in that sense there is little contradiction between Thai visions of modernity and the extremely lavish re-creation of putatively ancient rites.

The three-day coronation ceremonies of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn are estimated to cost $30 million, according to the government. (Associated Press)

Much of Bangkok, however, ignored the proceedings. A 28-year-old sales representative, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

On Sunday, in temperatures forecast to approach 100 degrees, soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin along a nearly four-mile route to a series of Buddhist temples. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

Special correspondent Wilawan Watcharasakwet contributed to this report.
I cant anymore, its too heavy.

Those were the chilling last words of a beautiful Canadian bride who drowned in a river during a photo shoot last week after her wedding dress became soaked and dragged her under, a friend told a Canadian news agency.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, was having a photographer take shots for a trash the dress photo series when she waded into a river near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Quebec, at around 2 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Maria Pantazopoulos via Facebook

Meant to evoke high-glamor fashion shoots, trash the dress photos feature brides posing in gritty or natural settings like beaches, forests or city streets.

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Pantazopoulos was married on June 9, but wanted to immortalize the moment with a collection of playful snapshots, a friend said.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, who was swept away in the current near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon. (Maria Pantazopoulos Via Facebook)

Her husband, Billy, wasnt there for the shoot.

Shes a really fun girl, and she just didnt want her wedding dress sitting in a box in the closet, family friend Leeza Pousoulidis told the Montreal Gazette.

She said I want to have fun with my wedding dress. I want to have great pictures and memories of me in my wedding dress.

Louis Pagakis, her photographer, was taking some shots near the edge of the river when Pantazopoulos said she wanted to go in.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her wedding dress got soaked and she was dragged into the river near a rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

At one point, she told him, I want you to take some photos of me floating in the water, Anouk Benzacar, the photographers wife and a friend of the bride, told Canadas QMI Agency.

CTV

The garment quickly became soaked, and the deceptively quick tides swept the young bride downstream.

Pagakis jumped in to try to save her, but the water-logged garments pull was like an anvil and pulled them both under, local police told QMI.

She was screaming and scratching and trying to stay above water, Benzacar told the agency. "[Louis] tried to swim with her, but she was pulling him down.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her dress got wet and she was dragged into the river near a violently rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

She was too heavy. He couldnt breathe anymore, she said.

Pantazopoulos body was found four hours later by a local scuba diver, who joined rescuers after hearing about the incident, CBC News reported.

Pagakis and his assistant were treated at a local hospital for shock.

Family members didnt speak to the media after the accident, but Pousoulidis, the friend, told the Montreal Gazette they were destroyed.

Trash the dress photo shoots are intended to look like high-fashion magazine spreads. (Robert Vos/Afp/Getty Images)

Pantazopoulos was a real estate agent and had recently bought a house with her husband in Laval, near Montreal, The Gazette reported.

The two were looking forward to starting a family.

Local authorities told QMI that swimming was forbidden at the spot where Pantazopoulos drowned because the tides were too strong.

Mario Michaud, a wedding photographer in Montreal, told CTV that a bride he photographed at the river in May nearly suffered the same fate.

Brides think they are going to get a beautiful picture, but they dont realize how heavy a wet wedding dress can be, he said.

ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images

pcaulfield@nydailynews.com
In a story May 4 about Illinois marijuana legalization efforts, The Associated Press erroneously reported the last name of the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Illinois governor announces plan to legalize marijuana

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year

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By

Associated Press

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce (30 grams) of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce (15 grams).

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldnt be issued until May and July 2020, the governors office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal starts righting some historic wrongs against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed war on drugs, said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for social equity applicants. Those applicants would include people who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth, said Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state.

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Hes said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governors office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the states general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies.

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

___

Follow APs complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana

___

This story has corrected the last name of the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Physicist Tracy Northup is currently researching the development of quantum internet at the University of Innsbruck. The American citizen builds interfaces with which quantum information can be transferred from matter to light and vice versa.

Over such interfaces, it is anticipated that quantum computers all over the world will be able to communicate with each other via fiber optic lines in the future. In their research, Northup and her team at the Department of Experimental Physics have now demonstrated a method with which visible light can be measured non-destructively. The development follows the work of Serge Haroche, who characterized the quantum properties of microwave fields with the help of neutral atoms in the 1990s and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012.

In work led by postdoc Moonjoo Lee and PhD student Konstantin Friebe, the researchers place an ionized calcium atom between two hollow mirrors through which visible laser light is guided. "The ion has only a weak influence on the light," explains Tracy Northup. "Quantum measurements of the ion allow us to make statistical predictions about the number of light particles in the chamber." The physicists were supported in their interpretation of the measurement results by the research group led by Helmut Ritsch, a Innsbruck quantum optician from the Department of Theoretical Physics. "One can speak in this context of a quantum sensor for light particles", sums up Northup, who has held an Ingeborg Hochmair professorship at the University of Innsbruck since 2017. One application of the new method would be to generate special tailored light fields by feeding the measurement results back into the system via a feedback loop, thus establishing the desired states.

In the current work in Physical Review Letters, the researchers have limited themselves to classical states. In the future, this method could also be used to measure quantum states of light. The work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and the European Union, among others.
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Those who have visited the Sahara Desert is struck by how vast, sunny and hot it is and just how clear everything can be. There is little vegetation and it is said that the Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide significant solar energy on Earth.

Statistically speaking, if Sahara Desert is a country it would be the fifth biggest in the whole world. It is larger than Brazil and it is a bit smaller than the United States and China. Each square meter gets between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy every year, according to NASA. Sahara covers 9m km2, that is the total energy available, but that is only if every inch of the desert uses every single sun energy, then it will be more than 22 billion gigawatt hours every year.

This estimation means that a hypothetical solar farm that will cover the entire Sahara Desert would produce at least 2,000 times more energy than the largest power stations could in the world, as they only generate 100,000 GWh a year. The output of this hypothetical solar system is equivalent to 36 billion barrels of oil per day, that is five barrels a day per person. In this situation, the Sahara Desert could produce more than 7,000 times the electricity that is required in Europe with little to no carbon emissions.

Over the past few years, scientists have looked at how a solar system in a desert could help meet the increasing local energy demand and power Europe as well, and how this might work in the long run. There have been academic insights made to provide plans for this project. The closest attempt was Desertec, a project that was announced in 2009 that needed a lot of funding from numerous banks and energy firms before collapsing after investors pulled out after five years. Projects like these are held back by different commercial, political and social factors, including the lack of fast development in the region.

There were recent proposals for this project, the TuNur project in Tunisia which aims to give power to more than 2m European homes, and the Noor Complex Solar Power Plant located in Morocco which also aims to provide energy to Europe.

Just a small part of the whole Sahara Desert is enough to produce energy that could support an entire continent. As the solar technology improves through time, it will get cheaper and it will be more efficient. The Sahara Desert may be inhospitable for animals and most plants, but it could provide sustainable energy to people across North Africa.
Coxe said as things stand, he just about runs out of product before the next year's crop come in, and he likes it that way.

"We don't store years' and years worth of rice and sell rice that's years old," Campbell told those in attendance at the tour. "It's all news, fresh  it's all that year's crop. When it runs out, the next year's crop comes in within a month of the old."

"I like to say we sell smell," Coxe said. "It's the tasty aroma that makes this rice so special, and it starts to wane after about a year. Just like Cinderella, it turns back into white rice, and you can't have anything special about white rice."

Coxe grows five varieties of rice on the farm with most of the heirloom varieties that were bred to grow in this area. A new variety, Charleston Gold, was bred through the heirlooms, he said.

Rice is a water-intensive crop, and Coxe said he has no lack of water for his field.

"We're very fortunate to be on a huge water source, the Great Pee Dee River. It's the same water they used in Georgetown," Coxe said. "We've had it tested. We're very fortunate to have an abundant, good supply of water."
FLORENCE, S.C.  In its first year competing, the city of Florence has been named one of South Carolinas top workplaces.

On Thursday evening, the leadership of the city of Florence traveled to Greenville to receive an award for being the fourth-best large company to work for in the Palmetto State. The city also received a direction award.

Among those traveling were Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, City Manager Drew Griffin, General Services department director Scotty Davis, utilities director Michael Hemingway, Fire Chief Randy Osterman, public works director Chuck Pope, planning director Jerry Dudley, development director Clint Moore, and office administration manager Amanda Pope.

It doesnt stop here, an email to city employees said. City staff is appreciative of each of you who took the time to complete the survey and provide comments. The information you provided will help staff focus on areas of refinement as we strive to continually improve and be a model workplace. Thank you for demonstrating collaboration, professionalism and ownership as you serve the Florence community and advance it Full Life. Full Forward.  FLORENCE!
Designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps  which Middle East expert James Phillips describes as the sword and shield of Irans Islamic revolution  as a terrorist organization is entirely appropriate. The Guard not only crushes political opposition to the revolution at home, it supports Irans wide network of foreign terrorist proxies.

More than 600 American servicemen in Iraq have died at the hands of proxy forces enabled by the Revolutionary Guard, which also controls Irans ballistic missile program.

In short, the Guard is a dangerous and destabilizing organization that specializes in murder and mayhem. Designating it a terrorist group is more than just a fitting moniker, though: It gives the U.S. government additional tools for applying sanctions against the Guard and all foreign entities that do business with it, its subsidiaries and its front companies.

These added sanctions will drain away resources that could be used to export terrorism, thus helping bolster the security of the U.S. and its allies, Phillips writes. This will also benefit the Iranian people, who are the chief victims of the Revolutionary Guard.
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Northwestern Universitys successful free college access program for underserved, high-achieving students at Evanston Township High School has been renamed Northwestern Academy  Evanston.

Formerly the Project Excite high-school initiative, Northwestern Academy  Evanston is a four-year high school program that helps academically-motivated students from low- to modest middle-income backgrounds at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) successfully enroll in  and graduate from  a college or university that best meets their needs and interests.

A sister college access program, Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools, began in 2013 and was built around the same mission. The Chicago program serves students from homes with limited financial means who dont attend one of CPSs selective enrollment schools.

Both programs are offered at no cost to participating families and are "aligned around the same objectives, design, and the students we are trying to support, said School of Education and Social Policy Dean David Figlio.

Using a comprehensive approach, the program offers personal academic advising, college test preparation, college visits, summer classes and enrichment programs, one-on-one tutoring with Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students, and opportunities for personal development. Northwestern Academy  Evanston also supports families during transitions from middle to high school and high school to college.

To be eligible for Northwestern Academy  Evanston, students must be willing to participate in formal and informal learning experiences, take advantage of academic supports, and meet program criteria.

The first group of students that received four years of support from Northwestern Academy  Evanston graduated in 2018. The eight students all went to four-year private or public colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the University of Redlands (two students), Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Holy Cross, the University of Arizona, and the University of Iowa.

For more information, visit the Northwestern Academy - Evanston website.
The heated competition between two Bay Area school lunch companies allegedly took a criminal turn after authorities say a top executive at one company hacked into the others website in an attempt to expose flaws in online security.

Keith Wesley Cosbey, the chief financial officer of Choicelunch in Danville, was arrested in April on two felony counts related to illegal acquisition of student data on the website of The LunchMaster, a San Carlos company.

If convicted of the charges  identity theft and unauthorized computer access  Cosbey, 40, would face more than three years in prison. He is accused of accessing information about hundreds of students from his competitors online site, including names, meal preferences, allergy information, academic grades and more, said Vishal Jangla, San Mateo Coun ty deputy district attorney.

Jangla said Cosbey anonymously sent the data to the California Department of Education and claimed LunchMaster wasnt doing enough to protect student privacy in an apparent attempt to discredit or disparage the company.

Someone whos an executive, thats surprising, Jangla said. Its a first for me.

Cosbey did not respond to a request for comment, but a company representative responded to the allegations in an emailed statement.

Choicelunch is aware of the allegations and is awaiting more information before we can make a substantive comment, the statement said. In its 15-year history serving California schools, Choicelunch has always endeavored to provide excellent service to its school lunch customers and will continue to do so while we await resolution of this matter.

The case highlights the cutthroat world of feeding students, a nearly $14 billion-a-year industry across the country, with 30 million children served daily.

Competition can be fierce, with businesses bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts to provide the school meals.

The two Bay Area companies have tangled in the past, with Choicelunch suing LunchMasters parent company, Nob Hill Catering, in 2014 over alleged copyright infringement in its online ordering system.

Then Choicelunch got Amazon Web Services to take down LunchMasters website, and tried to get its replacement site pulled, as well.

A federal judge intervened and chastised Choicelunch for broad interpretation of copyright laws. The judge ordered that LunchMasters second website remain active.

We try to serve school lunches, but its so complicated sometimes, said Ted Giouzelis, founder of LunchMaster.

But with the alleged hacking, Giouzelis said, the competition went too far.

He learned of the problem after the Department of Education confronted the company about the security concerns.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Giouzelis said his staff investigated and traced the breach back to an IP address in Danville, among other locations.

Giouzelis son Michael, who works with the company, said he believed the breach occurred after the hacker ran an automated program that bombarded the site and revealed the student information at one Peninsula school.

LunchMaster contacted the FBI and county sheriff in April 2018. A yearlong investigation resulted in the arrest of Cosbey, who is out on $125,000 bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in court on May 22.

This week, investigators allowed LunchMaster to notify families affected by the breach, which the company has been doing, Giouzelis said.

He went to the extreme this time, Giouzelis said of the competition. Its ruthless.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
A rally to denounce the perceived censorship of politically conservative views and speech by social media drew dozens of right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters to San Francisco City Hall on Friday.

Dubbed the Demand Free Speech rally, the event was intended to underscore the belief among many conservatives that companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter discriminate against right-wing viewpoints. Big tech companies have shown a clear bias against conservatives, they argue, as evidenced by the suspension or outright banning of right-wing users accounts.

The rally marked the end of a 48-hour social media blackout protest, that began on April 30, during which conservatives were encouraged to stay away from their social media apps for everyone who has been silenced and censored by big tech companies, according to the organizers website.

In recent months, right-wing media personalities and provocateurs have been banned from numerous social media sites for using their sometimes massive followings to encourage violence, for exhibiting bullying behavior or for using hate speech.

Now Playing: Inside the Demand Free Speech rally in San Francisco Video: San Francisco Chronicle

On Thursday, Facebook removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, among others, from its platform for violating its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

Companies are wielding those policies, conservatives argue, to tamp down right-wing voices and amplify those of liberals.

You cannot shut me up. Youre so weak, you cant even have civil discourse, Bernadine Barber screamed to a crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall, eliciting waves of supportive cheers. Barber posts a range of conservative political and lifestyle videos on YouTube and other social media channels.

Hate speech is still free speech! Barber said. Hate speech could mean a million different things to a million different people. Ban it all, why dont you?

Marco Gutierrez, a right-wing activist and a co-founder of the group Latinos for Trump, said tech companies behavior has gotten to the tyrannical side. This is about freedom of speech. Theyre telling me what I can say and what people can hear. Theyre burning books, basically.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The conservative rally brought about an equally vocal backlash.

Across Polk Street in Civic Center Plaza, a scrum of bitterly opposed demonstrators sneered at one another, called each other fascists and racists, waved signs and jammed smartphones and cameras in one anothers faces.

Chants of Build the wall! and Its OK to be white! were met with No border, no wall, this regime has got to fall!

Reiko Redmonde led a group of counterprotesters, urging them to stand against this fascist regime led by Donald Trump, which she said was unleashing these street thugs.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
California Sen. Kamala Harris got to be a prosecutor again during her grilling of Attorney General William Barr, winning the day in Congress and acquiring a nasty label that no amount of presidential campaign money could buy.

Theres no debate that Barr misrepresented the contents of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether Donald Trumps campaign conspired to help and whether the president himself obstructed the investigation. The question for Democrats was how to get that message across to the public.

When Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, none of the Democrats could lay a glove on him  until it was Harris turn.

Harris opened by asking how Barr had concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the president had obstructed justice. Rather than debate the merits of his decision, Harris zeroed in on whether the attorney general or his staff had actually read the underlying evidence in the report before making his decision.

Barr said no, and that we accepted (Muellers report) as accurate.

Harris then ended the line of questioning by saying, I think youve made it clear, sir, that youve not looked at the evidence and we can move on.

While Barr has every reason to accept Muellers report without reading every interview transcript and underlying email, Harris direct up-or-down question was a great theatrical gotcha moment.

And it was a moment that Harris presidential campaign needed. Since her highly orchestrated rollout in January, shes made missteps on everything from universal health care to voting rights for people in prison.

She needed to re-establish her serious credentials as a prosecutor for the people, and Barr gave her the opportunity to do just that. Her campaign wasted no time using the confrontation as a fundraising ad.

But the real reward came when Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Harris had been probably very nasty to Barr  and thus gave us Nasty Kamala.

That could well be a huge boost for Harris among the Democratic base. Of course, you need more than the base to get elected  just ask Hillary Such a Nasty Woman Clinton.

When Irish eyes: Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke came to town and packed the United Irish Cultural Center out in the Sunset. They came from all over California to see the progressive phenom from Texas.

But if you can find a single member of the Irish cultural community who attended the rally, have them give me a call.

Flintstone fun: Coming back from George and Judy Marcus annual Greek Easter party in Los Altos Hills, I decided to hop off Interstate 280 at Hillsborough and swing by the Flintstone house.

The hilltop house is owned by my longtime friend Florence Fang, who is about as prim and proper a person as you will find. But her creation is a riot of color and nonsense, complete with dinosaur statues.

I loved it.

Yes, its right out of a comic book, but its not offensive at all.

There were no crowds or long lines of cars, a la Lombard Street. In fact, nothing that I saw rose to the level of the public nuisance Hillsborough officials claimed the place to be. Its just a bit of fun for people to look at.

And these days, we need all the fun we can get.

Movie time: Avengers: Endgame. It took in $1.8 gazillion in its first five minutes of release, including my $12.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Actually, I waited till the 7:30 a.m. Sunday show, at a theater in the Westfield mall. The place was packed. I did not know people could munch on a bucket of popcorn for breakfast.

This movie was so intense that in the three hours of running time, I saw only two people head out to the bathroom.

They say this is the end of the Avengers franchise. If you believe that, you probably believe William Barr is telling the truth.

Muni madness: A letter to the editor published in The Chronicle touted me as a candidate to run Muni.

For all of you who have gone on social media to lament such a possibility  forget it.

Mayor London Breed is looking for competence, and I have already proved, with my ill-fated vow as a mayoral candidate to fix Muni in 100 days, that I am grossly unqualified to run anything that involves wheels.

Wedding bells: Overheard at the Vault restaurant in the Financial District:

Man: Will you marry me?

Woman: Yes. You name the date, and Ill name the year.

Thats one way to say no and still enjoy the meal.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Blame it on Rosie.

The Jetsons robot housekeeper was witty, adroit, useful and very human-like. As she rolled around the sci-fi familys home in Orbit City, she effortlessly tidied up, dispensed bons mots, helped the kids with homework and cooked dinners.

Rosie set too high a bar for real-life robots. Many startups have tried to create a robot that Americans would welcome into their homes, but so far the only success has come for Roomba and similar robotic vacuum cleaners.

The biggest challenge is unrealistic expectations driven by movies and television, said Ken Goldberg, a robotics expert and professor of engineering at UC Berkeley. A lot of jobs around the house are actually very, very subtle and require a dexterity level far beyond what robots can achieve. Its important to let people know that Rosie is not just around the corner.

The latest failure was San Franciscos Anki, which abruptly shut down last week, sounding the death knell for its home robots Cozmo and Vector. Thats despite having raised more than $200 million in funding and generating about $100 million in revenue in both 2017 and 2018.

Ankis gerbil-size, cloud-connected roaming robots offer similar features to countertop devices such as Amazons Alexa and smartphone assistants like Apples Siri, but with an extra serving of personality. (Alexa and Siri are considered bots, not robots, because they dont move.) Vector exhibited more than 1,500 animations to express emotions, programmed by former film animators from Pixar and DreamWorks.

Ankis demise follows those of several other consumer robotics companies: Jibo, which made a social robot; Frances Keecker, whose multimedia robot facilitated watching moves and listening to music; Tokyos Seven Dreamers, whose cabinet-size Laundroid folded laundry; Boschs Mayfield Robotics, whose Kuri was part smart pet (it could sing and dance), part robot butler.

All not only fell short of the lofty expectations set by Rosie, but also failed to prove their usefulness.

Americans have lots of ways to entertain themselves, said technology forecaster Paul Saffo. A robot has to be blazingly essential or to do one thing really, really well.

While home robots have yet to take off, industrial robots are flourishing, accounting for more than $2 billion in North American sales last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation.

At auto assembly plants, electronics factories, Amazon warehouses and elsewhere, robots designed to handle defined tasks over and over offer a quick return on investment, said Bob Doyle, a spokesman for the trade group. Industrial robotics sales continue to break new records. Robots are also making new inroads in retail  restocking Walmart shelves, for instance  and as security guards.

But homes remain the last frontier.

Were still a long way away from one robot that can do everything for you from clean your house to cook to help an elderly person, Doyle said. Before we get there, we may have many robots in the home each geared to do one specific thing like Roomba.

While early adopters will always pounce on fun new ideas, thats a far cry from mass acceptance. Our goal is working toward a robot in every home, Anki co-founder Mark Palatucci told The Chronicle last year.

And although various pet-like robots have found acceptance at some times Hasbros Furby, Sonys Aibo, the handheld Tamagotchi, the Paro therapeutic seal  they were more novelty items than indispensable helpmates.

Unlike U.S. consumers, Japanese audiences are more willing to open their homes to robots, which some experts ascribe to cultural differences.

Japan is fascinated by robots, Saffo said. Japanese live in much smaller homes and its harder to have pets, so theyre more used to the idea of a virtual pet. Conferring a lifelike personality onto objects is deep in Japanese culture, back to Shinto and the idea that the whole world is enchanted and there is spirit chi in everything.

So what will it take to get robots into U.S. homes?

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

One first step might be acclimatizing Americans to robots that come to their doorsteps  via the new generation of cooler-size delivery robots that bring restaurant meals and e-commerce orders.

For instance, Kiwi Campus, a startup based at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, has dozens of robots delivering food from local restaurants on the Berkeley campus. Weve seen that people have adopted the Kiwibot as part of their community, said Sasha Iatsenia, head of product. The robots have expressive faces that can wink and smile, plus were fulfilling a basic human need: to eat, he said.

(Still, at least one local resident resented the robots so much that he kidnapped one. Berkeley police rescued it when Kiwi gave them its GPS coordinates and then turned it on remotely so it could be heard banging against the thiefs car trunk, he said.)

Another possible use for home robots is helping elderly people.

Seattles Hoaloha Robotics is building a robotic companion for seniors. The embodied personal assistant, which is at least a year off, will go far beyond the likes of Alexa in carrying on conversations  not just reporting the weather but commenting on it, for instance, said CEO Tandy Trower. It will be able to carry items and help people manage and plan daily activities. To reduce up-front costs, Hoaloha will offer it on a subscription basis.

Despite its closure, robotics experts said that Anki still helped blaze trails.

Anki helped demonstrate how appealing imbuing an embodied agent with the right level of social characteristics can be, bringing us one step closer to personal robots, Trower said. Where it failed was in delivering a sufficient value proposition, which is also essential for success. However, like the Commodore PET and Apple II, it clearly points the way for what is to come.

Anki had passion and commitment to bring robotics out of research labs and into living rooms, said Peter Nguyen, an Anki spokesman, in an email after its closure: We tried our best to move the consumer robotics industry forward and give people a glimpse into a life where we can peacefully coexist with robots.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Pacific Gas & Electrics accounting for its losses related to three years of wildfires in Northern California, the utility reported to shareholders Thursday.

PG&E told investors that it learned in March that investigators from the SECs San Francisco regional office had begun the review of public disclosures and accounting by the utility and its parent corporation for the 2015 Butte Fire as well as wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The fires killed scores of people, and the Camp Fire, which ravaged the town of Paradise last year, was the most destructive wildfire in California history.
The band U2 might want to live Where the Streets Have No Name, but for some residents of an unnamed street smack in the middle of San Francisco, its been hell getting an Uber, a pizza delivery or an ambulance. And its especially hard trying to sell a home that potential buyers can barely find.

Thats why some residents  and one enterprising real estate agent  have been trying to get Google, Apple and the city to get their street, informally named Johns Way, on the map. Theyve had some luck with Google and Apple, but you know what they say about fighting City Hall.

The street is really a private dead-end alley in between Market Street and Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. The alley has garages and parking spots for residents.

The six residents on the Market side of the alley have Market Street addresses and front doors facing Market. But finding and getting to them is extremely difficult because of a unique set of circumstances. Theres no parking or sidewalks beneath them, and they sit atop a giant retaining wall accessed by a steep zigzag ramp.

Tam Duong Jr./The Chronicle

Its much easier to access the homes from the alley, so they use their back doors as front doors. Visitors, delivery people and house hunters would have an easier time finding them if they had a Johns Way address, but they cant get one because its not on city maps.

The homes on the other side of the alley have Corbett Avenue addresses and most of their homes face Corbett, which is easy to find and relatively accessible. But there are two apartment complexes and one home on the alley that have Corbett Avenue addresses but no direct access to either Corbett or Market. Their only access is Johns Way.

Greg Tarbox lives in that home. It was awkward at first, Tarbox said. He has found ways to direct delivery people to his home, although some still get lost. Whenever he needed an Uber, hed give an address on nearby Clayton Street and wait there.

Its a unique setting, Tarbox said. Its a little like Barbary Lane, the fictional street in Armistead Maupins Tales of the City, he said. Its that spirit. People cooperate.

The alley is jointly owned and maintained by 17 property owners whose land touches it. Each year the city sends one property tax bill for the alley and the owners divvy it up. Unlike the owners of the infamous Presidio Terrace, an upscale private street that was auctioned off by the city for nonpayment of property taxes but later returned to owners, the owners have never been seriously delinquent.

In 1985, John Pletz, an owner who has since died, asked a deputy in the tax collectors office what would happen if the taxes werent paid. In a letter to neighbors he wrote, As unbelievable as this sounds, he replied, The property will be sold at auction and probably a developer will buy the property and build an apartment or condominium units.

In 2015, his wife, Barbara Pletz, called the San Francisco Fire Department to discuss getting emergency services to homes on the alley. On two occasions, ambulances called for Pletz and her husband had trouble finding their Market Street address. Before retiring, she was director of San Mateo Countys emergency medical services.

The Fire Department had no idea the alley was there. They were happy to find out about it, Pletz said. They had each shift come down the alley, see how it was laid out, howd they get a hose to it. They thought it was a really good idea to give it a name.

On behalf of residents, Pletz asked the city how they could get the alley named and put on the map. She was told it would cost $2,500 to apply for a name and the Board of Supervisors would have to approve it. Installing a street sign would cost extra.

However, even if you go through the trouble of naming this alley it will not appear on our maps since it is a private lot, and only the fronting property owners have easement access rights, Javier Rivera of the Department of Public Works wrote in a 2015 letter to Pletz. He added, How these two landlocked parcels (the apartment complexes) were allowed to be developed is beyond me.

Taking matters into their own hands, the residents named the alley Johns Way in memory of John Baumann, San Francisco architect who developed the two apartment complexes and lived there for more than 50 years. They had two signs made that say Johns Way and posted them on a house and a retaining wall at the top of the alley, but the entrance is still easy to miss.

In November, Greg and Wendy Antipa put their home on the Market Street side up for sale. But their open houses attracted a sparse crowd. People would get there and say, I couldnt find it, or I almost got hit by a car walking up Market Street, said their agent, Jennifer Rosdail of Keller Williams.

You can drive right to the house from Johns Way, where the Antipas own a one-car garage and parking pad. But she couldnt put it into the Multiple Listing Service with an address on Johns Way because its not on city maps. Rosdail decided it would help if she could get the street on the map.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

We put it in as a trouble ticket through Google Maps a whole bunch of times, she said. We did it with Apple Maps too. Rosdails assistant had a friend whose boyfriend works at Google on the Maps product, and they talked to him. Rosdail checked the maps every day and, one day in March, found Johns Way labeled on Google Maps with a single red marker in the middle of the alley. A little later, Apple had one too.

Asked what led to that appearance, a Google spokeswoman said the company used a number of different sources to accurately model the constantly changing real world, including contributions from users.

Although residents still dont have addresses on Johns Way, they can now tell visitors to put that name into Google or Apple maps and then look for their house numbers, which some have displayed on their back entrances. Having it identified on Google Maps was wonderful, Pletz said. I had a Lyft come. That was the first time.

Rosdail also contacted San Francisco Public Works about getting the street on the city map.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the department said it cant put the alley on the map because the city has not declared it a private street, which requires a minimum of 20 feet. Our initial review shows that the width is 14 feet. There also is a tight turn on the stretch, which we believe would be difficult at best for emergency vehicle access.

She said the residents could hire a private surveyor to provide detailed information about the site, prove there is no problem with flooding and install a new fire hydrant. Then theyd have to submit an application for review, pay $2,500 and we would circulate the proposal to other city agencies, with police and fire paramount. If there are no concerns and it meets the minimum requirements, it could become a designated private street and put on the official map.

Meanwhile the Antipas, who have moved to a retirement community in Oakland, are still waiting for a buyer for their home at 3352 Market. Now listed at $2.1 million, the home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and spectacular city views. The websites Redfin and Zillow estimate its worth about $2.7 million. But they dont know the unique story of Johns Way.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The investigative arm of Oaklands Police Commission has exonerated four officers accused of using improper lethal force in the 2018 shooting of an armed homeless man who was killed just after waking up.

The Community Police Review Agencys findings, released Friday afternoon, contradict those of Oakland Police Compliance Director Robert Warshaw, who found that the four officers had violated lethal use-of-force policy. Warshaws report additionally blasted the departments use-of-force board and Chief Anne Kirkpatricks review after both cleared the officers of wrongdoing.

In short, the CPRA sided with the Oakland Police Department over Warshaw.

But because Warshaws findings override Kirkpatricks, the CPRAs report sets up a scenario never seen before in Oakland. Per City Charter, when the CPRAs disciplinary decision differs from that of the department, a three-member committee of Oaklands Police Commission is tasked with making the final call on whether to clear the officers.

Officers William Berger, Brandon Hraiz, Craig Tanaka and Sgt. Francisco Negrete, who all fired their weapons, were placed on leave after Warshaws report was released in March.

The CPRA also cleared Officer Josef Phillips of wrongdoing, after accusations that he used improper nonlethal force by deploying a beanbag gun. Warshaw had sustained the violation against Phillips.

The CPRA report did find fault in the supervisors overseeing the incident, saying that Negrete failed to properly supervise and that Lt. Alan Yu failed in his command role.

On March 11, 2018, 32-year-old Joshua Pawlik, a homeless man with mental health issues, was found unconscious with a gun between two houses in West Oakland. Pawlik woke up after officers were on the scene for roughly 45 minutes, but failed to respond to officers repeated commands that he take his hand off the gun. Police said he raised the gun and pointed it at them just before they opened fire.

Warshaw said video evidence contradicted these claims.

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The Oakland Police Commission was created in 2017 to help restore trust between the community and the Police Department. The civilian commission is tasked with shaping policy, and has the authority to discipline officers. Its companion, the Community Police Review Agency  also comprised of civilians  probes incidents involving use of force, in-custody deaths, racial profiling and demonstrations.

The Oakland Police Department declined to comment.

Mayor Libby Schaafs spokesman Justin Berton said it is critical for the community to have a voice in this process.

Were grateful the civilian police commission will play an important role in this issue, he said.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A man was fatally shot by San Jose police Saturday after he drove into an officer while trying to flee in a stolen car, police said.

Officers were responding to reports of a stolen vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. near Kollmar Drive and Story Road. When they arrived, they found a man inside a car in the rear carport area of an apartment complex, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department, in a statement.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
I first chatted with Ellen Tauscher over lunch at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was impressive: thoughtful, substantive, determined. She was taking on a two-term Republican congressman, Bill Baker, in her first race for elective office. She was a decided underdog, but her center-left politics proved in sync with the changing dynamics of a suburban district that covered central Contra Costa County and stretched south into the Livermore Valley.

We endorsed her, she won, and thus began a succession of interviews with her over the years. They were always enlightening, always civil and always laced with good humor  even when the subject was uncomfortable, such as her support of Steny Hoyer over Nancy Pelosi for the No. 2 position in the House Democratic leadership in 2001. At the end of that interview  which led to an editorial critical of her position  she thanked me again for the 1996 endorsement. I keep it framed on my office wall, she said. We both laughed at her obvious attempt at a tension breaker to close the conversation. That interview was classic Tauscher: impassioned in her viewpoint, eager to defend it against challenge and ever aware that there will always be another day when combatants of the moment will be allies.

She visited our editorial board in 2010 to talk about her new job as an arms-control negotiator for the Obama administration. My last exchange with her was two years ago at the City Club of San Francisco, when I moderated a discussion with Tauscher and Democratic strategist Katie Merrill on how their party could take back the House of Representatives in the midterms. Her analysis was detailed, upbeat and spot-on. Sadly, Tauscher died Tuesday at 67, the nations loss.

American politics and policy would be so much better off if more folks of Tauschers uncommon intellect and determination to find common ground were willing to apply their skills and values to public service.

She will be missed.

 John Diaz, editorial page editor
Toronado is known to attract many beer fans the world over, but there's one very famous patron who returns regularly: Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell.

Rockwell, who was born in the Bay Area and grew up in San Francisco, is a serious craft beer fan, as the New York Times noted in 2015. At the time, he was living in New York, and in an interview with the newspaper, he said that on his trips to California, "I run to the nearest place where there's a Pliny the Elder (double IPA)."
Investing in companies or organizations that make a positive change on society can be a bit like indulging in a vice: A lot of people might enjoy it privately, but theyre not comfortable talking about it publicly.

When asked about this strategy, known as impact investing, investors typically give a lukewarm response or sidestep the topic altogether, researchers have found. A common refrain is to raise concerns about an investments influence and how any trade-offs with returns are measured.

But recent research geared toward individual investors, financial advisers and fund managers has found that impact investing is more broadly popular than advisers believed and that this may be a golden age for measuring the financial and social returns on such investments.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans have moderate to high interest in sustainable investing, according to new research by the financial services firm Morningstar. That interest, the study found, is broad and deep. It also runs contrary to a common belief among advisers that interest in this type of investing is confined to Millennials and women.

The study used a technique from experimental economics called revealed preferences, said Ray Sin, a senior behavioral scientist at Morningstar who conducted the study with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at the firm. Most surveys that study impact investing rely on stated preferences: You answer the question youre asked. The Morningstar survey gave people either/or choices between two stocks with varying differences of the financial returns and sustainability ratings of each stock.

Youre inferring their preferences through trade-offs, Sin said. In doing that, were able to tell how much theyre willing to trade off, and then we tied it back to the question: Do people care about sustainable investing?

The answer, overwhelmingly, was yes. That opened up a second line of inquiry: Are the investments having an impact and still generating a solid return?

That is a difficult question to answer in a meaningful way. Many organizations offer metrics for measuring an investments impact, but they are generally not all measuring the same thing. The best ones, though, are at least evaluating all the investments using the same criteria.

Theres been a pretty significant proliferation of metrics and data in the last 20 years, said Lily Trager, director of investing with impact at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She said that what had started as a way of avoiding risk caused by the actions of companies had evolved into a more complicated assessment of positive performance.

Yet putting that information together in a meaningful way has proved to be complicated. Youre seeking to define the most useful of material factors, Trager said. That is nuanced and challenging for clients to understand.

Here is a look at four metrics that either are being introduced or have been overhauled in an effort to simplify the process for investors.

The Global Impact Investment Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, has operated the IRIS rating system for the past decade. It has contributed to metrics that evaluate impact investments, with the intention of creating a commonly used method, similar to the generally accepted accounting principles used by the Securities and Exchange Commission. IRIS is set to be reintroduced this month.

The new version, IRIS Plus, is meant to translate impact investing goals like gender equity, climate change and affordable housing into results, said Amit Bouri, the chief executive of GIIN. He said the new system would help investors know exactly which metrics to track if they hoped, for example, to bring clean energy to rural areas.

The revised IRIS system is also an acknowledgment that impact investors want more ratings they can act on, he said.

Before, the people doing impact investing were do-gooder organizations by design, Bouri said. When I fast-forward to today, and I have a conversation with the chief investment officer of an investment fund or the chief executive of an asset manager, they all want to talk about impact investing. But they want to know how they can best understand their performance.

Bouri hopes that IRIS Plus can serve as a one-stop shop for investors seeking to understand how a particular goal can, or cannot, be accomplished through a particular investment.

The Global Impact Investment Rating System was created a decade ago to apply sustainability criteria to private investments made through venture capital and private equity funds. It was the brainchild of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that strives to redefine business success and administers the B Corp certification.

GIIRS (pronounced gears) was meant to evaluate both the investments themselves and the overall quality of the funds. It focused on the impact of a business model, the impact of a companys policies and the intent of the fund to make an impact.

The system is now being retooled to bring it more in line with the B Corp system of rating companies themselves. That system measures a company on social and environmental metrics as they relate to its business and employees, and then assigns a score from 0 to 200 points. A company needs a score of at least 80 to receive the B Corp designation.

As GIIRS has evolved, the organizations leaders realized that investors were interested in analytical data, said Andrew Kassoy, managing partner of GIIRS and a co-founder of B Lab. So impact investments will now be put through an analytical screening process and assigned a series of scores in areas like the affect on the environment or treatment of workers as well as a total score, the way companies seeking B Corp certification are scored.

Kassoy said that applying this methodology to impact investments would help them strive for constant improvement.

The whole idea of the 200-point scale is aspirational, he said. Its easy to identify things that can be done quickly and easily as well as things that would take more time with a plan for improvement. That leads to really important conversations with investors.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board was modeled on the Financial Accounting Standards Board with the goal of doing for sustainable investing what FASB has done for accounting.

Last fall, after seven years of work, the organization released its framework for analyzing 77 industries along a consistent range of environmental, social and governance metrics.

The groups overarching goal is to focus on sustainabilitys financial impact on a company and what that means to investors.

General financial information for most companies is available online, but the same cannot be said for a companys approach to using environmental, social and governance measurements, said Bryan Esterly, the sustainability boards director of standards research. Even companies that provide their own sustainability reports do not do so in a standardized way as they do with accounting measures.

What we produce are standards, Esterly said. We dont produce ratings. Our view is, the ratings could be more accurate and robust if there was a market standard out there.

One drawback: So far, only about 60 companies have used the boards standards.

Erika Karp, the chief executive of Cornerstone Capital, which manages money for wealthy people, came to impact investing through equity research at top global investment banks. She said she saw environmental, social and governance analysis as a critical investment discipline, akin to quantitative or fundamental research.

But assessing an investments impact has been difficult to do in a way that is meaningful and understandable to the high-net-worth clients she serves. Using the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals, Cornerstone created the Access Impact Framework to apply those goals to companies in different sectors.

The end result for investors is a heat map that shows in colors from pale to deep blue how their money measures up to their goals, whether it is invested in individual companies, funds or the portfolio overall.

Were sorting through a lot of data and noise and getting to a signal for regular human beings  not quants, not financial experts, Karp said.

With the heat map, clients who want to improve access to education in the world can see if their investments are actually doing that. They can also screen managers to see, for example, which ones are invested in opportunities that provide access to clean water.

Karp said the company purposely avoided using a numerical scale because she hoped the heat map would reach people on a more human level.

Its so easy to be bummed out when you think of the damage thats been baked into the climate, she said. We really have to get going now, and if youre going to get going now it has to be visceral. Numbers dont let things be visceral.

Paul Sullivan is a New York Times writer.
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick.

That, of course, was nothing new. When Khosrowshahi took over as Uber CEO in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in the Bay Area, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the San Francisco companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future.

Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would become wealthy and the public could buy a piece of an indisputably world-changing company. The problem for Khosrowshahi, according to two people briefed on the matter, was that Kalanick wanted to be there.

As a former CEO and current board member, Kalanick had asked to take part in the hallowed New York Stock Exchange tradition of ringing the opening bell on May 10, the day Uber shares are due to begin trading. He also wanted to bring his father, Donald Kalanick. It would be close to the second anniversary of the accidental death of Travis Kalanicks mother and of the dramatic boardroom coup that ousted him as boss. His presence on the exchanges balcony could make both Kalanick and the corporation appear resilient.

Khosrowshahi wasnt having it. The original plan was to fill the rafters with Ubers earliest employees and longest tenured drivers. Moreover, some people at the top of the company felt that Kalanick was still a toxic liability and that Uber should keep him at maximum distance as it tried to convince constituents that employees truly abided by a new motto: Do the right thing. Period. Kalanicks appearance would unavoidably rekindle public memories of just how much of a disaster his final year was.

Besides, Khosrowshahi had bigger things to worry about than IPO pageantry. Uber is losing billions of dollars annually, and he needs to convince investors that it is a promising, long-term company  even if it wont be turning a profit anytime soon. He didnt need the distraction at Ubers financial coming-out party. For now, according to the two sources, Khosrowshahi has asked Kalanick to stick to the floor of the exchange.

Khosrowshahi is still mulling the matter, the people say. The CEO wants to prove that the startup has evolved past Kalanicks raucous, tech-bro culture  and his strategy of setting barrels of money aflame in the pursuit of growth above all else. But Ubers past, to state the obvious about a company that is only a decade old, is simply not that far gone. Almost every instance of Kalanicks bare-knuckled approach to capitalism illuminates something about Ubers viability as a business today. (Citing the quiet period before an IPO, representatives for Uber, Khosrowshahi and Kalanick all declined to comment.)

The company has little good will with consumers or regulators in multiple jurisdictions. And Uber still loses money on nearly every fare, using venture capital to subsidize rides, invest in new areas and beat back a set of global competitors that offer an essentially identical service.

Kalanicks heavy reliance on venture funding could be problematic for a public Uber in at least two ways. Arguably, it instilled habits of indiscipline, because executives could simply ask for more money whenever they wanted it, like rich kids with no cap on their allowance.

Second, and more troubling for retail investors, the bulk of investment returns might have already been realized. Uber acknowledged in a recent filing that its growth is slowing, fueling concern that venture firms, private equity shops, sovereign-wealth funds and other elite insiders have not left much upside for mom-and-pop investors.

The last big beneficiary of Ubers private-market gains might have been SoftBank. The Japanese mega-conglomerate bought existing shares from Uber investors at a nadir, when the company was valued at roughly $42 billion. Just months later, as Uber recovered from its string of scandals, those shares had nearly doubled in value.

All IPOs are by nature unpredictable, but with Uber the possible outcomes seem especially extreme. Is it a juggernaut that, like Amazon before it, will someday flip the switch to profitability? Or is it something more like eBay, a well-known but puttering giant with its best growth long since behind it?

For now, Khosrowshahis job is to execute a drama-free public offering. He was able to use the chaotic events of Kalanicks departure and his own hiring to secure a lucrative incentive. If he is able to attain a valuation of more than $120 billion for Uber over a period of 90 consecutive days, according to two people familiar with the matter and language included in Ubers IPO prospectus, Khosrowshahi will personally net stock bonuses of more than $100 million.

After parachuting into a profoundly fractured board, the CEO has managed to make a kind of peace among the companys directors, a group that includes Kalanick. Leaks about internal issues have largely stopped flowing to the press. Backbiting among executives has subsided. And Khosrowshahi has refrained from the kinds of extravagances Kalanick was known for.

Khosrowshahis admirers say the calm is a result of his long experience with corporate distress. After years of running InterActive Corp.s mergers, acquisitions and finance divisions, Khosrowshahi was tapped to lead Expedia as chief executive in 2012  a time of intense political drama inside the online travel company. Khosrowshahi stabilized some of the internal tumult, according to Neha Parikh, the president of Hotwire, who worked alongside Khosrowshahi at the time. No matter who you are, she said, Dara makes you feel heard.

At Uber, Khosrowshahi hired a slew of lawyers to plumb and correct years of the companys legal deficiencies. He also edited Kalanicks list of 14 cultural values. Ranging from Always Be Hustlin to Super Pumped, they read like Amazons leadership principles run through a bro-speak translation engine; now they have been made into a blander set of eight platitudes. (Among them: We persevere.) Investors who had billions riding on Ubers success have been happy to see a constant stream of negative headlines shrink to a trickle.

While Khosrowshahi has seemed to successfully reform many of Ubers cultural issues, skeptics note that the companys business fundamentals remain much the same. Uber lost nearly $2 billion in 2018, the first full year under his leadership. That comes even after a retreat from a number of costly battles with ride-hailing competitors in China, Russia and Southeast Asia.

On Ubers roadshow to pitch itself to institutional investors (theres no homeshow this time around), Khosrowshahi has broken with Kalanicks worldview that Uber is competing in a winner-take-all market. Ride-sharing will be a winner-take-most game, as Khosrowshahi puts it, according to people familiar with his presentation.

He has also embraced the idea that his company is like Amazon  a logistics giant in the making. His pitch casts Ubers sustained losses as both an attempt to defend its existing market share from competitors and an investment in Ubers growth.

That story seeks to frame Uber as a technology platform. Ride-hailing, the thinking goes, is a mere jumping-off point for other markets, like bikes and scooters, food delivery, long-haul trucking  even flying cars. Just like Amazon sells third-party goods, we are going to also offer third-party transportation services, Khosrowshahi said in an interview last year.

Still, Uber has no clear path to turning a profit in the next few years, and the risks section of its registration statement runs to 48 pages, out of 285 total. Shares of Lyft, its nearest competitor, have fallen about 13 percent from their offering price.

Ubers bankers seem to have internalized the doubts. After initially targeting an IPO opening range of roughly $48 to $55 per share, Uber reduced expectations to roughly $44 to $50 per share at a valuation of $80 billion to $91 billion  significantly lower than the $90 billion to $100 billion range it originally sought.

Despite all Khosrowshahi has done to distance Uber from its founder, Kalanick remains intimately connected to the company he built. He remains on Ubers board, and Khosrowshahi has shown no signs of agitating for a shake-up of the group in the months following an IPO, as some had expected he would.

Friends of Kalanick say that he feels unfairly targeted by Ubers IPO paperwork and its implicit criticisms of his leadership. According to people briefed on his thinking, Kalanick hopes that his successor will use the IPO to bury the hatchet between the two men and mark a new chapter in Ubers history. Even former enemies on the board, like Matt Cohler of Benchmark, have spoken in favor of Kalanicks involvement, according to a report from Axios.

No matter where he stands when Uber shares begin to trade, Kalanick will have the consolation of making on paper several billion dollars. That is 600 times what Khosrowshahis stake will be worth. Not that hes one to let that bother him.

Hes like Teflon. You cant scratch him, said Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Khosrowshahis cousin and the chief operating officer of Kobalt, a music startup. But its a positive way, not robotic. Thats why hes such a good choice for this role, because you have to be  especially from where he started.

Mike Isaac is a New York Times writer.
HARTFORD  Connecticut schools have one of the highest immunization rates in the country, but according to the state Department of Public Health, 116 public schools reported immunization rates for measles, mumps, and rubella that were below 95 percent last year.

That included six schools in which less than 80 percent of the kindergartners were vaccinated.

The vaccination data, which was for the 2017-18 school year, was released following a series of requests by CTNewsJunkie as well as members of the General Assembly. The state DPH updated its data over the course of the afternoon Friday, including removing from the lists that they originally uploaded all the schools with enrollments of less than 30 students. The DPHs original data also reported vaccination rates for kindergartners and seventh-graders separately for the same schools in some cases.

Measles outbreaks, like the nine in New York, California, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia and New Jersey, are less likely to occur at schools in which a large number of students are immunized to achieve herd immunity.

Herd immunity is described as a vaccination rate high enough to protect unvaccinated children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number is 95 percent.

Dr. Jody L. Terranova, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a vaccine advocate for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the data will help the academy reach out to schools with low numbers to see what education they can provide to improve vaccination rates in order to protect students who cannot be vaccinated based on medical conditions. Terranova said the data may be eye-opening for parents whose children have compromised immune systems, because if their school falls below 95 percent then there is no herd immunity and they face an increased risk of an outbreak.

We clearly have a false sense of security when using the overall state vaccination rate and can now see areas throughout the state where our residents are vulnerable to preventable diseases, Terranova said.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Connecticut State Medical Society said they were alarmed by the startling Department of Public Health School Immunization Report released Friday.

The facts dont lie, Connecticut State Medical Society President Claudia Gruss said. We know that immunizations are proven to be safe and effective, they are one of our best lines of defense to protect the publics health.

The lowest percentages of Connecticut kindergartners immunized with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were at schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford and East Hartford last year. At least six schools in those towns had kindergarten immunization rates below 80 percent.

There were at least 36 schools where the MMR vaccine rate for kindergarteners was under 90 percent. Those schools were in Groton, Norwich, New Haven, Bloomfield, Hartford, Bridgeport, South Windsor, New Canaan, Waterbury, Redding, Mansfield, Milford, Westport, Canterbury, Stafford, and Stamford.

The DPH also provided vaccination data for seventh-graders across the state. Five schools had MMR vaccine rates under 90 percent, including schools in Norwich, Newtown, New Haven, Hartford, and Killingly.

Seventh-grade immunization rates between 90 percent and 92 percent were recorded at schools in Greenwich, Guilford, Stamford, and Bridgeport.

The overall number of schools with MMR vaccine rates under 95 percent was 116 when kindergarteners and seventh-graders were included, but there are still many unanswered questions about the data released Friday morning.

Why did some schools with low immunization rates report zero exemptions?

Kathy Kudish, head of the Connecticut Department of Healths Immunization Program, said that children without the required number of doses of vaccines do not necessarily have an exemption on file.

She said all data was reported by the schools, and a handful of schools had reached out Friday following the publication of the data to let the DPH know there may have been errors.

Kudish said the DPH is addressing those issues and will correct the database as the updates come in, with plans to release the updated information in about a week.

She admitted its possible that updated information could change the immunization rates at a handful of schools.

The information released included the percentages of children in kindergarten and seventh grade who are vaccinated against measles and other diseases as recommended. The DPH also includes the percentage of children in any grade who have an immunization exemption, which is based on what the schools report to the state.

Democratic legislative leadership in the House and the Senate said the data proves what they feared.

The immunization level is dangerously low in a significant number of schools and communities, putting the publics health at risk. This is a matter of grave public health concern, Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, who has not been shy about his desire to end the religious exemption for vaccines, said the numbers were shocking.

The release of the data provided ammunition for lawmakers who are advocating to end the religious exemption for vaccinations for students who want to attend public schools in the face of a vocal group of parents who have been lobbying hard to keep it.

Public health is always top priority, and when there are signs it is being compromised, it cant be ignored, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said.

LeeAnn Ducat, founder of Informed Choice USA, said she believes some of the information DPH released is inaccurate.

Recently, Matt Ritter clearly said that releasing this data will identify hot spots likely for infection and that hopefully releasing this data will increase immunization rates. The only way I can see for that to happen is by harassment, peer pressure and pressure on those towns/districts to create an unfavorable environment to exemption users, Ducat said.

She said the state violated its own law by releasing the data.

Sec. 10-204a-4(c) states that all immunization information collected by the department shall be confidential. So we believe that DPH is violating the law and we are looking into possible legal action, Ducat said.

This is the first time the department has released the information about the immunization rates for various vaccines on a school by school basis. Schools with low immunization rates also have higher rates of religious and medical exemptions. The corrected data provided by the DPH does not include schools with fewer than 30 students and it does not include childcare centers or preschools.

DPH Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who moved back to Connecticut from the state of Washington  which had with a measles outbreak  wrote to to school superintendents earlier this week to let them know she was releasing the information.

While Connecticuts immunization rate for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination of kindergarteners remained high last year at 96.5 percent the number of fully immunized students, upon kindergarten and seventh-grade entry, is trending lower, Coleman-Mitchell wrote. A disease outbreak is less likely to occur at schools where high numbers of students are immunized.

Coleman-Mitchell said Friday that the goal in releasing immunization data for each school is to increase public awareness of vaccination rates in local communities. Hopefully, this will lead to more engagement and focus on increasing immunization rates to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

At a Capitol news conference Friday, Ritter said they had expected a handful of schools to be at risk for an outbreak, but they didnt expect as many schools to report immunization rates under 95 percent.

The magnitude of this problem is why youve seen the comments youve seen, Ritter said. Nobody saw this coming.

Ritter said he expects the public to start asking lawmakers what they plan to do about it.

But Ritter said they want to wait until Attorney General William Tong releases his opinion on the constitutionality of the religious exemption and then decide where to go from there.

We have literally dozens of schools that are not one point below but double digits below the CDC recommended level, Ritter said.

Tom McMorran, superintendent for Easton, Redding and Region 9, said the states exemption rate data was inaccurate for Redding Elementary School. The states data showed the school had an exemption rate of more than 41 percent.

However, McMorran said the school has a 4.7 percent exemption rate with 22 of the 469 students claiming an exemption.
LOS ANGELES  Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent Friday to John Sanders, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein, D-Calif., said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.
John Starks / Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald

WAUKEGAN, Ill.  An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory claimed a second victim Saturday when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed, and the official death toll is expected to rise to four as authorities suspended the search for two other bodies believed to be in the rubble.

Crews suspended their search amid concerns about the stability of the structure, and Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said they would not resume searching until what remains of the plant is torn down.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 59F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 28F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
SAN JOSE (BCN)



San Jose city officials will host a memorial on Saturday evening for Ly Tong, a South Vietnamese Air Force veteran who escaped Communist labor camps and participated in local activism.



Tong died on April 5 at 74 years old and is known for his work battling communism during and after the Vietnam War. He famously hijacked a plane and dropped leaflets over Vietnam calling for democracy in 1992.



"For millions of Vietnamese around the world, Ly Tong is always the 'Eagle Hero' in their hearts," former councilmember Tam Nguyen said in a news release.



Tong also participated in a 28-day hunger strike in 2008 when San Jose city officials attempted to rename "Little Saigon" as the "Saigon Business District."



A banner will be flown over Little Saigon on Story Road for 10 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. and City Hall at 4:41 p.m., weather permitting. The memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the San Jose City Hall rotunda at 200 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose.





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SAN CARLOS (BCN)



State officials on Friday partially catalogued and removed radioactive material found in a shed behind a vacant San Carlos home, fire officials said.



The California Department of Public Health and other agencies were at the home in the 1000 block of Cedar Street, where the material was discovered Thursday afternoon in the backyard shed, said Redwood City Fire Chief Stan Maupin, whose department serves the city of San Carlos.



The home was formerly occupied by Ronald Seefred, a retired scientist who had worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Menlo Park.



Seefred died in January at age 82. The radioactive materials were discovered while the home was being prepared for sale, Maupin said.



Fire officials said the materials discovered include Cobalt 57 and Radium 226, and were in several small vials in very small quantities. But Ephrime Mekuria, a physicist with the state public health department, said they found Radium but not Cobalt.



Friday afternoon the materials were being taken to a lab in Richmond where Mekuria said they'll determine exactly what was found. Then the materials will be stored in a radioactive storage facility in the city.



The material is not considered to be a threat to the community, and the challenge is sorting through the material and cataloguing it, in order to remove it to the proper locations for disposal, Maupin said.



It's not known how it came to be at the property, or why it was brought there.



Mekuria said, "A lot of scientists like to tinker" and added that this is not the first time radioactive material has been found in someone's home.



Cedar Street from Brittan to Arroyo avenues has reopened, San Mateo County sheriff's officials said. No evacuations were ordered.



City officials said on Friday that no radiation has been detected outside the shed and there is no threat to residents in the immediate vicinity.



Mekuria said the material "was stored appropriately."



"The containment was good," he said.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



An attorney for Ghost Ship warehouse creative director Max Harris filed a motion on Friday asking a judge not to allow the prosecution's first witness to testify in the trial for the deadly fire at the warehouse in Oakland in 2016.



Harris, 29, and Ghost Ship warehouse master tenant Derick Almena, 49, are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the warehouse at 1309 31st Ave. on the night of Dec. 2, 2016, that killed 36 people.



Alameda County prosecutors and lawyers for Harris and Almena presented their opening statements in the high-profile case on Tuesday and Wednesday and testimony is scheduled to begin on Monday.



Prosecutor Casey Bates told Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson at the end of Wednesday's session that the first witness he plans to call to the stand is Carol Cidlik, the mother of fire victim Nicole Siegrist, 29, of Oakland.



Bates said in his opening statement that at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, Siegrist sent a text message to her mother saying, "I'm going to die."



Tyler Smith, one of two lawyers for Harris, wrote in his motion, "The testimony of Ms. Cidlik is inadmissible because it does not tend to prove or disprove any fact that is in question" in the trial.



Smith said, "The danger of undue prejudice (against Harris and Almena in jurors' minds) is extremely high and vastly outweighs any probative value that Ms. Cidlik's testimony might provide."



The defense attorney wrote, "The fact that they (the prosecution) want to call Ms. Cidlik as their very first witness betrays their true motive of having her testify: they wish to use a grieving mother's testimony to tug at the jurors' heartstrings in the hopes that jurors will look at Mr. Harris and Mr. Almena to seek retribution for Ms. Cidlik's heartbreak."



Smith also asked Judge Thompson not to allow fire survivor Samuel Maxwell to testify.



Smith said Maxwell was in a coma for five weeks after the fire, spent four more months in the hospital, is now confined to a wheelchair, requires care around the clock and relies on his mother to interpret what he is saying. Maxwell is scheduled to testify later this month.



Smith wrote, "The prosecution clearly wants to use Mr. Maxwell as a demonstrative exhibit to the jury, to appeal to their emotions with the hopes they will misdirect those feelings with a guilty verdict" against Harris and Almena.



Smith said, "To have Mr. Maxwell's mother act as an interpreter would be highly inappropriate and prejudicial. On top of not being a certified interpreter, she is undoubtedly prejudiced against both defendants because she will want retribution for her son's condition and will see the trial as her opportunity to help her son."



Bates said in his opening statement that Almena and Harris are criminally liable for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at the party to escape since the warehouse didn't have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs.



Bates also said Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse's lease by turning it into a living space and hosting underground music parties there.



But Harris's lead attorney Curtis Briggs and Almena's lawyer Tony Serra alleged in their opening statements that the fire was an act of arson that Harris and Almena couldn't have prevented.



They also alleged that the warehouse's owners and Oakland firefighters and police officers are responsible for the fire because they say they knew about the safety issues at the warehouse and didn't take action to remedy them.





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SAN RAFAEL (BCN)



More than 200 residents and a dozen agencies in Marin County will gather Saturday at the Marin County Wildfire Forum.



The free public education event on fire prevention in the county's neighborhoods is from 10 a.m. to noon at the ballroom of Embassy Suites at 101 McInnis Parkway in San Rafael.



Paradise resident Shannamar Dewey will share her first-hand account of the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County in November.



Fire chiefs and other experts will address the importance of vegetation management projects on open space lands and emergency preparedness in communities.



Fire chiefs and other officials in Marin County developed a "Lessons Learned" report in late 2017 after the North Bay wildfires, and county residents cited emergency preparedness as their most important priority in a recent survey.



The Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, the Marin County Fire Chief's Association, County of Marin and Firewise USA are hosting the forum.



This is the first coordinated event that takes a countywide approach and includes stakeholder agencies from all over Marin County.



"A wildfire knows no boundaries," Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber said.





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A high-speed chase on Interstate Highway 680 in Contra Costa County on Friday morning ended with the arrest of four suspects, Danville police said.



The incident began around 10:24 a.m. when the California Highway Patrol reported that it was pursuing a red 2019 Dodge Challenger, according to Danville police Lt. Doug Muse.



A witness reported to police that, after the CHP lost contact with the Challenger, the vehicle had exited the freeway at El Cerro Boulevard in Danville and parked on the side of the road. Four individuals abandoned the vehicle and fled into the neighborhood at Adobe Drive, according to a police news release.



Officers from the Danville and San Ramon police departments and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office located and arrested the suspects following a search of the area.



Tyreon Lang, 20, of Oakland and Jamont Baldwin, 19, of Oakland, were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, probation violation and resisting arrest. Tyetiana Radford-Chandler, 18, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and probation violation, and Saree Lindhurst, 18, of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.



The four were booked at the Martinez Detention Facility. They may face further charges once the Berkeley and San Leandro police departments complete their investigations, police said.





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SAN JOSE (BCN)



Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.



Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.



Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.



Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.



The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.



The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.





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BERKELEY (BCN)



A person was robbed of his laptop Thursday night in a University of California at Berkeley parking garage, university police said Friday.



The victim told police that at about 9:45 p.m. he was walking in the Ellsworth Parking Structure when he touched the hood of a Toyota sedan.



Police said three men got out of the car and confronted him. One man pushed him against the vehicle and took his laptop from his backpack. All three men were in their early 20s and drove away in the Toyota, which was mint green in color, police said.



Several more robberies or attempted robberies have occurred in the UC Berkeley area in the last two weeks. Last week three robberies occurred over about four hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Two involved a gun.



Then two more armed robberies occurred Thursday morning near campus. City of Berkeley police said Thursday that it's too early to say whether the robberies last week and Thursday are related.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



A man who was fatally shot in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon was identified by police on Friday as 21-year-old Anthony Nhep of Oakland.



Nhep was shot multiple times in the 1900 block of 17th Avenue, near San Antonio Park, at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and was pronounced dead at the scene.



No one has been arrested for the fatal shooting and police haven't disclosed a motive.



A GoFundMe site seeking to raise $10,000 to pay for Nhep's funeral and burial expenses had raised $1,740 as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday.



The site says Nhep is survived by his mother, sister and 3-year-old son.



The website says Nhep's mother fled from Cambodia to the U.S. in the 1980s "to escape the devastation, tortures and torments of the Khmer Rouge" regime.



The site is at www.gofundme.com/f/AnthonyNhep.





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Google Maps

A police cadet accidentally shot two other cadets when his loaded handgun went off in the middle of their law enforcement class Thursday night in Texas City, according to authorities.

The cadets were attending a class at the College of the Mainland Law Enforcement Training Academy when the weapon fired around 7:40 p.m., Texas City police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said in a written statement.
There is major movement at the top of the betting markets for who will win the 2020 presidential election, with Joe Biden emerging as the betting favorite to win the Democratic Party primaries.

OddsShark, a betting resource that tracks odds across a number of online betting sites, still gives Trump the best odds at +115 to win the election (meaning a $100 bet would win $115), since it is all-but-assured he will be leading the Republican ticket in 2020, and it is still unclear who will lead the Democratic ticket.

Trump's odds are noticeably better than the +175 odds he received last month, likely due to special counsel Robert Mueller finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government during the 2016 election.

MORE 2020: Biden to test appeal among black voters in South Carolina

Last month, California Senator Kamala Harris, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden were tied at +650 apiece to be the next president of the United States, and were followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke at +900.

Biden is now the frontrunner among Democrats at +450, and is followed closely by Sanders at +500. The former vice president officially announced his candidacy in late April, and has seen a substantial polling bounce as a result.

In third place among Democrats and fourth place overall is South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at +900. This is a massive surge, since Buttigieg was sitting at +2800 at this time last month.

ALSO: Biden's rise tests Trump plan of casting foes as socialists

Harris has tumbled down to +1300 behind Buttigieg, and O'Rourke is now tied with entrepreneur Andrew Yang at +2000 behind Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence previously had odds of +4500 to win the 2020 election, but following the release and fallout out the Mueller report, he's dipped all the way down to +6600.

Click through the slideshow above to see updated betting odds for the 2020 election.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eric.ting@sfgate.com and follow him on Twitter

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In route news, El Al paints a plane in honor of its new SFO flights; Southwest Airlines kicks off a new Hawaii route from San Jose this weekend; Thomas Cook adds seasonal SFO-Manchester service; Delta will join United in offering non-stop service to India; American, Lufthansa, Alitalia and Norwegian begin new Europe routes; and American starts a new California Corridor flight along with several other domestic routes.

May 5 is the launch date for Southwest Airlines' newest Hawaii route, from Mineta San Jose to Honolulu. The SJC-HNL service will be followed on May 26 by new Southwest service from San Jose to Kahului, Maui. Southwest's new San Jose-Honolulu flight departs SJC at 8:20 a.m.; the return leaves Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at SJC at 8:40 p.m. (San Jose also has Hawaii service from Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu and Maui, and Alaska Airlines to Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Kona.)

The airline is also going inter-island in Hawaii for easy connections from Honolulu; it recently started Honolulu-Maui flights and on May 12 will begin flights from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. In March and April, Southwest started Oakland-Honolulu and OAK-Maui service.

On Monday, May 13, El Al launches new nonstops between San Francisco SFO and Tel Aviv using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In honor of its inaugural flight the carrier had artists Shay Vadal and Amir Assayag create a special livery that includes images of the Golden Gate Bridge. (See more photos in the slide show.) Las Vegas, another new El Al destination, is featured on the other side. Stay tuned for more about this historic flight in coming weeks.

Fiji Airways announced this week that it would be getting two new Airbus A350 jets to serve its long haul routes. It currently flies from SFO and LAX using an Airbus A330. The new jets are expected to enter service in November and December, each with with 33 fully lie-flat business class seats, all with direct aisle access and 301 economy seats.

The Bay to the U.K.: On May 4, Thomas Cook Airlines resumes seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester in the U.K., with A330-200 departures on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays.

Last winter, United announced plans to start seasonal service from San Francisco to New Delhi, India, on December 5, 2019, and now Delta will launch a new route to India as well. The carrier plans a December 22 start for year-round, non-stop daily flights from New York JFK to Mumbai with a 777-200LR. "Demand for flights between the U.S. and India has increased significantly in the last decade, and New York is the largest U.S. market to India with the largest base of corporate customers," Delta said. Another likely factor in the route choice: India's Jet Airways, which recently stopped flying, had code-sharing agreements with Delta and its partners Air France and KLM. The grounding of Jet ended the option for customers to book a Delta-coded flight from the U.S. to India via connections in Europe.

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Several airlines are kicking off new transatlantic service this week and next as the peak summer travel season approaches. On May 2, Alitalia started flying from Washington Dulles to Rome five days a week, and Norwegian Air introduced Boston-Madrid service three days a week. May 3 was the launch date for Lufthansa's new Frankfurt-Austin route, which will use an A330-300 to operate five days a week. Also on May 3, American Airlines began seasonal Chicago-Athens service with a 787-8, continuing through September 28.

American Airlines also introduced intra-California seasonal service on May 3, with daily E175 flights between Santa Rosa's Charles Schulz Airport in Sonoma County and Los Angeles. Other AA routes that started May 3 include daily Miami-Santiago, Cuba service; daily seasonal flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; year-round daily E145 service from New York LaGuardia to Columbia, South Carolina; and daily year-round service from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to Phoenix. And on May 4, American begins twice-weekly seasonal E175 flights from Washington Reagan National to Melbourne, Florida, and from LaGuardia to Asheville, North Carolina and Daytona Beach, Florida.

We're not sure why it's only for a month, but Routesonline.com reports that Southwest Airlines plans to operate six flights a week from Sacramento to Nashville from May 5 through June 7. We suspect that this might have to do with 737 MAX issues.





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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.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants fired more than 200 rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israels existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flareups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. The ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was also killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was lightly hurt as he ran for cover.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territorys ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel.

Fares Akram is an Associated Press writer.
CARACAS, Venezuela  The critical role of the Venezuelan military in the countrys crisis was on display Saturday as President Nicolas Maduro sought to keep its support and opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to woo the armed forces to his side.

Days after Guaido called in vain for a military uprising, national television showed Maduro as he shook hands and exchanged fist bumps with security forces during a visit to a military base. Loyal forever, Maduro bellowed to a crowd of cadets in green uniforms.
BEIRUT  Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the countrys northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the rebels.
ISLAMABAD  The Taliban said Saturday that the gap is narrowing in talks with Washingtons special peace envoy over a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The two sides are continuing to meet in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.

The Taliban spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, said both sides have offered new proposals for drawing down U.S. and NATO forces. This would be a significant initial step toward a deal to end nearly 18 years of war and Americas longest military engagement.
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In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. AP-Yonhap



North Korea fired several short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.



The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.



Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.



The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017,before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.






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The Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) individual mandate is unconstitutional now that there is no penalty against those who don't get health insurance, the Justice Department argued in a brief submitted to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 in support of a lower court's finding. The department said the rest of the law should be struck down.

The case will be heard this summer.

The Justice Department noted that when the Supreme Court upheld the ACA's individual mandate in 2012, the high court ruled that the requirement was a valid exercise of Congress' taxing power. In reaching this determination, the high court relied on the law's penalty on those who do not buy health insurance, characterizing the penalty as a tax. But Congress reduced the penalty to zero in the 2017 tax reform legislation.

Last December, a federal district court in Texas decided that the individual mandate is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' authority now that the mandate no longer raises any revenue. The district court also struck down the entire law, reasoning that the individual mandate is essential to the rest of the ACA. Democratic state attorneys general, led by California, appealed the ruling to the 5th Circuit. We've rounded up articles from SHRM Online and other trusted news sources on the litigation.

Hearings Expected This Summer

The 5th Circuit is expected to hear arguments in the case in July. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has defended the individual mandate as constitutional and said that even if it isn't, the rest of the law should be upheld. He has called the district court ruling an "assault on 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions." The U.S. House of Representatives also is now defending the law in court.

(CNN)

Texas Files Its Own Brief

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, led the Republican state attorneys general challenge against the ACA. The Justice Department had said some portions of the law should be upheld prior to changing its mind in March. Paxton filed a brief on May 1, saying, "Congress meant for the individual mandate to be the centerpiece of Obamacare. Without the constitutional justification for the centerpiece, the law must go down."

(The New York Times)

Millions Could Be Affected

Approximately 20 million Americans get health insurance through the ACA. The law's protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions covers millions more. If the 5th Circuit issues a decision before January, the Supreme Court might choose to review the case and publish a decision in the middle of the 2020 presidential election.

(USA Today)

Who Else Does the Law Benefit?

A ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional would affect more than those who get insurance through exchanges and individuals with pre-existing conditions. The law lowers the costs of Medicare coverage and prescription drugs for the elderly, lets children remain on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26 years old, and allows many Americans to get birth control, mammograms and cholesterol tests for free. President Donald Trump has asked Republican senators to develop a new Republican health care bill but has said that congressional Republicans will wait until after the 2020 election to vote on an ACA replacement.

(Fortune)

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with and Leveraging the Affordable Care Act]

ACA Still Applies

In the meantime, all ACA coverage and reporting obligations for employers remain in place. Employers still have to offer health care coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and properly report offers of coverage, so they are not penalized.

(SHRM Online)


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When is overtime pay owed to part-time employees in Europe? In some countries, such as Germany, overtime is now due as soon as part-timers work any extra hours beyond those set out in their contracts. This is true, regardless of whether they have worked as much as full-time employees, because of a so-called principle of equal treatment between full- and part-time workers. Elsewhere, such as in the United Kingdom (U.K.), part-time employees don't earn overtime just because the employer extended their schedule.



A recent German Federal Labor Court decision clarified how employers should pay overtime compensation to part-time workers to avoid treatment that would be unequal to treatment shown to full-time employees. Austria and Hungary prohibit unequal treatment as well, but the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland give employers more leeway.

What's Unequal Treatment?

What is meant by unequal treatment in the payment of overtime?

Assume there is a collective bargaining agreement that provides for the mandatory payment of a 20 percent bonus for overtime hours exceeding the work-time limit for full-time workers. So a full-time employee who works 40 hours a week and 10 hours of overtime receives, in addition to normal pay for the 10 hours of overtime worked, an overtime premium of 20 percent for those hours. In contrast, a part-time employee who works 25 hours per week according to his or her employment contract and 10 hours of overtime per week is paid for the additional hours worked but does not receive overtime pay at an enhanced rate.

Until recently, the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court had always denied that this constitutes unequal treatment because the same total compensation was paid for the same number of work hours.

But on Dec. 19, 2018, the 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court issued a decision abandoning its long-standing case law: There will be equal treatment only if an employer pays the enhanced overtime rate for work time that exceeds the worker's contractually agreed work hours. This means that in the example above, the employer must pay the part-time employee for all 10 hours of overtime worked at the enhanced rate.

Austria

Under Austrian law, part-time workers must not be placed in a worse position than full-time employees because of their part-time employment. Part-time workers who work more than their contractual hours must be paid a 25 percent premium.

Hungary

In Hungary, part-time employees cannot be excluded from their employer's pay and benefits system and cannot be denied benefits that would otherwise be due to a full-time worker performing equal work. This means that employers must pay overtime pay rates to part-time employees in compliance with the principle of equal treatment. But employers can reduce the amount in proportion to part-time work hours.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

United Kingdom

U.K. employment law has taken the position opposite to the German Federal Labor Court's. The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations [of] 2000 provide that part-time workers are not considered to be treated less favorably with respect to overtime pay if they are entitled to overtime only after they have worked the same number of hours a full-time worker would have to work to receive such pay.

This means that, for example, if a full-time worker normally works 35 hours per week and gets premium rates for hours in excess of this, and a part-time worker normally works 21 hours per week, the part-time worker would have to work at least 14 hours of overtime before he or she is entitled to the same premium rates as the full-timer.

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the position on overtime pay for part-time workers is similar to that in the U.K. So overtime compensation is not immediately payable to part-time employees for additional hours that exceed the individual's work hours.

Finland

Finnish law requires that less-favorable employment conditions must not be applied to part-time employment relationships without a proper and justified reason. But the former case law of the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court reflects current Finnish practice.

Ius Laboris is the world's largest global HR and employment law firm alliance. Contributing members to this article include Dr. Elke Platzhoff from German firm Kliemt in Dusseldorf, Germany; Natalie Hahn and Lisa Hittinger from Austrian firm Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtanswalte GmbH in Vienna; Dr. Nora Ovary-Papp from Hungarian firm CLV Partners in Budapest, Hungary; Colin Leckey from U.K. firm Lewis Silkin in London; Erik Deur from the Dutch firm Bronsgeest Deur in Amsterdam; and Laura Parkkisenniemi from Finnish firm Dittmar & Indrenius in Helsinki.
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A former employee who was not rehired when a position became available following her layoff could not pursue her family and medical leave discrimination lawsuit because the company hired a better-qualified candidate, a California appellate court ruled.

The plaintiff, who claimed that she was not rehired because of her prior use of family and medical leave, failed to show that her qualifications were "substantially superior" to those of the person hired, the court found.

The plaintiff worked for Abbott Laboratories from 2004 until 2013 as a specialist in diabetic supplies. In September 2013, she was let go, and in March 2014, the same specialist position became available.

The plaintiff applied for the role, but it was offered to another candidate. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit claiming that Abbott refused her the job because of medically related leaves of absence she had taken while employed.

[SHRM members-only resource: Managing Medical Leave in California]

The trial court granted Abbott's motion to dismiss the lawsuit before trial, and the plaintiff appealed.

No Evidence of Pretext

To establish a discrimination lawsuit, a job candidate must first show that he or she is a member of a protected class, is qualified for the position, and was not hired or promoted into the position. The plaintiff must also show "some other circumstance suggesting discriminatory motive," according to the court. The employer then has the opportunity to show that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for choosing another candidate. Then, the plaintiff may demonstrate that the employer's asserted reason was actually a pretext for discrimination.

In this case, even if the plaintiff met her initial burden of proof, the court said, Abbott had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not hiring her, because it chose to hire a better-qualified candidate.

And, the court said, to show pretext in this case, the plaintiff needed to show that her qualifications were at least substantially superior to those of the applicant who was hired.

Evidence of the plaintiff's competing qualifications "does not constitute evidence of pretext unless those differences are so favorable to the plaintiff that there can be no dispute among reasonable persons of impartial judgment that the plaintiff was clearly better qualified for the position at issue," the court said.

In this case, the plaintiff had several things going for her, the court noted: She was a registered nurse, she had a master's degree, and she was certified as a diabetes educator. However, the applicant who was hired had worked for another big pharmaceutical firm for the same length of time as the plaintiff worked for Abbott, and during that time, she won an international sales champion award and five regional champion awards.

In a job involving sales, the hired applicant "brought a proven track record of what any objective observer would have to conclude was a series of stellar sales performances," the court said.

This sank the plaintiff's pretext claim, the court ruled, affirming the trial court's dismissal of the complaint.

Villacreses v. Abbott Laboratories, Calif. Ct. App., No. G054983 (April 18, 2019).

Professional Pointer: Courts generally defer to the legitimate business decisions of employers in deciding which applicant is best qualified for a job. However, employers should carefully evaluate the qualifications of the candidates for a position and document the reasons for the successful applicant's selection.

Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island leaders lauded Richard A. Brown, 86, who died on Friday after a long and distinguished career as a Queens district attorney, justice of the Appellate and Supreme courts and advisor to a governor.

The native New Yorker served as district attorney of Queens for nearly 28 years after he was appointed to that post by then Gov. Mario Cuomo on June 1, 1991.

During several decades of public service, Brown had the ear of governors and legislators from New York City to Albany and this judicial influence was felt throughout the state.

In January, Brown announced that he would not seek re-election and planned to step down in June due to increasing health problems associated with Parkinsons Disease, according to a statement from Chief Queens Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan.

Together with his law enforcement colleagues throughout New York City, Judge Brown contributed greatly to making this city the safest big city in the nation, Ryan said in the statement. His district attorneys office created one of the states first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court - all very successful over the years and their models duplicated across the country."

"Many programs followed - a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and most recently the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP) created to address the scourge of opioid addiction by providing a second chance for addicts to avoid criminal prosecution and to literally save lives, he added.

Judge Brown was one of the most brilliant, ethical and dynamic public servants I ever met," said Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. "But he was also approachable, humble and sincere. He was my role model, a prosecutors prosecutor, a visionary and problem solving justice innovator, and a wonderful family man. They dont make them like him anymore. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Brown earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hobart College before graduating from New York University School of Law in June 1956 and being admitted to the bar by the Appellate Division in October of that same year, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Brown spent much of the 1960s and early 1970s in various administrative positions for leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly. He served four years as New York Citys legislative representative in Albany where he managed the citys Albany office and supervised its legislative program, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Becoming a member of the judiciary in September 1973, he served as a judge of the Criminal Court for less than two years before being appointed supervising judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court and then acting justice of the Supreme Court.

In November 1977, Brown was elected a justice of the Supreme Court in Queens County. At the end of the following year, he returned to Albany as counsel to then Gov. Hugh L. Carey.

On March 3, 1981, Judge Brown returned to the Supreme Court and the following year was appointed by Gov. Carey as an associate justice to the Appellate Division. Carey designated Brown to the court two more times before he assumed the top post at the Queens District Attorneys Office.

His many professional affiliations included: past president of the New York State District Attorneys Association; member of the New York State Bar Association; member of the New York City Bar Association; member of the Queens County Bar Association; chairman of the Albany-based New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

He is survived by his wife, Rhoda, their three children Karen, Todd and his wife Monica, and Lynn and her husband Bruce. Funeral arrangements are pending.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island charter school is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond, including a church built in 1853, from the Archdiocese of New York for $3.75 million, according to school officials and court documents.

New World Preparatory Charter School -- which has been leasing two school buildings from the Archdiocese since the school opened in 2010 -- is in contract to buy the property, according to Eugene Foley, the schools president.

It will enable us to have personal responsibility for the property rather than having to go through a landlord, said New World Prep President Eugene Foley. This way, we can make the improvements that we want to make and do it directly through our board of trustees making the decisions.

New World Prep has been leasing its school building located on 26 Sharpe Ave. and a separate gym/cafeteria building.

Along with those two buildings, New World Prep would acquire the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church, a former convent and a former rectory that is being used as an administrative building.

Below is a photo that shows the five buildings that New World Prep is in contract to purchase.

New World Preparatory Charter School is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond from the Archdiocese of New York, including the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church. (Courtesy of Google Maps)

The St. Mary of the Assumption Church -- located at 2230 Richmond Terrace -- was established in 1853 and closed in 2015, as part of the Archdioceses initiative to merge Staten Island parishes.

The parish was merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta -- now known as St. Mary of the Assumption-Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta R.C. Church.

The Archdiocese for New York declined to comment on the purchase.

While the school has not finalized any plans with what it will do with the property, Foley said it was looking to upgrade some of the aged buildings.

We havent finalized any plans, Foley said. We want to upgrade some of the buildings since theyre elderly in terms of electricity and plumbing.

The school -- which currently serves fifth- through eighth-graders -- announced in February that it would expand to become a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

Kindergarten and first grade will be added in September, located off-campus at Moore Catholic High School, Graniteville. By 2021, the transition to include kindergarten through eighth grade will be complete.

Students are chosen by lottery, with special allowances for siblings of current students, and students who come from homes where English isnt the primary language.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio was in the backseat of his official SUV when the vehicle was involved in a collision back in 2015, according to reports.

The perfect teaching moment for the architect of New York Citys Vision Zero program, right?

Wrong.

According to the Daily News, the mayors NYPD security detail hushed up the accident. They hustled the mayor from the scene. There is no record of the accident with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The NYPD has yet to release the police accident report about the incident.

The police apparently thought that publicizing the accident would be bad optics given the mayors Vision Zero policies. The NYPD has denied that there was any coverup of the collision.

Well cut de Blasio some slack here. He wasnt involved in the actual hushing up of the accident, according to reports.

But de Blasio loses that credit because he punted when asked about the collision, telling reporters that he wasnt familiar with how the crash had been handled. He said he didnt know enough about his security details protocols to speak to any of it.

This from a mayor who has demonstrated such a deep interest in the minutiae of crashes all over the city. Hes got nothing to say about a collision involving his own vehicle?

And since when is a public figure of de Blasios stature unfamiliar with how his personal security detail operates? He wont have that excuse if he actually does become president of the United States.

When the story broke, de Blasio should have just come clean. Mistakes were made in how this was handled, he should have said, well make sure those mistakes are never made again. Heres that police report youve been asking for.

Dont hold your breath.

But were familiar with the mayor saying one thing and doing another.

This is the same mayor who takes an 11-mile drive to the gym just about every day, security detail in tow, while at the same time admonishing the rest of us to cut carbon emissions.

Do as I say, not as I do.

The citys approach to the homeless shelter proposed for Tompkinsville is another example of the administration talking out of both sides of its mouth.

The city decided that the shelter would go at 44 Victory Blvd. without consulting anybody here.

When the predictable blowback came, City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services said that they were willing to work with elected officials and community members to discuss alternate sites. A piece of land in Clifton that was once part of the Bayley Seton Hospital campus was in play.

On second thought, the city said, forget about it. Were going with Victory Boulevard.

So much for consultation. The whole thing has been top-down from the beginning.

And the city so much wants the community to be involved that the administration wont put the project through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Not needed, according to de Blasio. This is an emergency facility. That means the shelter project can do an end-run around ULURP.

De Blasio knows best. Weve seen this all before.

He shrugs off fundraising controversies and accusations of pay-to-play. De Blasio has never been charged with any wrongdoing, but theres been plenty of smoke. Were just supposed to ignore it when people whove donated to de Blasios campaigns or PACs appear to get a leg up in their dealings with the city. Nothing to see here. City & State recently had a good roundup if youve forgotten the highlights.

I cant decide if this makes him more qualified to be president of less. But its going to stick to him if he really does take the expected plunge and run for the White House.

De Blasio says he never talks with lobbyists, then he acknowledges that he does. Just not about whatever the lobbyists are lobbying for. Then again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo the other day said he doesnt know whos a lobbyist and who isnt when he sits down with people. So maybe this is a common thing for elected officials.

Maybe its our fault for expecting too much of them.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers a reporter's question during a meeting with members of foreign media in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2019. AP-Yonhap





In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies during a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC. AFP-Yonhap



The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed Saturday to "prudently" handle North Korea's launch of short-range projectiles during their telephone talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone hours after the North fired the projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of growing impatience over stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington.



"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.




A major network of bars on the high-profile Chapel Street strip has been significantly underpaying staff, leaked documents and pay records show.

La La Bar Group - which runs popular bars on the inner south-east Melbourne strip including Wonderland, Electric Ladyland, Lucky Liquor, Blue Bar and Holy Grail - has been paying workers in envelopes stuffed with cash.

Payslips, documents and interviews with workers show that staff and supervisors have been regularly paid a flat rate below the minimum rates of the award, the wages safety net.

Current and former staff said the practice has been going on since at least the start of the decade. They were regularly not paid penalty rates or even superannuation, they allege.
Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The mother of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained in North Korea, made a plea Friday for continued pressure on the regime.



Cindy Warmbier spoke at a seminar alongside family members of South Korean, Japanese and U.S. citizens who are believed to have been abducted by North Korea in past decades.



"Unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change," she said at the event co-hosted by the Hudson Institute, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, and the Japanese government.



"I am very afraid that we're going to let up on this pressure. So I need everyone here to keep the pressure on everybody you can. There are still a lot of families here that deserve to see their family members," she said.





Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The Warmbier case has received renewed attention since The Washington Post reported last week that the North Koreans had demanded US$2 million from the U.S. government to cover his hospital fees.



The University of Virginia student fell into a coma shortly after he was detained in Pyongyang in early 2016 for allegedly trying to take down a political poster.



He spent the next year and a half hospitalized there before he was released and returned to the U.S. in June 2017, only to die several days later.



"North Korea to me is a cancer on the earth," Cindy Warmbier said. "And if we ignore this cancer, it's not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us. We don't even know we have this cancer, so that's why I talk. There is a cancer, I can tell you."



U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that any money was paid to North Korea for Warmbier's release.





Otto Frederick Warmbier, center, a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Reuters-Yonhap
This year, Dan Wilson added roasted chickpeas and fava beans to the snack menu at his network of North Shore primary school canteens. These healthy options have not proved popular with his pint-sized customers, who prefer to buy sweets at the petrol station after school.

Since Mr Wilson complied with the new healthy canteen guidelines, which require "everyday foods" to make up 75 per cent of the menu, his revenue has dropped by 20 per cent. "If it doesn't turn out to be viable, I am probably not going to continue doing it," he said.

Karin Von Specht, right, and Nina Wilson serve healthy food at the St Mary's Primary School Canteen in North Sydney. Credit:James Brickwood

He would not be alone. The industry expects higher costs and lower sales will cause many small operators to leave the business after the new guidelines become compulsory next year, forcing some schools to close their canteens.

Since the 2017 launch, only a quarter of the state's 1800 canteens have been accredited. The deadline for mandatory compliance across the public system is December, but insiders privately believe many of canteens will not meet it.
Daniel Taylor with his father John Ibrahim. Credit:Instagram According to friends the 28-year-old is trying to distance himself from his headline-making family and travelled to Peru, seeking out ayahuasca as a tool for personal growth. Traditional healers have been using ayahuasca for centuries as a medicine and the tea is also used in religious ceremonies in South America where the drug is legal. The drug has become more popular with Westerners who are seeking to expand their consciousness. Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Emerald City. In December Taylor was cleared of charges that he illegally handled $2.25 million. The cash was connected to an illegal tobacco smuggling ring. His father was back in the news again last week when a heavily-tattooed man stood outside the Ibrahim Dover Heights mansion filming himself yelling abuse. Daniel Taylor, son of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim. Credit:AAP Harrolds' celebrity loan crackdown

Loading High-end fashion retailer Harrolds has set tongues wagging amongst Sydney celebrities and influencers after cracking down on the loan of designer garments for media events. Emerald City was told by a television personality that the store accused them of returning a faulty garment days after the personality sent the item back. "They called me five days later and accused me of wrecking the dress and requested it be paid for, the personality confided at a recent race day. It was dry cleaned and returned in the same condition I received it. If there was an issue, it should have been addressed upon return. However, a publicity manager for Harrolds said that while they do limit their loans to influential party-goers there is no ban in place. As it's coming to the end of the SS19 season, we always limit the amount of PR loans we facilitate due to our communications strategy," the PR said. Radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson and her former husband Lee and daughter Catalina. Credit:Instagram

Jackie O's man-ban It's been six months since KIIS breakfast co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson announced she was separating from her photographer husband Lee Henderson and next Sunday will be her first Mothers Day as a single mum. Speaking to Emerald City at Westfield Parramatta's Mother's Day high tea on Friday Henderson said that while she and Kitty, 7, have no plans as yet, they will do something special together. Henderson is currently renting in South Bondi while her ex-husband remains in the family home in Vaucluse. However, she insists dating is not on her agenda at the moment. "No, I'm not dating, definitely not," she said, adding that her KIIS co-host Kyle Sandilands has been a constant support since her marriage broke down. "He's incredibly protective of me and sometimes when listeners phone to ask if I'm dating he tells them to get lost," she said. Roll call of heavyweights at STC's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Any Sydney Theatre Company opening night begins with a traditional welcome to Gretel Packer and Cat on Hot Tin Roof was no exception. Artistic director Kip Williams was on hand at pre-show drinks to pay his respects to the donors present, including Packer, and investment bank UBS, which was represented by marketing boss Caroline Gurney. Theatre lover Gretel Packer is one of the STC's biggest donors. Credit:Paul Jeffers Packer is one of the companys biggest donors at a time when the cost of putting on large productions is rising steeply. Its not called the Roslyn Packer Theatre for nothing. The Sydney Theatre Company's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof stars Pamela Rabe, Zahra Newman and Hugo Weaving. Credit:Rene Vaile Fellow board member and former Liberal premier Mike Baird was there along with ANZ chairman David Gonski and recently-demoted state member Gabrielle Upton to see Hugo Big Daddy Weaving, Pamela Big Mamma Rabe and the cast knock it out of the park.
There was no pouty duck-face, Instagram, hair extensions world when I was at school, says radio host Jane Kennnedy.

We werent stereotypically feminine; we wore v-neck jumpers and cords and we loved comedy movies. There was a natural bent towards humour and itd be great to see more of that with girls now.

Telling jokes might have gotten Kennedy in strife at as a teenager but today, this skill attracts more than 1 million listeners across Australia.

Were in the Triple M studio she shares with on-air partner Mick Molloy; the decor a suitably rock n roll mix of black walls and exposed brick.
But the mood in Australia was quite different - it turns out we were relatively relaxed about political disagreement. Only 20 per cent said political divisions were dangerous for society, one of the lowest shares among the nations surveyed. Double that proportion - 40 per cent - said political differences were actually healthy for society. Another 19 per cent said that, while political differences were present, they were not having a significant impact. When international public opinion surveys are conducted Australia's results are often quite similar to those in the US and Britain. But that's not the case when in comes to attitudes to political divisions. Loading

In the US, where the political success of Donald Trump has roiled politics and stoked partisan rivalry, more than half of respondents said political divisions were a danger to society. In Brexit-riven Britain the share was almost a third. Ipsos pollster Jessica Elgood said voters in Australia were much less ruffled by political disagreements than in those two English-speaking nations we are so often compared with. "We're not feeling nearly as torn," she said. "There's an element of political calm in Australia." In another sign that Australians are relatively comfortable with a diversity of opinions only a third said the majority of their friends had similar views to them on climate change (31 per cent), immigration (32 per cent) and feminism (33 per cent). A quarter said their friends had similar views on religion.

Australia also had an above average share who considered it important to listen to people who have different views from themselves. "The data suggests we are comfortable with a breadth of opinions in our society," Elgood said. "There's a real tolerance for those differences." Four in 10 Australians (43 per cent) said they had a conversation at least once a month with someone with opposing views to their own on issues such as politics, climate change, immigration or feminism. One in five said they had a weekly conversation with someone holding different political views. But overall, politics remains a thorny subject for Australians. We seem less inclined to discuss it than people in many other parts of the world.

The share of Australian respondents who said they feel comfortable sharing their political opinions with those who might disagree was well below the international average. "There are various points in the data that suggest there's an element in Australian society where it's not quite polite to ask people about their politics in a way that's not the case in Europe, for example, or North America," Elgood said. "We don't necessarily know our friends' political views or how they vote  you may never have asked because it's not a socially acceptable thing to ask about and also because we don't use it to define each other." This trait was underscored by a survey question about attitudes to immigration, which is a controversial issue in many nations. In Australia, 36 per cent said they did not know their friends' views on immigration, the highest proportion among the 27 nations in the survey. (Australia also stands out for its positive attitude towards immigration - 46 per cent said it had a "generally positive" impact on the country, which was nearly double the international average and the third highest share among the nations surveyed.) Will Australia's tolerance for political differences last?
Malcolm Turnbulls son Alex, who went rogue on twitter shortly after the political coup that took down his father, and has continued since  mostly criticising hard-right Liberal politics  was particularly engaged last week.

The issue has been whether, as reported, he has or has not donated money to independents Zali Steggall and Kerryn Phelps. Alex Turnbull denied that he had donated a cent to either, but makes no bones about where his political sympathies lie  and they are not with the right wing of the Libs.

Malcolm and Alex Turnbull. Credit:AAP

When I asked him what his hope was for this election, he said: My hope is for a Labor minority government with moderate independents holding the balance. And Id like [Gosford rector] Father Rod Bower and [ACT independent candidate] Anthony Pesec to get seats in the Senate.

How much have you donated in this election? Six figures.
It was Peter*, a 41-year-old married dad of three, who works in construction and admires Clive Palmer, who really encapsulated the election campaign in a sentence. Education, health and all that, the big picture stuff... he said of the politicians election pledges thereof. Its white noise.

Peter (not his real name), who was one of the participants in a Parramatta focus group I observed this week, said what I have been subversively suspecting for much of the campaign. That is, that the giant funding figures the parties are throwing around like confetti, not to mention the economic modelling on those figures, and the brain-boggle of the various tax thresholds the parties are going to fiddle with, are not absorbed by many voters.

This is always the case, and experienced politicians know it, but it is particularly so in this election, where so many voters are disengaged, bored or too jacked off with politics to tune in with any conscientiousness.

There is much speculation about whether the large numbers of voters who have turned out to pre-polling booths is a good sign for Labor, or a good sign for the Coalition. Thats asking the wrong question: the only solid conclusion to be drawn from the avid pre-polling is that many Australians see voting as a nuisance task they would rather dispose of quickly so they can get on with their real lives, out of the shadow of politicking.
Activist group GetUp will spend up to $4 million intensifying its election advertising over the next two weeks as it officially endorses key independents on 800,000 how-to-vote cards.

Escalating a clash with the Coalition in the final fortnight of the campaign, GetUp will this weekend confirm it will throw its support behind independents, Labor and the Greens in the closest races at the May 18 election.

The group will mobilise 1750 members at 335 polling booths in 29 electorates to urge Australians to vote for candidates who will act on climate change, relegating the Liberals and Nationals to lower positions on ballot papers.

GetUp chief Paul Oosting defended the strategy in the face of Coalition accusations that the group is only an arm of Labor and the Greens and should be treated like a political party rather than an independent movement.

In terms of our advertising the big spend will be coming in the next few weeks, which is the key period when well be handing out these how-to-vote cards, Mr Oosting said.
Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words "right wing facist (sic)" have appeared on posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong.

Textas were used to deface a number of posters of the Jewish MP in Hawthorn overnight.

Prime minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Saturday the vandalism was "appalling", and called for anyone with information about the matter to cooperate with authorities.

"This is about crimes and hate ... this should have no place in our elections, absolutely no place," Mr Morrison said.
Bill Shorten will offer workers a $1500 wage gain from a tax plan designed to help employers grow, as he intensifies his pitch to voters on the economy in the final fortnight of the election campaign.

The Opposition Leader will outline an economic plan that could also create thousands of jobs from a $3.4 billion policy to give companies stronger incentives to invest in expansion and hire new staff.

Jobs: Bill Shorten with a worker at Direct Edge Manufacturing in Burnie. Credit:AAP

As the election race tightens, Mr Shorten will also pledge $500 million to fix waiting times at hospital emergency departments while accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of starving the health sector of federal funds.

Global companies such as Facebook will also face a crackdown by tax authorities in a Labor policy to curb the use of licensing agreements to shift profits offshore.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has nominated Japanese leader Shinzo Abe as a guiding light who he would continue to turn to for counsel on foreign policy should he remain in government after May 18.

And he has promised to "manage carefully" the relationship with China, given its economic significance for Australia, and the fact that more than a million people living in Australia have Chinese heritage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:AAP

Speaking exclusively to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on a flight from Darwin, Mr Morrison recalled having dinner with Mr Abe and his wife the last time he was in the Northern Territory capital.

"It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had ...and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period, because I became Prime Minister and went pretty much into the summit season" he said.
This combination of file photos created on January 16, 2017, shows US President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida and Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2016 in Berlin. AFP-Yonhap



U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to help keep pressure on North Korea until it dismantles its nuclear weapons program, Trump's spokeswoman said.



The two leaders spoke by phone and discussed nuclear agreements, trade, and the political situations in North Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.



"They spoke about North Korea for a good bit of time on the call and reiterated both the commitment and the need for denuclearization," Sanders told reporters at the White House.



"And the president said several times on this front as well the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," she said. "And that was again the focus of the president's comment on that front."



Putin held his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Russia's Vladivostok last month.









The meeting was widely regarded as part of North Korea's push to secure sanctions relief from other major powers following the breakdown of the second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in February.





Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, greet North Korea's delegation prior to their talks in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. AP-Yonhap
Samantha Flores was having a tough time getting through the airport. The signs were hard to see, the announcements were hard to hear, and the people rushing by made her feel unsteady on her stiffened knees. Finally, with relief, she made her way to a bench to sit down, catch her breath and take off her "age simulation suit."

Flores is director for experiential design for architecture firm Corgan, and the nearly 14-kilogram suit was meant to help her, a 32-year-old, experience the physical challenges of navigating the world as an older person. Goggles and headphones "impaired" her sight and hearing. Gloves reduced feeling and simulated hand tremors. Weighted shoes, along with neck, elbow and knee movement restrictors, approximated mobility limitations.

The percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050. Credit:Peter Braig

Using the suits is one way designers who work with airports and the travel industry in general are starting to look at creating spaces for different groups of people. And older people are one group whose numbers are growing.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050, rising to 22 per cent from 12 per cent.
After enthusiastically walking to work each morning, Tommy impatiently waits for the office door to open as smiles break out on the faces of his co-workers.

Tommy is the director of first impressions at Kidney Health Australia and part of a growing group: office dogs.

Tommy, the English springer spaniel, is the office dog at Kidney Health Australia. Credit:Eddie Jim

Dogs have always played a significant role in human life, from hunting in fields to service dogs. Therapy dogs are found in nursing homes, hospitals, universities and courts. Now dogs are entering the office with increasing frequency.

This growing trend is based on the belief that dogs improve human wellbeing and productivity. And it is not hard to find evidence to verify the claim that dogs reduce stress. A Harvard Medical School special health report found that just petting a dog can reduce the petter's blood pressure and heart rate.
There's no menu. Regulars  and that's most people here  know to come in, choose a soft roll or crusty ciabatta from one of the baskets on the floor and use tongs to put the roll on the counter. There it will be taken in hand by Louise McQueen or one of her trusty sandwich sidekicks to turn from mere roll into a Rocco Roll, a legendary western suburbs lunch.

There is an art to making a sandwich. Anyone who thinks it's just slapping stuff between bits of bread should come to Rocco's, an Italian deli in the backblocks of Yarraville. Rolls are made to order with care and flair, every element added with judicious attention, like a painter lovingly daubing a canvas.

Let the ladies decide for you (recommended, they nail it) or create your own combination of antipasto, cheese and meat. Most of the deli goods are made here: roasted capsicum, pickled olives, chunky basil pesto and tomato tapenade, grilled eggplants, maybe some artichokes. The cheese is usually Dutch maasdam and the meats celebrate the pig in prosciutto, capocollo, hot salami, ham and pancetta, a quality selection from Australia, Italy and Spain.

Rocco's cannoli. Credit:Jason South

You won't be surprised to learn that the quality of all these ingredients is key to the rolls' success. A less obvious factor is the way the cheese and meat are sliced: they're cut to order and shaved very thin. Paper-thin slices allow the cheese and meat to be furled over the vegetable elements, giving each roll such height and lightness that the bread lid fairly floats on the fillings. It's a beautiful thing, a terrific example of the simple turned into the sublime. And this magnificence costs $6.50. Six dollars fifty!

Rocco's has been serving the community since 1977. Founder Rocco Ida still comes into the deli every day but the business is now owned by Christopher McQueen, who bought the deli for his mother, Louise, born Louisa Torresin in San Marco di Treviso in the Veneto. Needless to say, this Italian woman has strong views on good food. In the two years they've owned Rocco's, they've been building the business  grazing boxes (order ahead) are going great guns, Louise's cannoli fly out the door, and there's a new lunchtime offshoot in Seddon  while maintaining a charmingly old-school operation for customers, many of whom are greeted like friends.

Most people take their rolls away but you can sit down at one of a few little tables with a copy of the local paper and a chinotto. This is no cafe: they'll stretch to an espresso but you'll need to take your caffe latte desires elsewhere.
In my last column, I looked at how low-means aged care residents can pay more for their accommodation than those who are market-price payers, which led one reader to ask but what if you were Australias richest person?" What a great question!

The cost of aged care is split into the amount you pay for accommodation and the amount you pay for your care.

Paying the market price for retirement accommodation can be expensive. The highest Refundable Accommodation Deposit at the exclusive Mark Moran Vaucluse is $2.2 million.

The majority of residents are not eligible for government funding towards their accommodation and pay the advertised price  or an amount up to this.

All residents, regardless of means, pay a basic fee of $51 a day towards their cost of care and, beyond that, a means-tested care fee, based on their assets and income.
The state government has ditched plans to retire Sydney's nine First Fleet ferries, instead deciding to upgrade them and extend their working life for at least another decade.

While the city's renowned Freshwater-class Manly ferries face retirement, the First Fleet vessels  perhaps best known for their Australia Day race on Sydney Harbour  will each undergo a $1.3 million refit, including work to improve passenger accessibility.

The First Fleet ferries race on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day. Credit:Rick Rycroft

The decision to upgrade the First Fleet ferries is a U-turn on the strategy detailed in internal government documents obtained by the Herald under freedom-of-information laws.

They reveal a four-stage "ferry fleet replacement" plan 18 months ago was to retire the First Fleet ferries as part of "tranche three", as well as seven RiverCat and two HarbourCat vessels.
After months of uncertainty, the Wangchuk family of Queanbeyan in the state's south-east has been told they will not be deported and can stay in Australia.

Immigration Minister David Coleman intervened on Friday and the family was granted permanent residency.

The family's visa had expired in mid-April after an application for permanent residency was rejected because their son Kinley, who is deaf, did not meet the health requirements set out by immigration laws.

Jangchu Pelden, Tenzin Jungney, Kinley Wangchuk and Tshering can now remain in Australia. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

A petition urging Mr Coleman to allow the family to stay was signed by more than 51,000 people.
Sydney's first driverless metro train line is expected to be opened to passengers on May 26, a week after the federal election.

Starting passenger services almost five years after construction started, the $7 billion Metro Northwest line from Rouse Hill to Chatswood will be the city's first privately operated suburban line, along which single-deck trains will run every four minutes.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Andrew Constance on a driverless metro train undergoing testing in March. Credit:Nick Moir

May 26 is understood to be the most likely date for the start of regular passenger services  to be operated by Hong Kong's MTR  partly because of time needed to inform commuters ahead of the resulting changes to rail and bus services in the city's north west.

The 36-kilometre line is the first stage of the Berejiklian government's plans for multiple metro train lines in Sydney. The second stage under construction comprises a line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and onto Sydenham and Bankstown, which is scheduled to be opened by 2024.
World-renowned conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall passed the baton onto the next generation of conservationists at Taronga Zoo on Saturday.

Speaking to Taronga Zoo Sydneys Youth at the Zoo (YATZ) and the Jane Goodall Institute Australias Roots and Shoots youth volunteers, she told them that "every single one of you can make a difference".

Dr Jane Goodall has passed the baton over to the next generation of conservationists. Credit:Steven Siewert

"Every day you get to make a decision on how the world can be better."

She said it was important to involve young people in conservation because otherwise "its a pretty grim outlook for the future".
A One Nation candidate in a key marginal seat used a member of the anti-immigrant extremist group True Blue Crew as a volunteer organiser while praising the nationalistic ideology at one of the groups events.

The right-wing group True Blue Crew marching on the streets of Melbourne during an Australia Pride March in 2017. Credit:Chris Hopkins

One Nation has now forbidden candidates from associating with True Blue Crew, which was banned from Facebook after posting Islamophobic messages in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

But a former state secretary of the party is acting as a spokesman for the group, orchestrating events with a range of right-wing politicians.

The Brisbane seat of Petrie, one of the federal elections tighter contests, is held by a 1.6 per cent margin by the Liberal National Partys Luke Howarth, who has admitted he needs One Nation preferences.
Queenslands corruption watchdog has urged public sector organisations to make sure their officers know there are serious consequences for inappropriately accessing restricted information.

Following a number of incidents of public officers, including police and corrective services officers, accessing information inappropriately, the Crime and Corruption Commission has highlighted one case which it says illustrates the scope of the problem.

The CCC has urged all public sector departments to lift their game when it comes to information security.

Lan Phuong Le was a case manager with Queensland Corrective Services, in charge of supervising people subject to court orders.

She had access to two restricted databases - the QCS Integrated Offender Management System and the Queensland-Wide Interlinked Court System.
President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, April 15. Moon's right is National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong. Yonhap



South Korea's presidential office said Saturday that North Korea's firing of short-range projectiles is contrary to the purpose of inter-Korean military accords last year.



It urged Pyongyang to stop acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, briefing media on the results of an emergency meeting of top security officials held hours after North Korea fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea.



Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, presided over the session, according to presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung.



Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon joined the meeting, along with some other officials in charge of national security.




The coffee and lunch was good too. And then I learnt that for $10 ($8 concessions) there is a bus tour to hear the full story  and its fascinating. It's worth getting the full story. Credit:Brismania. As Peter, the guide, who has worked there for so long he has an excited sense of ownership, recommends, come and look at your own backyard. The facts and figures are staggering.

Firstly, there are new cars, lot and lots of them  250,000 a year in fact  fresh from the production lines of China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe. Toyota is No.1 followed by Hyundai and Mazda and the average stay here is one month. They are picked up by trucks and delivered all over Queensland as well as to northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory. The port hosts 250,000 cars a year. Credit:Brismania. The ships, which Peter describes as ugly but functional, discharges 500 vehicles in eight hours, and two arrive each day. This big floating car park will be gone by tonight, Peter says.

There are 30,000 brand new cars in the port as he speaks. Brisbane also has Australias smallest export coal terminal - Newcastle is the biggest. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Ten coal trains a day, each with two locomotives hauling 41 graffiti-covered carriages, come in from Ipswich and Oakey. The black thermal steaming coal is export-only and used for electricity generation, mainly in Japan. Each carriage opens up to drop 3000 tonnes of coal an hour on to conveyor belts that take it straight to the ships hold.

Nearby is the woodchip terminal. Pine plantation timber from south-east Queensland and northern NSW is cut into 12-metre poles to fit into containers bound for China. The offcuts go into a woodchipper and the bulk loaded into ships to make cardboard in Japan. There are round containers for oil, gas and fuel. An oil tanker that arrived full yesterday will leave tonight empty, its crude deposited at the Caltex Refinery at nearby Lytton. The grain terminal at the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. The grain wharf is a temporary cruise passenger facility until the new terminal opens. It is used by only about 40-50 cruise ships a year. These are the ships that cant get under the Gateway Bridge, are longer than 270m so they cant turn in the river, or if two arrive the same day and theres no room upstream at Hamilton.

For the second time since its opening in 1987, the grain terminal is importing grain. Loading Rather than wheat and barley going out, 100,000 tonnes of grain a month is coming in from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria to rescue drought-stricken farmers. Sitting in various allotments around the port are components for 123 wind turbines from Malaysia, China and Europe as AGL builds Australias biggest wind farm at Coopers Gap north of Dalby. Each turbine has three 65-metre carbon fibre blades and it takes one cargo truck to carry each. They have to be hauled up the Toowoomba Range in the early hours of the morning, so it will be a while before they are all gone.

Containers are used for things that wont fit on a conveyor belt or pipeline. In one yard, three huge tyres for mining equipment stick out the top of a container. Giant cranes in the white, red or black livery of their owners line the wharves. Cranes dot the skyline. Credit:Brismania. The mind boggles at the logistics that so many containers can be so carefully monitored to see them move around the world and a small shipment will still arrive at the right place to find its owner. Brisbane is leading the way here too. When Patricks opened its Brisbane AutoStrad Terminal in 2007 it was the first automated container terminal in Australia.

It uses microwave radar from Finland to move its containers. They are like robots running around almost one kilometre of quayline. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Nearby DP World has 16 automated container stackers, two in each of eight working bays with 500 metres of rail line. They glide up and down rails, lifting containers between the coming and going trucks and ships. Among all this industry, the Port of Brisbane has left 12 hectares for a roosting lake where there are viewing points for birdwatchers to observe the pelicans, ducks and migratory birds. With 3000 employees, this is a busy world of its own.
Curtin researcher Adam Cross dropped down to his hands and knees, yelling in excitement, as he realised he had just discovered a population of thousands of extremely rare carnivorous plants in the Kimberley.

The finding was the largest Australian population of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, an aquatic venus flytrap, ever discovered and the first one found in the Kimberley in 20 years.

Dr Cross said he was still pinching himself.

Curtin researcher Adam Cross holding a sample of the rare carnivorous plant at the site of the discovery.

An eager botanist from the age of six, he had spent the last decade unsuccessfully searching for the plant in swamps and billabongs across northern Australia.
The states first Public Spaces Minister plans to create half a billion dollars of public value from his $150 million budget to increase open space in Sydney.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes told The Sun-Herald he would buy up forgotten land across Sydney to create new parks and playgrounds, linkages between green space, and cycleways to meet the needs of the growing population.

Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said planning for open space had been "ad hoc" in the past. Credit:Wolter Peeters

I effectively have $150 million dollars in capital that I've been given as part of this portfolio, Dr Stokes said. I'm keen to turn that into more than half a billion dollars worth of value to the community by working with councils and collaborating with landowners to make sure I eke every last little bit of value out of that money in the interests of current and future generations. Its a lot of money, but I know that if we're smart about it, we can make it go a lot further.

He plans to reclaim bits of land choked with morning glory and lantana such as gaps between development sites and riparian corridors set aside for drainage and find an interim use for public land set aside for utilities like water pipelines or future motorways. Most of that land was already owned publicly and the priority for acquisition would be sites that connect areas of green space.
College Park, Maryland: A Florida man is facing up to 20 years in jail on charges of defrauding Australians and other clients who hoped to become parents, via a company that offered to locate and financially support pregnancy surrogates.

Gregory Ray Blosser, 37, was arrested on Monday in Florida on a wire fraud charge, according to federal prosecutors.

Blosser has operated The Surrogacy Group since 2012, with offices in Annapolis, Maryland, and Tampa, Florida. Clients paid Blosser tens of thousands of dollars to find surrogates and support them during pregnancies.

A British couple's baby born to a surrogate mother in Anan, India. Credit:AP

Blosser failed to either locate suitable surrogates or pay for their fees or medical expenses after clients deposited money into escrow accounts, a criminal complaint says.
Minneapolis: The City of Minneapolis will pay $US20 million ($28.5 million) to the family of Australian Justine Damond Ruszczyk , who was unarmed when she was shot and killed by a police officer after calling to report a possible crime, city leaders have announced.

The civil settlement comes comes just three days after the former officer was convicted of Damond's murder.

Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis in 2017. Credit:Start Tribune/AP

The settlement reached with the family is believed to be the largest stemming from police violence in the state of Minnesota. It's believed that Mohamed Noor is the first Minnesota officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Asked about the amount and speed of the settlement, Mayor Jacob Frey cited Noor's unprecedented conviction, as well as the officer's failure to identify a threat before he used deadly force.
POND ISLAND:---Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day. Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.



The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation. With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the cornerstone of democracy for any functioning society.



Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.



Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.



I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.



In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.



According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
A week ago a report on the lack of governance and integrity of the Prosecutors Office in the Netherlands which was requested by Het College van Procureurs Generaal has been completed and published by Commission J.W. Fokkens. This rapport was sent on 25th April 2019 ref: 2579192 by Minister of Justice and Safety Ferd Grapperhaus to the Chair of the Second Chamber in the Netherlands for further debate and handling, expect serious consequences. Not surprising Chapter 4 from the report was excluded due to confidentiality and sensitivity findings of the Prosecutors leadership.

Based on the rapport of ANP (Algemeen Nederlands Pers Bureau) on the 25th April 2019 Minister of Justice Fred Grapperhuis mentioned that the findings of the Commission revealed a conclusion which was very critical not only breaches of integrity behavior of two senior officials of the OM but also the way in which the top of the organization has dealt with the issues  was stated.

As a follow up however more alarming reports are now surfacing on Prosecutors work methods and ethics surrounding high profile and complex cases. Both the magistrates and judges in the Netherlands have already warned Prosecutors arm of Justice to tackle the breaches of integrity and clean up its mess internally which was published by Marcel Haenen on 24th April 2019 in the NRC.

In Curacao and St.Maarten certain prosecutors have been identified in cases and much has been published in the past

Mink Case (source: report Volkskrant 20 July 2007 ANP)

Prosecutor Saskia de Vries carried witnesses whose reliability and hardly found to be ascertained. The court discussed all of the witness statements as having no relevance. The dossier was 120 ring binders with possible new evidence provided by De Vries however the court declined all.

The witness statements, which were deliberated in the courtroom for many hours, did not prove to be useful as evidence. The suspect was acquitted after 10 years investigating work. She was also the prosecutor on the Saffier case of the former president of the CBCS (Central Bank) Tromp who was also acquitted.

Report VU (source : Klaagschrift Vrij Nederland published 22 September 2009 ; report included)

A complaint was launched by 5 prosecutors to the Board of Journalism in Netherlands against VU for publishing their wrongdoings which wrote about the behavior of several prosecutors including Mevr.mr Saskia.Devries. The klaagschrift strongly disagreed again with the two journalists who wrote the articles, and not applying hoor weder hoor (listening to both sides) principle. The findings from Commission Fokkens however challenges that VU findings become relevant and more credible. In the article on page 10 it explains the dispute of the accusation was about changing and converting information ,pre- lying to judges, manipulation of information and withholding vital evidence. In 2009 de Board of Journalism concluded that accusations were not accurately publicised and that the integrity could not be questioned, however Independent Commission Fokkens report now concludes differently about the integrity of the OM-organization .

Holleerder Case and Yugoslav murder Case (source page 5 of 11 : Sjoemelen Loont ; fiddling rewarded Harry Lensink en Marian Husken, August 2009)

As published Prosecutor Saskia de Vries withheld important evidence from the defense. She lied in an appeal, the court judged. De Vries is still a prosecutor on behalf of the National Parquet. In 2006, she made the case against drug trader Mink Kok and lost due to manipulation with witness files. They also withheld information from them. In Two Recent cases  Holleeder and a Yugoslav murder case  again the lawyers complained about the manipulation of the evidence.

The fact is that lawyers should take these breaches seriously and once these are exposed during a trial it will lead them to the Inadmissibility of the case by the court. Consequence the waarheidsvinding (truth finding) principle of a case is lost and a costly police investigation is wasted. The state/country sometimes ends up in millions-damage claims because of this behavior especially withholding of valuable (ontlastend; unburden)information.

The process which is currently taking place in the Netherlands with independent Commission Fokkens deserves some credit which is just the beginning to expose noncompliance by the prosecutor's organization not only in the Netherlands but in Kingdom. Any further feedback for any relevant information the independent Commission can be reached This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact BIOM (Bureau Integrity OM) online or call +31-(0)6-11 03 11 32) if closed call +31-(0)88-3713033 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Having an example function and upholding democratic law with integrity is vital for any country. End of the day no one is above the law, not even the prosecutors. Even though the findings from the Commission Fokkens report (identifying a lack of proper governance and integrity by the OM-organisation) is worrisome it eventually will force Prosecutors to be more transparent or face consequences. The question now is should critical OM-functions be mandatory screened by an independent body?

Click here to view original articles used as sources.




South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has met with Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and agreed to work together to expedite their economic exchanges and cooperation, Lee's office said Saturday.







During the meeting held in Lisbon on Friday (local time), the two officials discussed ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields including the economy, energy and science, according to the prime minister's secretariat in Seoul.







Pointing to Portugal's stable economic situation and marked growth, Lee called for "the continued expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries by boosting corporate investment in each other."







Expressing high interest in South Korea's auto industry, Costa asked for Korean firms' active investment in its auto parts technologies.







Moving on to geopolitical issues, Lee expressed gratitude for Portugal's "constant support for peace of the Korean Peninsula," and Costa reaffirmed his country's constant backing for such peace initiatives, according to Lee's office.







The Portuguese prime minister also expressed his president's willingness to invite President Moon Jae-in to his country, the officials said, while noting that Costa is scheduled to visit South Korea in July.







Lee was in the European country on his way to Colombia from Kuwait. He embarked on the overseas trip on Tuesday, which will also take him to Ecuador before he returns home on May 10. (Yonhap)


The black fragment of Almahata Sitta meteorite number 15 shows up black against the lighter colored rocks of the Nubian desert in northern Sudan.

How do I spot thee, asteroid? Let me count the ways.

in a series of presentations Monday (April 29), the first day of the 6th International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference, scientists from different Near-Earth Object (NEO) monitoring systems discussed their successes and what the future might bring.

First up, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Davide Farnocchia talked about a system that holds information about potential space-rock candidates. During his presentation, Farnocchia said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Scout Hazard Assessment system had worked well when the boulder-size, near-Earth asteroid called 2018 LA entered Earth's atmosphere as a bright fireball over the Botswana-South Africa border in June 2018.

Related: Diamonds in Meteorite May Hail from Our Ancient Solar System

Space rocks are designated with the year they are first spotted. This asteroid was spotted not only the same year it descended toward Earth, but also just 8.5 hours before it hit Earth's atmosphere.

Scout's goal is to continually monitor the objects listed on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCRP). This webpage lists unconfirmed objects, keeps tabs on details like an object's trajectory (called the ephemeris) and gathers information related to the object's hazard potential. Instead of providing a rigorous probability assessment, Farnocchia said, Scout's automated system produces impact ratings and scores to identify interesting objects to stay ahead of an object's sometimes short observation arc, or the time between an object's first observation and its most recent one.

An object gets removed from the system when the Minor Planet Center gives it an alphanumeric classification after more observations pour in. Eventually, if time passes and an object remains unclassified, it, too, is removed from NEOCRP and Scout.

3122 Florence is a triple-asteroid system. The radar capabilities of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico were able to detect the small satellites around the larger object. (Image credit: IAA/Patrick Taylor/Arecibo Observatory/NSF)

In space and on the ground, there are other projects dedicated to watching for big rocks in the sky.

Next came a presentation on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently in progress. From the Cerro Pachon ridge in north-central Chile, the LSST mission plans to spend 10 years surveying the sky to achieve ''achieve astronomical catalogs thousands of times larger than have ever previously been compiled,'' according to the LSST website . Las Cumbres Observatory in California also has something in the works: presenter Tim Lister brought up a software tool kit called Target and Observation Manager (TOM) , which is designed to facilitate astronomical observing projects. As of January, this software toolkit now contains a module for importing targets from the Scout NEOCP Hazard Assessment system.

Astronomer Joseph Masiero shared recent results from the NEOWISE mission, the asteroid-hunting portion of the polar bear-sized Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. NEOWISE has spotted over 190,000 small bodies in space by collecting infrared information as it orbits Earth, and the mission's most recent release of data went public on April 11, 2019.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico offers a powerful method for scientists to narrow down how an asteroid moves in space, and what size and shape it is. Researcher Patrick Taylor said during the conference that by making radar observations, the observatory can determine properties about small bodies. For instance, Arecibo's radar revealed that there are in fact two small moons orbiting the asteroid 3122 Florence , the last object observed before Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017, said Taylor, adding that optical instruments would not have been able to make that detection.

Hurricane Maria damaged Arecibo and the island at large, but the facility is back up and running. In addition to facility repairs, staff at the observatory worked with the local community to support their recovery process, too.
The many faces of Lego Luke Skywalker. (Image credit: Lego)

20 Years of Lego Star Wars Minifigures

The annual "Star Wars Day" holiday, May the Fourth, is a wonderful time to look back at the 40-plus years of franchise history that has inspired fans throughout the world. We now have three sets of Hollywood movies, several television shows, and countless comic books, costumes and other merchandise to inspire us.

And of course, there are the Lego Star Wars building sets and minifigures  dozens upon dozens of them. Just like the Lego Millennium Falcon has changed with time, so have the minifigures that represent Luke Skywalker and his fellow characters from a galaxy far, far away.

Click through this gallery to see how some of the most iconic Lego Star Wars minifigures have evolved over the last 20 years.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline
It may not be the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but a SpaceX "Falcon" launched into space today just in time for Star Wars Day.

The Falcon 9 rocket (which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk named in honor of the fictional Millennium Falcon from "Star Wars") launched a Dragon resupply ship filled with NASA cargo from Florida's Cape Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning. By coincidence, the mission launched on May 4, or May the Fourth, as fans of the "Star Wars" film franchise call it.

"May the Fourth be with you," SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said while signing off the company's live launch commentary, a callback to the "May the Force be with you" phrase of the Jedi in the "Star Wars" films. NASA spokesperson Jennifer Wolfinger also echoed those words in the space agency's own broadcast.

Related: The Best 'Star Wars Day' Deals for May the Fourth!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA lifts off from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

SpaceX has developed three types of Falcon rockets over the years: the small Falcon 1, the workhorse Falcon 9 and the heavy-lift Falcon Heavy. And while they don't look anything like the iconic Millennium Falcon flown by Han Solo and his Wookie pal Chewbacca in "Star Wars," there are some striking similarities between the two space vehicles.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA streaks into the predawn sky after launching from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

A Reusable Cargo Freighter

Just as the Millennium Falcon is a Corellian freighter haul payloads (and sometimes passengers) across the galaxy, SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters are built haul payloads into orbit. (SpaceX no longer flies Falcon 1 rockets. The last one flew in 2009.)

The first stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are also reusable, just like the Millennium Falcon. In the "Star Wars" universe, Han Solo and other characters regularly refuel and fly their Falcon over and over again.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline

During today's Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX returned the booster's first stage to Earth with a pinpoint landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast of Florida. The booster will eventually fly again, launching more NASA cargo to the station on at least one more mission, and possibly a third, said Kenny Todd, NASA's manager for international Space Station operations and integration, after the successful launch.

Elon Musk has said that eventually, SpaceX hopes to fly a Falcon 9 rocket twice within 24 hours. That would put SpaceX's rockets on par with the Millennium Falcon, which appears to have made the trip from Tatooine to the Death Star (near the former site of Alderaan), only to escape the Empire and reach the Rebel base on Yavin 4 all in the same day in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope."

Related: Our Favorite 'Star Wars' Ships from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Millennium Falcon isn't the only fictional object SpaceX has named its vehicles after. The Dragon spacecraft, for example, are named after Puff the Magic Dragon, Elon Musk has said. The company's drone ship landing pads, "Of Course I Still Love You" and "Just Read The Instructions," are named after the giant sentient starships of "The Culture" series by science fiction author Iain M. Banks.

It's only sheer coincidence that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the Dragon cargo mission for NASA on "Star Wars Day."

The mission was originally scheduled to launch April 26, but was delayed several times to allow time for extra vehicle checks, await optimal orbital mechanics conditions for flight, as well as fix a minor helium leak at the launchpad and electrical issue on the drone ship.

Dragon is carrying more than 5,500 lbs. (2,495 kilograms) of experiments and supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station. It will arrive at the orbiting lab early Monday (May 6).

You can watch Dragon's arrival live here, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Monday.




Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il called for thorough protection of the basic rights of the people on Saturday, reaffirming his clear opposition to government-led judiciary reform bills.







He made the remarks upon arriving at Incheon International Airport after cutting short his four-country trip, as he caused controversy earlier this week by openly criticizing the bills that call for the expansion of the independent investigative authority of police.







"I also agree with voices for changes in the prosecution's way of carrying out its duties ... But the fundamental rights of the people cannot be compromised at any cost, and there should not be any confusion in executing the investigative rights," Moon said.







Speaking of simmering discontent from the prosecution over the bills and its growing confrontation with police, Moon said he will "assess (the situation) and respond accordingly" after full consideration.







The bills, which were among President Moon Jae-in's key election promises, are designed to curb prosecutors' authority by establishing a special agency to be tasked with looking into allegations of corruption by senior public officials and redistributing investigative powers between the prosecution and police.







Prosecutors have said the envisioned arrangement, where the police would be empowered to initiate and close cases without approval from the prosecution, may end up giving the police excessive power without any measures to keep them in check.







A package of the bills has been fast-tracked in the National Assembly after a brawl among rival parties.







The top prosecutor had been on a tour through Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Ecuador since Sunday for talks on extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance treaties. (Yonhap)


NEW HAVEN  If the city police union had accepted the most recent contract offer by the city, its officers would have been the lowest paid among a group of 12 departments in lower-income municipalities, union President Florencio Cotto Jr. said Friday at anews conference, standing in front of dozens of plainclothes officers outside police headquarters.

According to information distributed at the event at 1 Union Ave., the citys April 18 offer of 2 percent increases this year and next, with no retroactive pay, would mean the top salary would be $71,056 in 2020. The officers have worked without a contract since 2015. The starting salary now is $44,400. The cost of health insurance also has been a point of contention in negotiations.

Well be the lowest of the lowest of the lowest in the state of Connecticut, Cotto said. He said the union had asked Mayor Toni Harp for the citys last, best offer before it would trigger arbitration. Before we go to arbitration, give us the best you can do, Cotto said the mayor was told. The union then overwhelmingly rejected the 4 percent increase through 2020.

We took her at her word, when our membership rejected that offer ... we were in arbitration, Cotto said. The union voted to go into arbitration in July 2018.

Contrary to the mayors suggestion, the union is again willing to sit down and settle this contract as it always has been, Cotto said.

Mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Friday, As far as the city is concerned, the Elm City Local can pursue one of two strategies. Either they can continue with the arbitration process, which has been going on now for over a year, will take several more months, and seems to be frustrating union leadership, or they can return to the table with a counteroffer that is more than a year overdue.

At a news conference Thursday, Harp said the union had not made a counteroffer to the citys April 18 offer and asked for a reasonable proposal. She said the union, Elm City Local Inc., would have done better negotiating with the city directly rather than going before an arbitration panel.

This years top base salary is $68,297 in New Haven. Of the 12 lower-income towns and cities with populations above 45,000, top pay ranges from $71,480 in Hartford to $87,316 in Hamden.

All of the offers made to settle this case were off the record because the two sides are in arbitration, said Stephen McEleney of Manchester, attorney for Elm City Local. There is a hard and fast rule in negotiations that you do not discuss  what are termed off-the-record proposals.

McEleney did not provide the unions last pre-arbitration offer but said it included retroactive pay.

Cotto also disputed the mayors contention that the department is not losing minority officers for better-paying departments at a rate that reduces the diversity of New Haven police. Harp, responding to a union statement that black and Hispanic officers were leaving the city in higher numbers than white police officers, said those who have left in the last five years mirror the percentage of those that have been recruited, hired and trained during that time. She said 60 percent of those who have retired since 2014 have been white.

McEleney provided a list of officers who this year have retired or resigned to take jobs with other departments, including the FBI, Torrington, Hamden, Meriden, Clinton, Stamford and Danbury. He said seven of the 10 were black and Hispanic. However, according to the printout provided, it appears that five were white, three were black and two were Hispanic. One is a woman.

Three of the resignations take effect Saturday and one on Tuesday.

Cotto said he called the news conference in response to Harps, which he called a personal attack on myself [and] union leadership.

He said the union was preparing a new offer Thursday and that negotiators would attend the next session with Harp.

Cotto said the mayor invited us back to the table on Thursday.

Both sides in previous statements asked the other to follow the example of Bridgeport, where police and the city agreed last month to a five-year settlement, with retroactive increases of 1 percent for 2016, 2.5 percent for 2017 and 2 percent in each year through 2020. That will bring the top base salary in Bridgeport to $75,163 in the last year.

According to policeapp.com, starting salaries in other Connecticut towns range higher than in New Haven, Hartford or Bridgeport, including $63,375 in Torrington, $68,944 in Norwalk and $67,184 in West Hartford.

As of early February, there were 377 officers on New Havens force, which is budgeted for 495 sworn positions.

According to information provided by the union Friday, 28 officers have left the force this year or will next week through resignation or retirement. Seventeen of them are white, six black and four Hispanic. All but one is a male.

Justin Elicker, who is challenging Harp in this years Democratic primary for mayor, attended the news conference and said that when he talks to police, Universally, officers say to me that they love their job but they havent had a contract in three years and that creates uncertainty thats led to the loss of so many officers to the suburbs. Morale in the police force is at a low.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
NORWALK  A tractor trailer car carrier fire Saturday afternoon on Interstate 95 caused a traffic nightmare when the highways northbound lanes were shut down for an hour and a half while crews battled the blaze.

Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to Interstate 95 north for a reported car carrier fire just before 2:30 p.m.

The first fire unit on scene reported a tractor trailer car carrier with a cab on fire, as well as three vehicles on the carrier fully involved with fire and a fire in the passenger compartment of a fourth vehicle, officials said.

Once firefighters realized the extent of the fire, Norwalk firefighters called on Darien Fire Department to help. Then police and fire units shut down I-95 north between Exit 13 and Exit 14.

The highway was shut down while crews battled the heavy blaze, allowing firefighters to have unobstructed access to the fire and to allow units ease with shuttle water to the tankers from the nearest available hydrants.

The I-95 north on-ramp from Scribner Avenue in Norwalk had been closed while crews worked to put out the fire. Police officials said the ramp reopened at 3:43 p.m.

As drivers realized the traffic build up, scores of vehicles exited the highway, crowing local roads  mainly Route 1 in Norwalk.

Just before 4 p.m., the left lane of travel on the highway was reopened while the center and right lanes remained closed. At that point, the DOT reported that traffic was congested for about 7 miles leading up to the area of the fire.

Fire units cleared from the site of the fire at 4 p.m. and all highway lanes were reopened soon after.

There were no injuries reported, fire officials said.

The Norwalk Fire Marshal Division is investigating the cause of the fire.
President Donald Trump has shown a disturbing willingness to adopt measures pushed on him by his favorite Arab dictators, even when they contradict standing U.S. policies and the judgment of seasoned national security professionals. At the urging of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, he tweeted his backing in 2017 for a boycott of Qatar, a key U.S. ally that hosts a huge U.S. air base. More recently, he signaled support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli - and was opposed by the United States until Trump was lobbied by Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Now the White House has disclosed that it is seeking to implement another one of Sissi's asks: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sissi, who in 2013 led a coup against a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government, has been seeking such a U.S. action for years. He has been rebuffed until now for good reason: Such a designation, especially if broadly cast, probably would be found illegal by U.S. courts and would greatly complicate relations with half a dozen countries where Brotherhood groups participate in parliaments or government.
Is the Met Gala 2019 the most extravagant yet? At Monday night's Met Gala, guests embraced the ball's camp theme - based on the Met Costume Institutes Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition.

While the event always brings in donations worth millions for the Costume Institute, the amount of hours, money and people it takes to pull it off is eye-watering.

It's a process Sylvana Durrett, the planner of numerous Met Galas, has finessed over the years. Speaking in 2017 to Fast Company on how the event has changed, she said, We do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests, so in the past few years, weve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people. We also wanted to be mindful of budgets. We are constantly evolving and learning from all sort of things.

Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

You cant please everybody. We always like to think theres not a bad [seat] in the house, which really there isnt. You have to come away confident in the notion that you are doing your best, and that inevitably not everyone will be happy. But we have a pretty good track record, she continued.

Weve broken down all the key numbers, from how much a ticket costs through to how many people will be on the Met Gala's guest list this year.

Beyonce and Jay-Z at the 2014 Met Gala / Getty Images

$35,000

The price of a single ticket to this year's Met Gala.

$200,000 - $300,000

The price of a table at this year's Met Gala.

$0

How much it costs to attend the Met Gala if youre a celebrity being dressed by a fashion brand with its own table.

$3 million

How much Yahoo reportedly paid for two Met Gala tables in 2015.

$3.5 million

How much it costs to put on the Met Gala.

$13 million

The amount raised at last years Met Gala for the Institute.

500,000

The number of real roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase

250,000

The number of silk roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase.

71

The number of times the Met Gala has been held.

Zendaya at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

1946

The year the first Met Gala took place, held by publicist Eleanor Lambert - though it wasn't called the Met Gala, back then it was a fundraiser for the Costume Institute that was held each year in a smart New York location outside of the museum.

Gucci's Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto at 2018's Met Gala / Getty Images

May 6, 2019

The date the 2019 Met Gala will take place. It is always held on the first Monday in May.

7pm

The time that red carpet arrivals to the Met Gala begin.

George and Amal Clooney at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

1.6 million

The number of people that attended the last years Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit at the Met Costume Institute.

24

The number of years Anna Wintour has been chairwoman of the Met Gala.

1995

The first year Anna Wintour hosted the Met Gala as chairwoman.

Anna Wintour at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

18

The minimum age you have to be to attend the Met Gala, which is deemed not an appropriate event for people under 18.

600 - 700

The number of guests who typically attend the Met Gala.

5

The number of co-chairs for this year's event, including Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Harry Styles and Gucci's Alessandro Michele (whose brand is also sponsoring the accompanying exhibit).

Lena Waithe at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

183

The number of A-listers on the hosting committee.

48%

The percentage of actors on the benefit committee, including Blake Lively, Lupita Nyongo, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe and Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at the Met Gala in 2017 / Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

32%

The percentage of fashion designers on the benefit committee, including Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, Valentinos Pierpaolo Piccioli, Givenchys Claire Waight Keller and Tom Ford.

20%

The percentage of guests from miscellaneous backgrounds on the benefit committee, including philanthropists Wendi Murdoch, Annette De la Renta and athletes Venus Williams and Cam Newton.

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala / Getty Images

$820 - $910

The price of a hotel room at the Carlyle, where stars frequently get ready for the Met Gala.

Tracee Ellis Ross leaving The Mark for the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

3

The number of courses served at the Met Gala.

P. Diddy at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

70,000 square yards

The length of the Met Galas carpet in 2016.

200

The number of photographers and media people approved to cover the event.

Getty Images

325

The number of bottles of champagne that 2016s guests drank (there were 610 attending that year).

50,000

The total number of hours that go into preparing for the Met Gala.

Cara Delevingne at the 2013 Met Gala (Splash News)

200

The number of items in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit.

1964

The year that Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag - the essay that inspired this years exhibit - was published.
W hen Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett met at primary school, something instantly clicked.

Rachel taught me about Manet, Picasso, and Kruger, while I taught her an appreciation for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Mobb Deep. The first time I saw her she was wearing a Winnie the Pooh tee shirt and bike shorts - so weve been through a lot together, Burnett recently told the Standard.

Burnett went on to study art while Rachel studied fashion, and the pair launched their fashion label Twenty-Seven Names soon after.

Those early days were all hustle - Rach and I did everything, Burnett said. Over the years weve built a small but dedicated team to help us, but our vision is still the same. We make beautiful clothing, and we put our heart and soul into it. Whats important to us now and for the future is that were contributing in a positive way to the lives of the people who make, sell and wear our clothes.

The result for the New Zealand-based brand is a luxury label made both ethically and sustainably  on each garments page you can find where the item was cut and made along with the provenance of the fabric, lining and trims.

Twenty-Seven Name designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett / Twenty-Seven Names

We recently spoke to Burnett about her travels below.

All-time favourite holiday

The first time I went overseas I was 25, and Rachel and I went together. We went to London, Paris and Japan. It was before the internet was a thing - definitely pre-Instagram. My mind was completely blown. I had a spiritual experience at Musee Dorsay in front of Manets Olympia. I dont think anything will ever compare to the first time I left New Zealand.

Favourite country to visit

Japan. It is such an easy place to travel. Everyone is so kind, and the food is amazing.

Anjali and Rachel in Japan in 2012 / Supplied

Favourite city

Ive only been to Rome once, but I would love to go back there, I think its such a cool city. Its so trippy - you walk around the corner and theres the Pantheon! Theres such a wealth of history there. And well, pasta.

Favourite beach

I live at the beach - Lyall Bay in Wellington. The water is a bit brisk but youll find me there most weekends.

Favourite restaurant

Rita, a small but perfectly formed restaurant in Aro Valley, Wellington. The food is perfect. Its a set menu, so theres no faffing around with what to order, and it feels like youre in someones home. Its my favourite place to eat in the world.

Packing essentials

Jeans, sneakers and stripy tees. Silk yoryu is a great fabric to pack for a trip - you never need to iron it and it always delivers.

Carry-on beauty essentials

I run a pretty simple ship on that front - but lip balm and moisturiser are essentials.

Anjalis top picks from the Twenty-Seven Names collection:

Twenty-Seven Names

Cannonball jacket, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Balloon skirt, 315. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Mana dress, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Ngahuia dress, 240. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Tidal dress, 240. Shop here.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in a north London hair salon.

In February, 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was chased into the salon, in Wood Green, where he was cornered and stabbed to death.

Sheareem Cookhorn, of Park Lane, Tottenham, has now been charged with murdering Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man.

He appeared in custody at Highbury Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Police in Wood Green after the stabbing / PA

It comes after Tyrell Graham, 18, of St Helens Place, Leyton, was charged on Monday with the murder of Mr Gabbidon-Lynck as well as attempted murder and robbery.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on July 11.

Police were first called to reports of a group of people fighting in Vincent Road on the evening of February 22.

Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the 20-year-old were found suffering from stab wounds. Mr Gabbidon-Lynck died in the hospital in the early hours of the next day.

The 20-year-olds condition is no longer life-threatening.
Two Australians carry an ROK soldier to safety. Tolkien wrote: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness  nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



By Amanda Price



On April 25 every year, silence surrounds almost every Australian city and town. It is profound silence that articulates a collective grief words cannot express. In the silence, we remember and are thankful for the men and women who defended us and those who defend us today.



In some strange way, the wars that tear us apart evolve into recollections that unite us. This is not an Australian phenomenon. Around the world, nations scorched by the fierce injustices of war find solace in collective grief and gratitude.



Despite these moments of solidarity, the ugliness, cruelty and depravity of war remain unchanged.



There is no glory in war. There are no moments that outshine the carnage, the brutality and the deaths of innocents; no redemptive events that make the killing less horrific, or the destruction less devastating.



Those who have lived through wars, who fought in wars, or lost loved ones during wars, are consoled only by fleeting moments of humanity; occasions in which individuals were not conquered by the evil that surrounded them.



When the North Korean Army poured over the 38th Parallel into South Korea, no one was prepared for the sheer scope and force of the evil that would engulf the Korean Peninsula. No one anticipated that cities and villages on both sides would be razed, or that millions would lose everything they had, including their lives.



The war demonstrated that ideologies can be excuses for wanton bloodshed, that political agendas could justify all manner of horrors, and that innocent men, women and children could be executed on nothing more than a suspicion.



More than a territorial struggle, the Korean War grew to resemble an utterly chaotic genocide where no one knew who to kill or who to save.



To find even a faint silhouette of goodness during the Korean War was, understandably, beyond the grasp of many. Yet, amid the sulfurous clouds and charcoal smoke, such moments did exist.



None of these moments, even collectively, have the power to expunge atrocities and erase fears, but that does not mean they should be forgotten.



Remembrance, after all, is not our attempt to justify or make sense of war, but our attempt to uphold the value of life, and remember those who did the same.





"Many children have forgotten how to smile," wrote a young nurse during the Korean War. Two officers from the RAAF's 77th squadron visit the Children's Hospital in Seoul (1951). Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



A British war correspondent in Incheon wrote about Chung Ha-joon, a young man he had shared a shelter with during a storm. Chung was an elementary school teacher who resisted the Japanese occupation. As Kim Il-sung's troops sought to occupy South Korea, Chung decided to resist by gathering children and continuing classes, albeit in bombed-out buildings. As enemy forces pressed southward, Chung abandoned his classes but not his pupils. Chung saved over 60 children from ransacked villages, before being caught himself.



Song Ji-won volunteered to become a nurse when she was 12 years old. At the time, she was an orphan living in a church-run orphanage. When children her age were outside, she was shadowing Korean doctors watching how they treated the sick and wounded. She had an aunt somewhere, and sent letters with soldiers in the unlikely case they found her. She wrote with wisdom beyond her years: "Many of the younger children have forgotten how to smile, they don't remember anything before the war. I help feed them, clean them, play with them but to make them smile again, that is what brings the greatest joy."



Near the end of the war, Ji-won was informally adopted by a German medical unit in Seoul, where she trained as a nurse. According to the clinic's records, Ji-won later became a pediatric nurse and continued to work in orphanages.



George Drake, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, arrived at Incheon and, within weeks, had volunteered with a dozen other U.S. soldiers to work in the few orphanages that could be found. Many were run by courageous Korean doctors, nurses and ministers, many of whom had lost family themselves.



When Drake and others saw the desperate situation of the children and their carers, they realized they had to do more than give up their time and rations. Almost immediately, Drake and other soldiers began writing home to their families, to churches and Rotary clubs, asking them to send clothes, food, books and as many supplies as possible.





U.N. war correspondent Douglas Bushby and the director of the Hope Orphanage.? Bushby worked side by side with Korean aid workers and leaders to help orphans, refugees and POWs. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



As donations for the children began to pour in from individuals and organizations, the U.S. Army was compelled to hire a freighter to ship all the supplies to Incheon. In just over s year, 12 tons of supplies had been shipped in and handed out to Korean orphans.



Assisting with the work of war orphans and protecting children became a secondary role for many Korean, U.S. and Allied soldiers. Nationality was irrelevant and soldiers took on a new sense of duty to those whose lives were inextricably changed because soldiers were there.



At a battle in Chongju, Ian Robertson, an Australian sniper, recalled that he and a mate spotted five terrified children. "I called to them in Japanese, 'Come here!' and they ran over to where our mortarmen were. The mortarmen got them to hop into our gun pits and gave them their own helmets to protect them. There wasn't enough room for all of them so two of the mortarmen jumped out and took their chance in the open without protection."



William Chrysler, from the Canadian light infantry, tearfully explained: "We'd get our rations but nearly everybody would go over and give it to the kids. You wouldn't eat and watch those little wee kids there without any food  they had nothing, we had to do something."





Sergeant Suleyman and Ayla (Turkish for Halo). The Turkish soldiers found 20 orphans on the battlefield and built a makeshift orphanage out of tents until the Ankara Turkish orphanage was built for them. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



Sergeant Suleyman, a 25-year-old Turkish soldier, was in a fire battle when he found a five-year-old girl huddled in the bushes. Her family had been killed and her whole village destroyed. Unable to get her to an orphanage, Suleyman became her surrogate father and cared for her for a year and a half. Though he was forced to leave her with a Turkish-sponsored orphanage when the war was over, they found each other years later.



Chaplain Terence Finnigan reported that many soldiers, seeing orphans near starvation point, simply picked them up wherever they were found and brought them to barracks, orphanages, churches or army chaplains.



It became quickly apparent that the need for more orphanages was critical, so military headquarters in Korea issued a request for funds. "The response was extraordinary," Finnigan wrote. Korean and Allied soldiers from almost every unit and force sent in donations. Because of the soldier's actions, literally thousands of orphaned children were saved from death.



William Asbury, director of field operations during the war for the Christian Children's Fund, described the soldiers as "an army of compassion" and calculated that of the 400 orphanages in Korea, over 90 percent operated with the financial and practical support of soldiers and military officials.?



In an interview with British media, light infantryman Reginald Bentley explained: "The faces of those Korean kiddies were like a healing balm after we'd returned from a bloody battle. Spending time with them, giving them what we could was the least we could when homes were bombed by our side  it didn't soothe our conscience, but it helped our souls."



Though caring for children is a basic human responsibility, never in previous history have thousands of soldiers united with such resolve and open-handedness to save and protect the lives of thousands of children. Never have soldiers worked so cohesively alongside Korean doctors and nurses to build, support and sustain orphanages and medical clinics specifically for children.



With the support of Korean nationals, many military units bought rice paddies and established small businesses that would help fund orphanages after soldiers withdrew.



William Asbury explained: "The soldiers involved in this support were not exceptions, they were examples."



Compassion, however, could be found even among the enemy lines.



Col. Hess worked with Korean pilots and air force officers to evacuate 1,000 war orphans from Seoul using 15 transport aircraft. He also worked with Korean doctors to build an orphanage in Seoul. Yonhap
T raders at the historic Smithfield Market believe there will be a profound impact on their businesses if plans to move the site to east London go ahead.

The centuries-old meat market is expected to leave its Farringdon site after plans were put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporations main decision-making body.

Under the new proposal Billingsgate Market and New Spitalfields Market would also move to the Barking Reach site.

There has been a livestock market at the Farringdon site for over 800 years but the redeveloped Victorian buildings where Smithfield now resides were officially opened in 1868.

The redeveloped market, which celebrated its 150th birthday almost a year ago, is the only one of the three to remain at its original site in the heart of the City.

The City of London Corporation said the move will allow for more modern facilities and space for traders to grow.

The market is 800 years old. / Associated Newspapers

One independent trader, who did not want to be named, said tenants have been told there are no concrete plans but if there eventually is a move, it will have a big impact.

I think it will have profound impact on all the businesses once Smithfield is moved to a site like that, he said.

I don't think we're going to have the room to do what we do as wholesalers now.

Oliver Absalom of Absalom & Tribe said the company has been trading at Smithfield since 1976 and new regulations brought in by Transport for London is making things complicated for customers.

Smithfield still works very well, he said.

But he conceded there will be some benefits to the move.

If and when we move we would benefit from being with the fish and the fruit and veg companies in one big market - that we're interested in.

But as it stands right now it still works right now what we're doing.

Cathy Calkine, who trades with Abbijoe, said she is likely to retire if the move goes ahead.

Ive been here for 32 years so I wont go when it goes, (the location) is a long way away for me now, she said.

It is sad because it is taking a little bit of London away really isnt it.

Smithfield Market is currently located in a Grade II listed building in Farringdon by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones who also designed Tower Bridge.

It opens at 2am every weekday morning, with most of the trading completed by 7am.

After the announcement of the new plans to move the site, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, said the City is committed to keeping the historic markets in London.

She said: The City's three world-leading wholesale food markets at Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield have been serving our citizens for hundreds of years, and we are committed to their future for London.

In order to secure their continued success, and after careful consideration of a number of options, Barking Reach has been agreed as the preferred site for consolidating the City Corporations wholesale markets. We intend to use this new site to offer more modern facilities and space for traders to grow so that they can continue to support the capitals food economy.

We will soon be launching a public consultation on our preferred option. As part of this process, we will continue to engage with market tenants, traders and their customers, and other key stakeholders across London.
T heresa May has told MPs that the disastrous local elections give a "fresh urgency" to breaking the Brexit deadlock.

The PM made the rallying call for breaching the impasse as the Tories reeled from losing more than 1,300 council seats.

"We have to find a way to break the deadlock - and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this," she wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

It comes as both main parties attributed their struggles in the elections to Brexit.

TODO: define component type apester

Labour also lost more than 80 seats and party figureheads said a resolution needed to be found for Britain's departure from the European Union.

Cross-party talks on the matter so far appear to have delivered little results, though the PM vowed these will continue.

"We will keep negotiating, and keep trying to find a way through. Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about," she wrote.

"The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line."

Theresa May is negotiating with her Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn / Getty Images

She had previously said the elections as a whole carried a "simple message" for both the Conservative and Labour parties: "Just get on and deliver Brexit."

Commenting on the discussions with Labour she said: "I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either."

Mrs May also took the opportunity to promote the deal she had already agreed with the EU, though admitted she sees no sign of it being passed by the Commons.

TODO: define component type apester

"I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK - a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws," Mrs May wrote.

"The free movement of people will end - giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades.

"However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing."

Prime Minister Theresa May said the local elections showed a need to move on with Brexit / Getty Images

However, earlier in the day environment secretary Michael Gove issued a renewed plea for MPs to back Mrs May's deal.

In a speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference, Mr Gove said: "(Mrs May's deal) enables us to leave the EU while safeguarding essential interests and liberating us to enjoy new opportunities."

The call from the PM comes after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer claimed Cabinet ministers place more importance on the next Tory leadership contest than Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer the shadow Brexit secretary / EPA

He made the comments in a swipe at foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt's warning that a customs union would not be a "long-term solution".

The Labour frontbencher tweeted: "This is yet more evidence that for many in the Cabinet the most important thing right now is the next Tory leadership contest."

Despite there appearing to be disagreements, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said a deal between Labour and the Tories could be done in the new few days.

She told reporters at her party's conference in Aberdeen: "We are getting closer and closer.

"There's not that much between the two parties as I understand it from people in the room."

While Mr Hunt also spoke of his desire to get a Brexit resolution, warning that if politicians do not resolve the issue then they will have "failed as a political class" in doing what Labour and the Tories promised at the last general election.

Following the poor local election showing, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith earlier said Mrs May must set an "immediate date for departure" following the party's disastrous performance at the local elections.

Mr Smith said she appears to be a "caretaker" Prime Minister, urging her to either set a date for her exit or for senior Tories to do so.

With talks between Labour and the Tories expected to resume early next week, the Sunday Times reported Mrs May was prepared to give ground in three areas.

These were customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.

The paper said the Prime Minister would put forward plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU.
H ardline Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois today predicted Theresa Mays time as Prime Minister will be up if the Conservatives suffer a dreadful night in the upcoming European elections.

Mr Francois, Jacob Rees-Moggs deputy for the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs, said the patience of the partys 1922 Committee could finally snap if  as has been forecast in polls  it is humiliated in the May 23 elections.

It comes after the Conservatives suffered significant losses in Thursdays local elections.

Labour also lost seats, while the Lib Dems, Greens and independents make gains.

In an interview with the Standard in his Westminster office, the former minister, who has so far been part of two attempts to oust Mrs May, also refused to sympathise with her on a personal level: Her heart has never been in leaving the EU no, I dont feel sorry for her.

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And asked about his partys European prospects later this month, Mr Francois was just as forthright: Let me be very clear: I am going to vote Conservative in the European elections. Let there be no confusion about that. But if we believe the bookies, they say we are going to have a pretty dreadful night.

Self and Francois in TV stare-off

"The door knocking I did for the local elections seems to confirm that. We are going to have a very tough night on May 23.

If the Conservatives do have a very bad night, that will increase the pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.

Mark Francois in conversation with anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray in Westminster last month / Yui Mok/PA

Last month, Mr Francis wrote a letter entitled enough is enough to 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady, calling for an indicative vote of confidence in Mrs Mays leadership. It ultimately failed after the committee voted by nine votes to seven against this.

But he insisted: It was extremely close, and I believe the committee might well review that decision after the European elections.

Mr Francois, though, didnt raise the Prime Ministers Brexit woes when he last spoke to her in the lobbies a few weeks ago: We just had some pleasant chit-chat. I dont think we spoke about Europe.

There has even been chatter about the Rayleigh and Wickford MP taking over Mrs Mays job after he bet 10 on himself taking over as Tory leader.

Mr Francois at the 'March to Leave' protest in Parliament Square on March 29: the original scheduled Brexit date / Kirsty O'Connor/PA

I did it as a joke with a friend," he said. "I got 200/1. But another friend of mine put a bet on this week, where my odds had been slashed to 100/1.

I think there might well be an ERG candidate in the leadership election, but realistically its unlikely to be me.

Pressed on whether he would like to stand, he would only say: Well, I did it [the bet] for a laugh.

Lets see who emerges. But I suspect somebody might. You may not have long to wait to find out.

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Francois Brexiteer standing is such that a new brewery in his constituency named a beer after him. It is called Special Place in Hell, mocking European Council president Donald Tusks inflammatory tirade against Brexiteers in February.

Proudly producing a bottle of the four per cent ale in his office, he beamed that its going absolute gangbusters in the brewerys taproom.

But he said he was deeply unhappy at how the ERG has been portrayed in the Brexit debate: We have had all sorts of name-calling. David Lammy said we were Nazis. The Chancellor called us extremists, Chris Patten [former Tory chair] called us vermin and Donald Tusk sent us all to hell.

Davids comments were utterly ridiculous and he demeaned himself by making them. At the end of the day, we want Britain to leave the EU, and thats what 17.4 million UK citizens voted for. Does that make me a Nazi? No, of course it doesnt.

I think there are many people in the establishment  and I would count David Lammy as part of that  who cant stand the ERG because they desperately want to remain in the EU and we want to leave. Because we are so determined to fight for that, they dont like us."
G avin Williamson branded the enquiry into a leak that led to his firing "shabby" and a "witch hunt" as he criticised the PM's handling of the situation.

His comments come after Scotland Yard deemed the disclosure of information from the National Security Council meeting was not sufficiently serious to warrant a criminal investigation.

In a new statement, former defence secretary Mr Williamson said: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill."

Mr Williamson was fired earlier this week after being linked to the leak of information regarding Huawei's potential involvement in building the UK's 5G infrastructure.

Signage at the Huawei offices in Britain / REUTERS

Reports last month suggested Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the PM overruled five ministers who expressed concern the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying.

They also said it could undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Prime Minister Theresa May previously insisted sacking Gavin Williamson was the right decision / Getty Images

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary and the PM said there was "compelling evidence" he was behind the leak.

He strenuously denies any involvement in the information being shared.

Earlier on Saturday, the Met Police's assistant commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting.

However, he was "satisfied" that the details disclosed to the media did not "contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He said: "I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police."

Mr Williamson previously said he would welcome a police probe, believing it would "absolutely exonerate" him.

Theresa May previously said firing Mr Williamson had been the right decision.

Mrs May told ITV News: "I did take a difficult decision.

"This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table."
A Cabinet minister has branded crushing local election losses a "punishment" for the Tory's response to Brexit as senior ministers called for unity within the party.

Calling the outcome disappointing, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the result would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the party needed to listen to the results and "be in a mood for compromise"

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said "purists" in the party were putting the Brexit "in peril".

AFP/Getty Images

Mr Gauke said it was time to address the "big issue" of Brexit.

He told BBC Breakfast: "What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit. We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Minister's meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

"I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation."

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said that the message from voters was to get on, deliver Brexit and then move on as he said MPs need to be in a mood for compromise.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The electorate... right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration."

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock / AFP/Getty Images

He indicated that he was prepared to back compromise with Labour's call for a post-Brexit customs union arrangement with the EU.

"I think the Prime Minister's deal is a better arrangement than a permanent customs union, but I think we need to be in a mood for compromise," said Mr Hancock.

TODO: define component type apester

"We need to be listening to these results from these local elections which are about 'deliver Brexit', not 'deliver this particular form of Brexit'."

He suggested both sides in cross-party talks would have to shift on their Brexit stance: "I think we do need a mood for compromise, but compromise often involves looking at the different positions of different groups and coming up with something in-between."

The Foreign Secretary pointed the finger at "purist" Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories' drubbing.

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Asked who was responsible for the losses, Mr Hunt told reporters in Africa: "You can look at lots of different groups of people - you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

"You can for sure look at Government - I'm sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently."

Conservatives dropped more than 1,300 seats

In a speech to Scottish Conservatives, Mr Javid emphasised his "one nation" credentials and warned delegates a divided Tory party would usher Mr Corbyn into Downing Street with the support of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

He added: "It's clear our union, our country and our party are all at a crossroads. And we know that it's in times of uncertainty that the seeds of radicalism are sown.

"There are three different revolutions seeking to exploit this situation: Corbyn's socialism. SNP-style separatism and far-right populism."

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you."

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as Prime Minister and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was "the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters".

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was "always going to be difficult" at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

She said: "Because we haven't delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties."

Labour lost 82 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.
M uslims across the world are welcoming the holy month of Ramadan.

Observed as the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan sees Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset in order to devote themselves further to their faith and ultimately bring them closer to Allah.

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the presence of a new moon signals the start of a new month.

Ramadan began on the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that Monday May 6 is the first official day of fasting.

Heres everything you need to know:

When is Ramadan 2019 in the UK?

Why does a moon sighting committee signal the start of Ramadan?

Muslims observe the start of the new moon / Getty

The moon sighting committee is responsible for watching the moon and announcing the start of Ramadan.

The committee will be searching for the moon after Maghrib prayers on the 29th day of Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

If adverse weather conditions make it difficult to see the moon on this day, sightings can also be considered on the 30th day.

But if the moon is spotted, then the process is repeated at the end of the holy month and the start of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan.

When will Ramadan start in the UK?

The UK follows guidelines set by the UAE committee to determine the start of Ramadan.

This year, the moon was spotted the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that fasting has been confirmed to start on Monday May 6. It will continue for 30 days until June 4.

Does Ramadan start on the same day in all Muslim countries?

All adult Muslims are expected to fast over the month of Ramadan / Getty Images

No. Some Muslim countries such as Oman opts to call Ramadan independently of the rest of the Gulf, with the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia celebrating the holy month on the same dates.
A n earthquake hit Surrey overnight with residents reporting how an "explosion" shook local homes.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) received dozens of reports from people disturbed by the quake, which hit the region at 1.19am on Saturday.

It is the latest in a series of tremors in the area.

Preliminary information indicated a 2.5-magnitude quake, centred on Newdigate near Gatwick, had struck at a depth of 2.3km (1.4 miles), the BGS said.

"Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience," a BGS spokeswoman said.

"Typical reports described 'windows and doors shook', 'felt like some sort of explosion' and 'a loud bang woke me up'."

The BGS is asking residents to fill in a questionnaire on its website to record what they experienced.

Several people commented on social media that they had felt the tremor in the Crawley area.

One Twitter user said: "Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!", while another added: "Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up..."

The quake hit after a sequence of seismic events in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were "keeping an open mind", there was "still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities".

He said: "It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural - due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean."

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
B rits are braced for a wintry Bank Holiday weekend with temperatures set to plummet to -4C.

Parts of the country will see temperatures almost ten degrees lower than average for this time of year as forecasters warned of widespread frosts and hail during the weekend.

It will also be much colder than the same time last year, when the mercury hit 28.7C in Northolt, west London, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday weekend since records began.

Forecasters warned some parts of the UK will only reach highs of 2C on Saturday.

The UK will experience widespread frost over the Bank Holiday weekend / Jeremy Selwyn

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said there will be "plenty of sunny spells for the majority of the country on Saturday but the further east you go the more likely you are to see showers, with hail quite likely."

He told the Standard: "Temperatures to start the weekend could reach 13C maximum, most likely in south and south-west of the UK but if youre exposed it will feel like 2C, with a very cold feel down the east coast.

"Overnight it will be cold with clear skies, showers in the east gradually easing off. Widespread frost is likely, we could see as low as -4C in western parts of the UK."

Temperatures will be slightly warmer on Sunday, with dry spells and temperatures of up to 14C after a frosty evening.

"For Sunday it's a fairly similar picture, much of the UK will be dry with sunny spells. Late showers are possible but very few and far between," Mr Partridge said.

"Overnight into Monday the forecast remains largely the same, light winds with clear skies, showers continuing in the far northeast but plenty of clear skies mean it will be another frosty night to come."

Forecaster Richard Miles added: "Saturday will be the worst day of the Bank Holiday weekend in terms of chilly showers and possible hail on the east coast, though Sunday and Monday will be a lot more settled.

Frosts are expected across the UK next week / PA

"Sheltered, hilly areas in the north and Scotland could see colder and wintry weather in the evening from a northerly direction.

"The west should escape most of the colder weather, in Wales it could actually be quite nice, normal weather and the same in parts of Northern Ireland, as most places go to double figures during the day."
I slamic State bride Shamima Begum would face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she went to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

Ms Begum's family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out "what is obvious to all".

"Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladesh's problem," he said.

"What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping - taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

"The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamima's citizenship.

"This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be."

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
N orth Korea has fired several short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, according to reports from South Korea.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analysing the details.

If it is confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from US president Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported on Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 125 miles before splashing into the sea toward the north-east.

An intermediate range Hwasong-12 launched by North Korea in 2017 / AP

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter-range nuclear-armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Korea's actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

In a sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticised national security adviser John Bolton.

North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified "tactical guided weapon".

During the diplomacy that followed the North's weapons tests of 2017, Mr Kim said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

These short-range projectiles do not appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Mr Kim's displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

The South's presidential Blue House had no immediate comment on the launches.

The country's liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.

Japan's Defence Ministry said the projectiles were not a security threat and did not reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Mr Kim.
Seonkyoung Longest



This is the first in a series of interviews telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned into social media success stories. -- ED.



By Jane Han



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When Seonkyoung Longest began cooking Korean food out of her small Mississippi kitchen with little to no fresh Korean ingredients, she didn't dare to dream that, in just a few years, she would become a YouTube celebrity chef.



''I still remember the first day I stood in front of the camera,'' Longest said in an interview with The Korea Times. ''It was a very cheap digital camera that my husband owned and I had it awkwardly propped on top of a salt container."



That was 2010 and the beginning of her wild journey on social media that now brings her more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million followers on Facebook as well as 250,000 followers on Instagram.





Bulgogi



Since debuting her first video on YouTube, Longest has cooked up everything from traditional Korean bibimbap and bulgogi to the staple American Chinese dish chicken chow mein and popular Vietnamese pho noodles.



Her humorous and upbeat YouTube show ''Asian at Home'' began with a focus on Korean cuisine, but quickly expanded to cover a full range of Asian dishes.



''I think that was the turning point for me,'' Longest said, as she recalled her expansion four years ago. ''It was leaving my comfort zone and experimenting with and embracing other cuisines, and that alone enabled me to reach a much bigger audience.''



For the 35-year-old, this wasn't the first time to leave her comfort zone.



Fresh from Korea in 2009, starting a new life in Mississippi after marrying her husband who was, and still is, in the U.S. military was already a life-changing event.



''I was lonely and depressed. I didn't have a job, friends or family and all I did was wait for my husband all day,'' Longest shared of her past. ''I thought I spoke decent English, but the southern accent was a whole new level for me. All in all, I was struggling.''









She remembers watching the Food Network most of the day, getting inspired by famous chefs and TV personalities like Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray and trying to replicate some of their dishes in her own way.



''Believe it or not, I only started cooking after I moved to the U.S.,'' said Longest. ''Because if I didn't cook, I didn't get to eat any Korean food. We didn't have much money to eat out so cooking at home was a necessity.''



And being creative with her ingredients was also a necessity.







''There was only one other Korean person in the entire town I lived in and the closest Korean grocery store was a five-hour drive away. You get the picture,'' she said. ''So I was able to shop for fresh Korean ingredients maybe only once or twice a year.''



That was for more than five years, which gave her plenty of time to get acquainted to and learn to use everyday ingredients in American grocery stores.



The self-taught chef's experience and flexibility show in her 10- to 20-minute videos as she is generous in allowing ingredient substitutes.



But before taking any of her recipes public, Longest makes sure she experiments it in her own kitchen a countless number of times.



''There's a reason why people trust my recipes,'' she said. ''I don't share a recipe just to fill up posts on social media. If I don't have one ready to share, I just don't because I'd rather not share than share a bad recipe. I have very high expectations.''





Wasabi Shrimp Spaghetti
F our Palestinians including a pregnant woman and her baby daughter have been killed while three Israelis have been wounded amid rocket fire.

Palestinian militants have fired more than 200 rockets into Israel and this has drawn dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip.

The round of intense fighting has broken a month-long lull and the Israeli military said it struck 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit her home.

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike / EPA

Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded in east Gaza City and died later in hospital, while another child was injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door.

Another Palestinian was killed in the northern Gaza Strip and officials identified the victim Saturday as Khaled Abu Qlaiq, 25.

Southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara / AFP/Getty Images

Local media reports said he was travelling on a motorbike when a drone missile hit him.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire and a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel.

A teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Previously, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip / AFP/Getty Images

Air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence.

It said this was done by the shooting and wounding of two Israeli soldiers on Friday.

Meanwhile, leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators.

These were aimed at preventing a fraying ceasefire from collapsing.

It is a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week.

It will also be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in the middle of the month.
A funeral has been held for three children of Denmark's wealthiest man, after they were killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, was seen comforting his wife and their surviving daughter at the service.

The coffins of his three children, named Alfred, Alma and Agnes, were seen covered in flowers outside Aarhus Cathedral on Sunday.

It has previously been suggested Mr Povlsen was hurt in the blast, at the Shangri La Hotel in Colmbo, himself but it is not clear to what extent.

A funeral service for the three children of Anders Holch Povlsen (R) and his wife Anne (C) is held at Aarhus Catherdral in Aarhus / EPA

Denmark's prime minister and members of the Danish royal family were in attendance at Saturday's service.

Povlsen, 46, is behind the fashion brand Asos and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

eDanish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (r) arrives for the funeral service / AP

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsen's wholesale fashion business Bestseller, previously confirmed the couple lost three children in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Nine bombers co-ordinated blasts targeting churches and hotels frequented by foreign tourists.

One suicide bomber reportedly educated in the UK was radicalised after leaving Britain, his sister said.

It is believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals and the group has claimed responsibility.

In an update on investigations into the attack, Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena said: "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers."

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks, which shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.
T housands of yellow vest protesters took to the streets of France for the 25th weekend in a row.

The activists, who began by speaking out against a fuel tax and have since taken wider issue with President Emmanuel Macron's policies, demonstrated in Paris and elsewhere across the country.

Some 18,900 protesters took part in the latest marches nationally, the Interior Ministry said.

This figure, compared with 23,600 a week earlier, was the lowest turnout since the action began.

Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures 1 /28 Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures A Yellow Vest protester gestures behind flames rising from a barricade AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester wearing a mask depicting the French President on which is written 'psycho' AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protester walk past flames rising from a barricade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on March 16 AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester destroys a shop window during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters gather near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images A news stand burns during a yellow vests demonstration on the Champs Elysees AP Protesters next to a burning barricade during a demonstration REUTERS A Yellow Vest protester writes a graffiti on the wooden fence outside of the restaurant "Le Fouquet's" AFP/Getty Images A yellow vest protester walks past a fire on the Champs Elysees avenue AP Yellow Vest protesters look at the destroyed window of a Hugo Boss shop AFP/Getty Images Flames rise from a newsagent set alight by protesters during clashes with riot police AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces stand behind a burning barricade AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces walk past a scooter seen in a broken store window AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest holds a flag during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS protester wearing a yellow vest attends a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest shouts at police as he attends a demonstration REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest holds up a flare during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS There were chaotic scenes in the French capital REUTERS A man blasted by water from a water cannon in Paris AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest throws a stone AFP/Getty Images

In Paris three protests had a turnout of 1,460 against 2,600 last week.

The weekend protests came days after a wider May Day rally was marked by violent clashes in Paris.

"Many of them were shocked by the behaviour and repression of last Wednesday," Herve, a protester in Paris, told Reuters.

"So it's not surprising to see that it's lagging behind a bit regarding the turnout."

The decrease in numbers will be a relief to President Macron, who last week made a series of policy proposals to address the issues raised.

In addition some yellow vests joined a rally against climate change in the northern city of Metz.

They gathered in the city as G7 environment ministers were meeting and the demonstration gathered 3,000 participants, the ministry said.

In contrast, tens of thousands of labour union and yellow vest protesters had taken to the streets across the country on Wednesday.

Those demonstrations that saw clashes between anarchists and police, especially in Paris.

The protests, named after motorists' high-visibility jackets, have been marred by violence, in what is seen as a revolt against politicians and a government they feel are out of touch.
H ollywood star Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving.

This comes after after his arrest for failing a drunken driving test last year.

On Friday an attorney for the 49-year-old "Wedding Crashers" star entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor count in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Vaughn was arrested June 10 at a sobriety checkpoint, in the upscale community of Manhattan Beach.

Police say the Dodgeball actor repeatedly refused to get out of his car.

He then failed a field sobriety test and a blood alcohol test.

Vaughn was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation while also being ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program.

He has been told that if he drives drunk and kills someone he could be charged with murder.
The faculty at Yonhee University, circa 1956.



By Robert Neff





Fred Dustin and some of his students, circa 1957.

In 1955, Fred Dustin, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, returned to Korea after completing his degree in the United States. He had been recruited by The Asia Foundation and was the first English teacher to arrive.



Dustin was assigned a teaching position at Yonhee (now Yonsei) University but, in the beginning, there was no housing available on campus, so he was forced to stay the first couple of weeks at the Bando Hotel.



Seoul at this time was a shattered city and ruined buildings were the norm. The Bando Hotel was the tallest building and, as Dustin recalled, was the center of sophistication. It was a popular place for the foreign community to live and was equally popular with Koreans wanting to learn or practice their English.



"It was almost impossible to sit down for a cup of coffee or a meal, especially without an elderly Korean gentleman suddenly materializing seemingly from out of nowhere and introduce himself."



Dustin was later given quarters on campus at a building commonly known as the White Russian House. One of his roommates, for a short time, was Edward Wagoner  the founder of the Korea Institute at Harvard University. They both joined a group of expats who formed the Koryo Club where they shared ideas and experiences over beers. Very little scholastic work was accomplished but a lot of beer was consumed.





Fred Dustin and his class at Yonhee University in July 1957.



Like the rest of Seoul, the university had suffered during the war. Dustin recalled:



"The school had returned from Busan a year or so before and there was so much damage. The first fall of 1955 was difficult. Many of the classrooms still had no windows and some were missing doors so it was terribly drafty."



Dustin, however, soon found the lack of windows to be a blessing as they provided "enough ventilation to keep the smell of kimchi in continuous agitation." He later complained of the smell to Horace Underwood who, with the wisdom of a sage, suggested the only solution was to eat kimchi. Dustin followed his advice and soon found himself to be a fan of the spicy Korean dish.





Looking out from the campus, circa 1957.



Dustin was impressed with his students. They studied diligently, despite the cold and the hardships. Supplies and teaching materials were scarce and the teachers often had to make do with whatever was on hand or they could create. The students had a "real fervor for education" and would "sit bundled up in those frozen classrooms" all day with nary a complaint.



Perhaps the most difficult obstacle was love.



Two students in his class  a male and female  soon found themselves in trouble. "They were the famous 'campus couple' and earlier in the spring had almost been kicked out of school for openly smooching on campus [and] holding hands  even in class."





Fred Dustin and two of his students.





Edward Wagner and Fred Dustin in front of the White Russian House, circa 1957.

Most of the students from his classes graduated and rose to high positions in the government. "I remember reading The Korea Times and seeing names I knew," recalled Dustin. "[They] would rise up and then tumble down." Some were victims of politics while others suffered from their own greed.



Dustin went on to teach at several universities. He was an entrepreneur who dabbled in many different businesses  many failed but a few were successful and prospered. The most successful is, undoubtedly, the Kimnyoung Maze on Jeju Island.



He was a caring man with a weakness for cats  the maze is filled with them. He believed in helping those around him and actively supported the Jeju community both financially and in spirit.

Dustin died on May 5, 2018. Jeju and Korea lost a great supporter and I lost a great friend. I like to think that his spirit lives on within the maze  nourished by the sound of children's laughter, the lazy purrs of cats and the recollections of those who knew him, as they munch popcorn and drink grape juice in his memory.



Rest in peace my old friend.





The guard's hut near the White Russian House. It was there to guard the Underwoods' berry patch.





Looking west toward the Han River, circa 1955.





Dustin's teaching assistant, circa 1957.
It is a supportive learning environment, Cherry said.

She, too, was not to fond of the exams. She thought they were tough and the overall atmosphere in class was high pressure.

It is high pressure, but it should be because peoples lives are in your hands, Cherry said.

The sisters never set out to have 4.0s. Their goal was to be as good as possible. Once they neared graduation, they couldnt believe they had done it.

It was something that just happened, Paula said. It was nice to have Cherry with me because it made us a little more competitive, but we were also there to encourage each other.

Helping one another

Paula said she couldnt have done it all without Cherry. She was up for the adventure, but she began right after she was divorced. There were days she thought she could not do it.

Cherry was there to carry me through those times and boosted my morale, Paula said. She was there saying, You got this and Its going to be amazing.
On Friday morning, as the students enjoyed 15 minutes of recess, they waived at Benzel and Wright while asking them how they got up on the roof and how they were going to get down.

Several students thought they were not going to sleep on the roof all night.

I was thinking they were telling us lies and werent going to stay up there, DeSantos said.

Student Owen Lathan echoed DeSantos comment.

At first, I didnt think they were going to sleep on the roof because nobody actually thought they were going to go up on the roof, he said. When I did see them on the roof and saw their flashlights when I was driving around the school just to see where they were, I was surprised.

During a morning assembly Friday, Wright and Benzel entered wearing their robes and slippers. While Benzel shared that he did not feel well-rested, it was worth it to celebrate the students achievements.
SCOTTSBLUFF  The Scottsbluff City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 6, at 6 p.m., at the Scottsbluff City Hall Council Chambers, 2525 Circle Dr.

Items on the agenda include an acknowledgment of a contract offer from Riverside Discovery Center and an update from the City Manager on collective bargaining negotiations with fire, police and public works employees with a brief explanation of the negotiation process.
What changed? Asking that question -- especially in an era of scandal and pain -- leads to doctrinal questions that are just as troubling as the hellish puzzles linked to decades of reports about sexual abuse among Catholic clergy.

Here is one reality that must be discussed, according to Lawler. Many parishes began shrinking when Catholic families began shrinking. At the same time, many Catholic schools began to decline. Smaller families produced fewer priests and nuns.

The general appreciation of our Catholic heritage began to lag at roughly the same time that the American birth rate went into a steep decline, he wrote. Is it surprising that we, as a people, stopped thinking so much about what we would pass along to our children, during the same years that we stopped having so many children?

While many Catholic leaders focus on Mass attendance, Lawler said he thinks that its just as important to note how many Catholics are going to confession -- ever. Courageous bishops may even want to ask how often their priests go to confession.
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By Hwang Jae-ho





Nishino Junya
It just seemed like for the most part, they didnt want to have a conversation with us, they wanted to inform us more of things that were already pretty informed about, so they were just telling us things that we already know, and lecturing at us, to an extent, instead of having a conversation with us, Megan Skouby, South Iredell High School teacher and ISAE building representative said. We were hoping to go in with an ideal of being able to sit down and have a conversation. We brought a good base of representatives from the school district to try and cover all the bases, and not everyone was able to speak due to some of the time constraints, but also because they (representatives) sort of took over that conversation.
A new coffee shop in Statesville is making sure it strictly sticks to the idea of being local.

See more photos at the bottom of this article

The Coffee Lodge, which had a soft opening April 27, is working to be a place for locals to embrace their community. It embraces its customers with a rustic, log-cabin feel by using wood throughout the interior and exterior designs of the building, an electronic fireplace and deer heads mounted on the wall.

This homey shop is catering to the country at heart with a modern twist thanks to the unique style of the owners. Chris London and Heidi Goodheart, a couple whose love brought them to Statesville, came up with the idea of a coffee shop after being at Cedar Stump Pub in Troutman during a snowstorm. The couple didnt want to leave, not because of the snow but because of the community.

Later, they stumbled upon the location of what is now the coffee shop and they thought it would be a great spot to make their mark on the town.

I always fancied having a coffee shop, Goodheart said.

The rest is history.
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Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, accompanied by Health Minister Sorina Pintea, Labour Minister Marius Budai and Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici went to the city of Hunedoara on Saturday, where they visited the Municipal Hospital, the Corvin Castle and the pedestrian area of the city, investment objectives on governmental and European funds.

At the Municipal Hospital in Hunedoara, the government delegation visited the Intensive Care ward. The hospital's management requested support for the rehabilitation of the Emergency war, a context in which Health Minister Sorina Pintea said that this ward can benefit from a 5-million-lei funding for modernization, agerpres.ro informs.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the accompanying ministers visited several departments of Deva County Hospital on Saturday, the new building benefiting from government financing worth 8 million lei.

The official delegation continues its visit to Hunedoara County in the Brad area, on the Mintia-Brad gas pipeline construction site, an objective also financed from government funds.
The international conference "Future of Europe. Perspectives of Contemporary Developments" will be held in Sibiu from Wednesday to Friday, organized in the context of the EU Summit of 9 May.

The event is organized by "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, in collaboration with the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Bucharest, agerpres.ro informs.

According to the program posted on the conference's website, President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Ambassador of Lithuania to Romania, Arvydas Pocius and the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering were invited to participate in the event.

Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba, Minister of National Defense Gabriel Les, Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca, as well as political leaders such as Victor Ponta, Dacian Ciolos, Dan Barna and Eugen Tomac are also expected to attend the conference.

According to a release of the organizers, the panel that prepares the opening of this event is dedicated to education and research and is titled "Education and Research Where to?" This panel will be attended by representatives of Romanian academic education, researchers and students.

The event will take place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union.
President Klaus Iohannis, currently in Florence, on Saturday morning laid a wreath at the commemorative plaque dedicated to Alexandru Ioan Cuza, located next to the residence where the ruler spent the last years of his life.

The event was attended, among others, by the Romanian Ambassador to Italy George Bologan, Vicar Bishop Atanasie de Bogdania of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy and members of the Romanian community in the Tuscany region, agerpres.ro informs.

The head of state was accompanied by his wife, Carmen Iohannis.

On this occasion, the Romanian priests officiated a prayer of thanks in the memory of Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Representatives of the local government in Florence were present at the event, telling the head of state that there are about 8,000 Romanians in this city - the largest community of foreigners in the area.

''I think that this meeting is an emotional one, even if my visit here in Florence is a short one. Maybe you know that I was yesterday at the European University where we had a very beautiful event. We wanted to give a sign to our Romanian community in Florence (...), and in this respect I am very glad that you have come with me to this wreath laying," Iohannis told those present at the event.
PMP senator Traian Basescu, the former president of Romania, said on Saturday that Premier Viorica Dancila would not be invited to attend the European Council Summit in Sibiu, taking into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, but she can be invited to the reception and presented by President Klaus Iohannis, with a brief laudatio, to the other members of the European Council, agerpres.ro informs.

"There is lack of knowledge about the European Union in the public space. Journalists and politicians are lamenting that Ms. Dancila has not yet been invited to Sibiu. Folks, she will not be invited either to the works of the European Council for the following reasons:

1. During each rotating presidency, an informal European Council is organized in the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This time it is Romania - Sibiu (I participated in 19 such informal Councils during the 10 years of activity in the European Council).

2. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, each member state has one seat in the European Council, a place reserved for the one that, under the national Constitution, has the mandate of representing the country, in this case President Iohannis. The European Council also includes the President of the European Commission and the Permanent President of the European Council," Traian Basescu wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He points out that in this case, Premier Dancila and President Iohannis preside over two European institutions with completely different attributions, and the prime minister cannot be invited to the European Council works at the informal Summit in Sibiu, but she can be invited to the reception organized on its sidelines and presented to the other members of the European Council.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the summit of 9 May, dedicated to the future of the European Union and the future strategic agenda of the leaders for the period 2019-2024, will bring together the heads of state and Government of the EU member states in Sibiu, 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking guests, about 900 journalists and 100 translators.
He asked me one blunt question  I forget what it was  but I know I could only give a terse and unnuanced response, Marty said by email. I recall that he regularly quoted that unmemorable sentence or two.

From my distance, he added, I observed him enjoying too much the polemics of church fighting. He went out of his way to pick fights, always battling toward what seemed to me to be destructive ends.

The all-by-itself-condemning feature of Ottenism, Marty said, was its anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Christian News, the current name of Ottens newspaper, has been on the radar of the Anti-Defamation League for decades.

I feel confident in saying that Herman Otten was an unrepentant anti-Semite and Holocaust denier until the end of his life, and his beliefs are prevalent in Christian News, both in his own writings and in the works of other authors he reprinted, Aryeh Tuchman, associate director of the leagues Center on Extremism, said Friday by email.

He said recent content supported his comment, including a March 25 reprint in Christian News of Charles E. Carlson, which claimed that Israeli Zionists were among those responsible for the terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
ST. LOUIS  Last year, the citys top prosecutor hand-picked a former FBI agent to investigate the loftiest of targets: a Missouri governor.

That investigator, William Don Tisaby, interviewed the woman whose accusations of sexual misconduct and blackmail led to Gov. Eric Greitens downfall.

But the transcript of a six-hour deposition recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch reveals deep questions about Tisabys work. Under examination by Greitens defense team, Tisaby changed his testimony numerous times, stumbled over basic questions and seemed confused about major pieces of evidence.

Tisabys conduct now leaves Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office under investigation by a special prosecutor and a grand jury. It puts her law license and her political future at risk.

What happened during the Tisaby deposition is absolutely critical for the grand jury to see, the special prosecutor, Gerard Jerry Carmody, told a judge on Monday.

Greitens lawyers have long claimed that Tisaby lied in that March 2018 deposition, covering up inconsistencies in witness statements and crippling Greitens defense. Two months later, charges were dropped and Greitens resigned.

Greitens lawyers have said that Tisaby committed perjury and that Gardner allowed him to do it. Worse, they said, she encouraged it by asking Tisaby questions that elicited answers she knew were false.

The governors lawyers filed an ethical complaint against Gardner with the agency that investigates and disciplines lawyers. They also filed a complaint with police that led to the special prosecutors investigation.

Tisaby did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer said his client would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called by the special prosecutor to testify.

Gardner has called the investigation a fishing expedition and shameful overreach. She and her staff have repeatedly denied the perjury claims in court and in court filings. A spokeswoman did not make Gardner available to discuss the Tisaby deposition, citing a judges gag order that prevents lawyers on both sides from discussing the investigation.

Gardners supporters have called for the removal of the judge and special prosecutor in the grand jury probe, calling it a racist and sexist witch hunt meant to destroy the citys first elected black circuit attorney.

Its the intent of the special prosecutor to produce something similar to the (Robert) Mueller report that will do as much damage as possible to the credibility of the Circuit Attorneys Office and the circuit attorney herself, said Adolphus Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP. I firmly believe that all of this is retribution for the circuit attorneys unwillingness to turn her back on the Greitens investigation.

This spring, black religious leaders held several rallies to support Gardner. At one in March, Gardner said, No matter how much disdain they have for me, I refuse to kneel down and kiss the ring of the good ol boy system.

No questions, no notes

In January 2018, the same day Greitens gave his second State of the State address, news broke that he had an affair with his hairdresser as he was preparing to run for office. The womans ex-husband claimed Greitens threatened to release a nude or semi-nude photo of her if she exposed their affair. Greitens denied that.

Gardner began an investigation that month. On Jan. 18, Gardner hired Tisaby. On Jan. 24, Gardner interviewed Greitens accuser without Tisaby. Five days later, Tisaby interviewed the woman, with Gardner present. In February, a grand jury indicted Greitens.

One month later, Greitens defense team deposed Tisaby, seeking to attack his investigation. Gardner, who was present at the deposition, frequently interrupted to head off questions about Tisabys investigation of matters unrelated to the invasion of privacy charge. The defense team deposed Tisaby again in April, but he refused to answer questions.

During jury selection for Greitens trial, defense lawyers sought to question Gardner. That same day, Gardner dismissed the invasion of privacy charge against Greitens.

Greitens lawyers then went to police to ask for a perjury investigation, and St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Mullen granted the police departments request for a special prosecutor. Mullen picked Carmody to lead the investigation in June. A grand jury was convened six months ago.

At the heart of the investigation is whether Tisaby deliberately lied during his deposition. Defense lawyer Jim Martin repeatedly asked Tisaby whether hed taken notes during the two interviews at issue. Tisaby said he didnt and also claimed he asked no questions  he wanted her to tell the story  and had no advance knowledge of Greitens accusers claims, because he wanted to conduct an independent review.

Tisaby told Martin in the deposition that during his FBI career, he never took notes and committed the details, including direct quotes in the Greitens case, to memory. He said he was able to recall nearly every detail of the interview weeks or months later.

I have no handwritten notes for the interview itself, he told Martin.

Changing answers and confusion

Martin repeatedly challenged Tisabys answers. He asked Tisaby if he was embarrassed with the number of omissions defense lawyers had identified in his report.

As best  as best as I can recall Im not embarrassed, Tisaby responded. Thats as best as I can recall  .

Tisabys deposition also reveals inconsistencies in the writing of his report: Tisaby first said he started typing the report on his laptop. Then he said he didnt have the laptop with him when he wrote the report.

I might have at the time as I think back, Tisaby replied to Martins inquiries.

Do  do you see that youre changing your story again, Mr. Tisaby? Martin asked.

Tisaby told defense attorneys he went back to his hotel room at a lunch break during the deposition to check his laptop for notes. Later, he later admitted that he didnt bring it with him to St. Louis and had his wife check their home computer instead.

Tisaby stumbled repeatedly when asked if Gardner had told him that defense lawyers filed a motion seeking all his notes and reports from the case, saying late in the deposition that he missed telling defense lawyers that he and Gardner had discussed it.

You missed a lot of things during this deposition, didnt you? Martin asked.

Yeah, Tisaby replied. And we can come back and talk about them again now  now that I recall and I can gather my facts again.

A video surfaces

Gardner and Tisaby recorded their interview with Greitens accuser. But Tisaby told the defense in the deposition that the video camera hadnt worked.

Gardners office later turned over a copy of that video. Not only did it show Tisaby taking notes, but it also revealed an outline Gardner had prepared for Tisaby, defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum said. The outline hadnt been mentioned by Tisaby or Gardner previously and hadnt been turned over to defense attorneys.

A transcript of the interview shows Tisaby repeatedly asking the woman questions.

Moreover, Rosenblum said, Tisaby left out details from the interview that would have helped Greitens defense, including the womans belief that Greitens had feelings for her; their continued relationship after she said Greitens took the explicit photo; and her ex-husbands attempt to out Greitens alleged actions.

During Tisabys deposition, Gardner for whatever reason, chooses not to say anything, Rosenblum said. She could have stopped the deposition and counseled Tisaby or revealed the errors, Rosenblum said.

Martin told St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison during one pre-trial hearing, We have a multitude of lies, straight-out perjury, lies under oath by Mr. Tisaby. After the lawyers allegations, Burlison cautioned Gardner that he considered her answers to the defense allegations to be under oath and told her that she had a right to an attorney.

Gardner later admitted that Tisaby was wrong when he testified that he took no notes but said his error, along with defense claims of perjury and withholding evidence, failed to undermine the case. She also said she hadnt seen Tisaby taking notes.

Gardners chief trial assistant at the time, Robert Dierker, said in a court filing that Tisaby testified untruthfully, but agreed with Gardner that it didnt matter.

Perjury prosecutions rare

Gardners office now faces an aggressive grand jury investigation into Tisabys actions.

Still, prosecution of perjury during a deposition is rare, legal experts say. Several lawyers and judges contacted by the Post-Dispatch could not recall any similar cases.

For the most part, that never gets reported to anyone, Peter Joy, a professor at the Washington University School of Law, said of lies told during depositions. A lie in a civil case more likely would be used to impeach that lying witness at trial.

In criminal cases, its often a defense lawyer deposing a witness for the prosecution team, Joy said. Even if a lawyer thinks they caught a witness lying, there is typically little interest by the government to pursue perjury charges.

Moreover, false testimony is not perjury without someone having the intent to deceive, Joy said. And when it comes to someones faulty memory? Thats an absolute defense, he said.

The lie also has to be material, he said, meaning that it could influence the outcome of a case.

Lying about your age would not necessarily be important to a case, for example, unless it was a sex case that turned on the age of the victim, Joy said.

Gardner remains locked in a bitter fight with the special prosecutor, her political future on the line.

On Monday, a judge ordered Gardner to comply with a search warrant, and police seized a computer server from her office. The special prosecutor believes the truth of his investigation may be found there.

But he may only have this week to make his case. The grand jurys term ends on Thursday.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Robert Patrick Robert Patrick is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Robert Patrick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
May 10, 2016  The St. Louis County Port Authority awards Rallo a sham $100,000 marketing contract to promote the region in the wake of the Ferguson unrest. A month later, Sweeney tacks on $30,000 without board approval in order to pay off political operative John Cross, a close associate of Rep. William Lacy Clay, for his work on Stengers 2014 election. The Post-Dispatch reports on the contract in February 2018.

June 21, 2016  St. Louis County Council introduces legislation to move several county offices to Northwest Plaza, which the Stenger administration says will save $10 million over the term of the 20-year lease. It is one of the first deals to raise eyebrows about Stengers relationship with his donors and one of the biggest in his tenure. The owners of Northwest Plaza, Robert and David Glarner, have given at least $365,000 to Stengers campaign account. A Post-Dispatch investigation in February 2018 shows that the lease deal could end up costing money, and council members say they were misled about the deal.
(A police department spokeswoman later clarified that the year-to-date homicide rate is down 22 percent in 2019, not overall crime.)

Hayden said the city would have ended 2018 with nearly 30 fewer homicides than the previous year except for a two-day burst of violence that saw 11 people killed.

Last year, we went 363 days with 29 fewer homicides but for two days; one in which there were six homicides within a 24-hour period and another when there were five, Hayden noted.At the same time, he said, crime incidents of one day can affect peoples perception, so we cant let our guard down for the rest of the year.

Hayden noted that Chicago, a city with a land area thats about 3 times the size of St. Louis, has 30,000 cameras monitoring its streets that police can use. By comparison, St. Louis has fewer than 1,000.

Nobody knowingly buys or sells drugs on camera, he said. It would be great if we could have a high visibility camera and an LPR (license plate reader) at every major intersection. But people dont want the police to have cameras. Everyone has a camera on their doorbells, but dont want the police to have them.
DR. SAM PAGE

Age: 53

Family: Married to Dr. Jennifer Page; three children

Medical degree: University of Missouri-Kansas City

Medical experience: Past President of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists and the Missouri Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

Political career: City councilman, Creve Coeur, 1999-2002; Missouri House of Representatives 2003-08; Elected to St. Louis County Council in August 2014 after death of Kathleen Kelly Burkett. Served as chairman, 2017-2019.

Of interest: Served as the Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 499, and currently is a Merit Badge Counselor for Citizenship in the Community for the Greater St. Louis Areas Boy Scouts.
Mayor Rick Eberlin of Grafton, Ill., said he was surprised by the speed of the flooding.

Were seeing some things weve not seen before. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we witnessed a three-foot raise. I had a gentleman come into City Hall  85 years old  hes been through it all. He shook his head, he said, Mayor, Ive never seen anything like whats going to happen today.

And it happened. Kind of caught us off guard. As a matter of fact, the prediction graph was a couple days out. We thought we had more time to vacate the businesses along the river side of Main Street.

Eberlin said most of the roads to Grafton are now closed, with the only accessibility from the north, from Route 3.

Mayor Phil Stang of Kimmswick, which is on the Mississippi near the confluence with the Meramec River, said the town is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water.

On Friday morning, trucks carrying clay, rock and sand were rumbling past his home.

We've closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub, Stang said.
In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993 (Source: VNA)

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3rd./.
(CNN) -- Mount Everest is covered in trash.

Decades of climbing on the world's highest mountain have turned it into a very tall garbage dump, strewn with rubbish, human waste and even bodies.

But a dedicated -- and impressively fit -- team of volunteers are tackling the problem by carrying out one of the world's most ambitious clean-ups, and it's seeing immediate results.

Three metric tons (6,613 pounds) of garbage have been collected from the mountain in just the first two weeks of the scheme, according to AFP. That's about the weight of two SUVs, or a large male hippo.

The task is being carried out by a 14-member team, which has been set the task of recovering 10 metric tons within 45 days, the agency reported.

Waste recovered on the Everest Cleaning Campaign includes empty cans, bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear. An army helicopter has assisted in removing the garbage, and the team is set to ascend to higher camps to collect more.

Four bodies have also been located on the 8,848-meter (29,028 feet) mountain, officials said.
Innovation holds the promise of improving our lives in many respects and has been a defining feature of St. Louis for generations. This characteristic remains just as strong today as the city stands as a model for transforming from an older, industrial city into one driven by a new tech economy and a demonstrated openness to innovation.

It is this history of innovation that has led a national organization that advocates for autonomous vehicles as a way of reducing U.S. oil dependence to select St. Louis to launch an important national discussion on how this new technology might impact communities in the Midwest.

For generations, American prosperity relied on the industrial foundations of our nations heartland. Embracing cutting-edge technology, the Midwest powered growth on the domestic front and exported products worldwide. Yet, in the absence of competition, some of the very companies that led St. Louis growth in the last century ceased to innovate or increase productivity  and are no longer growth engines for our region.
Missouri Senate Bill 293 is an unnecessary proposal to further criminalize nonviolent civil disobedience at facilities deemed critical infrastructure. Under the proposal, a person could be charged with a Class C felony for applying graffiti to a telephone pole, egging an above-ground pipeline, or putting a sticker on a water intake facility  offenses that could carry up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The increased penalties apply to critical infrastructure that is operational or under construction.

The bill also establishes conspiracy charges for organizations that assist individuals in nonviolent civil disobedience. If enacted, an organization could be fined 10 times the amount charged to someone found guilty under this law. An organization like Missouri Coalition for the Environment could organize a legal protest where a person engages in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Even if the coalition did not know this act would occur, that may not stop a business or prosecutor from filing conspiracy charges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dave Brady

Title: VP of Sales

Phone: 937.415.1715

Date: May 1, 2019

ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS HONORS DAYTON FREIGHT AS A PLATINUM AWARD WINNER

DAYTON, Ohio  Dayton Freight Lines, Inc., a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, was recently honored with the Regional LTL Carrier Platinum Award from Echo Global Logistics, Inc.

This is the second consecutive year Dayton Freight has received this award which honors superior performance in on-time service, claims ratio, and customer service metrics such as communication and technology. Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Echo offers freight brokerage and managed transportation solutions for all major modes.
Sam Meech's ambition at the start of each regatta is to put himself in contention to finish on the podium going into the medal race and invariably he achieves that which is why he's the world's top-ranked Laser sailor.

The 28-year-old will once again race for a medal tonight (NZ time) and goes into the top 10 medal race at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres in second.

He can't win gold, with Australia's Matthew Wearn having established an unassailable 23-point lead over Meech, but the New Zealander has a handy five-point buffer over another Australian, Luke Elliott, in third. Olympic champion Tom Burton (yes, he's Australian, too) is another five points back in fourth.

Two other Kiwis will be in the medal race, with George Gautrey presently in ninth and Tom Saunders 10th to round out a good week for the New Zealand Laser squad.

The fifth day of racing saw plenty of action as winds in excess of 20 knots hit the coast off Hyeres which tested the sailors, especially as the Laser fleet got in three races. Meech banked scores of second, second and third to move up from fourth overall at the start of the day.

"It was good, fun racing," Meech said. "It was pretty exciting [in the strong winds] and there were definitely times when we were holding on downwind with a very short chop.

"I was in the top three in all of the races, so that was quite nice. Unfortunately, Matt Wearn was going really fast and it kind of sucks so he ended up winning the last two races fairly convincingly. By the last race I was really just hanging off the side of the boat trying to get around the course. The body is pretty tired now."

Medal races are much shorter and sharper than regular racing and feature only the top 10 sailors in a double points format.

No New Zealanders will feature in the Laser Radial medal race but Olivia Christie and Annabelle Rennie-Younger are showing good progress early in the new Radial programme.

The pair competed in both Palma and Genoa before Hyeres and will round out this block by competing at the Laser European championships in Portugal.

Laser Radial coach Rosie Chapman has been encouraged by the development of the youngsters.

"It has been great to see their progression," Chapman said. "There is a really good team ethic between them and they are working really hard.

"They are focusing on process goals and really going into every day with a goal they are trying to achieve on the water and this is really showing with some promising results. Both of them are regularly placing inside the top 10, top 15 in races, so not only are the results improving but, most importantly, they are improving all round."

Christie was 12th in two of her three races overnight to finish the regatta in 16th overall and Rennie-Younger achieved her third top-10 result of the event to finish 23rd.

Results and standings after the fifth day of the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres:

Laser (69 boats)

1st: Matthew Wearn (AUS) (7) 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 - 14 points

2nd: Sam Meech (NZL) 1 1 9 3 2 1 (13) 13 2 2 3 - 37 pts

3rd: Luke Elliott (AUS) 3 8 3 1 1 2 1 6 4 13 (17) - 42 pts

9th: George Gautrey (NZL) (22) 3 10 2 4 3 9 9 9 18 12 - 79 pts

10th: Tom Saunders (NZL) 21 2 11 6 12 5 3 11 (36 UFD) 6 5 - 82 pts

24th: Josh Armit (NZL) 19 18 4 16 9 7 24 27 10 (29) 25 - 159 pts

Silver fleet

60th: Luke Deegan (NZL) 26 30 28 25 30 24 21 16 (35 UFD) 12 - 212 pts

Laser Radial (50 boats)

1st: Maria Erdi (HUN) 1 4 (11) 5 5 1 8 (15) 2 1 4 - 42 pts

2nd: Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) 17 6 1 1 1 3 (19) 7 5 5 5 - 51 pts

3rd: Emma Plasschaert (BEL) 5 22 (26) 2 4 4 22 6 1 2 2 - 70 pts

16th: Olivia Christie (NZL) 31 11 21 9 12 37 (45) 28 12 12 17 - 190 pts
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Waihi Gold Mine operator, OceanaGold, has expressed extreme disappointment at the decision by the Minister of Land Information to not allow the company to purchase two farms on the outskirts of Waihi.

Waihis Senior Community Advisor, Kit Wilson, said the company had only just received notification at the same time the media release went out.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Eugenie Sage, Minister of Land Information, announced on May 3 that Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Ltds application under the Overseas Investment Act to purchase 178 ha of rural land for a new tailings reservoir near Waihi in Coromandel has been declined.

The minister and Associate Finance Minister David Clark considered the application and formed different views as to whether the substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand test in the Act was met.

The Overseas Investment Act determines that when Ministers form different views on an application it is declined.

Minister Sage does not believe using productive rural farmland to establish a long term tailings reservoir of mining waste creates substantial and identifiable benefits.

Associate Minister Clark believes that the proposed investment is likely to create substantial and identifiable benefits.

We are disappointed by what we have heard but have not had the opportunity to read the decision in full. We will review the decision and consider our next steps, says Kit.

The purchase of these properties would allow us to plan for the future and extend our investment in Waihi beyond the current life of the mine and our significant economic contribution locally, in the Hauraki region and nationally.

We operate in New Zealand in a responsible way and in line with community expectations and believe we have done that for thirty years at the Waihi, Reefton, and Macraes gold mines.

Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki welcomes the decision by Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage to decline an application by Oceana Gold to purchase an area of rural land for a new tailings dam.

"We agree with Minister Sage that there are far better uses for our productive land than to be used as a dump for toxic waste," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "The existing dam was built on productive farmland, that's more than enough area dedicated to storing this toxic sludge."

Coromandel Watchdog has always argued that one of the most negative elements of industrial gold mining is the toxic legacy left, including the vast stores of toxic waste from the extraction process.

"Many of the most toxic sites in Aotearoa have been mining tailings dams that have been abandoned or failed, says Augusta. This is not the sort of legacy that we should be leaving future generations, and it is not the sort of this we should be allowing multinational companies to create and then leave in our country.

The Waihi area also sits on a significant fault and the ongoing storage of toxic tailings in the area is of real concern from that perspective also.

"Another reason not to allow such a purchase for this purpose, the risks far outweigh the benefit."

OceanaGold Corporation is a multinational gold producer with operations in New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. OceanaGold has been operating in New Zealand for 29 years with mining operations at Waihi in the North Island and New Zealands largest gold-producing operation, Macraes, in the South Island. The company is also rehabilitating the former Globe Progress Mine at Reefton. The company say they account for around 1 per cent of the countrys exports, with gold in the top three exports to Australia.

OceanaGolds assets also include the Didipio Operation on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, the Haile Gold Mine, in South Carolina in the United States and a significant pipeline of organic growth and exploration opportunities in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2019, the Company expects to produce between 500,000 to 550,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper at All-In Sustaining Costs ranging between US$850 and US$900 per ounce sold.

On Friday the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved a separate application from Oceana Golds application to buy four residential properties in central Waihi. The residential land is being acquired for purposes incidental to mining activities.

Oceana Gold is considered to be a significant employer in the Waihi region and has undertaken a number of previous investments that are of benefit to New Zealand.

The OIO is satisfied that the investment is likely to benefit NZ.

Further information about this will be published next week. The OIO has proactively released information about the decision on the LINZ website.
Doreen McNeill opened her latest exhibition called XCbition on the same day as her 90th birthday.

Artists, friends and family turned out to wish Doreen a big happy birthday, with her cake decorated in a truly abstract style. The exhibition launch and party, held at The Incubator Gallery, was abuzz with music and conversation as people enjoyed the atmosphere.

After speeches and the cake cutting, the curtains were pulled back to reveal Doreens works hanging on walls. An excited rush of people quickly moved to apply red dots, signifying a sold painting.

The Roman numerals XC are for 90, so XCbition is a play on exhibition and highlights her 90th year  a rather clever combination of letters and numbers.

Im having a lovely day, says Doreen. Its lovely having so many friends here, all the artist friends from the art community of Tauranga.

With the collection of new works, she hasnt painted to any particular theme.

I was just painting, says Dorren. I love painting. Ive just been enjoying myself. I dont feel like doing any housework, I just paint and let them accumulate. I dont paint to any theme or end result, I just wait until I have a collection then put them together.

At the opening of the exhibition Doreen had about ten original works hanging, and about 20 unframed works on paper for people to cash and carry.

Doreen has been painting seriously for about 30 years.

She started her artist career draughting navigational charts for aircraft in the 1950s, which included time spent in Venezuela, the USA, Canada and Australia.

She lived in Bermuda from 1961-64 working as a surveyors assistant, and then from 1965-84 in the Bahamas doing architectural draughting. This is where she began to take painting seriously.

Her paintings have been exhibited in Hong Kong, where five works were selected to hang in the VIP Lounge of Cathay Pacfic; Taiwan, and in many exhibitions and collections in NZ.

Her friend and artist Jimi Colzato has filmed a documentary about her work titled Beyond Boundaries  a meeting with Doreen McNeill. This can be viewed on her website https://www.doreenmcneill.co.nz/documentry

The XCbition exhibition runs at The Incubator Gallery at the Tauranga Historic Village until May 15.
Fish & Game says theres been a healthy start to the new game bird hunting season, with the rosiest reports so far from the South Island.

Thousands of the more than 40,000 people licensed to hunt birds like mallards and paradise shelduck turned out early this morning for the start of the season.

On the West Coast, hunting conditions were ideal with low cloud, a moderate breeze and rain holding off, says Fish & Game Officer Baylee Kersten.

"Hunters had good success with the experienced getting close to their bag limits and novice hunters managing to bag a few."

Mr Kersten says hunters bag were very diversified with plenty of paradise shelduck harvested alongside greylards (hybrids from mallards and grey ducks), and the occasional shoveler and swan.

No compliance issues were detected by rangers on duty, he says.

Fish & Game officers in mid Canterbury say there were lots of birds around along with plenty of hunters in the fine clear conditions.

Up north, in Taranaki hunters spoken to had been happy with their morning although the number of mallards harvested had not been large.

However in the north of the region hunters on maize paddocks had done quite well with paradise shelduck, says Fish & Game Officer Allen Stancliff.

A Fish & Game spokesman says SAFE claims about the number of birds left injured are completely false, "fake news in the extreme."

"Most hunters use dogs to recover birds and wounding rates are low in New Zealand," he says.

"It is pleasing that so far there have been no reports of any firearm incidents and "we hope that things stay this way - it appears at this stage at least, that hunters have taken safety messages to heart."
Any move to rationalise port ownership in the Upper North Island is not likely to be welcomed by business says the EMA.

EMA Chief Executive Brett ORiley says suggestions coming out of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy that perhaps the three main ports Auckland, Tauranga and Northland could be rationalise their ownership to create a monopoly in the region are misguided.

Our members like the competitive tension between the ports and benefit from it, says Brett.

For some reason we seem to like creating monopolies in New Zealand when the best result for customers usually results from at least three competitive players in a market  look at the telcos.

The EMA is the largest business membership organisation in New Zealand and its base covers the region from Taupo to the Far North. Both major ports are members of the EMA.

Brett acknowledged that the issues around moving large volumes of empty containers created by the imbalance between imports and exports at the two main ports were a concern.

"But the ports and the freight distribution sector in general are already working on ways to minimise this issue. Collaboration between the ports and the freight sector, including coastal shipping, is the likely answer here, not forced amalgamation of ownership, says Brett.

Those distribution issues are exacerbated by the lack of investment in road and rail infrastructure, particularly around access to the Auckland and Tauranga ports."

As the report notes lack of infrastructure investment also hampers the case for greater volumes of freight or a dedicated car import hub at Northport.

"There is a strong political push to invest massively in rail from Northport to South Auckland to address this lack of infrastructure but we have to be very careful to ensure there is a strong business case to support this massive investment - especially when there is already a four-lane highway that goes almost half-way to Northport.

"Perhaps that is something the about to be formed National Infrastructure Commission could investigate before committing to massive investment in either or both the road and rail options."

Port of Tauranga has responded to the interim progress report on the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy released.

The Chief Executive of New Zealands largest port (handling 43 per cent of New Zealands total export volumes), Mark Cairns, says the progress report raised a number of themes and issues in the port industry and New Zealand freight network.

The progress report identifies well-known issues such as the need for increased investment in road and rail networks and the historic financial under-performance and inconsistent reporting by some ports, he says.

We challenge some of the facts, assumptions and implications in the interim report, and were hopeful these will be addressed before the next report due in June. For example, the report states that the Bay of Plenty and Waikato have benefitted from rail infrastructure and investment provided by the Government at no capital cost to the end user. This ignores the $267 million in rail costs paid by Port of Tauranga since 2010.

We look forward to hosting the working group on their first visit to Port of Tauranga in the coming months, says Mark.
ONONDAGA NATION -- Two people were taken into custody Saturday after a car linked to an armed robbery at the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop was stopped on Interstate 81.

The robbery at the 3951 Route 11 store was reported at 7:44 a.m.

Two masked men dressed in dark clothing walked into the smoke shop and threatened an employee, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman. The robbers -- one of whom was armed with a handgun -- demanded money from the stores safe, he said.

After stealing cash, the men climbed into a white Volkswagen and fled south on Route 11, Seeber said.

The amount of money stolen was not disclosed. No one was hurt.

Deputies and New York State Police troopers found the Volkswagen on Interstate 81 south near the LaFayette weigh station, Seeber said.

Two people were taken into custody. Their names have not been released.

This is still an active investigation, Seeber said.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Veteran Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury he suffered in spring training, will cap off his recovery with a short stay in Syracuse.

Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco confirmed that Lowrie, 35, will be in the lineup at least Saturday and Sunday when the Mets host Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at NBT Bank Stadium. Lowrie has played 1,109 with Boston, Houston and Oakland. New York signed Lowrie as a free agent in the off-season.

DeFrancesco managed Lowrie with the Astros in 2012.

"(Hes a) professional hitter. (Can) play all over the infield, a switch-hitter. Had some great numbers over the last couple of years. A great addition to the Mets. Once he gets healthy I think hell definitely lengthen out their lineup,'' DeFrancesco said.
Students of John C. Birdlebough High School in Phoenix celebrated at their junior-senior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Embassy Suites by Hilton on Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

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Students of Nottingham High School in Syracuse celebrated at their junior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

More prom photos

See all photo galleries from proms, senior balls, and other formals around Central New York.

Want to buy a photo?

As youre browsing the gallery, look for the BUY IMAGE link to order high-quality reprints and other products.
This week, the news broke that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been identified as the source of a leak from the National Security Council, and had been fired from the government.

The BBC reported on Theresa Mays decision to axe her Defense Secretary of 18 months having found compelling evidence suggesting [his] responsibility for the unauthorized disclosure. Subsequent to his sacking, and facing calls for a full inquiry into what happened, the Prime Ministers de facto deputy, David Lidington, has said the PM considered the matter closed.

But this matter is far from closed.

Mr Williamson denies that he leaked anything, and said in his response letter to the PM, I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position. He continued, I have always trusted my civil servants, military advisers and staff. I believe the assurances they have given me.

This is a situation that needs some close examination. The first thing to note is the difference between the accusation and the defense. May says there is compelling evidence suggesting Williamson did it. Williamson says hes confident neither he nor his staff did it. Why is Williamson mentioning his staff, when May does not?

Then theres also Mays use of the word suggesting Williamson was responsible. She was not so bold as to say she had definitive proof, and so this is not a move based on facts beyond reasonable doubt. Now, it would be incorrect to say that removing someone from Government should require the same standard of proof that a court would need, but its interesting nonetheless.

But this situation is far bigger than a single leaked sentence from a National Security Council (NSC) meeting. This situation is part of an extraordinary series of events that show a deeply concerning pattern of behavior from the British government, as they seek to court favor from the totalitarian and authoritarian Chinese regime.

Gavin Williamson

Mr Williamson has been an MP since 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Defense since November 2017. His voting record is largely in line with the Tory party as a whole. Heres an outline of his voting record to give you a sense of who Gavin Williamson is:

He has almost always voted against equality, human rights, and particularly gay rights. Hes against the right-to-die movement. He voted against investigations into the Iraq War. He voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in the UK. He voted consistently for more bombing of ISIS. Hes voted for the bedroom tax, for reduced welfare and disability benefits. Hes voted for increasing taxes on alcohol, not taxing bankers bonuses, restricting trade union activity and increasing university tuition fees.

This piece is not really about Williamson or an attempt to exonerate him. I have no idea whether or not Williamson was the source of the leak. This is about the UK Government cosying up to a despotic regime, ignoring security services across the Western world and prioritising its relationship with China above national security. Its a grim irony that its a leak from the NSC that confirms all this.

Alarm bells ringing

What should tell you that something fishy has happened is the fact that Williamson was just dismissed. If he shared information from the NSC, he has breached the Official Secrets Act, which is a criminal offense. If he didnt do it, he should keep his job.

Put another way, either hes committed a very serious crime and losing his job isnt enough, or hes innocent and should have the chance to clear his name. Firing him and saying thats the end of it isnt enough in either case.

What seems instead to be the case is that the Prime Minister doesnt like Gavin Williamson. In her letter she states that the other NSC attendees have all answered questions, engaged properly, provided as much information as possible to assist with the investigation, and encouraged their staff to do the same. Your conduct has not been of the same standard as others. (emphasis my own).

If this sounds vaguely sinister its because it is. Im reminded of the enforced clapping culture of North Korea, and the news that shortly after ascending to power, Kim Jong-Un had his uncle assassinated in order to shore up his own position. Strong and stable May has certainly looked in recent months like shes in need of some shoring up, and a move to rid herself of a half-hearted cheerleader may well simply be theatrics to show shes a tough leader.

We had a Defense Secretary who had never really broken ranks, who was well liked by the armed forces, who vehemently denied being the source of the leak and backed his whole team (unprompted), but didnt throw his heart into the investigation with the fervor required  and so has gotten the chop.

The leaked information and why it matters

The thing is, this whole Williamson sham is distracting the country from the much more important point. Lets remember what was actually leaked. The leak all-but confirmed that Huawei will play an integral role in providing telecommunications infrastructure for the U.K., most notably in delivering new 5G networks. According to the BBC, a decision on this matter was due at the end of spring.

Our 5G network will be a big deal. Smartphones have become ubiquitous. For the vast majority of people, their smartphone is hardly ever out of arms reach and is always connected, whether by Wi-Fi or 4G. These networks are powerful. Your 4G connection sends and receives data at incredible speed  every call, text, web visit, app download, everything is handled by encoded data being sent back and forth between your phone and your network provider. But more than that, using methods like triangulation from phone masts, your wireless carrier can track your location even when your GPS is turned off. 5G will be even more capable than current 4G infrastructure, and is therefore an even greater risk.

This leak and the confirmation of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G infrastructure are therefore big news, and for two main reasons. First, the decision flies in the face of advise from allied governments across the Western world, including the US which is lobbying the world to ditch the Chinese phone-maker from any upcoming infrastructure projects. Given President Trumps current schlong-off with China and the trade war/vanity project hes implemented, you may take that with a grain of salt. But its not just the US that is against Huaweis involvement. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Australia and more  the list of countries banning the companys involvement in projects is ever growing.

But secondly, and more importantly, its the latest confirmatory piece of evidence that shows just how far the UK is willing to go to cosy up to China.

China has been a major investor in the UK for the last decade. Did you know, for instance, that Heathrow, Thames Water, Harvey Nichols, Pizza Express, Hamleys, House of Fraser and even the National Grid  all ostensibly British operations  are owned or part-owned by Chinese investors?

China between 2005 and 2015 invested 30 billion into the UK. In 2017 it invested another 30 billion in a single year.

Former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne famously sought Chinese investment for just about everything going, and that trend has only continued under the present Conservative government.

Enough context, whats the problem

This all matters because the issue at hand is an actual issue of national security. Many of Britains allies have raised concerns that Huawei is, behind the scenes, putting countries at risk of spying and sabotage. The allegation is that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government. Huawei denies this, but realistically in China everything is controlled by the government.

Lets not lose focus on what China is. China is the nation of the ill-fated Tiananmen Square protests. It has strict censorship on information with the Great Firewall of China. It has the largest network of facial recognition technology on the planet, and is using it to implement a social scoring system to automatically punish citizens for non-criminal offenses. Most egregiously, China currently has tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims held in internment  sorry, re-education  camps. People in China can go missing for referring to President Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh.

This is not normal. This is not the behavior of the kind of regime we want to be inviting to build crucial infrastructure in the UK, especially against the advice of allies like the US and Canada.

Cyber warfare, whether its direct hacking or more indirect tactics like election meddling, is commonplace in the modern world. Its the main form of antagonism between super powers in the modern era. So allowing a foreign power with a history of egregious human rights violations to build vital infrastructure is like handing over the keys to businesses and citizens data.

This is all information that the National Security Council of all entities will be very aware of. The public should be demanding answers over and above the veracity of the allegations against Gavin Williamson. We should be demanding a full and independent inquiry into the depths of the UK governments relationship with China. Are we allowing Huawei unfettered access to the UKs personal and commercially sensitive information so as to appease their government and continue to generate investment? Is this a reactionary panic move to try and keep foreign investment in the UK buoyant in the face of Brexits already damaging effects?

The public need answers. Sadly, this government seems less than willing to give them.
After decades of extensive research, scientists have finally discovered a way to observe neural electricity in an actual living creature.

Adam Cohen, professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics at Harvard, first author Dr. Yoav Adam, and their cross-disciplinary research team have managed to transform neural electrical signals into sparks visible through a microscope by shedding light on the brain.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday, May 1.

Busy Brain

According to scientists, observing a real live session of neural electricity is just like watching a live broadcast of the brain. Since neurons are responsible for every thought and sensation living creatures feel, they send and receive massive amounts of information, which is still mostly incomprehensible to scientists until recently.

Electrical signals can travel from cell to cell at up to 270 miles per hour. At that kind of speed, trying to see neural electricity inside a busy brain is just like trying to see the electricity inside a telephone wire, which no naked eye can achieve.

So for scientists to observe firsthand how neurons turn information into behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, they created a particular procedure for them to see.

Talented Protein

Cohen got the inspiration from another study made by the researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. In the study, the MIT researchers introduced the protein Archaerhodopsin 3 to a brain and caused it to light up using a special tool. The tool then converted the light into electricity.

Archaerhodopsin 3 and its host organism was discovered by an Israeli ecologist in an ecological survey in 1980s. The organism is able to convert sunlight into electrical energy in a primitive form of photosynthesis because of the protein.

After years of studying, Cohen and his team found a way to reverse the organism's trick and use the protein to convert the electrical activity of neurons into observable flashes of light.

Red And Blue Light

Cohen and his team were able to manipulate Archaerhodopsin 3 to turn voltage into light when illuminated by a red light. According to the study, in that way, the protein will act as an ultra-sensitive voltmeter that changes with an electric jolt.

The team then paired Archaerhodopsin 3 with a similar protein that sparks electrical impulses in the neurons when illuminated with blue light. According to Adam, that particular process is vital for recording and controlling the cells' activities.

The red light is responsible for recording, and the blue light is responsible for controlling. Although the paired proteins work well in a dish, it was a real challenge for Cohen and his team to make the process work inside a living brain.

Making A Little Movie

It was five years of intensive research and interdisciplinary collaboration between statisticians, physicists, biochemists, computer scientists, molecular biologists, and 24 neuroscientists before the whole team managed to perform the experiment successfully in the brain of a living mouse.

By tweaking the proteins to work in a mouse brain, positioning the proteins carefully with genetic manipulation, and making a new microscope with a video projector specific for the whole process, they were able to glean positive results.

"You basically make a little movie," says Cohen.

The study is just the first step of many, according to Cohen and his team.

"A mouse brain has 75 million cells in it. So depending on your perspective, we've either done a lot or we still have quite a long way to go," added Cohen. The rest of the team is working on improving their software and tools to record the process clearer and on a broader scope.

According to Adam, he's positive that further study could help them reach maximum results.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a landmark move, FDA announces their first approval of a dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, which is produced by French pharmaceutical Sanofi Pasteur.

Dengvaxia is the first dengue vaccine approved to prevent all the virus serotypes of the mosquito-borne virus.

While FDA has given the go signal for the use of Dengvaxia, the agency stressed in a news release that the vaccine should only be used on individuals aged 9 to 16 years who have previously had dengue infections and live in endemic areas.

The virus is endemic in the following United States territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dengvaxia Provides Protection Against Severe Dengue

The first infection of the dengue virus is typically harmless with no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. Subsequent infections could be much more serious, possibly leading to severe dengue, such as the potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Ninety-five percent of all severe or hospitalized cases of dengue are already a second infection.

According to Peter Marks, M.D., the director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, getting infected by one serotype of the dengue virus will give an individual immunity against that specific serotype. However, if an individual gets a subsequent infection by any of the remaining three virus serotypes, he or she is at increased risk of developing severe dengue disease.

"As the second infection with dengue is often much more severe than the first, the FDA's approval of this vaccine will help protect people previously infected with dengue virus from subsequent development of dengue disease," Marks continued.

Dengvaxia Effectivity, Controversy

Sanofi's vaccine has already been approved for use in 19 countries and the European Union.

Previous studies have determined the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, with researchers finding Dengvaxia is approximately 76 percent effective in preventing dengue disease in people 9 to 16 years old who have already previously contracted a first dengue disease.

However, the vaccine is not without controversy. In the Philippines, which is the first country to approve the vaccine back in 2016, Dengvaxia has also been banned over safety concerns.

FDA says that Dengvaxia acts like a first infection in people who have not been previously infected by any senotype of the virus. Thus, if people who have never been infected by any type of dengue are given the vaccine, a subsequent infection can lead to severe dengue disease.

About Dengue

CDC reveals that over one-third of the global population lives in areas vulnerable to the dengue virus with 400 million cases annually. The virus causes dengue fever, which is a leading cause of illness in populations living in the tropics and subtropics.

"Dengue disease is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world and global incidence has increased in recent decades," said Anna Abram, FDA deputy commissioner for policy, legislation, and international affairs. "While there is no cure for dengue disease, today's approval is an important step toward helping to reduce the impact of this virus in endemic regions of the United States."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung no doubt championed the curved display tend, and although there have been complaints about these screens being more prone to damage than their flat-screened siblings, the company might go all out and unveil an even more aggressively curved variant.

According to noted tech insider Ice Universe, Samsung will be using a curved display on its next phone that's far more curved than past Galaxy handsets.

"[E]specially in the second half of the year, you'll see a very superb curved design, a more aggressive curved display than Note7 will appear," Ice Universe tweeted. Apparently, other manufacturers might also release a handset with this type of screen, not just Samsung.

Curved Displays

The Galaxy Note 9, S9, and S9+ all have curved displays, but they're subtle and serve more to accentuate their extremely thin side bezels. Years ago, curved screens wowed many consumers, but nowadays that initial luster is gone, replaced with frustration over these displays not lending particularly well to screen protectors or cases.

Given that, it's interesting to see what Samsung will do with the Galaxy Note 10. Perhaps that device's curved factor will have more going for it instead of just aesthetic value. If it's going to make the display more curved, hopefully Samsung has a clearer idea of how to enrich the user experience. When it first launched the Galaxy Note Edge, the phone was entirely different from anything else on the market, but excitement over curved screens has largely waned in favor of more straightforward bezel-less designs.

Centered Selfie Camera

Apart from a more aggressively curved display, the Galaxy Note 10 will apparently rock a centered selfie shooter. That's also courtesy of Ice Universe, who tweeted somewhat cryptically last month that "Da Vinci is symmetrical." The Galaxy Note 10 is codenamed Da Vinci. His tweet could be hinting that the phone will get a symmetrical design, which would mean the selfie camera being at the center, unlike the Galaxy S10 lineup's design.

Consider everything mentioned above as still rumors, though, so take them with a grain of salt. One thing is confirmed, at least  Verizon said Samsung will launch a 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 this year. The carrier failed to share any more details beyond that. Samsung is expected to launch two different Galaxy Note 10 models, including a smaller variant. Recent rumors also suggest that each version will be 5G-capable.

As always, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more. If you have any thoughts, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cocaine and other illegal drugs and even banned pesticides were found in shrimps in British waterways, according to a study.

Cocaine-laced Shrimps

Freshwater shrimps across 15 sites in the Suffolk River were found contaminated with various micropollutants such as cocaine, recreational drug ketamine, banned pesticide fenuron, and other chemicals. This is a cause for concern as these pollutants may pose risks to wildlife in rivers.

Even the researchers from King's College London and the University of Suffolk were astonished at the occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife in a rural county.

"We might expect to see these in urban areas such as London, but not in smaller and more rural catchments," said Leon Barron, a forensic science lecturer at King's College London and the study's coauthor.

A hundred percent of the Gammarus pulex shrimp samples tested positive for the presence of cocaine. The samples came from the Alde, Box, Deben, Gipping, and Waveney rivers.

Impacts Of Invisible Pollution

A total of 107 compounds of contaminant classes were found in the shrimps. Out of this, 67 compounds belong to pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs, and drugs of abuse while 56 compounds were detected with traces of cocaine and lidocaine. In addition, some banned pesticides also were present in the samples.

The concentration of the said substances are low and the potential effects on creatures were also likely minimal.

"Environmental health has attracted much attention from the public due to challenges associated with climate change and microplastic pollution," said Professor Nic Bury from the University of Suffolk.

The researchers said that the impact of "invisible" chemical pollution, such as drugs, on wildlife health needs further probing in the UK because studies such as these can often inform and influence the crafting of policies.

Water contamination is a rising problem as residue from insecticides, and recreational drugs are finding their way into rivers and water system. As to how the pollutants reached the bodies of water, still, remain unclear.

Water Pollution Affecting River Health

River health is said to be one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises. In 2017, at least 55 percent of the rivers in the UK are polluted by sewage or wastewater. There are more than 18,000 sewer overflows across England and Wales. Out of these, an estimated 90 percent discharge raw sewage or wastewater mixed with rainwater directly into the rivers.

Other river pollutants include wastes from agricultural pollution, oil pollution, loss from storage facilities, and spillage during delivery and deliberate disposal of waste oil to drainage systems. Radioactive substance is also polluting rivers. River dumping and marine dumping are also significant causes of water pollution.

The study is published in the journal Environment International.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google will hold its I/O Conference next week, May 7, where it is expected to make a few announcements, one of which are the two Pixel 3a smartphones: the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL.

While avid fans are excited about the alleged midrange price tags, nothing has been made official just yet.

However, a tipster may have just spotted the first units of the Pixel 3a XL in a Best Buy store. According to reports, the man was passing by a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio when he came across the packaged smartphone.

Just Waiting For It To Be Official

While the Pixel 3a XL was enclosed in a glass, it was left out there in the open for everyone to see. The two rumored color variations were both confirmed: one comes with a purplish tint while the other is the standard black.

Looking at close-up pictures of the merchandise, some of the earlier leaked specifications have been somewhat proven to be true. The Pixel 3a XL has a 6-inch screen and 64GB of internal memory. Other leaks say it will pack a 2,220 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 710 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and the famed Pixel Visual Core cameras.

On the other hand, the smaller Pixel 3a boasts a 5.6-inch display with 2,160 x 1080 resolution, and a Snapdragon 670.

Further leaks have gone as far as giving the two Pixel 3a smartphones their price tags at $399 for the regular Pixel 3a, and $479 for the XL.

Google Goes Midrange

Google's path to the midrange market is mainly attributed to the current models subpar performance against other top-tier mobile devices. Nevertheless, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he is confident that the company will regain its composure in the hardware department of smartphones. He also said Google is committed for the long term in its hardware efforts.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The second man to walk on the surface of the Moon is urging the human race to journey to Mars and stay there.

In an op-ed published on The Washington Post, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin commended the current administration for committing to send a manned mission to the Moon 50 years after he and colleague Neil Armstrong made that historic first time.

Buzz Aldrin Talks Mars

He is also urging the United States to make launching humans to the Red Planet a priority to ensure the ultimate survival of the species.

"Americans are good at writing fantasy, and incomparable at making the fantastic a reality," he said. "We did it with Mercury, Gemini, Apollo  and in thousands of other ways. It is time we get down to blueprints, architecture and implementation, and to take the next step  a sustainable international return to the moon, directly charting a pathway to Mars."

Moreover, the 89-year-old added that the goal should be to open the door for the "great migration of humankind" to Earth's neighboring planet and, eventually, farther into the universe.

"All of this is within reach for humans alive now, but it stars with a unified next step in space," he stated. "The nation best poised to make it happen is the United States."

This is not the first time that Aldrin has spoken about setting up a permanent human settlement on the surface of Mars. In an interview with Fox News last year, he discussed ideas to make the barren Red Planet more hospitable to human. He said that there is feasibility to the plans put forward by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson.

NASA's Mars Plans

NASA is already on its way to Mars, but it would take a bit more time before the first human makes the first step on a different planet. The U.S. space agency's current plans have a focus on getting American astronauts back to the moon and then setting up a base on Earth's natural satellite.

However, farther into the future, NASA also wants to send a manned mission to the Red Planet by 2030s.

In the meantime, a new rover that will study the Martian environment and identify the challenges that future human expeditions might face will be launched in July 2020. It is expected to arrive in Mars by February 2021.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is renewable energy on track to dethrone coal energy as the main source of energy for Americans? This Aprils energy production shows that it might be, but the battle for cleaner energy is still ongoing.

April 2019 Energy Production

Last April, for the first time ever, the production of renewable energy in the United States surpassed the production of energy from coal. This is bad news for the coal industry, but good news for the planet as energy production moves toward cleaner sources of energy.

According to the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the trend will likely continue in May, sporadically throughout the year, and in 2020 as well. This is despite the many setbacks experienced by the renewable energy sector, with politicians calling for more investments in coal and Federal subsidies for renewable energy being cut in half.

However, it is also important to consider that coal plants do tend to shut down during springtime for repairs, at the same time when hydrogeneration is at its peak. That said, this is still a momentous achievement in the cause to move toward renewable energy.

Road To Cleaner Energy

Does this mean that the United States is on the way to transitioning from coal to renewable energy? The road is still long on the journey toward renewable energy, but the movement is constant. In fact, in Texas, renewable energy sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar are steadily pushing coal out, with wind and solar energy topping coal energy production in the first quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, states such as Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and many others have also pledged to make aggressive clean energy plans, which will likely push the clean energy movement even faster.

Evidently, the coal sector does not find these movements to be important, but it does indicate the steady movement toward cleaner energy and away from coal. Whats more, the changes are said to be happening even faster than forecast. In fact, according to IEEFA research analyst Dennis Wamstead, this transition was not close to occurring five years ago.

Carbon Emissions

That said, the battle toward reducing carbon emissions is still under way. Last year, the United States carbon emissions rose instead of declined, primarily due to the carbon emissions of the transport sector rather than power plants.

This shows perhaps that apart from making the transition to clean energy, there are also many other aspects that need to be dealt with if we are to truly cut down on carbon emissions.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Meat

Short Story

Sagar ki lehare utthee hein, girti hein; Baat beeti raat beeti, Kehat lokvaasi, abhi raat baaki.

It was a job and I was lucky to have one. My father had been a peasant and toiled for rupees five a day. Most days the zamindar gave him wheat with the chaff and chafed if my father pleaded with his hands folded,Hazoor! Some cash...

What for? he would scoff, the scorn curling his upper lip and invading the look in his eyes as he puffed at his hookah.

Gaihu is enough, he spat.

Then my father would beg with hands folded, Hazoor, I have a wife, four children and need to cook with some oil and spices on firewood.

Firewood? spluttered the zamindar between his hookah, Bewakoof! and spitting on the ground he ordered: Use uppalas.

That is why my mother always called the cow our mother; as she gathered the cow pats and shaped them with her hands into oblong sheaves, drying them on the roof of our hut and then using them on the fire to cook, all the while coughing and spluttering over the fumes, she would exclaim, Our cow gives us everything! Milk for all of you and my teaor else I would have to drink it blackand look at her she is so benign and giving, that is why she is called gaumata. And I swear, they both had a look of understanding in their eyes, which can be called love.

Watching my father sweat by his brow, his shirt soaked in perspiration and then meted out daily humiliation for his wages between smoke and spit while my mother cooked over a fire on uppalas, I figured I would be free if I had a joba real jobwith the Sarkar which would give me wages without pleading and an uniform that would clothe me and my family with respect, removing the shroud of uncertainty and indignity.

I wanted to be unlike my father; no one feared my father, they just pitied himI have seen the look in my mothers eyesbut everyone feared the zamindar when he was around they lowered their eyes to the ground and called him Mi Baap and Hazoor.

If I wore the police uniform the people would respect me and wipe out the centuries of degradation that my family had lived under: toil, spit, dung and smell, all the while paying obeisance to the tehsildars under the British and then the zamindars. I hated the way he eyed my adolescent sisterwhose blouse was bursting at the seamswith impunity. I wanted to smash his hookah and have him hand over my father his wages with due respect.

When my father was born, India had just got her freedom, the people were learning that if someone folded their hands you did the same, in return. The condescending nod of the burra sahib, his colonial mansion overlooking a flight of steps, their memsahibs twirling their fine gowns over polished wooden dancing floors resting on the upholstered arms of a sahibwho complained of ruling the bloody natives in the heathad gone at the stroke of the midnight hour. Gone was the barking of their dogs accompanying them for a shikar with servants carrying them in palkis, as they assumed valour in shooting a tiger that had been set up for them.We had to carry the white man andhis burden! They left only after tearing us asunder into two countriesthey called it a double dealbut we were free at last.

I dont know how free my parents were, though my father still toiled under the zamindar and borrowed money at rates that made Shylock look generous. While my mother always looked patient and long sufferinga milked cowserving her in-laws and family, supplying and catering to our needs, never her own.

One day she told me, Sukhdev. I was lying on the charpoy half asleep and mumbled Haan.

I am getting old. How long will I go on milking the cow, making uppalas, cooking for all of you? she coughed, Trying to make do with the little your father earns? I listened feeling ashamed and helpless.

I want you to get a pucci naukria permanent jobnot something on the whims and fancies of anyone. I agreed with her fervently but didnt say anything. Nothing, they say in our part of the world, is in our hands, its all with the upparwala. So I studied, passed my school and college and then sat for the entrance exams to be a policeman and got shortlisted for the interview.

My mother prayed, my sister went to the temple, how fervently everyone wanted me to get the job. They asked me at the interview why I wanted to be a policeman and I replied, I want to serve my country. This amused the board member who raised his eyebrows at the chairman, who smiled, Lets see, he said, noting something down.

When the results were announced my mother was so proud she made besan ke ladoos and despatched them to the entire village with a declaration: Voh vardi pahenega and as I donned my uniform and left for the training she engaged me in absentia to a girl from another village. When I protested, I dont even know her, what to speak of love, she responded, Oh, but you will grow to love her. Just look at her photograph, she is so fair, like our cow. Revathi was indeed fair and beauteous and after the whirlwind of our marriage, we lived as we have always livedlike millions of couples before us.

I was conscientious in my job and rose to be an investigating officer. One day I got a call from my boss. A man has been killed. Go and check, he ordered.

I drove down in the police vehicle with the red light flashing. AsI reached the village, I saw a group of people that dispersed as soon as they saw the police vehicle approaching, but I put that down to the standard apprehension people have of the police, they now see us as oppressorsthe new Raj.

The man as I entered his kitchen was bleeding profusely. He had been hit on several places and as I felt his pulse, I realised he was already dead. He had obviously been eating as I saw the half-eaten food on his thalilentils, chapattis and some meat andan overturned glass of waterthen I noticed a strange light shining on his face. I looked around for the source and saw the refrigerator door open. I walked towards it and looked in. It had the usual stuff: eggs, vegetables, butter and in the freezer some thanda gosht.

I took photographs of the dead man from different angles, but I still could not figure out the angle behind the murder, for this was not a murder but a lynching. A mob had entered as I could see from the commotion inside, many people had attacked the man and several things in his kitchen had been smashed: the matka that kept the water, utensilswhich one by one had been thrown at him and the refrigerator door had been wrenched open with such force that its handle had come off. Village enmity I had reasonedhad his son run off with someones daughterbut even then this was too extreme, it didnt warrant so much violence.

I asked my colleagues to take his body for a post-mortem. The post-mortem revealed death by injuries which were several: on his head, arms, legsbut most were mainly on his stomach. It was there that he had been dealt severe blows. In his stomach they had found some food, not unusual as he had been eating when the crowd entered.

Then my boss called me, Go to the refrigerator and get the gosht he ordered. I thought he had gone off his rocker, with the stress of this job it is quite normal. Then he asked me to get the gosht sent for forensic examination. I did. After a few days I got a yellow envelope from the lab, with the words:

Meat. Putrified. Foul smelling.

Meanwhile the press was rocked with the lynching. They reported that a cow had gone missing in the neighbourhood and the priest of the local temple had announced over a loudspeaker that the missing cow was being eaten in the mans kitchen. The villagers were incensed and as they invaded the mans kitchen he had leapt up in alarm - which explained the half-eaten food in the thali and the overturned glass of water - and had been beaten.

The forensic report did not state what meat it was. So I asked.

They sent me a terse reply:

Mutton

I told the intrepid reporter doing her beat that it was just that and she quoted me in the daily. I got a whiplash from my boss, Bewakoof! he yelled, you mutton-headed fool! I was used to the zamindar mouthing abuses at my father, but didnt expect this in my line of duty.

Who told you, it was mutton?

The lab, Sir, I replied dutifully.

Its beef.

But...

Dont but me, he said, from now on you say, its beef.

I noted down that my superior said it was beef and I did not tamper with the lab report; I was not going tobe part of a rebuttal controversyI took my job seriouslyafter all I was the investigating officer.

Then a strange thing happened, the murdered mans daughter made a statement to the press, If the meat in our fridge is proved not to be beef, will you get my father back? I felt as if a cow had butted my stomach as I realised with a wrench,I knew what that beef really was. The case soon turned from a beefy story to the nations headlines and the village became a stop where politicians of every hue came and exhorted the youth to stand for unity with the cow or otherwise, depending on their political affiliation.

Meanwhile I arrested the main accused, Nathuram along with a few other known offenders. They were largely unemployed vagabonds who made it a point to stop any vehicle carrying goods and search it. If it contained cattle - whether it was a milch cow or not - thetravellers were dealt blowsall in the name of gaurakhsha. Then Nathuram died in the lock-up. I admit the police do get a trifle feisty but when they draped his body in the tricolour and asked the people to pay homage to a hero, I was stunned; if they had taken his urine sample they would have known he was a confirmed alcoholic who had a bout of jaundice.No one bothers about erstwhile deaths in police custody but mine is not to question why, but to go on with my duty.

Then they asked Zabardast Zohra to step down from a movieshe was PakistaniI was desultorily watching her desi substitute, who just didnt have the breast- shaking, hip-swiggling oomph of Zabardast. The film ended with the national anthem which was now mandatory and I saw an old man who remained seated. A bunch of young men yanked him up, you got no respect for the flag they yelled. He kept protesting he had a problem with his knees and they kicked him on his knee caps! I kept pretending I was not there; it was dark and easy to exit but I was wondering if the law was to be maintained by the derelict and the unemployed was my uniform even worth its laundry?

Outside a woman threw her shoe at a man who was selling biryani. He kept pleading Buffallo only, maam, but we were all moving in a herd, so no one quite heard his piteous cries. The poor fellow did not realise thatnamaz could not be offered in a public park and if a cow strayed before a bullet train, it was the driver who would be mowed down. You had to now cow down before a blinkered, manoeuvred people; someone was driving the cattleus.

Once upon a time we used to argue till the cows came home, but now we spoke in one voice. One day I dared to ask for leave for my silver anniversary, but my boss responded with a terse No; I always knew he was thick-skinned but he had now developed a hide. My bushy moustache quivered with rage, but I was silent. Then he explained, There is a build-up of tension over the temple issue, just in case reinforcements are needed... Had they seen the delivery of Ram to call thatspot his precise birthplace thousands of years later? Oh! How I wish someone would deliver me from the banalities I was condemned to serve under.

Revathi had said she wanted a washing machine and a dryer, the last was what dried my juices. Whats wrong with the clothes line? I had asked rather dryly.

Why should everyone in the village know the colour of my underwear and bras? Am I not entitled to my privacy? she had interrogated me. Privacy! Had she forgotten that when we had got married she and I had shared the one room we had and my old parents had slept out in the cold with an extra quilt for cover? Then she said if I bought her one set of cultured pearls she could get two for the price of one and when I raised my eyebrows, she explained with a flourish ofhands around her neck, it was the Deck Her Sale.

I was numb with the cold consumerism and the ease to do business that had swept my land while most were still doing their morning business by the roadside, as the trees had been felled for the malls and public toilets if any,were kept locked. I felt my country had become a roadside rodeo show with the cows having mounted; but I kept my feelings close to my heart, its the way of us men in uniform, we maintain a starched silence.

Tension bahut rakhte homy colleague had said, when I confided in him that on an honest policemans salary, this was not possible.

You should learn to compromise and everything will flow.

Compromise?

Han bhai, become a word-changer.

Whats that? I asked curiously.

His voice dipped, Take out mutton and insert b...

His words chilled me to the marrow. I did not become a police officer to be a word-changer. I was the son of a peasant and loved my job because it gave me respect, I was not going to trade that for anything.

Then my wireless buzzed.

I.O, I answered.

Car, spluttered the other side remotely and trailed off. Ever since the wireless tender went to the company that paved the middle ground for jets, both our planes and words take flight and get grounded in mid-air.

Car crashes, I deciphered helpfully.

Where?

Burrashahr district.

Village?

Durbudhi. And then he went off.

Burrashahr was located near the place they wanted to build the temple and had got every child in the surrounding area to send a brick, with the slogan:

Bacha Bacha Ram ka Janmboomi ke kaam ka -- every child is of Ram of use to his birthplace.

But why should there be car crashes in Durbudhi village, I wondered. I got into my vehicle and drove. Driving by the desolate countryside at night I did not feel forlorn; I had the stars overhead for company and felt I was on a chariot going to do my righteous duty; I felt like the God Ram himself.

When I reached the police station a mob surrounded my vehiclethey were displaying cow carcasses and stoning my jeep as if I had done it. I stayed calm; there were a hundred mouths screaming and they were hurling bricks, notstones. I steadied myself as one hurledthrough the windshield. I took out my revolver, I knew one shot in the air and this crowd of carcass waving derelicts would scatter  I summoned the courage of my uniform and its long line of duty.

Then in the melee something whizzed past and lodged itself in my chest. I was frozen; just then my phone rang. I knew it was my boss calling. Bewakoof! he would say. I tried my best to take the call but my hand would not obey my command. I wanted to say, Sir, situation under control. There will be no riot but no word came out of my mouth.

Then the door was wrenched open and I heard a quiet, dangerous snarl, Is he thanda gosht?

The other shoved a slab under my nose, roughly. I recognised thesmell; I swear it was putrified beef. I passed out; then he placed very carefully, the beef on the nape of my neck and said, Double-decker.

Sagari Chhabra is an award-winning author and film-director.
Sprint may start selling the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, and Pixel 3 XL in the foreseeable future.

Pixel phones have been an exclusive to Verizon ever since they were released back in 2016, though the unlocked version has always been available at the Google Store too. Now it seems things are changing up a bit as more carriers seem to be getting the green light to carry the devices.

Pixel Phones On Sprint

Android Police obtained an image that's alleged to be Sprint's plans to put at least three Pixel phones on display in one of its stores. If this turns out to be the real deal, then the Pixel 3 XL is guaranteed to be available from the carrier soon. At that, it's not a stretch to think that the smaller Pixel 3 is going to be included in the mix.

As for the other two, they're listed down as "Google S4" and "Google B4." These could be referring to the Pixel 3a's and Pixel 3a XL's code names "sargo" and "bonito," respectively. There's a good chance that these are just a coincidence, though.

Google is scheduled to officially unveil the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL on May 7 at its 2019 I/O developer conference. The event is just a few days away, and that makes the timing of the image outlining Sprint's Pixel display plans turning up all the more believable.

Expanding Availability Of Pixel Phones

Back in April, a report said that T-Mobile will be carrying Pixel phones soon. According to the source who divulged the info, the carrier is adding not only the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL to its lineup but also the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. It's even said to have plans to support Google's next-generation smartphone, which will presumably be called Pixel 4.

Assuming the reports are all accurate, then the only major carrier in the United States that's left is AT&T. On that note, it won't be surprising to see a report pop up out of nowhere, saying that the carrier will sell Pixel phones too.

Recently, Google admitted that sales of its Pixel hardware were slow, saying it was because of "year over year headwinds." The introduction of a more affordable midrange phone and wider availability could turn the tide. The word in town is the Pixel 3a will start at $399, while the Pixel 3a XL at $479, though those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Eddie and Ann Palmer, owners of Antiques on the Avenue in Rayne, were named Business Person of the Year by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce. The Mississippi natives have been married for 52 years.

Ann and I met when we were both in grammar school in Tremont, Mississippi. We were childhood friends then (beginning in 1951), dated in high school (classes of 62 and 63) and were married in 1967, just after I finished a bachelors degree at Mississippi State and just before entering a masters program there. Ann and I began picking during that time in order to supplement meager wages and also began going to nighttime and weekend auctions where we would buy furniture and collectibles, take those items to another auction and sell them through that auction on consignment.

After finishing a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, we moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1975 where I began teaching sociology at Texas Tech. Ann enrolled in and finished a bachelors program in housing and interiors and then opened a draperies and interiors business in Lubbock. We appreciate the smooth surfaces, curves, lines and moderne features of streamlined art deco furniture and continue to collect these pieces for ourselves and for our shop in Rayne. We joke about bonding with the inventory when we locate pieces we fall in love with and occasionally ask for visiting rights to a clients home to see the piece when it is moved from our shop.

We moved to Lafayette in 1985 when I was offered a job at (then) USL. Ann closed her business in Lubbock, and we moved many of our favorite pieces to Lafayette, having to store many pieces because we had too much to fit into our town house. Even after moving into a larger house, we were still cramped and eventually decided to sell off excess pieces. Ann outlined a plan to downsize by taking pieces to antique stores and outdoor markets and quickly found buyers for some of our pieces. Deciding to go back in business, the move to Lafayette allowed us to continue our passion for collecting, refinishing, stocking and selling on a part-time basis. It is hard to get treasure hunting out of ones blood.

Periodically making good finds is what motivates much of our treasure hunting behavior. One of our finds happened a few years ago, after I had retired from UL and after we bought and opened our antique business in Rayne, when we bought a warehouse filled with hundreds of old foundry mold patterns, some about 100 years old. These patterns are often rough, dirty and scarred but are beautiful and attractive after sanding several times, hand waxing and being staged in attractive settings (many are used for center pieces on tables or for wall hangings). Many customers are seeking unique decorative pieces, and these are perfect for their tables, rooms and offices.

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We found a vacant building in Rayne in 2007 that met our needs. We bought the old Peoples Drug Store building, which dates back to 1884. It is on a corner lot across the street from the famous Mervine Kahn building and is adjacent to The Warehouse, another building of historical significance. The Peoples Drug Store was a gathering place for many of Raynes citizens for years, and we love being regaled with things that happened in and around the store in the past. We encourage people to visit with us, sit around the table for coffee and reminisce.

I chair and serve along with Ann and 12 others on the Rayne Old Spanish Trail Committee, a group sponsored by the City of Rayne and The Rayne Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway (U.S. 90) is considered by many to be the Route 66 of the South. The roadway runs from Saint Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California. Under the auspices of the OST100 organization located in San Antonio, Texas, Rayne became the first Official OST City in the nation in 2016. Crowleys annual car show contains an OST component with an OST motorcade.

When we were informed by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce that we had been selected as Business of the Year and Business Persons of the Year for 2019, we were totally surprised and completely humbled. We are so appreciative of this honor, especially because we are much smaller than many other businesses in Acadia Parish. The award validates some of our activities and provides an incentive for us to continue to work through our business to make more friends, satisfy more customers and network through the parish to increase commercial activity where possible.
Before the first shovel of dirt has been dug, the future $29.6 million Ascension Parish courthouse proposed for Gonzales is already $4.6 million over budget.

The cost estimate for design, engineering and construction of the three-story courthouse is at least 18 percent higher than what parish officials had hoped two years ago. The judges, Clerk of Court's Office and Sheriff's Office have agreed to cover the difference out of their own funds.

Clerk of Court Bridget Hanna, who relies on self-generated fees, is covering the bulk of the cost overrun at $3.2 million.

The parish originally incurred $25 million in bonded debt for the project, to be repaid from a $150 increase in fees for lawsuits and $30 increase for other civil court filings.

The Legislature approved the fee increases in 2017, but court officials said this week that as they got into the design of the building, the cost was much higher than the $20 million to $25 million an initial feasibility study estimated. That study was the basis of the project's financing.

Safety, space prompt plan for $25 million courthouse in Gonzales; civil filings fees would go up GONZALES  The judges of the 23rd Judicial District and other court officials are eyeing a new Ascension Parish Courthouse, saying overcrowdin

The more than 90,000-square foot building will have eight courtrooms and cost an estimated $27.4 million to build. As a cost-saving measure, only seven courtrooms will be fully finished and trimmed out, Hanna said.

Parish government won't pay for the building's construction, court officials said, but will take ownership responsibility after it is built on East Worthey Street next to the parish Governmental Complex.

At the urging of the judges, the clerk of court and the sheriff, parish government agreed to pursue $25 million in new debt in 2017 to finance the building. Court officials said then that demands from an increasing docket and troubling security concerns at the 16-year-old Courthouse Annex in Gonzales required a new building.

One of the major worries has been that the Courthouse Annex on South Irma Boulevard doesn't have a way to sequester prisoners easily and separate them from the judges and other court personnel, all of whom must use the same back hallways to enter the courtrooms.

+2 Ascension courthouse project inching forward GONZALES  After Ascension Parish and judicial officials spent last year gathering support and lining up funding for a new parish courthouse, 

Judge Jason Verdigets said court officials tried to model the Ascension courthouse on Livingston's and it is actually smaller than the courthouse in the town of Livingston.

"It was just total building prices as things go up," Verdigets said.

The latest construction estimate of $27.4 million came after trimming about $1 million in costs off the bid from builder The Lemoine Co., but another $2.1 million in engineering, architectural, testing and management fees bring the total cost to $29.6 million.

Long-term financing for new Ascension courthouse annex in Gonzales inches forward; court fees may increase GONZALES  Jason Verdigets, senior judge of the 23rd Judicial District Court, said Tuesday the court's judges and other local officials are se

Gasper Chifici, the courthouse project manager, suggested the early estimate was too low, noting that architect GraceHebert, which has experience designing courthouses, told parish officials from the start that the building couldn't be built for $25 million.

"I think had the original price been reasonably correct, I think it would be about where we are," said Chifici, who became project manager after the feasibility study and finance deal were completed.

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Mike Rice, vice-president of The Lemoine Co., said he could not speak to the past feasibility study but noted all owners start with a number.

"I would think through the final design of everything, they found some things that they need to have and found ways to pay for it and the final budget was ($27.4 million)," Rice said.

+6 Ten-plus years in the works, new $20M Livingston Parish courthouse almost ready to open After more than a decade of planning and nearly two years of construction, the new Livingston Parish courthouse soon will open its doors for b

Earlier this decade, parish officials in Livingston ran into similar problems with the total cost of their 110,000-square foot courthouse north of Interstate 12. The building came in about $3.2 million more than the $17.2 million debt that parish had taken out for the new courthouse. The local government agencies involved in that project also had to split the overage but also made up some of the extra cost with sales tax savings on materials purchases.

Judge recuses himself from Matassa's bribery case, cites work with him on new courthouse GONZALES  Judge Jason Verdigets recused himself Thursday from presiding over the election bribery case against Ascension Parish President Ken

The significantly higher cost for the Ascension courthouse only emerged in public Thursday as court officials were before the Parish Council seeking approval for a maximum construction price of $27.9 million.

The courthouse project has been designed and will be built through a process known as "construction management at risk," in which the architect and contractor work together from the start. The builder agrees to a maximum price upfront.

The $27.9 million maximum price has a built-in contingency that could be returned to the government agencies if it isn't needed.

Parish Council members had few questions about the increased costs but were in a more congratulatory mood as their vote to back the maximum construction price and for a related agreement with the court officials set the stage for construction to start.

Later, after the necessary votes, the court officials and council members posed for a photograph in front of the new courthouse renderings, which rested on an easel in the council chambers at the historic red brick Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville, Ascension's west bank courthouse.

One area of focus from the council Thursday were the future east bank courthouse's drainage impacts in Gonzales. The building will go up near East Ascension High School, an existing Clerk of Court building, the parish Governmental Complex and medical offices.

Chifici, the project manager, explained to Councilmen Bill Dawson and Daniel "Doc" Satterlee that a drainage study found that the fill used to raise the bottom floor of the courthouse will be offset by a large, existing pond that is part of the future courthouse property.

Chifici said the pond will be excavated to hold more water. The pond and other drainage works have been shown to improve drainage in the area up through a 100-year rainstorm, he said.

Drainage around the courthouse has been a point of concern since last summer. East Ascension Drainage Chairman Dempsey Lambert, who is also a parish councilman, had linked the future courthouse with a delay in new rules that would limit how much dirt can be used to raise homes and businesses, even when the flooding-effects of added dirt is counteracted with detention ponds.

Lambert said then that the courthouse, which will be near a small ditch, may have to be raised up on dirt more than 3 feet high.

But Chifici said Thursday the studies now show the courthouse will need dirt piled, on average, no more than 1.8 feet high, though some lower areas could require more.

At that height, he said, the courthouse will be level with East Worthey and the adjacent parish Governmental Complex. Chifici said that after agreements are signed and some initial planning happens, demolition and dirt work could begin soon.
An attorney for one of the teachers seen restraining a student in a video that went viral from Ponchatoula Junior High School in March said the school superintendent capitulated to pressure from public opinion when she fired him earlier this week.

My client got fired because he happened to be a white teacher breaking up a fight between two black kids. Period, attorney Tony Clayton said in an interview Friday.

Clayton is representing English teacher and school disciplinarian Rusty Barrilleaux.

Both teachers seen in the video were dismissed, Mona Icamina, a representative from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, confirmed Friday.

Report: Video of teachers restraining student is 'disturbing,' Tangipahoa schools leader says The Tangipahoa Parish schools superintendent said the video that circulated on social media last week showing two teachers physically restrain

Superintendent Melissa Stilley declined to speak on the issue, saying in an email, "We cant comment on any specific personnel actions for our employees at this time. She previously called the video disturbing but said a full investigation needed to be done.

"Anyone that watched that video, if they're honest, would say it was very disturbing and upsetting to see that and the things that were said to the student," Stilley told Action News 17, a local television station in the Florida Parishes in a video posted April 2.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The school system had been conducting an investigation since March 28 when the students mother posted the video to Facebook. It shows two teachers trying to pin down the girl on the concrete, with one of the teachers cursing the student as the other teacher drags her by the leg.

The video sparked outrage across social media.

Authorities said the video shows the aftermath of a fight between two students that the teachers were trying to break up.

In defense of his client, Clayton pointed to a video he says captures the moments before the two teachers intervened. That video shows two girls grabbing at the others shirts and punching each other in the head as more students stand by in the courtyard. At the end of the 11-second clip, a teacher Clayton identified as Brett Chatelain can be seen pulling one of the girls away from the fight.

The other kid let her go, and she and Mr. Chatelain went down to the ground, which put Mr. Chatelain on top of her torso, Clayton said.

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Barrilleaux can be seen in the widely shared video pulling the girl by the leg on the concrete. Clayton said he grabbed the girls leg to keep her from kicking Chatelain.

Rusty Barrilleaux merely came in to help control the situation, Clayton said, adding later, Any man worth his salt wouldve stopped those kids from hurting one another.

Efforts to reach Chatelain, a physical education teacher, were unsuccessful Friday.

Clayton said Barrilleaux was vindicated by an evaluation of the incident from Bruce Chapman, president of Handle With Care, a company hired by the school system to train school staff on appropriate discipline.

In an email shared by Clayton, Chapman says his opinion based on the two videos is that the two teachers used a minimal degree of force to control this student; in a manner consistent with a reasonable person standard.

Be also advised that training in effective physical intervention strategies and methods prior to this incident would have allowed them to use even less force, Chapman wrote.

Clayton is also claiming that Barrilleaux was tenured and thus should have had a due process hearing before he could have been terminated. In an April interview with ActionNews17, Stilley said both teachers were tenured, although Clayton said Stilley later denied that Barrilleaux had tenure.

In the weeks since the incident, Barrilleaux has received threats and had to move his family to an undisclosed area for safety, Clayton said. But Barrilleaux stands by his actions, Clayton said.

Ponchatoula Police investigated the fight and submitted their findings to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who has not yet said whether he'll seek charges against the teachers or the students. Clayton said police wanted to arrest the student who had been restrained but Barrilleaux told officers "he didn't want her to endure this."

John Williams, an attorney for the family of the girl seen in the viral video, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Three weeks after the incident, the girl seen restrained on the ground and her mother, Althea Abron, were both arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office on an unrelated investigation. Authorities searched the house regarding burglaries allegedly committed by the girls older brother. The girl was arrested for interfering in a police investigation and held for six days at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. Abron was arrested on an outstanding warrant for identity theft, as well as new counts of child endangerment and drug possession after deputies found some marijuana in a Pringles chip can.

Williams previously said he believed the arrests were retaliatory.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Tagore and Gandhi

by Jayanta Kumar Ghosal

The following article is being published before Rabindranath Tagores 158th birth anniversary which falls on May 9, 2019.

This year being the sesquicentenary of Mohadas Karamchand Gandhi, it is important to have a focus on the two great personalities like Tagore and Gandhi. It is now very much pertinent to have an account of their relation-ship in a nutshell. Because it is really amazing to observe that India with her many back-wardness produced two such mighty men in the period of one generation.

Gandhi was younger to Tagore by eight years and when he first met Tagore, he was yet to attain a national stature in the country, though he was widely known to Indians for his great work in South Africa. And actually for this work Tagore came to know Gandhi. C.F. Andrews and W.W. Pearson acted as the catalytic agents here. And the relationship between the two deepened.

As early as on February 1915, we observe Tagore referring to Gandhi as Mahatma and Gandhi immediately adopted the form of addressing Tagore as Gurudev. But theirs was not a friendship based on just mutual admiration. They differed on fundamental philosophical questions which led to differences about many political, social and economic matters. Both were unsparing in their debate and it must be remembered that neither of them succeeded to convince fully the other. Each accepted cordially the others right to differ.

There were many striking contrasts between the two personalities and, as Romain Rolland wrote his observations in a letter to Tagore in 1923 on the noble debate between the two, that it embraces the whole earth, and the whole humanity joins in this august dispute. Yet the two found some common chord and there began a friendship which lasted till Tagores death in 1941.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was close to both of them, with great astonishment commented on the relationship of the twoThe surprising thing is that both of these men with so much in common and drawing inspiration from the same wells of wisdom and thought and culture, could differ so greatly. No two persons could probably differ so much as Gandhi and Tagore in their make up or temperament. Tagore even raising a question on the honesty of the works of Gandhi saidI wonder whether you are being quite fair to our people, Gandhiji or quite honest with them?(Quoted in Poet and Plowman by Leonad Elmhirst)

To compare and contrast them is very interesting. Tagore, basically an artist, was of strong democratic temperament with great sympathies to proletariats, represented the cultural tradition of India in the truest sense, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness and going through it with songs and dance.

Gandhi was more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant. In Gandhi we see the other side of the ancient Indian tradition which was of renunciation and asceticism. Tagore was primarily an intellectual, a man of thought while Gandhi put great emphasis on concentrated and ceaseless activity.

Both Tagore and Gandhi took much from the West and also from the East. This was more so in the case of Tagore. The two at the same time refuted narrow nationalism. Their thoughts and messages were for the whole world towards achieving the emancipation of global mankind. At the same time both were cent per cent Indias sons. They have inherited and represented the age-old culture of Indiatheir motherland.

Tagore looked upon Gandhi as a liberated soul who according to him .... is a great man, a great soul and ... wields tremendous power over the teeming million of India. And the secret of Gandhis success, as Tagore observed, lies in his dynamic spiritual strength and incessant self-sacrifice. He also said that Not because of his political prudence, but for his spiritual influence the people believe in him and they are ready to die for their faith and always ready to suffer. And to Tagore, It is a miracle that these people, downtrodden for centuries, are coming out; and without doing any injury to others they suffer and through suffering, conquer. And Gandhi, as Tagore observed, also greatly influenced Indian women folk who only the other day ....were secluded in their own inner apartments. They, too, have come out to follow this man, this leader.

Analysing Gandhi, Tagore wrote on February 28, 1939when Mahatma Gandhi came and opened up the path of freedom for India, he had no obvious medium of power in his hand, no overwhelming authority of coercion. The influence which emanated from his personality was ineffable, like music, like beauty. Its claim upon others was great because of its revelation of a spontaneous self-giving.

Prior to this Tagore, on December 1, 1930, wrote: We have been waiting for the Person, such a personality as we see in Mahatma Gandhi.

And Gandhi after Tagores demise wrote in the obituary on August 7, 1941In the death of Rabindranath Tagore, we have not only lost the greatest poet of the age, but an ardent nationalist who was also a humanitarian. There was hardly any public activity on which he has not left the impress of his powerful personality.

Refrences

1. Mahatma Gandhi : Rabindranath Tagore.

2. The Mahatma And the Poetedited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya.

3. Gandhi number : The Visvabharati Querterly, Vol-35, No. 1-3.

The author is a social activist associated with literacy movement.
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In 1979, 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. was in manufacturing, the backbone of the American economy. But as technology advanced, manufacturing evol
The year was 1991, and the only way to enter Louisiana's Old State Capitol was by climbing a tower of scaffolding and going through a second f
After a pipe burst today caused heavy flooding and a boil water advisory in parts of Uptown New Orleans, City Councilwoman At-Large Helena Moreno made a renewed call for New Orleans to review all of its tax dedications.

A water main break in the Freret neighborhood resulted in flooding that led at least a dozen Uptown schools to close. The pipe was more than a century old, according to the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB).

A cautionary boil water advisory was then announced for parts of Uptown from Carrollton to Napoleon and Claiborne to the Mississippi River and is still in effect.

This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

The break came at the end of a week of tangled negotiations between Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Gov. John Bel Edwards and hospitality industry leaders over increased funding to the S&WB from new hotel and short-term rental taxes.

Cantrell and Edwards were scheduled to give a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the deal but the Cantrell administration abruptly cancelled it Tuesday night.

The deal  which is contingent on a package of bills in the state legislature  would give New Orleans $27 million a year for infrastructure and $48 million upfront to the S&WB. Those totals are down from the initial $40 million a year and one-time payment of $75 million Cantrell sought.

New Orleans tourism and infrastructure deal back in negotiations after tumultuous 24 hours A deal to raise hotel taxes to help fund infrastructure repairs in New Orleans saw a tumultuous 24 hours, with Mayor LaToya Cantrell agreeing 

Moreno said that the agreement alone would not be enough to fix the citys pressing infrastructure problems.

I am hopeful that negotiations in Baton Rouge will lead to a boost in funds, but unfortunately, much more is needed and we must act quickly, Moreno said.

Moreno said she plans to bring a motion before City Council May 9 to create a committee to review all dedicated taxes in New Orleans, in hopes that funds can potentially be freed from other areas and used to improve the citys infrastructure. The goal is to complete a full report by early 2020, she said.

"We can not live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure," Moreno said.
As if to re-emphasize Mayor LaToya Cantrell's continuing call for more money to upgrade the city's aging infrastructure, torrents of water from a broken main on South Claiborne Avenue gushed into the area near Soniat Street for hours Friday, leaving much of Uptown New Orleans with weak or no water pressure before Sewerage & Water Board crews were able to plug the leak.

The broken pipe, which was installed in 1905, placed a wide swath of Uptown under a boil-water advisory until at least Saturday, swamped cars and threatened homes.

It cut off the water supply needed for necessary medical procedures at Childrens Hospital and caused problems at other medical facilities in the area.

+2 New Orleans boil water advisory might be lifted Saturday as repairs to broken water main begin The broken water main that was gushed water onto Claiborne Avenue and neighborhoods near Soniat Street for more than 12 hours is being repaire

Broken pipes and boil-water advisories are nothing new in New Orleans. But the length and severity of Fridays leak  which left many places with such little water pressure that their taps were dry  and its impact on medical treatments highlighted the potentially dangerous effects of the citys long-standing problems with its ancient infrastructure.

The pipe burst sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Friday, spewing water into the streets nearby. By 4:30 a.m., pressure in the pipes had dropped below the threshold that triggers a boil-water advisory, which is called when there is too little pressure to ensure the water delivered to homes and businesses is not contaminated.

Emergency repair crews from across the city were dispatched immediately, S&WB spokesman Rich Rainey said. But they struggled throughout the day to get the leak under control.

The water from the pipe flooded into the streets for several blocks around the break, deep enough in some areas to flood cars that had been parked or whose drivers tried to drive through the water.

One driver, T.J. Bush, found himself stuck after driving to Isidore Newman School, only to find that, like many others in the area, the low pressure had forced it to close for the day.

+2 While trying to get to school, New Orleans student gets stranded in floodwaters from busted water main T.J. Bush thought he was taking just a quick detour, cutting through a neighborhood to get around the Sewerage & Water Board roadblocks su

Verna Ellzey, who was driving through the neighborhood, said she had seen water everyplace and cars just floating on the water.

The city needs to do better by their residents, she said.

One reason the leak could not be closed quickly was the difficulty crews encountered in determining which of two pipes that run alongside each other was leaking, Rainey said. In addition, many of their shut-off valves were so old that they didnt work properly, keeping the workers from fully cutting off the water supply and forcing them to move onto the next valve in hopes that it would work, Rainey said.

Because of those issues, the water pressure could not be restored and the actual repairs could not begin until late afternoon. At that point, the S&WB collected samples to be sent to Baton Rouge for testing  a process that normally takes 24 hours.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The boil-water advisory remained in effect overnight for the area from South Carrollton Avenue to Napoleon Avenue and from South Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River. Residents and others in that area were advised not to ingest unboiled water  from drinking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing food  until they receive an all-clear. Water should be boiled for a full minute to ensure its safety.

Residents in the affected area whose immune systems are compromised were advised not to wash hands, shower or bathe with tap water.

Beyond the normal annoyances brought by boil-water advisories, this one affected hospitals including Childrens and Ochsner Baptist.

The problems at Childrens were particularly serious: Water pressure that is normally at 40 pounds per square inch dropped to 3 psi, too low to feed pediatric hemodialysis equipment that for some children is their only option for treatment in the state.

Going too long without treatment, which must be done on specialized machines that are different from those used for adults, can have life-threatening consequences, said Dr. Diego Aviles, chief of pediatric nephrology at Childrens.

Children who were supposed to come in for dialysis on Friday had to be rescheduled for Saturday, and officials began making contingent plans for more serious steps, such as moving the large machines to another hospital where they could be hooked into its water supply, said Evie Freiberg, senior director for patient care services at Childrens.

Fortunately, pressure was restored to the hospital at mid-morning and such steps were not necessary.

Its so important to try to make the community and the city aware that when theres a loss in our water pressure, it has a tremendous impact on our patients and can put them in a really bad place, Aviles said.

The problems on Friday led to renewed calls for more infrastructure funding in New Orleans, something Cantrell has made a priority of her first year in office.

The bottom line is we have pipes that are over 100 years old, City Councilman Joe Giarrusso said. Those pipes continue to function, but we have to be mindful that at a certain point even the best of infrastructure thats over 100 years old is going to have issues. We need to have a constant eye on fixing that and replacing that, and the way we do that is through having adequate funding sources.

The S&WB wont know what caused the rupture until repairs are complete and engineers get a chance to examine the broken pipe.

+6 As New Orleans streets flood, a second pipe, ancient valves could be to blame, S&WB says The Sewerage & Water Board is still trying to fix a water main that broke on Claiborne Avenue early Friday morning, leaving streets floode

A major factor, however, likely was the age of the water main; such pipes are supposed to last only 30 to 50 years before they need to be replaced.

Its a 114-year-old pipe. Its amazing it lasted that long, Rainey said. It should have been replaced two or three times over by now.

The utility repaired other sections of the main in the same area last week.

Asked whether Fridays break could have been related to the previous work, Rainey said that was possible. When a pipe is repaired and leaks are plugged or compromised sections are reinforced, it can put more pressure on other weak points, causing new leaks to spring up.

Its not clear yet whether that contributed to Fridays problems, however.

Cantrells administration is currently negotiating with the hospitality industry for more infrastructure money, largely from increased hotel and short-term rental taxes. Bills that are part of that effort, which could raise an additional $27 million a year for infrastructure repairs, are expected to move forward in the Legislature next week.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno responded to Fridays flooding and pressure drop by commending Cantrell for the effort but saying the city needs to go further.

In a statement, Moreno called for the creation of a special committee to review what entities in the city are now getting tax money and make recommendations about possibly changing how the money is distributed.

Moreno calls for review of New Orleans' dedicated taxes after pipe burst causes floods This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

We cannot live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure, Moreno said. Let's have a serious conversation about where our money should go."
Sydney's popular northern beaches pub, Hotel Steyne at Manly, has been sold by John Singleton and his business partners for a price understood to be in the mid-$60 millions to private hotel group Iris Capital.

Along with ad man Mr Singleton, the imposing three-level hotel, on almost 2000 square metres at 75 The Corso, was owned by investment banker Mark Carnegie, well-known investor Robert Whyte and hotelier Arthur Laundy.

Manly's Hotel Steyne.

The high-powered consortium paid a reported $27 million for the 160-year-old hospitality venue when they bought it from Sydney bookmaker Bruce McHugh and his family in 2010. At the time, the group included retail billionaire Gerry Harvey.

Iris Capital founder Sam Arnaout said he was "delighted" to have bought the pub.
The first gig Little May ever played was in 2012 at a pizza restaurant in Bathurst called Church Bar.

Guitarist-vocalist Liz Drummond recalls using a percussion instrument called a stomp box and thinks that former guitarist Annie Hamilton may have been playing a banjo.

Little May's Liz Drummond and Hannah Field have adopted a more full-bodied, indie-rock sound.

"It was in the phase of Mumford and Sons. That was the vibe."

Fast forward to 2015 and Little May were onstage in New Jersey supporting  wait for it  Mumford and Sons, having been invited on their Gentlemen of the Road touring festival.
If the craft beer drinkers of Sydneys Inner West had their way, Australia would be a few short weeks away from replacing prime minister ScoMo with Albo.

Anthony Albanese, Labors spokesman for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, was given a rousing cheer by the large crowd as he cut the ribbon on the renovated premises of Willie the Boatman Brewery on Saturday.

Anthony Albanese received a warm welcome from drinkers at Willie the Boatman Brewery in his electorate of Grayndler in Sydney's Inner West. Credit:Steven Siewert

Many drinkers including Ben Suggate, who was celebrating his bucks party, were drinking the Albo Corn Ale, named after Mr Albanese, who has been the member for Grayndler in Sydneys Inner West since 1996.

Its not too heavy. Its easy to drink. Its quite pleasant, Mr Suggate said. Its actually a pretty good beer. Id drink it again.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Nato 70 Years and Expanding  Differences with Russia Aggravating

by R.G. Gidadhubli

On April 4, 2019 the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) celebrated the historic occasion of the 70th anniversary of its existence in Washington, when Foreign Ministers of 29 member-states attended the function. US President Donald Trump and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg addressed the delegates highlighting the achievements, issues and challenges facing the organisation. The NATO was formed on April 4, 1949 in Washington with 12 members of the USA and European states in the aftermath of the Second World War to counter the military power of the former Soviet Union and other communist states which had formed a military bloc known as the Warsaw Pact. Hence the major objective of NATO countries was to come to each others defence if any of them was attacked. Subsequent to that prevailing scenario, most unexpected major changes have taken place in that region during the last few decades that were not visualised when the NATO was formed.

Hence several questions arise. What is the relevance of the NATO considering the fact that the USSR disintegrated in 1991 and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1989? Why has the NATO expanded from the original 12 to 29 members? What is the NATOs approach towards Russia? What are the major tasks and objectives of the NATO? An effort has been made to analyse some of the issues.

Firstly, looking back into history there was a short period in the early 1990s when there were formal cordial contacts and cooperation between Russia and the NATO in the prevailing context of the end of superpower rivalry, no ideological conflict and evolution of the concept of Partnership for Peace. Hence in June 1994 both Russia and the NATO signed a Founding Act on Mutual Relations. It was significant that a roadmap was also laid on lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Fall of Berlin Wall further added to the end of the threat perception of the Cold War era. But this era of cordiality, cooperation and hope between Russia and the NATO did not last long.

Secondly, much to the disenchantment of Russian leaders who expected that the NATO might also cease to exist as there was no threat from Moscow and the Warsaw Pact bloc was dissolved, the NATO leaders pursued the policy of Eastward Expansion with the admission of several East European countries after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Apart from that it is a matter of reality that primarily due to the strained relations between Russia and some former Soviet Republics, namely, Georgia and the Baltic States and the impact of Coloured Revolutions which made them to seek support of the West the relations between Russia and the NATO were affected and the latter took advantage of increasing its membership, relevance and strength.

Thirdly, the United States has been a dominant player and is by far the largest contributor of funding to the NATO, followed by Germany, Britain, and France. Being the largest contributor of defence expenses of the NATO for decades and hence to reduce its own burden, US President Donald Trump has urged all members to contribute their share of military spending. In fact during the previous NATO meeting held in 2018 Donald Trump chided the NATO leaders for failing to meet their commitments of spending two per cent of the GDP on defence. He was candid in stating We are protecting countries that have taken advantage of the United States, since the United States pays for a disproportionate share of NATO, and we just want fairness. In fact the issue of defence expenses has become quite serious and hence this has also been reiterated by the NATO chief, Stoltenberg, when he was addressing delegates during the occasion. At the same time he was fair in stating that there is some progress in members stepping up their spending but added there is more work to be done.

Fourthly, during the last over a decade apart from defence issues, it is appreciable that the NATO has been involved in other global social and economic issues concerning the interest of member-countries. For instance, as opined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the world has entered a new era of great power competition. He was specific in stating: We must adapt our alliance to confront emerging threats whether thats Russian aggression, uncontrolled migration, cyber attacks, threats to energy security, Chinese strategic competition, including technology and 5G, and many other issues. But these are complex and complicated global issues which are challenges the NATO will face in the years to come.

Fifthly, as opined by some Western analysts, Trump has openly questioned the most important aspect of Article 5 of the NATO alliance as to whether an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. This is a crucial issue and might assume significance in the context of, say, growing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. But notwithstanding these issues it is appreciable that the NATO chief has stated that the organisation has made progress in its objectives and vision to ensure Freedom and Peace in the world.

Nato-Russia Differences Persisting

Notwithstanding several positive developments, differences between the NATO and Russia persist. These are evident from the contentions made at the Washington meeting. Firstly, there is an allegation made by the NATO that Russia had violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as a part of a pattern of destabilising behaviour. The INF Treaty was signed by the United States and Soviet Union in the last years of the Cold War. Russia has denied this allegation. Moreover, Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman was highly critical and hence reiterated in stating that the two-day gathering in Washington on April 4 showed that the NATO had no intention of abandoning its plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Secondly, issues concerning Russias ongoing conflict with Ukraine and allegation of annexation of Crimea in 2014 assumed significance at the NATO meeting. The NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned the Black Sea situation and urged Russia to release Ukrainian vessels and their crews. But Russia is bent on contending that due process of law was being followed. Russias response was candid and Russias Foreign Ministry said on April 4 that the two-day gathering in Washington shows that the NATO has no intention of abandoning plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Thirdly, at the NATO meeting, some members insisted that Germany should not import oil and natural gas from Russia and not enter into a deal of Russias pipeline project from the Adriatic Sea to Germany. But this does not seem to be rational and not in compliance with the basic principles of international trade; and it is against WTO rules which promote global trade. Hence it will not be fair on the part of the NATO to restrict economic relations between Russia and Germany which are close and cordial for several years. Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to Germany and to many European countries and for Russia this has been a major source of earning petrodollars. Hence the argument and contention that Germany should not enter into a deal with Russia on the energy pipeline issue amount to hitting Russia below the belt. In fact this Nord Stream 2 project is scheduled to be completed in 2019, and this pipeline would run directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing several European transit countries including Ukraine. While this will help Russia to avoid transit-fee payment and other disputes, there is contention that it will also increase Western Europes dependence on Russian natural gas and give Moscow more negotiating leverage over unrelated political issues.

Fourthly, Turkey is a member of the NATO and it has also cordial political and economic relations with Russia which is also helping the country to face problems of terrorism and security issues in the region. Hence Turkeys President has entered into an agreement with Moscow to purchase surface-to- air missile S-400 which is cheap and effective. But the USA is critical of Turkey. Now the USA and other NATO countries have demanded that Turkey should cancel its deal with Russia, which is not compatible with the NATO systems and is considered a threat to the US F-35 aircraft. In fact the US Vice President, Mike Pence, was candid in stating: Turkey must choose. Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?. In fact the Pentagon spokesperson has stated that it has suspended dialogue with Turkey for selling F-35 even as the United States and other NATO countries have demanded that Ankara should call off its deal with Russia to purchase the S-400. The issue persists since Ankara is keen on going ahead with the deal.

Thus in lieu of conclusion it may be stated that the NATO has emerged as a successful global organisation and has diversified its activities apart from security issues even as problems of funding need to be considered. The USA has been a dominant player in funding. The NATO chief,Jens Stoltenberg, has every reason to be content in stating: We have experienced an unprecedented period of peace. So the NATO alliance is not only the longest-lasting alliance in history, it is the most successful alliance in history. But as stated above, problems persist and hence there is need for the NATO to have a fair deal with Russia rather than aggravating differences.

Dr Gidadhubli is a Profesor and former Director, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai.
Childcare workers with university degrees could be paid more than school teachers under Bill Shorten's plan to use a taxpayer funds to boost wages, with Labor refusing to rule out applying its subsidy on top of any Fair Work Commission increase.

Such a two-stepped increase would push some childcare workers' salaries as high as $122,120 if the Independent Education Union, which represents those with teaching qualifications, wins its long-running pay equity case in the commission in June.

The union demands pay increases of up to 49 per cent to set salaries for its most experienced members at $101,767, arguing they should be paid similarly to primary school teachers.

Bill Shorten has refused to rule out giving child care workers seeking $122,120 salaries a taxpayer wage subsidy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A Shorten campaign spokeswoman would not say whether Labor's promised 20 per cent increase would come on top of any wage hike won by childcare workers in the case, saying only: "We will not pre-empt the Fair Work Commission".
To have one child with an eating disorder would be hard enough, but Kim Coffey has spent nine "heartbreaking" years caring for three daughters with anorexia nervosa.

"I was always a pretty laid-back sort of person and now Im more stressed now than I used to be. I get more anxious, some of these days I feel like I'm not coping, sometimes I cry a lot, it's just been a whole gamut of emotions," said Ms Coffey, from East Killara on Sydneys upper north shore.

Kim Coffey with her daughters Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Ms Coffey is one of an estimated two million carers in Australia of people with eating disorders, who are described by Butterfly Foundation chief executive Kevin Barrow as "unsung heroes". Her eldest two daughters, Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21, are now in recovery while the youngest, Nicola, 20, is still sick.

"I remember being in the psychiatrist's office in tears because we had just realised our third daughter was unwell and the psychiatrist explained that she thought we had just been terribly unlucky that we obviously had a strong genetic predisposition for eating disorders. I, however, was asking myself 'how did we let this happen?' We were initially so focused on one daughter and it just snuck under our radar and hit the other daughters."
A nurse and elderly woman were stabbed when a female patient allegedly attacked staff with a pair of scissors at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Saturday night.

Police say the nurse called for help after the patient, 29, grew agitated and began hitting the walls of her room on the Camperdown hospital's renal ward shortly before 8.30pm.

The patient allegedly grabbed hold of the nurse and ripped the scissors from her pocket. She stabbed the nurse twice in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.

Two other nurses rushed to help their colleague before the woman slashed at their arms with the scissors.

She then went into another room where she stabbed a female patient, 77, in the face, police say.
A rider has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a two-vehicle crash in Brisbane's north-west.

Emergency services were called just after 1pm on Saturday after a motorbike and vehicle crashed near the corner of Inverness Street and Canvey Road in Upper Kedron.

The patient was taken to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital after being treated by a high acuity response unit and critical care paramedics.

A police spokesman said the forensic crash unit was on scene investigating whether speed could have been a factor.
Residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night as suspicious fire engulfed a community hall in Melbourne's south-east.

The blaze began around 3.15am in Whatley Street, Carrum. While police do not believe anyone was inside the building at the time, surrounding houses have been evacuated due to flying embers coming from the fire.

The smoke billowing from the hall caused the CFA to issue a community warning during the night.
An off-road motorbike rider is fighting for life after a crash in Lancelin on Saturday morning.

The rider, a man in his 20s, was riding in the sand dunes when he came off, receiving life-threatening injuries, according to a St John Ambulance spokesman.

The man was found unconscious at the scene.

An RAC rescue helicopter was dispatched to Lancelin oval just before 11.30am to take the man to Royal Perth Hospital.

More to come
One participant, Kenneth, a director of a milk company, said he felt Shorten had a few strong policies - "I don't really like him, but I appreciate his policies" - and added that he'd brought leadership stability to the Labor Party. Jennifer, an architect from Albert Park, thought Shorten seemed "quite approachable", and from what she'd seen and heard on TV and radio, he seemed to have a sense of humour. "He's not necessarily charismatic, but I think he's quite strong," said Richard, an archivist of Elsternwick, who had remained quiet for most of the evening. But then a man we'll call Stewart, a pharmaceutical manager, chimed in. "He's someone you'd like to punch in the head, really," he said.

The comment was greeted with knowing laughter and nodding. "I think he fits the bill as a union leader better," said Kenneth. Clive Palmer scored worse. "He'd send the country broke and take all the money," said Carol, who owns a hairdressing business. Geoffrey, who works in apprenticeship training, had some sympathy for Pauline Hanson, because "she sticks to her guns and stays true to her word". Ursula, a designer, was less forgiving. "She wants to print money," she declared of Hanson.

The group was gentler on The Greens. Ursula and Kenneth felt they would be happy to listen to Greens candidates, and Susan felt Greens were more approachable than representatives of the big parties. Loading All but one of the participants were from inner Melbourne suburbs: East St Kilda, Fitzroy, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Pascoe Vale: the sort of places that aren't particularly happy territory for conservative parties. Only Bentleigh East, where Kenneth the milk company man lives, could be described as anything further out than "inner". All but Geoffrey will vote in the new electorate of Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports). It will be a tight battleground between Labor, the Greens and Liberals. Geoffrey is from Wills, a traditional Labor seat once held by Bob Hawke and now by Peter Kahlil, who is under pressure from the Greens.

All participants of our focus group had voted Labor at the last election. All now described themselves as undecided about the coming election. Only Geoffrey, however, declared outright that he was considering voting Liberal. Carol was grappling with Shorten's policy to cap negative gearing, though this - along with franking credits for retirees, which attracted little criticism - turned out to be among the few policies raised by any of the participants. The big promises of the campaign had not yet made an impression. Annoying campaign advertising got an airing, with Jennifer furious that candidates would interrupt her "catch-up" television viewing to try to tell her how to vote. And where did most of the group encounter campaign advertising? Facebook and billboards, they agreed.

Apart from their views about the current leaders' attributes - or lack of them - the group displayed a distinct nostalgia for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. "I'm very angry what they did to Malcolm Turnbull," said Ursula. Stewart also condemned the "far right influence in the Liberal Party" declaring "the religious right is starting to scare me". Most of the eight made clear they liked and missed Turnbull. He was described variously as "well-credentialled (Geoffrey)", "progressive" (Stewart) and "better-looking" (Susan) than the current leaders, though two of the women, Jennifer and Carol, weren't so impressed with Turnbull criticising those in his old party, "even when he's been overseas". Most of the focus group participants were nostalgic for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Geoffrey and Carol agreed former Julie Bishop was "very smart" and would be missed, leading to nods around the table.

This yearning for former Liberal luminaries seemed odd among those who had voted Labor when Turnbull led the Liberal-National Coalition and Bishop was his deputy. Puzzling, too, was the initial response when the group was asked whether they felt there was a mood for change. No, they agreed: they couldn't detect real need for change. Loading This, at first blush, appeared to be good news for the Morrison government and poor bodings for Shorten's Labor. It was not clear, however, what these voters perceived to be the "change" under discussion : they had earlier agreed the regular change of prime ministers seen in Australia over the past decade had to stop. Carol described both parties' willingness to ditch leaders as "disgraceful", and the word "shambles" was used.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's handpicked cybersecurity tsar Alastair MacGibbon is quitting his role and has declared cyber attacks "the greatest existential threat we face".

Mr MacGibbon has been the face of cybersecurity for federal authorities for the past three years, handling the public response to the cyberattack on the national census in 2016 and the hacking earlier this year of the Parliament and the major political parties.

Outgoing head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alastair MacGibbon, speaks to the media at Parliament House in February. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The announcement of Mr MacGibbon's resignation from the role of national cyber security adviser comes just two weeks before the federal election, but he stressed he was not stepping down because of any possible change of government.

While saying he didn't downplay the seriousness of threats such as terrorism or long-term challenges such as climate change, Mr MacGibbon said the sheer scale and rising likelihood of major cyber attacks made them the most pressing threat a country like Australia faces.
London: A paedophile wanted by police in Australia for almost 10 years was free to commit a series of crimes against teenage boys in the UK, it has emerged.

Barry Radford, 53, a spray painter based in Northumberland, north-east England, was jailed for 12 years on Friday for a series of grooming offences, taking indecent images of one of his victims, and possessing more than 1000 images of other children.

Paedophile Barry Radford has been jailed for 12 years in the UK.

His offending came to light last year when one of the boys came forward to police.

It later emerged Radford had been wanted by NSW Police in Australia for sexual offences said to have been committed in 1999.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Chowkidar allowed Hate Crimes under his Watch

by Neha Dabhade

In the build-up to the general elections, the BJP has intensified its campaign to seek support for the elections. One such step is the campaign, main bhi chowkidar. This campaign has seen the Prime Minister prefixing the word chowkidar to his name in his Twitter profile. The trend caught on with many of his Cabinet and party colleagues following suit. This is a PR manoeuvre to promote the narrative/impression amongst the general public that the BJP Government is fighting against social evils and corruption.

Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying#MainBhiChowkidar, he wrote on Twitter. (Sharma, 2019) The claim of this campaign translates into the impression that the PM is a shining example of someone who is meticulously and diligently guarding the countryprotecting the law and order and rule of law in the country as expected of the highest authority in the country. This campaign is critiqued from many quarters due to the poor state of Indian economy, rising unemployment, the easy escape of defaulting businessmen like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi who were allowed to leave the country after defaulting on loans worth hundreds of crores. The picture on the social front is not encouraging either. Though the campaign has soared in the public imagination and boosted the popularity of PM Modi, this exalted self- proclaimed righteous chowkidar was silent when the law of the land was violated. He failed to check the hatred spewed by his own colleagues and party members through the rising instances of hate speeches.

The focus on hate speeches is urgent given the rise in the number of hate speeches. NDTV reported that as compared to the UPA II period (2009-2014), the NDA Government (2014 to April 2018) witnessed a rise of hate speeches by 490 times. During the NDA period, a total of 45 political leaders made hateful comments. Of them, 35 politicians, or 78 per cent, are from the BJP. 10 leaders, or 22 per cent of the offenders, are from other political parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal. (Jaiswal, Jain, and Singh, 2018)

While this jump in the quantum of the hate speeches is alarming, what makes it more menacing is that most of these hate speeches are made by high-ranking officials who have sworn by the Constitution to protect all citizens equally. Thus its a matter of deep concern that under the leadership which swears by vigilance to rid the country of social evils, its own party members who are high-ranking officials like Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers at State level etc. are violating the law and the chowkidar is found napping! No action or little action was taken against them when they blatantly violated the law by indulging in hate speeches to demonise the Muslims and incite enmity and hatred along religious lines. Under the Indian Penal Code, there are definitions and punishments mentioned for those who promote enmity based on religion.

153 A of the IPC states, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities is a punishable offence.

Initially, at the beginning of the NDA rule, hate speeches were trivialised by dismissing them as banter made by fringe elements non-state actors who didnt enjoy political authority. But the hate speeches made by the elected representatives and persons enjoying political power and equal measure of responsi-bility mark a new low in the political discourse of the country and also significantly in the law and order situation where they enjoy immunity to openly indulge into hatemongering. These hate speeches now dont come from the so-called fringe elements but the mainstream setting a new normal in the socio-political landscape of the country. These speeches have spelled out further polarisation and strengthening of prejudices against the Muslims. This has culminated in fuelling the process of their othering and marginalisation. Below are some such statements though these are only a few examples. There are many such statements reported but for the limitation of space only the very glaring speeches, which clearly violate the law, are stated below.

Starting with Union Ministers, there were speeches made by Ministers which sought to entrench the prejudice that Muslims are terrorists in the social imagination. Referring to Deoband, which is a Muslim-majority city, Giriraj Singh, who is the Union Minister of State for Small and Medium Enterprises, said, Earlier Deobands name was Deovrant. I dont know what is it about this place that it produces people similar to (Islamic State founder) Baghdadi and (Pakistan terror ideologue) Hafiz Saeed. This place is not a temple of knowledge. It is a hub of terrorism. (Rai, 2018) Extending this argument, in another speech he also encouraged the myth and almost a hysteria that the Muslim population is increasing at a faster pace than that of Hindus in India thereby aiming at fanning the fear of the minority overtaking the majority and deepening this binary. In the same breath he associated Muslims in India with Pakistan, insinuating that their loyalty and affection lies with Pakistan. He said: Hindu ka do beta ho aur Musalmaan ko bhi do hi beta hona chahiye. Hamaari aabadi ghat rahi hai. Bihar mein saat zila aisa hai jahan hamaari jansankhya ghat rahi hai. Jansankhya niyantran ke niyam ko badalna hoga, tabhi hamaari betiyaan surakshit rahengi. Nahi toh hamein bhi Pakistan ki tarah apni betiyon ko parde mein band karna hoga.(Singh, 2016)

Similarly, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also strengthened this misplaced connection which implies Muslims are not natural citizens of India by saying, "Those who are dying without eating beef, can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available. (Hindustan Times, 2015) Cow, as suggested by Naqvi, is enforced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Meneka Gandhi as a sacred symbol of nationalism. The people indulging in cattle trade are thus targets of hate and violence. She went on to say: Money earned is going into terrorism, it is going into bomb making. (India Today, 2014)

These narratives about Muslims being terrorists, beef-eaters, anti-nationalists, growing at a fast pace are on the one hand demonising the Muslim community and on the other hand used as a justification for the agenda of establishment of a Hindu Rashtra which in essence is steeped in exclusion and hierarchies. The officials, who are sworn to protect a secular India as enshrined in the Constitution, are openly and stridently espousing for a Hindu Rashtra. Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Paras Jain said: Whoever was living in India, irrespective of their religion, should consider it a Hindu Rashtra because a majority of people follow Hinduism here. (The Indian Express, 2015) On being asked about saffronisation of education, the MP from Agra and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ram Shankar Katheria said: Yes, there will be saffronisation of education and of the country. Jo acha hoga, woh hoga (Whatever is good for the country will certainly happen) be it saffronisation or sanghwaad (propagation of the RSS ideology.) (Rashid, 2016).

The most alarming implication of Hindu Rashtra is also the secondary citizenship of non-Hindus. The message is always that other religious communities will be inferior to Hindus and Hindu symbols, and as Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister for State for Food Processing Industries, suggested even illegitimate. During campaigning for BJP before Delhi polls she said, Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (You must decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately). (The Indian Express, 2014) Such speeches have altered the whole discourse of citizenship in India that is now linked to religion. Shiv Sena leader (ally of BJP) and MP while advocating for disenfrancement of Muslims said: Balasaheb had said 15 years ago that if the voting rights of Muslims is taken away for a few years, then the lobbying for their votes will stop. (Gupta and Mehta, 2015)

The Constitution vests immense power in the post of the Governor who is expected to be non-partisan and protect equality enshrined in the Constitution. The Governor of Assam, P.B. Acharya, violated this norm utterly when he said: They (Indian Muslims) are free to go anywhere. They can stay here (in India). If they want to go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, they are free to go. Many of them have gone to Pakistan. But if they are persecuted there.. Taslima Nasreen was persecuted there, she came here. If they come, we will give them shelter. (Kashyap, 2015)

The Chief Ministers of States were not to be left behind in their hatemongering. Some people raise slogans about breaking the country into pieces. Political parties should refrain from making heroes of them. If people are unwilling to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, they have no right to stay in India, said Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. (Sonawane, 2016) Mr Fadnavis knows fully well that chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai is not demanded in the Constitution and not legally enforceable. But there is insistence on chanting it since Muslims consider the slogan offending the essence of monotheistic Islam that forbids the deification of anything, including God or Muhammad, the Prophet. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, in response to the Dadri lynching said: Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau. (Subramanian and Bhatia, 2015) He justified the gory lynching by upholding cow as a scared national symbol.

The BJP, which is the ruling party, as a political party, is indulging in hate-mongering by deepening the idea that Muslims naturally belong to Pakistan and India is the country for Hindus. The BJP chief leads by example here. He said: Agar BJP galti se bhi Bihar me haarti hai to jay-parajay to Bihar me hogi, pataake Pakistan me chhutenge (If BJP loses in Bihar by mistake, then victory-defeat will be in Bihar but crackers will be burst in Pakistan) (The Indian Express, 2015) Another BJP member, Aseervatham Acharya, said: I will tell you this, Indian Muslims have their bodies in Tamil Nadu, but their hearts are in Pakistan. (The News Minute, 2015) This is a new low in the trend of jingoistic under-standing of nationalism.

Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act makes canvassing for votes in the name of religion a punishable offence. During the Assembly election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, local BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg said: You will have to fire bullets, you will have to take up rifles, you will have to wield knives. Elections are approaching in 2017, begin showing your strength from now onwards. The crowds chanted, Jis Hindu ka khoon na khaule, khoon nahin wo pani hai (The Hindu who doesnt get angry isnt Hindu enough). (Bharadwaj, 2016) The party candidate, former RSS Pracharak Rampal Singh Pundhir, asserts his agenda: restoration of Hindu pride vis-a-vis Muslims. This election has become a fight between Hindus and Muslims because Hindus are unsafe. The honour of mothers and daughters is threatened. Hindu traders face theft, dacoity. They are murdered. Deoband mein kisi Hindu ki himmat nahi hai ki kuch bol jaye (No Hindu has guts in Deoband to speak out), says Pundhir (Bhardwaj, 2016). Local BJP leader Kundanika Sharma called other parties jackals for seeking votes of traitors. But we want the heads of these traitors. This is not the time to sit quiet. Chhapa maaro, burqa pehno, lekin inhen gher-gher kar le aao. Ek sar ke badle dus sar kaat lo (Raid them, wear burqas, but corner them. Behead ten heads for one head). (Bhardwaj, The Indian Express, 2016)

It cant be a mere coincidence or a weakness of the PM who is otherwise toxically masculine in his rhetoric about national issues cant check his own party members violating law and setting his house in order. The Prime Minister was deliberate in his silence and lack of action though he is portraying himself as a chowkidar. In his silence, the hate spewed and impunity with which laws were broken got normalised. The Constitution and constitutional values, which he should have protected, were delibe-rately trampled upon while the PM chose to turn a blind eye. This silence amply demons-trates that main bhi chowkidar is a mere election campaign gimmick devoid of any sincerity and in fact the chowdikar has allowed social evils and lawlessness to perpetrate.

(Courtesy: Secular Perspective)

The author is the Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip to the Netherlands next week, as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex.

Harry will stay in England in the coming days, amid "logistical challenges" surrounding the trip.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watch children playing football at a school in the town of Asni, in the Atlas mountains, Morocco, in February. Credit:EPA

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours beforehand, Buckingham Palace has cancelled the first day of the two-day trip scheduled for May 8 and 9, leaving observers wondering.

The decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife Meghan a little longer while she is either significantly overdue or enjoying her first few days with their newborn baby.
Prague: Security officials from 30 countries have hammered out a common approach to wireless network safety, responding to concerns over equipment made by Chinese company Huawei Technologies.

The non-binding proposal warns governments against relying on suppliers of fifth-generation networks that could be susceptible to state influence or based in countries that haven't signed international agreements on cyber security and data protection.

An employee walks past a logo in the reception area of the Huawei Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels, Belgium. Credit:Bloomberg

"The customer - whether the government, operator, or manufacturer - must be able to be informed about the origin and pedigree of components and software that affect the security level of the product or service," read the Prague Proposal document handed out at the end of the conference in the Czech capital.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.
A Boeing 737 commercial charter jet with 136 people on board slid into the St Johns River near Jacksonville in Florida after landing on Friday, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville says.

There were no reports of fatalities but local television station WOKV-TV said that at least two people suffered minor injuries and that the plane was attempting to land during a heavy thunderstorm.

The office of the sheriff said 21 adults were transported to local hospitals and all were listed "in good condition, no critical injuries". Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officers attended.

The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9.40 pm local time (11.40am AEST), the air station said.
Three people missing after an overnight explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone plant are believed dead, authorities said on Saturday.

Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said crews suspended their search for three employees due to concerns about the stability of the structure.

Lenzi said it's "not likely" that the three survived the Friday night explosion at AB Specialty Silicones in the Waukegan, about 80 kilometres north of Chicago. The coroner was on scene and crews are classifying the search as a recovery, he said.

"The conditions are really rough in there," Lenzi said. "There's a lot of damage. There was a lot of fire throughout."

Nine employees were inside the plant when the explosion occurred. Four were taken to hospitals and two declined treatment. Authorities have not identified the employees.
2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid Limited Review by David COLMAN - It's E15 Approved +VIDEO

A Green-vehicle review for car shoppers concerned with fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and gasoline and diesel exhaust emissions

A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

By David Colman

Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

Hyundai offers three distinct versions of their Prius beater, the Ioniq. At the lower end of the price range, the Hybrid retails for $21,400. Moving up to a Plug-In Hybrid Ioniq will cost you $25,350. The Limited version of the Plug-In that we spent a week driving carries a base price of $29,350. Here's the equipment the Limited adds over and above the base model Plug-In: auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, smart cruise control and driver attention warning - which has been added for 2019. If you desire a completely electric Ioniq, Hyundai offers one with a base price of $30,315. All versions of the Ioniq qualify for a federal tax credit of $4,453 plus additional state tax breaks. It's worth noting that the lithium ion polymer battery pack of the Ioniq carries a lifetime warranty. The powertrain comes with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, and the rest of this vehicle carries a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. It's encouraging to note that Hyundai also provides free roadside assistance for 5 years as well.

The two Hybrid versions of the Ionic carry identical horsepower (139hp) and torque ratings (125lb.-ft.). The all electric model offers less horsepower (118hp) but much greater torque (218lb.-ft.). The bottom line here is whether you can live with the all electric's limited range of just 124 miles on a full charge. The Ioniq Limited we drove offered a stupendous full tank range of 630 miles. After driving the Limited on many missions during our week, we still managed to return the car to Hyundai with 230 miles showing on the range estimate. For green buffs, the downside of the Plug-In we drove is its limited pure electric range: a full charge yields just 29 miles of travel. Replenishing the battery of the Plug-In requires 9 hours at 120 volts (Level 1) or 2 hours and 15 minutes at Level 2 (240 volts).

Our test vehicle rated 52 MPG overall rating from the EPA. With its 10 out of 10 EPA rating on fuel economy and greenhouse gas, the Ioniq will save you $3,750 in fuel costs over 5 years when compared to the average new vehicle. Best of all, this exceptional frugality does not require you to make concessions to outlandish green lifestyle design cues. About the only idiosyncratic styling feature of the Ioniq is the horizontally split rear window of the hatchback. In every other respect, the Ioniq is delightfully free of the bizarre flourishes other manufacturers use to distinguish their green cars. In fact, the classically proportioned Ioniq is one of the best looking small sedans on the market today in any price range. Ditto for its interior treatment, which utilizes recycled material to create a waffle-weave dash that is clean, different, and visually appealing.

the Ioniq is something of a surprise in the operation department. Instead of the usual unpredictable Hybrid brake feedback, the regenerative 4 wheel discs of the Ioniq offer firm pedal feel. There's a baby deer in my neighborhood who will testify to the stopping power of this Hyundai. When the deer jumped in front of the Ioniq, which was travelling 40mph, the disc brakes helped me do a great job of keeping avoiding a collision. Very impressive stopping power, indeed. Credit should also go to the Ioniq's Michelin Green X Energy saver radials (205/55R16). Mounted on Oh-So-80's looking white "Eco-Spoke" alloys, the Michelins provided decent cornering power and very good braking traction. You'll also appreciate their TW 480 tread life longevity.

I wish I could lavish the same high praise on the performance of the 1.6 liter inline 4 cylinder engine. Even with the 125lb.-ft. torque boost from the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, acceleration from a stop is less than scintillating. It takes a little longer than you would like to get this 3,070 pound sedan motivated. To help in the cause, Hyundai provides the Ioniq with a very useful 6 speed sequential gearbox which can be manipulated manually via the provided paddles behind the steering wheel. At low cruising speeds, snatching 2nd or 3rd gear with these paddles will provide the kind of immediate propulsion you crave in heavy traffic.

The Ioniq, with 119 cubic feet of cabin space, and 23 cubic feet of cargo volume, is decidedly larger inside than the Toyota Prius Prime, Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf. In addition to this abundance of interior space, Hyundai has chosen to equip the control panel with easy to use buttons and switches that will see to your every need without forcing you to remove your eyes from the road. Thankfully, Hyundai engineers have eliminated all traces of Buck Rogers from the interior as well as the exterior.

2019 HYUNDA IONIQ PLUG-IN HYBRID LIMITED



ENGINE: 1.6 liter Gas Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Inline plus 44.5kH Electric Motor

HORSEPOWER: 139hp

TORQUE: 125lb.-ft.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 119MPGe/52MPG Gas Only

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,335

HYPES: A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

GRIPES: Needs More Power

STAR RATING: 8.5 Stars out of 10
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Winding up the End-game in Afghanistan

by Apratim Mukarji

The Great Game in Afghanistan, in which the United States has acted as the leader of the team and involves mutually adversarial players like Pakistan and Iran as well as consensually competitive Russia and China, is now converted into an end-game under President Donald Trump. The President has repeatedly declared his firm resolve to get out of the country as quickly as he can manage, and the course of events over the last two years or so confirms this reading of his words.

The reason why the US is in such a hurry is clear to all.To quote an American analysis, by any reasonable estimate, the monetary and human costs of the US-led war on terror has been considerable. As found out by political scientists at Brown University, the numbers have been astronomical. The universitys Cost of War Project calculates that Washington will be spending approximately $ 5.9 trillion between 2001 (when the Al-Qaeda-Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan) and 2019, the current year.A break-up of the expenditure includes over $ 2 tn. in overseas contingency operations, $ 924 billion in homeland security spending, and $ 353 bn. in medical and disability care for American troops serving overseas conflict zones. The conclusion is that when the interest to be paid on the borrowed funds is taken into account, the American people will be shouldering the cumulative debt for decades to come.(Daniel R. DePetris, The War on Terrors Total Cost : $ 5,900,000,000,000, The National Interest, January 12, 2019)

The world knows only too well that this massive expenditure is being borne by the US Administration not because the worlds most powerful nation has lost sleep over the Afghans continuing tale of horror at the hands of the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) plus a plethora of splinter terrorist groups but because the Americans were living in terror in their home country. Thus, the test of the enormous and frightfully expensive exercise lies in making the United States homeland security fool-proof.

And what is the score on that account? Taking a hard look at the terrorism problem over many decades, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Transnational Threats Project discovered that the number of Salafi-jihadist fighters has increased by 270 per cent since 2001 (the year the Al-Qaeda-Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan). In 2018, there were sixty-seven jihadist groups operating around the world, a 180 per cent hike since 2001. The number of fighters could be as high as 280,000, the highest in forty years. Moreover, quashing the claim of many authorities in the US claiming success for the anti-terror operations, many of these jihadists reside in countries, such as, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, which have been invaded by the US and/or bombed over the last seventeen years.

Are the Americans feeling safer than before? Not by a long shot. An October 2017-dated Charles Koch Institute/ Real Clear Defence survey found that a plurality of American (43 per cent) and war veterans (41 per cent) believe that the US foreign policy over the last twenty years has actually made the counry less safea result not really conducive to what US policy-makers are looking for.

There is no other way to describe the American decision (followed by haste) to vacate Afghanistan than by reemphasising a virtual and unacknolwedged defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But the United States internal assess-ments have been quite candid. For example, the US Defense Departments own metrics suggest that Afghanistans insurgents are nowhere near losing. The percentage of the countrys 407 districts under government control has declined from 66 per cent in May, 2016, to 53.8 per cent by by the end of March, 2019. (Al Jazeera, Explosion, Taliban attack kill dozens across Afghanistan, March 30, 2019)

It is important to note that control of territory in the prevailing Afghan military environment does not connote a complete and unshakable authority, for control switches quickly, some-times as swiftly as the following day or week. There have been scores of instances when Afghan soldiers, trained and armed and, sometimes led by, American and (earlier NATO officers) have displayed exemplary courage and strength and won back lost territories. It should also be acknowledhed that a major boost for the Afghan Army and police is the massive air support the Americans provide to government operations.

Nevertheless, it is now beyond debate that the Taliban have achieved an overall military dominance,a position of strength from which it cannot be easily dislodged. When one reads this conclusion in conjunction with the other, that the cost of waging the war has become prohibitive, one can begin to appreciate the logic behind the American decision. This has been put succinctly in the following comment, Districts have been retaken (by both the sides) only to be lost shortly thereafter,largely resulting in the conflicts current relative stalemate. However,since the US drawdown of peak forces in 2011, the Taliban (have) unquestionably been resurgent. (FDDs Long War Journal, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, created by Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowsky, www.longwar-journal.org/) Another way of understanding the methodology of this assessment is the term coined for the purpose, contested. A contested district is one the centre of which is controlled by government forces and the fringes by the Taliban or it may be one which is taken by one side and then re-taken by the rival and the process continues, putting the lives of the civilians to extreme peril in the process. But this also helps us realise the cardinal truth of the present-day Afghanistan, that there is a stalemate in the military situation with the Taliban on the ascendance, and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Reading the situation correctly nearly a year ago, Gen. Joseph Votel, leading the US Central Command, said that the Taliban cannot win militarily despite an uptick in attacks. The message I would send to the Taliban is that they cannot win militarily. The international coalition, led by the United States, is focussed on providing the military pressure,in conjunction with social pressure and diplomatic pressure, that will force them to come to the table. He also urged the militants to accept the very generous offer made by the Afghan President Ashraff Ghani who offered unconditional peace talks accom-panied by a cease-fire, recognition of the Taliban as a political party and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. However, when the preliminary negotiations bagan later in the year, the Taliban did not care for the ceasefire offer (implying their confidence) and attacks on government forces and civilians, including foreigners, have continued well into the current year. In the midst of all these disruptions and negativity by the insurgents, the talks between the Taliban and the Americans have continued,with the telling absence of the Afghan Government on the insistence of the winning side.

Perhaps the most significant statement issued since the talks began came from the Taliban, who said on March 8, 2019, that Everyone is aware that detailed discussions are taking place in the Qutari capital of Doha between the negotiation team of (the) Islamic Emirate (Taliban) and the United States regarding the complete indepen-dence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland Afghanistan. Since the issue of Afghanistan has two aspects with one being foreign and the other internal, the current negotiations concern the foreign aspect which is related to the United States. This phase is about fleshing out the details of the two issues which were agreed upon in the last round of talks in January, the withdrawal of all occupying forces from Afghanistan and not allowing Afghanistan to harm others. Comprehensive discussions are taking place about these two subjects. Other issues that have an internal aspect and are not tied to the United States have not been held under discussions. As some individuals and circles are trying to connect other topics to these discussions, they are either unaware or are pursuing an agenda. No one should pay any heed to the rumours of these self-interested circles.

As we have already noted, the present negotiations have the backing of a number of countries that hold high stakes in the future of Afghanistan, such as, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, and the Central Asian republics, apart from other global investors in the country like Australia and Japan. The situation is so much conditioned by the Talibans undisputed ascendancy in the last few years that nobody is questioning the legitimacy of the talks despite the forced absence of the Afghan Government, which is recognised by the international community and elected democratically. Even though unspoken, there are deep concerns over the future of the massive, far-reaching political, economic, social reforms and development already functional and also in the pipeline if and when the Taliban join in the governance. But the consensus is that peace has become imperative before other necessities and once peace is achieved, these can be addressed in a conducive atmosphere.

In these developments, the Taliban are the clear winner irrespective of what transpires eventually. But there is another winner as well, Pakistan, which is playing its hand expertly. Current reports say that after ensuring that the United States is forced to enter talks with the Taliban on an equal footing, Islamabad is now so subtly guiding the rebels in negotiating with American diplomats that its imprint is not visible to the outsider. A Reuters report said that while Pakistan is keen to avoid any overt display of influence on them, the Taliban are also careful to avoid any sign of such a connection. But, perhaps the truth was spoken by a US diplomat who commented that the talks would not have been possible without Pakistans help.

Apratim Mukarji is an analyst of South and Central Asian affairs.
College Station police are searching for a woman who is wanted on three felony burglary charges.

According to police, Lisa Kathryn Salazar, 23, was arrested with a man on March 31 on charges the two broke into Hobby Lobby on Texas Avenue. She has made bail and is now wanted on additional charges of burglary of a building. CSPD posted notices to social media on Friday afternoon, urging the public to provide information on her whereabouts.

Anyone who harbors or conceals Salazar, provides Salazar any means of avoiding arrest, or warns Salazar of an impending arrest commits the offense of hindering apprehension, the official statement reads.

Burglary of a building is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and $10,000 in fines. Those with information are asked to call CSPD at 764-3600.
The Brazos Valley received a significant amount of rain throughout the day Friday, causing some roads to flood.

According to KBTX-TV meteorologist Shel Winkley, between Monday and Friday evening, Bryan-College Station had received more than 3.3 inches of rainfall, while some areas of the Brazos Valley received up to 6 inches. Late Friday, more rain continued to drench the area, adding to the numbers. Rains today will probably be measured at 1 to 3 inches, though in spots some residents of the Brazos Valley could see as much as

5 inches of rain, Winkley said.

Though rain is not unusual for this area during May, Winkley noted that rain does not usually fall in such a high quantity at once this time of year. The storms seen over the weekend likely will affect Austin and San Antonio more than the B-CS area, he said.

According to the National Weather Service, while there is a 40% chance of heavy rain today, tonight is expected to be mostly clear. Sundays forecast is a high of 85 and mostly sunny skies. Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Washington counties were placed under a flash flood watch through 1 p.m. today.
Air Force Col. Bea M. Marin, a Bryan native, is remembered for her valor while serving in the Vietnam War and for her molding of minds as a faculty member with Tarleton State Universitys School of Nursing.

Her image has now been immortalized in bronze with a near life-sized statue unveiled recently at the nursing building on the Tarleton campus in Stephenville.

Born in Bryan in 1939, she attended Ibarra Elementary School, Lamar Junior High School and was a 1957 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School. She was raised in a time when women were not allowed to attend Texas A&M, despite her dreams to become an Aggie. According to her cousin, Dora Moncivais-Garcia, who spoke at the statues unveiling on April 26, Marins father told her not to give up on an education.

She elected to attend Texas Womans University in Denton and earned a nursing degree and registered nursing license before eventually receiving a masters degree. She eventually was inspired by her male relatives World War II service to join the military, and she was accepted into the Air Force as a lieutenant.
Surely everyone is familiar with the saga of George Bailey, who think he doesnt matter to the residents of Bedford Falls, New York. An angel  Clarence  takes Bailey on a look at the difference he has made in the town and finally convinces him that life is good and that Bailey should embrace it. A small cast will re-create the story on stage, as it would be during a live radio broadcast.

 Little Women adapted by Thomas Hischak, directed by Micaela Eagle, Feb. 6-22.

Louisa May Alcott wrote the novel of the four Marsh sisters: Meg, Jo  based on Alcott herself  Beth and Amy. The lives of the sisters has captured the heart of generations of women since it first was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Although there are many stage versions of Little Women available, Hischaks take on the classic story is considered by many to be the best.

 Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrew Roblyer, April 2-18.
April 29, 2019 - April 29, 2019

Beautiful Hannah Victoria Palasota was born in love on April 29, 2019 at 3:25 am. She was baptized into the Church at 4:00 pm and entered Heaven's gates at 6:00 pm. Never leaving her side, Hannah's parents, Corey Anthony Palasota and Ashley Deatherage Palasota, held her little tiny hand and encouraged her to be strong as she underwent the most critical care treatments.

While her parents had many plans for Hannah, God's plans were different. Hannah's spirit lives in the warm hearts of her parents, grandparents, James and Bec Deatherage of Bryan, TX and Joe and Diane Palasota, of San Antonio, TX, aunts, uncles, cousins and large extended family. Hannah reminds us of the fragility of life, the immediate loving bond of parent and child, and the enigma of God's divine providence.
The raw gender gap by itself doesnt tell us much about the amount or type of discrimination against women in our economy.

Rather, it simply tells us that women, on the whole, earn less money than men. It doesnt tell us why.

Its just a comparison of averages, not a comparison of women and men in the same jobs with the same experience, education, hours and labor-market conditions.

Often, these factors  education, hours worked, etc.  are the result of personal choices that workers have made and they often break down along gender lines.

Men simply are more likely to value higher pay, while women  particularly mothers  are more willing to trade high pay for other benefits, such as flexibility.

A recent Harvard Business School survey shows that 64 percent of highly qualified women value flexibility as extremely or very important compared to 42 percent who value its role in earning a lot of money.

If lawmakers really want to combat pay discrimination further, they should look for ways to do so that dont unnecessarily burden employers  many of whom are women  by removing disincentives to the flexible careers that women workers want.
Many employers require applicants to provide current salary information and then can use that information to lowball lower-paid applicants  typically women and people of color. Or even more insidiously, they may justify paying a male employee more, if his previous salary was higher. Banning salary history questions forces employers to determine what the job is worth, not the person.

 It prevents employers from banning salary conversations with coworkers.

Pay discrimination can flourish in workplaces where salaries are a highly confidential secret and known only to a handful of people.

Without transparent salary information, you may have no idea about salary differences among people doing the same job. Some companies even threaten to punish employees who discuss this information. While having an explicit policy can violate federal labor laws, employers now count on workers being too intimidated to risk discipline or termination. Its hard to fight unequal pay without knowing what others are making, so the he Paycheck Fairness Act clarifies that companies cant ban these conversations or punish employees who have them.

 It fixes current problems with how the Equal Pay Act has been interpreted in court.
New Delhi : In a shocking report, the Sri Lanka Army chief has revealed that some of the suicide bombers who carried out a series of blasts in Sri Lanka had traveled to Indian cities o train in terrorism activities.

"They had gone to India, Kashmir, Bangalore, Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said in an interview to BBC World.

At least nine suicide bombers were responsible for the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka in a decase on April 21. The National Investigation Agency ( NIA) had carried out several raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to unearth Indian links with the Sri Lanka blast.
11 Million Pounds of Chicken Strips Recalled Over Possible Contamination

Tyson Foods issued a nationwide recall of over 11 million pounds of chicken strips.

The Arkansas-based company produced chicken strips that could be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The chicken strips were shipped to retail and Department of Defense locations nationwide. They were also being used in institutions across the country.

Two consumers found pieces of metal in their Tyson chicken strips and alerted the service, which said that its now aware of six complaints and three injuries from the issue. The health risk for the alert is listed as high.

The products were produced from Oct. 1, 2018, to March 8, 2019, and have Use By Dates on the packages of Oct. 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020. All of the products bear the establishment number P-7221 on the back of the package.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Tyson Foods Consumer Relations at 1-866-886-8456. In a statement, the company said it was issuing the recall in the interest of public health even though the vast majority of the products have already been consumed without any reported incidents. It wasnt clear whether the company had been informed of the three illnesses.

We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plants existing metal-detection system. We will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification, said Barbara Masters vice president of regulatory food policy, food, and agriculture for Tyson Foods, in a statement.

The products recalled include the following:

Tyson Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Strips, Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat, frozen in 40-ounce plastic bags.

Tyson Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Flavored Chicken Strips Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat and Honey BBQ Style Sauce Smoke Flavor Added, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Food Lion crispy chicken strips fully cooked chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken fully cooked microwaveable, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Giant Eagle Crispy Fully Cooked chicken strips chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Other brand names include Meijer, Publix, and Kirkwood. For a full list, (pdf).
Picacho Peak Park in Arizona, where a boy scout died on April 27, 2019. (CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

16-Year-Old Boy Scout Dies After Troop Runs out of Water in Arizona Desert

A 16-year-old boy scout died when his troop ran out of the water while hiking in the Arizona desert on April 27.

According to Pinal County sheriffs officials, a Scouts BSA group was hiking at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday when the boy had no water and fell unconscious, reported KGUN-TV.

The troop had water but by the time they reached the top of the peak they ran out and on their way back, the boy started showing signs of dehydration.

A member of the hiking group called 911 for help but by the time the responders reached them he had fallen unconscious.

PCSO: 16-year-old dies during hike at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday.https://t.co/GiiPEhlblh pic.twitter.com/7aTYyLSETM  KGUN9 On Your Side (@kgun9) May 2, 2019

A team from Avra Fire Department and a park ranger tried to revive him but he was declared dead on the scene.

Its not yet clear if his death was caused by dehydration and officials are now investigating the possible causes.

In another hiking-related death at a coastal park near Big Sur, an 18-year-old teen who fell into a blowhole was presumed dead after a four-day rescue ended in January this year.

The victim was identified as Braxton Cooper Stuntz of Carmel, Calif. Stuntz and his friends had been hiking at Garrapata State Park Beach on Jan. 12 when they found a blowhole near the cliffs along the Pacific Coast, according to the Monterey County Sheriffs Office.

View this post on Instagram the 1 A post shared by @ braxtnn on Jan 10, 2019 at 9:55pm PST

Stuntz slipped and fell through the hole down to the rocky beach inside while exploring the marine geyser and trying to have a closer look.

The blowhole is flooded with waves measuring 14 feet high every nine seconds.

Sgt. Dave Murray told KSBW Stuntzs friends saw the teen making a thumbs up signal right after the fall. However, after a few waves, his friends were not able to see Stuntz anymore.

Authorities said the waves filled the blowhole, dragged Stuntz out, and pushed him underwater into the sea.

Stuntzs friend immediately sought help from a passerby, who called the police. First responders were not able to find Stuntz. As a result, members of the MCSO Search and Rescue, Mid-Coast Fire, Cal-Fire, California State Park Rangers/Lifeguards, and CHP Helicopter all joined the search effort for Stuntz.

California Teen Presumed Dead After Falling Through Monterey Beach Blowholehttps://t.co/b64Ohg8JOy pic.twitter.com/ZE2CnVMNXG  Pam Wright (@pamwrightmedia) January 16, 2019

The United States Coast Guard boat from Monterey sector and helicopter from San Francisco sector arrived and conducted search patterns well into the night, Monterey County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

MCSO drone operators returned the next day to continue the search for Stuntz and attempted an underwater search. No sign of Stuntz was detected in the following days.

At this time the young adult is classified as a missing person. However, operations have shifted into a recovery mode, sheriff officials said.

Although warning signs can be seen across the area, concerned citizens say signage is far from adequate.

Its shocking how dangerous it can be out here. For people who dont know the risks, it can be really alarming. You can slip and fall and be in big trouble, local resident Jared Sandman told KION.

The Garrapata State Beach Park is 15 miles north of Big Sur, which is one of the most popular destinations in California, connected by the iconic Highway 1.

Epoch Times reporter Zach Li contributed to this article.
JT Borofka, 7 months old, of Salinas, Calif., was diagnosed with triosephosphate isomerase deficiency just 2 months after birth. (Help JT Beat TPI Deficiency/GoFundMe)

7-Month-Old Baby Diagnosed With Rare Disease With No Known Cure

A California baby has been diagnosed with a rare disease that only 59 others around the world are known to have.

Doctors havent been able to find a cure or treatment for the disease, triosephosphate isomerase deficiency (TPI).

According to the Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center at the National Institutes of Health, the deficiency is a severe disorder characterized by a shortage of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), neurological problems, infections, and muscle weakness that can affect breathing and heart function.

TPI deficiency is the most severe form of a group of diseases known as glycolytic enzymopathies, which are rare genetic diseases that lead to the degeneration of the red blood cells. Signs and symptoms include anemia, fatigue, pallor, yellowing of the skin and the white of the eyes (jaundice), and shortness of breath, it stated.

Other symptoms are muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy), movement problems (such as involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), tremors and weak muscle tone), seizures, cardiomyopathy, and diaphragm weakness which may cause breathing problems and lead to respiratory failure, it added.

JT Borofka of Salinas, 7 months old, was diagnosed with the rare disease shortly after birth, his parents told KSBW.

We believe, and the doctors believe, that hes the first person to be detected with this very rare disease before the neurological and major symptoms start, Jason Borofka, JTs father, told the broadcaster.

The boy is Jason and Tara Borofkas only child. When he was 2 months old, he was sent to Stanford Childrens Hospital after his pediatrician detected low iron and oxygen levels. It was the first TPI case ever documented in California.

Our doctors at Stanford and their team are scrambling to come up with a cure or some type of treatment for our son, Jason Borofka said. The doctors gave him 2 to 5 years to live, and he said its going to be very tough on us and that it was going to be horrible. We cried for a solid week, for sure, but now were holding on tight and were going to try and beat this.

The couple wanted to share the babys story in the hopes of raising awareness about the rare disease. They hope that doctors will be able to find a cure.

In addition to TPI, the parents said on a GoFundMe fundraising page that the infant also has the hemolytic anemia disorder.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, hemolytic anemia is a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made. The destruction of red blood cells is called hemolysis.

Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. If you have a lower than normal amount of red blood cells, you have anemia. When you have anemia, your blood cant bring enough oxygen to all your tissues and organs. Without enough oxygen, your body cant work as well as it should, it added.

Hemolytic anemia can be inherited or acquired: Inherited hemolytic anemia happens when parents pass the gene for the condition on to their children. Acquired hemolytic anemia is not something you are born with. You develop the condition later.
Amazon employee Heather Redman works to pack products for shipment at an Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky on June 10, 2009. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Amazon Dismisses Idea Automation Will Eliminate All Its Warehouse Jobs Soon

BALTIMOREAmazon.com Inc. dismissed the idea of running a fully automated warehouse in the near future, citing the superior cognitive ability of humans and the limitations of current technology.

Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, said technology is at least 10 years away from fully automating the processing of a single order picked by a worker inside a warehouse.

There is a misperception that Amazon will run fully automated warehouses soon, Anderson said during a tour of Amazons Baltimore warehouse for reporters on April 30.

The technology for a robot to pick a single product from a bin without damaging other products or picking multiple products at the same time in a way that could benefit the e-commerce retailer is years away.

Amazon is exploring a variety of technologies to automate the various steps needed to get a package to shoppers, Anderson said.

In the current form, the technology is very limited. The technology is very far from the fully automated workstation that we would need, Anderson said.

The tour came at a time when the company has come under fire from labor groups and other Amazon critics for allegedly poor working conditions in its warehouses and for increasingly automating jobs and reducing its dependence on human labor.

The largest online retailer is also not employing robots in its warehouses that handle fresh food, said Derek Jones, global director of environment, health and safety, who oversees Amazons fresh food offerings like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.

Just imagine if you want bananas. I want my bananas to be firm, others like their bananas to be ripe. How do you get a robot to choose that? he said.

Amazon runs 110 warehouses in the United States, 45 sorting centers and about 50 delivery stations. It employs 125,000 full-time warehouse workers in the country.

The warehouses that employ robots mostly handle general merchandise, which includes everything from lamps and clothing to kayaks and bikes.

The company said it is not changing the level of productivity at its warehouses to catch up with its recent one-day shipping announcement. It is instead making changes to the transportation and delivery process.

Last month, Amazon said it plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club, Prime, in just one day instead of two.

Anderson said Amazons current target is four hours from the time a product is ordered to the time it leaves the warehouse, and the company is sticking with that.

The e-commerce company did not share details on how the decision to raise its minimum wage to $15 had impacted workforce turnover.

However, it said applications for seasonal jobs doubled to 850,000 at the end of October last year from the record number of applications the company received in August 2017, when it held a national job fair.

Amazon raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour for U.S. employees in November, giving in to critics of what they said was poor pay and working conditions.

By Nandita Bose
Bear Spotted in Tennessee Cabins Hot Tub

A bear was captured on camera taking a bath in a Tennessee rental cabins hot tub.

Elizabeth Strickland posted photos of the bear on the back porch of their cabin in Gatlinburg, WBIR reported.

I just had to share with yall. I was in that same seat 14 hours ago! she said of the bear in the hot tub.

There were also three bear cubs, she told the station.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency warns that bears might be cute or friendly, but people should be cautious.

They have been called a charismatic mega-fauna and for good reasoneveryone from non-hunters, to hunters, to wildlife watcherswe all love bears in our own special ways, the website says. For these reasons, it is everyones responsibility to keep them wild and keep them alive.

PHOTOS: Couple vacationing in Gatlinburg spots bear relaxing in their hot tub https://t.co/NIGlbdqqYo pic.twitter.com/q0Jm7QiOBQ  WKRN (@WKRN) May 3, 2019

According to the agency, there are several ways to deal with bears, which applies to black bears in any state:

-Never feed or approach bears!

-If a bear approaches you in the wild, it is probably trying to assess your presence.

-If you see a black bear from a distance, alter your route of travel, return the way you came, or wait until it leaves the area.

-Make your presence known by yelling and shouting at the bear in an attempt to scare it away.

-If approached by a bear, stand your ground, raise your arms to appear larger, yell and throw rocks or sticks until it leaves the area.

-When camping in bear country, keep all food stored in a vehicle and away from tents.

-Never run from a black bear! This will often trigger its natural instinct to chase.

-If a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively and do not play dead! Use pepper spray, sticks, rocks, or anything you can find to defend yourself. If cornered or threatened, bears may slap the ground, pop their jaws, or huff as a warning. If you see these behaviors, you are too close! Slowly back away while facing the bear at all times.

Bears Rescued

In another part of the country, in Arizona, three bear cubs were rescued after their mother died.

Arizona Highway Patrol troopers were responding to the crash near Dudleyville on April 29 when they stumbled on the cubs, and managed to load two into the back of their patrol car.

Pictures released by the Department of Public Safety show the 4-month-old cubs clambering on the seats in the back of the vehicle, while an officer from Arizona Game and Fish Department tracked down and caught the third cub.

AZGFD Tucson & Mesa responded today to three bear cubs orphaned and recovered by the AZ Hwy Patrol after a rare auto-on-bear accident on State Road 77 south of Winkleman. Their mother was likely killed instantly. The cubs are en route to the SW Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale. One first responder rescuing the cubs was scratched on the forearm by one, is seeking treatment at Oro Valley Hospital and likely will be released. Posted by Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson on Monday, April 29, 2019

Sergeants Tarango and Marquez, with assistance from DPS and a concerned citizen, arrested these three bandits, charged with raiding picnic baskets! wrote the Hayden Police department in a statement on Facebook.

Bears are incredibly smart animals, he said. They need to be challenged. Our bears here are given games to play and puzzles to do.

Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
Beluga Whale Allegedly From a Russian Military Facility Appears in Norway and Refuses to Leave

A beluga whale allegedly from a Russian military facility has mysteriously appeared on the coast of Norway. While the marine experts hope that it will swim away to where it has come from, it has till the last reportsrefused to leave.

The last days the whale has still been observed in the same area. Hopefully, it will swim away further north in the Arctic where it belongs and join a pod of white whales, Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine expert and an inspector for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement.

A few fishermen saw the beluga whale and sent pictures to Norways Institute of Marine Research. These photos were shared with three inspectors sailing in a Sea Surveillance Service patrol vessel.

To our surprise, we saw that the whale had a harness around his body clearly put there on purpose, said Wiig.

The team arrived with its disentangling gear and lured the whale with a cod filet. The whale was totally habituated to humans and we could touch it, he said.

The team had to work together to free the whale from the harness. First we thought that the rope had been ripped apart, but then we saw the most enjoyable thing in the water: The whale was free from the harness. It was a cheerful moment to see the whale going his own way free from the harness as we turned back to our regular assignment, said Wiig.

He told ABC News that it is very unlikely for the whale to have been trained by the Russian military.

Maybe [he] was trained to recover things people lose in the sea, as he is always looking for a boat to come close to, Wiig said.

We are in discussions with the Norwegian government about options for the beluga. He could just stay here, he could wait for other belugas when they make their summer migration through Norwegian waters and continue on with them [or] he could get transported to a whale sanctuary in Iceland.

Since being freed from its harness, the whale has moved only 30 nautical miles and Wiig said that they are looking for whatever best suits the young adults survival.

Its appearance, however, continues to be a mystery and Martin Biuw, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, told ABC News that the whale looks trained.

One of the videos shows the whale bobbing its head out of the water and opening its mouth. This is a clear sign that the animal is trained, as this behavior is usually associated with begging for food from the trainer, Biuw said.

There are speculations that the beluga is from a Russian Military facility. Biuw said that both Russian and American militaries had active marine mammal programs earlier but he had no detailed knowledge about it.

I would assume that harnesses are generally only used for short-term deployments, as they may cause chafing and other discomfort over longer time periods. What I can say for almost certain is that no researchers in Norway, and almost certainly not in Denmark/Greenland, use this method of attachment for any research-related work. Whether scientists in Russia do, I have no idea, he said.

The Russian military has denied running a sea mammal special operations program, reported the Guardian.

The investigations are done by Norways special police security agency (PST) and it has yet not given any conclusions.

The beluga whale is an Arctic and a sub-Arctic species.
Can Media Be Prosecuted for Being Unregistered Foreign Agents?

Jesse Liu, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and John Demers, head of the Department of Justices (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), unsealed a grand jury indictment of Gregory Craig, who served as White House counsel to Barack Obama, on April 11.

Its the NSD that is tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law passed by Congress that requires all persons working on behalf of a foreign government or entity to disclose that by registering and affirming they are representing foreign and not U.S. interests in their influencing activities.

Written by Brian Cates @drawandstrike

Hosted by Gina Shakespeare

Produced by @EpochTimes
Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canadian Lawmaker Condemns Pro-Communism Rally

Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper has a personal connection to the horrors of communism: His maternal grandparents escaped Soviet-occupied Lithuania, and his great grandparents died in the gulags of Siberia.

Thats why the St. AlbertEdmonton member of Parliament says he felt compelled to speak out in the House of Commons against a communist rally held on May 1 on the grounds of the Alberta legislature.

Disturbing to see people protesting with the Communist hammer and sickle in front of the Legislature. This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is the home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology. https://t.co/YciQn8F764  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 2, 2019

One might say well, this is just a small fringe group, but the fact is that this is an incredibly dangerous ideology that has resulted in more bloodshed around the world than any other ideology, Cooper said in a phone interview. Its a movement, an ideology that has led to the deaths of more than 100 million people.

On May 2, Cooper said in a statement in the House of Commons that the disturbing pro-communist rally should shock the conscience of all Canadians of goodwill, and that the promotion of this evil and murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly.

The legacy of communism includes mass violence, oppression, the dislocation of hundreds of millions, and the deaths of more than 100 million people. Its legacy is an ocean of blood, he said.

My statement on the disturbing pro-Communist rally at AB Legislature. The promotion of this evil & murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly #cdnpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/fqE6wK2jdS  Michael Cooper, MP (@Cooper4SAE) May 3, 2019

Cooper wasnt the only politician speaking out against the protest. Albertas new premier, Jason Kenney, also tweeted about the rally, saying he found it disturbing to see people protesting with the communist hammer and sickle in front of the Alberta legislature.

This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology, Kenney said.

According to Stephane Courtoiss The Black Book of Communism, communist regimes are responsible for close to 100 million deaths: 65 million in China, 20 million in the Soviet Union, 2 million in North Korea, 2 million in Cambodia, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, 1.5 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Vietnam, 1 million in Eastern Europe, 0.15 million in Latin America (mainly Cuba), and 10,000 due to the international communist movement and communist parties not in power.

The Epoch Times special series How the Spectre of Communism Is Ruling Our World states that communist regimes force the general population into obedience by killing their victims openly and deliberately.

In just one century, since the rise of the first communist regime in Russia, the evil spectre of communism has murdered more people in the nations under its rule than the combined death toll of both world wars, the series states.

The remaining officially communist countries in the world today are China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos.

According to another special series by The Epoch Times, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which focuses more specifically on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the primary belief of the communist party is struggle, which is used as a tool to gain and maintain political control.

For instance, a famous quote from MaoWith 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?reveals the logic of survival of the fittest, the series says. Repetitive use of force is an important means for the CCP to maintain its rule in China.

The series adds that the goal of using force is to create terror, so that people become afraid and submit to the terror, and gradually become enslaved under the CCPs control.

Cooper says the fact that there are still communist countries in the world suppressing human rights, and the fact that such pro-communist rallies are being held in Canada and other parts of the world, demonstrate that while in Canada communism is a fringe movement, it hasnt been completely stomped out, and it must not be allowed to gain any momentum.

He says Canada is a free country and people are free to hold rallies, but if they do, they need to be called out, and they should be made a little bit uncomfortable.

Its important to unequivocally condemn [communisms] promotion, Cooper says.
HOLLYWOODEric Le Van enjoys transmitting and learning about traditions. Being a classical concert pianist who has performed internationally and is currently teaching students, he understands the importance and beauty of preserving traditions.

Theres something about a tradition that is timeless, Le Van said. So it can be very relevant to our culture.

Le Van was invited to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on May 3 by one of his music students. New York-based Shen Yun tours the world with the aim to bring back Chinas 5,000 years of semi-divine culture through performing arts, something the pianist was able to appreciate.

I got, overall, from the show this desire to reach back to the spiritual roots of Chinese culture, going back thousands of years, Le Van said. And I was actually very happy and since delighted to see that theres that effort by others in exile to revive what was unique to the culture, because I know a lot of it had been suppressedthat was an interesting message.

Le Van, who is based in Los Angeles, is known for his performances of the music of Brahms and Scriabin. He has performed as a guest soloist and recitalist in many major venues and festivals in the United States and Europe like the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany and Fetes Romantiques de Nohant Festival in France. He has also released several recordings of his performances, which have been well-received.

He said he was particularly touched by the last piece, The Final Moment, which is a story-based dance depicting modern Chinese society and real-life human rights abuses under the communist regime.

The final dance I think was touching on that theme of how modern culture can clash with these traditional ones. I think we [need to] become better people and we become in touch with that culture. So in that respect, I thought it was a very compelling moment, he said.

Shen Yun performances are comprised of about 20 vignettes of dance, solo music performance, and stories. Many of these stories are based on historical events, inspired by myths and legends passed down generation after generation, and reflect modern-day China under the communist regime.

Some of these stories that portray traditional themes and values that encourage self-reflection and inspire audience members to observe the world around them.

Interesting Combination

Le Van said he was surprised to see a Western orchestra playing Chinese music. He said, That was an interesting combination, adding that they blended quite well.

I was not that familiar with the traditional Chinese instrument.  The [erhu] is quite intriguing. I think Ive heard it before, but it is the first time I had actually heard it in person in concert, he said, referring to the Chinese two-string violin.

Along with dance, Shen Yun performances are accompanied by a live orchestra that combines Eastern and Western classical instruments that create a distinct yet harmonious sound. A Western orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies, according to Shen Yun.

The erhu, also known as the Chinese violin, is just one of the many Chinese instruments that play in the orchestra. This year, audience members were fortunate to experience it in its own solo piece.

Le Van said he commends the effort of [Shen Yun] to really bring back traditions, which is so vital.

Especially in a time when I think pop music and Western pop music has become so widespread everywhere in the world and its almost drowning out diversity and its like a generalized youth culture and I think it can become basically a business. So I think that its so important to preserve these things that had lived with us for so many thousands of years, Le Van said.

We dont want to get lost in the wave of pop culture, and especially for young people, if they can somehow experience and see [the traditional culture] that is part of a heritage, and its beautiful, he added.

With reporting by Michael Ye.

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.
A Congolese health worker prepares to administer Ebola vaccine, outside the house of a victim who died from Ebola in the village of Mangina in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 18, 2018. (Olivia Acland/Reuters)

Congo Ebola Deaths Surpass 1,000

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo/GENEVAThe death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, April 3.

The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Congos Health Ministry said on Friday that 14 new Ebola deaths had been recorded, taking the toll to 1,008 deaths from confirmed and probable cases.

Only the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa has been deadlier. More than 11,000 people died then out of 28,000 who were infected.

Despite significant medical advances since then, health officials have struggled to control the current outbreak because of the violence and community mistrust in eastern Congo, where dozens of militias are active.

Militiamen attacked a hospital treating Ebola patients two weeks ago, killing a senior WHO epidemiologist and wounding two others.

The numbers are nothing short of terrifying, said Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease specialist and director of the global health charity the Wellcome Trust.

This epidemic will not be brought under control without a really significant shift in the response, he said. Community trust and safety, as well as community engagement and ownership of the response is critical.

There was an attempted assault on an Ebola treatment facility in the city of Butembo on Thursday, but nobody was injured and the assailants were captured, the WHOs Ryan said.

By Fiston Mahamba and Stephanie Nebehay
At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh (Photo: VNA)



Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th./.
Trump Trade War Is Widening, Not Ending

Almost every day brings comforting news on the trade front. Theyre talking! Someone went to Beijing! Someone else is optimistic!



The problem is, thats just talk. The longer it goes on, the more tariffs damage the economy.



Lets call tariffs what they are: import taxes. Maybe then the people who oppose all other taxes will stop thinking tariffs are somehow helpful.



There are better and less harmful ways to achieve our goals. But what you or I think doesnt really matter.



President Trump likes tariffs, and current law lets him use a national security pretext to impose them.



So they will continue until he changes his mind, and theres no sign he will.

Caught in the Middle

One thing even President Trump cant stop is the calendar. The days keep ticking by, each one bringing the end of his term closer.



That matters because Trump cant make any permanent trade agreements unless Congress agrees. Thats a long process he hasnt even started.



Instead, Trump is using executive authority, which lasts only as long as he is president. Any promise he makes to China will expire on January 20, 2021, just 21 months from now, unless he is reelected.



The Chinese know this.



Thats why they are in no hurry to make the kind of deals Trump wants. He might encourage them with threats and maybe even higher tariffs. But then he risks crashing the markets.



So, Chinas best negotiating strategy is to wait, which they do very well.



They may think Trump will get more flexible if the economy weakens next year, which is likely. Or possibly, theyre betting his successor will be friendlier to them.



In either case, Beijing has little incentive to give Trump what he wants unless he wins reelection, and maybe not even then.



The US agriculture and technology sectors are caught in the middle. Farmers are losing real money. Time isnt on their side.



But politically, Trump needs Midwest support. So if China keeps rejecting him, look for the rhetoric to turn ugly again.

We Will Reciprocate!

One problem with trade disputes is they escalate so easily. Country A raises tariffs on Country B, which then fires back.



If it stops there, everybody adapts and moves on. Trade wars happen when one side ups the ante, forcing a greater response from the other one. Then it spirals and gets much worse.



With that in mind, consider this April 23 presidential tweet.







Note that closing threat: We will Reciprocate! Thats funny because the tariff that so upsets the president is reciprocation for the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed on the EU last year.



Did Trump really think they would let him put European workers out of their jobs and do nothing at all? That was never a possibility. Yet hes surprised the EU is not surrendering.

Everyone Loses

Now, we dont know if Trump will actually do anything.



He often makes threats without following through. But if he does add more tariffs, the EU will respond again. Thats how trade wars pick up.



This one shouldnt happening in the first place. It springs from the Trump administrations contrived conclusion that EU-made steel somehow threatens US national security.



Thats obviously false, but World Trade Organization (WTO) rules give countries a lot of latitude in defense matters or used to.



Last week, a WTO tribunal ruled that the security clause applies only to actual armed conflicts. The particular case involved Russia and Ukraine, but its logic would seem to cover the Trump tariffs too.



Trump will likely ignore this decision and even try to withdraw the US from WTO membership. But it may give other countries a legal justification to raise tariffs on US goodsand get worse from there.



The president is right on one thing: the US has legitimate trade grievances with China and others. We need to resolve them. He would have a much better chance if he involved Congress instead of relying on contrived national security threats.



For whatever reason, he chose to go it alone, even when his party controlled both sides of Capitol Hill. And with the WTO possibly letting other countries retaliate more aggressively than they have thus far, the odds favor more tariffs.



That wont be good for US companies that depend on imported supplies, or US consumers who buy them, or US workers who produce goods for export including those Midwest farmers.



In other words, pretty much everyone will lose.



So dont believe the spin. The trade war isnt ending. It may only be beginning. Beware if your investment strategy presumes otherwise.

The Great Reset: The Collapse of the Biggest Bubble in History

New York Times best-seller and renowned financial expert John Mauldin predicts an unprecedented financial crisis that could trigger in the next five years. Most investors seem completely unaware of the relentless pressure thats building right now. Learn more here.

By Patrick_Watson

 2019 Copyright Patrick_Watson - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico, on Aug. 28, 2018. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

Elderly Couple Were Stunned to Receive $7,000,000 Worth of Meth in the Mail

An elderly Australian couple Wednesday signed for a package containing 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million) worth of methamphetamine, which had accidentally been shipped to their house, police said.

The couple, who live outside Melbourne, called police after opening the parcel and discovering it contained bags of white substance.

They asked each other if they had ordered anything, and it was quite clear that they hadnt, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Matthew Kershaw told reporters on Thursday.

The authorities determined the substance to be 20 kilograms of the illegal drug.

(Its) quite incredible to comprehend that someone could be that sloppy, Kershaw added.

Hours after the couples alarming discovery, a 21-year-old man was arrested in the nearby town of Bundoora.

A further 20 kilograms of methamphetamine were found at the address where he was arrested.

Zhiling Ma, who appeared Thursday in Melbourne court, was charged with trafficking and importing a marketable quantity of a border patrol drug, CNN affiliate Nine News reports.

Its quite a large find to take off the streets, really, Kershaw said of the drug haul. Thats 800,000 hits off the street that weve intercepted yesterday which is quite significant.

Breaking Bad for Real for Self-Taught Chianese Meth Maker

A real-life version of Breaking Bad that was playing out in China has witnessed its own series finale. A self-taught man, with only a middle-school education, was described by police as surpassing the skills of some organized gangs in manufacturing methamphetamine.

A man surnamed Lei was arrested Jan. 5 after establishing a methamphetamine laboratory under the stairs of his first-floor apartment in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, according to the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Leis method was perfected through trial and error, including by sampling his own drug. Just as his production hit high levels of purity, the police found him.

Lei told a court hearing that, after being laid off from his leather factory job, he found that he could make easy money cooking meth; he taught himself chemistry over a four- to five-year period.

The operation was discovered when the anti-drug division of the districts public security bureau noticed chemicals being delivered to Leis residential districtchemicals that could be specifically used for drug production.

The police described a pungent odor emanating from the room as they prepared for an arrest. Meth labs have a variety of odors, including that of cat urine or rotten eggs.

What they discovered inside Leis apartment was a fully functional lab, over 180 grams (6.3 oz.) of methamphetamine, and more than five liters (1.4 gallons) of liquid that was reported to contain drugs. Police also found 20 notebooks filled with notes from his self-taught education process, and 10 chemistry-related books.

The police described the earliest notes as relatively rudimentary, but his later methods were advanced, with knowledge of five different ways to produce the drug.

In China, drug-related charges often carry heavy sentences. A Canadian citizen was sentenced to death on Jan. 14 for charges of smuggling 222 kilograms (490 pounds) of methamphetamine to Australia from China.

While illegal drugs from China, including precursor chemicals used in Mexican meth, have been finding their way into the United States, the drug thats currently devastating U.S. communities is the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Chinas export of fentanyl to the United States a form of undeclared warfare, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to crack down on fentanyl production, a drug similar to, but much more potent than, heroin.

In August last year, two Chinese citizens from Shanghai were charged in the United States with operating a fentanyl production ring. The drug was responsible for the deaths of two people in Ohio, according to prosecutors. On Jan. 13, one individual died from an overdose of fentanyl, with more than 10 others hospitalized in Chico, California.

Chinese companies have also made minor modifications to fentanyl recipes, likely to dodge legal implications within China.
A helicopter crashed near Kent Island, Md., on May 4, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Helicopter Crashes in Maryland, 2 People Reported Missing

A helicopter crashed into Chesapeake Bay off Kent Island, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, May 4.

The authorities responded to a report at around 12:30 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed, Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert told the Baltimore Sun.

The brother of an onboard passenger was boating in the area and saw the incident happening, and notified authorities CNN reported.

The Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that volunteers were currently responding to a helicopter down in Chesapeake Bay and asked drivers to move over for responding units.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department sent a dive team to the scene to locate the missing passengers.

BREAKING: There are reports of a helicopter down in the Chesapeake Bay off of Kent Island, Md., more specifically Bloody Point. Private boats report seeing wreckage floating in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders are currently scrambling to the scene. pic.twitter.com/QPTMHznDeu  Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) May 4, 2019

Brandi Colbert, a witness who works in the Kent Point Marina, told the Baltimore Sun that the helicopter went over the marina and disappeared.

Volunteers are currently responding to a helicopter down in the Chesapeake bay. (9-62 Box). Please move over for responding units. Posted by Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, May 4, 2019

Its not clear by the time of the publication if anyone was hurt in the crash.

This is a developing story, please check back for more information.
The moment of an explosion in the the suburb of Chicago is captured on camera. (Lake County Sheriff)

Industrial Plant Explosion Rocks Chicago Suburbs, 4 Injured

A massive explosion leveled an industrial plant, shook houses over 15 miles away, and left a fire raging in a Chicago suburb.

Four people have been hospitalized, according to the Chicago Tribune, after an explosion at a silicone factory in Gurnee, a suburb to the north of Chicago.

We have fire and structural damage indicative of an explosion, Steve Lenzi, spokesman for the Waukegan Fire Department, told the Tribune. There is very heavy damage.

The blast went off on May 3 at AB Specialty Silicones, a silicone plant in an industrial facility, according to Waukegan fire and police officials, reported WGNTV.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

The explosion was felt and heard in many neighboring towns and suburbs, according to reports and videos on social media which captured the moment of the explosion at around 9:30 p.m.

Around 10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriffs Office issued an alert via Twitter: We are aware of a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area. We are working to determine the cause.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

Even many miles from the scene, the explosion was loud enough for residents to believe there had been a crash or explosion in their neighborhood.

I live in Antioch, 17.1 miles away and it shook my entire house, wrote one person on social media. I called police

Eyewitness Megan Hener told the Tribune she went down to the scene of the explosion and posted pictures on social media of the plant was now flattened.

It was leveled. Its right across from the emission testing station, she said, in reference to a state of Illinois facility.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

According to NBC, nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were left without power.

Many pictures on social media show the fire burning, and the moment of the explosion was caught on various cameras, such as porch cams, and posted to social media.

What was that massive explosion? Ive never heard anything so loud, wrote Lori Taylor on Twitter. Our house shook in Wadsworth.

One on-the-spot witness told Chicagos WLS-TV that she saw debris and sparks flying everywhere after hearing a large boom.

She saw a building engulfed in flames and heard another large boom.

The fire department said that they do not believe there is cause for concern about air quality or need for a shelter-in-place order, according to Local State Representative Joyce Mason.

According to WGNTV, police said late on May 3 that an active search and rescue operation was still underway at the site.
MS-13 Believed to Be Behind Body Found in Washington

The infamous MS-13 gang is believed to be behind the murder of a male who was found in Washington with one hand severed and the other barely attached.

Detectives believe the body found on April 27 is Eberson Guerra Sanchez, a ninth-grader who attended Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland, law enforcement sources told WUSA on May 3.

The body, found beneath the Chain Bridge near the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, was badly beaten and hacked with what detectives believe was a machete.

One hand was completely severed while the other was barely attached.

MS-13 suspected in body found with severed hand, believed to be Frederick teen https://t.co/4BBjPM72e5 pic.twitter.com/iGZ29Eu7VI  WUSA9 (@wusa9) May 4, 2019

Tuscarora High School Principal Christopher Berry said in a letter (pdf) to students and parents on May 2 that Sanchez had died. The Metro Police Department, though, said that the identification of the body hasnt been completed yet.

I know what theyre saying, but its too early to make a positive identification, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham told NBC 4. The victims face was so badly beaten, a positive identification will take more time.

Blue and white bags were tied to trees marking a trail to an enclave in the woods where the body was found. The colors are used by the transnational gang, which is known to favor beheadings and other brutal execution methods to send messages to the families of victims and others. Investigators removed the bags as forensic evidence.

A student who chose to stay anonymous told NBC 4 that Sanchez had only attended the school for a few months and believed the teen was from El Salvador.

Eberson Guerra Sanchez, un alumno de Tuscarora High School, fue reportado desaparecido la semana pasada y hallado muerto durante el fin de semana https://t.co/l8PYBZwcks  Telemundo 44 DC (@Telemundo44) May 2, 2019

Berry said in the letter that officials didnt think there was a threat to other students. We have no reason at this time to believe the circumstances are connected to Tuscarora High School or other students who attend here, he wrote.

The suspected MS-13 murder of Sanchez came just three days before three men believed to be members of the MS-13 gang were indicted for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a rival gang member in Nevada. The three men, all illegal aliens, allegedly restrained the victim and stabbed him while holding a gun to his head. When he tried to run, they shot him. The men then chopped up his body.

The gang, also known as Mara Salva 13, originated in Los Angeles but spread to El Salvador as members were deported from the United States. The transnational criminal organization is believed to have more than 10,000 members and regularly conducts gang activities in at least 10 states, including Maryland, and across Central America and Mexico.

In late March, six MS-13 members in New York, including two from Maryland, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to murder a fellow gang member who they thought was cooperating with law enforcement.

Our intelligence shows that their plan was to kill him by shooting him with a firearm they planned on purchasing, butchering him with a machete, or by burning him to death, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a press release.

This goes to show how ruthless this gang is and is part of their [modus operandi]: They conspire to kill rival gang members but they also conspire to kill their own when they allegedly violate the rules of the gang.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea Fires Short-Range Projectiles: South Korea

South Koreas military said that North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on May 4 local time. It initially described it as a missile launch but later gave a more vague description.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Koreas presidential Blue House is analyzing the situation, a Blue House official said without elaborating.

The South Korean military said it will, together with the United States, analyze the latest launches.

Japans Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the countrys coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

A Missile?

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

If North Korea really did fire banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first launch since it fired a test of ICBM back in November 2017.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas action would send a message to the United States.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure, said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the Norths nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts, Sanders said in a statement back on Feb. 28. No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.

Trump said at a press conference later that North Koreas insistence on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return proved to be the sticking point.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee. Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly. With reporting by AP, and The Epoch Times staff.
An injured demonstrator is helped during a May Day rally in Paris, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (Francois Mori/AP)

Paris Officials Question 30 Over May Day Ruckus at Hospital

PARIS (AP)  Authorities in Paris questioned 32 people May 2 about May Day marchers who scaled a fence and tried to enter a hospital, while questions remained over whether the group intended trouble or was trying to flee police tear gas.

By the end of the day, there was still no answer. The suspects detained for questioning were let go, an official with the Paris prosecutors office said.

The director of the Paris public hospital system had said he planned to file a complaint with police about the intrusion at Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital during an annual International Workers Day march organized by labor unions.

Dozens of people scaled the fence leading to a courtyard and tried to storm an emergency exit in a post-surgery ward on the afternoon of May 1, Martin Hirsch, the Paris public hospital system director, said. Doctors and nurses kept the door closed before police arrived, Hirsch said.

Computer equipment in another part of the hospital was damaged, and the consequences could have been very serious, Hirsch said.

Confusion surrounds the alleged actions of the May Day marchers.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called the incident an attack. But activists with the yellow vest movement, a left-wing politician and some news outlets suggested march participants were trying to escape tear gas fired by riot police.

The questioning of the 32 suspects brought no clarity, and they were released.

The investigation is continuing to shed light on the circumstances of the intrusion within the health facility, the official in the prosecutors office said. The official wasnt authorized to speak publicly about ongoing investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Paris May Day rally was disrupted several times by clusters of anarchists, supporters of the anti-government yellow vest movement and troublemakers who threw rocks at officers and set vehicles and trash cans on fire.

French officials deployed 7,400 officers to police the event.

French broadcaster BFMTV aired a video that showed dozens of people clamoring up steps that led to a glass door leading to the post-surgery unit and nurses and other staff members blocking the door from the inside.

BFMTV said the video was recorded by a nurses aide.

During a 2016 demonstration against labor reforms, another Paris hospital sustained damage after troublemakers hurled paving stones and other objects at the building.

By Elaine Ganley
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, May 2, 2019, in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Pelosi Calling Barr a Liar Is Beneath Her Office, White House Says

The White House on May 3 issued a rebuke against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for accusing Attorney General William Barr of lying during a hearing over special counsel Robert Muellers report earlier this week.

The fact that the speaker would take it upon herself to call him a liar is really, really inappropriate and beneath her office, deputy press secretary Steven Groves said on MSNBC.

Mueller wrote a letter to Barr complaining about his summary of the Russia investigation dated March 27. During testimony in April, Barr was asked whether he knew about the frustrations from Muellers team over his summary. Barr said No I dont and suspected they wanted more put out from the full report.

Although Mueller wrote that Barrs interpretation of his report did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions a Department of Justice representative told The Washington Post Mueller did not believe Barrs conclusions were inaccurate. Instead, Mueller was worried about the medias coverage of Barrs summary.

The special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading, the spokeswoman told The Washington Post. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsels obstruction analysis.

The Washington Post also reported that Mueller told Barr in a phone call that the concern of his summary was not about the accuracy of his letter.

Barr later confirmed the existence of the letter and phone call and clarified that Mueller didnt think his letter to Congress was inaccurate in testimony on May 1. Barr also said he believed Muellers letter was not written by him, stating that it was a bit snitty, and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people.

On Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob, the letter thats just put into the record, and I called Bob and said, Whats the issue here? and I asked him if he was suggesting the March 24 letter was inaccurate? And he said no, but that the press reporting had been inaccurate, and that the press was reading too much into it, he testified.

A number of top Democrats have since called for Barr to resign, claiming he was not truthful during testimony before House and Senate panels recently.

What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. Thats a crime, Pelosi told reporters previously at a press conference. He lied to Congress.

After Pelosi made the accusations the Department of Justice (DOJ) slammed Pelosis comments as baseless.

Speaker Pelosis baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible and false, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told Fox News.

Groves on May 3 defended Barrs comments, arguing the attorney general may have not wanted to reveal the private exchange he had with Mueller.

In that moment, that was private correspondence between Attorney General Barr and special counsel Mueller, Groves said. I mean, I dont know what was going through his head, but one of the things might have been, Hey that was a private exchange, maybe Im not going to reveal that on national television. 

He continued, The idea that he would be called a liar or accused of perjury is just so outrageous that I dont even know how to react to it.

Others have also defended the attorney general, pointing out that Mueller had admitted Barrs summary was accurate.

Rep. Mark Meadows said, 1) Mueller criticized Barrs letterexcept Mueller admitted letter was accurate. Pathetic spin. 2) Barr made the full report public 2 weeks agowhy in the world is his letter even relevant? Its like complaining about a movie trailer 2 weeks after the full movie comes out.

Liz Wheeler, the host of Tipping Point, made similar comments.

The article literally says Mueller CONFIRMED that Barr told the truth in his letter, she wrote.

Janita Kan contributed to this report
A woman during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 23, 2019. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

Persecution of Christians Worldwide Near Genocide Levels, Says Report for British Government

The persecution of Christians around the world is a near genocide levels, according to a report for the British government.

Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world, according to the report for the British Foreign Office, with acts of violence and intimidation becoming more widespread.

The British foreign secretary said he was shocked by the findings, and that a culture of political correctness in Western nations had left them asleep on the watch.

Christianity faces extinction in parts of the Middle East where it first blossomed, according to the report findings.

Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution but also its increasing severity, said the report, which was commissioned before the suicide bombings targeting Christians in Sri Lanka that left more than 250 dead last month.

The report author, Bishop Philip Mounstephen, said in a statement, Through my previous experience of the global church in Asia and Africa I was aware of the terrible reality of persecution, but to be honest in preparing this report Ive been truly shocked by the severity, scale, and scope of the problem. It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?

It is also ironic that many Western secularists, Islamic extremists, and authoritarian regimes share a common erroneous assumptionthat the Christian faith is primarily an expression of white Western privilege. In fact, Christianity is primarily a phenomenon of the global south and the global poor.

The report notes that in some regions, the level and nature of the persecution is close to meeting the United Nations definition of genocide.

The main impact of those genocidal acts is an exodus, according to the report.

Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria, the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today. Christianity is at risk of disappearing, representing a massive setback for plurality in the region.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt noted that the persecution of Christians happens for different reasons in various parts of the world, but said that they had gone unchallenged due to a broader culture of political correctness.

I think weve all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians, he told reporters in Addis Ababa, reported ITV. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into to as colonizers.

That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issuethe role of missionaries was always a controversial one and that has, I think, also led some people to shy away from this topic, continued Hunt. What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.

The report states that Christian women are more likely to suffer persecution.

The full findings of the report will be published in the summer.
Invited guests for the world premiere of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are reflected in the fuselage of the aircraft at the 787 assembly plant in Everett, Washington, on July 8, 2007. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)

Pilot Forced to Call Police on Disruptive Passenger, Drags Him Out of Bathroom

Seventy-five minutes into its 11-hour flight from New Zealand to Chile, a LATAM Airlines plane had to turn back because of a disruptive passenger.

The flight was 466 miles in the air on the night of May 3 when the decision to turn around was made in an effort to protect the people on board, Stuff reported.

The troublesome passenger was detained by using the Immigration Act, according to the news outlet. Police stated that there was an incident during the flight involving only the passenger in question.

A LATAM spokesperson said that no one on the plane was harmed.

He did not want to say what it was that the disruptive passenger did to make the pilots call the police and make the decision to go back.

The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it left Auckland about 6:30 p.m. and returned three hours later.

Flight LA800 from Auckland to Santiagohttps://t.co/yRxdpfcswl Inbound from Auckland to Santiago delayed ETA2242Z pic.twitter.com/veXQEy87Z2  Kenneth Brown (@spotter_scl) March 7, 2019

Airways spokeswoman Emma Lee said that the pilot had requested police approach the plane upon arrival. She said it would not be appropriate to comment further on the occurrence.

Some passengers were complaining of the delay and lack of communication So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? said one Twitter user who seemed to have been on the 787 Dreamliner.

So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? @AKL_Airport Coming up to four hours since landing on flight LA800. #aucklandairport needs to learn communucation skills. pic.twitter.com/unAdTJb7GN  Anthony (@workingnomad) December 8, 2018

Andrea Bastos was also on the flight. Her son, Fabrizio Farra, spoke to The Herald on behalf of his mother.

He said that the passenger was out of his mind. He didnt want to go, then he said he did. Flight attendants had to break into the bathroom, then they dragged him to the kitchen area and tried to calm him down.

Farra said his mother felt they could have been informed better. She felt the airline could have been more honest., he said. The flight was already late two hours so she was really tired of the whole situation by the time she got to Auckland.

Media have published updates as they have become apparent or more information has come to light.
This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows a policeman gesturing as Muslims arrive at the Id Kah Mosque for the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

Police Surveillance App in Xinjiang Targets 36 Types of Problematic People, Report Says

A surveillance app used by Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang designates 36 types of people who may be tagged for investigation and sent to internment camps as part of the regimes suppression of Turkic Muslims in the region, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

In a report published May 1, Human Rights Watch analyzed a mobile app used by Xinjiang authorities to collect personal information from Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities, file reports on activities they find suspicious, and carry out investigations on people the system flags as problematic.

The app is linked to the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), one of the main systems the regime uses for mass surveillance in the region. According to the report, the IJOP system surveils and collects data on the millions of Xinjiang residents through CCTV cameras, some of which have facial recognition or night-vision capabilities, a vast network of checkpoints, and through Wi-Fi sniffers, which collect unique identifying addresses of computers, and smartphones.

With data mined in this system, the IJOP can then identify problematic people for investigation and detention in the regions sprawling network of internment camps, the report said.

The U.S. State Department and rights groups estimate that more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being detained in such camps, where they are forced to undergo political indoctrination and renounce their faith. Former detainees have recounted torture, abuse, and rape in the facilities.

The Chinese regime has justified the detention and mass surveillance using the pretext of combating terrorism.

IJOP App

The rights organization said it was able to reverse-engineer the IJOP app to allow it to examine the type of personal information it collects, and identify the kinds of behavior and people the authorities target.

The app collects a wide range of personal information, including a persons blood type, height down to the precise centimeter, and the color and make of their car, the report said. The information then is fed into the IJOP system and linked to the persons national identification card number.

The report also found that the app identifies 36 types of people considered suspicious. These include seemingly innocuous behavior such as returned from abroad, does not socialize with neighbors, seldom uses front door, collected money or materials for mosques with enthusiasm, or household uses an abnormal amount of electricity.

The app also alerts authorities to carry out investigative missions into people flagged as problematic, which involves gathering even more personal information.

During one such mission, an official may be required, for example, to check the persons phone and log whether they use any of the 51 suspicious internet tools, including Virtual Private Networks, and foreign messaging apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

In Xinjiang, authorities have created a system that considers individuals suspicious based on broad and dubious criteria, and then generates lists of people to be evaluated by officials for detention, the report said.

Cases

Human Rights Watch interviewed several Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities who shared their experience being monitored by the IJOP platform.

A former detainee identified only as Ehmet was released in 2017, but soon found out that he was banned from leaving his local area. When I tried going out of the region, my ID would [make a sound] at police checkpoints.I was blacklisted.

Alim was released from a police detention center after spending several weeks there on charges of disturbing social order. Alim told Human Rights Watch that while visiting a mall, a nearby alarm went off. The police escorted him to the local police station right away. The police told me: Just dont go to any public places.

For Nur, his status as a foreign national upon fleeing Xinjiang means his family members back home are also implicated: [My family] said their ID cards have been making noise when going through the checkpoints ever since I was taken away [by police].

The IJOP platform is itself against the Chinese constitution and laws. The constitution guarantees peoples privacy of correspondence, while laws stipulate that only criminal investigators can collect suspects DNA samples and phone numbers upon obtaining a search warrant.
Public Prosecutor Takes Aim at SNC-Lavalins Court Bid for Remediation Deal

OTTAWACanadas director of public prosecutions is firing a new volley at SNC-Lavalin that could hobble the companys ongoing legal fight for a special settlement agreement over alleged corruption in Libya.

The prosecutor wants the Federal Court of Appeal to strike out a key element of the construction and engineering firms challenge of a ruling that went against the company.

Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin faces corruption and fraud charges related to business deals in Libya from 2001 to 2011. A conviction could bar the company from receiving federal contracts for 10 years.

SNC-Lavalin unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement, an alternative means of holding an organization accountable for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

In a March ruling, a judge tossed out the firms plea for judicial review of the 2018 decision.

SNC-Lavalin is appealing the judges ruling, pointing to recent revelations from parliamentary committee testimony from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and others to bolster its arguments.

The company says new and deeply troubling facts that came to light in the political saga show that checks and balances intended to ensure accountability was critically circumvented, amounting to a clear abuse of process.

However, the director of prosecutions is asking the appeal court to prevent SNC-Lavalin from ever supplementing its original arguments with the new information. If the directors motion succeeds, it would represent another legal setback to the companys bid for a remediation agreement.

SNC-Lavalin has been embroiled in a high-profile political storm since February when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that prime ministerial aides leaned on Wilson-Raybould to ensure a remediation agreement for the company. She resigned from cabinet days later.

Wilson-Raybould told the House of Commons justice committee in late February she faced a campaign of relentless pressure to secure an agreement for SNC-Lavalin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies officials acted inappropriately.

The director of prosecutions formally told SNC-Lavalin on Oct. 9, 2018, that negotiating an agreement would be inappropriate in this particular case, prompting the company to ask the Federal Court for an order requiring talks.

In its March ruling, the Federal Court said prosecutorial discretion is not subject to judicial review, except for cases where there is an abuse of process.

In its filing with the Court of Appeal, SNC-Lavalin contends the process of determining whether to pursue a remediation agreement was completely flawed.

The company says testimony before the justice committee made it clear that on Sept. 4, 2018, director of prosecutions Kathleen Roussel provided Wilson-Raybould with a memo that apparently outlined the prosecutors case against a remediation agreement.

By Sept. 16, Wilson-Raybould told the committee, she had formed the view it was unnecessary to intervene in the prosecutors decision.

However, SNC-Lavalin stresses in its filing that a dialogue with the prosecutors office was still unfolding.

In early September 2018, the public prosecutor agreed to receive additional SNC-Lavalin information addressing concerns, the company says. Its subsequent submissions came in letters to the prosecutor Sept. 7 and Sept. 17.

SNC-Lavalin notes Wilson-Raybould made no mention of these developments and was likely not aware of them. As a result, her conclusion not to intervene was based on incomplete information, the company says.

SNC-Lavalin argues Roussel failed to advise Wilson-Raybould that she had agreed to receive additional information from the company and neglected to update her Sept. 4 memo to the then-attorney general.
Rolls-Royce May Power Boeing `797 If Max Crisis Delays Jet

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. could re-enter the competition to power a medium-sized jetliner under development at Boeing Co. if the U.S. planemaker pushes the project back to help cope with the 737 Max crisis.

Rolls, which exited the New Midsize Aircraft program earlier this year saying a new engine wont be ready for the plane to enter service in 2025, may return to the contest if the timetable slips, Chief Executive Officer Warren East said May 2 at the companys annual shareholder meeting in Bristol, England.

We said to Boeing, we cant produce something that we are confident will be sufficiently mature, East said. If Boeing change their timescales then obviously we can reassess. We think technically we have a good solution.

Rolls had initially regarded the NMA, also dubbed the 797, as a potential launch platform for the new Ultrafan engine that will form the basis of its turbine offerings for the foreseeable future. That was before East said in February that it would be wiser to withdraw than screw up the launch of the plane and create service issues for customers.

Boeing put back a decision to select an engine for the NMA even before the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airways Max on March 10. The subsequent worldwide grounding of the 737 has led some analysts to suggest that the company may need to suspend work on the new plane to focus its full attention to getting the narrow-body workhorse flying again.

Milestone

Whatever the decision on the NMA, East said Rolls intends to bid to power the next generation of single-aisle planes expected to succeed both the Max and Airbus SEs A320neo jets from 2030. That would represent a milestone for the company after it quit the narrow-body market in 2011 to focus solely on bigger planes, leaving the sector to General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney.

The cautious approach on the mid-size Boeing has been motivated by a desire to avoid any glitches with the Ultrafan that could color the view of airlines and planemakers on the engine. Thats especially so given the issues Rolls has had with its Trent 1000 turbines that power the American firms 787 Dreamliner.

The NMA aside, the first available application for the Ultrafan could be a re-engined version of the Airbus A350 that the European company is studying for introduction toward the end of the 2020s.

A330, 787 Engines

East said that the company had caught up delays on Airbuss newest widebody, the A330neo, after falling behind last year, adding that the low number of deliveries of that aircraft in the first quarter was unrelated to engines.

The company has also managed to draw a box around the Trent 1000 issues that have affected some 787 operators, which has helped it secure new orders this year after a sales drought in 2018. Rolls has finalized claims with effectively all operators of the engine, with more than half of the 1.5 billion pounds ($1.95 billion) in costs associated with fixing the program earmarked for compensation payments.

By Benjamin Katz
A Scandanavian Airlines, known as SAS, Airbus A320-200 aeroplane takes off from the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, July 29, 2018. (Paul Hanna/Reuters)

SAS, Unions Close to Deal to End Pilot Strike: Reports

OSLOScandinavian airline SAS and unions are close to reaching a deal to end a pilot strike that has grounded 380,000 passengers over the past week, Norwegian media reported on May 2.

The airline, the Norwegian and Danish pilot unions, and the Norwegian employer organization were not immediately available for comment. The Danish and Swedish employer organizations and the Swedish union declined to comment.

Since pilots went on strike on April 26 over wages and conditions, SAS has canceled more than 4,000 flights.

Parties involved in the dispute have been negotiating in Oslo since May 1 to try to resolve it.

The will is there to solve the situation, Norwegian Pilots Union President Yngve Carlsen told reporters earlier in the day on his way into the Norwegian state mediators office, where the parties talked overnight.

I am more optimistic now than I was yesterday, Carlsen added but declined to offer a timeline as to when the strike could end.

Close to bankruptcy in 2012, SAS sold assets and cut wages and thousands of jobs in return for a life-saving credit facility. It has been profitable in the last four years but fuel costs are rising and overcapacity is still squeezing the sector.

The Swedish union has said pilots were seeking around a 13 percent pay hike, to make up for the 2012 wage cuts.

SAS, which is part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said that would entail significant cost increases that would seriously damage competitiveness.

The aviation industrys employer body in Sweden says pilots already have high wages, averaging 93,000 crowns last year. The Swedish pilots union disputes the figure, saying salaries start at 34,000 crowns, rising over 25 years to 98,000.

Analysts estimate the stand-off over wages and other demands by pilots in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark could cost SAS as much as $10.5 million a day, threatening to wipe out the airlines annual profit in short order.

By Gwladys Fouche
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to media about the Mueller report at the Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Lindsey Graham Invites Robert Mueller to Testify About Phone Call With Barr

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) invited special counsel Robert Mueller to testify about any potential discrepancies between responses Attorney General William Barr provided during a recent Senate hearing and the contents of a phone call between the two men.

In a letter (pdf) dated May 3, Graham offered Mueller the opportunity to provide testimony regarding any misrepresentation by the Attorney general of the substance of that phone call if the special counsel disagreed with Barrs account of the exchange.

Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC writes to Special Counsel Mueller regarding Attorney General Barrs testimony:https://t.co/B8eaSaOhTC pic.twitter.com/bHhQMUIoOj  Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) May 3, 2019

The phone call in question came days after Barr sent a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 containing the bottom-line conclusions of Muellers report.

The special counsel initially complained to Barr in a private letter sent on March 27 about the characterization of the reports findings in Barrs memo, saying it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of the probe. Barr subsequently called the special counsel to ask him about the March 27 letter.

During the call, Mueller told Barr that he did not think the attorney generals summary was inaccurate, but that the media coverage surrounding the investigation was misleading.

At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 1, Barr told lawmakers that he thought Muellers letter was a bit snitty, adding that he thought it was written by one of Muellers staff members.

He also refused a request by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to turn over the notes of the phone conversation with Mueller about the letter, reported the Washington Examiner.

Graham wrote in his letter to Mueller that, In response to questions by Senator Blumenthal, the Attorney General testified in essence that you told him in a phone call that you did not challenge the accuracy of the Attorney Generals summary of your reports principal conclusions, but rather you wanted more of the report, particularly the executive summaries concerning obstruction of justice, to be released promptly. In particular, Attorney General Barr testified that you believed media coverage of your investigation was unfair without the public release of those summaries.

During a press conference on May 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said he was going write to Mueller and give him a chance to correct the record if he thought Attorney General Barr in any way misrepresented the findings of his report but has no plans to bring in Mueller to testify about his investigation, telling reporters, Enough already. Its over.

Muellers Letter to Barr

The existence of the March 27 letter was leaked to the Washington Post and reported on a day before Barr was scheduled to appear at the Senate hearing.

The letter outlined Muellers concerns about the content of Barrs memo:

The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.  There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

BREAKING: Letter from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Attorney General Barr. pic.twitter.com/oDJm6coP8G  House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) May 1, 2019

Mueller also requested Barr to release the introductions and executive summaries of each volume of the report, according to the letter.

Sources familiar with the discussions told the Post that Muellers letter had shocked senior Justice Department officials because the officials believed the special counsel was in agreement about the process of reviewing the report and the need for redactions.

After the Attorney General received Special Counsel Muellers letter, he called him to discuss it, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. In a cordial and professional conversation, the Special Counsel emphasized that nothing in the Attorney Generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the Special Counsels obstruction analysis. They then discussed whether additional context from the report would be helpful and could be quickly released.

House Committee in Negotiation with Muellers Team

According to multiple reports, members of the House Judiciary Committee are currently negotiating with Muellers team about whether he would appear before the committee to provide testimony about his Russia probe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony, according to NBC News Alex Moe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony  Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) May 2, 2019

An ABC News reporter and producer also reported similar details about the talks.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized, ABC reporter Ben Siegel wrote.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized.  Ben Siegel (@benyc) May 2, 2019

Barr was scheduled to testify at a House hearing on the Mueller report on May 2 but canceled as he did not accept the questioning format proposed by the committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). In particular, Barr was strongly opposed to allowing staff lawyers to participate in the questioning.

Barr said questioning witnesses before congressional committees is the responsibility of elected senators and representatives.
The top of a replica Crew Dragon spacecraft is show at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2018. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test Accident

CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaNearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap.

Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an anomalyscience jargon for when something goes wrong.

The April 20 accident occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as SpaceX was about to test eight emergency thrusters designed to propel the capsule, dubbed Crew Dragon, to safety from atop the rocket in the event of a launch failure.

Just prior, before we wanted to fire the (thrusters), there was an anomaly and the vehicle was destroyed, Koenigsmann told reporters on Thursday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. There were no injuries. SpaceX had taken all safety measures prior to this test, as we always do.

The news conference was called ahead of Fridays scheduled launch of an unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station using a cargo-only capsule built by SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Leaked Video

When pressed about the accident, Koenigsmann declined to say whether an explosion or fire was involved. NASA has likewise declined to describe the mishap.

A leaked video of the accident, which a NASA contractor has acknowledged as authentic in an internal memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, showed the capsule blasting into smithereens. A pall of smoke was also widely observed from a distance at the time of the ill-fated test.

SpaceXs reluctance to describe in plain terms what happened to the capsule was at odds with NASAs long history of transparency surrounding accidents involving its human spaceflight program.

The Crew Dragon had been scheduled to carry U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station in a test mission in July, although Aprils accident, as well as some vehicle design hitches, are likely to push that launch to later in the year or into 2020.

Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover, Koenigsmann said.

The destroyed vehicle was one of six such capsules built or in late production by SpaceX, and the first flown into space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched it without a crew to the space station in March for a six-day visit before returning to Earth, splashing down safely in the Atlantic for retrieval.

Koenigsmann said initial data from the accident showed the mishap occurred during activation of the emergency thrusters, which SpaceX calls the SuperDraco system.

We have no reason to believe there is an issue with the SuperDracos themselves, Koenigsmann said, adding that the engines have been tested nearly 600 times in the past.

NASA has been awarded $6.8 billion to SpaceX and rival Boeing Co to develop separate capsule systems to fly astronauts to space, but both companies have faced technical challenges and delays.

By Joey Roulette
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is hoisted onto a ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast after it returned from a mission to the International Space Station on March 8, 2019. (NASA via AP, File)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in Ground Test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX finally confirmed on May 2 its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago and conceded that the accident is not great news for the companys effort to launch astronauts this year.

Hans Koenigsmann, a company vice president, told reporters its too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the crew Dragon capsules test flight in Marchminus astronautscontributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the testing area at Cape Canaveral for safety reasons, according to Koenigsmann. The company does not want to disturb any evidence that could provide clues to the failure, he noted.

The company has concluded, meanwhile, that the smaller, simpler cargo version of the Dragon capsule is safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX was on track to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early April 26, although approaching storms threatened yet another delay. Earlier in the week, the flight was postponed by a major power shortage at the space station.

Because the April 20 accident occurred so close to SpaceXs landing site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the booster for the cargo launch cannot return there following liftoff. Instead, the first-stage booster was aiming for a barge stationed about 12 miles offshore, much closer than usual.

The cargo and crew versions of the Dragon capsule are considerably different. The cargo Dragon does not have the SuperDraco thrusters that are embedded into the side of the crew Dragon. Those thrusters would be used to push a capsule off a just-launched rocket in an emergency. They werent used during the test flight to the space station in March.

Koenigsmann said he does not believe the thrusters themselves caused the accident. The system had been activatedwhich involves opening and closing valves, and pressurizing systemswhen flames erupted.

SpaceX was going to launch the newly returned crew Dragon in another test this summer, to see how the SuperDraco thrusters work in an aborted flight. More crew Dragons are being built and can be used for this test, according to Koenigsmann.

Koenigsmann remains hopeful SpaceX can launch two NASA astronauts to the space station this year. The impact to the schedule will depend on the results of the accident investigation, he said.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX and also Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, instead of having them hitch expensive rides on Russian rockets.

Before the accident, SpaceX had been shooting for a summertime crew launch.

I dont want to completely preclude the current schedule, he said. Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover.

Koenigsmann said the company has been in touch with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnkenwho will be on board for the crew Dragons next test flight to the space stationand that the two have offered encouragement and motivation.

Boeing also has encountered recent delays with its Starliner crew capsules. The company is striving to launch a Starliner without astronauts to the space station in August.

By Marcia Dunn
An empty Tesla showroom stands in Brooklyn on April 25, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tesla Expects Global Shortage of Electric Vehicle Battery Minerals: Sources

WASHINGTONTesla Inc. expects global shortages of nickel, copper and other electric-vehicle battery minerals in the near future due to underinvestment in the mining sector, the companys head of minerals procurement told an industry conference on May 2, according to two sources.

The company, a major minerals consumer, has rarely talked publicly about its views on the metals industry. Copper, nickel, lithium, and related minerals are key components used to make electric-vehicle batteries and other parts.

Sarah Maryssael, Teslas global supply manager for battery metals, told a closed-door Washington conference of miners, regulators, and lawmakers that the automaker sees a shortage of key EV minerals coming in the near future, according to the sources.

Tesla did not immediately comment.

The copper industry has suffered from years of underinvestment, and it is now working feverishly to develop new mines and bring fresh supply online as the electrification trend envelops the global economy. Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the worlds largest publicly traded copper producer, is expanding in the United States and Indonesia.

Electric cars use twice as much copper as internal combustion engines. So-called smart-home systemssuch as Alphabet Incs Nest thermostat and Amazon.com Inc.s Alexa personal assistantwill consume about 1.5 million tonnes of copper by 2030, up from 38,000 tonnes today, according to data from consultancy BSRIA.

All that will make the red metaland other mineralsscarcer commodities, which worries Tesla.

Maryssael added, according to the sources, that Tesla will continue to focus more on nickel, part of a plan by Chief Executive Elon Musk to use less cobalt in battery cathodes. Cobalt is primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and some extraction techniquesespecially those using child laborhave made its use deeply unpopular across the battery industry, especially with Musk.

Maryssael told the conference, hosted by commodity pricing tracker Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, that there is huge potential for Tesla to partner with mines in Australia or the United States, according to the sources.

The conference, attended by more than 100 people, featured speakers from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy, as well as Standard Lithium Ltd., ioneer Ltd. and other companies working to develop U.S. lithium mines.

By Ernest Scheyder
Trucker in Deadly Colorado Crash Charged With 40 Criminal Counts

DENVERA Texas truck driver who police say caused a fiery multi-vehicle crash near Denver last week that killed four people and injured four was charged on Friday with 40 criminal counts including vehicular homicide, prosecutors said.

Police in Lakewood, Colorado said they arrested 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos after he lost control of his tractor-trailer truck during the evening rush hour on April 25 and caused a crash on Interstate 70 that involved at least 28 vehicles.

The district attorney for Jefferson County, where the crash took place, charged Aguilera-Mederos with 40 counts on Friday, including four counts of vehicular homicide, six of first-degree assault and 24 of attempted first-degree assault.

A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 11. Aguilera-Mederos is being held on a $400,000 bond.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying lumber, rammed into several cars, causing a pile-up that became a raging inferno, authorities said. The four men who died were all single occupants in their vehicles, according to a local TV station.

The carnage was significant, police spokesman Ty Countryman said at the time. Just unbelievable.

Lakewood police spokesman John Romero described it as a chain reaction of crashes and explosions from ruptured gas tanks. It was crash, crash, crash and explosion, explosion, explosion, he said.

There was no initial indication that Aguilera-Mederos intentionally caused the crash, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Countryman said.

Aguilera-Mederos told police his brakes had failed, but cell phone video from a witness showed his truck veering across several lanes of traffic and forcing another vehicle off the road before the crash, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

I-70 is Colorados vital east-west highway that connects the mountains with the plains and traffic has grown worse as the states population has boomed. The crash happened just after the highway descends from the mountains, where signs warn drivers to check to make sure their brakes are cool and working after traveling down the steep grades.

Rob Corry, a lawyer for Aguilera-Mederos, said last week that the crash was an accident caused by an equipment malfunction.

This is a massive unprecedented overreach by the prosecution  on a vehicle accident, Corry told reporters on Friday.

Footage from the Crash

Video footage from a news helicopter showed flames whipping off the vehicles and what appeared to be lumber spilled across the interstate.

Local YouTuber Joshua McCutchen, who goes by the name Burger Planet, captured the moment the semi sped by him moments before crashing into stationary traffic ahead.

He also captured footage from the scene of the crash and interviewed an eyewitness.

Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. greets supporters of US President Donald Trump before he speaks at a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Trump Jr. Takes to Twitter to Criticize Social Media Censorship

Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. criticized big techs censorship and is asking people to realize its seriousness and take a stand against it.

On May 3, he wrote on Twitter, The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone, he stated, It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level, he wrote, adding, Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.

The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level. Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 3, 2019

A conservative African-American woman with a MAGA hat on her avatar picture responded, Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.

Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.  Melissa A. (@TheRightMelissa) May 3, 2019

Both President Trump and his son on Friday sent Maria Bartiromos post again that had a screenshot of Breitbart article titled Facebook Blacklists Prominent Conservatives Including Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, she said she thinks that the topic of silencing conservatives will be bigger and bigger as the 2020 election approaches.

President Donald Trump also sent Paul Joseph Watsons tweet and video again where he talks about the censorship he and other commenters that had been crucial for Trumps campaign have been subjected to.

Dangerous. My opinions? Or giving a handful of giant partisan corporations the power to decide who has free speech? You decide.https://t.co/cTCoLs0Op2  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Paul Watson mentions in the video that the Big Tech also banned Louis Farrakhan along with people with conservative leanings obviously to give the excuse that this wasnt political, Watson said It was totally political, he said, This is nothing less than election meddling.

Platform access should be a civil right! Retweet if you agree.https://t.co/RYblEBfUyj@realDonaldTrump  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 4, 2019

Donald Jr.s tweet on Saturday afternoon seems to indicate that Google is kowtowing to leftwingers and blacklisting hunters from advertising on their platform.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump Still Confident Deal Will Happen After North Korea Launches Short-Range Projectiles

President Trump expressed confidence that North Koreas leadership will not jeopardize the economic prosperity of their nation and that a denuclearization deal will be struck, after several short-range projectiles were launched from its east coast.

North Korea is currently under strict economic sanctions imposed by the international communitylead by the United Statesafter Kim Jong Un ramped up a nuclear weapons program in 2017.

Those sanctions brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table for a historic meeting with President Trump last year, when the North Korean leader promised to pause the nuclear weapons development program and stop testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

On May 4, South Korean officials said that missiles had been fired 40-125 miles out to sea from the coast of North Korea. It later downgraded the description to projectiles.

President Trump responded on May 4, writing on Twitter, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it.

He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

The projectiles fired on May 4 do not appear in violation of North Koreas promises and are a far cry from the long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea was test-firing before sanctions were tightened.

However, according to some analysts they are something of a warning shot.

Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough, Harry J. Kazianis, the director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said in a statement Friday night, reported The Hill.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure.

In February, President Trump walked away from the second talks without a deal, after North Korea insisted on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. local time before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the U.S., the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump walk out of the Oval Office during a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 2, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump: The Power of Prayer. Its the Most Powerful Thing There Is

Speaking to about 100 religious leaders and Trump administration officials, President Donald Trump said prayer is the most powerful thing there is in which many Americans still believe.

America will be a nation that believes forever, and we certainly believe, more than anyone, the power of prayerits the most powerful thing there is, Trump said at a White House dinner on May 1, the eve of the National Day of Prayer.

In attendance at the dinner were representatives from various faithsChristians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus. There, Trump stressed the importance of protecting religious freedoms.

Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God, and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religionall of us, he said, according to Life Site News.

In a proclamation on National Day of Prayer 2019, the president stated that The United States steadfast commitment to upholding religious freedom has ensured that people of different faiths can pray together and live in peace as fellow American citizens. We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace, and we condemn all hate and violence, particularly in our places of worship.

Trump also condemned the recent anti-religious hate crimes that occurred in America and abroad, including the recent shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego.

All of us in this room send our love and prayers to the Jewish Americans wounded at the Chabad of Poway shooting in California. And our hearts break for the life of Laurie Gilbert-Kaye who was so wickedly taken from us, Trump said at the dinner, according to CBN.

We mourn for the Christians murdered in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and grieve for the Muslims murdered at their mosques in New Zealand, he added. Here at home, we also remember the three historically black churches burned recently in Louisiana and the horrific shooting last year at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Trump then reiterated the importance of prayer in his speech at the National Day of Prayer Service on May 2.

He began his speech by sending a prayer to the people of Venezuela. The socialist South American country has spiraled into humanitarian, economic, and political chaos after illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro refused to step down despite mounting international pressure.

In mid-January, Venezuelas duly elected National Assembly declared Maduros presidency illegitimate due to a fraudulent election, and swore in Juan Guaido as interim president. But Maduro has refused to give up control.

Id like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom. The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end and it must end soon. People are starving. They have no food. They have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So we wish them well. Well be there to help, and we are there to help, Trump said.

Later in his speech, Trump said he will be doing everything he can to make it better than ever before for the American peopleand especially for people of faith.

On this Day of Prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. And we give thanks for those wondrous lands of liberty. And this is truly the greatest of all lands of libertyour country. Our country is special. It will always be special. It will be greater than ever before, he said.

On this day of prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. We give thanks for this wondrous land of liberty, & we pray that THIS nation  OUR home  these United States  will forever be strengthened by the Goodness and the Grace & the eternal GLORY OF GOD! pic.twitter.com/RtSI3j1GWH  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

Were doing things that will make it better than ever before, and especially for churches and synagogues and mosques and everyone elsepeople of faith. We pray that this nationour home, these United Stateswill forever be strengthened by the goodness and the grace and the eternal glory of God, he added.

Protecting Conscience Rights for Health Care Groups and Individuals

During his May 2 speech, Trump also announced his new rule that would protect health care groups and individuals from mandatory provision or participation in services they object to for religious or moral reasons.

And just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities. Theyve been wanting to do that for a long time, he said. Together, we are building a culture that cherishes the dignity and worth of human life. Every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule promises to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty. It specifically protects providers, individuals, and other health care entities from having to provide, participate in, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for, services such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide, according to the statement.
Volkswagen Earnings Upbeat Despite Diesel Scandal Charges

FRANKFURT, GermanyGerman automaker Volkswagen saw its profit slip in the first quarter as the company set aside 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for legal risks related to its 2015 diesel scandal.

The company nevertheless showed that it was holding its own against the headwinds buffeting the global auto industry, reporting improved earnings at its main Volkswagen unit and stronger profit margins across the groups 12 brands. A strong sales mix, with more-profitable vehicles taking a bigger slice, boosted earnings.

After-tax profit fell to 3.05 billion euros ($3.41 billion) from 3.30 billion euros in the same quarter a year ago. Group sales revenue rose 3.1% to 60 billion euros even though the total number of vehicles sold declined.

A key measure of profitabilitythe profit margin on salesrose to 8.1% from 7.2% in the year-earlier period. The figure exceeds the companys targeted margin range of 6.5% to 7.5%.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said it was a very strong first quarter and to an extent better actually better than we expected.

I think the key drivers were obviously the operational performance even though volume declined, but we were able to offset that with price and mix effects, Witter told The Associated Press.

Shares in Volkswagen rose almost 4% in Frankfurt as investors seemed to welcome the figures.

Auto companies are facing multiple challenges, including slowing sales in China, the worlds largest auto market, tougher emissions requirements and trade disputes. They are also under pressure to invest in new technologies to compete against tech companies pushing into auto-related areas such as ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles.

Witter said that earnings were under pressure from high outlays for the companys future lineup of battery vehicles, but said that was without alternatives. The company is pivoting to vehicles that produce no emissions locally to meet lower EU limits on greenhouse gases. Volkswagen expects to begin production this year of the battery-powered ID hatchback at its plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany.

The Volkswagen brand saw operating profit rise 5% to 921 million euros as cost control and a more profitable model mix compensated for lower volumes.

Earnings fell at two of the companys chief moneymakers, its luxury Audi and Porsche divisions. Audi saw profits fall to 1.1 billion euros from 1.3 billion euros because of model changes and higher spending on new products and technologies. Porsches operating profit fell 12% to 829 million euros.

Volkswagen faces legal risks from its 2015 scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions test, including pending suits from investors who say the company didnt inform them of the emissions issue in time. The company says it met its disclosure requirements. It didnt specify May 2 which diesel legal matter led to the new set-asides. The deduction brings total costs for the diesel scandal to 30 billion euros.

Last year Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, was the worlds largest carmaker by volume, selling 10.8 billion vehicles.

It said May 2 it was sticking to its forecasts for sales and profits this year, predicting that sales revenue could increase by as much as 5% over the prior year and that returns on sales would be between 6.5% and 7.5%.

By David McHugh & Pietro DeCristofaro
We Will Chop Off Their Heads for Allah, Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society Say: Reports

Disturbing footage has emerged from an Islamic Center in Philadelphia, showing children reportedly lip-syncing to songs and reading poems saying they would sacrifice themselves and kill for Allah.

The Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) uploaded videos on April 22 to its Facebook page. The videos show children singing lyrics that appear to call on the next generation of Palestinian youth to embrace terrorism and glorify suicide bombers, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The boys were shown to be lip-syncing a song, during which several of them held up a copy of the Quran.

The blood of the martyrs is calling us. Paradise, men desire it, they mouthed to the song, according to IPT. Revolutionaries, Revolutionaries  Sword and Text, oh free men.

The song continues: Until we liberate our lands, until we reach our anchorages, and we crush the traitor  Oh, the winds of Paradise. Oh rivers of the martyrs, lads. My Islam calls whoever responds. Stand up, O righteous ones.

IPT Exclusive Video: Children at a Muslim school run by @mas_national in #Philadelphia sing about the "Blood of Martyrs" and fighting #Israel pic.twitter.com/Rw9dTEfaqm  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The videos were shot on April 17, when MAS Philly held an annual Ummah Day. The theme of the event was advertised as focusing on the Golden age of Islamic science.

But IPT commented that instead of focusing on the scientific achievements of the Islamic world, part of the day was instead showcasing children forced to embrace radical Islamist culture.

Imam Mohammad Tawhidi shared a video of the incident online and wrote on Twitter: We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation.

We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation: https://t.co/3zeU2PFSfa  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 3, 2019

Tawhidi is a Muslim who lives between Washington D.C. and Australia. He uses social platforms like Twitter and Facebook to warn about the dangers that radical Islam can bring to the world.

We Will Chop Off Their Heads

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a watchdog group, translated a poem a young girl was reading that praised martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Palestine.

Our martyrs sacrificed their lives without hesitation. They attained Paradise, and the scent of musk emanates from their bodies. They compete with one another to reach Paradise. Will Jerusalem be their capital city, or will it be a hotbed for cowards? she said, according to MEMRIs translation.

Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society: We Will Sacrifice Ourselves for Al-Aqsa; Will Chop off Their Heads, Subject Them to Eternal Torture pic.twitter.com/6ySfz0Ylel  MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 3, 2019

Another girl read a violence-filled poem that appeared to encourage violence to remove Israels presence around Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque.

We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation, she said, according to MEMRI. We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling His promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture.

Earlier, the kids reportedly sang: The land of the Prophet Muhammads Night Journey is calling us. Our Palestine must return to us.

MEMRI told Fox News in a statement that such occurrences are not isolated incidents; they are happening in major centers of the countryincluding in Pennsylvania.

Fox News reported that MAS had not responded to a request for comment about the video.

MAS Philly belongs to the Muslim American Society (MAS), which has 42 chapters in the United States and one chapter in the United Kingdom.

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated MAS as a terrorist organization mainly because of their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. According to IPT, several MAS leaders have been linked to the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in northern Virginia, which serves as [an] incubator of hate and [has a] long track-record of radical and terrorist associations.

Read More The Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization With Socialist Roots

The MAS website says that its mission is to move people to strive for God-consciousness, liberty and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity, and that its vision is a virtuous and just American society. MAS did condemn the recent anti-Semitic white nationalist terror attack against the synagogue in San Diego, California, and the organization also condemned the Islamic terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Christian churches on Easter day.

Anti-Israel Songs

The Israel National News called the songs anti-Israel, and noted how one song had promised to liberate the Temple Mount from Zionists and to crush the traitor.

Israel controls security on the Temple Mount, but while Muslims have full and constant access to the mount, Jews are rarely allowed to ascend and banned from praying at the site. The Jordanian Waqf manages the site, the Israel National News reported.

IPT Exclusive Video: Philadelphia #Muslim school students sing song with violent anti-Semitic pro-terrorist lyrics pic.twitter.com/5tPSqypd2V  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based international Jewish NGO that is against anti-Semitism, released a statement condemning the apparent indoctrination.

If the translation is accurate, this incident is extremely disturbing. Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel, the statement read.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace. In a time of elevated anti-Jewish hate, all people must forcefully reject anti-Semitism wherever and whenever they see it.

From NTD.com
Terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi is seated in an FBI vehicle after being arrested by the FBI in Aurora, Colo. on Sept. 19, 2009. (Chris Schneider/The Denver Post via AP, File)

Would-Be NYC Bomber Gets 10 Years in Foiled Al-Qaida Plot

NEW YORKA man who plotted to bomb New York Citys subways, then switched sides after his arrest and spent nearly a decade helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists, was rewarded for his help May 2 with a sentence of 10 years in prison, effectively time he has already served.

Najibullah Zazi, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who became radicalized and received explosives training from al-Qaeda after traveling to Pakistan in 2008, faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges.

The subway plot sent shockwaves through New York and the federal law enforcement community, underscoring the continuing threat of terrorism years after 9/11. But federal prosecutors said Zazi, after his 2009 arrest, provided extraordinary assistance to U.S. counterterrorism authorities, implicating his closest friends and offering a window into the inner-workings of al-Qaeda.

U.S. District Raymond J. Dearie described Zazis cooperation as unprecedented, referring in part to federal investigations that remain ongoing. Details of those cases were blacked out of a court filing that prosecutors made public this week in light of concerns for national security.

I have no doubt you saved a life, Dearie said, adding he believed Zazi had undergone a compelling transformation during his years in custody. Your obvious intelligence served you well.

Zazi apologized and asked for forgiveness. He said he is not the same person he was more than a decade ago, when he became radicalized in part by listening to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda propagandist.

Im sorry for all the harm I have caused, Zazi said, referring to the subway plot as a horrific mistake.

Zazi will remain on supervised releasefederal probationfor the rest of his life. The sentence also requires he continue to cooperate with federal authorities.

The 10-year sentence means Zazi could be released from prison within days, said his defense attorney, William J. Stampur. Zazi has been in custody for nearly a decade.

Justice was definitely served, Stampur said. He has unequivocally disavowed radical Islam in no uncertain terms.

Stampur declined to comment on where Zazi plans to live after his release.

Zazi spent his teenage years and young adulthood living in Queens. Al-Qaeda recruited him and two of his best friends to carry out a martyrdom operation on U.S. soil after the three traveled to Pakistan in 2008.

The mission called for rush-hour suicide bombings on packed subway lines, timed to occur during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The plot, foiled by federal authorities, represented one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since 9/11, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Zazi to spend the rest of his life behind bars after his 2010 guilty plea. But prosecutors credited Zazi for cooperation that included implicating his co-conspirators in the subway plot and providing critical intelligence and unique insight regarding al-Qaeda and its members.

Zazis cooperation included meeting with the government more than 100 times, viewing hundreds of photographs and providing information that assisted law enforcement officials in a number of different investigations, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Zazi testified at the 2015 trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani national convicted of leading an al-Qaeda plot to bomb a shopping mall in Manchester, England, and against one of his co-conspirators in the thwarted subway plot, Adis Medunjanin, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Zazis assistance came in the face of substantial potential danger to himself and his family, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Pravda wrote in the court filing. By aligning himself with the government against al-Qaeda, Zazi assumed such a risk.

The third man charged in the subway plot, Zarein Ahmedzay, offered similar assistance to federal authorities and was sentenced in December to 10 yearsessentially time served.

By Jim Mustian
Millennials can be a fickle group to market to. While many companies manage admirably to market to this age cohort, others try to pry open millennial wallets -- and fail catastrophically.

Related: 4 Strategies to Use When Marketing to Millennials

Include McDonalds in the latter group. The fast food giant's Create Your Taste campaign failed when the company decided that young people would jump at the opportunity to create their own sandwiches online. That assumption was oh, so wrong, and the result was that many millennials lambasted the very notion of sharing their failed creations with their friends.

Some of those deliberately bad creations included The Nihilist, containing no food at all, and The Bag of Lettuce, containing only ... lettuce.

With that failure in mind, lets take a look at the marketing channels that are available, and examples of some (mostly) bootstrapped successes.

Social media

Social media channels arent going anywhere. The average U.S. resident spends about 142 minutes per day on social media. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities for you to promote your products/services. However, being too direct can often be counter-productive.

Take a look at the Lokai brand's campaign for its bracelets. The company heavily targeted millennials, encouraging them to send in content from around the world, and posting their pictures of Lokai bracelets in far-flung locations. Combined with a socially responsible message, this campaign caught the imaginations of young people, and they flooded social media with hash-tagged pictures.

If youre on a tight budget, you may find it worthwhile to join appropriate groups and pages before launching a campaign. Get involved with conversations as they occur, by regularly checking your feeds. By having a primed group of friends, not followers, you will be better positioned to launch a campaign like Lokai's.

Related: 3 Essential Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an area where companies are less vulnerable to the millennial ridicule other channels sometimes inspire. Simply put, if people actually like the person who is promoting a certain product or service, they are unlikely to make fun of the promotion.

While influencer marketing is not something you're likely to wade into if you are a bootstrapped startup, assigning any budget you do have to this strategy will be a sensible first move for the right kind of product. For example, look at Daniel Willington. This Swedish watch company has been around only since 2011 (often, longevity is a good sign for watchmakers); but with help from influencer Kendall Jenner, the company offered discount codes for a limited period, providing a big spike in both its sales and brand awareness.

Another good example: Samsung's launch of its new Note 7 product, with the help of CyreneQ. That artist used her Snapchat account to document the launch event, and using its 10-second video format, showcased some of the new device's features.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a great way to reach niche audiences. A company that has successfully targeted millennials via podcasting is MeUndies. It targeted a multitude of smaller podcasts like My Favorite Murder and Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast and paid the presenters to actively pitch the "world's most comfortable underwear" at the start of their shows.

Having a podcast host actively promote your product is one thing, but offering your services as a guest is another. As an entrepreneur, you likely have unique business insights that could be worth sharing with a wider audience. So, look out for podcasts that you could potentially be featured on, and make yourself the selling point. Not only is this cost-effective, but it can also provide great exposure to your business, as podcasts often turn up in Google search results and can help improve trust in your business.

If you dont have time to devote to outreach to podcasts, companies like Task Drive can do the outreach for you, building up lists of potential targets. You can also use sites like Fiverr to find part-time outreach specialists.

Native advertising

If you're determined to avoid the potential ire of millennials in the first place, you might wish to try native advertising. This is a form of paid ads, where your ads are designed to match the style of the host content. Native ads are common in social media and blog feeds or as recommended content on certain webpages. In contrast to other types of web advertisements, native ads are designed to look more natural and not be overly sales-y.

A good example is the native advertisement that Altran engineering did by producing a video on the Financial Times. The video told the story of university students competing in a competition run by Elon Musks company SpaceX. The students are helped by Altran staff, which is how the company gets to advertise itself. What is ingenious about this effort is the way the video is presented. It's more of a news story with a compelling narrative than a direct advertisement. The viewer might actually mistake who is being promoted: Altran or SpaceX?

Sponsoring YouTube videos

Video is some of the most heavily consumed content online, and in this context YouTube has become an advertising behemoth. Running a YouTube channel isnt easy, however; and recently, YouTube has made it harder for content creators to earn a substantial income from their advertisements on the site.

Therefore, creators are looking toward corporate sponsorship to generate revenues. LootBox is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous YouTube video sponsors (although not without controversy).

YouTube video sponsorship is a one-off commitment and you can find willing partners on sites like Collabspace. By finding a video creator that suits your niche, you can grow awareness of your brand and target people who fall into a very specific age band.

Conclusion

Selling your products or services to millennials comes with a unique set of hazards. By being sincere with your message, and experimenting with different channels, until you can dig into one that works, you just may find yourself growing your business without the need for vast marketing budgets.

Related: Hitting the Marketing Email Sweet Spot With Millennials (Infographic)

And those millennials? They'll be more than happy to help promote your product if they think its worth their time.

Related:

5 Ways to Market to That Fickle Group Called Millennials

Indian Hospitality Woos Destination Wedding Industry

Managing a Team of Millennials? The Top 5 Things You Must Know



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
He makes Donald Trump's stance on immigration seem moderate and has been dubbed a "professional troublemaker" by Marine Le Pen. In Denmark, he's just passed the threshold to become an official candidate for elections due to be held by mid-June.

Rasmus Paludan is a convicted racist who has spent months provoking local adherents of Islam by marching into their neighborhoods and burning the Quran. He says he's exercising his freedom of expression.

He had been largely ignored by the Danish media until Easter, when his antics sparked riots in the streets of Copenhagen. Since then, local newspapers, celebrities and political commentators have all weighed in to figure out how the development has altered the political landscape in Denmark.

Paludan, who's appealed his conviction, says it's not about race.

"I reject the whole concept of putting people into race categories. There's nothing in our politics based on race or the color of your skin. Most of our politics is based on the behavior of people," Paludan said in a phone interview in Copenhagen. "If they behave in ways that are not compliant with Danish values, we detest that."

Almost 15 years after grappling with the Muhammad cartoon crisis (in which Denmark's biggest newspaper became the target of Muslim anger across the globe for publishing caricatures of the Prophet), the home of Lego and Lurpak again finds itself caught in a tense debate about how to weigh religious dignity against freedom of speech. This time, the international context has grown far more populist, with anti-immigration agendas dominating elections across much of the world.

Paludan, a well-spoken lawyer, is now exploiting his newfound notoriety to gain a foothold in national elections. He got the requisite 20,000 signatures after taking advantage of a legal loophole to get his group, Hard Line (Stram Kurs), onto the official list of parties up for election. He declines to reveal his age beyond saying he's in his "mid-to-late-30s." His goal is a government that supports "a mass exodus where we send hundreds of thousands of people back to their home countries."

Support for Hard Line was estimated at 2.7 percent in a poll published on Thursday. That's above the 2 percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. The newspaper that published the survey, Politiken, emphasized that the Megafon poll carries a margin of error of 1.1 percentage point and noted there was greater uncertainty than usual because it was the first poll to include the party. But history offers a cautionary tale against underestimating such anti-establishment outsiders. From the Brexit movement in the U.K., to Matteo Salvini's League in Italy and Trump in the U.S., the list of affronts to conventional wisdom in political forecasting is long.

There's much to embolden Paludan in the current climate. And with the aid of social media, his message is making its way to a broader group. Salvini and Le Pen have been reaching out to like-minded politicians ahead of the European Union's May 23-26 elections, which could see the far right challenge make significant gains in Brussels and Strasbourg.

In Denmark, the fact that Paludan will be guaranteed a podium during the country's televised election debates is forcing voters to confront some uncomfortable truths about their society. His Hard Line group is now one of two that have overtaken the anti-immigration Danish People's Party from the right. Many policies of the DPP, on which the current center-right government has relied to stay in power, have been adopted by the biggest opposition party, the Social Democrats.

"What's happened over the last 20 years is that anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant views have become almost mainstream," says Carina Bischoff, an associate professor of politics at Roskilde University. "We now see plenty of public figures who agree more and more with these points of view, and that opens the ground for extremists."

Denmark's shift in attitudes toward foreigners can be traced back to the start of the millennium, when then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who later became NATO secretary general) put an end to the pariah status of the nationalist DPP by accepting its support in parliament. Since then, the DPP has played a crucial role in toughening Denmark's immigration policy, rising to become the second-biggest political presence in the process.

The DPP has capitalized on the refugee crisis of 2015, when more than one million asylum seekers and illegal migrants, mostly from the Middle East, made their way into Europe. Professor Kasper Moller Hansen of Copenhagen University says the turning point came with televised images of Syrians walking along the country's western motorway, which shocked many Danes.

The center-right government of Lars Lokke Rasmussen has since made international headlines because of its treatment of foreigners, including confiscating their jewelry and imposing draconian family re-unification laws that drew criticism from the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Denmark is suffering from a shortage of labor that many business leaders have argued could be addressed by allowing more skilled immigrants into the country.

Paludan has been disavowed by his family and has exasperated the police, who have imposed restrictions on his provocations to avoid exposing the public to the risk of riots. His Youtube channel is up again after being temporarily banned, and Paludan continues to have thousands of followers on Facebook.

Back in 2005, most Danes rushed to the defense of Jyllands-Posten after the paper published its controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, politicians and media operators are less sure.

"Paludan is an extreme phenomenon that successfully exploits today's digital media," said Michael Dyrby, the editor in chief of B.T., Denmark's best-selling tabloid. But "Danish democracy is strong and will probably survive Hard Line and its crazy leader."

- - -

Bloomberg's Christian Wienberg contributed.7
NORWALK  School administrators say a new schedule for Kendall Elementary School could improve test scores and help to close the achievement gap. But many parents and teachers are wondering at what costs those developments might come.

The year-round school model, the concept for which was first discussed by the Board of Education in August 2018, was presented to Kendall parents Thursday night in the schools cafeteria by Superintendent of Schools Steven J. Adamowski, Chief of Digital Learning and Development Ralph Valenzisi and Kendall Principal Zakiyyah Baker.

Over the course of two sessions  the first in Spanish  the administrators sought to explain the rationale behind the schedule change, which would add five days of schooling, shift the timing of school breaks and limit their duration to no more than three weeks and extend the school day. The result would be an additional 300 hours of educational time per year.

We have a couple pieces of research that we made this decision off of. One is specifically if students are in school for an additional 300 hours a year, just in school, actually aligned to their academics, with those additional 300 hours, we actually see an increase in their academic achievement, Valensizi told the crowd, which seemed to oscillate between genuine intrigue, confusion and anger during the course of the roughly 45-minute presentation.

Aside from concerns about how their elementary-aged students would handle an extra hour of school, or how the new configuration of time off might impact child care, family vacations and summer camp attendance, several parents alleged that the process of implementation was opaque.

We shouldve been told about this and parents shouldve had a little more input before its implemented and (then) thats just the way its going to be, said Dana Ross, whose daughter is in third grade.

If approved, the schedule change would go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year. But Ross and other parents were expressing a sense that they were being invited to join the conversation too far along in the process.

Adamowski first informed the Board of Education last summer that investors were interested in funding the year-round model. In December, Adamowski named Kendall, Jefferson and Brookside as three finalists for the model, based on their large number of high-needs and free- and reduced-lunch students. He named the Grossman Foundation of Greenwich and the Heidenreich Family Foundation of Stamford as interested donors willing to fit the bill, which Adamowski said would cost roughly $5 million over a three-year rollout. After the three-year period, the cost would shift back to the city.

On Thursday, parents were told that Kendall was now the sole finalist for the year-round model, though many didnt realize they had been competing for the distinction.

This is an unusual situation for our school system, because normally when we do something, we involve everybody, we ask their opinion, and people come up with something thats very close to their comfort zone, because they know what they know and theyre used to doing what theyre doing, Adamowski said. This is a more significant change and it is not about adult involvement or adult convenience, its really about raising student achievement to a much higher level that would ever occur if we dont do these things.

I would expect, like any change issue, that there are going to be adults who are not going to like this, or are going to see themselves in a more traditional setting which they would have the option to pursue, Adamowski added, referring to teachers who feel the year-round mode would not work with their schedules. Hes said they will have an option to transfer elsewhere in the district.

In fact, a vast majority of teachers have weighed in on the issue and have confirmed Adamowskis expectation. According to Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, more than 80 percent of teachers responded that they had reservations about the shift on a survey administered by the union. Yordon said the survey was presented to Adamowski in March.

This has not been a collaborative process, Yordon said. There are many teachers who have arranged their personal lives and their careers around this schedule that currently exists and it appears about ready to be changed. So it is upsetting to have to find a new job if your circumstances dont allow you to work year round.

Some in the crowd Thursday felt Adamowski was evasive when pressed about teachers opinions.

The question was asked, what do the teachers think of it, and you didnt give us an answer. The teachers are the ones who teach our children. Whats their input? said Scott Mccoy, whose grandson is in fourth grade, prompting a response from Baker.

Right now, as a team were mixed in our thoughts, not just with certified staff, with our non certified staff. Change is hard. I think thats why our superintendent went to, What do the kids need first, Baker began, before Mccoy interjected.

But the students you talk about are our children. We should have a say from the start, not when its just about implemented. And that didnt happen. We got informed yesterday, Mccoy said.

Several parents expressed having only found out about the meeting by chance. Ross said she happened to run into a Kendall parent at the grocery store earlier this week, who informed her of the meeting and proposed change. Tory Ferrara, who has a son in kindergarten and two younger children who she expects will attend Kendall and whose husband, Tony, is a member of the School Governance Council, complained that the meeting was hidden in a Kendall newsletter under the heading Above the Bar Grant  the name given to the pledged investment  and that many missed it.

Tony Ferrera said the School Governance Council was never given an opportunity to vote on the plan and expressed similarly that the school and district has been slow to provide information. Valenzisi said a parent survey would be distributed by the end of May.

The whole tone is, Yes, were doing this, no matter what the input is, Ferrara said, following the meeting. It almost feels like theyre doing an experiment with the school. Weve already shown improvement. If its not broke, dont fix it.

We love this school. We live a quarter mile away. Our son loves it, Ferrara said. We would be very sad to transfer.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
This year's Homefront Day campaign made life-changing repairs to the homes of 60 older adults on fixed incomes, single-parent households, persons with disabilities and families in transitional crisis due to illness or job loss. More than 2,000 volunteers from 50 faith groups, civic organizations and corporations joined in this hands on celebration of true community.

Area statistics underscore the increasing importance of this effort with more than 40% of older adults today still burdened with a mortgage balance. Hundreds of thousands of local residents live paycheck to paycheck, a demographic described by the United Way as A.L.I.C.E.: Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed.
Herzberg said that when Botts and Cornelius first approached him about the idea of an outdoor classroom, he did not hesitate to say yes.

I said, Lets do this. The next step was figuring out a good place for it, he said. I think we have a good location for it on the west side of our building. It is easy access in and out and protected by the tree line and the school building itself. We found a spot for it, went for it and it was the boys who made it all happen.

Botts and Cornelius said they had to draw up a plan, turn it in and get it approved. Once it was approved, they began working to construct the outdoor classroom.

The two began building the outdoor classroom last school year. They said it took them until last month to complete it. Botts said the long winter caused some delays in completing the project. His part of the project was setting up poles, painting them and setting up the sails around it. Cornelius said he helped pour the cement foundation and worked on the landscaping.

Cindy Johnson, president of the chamber, said she was impressed with the Boy Scouts efforts.
A hearty Saturday Salute goes this week to all those who helped make this years Go Big Give successful.

Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties came together to raise $1,065,354 by the end of the 24-hour Go Big Give event Thursday.

The proceeds of this online fund drive benefit 131 nonprofit organizations in the four-county area served by the Heartland United Way. This was the sixth annual Go Big Give organized by United Way and the Grand Island Community Foundation.

Each year, the amount raised and the number of organizations benefiting have increased. But this year the organizers went big in setting a goal of raising $1 million. And the people of Central Nebraska came through, surpassing that goal.

In addition to raising money, the event also helps its participating organizations get their names and their missions out in front of the public. Many of them have been quietly providing services without much publicity, but Go Big Give provides a means to increase community awareness.

In addition, Go Big Give organizers have been working with the nonprofits on their techniques, such as social media skills and donor engagement.
ALTON  Despite a brutal winter and soggy spring, construction is moving along on the Moeller Cancer Center on the OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys Health Center campus in Alton.

OSF Project Manager Charles Miller says construction is 75 percent toward completion and despite the weather, the new state-of-the-art cancer center will open in early October. The building will allow patients to receive comprehensive cancer care from the regions only full-time oncology team in the Riverbend/Alton area.

New, cutting edge equipment will provide individualized treatment for an expanded variety of cancers and new cancer specialists will enhance services and targeted treatment options. Among the new providers is Dr. Raman Kumar, a surgeon with specialized training in colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States for both men and women combined. Colon and rectal surgeons are experts in the surgical and non-surgical treatment and Dr. Kumar can offer community screening for early detection, treatment, and follow-up care.

Impact of Weather

Winter came early in November and rain has been an issue according to Miller. But, he says the building will be substantially complete in July, allowing for installation of high-tech equipment, artwork, furniture, and supplies. However, Miller adds River City Construction has been working overtime, including adding weekend crews to meet deadlines.

Youre starting to see what the building is going to look like, Miller offered. He points out brick work is complete on the 2,000-foot long walkway connecting the free-standing center to the hospital. The connection will make for easy access to therapy, treatment and support services. Structural steel is in place for the front entry facing Central Avenue. Inside, there are areas with completed drywall and painting where fixtures have already been installed.

OSF Saint Anthonys Health Center CEO and President Ajay Pathak is excited the community is so close to having expanded capacity for the highest quality care and outcomes. The new center will offer convenient access clinical expertise and support services all under one roof.

Its a blessing to have dedicated physicians and Mission Partners embedded here in the care and journey of our patients from detection and diagnosis through survivorship. We look forward to advance this as we approach our opening this fall, said Pathak.

New Space for Collaboration and Education

The 15,500-square-foot building will have new spaces, including conference rooms for collaboration between medical staff along with opportunities for prevention screenings and education. Patient consultation rooms will offer a place for in-depth, confidential communication involving personalized care teams, patients and their families.

Medical Oncologist and Chief of Staff for OSF Saint Anthonys Dr. Manpreet Sandhu, believes a lot of oncology work is communication. We focus on how we communicate with the patient  how were able to give hope to a person who may not have hope. Her approach emphasizes making a connection with the patient and instilling confidence about the care they are receiving.

If the patient needs radiation and medical oncology, we are going to be able keep them in the same area for direct communication between doctors in front of the patient.

Community Support is Strong

The Riverbend has already responded in a way that convinces OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys leaders the community is eager to help re-imagine how to defeat the most relentless enemy of this generation. With its connection to OSF Innovation and one of the Top 10 Simulation and Education Centers in the U.S., the new Moeller Cancer Center will be able to utilize new tools, techniques, and devices for oncologists and others on the care team for treatment that improves outcomes.

OSF HealthCare has committed $11.5 million toward the $14 million cancer center. As evidence of the strong community support, the $2.5 million capital campaign is already at 80 percent of its goal.

I believe the communitys dedication and commitment to the Moeller Cancer Center campaign demonstrates the Riverbends belief in the need for a unique, patient-centered facility to provide the highest level of care, said Mark Kratschmer, former OSF Saint Anthonys Foundation Board member and is current Chair of the Community Board.

Healing Art Flows In

The local artist community responded overwhelmingly to a request for submissions of photography, paintings and three-dimensional art to add to the healing environment. The pieces will reflect the beauty of the Riverbend and will feature themes of hope, renewal and re-birth. The review committee received an astounding 522 submissions.

Most were in the form of photographs but artists put forward 81 paintings and 17 works in the 3D category.

We are very excited about the engagement, talent, and heart shown by members of the Riverbend community in all of the submissions, said Sister M. Anselma, chief operating officer for OSF Saint Anthonys.

It gives me great joy and peace to know that we will create an environment that is not just generic in form, and is created by the community, for the community, and reflects the community. This is home, and the OSF Healthcare Moeller Cancer Center will have the comfort and familiarity of home and family!

There is an online donation option to take cancer care to the next level in the Riverbend or donations by phone are available at (618) 463-5168.
Godfrey  A select group of women dedicated to their community and improving the lives of others was honored Thursday at the Alton YWCAs Women of Distinction Award event, now in its 29th year.

Selected by a volunteer panel of judges from who the names of each years nominees are withheld, the 10 honorees represent a diversity of achievements and include business owners, mentors, teachers, school administrators, caregivers and community leaders, among others.
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Linkedin Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019 09:56 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360d44a 1 Lifestyle #fashion,#fashion-designers,#FashionShow,#Muslim,#Jakarta,#Malang,#Muffest Free

Eight designers from Malang, East Java, have joined the countrys top Muslim fashion designers to present their collections at the fourth Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST) in Jakarta.

The eight designers, who are members of the Malang chapter of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, presented four pieces each in a showcase event ahead of their main presentations at the fashion festival, which runs until Saturday.

Agus Sunandar said their collections used the theme nerdypan". "Nerdy is said to represent the freedom and simplicity of their designs, while pan is taken from Jodipan, a kampung in Malang where the roofs of houses and walls are painted with a myriad of colors.

In designing his collection, Agus, one of the eight designers, was inspired by fashion trends among punk youngsters who hang out in and around the streets of Malang.

He created red-and-black tops with checkered motifs mixed with black leather accessories. The hats are designed to resemble the Mohawk hair style to complete the overall look, he said.

Designer Alfatir Muhammad, who was the first designer to showcase his designs in the catwalk during the showcase in Malang, took inspiration from the vibrant colors found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with models strutting the catwalk in stylish sunglasses. He also accentuated his designs with embroidery.

Designer Noor Umer came up with burka-like pieces, with edgy cutting dominated by white and stripped skirts or pants, while Ajeng Cahya took inspiration from Jodipans colorful and geometric-shaped murals.

Agus said it had taken the eight designers around two months to prepare their new collections for MUFFEST, with each scheduled to present eight pieces at the festival.

We require [the designers] to work together with batik and tenun makers in Malang to create their designs, in the hopes that Malang can become an important player in Indonesias fashion industry," he said.
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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019

Visiting outlying islands in this sprawling archipelago reveals an unease felt about Java, the denominator of Indonesia. From Aceh to West Papua live citizens who see the nations largest ethnic group as oppressive colonialists.

First President Sukarno used a common language, universal education and the non-denominational Pancasila philosophy to create the unitary state.

When these did not work, persuasion turned to force.
A recent field survey conducted by environmental organization Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, in collaboration with the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) and supported by Chevron, has spotted 10 endangered Javan leopards in Guntur Papandayan conservation forest, West Java.

The leopard sightings were caught on 60 camera traps previously set up by CI Indonesia for a two-year field survey, from 2016 to 2018.

Eighty-three images captured by the cameras show that the leopards roam the conservation forest in the morning from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and at night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Read also: How you can help conserve Indonesia's endangered species

CI Indonesias terrestrial program division senior manager, Anton Ario, said his organization and the BBKSDA had spent a considerable amount of time monitoring the Javan leopards to accurately record the number of the animals left in Guntur Papandayan.

Each individual leopard can be identified based on its distinctive body size, sex and pattern, Anton said in a statement, adding that the field survey had identified three male adults and seven female adults around Guntur Papandayan.

He went on to say that images from the field survey had shown Guntur Papandayan as a passable habitat for Javan leopards, despite recent reports of illegal logging.

In addition to Javan leopards, Guntur Papandayan is also home to other endangered species such as the Javan gibbon, the Javan surili (grizzled leaf monkey), the Javan hawk-eagle and the Javan slow loris. (rfa/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sat, May 4, 2019 12:04 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873610488 2 Art & Culture Arc-de-Triomphe,Paris,monument,restoration Free

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was ransacked during a "yellow vest" protest last year, will be entirely restored for next week's VE Day celebrations, the French government said Friday.

The monument, which contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier, was vandalized during an anti-government demonstration in December that ended in rioting and looting.

Culture Minister Franck Riester said 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) was spent restoring damaged statues and equipment inside the landmark at the top of the Champs-Elysees.

As well as spraying its walls with graffiti and breaking equipment, rioters smashed artworks, including a 1930s copy of a famous sculpture of "The Marseillaise" by Francois Rude representing Victory, which was molded from the 19th-century original.

The mould of the 'Genie de la patrie', which was damaged by protestors on the sidelines of the 'yellow vest' (gilets jaunes) demonstrations on December 1, 2018, is seen in a gallery of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on May 3, 2019, following renovation works. The Arc de Triomphe, ransacked and vandalised in December during a demonstration of the 'Yellow Vests', has been completely restored just in time for the May 8 ceremonies that mark the end of the Second World War in France, the French government announced on May 3. Martin BUREAU / AFP (AFP/Martin Bureau)

"The restoration has been done in only a few months, which is very fast," said Riester, while praising the work.

He said everything would be ready Wednesday when VE Day celebrations mark the 74th anniversary of Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies on May 8, 1945.

Read also: Arc de Triomphe to reopen after Paris protest damage

The monument, which was built by Napoleon to commemorate his many military victories, reopened less than a fortnight after rioters broke into it on December 1, though some areas remained cordoned off.

Each year, more than 1.5 tourists visit the Arc de Triomphe, mostly to take in the view down the Champs-Elysees.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo last month announced that he had received permission to wrap the world-famous landmark next April in the signature style he developed with his late French wife Jeanne-Claude.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873613e69 4 Entertainment Chrissy-Teigen,David-Chang,Hulu Free

Model-cookbook author Chrissy Teigen is to team up with American restaurateur David Chang, who is famous for establishing Momofuku restaurant group, to host a cooking show that marks the birth of streaming platform Hulus first food-focused program.

Independent reports that the content of the show will be co-created by Vox Media Studios, Changs Majordomo Media and Teigens Suit and Thai Productions.

Chang was quoted by Independent as saying that he hoped to keep integrating new perspectives into the content, sharing stories about culture and bringing change to the current idea of a food television shows capability.

Since opening his first Momofuku Noodle Bar in a no-frills East Village storefront in 2004, David Chang has become renowned as a chef who shakes things up. (Bloomberg/-)

I think theres an audience out there that understands and celebrates the world through food, and theyre hungry for shows that feed their sense of curiosity in new ways, said Chang.

Hulu is reportedly confident about securing a multi-year deal with the model and the restaurateur.

Read also: Anthony Bourdain wins posthumous Emmy for 'Parts Unknown'

The first show to be produced will be named Family Style, which will revolve around the ways in which people express their love for friends and family by cooking and eating together, Glamour reported from a media release.

Besides the cooking show, Teigen curates and produces original programming from scripted drama series to talk shows, Hollywood Reporter wrote. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, May 5, 2019 03:34 964 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873619e29 4 Parents lying,children,children-development Free

Almost all children invent lies for some inexplicable reasons. According to a study, this behavior is absolutely normal and is even an important and healthy step in their development, Parents reported. The research revealed why and how lying becomes a social skill.

The study, led by Kang Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, examined the "lying skills" of young children.

Read also: Being born poor affects a childs brain activity

According to the study, the tendency to lie starts quite early and increases over the years. In the study, 30 percent of 2-year-old toddlers started inventing lies. Later at age 3, half of all analyzed children lied, while even more children at the age of 4, about 80 percent of them, told lies. Moreover, almost all of those between the age of 5 and 7 lied.

However, Lee said that this behavior was normal and an important milestone in a childs development.

He conducted a study in which a group of pre-school children in China were divided into two groups. The first group of children were given theory-of-mind training, while the remaining half were taught skills for number and spatial problem-solving.

In theory-of-mind training, children are taught to understand what goes on in somebody elses head, to know what they know and what they dont know. The better a child is at theory-of-mind, the more sophisticated their lies. Subsequently, the child will develop executive function abilities, which is the power to plan ahead and curb unwanted actions.

Lee told Parents that the 30 percent of toddlers who could lie had higher executive function abilities. This was a sign of cognitive sophistication he said, adding that the young liars would utilize it to gain more success in school and in their interactions with other children during playtime. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Chicago, United States  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:05 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873617dfd 2 People YouTube,child-porn,child-pornography,YouTubers,sexual-harassment Free

A YouTube musical celebrity was sentenced Friday in a Chicago courtroom to 10 years in prison for enticing girls as young as 14 to produce sexually explicit videos of themselves.

Austin Jones, who posted online videos of himself performing songs for a fan base of primarily teenage girls, was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of child pornography.

As part of his plea, Jones admitted to a total of six identified victims and approximately 30 attempts to persuade other girls to send him child pornography, according to prosecutors.

A federal judge on Friday imposed a 10-year prison sentence on the 26-year-old, who could have gotten as little as five years or as many as 20, according to sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors, pointing to text messages, alleged in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court that Jones targeted young girls under the pretense of "auditions" for modeling and other opportunities.

Read also: Indonesia a haven for child pornography

"I'm just trying to help you! I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else," Jones told one 14-year-old victim via Facebook messenger, according to the court filing.

Prosecutors said Facebook tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Jones's conversations with 14- and 15-year-old girls using the social media service's private messaging feature.

Jones's defense lawyers had asked that he be sentenced to five years on the basis of mitigating circumstances having to do with the man's childhood.

"Austin was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse by his father from age six until age 10. He was young, helpless and scared," his attorney's wrote in a court filing.

They claimed Jones suffered from severe depression and other mental health problems.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019

Amid heightened competition, news media companies must find new business models if they want to thrive without neglecting their responsibilities as the press, a Press Council member has said.

The idea was conveyed by Press Council member Imam Wahyudi during a panel discussion held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day -- which falls on May 3 -- in Jakarta on Friday.

"This is not only a challenge for news media companies themselves, but also for the academics to help find new business models so the press can survive," Imam said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361372d 1 Business Angkasa-Pura-II,Airport,soekarno-hatta-airport,Terminal-3,Indonesia,Hotel Free

Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (APII) signed on Thursday an agreement with construction company PT Wijaya Karya Tbk and Wika Gedung to build a second hotel at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

The new hotel will be constructed in the domestic area of Terminal 3, right next to the parking lot. The three-star hotel will consist of 150 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2020.

AP II director Muhammad Awaluddin said the operator had allocated Rp 300 billion (US$21 million) to construct the hotel, which is part of a wider strategy to boost income.

The world-class airport operator should be able to take advantage of its business potential. We target to generate Rp 500 billion in income from our [non-traditional] business area, Muhammad said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Aside from a planned hotel at Soekarno-Hattas domestic terminal, construction for a four-star hotel at the international area of Terminal 3 is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in November. (dpk/swd)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali  Sat, May 4, 2019 11:27 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360fca6 1 National NgurahRaiAirport,shuttle-buses Free

Travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali can now ride on a public shuttle bus connecting the airport and other parts of the resort island, after the service was previously suspended for months.

The Trans Sarbagita public bus service was relaunched on Thursday, after a one-week trial.

"This is a good thing. [Affordable] public transportation is extremely needed nowadays," airport general manager Haruman Sulaksono said during the relaunch.

The bus will serve two routes, the airport to Nusa Dua via Jimbaran and the airport to Batubulan in Gianyar via Kuta and Denpasar. The bus stops are located in the pick-up zones of both the domestic and international terminals.

As there are currently only six buses serving the two routes, the shuttle service will run three times a day. The route to Nusa Dua departs at 9.15 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. local time, while buses to Batubulan will depart at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. Buses depart according to the same schedule from Batubulan and Nusa Dua to the airport.

The cost of a trip is just Rp 3,500 (25 US Cents), while students with a valid student ID can use the service for free.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster welcomed the relaunch of the service, promising more transportation innovation.

"In the future, we should build and expand transportation [infrastructure] in innovative ways," he said.

The Sarbagita public bus service was first launched in 2011 by then-governor Made Mangku Pastika. Then, Sarbagita connected Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan. However, the service was suspended due to the low number of passengers. (swd)
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Sat, May 4, 2019 20:24 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361696d 1 National KPK,judge,corruption,bribery Free

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested on Friday five people in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, as part of a bribery case related to a trial that involved businessmen Sudarman as the defendant and Balikpapan District Court judge Kayat.

In addition to Sudarman and Kayat, the three others arrested were Balikpapan District Court clerk Facrul Azami, lawyer Jhonson Siburian and Jhonsons staff member Rosa Isabela.

"The operation was conducted at the Balikpapan court on Jl. Sudirman at around 5 p.m.," said East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ade Yaya Suryana on Friday night.

The antigraft body said it had caught Jhonson and Rosa red-handed giving Kayat bribe money inside the Balikpapan District Court compound in exchange for clearing Sudarman in a case Kayat presided in 2018.

KPK investigators confiscated a total of Rp 227.5 million (US$16,018) from different places, including Kayats car and Jhonsons office.

"The judge was bribed to release the defendant, said KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif.

According to the KPK, Kayat offered to release Sudarman, a defendant in a document forgery case, in exchange for Rp 500 million. Sudarman, through his lawyer, agreed but delayed the payment until after he was declared not guilty and released.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah suggested that investigators had been watching Kayat for some time.

"[The arrest] was not based on one case only," Febri said without elaborating.

Kayat was also a judge in the trial of an oil spill in Balikpapan Bay last year.

He sentenced MV Ever Judger captain Zhang Deyi to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 15 billion in February for causing an oil pipe leak that triggered a massive fire and led to the death of five people.

Meanwhile, Jhonson is also known as an activist and chairman of the National Corruption Watch (NCW), which also advocates land issues in Balikpapan. (ggq/swd)

Topics : KPK judge corruption bribery
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, May 4, 2019 19:32 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8736160c4 1 National electric-pushbike,Medan,North-Sumatra,HKBP-Nommensen-University Free

State-owned electricity firm PLN in cooperation with HKBP Nommensen University (UHN) in Medan, North Sumatra, launched on Thursday its first becak motor or betor (electric tricycle) during a National Education Day celebration.

The electric tricycles can travel at high speeds with 2,000 watts of electricity, said Parulian Siagian, head of the UHN School of Technologys electric pushbike innovation team.

He added that they can reach up to 40 kilometers per hour with a passenger, and 50 km to 60 km per hour without a passenger.

The becak motor has been thoroughly tested, so it is ready to be operated, Parulian said.

Development on the vehicles began in December 2018 and was inspired by the need for green transportation.

UHN rector Haposan Siallagan said the tricycles were designed to be energy efficient and promote the unique cultural characteristics of North Sumatra.

According to North Sumatra PLN finance manager Jhon Horas Tobing, electric charging stations have been established across the province, so that users would not have to worry about running out of power.

PLN has built 15 public electric charging stations [SPLU] in North Sumatra, so [users] shouldnt worry, he said. (swd)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4 2019

Political bigwigs supporting incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo may be getting ready to welcome the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) into the ruling coalition.

That does not mean, however, that the two will find it easy to get strategic positions in the upcoming Cabinet.

The possibility of the Democrats and PAN joining the incumbents camp became the talk of the town after the President met with Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at Merdeka Palace on Thursday.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:08 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873618365 1 National correctional-facility,Nusakambangan-prison,NusakambanganPrisonIsland,Indonesia,prisoners,prison-officers Free

Human rights activists have slammed the correctional officers of Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java after a video of them mistreating inmates went viral on social media.

The footage was posted on Instagram account @lambe_turah and showed prison guards dragging bound and handcuffed inmates across the dirt, some of whom could be seen with wounds across their back.

According to Kerobokan Prison warden Tony Nainggolan, some of the inmates in the video had been transferred from Kerobokan in Bali to Nusakambangan on March 28.

They were healthy when we handed them over to the [Bali] police, who then took charge of their transfer to the Nusakambangan Police, Tony said as quoted by tribunnews.com. I can make no further comments on this matter.

In response to the video, the Law and Human Rights Ministrys corrections directorate general has removed the Nusakambangan Narcotics Prison warden.

We are condemning the violent act [and] inhumane treatment of inmates, as per the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [UNCAT], which has been ratified by Indonesia, Anggara, executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The institute encouraged the Law and Human Rights Ministry, as well as its corrections directorate general, to launch an investigation to address the issue.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 10:45 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360e861 1 City suicide,suicidal,death,North-Jakarta,police,depression Free

A woman, identified as CV, died after allegedly jumping from the fourth floor of a mall in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.

"The woman allegedly committed suicide. Her body was rushed to the RSCM Hospital [Central Jakarta]," head of Penjaringan Police Reskrim, Comr. Mustakim said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mustakim revealed that CV was eating with her family at a fast food restaurant in the mall before she reportedly excused herself to go to the toilet.

"But after 30 minutes, she still had not come back, Mustakim said.

A witness reportedly saw her step on the railing on the fourth floor and then jump.

[Her family] became aware after seeing the crowd," Mustakim said.

Mustakim said that CV allegedly committed suicide because of private matters.

The police are currently questioning witnesses and the parents, although CCTV footage shows the victim jumping from the mall's fourth floor. (das)
HIV and Aids was first discovered in 1981 when an unusual outbreak of pneumonia in gay men was announced in the US.

101,600 people living with HIV in the UK' There are now an estimated '(2017). However, science is fighting back and the second person in the world has recently been reported as cured from the disease.

Image Credit: CDC and PHIL on Wikimedia Commons



This breakthrough came in 1996 when ART was first introduced to HIV patients. Now science is taking an even bigger step, with the second person in 12 years recently being cured. The man known only as the London patient was, like Timothy Ray Brown (the first man to be cured from HIV), suffering from cancer at the time of treatment. The New York Times spoke to the London Patient, who said that it was surreal" and "overwhelming" learning that he could be cured of both HIV and cancer.

Image Credit: Greta Hughson on Flickr

Unfortunately this cure is still very much a trial. Predictably, it causes a huge strain on its patients, with Mr Brown nearly dying in the process.

mutation in a protein called CCR5 which rests on the surface of certain immune cells. HIV uses the protein to enter those cells but cannot latch on to the mutated version, The process involves undergoing a bone marrow transfer to cure the cancer. The transfer has to be from a donor with athe New York Times said. This is then followed by harsh immunosuppressive drugs which can cause some long-term effects. The transfer, in both these cases, cures the cancer and the transplanted immune cells now resist HIV and have replaced the old cells. Thankfully the drugs that are currently being used are less intense than when the 'Berlin Patient' was undergoing his transplant.

virus-free After having his transfer in May 2016, the London Patient stopped taking his anti-HIV drugs in September 2017 and is the first person since the Berlin Patient to remain '' over a year down the line.

Image Credit: Rick on Wikimedia Commons

Princess Diana made the real change Not only has the science changed but the stigma surrounding the disease is also rapidly shifting. HIV is very much present in the media now.when she was seen touching a patient, something that people once believed could give you the disease. She abolished a lot of fear and stigma surrounding AIDS and HIV through the endless amount of charity work she took part in, and her sons continued this after her.

History is currently being made through these changes. The fact that there have been two people to be cured from a disease that has been around for 38 years and was once fatal to most is quite frankly ground-breaking. This research is giving people hope that not only can they live with HIV but they can now be free from it completely. There is still a long way to go before this is a common occurrence and the process is still very difficult and comes with complications. However the fact that it has now been done twice stands people in good stead. Hopefully there will be many more people who can join the Berlin and London patient in being cured in the near future.
His Majesty the King grants royal pardon to categories of convicts ahead of coronation

THAILAND: To mark the coronation and allow convicts the chance to be good citizens for the national interest, His Majesty the King has granted pardons and commuted sentences for many categories of prisoners, including some on death row and offenders on probation.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:50AM

Convicts attending a religious ceremony before their release in 2015. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

The Royal Gazette published a royal decree on the royal pardons on Friday (May 3), effective today (May 4). Those who receive pardons include convicts in confinement, offenders performing public service instead of fines, those on probation, inmates with a year or less remaining on their sentence, or with serious disabilities and illnesses, such as terminal cancer and Aids.

The royal amnesty also applies to women jailed for the first time who have served at least half their sentence, those aged 60 years and over with remaining terms up to three years and prisoners aged 70 and above.

Other beneficiaries include first-time prisoners younger than 20 years who have served at least half their sentence and model prisoners with up to two years of their sentence remaining.

Those on death row face life imprisonment instead.

Jail terms were commuted for those sentenced to life imprisonment and drug offenders sentenced to eight years or longer, or life imprisonment, or who are aged 70 years or more.

Recidivists and inmates who are not model prisoners or have been badly behaved are not entitled to the pardon.
His Majesty the King performs first royal function, promises prosperity

THAILAND: His Majesty performed his first royal function this afternoon (May 4) after being crowned by granting an audience for royal family members and other dignitaries.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 05:59PM

His Majesty the King grants an audience to royal family members and other distinguished guests at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. Photo: TV Pool/Public Relations Department

The King hosted the audience in what was his first function at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace hours after he was formally crowned. (Read more here).

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn represented the royal family members in delivering a speech on their behalf. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public. Privy councillors also attended the function.

Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative branch and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon spoke for the judicial branch. All paid homage to the King on the occasion of his coronation.

Diplomats and other foreign dignitaries were invited to the audience.

HRH Princess Sirindhorn commended the King for his kingship and promised loyalty to His Majesty: On behalf of the royal family members, we are determined to show loyalty and perform our best for the Chakri Dynasty, she said.

The King, in his return message, invited all people to perform to the best of their ability to help the country and pledged further prosperity for Thailand.

His Majesty formally designated Queen Suthida as Her Majesty the Queen after he completed the coronation rites on Saturday morning.
History preserved: Rare footage gives glimpse into the royal coronation of King Rama VII

Before the reign of King Rama VII of the Chakri Dynasty, royal coronation ceremonies had never been filmed. As of now, the footage from the ceremonies of King Rama VII and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are the only two existing coronation motion pictures available in Thailand.

HistoryCulture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:00AM

In light of the coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on May 4, the rare historical footage of King Rama VIIs coronation was recently screened by the Thai Film Archive whose experts did a marvellous job preserving the film shot almost 100 years ago. The oldest surviving motion picture of the age-old royal ceremony, the footage is of great historical significance not just among historians but also all Thai citizens.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation is an extremely valuable historical asset especially when it comes to the study of the history of the Rattanakosin period as it is the unprecedented detailed filming of coronation rites and rituals. The ceremonies of King Rama I up to King Rama V were recorded but only in written chronicles and archives and only in summary, said historian Asst Prof Dinar Boontharm from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. Dinar specialises in royal coronation ceremonies and sacred rituals in the royal court.

According to Dinar, filming coronation rites was first done during the reign of King Rama VII or around 1925. Prior to that, the ceremony was first photographed during the reign of King Rama V. Even so, only the post-ceremony coronation portrait was captured  rather than the entire process  with the new king dressed in full. Such a coronation portrait was to be distributed to newspapers as well as heads of state in foreign countries.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation recently screened at the Thai Film Archive was shot by the Film Department of the State Railway of Thailand on 35mm nitrate film, an antique format that still preserves the detail and quality of the images even after nearly a century. After being digitalised by the Film Archive, it was made accessible to the public so that they could see those rare historical moments ahead of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkuns coronation, which will be held, according to Dinar, based on the ceremony of the late King Bhumibol.

Former director of the Thai Film Archive and film historian Dome Sukhawong recalled his discovery of the coronation footage in an old building in Bangkoks Rong Muang Road in 1981. Back then, Dome was in search of footage of Nang Sao Suwan (Miss Suwanna Of Siam), thought to be the first Thai feature film, made with support from the State Railway of Thailand.

During his quest, he ended up at a residence previously owned by a railway staffer. There he found over 500 rolls of old films, most in decayed condition. All the films were later found to be events during King Rama VIIs period, along with deleted and edited scenes from the full version of the coronation footage.

That [King Rama VII period] was the first time all detailed processes of the coronation ceremony were allowed to be filmed from inside the palace, explained Dome. Although filming could be practised too during the time of King Rama VI, the King did not give royal permission for the coronation to be shot from inside the palace. Private filming crew or locals who then owned 16mm cameras could film the coronation events but only from outside.

King Rama VII, on the contrary, allowed the Film Department under the State Railway to shoot the entire coronation.

The then Film Department functioned just like the Government Public Relations Department of today, Dome added. In the past, movies were the only means mostly accessible by the general public regardless of gender, age and social status. Newspapers were available only in big cities and were read only by the upper- and middle-class. Broadcast radio wasnt available. So when there were important events, people saw them through public cinemas, which served as a television for the neighbourhood.

As with other momentous events, King Rama VIIs coronation was filmed and screened before the public. This outdoor theatre screened the 35mm full-version of the coronation footage, which was over an hour long. The audience had to pay a fee to see the film.

An abridged version was later created by the Film Department to sell to any Thais who wished to purchase the footage as a meaningful memorabilia. The 500 film rolls Dome discovered were neither of these two versions, but outtakes out of the full, final version. The official hour-long footage was lost to time. Even though they are just segments edited out of the final version, the footage provides significant, in-depth knowledge of the royal ancient rite.

The footage was also an inspiration for the late British archaeologist Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, a state officer in the reign of King Rama VII, to complete his thesis  with much of the material obtained while serving his post in Siam. In 1931, Wales  a professor in archaeology and Southeast Asia history at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  published a book titled Siamese State Ceremonies, which was later translated into Thai and is now available for purchase at leading bookstores.

At the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama I ordered that all details and knowledge about the coronation be revised and recorded in a coronation reference book, which compiled all the coronation rites and processes as practised during the Ayutthaya period. Information in the book was obtained from conversations with royal family members and state officers that lived during the Ayutthaya period.

Several elements and practices adopted from the West were added to the coronation of King Rama IV. The United Kingdom was the country that most influenced the coronation given that the coronation of Queen Victoria was held only 13 years before King Rama IV.

Thailand and Western countries have different coronation concepts. As influenced by Indian civilisation together with Brahmin and Buddhist beliefs, coronation in Thailand puts more emphasis on a water-related process such as purification and anointment. In the West, the crowning ceremony is the highlight.

Before the reign of King Rama IV, the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut or the Great Crown of Victory  one of the royal regalia  wasnt worn by the King at the coronation. Adopting coronation concepts from the West, King Rama IV was the first to change this and had the King actually wear the crown at the coronation. He also sent a court officer to purchase the diamond from Calcutta, India, and put the crown jewel at the top of the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, just like Queen Victorias crown.

The coronation of the late King Bhumibol in 1950 followed the practice of King Rama VII after the country survived World War II and the Siamese revolution of 1932. However, certain steps of the ceremony were removed.

To see the footage of King Rama VIIs coronation, visit https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/1662792/king-rama-7-coronation-ceremony

 Arusa Pisuthipan
Merit-making ceremony held at Wat Phra Thong to pay respect to His Majesty the King

PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung led a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phra Thong in Thalang today (May 4) to pay respect to His Majesty the King ahead of the Royal Coronation.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 04:09PM

Government officials, civil servants and local residents gathered at 7am to pay respect to the Kings image and take part in alms-giving ceremonies  donating food and other goods to the 99 monks who also attended, and receiving blessings from them in return.

Attendees were dressed in yellow, the Kings heraldic colour. The government has urged the public to wear yellow until the Kings birthday in July.

From 9am, attendees watched a live broadcast of the coronation ceremony as the King took part in a purification bathing rite with consecrated water, was presented with the royal regalia and was crowned the King of Thailand. (Read more here).

A live stream of the ceremony is available to watch here.
Royal Coronation: Ancient ceremony steeped in tradition

The Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will be conducted today, witnessed by millions of people either present in person attending the historic event or through the live broadcasts to 170 countries worldwide. The ceremonies to be witnessed today are steeped in Thai tradition and history, as explained in this article provided by the Thai Ministry of Culture.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 09:00AM

The Primary Royal Ceremonies

Preliminary ceremonies to the Primary Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of the chanting of prayers by monks, the arrangement of sacred water within the circle of holy thread, and the lighting of auspicious candles.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I), the Preliminary Ceremony started on the eve of the previous day when His Majesty lit the candle to pay homage to the Threefold Refuge as monks chanted prayers. On the next morning, His Majesty offered morning food alms to monks, the first of three days of offerings.

The custom has been practiced to the present. Although the Brahman ceremonies may have been practiced since the early period of Rattanakosin, there is little evidence to confirm it.

In the reign of King Rama V, there was a mention of the ceremony of raising the royal seven-tiered umbrella onto the Atha Disa and the Bhadrapitha Royal Thrones inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

Also, ablation offerings to deities were generally conducted at the Brahman shrines in Bangkok. Furthermore, there was an additional ceremony of offering a sacred ceremonial object to His Majesty the King, such as, the conch shell used for pouring water of blessing, the bael leaf to be worn behind his ear, the bundle of auspicious of leaves called Samit, composed of three kinds of leaves: mango, Bai thong and Indian plum. These leaves are believed to prevent harmful things from approaching the King. His Majesty ritually brushed himself with Samit, on the head and hair, to symbolize purification.

When finished, he gave them back to the Chief Brahmin, who then ceremonially burned each of the leaves in a Brahman ceremony of purification by fire. After that, the King went to his residential bed to listen to the chanting of Paritra prayers that continued for three days.

The preliminary ceremonies from King Rama V continued to be practiced in the reigns of King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), there were some practical changes in the ceremony. It limited the religious ceremony in the Preliminary session to only one evening of the previous day of the Royal Coronation Ceremony, held on Thursday, May 4, 1950.

The process included the chanting of prayers by monks seated on a pedestal. For the Brahman ceremony, three dais are placed in descending order. Each is enshrined with wooden icons of deities for use in the royal Augurs prayers. The ceremony is completed on that day and the pedestals are removed on the next day.

An offering is given to pay homage to the great royal tiered umbrella of the five Halls: the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall, the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall, the Chakri Maha Prasad Throne Hall, the Ananta Samagom Throne Hall and the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall. Offerings were given to another 13 monuments and important places in Bangkok also.*

On Thursday, May 4, 1950, at 10:00 am, the scribe moved the ceremonial tray of the Royal Golden Plaque, the Royal Horoscope and the Royal Seal of State from the ubosot of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram. These were placed on a royal palanquin that was waiting on the pavilion platform behind the temple. Then the royal palanquin moved slowly in a procession to the ceremonial stage at Baisal Daksin Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is composed of:

the Ablution or Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek,

the Anointment Ceremony or the Offering of the Abhisek Water from the eight representatives of the eight cardinal directions of the compass, at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, and

the Presentation of the Royal Throne and the Royal Regalia in the Crowning and Investiture Ceremonies, at the Bhadrapitha Throne inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

The Royal Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek

Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the king, called Ablution. This holy water is called the Muratha Bhisek Water. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person.

According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution. The water used for ablution in the Purification Ceremony will flow out from under a canopied shower head.

The sacred water is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand. In Thailand, they were collected from the five important rivers, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, and from the four Sacred Ponds. They were combined with purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom. Also added was the prepared holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session from the day before.

For the Purification or the Song Muratha Bhisek Ceremony in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty sat in the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne at the pavilion constructed for the Purification Ceremony. Then the presiding official turned on the shower sending water of purification over His Majesty for the Ablution.

After that, the Supreme Patriarch came forth to bestow benediction by sprinkling water onto His Majesty the Kings back. He then presented the Nophakhun Yantra into the hands of His Majesty. This was followed by Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Rangsit Prayurasakdi Krom Khun Jainad Narendra, offering His Majesty holy water from Phra Tao Bencha Khap, or the water vessel, into His Majestys hands.

Then, the royal Augur presented the holy water from the nine deities to His Majesty, who upon receiving them, poured them onto his left and right shoulders.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni (Sawat Rangsibrahmanakul), presented His Majesty with holy water from the great conch shell, the deity-blessed holy water from the Phra Tao Bencha Khap or water vessel, and the bronze water container.

Later, His Majesty was presented with the bael leaf, which he put behind his ear and the Kathin leaf, which he held in his hand. Then, Phraya Anurak Ratcha Mondhien (Kat Wacharothai) presented His Majesty with the sacred conch or chank shell (Turbinella pyrum.)

During the ceremonial procedure, while monks chanted prayers of benediction, officials played music from conch shells with music from a bugle, bronze drums and a Thai musical ensemble.

The guards of honor stood in salutation and the brass band played the royal anthem of Thailand. The artillerymen shot cannons for an auspicious victory to honor His Majesty the King.

The Royal Anointment Ceremony or Abhisek

After His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) performed the Purification ceremony, he changed into the Regal Vestments. He left the Ablution ceremonial pavilion to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

There, he sat on the Atha Disa Throne, with the seven-tiered umbrella or Saweta Chatra placed above it. A representative of the Parliament presented His Majesty with the Anointment Water.

The chief Brahmin presented him with eight vessels of the Brahmin holy water from each of the eight cardinal directions of the compass. As he was presented with each vessel, the King turned to its corresponding direction, and ended sitting in the direction facing east once again.

The ceremony proceeded with Chao Phraya Si Dhamadhibes (Chit Na Songkhla), the Chairman of the Senate, presenting the honorarium address to His Majesty in the Bihari language, and then, he also presented the Water of Anointment to him.

Formerly, the King was presented with the Water for Anointment from the Royal Pandit and the Chief Brahmin. However, for the Anointment Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty was the first King to receive the Anointment Water from members of Congress who were representing the eight cardinal directions of the compass. This was to signify that he was the first King in the democratic system.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, gave his address of benediction to His Majesty in the Bihari and Thai languages. Then he presented His Majesty with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State, Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra. During this procedure, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, officials shook small drums used in Brahmin rites, gongs were struck, bugles blown, and Thai musical ensembles were playing throughout the ceremonial area.

After His Majesty the King received the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State from the Chief Brahmin and gave officials, he left the Atha Disa Throne for the Bhadrapitha Throne in a royal procession, led ceremonially by the Buddha image, Phra Chai Nava Loha, and the Lord Ganesh Image, followed by the officials bringing the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra (Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State.)

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) donned the official Regal Costume for the Royal Coronation Ceremony and left the Sulalai Biman Chapel to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This ceremony took place on May 5, 1950.

The Crowning and Investiture Ceremony

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra proceeded to another throne, called the Bhadrapitha Throne, which is on the opposite side of the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This throne is under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella, or the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra. There, the chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, chanted the prayer to pay homage to the Kailasa Heaven.

He then presented the King with the Royal Golden Plaque or Phra Suphannabat, upon which is inscribed the Royal Official Title of His Majesty the King. He also presented the Royal Regalia, the Ancient and Auspicious Orders, the Royal Utensils, and the Weapons of Sovereignty.

After this moment, His Majesty the King crowned himself with the Great Crown of Victory. It is the most important procedure in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. However, what is considered the most important part of the ceremony may vary from one reign to another, depending on differing conditions.

In the ancient times, the most important part of the whole ceremony was considered to be the Anointment Ceremony. It denoted accession to power throughout the eight cardinal directions of the compass and by extension, to reign over all regions of the land.

At present, the Crowning is accepted as the highest ceremony, according to the example set in the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV). Throughout the process of the Crowning, all monks are chanting prayers of benediction, the official ensemble are blowing conch shells, beating drums, gongs and other instruments and every temple bell in the area is ringing loudly.

After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony at the Bhadrapitha Throne, the Brahmins offered blessings to His Majesty the King, and the newly crowned King presented the First Royal Command in the Thai language.

In 1873, at the time of the Second Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), His Majesty gave an instruction that the First Royal Command be spoken in the Bihari language too. From then on, it was a tradition that the First Royal Command be issued in both the Thai and Bihari languages, and continued during the reigns of King Rama V, King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) the practice was adjusted. After the Brahmins recited the prayer of benediction to His Majesty the King, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, recited his prayer of benediction in the Bihari language, after which he addressed His Majesty in Thai.

His Majesty responded by issuing his First Royal Command in Thai vowing to provide righteous protection to the people of Thailand. The Chief Brahmin accepted the First Royal Command in the Bihari language, followed by the Thai language. Next, His Majesty the King performed the gesture of pouring water as an offering to the Goddess of the Earth to ratify his responsibility of ruling righteously over the Royal Kingdom.

The Final Royal Ceremonies

The final procedures of the Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of these ceremonies: the Granting of an Audience, the Installation of the Queen, the Formal Declaration of Faith, demonstrating his willingness to become the Royal Patron of Buddhism, and by Paying Homage to the Royal Relics of previous Kings and Queens.

In addition, there is the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, and the Procession of Circumambulation around the city, Phra Nakhon, which symbolically represents the entire realm of the Kingdom.

The details of the final session of the Royal Coronation Ceremony have been adjusted to be appropriate for circumstances in each reign. The previous procedure of Granting an Audience was to allow the royal families and high officials, both military and civilian, to pay homage to the new King.

After that, the King would proceed to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall to have another audience with the royal ladies of the court, whereupon he would have been presented with twelve maidens, but this detail was revoked by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV).

Therefore, there remained only the procedure to grant an audience to civilian and military high officials and royal courtiers to pay homage to His Majesty. King Rama VI added a ceremony, the Declaration of the Royal Patronage of Buddhism into the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its addition continued in the reigns of King Rama VII and King Rama IX. Under these kings, the ceremony of the Installation of the Queen was included into the complete Royal Coronation Ceremony too.

The Assumption of the Royal Residence is another important part of the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its explanation was given by Somdetch Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab (Prince Damrong). The full Royal Coronation Ceremony is divided into two main sections: first, the Coronation Ceremony, for the glorification of the royal official title, and secondly, the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, for the King to reside in the palace. These two ceremonies do not need to be conducted together, as it was reported in some chronicles they were sometimes conducted on two separate occasions.

The royal accessories taken for the Assumption of the Royal Residence at Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence are the Royal Auspicious Items and the Royal Utensils.

The Royal Auspicious Items are the cat or Wila, the mortar stone, auspicious seeds, green gourd, golden key and a gold blossom of the betel palm. More objects were later added such as the whisk, which is made of the tail of a male white elephant and white rooster. It is carried into the ceremony by the person who bears the sacred royal staff, and is one item of the royal regalia.

Traditionally, only persons belonging to the royal family could be responsible for the bearing of the Royal Auspicious Items. In the old days, the bearers of these auspicious articles for the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony are only the women of royal families. In the Rattanakosin period, only women from royal families who held the rank of Mom Chao participated.

After the Ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, the next ritual to be held was for monks to preach to the new King at the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall.

This ceremony is not the ordinary religious service of listening to a recitation of a discourse by monks. Instead, the Supreme Patriarch and a group of Phra Racha Khana monks are invited to preach the sermon while they are seated on a special pedestal with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella overhead, and not on an ordinary pulpit.

The content of the sermon has varied from one reign to another, and first took place in the reign of King Rama V. The ceremony where the King listens to a discourse of monks is the finale of the procedures for the Royal Coronation Ceremony that take place inside the Grand Palace.

The final ceremony is outside the Grand Palace in the form of a Royal Procession to encircle the city, both by land and by water, affording people the opportunity to attend and pay homage to their new King.

During the reigns of King Rama I to King Rama III, the Royal Procession only took place by land, but in the reign of King Rama IV, the Royal Procession was conducted both by royal palanquin and by royal barge. In the reign of King Rama V, the Royal Procession was conducted only by land.

The Royal Procession was conducted again both by land and by water in the reign of King Rama VI and King Rama VII. However, the royal procession did not take place in the reign of King Rama IX. The Royal Procession on the royal palanquin or royal barge marks the conclusion of the Royal Coronation Ceremony as it was traditionally practiced in the Rattanakosin period.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is an immensely important event in countries where the monarchy remains as the core institution, and this is especially true in the Royal Kingdom of Thailand.

In Thailand, the institution of the monarchy holds all the hearts and souls of the people together. The Royal Coronation Ceremony is the formality that reveals the glory of the ascending King to the throne, assures that he holds love for all his people and accords recognition from international countries.

Most importantly, it is the ceremony that shows the stability and unity of the people as the nation.

All materials for this article are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by Ministry of Culture.
Royal Coronation: Sacred waters

The historic ceremonies of the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun that will unfold today began months ago. The earliest process in the preparation for the Royal Coronation Ceremony was to collect waters from different important sources and then consecrate and combine them for use in the Royal Purification and Anointment Ceremonies during the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 10:00AM

Governor Phakaphong carries the Kan Tor royal ceramic urn containing the sacred water, which was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong on April 6.

On April 6, 2019, across the nation was the gathering of waters to be blessed and used for the sacred water in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. This process took place in all 76 provinces, with consecration rites for the collected waters held at major temples in respective provinces for the following two days.

In Phuket, sacred water was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong, officially called Wat Chaiyathararam, because the temple well was dug during the time when the deeply revered Phra Visutthiwongsajarn Yanmunee (better known as the historical figure Luang Por Chaem) was abbot.

Many local people believe that the well is sacred and that its water is able to heal people. This same well was also used for the Royal Coronation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

At 11:52am that day, Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana led the ceremony by drawing water from the well and pouring it into a five-litre golden bowl called a Kan Sakon.

The Kan Sakon lid was then closed and covered with a blessed white cloth tied with a white ribbon. The water was then carried by procession to Wat Prathong in Thalang.

The water remained at Wat Prathong for two days of blessing ceremonies, until 1pm on April 9. During the ceremonies, the Governor decanted water from the Kan Sakon into a Kan Tor  a royal ceramic urn handmade especially for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

At 5pm that day, the Governor and his entourage and police escort departed the temple by motorcade, accompanying the water all the way to Royal Palace in Bangkok. Governors in other provinces performed the same rituals and departed their respective revered temples at the same time, though arriving in the capital over the next two days (April 10-11).

On April 12, from 1pm to 2:09pm, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration performed a water consecration rite at Ho Sattrakhom in the Grand Palace and transferred the consecrated water to the Ministry of Interior to combine it with waters from the provinces.

On April 18 at 5:30pm, the waters from 76 provinces and Bangkok were combined and taken from the Ministry of Interior to be blessed through another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkoks oldest and most important temples.

On April 19, at 7:30am, the sacred water was taken by procession from Wat Suthat to be kept at the ubosot of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, awaiting its use in the performing of Royal Ablutions

The Royal Purification Ceremony is called the Song Phra Muratha Bhisek. Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the King, called Ablution. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person. According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution.

The water used for Ablution is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, as well as water drawn from four Sacred Ponds, or Sa in Thai: Sa Ket, Sa Kaeo, Sa Khongkha and Sa Yamuna from Suphanburi.

The Bencha Suttha Khongkha river waters, or the Five Pure Streams of Ganga, are used so as to follow the belief in the use of the sacred water from the five main streams from South Asia or Chomphu Thawip in Thai.

The five rivers in Thailand from which water is drawn are the Bang Pakong River in Nakhon Nayok, the Pasak River in Saraburi, the Chao Phraya River, Ratchaburi River in Samut Songkram and the Phetchaburi River.

They are combined purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom, including Phuket, for use in the ceremony.

Also now used in the Ablution Ceremony is the holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session prepared yesterday (May 3).
Royal Coronation: The Royal Regalia

The offering of the Royal Regalia to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony today carries with it deep significance unto itself as part of the Royal Coronation ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 12:00PM

The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The offering of the Royal Regalia to the King as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony is a traditional practice from Brahmanism. The chief Brahmin, or Phra Maha Ratcha Khru, gives the address offering the Royal Regalia to the King. The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

According to the book of protocol concerning the Royal Coronation Ceremony of the King, it states the ceremonial articles to be used consist of: the Great Crown, the Royal Clothes made of red wool, the Sword, the Tiered Umbrella and the Golden Slippers.

Each item holds a symbolic meaning. The Great Crown refers to the high heavenly abode of Indra; the Red-wool Cloth represents the Khanthamat Mountain of the Sumerumat Range; the Sword represents the wisdom to cut through misunderstanding; the Six-tiered Umbrella refers to the sixth level of heaven; and the Golden Slippers are a reference of royal support to all subjects living in the royal kingdom, just as the earth is a support to the Sumerumat Mountain.

The Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State

or the Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra

The nine layers of the tiered umbrella are made of white cloth; each tier hangs into three layers trimmed with gold bands. The umbrella is topped with a finial. King Rama IV ordered the Great Tiered Umbrella to be covered with white cloth, instead of tash cloth (silk woven with threads wrapped in gold or silver thread.) It is the most important article of the whole set of Royal Regalia. His Majesty King Rama IX ordered it to be presented while he was at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, after the Anointment Ceremony.

The Royal Scepter

or Than Phra Kon

The original scepter was made during the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I). Its staff was made of Javanese Cassia wood. The finial was in the form of a trident and was gilded with gold, as was its iron hilt inlaid with gold. The scepter itself was named Than Phra Kon, but originally was named Than Phra Kon Ratchaphruek, or Royal Staff made of Javanese Cassia wood.

In the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV), His Majesty ordered a new scepter to be made of pure gold. The staff was designed to hide a sword within and it had the figure of a deity on its finial. The scepter was called Phra Saeng Sanao, and also called Than Phra Kon Thewarup or The Royal Staff with a Deity. This scepter is more a sword than royal staff, and His Majesty preferred using this new scepter than the old one.

However, His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), due to his royal admiration of heritage objects, brought back the original scepter for use again in the Royal Coronation Ceremony, and the Than Phra Kon Thewarup was not included in the ceremony of that period.

The Great Crown of Victory

or Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut

The crown was made by the royal command of King Rama I and ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. The whole crown is 66 centimetres high and weighs 7.3 kilograms. King Rama IV later ordered the Phum Khao Bin tip of the crown replaced with a large diamond, bought from Kolkata, India. The diamond was named Phra Maha Wichian Mani.

In previous days, the crown was considered the next most important item in the whole set of Royal Regalia, following the Nine-tiered Umbrella in importance.

Upon receiving the crown, the King only placed the crown next to himself. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries and reviewed their royal procedures, Siam changed the status of the crown.

In Europe, the status of Kingship is bestowed when the King puts on the crown. Therefore, when King Rama IV was coronated and presented with the crown, His Majesty placed the crown upon his head and gave an audience to the foreign diplomatic corps while wearing it.

From then on, the Great Crown of Victory was reconsidered as the most important article of all the Royal Regalia and every King will wear this crown in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The Royal Fan and Fly Whisk

or Walawichani

The Walawichani made in the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) was the form of a fan made of a palm leaf, and was so-called a palm-leaf fan. The rim of the fan was trimmed with gold and the rod was made of enamelled gold.

Originally it was called Phatchani Fak Makham or the Fan in the shape of a tamarind-pod.

The meaning of its name was reconsidered by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) who recognised that for the name Walawichani, taken from the Pali language, use of a palm leaf fan may not be the correct interpretation. It referred more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, as the word Wala meant the hair of one type of a cow, an animal that Thais called Chammari.

Hence, His Majesty King Rama IV ordered a fly whisk to be made with the hair of a yak and to be included in the Royal Regalia. In a later period, yak hair was replaced with the hair from the white elephants tail, and the name was changed to the White Elephant Fly Whisk. But as it would be deemed inappropriate not to use the original royal Palm-Leaf Fan, His Majesty ordered the use of both the Palm-Leaf Fan and the Chammari Fly Whisk, and together had them called the Walawichani.

The Sword of Victory

or Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri

This sword was presented to His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) from Chao Phraya Abhai Bhubes (Ban) brought by an official sent from Battambang, then a vassal state to the Kingdom of Thailand, in 1784.

His Majesty King Rama I ordered a cover to be made for it. The hilt and sheath were ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems. It became part of the Royal Regalia in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 1785.

The length of the blade itself is 64.5 centimetres, and 89.8 centimetres when it includes the hilt. It weighs 1.3 kilograms. When enclosed with the sheath, it is 101 centimetres in length and weighs 1.9 kilograms.

The Royal Slippers

or Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon

King Rama I ordered the making of a pair of gold slippers as a part of the Royal Regalia, following an ancient Indian belief. They were made of colourful enamelled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony, they are offered by the Chief Brahmin who puts them directly onto the feet of the King.

* All materials for this publication are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by the Ministry of Culture.
In a little more than two weeks, Pennsylvanians will once again go to the polls.

Or at least some of us will.

Actually, the majority of us will not.

There are several reasons for that. None of them good enough to throw away our most basic and prized constitutional right, the right to vote.

May 21 is the statewide Primary Election, when residents exercise their franchise to nominate candidates for a variety of local elected positions. In this region, seats are u[ for grabs on county commissioner councils, township boards of supervisors, school boards and borough councils.

Voters in suburban counties also will select candidates for district attorney, as well as seats on Courts of Common Pleas.

Locally, a slew of jobs are up for grabs among local borough and township ruling bodies, as well as your local school board. You know, those folks who set the hated property tax.

And yet with all this on the line, the public will stay away in droves. Just as they routinely do in nearly every primary election. They conjecture that no one is actually elected on Primary Day (except in Philadelphia where winning the Democratic Primary is akin to winning in November in a city where Dems hold a massive, unchallenged edge in voter registration). They say they will cast their vote in November, when it really counts.

They could not be more wrong. In fact, the decision on who will appear on the ballot  in effect who you will vote for  is made in the Primary, when nominations are secured.

If you forfeit your vote in May, you are in effect surrendering the ability to decide who you will vote for in November.

But there is another reason why some people stay away in droves come the Primary Election.

Some voters dont have a choice.

That would be the states Independent voters. They dont get a say on Primary Day.

Pennsylvania has what is referred to as a closed primary. That is, its closed to anyone who is not registered as either a Republican or Democrat. Democrats nominate Democrats; Republicans nominiate Republicans. Voters are limited to voting for those in the same party.

And if youre registered Independent? You dont get to vote for either partys candidates. In fact, you are for the most part limited to casting a vote in any special election that may be on the ballot, as well as referendums.

How many people does this affect? By the last count from the Pennsylvania Department of State just a few weeks ago there were 785,579 registered voters on the rolls in Pennsylvania who were not aligned with either party. Thats out of a total of 8.4 million registered voters.

More than 785,000 voters with no voice.

But that may be about to change.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, has proposed legislation that would throw open the doors on Primary Day. Scarnatis measure would allow registered voters not aligned with either party to simply make the choice of what ballot they would like when they report to their polling place. The legislation has bipartisan support from a group of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa.

The winds of change of starting to rattle the dark, musty halls of the Capitol in Harrisburg.

Maybe, just maybe, our elected representatives are getting the message that Pennsylvanians want change. And changing the archaic way we vote sits fairly high on the list of the to-do list.

Scarnatis bill was part of a major flurry of bills pushing election reform that blew through the Capitol Tuesday. Just the day before, a group backing election reform, appropriately named Open Primaries PA, put down roots in Harrisburg. The coalition is made up of some familiar names. Micah Sims is executive director of Common Cause PA. The Committee of Seventy also is represented. Its a veritable whos who of good government groups.

Sims pointed out one of the basic ironies of state election law when it comes to independent voters. They pay taxes to support primary elections, but they cant vote for most of the candidates.

Scarnati is taking a bit more pragmatic view. He knows numbers, and when it comes to Primary Elections, the numbers dont lie. They dont exactly paint a picture of an engaged electorate, either.

People are staying away in droves.

In our most recent primary election, only 18 percent of Pennsylvanias registered voters went to the ballot box to cast a vote, Scarnati said in a statement. The low turnout can be in part attributed to voters feeling disenfranchised by both major parties, who have taken control of our primary process. Allowing more people the opportunity to have a voice in their representation is an important step toward ensuring democracy.

We have become accustomed to waiting in long lines during Presidential races in November.

And then taking a rain check until four years later and then next run for the White House.

But the truth is the people on the ballot in a few weeks seeking to hold local offices very likely have more direct effect on the everyday lives of residents. They are the people who set your taxes, make sure your trash gets picked up, your street gets plowed in the winter, and your kids educational needs are met.

The state cant make people vote. Those who stay away from the polls have to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are fulfilling the basic responsibilities of citizenship and forfeiting the right to complain about the results.

Any move to increase voter participation is a good one.

Open Primaries? Bring em on. Its not like there isnt room at our local polling places.
Environmental groups were cheering a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling on carbon pricing that legal experts say strongly affirms the federal governments essential role in the fight against climate change.

I cannot hide my joy, Isabelle Turcotte of the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank. This is such great news for climate action in Canada.

Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation, which intervened in the case, said the 3-2 decision is a step toward a consistent national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its a historic day. This decision helps pave the way for a really strong, fair and unified approach to tackling climate change across the country.

Legal scholars says that despite the two dissenting opinions, the majority ruling is a powerful endorsement of the notion that the provinces and the federal government share jurisdiction over environmental issues. Ottawa has the right to set national standards, while giving the provinces leeway to decide how to meet them.

The federal government can assert jurisdiction over a consistent federal price for carbon and then the provinces can still do a ton of work within their own jurisdictions if they want, said Martin Olszynski of the University of Calgary.

He said the court sidestepped the issue of federal intrusion into provincial spheres by limiting the federal role to setting a minimum national standard.

That approach is consistent with how other aspects of Canadian federalism operate, said Stewart Elgie of the University of Ottawa.

This is essentially the approach Canada has taken to health care and social programs. Provinces are free to flesh out and apply their own legislation to meet their own needs provided they meet the minimum standards.

It recognizes that greenhouse gases, while theyre an international problem, also have significant provincial and local impacts, as were seeing with the (Ottawa) flooding right now.

Joshua Ginsburg, an Ecojustice lawyer who argued in the case, pointed out the rulings strong language indicates the court took the urgency of the issue seriously.

They agreed with us that climate change is an emergency, he said. They said Climate change is doubtless an emergency in the sense that it presents a genuine threat to Canada.

Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University, said that whatever the legal arguments, climate change is an issue that has to be addressed at levels above the municipal or provincial.

Its a global problem. You want the most senior level of government to solve it, he said.

You need national governments around the planet to be able to contribute to a global governance effort.

All agreed that the Saskatchewan ruling isnt the end of the game. Ontario has argued a challenge before its Court of Appeal and Manitoba has done the same in Federal Court.

But Olszynski said the arguments in Ontario were similar to those used in Saskatchewan.

The issue is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court.

Until it does  months if not years down the road  environmental groups hope Fridays ruling will quicken Canadas response to climate change.

There is no time to be wasted in fights to fight climate action, Turcotte said. This is a call to unity and working together because we cant delay action.

 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to Cuba to help resolve the crisis in Venezuela, calling for free elections as President Nicolas Maduro holds tight against a U.S. campaign to replace him.

With U.S. President Donald Trumps administration leaving the option of military force on the table, Trudeau joined a group of 14 Latin American countries in turning to Venezuelas closest ally to try to move forward from a standoff thats also drawing in Russia.

Trudeau underscored the desire to see free and fair elections and the constitution upheld in Venezuela in a call with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel late Friday, according to a Canadian statement. They discussed ways they could work together to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Tension is running high after a failed attempt this week to overthrow Maduro. The so-called Lima Group, meeting Friday in Perus capital, decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to turmoil that has pitted Maduro against Juan Guaido, whom more than 50 countries recognize as Venezuelas interim president.

Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, is signalling deepening concern. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to meet his Venezuelan counterpart in Moscow on Sunday, a day before planned talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Europe. Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton were briefed on Friday on a wide range of military options for Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.

Cubas Many Roles

The U.S. blames Cuba for propping up Maduro, whose re-election in a rigged presidential ballot last year prompted a backlash in and outside Venezuela. Cuban agents are alleged to run Maduros security apparatus.

While Cuba has previously rejected the Lima Groups support for Guaido and its allegations of Cuban interference in Venezuela, a senior diplomat recently cited Cubas mediation in past regional conflicts.

Dialogue is what will help, Josefina Vidal, Cubas ambassador to Canada, said in an interview. If there is willingness, solutions can be found.

Vidal was the key liaison to the U.S. for the normalization of relations under the Obama administration. Canada hosted some of the secret talks that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana.

Read more about:
EDMONTONPolice Chief Dale McFee apologized to Edmontons LGBTQ community Friday for a history marked with discrimination and marginalization by police.

Addressing a crowd gathered at police headquarters, McFee said the apology was part of a reconciliation process with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Edmontonians.

Many people in this room will immediately recall the raids, the mistreatment during arrests, and even public shaming  these are just a few known and visceral examples, he said.

We know there is much more in the history of our service that is unnamed, unheard and underground. That we dont fully understand the full extent of our impact on this community is a statement in itself.

McFee said instances where police were indifferent or ignorant to harassment, discrimination, bullying or violence were also greatly damaging, and acknowledged the Edmonton Police Services own members have been affected.

He said discriminatory actions have caused pain, eroded trust and created fear, leading members of the public and the police service to feel unsafe on the streets, in their workplaces, and in their homes.

Read more:

Former Edmonton police commissioner calls on police to apologize to LGBTQ community

Calgary police chief apologizes for services history of LGBTQ discrimination

Edmonton Queer History App aims to fill gap left by textbooks

This is not just a history. It is a legacy, McFee said.

We know this is still happening today. Perhaps not as actively or intentionally as in the past, but it is a systemic part of our structure and practices that demands our vigilance to address.

As we try to understand our biases toward sexual and gender minorities, we need to be mindful of the compounding impact of factors such as race, economic status, mental health or ability in this communitys experiences with the police.

In July, Calgarys police chief at the time, Roger Chaffin, formally apologized for the Calgary Police Services role in the marginalization of and discrimination against LGBTQ Calgarians.

Edmonton police have had a similarly complicated history with the LGBTQ community, but former chief Rod Knecht had declined to follow Calgarys lead on an apology before McFee was sworn in as chief in February.

Former police commissioner Murray Billett, who co-founded the EPS Sexual and Gender Minorities Community Liaison Committee in 1992 after police arrested gay men in a river valley park and released their names to the media in what he characterized as a sting operation, has called on EPS in the past to make an apology.

On Friday, he said he was brought to tears.

Im disappointed it took this long, but it was worth waiting for, Billett said.

He said the apology was clear and inclusive and will set an important tone, not only for LGBTQ Edmontonians, but for the city and province at large.

The most infamous example of police discrimination against Edmontons LGBTQ community was the Pisces bathhouse raid in 1981, when officers arrested dozens of gay men who were outed when their names were published in newspapers, sparking the citys early Pride movement.

Shelley Miller represented most of the men in court as a young lawyer, and said the way they were treated shook her faith in her profession.

It was heartbreaking. Their lives were completely upended, their privacy was completely eradicated, their names were ran on television, which is something Id never seen or heard of before anywhere, Miller said Friday.

Some of them lost their jobs, some of their families were very upset because they hadnt known that they had this quality in their lives. And Im not sure if any of them have ever recovered from the pain of being treated like a serious criminal.

Miller said McFees speech was comprehensive, heartfelt and meaningful.

I was completely gratified and consoled, she said.

McFee said EPS has already selected consultants to organize meetings with LGBTQ community members and intends to start the work immediately.

He wants to hear from community members to better understand the impact of past discrimination and get advice on moving forward. McFee said the success metrics of that work will be developed by community members  not by police.

He said the apology is not an accomplishment in itself, but the beginning of a continuous journey.

We will listen intently, he said. We cannot just rely on institutional knowledge.

But the citys LGBTQ community is divided in the wake of recent controversies, and some are skeptical police can repair eroded trust.

At the Pride parade in June, a group billing itself as a coalition of queer and trans people of colour blocked the floats on Whyte Ave. to make a series of demands, including halting all police and military from marching in future parades.

Festival organizers agreed to comply and launched a series of community consultations that grew heated, and ultimately ended up cancelling the 2019 festival.

Shay Lewis, who identifies as non-binary, was one of the 2018 protesters. They said the apology seems like a positive step, but whether it means anything will depend on what programs come out of it and how consistent those programs are.

While Lewis is tentatively hopeful about the promise to reach out to the community, they pointed out that its not necessarily that simple.

The folks who run queer organizations in this city are traditionally the folks who support the police force, just because those individuals tend to be part of institutions that have positive relationships  or are part of groups and communities that have better relationships  with the police force. So they can find those organizations to pair with, Lewis said.

The issue is the communities that directly feel affected, and more often than not dont trust the police force, have no real incentive to engage with them, because theyre being welcomed into a bureaucratic system that doesnt seem to offer much change.

Activist groups RaricaNow and Shades of Colour brought a list of seven demands to the Pride Festival Society in March, including $20,000 for each of their organizations to create well-funded QTIBPOC specific spaces at Pride.

The festival society invited representatives from the two groups to its April 4 board meeting, but the groups brought at least 20 more people with them for support, and when they refused to leave, police were called.

Days later, festival organizers announced the cancellation.

Adebayo Katiiti with RaricaNow, a group representing LGBTQ refugees, said his group accepts the chiefs apology but needs urgent action to address social justice issues.

He said RaricaNow is eager to work with EPS to discuss advocating for changes to federal policies that are hurting community members, some of whom are facing deportation.

Katiiti, a transgender man from Uganda, said he does not personally trust police, but other RaricaNow members are optimistic that change is coming.

We are looking for actions, Katiiti said. Because weve seen people apologizing and nothing happened.

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HALIFAXHome can be a place of comfort and refuge, but it can also be used as a tool for exploitation.

Perpetrators of human trafficking often control their victims by controlling their access to shelter and other basic survival needs.

Thats why, according Charlene Gagnon, offering victims and survivors a safe place to live is an essential part of supporting their exit from the exploitive cycle, and its why the YWCA Halifaxs latest program will be a milestone in the fight against human trafficking in Nova Scotia.

Gagnon manages anti-trafficking initiatives at the YWCA Halifax and says human trafficking is not a new issue to Nova Scotia, but the attention afforded to it has been gradually changing, both locally and across Canada.

In 2005, a trio of amendments to the Criminal Code prohibited human trafficking, specifically, for the first time. Further legislative changes have continued to trickle in since then, and Gagnon says that as laws have emerged to address human trafficking, public awareness has grown.

By shedding more light on the issue, front line workers  like social workers, police, school guidance counsellors  are better able to identify victims. A few years ago, YWCA staff started identifying more and more human trafficking victims, but Gagnon said there was no real system in place to fully respond.

Particularly when it came to safe housing.

We kind of knew it right from the very beginning, there has been a lack of housing that is specific to this kind of victimization.

In 2016, the non-profit applied for and was granted federal funding to take a closer look at the issue in Nova Scotia and develop a plan for filling the service gaps. That research wrapped in March 2019 with a plan for a pilot program called Safe Spaces.

The YWCA is aiming for a fall 2019 launch of the program, which will offer emergency housing to youth between 13 and 24 who are fleeing trafficking. As with other trafficking services at the YWCA, police, community agencies and child welfare services anywhere in the province will be able to refer to Safe Spaces.

Its pretty critical in those first three to six months of making that transition out for their housing to be really safe and secure, Gagnon said.

The program will be non-gender-specific, although most trafficking victims are girls and women.

Safe Spaces has funding for four years, part of which was secured earlier this month when Ottawa committed $4.7 million to the Nova Scotia government through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund.

Despite the name, more than half of the funds for the first two years of the investment are going to human trafficking initiatives. Of more than $820,000, YWCA is receiving more than $183,000 and Nova Scotia RCMP are receiving $243,000 for seconding officers to human trafficking work.

When making the funding announcement in Halifax, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey acknowledged that gun violence has been declining in Nova Scotia, and federal Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said gangs are less common in Nova Scotia than elsewhere in Canada.

Human trafficking, on the other hand, has been on the rise, according to Furey, and in 2016, Nova Scotia recorded the highest number of trafficking incidents of any Canadian province or territory.

Simultaneous to the research and preparation for the safe housing program, Gagnon and her YWCA colleagues have been leading the Nova Scotia Trafficking Elimination Partnership (NSTEP) with more than a dozen other non-profits, police and the local and provincial governments.

NSTEP started in 2016 and is slated to continue until 2021. Gagnon said that at the end of the partnership, the collaborators intend to table a strategy for addressing human trafficking for the province. In the meantime, support programs have already stemmed from of NSTEPs work.

Since 2018, the YWCA has added front line workers to directly support youth who are either at risk of being exploited or who are exiting trafficking situations, and a family outreach worker.

Gagnon said collaboration  like the kind seen in NSTEP  is an important part of addressing human trafficking, as theres a wide variety of perspectives and experiences. When in conflict, they can stymy progress.

Human trafficking and sex work are often conflated, and some members of NSTEP support complete abolition of sex work while others support it as a means of independence and survival.

Consensus on a definition for human trafficking poses a problem for fighting it. A 2018 federal justice committee report on human trafficking recognized the absence of a common and consistent definition among stakeholders, and said it can contribute to under-reporting and challenges in collecting evidence for court.

The members of NSTEP, however, did arrive at an eight-point common definition of sexualized human trafficking and exploitation. It acknowledges a spectrum of opinion when it comes to the concept of choice, but unequivocally calls trafficking a form of slavery and a human rights violation.

Gagnon said isolation and control are the hallmarks of trafficking that everyone in the partnership agrees on.

She said the definition is important because perpetrators have their playbook, and members of the partnership have to know what theyre targeting.

Correction - May 5, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the name of the YWCA program was Safe Landings. In fact, it is called Safe Spaces.

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MONTREALQuebecs order of social workers says its members need more time and less pressure to properly do their jobs.

Order president Guylaine Ouimette held a press conference Friday in reaction to the death of a seven-year-old girl who had a long history with the provinces youth protection system.

Local police found the girl shortly before noon Monday at a home in Granby, Que., about 80 kilometres east of Montreal. She died a day later in hospital.

Two adults  identified by people close to the family as the girls father, 30, and his partner, 35  were arrested in connection with the death.

Ouimette did not want to comment directly on the girls case because it involved members of the order.

But she says social workers are often in conflict between fulfilling their job descriptions and properly caring for young people and families.

She says her members work in an industrial-like atmosphere where sometimes half their time is spent on bureaucratic tasks.

News of the girls death prompted swift reaction from the public and Quebecs political class, who immediately demanded to know how the girl was seemingly failed by a system designed to protect her.

Ouimette is calling for a public commission that will look into systemic problems in the social services system.

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Torstar took home three prizes at the 70th National Newspaper Awards, one of the highest honours in Canadian journalism. The Toronto Star received one award and sister papers the St. Catharines Standard and Waterloo Region Record won one each.

Daniel Dale, the Stars Washington bureau chief, won the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting for his exhaustive coverage and fact-checking of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Grant LaFleche, a reporter and columnist with the St. Catharines Standard, won the George Brown Award for Investigations for his yearlong probe that uncovered a political conspiracy to manipulate the hiring of Niagara Regions top bureaucrat and a secret contract worth more than a million dollars.

Greg Mercer of the Waterloo Region Record won the award for Local Reporting for his coverage of the health problems that afflicted workers from the regions once-booming rubber industry, and the apparent reluctance of safety officials to accept compensation claims.

Celebrating the importance of journalism is something we rarely pause to do, said Irene Gentle, Editor of the Toronto Star. The work of the winners and nominees across Torstar is deep, meaningful and made a difference. It is a privilege to work in newsrooms with such talented and committed journalists. Congratulations to them and all the journalists honoured tonight.

In total, Torstar received 12 National Newspaper Award nominations, including six for the Toronto Star.

The other nominees included Rachel Mendleson, Diana Zlomislic, Robert Cribb, Marco Chown Oved, Andrew Bailey and Emma Jarratt in the Project of the Year category for the Medical Disorder series, an 18-month investigation on the discipline records of doctors permitted to practise on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

A team of 42 journalists were nominated in Breaking News for the Stars coverage of last years Yonge St. van attack, which left 10 dead and 16 injured.

Cameron Tulk, David Schnitman, Tania Pereira and Fadi Yaacoub were nominated in the Presentation category for a project in which the Star fact-checked every question and answer over five days of question period in Parliament.

Feature writer Mary Ormsby was nominated in the Sports category for her reporting on new information about Ben Johnsons positive drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and for another story about boxing legend George Chuvalo.

Photojournalist Carlos Osorio was nominated for his photo essay accompanying a story about a senior forced to move out of her longtime home in a public housing building when it was deemed unsafe.

The Globe and Mail won 10 awards, the most of any publication. Other winners on Friday included the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and The Canadian Press for their coverage of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and its aftermath.

It was also announced Friday that Karyn Pugliese, executive director of news and current affairs at APTN, was awarded the 25th Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

The fellowship is funded by an endowment in memory of Martin Wise Goodman, the late president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

Pugliese will join 26 other journalists in the 82nd class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard. The fellowship covers a stipend for living expenses and payment of fees to Harvard.
MONTREALWater levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

Read more:

Health and safety inspection teams head to flood-affected zones in New Brunswick

Health Canada warns victims of spring flooding about mould dangers

Water to stay high in Ottawa but second round of floods not expected, says Goodale

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners, they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels havent dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.

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Sylvia Consuelo, a slight 34-year-old woman with long, dark hair, was found dead on the floor of her Etobicoke apartment in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2016. A bunch of unopened condoms had been scattered over her body and she had been sexually assaulted with an object.

Three years later, a jury is set to decide whether Najib Amin, 31, murdered Consuelo because he believed  wrongly  that she was HIV-positive and had given HIV to three people through unprotected sex.

There is no DNA evidence in the case, no fingerprints or an eyewitness to the murder.

In closing arguments on Thursday, the case against Amin was described as entirely circumstantial and based mainly on two pieces of evidence: security footage from Consuelos building that shows Amin and the alleged murderer on different days wearing apparently identical clothing and secretly recorded conversations between Amin and undercover police officers during a months-long operation to see whether Amin would confess to killing Consuelo.

Amin was captured on surveillance cameras entering the Kendleton Dr. apartment complex  three Toronto Community Housing buildings joined together by basement tunnels  on Jan. 24, 2016.

On Jan. 30, 2016, three hours before Consuelo was found dead, a man enters the complex wearing what appear to be the same grey shoes, jeans, black leather jacket, black hat with white writing on it, and same striped shirt as Amin days before. Before entering the building the man pulls a scarf up over his face that the Crown argues is remarkably similar to one worn by a woman who was with Amin on Jan. 24. The man left the building just over an hour later, his face still covered.

Did someone break into Mr. Amins residence and raid his closet that day and just happen to steal and choose to wear these five, specific, distinctive pieces of clothing and then that person just happened to walk over to Sylvia Consuelos apartment, said prosecutor Scott Arnold in his closing address. It defies any coincidence.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Penman argued the clothing Amin was wearing  including the blue jeans with a white seagull-like pattern on the back pockets  are extremely common and that, as Amin told the undercover officers, his friends often borrowed his clothes.

Penman also argued there is no way to know the masked man is the same person who murdered Consuelo. There are no cameras in the building hallways or elevator and therefore no video showing whether the man went up to Consuelos floor or entered Consuelos unit. The jury heard about plenty of illegal activity occurring at the Kendleton Dr. complex, she said, suggesting the masked man could have been concealing his identity for another reason other than murder.

Once police identified Amin as a suspect, an undercover police operation was launched in April 2016. The plan was to have an officer befriend Amin and for them to become business partners with another officer posing as a wealthy businessman with the ability to make legal problems  even murder  go away.

The identities of the two undercover officers are covered by a publication ban.

The operation began when police arranged for Amin to win a $100 shopping spree at Square One mall after filling out a marketing survey about a shisha bar. An officer known to Amin as Ryan was made a fellow winner and the two men struck up a friendship after spending the day together. After the shopping spree, Amin, his girlfriend and Ryan were treated to a free meal by the marketing company at a nearby shisha bar where Amin was introduced to an undercover officer posing as Raz, a big-shot businessman hoping to open a shisha bar in London.

On one occasion Amin, his girlfriend and some other undercover officers went to Ripleys Aquarium to look at the sharks because Raz wanted to install a shark tank at his cottage, court heard.

Ryan and Amin continued to spend time together including at various strip clubs and Ryan began complaining about an ex-girlfriend called Jessie who had taken a gun he was keeping for his cousin.

While sitting in the parking lot of Albion Mall, Ryan asked Amin how he would kill a woman, hypothetically.

Amin said he would do it by jumping on top of her and using his hands to smother her mouth.

Like how long you leave it there for? Ryan asked about the hands.

Until she stops moving and after she stops moving keep holding it forfor another two minutes just to like confirm it, Amin responded.

The Crown argues this description is consistent with Consuelos cause of death  manual asphyxiation  and the internal injuries she suffered. The defence said the scenario described by Amin was generic and pointed out that he suggested other murder methods as well.

At one point the officer and Amin discuss Consuelos murder. Amin said Consuelo was a sex worker and that she had been strangled to death, beat up and brutally raped because she was f-king guys and shes not telling them to wear a condom, so she was spreading the disease.

Consuelo did not have HIV, the jury heard, and the close friend Amin named as having been diagnosed HIV-positive testified that hed been tested twice and did not have HIV.

As the police operation progressed Amin was told that Ryan killed his ex-girlfriend Jessie and that Raz was going to get rid of a witness by sending him to Florida.

By June, Ryan and Amin were planning to become business partners with Raz and they set up a meeting.

During the meeting Raz presented Amin with faked police documents that made it appear Amin was a suspect in Consuelos murder and that police were offering a $50,000 reward for information.

Raz offered to help Amin using his connections in the police force but said he needed to know what really happened first.

This is the circle of trust. OK, honesty, trust, loyalty, we move forward, he said.

Amin responded that he could not remember what happened that night.

I dont know everything was a blur like I wasI was s-t-faced that day, he said. I cant really recall nothing to be honest.

He said his friends had found out they had HIV.

I was just wrong place, wrong time, Amin said. He said again that he was blacked out I dont know what happened but I know they had to do something you know.

He said he needed to talk to the four other men with him that night, two of whom were now in jail, and that he doesnt know the true story.

Amin never did confess and eventually denied killing Consuelo.

He was arrested in November 2016 and charged with first-degree murder.

In her closing argument, defence lawyer Jennifer Penman, said that he fell completely for the police plan and would have confessed if hed done it. Amin did not testify during the trial.

Prosecutor Scott Arnold argued Amins answers revealed his motive to murder Consuelo. He said the jury should consider that Amin did not immediately deny he killed Consuelo when the officers presented him with the faked police information  instead replying that he didnt know what happened that night.

Penman said another man who lived in the same building as Consuelo was seen threatening her in the days prior to the murder over money that she owed him  a fact she said should give the jury enough basis for reasonable doubt about Amins guilt. One witness said she saw the man yell at Consuelo: Wheres my f-king moneyIf you dont give me that money now I will kill you.

The man, Lawrence Hibbard, was investigated by police as a potential suspect but was never charged. He testified Consuelo had owed him $250 but said she paid him back $150 the day before she was killed. He said he was friends with Consuelo and often fed her when she couldnt afford food.

Hi, this is Sylvia, said a handwritten note dated Jan. 29 that Hibbard said Consuelo left for him. This is what I can just afford for what you know that I owe you OK!!! So so next month will be a hundred dollars okiely.

In the note she offered to buy some stew meat the following Friday that Hibbard could cook for them.

Hibbard admitted that he could not recall where he was the night Consuelo died, exactly who he was with or if he had gone to her apartment that night. Everything was a blur, he said noting his addiction to crack cocaine at the time. But Hibbard said he was absolutely certain he did not kill Consuelo and repeatedly expressed shock at the brutality of her murder.

Likewhat kind of monster, he exclaimed during cross-examination before being interrupted by the judge.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Monday.
Toronto police have arrested a 41-year-old man for allegedly accessing, possessing and making available child pornography.

On Wednesday, April 24, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Bloor St. W. and Bathurst St., police said in a news release on Friday.

Jose Lopez Reyna, 41, of Toronto, has charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of access child pornography, one count of making child pornography available.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Thursday, April 25.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers in anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
Toronto police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly possessing and accessing child pornography.

On Tuesday, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Richmond St. and Spadina Ave., police said in a news release on Friday.

Mehdy Chaillou, 29, of Toronto was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of access to child pornography.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
BANGKOKInstalled on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The coronation the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a sceptre, gold-embroidered slippers, a legendary sword that belonged to his 18th-century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The daylong spectacle the start of three days of ceremonies that have closed streets, snarled traffic and festooned one of Asias most frenetic capitals with yellow bunting, the colour of the king was marked by an extravagance rarely seen in the modern age.

Its purpose was clear: To reassert the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life at a time of deep political and social divisions.

Read more:

Thai king is officially crowned, boosting his regal power

As coronation begins, Thai kings future plans still unclear

Thai king appoints consort as queen ahead of coronation

In five days, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

Although the king has ruled since shortly after the death of his long-serving and much loved father 21/2 years ago, the coronation was seen as an attempt to end the political crisis and help move the country forward under a democratically elected government.

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile. On the eve of the election, the king issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist, Buddhists (who) revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signalled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide were together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

The kings sister and ex-candidate, Ubolratana Mahidol, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony showing her alongside another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity, it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The rites broadcast nationwide began shortly before 10 a.m. when Vajiralongkorn, riding in the back of a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number one, arrived at the Grand Palace, perched on a bend of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.

Some Thais had gathered along the route wearing yellow, a few holding portraits of the king, others displaying bank notes with his face on them.

The king an intensely private monarch who rarely appears in public and lives much of the year in Germany waved as he drove past.

Im so delighted and impressed, said Kittipawan Noenyai, a 54-year-old woman who had been waiting four hours. I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long Live the King, hoping he would hear me.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Arriving at the cream-coloured palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. He walked along a red carpet, shielded from the piercing sun by an umbrella carried by a burly uniformed attendant in silk pants.

Men in military uniforms knelt as the king passed. His new wife, Queen Suthida, followed close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests at temples across the country, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist. The water dripped from the kings eyes and chin, the ablutions lasting several minutes as horns played in the background.

The king was then handed a white bathrobe and walked back into the palace trailed by the white-robed priests, many of whom were visibly sweating in the 97-degree heat. Inside the long hall, statuettes of Buddha and Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god who symbolizes auspicious beginnings, were placed side by side on a gilded stand.

Nearly half an hour passed before the king re-entered the ornate hall, now dressed in his royal vestments an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, it was time for the key moment of the ceremony.

Sitting under the nine-tiered umbrella, his polished black shoes resting on a golden footstool, Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned by a priest kneeling before him. The priest handed the king the crown created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty and the other royal paraphernalia.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

The royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet as the king left the room, an announcer said on Thai television.

Criticizing the royal family is a criminal offense in Thailand some international news channels have been partially blocked in recent days to prevent the airing of potentially critical stories but not everyone was interested in the proceedings.

A 28-year-old sales representative in Bangkok, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

The ceremonies would continue Sunday with a procession to a series of Buddhist temples, in which soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin in temperatures that could approach 100 degrees. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

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BENGHAZI, Libya - Islamic State militants on Saturday killed at least nine soldiers in an attack on a training camp for the self-styled Libyan National Army in the countrys southwestern desert, officials said.

The militants drove their vehicles into the recently established training camp and clashed with guards near an air base seized earlier this year by the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, in the town of Sabha, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The medical centre in Sabha confirmed the death toll.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying at least 16 soldiers were killed or wounded.

Sabha is 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli, where Hifters forces are currently fighting to take control of the city from militias affiliated with a weak U.N.-supported government.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Friday that the month-long assault on Tripoli has displaced nearly 55,000 people.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said that at least 23 civilians have been killed since the LNA launched the offensive to take Tripoli on April 5.

The World Health Organization said the toll as of Thursday was 392 dead, including combatants and civilians. It said at least 1,936 were wounded.

The battle for Tripoli could ignite a civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Since Gahdafis ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

Hifter, who in recent years has been battling Islamic extremists and other militias across eastern Libya, says he is determined to restore stability to the North African country. His opponents view him as an aspiring autocrat and fear a return to one-man rule.
JOHANNESBURG - At 24, Abetse Mashigo was born a year after South Africas brutal apartheid system was dismantled. Yet she still feels frustrated by what she sees as continued economic inequality for its people.

And that will be on her mind as she and others vote May 8 to elect a president and parliament.

South Africa is a great country, but it has many shortfalls, Mashigo said, flicking her dreadlocks back with a flourish . Seeing the spectrum of both wealthy and poor, its a constant everyday struggle.

Many of the countrys young voters never directly experienced apartheids racial oppression and segregation that was ended in 1994 under South Africas first black president, Nelson Mandela, and his African National Congress. But they and others say they want to see more drastic change, and leaders of opposition parties are hoping to win their support.

Mashigo said she is angered by apartheids legacy, which keeps many blacks in poverty. She said shes impatient for change, and thats why she backs the Economic Freedom Fighters, known as the EFF, one of the three main parties among dozens vying for power in the election.

Im part of the Red Sea, she said, jokingly referring to the bright red clothing worn by supporters of the opposition party. I like the EFF because it is radical and different. Its rebellious, and I like that.

The party has pledged to seize white-owned land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks.

Mashigos 59-year-old father, Thamsanqa, watches with pride as his daughter voices her outspoken opinions. He shares many of her beliefs but has a more cautious approach, saying he is still undecided which party will get his vote.

Many older South Africans among the 26 million eligible voters still support for the ANC, which has governed for a quarter-century. But they also say they are disgusted by widespread corruption blamed on the party. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to root out corruption in the country. A former trade union representative, he came to power in February 2018 after Jacob Zuma resigned amid mounting scandals.

The elections are taking place amid growing pessimism. About 64% of South Africans are dissatisfied with the countrys democracy, an increase from 34% who described themselves as unhappy in 2013, according to a Pew Research poll released Friday.

I have voted in every election (since blacks could vote) and Im not going to miss this one, Thamsanqa Mashigo said. Ive never had doubts in my mind about who to vote for, but this time ... Im still deciding. ... There is doubt in my mind.

He described a frightening life under apartheid, when people disappeared. I think some families even today dont know what happened to their loved ones.

When apartheid ended, we were really excited about that. ... We had a black government and Mandela was president. That was progress! ... We said freedom at last was arriving in our lifetime!

Mashigo, who works in information technology, said he is now disappointed with the ANC.

The gap between black and white has just grown bigger and bigger. And by 25 years, I expect it to be much better. The gap should have closed, not totally, but at least be on the right track, he said, adding that the ANC should have focused on education and health care.

Like his daughter, he complained about rampant corruption and the high unemployment rate of 27%.

Unemployment is an even more pressing among the young, with nearly 40% of those under 34 without jobs, according to the governments Stats SA.

Although disillusioned with the ANC, Mashigo is suspicious of the Economic Freedom Fighters that his daughter supports.

He said he doesnt trust the EFFs firebrand leader Julius Malema because he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Malema was kicked out of the ANC after allegations of corruption surfaced.

These guys are disgruntled, thats all, Mashigo added.

Nor is he convinced by the other major opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It was started by white liberals but has attracted considerable black support, winning control of city councils in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It now has a black leader, Mmusi Maimane.

I dont think he controls the party the way a leader should control his party, Mashigo said, leaving him still undecided about how to vote.

There are 5.6 million registered voters between the ages of 18 to 29, nearly one-fifth of those eligible to cast ballots.

They could boost support for the Economic Freedom Fighters, which got about 6% of the vote in the 2014 election and is widely expected to improve on that number.

These elections are exciting for young voters, said Lwazi Khoza, a 22-year-old university student and project manager for YouthLab, a youth advocacy group.

The EFF are appealing to many young voters. The EFF leaders present themselves as rebellious and non-conformist, she said.

Khoza, who will be finishing her degree this year, said many young voters want change.

As a young black woman living in post-apartheid South Africa, I am frustrated by the slow pace of change. Yes, things have improved since the apartheid days, but not enough. Things have become stagnant, she said.

Are we free? Really? Or are we still being held down because of the past? she said. We cannot say we are on an equal playing field, educationally or economically. Thats why many young voters want to see change.

Makhumo Kwathi, an unemployed 25-year-old who lives with her parents in Soweto, Johannesburgs largest black township, said she is looking forward to voting.

I want my voice to be heard, Kwathi said. To be quite honest, Im not going to vote for the ANC, because the ANC has been giving us all these false hopes till now. ... All these scandals ... Now we can see where our money is going. The ANC is promising us the opposite of what they have been doing.

Kwathi, a high school graduate who is looking for work as a bank teller, would not say which party she will vote for but said she wants a new government that will create more jobs.

I want to see change. More youth need to be employed, she said. How can we, the youth, be the future of the country when we are unemployed? How can we go forward as a country?

___

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A slow-simmering political crisis that has gripped Venezuela for months appeared to be coming to a head this week as opposition politicians issued a direct challenge to the authority of President Nicolas Maduro.

The leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido, called for a military and popular uprising to oust Maduro from office, triggering a day of protest that turned violent but later fizzled. Maduro characterized the action as unconstitutional, while Guaido maintained it was a necessary move to restore legitimacy to the presidency.

Both sides now seem to be scrambling for control, with Maduro appearing alongside troops Thursday to reaffirm his status and Guaido admitting he does not have the necessary support.

This weeks attempted uprising failed to change the status quo. But the confrontation has been years in the making, driven by an economic downturn and political discontent. Heres what you need to know to understand how Venezuela came to this moment.

Venezuela is a country made rich by oil, and has seen that wealth evaporate.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and the countrys economy is largely tied to its oil wealth. This oil wealth once made the nation one of the richest in Latin America and helped stabilize its democracy, although the riches were not equally shared. But the past few years have seen the economy spiral toward collapse.

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The International Monetary Fund predicts that Venezuelas inflation rate will reach 10 million per cent in 2019, becoming one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in modern history. Experts say government mismanagement and corruption is the source of the countrys economic woes; Maduro blames damaging U.S. sanctions.

The legacy of Hugo Chavez looms large in Venezuela.

The legacy of President Hugo Chavez  Venezuelas former leader and founder of the countrys modern socialist system  still hangs over the nation more than six years after his death.

Chavez came to power in 1998, elected after a failed coup. He quickly rose from political outsider to popular figurehead, bringing in a socialist ideology that redistributed the countrys oil wealth and created a robust social welfare program.

His government seized private factories, mines and fields, and founded state companies and co-operatives. High oil prices contributed to a short-term reduction in inequality and poverty as social programs made food, housing and health care more widely available.

Within the country, the notoriously charismatic leader proved popular, but not universally so. During his years in office  he was re-elected in 2006  his leftist ideology and bombastic approach to foreign relations proved polarizing.

While his programs drew broad support from poor Venezuelans, they also alienated some of the countrys wealthy elites.

Maduro is Chavezs chosen heir.

Before his death from cancer in 2013, Chavez hand-selected his heir  Maduro, the current president. Adherents of his left-wing political ideology are known as Chavistas, and the group makes up the majority of Maduros current support base.

Like his predecessor, Maduro increased the executive branchs control of the country.

He has made strides to dismantle the countrys opposition-led legislature. And he oversaw a redrafting of the constitution that consolidated power under the presidency, steering the country toward autocracy, and moved to quash all dissenting voices through violence and intimidation.

The move drew reprimands from opposition politicians at home and from leaders internationally.

Two men  Maduro and Guaido  are now vying for control.

In January, Maduro was sworn in for a second term in office after an election that was widely denounced as fraudulent.

Two weeks after the inauguration, Guaido, then a little-known 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president, pointing to the constitution to declare Maduros presidency illegitimate. He vowed to hold new national elections.

The announcement brought tens of thousands of supporters to the streets, catapulted him to the international stage and saw the United States, Canada, and many Latin American and European countries recognize him as the legitimate head of state.

As a result, Maduro cut off the few remaining diplomatic ties with the United States.

The months since have been a tug of war between the two sides for popular support and control of the military.

Maduro still has the backing of the countrys top generals, a loyalty that Guaido may have underestimated as he called for the military to throw their support behind him. Maduro believes Guaidos effort to oust him is part of a coup engineered by the Trump administration.

The power struggle has played out in competing street demonstrations and with dual messaging to the population.

Last month, Guaido and his foreign allies tried to bring large amounts of aid into Venezuela from neighbouring countries, but Maduros forces sealed off the borders with Colombia and Brazil, saying the country didnt need the support.

His government later agreed to allow Red Cross aid into the country, which is suffering from a widespread humanitarian crisis triggered by the economic downturn.

The countrys humanitarian situation is dire.

While the political confrontation continues to play out, Venezuelans are struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis unseen in the countrys modern history.

In the once prosperous nation, people now find themselves unable to provide for their most basic needs. Hunger is widespread, and children are dying of malnutrition. The countrys public health care system has collapsed, and prolonged electricity outages are common.

The crisis has also triggered a vast regional migration as Venezuelans flee the countrys dire conditions, straining the resources of neighbouring nations.

Some 3.4 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations immigration authority, the majority settling in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. And as the political stalemate continues, little has been done to rectify the situation for everyday Venezuelans.

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BHUBANESWAR, INDIAFlights were cancelled.

Train service was out.

And one of the biggest storms in years was bearing down on Odisha, one of Indias poorest states, where millions of people live cheek by jowl in a low-lying coastal area in mud-and-stick shacks.

But government authorities in Odisha, along Indias eastern flank, hardly stood still. To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop, in local language, in very clear terms: A cyclone is coming. Get to the shelters.

It seems to have largely worked. Cyclone Fani slammed into Odisha on Friday morning with the force of a major hurricane, packing 120 mph (193 kph) winds. Trees were ripped from the ground and many coastal shacks smashed. It could have been catastrophic.

But as of early Saturday, mass casualties seemed to have been averted. While the full extent of the destruction remained unclear, only a few deaths had been reported, in what appeared to be an early-warning success story.

The most vulnerable people, it seemed, had gotten out of the way.

Experts say this is a remarkable achievement, especially in a poor state in a developing country, the product of a meticulous evacuation plan in which the authorities, sobered by past tragedies, moved 1 million people to safety, really fast.

Few would have expected this kind of organizational efficiency, said Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer and head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, a research organization. It is a major success.

The storm also hit neighbouring Bangladesh, but there, too, large numbers of casualties were avoided by evacuating more than 1 million people to shelters.

This is so different from 20 years ago, when a fearsome cyclone blasted into this same area and obliterated villages, killing thousands. Many people were caught flat-footed in their homes. Some of the dead were found miles from where they had lived, dragged away by raging cascades.

After that, the Odisha authorities vowed to ensure a disaster like that never felled them again.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, said Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

One of the first steps taken after the 1999 disaster was the construction of hundreds of cyclone shelters up and down the coast. The shelters were built up to a few miles from the shore.

They arent picturesque  picture a bare, two-story, peeling paint cement block rectangular building on stilts, almost resembling a crab. But the structures, designed by the faculty at one of Indias elite universities, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, have proved storm-worthy.

Over the past week, even when Fani was hundreds of miles away, Indian authorities had been closely watching. They had first picked up a large swirl on meteorological radar screens barrelling up from the equator, deep in the ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It was not yet a cyclone, but rather what meteorologists call a deep depression  a spiralling low-pressure storm that sucks in warm air. As it moves across warm waters, like those in the Bay of Bengal, the storm strengthens.

By mid-week, Fani had become a cyclone. Meteorologists accurately predicted its path. For days, they had been saying it would head straight up the Bay of Bengal and make landfall in Odisha.

The state of Odisha has around 46 million people, about the population of Spain, but many times poorer. The average income is less than $5 a day. The majority of people are farmers.

Along the coast, many men work on wooden fishing boats. As Fani approached, the boats were ordered ashore.

On Thursday morning, Odisha government officials released a five-page plan. They seemed to have left nothing uncovered. The most important part was to get people to the shelters. Since Odisha has been hit by many killer storms, state emergency officers said, they had drilled on their evacuation plans many times.

All emergency personnel were ordered to district operation centres. Government workers drafted lists of people in vulnerable houses, particularly the elderly and children.

Tourists at coastal hotels were advised to leave, and an enormous amount of equipment was readied to deal with the storms aftermath, including 300 power boats, two helicopters and many chain saws, to cut downed trees.

At the same time, truckloads of food and bottled water were delivered to the shelters.

As the sea turned frothy Thursday afternoon and the rain began to fall, the loudspeakers blared messages telling people to go to the nearest shelter as soon as possible.

In some areas, there was no choice. Police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, exhorting people to leave. Packed buses chugged up and down the roads around Puri, a coastal town that was predicted to get walloped. Each shelter could hold several hundred people. They quickly filled.

We moved here because it is safe, said Sabakali Mason, a man in his 50s who waited inside a shelter with his wife. Our house may collapse.

By Thursday night, most shelters were bustling concentrations of humanity, full of men, women and slightly dazed children. Some people had walked there; others had been scooped up by the free government buses. Families sat on the floors, eating together, listening to Fanis winds pick up speed.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, Fani screamed ashore, the eye passing near Puri, as predicted. In Bhubaneswar, Odishas state capital, about 40 miles north, huge tree limbs snapped in the lashing rain. No one ventured outside.

In Puri, the winds wrecked just about all the roadside kiosks. Officials said the gusts reached at least 100 mph (161 kph). They will never know, they said, because the gusts knocked down the machine that measures the wind.

The Odisha authorities said more than 100 people were injured. Indian news media reported several people had died, including some killed by flying debris.

But as the storm weakened and the worst seemed over, there was little doubt that the high level of preparedness had saved lives.

The government is usually dysfunctional in cases like this but the whole mobilization was quite impressive, said Singh, the former naval officer. Evacuating a million people in three or four days and providing them with not just shelter but also food is a big achievement in such a short time.

Krishan Kumar, an officer in the Khordha district of the Odisha government, said the governments success reflected an accumulated wisdom.

Every small cyclone or tsunami teaches you how to deal with the bigger ones, he said. If you dont learn from the past experiences, you will drown.

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KABULTaliban insurgents killed seven Afghan policemen after storming security checkpoints overnight in western Badghis province, a provincial official said Saturday.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said three other security forces were wounded late Friday during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry also said Saturday that 43 militants from the Daesh group, including foreign fighters, were killed in two separate coalition airstrikes during the night in co-ordination with Afghan forces. The statement said the airstrikes targeted Daesh in eastern Kunar provinces Chapadara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Among those killed was a prominent Uzbek militant leader identified in the statement as Ismail, who had previously co-operated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network but had recently joined Daesh.

Both the Taliban and Daesh are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

In eastern Ghani province, dozens of people carried eight bodies to the governors office in a protest Saturday, saying the dead were civilians killed during military operations.

The governors spokesperson, Arif Noori, confirmed that at least five civilians had been killed Friday night by Afghan and international forces, which were conducting operations against the Taliban in three areas in the province. Noori said 22 Taliban fighters were killed, including their group leader.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports the groups fighters were killed. He said several civilians were killed and wounded during the operations by Afghan and coalition forces in Ghazni.

The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, and despite ongoing peace talks with the U.S., the insurgent group refuses to stop fighting until U.S. and NATO troops withdraw.

In August last year the insurgents overran parts of Ghazni, leading to days of intense fighting before they were driven out.

Ghazni was the only one of Afghanistans 34 provinces where parliamentary elections did not take place in October. Voting there has been postponed for a year, according to the Election commission plan both presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on September 28 in the province.
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of Frances National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliaments Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian partys rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us.

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity.
LONDON - Britains Metropolitan Police force says a leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei does not amount to a crime.

Counterterrorism head Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Saturday he was satisfied the disclosure did not breach the Official Secrets Act. He said no crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

The government launched an investigation after media reports that a National Security Council meeting had agreed, against the advice of the United States, to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, saying there was compelling evidence he was to blame. He strongly denies responsibility.

Opposition politicians have called for police to investigate the leak.
KABUL, AFGHANISTANOn the second day of a traditional Afghan assembly this week, a delegate rose to speak on the topic at hand, peace in Afghanistan.

A bearded man from Kandahar ordered her to shut up.

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! recalled Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

The assembly, known as a loya jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organizers proudly pointed out that 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalized or patronized. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries. Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under Shariah, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which Shariah law, the Taliban Shariah law or ISIS Shariah law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to Daesh.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

For many women, the jirga got off to a dismaying start when Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights. Things quickly went downhill when a female delegate complained directly to Sayyaf and was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television, RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator. Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the all-encompassing garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

And on Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said a delegate, Taiyaba Khavari.

Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with arch commentary from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off while other Afghans fumed over blocked roads and security sweeps. Taxi drivers complained that they were cut off from fares. Shopkeepers moaned that customers could not reach them.

The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organizers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organizers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organized the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus-building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

Among other recommendations accepted by Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

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The MOU was signed by ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites. Under the agreement, Indonesia and Timor-Leste will take actions to reduce barriers to cross-border land and air transportation and harmonize procedures at border crossing points. It also seeks to reduce animal health barriers to livestock trade and bolster tourism promotion in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Timor-Leste through joint marketing and itineraries. ADB will provide USD1 million in grant resources to support implementation of the MOU.

ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left), and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites (right) at the signing in Nadi, Fiji, on May 4th 2019. (Source: ADB)

Regional cooperation and integration is critical for sustained and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific, said Mr. Nakao. This MOU represents a small but important step in our support for cross-border cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Supporting livelihoods in lagging border areas is critical to tackling inequality and ensuring our regions growing prosperity is shared by all.

The MOU builds on a Scoping Study on Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which ADB conducted at the request of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments. The study identified a variety of challenges and opportunities for cross-border cooperation and identified tourism and livestock as key sectors for short-term benefits through cooperation.

The Indonesian government is committed to reducing regional disparities in Indonesia, and Nusa Tenggara Timur is among the countrys lesser developed regions. This is being done through improvements in connectivity, accessibility, and capacity as well as cross-border economic collaboration. Ms. Indrawati signed the MOU as a complement to their existing national strategies and welcomed it as the next step in their relationship with ADB for support to border areas, and an additional collaboration with friends and colleagues in Timor-Leste.

Ms. Brites said, Timor-Leste has made significant strides since independence but if this is to continue, we must integrate more closely into ASEAN and the world economy as well as diversify our economy. Reducing barriers to trade and cooperation with our closest neighbors is an essential step in achieving this goal. We welcome the MOU with ADB and Indonesia as the start of an enduring and mutually beneficial partnership for growth./.
CAIRO - The Sudanese protesters who succeeded in driving President Omar al-Bashir from power say their revolution wont be complete until they have dismantled what many describe as an Islamist-dominated deep state that underpinned his 30-year rule.

That has already escalated tensions with the transitional military council, leading to the resignation of three Islamist members last month after the protesters refused to meet with them. An Islamist political party said protesters attacked one of its meetings , wounding more than 60 members in clashes, and a hard-line preacher cancelled a march in support of Islamic law over fears of violence.

The conflict between the pro-democracy protesters and Islamists could further stall the transition to civilian rule, already the subject of tense negotiations between the protesters and the military. It could also draw in regional powers as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look to counter Islamist factions across the region and Qatar and Turkey lend them support.

The 1989 military coup that brought al-Bashir to power was orchestrated by Hassan al-Turabi, a charismatic intellectual who founded the countrys modern Islamist movement. Fearing a Western backlash, al-Turabi disguised his Islamic revolution as a military coup, even having himself briefly detained in an effort to conceal his role.

Under al-Turabis guidance, the government imposed a harsh version of Islamic law in the 1990s that included amputations and stoning as punishment for some crimes, and which heavily restricted womens rights. It conscripted self-styled mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to battle rebels in Christian and animist south Sudan, and created an array of Islamist militias to impose its edicts. The government also welcomed Islamic militants from around the world, including Osama bin Laden, before expelling him in 1996 under international pressure.

Al-Bashir and al-Turabi later had a falling out, but even as al-Bashir adopted a more pragmatic stance in the 2000s, he remained committed to political Islam.

Al-Bashir and the Islamic movement went to great lengths to create an Islamist deep state, by establishing multiple security forces and shadow party militias, said Rosalind Marsden, an expert on Sudan at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank .

They politicized the army and other state institutions and enabled regime insiders to take control of key sectors and companies within the economy, she said. This Islamist deep state constitutes a formidable barrier to real change.

Its unclear how much support Islamists have outside the government. The last time Sudan held free elections, in 1986, al-Turabis National Islamic Front came in a distant third behind two long-established mainstream parties. The poor showing may have been behind al-Turabis decision to embark on a top-down Islamic revolution three years later.

The Popular Congress Party, established by al-Turabi after his falling out with al-Bashir in 1999, was part of the opposition for years before joining al-Bashirs government in 2017, a year after al-Turabis death. It did not officially support the protests against al-Bashir but criticized the crackdown against the protesters, which killed nearly 100 people. Abu Bakr Abdel Razek, a senior member of the PCP, said the group had martyrs among the protesters killed in the crackdown, and had threatened to withdraw from the government if al-Bashir forcibly dispersed the main sit-in.

The party held a meeting last week that it said was attacked by protesters. Both the military council and the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir, condemned the violence. But the protesters often chant slogans against Islamists at their rallies, referring to them by the slang word keizan.

The PCP and other Islamists have gravitated toward the military council in the weeks since al-Bashirs April 11 ouster.

Most of the Islamist groups have been supporting a strong role for the military in the transitional period, probably because they see them as a potential shield against secularists in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change, said Willow Berridge, a professor at Newcastle University who has written a book about al-Turabi and Sudans Islamists.

In a Friday sermon in late April, Abdel-Hay Youssef, an ultraconservative preacher in Khartoum with a wide following, accused the protest movement of seeking to dictate their own will on the people.

Did you take to the streets to impose laws that contradict peoples identity and to divorce Gods Shariah (Islamic law) from the government? he asked. Youssef rejected the blueprint for transition to civilian rule suggested by protesters and called upon the military to protect the role of Islam in the government. He later called for a mass rally in support of Shariah, but cancelled it after saying he had received assurances from the military council that Islamic laws would not be abolished.

The military council is led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, a rare non-Islamist among the top military brass. Three Islamist members of the council resigned last month after the protesters complained that they were too close to al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum along with several other top officials.

The two sides have yet to agree on a blueprint for the transition, and the protesters have vowed to stay in the streets until the military hands power to civilians. At a mass rally on Thursday, protesters chanted: Dirty Burhan, who brought him? It is the Islamists.

Any clean break (with the former regime) would require dismantling the shadow Islamist militias and comprehensive security sector reform under civilian oversight, said Marsden, the Sudan expert. This process is likely to take some time as the deep state has been created over a period of 30 years.

___

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lovers wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victims husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victims home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favour of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-calibre handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, We are indeed pleased that release has been granted. He said Warmus legal team would be busy putting the particulars of her future in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
HUGO, Okla. - Authorities in Oklahoma on Friday identified two police officers present when at least one of them shot into a pickup truck last week and wounded three children and a man suspected in a robbery.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman confirmed that Hugo police detectives Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were placed on paid leave after the April 26 shooting that hurt 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith and the children, ages 5, 4 and 1. All have been released from the hospital.

Smith is suspected in an April 11 armed robbery of a Pizza Hut in Hugo, about 180 miles (290 kilometres) southeast of Oklahoma City and near the Texas state line. He is being held in the Choctaw County Jail on a pending robbery charge.

OSBI says Smith and the children were in a truck outside a Hugo community centre that serves food when police fired. Its unclear whether Smith had a gun.

Local police have not said how they connected Smith to the restaurant robbery. Calls to the Hugo Police Department went unanswered Friday, and the department Facebook page was no longer available.

Residents and others have demonstrated in Hugo as they await more information. State Rep. Justin Humphrey, whose district includes Hugo, said he has met with community leaders is pushing authorities to be open about the investigation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defence attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9-11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to ... contain any type of fuel.

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Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES - The Latest on California reviewing how Catholic dioceses handled sex-abuse allegations (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how all 12 Roman Catholic dioceses in the state handled allegations of child sex abuse.

A spokesman for the Sacramento diocese tells the Sacramento Bee that Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent letters out Thursday asking the dioceses to preserve documents relating to clergy sex abuse. One letter indicated the disclosure would be voluntary.

The Sacramento diocese and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles indicated that they will co-operate.

Dioceses around the country have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.

The LA archdiocese alone has paid out about $740 million in settlements to victims. Several dioceses around the state have released lists naming dozens of priests that over the years and decades had been credibly accused of sex abuse.

Last November, Becerra urged victims to submit complaints of clerical sex abuse to his office.

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4:34 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled allegations of child sex abuse.

The Los Angeles Times says Attorney General Xavier Becerra notified Archbishop Jose Gomez of the review in a letter Thursday asking the archdiocese to preserve documents relating to clergy abuse allegations.

In a statement, the archdiocese says it continues to fully co-operate with all civil authorities.

The archdiocese has paid $740 million in settlements to victims. Last year, it raised its tally of accused priests to 323.

Its one of many around the country that have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pences visits to Louisiana and Kentucky:

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8:20 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence has made a stop in Kentucky, speaking to employees at an equine feed company where Gov. Matt Bevin also appeared.

WKYT-TV reports Pence stopped at Hallway Feeds in Lexington on Friday on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Pence campaigned earlier this year for Bevin in Lexington, supporting Bevins re-election race. The primary in May 21.

Pence was also expected to attend a gala in Frankfort.

The White House said earlier that Pence would meet with employees at the small business to talk about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. Trade policies are a big issue for Kentuckys business sector. The states renowned bourbon industry has been hit with retaliatory tariffs in some key markets as part of broader trade disputes.

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2:50 p.m.

Speaking in front of the remains of an African American church in Louisiana torched by an arsonist, Vice-President Mike Pence says attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent.

Pence was meeting with parishioners and pastors of the three churches that were burned in March and April. He spoke Friday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

He praised the church members for their response to the blazes  particularly the forgiveness offered to the man accused of setting the blazes  and said their faith and courage has inspired the nation.

A local sheriffs deputys 21-year-old son, Holden Matthews, has been charged with offences including arson in burnings. He has pleaded not guilty.

A crowdfunding campaign for the churches restoration has raised more than $2.1 million.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, received an honorary doctorate degree Friday from the university where her presence brought mobs of protesters in 1956.

The Tuscaloosa News reported that Foster, 89 received the degree during graduation ceremonies. She enrolled at the all-white university in 1956. However, she was expelled three days later after her presence brought protests and threats against her life.

Foster received a standing ovation Friday, news outlets report.

Before receiving the honour, she remarked on the difference in seeing smiling faces instead of frowning and displeased at my being here.

I sat down last night, and when I thought about it, I was crying. The tears were just rolling down my eyes because it is so different and so unique for me to be able to come to such a university as this. That is a wonderful campus out there, Foster told the newspaper.

Her brief enrolment came after a lengthy court battle. She had first applied to the university in 1952 after earning a degree in English from Miles College, but her acceptance was rescinded because she was not white.

African American students did not return to the campus until 1963 when Gov. George Wallace made his infamous stand in the school house door.

Foster earned a masters degree in education from the university in 1991, more than 35 years after attending her first class. She waited until 1992 to graduate to share the moment with her daughter, who is also a UA alumna.

The university recognized Foster in 2017 with a historic marker in front of Graves Hall which houses the college of education. The university also named the clock tower at Malone Hood Plaza after Foster.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - When Jean Tsigonis leaves Tanana Valley Clinic after nearly 38 years of working as a family physician, she doesnt think of it as retiring. She is just repurposing.

This has been my ideal job, said the lifelong Fairbanks resident. I want to leave it while Im still loving it.

A family practice physician, Tsigonis grew up in Fairbanks, and attended schools here, including Lathrop High School. She thought maybe shed like to be a veterinarian, then changed that goal to physical therapy. She wound up graduating from Stanford with a degree in micro-biology and applied to med school, enrolling as a students in the first year-round WWAMI program at the University of Washington.

WWAMI is a medical school program that allows students to train in their home states, through collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine and University of Alaska.

All those years ago, she and her classmates pondered what medical specialties they might pursue.

I dont know, she recalled thinking, but Im sure I dont want to be a psychiatrist.

Of course 30% of our practice is psychiatry. She laughed. I love every aspect of medicine. Every rotation I loved. But the only one where you can do everything in is family practice.

As her schooling continued, she accepted a residency at Dartmouth in Maine but was able to come home to Fairbanks to complete some of her medical electives. During one of those visits, she accepted an unexpected job offer and sealed the deal with a handshake.

She loaded up her old Datsun and headed back to Alaska, from Maine. She has been here ever since, providing medical services for friends and family and many new friends.

I just cant describe it, Tsigonis said. I am leaving at a high point. I was Doctor of the Year last year. Im chairman of the Physician Wellness Program and that is my new passion.

After turning 60, Tsigonis went back to school and earned a masters degree in public health.

At some point, I thought individual practice would lose its pizazz, and at some point, I want to take care of the greater good, she said.

Plus, new positions were added to the hospital called hospitalists. These are people whose sole job is to take care of patients who are hospitalized. Physicians still can visit patients, but their care is the prime responsibility of hospitalists.

Tsigonis needed a new passion to get through that change. So it made sense to go back to college. She chose the University of Alaska Anchorage.

My thesis was Physician Burnout: Did We Have It? I proved we had it, Tsigonis said.

College today is totally different from the last time she attended college.

I hadnt written a paper in 40 years, she said. It was extremely difficult for me, as far as anxiety.

Online classes were challenging because they were so depersonalized.

I would turn stuff in, and I didnt know if they could feel my passion for the subject, Tsigonis said.

As for the math? Tsigonis was used to using a slide rule, not a calculator.

Now, with her new degree in hand, Tsigonis wants to put what she has learned into action and has already produced a power point of solutions for physician burnout, which she considers a public health problem.

Other than that, she has no specific plans for the next stage of her life. She figures it will just become obvious as the days go by.

My son, my daughter and my daughter-in-law are all in medicine, so I feel like Ive passed a baton, Tsigonis said. I have five kids, theyre all gainfully employed. Its a good time to retire.

Her family is more excited than she is, she said. She plans to spend lots of time with her four grandchildren.

Instead of fitting them into my schedule, theyll be my schedule, Tsigonis said.

Her future repurposing will likely include community service work to foreign lands and maybe filling in for local physicians. Her license remains current, she said. She hopes to help mentor new physicians.

One thing is for sure, she wont be binge watching any television shows. She got rid of the family television set about 10 years ago.

She has already signed up to teach a class at OLLI and to take a photography class.

For her retirement party, she has invited all of her patients to the event from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Birch Hill Ski Area.

She wanted a chance to tell them what they mean to her.

I have several four-generation families, and theyre going to hear what I have to say, Tsigonis said.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
ATLANTA - The University of Georgia has barred a longtime math professor from campus as investigators review several sexual misconduct complaints against him.

The university confirmed in a statement Friday that its Equal Opportunity Office is investigating the professor, William Kazez, whos been a faculty member at UGA for about three decades, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At least seven women  students and faculty  have come forward recently with complaints of unwanted touching, groping and sex acts by Kazez, said Decatur attorney Lisa Anderson, who represents two of the women who filed the complaints.

Anderson said the accusations from the women go back at least to 2014.

The university statement says Kazez has been banned from campus and isnt teaching while the investigation is underway.

The university said it would not discuss the specifics of its probe, but stressed it will vigorously investigate and impose sanctions on faculty and employees found to have engaged in sexual misconduct.

An attorney representing Kazez told the newspaper Kazez denies acting unlawfully toward the students. He also said Kazez had not had any prior Equal Opportunity Office complaints against him in his UGA career.

Dr. Kazez has empathy for the accusers, however, some of their assertions have changed over time, and others could not have happened as alleged, said his attorney, Janet E. Hill. At this point, no violations have been proven. The University of Georgia has a process to investigate allegations such as these which is designed to protect the rights of the accusers and the accused. Dr. Kazez looks forward to resolving this matter through the established legal processes rather than in the court of public opinion.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wifes ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called marital rape exemption or spousal defence still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. The concept of a pre-existing relationship defence should have never been part of our criminal statutes.

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as appalling and archaic.

Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force, she said. You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and its not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and its not a crime. It was really troubling.

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by womens rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victims capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

If your religion believes if youre married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? he asked.

No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment, replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But thats no place for the General Assembly.

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hales premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses cant be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isnt serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the states marital rape exemption.

I was beside myself, she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanour charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

I thought if I cant have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it, she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teesons advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story, Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Lets do the right thing. Lets right this wrong.

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said shes not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

In the past, I know that theres been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth, Tobin said. But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for.

Boggs bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohios criminal code. Her argument in favour of it is straightforward.

Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldnt give you permission to rape them, she said.

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Karnowski reported from St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth and Steve Karnowski at https://twitter.com/skarnowski
STOUGHTON, Mass. - Police in Massachusetts say a man stabbed his wife to death and tried to kill himself while their two children were in the familys home.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara identified the woman Saturday as 43-year-old Telma Bras and the man as 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues.

Authorities responded to their home in Stoughton late Friday after their high school-age daughter called a relative, who contacted police. Officers say they found Bras dead with apparent stab wounds and Rodrigues with life-threatening injuries consistent with a suicide attempt.

Police say Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned on a murder charge when doctors clear him for the proceeding.

Officials say arrangements have been made for the care of the daughter and an elementary school-age son.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. You see it, he said Saturday. You got Jim Crow sneaking back in.

The former vice-president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be aggressive in making sure it doesnt happen. Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target mostly ... people of colour.

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice-president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the Souths first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Bidens son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. Joe and I love South Carolina, she said.

The former vice-president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Bidens first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesnt endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Bidens event, but Biden noted one of Clyburns daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains at risk for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump puts us squarely in trouble with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Muellers report demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump.

She says Trump then turns around two weeks later and says were all good on this? Were not all good on this.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia.

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, then I need to buy more ammunition.

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesnt just save ammunition. It saves American lives.

Under his presidency, Moulton said, we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department.

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsels report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didnt warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. What I would say when Im president to Vladimir Putin is that weve got your number, Ive got the FBI after you, Ive got the CIA looking at all of this, Ive figured out what you guys are up to and were going to protect our elections and were going to put increasing sanctions on against you.

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators havent been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as the witness we need to go after Russia so that they dont attack our elections again.

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke says the legacies of slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression are alive and well today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. Hes spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says the work is far from over.

Hes previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

ORourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto ORourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
STERLING, Va. - President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

Trump, who tweeted and re-tweeted complaints Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.  He has previously asserted that social media companies exhibit bias against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

The presidents comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals. The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply both to Facebooks main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

Facebooks move signalled renewed effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism. The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said Woods will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Rosborough said.

Trump, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.

The president had more than social media on his mind Saturday. Trump also tweeted that he was holding out hopes for a deal with North Korea on its nuclear program, as well as improved relations with Russia, now that he feels the special counsel investigation is behind him.
Its a little hard to remember now, but there was a time when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple of school lunch bags, not cause to dial 911.

That was back when the student with asthma that everyone worried about in gym class might well have been the only kid in school with asthma. Playground equipment was designed for fun, not just safety, kids played in the dirt with their grubby siblings and even grubbier dog, and office buildings and malls werent littered with vats of antibacterial hand-sanitizing gel.

Now, by and large, kids are kept clean and safe, our houses are sparking with special products for every room, and hygiene-related marketing urges us to sanitize anything and everything we can. Along with all that, though, its now estimated that one Canadian in 13 is allergic to at least one type of food.

Thats about two children in every classroom. Other types of allergies are also rising, along with autoimmune conditions such as asthma and eczema.

It seems our obsession with cleanliness and health is actually making us less healthy.

How ironic is that?

Now we seem to be having second thoughts. Scientists are conducting research that (sort of) revives that old five-second rule for how long food can be dropped and still acceptably consumed. Others are contemplating the possibility of developing a barnyard dust vaccine to give urban kids some of the stuff that results in their farming counterparts lower allergy rates. And Canadian microbiologists are published authors under the catchy title, Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Our Children from an Oversanitized World.

As with anything, all this comes with the usual caveats: its complicated, there are multiple factors for everything, and research is still ongoing.

But its increasingly clear that being exposed to microbes, especially in childhood, makes for a healthier immune system.

Humans evolved to survive our environment. Now were sanitizing it. And our bodies just dont seem to be handling that well.

When the immune system isnt properly trained it can overreact to normally harmless things. Cue the rise in allergies.

This phenomenon is getting an increasing amount of attention  nut bans and EpiPen shortages have a way of doing that. But its not new. A British physician studying the rise of hay fever as long ago as the 1880s wryly noted: Summer sneezing goes hand-in-hand with culture, we may, perhaps, infer that the higher we rise in the intellectual scale, the more is the tendency developed.

Certainly the medical and scientific community is not suggesting we abandon modern progress. Water treatment is great; so too are vaccines for once deadly and debilitating diseases. In lots of ways, were far better off than we used to be.

But our push for health and cleanliness and perfection in all things is giving rise to a different, more modern kind of unhealthiness.

Antibiotics kill bacteria, both the good and the bad, leaving us with less of the beneficial stuff in our gastrointestinal tracts and increasing our susceptibility to allergies and illness.

And the dangerous bacteria thats not killed with the inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics is rebounding with a vengeance.

The United Nations has declared antibiotic-resistant superbugs to be one of the biggest threats to global health. Britain's chief medical officer, Sally Davies, has called these superbugs a threat as serious as terrorism and natural disasters.

Thats awfully scary and drives people to pump the hand sanitizer like their life depended on it. Which, of course, is the opposite of what were now learning is good for us and the environment.

We became so scared of germs that we raced to embrace products full of chemical compounds we cant even pronounce. How does that make any sense?

But amid all this doom and gloom there was a spot of good news this past month.

A new Canadian study, by the University of British Columbia and B.C. Childrens Hospital, suggests most preschoolers who are allergic to peanuts can be safely treated with small amounts of peanut protein.

While oral immunotheraphy  where patients are directed to eat small amounts of an allergenic food to gradually build up tolerance to it  isnt new, this study led by pediatric allergist Dr. Edmond Chan is the first to show it can safely be offered as a practical, routine treatment.

That, along with a recent recommendation by pediatricians urging parents to introduce common allergy-causing foods to high-risk babies as soon as they are ready to eat solids, may help roll back the dramatic increase in food allergies.

So theres new hope for kids who already have food allergies, and hope for reducing the number who develop them. And possibly, someday, even hope that well get back to a place where a PB&J sandwich can again be a lunchtime favourite.

Economist and journalist Tim Harford argues for the power of messiness. Disorder, he says, is good for our brains. When conditions arent perfect it forces us to be more resilient and creative in problem-solving.

But messiness isnt just good for the soul; its good for the body, too.

We cant all grow up on family farms surrounded by elder siblings, livestock and big hairy dogs. But we can pet them when we see them, go easier on the hand sanitizer, and generally embrace a little dirt.
Canada has a new disruptor  with a difference.

Move over, Doug Ford!

Jason Kenney is back. First stop, Ontario.

Days after being sworn in as Albertas new premier Tuesday, sweeping to power with a 55-per-cent majority unrivalled by any politician in Canada today, Kenney wants to win over Ontarians.

Direct and in person.

Best known as a savvy Harper-era federal minister, officially responsible for immigration and multiculturalism, but unofficially assigned to wooing and winning the 905 vote, Kenney has reinvented himself as a fiery prairie populist.

Read more:

Premier Doug Ford hosts Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in love-in for carbon crusaders

Albertas Jason Kenney warns of separatist angst in first visit to Ottawa

Ottawa can impose carbon pricing on provinces, Saskatchewan court rules

All these years later, the Oakville-born Alberta premier still has an eye, and an ear, for the GTA.

Now he wants to be heard.

Not just by the Bay Street crowd who rewarded him with standing ovations during a lunchtime speech on Albertas energy woes, or from the smiling Ontario premier who pledged his support Friday (after bearing a private grudge against him for years  more on that later).

The new premier is getting his message out any way he can, not least in the pages of the Toronto Star. Which is why he sat down for a wide-ranging interview about Albertas plight, his political fight, and his plan to disrupt Canada even if it means talking up disunity in a country that still frets about national unity.

Ontarians, he says, should hear him out.

Obviously, Ontario is sort of the elder brother of the federation, and I think it can play a role, he tells me. The response at Fridays business lunch showed they get what Alberta is going through.

Many politicians lay claim to a 100-day plan of action. Kenney, however, has unveiled a 100-hour agenda of disruption that he has spent years mapping out.

And he is just getting started  threatening B.C. with a fuel blockade and confronting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a constitutional challenge over control of energy resources.

Never mind that the first provincial legal challenge against a federal carbon tax, led by Saskatchewan, but emulated by Ontario and promised by Alberta, fizzled on Friday with a court decision backing Ottawas authority.

Like Ford, Kenney isnt giving up: We want to coordinate our legal strategy on this.

While the premiers of Alberta and Ontario can both be described as disruptors, there is a difference.

Kenney is a populist with a plan.

Unlike Fords follies, there is method to Kenneys madness. He knows how to pick fights, but he also has the political smarts to win an audience, whether in the press or the public service.

He wants all Ontarians to know how bad it is: Albertans are so frustrated that they are flirting with separatism as Quebecers once did.

A country that once worried about Two Solitudes is now facing several solitudes squabbling on multiple fronts, with Kenney at the locus of loquaciousness  confronting British Columbia, countering Quebec, and condemning Ottawa for either standing in the way of Albertas interests, or not standing up for them.

Alberta feels politically landlocked, and will do what it must to break out.

My message today is, Lets be partners in prosperity in responsible resource development, which means pipelines and market access. 

How can he get Ontario onside?

By working with your government, which does want to help us, he says.

Yet Ford is today less popular than Kenneys predecessor as premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, and hardly has the hammerlock on public opinion that Kenney has at home. Ford Nation cannot deliver the province.

Which is why Kenney wants to speak directly to Ontarians by being here and communicating the message  its not a coincidence, here I am, in downtown Toronto, three days into being premier of Alberta, he says. And youll be seeing a lot more of me . I look forward to my first editorial board meeting (as premier) with the Toronto Star. Im not kidding.

Kenney is at home in Ontario, as if he never left. He worked the banquet circuit hard as minister of multiculturalism, turning up at public events across the 905, and at party fundraisers in most ridings.

Ive been away, but I do understand the 905, I think, and the GTA and Ontario pretty well, he muses.

Now he wants to be sure Ford understands what Alberta is up against: I wasnt sure the degree to which he was aware of that.

They emerged earlier Friday with Ford beaming about their bond in the fight against a carbon tax. Even if their populist play may soon peter out, they cast themselves as comrades in a shared battle.

I cant even wipe the smile off my face, Ford said in his Queens Park office as he posed with his Alberta visitor. What a great ally!

But as Kenney acknowledged in our interview, it wasnt always smiles between the two politicians.

Yes, you recall, Kenney mused, when asked about his public denunciation of Fords late brother Rob in 2013, in which he called on the younger Ford to step aside as then-mayor of Toronto as he became increasingly erratic in his public antics: I think there is a dignity in public service and elected office and he is doing, regrettably, dishonour to that high office, Kenney told reporters at the time. I personally think he should step aside and stop dragging the city of Toronto through this terrible embarrassment.

He was the first Harper minister to speak out, clearly disturbed and offended by the then-mayors behaviour.

It left the mayors defenders furious, not least Ontarios present-day premier.

We had a tense . He had some choice words for me six years ago, Kenney said Friday, choosing his words carefully. But I think both of us implicitly just allowed bygones to be bygones, and there was no discussion Friday of that unfortunate incident.

Kenneys decision to speak out at the time was a reflection of how seriously he takes Canadas governing institutions, notwithstanding his populist rhetoric and partisan cloak. Perhaps its because he has seen politics from different perspectives and provinces; he was born in Ontario, raised in Manitoba, settled in Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta, all the while shifting from the Liberal Party to Reform, the Canadian Alliance, the federal Conservatives, and now Albertas United Conservative Party.

It underscores how he cultivates the bureaucracy, rather than bulldozing it, as Fords Progressive Conservatives do in Ontario.

In Ottawa, Kenney tapped into the civil service expertise to undertake major immigration reforms, a point he stressed after his new cabinet was sworn in by inviting his former federal deputy to an orientation session in Alberta: I expect our ministers to work collaboratively with the public servants, and I walked them through my very productive, symbiotic relationship  to do good policy.

While some populist premiers tout the unrivalled power of social media in bypassing mass media, Kenney prefers to reach the biggest audience.

Its still important to communicate through the mainstream media; most people still get most of their information, I think, from it, he says.

I try to be accessible, probably more than most in my walk of life.

Read more about:
ORESTE P. DARCONTE is a former publisher of The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.
GODFREY  A womans house just off Great River Road was saved from rising floodwaters Saturday morning when a Facebook post seeking help attracted a brigade of volunteers.

It took them just 90 minutes to pack and stack 1,000 sandbags around the home of 86-year-old Stevie Salas, a woman most of the volunteers had never met.

It all started Saturday morning when Salas Clifton Terrace home appeared to be in peril. The river had covered Great River Road and was lapping up mere feet from her back porch.

Mark Ellebracht, News Director at WBGZ radio in Alton, heard of her situation and sent out a Facebook post early in the morning that read:

Foot of Clifton Terrace Road in Godfrey. Home of a soon to be 86-year-old lady. Trying to keep water out of her lower level. Just had her house painted by Bucket Brigade last week. Bring a shovel, gloves, bottle of water and old shoes, boots and clothes. Parking limited so carpool if possible. Whoever can help, were starting at 10:30 am today till 1,000 bags are filled. DONT DRIVE INTO THE WATER! Thanks in advancesee you there! Please share!

By 9:30 a.m., 40 or so people showed up at her door  many of them youngsters from Alton and Marquette High Schools, Alton Middle School, St. Marys Youth Group, the St. Ambrose Youth Group and the Encounter Youth Choir.

Tyler Atkins said he was helping out at the Methodist Village flea market with a friend when they heard the news, and decided to answer the call.

Olivia Ellebracht, 14, also showed up to help.

I needed to do it, she said. Something tugged at me.

A large showing of area church representatives also heeded the call. There were Tim Anderson, Elder Wright and Elder Seeley from the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ in Godfrey, the Oblate Fathers, who Salas cook for, and Father Paul from St. Marys, wearing his collar and dressed in black shirt, pants and rubber boots.

Alton Memorial physical therapist Sue Heinz came to support her former patient. As did firefighter Lieutenant Ben Hamburg and Selina Hamburg,

Stevie had a host of family members come to help, as well, including grandsons Tim Carbol of St. Charles and Dan Preston, a first responder from St. Louis.

Its the power of social media, Sharon Godfrey, of Godfrey, said.

She had seen the Facebook post just as she was starting laundry and cleaning house. Flood fighting, so she reasoned, trumped household chores.

Christopher Sichra. Godfrey Public Safety and Emergency employee, said that when the State of Illinois declared a state of emergency, he ordered the sand and 1,000 bags to be delivered to Salas house, knowing there was potential for trouble.

In less than two hours, the sand pile went from five feet high to a mere inch of leftover.

Salas addressed the crowd afterward, calling the volunteers a godsend. There was applause and hugs all around then the volunteers were gone, a tearful Salas waved as they drove off.
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man who was arrested wearing a clown suit Sept. 11 on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to time served in custody.

Ron Singleton, 55, was pleaded guilty after spending 216 days in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Singleton had been declared unfit to stand trial after an examination by a court psychologist, but Circuit Judge Kyle Napp declared him fit Friday after a report from IDHS and after speaking with him briefly.

Authorities said Singleton appeared intoxicated Sept. 8 when he dressed in his clown suit and went to the rear of a home in the 1800 block of Central Avenue and took a bat to the property of the resident.

The day before that, he entered a vacant house Friday in the 2500 block of Washington Avenue, a witness told The Telegraph.

Once inside, Singleton put on a colorful red, white, blue and yellow clown costume he found inside, came outside and began kicking the door of a second empty building that formerly housed a law office, the witness said. He also carried a complementing, multi-colored umbrella.

The witness, an employee of a nearby business, called police and they arrested Singleton about a half block south on Washington Avenue, still dressed in the costume. Singleton had left the umbrella behind on the steps of the second building, which is just north of James H. Killion Park at Salu.

He has convictions for 98 previous misdemeanors, including several disorderly conduct charges.
In his first days as an official candidate, former vice president Joe Biden has opened a significant lead in national polls, posted the top one-day fundraising total and showcased his ability to rattle President Donald Trump.

His surprisingly strong debut has set off alarms in opposing camps, prompting his rivals to recalibrate their strategies for the next phase of the primary fight.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has taken the most dramatic action, making a personal decision to contrast his policy record with Biden's. Sanders' advisers said he plans to continue that thrust, and his campaign manager is calling out candidates standing on the sidelines.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised money off Biden's entrance by whacking him for soliciting checks from wealthy benefactors and separately noted under questioning that he sided with credit card companies in a key legislative battle.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., seized on Trump calling her "nasty" by turning it into a rallying cry in social media ads that sought to demonstrate that Biden is not the only candidate who can provoke the president.

"He's had a gravitational effect on the other candidates," said James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.

Biden has benefited from the dynamic of the 2020 primary season: Democrats have put forth the most diverse slate of candidates in history, generating excitement across the party, as measured by crowds massing at their events and donations flowing to their campaigns. But no standout has emerged with staying power, creating the vacuum into which Biden, who is well known and attached to the last Democrat to win the White House, has slipped.

Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William Barr. Warren's suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.

It is not yet clear whether Biden himself will be able to maintain his tentative hold on the race; statewide polls in early states show him in a weaker position than national surveys, and his first events demonstrated his limitations as a candidate. His speeches were often meandering and his aides sharply limited access to him - he took no questions from voters - a style of campaigning that can backfire in states where people are accustomed to taking the measure of their options up close.

"People know him and there's a comfort level with him," said Rob Hogg, an Iowa state senator. "But I don't think it's a done deal for Joe Biden." He added, "There's a lot of interest in somebody new, in the next generation."

The candidates fresh to the national stage have been blunted to some extent by the presence of Sanders, the second-place finisher to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic contest and, like Biden, a septuagenarian. For reasons both strategic and ideological, he has become Biden's sharpest critic.

Sanders jumped at the chance in recent days to compare himself with Biden on far-reaching free trade agreements and the Iraq War - which he opposed and Biden supported. The strategy is similar to the approach he took against Clinton in 2016, when he mercilessly pounded the establishment front-runner on their policy differences and exposed the leftward turn of many Democratic voters.

Sanders' advisers say he is just getting started.

"Senator Sanders has had a lifetime of consistency around the issues that he's raising," said Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir. "And quite frankly, on many of those issues . . . Biden has been wrong on the first instance."

When it comes to the rest of the field, Shakir said, "I'm not sure many of them are all that different" from Biden. He added, "If you're not interested in drawing the contrast, right, it certainly makes it less clear to us that there is any distinction."

The Biden-Sanders split embodies a broader Democratic divide. While some believe the path back to power lies in the political revolution Sanders is urging, others feel a better bet for defeating Trump is Biden's pitch for a restoration of more conventional Obama-era politics.

Biden and Sanders represent the same side of another Democratic divide - both are running against a crop of younger candidates who are newer to elective office and whose racial and gender diversity better reflects the changing country. Yet despite coming from different ideological tracks, the two are competing for some of the same voters - white, working-class people in upper Midwestern states Trump won.

After an impressive start of his own, Sanders has dipped a bit in public polls. His crowds have diminished in recent weeks. He's had some trouble attracting nonwhite voters. And a sizable chunk of the Democratic Party does not like him or doubts he would beat Trump.

"He's an old, angry guy running against Donald Trump, who's an old, angry guy," said Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina. "That's not a contrast."

The added pressure of having Biden in the race was apparent at a rally Sanders held at Iowa State University on Saturday. Ron Craig, 62, an undecided voter there, said he was leaning toward Biden.

"He might be able to get more of the swing voters, you know, that might be leery of voting for somebody who's really far left," he said. Craig's main goal? "To beat Trump."

All of the candidates besides Sanders are taking a lower profile in the post-Biden period, wagering that if he falters they will be well-positioned to inherit voters up for grabs.

Sanders's allies are watching Warren, whose similar platform makes her a competitor for the mantle of a more liberal alternative to Biden.

Pressed by a reporter after Biden's entrance whether he was "too cozy" with Wall Street to regulate it as president, Warren said she had defended struggling families in past battles over bankruptcy matters, whereas "Joe Biden was on the side of credit card companies."

Since then, however, she has been judicious about taking him on.

Asked about Biden in a brief interview, Warren declined to speak about him or his record. "I can't speak to anyone else's campaign," she said.

Warren is focused on outlining policy proposals; her mantra is "I have a plan" and T-shirts with the phrase have become her campaign's fastest-selling new item.

Part of what appears to be propelling Biden in his campaign's early days is his strength among different sets of voters, including not only white, blue-collar voters but also African-Americans. Multiple candidates are also competing for that support.

Harris, who is making a vigorous push to win black voters, will address the Detroit chapter of the NAACP on Sunday.

"I adore Joe Biden," Harris said when he joined the race.

Buttigieg began the past week by lunching with the Rev. Al Sharpton and ended it on the cover of Time magazine with his husband, Chasten.

Buttigieg's campaign believes it needs to establish deeper relationships - and policy credentials - with voters who know little about the South Bend mayor. His team is also working to scale up its presence in early states including South Carolina, where he is campaigning Sunday and Monday, immediately after Biden's own visit there.

While the other candidates for the Democratic nomination have taken on Biden in differing measures, the former vice president has focused solely on a contrast with Trump. He announced his run in a video highlighting the president's remarks about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, prompting Trump to rehash his comments.

"I understand the president's been tweeting a lot about me this morning. I wonder why the hell he's doing that!" Biden said on recent swing through Iowa, practically giddy. "I'm going to be the object of his attention for a while, folks."

He has also worked to appear in step with the current electorate. On Wednesday night, during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, a half dozen protesters in penguin masks raised signs that read, "Climate is a crisis."

"Don't worry, I'll get to climate change, I promise," he said. "And by the way, I got there before any of the other candidates did, I might add." Perhaps unintentionally dating himself, he noted, "I'm one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in '87, OK?"

Biden is also seeking to expand his financial advantage over many in the field. While some of his opponents have sworn off wooing big donors amid rising Democratic concerns about the influence of the wealthy, Biden is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Wednesday where donations range from $2,800 to $10,000, according to the invitation.

He also is delivering constant reminders of perhaps his biggest selling point: his connection to the 44th president, who remains popular among many Democratic voters.

"I think there is a lot of excitement about him simply because he has served under President Obama," said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who represents a swing distinct in the suburbs of Atlanta and has not made an endorsement. "People kind of believe, you know, he's probably one of the more experienced presidential candidates."

That sentiment so far is echoed by many voters. While they acknowledge he is not a perfect candidate, voters say he seems authentic and represents what they crave: a return to normalcy.

"As soon as he announced, I thought: Yes. Someone is coming to our rescue," said Hope Phillips, a 52-year-old financial industry worker from Des Moines.

Andrew Lietzow, a 67-year-old from Des Moines who is executive director of the Iowa Landlord Association, is the kind of voter Biden's rivals need to worry about. If Biden weren't in the race, Lietzow might be supporting one of them.

"Cory Booker is strong. Elizabeth Warren is strong. So is Kamala Harris. But compared to Joe? Not even in the hunt," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Annie Linskey, Chelsea Janes, Amy B Wang and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
EDWARDSVILLE  With the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing coming up on July 20, a new student organization at SIUE is doing its part to honor the spirit of Apollo 11.

Cougar Rockets, which was formed last fall, is dedicated to designing, building and flying rockets.

On Nov. 8, the group successfully launched its first high-powered rocket on SIUEs campus near Korte Stadium.

Another SIUE organization, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), collaborated with Cougar Rockets on the launch.

Last summer, a few of the students got together because they felt a rocket club at SIUE was something that was really lacking, said Dr. Michael Denn, an instructor of mechanical engineering at SIUE and the faculty advisor for Cougar Rockets. They approached me because I have had experience in the aerospace industry prior to being an instructor here.

The long-term goal for Cougar Rockets is to participate in the 2020 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), which is held every year in New Mexico. It is also known as the Spaceport America Cup.

Rockets are interesting, but there the students were a little uncertain as to what they wanted to do, said Denn, who worked for Boeing for 18 years. You are usually most successful if you have a goal and we found out about the intercollegiate rocket competition. For at least the next couple of years, thats our primary goal for our organization. The rocket launch that we had last semester was the first step.

The November launch for Cougar Rockets was a 63-inch rocket that reached 5,000 feet before its parachute deployed and it landed safely.

The IREC competition consists of launching a rocket with an 8.8-pound payload and target altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet above ground level.

That is considered high-powered rocketry (HPR), which is defined by the size and the thrust of the rockets. Some of the Cougar Rocket team members will earn National Association of Rocketry certifications in order to purchase HPR motors and ensure they are complying with safety codes.

Our objective is to make our own rocket and engineer our own rocket, Denn said. The first rocket was a large kit, but it was still a kit, Denn said. The objective is to pick up more and more of our own technology to take to the competition.

Charter members of Cougar Rockets included 33 students studying mechanical engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering and physics. The organization is open to all SIUE students.

This year we also have somebody from chemistry as well, and when we start doing things with fuels, were going to want people like that to be part of the club, Denn said. It really has a broad appeal and thats the objective.

Egemen Erten, the founding president of Cougar Rockets, obtained a bachelors degree in industrial engineering last year and is now working on a masters degree in mechanical engineering.

Aviation and the aerospace industry have always been my passion and I felt there was something missing regarding that field at SIUE, Erten said. We made our first high-powered launch last semester in November, which was a really short time period. All of our members have great passion and theyre really dedicated.

The practical experience gained by the members of Cougar Rockets goes beyond designing and launching rockets.

Ive always said that Cougar Rockets is kind of like a start-up, but the only difference is I dont invest any money into it, Erten said. Its more than an engineering organization because were learning management organization skills, finance, marketing and other things.

Denn currently has some students in his senior design class who are working on a modular rocket concept with solid-fuel or liquid-fuel engines that can be swapped in and out of the same rocket.

A diagram on the board in Denns office depicts the path that Cougar Rockets will take to prepare for the IREC event in 2020.

What we did in November was a demonstration launch, so the next step for this semester is to take the same rocket and put a little oomph to it with bigger engine charges, and get certification so we can go to the competition.

Meanwhile, the group wants to test some of the smaller rockets with altimetry (measurement of altitude), GoPro (action cameras) and high-altitude parachute deployment, telemetry (measurement transmission of data) and other technologies.

Instead of risking a big rocket, well use a little rocket, and then when you demonstrate on that, we want to roll it the technologies into a rocket with what we call a modular engine for the senior design project, Denn said. Well test that with a couple levels of technology and take those lessons to the next step, which is the competitive rocket.

Andrew Patterson, who will graduate this spring with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, is the lead designer for Cougar Rockets.

The large red rocket was our first step and we needed to test the waters in terms of our design philosophies, Patterson said. We took a high-powered rocket thats capable of flying up to two miles with the appropriate hardware, but we scaled that down a little bit because were not going to launch that high yet.

We have to get certified to launch that high by the FAA and a couple other external organizations. They dont like people launching that high that dont know what theyre doing. Theres a different safety protocol for large rockets like this compared to the smaller rockets you can get at a hobby store.

Pattersons senior design group likes the versatility that is offered by a modular rocket.

The way rockets are usually built is that the engineers develop a motor and then they build the rocket around it, Patterson said. By having a modular rocket engine bay, it adds a constraint to the design process, but you dont have to build a new rocket every time and that saves money.

The scale of the Cougars Rockets first high-powered launch, or even the IREC rockets, is tiny compared to a NASA mission, but the dedication of its participants is much the same.

Since Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 and the final lunar landing, Apollo 17 on Dec. 11, 1972, there has been an ebb and flow of interest in the U.S. space program.

Denn hopes that some students involved in Cougar Rockets could help provide the spark that leads to a resurgence of interest in space.

Were seeing a transition from an exclusively government-run space program where everybody is subcontracted (to NASA) to having companies like SpaceX who are doing a lot more on their own, Denn said. I think that can only help the space industry because it broadens the base and its not quite so tied to government policy or NASAs budget allocations.

For the second straight semester, Denn is teaching an engineering course with a recurring theme  the Apollo project.

The reason is that Apollo is an exemplary example of systems engineering, Denn said. Its big, its bold and its complex and it was done on a schedule.

Back in 1961, President Kennedy said were going to the moon by the end of the decade and we did it. I was young then, but I was alive and remember it generated so much excitement. The Apollo program still resonates and its still an outstanding example of engineering that can be perpetuated for generations to come.

For Denn and his students, it doesnt take too big a leap of imagination to picture a rocket launch on the SIUE campus as a small step toward a future mission to Mars or a return to the moon.

If you look back over the past several presidential administrations, almost all of them at some point have tried to reignite the space program to go to Mars, but and it really hasnt gone anywhere, Denn said. As soon as we as a society decide we want to go to Mars, 10 years later, we will be there.

We clearly had the will to do that back in the 1960s and the consensus with Apollo to go to the Moon. We can do that again, but we have to get to that point.

Reach reporter Scott Marion at smarion@edwpub.net
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected Friday to announce a sweeping plan to cut down on carbon pollution coming from America's cars, buildings and utilities - a major policy rollout for the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has made combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign.

Inslee, 68, one of the lesser-known candidates in a crowded Democratic field, will sketch out a vision for using the federal government's regulatory power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, according to a version of the plan reviewed by The Washington Post.

The plan calls for zero-emission futures in three sectors of the economy - transportation, electricity, and residential and commercial buildings - that in 2017 accounted for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

By 2030, Inslee wants all new cars, trucks and buses to be "zero-emissions," relying instead on battery power or renewable fuels. He also wants utilities to be weaned off coal - which produced 28 percent of American energy last year - and for new buildings to be built in a more energy-efficient way.

"Those goals are scientifically necessary and are absolutely required if we're going to protect our families and country from the ravages of climate change," Inslee said in an interview. "These are concrete actions. They're not ephemeral. These are not unicorns and rainbows."

During Inslee's campaign, he has toured flood damage in the Midwest and visited wildfire survivors in California, as well as made stops to highlight solar power and electric cars. He's expected to announce the climate policy in Los Angeles.

The eight-page plan is aimed at raising Inslee's profile and setting him apart from his rivals with a point-by-point plan that draws on his success passing climate legislation in his home state.

In the past presidential election, climate change received little attention. This time, amid worsening wildfires and floods, the issue has gained more traction, energizing Democrats and young voters, such as those who call for the Green New Deal.

Inslee's team hopes that enthusiasm, as well as momentum from the climate bills, could help lift his polling numbers early in the campaign. So far, he has lagged behind at about 1 percent in national polls in a crowded Democratic field.

But in a sign of the difficulty he faces, Inslee was preempted by former congressman Beto O'Rourke, another Democratic presidential hopeful. On Monday, O'Rourke declared climate change "the greatest threat we face" and put out his own climate plan as he toured Yosemite National Park.

O'Rourke proposed spending $5 trillion over the next decade and set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero over the next 30 years.

Inslee has described O'Rourke as a newcomer to the issue and someone who once allied with oil companies in his native Texas.

"I welcome anybody following my leadership," Inslee said. "Even if you discover climate change late, it's better late than never."

His plan, he said, has "much more specificity. It is much more robust. It is much more comprehensive. And I'll get it done."

O'Rourke said Wednesday he will not accept campaign donations of more than $200 from executives of fossil fuel companies, joining a pledge signed by Inslee and other Democratic candidates.

Inslee has spent much of his long political career - 15 years in Congress, starting in the early 1990s, before becoming governor six years ago - talking about the dangers of climate change and urging a transition of the U.S. economy to cleaner sources of energy. He co-wrote a book on the topic, "Apollo's Fire," more than a decade ago.

Washington state relies heavily on hydroelectric power; coal accounts for about 15 percent of the state's energy, much of it imported. The state's lone coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close in coming years.

Many note that meeting these clean-energy goals will be more difficult in other parts of the country. Although coal-powered electricity has declined steadily over the past decade, it still produces the second-most electricity of any source, behind natural gas.

Inslee's political opponents in Washington state who have opposed his pro-climate push warn of rising gas prices and lost jobs.

"A lot of these policies they push will simply drive the means of manufacturing out of state or offshore," said state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R), a Trump supporter. "We're still going to use gasoline. We're still going to use many of these products, but if you make it too expensive to manufacture them, you create a tax structure that forces them out, that just means you're going to import them from China, India, Taiwan."

Supporters, however, say the goals and timelines Inslee set are ambitious but not unrealistic. The movement to more energy-efficient buildings, electric cars and utility companies is taking place in many states across the country.

"These are in some ways the things we have the highest confidence we're able to do because we're already doing them," said KC Golden, a longtime climate and energy advocate in the Pacific Northwest who has known Inslee for many years.

"The governor obviously has made a very strong commitment to responding to what climate scientists say we have to do to avert catastrophic climate change," Golden added. "Those timelines are not negotiable. If we think that it's unrealistic to live on a planet that is in constant cascading climate chaos, then we have to accelerate our timelines for making this green energy transition."

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, said the economic transition that Inslee is calling for is "both realistic and necessary, and it will save money and create jobs."
Jacksonvilles El Rancherito restaurant recently closed its doors without warning.

The restaurant, in the Lincoln Square shopping center on West Morton Avenue, did not have a sign on the door but has been closed and no longer can be reached by its listed phone number.

Linda Day, food coordinator at Morgan County Health Department, said the restaurant did not close because of a health inspection.

The restaurant had received poor inspection scores in the past, but more recently had received high scores from the health department. The restaurant failed under-age alcohol checks in 2017 and 2015.

The restaurant underwent a major renovation in 2015 to give the space a facelift.

An owner of the restaurant could not be reached for comment.

According to Illinois Secretary of State records, the business was incorporated in 1997 and is not in good standing with the state for 2019.
HARTFORD  Captain Meriwether Lewis wrote on May 14, 1804 that The Mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered the Point of Departure. The 215th anniversary of the Departure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Illinois Country, thus beginning their historic 2 1/2-year journey to the Pacific Ocean and back.

The Riviere a Dubois, or Wood River Creek, located today near Wood River and East Alton, marks the approximate location of where Lewis and Clark built their first winter encampment, Camp River Dubois. It is here where Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark selected the 40-plus men that would comprise the Corps of Discovery. Here they gathered the remaining supplies and information necessary for their voyage to the Western Ocean.

Illinois was the westernmost territory in the United States in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson changed that with the purchase of the Mississippi River and Louisiana Territory from Napoleons France for $15 million dollars. The western border pushed across the continent and the United States more than doubled in size. The Louisiana Purchase stretched the U.S. boundaries north into Canada, south into the future states of Louisiana and Arkansas, and west all the way to the Rockies.

Yet much of it remained completely unexplored by American or European travelers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition received a mission to explore and map this vast expanse of land. They were charged with meeting and establishing trade with the numerous American Indian nations that occupied the region. Finally, the captains were ordered to describe and catalog the hundreds of species of yet unknown flora and fauna that lived within the bounds of the western lands.

The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on Dec 12, 1803. Upon being denied permission by the Spanish lieutenant governor in St. Louis to move any farther west, the expedition established their winter camp across from the mouth of the Missouri River, along the Wood River Creek.

While Meriwether Lewis spent much of the winter in Cahokia and St. Louis, it was up to William Clark to assemble a team that was capable of making the arduous journey ahead. Despite early issues of discipline and conflict, the captains and soldiers came together, and they soon grew anxious to begin in the early spring. The Day of Departure finally arrived on May 14, 1804, when Captain Clark wrote Set out from Camp River a Dubois at 4 oClock P.M. and proceded up the Misouris under sail  men in high Spirits. [sic]. The expedition would not return to Illinois until September 23, 1806, having covered over 6,000 miles and losing only one soldier, Sergeant Charles Floyd.

Though often associated with St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark expedition in fact began their journey from the eastern banks of the Mississippi in the Illinois Country. It is in Illinois where they recruited many of the members of the expedition at Fort Massac on the Ohio River and Fort Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River.

Illinois is where the men came together for the first time as the Corps of Discovery. It is in Illinois where they gathered the final supplies that would carry them through their journey.

Most importantly, Illinois is where the men came to learn trust for each other and the leadership of their captains that ultimately led to their incredibly successful expedition. Illinois is the Point of the Departure for the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford celebrates the Lewis and Clark Expeditions monumental expedition each year with the Point of Departure Weekend. Dozens of re-enactors and artisans in period dress demonstrate the various craftsmanship and lifeways of the Corps of Discovery and early Illinois settlers.

This free event includes artisans exhibiting historic basket making, fiber spinning, leatherwork, woodworking, and candle making. Military life is shown through artillery demonstrations, musket displays, and encampments of soldiers. The event is put on by the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Lewis and Clark Society of America.

Anyone interested in the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and early Illinois can enjoy the Point of Departure Weekend on May 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information, call 618-251-5811.
EDWARDSVILLE  A license plate reader camera system installed on the Clark Bridge in 2018 has been quietly expanded throughout Madison County.

The system alerts police when specific vehicles pass by and was set up because of concerns about criminals coming over from Missouri, and stolen vehicles being taken across the river.

Since then additional cameras have been quietly installed at several locations around the county and more are planned, according to Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons.

Gibbons mentioned the expansion of the system at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday.

We are participating with local police agencies and in coordination with the DEA to expand the network of license plate readers around Madison County, he said after the meeting. Weve targeted and identified major corridors for drug trafficking and other crimi9nal activity, and are strategically working to place those cameras on bridges and on major thoroughfares where we think those things are happening.

He said the States Attorneys Office is budgeting $50,000 from drug forfeiture funds this year for the expansion.

Were using that money to support construction efforts, he said. The DEA is donating the cameras and IT infrastructure.

The goal is to eventually have all the bridges and major highways covered.

It allows to track flow of drug traffickers across state lines, through our county and on our interstates, he said. It gives us a better tool to push back on the tide of drugs that are flowing through Madison County. We have a heroin highway, but now it carries methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

The St. Louis region has long been known as a major intersection in drug trafficking, and over the years local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have routinely found drugs and cash being transported through the area.

Gibbons noted that the cameras on the Clark Bridge have been very successful.

We found in several of our murder cases the ability to pinpoint a specific vehicle and a person in a specific vehicle at a specific time on the bridge has allowed us to create a timeline and weve used that in trials, he said. Its been extremely helpful.

Part of the expanded system is in place.

We have two of the bridges covered, we have multiple truck stops covered already, he said. There are a whole bunch of projects in different stages of planning.

He declined to go into specifics about locations.

We want the public to know this is something were doing to help protect them, but we dont want to be too specific because we dont want to tell the criminals everything, Gibbons said. When our goal is reached it will be virtually impossible to mule drugs and drug cash through Madison county without being spotted.

He also noted that the same restrictions in place for use of the Clark Bridge cameras will apply to the others.

It doesnt tie in to registrations, it doesnt observe traffic violations, he said. These are for your high-end, serious crimes. But it does trigger on stolen vehicle alerts.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
ST. LOUIS (AP)  The latest round of Midwestern flooding claimed at least four lives, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of river towns to shore up threatened levees with sandbags as waters rose to and near record levels in some communities.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Friday along a large swath of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood watches for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after recent rounds of heavy rain.

Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said in a conference call that included the leaders of other river towns that roads are closing around the town and that its working to get businesses to move out as waters rise. The town, which is 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of St. Louis, has no flood walls or levees. He said water is beginning to encroach upon city hall.

We are at our wits end, Eberlin said. We are totally unprotected.

In Alton, the Argosy Casino Alton was forced to close on Friday as floodwaters crept higher into downtown. Altons mayor, Brant Walker, complained that the city is doing flood control every eight months and that the frequent business closures are hurting the citys finances.

We are barely keeping our head above water, he said.

In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch remains open, even as floodwaters pour over the road beneath it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday closed the Mississippi for a 5-mile stretch at St. Louis, citing both the high water and the swift current.

The Mississippi isnt the only river bulging out of its banks. Moderate flooding at Missouri River towns like Washington and St. Charles in Missouri was causing headaches like road closures, but few homes were impacted.

The Meramec River in suburban St. Louis is rising fast and will crest Sunday and Monday around 15 feet (4.5 meters) above flood stage in towns like Arnold and Valley Park, threatening several homes and businesses.

Historic flooding was happening elsewhere along the river, too. The National Weather Service is now projecting flood levels to reach the second- or third-highest ever at several Mississippi River towns in northeast Missouri  Hannibal, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield.

Kimmswick, Missouri, Mayor Phil Stang said the community is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water. Weve closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub.

Sandbagging efforts began Friday in Winfield, where the Pin Oak Levee was threatened. Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, was among many towns where volunteers were racing the clock to add sandbags to the tops of levees and around homes and businesses.

The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday afternoon in a swollen southwest Missouri creek. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff identified the man as 35-year-old Scott M. Puckett of Forsyth, Missouri. The body of his friend, Alex Ekern, 23, was found Thursday.

Puckett and Ekern were among three men who began paddling Wednesday afternoon in Bull Creek near the small town of Walnut Shade. The patrol said they were swept over a low-water bridge and caught in what is called a hydraulic, which creates a washing-machine effect that is hard to escape. One of the men survived.

Flooding also claimed the life of a camper found Wednesday after he was caught in waters from an overflowed creek near the town of Ava, also in southwest Missouri. And in northern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother drove onto a flooded road.

In Davenport, Iowa, concerns were that even after the Mississippi River reached a record height, the worst was far from over.

The crest inched above the 1993 record on Thursday, and forecasters are calling for up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of additional rain next week, meaning the high water will likely stick around and potentially get even higher.

Several blocks of downtown Davenport were flooded this week when a flood barrier succumbed to the onslaught of water. The river at the Quad Cities has been at major flood stage or higher for 41 consecutive days.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds visited Davenport Friday.
The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to tax and regulate adult use of recreational cannabis is answering some of the concerns raised by critics.

Some observers speculated that an amendment to Senate Bill 7 would be filed this week, finally revealing how exactly the state might go about making recreational cannabis legal for adult use. With the end of the session set for May 31, such an amendment has yet to be filed.

State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said she has concerns for her community.

I dont see where the community is going to benefit and quite frankly I dont see where the state is going to benefit, Flowers said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzkers budget proposal relies on $170 million from recreational cannabis licensing fees.

Flowers said shes worried about the possible social costs.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said Flowers concerns are legitimate. However, she said legalization isnt an endorsement.

What it does do is say, We know that people are getting a safe product and you know that theyre now going to card people or to make sure that theyre not under 21 [years old], so youre really limiting it, Steans said.

Pritzker said he wants to ensure that the industry is open to communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs.

One of my No. 1 focus areas for this has been equity and making sure that were addressing the fact that the war on drugs most ill-affected communities of color, we want to make sure that this bill addresses the historical discrimination thats existed and also give people a new opportunity to create new businesses, Pritzker said Monday.

Flowers said she doubted minorities would be able to secure a spot in the industry. She also said she doubted the black community would benefit at all.

Their lives have not been made better, nor have their families lives been made better, Flowers said. We havent even had that discussion.

Steans said there will be new license categories with cheaper licenses and certain funding mechanisms to help social equity applicants get both reduced application fees, but also to help get grants and loans to help to start up  and then we want to do expungement to help people expunge records that relate to cannabis.

Lawmakers are finding common ground on all of these issues and others with stakeholders, Steans said. However, the issue of whether to allow recreational marijuana to be grown in homes remains a point of contention.

Generally speaking, home grow is important, Steans said. Its going to be very expensive. We want people to have access at lower amounts, so were going to see if we can make home grow work at a very limited fashion.

Pritzker has said he supports limited home cultivation.

The law enforcement community has been opposed to any home-grow provision. Some ideas proposed include only allowing home grow for medical cannabis patients.

Lawmakers are back to session Tuesday.
MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho, Girls Track, Senior; Weeden won two events for the Chargers in the first meet of the season. Weeden was first in the high jump (5-0) and the long jump 15-1.

ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago scored 39 points in three games as Stonington started the season 1-2. Drago had 16 in a loss to Fitch, 12 in a win against Griswold and 11 in a defeat to Ledyard.

SYDNEY HAIK, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Haik scored 14 points as the Bulldogs opened the season with a victory over Cumberland. Haik had three 3-pointers, five assists and five steals.

ZANE BREWER, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Freshman; Brewer scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Lions season-opening win over Grasso Tech. Brewer followed that with 18 points and five rebounds in a loss to Hale-Ray.

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'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years but while some providers, such as Bulb and Ecotricity do provide renewable energy, others are accused of buying the right to slap a label on their deals at a cut price - and then charging customers more.

Nothing is quite straightforward when it comes to finding the right supplier and deal for your household energy.

Although switching is easier than ever before  helped in big part by the advent of companies happy to do all the hard work for you  and competition remains fierce (despite the demise of some small suppliers), the cards are still stacked heavily in favour of the energy companies. Profits uber alles.

Pay by direct debit for your energy  and invariably the best deals demand that you do  and it is highly likely you will end up handing over too much to your supplier.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas

Experts claim energy companies are currently holding on to some 1billion of our money as a result of direct debit payments being set too high.

A scandal. Plain and simple.

It is our money  and cash the suppliers should return without prompting or households having to go a proverbial six rounds with customer services in order to get it put back into their bank account.

Even measures seemingly designed to help customers fight rising bills end up enabling already profit-fattened suppliers to milk more out of the consumer.

This is the case with the energy price cap introduced early this year to protect some ten million customers from expensive standard variable tariffs  the default payment rate households end up on if they are not savvy and do not continually chase down competitively fixed priced deals.

According to website comparethemarket, last month's increase in the price cap  sanctioned by regulator Ofgem  has already allowed energy companies to generate an extra 148million of revenue at the expense of customers.

'The energy price cap has had the curious impact of providing an official licence to energy companies to hike their prices,' comparethemarket explained two days ago. 'It has potentially boosted energy companies' profits by millions.'

Bizarre. So much for pro-consumer intervention in the energy supply market by the Government whose idea the price cap was. Mad. Bad.

There is more  ineffective regulation that allows many energy suppliers to continually get away with unacceptable levels of customer service without fear of reproach or sanction. Third world.

Yet there is one area of the energy market where the current levels of confusion, deception and customer exploitation are stratospheric. It is in the supply of 'green' energy.

'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years as householders seek to do their bit for the planet.

In theory, such eco-friendly deals dovetail perfectly with Government ambitions spelt out last week to make Britain the first major world economy to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

The Government was responding to a report from the influential Committee on Climate Change, an organisation set up to advise it on how to respond to ever rising global temperatures. The committee said the country would have to stop using fossil fuels  oil, gas and coal  and quadruple the current number of offshore wind turbines.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas  an astonishing increase of 150 per cent in just one year  with most energy companies providing at least one green option. Customers have also seized on green electricity deals.

Yet the more you dig under the skin of many of these green tariffs, the less green (climate-friendly) they become. Indeed, the energy you are supplied with under such an eco-friendly deal is often anything but green. It's called smoke and mirrors  classic energy company deception.

As if that was not enough, many consumers are paying a heavy price for going green through higher energy bills. Surprise, surprise. Yet more unchecked profiteering from suppliers, often owned by overseas conglomerates.

Some of the gas sold by small supplier Bulb is biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure

THERE ARE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN

Anyone taking out a green energy deal would assume that the gas or electricity piped into their home would be derived from renewable sources  essentially energy generated by wind, water or the sun.

In some instances this is the case. Suppliers such as Bulb, Ecotricity (which bills itself as 'Britain's greenest energy company') and Green Energy ('100 per cent green gas, 100 per cent renewable electricity') have set themselves up to do exactly this.

Small supplier Bulb buys energy from independent renewable generators across the UK. It says 100 per cent of its gas is carbon neutral as a result of supporting carbon-neutral projects around the world.

Some 10 per cent of its gas is also biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure.

Green Energy chief executive Doug Stewart says: 'Our energy is green because it is gas derived fully from biomethane that comes from organic waste. So not only is the gas green but it uses waste that would otherwise rot and release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more toxic than CO2, into the atmosphere.'

But it means their tariffs are expensive. The annual average energy bill for a household using a truly green tariff from either Green Energy or Ecotricity is as least 50 per cent higher than the cheapest 'green' deal available in the market.

Yet these companies, in terms of green purity, are the exception, not the norm. Most other providers of 'green' tariffs  everyone from Centrica-owned British Gas through to German-owned Npower and eco-friendly brands such as Pure Planet  derive little or no energy directly from renewable sources.

Is your tariff really better for planet? All electricity customers contribute to Government subsidies for renewable energy through their energy bills. So to some degree all tariffs have a green element. But some suppliers go further than others in trying to change the composition of energy production in the UK. Thomas Rogers, of energy firm Switchd, says: Every supplier must state what percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. If youre really keen on going green, go for a supplier whose fuel mix is 100 per cent renewable, not just one using the word green in its tariff name. Fuel mix disclosures can be found on a suppliers website and will help customers find environmentally friendly energy tariffs. Rogers adds: This ensures the money youre spending on your energy goes to a company that at least believes in renewables, not one thats chucked in a green tariff at a premium. The Energy Savings Trust emphasises that signing up for a green tariff is no substitute for reducing individual energy use.

They simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a complex 'certificated' system. It's head-scratchingly complicated so clear your head and concentrate.

In very simple terms, companies that generate renewable energy  not supply it  are awarded so called 'Regos', certificates from regulator Ofgem.

Rego stands for Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin. These certificates can then be purchased by electricity suppliers, allowing them in turn to badge tariffs as 'green'.

One certificate represents one megawatt hour of renewable energy generated and costs a supplier anything between 10p and 30p (peanuts).

To put this into context, an average home uses about three megawatts hours worth of energy a year.

So the purchase of three certificates per household is enough for an electricity company to claim the tariff it is offering customers is green.

Just sit back and think about the maths. For the cost of less than 1, a supplier can stick a green label on a tariff and charge annual prices at least 100 more than the most competitive energy deal available in the market.

There are similar certificated systems in place for gas.

A single certificate costs from 7.50 and offsets one ton of carbon dioxide. For the average household, which emits about four tons of carbon dioxide a year, this would cost a supplier wanting to bolster their 'greenness' about 30.

For example, the Energy Plus Protection Green May 2020 tariff from British Gas matches electricity through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Gas is carbon-offset through the purchase of certificates relating to projects in developing countries.

Npower's Go Green Energy Fix April 2021 matches 100 per cent of electricity consumption and 15 per cent of gas consumption through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Small supplier Yorkshire Energy, which provides a 'Green Bunny' deal, offers 100 per cent renewable electricity also through the purchase of certificates.

How to save money and help the planet The way we spend our money can be a powerful driver in helping the environment. From buying products that create less plastic waste, to supporting companies that aim to improve working practices, or choosing those that try to reduce their environmental impact, consumer pressure works. So what are the big and small changes you can make - and can they save you money as well. Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look on the This is Money podcast. Press play above or listen (and please subscribe if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify and Audioboom or visit our This is Money Podcast page.

WHY THE EXPERTS ARE DEEPLY UNIMPRESSED

Not surprisingly, some energy experts are singularly unimpressed with the abuse of the green label.

Dustin Benton, of environmental think-tank Green Alliance, says: 'There is no environmental definition of what green actually means. Energy companies exploit this by using the label as a sales tool without having to do any real environmental good.' Damning.

Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy

Johnny Gowdy, of energy expert Regen, says: 'Some of the marketing that accompanies green energy tariffs is misleading.'

He adds: 'Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy.'

He concludes: 'There ought to be a clear distinction made to consumers between the energy that is directly sourced from renewable generation and energy labelled green through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.' Absolutely.

Many companies simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a 'certificated' system

A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS ON TARIFFS

The greener the supplier or tariff, the more expensive it will be. But there are signs that things are changing for the better.

Until recently the difference between the cheapest tariff and the lowest green tariff from British Gas was 230 a year. That has now been eliminated with all British Gas tariffs for new customers having a green component.

Rival suppliers npower and EDF Energy charge an annual green 'premium' of 70 and 35 respectively. E.On charges 2 a month for a 'Clean Energy' upgrade while ScottishPower's 'Go Green' bolt-on is 36 a year. Big Six supplier SSE does not offer a green tariff.

Research by energy regulator Ofgem suggests consumers can pay up to 300 a year more for a deal with a supplier that invests in renewable technology innovation, compared to one where the supplier simply buys certificates.

Do you think green energy deals are a rip-off? Email laura.shannon@mailonsunday.co.uk
Greening the economy is one of those transformations that we have to make. So lets try to do it well.

Over the next 30 years, every country will be moving to a lower carbon economy. The driving force, of course, is concern about the impact of carbon emissions on the climate, as last weeks report from the Committee on Climate Change highlighted.

But quite apart from political pressure, we will move in that direction because that is the way technology is developing.

By 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS

Part of this will be using less energy; part will be getting our energy from sources that do not emit carbon. The first part is obvious. All of us who have switched to LED light bulbs or turned down the central heating have cut our energy consumption.

Getting energy from non-carbon sources is trickier, because at a personal level we have very little control as to how power is generated. We can put solar panels on our roofs, but electricity drawn from the grid is drawn from whatever the power stations are feeding into it at that moment. So if this country wants to go truly green, we have to figure out ways of generating more power from renewable sources. That is not easy.

A cautionary tale. Those of us with long memories will recall our politicians heralding Britains nuclear power programme as the global leader.

When the worlds first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was switched on by the Queen in 1956, the overseeing Minister, Rab Butler, said: It may be that after 1965 every new power station being built will be an atomic power station.

Wrong. Calder Hall closed in 2003. By then the fire at nearby Sellafield, plus the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl had destroyed public faith. The UK is struggling to build new nuclear stations now, and can only do so with foreign help. As for our own supposedly world-beating programme, we abandoned it after a huge cost to taxpayers.

Being measured means taking lots of steps that together make a difference

Whenever you hear a politician boasting that the UK will lead the world to a carbon-free future, think of Calder Hall.

Two thoughts. We have to be honest, and we have to be measured. Being honest means being open about the reality of going green. Just focusing on what we do in the UK isnt enough.

Manufacturing uses a lot of raw materials and a lot of energy. So if we import a car from abroad instead of assembling it here, that cuts our carbon emissions. But it does not cut global emissions, and we achieve nothing overall.

Being measured means taking lots of modest steps that cumulatively make a difference. At a personal level, a cooler home seems to have health benefits  better sleep, clearer thinking  which is much more convincing than some expert urging us to set the thermostat at 19 degrees. Ditto, driving a bit less and walking a bit more.

At a national level? Well, a report last autumn by the Swiss bank UBS suggested that by 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free. If that is right, and we have found a cheap way to store electricity, then economic reality will reinforce political will.

Meanwhile, a lot can be achieved by applying existing good practice more widely, rather than having expensive ambitions. What about the environmental cost of cutting half an hour off the time it takes to get a train from London to Birmingham, huh?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaways famed annual shareholders meeting was taking place yesterday in Omaha, Nebraska, with the usual folk-wisdom. But I am more intrigued by what chairman Warren Buffett does than what he says.

So as we report here, the UK grid companies are clearly a smart investment  arguably too smart a one for those of us who pay the bills. The whole ethos of Berkshire Hathaway is that you invest for the long term in solid, well-managed businesses.

Over the past 40 years this value-investing approach has been very successful. But more recently performance has slipped. This year the S&P 500 index is up 17 per cent, but Berkshire Hathaway stock up only 6 per cent. For the moment fashion beats value. But fashion is fickle, so will it flip this year? I think it may.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

J.B. writes: I bought two car parking spaces at Gatwick Airport in 2016, as an investment offered by Park First Limited, and I am wishing I had not done so. In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority decided Park First was operating a Collective Investment Scheme which should have been regulated. The regulator instructed Park First to offer investors a different arrangement or their money back. I decided I wanted my money back, but getting it is a nightmare and the watchdog is of little help.

Return: Investors in spaces at airports make money through the charges

Park First sold car park spaces as an investment, with more than 6,500 investors promised a return on their money based on charges paid by people parking their car.

The only snag was that the scheme was illegal. In effect, this was like a unit trust. That meant the company and its bosses should have been vetted and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, but instead they were breaking the law and it took the watchdog three or four years to spot this.

The regulator's eventual response was not to shut down Park First, but to open negotiations with the offenders instead. At the end of 2017, the watchdog announced: 'Park First has agreed to stop operating and promoting the original schemes.

'They are now offering investors in the Gatwick and Glasgow car parks the choice of getting their initial investment back, or moving into a new lifetime leaseback scheme.'

The watchdog did not regard the leaseback scheme as a regulated investment, which meant it could wash its hands of the whole affair.

Mystery calls were to your voicemail Ms G.G. writes: Noticing that my mobile phone bill was higher than normal, I checked and saw that 07782 090091 appeared frequently and at odd times, so I rang it and a message said the number was unrecognised. However, Three Mobile insists that I made the calls and must pay. My first thought was that this was just another mobile phone scam. However, the answer is more technical. Your calls were actually to voicemail, which would normally show up as number 123, but a glitch meant the number on your bill was an internal one that is only used by Three to route voicemails and which cannot be called back. Officials at Three say the glitch lasted several months, which is why the number kept reappearing, but it has now been corrected and you have agreed the calls were yours.

You decided to reclaim the 50,000 you had invested in two parking spaces at Gatwick. But Park First was not keen to hand it over.

It seems the regulator had allowed the company to delay refunds, while the alternative leaseback scheme meant investors could lose parking space rental income yet have to pay ground rent. Why did the watchdog not simply shut the company down and prosecute its bosses? The regulator told me: 'Had we brought proceedings, there would have been a greater risk of loss to investors as substantial resources would have been expended on litigation.'

In other words, the watchdog did not try to close down Park First, because Park First would then have spent investors' money defending itself.

Park First offered you various options and I have the impression that you were under growing pressure to accept. After I contacted both the regulator and Park First, you were offered 10,000 now and a further 5,000 after 12 months.

You would keep the parking spaces and the company would guarantee you an annual yield of 10 per cent for three years. You have accepted this and received the initial 10,000. I can only say that I hope things work out well in the long term.

Park First itself has always argued that the watchdog is wrong and that it was never running an illegal investment scheme. I have been dealing with two of its bosses, Toby Whittaker and Ruth Almond, who were involved in negotiating the deal with the regulator. It would be nice to know exactly what that deal says, but Ms Almond told me: 'I will be very clear  the watchdog has required us to keep our agreement with them confidential. We are under a legal obligation to do so.'

But I do wonder how closely the regulator has investigated Park First, which is part of a much larger group. If the watchdog's representatives visit the group's headquarters at Padiham in Lancashire, they may come across Carl Baker.

Baker's role is vague. Ruth Almond told me: 'He has just provided ad hoc services to the group from time to time.'

She explained that he does not have a fixed job title, adding: 'Mr Baker will have used different titles, depending on the work he was doing for us at the time.'

But one title he is unlikely to have used is his real name, which is Carl Anthony Ballard. Under this name he was a major player in the land banking scandals of almost a decade ago.

The Mail on Sunday warned against his companies in 2011 and in 2014 he was banned from acting as a company director for the next 14 years after investigators found he was selling house-size plots of agricultural land as an investment, with false claims about development prospects.

The Financial Conduct Authority took years to decide that land banking came under its umbrella and that it should be regulated. By then it was too late and thousands of investors lost millions. Let's hope history is not repeating itself.

Sister firm Store First is wound up...but lives on

Court proceedings brought by the Government to wind up Store First Limited  a sister company to Park First  have ended prematurely in a messy deal which effectively allows the business to continue. Store First operates self-storage warehouses and sells units in them as an investment.

Warning: Motoring writer Quentin Willson fronted a video for the firm

I warned in 2013 that sales agents were making false claims, including in a promotional video fronted by motoring writer Quentin Willson.

Many of Store First's salesmen had previously been involved in mis-selling land, wine and carbon credits as investments. They raked in more than 200million for Store First, much of it from investors' pension savings. But complaints flooded in, with claims that promises of rental income and a guaranteed buy-back scheme were hollow.

In 2017, Business Secretary Greg Clark petitioned the High Court to wind up Store First. But last Tuesday, the court hearing in Manchester ended unexpectedly, with an out-of-court agreement. It means the company will be wound up, but its existing storage business will continue, with operations managed by a separate company, Pay Store Limited.

Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Office is investigating pension companies that poured cash into Store First, allegedly with false claims and with a huge slice of investors' cash disappearing as sales commission. Store First itself is not under investigation.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
UK water companies have long been tasked with fixing leaky pipes but more than 650million gallons of water is still lost through leaks every single day  enough to supply a quarter of households in England and Wales.

The problem is even worse in America, where trillions of gallons are lost through leaks in underground pipes, homes and commercial buildings. Leakages are not just wasteful, they are also incredibly expensive. In the US, for example, water-damage claims amount to $13billion a year (10billion).

Water Intelligence was set up to tackle this issue, using state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks with maximum efficiency and minimum fuss.

Water Intelligence uses state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks

The shares are 3.76 and should increase in value, as the business is growing fast and chairman Patrick de Souza is committed to delivering results for investors.

De Souza, 60, has an impressive pedigree. A graduate of Yale Law School, he completed a PhD at Stanford University and worked at the White House as a director on the National Security Council.

Today Water Intelligence is based across the road from Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, and de Souza uses his relationship with the Ivy League college to develop cutting-edge acoustic and infrared techniques for detecting and repairing leaks.

The collaboration has enabled Water Intelligence to earn a reputation for speed and success.

Most of the companys sales are generated in America, where it works with up to 250,000 households a year, finding and fixing leaks in and around the home. Swimming pool leaks are a strong source of income too, particularly in the southern States.

Originally, Water Intelligence derived most of its business from worried homeowners contacting the firm directly.

Recently though, de Souza has signed agreements with large insurance firms, who use his company whenever their customers make a water leak claim. Two such contracts were signed in the past two years and, last week, the company announced a third.

These deals have a meaningful impact on Water Intelligences business, generating 50,000 pieces of new leak detection work in 2018 alone. Insurers also help Water Intelligence to spread its wings to the corporate market, finding leaks in offices, factories and other large buildings.

Over time, de Souza is expected to gain more insurance-related business, as Water Intelligence establishes a name for itself among the top firms in the sector.

De Souza founded Water Intelligence when he bought the franchise operation American Leak Detection. Franchisees still generate around most of the companys sales but de Souza has been acquiring non-performing franchises from their owners and expanding into other areas of the water leakage sector.

The company works with utilities, for example, including Thames, Southern and Northumbrian in the UK.

Over the years, de Souza and his colleagues have developed clever kit that allows these water firms to pinpoint underground leaks faster and more accurately than rivals, a system that can save serious amounts of time and money.

The business is also working on techniques to fix spillage from sewerage pipes, a sanitation problem both here and in America.

Water Intelligence publishes 2018 results this week and brokers expect a 44 per cent increase in sales to $25.3million, with profits up 47 per cent to $2.5million.

Further strong growth is predicted this year and next, as the company adds new customers, boosts sales from former franchise operations and gradually expands internationally.

Midas verdict: Water shortages are a growing problem and leakages do nothing to help. Water Intelligence is at the forefront of its field and the opportunities for growth are substantial. At 3.76, the shares should gain ground. De Souza is a significant shareholder too, so he is highly motivated to deliver the goods.
Every week we give the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust in your attic.

A new Caledonian Sleeper train service made its inaugural trip between London and Scotland last week as part of a 150million carriage revamp.

Although it suffered teething problems  from a broken coffee machine to blocked toilets  it aims to capture the imagination of a bygone era of hotel on wheels travel as advertised on collectable posters.

This poster, illustrated by Robert Bartlett, sold for 12,000 last month

Last month, a 1932 London North Eastern Railway Scotland poster  The Night Scotsman, illustrated by Robert Bartlett  sold for 12,000.

Popular British holiday destination posters advertised by railway companies are always in demand.

Those illustrated with colourful art deco styles are most sought after.

A 1930s Come To Old World Cornwall poster by Great Western Railway  illustrated by SI Veale  can go for as much as 1,750.

And a 1950s Weston-super-Mare, The Smile In Smiling Somerset British Railways Western Region poster by the popular artist Harry Riley can sell for as much as 1,000.
The British whistleblower behind a legal action that could leave Standard Chartered facing a 1.5billion fine claims that he was ousted from the bank after he warned senior staff of a major loophole in its money laundering checks.

The former Standard Chartered executive filed a report in 2011, seen by The Mail on Sunday, which alleges that the way foreign exchange transactions were processed meant the bank could not tell who its clients were.

In the document, he alleges that the way the banks systems operated meant that there is no line of sight on the client.

Money laundering checks: The whistleblower claims he warned two managing directors

The whistleblower, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims he warned two managing directors in the Singapore arm of Standard Chartered, where he was working at the time, that it was possible to mis-spell the name of a client and still process a transaction.

He alleges that this meant there was no way of carrying out money laundering checks or working out whether a client was on an official blacklist of people or countries with whom the bank was forbidden from doing business.

Banking regulations typically state that firms must carry out strict identity checks to ensure that they are not offering services to criminals or fraudsters who wish to launder money.

In 2012, Standard Chartered was hit with a 415million fine for breaking US sanctions by working with clients linked to Iran. Then in April this year, the bank received a $1.1billion (835million) fine for continuing to conduct business with people linked to Iran and other nations, including Sudan and Cuba.

When the April fine was announced, chief executive Bill Winters said it marked the end of the saga and pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions. But The Mail on Sunday revealed last weekend that Standard Chartered could face a new 1.5billion fine after whistleblowers  including the Briton who raised the alarm in 2011  filed a civil case in America.

The British whistleblower alleges that after he alerted senior management, he was summoned to a meeting with an executive at Standard Chartered, where it became clear that he had to leave the bank.

[The executive] said, I heard you wanted to leave the bank. I said that was news to me and he said, I think its in the best interests of all that we part company, the whistleblower said.

He subsequently left the firm and alerted the US authorities. Under the US False Claims Act, which is designed to encourage people to expose corporate wrongdoing, whistleblowers in the US can receive up to 25 per cent of any penalties awarded against a company.

Chief executive Bill Winters pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions

The Standard Chartered whistleblowers have not received any money from the previous fines, but would benefit if they are successful with the civil lawsuit.

The Mail on Sunday understands that documents outlining the new case  which is being revived after the whistleblowers withdrew it in 2017  will be publicly available within days.

A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: We still have not been served with the lawsuit described, therefore we cannot comment on the specifics provided but they sound similar to claims made in a case that was filed against us by a private company and then dismissed in 2017.

If this case is the same or similar to the one previously dismissed, we believe it lacks merit.

The US authorities have been aware of the claims for several years and did not see fit to join the previous suit or include the claims as part of our resolution of historical sanctions compliance issues on April 9, 2019. Should we be served with the lawsuit described we will defend ourselves vigorously.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner could pocket 55m

Ocado boss Tim Steiner might feel slightly aggrieved by the shareholder revolt last week at his bonuses worth up to 100million over five years.

The Goldman Sachs banker-turned-tech-tycoon has made his investors several times their money in less than two years after striking partnerships with supermarkets abroad and signing a breakthrough deal with Marks & Spencer.

The grocery delivery firm has hurtled into the FTSE 100 and is on the verge of a 10billion valuation.

Ocado's chief executive probably won't be feeling too down about the broadside from shareholders at the annual meeting.

That's because from Wednesday he can cash in on a bonus scheme put in place in 2014 when the shares were worth a fraction of their current value. So he could pocket 55million.

Other executive directors will also be in the money. Finance chief Duncan Tatton-Brown and chief operations officer Mark Richardson are in line for 13.7million each.

Luke Jensen  in charge of its tech platform Ocado Solutions  will make 6.4million.

BT's new boss faces grilling

New boss Philip Jansen is likely to face a grilling this week over BT's Italian accounting scandal after it emerged that London-based managers may have been more closely involved than previously suggested.

That aside, Thursday's annual results are expected to show little improvement on last year. An anticipated 1.3 per cent fall in turnover to 23.4billion and adjusted profit down 2.1 per cent to 7.4billion underline the task facing Jansen to return BT to growth.

Intriguingly, Deutsche Telekom, BT's largest shareholder, reports results the same day.

No word yet about its intentions for BT, now that it is free to launch a takeover of the British telecoms firm.

Sainsbury's not in the money after all

Embattled Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe is probably best known for his vocal talents  namely singing We're In The Money after unveiling plans for the supermarket mega-merger with Asda last year.

Last week, he stumped up 230,000 to buy Sainsbury's shares as a show of faith after the Asda deal was officially blocked.

The shares have tumbled around 35 per cent since last August as the deal unravelled. Not including share options, it means the value of his stake in the company has fallen by about 1.8million in that time. So not in the money after all.

Imperial Brands to benefit from vaping

Wednesday could see relatively weak first-half results from Imperial Brands. Thats according to number-crunchers at Swiss bank UBS, who say the tobacco giant could take a 140million hit on operating profits, largely down to a 100million investment in so-called next-generation products  or vaping.

The tobacco giants are ploughing billions into these new products to counter slowing cigar and cigarette sales. That investment for Imperial could lead to a 4 per cent fall in first-half profit, UBS predicts.

A difficult first six months could put pressure on the FTSE 100 company to pick up steam in the second half.
The corporate raider targeting Barclays faces a fresh humiliation as his own shareholders prepare to grill him over a 27 per cent fall in the value of their investments.

Edward Bramson, who owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through his Sherborne Investors fund, suffered a hefty defeat last week in his bid to win a seat on the banks board.

He won support from just 3.9 per cent of Barclays shareholders, leaving him a long way short of the 50 per cent he needed, so he was unable to force Barclays to curtail its investment banking arm.

Corporate raider: Edward Bramson owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through Sherborne Investors

Now the New York financier is braced for a backlash from his own shareholders  many of whom did not back his bid for a board seat  at Sherbornes annual meeting on June 4.

The value of Bramsons fund, Sherborne Investors Guernsey C, has plunged 27 per cent since 2017, from 695.9million to 502.3million. In that time, the FTSE 100 has fallen 3.3 per cent.

The funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays.

The fall in the funds value has affected major institutions including Aviva, Schroders, Fidelity and Columbia Threadneedle  all of which own shares in Sherborne.

City commentator David Buik, of trading firm Core Spreads, said: Its all very well having a good track record, but when you slip up people are not loyal and they tend to leave these funds.

I suspect Bramsons going to plead with his shareholders to give him time.

At the meeting of Barclays investors, Bramson vowed to fight on in his bid to boost the banks ailing share price, which has fallen 20 per cent over the year, compared to a 2 per cent fall for the FTSE 100.

He said investors wanted to give the banks incoming chairman Nigel Higgins a chance to fix problems before putting an activist on the board.

If Higgins wants to take a shot at it himself, thats fine with us, Bramson said. The only thing wed say is having been given a chance to do that, were expecting to see results.

Bramson was not the only item on the agenda for Barclays shareholders. Many had expressed dismay at the high level of pay for its bankers and ongoing litigation issues.

Bramson's funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays

One shareholder said at the meeting: The reports of misbehaviour or excess are many and diverse.

And by excess, I mean wild overpayments of the staff and the board. Your annual report shows executive directors were paid about 7million. Theres another 3.5million for non-executive directors.

I put it to you that shareholders are not getting value for money, and the bank is repeatedly promising improvements in the future which are, to say the least, very slow in coming.

Responding to shareholder concerns at last weeks meeting, outgoing chairman John McFarlane said: Many of these go back a long time. PPI goes back a long time. Some of the larger litigation and conduct issues started in 2010 and its taken some time for these to come through the system.

I can assure you were not trying to deliberately create these any more. These are mistakes that do get made, and hopefully that we can draw a line under.

Sherborne declined to comment.
A company that counts Tory MP Priti Patel as a director is plotting a float on Londons stock exchange.

Accounting software firm Accloud, which targets firms in India, last week received a pledge for $30million (23million).

The finance from Australia-based fund manager Mayfair 101 in exchange for a larger stake paves the way for a listing on AIM, Londons junior stock market, which could value Accloud at tens of millions of pounds.

Deal: Software firm Accloud is paying Priti Patel 45,000 a year to work for 20 hours per month

Patel, a pro-Brexit former Minister whose parents are from India, was appointed a director of Accloud this year. She receives 45,000 a year for about 20 hours of work a month.

The MP for Witham in Essex is not listed by Companies House as a shareholder. But she could receive shares before the float, as is often the case. Patel was forced to quit as International Development Secretary in 2017 after revelations of unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers.

Mayfair 101 said Patels deep connections throughout India and other developing nations align with Acclouds go-to-market strategy.

The firm made an $18.8 million loss after tax for the year ending March 2018. However, its auditors BDO quit in December saying it could not conduct a proper audit. It said Accloud PLC, a shell company set up in 2015 to buy an operating company, Accloud Ltd, had not included financial statements for the firm it bought. BDO said in its resignation letter the issue had not been addressed.

Accloud did not respond to a request for a comment. Patel said: All declarations are with the Commons register.
It's been a landmark week for John Holland-Kaye  in more ways than one. On Thursday, the chief executive of Heathrow celebrated his tenth anniversary at the airport.

As is customary for long-serving employees, the company prepared a letter to congratulate him on his tenure. Usually, the chief executive signs them off  but not on this occasion, for obvious reasons.

There was a letter I was supposed to sign saying: Dear John. Congratulations. Signed, John. I havent signed it. I thought it was a bit weird.

Threat: John Holland-Kaye says expansion is urgent

But that came after a far more significant milestone for the boss of Britains biggest airport. On Wednesday, Heathrows ambitious expansion plans cleared another major hurdle as the High Court quashed a challenge from campaigners to halt the move. I think it will now go ahead, says Holland-Kaye. And I also think it needs to go ahead.

Under the plans, a third runway will be built at Heathrow that would boost passenger numbers from 78 million a year to 130 million.

Holland-Kaye, who took up the top job in 2014 after joining as commercial director in 2009, believes Brexit has added several degrees of importance to the expansion drive.

We cannot take for granted that the UK will be able to enjoy the same economic success we have done for the last decade, he says. Weve got to fight for our place in the world. It is incompatible to have Brexit and no expanded Heathrow.

This is now urgent, he adds, explaining that with Heathrow at full capacity, Paris and Amsterdam are sucking up new passengers as well as company headquarters ahead of the UKs departure from the European Union.

This is real competition happening, and the longer we delay expanding Heathrow, the more were handing competitive advantage to our rivals in Europe.

If the Heathrow expansion debate was about economic prosperity alone, it may have been won decades ago.

It is incompatible to have Brexit  and then not expand Heathrow

Unfortunately for Holland-Kaye, he has many other issues to contend with  not least growing concern about carbon emissions from air travel. Last week, former Labour leader and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband said Heathrow should not go ahead, while Justin Francis  the chief executive of holiday firm Responsible Travel  warned that a larger airport would be bad for the environment and called on the Government to divert expansion funds instead towards decarbonisation investment.

But Holland-Kaye insists that Heathrows growth  which will increase its capacity from 473,000 to 740,000 flights per year  can benefit the environment as well as the economy.

According to his theory, a bigger Heathrow means a better economy  and a better economy means more resources to invest in environmentally friendly technology.

The 54-year-old admits he does not currently possess all of the answers, but says he has already started decarbonising the airport, including by incentivising low-carbon planes and investing in the restoration of peatlands, which help offset emissions.

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to Heathrow expansion plans

The next step, which will require co-operation from the airlines, is to reduce carbon emissions from flights using new technologies  like electric planes  and biofuels.

I see this as being just a transitional phase until we get to net zero carbon, which is the next goal, says Holland-Kaye. Thats what we are now campaigning for. The solution will be a combination of electric flight, particularly for short-haul.

Electric planes will be able to serve distances of up to 500km, so large parts of Europe will be accessible by electric plane. And for long-haul, its probably some sort of hybrid solution  it will certainly involve some kind of biofuel or synthetic fuel. Those solutions are being tested at the moment. Its technology that exists, although it is not at scale and its not cheap enough yet to be economic.

Heathrow will play a big role, he says, by creating infrastructure for electric planes. We need to come up with a solution because I dont think its conceivable to any economy to not have flights, he says. [Without flights] wed have a much smaller economy, and we wouldnt be able to fund the kind of decarbonisation we want to have.

Despite Holland-Kayes optimism after the court victory, there remain several other obstacles ahead and naysayers believe the decades-long battle to expand Heathrow is far from won.

Were seven years from the runway but weve started training people

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to the plans  and is tipped by some as a future Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion.

Theyre going to need a healthy economy [if Labour wins power], Holland-Kaye hits back, claiming that Heathrow expansion will create up to 180,000 jobs. Some of these, he says as an example, will be for apprentices fitting insulated windows around Heathrow to block out flight noise.

Heathrow Airport Holdings office is already insulated, with barely any take-off and landing sound seeping through. And Holland-Kaye says the company is planning to spend 700million to offer the same treatment to its neighbours.

He says: Even though we are still seven years from opening the runway, weve started training people up and started installing double-glazing. So what that helps to do is not just show just what a prize there is to expanding Heathrow, but also what the price is.

Turning around to the apprentices whove started training up to do a job and saying, Actually, weve changed our mind, youre going to be out of work  that is the real price you pay for trying to turn things back.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion

Other groups less likely to be supportive of expansion include residents of boroughs in South-West London  Holland-Kaye himself lived in Fulham but moved to Oxfordshire a year before joining Heathrow  and those even closer to Heathrow, some of whom will be forced to sell their houses to the airport so it can build the runway.

In his decade at Heathrow, Holland-Kaye has helped his company overcome challenges from local politicians, a rival expansion bid from Gatwick and many other opponents.

But, even if nothing can now stop a third runway, Heathrow Airport Holdings still faces a stern challenge from a noisy neighbour.

Surinder Arora, a property investor who owns a large amount of land in the Heathrow area, is putting the finishing touches to a rival plan to expand the airport, which he claims will be far cheaper.

Aroras plan has drawn support from British Airways owner IAG, which is based in Heathrow and is unhappy about costs racked up by the airport and its foreign owners who have been paid dividends totalling 3.5billion since 2012.

Im not paying very close attention [to Aroras plans], says Holland-Kaye dismissively.

Weve got our plan, weve got a lot of work to do to make sure we deliver it successfully  so Im just focused on getting the expanded Heathrow open as quickly as possible. Because this country needs it  and we cant be distracted by anything else.
Polina Montano launched Job Today with co founder Eugene Mizin after needing to make a quick hire for one of the garages she managed in Luxembourg.

Polina Montano doesn't have any specific recruitment industry experience.

But, despite this, around six million people now make use of her employment app, Job Today.

It specialises in bringing together job seekers and employers in the retail and hospitality sector.

Polina is an unlikely candidate to have backed such a venture - she describes herself as a technophobe and says launching a technology company 'just happened'.

Before starting up Job Today with co-founder Eugene Mizin, she was managing six petrol stations in Luxembourg.

The successful entrepreneur says the Job Today app idea was borne at a time when she was in the midst of having dinner with friends and cooking.

She told This is Money: 'And just then my mobile phone rang that needed a replacement urgently for one of the petrol stations.

'And I said I wish there was mobile tech to connect employees with would-be employers.'

The app was initially launched in Barcelona, Spain, in 2015. Since then, the Luxembourg-based company has managed to gain respectable amounts in financial backing.

It raised $20million (15.39million) in November 2016 and topped it up with $16million (12.31million) extension in September 2018.

There are no plans to raise any further money for the business with Polina explaining that they're now focusing on executing on strategy, effectively doing the job and building the business.

Job Today launched in Britain three years ago and now has over six million registered users across both Spain and the UK.

Around 600,000 businesses make use of the app to advertise positions.

What makes the app different is that instead of making companies post an advert on a website, or asking prospective candidates for CVs, it connects employers with future staff, allowing them to message back and forth to discuss roles and speed up the hiring process.

This way of conducting a straightforward, instantaneous connection with a future employer has made it become a particularly attractive proposition for millennials.

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app, which can be downloaded, printed or shared easily

Polina says: 'Young people are early adopters of this technology. Around 70 per cent of our users are aged between 16 and 35.

'It's all about connecting millennials who want everything online and mobile and businesses who traditionally don't use online solutions that are either to slow, cumbersome or expensive.

'It also reduces time for those who don't have time to sit in front of the laptop.

'You can have instant communication and interaction rather than the traditional model of sending a CV. We decided to make it as fast and as easy as we can.'

Job Today is gaining in momentum. It says it is overtaking industry stalwarts like Gumtree in certain categories.

Instead of emailing your CV, you can contact prospective employers through the Job Today app and they, in turn, can view your profile

Polina says: 'We've been in the UK for three years and before we came to the market, people used Gumtree.'

She claims: 'We are now 170 per cent bigger than Gumtree's hospitality classified section.

'Another competitor is obviously Indeed and in London our hospitality section is also bigger than Indeed.'

The business uses a classified model and Polina reveals that it's only recently that the business has begun to monetise its offering.

British firms can trial the app for free for seven days but thereafter a 24.99 monthly fee applies.

Polina says: 'It's the business that pays to post the job and promote it and make listing more visible.

'For users it's a freemium model  charges only apply once you've exhausted your free options.'

Unemployment figures in Spain and the UK are about 14.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively according to reports -but Polina insists that unemployment rates have nothing to do with the company's success.

She explains: 'This proves the problem is universal. In the service industry there is a high churn of staff so just the rotation of staff itself fuels the need for hiring solutions for jobseeker and business owner.'

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app.

Polina explains: 'You can download your profile and use it on other platforms if you need to.

'Job Today takes the whole agony [out of creating a CV] out entirely and you can create a beautiful curriculum vitae.

'You simply answer questions and the app puts it all together.

'It's called a digital professional identity and it's bespoke for the world of casual workers out there.'

For entrepreneurs trying to burst onto the tech scene, she advises: 'Whatever solution you are developing you have to have a clear understanding of who you are doing it for.

'Your idea has to provide value and that's what it amounts to at the end of the day.'

She adds that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to try different things  even if they don't have experience in their chosen industry pointing out that her journey has taken her from fashion, to retail and then technology.

'If you are passionate about something and curious about it, don't let other people stop you. Or if you feel you don't have the experience or knowledge of a particular industry don't let it stop you.

'I know it sounds crazy but fear makes us stop great ideas and projects  it's a shame.'
By Giulio Piovaccari and Nick Carey

MILAN/DETROIT, May 3 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) said on Friday that new U.S. pickup truck models would help the automaker achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter.

That renewed forecast sent FCA's shares up 4 percent.

Nearly all - 98 percent - of the Italo-American automaker's first-quarter profit was powered by its Ram pickup truck. FCA's U.S. sales were down 3.1 percent in the quarter, but Ram sales were up more than 20 percent and outsold rival General Motor Co's Chevrolet Silverado.

"The whole quarter was powered by Ram (pickup trucks) while the rest of the company was lagging," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive, adding that FCA spent heavily on consumer discounts to outsell the Silverado.

"The question is whether the strong performance by Ram is going to be enough to give FCA a push moving forward," Krebs said.

Analysts and investors have worried about FCA's over-reliance on the U.S. market, given its loss-making operations in both Asia and Europe.

FCA expects new models such as the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck and all-new Ram heavy-duty trucks to help it meet full-year targets.

Chief Executive Mike Manley told analysts on a conference call most of the profit improvement would come in the second half of 2019.

The automaker posted a higher profit for the quarter in Latin America and Manley said the region's strong performance should continue. He said FCA's European region, which lost money in the quarter, would return to a profit with margins of around 3 percent by the end of 2019.

The carmaker has pledged to spend 5 billion euros ($5.58 billion) on new models and engines in Italy over the next three years to better use factories, plus boost jobs and margins in Europe.

Asked about potential partnerships, Manley said he expected the next two to three years to yield "significant opportunities" and FCA to play an "active role" in that environment.

FCA has been at the center of renewed merger speculation in recent months.

Chairman John Elkann - a scion of Italy's Agnelli family that is FCA's biggest shareholder - reiterated last month the family was prepared to take "bold and creative decisions" to help build a solid and attractive future for the carmaker.

FCA's North American margin fell to 6.5 percent from 7.4 percent a year earlier, below the first-quarter margins posted by Detroit rivals GM and Ford Motor Co.

The company's first-quarter operating profit fell 29 percent to 1.07 billion euros, below analyst expectations of 1.31 billion euros.

The operating profit at Maserati fell 87 percent, hurt by weakness in the Chinese market. CEO Manley said the performance of the luxury brand should improve in the second half of 2019.

FCA stuck to its full-year 2019 adjusted operating profit forecast of more than 6.7 billion euros.

"The numbers are pretty weak, but what's good is that they confirmed their guidance, and this is giving support to FCA shares," a Milan based analyst told Reuters.

In late trade in Milan, FCA shares were 4.2 percent at 14.11 euros.

($1 = 0.8965 euros)

(Additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for C5ISR systems and enterprise IT networks; and solutions and services to enhance the collection, analysis, and processing of data across the US civilian and military intelligence communities. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Farnborough, the United Kingdom.

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Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC is an investment company. The Company aims to maximize total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio of smaller quoted companies in the economies of Asia and Australasia, excluding Japan. The Company's assets are invested in a diversified portfolio of securities (including equity shares, preference shares, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities) in quoted smaller companies spread across a range of industries and economies in the investment region, including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand, together with such other countries in Asia (the investment region). It may also invest in collective investment schemes and in companies traded on stock markets outside the investment region. The Company's investment manager is Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited.

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China Green Agriculture, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, Yuxing, and Sales Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment comprises of compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly-concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The Sales VIEs segment comprises of subsidiary companies sales. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi'an, China.

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WASHINGTON  In its planning stages, the Erie Canal was derided as Clintons Big Ditch  a hopeless vision of a hapless governor, DeWitt Clinton, to build what was then about the boldest, most ambitious infrastructure project of its time.

But after it opened in 1825, the Erie Canal spawned a wave of commercial and business opportunity that helped put Albany and Buffalo  and the 363 miles of points in between  on the map.

In much the same way, the rebirth of the canal as a federal National Heritage Corridor has generated $1.5 billion in economic impact in a line of upstate towns  including places like Waterford, Schenectady and Cohoes  that had been in decline for decades. New apartments, kayak rentals, restaurants, trail markers, historic preservation, bike paths  all these are positive signs in the longed-for resurrection of upstate New Yorks once-thriving economy.

In addition to the economic impact, the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor supports 3,240 jobs and generates $34.9 million in tax revenue.

It's bringing a sense of pride back to these communities, said Paul Comstock, a kayaker and native of a canal town, Newark in Wayne County.

His grandfather was a Hoggee guiding horses along the towpath in the 1890s. When I paddle down the canal, people are jogging, riding bikes, walking," he said. "Its been a transforming experience, spiritually.

The Erie Canal heritage corridor is one of 55 such sites nationwide overseen by the National Park Service. It encompasses not one but four canals, connecting Albany by water to such far-flung locations as Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Oswego and Whitehall (in addition to Buffalo).

Generations grew up on the folk song 15 Miles on the Erie Canal, which recalls life on the waterway: We know every inch of the way, from Albany to Buffalo, and You'll always know your neighbor, and you'll always know your pal, if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Now the canal is less about hard work and more about having fun. The Erie corridor is sponsoring a Canalway Challenge that lets walkers, runners, cyclists and paddlers set mileage goals, including the 360-mile End-to-Ender.

Last year, more than 6,000 children from 85 schools went on class trips to learn about the canal and its history.

Federal money for the corridor stems from Congressional legislation that envisioned the U.S. planting seed money that would allow the corridors to grow and attract further investment from state, local and private sources. The Erie Canal is under a federal cap of $12 million  with $757,414 spent in fiscal 2018 and the balance of its $1.3 billion budget for the year made up by state and local funding, plus grants, contributions and sponsorships.

Federal support for the Erie Canal was set at $10 million, but raised to $12 million in 2017.

The Senate recently raised the caps for every site except the Erie Canal, in what Rep. Paul Tonko and 19 other House members called an oversight.

In a March 12 letter, the New York delegation  including Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck  asked that the cap be lifted to $14 million.

Tonko, who spoke out at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, said continuing a federal presence on the corridor is more than a matter of funding.

The federal designation is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, said Tonko.

The National Park Service signs along the trail lets visitors know the U.S. government stands behind the nations important history, he said.

Heritage areas around the country have proven that, with limited federal investments, we can do great things, said Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund inc., who testified at the hearing. It attracts visitors, gives to the community, and makes residents proud to be in (the) corridor.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Radliff added that it also gives him and other canal advocates the ability to leverage money from state, local and private sources.

Republicans at the hearing said the caps were put in there for a reason, and that the original legislation did not anticipate federal funding in perpetuity.

Tonko responded that federal funding for these corridors is an example of worthy stimulus for economic growth and revitalization.

If the president says 'Im for job creation,' well  this is job creation, Tonko said. This is a shot in the arm.

Tonko is sponsoring two bills: One would lift the cap for the Erie Canal to $14 million. The other would end caps altogether and essentially make federal participation a permanent feature of all the sites.

Those who live and work along the waterway say that without the rehabilitation, the historically shaky upstate economy would be in much worse shape than it is.

It would be a sad, sad circumstance, said Erin Tobin of the Preservation League of New York State. What theyve done is thread together historic and economic development, tourism, and boosting the main streets of the canal communities.

State Assemblyman John McDonald, who calls himself the river guy because his district winds through Cohoes  where he was mayor  as well as Albany, Troy and Watervliet, argued that funding historic heritage sites transcends political ideology.

You cant be far left or far right in running a business or government, said McDonald, a Democrat. You need use government assistance where it is appropriate. If government can prime the pump, it can inspire developer to take a chance.

Donna Larkin, who left a career as a paralegal to start Upstate Kayak Rentals, said the canal attracts visitors from Europe, Chicago, Florida  all over the place.

Without the resources and funding, people wouldnt be having this experience, she said.
ALBANY  A Rensselaer County man was arrested Friday on a charge of possessing unregistered firearms.

Thomas E. Ozga, 30, of East Nassau, is accused of possessing multiple, unregistered firearm silencers, according to a news release from United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Buffalo Field Office.

Ozga appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered Ozga released with conditions, the U.S. attorney's office stated.

If convicted, Ozga faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Jaquith's office.

This case is being investigated by HSI Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Albany, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily C. Powers.
Miami

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Trump cabinet member Friday in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described "prison-like" conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida.

"With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Van Dusen.

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space. It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Kelly first revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.
FINANCIAL

ALLIANT INSURANCE SERVICES INC.

Justin Riccio joined as senior vice president. Riccio, who previously served as senior vice president at a multinational insurance and consulting firm, has nearly 20 years of experience in claims, underwriting, brokerage, risk management and consulting.

HEALTH CARE

MVP HEALTH CARE

Bruce Himelstein was appointed chief medical officer. Himelstein has more than 25 years of leadership experience in clinical medicine, education, research and strategic program design, most recently serving as the senior executive medical director for government solutions at the Health Care Service Corp., a privately-held nonprofit Blue Cross plan in Chicago.

HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK

Ephraim Back joined the medical staff at Ticonderoga Health Center. Back is an experienced family physician and family physician educator whose clinical interests include full-spectrum primary care, maternity care and women's health, public health and opioid use disorder treatment.

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Kevin Kerwin joined as vice president for public policy. Kerwin previously served as the New York State Bar Association's associate director of government relations and as its deputy general counsel.

NONPROFITS

THE FRIENDS OF RECOVERY  NEW YORK

Angelia Smith-Wilson joined as executive director, effective May 20. Smith-Wilson, who serves as assistant director of local program operations at the New York State Office for the Aging, has more than 20 years of human service and addiction experience.

PROFESSIONS

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

CIOFFI, SLEZAK WILDGRUBE PC (CSW)

Cristine Cioffi has become of counsel. Cioffi, a founder of the law firm who has practiced for 40 years, will continue to maintain an active practice of trust and estate law and elder law, serving multiple generations of clients.

SERVICES

MVP RESULTS

Lissa D'Aquanni founded the community development consulting company. D'Aquanni previously served as director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region.

BOATS BY GEORGE

Tyler Moseman joined as marketing manager. Moseman is responsible for all company marketing initiatives.

 Jennifer Patterson
SARAH SILBIGER

Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that is just the start of it.

Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released Thursday.
Albany

The third and final person to be sentenced for contributing to the March 2018 overdose death of 24-year-old Keisha Richards was sentenced Friday, according to Albany District Attorney P. David Soares' office.

Jodi Noisseau was sentenced to one to four years for her part in the case before Judge Roger D. McDonough in Albany County Supreme Court. She had pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to manslaughter in the second degree.

On April 26, Tamale Harris, 44, who was convicted of manslaughter and concealing a corpse, was sentenced to nine and a half to 19 years in state prison for his role in Richards' death. A third defendant, Christopher Kondracki, 53, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor drug possession charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

On March 14, 2018, the lifeless body of Keisha Richards, 24, was found on a Kent Street sidewalk. Police determined she had overdosed and that she hadn't been alone.

Instead, those she was with neglected to call emergency services, leaving her without medical attention, before bleaching and dumping her body in a snowbank, officials said.

The trial involved one of the most high-profile deaths to occur since the Capital Region began to confront an ongoing opioid epidemic where deaths often go unnoticed to anyone beyond the families and friends of the victims. according to Soares' office, which noted that such deaths rarely lead to criminal charges.

During Harris' March trial, prosecutors said the Albany man had brought Richards, a Vermont resident, and Noisseau to the Capital Inn and Suites in Rensselaer for a party on March 13, 2018.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

According to prosecutors, the group drank, did drugs and had sex. Prosecutors said they believe believe Richards took heroin and laid down in the room while Harris and Noisseau continued their night.

Surveillance video from the next morning showed Harris carrying Richards' limp body to a car. The group drove to Noisseau's apartment and Harris left.

Prosecutors said that rather than drop Richards off at a hospital or call 911, the group left her alone for hours. Later, Noisseau noticed that Richards' pulse was slowing and that she was barely breathing so Noisseau called Harris, telling him they should call an ambulance, but he said no, prosecutors said.

Noisseau, who testified at the trial, said Harris directed her to clean Richards' body with bleach in an attempt to hide any evidence. Harris then borrowed a truck and dumped Richards' body.

"With the resolution of this case, it is our hope that community members understand the tragic consequences that can occur if we do not call for help," Soares said in a statement. "If you witness a friend, a loved one, or anyone in the community overdosing, do not hesitate to call 911. The New York State 911 Good Samaritan Law protects you. Make the call and save a life."
[May 03, 2019] FUSION CONNECT SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Fusion Connect, Inc. - FSNN

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 17, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fusion Connect, Inc. (Other OTC: FSNN), if they purchased the Company's shares between August 14, 2018 and April 2, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Fusion and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/otc-fsnn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 17, 2019.



About the Lawsuit Fusion and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On April 2, 2019, the Company disclosed that it had identified accounting errors that caused a material understatement of expenses, and as a result, its Q2 and Q3 2018 financial statements could no longer be relied upon and would have to be restated, and that it would not be able to file its 2018 annual report timely. On this news, the price of Fusion's shares plummeted. The case is Satarzadeh v. Fusion Connect (News - Alert), Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-3391. 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/20190503005540/en/

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[May 03, 2019] AT&T SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against AT&T, Inc. - T

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 (News - Alert), Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Company's 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 (News - Alert). 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. awyers 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&T's 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 (News - Alert) and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential. On this news, the price of AT&T's 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. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005545/en/

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[May 03, 2019] CONDUENT 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Approximately 96 Hours Remain; Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with large financial interests that they have only until May 7, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. (NYSE: CNDT). Investor losses must relate to purchases of the Company's shares between February 21, 2018 and November 6, 2018. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Conduent and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cndt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 7, 2019.



About the Lawsuit On November 7, 2018, the Company disclosed negative Q3 and Q4 projected operating results due to "continued suboptimal performance from an inherited legacy technology vendorstem[ming] from the vendor's inability to deliver on service level agreements, lack of responsiveness to Conduent's needs, and poorly structured contract which we inherited" Further, an "outdated and historically under-invested legacy IT infrastructure has caused major disruptions to our operations and impacted clients and delivery performance."

On this news, the price of Conduent's shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include 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/20190503005546/en/

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Six consecutive quarters. Thats how long the smartphone market has been in decline so far. And market leaders like Apple and Samsung are really feeling the pain. But not Huawei.

(Image credit: Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group at the P30 Pro launch event. Credit: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

On a tear in China but also coming on strong in Europe, Huawei saw 50 percent growth in smartphone sales in Q1 year over year, while Apple plummeted 30 percent, according to IDC. Samsung didnt struggle as much, but shipments were still down 8 percent, and that was before the Galaxy Fold debacle.

The scary part? Huawei phones arent even sold officially in the U.S. This is largely due to security concerns and reported links between Huawei and the Chinese government. Huawei has denied those claims and is suing the U.S. government. And yet Huawei is thriving anyway.

Huawei doesnt necessarily need to have a position in the U.S., said Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research. Working with the U.S. carriers can be expensive due to the need for extensive testing and then marketing support.

Huawei on a roll

Despite the political controversy, Huawei has been one of the most innovative smartphone makers over the past few years. For example, in 2016, the Huawei P9 was the first phone co-engineered with Leica with a dual-lens shooter. The Huawei Mate 10 in 2017 was the first phone with an embedded AI chip. And last years Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the worlds first phone to offer reverse wireless charging (way before the Galaxy S10).



(Image credit: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the first phone to offer wireless reverse charging. Credit: Tom's Guide)

For its most recent Huawei P30 Pro, the company literally reinvented the smartphone camera, delivering not only a 5x periscope zoom but a super spectrum sensor that delivers incredible low light performance with a crazy-high ISO of 409,600. As a result, the P30 Pro edged out Googles mighty Pixel 3 in a photo face-off, which has been our best camera phone.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried, said Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst for Techsponential. The perception that a flagship phone has market-leading advances is crucial to the value proposition.

Of course, it helps that Huawei is strongest in the Chinese market, which is not nearly as saturated as the U.S. or Europe, where more and more consumers are holding onto their phones longer. In Q1 2019, the company shipped 30 million of its 59.1 million smartphones in its home country, or about 50 percent, according to IHS Markit. The research firm said in its report that Huawei is competing on even footing with Samsung and Apple in the high-end, while expanding into other price segments.

Huawei vs. Samsung vs. Apple

If Huawei keeps this pace up, it wont be long before it surpasses Samsung, which has been the No. 1 smartphone maker for years. IHS Markit says that Huaweis market share worldwide was 18 percent in Q2, compared to 22 percent for Samsung. So if Huaweis growth rate continues, it could knock Samsung from its pedestal as soon as this year.



(Image credit: The Huawei P30 Pro's camera offers a 5x periscope zoom and 50x digital zoom. Credit: Tom's Guide)

In April, Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis consumer business group, said the company expects to be the worlds largest smartphone brand by 2020. And right now, its phones look quite favorable compared to Samsungs. For instance, the Huawei P30 Pro has a superior camera to the Galaxy S10, and the foldable Huawei Mate X has garnered more positive early reaction from critics than the troubled Galaxy Fold.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried. - Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst, Techsponential

Huawei also has its Honor brand, which offers more aggressively priced devices targeted toward younger audiences. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro will be introduced at a press event in London May 21. In addition to sporting a Galaxy S10-like, hole-punch display up front, the Honor 20 is rumored to offer Alexa integration and periscope camera thats very similar to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Add it all up and Samsung could be in trouble.

Huawei has invested a lot of money into its brand to help them grow presence on a global basis, said Tuong H. Nguyen, senior principal analyst at Gartner. Its also improved its quality on smartphones to be able to compete with tier 1 vendors like Samsung.

Where Apple and Samsung still win

While Huawei may have overtaken Apple as the worlds second biggest smartphone maker, it still trails Apple when it comes to ecosystems. Yes, Huawei phones offer Huaweis own EMUI interface, and the company offers a Mobile Cloud storage service. Huawei also has a music service in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as a video service in China, Italy and Spain. But it doesnt provide the breadth of services that Apple does  and thats unlikely to change given Apples push to beef up the services side of its business.



(Image credit: The foldable Mate X demonstrates Huawei's innovative design, but the company is behind on services. Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Samsung is ahead of Huawei in services, too, but also when it comes to offering a wide range of devices that work together, such as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds, smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch Active and also the way Samsungs phones can work with its TVs and other appliances.

If you think about Samsung, theyre traditionally very good at tech and hardware, but theyre also looking to deliver a holistic experience in terms of providing features and functionality to drive these experiences as well, said Nguyen. Think about Samsung Pay, Bixby, and the spectrum of consumer electronics devices offered by the company.

Of course, Samsung is not standing still on the phone front. The Galaxy Note 10 will launch this summer, and the company will be bringing its lower cost Galaxy A Series hitting the U.S. this year. Plus, Samsung is launching one of the first 5G phones on multiple carriers in the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung is building 5G launch phones at multiple carriers in multiple geographies - an astonishing feat of engineering and logistical innovation, said Greengart.

Nevertheless, it looks as though Samsungs reign as the king of smartphones could be coming to an end.
Warning: This story contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame isn't just the grand finale to the past 11 years of Marvel Studios films  it's also a celebration of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The time-travel heist that comprises most of the film quite literally goes back to previous MCU movies, allowing you to see iconic moments from new perspectives as Cap and crew try to acquire the Infinity Stones.

Plus, there are tons of callbacks and cameos that even the most die-hard MCU fans may have missed. If you're suffering from Endgame withdrawal or just want to dive deeper into the film's biggest references, here are the key Marvel movies you need to rewatch. Trying to figure out the best sequences to watch them? Check out our guide for how to watch the Marvel movies in order, which covers both release dates and storyline chronology.

Iron Man

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

After the heartbreaking ending to Endgame, the only way to pay your respects to Tony Stark is by rewatching the original Iron Man. The 2008 origin story got the Marvel movie franchise on the right footing and remains one of the best superhero movies to date. Iron Man shows how Tony Stark evolved from a cocky business magnate to a complex leader of superheroes and even introduces us to Pepper, who plays a larger role in Endgame than in previous Avengers movies. Not to mention, Stark's final words in Endgame are a callback to a key scene in the first film, and the first memorable moment in the franchise.

Iron Man kicked off the Marvel franchise with an exhilarating plot, wherein Stark is captured by prisoners in the Middle East. That's right, the first enemies in this franchise weren't supervillains, but terrorists. Stark, a genius engineer, crafts an arc reactor that would later become the heart of his superhero suit and the savior of many beloved characters over the last decade. If you can stomach it, Iron Man serves as a beautiful ode to our fallen hero. - Phillip Tracy

Captain America: The First Avenger

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

Captain America's arc comes to a pretty definitive ending in Avengers: Endgame. The team leader finally gets his hard-won happy ending, thanks to a judicious application of time travel. Yes, Cap decides to settle down in the past along with his S.H.I.E.L.D.-pioneering sweetheart, Peggy Carter, which means that it's worth revisiting Captain America: The First Avenger to see how their relationship began. (You can also rewatch the Agent Carter TV series, but it's a lot of investment for not much return.)

MORE: Upcoming Marvel Movies: Watch the new Spider-Man Trailer



Refreshing your memory of Cap and Peggy's relationship is the primary reason to rewatch The First Avenger, but not the only one. The Red Skull makes a cameo in Endgame as the guardian of the Soul Stone, and while it's not quite as memorable (or as shocking) as his appearance in Infinity War, it's still worth knowing where the villain-turned-guardian is coming from. There's also a small appearance from Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), who shows up again in Endgame, albeit in John Slattery form. - Marshall Honorof

The Avengers

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

There are so many reasons to rewatch The Avengers. For one thing, it's a really good film, chock-full of action and story. Joss Whedon, for all his faults, understands team dynamics and witty banter in a way that no other Marvel director has even approached. But if you've finished watching Endgame, The Avengers is especially worth rewatching, since a big chunk of the plot hearkens back to the MCU's very first team-up film.

If you've seen Endgame, you know the drill: The Avengers split into three different teams and revisit important events from the past. The most pivotal of these locations is 2012 NYC, mere minutes after the Chitauri attack. If you need a refresher on Loki's scepter, the Tesseract and a much, much angrier take on the Hulk, the first Avengers film is worth two and a half hours of your time. (Remember, too, that the post-credits scene is where we got our first-ever peek at the MCU's take on Thanos.) - Marshall Honorof



Iron Man 3

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

While Endgame is too big to focus on any one character's arc in particular, Iron Man is probably the closest thing the movie has to a single protagonist. In particular, Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) takes center stage. From Pepper's daughter, Morgan, to her surprise excursion in the Rescue armor, this is easily the most important role in a Marvel film since Iron Man 3.

But if you don't remember, Iron Man 3 is when Pepper started coming into her own as a character. In addition to fleshing out her romantic relationship with Tony, Iron Man 3 also saw Pepper taking superpowers for a test run  and she didn't do too badly, considering that she ultimately used them to defeat the film's main villain.

MORE: Avengers Endgame Spoiler-Free Review Roundup



Oh, and Iron Man 3 also introduces Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins): a tween who helps Iron Man rebuild his armor  and his life. He's the mystery teenager who shows up at the funeral in Endgame. You're welcome. - Marshall Honorof

Thor: The Dark World

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

I'm not sure why Marvel wanted to highlight Thor: The Dark World  generally considered one of the weakest entries in the MCU  but it plays a pretty key role in Endgame, so you may as well strap in for a rewatch. In Thor's second outing, the Dark Elves lay siege to Asgard, which ultimately results in the death of Thor's mother. This winds up being an important plot point in Endgame, as does the reality gem embedding itself inside of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

If you're already dreading another run through Thor: The Dark World, it's not all bad. This is the last film with eminently enjoyable sidekicks Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), both of whom are as funny here as ever. You may also have forgotten, but Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd) has a welcome cameo role, and the Ninth Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston, plays the villainous Malekith. - Marshall Honorof

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

One of Endgame's most hilarious gags is its tribute to the iconic elevator scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While revisiting the events of The Avengers, Cap once again finds himself in an elevator surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D." (aka Hydra) agents. But armed with his knowledge of the future, Steve Rogers simply whispers a quick "Hail Hydra" to secure Loki's staff and avoid another elevator brawl. Endgame also serves up a major character moment for Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, so it's worth rewatching The Winter Soldier to see why he's worthy of taking up Cap's shield. - Mike Andronico

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Guardians of the Galaxy still holds up as one of the funniest and most heart-filled MCU movies, and it's one of three films directly revisited in Endgame. In this film, Star-Lord, Gamora and crew defeat Ronan the Accuser and secure the Power Stone in Xandar, which is exactly why Endgame's Avengers need to travel back to 2014 to grab it. It's also the first film in which we see Josh Brolin's Thanos up close.

MORE: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Avengers: Endgame



Endgame delivers some great twists on classic Guardians of the Galaxy scenes, such as War Machine knocking out Peter Quill during his iconic opening dance bit. And given the circumstances of Infinity War and Endgame, we have a feeling 2014 Gamora is the one that'll be sticking around for future Marvel films. So you might want to refresh yourself on what the deadly daughter of Thanos was like before she developed a soft spot for Quill, classic rock and Kevin Bacon. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Endgame is packed with references to the second Avengers movie. As soon as he returns to Earth at the beginning of the film, a distraught Tony Stark insists to Steve Rogers that Thanos' wrath could have been avoided if Stark had gotten to build his "suit of armor around the world"  a direct reference to a conversation the two had in Age of Ultron. Also in Age of Ultron, Stark says, "We can bust arms dealers all the live-long day, but  that up there? That's the endgame, referring to his desire to protect Earth from interstellar threats while also unintentionally teasing the name of the fourth Avengers film.

But perhaps more important is that Cap's big moment during Endgame's finale  when he calls upon and wields Mjolnir  can be traced all the way back to this movie. When all of the Avengers try unsuccessfully to lift Thor's hammer during Ultron's party scene, Cap manages to nudge the weapon just a bit (much to Thor's unease). Was Cap intentionally not lifting the hammer on purpose to not make his buddy look bad, or was the nudge a tease of his growing worthiness? Either way, Cap does indeed eventually lift Mjolnir, and the results are glorious. - Mike Andronico

Ant-Man and the Wasp

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Scott Lang is the unwitting hero of Endgame, devising the time-travel plan that saved the universe, thanks to his time spent wandering the quantum realm. This microuniverse is first introduced in the Ant-Man films, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is the movie that really dives deep into how it all works within the MCU. Plus, the post credits to Ant-Man and the Wasp explain why Scott emerges from a strange quantum-tunnel van at the beginning of Endgame. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Endgame

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Yes, that's right, now that I finally saw Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel movie I want to see the most is  Avengers: Endgame. This is, primarily, to notice and enjoy all of the things and tidbits that I missed when I was too busy tearing up or ugly-crying through it the first time, as well as all of the lines in that epic final battle that I couldn't hear over the applause in the theater. Lastly, I need to see Endgame to prepare for all of the emotions that Tom Holland will be putting us through in the coming years (including in Spider-Man: Far From Home), as he comes to grips with the death of his mentor, Tony Stark. Oh, and Disney's announced that Endgame will be a streaming exclusive on Disney Plus.  Henry T. Casey
Never heard of RHA? Then it's time to get acquainted. This independent, Glasgow, Scotland-based company has released a string of highly regarded IEMs (in-ear monitors) in the past few years. Now, with the truly wireless TrueConnect ($169), RHA enters a space dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. Fortunately, in the TrueConnect, you get a compelling pair of earbuds that offer great audio quality and long battery life, all in a premium housing that you won't mind wearing in public.

While the TrueConnect buds lack certain features and struggle with treble-focused music, they still give the best wireless earbuds  the Jabra Elite 65t ($169) and Apple AirPods ($159)  a run for their money.

Design

The TrueConnect buds are some of the most stylish truly wireless earbuds on the market, even with the stems that hang below their lollipop-shaped housings. You've seen this design before, but it looks far less offensive on the TrueConnect than on the AirPods.

The TrueConnect's stealthy matte-black finish gives the earbuds a sleek, understated appearance, and their warm, soft-touch rubberized material feels comfortable in the ear.

Unfortunately, the matte coating on these buds collects fingerprints, and their dark-gray right and left indicators and RHA logo are practically invisible. I had to hold the TrueConnect up to the light to see these hidden markings on the earbud's stem and large, circular side buttons. A red dot on the right earbud is the only helpful marker to differentiate the two buds.

The TrueConnect's charging case is sleek, sophisticated and functional. The U-shaped case doesn't have a lid; it instead opens by rotating around a center hinge. A gray aluminum frame borders the top and sides of the soft-touch black case. The same plush finish on the outside coats the interior of the case, where the earbuds dock. On the exterior are a USB-C port and three small LED battery-life indicators.

At 2.9 x 1.7 x 1 inches, the TrueConnect's charging case is longer than the cases for the Elite 65t (2.8 x 2 x 1 inches) and the AirPods (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.8 inches).

Comfort

I didn't need to readjust the TrueConnect earbuds once I got a snug fit, at least, while I was stationary. I wore them at work from fully charged until they powered down, about 5 hours, and never felt any discomfort.

I couldn't maintain the same fit when I used the TrueConnect at the gym; the medium-sized rubber tips slid out once I worked up a sweat on the elliptical. One of the earbuds even popped out at one point, but I luckily plucked it from midair before it tumbled to the ground. Constantly readjusting the earbuds during my run was so frustrating that I removed them entirely and endured the pop music blasting in my gym. On the bright side, the TrueConnect earbuds are IPX5 sweat- and splash-resistant, so they can withstand a lengthy gym session at least.

I had fewer problems jamming and working out with the Jabra Elite 65t. Not only did these earbuds stay in my ears, but they were also so secure that I needed to readjust them only twice during a 30-minute cardio session.

MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music

In case the TrueConnect earbuds don't fit out of the box, RHA includes nine additional eartips at various shapes and sizes, including three pairs of Comply foam tips. If those don't work, then try inserting the TrueConnect earbuds at an angle and twist them so the stems go from a rear position to facing downward. I also suggest using the foam tips, but just remember to roll them between your fingers before you insert them into your ear canal.

At 0.5 ounces, the TrueConnect felt weightless in my ears, although competing earbuds, like the Apple AirPods (0.1 ounces) and Elite 65t (0.2 ounces), are even lighter. RHA ships the TrueConnect with an industry-leading three-year warranty.

Setup and Controls

Pairing the RHA TrueConnect to my OnePlus 6 smartphone was straightforward. To turn the earbuds on and initiate pairing, just press and hold the large circular button on either earbud for 5 seconds. A gong sound will indicate when they're discoverable. Then, open up your device's Bluetooth settings, select the RHA TrueConnect and follow on-screen prompts.

Once connected, I pressed both left and right buttons down for 1.5 seconds to wake up Google Assistant. After a brief pause, I was able to use voice commands to shuffle through one of my favorite albums: Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism." I then tapped the right earbud button once to pause "Tiny Vessels" when I saw my co-worker turn to speak to me. After our conversation, I pressed the right earbud again to continue with the music.

Once the album closed out, with the tender track "Lack of Color," I switched over to Thrice's "Beggars" album. I wasn't in the mood for the first few heavier songs, so I pressed on the left earbud twice to skip to the next track. When I needed to go back to the previous song, I pressed on the left earbud three times. The right earbud controls volume in the same manner, with two presses increasing volume and three lowering it.

The controls work well overall, but there's room for improvement. Since there aren't any voice guides, I had to remember each of these button controls, which took a couple of days and lots of frustrating trial and error. And while I appreciate tactile feedback, tapping and pressing the round buttons into my ears caused discomfort. For this reason, I prefer touch-capacitive controls, like those on the Samsung Gear IconX.

MORE: Buying Headphones in: Pros and Cons of Every Type

There's no accompanying app for the TrueConnect, which is something we've come to expect from premium, truly wireless earbuds. While not mandatory, it's nice to have a hub for monitoring battery life, customizing controls and fine-tuning audio via a digital equalizer.

Audio Performance

The TrueConnect buds have a fairly neutral sound signature, though an emphasis in the lower frequencies gives these earbuds a fun, dynamic sound. Conversely, the treble ranges could use some smoothing out, as cymbal-heavy songs sound raspy. Also, the TrueConnect earbuds don't support LDAC or aptX codecs, the latest audio-compression technology found on some of the very best Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

It's crucial that you get a tight seal in your ear; otherwise, music will sound hollow and thin. Once you get that tight fit, the TrueConnect will block most ambient sounds. In fact, I could barely hear the screeching of a New York subway car during my morning commute to work.

When I listened to Frightened Rabbit's "State Hospital," the TrueConnect started out strong, punching my ears with a thick, rich bass. The late Scott Hutchison's gentle vocals pierced through the drums with plenty of detail and clarity. But things took a downward turn once the hi-hats surfaced and I heard a graininess with each cymbal clash.

High frequencies weren't as harsh on the AirPods, but Apple's wireless earbuds didn't sound as forward and engaging as the TrueConnect. Bass hits were weaker and felt more artificial on Apple's earbuds. The Elite 65t has the best sound of the three. The Elite 65t generally pump out rich, crisp sound, like that on the TrueConnect, but without the metallic treble.

I recorded similar results when I listened to Hozier's song "Movement." On the TrueConnect, the thumping bass line at the top of the song sounded like a heart was beating in my head. Hozier's smooth vocals were so rich that I when I closed my eyes, it felt like I was at a concern. But again, high notes sounded sharp, so you might want to avoid these buds if you're sensitive to sibilance. I, unfortunately, fall into that group and was forced to turn down the volume when Hozier belted, "It's not the song, it is the singin'" on "Nina Cried Power," the opening track of the new "Wasteland, Baby!" album.

MORE: Best Music Apps for Rocking Out

While the TrueConnect brought me to a Hozier concert, the Elite 65t gave me VIP seats. Vocals sounded punchy and alive on the Jabras, while the pulsing drum rhythm gave new energy to the track. The AirPods didn't offer that same intimate, upfront listening experience, but they still sounded airy and clean.

All three headphones did a good job with Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower," but the TrueConnect and Elite 65t were the most fun to listen to, thanks to their slight bass bump.

Overall, the TrueConnect earbuds sound very good for most music, but songs with lots of cymbals or high-pitched vocals can be hard to listen to.

Battery Life and Bluetooth

RHA rates the TrueConnect's battery life at 5 hours, which is about what I got in everyday use.

I played a Frightened Rabbit radio station on Google Play Music at 11:15 a.m. When I checked back in at 1:15 pm, the earbuds were at 50%, according to the Bluetooth settings on my Android phone. The earbuds finally powered down at around 4:32 p.m., which adds up to a runtime of 5 hours and 17 minutes. It didn't take long to power these buds back up. The USB-C charging case uses fast charging to provide a 50% charge in just 15 minutes.

Speaking of which, the charging case carries an extra 20 hours of battery life, bringing the TrueConnect's total runtime up to 25 hours. Leading competitors offer around the same endurance. For example, the AirPods also last for 5 hours on a charge and gain another 24 hours from their floss-box-shaped charging case. The Elite 65t matches its rivals, with 5 hours of runtime, but its case can recharge the buds only twice, for a total of 15 hours of endurance.

The TrueConnect support Bluetooth 5.0, the latest connectivity standard, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy to improve battery life. While the wireless range is rated at a standard 33 feet, the TrueConnect held a stable connection when my smartphone was on the other side of my apartment, around 50 feet away. The TrueConnect stuttered slightly when there were multiple walls impeding the signal between the buds and my phone.

Microphone/Call Quality

The stems on the bottom of these earbuds may look goofy, but they do a great job improving call quality. When I called my fiancee, she told me my voice sounded just as good, if not better through the TrueConnect compared to my smartphone's microphone. She could make out everything I said, even as she waited for her flight in a crowded LaGuardia Airport.

MORE: I Spent More Than $200 on Headphones: You Should Too

The earbuds also effectively isolated my voice. My fiancee said she couldn't hear any wind noise even though I sat inches away from a space heater in fan mode. There was a brief breeze as I positioned myself in front of the fan, but that sound was quickly swallowed as I settled in. Without an app, I had no way of monitoring my voice. Fortunately, my fiancee said I came in loud and clear.

Bottom Line

The RHA TrueConnect earbuds make up for their underwhelming feature set with a premium design and reliable Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Battery life is also very good, at 5 hours plus an additional 20 hours provided by the earbud's sleek case. I was also impressed by the TrueConnect's audio quality, although a biting treble keeps them from rising above competitors.

If you want the best-sounding truly wireless earbuds on the market, then check out the Jabra Elite 65t. These earbuds get you comparable clarity and bass without the sharp high notes of the TrueConnect. Not only do the Elite 65t offer strong battery life, but they also come with a useful smartphone companion app.

Then there are the Apple AirPods, the most popular truly wireless earbuds on the market. While they don't sound quite as good as the TrueConnect, Apple's lightweight earbuds are extremely comfortable and offer a reliable connection.

Overall, if you're looking for premium, truly wireless earbuds with good sound quality and long battery life in a stylish package, then the TrueConnect buds are an excellent option.



Credit: Tom's Guide


KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) - The family of a veteran who died after an altercation with Veterans Affairs police at the Kansas City VA Medical Center has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The three children of Dale Farhner sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
KCMO Foodie Jobs Coming Sooon???

Kansas City named finalist for pair of new USDA facilities KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After months of lobbying by legislative leaders, Kansas City made the short list Friday to become the home for two United States Department of Agriculture agencies. The two agencies are the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service. USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue made the announcement Friday.

Downtown Swagger Jacking Crossroads

P&L District launches new First Friday street fest KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Power and Light District is now joining the Kansas City, Missouri, neighborhoods hosting events on the first Friday of the month. P & L will host a street fest called "Urbana" from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. near 14th and Walnut streets.

Nice Nod Across State Line

KCK school ranked one of the best in the country KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- U.S. News & World Report has listed Sumner Academy of Arts and Science as one of the best high schools in the nation and the best in Kansas. The organization released the list on Friday. It ranks Sumner as the 55th best high school in the country and 17th among magnet high schools.

Naughty Time Fear In Kansas

Kansas health dept. warns of prankster using number for fake STD notifications A health department in southwest Kansas says a prankster spoofed its number to falsely notify people that they may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease.The Finney County Health Department said in a Facebook post that the calls are "NOT FROM US!"

Kansas City Weather Flashback

KMBC Remembers: F-4 tornado took 2 lives, did millions worth of damage 16 years ago Saturday marks the 16th anniversary of one of the most violent tornado outbreaks in Kansas City history.It was May 4, 2003.KMBC 9 First Alert chief meteorologist Bryan Busby, First Alert meteorologist Pete Grigsby and NewChopper 9 pilot Johnny Rowlands look back at the day 77 tornadoes touched down in nine states, with four of those tornadoes leaving massive destruction in the metro.Rowlands and NewsChopper 9 started tracking the storm as it formed by the Legends in Kansas City, Kansas.

Nearby City College Winning

Soon, Students At Donnelly College In Kansas City, Kansas, Will Have Up To Date Classrooms A $30 million investment at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, will mean more classroom space and state-of-the-art technology for students. "What we're doing now is creating the first-rate education that our students are getting because we've always been in hand me downs," Donnelly College President Monsignor Stuart Swetland said.

Weekend Science Reveals Forecast

Leftover rain showers tonight; weekend looks mostly dry We'll see leftover rain showers Friday night. The low will drop down to 45 degrees. After a foggy start, sunshine will rule the day. Look for a high near 70. Te...

McTavish List Offers Weekend Good Times

8 Cool Things To Help You Enjoy The May Weather In Kansas City It's time to lose that jacket and explore some of the cool outdoor activities that May has to offer. The alfresco action ranges from art browsing to Maypole fun to a "Star Wars" lightsaber battle royal - and that's only this weekend. If May were any cooler, you might have to find that jacket!

In more glamorous news, here's just a bit of pop culture info as we work our way to the weekend, take a peek:Closer to home, here are the news items that have our attention:And this is thefor right now . . .
Overview On New Jackson County Policy

Jackson County sheriff adopts 'restrictive' pursuit policy KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte announced changes to the department's pursuit policy Thursday, one day after a for injuring an innocent bystander . Forte posted on Facebook that he began reviewing the policy shortly after taking office, which also happened in May 2018.

Kansas City Code Of Silence Upheld

Victims of double shooting in Kansas City tell police they didn't know who shot them Victims of a double shooting late Wednesday told police that they didn't know the people who shot them. The victims were injured in the shooting about 11 p.m. in the 3500 block of Independence Avenue in Kansas City. Police are investigating.

Local Dude Gives Back

Blue Springs electrician builds beds for children in need BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - After seeing children's rooms without beds during visits to customers' homes, a longtime electrician decided to take action and began building handmade beds for kids in need. Scott Foster has made his living as an electrician for over 20 years, but he spends his free time during carpentry after seeing children in tough living conditions touched his heart.

Kansas City Survivor Story

Ahead of pancreatic cancer walk, local man celebrates 4 years cancer-free KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- As the Purple Stride Kansas City Walk gets ready to kick off Saturday morning, a local survivor who wasn't given much of a chance to survive his own pancreatic cancer wants people to take notice of the deadly disease. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers.

Kansas City Booze News Serving

Tom's Town adds new whiskey to fuel its growth plans - Kansas City Business Journal Tom's Town Distilling Co. has been expanding into new states. But to really get in the mix in these new markets, the Kansas City-based company added a high-quality, but less-expensive, whiskey that bars and restaurants can use for cocktails. Tom's Town already offers Pendergast Royal Gold Bourbon, a premium sipping whiskey.

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Independence store continues to deal with recurrent flooding INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- With more rain on the way, an Independence business owner fears it's a matter of time before water rushes into her store once again. The owner believes the problem is man-made and needs to be fixed.

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Chiefs cut three, sign one, plus other roster notes ahead of rookie minicamp The Kansas City Chiefs released three players and signed one ahead of rookie minicamp, which begins on Saturday, May 4. The Chiefs released wide receiver Josh Crockett, defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux and fullback Aaron Ripkowski and signed Old Dominion defensive end Tim Ward.

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River Town Mayors Nervously Watch Rising Water, Want More Funding For Flood Prevention Civic leaders along the Mississippi River are bracing for near-record flood levels in the coming days and weeks. Mayors in Missouri and Illinois say federal programs that aim to prevent flood damage need more funding to adequately support river towns that face evacuation and income loss.

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Kansas Democrats join other states in scrapping presidential caucuses The Kansas Democratic Party is eliminating the caucus process and will switch to a presidential primary election method in May of 2020. Primaries are much simpler and more convenient for voters, said Ethan Corson, Kansas Democratic Party executive director.

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Hope Faith Ministries to host benefit ball Saturday to help homeless Hope Faith Ministries, which helps the homeless get back on their feet, will host a benefit ball on Saturday.

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After 75 years, KCK World War II hero's remains returned Hide Transcript Show Transcript SAVING A FELLOW MARINE. NOW HE IS FINALLY HOME. AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS, THEY NEVER KNEW, IN FACT NOBODY KNEW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. WHERE WAS UNCLE NICK? IN THIS DAY AND AGE WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A HERO. HE WAS A HERO.

Kansas City Sasquatch Celebration

With respect to Jenny McCarthy's most iconic media moment, we share this smattering of local news that's worth a peek but maybe not debate. Take a look . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Source: Reuters



In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned USD167.9 million from banana exports. The figure dipped to USD112 million in 2018, but is expected to rise to USD168 million in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.





The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand.

The commercialisation policy on banana production benefits rural people. The most notable outcome of this policy has been the influx of investors to assist Lao banana growers in the country's northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Oudomxay which led to an increase in banana exports from USD46.6 million in 2015 to over USD197.8 million in 2016.

Other major agricultural exports of the country are expected to include cassava with sales reaching USD129 million, raw coffee at USD143 million, rubber at USD105 million, maize at USD34 million, and rice at USD25 million./.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 3

A fun trip turned tragic for 12 natives of Nepal when two of them drowned in the Ghaggar near Thapli village in Morni this afternoon.

The victims have been identified as Raj Kumar (28) and Chander (27), both residents of Daria opposite the Chandigarh railway station. Raj Kumar is survived by his wife and two daughters  one aged seven and the other three months old. Chander is survived by his wife and two sons, aged 12 and eight.

Inder Kumar, a survivor and elder brother of one of the victims, Raj Kumar, said he, along with 11 other persons, had gone to the banks of the Ghaggar near Thapli village this morning. He said all of them were related to each other and were natives of Nepal. They were working as cooks at eateries in Panchkula and Chandigarh.

He said they were carrying lunch with them as they had planned to hold a picnic at the spot. Around 2.30, six of them jumped into river to have a bath, but within minutes, they started drowning despite being good swimmers.

Raj Kumars elder brother was also among those who had jumped into the river. When he saw others drowning, he raised the alarm and managed to save the lives of four of them. However, by the time he pulled out Raj Kumar and Chander, they had fallen unconscious, but were breathing.

Inder Kumar said he called up the ambulance number, but it got connected to Himachal Pradesh as the village falls on the border with the neighbouring state. He again tried the number and finally an ambulance arrived at the site and they took the two to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 where they were declared brought dead.

Chandimandir SHO Naveen Kumar said inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC had been initiated into the matter.
Shiv Visvanathan

Shiv Visvanathan

Academic associated with Compost Heap

THE media reports were stark, bare and skeletal, claiming that PepsiCo had sued farmers in Gujarat for growing a variety of potato without its permission. The multinational sought damages up to Rs 1 crore from each of them and later decided to withdraw the cases. The narrative gets immediately caught in a stereotype which loses its deeper layers.

It is presented as a typical David vs Goliath story. One has to challenge the very makings of the story. The language is all wrong, the morality is worse as the very idea of law turns ownership and exclusive ownership into an obscenity. The fact that law schools speak this language emphasises its acceptability while banalising evil. Hannah Arendt used it as a concept to explain Adolf Eichmanns behaviour.

In a moral world, seed and food are part of the sacred. They embody life and define life. The modern market turns seed into a commodity. Science destroys the sacred to create idolatry around innovation. One sees it in a standard book of economics where Joseph Schumpeter praises innovation as a creative act of destruction. In cultural terms, the Schumpeterian innovator, especially in the world of food, was a cultural idiot, illiterate about traditional innovation. Before one considers the innovation of modern corporations, one has to be clear that even today all food we consume, from maize to rice and wheat, is a result of traditional innovation. Modern agriculture has not added any major staple to this collection.

The first bias we have to counter is the bias of modernity and science about agriculture, which sees traditional agriculture as static and modern agriculture as innovative. The second bias is that of law which fails to realise that in most societies, food and nature were part of the commons. Food was a gift sustained by myth and ritual, by traditional diversity. Food was also a form of trusteeship. One of the most brilliant examples of such a trusteeship is the Potato Park in the Andes. The park, as a micro centre for diversity, protects over 40 varieties of potato based on traditional philosophies of agriculture. One needs such a background to understand that the very language and format of media narratives forestall the possibility of justice.

Our law and media pay little attention to history, law, ethics or philosophy. It is not just the asymmetry of the battle that makes it amoral. It is the nature of law which allows for a certain form of intellectual property and patenting regarding food. The multinational realises it is right in law but wrong in publicity. It decides to withdraw the civil suit and settle the matter out of court, provided the farmers become exclusive sellers to the company. It this is corporate humanitarianism, the very idea of CSR (corporate social responsibility), which is an ethical oxymoron, needs to be reassessed.

The language is precise. The farmers are illegal dealers of a registered variety of plant which belongs exclusively to the multinational. The obscenity of language and ethics mars the entire case and the law in its technicalities deodorises it. The obscenity extends to the politicians who, without challenging the validity of the law, threaten the company amid the elections. There is no evidence that they have any understanding of the political economy and epistemology of food. Cheap populism meets bad political economy throughout this narrative. We have a mangled text which hides a deeper history and a complex context. One has to resume the real narrative by going back to Peru, to the Andean mountains, a great gene pool of diversity on the potato. One goes back to an organisation like PRATEC, a project on peasant technologies in the Andes. Anthropologist Fredique Marglin is one of its finest storytellers, a scholar and an activist as knowledgeable about the Chau dance as of Andean potatoes.

Marglin shows that the leaders of PRATEC realised that development as ontology, economy and epistemology had failed. They sensed that native agriculture was more adequate for the environment. The Andes had grown 3,500 varieties of potato, a part of the intellectual commons of the area. It would be obscene to patent such a living heritage. PRATEC leaders realised that to keep the potato with its stunning diversity alive one had to become trustees  in the Gandhian sense  of the world of the potato. One cannot imagine a multinational like PepsiCo or Monsanto engage in such an act of trusteeship as an act of cultural celebration. One has to realise what PRATEC is doing is not preservationist, museumising the potato, but the best of innovation within a cultural commons.

The Potato Park is another variant of this dream of diversity. Central to all these experiments is the way memory and wisdom about the potato is passed on to the next generation. From storytelling to dialogue, orality expands to create a different kind of expertise. While dealing with the PepsiCo case, we forget this broader cultural background of debate. The limits of our radicalism are seen in the illiteracy of our protests. We talk of politics stripped of cognitive justice, of epistemology and ethics. One has to go back to a Gandhian model of Satyagraha and boycott the multinational food company. One is not arguing this from a mere Left ideology but as an academic anthropologist, a citizen who wishes to create a dialogue between knowledge and democracy and feels food needs its sense of the sacred to stay food. One should be grateful that at least one of the lawyers of the farmers, Anand Yagnik, is conversant with such as tradition.

One needs to capture this narrative within a wider culture of storytelling. In doing so, we have to locate the bare-boned idea of law within a political economy which, in turn, has to be located within a wider history of science and ethics. The impoverishment of storytelling is part of the current impoverishment of democracy. By reaching into the unconscious of culture, into the folklore of diversity, India might create a more effective answer to the obscenity of intellectual property. Merely boycotting the multinational will not do. We need the scholarship to challenge it ethically and civilisationally and create new links between modern science and traditional agriculture.
harinder@tribunemail.com

The Class XII results declared by the CBSE on Thursday saw the highest percentages shooting through the roof, with two toppers scoring nearly full marks in the humanities stream  an astonishing 499 on 500; and an all-India joint second ranking with 498! All girls. For years now, girls have consistently defended their place in the sun. This year, too, they performed better than boys by 9 per cent. The pass percentage of girls is 88.70 per cent as against 79.4 per cent of boys. Of 13 lakh students who appeared in the board examination, 18 have scored 497 to claim the third pride of place.

Nowadays, 98-99 per cent marks are common in all streams. With these marks, the toppers will cut the queue to pursue a course of their choice. Some wish to study an honours course, while others have set their sights on civil services or higher studies abroad. But numbers are not always markers of success. This is just one battle won. The still bigger ones are entrance examinations for various colleges, or for professional courses like law, medicine and engineering. The constant pressure to keep up, either from parents or students themselves, does carry a real threat of a burnout.

There is another concern. While the incredible scores are inspiring and, indubitably, a consequence of immense hard work, they establish an unrealistic bar. Cut-offs across colleges will shoot up disproportionately. Full marks in languages and subjects like history were unheard of until not so long ago. A topper regretted losing one mark in English! The above-average student doesnt stand a fair chance in this high-stakes ruthless competition. Those out of the race should not be dejected, for success is the sum total of life, with all its facets. Albeit crucial, academics is only one part. A large number of global achievers were not toppers. Since the super-bright are a fraction of the total number, the education system, on its part, needs to figure out if the inflated marks are a real indicator of its own score.
shalender@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 3

The Haryana State Commission for Women today sought police action against a middle-aged woman allegedly instigating men to rape women in short dresses after a video of the incident went viral on the social media.

In a letter to the Haryana DGP, the commission sought details of the case and asked the police to book the woman under relevant sections as soon as possible.

The woman is apparently thrashing and using demeaning language against regular customers of a restaurant and commenting on their (group of girls) attire. She is seen inciting a sense of hatred towards those girls and specifically referring to men present there that these women who wear short clothes deserved to be raped, the letter read.

This is against the human spirit. The indecent remarks in public spaces outrage the modesty of not only the girls present at the restaurant but the entire community, it further read.

Meanwhile, after being trolled, the woman has uploaded an unconditional apology on Instagram after the video got 1.8 million views.

On April 30, she had asked seven men at a restaurant to rape the six girls as they were wearing short dresses. The group accosted the woman at a nearby store and demanded an apology. However, the woman refused to apologise and told the girl filming the video to go to hell.
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 3

Norms for meeting the Dalai Lama at his residence in McLeodganj would be changed. A decision to this affect was taken at a high level meeting held today keeping in view the age and health of the Dalai Lama. The meeting was attended, among others, by former PM of Tibetan government in exile and close aide of the Dalai Lama Samdhong Rinpoche and various secretaries of the office of the Tibetan spiritual head.

Sources here said that, henceforth, there would not be any receiving lines for meeting the Dalai Lama. Instead, the Dalai Lama would be giving group audience. In this new practice those seeking audience would gather in group and made to sit in hall. The Dalai Lama would come, sit on chair and give a small talk to the group.

The personal touch with the Dalai Lama and the photos clicked with him would be curtailed. However, limited personal one to one audiences as deemed fit by the mission of the Dalai Lama would be allowed.

Earlier, the Dalai Lama used to meet people seeking audience with in open terrace of his residence at McLeodganj. The people, who were cleared for getting audience by the personal security of the Dalai Lama as well as the Himachal police which provides security to the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj, were made to stand in lines. The Dalai Lama used to come and stand in porch of his guest room and meet the people. Generally, he used to hold hands of the people coming to meet him and deliver them a spiritual message. Everyone seeking audience used to get a chance to get a photo click with the Dalai Lama. The photos were clicked by the office of the Dalai Lama and were later soft copies were given to the people.

Sources here said that the decision has been taken keeping in view the health and age of the Dalai Lama.

In the recent past reports went around media regarding ill health of the Dalai Lama. Reports claimed that the Dalai Lama had been suffering from prostate cancer causing concerns among the Tibetans across the world.

The personal physician of the Dalai Lama Dr Tseten Dorjee had trashed the reports that the Tibetan spiritual icon was suffering from prostate cancer in last stage was terminally ill.
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 3

Even as Tashigang at 15,256 feet has the distinction of being the highest polling station in the world with 49 voters, truant weather and fresh spells of snow in May are giving anxious moments to the election officialsto ensure glitch-free poling on May 19.

The worries of the Election Department are not without reason. The higher reaches of the tribal districts in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur received fresh spell of snow on May 1, two days earlier. Though the weather has cleared but a backup plan to ensure that all voters can cast their votes has to be in place.

We have been assured that the Rohtang Pass will be thrown open by May 10 and much to our relief the 22 polling booths, located along the peripheral roads on the Pangi-Killar road, have all become accessible, said a relieved Chief Electoral Officer, Devesh Kumar.

All the Deputy Commissioners have been asked to be in regular contact with the Border Roads Organization and the Public Works Department to ensure that all roads are connected, he said. We have been assured that road linking Miar Valley in Spiti will be cleared within the next two to three days, he stated.

The Election Department has back up plans and the state government helicopter will remain at its disposal but the officials are hoping and praying that there will be no more snow. Seven auxiliary polling stations will be set up, especially for the old and invalid. This includes the one at Bara Bhagal in Baijnath area of Kangra where a majority of the population moves to Bir but the elderly stay back.

The other auxiliary stations are at the old age homes at Dari in Dharamsala, Kee in Lahaul Spiti, Sundernagar, Bhangrotu in Balh (Mandi) and Basantpur (Shimla) and leprosy hospital at Dharampur in Solan.

It is on account of most tribal and high-altitude areas in the state being inaccessible due to heavy snow and snow clearance operation still being underway that Election Commission of India (ECI) has fixed the polling date in Himachal on May 19, the last phase of polls in the country. Earlier, the polling in the three tribal districts of Kinnaur, Bharmour in Chamba and Lahaul Spiti used to take place separately after the assembly or parliamentary polls in case polling took place in the winters.

DCs to remain in touch with BRO, PWD
editorial@tribune.com

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

China had given a curt message to Pakistan that the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar had become more of a liability than asset for Pakistan as early as March before acquiescing in with other members of the UNSC to declare him as a global terrorist on Wednesday.

Highly placed sources, well informed about the Chinese leaderships working due to their frequent visits to Beijing for diplomatic assignments, told The Tribune that China was quite uneasy after the Pulwama attack in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.

China convinced Pakistan that Azhar is now more of a liability than asset, the sources said.

There were a series of telephone calls and meetings at quite a high level between the two sides. The issue was discussed threadbare many a time, but the diplomatic wrinkles were ironed out during Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshis visit to Beijing to attend the first Pakistan-China strategic dialogue on March 18  four days after China had blocked the blacklisting of Azhar as global terrorist and had advocated wider consultations and consensus before taking a call on the sensitive issue.

With Pakistan facing international heat over its soil being used for the terror activities against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, China was also drawing flak from the Western powers, USA, UK and France, for siding with Pakistan in defending the terrorist who was the brain behind so many acts of terror in India. Azhar had a tailor-made profile of the global terrorist that the UNSC Sanctions Committee 1267 had prescribed for the terrorists who spread hate and terror in the world.

Qureshi and other Pakistani delegates accompanying him were told that China could not risk its international credibility for the sake of a terrorist whose position, the sources said, China believed had become indefensible.

Sources also revealed that Delhi was in touch with Beijing all through and did not get provoked when Beijing did not allow the resolution moved jointly by the US, the UK and France to blacklist Masood Azhar to be passed on March 14. Its back- channel diplomacy and Chinas growing impatience with Pakistans terror activities yielded result in May. Things were made clear to Qureshi during his March 18-20 visit of China.

And, the message was finally delivered to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited China on April 25 apparently to renew the strategic relationship with Beijing. Imran Khan could not say no to Beijing.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

Even as only two days are left for polling, top leaders of all major political parties, barring the BJP, gave a miss to poll campaign in the countrys geographically largest parliamentary seat, Ladakh.

On the penultimate day of campaigning too, no top leader of the Congress, National Conference (NC) and PDP canvassed for their respective candidates. There are four candidates in fray from Ladakh seat, which will go to the polls on May 6.

The BJP, on the other hand, launched a spirited campaign in Ladakh with all senior leaders of the state unit and some top central leaders canvassing for candidate and incumbent Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Leh Council Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, a senior Buddhist leader, will address the Progressive Ladakh rally at Polo Ground in Leh on Saturday while winding up the campaign.

The factionalism-ridden Congress did not invite any central or state leader for campaigning as insiders said it would create more trouble for the party, given the religious differences between Kargil and Leh districts.

Like the 2014 parliamentary polls, no senior Congress leader visited Ladakh because he or she would have to hold rallies in both districts. The party posed trust in local leadership, a senior leader from Ladakh said.

Congress has given its mandate to senior Buddhist leader Rigzin Spalbar from Leh, which led to resentment in Kargil, where the partys former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai, who has been supported by powerful religious group Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Kargil, announced that he would contest as an Independent.

The NC, PDP and the influential Islamia School Kargil have jointly backed a consensus candidate, Sajjad Hussain Kargili, who organised an impressive rally in Kargil on Friday as a show of strength. NC leader Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have also skipped the election campaign, though they visited Ladakh several times before the polls. PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too avoided campaigning in favour of the consensus candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress unit organised a 20-km cycle rally from Leh to Thiksay and a 40-km bike rally from Leh to Kharu in support of the party candidate.

BJP still uses Chhewangs photos on posters

Jammu: Even as prominent Buddhist leader and former MP Thupstan Chhewang resigned from the BJP to protest the partys failure in granting the UT status to Ladakh, the BJP has been using his photographs on posters and hoardings to woo voters in the region. Chhewang recently refused to meet any leader of the party, but his photographs on the BJPs hoardings and posters remained visible during the poll campaign. He (Chhewang) has dissociated himself from all political activities, but the BJP is still exploiting his name for political gains, a senior Buddhist leader said. On April 16, Avinash Rai Khanna, BJP in charge J&K affairs, had claimed that the BJP had not accepted Chhewangs resignation.
editorial@tribune.com

ina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Jammu and Kashmir has topped the Panchkula region once again with the highest pass percentage of 95.16 in the Class XII results released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday.

The Panchkula region of the CBSE comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UTChandigarh.

However, there has been a slight dip of 0.31 per cent in the pass percentage of the state in contrast to the last years result, as the state recorded a pass percentage of 95.47 in the 2017-18 session.

In Jammu and Kashmir, 6,593 students appeared in Class XII examination exams and 6,274 students fared in the exam. In Jammu and Kashmir, girls outshone boys by recording a higher pass percentage.

As many as 2,901 girls appeared in the exam in the J&K region, out of which 2,812 passed. The pass percentage is 96.93, which is lower than the last years 97.09.

A total of 3,692 boys appeared in the Class XII exam in this region, of which 3,462 got through. Their pass percentage is 93.77, slightly less than last years 94.22.
shalender@tribune.com

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, May 3

Lateef Ahmad Dar, alias Lateef Tiger, the last of the militants still unaccounted for from the Burhan Wani group photo taken a few years ago, was among three militants killed in an early morning gunfight in Shopian district of south Kashmir today.

Several civilians were injured in clashes that erupted near the site in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district.

Dar belonged to Dogripora in Awantipora police district, while the other two slain militants were identified as Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, alias Tariq Molvi, of Moolu Chitragam in Shopian and Shariq Ahmad Nengroo, alias Shaheen Bhai, a resident of Chotigam village also in Shopian.

Dar, a carpenter by profession before he joined militant ranks, had been active since 2014. He was part of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanis 11-member group seen in the picture that went viral in 2015. The picture was described by many as the poster of the new-age militancy in the Valley.

While 10 of them, including Dar, have now been eliminated, the 11th, Tariq Pandith, is currently lodged at Srinagars Central Jail.

While Dar was one of the longest surviving militants in the area, Sheikh was instrumental in recruiting new militants, said IGP IG Pani.

He said there was no collateral damage during the operation. A senior police official said the operation was launched in Aadkhara village around 6 am. The exchange of fire continued for several hours before all three militants were killed, he said.

Clashes broke out near the site as protesters pelted security forces with stones. At least two dozen protesters were injured after security forces fired pellets, bullets and tear smoke shells. The bodies of the militants were handed over to the families.
editorial@tribune.com

Srinagar May 3

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the financing of secessionist activities in Kashmir, on Friday issued a fresh summons to the grandson of Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani.

Anees-ul-Islam has been asked to appear before the probe agency in New Delhi on May 6. He was earlier summoned on April 29.

Anees is the son of Altaf Ahmad Shah, who along with nearly a dozen separatists, is currently undergoing detention at Tihar jail in New Delhi in an alleged funding case.

The NIA is investigating the separatist funding case in Kashmir since May 30, 2017. It had carried out raids in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi in June 2017 to probe the chain of players behind the financing of secessionist activities.  TNS

Has to appear before probe agency on May 6
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, May 4

Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, on Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us, one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families, another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Pulwama, May 3

No banners, no buntings, not a trace of political activity just three days ahead of the election  Pulwama is living up to its image of a militancy stronghold. Activities related to the May 6 third-phase polling for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat are restricted to offices and residences of politicians, where security guards outnumber political activists.

The February 14 bombing, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war, still plays on the minds of people here.

Though the Pulwama attack has taken centrestage in the countrys politics, at ground zero, the focus is on peace, not the poll turnout.

Political workers feel the voting percentage may dip further as compared to Anantnag and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.

People are indifferent. Politicians know this and dont expect even a double-digit turnout We have seen the worst violence here. There is no question of voting. Pulwama may be a national issue, but for us, Kashmir is an issue that needs a solution, said Tariq Ahmed, a local resident.

Anantnag is the only seat where polling is being conducted in three phases owing to security concerns. The authorities have already made a string of arrests ahead of Mondays polling.

The twin south Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama are the epicentre of Kashmirs new-age militancy where 100 native militants are reportedly active. Two active operational commanders  Riyaz Naikoo and Zakir Musa  belong to Pulwama district. It was home to Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 triggered unrest. Pulwama district comprises four Assembly segments of Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora, while Shopian district has two Assembly segments of Shopian and Wachi. These two districts have been a stronghold of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the party is facing immense anger. The little political activity visible in Pulwama is inside offices of PDP and National Conference in Pulwama town in a high-security zone. At PDP office, over a dozen party workers were seen busy with preparing a list of polling agents. There is a lot of fear, but as a party worker, I am ready to take any risk, said an elderly worker at the office.

PDP youth president Waheed Parra, who hails from Pulwama, too does not expect any impressive turnout.

We dont expect much turnout. It may be less than 20,000 votes (less than 5%) in both Shopian and Pulwama, Parra said, adding that majority here felt that vote is against the sentiment.

Though PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is the Anantnag candidate, launched her campaign from Pulwama by leading a protest against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, she never returned to canvass.

A senior government official said holding polls was challenging due to the volatile situation. Militant threat is looming large and we are ready for this challenge. Our concern is not the turnout, but peaceful polls, he said, adding that law and order was also a concern.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka on the day of Easter left the entire world shocked. Recently, Jacqueline Fernandez, who is a Sri Lankan by birth, took to her social media and expressed her shock regarding the entire incident.

In a recent video which she shared on her Instagram, Jacqueline asked her fans to come together for Sri Lanka and help the victims.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, May 4

A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The Khiladi star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement.

"Toronto is my home, after I retire from this industry I will settle in Canada" pic.twitter.com/Ypet1U0oBJ  Tarique Anwer (@tanwer_m) May 3, 2019

It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?" His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as Kesari, Baby, Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and Airlift, with patriotism as the theme.  IANS
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

CONGRESS veteran, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and member of the Congress alliances committee Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to The Tribune reporter Aditi Tandon about issues confronting the nation ahead of the conclusion of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Congress prospects in Haryana, where he is AICC general secretary incharge. Excerpts:

Four phases of Lok Sabha polls are over, your assessment?

I am 100 per cent sure that the BJP or NDA is not forming the government because not a single section of society is happy with them. This government is run by few TV channels and not with peoples support.

Do you anticipate a Congress PM later this month?

I wont say that. Our target is a non-BJP, non-NDA government.

Are you concerned about BJPs focus on nationalism?

No. It is rather strange that a party with no role in the freedom struggle is talking of nationalism. Naye naye mullah bane hain zyada pyaaz khaate hain. We dont talk about nationalism because we are nationalists and we dont need to prove this. Post-independence, Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh sacrificed their lives for national unity. BJP people are neo-nationalists. This is a party without any history or geography of nationalism. Naturally, they have to create new history and geography with their utterances.

Masood Azhar has been designated a global terrorist after years. Will this help the BJP in elections?

Well, if the advantage on Azhar goes to the BJP, the disadvantage should also go to them. At the outset I am the happiest person about Azhar being listed a global terrorist because my state Jammu and Kashmir has suffered the most due to terror acts he perpetrated since the NDA released him in 1999. If people are now giving the BJP the credit for Azhars listing, they should also give the BJP the discredit for releasing him. He was captured during the Narasimha Rao-led Congress regime and released during the Vajpayee-led NDA rule.

Why is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not contesting from Varanasi?

Why should she contest at all? After all, who is going to campaign? She is doing more service to the party by not contesting herself. She can come to Parliament any time she wants. I am a very strong votary that top leaders who are the most sought after during elections should never contest Lok Sabha polls and should come to Parliament through Rajya Sabha. They should be kept free for canvassing during elections.

You are in the alliance committee of the Congress. Would a grand anti-BJP alliance not have been better?

Yes it would have been better, but it could not happen. We are blamed for being insensitive. But we have been more than sensitive in alliances. Over three-and-a-half decades since I became general secretary, I have been instrumental in striking many alliances. But with each passing year, new regional parties are emerging and they want to become national parties overnight. Look at UP with 80 Lok Sabha seats. The BSP had zero MPs in 2014 and got 40 seats to contest this time; SP with five MPs in 2014 got 38 seats and Congress with two MPs got just two seats. Can any mathematician in the world tell me how this distribution can work? In Tamil Nadu, Congress has nine seats and DMK 30; In Bihar, the Congress has nine seats and regional players have 31. See the proportion of seats with the national party and the regional parties. If we keep distributing seats, regional parties will become national parties and we will become a regional party.

Isnt your strategy of fielding candidates in UP damaging the anti-BJP BSP-SP front?

Again, why should the BSP and SP want us to contest only two seats? Do they want us to win only two seats? Why did they not accommodate us? Why did they form an alliance unilaterally without talking to us? No discussions were held. We were taken by total surprise.

AAP says Congress will be responsible if the BJP wins. Your take.

We also want to defeat the BJP but we have to be pragmatic. Others have to be pragmatic too. If AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was so responsible, why should he have ventured outside Delhi? Why should he have bothered about Parliament if he was so concerned about defeating the BJP? He should have supported the bigger party. But AAP wanted three seats in Punjab where it later gave up. It kept on insisting on four seats in Haryana where it has no presence. AAP is not a national party and Kejriwal is not a PM candidate. AAP should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing the Congress. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?

Haryana poll is on May 12, your expectations?

We are doing extremely well. In the beginning there was a perception that the Congress is a divided house in Haryana. But ever since we had a bus yatra with all the leaders over six days covering 10 Lok Sabha segments and 68 assembly segments out of 90, things changed. Also, our candidates are much more powerful than those of the other parties. They are all far ahead in experience and standing.

Why did you feel the need to field top guns BS Hooda and Kumari Selja in Haryana?

When I assumed the Haryana charge, I met over 500 leaders who were not ordinary leaders but those that had contested Assembly or LS poll since 1972. Since there were no block and district Congress committees in the state, I had to engage top leaders to understand who the most suitable candidates will be.

In Haryana, theres palpable Jat and non-Jat division. Is it harming you?

There was a division, but no longer. In my tour of Haryana I did not sense such a feeling. Among the 500 leaders I met, non-Jats gave names of Jat candidates and vice versa. This division is BJPs creation because the BJP, with nothing else to sell, continues to bank on social, religious and caste divisions.

What are the poll issues in Haryana?

Main issues in Haryana elections are the national issues. The first is agrarian distress and the second is unemployment.

AAP is 4, we are 134 years old

AAP is not a national party. It is a four-year-old party. It should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing us. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The CBI on Friday told the Supreme Court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case prime accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a bundle of bones has been recovered from a burial ground in the north Bihar town.

In an affidavit, the CBI also denied allegations of shielding the rich and mighty and asserted that it has carried out a thorough, fair, impartial probe into the case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday asked the agency to respond in four weeks to allegations of being soft on the accused and not invoking stringent provisions.

On behalf of the petitioner, advocate Shoeb Alam alleged that the CBI had not done proper investigation into the larger conspiracy and had not chargesheeted the accused under stringent provisions of law.

On behalf of the probe agency, Attorney General KK Venugopal denied the allegations and submitted that the CBI had already filed a reply to the petitioners application. The Bench said it will take up the matter on May 6.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur. The horrific incidents came to light after a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was made public. The top court last year transferred the probe of the cases from the Bihar Police to the CBI and decided to monitor it as well. The probe agency has chargesheeted 21 persons, including Thakur.

In an affidavit filed in response to allegations leveled by the petitioners, the CBI said statements of victims recorded during the probe threw up names of 11 girls who were allegedly murdered by Thakur and other accused. At the instance of one of the accused, a particular spot in a burial ground was excavated from where a bundle of bones was recovered, it said.

During investigation, from the statement of victims recorded by investigating officers and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences team, names of 11 girls emerged who were said to be allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices, the agency said.

Based on the facts revealed by one accused, namely Guddu Patel, during his interrogation, a particular spot in burial ground as identified by him was excavated and a bundle of bones were recovered from the spot, CBI said. Its expected to file a supplementary chargesheet after the probe.

Says probe fair, not protecting anyone

It is specifically denied that the investigating agency failed to conduct a thorough investigation or has left out any crucial leads... it is denied that the CBI is trying to shield the real perpetrators.  CBI in SC
gspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 4

Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said on Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near Sarai Kale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Indore, May 3

It is close to midnight, but Indores famous Sarafa Bazaar (jewellery market) is bustling. However, at this time of the night, people are not here to buy gold or silver, but tickle their taste buds with the culinary flavours of the financial city of Madhya Pradesh, also the cleanest city of India.

Though a couple of jewellery shops are still open. Who knows when someone, after relishing the food delights, may feel like spending a couple of lakhs on jewellery. The food street comes to life around 9 pm, when the jewellery market behind the Rajwada Palace of the Holkar dynasty, which is also now being restored, closes down.

No one is clear about the exact origin of this unique Sarafa Bazaar. But frequent visitors say it was encouraged by jewellery shop owners so that the hustle and bustle around food joints in the night would keep their shops secure even after they close down. Therefore, they willingly offered space in front of their shops to food vendors to set up their business in the night.

The late-night food street, a visit to which is a must if one is here in Indore, is the example of far-sightedness of smart business community who has made the city its home, turning it into an active hub of different trades, be it precious metals, cloth or grain.

Over the time new businesses have come up and the traditional city is as modern as any of the cosmopolitan cities like Pune, Hyderabad or Chandigarh with multi-brand top-end showrooms.

Largely the habitat of traders and business community, the city is known for its affluence. The mini-Mumbai as it is also called, Indore is home to traditional business Gujarati, Sindhi and Marwari communities and they are not happy with the Narendra Modi governments double whammy of demonitisation and GST.

Nitin Jain, a young professional in the field, calls the GST an excellent move but because it was not implemented properly, together with notebandi, it proved ghatak (deadly) for business here. While businesses are suffering, ruling the roost are tax consultants and chartered accountants.

This and the fact that these are the first elections in 30 years being fought without the favourite tai, Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan. Indore is seeing for the first time in many years a fight among equals. In the words of Arvind Tiwari, president of Indore Press Club: It is the first time in several years that the Congress is giving the BJP a good fight in the Malwa-Nimar region, and which makes the elections in Indore, if not as electrifying as Bhopal, but equally important.

The two main contestants, BJPs Shankar Lalwani and Congress Pankaj Sanghvi, are both local and belong to business community. Whether Singhvi gets the advantage of the prevailing anger among traders remains to be seen, but local BJP leaders here classify him as a habitual loser. He has fought many elections unsuccessfully, the only time he ever won was when he was in the BJP, says DN Tiwari, a local BJP leader

But then with Mahajan being benched, the saffron party is also struggling with a handicap. Over the years she has built her own group of supporters, who are feeling let-down over the way she has been treated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief Amit Shah, say Congress supporters. Singhvi, they say, is in a position to give Lalwani a scare.

In spite of many losses, Sanghvi cannot be taken lightly. He also contested against Sumitra Mahajan but lost with around 45,000 votes. She too acknowledged that Singhvi had given her a good fight, says Tiwari.

In 2014, Sumitra Mahajan got a whooping 8,54,972 votes against Satyanarayan Patel of the Congress, who polled 3,88, 071. There was also a BSP candidate then like there is one now. He, however, could manage just 7,422 votes.

Clearly the fight was and is between the BJP and the Congress. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won four of the eight Assembly constituencies here making it a more equal fight than any other elections in past three decade. Lalwani is also the only one from the Sindhi community contesting these elections

Indore will poll in the last phase. So there are still 15 days to go and many things can happen that can change the mood of the city that sleeps late, enjoys good food and believes in making money.

Its Shankar Lalwani vs Pankaj Sanghvi in mini-Mumbai
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4



Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP would not return to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha election and taunted the PM saying the Army is not his personal property.

The Army is not the personal property of PM Modi. The Army, Navy, Air Force are of the country and not of one person. The Congress never politicised the armed forces. Surgical strikes happened before and the Army did those, Gandhi said addressing a press conference.

He said more than half the election is over and there is now a clear sense that PM Modi is not returning to power.

We also want to ask the PM what his delivery on the 2014 poll promises is. Where are the two crore jobs? Where is Rs 15 lakh? Its is all well to talk of nationalism but he should also answer development questions, Gandhi said.

He said the Congress and other parties were one in fighting against terrorism, but he wanted to ask the PM as to who sent terrorist Masood Azhar to Pakistan. The Congress government did not release Azhar. Who released him from the Indian jail? The BJP government released him. The Congress will do a much better job with national security because we have a history, the Congress chief said, adding that the Army had won every war it had fought and it is unfortunate for the PM to politicise it.

Our Army has won all the wars. Its terrific. So the BJP should stop politicising the Army, Gandhi said, adding that the Congress had delivered on its poll promises in the states where it is in power and would also deliver on its Lok Sabha manifesto promises.

Nyay will be implemented and we will show how to implement it. It has percolated down. We will give 22 lakh jobs. I wont promise two crore jobs a year but we will give 22 lakh youth government jobs and ten lakh people jobs in the gram panchayats, he said targeting Modi on the Rafale deal and daring him to hold a debate with him.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 4

The Maharashtra police on Saturday said they have identified the brain behind the IED blast at Gadchiroli which claimed the lives of 15 security personnel and one civilian driver on May 1.

According to the police, the attack was masterminded by one Girdhar, 44, who is allegedly the chief commander of the North Gadchiroli unit of the Peoples Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). He already has a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head and has been underground for the last 15 years.

Girdhar is known to use a number of aliases including Nagsu, Mansu and Tumreti.

Police said Girdhar is a native of Gadchiroli and hails from the Javeli village under the Kasansur police station area. Girdhar is known to have risen fast in the Maoist hierarchy is part of the State Military Commission of the Maoists. He is also part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Maoist which administers the liberated zone which falls across Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, according to police here.

Citing intelligence reports, police said Wednesdays attack was carried out by one of the two companies under Girdhar. In all, some 60 men from six dalams may have participated in setting several vehicles belonging to a private road building company in order to lure the State Reserve Police personnel to the blasts site, officials said.

State government officials here admitted that the Maoists may have infiltrated the local units of the police in Gadchiroli and the attack may have been carried out using inside information.

Girdhar and his close associates may have already moved out of Maharashtra and may be even holed deep in the jungles, a state government official said.

Meanwhile, the police said they have named top naxal leaders in the FIR in connection with the Gadchiroli attack.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

A day after cyclone Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 16 persons, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing today across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas.

The Eastern Naval Command of the Navy launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation process. Two maritime recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy, revealing widespread destruction localised around Puri.

Nearly 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 1 lakh officials were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik said, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The NDRF deployed 44 teams in the worst-affected parts of Odisha and nine teams in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two each in Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The teams are working in collaboration with other state agencies to restore power supply, communication set up and clear roads by removing the uprooted trees, poles and debris. They are also assisting the local authorities in distributing relief material. The toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16. (With PTI inputs)

Barring Patkura, polls in state over

Barring the Patkura Assembly constituency under the Kendrapara LS seat, which is scheduled to go to the polls on May 19 following the death of the BJD candidate, polling in all 21 LS and 146 Assembly constituencies has been completed

NEET postponed in state: HRD ministry

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled for May 5 has been postponed in Odisha due to Fani, the HRD Ministry announced on Saturday. The decision was taken following a request from the Odisha administration
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 4

The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Gujarat speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot.

This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the ECs decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturdays decision, the EC said, ...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted.

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show-cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler today said more trouble was in store for the globally blacklisted Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as his blacklisting by the European Union was in the works.

Azhars blacklisting by the EU will mount more pressure on Pakistan to undertake visible and verifiable action of freezing his funds flow as well as limiting his public appearances. The EU blacklisting is a much more arduous process after a European court nullified the implementation of the sanctions regime against a similarly UNSC-blacklisted terrorist for violation of constitutionally protected rights.

To the UNSC blacklisting of Azhar, Zeigler said: Its very good news for the world community and India as well that the world reached a consensus.

France has been in the forefront of a push by three global powers, including the US and the UK, to arraign Azhar in the face of a determined pushback by China, a close Pakistani ally. France had adopted national sanctions much before the UNSC consensus to blacklist Azhar.

For many years, French diplomacy has been pleading for sanctioning Azhar, head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack, Zeigler had said after news broke on May 1 about China relinquishing its hold on Azhars blacklisting. France would be hoping to build on political proximity with India to advance strategic ties.
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The Supreme Court on Friday appointed retired Justice AK Sikri to look into the evaluation process of the main examination for 107 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Haryana, in which only nine candidates were shortlisted out of more than 1,100.

A total of 14,301 students took the preliminary examination on December 22 last year for 107 vacancies and 1,282 were declared successful to take part in the main examination held on March 15 and 17 this year. More than 1,100 candidates appeared, but only nine qualified.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to submit answersheets to Justice Sikri, who will examine if the evaluation was acceptable.

On Monday, the Bench had directed the HC Registry not to appoint any civil judge without its nod and summoned the Registrar General with the selection records.

The order came on a petition by 92 aspirants, seeking quashing of result of the main examination which was declared on April 11. They have challenged the selection process and evaluation method adopted, terming the entire exercise unreasonable, arbitrary and mala fide.

They alleged that RTI applications seeking disclosure of marks, copies of answer scripts, model answers and marking criteria were not answered and interviews were scheduled.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Jaipur, May 4

Not farmers income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram alleged on Saturday.

The Congress leader also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

Farmers income will be doubled (if the Congress comes to power). In the last five years, farmers income has not doubled but their debt has doubled, Chidambaram told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 4 lakh vacant posts in the government will be filled when the Congress comes to power, he said.

Chidambaram said another issue is farmers distress.

I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014, the Congress leader said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJPs alliances, he said.

The BJP won all the seats in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in Madhya Pradesh in the last elections, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of every citizen and two crore jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congresss election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people.

Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room, Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJPs manifesto, they are discussing the Congresss, he said.

On his partys proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise Indias economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, May 3

Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer may sound like the names of yesteryear Bollywood actors, but they are, in fact, lethal cyclones that have brought violent winds, heavy rains and wreaked destruction. As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as Foni, means a snakes hood. But how are cyclones named?

The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its

27th session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of

Bengal and Arabian Sea.

The naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004. The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically  Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list.

So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested Onil the first on the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named Vayu, suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised.

Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly. If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria, a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning, it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Lucknow, May 4

Actor-turned-politician and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha has said that he has done no wrong in campaigning for his wife Poonam Sinha, who is the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

Sinha, who has been facing flak for not campaigning for the Congress in Lucknow, told IANS in an exclusive interview here on Saturday, clarifying for the first time, I do not understand why this controversy is being unnecessarily stoked.

When I joined the Congress last month, I had told the party leadership that I would support and campaign for my wife and they had agreed.

He said he had been hearing about protests from Lucknow Congress candidate Acharya Pramod Krishnam but no one from the senior rank in the party has spoken to me on this issue because they all know the facts.

Even the Samajwadi Party has been informed that once the Lucknow polling is over on May 6, my wife Poonam will be campaigning for me in Patna and they have no objection. For me, it has always been family first, he added.

Moreover, he said: I have completed the pati-dharam; by campaigning in Lucknow and Poonam will undertake her patni-dharam by campaigning for me in Patna.

Sinha said he had been offered the Lucknow seat several months ago by the Samajwadi Party. But I had already made a commitment to the people that I would not change the location of my election which is Patna, he explained.

In Patna, Sinha is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the competition is said to be tough.

I will now be stationed in Patna which is my home. Even when I joined films in Mumbai five decades ago, I maintained my relations with Patna. I would visit the place regularly and people there treat me as family. For them I am the Bihari Babu, he said.

Asked whether he would campaign for the Congress too, the actor-turned-politician said: I have been campaigning across the length and breadth of the country for the Congress and will be available whenever and wherever required.

Talking about the tone and tenor of his campaign, Sinha said: Of course, I will place my side of the story about why I left the BJP after almost three decades because a lot of rubbish is on the propaganda machine.

I will also underline the need for change and the importance of my party Congress. I have never indulged in negative campaigning but if others throw mud at me, I have the right to wipe it off. IANS
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Khunti (Jharkhand), May 4

A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a Pathalgadi area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering dont strike a chord in Jharkhands Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or Pathalgadi, declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where gram sabhas, or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes dont recognise any authority and dont owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6  BJPs former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes, proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through Pathalgadi leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference, Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, It is no subject.

There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here, he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, No one has reached us. The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhands high-profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub-plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land).

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us.

Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat, added an elderly man. We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright.

To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Mundas home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Theni, May 4

A priest was killed and another injured allegedly by a masked robber gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said on Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying to break the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Failure to pick their passports before fleeing landed the two Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the police net after remaining fugitives for 33 days in the Rs 6.65 crore missing cash scandal that rocked Punjab Police and a Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

A team headed by IG PK Sinha tracked them down with the help of Kerala Police.

Sinha said the duo took away the money thinking it was part of a larger illegal amount and if they siphoned off some, there would not be any complaint. When the money was recovered during a raid, senior officers told the two to deposit it at the Khanna police headquarters, but the duo hatched a plan midway. They initially thought of taking a few lakhs from Rs 6.65 crore, but later thought of pocketing the whole amount, the IG said.

He said the duo thought it was ill-gotten money. But, the priests complained the next day, forcing the ASIs to flee. They later thought of leaving the country and tried to get their passports picked from their houses. It was then that our intelligence network caught them.

The ASIs stayed in Uttarakhand, New Delhi, Jaipur, Meerut and Mumbai.

Sent to five-day police remand
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Ropar/Chandigarh, May 4

Ending speculation over his desertion of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa finally joined the Congress in Chandigarh on Saturday. Sandoa was welcomed to the party by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the latters residence in Chandigarh.

Though CM Amarinder Singh has denied poaching AAP MLAs, this is the second legislator who had joined the Congress in the last 10 days. AAP MLA from Mansa Nazar Singh Mashahia had left the party for the Congress on April 25.

Welcoming Sandoa into the party fold, Captain Amarinder said the Congress had got a major boost as a result of the wave of exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state.

Sandoa who was a taxi driver in Delhi was fielded by AAP from his native place Ropar. After defeating SAD stalwart Daljit Singh Cheema and Congress candidate Brinder Singh Dhillon, he entered the state assembly after 2017 elections.

Sandoa, however, courted controversies when a woman in Ropar levelled allegations of molestation against him and later some locals roughed him up when he went to stop illegal mining near Nurpur Bedi in June last year.

Later, the alleged attacker had charged the MLA with pressuring them to give money in lieu of continuing the mining in area.

Though it was already in the air that the Congress was in talks with Sandoa to get him in party fold, he kept denying it and even continued to attend AAPs meetings at Chandigarh as well as in Delhi regarding the Lok Sabha election strategy.

Today, he left for Chandigarh in the morning along with Anandpur Sahib MLA and Punjab Speaker Rana KP Singh and with few of his confidants making it clear for the locals that he was set to join the Punjabs ruling party.

Sandoas joining would further bolster the Congress prospects in Ropar, where Manish Tewari was already making waves as the partys candidate, Capt Amarinder said. Exhorting Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state, Amarinder asked him to help Tewari at the grassroots level in the constituency.

Sandoa, who joined along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister and assured him that of his best efforts. He said he was feeling disenchanted in the AAP due to the top leaderships high-handed approach towards Punjab and had decided to join Congress as he felt aligned with the democratic and inclusive philosophy of the party.
editorial@tribune.com

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 3

In a jolt to two Mansa widows who took political plunge to highlight the deepening agrarian crisis in the state, one of them, Manjeet Kaur, who intended to withdraw her nomination in support of Veerpal Kaur, failed to do so apparently due to communication gap. Both had filed their nomination on April 29.

Talking to The Tribune outside the Deputy Commissioners office here today, Manjeet said, It has come as a setback to us as we had thought we would get back the security deposit (Rs 25,000) of one of us. We planned to use it in our campaign, but all our hopes have been dashed.

The Committee for Farmers and Families of Agrarian Suicide Victims convener, Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir, who is leading these widows in their battle, attributed their failure to withdraw Manjeets nomination to a phone call from the DC office in Bathinda. She claimed they were asked to reach Bathinda at 3.30 pm on May 2 for withdrawal as well as a meeting with poll officials. She said as they reached the office around 3.15 pm, they were told the withdrawal time was over.

She said they resorted to a dharna, which they lifted following an assurance from the staff to resolve their issue the next day. But when they reached the office today, no official was ready to meet them, she alleged. They again sat on a dharna after which Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan met them and told nothing could be done now as their hands were tied, claimed Kiranjit.

Not ready to give up, she said they would focus all their energies on Veerpals campaign. About managing the expenses, she said they would again bank on crowd-funding.

Came post deadline

They came after the 3 pm deadline. We had called them for a meeting of candidates with poll officials at 3.30 pm, but they mistook it as the time for withdrawal of nominations. Candidates were clearly told they could withdraw only by 3 pm on May 2. B Srinivasan, Bathinda DC
editorial@tribune.com

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi (Muktsar), May 3

Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today formally started canvassing in favour of his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Lambi Assembly segment in the Bathinda constituency.

His first public meeting was held at Burj Sidhwan village. Badal was earlier almost daily touring one or two villages to express grief with families in Lambi who have lost someone in the recent past. Even today he visited two villages for the same purpose, but held a public meeting that was organised by partys former district chief Dyal Singh Kolianwali.

In his first public address this election, Badal criticised the Congress terming it an anti-Punjab party.

I have seen a number of PMs in the last 90 years and those belonging to the Congress snatched the rights over our river waters and state capital. First Jawaharlal Nehru discriminated with Punjab, his daughter Indira Gandhi attacked Harmandar Sahib and later her son (Rajiv Gandhi) was responsible for the anti-Sikh riots. This Gandhi family is against Punjab, he said.

Praising NDAs Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, he said, Vajpayee gave us multi-crore petroleum refinery. Modi formed a SIT and sent former Union minister Sajjan Kumar behind bars in the anti-Sikh riots case. He also sanctioned the Kartarpur corridor.

Again striking a personal chord with the public, Badal said, I have visited your villages hundreds of times, even during my tenure as the CM. My effort has always remained to solve your problems. My bonding with you is not political, but we have familiar ties. However, Congress people always think that Badal family is a barrier for them to rule in Punjab and how to sideline us. Now, the Parliament elections are approaching and you have to decide whom to give the reigns of your fortune. However, he did not make direct comment on any of Harsimrats rival candidates.

Went to jail for opposing Emergency: Chandumajra

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from the Anandpur Sahib constituency Prem Singh Chandumajra on Friday said he had been fighting against anti-democratic and fascist policies of the Congress. He said he went to jail also for opposing Emergency which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

In all, 278 candidates are left in the fray for 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab as 12 nominees took back their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, S Karuna Raju said 385 candidates had filed their nomination papers for 13 parliamentary constituencies of the state. During scrutiny, 297 nominations were found valid.

He said after the withdrawal of papers, 15 candidates are left in the fray for the Gurdaspur seat. A total of 30 candidates are in the fray for Amritsar while 19 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Khadoor Sahib. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray for the Jalandhar (SC) seat as none of the candidates withdrew their nomination.

He said eight candidates were left in the fray for Hoshiarpur (SC) seat. After withdrawal of one candidate, 26 candidates are left in the fray for Anandpur Sahib. After withdrawal of one candidate, 22 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ludhiana while 20 are left in the fray for the Fatehgarh Sahib seat after withdrawal of one candidate. Further, after withdrawal of two candidates, 20 are left in the fray for the Faridkot (SC) seat and 22 candidates were in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ferozepur.

After the withdrawal of three candidates, 27 are left in the fray for Bathinda and after withdrawal of one candidate, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Sangrur. After withdrawal of three candidates, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Patiala, Raju added. The voting will be held on May 19 from 7 am to 6 pm.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 4

The SIT of Punjab Police on Saturday recovered more than Rs 2 crore in Patiala from two Assistant Sub-Inspectors who had fled with Rs 6.65 crore cash that belonged to Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

With this recovery, the total amount recovered from the duo has reached Rs 4.38 crore.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh had hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

SIT head PK Sinha, who camped in Patiala for the whole day, headed the operation to recover the cash. What is interesting is that the recoveries came after disclosures from the already arrested accused in the case.

Sources confirm that the police grilled the accused and followed their entire trail from the day the cash went missing to their arrests. The two ASIs have confirmed that they transferred some part of the cash out of country but are tight lipped on the channel they used for that.

Their questioning is still on, said an officer.

Interestingly Rajpreet had paid Rs 2 lakh cash to an immigration firm in Patiala to ensure IELTS and foreign visa for his wife. The immigration firm owner, Gurmant Singh, later approached police and told them about the payment made by Rajpreet.

The SIT also suspects that part of the missing cash was given as a reward to the informer, Surinder Singhwho is already under arrest in the case.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Sangrur, May 4

AAPs Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

In less than a week, the AAP in Punjab suffered another major jolt today as its sitting MLA from Ropar, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia had joined the Congress on April 29.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

Every day, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return, said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of jhadoo to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the unparalleled work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for ruining Punjab.

In Punjab, you have seen divisive politics in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues, he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state governments Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsidersHardeep Puri and Sunny Deolfrom Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections, he said.  PTI
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

WASHINGTON

A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.  PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

THE following press communique dated Ist May has been issued by the Punjab Government:In the Kasur case in which 11 accused were sentenced to death, the Commission made a recommendation to mercy as regards two of the accused, Chuni Lal and Kamal Din. These two men were among the leaders and the Commission in their judgment observed that so far as the actual offence of waging war is concerned nothing less than the capital sentence would be justified in the case of each of these accused. They were, however, they add, prevailed upon to spare Mr. and Mrs. Sherbourne and their children and eventually even assisted them to escape to a place of safety. For this reason and also on the ground of their youth (Chuni Lal is a contractor of 21 and Kamal Din is a student of 18) they recommend that the extreme sentence of this law should not be carried out. In view of the recommendation the Lieutenant Governor has commuted the sentence of the death case of Chuni Lal to one of ten years rigorous imprisonment and in the cause of Kamal Din to one of 7 years.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Dr Chiranjit Parmar

A few days ago, I happened to read an article about the plight of Jogindernagar-Barot tramway. I also travelled in the trolleys plying on this route about 7-8 years ago. This tramway is really in a much neglected state.

The trolleys running there were procured in 1930 during the construction of Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project. These are still in operation. But sitting and travelling in these is no different from travelling in a bullock cart. There is a small cabin in front with a wooden bench which can accommodate four persons. In the back, there is an open space for carrying material and passengers if required.

The trolleys are hooked to a metallic rope. Two trolleys are hooked on each end. This rope is moved by an electric motor and trolleys start going up and down on the railway line. This line gets bifurcated for a small distance in the middle to enable trolleys to cross. It is very interesting to watch the two trolleys cross each other, one going upwards and other going downwards.

There is no engine, no steering wheel, no gears or brakes. But of course, a driver is there. This driver has a long copper stick. Two wires fixed on poles like old time telephone lines, run all along the way. When the driver touches these lines with his copper rod one time, a bell rings once at the control room and the operator switches the motor off to stop the tram. To start it again, the driver touches the wires two times and the bell at the control tower rings twice, meaning the trolley should now move. The entire system, though working on 90-year-old technology, is very interesting and perfect.

Trolley starts from Jogindar Nagar. There are four stations up to Barot. One has to shift to another trolley at the second station, after which you reach Winch Camp, which is at the top of a hill at 9,000 ft. From there, one has to walk about 2 km to reach the third station called Head Gear. There is also a railway line connecting both stations, but is defunct at present. From Head Gear, you start going down and again change trolley at Kaphyadu to reach Barot. Between Head Gear and Kaphyadu, the slope at one point is 75 degrees. This stretch is called Khoonee Ghatee.

This entire journey is very exciting, enjoyable and I would say an unforgettable experience. There are steep climbs on the way. One passes through jungles, too! If this tramway is opened for tourists and promoted well, it will surely be a big hit. Tourists wont hesitate to pay even Rs 1,000 for a round-trip ride to Barot from Jogindernagar.

During my travels, I have seen such trolleys only at three places and everywhere these were very popular among tourists. The first was at Hong Kong, second at San Francisco, and third at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In Hong Kong, it runs on a straight climb to the hill called Victoria Hill. One gets a beautiful view of Hong Kong city and the harbour from there. People spend time, have something in restaurants and come back. But this experience is nothing in comparison to Jogindernagar Tramway.

The San Francisco trolley is called cable car. These go over the small hill from the Market Street and descend to the other side at Fishermans Wharf, which they have developed as an amusement area for tourists. There are many shops there that sell seafood and other eatables. These cable cars are a major attraction of San Francisco and are also promoted as a logo for that city.

The trolley that takes people to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer at one of the hill tops around Rio de Janeiro is also called cable car. Its route is a bit longer. It also passes through a jungle. From the top, one can get a breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro city and its beaches. As this statue is now included among the seven wonders of the world (modern), so thousands of people visit it every day. Though this drive is little longer than those at Hong Kong and San Francisco, yet travel on this route is still not as exciting as that on Jogindernagar-Barot route.

Our government must exploit the Jogindernagar-Barot tramway for tourism purposes. It will not require much effort. Infrastructure already exists. Only new cable cars are required. If done, it will be a great tourist attraction. A beginning can be made even with existing trolleys by sprucing these a bit.

(The writer is a senior fruit scientist based in Mandi)
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Kabul, May 3

A five-day summit on peace in Afghanistan ended on Friday with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

The Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, set out its recommendations and urged the government and the Taliban to announce an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the arrival of Ramadan, reports Efe news.

Asking the Taliban to shun violence, the council called on the warring groups to begin intra-Afghan talks.

President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the meeting on Monday. It saw about 3,200 ethnic, religious and tribal representatives and politicians from across the country gather in the capital city under heavy security cover.

At the end of the five-day consultations, the participants issued a 23-article resolution to Ghani and called on the government, the Taliban, the international community and regional countries to respect the recommendations of the peace jirga.

They said the constitution and the current political structure of the government should be maintained and protected and, if necessary, amendments be brought in only through legal ways.  IANS

Goodwill gesture: To set free 175 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture as a five-day summit on peace ended here with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country

30 militants, seven security personnel killed in clash

At least 30 militants were killed as the Taliban offensive to overrun Afghanistans Burka district in Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, officials said. A provincial government spokesman said a group of Taliban insurgents launched an offensive to overrun Burka district but the security forces killed 30 insurgents
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps, in some of the strongest US condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the US Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centres aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps, Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be closer to 3 million citizens. Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million. So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was reminiscent of the 1930s.

The US government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate in proportion against any US sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were the same as boarding schools.

US officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there. Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.



Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly alsowe discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal, the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

And China, Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that, Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

Were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about nonproliferation. Well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, May 4

A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups--the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups--the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to--and stayed with--JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, travelled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

Between 2013 and 2014 I travelled...around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahideen two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack, Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, in 1999 at the age of 15. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Colombo, May 4

Four foreign nationals, including one from Pakistan who violated immigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested are two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, News 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath for the attacks. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

President Donald Trump said he held very positive talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

It was a very positive conversation, Trump said. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduros days are numberedbut experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trumps positionthat all options are on the tableShanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

Im trying to avoid walking into We could do this or we could do that, he said.

What people should feel confident about is we have... theres depth to these plans.

We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and Im just going to leave it at that.

Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered outwith 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracassparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopezwho made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arresthas since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuelas military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesdays failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing a very confusion situation, a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united, he said.

There are cracks, but not in the military leadership, said the source. International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime. AFP
The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) says it intends to take action if Government fails to have proper consultation and come to an agreement regarding the jab or no job Covid policy for public sector workers.

The union has not disclosed what form of action it intends to take, but said it would come in early January.
Leaders make a difference to a vaccination drive. When they take a public vaccination, they send a message to their followers or employees that the vaccine is safe and the compassionate thing to do.

When leaders act responsibly in this way, others will follow. This behaviour modelling fits into a broader study that demonstrated that leading by example is effective (Tai Yaffe, et al, 2011).
Nothing is as entertaining as online beefs, especially between celebrities. These past few weeks have been filled with lots of tea and drama from the boss lady Zari and Mange Kimambi, a socialite from Tanzania. The two took to their Instagram pages to attack each other. This is not the first time the two ladies are at each others throats.

Image: Instagram.com, @mangekimambi, @zarithebosslady

Source: UGC

Zari and Mange Kimambi tore each other after Mange made it public that the boss lady was turning forty years old and not thirty-eight as she claimed. Kimambi went ahead to accuse Zari of having photoshopped her flat stomach, calling her an attention seeker who was only thirsty for celebrity status. The boss lady did not take this lying down as she retorted back at Kimambi, labelling her a gorilla tracker.

READ ALSO: Tanzania activist Mange Kimambi sensationally suggests Diamond's son Nillan was sired by the late Ivan Ssemwanga

Who is Mange Kimambi?

Kimambi is a Tanzanian socialite based in the US. Before her fame as an activist, she was a famous blogger, known for sharing little known gossips and details about celebrities. She would mostly write gossip about Tanzanian and diaspora celebrities.

Zari and Mange beef

The beef started last year when the boss lady shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram page dedicated to her late ex-husband Ivan Semwanga. In the message, she thanked him for supporting and providing for the family while he was alive. The boss lady completely snubbed Diamond Platnumz, an act that elicited mixed reactions from the online followers including Mange Kimambi. Kimambi inquired why Zari was ignoring Diamond, yet she was living in his house back in South Africa. She went on to challenge her to leave the house if she could not recognise the father of her two kids.

Kimambi's accusation irked Zari so much that she responded by saying that she lives in Diamond's house by choice. She also added that she owns four homes in South Africa and she could live wherever she felt like.

Kimambi has also been going in on the boss lady over her age and now her new flame. She recently accused her of sending flowers to herself and indicating that they were from a man.

How can a flower seller know your name, unless you are the one buying and sending the flowers to yourself?

She advised Zari instead of wasting the money on flowers, to save and buy herself a home.

Previously, Kimambi also had an ugly beef with Hassan and even claimed that Zari's children with Diamond were sired by her ex-husband Ivan. She even took to social media to tear apart Mobettos mum claiming that shes the one misleading her daughter.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan struggles to clear name again after raunchy bedroom video resurfaces

The leaked tape

The vicious online war did not end there; Mange decided to feed the netizens with an old tape of the boss lady pleasuring herself. This was after Diamond went on air, revealing that his ex-wife had been having extramarital affairs with a famous musician from Nigeria. Kimambi took advantage of this and rekindled her beef with Zari Hassan. Through several Instagram accounts, Kimambi managed to distribute the old tape to as many online fans as possible before pulling it down.

In her response to the leaked tape, Hassan shared beautiful scenery taken from the balcony of her beautiful home with a caption saying,

Where to watch a beautiful sunset, sio ghetto za Trump na usaidizi wa food stamps.

In an interview, the boss lady disclosed that the tape made its way online after her ex-lover recorded their intimate session. He then decided to leak it after Zari refused his blackmail. She accepts that the tape is real and she is not ashamed of her past. Zari and Mange Kimambi fight over the past few days came about when Kimambi accused Hassan of living a fake life and hiring cars to stunt for the gram. Zari Hassan, on the other hand, accused Mange of being a prostitute in the United States of America while still living in a slum. Mange decided to pull a fast one by leaking the video online before being forced to pull it down by Vanessa Mdee.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan in online shouting match Tanzania activist who claimed she was arrested for faking her age

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Margret Kamande was operating a chain of burglary operations within and without the country

- Detectives said she was wanted by Interpol and Zimbabwean authorities for similar charges

- Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was responding to an insecurity call at Blue Hut hotel

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have arrested a notorious female house breaker after she was captured on several CCTV cameras illegally gaining access into apartments and offices within Nairobi.

Margret Waithira Kamande was nabbed on Thursday, May 2, while trying to board a flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

READ ALSO: Kitale: Abducted 70-year-old woman rescued from pit latrine after 6 days of searching

READ ALSO: Uhuru's housing project receives KSh 25 billion boost from World Bank

According to DCI, the suspect was operating a network of burglary activities within and without the county, and was on the list of Interpol's most wanted persons.

She was reported to have jumped bail in Zimbabwe after being arrested and arraigned for charges relating to house breaking, burglary and stealing.

Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was shot at Blue Hut hotel while responding to an insecurity call.

READ ALSO: Betting board bans celebrities from advertising gambling

On Friday, Mach 22, sleuths arrested another notorious burglar identified as Michael Joseph Otieno whose burglary skills were compared to Spiderman, a popular movie character.

The suspect was reported to have carried his operations in Nairobi's posh estates of Kileleshwa and Kilimani.

He was arrested after being captured on CCTV cameras.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Untold Story of Wamama. The King of Kilimani Mums I Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Legendary Congolese musician Mose Fan Fan is dead.

The rhumba star died on the night of Friday, May 3, at the age of 75 of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment on Thika Superhighway, Nairobi.

READ ALSO: Man complains of girlfriend's demand for marriage after dating for 7 years

The rhumba star died of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment along Thika Superhighway in Nairobi. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan family re-unites on Ellen Degeneres' show, wins KSh 5 million

He is reported to have been on a recording tour in Nairobi when he collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Kasarani.

Mose's death was confirmed by his producer Tabu Osusa who noted he was to record a new song with vocalists based in Nairobi including Paddy Makani and Disco Longwa.

READ ALSO: Actress Omotola Jalade warns couples against sharing in-house issues on social media

"I regard him as one of Africa's finest guitarist and music writers," said award-winning Cartoonist Paul Kelemba porpularly known as Maddo

"He has been a frequent visitor to Nairobi from 2015 collaborating with Ketebul Music and Tabu Osusa," he added.

READ ALSO: Explosive investigative documentary Jicho Pevu to make comeback on TV

Mose played guitar on Dje Melasie with Franco's OK Jazz in 1972.

"We are still in shock and we are making arrangements to have him taken to a decent morgue as we reach out to relations," said Osusa.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Young Girl Surviving on an Oxygen Tank

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- The two had attended the funeral of Mombasa deputy governor's father in Malindi

- Area MP Aisha Jumwa was the MC who invited Edwin Sifuna to address mourners

- Hell broke loose when Sifuna started talking about ODM matters including ejection of Jumwa from the party

- The Irate Malindi MP snatched the microphone from him as mourners booed

- Those who talked later condemned the incident and Sifuna was given a chance to talk

Embattled Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa caused drama in a funeral at Jilore village in Malindi sub-county after she snatched a microphone from Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna who was addressing mourners.

Sifuna was conveying a condolence message to hundreds of mourners on behalf of his party leader Raila Odinga at the burial of Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingis father when the incident happened.

READ ALSO: Boeing 737 slides into river with 136 people on board

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi (right and in black cap) and Mombasa County Deputy Governor William Kingi (left) having a chat at the funeral. Photo: Onesmus Baraka

Source: Original

READ ALSO: The lavish lifestyle of Kisumu US-based woman who claimed she learned English by watching Ellen's show

While addressing the mourners, Sifuna begun to speak matters concerning ODM party and before he finished, Jumwa who was given the official duty of being an MC moved in and snatched the microphone from him.

The angry lawmaker started yelling at Sifuna while looking for the support from other leaders but she could not get it.

Stop bringing politics SG, we have come here for one reason, to mourn and condole with the family of the late, yelled Jumwa.

This is a funeral and we do not want politics around. If you want politics look for an ODM platform to talk on behalf of that party, she added.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna was left stranded and wordless as Aisha Jumwa snatched the microphone from him. Photo: K 24

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Vihiga: Gavana Ottichilo aanza kazi ya ujenzi wa viwanja 5 katika kila kaunti ndogo

Mourners immediately booed Jumwa after the incident and shouted her down but she could hear none of it.

Things seemed to turn against her when Mombasa Deputy Governor Kingi after making his final remarks invited Sifuna to speak.

William said the former prime minister had called him and informed him that he would wish to attend his fathers burial but unfortunately, he went to another burial in Siaya county but he sent the secretary general to represent him.

Sifuna stated ODM was still strong and would only reward those loyal to it, warning Jumwa that her days were numbered in the party.

READ ALSO: Papa Lolo composer Mose Fan Fan dies in Nairobi

Walk around but your days are very few, we need leaders who will respect their political parties despite their political views, he said

Sifuna said Raila had sent him to grieve with the family of the late Edward Kingi adding that the party leader was together with them.

You are among the people who have stood with the party and obeyed its principles and we shall reward you when that time comes, he said in reference to Kingis loyalty to ODM.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi wrapped up the whole drama with the native Mijikenda language expressing his anger.

The county chief said it was a big shame for visitors to be embarrassed and urged coastal leaders to respect mourners.

This is shameful, we have displayed our dirty linen in public and what should we expect our people to say about us out there? he posed.

He said lack of unity among local leaders had made people disrespect them saying that it was sad that such an incident occurred before his eyes.

Some of us have joined groupings and travel in upcountry areas shouting politics but when others come here, we are the very first to block them from talking. We should first of all work for our people and politic later, said Kingi in reference to Jumwa who has been doing rounds with team Tanga Tanga supporting Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential ambitions.

Among those present were Likon MP Mishi Mboko, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire, Lands CAS Gideon Mung'aro among other top leaders.

Story by Onesmus Baraka, TUKO correspondent - Kilifi county

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Source: TUKO.co.ke
Alta Ben Pollard had a simple response to a reporters question: What is the secret to living to 100 years old?

I didnt die, Pollard said clearly and without hesitation.

Anyone who knows the newest centenarian would not be surprised.

I can tell you why, said Pollards daughter, Tomi Parisotto. Orneriness.

Whatever the reason, Pollard has seen a lot in her 100 years. From the birth of the auto to cell phones and air travel, Pollard has witnessed it.

Pollard was born April 30, 1919 in Utica, Okla., near Durant to Oscar and Ona Nancy Bush. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a homemaker. Pollard had two siblings who are both deceased.

She met Granville Pollard, Sr., and they married on Aug. 19, 1938 in Denison, Texas. They had 58 years together before Granville died in 1997.

Pollard has two children, Terry and Tomi; six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
On the video, Lee is shown confronting Ring and wrestling her for control of her handgun.

After taking the gun from Ring, Lee is depicted on the video as pointing it at Rings daughter and pulling the trigger as she crouched behind the stores counter. Ring and her daughter then managed to flee to safety.

Ring described to Frizzell how she purposely emptied the six-shot revolver at Lee while trying to keep him from wrestling the gun away from her.

The whole time he was taking my gun, I was pulling and pulling (the trigger) because I knew he was going to kill my daughter, Ring said. All I could think of was, He is going to kill Ashley. He is going to kill my daughter.

Ring said the ordeal has affected her and her entire family. He took a part of us, she said.

Frizzell denied the governments request for a longer sentencing range, instead opting for a range between that recommended by the U.S. Probation Office and prosecutors, or 121 months to 151 months in prison.
The message is to know your surroundings and what kinds of snakes might live nearby and to realize almost every area in Oklahoma is home to some kind of snake. In April and May snakes are more active not only because of the weather but also because its mating season, he said. Snakes are out looking for each other and that also can explain why people might see several in one area.

Just watch where youre walking, Goodwin said. Wear shoes that cover your toes, not flip-flops. Watch where you put your hands if youre doing things like moving debris or other things around your yard.

Of all the snake species in our state, most should be welcomed visitors as controllers of mouse and rat and insect populations. They will steal eggs, however, and some can take up residence in attics or under porches.

Only 5% of the snake species in Oklahoma are venomous, Goodwin said.

Venomous snakes in Tulsa County include the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and western pygmy rattlesnake. Western massasauga rattlesnakes have been found as near as Washington County and southern Osage County to the north; western diamondback rattlers are in rocky areas of southern Muskogee and Okmulgee counties.
The sewage samples in Tulsa were collected Friday. The Oklahoma State Department of Health didnt identify an omicron case until the agency announced it Tuesday afternoon, among the last states to detect the latest variant through genomic sequencing.
The Attorney General says he does not understand the position of the leader of the Joint Trade Union Movement who says he supports being vaccinated against Covid 19 but is not supporting the Government's plan for all public sector workers to be vaccinated or face being furloughed from mid- January.
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Hundreds of thousands of refugee youth in Kenya do not attend school because of lack of funding, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) cautioned today. UNHCR and SUPKEM are working together for the first time ever to launch a campaign during Ramadan calling on members of the public, including individuals, companies, and foundations to contribute funds to increase access to education for refugees in Kenya.

Kenya is host to more than 450,000 refugees, 77 percent of whom are women and children. The majority of refugee children living in Kenyas Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps only have access to primary education. Less than one third of refugee school-age children are able to attend secondary school and only 13 per cent of refugee youth have access to tertiary education.

These are distressing statistics revealing the disparagingly low number of refugees accessing education in Kenya. Behind these statistics are children and youth, boys and girls, aspiring to be teachers, doctors, business owners  but instead, they are sitting in limbo, waiting for a chance to fulfil their dreams, said Fathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR Representative in Kenya.

A funding shortfall for UNHCRs education programmes has resulted in the lack of basic infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teaching personnel essential to provide quality education to refugee children and youth in Kenya.

By joining efforts with SUPKEM in this holy month of Ramadan, our hope is that we can draw attention and support to this growing crisis. Members of the public, community and business leaders have an opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of refugees and the host communities in Kakuma and Dadaab camp by improving their access to education, said Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

UNHCR and SUPKEM will be hosting an Iftar fundraising dinner for leaders from the Muslim community, business community, government representatives and members of the diplomatic corps.

The holy month of Ramadan is a time where Muslims embark on a path of spiritual self-reflection and intensify our response to alleviate the suffering of others. Many refugees in Kenya have lived in forced displacement for over 20 years. With this campaign, we can help alleviate some of their suffering, said Yusuf A. Nzibo, SUPKEM Chairman.

The campaign will run during the entire month of Ramadan. To support this campaign, please visit: donate.unhcr.org/education

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Ukraine reduces trade in goods with Russia to US$2.3 bln in Q1

01:59, 04.05.19 1343

Meanwhile, trade with the EU grew to US$9.5 billion.
Kurz had a phone conversation with Zelensky.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged support to Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky in the reform process and the fight against corruption.

Kurz said on Twitter on Friday, May 3, that he had held a friendly telephone conversation with Zelensky.

Read alsoZelensky's adviser Danyliuk, U.S. Energy Secretary Perry discuss Ukraine's energy independence

"Ukraine remains an important partner for Austria and the EU. We will continue to actively support reforms and the fight against corruption," Kurz said.

"It is important to finally get progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements with respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," he added.
Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting.

Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Ukraine's parliamentary factions and President-elect Volodmyr Zelensky have discussed his inauguration, foreign and domestic policy, including the possibility of disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and the adoption of new election laws.

The meeting took place in the parliament's building on Saturday, May 4, leader of the Samopomich parliamentary faction Oleh Berezyuk told journalists after the event, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's President-elect: Date for presidential inauguration to be known on May 14

He outlined the issues discussed at the meeting with Zelensky, namely the newly elected president's vision of foreign and domestic policy, relations with parliament, in particular, "the possibility of disbanding parliament," as well as the adoption of new election legislation and the abolition of [parliamentary] immunity."

The lawmaker recalled that Zelensky had proposed his inauguration date for May 19.

"I personally do not see any problems in this. The sooner the president starts working, the sooner he takes responsibility for what he has promised," Berezyuk said, adding that the parliament "will formalize this proposal next plenary week."

"The faction will also formally take a decision," he added.

He expressed the hope that during the next plenary week lawmakers would decide on the date of inauguration.

"The fact that the newly elected president personally came to parliament and met with the leaders of the factions, discussing issues, is new in the history of the Ukrainian parliament and the leadership of the Ukrainian state," Berezyuk said.

Berezyuk said that outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting, while the parliamentary factions were represented in part by the chairmen of the factions, and in part by their representatives.
Horbatiuk says the Prosecutor General's Office needs to be reformed.

Chief of the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine Serhiy Horbatiuk says he is ready to head the PGO under Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency.

When asked on Espreso TV whether he is ready to become chief prosecutor, as he previously announced, he confirmed he is ready "if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide so."

Read alsoProsecutor snaps back at Poroshenko following criticism, says president "created problems" in Maidan probe

"The beginning of the answer will be the following: the Prosecutor General's Office needs changes. Because there are many instances of the violation of the law committed by the prosecutor general himself," he said. "This, in particular, is interference in criminal proceedings carried out by our department. And in view of ensuring law in the cases that our department has been investigating, I answered I would like these principles to be observed both by the PGO and all prosecutor's offices across Ukraine. And if there is trust, if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide, I'm ready to take on this."

When asked if any job offers came from President-elect Zelensky's headquarters, Horbatiuk answered in the negative. "There have been no offers from any political force during my work," he said.
The full list is available on the group's website.

Some 86 Ukrainians were behind bars in Russia-occupied Crimea for political or religious reasons as of May 2, 2019.

Sixty of them are Crimean Tatars, the Crimean Human Rights Group said.

The full list is available on the group's website.

Human rights activists profile them according to 13 criminal cases.

There are seven groups in the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case: the Yalta group (six people), the first Bakhchisaray group (four people), the first Simferopol group (five people), the second Bakhchisaray group (nine people), the second Simferopol group (24 people), the Krasnohvardiiske group (three people), and the Sevastopol group (four people).

Read alsoRFE/RL: HRW blasts Russia over 'escalating pressure' on Crimean Tatars

Thirteen people are in custody in the case of the so-called "Ukrainian saboteurs," three prisoners belong to the Sentsov group, three are on trial for involvement in the Noman Celebicihan Battalion, two persons have been brought to trial for involvement in Maidan [the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine], one for involvement in Tablighi Jamaat, a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement. Another nine people have been convicted in single criminal cases listed as one group.

The number of political prisoners in Russia has reached above 230 as President Vladimir Putin's government implements an "ever-increasing array of laws specifically designed to criminalize acts of everyday life," according to a new report created with input from the Moscow-based rights group Memorial, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

According to Ukrainian parliamentary commissioner for human rights Liudmyla Denisova, more than 80 citizens of Ukraine are held in Russian prisons for their political views. Among them are film director Oleh Sentsov, Stanislav Klykh, Pavlo Hryb, Roman Sushchenko, Kiazim Ametov, Mykola Karpyuk, and others.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded on May 3, there were no casualties on May 4.

There has been escalation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, as the number of Russia-led forces' attacks on Ukrainian positions grew to 21 instances on May 3; proscribed weapons  120mm and 82mm mortars  were used in nine attacks.

The enemy also opened fire from weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook in a morning update on May 4.

Read alsoUkraine's Defense Minister: Russian passportization could be used as pretext for large-scale war

Hot spots were the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, the villages of Novotroyitske, Berezove, Pavlopil, Pyshchevyk, Lebedynske, Mykolaivka, Zolote-4, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, and Shumy.

"Two members of the Joint Forces have been wounded in shelling," the press center said.

Ukrainian troops fired back in every attack. "According to Joint Forces' intelligence, one invader was killed and another four were wounded on May 3," it said.

Since Saturday midnight, the enemy has already attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka in the Skhid (Easter) sector twice, using various types of grenade launchers, larger-caliber machine guns, and small arms. They also shelled Ukrainian troops deployed near the village of Lebedynske, using large-caliber machine guns and small arms.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties on May 4.
The meeting is scheduled for the beginning of July.

The Holy See's Press Office said that the Pope has called the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in July, as a sign of his closeness to the community and his efforts to build peace in the troubled nation.

"Pope Francis is once more reaching out to the troubled spots of the world in his effort to bring about peace and harmony. This time, on the eve of his visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the Holy Father turned his attention to Ukraine," Vatican News said.

In his New Year address to the Diplomatic Corps in January, Pope Francis mentioned the "humanitarian initiative in Ukraine on behalf of those suffering, particularly in the eastern areas of the country."

Read alsoHoly See recognizes Orthodox Church of Ukraine  Kyiv Patriarchate

The Holy See Press Office released a statement on Saturday, May 4, saying the Pope has invited the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in Rome, July 5-6. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

"In the delicate and complex situation in which Ukraine finds itself, the Holy Father Francis has decided to invite to Rome, July 5 to 6, 2019, the Major Archbishop, the members of the permanent Synod and the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The meeting will also be attended by the Superiors of the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia responsible for the country," the statement said.

"With this meeting, the Holy Father wishes to give a sign of his closeness to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that carries out pastoral service both at home and in various places in the world," it said.

According to the statement, this meeting will also offer a further opportunity to deepen the analysis of the life and needs of Ukraine, with the aim of identifying the ways in which the Catholic Church, and in particular the Greek-Catholic Church, can dedicate itself ever more effectively to preaching the Gospel, contributing to the support of those who suffer and promoting peace, in agreement, as far as possible, with the Catholic Church of the Latin rite and with other Churches and Christian communities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a gathering marking the centenary of the May Fourth Movement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2019. Xi Jinping called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering held at the Great Hall of the People to mark the centenary of the May Fourth Movement.

The May Fourth Movement started with mass student protests on May 4, 1919 against the government's response to the Treaty of Versailles that imposed unfair treaties on China and undermined the country's sovereignty after the World War I. It then triggered a national campaign to overthrow the old society and promote new ideas, including science, democracy and Marxism.

Wang Huning presided over the gathering. Other Chinese leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, and Wang Qishan were also present.

Xi said the May Fourth Movement was a great patriotic and revolutionary campaign pioneered by advanced young intellectuals and joined by the people from all walks of life to resolutely fight imperialism and feudalism.

With its mighty force, the movement inspired the ambition and confidence of the Chinese people and nation to realize national rejuvenation, Xi added.

PATRIOTISM

Xi said the May Fourth Movement gave birth to the great spirit centered on patriotism, progress, democracy and science, with patriotism at the core.

"As long as the banner of patriotism is being held high, the Chinese people can unleash great powers in the endeavors to transform China and the world," Xi said.

The essence of patriotism is having unified love for the country, the Party and socialism, Xi added, urging young Chinese to follow the instructions and guidance of the Party, and remain dedicated to the country and the people.

Young people are also urged to establish belief in Marxism, faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as confidence in the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

NATIONAL REJUVENATION

Xi said young people always play a vanguard role in realizing national rejuvenation.

In the new era, the theme and direction of Chinese youth movement and the mission of Chinese young people, Xi said, are to uphold the leadership of the CPC, and work along with the people to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Xi said Chinese youth of the new era should bear their responsibilities of the times and carry on the spirit of arduous struggle.

He urged them to hone abilities and nurture fine morality.

Xi also encouraged young people to not only care about their family and country, but also have concerns for humanity.

YOUTH WORK

Xi said nurturing the young generation is the whole Party's political responsibility.

"We should listen to young people's views on social issues and phenomena, as well as their opinions and advices on the work of the Party and the government," Xi said.

"Even if they express harsh or partial criticism, we should correct our mistakes when we have made any and guard against them when we have not," he added.

Xi called on the Party to address young people's concerns and asked the Communist Youth League of China to unite and lead the young people to strive for the national rejuvenation.

"Young friends," Xi said near the end of his speech. "Let your youth shine even more in the sacrifice for the country, the people, the Chinese nation and humanity."

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[ Editor: WPY ]
New Statistical Technique Finds La Nina Years More Favorable for Mountain Snowpack Than El Nino Years

When there are multiple factors at play in a situation that is itself changing, such as an El Nino winter in a changing climate, how can scientists figure out what is causing what? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an advanced statistical method for quantifying and visualizing changes in environmental systems and easily picking out the driving factor.

In a new study published in the journal Climate Dynamics, they used their new technique to look at California winters. "A lot of people will describe a winter by how rainy or how cold it was," said lead author John P. O'Brien, a graduate student research assistant at Berkeley Lab. "Instead of asking each question individually, what we're doing is interrogating both at the same time as a function of some large-scale climate forcing, such as El Nino."

The new method allows researchers to account for variables whose statistics change over time - in this case, changes caused by El Nino/La Nina. They found that in northern California, La Nina and El Nino conditions result in nearly equivalent amounts of winter precipitation. However, La Nina winters tend to be much colder, resulting in conditions more favorable for increased mountain snowpack. So from a summer water supply perspective, contrary to common belief, La Nina winters may in fact be preferable to El Nino winters. The same, however, did not hold true for southern California.

Unique Synthetic Antibodies Show Promise for Improved Disease and Toxin Detection

Scientists have invented a new "synthetic antibody" that could make screening for diseases easier and less expensive than current go-to methods. Writing in the journal Nano Letters, a team led by Markita Landry of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley describes how peptoids - synthetically produced molecules, first created by Ron Zuckermann at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, that are similar to protein-building peptides - and tiny cylinders of carbon atoms known as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be combined to selectively bind a target protein.

The resulting nanoparticle assembly fluoresces under near-infrared fluorescence microscopy, thus allowing for target protein quantification just like a biologically derived antibody.

The researchers demonstrated that their peptoid-SWNT assemblies remain stably bound to their target when tested in samples with a wide range of pH, salt concentrations, and temperatures; and when exposed to various protein-digesting enzymes - conditions no conventional antibodies could be expected to function in.

"This new platform encourages us to look to synthetic chemistry and nanomaterials science to create molecules that bind biological markers for diseases like cancer or viral infections," said Landry. "The stability of purely synthetic recognition elements could facilitate easier disease diagnosis. They could also have safety applications by detecting hazardous chemicals in water or food."

Exploring New Ways to Control Thermal Radiation

Planck's Law, which describes electromagnetic radiation from heated bodies, forms the basis of quantum theory. However, with the advent of micro- and nanotechnology, it is easy to fabricate materials where Planck's Law will not hold.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Berkeley Lab set out to explore how deviations from Planck's Law could impact energy-related technologies based on nano- and micro-structured geometries.

"Nobody has explored the relative behavior of nano-geometries, particularly anisotropic nano-geometries--nanostructures that are rectangular in cross-section--in this way," said Ravi Prasher, one of the authors.

Imagine a thermal storage material that converts electricity to heat and then radiates it to a photovoltaic cell to get the electricity back when desired. The radiative emitter from the thermal storage could be made from nanostructures to maximize the performance.

The team of researchers from Berkeley Lab and UC San Diego used the radiation models available at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry to model the thermal radiation from rectangular nanoribbons of silica glass, a polar dielectric material. Practical applications for this early-stage energy conversion are important for many renewable energy applications, such as concentrated solar electricity production, water desalination, thermochemical reactions, water heating, and thermal storage.
A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men in the United States and the second most common cancer in Turkey. The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in industrialized countries.

The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge about prostate cancer, its diagnosis, and treatment among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

This study was performed from January to April 2015 with the patients applied to our clinic. A questionnaire that includes 10 questions was administered to the participants.

One hundred fifty-nine participants were included in this study. The participants' ages were between 40 and 82 with a mean age of 61.5  7.9 years. Patient awareness of prostate biopsy and prostate cancer were 21.37 and 71.06%. The main origin awareness of PSA testing is family and friends. On the other hand, if the doctor advises acout prostate biopsy, 47.16% of the patients would accept and 11.31% of them would refuse this invasive procedure.

Prostate cancer is one of the important health-related problem among men in the world. Additional researches are needed to investigate the knowledge of prostate cancer among men and the Ministry of Health may take preventive methods to increase the cancer knowledge level of people.

The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male. 2019 Apr 22 [Epub ahead of print]

Mustafa Sungur, Selahattin Caliskan

a Department of Urology , Hitit University Erol Olcok Education and Research Hospital , Corum , Turkey., b Department of Urology , Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul , Turkey.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31007118
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts []
A commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka was held at the United Nations in New York on May 3. Among several speakers who addressed the gathering was the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza.

By Robin Gomes

While reiterating its sincerest condolences to Sri Lankans for horrific terrorist attacks out against the innocent on April 21, the Holy See called for actions to eliminate terrorism, saying words of mere condemnation are not enough.

Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza, denounced Easter Sundays suicide bomb attacks on 3 churches and 4 hotels in the island nation and assured prayers for the victims and their families.

More than 250 people were killed, including foreigners, and over 500 were injured.

Listen to our report

Actions, not words

Words of condemnation, however sincere, are not enough, the Holy Sees diplomat told a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks held at the United Nations in New York on Friday. Actions, he stressed, are required to eliminate this scourge at its roots.

The Filipino archbishop reiterated Pope Francis words of profound human and spiritual closeness to the people of Sri Lanka as well as the assurance of his continued prayers for those who perished, those who survived the trauma, and all those who are grieving.

Christianophobia

Archbishop Auza pointed out that what happened in Sri Lanka is a deliberate attack against Christians.

To overlook the explicitly anti-Christian aspect of these attacks, he said, would do an injustice to the victims, the survivors and their families. He said that the international community is very forthright, and rightly so, in decrying rising anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. The same standard must be applied to attacks against Christians, he demanded.

He said that the recent General Assembly Resolution of April 2 was right when it condemned all terrorist attacks against places of worship that are motivated by religious hatred, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia.

Terrorist attacks are always and everywhere deplorable, but attacks on religious believers at worship, he stressed, are the most shameful and cowardly attack against peace imaginable. Thats what happened in Sri Lanka. And the whole world justly mourns, Archbishop Auza added.



Fear continues



Nearly 2 weeks after the terror attacks, Sri Lanka is still living in fear. Police Sri Lanka have requested members of the public hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police stations after hundreds of such blades were discovered in Mosques and homes during searches in the aftermath of suicide bomb attacks.

Police have asked people to hand over camouflaged materials similar to those worn by the military after large amounts of such material were uncovered in raids.

Sunday Masses and services in Catholic churches are being cancelled for a second weekend in Sri Lanka's capital after the government warned of more possible attacks by the same Islamic State-linked group that carried out the Easter suicide bombings.

The Associated Press reported Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, as saying he has received "foreign information" that attempts would be made this week to attack a church and another church institution.

Fr. Edmund Tillakaratne, spokesman for Colombo Archdiocese, said on Thursday that the cardinal had cancelled all Sunday services in the archdiocese.

Last week, all of Sri Lanka's Catholic churches were closed. The faithful followed a Mass and homily on television, celebrated by Card. Ranjith. Present at the televised service at his residence were the clergy and national leaders.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka has criticized the government for failing to act after security forces are said to have received warnings ahead of Easter Sundays attacks.
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State looks ahead to Pope Francis 29th Apostolic Journey abroad, which takes him to Bulgaria and to North Macedonia from 5 to 7 May.

By Linda Bordoni

During Pope Francis Apostolic Visit to the Balkan nations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says the Pope will be highlighting that which unites.

Speaking to Vatican News on the eve of the Popes departure, Cardinal Parolin pointed to the logo and motto of the trip to Bulgaria, which is Pacem in Terris - Peace on Earth - the title of an encyclical by Pope St. John XXIII, the first visitor and Apostolic Delegate to the country.

The Pope will be a bearer of peace, a witness to the Risen Christ, the Cardinal explained, and since we are in Easter time, we remember the apparitions of the Risen Jesus to his disciples when his first greeting was Peace be with you. Peace I leave you; my peace give you.

Parolin added that the theme of peace, which was central to John XXIIIs pontificate, will be built upon by Pope Francis with those attitudes of which John XXIII was a witness: the search for friendship, gentleness, amiability, encounter with the other, and the capacity to highlight what unites more than what divides.

These great features of the figure and the Pontificate of John XXIII had already emerged at the time when he was Papal Nuncio in Bulgaria; I believe that it is along these lines that the contribution of Pope Francis during this journey will be placed," he said.

Ecumenism

With an eye to the Popes schedule in Bulgaria that lists a moment of prayer before the Throne of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a meeting with representatives of different religious denominations, and a visit to Patriarch Neophyte - the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - the Cardinal noted that the visit shines the spotlight on some particularly significant figures of the present and past, such as those of the two Saints: the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

They were saints of the Church of the first millennium, the Cardinal said, a Church that was still undivided but where tensions were already being experienced and which would ultimately lead to fracture and division.

The witness they provide in their search for unity, in their desire to evangelize new peoples using new methods and new languages, Parolin said, adds meaning to the Popes encounter with the people of Bulgaria that is to take place in a dimension of ecumenical fraternity, recognizing each other as brothers in the one Lord, and at the same time striving to overcome the divisions and the tensions that still exist.

It speaks, he said, of the desire to pursue the Christian mission to bring the Gospel to the world, certain that the effect of this evangelization will be all the more profound and incisive the more united we are, proclaiming together the Word of salvation that the Lord has entrusted to us.

Migrants and refugees

Pope Francis is also scheduled to visit a refugee camp during his journey. Cardinal Parolin recalled the four verbs chosen by the Pope in calling for solidarity and action regarding migrants and refugees: Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate.

He pointed out that Pope Francis carries forward this teaching with concrete gestures and never tires of bearing witness to this important issue during almost all of his journeys and in many other situations and occasions as well.

Here, too, he wants to underline this aspect, taking into account that protecting also means defending and protecting the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a situation of vulnerability and often of marginalization, he said.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

In North Macedonia, the Pope will visit the city of Skopje, birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, focusing attention on the poor.

Together with John XXIII and Saints Cyril and Methodius, Cardinal Parolin said Mother Teresa is clearly a dominant figure of this journey.

When I was in Macedonia a few years ago, I was able to see how much affection and devotion there is towards Mother Teresa. Naturally, this attention towards the poor, the marginalized, towards those who find themselves in need, translates into something very concrete, he said.

Mother Teresa, he recalled, compared herself to just a drop in the ocean, noting however, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Cardinal Parolin said the Pope is bound to make that teaching his own and insist on asking the faithful to put charity into action.

Challenges and opportunities

I believe, Cardinal Parolin said, there are no challenges, but opportunities in this journey, especially taking into account the geographical and historical reality of Bulgaria, which, he said, is a crossroads of meetings and peoples, and the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in North Macedonia.

Once again, he concluded, it is an occasion to launch the theme of the culture of encounter and of the mutual richness provided by diversity.


Delmonico Steakhouse will commemorate the 20th anniversary of its opening at The Venetian with menu specials from May 3-12 and other surprises throughout the year.

The anniversary specials will highlight some of the restaurants most beloved dishes throughout the years, including house cured tasso and smoked mushroom cream over angel hair pasta with fresh chives; crab mirliton stuffed Gulf oysters with bearnaise sauce; BBQ salmon with andouille potato hash homemade Worcestershire sauce and fried onion crust; bananas foster ice cream pie; and lemon icebox pie with strawberry coulis.

Delmonico Steakhouse has also designed a special commemorative logo which will appear on menus throughout the rest of the year, as well as on the lapels of all service staff.

I opened Delmonico Steakhouse 20 years ago with the hopes of sharing the flavors of New Orleans with Las Vegas and to celebrate the art of dining, said Chef Emeril Lagasse. Im grateful for the ongoing support of our customers, the Las Vegas community and The Venetian, who share and support these intentions. We look forward to continuing to share our traditions, cuisine and service with all our guests for many years to come.

Delmonico Steakhouse is Chef Emeril Lagasses take on the classic American steakhouse with Creole influences. The restaurant brings back a time when cocktail hour was not to be missed and dinner with friends was a celebration. Located in Restaurant Row at The Venetian, Delmonico Steakhouse takes its name from the legendary, century-old New Orleans institution, Delmonico Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant has been a Grand Award recipient of Wine Spectator magazine since 2004, and named a four-star restaurant by Forbes Travel and a Top 5 Steakhouse in the Nation by National CitySearch. Chef de Cuisine Ronnie Rainwater has also been with the restaurant since shortly after its debut in 1999.

The anniversary celebrations will augment Delmonico Steakhouses current popular offerings, including Creekstone Farms steak selections, a rotating weekly chefs menu with original inspirations from the kitchen, the one-of-a-kind Kitchen Table experience, an award-winning wine list and the unparalleled whiskey library featuring over 700 whiskey bottlings from countries, including Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and India.
Most people are only familiar with the inconceivable, sinful nature of Las Vegas from the movies, and there are a lot of them. From Connerys Diamonds are Forever, Depps Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the now infamous The Hangover and countless others.

(Pictured: The Hangover Suite at Caesars Palace)

The irony is that while there is a wild element to many of these movies, the truth of Sin City is actually much more interesting and holds many more tales  most of which have been lost to the sands of the Mojave Desert.

More than Just a City

Anyway, it goes without saying that although Las Vegas is a gambling Mecca, its a lot more than that. There are a myriad of attractions both in and outside the city to cater to people of all levels of crazy. After all, the modern area as we know it has seen the likes mobsters like Bugsy Siegel (who died in a flail of bullets), the eccentric Howard Hughes (who reportedly spent more than $300 million buying up real estate), and many more. Here youll be able to do almost anything (including smoking the now state legal cannabis) your heart desires  unless it croaks of course. Here are a few fun facts for you:

Nuclear Sightseeing

In the decade spanning 1952-1962 there were more than 100 nuclear bombs detonated north of Las Vegas. This prompted a rise in atomic-themed tourism which even featured restaurants and other establishments adopting the theme. While the show was no doubt stupendous with always reliable sunny weather all year, the fallout is estimated to be responsible for around 11,000 deaths.

Lucky Travelers to Las Vegas

Those who have been fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas know exactly what we are talking about and have no doubt been somewhat dumbstruck by the sheer architectural audacity and magnificence of certain casinos. These include and are certainly not limited to the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, Delano Las Vegas, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, Wynn Las Vegas, or even the brilliantly designed Venice themed Venetian.

If youve yet to have the luxury or simply want to hold on to your bank balance a little longer before you visit, try out the prominent Canadian online casino Jackpot City with all new for 2019 exclusive bonuses and offers to play Vegas-style games but without leaving the comfort of your home.

Prostitution Actual Isnt Legal

Many people believe that prostitution is a given in the city of Las Vegas, but its actually illegal. However, any county in the state of Nevada with a population of less than 700,000 is allowed to license a brothel. Even so, illegal prostitution still thrives and what happens in Vegas

The Highest Jackpot Winner

Following on from the last veterans run of good luck, the highest ever jackpot won by someone in Las Vegas was $39.7 million by a 25 year old software engineer from Los Angeles. Its said he chose to be paid $1.5 million yearly instead of taking the lump sum.

No Income Tax

This might be reason enough to move there, let alone visit. Residents in the state of Nevada dont have to pay a single cent of personal income tax. There also isnt any corporation tax, although at present there is a 6.85% sales tax. By avoiding income tax on huge casino jackpots combined with so many competitive offers for legal NV online casinos and Las Vegas casinos, this factor is yet another solid justification.

Taking Betting Too Far

As if there was such a thing, back in 1980 betting went a little over the top when nurses from a Las Vegas hospital had to fire workers who were gambling on when patients would die. Its said one even tried to up the ante  if you catch our drift.

WW2 Veteran Elmer Sherwin Won the Jackpot Twice

Back in 1986 (at the age of 76), Sherwin won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot shortly after the Mirage opened. Even though he used his new found fortune to travel, he was determined to be the first man to win it twice and continued playing the slot often. When he was 92 he hit the same jackpot and won around $21 million  this time giving most of it away to charity. The odds of hitting that particular jackpot are reportedly in the region of 10 million to one.

The Rescue of FedEx

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO of FedEx, was on the verge of losing his company after initially inheriting $4 million and taking out a further $80 million in loans and investments to start the venture. Due to rising fuel costs, he was heavily in debt and almost sunk the company just two years later. After taking $5,000 to Las Vegas in a last ditch effort, he turned it into $27,000 playing blackjack. While this wasnt enough to get the company back up in the air, it was the spark that got the flame burning again.

Las Vegas was Originally a Trade Route

The name Las Vegas was given to the area by a Mexican merchant by the name of Antonio Armijo who was establishing a trade route to Los Angeles in 1829. The name is actually Spanish for The Meadows which might not seem appropriate, but his caravan was following a tributary of the Colorado river at the time. You might be more than surprised to find out what there is to see.

If Las Vegas wasnt on your bucket list before and youre still not 100%  the facts above are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In the meantime, enjoy the best online slots, of which we have put together the most lucrative bonuses for you to take advantage of, which often include free spins on top games. Who knows? Maybe youll be the next person to win a jackpot with your bonus and be on the next first class flight out to Nevada.


California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) will celebrate moms all Mothers Day weekend long, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas May 9-12* and a nationwide fundraiser Thursday, May 9** to benefit March of Dimes, the nonprofit organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies (Photo credit: California Pizza Kitchen).

To support the fundraiser on May 9, CPK guests can present the fundraiser flyer or mention to their server that theyre dining to support March of Dimes, and CPK will donate 20 percent of food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases from dine-in, takeout, curbside, catering and delivery orders placed directly with CPK.

Making a positive impact in our communities is an important part of what we do at California Pizza Kitchen. This Mothers Day weekend, we look forward to honoring moms, from our guests to our employees, and are grateful to partner with March of Dimes to support the care of moms and babies everywhere, said Adam Tabachnikoff, senior vice president of marketing at CPK.

Were grateful to California Pizza Kitchen for supporting the work of March of Dimes in communities across the country this Mothers Day, said Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Hampton. This campaign will go a long way to help us improve health outcomes and pave a healthier future for moms and babies.

In addition to the national fundraiser, CPK invites guests to share a delicious meal and a loving slice of pizza with mom, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas. Available Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12, guests can order any of their favorite CPK pizza varieties, like the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza or Spinach + Artichoke Pizza, on special heart-shaped crispy thin crust at no additional charge.
The press conference on Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Vietnam Advertisement & Fair Exhibition JSC (Vietfair) and related units held a press conference on May 2 to introduce Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019.

Vietnam Medi-Pharm is an important annual event where advanced technologies and products in the industry are showcased. With continuous success over the past 25 years, I hope that the 26th edition continues to provide good opportunities for participants to share experience, seek partners, and boost business and technology co-operation, thus contributing to the development of the healthcare market, said Nguyen Dinh Anh, head of the Ministry of Healths Communications and Reward Department.

During the four-day event, a number of activities such as seminars and conferences on the latest regulations on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as businesses networking and advisory events will be organised.

Vietnams healthcare market is now a magnet to multinational corporations. Looking forwards, the market is expected to become even more attractive when the landmark Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

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Fresh policies take effect since May 2019, illustration photo

False denunciations

Under Decree 31/2019/ND-CP, dated April 10, 2019, providing detailed regulations and measures for implementing the Law on Denunciations, civil servants shall be subjected to criminal charges if they make false denunciations.

The Decree shall take effect since May 28.

Support for human resources development of SMEs

Decree 05/2019/BKHDT of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on support for the human resources development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shall take effect since May 12.

Accordingly, the State budget will sponsor 100% of expenditures for students of the SMEs located at disadvantaged areas and owned by women.

Laborers and managers of the SMEs will be provided with accounts to join the online training courses on websites or smart phones.

New emission standards for second-hand vehicle imports

Decision No. 16/2019/QD-TTg prescribes the schedule of application of emission standards for vehicles used on roads and second-hand vehicle imports and shall take effect since May 15.

Secondhand vehicle imports with forced induction engines or compression ignition engines will be subject to the Tier-4 emission standard from the entry into force of this Decision.

If the date of registration of second-hand vehicle import declaration is the same as specified in the Law on Customs or second-hand vehicle imports have arrived at Viet Nam's ports or border gates before May 15, 2019, the schedule specified in the Decision No. 249/2005/QD-TTg dated October 10, 2005 will continue to be applied.

In particular, second-hand vehicle imports with forced induction engines and those with compression ignition engines will apply the Tier-3 and Tier-2 emission standards, respectively.

New regulations on border gates of import of passenger cars with less than 16 seats

Circular 06/2019/TT-BCT dated March 25, 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on border gates of importation of passenger cars with less than 16 seats.

Accordingly, passenger cars with less than 16 seats, including new-brand and second-hand ones, shall be imported into Vietnam only through the seaport border gates of Cai Lan -Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

This Circular shall take effect from May 8, 2019.

Expanding labor outsourcing activities

Decree 29/2019/ND-CP, dated March 20, 2019 detailing and guiding the implementation of Article 58 of the Labor Code on licensing labor outsourcing activities, payment of escrow deposits and the list of jobs in which labor outsourcing is allowed.

Accordingly, since May 5, enterprises shall be able to sublease labor if they meet the following requirements: (1) Being the manager of the enterprise; (2) Having no criminal records; (3) Having working experience in the field of outsourcing or labor supply of at least full 36 months during the last 05 years preceding the date of submission of the license application dossier.
"The Cell Door, Robben Island"  completed in 2002 by Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela  sold for $112,575.-AFP Photo

The Cell Door, Robben Island  completed in 2002 by the Nobel peace laureate  exceeded the top end of the estimated range provided by Bonhams, which put its value at $60,000 to $90,000.

The wax pastel crayon drawing shows a few bars of the cell door and a key in the lock, sketched in purple.

The work is one of the few that Mandela  who was jailed for 27 years in total and inspired the struggle against apartheid  kept until his death in 2013.

Mandela's daughter Pumla Makaziwe Mandela previously had the work in her possession.

South Africa's first black president did a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Giles Peppiatt, the auction house's director of modern African art. Some were reproduced as lithographs to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was jailed from 1962 to 1990. He was held at Robben Island off Cape Town from 1964 to 1982. Mandela served as South African president from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela's drawing was one of six works that surpassed $100,000 at the sale of African art on Thursday.

Another South African artist, Irma Stern (1894-1966), earned the highest price of the auction  $312,575  for Malay Girl, a portrait from 1946.
POR14 result causes difficult to Hung Vuong Corporation

According to the latest news from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), the US DOC has announced the final anti-dumping duties of POR14 for HVG at $3.87 per kilogramme.

Previously, under the DOCs preliminary results published on September 10, 2018, HVG was to be applied 0 per cent anti-dumping tariff.

The bad news pushed HVGs stock down to only VND5,570 ($0.24), and liquidity on the stock market was about 830,000 units. HVG fell for four consecutive sessions, decreasing 31 per cent compared to the peak in the last three months (VND8,150  $0.35 per share).

Beside HVG, Nha Trang Seafood will still have to pay $1.37 per kilogramme in antidumping tax. The other four tra fish exporters are C.P Vietnam, Cuu Long Fish, Green Farms Seafood, and Vinh Quang Corp., with a tax rate of $1.37 per kilogramme, an increase of 0.96 cents compared to the preliminary tax rate.

The national export tax of $2.39 per kilogramme still applies.

According to VASEP, in February and March 2019, the value of Vietnam's tra fish exports to the US decreased by 22.8 and 44.4 per cent, respectively. Vietnam has dropped to the third position (after the EU) as the US' tra fish import markets with $71.16 million of export turnover, down 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2018, accounting for 15.1 per cent of the total tra fish export value in the first quarter of 2019.

Tra fish exports to the US may continue to decrease in the second quarter.

Speaking at the 2019 annual general shareholders meeting (AGM), chairman Duong Ngoc Minhwas confident when talking about the company preparing for a long journey to take the crown back.

Minh plans to retire from HVG in 2021, giving way for the new generation. HVGs chairman also predicted that the corporation would reach the revenue of VND20 trillion ($869.57 million) in 2020.

The unexpected blow from POR14 may be a throwback to HVG's ambitions and could cause further difficulties in repaying the looming debts that VIR previously reported HVG has accumulated.
Russia has backed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (centre) against the US as analysts say Moscow aims to turn the crisis to its advantage in its global tug-of-war with Washington. (Photo: AFP/HO)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay".

Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Moscow has its reasons for standing behind Maduro - he's a rare ally in Latin America and Russia has poured billions into the Venezuelan economy.

But analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is also playing the long game, hoping to use Venezuela as leverage in his global tug-of-war with Washington.

"Russia is seeking to translate its influence over Maduro - which is in fact not absolute - into an opportunity to have dialogue with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a Paris-based analysis firm, told AFP.

"Maduro is a bargaining chip."

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido declared himself acting president in January, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

More than 50 countries led by the United States lined up behind the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, but Russia and China have backed Maduro.

Reeling from Western sanctions, Moscow has quickly sensed an opportunity, even if it meant locking horns with the United States in Latin America, Washington's traditional sphere of influence.

In a highly publicised move in March, Moscow sent two planes with around 100 soldiers and equipment to Caracas, where Russian mercenaries are also believed to be operating.

'CUTTING A DEAL WITH TRUMP'

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, its backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine and military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

But the audacity with which the Kremlin inserted itself into the Venezuela crisis has drawn gasps in Washington.

"Russia is making the next play in our hemisphere," Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, wrote last month.

"Vladimir Putin may be laying the ground for making Venezuela the defining foreign policy debacle for President Trump in the same way Syria became that for the Obama administration."

Russia and Venezuela enjoy a long history of ties and Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, known for his passionate tirades against the United States, was a welcome guest at the Kremlin.

After Chavez's death in 2013 the relationship with a country that boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves has continued to thrive.

Russia is the second largest lender to Caracas after China, with Moscow heavily investing in Venezuela's oil resources and Caracas acquiring Russian arms worth billions of dollars.

However that also means, analysts say, that Russia has a lot to lose from a change in leadership. But what it stands to gain from a possible deal with Washington may be more important for the Kremlin.

"Putin would cut a deal, if in agreeing to let Maduro leave he got something really big from Trump in exchange," said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.

He suggested that Moscow wanted Washington to lift the damaging sanctions, to allow Russian oil companies to freely operate in Venezuela and agree on "spheres of influence".

"I think they (the Trump administration) would be happy to cut a deal with Putin, where he gets his troops out of Venezuela, in return for the US turning a blind eye to developments in Ukraine," Ash said.

HIGH-STAKES MEETING

Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to discuss the Venezuela crisis on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting starting Monday in Finland.

In duelling statements this week, Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilising" Venezuela while Lavrov said Washington was a "destructive influence" in the country.

Analysts say both sides appear reluctant to consider military options and are likely looking to make backroom deals.

Events on the ground may matter more. After the military uprising in support of his bid fizzled out this week, Guaido has called for demonstrations at army bases.

Other experts doubt Russia's real ability to influence the crisis.

The Trump administration is "greatly exaggerating the role of Russia and China. I don't think that's a decisive factor at all," said Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington

"Maduro's base of power remains reasonably intact. The military will be the key power."
The Hanoi Peoples Court yesterday re-opened a trial involving 15 people who were charged with the falsification of stock trading documents, stock price manipulation and fraudulent asset transfers.-VNA/VNS Photo

The trial was suspended last March due to the absence of lawyers for defendant Vu Thi Hoa and a number of witnesses.

It was the first time the Peoples Court had opened a trial on stock price manipulation.

The accused include 35-year-old Tran Huu Tiep  former management board chairman of the Central Mining and Mineral Import Export JSC (MTM), 53-year-old Nguyen Van Dinh  former director of the mining firm Nari Hamico, and former officials of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Tien Phong Bank (TPBank).

Tiep, Vu Thi Hoa and Nguyen Le Truong were accused of fraudulent asset transfers.

Defendants Bui Thien Ly and Do Huu Tai were accused of manipulating stock prices.

Dinh and four other defendants were accused of falsification of stock trading documents.

Five other defendants were accused of forgery in the course of employment.

According to the courts indictment, Dinh bought the legal documents for MTM in 2010. The company had no charter capital and no business operation.

Dinh and Tiep collaborated with bank officials to falsify the companys portfolio, which showed MTM had 103 shareholders with 31 million shares  equal to VND310 billion (US$13.8 million)  in 2014 to meet listing requirements.

Bank officials in 2013-15 helped the two defendants counterfeit financial invoices worth VND485 billion to validate shareholders capital contributions and the firms business results.

While completing requirements to list MTM shares on the stock market, Dinh was put into custody and accused of counterfeiting business stamps and documents to avoid taxes and violating lending rules in another case.

Tiep and his partners continued to put MTM shares on the stock market in mid-April 2016 and he owned half of the companys total post-listing shares, worth VND155 billion of charter capital.

In June 2016, when the false trading of MTM shares was discovered, the company had had more than 1,150 investors, 71 per cent of whom had reported the case to the police for investigation.

MTM shares were immediately de-listed from the stock market.

According to the court, the accused caused a VND56 billion loss to the stock market, including VND53 billion worth of revenue from selling MTM shares to other investors.

The court summoned 1.065 victims, 107 people with rights and obligations related to the case and 10 witnesses. However, few showed up.

Some 20 lawyers participated in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the 15 defendants at the trial.

The trial will last until May 7.
Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday coalition airstrikes in an eastern province have killed up to 50 Islamic State militants, while Taliban insurgents have killed at least seven government forces in a western district.

The Defense Ministry said the overnight airstrikes were carried out in coordination with Afghan ground forces and they struck IS training centers in the troubled Chapa Darah district of Kunar province. It asserted foreigners, including Uzbeks and Pakistanis were among the slain militants.

The deputy provincial governor, Gul Mohammad Baidar, told VOA that a key IS commander of Uzbek ethnicity also was among the dead. He confirmed there was no letup in clashes in the district involving Taliban insurgents and IS militants.

U.N. humanitarian agencies have reported the fighting in Chapa Darah has forced thousands of Afghan families in recent weeks to flee to safety.

The Taliban and IS routinely attack each others positions in Kunar and parts of neighboring Nangarhar province in their bid to expand their influence. Both of the Afghan provinces border Pakistan.

Separately, officials in the western Afghan province of Badghis confirmed Saturday the Taliban late night stormed security check points in the Qadis district, killing seven police officers and injuring several others.

Authorities in the eastern Ghanzi province said airstrikes by Afghan forces and their international partners Friday night killed eight civilians, and the incident is being investigated.

US-Taliban talks

Meanwhile, American and Taliban negotiators resumed peace talks Saturday in the Qatari capital of Doha after a one-day break, although neither side has reported whether the discussions are making any headway.

Officials said the talks remain focused on when U.S.-led foreign troops will withdraw in return for Taliban assurances that Afghanistan will not be used by transnational militant groups, including al-Qaida and IS.

U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, emphasized the need for all parties involved in the Afghan conflict to reduce violence in order to support efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement.

All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process. All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready, Khalilzad tweeted Saturday.

In a statement Friday, though, the Taliban again refused to cease hostilities or engage in intra-Afghan peace talks until their ongoing dialogue with Washington produces an agreement on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

Khalilzad repeatedly has stated that a final deal with the Taliban on troop withdrawal and counterterrorism assurances would require the insurgent group to engage in intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire.
Azerbaijan is a small country, yet it makes a large footprint on the world stage in two areas: oil, of which it has much, and media freedom, of which it has little.



Azerbaijan's oil wealth gives the nation's president, Ilham Aliyev, an unusual amount of power on the world stage. World leaders such as Germany and the United States have protested the state of media freedom in Azerbaijan, but they also strive to keep good relations with the Caucasus nation on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Germany, in particular, has been discussing importing oil from Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian resources.



Khadija Ismayilova can tell you about media freedom in Azerbaijan from firsthand experience.



The 42-year-old journalist rose to international fame when she was jailed in 2015 for tax evasion and abuse of power. Since being freed after the Supreme Court amended her sentence, she remains on probation, which means she can't leave the country.



That has prevented her from accepting a job in Lithuania and an award in Sweden, and visiting her mother before she died in a hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Her assets have been frozen by the government to pay the taxes it says she owes.

Ismayilova says she has been subjected to government harassment because of the subject matter she covers: Her corruption investigations have exposed far-reaching illegal financial dealings in the Aliyev family.



Yet Ismayilova continues to investigate corruption through an international organization known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It is an investigative reporting platform that involves a number of nonprofit entities and major news organizations worldwide.



She also compiles records on political arrests and jailings in Azerbaijan  a practice that involves not just journalists but also political activists and human rights advocates. Lawyers, too, are in danger of retaliation from the government. Ismayilova says many lawyers have been disbarred because they defended people against the accusations of the government.



Convictions



Ismayilova has worked for Voice of America, and for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which closed its Baku bureau in 2014. That's where the tax evasion charges began.



"Right now my legal problem is that the government announced I have to pay the tax on behalf of Radio Free Europe. It's absurd," she says. "Radio Free Europe is nonprofit and should not pay any taxes. But the government demands it."



RFE has participated in her defense, but she says its response has been too slow and bureaucratic to do her any good. And tax evasion is not the only roadblock to her work.



"Another conviction that I have is illegal entrepreneurship. The government says that because I don't have international accreditation in Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, all the money I earn from foreign media is illegal." She says she even has been fighting to obtain the honorarium from a UNESCO award she won in 2016.



Her work today involves teaching young journalists to do investigative work. But she does not teach in a traditional setting.



"I'm not allowed in classrooms," she says, because universities must be licensed by the government. She works with nongovernmental organizations to find young journalists interested in investigative work, and then trains them in small groups in private settings.

Restrictive situation



Human Rights Watch says "the space for independent activism, critical journalism and opposition political activity in Azerbaijan has been virtually extinguished." RSF ranks Azerbaijan 166th out of 183 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.



Today, she says, the country has more than a dozen journalists who are banned from leaving the country. There also are five journalists in prison.



When asked what would be a marker of change in her country of 10 million, Ismayilova's answer is instant.



"Independent judiciary. When the judge will be able to say no to the political regime when he's being ordered to rule against [a defendant] for political reasons. That will be a solution for many things."



Still, Ismayilova says she wouldn't want to move elsewhere.



"I don't want to leave the country for good," she says. "I love my country. But ... when you know that you are trapped here, they make you feel that the country is not just motherland, it's also a prison."
Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

The right moment

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

A nation in political turmoil

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers _ though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said.

High point of coronation

A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
This story originated in VOA's Amharic service, with Salem Solomon contributing.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA  Ethiopias historic strides toward democracy and openness have given journalists in the country hope for greater freedom to report the news.

In a speech Thursday at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged journalists to seize the moment.

But he also cautioned restraint.

We need to ensure that the opening up of the media space does not facilitate misinformation, the spread of hate speech and fake news, Abiy said. The pivotal moment that Ethiopia is in right now to help into its true potential can only be realized when those who are tasked with a duty to inform are aware of the responsibilities that come with such freedoms.

Abiy spoke in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Events organized by UNESCO also unfolded at the United Nations Conference Center and the headquarters of the African Union, both in Addis Ababa, the capital.

A delicate balance

Last year, Abiy made worldwide news when he released all journalists held in Ethiopian jails. It marked the first time in 14 years that no journalists were behind bars in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.

Ethiopia also opened up internet access and unblocked about 260 websites.

Ethiopian journalists attending the event, organized by UNESCO, said working for more press freedom while dealing with the threat posed by irresponsible media is a difficult balancing act.

Tsedale Lemma, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent magazine Addis Standard, said the press must meet high standards and report with integrity in the wake of newfound freedoms.

For far too long, weve been asking the government to liberalize the media, to lift its pressure on the media, its suppression on the media. A lot of sacrifices have been paid by many, many journalists throughout the past many years, and now that that time arrived, it sort of caught us unprepared, she said.

Tsedale worries about the rise of what she calls populist media that sensationalize news and stir up ethnic hatred in the country. She said it is the job of the press to police itself, with government assistance.

It is a delicate balance that we need to diligently thread through, and the government needs to pay attention not in a way of bringing back its suppression but in a way of supporting genuine journalists who are trying hard to do professional journalism, she said.

Ethiopia offers hope

Worldwide, about 100 journalists were killed in the past year, and more than 300 remain in prison.

But some international attendees at the conference found hope in Ethiopias achievements.

Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist, told VOAs Amharic service that he did not expect to find Ethiopia hosting an event to commemorate press freedom.

It was a great surprise for me that, in just one year, in 2018, Ethiopia was a country where lots of journalists were behind the bars, he said. When the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power, he liberalized the media. He released all political prisoners, and many journalists they were also released.
Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.



The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the state's governor, Hashim Khalid.



About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp, but they soon unleashed "violence on a unit of armed forces" in Nyala, Khalid said.



Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left "critically wounded," he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.



After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to the armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the region's military headquarters and organized by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.



The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.



It called on supporters to "reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia, and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala."



Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks.



Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the country's army rulers hand over power to civilians.



A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudan's western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.



The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.



Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.



In recent years violence has dropped in Darfur, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see whether he is still fit to rule.



The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible," according to the ruling seen Saturday by AFP.



Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.



But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.



"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads one of the groups behind the bid, said.



Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered Oct. 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.



During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum. A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.



But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial inquiry into his state of health.



Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.



Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967.
Militants fired a barrage of rockets Saturday from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into southern Israel, the Israeli military said.

Israel retaliated with air strikes from Israeli aircraft and tanks. The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians died, including a pregnant woman and an infant.

One airstrike Saturday struck a building housing the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Turkey strongly condemned the strike.

Israel said at least 250 rockets were lobbed into Israeli territory and that dozens were intercepted by Israels air defense systems.

Four Israelis were wounded by the rockets.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, while two Israelis soldiers were wounded in weekly protests near the border.

The flare-up comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders are in Cairo trying to finalize a fragile agreement that was hoped to lead to a long-term cease-fire in Gaza.

The latest violent outbreak, the most intense along the Gaza in weeks, also comes days before Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

The Eurovision song contest is also to be held in Israel at the middle of the month.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
Nearly three months into his second tenure at the helm of the U.S Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr finds himself in a hornet's nest he once sought to avoid.

In June 2017, just as special counsel Robert Mueller was widening his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Barr, then a lawyer in private practice in Washington, was ushered into the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump was beefing up his legal defense team amid allegations that his campaign had colluded with Russia. Trump wanted to know whether the semiretired Barr was "envisioning some role here," but Barr said he wasn't.

"I didn't want to stick my head into that meat grinder," Barr recalled during his confirmation hearing in January.

The Republican attorney general faces a barrage of criticism and a possible contempt vote by House Democrats over his characterizations of Mueller's final report, including charges that he's acted more like Trump's personal lawyer than an independent broker.

Trump had a famously fraught relationship with his first attorney general, former Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom he publicly belittled for allowing the Justice Department to investigate him.

Critics say that in Barr, who first served as attorney general in the administration of former President George H. W. Bush, Trump has finally found a partisan willing to stick up for him.

"We have a chief law enforcement officer who is definitely the defense lawyer for the president," Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, one of Trump's staunchest critics in Congress, said during an acrimonious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report on Wednesday.

Hirono and some other Democrats have been calling on the attorney general to resign for failing to divulge, in earlier congressional appearances, that Mueller had complained that Barr had not fully conveyed the findings of his report critical of Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr had lied to Congress and called it a "crime."

Justice Department officials have called the allegations scurrilous and say the attorney general has no intention of stepping down.

The controversy gripping Washington started after Mueller submitted a 448-page report on his investigation to Barr on March 22. The report concluded that there was insufficient evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to support charges, but it left unanswered the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice despite citing 11 instances of potential obstruction.

Barr said he was puzzled by Mueller's indecision, so he and his No. 2, Rod Rosenstein, examined the evidence and concluded there weren't sufficient grounds to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.

Barr's legal determination, first outlined in a March 24 summary letter to Congress, outraged Democrats. Many worried that it enabled Trump to claim "total vindication" before the full report was released.

The attacks on the attorney general's actions reached a crescendo this week after it emerged that Mueller had complained in a letter to Barr that his summary to Congress "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance" of his conclusions.

Barr's defenders say the attorney general followed Justice Department regulations and had no choice but to make a legal determination about a question Mueller had left unanswered.

"He and he alone as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States was left with the burden and the responsibility to do something after he got that report," said Charles Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "I don't think Attorney General Barr was necessarily saying, 'I approve of the president's conduct here.' "

The attorney general, Stimson said, had made good on a pledge he made at his January confirmation that he would not interfere with the Mueller investigation and that he'd release as much information as possible to Congress and the public.

"I think what's really undergirding all of the angst and anger on the side of the Democrats is that the Mueller report did not find collusion," Stimson said.

Tim Flanigan, a former assistant attorney general under Barr in the early 1990s, rejected the Democrats' depiction of Barr as Trump's defense lawyer.

"I can understand why they're making that characterization for political purposes, but it has no basis in fact," said Flanigan, who is now the chief legal officer for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. "I'm very familiar with the way the independent counsel regulations function, and it seems to me that Bill has, in every step of the way, performed exactly the duties that he was required to do."
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he thought more troops would turn against President Nicolas Maduro during Tuesday's attempt to oust the embattled leader.



In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido said he expected Maduro to step down following major defections of members of the military. But, as Maduro and Guaido were vying for military support, there were no mass breakaways in the ranks.



Tension continues to run high in Venezuela since the failed effort to oust Maduro. The Lima Group, a 12-nation body formed in 2017 to help establish a peaceful end to the Venezuelan crisis, met Friday in Peru's capital and decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to the turmoil.



On Saturday, Maduro appealed to the military on state television.



"We're not a weak country but one with strong armed forces that has to show itself as united and cohesive as ever. Say no to traitors! Out, traitors! Unity and supreme loyalty to the constitution, the fatherland, the revolution and to its legitimate commander-in-chief!" he said, asking soldiers to raise their weapons in the air.

Later, Maduro visited a military base for a third straight day, hoping to garner support from troops. State television showed him walking with hundreds of uniformed soldiers after commanders briefed him on military issues. There were 3,500 soldiers at the site, according to state television.



Maduro wrote on Twitter Friday night that he'd met with generals and admirals who vowed to defend "national sovereignty with loyalty and patriotism."



Guaido is considered Venezuela's legitimate leader by the U.S. and 50 other countries. On Friday, he said supporters would hand out a letter to members of the military at a nationwide protest on Saturday, calling on them to support Maduro's ouster. But that did not appear to be a successful effort. One soldier took the memo handed to him and burned it.



A plot for some of Maduro's top aides to defect this week to the opposition appeared to have come apart at the last minute, according to several news reports.



Weeks of secret talks between the top aides and opposition leaders  including recently freed Leopoldo Lopez  culminated in a document that guaranteed Maduro loyalists like Gen. Ivan Hernandez, chief of military counterintelligence; Defense Minister Vladamir Padrino Lopez; and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno places in a post-Maduro interim government and a promise that they wouldn't be prosecuted, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

All three officials have remained publicly loyal to Maduro. A fourth top aide, who heads Venezuela's intelligence agency, Gen. Manuel Figuera, did break ranks and has since disappeared, according to the AP.



Lopez, a Guaido mentor who had been detained since 2014 and under house arrest since 2017 for organizing marches against Maduro, told the AP that he had been secretly speaking with top Maduro loyalists about their possible defection to the opposition for weeks.



One former U.S. official who spoke to the AP on background suggested that distrust between Trump administration officials and Maduro's inner circle contributed to top Maduro aides' reluctance to abandon the embattled Venezuelan leader.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that Egypt had mediated.



The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.



Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.



The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.



The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

50-plus injured



The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator, 31, had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.



Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.



More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.



Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.



Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Brazils far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled a trip to the United States, his office announced Friday, after sharp protests against his being honored as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaros past racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues in New York refuse to host the gala dinner, including the American Museum of Natural History.

Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week yanked their support for the event.

Bolsonaro spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros said in a statement the president would not be attending the dinner because of the resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups on its organizers and sponsors.

Delta said it would no longer be sponsoring the event, but declined to give further details.

The Financial Times also said it would no longer be a sponsor of the event while declining to give further details.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, Bain said. Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

The cancellation is seen as a blow for Bolsonaro, who has actively courted closer ties with the United States and particularly President Donald Trump, whom he has praised.

Bolsonaros rejection by corporate heavyweights also hurts his vow to grow foreign investment in Brazil.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all declined to comment on whether they would abandon the event.

On its website, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce said it had chosen Bolsonaro as its person of the year because of his intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro is loved by his supporters for his outspoken views on guns, family values and the military. But his critics accuse him of racism, homophobia and misogyny. He once said a female lawmaker was too ugly to rape, and said he would not be able to love a gay son.
Russia appears to be shifting its stance on Chinas Belt and Road development initiative in Eurasia, envisioning a bigger role for itself in the process, in what could be a sign that Moscow is worried about waning influence among its neighbors.

When Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing last month for Chinas Belt and Road Forum, he described Russia-China relations now as the best they have been in their entire history. He also said the Belt and Road initiative is intended to strengthen the creative cooperation of the states of Eurasia.

But Putins enthusiasm for participating came with a polite demand, asking China to accommodate Russias Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was originally meant to be a Russia-led alliance on political, trade and infrastructure construction issues in Eurasian countries. But the plan has suffered because of Moscows paucity of funds.

From Russia with love

In his speech, Putin indicated that Russian cooperation is essential to overcome challenges to BRI in the Eurasian region.

(Furthermore,) it is necessary to eliminate infrastructure restrictions for integration mainly by creating a system of modern and well-connected transport corridors. Russia with its unique geographic location is willing to engage in this joint activity, Putin said in his speech.

Putin proposed an integration between different programs and institutions like EAEU, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and One Belt, One Road (old name of Belt and Road Initiative).

Mohan Malik, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at Honolulu, said Putin insists on calling the Chinese plan by the old name to expose Chinas attempt to show that all roads lead to Beijing.

By drawing attention to Moscows own EAEU initiative and stressing the need for OBOR to partner with the EAEU, the SCO and the ASEAN, Putin is indirectly criticizing Beijings go it alone approach which is already facing global backlash, he said.

It is also a reminder from Putin that Russia still has a significant presence in Central Asia, especially on security issues but also in trade and investment, said Zach Witlin, senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

Analysts said Putin is engaged in political posturing and some amount of bargaining for Chinese investments, but he does not have the deep pockets to match Beijings clout and implement Moscows Eurasian initiative.

Bargaining game

It is a sign of just how little bargaining leverage he has that he has to make such a plea in public and lump Russia together with all the rest as supplicants, said Stephen Blank, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Implicitly he is also trying to induce China to invest in the Arctic and other major infrastructure and transportation projects in Asia, he said.

China included a road link passing through Russia when Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced the Belt and Road plan in 2013. It took six years of wrangling before Russia recently agreed to implement the project, which is the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway. The road is meant to link Chinas western neighbor Kazakhstan with Belarus.

But Putin did not mention the project in public discussions during his Beijing visit last month.

In Russia, the project has been given least importance with just one line being mentioned in the 110-page blueprint on National Projects published last February: By the end of 2024, the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway will be built.

The Chinese have been patient with Moscow for their own reasons.

Russia is very important for the Belt and Road, you need its cooperation to achieve success with Eurasian countries, Bloomberg quoted Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat and now professor at Renmin University in Beijing. You cannot bypass Russia.

But bargaining with Beijing for collaboration in other parts of Eurasia and South East Asia would not yield much result.

China will not cede primacy to Russia anywhere in the BRI, Blank said.

US role

The U.S. sent a relatively low-ranking delegation to the Belt and Road Forum meeting and issued a press release criticizing the BRI on several counts. Some analyst believe Washington is making a tactical mistake by allowing high-powered growth of the Chinese program in crucial areas like Eurasia.

Malik said the Obama administration had outlined its New Silk Road vision for joint investment projects and regional trade in the region.

However, Washington dropped the New Silk Road plan under pressure from Beijing, he said adding that the Obama administration largely ignored Chinas growing outreach in Central Asia.

In contrast, the Trump administration has reassessed the challenge that OBOR poses and turned extremely critical and hostile to it, Malik said.

U.S. officials routinely warn countries that Chinas infrastructure deals can carry long-term financial costs that countries can struggle to repay.

When Italy signed on to Beijings development plan in March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told U.S. lawmakers that such deals with China ultimately hurt the country signing onto them.

It may feel good in the moment: You think you got a cheap product or a low-cost bridge or road built. And in the end there will be a political cost attached to that which will greatly exceed the economic value of what you were provided, he said.
North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Koreas east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Japans Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Testing the moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang says. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was fully briefed by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Reports from Iran say a correspondent for a state-approved newspaper has been detained in a Tehran prison ward run by intelligence agents after she attended a rally by labor activists outside parliament.

In a series of tweets posted Thursday and Friday, colleagues of Marzieh Amiri at Irans Shargh Daily newspaper, which labels itself reformist, said she had been detained at Evin Prisons Ward 209. The ward is run by Irans intelligence ministry.

Shargh Daily correspondent Sudabeh Rakhsh posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri, whom she described as a friend, was arrested Wednesday at a rally held by thousands of labor activists outside Irans parliament to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day.

In a Wednesday report, VOA sister network RFE/RLs Radio Farda cited eyewitnesses as saying Iranian security forces arrested at least 35 people as they broke up the rally, beating some of those detained. Radio Farda said most of those detained were labor rights activists who had gathered peacefully to demand better working and living conditions.

In a report published Thursday, Irans Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) named Amiri as one of those who had been detained at the rally and transferred to Evin Prisons Ward 209.

The Shargh Dailys official Twitter account confirmed Amiris detention at the May Day rally in a Friday tweet, but said the newspaper still was trying to determine her location.

A reporter with another Iranian state-approved news outlet, Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Shahrvand newspaper, posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri had been arrested for doing her job as a journalist.

There did not appear to be any comments from Iranian officials about Amiris case in state media by late Friday.

In its annual report published last month, media rights group Reporters Without Borders said Iran slipped further toward the bottom of its World Press Freedom index because of an increase in arrests of Iranian journalists and citizen-journalists.

This article originated in VOAs Persian service.
South Korea called on North Korea to stop raising military tensions, after the North fired a barrage of projectiles into the sea off the east coast of Korea.



In a statement, a South Korean presidential spokesperson said the tests go against a September military agreement it signed with North Korea. Seoul said it expects Pyongyang to resume dialogue as soon as possible.



North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9:00 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.



It is North Korea's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the United States.



President Donald Trump said Saturday he still believes a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will happen. Taking to Twitter, Trump said Kim "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it." Trump added about Kim, "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen."



Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program.



North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirting his moratorium

Since November 2017, Kim has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.



Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



"Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."



After the launch, President Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.



"We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.



Measured escalation



North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.



Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.



Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.


Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.

The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday the results of elections for seats on local councils in England, the biggest of the UK's four nations, provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined the two biggest parties, Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

Meanwhile, support for Scottish independence has risen to its highest point in the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to remain in the European Union, according to a YouGov poll published in the Times last week.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We've had enough to last a lifetime," Davidson will tell delegates at the Scottish Conservative conference, according to advance comments.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years and part of the United Kingdom, rejected independence by 10 percentage points in a 2014 referendum. But differences over Brexit have strained relations with the government in London.

Davidson's straight-talking politics has made her a favorite of moderate Conservatives and given her high public approval ratings, while infighting has whittled away the authority of the prime minister and the standing of some of her rivals.

May addressed the conference in Aberdeen on Friday.

On returning to work this week after giving birth to baby Finn, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister but speculation continues to swirl  despite her currently not having a seat in the Westminster parliament but sitting as a member of Scotland's devolved assembly.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, she was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood and the kind of changes it has meant to her life, describing the effects of "bone-crushing" sleep-deprivation.

She said she had put her job before family and friends in the past, but being a mother had changed her priorities. "I don't think for one second (my job) will come before Finn."
Yulia Savchenko of VOA's Russian Service contributed reporting.



WASHINGTON  U.S. President Donald Trump applauded Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's announcement that his country plans to increase its military spending to 2% of its GDP in the next three years, as well as purchase U.S.-made F-16 war planes.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders after their White House meeting Friday said the U.S. and Slovakia "seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement."

Earlier, speculation about terms of a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, had stirred controversy in the Central European country. The Slovak foreign ministry described as lacking in knowledge and short on facts allegations that a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. would lead to encroachment upon Slovakias sovereignty.

In contrast to protests heard in certain quarters in Slovakia, a number of nations in Central Europe have shown an eagerness to enter into defense cooperation agreements with the U.S.

Last month, a bilateral agreement was signed between the U.S. and Hungary on the sidelines of events marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO, after more than a year and a half of negotiations.

In an interview with VOA, Laszlo Szabo, Hungarys ambassador to the U.S., described the agreement as both strategic and tactical in nature and as one that sets the terms under which American forces and other foreign troops can operate in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is negotiating an agreement that is quite similar, according to Hynek Kmonicek, the countrys chief diplomat in the U.S. Czechs regard the U.S. as the backbone of NATO, he told VOA, adding if you ask people how they feel about [the] 2% of GDP spent [on military expenditures], it usually has 80% [popular] support, which is quite extraordinary.

Among Central European countries, Poland is seen as the most enthusiastic when it comes to building ever-closer ties with the United States in military and security affairs.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in an interview with VOAs Russian Service that Poland realizes relying on its own defense forces will not be sufficient when it comes to a security guarantee, even as the Polish government is working to strengthen its military forces, including increasing the number of soldiers. The minister said the military presence of our allies on our soil is crucially important.

Not that Poland feels a direct military threat from Russia at the moment, said Czaputowicz, but from what Poland can see, Russia is prone to taking advantage of situations when it senses a weakness; like in Donbas, like in Crimea, referring to Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine. Poland, he said, plans to increase its defense spending to up to 2.5% of its GDP. The relative absence of an imminent military threat that Poland currently feels, as Czaputowicz sees it, is precisely due to Russias calculation of both how the country itself and its allies will react.

As negotiations between the U.S. and Slovakia on a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement unfold, Rachel Ellehuus, a former Pentagon official and current deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), cautions that the U.S. Congress has signaled that it will not allow funds from the European Deterrence Initiative to be spent in countries that have not signed a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. She also points out that the guarantee of assured access by U.S. military to signatory countries facilities could be a sticking point with certain allies.

That said, Ellehuus describes bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreements as pragmatic measures to enhance NATO deterrence and defense, while also ensuring needed protections for U.S. troops.

Think of them as legal agreements that strengthen the provisions in the NATO SOFA, she said, referring to Status of Forces Agreements among NATO member states.

From an operational angle, mitigating Russias time-distance advantages over the U.S. and allies, should conflict break out, is crucial to deterrence and defense, according to Billy Fabian, a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA).
Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.



Gen. Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years, and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.



The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.



There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.



Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.



The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.



He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.



Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Plot allegation



Algeria's army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.



In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief, whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.



Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state."

Tartag  described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother  was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.



Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."



According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.



Mediene said, "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudomeeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.



Algeria's former defense minister, Khaled Nezzar, meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.



Demonstrations continue in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
It's going to be a colorful election in the Rainbow Nation.

Whether you're a Leninite, a free-market capitalist, a right-winger, an outspoken lefty, a Shariah-law fundamentalist or just a dedicated pot smoker, South Africa's May 8 ballot spans the entire political spectrum, offering something for nearly every type of voter.

Forty-eight political parties are contesting this years national election, leaving voters spoiled for choice beyond the top three: the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters parties.

The smaller, newer parties have wildly different aims -- some, like the African Transformation Movement, are church-based and say their platform revolves around human rights. Others are aligned with more traditional political views, or have niche issues to push in national government.

But they all seem to share one thing: dissatisfaction with the political status quo. The head the ATM party, Vuyo Zungula, says they couldnt get the change they wanted through partnership with the ruling ANC. So they started their own party, through the South African Council of Messianic Churches in Christ.

The party, Zungula says, is pro-gay-rights and doesn't want to change existing laws that allow abortion. Instead, he says, the party wants to show South Africans the meaning of service.

We believe that what the people of South Africa truly need now, they need people who will genuinely serve them," the 31-year-old presidential candidate told VOA as about 100 of his followers packed into a hall in Soweto for the party's final rally.

While its likely the large, powerful ANC will dominate this election, analysts say the small parties play a valuable role in government. South Africas system of proportional representation means small parties dont need a large number of votes - as few as 50,000 are all it takes - to get one of 400 parliamentary seats.

That may include the scrappy Dagga Party - dagga is local slang for marijuana. The pro-legalization party was behind a widely celebrated, headline-grabbing Supreme Court ruling last year that saw the decriminalization of cannabis in South Africa. But the party missed the election registration deadline this year, so it instead joined forces with the brand-new African Democratic Change party, which is on the ballot.

Professor and analyst Ivor Sarakinsky says its this diversity that makes South Africas parliament great.

Those parties might be springboards to ask tough questions to the new parliament and the new administration after the election," he told VOA. "If they get support, they wont necessarily get big numbers, but their presence will add some real spice to the parliament thats going to be formed shortly.

Thats exactly what the tiny, six-week-old Capitalist Party hopes to do. The party is only fielding 10 candidates -- not enough to dictate terms on their own, but enough, their leader, Kanthan Pillay, believes, to play a valuable role in government because of their candidates' wealth of business experience.

All of the political parties out there are offering variations on the same recipe," he said. "Theyre all promising that government is going to create more jobs, theyre all promising that theyre going to cut back on government spending, and theyre all promising better levels of education. We dont believe that they have the capability to deliver on any of those things, simply because they lack the expertise to do so.

On the opposite side of that spectrum is another new entrant, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, which is part of the nation's largest single trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. Unions have traditionally backed the ANC, but spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says this party was born of frustration with the ruling party.

We are the only political party in South Africa that is fighting for the destruction of the capitalist system," she told VOA. "We believe that we represent the aspirations of the 23 million members of the working class of South Africa whose aspirations have, frankly, been ignored by the capitalist ANC government for the last 25 years.



At the end of the day, says analyst Angelo Fick, the ANC will win more seats than any other party. But the varied opposition, he says, is a reflection of a healthy democracy.

The plethora of choices in front of the South African electorate is not, for me, a sign of too much, too soon," he said. "It is, in fact, a sign of the vibrancy of the contestation around ideas."
Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the country's northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

On Saturday, government forces were sending new reinforcements toward Idlib, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of troops.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaida-linked militants attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week.

The command's orders were given to bring these big reinforcements to respond to violations, a Syrian officer who asked that his name not be made public told The Associated Press. We are waiting for orders to begin a military operation, God willing, soon.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said 22 civilians have been killed and more than 60 wounded in airstrikes and shelling since Friday morning.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported more than 115 strikes against rebel-held areas on Saturday alone. It said six civilians were killed on Saturday raising to 67 the number of civilians and insurgents killed since Tuesday when the government began its new campaign.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that government forces targeted positions of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the most powerful group in Idlib.

In violence in other parts of northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry announced one Turkish soldier was killed and one lightly wounded in northwestern village of Tel Rifaat when Syrian Kurdish fighters shot at Turkish troops. The ministry said Turkish troops launched a counter-attack.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization with links to Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

The attack came days after YPG militants carried out an attack in a Turkish-controlled region in northern Syria killing a soldier and wounding three others.
Top U.S. and Pentagon officials are considering options for Venezuela after calls for an uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaido apparently failed. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate interim president, called for members of the military to defect and for massive street protests. But Nicolas Maduro continues to cling to power, and some analysts say America's options are narrowing. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
Members of an Arlington, Virginia, mosque are being trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Worshippers are learning how to take security measures to protect themselves and save the lives of others. The training follows mass shooting at houses of worship around the world, including one in New Zealand that killed 51 people at a mosque, and another one at a Pittsburgh Synagogue that claimed 11 lives. VOA's Nilofar Mughal has more from Arlington.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa is promising a new dawn for Zimbabwe's media landscape. To mark World Press Freedom Day Friday, Mutsvangwa told VOA's Blessing Zulu that the govt is "working hard on the reforms, we certainly mean what we are talking about," referring to AIPPA and other laws.
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VOA Africa Division's Linord Moudou spoke to Melinda Gates about women's empowerment, work in Africa, the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and how men can benefit from women's empowerment.
SOUTHINGTON  A committee of town department leaders and residents tasked with reviewing town policies for inclusivity plans to meet for the first time next week.

The town policy diversity committee was formed by Town Council chairman Chris Palmieri following concerns from residents about minority inclusion and hiring.

Race issues came to prominence after a social media video last year in which a Southington High School student threatened black classmates. That led to residents and the NAACP urging the Board of Education to address a lack of teachers and administrators, as well as higher discipline rates for minority students.

Superintendent Tim Connellan formed a social justice coalition to propose solutions to those issues. Palmieri said he wanted a group that would look at what the town could do to improve inclusion.

Town Manager Mark Sciota will lead the committee. In addition to department heads, including Police Chief Jack Daly and Recreation Director David Lapreay, town employees were also encouraged to apply for a spot on the committee.

Town Council member Victoria Triano had originally suggested the idea for the committee and some of her picks for the group included First Congregational Church Rev. Ronald Brown and Southington Women for Progress member Dorie Conlon Perugini. Palmieri appointed them both to the committee.

Sciota said hell distribute policies for three departments: police, human resources and recreation. Members will then discuss them and any proposed changes then or at the following meeting.

The committee will also set goals and complete other organizational tasks.

Were going to introduce ourselves, get to know each other, Sciota said.

Conlon Perugini said she hopes that committee members can listen to and value diverse voices in town. Theres a collective responsibility to improve the town, she said.

Working towards equity isnt easy and is often times uncomfortable, but my hope for this group is that we commit to working together through the uncomfortable feelings so that we can achieve our goals, Conlon Perugini said. There are systems and processes that have been perpetuated for generations that continue to marginalize individuals and groups in our town.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m, Town Hall, 75 Main St.

Southington Town Policy Diversity Committee members

Mark Sciota, town manager and committee chairman

Ronald Brown, reverend of First Congregational Church

Elizabeth Chubet, Southington Public Library

Jack Daly, Police Chief

David Lapreay, Recreation Director

Jason Marquez, police dispatcher

Michelle Passamano, town and Board of Education human resources manager

Dorie Conlon Perugini, Southington Women for Progress

Jacqueline Santos-Villegas, town accountant

O.J. Shaw, Bristol NAACP

Christina Simms, Youth Services director
International

N Korea fires short-range missiles into Sea

Seoul, May 4 (IANS) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 12:04:59 PM IST

North Korea fired a barrage of unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9.06 a.m. and 9.27 a.m. on Saturday, Yonhap News Agency quoted the JCS as saying in a statement.

The missiles flew for a range of about 70 to 200 km, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details. Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, it added.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, reports CNN.

Japans Defence Ministry said there was no evidence the projectiles had landed in its territorial waters. Saturdays launch comes a few weeks after North Korea said it conducted a tactical guided weapons firing test, according to state media. In a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong-un praised that test as a great historic event in strengthening the combat capability of the Peoples Army. North Koreas missile programme made major strides in 2017, when Pyongyang claimed it had successfully test fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles. Rising international tension over Pyongyangs weapons programme eased in 2018 when Kim indicated his willingness to negotiate, and later met South Koreas President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.

After making some progress in 2018, talks appeared to stall this year when Kim and Trumps second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, abruptly ended with no agreement as Pyongyang pushed for more sanctions relief in exchange for denuclearization, while the US demanded greater evidence that the country is prepared to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
Central Texas radio talk show host Lynn Woolley will bring his The Lynn Woolley Show back to the air beginning Monday, with the show being carried by M&M Broadcasting stations from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

The conservative talk show hosts afternoon show will appear locally on sports-talk KLRK-AM (1590) and -FM (99.3). In the Killeen-Temple-Belton listening area, The Lynn Woolley Show will be carried on KTON-AM (1330) and -FM (93.9). A livestream can be heard at www.listencentraltexassports.com.

The talk show, which ran 23 years from Temple until last October, will feature news from Central Texas and across the nation with commentary and an audience call-in line.

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Waco attorney David Schleicher, Behrghundis attorney, said he will address the motion to dismiss.

This is the sort of response we expected and to which we will fully respond with citations to the pleadings and the law, Schleicher said.

The motion states the individuals named in the lawsuit, all current city council members, do not have standing to be sued under the claims. The motion claims the SOC group is a name of a Facebook page and is not an actual entity.

As shown on the site itself, the Save Our City Facebook page is used to promote community, city, school and church events, the motion states in part. The remainder of plaintiffs complaint amounts to political arguments between one citizen, other citizens and some elected and former elected leaders.

Witt, who now lives in Robinson but serves as chief planning officer and a consultant for Mart on a major overhaul of its water system, said Save Our City is meant to encourage a promising future for Mart. He said the group does endorse candidates in local elections but has chosen not to endorse Behrghundi.
MCAD officials are required to have 95 percent of the tax roll completed before they can certify the roll and give the numbers to taxing entities for budget preparations.

According to MCAD figures, the average homeowner saw a median increase in appraised market value of 4.8 percent this year, down from about 12 percent last year.

But its the accumulative effect over the last few years that have taxpayers flocking to MCADs office and galvanizing on social media in constant debate of MCADs methods.

MCAD has a $300,000 budget for legal matters this year, down from $450,000 the year before when MCAD officials thought they would be battling Sandy Creek in court again. MCAD also has a reserve fund of $400,000 to $600,000 set aside for litigation, Bobbitt said.

In 2018, MCAD spent $220,000 for legal costs, he said.

Most of the lawsuits are filed by businesses. If they sue MCAD, they are required to pay taxes on the undisputed amount. If they want to pay the entire amount, they get a refund if they prevail. If they just pay the undisputed amount and lose, they have to pay the remainder of the taxes, possibly with interest, Bobbitt said.
Police were told that the mother and a man had been in the home when the mother had fallen asleep around 1 p.m. She woke at 11 p.m., and the man and her children were gone, prompting her to call in the kidnapping report.

Law enforcement stated the day care reported that attempts were made to contact (the mother), but (were) unsuccessful and that an employee took the children home to be cared for, the CPS report states. Law enforcement stated the day care reported that this was the third time the day care had not been able to locate (the mother) at the end of the day.

The mother told police that she had been falling in and out of sleep and believed the children arrived home, the report states. She said she thought the man who was at the home at the time with her had her children, but she did not know him well.

(The mother) could not recall what happened on May 1, 2019 in regards to her children and could only remember the children being dropped off at day care that morning, the report states. (The mother) reported she informed the day care that she would not be able to pick the children up at the end of the day. However, the day care staff stated (she) did not notify them or provide alternative arrangements to have the children picked up.
Work crews with Webber LLC will begin removing the southbound exit ramp from Interstate 35 onto Fourth-Fifth streets Saturday, prompting the closure of University Parks Drive in both directions.

The work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. and University Parks will remain closed at I-35 all day.

Traffic on University Parks traveling west from Baylor toward downtown Waco will be redirected to Martin Luther King Boulevard. Eastbound traffic will be directed to 18th Street, according to a Texas Department of Transportation release.

The start of this work was postponed from Wednesday due to rain.

Only one lane on the southbound access road will be open Saturday, to provide a buffer zone between the demolition and the traffic in that area. The left and center lanes will be closed.

Demolition of the ramp will continue nightly through May 11.
One of the many hazards to look out for was sappers, who would often float down the river and attempt to attach lipid mines to a ship. As the Tutuila was permanently anchored, it made an easy target. Sentries were posted 24 hours a day, firing about 48 percussion grenades per watch, totaling more than 4,000 grenades a month, he said. A motor whale boat provided additional security, also firing grenades.

After two years, the Tutuila left Vietnam on New Years Eve in 1971. The ship would be turned over to the Chinese Navy at Keelung, Taiwan, later in the month. Fell was bound for another station in Japan, which would be his last ship: the USS Ajax.

Fell spent the next four years on her, coming aboard in Japan, and soon to be underway for San Diego. Fell, who was promoted to lieutenant commander during this time, went on the familiar WESTPAC tour. In January 1976, Fell married his sweetheart, Carol Evans, and she and her two sons joined him in July of 1976 at the Naval Magazine in the Philippines, where he was an ordnance officer.

They visited Korea several times and even went briefly to Hong Kong.
Following is the full Cambodian Government leaders message of homage to former President Le Duc Anh.

Since the first meeting at the Thong Nhat (United) Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in early 1978, he and the Vietnamese army and people have paid great help to the Cambodian people. Cambodia's United Armed Forces for National Salvation was formed with the direct support from him, the Commander of Military Zone 7 under the Vietnam People's Army at that time.

The Cambodian peoples liberation from the genocidal Pol Pot regime, the prevention of the return of the regime, and the national construction of Cambodia witnessed his contributions.

During the course of his mission in Cambodia, on behalf of the Vietnamese Party, Government and the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, he fully implemented the policy of respecting the independence and sovereignty of Cambodia as well as respecting Cambodian peoples choice on the political, economic and social system of the country.

In his capacity as President of Vietnam, he were one of the people, together with the Party, Government, the Army and people of Vietnam, enhancing the rapid development of the relations between the two countries in all fields.

From the first meeting until separation, he always paid attention to me and my wife and children, like father and son and like grandfather and grandchildren. I remember that when I faced the greatest difficulties in building the first army, he gave great support in any way possible so that the Cambodian army could grow up quickly.

He did not smoke, but never forget to send me cigarettes because he knew I smoked a lot. He always told me to take care of my health.

As a politician and Army Commander, I always regarded he as a genius military and political strategist, the likes of which I have never met in other countries.

Bidding farewell to General Le Duc Anh with great compassion.
State

Nagas are blessed with talents: Acharya

P.B. Acharya (DIPR)

DIMAPUR, MAY (NPN) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 11:34:09 AM IST

Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya said Naga people were blessed in every discipline, with talents and the ability to excel in whatever field they choose to embark on, a DIPR report stated.

Addressing the inter government college concert Constellation Music with the Stars organized by Higher Education department in collaboration with Music Task Force as part of the 1st Inter Government College Olympics 2019 at Kohima as principal guest, Acharya however expressed concern about the educational system in the state, and emphasized the need to change the system in order to encourage youths to pursue their academics in the state instead of pursuing outside the state.

He lamented that large number of educated Naga youths were serving outside the state due to lack of avenues and employment opportunities. For this, he urged the educated youths to be a job givers rather than job seekers in order to develop a strong and stable economy.

On resources, Acharya said Nagaland has enough natural resources both biotic and non-abiotic, besides rich in mineral deposits. Therefore, he urged the educated youths to give more importance on such untapped natural resources in order to develop a strong and vibrant society.

Higher & Technical Education minister, TemjenImna Along in his address welcomed and acknowledged the guests and invitees who had come from different parts of the country. He said Nagas are Indians and Nagas are proud to be part of this great country. Along expressed joy to introduce the reunion of the young youths in such a single platform, who one day will strive for the people of Nagaland and this great country with a vision to build a united India.

Special invitee, advisor for Skill Development, Labour & Employment, CAWD, Kazheto Kinimi in his address said though the state had high literacy rate, employment opportunity has become a major concern. Therefore, Kinimi encouraged the youths to avail various Central flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana for skill development. He also informed that the state was focused on skilling the youths to find gainful employment either as entrepreneurs or employees in the organized private and public sector.

Higher Education director, Dr. I. Anungla delivered the welcome note while director, Music Task Force, Dr. Hovithal Sothu proposed vote of thanks.

Artists likeMengu Suokhrie, Ayim Longchar, Alobo Naga & the band, Eastory and Kohima College choir also enthralled audience. Altogether, 13 government colleges took part in the event.
In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified.

Every year April 25th is Anzac Day which commemorates Australian and New Zealand troops that were lost in wars during the 20th century. The date commemorates the April 25, 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at what is known as Anzac Cove in modern day Turkey.

The name for the holiday is an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day was originally created in 1916 to recognize the casualties suffered by the Anzac troops during the Gallipoli campaign.

The day has since evolved into a holiday remembering the sacrifices of servicemen and women in all wars and conflicts that the two countries have been involved in.

Many New Zealanders gather in Central Otago on Anzac Day. This year, thousands of people attended services across the Otago Region, despite the close proximity to Easter and the school holiday which meant that attendance was lower than usual.

Most of the annual ceremonies in Otago take place at the many war memorials in the area to honor the dead whose names are inscribed onto them.

The memorials often contain the names of the soldiers that died in the war or the battle that the monument commemorates. But many of the names on the First World War memorials are incorrect, and no one has taken responsibility for making the necessary changes.

Gerald Cunningham worked as a volunteer for the Imperial War Museum in London. In 2018 Cunningham visited the Central Otago memorials with the task of cross-referencing the names on the monuments with locals who were known to have lost their lives during the First World War.

Once confirmed, the names were then added to the Lives of the First World War, the museums online database.

Cunningham discovered several name errors during his research. For example, he says that there is the name of a person who did not exist on the Clyde War Memorial, while incorrect names have also been found on a number of other monuments.

The authorities, including the mayor of Central Otago, the Central Otago District Council, and the local RSA were all notified of these inaccuracies over a year ago, yet no action has yet been taken.

With todays technology, the entire war records of Kiwi soldiers are now available online. The two major websites with this information are the Online Cenotaph (managed by the Auckland War Memorial Museum) and the New Zealand Army Service Records, which also includes copies of the original enlistment forms signed by the soldiers.

Cunningham says that the period of the First World War was a different time. Thousands of young men were conscripted in New Zealand and sent to Europe to fight in the war. The majority of those young men were single, poor, and had limited educated.

In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers were lost during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified. A further 41,317 young men were wounded during the war, and many more still suffered from mental health issues and were sent back home to try and survive as damaged civilians.

Read another story from us: ANZACS: The Australians & New Zealanders at Gallipoli, 1915

Erika Biddle, a representative of the Australian High Commission, spoke at the Memorial Gates during one of this years ceremonies. She said that recent events in New Zealand only further underlined the need for people to pause and spend a few moments reflecting on the sacrifices made by others so that the country could live in peace.

Central Otago was home to hundreds of those soldiers, with Cunningham continuing to state that they should be honored properly by accurately inscribing their names on the memorials.
Mexican security forces oversee the destruction of an illegal establishment used by drug dealers on the outskirts of Cancun. (Kevin Sieff/The Post)

The government, sensitive to several recent high-profile incidents, has deployed a Tourist Security Battalion to patrol Cancun, Tulum and the Mexican Riviera.
The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell (Oxygen at 7) This investigation into the case offers new insights and details.
The U.S. Secret Service arrested an individual at the Cameroon Embassy on Saturday. The agency did not release the persons name but said they were arrested around 4 p.m. for unlawful entry, simple assault and destruction of property.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington has set a May 30 hearing to decide the question, but in a 44-page brief, prosecutors said that Muellers appointment was valid and noted that the Justice Department has repeatedly paid other special counsels under the statute. The text, history, and long-standing practice, as approved by Congress, confirms that view, prosecutors for Justice argued in the brief.
By Express News Service

The quest to acquire the broadest possible user data is driving e-commerce and technology firms into strange waters. Early last month, one of the worlds largest technology companies -- Apple -- announced that it was launching a credit card in association with Goldman Sachs. A few months earlier, e-commerce giant Amazon had entered into a similar partnership with ICICI Bank in India to launch a co-branded credit. Now, reports say that Indian e-commerce players like Flipkart and Ola are likely to follow suit.

The diversification of consumer-focused internet platforms into financial services might seem strange, but experts and analysts like Ankur Pahwa of Ernst & Young say it is fairly intuitive and logical. Such associations give these companies access to one of the most valuable resources in modern milieu: data on customer spending behaviour.

E-commerce firms and technology platforms already have some of the largest repositories of such information, which they use to offer personalised offers to their users. What venturing into hard financial products like credit cards does, however, is open the door to acquire and use a wider range of information that is not limited to just their own respective ecosystems. If I have a credit card, Im not going to restrict myself to spending on just one platform. This gives the company insight they did not previously have: customer spending behaviour outside their ecosystems, adds Pahwa.

This insight is an invaluable resource because it enables them to maximise spending inside their own ecosystems. For instance, if someone purchases a holiday package on some other platform but uses this credit card, then the company can push associated products like travel insurance, car rentals etc from within its own, or its partners, portfolios.

Such products offer a platform for understanding user behaviour, which becomes a way to more effectively push your products to customers, Anand Ramanathan, partner, Deloitte says. Pahwa adds that this increases customer retention by increasing spending inside platforms.

Ramanathan also notes that financial services have become an important part of the product proposition and branching out into the segment offers natural synergies companies can exploit. You are reducing the total cost of ownership of your products with solutions like this, and therefore the number of people who can afford your product also goes up, he points out. Offering finance solutions is also one of the ways in which you are able stave off a potential customer being diverted to some other channel, thereby increasing the e-commerce pie itself, he concludes.
Brandi Colbert, assistant manager of the nearby Kent Point Marina, said she heard the helicopter fly over about noon. It did circle the farm behind us twice, she said. Then shortly thereafter it was gone.
The state filed the document with many of the passages and the chart blacked out. But in a subsequent response, Teva accidentally reproduced it without those redactions. The documents have since been put back under seal in the court file, along with tens of millions of other pages produced by the companies in the case.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has urged countries to "get real" on meeting the commitment of Paris Agreement on climate change, highlighting the need for effective carbon pricing.

At a panel discussion held by the Centre for Global Development, Lagarde on Friday said that global warming is an "existential threat", and called on countries not to waste the "small window of opportunity" to take the measures needed to combat the problem.

The IMF chief said that carbon pricing, charging for the carbon content of fossil fuels or their emissions, is "the most effective mitigation instrument" for climate change and it provides incentives to reduce energy consumption, use cleaner fuels, mobilize private finance and provide revenues to support sustainable and inclusive growth, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ | Book brings harsh reality of climate change closer

In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed on the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a way to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2017, prompting a strong backlash domestically and abroad.

The goal of the Paris Agreement would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around 70 dollars per tonne, whereas the current global average carbon price is only 2 dollars per tonne, according to a newly-released IMF paper.

ALSO READ | Climate change: Emperor penguins breeding ground destroyed, thousands of chicks die

Noting that carbon pricing can be politically difficult, the IMF chief encouraged countries to gradually phase in carbon pricing and smartly communicate policies.

Another panelist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Finance Minister, also stressed the importance of communicating with the people.

Okonjo-Iweala said that governments should explain policies clearly so that people at the bottom end of the ladder understand that they are not going to get hurt and resources will be used for their benefit.

"It is difficult to understate the urgency of this task as the window for containing global warming to manageable levels is closing rapidly," Lagarde said in a blog that she co-authored.

"Action is required by everyone, every institution, every country. Everyone can make a difference!"
Fiercely protected by the members of Congress through whose districts they run, the long-distance routes should have been trimmed long ago; unfortunately, Amtrak will once again face a difficult fight to trim them now. Perhaps even more significant, though, may be objections from the nations freight rail carriers, which own most of the tracks (outside the Northeast Corridor) over which Amtrak would have to run the passenger trains in its proposed more efficient, consumer-friendly system. Though legally bound to provide Amtrak preferential access to their track, freight companies have historically interpreted that mandate very narrowly, arguing that the passenger trains dont pay the true full cost of their track usage and interfere with the equally pressing needs of shipping and commerce. They have a point; even if its ridership were to double, Amtrak would barely dent congestion and carbon output, whereas freight rail takes the place of countless trucks that would otherwise spew diesel fumes into the atmosphere.
It is important to understand that transit agencies maintain complete and final control over all material aspects and operations of their rail cars. Regardless of the manufacturer, rail cars are designed and built to meet specific technical requirements. Once rail cars are delivered to a transit agency, the agency has exclusive operational control and rights over the rail cars.
The results are chilling. The system is tracking the movement of people by monitoring the trajectory and location data of their phones, ID cards and vehicles; it is also monitoring the use of electricity and gas stations by everybody in the region, the report says, adding: When the IJOP system detects irregularities or deviations from what it considers normal, such as when people are using a phone that is not registered to them, when they use more electricity than normal, or when they leave the area where they are registered to live without police permission, the system flags these micro-clues to the authorities as suspicious and prompts an investigation.
The juxtaposition of two Metro articles on April 28 was brilliant. William & Mary to memorialize enslaved people described the colleges honest effort to confront its past sins of slavery by remembering those enslaved people, many by name, and to honor them in a meaningful, heartbreaking and powerful memorial on campus. This is what we should be doing throughout the country, on all ground built on the shame of the enslaved labor of human beings. It left me feeling hopeful and moved me to tears. Just above this article appeared White nationalists interrupt authors book talk  a gut punch of the reality of how white supremacy flourishes still, poisoning the landscape of our nation. The two articles together presented the stark conflict that has arisen from the politics of today. We have the encouragement of white supremacy from the highest office in the country at the same time that many are making honest efforts to reconcile with the shame of enslavement on which this country was built.
Thats some reward for Mueller: Republican, former platoon commander in Vietnam, President George W. Bushs choice to run the FBI and one of our most honorable public servants. He was scrupulous and fair (the administration is now attacking him for failing to decide on whether Trump should be charged, even though Justice Department rules say a sitting president cant be charged), and his report was easier on Trump than many expected.
Attorney General William P. Barrs characterization of the Mueller letter criticizing his summary of the special counsels conclusions as snitty (meaning disagreeable, ill-tempered) was indeed curious [Barr denies accusations of deception, front page, May 2]. Even curiouser was the comment that it was likely drafted by a member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs staff, the implication being that it didnt reflect Mr. Muellers view. Someone, perhaps a member of Mr. Barrs staff, should inform the attorney general that when the person in charge signs a letter, regardless of who drafted it, it becomes that persons letter. If my letter to The Post is deemed snitty, that was my intent.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday informed Supreme Court that it will abide by the norms of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before fully launching its payments service in the country. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, appearing for WhatsApp, told the bench that they are only having a trial run, which is likely to be completed by July and that it wont launch payments services without complying with norms.

The companys statement came before the court when the bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, was hearing a petition seeking directions for the messaging platform to follow RBI norms for its payments service. In 2018, WhatsApp began piloting its payments service in India; it claims that almost one million people in the country are currently testing the feature.

But the formal launch, which was expected to happen at the start of June, has been repeatedly pushed back, pending regulatory approvals and over confusion on data protection laws. India is the largest market for WhatsApp, accounting for over 200 million user base. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that WhatsApp was not complying with data localisation norms, which is evident from the affidavit filed by the RBI.

To this, the bench said that if norms laid down by the RBI are not followed by WhatsApp, then it can be prosecuted. Dont worry our arms are long enough. They cannot escape the law, it said, adding that the issue requires detailed hearing. The matter was listed for July.RBI already had issued a circular directing the global payments service to store transaction data of Indian customers in the country itself. The idea was to have unfettered access to all payments data for supervisory purposes.

RBI slaps fine on Vodafone m-pesa, PhonePe

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India Friday said it has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, including Vodafone m-pesa and PhonePe, for violation of regulatory norms. Also, penalties have been imposed on Western Union Financial Services Inc and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, both US firms, for non-compliance of guidelines.
Electability is an elusive concept. It is not one of those that fits into the category of, I know it when I see it. It is born of individual biases and the conventions of history, often the search for something that seems to replicate something that was successful before. But a look back at presidential campaigns of the past suggests something else has been more powerful in determining who wins the White House.
After two years of [investigations] and being vindicated, and now in fact the tables are turning in that the investigators will be investigated, theres a certain amount of righteous indignation thats warranted, said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trumps reelection bid. The president has already shown that he wants to talk about it. Hes been tweeting about it. Im sure hell talk about it at rallies. Its something that the campaign will continue to point to.
Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William P. Barr. Warrens suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto ORourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.
Kelly, a retired four-star general, joined the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the first half of 2017. In that role, Kelly said he considered family separations as a way to deter mass migration to the United States. The policy was implemented once Kelly joined the White House team. A federal judge has ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 separated children with their families.
The Friday request, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that the injunction is needed to stave off the deadlines the committees set for the two banks to produce the requested documents.
Voters tend to see big funding proposals, or large tax cuts, as a giveaway to powerful interests, things that benefit others. It would take years for the new highway exchanges, bridges and refurbished dams to get approved by federal agencies, and by then constituents wont connect the dots to understand those projects came about because of congressional action a few years back.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: It was a step towards achieving her dreams for 23-year-old Jyothi, after a reputed degree college in the city accepted her application to pursue graduation recently.

It was after five years of giving up studies and working as a domestic help that this young woman completed her pre-university college education with 90.5 per cent marks and secured a seat in a degree college.

Aided by a BTM Layout resident and her employer Reetu Singh, Jyothi has been admitted to Jyoti Nivas College to pursue B Com, a first first step towards achieving her dream of becoming a banker.

It was in 2012 that Jyothi was forced to discontinue her education to cover the wedding expenses of her older sibling. She told The New Indian Express: I approached the owner of the house where I worked and she offered to put me through pre-university. Now, I am waiting to join college in a month.

For two years, she pursued her PUC in the Government PU College in Agrahara and will, for the first time, study in an English medium college, which was a challenge she took up.
Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements, the statement added. We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrites values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements.
Saturdays violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.
Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If its necessary, maybe we will approve it.
Its not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out, said Superlano. We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesnt it make sense to take it, especially if you dont have another tangible plan?
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Tripti Das (35), a public relations officer, had been planning her Sri Lanka trip along with her family of three for over a year. Post the attack, she immediately re-scheduled her tickets to Bhutan. Sri Lanka and Bhutan had been on our list since it was within our budget. So when the Lankan trip got cancelled, there was no question about our alternative plan. We checked the tickets, and with agencies giving us some concession, we made a quick turn, she said.

Das isnt the only one making last-minute changes to her trip. Bhutan, Thailand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam and Darjeeling are destinations that have emerged as new hotspots for those who have deferred or cancelled their travel to Sri Lanka. As mercury soars throughout central, western and southern India, the eastern destinations come as a respite owing to their pleasant climate. In addition, Indian tourists are attracted to the vibrant wildlife, intrinsic culture and delectable cuisine. Paro, Punakha, Thimpu, Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Kalimpong are the most preferred tourist sites at these destinations this season.

The postponement/cancellation also comes in the wake of special advisory released by the Government of India asking citizens to only undertake essential travels.

Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings, a travel agency, said, Travellers are shifting their choice of destination due to the situation in Sri Lanka. The travel advisory by the Indian government adds to the anxiety of the travellers.

Similar cost bracket is one of the significant factors influencing tourists in the city to choose Bhutan and North-East India destinations. Tourists can avail a five-night package to Bhutan for about `42,000 per person inclusive of airfare, and Sikkim along with Darjeeling for `38,000 per person for a six-night package that includes airfare. Cost to Sri Lanka is almost the same, said Anand.

We have received 10 per cent cancellations on pre-bookings from travellers who were planning to visit Sri Lanka. On the other hand, we also received around 15 new inquiries from the people who were already in Lanka when the attack happened, in order to look for secure ground transportation in Colombo, said Aditya Loomba, Jt Managing Director, Eco Rent A Car-EuropCar.

Increased accessibility via air and improved infrastructure are other factors encouraging tourists to opt for eastern destinations. While the land cost remains unchanged, many tourists seeking a last-minute change may have to shell out more due to the increase in airfare.

Several Indian tourists travel to island nations for its pristine beaches, a portion of whom can be seen flying to Maldives at a higher cost to ensure no compromise on the experience.
The president's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the United States had entered "a very strong and durable prosperity cycle". He gave all the credit to his boss: "He is president of the whole economy." By most measures, the US economy is in solid shape. It is expanding at a roughly 3 per cent pace, businesses are posting more jobs than there are unemployed workers and wage growth, long the economy's weak spot, has picked up. All these trends are helping lift a broader swath of the population than in the first five years or so after the Great Recession. Low-income workers are actually seeing healthy wage gains - larger than everyone else's. In March, the poorest one-quarter of workers were earning 4.4 per cent more than a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The richest one-quarter were up 3 per cent.

Lower-income workers had started to outpace their higher-paid counterparts in 2015, so it's not a Trump phenomenon. And part of the increase has occurred because of minimum wage hikes by more than two-dozen states. Loading The news isn't good for everyone. Workers in metro areas are still getting larger pay increases than those in smaller towns or rural areas, according to the Atlanta Fed's data. In fact, that gap that has widened since Mr Trump was elected. And overall income inequality hasn't narrowed. The richest 5 per cent of Americans earned 3.4 times a median worker's pay in 2018, according to the left- leaning Economic Policy Institute. That's up from 3.3 times as much in 2016.

Amid the largely positive news for Mr Trump, friends and foes alike question whether he can stay focused on the economy as the 2020 contest plays out. Blessed with similarly positive news in the past, he has veered into more controversial topics like immigration, the Russia investigation and personal attacks against his rivals. Democrats, in fact, are counting on him to change the subject. At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest. "The economic indicators would normally be incredibly positive for an incumbent president," said Jefrey Pollock, the pollster for Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand's presidential campaign. However, the pollster said hopefully and somewhat rudely, "He can't shut his mouth." At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest.

The latest CNN poll finds 43 per cent of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job as president. That's even as 56 per cent say they approve of his handling of the economy, marking a high for the President since he took office. He receives lower marks for other issues, including health care, immigration and foreign policy. Specific candidates aside, the General Social Survey, a respected nationwide survey, has found that the share of Americans feeling satisfied with their finances has returned to pre-recession levels. In 2018, about a third expressed satisfaction with their financial situation, up from 23 per cent in 2010. About 4 in 10 said their finances had been improving over the previous few years, while just 15 per cent felt them worsening. In 2010, more than twice as many said their financial situations were getting worse.

Last month, the government report said, the African American unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, up from a record-low 5.9 per cent last May. That's more than double the rate for whites. And in 2017, according to the latest data available, the black-white income gap widened, with the typical African American household earning $US40,258, while the equivalent white figure was $US68,145. Still, the Asian and Latino unemployment rates hit or matched record lows in April. By some measures, the job market has been better in the past. A much smaller proportion of Americans are working than in the late 1990s, the last time unemployment was nearly this low. Part of that is because the United States is aging and baby boomers are retiring. But even among workers aged 25 through 54, which filters out the impact of retirement and increased college attendance, a smaller percentage of people are working: in April 79.7 per cent had jobs. That figure peaked at 81.9 per cent back in 2000.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Gold smugglers have a new modus operandi  exploit unsuspecting domestic airlines operating on international routes to smuggle the yellow metal in and out of India. They also use the aircraft as a conduit or a channel to transfer gold and illegally hoarded US dollar transactions to bypass the customs.

A Mumbai-based syndicate, running an international network, has been found to be involved in this new modus operandi. Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have confirmed that the syndicate operates from all international airports in India, including Kempegowda International Airport.

On April 13, DRI officials intercepted two passengers, K Motwani and D Bhambani, arriving at KIA from Ahmedabad by Indigo airline, and recovered 2.5 kg of gold from them.

Their interrogation revealed a shocker: They told us that the flight - 6E58 - had originally come from Singapore to Ahmedabad before it came to Bengaluru, from where it was scheduled to return to Singapore. Their counterpart in Singapore had handed over the parcel of contraband gold to a passenger who had secreted it in the toilet cavity of the aircraft before he got off at Ahmedabad.

Motwani, Bhambani and their associate Pankaj got into the same aircraft at Ahmedabad, which was to return to Singapore via Bengaluru with $ 2 lakh (equivalent to `1.4 cr), which was meant to be paid to the handler at Singapore for the gold he had supplied.

At KIA, while Motwani and Bhambani got off the aircraft with the smuggled gold, Pankaj was supposed to continue with the same flight to Singapore on Indigo 6E73 with $2 lakh, which he would have retrieved from the aircraft before getting off at Singapore, said an official source.

The officer said the new modus operandi is used on other airlines operating international routes as well. The case also exposes the lacuna in foreign exchange rules, strictly governed by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI). In the last one year DRI Bengaluru has detected 15 such cases and seized 36.569 kgs of gold worth over Rs.11.30 crore.

Over 4 kg gold seized at KIA from Gulf returnees

In one of the largest seizures of gold at Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials on Thursday seized over 4 kg of gold worth T1.31 crore from two passengers coming from Muscat and Dubai. Both hail from Karnataka. In the first seizure, 3.678 kg of gold was recovered from a passenger hailing from Chamrajanagar, who was coming to the city by Emirates flight No EK-358 from Dubai. The gold was recovered from his check-in luggage after customs officials found his body language and response to queries suspicious, and decided to closely examine his baggage.

He was carrying a bench vice (a device used to hold a workpiece which is used in many woodwork and metalwork) inside which the gold was concealed. Two gold bars weighing 1 kg each and four cut pieces of gold bars were covered with black insulation tape and were packed inside a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice. In the second incident, a passenger travelling to Bengaluru from Muscat via AI-978 was found carrying 358.44 gm of gold valued at T11.75 lakh in his hand baggage. Gold was concealed in the handle of the trolley bag.
In McCredden's mind, Murray is irreplaceable. However, that doesn't mean his legacy won't live on. She points to young poets like Lachlan Brown, as well as more established ones such as Judith Beveridge, as Australians writing about sacredness. "In Beveridge's case [it's] Buddhism. Which was not Les' forte, of course, but I think they compare in the context of, 'What do we hold as sacred? What is beyond the material, capitalist present?' "Samuel Wagan Watson has also got a wonderful poem called Kangaroo Crossing which is about ... modernity but also Indigenous ancientness coming together in one, flashing moment." Beveridge, who was born in London, cemented herself as one of Australia's leading poets after winning a NSW Premier's Literary Award in the late 1980s for her collection The Domesticity of Giraffes. She has been a poetry editor for the prestigious literary journal Meanjin and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Sydney. Wagan Watson  a Bundjalung and Birri Gubba man based in Queensland  has several collections of poetry under his belt and last year won the prestigious Patrick White Award. His latest collection, Love Poems and Death Threats, explores songlines as well as ideas of injustice and resilience.

Neither Beveridge nor Wagan Watson disputed the idea that their work shares themes with Murray's. However, both were hesitant to compare themselves directly. "My spirituality is part of the fabric behind my lines," says Wagan Watson. "Whether something is perceived as sacred or not ... that's something else." Beveridge, meanwhile, describes Murray as an "intimidating" master of language. "What he gave me was a benchmark for really trying to get some intensity ... in one's own poetic language," she says. "I write about nature and the environment and human interactions with the environment. I think they're essentially sacred activities. If we don't open ourselves up to the beauty and wonder of the world, then we're not going to want to save it." One of the up-and-coming writers Murray helped inspire was Omar Sakr. Like Murray, the Sydney-based poet's work explores the downtrodden  but with a particular focus on Western Sydney.

Poet Omar Sakr at the Sydney Writers Festival. Credit:James Alcock Sakr says Murray had a "huge impact" on his writing, especially in the pieces exploring the gulfs and hollows of mental ill health. And just as Murray did several decades ago, Sakr is seeing the first glimmers of international success: his publisher, University of Queensland Press, recently sold the international rights to his second book, The Lost Arabs, to US-based publisher Andrews McMeel. So what other voices should people turn to now that Murray is gone? Beveridge's answer is simple: whatever catches your eye or ear. "Go to the anthologies, pick out the poets you find interesting," she said. "Anthologies are always a good place to start if you're not familiar with poetry. It's all done for you, more or less. Go out and explore." A fitting piece of advice given Murray's well-documented love of pluralism. "I have a very wide taste and I don't figure that any particular period should be dominated by any particular period of poetry," he told The Age in 2002. "'Let a thousand flowers bloom.' Mao didn't mean that when he said it."

Loading Indeed, award-winning poet David McCooey says it's possible to name "any number of poets" interested in the Australian landscape or what it means to be Australian. "There's a great diversity of voices in contemporary Australian poetry," he says. "They are working against national and transnational boundaries in interesting ways." The Age's former poetry editor, Gig Ryan, agrees. She says the proliferation of online publishing, the rise of creative writing programs and identity politics have all played a part in shaping the current Australian poetry landscape. "Poetry is now far more pluralist and inclusive, and has moved from that war between a conservative or internationalist stance."

Five of Les Murray's most beloved poems The Cows on Killing Day A chilling account of animals being slaughtered from the perspective of a cow. "Standing on wet rock, being milked, assuages the calf-sorrow in me." Corniche

A poem about the intersection between masculinity and mental health. "Back when God made me, I had no script. It was better. / For all the death, we also die unrehearsed." The Meaning of Existence As the title suggests, a meditation on life and the natural world. "Everything except language / knows the meaning of existence. Trees, planets, rivers, time/ know nothing else. They express it / moment by moment as the universe."

The Widower in the Country A piece about how grief stays with you. Nick Cave has said this is one of his favourite Murray poems. "I'll drive my axe in the log and come back in / With my armful of wood, and pause to look across / The Christmas paddocks aching in the heat." Equanimity One of Murray's finest, sprawling nature poems.
PS also hears Hadley's media chums have been valiantly trying - but without much success - to drum up some positive press lately. Indeed, the "good news" campaign appears to have been sparked by this column's on-going coverage of the Hadley sagas, not in the least last week's revelations that Andrew Moore was "filthy" over News Corp columnist and staunch Hadley supporter Phil "Buzz" Rothfield's glowing account of Hadley shaking Moore's hand during the first game at Parramatta's new stadium. Broadcast blue: ABC sport's Andrew Moore (right) believes Ray Hadley (centre), who he accused of bullying at 2GB, exchanged pleasantries for the benefit of Phil Rothfield's column. As Moore told PS, he felt "sick" by the report, and did not portray his true feelings about his former colleague. "Rothfield has been, as far as Im aware, the only one trying to find a positive story about the bloke," Moore told PS.

Fever pitch in Wentworth There's enough finger pointing going on between supporters of Liberal aspirant David Sharma and Independent Federal member Kerryn Phelps around the seat of Wentworth to rival The Saturday Night Fever show currently on at The Star. Things are getting personal on the campaign trail for Federal Member for Wentworth, Independent Kerryn Phelps,(centre), and her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps (left). Credit:AAP Campaign posters being ripped down, a candidate's wife taking on a political opponent at a public event, hateful and defamatory emails going viral, claims of anti-semitism and homophobia, unflattering social media posts mysteriously vanishing and embarrassing "blind" items about smelly artworks appearing - somewhat miraculously - in gossip columns. PS can hardly keep up, but on these pages we prefer to name names.

Phelps' wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps confirmed to PS she had approached Dave Sharma after a Holocaust memorial at the University of NSW last Sunday but denied Sharma's claims she was "angry and aggressive" when she spoke to him. She had joined around 500 others at the event and was there "honouring my own murdered Jewish family members". Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma hopes to win as a "modern Liberal". Credit:James Alcock Stricker-Phelps, a same-sex marriage campaigner and former school teacher, describes herself as a "public figure". She has been in the news ever since her calamitous departure from the exclusive Ascham girls school 20 years ago, when she quit after complaints were received when she revealed she was in a relationship with Phelps, a celebrity GP on national television at the time. Stricker-Phelps told PS she was upset with Sharma and "after the ceremony had ended, I went over to him and let him know we knew what he had done". Stricker-Phelps was referring to Phelps being approached last week by a reporter from The Australian to seek a response after Sharma had commented on a post in Phelps' Twitter feed.

Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, told The Australian: I was very concerned to see that my opponent has been retweeting endorsements from a prominent supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, one who has called on Australians to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Israel this month." However Phelps, who converted to Judaism in 1998 before she married Stricker at New York City Hall in 2011, had already deleted her retweet after being alerted to the author @Saints_Dragons' anti-Israel history. There was no mention of BDS or Israel in the Tweet, an endorsement of her re-election campaign by @Saints_Dragons, which Phelps had initially retweeted. Phelps pointed this out to The Australian, confirmed she was a supporter of Israel and made it clear she did not condone the BDS movement. The story, and Sharma's comments, were then binned. When asked about the story that never was, Phelps told PS: "It was a shameful attempt by Dave Sharma to discredit me and destroy my reputation within the Jewish community." Further fanning the flames was a ''Guess who don't sue'' item in The Australian's Rupert Murdoch-owned stablemate, The Sunday Telegraph, asking readers: "Which famously precious partner of one of our best-known politicians caused a scene at Potts Point restaurant Bar Rex on Tuesday night. First the airconditioning was too cool, then she complained that someone had brought a painting into the venue and the smell was making her feel sick."

The item was gleefully reproduced on the Potts Pointer's Facebook page, leading to a barrage of unflattering comments naming Stricker-Phelps, much of it from Sharma's staunchest supporters, before it was mysteriously taken down. Stricker-Phelps has labelled the story "fake news". For starter's the venue is called Bistro Rex. Bistro Rex owner Peter Curcuruto supported Stricker-Phelp's account, adding he had asked the artist if he could move the freshly painted work because of the fumes. "There was no issue, it was completely fine as far as I'm concerned ... I was just as shocked to see the item published. Absolute nonsense," he said. Stricker-Phelps told PS: "This is clearly an attempt to discredit me as Kerryn's wife," adding this was just the latest in an increasingly personal and toxic campaign, something with which Sharma is in agreement.

"I would be mortified if my wife approached another candidate. It was neither the place nor the time, though I actually did not hear what Jackie was saying to me," Sharma said, who also confirmed his comments to The Australian about Phelps' Tweet. Caped crusader to the rescue Chris Hemsworth's canteen duty days would appear to be numbered following the alarming events at Byron Bay Public School when a teacher was stabbed on Tuesday. Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky during the 2018 Australian Open. Credit:AAP While it has been widely reported that God Of Thunder Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky "came to the rescue" following the drama, PS has been informed that Hemsworth and his wife were actually on the grounds during the lock-down as police searched for the attacker.

Neither the school principal nor the NSW Department of Education would comment on Hemsworth's whereabouts on Tuesday, however within the school community talk has focussed on the big name Hollywood star being caught up in the ugly events that led to the school going into lock-down for four hours. Pataky later uploaded video footage of her hubby helping with the sushi rolls for that day's lunch on Instagram. The mood among the parents within the school canteen appeared pretty upbeat given the events which had occurred just hours earlier. Chris Hemsworth reports for canteen duty with wife Elsa Pataky. Credit:Nine The video is no longer on Pataky's social media feed. No doubt Hemsworth's Hollywood agents would be rather nervous about their big star being so close to danger, however the actor, his wife and their three children, have become deeply ingrained in the local community. Hemsworth is big property in Tinsel Town. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week Hemsworth was being paid between $21 to $28 million for playing Thor in each of the final two Avengers movies. That means movie studios fork out serious dough for "artist liability" insurance to help protect a production's bankrollers from financial damage in the event that the star, ie Hemsworth, is not able to complete his role. Meanwhile, Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is on the mend after receiving cuts to his face and arms after a female parent allegedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Birthday bash like no other Skye Leckie had her name up in lights for her two-day 60th birthday party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye in full flight as she serenaded husband David Leckie last Saturday night. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova She had been rehearsing her rendition of Gladys Knight and the Pips' You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me for months, but it was the dastardly smoke machine that Skye Leckie had not counted on last Saturday night during her grand soiree for her 60th birthday. As Leckie took to the microphone to sing:"I've had my share of life's ups and downs", the huge marquee began to fill with thick smoke.

Indeed it was a real "pea souper", and some of the 400-plus guests found themselves fumbling in the fog trying to work out where Leckie was. Who wore it best? Portia Turbo turned up in the same dress as Skye Leckie. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye Leckie in a rare quiet moment with her sons Harry and Ben. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova But once the ventilation kicked in, the tireless charity queen and doyenne of Sydney society was seen serenading her husband David, who appeared to grimace at the attention he was attracting, as "Skyzie" carried on, supported by her cheering sons Harry and Ben. However, former Channel Seven and Nine boss David Leckie could have been simply reeling from the size of the crowd that had descended on his Mulberry Farm for the evening, where a Versailles-sized marquee had been erected to create their own private country club.

Julie Bishop and David Panton at the Town & Country themed party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova PS hears Leckie had been told to expect around 150, but his wife has a lot of pals, and nearly three times that number managed to get into the joint. No wonder she had four outfit changes. Samantha Armytage and style blogger Melissa Penfold giving their own interpretation on the party theme. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Pol Roger poured all night and party pies fuelled the crowd, who mostly hit the dance floor. A New Year's Eve-sized fireworks display went off, and so did Skye. The likes of Graham Richardson (under a blanket and firmly seated), artist Tim Storrier, former model Deborah Hutton, Dial-A-Dump millionaire Ian Malouf, lovebirds Julie Bishop and David Panton, human headlines Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic, PR queens Deeta Colvin, Judi Hausmann, Naomi Parry and Sally Burleigh, newsmen Mark Ferguson and Michael Usher, a very single Anthony Bell, a very loved-up Samantha Armytage with her new man Paul O'Brien, billionaire Gretel Packer, fashion designer Jonathan Ward, Joh "Stretch and Burn" Bailey, Gai Waterhouse and comic Vince Sorrenti led the Southern Highlands charge.
We've heard barely a whisper about arts policy during the federal election campaign but that hasnt stopped one group of writers raising their voices in a novel way.

Inspired by Suzan-Lori Parks 100 Plays for the First Hundred Days, which was written during Donald Trumps first months as US president, seven Melbourne playwrights are collectively posting a play a day online as the Australian election unfolds.

"I thought it would be great  to offer a different take from the usual froth of politics  to try and get into the humanity of it and the drama of it," says Ben Ellis, who launched the project The Campaign & After Plays at voteplays.home.blog.

The parameters were simple: write a minimum of six lines, and ensure that some kind of change takes place.
Scott Morrison has secured a major statement of support from one-time rival Peter Dutton to ensure the Prime Minister keeps his position as Liberal Party leader whether he wins or loses the federal election.

The senior conservative MP, who is locked in a battle to keep his marginal Brisbane seat, also denied lying to voters about the arrival of sex offenders from Manus Island and Nauru and said the $180 million cost of reopening Christmas Island was worth it.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has represented the Brisbane seat of Dickson since 2001. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In a significant move to end years of leadership strife within the government, the Home Affairs Minister praised Mr Morrison for running a great campaign and dismissed the idea of another leadership contest after the May 18 election.

Scott Morrison should stay leader, win or lose, but my only focus is on him winning because weve got to save our country from Bill Shorten, Mr Dutton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Dark clouds threatened rain as schoolkids gathered outside the Sydney electorate offices of both Labor and Liberal politicians on Friday, but it didn't dampen their message on climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former prime minister Tony Abbott and Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese were among those targeted as part of the nationwide protest against climate change inaction by federal MPs.

School children at a climate change protest near the office of Tony Abbott in Manly. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The protest held extra potency in Manly, where Mr Abbott's 25-year grip on the seat of Warringah is under threat from independent candidate Zali Steggall in a campaign centred on climate change.

Armed with homemade signs, about a hundred students, parents and grandparents marched on Mr Abbott's Manly office, chanting the slogan favoured by Steggall supporters: "Time's up Tony".
(We do know of one amorous boyfriend who sent the object of his affection a picture of his object of affection. Sadly his fingers were as clumsy as his thought process as he sent it to her mother, whose number was next on his contact list. With Mother's Day just around the corner, this could be awkward.) When did private parts become public property? Under Section 19 of the Summary Offences Act, it states: A person must not wilfully and obscenely expose the genital area of his or her body in, or within the view of, a public place. Penalty: Two years' imprisonment. Another woman we know has been hit on by strangers through a professional online networking group - an activity she simply finds tiring rather than flattering. These sorts of events are annoying rather than threatening, but the dark underbelly of social media requires its own vocabulary. There is "swatting" - convincing emergency services to storm a persons home by faking a critical incident; "doxing" - publishing personal details of a target to place them in danger; and "revenge porn" - posting explicit images without consent to embarrass and humiliate. Tortoises know when to stick their necks out and when to withdraw to safety. Credit:AP

This reporter has been treated quite kindly as a rule by social media but as an old and slightly rancid-looking male I am probably not worth the effort to troll. It is rather like challenging a 100-year-old tortoise to a fist fight - the ancient combatant simply goes into the shell until the idiot loses interest. Female colleagues tell a different story, with one wisely refusing to have an online presence for she sees there is no benefit in reading bile. On May 17, as part of Law Week, the Victorian Law Foundation is to run a fascinating panel called "Stalking, Trolling and Bullying" with three expert authors: Rachel Cassidy, Ginger Gorman and Dr Emma Jane. They have discovered that the internet, designed to free us by providing instant communication and endless knowledge at the touch of a button, is being used to imprison by those who choose to live in a sewer of their own making. Those who justify their hate with the cloak of free speech do not address the problem that their end game is to intimidate and silence those who disagree.

Ginger Gorman, author of Troll Hunting. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos In her book Troll Hunting, Gorman reports on stalker/trolls who appear to encourage their perceived enemies to self-harm and use relentless harassment, including stealing people's identities, to destroy them personally and professionally. Women have disappeared from the internet, moved homes, changed jobs, altered lifestyles, lost friends or ultimately taken their own lives due to being stalked day and night by ex-partners, former workmates and total strangers. In her book Stalked: The Human Target, Cassidy talks to stalker James, who targeted a woman he met at a barbecue. She made it clear at the start that she had a partner, but I just didnt want to hear that, says James. He tracked her online and in person, learnt her movements and sent emails to her work colleagues: I thought if they sacked her she would come running to me.

His aim was to make her feel unbalanced so he could be the hero who rescued her. At one point he tricked a friend of his victim's into giving him his target's phone number and then rang her up to 60 times a day. It only stopped when he fronted and threatened her, leading to his arrest and incarceration, but even then the woman was forced to move to reclaim her life. Journalist and academic Jane is an expert in gender-based cyber hate and has been able to track how the online world has sent some off their rockers. Dr Emma Jane, cyberhate expert. She observes that her published opinions have always excited a response, often negative, but when she received feedback via posted letters the writers would criticise her views while sticking to the issue. Some threatened to cancel their subscription but none threatened her physical welfare. Since 1998 she has monitored how internet responses have become filled with hate and violence, with female commentators routinely told they are ugly, fat and/or sluts.

As she puts it in her book Misogyny Online: A Short (and Brutish) History, the tipping point in civility was the internet: The takeaway point here is that while many readers dislike me and my work very much, not once did any of them propose corrective gang rape as an intervention. She publishes a series of online posts sent to women that shakes your confidence in people and makes you wonder if humanity is heading at breakneck speed to some form of cliff. How could anyone not in need of immediate electro-shock therapy post something like "all feminists should be gang raped to set them right"? And that is tame compared to some of the posts she has received. She says British activist Caroline Criado-Perez received 50 rape threats an hour after having the audacity to campaign for more female representation on banknotes. The question with no answer is: how does an online dispute degenerate into an online sexual threat? Under Section 43 of the Crimes Act, a threat to rape is punishable by five years' imprisonment, and yet hundreds of these online attacks go unreported and uninvestigated. If you want to align the online world with the so-called real world, then we need to start locking up these offenders. Jane quotes the 2015 UN Broadband Commission's statement that 73 per cent of women have been exposed to some form of online violence and that women are 27 times more likely to be abused online than men.

One cancelled a speaking engagement when a harasser threatened "the deadliest school shooting in American history" and that she would "die screaming like the craven little whore she is". Jane is a perfectly reasonable person who spoke to us while trying to juggle parenting and professional obligations, which makes her matter-of-fact comments harder to comprehend. I had my first rape threat in 1998 and virtually nothing has been done since. I left journalism when the rape threats spread to my kid. Penalties for threatening people online need to be brought into line with stalking on the streets. Credit:Dominic O'Brien As part of her research she interviewed 52 women who have an online presence. Every one I spoke to said they had cut back on what they had said because of the backlash. There are topics that are just off-limits because of the reaction. She found a group online that was crowd-sourcing to look for plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She points out that increasingly employees are expected to engage online to promote their business and that if women are forced to withdraw, it impacts on their earning capacity: Organisations who want their workers to have an online presence have a duty to protect them from what is workplace harassment.
New polling commissioned by GetUp suggests former prime minister Tony Abbott is on track for a defeat by independent candidate Zali Steggall in his blue ribbon Sydney seat of Warringah.

A Lonergan poll of 805 Warringah voters shows Mr Abbott trailing Ms Steggall 56-44 on a two party-preferred basis. GetUp is campaigning against Mr Abbott in Warringah.

The poll also showed climate change and the environment is a top-order issue for Warringah voters.

Ms Steggall, an Olympic skier-turned-barrister, has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign and says the Morrison government has failed to act on emissions reduction or encouraging the renewable energy transition.
Bangkok: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn completed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn adjusts his crown at his coronation on Saturday. Credit:Thai TV

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married again.

His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.
London: It's chaos out there in Brexitland, formerly known as England, which has just finished counting the casualties of a local election bloodbath.

Well over a thousand local councillors lost their jobs as voters punished the Tories for their hapless, rudderless state.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after casting her vote at a polling station near her home in the Thames Valley. Credit:AP

And instead of reaping the spoils Labour was ruing its own losses: significantly fewer, but unexpected and humiliating.

Take it from plain-spoken Labour MP Jess Phillips, who complained on Friday: "Let the Tories play with the Brexit ball and let it wreck them. Why on earth are we allowing it to do the same thing to us that it's done to the Tories for 40 years?"
Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.
Jayanthi Pawar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two persons, including a woman, died after they were hit by a car at Villivakkam here on Friday morning. Police suspect the car driver, a realtor who also rents his car to travel agencies, was under influence of alcohol.Police identified the deceased as Mohanagopal and Sarasa. Eyewitnesses said a victim was dragged to nearly 100 metres. The driver got off the vehicle when he reached a street that had been blocked for Metrowater pipeline laying work.

daughter of victim Sarasa breaks down at the

accident site | DEBADATTA MALLICK

Police said the accident occurred around 7.30am. Deivendran was headed to his house at Villivakkam. Since, the service lane at Padi flyover was blocked, he took another route through Annai Sathya Nagar. As he entered the street, he lost control of the vehicle and first rammed a junction box. When he tried to reverse the vehicle, he knocked down a woman- Adhilakshmi, 55 and ran over her legs, said a police officer.

She was rushed to a government hospital.

Muthu, an autoricksaw driver, said Deivendran immediately took left and entered a narrow street, in which he first knocked down Mohanagopal and Sarasa who was caught under the car and was dragged for about 100 metres and fell off near her house on the same street, he said.The officer said that since Metrowater work was on, the stretch had been closed which was when Deivendran got off the car and tried to escape, but he was nabbed by the residents.

We handed him over to police and he was drunk, said Muthu.The accident was recorded on CCTV cameras installed on the street.A relative of Sarasa said the latter was heading to the shop when the car knocked her down and her body was found in front of her house. She is survived by three children who are all married and stay close by.Thirumangalam traffic investigation wing registered a case and arrested Deivendran.
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers.

Trump and Putin also discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on December 1, briefly talked about the report by special counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The report detailed widespread, persistant efforts by the Russian government to meddle in the US election by posting fake politicial advertisements on social media and organising political rallies.
Hilma Aysha By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The shock waves of the blasts that rocked Sri Lanka are being felt by the hospitality industry at Fort Kochi too. Due to the alerts and checks carried out by the Police, a lot of hotels and homestays in the region are seeing a drop in customer arrivals. According to Vineetha Willie, manager, Old Harbor Hotel, the reason might be the confusion among the public. She said, I live close by. The level of fear can be gauged by the instructions given by the priest of the nearby church. Because the attacks took place in the churches in Sri Lanka, we, as Christians, are especially scared. Last week marked the beginning of the Edappally church feast, but I was too scared to send my mother.

She added, "Though it is not the peak season, there has been definitely a drop in the tourist, both domestic and foreigners, arrivals. The hotels would have been fully booked by now for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram but the bookings are minimal this year. Many of the tourists, she says, arent aware of the situation. Some people keep themselves updated via media and other means. They regularly check with us about the current status.

The manager of the Park Avenue Hotel, Mohammed Jishad, claims the alerts have hit the hospitality sector drastically. He said, "both local and foreign crowds are afraid and dont want to take the risk. He goes on to say that the police should have carried out their searches in mufti and the media should have been kept out of it. On the whole, it is a divided house. However, the general consensus remains that the police in the region are efficient. The close proximity of the station and the goodwill of the police officers has been praised by most hotels and resorts.

Fleur Bernard, a citizen of France, vacationing in Fort Kochi said, The police of the region are very helpful. We didnt know about the alert and theyve been helping us with security and such throughout our trip. Their mere presence makes us feel safe, in spite of the apparent threat.

However, some of the hoteliers said they have not been particularly affected. According to Jerin Joseph, front desk manager, Hotel Forte Kochi, they havent been particularly affected by the alert, because the month of April is usually the off-season. "Also, the protocols enforced are not something new to our hotel. We used to carry these out even before the police notice them. There is not much change. However, he said, Of course, some people are scared. Theyd rather not risk their lives by coming to threatened zones.
Hong Kong: Michael Wong to visit Beijing

Secretary for Development Michael Wong will depart for Beijing tomorrow to meet officials of Mainland ministries.

On May 6, Mr Wong will call on the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources.

He will visit the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the following day.

He will return to Hong Kong on the evening of May 7.

Under Secretary for Development Liu Chun-san will be Acting Secretary during Mr Wongs absence.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
>>> State funeral held for former President, General Le Duc Anh



>>> Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hunsen pays respects to General Le Duc Anh

Freshnews - one of the websites with the largest readership in Cambodia - in its Khmer version, reported that former President of Vietnam Le Duc Anh died at the age of 99, stating that the former president was the commander of the Vietnamese army which helped Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot regime. The website also mentioned the contributions of former President General Le Duc Anh in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam and unify the country.

The daily English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post published an article about the passing away of former President, General Le Duc Anh, emphasising that the former Vietnamese leader was a prominent figure with a legacy in Cambodia. He was recognised for his role as the commander of the Vietnamese volunteer army in Cambodia, helping the Cambodian people to escape the 1979 Khmer Rouge genocidal regime.

According to the newspaper, during the 1980s, he played a major role in formulating the five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration and assisted in the development of the K5 Plan that attempted to seal guerrilla infiltration routes along the Thailand-Cambodia border between 1985 and 1989.

Meanwhile, Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia's largest daily newspaper, also published a biography on the life and revolutionary activities of former President, General Le Duc Anh.

In the US, the Washington Post also published an article about former President Le Duc Anh as a commander of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as a witness of the US and Vietnam establishing diplomatic relations.

According to the article, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam as a deputy commander and chief of staff of the Peoples Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam. In 1974, he became deputy commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, contributing to the launch of the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring 1975, completely liberating the South and unifying the country.

The article reiterated that General Le Duc Anh is best known for his role in supporting Cambodia to overthrow the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, the "architect" of the offensive that ended nearly four years of Pol Pots administration, and preventing the genocide from returning to Cambodia.

The Washington Post recalled that, during the period of General Le Duc Anh serving as President of Vietnam from 1992-1997, Vietnam and the US officially established diplomatic relations in 1995. In the same year, he became the first head of state from Vietnam to visit the US when he travelled to New York to attend the United Nations 50th anniversary.

The article affirmed that, as President, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in normalising the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US.
Steena Das By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever since the break of dawn, 76-year-old Martin has been on a tireless search along the coast; occasionally brightening up when sees a coin. Under the blazing sun, he doesn't stop unless he comes across something worth. With incessant cyclone warnings making life miserable for them, some fishermen at Shankumugham have become treasure hunters.

The rough seas pose an obstacle for fishing. The women fish vendors remain idle waiting for fishing rafts to bring fish to Vizhinjam. Despite the withdrawal of Cyclone Fani warning, the rough sea prevents fishermen to go fishing. "Therefore we collect valuables lost by tourists in the sea. If we are lucky enough we might get any valuables," says Martin.

Few fishermen, however, continue to fish despite warnings, to supplement their life.

In the absence of fishing, our families remain in poverty. The schools will reopen in a month. Funds are required for our children, said Joseph Jhonson, a fisherman at Shankumugham."Fishing is all I know. I'm unable to find another job but Im ready to struggle to let my children study as I do not want them to take up fishing, he said.

The Vizhinjam coast is usually crowded with fish vendors. But with less fishermen going fishing the coast remains deserted. With lesser fish available, fish vendors hope to receive at least a basket of fish. "Ill have to give C1,000 per day to the finance people from whom I took a loan of C1, 00,000. Im unable to pay the same as there is no fish available," said Victoria, a fish vendor at Vizhinjam.

After cyclone Ockhi the regulations on fishing have strengthened. Moreover, the memories of the same do not let us venture into the deep sea. We have no profit during most days. I have already borrowed a lot of money which I'm unable to pay back," said fisherman Bellarmin Kurishayya from Poonthura. He has two registered boats among which he uses one for fishing.

The boat I used during cyclone Ockhi to find fishermen was severely destructed. But Im yet to receive compensation from the government, he added.Fish prices have increased tremendously within two weeks. Mackerel that cost C 4,000 to 5,000 per basket two weeks ago has risen to C6,500 to 7,000 on Friday. Anchovy that cost C15,000 to 2,000 became C 3,800, said Lalamma, a fish vendor at Valiyathura.

However, fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said, Currently, we are providing ration to the fishermen family." Besides, she spoke on the sea erosion issue at Valiyathura. We have submitted a detailed project report to Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) regarding the of shore breakwater project. The works of the same will began as soon as we get approval from KIIFB," she added.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Some 1,200 tonne of garbage was removed from canals in Vijayawada and its outlying villages in the two-day cleaning drive Nenu Saitham Krishnamma Suddhi Sevalo, that concluded on Friday. Some 800 tonne of garbage was disposed on the second day of the drive. The drive, which saw the participation of officials of various departments, NGOs and students, ended with the formation of a human chain at Eluru Locks. They pledged to keep river Krishna free from plastic and garbage.

District officials commenced the second day of the programme with an awareness rally from Alankar Centre in the morning. District Collector Md Imtiaz, Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao, Joint Collector Kritika Shukla and Joint Collector-2 P Babu Rao took part in the rally along with other officials, citizens and students.

The second day cleaning drive took place at Eluru Lakulu on the banks of Eluru canal and areas such as Ramalingeswaranagar. The irrigation department cleared up 400 tonne of waste, whereas Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) disposed 350 tonne of waste. As much as 50 tonne of waste was removed in the gram panchayat areas.

Some 25,000 people took part in the drive in which 22 heavy load vehicles, 65 tractors, 11 earthmovers were used to clean the canals and dispose the waste in the dump yard. Addressing the public, Imtiaz said that such drives would be conducted every month in the future keeping in view public health and to restore the environmental balance.This is not just a two-day affair. We will organise such drives every month and involve people, officials, students, NGOs in this campaign. The goal of the campaign is not only cleanliness but also create awareness among the public about the need to keep the canals clean, he said.

Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao requested the people to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, in the canals and also completely stop the use of plastic. The garbage we removed today accumulated not only due to the negligence of the officials but also due to callousness of the public which resulted in transformation of Eluru, Bandar and Ryves Canals into dumping grounds. VMC has installed separate dry and wet garbage dustbins and people should segregate and dump the waste accordingly, he said.
By IANS

GUWAHATI: The authorities in Assam on Saturday deported 20 illegal immigrants to Bangladesh through Karimganj in Barak Valley.



They had illegally trespassed into Assam over a period of time from 2014. Nineteen of them were lodged in a detention centre in Barak Valleys Silchar Central Jail while another was lodged in a similar cell for the immigrants in Lower Assams Kokrajhar Central Jail.



The immigrants, including 14 Muslims and six Hindus, are from Sylhet and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh. The police said the pushback took place at 1:30 pm via Sutarkandi border checkpoint in Karimganj.



There was a woman among the 20 immigrants who were received by Bangladeshi authorities on the border. They had no complaints whatsoever, Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Manabendra Dev Roy who was at the site, told this newspaper over the phone. He said the Bangladeshi nationals had illegally entered Assam since 2014.

ALSO READ | Assam deportations: SC junks plea seeking recusal of Chief Justice

Some had entered in 2014. The others had entered from 2015 to 2018. Usually, after six months since the arrest of Illegal immigrants, they are sent to detention centres, the SP added.



Prior to their deportation, some of the immigrants told journalists that they had illegally entered Assam as they were too poor to spend money on travel documents including passport and visa. They said they had come to meet their relatives who live in India.



One of the immigrants, Ikbal Hussain Talukdar who spent five years in the Silchar detention centre, said he was delighted that he would go back to his motherland. I am very happy. I had come to meet my relatives who live in Barak Valley. As I am poor, I could not afford to arrange proper travel documents, he said.



Similarly, Alorani Das, who spent two and half years in captivity, said she had come to meet her sister. The next time I come to meet her, I will ensure that I am armed with proper travel documents, she asserted. In January this year, 17 other immigrants were deported to Bangladesh.
WESTPORT  A Bridgeport teen was charged Wednesday for his role in two overnight burglaries in town late last year, police said Friday.

Xavier Medel, 19, of Bridgeport, was charged on two different warrants Wednesday, stemming from two separate burglaries.

Police said on Dec. 18, 2018, officers responded to Oak Ridge Park for a reported overnight burglary. The victim woke up to several text messages from the fraud division of her credit card company, which told her her card was possibly used fraudulently at three places in Norwalk. The charges totaled up to about $170.

When the victim checked her house, she found that her laptop and purse  with multiple credit cards in it  had been taken from the family room of her home.

For that incident, Medel was charged him with first-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and two counts of credit card theft.

Two days later, officers were sent to a Brooklawn Drive home for another reported overnight burglary. The victim and his family had been asleep when two suspects went into their home and stole a key fob and a home surveillance camera from the kitchen.

The homeowner was able to remotely access the video and provide it to police.

The suspects used the key fob to steal an Audi from the driveway. They also went into and rummaged through two other unlocked vehicles in the driveway, taking two credit cards and other miscellaneous items, police said.

For this burglary, police charged Medel with first-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary from a motor vehicle, first-degree motor vehicle theft and third-degree larceny. Police said two juveniles were also identified. Their charges were not provided.

On Dec. 28, police responded to the home of one of the juvenile suspects and Medel was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for previous burglaries. At the home, investigators found the stolen Audi key fob and later recovered the vehicle.

While in custody for these crimes, a family member of Medel returned the other victims stolen laptop to police headquarters, police said.

Through the investigation, including a forensic check of Medels cellphone and the recovery of the victims items, detectives were able to secure an additional arrest warrant for Medel.

On Wednesday, he was arrested in Norwalk Superior Court by Westport detectives. Hes being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

Including the Westport case, court records show Medel has five criminal cases currently pending in the Connecticut court system. The other four cases also include burglary and larceny charges from Stamford in Novemeber and December of last year.

Medel is expected to appear in Norwalk Superior Court to answer to these recent charges from Westport police on May 13 at 10 a.m.
WESTPORT  A piece of leather, apparently from the back seat of the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, has been pulled from an auction in Dallas because of the sensitivity of the item, but remains for sale on a Westport companys website.

John Reznikoff, of Westports University Archives, is auctioning a piece of the limo seat from when Kennedy was killed in 1963.

Reznikoff has sold parts of the seat before, according to News 12 Connecticut, but this specific piece was set to be an item up for auction at a site in Dallas  where Kennedy was killed.

The piece can be viewed on the companys website. The description says its a small swatch of blood-stained blue leather upholstery removed from JFKs presidential limo after he was killed.

The piece was supposed to be auctioned through Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Out of concern for the sensitivity of the subject matter, Heritage Auctions decided to withdraw the lot from this weekend's Americana and Political Auction, Eric Bradley, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions, told News 12.

At Dealey Plaza earlier this week, some visitors told one local news station that the call to remove it from the Dallas auction was the right one.

It's kind of sad that someone's still trying to make a buck off of that, Dealey Plaza visitor Keith Fowler told KXAS-TV.

Still, the item remains up for purchase on Reznikoffs site.

There are rosy things that occur in history, and there are more macabre things that occur in history, but they're both part of history, Reznikoff told News 12. And history needs to be preserved.
News

Wherever you throw me, I will stand  an inspiring motto for those who feel tossed about by the uncertainties, fears and pain associated with two years of Covid
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

RAJASTHAN: The BSPs presence in the electoral contest could spoil the Congress prospects in many seats in Rajasthan, particularly in the eastern belt where Scheduled Castes, BSPs core vote base, have a significant presence. Political experts say candidature of the BSP in Dausa, Bharatpur, Alwar and Karauli-Dholpur will lead to a division of votes of Congresss traditional votebank.

Of the four seats in the region, three are reserved  Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur and Bharatpur (both SC) . The only unreserved seat is the communally senstive Alwar where the BSP has fielded Imran Khan. Muslims, a traditional vote bank of the Congress in the state, are in sizeable numbers in Alwar.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth says, Even if the BSP gets a single vote in these areas, it will be from Congresss vote share. Rajasthan is the only state in north India where SCs are considered closer to the Congress in comparision to the BJP. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also enjoys huge popularity among SCs.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The Dalits are upset with the BJP government over the alleged diluteion of the SC/ST Act. In Alwar, one Dalit was allegedly killed by police during a protest over the issue. Experts say another factor that makes BSPs presence felt in eastern Rajasthan is proximity of these areas with Uttar Pradesh which is the base of Mayawati. Sunil Mathur, a political expert based in Rajathan says, The BSP fielding candidates in Rajasthan is mere tokenism, except in the eastern belt. It has been campaigning dedicatedly in the region and its efforts reflected in the Assembly polls. Its vote share in the region increased and also translated into seats.

Of the six seats BSP won in the 2018 Assembly polls, five were from this region. It won two seats each from Bharatpur and Alwar districts, and one each from Karauli and Jhunjhunu. The only places in Rajasthan where Mayawati has been campaigning are in the eastern region.

In Bharatpur and Dholpur, Jatavs, the core vote bank of Mayawati, are a sizeable community. Both Bareth and Mathur say that because of polarisation by the BJP in Rajasthan, Muslims will largely stick with the Congress but Dalit votes may get split between the BSP and the Congress. Roughly, there are 4.13 lakh, 3.8 lakh and 3.27 lakh Dalits in Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Alwar constituencies, respectively.
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

DAUSA/BHARATPUR/ALWAR/KARAULI-DHOLPUR : It is 3:24 pm and a group of old men are playing choupad pasa (ancient chess), unmindful of the blazing 41 degrees outside in Ganeshpura village of Rajasthans Dausa constituency. Its a largely upper caste gathering, but there are three SC/ST men, too. The reference to politics suddenly changes the mood and an animated argument on the Modi governments promises and performance ensues. The upper caste men swear by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commendable work and cite Ujjwala and Swacch Bharat schemes. They also point to the cemented roads and electricity poles outside as examples of the development work done in Rajasthan.

But 70-year-old Bhagirath Mal, a Dalit, strongly protests. He believes the BJP has pushed the country back by decades and that caste hatred towards Dalits and minorities have increased. Mal, who holds a BSc. degree and was once a public servant, is not allowed to finish his argument. He is labelled a Pakistani and junglee by his fellow players. He finds no support but claims that had a farmer been around, he would have exposed the BJPs lies.

Mal lives in a Dalit colony, 10 minutes walk away, where broken roads and open drainage are telltale signs that the Swachh scheme hasnt reached.In the eastern belt of Rajasthan which comprises the reserved seats of Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur (SC), Bharatpur (SC) and the communally sensitive constituency of Alwar, Mals sentiments are shared by many from the SC, ST and Muslim communities.

Caste dynamics is crucial in the eastern belt. With SC/ST people angry with the BJP government and farmers dissatisfied over crop insurance and demonetisation, the Congress seems to have an edge. Not all from these communities are disgruntled, though. Some, especially youths, are in awe of the PM for teaching Pakistan a lesson with the Balakot airstrikes. However, most are upset that the government did not react in time when the Supreme Court diluted The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The caste equation seems to be working in favour of the Congress. In Dausa, people still recall the work done by Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, which he and his family represented for years in Parliament. In Khuri Kalan, Ram Krishan Gujjar, a farmer says, I voted for BJP in 2014, but Modi is a jumlebaaz. Rajesh Pilot and his family built roads, schools and colleges here. The BJP did nothing; Modi ruined our lives with demonetisation.

Both BJP and Congress candidates are women and from the ST Meena community. Infighting in the BJP, with Kirodi Lal Meena opposing the party candidate, could also benefit the rival candidate. Meena is upset that his wife was denied a BJP ticket. Many say he is working to defeat the party not only in Dausa, but also in adjacent Karauli-Dholpur.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

In Bari town of Dholpur, a gathering at a tea stall discusses GST, demonetization and price rise, but at the same time wonders if there is any better candidate for PMs post than Modi. Unemployment has increased in five years. We should vote on the basis of our candidate. Our MP Manoj Rajoria never did anything for the constituency. Modi destroyed the economy and is now seeking votes by dividing the nation, says government school teacher Hari Singh Meena. How can you forget that it is Modi who taught Pakistan a lesson? counters 27-year-old bank employee Sanjay Sahdawa.

The constituency where the BJP seems to have an edge is Bharatpur, where the Modi factor has played out well and BJPs nationalism plank has impressed people, irrespective of their backgrounds. There appears to be no mobilisation of SC-ST either, unlike the other seats. In Deeg village, Bhima Devi, a Dalit, says, Modi ji built toilets and gave gas connections in the village. Unemployment has increased but there is no better option.

In Alwar, there is a triangular contest between, with the BSP, which has fielded a Muslim candidate, also in the race. Polarisation seems to be the main factor here which has seen a lot of cow-related violence targeting Muslims, who are in sizeable numbers.
Associate Secretariat Officer, Manila

Organization: ADB - Asian Development Bank

Country: Philippines

City: Manila, Philippines

Office: ADB Manila

Closing date: Friday, 10 May 2019

Reference Number: 190279

Position Level: NS 1

Department: Office of the Secretary

Division: The Secretarys Office

Location: Asian Development Bank Headquarters

Date Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2019

Closing Date: Friday, May 10, 2019 11:59 p.m. (2359 Manila Time, 0800 GMT)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Close relatives (spouse, children, mother, father, brother and sister, niece, nephew, aunt and uncle) of ADB staff, except spouses of international staff, are not eligible for recruitment and appointment to staff positions. Applicants are expected to disclose if they have any relative/s by consanguinity/blood, by adoption and/or affinity/marriage presently employed in ADB.

Overview

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Manila, Philippines and is composed of 68 members, 49 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. ADB combines finance, knowledge, and partnerships to fulfill its expanded vision under its Strategy 2030.

ADB only hires nationals of its 68 members.

The position is assigned in the Office of the Secretary (SEC). SEC is responsible for providing strategic and operational support to the ADB, the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors.

Job Purpose

The Associate Secretariat Officer manages the administrative arrangements and procedural matters on management services, membership, and voting of governors resolutions. The incumbent reports to the Assistant Secretary and designated International Staff.

Responsibilities

Oversee the preparation for the Remuneration Committee meetings, including reports, statistical analysis, logistical arrangements.

Review reports, records and other documents relating to the election process and remuneration of the Management to ensure accuracy, clarity, and completeness of information; and conformance to the ADB established rules.

Work closely with the technical team handling the voting to make sure that Board resolutions are carried out.

Review requirements and other pertinent documents in relation to processing of ADB membership applications.

Evaluate procedures for Board committees and working groups, formulate recommendations and measures for administrative and procedural improvements; and monitor the implementation and conduct periodic reminders.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: Displacement is the word that polarizes voters in Hazaribagh, which is one-and-half -hour drive from Jharkhand capital Ranchi. The rich forests with natural hilly formations and lakes make it one of the most beautiful terrain. But there is turmoil within. Represented by Union Minister Jayant Sinha, Hazaribagh and its environs have witnessed several protests against the alleged forceful land acquisition for mining purposes and power projects. Four people died and 40 others were injured in police firing at Chirudih during a protest against land acquisition in October 2016.

While the issue dominates, the seat is shaping up for a triangular contest as besides BJPs Jayant Sinha and Congress Gopal Sahu, former MP of CPI Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehta, who represented Hazaribagh in 1991 and 2004, is also in the fray. The Left party had been demanding Hazaribagh as its share from the Mahagathbandhan, but failed.

Jayant, son of three-time MP Yashwant Sinha, does face criticism for his lack of political connect with the people of his constituency. But, he is largely banking on the government achievements and the projects worth Rs 25,000 crore which were brought on his initiative.Jayant is also seeking votes for being number 1 in implementing the centrally funded schemes properly in Hazaribagh and also promises to provide employment opportunities, better health facilities, double farmers income and preserve rights of locals.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is banking on elder brother Shiv Prasad Sahus reputation over two terms as MP of Ranchi in 1980 and 1984. Sahu is dwarfed by the BJP candidate. The contest could have come alive if it was a direct fight between Jayant and Mehta, said a local. Even Opposition leaders claim, that fielding Sahu is like to give a walkover to Jayant on a platter. We are still not able to understand why the Congress did this, said a JMM leader. Jayant, who won by 1.5 lakh votes in 2014, enjoys the support of AJSU party this time.
STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Presented Friday night at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the awards featured a cross-section of new and established authors exploring themes involving life in the city as well as decaying landscapes throughout the province.

The evenings top prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year award, went to Gordon Goldsboroughs More Abandoned Manitoba: Rivers, Rails and Ruins, published by Great Plains Publications.

The illustrated volume is a followup to Goldsboroughs 2016 book Abandoned Manitoba: From Residential Schools to Bank Vaults to Grain Elevators.

The slim graphic novel Surviving the City  written by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and published by Highwater Press  took home the most awards, nabbing three.

Spillett won Manitoba Indigenous author of the year, and the book won the Ellen Mactavish Sykes award for best first book by a Manitoba author as well as the best graphic novel award.

This years Margaret Laurence award for best fiction went to Jennifer Ilse Blacks Small Predators, published by Winnipeg publisher ARP Books. Blacks book also took home the award for best book design.

On the non-fiction side, Mary Jane Logan McCallum and Adele Perrys Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City (published by University of Manitoba Press) took top honours.

Owen Toews Stolen City: Racial Capital and the Making of Winnipeg, also published by ARP Books, nabbed two prizes  the Carol Shields Winnipeg book award as well as the Mary Scorer Award for best book by a Manitoba publisher.

Toews is the son of Governor Generals Award-winning novelist Miriam Toews.

Other winners on Friday night included David A. Robertson, who nabbed the McNally Robinson Book for Young People award for Monsters; Jackie Traverses IKWE: Honouring Women, Life Givers, and Water Protectors in the book design/illustration award category; Ginny Collins The Flats for best play by a Manitoba playwright; and Bertrand Nayets Lenfant rouge, which picked up the prix litteraire Rue-Deschambault.

books@freepress.mb.ca
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA:Josh is high perhaps still in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his high level and never-exhausting of energy. He has set a record of attending 200 programmes including rallies in last

four and a half months across 27 states and union territories included Bihar. On May 4, the Prime Minister would be addressing his fifth poll rally in Bihar's Valmikinagar besides attending other schedule poll rallies in UP and other states.

According to the website of Narendra Modi, PM Narendra Modi joined 30 programmes in Delhi itself, 14 in cabinet meetings since the start of the year.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

These numbers speak for themselves. They also offer a unique glimpse into the working style and multi-tasking abilities if PM Mdi, the website elucidates.

The website has brilliantly stated how PM Narendra Modi had toured in states and union territories and held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Valley in J&K also.

Through these programmes, PM Modi would have touched base with almost every Indian in 125 days, Modis website claimed. Meanwhile, BJP sources said PM Narendra Modi and the leaders of his party BJP would be doing at least 1000 rallies across the country for 2019 election rallies with the fifth rally scheduled to be held in Bihar on May 4 at Valmikinagar.

The PM has so far addressed rallies in Jamui, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Araria, and Valmikinagar on May 4.The BJP sources said that at least 8 to 10 rallies in total would be held by PM

Narendra Modi in Bihar throughout all the seven phases of elections.
For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

From Appalachia in the U.S. to Queensland in Australia and Chornobyl in Ukraine, solar and wind farms are being developed or built in places not normally associated with clean energy, and in some regions long resistant to it.

Slapping solar panels atop so-called brownfield sites, land that housed mines, emissions-belching power plants or were tarnished by nuclear disaster, can be cheaper than decontaminating the ground and turning it into parkland. At the same time, theres the prospect of turning environmental foes into friends.

"Were essentially turning these drains on a community into an asset," said Chad Farrell, chief executive officer of Encore Renewable Energy, a Vermont-based developer thats contemplating installing solar arrays at coal-ash ponds across Appalachia. "Youre not going to get a large revenue-generating asset on a former landfill."

Solar is already established within the nuclear zone of Chornobyl, at a massive former coal-fired power plant in Canada, and at landfills and other brownfield sites throughout New England, where renewables are popular but land is at a premium. Meanwhile, BHP Group, the worlds biggest mining company, is working on permits and engineering plans to turn legacy sites in Arizona and New Mexico into solar and storage facilities.

"Its emblematic of the transition from old forms of energy to new," said Jacob Susman, a vice-president at developer EDF.

Regions long dependent on traditional energy sources for jobs and tax revenue are increasingly turning to solar and wind power, cementing their push into the mainstream at a time when the coal industry is ailing. U.S. power produced from burning coal shrank by 6.3 per cent in 2018, as almost 13 gigawatts of coal plants were closed, according to BloombergNEF. Thats second only to 2015, when 15 gigawatts of coal-fired plants were shuttered.

"Its land no one else wants." said Jenny Chase, a Zurich-based analyst at BloombergNEF.

In Queensland, Genex Power is already producing enough energy for almost 26,500 homes from a 50-megawatt solar farm at the disused Kidston gold mine, where metal was discovered in the early 1900s and operations finally shuttered in 2001. Genex, which acquired the site from Barrick Gold Corp., plans to add a second, 270-megawatt solar array, a 250-megawatt pumped-hydro facility and a 150-megawatt wind operation.

The pumped-hydro plant will utilize two existing mine pits, using off-peak solar or grid power to move water from a lower reservoir to a second, higher-storage pool, and then release it during periods of peak demand to cascade over two turbines to produce power. During periods of generation, the site will provide enough power for about 280,000 homes, Genex executive director Simon Kidston said.

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In eastern Kentucky, active mining at the Bent Mountain site is slated to conclude in late summer, said Ian Krygowski, a development director at EDF Renewables, which is developing a 100-megawatt solar farm there. The site, tucked among wooded mountains, will undergo reclamation work to make it a series of plateaus hospitable for solar.

Next year, a modest 3.5-megawatt solar farm in southwest Virginia is slated to replace a mine that closed in 1957. Developer Sun Tribe Solar is collaborating with several groups, including regional environmental group Appalachian Voices, on the project in Wise County.

"The land is so scarred from the extractive industries that have been the primary economic driver," said Chelsea Barnes, a new economy program manager at Appalachian Voices. "Its an important visual to show the region that it can still be energy-producing, but in a way that doesnt degrade the land and pollute the air."

For the solar industry, building at sites of former power plants and some legacy mines is an opportunity to tap into existing grid infrastructure. But its also an acknowledgment of land limitations. Some places have limits on how much solar can be built in agricultural areas, said Chase of BNEF.

"The narrative has been that those green jobs are going someplace else," Krygowski said. "It doesnt have to be that way. We can bring good renewable-energy jobs across the country."

 Bloomberg
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In January, people were talking about Ariana Grandes tattoo.

The pop star got a pair of Japanese characters inked on her palm. They were supposed to read "7 Rings," after her hit single, but they actually read: "small charcoal grill."

TWITTER / ARIANA_JAPAN Ariana Grande's tattoo was meant to read 7 Rings, after her hit single, but actually reads: small charcoal grill.

Look, it happens.

We all know someone who knows someone who has a mistranslation, or a vague "tribal" symbol, or an unfortunate typo, or the name of someone they are no longer married to inked, forever, on their body. Tattoo regret is real.

Mary Wilson, 38, is an extremely good sport who was willing to talk to the newspaper about a decision she made on her 21st birthday.

"I decided I would get this, um, lower-back tattoo," she says, pausing. Ah yes, the lower-back tattoo, which has a very unfortunate nickname.

"I had honestly never heard it called a tramp stamp before," Wilson says. "I would like to think that even my 21-year-old self, had I heard that, would have known much, much better. Anyway, I was dating a guy at the time who had nicknamed me Foxy.

"So thats what I got tattooed," she says, pausing for emphasis. "On my back."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The coolness factor of Mary Wilsons lower-back tattoo hasnt been as permanent as the ink.

But wait, it used to be worse! "It used to be really orange and yellow Starburst colours, but theyve faded. Its pretty big. Its not a tiny little word. I remember going home and showing my mom, and she looked at it and laughed and went, Youre going to regret that one day. And of course, when youre 21 youre like, No I wont! This is who I am!

"Now that I am not the wife of the guy who gave me the nickname, and a mother, and Im 38 years old, yeah, I regret it."

My college friend Robyn Brown also has a regret story involving a lower-back tattoo (Im sensing a theme, here). Ill allow her to set the scene.

"Picture this: its 2002. To celebrate your 18th birthday, your boyfriend buys you a gift certificate for that tattoo youve been talking about. Your mother doesnt like it but you invite her along hoping shell come around and she begrudgingly picks a star on the wall that looks kinda nice. Knowing itll look supa-fly on your lower back, you book it in."

Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo. Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of.

And Brown was feeling supa-fly until two years later, when she showed up to work at her server job one day and the kitchen staff had trouble meeting her gaze.

Turns out the very same tattoo, in the very same location, was on the bikini-clad backside of that days Sunshine girl. As she points out, it was the era of painfully low-rise jeans. "So, yep, they knew it was the same one," she says.

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The sheer permanence of a tattoo increases the probability of regret. But there are ways to mitigate ink remorse.

"Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo," says Tesia Rhind, a Winnipeg tattoo artist who specializes in illustrative, fine-line, realism and florals. "Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind

Doing your research, she says, is key. Instagram is a useful tool that allows you to see an artists work (Rhind is @tesiacoil, by the way). If you find an artist you like but theyre booked for months, Rhind advises waiting it out or finding another artist who can execute what you want.

"Dont just walk into a shop that has availability and ask, Who can do this? without looking at their work," she says. "Thats what people often regret."

The consultation process can involve managing a clients expectations and providing design solutions.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rhind won't give teenagers tattoos of band logos.

"A lot of people have this vision that you can fit a lot of things into one small space," Rhind says. "But you have to tell them about how tattoos age, what its going to look like later, doing finer line tattoos  which is some of the stuff I do  some of it may fade faster in a few years than thick lines, but thick lines may blur out," Rhind says.

"People need to know that. People also need to know what looks good on certain parts of the body."

With that in mind, there are a few tattoos Rhind simply will not do.

"I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos," she says. "I have some 18 year olds come in and they want a rose on their hand and they have nothing else  I wont do that and dont think a lot of tattoo artists will do that. I dont like to do fingers because they dont age well and theyre basically a waste of money, but I will do them."

"Obviously, I wont tattoo any hate symbols," she says. "And I wont tattoo band logos on 18 year olds."

I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos."

This is probably a good time to bring up the skin I have in this game. I have a Pearl Jam tramp stamp. Its the stickman logo from the cover of the Alive single. I got it when I was 19. What Im saying is, we all have our Foxy.

While I definitely wouldnt get that tattoo now, I dont necessarily regret it. In fact, I usually forget I even have it, until I am reminded about it by a particularly chatty massage therapist. Regret and dislike are different.

We all have our Foxy.

"I have tattoos I dont like, but I dont regret them," Rhind says. "Cover-ups are usually always possible unless its super, super dark, then your only option is to cover it up very dark, or get it removed slightly so it can be gone over. If you regret your tattoo, theres ways around it. You just have to be more covered, basically, or pay for removal, which hurts and costs a lot of money."

Wilson has considered removal. "And Ive considered getting it covered up with something else thats more reflective of who I am," she says.

After all, it is possible to get a tattoo you love  whether the image is deeply symbolic, or only skin-deep. And even if you fall out of love, a tattoo can become something as immutable as your hands, or your knees, or your feet. Its part of you.

"Once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body."

"Its hard, because you say, Sit on something for a while  but Ive tattooed people who are in their 40s and theyll say, Ive wanted a tattoo for 20 years and I keep changing my mind," Rhind says.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind works at Red Ronin on McPhillips Street.

"But I find once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body. Its another extension of yourself."

Wilson has two other tattoos she doesnt regret. One is of her initials on the back of her neck, and wants to add those of her children.

The other is a tiny ladybug on her hip. Theres a story about that one: when she was 18, Wilson asked her mother what shed get if she ever got a tattoo, and her mother decided that a little ladybug might be OK. So thats what Wilson got.

"I wanted to get something she wouldnt be too mad about," she says, laughing. "I never regretted that one."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For IGM Financial Inc., 2018 was a year of transformation.

The Winnipeg financial services company made its commitment to change obvious to the market by rebranding its largest operating entity, Investors Group, to IG Wealth Management last fall.

The fact that global equity markets were rocked by widespread trade tensions, political uncertainty and concerns about a market slowdown proved to be challenging conditions for the company to embark on such change.

At its annual meeting in Winnipeg on Friday, company CEO Jeff Carney said, "Those conditions tested investor confidence. Yet during those challenging times, the strength of IGM was most evident. While the industry experienced net redemptions in long-term mutual funds of $7.4 billion, in 2018, IGM had net sales of $1.4 billion, the second-best in a decade, and the $20 billion in gross sales was the highest in the history of the company."

Its first-quarter results were released on Friday and Carney noted that the growth that took place in 2018 has carried into the first quarter of 2019, with record-high quarter-end assets under management of $160.5 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent in the quarter and 3.2 per cent from the prior year.

That also took place under tough market conditions. The companys IG Wealth Management division  it also owns Mackenzie Financial  posted its own all-time high for assets under management of $89.4 billion. But its investment fund net sales came out far below last years first quarter, posting net redemptions of $14 million, compared to net sales of $784 million a year ago. But Carney said more than $100 million has been parked in savings accounts.

The company transformation has a number of elements to it. Among other things, IG Wealth Management is looking to pick up market share in the high-net-worth segment of the market.

The company currently has two per cent of the of the Canadian mass-savings market (homes with less than $100,000 invested), five per cent of the mass-affluent market (between $100,000 and $1 million) and less than one per cent of the high-net-worth market (more than $1 million).

Carney said three per cent of Canadian households have more than $1 million to invest, and they represent two-thirds of all the savings in the country.

"Its the single most important market segment," he said. "We do a good job serving that segment."

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Assets under management for that segment have grown by more than $4 billion per year over the past two years.

Whereas in the past the company took great pride in continually growing its adviser network, those numbers are now coming down and the quality of the advisers is coming up (all IGM advisers must now obtain the certified financial planner, or CFP, designation).

The company has also been making significant investments in robo-advisers  companies that can address the needs of the mass-savings market more efficiently  like WealthSimple in Canada and Personal Capital in the U.S. Earlier this year, IGM Financial made another $67-million investment in Personal Capital and is its largest shareholder with a 25 per cent equity stake.

Carney said that despite the volatile markets in 2018, the volume of savings being accumulated in Canada  a total of $4.5 trillion in 2017, expected to grow to $7.4 trillion by 2026  clearly shows it is in a growth industry.

"That increase of $2.9 trillion has to go somewhere," he said. "The question is, which firm is best positioned to receive those funds? We think its IGM Financial."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

A patrol officer was travelling on Talbot when he heard a series of loud noises at about 9 p.m. and shortly after came across a vehicle that had collided with two houses.

At the same time, Gordon Buell was in the back yard of his mother's place having a smoke when he heard the same loud bangs. Buell ran into the front yard and saw the lone occupant, a woman, getting out of the car.

"She got out of the vehicle and in a panic just started running," he said.

One of the houses was unoccupied and there were no injuries to residents of the other.

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Buell and a few guys on the street gave chase but lost her. They gave a description to police who, led by A police dog, tracked the woman down within 20 minutes, Buell said.

"I think she was under the influence of something. I deal with kids all day. It was something," he said.

The K9 unit found the female in the 500 block of nearby Herbert Ave. where she was arrested. She was later transported to hospital for treatment of injuries.

The vehicle was determined to have been stolen from the Fort Frances, Ont., area on or about April 30, 2019.

The female faces charges for possession of stolen property under $5,000, operation of a vehicle while prohibited, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. She remains in hospital.
At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

There is a lot on his mind. In a few days, he will catch a flight to Central America, where he will stand on a stage and be honoured by some of the top global minds in his profession. So he has been thinking about what he wants to say, and as he settles into a chair at a coffee shop near the clinic, he seems a man on a mission.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson works at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, but has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations in Winnipeg.

Or maybe, to put it simply, hes just a veterinarian with a vision.

"My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care," Watson says. "Thats what we should all be trying to work towards. Its easy for cynics to say, Well, if you cant afford a pet, you shouldnt have one. Easy to say, but its not at all reflective of how things work in the world in which we live."

Thats a lofty goal, he agrees, with a knowing chuckle. As president of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, he understands the barriers. It costs a lot to operate a veterinary clinic. It costs a lot to get medical care of any kind to the people and places that most need it. But oh, imagine if you could find a way to reach everyone?

'My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care'

"Im not expecting to achieve it by the end of my career," he says. "But its certainly gratifying to work towards it."

Now, the global veterinary profession has taken notice. On April 29, at the World Veterinary Association Congress in Costa Rica, Watson was honoured with the WVAs Animal Welfare Award, one of six vets and one student to be so honoured; in the three-year history of the award, he is the second Canadian to win.

The prize, for which his name was put forth by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, recognizes, in part, Watsons larger vision. For years, he has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations right here in the city.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson  seen with rescue dog Karma, a five-year-old he saved from the meat trade in Thailand  recently received the Animal Welfare Award from the World Veterinary Association.

In collaboration with non-profit animal rescues, such as Save a Dog Network Canada, he has travelled to fly-in First Nations such as York Factory and Red Sucker Lake. He has set up temporary shop in Churchill, where the crew jokingly dubbed the mobile clinic "Tuxedo at the Treeline."

In the early days, he made the trips north as the lone veterinarian, hauling saline and gauze and surgical tools on cigar-box planes. The travelling clinics can be exhausting, a non-stop grind of snips and incisions, injections and treatments; Watsons all-time record was 60 dogs spayed and neutered in one deliriously long day.

"There may have been a couple 5-Hour Energy drinks consumed in the course of that day," he says with his customary dry humour. "Im not sure I even have it in me to try and beat that record."

'It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources. You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking'

Sometimes, this mission takes him even farther afield. In 2015, Watson joined a group of vets and technicians that flew to Madagascar, where wildlife biologists were worried about how domesticated animals were affecting highly endangered wildlife; on that trip, they neutered dogs and cats under tents and in rickety wooden shacks.

Come back home to your high-tech, "Mayo Clinic-style" urban animal hospital after that, he jokes, and you realize how spoiled you are. But it was eye-opening to see how you can adapt, with the right know-how and basic tools.

"It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources," he says. "You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking."

That includes right here at home, where Watson has also helped grow the innovative One Health Clinic series. The concept, which originated in Ontario, aims to connect vulnerable people to medicine for both themselves and their pets; a way of getting past barriers to health care, whether patients arrive on two legs or four.

"The human-animal bond is very strong, and is as alive and well as its ever been," he says. "Theres not as much educating we have to do around why its important to get veterinary care. Its more the case that there are large populations that just dont have access to it, but wish they did."

In May 2017, a team hosted the first One Health Clinic at Resource Assistance for Youth in West Broadway; 17 vulnerable youths came out, along with 23 pets. For the furry or scaly patients, there were medical exams and vaccinations; the humans received dental checkups and help connecting to other health services.

'Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the wellbeing of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them'

The formula was a hit. Organizers have since held several more, including at the Indigenous Family Centre on Selkirk Avenue. What Watson sees in those clinics is humbling: to many housing-insecure people, he says, pets are a "lifeline, their entire reason for existence." They often put their pets well-being before their own.

But they struggle to access veterinary care, and thats where Watsons broader vision  that dream of universal access  grew clearer. Because its not only about pets and their well-being; its also about understanding our fundamental relationship with animals as one of shared fates, and deeply woven interdependence.

"Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the well-being of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them," he says. "So this notion of one welfare really resonates with me, and really supports the elevation of veterinary medicine as a vital social service.

"We need animals just as much, and probably more, than they need us."

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With that in mind, Watson says, he sees animal welfare as being one of the biggest emerging social justice issues of the 21st century. Theres no doubt that awareness has been evolving; people are far more sensitive now to how animals live and thrive than they were even in very recent decades, he notes.

Still, there is a long way to go. And maybe it starts with just finding ways to honour and tend to the human-animal bond, in every place that it flourishes. Wherever humans are, they are, too. What happens to them affects us, too.

"In the same way we are stewards of the planet, we are stewards of the animals that live at our mercy, regardless of species," he says.

"And weve made some mistakes in the past, in terms of how we treat them, and there are still corrections yet to be made. But veterinarians are at the forefront of helping to make those changes.

"Hopefully an award like this one can serve as a way to highlight that important work. If we can raise awareness about this, thats as useful a thing as the World Veterinary Association can do."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

"Gratitude is profoundly counter-cultural," said Diana Butler Bass, author of the book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks.

For her, its when things are so tough that gratitude makes sense and is badly needed.

"Anyone can be grateful when things seem all right," she said. "Gratitudes real power is when you are up against a wall."

A self-described liberal Democrat, Butler Bass said she wrote her book on gratitude in the first hundred days of U.S. President Donald Trumps presidency.

"I was literally miserable when I started the project," she said. But by "living with a heart inclined toward generosity, abundance and gratitude," she was able to change the way she sees and experiences the world.

"I converted myself!" she exclaimed.

Butler Bass, an author, speaker and scholar specializing in American religion and culture, will be giving a free public lecture on the power and importance of gratitude on May 7, 7 p.m. at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall, University of Winnipeg.

Her presentation is part of Emerging Perspectives in Ministry II, a May 7-8 ecumenical event sponsored by Charleswood United Church, St. Johns College, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.

Butler Bass acknowledged being grateful isnt easy due to being "brainwashed by the myth of scarcity."

"We continually act as if there isnt enough, and that we have to get ours before someone else takes it from us," she stated.

The result of this lack of gratitude is an "unjust economic system, broken politics, social and religious divides, fear and a wounded earth. We gave in to the myth and betrayed the fundamental generosity of creation. It is a really sad."

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Gratitude, however, "literally undoes the myth of scarcity," she said. And the path to be grateful is by understanding and accepting the grace of God.

"Gods world is completely pro bono, gifts for free for the good for everybody," she said. "Thats grace... all are called to the table. All are seated. All are fed. Our only job is to pull up more chairs and pass the overflowing plates."

Emerging Perspectives II runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 7 and will feature TED Talk-style presentations by 12 ministry practitioners sharing what is exciting about their work. It concludes on May 8 with a followup workshop with Butler Bass from 9 a.m. to noon.

Cost for the event is $40.

For more information, or to register, visit cmu.ca/emergingperspectives.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

But dont expect Canadian politicians to quit the social media platform any time soon. Because, like Facebook relationship statuses, its complicated.

The platform is one of the strongest tools MPs have for keeping in touch with their ridings, and Ottawa now spends more on social-media advertisements than those placed in television, radio and newspapers.

The company itself says Canadians are "among the most engaged Facebook populations in the world," with 24 million residents using the site monthly  some 98 per cent of smartphone users in the country.

Facebook will undoubtedly play a role in the looming federal election, even as political parties call for beefed-up rules around privacy and propaganda.

"We are reliant on them," said Natasha Tusikov, a York University professor who studies technology regulation. "We're a big country. It's great to reach out to people, but it's come with a very high price."

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien wants to take Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files)

A changing tone

Last week, Canada's privacy watchdog announced hed be taking Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In March 2018, a whistleblower revealed the firm harvested personal data from millions of Facebook accounts without their consent, including more than 600,000 Canadians, and used it for political purposes.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty," privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said.

A Facebook spokeswoman wrote "there's no evidence that Canadians' data was shared with Cambridge Analytica," and argued the U.S.-based firm has taken strides to secure personal information. Yet, Therrien insists the company broke the law.

The Trudeau government has pledged some sort of action, and is slowly changing its tone.

Existing rules not enforced, advocate says OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. click to read more OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. This is about enforcement and applying the law where it exists, said Bernhard, head of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. The government seems terrified of governing when it comes to Facebook, Google, Netflix, Amazon (and) YouTube. To Bernhard, Facebook carries content like news outlets do, but avoids fines and sanctions a newspaper would face for allowing hate speech. Facebook claims absurdly not to be a publisher, and we seem to be letting them set the definition, he said. Meanwhile, Bernhard argues the privacy watchdogs probe into data leaks shows the federal Liberals arent interested in cracking down on violations of Canadian law. If they were really serious about dealing with this stuff, theyd find a way. The fact that the privacy commissioner seems to be going it alone suggest to me that the government has decided it's not interested in any form of confrontation, he said. People are pointing fingers at Facebook (but) the government is condoning this bad behaviour by allowing it to continue unpunished. Bernhard, who advocates for greater CBC funding, is critical of the Liberals getting Netflix to voluntarily fund Canadian content, instead of applying a tax and mandatory contributions to Canadian programming, both of which apply to television channels. "Netflix is Canadas largest private broadcaster and it has no such responsibility, he said. He noted Quebec managed to implement a provincial sales tax on Spotify accounts, Facebook advertisements and Netflix subscriptions, with none of those companies suing the government. This week, that province revealed the tax has brought in double the amount projected since coming into force in January. Quebec now expects to bring in $62 million this year. If the little government of Quebec  a subnational, minority-language government  can get Facebook and Netflix and Amazon, to follow its laws, then come on; surely the government of Canada would not have a problem, Bernhard said.  Dylan Robertson Close

Just two years ago, Ottawa worked with Facebook to craft its cultural policy, and an election-integrity initiative. But a month ago, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould suggested that had gone off the rails, with Facebook and other platforms not being upfront about how they plan to weed out disinformation during this falls vote.

"We're continuing to have conversations. They're not going as well as we would have hoped," Gould told the Free Press on Thursday. "That being said, we continue to look at the full range of options on the table. In order to ensure Canadians that we're taking a holistic approach to this."

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the Liberals have waited far too long to respond, but he admits Facebook is a lifeline for his job.

"We have a company telling a Canadian regulator, 'Yeah, well, too bad so sad, it will cost us a lot of money if we actually listen to the law of Canada.' So how is it possible we can have a government not say this unacceptable?"

Hes been part of a team of Canadian MPs meeting with counterparts from five other countries in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

"Theres been a real turnaround in how the world sees these companies since 2015," said Angus.

He notes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau built his brand on social media, and Facebooks top Canadian lobbyist, Kevin Chan, was a senior Liberal staffer. (Chan was not available Friday for an interview.)

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms have similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago. (David Vincent / The Canadian Press files)

"I don't think the government has recognized the need to change this comfy, cozy lobbying relationship," Angus said. "Its unhealthy for our economy, or for democracy."

Still, in Angus Northern Ontario riding, Facebook connects disparate towns and reserves, and he uses it to keep abreast of their concerns.

"Facebook has become the essential tool for communication, and Facebook can do extraordinarily good things," he said. "It shouldn't be take it or leave it."

Tusikov compares Facebook to a public utility, with small businesses depending on the platform for visibility. A sudden, unexplained change to what content Facebook or Instagram allows can make artists revenue source disappear overnight, she said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."  Conservative MP Bob Zimmer

Regulation elsewhere

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms had "eerie" similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago, when oil barons and communication firms held vast sways over society.

Without promising any specific policy, Freeland noted moves in the United States toward anti-trust legislation that would break up social-media giants.

Tusikov says its hard for politicians to exert that kind of change.

"Political parties are deeply embedded with social media, especially Facebook. They rely on Facebook to reach these targeted, key demographics to figure out how people might vote; to even float policy proposals by these key groups," she said.

"It makes it very difficult for politicians to then say 'we'll vote to restrict Facebook.' This is something where there's going to have to be a great deal of public pressure put on them."

Tusikov said the problem seems particularly bad in Canada.

"We're behind the ball," she said in an interview from Germany, where shes looking at how companies form their own rules.

In February, the country blocked Facebook from pooling data collected on numerous websites, saying the firm coerced users to give up too much data. Germany's hate-speech laws have also compelled Facebook to delete hundreds of posts, or face fines of up to $75 million.

Louis Farrakhan (left), the leader of the Nation of Islam, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were banned by Facebook this week for violating its ban against hate and violence. (The Associated Press files)

This week, Facebook platform banned American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but Tusikov said the platforms "incredibly opaque" process means its unclear what rules the platform used to justify that decision, how it interpreted them and whether Jones will be back on the website.

"The fine-grained nature of that makes people in North America very nervous, because they see it as a slippery slope. But at least this is put in legislation  it went through a process, it's public, it's transparent. We know exactly what's being blocked," she said.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty."  Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien

A month ago, the British government issued its Online Harms White Paper, which asking the public how the United Kingdom should regulate everything from targeted advertisements to taxes to hate speech and harassment. Britons have until July to weigh in on large themes that will shape the governments regulations.

Tusikov argues its time Canada had a similar thought-out debate.

She fears Canada will instead follow Australia, where a hastily drafted bill to regulate Facebook was passed ahead of this months election, in the wake of the New Zealand mosque shooting.

The bill  tabled and made law in just three days  threatens companies with jail time and fines if they dont remove violent content promptly, but experts say the criteria are so strict companies will likely rely on algorithms to indiscriminately remove content because they dont have enough time to vet between legitimate expression and threats.

'The new public square'

Gould, the minister in charge of ensuring the integrity of Canada's elections, admitted the thought of leaving the platform is daunting.

"When it first came out I was in my first year of university, and it was a very different platform than it is today," the 31-year-old said. "But we want to assure that whatever is happening today  or in the future  respects the values, the norms and the traditions that we've established for really important reasons here in Canada."

Facebook has become an essential communication tool, says NDP MP Charlie Angus. (Johannes Berg / Bloomberg files)

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer believes the Liberals arent taking social-media regulation seriously, but he admits its not easy to balance regulating against "a massive scale of surveillance" while keeping enough openness for digital innovation.

"Were all trying to get a handle on this," said Zimmer, who chairs the House committee investigating Facebook. "Every time we seems to catch up a little bit, (tech firms) are another five miles down the road."

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On May 28, Canada will host the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and "Fake News," which Angus said represents the best hope for some sort of co-ordinated, multi-national solution for Facebook. "In lieu of that, there may be a whole series of one-off decisions."

Like Angus, Zimmer said the platform is often the main way many of his northern British Columbia constituents reach him, but hes concerned about the platform breaching their privacy rights, and selling their data to advertisers.

Zimmers Facebook page is one of the first Google results. A single click allows users to send his office a message. He posts videos of visit to far-flung communities, and the comments have helped him shape how he votes in Parliament.

"Its the new public square; thats the reality for a lot of us. Do we want it to go away? No," he said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kaylie Tran demonstrates the work she and other research technicians do at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Halth.

Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

No such luck. Six-year-old Kaleb was bouncing off the walls raring to go to the open house of the national virology lab.

"I want to be a scientist," explained Kaleb, in his element among the microscopes, glove boxes and simulated disease cultures at the open house Saturday morning.

"He's always watching the Discovery Channel," said mom, Melody.

The open house marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg  the National Microbiology Laboratory is the better known human disease component.

It was a massive hit. The last open house five years ago attracted 1,700 people. This one had 500 people in the first hour.

Almost 3,200 passed through the doors Saturday. The Caluag family had to wait in line 20 minutes to get in, although the line dissipated later in the day.

It's a large undertaking by the laboratory. About 120 staff volunteered to oversee the event that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A committee of about 20 staff spent many months making preparations.

About 560 employees work in the lab.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ethan Olson, 8, peers into a petri dish during an open house Saturday marking the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health.

Inside, people got to see what bio-security looks like, including the equipment and uniforms of the people inside. In the kid zone, the little ones looked adorable in goggles and miniature lab coats.

"We've always known the lab holds a special place here in Winnipeg," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, senior medical advisor at the National Microbiology Laboratory.

"It has a bit of a mystique and to be able to open our doors and to see this many people here this early in the morning is great."

A Health Canada exhibit with information sign boards was on display to further people's understanding.

Poliquin said one of the highlights for the lab's first 20 years includes developing the Ebola vaccine that is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa. In newer work, teams of staff are going to Nunavut to combat tuberculosis.

Another highlight was its response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010. New technology allows the lab to find the entire genetic blueprint of a bacteria within hours, versus months previously. The lab was able to figure out how cholera started, where it was heading and how to control it.

Poliquin said that new technology will rapidly transform the lab's work in the years ahead.

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The centre has four levels of microbiologic security, with Level 4 the highest security level. Level 4 is the House of Horrors of pathogens, storing diseases dating back a century ago to the Spanish flu virus and more recent terrors like Ebola and H1N1. Others include Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever.

"Certainly some of the world's most dangerous pathogens are here," said Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director of the National Microbiology Lab.

"We try to understand how these organisms are causing disease. It gives us a lot of information on how things like influenza evolve."

A demonstrator glovebox from Level 4 was on hand for kids to pluck the pathogens off a Minion cartoon character. Staff were also on hand to demonstrate donning and removing the big and bulky Level 4 suits. It takes about five minutes to put on the yellow neoprene suit with a full body zipper and double gloves.

There are lots of showers afterwards, it was explained, including a chemical shower of the suit on the person. Then the clothes worn beneath the suit are heat sterilized and finally, the person takes a regular shower that is required to be at least three minutes in duration.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

Such thorny questions will be on the table for discussion today in downtown Winnipeg at Flora & Mama, a free event put on by female-oriented cannabis-lifestyle brand Van der Pop. (The discussion will be capped off by a flower-arranging workshop with local florists Oak & Lily.)

Event host Ashleigh Brown  founder and chief executive officer of SheCann, an online community for Canadian women who use medical cannabis  is a Winnipeg mother of two who uses cannabis to help manage a seizure disorder. She says she is no stranger to exploring parental perspectives on cannabis in the era of legalization.

"One of the biggest things that we hear people talk about is, from a medical patients perspective: how do I talk to my kids about this and explain to them how I use (cannabis) as medicine?" Brown said in an interview.

Saturdays dialogue will be about more than medical cannabis  she expects parents will want to trade notes on how to have the dreaded "drug talk" with teens and adolescents.

Brown favours an approach known as harm reduction, and endorses a youth education toolkit designed by the non-profit group Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

"Instead of taking a, Dont use it at all, dont touch it until youre of age in your province (approach), it takes a little bit more of a respectful approach to where the youth is coming from," she said.

"It encourages it to be a dialogue, instead of the talk  so, its an ongoing conversation that isnt just going to be sitting your kid down, slapping some information in front of them, and saying, Dont ever use this or touch it."

Even though the event  2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kinship Studio (70 Albert St.)  is aimed at mothers, Brown said fathers are also welcome. (No cannabis will be provided, but the event is for adults only.)

Brown anticipates participants will also discuss the image of cannabis users often presented in popular culture and the media, which she sums up as the "lazy stoner stereotype."

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"Because of the years, decades-long narrative around prohibition, this is something that were still working to overcome," Brown said.

"And I think that for women especially, that lazy stoner stereotype is right in striking contradiction to the idea of the super-mom, superhuman, ultra-productive, buttoned-up version of motherhood that we tend to present as being the ideal."

Talking openly about parental cannabis use "is something that really is fraught with a lot of emotion for people," Brown said.

"I think because anything that calls into question the integrity or intent of a parent is always going to be an emotional conversation. And when were talking about choice and personal freedom, those are things that sometimes women, especially as mothers, feel theyre not being afforded."

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel
Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

The northern Manitoba community  located 744 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the banks of Gods River  has a population of roughly 1,400 people.

Jason Small, Red Cross communications manager for Manitoba and Nunavut, said the non-profit agency hired a pilot to fly the bottled water into the community from Thompson on Friday.

The bottled water is believed to be enough for drinking and cooking for three days.

It remains unclear what led to the issues with the communitys water treatment plant or what exactly has gone wrong with it.

Small directed all questions related to the water treatment plant  including how long it has been out of service  to the First Nations tribal council.

Chief Eric Redhead, as well as the band office, did not answer or respond to multiple requests for comments on Friday.

It remains unclear if the water treatment plant is expected to be up and running again within three days.

When asked if there were plans to send a second shipment of bottled water to the northern community if need be, Small said no such plans were in place.

"At this time, the 14,000 litres is what weve sent," Small said.

Shamattawa First Nation is a remote, isolated community. Its only connections to the rest of Manitoba are by winter and ice roads, as well as its local airport.

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The community has faced significant, publicized hardships in recent years, including a teacher shortage in 2018 that resulted in hundreds of children going to school without proper instructors.

In addition, the community declared a state of emergency in 2016 after a fire burned down the local band office and store.

The community is also facing a serious housing shortage. It has a population of 1,400 people, but there are only 180 privately owned homes in the community, according to Indigenous Services of Canada statistics. Of the 180 privately owned homes, 40 of them are multi-family dwellings.

The assistance provided to the community from Red Cross Manitoba is part of an ongoing agreement between the federal government and the non-profit to provide disaster assistance to First Nations in Manitoba. The costs of the effort are covered by the federal government.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

AYODHYA/FAIZABAD: The eyes of Sripriya, 50, suddenly glitter with excitement when she is told by Ved Prakash, a vendor at the bookstall near Mandir Nirman Karyashala, that she can get Ram Mandir ka Sampoorna Itihas, the booklet she was flipping through, in Telugu also.

Sripriya, part of a group of pilgrims from Vijayawada, buys the book and turns towards the workshop housing stones, some raw and some chiselled with exquisite patterns, for the construction of the much-awaited Ram temple. The workshop, which is a prominent part of the visitors Ayodhya itinerary, evokes curiosity among them as it also has a model of the proposed grand Ram temple.

Even as the sculptors from Gujarat and Rajasthan are busy carving out motifs on huge shilas, undeterred by the soaring summer heat, the temple issue seems to have been drowned out in the poll cacophony in the land of Lord Ram.

Overpowered by the narrative of nationalism and caste arithmetic, the issue that catapulted the BJP to the pole position in Indian politics in the 90s is now discussed only when it's raked up by a scribe from outside in the town, which is going to the polls on May 6.

Have the VHP and RSS, who have been demanding an ordinance on the temple issue after the Supreme Court refused to take up the case on priority, been swayed by Modis discourse on nationalism? No, its not so. Temple can never be on the back burner for us. Since the Supreme Court has set up a panel for mediation and the process is on, its better to have a little patience. Moreover, Modiji is busy securing and building the nation. It is equally important. If the nation is secured, only then other issues will be addressed. Temple can wait for a while, says Sharad Sharma, regional spokesman of the VHP.

On the other hand, pained by Modi giving the makeshift temple a miss during his visit to Ayodhya for a rally on May 1, former BJP MP and Babri demolition accused Ram Vilas Vedanti feels that if at all any government could build a temple, it will be the BJP. Modi is going to be the PM again. Among all other political players, it is only the BJP and Modi who will facilitate temple construction in Ayodhya. People of Ayodhya will bat for a second term for him, he says.

Not only Vedanti, but also other saints and seers, including Nritya Gopal Das of Ramjanma Bhoomi Nyas, Dharam Das of Nirmohi Akhada and Satyendra Das, the head priest of the makeshift temple, all believe that PM should have had darshan at the makeshift temple.

He goes to every temple. Then why did he miss Ram Lalas janmabhoomi, wonders a seemingly miffed Vedanti but swears to be with the BJP all his life.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the litigants from the Muslim side in the Ayodhya title suit, feels the Modi government has followed the motto of sabka saath sabka vikas for the last five years. The Congress has betrayed Muslims for 60-70 years. Even the shrine was unlocked during the Congress regime and the mosque was also demolished when the Congress was at the Centre, says Ansari.

Modi might not have visited the temple because it would have sent a wrong message among Muslims, says Ansari.

His claim, however, is rejected by another litigant Haji Mehboob who feels that it was Kalyan Singhs government which facilitated the demolition. Kalyan Singh did not honour the affidavit he had submitted before the Supreme Court to safeguard the structure, says Mehboob.

Meanwhile, locals feel that only PM Modi can take effective measures to facilitate a temple in Ayodhya. He is the only leader who has the grit to build a temple. If he can allow the defence forces to finish terror camps deep inside Pakistan, he can bring a temple on the ground in Ayodhya as well. He will be voted back for a second term, says Ajay Arya, a grocery shop owner in Amaniganj area of the temple town.

However, other issues like development and unemployment have equal traction, besides the caste factor on which the SP-BSP alliance is relying heavily. Anurag Vaishya, a member of Spic Macay, feels that the coming government should focus on the development of Ayodhya, which is being projected as a major destination for religious tourism.

Though the proposed airport in Ayodhya will increase its connectivity with the world, industry, especially hospitality, institutions of higher education and other avenues should also be developed in Faizabad parliamentary constituency to improve the employment scenario for youth here, says Anurag, associated with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi who works against child labour.

Trader Giridhar Agarwal denies that demonetisation or GST had any adverse impact on businessmen. Even a new pair of shoes pinches initially. With time, it gets fixed on its own. Initially, there were some glitches as people were learning the nuances of GST, but now everything is streamlined and for honest traders, its a better option, says Agarwal, sitting in his footwear showroom in Chowk area of the temple town.

Refusing to divulge his choice, Ramesh Kumar, who supplies flowers to temples  over 4000 of them in the city -- believes that whoever is elected should pay attention to the restoration of dilapidated temples, the heritage of Ayodhya. He is backed by many others who are standing at his shop.

The temple town is part of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The district of Faizabad has ceased to exist, after being renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath government. With five assembly constituencies of Rudauli, Milkipur, Dariyabad, Bikapur and Ayodhya, the seat has not been a BJP bastion, though in the 90s, it elected firebrand saffron leader Vinay Katiyar thrice in the wake of the Ram Temple movement.

The present MP is BJPs Lallu Singh, kar sewak during the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, who has won the Ayodhya Vidhan Sabha seat five times in the past. He has been fielded against SPs Anand Sen  son of Mitra Sen Yadav, former Faizabad MP, and Congresss Nirmal Khatri, who has also won the seat twice, the first time as early as 1984.

Although Anand Sen has the support of the Yadavs and Muslims of Faizabad, and also the goodwill of his father, who became an MP on a CPI ticket for the first time in 1989, an old rape and murder case in which Sen was an accused keeps haunting him.

As one moves towards the famous Guptar Ghat along the banks of Saryu, around 50 labourers are busy restoring the place where Lord Ram is believed to have met his end by taking Jal Samadhi (watery grave).

People know Ayodhya only for being the birthplace of Lord Rama. Very few are aware that Ayodhya is also the place where he met his end. Guptar Ghat is that place. No earlier government paid attention to its maintenance and beautification. Only the Yogi government is working on it, says Anshul Tiwari, 28, a Faizabad university graduate, who runs a dhaba at Guptar Ghat.

Yahan log Modiji ko hi vote karenge sivay unke jo jaati adhar par vote karte hain. Modi rashtra ka nirman kar rahe hain. Jo rashtra premi hai woh kahin aur vote nahi karega. (Here people will vote for Modi as he is busy in nation building except those who vote on caste lines. Those who love the country will vote for him), says Ravindra Singh, who also owns a food joint at Guptar Ghat.

Ravindra is contradicted by Arshad, who has come to visit Guptar Ghat with his family. Those who dont vote for the BJP are also desh bhakts. During the Modi regime, the communal divide has increased, feels Arshad, saying the gathbandhan has brighter prospects.

As one moves towards Faizabad city, other voices start emanating from the ground. Where are the jobs? After completing our education from Faizabad university, if we have to look for a job, we are bound to leave our city owing to dearth of avenues. Nothing has been done in this direction during the last five years, says Santosh Yadav, who works in Noida and has come to vote for the gathbandhan, although he and many more gathbandhan supporters sounded unhappy with the criminal credentials of the candidate.

If the Modi factor seems to have a little edge on the ground in Ayodhya and Faizabad, the gathbandhan appears to be supported by the caste calculus. Yadavs constitute around 13% of the total voters - almost half of the total OBC voters in the constituency.

Muslims constitute around 15% and dalit voters are around 4%. Upper caste Hindu voters are around 29%. To counter the gathbandhan equation, BJP will eye the upper caste votes and also a chunk of the remaining around 13 per cent of other castes  non-Yadav OBCs and around 10% of the most backward caste voters.

The Congress, however, hopes that caste calculations will fail in front of its candidates image and the partys commitment to the NYAY scheme. We dont seek votes along caste lines. In 2009, people voted for Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri for the good work of the UPA government. This time again they will vote for the Congress to end the Modi governments misrule, says Ved Singh Kamal, general secretary, district Congress committee.

However, when asked how much traction NYAY has on the ground, Pratyush Pandey rejects it as another gimmick in the poll season. Where was the Congress for the last seven decades? Why are they worried about the poor now, he asks while opening his cloth shop in Faizabad. Modis welfare schemes can be seen on the ground. Congress candidate is always elusive. He is inaccessible. Why will anyone vote for him, asks Pandey.

While leaving Faizabad as the sun sets, one can find farmers in fields along NH 28 cutting and collecting wheat crop. They claim that politicians remember them only when elections are around. BJP walon ne vikas kiya. Gas, awas, shauchalaya diya. Pradhan mantri ne 2000 khate mein dale hain (BJP has done development. We have got gas connection, house, toilet. PM has transferred Rs 2000 into account) , says Ramadin, 50, of Baraspur village.

Asked if stray animals are destroying crops, the villagers of Baraspur say the problem is not as big in

Faizabad-Ayodhya as it is in other eastern districts because there are a number of cow shelters in the twin cities.
Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

For several months now, Pallister has unleashed a series of half-cooked half-measures that are strategically, if not a little awkwardly, aimed at plugging the chinks in his political armour.

To ensure no one could accuse him of ignoring the plight of impoverished Manitobans, Pallister released in March a hastily prepared, threadbare anti-poverty strategy. Entitled Pathways to a Better Future, the document was 15 months overdue and clearly out of date. Anti-poverty activists and social service providers were unimpressed.

"It's a strategy without its essential bones," said Sid Frankel, a University of Manitoba social work professor.

Then, in early April came the vaunted launch of the province's new Economic Development Office. The EDO is supposed to breathe life into the premier's Economic Growth Action Plan which, like the anti-poverty strategy, has been lauded repeatedly by the premier but has no concrete elements.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives have reduced the deficit and cut the provincial sales tax to seven per cent, fulfilling promises from the 2016 campaign. (David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press files)

This past week, we saw efforts made to check off two more boxes on the premier's list of things he must do before launching an election that almost nobody wants.

First, it was the release of a report by Winnipeg lawyer Michael Green, who was retained to study changes to laws on government advertising. In a surprise turn of events, we discovered Green was allowed to review a new and previously unseen bill that would completely change the rules for how and when a government can advertise, including in the sensitive pre-writ period.

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Right now, one of the biggest hurdles standing in Pallister's way of an early election is the 90-day blackout on government advertising before an election. The current law does include a loophole that allows a government to ignore the blackout period if an early election is called; however, that provision has never been tested and Pallister is vulnerable to attack for ignoring a law meant to ensure fairness in provincial general elections.

The proposed bill tucked into the appendix of the Green report on government advertising has no blackout period prior to an election. Given that the original 90-day blackout was a Tory creation  adopted by the NDP in 2006 as a concession to the opposition to ensure timely passage of legislation  this is a backhanded way of going about a major change in the laws governing fair elections in this province.

The next box to be checked on Pallister's list  perhaps the final box?  was the surprising announcement late this week that his government is re-thinking the closure of the Concordia Hospital emergency department.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen's sudden decision to reconsider  at least temporarily  the timing of the closure of Concordia Hospital's ER is yet another sign the Pallister government is in election-prep mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced on Thursday he will take a step back and re-assess the closure of Concordia ER. Dr. David Peachy, the consultant who first proposed the plan to cut the number of ERs in Winnipeg from six to three, will conduct a "quality assurance assessment" before any action is taken.

Friesen wouldn't commit to keeping the ER open, but neither would he fully commit to closing it as scheduled. He also suggested that at the very least, the closure could be delayed.

In the context of an early election, Friesen's strategy is transparent. One need only look at the dozens of Keep Concordia Open signs that line Henderson Highway to understand that it's a top-of-mind issue for voters there.

How surprising was this announcement? Earlier in the same week, the WRHA confirmed to the Free Press that the plan to close Concordia ER was on track for late June, and work at the St. Boniface Hospital to expand its ER, in large part to handle increased patient volumes created by the closure of ERs at Concordia and (in September) Seven Oaks hospitals, was "on time and under budget."

Given that the WRHA made no mention of a possible delay, Friesen's announcement has the appearance of a last-minute, last-ditch effort to defuse Concordia as an election issue. The decision to delay or reverse the closure may not make re-election any more difficult, but this announcement is certainly not going to make it easier, either.

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote half-measures as solutions to complex problems.

The possible closure of the Concordia Hospial ER is top of mind for people in the area. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote halfmeasures as solutions to complex problems.

The government does have significant accomplishments to celebrate, the kinds of things that can theoretically form the foundation of a solid re-election campaign. The deficit has gone down significantly under their watch, the result of a rigorous oversight on expenditures, and the provincial sales tax has been reduced to seven per cent, fulfilling Pallister's principal pledge from the 2016 campaign.

Beyond that, the results are mixed. Provincial civil servants are angry about a wage freeze imposed on them by sheer force of will. The construction industry is fuming about a dramatic reduction in government investment in infrastructure. Social services, health and education have all had to tighten their belts to deal with Pallister's austerity, and frontline services are suffering.

If he calls an early election, Pallister will be telling both his own party and voters in general that he sees no immediate threat to a second mandate; however, a comparison of the political landscape in 2016, when Pallister won a thunderous majority, with the one that faces him now should be cause for concern.

In the 2016 election, voters were more motivated to reject and punish the NDP than to embrace the Tories. The PC platform featured few signature pledges outside of Pallister's long-standing promise to cut the PST. He promised to slow the growth in government spending with no impact on front-line services.

Pallister knew he didn't have to promise much because the NDP had suffered a fatal, self-inflicted wound from the 2015 civil war that saw five cabinet ministers resign over then-premier Greg Selinger's refusal to step down.

The 2016 election was one Brian Pallister could not lose, and it's hard to see his party losing the next one with both the NDP and Liberals in rebuilding mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

As for the Liberals, their leader at the time, Rana Bokhari, had started strong but ultimately succumbed to her party's tradition of underperformance.

In other words, it was an election Pallister could not lose.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to reelection  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

In 2019, it remains hard to see the Tories losing. Still in rebuilding mode and poorly resourced, neither the NDP or the Liberals are poised to form government; however, both parties are starting to believe they can inflict some meaningful damage to the Tory juggernaut.

Their growing confidence can be attributed to problems Pallister cannot shed with hasty, empty promises or a hollow studies: the hospital reorganization, growing waiting lists for elective surgeries, the imposed wage freeze on civil servants, the gutting of infrastructure spending and the willingness to ignore legal provisions designed to ensure fair elections.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to re-election  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

If Pallister follows the precedent set by successful political leaders facing the same decision, the final box on his pre-election list should be a no-brainer: "Whatever you do, don't screw this up."

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Mourners gather over the body of Hamas militant of Alla Boubali, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike at Hamas militants post central Gaza Strip, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Israeli soldiers walk by a house hit by a rocket fired from Gaza in a moshav in Israel near the border with Gaza, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was travelling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

Relatives mourn Palestinian Raid Abu Tair, who was killed by Israeli troops during Friday's protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during his funeral in town of Khan Younis, Saturday, May. 4, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometres north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not co-ordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

Israeli air defense system Iron Dome takes out rockets fired from Gaza near the town of Ashkelon, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defence against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

Owners of stores at the building inspect the damage of their destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

Residents inspect the damage of the destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

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The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of Seba Abu Arar, 14-month-old, lies at the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli airstrike hit near their house. Abu Arar died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Trina Justman Reichert

Engagement Lead

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Extensive data from research proves that incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your daily eating habits can result in the above positive results. Eating with a plant slant is one of the Blue Zones Power 9 Principles, based on the habits of people who live the longest.

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Americans are bombarded by unhealthy food choices at almost every turn. Think about the last time you were inside a pharmacy, a place that could be viewed as a resource for wellness. Chances are, you walked by options of quick grab candy bars, sodas, and bags of chips before leaving.
JUNEAU  A local strip club will bring something a touch more G-rated to the stage Sunday.

Solomon, an exotic dance club at 112 E. Oak St. in Juneau, will host a Christian music concert sponsored by the Christian Leaders Coalition of Dodge County. The Siegmann Family, a band that originated in the Dodge County town of Rubicon, will perform.

The band describes its sound as a mix of bluegrass, Southern gospel, a capella and acoustic. Gene and Anne Schmidt will also perform at the concert.

Gene Schmidt, of the Christian Leaders Coalition, has lobbied for Dodge County or the city of Juneau to buy the Solomon building and convert it into a performing arts center. The building has been on the market for months and Schmidt said his goal is to prevent another strip club owner from buying it.

He said the purpose of the concert is to make the public aware of an alternative use for the space if another organization took it over.

We had the idea that it would be good to do something on a large scale with performing arts and music because thats the idea behind bringing people in, he said.
One man was taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation following a house fire in Fox Lake Thursday night.

Fox Lake Fire Chief Aaron Paul said in an email that the Fox Lake Fire Department was paged to the house fire at 208 E. Cherry St. at 8:48 p.m. Upon firefighters arrival, flames were coming out of two downstairs windows.

The two downstairs rooms are a complete loss and there is severe smoke damage in the rest of the house, Paul said. The cause is under investigation.

The man transported to the hospital was the only person inside.

The fire department was able to retrieve two containers of ashes belonging two recently deceased family members of the current occupant.

The Fox Lake Fire Department was assisted by Beaver Dam Fire Department, Horicon Fire Department, Randolph Fire Department and Waupun Fire Department. The Fox Lake Fire Department was on scene for about three hours.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.
Columbus chamber of commerce is hoping fun, new events will help breathe life into an annual celebration.

Redbud Days will return with a few new twists Friday, May 10 through Saturday, May 11. While the event features staples such as the city-wide garage sales and Redbud Prince and Princess Contest, this years celebration will have live music and Beer on the Boulevard. The band Funky Chunky, playing lively R&B hits, will perform from 11 a.m.  2 p.m. Funky Chunky has been hailed as Madisons finest R&B group.

Attendees will be able to sip craft beer from 11 a.m.  3 p.m. while listening to the band and exploring other events downtown. Cercis Brewing Company is working on a redbud beer, a hazy pale ale with pinkish coloring, an ode to the tree that provided Columbus moniker, The Redbud City.

There will also be a chalk walk art contest from 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Badger Antique Auto Show, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Kiwanis Brat Stand, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., and the Redbud Prince and Princess coronation beginning at 10 a.m. In addition, May 1-12, local businesses will be giving away red bud trees. Residents in Columbus and Fall River will have a chance to win one of 10 trees and five trees will be sold for spring planting.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries. The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir

in Verinag, South Kashmir.

My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul.  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 4, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

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"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven). Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."

Gul Mohd Mir was the District Vice President of the BJP state unit. May his family & loved ones find strength at this difficult time.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act".

He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.
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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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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: New factual evidence of Masood Azhars activities was provided by some countries which made China relent on the Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefs designation as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on the JeM chiefs involvement in terror strikes in India, including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack or Jammu and Kashmir in the UN notification banning Azhar, though the original resolution mentioned them. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler described the listing of Azhar by the UN Security Council as a very important political decision and said France has been an unconditional partner of India in dealing with the challenge of terrorism. For the first time the world has reached a consensus and it will have concrete consequences, Ziegler said.

France was a prime mover in pushing the last resolution on Azhar in March and escalating it with the US and the UK to the UN Sanctions Committee and bringing China to the table to lift its technical hold against declaring Azhar a global terrorist. Terming it very good news for India and the world community, Ziegler said, It was a bit absurd that the JeM was banned by the UN but not its chief.

The heightened Indo-French cooperation also reflected in the unprecedented scope of this years joint naval exercise Varuna that started last Wednesday. The exercises, which will extend to Djibouti at the Horn of Africa, close to a Chinese base, is significant in scale and size, involving the best ships in both navies.

Ban on travel

Pakistan on Friday issued orders to freeze assets of Azhar and impose a travel ban. An official of Interior Ministry said Azhar was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act and could not travel without police permission.
Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft engages in the manufacture and distribution of consumer goods in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Consumer Business and Tesa Business. The Consumer Business Segment offers skin and body care products. The Tesa Business segment provides self-adhesive system and product solutions for industries, craft businesses, and consumers. This segment offers its system solutions to the automotive, electronics, printing and paper, and building and construction industries. The company offers its products under the NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie, Elastoplast, Labello, Hansaplast, 8x4, FLORENA, Coppertone, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, SKIN STORIES, FLORENA FERMENTED SKINCARE, STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME, CHAUL, and TESA brands. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of maxingvest ag.

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Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.



Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.



The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.



In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.



President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.



Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.



Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.



Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.



Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.



On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.



A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.



Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.
By PTI

PULWAMA: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."

Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans.

In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.
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. Since then, FXI stock has decreased by 5.6% and is now trading at $36.63.

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Agilent Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that enable to identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment consists of activity providing active pharmaceutical ingredients for oligo-based therapeutics, as well as solutions that include reagents, instruments, software and consumables. The Agilent CrossLab segment includes startup, operational, training and compliance support, software as a service, and asset management and consultative services. The company was founded in May 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Ohio. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis, with bottom-up stock picking approach, to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor's Ohio Municipal Bond Index and Standard & Poor's National Municipal Bond Index. The fund was formerly known as Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund. Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund was formed on October 17, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address at least one press conference before the elections conclude saying it was looking terrible on the international level.

"Please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences also. Its really looking very bad," Gandhi told reporters at the party headquarters here.

"It is looking shameful out there. He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media leave the international media," he said.

"Its looking bad, so please tell him to do at least one before the elections are over," he said.

The Congress chief has been demanding a presser from Modi and keeps repeating it every time he meets the press.

'EC biased against opposition'

Rahul accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

READ | 'Chowkidar chor hai' remark stands, apologised to SC, not to Modi: Rahul Gandhi

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and everywhere else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

'Who let Masood Azhar out?'

Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Rahul Gandhi asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

READ | Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of disrespecting armed forces

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him. Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly", he said while asserting that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.


CSS Industries, Inc., a consumer products company, designs, manufactures, procures, distributes, and sells seasonal, gift, and craft products principally to mass market retailers in the United States and Canada. Its craft and gift consumer products include craft ribbons and bows, trims, buttons, sewing patterns, knitting needles, needle arts, kids' crafts, infant products, journals, gift card holders, all occasion boxed greeting cards, memory books, scrapbooks, stationery, stickers, and other gift and craft items, as well as floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags, and other paper and film products. The company's seasonal consumer products comprise Christmas products, such as packaging ribbon and bows, boxed greeting cards, gift wraps, gift bags, gift boxes, gift tags, gift card holders, tissue papers, and decorations; Valentine products consisting of classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valentine products; Easter products, including Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products; and back-to-school products, such as teachers' aids and other learning oriented products. CSS Industries, Inc. offers its products principally under the Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, McCall's, Butterick, Kwik Sew, Vogue Patterns, Markings, Stepping Stones, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley's, Eureka, Stickerfitti, Favorite Findings, La Mode, Simplicity, Wrights, Boye, Dimensions, and Perler brand names. The company sells its products to mass market retailers, discount department stores, specialty chains, warehouse clubs, drug and food chains, dollar stores, office supply stores, and retail teachers' stores, as well as to independent card, gift, and floral shops through account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists, and a network of independent manufacturers' representatives. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

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Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and accused the saffron party of compromising in dealing with terrorism, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the previous NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, he said the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi and alleged that the BJP was using the armed forces for political mileage.

Gandhi, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said Modi insulted the Army by saying UPA's surgical strikes were video games.

ALSO READ | PM Modi has insulted armed forces by comparing surgical strikes with video game: Congress

His attack on Modi came a day after the prime minister said the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games. It was a BJP government that had released Azhar and sent him to Pakistan, Gandhi said.

"Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

On the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

Gandhi also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress. "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property," he said.

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle. "It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added. Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
A Boeing 737 plane arriving from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went off the runway into the St. Johns River in Florida on Friday night, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said.

"I've been briefed that all lives have been accounted for," the mayor tweeted.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

The plane slid off a runway into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m. ET, a spokesman from the Naval Air Station Jacksonville said. It appears to have skidded off the airport runway while trying to land and ended up in the river, CNN affiliate WJXT reported.

The plane was arriving "from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville " and crashed into the river at the end of the runway, Naval Air Station Jacksonville

"Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation," it said.

David Soucie, a former inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, described it as a private jet charter. Curry had initially called it a commercial flight.

"The fact that they were all brought out of the aircraft safely and no one was hurt says a lot about how the crew reacted to this situation," he said.

Curry said fire and rescue crews were on the scene. "While they work please pray," he wrote.

President Donald Trump's White House called to offer help as the situation was developing, the mayor said.

Developing story -- more to come.
Utica, N.Y. - What a Friday night in Utica for a few hundred local residents who turned out to sample some of the finest foods our area has to offer.

From Utica Greens to Chicken Riggies, to Tomato Pie, all were on the menu at the annual Taste of The Mohawk Valley held at the Saranac Brewery.

Many local restaurants took part in the annual event put on by The Genesis Group.

Tickets were $25 and all of the proceeds will go to help the Genesis Group put on one its other big events of the year, the annual 4th of July Parade and Festival in Utica.

At the Taste of the Mohawk Valley, this year's 4th of July Grand Marshal was unveiled. Barry Sinnott, Assistant Vice President at Bank of Utica will lead the way.

Sinnott says he is proud to represent the city he and his family love so much, "It means a lot. Anyone who knows me, knows I focus on the positives. There's still a lot of challenges that every community has everywhere, especially in Utica, So we would really like to focus on the positives, and that's one of the things that has driven us business-wise and so it's really a great honor and I feel this is a great privilege to do this."

News Channel 2's Kristen Copeland was last year's Grand Marshal, so she passed the torch to Sinnott.
The same Herkimer County students who petitioned NASA for artifacts for a local memorial for 1962 Mohawk High School graduate, Gregory B. Jarvis, unveiled the flight suit NASA sent to be part of the memorial. Hundreds came to Herkimer College Friday for a moving ceremony, honoring Jarvis. NASA Astronaut, Dr. Stanley Love, Ph.D., spoke about Jarvis, and, exploration.

"Humans have an innate drive to explore. It's in our blood. We want to know what's over that next hill," said Love, hinting, too, at the inherent dangers of exploration. "There are unexpected events and conditions. By definition, explorers are far from help and unforunately, some explorers don't make it back."

Such was the fate met by Jarvis, a payload specialist, and six others, when the Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, on January 28, 1986. Love wanted local students to know that, no matter how small or rural their launch pad, they could still use it to reach for the stars.

"Even a kid who grows up out here in central New York and thinks that the rest of the world has never heard of him or doesn't care about him can grow up to fly in space," said Love.

Also honoring Jarvis during Friday's unveiling-1984 Frankfort High School graduate, Scott Wilson, who is currently building the Orion Spacecraft for NASA, Kennedy Space Center.

"When I was a little kid, I would write letters to NASA. I was kind of a geeky little kid. I would write letters, and to my amazement, they sent back patches or sent back pictures and I remember how excited I got and I never dreamed I'd be able to work there," said Wilson, adding that it's thrilling and rewarding to come home and inspire young students to reach great heights.

The flight suit revealed on Friday, along with other artifacts, including some from Jarvis' widow, will form a memorial that will be displayed in the Herkimer County Office Building.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  You can expect more construction in West Lafayette as Purdue prepares to begin work on the next phase of its $1 billion west campus project.

Purdue Research Foundation recently unveiled plans for a mixed use neighborhood Provenance. It's just one of many developments happening in the heart of Discovery Park.

"We're working to build a live-able, build-able, walk-able kind of community," said Director Jeremy Slater.

Provenance is the district's fifth major project announced in the past two years.

"We're looking at roughly 500 units of town homes, multi-family homes, single-family, condos," said Slater. The community will also have a fitness center, restaurants, retail, a day care and a preschool all in the heart of discovery park.

"It's about 400 acres -- it's about a 1.2 billion dollar development over the next 20 to 30 years."

Slater said as existing industries grow and new ones move in, the project becomes more important.

"A number of different corporate tenants who want to be apart of the community with them moving into the community to work now they have a place to live."

Living in Provenance won't be their only option though, Slater said 250 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of street-level commercial space along State Street is also in the works.

That's along with Aspire at Discovery Park, an $86 million, 835-bed apartment complex set to open in August.

"The moment that you turn onto State Street from 231 the entire frontage along state street is going to be under construction," said Slater adding those roadblocks will eventually lead to a more accessible community.

"Walk to work and drop your kids off at a daycare or pre-school and then for dinner walk and grab food or a coffee and just spend time with a community."

Work on the Luxury Apartments is set to begin this fall and will take roughly two years to complete. Provenance has a slightly different time line, developers are meeting with Tippecanoe County area planners to get through zoning regulations.

Following that, the plan is to begin infrastructure work including roads and landscape in the fall. Once that is in place, houses can start going up.

More information on Discovery Park as well as the master plan for the area can be found here.

Provenance is being developed by Old Town Design Group of Carmel. The group has developed a number of award-winning neighborhoods like this throughout central Indiana.
By PTI

The UN agency for disaster reduction has commended the Indian Meteorological Department's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri.

The powerful cyclone, strongest to hit India in 20 years, made landfall at around 8 AM in India's eastern state of Odisha, killing at least eight people.

Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state affecting about 11 lakh people.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified Fani as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm".

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The Cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm.

"India's zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the #SendaiFramework and the reduction of loss of life from such events," Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the Geneva-based UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said.

Mizutori was referring to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.

It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including the local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Highlighting the zero-casualty cyclone preparedness policy of the Indian government, a spokesperson for UNISDR, Denis McClean said: "the almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters".

UNISDR also tweeted about the advisory distributed by India's National Disaster Management Authority and local authorities days before Fani made landfall in an effort to minimise loss of life and injury.

Local authorities are accommodating evacuees in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed to withstand cyclones.

"Schools were shut, airports closed and transport suspended, and although damage to infrastructure was expected to be severe, there were no reports of any deaths," McClean said.

According to preliminary reports, eight people have been killed due to the cyclone, which has the potential to cause widespread loss of life.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN humanitarian agencies in India have met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures.

With Fani threatening devastation in India and Mozambique still reeling from Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones, UNICEF raised alarm about impact of climate change on children.

The UN children's agency said the cyclone currently hammering India and the back-to-back cyclones that tore through Mozambique in March and April have caused serious damage to the lives of thousands of children.

They should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders on the serious risks that extreme weather events pose to the lives of children.

In Odisha, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani, UNICEF said.

"Children will bear the brunt of these disasters," said Gautam Narasimhan, UNICEF Senior Adviser on Climate Change.

He said climate change is linked to rising sea levels and the increase in rainfall associated with cyclones, causing more devastation in coastal but also inland areas.

"In the short term, the most vulnerable children are at the risk of drowning and landslides, deadly diseases including cholera and malaria, malnutrition from reduced agricultural production, and psychological trauma  all of which are compounded when health centers and schools are impacted," he said.

Narasimhan warned that in the long term, cycles of poverty can linger for years and limit the capacity of families and communities to adapt to climate change and to reduce the risk of disasters.

According to the World Metereological Organization (WMO), the forecast on Friday was that Cyclone Fani "would move north-northeast towards Bangladesh where there were concerns about the effects of potential coastal flooding".

World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said the impact the cyclone is expected to be less severe in areas such as Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar which is home to the world's largest refugee camp, populated mainly by Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, said its India arm Americares India is preparing to deliver medicine and relief supplies to assist survivors, including tarps, water cans and water purification tablets for up to 3,000 families.

Americares India Managing Director Shripad Desai said: "We anticipate thousands of families will need shelter and medical care in the coming days".
Political and legal conflicts between the Trump White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are escalating in the wake of the decision by Attorney General William Barr not to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Barrs refusal to testify, as well as his declaration that he will not turn over an unredacted copy of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, led to numerous calls by congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential candidates for Barr to resign or be impeached.

In a formal letter to Barr on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a 9:00 am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to comply with a committee subpoena for the unredacted report as well as the underlying documents supporting Muellers 448-page narrative.

After that, the letter warns, the committee will cite Barr for contempt of Congress for failing to meet the committees May 1 deadline for delivery of the various documents.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to Nadler earlier in the week declaring that Congress was not entitled to the information because the committees request was not legitimate oversight.

The Trump administration has rejected a range of congressional subpoenas and document requests over the past two weeks, complaining that they were not related to a genuine legislative purpose or to congressional oversight of the executive branch, but were rather intended to expose Trumps private business dealings or the operations of his election campaignboth nongovernmental activitiesto public scrutiny.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was uncharacteristically blunt in a press statement Thursday, in which she said that Barr lied to Congress last month in appearances before the House and Senate to discuss the release of the Mueller report. In both hearings he made no mention of a March 27 letter from Mueller objecting to Barrs own letter notifying Congress of the completion of the report.

He lied to Congress, Pelosi said during her weekly news conference Thursday. Thats a crime.

Pelosi also appeared to soften in her opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Trump, telling a private meeting of House members, in remarks noted down and then leaked to the press, as she clearly intended, Ignoring subpoenas of Congress, not honoring subpoenas of Congressthat was Article III of the Nixon impeachment. Referring to Trump, she continued, This person has not only ignored subpoenas, he has said hes not going to honor any subpoenas. What more do we want?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler said the stonewalling by the Trump administration threatened democracy. The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a coequal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever to his most reckless decisions, he said. The very system of government of the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator, is very much at stake.

Another top House Democrat spoke in the same vein. What we are witnessing is the slow loss of our democratic republic and we can either allow it to happen or we can stand up against it, said Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. We are not going to allow the notion of a presidential dictatorship to take hold.

Trump has fired back against the Democrats, both in his Twitter rants and in legal motions filed in federal court. The House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Democrat Elijah Cummings, has subpoenaed business records of two lenders to the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Group, and Trumps accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trumps personal lawyers filed lawsuits this week opposing all three subpoenas.

Attorneys for the committee responded with a court filing Wednesday declaring that Trumps lawsuit would directly impede ongoing congressional investigations of national importance and threaten the constitutional system that separates and divides power between the branches of government The result would be to block probes into numerous and serious constitutional, conflict of interest, and ethical questions raised by the personal financial holdings of the president.

The first court proceeding in these cases will come May 14 on the subpoena of Mazars, which prepared unaudited financial reports for the Trump Organization that were used in obtaining bank loans.

In a partial climbdown, the White House permitted former security director Carl Kline to testify before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Kline discussed the general procedures for reviewing and approving security clearances for White House staff, but refused to discuss particular cases, such as Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, when asked by Democrats. Kline awarded a top-level clearance to Kushner over the objections of lower-ranking officials, but he denied that any White House official had asked him to award a security clearance to any individual.

Trump also declared Thursday that he would not allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify, claiming executive privilege, although he previously waived privilege in allowing McGahn to testify before the Mueller investigation for nearly 30 hours. White House attorney Emmett Flood wrote, in a letter made public Thursday, that Trumps decision to waive privilege for the Mueller investigation did not prevent him from invoking privilege in relation to a congressional investigation.

Flood sent a separate letter, dated April 19, to the Justice Department objecting in broad strokes to much of the Mueller report, claiming that it had provided far too much detail about the Trump 2016 campaign and about Trumps various responses to the launching of the Russia investigation. Ten separate episodes are examined in the report as possible instances of obstruction of justice.

The most confrontational response to the battery of Democratic investigations came from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Appearing at a Washington Post live event on Thursday morning, McCarthy declared that the FBIs launching of an investigation into the Trump campaign during the 2016 campaign was motivated by political hostility to Trump, citing email exchanges between FBI investigation leader Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, FBI attorney Lisa Page. Their actions are a coup, McCarthy said. I do not believe they were abiding by the rule of law.

Despite the rival claims of fighting against a would-be dictator and opposing a coup by the security agencies against an elected president, neither side in the conflict in Washington is defending democratic rights or constitutional principles. Both sides, the congressional Democrats, who are allied with the intelligence agencies, and the White House, supported by sections of the military, the police and fascist elements, are profoundly antidemocratic and politically reactionary.

The Democrats have not sought to remove Trump over his racist attacks on immigrants, his lavishing of favors on the corporate elite through deregulation and tax cuts, or his open consorting with fascistic elements, making him a political sponsor of such atrocities as the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego and on mosques in New Zealand.

The political axis of the Democratic campaign against Trump is opposition to any relaxation of the ferociously anti-Russian foreign policy adopted during the second term of the Obama administration, inaugurated with the 2014 US-backed ultra-right political coup in Ukraine.

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A Chinese negotiating team led by Vice Premier Liu He will return to Washington next week for what could be make-or-break talks on a trade agreement.

The upcoming talks follow a brief trip to Beijing this week by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that failed to come up with any significant advances towards a deal.

One of the main sticking points is agreement on the procedure by which US tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted if a trade agreement is reached. The Chinese position is that if a deal is done the tariffs should then be removed.

However, the US has insisted that at least some tariffs should remain. They would only start to be removed once it considers that China is complying with any agreement. From the outset, the US has made clear that there will be no agreement without an enforcement mechanism. It has also claimed the right to reimpose tariffs, without retaliation by China, if it deems the agreement is being abrogated.

Chinese negotiators have made it clear that any deal in which the US has the unilateral right to impose tariff sanctions is not acceptable. It would be akin to the unequal treaties imposed in the 19th and 20th centuries by the imperialist powers. Any enforcement mechanism must operate in both directions.

It appears at this stage that the Trump administration may be prepared to remove the 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but retain the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods that were its first shot in the trade war. China responded to these tariffs by imposts on $50 billion worth of goods, mainly agricultural products, that the US is demanding be removed.

This is a key question for the Trump presidency which depends on political support from agricultural regions that have been hit by the Chinese tariffs.

One option that has been explored, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, is a proportional reduction in tariffs. The argument is that the $50 billion represents about 10 percent of Chinese goods to the US. As China imports less from the US, it should leave in place tariffs covering 10 percent of its imports. This means China would reduce its tariffs so that they covered $13 billion worth of goods, rather than $50 billion.

Another point of contention is the issue of allegations of Chinese cyber theft and intrusion into commercial networks which the US insists must cease. A report in the Financial Times suggested the US has softened its initial position and that the Trump administration, anxious to secure a deal, is likely to accept a watered-down commitment from Beijing as an alternative.

Beijing maintains the accusations of state-sponsored cyber theft are baseless. It says that it has complied with an agreement reached with the Obama administration that neither government would engage in or knowingly support the theft of online intellectual property.

If the Trump administration does accept a verbal commitment from Beijing, this is likely to be opposed by key sections of the military-intelligence establishment, as well as anti-China hawks in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a speech delivered on April 26, reported by the Financial Times, FBI director Christopher Wray said: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation.  We have economic espionage investigations that almost invariably lead back to China in all 56 [FBI] field offices, spanning almost every industry.

The issue of intellectual property forms part of US demands for sweeping structural reforms in the Chinese economy, including an end to the state subsidies to key industries under the Made in China 2025 program.

Reporting on the discussions, the Wall Street Journal said the likelihood of China giving much ground on the contentious issue of subsidies to its state-owned enterprises is diminishing. This is because it sees government support as vital to helping Chinese firms move up the value chain and become leaders in next-generation manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other fields.

The article cited people close to the talks as saying Beijing would likely pledge to ensure that companies compete fairly, but not commit to provide the details of state subsidies being demanded by the US.

It is now five months since Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to negotiations on a trade deal, initiating a process that has involved countless hours of discussions and the production of thousands of pages of documents. However, this process will not continue indefinitely.

Speaking at a financial conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps acting chief-of-staff, indicated that the outcome would soon be determined.

It wont go on forever, he said. At some point in any negotiation you go were getting close to getting something done so were going to keep going. On the other hand, at some point you throw up your hands and say this is never going anywhere. Youll know one way or the other in the next couple of weeks.

Even if a deal is reached it will not bring about an end to trade conflicts. The Financial Times columnist Edward Luce published a comment this week entitled China, the US and trade in a dog-eat-dog world. He noted that any deal would trigger a rally in the markets with the spectre of a nosedive in China-US relations averted, but it would come at the expense of future stability.

This is because any agreement will be outside the framework of the World Trade Organisation, which has been the key mechanism for settling disputes carried out in a process at arms-length from the countries involved. That would no longer apply.

The coming deals enforcement mechanism will offer Democratic and Republican presidents an irresistible set of punitive tools to use against China. There will be no WTO to keep them honest. Nor will there be any natural breaks between trade policy and diplomacy. Mr Trump has cited US national security as grounds for tariffs on European and Canadian metal imports. Pretty much any Chinese activity can also be blocked on those grounds.

He also pointed to the weaponisation of the rule of law as exemplified in Canadas arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant last year, and the continued detention by China of two Canadian nationals.

At face value, Luce concluded, the looming trade deal will probably look like a victory for Mr Trump. Further reflection reveals how much damage the deal would do to the rules-based order that America created.
On Tuesday, several dozen students and workers gathered at Humboldt University in Berlin to protest the persecution of Julian Assange and discuss the political and historical background to the attack on the courageous journalist. The meeting was convened by the University Group of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).

The audience at Humboldt university

Christoph Vandreier, deputy chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP), introduced the event with an in-depth contribution, which was eagerly followed by the audience. He began by detailing the crimes WikiLeaks had revealed since its founding in 2006.

They range from evidence of torture in Guantanamo, to the uncovering of massive tax evasion by the super-rich and illegal surveillance measures, to comprehensive leaks of the war crimes of the NATO states in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Iraq war alone, WikiLeaks had evidenced 15,000 civilian killings previously hushed up by the US military. There were also countless details exposed about the armys brutal actions against men, women and children.

These revelations not only revealed the brutal nature of these colonial wars, Vandreier said, but also exposed the so-called journalists who first spread the lie about alleged weapons of mass destruction to justify the war, and then glorified it as a liberation with their embedded journalism. He added that the same hacks were now attacking Assange.

Christoph Vandreier

As a result of these revelations, the US Department of Defense had already stated in 2008 that WikiLeaks had to be discredited and its protagonists jailed. Consequently, the Wikileaks servers were attacked and blocked, the web address withdrawn and numerous ways to make donations cut off, Vandreier said.

The ruling elites had been particularly aggressive in their pursuit of Assange. Vandreier detailed how long-completed investigations were resumed because of alleged sexual offences in Sweden in order to create a pretext for his onward extradition to the United States. Even the United Nations Human Rights Council has stated that Assange was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom for a disproportionately long time.

Now he has been arrested under new pretexts and is threatened with extradition to the US, where, in secret, further charges under the espionage act are being prepared against him, which are punishable by death.

If Assange were delivered up to the US, that would not be a legal transfer, but an illegal rendition. He would not face a fair trial in the US, but a show trial, whose verdict is already fixed, Vandreier said, summing up the threat to Assange. If that comes about, it means the end of press freedom and basic democratic rights. It would be directed against all those who oppose illegal wars, mass surveillance and the enrichment of the super-rich.

Even more striking was the smear campaign now being conducted in the media against Assange, ranging from resurrecting the rape allegations, accusations of being a Russian agent, to ridiculing his physical condition after his ordeal at the Ecuadorian embassy. Vandreier also named many German media outlets which had either expressed their pleasure at Assanges arrest or legitimized it.

This showed there was no basis for the defence of democratic rights in the ruling elite, but the encouragement of authoritarian and fascist tendencies. This development should be taken very seriously, Vandreier explained, underlining this with the historical example of Carl von Ossietzky. The journalist had been imprisoned in the Weimar Republic for betrayal of secrets because he had uncovered the illegal rearmament of the Reichswehr [Imperial Army]. Two months after his release in December 1932, he was again imprisoned by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp, where he was tortured and mistreated.

Today, the actions against Assange show that those in power are heading back in the same direction, Vandreier said, adding that this was also happening at Humboldt University, where militarists like Herfried Munkler and right-wing professor Jorg Baberowski were teaching and were protected by the university management against any criticism.

The shift to the right this expressed, and the campaign against Assange, was a fundamental international development, Vandreier said. In the US, Trumps administration was increasingly taking on openly fascistic forms, and in Europe, far-right parties were already involved in government in 10 countries. The reason for this lies in the deep crisis of capitalism, which, as in the 20th century, leads to fascism and war, Vandreier explained.

He concluded saying, The only way to defend Assange and democratic rights is to mobilize the international working class on the basis of a socialist programme. That is the only social force that can oppose the campaign of the ruling elites.

Following Vandreiers contribution, a lively discussion developed, focusing primarily on this perspective and the significance of a Marxist understanding and socialist programme. At the conclusion of the meeting, the following resolution was unanimously approved by those present:

This meeting at Humboldt University Berlin condemns the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Assange, the whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and all the brave journalists who have revealed the extent of the brutal wars and crimes of those in power. We agree to support the international struggle for the freedom of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning with all our strength!
Japans Emperor Akihito abdicated his throne on Tuesday and his son Naruhito was installed as emperor the following day. Akihitos abdication has been interpreted as a rebuke to the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his far-right supporters. The imperial transition, however, will not alter the extreme right-wing trajectory of the Japanese government or the attacks taking place on the working class.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Naruhito gave his first address as emperor. As his father had previously, Naruhito referred to his position as the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan and pledged to act according to the constitution. He added, I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.

The media seizes on such remarks to portray Akihito and Naruhito as liberal and pacifist opponents of the Abe governments push for constitutional revision and remilitarization. By referring to the emperor as the symbol of the state and unity of the people, Naruhito adheres to the present constitution, which bans the emperor from intervening in politics.

Abe intends to revise Article 9 of the constitution, known as the pacifist clause, to specifically recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the formal name of Japans armed forces. This is not the only change the far-right has its eyes on.

In 2012, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a draft constitution that returns political power to the emperor by making him head of state, while also exempting him or a regent from obeying the constitution. This would pave the way for the emperor to assume the dictatorial role that he held prior to the end of World War II as the linchpin of the state apparatus that waged imperialist war abroad and suppressed the working class at home.

Abe paid lip service to Naruhito at Wednesdays ceremony, saying, Emperor, we are looking up to you as a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people, and we are filled with hope for peace and prosperity, a bright future of Japan. He then added, Everybody is uniting together in heart and building up our new culture in the future.

By a new culture, Abe means a thorough going revision of history to cover-up the crimes of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s and a rejection of the nominal pacifism of post-war Japan.

Japans ultra-nationalists, including Abe, desire a break with the current 1947 constitution, which was written by United States occupation forces following the war. These layers complain that the constitution is filled with too many Western concepts, including democracy and individual rights. They also complain that the constitution handcuffs their ability to pursue Japans imperialist interests by military force if necessary.

In writing the post-war constitution, the US hoped to eliminate competition in Asia. It was meant to gut the militarist components of the 1889 Meiji constitution. The maintenance of the emperor system, however, was a key part of the preservation of the capitalist state in Japan, as even before the war ended the US saw Japan as an ally against the Soviet Union.

Abe made similar statements about a new culture after the government announced April 1 the name of Naruhitos reign, Reiwa, saying the name meant a culture born and nurtured as peoples hearts are beautifully drawn together. While meaning beautiful harmony, Reiwa has drawn criticism. The character rei can mean cold or austere, as well as being found in words like meirei, meaning order or command. Wa, while meaning peace, is also part of Showa, the name of the wartime Emperor Hirohitos reign.

Reiwa is also the first name to be drawn from Japanese sources, rather than Chinese classics. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan, commented in the South China Morning Post, In explaining the choice and meaning of the  gengo (reign), Abe engaged in some dog-whistling to his conservative constituency, extolling Japans glorious cultural heritage, natural beauty and proud history.

The transition took place over nearly three years. In 2016, Akihito, then 82, first hinted at his desire to abdicate. His decision was not simply due to old age. Every move and word the emperor makes is carefully weighed. Because Japans legal system does not allow the emperor to step down, a special, one-off law had to be passed in 2017. Akihito exercised caution, lest he be accused of demanding such a law and thereby interfering in politics.

However, the emperor is not a neutral arbiter standing above classes or the state. He is a key component of the capitalist state apparatus, maintaining its unity even as contending factions of the ruling class disagree on tactical issues. Whatever Akihitos immediate desire, his intrusion into politics, both in requesting a new law be passed and over constitutional revision, objectively lays the precedent for an emperor taking on more of a political role in the future.

While more liberal elements of the political establishment look towards the emperor for support in their disputes with Abe, all factions agree on two points: First, Japan should, in one way or another, be able to send its military overseas to fight for its imperialist interests. Second, that the capitalist state must have the power to suppress the struggles of the working class for its social and democratic rights.

The disputes in ruling circles have centered on secondary issues such as whether or not women should be allowed to become emperor. Far-right organizations like Nippon Kaigi, which count Abe, most of his cabinet, and numerous lawmakers as members, demand adherence to traditional positions. These include eliminating equal rights for women and dragooning men into military service.

The so-called liberals and left in Japan have postured as progressive on the status of women and royalty, and opposed any substantive revision of Article 9the so-called pacifist clause of the constitutionin a bid to contain growing anger in Japan over widening social inequality and the dangers of war. None of this, however, has halted the growing gulf between rich and poor, nor the build-up of the Japanese armed forces and their dispatch to US-led wars.
One hundred years ago on May 4, 1919, thousands of students from 13 colleges and universities gathered in what is today Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to protest the outcome of the peace talks in Versailles following the end of World War I. They were outraged at the horse-trading between the major powers that handed Shandong Province to Japan and kept in place the unequal treaties forced on China. These had created British, French and International concessions, or enclaves, in cities like Shanghai.

The demonstration was the outcome of intense discussions and meetings throughout the previous day and night. These brought forward an already planned protest, following news about the complicity of the warlord government in Beijing in the outcome of the talks. Students handed out copies of a passionate Manifesto of All Students of Peking that called on the nation to rise up to secure our sovereignty in foreign affairs and to get rid of the traitors at home:

This is the last chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen: (1) Chinas territory may be conquered but it cannot be given away; (2) the Chinese people may be massacred but they will not surrender. Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren! [1]

The students marched through the streets chanting anti-imperialist slogans such as China has been sentenced to death [at the Paris Conference], Refuse to sign the Peace Treaty, Boycott Japanese goods and China belongs to the Chinese. They denounced pro-Japanese traitors who were government ministers.

Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles on May 4

One account described the public reaction:

The people of Beijing were deeply impressed by the demonstrators. Many spectators were so touched that they wept as they stood silently on the streets and listened carefully to the students shout their slogans. Many Western spectators greeted them with ovations and by taking off or waving their hats Boy scouts and students from elementary schools joined in and distributed leaflets. [2]

Prevented by police from entering the Legation Quarter to appeal to foreign representatives for justice for China, the students proceeded to the residence of one of the three pro-Japanese traitors. Students broke into the house and beat up several occupants. Clashes broke out with police. A number of students were injured, one later dying in hospital, and 32 were arrested and imprisoned in police headquarters.

The protest triggered a broad anti-imperialist movement, initially of students, which also drew in the working class and layers of intellectuals, merchants and the urban poor, triggering strikes, protests and a boycott of Japanese goods. Police repression and arrests only provoked greater resistance.

In early June, the government launched a massive crackdown on groups of students campaigning in the streets, handing out leaflets and urging people to buy Chinese rather than Japanese goods. After the first arrests on June 2, thousands of students took to the streets on the following days, some with bedding strapped to their back in preparation for jail. By the end of June 4, over a thousand were being held in makeshift prisons in the buildings of Peking University, surrounded by troops.

Protesters on May 4

The mass arrests in early June provoked indignation throughout China. On June 5, a commercial strike paralysed Chinas main industrial centreShanghaiin support of some 13,000 striking students. Strikes by workers spread throughout the city over the next days, with estimates of up to 90,000 workers involved. From Shanghai, the protests and strikes extended to other major cities.

Brought to its knees by the strike movement, the Beijing government first tried to conciliate with the students. The police and troops were withdrawn from the campuses, but the students refused to leave their campus prisons until their demands were met. The government and the police were compelled to apologise. Finally, students marched out of their prisons on June 8 amid firecrackers and cheers to a fervent mass meeting and parade of welcome given by their fellow students and the citizenry. [3]

On June 10, as the strikes and protests continued, the government announced the resignation of the three pro-Japanese ministers. However, the key demandthat China not sign the Versailles Treatyremained unmet. On June 24, the government instructed the Chinese delegation, even if its protestations to the major powers failed, to sign the document regardless. Faced with an outpouring of angry protest, the president was compelled to reverse the decision the following day. On June 28, Chinas representatives refused to join the major powers in signing the peace treaty with Germany.

May 4 demonstrators after their release from prison

The demonstrations and strikes were part of a broader intellectual and political ferment. The students who came onto the streets on May 4 had been influenced by the ideas of the New Culture movement, which asserted that ending Chinas subjugation required the modernisation of all aspects of society on the basis of democratic ideals and the scientific advances in Europe and the United States.

What was involved was a revolt against traditional Chinese ethics, customs, literary forms, philosophy and social and political institutions. The chief target was ossified Confucianism, which had the status of a quasi-state religion. It provided the ideological underpinning for Chinas elites by insisting on the unquestioning obedience of the ruled to the rulers, women to their husbands and sons to their fathers.

The New Culture movement had many diverse strands. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, a layer of intellectuals and youth turned decisively toward socialism, and, under the impact of the October Revolution in Russia, to Marxism and Bolshevism.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in July 1921, little more than two years after the first Beijing protest. Many of the founding members were youth who had been radicalised by the May 4 movement. The CCPs first chairman, Chen Duxiu, was a man in his early 40s who commanded respect inside and outside the party as a revolutionary and the chief intellectual leader of the New Culture movement.

One hundred years on, the CCP has long abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles on which it was founded and is resurrecting the stifling Chinese traditions against which the intellectuals and students had rebelled in the early 20th century. Today the CCP bureaucracy uses its police state apparatus to suppress any criticism or independent thought in schools and on university campuses, and is locking up students from Peking University and other campuses for the crime of supporting workers struggles.

Whatever ceremonies are organised by the CCP to mark May 4 will, above all, be designed to cover up and deny the crucial political lessons the anniversary holds for youth and workers today.

The roots of the May 4 movement

The roots of the May 4 movement lay in the failure of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, led by Sun Yat-sen. The movement overthrew the decrepit Manchu dynasty but could not implement its own aimsnational unity and independence, a democratic republic and social welfare for the people, including land for the peasants.

Sun Yat-sen

The outcome demonstrated the organic inability of the class that Sun representedthe emerging Chinese bourgeoisieto fulfil its historic tasks, tied as it was to the landlords in the countryside and subordinated to the imperialist powers on the world arena.

Chinese society had been wracked by crisis for well over a century, compounded by the corrosive influence of foreign invasions. Britain and France fought two Opium Wars, in 1842 and 1858, against the waning Manchu dynasty, which had attempted to block their huge sales of opium into China that were designed to ensure a permanent trade surplus in their favour. The European powers also established the treaty ports and the concessions, where extraterritoriality applied and foreigners were exempt from Chinese law and the payment of Chinese taxes.

The response of the Manchu court to these defeats and foreign exactions was to impose new burdens, chiefly on the peasantry that formed the vast bulk of the population and underpinned Chinas economy. The ruination of the countryside was compounded by a flood of cheap foreign goods, which all but destroyed the local handicraft industries. Oppressive conditions sparked rural revolts, including the Taiping Rebellion, which grew out of an obscure neo-Christian cult in 1850 into a storm that swept the country and was only finally crushed in 1865 with the assistance of foreign troops.

The defeat of China at the hands of Japanese imperialism in 1895 came as a shock. It intensified the debate over how to resist the foreign carve-up and subjugation of the country. However, attempts to reform the decrepit Manchu dynasty and transform the archaic machinery of government came to nothing. The so-called Hundred Days of reform in 1898, under the young Emperor Guangxu, was abruptly ended by the Dowager Empress Cixi. She imprisoned her nephew and executed or jailed his reformist advisers.

Boxer rebels in 1900

The days of the Manchu dynasty were numbered. At the turn of the century, the dowager empress attempted to manipulate a new revolt by a Chinese secret organisation, known as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, that erupted in northern China, and direct it against the foreign powers. The Boxer Rebellion was suppressed by foreign troops and new impositions were made on China by the victors.

Sun Yat-sen came to prominence in the wake of the failure of all attempts to reform the Manchu dynasty. While advocating revolution, however, he made no attempt to build a mass political movement, and engaged in conspiratorial activities involving small armed putsches or terrorist actions against individual Manchu officials.

In 1911, the Manchu dynasty virtually imploded. The imperial government was on the brink of bankruptcy after decades of plundering by the major powers. Politically, it was thoroughly discredited, as a result of the foreign annexation of Chinese territory in the form of colonies, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the extra-territorial concessions.

When the Manchu dynasty finally promised constitutional reform, it was too late. Significant sections of the Chinese bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and military had turned to Sun Yat-sen. On October 10, 1911, thousands of troops in Wuchang in Hubei province staged a rebellion and proclaimed a republic. The revolt rapidly spread across many Chinese provinces, but the lack of any genuine mass movement left vested interests untouched.

Sun was proclaimed the provisional president of a loosely federated Republic of China but, lacking any significant social base of his own, compromised with the old military-bureaucratic apparatus. Under pressure from the imperialist powers, he handed the presidency to the last prime minister of the Manchu dynasty, Yuan Shikai, who scrapped the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

The New Culture movement

In May 1915, Yuan provoked a wave of protests and opposition when his government accepted Japans humiliating 21 demands that gave it effective control of large swathes of China, including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Public hostility only intensified when, in December 1915, he had himself elected as emperor of China by his puppet National Peoples Assembly.

Most of Chinas southern provinces under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen declared their independence from the Beijing government and, as his supporters deserted, Yuan expressed his intention of abandoning monarchism. He died in June 1916, leaving a fractured China ruled by rival warlords, each backed by competing foreign powers.

Chen Duxiu (left)

In 1915, amid the political turmoil, Chen Duxiu, who had been active in the 1911 revolution and in a revolt in 1913 against Yuans regime, returned to Shanghai from exile in Japan. He established the New Youth magazine, which proved to be a powerful magnet for the new generation of students. It was one of the pioneer publications in vernacular Chinese, rather than in the scholarly classical Chinese that was largely inaccessible to the population.

New Youth sounded a clarion call. Chen proclaimed that the task of the new generation was to fight Confucianism, the old tradition of virtue and rituals, the old ethics and the old politics the old learning and the old literature. Mr Confucius, Chen declared, had to be replaced by Mr Democracy and Mr Science.

The extensive rural revolts in Chinaincluding the Taiping and Boxer rebellionshad been based largely on superstition, religious cults and secret societies. Sun Yat-sen espoused the ideals of a democratic republic, but exploited Han Chinese racialism against the Manchu, or Manchurian rulers.

However, Chen drew his intellectual inspiration from the European Enlightenment and the democratic traditions embodied in the 18th century revolutions in France and the United States. He wrote in New Youth in 1915:

We must break down the old prejudices, the old way of believing in things as they are, before we can begin to hope for social progress. We must discard our old ways. We must merge the ideas of the great thinkers of history, old and new, with our own experience, build up new ideas in politics, morality, and economic life. [4]

In his seminal work, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Harold Isaacs described Chens appeal to youth as the opening manifesto of the era of the second Chinese revolutionthe political upheavals and ferment that began with the protest and strike movement of 1919 and led to the nation-wide revolutionary upsurge in 1925, only to be tragically betrayed in 1927. Isaacs explained the impact of New Youth:

Chens magazine was eagerly snatched up by students in every school and college in the country. When it was published, wrote one student, it came to us like a clap of thunder which awakened us in the midst of a restless dream I dont know how many times this first issue was reprinted, but I am sure that more than 200,000 copies were sold. It nourished the impulsive iconoclasm of the young people. It gave direction to the mood of unease and unsettlement that pervaded all classes in the population. It was a call to action that awakened an immediate response. [5]

Li Dazhao

In late 1916, facing growing popular opposition, the government appointed the noted liberal educator, Cai Yuanpei, as chancellor of Peking University. Cai transformed the university from a bastion of conservative tradition into a hotbed of progressive intellectual thought and debate. Early the following year, he brought Chen to the university as dean of the School of Letters. Other intellectual leaders joined him, including Li Dazhao, who was appointed chief librarian in February 1918 and became a close collaborator of Chen. Mao Zedong, 25, was one of Lis assistants.

Chen and Li helped to foster a group of students who produced their own monthly magazine, New Tide, which first appeared in January 1919. Many were to become prominent student leaders in the protests that erupted on May 4. New Tide groups were influenced by many intellectual currents, but the Russian Revolution was already making its presence felt. One contributor to the first issue, Lo Chia-lun, declared that the October 1917 Revolution was the new world tide of the 20th century.

With the end of World War I in November 1918, all eyes were on the Versailles Peace Conference, which would decide the terms of the peace with Germany. In the first year of the war, Japan had seized Shandong Province from Germany, which had held the area since 1898 on a 99-year lease. Japans representatives in Paris made clear that Tokyo not only wanted to retain Shandong indefinitely but to extend its presence, as outlined in the 21 Demands that had been accepted by the Beijing government in May 1915.

China had a seat at the table as one of the victorious allies. At least 140,000 Chinese labourers had supported the British and French war efforts, as part of the Chinese Labour Corps, with estimates of the number of deaths as high as 20,000.

On November 17, 1918, a huge demonstration in Beijing of some 60,000 people had celebrated the end of the war. The speeches reflected the widespread optimism that the Allies represented democracy over despotism and would restore Shandong to China. When the Versailles Peace conference opened in January 1919, however, those illusions were shattered. Japan announced that Britain, France and Italy had signed secret treaties with Japan that supported its claims to Shandong.

Woodrow Wilson

Great hopes remained, however, that the United States would prevail. In his speech to the US Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson had outlined, in 14 points, the aims of the US in entering the war against Germany. The speech was, above all, aimed at countering the appeals of the Bolshevik leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, to the international working class to put an end to the war through socialist revolution.

Wilson called for the abolition of secret treaties, an adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of the native peoples, as well as of the colonial powers, and, most significantly from the standpoint of China, a League of Nations that would guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike.

The outcome of the Peace Conference in May 1919 came as a huge blow to Chinese intellectuals, students and the broader population. Their anger was not only directed against Japan and its immediate alliesBritain, France and Italyand pro-Japanese ministers in the Beijing government, but also against the US and its president. A graduate at Peking University later recalled:

When the news of the Paris Peace Conference finally reached us, we were greatly shocked. We at once awoke to the fact that foreign nations were still selfish and militaristic and they were all great liars We had nothing to do with our government, that we knew very well, and at the same time we could no longer depend on the principles of any so-called great leader like Woodrow Wilson, for example. Looking at our people and at the pitiful ignorant masses, we couldnt help but feel we must struggle.[6]

The protests and strikes that began on May 4, 1919 were accompanied by a feverish intellectual and political debate over the way forward. It included a multitude of contendersliberals and anarchists, democrats, syndicalists and socialists of different types. The American philosopher John Dewey arrived in China, literally on the eve of the May 4 protest, and developed a following, through his lectures and articles, over the next two years. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell also won followers after he was invited to lecture in China and remained for nearly a year from October 1920.

John Dewey (front right) in Shanghai, 1919

Marxism, however, had no strong established presence in China. It was identified with the Second International, which had been divided over the preoccupation of Chinese intellectualshow to end colonial domination. At the Internationals 1907 Stuttgart congress, which discussed the issue at length, some delegates openly expressed chauvinist attitudes, including toward the yellow race. The outbreak of World War I, an imperialist war for the division and revision of the world, precipitated the collapse of the Second International, as most parties and leaders sided with their own bourgeois governments and their predatory war aims.

Lenin and Trotsky, who had both opposed the betrayal of the Second International, expressed unambiguous opposition to colonialism and support for the struggles of the oppressed peoples of the colonies. In the wake of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, that message reverberated around the world. The manifesto of the founding congress of the Third International in March 1919 declared: Colonial slaves of Africa and Asia: the hour of proletarian dictatorship will also be the hour of your liberation.

In one of his first actions as Peoples Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky seized and published the secret treaties and papers of the Tsarist and Provisional governments, in order to expose the intrigues of the major powers. In July 1919, Leo Karakhan, acting for the Peoples Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, issued a declaration abrogating all previous secret and unequal treaties between the Tsarist regime and China, and relinquishing Russian claims in China, without seeking compensation.

When news of that declaration finally reached China in March 1920, it had a profound impact. It stood in stark contrast to the determination of the imperialist powers to maintain their colonial possessions and enclaves in China. Some 30 major organisations publicly expressed their gratitude to the Soviet government. Most newspapers demanded that the Beijing government, which had continued to recognise the Tsarist officials of the Russian legation, establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet government.

One of the first Chinese intellectuals to recognise the significance of the Russian Revolution was Chen Duxius close collaborator, Li Dazhao. In an essay published in New Youth in 1918, entitled The Victory of Bolshevism, he hailed the October Revolution as the beginning of a new era:

Although the word Bolshevism was created by the Russians, its spirit expresses the common sentiments of 20th century mankind. Thus, the victory of Bolshevism is the victory of the spirit of all mankind. [7]

Inspired by Trotskys work, War and the International, Li declared that World War I marked the beginning of the class war between the world proletarian masses and the world capitalists. The Bolshevik revolution was only the first step toward the destruction of the presently existing national boundaries which are barriers to socialism and the destruction of the capitalist monopoly-profit system of production. [8]

Societies for the Study of Socialism had proliferated following the protest movement of MayJune 1919. However, in March 1919, inspired by Li, students from Peking University established a Society for the Study of Marxist Theory. Early in 1920, the Third International or Comintern, which had closely followed the events of 1919 in China, sent Gregori Voitinsky from the Far Eastern Secretariat to Beijing to make contacts. He met with Li, who sent him to meet Chen in Shanghai.

Representatives of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Paris in 1924

Chen, who had been influenced by the philosophical pragmatism and democratic idealism of Dewey, was slower to embrace Marxism than Li. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, his political attitudes shifted rapidly. He had been arrested for his activities during the protests, and following his release, later in 1919, left for Shanghai, where he found layers of workers and youth who had been radicalised. By one account:

When Chen returned there, he immediately attracted a group of active intellectuals who joined him in Marxist study and activities Chen himself became active in promoting the labour movement, often making fiery speeches to the workers that reflected his Marxist thinking. [9]

When Voitinsky met with Chen in Shanghai the result was a decision to amalgamate a number of groups, which would form the basis for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, initially created in secret in May 1920. A draft party constitution was passed and a provisional central organisation based in Shanghai. Chen was elected as its first secretary. The party was formally established in July 1921, which is usually taken as the official date. [10]

The Chinese Communist Party today

A hundred years on, the Chinese Communist Party completely distorts the significance of the May 4, 1919 events. It has long repudiated the democratic principles of the New Culture movement and the socialist internationalism upon which the party was founded. The last thing that the CCP bureaucrats in Beijing want is for young workers and students today to draw inspiration from the youthful rebellion of 1919 by mounting their own revolt against the CCPs police-state apparatus and the stultifying intellectual climate it engenders.

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his speech this week to mark the May 4 movement to hail the virtues of nationalism and patriotism. Xi, who rests on a vast repressive apparatus, insisted that young people must avoid mistaken thoughts and obey the party.

Significantly, students from Peking University and other elite institutions have been detained since last year for the crime of assisting workers from Jasic Technology, in Shenzhen, in their struggle to form an independent trade union. The Marxist Society on the campus was threatened with closure, then taken over by CCP stooges. And this took place at the university that was at the very centre of the intellectual ferment of the New Culture movement, and whose students initiated the protest of May 4, 1919.

The CCP cannot tolerate the study of genuine Marxism because it raises far too many questions about its own history and practices. Its socialism with Chinese characteristics is an absurd formula, used to justify the processes of capitalist restoration, over which it has presided since 1978. The result has led to staggering disparities between the wealth and privileges of the CCP leaders and the super-rich oligarchs they represent, and the vast majority of working people. Incapable of making any appeal based on socialist principles, the regime has relied on whipping up Chinese nationalism and resurrecting backward Chinese traditions and superstitions.

This is epitomised by the CCPs revival of Confucianismthe chief target of the New Culture movement. It is promoted in schools, universities and through the fostering of Confucius Institutes in countries around the world. In a speech to an international conference in 2014, marking the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, President Xi declared that the Chinese Communist Party is the successor to and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. Undoubtedly, the rigid hierarchical view of society to be found in Confucianism dovetails with the bureaucratic outlook of the CCP apparatus.

The CCP long ago abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles embodied in Marxism and in the October 1917 Russian Revolution. The CCP bureaucrats today are not heirs of that tradition, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Moscow that usurped power from the working class under the reactionary nationalist banner of Socialism in One Country. Shortly after the CCPs formation, Stalin shackled it to the bourgeois Kuomintang (KMT), leading to a disastrous series of defeats of the Chinese working class in the revolutionary upheavals of 192527.

Mao with Stalin

Once again, the figure of Chen Duxiu looms large. He opposed the betrayal of the Chinese revolution in the 1920s, and sided with Leon Trotsky, who had warned that Stalins policies in China would lead to a catastrophe for the working class. Chen became the first chairman of the unified Chinese Left Opposition. Formed in 1931, it waged a courageous struggle for the founding principles of the CCP, despite being hounded and persecuted on all sides, including by the Stalinists.

In China, as internationally, the first stirrings of the working class are emerging in opposition to the oppressive conditions of work and life, and to the CCPs police-state apparatus, which seeks to suppress any form of opposition and independent thought. As in 1919, the main question that confronts Chinese workers and youth is on what basis a political fight can be waged against the CCP and the oligarchs that it represents.

The chief lesson from the May 4 movement is that the answers to these questions are not to be found in Chinain particular, in reviving the Chinese variant of Stalinism represented by Mao Zedong. In 1969, on the 50th anniversary of the May 4 events, Mao exploited and perverted the memories of that movement to justify the unleashing of gangs of Red Guards against the so-called capitalist roaders in the misnamed Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

In fact, Mao proved to be the capitalist roader in chief. No sooner had he set the Red Guards against his factional opponents, than the working class appeared on the scene, with the establishment of the Shanghai Peoples Commune in 1967. Maos response was to call out the army to bring the situation under control. By 1969, the disoriented youth in the Red Guards had become simply pawns in the factional struggles in Beijing.

Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon, 1972

The Cultural Revolution, however, could not and did not resolve the underlying economic and strategic crisis produced by the reactionary nationalist perspective of socialism in one country. There was no national solution: the only choices were world socialist revolution or reintegration in world capitalism. Having abandoned the former decades before, Mao reached a rapprochement with US imperialism in 1972 that opened the door for wholesale capitalist restoration.

Today, workers and youth in China confront the social catastrophe created by capitalist restoration, and the danger of war with the US, for which the CCP has no answer, other than an arms race that will inevitably end in catastrophe. As in 1919, the way out, again, is to be found on the international political and theoretical plane.

What is necessary is a return to the strategy of world socialist revolution and to build a Chinese section of the international party that fights for itthe world Trotskyist movement, today represented by the International Committee of the Fourth International. It alone embodies the necessary political lessons of the strategic experiences of the 20th century in the fight against Stalinism, including the courageous struggles of Chen Duxiu and the Chinese Trotskyists.

Footnotes

1. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China, Stanford University Press, 1967, pp 1067.

2. ibid, pp 109.

3. ibid, p 160.

4. Harold R. Isaacs, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Stanford University Press, second revised edition, 1961, p 53.

5. ibid, p 54.

6. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement (Intellectual Revolution in Modern China), Stanford University Press, 1967, p 93.

7. Benjamin I. Schwartz, Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao, Harper & Row, 1967, p 14.

8. Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism , Harvard University Press, 1967, p 68.

9. Thomas C. Kuo, Chen Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Com munist Movement, Seton Hall University Press, 1975, p 79.

10. Chow, op cit, p 248.
There is growing sentiment among Mississippi teachers for strike action against poverty wages, according to the results of a Survey on Teacher Action released by the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE).

The statewide poll of teachers reflects escalating anger among educators across the state. Of the 1,765 respondents to the survey, almost 80 percent identified themselves as classroom teachers. Sixty-three percent stated they would participate in a one-day statewide sickout; 61 percent stated they would rally at the state capitol on a Saturday before the end of this school year; and nearly 40 percent stated they would walk out on a specific day and refuse to return for an indefinite amount of time.

The results are significant and mark an increasing desire by Mississippi educators to oppose low wages and terrible working conditions, leading to low retention rates. There has been no strike in the southern state of Mississippi since 1985, after which state lawmakers passed punitive regulations against striking teacher groups, including massive fines and jail time. Mississippi teachers make the second-lowest salaries in the country, ahead of South Dakota.

The growing militancy, even in the face of draconian anti-strike laws, is developing within the context of teachers struggles across the globe which are increasing in quantity and scope. From Poland to Brazil, from India to North and South Carolina, teachers are waging a historic battle against decades-long reactionary measures imposed by all factions of the ruling elite to deprive the working class of the basic social right to a high-quality education.

On April 16, Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill purporting to provide teachers and assistant teachers a $1,500 pay raise, to go into effect at the beginning of the next school year. Both Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves praised the derisory raise as an achievement. According to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the current average salary for teachers in Mississippi is $44,459, more than $10,000 less than the national average, and $7,000 less than the regional average in the southeast. The minimum salary for assistant teachers is currently $12,500.

Adding insult to injury, it has since been learned that certain categories of teachers are excluded from the deal, including special education teachers, teachers for gifted learners, and some assistant teachers, although Bryant claims he will rectify this error.

Some school districts, such as Lee County and Clarksdale Municipal, have, in fact, confirmed that some teachers and assistant teachers in their schools have been excluded from the raise. Dennis Dupree, superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District, in the river delta county of Coahoma, stated that the raises allotted to some teachers are less than $1,500, with some being as low as $300.

In a state with the highest paid superintendent of education in the countryCarey Wright, whose salary is $300,000the legislature is dismissing the dire economic conditions of teachers.

The Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), the state chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), sponsored the Survey on Teacher Action. However, this was not in order to lead a struggle in response the growing mandate from its members, but is part of its effort to lobby the state legislature. In its statement released with the survey results, the MAE says: Actions such as informational picketing or having a rally are not the endgame.

An April 5 survey by WJTV News in Jackson reported an even higher proportion of teachers supporting strike action that in the MAE survey, with 79 percent of 981 teachers polled answering in the affirmative. Yet the union is opposed to even mild protests such as informational pickets and rallies.

The organizers behind the Facebook group Pay Raise for Mississippi pointed to the reasoning behind the MAEs strategy, stating in a post: Folks, if nothing else we have shaped the conversation. The media is questioning the candidates on our issues. We have made them hear us... The candidates know that going into this election the needs of educators cannot be ignored. We need to take this energy through the summer and into the fall and get the votes we need to elect the leaders we need. (Emphasis added).

While the legislature was running down the legislative clock, the union was stalling, working to exhaust the opposition of teachers and their supporters.

This was the intent all along. The MAE underscored the fact that it never advocate[d] or encourage[d] survey respondents to select any specific action, and said the options were listed only because they were being strongly considered by educators.

In other words, teachers are demanding a strike, but are being blocked by the MAE, which seeks to the use the anger of teachers as a bargaining chip in its relations with Democratic and Republican politicians. The union admitted as much, stating that the surveys findings will guide the drafting of an organizing plan that will be implemented now through the 2020 legislative session.

But teachers have different thoughts on the matter. As part of the WJTV poll, the media stated: [B]y state law, if teachers strike they will be breaking the law, which prompted one commenter to reply: Whats worse? Breaking a tyrannical law to hopefully improve our situation or sitting back and doing nothing while politicians continue to make our jobs more and more impossible?

Another educator, responding to the MAE survey results, stated: They cant get rid of or fire EVERY educator in the state. If EVERYONE joins, locks arms, protests, and marches we can be heard. We can make a change. Everyone can. Another said: Dont expect to see a change if you dont make one. For any positive outcome, it requires the MAJORITY of educators to stand united and unwavering. We cant expect positive change while cowering in the corner. To which another responded, Just look at SOUTH CAROLINA.

The record of the state legislature is more than clear. Mississippis education budget has declined over the course of the entire past decade, with a recurring shortfall of $2.3 billion. This has produced a drastic shortage in certified teachers, especially in more rural areas. In a paper published in the 2017 Mississippi Economic Review, Understanding the Nature of the Teacher Shortage in Mississippi, the authors state that among the economic hindrances to recruiting teachers in rural areas are low salary and benefits, state and national requirements for highly qualified educators, entrance requirements into teacher education, geographic isolation, and poor or limited housing options.

Some counties have been forced to lay off teachers to avoid budget shortfalls in their school districts. These cuts to the states school system have exacerbated the states overall population decline since the last census.

Expressing the general frustration, one commenter on the Pay Raise Facebook page stated, This is why the Legislature continues to do as they wish, because educators will not unite. This lack of unity, however, has nothing to do with teacherswho are demanding action from coast to coastand everything to do with the policy of the unions.

The Mississippi union, like the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers nationally, are doing everything they can to block strikes and prevent the unity of educators and all sections of the working class seeking to defend public education. In the service of their unholy alliance with the big business politicians responsible for the de-funding of public education and their defense of the capitalist profit system, there is no line the unions will not cross.
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Over the past two months investigations published by Unicorn Riot and the Huffington Post have exposed eleven members of Identity Evropa, an American neo-Nazi organization, operating freely within the US military. The latest exposure reveals the extent to which reactionary forces are allowed to cultivate, fester and recruit within the United States armed forces across all branches and ranks.

US snipers pose in front of Nazi SS flag in 2012 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

In March 2019, independent media outlet Unicorn Riot published more than 770,000 Discord chat messages from chat servers associated with Identity Evropa. Discord is a messaging service popular with computer video game players. Combing through the chat logs, Huffington Post reporters have so far been able to identify 11 members from the white supremacist organization who are currently serving in the US military.

The chat logs reveal that all of the participants are well versed in fascist ideology and are actively recruiting throughout the United States. Members of the group frequently shared anti-Semitic memes and glorified Adolf Hitler. Photos posted in the chat logs and on Twitter show members postering on college campuses with racist slogans, proclaiming to potential recruits, Its OK to be white.

One fascist exposed in the logs is currently a master sergeant in the Air Force named Cory Allen Reeve. Reeve lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was outed by anti-fascist activists in a flyer that was distributed throughout the community. Reeve frequently posted in the chat, encouraging members to pay more than the $10 monthly membership dues. He also shared photographs of himself at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center & Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, where he posted signs thanking the Gestapo-like border police for all that you do for our country.

Two Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) college students were also exposed in the chat. Jay C. Harrison, 20, is currently enrolled at Montana State University at Bozeman and is a member of the Army National Guard. In the logs, he espoused anti-Semitic lies, discrediting the veracity of the Holocaust, and commenting, I wish the Holocaust was real. Another ROTC recruit, 23-year-old University of Rochester student and Army reservist Christopher Hodgman, was identified as a member of the group. In the fall of 2018, Hodgman was responsible for posting Identity Evropa flyers and stickers throughout Brighton, New York, including on the Brighton Memorial Library and Town Hall.

Identity Evropa was founded in 2016 by Nathan Damigo, a former Marine who participated in two tours in Iraq. The Marines are the least racially diverse branch of the military, with over 80 percent of its recruits identifying themselves as white.

During Damigos two tours in Iraq, he became radicalized and suffered from PTSD following the loss of three close friends. In October 2007, one month after completing his second tour, Damigo, severely inebriated after celebrating the anniversary of the death of one of his fellow soldiers, robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint of $43 for looking Iraqi. Damigo was discharged from the military and convicted of armed robbery. He was then sentenced to five years in prison, where he was introduced to white supremacist literature, including Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes My Awakening.

Upon his release from prison in 2014, Damigo began attending classes at California State University at Stanislaus. While in college, he affiliated with various white supremacist groups before forming his own organization, dubbed Identity Evropa, in 2016.

Borrowing the reactionary language and methods of identity politics promoted on campuses by post-modernist professors and the pseudo-left, Damigo was able to cultivate a following with a small membership. He also began to affiliate with prominent racists, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer.

This relationship bore its terrible fruits in the culmination of the fascist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which 32-year-old Heather Heyer was murdered by a 20-year-old Hitler admirer who rammed his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators.

Following the fascist rampage in Virginia, Damigo stepped down from his leadership position within the group, which has since passed on to current leader Patrick Casey. In a rebranding attempt following the disclosure of the chat logs, the group is calling itself the American Identity Movement.

The exposure of this latest group of fascists within the military exemplifies a wider trend.

In November 2018, Pro Publica, in conjunction with PBS, exposed another neo-Nazi network, with members who are either active in the military or who previously served. This militant fascist organization calls itself the Atomwaffen Division and has focused its recruitment on college campuses and online message boards. The group gained prominence in 2016 by distributing flyers urging students to Join Your Local Nazis!

The Atomwaffen Division has been implicated in five murders dating back to 2017. Its members have also been tied to plots to bomb synagogues and nuclear power plants.

This week saw the Marines open another investigationthe second this yearregarding Marines posting Nazi iconography and slogans. Private First Class Anthony D. Schroader posted a picture on Instagram of himself and at least four other soldiers forming a swastika with their combat boots. Earlier this year, Lance Corporal Mason Mead was put under investigation by the corps after he posted images of himself in blackface along with a swastika he had formed with C-4 plastic explosives.

It is unknown exactly how many of the 2.1 million soldiers currently in the US military and reserves have fascist sympathies or are active members of a far-right organization. However, a 2017 poll conducted by the Military Times found that nearly 25 percent of service members surveyed stated they had encountered white supremacists within their ranks. That same poll found that 30 percent of those surveyed viewed white nationalism as a bigger threat to the United States than the wars in Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq.

The abundance of fascists within the US military verifies what white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, alleged earlier this year in his now censored manifesto. Tarrant travelled throughout Europe and Asia, openly meeting with neo-Nazis. Tarrant estimates that there are hundreds of thousands who hold similar views as he throughout the police and armed forces.

The cultivation and promotion of far-right forces within American society by President Trump, who hailed the rampaging white supremacists in Charlottesville as good people, marks a conscious and violent shift of the ruling elite to the right. Similar to disaffected German soldiers following World War I, American veterans and active duty soldiers returning from war who are physically and psychologically broken are being cultivated from the top to serve fascistic interests in the name of preserving bourgeois class rule.

The multi-billion-dollar US spy apparatus is more than capable of identifying and rooting out public and private communications. The fact that so many of these fascists have been outed by independent reporters speaks to the complicity of the US government in shielding these forces from exposure.

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By ANI

NEW DELHI: A Special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of lawyer-cum-businessman Gautam Khaitan in connection with a money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar while granting regular bail to Ritu directed her to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs. 25 lakhs and two sureties of like amount and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

Enforcement Directorate through its counsel opposed the Ritu's bail plea. Advocate Naveen Kumar Matta was representing the agency and advocate Pramod Dubey was appearing for Ritu Khaitan.

Special Judge Kumar also issued fresh summons to two firms - Windsor and Ismax Fresh Service after Gautam Khaitan who refused to accept the summons for it.

Last month, the court granted the bail to Khaitan in the case. The court also directed him not to influence the witness or hamper the evidence.

The ED on March 25 filed a 1500-page charge sheet (prosecution complaint) against Khaitan. The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Kumar under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In the charge sheet, the ED alleged that Khaitan deposited a huge amount of money in offshore accounts. He has also been accused of holding bank accounts abroad and having Rs 6000 crore which he didn't disclose in his income tax return.

The document was filed in connection with a fresh case lodged against Khaitan on the complaint of the Income Tax (I-T) Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
It took less than 24 hours for the Macron governments fabricated story about yellow vest protesters attacking the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital on May Day in Paris to collapse like a house of cards. It has been exposed as yet another lie to cast the protests against social inequality as criminal riots and promote Macrons build-up of a French police state against the working class.

The events in question occurred slightly after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, on the Boulevard de lHopital in Paris 13th arrondissement. The street was filled with thousands of protesters, a portion of the more than 40,000 people demonstrating in the city that day, when riot police fired tear gas into the densely-packed crowd and triggered a wave of panic.

A reporter for the right-wing daily Le Figaro, Wladimir Garcin-Berson, who was present at the scene, tweeted that there was a wave of tear gas, the air became unbreathable. Videos posted subsequently on social media show that protesters who were fleeing the choking gas forced open the metal gate of the hospital compound. Several dozen people attempted to take refuge inside one of the hospital buildings, but were turned away by staff, and then arrested.

Within a few hours, the incident had been transformed, in the words of French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, into an attack on the hospital by rioters. In a press conference on Wednesday evening, in which he sought to conflate the mass protests with small groups of black bloc anarchists, Castaner declared that people have attacked a hospital. The nurses were forced to defend the urgent care area. Our police forces immediately intervened to save the urgent care area.

An hour later, Castaner tweeted, Here at Pitie-Salpetriere, a hospital has been attacked. The health care staff have been assaulted. And a police officer sent to protect them has been injured. The tweet was accompanied by wide-angle and close-up pictures of a resolute Castaner shaking hands with riot police and walking through the hospital ward with health staff.

Photos Tweeted by Interior Minister Castaner on Wednesday night (Credit Christopher Castaner)

Macrons Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn called the event unspeakable and undignified.

Maybe there were people who wanted to take refuge, and others who wanted to steal, she said, without providing any evidence for the latter claim. As if to emphasize the alleged blood lust of the protesters, news reports emerged that a police officer was being treated at the same time in the same hospital for an injuryimplying that he or she could have been the target of a coordinated revenge attack.

Media in France and internationally immediately repeated and amplified the Macron governments lies.

The French edition of The Local published a report headlined: Unspeakable: Why did dozens of protesters burst into a Paris hospital during May 1st demonstrations? The Murdoch-owned Sun in Britain reported DANGER TO LIFE: Fury as Yellow Vest protesters storm Paris hospital where Princess Diana died. Le Figaro declared that dozens of black blocs had broken into the hospital.

The medias role as a mouthpiece for state propaganda was best exemplified by the public news channel France Info. Its report, headlined Intrusion at Pitie-Salpetriere: Discussion was not possible, hospital director says, featured a banner photo of a hooded man attacking a gate with a metal pole.

Banner photo published by France Info

Within hours of the articles publication, the photographer who took the picture, Geoffrey VdH, tweeted that the photo was taken the same day in a completely different location, outside a Paris police headquarters.

France Info subsequently removed the picture and replaced it with an image of a man threateningly brandishing a hammer outside a hospitalat a different building from where the incident occurred.

The updated picture published by France Info

As documented by Liberations CheckNews segment, the picture had been cropped at the bottom to remove dozens of yellow vest protesters who were angrily confronting the individual with the hammer and telling him they would not allow such a provocation. The original picture had been published by Le Parisien the same day.

The original image published in Le Parisien

The Macron governments lies had well and truly collapsed by Thursday, with the publication of numerous videos of the incident on social media. A video shot by one of the hospital workers shows a group of protesters running away from a column of riot police down a thoroughfare of the hospital compound, climbing the stairway to a building entrance, and standing on the upper platform, visibly terrified of being attacked by the police.

The staff inform the group that it is an urgent care area and contains ill patients, and refuse to let them in. The hospital workers can be heard speaking with one another inside the building. Theyre scared, theyre just afraid, one says, to which another responds: Yes, they [the police] have chased them. Another states: They didnt know [that it was the urgent care unit], they were just looking for a way out. Hospital workers have also given interviews adamantly insisting that they were never threatened.

The entire incident on the video is over within a few minutes. Police arrive and arrest the protesters without any clashes. With the collapse of the governments story, all 32 were released yesterday, the majority of them reportedly young university students. Castaner has angrily denounced all those who accused him of lying, absurdly declaring he may have misspoken and not used the word attack. Multiple parties have called for his resignation.

The affair underscores an essential political reality. The Macron government, like its counterparts and bourgeois parties internationally, led by the Democratic Party in the United States, utilizes the banner of fighting fake news to censor the internet and social media and prevent workers from accessing alternative news sources which the government and corporations do not control. The real purveyors of fake news, however, are the government and its mouthpieces in the corporate media.

The Macron governments lies about a non-existent hospital attack serve a definite purpose: to slander all left-wing opposition to the government as criminal and morally reprehensible and justify the ongoing unleashing of police state violence against the working class.

In February, a murky verbal confrontation between a yellow vest and right-wing Jewish commentator and Zionist Alain Finkielkraut was similarly used to slander the entire yellow vest movement as anti-Semitic.

Police were filmed looting stores during violent clashes on the Champs-Elysees in March, to which Macron reacted by blaming all the looting on the yellow vests and banning protests on the avenue. The government then ordered soldiers of the Operation Sentinel anti-terrorism mission deployed against the yellow vests, with authorization to shoot.

The collapse of this brazenly fabricated story about an attack on the Pitie-Salpetriere discredits not only the corporate media that peddled this story, but all the unproven allegations the Macron government has used to justify intensifying repression against the yellow vests.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, sponsored annually by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UNESCO holds the event, it avows, to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

Those claims are hollow and duplicitous, as the facts demonstrate.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains locked up in a high-security prison in London and faces the threat of rendition to the US. Why? Because he and his organization took seriously the fundamental principles of press freedom and actively shed light on both the daily corruption and criminality of governments and corporations internationally and the murderous activities of the American military in particular. As one of Assanges lawyers has observed, Washington is seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information.

Meanwhile, another UN body, its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, registered its disapproval Friday of the disproportionate sentence of 50 weeks imprisonment meted out to Assange for violating bail, which it noted was a minor violation. In 2015, the Working Group, part of the UN Human Rights system, expressed its opinion that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK and that he was entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation. That opinion was ignored by the British government, as Fridays will be.

In any event, no one associated with UNESCO or World Press Freedom Day made mention of Assange during this weeks events. Indeed, remarkably, one of the keynote speakers at the main celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia hosted by the African Union was the British foreign secretary, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt.

The right honourable Mr. Hunt was one of the British government officials responsible for the brutal seizure and incarceration of Assange on April 11. Following the WikiLeaks publishers arrest, Hunt said in a statement, What weve shown today is that no one is above the law. Julian Assange is no hero. He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.

In his address in Addis Ababa, Hunt, according to a press release, set out his vision to improve media freedom. We might be forgiven for suggesting that the foreign secretary, in presiding over the vindictive persecution of the globes most prominent investigative journalist, had already set out his vision, not with prepared remarks but with the rude violence of the Metropolitan Police Service.

In the course of his speech, a tissue of outright falsehoods and empty platitudes, Hunt told his audience in Ethiopia that the progress of humanity clearly shows that wisdom arises from the open competition between ideas when different viewpoints are given the oxygen to contend freely and fairly. Hunt might have added, As long as those different viewpoints sustain the official one. Otherwise, the supply of oxygen will be cut off.

The presentations in Addis Ababa were dominated by the fears of all the participants, imperialist and African bourgeois politicians alike, of growing popular discontent and the perceived need to suppress oppositional voices.

This gave the speeches by Hunt and othersand the general approach at present of authorities all over the world to the question of press freedomtheir contorted and dishonest doublespeak character. What governments actually want is freedom from press freedom. The ruling elites themselves want to be able to operate freely, that is, without the interference of dissenting and disruptive voices.

These concerns lie behind the systematic effort to censor and neuter the internet, justified by pious references to the dangers of hate speech, xenophobia, online harassment, concocted statistics, misleading media reports, the alleged manipulation of elections and populist" rhetoric. Of course, misinformation, deceit and the fomenting of every form of backwardness and prejudice have been the bourgeois medias stock-in-trade everywhere since time immemorial, about which no one in a position of authority has ever thought to complain. It is precisely the breakdown of the hitherto effective mechanisms of misinformation and deceit that has the powers-that-be up in arms and fuels the ferocity of Assanges persecution.

Along these lines, UNESCOs Journalism, Fake News & Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (2018) argues that authoritative sources and credible journalism have been damaged by what it terms, in an imperishable phrase, the current information disorder.

The authors argue that social media are undermining democracy by creating echo chambers, polarisation and hyper-partisanship, by converting popularity into legitimacy, and by allowing manipulation by populist leaders, governments and fringe actors.

The Handbook points anxiously to the phenomenon of news publishers struggling to hold onto audiences as barriers to publication are removed, empowering any person or entity to produce content, bypass traditional gatekeepers, and compete for attention. And it furthermore warns that in the high-speed information free-for-all on social media platforms and the internet, everyone can be a publisher. As a result, citizens struggle to discern what is true and what is false. Cynicism and distrust rule. Extreme views, conspiracy theories and populism flourish and once-accepted truths and institutions are questioned.

The vehemence of their conservative, antidemocratic and pro-establishment views and the depth of their desire to protect once-accepted truths and institutions help explain why the very respectable, well-spoken organizers of World Press Freedom Day hope that Assange and everyone like him rot in jail until the end of time.

If UNESCO and the rest of this crowd were serious about disinformation and misinformation, in any case, they would present as Exhibit No. 1 the American medias mendacious and calamitous campaign over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the greatest fake news operation of modern times by far, which has led to the death of more than one million people and the devastation of an entire region.

Leon Trotsky once observed that Every historical epoch has not only its own technique and its own political form, but also a hypocrisy peculiar to itself.

How is it possible for Hunt, on the one hand, to announce that he and other officials are launching a global campaign to protect journalists doing their job and promote the benefits of a free media, and, on the other, to do his utmost to muzzle and, if possible, silence Assange forever?

In fact, this goes beyond mere hypocrisy. English economist and social scientist John A. Hobson, in his valuable Imperialism: A Study (1902), argued that such official compartmentalizing, this genius of inconsistency, of holding conflicting ideas or feelings in the mind simultaneously, was no case of hypocrisy, or of deliberate conscious simulation of false motives. He contended rather that this was the condition which Plato terms the lie in the soula lie which does not know itself to be a lie. This, Hobson maintained, was the ethics and sociology of the imperialist stage of development, with its elaborate weaving of intellectual and moral defences.

The controlling and directing agent of the whole process, he wrote, is the pressure of financial and industrial motives, operated for the direct, short-range, material interests of small, able, and well-organised groups in a nation.

Assange is a class-war prisoner, being held on behalf of the wealthy and powerful, that small, able, and well-organised group, because he exposed some of their crimes against the oppressed.

Jeremy Hunt was right about one thing in Addis Ababa. If problems and tensions are bottled up then they are far more likely to boil over, he cautioned. Stopping journalists from reporting a problem does not make it go away The truth is that when governments start closing newspapers and suppressing the media, they are more likely to be storing up trouble for the future than preserving harmony.

He simply has no idea.

All over the world, workers are engaged in a growing strike movement in defense of their jobs, wages and social rights. It is this social force, not the corrupt representatives of the capitalist oligarchy, that form the real social basis for the defense of democratic rights.

On Saturday, the International Committee of the Fourth International will hold its sixth annual online May Day celebration. A central focus of the event will be the organization of the working class in defense of Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. We urge all readers of the WSWS and all those seeking to defend freedom of expression to register and participate.
Portuguese fuel tanker drivers have threatened further action, less than two weeks after a three-day strike over low wages and poor working conditions brought the country to a virtual standstill. Half of the countrys petrol stations ran dry, factories halted production, public transport routes were suspended and flights cancelled.

On Monday, following a meeting with the National Association of Freight Carriers (ANTRAM), Pedro Pardal Henriques, the vice president of the Union of Dangerous Goods Drivers (SNMMP)formed just over a year agodeclared that a new strike is most likely. ANTRAM had been given a deadline of one week to concretely pronounce on two main issues ... official recognition of the category of driver of dangerous substances and that the basic salary of these people should be equal to twice the national minimum wage. Miniumum wage is 700 ($780) a month.

At the end of this week we will see what forms of fighting we will use, Henriques added.

ANTRAM President Pedro Polonio, retorted, ANTRAM does not work with threats of strike and that it would stick to the calendar of negotiations [that] had been established until the end this year.

The calendar was one of the Socialist Party (PS) governments civil requisition measures, which also allowed it to impose minimum service operations, call in scab trucking companies and mobilise military personnel and security forces to secure supplies.

PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa, seeking to justify the emergency power, declared, The great lesson we have to draw is that, in the face of social conflicts, any kind of political exploitation is absolutely intolerable.

I also give a strong thanks to the security forces who were absolutely extraordinary, both in ensuring peace and tranquillity in all of this conflict, in the performance of the missions entrusted to them, and also in the replacement of civilians.

The fuel tankers dispute is the latest manifestation in Portugal of the eruption of the class struggle internationally. This year has seen an intensification of the strike wave that erupted last year, protesting the PSs failure to reverse 12 years of austerity that saw wages and pensions cut, careers frozen and a huge increase in precarious working. The number of pre-strike warnings issued in 2018 totalled 733, up 120 on 2017 and 245 on 2016.

Virtually all areas of the public sector have been involved, including nurses, teachers, firefighters, postal workers, court officials, judges, prison guards, oil refinery workers and dockers.

Half of all strikes have taken place in private sector companies including the Efacec Group, the Navigator paper mill in Setubal, Beralt Tin and Wolfram mines and Cerealto Sintra Foods, Petrogal Ferreira da Silva, Volvos Auto-Sueco subsidiary, Cinca, Hanon, Schmitt + Sohn, Randstad, Bosch, Delphi, Visteon, Meo and Carl Zeiss.

On May 1, workers from Portugals largest supermarket chain Pingo Doce went on strike.

Many of the strikes have been called by newly created unions such as the SNMMP, formed in response to the betrayals of the PS aligned General Workers Union (UGT) federation and the PCP-led General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP). Since the beginning of 2017, 24 new unions have appeared, with only two joining the UGT and none the CGTP.

Last year dockworkers organised in the Stevedoring and Logistics Activity Union (SEAL) at Setubal went on strike for a month in protest at the large number of casual workers. They paralyzed the port and prevented export of cars from the huge Volkswagen Autoeuropa plant. The Portuguese Association of Nurses (ASPE) has organised a series of militant strikes over the last two years over poor pay and job recognition.

The UGT attacked the new aggressive and uncontrolled unions. On May 1, UGT Secretary General Carlos Silva warned, It is necessary that the emergence of these more aggressive and uncontrolled processes make employers aware of the need to value traditional unions, which seek negotiation and dialogue. Lets hope that these new developments do not overwhelm parliament to restrict the rights of workers.

He warned the government, If in the last years the economic climate was of growth and recovery of confidence, and there was no condescension on the part of the government, what can we expect in the future in the face of a tendency for the economy to cool down?

In its commentary on the continuing strike wave, Portugals leading financial paper O Jornal Economico noted the duplicitous role of the Left Bloc (BE) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), which support the Socialist government [but] now have to distance themselves from it in order to capitalise on all the discontent at the ballot box.

Following the 2015 general election, the BE and PCP channelled mass disaffectionexpressed in a record low 57 percent turnout and the ousting of the pro-austerity right-wing coalitionbehind the PS and its claims that it would reverse austerity. Four years later, few of the promises have come to fruition.

Last month, the Financial Times questioned the claims, parroted by sections of the pseudo-left, that the PS government has created an alternative progressive economic model. In Portugal: a European path out of austerity? former Italian trade minister Ivan Scalfarotto, told the FT , Public spending has stayed under control, unit labour costs have been reduced, hence they have been able to attract more foreign direct investment and increase their exports. He added, Costa, also, is a good communicator: he stressed the idea that sacrifice was over and has been effective at keeping his left-wing coalition together.

Antonio Barroso, a director at risk analysts Teneo Intelligence, said, While Costas political acumen cannot be denied, it should not be forgotten that his government has faced very favourable macroeconomic conditions over the past three years, referring to the tide of a global recovery, falling oil prices, a tourism boom and a sharp fall in the cost of servicing one of Europes heaviest debt burdens through the Central Banks government bond-buying scheme.

The FT quotes PS Finance Minister Mario Centeno, rewarded for his efforts in Portugal with the posts of president of the Eurogroup and chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, who himself admits that the degree to which the PS has overturned austerity is not dramatic.

Economic growth in late 2015 was very poor and decelerating, Centeno continued. A change had to be implemented, [but] not a big change, before attributing the cut in the deficit to a sharp fall in the interest Portugal pays on its debt.

Elsewhere, Lisbon journalist Ricardo Cabral Fernandes explained that the alliance of the PS with the PCP and BE, dubbed the geringonca (odd contraption) was basically an exclusively tactical turn of the Socialist Party.

What happened was that the, so to speak, the socialist/left wing of PS very quickly learnt the lessons of PASOK [the social democrats] in Greece. So it turned its compass. And Antonio Costa was that compass. Yes, he broke the governance arc, made a parliamentary alliance with the Bloco and the PCP, but for all else, in policy terms, it keeps the same politics, Fernandes concluded.

Portugals economy has slowed down more than expected in 2019. The deficit has reached 1.4 billion, three times Centenos estimate of 409 million. The country has the third highest government debt in the European Union, hitting 245 billion or 121.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Public investment is the lowest of all advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Portugals monthly median wage is less than 900 per month, compared to more than 2,000 for the whole EU. Some 40 percent of workers are paid no more than 25 percent above the 700 minimum wage. A recent European Commission study revealed that Portugal and Ireland had the largest gaps between wage growth and productivity growth over recent years.

The proliferation of new unions expresses the initial recognition by workers that, under conditions of the globalisation of capitalist production, organisations created in a different era that are wedded to a pro-capitalist nationalist perspective are incapable of defending their basic interests. They have been transformed into direct agencies of the corporate-financial elite and the state, with both the PCP and CGTP calling for a patriotic left aimed at the sovereign development of our country, directly articulating the interests of the Portuguese ruling elite.

But the experience of the militant Matomoros strike in Mexico demonstrates the bankruptcy of union forms of organisations and the danger of accepting the political bona fides of organisations claiming to be independent without examining their programme and origins.

It is necessary for workers to build new, genuinely popular and democratic rank-and-file organisations of struggle. But these must be an essential component of a conscious turn to the building of an international socialist movement of the working class to fight for workers power and the reorganisation of economic life along democratic and egalitarian lines.
Vermont Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for remarks on China and trade. In language that would not be out of place coming from President Donald Trump, Sanders accused Biden of downplaying the economic threat represented by China and criticized him for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the normalization of trade relations with Beijing.

Biden, considered the early frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, said at a campaign event Wednesday in Iowa, China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. He added, Theyre not bad folks. But guess what, theyre not competition for us.

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates later stated that Biden had meant its never a good bet to bet against America and the fundamental strength, resilience, and ingenuity of its people.

In a response the same day, Sanders criticized Biden from the right, saying in a tweet, Since the China trade deal (in 2000) I voted against, America has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs. Its wrong to pretend that China isnt one of our major economic competitors. When we are in the White House we will win that competition by fixing our trade policies.

Sanders crude economic nationalism is not new. He has long linked his populist rhetoric to policies of trade war and anti-immigrant chauvinism. He fully supports the efforts of the trade union bureaucracy to pit US workers against their class brothers and sisters around the world and infect American workers with nationalismthe better to subordinate them to their corporate exploiters within the US.

Just four weeks ago, Sanders denounced open borders at a campaign event in Iowa, warning that decriminalizing undocumented immigrants would lead to impoverished people around the world flooding into the US.

Trump also criticized Biden for his comments on China. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, he hailed the tariffs that his administration has imposed on Chinese goods, while saying of Biden, But for somebody to be so naive and say China is not a problem, if Biden actually said that, thats a very dumb statement.

Like Trump, Sanders has hailed his anti-free trade record. This week he boasted of his votes against NAFTA and normalization of trade with China. On Monday, he released his trade platform, calling for renegotiation of all US trade agreements and demanding that China be labeled a currency manipulator, something Trump has threatened but pulled back from carrying out up to now. Officially naming a country a currency manipulator is tantamount to full-scale trade war. Such a declaration triggers a whole series of punitive trade measures against the targeted country.

Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has sought to outflank Trump from the right on trade issues. At an April 13 rally, he denounced Trump for being insufficiently aggressive in his trade war drive against China and other countries. For once in your life, he said, keep your campaign promisesgo back to the drawing board.

On Monday, after releasing his trade plan, he said: We need a president who will actually fight for American workers, keep their promises, and stand up to the giant corporations who close down plants to send jobs overseas.

By equating the defense of American jobs with economic attacks on countries such as China and blaming plant closures, layoffs and wage-cutting on trade policies rather than capitalism, Sanders aids the effort of the ruling class to create a war fever and prepare the way for military conflict with nuclear-armed powers such as China.

While he has tried to tap into anti-war sentiment by saying, I voted against the war in Iraq. [Biden] voted for it, Sanders has no qualms about using the military in pursuit of US imperialisms interests. During the 2016 campaign, he stated that he would use drones, all that and more.

Notwithstanding his rhetorical criticisms of big business, Sanders goal is to prevent the independent movement of the working class by diverting its struggles behind the Democratic Party. In this, he is aided by pseudo-left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The DSA functions as a faction of the Democratic Party, attempting to provide a phony left veneer to this party of Wall Street and the CIA. That is why it is dedicating its efforts to promoting the campaign of Sanders in the 2020 elections.
The Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) began bargaining this week with the San Diego Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) for a new three-year contract. The current contract is set to expire June 30.

SUHSD is the largest secondary school district in California. It is comprised of more than 1,500 teachers, 42,000 students, and 32,000 adult learners in southwestern San Diego County, near the US-Mexico border.

The initial bargaining began on May 2. The SEA is continuing discussions despite recent revelations that the district has yet again reported incorrect information about its finances and substantially underreported its debt, amidst allegations of fraud and mismanagement of funds.

According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) sent a letter to the Sweetwater district April 26 stating that the district will end the current fiscal year with $20 million to $23 million in interfund borrowing debt, an amount far above the $8 million reported last month by SUHSD.

Interfund debt refers to loan balances when money collected for one use, such as for facilities, is temporarily used for another use, such as operations. The letter from the SDCOE claims that Sweetwater is in violation of the states Education Code, which requires that it pay off all its interfund debt by the end of the fiscal year.

The updated totals are the result of an investigation initiated in December 2018 and a review of Sweetwater finances by an outside auditing firm appointed by the SDCOE.

The SDCOE outlined in the letter that Sweetwater under-reported its projected ending cash balance as $3.2 million. It will be closer to $609,000. Sweetwater also under-reported its payroll expenditures by $5.2 million, the result of poor and untimely accounting, according to the letter.

A spokesman for SUHSD, Manny Rubio, said the district disagrees with the updated estimate of $20 million to $23 million of debt. It has blamed financial incongruities on the districts supposedly outdated financial data system, TrueCourse.

SEA President Gene Chavaria expressed the unions loyalty to the district in a letter sent out to all members in April. He stated, I am pleased to report that the $42 million-dollar shortfall that we began the 2018-2019 school year has been reduced to $8 million dollars as a result of our collective efforts.

Chavaria and the SEA have used the threat of a state takeover to justify its collaboration with the district in imposing concessions on teachers. In the same letter released in April, he writes, Collaboration with the district and its bargaining units has prevented the State from directing the San Diego County Office of Education from taking over our district and has allowed us to maintain control over the decision making. This was one of our goals and we have been able to achieve it.

This collaboration between the SEA and SUHSD resulted in the immediate layoffs and cuts for the current academic year, which will continue.

Thursdays initial bargaining surrounded Article 6 of the SEA contract: calendars and work year. This portion of the contract includes the number of duty days for 7-12 grade school unit members.

The school year is comprised of 184 days total: 180 instructional days and 4 non-instructional days, previously allocated for professional development. The union and district are discussing a pay cut or the furloughs of between 1 and 4 non-instructional days.

Cuts to Special Education (SPED) and Article 7, class sizes, are of primary concern among educators. Educators are concerned that the district may force SPED students into standard classrooms, resulting in the layoff of SPED teachers, worse teaching environments for teachers and students, and the placement of moderate/severe special needs students with teachers who are already overwhelmed with their current workload.

An email sent to teachers by the SEA Friday morning had no information on the future of approximately 90 pink-slipped assistant principals, cuts to SPED programs, or the expansion of class sizes. It stated that the district proposed that SEA members take two furlough days, which will result in a savings of $4.5 million (half of the proposed shortfall for the 2019-2020 year).

The District Chief Financial Officer estimates that the 2019-2020 deficit is approximately $22.5 million, with a $10 million shortfall that the state requires to be paid off. The next bargaining session is set to occur on May 15.

Last October the district announced a $68 million shortfall. Investigations have pointed to millions of dollars missing under the former Director of Finance Doug Martens and Chief Financial Officer Karen Michel. Martens and Michel both retired from the district last summer.

Millions in cuts have already been pushed through by the SUHSD and the SEA, which accepts the fraud and/or mismanagement and has assisted in establishing the framework for carrying through the millions in cuts.

Layoffs and closures at the adult schools within the district have already taken place, as well as an end to credit recovery for students and cuts to after-school programs such as tutoring. Additionally, career technical education and extra support teachers, known as curriculum intervention specialists, have been terminated.

The SEA and the school board worked together to develop and pass a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) for older teachers just before the winter break. Arguing that the SERP would significantly offset the deficit, the SUHSD and SEA created the plan for teachers to retire early, and in the middle of the current school year.

Approximately 300 opted for the SERP, with 94 retiring in December, the remainder to depart June 2019. Also included in the SERP agreement were two unpaid furlough days for all teachers. The early retirement and furlough deal were sold to teachers by the SEA as a means of protecting everyones jobs.

While the SERP agreement contained wording that protects new teachers from getting pink slips for the 2019-2020 academic year, a clause in the contract states that this can be overruled in the case of a Reduction in Force (RIF) or renegotiation with the SEA, which is currently underway.

Sweetwater teachers should build rank-and-file committees independent of both the unions and the politicians to fight any budget cuts or layoffs and conduct an independent public inquiry into the fraud allegations with full transparency. As one educator pointedly remarked at a March SEA meeting, This board will likely be brought up on fraud chargeswhy should we bargain with them, why should we accept their numbers when theyre the ones who got us into this mess?

Sweetwater teachers should link up with their counterparts in the Carolinas, who engaged in mass protests this week, and study together the lessons of the Arizona, West Virginia, Colorado, Oakland and Los Angeles teachers strikes. These struggles resulted in austerity contracts, sold to the membership by the unions and district administrators tied to the budget-cutting Democratic and Republican politicians.

Just within the past few months, Oakland and Los Angeles austerity contracts were hailed by the unions as historic victories, though nearly one third of the public schools in Oakland are slated for closure, with $22 million in cuts agreed to by the Oakland Education Association.
The sacking of Gavin Williamson as defence secretary has only intensified the disintegration of Theresa Mays Conservative government, already mired in crisis over the UKs scheduled exit from the European Union.

Williamson was sacked after Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill announced an inquiry into who leaked to the Daily Telegraph the deliberations of the April 23 National Security Council (NSC) meeting at which it was decided to approve Chinese telecom giant Huaweis participation in the UKs next generation 5G data network.

The policy, which is yet to be formally announced, is strongly at odds with the demands of the United States and was only passed with the casting vote of May. This was the first occasion that the deliberations of an NSC meeting had been leaked. Williamson is the first minister to be sacked over a leak in 70 years.

NSC members are bound by the Official Secrets Act, which covers cabinet ministers and senior officials involved in foreign and defence policy, as well as representatives from the intelligence agencies and the armed forces.

Among the ministers known to oppose the deal with Huawei were Williamson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

On Wednesday afternoon, Williamson was sacked, with May informing him there was compelling evidence that he leaked details of the NSCs discussions. May confronted Williamson with the fact that an eleven-minute phone call between him and the journalist at the Daily Telegraph, Deputy Political Editor Steven Swinford, had been uncovered. Williamson has stated that he had briefed the Telegraph on the anticipated Tory leadership contest, Brexit and other minor issues. He refused to resign, saying May would have to sack him.

The Labour Party, having already called for an official investigation into the leak, followed up with a call by its Blairite deputy leader, Tom Watson, for a police investigation. Watson said of Williamson, The prime minister doesnt believe him... Now, if he didnt do it, that means that somebody else did it, which is why I think a criminal inquiry will get to the facts of this case. Thats why I think the logical extension of what the prime minister has alleged in her letter isa criminal act has taken place and the police need to examine the facts.

Mays attempt to stem an escalating crisis is in tatters, with Williamson fired the day before local elections in which the Tories suffered a massive collapse, losing over 1,300 council seats and over 40 councils.

Rejecting calls for a police investigation, Cabinet Secretary David Lidington said Thursday that May considered the matter closed and the cabinet secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police. This was after former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said there was certainly an argument for the matter being referred to the police.

Williamson, a leading representative of the partys hard-Brexit wing, is wreaking havoc. Replying to Mays letter, he wrote that a thorough and formal inquiry would clear his name. He added, I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case. Speaking to Sky News Thursday, he said he had been utterly screwed and was massively comfortable with the prospect of a police investigation into the Huawei leak.

He was backed by Tory MPs, including former minister Sir Desmond Swayne, who said, Natural justice requires that the evidence is produced so that his reputation can be salvaged or utterly destroyed. Hard-Brexit figurehead Peter Bone declared, This seems to have been a kangaroo court reaching a decision in secret which we have no evidence to base any decision on.

As a former chief Tory whip, the chair of Mays successful 2015 party leadership campaign and defence secretary, Williamson is described as someone who knows where the bodies are buried. Speaking on the BCCs Newsnight, political editor Nicholas Watt said, Make no mistake, Gavin Williamson is on the warpath... I spoke to a friend tonight who said he is thinking of delivering a speech on the level of Geoffrey Howes [1990] resignation speech, which famously precipitated the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.

Whether Williamson leaked the information or not, and whatever role he may play in Mays downfall, this row is only a symptom of the intractable crisis rending the British bourgeoisie.

Williamson held the Defence portfolio for less than 18 months, having replaced Sir Michael Fallon following his resignation. But he has staked out a claim to be the most bellicose advocate of the closest possible alliance with US imperialism, post Brexit, as it confronts Russia and China.

Just weeks after taking office, he provocatively declared that Russia was planning to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of Britons by seeking to control vital infrastructure.

As the crisis escalated over the March 2018 poisoning in Salisbury of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Williamson responded to Moscows demand for information linking them to what May said was an attempted assassination by declaring that Russia should go away and shut up.

In a speech this February, he insisted that the UK should be prepared to confront Russia and China on all fronts. He denounced Russia for rebuilding its military arsenal, and warned that China is developing its modern military capability and its commercial power.

Williamsons attacks on Russia, and more particularly on China, became increasingly unhingedplacing him in direct conflict with those sections of the ruling elite who view the development of commercial links with Beijing, including Chinas financing of imperative infrastructure projects in the UK, as critical.

In February, Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced to cancel a trade visit to China and attempt to repair the damage after Williamson threatened to send the UKs new aircraft carrier into the South China Sea to monitor Chinese naval activity.

Among those lined up against Williamsons intervention was former Chancellor George Osborne, who, under Mays predecessor David Cameron, forged close economic ties with China. Osborne warned, Youve got the defence secretary engaging in gunboat diplomacy of a quite old-fashioned kind, at the same time as the chancellor of the exchequer and the foreign secretary are going around saying they want a close economic partnership with China.

Tensions around the post-Brexit strategy of the ruling elite will remain centre stage with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Britain next Wednesday. Pompeo will meet May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, with the Daily Mail reporting that he will deliver a speech on the state of the UK-US special relationship. According to the Daily Telegraph, Pompeo will reiterate US threats that allowing Huawei access to networks could endanger US-UK relations. It cited a State Department source who said, What we want to do with friends, allies, partners on this issue is share with them the things we know about the risks that the presence of Huawei and their networks present.

The crisis over Huawei confirms that Mays dysfunctional government can only stagger on in office because it is being propped up by Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

Labour is continuing talks with the Tories in an attempt to reach an agreement that would see her EU withdrawal deal passed in Parliament, at the fourth attempt. How conscious this anti-working class agenda is was aired on the BBC Thursday, with Barry Gardiner, shadow trade minister, telling Tory Brexit Minister James Cleverly that Labour was in there [the talks] trying to bail you guys out.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

Rajasthans Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot is confident that the Congress will be judged positively on the basis of its performance in the state in the last six months and do far better in the Lok Sabha elections than in the Assembly polls. He also feels that Prime Minister Narendra Modis nationalism narrative will have no impact before the economic hardships people face. Excerpts from his interview with Rajesh Asnani:

There has been record voting in the first phase in Rajasthan and the BJP believes its to their advantage.

Thats a misconception. Three months ago, the Congress was voted in and our governments performance since then will be judged. I am quite confident that we will win a majority of the seats which voted in the first phase.

Do you think the Congress will fare better in the parliamentary elections than in the Assembly polls and what is the basis for it?

Sachin Pilot Deputy Chief Minister

of Rajasthan /EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

Traditionally, whichever party gets to form the government in the state does well in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2008, the Congress had formed the government in Rajasthan and swept the general elections in 2009. In 2014, the BJP won all the seats as they were in government in the state. Now we are in government and people have seen our work and read our manifesto. I am confident that not just in Rajasthan, in all the three states where we won the Vidhan Sabha elections, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we will do very well.

Modi and the BJP have created a narrative of nationalism. Do you feel it will make a difference?

This is an election to secure the future of young people who need jobs. This is an election for bread and butter throughout India. The agrarian crisis and the slowdown of the economy are major issues. The BJP can sidestep these important issues and go on appealing on emotional issues, but I do not think young people will fall into that trap.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has said the Congress can do no Nyay after anyaya over 60 years

Nyay (minimum wage guarantee scheme) will be a gamechanger for the rural economy. Anyaya has done been on Dalits, farmers and poor people who have suffered because of demonetisation and mob lynchings instigated by the BJP. Nyay will give the poorest families in India financial help of `72,000 annually and it will boost our economy.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

You had a say in chief ministers son Vaibhav Gehlot getting Congress ticket from Jodhpur. How do you see his prospects?

The entire party has been working hard to win all the seats. As party president, I and our Chief Minister, Ashok Ghelot ji campaigned hard for Vaibhav and we are confident t we will do well in Jodhpur and all the other seats too.

There is a feeling that there was wrong distribution of tickets by the Congress on some seats, which may not help its cause.

The BJP had to drop some of their sitting MPs despite winning all 25 seats since last time. They dropped a Central minister and four other MPs. It is they who feel threatened by our candidates. Gehlot ji and I sat together and made sure that good, winnable candidates get tickets on all seats.

Within the Congress, some people also say that if prominent leaders who are ministers in state government had been given tickets, it would have been better. What are the reasons they were not chosen?

Its the party that decides who contests and there was a consensus on all the seats. We have given tickets to who we thought were winnable candidates. Chief Minister, I and all the party leaders had unanimity when we gave ticket to the candidates on all 25 seats.

Some betting markets and media reports say the Congress will not win more than 8-10 seats. Do you feel this assessment is correct?

Its all BJPs propaganda and the betting markets are no indicators. The mood of the people is with us. We will be judged by our six-month performance and we will win the bulk of the seats in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress had promised to waive off farmers loans in just 10 days but it did not happen. Now the farmers are angry. Why do you think that is so?

e have done it. We waived off farmer loans worth Rs 18,000 crore of the Cooperative Banks. Before we could address loans from commercial banks, the Model Code of Conduct was imposed and we had to negotiate with the controller of the Finance Ministry. We are now in the process of negotiating with the commercial banks, too. As soon as MCC period is off, we will waive off rest of the farmers loans as well.

Rahul Gandhi has high expectations from Rajasthan and CM Gehlot had made a statement saying it was his, PCC chief thats you and party general secretary Avinash Pandeys responsibility to make sure the Congress wins big. How do you react to this?

That is true. Rahul Gandhiji expects all three state governments to deliver. Whether it is Kamal Nathji or Bhupesh Bhagel or Ashok Gehlot  they are all heads of government, but we are all working together to deliver the best possible results.

Why has Priyanka Gandhi not campaigned in Rajasthan? Political analysts believe if she had come, the Congress prospects would have improved.

We wanted her to campaign but she had to campaign in UP, Assam and other places. Timing was a big problem. So she couldnt make it to Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi, though, has made several trips to the state.

A slogan was coined in the Assembly elections, Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhara teri khair nahi. Because of this, many believe that people now would want to vote for Modi.

Vasundhara and Modi are two sides of the same coin. You cant detach the responsibilities that previous State Government did not discharge and think of the Government of India as separate. The BJP governments at the Centre and the state both are under scrutiny. They have been rejected in Rajasthan. I want to ask, how much infrastructure have they created that they seek votes? Modiji comes once in five years to seek votes. The BJP creates propaganda of development but the people of Rajasthan have felt let down by the Government of India.

Your final assessment about Congress: how many seats can the party win this time, given the fact that in 2014 it was wiped off completely with a 25-0 loss?

It will be a complete reversal and we are working towards Mission 25. We are hoping to achieve our mission.

If a Congress or opposition alliance government is formed at the Centre, what will be your preference between Rajasthan and Delhi?

I have been party president for the last five-and-a-half years. I have also been made Deputy CM. I am very content and honoured to be able to discharge my responsibilities. I am going to be in Jaipur and happy with the job that am doing.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: There is no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army chief of the island nation, officials of central security agencies said here Saturday.

One of the officials said immigration records were re-visited after the terrorist attacks and none of the bombers had visited Kashmir.

About a dozen Sri Lankan nationals had come to Kashmir Valley this year and their credentials have been re-checked after the April 21 bombings in three churches and three luxury hotels killed 253 people and injured over 500 others, he said.

However, there could be a possibility of the bombers visiting the state using pseudonym, the official said, adding if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence, it can be verified from the ground.

READ HERE | Sri Lankan police directs public to hand over swords, sharp weapons, police and military uniforms

Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers, who carried out the country's worst terror attack, visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, said, "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state.Those are the information available with us."

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out the series of blasts.

ALSO READ | Islamic State sympathisers in Kerala under lens after calls to Sri Lanka: NIA
By Online Desk

BASTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi at BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said. By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

PM Modi also accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a 'big game' against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP. The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh. He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about 'respect' towards her.

"It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now `Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

READ HERE | EC gives PM Modi 6th clean chit for Patan speech invoking IAF pilot Abhinandan

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
Gwen Adams sees a lot of the worlds darkness  and hears a lot of its darkest stories  and there is one story, if you ask, that she will always tell you.

The founder and executive director of Priceless Alaska, Adams has spent years combatting human trafficking: helping survivors heal, helping them adjust to lives of freedom and helping them bring their traffickers to justice.

But the success of her work, by its nature, is shadowed by tragedy.

Adams remembers one girl she was helping prepare for trial. She was sold into a life of tracking by her husband who beat her up, Adams says. At one point she became pregnant, but she was not free: Her trafficker kicked and kicked her until she delivered the months-old fetus, a boy, on the bathroom floor. His body was concealed in a landfill not far from Adams home.

The girl eventually got free but found she did not have the strength to face her abuser in court.

She told me, I wish I would have, but would you mind telling my story?  Adams recalls.

The girl worked with Priceless Alaska, Adams group, which provides a mentor team for each trafficking survivor. Together with her mentors, the girl was able to name her son: Bryan.

RELATED: Set on Fire by a Co-Worker, Army Nurse and Mom-of-3 Has a New Cause  Making the Military Pay

She said, I just dont want my little boy to never have been known,  Adams says.  In order for his life and her life to have purpose, she just wants me to tell her story.

For her work and the work of her staff, Priceless Alaska was among the dozens of local groups around the country who were awarded the FBIs annual Directors Community Leadership Award.

The ceremony, held Friday at the bureaus headquarters in Washington, D.C., honored a range of groups.

Among them were Adams Priceless Alaska, fighting sex trafficking; Dolly Partons Dollywood Foundation, for its support of survivors of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, wildfires in 2016; Sandy Hook Promise, started by the relatives of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting; and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Program, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, helping native women out of abusive environments.

Story continues

Other honorees included Boston activist Deeqo Jibril, whose mission is to integrate the Somali community into American life while maintaining its culture, faith, and values, according to the FBI; Dallas Pastor Harry Lee Sewell, who is significantly involved in local community development and works with a mens shelter; and Soha Saiyed, of Louisville, Kentucky, who focuses on anti-human trafficking and civil rights efforts.

Your mission is a commitment to serving your communities. Youre showing people kindness when they need it most. Youre defending those who need a voice, FBI Director Christopher Wray told attendees at the Friday ceremony. Youre making sure no one gets left behind. Youre helping keep your neighborhoods safe. And youre putting in the work.

We need the support, understanding, and trust of the public, Wray said. And you are our bridges to them. Youre out in our neighborhoods. You see whats happening in our communities every day. And youre taking action to make things better.

For Lola M. Ahidley, director of the Mescalero Apache Tribes domestic violence program, the FBI recognition was just the boost her small group needed.

There are times that were so tired at the end of the day, and we have done so much, and were just exited to know that someone was actually watching what we were doing, she tells PEOPLE.

Ahidleys program in New Mexico is based in a small, native community, where it focuses on outreach, awareness and providing support to abuse survivors. Ahidley says she hears from grateful women whom she and her colleagues have helped: We have survivors texting me  my number is an on-call number, so they will text me and tell me, Thank you so much for your help. My son and I have been able to rest after being in a shelter. 

RELATED: The Amazing Way Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martins Mom, Is Supporting Her Fellow Grieving Mothers

But there is always more to do.

Were slowly expanding, and Im looking forward to getting a crew together so we can look at all the areas we need to work with: the elderly, the kids, [the] LGBTQ [community]. Theres just so much that falls under our umbrella, she says.

One focus will be providing counselors, on call and on site. As the programs profile has increased, Ahidley says, survivors have referred other people to them. Word of their work is spreading.

Our No. 1 goal [is] to make sure that our women are safe and not to judge, she says.

The domestic violence they face is a problem with all communities, not just here.

Adams, of Priceless Alaska, says her team of mentors helps trafficking survivors think about the future: what their freedom can look like going forward, with a support system to walk beside them and navigate life.

We pay a lot of attention to dreams and plan for the future, she says.

Seeing that future realized is its own reward.

Living in my world is so dark and so hard, she says, and so we cling to those stories when we hear them and theyre so beautiful.
Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark in Endgame

Robert Downey Jr deserves an Academy Award for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thats according to Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, who has heaped praise on the actor for both his work as Iron Man and for his impact on the cinematic landscape.

His cumulative body of work from these movies is staggering, Russo recently told The Washington Post. If you look at the work over just even the last four [Marvel] films hes done, its phenomenal. . . . He deserves an Oscar perhaps more than anyone in the last 40 years because of the way that he has motivated popular culture.

Read More: Philippines TV airs bootleg version of Avengers: Endgame

Despite the huge popularly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has still been mostly ignored by the Academy Awards.

Black Panthers Best Picture nomination last year did change that, though, and Fandangos Erik Davis recently revealed that there was a big screening of Avengers: Endgame for Academy members this week, which suggests that Marvel believe it could follow in Black Panthers footsteps.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in Endgame

There has also already been early chatter about Robert Downey Jrs performance as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, with viewers eager to see the actor rewarded for his portrayal in the blockbuster with acting gongs come awards season.

However, Joe Russos comments could actually be interpreted to mean that Downey doesnt just deserve either a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film, but is actually more deserving of an Honorary Academy Award.

Read More: The Avengers: Endgame spoiler ban is being lifted after this weekend, say the Russo Brothers

Theres no denying the fact that Robert Downey Jrs casting for 2008s Iron Man laid the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has gone on to consist of 22 films that have grossed over $20 billion combined.

Of course, Downey Jr has been handsomely remunerated for his work in the MCU. In fact, it has been alleged that the actor has actually has been paid around 265 million ($350 million) in total for playing the character in 10 different movies.

So even if he doesnt land that Oscar, hes still done pretty well from it all.
Barclays Bank in London. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire

Barclays (BARC.L) made a 2.6bn (2.2bn) capital injection into its Irish bank over the past year, as it sought to prepare the newly expanded unit for its post-Brexit role.

New accounts filed with Irish authorities also show that Barclays Bank Ireland, which is now the banking groups main European Union base, received around 1bn in equity contributions in the 10 weeks between 1 January and 13 March of this year.

The Irish unit has also taken steps to strengthen its balance sheet. In 2018, it sold 200m in subordinated debt to its parent bank, and it again received some 500m in further subordinated debt investment in the first 10 weeks of 2019.

In terms of actual assets, the bank had indicated that the Irish unit would absorb around 224bn (260bn) of its total 1.17tn in assets by 30 March, making it the largest bank in Ireland.

Barclays also said it would move around 6,800 clients, mainly from the European Economic Area, to the Dublin unit.

This decision was based on the assumption that its London divisions would lose their passporting rights after Brexit. The passporting mechanism currently allows them to do business in other EU countries.

Barclays moved into its new Dublin offices close to Irelands houses of parliament in November 2018, and said it would expand its Irish workforce by around 200 people.

In February, the chairman of its UK bank, Sir Gerry Grimstone, said that Barclays had spent between 100m and 200m ($257m) preparing for Brexit.

Grimstone said that being regulated by the Irish Central Bank  and, because of the banks size, the European Central Bank  was a new adventure for Barclays.

Were impressed with the nature and scale of regulation, he said.

Grimstone also criticised the effects of Brexit on London, saying that the UK had gone from being one of the most predictable environments in which to operate to one of the least predictable.
The Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen (PA)

Christians are experiencing persecution so severe in some parts of the world that it amounts to genocide, according to a new report commissioned by the Foreign Office.

It states that Christians in the Middle East have been forced out of their homes en masse over the last 20 years, with many being killed, kidnapped and discriminated against.

Christians in south east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa had also been victims of discrimination, the report by the Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen, found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (PA)

The report says: The rise of hate speech against Christians in state media and by religious leaders, especially in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, has compromised the safety of Christians and created social intolerance.

It states that the inconvenient truth is that the overwhelming majority (80%) of persecuted religious believers are Christians.

It adds: The level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.

Read more:

Russian 'spy whale' is making itself at home in Norway, posing for photos and playing 'fetch'

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - himself a Christian - described this oppression as the "forgotten persecution", and said that political correctness was to blame for a widespread failure to confront it.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on his week-long visit to Africa, he said: "I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

"I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.

"I think it is partly because of political correctness we have avoided confronting this issue. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers."

Dr Mounstephen said he had been "truly shocked by the severity, scale and scope of the problem.

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"It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?"

A final report based on this review will be published in the summer.

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Minhaz Merchant By

With Americas sanction waivers on Iranian crude oil ending on May 2, the battlelines in the Middle East are sharply drawn. On one side is Sunni Saudi Arabia along with its allies the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. On the other is Shia Iran, boxed into a corner by US oil sanctions that could cripple its economy.

But while the Sunni Arab powers have a powerful ally in Washington, Iran isnt friendless. It is backed by Russia and Turkey as well as Iraq and Syria, both with large Shia majorities. In this cauldron, a new entrant has quietly established its presence: China. Most notable is the Saudi-China axis based on a marriage of geopolitical and economic interests.

As The Economist reported recently: For decades the Middle Kingdom saw the Middle-East as a petrol station. About half of Chinas oil came from Arab states and Iran. Little went in the other direction. In 2008 the region got less than one per cent of Chinas net outbound foreign direct investment (FDI). Skip ahead a decade and Chinese money is everywhere: ports in Oman, factories in Algeria, skyscrapers in Egypts new capital. Last year it pledged $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states and signed another $28 billion in investment and construction deals.

Trade between China and the Arab world is lopsided. In 2017, Tunisia imported $1.9 billion worth of goods from China, nine per cent of its total imports. It exported just $30 million to China. The trinkets hawked to tourists in souqs are usually made in Chinese factories, not Arab workshops. In the occupied West Bank even the makers of keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian identity, cannot keep up with their Chinese competitors. A few Arab states hope that Chinas growing taste for olive oil will lower their trade deficits a bit. But China will not put millions of unemployed Arabs to work.

The business model the Chinese are following in the Arab worldfrom north African nations like Tunisia and Algeria to the sheikhdoms of the Middle Eastis eerily similar to its investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia. The common feature is high-cost, unsustainable debt and ghost infrastructure with empty buildings and deserted airports.

The Saudis dont seem to mind. They see the US as an unreliable long-term ally. US Congressmen are still deeply upset with Riyadh for complicity in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and former Saudi insider who had turned a bitter critic of the Saudi royals. The personal rapport between US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has kept the US on Riyadhs side. But for how long? The next US president, in 2020 or 2024, is unlikely to be as strong an ally of Saudi Arabia as Trump.

Enter China. The Saudis see China as a counter to an inevitable estrangement with Washington once Trump demits office. For now Trump and Kushner need Saudi Arabia in their bid to isolate Iran, Saudis sworn enemy. With the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Iraq, Russia will play an increasingly pivotal role in the Middle East. Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US are the worlds three largest crude oil producers with a combined output of over 30 million barrels a day.

A complication in the region is Qatar with whom a Saudi-led group broke all ties in 2016. Qatar is not only the worlds largest natural gas producer but closely involved in the fraught negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Afghan government. Qatar has, to Saudi anger, grown closer to Iran and Turkey. It also hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.

As the geopolitics of the region plays out, Russia will increasingly assume a dominant military role while China focuses on enlarging its economic footprint across the Middle East. As The Economist reported: Arab officials who once ignored China talk of it as a rising regional powera softer sort than America or Russia. An influx of Chinese tourists has led to hotels in Cairo teaching staff to speak Mandarin and cook Chinese dishes.

Diplomats from Beijing often have a command of Arabic that puts their Western counterparts to shame. When Lebanons PM formed a government in February after nine months of deadlock, his first visit came from the Chinese ambassador. But China seems to have little interest in sorting out the civil war just over the border in Syria. Mercantilism is its priority, not fixing the regions many problems.

Indias own role in the region is growing. Millions of Indians have long lived in the Gulfover three-and-a-half-million in the UAE alone. Indian entrepreneurs have a strong presence across the Middle East and Africa. The Indian diaspora has centuries-old links with the region, unlike China which has only arrived on the scene with money and men in the past decade. Airtel was an early investor in Africas mobile telecom market and runs a profitable business in dozens of African countries.

Geopolitically, Indias expanding security relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across the region could make it the fourth major player along with the US, Russia and China. A combination of soft power (Bollywood) and hard power (space technology) are formidable weapons. They now need to be deployed with care and precision.
Editors Note: On Friday, Netflix began streaming a biopic on serial killer Ted Bundy, titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The film, which stars Zac Efron as Bundy, captures the terror wrought by the man who kidnapped, raped and killed dozens of young women and girls in the 1970s across seven states.

Utah teenager Carol DaRonch was attacked by 1974  and managed to escape with her life. The following article about DaRonchs ordeal was originally published on Jan. 23, 2018.

It must have seemed, at first, just safe enough for Utah teenager Carol DaRonch to go off in a strange car with a strange man named Ted Bundy.

To start, hed told her he was a police officer  and he had the badge to prove it. Her car had been broken into while she was shopping at the mall, he said, and then he asked if she could come down to the station with him to make a complaint against the suspect?

The situation seemed a little off somehow to DaRonch, 18, and her instincts were right: Bundy was trying to abduct and murder her  a harrowing encounter she survived and then some, later going on to testify against him at trial, leading to his first conviction in his years-long spree of kidnappings, sexual assaults and murders.

DaRonchs story and others are recounted in Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a four-part docuseries on Netflix.

In an exclusive clip above, she recalls the moment it all went wrong in Bundys car, after she agreed to join him for a ride to the police station:

He headed down a side street and then he suddenly pulled over up on the side of a curb up by an elementary school and thats when I just started freaking out: What are we doing? And he grabbed my arm and he got one handcuff on one wrist and he didnt get the other one on and the one was just dangling. I had never been so frightened in my entire life.

DaRonch, without knowing who had targeted her, realized what fate could await her.

RELATED: Sheriff Who Caught Ted Bundy Recalls Chilling Details of the Investigation

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She says in the clip: I thought, My god my parents are never going to know what happened to me.

But she fought Bundy off  one of his few survivors and the first to be able to identify him afterward. Later, she told PEOPLE how she had tried to move on with her life.

Ive decided to try and block it from my memory, she said in 1989. You cant live in fear forever. (Perversely, Bundy went on from his encounter with DaRonch to kill that same day  17-year-old Debra Jean Kent.)

Ted Bundy | Getty

Conversations with a Killer includes interviews with DaRonch, the people who investigated, prosecuted and defended Bundy and Bundy himself, in the form of about 100 hours of never-heard audio recorded during death row interviews he gave in Florida while awaiting execution.

It was the fall of 1974 when Bundy tried to take DaRonch. Hed already killed over and over again, the women often vanishing from public spaces at night: a girl near her sorority house, another leaving a bar. Two others during the day in a crowded park.

His arrest in DaRonchs abduction was not the end of his story. He twice escaped from police custody, then went on to represent himself at the two murder trials for which he was prosecuted with rapt TV cameras recording.

He insisted until right before he was executed that he was innocent. He was articulate, he was handsome, he was a law school student. How could he be a serial killer?

RELATED: Haunting Serial Killers and What Ended Their Bloody Reigns

Docuseries director Joe Berlinger, who is also releasing a fictionalized account of Bundys crimes starring Zac Efron, tells PEOPLE its that incongruity about Bundys character that he wanted to explore.

Why is Bundy considered the serial killer that everybody seems to know something about and why he is a source of endless fascination? Berlinger says. Listening to tapes of Bundys prison interviews changed his perspective.

I wasnt sure until I started listening to the [tapes] and listening to the stuff, it burned and deepened some of the troubling aspects of Bundys story that I felt were worth putting on screen which I hadnt yet seen before, which is this deep dive into the mind of a killer and the personality of a killer, he says. Because I think the thing thats most chilling, interesting, fascinating to me about Bundy is that he defied many of the stereotypes of the serial killer.

The thing that I really wanted to drill into is: Why was he so believable?

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is available on Netflix.
Providing enough food to feed the nation is always a struggle for North Korea, which suffered a near cataclysmic famine in the 1990s (AP)

North Koreas daily food rations have been cut to a record low this year after experiencing the worst harvest in a decade.

The Hermit State has rations to 300 grams a day  or 11 ounces - with further cuts likely the United Nations said on Friday.

According to US organisation The Nutrition Centre, a good mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and dairy products weighs 2 kilos per day per person.

The UN conducted a food assessment between March 29 to April 12, at the request of North Korea.

Photo taken in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The organisation was given wide access to the country, including cooperative farms, nurseries, households and food distribution centres.

According to the survey, North Korean families were only consuming protein a few times a year.

The report also detailed how the countrys agricultural output of 4.9 million tonnes, the lowest since 2008-2009, had led to a food deficit of 1.36 million tonnes in the 2018/2019 marketing year.

Read more:

North Korea executed four officials after failed US summit, report claims

North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket launch site it had dismantled last year

North Koreas Kim in Russia for first talks with Putin

World Food Program spokesman Herve Verhoosel said. This new food security assessment ... has found that following the worst harvests in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest.

10.1 million people needed food aid, including 7.5 million of the 17.5 million North Koreans who depend on government rations plus 2.6 million collective farmers.

Mr Verhoosel said: Prospects for the 2019 early season crops of wheat and barley are worrisome, with communities at risk as the lean season gets underway in June.

North Korea is facing worrying food shortages (KCNA)

The effects of repeated climate shocks are compounded by shortages of fuel, fertiliser and spare parts crucial for farming.

The World Food Program is to hold another assessment between July and August in order to gain a better understanding of the crisis.

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The news is reminiscent of the famine that gripped North Korea in the mid 1990s that killed as many as 3 million people.

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The doctor shared the images to warn people of the dangers of sleeping with contacts still in. (Getty)

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: An eye doctor who was sick of encountering patients that sleep with their contacts in has taken stomach-churning measures to warn people about the dangers.

Dr Patrick Vollmer of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina, shared graphic photos of a bright-green eye that was being rapidly consumed by bacteria.

He explained that an ulcer had formed in the cornea as a direct result of sleeping [with] contact lenses still in.

While the fluorescent green colour in the eye was a result of dye, Dr Vollmer said the places where it had pooled showed the extent to which the cornea had been taken over by an ulcer.

This case did not take years to form. In fact, it took about 36 hours, as is characteristic of this strain of bacteria, he said.

I dont ever recommend sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses. The risks outweigh the benefits every time.

The patient's cornea has been almost consumed by an ulcer, highlighted by dye. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse...

Don't sleep in soft contact lenses.

The condition, called cultured pseudomonas ulcer can quickly lead to blindness, and despite the antibiotics and steroids he had treated the cornea with, the patient was still likely to have permanent scarring and vision loss, he said.

The patient will 'likely' have permanent scarring and vision loss. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

The graphic photos quickly went viral on social media, and within three days of the post it had been seen by more than 30 million people.

Some comments which accused the post of trying to scare people were met with the response from the clinic: Yes, this post is a scare tactic to get you to stop sleeping in soft contacts.

According Optometry Australia, soft contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed type of contact lenses, but the thin, lightweight plastic were making people complacent.

The infected eye before the green dye is added. The dye is used to pool in areas of corneal compromise  in this case, the ulcer bed. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

Contact lenses should not be worn at night because they prevent oxygen getting to the front of the eyeball and can cause damage if worn for too long, as was the case with Dr Vollmers patient.

"A very common thing we see in private practice is someone gets home late ... they're meant to throw their lenses out but they just fall asleep instead," Optometry Australia president Andrew Hogan told ABC Radio Hobart.

"They get up in the morning and without thinking too much they put a fresh pair of lenses on top of the ones they're already wearing."
More than 20 people were injured on Friday night after a Boeing 737 plane that had landed in Florida terrifyingly slid off the runway and into a nearby river.

The passenger plane from Guantanamo Bay had just arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station when it skidded off the runway and into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m., the air station confirmed.

Despite the scary circumstances, the plane was not submerged due to the shallow water, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office tweeted.

Miraculously all 143 people on board survived after the planes rough landing.

The Mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, initially asked for prayers on Twitter, writing, We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.

Curry then confirmed that all passengers were alive and accounted for, and that no fatalities were reported.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

RELATED: Boeing Denies Claims of Shoddy Production at Plane Factory 6 Weeks After Another Model Crashed

While everyone made it out alive, 21 people were taken to hospitals, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

We responded to NAS Jax to a plane incident tonight with a second alarm assignment of approximately 90 personnel, the department tweeted. 21 people were transported to local hospitals.

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In addition to writing that an investigation was underway into how the incident happened, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville detailed a full account of the event.

RELATED VIDEO: Weather Complicating Recovery Efforts In Alaska Plane Crash

At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville slid off the runway into the St. Johns River, the air station confirmed. There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for. Minor injuries have been reported, treated at the scene, and those requiring additional treatment were transported to a local hospital. There were no fatalities.

The air station also added that, just after midnight on Saturday morning, that Navy security and emergency response personnel were still on the scene and monitoring the situation.

Families members who were expecting the arrival of passengers should stand by until they are released, the air station advised.

The plane while a Boeing 737, is not believed to be a Boeing 737 Max. The 737 Max planes have been grounded in the wake of two fatal accidents in just five months.
The white beluga whale spotted off the coast of northern Norway wearing a harness appears to want to stay there (Picture: Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/Handout/NTB Scanpix via REUTERS)

A whale suspected of being a spy for Russia appears to have defected - seeming happy to stay in Norway.

The beluga whale, which was spotted in northern Norway with a harness appeared to be used for carrying a camera, seems reticent to return to Russia, sticking close to the harbour where it was found.

The whale has become so popular that Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has launched a poll to find a name for it.

Linn Sther, a resident of Tufjord on the Arctic island of Rolvsya, told the broadcaster: Hes so comfortable with people that when you call him he comes right up to you.

Linn Saether said the whale is so tame it allows people to pet it and performs tricks (Picture: Linn Saether via AP)

Sther said locals had been able to pet the whale and it also performs tricks, retrieving rings then swimming up to the dockside for praise.

It reacts when you call it or splash your hands in the water. You can see its been trained to fetch and bring back whatever is thrown for it.

READ MORE

Police hunt thug who threw dog from Cornish cliff

The beluga whale was found on Sunday wearing a harness fitted with a mount that was reportedly stamped with the words: Equipment St Petersburg, sparking speculation that it could be a Russian spy or may have escaped from a Russian military facility.

Russia has reportedly denied running a sea mammal special operations programme and Norways special police security agency (PST) has not yet reached a conclusion on where the whale came from.

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Shamima Begum is not our problem, said Bangladesh's foreign minister. (AP)

Bangladeshs government has said that Shamima Begum, the teenage Londoner who fled to Syria, is not their problem.

The countrys Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said the teenager is British, not Bangladeshi, and if she travelled to Dhaka she could be hanged for terrorism.

We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen, he told ITN.

She never applied for Bangladesh citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

Begum fled to Syria with London school friends (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule, there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She will be put in prison and immediately, the rule is, she should be hanged.

Begum, 19, was stripped of her British nationality by the current Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February.

She was one of three Bethnal Green schoolgirls who fled to Syria and joined Islamic State in 2015.

In her time with IS she was married and had three children, though all three have died.

There were allegations that she worked for IS morality police and she was discovered at a Syrian refugee camp in March.

The UK government's official reason for depriving Ms Begum of her British passport has never been made public, although it is against the law to make someone stateless.

Regardless, Mr Momen said she was not welcome in Bangladesh.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters fire on Islamic State militants (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

He said he would be "sad" if she was left stateless, but said it "nothing to do with us".

He compared the British government's decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship to the treatment of the Rohingya by the Burmese authorities, many of who have fled to Bangladesh.

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Torontos Mayor John Tory didnt mince words this morning when he spoke with the CBC, to discuss the continued encroachment of the Ontario government on the citys municipal affairs.

They are doing these things out of the blue that are going to effect peoples lives, said Tory, speaking on a recent decision by Doug Fords government to cut funding to Torontos child care, a move that will cost the city $84.8 million this year.

It will also jeopardize more than 6,000 daycare spots in Toronto.

Tory said hed call his relationship with Doug Fords government as uneven, unpredictable and volatile, as sometimes they have open communication, but other times decisions just come down the pipeline with no warning.

He said the child care decision came via a memo and was a surprise to his office.

It is about deep cuts to actual provision of child care to families in the City of Toronto, he said.

Why does this government insist on taking programs like this that are necessary for a healthy prosperous city....and just one after another, do these things?, said Tory, adding that the provinces cuts seem to disproportionately target Toronto.

Premier Doug Ford meets with Toronto Mayor John Tory at his Queen's Park office in July 2018. (Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Cuts to child care is one decision on a list of provincial policies that are set to impact Canadas largest city. Discussions about how to use the Ontario Place space and whether to include a casino ruffled feathers with Torontonians who want a public space, meant for those of all ages.

In April, the Ontario government announced $1 billion would be cut from Toronto public health over the next ten years. City councillor Joe Cressy said those cuts to funding would impact disease prevention, water quality testing, immunization monitoring and surveillance, prenatal support, overdose prevention, food safety regulation... and more.

At the time, Tory called the decision a targeted attack on Toronto.

Ontario is also currently in the process of uploading the Toronto subway expansion to the province, a negotiation that Tory says is going fairly well and where communication lines are open.

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At least were sitting at a table and were having discussions, he said.

In the case of these other cut backs....its out of the blue, said Tory.

In terms of child care and health care, Tory told Galloway that his government is currently trying to convince the province otherwise.

Its time to take a hard second-look at these things, he said. They are certainly trying to have their way on a number of issues.

Were not going to stand by and put up with this thing going on without any discussion.

As the battle continues for funding for city programs, do you think the Ontario government is correct in making these kinds of cuts? Share your opinion in the comments below!
Jim Cummings Winnie The Pooh

Legendary Disney voice actor Jim Cummings  known for characters like Tigger, Mickey Mouse villain, Pete, and Winnie the Pooh  is currently locked in a bitter war with his ex-wife and she is claiming years of abuse by the star, including sexual assault, drug addiction and animal abuse.

Jim and Stephanie Cummings were married in 2001 and divorced a decade later, in 2011. They have two minor daughters, Johanna and Lulu, and have been arguing in an L.A. County courtroom over alleged incidents of abuse that occurred between 2011 and 2018, after the couples marriage fell apart.

Allegations of Rape/Sexual Assault

According to documents obtained by The Blast, Stephanie claims that since her divorce from Jim, he has engaged in physical, sexual and emotional abuse including but not limited to death threats, rape, and various sexual deviant behavior forced upon me without my consent.

Stephanie also notes that Jim is a very successful voice over actor. He has provided voices for such films as Winnie the Pooh, Lion King,' and adds that he has done over 250 voices.

Disney

She claims to have obtained two separate domestic violence restraining orders against the 66-year-old star, including after an incident on August 31, 2011, when she says Jim came over to her home and slapped her on the buttocks and forced himself on her in front of their 4-year-old daughter.

He later came up behind me, she claims, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and forcefully put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me while holding me in place against the wall.

She says after the kiss, Jim asked if she could see him leaking, because thats what I make him do when he touches me. Stephanie says she felt humiliated and degraded in front of their child, and allegedly reported the incident to the L.A. County Sheriff, who advised her to get a domestic violence restraining order.

According to documents, Jim did not dispute the incident but remembers it differently than his ex. The Disney star said he was joking and laughing with Stephanie, and then I touched her slightly on the butt. He says Stephanie gave him a consensual hug and says the whole incident was happy. He added that his ex-wife, who is much taller than I am, and a large woman, made no objection to anything.

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Getty

Stephanie also claims that she was raped by Jim in 2013, and allegedly filed a police report over the incident but did not give more detail. In open court testimony, Stephanie describes how she entered rehab after the rape for co-dependency and Jim showed up to the facility unannounced and was asked to leave.

She claims that Jim would frequently without consent, would touch my buttocks, my groin, and my breasts. He would hold me in place attempting to kiss and fondle me. He would spank me in front of our daughters. He would then follow up by making sexual comments to me that I found repugnant.

Of all the inappropriate comments he allegedly made to the former couples daughters, Stephanie claims Jim commented that he was allowed to touch Mommys breasts since he had paid for them. Stephanie broke down in tears on the stand while recalling some of the comments made to her by Cummings.

In documents, Jim addressed the situation, writing in an email to Stephanie, Shame on you, youre [sic] distortions are obscene. forcing? Please, everyone, Gracie myself and especially YOU were all giggling and laughing, it was pleasant to have one moment of light-heartedness. We both erupted into laughterIm hardly the first person in the world to point out one catches more flys [sic] with honey than vinegar for you to overlay a reference to being a whore is little too telling, Lets get this over with for the love of God.

The ex-couple has also been fighting for custody and support payments and, in legal documents, Stephanie claims Jim would withhold payments of support and demand sex from me in exchange for meeting his support obligations.

In 2015, she claims Jim showed up to her home and confronted her while on a date with an off-duty police officer, and the man was forced to pull his gun to make Jim leave the scene.

Getty

Stephanie says the constant harassment from Jim resulted in a decline in her health, so in 2017, she moved to Utah with their two daughters.

During a visit to see the children, she claims Jim asked to stay at the house and she allowed it. However, during the middle of the night, she claims Jim was standing over me with his erect penis in my hand. He was using my hand to stroke his penis while my youngest daughter was asleep on the other side of me. She was 10 years old at the time.

Stephanie explained, I told him to stop and get out of the house. He refused. He then came back and did the same thing, insisting I masturbate him or he would wake Lulu up. I did as he asked given his threat to wake up my daughter and my worry that I could not control what he would do in front of her.

After that incident, Stephanie says she obtained the second restraining order against Jim, which was filed in Utah. In 2018, both Stephanie and Jim testified in court and the restraining order was issued against Jim for two years.

Allegations of Drug Use

In the court documents, Stephanie says, The primary reason James and I separated was his abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and Adderall.

Stephanie says Jim has had a longstanding history of substance abuse, including a stint in rehab in 2005 and on June 10, 2010, he checked in again and stayed for four days before checking out. Stephanie says he ended up relapsing and returned to the facility for five days before getting kicked out because he was using Adderall.

She claims after the couple split, between 2012 and 2018, Jim has shown up at her home uninvited while intoxicated or high on Adderall.

Jim denied the allegations were as stated saying, I entered that rehab facility voluntarily. However, Petitioners claim that it was a binge on alcohol, marijuana and Adderall is another exaggeration as I have never taken Adderall Petitioner, however, has had a long standing [sic] history of drug abuse. On the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Petitioner and I mutually agreed to check into a rehabilitation facility. He claims the substance abuse consisted of primarily Vicodin as well as alcohol.

Getty

Allegations of Animal Abuse

In her argument to get full custody of the two children, Stephanie claims Jim once abused the family puppy to the point where it almost died.

Stephanie says she and Jim had purchased a dog and the animal urinated in the house. As a result, Stephanie says Jim took the dog and placed it inside a metal bucket outside of the house on a day which it was over 100 degrees, then left it there for a long time, adding, The dog came close to dying.

In response to the animal abuse allegations, Jim admitted to the incident, but says, There was an incident where I put a tub (not a metal bucket) over a dog to isolate it briefly as a form of discipline to its behavior at our vets suggestion, and unfortunately I forgot the dog was there for a while, but then of course I released it.

Jim says he took the dog to the vet to get checked out and claims it was in fine health.

She also claims in another incident, Jim had taken a broom and hit the puppy so hard that he shattered the puppys hip necessitating surgery.

Ongoing Court Battle and Current Situation

Stephanie and Jim are currently giving dueling testimony in a Los Angeles courtroom about the years of allegations and ongoing incidents. Jim was actually on the stand for two days being questioned by powerhouse attorney Larry Bakman and giving his side of the story.

The Disney star says he has tried to work out things amicably with his ex-wife but says, She will have outbursts of hostility directed at me, and often change in her behavior and attitude comes without warning.

He has also alleged she may have a mental health disorder and says she has been taking medication.

Jim is also very worried about his future with Disney, claiming Stephanie has threatened to ruin his longstanding career. He claims she threatened, I will go and I will ruin your reputation  I am going to tell people Winnie the Pooh is a woman beating, drug addicted freak!

He says the recent alleged outburst by Stephanie came after he had refused to take her to the premiere of the Disney movie Christopher Robin in 2018.

Getty

Stephanie has also given testimony and is accusing Jim of currently living with a woman who was once a sex worker. The woman, Peggy Schinke, rose to fame as one of the prostitutes who worked with Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. During a 1990s sting operation, Peggy was one of four women who met with undercover vice officers for Beverly Hills PD. It was a pivotal moment in the Fleiss criminal case.

Winnie the Pooh lives with a whore, pays a whore to pretend to be his girlfriend, rapes and abuses the mother of his kids, Stephanie said. She also claims Jim has tried to get her to kill herself and has referred to his two daughters as n-word babies.

She says Jim is a much smaller version of Harvey Weinstein, who needs help for his alleged addictions. She is making it clear she believes her daughters lives are in danger around Jim and she wants full custody of the kids.

According to records, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has investigated the case and have been in contact with the couple.

The Blast reached out to Disney several times before publishing this story  so far they have not commented.

The post Winnie the Pooh Disney Voice Star Jim Cummings Accused of Rape, Animal Abuse appeared first on The Blast.
Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 21 taken to hospital originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue said 21 passengers were transported to the hospital, all in good condition. There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members.

(MORE: Small plane crashes in Long Island, all passengers survive)

There was no water inside the cabin of the plane when rescue personnel arrived, but passengers had come out onto the wing and were then escorted through the shallow water to land.

The flight is what is called "the rotator" flight that flies out of Guantanamo on Tuesdays and Fridays. Its a regularly scheduled charter flight that flies from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Jacksonville and then continues on to Norfolk, Virginia, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for Navy Region Southeast.

Passengers who use this aircraft pay a standard fare for the transportation to and from Guantanamo. The passengers can be military personnel, their families, civilian employees or contractors who work or live at Guantanamo.

PHOTO: A 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."

The NTSB is investigating the runway overrun of a Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 that overran the runway at NAS Jacksonville and came to rest in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. NTSB photo. pic.twitter.com/ueBeCa2OAt  NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) May 4, 2019

There were thunderstorms in the area during the accident, but an official said it was unclear if that was a contributing factor.

Story continues

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."

(MORE: VIDEO: Survivor: Hawaii Plane Crash 'Like Instant Brakes')

"It think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at an overnight press conference. "It could have ended very differently."

Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.

The plane skidded off one of two runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The base specializes in anti-submarine warfare and training pilots. It is also home to Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

PHOTO: A Boeing 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"To say that I was wiping sweat off my brow would be an understatement," Tom Francis, spokesperson for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, said in response to the lack of serious injuries.

Curry said he was contacted by President Donald Trump to offer help in the wake of the accident.

(MORE: VIDEO: WWII plane crash kills 20 on board)

Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene, including members of the hazmat unit.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the accident.

ABC News' Luis Martinez, Matt Foster and Chris Donato contributed to this report.
Minnesota's repeal of marital rape exemptions highlights existing legal loopholes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The governor of Minnesota closed a legal loophole this week in the states marital rape law -- just one of what advocates describe as scores of legal loopholes still permeating state criminal justice laws from coast to coast.

Marital rape laws have been in place in all 50 states for more than a quarter century, but a number of those states -- like Minnesota -- have had exemptions in place which specified certain circumstances in which what would typically be considered rape if it happened between strangers, is not considered a crime between a married or existing couple.

Aequitas, a national non-profit that studies prosecution practices as they relate to gender-based violence and human trafficking, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of exemption to laws against marital rape of spouses who are drugged or otherwise incapacitated, according to an Associated Press report.

The change in Minnesota law was spearheaded by Jenny Teeson, who discovered video that showed that her now-ex-husband drugged and sexually assaulted her while they were married. During the case against her husband, she learned that Minnesotas marital rape law has an exemption that applied in their case.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson, center in white, of Andover, Minn., looks on as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs a bill at the Capitol in St. Paul, on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Steve Karnowski/AP)

The Minnesota penal code previously contained a statute that allowed people who were accused of sexual assault to justify the act if they had an existing relationship with the victim. That was used in Teeson's ex-husband's case, but will no longer be available to offenders in Minnesota.

In 2017, Teeson and her now ex-husband were going through a divorce when she found a flash drive containing videos of her husband allegedly sexually assaulting her with an object while she was drugged and unconscious  and turned them over to police, who initially charged the man with third-degree criminal sexual assault, the AP reported.

Story continues

Later the same day, Minnesota state prosecutors dropped that charge against Teesons ex-husband due to the loophole, and he ultimately pled guilty to invasion of privacy and served 30 days behind bars, according to numerous reports about the case

(MORE: Domestic violence plays a role in many mass shootings, but receives less attention: Experts)

"This exception should never have been part of our criminal statutes," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said after signing the bill repealing the pre-existing relationship defense on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. "It is reprehensible. And because of Jenny and other survivors, it is now repealed."

(MORE: Bus driver who raped 14-year-old girl gets no prison time, just probation and fees)

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Walz said.

The legal concept that a rape cannot happen within a marriage dates back to the 17th century English common law, when Sir Matthew Hale posited that marital rape is legally impossible because a marriage implies a womans ongoing consent to sex, according to the Associated Press.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson receives applause while speaking after Gov. Tim Walz signed into law a repeal of the state's pre-existing relationship defense at the Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Leila Navidi/Minneapolis Star Tribune via ZUMA)

Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men report having been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the AP reported  noting that national surveys place the percentage of women who say they were raped within a marriage at between 10% and 14%.

Yet despite the persistence of the #MeToo movement and ongoing efforts to update and reframe womens rightful roles in all aspects of American society, campaigns to close marital rape loopholes havent proven successful everywhere.

A recent bill in Marylands legislature to erase marital rape exemptions for all sex crimes died in committee, the AP reported. One skeptical lawmaker wondered whether one spouse could conceivably be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind. Another wanted to know if your religion believes if you are married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? The bill died in committee, the AP reported.

Other common arguments against erasing such exemptions from state statutes include notions of marital privacy as a constitutional right  as when spouses cant be forced to testify against each other in court, Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of Law told the wire service.

Aequitass data reports that a number of states have multiple forms of exemptions, but they describe the exemptions as generally falling into one of three categories. The first  and most common, occurring in 41 jurisdictions  is based on the age of the victim and the offender. The specific exceptions vary by state but tend to relate to the victim being under a certain age or the perpetrator being a certain number of years older than the victim.

Because of this exemption, actions that would generally be considered statutory rape if it occurred between strangers, may not deemed a crime if the individuals are married or have a pre-existing relationship.

The second type of exemption relates to the capacity of the victim to consent, either due to their mental impairment, physical or cognitive disabilities, or intoxication. In the context of this exemption, a sexual assault that may normally be criminalized as rape because the victim could not consent due to intoxication, for example, may not be considered a crime in states like Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut or Idaho, which are four of the 20 jurisdictions that have that exemption, according to Aequitas.

(MORE: John Bobbitt speaks out 25 years after wife infamously cut off his penis: 'I want people to understand the whole story')

The third exemption relates to rare instances when one spouse has legal authority over another, including instances in which one spouse is granted custodial or guardianship power over the other.

Holly Fuhrman, an associate attorney and adviser at Aequitas, gave the hypothetical examples of a prison guard and an inmate, or a caregiver and someone in their care as situations that could fall into this exemption.

The exemptions themselves are very complicated, Fuhrman noted to ABC News.

Beyond the legal loopholes, Fuhrman said that a number of other aspects of the relationship between the couple could prevent the victim from seeking legal justice.

She said that marital rape often happens in the context of a broader domestic violence relationship where there are dynamics of power and control at play.
The private sector is seen as a mainstay of Hanois economic development as the nearly 250,000 firms make up 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and generate jobs for over 50 percent of the labourers in the city.

Accounting for 97.2 percent of the capital citys total enterprises, the private businesses are affirming their leading role in the nation and citys development and construction. Favourable mechanisms and policies outlined by local authorities have helped the firms stabilise and branch out their business operation.

However, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association Mac Quoc Anh said that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance is still constrained by many factors, comprising both internal capacity and unfriendly external factors like shortage of capital and high-quality human resources, and narrow access to technology besides poor management and marketing capacity.

Therefore, SMEs would lose their competitive edge, especially when Vietnam is integrating deeply into the global economy, with various bilateral and multilateral free trade deals having been inked with the ASEAN, the US, Japan and the EU, he said.

In a bid to make SMEs become more conducive to local economy, Hanoi will create a sound business environment, ensuring that it serves as a launching pad for the firms to further develop, while supporting them in innovation, modernising technologies, and improving labour productivity.

It is necessary for the local authority to channel efforts to narrow gap with the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand) in terms of technology, human resources and competitive capacity.

The city is completing and implementing effective mechanisms and policies, contributing to finalising the socialist-oriented market economy in the country by 2030. Accordingly, economic growth will be promoted in tandem with sustainable development, environment protection, and climate change response.

Besides, it will continue shake-up in State-owned enterprises, targeting that most of the companies have international-standard quality management systems, and modern technologies and techniques equivalent to those of regional countries by 2030.-VNA
By Express News Service

SRIKAKULAM/VIJAYAWADA: People in Srikakulam and other two north coastal districts  Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram  heaved a sigh of relief, with extreme severe cyclonic storm Fani sparing them and moving towards southern Odisha coast.

However, under the influence of the cyclone, moderate to heavy rains lashed northern mandals of Srikakulam district. Some areas in Sompeta, Srikakulam and Kanchili mandals received around 19 cm of rains with high-velocity winds on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. But, since Friday morning, there were no rains in all the three coastal districts.

In Ichchapuram, which borders Odisha, winds at 140 kmph were registered and in some parts of Uddanam region, several coconut and palm trees were uprooted. Branches of the trees fell on the interior roads and NDRF and fire service personnel, deployed in the district as a precautionary measure, cleared them.

District collector J Niwas said that there were no casualties and damage was minimal. He said several electric poles in Kanchili, Kaviti, Sompeta, Ichchapuram and Palasa mandals were uprooted due to gales.

As many as 2,000 staff of Electricity department are engaged in restoration works and we expect to restore power to 70-80 per cent of the affected areas by Friday night. Superintending engineer-level officials in each mandal are supervising the restoration works. Power connectivity to rest of the district has been restored. As a precautionary measure, power connectivity was disconnected on Thursday night, he explained.

In the report submitted to the State government, district collector put the losses at Rs 38.43 crore in the district. As many as 162 houses were damaged, 12 sheep and nine cows were killed. Horticulture crop loss in 406 hectares was pegged at Rs 4.09 crore. Infrastructure damage in Palasa and Srikakulam municipalities was pegged at Rs 2.12 crore.

Energy department sustained losses to the tune of Rs 9.75 crore.

Around 20,000 people, who were evacuated from vulnerable locations and housed in 252 relief centres set up in the district, started returning home since Friday morning itself.

On the other hand, the Irrigation officials are in touch with their Odisha counterparts to monitor flood-levels in Nagavali, Vamsadhara, Mahendra Tanaya and Bahuda rivers. On Thursday, as a precautionary measure, all the 24 gates of Gotta Barrage on Vamsadhara river in Hiramandalam was opened, but on Friday morning, with no inflows or rains in the upper catchment areas, 18 gates were closed and water is being released from the remaining six gates.

According to officials, only when the flood levels cross one lakh cusecs mark, will the first warning of floods be issued. However, to be on the safe side, all the officials in the riverside mandals were put on alert.

In Vizianagaram district, not much damage to infrastructure and houses were reported. The horticulture crop (banana) losses in 326 hectares of land was pegged at Rs 5.08 crore.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who took stock of the situation later in the day, told newsmen that 2,129 electric poles and 218 cell towers in 12 mandals were damaged.
Photo credit: KOCO via YouTube

From Delish

A 28-year-old Oklahoma man suffered a stroke after popping his neck, reported ABC affiliate KOCO News. According to the outlet, Josh Hader's vertebral artery, which leads from the base of the neck to the brain, tore as a result of the common practice.

Hader explained to the outlet he immediately knew something was wrong.

The moment I heard the pop, everything on my left side started to go numb, said Hader. I got up and tried to get an ice pack from the fridge, and I remember I couldnt walk straight.



Hader was taken to the hospital by his father-in-law. X-rays revealed Hader's torn artery, and medical staff says the man's injury could have been life-threatening.

He could have formed more clot on that tear and had a life-ending stroke. He could have died, Dr. Vance McCollom of Mercy Hospital told KOCO.

Strokes in this region can leave patients incapacitated, according to McCollom.

They completely understand what's going on, but they can't communicate. They can't move anything. They can't speak. They can't breathe.

Hader's case was less severe, but the Oklahoma man experienced double vision and had to wear an eyepatch for several days. He also relied on a walker to move around and suffered from painful hiccups.

According to KOCO, Hader's wife frequently asked him to stop the dangerous habit.

His wife had been telling him, Don't pop your neck. You're going to cause a stroke, said McCollom.

Although strokes related to neck popping are rare, medical professionals say there are other risks.

New York-based chiropractor Patrick Kerr, D.C., tells SELF that popping your neck can make the area feel more stiff. This only makes you perform the habit more often.

"You know, on some level, that movement brings relief, so that leads to cracking," said Kerr. "But then you begin to discover that it takes more and more effort to get relief. It becomes a habit."

Story continues

For those of you who just can't stop, follow McCollom's advice:

If you want to pop your neck, just kind of pop it side to side. Don't twist it, he said.

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Photo credit: Withunmind Photography

From Woman's Day

Late fall can be a bittersweet time of year, especially in rural Texas. Live oak trees, once ablaze with orange and red leaves, begin to look bare. The sun descends from its summertime perch, putting an end to days that stretch luxuriously into night.



Still, theres plenty of magic to be had in autumn  a campfire crackling on a chilly evening, an apple pie spiced just right with cinnamon, or, say, a wedding.





Photo credit: Judy Tran

Tabatha Cash and Marlee Castillo tied the knot last fall at a park in Spearman, TX, on an overcast day that was warm enough for Tabatha, dressed in a long white sleeveless lace dress, not to catch a chill, yet cool enough so that Marlee felt comfortable in a three-piece suit.

Nearly 50 people  aunts and uncles, long-time friends  looked on as the women said their I dos. But Tabathas mother wasnt among them.

My mom doesnt accept that Im gay, says Tabatha. It was understood that she loves me and she loves Marlee, but she doesn't love us together.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Luckily, nestled in the beaming crowd, was Sara Cunningham, the founder of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that supports the queer community. As she had for several other couples, Sara had offered to act as a stand-in mother for Tabatha on her wedding day. Sara had helped Tabatha arrange a bouquet and get dressed. She dried her tears, blotted her makeup, and fussed over details of the reception.



To not be accepted by your own family is devastating, says Sara. Hopefully I made the day a little better for Tabatha.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

The Start of a Movement

Saras journey from religious Midwest mom to queer ally began with her son, Parker, who told her he was gay in 2011 when he was 21.



Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

I didnt take the news very well, says Sara, whose resistance was based on her churchs beliefs about gay people and its interpretation of certain Bible verses.

I was really wrestling with my faith, says Sara. I couldnt understand how to love my son, but not accept every part of him.

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After a lot of soul-searching, Sara parted ways with the church. She found solace in a private Facebook group for moms of gay children, all of whom felt alienated from their religious communities. The women shared advice for building new relationships with their children and supported each other during difficult times. More than one mother came to the group after her child died by suicide. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual youth.

By 2015, Sara was ready to embrace the queer community  literally. She pinned a homemade button that read Free Mom Hugs onto her sundress and went with Parker to the Oklahoma City Gay Pride parade. Anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, Can I offer you a free mom hug or high five? Sara says. The first woman who accepted a hug told her she hadnt been hugged by her mom for four years.



After the parade, as Sara got involved with local LGBTQ groups, she began to see the needs of community first-hand. She met a queer couple living in their car and a young man who had been kicked out of his house after telling his youth pastor he was gay. Sara and a few other moms began collecting donations for them and other struggling queer people  she bought bus tickets and tanks of gas and gave out Target gift cards. The next year Sara founded the nonprofit organization Free Mom Hugs, and extended her outreach even more. She began to officiate gay weddings.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

In talking with the couples before the ceremony, many told me that their parents wouldnt acknowledge their relationships and refused to come to the wedding, she says. It broke my heart.

Frustrated, Sara took to Facebook in July 2018 with a post that quickly went viral. It said, If you need a mom to attend your same sex wedding because your biological mom won't. Call me. I'm there. I'll be your biggest fan. I'll even bring the bubbles.



The response was overwhelming  dozens of couples reached out to ask Sara to attend their weddings as a stand-in. Even more people responded with their own offer to act as a proxy.

If you need a Mom, an Aunt, a Granny, or just a friend in Florida, Ill be there, one woman posted. Love is love. Period.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Tabatha and Marlees Texas wedding was one of the first ceremonies that Sara attended as a stand-in, and in 2019, she plans to go to at least three more, including the June wedding of Haley Myers-Brannon and Sam Hedrick. Sam grew up in Oklahoma City, in a conservative Christian family who refused to accept his identity.

Photo credit: Kate Donaldson Photography

When I came out to my parents as transgender, it was a big blow to them, he says. After Sam met Haley and he decided to propose, he reached out to his parents with the news. My mom texted and said, we do not believe this is Gods plan for you, Sam says.

Then Sara stepped in. Sam had met her through a friend and eventually asked her to attend his and Haleys wedding in place of his mom. Sara will help him get dressed and be there to talk before the ceremony.

Shes probably going to let me cry a lot and then help me pull it together, says Sam. Shell be in the front row where my family would normally sit.

Despite the expansion of Free Mom Hugs, which now has more than 40 chapters in the U.S. and beyond, as well as more than 50,000 Facebook followers, Sara still holds down a full-time job as a secretary for an architectural firm.

And yet, she plans to keep growing, helping transgender community members get their birth certificates changed to reflect their identity, filling prescriptions, providing housing for LGBTQ people who feel unsafe in homeless shelters, and more.

Says Sara, What we do is way beyond hugs.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

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Buying sunscreen used to involve choosing an SPF level and deciding if you wanted to smell like a coconut. Today, the descriptors on each bottle have multiplied, and there are far more decisions to make. Were here to help.

Sunscreen ingredients can already be a bit of a brain teaser for the average shopper  do you choose a formula with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, a combo of both, or something else entirely, like a non-mineral filter?  but when you add in other words from elsewhere on the label, the challenge of choosing the right protection multiplies exponentially. How much of the language is just marketing mumbo-jumbo, and which terms should be taken into serious consideration? And more importantly, what do they all mean?

Here, you'll find explanations of the most common words and phrases found on sunscreens so you can approach the shelves (or the websites) with the confidence that you're getting what you want and need, whether thats a formula that won't irritate your skin, one that won't harm the environment, one that won't budge when you sweat, or all of the above  and then some.

broad-spectrum

adj. brd-spek-trm

A sunscreen that offers protection from both UVB rays, which burn skin, and UVA rays, which cause damage like collagen breakdown, says Elizabeth Hale, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. For the best sun protection, use only sunscreens labeled "broad-spectrum."

chemical

adj. ke-mi-kl

A term used to describe a sunscreen that protects from UV rays by absorbing them with chemical ingredients, such as octocrylene or avobenzone (though its worth noting even "mineral" sunscreens are made in labs).

clinically tested

adj. kli-ni-kl te-std

Some brands test for distinctions like being good for sensitive skin, but seeing this term doesn't indicate which benefit they tested for, nor on how many people, says Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a board-certified dermatologist in Miami. So it shouldn't sway your choice.

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gluten-free

adj. glu-tn-fr

The Gluten Intolerance Group will place its GFCO seal on beauty products with 10 parts per million or less of gluten. (But gluten-containing ingredients, like wheat protein, are more common in hair care than sunscreen.)

hypoallergenic

adj. h-p-a-lr-je-nik

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate this term (see "Caveat Emptor," below, for more on that), and companies can use it whether or not they've formulated a product with a low likelihood of triggering allergic reactions. If you tend to react to sunscreens, look for a fragrance-free mineral formula, says Woolery-Lloyd.

mineral

adj. min-rl

These sunscreens achieve their SPF factor with physical blockers, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, says Steven Wang, a dermatologist in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. (They form a physical barrier between UV rays and skin.)

noncomedogenic

adj. nan-kam-d--jen-ik

There's no standard way to validate whether a beauty product is likely to cause comedones (pimples). But if you're acne-prone, choose sunscreens with drying salicylic acid and zinc oxide, and avoid ones rich in lipids, like coconut oil and cocoa butter.

oil-free

adj. i(-)l-fr

This means a product doesn't contain oil, but it doesn't indicate whether it has other occlusives, like silicone, that can cause breakouts and even heat rash, says Rachel Nazarian, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

If you're concerned, look for a sunscreen that skips both oils and silicones. You can find silicone by looking for names that end in "-siloxane" or "-thicone," says cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski.

organic

adj. r-ga-nik

While this can mean that a sunscreen's botanical ingredients were farmed organically (look for the USDA seal), no sunscreen can be 100-percent organic. Chemical sunscreens rely on lab-concocted compounds to protect from UV rays, and physical ingredients "are synthetically created  it is illegal to use mined versions of zinc and titanium dioxide since they are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals," says Romanowski.

reef-friendly, reef-safe

adj. rf-fren(d)-l, rf-sf

Either term should mean that a sunscreen doesn't contain any of these five ingredients: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, 4-methylbenzylidene, and butyl-paraben, says Woolery-Lloyd. Small studies suggest that these ingredients can affect coral's ability to reproduce by harming or killing coral larvae and even reduce its life span and immunity.

Still, these are unregulated terms, so double-check the label for any of the above ingredients if reef safety is a priority. (Reef-safe sunscreens may also be labeled "biodegradable," says Sonya Lunder, senior toxics adviser for the Sierra Clubs gender, equity, and environment program.)

sand-resistant

adj. sand-ri-zi-stnt

There's no standard for just how sand-repellent a sunscreen is, but some independent labs offer tests for sunscreen makers who want to make this claim. "It means that when the sunscreen was exposed to several different sands  fine, medium, and all-purpose  the SPF level didn't change. This is usually due to smoother, silkier textures that dont allow sand to 'cling,' " says Nazarian.

sensitive

adj. sen-s-tiv

You're better off looking at the back of the label than the front to determine whether or not a sunscreen is good for sensitive skin. Opt for physical sunscreens instead of chemical ones, since they're less likely to irritate skin, and look for options without "fragrance," another top offender, listed on the ingredient label.

spf

n. s-p-f

Stands for sun protection factor, specifically for UVB rays. The number next to it is a measure of how much solar energy is required to produce a sunburn on protected skin  as the SPF value increases, so does sunburn protection. (It's not a measure of UVA protection  another reason to choose broad-spectrum sunscreens.)

The FDA's standard for testing is to apply two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. Or, in medical terms: "A really thick layer," Nazarian says. "So the higher that number, the better."

She recommends a minimum broad-spectrum SPF of 30 year-round, and an SPF of at least 50 for beach days or outdoor activities in the summer. Reapply every two hours to stay protected.

sport

adj. sprt

Since there's no actual test to verify that a sunscreen is better for activities, any sunscreen that's qualified as water-resistant for 80 minutes will do the trick.

water-resistant

adj. w-tr-ri-zi-stnt

In the U.S., the FDA regulates this term via one standard test: A subject alternates between getting wet and drying off multiple times and is then tested to be sure the sunscreen is still on and in effect. All sunscreens that use the term "water-resistant" are required to undergo the test, so look for the stamp if you know youre going to be swimming or sweating.

The Australian government's Therapeutic Goods Association requires that sunscreens remain fully present on skin after four hours of water exposure. You can seek out sunscreens, like ones from TropicSport, that are sold in both countries and have passed both tests.

Caveat Emptor: At the end of the day, most of these terms are used at the discretion of the manufacturers, except select terms regulated by the FDA, like the SPF number, active ingredients, and "broad-spectrum" and "water-resistant" claims.

Now read more about sunscreen::

__Done reading? Take a tour of Chris Appleton's lavish bathroom: __

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Originally Appeared on Allure
Photo credit: Getty/Netflix

From Esquire

Ted Bundy brutally murdered dozens of women across the country in the late 1970s. Around the time he began his killing spree, he started dating a young secretary named Elizabeth. But it wasn't until years later that Elizabeth first realized her boyfriend might be connected to a string of unsolved kidnappings and murders. In 1974, she saw in a local newspaper a composite drawing of the primary suspect, a man who shared the name Ted with her boyfriend.



She wrote about her haunting experience with Bundy under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kendall in a little-known memoir called The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, which was published in 1981, years before Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 for his crimes. That book is the inspiration for the new Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile in which Zac Efron plays Bundy and Lily Collins plays Elizabeth.



Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

So, while we've known bits and pieces of Elizabeth's story, she and her daughter are now stepping forward to break their silence about their lives with the serial killer. The women are the subject of the new Amazon series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer, which premieres January 31 and takes the focus of the Bundy story off of the man and onto the victims and survivors he abused. Elizabeth and her daughter Molly are also sitting for an accompanying interview with Amy Robach on 20/20 which airs on the 31st, as well.

Heres what we know about the Elizabeth:



Elizabeth and her daughter broke their silence in January 2020.

After being out of print for decades, Elizabeth's memoir was rereleased on January 7 by Abrams Press with a new introduction, a chapter written by her daughter, Molly, and personal photos of the women with Bundy. "I still cared deeply for Ted when I wrote the original book," Elizabeth writes in the new introduction. "It took years of work for me to accept who he was and what he had done. I still felt lingering shame that I had loved Ted Bundy. It was healing for me when women started telling their stories of sexual violence and assault as part of the Me Too movement. I could related to keeping experiences secret for fear of being judged."

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It was for that reason, and because of the swirl of renewed interest in Bundy with the Efron film, that Elizabeth decided to participate in the Amazon series, as well.

She wrote under a pseudonym.

Elizabeth originally published her book under the name Elizabeth Kendall. But when Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile premiered at Sundance, the press materials said the story is told from the point of view of Bundys girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, though now, the credits Netflix is promoting read: Based on the book: The Phantom Prince; My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall, and the characters name is listed as Liz Kendall. In the 2020 re-release of her memoir, Elizabeth writes, "I hadn't gone by old married name of Kloepfer for years, not since Molly was a child. Unfortunately, some still link the name to Ted Bundy ... For these [new] projects, I have used my original pseudonym, Elizabeth Kendall, to spare Molly's father's family name further association with Ted's crimes."

She was the mother of a young daughter when she met Bundy.

Photo credit: Netflix

When they met, Elizabeth was recently divorced, working as a secretary at the University of Washington medical department, and raising her 2-year-old daughter Molly, who she calls Tina in her book. The 24-year-old had graduated from Utah State with a degree in Business and Family Life and had recently moved to Washington.

She met Bundy at a bar.

Photo credit: Netflix

Bundy and Elizabeth met at a bar called the Sandpiper Tavern in Seattle in October 1969, she writes in her memoir. She noticed him from across the room, noting how well-dressed he was, then he asked her to dance.

The chemistry between us was incredible. I was already planning the wedding and naming the kids, she writes. He was telling me that he missed having a kitchen because he loved to cook. Perfect. My Prince.

She brought him home that night, and he made her breakfast the next morning. The next weekend, they went on a weekend trip to Vancouver.

The relationship became serious quickly.

In her book, Elizabeth describes meeting Bundys parents after a few months of dating. She had dinner at Bundys childhood home with his father Johnnie Bundy, a cook at an army hospital, and his mother Louise, a secretary at their Methodist church.

I loved her so much it was destabilizing, Bundy told journalist Stephen G. Michaud about Elizabeth. Michauds interviews were recently released in the Netflix docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. I felt such a strong love for her but we didnt have a lot of interests in common like politics or something, I dont think we had in common. She liked to read a lot. I wasnt into reading.

They applied for a marriage license.

Photo credit: Getty Images

I had never been so happy, but it bothered me to be practically married to a man I wasnt married to, Elizabeth writes about their relationship. When I talked to him, he agreed now was the time to do it. They went to the courthouse for a marriage license in February 1970, but after a fight a few days later, Bundy ripped up the document. Kendalls book editor, Sara Levant, tells me she went to the Seattle courthouse to confirm the couple applied for the license.

In spite of that fight, Elizabeth and Bundy continued dating. And in early 1972, Elizabeth became pregnant, she writes in her memoir.

Both of us knew it would be impossible to have a baby now. He was going to start law school in the fall, and I needed to be able to work to put him through, she writes. I was distraught. I knew I was going to terminate the pregnancy as soon as I could. Ted, on the other hand, was pleased with himself. He had fathered a baby.

Bundy was abusive.

Throughout the book, Elizabeth describes Bundy being emotionally and verbally abusive. Once, after confronting him about his habit of stealing, he threatened her, If you ever tell anyone about this, Ill break your fucking neck.

Elizabeth suspected Bundy was involved in unsolved kidnappings in Seattle while they were dating.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Elizabeth began suspecting Bundy was involved in a string of disappearances when she read news reports that said the suspects name was Ted, drove a Volkswagon similar to Bundys and issued a police sketch which resembled him. Reports also said the suspects arm was in a castthough Bundy didnt have a broken arm, Elizabeth recalled shed once seen plaster of Paris in his desk drawer that he said hed taken when he worked at a medical supply house. "He said that a person never could tell when he was going to break a leg, and we both laughed. Now I keep thinking about the cast the guy at Lake Sammamish was wearingwhat a perfect weapon it would make for clubbing someone on the head, she writes.



Soon after, she found a hatchet in Bundys car. He said it was there because hed chopped down a tree at his parents cabin the week before.

She tried to alert the police.

On August 8, 1974, Elizabethcalled the Seattle Police Department to tell them her boyfriend matched the description of the suspect, who had used crutches to attack a victim. Shed noticed crutches in her boyfriends room, as well, she explained. But after she was told, You need to come in and fill in a report. Were too busy to talk to girlfriends over the phone, Elizabeth hung up. Two months later, after Bundy moved to Utah and the kidnappings began happening there, she called the King County Police, but she was told theyd already looked into Bundy and cleared him.

After Bundy was arrested, they communicated through phone calls and letters.

Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

Though Elizabeth had initially suspected Bundys involvement in the crimes, she believed Bundy when he told her he was innocent. He sent her passionate letters and she visited him in prison. She even sat with Bundys parents in the courthouse when he was on trial for the attempted kidnapping for Carol DeRonch in March 1976.

Bundy admitted he tried to kill her.

After Bundy was tied to more kidnappings and murdersand after Elizabeth became sober after joining Alcoholics Anonymousshe began distancing herself from Bundy. But while in a Florida prison, he called her to admit, There is something the matter with me  I just couldnt contain it. I fought it for a long, long time  it was just too strong.

Elizabeth writes in her memoir that when she responded by asking if he ever tried to kill her, Bundy told her that the urge took over one night when he was at her house, and he closed the damper so the smoke couldnt go up the chimney, then he left after putting a towel under a door so the smoke wouldnt escape. Kendall writes that she remembers waking up coughing after a night of drinking.

Elizabeth signed off the Netflix film.

Joe Berlinger, the director of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, says he sought Elizabeths permission before agreeing to make the film, and she hesitantly agreed. Berlinger and Lily Collins, who plays Elizabeth in the film, met with the real Elizabeth before filming.



She was willing and passionate about meeting meher and her daughter, too," Collins told E! News.

But Berlinger says that in spite of signing off on the film, Elizabeth still wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

She was very ambivalent, Berlinger told me. I think that's why the book continues to be out of print. She does not want the spotlight. For example, she didn't want to come to Sundance. She doesn't want to participate in the press. She wants to remain anonymous. She trusted us with her story. She agreed to do the movie, obviously, so it's not being done without her cooperation. I think she's very ambivalent because she doesn't want attention to herself today.

Elizabeth writes in the new introduction to her memoir that Efron and Collins "got it right," but in the dramatization, a lot was left out of the story, which is why they decided to speak out.

Bundy reached out to Elizabeth and Molly right before his execution.

After he was executed in 1989, Bundy's attorney reached out to Elizabeth to pass along a message.

"Ted had asked her to call us and make sure he knew that he loved us," Elizabeth says in the Amazon documentary series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer. "She also wondered why I never responded to his last letter." Molly explains she had intercepted Bundy's last letter from death rowand burned it. Molly says, "I could tell it hurt her heart that I had robbed her of this closure, of this last interaction. I'm not sorry at all. And I'm especially not sorry that he went to his death wondering why she never wrote back. Good."

Elizabeth talks about her life today in the documentary.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime

Elizabeth has been sober for 42 years, she explains in the Amazon series, crediting sobriety with saving her life. She talks about what it's like to be one of Bundy's few survivors, and says, "As much as I can, I've forgiven myself. I hope this is the end of my participation with anything related to Ted."

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If theres one thing that lawyers know about reading documents, its to pay attention to the footnotes. In fact, oftentimes the most important information is buried there. Americas entire 14th Amendment jurisprudence, for instance, came out of a single footnote in a 1932 case now know as the famous footnote. The Mueller Report is no different. Buried in the footnotes of the Special Counsels two-volume tome are some of its most important nuggets, many of which address and refute popular talking points emanating from the Trump White House. Even if you dont read the entire document, here are a few footnotes worth paying attention to  including one that seems to explain the possible results of Muellers findings. The devil is truly in the details.

Volume I

Footnote 465

This footnote addresses a question that has been raised time and again, and which was echoed by Attorney General William Barr in his testimony to Congress on April 10: What was the basis, or predicate, for the Russia investigation?

The White House has claimed that the investigation was based on the Steele Dossier, an intelligence report compiled by a former British spy and financed by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which alleged that there were ties between Trump and the Kremlin. But in this footnote, Mueller explains the sequence and timing of events that gave rise to a credible threat to national security, warranting an investigation. First, Mueller notes earlier in the report that in July 2016, Wikileaks began disseminating emails stolen from the DNC. A few days later, the U.S. intelligence community assessed with high confidence that the Russian government had orchestrated the hack of these emails. Within a week of that release, a foreign government informed the FBI that George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, told a representative of their government that Russia had offered to assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. Mueller states that this information is contained in the case-opening document and related materials. This means that it was these facts, not the Steele Dossier, which raised an open question on whether Russia had attempted or was trying to attempt to coordinate with members of the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and led to the official opening of an investigation.

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Footnote 1278

Here, Mueller explains that his team investigated whether the emails taken from the DNC would qualify as stolen property, as defined by the National Stolen Property Act. This has important implications for Muellers conclusions. Defining the hacked emails as stolen property could have increased the criminal liability of Wikileaks, which would have effectively acted as a fence  a legal term referring to a middleman who illegally receives and sells stolen goods. Further, if the hacked emails had qualified as stolen property, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, who sought dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, may have had to meet a lower standard of intent and even potentially face a violation of a federal statute which prohibits knowingly receiving stolen property. But based on his legal analysis, Mueller concluded that current law defined stolen property only as tangible goods, which would not include intangible information stolen by an unauthorized use of a computer. (Though Mueller also notes that Congress has considered amending the relevant act to include such information in the definition.) Thus Manafort, Trump Jr. and Kushner had to meet the higher intent standard required for campaign finance violations  and Mueller found the evidence insufficient to meet that mark.

Footnote 1282

This is a critical footnote that addresses the question, Why wasnt former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page charged with a crime, if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court felt there was enough probable cause that he was acting as an agent for Russia to warrant monitoring his communications via a FISA order? In short, the report states that while there was enough evidence against Page to warrant a FISA order, Muellers office did not have sufficient evidence to meet the higher and more exacting standard to bring criminal charges that would likely result in a conviction for the same. This is because of the difference between counterintelligence investigations and criminal investigations. Specifically, because FISA orders are based on gathering foreign intelligence, not on gathering evidence of a crime, the probable cause standard is lower: it requires only a fair probability, rather than certainty, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or [even] proof beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the target is knowingly acting as an agent of a foreign power. That said, Mueller does note that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found that the evidence against Page met the lower probable cause requirement on four occasions.

Volume II

Footnote 7

Critics of the Mueller report have noted that much of the narrative, particularly on obstruction charges, cites news articles or publicly available information. Critics have concluded this means that Mueller was unable to unearth evidence on his own, and is therefore relying on the media to support his claims. This footnote makes clear the real reason why Mueller cited these reports so often. The report states that he summarizes and cites news stories not for the truth of the information contained in the stories, but rather to place candidate Trumps response to those stories in context. In other words, the news stories in circulation at the time of Trumps actions show what Trump knew had been publicly reported  which offers additional evidence for his frame of mind when he attempted to refute or conceal the evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election underlying those stories. This helps to establish if there was corrupt intent behind Trumps actions, a fundamental element in establishing whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

Footnote 112

On June 8, 2017, then FBI Director James Comey stated in his testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that information contained in the Steele Dossier was salacious and unverified. Comeys words have since been interpreted as referring to the entirety of the raw intelligence provided in the Steele Dossier  and thereby tainting any portion of the investigation in which it might have been used. As noted above, there is no evidence that the Steele Dossier was used to open the investigation, and its not clear how much of the report, if any, was used to obtain things like FISA orders. But to whatever extent it was used, Mueller takes pains to note here that Comeys testimony referred to a specific piece of the Steele Dossier, namely the reportings unverified allegation that the Russians had compromising tapes of the President involving conduct when he was a private citizen during a 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant. This footnote makes clear that in his testimony, Comey was not characterizing any other portion of the dossier, other than those that refer to potentially compromising tapes on President Trump, as being unverified. This means that there may well have been portions of the Dossier that were verified early on in the Russia investigation (and much of it has been corroborated in public reporting since), and could have been a legitimate source of raw intelligence for the FBI in its investigation.

Footnote 1008

This footnote offers the nexus between Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the investigation in the Southern District of New York into campaign finance violations by Michael Cohen and, potentially, Trump himself. In particular, Mueller states that he was authorized to investigate Essential Consultants, LLC, the shell company used to make a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, because he had evidence that the entity received funds from Russian-backed entities. This suggests that the Daniels payment was discovered in the course of following the money from Russia, and that the payment became evidence of a separate crime beyond Muellers jurisdiction that was then referred to an outside U.S. Attorneys Office. This particular investigative thread opens the possibility that Mueller may have also followed Russian financial leads connected to Trump, including information contained in his tax returns (which the White House has said it assumes Mueller has seen).

Footnote 1091

This is perhaps the most consequential footnote in Muellers report. In this section, Mueller dismantles Trumps lawyers argument that the president cannot, legally speaking, obstruct justice. It is here, while forcefully making the claim that Congress indeed can hold the president accountable for obstruction of justice, that Mueller adds a telling a footnote emphasizing that [a] possibility remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office. What Mueller is saying here is that impeachment and criminal prosecution are independent processes which vindicate different interests. Therefore, even Congress removing Trump from office would not preclude the same evidence from being used in a criminal prosecution  which could result in a jail sentence for a former President of the United States.
Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images

ARLINGTON, Va.  Four years ago today, Donald Trump was poised to descend his golden escalator and begin a ride that would take him all the way to the Oval Office. As he prepared his campaign, Trump didnt have much of a team. Even weeks before the launch, Trumps braintrust was largely limited to four close associates who planned his White House bid from his Manhattan office. This time around, though, things are going to be very different.

In an office tower in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from the White House, there are already about three dozen people working in the headquarters of Trumps reelection campaign  and theyre ramping up. Trumps is also backed by a super-PAC that is planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into key states.

Trumps team is vowing to put together a more-than-$1 billion machine that will dwarf the guerilla operation he had early in the 2016 cycle. The president is also coming into the race with key structural advantages and experience running a powerfully influential Facebook advertising blitz.

Yet as the Trump reelection bid moves into high gear over the next few months, its staffers must balance trying to build a traditional campaign organization centered around an unconventional candidate. During a series of conversations with Yahoo News earlier this week, senior figures working on Trumps reelection effort discussed their strategy, which included leaning into some of the most controversial aspects of his record, such as immigration, and yet also pursuing unexpected targets, such as Latinos.

The blueprint also involves making no attempts to constrain Trump, even when his Twitter tirades or off-the-cuff comments upend the campaigns carefully made plans. In 2016, Trump won the White House as an outsider scoring a stunning upset. Now, he is the establishment and his team hopes they can combine a huge, professional infrastructure with a candidate they acknowledge is the ultimate disruptor. Its a volatile mix thats unprecedented in the political arena.

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Trumps team has already been growing for months. On Monday, five new senior staffers joined, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is also dating one of the presidents sons. And in an early indication of the plan to fight for votes from Latinos and other minority groups, the announcement included the news that Hannah Castillo, who previously worked on Hispanic outreach efforts for the RNC and Virginia GOP, will serve as the campaigns director of coalitions.

Donald Trump arrives at the press event to announce his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, in New York City. (Photo: Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Along with a much larger operation than his last campaign, Trump is set to enjoy major structural advantages in this election. As president, Trump has the unrivaled megaphone and majestic trappings of the White House, as well as the ability to promote legislation and executive orders to underpin his agenda. And there are more than 20 Democrats vying to challenge Trump, setting the stage for a divisive primary that could leave his eventual opponent badly bruised.

While Trump and his team are clearly watching the Democrats who are running for president, they dont seem too concerned with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who launched a campaign as a Republican last month. A senior Trump campaign staffer dismissed the idea that Welds primary challenge poses a threat, pointing to Trumps nearly ninety percent approval rating among Republicans. A Republican National Committee spokeswoman also cited Trumps support among members of the party to shoot down the notion he could face a serious primary rival.

The RNC and the Republican Party are firmly behind the president. Any effort to challenge the presidents nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere, the RNC spokeswoman said.

The lack of a major GOP opponent has helped Trump amass a sizable war chest. Last month, the Trump campaign announced it raised nearly $30 million during the first quarter of 2019, far outpacing any of the Democrats who hope to challenge the president next year.

Time is on Trumps side too. With Weld showing little sign of momentum, Trumps team can plot a national campaign while all his potential Democratic rivals have to focus on each other and key early primary states. Trumps head start was boosted by his unusual decision to officially launch his reelection bid on the day he took office in 2017.

The lights never went off.  The campaign never fully shut down, Trump 2020 deputy communications director Erin Perrine told Yahoo News.

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld speaks to the media in Bedford, N.H., in February. (Photo: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Of course, being president also comes with pitfalls. Trumps time in office has proved divisive and, while Democrats may not be united behind a single 2020 candidate yet, the congressional opposition has been aggressively investigating and attacking Trumps White House. But Trumps campaign is confident he can run on his record. In fact, theyre not planning to shy away from the most controversial moments of his presidency  the investigation into Trumps ties to Russia and his aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign, brushed off the continued legal wrangling between investigators and Trumps legal team over records related to the presidents real estate business as a distraction. The efforts by prosecutors and congressional Democrats to look into Trumps company is part of the fallout from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race.

The Mueller report, released last month, outlined a Kremlin operation that aimed to help Trump and hurt the 2016 Democratic contender Hillary Clinton. Mueller also detailed extensive contacts between Trumps inner circle and Russia, including business ties the president denied while he was campaigning. While Muellers investigation resulted in charges against several close Trump associates, he was unable to find sufficient evidence to prove Trumps campaign participated in a conspiracy to aid the Russian meddling.

Mueller also described several instances in which Trump could have been viewed as having obstructed the probe. Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, declined to charge the president with obstruction of justice based on Muellers findings. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about Barrs handling of the investigation and are attempting to gather further evidence.

William Barr, U.S. attorney general, left, speaks as Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, listens during a news conference. (Photo: Erik Lesser/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Trump and his allies have described Muellers report as a complete exoneration of the president and have focused on the fact there was no evidence of cooperation between his campaign and Russia. Murtaugh echoed that line and added that he would not be at all surprised to see Trump bring up the report regularly on the 2020 campaign trail.

You might hear a lot about the Russia hoax, the collusion hoax. The guy spent two years  two whole years  being called a Russian agent by the media and by  virtually every Democrat, whoever could find a television camera, Murtaugh said of Trump.

Murtaugh suggested it would be natural for Trump to push back against an attack.

He was being accused of being essentially a Russian spy as the president of the United States. Its about the most outrageous thing that you could say about the president of the United States, said Murtaugh, adding, All of it was untrue, so a little righteous indignation is to be expected.

The other major controversy of Trumps political career has been his focus on illegal immigration. Critics have said Trumps rhetoric is racist and argued his policies, particularly the separation of migrant children from their families at the border, are inhumane. But Murtaugh predicted immigration will be a positive point for the president even among Latinos, nearly two thirds of whom voted against Trump in 2016.

Democrats think erroneously that they can win the argument with Hispanic voters in particular simply by saying Trump and immigration, and they think that works. It has been our experience that it does not, Murtaugh said. If youre talking to Hispanic voters as we do, if they are themselves a legal immigrant who came through the process in the right way or have legal immigrants in their family in generations close to themselves they know they followed the rules and they think other people should follow the rules too.

Expanding his Latino support would provide a boost to Trumps hopes for a second term, and there is evidence the community isnt a monolithic bloc of opposition to the president. Trump received nearly 30 percent of the Latino vote in 2016 and more recent data has indicated he has retained the support of about 20 percent of the community. There is also data to suggest some Latinos are staunchly opposed to illegal immigration while a wide swath of the community doesnt see the issue as a priority.

But Trumps potential problems on immigration might go beyond opposition to his policies. There are questions about whether Trump has delivered on his signature campaign promise from 2016  a massive wall on the southern border. At times, Trump suggested this physical manifestation of his opposition to illegal immigration could be over 1,000 miles long, thirty feet high, made from concrete, and paid for by Mexico. As president, Trump has modified his position and suggested a fence would be adequate. And with Mexico refusing to pay for the project and Democrats opposing the effort, Trump has only been able to build a fraction of the wall he promised. Even more troublesome for Trumps record is data showing that illegal border crossings have surged under his presidency, reaching an eleven-year high.

President Trump speaks at a rally in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Murtaugh argued Trumps supporters will be satisfied with his work on the border. "By the time the election rolls around, about 450 miles of border wall will have been completed and this is despite Democrats refusal to give the president a dime for it, Murtaugh said. Thanks to his declaration of a national emergency the wall is being built, and its in progress.

Other issues the campaign plans to focus on include banking reform, Trumps efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, and most critically, a strong economy. In April unemployment fell to the lowest level in nearly half a century.

Trumps official campaign isnt the only part of his 2020 machinery. He is also being supported by the America First Action super-PAC. While presidential candidates sometimes have multiple political committees vying for supremacy among their supporters, America First Action has a quasi-official status, and multiple key members of Trumps inner circle are working with the PAC.

Last month, America First Action announced its chairman would be Linda McMahon, who had previously served in Trumps cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is a senior adviser to the PAC, and ex-West Wing aide Kelly Sadler is the groups communications director. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host who is dating the presidents son and recently joined his campaign, previously worked at the PAC. A statement from the Trump campaign that announced Guilfoyle had joined the team described America First Action as the preeminent Super-PAC supporting the President.

Like the Trump campaign, America First Action believes immigration can be a winning issue for Trump with Latinos. A source familiar with the committees operations said the PAC plans to raise more than the $200 million the various outside groups supporting Hillary Clinton hauled in as she faced Trump in 2016. America First Action will focus its activities in six target states that are costly to compete in and viewed by the PAC as crucial to a Trump victory: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In particular, the source said Florida is seen by the PAC as a must-win state for Trump.

All of the states being targeted by the PAC are ones where Trump won in 2016. According to the source, the PAC is concentrated on identifying additional voters who could swing to Trump in those states. Specifically, the PACs efforts are aimed at winning over new Trump voters by homing in on African-Americans, Hispanics, and suburban mothers and improving the presidents margins among these groups.

Under President Trumps administration, hes had the lowest unemployment in history for African-Americans and Hispanics. For women, its the lowest in 65 years. So, we feel we have a great story to tell here. Were the hottest economy in the world, Sadler, the PACs communications director, told Yahoo News.

President Trump (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

To make this strategy work, America First Action plans to buy attack ads on social media and in targeted local television programs, newspapers and ethnic dailies. Sadler said the PAC largely plans to stay out of the Democratic primary and will ramp up its activities when the opposition has thinned out. Like the campaign, America First Action hopes Trump will benefit from Democratic infighting.

Were going to keep our powder dry and let the Democrats do the hatchet jobs for us, Sadler said.

Its abundantly clear Trumps reelection effort is a completely different animal than the upstart crew that propelled his shocking victory in 2016. This more formalized, professionalized, and, frankly, massive iteration of the Trump campaign will still include some of the hallmarks of the presidents last run, including a hyper-focused Facebook advertising offensive and raucous rallies. The campaign also hopes that leaving the president free to tweet and speak his mind will help them hold on to the outsider appeal that was so crucial to Trumps rise.

Microtargeted Facebook ads were widely seen as one of the key factors behind the presidents surprising 2016 victory. Trumps presence on the social network dwarfed that of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Data from Facebook revealed Trump had about 5.9 million ads on the platform compared to approximately 66,000 for Clinton.

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, speaks during a campaign rally in Houston. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Early last year, Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps digital operation during the first race, was tapped to lead the entire 2020 campaign. Parscale and Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner, led the social media push that was an instrumental part of the presidents election. Parscales promotion is a sign of just how important the Facebook microtargeting remains for Trumps campaign. Its a point of pride for the team that some political insiders have verbed the campaign manager and referred to the maneuver of installing your digital chief at the top of your organization as pulling a Parscale.

Trumps 2016 campaign featured Facebook staffers embedded in an office near where Parscale was set up. A senior Trump campaign staffer who spoke to Yahoo News said they werent sure whether anyone from Facebook is working at the headquarters. However, the campaign is clearly open to the idea and plans to have a large team crafting Facebook ads.

If theres a Facebook guy around here somewhere, I havent met them yet. ... That would be interesting, the senior staffer said, adding, Were going to have a whole army of designers.

The campaign was willing to discuss its emphasis on Facebook microtargeting, something of a known trademark for team Trump, but reticent to divulge plans for other social networks and more traditional advertising venues such as television.

Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser, will also remain close to the campaign. Multiple sources said Kushner is the campaigns key liaison in the West Wing and has multiple daily conversations with Parscale. A Trump administration official said the pair have a great working relationship from 2016 and added, Jared was the person who suggested to the president that Brad be in charge of the campaign.

However, as he outlined the campaign managers role, Murtaugh, the communications director, made clear Parscale isnt the ultimate authority on the team. He gives direction, a vision. He gives goals, Murtaugh said, adding, Sometimes he says, This is what the president wants. And thats kind of non-negotiable.

Indeed, the other major piece that is still clearly part of the presidents team is the Let Trump Be Trump ethos that was established by former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. That meant not trying to curtail Trump as he veered off script at his marathon rallies or fired off blunt jabs on Twitter. Perrine, the campaigns deputy communications director, said this philosophy will absolutely remain in place for 2020.

The president has had an insurgent mentality, an outsider mentality the entire time hes been in DC, said Perrine, adding, We fully anticipate that will be the same mentality in this campaign, even in a larger structure.

Letting Trump Be Trump may lend the incumbent some rebellious sheen as he tries to recapture the magic behind his initial upset. However, giving the president free rein on the campaign trail can easily overshadow or topple more carefully laid plans. This risk was evident in the wake of former Vice President Joe Bidens entry to the crowded Democratic primary.

On Tuesday, the morning after Bidens kickoff rally, Perrine stressed that the campaign planned to avoid focusing on any individual Democrat in the race and instead would treat them as one homogenous group. As she explained it, this would allow the campaign to take advantage of Democratic infighting.

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally in Iowa. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Theyre all going to have to pass a purity of thought and a purity of policy test, Perrine explained, adding, That means things like Medicare for All, that means things like Green New Deal, voting for felons, basic income, impeaching the president. I mean, you name it.

In other words, as Perrine put it, tying the Democrats together means the larger field can be forced to answer for egregious liberal positions adopted by some of their colleagues. Along with providing a path to exploit infighting, framing the Democrats as a group allows the Trump campaign to avoid elevating any potential challenger.

But that effort to keep the Democrats as a pack was dealt a blow by Trump himself almost immediately after his team outlined the strategy. On Wednesday, the morning after his campaign talked with Yahoo News, Trump went on a Twitter tear and retweeted over 50 messages criticizing the firefighters union endorsement of Biden.

Even before Trump launched the offensive against the former vice president, his staffers seemed fully aware he would likely blast a tweet-sized hole in the plan to consolidate the opposition. Prior to the presidential tweetstorm, Perrine specifically acknowledged the need to let Trump be Trump when asked if the campaign might focus on Biden in response to his rising poll numbers.

You know, hes his best campaign manager, best surrogate, best communications director. So, we absolutely follow his lead, Perrine said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Hamas' leader in Gaza left for talks with Egyptian officials Thursday after a new outbreak of violence, as the militant group accused Israel of slowing down the implementation of Egyptian-mediated understandings aimed at easing the situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The visit by Yehiyeh Sinwar to Cairo came hours after the Israeli military struck several Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip late Wednesday. After the airstrikes, Palestinian militants fired rockets at southern Israel. No injuries were reported on either side.

The brief flare-up marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month of relative calm that followed the unofficial deal. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.

In a short statement, the Islamic militant group said that Sinwar will meet the director of Egypt's general intelligence to discuss "ways of alleviating the suffering" of Gaza's 2 million residents.

Hamas says Israel is not abiding by the deal. Under the agreement, Israel had expanded the permitted fishing zone off Gaza's coast to 15 nautical miles, but scaled back the area to its previous limit of 9 miles this week after a Gaza rocket was fired.

Officials from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza by force since a 2007 coup, say Israel did not honor other commitments, such as allowing the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza's cash-strapped public institutions and taking measures to further ease the territory's grinding power shortages.

During the lull, Hamas kept weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence mostly restrained and suspended the more violent forms of protest, including arson balloons and nighttime skirmishes. Witnesses say balloons were launched again Wednesday.

Hamas started the demonstrations a year ago to highlight Gaza's hardships more than a decade since Israel and Egypt blockaded the territory.

Over 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed during the marches, which sometimes grew into brief cross-border exchanges of rockets and airstrikes.

Over the past decade, Hamas and Israel fought three deadly and destructive wars.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Henceforth, school bags cannot weigh more than 10% of the average body weight of students, the state government stated on Friday.

The circular, issued by the department of primary and secondary education, issued clear guidelines on the upper limits that school bags can weigh. As per the circular, bags of students of Class I and II can only weigh around 1.5kg to 2kg while those of Class III, IV and V can weigh 2kg to 3kg.

Students from Class VI-VIII can have their bags weighing only up to 3kg-4kg and those of Class IX and X can weigh up to 5kg.

This direction is binding on schools across the state from this academic year, the circular read.

The move comes in the backdrop of a 2016-17 study conducted by the department of state education research and training in association with the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India

University, Bengaluru, on reducing weights of school bags in government, aided and unaided schools in the state. Opinions were also collected from students in this regard.

Bagless day

The order announced that students of Classes I and II should not be given homework. Also, their notebooks cannot exceed 100 pages. Also, schools are directed to observe every third Saturday of the month as Bagless Day. On this day, teachers are expected to engage students in educational extracurricular and cultural activities.

The order mandates teachers to keep their students abreast about the books required for the succeeding day so students could get only those books and avoid extra baggage. Schools have also been asked to

maintain adequate stocks of essential books such as Atlas and science dictionaries among others.

The order also directs schools to make provisions where students could drop their textbooks instead of carrying them home on a daily basis.




Multiple people were injured in Kiryat Gat when rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on May 4, Israel Police said. This video shows police officers responding to one of the scenes.

Approximately 150 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday, with the Iron Dome intercepting dozens, Haaretz reported.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on Gaza in retaliation for the rocket fire, according to their official Twitter account.

One Palestinian was killed, and seven others injured, in the attacks, a spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said. Credit: @IL_police via Storyful
CHICAGO (AP)  A judge is to rule next week on whether he will recuse himself from a request to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how Chicago's top prosecutor handled actor Jussie Smollett's criminal case.

Retired Illinois appellate judge Sheila O'Brien is pushing for the review of Cook County State's Attorney's Kim Foxx's office, which dropped charges against Smollett that accused him of making a false police report.

On Thursday, O'Brien asked Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. to recuse himself because his son works for Foxx as an assistant state's attorney. Cathy McNeil Stein, who represented Foxx's office, says there is no need for another judge. Martin says he will consider O'Brien's request and announce his decision May 10.

Foxx and Smollett did not attend Thursday's hearing.
The nauseating smell of death that infested the streets around Colombo's morgue after Sri Lanka's devastating Easter attacks has finally dispersed.

But forensic pathologists are still attempting to identify the remains of bodies blown apart by suicide bombers, the final pieces of a macabre puzzle.

While staff have so far returned 115 victims to their relatives, there are still some 50 bags filled with unidentified remains in the morgue's refrigerated rooms.

The fragments are a somber reflection of the brutal force of the bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State.

It also helps explain why the death toll from the blasts has fluctuated considerably. At first Sri Lankan authorities said 359 had died before slashing it to 253, and then raising it again to 257 this week.

In one bag "there are two parts of a cheek - one cheek with an ear, one with some scalp and an ear. That could be two people," said Ajith Tennakoon, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

"The proper management of dead bodies is to identify them and to give them respect and dignity."

He said the staff's "prime duty" is to hand back the bodies to relatives so they can say goodbye to their loved ones in accordance with different religious beliefs.

During the meticulous reconstruction, even the smallest clue is helpful: a piece of jewellery worn by the victim, a patterned piece of clothing or a distinctive scar.

Where possible, forensic pathologists examined teeth and fingerprints but DNA tests are the most reliable method of identification.

Among the last body bags could be the remains of six people still missing since the bombings, as well as the suicide bombers.

They could also include victims whose remains have been returned incomplete.

- Solving a crime 

The forensic doctors are also investigators. They may be able to find clues that identify the attackers or the types of explosives used.

From a drawer, Tennakoon pulls out a see-through plastic bag which holds a lead ball -- one of those used by jihadists as shrapnel to maximise the damage.

Story continues

"We also have to help to solve the crime, it is a crime, a man-made disaster," he added.

The work of piecing together bodies is more painstaking in Colombo than the other affected cities of Negombo and Batticaloa because of the nature of the bomb attacks.

"If the bomb takes place in a concrete-built structure, the damage is much worse," said Anil Jasinghe, Sri Lanka's director general of health services.

"That is what happened in the hotels, they were concrete buildings."

Although 102 people died in one church in Negombo, almost all the bodies were returned the same evening.

The blast blew the roof off the building, allowing the air pressure to escape through the top.

But in a confined space, a sudden rush of air causes considerable devastation.

"What counts more than anything are the shock waves, they move faster than sound and at very high velocity, which actually could tear bodies apart," said Jasinghe.

As forensic pathologists continue to puzzle over the fragments still lying in body bags, victims' relatives who had gathered outside the building in temporary marquees -- where they had the distressing task of identifying their loved ones through photographs -- have long since left and the tents taken down.
What Happened This Week:

Self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido gambled this week to try to force the ouster of de facto Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, calling on the Venezuelan people to join him in mass protests and military officials to defect to his side. People showed up to protestboth for and against Madurobut the military defections Guaido hoped for never quite materialized.

Why It Matters:

When it comes to politics, timing is everything. Guaido had real momentum in January when he announced that Maduros electoral win was rigged and illegitimate (correct on both counts), and that Venezuelas constitution empowered the head of the countrys parliament (read: him) to serve as president until free and fair elections could be held. The US backed Guaido immediately, a diplomatic victory which opened the door for other countries to follow suitmore than 50 countries now recognize Guaido as the countrys rightful leader. But none of those countries were willing to do much beyond sanctions and humanitarian aid. In fact, the one country that seemed committed to sending in military assistance of any kind was Russia, which had invested heavily in the Maduro regime. That effectively meant that while Guaido was an international cause celebre, Maduro was the one who controlled the countrys military and security forces on the ground. And without control of those forces, Guaido was just another Venezuelan opposition leader.

Guaido has thus spent the last three months trying to peel military supporters away from Maduro. At the beginning of this week, it seemed like he may have actually pulled it offin a video featuring Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader and Guaidos political mentor who had been under house arrest for the last two yearsGuaido announced that the final phase of Operation Liberty had commenced, and called for the Venezuelan people to join him in protests to force the ouster of Maduro once and for all. Lopez was released by dissident military officials that had switched loyalties to Guaido, a sign that Guaido was gaining traction among the countrys security apparatus. Combined with the strong rhetoric from US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, there was genuine hope that this was the beginning of the end for Maduro. But three key officials that the opposition hoped would switch to their sidethe countrys defense minister, the chief judge of the Supreme Court and the head of Maduros presidential guardremained loyal to Maduro. Maduro thus ends the week in a much stronger position than when he started it, and Guaido and Venezuelas opposition are now on the backfoot.

Story continues

What Happens Next:

Guaido just suffered his most significant defeat since storming onto the world stage a few months ago, and its not clear where he goes from here. Guaido needs to keep both the Venezuelan public as well as the international community engaged and on his side as developments in the country unfold, but the failed attempt to force matters to a head significantly hampers his ability to do both. Guaido managed to cobble together support from certain members of the National Guard and Venezuelas Secret Service, but was unable to show that he flipped any members of the armed forces with any operational relevance or with significant troops under their command. Its still unclear whether Guaido had bad intelligence, supposed-defectors got cold feet, or if Guaido just hoped that a daring gambit would swing things in his favor.

But now Maduro is emboldened. What he does with that remains to be seenhe could go after Guaido and try to get him arrested or exiled, but that runs the risk of drawing the ire of the international community and reviving support for Guaido. His smartest move might be to just let Guaido spin his wheels and wait for fractures in the countrys opposition to emerge as they argue over next steps.

Guaidos tough week also shows the limitations of US support, and makes US military intervention even more unlikely that it was before. Despite the strong rhetoric from Bolton and Pompeo, President Donald Trump has never been a fan of foreign interventions, and the prospect of taking on a Maduro who just showed that he still commands the loyalty of Venezuelas security forces is unlikely to change that.

The Key Quote That Sums It All Up:

I worry that this kind of semi-regular raising of expectations to very high levels wears  and makes the kind of internal pressure that needs to build harder to happen, Daniel Resrepo, NSC Latin America Advisor in the Obama administration.

The One Thing to Read About It:

Pompeo claims that Maduro was about to leave Venezuela this week until the Russians told him to stay put, which the Russians denied. To understand why Russians hold so much sway from half a world away, read this piece I put together a few weeks ago for Time.

The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:

and the winner of this political drama gets to preside over a sinking Venezuela. Not much of a prize if were being honest.
(Reuters) - Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday. St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement. "The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable but remain under surveillance by the ship's doctor," Frederick-James said, noting the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear. The St. Lucia Ministry of Health ordered the ship to be quarantined on Tuesday. The restriction comes as the number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2GJgoBt) Frederick-James said the doses of measles vaccines were being supplied to the ship free of charge. She gave no information about the ship or its origins. NBC News, citing a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, reported the ship is named Freewinds, which is the name of a 440-foot vessel owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. According to Reuters Eikon shipping data, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified as SMV Freewinds was docked in port near Castries on Thursday. The ship was headed next to the island of Dominica, the data showed. On its website, the Church of Scientology describes the Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion." It says the vessel's home port is Curacao. Church officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News reported that nearly 300 passengers and crew were aboard the vessel, with one female crew member diagnosed with measles. Public health officials blame declining vaccination rates in some communities driven by misinformation about inoculation that has left those populations vulnerable to rapid spread of infection among those with no immunity to the virus. The vast majority of U.S. cases have occurred in children who have not received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), officials said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's ruling and opposition parties agreed on Friday to give themselves six more months to form a unity government as part of a peace deal they signed in September, the regional group IGAD said in a statement. Also on Friday, President Salva Kiir lifted a state of emergency imposed in 2017 in five northern states of the country, South Sudan Radio reported, in a bid to help foster peace. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into a civil war two years later. After a string of failed agreements, a peace deal was signed last September between the two sides, represented by Kiir and his former deputy turned rival, Riek Machar. As part of the peace deal, the two sides aimed to form a national unity government by May 12. The parties met in neighboring Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Friday to seek a way forward on the unity government. "The Parties identified lack of political will, financing and time constraints as the major challenges that have delayed implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks and underscored the need to ensure that specific pending tasks are adequately funded within a clearly set out and reasonable timeframe," IGAD said in a statement. "In light of the above, the Parties unanimously agreed to extend the Pre-Transitional period by an additional six (6) months effective from 12th May 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks," the intergovernmental group added. While the peace deal has helped to reduce fighting and partly alleviated the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country, a U.N. panel of experts on South Sudan said in a report on Tuesday that the country still faces significant challenges. IGAD, which has been helping to mediate between the two sides, said the new agreement will be presented for consideration at its council of ministers meeting to be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba in South Sudan. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Hugh Lawson)
By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation. The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months. The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory. Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally. Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria. But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people. Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia. The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now. Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement. But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months. Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters. HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping. After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area. "Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added. The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed. Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said. Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly." UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed. Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented. The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn conducted final rituals on Friday in preparation for three days of ceremonies for his elaborate coronation, which will also be marked by the pardoning and release from jail of some prisoners. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. King Vajiralongkorn, 66, is also known by the title of King Rama X. He became a constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father in October 2016, after 70 years on the throne. On Friday, the king visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to pay respects to one of Thailand's most sacred Buddhist relics. "Long live the king," chanted a group of people dressed in yellow, an auspicious color in Thailand, as the king and his new queen walked on a red carpet to the Grand Palace, shielded from the hot afternoon sun by a big yellow umbrella. The king lit auspicious candles at 4:19 p.m. (9:19 GMT), a time that court astrologers determined was propitious, as 80 Buddhist monks chanted. Yellow is particularly significant as it is the color of Monday In Thai culture, which is steeped in astrology, the day the king was born, and also the color of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos. Thais have been urged to wear yellow until the end of July, the king's birth month. Earlier on Friday, a senior palace official transferred a golden plaque inscribed with the king's official name and title, his horoscope and the royal seal from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the Grand Palace in preparation for Saturday's events. The three items, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week, will be presented to the king by the chief Brahmin, along with five royal regalia, the symbols of kingship in Thailand. ROYAL PARDON Ahead of the grand ceremonies, the king said he would grant royal pardons to some prisoners to "give them a chance to become good citizens", according to the Royal Gazette. The order, which will take effect on Saturday, listed many criteria of prisoners eligible for the pardon, including those with disabilities, chronic or terminal diseases, or those within a year of completing their sentence. The king will also reduce sentences for some prisoners, including those imprisoned for life, and commute some death sentences to life. It is not clear how many people will qualify for pardons, and the Department of Corrections said it would finalize a list of eligible prisoners, and release them or commute their sentences, within 120 days. The order did not exclude foreigners, nor did it exclude prisoners convicted of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese-majeste, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a prominent student activist who was sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in jail for sharing a Thai-language BBC profile of the king is expected to be released next week, his lawyer told Reuters. Jatupat was the first person to be charged with royal insult after the king formally ascended the throne following the death of King Bhumibol. His full jail term will be completed on June 19. (Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
President Donald Trump said Friday after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin that Putin has no desire to involve Russia in the spiraling political crisis in Venezuela.

We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. And he is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way, Trump told reporters at the White House.

The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas rightful leader, while Russia supports President Nicolas Maduros socialist regime. The call between Trump and Putin was apparently their first conversation since Guaido launched an effort to overthrow Maduro earlier this week. A month ago, when Putin sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Venezuelas capital, Trump said that Russia has to get out. And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of convincing Maduro to stay in the country just as he was about to flee amid escalating tensions.

He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay, Pompeo said.

Guaido, the National Assembly president, this week called on the opposition to take to the streets to oust Maduro, but most of the military has remained loyal to Maduro thus far. Trump said Friday that the main U.S. concern was for the well-being of ordinary Venezuelans.

We want to get some humanitarian aid; right now people are starving, they have no water, they have no food, he said. [Venezuela was] one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago and now they dont have food and they dont have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis.

More from National Review
By Express News Service

HUBBALLI: Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah has stated the Kundgol by-election is not about Kusumavati Shivalli, but about the pride of Congress party workers.

Addressing a mammoth rally held at Sanshi village near Kungdol on Friday, Siddaramaiah said in order to keep the legacy of Shivalli alive, party workers should reach doorstep and seek votes. He said he would camp at the constituency for four days from May 14.

Shivalli always cared for the poor people despite his poor health. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Siddaramaiah said, Modi has always claimed he has a 56-inch chest, but within that, he has no space for the poor. The BJP leaders are least bothered about the poor, he added.

Water Resources minister D K Shivakumar asserted the by-election is being fought not on the personality of Shivalli, but on the services he rendered to the poor. Further, he said he has taken the elections would be fought under the combined leadership of both Congress and JDS. Voters of Kungold and Chincholi would give a befitting reply to BJP leaders who are trying to destabilise the coalition government, he said.

KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao cautioned party workers not be complacent on the victory of the Congress candidate, and not to rely only on the sympathy factor.

KPCC Campaigning Committee chairman H K Patil, party leaders Satish Jarkiholi, Vinay Kulkarni and Anil Patil, JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti and others were present.

for first time, two ballot units in chincholi constituency

Kalaburagi: For the first time in Chincholi, voters have to check the names of candidates of their choice in two ballot units of their respective polling booths. The capacity of the ballot unit would be 16 candidates. In the by-elections to Chincholi constituency, scheduled on May 19, 17 candidates will contest, and it is mandatory to provide the NOTA option. This means election officials should arrange 2 ballot units, the first unit comprising 16 candidates and second unit comprising the last candidate and the NOTA button. Though there are 17 candidates in the fray, it seems like it will be a contest between Congress candidate Subhash Rathod and BJPs Avinash Jadhav.

Avinash jadhav has no political know-how: naik

Kalaburagi: A convention of different social organisations was held in Chincholi, under the leadership of minister Parameshwara Naik on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Parameshwara criticised previous MLA Umesh Jadhav, saying, Congress gave everything to Umesh Jadhav, but he left the party to join the BJP. Naik further alleged that BJP has only given a ticket to Avinash Jadhav because he is the son of Umesh. Avinash Jadhav does not have any political experience, while Congress candidate Subhash Rathod has been working for the development of the Banjara community for two decades, Naik said.
New York (AFP) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled plans to attend a New York gala in his honor after several companies withdrew their sponsorship and thousands of people demanded it be scrapped.

The gala, organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce for May 14, had attracted widespread criticism over the far-right president's record, with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio describing Bolsonaro as "a dangerous man".

Bolsonaro decided to cancel the trip due to "resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups" on organisers, a spokesman said in a statement.

The event had been due to be held at the New York Museum of Natural History, before it pulled out of hosting.

It was moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, where protesters have been gathering every night outside seeking the complete cancellation of the event.

On Friday, US airline Delta, British daily Financial Times and consulting firm Bain & Company all confirmed to AFP that they would not sponsor the dinner as planned.

Bolsonaro was to receive a Person of the Year award at the event.

Every year, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce awards the prize to a Brazilian and an American at a gala dinner, with famous guests on hand. The event -- which costs $30,000 a plate -- was sold out.

Elected late October with an ultraconservative agenda, Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his environmental policy.

Since taking office in January, he has reduced or eliminated funding for indigenous protection organizations.

He also placed them under the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina Dias, who is close to the massive agribusiness industry, which is accused of aggravating deforestation.
By Express News Service

KASARGOD: The Muslim Educational Society (MES), which issued a circular disallowing veils in its schools and colleges, is facing backlash from its own unit.

In a statement, the Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

We do not agree with Dr Gafoors views on women wearing veils. He should correct them, and the circular should be withdrawn, MES district president Dr Khader Mangad, general secretary C Muhammed Kunhi, and treasurer A Hameed said in the statement.

The circular - issued on April 17 and to be implemented from next academic year - was the personal opinion of Dr Gafoor and did not represent the official stance of MES, they said. The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoors father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

READ | Muslim Education Society bans face veils in colleges run by it in Kerala, sparks row

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses. Institution heads and office-bearers of the local management of the institutions should be vigilant... This should be implemented without giving way to controversy, it said.

The Kasargod district committee of MES said the circular could not be the policy of the organisation because it was not discussed by any committee. The matter was not discussed at the state general council meeting held at MES Engineering College, Kuttippuram, on March 30, or at the executive council meeting held at Perinthalmanna medical college on April 8, it said.

Gafoor was trying to impose his personal views on institutions and he should be cautious in expressing views on religious matters, it said. When contacted, Dr Mangad, the former vice chancellor of Calicut University, said the circular was a direct denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. My differences with Gafoors circular are more about denial of individual freedom than religious freedom. It is not about being progressive or regressive, he said. I am not a religious fundamentalist, he said.

READ | Burqa, ghoonghat are the same, ban both, says Javed Akhtar

Embattled MES gets support from various quarters

Meanwhile, The MES which came under attack from hardline Muslim groups following its decision to ban face veil in all its institutions, has got the firm backing of Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel. Jaleel said it was not the mafta (head scarf) that the MES intended to ban from campuses, but the niqab (full veil). The Minister said Islam has never insisted that women should cover their face and hands. It is for the Muslim organisations themselves to introspect if they need to continue with a dress code which has not been prescribed in Islam, Jaleel said.

However, the Minister also clarified the government did not want to enforce any decision regarding dress code on women. It is for Muslim organisations to reach a consensus on the matter, Jaleel said. Meanwhile, the MES decision has also got the backing of a prominent Mujahid group. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president T P Abdullakoya Madani said Islam does not insist on women covering their faces. Terming the ongoing controversy as needless, Madani said women do not cover their faces while performing Hajj.
What does the measles outbreak have in common with the cult that encourages drinking bleach? And what does it have in common with Netanyahu's immunity law initiative? The answer is the wisdom of the masses, one of maladies of our social media day and age.

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The idea of the wisdom of the masses is that no single individuals holds greater knowledge than a million ordinary people. Not even if that individual is a doctor who studied medicine for seven years and did an internship and residency for six to nine more. If one million people like or share a post about how measles vaccines are dangerous and should be avoided, their opinion counts more that that of 100 doctors who think otherwise. The masses know.





Netanyahu and Deri in a govenment meeting; both face an indictment subject to a hearing (File Photo) (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

The results for this kind of behavior are evident around the world nowadays with the measles outbreak. Not to mention the "trend" a hideous word in itself  of parents who give their children a mix of bleach and water to drink, only god knows why.

But how does this relate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's immunity law initiative, aimed to deny any option of charging him with crimes while he serves as prime minister?

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

It's simple. An army of lawyers, headed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, went through mountains of papers, discussions and testimonies, and concluded that there is supporting evidence to indict Netanyahu for serious offences of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing.

But now, after some 1,140,000 people voted for Netanyahu's Likud Party, and an equal number voted for his "natural partners", rightist leaders come forth and say that "the people have decided Netanyahu is innocent." "There is nothing, because there was nothing, and there will be nothing. Simply nothing", stated the prime ministers famous quote about the accusation against him.

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

And so, if people have determined that Netanyahu is innocent, there's no problem for his future coalition members to approve legislation granting him immunity from indictment. This would also be of use for other Knesset members who are facing prosecution, subject to a hearing. These are Interior Minister Arye Deri, Welfare Minister Haim Katz, and perhaps MK David Bitan, who stated that if Deri, who was already a convicted felon, can be minister, so can he, and he has a point.

Many Likud supporters believe Netanyahu is innocent, according to their vote at the polls. Others believe he is corrupt, but simply don't give a damn. If he knows how to take care of himself, he'll know how to take care of us, they say. That has nothing to do with the wisdom of the masses, but rather with the lack of moral values.

Most Israelis didn't go to law school and have never read white collar offences, judicial verdicts or transcripts of investigations. Nor did they read the papers describing the suspicions against Netanyahu. The materials are anyway undisclosed to us, despite Mandelblit's declaration to reveal them after the April 9 elections. But what does it even matter? The masses have decided, as they did with measles vaccines. This is the wisdom of the masses for you.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday he hopes Israel will take a hard look at President Donald Trump's upcoming Middle East peace proposal before proceeding with any plan to annex West Bank settlements.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed in the waning days of a re-election campaign he won on April 9 to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in a move that would be bound to trigger condemnation from the Palestinians and the Arab world and complicate the U.S. peace effort.

Jared Kushner (Photo: Reuters)

Kushner, speaking at a dinner of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Middle East peace proposal he has been putting together was close to release and that Israel and the Palestinians should wait to see it before making any unilateral moves.

He said the issue would be discussed with the Israeli government when Netanyahu forms a governing coalition.

"I hope both sides will take a real look at it, the Israeli side and the Palestinian side, before any unilateral steps are made," Kushner said, adding he had not discussed the issue of settlement annexation with Netanyahu.

Greenblatt and Kushner at UN with Israeli Amb. Danny Dannon

Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt have spent the past two years developing the peace proposal in the hopes it will provide a framework for a renewed dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinians have refused to talk to the U.S. side since Trump decided to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, all territory Israel captured in 1967.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is expected to unveil his proposals in June after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Kushner and Ivanka at embassy opening (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)

"What we will be able to put together is a solution that we believe is a good starting point for the political issues and then an outline for what can be done to help these people start living a better life," Kushner said.

"I was given the assignment of trying to find a solution between the two sides and I think what we'll put forward is a framework that I think is realistic ... it's executable and it's something that I do think will lead to both sides being much better off," Kushner said.

Political, economic components

Kushner has begun to take a more public role in the Trump administration since he emerged unscathed from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into whether the Trump presidential campaign in 2016 colluded with Russia.

Trump and Kushner in Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

Trump has relied heavily on the 38-year-old Kushner, who helped develop prison reform legislation and a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and is also working on a U.S. immigration proposal.

The Middle East proposal, which has been delayed for a variety of reasons over the past 18 months, has two major components. It has a political piece that addresses core issues such as the status of Jerusalem, and an economic part that aims to help the Palestinians strengthen their economy.

Kushner and Netanyahu (:  ")

Kushner has said the proposal is not an effort to impose U.S. will on the region. He has not said whether it calls for a two-state solution, a goal of past peace efforts.

On Thursday night, he called on critics to hold their fire until they are able to see the plan in its entirety.

Palestinians have voiced skepticism about the effort led by Trump's son-in-law, who was a real estate developer before joining his father-in-law as a senior White House adviser.

Arab officials and analysts believe the plan is likely to be decidedly pro-Israel since the Trump administration has taken a tough line toward Palestinians, cutting off aid and ordering the PLO's office in Washington shut.

Greenblatt has said U.S. negotiators expect Israelis and Palestinians will both be critical of some parts of the plan.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Unleashing its fury on coastal and adjoining districts of Odisha, extremely severe cyclone Fani made landfall at Puri coast close to Chilika on Friday morning.

The cyclonic storm hit Odisha land with a wind speed of 180 to 190kmph. India Meteorological Department said the process of landfall started at around 8am and part of the eye was on Puri land at around 8.30. Landfall process will continue till 11 am, the IMD said.

READ: Cyclone Fani Updates | Eye of storm crosses into land at Odisha coast, relief efforts begin

The life-threatening storm surge, strong wind and extremely heavy rainfall accompanied induced by the category 4 cyclone wreaked havoc in the Puri district causing widespread damage and destruction In around the district.

Hundreds of trees uprooted while asbestos and tin roof were blown away by the gusty wind blowing at a speed of around 140 to 150 kmph in many parts of the districts. Apart from Puri, heavy rains lashed many other parts of coastal belt such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Jaipur, Jagatsighpur, Cuttack and Kendrapara. The strong wind also caused partial damage to infrastructure in these districts.

Capital Bhubaneswar, located around 70km from the place of the landfall, also experienced heavy rainfall and wrong wind under the impact of the storm. Uprooted trees blocked roads in various parts of the city. The wind gusting up to over 100 kms posed serious threat to vehicles. Cars got damaged as a portion of boundary wall caved in residential area on Janpath road.

Billboards and dangling wires also increased the risk for the citizens in Bomikhal, Rasulgarh, Jaydev Vihar and other places. Many parts of the city also faced water-logging. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation with the help of fire service units pitched into action removing uprooted trees and clearing roads and drains.

As the landfall process continued Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said the situation is being monitored closely. As of now, Puri has remained the worst affected district. We are collecting information from other districts too, Sethi said.

Anticipating destruction, the state government had evacuated over a million people to safety in 13 districts since Thursday night. Besides, it had prepositioned 28 NDRF and 20 ODRAF units along with 550 fire service units in vulnerable areas of 18 districts to carry out relief and rescue operation. The SRC said keeping the situation in view 10 additional NDRF teams have deployed in the affected districts.

After landfall process is over the system is expected to enter into khurda and then move to Cuttack, Jaipur, Bhadrak, Jagatsingpur, Balasore before entering into west Bengal on May 4. Arrangements have been made to start free kitchens at the cyclone shelters.

Around 4,000 such shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres, are housing the evacuees. Over one lakh dry food packets have been kept ready for air dropping for which two choppers requisitioned, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) BP Sethi said.

No casualty has so far been reported from any part of the state, Sethi said adding the government is fully prepared to deal with the situation. A cyclone making a landfall implies that the first arm of the cyclone has reached the land.

The Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at different spots at Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata. It has also deployed four ships to handle any exigency. The Indian Navy has also deployed three ships with relief material and medical teams so that it can launch rescue operation after the cyclone hits the coastline of Odisha.

Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said several aircraft have also been kept on standby for immediate deployment to carry out aerial survey. "Helicopters are also kept standby for joining in rescue operation and for air dropping of relief material when required," Capt Sharma said.

Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to people to remain indoors during the period of the cyclone, and said all arrangements have been made for the safety and security of the people.

All shops, business establishments, private and government offices except those associated with relief and rescue operations will remain closed in 11 coastal districts as a precautionary measure. More than 220 trains on the Kolkata-Chennai route have been cancelled until Saturday. Aviation regulator DGCA announced that flights in and out of Bhubaneswar airport stand cancelled on Friday.

Consequently, the operations of various domestic airlines have been affected. The Central government has also made preparations. The Power Ministry has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with the least downtime.

The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry plans to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said it is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food. The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance.

It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs. The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS for cyclone-related messages and inter-operability of mobile networks by other operators. The Petroleum Ministry has ensured availability of sufficient petroleum and oil in the affected areas.

(With PTI inputs)
Some 50 sirens were heard in the southern city of Ashkelon Saturday morning, and the Iron Dome intercepted several rocket launches from the Gaza Strip.

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The cities of Rehovot, Sderot, Ashdod, and communities in the Gaza border region in the Sha'ar HaNegev and Eshkol Regional Councils were also targeted. In Ashkelon, public shelters were opened.

Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (Photo: Roee Idan)

No injuries or damages were reported so far.

The IDF retaliated with tank fire on a Hamas lookout post and an IAF attack on Hamas positions in the Strip.

The IDF closed Israeli civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip earlier Saturday, after clashes on Friday's weekly March of Return injured two IDF soldiers and killed two Palestinians, and an overnight IAF strike killed two more.

The events come after a relatively calm few months with no Palestinian casualties.

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to his thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

The overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

Hamas' deputy commander Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement that the organization was acting to push Israel to do its part in the arrangement negotiated between the sides.

"Israel is delaying in acting on some of the conditions that were agreed on. We wont let that happen, we have a schedule, and have many options. We know how to make Israel do what it said it will," said the official.

The Islamic Jihad terror group said in a statement that Israel is behind the recent "dangerous escalation".

"The Palestinian people is using its right to defend itself. The resistance is committed to this right as long as the aggression and the siege are ongoing," said the statement.

IDF forces evacuate wounded soldiers Friday

A joint headquarters for all militant groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement saying, "Israeli cruel aggression against our people leads us to call all militant groups to be ready to react to the enemy's crimes."

The Friday and Saturday events follow several firebombs launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli border communities that caused fires on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Islamic Jihad launched a long-range rocket into Israel Monday, which fell at sea, and signaled the beginning of this weeks' flare-up.
Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday as Israel was pounded by a massive rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday evening that some 200 rockets had been fired at the country during the day, and that it had responded with aerial bombardments across Gaza.

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The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.

Rocker hits the city of Kiryat Gat, 80 year-old women seriously wounded (Photo: Avi Rokah)

In Kiryat Gat, an 80-year-old woman was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket. In Ashkelon, a 49-year-old man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to the hands and legs.





Eyewitness footage of a rocket strike in Ashkelon

Also in Ashkelon, a 35-year-old man was moderately hurt when a rocket hit a home in the southern city. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that the man was wounded in the upper body and taken to Barzilai Hospital.

It was the not the first time Saturday that an Israeli home was hit by rocket fire. Other residences were damaged by rocket fire on Kibbutz Nahal Oz and in Hof Ashkelon regional council. The home's dwellers in the latter ran for their shelter and none were hurt.





A rocket launch from Gaza (Photo: AFP)

Several buildings were damaged in the city of Sderot and in several other Gaza border communities. One rocket landed near a kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev, close to the border with Gaza.

Rockets were continually launched from the Gaza Strip throughout Saturday, with long-range missiles targeting communities in the central region. Sirens blared through communuties in the south and center, as far as Rehovot, some 30km from Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, approximately 20km from Jerusalem.

House suffers direct hit in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza border

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets on Saturday, the arny said.

The military closed civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday.

Multiple Israeli local authorities opened public bomb shelters amid the ongoing rocket fire, including Mateh Yehuda, Yavne, Be'er Sheva and Ashdod.

Restrictions on the size of public gatherings has also been imposed in some areas, and the airspace up to 10 kilometers from the Gaza border was closed until Sunday. Activity at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport continued as scheduled.

A rocket strike on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (Photo: AFP)

Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri said Saturday that the southern city was on full emergency footing in the wake of the barrage of rockets.

"We are very experienced (in dealing with Gaza fire)," Lasri told Ynet, "our residents know how to act."

Truce efforts

UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, meanwhile, was working on reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid the escalating violence, foreign diplomatic sources said.

The ceasfire efforts also involve Egyptian mediators credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March triggered a burst of intense fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security assessment Saturday afternoon, arriving at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv to meet with senior defense and cabinet officials.

IDF hits Gaza

IDF jets and combat helicopters continued a wave of air strikes on what it said were terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon. The army said Saturday that it was preparing to expand its raids in the Strip.

The IDF strikes Gaza (Photo: AFP)

The IDF said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, including facilities used for the manufacturing of arms and a joint facility for both organizations.

A building used by Hamas' naval forces was also attacked. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army is "ready to go on as long as needed."

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike on Saturday.





Blue and White MK Alon Schuster (center) sits in a bomb shelter at Kibbutz Nahal Oz (Photo: Roei Idan)

The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. The Palestinian Education Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Hamas announced it is prepared to respond to "Israel's crimes" and "will not allow Palestinian blood to be shed." The announcement also said Hamas is committed to the protection of their people and the continuation of the March of Return.

A home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz is hit by rocket fire

Israel closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez Gaza border crossings Saturday as the violence spiraled. The army also halted fishing off the Gaza coast, which had been expanded as a gesture following the previous round of fighting in March.

Eurovision threatened

The flare-up comes days before Israelis celebrate Independence Day and Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

A fragment from an Iron Dome anti-missile battery falls on warehouse near Ashkelon

The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad released a statement directly threating the contest, vowing to "prevent the enemy from holding a festival whose purpose is to undermine the Palestinian narrative."

A home in a Gaza border community sustains a direct hit from a rocket (Photo: Reuters)

"The civilians (of Israel) are destined to hell for the continual expansion of the Israeli aggression towards our people and our resistance," said the statement.

"We say to the decision-makers in Israel: do not dream of having quiet while the Palestinian people pay the price. The resistance is committed to respond to the enemys aggression and to surprise him."

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to the thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

An overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.
The headquarters for all militarist groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement Saturday saying that "the next few hours will difficult and painful for Israel."

"The resistance will not stand by, it will react to the direct hits on Palestinian citizens," said the stamen.

"The Israeli communities near the Gaza Border are on our reach," they added.

Gaza officials said that talks with Egypt in an effort to contain the flare-up were held but that nothing was achieved.
The IDF says it is widening its air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip in response to massive rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave.

The army also says it has destroyed a tunnel dug by Islamic Jihad in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. According to the IDF, the tunnel was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack in Israel.
An unnamed source in the Gaza Strip told Ynet Saturday evening that negotiations between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza terror groups are ongoing.

The source added that talks between the sides are "moving in the right direction."
Gaza's health ministry says a Palestinian infant has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Seba Abu Arar, 14 months, died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry said. Another child was moderately injured.

There were no additional details immediately available.

The airstrike happened in east Gaza City, the ministry said, as Israel continued its aerial offensive in response to rockets that Gaza militants have fired throughout the day toward southern Israel.
At least four rockets were fired at the southern city of Ashdod on Saturday night, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad made good on an earlier threat to strike further distances from the Gaza Strip if Israel did not halt its air strikes on the coastal enclave. The Iron Dome missile defense system brought down the rockets.

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A short time later, rockets were fired at the southern city of Be'er Sheva. Iron Dome was also deployed in the area. A Ynetnews editor who lives in Be'er Sheva said rockets both fell in open areas and were brought down by Iron Dome. Two people were hurt by shrapnel in the Bedouin town of Laqiya, in the Be'er Sheva area.

Iron Dome in operation over Be'er Sheva (Photo: Avi Rokah)

According to the IDF, more than 250 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday. In Gaza, a mother and her baby were reported to have been killed in an IDF air strike.

Rocket fire from Gaza at Ashdod on Saturday night (Photo: Reuters)

Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday by rocket fire, and dozens more were treated for shock.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.





Iron Dome brings down rockets fied from Gaza at Sderot on Saturday (Photo: AP)

Egypt reportedly stepped up its efforts to halt the escalating violence between Israel and Gaza on Saturday evening, even as sirens and rocket barrages from Gaza continued unabated, and as the IDF continued to strike targets in the Strip.

A source in Gaza said that Egyptian efforts to end the violence, which also reportedly include UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov, were making progress.

"Even as the exchange of fire is worsening, the contacts in Cairo between the Hamas and Islamic Jihad delegations and Egyptian intelligence are becoming more intense," the source said. "There is progress in the talks and they are being conducted in a positive manner."

An Israeli security source said, however, that no such discussions on the issue were taking place.

As the violence continued Saturday, the Israel Air Force attacked more than 120 targets in the Gaza Strip and even escalated its operations Saturday evening by bombing a six-story building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City that housed the Hamas Prisoner Affairs Ministry, as well as the Hamas military intelligence building.

The IDF strikes the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs building in gaza (Photo: AFP)

The baby girl was killed during one of the Israeli attacks, and a few hours later, it was reported that her mother had also died.

Following the destruction of the Rimal building, the military wings of the Palestinian terror groups said that rocket fire at Ashkelon, Ofakim and Kiryat Gat was a response to the bombing. The groups also said that further air strikes would lead to greater rocket fire.

"If Israel continues bombing, we will increase the range to Ashdod and Be'er Sheva," the groups said.

A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip also said that the Islamic Jihad delegation to Cairo included the commander of the northern brigade of the organization's military wing, Baha Abu al-Ata.

He was invited to Cairo after the launch of a rocket from Gaza that exploded at sea earlier this week, and his identity was revealed by the IDF. He left the Gaza Strip with the delegation on Wednesday.

Earlier, a joint statement by the Gaza organizations' military wings said that they would step up the rocket fire should the IDF continue the air strikes.

"We are tracking Israel's movements and its commitment to end its aggression against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and we will respond accordingly to such aggression," groups said.

"We warn Israel that our response will be more extreme and broader if it continues its attacks. We will continue to serve as the defender and guardian of our people and our land."
The Iron Dome missile defense system is put into operation in the Be'er Sheva area following the start of rocket fire from Gaza.
One person is lightly hurt by rocket fire from Gaza in the Be'er Sheva area.

The rocket apparently fell in a Bedouin community close to the city.
YORK  York Middle School Principal Kenny Loosvelt has received a prestigious award, honoring his positive role at YMS.

Loosvelt was recently named Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) Middle School Principal of the Year for Region 1.

Its a nice honor, Loosvelt said. I totally share it with the staff and the kids.

A middle school principal in each of the five regions of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA)  the umbrella organization of NSASSP  receives the regional award. This honor then makes him or her eligible for the statewide award.

Nebraska educators who feel their administrator is deserving of the honor may nominate him or her. According to the NSASSP award rules: The NSASSP National Principal of the Year award program annually recognizes outstanding school leaders who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students. Each nominee is evaluated based on core elements. According to the NCSA The program honors school principals who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of: personal excellence, collaborative leadership, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization.
By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The death toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

READ HERE | Over a crore hit by Fani as battered Odisha looks at gigantic restoration

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit.

Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

READ HERE | UN agency praises India on minimising loss of life from Cyclone Fani

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone-affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure." An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected.

Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations.

The state has so far been able to reopen all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration.

READ HERE | Cyclone Fani: Air India waives charges for carrying relief materials for victims

Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work.

The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday.

Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

Barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express, all other trains would run as per schedule, the official added. There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, he added.
LANSING  State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, is advocating Houghton County acquire a closed prison facility in Painesdale and convert it into a regional jail for the Western Upper Peninsula.

Markkanen said he recently set up a meeting between county and state officials regarding the acquisition of Camp Kitwen, a low-security facility that closed in 2009.

It is my hope that Houghton County commissioners will consider purchasing Camp Kitwen from the state to use as a jail facility and provide for a long-term inmate facility for the Western U.P., Markkanen said in a statement.

He ar...
Today

Showers early, then clearing with ample sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 47F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.

Tomorrow

Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: If Fire Department officials are to be believed, the film set of megastar Chiranjeevis Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was meant to be burnt down. Sooner or later. Though Fridays mishap has come as a shock for many in the industry as well as the fans, it is learnt that film sets are often burnt down after the completion of shooting, a trend that is very much prevalent in Tollywood.

In Sye Raas case, lack of fire extinguishers or water tankers could have contributed to the mishap or rather advanced damage to the set.

According to Fire Department officials, film sets are torched by the production houses themselves, after completion of the shooting, to avoid costs of labour in dismantling the elaborate sets.

ALSO READ: Fire at Chiranjeevi's farmhouse as film sets of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy damaged

It would be recorded in official books as rubbish fire, the one that was caused to abandoned property due to unknown reasons, they said.

Like the massive Rs 3 crore movie set of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, several film sets are temporarily constructed by hundreds of labourers, under the guidance of an art director. From intricate details of how the set should be shaped to its sheer size, every aspect of a set requires artistry of several skilled persons.

But to take them down, a sizable workforce is required which is not usually employed by film production houses.

There are many film sets that are burnt by one of the persons involved in the production as they do not want to incur costs of deploying labour and dismantle or take them down in a safe manner, informed an official involved in the investigation.

A lot of film sets are erected in secluded places of the city or on large open areas as it is easy to burn the sets down without getting the attention of the public. In most cases, police complaints are not filed, said a fire services personnel.
Mumbai: A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".
Dantewada: Three Naxals were on Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

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Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.
Imphal: In what is being linked to severe cyclonic storm Fani, which unlashed mayhem in Odisha claiming at least 10 lives, the divers from Indian Navy have recovered bodies of two missing person from Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal.

According to news agency ANI, at least three members of a family went missing in the Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal following which the Navy divers were called in to locate their bodies.

As per new agency AN, the Navy divers had recovered the bodies of 21-year-old S Romen and 19-year-old N Rani on Friday, while the body of his elder sibling, 35-year-old S Rajiv was found on Thursday.

Manipur: Indian Navy Diving Team recovered bodies of 2 persons from Imphal River on May 3. 3 members of a family were reported missing at Mapithel Dam Reservoir; one body was recovered on May 2. Team will now be deployed in rescue&relief ops in West Bengal in wake of #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/cvQsEVwXg3  ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

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The three bodies will now be handed over to the Imphal district officials.

The team of Navy divers will be airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and it would be redeployed in the ongoing rescue operations in West Bengal.

It may be noted that Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummelled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday.

Though the cyclonic storm killed at least 10 people in separate incidents, it failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.

Ahead of Fani making a landfall in Odisha, millions of people from the coastal areas wee evacuated and moved to safer higher grounds.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight and is now moving towards North-East.
New Delhi: In a demarche sent to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India has asked Pakistan to beef up the security of its High Commission and its diplomats in Islamabad.

The move comes after a recent incident in which two Indian diplomats were harassed in Pakistan and also because of the attacks in Sri Lanka, in which Indian High Commission was said to be a target.

Two Indian diplomats were locked in a room in Gurudwara Sacha Sauda Sahib in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura in April. They were asked not to visit the gurudwara and were dealt aggressively by the Pakistani security agencies.

Last year in November, Indian diplomats were stopped in the same gurudwara by Gopal Chawla, a close aide of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

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During both the instances, the Indian diplomats were present to do consular duties for the Indian pilgrims visiting the gurudwara.

Since December, the Indian diplomats have been facing a number of problems at the place and have also been stopped and questioned or chased by Pakistan security agencies.

It may be recalled here that several incidents of Indian diplomats being harassed in Pakistan have been reported in the recent past, with India asking Pakistan to investigate the matter.

In March, India wrote twice to Pakistan saying that its agencies are continuing to harass and tail Indian diplomats in Islamabad. In the notes, India also mentioned that incidents of harassment of family members are against the Vienna Convention.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka nine suicide carried out a series of dastardly attacks that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.
Kharagpur: Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, reached Bangladesh on Saturday several hours after it unleashed a trail of massive destruction claiming at least 10 lives in Odisha from where it entered West Bengal late on Friday.

The severe cyclonic storm, which battered Odisha claiming at least 10 lives and unleashed a trail of destruction on its way, made landfall in West Bengal late on Friday. The cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm as it crossed Kharagpur and moved towards the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

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Here are the live updates about Cyclone Fani:-

-Navy launches massive rescue and rehabilitation effort after Cyclone Fani batters Odisha. Tap to read

-CycloneFani has damaged 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar affecting 30 lakh consumers; electricity supply will be restored in 25% area of the Capital city today, says State Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma.

-Indian Railways to run special trains to help passengers. Tap to read

-Four more persons dead in Jajpur due to Cyclone Fani, death toll reaches 15

-No more threat to West Bengal from Cyclone Fani as it has now reached Bangladesh.

-One more dead in Odisha's Bhadrak and one in Jajpur. The total count now stands at 12.

-IMD update: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.

IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- PM Narendra Modi speaks to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, assures full support from Centre. Tap to read.

PM Modi: Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to #CycloneFani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by cyclone in different parts (file pic) pic.twitter.com/8jnAs6XJe3  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-One more dead in Jaleswar. The death toll due to Cyclone Fani rises to 10.

-Death toll due to Cyclone Fani in Odisha: Kendrapara (Rajnagar) - 2, Puri (Sakhigopal) - 2, Nayagarh (Dashapalla) - 1, Mayurbhanj - 2, Jajpur- 2.

-The road network in several districts suffered extensive damage. The power distribution network and the telecom network has also been severely affected.

-Heavy to very heavy rains lashing the coastal districts since Thursday night.

-Thousands of trees and electricity poles have been uprooted under the impact of the cyclonic storm that made landfall in Puri, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur.

-Several trees have been uprooted in parts of West Bengal after Cyclone Fani entered the state late on Friday.

West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/xMg1mdpNdn  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopter deployed off Odisha Coast continue to look for marooned fishing boats at sea if any, Haldia dock operational as of now

-Post-Cyclone Fani, flight operations resume at Bhubaneswar airport

-Navy divers recover bodies of two missing persons from Mapithel Dam Reservoir. Tap to read

-Cyclone Fani triggers heavy rains in Kolkata.

Rain lashes Kolkata as #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/sP8ktKn2rR  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- Here are some visuals of the destruction unleashed by Cyclone Fani in Digha, West Bengal.

Digha, West Bengal: #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/5T90cjVvTu  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

-The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday.

-"It is likely to continue further in the north, northeast direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

--"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 AM through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told IANS.

-On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.

-A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

-Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

-The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

-In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

-It claimed at least 10 lives and left over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

-Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon.

-Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.
Bhubaneswar: The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) Under Graduate (UG) 2019 exam has been postponed in Odisha following the havoc unleashed by Cyclone Fani. The exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5. New dates will be announced soon.

The state government had requested to postpone the medical entrance test to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of the Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years.

"NEET exam scheduled for 5th May in Odisha postponed as per the request of State Govt working on relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of Fani Cyclone. Revised dates for the exam in Odisha will be announced soon," R. Subrahmanyam, Higher Education Secretary told news agency ANI.

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The National Students` Union of India (NSUI) had also written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, requesting to postpone the exam in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone `Fani` in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," wrote NSUI Goa president Ahraz Mulla in the letter, reports ANI.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry announced the cancellation of Bhubaneswar as a centre for the AIIMS PG 2019 examination, which was also scheduled for May 5, Sunday. "It is hereby notified that in view of the effects of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the AIIMS PG Entrance Examination for July 2019 session scheduled at iON Digital Zone, iDZ2 Patia, Koustuv Technical Campus, KISD/CEB, Plot No. 2, Sector-B, Near, Chandrasekharpur Police Station Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, PIN CODE: 751024 (Centre No.-OD0301) on Sunday, the 5th May, 2019 from 09:00 am to 12:00 Noon has been rescheduled till further orders," said a notice on the AIIMS website.

The death toll in Cyclone Fani reached 15 by Saturday afternoon. After leaving a trail of destruction in Odisha and West Bengal, the weakened cyclonic storm reached Bangladesh on Saturday.

"A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to pause crackdowns and search operations in the state during the ensuing Ramadan, as reported by news agency ANI. During Ramadan, the Muslims fast and pray for the entire month.

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Speaking to reporters, Mufti said that people in Jammu and Kashmir should be able to spend the one month in relief.

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the govt of India that just like there was a ceasefire during Ramadan last year, crackdowns, search operations should be stopped, so that people of J&K spend at least this one month in relief," said Mufti.

She also appealed to the terrorists to refrain from making any attacks during the period. "I would also like to appeal to the terrorists that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," said the PDP chief.
Out of the 51 constituencies across 7 states going to vote in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election on May 6, Amethi is perhaps the most talked about and high-profile seat. Amethi and Raebareli are the only two seats in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are locked in a direct fight.

Both the seats have been Congress strongholds for several Lok Sabha elections. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will contest for the fourth time from Amethi against BJP leader Smriti Irani while UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will be contesting from the Raebareli seat.

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However, the wind in Amethi this election is not blowing all the way towards the Congress chief and even he seems to have guessed it now.

Despite losing to Rahul in 2014 by a huge margin in Amethi, Irani has been very active for the last five years in the constituency thus making this election a tough battle for the Congress chief.

While Rahul toured the entire nation ignoring his constituency, Irani snatched the opportunity and introduced several welfare schemes for the people in the area. In several Amethi villages, Irani claims to have constructed toilets, homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) and made solar lights available to the people.

Irani has also tried to make a dent in the traditional Congress vote bank. Generally, the votes of the Brahmins are cast for the Gandhi family but this election the mood of the community is not so clear.

The electoral mood in Amethi speaks volumes about Rahul's decision to contest from Kerala's Wayanad seat. In the last 15 days, Zee News travelled to the interiors of villages in Amethi and the people have questions on their mind asking if Rahul is indeed losing from Amethi. The decision of Rahul to contest from Wayanad seems to have put the Congress on the back foot in Amethi.

The people ask if they had not given enough love to him or if his trust no longer lies in the people and so he is running to Wayanad. On the other hand, 'Modi magic' seems to be gripping Amethi thus helping Irani mount a stronger challenge in the seat.

However, one also has to consider the strongest point of Rahul which is that he is a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family. The ambience in Amethi also has love and respect for the Gandhi family.

After speaking to the people the important aspect that they highlighted is "if our ancestors voted for them, then why should we not go with Rahul Gandhi?" They opine that Amethi is known only because of the Gandhi family. This indicates that the traditional vote bank of the Congress still stands strong with Rahul Gandhi.

In addition to this, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also held rallies in Amethi. From the booth workers to the voters, she has campaigned for her family highlighting the development works. There is still a wave of sympathy for the Gandhi family.

The strategy of both the BJP and Congress in Amethi focusses on the Gram Pradhan and Block Development Committee (BDC) members. Both the parties are trying to get the village heads on their sides.

The BJP has set up an army of its workers in Amethi, including Sanjeev Baliyan and several other ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday held a rally in Amethi campaigning for Smriti Irani.

From the Congress, Priyanka is holding the rein in Amethi. The chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states have also visited Amethi.

Only May 23 will reveal if Amethi stays with Rahul Gandhi or Smriti Irani will have the last laugh.
New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde" slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"

"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition," Shah said.

He said for 70 years, the people of the country had been waiting for a prime minister who could deal with issue of terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"Forty of our soldiers were killed in Pulwama. The entire county was angry. Pakistan also rushed troops, tanks and cannons to the border anticipating another surgical strike, but Modi asked the air force to scramble its jets this time," he said.

Our fighter aircraft entered Pakistan, dropped bombs (on terror camp) in Balakot, blew terrorists to smithereens and came back.

"A wave of rapturous delight swept the entire country but a pall of gloom descended on Pakistan and the offices of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi," he said.

"Kejriwal and Gandhi were worried about their vote bank but the Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they fire a bullet at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Gandhi and Kejriwal to make their stand clear on National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for a separate prime minister for Kashmir.

"I have been asking them for 22 days if there should be a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir. They're mum because they think their voters will desert them," he said.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one takes it away from India till the BJP is there," the party chief said.

He appealed to the electors to vote for Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, and Hans Raj Hans, its Northwest Delhi nominee, so that the party can "return to power and remove Article 370".

Delhi, which has seven Lok Sabha seats, goes to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
By IANS

TOKYO: Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.
New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his alleged link to a defence firm that got offset contract when the UPA was in power and asked the opposition party to respond to what it said is a very serious charge.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cited a media report and gave more information that he said he had found out to take a swipe at Gandhi, saying it is story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and is now aspiring to be prime minister.

Rejecting the charge, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it is an allegation that needs to be proved.

Jaitley told a press conference that Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd. Registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an "influence for cash" company, Jaitley alleged, adding that Mcknight was married to a Congress leader's daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhi's "social gang".

Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan.

In 2009 Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, he said.

Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an Indian Navy deal to build submarines, he said.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Jaitley asked, "The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract."

In an apparent reference to Gandhi's constant attack on the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said he himself is a "beneficiary" of an offset contract.

"What was his (Rahul) own role? Did he want to start off as a defence dealer. It is a very serious subject and we will want top Congress leadership to respond at the earliest," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress president, he wondered if it would have been better had he remain in the defence business and not joined politics.

Seeking a response from Gandhi, Jaitley said the right to silence belongs to accused in criminal cases not to political leaders, especially those aspiring to be prime minister.
JAIPUR: Hitting out at Congress and its leadership, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi claimed that the grand old party just wants a Prime Minister on contract.

Congress wants a contract Prime Minister while we and the country want a perfect Prime Minister, said the senior BJP leader at a public meeting at Jaipur BJP office on Saturday.

Rahul Gandhi has become very desperate. He can see his defeat very clearly, he added.

Taking shots at the Opposition alliance, the Minister of Minority Affairs said, Even before Congress' Mahagathbandhan has expired even before it could be formed.

Naqvi was campaigning for Ramcharan Bohra, the BJP candidate from Jaipur.

Today addressed public meeting in favour of Shri Ramcharan Bohra, @BJP4India candidate from Jaipur. Large number of people from Jaipur and nearby areas were present. #ModiJahanVikasWahan @BJP4Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ZM7p6QcxFx  Chowkidar Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) May 4, 2019

Speaking on the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi said, PM Modi has put 'Corruption on Ventilator' and 'Development on Accelerator' in the last five years, which has made Champions of Corruption feeling suffocated in this atmosphere of honesty and transparency.

Providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice, has been a major achievement of PM Modi's government in the last five years.

No section of society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on basis of caste, religion, region or state. All sections have been provided equal opportunities of socio-economic-educational development by Narendra Modi Government, he said.

PM Modi has restored dignity and stability of the Government in last 5 years. Modi Government has proved to be a Government of Iqbal (authority), Insaaf (justice) and Imaan (integrity).
LUCKNOW: Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav said that anyone getting injured because of a bull in the state should file a case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

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If stray bulls injure anyone, then a case should be registered against Yogi Adityanath," said the former UP chief minister while speaking at a rally in Barabanki.

What FIR will the police register if the bull attacks people. Under which section will it be filed, he further questioned.

Akhilesh's comment comes days after a bull entered the SP-BSP 'gathbandhan' rally held in Kannauj on April 25.

At the time, Adityanath had said that even the bull is now unwilling to forgive the criminals



I was recently there in Kannauj where the people told me that a bull had entered the venue of `gathbandhan` rally, probably to find out which of the slaughterhouse operators were there and to treat them accordingly," he said."I prayed to the bull to keep doing his job while we take care of the ones who mistreat the poor, put roadblocks in the state`s development and have forced the youth to leave the state," he said at an election rally, reported ANI.
Lucknow: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive politics and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."\

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Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."

"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...For development to take place in real sense."

Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then."
THANE: A massive fire broke out in a high-rise building at Patlipada in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday morning.

Fire fighting operations are underway. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, said news agency ANI.

Billows of grey smoke were seen in the area.

The blaze broke out at around 5:45 AM on the third floor of a building at Rutu State, said the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

"MSEDC official, RDMC and fire brigade are sent on site with one fire engine, two rescue vehicle and one water tanker. There has been no injury or casualty and the situation is under control," a civic official told ANI.

A total of 22 residences were evacuated safely by RDMC and fire brigade official.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, who was last seen in Veere Di Wedding, will now be seen as a cop in Irrfan Khan's comeback venture 'Angrezi Medium'.

A few days ago, Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to confirm that Kareena will be a part of the film. He wrote, IT'S OFFICIAL... Kareena Kapoor Khan in #AngreziMedium... She plays a cop in the film... Stars Irrfan Khan... Directed by Homi Adajania... Produced by Dinesh Vijan... #AngreziMedium will be filmed in London this June.

However, now we hear that the actress will start shooting for the film in May. "Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative, " Mumbai Mirror quoted a report as saying. The report also stated that although Kareena has a short role in the film, she is very excited to share screen space with Irrfan for the very first time.

'Angrezi Medium', which is the sequel to 2017 hit film 'Hindi Medium', is special in many ways. The film marks Irrfan's comeback into Bollywood as the actor was on a break from the filmy scene after being diagnosed with NeuroEndocrine Tumour  a rare form of cancer.

It was in 2018 that Irrfan shared the news of his illness, leaving everybody in shock.

The actor returned to Mumbai earlier this year and the film went on floors on April 5.
London: The UK`s Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex`s scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby`s arrival.
Actress Keerthy Suresh and the team of her 20th film are going to fly to Europe very soon for the next schedule of their film.

The film is being directed by Narendra Nath, a debutant director and produced by Mahesh S Koneru of 118 fame under East Coast Productions.

The film went on floors in February and the first schedule happened in February 10, then Kerala, and now they will be flying to Europe to shoot for an extensive schedule of 45 days. Producer Mahesh took to Twitter to share the news update and wrote, #Keerthy20 Update- Major 45 day schedule will begin in Europe in a few weeks of time, (sic)

Adding to it, he revealed that a few more names from the cast list will be unveiled soon. Will reveal some big name additions to the film soon#Keerthy20 is being directed by Narendranath and produced on @EastCoastPrdns banner. (sic)

For now, the films cast comprises names like Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Bhanushree Mehra, Kamal Kamaraju and Nadhiya.

Apart from this film, the beautiful actress is also part of Nagesh Kukunoors upcoming film which is yet to go on floors and hasnt got a title till now. The pre-production work of the film is going on at a brisk mode. The cast is yet to be finalised.

It is also said that the actress is making her Bollywood debut in which she might pair up with Akshay Kumar. Her recent hit Mahanati has taken the actor to heights and very soon, the film is going to be screened at Shanghai International Film Festival. Mahanati is the biopic of late actress Savithri.
Last week, a soft-spoken and uncharacteristically serious Felix 'PewDiePie' Kjellberg  a far cry from his usual loud and brash ways  broke his silence on the Christchurch shootings and called for an end to the Subscribe to PewDiePie campaign.

In a short video, he distances himself from the horrific New Zealand attacks, the negative rhetoric and racism associated with his name.

The immensely popular and controversial YouTuber, whose channel was locked in a bitter battle with T-Series for the most subscribed channel on the video platform, seemed remorseful, hurt.

Something I learned and something and hopefully something people can understand is that when you have 90 million people riled up about something, youre bound to get a few degenerates, he explains. But then something happened that I dont think anyone would have predicted.

He goes on to explain his silence, saying, I didnt want to give the terrorist any more attention. I didnt want to make it about me.

On March 15, 2019, terrorist Brenton Tarrant opened fire and killed 51 people inside two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch. The 28-year-old Australian mercilessly shot dead people gathered for prayers inside a mosque in an otherwise peaceful locality. Before carrying out the attacks, he said on FB live stream, "Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie."

At the time, Kjellberg shared a single tweet, distancing himself from the entire episode. Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy, he tweeted.

Speaking about the incident, more than 45 days after the attacks, PewDiePie says in the video, To have my name associated with something so unspeakably vile, has affected me in more ways than Ive let show.

He also talks on the war with T-Series, says the two diss tracks against the brand was just for fun, adding that he will continue to block those videos as per Indian high court orders.
After wreaking havoc in Odisha, claiming 10 lives and unleashing massive destruction on its way, Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday. The weakened cylonic storm, downgraded to 'severe cyclonic storm', has crossed Kharagpur and is currently moving in the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour. The storm now lies close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

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"It is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards during next 12 hours and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 105 kmph by the early morning of May 4," said the India Meteorological Department in a statement.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday. No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told news agency IANS. "It is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

The most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, Cyclone Fani pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies. The death toll touched 10, with over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said. A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.
By AFP

GAZA CITY: Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

- Visit to Cairo -

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

- Eurovision looms -

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly.

Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.
New Delhi: The Afghanistan foreign ministry on Saturday summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires in Kabul, in the aftermath of April 30 and May 1 incidents, in which Pakistan forces launched an attack in Afghan territory killing four civilians.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a release, tweeted by the spokesperson Sibghatullah Ahmadi condemned Pakistani forces violating the "Afghan airspace and launching rockets".

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The Afghan government again asked Pakistan to act on terror. Afghanistan and India have repeatedly asked Pakistan to take steps against terrorism.

The statement said, "Afghanistan once again encouraged Pakistan to honestly fight these groups without distinction."

The Pakistani government has also confirmed that a summoning took place. The Pakistani forces started shelling at 9 pm local time on April 30 and according to Afghanistan media reports, targetted Sarkot, Pakha Mela and Afghan Dubai villages in Spera district in Khost Province that borders Pakistan's restive North Waziristan.

Pakistan had summoned Afghan's Charge d'Affaires on May 1 to protest about the incident. While Islamabad maintains, "terrorist" from the Afghan territory launched an attack on its forces killing three Pakistani soldiers in the incident, Kabul urged Pakistan to take immediate action against the elements on its territory and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

This is not for the first time a Pakistani diplomat has been summed this year. Afghanistan summoned Pakistan diplomats many times in the last few months after Pakistani prime minister made comments about the Afghan peace process which Kabul saw as interference.

In March, speaking at a public gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "A good government will soon be established in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has also complained to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Islamabad due to its engagement with the Taliban and attempts to subvert the Afghan peace process.
Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million (Rs 138 crore) settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million (Rs 124 crore) for the family and $2 million (Rs 13 crore) to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia`s prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defence after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by US police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Colombo: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

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Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links. "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kashmir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the national security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security". He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the Army chief added.
BANGKOK: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

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The king sat on a golden throne under a nine-tiered umbrella to receive royal regalia including a gold-enameled, diamond-tipped crown in ceremonies that mixed glittering pomp with solemn religious rites.

The monarch was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time. His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said in his first royal command.

Traditionally uttered after a king is crowned, the king`s first command serves to capture the essence of his reign. The king`s command was similar to that of his father`s. Late in the afternoon, the king was carried in a royal palanquin in a procession from the Grand Palace to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where yellow-clad Thais awaited his arrival, repeatedly chanting, "Long live the king."

After 80 Buddhist monks chanted, the king proclaimed himself the Royal Patron of Buddhism: "I will rightfully protect Buddhism forever." Later, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence in the Grand Palace where they will stay the night, as previous kings have done, ending the first of the three-day coronation ceremonies.

In his first speech earlier on Saturday to members of the royal family, the Privy Council, and top government officials, among others, the king called for national unity. "I invite everyone here and all Thai people to share my determination and work together, each according to his status and duty, with the nation`s prosperity and the people`s happiness as the ultimate goals," he said.

Military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, the speaker of the army-appointed parliament and the chairman of the Supreme Court - representing the three branches of government - also spoke to express "gratitude" to the king. Prayuth is seeking to stay on as an elected prime minister after the first elections since the military seized power five years ago. Final results of the March 24 vote will be announced after the coronation.

DIVINE MONARCH

Thai coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782. Saturday`s rituals were about transforming him into a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods.

The king received the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week. He also received and put on five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

The high-reaching crown, which weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb) symbolises the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra`s heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch`s royal burden.

King Vajiralongkorn put the crown on his head himself with the help of court officials, and adjusted it several times during the ceremony. Before the crowning ritual, he appeared dressed in white robes as he underwent a purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The country`s Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the king, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members. During the ceremonies, the king gave alms to saffron-robed, barefoot monks.

The monarch also granted Queen Suthida, a former Thai Airways flight attendant and head of his personal bodyguard regiment, her full royal title. Outside the palace walls, people in yellow polo shirts sat on roadsides, holding up portraits of the king and the national flag as 19th-century cannons fired to announce the new reign.

Yellow is the colour of Monday, the day the king was born, and the colour of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos, according to Thai culture. One onlooker, Kanjana Malaithong, told local media she had traveled since 1 a.m. from northern Thailand to witness the ceremony, shown live on big screens outside the palace. "I`m so overjoyed ... There`ll never be another chance like this, it`s a once-in-a-lifetime event," she said.

During 18 months of his reign so far, King Vajiralongkorn has moved to consolidate the authority of the monarchy, including taking more direct control of the crown`s vast wealth with the help of Thailand`s military government. Thailand ended absolute rule by its kings in 1932, but the monarchy remains highly revered as the divine symbol and protector of the country and Buddhist religion.
By AFP

LONDON: The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

ALSO READ | US lobbying against Huawei in India: CEO Jay Chen

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police. The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

READ HERE | China's Huawei sues US over federal ban on its products

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself." He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The US is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
Imagine yourself as Abraham-Louis Breguet in his workshop on Paris Quai de lHorloge at the turn of the nineteenth century. In the relentless pursuit of timekeeping precision, you are drilling microscopic holes in each tooth of the escape wheel. Tooth by tooth. Why? To trap miniscule quantities of oil for lubrication at the point of contact between the escape wheel and the lever. Next to you on the bench is the balance wheel and its spring. You have done your best to form the spring and you have bestowed upon it your groundbreaking invention of the overcoil (which you cannot possibly know at the time, will two hundred years hence still bear your name, universally called by future watchmakers a Breguet hairspring). Although this timepiece will be sold as a Garde Temps, your highest grade movement, these solutions, the drilled escape wheel and the formed spring, are not perfect. Your technological tools, the best for your era, cannot carry you to the pinnacle of perfection.

Conjuring the future, Jules Verne in 1865 may have penned the tale of a journey to the moon a century before Neil Armstrong, yet not even the wildest flights of fancy in the Quai de lHorloge atelier could have envisaged some of the solutions which technology has conferred upon todays watchmakers in Breguets Vallee de Joux manufacture. A word of caution, or better said, an important perspective on technologys role at Breguet: todays material advances are never adopted simply because they are there or for flash and advertising talking points. For Breguet there must be both a tangible benefit to the performance of the timepiece delivering value to the owner and, in addition, compatibility with the traditional practices and skills of watchmaking hand craft. Guided by these principles, Breguets movement developers, working in tandem with research scientists, have brought cutting edge materials to todays movements to achieve levels of precision and performance unimaginable in even the recent past. Bestowed upon todays movements are components utilizing silicium, titanium, liquid metal, diamond-like carbon and special alloys for the mainspring.

Breguet introduced its first timepieces incorporating silicium components in 2006 with the reference 5197. After five years of experience during which all of the performance expectations were met, Breguets CEO, Marc A. Hayek, true to the philosophy of his grandfather, Nicolas G. Hayek, reached the decision to incorporate silicium broadly throughout the collections. As of this writing, ten years after the initial introduction, there are less than a handful of legacy references which do not feature silicium springs and there are many references utilizing the material in areas in addition to the spring. It is a propitious moment to step back in order to summarize and highlight what has proven to be a revolutionary advance going to the very heart of a mechanical watch. In future issues of Le Quai de lHorloge we will spotlight other modern materials and how they, too, have enriched the art of watchmaking.

Balance wheel with silicon spring and tourbillon cage with silicon escape wheel and lever from the Marine Chronograph, Ref. 5837.  Breguet

The three key timekeeping elements of a watch are its balance wheel, including its spring, the escape wheel and the lever. It is in these fundamental components that the properties of silicium have opened up new frontiers.

Ever since Dutch mathematician Huygens developed the spring balance spring in 1675, this has been one element invariably common to all mechanical watches. Its contraction and expansion, which many describe as breathing, is central to the timing of the back and forth oscillations of the balance wheel and, thus, the running rate of the watch. In the more than three centuries following its invention, watchmakers have struggled to perfect the performance of the spring. Indeed, one of Abraham-Louis Breguets key inventions, the overcoil, was aimed at just that. By bending the outside portion of the spring upwards and over the remaining portion of the spring, Breguet was able to improve the centering of the spring around its axis and to make the spring breathe more evenly, that is to say, maintain a shape closer to the ideal of perfectly round, than was being achieved with the then existing spring shapes.

Balance wheel with its two silicon springs from the Chronometrie, Ref. 7727.  Breguet

Springs in this era of watchmaking were formed by hand, which meant there were inevitable imperfections and, even with the improvements enabled by the Breguet overcoil, performance could not be idealized. Today, however, modern spring production machines have enabled great advances over the vintage hand formed springs. Shapes can be more perfectly formed. Thickness can be more precisely controlled. However impressive those innovations, the use of silicium for the spring leapfrogs even the finest predecessors in the pursuit of precision.

Springs fashioned in silicium can be produced with essentially perfect shapes, on the order of below one micron. But that is just the beginning of what silicium makes possible. Pre-existing methods for fabricating metallic springs progressively roll the alloy until it is in the form of a fine wire, flatten it into a thin rectangular profile, and, finally, wind it into a coiled shape. With this kind of process, introducing variations along the length of the springs is not feasible. Silicium springs, on the other hand, are fabricated from wafers where material can be removed as desired. Thus, it becomes possible to engineer precise variations in thickness or coil spacing into the fabrication process. Movement designers using computer simulations can determine the exact characteristics of thickness and shape along portions of the spring that will optimize its performance in the movement. An easily visible example is found in Breguets Chronometrie. Its balance wheel is fitted with two silicium springs that not only are thicker at their outer attachment points, they have been fabricated to be essentially rigid for a portion of their lengths, thereby moving the flexible location to a predetermined ideal location.

Balance wheel, spring and balance bridge from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

One of the important considerations in the design of a watch movement is how the running rate will be affected as the watch barrel unwinds over time. The torque delivered by the barrel is, of course, at its maximum when fully wound and drops as it unwinds, as for example after 24 hours, 48 hours or more, depending on the movement. This drop can change the running rate. The term isochronism is used by watchmakers to express this aspect of performance. Silicium helps to optimize isochronism performance in two ways. First, the shape can be idealized when it is fabricated to address isochronism. Second, and a bit of a simplification to state it this way, a spring made of silicium is less affected by the dropping of torque than pre-existing metallic alloys.

Lightness is another prized property of silicium. To understand how this improves the performance of the spring, a brief tutorial on one of watchmakings challenges. In an idealized world, a mechanical watchs spring would be perfectly centered on its central axis and remain so as it breathes inward and outward. This would place its center of gravity upon the axis. Unfortunately, that idealized vision cant be attained, so that the center of gravity of the spring will inevitably be displaced somewhat from the center since, after all, it must be attached to the balance staff. This causes what watchmakers term the Grossmann effect, which is used to describe errors which result from changes in vertical position. Because the center of gravity of the spring is displaced from the center, depending upon the position of the watch, the force of gravity creates a torque which, acting upon the spring, will have an effect on the frequency of the balance wheels swing; in some positions adding to it, in others subtracting. Naturally, this changes the running rate of the watch. Because silicium is lighter than pre-existing metallic springs, this Grossmann effect is diminished.

One of the enemies of traditional metallic springs is magnetism. When exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field, there is a risk that sections of metallic springs can become magnetized. When this happens, these miniature magnets in the coils can either attract or repel each other. This changes the characteristics of the spring which, in turn, changes the running rate of the timepiece. Indeed, responding to this risk, it became common throughout the industry to equip watches, principally in the diving arena, with a soft iron inner case to shield the spring from magnetism. The drawbacks of this approach were many as it made the watches both thicker and heavier and essentially prevented incorporation of a clear case back. As it is naturally amagnetic, silicium is not subject to this risk of being magnetized and renders unnecessary older shielding methods while at the same time protecting from magnetism to an equivalent degree. As well, for Breguet there is a further benefit from the amagnetic properties of silicium, as it has enabled beneficial uses of magnets within the heart of its movements without risk to the running rate. Two examples: the Chronometrie that features magnetic pivots for the balance wheels staff and the magnetic regulator for the Musicale. Both of these inventions have been patented.

Silicon lever from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

Not to be overlooked are the effects of age on the characteristics of springs. Over time, with traditional spring ma- terials one may witness changes in stiffness which may negatively manifest itself in both the running rate and isochronism. In contrast, silicium remains stable and is not subject to metal fatigue as the watch ages.

The list of positive attributes is long and thermal compensation also merits a prominent place. It was discovered that silicium oxide coated onto the hairspring not only minimizes the effects of temperature changes to a degree, for example, well below the Swiss chronometer COSC standards, but as well allowed Breguets movement designers to tailor the compensation to match the particular characteristics of the material used for the movements balance wheel. This is important as, according to the movement, Breguet uses both Glucydur and titanium for its balance wheels which have different thermal properties.

All of these attributes represent major advances in watchmaking which has led Breguet to adopt silicium for the springs in nearly all of its movements. In certain movements, Breguet has used silicium for other components central to timekeeping. In the Type XXII, in addition to the spring, both the lever and the escape wheel are in silicium. The Type XXII was Breguets first timepiece built to run at a frequency of 10 Hz or 72,000 beats per hour. With the watchmaking norm falling between 2.5 and 4 Hz, the movement in the Type XXII broke new ground both for mechanical movements in general and chronographs in particular. Two properties of silicium recommended themselves for the lever and escape wheel: lightness and improved frictional properties (recall the painstaking drilling of holes two hundred years ago to battle friction). Lightness not only reduces the energy consumption of the movement, vital if one wants to achieve high frequencies, but, related, it also contributes to lower inertia of the components, important when they are oscillating so rapidly.

The silicon lever from the Type XXII, Ref. 3880.  Breguet

The Type XXII is not the only Breguet timepiece with silicium components beyond the balance spring. The Chronometrie has been outfitted with a silicium escape wheel whose lightened form allowed the movement to achieve its 10 Hz frequency. References 5177 and 5837 all have silicium escape wheels and levers.

It is not an overstatement to say that for movement designers, watchmakers, watch connoisseurs and, of course, every owner of a timepiece fitted with silicium components, silicium represents no less than a major advance in the art. The full range of its desirable physical properties justifies placing it amongst the ranks of the most important watchmaking innovations in history.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 59F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 51F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed Cairos support for efforts to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis in a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday.

In an official statement, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from Conte.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypts support for a political settlement in Libya under the countrys position on the unity of Libyan territory, support for its national institutions, and respect for the will of its people.

This will contribute to the return of stability and security in the Middle East, the statement added.

They also exchanged viewpoints on a number of regional issues of common interest, as well as on bilateral ties.

Conte affirmed his keenness to boost bilateral cooperation with Egypt in various fields as part of fruitful cooperation witnessed by the two countries in the past years.

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Government says all schools will open this week, including those in areas affected by Cyclone Idai.





indications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all. There are alsoindications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all.





Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education secretary Dr Tumisang Thabela told The Sunday Mail that schools had indicated readiness to open this Tuesday.





She added that some schools, especially in Chimanimani and Chipinge, affected by Cyclone Idai, were still being refurbished, but that would not prejudice learners from taking lessons as makeshift structures were being put in place.





We have not received any complaints, so far, and we are able to say that schools are ready for opening, she said.





On the issue of schools seeking an increase in fees Dr Thabela said her office had not received any applications to that effect adding that the process does not entail schools dealing direct with her office.





She, however, said she was aware that some schools had made such applications which were now being reviewed by provincial offices, as per procedure.





What I am aware of is that issues of school fees increase are still at provincial levels and we have not yet received any application, but we are aware that some schools, especially boarding, have made applications, she said.





But generally schools will open and we are working on ensuring that also those in Chimanimani and Chipinge open this week.





Indications from Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Manicaland Province, are that all schools will conduct normal lessons this week.





Repairs for damaged schools that started early last month are currently underway with a number of alternative learning spaces being created.





The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also chipped in with tents and learning materials.





To date treasury has availed $4 million towards the rehabilitation of at least 61 schools whose infrastructure was destroyed by the heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds.





Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba said efforts were being made to ensure that all schools in Manicaland open this week to avoid losing more time, particularly for examination classes.





Most of the schools that were affected are in Chimanimani and these will be opening. Chipinge and Buhera also have schools that were affected, but the damage was minimal, he said.





Repairs are in progress at various schools and in other areas where repairs have not started, tents have been provided by United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund.





We are also making sure that we have enough learning materials and teachers.





School fees review, unform prices





The Sunday Mail also understands that most school development committees had submitted applications for an upward review of school fees to the Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees (ZSDA/C).





ZSDA/C President Claudio Mutasa said there were opposed to schools charging fees in foreign currency.





We understand that most Government schools do not have foreign accounts, therefore, parents should only pay fees in the local currency or RTGS through the banks,





Meanwhile, a snap survey by The Sunday Mail in major shops selling school-wear showed that most prices were pegged in United States Dollar or the obtaining parallel market rate in bond notes or RTGS.





Latest RTGS prices in shops such Nargaji and Bays pegged a pair of trousers between $40 and $60 while a blazer was between $100 and $200, shirt ($26), jersey ($50), a pair of stocks ($10) and a tie ($25).





Informal traders were selling a blazer at $110, jersey $40, trousers $25, shirt, $25, tie $25 and a winter set of gloves, scarf and a woollen hat was pegged at $30.





Before the price increase last year second term, a pair of school shoes was priced at $16 while a satchel was pegged at $11, with a shirt and short selling for $14, dress ($15), trousers ($20) blazer ($30), hat ($6), pair of socks ($3) and a tie $5. Sunday Mail








Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High -9F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low -9F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday that a renewed state of emergency comes under the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism, nearly a week after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi extended the measure, in place since 2017, for a further three months.

In an address on Saturday to the House of Representatives to justify the renewed state of emergency, Madbouly said that implementing the state of emergency is part of supporting state institutions in completing developmental plans nationwide.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

He said that, due to such efforts, the country has achieved major steps in accomplishing the stability required for development.

According to Madbouly, the country has achieved the aspired balance between protection of freedoms and the demands of national security, to complete the armed forces' efforts in combating terrorism.

Following the premier's address, the speaker Ali Abdel-Aal has referred the government's address to the House for review, with a vote expected on the state of emergency in its evening session.

The state of emergency was implemented in April 2017 following deadly twin attacks on two churches which killed dozens. It has been renewed ever since.

Last week, El-Sisi issued a further three-month renewal, starting on 25 April.

The decision allows security forces to take [measures] necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country, read a presidential decree published in the official state gazette last week.

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Footprint From left, Ben Potter (dissertation chair), Charles Holmes (field adviser) and Gerad Smith (instructor).

A team of archaeologists with the University of Alaska has discovered a footprint at a site in the Interior, providing evidence of prehistoric family life in the area.

This is the only human footprint that has been found in the North American subarctic anywhere, said Gerad Smith, a doctoral candidate working at the site, and that includes Canada also.

Smith and the other researchers recently published the finding in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

He is the instructor of record at Swan Point, an archaeological site near Big Delta. Reaching the area requires passing through a bog, but once there, he said, its a wide space from which the Alaska Range is visible to the south.

Smith has been working at Swan Point for a few years in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Anchorage.

Swan Point was discovered by Charles Holmes, an affiliate research professor with UAF, in the early 1990s. Initially, he and the students who discovered it found lithic artifacts, or stone tools, indicating human activity.

The site has a very long record of human activity there starting 14,000 years ago, Holmes said. So we can see a lot of the environmental changes that took place over that time. And we can see how the people changed their toolkit in adapting to the changes.

Smith has noticed that finding the footprint seems to get a different response than when they discover tools or bone scraps.

Theres something kind of cool about footprints that strikes us in a very personal way, he said.

In 2005, according to Smith, three surface features in the area were tested to see if it had a cultural origin, and it looked like it might have been an ancient house.

Smith first came to Swan Point in 2012, when Holmes was looking for graduate students to help with work in the area.

We planned out and organized a return in 2017 and 2018 to excavate that site, he said.

Discovery

The footprint was discovered in 2017 by a UAA student, Steve Schoenhair, by carefully plotting out the area with the house and digging through the layers of sediment.

When they initially saw it, Smith said he knew we were really going to have to work hard to prove it was a human footprint.

Holmes, who was at the site upon the discovery, agreed.

I think its very interesting, he said. At the time I was a bit skeptical on how we were going to really show that it was a real human footprint.

However, given the measurements Smith took, Holmes said people believe the footprint is that of a human.

Using carbon dating, Smith and the team concluded the footprint was left around 1,840 years ago. By measuring the ball of the foot, then comparing it to the length, they were able to create a biological profile of the walker, who they believe would have been a pre-teen child.

Statistically speaking, when footprints are this small, they tend to match children that are about 8 to 11 years old, Smith said.

Smith said he also conducted a comprehensive literature review to confirm this is the only print that has been found thus far in the North American subarctic. The metrics of the print, according to Smith, match tracks left in Jaguar Caves, Tennessee, where prehistoric adolescents are also believed to have visited.

The data gathered on the print has allowed the team to date it and determine the approximate age of the person who left it, although some things remain a mystery.

I always wonder why theres just one of something, Holmes said, laughing. One single footprint, OK. Theres a story behind that, I suppose.

The team was able to create a model of the footprint using a process known as photogrammetry. Using multiple pictures taken around the entirety of the print, Ted Parsons, a graduate student with UAA, was able to make a digital model. Smith also plastered the print to create a cast of it.

The big picture

The whole excavation is part of a large project in the Shaw Creek area, looking at how humans in prehistoric times adapted to the environment and, vice versa, how human presence impacted the environment.

What were doing now is weve been working on a long-term project looking at a particular region around the Shaw Creek area, and this is where Swan Point is located, Holmes said.

Joshua Reuther, curator of archaeology at the UAF Museum of the North, has been working with Holmes and the other archaeologists on the project. Reuther initially worked in the area under Holmes as a geology student. Now he is a co-principal investigator.

My role has always been trying to establish what the environment was like and the landscape was like over that 14,000 years that humans have been out there using plant and animal resources, Reuther said.

He explained some of the research in Swan Point has involved taking lake cores, examining the sediment in the area and some other geological work determining what the landscape looked like at different times.

One interesting aspect of the changing environment Reuther notes is the change in staple foods. Moose and salmon, for example, are considered staple Interior foods, he said, but going back a few thousand years bison and elk would have been abundant in the area.

The presence of these animals, Reuther noted, can explain the human presence.

So if you think about an archaeology site you can have several periods where people occupy the same landform, he said. And they can be doing the same thing like just hunting, or they could be hunting and camping or they could set up a home there.

The prehistoric home with the footprint inside of it is just one part of the whole area, which continues to be explored and excavated.

Smith was able to remove the footprint from the site and preserve it. It is in Anchorage but will be brought back to the Interior.

Eventually, when we are done with this project, it will be curated at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, he said.

Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7572.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is considering an initial public offering of its $100 billion Vision Fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The fund was set up in 2017 and has become the world's largest technology investment fund. Its investments include ride-hailing pioneer Uber, chip designer ARM and shared workspace firm WeWork.

The company has publicly stated it plans to set up a second investment fund. The senior banking source said SoftBank was now talking to banks about helping it raise money, confirming an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

SoftBank has spoken to half a dozen banks over the last month about a potential listing of the Vision Fund but has yet to start a formal process, the source said, adding he was not expecting such a process in the near term.

SoftBank is also in talks with Oman for an investment in the fund, which has raised nearly all of its funding so far from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, according to the WSJ report.
The government is considering granting amnesty to criminals in honor of new Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October, sources close to the matter said Friday.

If realized, it will be the country's first pardon since 1993, when then Crown Prince Naruhito married Crown Princess Masako. But only a certain number of petty offenders may be given the pardon, as the government is concerned that a large-scale amnesty can trigger criticism from the public, including crime victims.

Amnesty has usually been granted upon national events as well as celebrations and funerals regarding the imperial family. After Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died in 1989, more than 10 million people were given amnesty. The enthronement of former Emperor Akihito in 1990 led to pardons of some 2.5 million.

The government did not issue pardons in the wake of Emperor Akihito's abdication on Tuesday, the first by a Japanese monarch in 202 years.
Related Egyptian court sentences Salafist figure Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to 5 years in prison

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a five-year prison sentence former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is serving for organising a violent rally at a Cairo court in 2012.

The court also upheld the five-year terms of five other defendants convicted in the case, rejecting the appeal presented by them and the Salafist leader.

In 2017, a Cairo court sentenced Abu Ismail and others to prison terms following convictions for inciting the besieging of a Nasr City court in December 2012, the use of violence against prosecutors, and preventing state employees from carrying out their duties.

The events took place when Abu Ismail, a popular figure among Salafists, marshalled his supporters to surround a court where some of his followers were being tried.

He is currently serving a seven-year term, which was upheld in 2014, for forging the documents he submitted to run as a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

The once-popular TV preacher and prominent supporter of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was convicted of forging documents to conceal his late mother's US citizenship, an action that led to him being disqualified from the race.

He has also been given two separate one-year jail terms for insulting the judiciary and contempt of court, offences which occurred during his trials.

Authorities arrested Abu Ismail days after the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

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The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning...

The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning state funds in his last days in office through an alleged contract spree to his friends and family members.





Akeem Olatunji, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, made the accusation in an interview with the New Telegraph.





He also corroborated the allegation of Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor-elect, that Ajimobi has awarded a N30billion contract to create hiccups for the incoming administration





He said: We dont make allegations when there are no evidence. In actual fact, we know that government is a continuum and we are not trying to stampede the incumbent government. Nevertheless, due process has to be followed in whatever is done. For the governor to just wake up one day and start to dash out contracts to cronies, is more or less a way of syphoning the funds of the state. About 33 excavators were recently bought with almost N10bn for local governments.





Aside from this, a situation whereby within two months, more than N50billion projects were awarded by the government calls for worry. Has the government completed the projects on ground? When workers and retirees are being owed, where did they get the funds to execute those projects? If it were an ongoing project that funds were released for, no one will suspect any foul play.




Egypts parliament on Saturday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency, in place for two years, for a further three months.

The House of Representatives held an extraordinary session on Saturday to discuss President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decree (208/2019) last week to extend the state of emergency, beginning on 25 April and concluding on 24 July.

The parliament vote was preceded by an address made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who said that the renewal was part of the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism.

The vote on the decree was passed by a comfortable majority.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.

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The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his fai...





The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his failing health.





There were reports that President Buhari is undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom and may not return to the country today as was originally planned.

Reacting to the report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a chat with Punch, said the claim was totally rubbish, absolutely shameful and disgraceful.




The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within t...

The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within the ruling All Progressives Congress and governors elected on its platform.









Recall that the president will be officially sworn-in for a second term on May 29.









It was gathered that President Buhari deliberately kept members of his kitchen cabinet, close associates and outgoing ministers in suspense with regard to those who will be in his new team.









The President has opted to go solo in choosing the new set of ministers. Some members of his inner power circle, popularly called The Cabal, who went to London during the week to see him, were denied access on the basis of Buharis strict instructions. Only a minister (name withheld) was allowed to meet with the President in London. It was, however, not clear whether the minister took some documents to him.

At press time, the President had not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party. Many of the outgoing ministers have been running to the governors of their states, asking that some words be put in for their return to the cabinet. The President himself was said to have expressed surprise at the high number of names dropped in some states for ministerial slots.





According to findings, the President has adopted a tough approach to the formation of his cabinet unlike in 2015 when some members of his kitchen cabinet hijacked the privilege of assisting him to source for good hands to impose their friends/allies on him. It was learnt that all those who wanted to influence appointments into the cabinet were shut out in London. A top source said: It seems Buhari has realised that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.









Even those who should know have been fenced off. His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London. Those who went to London came back empty handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).









We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.









Investigation also revealed that the President has not demanded any ministerial nomination list either from the APC or the governors in the ruling party. A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015? He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.









Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us. Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.









I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President. We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended. The section reads: There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.









Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.









Meanwhile, the presidency last night dismissed the rumour of possible extension of the Presidents 10-day vacation on health grounds. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, simply said: This story on the Presidents return is absolutely shameful and disgraceful. Disgusting.
Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x w...





Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x workers by some policemen.





In April, a joint task force raided Caramelo, a popular strip club, in the nations capital, and arrested some strippers.





The task force also arrested suspected sex workers in different parts of Abuja. Some of those arrested were allegedly raped by police officers.





In response to the allegation, the FCT police command said it had set up a high power team to probe the allegations.





But the protesters stormed the command on Saturday, demanding that the culprits be punished publicly.





They also held placards which read Sex for bail is rape, To be a woman is not a crime, You should protect us not harm us, among others.





The protesters

Addressing reporters in front of the command, Rebecca Umar, leader of the protest, said police are supposed to defend women and not rape them.





We are here to tell the police that you. The police is supposed to be our friend. We are women, we should be free to wear whatever we want to wear without being arrested, Umar said.





It is not a crime to be a woman. We will not be silent, we are here because of the recent happenings at Utako (Caramelo) and other places.





The police is supposed to defend us, not rape us.





Also speaking, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, said it is the right of a woman to dress the way she wants.





I have the right to wear a hijab and another has the right for mini and not wear anything. It is our fundamental human rights, you do not a right to label a woman a prostitute because of the way she is dressed, Yesufu said.





The Nigerian police, you are all out here with your guns, why are you not on Abuja-Kaduna road?





S. Umar, deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations, FCT command, assured the protesters that the officers found wanting will be punished.




The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constitu...

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constituting his next cabinet.





Afeniferes spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, in a chat on Saturday, said Buharis next ministers should be picked on the basis of what they can deliver.





He stated that Buharis next set of ministers should be those who understand the situation of Nigeria.





According to Odumakin: Really, I cant tell the type of men or women Buhari should pick on his next cabinet but those to be picked should be about what contributions and agenda they want to implement as ministers.





If we are still down with this Miyetti Allah and cattle route thing and you pick the best of Havard and Oxford, we are going nowhere.





Unless we are ready to start afresh to put Nigeria on the path of development and productivity and if the country is still about Miyetti Allah and cattle routes, no matter who you pick, the country will go under.





Odumakin also pointed out how to resolve the issue of insecurity across the country.





He said: We cant dissolve this issue of insecurity by this fire fighting brigade approach we are doing now. Where the president is in London on a private visit the IGP is running up and down, in Birnin Kebbi today and before he gets to Kaduna he has forgotten what happened in Birnin Kebbi. With all these, we are going nowhere.





There is no way you can police Nigeria from Abuja and still get results. First of all, you must delegate power, allow every part of the country to police their land, crime is cultural.





You cant pick a policeman in Oyo State now to go and fight bandits in Zamfara even if he sits among bandits he may not understand what they are saying, he does not know the route around in the area as such effect police should be at the state units.





Secondly, we must go back to productivity, who ever knew there was a large deposit of gold in Zamfara State that they are fighting over now. We must make every part of Nigeria a reproductive centre, move away from oil and gas. When this is done millions of young people will go back to work.




Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, ...

Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, Alph Lukau and Prophet Bushiri were his children in the spiritual realm.





Obinim said the acclaimed men of God were not his equals when it comes to spiritual affairs.





I respect Pastor Chris, TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, and the other prophets but in terms of the Spiritual aspect, they are my children.





They are my children. Go and ask them, they know me spiritually. Talking about spiritual ways, they know me.





Benny Hinn is a healer, he can heal you; Benny Hinn is a preacher, he can preach, and deliver you but in terms of spiritual ways, hes nowhere close to me.





He went on to explain that when he places a curse on someone, no one can lift it.





He said TB Joshua or Benny Hinn cannot reverse a curse he has placed because they are nothing compared to him.





He said he can attest to TB Joshuas teaching, prophetic and healing prowess, however, when it comes to spiritual affairs, the Nigerian prophet is a toddler.





Obinim disclosed that he is capable of doing anything including orchestrating a car accident that can terminate the life of his enemy.




Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-hu...





Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat. Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat.





In her reaction, Tonto Dikeh took to her Instagram page to condemn the Chairmans threat, calling him a stupid fool.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA #THANKS

According to her: I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga .If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA



Tontos Dikehs utterances. Chairman of the AGN BoT, Prince Ifeanyi Dikeh in an interview condemnedTontos Dikehs utterances.





According to him: Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.





Issues like that are private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions does not speak well of the industry.









We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.









Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.





Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.




The speaker of Egypts parliament Ali Abdel-Aal held a meeting with the head of the World Bank Group David Malpass in Cairo on Saturday.

"The speaker praised the current distinguished relationship between Egypt and the World Bank, and the efforts of Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr for its role in pushing cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank to a very prestigious level," said a statement from Abdel-Aals office.

The statement said the speaker had gave Malpass an overview of the performance of Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  in terms of its make-up and roles.

"The House comprises 596 MPs representing different political forces, not to mention that it includes the biggest number of female deputies (90 women) and Copts (39 MPs) and nine representing the physically challenged and expatriates," said the speaker, adding that "parliament began its first legislative season on 10 January 2016, and following the two revolutions of 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013."

"This parliament came at a very critical stage of Egypt's history, shouldering the burden of issuing new laws translating economic and fiscal reforms into facts on the ground, a fact which led to a marked improvement in economic growth rates," said Abdel-Aal.

Abdel-Aal also spoke about the economic reform laws that have been passed since 2016.

"We cooperated with the government to issue laws on investment, bankruptcy procedures, bidding and tender procedures, the stock market, and legislation on companies and the one-person company," he said, arguing that "all of these laws send a very positive message to foreign investors, encouraging them to inject more investments into the local market."

"These laws help secure high levels of transparency, abolish all forms of discrimination in the labour market, give priority to micro and small-scale enterprises, and help young people tap the market and set up their own projects."

Abdel-Aal indicated that parliament is currently working on laws that aim to achieve "financial inclusion" and is keen that all of these laws observe social dimensions.

Malpass, who took over as president of the World Bank Group on 5 April and is on a two-day visit to Egypt, said that the two laws issued in Egypt on investment and regulating industrial licences are the most important investment-friendly laws passed in recent years.

"Egypt decided to meet the challenge of modernising its economy, and as a result the World Bank will be always keen to support projects in Egypt," said Malpass according to the statement, adding that "Egypt has a lot of good opportunities in the coming period to achieve success in the area of digital economy."

"In addition to promising opportunities here in the two areas of industry and agriculture, we are also working to upgrade education in Egypt," said Malpass, praising the policy of encouraging a number of high-profile international universities to set up branches in Egypt.

He also praised the Investor Service Center at the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation which he visited earlier on Saturday, which aims to facilitate the setting up of companies and projects in the country.

Malpass also stressed the importance of transparency and good governance in attracting investment to Egypt.

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Egypt is following with deep concern Turkeys announced intention to start drilling operations in Cyprus exclusive economic zone, off its western coast, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement warned that any unilateral action would have implications for security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. It also stressed that any action by countries in the region must abide by international law and its provisions.

The 2013 maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Cyprus, their coordination and closeness have raised concerns in Turkey in recent years, in light of Ankaras tense relations with both Cairo and Nicosia.

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Hong Kong: HK economy at a crossroads

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said Hong Kongs economy is at a crossroads and the Government will spare no effort to reinforce the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme today, Mr Yau said the first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.5% year-on-year suggested there are a lot of uncertainties ahead.

I think the first quarter figures revealed that we are at the crossroad, i.e. while sentiment towards the general economic situation has slightly improved with easing of tension between the US and China over the trade dispute, export figures remain negative, we are still in the negative trend.

He said economic performance depends on whether the Mainland and the US will come to an agreement on the trade dispute.

Even if there is an agreement, whether that would bring a sharp return of economic performance would depend on (handling of) tariffs and on whether more fundamental issues between China and the US are being resolved by further trade negotiations or agreements.

Hong Kong is currently suffering from the impact of the trade dispute, but it is also carefully looking at the way forward, Mr Yau said.

For Hong Kong in particular, I think there should be no sparing of efforts in reaching out and going out and reinforcing the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

On tourism, Mr Yau said visitor arrivals might impact the livelihood of the community.

There is room for Hong Kong to improve its capacity for receiving tourists, he added.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, without identifying the assailants.

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A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Imad Naseer, 22, was killed by a strike in northern Gaza, the ministry said, without saying if he was affiliated to any militant group.

Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Saturday, with the army retaliating with air strikes and tank fire.

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Islamic State militants and Chadian opposition fighters were responsible for an attack on the forces of eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in the southern Libyan city of Sebha, a military source said on Saturday.

Eight soldiers were killed earlier on Saturday in the attack on a training camp in Sebha, the head of the local municipality said.

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Ashton Kutcher is expected to testify against Michael Gargiulo  the alleged "Hollywood Ripper" serial killer who is currently on trial for the 2001 murder of Kutcher's then-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Kutcher is one of nearly 250 potential witnesses for a case against Gargiulo, which is related to an alleged, 15-year-long killing spree that left two California women and an Illinois teenager dead. According to CNN, Gargiulo was finally apprehended in 2008 after he accidentally cut himself during an alleged attack against a fourth victim, Michelle Murphy.

However, Kutcher's testimony will reportedly be related to the death of 22-year-old fashion student and stripper Ashley Ellerin, whose body was found by a friend the day after Kutcher stopped by her Hollywood Hills home to pick her up a Grammys afterparty. LA Weekly notes that Kutcher's testimony will help establish the time of Ellerin's murder, as she apparently never answered the door when he came by. Kutcher also allegedly spotted what he assumed was spilled red wine on her carpet when he peeked through her back window.

Gargiulo reportedly worked as an air-conditioning repairman who lived next door to each of his purported victims. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder in California court, though he faces a separate charge in Illinois for the third alleged murder.

Read all the details, here.
Famed British designer Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with the cult shoe brand, Buffalo London, to create two new shoes with platforms standing miles above cool. Combining iconic aspects of both labels in the hybridized styles, the shoes reimagine brand history like the first Classics platform sneaker released in 1995, and its subsequent Hightower Platform, that's now merged with Westwood's Pirate boot to create the Pirate Boot Platform. The boot comes over the knee in soft leather printed in red and black, then fastens to the top with tan buckled straps.

Debuting in the Fall 1981 Vivienne Westwood show, the Pirate Boot was part of an entirely unisex collection with the alternative, layered ragamuffin look of pirates dressed in swashbuckling clothes. The look has endured throughout the years and is now back for a remix with Buffalo London's timely collaboration.

The other style in the latest drop is The Connected Sandal Platform, which is pale tan leather and with ankles straps on a black platform inspired by Westwood's original Everything is Connected Sandal from the spring 2014 collection.

Get into the shoes that are stacking up on style in the new campaign, shot by Jurgen Teller.
The NPP Communication Director, the Honourable Yaw Buaben Asamoah, is absolutely right for calling on the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu to keep Ghanaians updated on the progress of the corruption fight.



The appointment of Mr Martin Amidu to the position of the Special Prosecutor with a mandate of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from greedy and corrupt public officials, is, arguably, the most important appointment by President Akufo-Addo so far.



Ghana, so to speak, has been losing billions of dollars since the adoption of the Fourth Republican Constitution to the remorseless nation wreckers who take delight in swindling the state to the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians, and yet the methods employed by the successive governments in fighting the apparent canker have been extremely disappointing.



Despite the pernicious effects of corruption, the successive governments and their Attorney Generals have woefully failed to cooperate with other interested stakeholders to investigate, prosecute and retrieve the stolen monies from the stubbornly impenitent nation wreckers.



It is for this reason that some of us are most grateful to President Akufo-Addo for showing seriousness and commitment towards the fight against corruption by establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor with the responsibility of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from the corrupt public officials.



Notwithstanding the seeming inaction for well over a year now, some of us are of the firm conviction that the introduction of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is a pragmatic way of tackling the rampant bribery and corruption cases head-on.



Indeed, it would be somewhat refreshing if the justice system descends heavily not only on the goat, cassava and plantain thieves but as well as the hardened criminals who hide behind narrow political colourations.



It was against such backdrop that some of us were extremely livid over the vineyard news which spiralled through the airwaves some time ago that Mr Amidu had not been resourced adequately by the government and therefore planning to quit the job.



But lo and behold, the Finance Minister announced in his 2019 budget presentation that President Akufo-Addo has decided to give a staggering GH180 million to Martin Amidu to fight the canker of corruption.



I have always insisted that despite the widely held notion that Ghanaian politics is full of inveterate propagandists and manipulating geezers, we have many selfless, morally upright and forward-thinking politicians like Mr Martin Amidu in our midst.



In fact, I hold a firm conviction that a fantastically corrupt public official is no less a human rights abuser than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.



This is because while the enigmatic Adolf Hitler went into a conniption-fit and barbarically exterminated innocent people with mephitic chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on suffocating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.



Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up facing untold economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early graves.



In Ghana, it would appear that political criminals have the licence to steal.



Dearest reader, if that was not the case, how come the offending politicians and their accomplices often go scot free?



Elsewhere, though, the laws and regulations are strictly enforced, and as such, the vast majority of the citizens and denizens prefer the observance to the stringent fines and the harsh punishments.



Corruption, as a matter of fact, impedes economic development by distorting markets and collapsing private sector integrity.



Corruption also strikes at the heart of democracy by corroding rule of law, democratic institutions and public trust in leaders. For the poor, women and minorities, corruption means even less access to jobs, justice or any fair and equal opportunity (UNDP 2016).



There is no denying the fact that the revoltingly cyclical corrupt practices amongst the political elites have resulted in underdevelopment, excessive public spending, less efficient tax system, needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities.



The fact though, remains that Ghanas transgressed and incompliant politicians and other public officials often get away with murder.



If the wanton bribery and corruption, dubious judgment debt payments, stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation?



The all-important question discerning Ghanaians should be asking is: will the day come when Ghanas political criminals find they have nowhere to hide?



We should, therefore, not expect Mr Martin Amidu to dampen our excitement by leniently asking the suspects to return their loots without the essential prosecutions.



Obviously, the benign and somewhat lenient approach would not circumscribe the widespread sleazes and corruption which have been retrogressing Ghanas advancement thus far.



How on earth would individuals turn away from their crimes if the only available punishment for stealing the public funds is a mere plea to return the loot?



Let us be honest, much as the paradox of exposure is somewhat relevant in the fight against the canker of corruption, it is not an isolated tool, it goes hand in hand with prevention and deterrence.



Well, if we are ever prepared to beseech the fantastically corrupt public officials to only return their loots without any further punishment, we might as well treat the goat, plantain and cassava thieves same. For after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.



It is absolutely true that reported cases of political offenders misdeeds often leave concerned Ghanaians with a glint of bewilderment.



However, when it comes to the prosecutions of the political criminals, we are often made to believe: the wheels of justice turn slowly, but it will grind exceedingly fine.



Yet we can disappointingly recall a lot of unresolved alleged criminal cases involving political personalities and other public servants.



Where is the fairness when the political thieves could dip their hands into the national purse as if tomorrow will never come and go scot free, while the goat, cassava and plantain thieves are incarcerated?



I will dare state that there is no deterrence for political criminals. For, if that was not the case, how come political criminals more often than not, go through the justice net, despite unobjectionable evidence of wrong doing?



I bet, the democratic country called Ghana, may not see any meaningful development, so long as we have public officials who are extremely greedy, corrupt, and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians, and would often go scot free.



Going forward, we must not and cannot use the justice net to catch only the mobile phone, plantain, goat and cassava thieves, but we must rather spread the justice net wide to cover the hard criminals who are often disguised in political attire.



Let us humbly remind the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu that the right antidote to curbing the unbridled sleazes and corruption is through stiff punishments, including the retrieval of all stolen monies, sale of properties and harsh prison sentences.









Source: K. Badu/ [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The United Nations on Thursday asked for restraint in Benin after controversial elections led to violence.



"We are closely following the unfolding developments in the Republic of Benin in the aftermath of the April 28 legislative elections, in which opposition parties were barred from participating," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.



"We note with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, resulting in the destruction of property and high-handed response from the security forces," he said.



The United Nations called on all Beninese stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and to seek solutions to their differences through dialogue, he told a regular press briefing.



The secretary-general's special representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas is in contact with colleagues in the Economic Community of West African States, as well as with Beninese stakeholders, with a view to encouraging a consensual and peaceful solution to the situation and preserving peace and stability for the country, he said.

Source: GNA









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Four Nigerian rescue workers kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country were released unhurt after several days in captivity, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday.



An official of NEMA told Xinhua in Abuja that the four victims, who work for the agency, were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment after they were freed on Thursday.



The rescue workers were kidnapped on April 23 by gunmen in Ahoada area of the southern state of Rivers. They were working on the National Food Security Intervention program in the state when the gunmen struck.



"Though it's a security issue, the NEMA, as a responsive agency of government, did all it could to make sure that they were released unhurt," said Vincent Owan, a director of risk management at the agency.



After an initial medical examination, doctors said that the workers were physically weak but basically in good health condition.



Rivers state is located in the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta where there have been many incidents of kidnapping.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court has granted an application by lawyers for De Eye Group, the company at the centre of a recent documentary by Multimedia Group journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure to serve him by substitution.



After a ten-day period, it is deemed he has seen the summons and therefore duly served.



The Administrative Director for the group, Nana Kegya through a press briefing encouraged his members to never be disheartened or discouraged from creating employment for the youth of Ghana, neither should they be worried of the court proceedings because they are not at fault".



He added that the core aim of the De-eye group is to coordinate the youth of Ghana into various working institutions that will help them generate income at the end of work for proper conditions of life as expected.



Nana Kegya urged every unemployed youth to visit their various centers to fill registration forms to be a member of the De-eye group who will at every time link them up to employment opportunities of their specification when the need arises.



Background



De-Eye group Limited, the company at the centre of the recent documentary by journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure has sued Multimedia group of companies and Manasseh Azure Awuni over claims made in the documentary.



In the documentary, Manasseh Azure alleged that the company was training a pro-government militia group operating from the Osu Castle, a former seat of government.



Both the government and the De-Eye group have denied the allegations, insisting that the company is a recruitment agency which is not a threat to Ghanas security.



De-Eye group in its writ indicated that the company is not a militia group as suggested in the documentary.

















Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Education Service (GES) has made minor adjustments to the 2018/2019 academic calendar, particularly for double-track schools.



This is to ensure that the SHS 1 students in Double-Track schools will complete the end of second semester together and allow schools that wish to have their SHS 1 students write the same end of semester exams flexibility to do so, a release to all regional directors of education indicated.



According to the release on Thursday, May 2, Green Track students will begin their mid-semester break on Friday, May 10 as scheduled.



This means Gold Track students will also begin their second semester on Saturday, May 11 as scheduled.



SHS 2 students will also complete their second semester on Friday, July 5 as scheduled.



The adjustment involves the reopening for Green Track students.



Instead of returning on Saturday, June 15, they are now scheduled to return on Saturday, July 6.



This is to allow them to complete the semester together with the Gold Track students on 6th September 2019.



The multiple-track system under the Free SHS Policy was introduced ahead of the 2018/2019 academic year.



It goes into its second year this September, which will mark three years into the governments flagship education policy.







Source: 3news.com









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North Korea has tested several short-range missiles, according to reports from South Korea, its neighbour.



They were reportedly fired from the Hodo peninsula in the east of the country, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. This will be the first missile launch since Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.



Last month Pyongyang said it had tested what it described as a new "tactical guided weapon". That was the first test since the Vietnam summit between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and US President Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.



Firing a short range missile would not violate North Korea's promise not to test long range or nuclear missiles, but Pyongyang appears to be growing impatient with Washington's insistence that full economic sanctions remain until Kim takes serious steps to dismantle his nuclear weapons programme, says the BBC's Laura Bicker.



"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary" said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Methodist Church Ghana (MCG), has entreated the government to stay focused and work diligently towards achieving its vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.



Economic emancipation is a reality if we begin to set our development priorities right, the Right Reverend Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, noted.



Having chalked 62 years as an independent country, he said, the leadership and people ought to demonstrate the zeal of taking their destiny into their own hands, to ensure economic liberation.



Rt. Rev. Andam, who was addressing the 58th annual synod of the Kumasi Diocese of the MCG at Old Tafo, lauded the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration for the implementation of many policies, initiatives and interventions for the wellbeing of the people.



He explained that programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One District, One Factory and One District, One Warehouse, as well as efforts to enhance infrastructure growth and related development projects, would help to open up the economy for job and wealth creation.



Intensifying our Teaching Ministry towards Disciple Making - the Wesleyan Mission, was the theme for the synod.



Rt. Rev. Andam said it was appropriate that the leadership of the nation did something more proactive to tackle youth unemployment to reap its resultant benefit of increased economic growth.



He hinted of an on-going girls empowerment programme, being pursued by the Methodist Womens Fellowship, to equip school drop-outs with relevant employable skills.



The Methodist Bishop advised the various societies within the MCG to throw their weight behind the programme, since women played a critical role in the nations development processes.



Speaking on the theme, he urged the various societies in the Diocese to live godly and exemplary lives, as that could be a form of evangelism to bring more people to the Church.

Source: GNA









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Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.

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Mr Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a human rights activist, has urged the Government to set national targets to reduce the number of people in jail.



He noted that the Nsawam Prison, for instance, was built to house about 800 inmates, but currently had more than 2,000.



There was, therefore, the need to roll out measures to address the issue of the high prison population.



Mr Foley said the move, however, needed to go hand-in-hand with very concrete crime prevention measures, particularly within crime-prone areas.



He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra during a media workshop on decriminalising petty offences in Ghana.



The workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), was to expose media personnel to the ACHPR Principles to enhance reportage and give visibility to regional instruments that promote criminal justice reforms.



The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), under its Principles on Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa, defines petty offences as minor crimes for which the punishment is prescribed in law to carry a warning, community service, low-value fine or short term of imprisonment, often for failure to pay the fine.



Mr Foley said security agencies, particularly the Police, knew crime flashpoints in the country and, as such, Ghana should start using social intervention measures to get people in those communities moving away from a life of crime.



So, it is not just speedy justice to get people out but also a concerted programme alongside to prevent re-offending or offending, he added.



He said Ghanas high prison population was way above global standards and promoted significant human right violations because of a penal system that was essentially punitive.



He noted that research had shown that there were a number of petty offences for which people need not go to jail.







Source: GNA









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Former Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Enin has alleged that Politicians and chiefs are thwarting governments effort to fighting galamsey.



According to him, with the level of corruption going on in the galamsey business, it will be difficult for government to win the fight against illegal mining.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that those involved in the fight against galamsey have become corrupt such that they are being bribed with huge sums of money by the galamsey operators.



You see, you will need people with honesty and integrity who are willing to help fight galamsey.



Until these things are done, Politicians, MMDCEs security officers will make the fight against galamsey difficult, he said.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his decision to wage war on illegal mining, known as galamsey, is one he does not regret and is prepared to see through till the end.



He said he is fortified by the positive response from the many Ghanaians who believe that the move is right and until the desired results are achieved, there is no giving up.



The President noted that Ghanas mineral wealth is an important attribute of the nation and mining has been ongoing since the 15th Century, but until our time, that wealth has been exploited, but it did not prejudice the safety of our environment."



In our time, it has come to prejudice the safety of our environment. Our water bodies have been polluted, forests have been decimated because of this mad rush for gold.



And I was told that doing something about it will cost me my political career, but well, that is a choice that we have to make always in life. Whether you are going to pander to the whims of the moment or do the things that you think right.







Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Former Ghanaian leader, John Dramani Mahama, has, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, commended Ghanaian journalists for the role they play in deepening democracy in the country.



The theme for the 2019 World Press Freedom Day marked on Friday, 3 May 2019 is: Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.



Commemorating the day on Facebook, Mr Mahama, who is seeking to lead Ghana again, said: This years global theme for the World Press Freedom Day couldnt have been more appropriate. The reaction of governments to the work of journalists and the impact of inaccurate news reports by journalists are issues that have dominated journalism over the last few years.



I am in Addis Ababa today where UNESCO, the AU and the Ethiopian government have been hosting three days of activities discussing the relationship between the media and democracy.



As has been asked by UNESCO, 'How can journalism rise above emotional content and fake news during an election? What should be done to counter speeches demeaning journalists? To what extent should electoral regulations be applied to the internet?'



On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, I say ayekoo to all journalists and urge governments and security agencies to guarantee their safety in the discharge of their work.



I also wish to encourage the Ghana Journalists Association, media men and women and bloggers to consider deeply and discuss how to remain relevant to society within the framework of the 2019 theme, Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.















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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

Talks stalled after a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

Security Guarantee

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Cautiously Respond"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If local elections down south tell us anything, they remind us that referendum verdicts must be honoured," the environment minister, Michael Gove, told a conference of Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen.

Health minister Matt Hancock gave a similar message in a BBC radio interview. "I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Labour has demanded guarantees on workers' rights and a permanent customs union with the EU as a condition for supporting an EU withdrawal deal.

May's government has opposed a customs union, preferring a looser arrangement that would allow Britain to strike its own trade deals with countries outside the EU.

Hancock suggested there could be greater willingness to compromise following the election losses.

"(Thursday's vote) wasn't about 'deliver this particular form of Brexit!' There was no door that I knocked on and the person said: 'I would like a slight change to paragraph 5 of this agreement in this particular way'."

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that a compromise was possible, but said Labour's customs plans could not be a long-term solution for Britain.

Customs Union

May said on Friday that the message for both the Conservatives and Labour from Thursday's elections was that voters wanted parliament to deliver Brexit.

In a rare agreement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there was now a "huge impetus" on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

Complicating the picture, however, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

Buzzfeed News reported on Saturday that May was optimistic she could reach a deal with Labour soon, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said one source had told it "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement preferred by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

Buzzfeed's sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European elections due on May 23 to maximise damage to the Conservatives.

And even if May and Corbyn agree, there is no certainty they could convince enough lawmakers in their parties to ensure a majority for the deal.

Many Conservative eurosceptics fear the newly launched Brexit Party of veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage will cost them support in the European elections.

That has encouraged some to call for the government to take a tougher stance on Brexit and demand a clean split with the EU.

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British police said they will not probe a leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei that cost Gavin Williamson his job as defence minister this week, as no criminal offence was committed.

Williamson strenuously denied being responsible for the leak, but May said she had lost confidence in him, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported discussions from within Britain's National Security Council.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said on Saturday.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

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Al-Sabaeen, Al-Sitteen Road is out of service as aggression raid: Traffic Department SANA'A, Dec. 23 (Saba) - The General Directorate of Traffic announced on Thursday that traffic on Al-Sabaeen Square and Al-Sitteen Streets in the capital Sana'a was suspended due to an air raid by the US-Saudi aggression.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would eradicate terrorism following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism, Sirisena told Reuters.

The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election.

We have already identified all active members of the group and its a case of now arresting them, Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 active members linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: Its crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

ATTACKERS ON LOOSE

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done.

There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

Sri Lankas security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

This is not a Sri Lanka issue, its a global terrorist movement, Sirisena said. Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together havent been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.

Sri Lankas leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas, he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lankas economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a big blow by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

Its a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry, Sirisena said. For the economy to develop its important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.

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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/03/2019 -- The global sodium sulfate market is fragmented in nature on account of the presence of numerous global and local players. The market is being primarily driven by the soap and detergent industry. Apart from that, an ever-growing automotive and construction industry is also serving to catalyze growth in the market by driving demand for glass, which requires sodium sulfate as a fluxing agent in glass refining.



Hampering demand in the sodium sulfate market, on the flipside, is the emergence of substitute compounds such as zeolites, sodium silicates, emulsified sulphur and caustic soda, and sodium carbonate (soda ash) in various end-use industries.



A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global sodium sulfate market to attain a value of US$2.62 bn by 2025 from US$1.89 bn in 2016 by rising at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2017 to 2025.



Read Report Overview @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sodium-sulfate-market.html



Natural Sodium Sulfate Dominates Market



Sources of sodium sulfate can be broadly divided into synthetic and natural. At present, about half the sodium sulfate in the world is produced from natural mines and the remaining half is recovered from industrial processes. Current reserves of natural sodium sulfate are sufficient to satisfy the required demand for several centuries because of the current rate of production. Between the two, sodium sulfate derived from natural sources dominates the market with a leading share both in terms of volume and value. In the years ahead too, the segment is expected to hold on to its leading share by expanding at a CAGR of 4% during period from 2017 to 2025.



Sodium sulfate finds application in making soaps and detergents, kraft pulping, textiles, glass, carpet cleaners, and others such as food preservatives, oil recovery, etc. Of them, the detergent and soaps, in which sodium sulfate is used as a diluting agent and fillers, generate maximum demand. However, the demand has begun to decline due to the trend towards concentrated liquid detergents instead of bulkier powder formulations.



Powered by Record Consumption in China, Asia Pacific Leads Market



From a geographical standpoint, Asia Pacific runs the show on both counts of size and growth rate. In 2016, it held about half the share in the market and in the years ahead too is predicted to retain its dominant share. The market in the region is being driven primarily by China, which surpasses all other countries in terms of sodium sulfate consumption. This is also because of the cheaper cost of sodium sulfur in the nation on account of lower manufacturing costs resulting from abundance of labor and expanding end-use industries. By registering the maximum CAGR of 4.0% in the forecast period, the region is projected to grow its revenue to US$1.55 bn.



Request Report Brochure @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16742



In terms of growth rate, Latin America is another key region that is expected to outshine North America and Europe in the next couple of years, on the back of Mexico, which has enormous reserves of sodium sulfate. The market in Europe and North America is expected to rise a slower pace  a CAGR of 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively  due to liquid detergents supplanting powder detergents at a rapid pace.
Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soldiers took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim.

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Press Release

May 5, 2019 PRIB: Binay pushes for education of homeless children, youth Homeless children may soon be given an opportunity to go to school regardless of their previous school records if a bill Senator Nancy Binay is working on will be enacted into law. Binay said Senate Bill No. 2028, otherwise known as an Act to Improve Access to Preschool, Primary, and Secondary Education of Homeless Children, seeks to authorize the Department of Education to provide funds to the local government units for the education of homeless children and youth. "Education is a fundamental human right of every Filipino, especially for the helpless and homeless children and youth. It is imperative that the government improve the accessibility of preschool, primary and secondary education for homeless children and youth," Binay said. Binay said the education of homeless children and youth are often neglected because they either lack a fixed or adequate residence, live in emergency or transitional shelters, share house with other persons due to loss of housing and economic hardships, abandoned in hospitals or await foster care placement. She said children and youth who live in cars, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, train stations or similar settings should be given access to education so they can uplift their lives. Under the proposed measure, the secretary of education shall grant funds to eligible local government units for the improvement of the identification of homeless children and youth and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school, including early care and education programs, particularly in prekindergarten and preschool programs. It also calls for the establishment or designation of an Office of the Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. The funds shall also be used to improve the provision of comprehensive education and related support services to homeless children and youth and their families and to minimize education disruption as well as coordinate activities and collaborate with educators, special education personnel, child development and preschool program personnel. The bill also proposes that all public elementary and secondary schools shall immediately enroll the homeless child or youth, even if he or she is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, including previous academic records, records of immunization and health screenings and other health records, proof of residency or guardianship or other documentation, has unpaid fines or fees from prior schools or is unable to pay fees in the school selected. The enrolling school shall also immediately contact the school last attended by the child or youth to obtain relevant academic and other records. Information about the homeless child's or youth's living situation shall be treated as a student education record, and shall not be released to employers, law enforcement personnel or other persons or agencies not authorized to have such information under laws and administrative issuances. "Local governments shall identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment and increase their enrollment and attendance in early care and educational programs, including reserving spaces in preschool programs for homeless children, conducting targeted outreach to homeless children and their families, waiving application deadlines, providing ongoing professional development for staff regarding the need of homeless children and their families and formulating strategies to serve the children and their families," Binay said.
Cyprus expects initial natural gas production from the Aphrodite field will begin between 2024 and 2025, Cyprus Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday, after negotiations with operators and an ownership squabble delayed output.

Cyprus Aphrodite was first discovered in 2011, but production has been delayed since as stakeholders Noble Energy , Israels Delek Drilling and Royal Dutch Shell renegotiate a production-sharing agreement with the government.

There have been a flurry of successful exploration efforts in recent years that identified natural gas plays in the eastern Mediterranean, where gas output has begun to soar.

Eastern Mediterranean countries including Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy have formed a partnership to deliver more natural gas to Europe and transform the region into a major energy hub.

Lakkotrypis said he will meet with Aphrodites stakeholders next week to discuss the revenue sharing mechanisms between the government and the companies, infrastructure plans and the price at which companies will sell the gas.

We are now in discussions with the Aphrodite partners about what the optimal way to develop the Aphrodite field is, and it involves commercial terms as well, Lakkotrypis said in an interview in New York. He said he was confident those discussions will conclude in a few weeks.

He said they will likely transport the gas from the Aphrodite field via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and exported.

The field is estimated to produce about 800 million cubic feet per day in the first production phase, according to Delek.

Tensions have risen in the region in recent months as Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, and Greek Cypriots are in a dispute over natural gas drilling revenues.

Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinians recently formed the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in an effort to create a regional gas market, cut infrastructure costs and offer competitive prices.

Cyprus is positioning itself to become a hub ... and the natural market is the European Union (EU) Lakkotrypis said.

In February, ExxonMobil Corp discovered a gas reservoir off the Cyprus coast with an estimated 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet in gas resources (tcf), similar in size to the Aphrodite and Calypso gas finds also in Cypriot waters.

Exxons discovery is unlikely to come online until the late 2030s due to inadequate liquefaction capacity, Rystad Energy said in March.

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According to sources, the deal is worth $800 million and as per the deal, Vodafone Idea has given IBM a five-year technology outsourcing contract, which will supplement its targeted Rs 8,400 crore annual operational cost savings by 2021. Vodafone Idea and IBM, however, did not mention the deal amount.

New Delhi: Information Technology major IBM on Friday announced a multi-million dollar deal with Vodafone Idea for engagement in the telecom, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) segments.

"IBM announced signing a multi-million-dollar five-year agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India. In addition, this engagement will also contribute to Vodafone Idea's merger synergy objectives by reducing its IT related costs," a statement by IBM said.

The collaboration will provide Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable more intimate engagement with its subscribers, enhancing business efficiency, agility and the scale along with simplification of its business processes, it said.

The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.
Cooperation among fishers can improve fish stock in coral reefs

Cooperation within a group of people is key to many successful endeavors, including scientific ones. According to a study published in Nature Communications, cooperation among competing fishers can boost fish stocks on coral reefs.

The study analyzed the social relationships among competing fisheries, the species they collect, and the local reefs from which these species are extracted.

The results suggest that even though they are considered business rivals, fishers communicate and cooperate in addressing local environmental issues, which can lead to improvements in both the quality and quantity of fish in their local reefs. In the end, this cooperation could translate into further economic gain and more sustainable business, explains Orou Gaoue, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and coauthor of the study.

The research team was led by Michele Barnes, senior research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia.

For the study, Barnes and her team--which in addition to Gaoue included researchers from Conservation International, Lancaster University in the UK, and Stockholm University in Sweden--interviewed 648 fishers and gathered data on reef conditions across five coral reef fishing communities in Kenya.

They found that in places where fishers communicated with their competitors about the fishing gear they use, locations for hunting, and fishing rules, there were more fish in the sea--and of higher quality.

"Relationships between people have important consequences for the long-term availability of the natural resources we depend on," Barnes says.

"Although this study is on coral reefs," says Gaoue, "the results are also relevant for terrestrial ecosystems where, in the absence of cooperation, competition for non-timber forest products can quickly lead to depletion even when locals have detailed ecological knowledge of their environment."

###

CONTACT:

Andrea Schneibel (865-974-3993, andrea.schneibel@utk.edu)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
World Bank Group President David Malpass toured the Investor Service Center at Egypts Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Saturday, accompanied by the minister, Sahar Nasr, and praised the diversity of investment opportunities available in the country.

"I am very impressed by the centre and emerging companies," he said during the tour, adding that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has made major legislative reforms to facilitate investors work.

The Investor Service Center includes representatives from more than 65 Egyptian entities and is responsible for issuing all licences relating to investing, and responding to investor inquiries.

Malpass thanked Nasr for establishing the body, which he said "eliminates bureaucracy and simplifies the procedures for establishing new companies."

He also applauded the diversity of investment opportunities in Egypt.

"Egypt has great investment opportunities in small and medium enterprises alike. It has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen its economy by expanding the private sector  including energy, tourism and agri-business  to create more jobs and higher living standards, he said.

"Egypt's success is critical for the stability of the region," Malpass added.

Malpass arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first to the country since becoming president of the international organisation last month.

He is scheduled to meet with government officials and MPs to discuss the progress of the Egyptian governments reform programme and the contribution of the World Bank.

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It said the petitioners, in the garb of seeking review of the verdict and placing reliance on some press reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, cannot seek to re-open the whole matter since the scope of review petition is "extremely limited".

New Delhi : The Centre has told the Supreme Court that "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded by the top court in its December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale deal case has no apparent error warranting its review.

The Centre's reply came on pleas filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking review of the December 14 verdict by which their plea seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the multi-crore Rafale fighter jet deal was dismissed.

Two other review petitions have been filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and advocate Vineet Dhandha.

All the review petitions are scheduled to be taken up for hearing next week by a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

"The review petition...is an attempt to get a fishing and roving inquiry ordered, which this court has specifically declined to go into based on perception of individuals. A non-existent distinction is sought to be created between an inquiry by the CBI and the court by playing on words," the Centre's affidavit said.

It said the apex court had come to the conclusion that on all the three aspects -- the decision making process, pricing and choosing Indian offset partner -- there is no reason for intervention by the court on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

The Centre said media reports cannot form the basis for seeking review of the judgement since it is well settled law that courts do not take decision on the basis of media reports.

It said that internal file notings and views contained therein are mere expression of opinion or views for consideration of the competent authority for taking final decision in the matter.

"It cannot form the basis for a litigant to question the final decision. Therefore, there is no ground made out either for entertaining the review petition on this ground either," the Centre said.

It added that the review petitioners were relying on information which are based on unsubstantial media reports or part of internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner which cannot form the basis for a review of the verdict.

Referring to the April 10 order of the apex court, by which the Centre's preliminary objection to placing reliance on leaked documents was rejected by the top court, the Centre's reply said the order "would imply that any document marked secret obtained by whatever means and placed in public domain can be used without attracting any penal action".

It said, "This has happened in the case of Combat Aircraft which the Court has upheld by its Judgment dated 10th April, 2019. This could lead to the revelation of all closely guarded State Secrets relating to space, nuclear installations, strategic defence capabilities, operational deployment of forces, intelligence resources in the country and outside, counter-terrorism and counter insurgency measures etc."

"This could have implications in the financial sector also if say budget proposals are published before they are presented in Parliament. Such disclosures of Secret Government information will have grave repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State," it said.

It said that the April 10 order "opens the window for any person making the request not only to seek papers from Ministry of Defence but from other Ministries and Departments dealing with subjects mentioned above if they are stolen and placed in public domain by the Press or a Website."

The Centre pointed out that all papers and files have been made available to the CAG who has given his report "concluding that the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

It said that waiver of sovereign or bank guarantee in government-to-government agreements or contracts is not unusual.

"Furthermore, assuming that Dassault Aviation or MBDA France meet difficulties in the execution of their respective supply protocols and would have to reimburse all or part of the intermediary payments to the Government of the Republic of India, the Government of the French Republic will take appropriate measures so as to make sure that said payments or reimbursements will be made at the earliest," it said while seeking dismissal of the review plea.

In an another reply to an application filed by review petitioners, the Centre said that "monitoring of the progress by PMO of this government-to-government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations."

"It is submitted that in the garb of seeking review of the judgement, and placing reliance on some media reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, the petitioners cannot seek to re-open the whole matter by asking for production of documents in review petition since the scope of review petition itself is extremely limited," the reply said.
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POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten  Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day.

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.

The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the corner stone of democracy for any functioning society.

Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.

Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.

I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.

In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





by Eric S. Margolis





Sure. Lets invade Venezuela. Another jolly little war. Its full of commies and has a sea of oil. The only thing those Cuban-loving Venezuelans lack are weapons of mass destruction.





This week, leading US neocons openly threatened that if the CIAs latest attempts to stage a coup to overthrow Venezuelas Maduro government failed, Washington might send in the Marines.





Well, the coup was a big fiasco and the Venezuelan army didnt overthrow President Maduro. The CIA also failed to overthrow governments in Moscow, Tehran and Damascus. Its only success to date has been in overthrowing Ukraines pro-Moscow government and putting a bunch of corrupt clowns in its place at a cost near $10 billion.





The US has not waged a major successful war since World War II - unless you count invading Grenada, Panama and Haiti, or bombing the hell out of Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya. Thats a sobering thought given the Pentagons recent announcement that it is cutting back on little colonial wars (aka the war on terror) to get ready for real big wars against Russia and China, or even North Korea.





Venezuela is in a huge economic mess thanks to the crackpot economic policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments - and US economic sabotage. But my first law of international affairs is: Every nation has the absolute god-given right to mismanage its own affairs and elect its own crooks or idiots.





Now, however, the administrations frenzied neocons want to start a war against Venezuela, a large, developed nation of 32.7 million, at the same time we are threatening war against Iran, interfering all around Africa, and confronting Russia, China and perhaps North Korea. Large parts of the Mideast and Afghanistan lie in ruins thanks to our liberation campaigns.





Invading Venezuela would not be much of a problem for the US military: half the population hates the current government and might welcome the Americans. Venezuelas military has only limited combat value. Right-wing regimes in neighboring Colombia and Brazil might join the invasion.





But what then? Recall Iraq. The US punched through the feeble Iraqi Army whose strength had been wildly exaggerated by the media. Once US and British forces settled in to occupation duties, guerilla forces made their life difficult and bloody. Iraqi resistance continues today, sixteen years later. The same would likely happen in Venezuela.





There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





Yankees Go Home is a rallying cry for much of Latin America. Blundering into Venezuela, another nation about which the Trump administration knows or understands little, would stir up a hornets next. Their ham-handed efforts to punish Cuba and whip up the far right Cuban-American vote in Florida would galvanize anti-American anger across Latin America. Beware the ghost of Fidel.





Talks over Venezuela are underway between Washington and Moscow. Neither country has any major interest in Venezuela. Moscow is stirring the pot there to retaliate for growing US involvement in Russias backyard and Syria. Both the US and Russia should get the hell out of Venezuela and mind their own business.





Instead, we hear crazy proposals to send 5,000 mercenaries to overthrow the Maduro regime. How well did the wide-scale use of US-financed mercenaries work in Iraq and Afghanistan? A complete flop. The only thing they did competently was wash dishes at our bases, murder civilians, and play junior Rambos.





For those who dont like the American Raj, a US invasion of Venezuela would mark a step forward in the crumbling of the empire. More aimless imperial over-reach, more lack of strategy, more enemies generated.





The big winner would, of course, be the Pentagon and military industrial complex. More billions spent on a nation most Americans could not find on a map if their lives depended on it, more orders for counter-insurgency weapons, more military promotions, and cheers from Fox News and wrestling fans.





Worst of all, the US could end up feeding and caring for wrecked Venezuela. How did we do with storm-ravaged Puerto Rico? Its still in semi-ruin. Few want Venezuelas thick, heavy oil these days.





Venezuela could turn out to be a big, fat Tar Baby.




Despite the current heat wave in Egypt, local and international journalists and photographers flocked to the Giza Plateau on Saturday to witness the announcement by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany of the discovery of an Old Kingdom cemetery.

El-Enany said that the announcement of the most recent discoveries and archaeological projects by the ministry not only have a scientific and archaeological value but are also good promotion of Egypt, showing the world the countrys true image, its culture, or soft power.

Zahi Hawass, a former antiquities minster, was also in attendance, and expressed his happiness that he was invited to attend the announcement, as the area where the cemetery was found is very close to his heart because it neighbours the pyramid-builders cemetery, which he considers a very important site.

The discovery of the pyramid-builders cemetery shows to the whole world that the pyramids were not built by slaves, but that their builders built their own tombs beside their kings, he said.

He told Ahram Online that the discoveries that the ministry have been announcing are the best way to promote Egypt abroad, because the news enters homes worldwide through the international media.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Egyptian Archaeological Mission team that made the discovery of the Old Kingdom cemetery, told Ahram Online that the team discovered several tombs and burial shafts, with the oldest a limestone family tomb from the fifth dynasty (circa 2500 BC) which retains some inscriptions and artwork.

The tomb belongs to two people. The first is Behnui-Ka, whose name has not previously been found in the Giza Plateau. He has seven titles, among them the priest, the judge, the purifier of the kings Khafre, Userkaf and Niuserre; the priest of goddess Maat, and the elder judicial official in the court.

The second tomb owner, Nwi Who, had five titles, among them the chief of the great state, the overseer of the new settlements, and the purifier of Khafre.

Many artefacts were discovered in the tomb; among the most significant is a fine limestone statue of one of the tombs owners, his wife and son.

Ashraf Mohi, director general of Giza Plateau, said that the cemetery was reused extensively during the Late Period (from the 8th century BC). Many Late Period wooden painted and decorated anthropoid coffins were discovered on site. Some of them have hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Many wooden and clay funerary masks were also found, some with colour.

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North Korea fires short-range missile : Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched an "unidentified short-range missile" towards the East Sea -- also known as Sea of Japan -- on Saturday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Pyongyang "fired a missile from its east coast town of Wonsan to the eastern direction at 9:06 am (0006 GMT) today," the JCS said in a statement.

South Korea and the United States "are analysing details related to the missile", it added.
North Korea fires short-range 'projectiles' into sea: Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today", the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."

The White House said it was "aware of North Korea's actions tonight".

"We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was "no confirmation of ballistic missiles" entering its territory.

"At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security," the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.



- Hodo peninsula -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used as a training area for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles" since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that a "formal training area" was established in the region, and Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing" during the last 10 years, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and Trump in February, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Kim slammed the South in a speech to his country's rubber-stamp legislature last month, saying it should not "pose as a meddlesome 'mediator'" between the US and Pyongyang.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
Three Turkish soldiers killed in Kurd mortar attack from Iraq: ministry



Istanbul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.
Boko Haram seizes military base in NE Nigeria: sources



Kano, Nigeria, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Boko Haram jihadists have seized a military base in northeast Nigeria, days after an attack left five troops dead and 30 missing, security sources and residents said Saturday.

A column of fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks and on motorcycles stormed into the base in the town of Magumeri, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri late Friday.

The militants overran the base, hauling away weapons before they were forced out.

"The terrorists dislodged troops from the base after an intense fight," a military officer told AFP.

"We lost weapons and equipment to the terrorists but it is not clear if there was any human loss," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

The jihadists arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight before they "gained the upper hand and chased the troops away," militia leader Gremah Kaka told AFP.

"The insurgents overpowered the soldiers and forced them to flee into the bush," he said.

Kaka said the jihadists stayed in the base for "more than four hours" before they were dislodged by reinforcements from another base in Gubio, 46 kilometres away.

Last week, the jihadists raided a military base in Mararrabar Kimba, 135 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are listed as missing.

ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that saw the jihadists kill scores of soldiers.

The military authorities have always denied any casualties.

Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria.

The conflict has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group.

However, the Nigerian army on Saturday said some "foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)."

Army spokesman Musa Sagir said in a statement the plot was "to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group to resurrect".

He said the military would continue to fight the remnants of "Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers".
Envoy says US ready for 'all sides' to lay down arms in Afghan war



Doha, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.



- 'Failed strategies' -



The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Trump says still confident in Kim after N.Korea test launch



Washington, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
EU concerned about added US sanctions on Iran



Brussels, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.
Maduro rallies military as Venezuela opposition marches on bases



Caracas, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."

"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest."

National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation."

This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.



- 'Something bigger' will happen -



"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go."
Nine killed by regime, Russian strikes in Syria's Idblib: war monitor



Beirut, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.

lar/on/dwo/del
N.Korea says tests rocket launchers after firing projectiles



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea said Sunday it had tested long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, a day after Pyongyang appeared to have launched its first short-range missile in more than a year.

The announcement on the "strike drill", which the Korean Central News Agency said took place Saturday and was overseen by Kim Jong Un, came after US President Donald Trump voiced confidence that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise" even as nuclear talks have been deadlocked.

KCNA said the tests in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, aimed to "estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance" of the weapons.

Kim was also evaluating "the combat performance of arms and equipment," according to KCNA.

Kim urged his troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength," it added.

On Saturday, the North also fired "a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) toward the East Sea.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.



- Broken promises? -



"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted in reaction to the launches announced by the South Koreans.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The launches followed last month's test-firing of very short range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

"North Korea's recent missile launches are a provocation at a time when the international community is awaiting concrete steps from North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile program," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said.

"We welcome President Trump's declaration that he is ready to continue to support the negotiations process despite this provocation."

On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where the projectile firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

The launches come just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke with Biegun to discuss the launches, the South's foreign ministry said.
Hemas Travels bags two awards at ATM View(s):

Hemas Travels, the outbound arm of Hemas Leisure Travel and Aviation Group was recognised for two prestigious awards at Asian Travel Mart (ATM) this year, a media release by the company stated.

Ottila Worldwide, Indias largest travel wholesaler recognised Hemas Travels as Sri Lankas Top Agent at ATM and the award was accepted by Hussain Habeeb  Chief Operating Officer for Hemas Travels along side Ms. Chamila Wijethunghe  Senior Manager  Service Excellence.

Meanwhile, Travel Boutique Online (TBO) Group; one of worlds largest Bed Banks also awarded them for Exceptional Sales Contribution for 2018 at TBO Annual Awards, held alongside ATM in Dubai on 29th April 2019, the release said.
Hotels in Sri Lanka go empty By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas hotels are still reeling from the shock of the attack by Islamic extremists on Easter Sunday with occupancies crashing to a mere four per cent in Colombo and 10 per cent islandwide.

Even as the tourism industry remained concerned about the security situation in the country some hotels like the Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and the Kingsbury have already adopted new measures like the installation of scanners at points of entry to carry out security checks on persons visiting the hotels.

Security in hotels is also provided by armed personnel posted in front where the numbers manning these posts could increase from eight to 20.

Colombo City hotels occupancies have come crashing down to about 4 per cent while the number of persons staying in hotels was down at about 10 per cent for hotels islandwide, City Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times.

There has been over 80 per cent of cancellations, he also said and this has been confirmed by a number of reports that similarly stated how hotels both in the city and the resorts were found to lose bookings although a handful of travellers were positive about touring the destination.

Even Sri Lankans are not patronizing the hotels and this has caused a further downfall in revenues for the hotel industry as most hotels have gone empty. While some hotels in the city remain open for business others provide limited services.

Staff today outnumbers tourists as travellers are unlikely to visit the destination unless their countries assure them of their stay in Sri Lanka. Numerous travel advisories from the UK, US to Israel, Spain, and even China have caused a direct hit on the number of bookings for the next few months.

In fact, some in the industry complain that winter bookings were also getting cancelled already in addition to all other bookings.

Authorities were asked to be in touch with the respective embassies in the country to ensure a relaxation of the travel ban to Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, the tourism industry and in particular the hoteliers were assured of a moratorium on their loan repayments. Most hotels were said to have obtained dollar loans and this had even prior to the attacks caused concern resulting in a request to tour operators to carry out transactions in dollars. This came in the form of a budget proposal.

However, this seemed to be taking a back seat for now and in the wake of the suicide attacks on three luxury hotels in Colombo the industry has been assured by both the President and Prime Minister of a moratorium on their loans and a further capital infusion. Another plan of action that has taken a back seat is the much-awaited global promotion campaign without which the industry and authorities are now planning on short term immediate publicity campaign promoting the destination. This campaign that should have ideally been given a cabinet nod last week is still pending approval.

Mr. Shanthikumar noted that they were yet to arrive at a decision on banning the burqa in hotels but observed that if there was a law to ban it then all should adhere to it.

Staff in hotels is also feeling the pinch. He said that although there was no staff leaving hotels, those keenly dependent on the service charge may look for other opportunities.

An industry that is always positive inspite of the crises they face has repeatedly told authorities to ensure they talk in one voice so as to send out the correct message to the international community.

Tour Operators Association President Harith Perera told the Business Times that they informed authorities of the need to regularise the shuttle bus service at the airport to ensure convenience of passage to travellers; and also to make necessary arrangements to assist visitors at the airport could stay without hassle.

Tourism authorities and industry at the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai facing the world for the first time in a public gathering were able to act positive and communicate a clear message to partners and tour operators. Most tour operators and agents have insisted that they need to wait and see as travel advisories issued by a number of countries was a deterrent to marketing Sri Lanka.

However, tour operators were said to have been very encouraging as they had pointed out that they were fond of the destination and were keen to sell it to bring the tourist back to this friendly nation.
InterContinental brand goes ahead with Sri Lanka plans By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which has announced its comeback to the island in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening at the site at Bambalapitiya junction in Colombo.

This super luxury, 42-storeyed hotel will consist of 346 rooms of different categories.  Presidential Suite, Deluxe Suites, Executive suites, Junior Suites, King Club Rooms, King Rooms, Twin Rooms etc and it will be the second InterContinental branded hotel in the island after the Ceylon Intercontinental established in 1973, and later pulled out.

In a letter of confirmation, David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, recently noted that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible to do their part in supporting affected communities by bringing the beauty of Sri Lanka to international audiences.

In partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, IHG said it looks forward to offering world-class amenities, excellent service and consistent, luxurious experiences to the guests visiting the beautiful city of Colombo and exploring other cultural hubs in proximity to the hotel, he pointed out.

He is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly to discuss the overall strategy and plan for the opening of Intercontinental, Colombo towards the latter part of the year/1st quarter of 2020.

The development of Intercontinental, Colombo is being carried out under the Pearl Group of Hotels family owned business conglomerate headed by the Chairman of the group, A.L.M. Faris.

Sri Lanka needs globally renowned brands in hospitality industry to project the destination image and to position it on the global map as a destination of quality, he told the Business Times.

He pointed out that his efforts to join hands with the IHG group and bring back a world renowned brand such as Intercontinental to Sri Lanka was with the industry interest as well.

The hotel development work is done in conformity with Intercontinental Brand Standards, acclaimed to be the highest in the industry including guest comfort, safety, security, adaptation of high tech superseding all local authority and other agency standards, he said.

We will muster greater strength from the setback to forge ahead. Tourism was about the only sector that was indicating year on growth over the last nine to 10 years in Sri Lanka, he said.

It can make a greater contribution towards the economy in the years ahead, he said adding that his other properties which were maintaining around 80 per cent occupancy and had good bookings for the next few months is currently down to under 10 per cent occupancy.

He noted that this was a temporary setback and the government needs to step in to assist the industry with a proper understanding.
O Sri Lanka By Tissa Jayaweera View(s): View(s):

Ceylon was known as the Pearl of Indian Ocean. We failed to take it as a Tourism Promotion Tagline and lost it to another country. After many years of being in limbo a professional who developed tourism for Singapore as the Lion City was hired as Chairman Tourism. Many debates took place and a Tagline Sri Lanka the Small Miracle was incorporated and publicity given. Then as usual in this country after some time a Minister of Tourism did not like the tag line Sri Lanka the Small Miracle. By this time other countries had come up with attractive taglines such as Incredible, Truly Asia, Wonder of Asia etc in their tourism promotion

Recently the Ministry of Tourism hired an international advertising agency to come up with Promoting Sri Lanka Tourism at great cost. They came up with a tagline So Sri Lanka. At the launch I stated that this is not a good tagline as attractive as Incredible or Truly Asia or Wonder of Asia. The word O is as in Despair. O God or O my heavens, etc. I was laughed at by most present and the theme So Sri Lanka was launched.

The Islamic extremist attack on April 21 made 90 per cent of the population of Sri Lanka and the world say So Sri Lanka I cry for you.

I had many calls from friends, relatives and business associates from around the world. One of them, a Chairman/MD of a company that manages 5,000, 3  5 Star Hotel Rooms in India and Africa told me: Sri Lanka has got the best publicity after 10 years. It was the LTTE that gave publicity but it was local. Now it is Muslim Extremism International.

Sri Lanka being a small island nation, if all security systems are de-politicised and independent, Muslim extremism can be completely wiped out in a few days. This is the time to give visa free entry. Unfortunately our politicians thought otherwise.

Discount inbound travel on SriLankan Airlines by 40 per cent: Anyway Sri Lankan is operating at a loss. This may increase in a load factor to 95 per cent from the current 65 per cent and result in SriLankan breaking even. Discount hotel rates by 40 per cent: This will increase hotel bookings to 90 per cent during the next season. Give international publicity and visitors who take the challenge to come. Travel agencies around the world will give adequate publicity as Sri Lanka being a great destination to be in at attractive prices. International websites have already given publicity to the attractions in Sri Lanka and what a great holiday destination Sri Lanka is. This will encourage new visitors who are looking for an affordable holiday. Their Facebook, Twitter sites will do the needful after a great holiday in paradise.

All those involved in tourism, big or small should be given a grace period to settle loans to banks and other financial institutions. All lenders act as leaches in the recovery of their loans not taking in to consideration the plight of their borrowers other than showing an impressive bottom line to shareholders and a big bonus to staff.

I trust the authorities will start to give our tourism a boost without having sad faces and crying tourism has been hit by $1.5 billion. We may make $2 billion if this is done.

Make use of this opportunity. Nothing is lost. We are known globally now even better than what LTTE did for us.

(The writer is a veteran business leader, Managing Partner at TJ Associates and can be reached at tissaj2009@yahoo.com).
Political leadership should set aside differences in this crisis:CCC View(s):

Sri Lankans need to be assured that the government machinery to safeguard its people from acts of terrorism is effective, that national security will be accorded the highest priority and that the political leadership of this country has the capacity to work together setting aside political differences to accord the highest priority to national issues, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has said.

It is unfortunate but true that the recent events and the mishandling of security have contributed to the erosion of confidence in the political leadership to keep this country safe and to ensure that its economy which is challenged also due to external factors is further embattled due to domestic issues which are avoidable, the CCC said in a letter to President and the Prime Minister on the countrys security situation following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The chamber said it sought meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss matters relating to security concerns and national revival efforts. In response, the Prime Minister met with the leadership of the Chamber on Monday during which several action points were discussed.

Here are excerpts of the letter sent by CCC Chairperson Rajendra Theagarajah:

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned that the events that resulted in the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of so many people were able to be carried out due to the negligence of the Government machinery.

While terrorist activities aimed at achieving ideological objectives can never find justification, what is deeply saddening is that there was a failure on the part of law enforcement to prevent this attack despite being in possession of intelligence that warned of impending threats. The available information points to a serious lack of coordination, incompetence and ineffectiveness in handling national security. It is also abundantly clear that petty divisive political differences among the political leadership have contributed to a situation where interests of the country are subordinated to political agendas.

The events of October 2018 were also an indication of this sorry situation, which was fortunately corrected by an independent judiciary. On that occasion too, it was the people that suffered.

While the immediate victims of the Easter attacks were those that lost their lives and their families, the consequences will impact millions more whose dependence on sectors that are seriously adversely affected will impair their livelihood prospects for a considerable period. This is unfortunate.

We also condemn the utterances of elected representatives of the people and other political personalities of all parties who are continuing to engage in the blame game in an attempt to make political capital of the current situation. This is indeed a pathetic display of a lack of sensitivity to current national issues which should be addressed by all political parties collectively and in a spirit that accepts that theres a national crisis. To engage in such narrow political pursuits is to demonstrate an inability to appreciate the true role of leaders of the people.

The need of the moment is for statesmen not mere politicians. In these circumstances, we urge that the following be actioned:

1) National security.

While we appreciate steps taken after the Easter attacks, adequate measures should be sustained to handle national security. The National Security Council mechanism should be activated and used with seriousness.

For this purpose, the portfolios of Defence and of Law and Order should be placed in the hands of those who have the capacity to provide leadership to handle current and future challenges with foresight and wisdom and devoid of political aspirations.

The President, the Prime Minister and Government should speak with a unified voice on the current and future actions after considered decisions are taken together.

A 24 hour Media response centre should be established to respond to false reports that create fears and concerns among the general public.

The current legal provisions available (ICCPR Act) should be used to deal with hate speech.

2) Revival of the economy.

Its vital to fast track a revival of the economy.

Formulate a national policy for the revival of the major sectors (such as tourism) that are currently affected. For this purpose, adopt an inclusive process that secures inputs from all stakeholders.

3) Decision-making in Government.

To ensure speedy and sensible decision-making in important areas, persons of competence should be appointed to key positions.

Identify key positions in Government relevant to implement the development agenda and re-examine the capabilities of current holders of those positions. Its important that government functionaries should have the capacity to take decisions speedily and without fear. If necessary, invite private sector leaders to handle those key positions.

4) Overall revival

Take appropriate action to inspire persons of all political parties to unite in the revival processes.

This is a time to unite for the good of the country. We will condemn the actions of those who seek to stifle a resurgence for narrow political gains.

Ethnic unity should be consistently called for and extremism of all kinds should be abhorred and acted against, by the political leadership.

The elected representatives of the people should be required to comply with a code of behavior when making public comments. Theyre opinion makers and must act with responsibility.

The media should be required to comply with the need for responsible reporting.

5) Effective communication and management of perceptions.

In our efforts to recover from this situation, it is vital to inspire confidence in the people of this country as well as internationally. Such an effort if effectively carried out will result in our ability to reinforce the pursuit of vital targets such as attracting investment, attracting tourists and being held out as a country that has systems and processes in place to deal with vulnerability to terrorism and the resilience to overcome such threats.
Sad times-Part 2 View(s):

Kussi Amma Sera was angry. I hadnt seen her like this before.

Seated under the Margosa tree with friends-for-life Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu, she said: Balanna  apey manthrivarun hasirena vidiya. Ee-gollanta meka loku vihiluwak waa-ge (See how our parliamentarians are behaving. Its like a big joke for them).

She was referring to the special session in Parliament discussing the Easter Sunday bombings, particularly scenes of a few MPs amused and laughing when former army commander Sarath Fonseka spoke.

Owunge aarakshawa gena vitharie vadime unandu-wenne (They are more interested in their own security), said Serapina.

Their conversation occurred in the backdrop of a sombre neighbourhood, for the second week, after the Easter Sunday incidents. Except for the loud choon-paan karaya driving down the lane in his three-wheeler, there was silence and even the usual blaring of music from the radios was missing.

The trio then discussed everything under the sun including the cost of living, the difficulty in some of their sons getting jobs and other issues.

As I sat down in the sitting room, sipping a hot cup of Kussi Amma Seras tea, the morning silence was broken by the ringing of the landline. It was Pedris Appo, short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert who does farming. I hadnt spoken to him for a while and thus was glad he was calling.

Hi  the Easter Sunday attacks were very demoralising to all of us, he said, to which I replied, Absolutely.

The impact will be devastating, Appo, who also likes to discuss economic issues, said, adding: Tourism will be the worst hit.

Would we be able to recover from this crisis? he asked. We have to. We have had similar crises like this before and recovered though the recovery will be slow, I said.

We then discussed the cancellations by tourists as reported by several hotels, the postponement or cancellations of tourists coming for conferences and incentive trips, the losses that would be incurred by SriLankan Airlines due to the drop in traffic, among other matters.

As our stories last week and today reflect, tourism is the first casualty from the current scenario, more so because of travel warnings by several countries including India, China, the UK, the US and Canada, urging their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka. There is no way Sri Lanka can achieve the ambitious target of three million tourists this year (compared to 2.3 million in 2018) with conservative estimates showing that there would be a 30 per cent drop in arrivals. Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector and the third largest earner of foreign currency after worker remittances and garments exports, and the authorities were banking on a good year in 2019. Not anymore.

While the macro-economic fundamentals are strong, according to the Central Bank, lower earnings from tourism and more subdued FDI (foreign direct investment) would be the biggest hits to the economy. Until potential investors are convinced that the security situation is under control along with consistent policies, they wouldnt choose to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas debt is also likely to rise with an increase in government spending on the military particularly in the procurement of equipment necessary to meet the new threat from terrorism and rebellious religious fundamentalists.

The cost to purchase metal detectors and other security equipment by hotels to ensure the safety of guests would also hit the bottom line of hotel companies.

Slower-than-expected tourist arrivals and foreign investment would affect economic growth which was set to grow by four per cent in 2019 from 3.2 per cent in 2018.

Tea prices are likely to fall, the import bill would rise owing to increased spending for the security forces, which is needed of course, and urgent structural reforms are likely to be put on hold. These are some of the issues that the economy would face in the coming months. Whether elections  provincial, presidential and parliamentary  would be held in the next six to 12 months remains to be seen given the current security crisis though any postponement would depend on an interpretation of the Constitution.

(PS: As I write this the choon-paan karayas tune can be heard blaring down the lane)

The latest Central Bank 2018 annual report released last week also focuses on many challenges facing the economy. Primarily it speaks of the impact on the economy owing to delayed structural reforms.

It said for Sri Lanka to succeed as a higher income economy and improve the well-being of its people, it is essential that the root causes for the continued low economic growth are addressed.

While the postponement of much needed structural reforms has moved the Sri Lankan economy to a modest growth path, delays in addressing barriers to growth and introducing growth enhancing reforms in the areas of export promotion, attracting FDI, reducing budget deficits and debt levels, reforming factor markets, strengthening public administration and ensuring the rule of law have largely contributed to Sri Lankas economic stagnation, the report said.

A key point that it makes is that Sri Lanka is unable to succeed despite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and the potential to support a high economic growth path.

The lack of coherent policies is clearly seen during the reign of the Maithripala-Ranil administration, with both ruling parties working at cross-purposes, often one party proposing a policy only to find the other party dismantling it. The government also falls short in resolute and firm decision-making with the recent example of the Presidents call to the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police to resign, initially being ignored by the parties concerned.

Sri Lanka has so much more to offer more than economies like Vietnam. FDI in 2018 was a record US$2 billion with expectations of raising $3 billion in 2019, though that is most unlikely owing to the current security situation.

In contrast, FDI in Vietnam, which has much less attractions than Sri Lanka particularly in the case of a skilled labour force with a good knowledge of the English language, rose to $19.1 billion in 2018, up by nine per cent from 2017.

Vietnams success is also owing to increased foreign investment in high-tech industries, rather than labour-intensive sectors and much needed structural reforms in the economy.

As I prepare to wind up todays column with the usual parting shot, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with another cup of tea (which I had requested), saying (with a sad face): Mokak-da wunay apey rata-ta (What has happened to our country?).

Dukai  hari dukai (Sadvery sad), I reply, reflecting on a nation that was touted as the most peaceful nation on earth for tourists to visit, after the end of the 1980-2009 civil conflict.
SLT, Asiainfo Intl. sign MoU to facilitate provision of innovative digital solutions to Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national ICT solutions provider, recently entered into a partnership with Asiainfo International Pte Ltd, a leading IT solution and service integrator in the global communication industry, to introduce digital products and solutions to the Sri Lankan market.

The agreement will facilitate SLT to develop viable digital solutions to consumer, SME and enterprise segments in the country, and will make a significant contribution towards Sri Lankas journey of digital transformation. The agreement was signed by CEO/SLT, Kiththi Perera and Vice President and Regional Head / Asiainfo, Michael Chan at SLT office in Colombo.

Commenting on the new partnership, SLT CEO Mr. Perera said: The SLT Group remains passionate and committed to driving the digital revolution of Sri Lanka, and to transforming lives into digital lifestyles. This partnership with Asia Info International is one key step that we are taking towards realizing this vision.

Vice President and Regional Head of Asiainfo International, Mr. Chan, said: The digital revolution is totally changing life as we know it, even as we speak. It calls for a total transformation of business models. We are excited to partner with SLT in Sri Lanka with its long and impressive history that spans over 160 years.
Spicy trade between India and Sri Lanka View(s):

In December 2017, the Indian government introduced a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on imported black pepper as Indian Rs. 500 per kg. The target was the increase in Sri Lankas exports of low-quality and cheap pepper to India, which have pushed down the domestic pepper prices there.

It was reported that within that year alone the domestic pepper price has fallen by 35 per cent. Consequently, there was a growing discontent among Indias pepper growers and traders, which had become a political issue.

The MIP, however, did not crack down on the issue; Sri Lanka continued to dump low-quality and cheap pepper to the Indian market. This time the exporters used to split their large pepper consignments into smaller quantities and, transported many times to India through many different ports.

I take this issue today, to discuss not necessarily the pepper trade, but the difference between free trade and free trade agreements. The two essentially differ from each other, while there is no way to replace free trade with a free trade agreement.

I was also inspired by the fact that the issue has paved the way for bribery and corruption at high levels. And there are alleged links as revealed last week, even to finance terrorism through corrupted spice trade.

Distorted trade

Under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sri Lanka can export 2,500 Metric tons (Mt) of black pepper to India without import duty, and any amount above that at 8 per cent import duty. India also imports pepper from Vietnam and other countries which is subject to 54 per cent import duty.

Sri Lanka is known to produce high-quality pepper and other spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. India paid US$6,000 per Mt of Sri Lankan pepper, while Vietnam pepper is about half of that price. When Vietnam pepper was re-exported to India after mixing with Sri Lankan pepper at high price and low duty, India was said to have lost $2,700 per Mt.

FTAs can promote corrupted trade practices. Pepper from Vietnam can enter the Indian market via Sri Lanka and make unwarranted profits through corrupted business practices; with such business practices, traders can avoid higher import duty through the Indo-Lanka FTA on the one hand, and claim higher market value applied to high-quality pepper under the Sri Lankan label on the other hand.

Sri Lankas infamous trade

Apparently the above practice seems impossible without bribery and corruption entering Sri Lankas trade under the FTA: First, pepper should enter Sri Lanka through the customs, and then for exporting to India it should receive the certificate of origin as stipulated in the FTA.

The Hindu newspaper in India in its business section  Businessline  on January 8, 2018, reported that the bribe in Sri Lanka to re-label Vietnam pepper with a fake certificate of origin is $1,000 per Mt; it makes Vietnam pepper eligible to be exported under the Indo-Lanka FTA.

Thats how Sri Lanka became infamous for exporting low-quality cheap pepper to India.

By the way, the government also needs to employ people to deal with all above malpractices, carried out by the people of the government itself  a source of job creation and job multiplication!

A world full of criss-cross FTAs looks like a spaghetti bowl resulting in costly complications, according to economist Jagdish Bhagwati. And to manage that complicated trade as well as to combat bribery and corruption associated with that trade, the government should create and multiply jobs which the nation has to pay for.

Sri Lankas pepper miracle

Until 2016 for most of the years, Sri Lankas exports of pepper to India were around 5,000 Mt, according to International Trade Centre (ITC) data. In 2017 and 2018, it more than doubled, exceeding 10,000 Mt.

India has always been the main export market for Sri Lanka to export pepper, while more than 80 per cent Sri Lankan pepper was sold to India. But for India, Sri Lanka wasnt the main source of pepper supply until 2017; it was Vietnam.

In 2016 India imported over 40 per cent of its pepper from Vietnam, while Sri Lanka supplied 20 per cent only. By 2017 Sri Lankan pepper exports surpassed the Vietnam exports; but dont think that Sri Lanka did a miracle by doubling pepper production within one year! It was simply the Vietnam pepper that was re-exported via Sri Lanka.

Hot products

Since the time of implementing the Indo-Lanka FTA in 2000, free trade in some products between the two countries became hot at both ends, and continues to be so to-date.

In the early days it was about items like copper products that Sri Lanka started exporting to India. I dont think Sri Lanka had copper mines at all. But at that time Sri Lankas fastest-growing export item to India under the FTA was the copper products, until it was cracked down! Then, we heard similar stories regarding many other products such as marble, granite, florescent bulbs and plywoods.

Among minor export commodities, it was about mixing cheaper cloves and cardamom imported from Indonesia with Sri Lankan products, and re-exporting to India under the FTA. After that it was about Vanaspati  palm oil which Sri Lanka didnt have a known history of producing here on a large scale.

Another export racket was the re-export of Indonesian areca nut to India through Sri Lanka; if it was directly from Indonesia, areca nut was subject to 100 per cent import duty at the Indian port.

Question that confuses us

Finally, there is an important and confusing question that we have to answer: Do all these things mean that we should impose import barriers? I am sure, at least some might take it to bring about an argument against open economy and to justify protective trade regime.

The whole issue is due to bogus business practices which were made possible by bribery and corruption at high level. It is the regulatory regimes more than the open economy that open up opportunities for bogus business practices, bribery and corruption.

Secondly, it is the lapses in law enforcement that enable bogus businesses. For example, there is free trade among the member countries within the European Union. But it does not mean that someone can engage in bogus business practices; there is law enforcement on the one hand, and there are technical and quality standards applicable on the other hand. If goods and services that enter into trade do not meet the required technical and quality standards, that business is highly unlikely to succeed.

Overall policy environment

Finally, the underlying economic factor is the difference between micro matters and the overall trade environment. Even if Sri Lanka adopts import controls on a couple of commodities as the government actually did in some cases, what matters most is the overall trade policy; does it create an open economy that supports trade expansion or protect the environment that impede it?

Exports of all of the spices account for only 3 per cent of the total $12 billion exports in 2018.

Sri Lankas overall economic progress through trade expansion would never depend on a couple of minor export crops or individual export products under FTA. It might be important for a couple of individuals, but not for the nation.

The overall economic progress would depend on the successful integration of the country with the global economy through trade in manufactures and services.

Countries, however, enter into FTAs for different reasons, while some of these reasons are not even economic. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), there are 291 spaghetti bowl trade agreements in force in the world by January 2019. Nevertheless, it is not these trade agreements, but the overall trade policy reforms which have contributed to the economic success of the nations. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk).
SriLankan Airlines faces flood of cancellations View(s):

While Sri Lankas national carrier has seen a flood of cancellations and expects to lose at least US$100 million in revenue, MICE experts say confirmed bookings of events including weddings have been cancelled after the Easter Sunday carnage.

With tourists arrivals likely to see a 30-50 per cent drop this year, SriLankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka told the Business Times that as at Tuesday, cancellations in May was 17 per cent compared to May last year, 12 per cent in June and about 18 per cent in July. We expect the figures to go up, he said, adding that a new 5-year business plan for 2019-2024, which was announced to the media earlier this month, would be re-visited.

Noting that the worst affected routes are London and Tokyo, he said that they were awaiting a message from the authorities as to when the situation would return to normal.

The moment we have some clarity from the Government we can work (with the authorities) on relaxing the travel advisories. Without this clarity and assurances there is no use in targetted marketing and special promotions, he said, adding that they would then examine how traffic could be increased (or restored) from India and China (Sri Lankas main tourist source markets).

According to officials at the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, at least 90 per cent of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) bookings in Sri Lanka have been postponed, cancelled or put on hold in the next two months (May/June).

We have been informed of several postponements, cancellations or events placed on hold, said a worried senior official, who added that three Indian weddings, each bringing around 500 guests from India and the rest of the world, had been cancelled for this month. A 1000-pax event by a local operator due to be held in July has been put on hold.

Meanwhile tourism industry companies are seeking a moratorium on loans, a specialised PR to handle promotions and for the government to speak with one voice to the international community on the measures taken to strengthen security.

Amidst the gloom at least two under-construction hotels were going ahead with plans to open in late 2019 and early 2020.

The 164-room Next Hotel Colombo is slated to open in November 2019 within the Colombo City Centre, the Singapore-based Next Hotels & Resorts said, responding to a query by the Business Times. We are still working towards the scheduled opening date and will continue to monitor the situation, it added in an email comment.

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which in returning to country in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening. David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, has said that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible.
33 language blunders in emergency notification View(s):

With questions being raised on how the state agencies handled prior warnings about the Easter Sunday bombings, there are also concerns over more blunders and blunders. One such case is the ongoing Emergency Regulations, introduced just a day after the dastardly incidents.

This was followed a day later by another gazette notification to correct as many as 33 mistakes in the original gazette.

Some of the mistakes were clearly seen as ones which could have been avoided only if the officials were more attentive on a document which deals with national security.

Here are some of the mistakes that were corrected. The corrected version with the erroneous words within brackets follows:

The Commander of the Army (Commissioner of the Army ), Use (sue), Offence (office), Police station of his area (police of his are), Not exceeding (after exceeding) to incite (to incine), not less than five thousand rupees and not exceeding ten thousand rupees (not less than five hundred rupees and hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees), shall be guilty of an offence (shall be of an offence) acts or omission (acts or commission). In addition, several regulation numbers too were corrected.

Only few weeks ago, a textual mistake occurred in a gazette notification was corrected. A gazette notification issued by the Secretary to the President was rectified with a mistake being about the name of an officer appointed to a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Rajitha says he and seven ministers on terrorists hit list

When religious leaders were rejecting bullet-proof vehicles and requesting more security for the people, politicians were concerned more about their own security. One of them was Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who said that eight ministers, including himself, were on the hit list of the extremist terrorist groups.

My security told me to stay put at home as we are targets of the terrorists. Therefore, on April 28 and 29 I stayed at home. We cant endanger our lives so we take our own measures to create our own security. He explained that he survived both the JVP uprisings and LTTE terrorism because he took the security advice given to him seriously.

He divulged one of the security steps taken by him. He said he used to get himself dropped at his Ministry by the visitors who came to his residence.

If the visitors were going past my ministry, I hitch a ride in their vehicles, he said. Having now revealed this secret, he will have to change his strategy.

Last week, more than hundred Government and Opposition MPs sought more security from the government.

JVP wants national security plan

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will not hold any political rallies until the security situation returns to normal, spokesperson Vijitha Herath MP said yesterday.

He said the party would extend its full support if the government formulated a national security plan to bring about normalcy.

Clarification on burqa ban

President Maithripala Sirisena has agreed to make amendments to the Gazette notification banning the niqab and the burqa.

The move follows representations made to him by a Muslim group. The change relates to covering the ears.

Army seeks help from ex-LTTE cadres

The services of one-time LTTE cadres were sought this week in the North  that was to help in keeping an eye on suspicious movements in the area after the Easter Sunday bombings.

On Tuesday, some former cadres were asked to be present for a meeting at a Jaffna Army camp where senior Army officers explained how the ex-cadres could play a role in ensuring national security and requested their assistance.

In return, the ex-cadres who have been marginalised socially and politically by their own community  for whom they said they took up arms in the past  assured they would extend their support to the Forces in their efforts to maintain security.

Only one passenger on Swissair flight

The number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka has dwindled in the past two weeks.

A Swissair flight that landed in Colombo on Friday had only one passenger getting off.

Cardinal raises questions about security measures

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which security operations were being conducted against ISIS terrorists.

He said that only one layer was being probed whilst other aspects were not being focused upon.

His remarks came when a delegation from opposition parties led by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met him on Friday night.

The Cardinal, who is also the Archbishop of Colombo, said some politicians had been given ministerial positions which they had abused. Such persons have not been probed for the multitude of allegations for fear that they would lose votes.

The Cardinal said opposition parties, if they were to form a government, should not take such persons into the Cabinet. Instead it would be better for them to form a government with a stable major party than opt for such unscrupulous persons from smaller minority parties.

The Catholic Church has been co-operating with many state agencies and passing on information it receives about matters relating to the Easter Sunday carnage. In one instance, it gave the name of a foreigner who had come to Sri Lanka with US$ 100,000. He was arrested and investigators had revealed that his account balance had since increased. Further questioning is under way.

Archbishops House sources said Cardinal Ranjith was alluding to the role of a Muslim minister who is alleged to have extended support to the IS terrorists and their local counterparts. He is alleged to have been responsible for obtaining empty copper artillery shells and passing them down to a factory owner who is in the thick of terrorist activity.

At the meeting with the Cardinal, among others who took part were Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, G.L. Peiris and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.

Another case of warning being ignored

Its unbelievable but true. A hotelier on a visit to a European capital met a Sri Lankan diplomat, a former bureaucrat.

He claimed that he had taken a report when he was in Colombo to a political leader. That was about the activities of an extremist Muslim group which was bent on violence.

The politician, he complained, snubbed him and declared Just be. Dont do anything to offend the Muslim community.

Army chief blames politicians

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is indeed outspoken and appears to be disturbed about the Easter Sunday massacre.

He told the BBC during an interview that politicians should take the responsibility for the bombings.
Rajapaksas Joint Opposition ready to support him in security measures to tackle IS terror, but no political support

Evidence emerges that IS chose Sri Lanka because of its close military ties with US;latest agreement runs into 80 pages

UNP leadership crisis grows; Wickremesinghe faces party revolt to oust him ahead of presidential election Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was in a multi-color handloom shirt and sarong, not his white national dress with the maroon satakaya (shawl) around his neck, when he greeted President Maithripala Sirisena at the latters residence on Thursday night.

He said he did not have time to change clothes for Sirisenas meeting with leaders of Opposition political parties. He had been at the wedding of onetime Minister, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenes son. Looking dapper, the President replied that he too was at a wedding of the son of former Minister Vijith Vijithamuni de Soysa MP. It was to be held at the Shangri La Hotel. Due to its closure after damage caused by the Easter Sunday carnage by pro-IS terror groups, the reception had been shifted to Temple Trees, now the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As a result of the IS-inspired attacks by local terror groups, there were hundreds of cancellations of wedding receptions at hotels. This was so for hotels that were damaged and those not affected. Many families shifted the venue to their homes and chose to invite only an immediate circle of relatives and friends. Others postponed the weddings. This is what prompted Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) architect Basil Rajapaksa to ask President Sirisena how Temple Trees became the venue after there was a public declaration by the United National Front government that Temple Trees would not be available for weddings any more. This was after Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne gave his son Chatura, an MP, in marriage at a Temple Trees ceremony with the catering being done by a five star hotel.

Politicians make the laws, give pledges and break them. In this case, it is with disregard to the reality that a nation is mourning the brutal massacre of more than 250 men, women and children. There are over 480 injured, some of them seriously. Schools are closed and children cannot attend for fear of attacks. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, wants to assign at least one police constable for each school to protect children. For the same reason, Sunday mass cannot be held in churches, Friday Jumma prayers in mosques and even poojas at Buddhist or Hindu temples. But a hallowed public institution, heavily secured by armed Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos becomes a wedding hall for the privileged. Replying to Basil Rajapaksa, President Sirisena explained that giving Temple Trees was inevitable. Former minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa would be unable to find an auspicious hour for the next one year or more. For the vast majority in Sri Lanka it was inauspicious not due to their own fault. Their political leaders, a Defence Secretary, a Police Chief and intelligence officials, who lacked common sense, had failed in their duty. Yet, not for ministers and MPs are those inconveniences. Not when state resources are so easily available. Some even sought enhanced security.

Significant enough, Sirisena sat down alone for the 50-minute meeting with the Opposition delegation. There was no one from his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The delegation comprised Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, G.L. Peiris, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Dullas Alahapperuma from the SLPP. Others were: Dinesh Gunawardena (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya) and Tissa Vitharana (Lanka Sama Samaja Party)

Ahead of the meeting with President Sirisena, the Opposition party leaders met at the Wijerama Mawatha residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Munching sandwiches, they discussed strategy over what should be discussed with the President. It was Weerawansa who remarked jocularly, Puluwang tharam kanna. Ehey (meaning the Presidents residence) mokuth denney nehe or eat as much as you can  you will not get anything to eat there. What he said came true. Weerawansa was heard telling a colleague that they were not even given a cup of tea or a glass of water as he forecast.

Presidential committee report

President Sirisena was to reveal at the meeting that he had already received an interim report from a three-member Committee that is probing the Easter Sunday carnage. It is headed by serving Supreme Court Judge Justice Vijith Malalgoda and comprised N.K. Illangakoon, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), and Pathmasiri Jayamanne, a onetime Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order. The committees broad mandate is to investigate causes and background for the national catastrophe that occurred on April 21 in Sri Lanka, according to the Presidential Secretariat. Sirisena, however, did not tell the meeting the findings contained in the interim report. Other sources revealed that the interim report has made damning strictures against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera.

The two of them together with retired DIG Sisira Mendis (a retired crime investigator), now Chief of National Intelligence (CNI)  the top most official in the intelligence hierarcy  were subject to intense questioning by members of the Committee. Their interim report has now been forwarded to Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera. President Sirisena is now awaiting his recommendations including opinion on laws they may have violated as a prelude to court action. Ahead of that, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives will record their statements.

In high security circles, serious concerns have been raised over a turf war that is going on particularly within the State Intelligence Service (SIS). It is the premier national intelligence agency. As reported earlier, a plethora of so-called intelligence reports warning against actions by Sri Lankan pro-ISIS terror groups were released to the social media. Then came reports saying that the SIS Director DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had a meeting with President Sirisena to personally brief him on the threats  a claim strongly denied by Sirisena. Now, tape-recorded mobile phone conversations have been selectively leaked, raising the all-important question whether elements within were endangering national security interests, whilst engaged in a game of pointing the finger at the highest levels of the government. In the process, they are also baring the fact that mobile phones are also being snooped on with new equipment. One need hardly say this is an extremely dangerous situation. The question is whether this would also be ignored much the same way intelligence warnings were.

The matter transpired at the discussion President Sirisena had with leaders of the Opposition parties. He named the person behind one English website operating from London and declared they had reported that he received a personal warning from SIS Chief DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. This so-called exclusive account, the President claimed, was a fabrication. A loquacious UNF minister also made reference to the claim at a news conference on Tuesday saying it was true, but added the remarks were off-the-record. Yet, what he said has been tape recorded by many who attended the event. President Sirisena then referred to another Sinhala website, also operating from London and named the person behind it. He said he was being maligned in obscene language by the website. This website is banned in Sri Lanka. No action was possible since they were operating with impunity from Britain often violating Britains own laws.

That such leaks are occurring in the countrys premier intelligence agency is not at all conducive to public safety. It is in President Sirisenas own interest to clean up the institution and ensure there is professionalism. Of course, the criteria of having people who offer personal loyalty in return for remaining in the post would have to be re-examined. At present there is no one to mind the minder and nowhere else could it be disastrous than in the national intelligence service.

Sirisena said the website about the SIS boss DIG Jayawardena personally warning him has been translated into Sinhala. With added vituperative and malicious remarks against him, more than 1000 copies were detected at the Central Mail Exchange. It has been brought there for posting by two staffers (with identity cards) who had worked for a leading UNF minister. The letters were addressed to Buddhist temples countrywide. He charged that the move was intended to cause communal strife.

This prompted SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera to allege at a news conference on Friday that Minister and Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella was behind the move. The objective, he said, was to destroy the Presidents image which had improved in recent months. He claimed that it was three officials from the ministers media division who have been arrested. Police said they were Sampath Kumara, Danusha Priyadarshana and Thaksala Weerasena.

Minister Kiriellas spokesperson Sameela Wanigasekera said the Minister would not comment to the media. However, the Kiriella issued a statement saying he had made inquiries about the website account. There is no intention to sling mud, incite racial tension or spread anti-government feelings. It only raises the question whether intelligence officials had alerted those responsible, the statement added.

G. L. Peiris, the nominal SLPP leader, told the meeting with President Sirisena that the Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka had told him that he had warned the government about possible attacks. Turkey has been the victim of a number of attacks and was the first country to proscribe IS. The envoy had said that a group of 50 had come to Sri Lanka and were operating under cover. President Sirisena undertook to go into the matter. Throughout the session, he was seen writing notes over matters raised by Opposition leaders.

Wimal Weerawansa said that one of the biggest shortcomings had been the appointment of unqualified and inexperienced persons to the Intelligence community. For the past four years, they have remained complacent. He said a large number of persons from different countries were in Sri Lanka without valid visas. They should be deported immediately, he noted.

Basil Rajapaksa declared that the Opposition delegation had come to extend their unqualified support to President Sirisena to combat IS terrorism. This was what the Opposition was willing to do without in any way joining President Sirisenas or his party. The first step he should take, he pointed out, was to withdraw the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill. On May 7 it will go before the Parliament Oversight Committee headed by Mayantha Dissanayake, UNF MP.

President Sirisena replied that the Cabinet had approved the draft bill on the strict understanding that changes would be incorporated during different stages. He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was pushing hard for the passage of the Bill on the grounds that the UN Human Rights Council was pressing for it, President Sirisena revealed. Mahinda Rajapaksa urged that a Parliamentary Select Committee be appointed to go into the matter and review the controversial provisions in the draft. Sirisena agreed that it would not be passed in Parliament in the present format. We are in the Opposition. We will not change that position but this is a national crisis. We will support on account of this. That does not mean we support you per se, said Basil Rajapaksa. G.L. Peiris added that the draft Counter Terrorism Bill badly affected individual freedom, media freedom and even violated the rights of trade unions. He said purely to appease UN body, we should not compromise on our national interest. He said that was not a good move for Sri Lanka and urged President Sirisena to be vigilant over this.

President Sirisena told Opposition party leaders that he blamed Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera for failing to bring the intelligence warnings to his attention. Mahinda Rajapaksa referred to the comedy of errors after the Easter Sunday carnage. Casualty figures were being changed at will. An unrelated Muslim lady living in the United States had been made an accused. We offer our unconditional support. Yet, it is our supporters who are being harassed and victimised, he declared. He was alluding to the arrest of an Opposition MP over public remarks he had made. Wimal Weerawansa echoed the same sentiments.

US agreement with Sri Lanka

Rajapaksa said that he had commissioned a group of retired military officers to formulate a report identifying the causes that led to the carnage. He asked Sirisena whether he could come with them or by himself and hand over that report. The President replied that he would give him a time.

Weerawansa also raised the issue of a purported request by the United States Embassy in Colombo to provide diplomatic status to US officials and personnel who have come here following the Easter Sunday massacre. At this point, Sirisena reached out to his telephone and spoke to Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha. He asked him whether such a thing had happened. Obviously, there was a miscommunication. Sirisena had to re-iterate, I am asking you; did you agree to this? Aryasinha said he would have to check and report to him. Besides US intelligence personnel, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team is among those in Sri Lanka.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised issue over the presence of Britains Mi-5 (intelligence) personnel on Sri Lankan soil and asked how many had come. President Sirisena replied there were ten or twelve. Weerawansa noted that there were more than 40 such foreign personnel in Sri Lanka. We did not invite them. They came on their own. My people are complaining that they cannot go ahead with their work since each group is asking them for briefings. We cannot listen to all of them. We will only listen to India at this moment, the president added. That appears to be an acknowledgement of the intelligence warnings India gave including one this week. Those remarks would also mean that President Sirisena is not too happy with the foreign intelligence presence and their advice to local counterparts. This was manifest in some of the concerns expressed by senior personnel.

Not surprisingly. The elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was featured in a video released on Monday April 24  only his second ever -

to show he is alive, by speaking about the recent fall of his groups stronghold in Baghouz, Syria, while praising terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.

In an 18-minute video featuring both audio and video, Baghdadi, seated on a floor with masked IS lieutenants, said the April 21 Sri Lanka attacks, which killed at least 253 people, were revenge for the siege and fall of their last redoubt in Baghouz, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi propaganda. It added:

As for your brothers in Sri Lanka, they have put joy in the hearts of the monotheists with their immersing operations that struck the homes of the Crusaders in their Easter, in vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz, Baghdadi said, chuckling over the high number of casualties. This is part of the vengeance that awaits the Crusaders and their henchmen, Allah permitting. Praise be to Allah, among the dead were Americans and Europeans, he said. The statement about Sri Lanka appeared in an audio portion of the video that did not show Baghdadi. This may have been tacked on after he was filmed following the fall of Baghouz, according to SITEs director Rita Katz. Baghdadi appeared healthy in a black headscarf, khaki fishing vest and with a bushy grey beard. By his side was a Russian AK-74U assault rifle.

President Sirisena confirmed links between the Islamic State and terror groups in Sri Lanka. He told CNNs Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley on Tuesday in his first interview since the massacre that there is a connection between the Sri Lankan suicide bombers and the ISIS. It is clear they obtained training from the ISIS, according to international and domestic intelligence agencies, he said. He insisted that I was not informed of information pertaining to the attacks.

At the conclusion of the CNN interview at the Presidential Secretariat, I spoke with President Sirisena. I asked him why he had made accusations against me at a cabinet meeting. I said last week, After the Easter Sunday massacre, the first special cabinet meeting saw some heated exchanges between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. The President named some newspapers of supporting Wickremesinghe. In the process, he named the Political Editor of the Sunday Times and said he (the Political Editor) was angry with him for the President did not leak secret information. Very strange indeed. One would have to be insane to ask the President of any country, leave alone Sri Lanka, to leak secret information President Sirisena replied Mama ehema deyak kivvey nehe. Meka UNP karayenge pracharayak. Prevesam wenna or I did not say such a thing. It is UNP propaganda and I should be careful he exhorted. However, I did ask three different ministers and they confirmed that the remarks were indeed made. It was during a heated argument Sirisena had with Wickremesinghe.

IS leader al-Baghdadis remarks confirms what was revealed in these columns last week  that the increasing military role of the United States in Sri Lanka, the result of successive bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry unhesitatingly heeding one concession after another to the United States. This was the cause for IS building a military machine with Muslim extremists and carrying out bombing attacks in Sri Lanka. One example is the seemingly innocuous Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) renewed with the present government by then Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. He is now Sri Lankas Ambassador to Germany. Signing for the US was then Ambassador Atul Keshap. If the previous agreement was only a handful of pages, the new one by this government runs into over 80 pages.

The Sunday Times has seen the agreement between by the US Defence Department and the Ministry of Defence. The applicability of the agreement begins with a preamble which says This Agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the parties (US and Sri Lanka) to be used during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other co-operative efforts, or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need for Logistic Support, Supplies and Services.

This Agreement applies to the provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services from the military forces of one party to the military forces of the other Party in return either for cash payment or reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services to the military forces of the Supplying Party. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard is considered part of the military forces of the Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Significantly, it allows every single security or military apparatus in the United States access to Sri Lanka. All those security commands are listed one by one and the Point of Contact (POC) defined. If as made out, this is routine and the US has such arrangements with many other countries, this agreement has never been tabled in Parliament. At least one UNF minister, known for his heavy American leanings, has helped in this and a number of such other arrangements. So much so, in security circles the name referred to this aspect is M..a doctrine. At least to re-assure the people of Sri Lanka, it is not still too late to table it in Parliament so a debate could follow. Sri Lankans would then know whether the country has been compromised or not. Some of the contents would very clearly highlight the dangers that portend and ensure a healthy debate whether all the military deals with US have been in the best interests of Sri Lanka or heavily weighted in favour of the US.

Like most other countries, that the US has etched a strong security footprint in Sri Lanka was all too well known. And that expedited IS terror preparations although recruitment and training have been going on for years. Like in the intelligence community, lack of professionalism together with high levels of bureaucracy having a lack of knowledge (even on the basics of foreign policy) had led to this catastrophe. How long one of the key sectors of the economy the tourism ministry would take to recover also remains a critical issue. Many hoteliers complained to President Sirisena during a conference last week that they were heavily indebted to banks and would find it impossible to pay their dues. Sirisena said he would appoint a Cabinet Sub Committee to decide on relief measures.

The move came as Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote to Speaker Karu Jayasuruya seeking a full day debate on the Easter Sunday carnage. The matter is expected to be taken up when the Speaker chairs a party leaders meeting tomorrow, just a day before Parliament sittings commence. Speaker Jayasuriya has put in place new security measures where MPs and their vehicles will be subject to checks outside the Parliament complex.

Sirisenas political future

This weeks developments once again bring to the fore the question whether Sirisena has become a loner both in his fight against terror and has much publicised campaign against drug abuse. The latter move was his ambitious effort to make a comeback at the presidential election. He has remarked at discussions overheard by senior security officials that he would contest the presidential election this year. Some opine it was only a message to demonstrate to those concerned that he would remain in power lest they pay less attention if he spoke of retirement.

On the one hand, Sirisenas relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has grown into a point of no return. Both are trading accusations at each other and firing one salvo after another over the Easter Sunday carnage. The finger pointing has reached deplorable levels. UNF Ministers are holding news conferences and launching their own campaigns against Sirisena. That is to place the blame for the attacks entirely on his shoulders. This is whilst the silence of Muslim ministers has been deafening. They formed parties and parroted for years that they were the sole guardians of Muslim interests. If the community did not benefit, these ministers have immensely reaped the harvest from their official positions. Some have travelled often to West Asian countries for aid for the community and returned with sacks so to say. On Friday, Rishad Bathiuddin, Minister of Industry and Commerce left for Oman thought the reasons are yet unknown.

On the other hand, the Joint Opposition parties which met Sirisena on Thursday night have made clear they will support him unequivocally in his drive against terror. Other than that, they have made clear there was no political support for him. Nor would they join a government which Sirisena may wish to form or extend other support. Significantly, it was all by himself that he met the leaders of the Opposition parties.

This clearly means that President Sirisena has to clear the gigantic mess he has created by appointing mediocre, inefficient and unqualified persons to top positions. Recent events have shown that his writ as President did not extend even to the Police Chief. It took him days to send him on compulsory leave. His priority will have to be to replace those yes men if he is to make a start and make up his mind that those men being good to him is not enough. If he does not, he will continue to face mounting issues. If he does, that will still not draw him wider support to become even the lonely Sri Lanka Freedom Partys candidate at the presidential election. The party is dissolving slowly but surely with most MPs distancing themselves from current issues.

The lone warrior Sirisenas fights may end up with the President becoming a political orphan or be overtaken by fast developing events. That does not mean manna from heaven for the UNP. It is in an equally poor state, if not worse, with signs of a leadership crisis erupting once more against Ranil Wickremesinghe. There were clear signs this week with ouster moves gaining momentum. He has survived them in the past. It has to be seen whether he could now. This is why Sri Lanka is at the crossroads.
Nation demands answer: Who are the guilty men? View(s):

Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away. Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away.

Who are the guilty men?

And the whole nation calls, in the midst of their grief and shock, to exhume from the grave of Lankas gross negligence and complacency upon which Muslim fanatics were allowed to dance in wild abandon to find their passage to heavens door, the moribund carcass of responsibility; and to find as to who were really responsible, singularly or collectively, for the catastrophe that was waiting to happen; and which could have been averted if not for the negligence and even the collusion of its political masters.

The question nags and tests a nations credulity. How come that, with such a wealth of intelligence as to the formation, funding, and the rise of NTJ from obscurity to national prominence  from smashing Buddha statutes in Mawanella to bombing Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and blasting seven-star hotels in the city  no one in the know of the flood of information available, was moved to act to avert Easter Sundays holocaust?

Its not merely that the three warnings delivered by the Indian intelligence service to their Colombo counterparts went largely ignored. The litany of lapses go far beyond in time and smacks not merely of criminal negligence as it surely is but, worse, of active collusion considering how the authorities, both in this Government and in the previous regime, naively allowed the NTJ to be born, boom and flourish and bring the nation to its knees swathed in tears and stricken with fear.

Who are the guilty men that brought Lanka to this sad, calamitous pass? Perhaps we will never know. But lets ask the men at the helm, what they have to say in their defence. And lets start at the very beginning. And a very good place to start is right at the top.

THE PRESIDENT

Like a duck takes to water President Sirisena swiftly moved to renounce all knowledge of the impending threat. He passed the buck to his defence secretary, whom he had employed just five months before. He, the President of the country, in charge of defence and law and order, had been kept in the dark, estranged from even a tit bit of intelligence the Indian intelligence service had communicated to their counterpart in Colombo. Not only did he deny prior knowledge but even stated he was ignorant that the attack had taken place until someone showed him on a cell phone the carnage that had occurred.

He said in his May Day address to the nation: I got to know of the carnage when I was in Singapore on the 21st around 10 am. The moment I got to know it, the first thought that came to mind is the question that many in Lanka ask now. How did it happen? At noon that day I phoned the defence secretary and told him to immediately appoint a presidential commission to probe how it happened. I even gave him the names of who should be appointed to the commission. On the 23rd the commission became active and all of you have the right to make your suggestions to it now.

Wow! A presidential commission to probe the affair appointed within forty-eight hours of the carnage? And the orders given from Singapore where the president was holidaying. Hows that for immediate action? Impressive, isnt it?

Then the Minister of Defence and Law and Order, President Sirisena, went onto say: The IGP and the defence secretary could have easily averted this great carnage. They had all the means to do so. But they did not discharge their responsibility.

Now for the tear jerker: He said: I do not love my life. I am a person who has died and been resurrected five times. The LTTE came with their suicide bombers to kill me. They got killed. I have seen on Facebook extremists stating that soon I will be destroyed. I am not afraid of death. I will discharge my responsibility to protect the nation.

Good. And hopefully the public can have a peaceful night of sleep, and rest assured that their lives are in safe hands. For the common people on the streets do not have the security he is fortunate enough to have. And look up to him from the carnage for protection. Those who died two Sundays ago, unlike cats who have nine lives to waste, had only but one. One may live nine times but die only once.

And for the record, the President said: I must specially state that the intelligence received by the responsible intelligence chiefs have not been communicated even to me.

As the President told at the meeting of the editors last week, he was simply clueless. Before and after.

He said: After the attack, the persons with me informed me that they had got messages to the effect that an attack had been carried out in Sri Lanka. An hour later they showed me reports on social media that there has been an advance warning about the possible attacks. The warning was reportedly received on April 4, but I left the country only on April 16, but I was not alerted.

Tells a sad tale of good governance, does it not?

THE PRIME MINISTER

If the President passed the buck to his defence secretary and to the Inspectors General of Police, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the blame to the entire Parliament, specifically to those in the Opposition for blocking enactment of his Counter Terrorism Bill, set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Monday, Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if the new Counter Terrorism Bill had been passed in Parliament.

He said: No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision.

We have included this provision in the new Counter Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if this legislation was passed, he said.

If Maithripala Sirisena expressed that view he could have, perhaps, been forgiven. He is, after all only a diploma holder in Agriculture and all at sea with the law. But coming from the lips of the Prime Minister who is a law graduate from the University of Colombo and an attorney-at-law, to boot, it leaves much to be desired.

Consider this for example: According to the prime ministers statement that a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could not be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found, then Lanka for these last five years would have been the ideal safe haven for international terrorists to have found refuge in. Had he been alive, Al Qaedas Osama Bin Laden would not have had to sweat it out in some Pakistan dinghy flat when he could have enjoyed paradise on Lankas beaches sipping a mocktail of his choice and giving orders on his cell for others of his kin to enter heaven by blasting infidels.

The Prime Minister also stated that it is not even in the Penal Code. Perhaps he read the wrong law book.

According to him a foreign terrorists could have lived and operated freely in Lanka, and the forces and the police could have done nothing about it merely because the Counter Terrorism Bill was blocked by Parliament.

Funny isnt it that while laws are there to deport a young British girl who is found to have a Buddha image tattooed on her arm is arrested at the airport, produced before the magistrate and then remanded and deported as happened three years ago, a known foreign terrorist could come to Lanka and live unmolested without fear of arrest and deportation? No one is saying that a foreign terrorist should be tried here and imprisoned here? That is not this countrys business. Deportation from Lankan soil of such manifested evil would have sufficed.

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi who had gone missing for the last three years and had suddenly surfaced to comment on the Easter Sunday carnage and praise his cadres, must be ruing his ignorance of not being aware that Lanka was a safe house for him and his demons of death to take safe refuge in.

But the law was and is there. And has always been there for the last so many years. It was just that it was not enforced. Perhaps the Prime Minister should revisit his law books and find in the Extradition Act, the right to deport undesirable aliens, the same Act he used this week to order the deportation of 600 Muslim teachers who had been teaching at Madrasa schools in Lanka. If he could have used that general law of the land to do so, what on earth made him say that there was no law to arrest, question, detain and deport a foreign terrorist?

The Prime Minister also said, informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks.

Then why on earth must this nation have to spend billions every year on politicians, if the whole security and defence of the realm could be delegated to the military and allow them do as they please under permanent martial law? And condemn the nations security to be permanently under the jackboot of a dictator? Life may be more secure but, sans ones fundamental freedom, where is lifes quality?

Ranil Wickremesinghe further added: There has been no breakdown in the intelligence services but the issue has been that the Defence authorities had not acted upon the warnings.

Exactly. That is why a political leadership is vital in a democracy. To supervise, to direct, to give leadership and be held accountable to the people. The whole concept of ministerial responsibility is based on that. That the Minister takes the responsibility for the commissions and omissions of the civil service under him. Not for him to wash his hands of and blame it on them. If any minister does so, he makes himself redundant. Its the minister who was voted to public office by the people. Its the Minister who is responsible to the people. Not the public servant. He is only responsible to his minister. And the political master responsible to the people. Thats what the system is all about. Its whats called Democracy. Something thats closely akin to the Lichivy system he knows so much about.

EX DEFENCE SEC

If the President made his lame duck excuses and, like a duck taking to water, blamed his underlings for the carnage, his Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was akin to a fish out of water.

He had been the original recipient of the information provided by the National Intelligence Chief that according to information received from Indias intelligence sources that churches were targeted for attack by identified Muslim terrorists on Easter Sunday.

But what did he do with it? Like pearls thrown before swine, he did not realise, it seems, its intrinsic value and merely passed it on to the Inspector General of Police. He did not bother to follow it up. He failed to inquire what action had been taken. And he, in what must tantamount to a criminal dereliction of duty, failed to inform his boss of all bosses, namely his defence minister, the president, in whose palms the security of the nation ultimately rests.

And worse, he flapped his mouth off to the international media. And with his seeming nonchalance and boorish swagger, sealed his own fate.

He said, without realising the gravity of what he was saying that he knew of the threat but that he never expected an attack of this magnitude to take place. I though it will be an isolated instance in certain places, he squeaked.

Speaking to the media, Fernando said, Intelligence never indicated that its going to be an attack of this magnitude. They were talking about isolated incidents. Besides, there is no emergency in this country. We cannot request the armed forces to come and assist us, we can only depend on the police.

Worse was to follow. And it was his callous approach, even after two hundred people had died due to his failure to take the matter seriously and gauge, without experience of any kind, what the magnitude of the attack would be when he casually observed that Sri Lanka had experienced similar tragic situations, despite security checks in place. Its not the first time a bomb went off in this country. Why are you trying to isolate this unfortunate incident?

But even worse was to follow. To add insult to injury, this mediocre administrator, elevated from his bureaucratic desk to be the civil servant in charge of the nations defence, overlording the nations triple military guarding deities, by President Sirisena for no apparent reason based on any qualification or experience, he had the insensitivity to state: Many countries have faced similar security issues in the past. It happened in New Zealand, unexpectedly. We need to make sure that similar things will not take place in the future.

And then he went onto say, I cant say with confidence anything about with terrorism. No country in the world can assure that its not going to happen. But were trying our best.

But even before he had finished his interview with the media, it became clear that his number was up. And the question was asked by all: Why did he not tell the President?

The President duly asked for his resignation. And Hemasiri Gernando, having no choice, duly handed it over.

But does resignation alone absolve one from all responsibility?

Especially when the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) President Sheik M.I.M. Rizwi Mufti said: I am the first to reveal the presence of IS terrorists in Sri Lanka way back in 2014. I informed the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa about it but nothing was done.

Can one be responsible for such a terrible tragedy which has killed so many, brought the nation to a halt, destroyed its economy and nullified all the efforts taken to promote tourism, led to the introduction of emergency law and tolled back the tide of democracy and placed civil life in peril  can one be responsible for all this and more merely resign and simply walk away free into the sunset without facing charges of criminal negligence? Unless, of course, he was the scapegoat  this five month presidential mascot  led before the public to slaughter and reprieved by presidential fiat at the eleventh hour.

THE IGP

The presidential axe also fell on the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera last week when Maithripala Sirisena asked for his resignation as well. He had been one of the first recipients to have received notice of the threat as sent by the national Intelligence Chief who had received it from Indian intelligence sources. He read it and merely passed it down to his DIGs. His offence: No follow-up action. He has still not resigned and has placed his fate in the hands of the Constitutional Council which will no doubt deliver the chop in the coming week.

Odd, isnt it, when one thinks about it, how so many in the services knew, including the civilian Hemasiri Fernando the Presidents own defence secretary but none thought it fit to inform the political leadership of the threat?:

The then defence secretary says he thought the attacks would be no big deal, the President says no one informed him of the threat before the event and even after the event, the Prime Minister says that informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks, the IGP passes the letter to his DIGs and thinks of it no longer, out of the DIGs only one takes the trouble to write to the Director of VIPs Security Detail tasked to protect VIPs  not churches, mind you  and none of them informs those they are charged to protect, Mahinda Rajapaksa states that though his security detail knew, he did not  it would have been so funny had it not been so tragic.

Perhaps senior UNP Minister John Amaratunga summed it up best to reflect the prevailing political mood and insouciance when he declared at a news conference last week: What has happened has happened, we have suffered loss, the damage has been done.

Hopefully, in deference to the memory of those who lost their lives and the families they left behind to grieve their irreplaceable loss, he was not implying that the nation should not be crying over spilled blood?

One question for Maithri and Ranil Did Indian High Commissioner alert them? As the SUNDAY PUNCH stated last week, the Indian intelligence warned their counterparts in Colombo not once, not twice but thrice. The first warning, it is said, was given on April 4 the second the day before the attacks, the third hours before the attack. And it was thrice ignored. Indian intelligence was not a general warning. It was what is called actionable intelligence. It did not merely state that there would be attacks but specifically stated that churches and the Indian High Commission would come under attack on Easter Sunday. Is it unreasonable to assume that the top most concern and priority of the Indian intelligence service would have been the safety of its own High Commission in Colombo and its consulate in Kandy? They would, no doubt, have informed the Indian High Commission of the potential threat, they had extracted from an ISIS suspect in Indian custody. In such a situation, wouldnt the Indian High Commissioner have called on the President and or the prime Minister and requested protection for the premises? True, there is an Indian contingent within the premises to guard it from terror attacks even as the US Embassy has a contingent of US marines. But they cannot step out of the premises but has to remain within the sovereign territory of their own country, namely the diplomatic premises. The question posed to both the President and the Prime Minister is: Did the Indian High Commission approach either and apprise them of the terror threat to the Indian High Commission and to the churches on Easter Sunday? The Indian High Commissioner would not have talked to the defence secretary directly since its against diplomatic protocol to talk to a public servant. Perhaps, its best, to clear the foul air, that both the President and the Prime Minister issue an unambiguous statement whether or not the Indian High Commissioner made such a request for Lankan police or troops to guard its entrance and act as a bulwark against the threat its own intelligence service had provided. A simple yes or a simple no will do. Or did the Indian High Commissioner, too, even with his own High Commission under threat, keep the President and Prime Minister of Lanka in the dark? Cardinal Ranjith: Man of the hour Pope phones Cardinal to bestow blessings His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has risen immeasurably in the eyes of his fellow men to be the true shepherd of Lankas Catholic flock to lead them from despairs darkness to Gods own comforting heavenly light. And as things would have it, it has taken the worst of times to bring out the best in him. And, no doubt, he is seen in the Holy See as a rising star in the papal firmament. On April 24, three days after the Easter carnage, His Holy Father Pope Francis sends him a letter. He writes: Conscious of the wound inflicted on the entire nation, I likewise pray that all Sri Lankans will be affirmed in their resolve to foster social harmony, justice and peace. With these sentiments, I affectionately commend you and your Brother Bishops. And the cardinal on May 2 writes to his His Holy Father. He says: Your presence with us on this sad occasion strengthens me and our community. At 11 am that same day, Cardinal Ranjiths phone rings at the Bishops House in Colombo.. It is from Pope Francis. He gives him benediction, praising him for the tremendous work done by his to uplift the spirit and souls of those who had suffered greatly in the tragedy. And, like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, who knows  for the church works in mysterious ways  whether at the appropriate hour at a future conclave of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope, white smoke will emit as the signal to herald the advent of the worlds first Asian Pope? Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Ad Multos Annos!
Political egotism helps spawn new terrorism View(s):

Ever since the LTTE was militarily crushed finally in May 2009, Sri Lanka has been wallowing in triumphalism. This is not to belittle the achievement of the countrys security forces which were dismissively discarded particularly by so-called western experts and analysts as incapable of militarily defeating the LTTE.

Western media were not remiss in propagating these views and adding their own condescending expertise and denigrating the armed forces for violating international humanitarian law.

One cannot believe there has ever been a war where no violations of law ever occurred. In October 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon jointly announced that in any conflict henceforth UK will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect its frontline troops from spurious legal claims.

It was the same British Government that in 2015, sponsored along with other western nations an anti-Sri Lanka resolution before the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the Sri Lankan armed forces of war crimes and of violating international humanitarian law.

If I remember correctly President Mahinda Rajapaksa defending the Sri Lankan armed forces once said that our soldiers fought with a weapon in one hand and the human rights law in the other.

That might sound rather hyperbolic but it was a signal that the then government was determined to defend the armed forces against those who wanted to criminalise the soldiers and label them as instruments of viciousness that should earn the derision of the civilised world.

In standing up for the military, the government was not only paying the soldiers a tribute, the administration was also making a political point that would earn it the gratitude of the people as the government that saved the nation from division and collapse.

After he became president in 2015, President Sirisena did not take the same stance. His political promises were tuned to another station. He was determined, he said, to end corruption and punish those who had robbed the nation of its assets. He was also committed to abolish the executive presidency.

Valuable goals indeed! But, as the days turned into months and years, his interests veered in a different direction. The pursuit of power became an end in itself. His stated commitment to spend only one term in office was increasingly jettisoned and staying on longer turned into an obsession with the judiciary also being asked for advice on whether he could continue for six years.

One important objective, if he intended to stay on, was to strengthen his hold on power which led him to clash with the Rajapaksas and SLFPers who were committing their support to the former president.

At the same time, President Sirisena was increasingly at loggerheads with his prime minister and the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP, his main coalition partner whom he began to contest in cabinet and thrash in public.

The Presidents strategy was to short-circuit UNP-initiated legislation and blame it for all the woes, to which the UNP graciously contributed. He was also intent on holding on to his diminishing power in the original SLFP and containing the growing influence of the Rajapaksas, one of whom was a likely challenger at the presidential election.

So he was fighting on two fronts  inside the government and the Rajapaksa-led opposition on the outside, a task beyond his capabilities as has been shown. Instead of governing the country based on the promises he made to the people, fighting for survival turned into an obsession.

But blaming others was not enough to win over the people. He had to project himself as a patriot and a leader who cleansed the country of evil. So he, too, pledged to protect the armed forces and ensure that its officers were never dragged before foreign tribunals for alleged war crimes.

Not only was he competing with the Rajapaksas to win the affection and loyalty of the tri-forces, he went further. He committed himself to rid the country of the drug menace and hang a few drug- dealing convicts to show the country his determination.

To vigorously pursue this goal, he needed the full backing of the forces of law and order. This made Sirisena and the top layers of the law enforcement agencies take their eyes off the ball. They turned their attention away from national security to fulfill the Sirisena aim and earn his gratitude.

Whether the Rajapaksa boast that terrorism had been eliminated and would not rise again was a political ploy to keep him forever in the national conscience or whether he truly believed that he had ended terrorism will remain a matter of debate.

The fact is that such thinking permeated the upper echelons of the forces and further down. They seemed to believe their task was done and they could now relax as there was no perceivable enemy in sight.

Generals with multiple chips on their shoulders were telling tales of derring-do as though they, like David, single-handedly slew the mighty Goliath. Such self glorified popinjays threw themselves into political movements doubtless expecting future rewards.

So with current political leaders praising the men in uniform or those who have hung up their boots, there has been for some years an aura of complacency in the political arena and in the defence/military establishment.

This cock-a-hoop attitude seems to have penetrated the thinking of those who should keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut. But Sirisenas choice of staff at the highest levels seems to be as curious and absurd as Donald Trumps appointments to the White House and elsewhere. This rapid turnaround does not allow appointees time to settle and look beyond their allocated tasks making them appear like subject clerks.

Those whose primary task is security/defence intelligence gathering and analysis appear to have turned their attention to other matters like tracking the work of political foes and even government allies.

Indian media reported the other day that intelligence passed on by India about an impending attack by Islamic extremists was pushed aside as probable attempts by New Delhi to assign the blame to Pakistan to create a rift between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The media were citing high officials in Colombo.

Did those officials, whose thinking this was, even consult the Foreign Ministry on this interpretation of events or seek the advice of foreign policy analysts who work in government posts?

What expertise did those officials who came to this conclusion have with regard to foreign affairs and current bilateral/multilateral regional developments? Surely these were extremely important pieces of intelligence that should have been passed on to high political authorities but so cavalierly discarded as seems to have happened.

If those who are mandated to follow developments around the world should study modern-day terrorism, especially changes in the modus operandi of modern terrorist organisations, they would know that increasingly terrorist cadres or those attracted by todays extremist ideologies associate with such organisations and even fight for them in wars and conflicts as has been repeatedly mentioned in reports and media despatches.

Were our intelligence services aware that one of the Easter suicide bombers studied in the UK and had links with the British national popularly known as Jihadi John who was a fighter for the IS and executed several hostages including a journalist? If so, did they keep an eye on him after he returned to Sri Lanka or just forget about him?

Some Muslim organisations have claimed that 11 dockets of information relating to the activities of extremist Islamic preacher Zahran considered to be a leader, if not the leader of the Suicide bombers, had been passed on to officials starting in 2017. Officials included the then Defence Secretary, IGP and the Attorney General. Apparently Zahran had begun to preach against the government, the courts and other religions. Did they track his activities or just throw the documents away. Or maybe they are gathering dust on some shelf like those annual assets declarations nobody ever glances through.

A mosque trustee of who was involved in preparing the documents was quoted as saying that all the efforts fell on deaf years.

It is the political complacency bred by a political class more interested in safeguarding their own interests and the route to wealth that appears to have created the same lackadaisical attitude among officials some of whom are inclined to follow the same route as politicians with bloated egos.
The fiendish terrorism of a few over the many View(s):

As Sri Lankans are besieged by daily if not hourly reports regarding the rounding up of suspected islamist jihadists in the wake of last months Easter Sunday atrocities, it is crucial to recognise that the terrorism of a barbaric few cannot and should not be allowed to taint an entire Muslim community. Sadly but inevitably, Muslim Sri Lankans who were as appalled at the attacks as their Sinhalese and Tamil neighbours may face random and increased hostilities from the ignorant or the racially motivated. This is a trend that must be unequivocally and roundly rejected.

Misleading arguments on the insufficiency of law

This time around and as differentiated from conflicts over land and power which had gripped Sri Lanka in its savage toils for decades, the fight concerns an ideology that is perverse and violative of the very fundamentals of Islamic teachings. In other words, the fight is over the territories of the Sri Lankan mind or to put it more correctly, what remains of that as twisted and beaten down by ceaseless political propaganda of the most sordid kind. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the counter-narrative to a jihadist doctrine of pure hate must not be trapped in a self-defeating terror mentality. In that context, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes claim this week that the Easter Sunday barbarities may been prevented if the Counter Terror Bill was passed in Parliament is as disengenous as it is dangerous.

There is a wholly misleading rationale to this reasoning. As appears to be this Governments wont, the blame is passed from an unpardonable failure of political and bureaucratic leadership to a specious argument that existing law is not enough to deal with jihadists having links to international terror groups. As Sri Lankans wriggled in acute embarassment, this was the same excuse trotted out to international news journalists who interviewed the Prime Minister in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But the second part of that argument is where it gets interesting. As a result of this seeming lacunae, the Counter Terror Bill now before a parliamentary oversight commitee needs to be, (apparently in the Prime Ministers mind), passed post haste as he urges parliamentarians in uncharacteristically pithy Sinhalese to stop grating coconuts (pol ganne nethuwa) and pass the Bill.

First, this claim that the law is not enough could not be further than the truth. Several Sri Lankan laws, from the Prevention of Terrorism Act (1979, ( PTA) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (2007, ICCPR Act) to the more mundane Penal Code may have been utilised. Secondly, the Governments very actions since the attack give the best and most persuasive lie to this claim. Investigations have uncovered the connection between the islamist jihadists that carried out the Easter Sunday attacks and the damaging of the Buddha statutes at Mawanella along with the killing of two policemen in Vavunitivu. Why was this link not pursued earlier? Or was it not taken seriously due to political expediency of the Eastern vote bank and the Governments courting of Muslim politicians? This is, by far, the more credible explanation, apart from hair raisingly amusing conspiracy theories being regurgitated in every corner.

Rejecting hostility towards the Muslim community

The same question applies to never-ending discoveries of explosives, swords, guns and knives with a few being discovered in mosques. And if assets of the identified terrorists and their families are being frozen under prevalent law as the public has been informed, why could not this have been done earlier? But as we are getting to know in excruciating detail, the fault does not lie in the law. Even though intelligence officers on the ground knew the situation, political leaders and bureaucrats were running in opposite directions like headless chickens.

The few in the know vacillated and chewed their fingers, hoping that even if some incident occurs, it will be a little one as the former Defence Secretary so incautiously spluttered when questioned. If the Government had not been grating coconuts during the time that it should have been vigilant, Sri Lankas Catholics might not be now labouring under a horrific sense of revulsion as flesh and blood of victims still stick to the walls of their churches and Muslims would not be cowering in fear.

Meanwhile, the culpability of Muslim politicians in instigating the radicalisation of their voter bases is clear. The silence of the Easts Muslim Ministers in particular as jihadism grew under their feet as it were and the active support of others to that destructive growth is striking. This mirrors the manner in which Tamil and Sinhala politicians benefitted off the extremism of segments in their own societies to the eventual detriment of those very communities. Indeed, the responsibility goes deeper than political culpability

Pursuing a dishonest narrative

Post 2015, a deliberately dishonest narrative in force framed Muslim radicalisation in Sri Lanka purely as a reaction to Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism aggravated by post-war Rajapaksa triumphalism. Moderate Muslims hesitated to reflect on worrying changes in their societies due to cries that this will bar Sri Lankas reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Now as our expectations of reconciliation, let alone normalcy in daily life fade, certain truths must be realised. We must acknowledge that anti-Muslim rhetoric by radical Buddhist monks was not the trigger for the Easter Sunday attacks by Islamic State fighters, though this may well have been part of the backdrop to the alienation of communities. Irrefutably, attacks on churches could not have been the chosen plan of offense if that was the case. At least now, young Muslim writers have started speaking out candidly about dilemmas of community, religion, violence and radicalisation.

Nonetheless, this leaves the larger question of political accountability in issue. Why is it that only pawns are captured in this game while politicians are left untouched? While the arrest of one Municipal Councillor here and another one there and the arrest of drivers, secretaries and so on of prominent politicians is well and good, those higher in the political ladder need to be held to account. This is where the deficit of trust persists. So while a new counter-terror law may be this Governments pet project, the Prime Minister and Ministers need to explain themselves to a suspicious public rather than airly waving their hands and uttering vapid nonsense.

Indeed, time limited emergency regulations subject to Parliamentary control and constitutional review by the Supreme Court is a far better tool to deal with what we have in hand rather than a permanent counter-terror law which, once the Speakers seal is put, passes out of the scrutiny of court. Swift, surgical strikes are needed rather than an embedded state of counter-terrorputting legitimate criticism at risk.

Despite the UNPs clever games amidst ludicrous confidence that it will win the electoral day, a Counter-Terror Bill which undermines civil liberties in its present formulation will pave the way for a security state run by smiling Rajapaksa strongmen. We will be projected into an entirely hazardous reality of international and regional counter-terror chess games having the potential to undermine hitherto strategically won gains of the Rule of Law. What calamity next awaits us? Fundamentalist Christians bursting into mosques or temples with guns akin to what New Zealand and the United States has experienced?

If care is not taken even at this definitively late stage, unmitigated and unchecked terror stalking the land will be the sole and dismal legacy of the yahapalanaya victory of 2015.
In the tangled web of terrorism View(s):

The chilling video released this week by the leader of the purported Islamic State (ISIS) congratulating the inhumane suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka raised eyebrows in world capitals. Believed to have been killed during battles in his make-believe Caliphate in West Asia, the video has been confirmed to be that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, not seen since 2014.

That Sri Lanka has been flagged as part of the global nexus of ISIS activities is a pity, to say the least. The negative publicity generated around the world by the actions of a fringe group against the minorities in Sri Lanka has crucified the nation as one where Buddhist majoritarianism prevails, not as a peaceful Buddhist country. Western news agencies and NGOs did Sri Lanka no favours in conveying that message around and helped attract the evil eyes of ISIS, even though their global enemy was the crusaders (Christians) and the non-believers.

ISIS was a creation of the Wests illegal and immoral intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria in the post 9/11 era. Baghdadis utopian Caliphate has been crumbling on the battlefield in recent months. But his movement is not dead  yet. Its weapon of mass destruction is not nuclear bombs, but the internet; not conventional warfare but social media.

ISIS exploited the worldwide web to recruit cadres around the world. It shows gruesome videos and photographs of dying children and atrocities committed in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen  everywhere the West has upturned the status quo and waged war in the name of world peace. They mix these pictorials with the deadly cocktail of emotive scripture interpreted to suit their cause. The influential US-based Foreign Policy publication went to the extent of comparing that modus operandi to how certain Western charitable organisations use graphic videos of starving children in Africa to get donations for their work.

It was the Governments of the US, Britain and their Western allies which upset the hornets nest in West Asia. Their indiscriminate bombings and collateral damage on civilians have not gone unchallenged. The crazed bees are stinging people in Europe, and now Asia in tit-for-tat campaigns also targeting the European (Christian) way of life. These countries viz., Iraq, Libya, Syria etc., had excellent relations with Sri Lanka in the years gone by. Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was wowed and greatly respected by the Arab people. Today, some of these very people have turned against Sri Lanka, even to the extent of harming this country.

Whether one likes it or not, this unholy holy war between the West and the Islamic nations of West Asia has come to Sri Lanka. The knee-jerk reaction in banning the burqa and other attire identified with one faith has become a debatable issue, and it might have been wiser to implement such a step through a voluntary exercise rather than by law. In West Asia, Islamic dress has now been turned into a multi-billion dollar (US$ 60 billion in 2017) fashion industry for Western designers.

Those who however dismiss the security aspect of the ban ignore the fact that flushing out the terrorists in our midst will necessitate the checking of identities, including those of persons in such attire. This in turn could bring accusations of scandalising the modesty of women and lead to a breach of the peace.

Whether the ban is a temporary one or not is a decision for later, one might think, but hopefully the authorities who are coming out with figures of more and more arrests, are not doing so to cover up for their colossal lapse in preventing the Easter Sunday massacres. One can only hope that these arrests are being clinically executed to sweep the terrorists from their hideouts.

While monks and priests are advising the Security Forces whom to arrest and of the need to search empty houses, a Colombo-based foreign ambassador, probably with the ghost of Benghazi hanging over, issued warnings of further attacks, adding to the fear-psychosis. Despite Sri Lankans being almost anaesthetised to terrorism not so long ago, the decade-long period of peace has not only propelled people back to that era, but thrown them off their usual tranquil complacency into a state of extreme anxiety.

Many remain on edge, partly due to the publicity around the possibility of further strikes coupled with a lack of confidence that the Government is on top of things. The only redeeming feature is that the Security Forces can handle the situation. In the circumstances, it is crucial for the Government to realise that there are numerous case studies that show that persons in police or judicial custody, or even at rehabilitation centres can get radicalised within these confines if they are not involved in terrorist activity in the first place.

It is hoped that Intel reports will, on the one hand, be made available only on a need-to-know basis, but equally shared with the relevant authorities. Sharing tip-offs should not be stymied because agencies do not want to share the credit. One-upmanship is a trait in the Intelligence community. On the other hand, writing down a mere minute on a piece of information, and passing the buck as it were, caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people on Easter Sunday.

This is the month of Vesak to be followed by Poson next month. The people need to have the confidence that the Government and its Security Forces have got a grip on the situation. The Christian community is still reeling from the Easter Sunday attacks. The UNP-SLFP coalition Government is still haggling over who should run the Law and Order Ministry. There still is no apex persona handling national security. The Muslim community is caught between the terrorist and the deep blue sea. The move to ask foreign religious teachers overstaying their visas to leave the country is a step in the right direction. The statistics revealed this week of the number of madrasas and Arabic schools in the country are alarming. The competition among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran for influence has rent the Muslim world asunder. And that sectarian division has been exploited by the West.

A few years ago, this newspaper highlighted the audacity of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen asking the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan directly for monies, ostensibly for the resettlement of displaced Muslims following the northern insurgency. This was a flagrant violation of the countrys laws that require these funds to be channelled through the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry. The then President ignored the matter; the Minister dumped him and joined the new Government.

So, it all comes back to the political leadership that salivates for votes at the expense of national security. The silence of Muslim political leaders since Easter Sunday is deafening. World powers mouthing platitudes on fighting terrorism are backing terrorists if they are on their side of the fight against other terrorists. Oh what a tangled web they weave
Kids World * View(s):

Myself

My name is Umar Rushdie.

I am six years old. I study at

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo. I live in Dehiwala. I like to eat chocolates and ice-cream. I have a big sister. I like to play with cars and construction vehicles.

Umar Rushdie (Grade 2)

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo

Our Prefect Day 2019

Our Prefect Day was held on March 15, 2019 in our school premises.

It started at 8.30 a. m. Our Chief guests were the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara and the Branch Director Mr. Nalaka Bandara.

All the parents of the prefects came to this occasion.

First we started by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Before the awarding of badges, we worshipped our parents and teachers. Then our school CEO

Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara gave badges to all the prefects. I was also a prefect who was awarded a prefect badge.

Then after that Mr. Jayasekara made a presentation. He explained to us the meaning and responsibilities of a prefect, who is a leader, how can we recognise a leader and showed us examples for good leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai, We all liked that presentation and

we learnt many things.

I thank our Madame Principal, Deputy Principal, Teacher in charge of Prefects, all our teachers and our parents for organising this programme in a successful manner.

Dimuthu Mihiranga (Grade

JMC Int. College, Maharagama

My best day

My family planned to visit another country for a week. We had packed our bags and my father booked a PickMe to take us to the airport. We said goodbye to our grandparents and left home.

It took us about an hour to reach the airport because there was a lot of traffic. I was really impatient until we went to the airport.

It was a Friday and there were so many people at the airport. After my father handed over our bags we checked in and we went to the lounge to wait for our flight. We were going to Singapore and it was a Singapore Airlines flight. My sister and I watched the planes landing and taking off. I was extremely excited because this was my first trip overseas.

After almost one hour, our flight was announced. Then the four of us boarded the plane. My sister and I got two window seats. We were asked to fasten our seatbelts. I was so scared when our flight was taking off, but I soon settled down and fell asleep.

We had a tasty meal and I watched a nice movie. It was a five hour flight and was very exciting to fly through the clouds. It was such a comfortable journey and I felt sorry to get off the plane.

That was my first trip to another country and the best day in my whole life.

Rovinu Deshapriya (11 years)

S. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia
Bollywood political thriller amidst Indian election View(s):

While the Indian election is on the run, The Tashkent Files political Bollywood thriller about the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, which creates box-office records, is now being screened in Sri Lanka.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film stars two Indias ever-popular stars Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty in the lead.

The Tashkent Files revolves around the mysterious death of Indias 2nd Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and attempts to uncover if he had actually died a natural death, or, as alleged, was assassinated.

On June 9, 1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of India. According to the Media reports Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.

He tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage, Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous Green Revolution. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastris stint as Prime Minister.

After the Chinese aggression of 1962, India faced another aggression from Pakistan in 1965 during Shastris tenure. Shastri showing his mettle, made it very clear that India would not sit and watch. While granting liberty to the Security Forces to retaliate, he said, Force will be met with force.

The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 after the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The Russian Prime Minister, Kosygin, offered to mediate and on 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.

But on the following day Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966.

Shastris sudden death immediately after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan raised many suspicions. His wife, Lalita Devi, alleged that Shastri was poisoned and the Russian butler serving the Prime Minister was arrested. But he was released later as doctors certified that Shastri died of cardiac arrest. The media circulated a possible conspiracy theory hinting at the involvement of CIA in the death of Shastri.

The RTI query posted by author Anuj Dhar was declined by the Prime Minister Office citing a possible souring of diplomatic relations with the US.
Documentary film on the division of Germany Train to Freedom View(s): View(s):

German documentary film Train to Freedom set against the backdrop of the fall of Berlin Wall will be screened at 7 pm on May 10 at Goethe Hall, Colombo.

Directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias Schmidt, this documentary talks about an incident where hundreds of East German refugees fled to the West German Embassy in Prague. In the film, some of these refugees share their experiences; other witnesses report the difficult negotiations that ultimately lead to the departure of the refugees.

The wall, created after the Second World War, was a symbol of the political and economic division of Europe throughout the Cold War. Following numerous peaceful revolutions, the wall came down and Germany became unified.

Prague 1989, September 30th. The West-German Embassy in Prague finds itself the center of the worlds political stage. For weeks refugees from East-Germany have been streamed on the premises of the Palais Lobkowitz and the surrounding streets. Within days the fenced embassy compound transformed itself into a vast refugee camp.

This film is part of the film series Film Macht Geschichte, organized by the German Changes and Upheavals  Crises and Conflicts  this film focuses on the film series Film Macht Geschichte. The selected films focus on the topic of failed states. The term originated in the early 90s and referred directly to the changes and upheavals in the former Eastern Bloc. Within the film series, the breakdown of the GDR is described in particular.
LANKA CHALLENGE 2019: THE TUK TUK ADVENTURE ROUND 14 View(s):

On Saturday 27 April, despite the devastating events in Sri Lanka, the Tuk Tuk Warriors successfully finished their 1000 km adventure around Sri Lanka at Suriya Resort in Waikkal.

The group was camping in the middle of a forest in Mannar when the unfortunate incidents of Easter Sunday first occurred and even though the group was shocked and saddened all the participants came together with the intention of completing the challenge as planned.

This year, Large Minority (www.largeminority.travel) in partnership with Connaissance de Ceylan, SriLankan Airlines and Ministry of Tourism, organized the 14th edition of Lanka Challenge; this edition explored the wild and less travelled territory from Tamerind Tree in Minuwangoda, Kalpitiya, Wilpattu, Mannar, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Sigiriy, Riverstone, Kandy and Waikkal. Participants rode approximately 150km per day over nine days and covered more than 1000km in total.

The self-drive Tuk-Tuk Challenge gave 53 participants in 20 tuk-tuks, from 10 countries, an up close and personal experience of some of the most fascinating historical sites and views of this island, all the while raising money for local charities, environmental organisations and above all not giving in to terror.

In this edition, the participants faced some unusual challenges from tasting the hottest chilies to selling fish at the local market to (probably the most comical for us locals) taking groceries to a random home in a village and getting the home dwellers to cook for them. Other challenges included, the elephant dung put shot challenge, memorising Buddhist chants and offering flowers at a village temple. While still being fun, the tuk-tuk challenge offered participants a way of interacting with daily life in Sri Lanka.

It was important that The Lanka Challenge event was seen through to the end especially given the existing climate here in Sri Lanka, as the event supported local partners such as the Red Cross Society of Sri Lanka and Land Owners Restore Rainforest in Sri Lanka (LORRIS). A total of 10 percent of each teams entry fee was given directly to charity partners.

Julian Carnall of Lanka Challenge added Last year we collected over US$ 8,000 which was used for different charitable projects including donating textbooks, musical instruments and planting more than 200 indigenous trees to offset our carbon emissions. In 2019 we raised even more funds in Sri Lanka and were able to touch many more lives.

We are grateful to this years brave participants and Large Minority who decided to stay and see their 1000km challenge through to its completion. A special mention must be given to the Police, Army and Ministry of Defence along with Connaissance de Ceylan and Sri Lanka Ministry of Tourism, who went the extra mile to provide the additional infrastructure and security needed for our visitors complete their mission post-Easter Sunday attacks he added.
600 visa violators deported; among them Islamic preachers View(s):

More than 600 foreigners, including Islamic preachers who have come on tourist visas, have been deported during the past week for violating visa regulations.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena, under whose purview the Immigration Department comes, told the Sunday Times that at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a directive was issued to the Immigration Department higher-ups to deport all persons violating visas.

Accordingly all those people arrested for violating visa regulations have been deported.

An Immigration Department official said that at present, at least 200 foreigners were in involved in Islamic preaching in Sri Lanka. They were issued visas on the recommendations of the Muslim Affairs Ministry.

He said that at the prime ministers meeting, senior Immigration Department officials submitted a list of foreign Islamic preachers in Sri Lanka.

He said that his Department issued them visas after obtaining security clearance from the Defence Ministry, in keeping with the usual procedure.
Country raises its guard in face of violent extremism By Kasun Warakapitya View(s): View(s):

Nearly a decade after Tamil terrorism was ended, checkpoints and increased protection of people, schools, hospitals, and public and private premises have returned to Sri Lanka after the mass murder by Islamic suicide killers in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.

Long queues form outside buildings because of security checks. Parking is restricted in public places, government departments, and religious places. Eateries are employing their own private security, while the military is guarding some tourist hotels.

Private hospitals have bolstered security, while the military is looking after perimeter protection. The police and the army have put up roadside checkpoints, at junctions and bridges as well as entry points to Colombo. Vehicles are throughly checked. The military is guarding government offices, the Fort Railway Station and the Petttah bus stand.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has strengthened security. There are Civil Defence Force (CDF) and Army Commandos patrolling the pavement around the building preventing illegal parking. The police are checking identity cards and taking notes. People are not allowed to carry bags, helmets, and jackets inside. The CDF officials ask people to place their bags, hats, caps and jackets on the two racks at the sides of the main entrance.

Mohomad Nilam, 44, who works in a private company, said he feels safe after seeing the increased security at the IRD. Checkpoints are needed to counter terrorists. We must not allow terrorists to attack more people, he said.

Sujith Kumara Weerasinghe, 45, a messenger, who was at the IRD, said he is subjected to checks at other government offices. There are a lot of military officials in the building, we feel secure, he said. He feels obliged to co-operate with security checks.

Security at the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been increased. Military officials check bags and pat down everyone at the entrance.

Colombos port and its environs are being heavily guarded by the navy. There are more than 15 navy officers at the vehicle checkpoint at the port entrance. Other navy officers continue to check parked vehicles near the port wall. More security has been introduced in schools and hospitals.

But not everyone is pleased. The ban on parking near government offices is a major hindrance to those operating three-wheelers for hires.

P Krishna, a trishaw driver who parks near the IRD, said he cannot stay for long at the location. He had not been able to run hires in the past week. It is a struggle to make a living.

Most shops still remain closed at the Pettah market. Shops that are open attract below average crowds. The red mosque, which attracted tourists, is only open for worship.

Mohomad Shafrath, 24, who sells electronic items, phone chargers, power banks as well as pen drives, said business dropped. We started our business a few months back. Now, no one comes. We are victims of terrorism too. How could we do business like this, he said.

Anusha Willarachachi, 42, a government employee, said she was at the market with a friend to buy essentials. She fears violence more than the bombings. She added that people have continued to live their lives despite the fear.

Gothatuwa resident, Shanai Ranasinghe, said that she still comes to Pettah to buy supplies for her online cosmetics business. She said she is indifferent to who the vendors are.

The merchants are affected as they were forced to close shops for a week and since opening, few people have come, he said.

Chandrajeewa Liyanagamage, the treasurer of the three-wheeler association, said hires have dried up, even by foreign visitors. Even the railway authorities wont allow us to park outside the station despite paying Rs1,150 for a three-wheeler. All our 80 three-wheelers are registered and pay taxes to the municipality, he said.

He said they are unable to pick up hires as the three-wheelers block the vehicle park entrance.
Ministers Oman bound for talks on Hambantota refinery project View(s):

Petroleum Resources Minister Kabir Hashim and Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama have left for Oman for discussions on the Hambantota oil refinery project. They are to be joined by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who was a key participant at earlier talks on the controversial venture.

Minister Samarawickrama said yesterday that he and Minister Hashim were invited by the Government of Oman but said he had no knowledge of Minister Bathiudeen (who was already abroad yesterday afternoon) also being there. I dont know if hes also coming there because its about petroleum and other industries, he said.

It was announced in March that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in a US$ 3.8bn (Rs 685.5bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota. It later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International.

Three of Silver Parks four directors are Jegathrakshagan Sundeep Anand, Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya. They are the son, daughter and wife of S. Jagathrakshakan, a DMK stalwart.

In Hambantota, hundreds of acres of land have been allocated to the project. There has been no EIA and there are still no investors. It is feared now that Sri Lanka will give a long-term purchase guarantee to Omani oil interests in order to secure their participation.
Over 1000 asylum seekers ejected; UNHCR helpless View(s):

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relocate more than 1000 asylum seekers, who were ejected from their places of residence after the Easter Sunday bombings.

Many refugees, including Pakistani Christians and Ahmadis, were taken out or sent out from their rented houses by mobs or by house owners. They are now housed at two Ahmedi mosques and in the Negombo police station.

The UNHCR has had little or no success in finding them alternative rented accommodation as no house owners Muslim, Christian or Buddhist Sri Lankanswant to give them space, said a source familiar with the process. Therefore, they are still in their areas of displacement in cramped conditions with limited toilet facilities. Food is provided to them.

The UN agency is now relying on the Government to assist in relocation with security guarantees. The Government is willing to consider it, the sources said. The police and military have provided security to the refugees thus far. The Negombo police say that it is at great inconvenience that they are giving shelter to about 150 displaced people.

There has been a positive effort by the State to help. This is not a long-term solution or should not be a long-term thing. All efforts are being made on two fronts. One is to make them as comfortable as possible where they are and the second is to look for an option for relocation, the source said.
President rejects Ravis power purchase proposal View(s):

A five-member subcommittee headed by President Maithripala Sirsena to re-evaluate Cabinet papers submitted by Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the electricity crisis has decided not to approve the purchase of an additional 200 megawatts of emergency power outside tender process as recommended by the Ministry and some Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials.

A quantity of 170mw has already been bought from existing private power producers such as Asia Power in Sapugaskanda, ACE Power in Matara, ACE Power Embilipitiya and Northern Power. Minister Karunanayake and the Ministry along with the CEB maintained that a further quantity of emergency power was needed. And one of the ways they wanted to meet that requirement was through a 200mw barge-mounted plant contracted without tender.

But the subcommittee at a meeting on May 1 decided after heated arguments that there would be no procurement without tender. The subcommittee also includes Mr Karunanayake, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne and Non-Cabinet Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva.

It also wanted the Power and Energy Ministry to submit a report on the feasibility of the first 200mw barge that was approved by Cabinet on the basis that electricity would be bought at the lowest price and for six months. Minister Karunanayake had wanted a contract of two years.

The report was due on Friday and is expected to demonstrate whether Minister Karunanayakes claim that the cost of unit of emergency power was going to be Rs 28 (which was the maximum approved by Cabinet) or higher.

This is the second subcommittee to be set up on the matter. Earlier, a three-member ministerial committee which was also tasked with making urgent recommendations to end the power crisis was disbanded after Minister de Silvawho was also a member of that teamwrote to the President threatening to resign after minutes of their meeting were altered by a high-ranking Power and Energy Ministry official.

That committee had specifically recommended the purchase of 200MW of power for six months from a private supplier operating a barge-mounted plant. But the Ministry official had slipped in other barge-mounted power projects after applying tippex. He had also included two different contracts to separate companies for LNG projects, a subject that had not come before the Committee. It was not clear whether the official was acting on his own or at the behest of political masters.

The first subcommittee was headed by Mr Karunanayake and included Highways Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister de Silva. The second one was appointed by President Sirisena after Minister de Silva threatened to resign and brought matters to the notice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. When it met on May 1, President Sirisena left after maintaining that Mahaweli, Moragahakanda or Rantembe water will not be released for power generation.

The committee looked into a CEB letter that says around 470mw of emergency power is required. Minister Ranawaka reportedly maintained that a further 200mw is sufficient because 170mw has already been secured from existing private power producers. He, too, insisted that there must be a tender to buy this.
SriLankan requests SLAF to deploy sky marshals on flights View(s):

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is planning to deploy sky marshals on SriLankan Airlines flights to enhance air transportation safety and security .

The Air Force has responded to a request by the Airlines authorities and are evaluating the existing regulatory framework and international legal obligations on the matter, Air Force spokesman Gp. Capt Gihan Senevirathne said.

The SLAF has also beefed up security measures in and around BIA.
UN expresses collective grief over victims of terrorist killings View(s):

The United Nations expressed its collective grief over victims of the terrorist killings in Sri Lanka when the 193-member General Assembly extended its condolences to the families and renewed its commitment to combat violent extremism and terrorism.

Maria Fernanda Espinoza Garces, President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly, expressed her solidarity with Sri Lanka during these trying times. She said she was moved by Sri Lankans coming together following the attacks, opening the doors of mosques and temples for Christian services, and providing assistance to victims and their families.

I hope that we can use todays commemorative event to express our solidarity with Sri Lanka, strengthen our resolve to combat violent extremism, increase multilateral cooperation on security and tackle the financing of terrorism. We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote and do not harm human security, she said.

The meeting, described as a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, was co-organised by the office of the President of the General Assembly, along with the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

The meeting was chaired by the President of the General Assembly with Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General in attendance.

Ms. Mohammed expressed sorrow that places of worship have become the playground of terrorists. The world is seeing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, she said, highlighting the work of the UN to combat terrorism and extremism, including through addressing hate speech and ensuring safety of religious sites.

Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, in his statement noted that these inhuman and cruel acts on the holiest of days for Christians were debased in their cruelty and in their locations  carried out when devotees had closed their eyes in prayer and as tourists were enjoying a celebratory breakfast. Yet, against this carnage, as a nation, we became one, and the sorrow that the Christians underwent became the collective sorrow of an entire nation.

He pointed out that it is vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are utilised as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism. It is time for us to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework, Dr. Perera said.

I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now, that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining steps to conclude the Convention on Terrorism and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism. Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue, the Ambassador said.

A large number of member states, UN officials and special invitees attended the event with states taking the floor to express condolences and extend their support to the government of Sri Lanka.

Among the states delivering statements were Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada China, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Guyana (on behalf of CARICOM), Holy See, India, Ireland, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mauritania (on behalf of the Arab Group), Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA, and Kazakhstan.

Apart from national statements, the five main regional groups at the United Nations, namely, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western Europe and other states made statements on behalf of each group.

An elegy, specially composed by eminent Sri Lankan composer and conductor Dr. Lalanath de Silva, was played during the event. The United Nations Chamber Music Society performed a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace sung by David Yardley of Australia and Mahalya Gogerly-Moragoda from Sri Lanka/USA, in honor of the victims.
Unions pay silent tribute to labour in shattered capital View(s):

Every year, thousands from the provinces board buses provided by political parties and leave for Colombo for May Day rallies.

But there were no labour chants this year in the capital and elsewhere, except for symbolic gatherings.

There is no normalcy yet following the bloodbath in churches, for which the political leadership is being called to account. The Catholic church hierarchy and Buddhist religious leaders have bemoaned the weak, unsatisfactory response, so far.

Islamic extremists blew them up in teams and slaughtered scores of worshippers, including dozens of children, in Catholic churches, and locals and foreigners in hotels on Easter Sunday.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held its May Day meeting at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, where President Maithripala Sirisena joined, while Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) gathered at Kotte Municipal Council with Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. The United National Party (UNP) did not organise any public meetings.

UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a meeting with tourism stakeholders to discuss industry concerns and respond.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) gathered at the party office in with Jaffna lawmaker, Mavai Senathirajah.

Trade unions also held symbolic meetings, while adopting some regulations with regard to labour rights.

The Ceylon Mercantile Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU), one of the largest comprising 23 unions, also marked May Day.

CMU, general secretary, Sylvester Jayakody told the Sunday Times that even though there were difficulties in getting government approval for even a small meeting, at least 500 members gathered to adopt resolutions such as a demand to withdraw the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), and ensuring labour rights through proper checks and balances at the Employee Provident Fund (EPF).

This is not the first time we were asked by the government not hold any march or rally in view of May Day. Successive governments since 1971 time to time have called for such bans due to political reasons. However, we are aware of the current situation and took the decision to hold a small scale meeting considering public safety, Mr Jayakody said.

Joseph Stalin, the general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union echoed public concerns over government failures to ensure public safety following the mass murders and merely halting labour day rallies.

In the north, trade unions such as the Non Academic Employees Union of University of Jaffna had low key labour day meetings.
Upcoming Vesak: Buddha Sasana Ministry to consult Mahanayakes on pandals and dansal By Kasun Warakapitiya Minister urges people to mark the event with religious activities in temples View(s): View(s):

The upcoming Vesak celebrations, a security nightmare after the Easter Sunday terrorist massacre, have set a poser for the Government.

The decision has been placed in the hands of the Buddha Sasana Ministry. It will consult the Mahanayake Theras on how to evolve arrangements, Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said yesterday.

He told the Sunday Times that the ministrys Advisory Council will on Tuesday discuss matters relating to the checking of clergy and lay people, deploying security personnel and restricting the celebrations to religious observances.

He said they had already advised the chief priests of temples and viharas to appoint Dayaka Sabha members to form a civil defence committee at village levels.

We have plans to use military personnel and Dayaka Sabha members to check people who enter temples while Buddhist monks would be requested to check the clergy, the minister said.

The ministry would also submit an advisory, requesting devotees to avoid bringing bags to temple premises, he said. The minister said meals and drinking water must be provided at temple premises for those observing sil. The ministry would issue a circular, announcing the decisions taken at Tuesdays Advisory Council meeting.

The minister said that President Maithripala Sirisena, at a National Security Council meeting, had directed police and armed forces chiefs intensify security measures at Buddhist temples.

Mr. Jayawickrema Perera also advised the people to avoid erecting pandals, setting up vesak zones and dansal, as the extremist groups might target such places. He said even the mahanayakes and other monks had requested that Vesak be marked with religious observances in temple premises. If people wished to erect pandals and dansal, they should discuss the matter with the area police.

I cannot take the responsibility if the terror group strikes a gathering near a pandal, danasala or in a Vesak zones. Even the Mahanayakes advice is not to have such activities. They wanted people to participate in religious activities in temples, he said.
Experts talk on Sri Lankas wildlife conservation View(s):

Where is wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka today?  A series of presentations by renowned research scientists / conservationists followed by a panel discussion will be held on Thursday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH.

Held in celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) this special interactive edition of its monthly lecture series will have short presentations (15 minutes each) by four experts in their field covering four major issues affecting conservation in Sri Lanka today.

The WNPS hopes that all those interested in the future protection of the wild animals and wild places of Sri Lanka will attend, and actively contribute to this most important discussion.

The panel of experts will comprise:

Moderator  Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya

Dr. Pilapitiya, a former Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), in the short time he was in office introduced a practice of good governance that was greatly appreciated by all of the stakeholders in conservation apart, of course, by Government. He is currently a Consultant to the World Bank for its conservation projects in the South Asian region, including its ESCAMP project in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of leopards  Rukshan Jayewardene

Immediate Past President of the WNPS, Rukshan Jayewardenes name has become synonymous with that of the study of wild leopards. He has co-authored a book on these fascinating creatures, particularly those in the Yala National Park.

Human  elephant conflict  Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando

For the last quarter of a century, Dr. Fernando has extensively studied the Asian Elephant, especially the Sri Lankan elephant, and is currently Chairperson of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) that conducts research for mitigating the human-elephant conflict and conserving elephants.

Marine conservationDr Nishan Perera

Dr. Perera is a Marine Biologist and underwater photographer with an interest in coral reef ecology, fisheries and marine protected area management.

Conservation of birds  Dr. Sampath Seneviratne

The current President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), Dr. Seneviratne has made the conservation of Sri Lankas birds a mission of his life.
Facing the many challenges of burqa ban By Smriti Daniel View(s): View(s):

Nadeesha* has worn a burqa for 15 years, and the abaya for twice as long. Last week, when she heard that a ban on face-covering was in place, she knew there was a difficult time ahead. This is a lovely country, it is my country. It has been a paradise on earth, and we have practised our religion freely, she said, her voice catching. We are so sad about what happened, I feel like crying. It is uncomfortable but we will adjust to the countrys law.

Nadeesha is talking about a gazette notification which was issued on April 29 under Emergency regulations which banned all full face coverings in public spaces including roads, public transport and buildings. Authorities said it was implemented in order to enable easy identification as they attempt to disband a network of terrorists who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. The law should enable security forces to better monitor terrorist movements, identify suspects and track risks in public spaces.

However, in the wake of the gazette fierce debates rage. Though it did not specifically name the niqab or burqa, it is clear the ban will adversely affect some Muslim women. Arkam Nooramit, an Executive Council member of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said that even though it brought clear challenges, Muslims were embracing non-violence and non-provocation and would accept it as the need of the hour.

As the minority we must not disturb the majoritys culture and thinking, while preserving our own culture and preserving our rights. That balance has to be struck, and that can only happen by engaging both sides, he added, explaining that the ACJU was encouraging all Muslims to be as open and cooperative as possible and not isolate themselves.

However, while few would quibble with the need for greater watchfulness, critics are worried that the burqa ban conflates conservatism with extremism in way that risks the safety of women and could feed tensions between communities. Simultaneously, there are heated debates ongoing within the Muslim community itself on whether the garment represents their Sri Lankan identity, with some even calling for the ban to be made permanent. Subsuming all these concerns is the pressing one of ensuring national security.

For clarification, a hijab is a veil which usually covers the head and chest while a niqab is a veil that covers the face. A burqa is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

For those critical of the ban, a key part of the problem has been how it served to reinforce issues already existing in the community, such as the side-lining of womens voices. In particular, activists such as Shreen Saroor who founded the Mannar Womens Development Federation (MWDF) are questioning why the authorities opted to consult with only the ACJU which has no women in its leadership and has previously issued fatwas declaring that Muslim women should conceal their faces in public. The ACJU is part of the problem, Shreen contends, arguing that the conservative group does not represent all Muslims in this country.

I see the ban as such a deflection of what really needs to happen, Ermiza Tegal, an attorney-at-law, told the Sunday Times. Noting that Muslim women have been fighting within their community for change on issues including reforming the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, Ermiza said: We have confronted violence, discrimination and oppression, and in the midst of this terrible tragedy, to see the opportunity being taken to reinforce all that again without taking women into considerationThis is an extremely short-sighted and knee-jerk response by the State.

Speaking on behalf of the ACJU, Arkam acknowledged these concerns. We have met many womens organizations, he explained, adding that they were aware of the issues raised by the latter. We know we have to work on it and get their consensus in this matter. We have to engage with women on this, he said.

Meanwhile, online many Muslim women have come forward to dismiss the garment as a foreign import alongside Wahabism. Some like Shreen will admit readily that they are not big fans of the burqa.

Our grandmothers did not wear this and we lived amicably with other communities, Shreen points out. She says that the community can no longer evade a self-reckoning. We have come to this stage not because terrorism came from the outside, but because we let it grow, she says holding leaders and politicians accountable for ignoring the warning signs. However while urgent action is called for, she strongly believes meaningful change cannot be legislated and should instead come as a result of dialogue. To ignore this is to marginalize Muslim women, already among the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, even further, Shreen warns.

You have to understand that some of these women have been wearing the burqa since they were 13 years old. For them to show their face is now like being asked to show their private parts. Shreen describes a conversation in which one woman told her that being asked to leave off the burqa was like being asked to walk down the street without a blouse. It is a profound humiliation, she says.

Reports of covered women being bullied on the street and turned away from places like supermarkets have fuelled concern that the ban makes targets of conservative Muslim women by cementing a connection to terrorism in the minds of the public, increasing the likelihood of women facing harassment and adding to the atmosphere of fear in the country even after the ban is lifted.

Emergency laws have a tendency to outstay their welcome, Ermiza notes, emphasising that these should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still essential and are not being misused. Her deep worry is that this will be the excuse to deprive women in already conservative homes of their rights and that the ban allows those with pre-existing agendas to further curtail the freedoms of women.

The ban is serving to reinforce the sense of alienation at a moment in time when we are trying to send out a message of unity, when we are trying to reach out to each other and say we are of one country, we have to find some way to respond to this catastrophe together, says Ermiza. Sadly, the message just seems to have gone the other way on this one.

In the end, for those working on these issues, there is an acknowledgement that this is a complex challenge that requires nuance and sensitivity, both of which can be extraordinarily hard to muster in the face of the violence and terror Sri Lanka has had to contend with in the recent weeks. However, they feel that at a time when the public is justifiably scared and on edge, the State has an even greater responsibility to ensure that all citizens feel safe.

*name changed to protect the interviewees privacy.
Katuwapitiya: Alone in their grief, after the shock By Kumudini Hettiarachchi View(s): View(s):

We went back to Katuwapitiya on Wednesday.

Except the heavily barricaded St. Sebastians Church, where armed security forces personnel as well as priests are refusing to allow anyone to enter, the beleaguered village is sans much security.and the people are upset about it, as also the way the monies promised by the government are being disbursed.

Unlike the previous time (that too on a Wednesday), just three days after the Easter Sunday bombings, the weather too has turned nasty. Where earlier, the full force of the sun was beating down on the hapless people, now heavy showers are drenching the village, leaving some areas under water.

Vociferous are those who are mourning the dead about the disbursement of funds for the funerals and as compensation and how politicians are walking around handing over cheques and also capturing all in photographs.

The authorities said they would give Rs. 100,000 for the funeral rites of each victim and Rs. 1 million as compensation for each victim, but now they are deducting the Rs. 100,000 from that Rs 1 million and giving only Rs. 900,000 as compensation, said some of the bereaved. They feel this is adding insult to injury as it was the authorities themselves who had not provided security to the people even though they had prior warning of such an attack.

Both my parents died, laments Roshica Wimanna, saying she told those who came with the money what she felt. First they gave us Rs. 200,000 and now they are telling us that three of us will get Rs. 1.8 million. Roshicas father and mother, Rohan and Shanthi Wimanna, were killed instantaneously as the suicide-bomber had blown himself up after standing next to them in church.

As we walk around the village, there is also serious concern about security with the feeling uppermost being that they have been abandoned by the authorities. In each home, where family members have been buried the week before, a few kith and kin gather before a priest and sometimes a few nuns, in front of the photographs of the dead, to say mass and continue to shed tears.

There is a family where both parents, Dr. Sanath Fernando and Wales Indira, have left their three beloved children, while the grandmother had been found in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the previous Thursday.

Explaining that the eldest girl is studying medicine in China, wishing to follow in her fathers footsteps and the two younger boys are still in school, with the middle one in the Ordinary Level class, a relative says that they have got a lot of support from the boys school. Teachers, parents and children have streamed into this house and been with us, she says, as the daughter is being helped by a relative to fill numerous forms and the pet dog lies at her feet silently as if realizing the trauma that the family is undergoing.

The daughter came back home only on Monday, the day after the blast, after hearing the tragic news, says the relative, adding that they had to break open the door to the family home as the grandmother had the key.

In another half-built home, it is husband, Dinesh Suranga, who has rushed back from his kamkaru rakshava in Italy to be there for his wife and two daughters. His mother and little son of eight months perished in the blast.

On this rainy May Day when the whole country is on holiday and even boutiques have put up their shutters, we meet a group clad in white from the Negombo Law Society headed by Attorney-at-Law Nishendra Ekanayake who too is going from door-to-door to help the families fill the detailed forms and offer legal advice all for free on how to obtain death certificates and go about testamentary cases.

We hear that even when tragedy strikes, there are the vulture-like humans who are ready to make a quick buck and have been moving around Katuwapitiya charging Rs. 1,000 for an affidavit.

When we step into Dineshs home, a Buddhist monk is talking to the family, consoling them.

Dinesh and his whole family, wife, two daughters and son had been in Italy but the latter had come back because they wanted to put the elder girl to school here. That fateful day, Easter Sunday, his wife Disna had taken the three children along with her mother-in-law to church. Eight-month-old Dinuj, like any little one, with face wrinkled up was showing in no uncertain terms that he was tired and unhappy. Giving him a feed, Disna handed over her podi putha to her mother-in-law and went for communion. When she came back, Dinuj was fast asleep and she did not want to disturb him.

The mass was over but a politician wanted to give a kathawa. Otherwise, the people would have left the church, says Dinesh.

He cannot deal with the aftermath, as he looks at us mutely and murmurs like so many others.this is like a mala gama (dead village).

The shock is wearing off now that they have buried their dead. The reality is sinking in slowly as they face a bleak future without their loved ones.
Minding Sri Lankas Parliament for 35 years On the eve of launching his memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces in Sinhala, Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

In a Havelock Town house packed with memories and mementos- a veritable gallery where tasteful East blends with gracious West- an octogenarian is enjoying a well earned rest. For 35 long years he was minding the Sri Lankan Parliament- for 13 of which he acted as the Secretary General of that august house, having stepped up from being Second Clerk Assistant and Clerk Assistant.

His memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces, modestly concise and fitted into a 100 page but engrossing demi-autobiography, dwells most fondly and lingeringly on the days spent in the grand British neo-Baroque pile at Galle Face, the first Parliament, overlooking a dreamily cerulean Indian Ocean, and then in the landmark building that Bawa raised forth from the marshes of Diyawanna, probably the most dignified of tropical- (or regional-) modern edifices. Published in 2017, this cache of unique experiences and memories will be joined by a Sinhala translation, which will be launched tomorrow, May 6 at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo.

Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants, says he wanted to share the most interesting episodes of his life and times with a wider Sri Lankan readership, and the Sinhala translation appears in the same format as the original book, titled Galumuwadorin Diyawannawata (From Galle Face to Diyawanna).

Having joined Parliament as Second Clerk Assistant, after turning his back on a freshly-offered American scholarship to study international law (which would have culminated in a diplomatic career), it was a steady climb and one peppered (as well as bullet-holed) with remarkable events- a rich melange of the tragic, the comic, the flabbergasting, the profoundly moving and downright horrifying.

The most remarkable amongst them would be the case of The Hand Grenade Within the Parliament. Now forgotten under the folds and debris of later drama, this attack in the Parliament followed the controversial Indo-Lanka pact that President J. R. Jayewardene signed with the Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi.

Early that August in 1987, the President had called a meeting for the Government Parliamentary Group (i.e. the UNP) to expound the reasons for signing the pact. Scarcely half an hour after the meeting had begun, Seneviratnes peon had come rushing in to his office, to say with faltering breath that the President wanted him.

Downstairs where the meeting was, Seneviratne found Prime Minister R. Premadasa, his sarong slightly raised. A bomb had exploded within the committee room and (luckily) a piece of shrapnel only had hit the Premiers foot. Rushing in, Seneviratne found the President being escorted out hurriedly. However Akmeemana MP Kirthi Abeywickrema succumbed to his injuries while Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was pulled through only by the surgical skills of Dr. K. Yoheswaran.

How was the bomb thrown into a room, now splattered with blood and with a crater of one foot in the floor, which was carefully inspected by presidential security only moments ago? Before the calamitous blast, members remembered seeing a hand with a white sleeve throwing an object in. Luckily the bomb, intended for the President, had ricocheted off the main table to explode in the middle of the room.

It was a day later, when a housekeeping assistant was reported to have evacuated his home overnight with his family, that the mystery began to unravel. Ajith Kumara, the sweeper, was later caught, but Mr. Seneviratne came under a cloud, momentarily, and was summoned before Cabinet.

I walked in nervously like the Christian being thrown to the wolves, he records, but it was revealed, after a haranguing interrogation, that he was in no way to be blamed.

It later transpired that a few weeks after getting clearance from police screening (imperative for all Parliament employees) and having joined the staff of the Parliament, the JVP had secretly recruited (Ajith Kumara). The JVP was then very vociferous against the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact signed by the President, and they had found Ajith Kumara working in Parliament the best possible person to assassinate the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs of Government.

Also happening during JRJs time was the shifting of the Parliament from Galle Face to Kotte. Mr. Seneviratne had to oversee the shift of all that lined the interior of the colonnaded temple to democracy to their new offices, thoroughly modern but also harking back to Kandy and previous kingdoms- without as well as within. A convoy of lorries, buses, vans and cars were used to transfer a treasure accumulated over 53 years: records, files, photographs, paintings, furniture and the entire library.

The book, beguilingly slim, is really a rich ore of the Parliaments history of over 35 years, ranging from events of major global importance to the most pithy of witticisms in the House- in an age when MPs knew to use humour with debonair eclat.

One thing the former Secretary General bemoans in the last pages of these memoirs are the abysses into which Parliamentary standards are continuously falling. Never for a moment being a snob about it, he digs out patiently and with professional industriousness the causes- which- if paid enough attention- can be used to make things much better. The book does not stop at being anecdotal- it is a magisterial record and also an antidote.

Wearing his 84 years with a boyish but gentle suavity, Mr. Seneviratne has much to busy himself with in retirement. As a vice president of the Royal College Union, he was instrumental in founding the Loyalty Pledge- offering scholarships to the less privileged boys from rural areas at Royal.

You will find him a regular at the Lionel Wendt and other Colombo auditoriums, as a lover of music from classical to jazz or swing. Having grown up in the flamboyant lined roads of Colombo that Geoffrey Beling painted, the delightfully mordant Aubrey Collette having been his very first form master at Royal College, he has great fondness for the 43 Group. But just as prized on his walls are the bright, buoyant tinsel artwork of his three granddaughters who loom large in his life: Sehanya, Aleyha and Taheli.
Moved by what she saw, a returnee from Dubai reaches out with Auxilia By Ranjan Abayasekera View(s): View(s):

The Auxilia story begins with a Sri Lankan working in Dubai. While on holiday in December 2004, she saw lives and livelihoods destroyed by the tsunami.

In 2009 she heard about a new housing estate developed in Digana, a place unknown to her and purchased a house online, without seeing it! In 2010, she decided to come back home, and joined an organisation which was involved in ensuring the rights of children.

This involvement took her to rural areas of the Central Provinces plantations. The scale of poverty shocked her. She worked in an orphanage with 65 children, and saw the trauma children, parents and staff faced. She was unsuccessful with a proposal she submitted for quality education, which she thought was key to breaking the poverty cycle.

The voice within did not leave her  posing the question What can I do to combat this tragic situation and help marginalised people. She was a single woman, with only a small amount of savings, and the task seemed too big. She was however determined to start a pre-school for the poorest folk.

With the blessing of the Buddhist priest, the Grama Sevaka, community leaders and Welfare Officer she drove around in the Ambakotte village, meeting people. The newly elected Provincial Councillor assisted by finding an old community hall. It was donated by the Ambakotte Village Society rent-free!

With renovations, installing two bathrooms, water tank and colour washing, the old hall was transformed. Her Dubai contacts, friends and relatives assisted her. The funds to commence building work came from her own savings, and within two months a well equipped pre-school stood there!

The achievement is quite remarkable, considering that Digana captured headlines when violence targeting the Muslim population broke out in February 2018. The new free pre-school, named Auxilia opened its doors on May 15, 2018. It has no religious affiliation, no biases  political, ethnic, caste or gender.

Twelve children  aged 3-5 years  first gained admission. Their parents too had been children in July 1983 when anti-Tamil violence forced their families to flee their homes. Now their children were being admitted to a new school located close by!

Providing quality education the school aims to increase self-esteem. Each child is given three uniforms, a pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, five underpants, a lunch box and drink bottle. The pack costs Rs 5000. A morning snack inclusive of Milo/Nestomalt is also provided three days of the week.

The medium of education is English. Teacher, Rebecca Perera was discovered by the founder. Having an AMI Diploma, English teaching experience and a love for children, Rebecca was the last piece of the jigsaw.

In early 2019 since the number of children in the school had doubled to 24, Manori Nanayakkara was added to the staff.

Aylanee Ameresekere, the schools founder, is assisted by Joe Rayen and Nelum Weerasinghe. They are supported by donors who provide school materials, cash donations, meals, toys, clothes, gift packs etc and others who donate time. Currently the operating cost per child is Rs 3000 per month.

The vision for the project is to break the poverty cycle. With expert help from Suki Heringe, in August 2018, the Auxilia Womens Society was formed comprising unemployed mothers and community women. Volunteers teach the women their responsibilities as mothers and wives.

Two projects were launched through sponsorship to enhance the income of families  making compost and hand-made slippers. More than commercial value is the increased sense of well being gained by participants. A third project tapping into sewing skills is planned.

The long-term goal is to run income -projects employing parents, so they could pay a subsidised school fee. The profits from the ventures will be ploughed back into the school to reduce donor dependency.

The organisation is non-profit earning, and has received a temporary licence from the Early Childhood Development Unit of the Provincial Council. An appeal has been made to the Mahaveli Authority for land since a play area for the children is needed.

This little community and their children now have hope for a brighter future thanks to Auxilia, which means Helping Hand.
Two weeks on, the world hasnt forgotten us By Sashini Rodrigo and Joshua Surendraraj View(s): View(s):

Two weeks on from the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka gradually strives to get back on its feet. In a show of unity the world continues to send its love and support to the country through many vigils that were organised this week.

Melbourne

The atmosphere at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia was a calming and supportive one last Sunday (28), as people gathered together in a silent rally for Sri Lanka. It was beautiful. The whole purpose was to show the victims and their families that we support them 10,000km away, chief organiser Sharan Velauthan tells us.

Throughout the day, passers-by stopped to write messages for Sri Lanka. It doesnt matter, your race or religion, where youre from, who you believe in. Were all united as one, Lauren Sandeman shares. We will all rise together and were all with you. We hope and pray that everything will be okay again, Vidushi Rambukwella adds.

Amongst the crowd was also Mohammed Ahamed Yaseer, who stood holding a single candle. Im a Muslim, a Sri Lankan Muslim and Im from Kandy, he said. Mohammed strongly condemned the Easter Sunday attack and urged people to respect humanity and love.

United Kingdom

Individuals of different faiths, gathered at the St Bernadette Catholic Church in Withington, South Manchester on Sunday (28) to pray for Sri Lanka. Emotions were high as people shared their sentiments with the crowd, amongst a sea of lit candles.

Children and adults alike from the British Muslim communities also stood in silence carrying slogans such as Not in the name of Islam and Muslims and We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Christian faith.

Midland, Michigan, USA

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. The famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr was the underlying theme at an interfaith vigil organized by the Interfaith Friends Group (IFG) on Sunday (April 28) at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland Michigan.

The evening full of love, compassion and togetherness, Umbareen Jamil, a member of the Islam Center of Midland and the IFG said.

Bishop Monte Searle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was quick to emphasise on the need to show compassion towards ones neighbours, friends, and colleagues. We should show them Christ-like love through service, he said.

Our place of worship should be a safe place, no matter what you believe, Debbie Ballard, a member of the IFG shared. Debbie was also one of the key organizers of the event, along with Umbareen, and Barb McGregor.

Cornell University Ithaca New York, USA

Nearly 100 students of Cornell University prayed together for Sri Lanka at Ho Plaza, Ithaca, New York on Wednesday (May 1).

The vigil was organised by students Nilanthi Nagasinghe, Ishini Gammanpila and Amanda Pathmanathan.

At the centre stood a poster with the outline of the tear-shaped island, lit up by lights placed on it by all those present and adorned with their hand prints.

Ishini shared an eulogy written for 11-year-old Keiran, who was killed while having brunch with his family at Cinnamon Grand.

The eulogy, which was written by Jekhan Aruliah, describes Keiran as a boy with a quizzical confidence and sparkling smile that instantly marked him out as a special guy.

Fiji

A letter writing vigil to spread messages of hope was hosted in Lautoka, Fiji by Sabrina Iqbal Khan, a Human Rights lawyer. The vigil was attended by several members from different faiths, and expatriates from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, USA and Bahrain also sent in their letters. All of the letters were sent directly to the churches affected by the blasts, where they will be read out to the respective congregations.

The writers gathered at a cafe in Tappoo City, Lautoka and those who could not attend wrote letters from their homes. Amongst those who turned up were many who were still processing the Christchurch Mosque shooting, we are told.

It was amazing to see so many people reaching out this way, Sabrina says.
Sri Lanka attacks: By Sanjay Perera Did the political deadlock, attempt to carry political favor with Muslim and Tamil political leaders, the West and the UNHRC and lack of responsibility of the Government lead to this carnage? View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka is still in a state of shock and confusion, trying to understand how a little-known Islamist group may have unleashed the wave of coordinated suicide bombings that resulted in the Easter Sunday carnage  the worst since the end of the separatists war a decade ago.

The island nation has experience of such attacks  suicide bombers were used by Tamil Tiger terrorists during the 30 year old war. But the ruthlessness of the new atrocities and the refusal to accept responsibility by its Government leaders has stunned the nation anew.

Eventually, the government came out and blamed the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), a home-grown Islamist group, for the suicide bombings. There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded ,senior Ministers have mentioned in various addresses to the nation and media. It may be in order to remind these Ministers that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) was in fact a terrorist group with a massive international network and named as one of the most ruthless and largest terrorist networks in 2004 by the FBI and mentioned in their report that the LTTE may have inspired other terrorists networks including Al Queda.

The excuse of NTJ being linked to IS or another extremists terrorist organization does not explain or does not provide provision for the government and top officials to shun away or refuse to accept responsibility, how a group that has been blamed for promoting hate speeches over a number of years, destroyed Buddhist statues on a number of occasions and accused by the Buddhist clergy and Opposition party politicians as Islamic groups responsible for fueling civil commotions in the past 3 years on many occasions  may have been able to scale up its capacity so monumentally.

Reliable information confirms that two weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage over 40 sleeping Islamic terrorists cadres are still at large in the country. With IS claiming that their men carried out these deadly attacks, it is yet to be known how many home grown terrorists were trained and equipped by IS with probably thousands following the ideologies of IS in Sri Lanka. At this point we should also keep in mind that IS was given birth to, by the West.

In no way can the Government and its leaders and top officials cannot in anyway refuse taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday Carnage giving the IS connection as an excuse as strong accusations of an extremist Islamic group or groups blossoming in the country with Sri Lankans engaged in IS activities overseas was made by a senior cabinet Minister of the Wikramasinghe government Prof. Wijedasa Rajapaksha Presidents Council.

This claim was immediately shunned and ridiculed by the Wikramasinghe allies as way back as 2016. Senior Minister Rajitha Senarathna was among them who ridiculed this accusation stating that this was a claim to fuel disharmony in the country.

Buddhist clergy and members of the joint opposition and certain Islamic sectors in the country have time and again indicated the need for the Wikramasinghe government to investigate the possible incidents and actions of suspected extremist Islamic groups including known Schools and Mosques preaching fundamental ideologies. Loyal allies to Wikramasinghe including former President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga did not waste time in calling these accusations baseless to create racial tension and hatred among Sri Lankans, instigated by the Rajapaksas.

It is now revealed that over 400 fundamentalist mosques are in existence in Sri Lanka and are or Caliphate cults. Ironically following the Easter Sunday suicide attacks Former President Kumaranatunga accused the Wikramasinghe Government of permitting extremist schools and Mosques to be established in the country following the bombings on Easter Sunday.

Another emerging factor is that the LTTE did not purposely target foreigners and tourist fearing the sympathy they received from the west and the financial support flowing from the Tamil diasporas living in the West would come to a complete halt. The Easter Sunday attacks however specifically targeted hotels and catholic churches drawing western interests into the equation.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks the Archbishop of the Sri Lankan Catholic church Cardinal Malcom Ranjith was joined by the Buddhist Maha Sanga and Hindu and main stream Islamic religious leaders politely accusing the Government and its top officials for failing to protect citizens of the country having been given prior intimation by the local intelligence agencies and 2 other international intelligence agencies of the possible Easter Sunday attacks and fingers were pointed at the Ranil Wikramasinghe government for commencing a witch hunt post 2015 of capable intelligence officials and security forces personnel including senior armed forces officers and relaxing of security measures in the North, East and the South put in place post LTTE era by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government. This matter was reiterated by President Maithreepala Sirisena and former Army Commander / Government MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka following the attacks on Sunday.

A point to note was the very casual speech made by Ranil Wikramasinghe the PM of Sri Lanka in parliament at a special gathering of parliamentarians following the Easter Sunday carnage. Instead of speaking from his heart to the people of Sri Lanka who depend on its government for security, prosperity and peace his speech robotically constituted of passing the buck and was based around an international involvement by the NTJ and the need to obtain assistance from the West. His continued insistence of obtaining international intervention to solve this terrorist issue has been a controversial topic with a majority of politicians, religious leaders of all religions and the nation believing that Sri Lanka has sufficient knowledge and a dedicated force to deal with this terror.

Contrarily the speeches made by the Deputy Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and Opposition Leader former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was touching and emotional with both accepting responsibility as politicians of the country for the terror attacks, which they both categorically stated - could have been prevented. One could feel the sincerity and pain they shared with the families killed and wounded in the terror attacks, which was clearly the need of the hour and not an analysis to sneak away from accepting responsibility, which in fact was a failed attempt to prove these attacks were not avoidable because of its suspected international connections and need for international intervention by the Prime Minister.

At this point it is paramount that we understand who or what IS is who are suspected of having hand or is directing these terror attacks or is involved in any other form with the home grown NTJ as claimed by the Wikramasinghe Government. IS or Islamic state is also known as ISIS (Islamic State Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State Iraq and Levant) is accused of been formed and being controlled by the USA and MOSAAD. Coincidentally ISIS also stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service.

IS is suspected to have been funded and created by the US and Israel. When US wishes to move to a country for economic or political gain, we have seen IS commencing terror operations in those countries to pave a path for US intervention. We have seen this happen in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and now probably Turkey as well. With failed attempts to establish an extremists government in Syria due to Russia backing the Syrian Government it could be possible that IS under the possible direction of vested interests targeted Sri Lanka, which has been militarily weakened by the Wikramasinghe Government since 2015.

Sri Lanka is a strategic location for the Road and Belt initiative. The West specially the US sees the growing Economic co-operation between China and Sri Lanka as a huge advantage to the Road and Belt Initiative and a threat to the master plan of the US. Further the possibility of Petroleum in the Mannar basin and the possible deposits of natural minerals in the sea basins of Sri Lanka coupled with the strategic positions of the main ports around the Island makes it vital for the US that China is halted in any further investments or partnerships in the economic and infrastructure development of Sri Lanka,

The high level of corruptions and state frauds which have been prominent since 2015, the lowest ever GDP in the country resulting in severe economic hardships, a divided government, betrayal and weakening of the Military machine and mistrust among communities is thought to bring a change in Government and leadership in the next election and when this change happens China and Russia along with India is geared to gain most.

In this context, the Wikramasinghe Government should be aware that as claimed by them if any IS connections are proven it could backfire on the ruling United National Party as this will justify the claims by the opposition and intellectuals that Wikramasinghe who is known to be West savvy, is a party to a possible coup plotted by the US, which includes

Pressuring its western allies to show the need to penetrate Sri Lanka to stop an international terror network. Convince American tax payers of the need to have US boots on ground level in Sri Lanka Silence any UN debates and bypass any UN approvals. Fulfill the strategic need to have a US base in SL.

We have already seen international agencies arriving within a few hours on the grouse of helping the Island Nation. As indicated before, Sri Lankas security was weakened by the Wikramasinghe government including visa on arrival for over 40 countries making Sri Lanka easily accessible to all and sundry including terrorists. It is learnt that among those who have entered under the Visa on arrival status are trainers from Arabic countries, Syria, Turkey and Pakistan as teachers.

Any possible US and Western help would ultimately result in the control of elections and appointment of leaders who would support the US led new world order masters. For the Western savvy Wikramasinghe who is now being pressured to step down as party leader by his own party members, outside support to change the inevitable at this stage could be seen as a blessing in disguise. It is also strange that USA has granted USD 480M to the Wikramasinghe Government within 48 hours of the tragedy.

As investigations continue, it is now clear that the Easter Sunday debacle was totally avoidable had the government and its leaders paid more attention to the country needs than bickering among themselves to retain power in the parliament and continue governing the country with the help of Tamil, Muslim and certain Sinhalese political parties (JVP)., which by 2017 was already battered with economic woes and massive financial frauds.

The witch hunt of intelligence officials and forces personnel and top officers including the Brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa  Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the defense secretary up to 2014 and relaxing of strategic security measures by the Wikramasignhe Government inspired by a hand full of his political allies is widely thought to be for the purpose of pleasing the minority Tamil and Muslim politicians in anticipation of the Tamil and Muslim votes in Sri Lanka and to carry favor with the western countries and UNHRC under the guise of up holding democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. In order to justify this statement lets journey back to post 2005  the start of the end of the 30 year old war against the LTTE terrorists and separatism in the country.

Between the years of 2001 and 2004, Sri Lanka had a joint party government with Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga as its Executive President and Ranil Wikramasingha led United National Party holding cabinet positions. We see similarities in the actions of the Wikramasinghe government in which a peace accord was signed between the LTTE and the Wikramasainghe government under the mediation of the West and weakening of the military machine in Sri Lanka. This led to a collapse in moral and betrayal of the security forces and a majority of citizens showing displeasure. This peace accord led to not just weakening of the security machine in the country but provided a window for the LTTE to strengthen themselves and expand their network locally and Internationally.

Chandrika Kumaranatunga subsequently realizing the precarious situation the country had been dragged into with Wikramasinghe as its PM, dissolved the Government which led to Rajapaksa becoming the fifth Executive President of the country. This same course of action was followed by current President, Maithreepala Sirisena in October 2018 wherein he took the bold but failed decision of sacking Wikramasinghe as the PM in the volatile joint government and has been openly critical of Wikramasinghes management of the economy and security of the country. Ironically Kumaranatunga played a major role in bringing Wikramasinghe back into power in 2015.

High ranking officers of the armed forces (now retired) I spoke to, said that the moral of the forces and police by 2005 was at its lowest. The LTTE given 3 years of battle free breathing pace had strengthened themselves and the LTTE leader even stated that the LTTE is so strong that they could take Colombo the capital city in a battle if needed.

When Rajapaksa took over in 2005 the moral of the armed forces and police was at its lowest point with forces personnel willing to sacrifice their lives during a LTTE attack instead of fighting or firing back, knowing well that they would be strongly reprimanded by if they retaliated with the peace accord in effect. One wonders if the witch hunt of the armed forces commenced by the Wikramasinghe government in 2015 led to the lethargy and doubt among the defense mechanism in the country to take the required counter measures that could have prevented the Easter Sunday carnage.

One of the first and crucial steps taken by President Rakapaksa and his brother Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was to change the security culture in existence prior to making any battle plans against the LTTE. A nationwide national culture was created where the Soldier and policeman became a proud guardian of the nation and the entire nation started to support and stood behind the armed forces. The sentiments were so strong that the armed forces and police became the Nations Pride.

The nation which felt the genuine determination of the Rajapaksa government to eradicate the LTTE, understood that National Security is the responsibility of the entire nation and the entire nation went to war against the LTTE following the Mavilaru incident. The ruthless and Internationally spread LTTE was defeated in 2009, because the Government and the entire nation took over the wellbeing of the forces and their families. This national culture was kept alive by the Rajapaksa government until 2015.

The defeating of the LTTE terrorists which had led havoc and chaos in Sri Lanka for over 25 years was no cake walk. It took the toll of over 30,000 Sri Lankan lives and the capability, unbreakable spirit and will of the 3 forces and the police wholeheartedly supported by the entire Nation under the defiant and unshakable leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the commanders and senior officers of the 3 forces and police backed by a number of intelligence unit second to none who gave their lives and limbs to completely rid the country from the LTTE and bring secured peace to the Island nation.

While the country rejoiced and was given a new lease of life of  hope and prosperity in 2009, I was among the many along with the then Rajapaksa Government and security forces that understood  we only defeated a ruthless terrorist organization, the threat of terrorism remains unless precautions and steps are taken to curtail such possible terrorist activity from commencing or gaining momentum once again.

Following the complete eradication of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government and security forces put in place an unseen security blanket covering the entire Island and its citizens. Islamic fundamentalists were monitored and as a result there was no room for extreme fundamentalism to escalate. Cyber security systems were put in place and were carefully monitored by Intelligence units. Ethnic Muslim enclaves in the coastal belt was monitored. The Rajapaksa government and the security forces, police and intelligence units were aware of the extent fundamentalists are brain washed in giving up their lives for heavenly pleasures.

Unfortunately many, including the present government did not care or were not capable to understand or realize that the war we won, was against a terrorist organization known as the LTTE and not against terrorism. Had the Wikramasinghe government taken a cue from Singapore who have the regions largest defense budget despite known as the most secured and lawful country for the past 30 years in S/E Asia, they would have understood the imperative need to have an unseen and un-noticed, strategic security blanket in place in all parts of the country during peaceful times in order to ensure secured peace to its people and visitors. it is no secret that terrorists strike when one is at its weakest and when least expected.

It is very unfortunate and sad that these officers who monitored these extremists which enabled the Rajapksa government to keep these fundamentalists in check have been taken in to custody by the Wikramasinghe government under the guise of upholding democracy and more importantly to please the Tamil and Muslim politicians allied with the Wikramasinghe government, the West and the UNHRC. It is now obvious that the result of these actions and the bickering and the split government which has weakened the government machinery and the intentional weakening of the Military caused the death and suffering of the helpless and innocent on Easter Sunday.

The country can breathe a sigh of relief that President Maithreepala Sirisena has now declared emergency rule giving powers to the armed forces and police. The appointment of a proven and battle hardened General Shantha Kottegoda as the Defense Secretary a relief to a nation that is still in shock and yet unsure about their safety. President Sirisena, the new Defense Secretary have to now take direct and take action to eradicate these Islamic fundamentalists speedily if the shocked nation is to get back to normalcy.

Regardless of position or power all known persons who have in any form supported extremists and fundamentalists need to be taken to task. As long as persons holding position and power in the Government known to have supported or had affiliations with these extremists are at large due to political gain, the Nation will remain skeptical. This has been reiterated by religious leaders and politicians over and over.

There is no doubt the newly appointed and capable defense secretary General Shantha Kottegoda along with the experienced and battle hardened armed forces and police can eradicate these fundamentalists and extremists speedily provided there is no political intervention and interference in them discharging their duties. It is also to be seen how President Sirisena will curtail and limit the developing involvement and meddling in this matter by the West, specially the USA in the coming weeks.

It will be also interesting to see if the Wikramasinghe government will democratically join other political parties to uphold the democratic right of the nation by facilitating pending and forthcoming elections. The Election Commissioner has categorically stated the terror attack on Easter Sunday or terrorism in Sri Lanka is no excuse to delay any elections being conducted.

The Nation hopes and prays that President Sirisena will call upon all political parties to unite under one intention of eradicating the Islamic extremists and fundamentalists and fundamental ideologies with limited intervention and with NO interference by the US and the West.

The writer is former Director at Maharajas and former Director/CEO at EAP networks)
The need to identify the enemy within View(s):

April 21, Easter Sunday 2019: Some Christians dressed in their Sundays best and yet some others trying to enjoy their late breakfast in hotels didnt live to tell the tale of what they saw and experienced. The video footage of the mass murderers only showed how cruel and inhuman they could be. No amount of reasoning can convince any human being what could motivate a man to resort to terror of that nature.

The trail of terror

Much is being said about how the threat developed and who is responsible. However, to understand the threat, it is important to track the trail of terror and the pattern. This is how the story unfolds.

May 26, 1996: Wahhabis attack a meditation centre of the Tarikatul Mufliheen (TM) in Kattankudy.

October 31, 2004: About 500 Wahhabis, organised as Jihadis, set ablaze the meditation centre again. One Sufi follower is killed and business premises are attacked. Police arrest eight suspects, but release them later. No charges are framed.

Dec 01, 2006: Wahhabis forcibly exhume the body of Sufi leader Rah.

Dec 06, 2006: Wahhabi Thowheed network clerics and supporters incite Jihadis armed with weapons to go on the rampage in Kattankudy.

Dec 13, 2006: Kattankudy Urban Council (UC), with the persuasion and backing of Wahhabis, tries to dismantle the meditation centre. Three rioters are killed, a police post and vehicle were damaged. Note the involvement of UC is clearly seen. Possibly, the UC was Wahhabi dominated.

Dec 17, 2006: More than 100 houses of Sufism followers destroyed by fire; Wahhabis are the suspects.

2007: A stream of overseas Muslim preachers and activists visit Kattankudy.

2008  A Sufi festival is prevented by Kattankudy Wahhabis.

2009: Unconfirmed reports state that Muslim homeguards desert with their weapons and join the Thowheed movement.

Feb 2009: The threat spreads with the Wahhabis destroying a mosque at Ukuwela in the Central Province.

May 2009: A mosque is attacked in Thihariya.

July 2009: Two people are killed and 40 injured in Kattankudy, when clashes erupt between Sufis and Wahhabis.

July 2009: A Sufi cleric is killed at Valachchenai in the Eastern Province.

The trail of terror actually, is too long to document, as such, the more recent ones are not being documented.

The phenomenon of fundamentalism and Islamic terror has been there for some time now. With what is known to an ordinary civilian, the politics of religion and the pattern of terror distinctly bring out four important factors:

Division within the Muslim community; polarisation into Orthodox/Sufi and Wahhabis

Evolution and growth of terror

A threat not confined to any particular area in the country

A new leaf and stage in the cycle of terror has just been unleashed

Religion, Ideology and Fundamentalism

The initial reaction to the terror attacks was that they were perpetrated by the ISIS. This was the belief of many, including those at the highest level, as the ISIS was the easiest to think of. So the ISIS is here. Partially true. Although some say the ISIS claimed responsibility and Zaharan the alleged lead suicide bomber was an ISIS member.

My questions are, whether he was actually a trained ISIS member who engaged in combat? Why did he not live to carry on with the legacy? If he was a suicide bomber, whether he actually fits the profile of an ISIS leader? Because, this is normally not their style. I have read in places that he is an ISIS member. At this point, I tend to think that he is a strong supporter, but not actually a hero with combat training and experience. More than the immediate ISIS threat, I further the argument that the larger issue seems to be the threat of Wahhabi ideology or Salafism. This is what has motivated men and women in Sri Lanka to resort to such extremism; of course, with links and support from ISIS, and other terror groups. I will not discuss the origin of Islamic terror. This is history and long gone.

Any religion or belief is extremely difficult to define or explain easily, be it Buddhism, Islam or Christianity.

In the early seventies, many Sri Lankan Muslims, mainly Sufi followers, left for Saudi Arabia for employment or studies. Mostly, they were youths from modest and simple backgrounds. Thus, with their stay, exposure, education and return, the concept of Wahhabism which originated in Saudi Arabia started to gain recognition. The Wahhabis main movement in Sri Lanka, thus, originated as Thowheed or Monotheism and took root in the East. Gradually, the Wahhabis began to consider the Sufis as Kafirs or disbelievers. Some of the aggressive Wahhabi or Salafism sentiments could be summarised as:

Revive Islam worldwide

Reestablish the past Muslim glory

Restore authentic Islam

Advocate a strategy of violent jihad for Islam

Defeat of Western powers that prevent the establishment of an Islamic State

Expand dar-al-Islam (house of Islam)

Living within a just political social order

Sanction fatwa against infidels

Attack the land of infidels

Therefore, the new order of terror based on the former will evolve throughout the world without being confined to the Middle East or West

Give a new explanation and definition to terrorism

Have wide use of social media providing remote but easy accessibility

Include physically alienated youth (by religion)

Comprise fanatics looking to be martyrs

Kill without distinction

Rely on group dynamics like kinship, friendship, worship and discipleship

Want to succeed and be flexible

Baring the octopus

The octopus is a soft bodied species. It has eight limbs and is so venomous that it can kill many human beings. So the threat of Wahhabism, Salafism, Jihadism or whatever you name it, is identical to the features of the octopus. So many measures to control the threat have been brought out by the military, the police, politicians, civilians and journalists. Perhaps, in depth analysis and the situation being addressed rationally is lacking.

The active and passive measures being adopted at present, both by the ground forces and intelligence will not be discussed. However, some counter terrorism features currently being practised in the world are being highlighted.

Eliminate hubs: As we experience now, we are aware that there are little hubs spread all over the country. Although few areas were identified, the hubs are sure to have spread though silent at present. Monitoring telecommunications with modern equipment, analysing tower records, cyber security with flagging ability and surveillance become important in breaking down networks. Since it is not practical for this activity in all areas, vulnerable areas need to be prioritised. These measures breakdown hubs, restrict travel and activity, prevent storage of contraband. Once hubs are neutralised, satellites die a natural death.

Delegitimisation and regulation: This is applicable to organisations, banking systems (already there are about 26 Islamic banks) charities and cultural organisations, dress codes, teaching methods and practices. This prevents recruitment, denies sanctuary and training, while restricting indoctrination.

Intensive penetration: Focusing on friends and relatives of identified Jihadis. This will also identify those who are sympathisers, who normally do funding and propaganda. This could be done with the help of Sufis who have suffered at the hands of the Salafis.

Systematic approach: A scientific, coordinated and centrally controlled mechanism has to be well documented as is done in more advanced countries. Unlike the LTTE threat, the current threat is common to most countries and some are well experienced and competent in managing the threat. Ad hoc, piecemeal, disjointed political measures may be disastrous. Muslims: The first line of defence

We see that it was the most affected Sufis who provided information about the growing threat from the late nineties. Although they were not taken seriously for obvious reasons, they knew what they were talking about. There will not be anyone better than a Muslim who would be able to explain the dynamics of religion and terror, as the religious interpretation is so complex and diverse. So obviously, the first line of defence would be the Muslims themselves. Alienating them or branding them as terrorists will be a monumental mistake by the Sinhalese community. This would be a case of not learning from history. 1983 and beyond is the standing example. We will create the time and space for a hot breeding ground to a fast growing threat.

International support: The need of the hour

During the last conflict, some of us know the support in general and intelligence in particular, both technical and human, that was shared by our international friends. On the front of global knowledge and information technology which is flooded online, is mostly shared by the international community, be they scholars, writers, analysts, journalists or any other.

Few Sri Lankans have shared any research material on these developments. I personally have only read what Dr Rohan Gunaratne has written in depth. Even today, world leaders are pledging their support to share whatever they have about the threat. On the economic front, it is on record that we will be losing 1.5 billion US dollars on tourism alone. However, those who know and love Sri Lanka are promoting the country even at this moment. So the sad lacuna, of international isolation with wrath and anger will only hurt us. So its time to reach out and win them over when they are with us. True, every country will have its own agenda, vis-a-vis others  that is reality, which we need to come to terms with.

Art and culture: Mightier than the gun

Art appeals to the emotions and senses of human beings. Thus, it is not only a strong weapon but a medium to effect change. Art is a variety and range of human activity that can spur the desired change. Although we do not use this medium in our day-to-day professional activity, we definitely use it to relax and reinvigorate. So there is room to see how this weapon can be used for positive engagement.

I saw on TV, Brother Charles talking about this aspect by mentioning the names of Mohideen Baig and Tony Hassan. This is very true, but the reverse has not been visible at all. Many are of the opinion that Sri Lankan Muslims are dull uninteresting people who are anti-social or less social. This is a myth.

Thus, there is the need to reverse this situation through proper use of art and culture. It is difficult but possible. The Muslims need to play a role in directing art and culture targeting the religiously and culturally alienated youth, who might be the suicide bomber of tomorrow. Post 9/11 United States has been able to do it with young men and women. Men and women who were inspired to work across cultures. Challenge the stereotype and broaden the knowledge of the other. Ali Abbasi, Ilhan Omar, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh are just a few to name. This is the clarion call for the youth to change the tide.

Conclusion

As much as the attitude and response of the Cardinal and the flock was commendable, the same was seen from the Muslim and the majority Buddhist community. The All Ceylon Jamaiyythul Ulama has taken a step in the right direction. The lesson to all religious leaders will be to, have the courage of conviction, to do what is right, be apolitical in approach and attitude. As the ISIS is losing its foothold in places such as Syria, more easy targets emerge in places such as Sri Lanka. Possibly the next level of terrorism could be cyber terror which we have no clue about but the terrorists are very savvy. The struggle continues.

(If I have hurt the feelings of any Muslim by erroneous facts or half-truths, it is much regretted. The purpose was not that.)

(The writer could be contacted on para.stormsat@gmail.com)
Hong Kong: HK embraces art and culture

Chief Executive Carrie Lam

It gives me great pleasure to join you tonight for the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival, one of Hong Kong's largest and most anticipated annual events, and certainly the most ambitious international showcase of arts and culture in our creative calendar.

Nothing underlines that more than the exhibition featuring the works of the late Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the highlights of this year's festival. As the first female Chief Executive of Hong Kong, I naturally admire Niki, one of the most significant female and feminist artists of the 20th Century. Opening here at the Exhibition Gallery alongside the festival itself, I am happy that the exhibition features nearly 100 works of art, including some of the artist's monumental Nanas sculptures - as famously flamboyant, original and utterly unforgettable as the artist herself.

The same might be said of the festival as a whole, which turns 27 this year. Despite its "May" title, it actually runs through the month of June, showcasing everything French from film and animation to theatre and music, including a spotlight on Hector Berlioz by the Paris Mozart Orchestra in honour of the 150th anniversary of the great French composer's death. There's the usual avant-garde French music, fashion and food in this edition, even an exhibition of French-inspired cheongsams. And speaking of fashionable food, Le French GourMay returns this year with an appetite and a thirst for the blessed bounty of the Loire Valley.

In all, more than 120 events will be staged by the talent and artistry of some 350 performers and artists under the theme of "Voyage". It will, I have no doubt, prove a remarkable, and remarkably creative journey, once again enabling the people of Hong Kong and our many tourists and visitors to experience and indulge in authentic French culture.

I'm equally grateful for Le French May's commitment to education and outreach. With the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Outreach & Arts Education Programme, the festival offers internships and apprenticeships, while presenting guided tours, workshops, master classes, public rehearsals and post-performance events. It will provide participants with an invaluable opportunity to see, hear and learn from world-class artists.

I should just add that my Government places a high priority on arts and culture as well, on creating here in Hong Kong an international cultural hub, a city that embraces art and culture, East and West, at every level, for every sector of our community. I would say we are getting there thanks to exciting recent developments, including the opening last May of Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage & Arts and the Xiqu Centre in January this year, as well as the continuing progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the face-lifting of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Thanks, too, to such major events as Le French May, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the International Film Festival, the World Cultures Festival and a great deal more.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival 2019 on May 4.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

Princess Mikasa wears a diamond kokoshnik-style tiara for a state banquet at the Imperial Palace in honor of President Lubke of the Federal Republic of Germany, November 1963; Princess Mikasa, who recently turned 95, wore the tiara this week at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
As the 2018-19 school year draws to a close, teachers and school administrators have begun the process of making sure the 2019-20 school year and beyond is focused on the goal of our children getting the best school experience possible through bargaining negotiations. These negotiations are commonly narrowly and inaccurately painted as budget discussions, and yes much of this is about money, but for our educators the prime focus is making sure we continue to have a valued voice in how our schools operate and how they perform.

While a number of administrative budget initiatives in past years have focused on increased technology, we strongly believe its the people in our schools and their impact on our students, who provide the most long-lasting benefit for our community. There is no technology, whether it be new software, computers or iPads which can replace the invaluable relationship our educators have with our children.

Utica Community Schools (UCS) teachers have personally given back to the administration more than should ever be expected of the professionals who have such a direct relationship to a childs education. We have sacrificed $39 million in earned pay ($45 million when furlough days are counted), lending itself to a district reputation discouraging young talented teachers from working here and leading to a situation where veteran teachers are retiring early and moving to neighboring schools or starting second careers. As the President of Michigans second largest teachers union, representing over 1,400 professionals, I can tell you first-hand that this environment is not good for our schools and community.

We are working hard on proposing measures which are student-focused such as smaller classes, making sure state mandated professional development hours are relevant to all educators from music and gym to calculus, an action plan which supports students who teachers identify as severely dysregulated and language assuring we have enough educators for our children with physical and special needs. UCS is drastically understaffed with only 13.5 social workers and six school psychologists available to meet the needs of 27,000 students. We are also adamant that our children are able to read by the third grade, as mandated by the state, and have proposed a detailed plan which supports parents and families in meeting this important goal.

We are ever optimistic and sincerely hope that the UCS administration and the community we serve, agrees with our student-focused bargaining agenda.

Liza Parkinson is President of the Utica Education Association.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High -7C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early followed by periods of snow showers late. Low -13C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%.
Sir,



This letter serves as a notification to all who call themselves Christians yet they are self-seeking of the things of this world. They have befriended the world. The Word of God says; Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy them; for the temple of God is holy. Which temple are you?



Let me assure my brothers and sisters in Christ that this is not an attack to any of you nor do I judge you. However, walk in holiness, keeping the temple pure. May the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord.



Distance



A true Christian would at all cost distance himself/herself from body embellishments and beautification, for whosoever does these things is building another image of himself/herself. The worldly attachments in the form of gold, make-up, artificial hair and nail polish create a door for the demons to have a legal right to your life. Jesus does not recognise them. People, especially women, dress in fashion clothes, while adorned with all vanity; jewellery, artificial hair and nail polish.



Difference



What is the difference between the people who frequent clubs and bars and those who beautify their bodies? This is the state of people in Gods Church today. You cannot tell the difference from those who are in the world (clubs and fashion shows) and the ones saved by the Blood of Jesus.

They call themselves Christians but they have sealed themselves with heathens and pagan accessories, doing the will of the devil which was done by Jezebel.

Women should wear natural hair, not any artificial long hair.

Embellishment of the body corrupts the heart and exalts the flesh. You become lifted up because of thy beauty. Every hairstyle takes away the symbol of God. The Lord says from a bad source fresh water does not flow. Friendship with the world is an enmity with God. The Lord wants us to be different from the world.



Lastly, the devil has so far succeeded in using these types of attachment, embellishment and adornment in order to outsmart and win the souls of the believer to hell. Leaders of churches have ignored these attachments and defilements in churches. They have peddled the Word of God for money. They have destroyed households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. It is time we please God and Him alone, not flesh and not the people we live with.



Take heed that you do not pave a way that leads to death. The Lord God spoke about the consequences of disobedient children who wear make-up, who paint their hair, who put on jewellery, their dress-code, the way they walk once these adornments have been attached to them and so forth.

He pointed out their rewards in the next life. The Holy Bible says the lost will be like the sands of the sea. Brothers and sisters please work out your salvation while there is still time and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.



Ndoda Nkambule
MANZINI  Once again, Manzini was painted red as organisations fighting for democracy held another peaceful march to table seven demands to Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini.



The march was organised by Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), which is an umbrella organisation for associations fighting for democracy in the country and it was attended by about 1 000 people.



Among their demands, the organisations demanded multi-party elections in 2023, arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today and creation of at least 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years.



They also demanded land legislation and policy reform to give full ownership over land to emaSwati so as to stop the rampant evictions of people in communities and in farms. Again, they called upon the PM to ensure that there was free secondary and high school education by 2020 and that all deserving students in tertiary institutions of learning were given study loans.



Furthermore, they said even though they applauded the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act of 2018, gender inequalities remained a matter of concern in society. On that note, they demanded increased protection and support for women and the girl child guaranteed by relevant legal tools.



They also called upon government to ensure that textile workers and security guards were accorded safe and conducive working conditions and competitive salaries so that they could lead dignified lives.

Regarding the demand for multi-party elections, the organisations said they wanted a government that would be elected by them, responsive to their needs and accountable to only the people.



Tinkhundla



They argued that they had observed that the Tinkhundla system of governance was not a government for the people of Eswatini.

Their argument was that as it were, it would be striving to take into consideration the needs of the general people of Eswatini above anything and everything else.



What we have witnessed on a daily basis even now during your tenure always confirms that the government is only for a special type of emaSwati, the organisations said in the petition directed to the PM.



On another note, they said almost every election year, the nation lived in fear of being killed for ritual purposes by people who believed in such to be successful.

To begin with, they said this was a traditional belief that had been perpetuated to this far by the insufficiency of the countrys electoral system and the criteria by which people were appointed to positions of power.

It is saddening that while so many people have been killed over the years, the statistics are not matched by arrests. Some of these people are now supposedly in Parliament and live in our society. We therefore demand the arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today, reads part of the petition.



unemployment



Furthermore, they argued that the rate of unemployment in the country was shocking; at a staggering 42 per cent and at 55 per cent for the youth. They said this was because the government was allegedly failing to invest in job creation and to provide an enabling environment for investment. We therefore demand 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years, they said.



Again, the organisations said the poverty statistics of the country were to the effect that over 63 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. They said this was because the country had a high number of young people who derived support and guardianship and they formed the majority of the poor.
LOBAMBA  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants lifestyle audits for managers of the Public Works and Transport Ministry because they are filthy rich.



The Members of Parliament (MPs) said the officials had amassed wealth while government projects suffered due to underfunding.

Deputy Chairperson Musa Kunene was particularly not pleased with the rate of unfinished projects by companies that later filed for liquidation.



One such company, Khula Construction, was awarded a tender to construct the eBuhleni Police Station when it later filed for liquidation. This was after the contractor had already been given an advance payment of over E6.2 million.



The PAC said this could be a result of officials colluding with the contractor to cash in on the irregular payments.

I ask the Accountant General (AG) to do lifestyle audits of the managers at Public Works, because there is no way the country could lose such amounts of money without hope for recovery, he said.



Corruption



Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe said the matter had also been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission, which had since collected information from the ministry in their quest to get to the bottom of the matter.



He said Khula Construction was awarded a tender after all due processes were followed; including that it was approved by the Construction Industry experts.

He said when the company filed for provisional liquidation, government had taken steps to seize some assets on site, but then the exercise was futile when the liquidation became a legal exercise whereby all other creditors had to be taken into account.



When the PAC said the ministry was reckless when issuing advance payments to Khula, the PS said there had been bond payments made by the company to cushion government from the advance payment.

MP Stewart asked for previous references for Khula to show that it qualified for the tender.



It was easy for them to submit cars, equipment and get a bank loan just to qualify for the tender. We want to see projects that they built before being awarded tenders for the Lubombo, Big Bend and eBuhleni projects, MP Stewart said.

MP Roy Fanourakis said the Ministry had turned into a puppet show, especially after reports that over E20 million had been lost in fuel discrepancies.



taxpayers



You must get people who are seriously looking for work, not people who sleep on the job, while taxpayers money is lost.

MP Oneboy Zikalala said the Public Works Ministry was over-staffed will negligent people, who should be reduced because they were too many.

Kuyagangwa kulelitiko he sa- id meaning corruption was rife in the ministry.



Buthelezi said: Government has lost millions in the fuel scandal at CTA and there are officials who are millionaires in this ministry. They have double stories in their homes, which are built in just six months. Millions have become mere cents at the Works Ministry.



The PAC instructed the ministry to recover monies paid to the contractor, which has since filed for liquidation.
MANZINI  All eyes are on government, the Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini to be precise.



This comes after Education International (EI), through its Secretary General David Edwards, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, demanded that the authorities of Eswatini take all necessary measures to ensure that union leaders could fully exercise their trade union rights.



On that note, it demanded that the charges against the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Ernest Dlamini, be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



In the letter which was written by Edwards last Tuesday on behalf of EI, he said he did so to condemn the harassment of Mbongwa, who was the President of SNAT. The letter was directed to the PM and it was copied to the offices of Secretary to Cabinet, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Standards Department.



On that note, Edwards reminded the countrys authorities that SNAT was affiliated to EI.



Representing



He then explained that EI was a global union federation representing over 32 million teachers and education workers in more than 170 countries.

He said they had noted that the SNAT leader had been charged with professional misconduct for unauthorised absenteeism from his school on January 31, 2019. On that note, the global union federation said it had learnt that Dlamini was attending union activities in which SNAT on that date in question was preparing for a strike action over the cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA) for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.



The fact of the matter is that the head teacher of Mhubhe High School, who is Dlaminis direct supervisor, had authorised his absence so that he attends union duties that day, reads part of the EI letter to the PM.



Furthermore, Edwards said other alleged breaches by the SNAT president, of the Teaching Service Regulation concerned, referred to events from 2016 and 2017 that were processed and put to rest at that time.



On that note, he said EI deplores the victimisation of the SNAT president as yet another example of trade union persecution by the Government of Eswatini. He said the right to organise trade union activities, including meetings, was recognised under Eswatini and international laws.



Lawful



Section 14 (b) of the Constitution (2005) guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and Section 99(b) is of the Industrial Relations Act stipulates that trade unions have the right to plan and organise lawful activities, Edwards said in the letter.



Again, he said as the authorities of the country knows, Article 3 of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association states that trade unions should have the right to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes and that public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right.



On that regard, he said tactics to intimidate unionists from holding a legitimate trade union meeting constitute a serious violation of both national and international laws.

Therefore, he emphasised that as EI they invite the authorities of Eswatini to take all necessary measures to ensure that union officials could fully exercise their trade union rights. He added that as EI they request that the charges against the SNAT president be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



I thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, the EI secretary general said in the letter.

It is worth noting that the SNAT president is facing a total of 15 charges. This is because initially, he was asked to show cause why he should not be slapped with four charges but after responding in writing, 11 more counts were preferred against him. The charges are for absenteeism, failure or neglect or refusal to submit official school records for inspection and misconduct.

On another note, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said they had already reported the matter to ILO.

He added that there were other issues of union bashing which they would be taking to ILO soon. Some of the issues he mentioned include that of SNAT members Maxwell Zondiyinkhundla Myeni, Mcolisi Ngcamphalala and Njabulo Njefire Dlamini.

Chucked

Another one is that of Sibusiso Lushaba, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), who was chucked out by government when he was representing workers in salary talks.

Meanwhile, Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane said he wants to believe that if Mbongwa had been charged already, he would have his day in court and would present his case freely and a ruling would be made.

He said Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach were misplaced. However, he said the government of Eswatini was open to advice and not orders.

I want to believe that if Mbongwa Dlamini has been charged already he will have his day in court and will present his case freely and a ruling will be made. Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach are misplaced. The Government of Eswatini is open to advice and not orders.
MBASHENI  When a womans anger reaches boiling point... An allegedly abused mother let rip and scalded her abusive son with boiling water at Mbasheni, in the Nothern Hhohho Region.



Isabel Nxumalo had just boiled water to take a bath when she was suddenly compelled to instead, splash the water on her son, a 24-year-old pupil of Ntfonjeni High School on Saturday, April 27.



Nxumalo said her son, Simiso, commonly known as Mahlosana, had returned home from a local family gathering, and disturbed peace at the home, while making demands for food.



Recounting the events that led to the incident, Nxumalo said Mahlosana had initially left home for the Kings Birthday celebration at Buhleni on April 26 and had returned home inebriated.



He was carrying his favourite traditional brew, umcombotsi, stored in a two-litre container.



Inebriated



Due to the inebriated state, Mahlosana had retired to his room, which is outside the main house where the rest of his family  mother, sister, grandchildren sleep.

Then in the morning he went to a Ndwandwe homestead where there was a family event and spent the whole day, only to return home allegedly drunk at about 8pm, raising hell for his family.



He is said to have first insisted on sitting on the couch yet he was too dirty, to the extent that he was greased with meat fat on his clothes. However, his elder brother is said to have taken him out of the house.

He demanded food, as usual and we gave it to him, but he fed it to the dogs and demanded food again.



He then came back, banging the windows, demanding another plate of food, but we had none at the time, so I asked my daughter to make two eggs and porridge for him just to calm him down. I do not know what he did with that meal because he came back demanding more food, she alleged.

Insults

She said while demanding food again, her son had gone on his usual rant and hurled insults at her, calling her a harlot and witch.

He started banging the windows and caused a lot of commotion at the home, until his elder brother tried to contain him and pushed him away. However, he was relentless as he continued insulting me and wanted to force entry into the house. Since on previous occasions, he had carried a knife and threatened to stab me, I feared the worst.

Dangerous

She said she had tried to ascertain what her son was carrying that would be dangerous to the family but it was too dark for her to see anything.

When he tried to push his way into the house, I lost control and grabbed a jug with the water I was about to bath with and poured it on him. From that time he ran into his house and stopped abusing us, she said.

Paramedics

Nxumalo said the following day she called paramedics and asked them to take her son to hospital.

The paramedics asked to speak to him over the phone, but he told them not to come because he did not want to go to hospital. The paramedics said they would not spend money on fuel for an uncertain emergency because it was clear that he did not want to go to hospital. My son then left the home for a popular drinking spot known as Kadandane, still in pain from the scald wounds.

She said she then called a member of the community police, Bheki Gwebu, and reported that she had scalded her son with water and he did not want to go to hospital.

She said it was Gwebu who called the Royal Eswatini Police Service, who responded promptly, picked him from the drinking spot and took him to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital.

Nxumalo said doctors had intended to admit him for the scald wounds but after he was bandaged, he sneaked out.

Nxumalo spots a cast on her left foot, and said she had sustained injuries during one of her sons abusive moments.

She said he had arrived home, demanding food and had started vandalising her cupboard, breaking its doors.

Breaking

I gave him his food, but he had insisted on taking meat from the plates of all the other childrens food, something that I objected to because his plate had meat too. He was breaking the cupboard until I tried to push him away. In the scuffle, I then kicked an iron bar and fractured two of my toes, she alleged.

Her daughter, Lomawa, confirmed that her brothers behaviour was unruly, though she said this did not warrant the discipline he eventually suffered.

I cannot say he deserved this, but I can attest to the abuse my mother and the rest of the family suffered in the hands of my brother. When he is not drunk, he is fine, but after taking alcohol he becomes unbearable and embarks on his insultive rants, while abusing us.

He is responsible for my mothers injuries, she said pointing at her mothers leg. He calls her with terrible insults and this pains us as a family.

She showed Swazi News several windows of her mothers house, which she alleged had been broken by Mahlosana, while demanding food.

This is not to say we starve him. He is just fond of breaking windows and abusing the family when he is drunk, she said.

Nxumalo said at one time she had taken her son to the Piggs Peak police and asked that they give him counselling to stop his abusive behaviour. Despite these efforts, she said he had not stopped his habit.

Chaotic

Meanwhile, Gwebu, the community police member, confirmed that Mahlosana had a chaotic behaviour in the community.

At one time he stole umcombotsi belonging to a drinking spot and had also stolen chickens from a certain homestead. His family has called me to assist on numerous occasions when he starts abusing them, he said.

Abused

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the mother had not been arrested by yesterday because police were still reviewing the merits of the case after learning that she was abused by the child.

We are, however, pursuing the matter and will advise accordingly as investigations are ongoing, she said.
By Trend

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.
More than two-thirds of high-net-worth individuals are keen on investing in cryptocurrencies over the next three years, according to a new global poll conducted among 700-plus respondents who are clients currently residing in the US, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany and South Africa.

Carried out by deVere Group, one of the worlds largest independent financial advisory organisations, the survey shows that 68 per cent of poll participants are now already invested in or will make investments in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, before the end of 2022.

High net worth is classified in this context as having more than 1 million ($1.3 million or equivalent) in investable assets.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, said: "The research shows that wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies."

"There is growing, universal acceptance that cryptocurrencies are the future of money  and the future is now. High net worth individuals are not prepared to miss out on this and are rebalancing their investment portfolios towards these digital assets," he stated.

Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail. Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat, added Green.

Besides Fomo  the Fear Of Missing Out - Green believes there are five main drivers for high-net-worth individuals surging interest in cryptocurrencies.

"First, cryptocurrencies are borderless, making them perfectly suited to an ever globalised world of commerce, trade, and people. Second, they are digital, making them perfectly suited for the increasing digitalization of our world, which is often called the fourth industrial revolution," he explained.

"Also they provide solutions for real-life issues, including making international remittances more efficient, and help bank the worlds estimated two billion unbanked' population," stated Green.

Another reason is demographics are on the side of cryptocurrencies as younger people are more likely to embrace them than older generations.

"And finally, institutional investors are coming off the sidelines and moving into cryptocurrencies, bringing their institutional capital and institutional expertise to the crypto market," he added.

The deVere CEOs optimism comes as Bitcoin, the worlds dominant cryptocurrency, has registered a five-month high on Friday, reinforcing the view put forward by its recent upswing towards bullish territory.

Green recently told the media that he believes that Bitcoin will imminently test the crucial $6,000 price support, building confidence on the wider cryptocurrency market.

Once this confidence is in place, the sky is the limit for cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly accepted by both retail and institutional investors as the future of money, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai-based specialist international private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare has joined hands with Ukraine's Kozyavkin Medical Group to set up a new venture that will offer specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

The new company, Vivus Medical Rehabilitation Company, will bring The Kozyavkin Method - a specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) - to international markets across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

The investor syndicate led by TVM Capital Healthcare will be holding a majority share in the business for the start-up investment. The Kozyavkin Medical Group includes Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic in Truskavets (Ukraine).

The Kozyavkin Method was created by Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin more than 30 years ago in Ukraine and has received inclusion in the encyclopedic edition of child orthopaedics as one of the four most effective approaches to the rehabilitation of patients suffering from CP and other CNS disorders.

The treatment method is recognized by the European Medical Association (EMA); more than 70,000 patients have been treated at medical institutions in Ukraine, the UAE and Cyprus, including around 17,000 from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the US, remarked Prof Dr Volodymyr Kozyavkin, the general director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and Dr Helmut Schuehsler, CEO and Chairman of TVM Capital Healthcare in Truskavets, Ukraine.

Dr Schuehsler said: "As a healthcare private equity investor we are dedicated to making high-quality healthcare services more accessible to patients worldwide. Our portfolio company, Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center, has been cooperating with the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and is already successfully offering the method to patients in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

"With this joint venture, we plan to grow this method globally. We are very much looking forward to working with Professor Kozyavkin and his team to help more patients benefit from their immense medical and clinical expertise," he stated.

Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin, General Director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic (part of Kozyavkin Medical Group) said: "We are proud to have won an internationally renowned and experienced healthcare investor who is supporting our innovative method of treating patients with Cerebral Palsy."

"We are very much looking forward to cooperating with the team of TVM Capital Healthcare to make this method available for patients worldwide," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The U.S. has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China's government could force the company to give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei, the world's biggest maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, has denied the allegations.

The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the security of new 5G networks.

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China's Huawei.

The proposals reflected security concerns, with some wording that also appeared to be aimed at raising the bar for Chinese suppliers. The document said "security and risk assessment of vendors and network technologies" should be taken into account, as well as "the overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country," especially its "model of governance."

"Security and risk assessments of vendors and network technologies should take into account rule of law," it said.

U.S. officials have urged their allies to take into account the laws and legal system of a country where a 5G supplier is based, saying that China's lack of independent judiciary means companies have no legal options if they don't want to comply with Beijing's orders.

The European Commission has also recommended that EU countries factor in the legal systems of the countries where 5G suppliers are headquartered.

At the meeting in Prague, the cybersecurity officials came mainly from countries that are strategic allies, including European Union member states, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies including Australia, Japan and Korea and Singapore. NATO and European Union officials also participated but China and Russia were not present.

Europe has become a key battleground in the war over whether to ban Huawei, with countries gearing up to deploy the new networks, starting with the auction of radio frequencies this year.


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New Year's Eve still on in Times Square, but with smaller crowd
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 04, 2019 | 08:52 AM | CAPE GIRARDEAU

Persistent flood conditions on the Mississippi River show no signs of abating, as the river is expected to approach record levels at Cape Girardeau this week.The upper Mississippi is already at near-record levels, anywhere from seven feet above flood stage at St. Louis to 12 feet above flood stage in Iowa. On Thursday, a historic record high water mark was set at the Quad Cities.All of that water will make its way through southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and western Kentucky by midweek and push the river gauge at Cape Girardeau to more than 45 feet. Flood stage at Cape is 32 feet.Cape's record high flood level is 48.86 feet, set in January of 2016. This week's crest is anticipated to be the 8th-highest ever for the city.Downstream at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Cairo is experiencing moderate flooding with slowly falling levels on the Ohio at 48.1 feet. The surge on the Mississippi is expected to hold back Ohio waters enough to raise Cairo's gauge to 51.5 feet by Thursday. This is not close to Cairo's record level of 61.7 feet in May of 2011.The rest of the lower Ohio could see minor flooding resume this week. At Paducah's riverfront, levels will rise from 36.8 feet as of Saturday, to 40 feet this Wednesday through next weekend. Flood stage at Paducah is 39 feet.Smithland will see a similar rise from 35 to 39 feet.

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By Rep. Chris Freeland

May. 03, 2019 | BENTON, KY

By Rep. Chris Freeland May. 03, 2019 | 06:13 PM | BENTON, KY

Education Bills Approved During 2019 Session - By Representative Chris Freeland



With the school year coming to an end in just a few short weeks, I know many of you are looking forward to graduation celebrations, field days, spring recitals and the promise of summer vacation. This is a fun and hectic time of the year for those of us with school-age children. For many of our educators, the end of this school year means planning for the next. I would like to take a moment and discuss some of the important education initiatives that we passed this session.



Without a doubt the most important bill we passed this session is the School Safety and Resiliency Act, SB 1. This measure came out of the work done by the School Safety Working Group. This group traveled across the Commonwealth and met with stakeholders in law enforcement, education, and the mental health field to come up with a comprehensive school safety policy. We took what we learned from these meetings and took action to combat increasing school violence, an effort driven by the tragic shooting at Marshall County High School last year. The measure is aimed at strengthening both our schools and our children. Not only does it call for steps to harden the target and make our facilities harder to breach, but the bill also focuses on building stronger school communities in an effort to reach troubled children with services. This measure establishes a state goal of providing more School Resource Officers and school counselors.



The School Safety Act is the first step in our commitment to protecting our children and we will look at funding the measure in the budget we pass next session. We have many partners in this work, and I am pleased to see that the Kentucky School Boards Association has wasted no time. The KSBA reached out to its members just last week with a survey asking them to detail their facility needs and anticipated costs associated with SB 1 standards. The survey responses are expected back by September 1, giving us time to include them in the budget process next session.



Another important education initiative we tackled was expanding resources available to Family Resource and Youth Service Centers (FRYSCs). These centers, in schools across the state, offer important programs and services to meet the needs of the population being served, available resources, location and other local characteristics. FRYSCs have established a record of success based on improved student performance in class work, homework and peer relations as reported by teachers. HB 21 allows them to accept private donations to provide resources for children in need. This measure comes on the heels of an increase in FRYSC funding that the legislature prioritized in last years budget. This will mean more students are able to benefit from the educational resources that FRYSCs offer.



Kentucky high school graduates may choose to pursue a post-secondary degree, job training, or a military career. No matter the path that students chose to go down, the General Assembly is working to ensure that they have all the resources necessary to be successful. A bill we passed that would help those interested in a military career. The bill, HB 250, requires schools to provide students in grades 10-12 the opportunity to take the ASVAB test annually, offer counseling based on the ASVAB test results, and excuse meetings with a military recruiter. Many students are excused from school to visit and register for college, and this bill simply gives the same allowances to students pursuing a military career after graduation.



We also prioritized opportunities to aid in a students pursuit of workforce training upon graduation. One of those bills, HB 61, was aimed at improving access to educational opportunities that lead straight into the workforce. HB 61 would allow Kentucky students to apply earned KEES scholarship money toward a qualifying apprenticeship or qualified workforce training program that are in a high demand work sector. This bill will ensure high school students have the opportunity to use earned scholarship money to pay for workforce training. This will ensure a greater accessibility to these programs, and will aid in our statewide effort to recruit more workers to these in demand fields.



Another bill geared toward access to work force training and education was SB 98. SB 98 establishes the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. The program ensures that Kentuckians have affordable access to an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or associate of applied science degree. The scholarship is available to eligible dual credit high school students or eligible workforce students who have not earned an associate's degree. This bill again prioritizes the varying needs of students, and the needs of a growing workforce in Kentucky.



We also approved HB 46, which makes Kentucky the 20th state to require public elementary and secondary schools to display the national motto In God We Trust in a prominent location. The motto can be displayed in the form of student artwork or through other affordable means. I supported this measure because I agree with the positive message and patriotic display of our nations national motto.



Before finishing, I want to share that we expect the Governor will call the legislature into special session in the next few days. You may remember that he rejected an agreement that provided financial relief for quasigovernmental agencies  including local health departments, mental health agencies, and rape crisis centers  and our regional universities participating in the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Last week he provided members with a copy of his proposal to replace this agreement. I am reviewing it, as well as reaching out to both the organizations and the employees impacted by this issue and will give it careful consideration. Timing is extremely important to this issue, as all of the regional universities and some of the quasigovernmental agencies have June 1 budget deadlines. However, we must make sure we provide the very best solution.



I will be including the pension and other issues we are working on in my next columns. In the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime, or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. If you would like more information, or to e-mail me, please visit the legislature's website www.legislature.ky.gov.



Chris Freeland is from Benton in Marshall County. He was elected in November to his first term in the Kentucky Legislature. Freeland serves on the following committees: Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation, Small Business & Information Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology.




MP urges residents to visit unmissable Penley Polish Hospital exhibition

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A local MP is urging local residents to visit the Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales exhibition at Wrexham Museum.

International events and local history come together to tell the story of Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales, which opened back in March.

Eighty years ago the Wehrmacht and the Red Army swept across the borders of Poland setting in motion a train of events that would lead to the establishment of three Polish hospitals in the Welsh countryside near Wrexham, in the village of Penley and the grounds of two country houses, Iscoyd Park and Llannerch Panna.

The hospitals were staffed by Polish medics and nurses whose job was to care for the thousands of Polish servicemen and service women displaced from their homes, battle worn and weary, and now living in post-war Britain.

The hospitals became the focal point of a Polish community whose story is told in this new exhibition.

Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said: This tells an important part of our Wrexham County Borough history. The exhibition is unmissable, and the artefacts and recordings are superb. Huge tributes should go to Wrexham Museum, Wrexham Council and all the volunteers who made this wonderful exhibition possible.

The story begins in World War Two when Polish Camps were established in our country by British and American service personnel.

Polish medics then ran hospitals that would care for our Polish allies and their families. Subsequent Soviet annexation of Poland meant that few could return home.

By 1956, the three North East Wales Polish hospitals combined in Penley and over the next half a century, more than 25,000 people were cared for at this excellent community hospital.

Today, this amazing legacy lives on in work of the Penley Rainbow Centre and the lives of many local residents. The links between our area and Poland are really deep.

The exhibition runs at Wrexham Museum until June 22nd 2019. Admission is free. Wrexham Museum is open Monday  Friday 10am. to 5pm. and Saturday 11am to 4pm. Courtyard Cafe is open 10am. to 4:30pm.
Publisher gives students tips on finding creative freedom in the magazine industry

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A publisher who creates a celebrated design, photography and culture magazine has spoken to students at the Regent Street campus about his work.

Les Jones, the creator of Elsie magazine, delivered a two-hour lecture in the morning and then facilitated an afternoon workshop with the students at the universitys Regent Street campus.

The vision behind Les individual magazine is creative freedom  the ability to explore creative themes without any outside influence or interference. This approach, which takes in design, photography, illustration and typography gives the magazine its unique, eclectic feel.

Elsie has been praised by actor Tom Hanks who wrote a letter about the magazine after a friend of Les sent him a copy which name-checked him.

Mr Hanks subscribed and said: Elsie is a gorgeous magazine. I am now all in favour of one-man (or one-woman) magazines, as they will make the world a little more lovely of a place.

In his lecture, Les explained how, while traditional magazine publishing may seem stuck in a series of conventions, the world of niche magazine publishing can open up all kinds of possibilities  and that having a big idea which inspires them and fires their creativity was key to developing students work if they wanted to publish their own magazines.

Speaking afterwards, he added: It was a pleasure to talk to and work with the students at Wrexham Glyndwr University  hopefully they took away some ideas and inspiration from the day. I wish them all the best as they come to the end of their final year.

His visit followed an invite to the university by lecturer Lisa Evans, who said: Im delighted Les was able to come along to inspire our students, particularly as we were only one of five UK universities he has chosen to visit.

The independent magazine sector is growing year on year, with dedicated shops beginning to pop up to cater for the growing appetite for these publications.

Independent publishing is a great way for our students to apply and develop their creativity and Id like to thank Les for his time, his inspiration  and his visit.

You can find out more about Elsie magazine here and Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology here.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 14:05:52|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on March 28, 2019 shows Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia , in his office in Canberra where he accepted interview with Xinhua before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA). "You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. (Xinhua/Pan Xiangyue)

by Bai Xu, Pan Xiangyue, Zhou Zihan

CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA).

"You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month.

"The opportunity to share ideas is always one in which you learn, and you'll say your ideas get better," he said.

GETTING CLOSER BY SHARING STORIES

NMA had its permanent home by Lake Burley Griffin in the center of the Australian capital Canberra in 2001. Trinca joined NMA as a senior curator in 2003, and became director of the museum in 2014.

He noted that NMA had strong connection with China. "Since the National Museum opened its doors here in 2001, we've been three times with major exhibitions to China: to Guangzhou with our first exhibition ever overseas in 2002, again in 2010 the National Art Museum of China, and now first to the National Museum of China and then other museums throughout China."

"There is no doubt that our relationship to China and to the Chinese people is one of the most important for the Australian people, indeed for the Australian nation," said Trinca. "So it's no surprise to me that the first place we went with an exhibition overseas was to China, and I think it signified something deep and enduring about our relationships."

NMA signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of China in 2011, where a 150-piece "Old Masters" art exhibition with Australian indigenous artists was launched last July.

As an exchange, an exhibition namely The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China opened in NMA on April 5. Consisting of more than 100 objects from China, including a rare 20-meter-long replica of the first scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour, it explores the grand historical sweep of Chinese art and calligraphy traditions.

"I think there's a deep truth in all human life that when we share our stories with others, we learn about ourselves in the act of sharing with others," said Trinca, adding that by exchanging exhibitions with the Chinese museums, he hoped that Australian people and the Chinese can learn about stories of each other.

"When two nations come together and their peoples come together, and they're prepared to exchange stories, they learn about each other," he said. "They develop relationships in ways that otherwise, I think would be impossible. And that's really what's going to hold us together as two nations whose history has been intertwined. And I think our future is going to be similarly linked."

DIFFERENT CULTURE, STRONG CONNECTION

Due to his tight schedule, Trinca is not able to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, but he attended an international forum of museum directors in China.

"You know, in Asia Pacific, the value of creative industries here in this region is greater than anywhere else," he said.

Talking about the cultural features in Australia, Trinca believed that the aboriginal culture was definitely an important part.

"This is a land of long human history reaching back 65,000 years," he said. "So many First Nations have lived on this continent for centuries, for millennia. That story is a big story, not just for Australians, but for the world."

At the same time, Australia is also known as a multicultural country with immigrants from across the world. "Over the course of the last 100 years or so, we've welcomed people from all around the world to these shores. Now we have more than two hundred languages spoken here in homes across the nation."

"It connects us to the global history in a way that the movement of people around the world have changed our lives over time, and from them the Australian gained very strong foundations of the modern society," he said.

China is the biggest single source of immigrants. "Chinese is the most spoken language in this country, apart from English," Trinca said. "More than 1.2 million Chinese people live in Australia at this point of time."

In spite of the difference of culture behind China and Australia, Trinca said that cultural connection between the two countries is close.

"(We now have) the third exchange in the space of 20 years," he said. "I can't think of that having been replicated with any other nation around the world. It's a sign of how strong the connections are between our two countries."

He is now thinking of something new "for where our relationship might go next". "Working together, to make a show together," he said. "It would be wonderful if we move into a new phase where we actually make an exhibition together that then travels the world."

Looking into the future, Trinca is optimistic. "Our future is going to be even brighter than our past."
"I was so nervous because it was my first film, but the script was so interesting and it was so much fun," said the TV heartthrob who was a member of defunct boy group ZE:A.

Park Hyung-sik shared his thoughts on finishing his first feature film at the media preview of "Juror 8" in Seoul on Thursday afternoon.

"The character is a very curious person who is determined to see things through until the end. He resembles me a lot, so I really wanted to do it."

Park is due to start his mandatory military service in military police on June 10.

"I don't have any special wish that somehow this should leave a lasting impression on viewers just because it will be my last project before the draft," he said. "But I hope people enjoy watching it and the warm message the film conveys makes them happy."

"Juror 8" is about eight ordinary people who are randomly selected for jury service in Korea's very first jury trial in 2008.

It will be released on May 15.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:22:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The 34th edition of the Singapore Book Fair (SBF) will return to the heart of Singapore's historic Civic District for the second consecutive year, according to a press conference held here Friday.

The annual fair, which is organized by Singapore Press Holdings'(SPH) Chinese Media Group, will run from May 31 to June 9 at Capitol Singapore with the theme "Encounters @ Reading City". It will be officially opened by Chan Chun Sing, minister for Trade and Industry, on June 1.

More than 30 publishers will be offering a selection of English and Chinese books, including established publishers, which have participated in SBF for many years, such as Union Book, Maha Yu Yi, Fables and the Linking Publishing Company.

Apart from books, the 10-day fair will offer a variety of programmes, including seminars, literary and heritage tours, workshops, movies and music performances.

One of the highlights of SBF 2019 is the writers' sharing sessions and forums, featuring a line-up of prominent authors and personalities who will be sharing about their writing and creative process.

A book exchange area has been set up for the public to bring their pre-loved books to exchange with others. Book donors can pen their reasons for recommending their pre-loved book so that there will be an exchange of thoughts and feelings with other book lovers.

On the basement level of Capitol Singapore will be a Kids Zone, which will feature storytelling sessions by National Library Board volunteers, children's art and craft workshops, coloring competitions and photo opportunities with beloved children's book character Geronimo Stilton.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:43:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MINSK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A second runway was opened on Friday at Minsk National Airport in the capital city of Belarus following three years of construction.

The construction was carried out by Belarusian construction companies without foreign funds, the Belarusian transport and communications ministry said.

The new runway is 3.7-km long and 60-meter wide, costing more than 188 million U.S. dollars.

The runway has been assigned the operational category 4F, which allows the airport to handle all types of aircraft without restrictions in adverse weather conditions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko and General Director of Minsk National Airport Dmitry Melikyan attended the official opening ceremony.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:08:39|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has granted amnesty to an unspecified number of inmates on occasion of coronation ceremonies, scheduled over the weekend.

A royal decree for the amnesty of inmates, issued on April 21 and declared in the Royal Gazette on Friday, was for the freed prisoners to behave themselves and return as good members of society.

Corrections Department Director General Narat Sawettanan announced on Friday that a number of inmates will be freed under the royal decree from 143 prisons nationwide.

The Department of Corrections will organize a ceremony for the freed inmates to express their allegiances to His Majesty the King upon their release from prisons, Narat said.

However, committees consisting of judges, public prosecutors and provincial governors are yet to take a 120-day time to decide which inmates will be pardoned and freed under the royal decree, Narat said.

Those who have been convicted on charges of perpetrating critical crimes such as human trafficking, drug dealing, murders and corruption will have less opportunity for freedom than others, according to the department chief.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:18:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WUHAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Police in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, dressed as delivery men, seized a parcel containing drugs, according to local authorities.

The police with the anti-drug team of the public security bureau of the Jiang'an District received a tip late April that someone had mailed a box of suspicious objects from south China's Yunnan Province to a residential community in the district.

The police combed through the piles of parcels and found one of them giving off an odd smell. The police, disguised as delivery men, then waited for the suspect to fetch the parcel.

The police caught the man who came to take the parcel and seized 3 kg of magu, a stimulant composed of methamphetamine and caffeine, from the boxes in the parcel.

An initial investigation showed that the suspect, surnamed Xia, is a local of Wuhan. He bought drugs from Yunnan and attempted to sell them to earn money. Further investigation is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:49:00|Editor: ZX

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Aerial view of unloading operation of the first crude oil shipment to Hengyi Industries'oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, May 3, 2019. After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries said on Friday. (Xinhua/Hengyi Industries)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, a senior Hengyi official said on Friday.

Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries that built the plant told Xinhua that with a total investment of some 3.45 billion U.S. dollars and a crude oil refining capacity of eight million tonnes per year, Hengyi's PMB project is expected to run into full operation in the third quarter of this year.

"Part of the crude oil needed for PMB project comes from Brunei's own oil production, while the rest will be imported from neighbouring oil producing countries," Chen said.

Haji Mat Suny, the country's minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry said in February that after full operation, the PMB project is expected to increase Brunei's GDP by 1.33 billion dollars in the first year and create more than 1,600 jobs.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings -- a wholly owned subsidiary under Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund -- owning 70 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Hengyi's investment into PMB is the largest foreign direct investment into Brunei from China so far, which is due to help the southeast Asian country to upgrade its industries, alleviate its dependency on oil export and also to boost economic and trade cooperation between Brunei and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 01:49:29|Editor: Li Xia

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A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 3, 2019. At least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua)

GAZA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic Hamas movement militants were killed on Friday evening in an Israeli army airstrike on a military training facility that belongs to the movement in central Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that Abdulla Abu Mallouh, 33 years old and Alla Boubali, 29 years old from al-Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that Israeli aircrafts struck a military training facility that belongs to Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades in central Gaza Strip, not far from the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said that the Israeli airstrike on the military training facility of Hamas was a response to an earlier gunfire attack on an Israeli army force, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The spokesman said that one Israeli soldier was moderately injured and was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment, adding that another female soldier was slightly injured in the shooting attack.

Meanwhile, at least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

At least 50 Palestinian demonstrators were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza Strip, including 10 children, two women, one journalist and three paramedics.

Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans and threw stones at the soldiers in several areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Field paramedics said that the soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators, adding that many of them were injuries and suffered suffocation after inhaling the Israeli tear gas.

Local media sources said that activists of the Great March of Return released several arson balloons from eastern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli media reports said that several demonstrators climbed on the fence of the border.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that an Israeli army tank fired at least three tank shells on eastern Gaza Strip targeting military facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement and no injuries reported.

The Israeli media reported that the tanks shelling on eastern Gaza Strip was an immediate response to opening fire by Palestinian gunmen at an Israeli army force stationed on the border, adding that one soldier was moderately injured.

The Highest Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege had earlier called on the populations of the Gaza Strip to join the weekly rallies and protests, which started in March 30 last year in eastern Gaza.

The commission said in a statement that the protests on Friday are against the United States' decision to consider the Syrian Golan Heights under Israel's sovereignty.

Gaza Health Ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests, the Israeli army shot dead 273 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others who were officially referred to the hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, two delegations representing Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad headed to Egypt for talks in Cairo with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on a possible calm with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Khader Habib, a senior Islamic Jihad leader had earlier told Xinhua that the visit of the two delegations to Cairo aimed at discussing the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the calm understandings with Israel.

The group's official accused Israel of not being committed to the understandings, mainly lifting an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Egypt and the United Nations have been mediating for several months a calm understanding between the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel trying to ease the hard living situation in the coastal enclave.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:04:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally, the Italian-American automaker reported on Friday.

FCA's Q1 net profit was 508 million euros, or 568 million U.S. dollars, with its worldwide combined shipments down 14 percent to 1,037,000 vehicles.

The slowdown in delivery was primarily due to "non-repeat of overlapping all-new and prior generation Jeep Wrangler production and planned realignment of commercial strategies in Europe," said the automaker.

The combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, including the successful negotiation of a labor agreement in Italy, continued implementation of cost-containment actions in all regions, and progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

They hope that the streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," said FCA.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:19:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Friday that more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced despite the military defeat of Islamic State (IS) militants since late 2017.

The remarks came in a statement by UNAMI after the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Hennis-Plasschaert visited Hassan Sham IDPs Camp and met with the camp's management and residents, who "explained the problems they face in their daily lives as well as the obstacles that prevent them from returning to their hometowns," the statement said.

She also met with Governor of Dohuk Farhad Atrushi to discuss the challenges that the provincial government is facing to continuously host large numbers of IDPs, many of whom are Yazidis, who fled their homes in Sinjar area, some 100 km west of Mosul, according to the statement.

It said that Yazidis are facing "a range of serious obstacles to their return to home such as an unstable security situation including clashes between armed groups and checkpoint harassment, damaged and contaminated houses, inadequate basic services, as well as discrimination."

"Obstacles are varied and often complex, painfully resulting in stalled returns on the ground," the statement quoted Hennis-Plasschaert as saying.

"The Yazidis have suffered immensely during the reign of Daesh, who committed untold atrocities in their attempt to annihilate the community," she said.

"I was shocked to see that now, nearly five years after the capture of Sinjar by Daesh and the area's subsequent liberation, many people are still living in tents, on the very mountain top they fled to at the onset of the terror campaign," she said.

She warned that continuing failure in removing obstacles of returning the IDPs to their homes creates the perfect breeding ground for a new wave of violence and instability, according to the statement.

To avoid the return of violence and instability, she called on the Iraqi federal government and the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to "consult with the local leadership in Sinjar and to establish stable governance and security structures without delay," it added.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:20:19|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows the United Nations General Assembly holding an event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said.

The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. And today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet, she warned.

The United Nations continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, said Mohammed.

She noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set in motion two initiatives. He has asked his special representative on genocide prevention to devise a plan of action to mobilize the UN system's response to tackling hate speech, and his high representative for the alliance of civilizations to explore how the world body can contribute in ensuring the safety of religious sites.

Mohammed expressed the United Nations' solidarity with the people and government of Sri Lanka and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:35:22|Editor: Li Xia

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by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States' decision to end waivers that allowed a handful of countries to buy oil from Iran is more likely to have geopolitical implications than to affect Italy's energy supply, analysts said.

The White House said on April 22 that special waivers given to Italy and seven other countries to continue to import oil from Iran without endangering their trade status with the United States would not be renewed after they expire this month.

The waivers were granted in the wake of the United States' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal last year.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said that the decision not to renew the waivers was "intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero".

According to information from the United States Department of State, Iran had earned around 50 billion U.S. dollars per year from oil sales before sanctions were put in place.

The energy impact on Italy will be limited, however, because Italy never used its waiver once the sanctions were put in place.

"Italy didn't want to take a risk, knowing the waivers would likely be removed at some point," Andrea Dessi, a researcher focusing on Middle Eastern issues with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), told Xinhua.

"Italy produces very little of its own energy and so it has to be careful what countries it buys from in order to maintain a reliable stream of energy."

Dessi said Italy imports oil from around two dozen countries, and that if the ending of the Iran waivers does not push worldwide petroleum prices higher the impact on Italy would be small.

But according to Alessandro Lanza, an economist at Rome's LUISS University, former chief economist with Italian energy giant Eni and principal administrator at the International Energy Agency, there are larger geopolitical issues at stake.

"I think a question here is the extent to which a major power like the United States should be able to tell another country, a fellow member of the Group of Seven like Italy, which countries it can and cannot buy energy from," Lanza said in an interview.

Dessi said that Iranian officials were likely disappointed that Italy did not use its waiver when it could, and that the country didn't stand up for Iran in the face of sanctions from the United States.

"Italy is well positioned in Iran and well thought of in the country," Dessi said. "Iranian officials have made official visits to Rome and the countries have made statements of support. But when it came to the sanctions, Italy didn't want to stick its neck out."

Lanza said one potential benefit from the developments could be the creation of new incentives for the domestic production of renewable energy like solar or wind power.

"Italy has the target of producing 20 percent or more of its energy from renewable sources by the end of next year," Lanza said. "Surpassing that should be a priority."
Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program. North Korea has not commented on the test.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyang's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

 Testing the Moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests. Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Kim has stated [the moratorium] only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official. "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

 Measured Escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down. Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:06:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday raised alarm over the impact of extreme weather events on the lives of children.

Such disasters should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders, UNICEF said in a press release.

"We are witnessing a worrisome trend," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF's executive director. "Cyclones, droughts and other extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity. As we have seen in Mozambique and elsewhere, poorer countries and communities are disproportionately affected. For children who are already vulnerable, the impact can be devastating."

More than 120,000 children were affected by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest storm Mozambique has ever recorded. At least 400 schools were damaged or destroyed, affecting over 40,000 schoolchildren. A cholera outbreak has been declared in the affected area of Cabo Delgado, said UNICEF.

The April 25 cyclone came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai pummeled the country, affecting 1 million children. Nearly two months on, close to 25,000 people continue to live in shelters, said the fund.

In Odisha, India, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani. Some 1 million people have already been evacuated in preparation for what has been described as India's strongest cyclone in more than 20 years, it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:16:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting in southern Tripoli, including airstrikes and rocket barrages, has taken a toll on civilians and structures alike, forcing more than 50,000 people to leave their homes, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"We continue to be concerned about the heavy fighting in southern Tripoli," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "There are reports of extensive use of airstrikes and rocket shelling causing more civilian casualties and destruction, and forcing thousands more civilians from their homes."

As fighting continues, the International Organization for Migration said more than 50,000 people have now been displaced, Dujarric said. Most are finding shelter with families or in other private arrangements, while 29 collective shelters are now in operation, housing an estimated 2,750 people.

Humanitarians are providing assistance at these collective shelters, and other areas of displacement as access is allowed, the spokesman said.

More than 3,400 refugees and migrants are estimated to be trapped in detention centers already exposed to, or in close proximity to, the fighting, he told a regular briefing.

The availability of food, water and healthcare has been severely restricted in the facilities for refugees and migrants, Dujarric said. Some 32,000 people impacted by the crisis have been able to receive some form of humanitarian assistance to date.

The secretary-general's special representative in Libya, Ghassan Salame, continues his outreach to representatives of different Libyan factions in an effort to de-escalate the situation, said the spokesman.

On Wednesday, Salame met with the president of the Government of National Accord's Presidency Council, Fayez Serraj, and with a group of elders, officials and tribal leaders from the western region of Libya, Dujarric said. Salame offered the United Nations' full support to help civilians affected by the fighting, including internally displaced people and host communities.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:21:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUDAPEST, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Hungary sees Turkey as a strategic ally and a friend, and appreciates the role Turkey plays in guaranteeing European security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told here Friday at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"Without adhering to the EU-Turkey agreement on halting migration, sizable migratory pressures should be expected from the South, this is why security in Europe today begins in Turkey," Szijjarto stressed.

The minister explained that 4.5 million migrants were being cared for in Turkey and were not allowed to move towards the EU.

"Hungary also appreciates Turkey's role in the international fight against terrorism," Szijjarto underlined, adding cooperation in the area needs to be strengthened.

The Hungarian chief of diplomacy concluded by saying that relations between the EU and Turkey needed to be built on mutual respect and honesty.

"Hungary is an important ally, a good friend and partner, and although political relations are great, economic cooperation is good, there is much place for improvement," Cavusoglu said, adding that bilateral trade volume between the two countries needed to be increased.

He also thanked Hungary for standing by Turkey on many international forums, and for supporting Turkey's EU accession.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:51:36|Editor: ZX

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A visitor tries traditional Chinese costume at a Huangshan tourism promotion event at World Trade Center in New York, the United States, on May 3, 2019. A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination. The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination.

Featuring photo displays, local opera performances and a Chinese tea ceremony show inside the Oculus, a transportation hub and shopping mall of the new WTC, the event made a comprehensive presentation of the scenery and cultural connotations of Mount Huangshan.

Located in east China's Anhui Province, the mountain range is famous for its magnificent scenery of granite peaks, rocks, pine trees, sunrise and sunset amid clouds.

Travel brochures and local style cookies were handed out to passers-by, who were also encouraged to try on traditional Han Chinese costumes and have a taste of this year's fresh tea from Anhui.

Mayor of Huangshan City Kong Xiaohong told the media that more than 2.62 million foreign tourists visited Mount Huangshan in 2018, and the number of U.S. tourists is growing steadily year by year.

As a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site, Mount Huangshan aims to attract more tourists worldwide, said the mayor, who came to New York to promote his hometown.

The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:01:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Side II, a sculpture made by British sculptor Antony Gormley in 2017, is seen on display on Delos island, Greece, May 3, 2019. An exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, kicked off on the Delos island recently. (Xinhua/Li Xiaopeng)

by Yu Shuaishuai, Li Xiaopeng

MYKONOS, Greece, May 3 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a modern art exhibition is being held on Greece's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, the Delos island, once a flourishing trading center in the middle of the Aegean Sea near Mykonos.

The site-specific exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, is presented by the Greek nonprofit organization NEON in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, a regional service under the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

This project, entitled SIGHT, exhibits 29 life-size iron body sculptures made by the artist during the last twenty years, including 5 specially commissioned new works, both at the periphery and integrated amongst Delos' archaeological sites.

The sculptures are being placed in various parts of the island, with the visitors being invited to discover them with the help of printed material. Two sculptures stand in the sea close to the shore, while some are on the Kynthos hill, in the Agora of the Competaliasts, at the entrance of the Stadium, on the Stage of the Theater and in other monument.

The exhibition, which will last until Oct. 31, also marks the first time a contemporary art installation has been unanimously approved by the Greek Archaeological Council to take place in Delos, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The tiny island of Delos is revered in Greek mythology as the sacred birthplace of twins Apollo, god of light, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Nowadays, it is usually inhabited by just a handful of archaeologists and scientific researchers, with its ruins stand devoid of human presence.

Gormley, an award-winning sculptor who is acclaimed for creating sculptures and installations that explore the relationship between the human body and space, told Xinhua it's an honor for him to exhibit his art works on the island.

"It's a huge honor, a huge responsibility and a huge challenge, to be the first artist to touch the island in 2,000 years," Gormley told Xinhua Friday at the site of his exhibition.

"I am hoping this exhibition will reanimate in a way that make people look differently with great alertness, think about the nature of the island, about its relations to the other islands, and maybe more generally about the human presence," he said.

Gormley admitted Buddhism has an important influence on his art creations, which he studied in India in early 1970s, "it taught me the body itself is an extraordinary teacher."

"We use the body as a machine, but in fact the body is a very sensitive receiver of not just information but feelings," he explained.

Gormley's works have been on show in many countries worldwide and his recent show in China was in 2017, when his works "Critical Mass II" were exhibited in Shanghai and Changsha.

He had been to China for many times since 1995 and told Xinhua that in his view, China is becoming more and more open-up.

"China is changing, is doing a lot to promote the cultural exchanges between China and the West," he said.

He recalled his exhibition in Changsha of China's Hunan Province as a show dealt with modern history as the city is a very important place for China's recent history, and for this current exhibition on Delos island, "it deals with ancient history."

For Demetrios Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, the extensive ruins within the unspoilt natural beauty of uninhabited Delos offer the visitor an unique experience.

"Antony Gormley's sculptures give the visitor the pleasure of wandering amid this Delian anasynthesis which is ideally suited to reflecting on our identity and exploring our cognitive and aesthetic ties with the past," he said in a press release.

"This exhibition is an exceptional opportunity for a wide audience to engage with Gormley's work and be reminded how central art is to the human story. I hope visitors will leave Delos feeling that his contemporary sculpture and this site belong to us all," Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON, said in the press release.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- European heads of government, ministers, commissioners and political experts gathered in Florence, Italy, for the 9th annual State of the Union conference on Friday.

Titled "21st-century Democracy in Europe", the conference explored democracy and European Parliament elections to be held at the end of the month, the rule of law and the legal powers of the EU, disinformation and fake news, immigration, the next generation of EU citizens, and the single market.

THE FUTURE IS FEDERALISM

Among the high-level speakers on Friday was Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi. He reviewed the achievements of the EU in creating prosperity and stability and keeping the peace in Europe for its over 500,000 citizens, and painted a picture of what he sees for its future, namely, a European federation.

European integration generated "a feeling of European affiliation" that is not "that false feeling of supremacy which for centuries accompanied Europeans" but rather "the birth of a spontaneous European identity: everyone who lives within the European space naturally and simply assimilates that feeling", he said.

"Everyone who has come to Europe or been born in Europe after the 1970s has a radically different vision compared to those from preceding generations," he added. "They don't see citizens of other European countries as real or potential enemies."

"Even those who criticize and are skeptical of the Union develop European ways of thinking," Moavero Milanesi said.

According to GlobalStat data released by conference organizers, 70 percent of European respondents in 2018 said they see themselves as European citizens, compared to 62 percent in 2010.

The minister also cited Eurobarometer data showing that "seven in 10 Europeans declare they are enthusiastically in favor of the free circulation of people, and believe we should preserve the free circulation of goods and services."

However, the EU needs to make some changes if it is to survive, the minister said.

The current system doesn't allow Europe to fully and successfully enter into the globalization process, he said. The continent is slipping in terms of the ability to develop new technologies.

Europe has been slow to tackle issues such as migration, and Moavero Milanesi cited more Eurobarometer data showing that 50 percent of respondents identify migration as a big issue, another 50 percent focus on economic growth and youth unemployment, and a good 40 percent is concerned with the threat of international terrorism and security, and the possible consequences of climate change.

The minister made several proposals for a stronger, more inclusive Europe: endowing the European Parliament with lawmaking powers, giving the Union powers to issue eurobonds and to levy European taxes on big economic players such as multinationals, giving Europe a common stance on migration, asylum, and border control, and changing the current rule that foreign and defense policy decisions must be unanimous.

"I think we could ask governments to agree among themselves on a pact that foreign policy decisions should be taken on a majority basis," he said. "It's revolutionary but it's feasible."

"Clarity of objectives is essential to maintaining citizen consensus," Moavero Milanesi said. "The architecture of the EU must be simplified and completed, and brought closer to citizens" with the ultimate goal of achieving true federalism, he said.

A NEW EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Also on hand was French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who delivered a high-level address on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron and the French government in which he called for "a new European Renaissance"

"Europe is at a crossroads," said Le Drian. "The real dividing lines between those who wish to stop Europe and those who wish to make it advance will come out into the open (at the upcoming European Parliament elections)."

The French minister went on to list potentially fatal threats to the EU: that of division and what he described as "the ill winds" that fan the flames of populism and are "calling into question the values of the rule of law."

"As we learn our lesson from Brexit, we should consider the increase of populisms in Europe for what it is -- a symptom of a deep malaise over the distance between institutions and citizens, over globalization, which affects our people in full force, over inequalities within and between our societies and yes, the threats of terrorism, the spectre of trade war and the prospect of a climate catastrophe," Le Drian said.

"It is not too late to act, as long as we are aware of these dangers," he said. "The lessons of the British withdrawal should not be a signal of alarm condemning us to repeat past errors and allowing the bonds between us to be broken."

Like his Italian counterpart, Le Drian called for a consolidated border policy, a European asylum bureau, and a return to "the fundamentals of the European project" based on social progress and "a real social shield -- a minimum threshold for protection to the benefit of workers and all European citizens".

EUROPE MUST RETHINK ITSELF

In his conference closing address, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that "Europe must rethink itself."

"In recent years, Europe has abdicated its fundamental role of representation and failed to intercept the needs, hopes and fears of its citizens," said Conte, who leads a populist-rightwing coalition government.

"It has been perceived as oligarchic and out of touch with the real lives of citizens, while social and economic in-qualities have excluded parts of the population, exacerbating feelings of abandonment and loss, especially in the younger generations," Conte said.

"Europe must urgently take courageous steps to change course from the current path, which has proven to be a failure."

Like Moavero Milanesi, Conte called for giving more powers to the European Parliament as a way to "finally overcome the idea that European policies are being decided by remote bureaucrats in inaccessible places".

Conte went on to call for European salaries and unemployment protections, investments in the circular economy to fight climate change, and a change in EU competition rules in order to allow state aid to ailing national companies.

Taking place ahead of the May 23-26 elections in which European citizens will choose their representatives in the European Parliament, this edition of the State of the Union also featured a debate amongst the lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission, which was broadcast across the continent.

The event, which kicked off on Thursday, will conclude on Saturday, with an Open Day of cultural, leisure and art activities open to the public.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 07:45:35|Editor: Li Xia

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Members of the police motorcycle unit participate in the motorcycle season opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on May 3, 2019. More than 2,000 motorcyclists and 7,000 guests attended the ceremony, opening the suitable season for riding motorcycles in Moscow. (Xinhua/Maxim Chernavsky)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 08:09:27|Editor: ZX

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Visitors pick roses at the Xianglian rose valley in Anning City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 3, 2019. Large scale of edible roses in Xianglian rose valley has attracted thousands of visitors during the Labor Day holiday. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:12:44|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unidentified short-range missile off its east coast Saturday morning, multiple local media reported citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missile was launched eastward from the east coast city of Wonsan at about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT).

Details on the missile were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States, the JCS was quoted as saying.

It was the first missile launch by the DPRK in about 17 months since the country test-fired Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:27:47|Editor: Li Xia

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SYDNEY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Tooth decay levels are three times higher among indigenous children, with consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and irregular brushing of teeth forming major factors behind the global dental condition, according to latest Australian research.

The findings, which also showed that low household income and living in an area with non-fluoridated water offered significant dental risks to non-indigenous youngsters, suggested that cutting the intake of sugary drinks could help everyone but indigenous children required "additional focus on oral hygiene", the University of Adelaide said in a statement on Saturday.

The researchers analyzed data from Australia's national child oral health study and included nationally representative samples of both indigenous and non-indigenous children aged 5 to 14 years.

Indigenous children in Australia "experience profoundly greater inequalities on almost every indicator of health and well-being" compared with their non-indigenous peers, including "higher prevalence of nutrition-associated stunting" and "nonoptimal blood pressure growth outcomes", with the inequalities extending to oral health, according to the researchers. Their findings were published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal.

Dental caries is a global public health problem and the condition forms the most widespread non-communicable disease, according to the World Health Organization.

"The association of modifiable risk factors with area-based inequalities in untreated dental caries among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian children differed substantially. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with dental caries for both groups, and irregular tooth brushing was also significantly associated with dental caries for indigenous children," according to the latest study.

"Efforts by the dental profession - as well as policymakers and health professionals more generally - are required at both national and international levels to reduce barriers to access to and the availability of preventive and rehabilitative oral health services for indigenous groups  reducing oral health inequalities among and between indigenous groups needs to be a public health priority at a global level," the researchers said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:28:09|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRKs east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT), the JCS said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

It was originally reported that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into several short-range projectiles.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRKs possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as ballistic missile.

It came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The last ballistic missile test was conducted by the DPRK in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:48:16|Editor: Li Xia

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WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday night that it has known the latest action of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will monitor the situation.

In a statement, the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that "we are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier on the same day that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on the situation, according to U.S. media.

There is no comment so far from the DPRK on the issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:43:51|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday had telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch of short-range projectiles, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions over phone about the DPRK's short-range projectile launches. They agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications.

The phone talks came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea from the DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonsan Saturday morning.

The projectiles traveled between 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each side at every level about the issue.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered to monitor current situations and closely share information on it with the U.S. side, according to the presidential Blue House.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:58:56|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Students practice the console for China's high-speed train CRH380B driving simulation system at the Luban Workshop in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Technical College in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Feb. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou)

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- "Now the train moves forward," said 20-year-old Arthitaya Sapkum who was attentively looking at a screen that simulates the window in the locomotive of a high speed train, while her classmates were operating the control system on a panel.

The China-sponsored training platform for simulated driving, an eye-catcher to students and visitors, sits on the second floor of the Luban Workshop in Thailand.

The project, which is named after Lu Ban, a legendary Chinese carpenter from the 4th century BC and launched by China's Tianjin Municipality, provides state-of-the-art technical and vocational training to serve various aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

FOSTER TALENT

"Studying here is good. We can easily understand how a train system is formed and how trains work," said Arthitaya, who was on a short-term training program with her classmates from Thailand's Ko Kha Industrial and Community Education College.

She is one of the over 2,000 students who received training at the workshop after it was established in March 2016 in Thailand. On the second floor of the workshop lies Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College Center, China's first overseas technical center for high-speed railway training. It is equipped with modern teaching equipment and remote education facilities for long-distance learning.

Since there is no high-speed rail in Thailand, all teaching materials and equipment in the center are provided by the Chinese side.

In the past three years, the workshop helped Thai students learn subjects from new energy car development and the internet of things to high speed trains. The Tianjin Municipality also offers scholarships through the workshop for study in China.

"In order to promote the Belt and Road construction, the Lu Ban Workshop provides academic education and skills training for partners in other countries. This is a bridge connecting China's vocational education with that of the world," said Lv Jingquan, deputy director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.

Jarun Youbrum, director of the Thai vocational school, is proud of the workshop, saying that the courses provided here can nurture talent for the future development of Thailand's high-speed rail system.

"We are the only one in Thailand and I think we should be a good example of Thailand-China cooperation on education and the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Thailand," Jarun said.

Arthitaya and Jarun are among those who have been building support for China-Thailand cooperation within the BRI framework, which has achieved tangible results through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Thai government is committed to the progress of the Thai-Chinese high speed rail project and hopes the project will be finalized as soon as possible, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told Xinhua last week before attending the second Belt and Road Forum of International Cooperation held in Beijing.

"As the Chinese proverb says, 'Unity Makes Everything a Success', we are pleased that the project has made good progress, and have taken the opportunity to learn more about high-speed railways and related technology," the prime minister noted.

CLOSER TIES

Since 2016, eight Luban Workshops have been set up in Asia, Africa and Europe, and have trained more than 4,000 people in 17 majors covering mechanics, new energy, automobile, communications, catering, and others.

The program is not just a unilateral education provider, but involves two-way exchanges that help enhance ties and cultural links between China and other countries.

Two years ago, the Tianjin School of Commerce, sponsored by the Tianjin Food Group Co., Ltd., set up a workshop in Britain's Chichester College and succeeded in incorporating its professional training standards into Britain's national vocational qualification framework.

Earlier this year, students from the workshop put their culinary skills to the test when doing catering for the British prime minister and her guests.

It was the last day of January. At Number 10 Downing Street, London, Prime Minister Theresa May was hosting a Chinese New Year reception.

Steamed vegetable dumplings, crispy duck, eight types of canapes and dishes of exquisite quality impressed some 150 guests with a taste of Chinese delicacies.

Chances are rare for students taking a course on Chinese culinary arts at Crawley College of Chichester College Group (CCG) to put their learning into practice at the highest level, and they handled the challenge with flying colors with the help of Chinese master chefs from Tianjin.

"Many Chinese guests at the (10 Downing Street) event said they haven't had such authentic dishes for years," said Wu Zhengxi, who teaches culinary skills at the school in Tianjin and represented Chinese chefs at the reception. "I proudly told them we're with the Luban Workshop."

CCG, the largest further education provider in South East England, was identified as a course partner for the British Luban Workshop. The success attracted more intention to cooperate from British business and vocational education sectors.

"The future for Chinese cuisine in the U.K. just got a whole lot brighter," said celebrity chef Ching He Huang.

The workshop program, stressing the pillars of the BRI, promotes connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education, business and culture.

Chinese authorities have pledged to enhance cooperation within the BRI framework by setting up more Luban Workshops, including 10 programs to offer vocational training for young Africans. The first one in Africa was launched in Djibouti in March, aiming to boost the country's overall development through the training of its youth.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

In less than six years, 127 countries and 29 international organizations have joined the initiative, through which China has made investments of more than 90 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) gathered around 6,000 participants from 150 countries and 92 international organizations, including heads of state and government, for three days in Beijing.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said at the BRF that the BRF can be "a building block and a role model of" an advanced pattern of global cooperation that should be more sustainable, more inclusive and more collaborative.

The BRI "is now growing up into a mature initiative that can have even more impact," Schwab added.

(Video reporters: Xu Jian, Ma Chen, Zhang Hao, Guo Xinhui, Yang Zhou; Video editor: Lin Lin)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:04:17|Editor: Li Xia

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CARACAS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- This year, political unrest has been haunting Venezuela as opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro vie for power.

The international community, including the United Nations, calls on restraint and dialogue to solve the problem.

Some major countries have different positions on Venezuela, with the United States and its allies such as Israel backing Guaido, while Russia, Cuba and other countries in support of Maduro.

The following are a string of major events related to the political crisis in Venezuela:

-- On Jan. 23, Guaido, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of the country.

-- On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president." Thereafter, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States

-- On Jan. 28, The United States slapped sanctions on a Venezuelan oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or known as PDVSA, to pile up pressure on Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

-- In March, Venezuela suffered two rounds of widespread blackouts after the country's main Guri hydroelectric plant was sabotaged, followed by schools and offices shutdown.

Guaido was under investigation for his alleged involvement in the sabotage against the national electricity system.

-- On April 6, supporters of Maduro and Guaido respectively held rallies nationwide, as rifts in Venezuela stayed wide open.

In the northwestern city of Maracaibo, two opposition politicians were temporarily arrested and some demonstrators were injured in clashes with the police, local media reported.

-- On April 30, Guaido called on civilians and military to act against the government and urged Maduro to step down.

He also tweeted that "the end of the usurpation began, and at this moment I am meeting with the main military units of our armed forces, beginning the final phase of Operation Freedom."

Maduro said via twitter that military commanders from all regions and defense areas of the country have "expressed their loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the country."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:19:21|Editor: ZX

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LANZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras in a nature reserve located in northwest China's Gansu Province captured nearly 30 images of leopards from January to the end of April.

Researchers from Longdong University recently collected videos and photos caught by 30 infrared cameras they set up at the Ziwuling nature reserve.

"Based on the size, hair color and patterns of leopards in these images, we conclude that there are about 10 leopards roaming in an area of 120 kilometers in the reserve," said Zhou Tianlin, head of the college of life science and technology of Longdong University.

Two adult leopards were caught walking together, which is quite rare as the big cat usually walks alone, he added.

Leopards are under China's highest national-level protection and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

"The images show that there might be a leopard population in the reserve that is on the rise thanks to an improving ecological environment after years of efforts," Zhou said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 16:25:01|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian military factions on Saturday fired a number of rockets at Israel, Palestinian security sources said.

The security sources told Xinhua that successive explosions were heard in Gaza. The Israeli air defense system intercepted the fired rockets.

The Israeli army announced that its war planes raided two platforms used to launch the rockets.

"At least three Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli attack," Palestinian sources said.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and 51 others injured during clashes with the Israeli army forces in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Israeli army said two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire from Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:20:36|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of causing death of a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) man, has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.

"We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam. This outcome was contributed by the continuous efforts of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong," said spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

"We also acknowledge the positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time," the spokeswoman added.

After being set free on Friday, Huong took a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on the same day.

On April 1, a Malaysian court sentenced Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of the DPRK man at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder.

The prison term was calculated starting from the time Huong was detained in February 2017. Her lawyer said Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behavior.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:25:40|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces thwarted a major plan for the Islamic State (IS) militants to regroup in the country, while killing a prominent IS leader in northern Iraq, an Iraqi official newspaper reported on Saturday.

An Iraqi intelligence team, named al-Suqoor Cell, thwarted IS plot which tried to form new terrorist groups in Iraq and managed to kill a number of IS militants who infiltrated from neighboring Syria, the state-run al-Sabah newspaper said.

"The operation came after several months of tracking Daesh (IS group) militants by the intelligence team and their sources as part of their efforts to eliminate the infiltrated Daesh militants from Syria," the newspaper quoted the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Chief of Intelligence Abu Ali al-Basri as saying.

The intelligence team also killed Abdul Ghafour Abdullah Karmoush, also known as Wahid Amniyah, who is a leader of the terrorist group in northern Iraq, and is responsible for killing dozens of innocent people in Mosul and Tal Afar areas in the northern province of Nineveh, al-Basri said.

He said that Karmoush was killed in an ambush by security forces in north of the town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, and one of his aids blew himself up during the battle.

The Iraqi intelligence will reveal more details about the operation of dismantling the IS regrouping later, according to al-Basri.

The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants late in 2017, and the Iraqi forces tried to seize the whole border areas with Syria and nearby desert in western Iraq.

However, small groups or individuals of Islamic State (IS) militants repeatedly tried to infiltrate into Iraq from neighboring Syria through the roughly 600 km long border with Iraq with vast rugged areas and desert land in an attempt to regroup in Iraq again.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:30:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House expressed deep worry Saturday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launches of short-range projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a statement that the South Korean government was deeply worried about the DPRK launches, which went against the purpose of the inter-Korean comprehensive military agreement.

The spokesperson urged Pyongyang to stop such launches that escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

The statement came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning.

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRK's east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT) Saturday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered at the national crisis management center to closely monitor situations and assess why the DPRK fired the projectiles.

The military authorities of South Korea and the United States currently shared detailed information on the launches, precisely analyzing what type of projectiles were fired, according to the Blue House.

The Blue House spokesperson said South Korea paid attention to the launches that came at a time when dialogue on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula came to a lull, calling for the DPRK to actively join efforts to rapidly resume the denuclearization negotiations.

She added that if necessary, South Korea will closely communicate with neighboring countries.

The projectile firings came as the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as a ballistic missile.

It was originally alleged that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into short-range projectiles. The last ballistic missile test by the DPRK occurred in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRK's possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha exchanged opinions over phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the DPRK's projectile launches, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications. Kang also held phone talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each other at every level about the issue. Lee also had telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:10:58|Editor: Xiang Bo

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NADI, Fiji, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should uphold multilateralism and foster a development environment in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said here on Saturday.

Speaking at the business session of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors which is being held in Nadi, the third largest city of Fiji, Liu said that ADB should uphold multilateralism and foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific.

"At present, one of the major risks that threatens the endeavor of international development is the skepticism about multilateralism and departure from the spirit of cooperation. We would like ADB to act as a multilateral platform to coordinate and spur all parties to strengthen international development cooperation and jointly foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of the Asia and the Pacific region," Liu said.

Liu encouraged ADB to formulate differentiated assistance strategies according to the specific development situation of its developing members, saying that ADB should seek for the common interests of all parties, expedite the reform of global and regional economic governance, as well as promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and help accelerate the process of regional integration.

The development practice and historical experience in Asia and the Pacific region have shown that the development and prosperity of regional economy depend on cooperation and mutual support of all parties, Liu said, adding that the theme of this year's meeting "Prosperity through Unity" which reflects the world's development trend, responds to the call for building a community with a shared future for mankind and aligns with the global governance view of "consultation and contribution for shared benefits".

Over the past 50 years, ADB has made great contribution to poverty reduction and development in Asia and the Pacific. Last year, ADB formulated Strategy 2030, which sets out its medium and long-term development roadmap and operational priorities and enables ADB to better fulfill its mission and serve for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

The Chinese minister hoped that ADB should implement Strategy 2030 to lay a solid development foundation and promote innovative development to help sustain the driver of prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

China welcomes ADB to support regional cooperation as it has always been doing, and strengthen the synergy between regional cooperation programs and initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to promote the benefits of connectivity, he said.

Describing ADB as a significant platform for all parties to cooperate, build consensus, mobilize resources and tackle challenges, Liu said that China stands ready to work with all parties to support the development cause of Asia and the Pacific region as what China has been doing.

"We will continuously deepen the all-round cooperation with ADB and make contribution to the inclusive and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world," he added.

The five-day ADB's 52nd annual meeting has attracted finance ministers, central bank governors, government officials, private sector representatives, development partners and media from the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:16:04|Editor: ZX

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Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts speaks at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance, in Omaha, the United States on May 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts on Friday hailed the state's healthy relationship with China, adding that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal soon.

China is Nebraska's second largest trading partner, and while Nebraska exports such agricultural products as beef, corn and soybeans to China, China also invests in the state, Ricketts said at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance.

"It's a pretty healthy, robust relationship," said the 54-year-old governor.

State governor since 2015, Ricketts has made fostering business ties between Nebraska and China a priority.

During his tenure so far, Nebraska and China's Shaanxi Province established a sister states relationship, an agricultural demonstration park was set up near Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, and Tongji University in Shanghai and the University of Nebraska Medical Center fostered a partnership.

"We've been over to China to help introduce our folks to folks over there, develop those relationships," Ricketts said. "So we really look to see how we can foster that relationship in many ways," he said.

The governor mentioned in particular Nebraska's beef exports to China, which went up 86 percent in a year.

Nebraska is one of the major beef-producing states in the United States, making up about half of all U.S. beef exports, he said.

"So we are very pleased with where things are going, and we want to continue to see that go that way," he said.

With respect to the ongoing trade talks and a potential trade deal between China and the United States, Ricketts, who was appointed in December 2018 as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, said he hopes to see the U.S.-China trade deal get "wrapped up."

The governor said he and other officials from agricultural states gave feedback to President Donald Trump about "how important that relationship with China is."

"China, for example, is a large destination for our soybeans. That's a big deal here in Nebraska," Ricketts said.

"And so when we see the trade relationship be disrupted, it has an impact on our farmers," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:21:13|Editor: Li Xia

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GABORONE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Officials and experts from southern Africa gathered to address the escalating challenge of protecting the region's elephant population.

Southern Africa is home to 250,000 elephants with the majority in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA).

It is estimated that 60 percent of elephants exist outside the protected areas in the KAZA-TFCA, according to officials.

Heads of state in the region will gather for a summit on May 7 themed Towards A Common Vision for the Management of Our Elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:31:19|Editor: ZX

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LIMA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strengthened ties between Peru and China, an expert told Xinhua.

The MoU, signed during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last week, will boost bilateral relations through "greater investment," said Carlos Aquino, head of the Asian Studies Center at the National University of San Marcos in Lima.

After the signing, the two countries are poised to step up cooperation on several key fronts, including infrastructure, investment and trade, Aquino told Xinhua.

With an increase in infrastructure investment, "economic activities will improve," because it will cut down on "the cost of transporting products to the ships heading overseas," said Aquino.

The cost of importing goods may also drop as given their quicker arrival in Peru faster, he said.

According to Aquino, China and Peru have already begun modernizing Peruvian ports.

In January, Peruvian mining firm Volcan and China's COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd reached an investment agreement for the design, construction and operation of the Chancay Port Complex megaproject in northern Lima.

The project "should alleviate the existing trade congestion at the port of Callao," said Aquino.

In terms of investment and trade, the MoU will also help expand the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect in March 2010, said Aquino.

"The FTA covers not just trade but also investment -- facilitating investment by eliminating the obstacles to Chinese companies coming to Peru and, of course, Peruvian companies going to China," Aquino pointed out.

"Many factors indicate that the good ties we have with China are going to get much better with the signing of the memorandum ... and with the renovation of the free trade agreement," Aquino said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:41:24|Editor: Li Xia

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YANGON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department Saturday warned people in the hilly areas and near small rivers to be aware of flash floods and landslides accompanied by the strong wind and heavy rain due to the influence of the severe cyclonic storm "FANI".

"FANI" weakened into deep depression and it was forecast to move North-Northeasternwards, according to the department's measurement at 13:30 local time (0700 GMT).

Rain or thundershowers were forecast to be widespread in Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady regions and Kachin, Chin, Kayin, Mon, Shan and Kayah states.

Occasional squalls with rough seas were forecast to be experienced off and along Myanmar coasts with 40 mph surface wind, the department's release said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:41:05|Editor: ZX

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Zhou Xin (R, front) picks up his son at a primary school near Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 16, 2019. Professor Zhou Xin is the deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan. He is interested in ultrasensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments, techniques and methodology as well as biosensors for medical imaging. In 2019, his group, which consists of about fifty members, independently designed and developed the hyperpolarized lung gas MRI instrument, providing an effective method of lighting up the lungs. Core indicators of the system have reached world leading level in the industry. This quantitative, accurate and visualized lung disease detecting method, without the side effects of invasion and radioactivity, has offered a new imaging technique for the diagnosis of early lung diseases. Back in 2009, Zhou was selected by the "Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Instead of accepting the opportunity of high-paying jobs in the United States, Zhou returned to China to carry out research alone on human lung MRI instrument in cramped conditions. Zhou, who was born in the same year when the reform and opening up was launched in 1978, said he made the right decision to return to China after reviewing his life and work in the past decade. Born in the right time and striving for one's aspiration can achieve a great life, said Zhou. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:51:28|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a white safety helmet, 26-year-old Egyptian engineer Ahmed Mansour works outdoors eight hours a day, braving temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in Egypt's southern province of Aswan.

Checking the running state of all holders and recording data from solar inverters, Mansour has been dedicated to maintaining solar panels in Aswan since 2017 when the photovoltaic power (PV) generation project he works on started its trial run.

"It is meaningful that we are using environmentally friendly ways to produce precious electricity," Mansour said.

The project is part of the overseas solar development of China's green energy company TBEA Sunoasis Co., Ltd., which officially started building four solar power stations last year at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan.

The stations, with an output of 186 megawatts, are part of the giant Benban Solar Plant which aims to generate up to two gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity through a total of 40 projects.

So far, three of the four stations have been completed.

Mansour said he was impressed by TBEA's measures to protect the environment. "During construction, waste such as garbage and sewage were disposed of by adhering to strict standards," he said.

The project is estimated to help cut the emission of more than 23,000 tonnes of dust, over 86,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than 2,600 tonnes of sulfur dioxide annually.

As the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advances, the country has been committed to making BRI a green cause of sustainable development.

China and the United Nations Environment Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016, focusing on enhanced collaboration to build a green Belt and Road.

It has also signed cooperation agreements concerning ecological and environmental protection with more than 30 countries participating the BRI.

"The building of a green Belt and Road can help countries achieve the environmental goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Zhai Kun, a professor with Peking University.

Last Thursday, China officially launched the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road, which could serve as an international platform for Chinese and foreign leading agencies to work closely together to conduct research and make policy recommendations on key issues as well as facilitate international dialogue.

"In the near future, the establishment of this coalition could raise the visibility and importance of green infrastructure and facilitate deeper cooperation between BRI partners," said Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute.

The country has also made clear its commitment to incorporate green strategies into the BRI by releasing the Guidelines on Promoting Green Belt and Road and the Belt and Road Ecological Cooperation Plan. These documents outline a vision for sustainability.

China is willing to launch cooperation on ecological and environmental protection with countries along the Belt and Road, expand the International Coalition for Green Development and promote a coalition of sustainable cities under the BRI, according to a report released last Monday.

"The building of a green Belt and Road needs joint efforts, which could also bring win-win results to all parties involved," said Xue Li, researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:56:30|Editor: Li Xia

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KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia began on Saturday a five-day live-fire military exercise at a training ground here in southwestern Kampot province.

Lieutenant General Hun Manet, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAFs) and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said the annual drill was crucial to strengthen the capacity and expertise of troops in defending territorial integrity.

"I'm strongly confident that after this drill, the participants will get new knowledge and experience, and will share them with other soldiers at their units," he said at the opening ceremony of the Golden Hanuman Exercise 2019.

Lieutenant General Mao Sophan, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said a total of 1,326 soldiers from various divisions, headquarters and units took part in the exercise.

He said many types of heavy weapons including artilleries, BM-21 rocket launchers, RM-70 rocket launchers, tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters were used in the exercise.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:11:37|Editor: Li Xia

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan navy on Saturday said it rescued 161 illegal migrants on two rubber boats off the western city of Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"A Coast Guards patrol spotted two rubber boats with 161 illegal migrants on board, including 141 men, 15 women and 5 children," the Libyan navy's spokesman Ayob Qassem said in a statement.

The migrants were rescued 82 km west of Khoms, the statement added.

The migrants have been provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and taken to a reception center in the city, the spokesman said.

Western Libya, particularly in and around Tripoli, is witnessing violent clashes since early April between the east-based army and the UN-backed government over control of the city.

The fighting has killed 392 people, injured 1,936 others, and forced more than 50,000 others to flee their homes away from the conflict areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Thousands of illegal migrants choose to cross the Mediterranean toward European shores from Libya because of the chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:21:44|Editor: Li Xia

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RABAT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's net foreign exchange reserves amounted to over 24 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, down 1.2 percent year on year, the central bank said Saturday.

According to the bank's statistics, the reserves dropped by 0.7 percent from the end of 2018 and 2.1 percent month on month.

In mid-January 2018, Morocco started the gradual floating of its currency, raising the official band of dirham's fluctuation to 2.5 percent above or below the official rate from the previous 0.3 percent.

The dirham is pegged to a two-currency basket weighted 60 percent to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Moroccan authorities to take the next step, but the Moroccan authorities remain cautious about the next phase of floating dirham.

In a joint letter to the IMF director in January, the Moroccan monetary authorities said they will move to the next step "for preventative purposes as soon as economic conditions allow them to do so."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:46:52|Editor: Li Xia

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TEHRAN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that Iran will "defeat" the United States through unity of the nation, official IRNA news agency reported.

"We should solidify our unity and strengthen hope in (the Iranian) society," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The United States aims to "disappoint the Iranians and sow discord between the people and the government by exerting the sanction pressures," he said.

The president stressed that the United States seeks to lower Iran's oil income, and has targeted Iran's independence and sovereignty through economic pressures.

"We have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," he added. "We have no other way but to unite and resist."

The 180-day U.S. waivers for major importers of Iran's oil formally expired on Thursday, announced by the White House, which aggravates the impacts of tough pressures on Iran.

Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, an Iran international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

Following the withdrawal, Trump's administration returned the sanctions on Iran's oil exports in November, which had been lifted under the JCPOA.

Iran has vowed to bypass the U.S. sanctions and continue to export its oil.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:12:01|Editor: Li Xia

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By Zhang Jianhua, Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua

VIENTIANE, May 4 (Xinhua) --"The Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Tian'anmen Square ... everywhere we have been to are beautiful!"

Six students from China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School gathered in their classroom in the Lao capital Vientiane on April 28 and shared their impressions of China during a recent trip. They were part of a sub-forum on people-to-people exchanges during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held on April 25-27 in Beijing.

On the eve of the forum, the teachers and students of the village school in the north of Vientiane, wrote in a letter to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Chinese Dream and the Laotian Dream are connected together through the Belt and Road Initiative, and that they hope to take the Laos-China Railway to Beijing as soon as possible.

"You may not know that Grandpa Xi has received and read our letter and the album of your paintings," Lin Jieyu, a Chinese volunteer teacher at the school, told the kids. "In his reply, he also wishes our China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School will grow better and better, and welcomes you an early trip to Beijing by taking the train on the China-Laos railway!"

"China's train is the most beautiful. I saw it on the way to Badaling!" the 9-year-old Khamphet said loudly. "We will have the same train soon in our country."

Khamphet is correct. In last December, the first China-Laos Railway T-shaped concrete beam was successfully erected at the site of China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2), just dozen kilometers north of the Nongping Village, marking a milestone in the history of the construction of China-Laos railway.

"I love China," echoed the 9-year-old girl Phonephivanh. "I also hope that I can take the train to Beijing in the future."

Different from the excitement of the children, responsibilities are added to the 56-year-old Bounmy, the Nongping Primary School principal.

Principal Bounmy has witnessed the tremendous changes of the school with the aid from the China Foundation for Peace and Development.She also represented the school to express sincere gratitude to President Xi at the sub-forum in Beijing.

"On receiving the reply letter from President Xi Jinping, I feel grateful and thankful for his kindness. In the letter, President Xi encouraged students to pay attention to their studies and catch a chance to get a scholarship to study in China," Bounmy told Xinhua. "I see that President Xi is generous and very kind to us. He wants us to improve in a better way."

"We benefit a lot from joining the Belt and Road construction. We must bring our children up well and strive to help them realize their dream of studying in China soon," she added.

Amphouvone, a resident of the Nongping Village, felt surprised and glad after hearing that the Chinese president wrote back to her village school.

"This reflects the importance that Chinese leaders and people attach to the Lao government and people, and also shows that the relationship between the two countries is becoming more and more intimate," she said to Xinhua.

The Nongping Primary School is a demonstration project of China-Laos friendship in recent years, which is funded by the China Foundation for Peace and Development in 2012. Since then the foundation has been sending volunteer Chinese teachers and offering teaching materials to the school.

"We are encouraged by President Xi's reply letter, feeling warmness and kindness," said Yao Changhua, a volunteer teacher at the school. "I will try my best to do my job well, hoping to teach children more knowledge, introduce Chinese culture, and promote the continuous development of China-Laos friendship."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:28:41|Editor: Li Xia

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People dressed as Star Wars characters participate in the Star Wars Day in a mall in Taguig, the Philippines, May 4, 2019. The Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 every year by the fans of the sci-fi movie series in different parts of the world. (Xinhua/ROUELLE UMALI)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:07|Editor: ZX

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SHENYANG, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Railway authorities in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, said Saturday that they have launched 94 additional trains to tackle the rush of travelers heading back to school and work on the last day of the May Day holiday.

Train stations under the jurisdiction of China Railway Shenyang Group Co. Ltd., such as those in Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian, all reported peak traffic Saturday.

The group said it would have about 1.12 million passengers on Saturday.

China's extended May Day holiday this year is expected to see a "tourism craze" with an estimated total of 160 million trips, according to the country's biggest online travel agency Ctrip.

The State Council, China's cabinet, announced in March that this year's May Day holiday would be extended to four days, from May 1 to 4.

To meet the demand of growing travelers, the China Railway Corporation has prepared more trains. The railway operator expects some 68.2 million railway passenger trips from April 30 to May 4, a growth of 10.9 percent year on year.

Chinese tourists made 147 million domestic trips during the three-day long May Day holiday last year, up 9.3 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:08|Editor: ZX

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OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

by Wang Zichen

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology company Huawei is again making headlines in the UK, which is in a heated debate over the development of the UK's 5G network and whether the company represents a security threat.

The UK has "arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei," according to Ciaran Martin, a top British intelligence official. It is home to a dedicated Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) for eight years, and has published five detailed reports scrutinizing Huawei, notably its source code -- the crown jewel of any technology company.

One key question underplayed in the media storm over Huawei, however, experts told Xinhua, is that while Huawei came under the microscope in the UK, its non-Chinese competitors -- Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung -- are not equally tested, leaving the public in the blank as to how they would fare under the same set of rules.

Absent that knowledge, the push to shun Huawei in networks rings hollow on a central premise: its competitors' gears would be more secure than the Chinese company's.

DEFECTS IDENTIFIED WITH HUAWEI TECHNICAL

The latest UK report, formally known as the HCSEC Oversight Board Annual Report 2019 and published on March 28, detailed concerns about Huawei's software engineering capabilities, but stated that the "NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) does not believe that the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference."

It is a conclusion that's been repeated by the UK intelligence agency in charge of cyber security that the security defects identified with Huawei are technical.

"As we said then, and repeat today, these problems are about standard of cyber security; they are not indicators of hostile activity by China," said Martin, the CEO of the NCSC, in a public speech in Brussels on Feb. 20.

"The NCSC report provides an insight into the Huawei products under review and has highlighted that Huawei's software practices need to improve to meet the NCSC review recommendations. The NCSC report indicates that it does not believe the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference but are due to basic engineering competence and cyber security hygiene," Mark Gregory, Associate Professor focusing on network engineering at Australia's RMIT University, told Xinhua.

HUAWEI PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE TESTED

Nevertheless, the report's findings of problems in technicality made damaging publicity for Huawei, which has said it is "the most scrutinized company in the world."

What the reports didn't cover was if Huawei's products and softwares were less secure than those of its competitors, and that's because these vendors were not subject to the same scrutiny as Huawei, at least in the case of the UK oversight regime, experts said.

"I don't think any of the other vendors have been on such level of scrutiny to find out whether or not security risks exist in their software. Unless I missed something, I'm not aware of anyone else going through this process," Stephane Teral, technology fellow and advisor for Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at the consultancy IHS Markit Technology, told Xinhua.

As part of a thorough due diligence analysis in the vendor selection process, all products, software and hardware are evaluated by telecommunication services providers who are clients of vendors like Huawei, said Teral, who has three decades experience in the Western telecommunications industry.

"What's unique in the Huawei case is that the software was evaluated by a third party, as I say above, no other vendor has gone through this process and had they gone, I believe some bugs would have been found too," Teral added.

"As Huawei is the only company that has agreed to submit its products for review it would be wrong to assume that other vendor products don't have similar issues, especially when the number of patches being issued by other vendors to fix security problems are taken into account," said Gregory, who also serves as managing editors of academic journals in telecommunication technology.

A VOLUNTARY, TOUGH PROCESS

Huawei recognized the need of foreign governments for more insight into the Chinese company and entered into the British rigorous oversight regime on a voluntary basis, a Brussels-based spokesperson told Xinhua.

"Although painful and somewhat humiliating, I consider this exercise very valuable for Huawei because they have now a new list of issues to address to make their product even stronger. In the end, Huawei will emerge even stronger from this tough process," said Teral.

Neither Ericsson nor Nokia, when contacted by Xinhua, commented on the British oversight regime or if they were subjected to similar oversight arrangements. Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ericsson said in a statement: "In all our manufacturing and software development facilities globally, Ericsson ensures that strict security controls are in place. In addition, we undertake close quality controls, tests and verifications to ensure compliance to our security standards and overall specification of our network solutions. Security audits of all our factories are done on a regular basis, where the sites are assessed, and risks reviewed."

Nokia provided a statement that read: "Nokia follows a strict 'design for security' process. Regardless of geographical location where Nokia's products and services are manufactured or made, the same criteria are applied to ensure security and integrity. We carry out extensive independent internal and external verification on security status and compliance."

CALLS FOR A COMMON APPROACH

The lack of a common approach that covers all vendors have led to calls for a security assurance scheme by the industry and experts.

GSMA and 3GPP, two industry bodies, have proposed a voluntary scheme. If applied, it would involve an external auditor of vendors' security related development and product lifecycle processes, and a competent test laboratory's security evaluation of the vendors' equipment.

"There is a global need for a telecommunications security assurance capability, something that the telecommunications industry has not embraced, yet there is mounting evidence that this capability is desperately needed," Gregory said.

"A telecommunications security assurance program should be embraced that encompasses telecommunications equipment in networks irrespective of which vendor supplied the equipment," he said.

Teral said he supports "a fair process to treat everyone equally."

"In the end, we are all on the same page: the world wants a robustly secured 5G network," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:37:16|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday afternoon granted an audience with royal family members and officials in the Grand Palace, and asked all Thais to work together with him for the kingdom's prosperity and people's well-being.

King Vajiralongkorn has received holy water during the "Muratha Bhisek" and "Abhiseka" rituals according to Thai tradition and he was then offered the Royal Regalia and formally crowned.

On Saturday afternoon, he with the crown on his head granted an audience with royal family members and officials, who congratulated him on this occasion at the Amarindra Vinijaya Mahaisuraya Biman Throne Hall of the Grand Palace.

His sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, represented the royal family to offer their congratulations.

The royal family will be devoted, honest and royal, and they will work hard according to each's responsibility, Princess Sirindhorn said to the king.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public while Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative institute and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon the judicial branch.

They all paid homage to the king on the occasion of his coronation.

The king thanked all the participants and asked all Thais to work hard together with him according to each's job and responsibility for the national prosperity and the well-being of the people.

After the audience, the king walked to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha inside the grounds of the Grand Palace, where he was named Upholder of Buddhism, which is another ritual of the coronation ceremonies on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn ascended the Thai throne in 2016, becoming King Rama X.

His coronation ceremony lasts for three days from Saturday, and all importance ceremonies would be televised throughout Thailand.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:07:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Tourists visit the Shanghai Garden of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing in Yanqing District of Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2019. Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday. Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday. With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday.

Lei Lei, an official with the organizing committee, said the Chinese Pavilion, the International Pavilion, the Life Experience Pavilion, the Botany Pavilion and the Guirui Theater were among the most popular destinations, which have received a total of over 734,000 visitors during the holiday.

Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday.

With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:17:41|Editor: Li Xia

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VIENNA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for a renegotiation of the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon, citing new challenges that have emerged since the foundational treaty entered into effect in 2009.

Speaking to the Austrian media on Friday, the centre-right Austrian People's Party leader said "many things have changed in Europe" compared to 10 years ago, such as the "debt crisis, euro crisis, migrant crisis, climate crisis and Brexit chaos."

He argued that the EU has never managed to transit out of "crisis mode," and is left with an outdated treaty that must be made current.

"A new treaty is needed with clearer sanctions for members who run up debt, penalties for countries who do not register illegal migrants and wave them off, as well as tough consequences for breaches of rule of law and liberal democracy," the chancellor said.

He also called for the bloc's institutions to be streamlined, including a reduction in the size of the European Commission, such as through ending the practice of automatically giving each member state a commissioner post.

In addition, he would like to see a greater emphasis on foreign and security policy.

The chancellor also called for the EU to be based solely in Brussels, rather than having MEPs shuttled back and forth to Strasbourg.

This is unlikely to please French President Emmanuel Macron, with France having always opposed giving up the parliament location in Strasbourg.

Kurz also stressed that far-right populist parties are no allies, saying he wished to "make Europe better, not to disrupt it or entertain exit fantasies."

In addition he called for a "generational change" in the leadership in Brussels, that would involve both a change in personnel as well as a new policy orientation.

This should happen "as soon as possible" following the European parliamentary elections later this month, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:27:44|Editor: Li Xia

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by Surasak Tumcharoen

BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally ascended the throne on Saturday in magnificent ceremonies in the Grand Palace.

People across the country watched the rituals broadcast live by Television Pool of Thailand, while a large number people in yellow shirts showed up at Sanam Luang ground across the Grand Palace and elsewhere near the palace to witness the historic event.

As part of the royal rituals, the king took a purification bath and anointment with sacred water, which had been brought from sacred ponds and other water resources in all provinces across the country, and was presented Royal Regalia and a golden pad inscribed with his name and seal to mark his ascension to the throne.

Following the rituals, the 66-year-old king ceremonially named 40-year-old Queen Suthida, whom he earlier married in legal and traditional fashion in Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

On Saturday afternoon, the king granted an audience with members of the royal family, privy councilors and high-level government officials, at Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.

The monarch then proceeded on board a royal palanquin carried by soldiers in traditional costume from the throne hall to Emerald Buddha temple in the compound of the Grand Palace to pay homage to the Buddha image in the presence of 80 blessing monks.

He then proceeded to Phra Thep Bidorn Throne Hall and Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to pay homage to the statues and relics of former kings and queens of Siam (the former name of Thailand).

In his first speech to the public upon the ceremonial ascension to the throne, the monarch pledged to preserve, develop and hold the reign with righteousness and for benefits and happiness of the Thai people.

He practically assumed the throne in late 2016 after his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passed away.

On Sunday, the new monarch is scheduled to bestow royal titles to members of the royal family and lead a royal procession from the Grand Palace to three royal temples, namely Bovorn Nivet temple, Rajabopit temple and Phra Chetupon temple, passing several roads in Rattanakosin Island area. Many yellow-shirted people are expected to view the procession along the route.

On Monday, the king is scheduled to show up on the balcony of Sutthai Sawan Prasat Throne Hall to greet palace and government personnel and other people and receive best wishes from them.

King Vajiralongkorn is also scheduled to grant an audience with diplomats at Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace on Monday.

Thailand's last coronation rituals were conducted for the late King Bhumibol in 1950.
Army pushes for higher speeds in future tiltrotor aircraft

HAMPTON, Va. -- The U.S. Army is developing a new wind-tunnel testbed that will help future tiltrotor aircraft attain higher speeds, improved stability and enhanced safety.

At a massive wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center, Army researchers are readying a unique tiltrotor model to support analysis and design of advanced tiltrotor aircraft, a possible key to achieving Army modernization goals for Future Vertical Lift.

"Tiltrotors are like the V-22 Osprey aircraft that the Marines currently use," said Matt Wilbur, a senior aerospace researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory. "Their benefit is they have very high flight speeds. They can transition from a helicopter configuration to a forward flight configuration that looks more like a turboprop aircraft and can go at much higher flight speeds than typical helicopters."

Current state-of-the art tiltrotors provide Army researchers with a baseline of what is possible. In the future, aircraft designers will leverage new materials, advanced propulsion and supercomputer modeling -- validated by physical experiments -- to deliver new combat capabilities to the Army.

"The data we're going after is completely new; it doesn't currently exist," said Dr. Jaret Riddick, director of the lab's Vehicle Technology Directorate. "We want to be able to model whirl-flutter stability, which will help us to overcome a critical limitation for tiltrotor aircraft."

Tiltrotor designs require a compromise between a spinning helicopter rotor for efficient hovering flight and a fixed wing for forward flight in airplane mode, he said. Interactions between this unique combination of rotor and wing can lead to instability at higher speeds.

"ARL researchers are bridging a scientific gap by providing underpinning research that will validate modeling for tiltrotor aircraft of the future," Riddick said.

Using foundational aerodynamics research and computational models, Army engineers will shape Future Vertical Lift with analysis of new tiltrotor designs. Their goal: to increase reach, enhance protection and lethality, and deliver agility and mission flexibility. With an advanced tiltrotor design, the Army can get there, stay there and dominate what officials call "Multi-Domain Battle."

Army researchers are working with an industry partner to fabricate the Tiltrotor Aeroelastic Stability Testbed, or TRAST. The apparatus is a scaled-down tiltrotor engine assembly and partial wing loaded with sensors and designed to be attached to wall of the wind tunnel. The Army hopes to take delivery in September.

"TRAST is focused on accelerating knowledge products that will provide critical information for the Army Modernization Priorities within the Future Vertical Lift program regarding tiltrotor technology for whirl-flutter suppression to enable higher speed forward flight," said Elias Rigas, the lab's Vehicle Applied Research Division chief.

The project has the potential to provide researchers with terabytes of data, which will enable the underpinning research the laboratory can share with the aviation community responsible for the design and fielding of Future Vertical Lift.

"When it comes to a flight vehicle, it all comes down to lift," said Army researcher Dr. Robert Thornburgh. "You still have to produce lift and whether it's through a wing or through a rotor, basically lift is produced by moving air and so those fundamental physics haven't changed since the Wright brothers and so there are some limitations on what you can do with rotorcraft technology as far as performance goes."

Army researchers are working on complex flight problems. They partner with NASA because of shared interest in basic research into future tiltrotor technology.

"We may be looking at different missions for different vehicles, but as we drill down into the technology needs, they become common and so we can work very closely with the Army on some very fundamental basic research areas," said Susan Gorton, NASA's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology lead. "What we're always looking for is how to improve things and how to make things faster, make them quieter and how to make them more economical to operate."

The relationship between the Army and NASA is very special, Gorton said.

"We've had this relationship for over 50 years where we've had co-located laboratories where Army people are assigned and working at NASA centers and they work hand-in-glove with us and day-to-day our research tasks are very intertwined and is a very strong relationship and I think it will remain strong in the future," she said.

As a part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Program, private companies like Bell, created a tiltrotor concept demonstrator aircraft, the V-280 Valor, which successfully achieved first flight in 2017. ARL researchers visited the company in January to see the demonstrator up close and talk with Bell engineers.

Riddick said the JMR-TD Program Office informs the requirements for the Future Vertical Lift program-of-record and has provided significant funding for the fabrication of TRAST.

"They're depending on the laboratory to deliver the foundational research to enable future tiltrotor aircraft to attain higher speeds and greater stability," Riddick said. "This is a truly joint effort between the laboratory's research scientists and its partners to produce knowledge and understanding for future decision making. It also highlights the level of collaboration across the Army science and technology community to deliver on the Army's modernization priorities."

NASA has unique facilities that the Army does not have, but with a cooperative, collaborative relationship they use the facilities and work with NASA researchers to attain Army goals, Wilbur said. The wind tunnel lets researchers push the envelope in dynamic testing by producing winds of Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.

"Obviously a rotorcraft does not fly that fast; however we do have unlimited flight velocity range for a rotorcraft, and the rotorcraft of the future will be flying faster and faster and this is one of the only facilities in the world in which rotorcraft are consistently tested that already meets and exceeds the flight range that rotorcraft are expected to fly," Wilbur said.

In addition to higher speeds, Army researchers said they are confident that advances in tiltrotor design will save lives.

"The faster you can fly, the faster you can get somebody off the battlefield and into a hospital and that could potentially save their life," said Army researcher Andrew Kreshock. "One of the biggest impacts may be on how the Army operates because a lot of bases are staged around the range of aircraft and how fast they can get to the front line and save Soldiers' lives."

The TRAST program will provide critical experimental data to enable the validation of existing engineering analysis tools and the development of new and improved analysis tools. Together, the experimental data and the improved analyses will be used to identify a tiltrotor aircraft's strengths and weaknesses.

"Where that benefits the future warfighter is that allows us to push the technology faster, farther so that they will have a tiltrotor aircraft that is significantly improved," he said. "We're always looking 20 years out into the future in terms of the technologies that we're trying to develop, but it's very rewarding when we can make good things happen and we know we've developed a viable technology for the Army."

###

The CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our Nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Courtesy St. Lucia Times(NEW YORK) -- The Church of Scientology cruise ship Freewinds that was quarantined on the island nation of St. Lucia for three days because of a measles case is on its way to its home port, where authorities plan to quarantine it again.

The ship is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curacao, around daybreak Saturday, according to officials on the island and Albert Elens, managing director of Maduro Shipping, the Freewinds' agent in Curacao.

When it arrives, a team of local health officials will assess those on board before consulting with international health agencies on a disembarkation plan, the head of the Epidemiology and Research Unit at Curacaos Ministry of Health, Izzy Gerstenbluth, told ABC News. The vast majority of those aboard the ship were crew members, including the woman who had tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth, said.

The ship is expected to arrive around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the Curacao Ports Authority. There are about 300 crew members and passengers on board, according to Elens.

On Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, chief medical officer in St. Lucia, announced that a cruise ship had docked on the island and was being quarantined as health officials investigated a possible case of measles aboard the vessel. By Wednesday, St. Lucia police had confirmed the ship was the Freewinds and belonged to the Church of Scientology.

The Freewinds website describes the ship as "a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom."

St. Lucia's Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement Thursday that its investigation aboard the ship had confirmed that one person had measles.

Gerstenbluth, who is a public health physician and epidemiologist, said he had been in touch daily with the ship's doctor, who originally thought the woman with measles had a cold. The woman had been in Europe "for a while" before boarding the ship on April 17, he said. The ship's doctor said she exhibited cold symptoms on April 22, developed a fever the next day, and three days later developed a rash, according to Gerstenbluth, who said the ship's doctor isolated the woman from the start.

When the ship stopped in Aruba on Monday, the ship's doctor took a blood sample that, two days later, tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth said. At that point, Gerstenbluth consulted with the ship's doctor about isolating the woman and taking an inventory of those on the ship, as authorities in St. Lucia -- the ship's next destination -- were notified.

"On the ship, you have to be a bit more broad-minded and consider the entire ship to have had contact," Gerstenbluth said.

In St. Lucia, both police and the health ministry said that no one had been allowed on or off the ship until it departed Thursday night over fears that others on the ship may be infected.

"Measles, we know, is a highly infectious disease. So because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark," Fredericks-James said. "The Ministry of Health continues to work with all authorities."

St. Lucian authorities did not disclose any information about the woman and Gerstenbluth said he did not know her nationality.

The woman, as well as other crew and passengers, were "stable" and under surveillance by the ship's doctor, the St. Lucian health ministry said Thursday.

"Continued surveillance is necessary as the incubation period for measles ranges from 10 to 12 days, before symptoms in exposed persons occur," the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it had also provided 100 doses of the measles vaccine, free of charge, at the request of the ship's doctor.

When Curacao authorities investigate Saturday, they will also seek out information about people who had been in contact with the infected woman in the days before she tested positive for measles and who had already left the ship, Gerstenbluth said.

"Thats another group that were trying to make an inventory of," he said. "Who are these people, where do they live, and where do they come from?"

Gerstenbluth said those still aboard who had been previously vaccinated or who had previously had the measles would likely be allowed to disembark after authorities investigate Saturday.

Before the ship's departure from St. Lucia Thursday night, authorities there were in contact with their counterparts in Curacao and shared information with them, St. Lucia's health ministry said. It also said local officers who boarded the ship while it was in St. Lucia would continue to be monitored. St. Lucia confirmed Friday that the ship had departed Thursday night "for its home port in the Dutch Caribbean."

An adviser to Dominica's prime minister told ABC News Thursday that the ship had intended to come to Dominica for an event but that the event had since been canceled and the ship was not coming.

The ship was scheduled to depart to Aruba on Sunday night but Elens said the health-inspection team and Aruban officials would determine whether the ship would stay in Curacao or continue onward as planned.

"[We] will have to wait and see," he said.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

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Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:37:50|Editor: ZX

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ZHENGZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Police in the city of Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, have detained 75 suspects in an alleged telecom and online fraud case concerning a fake stock trading platform.

A total of 88 computers, 110 mobile phones, nine cars and hundreds of bank cards were confiscated, according to the city's public security bureau on Saturday.

According to the police, the suspects, disguised as online stock brokers, added victims on social media platforms, dragged them into group chats entitled "stock investment" and recommended promising stocks regularly in the group.

They would provide a fake stock trading platform through which money of the victims would go to their accounts instead of the stock market.

After manipulating stock prices on the fake platform, the suspects would tell the victims that they have suffered huge losses or just blacklist the victims.

Further investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:01|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:05|Editor: ZX

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SHANGHAI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found that a lack of circular RNAs may spin the immune system out of control and lead to lupus, suggesting new thoughts in lupus treatment.

A research team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and doctors from Renji hospital of the school of medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University found that people with lupus have lower-than-normal levels of circular RNAs, triggering an immune reaction meant to fight viruses.

Lupus is a condition whereby the immune system becomes too active. The pathogenesis of lupus and its radical treatment have so far remained unknown.

Raising levels of circular RNAs in cells taken from lupus patients restored the normal activity of a protein involved in rousing one arm of the immune system, according to Chen Lingling, researcher of the team.

"The findings provide new thoughts in possible therapeutic strategies for lupus treatment," said Shen Nan, researcher of the team.

The results have been published in the world's top journal Cell.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:07|Editor: Li Xia

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MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- One soldier was killed and four other servicemen were injured on Friday after ammunition went off at a shooting range in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, TASS news agency reported Saturday.

The soldiers, acting in violation of safety rules, lighted a campfire that caused the explosion, TASS said, quoting the press service of Russia's Central Military District.

The wounded servicemen were promptly taken to the garrison's hospital.

A criminal case has been initiated for breaching the rules of handling ammunition.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:11|Editor: Li Xia

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CANBERRA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) revealed a billion-dollar plan on Saturday to protect the environment if it wins the general election on May 18.

The ALP released its full plan for the environment, pledging to spend 50 million Australian dollars (35.1 million U.S. dollars) to establish the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) in what would be a first for Australia.

The party will also spend 100 million Australian dollars (70.2 million U.S. dollars) in protecting native species.

The ALP said in a statement that the suite of new measures would cost 1 billion Australian dollars (702 million U.S. dollars) and would "reshape Australia's approach to caring for our unique natural assets."

"Labor will call on all states and territories, business and civil society to join in a national effort to protect our iconic animal and plant species."

The native species fund will be tasked with prioritizing the restoration of plants and animals facing "the most pressing" extinction issues.

A Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis in April warned that Australia's current approach to conservation is "incapable" of stopping the current rate of extinction, calling for a "complete overhaul" of legislation.

"We're the extinction capital of the world," Tony Burke, Labor's environment spokesperson, told Fairfax Media on Saturday.

"This plan would see us start to turn the corner rather than accelerate towards a cliff. When a species is gone, it's lost forever."

Many of the initiatives will be funded by the ALP's pledge to recover a controversial 443.3-million-Australian dollar (311.3-million-U.S. dollar) grant given to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation by the LNP.

The grant has come under scrutiny since it was revealed that the foundation, which had only six full-time staff and annual revenues of 10 million Australian dollars at the time it was awarded, did not ask for the funding and that it was not subject to the usual open tender process for government grants.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, May 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were moderately wounded in the Israeli airstrikes that were waged on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that Israeli Army air forces warplanes struck with missiles more than ten targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians and wounded 51 others on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said on Friday that the Israeli army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and wounded 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli siege.

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday evening was a response to a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen, where two Israeli soldiers, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip, were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians have been taking place while two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:17|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China saw a total of 195 million domestic tourist trips made during the four-day May Day holiday, up 13.7 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Tourism revenue reached 117.67 billion yuan (about 17.48 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday which lasts from Wednesday to Saturday, up 16.1 percent, according to the ministry.

Statistics show that family trips have become the highlights of the tourism sector, boosting cultural, recreation and catering consumption.

Tourists stay an average of 2.25 days at their destinations, according to the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:19|Editor: Li Xia

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TALLINN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A citywide beach action day Clean Beach was held on Saturday in the Estonian capital as part of the program of the Urban Maintenance Month from April 14 to May 15 to raise environmental awareness of citizens.

The event of the communal work day includes cleaning the beach area and the seaside park, various recreational games, prize drawings and environmental discussions.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev told Xinhua that "the event started 11 years ago in 2008. It was a big campaign, not only in Estonia".

Similar beach cleaning events are held in Helsinki and Turku in Finland on the same day, according to the Tallinn city government.

Belobrovtsev expected Tallinn to become the European Green Capital city in the future through such environmental campaign efforts.

The deputy mayor also talked about the importance of China's role in environment protection.

"It's very important for China as well to become one of the environment protective countries. China, as such a big country with the huge number of population, is ready to take care of the green environment, the impact to the whole world will be huge," he said.

Dmitry Krutoy, Head of the Sector for Environmental Projects of the St. Petersburg city government, was present at the Tallinn Clean Beach campaign. He told Xinhua that the traditional international environmental campaign devoted to well-being of the Baltic Sea environment is scheduled to be held on May 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"We cooperate together the Russian Federation, Estonia and Finland. This action takes place in different cities of St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Turku. Since 2014, it is already the sixth such action to join our forces in an environmental way to fight against the problems of waste in the water areas in the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea. Only together can we solve it," said Krutoy.

Krutoy also praised China's efforts in environment protection, saying "I understand that China pays more and more attention to environment these days compared to several, 10, 20 or 30 years ago. There are more and more transports environmentally friendly, more and more environmental technologies are also implemented in China".

Under the slogan "Let's burnish our city!", the 28th Maintenance Month campaign in Tallinn includes cleaning days, communal work and hazardous waste collection campaigns, focusing on raising public environmental awareness. The campaign first started in 1991, said the Tallinn city government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:23:25|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued an alert Saturday for mountain torrents in a vast part of the country.

From Saturday night to Sunday night, areas in the southern provinces of Hunan and Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are likely to receive mountain torrents.

Southwestern China's Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region and the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai were also warned of such a natural disaster occurring.

Northwestern Guangdong and eastern Guangxi have a high possibility of mountain torrents.

To guard against disasters, the agencies told local authorities to step up real-time monitoring and flood warnings and stand ready for evacuation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:29|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement al-Quds Brigades threatened on Saturday that it would expand the range of rickets fired into Israel and will target strategic posts and locations.

The group published a 45-second video, showing its masked militants and members of the group's rockets unit fixing long-range rockets that would reach central and northern Israel.

The video also showed pictures of strategic places and their names in both Arabic and Hebrew, including Dimona nuclear reactor, Ashdod Seaport, Ben-Gurion Airport, and Haifa oil refineries.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamic Hamas movement.

Israeli Radio reported that the Israeli army air forces warplanes struck by missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip was a response to firing more than 150 rockets and projectiles from the coastal enclave into Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:30|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Nighttime consumption in Beijing during the four-day May Day holiday has been on the rise, as the capital continues to drive economic growth with what it calls "nighttime economy."

The nighttime economy refers to business activities between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the service sector. It appeared in Beijing's latest government work report, which urges malls, supermarkets and convenience stores to stay open later at night.

Revenue in 60 key retailers and restaurants monitored by the municipal commerce bureau reached 3.22 billion yuan (478 million U.S. dollars) during the holiday, up by 6.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the bureau.

Restaurant consumption in mall-clustered Wangfujing, Sanlitun and Qingnianlu surged 51.3 percent during the nighttime hours compared with the same period last year.

A total of 24 shopping centers have registered nearly 40 percent more visitors during the holiday, the statistics showed.

Beijing sees a big market for late-night spending. Data released by Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing in 2018 showed Beijing had the largest number of travelers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:33:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SARAJEVO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The 17th international meeting of old-timer cars that have marked the past century opened on Saturday in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo.

The event brought together owners of old cars from Hungary, Germany, Austria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, organizer of the event and president of "Oldtimer" club Nedim Husic told Xinhua.

There are a total of 50 cars presented, and the oldest car is Ford produced back in 1917.

The special attention of visitors was taken by a replica of the car which was used by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty in 1896, who was killed on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo and whose death triggered the First World War.

Edo Kapetanovic, maker of the replica told Xinhua that the replica was finished in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of Ferdinand's assassination. It took exactly 100 days to make the car.

He explained that he traveled worldwide to find parts for the car, and the majority of them he made by himself, and that car is made for driving on any kind of terrain.

Small blue car of "Fico" brand used by police in former Yugoslavia also attracted the attention of visitors and brought memories of nostalgia and of 1970s.

Owner of the car, Radovan Sibanic, said that Fico has a special soul and that there are more and more people who are emotionally connected to Yugoslavia.

"When I was around 20 years old, I drove to Sarajevo with my Fico car, and several decades later, here I am again," Sibanic concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israel decided to close borders and sea coast of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the flaring tension with the Palestinian militants, Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Raed Fattouh, head of the committee to coordinate the entrance of goods into Gaza, told reporters that the Israeli side informed his office that the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom will be closed on Sunday until a further notice.

The Palestinian Authority liaison office also announced in a press statement that Israel informed that Erez crossing on the border between northern Gaza Strip and Israel will also be closed on Sunday.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Fishermen Association in Gaza Nizar Ayyash said in a statement that the Israeli authorities decided to close the sea coast of the Gaza Strip and prevent fishermen from fishing starting from Saturday night.

"The Israeli decision of closing the land and the sea of the Gaza Strip is unfair," said Ayyash.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven others wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement.

Israel Radio reported that the Israeli army Air Forces warplanes struck with missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes were a response to over 150 rockets and projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli airstrikes and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:19:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed "confidence" in an ultimate "deal" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), despite reports that Pyongyang fired projectiles.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that "anything in this very interesting world is possible...Deal will happen!"

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

In a short statement, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "We will continue to monitor as necessary."

For its part, South Korea's presidential Blue House has expressed great concern over the DPRK's firing of projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun "will travel to Tokyo May 7-8 and Seoul May 9-10 to meet with Japanese and R.O.K. officials to discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The second summit between Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in late February failed to reach a deal on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Choe Son Hui, vice minister of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, has said recently that Pyongyang's determination to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged if Washington takes a new stand in future negotiations.

"When the time comes, we will put it into practice. But this is possible only under the condition that the U.S. changes their current method of calculation and formulates a new stand," Choe said.

"We could wait until the end of this year to see whether the U.S. makes a courageous decision," Choe said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:44:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday morning praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for U.S.-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump added.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax.'"

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un last week, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on the DPRK.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:34:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Proficiency Competition "Chinese Bridge" for school and college students was held here in Vilnius on Saturday.

Eleven contestants of five high schools and two universities from Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, second largest city Kaunas and port city Klaipeda participated in the competition staged at the Aula Parva Hall of Vilnius University.

Titled "Learning Chinese, Creating Brighter Future", the first part of the contest for school students gathered eight students, who were required to demonstrate their Chinese language skills by making a free speech in Chinese, going through a quiz on the knowledge about China and Chinese culture and talents show.

Austeja Oboleviciute, a 17-year-old student from Vilnius Jesuits Gymnasium won the competition, and the second place was secured by Auguste Daugelaite from Klaipeda Azuolyno Gymnasium. They will later represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign secondary school students in China.

Under the theme of "One World and One Family," five contestants from two leading Lithuanian universities competed in the second part of the contest for college students featuring also "free speeches," "Q&As" and "Chinese talent show".

The winner was Vaidotas Bacianskas, a fourth year student at Vilnius University. He will represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign college students to be held in China with Kristina Burdryte from the same university, who secured the second place.

Burdryte, who started self learning of Chinese at the age of 15, told Xinhua, that he's satisfied with his performance during the competition. "I am quite satisfied with my performances today. To me winning does not matter so much, I value this event as a platform to improve my knowledge, make friends and express myself," said the second place winner.

The Chinese Bridge competition series includes those for foreign secondary school students and foreign college students. Launched by China's Confucius Institute Headquarters in 2002 aiming to encourage foreign students to learn Chinese, the competition has drawn more than 300,000 contestants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:54:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) plans to hold a major regional economic conference for eastern African countries to foster peace and promote sustainable development in the region, an EU diplomat said Saturday.

Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, the EU charge d'affaires to Somalia, said the conference, organized jointly with the World Bank and the Ethiopian government, will be held in July in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"The focus will be to address regional infrastructure in the energy and transport sectors; trade, including the development of the financing sector, value chains and the regulatory environment; and human capital development through the improvement of education and skills," Ruiz said in Mogadishu during celebrations marking Europe Day.

Ruiz said the planned conference comes amid good progress in relations between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, paving way for even greater cooperation.

The thawing of relations among Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea has seen restoration of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea re-opening embassies in each other's capitals.

Ruiz said the historic agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the tripartite bringing both countries together with Somalia offer unprecedented opportunities and open a pathway to a new era of cooperation.

"Transforming the region will not only require political commitment and leadership, but also sound economic strategies to keep pace with the expectations of the people of the region," he said.
File Photo: U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, visits an exhibition on his invested companies before the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States, on May 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:40:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NICOSIA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Saturday strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades branded Turkey's move as unlawful and added that actions are being taken to counter it. He did not go into details, though, saying that the foreign minister who coordinates this action will make a briefing on the issue.

Anastasiades noted that Turkey's actions came as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

"Turkey's actions can't help this dialogue and it is time for everyone to understand that unfortunately there are obstacles that reasonably can't lead to the resumption of dialogue despite our political will," Anastasiades said.

Shortly after Anastasiades's statement, Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a strongly worded statement deploring Turkish actions as illegal.

In the statement, she called on Turkey to refrain from "illegal actions" and added that there would be EU response "in full solidarity with Cyprus."

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini's statement read.

According to the statement, in March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the statement noted.

Turkey said on Friday it has issued a notice to mariners blocking entry into a sea zone about 60 kilometers off the western city of Paphos, saying it has sent there its drilling ship to carry out offshore exploratory drilling, according to media reports.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:45:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ALGIERS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Security services in Algeria on Saturday arrested a number of former senior intelligence officials, local media reported.

The arrested officials include Mohamed Medien (alias Toufik) and Bachir Tartag, two former intelligence chiefs, and Said Bouteflika, brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, quoting security sources, TSA news website reported.

The three officials were accused publicly by Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah of plotting schemes against the army and the nation to thwart the popular protest movement that erupted across Algeria to demand political change.

Toufik served as Algeria's intelligence boss from 1990 to 2015.

Tartag is considered as close member of the presidential clan. He resigned as chief of intelligence on April 2, the same day of former President Bouteflika's resignation.

Said Bouteflika took advantage of the illness of President Bouteflika to take key decisions that harmed the nation's interests, Salah said.

Algerians have been protesting since Feb 22 across the country to demand the departure of the regime.

The military institution pledged to work for meeting the people's aspirations, as a series of arrests were launched against several prominent state and military officials as well as businessmen, who are prosecuted over corruption charges.
Supporter of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido clash with forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro on April 30, 2019. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza will hold talks here on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.

Lavrov and Arreaza will discuss the pressure exerted by a group of countries on Caracas and Washington's threats to use force against the incumbent government, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

According to the Russian media Sputnik, Ryabkov said it is necessary to curb street chaos that the opposition incited for provocations, and Russia advocates inclusive dialogue, which the Venezuelan government is ready for.

He underlined that Russia and Venezuela are "reliable partners."

The meeting with Arreaza will take place just one day ahead of Lavrov's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Venezuela among other issues in Finland on Monday.

In a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country."

External interference does nothing but undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the current crisis, Putin told Trump.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

The attempted coup was later frustrated by security forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:10:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The intricately-carved orb of a magical pumpkin glows a vibrant green as if suffused with life, a crystalline baby sleeps curled in sweet repose, and a forest of ruby-red flower petals yearn skyward from illuminated stems. Riots of colors swirl and dance - from the pristinely transparent, to luminous white, to electric blues and sunny yellows - all captured in stunning Liuli (colored glaze) sculptures that draw admiring crowds and the whir of press cameras.

It's all happening at an ongoing art exhibition in the U.S. city of Costa Mesa in southern California on Thursday, entitled "Goodbye Movies, Hello Liuli -- The Liuli Art of Loretta H. Yang and Chang Yi."

The show that kicked off on Thursday and will last until May 12 at South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center on the U.S. West Coast, coincided with the plaza's Asian heritage month festivities.

Three blonde ladies who had gone through the exhibit together were enthralled. "It's beautiful!" said one. "So natural and spiritual," said the second. "It's one of the most amazing exhibits South Coast Plaza has ever had. Very Zen. Very special," said the third.

Loretta H. Yang, an award-winning film actress from China's Taiwan, co-founded with her husband Chang Yi, a renowned film director, the first contemporary Liuli art studio in Asia in 1987. Yang is a two-time winner of the Best Leading Actress award at the Golden Horse Awards and winner of the Best Actress prize at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. They were at the height of their film careers in the late 1980s when they gave it all up to answer the siren call of a very different artform: Liuli.

The couple told media at the opening ceremony that they have been committed to the research and revival of the Liuli pate-de-verre technique that dates back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

"It was important to us both to convey the profound essence of the Chinese culture and celebrate their artistic expression through the rich medium of Liuli," Yang told Xinhua.

"Our focus is not just pure artistic creation as modern artists. We want to connect more with the people by integrating traditional elements as well," added Chang.

Chang told Xinhua, "We are happy to have this exhibit in California. We would like to share the love and the wisdom behind Liuli with American audiences too."

The Shanghai and Taipei-based collaborators have exhibited their work in such prestigious institutions as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Bowers Museum in California, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The entire display, including the curved wall enclosures and intricate pedestals and lighting effects were carefully designed by the artists themselves to an environment that does not just showcase the work, but becomes a holistic and integrated part of it.

Carmela Spinelli, a fashion historian visiting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, was astounded by the intricate beauty of the exhibition.

"I got chills walking through it," she told Xinhua. "The sense of tranquility, the exquisite glass sculptures, the videos, the matching Haiku poetry, the lighting, and even the bases the sculptures rest on are all finely conceived and integrated into an astoundingly complex, multi-faceted cohesive whole without a single jarring note. That makes your spirits soar."

One of the centerpieces of the exhibit, "Delivered to Great Love," is a red, 70-inch glass flower resting on a base that weighs over a ton with a Buddha's eye closed in meditation. In a nod to China's deep belief in the power of the collective, they crafted the flower not as one large sculpture, but as 17 distinct, sculpted petals and stems, which, when clustered together, create a single flawless bloom.

"This is a harmonious and mutually-beneficial relationship that does not focus on the self but on the greater good of everyone involved," explained the artists.

The exhibit gives art-lovers a much-needed sense of tranquility and peace. Thomas, an American man whose wife had owned an art gallery near San Francisco for years, said of the work, "We gravitated to Liuli as an artform. It has a strong spiritual element."

Marilyn, an acupuncturist and U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization, said of the work, "It has revived a type of artwork in China that has been lost for many centuries. In Western glass, only Lalique and Baccarat still survive. Liuli is a magnificent style of art that is based on the Chinese culture, which has so many layers to it - philosophically, spiritually, Feng Shui...It's all there."

Peter Keller, President of the Bowers Museum, told Xinhua, "We were the first museum to exhibit Loretta Yang in the United States. Now, you can see how far she's come and how well this work resonates with American audiences."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:20:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Greece condemned on Saturday Turkey's decision to proceed to drilling for oil and gas in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We call on Turkey to immediately stop its illegal activities, to respect the inalienable rights of the sovereign Republic of Cyprus that it exercises for the benefit of all the Cypriot people and to avoid further actions that undermine stability in the region as well as the resumption of talks for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem," said an e-mailed press statement issued from the Greek Foreign Ministry.

Athens is in constant communication and coordination with the Republic of Cyprus and European Union (EU) partners regarding the next steps, said the statement.

Ankara announced lately its intention to conduct exploratory drilling operations in the area in the coming months.

Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement on Saturday, expressing "grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus."

In March 2018, Mogherini's statement read, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," it noted.

Turkey rejected Mogherini's statement later on Saturday, saying "Turkey's hydrocarbon related activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law."

"Having the longest coastal line in the region, we will protect our own rights and interests within our continental shelf, as well as those of the Turkish Cypriots around the Cyprus Island," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It blamed the Greek Cypriot Administration for not having abstained from "irresponsibly jeopardizing the security and stability" of the region, "by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots, who are co-owners of the Cyprus Island, on the natural resources, refusing every proposal of cooperation and insisting on its unilateral activities in the region despite all our warnings."

Turkey asked all other actors outside the region to "acknowledge the fact that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot be excluded from the energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean and they should stop providing unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot Administration."

Earlier on Saturday, Cyprus strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot EEZ, saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:31:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian capital is hosting the International Puppet Theatre Festival, with theatre troupes from 12 countries and regions around the world participating.

Puppet theatre troupes from Russia, Brazil, Belgium, UK, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Albania and Kosovo will showcase for one week their original works.

The Albanian troupe started the festival with the show Three Pigs on Friday evening.

"Our first aim is cultural exchange, to take the world's experiences on how a puppet theater is developed, and to introduce other troupes to Albania," said Erion Isai, director of the Puppet Theater.

Shegushe Bebeti, an actress from the Albanian Puppet Theater, said the program of the festival will include a variety of different puppet shows for kids, families, adults, which will help all the troupes not only to gain experiences, but also to learn from each other.

From May 3 to 9, children and adults alike will have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of puppet shows at the Puppet Theatre of the capital.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkey killed 28 Kurdish militants on Saturday in retaliation to an attack which left three Turkish soldiers dead, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, three Turkish soldiers were killed and one was injured in a mortar attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey southeastern Hakkari province.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat.

Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire both in Turkey's Hakkari and Syria's Tel Rifaat, the ministry said.

The PKK, regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday that Lebanon has around 136 illegal borders on its territories which should be shut down to protect the Lebanese market from the smuggling of foreign products.

"These illegal borders are killing our economy and industry and we need a political and security decision to shut them down and to stop protecting those who smuggle products from nearby countries," Bassil was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

The minister's remarks came during his meeting with industrialists in Jbeil, Mount of Lebanon.

Bassil assured that there is a need to protect certain kinds of industries which will generate revenues for the government.

"But this subject was never tackled in the council of ministers because there is a political decision not to protect local industries. We should stop these policies and commit to protecting our industries," he said.

Over a month ago, Lebanese industrialists announced a state of industrial emergency in Lebanon, calling upon officials to take quick measures to save the sector from further deterioration.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:26:18|Editor: ZX

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Smokes and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, May 4, 2019. Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

GAZA/RAMALLAH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll on Saturday increased to four and more than 20 others were wounded during the ongoing Israeli army airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the attacks targeted military posts and facilities that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He said that a 25-year-old Palestinian young man was killed by the shrapnel of an Israeli airstrike as he was driving a three-wheel motorcycle in northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

A pregnant mother and her 14-month-old female toddler were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military post which is close to their house in eastern Gaza city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the escalating Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).

According to the report, President Abbas called on the international community "to ensure an international protection of the Palestinian people."

"The current silence toward the crimes of Israel and toward its violations of the international law is encouraging Israel to carry on committing more crimes against the children of the Palestinian people," said Abbas.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, called on Egypt and the United Nations to stop the assaults on the Gaza Strip and restore calm.

He called on the international community to intervene immediately and halt the Israeli attacks, adding "the authority of the occupation should be accountable for committing crimes against our people."

Gaza militant groups fired more rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday night, while Israeli warplanes continued striking on military facilities and posts that belong to militant groups.

The Gaza Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises various Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement, warned Israel on Saturday of escalating its aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The chamber of military operations said in a press statement that "the response of the factions will be bigger, larger and tougher in case the occupation (Israel) expands its assaults and aggression."

"The armed wings of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip will be the defensive shield for our people and our lands," said the statement, adding "the joint chamber of operations will keep an eye on the Zionist enemy's behavior on the ground."

It claimed responsibility for launching dozens of projectiles and rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, adding "launching rockets was made in the frame of responding to the Zionist enemy's violations and shedding our people's blood."

Tension between Israel and the Palestinian factions' militant groups has been flaring since Friday.

More rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli warplanes and Israeli army artillery continued launching strikes on militants' facilities and posts all over the coastal enclave.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli army spokesman announced that its warplanes destroyed an underground tunnel that belongs to the Islamic Jihad and goes from the town of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip into Israel.

More than 30 military posts and training facilities that belong to various factions' armed wing were hit by Israeli warplanes missiles all over the Gaza Strip, while militants fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The Israeli cabinet decided on Saturday night to expand its strikes on militant groups in the Gaza Strip, while Gaza militants fired more rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel.

Leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad are currently in Cairo holding talks with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on defusing the growing tension in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday held the east-based army responsible for the return of Islamic State (IS) to southern Libya, following a deadly attack carried out by the terrorists in the southern city of Sabha against an army training center.

"The (government's) Presidential Council holds Haftar (army commander) directly responsible for the return of IS to its activity, after the services of government of national accord managed to eliminate the organization and pursue its remnants and sleeper cells," the government said in a statement.

"Haftar left his forces in chaos in the south, after he claimed that his war there aimed to eliminate terrorism," the statement added.

The government also condemned the attack, offering condolences to the families of the victims.

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, since January.

The army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thanassis Theocharopoulos, leader of the Democratic Left (DIMAR) party in Greece, was sworn in on Saturday as the country's new tourism minister in a ceremony here at the Presidential Mansion, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Theocharopoulos was appointed to the post after his predecessor Elena Kountoura resigned earlier this week in order to focus on her campaign for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Several MPs and mayors have resigned in recent weeks from their posts to concentrate on the campaign for the European ballot slated for May 26 in Greece.

Theocharopoulos, 40, holds a MSc in Agricultural Engineering and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics.

Tourism, a traditionally strong pillar of the Greek economy, has been a key driver in Greece's efforts to deal with the debt crisis in the past decade.

Greece welcomed more than 30 million visitors last year, setting a new all-time record, and the trend is positive also this year, according to experts from the tourism industry.

"We are working together to promote realistic Left solutions for society's problems. We are moving forward with decisiveness and boldness," Theocharopoulos told Greek national broadcaster ERT outside the Presidential Mansion, commenting on his party's decision to cooperate with the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA ahead of the European elections.

Currently DIMAR, a small social democratic party, holds one seat in the 300-member strong Greek parliament. Theocharopoulos is the party's only MP. The next general elections in Greece will be held in October 2019, as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:01:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Amid a global slowdown in auto sales, General Motors (GM), Ford, and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) have accelerated model changeover and restructured their joint ventures in China, the world's biggest auto market.

In their recently released first quarter results, all the "Big Three" from U.S. auto industry hub Detroit reported decreased worldwide deliveries. Their volumes in China slid as well at a time when China's auto sales in the first quarter of 2019 were down 11.3 percent year over year.

As the three leading U.S. automakers strive hard in their home market, they are wasting no time in rolling out new models in China, in a bid to revitalize their performance there.

GM and its joint ventures in China delivered nearly 814,000 vehicles in China in Q1, down 17.45 percent from the same period of 2018.

Under increasing pressure from fierce competition, GM has planned a major model changeover in China this year, with a pledge to continuously improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles and broadly apply its global technologies on models built and sold locally.

In the first quarter, GM's Chevrolet brand launched new Monza and Onix sedans in China.

In April, 15 new or refreshed Chevrolet vehicles were shown at Auto Shanghai 2019, this year's leading automotive event in China.

During the auto show, GM unveiled the all-new Chevrolet Trailblazer compact SUV and Tracker small SUV, as part of its effort to further strengthen the brand's presence in China.

"Chevrolet is bringing to China world-class vehicles that leverage GM's global resources and target our customers' specific needs," said Scott Lawson, general director of Chevrolet for SAIC-GM, a joint venture between the U.S. automaker and its Shanghai-based partner.

Cadillac, the luxury brand of GM, brought its six-seat SUV XT6 to the Shanghai auto show, the first time in Asia. It will also be the first localized global large luxury SUV in the market, said GM, and will be available later this year.

Buick, another GM brand, debuted its all-new Encore and Encore GX, two small/compact SUVs at the Shanghai auto show.

Buick also unveiled Velite 6, the brand's first all-electric vehicle, joining other global competitors in China's rapidly expanding new-energy vehicle market. Buick plans to introduce eight new and refreshed products this year and more than 20 new and refreshed models between 2019 and 2023 in China.

Another leading U.S. automaker Ford has also announced that it will launch more than 30 new vehicles tailored to Chinese consumers in the next three years, in order to make a quick turnaround in China.

During an April event in Shanghai, Ford said that among the new Ford and Lincoln vehicles to be introduced in China, at least 10 will be electric cars.

More importantly, as part of "Ford China 2.0" strategy, Ford will set up four centers in China, focused on innovation, design, products and new energy vehicles respectively.

"China is leading the world with smart vehicles, and is a key part of Ford's global vision for the future. We are excited about seeing more products developed in China, for China and from China," Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett was quoted as saying.

"Ford is deeply committed to China, and with our new China leadership team and vision, we're investing in the future -- a future that starts today," he added.

At the "Ford China 2.0" conference recently held in Shanghai, Ford launched SYNC+, a new in-vehicle infotainment system co-developed with China's IT giant Baidu for Chinese consumers.

Since July, Ford has taken urgent measures to address underperformance in China after it suffered a sharp decline in overall profits in the second quarter of 2018.

The sale of Ford-branded -- import and domestic -- vehicles totaled 74,651 in Q1 2019, down 48.4 percent year over year, a harsher reality Ford has to face in China than its Detroit peer GM.

The blue oval now tries to improve cost competitiveness with aggressive fitness actions, localize more products in China, as well as recruit more local talent to key management positions.

Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American automaker, suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally. Its combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said on Friday that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, and underlined the progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

The streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," FCA said in a statement.

Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said that with such a deeper integration of the business between FCA and GAC, and the next steps in improving competitiveness in China, they will be able to "better react to the demands of the Chinese market."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:06:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday condemned the deadly attack carried out by Islamic State (IS) militants on an army training center in the south Libya's Sabha city.

"The UNSMIL strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sabha, which was claimed by the IS in the Levant and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties. Perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," the mission said in a statement.

"This attack serves as a strong reminder to all Libyans, as well as to the international community, that terrorist groups will exploit every opportunity, including the ongoing fighting in Tripoli, to expand their presence in Libya," the statement added.

The mission called on Libyan parties to "to refrain from further military escalation and focus their efforts instead on combating this common enemy."

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the eastern-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar.

The army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting has so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
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- The Government adopted, on Friday, the emergency ordinance that provides for granting a single time, in January, a financial aid to pensioners with a pension less than or equal to 1,600 lei per month, Labour Minister Marius Budai announced. "We inform you that the social package assumed by

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- Nava umanitara germana Sea-Watch 3 avand la bord peste 400 de migranti salvati din ambarcatiuni in dificultate pe Marea Mediterana continua joi sa astepte autorizarea de a acosta intr-un port european, transmite dpa. Anterior, trei femei care suferisera arsuri puternice au fost preluate de

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- Trupa rock Red Hot Chili Peppers a anuntat o serie de concerte pe stadioane din Europa si America pentru 2022, informeaza News.ro. Turneul va incepe in luna iunie, in Spania, iar dupa 13 concerte in Europa, va continua in America de Nord cu 19 show-uri. Va fi pentru prima data cand RHCP va

- Former national leader of the National Liberal Party (PN), major at rule, Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday that settling the ongoing political and governmental crisis is a national emergency that has to happen immediately, with the option of rebuilding the coalition around PNL ointly with the Save

- Prime Minister Florin Citu considers that, during this period, political leaders should "totally dissociate" themselves from those who conduct anti-vaccination campaigns and considers that the protest that took place on Saturday was a "cynical one" ". "We also looked at yesterday's protest,

- Prime Minister Florin Citu stated that the allotted budget for this year for Healthcare, up to this time, was by 5.7 billion RON bigger than last year and mentioned that the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta benefited from European funds worth 22.6 million RON, allotted for the management
From the beginning of the day, May 4th, the pro-Russian militants violated the ceasefire nine times and used weapons of prohibited calibers in Donbas conflict zone. This is reported by the JFO headquarters.



In the Luhansk sector, the militants fired at Ukrainian positions six times.



Mariinka, Novomykhailivka, Pisky, Talakivka and Lebedynske got under fire from grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms.



In the Donetsk sector, the occupants fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine three times.

Zaitseve came under fire from 120 caliber mortars, Luhanske - from 82 caliber, and Zolote-4 was shelled from automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.



No casualties among the Joint Forces were reported.



Losses of the enemy are being specified.

Earlier Ihor Kolomoysky, the Ukrainian businessman and oligarch said there's a civilian conflict going on in Donbas, and Russia has been supporting one of the sides in it.

When asked about the belligerents in this war, Kolomoysky replied that 'Ukrainians fight against Ukrainians'.

The Ukrainian oligarch believes if it was not for Russia's support, the conflict would have been settled a long time ago. The businessman is convinced that Russia provoked and organized these hostilities in Ukraine.

Kolomoysky is known for his close business ties with Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.
A portable ground control complex Kredo-M1, which is arms of the Russian Army, was spotted on the occupied territories of Donbas near Pervomaisk village. The Special Monitoring Mission OSCE in Ukraine reported this on May 3.

On May 2, 2019, the drone of small radius of action recorded the portable ground control observation station PSNR-8 Kredo-M1 - in the western outskirts of Pervomaysk settlement (58 km west of Lugansk), the report said.

This week, the sappers examined the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and destroyed 18 explosive devices in the Donbas conflict zone.



State Emergency Service specialists examined 73.6 hectares. In this area, 18 explosive devices were discovered, which were subsequently destroyed. The survey was conducted at the Donetsk filtering station, in the area of the underground high-pressure gas pipeline in Mariupol, on the territory near the water supply network in the settlement of Nyzhnya Olkhova, in Toretsk and Novhorodske. Rescuers also worked at the cemeteries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
PrivatBank has increased the net commission income almost twice, up to 571 billion 257 million dollars, which made the highest record. The annual report of the company E&Y outlined this, as the press service of PrivatBank reported.

The increase of active users of the bank up to 10% and the number of transactions both in offices and online allowed net commission income to increase up to 49% in comparison to 2017, the report said.

According to the report, the increase of the net commission income in 2018 made 14.7 percent in comparison with 2017.

Commissions form a great part of the income of the bank is the important factor of the stability of the business model: the net commission income covers the administrative expenses over 109%, the report said.

Thus, PrivatBank appeared to be one of the best banks in Ukraine, the revenues of which exceeded over expenses in 2018.

In addition, according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, PrivatBank is the leader at the market of retail cashless transactions and it provides 42% of the commission income of the entire banking sector.

Earlier, on April 18, Kyiv-based court ruled that the nationalization of Privatbank in late 2017 was 'conducted with multiple law breaches.' The court, thus, granted the motion by Ihor Kolomoysky, the oligarch who appealed against the nationalization of the bank he had owned. District Administrative Court of Kyiv granted the claim of Kolomoysky, as he appealed against the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukraines Government on nationalization of PrivatBank.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, Zelenskys Advisor, former Finance Minister of Ukraine Dzerkalo Tyzhnia

Advisor to the president-elect of Ukraine, former Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk discussed the diversification of energy supplies to Ukraine on a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in Brussels. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky's team on Facebook.



During the meeting, we talked about attracting investments to increase natural gas production in Ukraine, possible ways of supplying American liquefied natural gas, as well as reforming the gas market in Ukraine, including Naftogaz Company, the message said.



Danyliuk noted that the role of the United States in diversifying energy supplies is important for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.



According to him, this reduces political risks and the cost of energy for consumers.

As we reported, uring a visit to Brussels, advisers to the president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of meetings with European officials and agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. Zelensky's press service reported this.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Oleksandr Danyliuk, Zelensky's adviser. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.
Open source

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has resumed sanctions threats against German companies that are participating in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline across the bottom of the Baltic Sea. FOCUS reported that.



From the American point of view, the gas pipeline will provide not only gas, but also an increased risk of sanctions, Grenell said.



He warned that European countries would become dependent on Russia because of the pipeline.



Among the German companies participating in the Nord Stream-2 project are the Uniper energy group and the oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea.



It is not the first time that Grenell has publicly demonstrated the position of the United States regarding the Nord Stream-2. In January, he even sent a letter to a number of German companies, in which he declared "a significant risk of sanctions" in connection with the implementation of the gas pipeline project.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the final defeat of the Islamic State militants in Syria, reports Reuters. "Trump has said Islamic State no longer holds territory several times over the past few weeks. But U.S. officials told Reuters that fighting still continued late into Thursday between U.S.-backed forces and Islamic State militants in the last remaining territory it holds," the report said.As reported, Acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said to President Donald Trump that the territory of Syria was freed from the control of the Islamic State militants.Earlier it was reported about the storming of the settlement of Baguz on the border with Iraq, which was the last point, control of which was maintained by ISIS in Syria. The success of the assault should be a signal for the withdrawal of American troops from this country, as announced by Donald Trump. Now there are about 2,000 U.S. servicemen there, about 400 will remain to secure the local security forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president elect Open source

Advisors to president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky came to Brussels and held a series of meetings with European officials. The latter agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Olexander Danyliuk, Zelensky's advisor. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka, during their visit to Brussels, held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament registered the bill on holding the solemn session of the parliament devoted to the making an oath to the Ukrainian people by President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk, Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBK, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Five trucks deliver products and hygiene kits to citizens of Donbas

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 95 tons of humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas, as Ukraines State Border Guard Service reported.

According to the report, five trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

Their baggage is 95 tons of products and hygiene kits. The humanitarian aid is sent for the residents of Donetsk occupied territories.

As we reported earlier, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

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 representatives of the illegal armed formations did not let three trucks carrying humanitarian aid onto the occupied territory of Donbas.
The press service of the Presidential Administration published the order of the President

Yuriy Fedorov, Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine State Security Service

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, as is written in the order  179/2019.

Yuriy Fedorov is Major General, born in Boyarka, Kyiv region on March 12, 1975. He has been serving in the State Guard of Ukraine since 1995. He was appointed as the Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine in 2014, replacing dismissed acting head Konstantin Kobzar by the order of Olexandr Turchynov.

Earlier, Oleg Gladkovsky was dismissed from his post of First Deputy Chairman of the National Security and Defence Council.

He added that his goal is to create conditions which could make people believe in the impartiality of the investigation.
uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations

In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the controller cannot provide any meaningful ADS-B performance information.

The best way to verify the correct functioning of ADS-B equipment is by requesting a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR)  which Larry also mentioned. This is what the FAA and ATC prefer.

I really enjoyed the article, by the way.

Paul Von Hoene

Folks, really not happy with your article yesterday regarding the uAvionix ADS-B wing-tip beacon. Your articles are usually very accurate and un-biased, but this one was the worst-case scenario!

I have helped or done 20+ installations using this device and the comments about it taking 4 hours are simply not normal or accurate. The vast majority that I have done or assisted with are installed in 15-20 minutes, and the setup or configuration using a phone or iPad rarely takes more than 20-30 minutes.

Then the comments about the 337 paperwork and such extending the time needed to 4 hours is sad to see as well. uAvionix have a long list of air-frames that are on their STC list and one of those requires a simple logbook entry then the validation flight.

I have no association with uAvionix other than I am one of their Qualified Installers and an A&P/IA. Hope that in the future you can re-address this and tell aircraft owners the truth and not the worst-case scenario as was done in this case.

Joe Abrahamson

The (Im)possible Turn

Finally, this argument is getting addressed with logic. For example, sailplane training includes tow rope break response. At 200 AGL in most trainers, options were 30 degrees or so left or right. Above 200 a return to the airport was not only possible, but sometimes required full air brakes and slips. To cement the idea, students call out 200 during the tow, they practice returns from this elevation, and the turn-around callout and a surprise release is part of the practical exam. Why not make it a part of normal takeoff chatter along with airspeed alive? Of course sailplanes have glide ratios that can approach 60:1 and your mileage in a C152 may vary, but the point is that a decision should be based on plane/pilot combinations that have been practiced and proven (at altitude) so that at some callout altitude a return to the runway becomes not just possible, but the best option.

As my CFI said, the best response to a lot of flying questions is: It depends.

John Lerchen

Undoing An Upset

All that talk about upsets with definite emphasis on spins, but NOTHING on spiral departures, which evolve rapidly into big descent rates and nose down one hole crashes too.

Bill Simpson

I must take issue with your use of the term deep stall in reference to doing a falling leaf. In a deep stall you lose effectiveness of all or a portion of your rudder and/or elevator. In a falling leaf both remain effective (except at the moment of stall break), otherwise you would not be able to perform the maneuver.

Bill Post

Reporting Fires In The Air

Here in Southern California we have two seasonswet and dry. Our dry season is also called Fire Season. Last year in late fire season I noticed smoke coming from one of our local hills. This is where a fire had developed and extinguished. However, I could see the fire had reignited.

I didnt know how to report the fire so I tried calling Riverside tower (KRAL) and gave them the position of the fire. I was flying from my home airport KAJO to KHMT for a breakfast flight. KHMT is also the base for firefighting tankers. Within ten minutes of my report I could see a flight of three fast moving aircraft at my twelve on my ADSB screen and same altitude. I descended and I could see three fire bombers flying toward the fire.

A week later while flying to Riverside Airport the controller heard my aircraft ID and asked if I was the one who reported the fire. He said the fire fighter wanted to thank me for the early warning. My report was the first they knew of the re-burn.

It is my belief that many pilots may see smoke and either think someone already knows about it or they dont know how to report it. Pilots could help during fire season if we were trained on how to spot fires and how to properly report them. It made me feel that my flying that day was a benefit to our firefighting efforts and not just another breakfast flight.

John Miller
This order was published on the website of the Presidential Administration

Open source

President of Petro Poroshenko dismissed Yuriy Artemenko from the post of the member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. The order was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.

According to the paragraph 13 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I resolve: to dismiss Artemenko Yuriy Anatoliyovych from the post of a member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, the report said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, reads the order  179/2019.
Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25

U.S. leader Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federatiom Vladimir Putin had a long-lasting phone call. They discussed the current crisis in Venezuela, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nuclear treaty with the possible participation of China and settling down the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The White House published this, as Deutsche Welle reported.

The call, which aides said lasted more than an hour, also included topics like a possible three-party arms control pact with China and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It should be noted that the heads of states discussed the current crisis in Venezuela and the nuclear weapons treaty.

The Kremlin said that the U.S. party initiated the call.

The presidents discussed the economic cooperation, in particular, the development of mutually beneficial trade and investment ties, the press service of the Kremlin said.

Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25.

Also, they discussed the report of the Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, who directed the investigation into Russia's possible interference into the US elections in 2016.

In addition, the issue of a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine was raised as well.
Leonid Zalyubovskiy, Oksana Zolotaryova and Andriy Tarasov will join the delegation to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea concerning the capture of Ukrainian sailors

Open source

The head of the delegation from Ukraine in International Tribunal will be Olena Zerkal, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration. The court will hold the hearing in the case against Russia on captured Ukrainian sailors. This is mentioned in the order 182/2019 of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenk, published on May 3.

To form the delegation of Ukraine for participation in the hearings of the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation concerning the immunity of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 members of the crew, the document said.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olena Zerkal is appointed the head of the delegation.

The delegation also included Leonid Zalyubovskiy, the Assistant Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Legal Affairs, Oksana Zolotaryova, the Deputy Director of the Department and the Head of the Department of Temporary Occupied Territories of the Department of International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andriy Tarasov, the Chief of Staff and the First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy.

Earlier, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held public hearings on Russia capturing Ukrainian sailors.

'President of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea defined dates of hearings in the case of temporary measures against the Russian Federation, as it violated the immunity of three Ukrainian Navy vessels and 24 crew members. The public hearings will take place on May 10 and May 11, 2019,' reads the message.
Open source

The Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine registered the bill on holding the solemn session devoted to the President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky making an oath on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk from the Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBC-Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Reading, Screening and Performance. Smith reading from his latest book, Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera (Eyewear Press, UK), based on his award-winning column in the Tucson Weekly; a screening of the festival-winning documentary short, TUCSON SALVAGE, based upon it; and live performance.

The book Tucson Salvage introduces readers/viewers to people and places on the margins of US society with great empathy and lyric, understated prose. While based in the Southwest, these are universal stories of everyday people struggling below the poverty line in Trumps America.

The documentary Tucson Salvage is a meditation on several humans living on the margins and below the poverty line, in Tucson, Arizona. All these individualsman, woman and transhave suffered at the hands of traditional society and have had to escape the mental or physical imprisonment of their bodies, their attitudes and their spirits. Many are literal ex-cons, recovered junkies, but none are passive victims. First-time director Maggie Smith has created an intimate, unflinching look at stories rarely seen on the big screenas much about fighting as suffering, transcending as falling prey to their own pain. Gritty, raw and emotionally challenging, TUCSON SALVAGE brings you close to people not usually seen or valued in society, and in doing so, holds a mirror to us all.
A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS. After the EAEU Intergovernmental Councils meeting in Yerevan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan held a joint press conference. Nikol Pashinyan and Tigran Sargsyan made statements for the press and answered journalists questions, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Below is the full text of the press conference.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan:

Dear mass media representatives,

Dear Tigran Surenovich,

I want to express our satisfaction with the todays session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Commission. We hope that this session, as well as other initiatives held under Armenias presidency within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, will help us further the integration process and record practical results first of all for the citizens of our countries. Armenia is interested in increasing the effectiveness of integration processes within the Union and is ready to make the necessary efforts to reach that goal.

13 issues were on the agenda of todays meeting. Many of them are important in terms of achieving deeper integration. In particular, I mean the implementation of one of the priorities of the Digital Agenda. We have discussed ways of shaping a digital eco-trading system within the EAEU, which is crucial for developing online trading.

The use of electronic digital signatures in contacts between the executive authorities and business entities in Armenia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan was discussed during the meeting. This issue was raised the Armenian side, and we are glad that our partners expressed readiness to support the motion.

We also discussed the Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer Eurasia Network project. Its main purpose is to create an ecosystem of partnership formation, involve small and medium-sized enterprises in major chains of manufacturers, as well as stimulate innovative processes through technology transfer.

Our agenda also comprised the elimination of the conditions impeding the activities of the Eurasian Economic Unions internal market. I would also like to highlight the decision concerning the one-stop-shop mechanism in streamlining foreign economic activities.



EAEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan will probably give more detail on the decisions passed in the Union, and I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of todays session for efficacious proceedings.

I would like to state our readiness to host other EAEU events in Yerevan.

We will be pleased to welcome the Heads of State at the forthcoming regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to be held in Armenia this October.

Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan:

Thank you, Nikol Vovayevich. Dear mass media representatives,

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we usually discuss issues where a consensus and the prime ministers approval are required in order to adopt political decisions. And we can state today that we have agreed on all 13 items. Now, I would like to refer to some of the problematic issues that we had on the agenda.

The first problematic issue consists in the barriers and restrictions on the way to forming common markets. We submit quarterly reports to the prime ministers on the situation that is developing in our common markets in order to create more favorable conditions for business, so that they do not encounter obstacles in cross-border areas. Unfortunately, we reported that this problem has not been solved so far, and political will is needed on the part of the prime ministers in order to remove the barriers, about 65 altogether. We have developed roadmaps to overcome these barriers, but it is necessary that all governments take control of these issues so that we can remove them.

The second aspect, which is important for our business, is the anti-dumping investigation function, which is carried out by the Board. In particular, we conducted such an anti-dumping investigation in order to protect the interests of herbicide producers in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. Several European companies used to apply dumping policies n an effort to take control of our home market. An anti-dumping investigation was carried out, but there was a veto that prevented us from exercising this right. We are pleased to note with satisfaction that today we managed to come to a consensus on the matter at hand, and the Boards relevant decision will soon come into force.

The next problematic issue concerned sugar, which is imported into free economic zones, and then the goods that are produced in these zones enter our common market in breach of competitive regulations. Here, too, we managed to come to a consensus today, and there is an agreement that, starting from January 1, 2020, sugar will be in the list of goods that should not go into free economic zones. That is, we create equal competitive conditions.

Another veto was exercised by our Russian partners on the Boards decision on whether we should close the domestic markets for individual producers if we encounter any problems. The Board made a decision that the Russian milk market could not be closed if there were any entities in breach of our common technical standards. After discussions, a consensus decision was reached, stating that Boards approach was correct: we have no right to close the domestic markets unilaterally, and any decision to ban imports should target specific companies. These examples suggest that the format of the intergovernmental council is effective, because it allows us to handle sensitive issues like that and come to a consensus.

As Nikol Vovayevich mentioned, the second group of questions seek to develop the Union, In particular, the initiative of the Republic of Armenia on electronic documents was supported by the Board and by the Commission of the Eurasian Union, and is being processed by our digital office. That is, Armenias experience is scaled to the entire Eurasian Union.

Today we approved a reference scheme for one-stop-shop services. This is crucial for business. If the five member nations form this single window in accordance with this model, our countries will provide services in a more comfortable and business-friendly manner, and there is also an agreement on this issue. Including, of course, the launch of the first digital project, which solves the problem of cooperation.

First of all, the digital platform being formed will protect the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, because a huge amount of operating expenses for small businesses are removed, and through this digital platform they can sell their services and goods and at the same time find clients for themselves. So this is quite a serious breakthrough.

And concluding my speech, I would like to note that todays decisions on the digital agenda of the intergovernmental council allow us to state that within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union a digital ecosystem is being established for the first time that will allow our countries to exercise their digital sovereignty. We will not only be users of transnational digital platforms, we will have our own digital Eurasian platform.

Thank you.

Armenia TV channel - Mr Prime Minister, what are our priorities within the framework of the EAEU, since we are presiding over the Union? And a question for Tigran Sargsyan: with which countries will the EAEU sign an agreement on establishing free trade zones, and does the sanctions position of Iran affect the implementation of said agreement with this country?

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Thank you for the question. As I said in my speech, one of the Eurasian Economic Union-related priorities is the formation of a common market for natural gas, oil and oil products, as well as a common electricity market  in the near future. Discussions are underway both in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and in the bilateral format, and I hope that this process will achieve its goal because, as I have repeatedly said, this is a very important moment for the Eurasian Economic Union as you may know that gas and energy prices have a very specific impact on the cost of goods, and this is a nuance that is very important for a common economic territory.

Another priority is the digital agenda, and I think that digitization will really bring our economies together and will create real opportunities for direct cooperation between the economic entities of our countries.

There are, of course, many more important issues, but these ones seem to be the most important from the perspective of the Eurasian Economic Unions development and further expansion, and in terms of increasing the Unions attractiveness for its members and third countries. Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan: The situation in the free trade zones is as follows: we have a valid agreement with Vietnam, which has been effective for two years because trade with Vietnam is increasing every year in double digits, and this indicates that free trade zone is a real stimulator of increased trade. Thus, this means that there is at the same time a potential for economic growth as the Vietnamese market is too large and dynamically developing, that is, it is also exciting for Armenian producers.

The second agreement is a temporary arrangement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran. This agreement has already been ratified in almost all member countries. In Kazakhstan for instance, it is pending the Presidents signature. After that, our Iranian partners will ratify it, and the agreement will come into force.

The following agreement is on the creation of a free trade zone with Serbia. This agreement is relevant for Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, because three countries - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan - have free trade zone agreements already signed with Serbia, and now we need to make one for the entire Eurasian Union. We are close to completing this agreement.

The following agreements that we are currently working on are the agreement with Singapore, the formation of a free trade zone with India and Egypt. Negotiations are underway with them and with Israel as well.



I listed seven areas regarding which the Supreme Council has instructed us to work through, negotiate and prepare appropriate documents. So we will gradually submit these agreements for approval.

As for Iran, of course, the situation here is complicated by the fact that when we were negotiating, there was no new sanctions package against Iran. This, of course, will make certain adjustments for economic entities, because we see that this seriously affects the technology of trade and transactions, financial transactions with our Iranian counterparts, but at the same time it is clear that the sanctions that are applied to Iran create additional opportunities, especially for Armenia, because Armenia can use its geographical position and offer a certain set of tools that could contribute to trade turnover with Iran. Thereby, Armenia may exercise its function of a bridge between Iran and the Eurasian Union. I think it should be tapped. Thank you.

Interfax N/A - I have a question for Mr. Sargsyan. There is a lot of talk about a technical dialogue initiated between the European and Eurasian Economic Commissions, which was not there before, but the essence has not been revealed. Please reveal what this dialogue is about and what it is like?

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan - Thank you, this is an important question, because the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Commission, and the Union, in general, is pursuing this policy.

Integration policy means that we have to establish contacts not only with the ASEAN, but with other associations as well, including the European Union, because the European Union was until recently the main partner of the Eurasian Union, but due to some political decisions that are beyond our authority there is a serious advance in the Asian direction. For the first time last year, trade with Asian countries exceeded the volume of trade with the European Union. Nevertheless, the European Union remains our main trading partner, and we are interested in creating normal interaction mechanisms, primarily aimed at creating a comfortable environment for economic entities. And from this point of view, first of all the standards, technical regulations, regulatory documents, anti-dumping investigations are concerned.

We managed to be recognized as a standalone entity, and there was such a political statement by the European Union about the beginning of a technical dialogue with us, which suggests that we have the first step in this direction. This will allow us to work with the European Commission on the aforementioned issues at a technical level, at the level of our ministers and at the level of heads of department.

This is due to the fact that the interests of those European business entities exercising activities on the territory of the Eurasian Union are often ignored for lack of a dialogue. Our European partners have stated their interest in such a dialogue, but as of yet there are no full-scale contacts due to political considerations. Nevertheless, I can say that the dialogue with the European Union will be promoted as far as the Eurasian Economic Union becomes stronger. Thank you.
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. My Step For Ararat Province investment-business forum has kicked off on May 4 in Ararat Group water company of Artashat town.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Governor of Ararat province Garik Sargsyan deliver welcoming remarks.

During the event a film showing the opportunities and attractiveness of the province will be screened. The successful enterprises operating in the province will be presented.

The forum aims at attracting businessmen operating in Armenia and abroad to the development processes of the economy and communities of the province. Investment programs aimed at developing tourism, agriculture, industry and a number of other fields in the province will be introduced.

The event is attended by ministers and other high-ranking officials.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. During the period from April 28 to May 4 the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 250 times by firing more than 3000 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The Defense Army forces of Artsakh continue fully controlling the situation in the frontline and confidently fulfill their military duties.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk assesses the Armenian-Belarussian relations as positive with receiving a new impetus.

I would assess the Armenian-Belarussian relations as receiving a new impetus as every year we record growth of volumes of import of Belarussian products to Armenia and export of Armenian goods to Belarus. An active process is underway, and we will also carry out major works in the future, the Ambassador told ARMENPRESS.

According to him, the next meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will take place in Kazakhstan as the two countries are preparing for the meeting at the moment.

I think that meeting will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming event in Kazakhstan. In any case both the Armenian and Belarussian sides are preparing for this meeting. I think that meeting will take place in a very positive environment, he said.

The session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will take place in Kazakhstan on May 29 which will also be attended by the Armenian PM and the Belarussian President.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. The relations of Armenia and Kazakhstan continue developing steadily like in the previous years, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told ARMENPRESS.

Our relations remain stable as they were for many years. There are no great changes, even after the events that have taken place in Armenia last year. That is the domestic issue of Armenia, which neither affects the trade turnover nor the diplomatic ties between the two states because Armenia and Kazakhstan have very stable political and national interests which are not afraid of the changes taking place in the internal life, the Kazakh Ambassador said.

Speaking about the upcoming presidential election in Kazakhstan scheduled on June 9, the Ambassador said the citizens of Kazakhstan living in Armenia will also have an opportunity to vote in the election.

Presidential election will be held in Kazakhstan on June 9. Our citizens living in Armenia will be able to vote at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yerevan, he said.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on March 19.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Israel have great potential to develop the bilateral relations, Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview to the Jerusalem Post, adding that the two countries have a great history and civilization.

We have an enormous sense of national identity and pride, so we can work together in so many fields of economy, agriculture, hi-tech, tourism, direct flights, health culture, education and so on and so forth, FM Mnatsakanyan said.

The Armenian FM also touched upon Israels selling weapons to Azerbaijan and noted: It has been and remains an issue of great concern for us on several counts. Israels arms trade is a weapon of death for our people. We have been witnessing the use of such weapons against our people. We are a security conscious nation and are highly confident in our capacity to defend ourselves, and you will understand very well what that means. At the same time, we are dedicated to developing peace and security in our region. The arms race in our region does not contribute to building peace and security.

In response to the journalists view that Armenia has good relations with Iran, which is an enemy of Israel, the foreign minister said Armenia is very insistent that building relations with one partner will not be at the expense of another partner. But we also expect that all our partners will do the same. We are also very sensitive to the sensitivities of our partners, he added.

Asked whether he is surprised and disappointed about Israels position refusing to recognize what happened to the Armenian people in 1915 as genocide, the Armenian FM responded: Its not a matter for me to be surprised. I represent a nation that still faces the pressure of justice denied over 105 years. My people are victories because we were supposed to be wiped off the face of the earth. The question of denied justice is about humanity. It is for Israel to decide whether to recognize [the Armenian Genocide] or not. It is not about Armenia, it is about Israel. It is our collective duty nowadays to reduce the risk of genocide and atrocities.
The court rejected legal action brought by the PNG government to try to wrest control of the Singapore-based PNG Sustainable Development Program.

A court ruling in Singapore on 5 April means one of Sir Mekeres more intriguing legacy items has survived the latest attempt on its existence.

Some parts of that legacy have fared well, like the privatisation of the countrys state bank. Others, like political party reform, have fallen over in the face of legal and political challenges.

SYDNEY - In the three years Sir Mekere Morauta was prime minister of Papua New Guinea, from 1999 to 2002, he pursued an ambitious reform agenda.

The company holds an estimated US$1.4 billion that it is charged with distributing to benefit the people of PNG. Its a substantial amount of money: equivalent to around one-fifth of PNGs government debt at current exchange rates.

This latest legal round will not be the end of the battle, but as Sir Mekere described it after the court ruling: This win means PNGSDP is free...to carry out its objectives.

The PNG Sustainable Development Program emerged as the endgame of BHPs ill-starred involvement in the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in PNGs Western Province.

Environmental disaster caused by the mines tailings had BHP wanting to close it down by the early 2000s. But the cash-strapped (and shareholding) PNG government was keen to keep it operating. The SDP was the compromise.

It took on BHPs stake and the big Australian was released from environmental liabilities. The plan was for future earnings of the SDPs shareholding in Ok Tedi to fund community development in PNG for nearly half a century after the mines eventual closure.

And, with an eye to the realities of corruption and political mismanagement in PNG, the new entity was designed to withstand whatever local politics could throw at it  as Sir Mekere says, to protect it from sticky fingers.

The SDP was established as a company domiciled in Singapore. PNGs government couldnt have full control of the new entity, and neither could BHP.

It was designed to keep delivering, using the dividends from Ok Tedi to be invested in short- and long-term funds. But by the early 2010s, the SDP was in political trouble.

First as treasurer and then as prime minister, Peter ONeill fixed the SDP in his sights. After elections in 2012, ONeill stepped up his criticism.

The SDP was accused of poor transparency, failing to meet its goals and letting BHP off the hook for its environmental damage. In short, ONeill wanted the government to have more control over how the SDPs billions would be spent.

SDP chair Ross Garnaut, who also chaired Ok Tedi, refused O'Neill's entreaties; after a standoff he was barred from entering the country, and eventually quit as chair of the mine and head of the SDP.

Then in 2013 PNG controversially expropriated SDPs majority shareholding in Ok Tedi and launched legal action in Singapore to get control of the company.

That action is what Singapores High Court has now ruled on.

It is a humiliating defeat for Mr ONeill, Sir Mekere said after the ruling. And an expensive exercise in futility by him.

It is time he stopped lamenting his defeat and turned his attention to save our struggling country. He should focus on solving the problems he has inflicted on Papua New Guinea.

Sir Mekere took pains to point out he was commenting as an opposition MP and not as the former chair of the SDP, a role he took on after deciding not to contest the 2012 election.

Despite the court defeat, ONeill isnt backing off. In advertisements taken out in the countrys newspapers he vowed to continue the legal fight in Singapore.

The State remains very concerned that the current directors of PNGSDP have ran, and are continuing to run, PNGSDP in a highly unsatisfactory manner, ONeill said.

He said the government would argue for a stay on the fund spending any money until the court action is resolved.

They have clearly failed to provide any level of improvement to the lives of people in Western Province. This is despite purported expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on development projects.

But ONeill isnt winning support from MPs from the province most affected by Ok Tedi.

All four local politicians including governor Taboi Awi Yoto have called on the government to let the company get on with delivering its programs.

The government should accept the decision and stop wasting money on further legal action which will not only be fruitless but will also continue to costmillions of kina in legal fees, they said.

Sir Mekere says more court action  or a Commission of Inquiry that ONeill has also threatened  would be futile. I know the company has nothing to hide and will take whatever Peter ONeill throws at it in its stride.

SDP hasnt been without controversy. From its foundation in 2001 through to 2012 it became the second-largest aid donor in PNG.

Some of its business dealings left it open to criticism, and its corporate structure led to complaints of over-spending on its board and operations.

It did leave some lasting investments, including the establishment of communications towers throughout Western Province, and stakes in microfinance and property concerns.

In 2013, after the expropriation and legal challenge, SDP was mothballed. Staff were retrenched and its development programs ended.

In 2018 it relaunched. Its now positioning itself as an impact investor, looking to partner with others in projects that must be of lasting value to the people of Western Province and must be delivered efficiently.

SDP no longer has an income stream from Ok Tedi dividends. It can use only the income from its long-term fund to spend on development, and says its focus is on education, health, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Sir Mekere, who returned to parliament at the 2017 election, says he hopes the court ruling means SDP can consider its legal options as regards the state taking over its Ok Tedi shareholding.

With ONeills appeal also looming, the courts will be part of the SDPs future for a long time yet.
It became clear yesterday that prime minister Peter ONeill was in serious trouble holding on to his job. The key moment was when health minister Sir Puka Temu told a press conference that he, defence minister Solan Mirisim and forests minister Douglas Tomuries had decided to quit ONeills Peoples National Congress (PNC).

And as for who will be the Alternative Government's contender for prime minister, well, according to camp follower former Manus MP Ron Knight (@pontuna2run) writing on Twitter, that will be determined by secret ballot, and "the door is still open".

This is likely to be tested in a vote of no confidence originally set down for Wednesday 15 May but which may be brought on earlier, as parliament is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

It was a climactic moment, as the combined group numbered a claimed 57 parliamentarians, exceeding the critical number of 56 required to command a majority in PNGs Haus Tambaran.

NOOSA  Yesterday morning Papua New Guineas opposition (which had rebadged itself as the Alternative Government) left camp at Port Moresbys Sanctuary Hotel and arrived at the Laguna Hotel to be greeted by former finance minister James Marape and his supporters.

Sir Puka Temu (left) at the media conference where he Mirisim and Tomuries quit - "We have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles"

Mirisim said Temu had asked ONeill to resign because he had lost the confidence of cabinet. O'Neill's negative response to this statement, said Mirisim, led to further defections and resignations from PNC. Temu told the media conference that there were disagreements in cabinet about how PNG was being managed.

I have made the decision [to resign] as a senior leader and I am very proud that seven other young leaders have also made the decision, he said. We know that PNC still has the numbers, but we have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles.

Gabriel (@GomisRanger) riposted on Twitter, Did someone hit him in the face to make him realise his principles? Did he even have principles? This was a reference to Temus health portfolio being identified as a hotbed of corruption and inefficiency in PNG. Gabriel's comment was reinforced by social media that Temu's move was opportunistic rather than principled.

As this situation was unfolding, Canberra-based political reporter for The Australian newspaper, Ben Packham, reported that Australian officials were closely watching developments in Port Moresby where public movement had been restricted and an extra 1,000 police deployed ahead of the resumption of parliament.

The instability has placed a $16 billion gas deal at risk and could force a reframing of one of Australias most important bilateral relationships, Packham wrote.

Meanwhile, ONeills backers were saying the opposition probably had only 40 votes, not a majority, and that the prime minister will fight hard to hold onto his job. Which I'm sure is true. Despite O'Neill being significantly weakened, he will use his considerable political skills and astute use of the courts to try to weave his way through a strengthened and motivated opposition.

Last night both camps (and the media) had given up waiting for a statement from deputy prime minister Charles Abel, who had been expected to call on ONeill to resign but had not done so.

However, O'Neill's official website was delivering a puzzling error message. Hawk-eyed J Smith (@equanimity500) wrote on Twitter: When I go to the PNG prime minister's website, I get a message saying, Failed to exec. See http://www.pm.gov.pg."

As more government politicians flocked to his 'camp', opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch told journalists that all agreements signed by the ONeill-Abel government will be reviewed if it loses office.

We will put PNGs interest first, Pruaitch said. For any major agreements concluded recently, we want to assure our country that they will be reviewed. In so far as benefits are concerned, I think its time the government took a bold stand.

But Port Moresby based academic, Dr David Ayres (@davidayres71) offered a reality check on what any new government may bring, tweeting, Unfortunately it will be same snouts, just a different trough. Its hardly a recipe for positive transformation.

Back in Canberra, head of the Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings told Ben Packham that ONeill was a mixed blessing for Australia. He has certainly been a tough PM to deal with at times, and there has been a sense of worry that he has allowed himself to get too close to China which clearly is a concern to us, Jennings said.

But dealing with PNG is always going to be complicated for Australia - there is historical baggage there, and they are a country that will make decisions according to their interests, which dont necessarily align with ours.

Lowy Institute research fellow Shane McLeod told Packham that Australia had invested heavily in its relationship with ONeill. There would be uncertainty over what comes next, but Australian officials are "familiar with a lot of the players in this situation, he said.

McLeod said momentum appeared to be with the opposition but ONeill wont be giving up... [He] is in the fight for his political future right now, he said.

On Twitter, Ali Kasokason (@ConfigGuyPom) quipped, Next ground breaking ceremony by ONeill and crew will be at Bomana! Which is the notorious prison just outside Port Moresby.
Martyn Namorong - "This is my small shot for the people I've met and the country I love"

MARTYN NAMORONG | Linked In

PORT MORESBY - On Thursday at 9 am, I got a call to go into camp at the Sanctuary Hotel with Papua New Guineas alternate government.

Its been an eye-opener and a great learning experience about the machinations of PNG politics.

Its an experience I will always treasure.

Beyond the politics, for our members of parliament is the hard work of running a country.

I have been privileged to have been invited into the opposition engine room to help set the agenda and work plan for a new government to save PNG and rescue our great nation from corruption and debt.

I hope my little contribution to public policy leads to the improvement of lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Paddy Power has suspended bets on the royal baby after believing he/she is already here. Photo: Getty Images

Have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex already welcomed the royal baby?

Thats certainly the belief of a bookmaker who has suspended all bets on Meghan Markle already having given birth.

UK bookmaker Paddy Power claimed the flurry of bets placed on the couple already having welcomed a baby girl suggested someone knows something.

The surge of Brits having a flutter has now forced the firm to close the books.

Weve suspended betting on which day Harry and Meghans baby will arrive following a huge increase in wagers this evening which indicate to us that someone knows something  and perhaps the child is already born, a Paddy Power spokesman said.

That, combined with the rumours and speculation has us convinced that the royal arrival has already happened and if the betting is anything to go by, its almost certainly a baby girl.

The betting suspension follows further speculation earlier this week that Prince Harrys diary reveal could have hinted that the royal baby is already here.

The Duke of Sussex has just cancelled a trip to the Netherlands originally set for the 8th  9th of May, sparking rumours that he may already be a father.

And royal fans on Twitter have even suggested that Baby Sussex might have already made an appearance and snuggled up with his parents at Frogmore cottage.

However, Buckingham Palace revealed to Yahoo UK that the Duke is planning on going to the Netherlands, but a decision will be made closer to the time because they dont know when the baby will arrive.

Bump watchers also believe the Queens visit to Forgmore House over the Easter weekend could have been another hint that the baby is here, and was meeting his or her great grandmother for the first time.

Story continues

Meghans make-up artist Daniel Martin also fuelled speculation about the imminent arrival of Baby Sussex with a recent Instagram post.

People think Meghan Markle may already have given birth [Photo: Getty]

He announced that he will be appearing at The Makeup Show in New York on May 5, 2019.

Though it is believed that US-based Daniel paid a visit to the UK, after posting photos of scenes around Windsor on his Instagram Stories.

If he is set to head back to New York before May 5, it could suggest that the baby is either already here or could be any day.

Fans also pointed to Meghans mum Doria Raglands arrival in the UK as a sign the couple may have already welcomed their baby boy or girl.

While Kensington Palace have never revealed a due date, Meghan told well-wishers in Birkenhead in January that the baby was expected to arrive at the end of April or beginning of May.

So news of the birth could be announced any minute now.

Buckingham Palace announced last month that Meghan and Harry have taken the personal decision to keep details around the birth private and would like to spend time with their little one before sharing images with the world.

Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private, the memo read.

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.

Royal reporters have been assured that they will be kept informed of any news and since no confirmation has been given by Harry and Meghans reps that theyre already parents, royal baby watch continues.

Watch this space

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A funeral was held for the three children of Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday. Photo: Mega

Denmark is mourning the loss of three of its citizens, the children of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings last month.

A funeral service was held at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark at the weekend, and was attended by Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Australian-born Mary and her children were moved by the service, and stood with their heads bowed as Anders, his wife Anne, and their only surviving child Astrid, farewelled the three siblings.

At one point, Mary put her hand to her eldest daughter Princess Isabellas face to comfort and console her.

Alfred, Alma and Agnes Povlsen were killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks while their family was holidaying in Sri Lanka. Supported by her parents, Astrid released a bunch of balloons in their honour.

The Danish royals attended the service, with Princess Mary seen comforting her children. Photo: Getty

Anders, Denmarks richest man, CEO of fashion company Bestseller and the largest shareholder of fashion website ASOS, described losing three of their four children as completely incomprehensible in a separate memorial service held last week.

His words were read out by a priest at the memorial held in the town of Brande.

The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred is completely incomprehensible, he said.

With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.
Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women who would have once gotten pap smears. Photo: Getty Images

Women may soon be able to provide urine samples instead of undergoing for a smear test to be screened for cervical cancer.

A trial has found that a urine test is just as accurate at detecting the HPV virus - with the virus presence often seen as one of the main factors associated with cervical cancer.

Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women, with the number of people attending their cervical screenings lower than ever.

Bigger trials are still needed, but this is a big step forward.

Recent figures from the UK have shown attendance is now at just 71 per cent across the country.

Reasons for the lack of uptake vary, with some women feeling embarrassed and nervous and others finding the experience painful and uncomfortable.

Whilst many women may find it uncomfortable, a smear test's early detection of abnormal cells prevents 75 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Women between the ages of 25 and 64 are advised to attend a screening at least once every three years.

Lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described a new test as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening." Photo: Getty Images

The urine test trial was led by researchers at the University of Manchester.

They asked 104 women, who were attending a colonoscopy clinic, to take the urine test as well as a smear test.

The urine test performed equally as well as the smear test in detecting HPV, BMJ Open has reported.

The lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described it as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening."

She continued: "Campaigns to encourage women to attend cervical screening have helped. The brilliant campaign by the late Jade Goody increased numbers attendance by around 400,000 women."

"But sadly, the effects aren't long lasting and participation rates tend to fall back after a while. We clearly need a more sustainable solution."

As larger trials of the urine test will still be needed before it can be recommended to the public and Dr Emma Crosbie recommends: "In the meantime, women must continue to book their screening appointment when they're called. It's a life-saving test."

Story continues

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On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making. Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe. It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises. - Dating back to Napoleon - Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages. A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes. In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation. Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons". The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later. In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build. Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side. But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons. - Bridge or tunnel? - After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus. A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel. Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option. It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986. - Breaking through - Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain. AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres. Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up. An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk. Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British. - Queen and president - "Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel. "We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said. After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent. Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh. During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported. Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey. Philippe Cozette (L) and Graham Fagg dug the last metres of the Channel tunnel 25 years ago French workers greeted their British colleagues in May 1991 at the link-up of the north end of the tunnel Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand made an inaugural crossing in the royal Rolls-Royce
Israel's military carried out waves of retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Palestinian rockets hit Israeli cities as a deadly escalation showed no signs of slowing, raising fears of war. Gazan authorities reported nine Palestinians killed, including at least three militants, by Israeli strikes in the fighting that began Saturday with massive rocket fire from the strip. Israel however disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant woman and a baby, blaming errant Hamas fire. Three people were killed in Gaza rocket strikes on southern Israel on Sunday. One was confirmed as Israeli, but police had not released the nationalities for the other two. The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas's armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military "to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip." He said he had also ordered "tanks, artillery and infantry forces" to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza. The flare-up came as Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire. Israel said its strikes were in response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing more than 450 rockets or mortars across the border since Saturday, with Israeli air defences intercepting more than 150. - 'Immediately de-escalate' - In addition to those killed and injured, the rockets repeatedly set off air raid alarms in southern Israel and sent residents running to shelters while also damaging houses. The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 260 militant targets in Gaza in response. It targeted mainly militant sites and in some cases militants themselves. Targets included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were also destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices. The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby's mother, but the family clarified on Sunday that she was the aunt. Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that based on intelligence "we are now confident" that the deaths of the woman and baby were not due to an Israeli strike. "Their unfortunate death was not a result of (Israeli) weaponry but a Hamas rocket that was fired and exploded not where it was supposed to," he said. Islamic Jihad's armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. On Sunday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their armed wings had targeted an Israeli army vehicle with a Kornet missile. It was unclear if it was hit. Israel closed its crossings with Gaza for people and goods, as well the fishing zone off the enclave's shore, until further notice. Egyptian and UN officials held talks to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza. The UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on "all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months." The United States said it fully supported Israel's "right to self-defence against these abhorrent attacks." Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel, urged it to "end its aggression against the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law." - Visit to Cairo - The escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier. Israel and Gazan militants have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election. But recent days saw a gradual uptick in violence, placing the ceasefire at risk. A Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar visited Cairo Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials. The truce has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, paying salaries and financing fuel purchases to ease severe electricity shortages. Israel has several reasons to seek calm. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following April's election and the country celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday. Israel is also due to host the high-profile Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18, expected to attract thousands of spectators. On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead. A Palestinian girl climbs on the remains of a building destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 5, 2019 An Israeli surveys the damage to a house near the port city of Ashkelon from one of the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza Smoke billows over Gaza City after Israel carries out an air strike in response to a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants Gaza militants fire a barrage of rockets at Israel, drawing retaliatory air strikes and tank fire, as the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas seek more concessions from Israel as part of a fragile ceasefire Friday's protests along the Gaza-Israel border were the most violent in weeks Sawsan Abu Tair mourns her brother Raed who was killed by Israeli fire during one of Friday's protests at the Gaza-Israel border
The Jaguares survived a tense finish to defeat the Western Stormers 30-25 in Buenos Aires Saturday and chalk up a fourth consecutive Super Rugby victory. Success lifted the Argentine outfit two places to sixth in the combined standings, keeping them in contention for a top-eight finish and a play-offs slot. Despite losing, the South Africans also moved up the table, replacing the ACT Brumbies from Australia in eighth position on points difference. It was a close call in the end for the home side after they looked set for a comfortable victory when a penalty try seven minutes from time gave them a 30-18 advantage. The Stormers, who had not looked like scoring a try at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, suddenly clicked and a Justin Phillips break led to a try by fellow substitute Seabelo Senatla. Damian Willemse, who inherited the goal-kicking duties when Jean-Luc du Plessis was substituted, converted to leave only five points between the teams. A couple of penalties after the full-time hooter sounded brought the Stormers within a few metres of the Jaguares tryline and a converted try would have given them victory. But the Cape Town outfit conceded possession at the lineout and the relieved Jaguares booted the ball into the grandstand to end the round 12 match. It was a scrappy, penalty-riddled affair that included two late yellow cards with JJ Engelbrecht of the Stormers and Pablo Matera of the Jaguares watching the climax from the touchline. The Jaguares led from the fourth minute when Matera scored and the hosts were 13-9 ahead by half-time with the rest of the points coming from the boots of Domingo Miotti and Du Plessis. Ramiro Moyano scored a second Argentine try on 51 minutes, but the goal-kicking accuracy of Willemse kept the Stormers in touch. Recent Super Rugby debutant Miotti contributed 13 points from two conversions and three penalties off five shots at the posts. Apart from the Senatla try, Du Plessis slotted four penalties and Willemse a conversion and two penalties for the Stormers. The Jaguares start a four-match Australasia tour next Saturday against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin while the Stormers have a bye. South Africa's Stormers fly half Jean-Luc du Plessis (C) vies for the ball with Jaguares hooker Agustin Creevy (L) and prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro during their Super Rugby match at Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires, on May 4, 2019.
Julian Assange's father has addressed a rally in Sydney, calling for the Australian government to be courageous and fight to bring the WikiLeaks founder home.

John Shipton, Assange's biological father, addressed a small group of protesters at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday, two days after his son was sentenced to almost a year in prison for skipping bail in London.

Mr Shipton said his son was being punished for exposing the "grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century".

Julian Assange's biological father John Shipton spoke at a rally at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday. Source: AAP

"The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge," Mr Shipton told the sodden crowd of less than 50.

Mr Assange was sentenced on Wednesday to 50 weeks prison for breaching bail seven years ago, when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He was carried out of that embassy in April after Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno withdrew his country's asylum offer, describing Assange as a "spoiled brat".

Protesters rally in Sydney on World Press Freedom Day to protest for Julian Assange. Source: AAP

The 47-year-old is formally contesting an American extradition request over a charge of conspiring to commit computer intrusion with former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange told Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday he did not wish to surrender himself to extradition for doing journalism that had "won many, many awards and protected many people".

He also appealed for Australian diplomatic protection.

Mr Shipton described his son's jailing as "an outrage" and said more needed to be done to bring him home.

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A Kiwi man has been shot dead and his family attacked after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Panama.

Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed at close range in the dark on Thursday night while his wife, Derryn, and 11-year-old twin daughter were attacked with a machete, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Ms Culverwell received a wound to her shoulder from a machete blow before the hooded pirates fled the vessel.

Alan Culverwell was shot dead in the attack. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The mother and daughter have since left hospital and it is understood the girls twin brother was uninjured in the attack.

The family had sold their home in New Zealand and had purchased a 65-foot yacht in the US and had just embarked on a trip to sail the vessel back to their home nation.

Local authorities say those responsible, who stole an outboard engine in the attack, remain on the run.

The altercation occurred when the family heard footsteps on the roof of the yacht and Mr Culverwell, a former paua diver, went to check outside, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The man's horrified family watched the attack unfold. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The attack took place off the coast of the Guna Yala region in the Central American nation.

Mr Culverwells sister, Derryn Hughes, released a statement on behalf of the family, confirming Mr Culverwells death.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this family statement on behalf of the Culverwell and Fisher families regarding the death of Alan Culverwell, she wrote.

Alan was a dedicated, loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend to all. His family were his everything!

The family pictured in 2016. Source: Facebook/ Derryn Culverwell

She said Mr Culverwells death had come as a huge shock and that his children were understandably traumatised.

I speak for the whole family when I say that we are devastated with what has happened.

She confirmed a handful of friends and family members are en route to Panama to be with the family.

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Cyclone Fani weakened to a depression as it barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India, although a major human disaster looked to have been averted. Press reports said 12 people had died in India and police in Bangladesh put the death toll there at the same number -- a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones, earning authorities praise from the United Nations. With 1.2 million evacuated in India's Odisha state, more than 1.6 million people were taken to shelters in Bangladesh, officials told AFP, with at least 36 villages flooded by a storm surge and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. "Six people died after they were hit by falling trees or collapsed walls, and six have died from lightning," Bangladeshi disaster official Benazir Ahmed told AFP. In the coastal town of Banishanta, where embankments burst and some 250 families were marooned overnight, most houses were semi-submerged under water while a few straw huts had been washed away. "We are now trying to fix the dam otherwise we will have to pass the night outside," villager Sanjay Mondol told AFP. Ferries on large rivers remained out of action but those on smaller waterways resumed operations, and many people were beginning to return home with the wind still strong and skies overcast. India's Meteorological Department posted to Twitter Saturday that Fani had weakened to a depression over Bangladesh. But the storm was still packing a punch, with winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battering the Indian state of West Bengal, its capital Kolkata and the Sundarbans mangrove forest area overnight and on Saturday morning. "It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister. "Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled." In Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people, 5,000 residents were removed from low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings. "Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place." Kolkata's airport was meanwhile reopened, as was that of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, the Indian state whose 46 million people are among India's poorest and who bore the brunt of Fani. - Flying trees - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to secure a second term in India's ongoing election, tweeted that he would visit the state on Monday. Fani made landfall in Odisha on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications. Twelve people were killed there, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris. "It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident. "The wind is deafening." As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities on Saturday battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services. Aerial pictures showed extensive flooding. Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his family collapsed. "I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP. Eastern India is regularly buffeted by cyclones off the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 people killed in Odisha alone in 1999, mostly from a storm surge bringing flooding and debris many miles inland. This time better forecasting and mass evacuations helped to prepare Odisha, while no major storm surges were reported. "Almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. "Now the technology has improved vastly," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private weather forecaster, told AFP. "The administration got enough time of around eight days to prepare and allocate disaster response teams." The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised India, saying the accuracy of early warnings and "effective evacuation" of people in Odisha "saved many lives". burs-str-stu/rma Aerial photographs showed the extent of the storm damage in Puri in India's eastern Odisha state, after Cyclone Fani hit the region Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall Indian and Bangladeshi officials said at least 36 villages had been flooded by a storm surge Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Odisha were working to remove fallen trees and to restore phone and internet services
North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of the second Trump-Kim summit US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to agree on sanctions relief for Pyongyang during their Hanoi summit
Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand. The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio. Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him. Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions. "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha." For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor. - 'Unbureaucratic' - Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads. But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm? "One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger. "But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said. Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm. Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies. - Investing in tech - On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon. Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today. Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google. "We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up." But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple. On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars. Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp). The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists." Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money. Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater. Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip. He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing. "It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal. Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958. Warren Buffett arriving at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2019 Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world, at the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire The annual shareholder meeting of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire draws tens of thousands to Omaha, a small city in the American heartland Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed a 'Woodstock for Capitalists' Shareholders seen queueing to enter the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 4, 2019
A group of passengers flying to a music festival were arrested as soon as the plane landed after downing bottles of alcohol.

The group of Ryanair passengers flying from Dublin to a music festival in Malta on April 30 were inebriated before the flight even took off, according to journalist Kieran Dineen who was on the same flight.

It wasn't until I was on the plane that I realised that of the 180 passengers, I guess around 150 were all going to this dance festival," he told RTE's News at One.

The intoxicated passengers delayed the flight from taking off for half an hour and, as someone blasted music through their phone speaker, the scene allegedly deteriorated.

"We were late taking off because people kept jumping out of their seats, some would even shout back at the air stewards or give them a hand signal to let them know they didnt care what they had to say," Dineen said.

"Huge groups congregated at both bathrooms mainly because the drinks carts were there and they bought many, many drinks and there was huge bottles from duty-free opened."

The passengers were allegedly downing bottles of alcohol during the flight. Source: Getty/file

One generous man on his way to the Lost and Found music festival even walked the aisle with a bottle of vodka and gave people sips.

"It was terrifying, I have never been more scared in my life. It was like a rave, they had a boom box going full pelt," a female passenger told The Irish Sun.

"There was mayhem up there. One passenger asked for the flight to be diverted. He was as terrified as was the rest of the tiny minority who weren't drunk out of their minds.

The passenger claimed a fight even broke out at the toilets.

"Cops arrived when we landed and around half a dozen of the worst offenders were taken away after being pointed out by airline staff, the passenger said.

"The staff were very slow in dealing with the problem, they seemed to think there was little they could do except tell people to turn down their music.

The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Malta. Source: Getty/file

The passenger also claimed the flight stopped selling alcohol halfway through but the damage was already done.

Story continues

Ryanair said in a statement to Yahoo the crew requested police assistance upon arrival after several passengers became disruptive.

The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals, the statement said.

We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as a limited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces' support. The small turnout for the Saturday marches -- with participants in the hundreds, not the thousands -- is another setback for opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed military uprising earlier in the week. Maduro on Saturday instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth." Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in the presence of more than 5,000 troops. The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although it so far has limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions. Guaido's cause gained renewed support on Saturday from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now." "You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes. But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces. "I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech from the military base. Maduro also mourned the loss of "seven worthy officers of the country" who were killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to the base for military exercises seen as a show of strength against Guaido. - 'No confrontation or provocation' - On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government. In Barquisimeto in the northeast, the National Guard pushed back marchers with tear gas. "The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation," added Guaido. This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. The effort triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured. In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido appeared to admit that he had overplayed his hand with the failed military uprising, saying that "we still need more soldiers to support it, to back the constitution." - 'Something bigger' will happen - "I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising. Small groups of protesters marched on four military bases in Caracas. In Barquisimeto, a group of women unsuccessfully attempted to pass on to National Guard troops a document containing Guaido's proclamation to the military to abandon Maduro. "We're asking the armed forces to help us end the usurpation and join the people," unemployed 53-year-old Dina Alonso told AFP. Jose Aparicio, a 67-year-old lawyer who said he had been to several events organized by Guaido, said that he would "continue to protest in the street until the end." Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president. As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela's, said on Twitter he had spoken to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and "stressed the need for dialogue with President Maduro and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and international rights without threats or outside intervention." While the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (C-R) and military commanders at a training center in El Pao, Cojedes state on May 4, 2019 A woman demonstrates in front of a line of riot police outside the Venezuelan Navy command headquarters in Caracas on May 4, 2019 A man with his body painted in the Venezuelan national flag's colors demonstrates in front of riot police near La Carlota Air Base in Caracas on May 4, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a direct appeal to the Venezuelan people, urging them to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power and telling them "the time for transition is now"
Diplomats and scientists from 132 nations wrapped up six days of negotiations in Paris Saturday over the wording of a landmark report on the dire state of Nature and its impact on humanity, a UN official told AFP. The bombshell executive summary of a 1,800-page tome crafted by more than 400 experts -- the first UN global assessment of the natural world in 15 years -- will be unveiled Monday. Drafts of both documents obtained by AFP leave no doubt that the final Summary for Policymakers will paint a picture of widespread destruction wrought by man, some of it irreparable. The report is likely to reveal that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million species face extinction, many within decades. Many scientists have concluded that the planet has already entered a period of so-called "mass extinction," the first since the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and only the sixth in half-a-billion years. The draft reports also details the ways in which humanity's growing footprint and appetites have deeply compromised Earth's capacity to renew resources upon which civilisation depends, beginning with fresh water, breathable air, productive soil and the natural pollination of food crops. "The evidence is incontestable," Robert Watson, chair of the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told delegates as the meeting got underway. "Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change." The heavily negotiated text does not make explicit policy recommendations, but will serve "as a basis for redefining our objectives" ahead of a key meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in China next Fall, said co-author Yunne Jai Shin, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles. (FILES) In this file illustration made in Paris on November 8, 2015 shows a figurine with a globe next to a miniature shopping cart.Scientists and diplomats from 130 countries are meeting from April 29, 2019 in Paris to adopt the first global assessment of ecosystems for nearly 15 years, a dark inventory of nature vital to humanity
U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi and John Katko want to know what the International Joint Commission is doing to prevent flooding along Lake Ontario.

Brindisi, D-Utica, and Katko, R-Camillus, co-authored a letter to Lana Pollack, U.S. section chair of the commission, requesting information about the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board's plan to address high water levels.

Federal, state and local officials are concerned that rising water levels will cause flooding in communities along Lake Ontario. The congressmen represent Oswego County, which was one of the counties that dealt with flooding in 2017.

Two years ago, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration due to Lake Ontario flooding.

As of Tuesday, Lake Ontario was at 247.38 feet  slightly below the 2017 level of 247.74 feet. The lake is more than a foot above its historical average for this time of year.

In their letter to Pollack, Brindisi and Katko ask the IJC chief to "outline the expected course of action for outflows through the Moses-Saunders Dam, as well as efforts that will be taken to ensure the interests of our coastal communities are reflected in actions taken by the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board."

It's the second letter Brindisi and Katko have sent to the IJC. They wrote a letter in March to urge the commission to prevent flooding.

"As constituents in our districts take necessary steps to prepare for severe flooding, the IJC and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board must take substantive action to address the serious threat that currently faces coastal communities," the congressmen said Wednesday.

Katko has criticized the IJC in the past because of the commission's adoption of Plan 2014, a water level management strategy. Some officials, including Katko, have blamed Plan 2014 for the flooding two years ago and the rising water levels this year.

Record rainfall was the main factor that led to flooding in 2017. The other Great Lakes drain into Lake Ontario, which makes rising water levels more likely when there is heavy precipitation.

Katko and other officials have urged the IJC to maximize outflows. The commission maintained high outflows for two months, but lowered them due to major flooding along portions of the St. Lawrence River.

The commission said Tuesday that outflows are now 215,400 cubic feet per second, down from 307,600 cubic feet per second in mid-April.

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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The Skaneateles Lake Association has hired a new executive director to replace its first director, the group announced in a press release Friday.

Frank Moses, who previously served as director of community engagement and organizational advancement for FOCUS Greater Syracuse, will start in the position on May 15.

Current director Rachael DeWitt, who was hired last year as the association's first executive director, is leaving to study at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California-San Diego.

Moses received an undergraduate degree from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry with an emphasis on environmental policy and management. When Moses went on to Paul Smith's College to study water and lake ecology, his researched focused on the impact of aquatic invasive species on lakes in the Adirondacks.

Moses also previously served as the director of the Montezuma Audubon Center in Wayne and Seneca counties, and helped establish the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

Members of the public will be able to meet Moses on May 26 at the lake association's Legacy Fund kickoff event Memorial Day weekend celebration at the Skaneateles Country Club.

Staff writer Ryan Franklin can be reached at (315) 282-2252 or ryan.franklin@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @RyanNYFranklin

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The supposed anti sex trafficking law FOSTA/SESTA passed by Congress last year staged a direct attack on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, but this week in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Section 230the law that establishes the basis for free online communicationreceived a solid vote of Constitutional confidence, in the courts opinion issued in a lawsuit over guns.

Section 230 established that the operator of an interactive computer service such as an internet provider, social media platform or blogging site, among others, cannot be held legally responsible for content published online by third parties on the service.

Thanks to Section 230, service providers and platforms are not forced into the impossible task of strictly policing all content on their services, allowing users to post whatever they wantand take responsibility for it. Because of Section 230, the internet has no gatekeepers, and information can be shared freely online.

But FOSTA blew a hole in Section 230, creating an exception that makes service providers responsible for any activity deemed to promote sex trafficking, even if posted by third-part users without the site-operators knowledge or input.

The Wisconsin case also appeared poised to blast another hole in the internet freedom law, and in fact, that is exactly what happened when the case of Daniel v. Armslist went to a state court of appeals last year.

In the case, Yasmeen Daniel, the daughter of a woman slain by her estranged husband, sued the site Armslist, a service that connected gun buyers with sellers. Daniel said that because the homicidal ex-husband purchased his gun via Armslist, the site should be held responsible for her mothers death. Because Armslist allows sales by private gun-sellers, who are not required to run federal background checks on purchasers, the ex-husband was able to purchase a firearm even though, due to a domestic violence restraining order, he was legally prohibited from buying a gun.

A Wisconsin appeals court agreed with Daniel in April of 2018, ruling that she could get around Section 230 by suing Armslist not as a publisher, but over the design and operation of its site. Daniel argued that flaws in the sites design allowed what should have been a banned gun purchase.

Lawsuits have frequently attempted to use the design and operation tactic as a way around Section 230, most recently in a case involving the gay dating app Grindr, a case on which AVN.com reported. But in the Grindr case, as in previous cases, a court rejected the attempt to sue a site as a defective product, rather than as a publisher.

The Wisconsin appellate court, however, failed to follow that precedent, and on Tuesday of this week, the states Supreme Court reversed the appellate decision, reaffirming the power of Section 230, as the site TechDirt reported.

There is always more at stake than just the case at hand, wrote TechDirt journalist Cathy Gellis. Whittling away at Section 230's important protection because one plaintiff may be worthy leaves all the other worthy online speech we value vulnerable.

Though FOSTA may have created a Section 2309 exception for sex trafficking, it did not create one for gun trafficking, according to the court, which wrote in its opinion, Because all of Daniel's claims for relief require Armslist to be treated as the publisher or speaker of information posted by third parties on armslist.com, her claims are barred by Section 230.

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Senate Republicans are again pushing State Treasurer Dale Folwell's request to limit risk in the underfunded state pension plan by narrowing the number of retirement options.The Repeal Risky Retirement Payments Act, as Senate Bill 374 is titled, divides Republicans against Democrats, and pits the N.C. Association of Educators against the State Employees Association of North Carolina.The Senate Pensions, Retirement, and Aging Committee S.B. 374 Thursday, April 11. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take it up Tuesday.The bill would repeal two unpredictable retirement payment methods after July 1, 2020. Bill sponsors say those complicated alternatives make it difficult for the Treasurer's Office and General Assembly to determine how much money to set aside each year to cover the retirement system's future costs. Opponents say courts consider the benefits a property right and the benefits offer an incentive for people to work for the government.North Carolina's $94.2 billion public employees retirement system is one of the best funded in the nation. But it lost $4.1 billion in 2018, and has $17 billion in unfunded liabilities. National bond rating agencies increasingly frown on state pension deficits. Left unresolved, they could lower a state's bond rating, causing higher interests rates when borrowing money for projects.said Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba. He and Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, are primary sponsors of the bill.Wells said.Under the bill, Social Security leveling would be dropped. It provides higher initial pension payouts to those choosing early retirement. Pension payments are reduced when the retiree collects Social Security benefits. The object is to keep the early retiree's income stable before and after receiving Social Security.Sam Watson, Treasurer's Office general counsel, said Social Security leveling has complex administrative challenges. He cited recent audited accounts of 41 retirees who received $6.1 million in collective overpayments due to administrative errors.State Treasurer Dale Folwell said the pension's assumed rate of return is unrealistically high. The rate has failed to hit its target over the past two decades, and won't achieve it in the next 20 years. Repealing two "pop-up" retirement options would help stabilize the pension.Pop-ups allow pensioners to designate a spouse or child to receive some or all of their retirement benefits. If the designee dies before the retiree, the retiree reclaims full benefits. Folwell supported a similar reform last session in Senate Bill 117 , but the measure didn't pass.Folwell said.Committee Democrats said the changes would be unconstitutional. They would lead to court challenges similar to earlier ones which said defined pension benefits were a property right. Democrats also noted Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 1055 last year over concerns about constitutionality and costs. That omnibus bill contained a provision similar to S.B. 374.Sen. Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg, said it would be a mistake to take away the early retirement option from teachers. They aren't paid well, and that option is an incentive for them to enter the profession, she said.Teachers lobbyist Marge Foreman said it is unfair to penalize educators for lawmakers' failure to fund the retirement system, and for treasurers making bad investment decisions.But SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley said the employees association leadership diligently studied S.B. 374, and supports it. Making compromises to keep the pension plan sustainable may be necessary, Beasley said.
Early Friday evening a a two-vehicle crash backed up traffic on a busy Billings West End street and sent three people to a hospital, said Billings Police Department Sgt. Clyde Reid.

The wreck at 24th Street West and King Avenue West occurred after 6 p.m. One vehicle remained on its roof after the crash. Extent of injuries is unknown at this time, Reid said.

Police advised the public traffic near the wreck would be slow while they investigate. Portions of King Avenue were blocked to traffic as of 7 p.m. The public was encouraged to use alternate routes to avoid the intersection.

The Billings Police Department is investigating.

BPD officers also responded to a second rollover accident in the Heights Friday night.

Just before 9:30 p.m. a vehicle crashed with a U-haul truck on the 2200 block of Main Street. The car was left resting on its hood. It's unknown if there were injuries at this time.

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RED LODGE  The Red Lodge Carnegie Library recently announced the third program in its weekly Lunch and Learn public-speaker series, which takes place at the library on the third Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, May 21, Caroline Patterson, author and teacher at the University of Montana, will present Montana Women Writers, according to an email from the library.

The community is invited to join Patterson as she provides a survey of Montana women writers, from early Native American writers through homesteaders and settlers such as Mary Ronan and Nannie Alderson. Patterson will also discuss Mary MacLane of Butte, a writer in the mining days, and writers of the progressive era of Montana, Frieda Fliegelman and Grace Stone Coates. Patterson will conclude with contemporary women poets, memoirists and fiction writers who have helped to reinterpret and re-envision the American West, such as Judy Blunt, Sandra Alcosser, Melissa Kwansy, Maile Meloy, Deirdre McNamer and Tami Haaland.

The Lunch and Learn events begin at noon with a homemade lunch of soup, bread and dessert for $5 (payable by cash or check at the door). The free programs start at 12:30 p.m.
Along with the Moss Mansion grant, the foundation last month also awarded grants to two projects in Lavina.

It gave a $5,000 grant to the Golden Valley Community Foundation that will help restore the exterior of the Lavina State Bank Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also awarded a $3,500 grant to the Friends of the Historic Adams Hotel to repaint the exterior siding of the building. The 22-room hotel was built in 1908.

Charlene Porsild, president and CEO of the foundation, explained that the goal was not only to help fund these small projects, but also to spark further development.

"We leverage private dollars," Porsild said. "We raise money and then we go out to these communities and say, 'How can we help you?'"

Along with the grants, the Montana History Foundation offers training on grant writing to the small organizations they help. That training allows these groups to apply for bigger grants that ultimately lead to greater financial support for their projects.
The DEQ has 60 days from April 26 to do one of three things: issue a letter to the company requiring more information; approve the permit; or extend the review period an additional 30 days, after which the DEQ must either issue a deficiency letter or approve the permit.

The public may continue to comment during the review period.

Concerns

The decision follows a packed public meeting held April 17 in Shepherd.

A citizens group called Saving Shepherd has produced a website outlining concerns ranging from water pollution of Crooked Creek  a tributary to the Yellowstone River  water depletion in the areas aquifer, noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution and the threat of decreased property values. It also encourages residents to comment to DEQ.

A lot of our concerns are valid, especially the water table is very high out here, said Kati Grove, who lives about a half-mile from the proposed pit.
A car crashed into a power pole on Hallowell Lane causing a power outage to about 240 customers on Billings South Side late Friday.

A customer service representative from NorthWestern energy confirmed the cause of the outage. A technician was on scene at 12:15 a.m. Power was restored just before 2:15 a.m., according to a NorthWestern energy spokesperson.

The 19-year-old female driver from Billings lost control of the car when she took a corner too fast and overcorrected, Billings Police Department Sgt. Shane Winden said.

Winden did not know how fast she was going. She was not intoxicated, he said.

She was cited for careless driving, driving without insurance and driving while suspended. She did not have a valid driver's license, he said. She had a minor injury, he said.

A Subaru Outback remained on Hallowell Lane after the wreck. American Medical Response and Billings police and firefighters responded to the scene.

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An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline got blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

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The so-called Montana Born Alive Infant Protection Act is nothing more than a political gimmick designed to elevate a nonexistent problem into a wedge to use against supporters of abortion rights.

There is no such thing as legislatively protected infanticide in Montana  or anywhere else in the United States. The myth that doctors are murdering newborns following a failed abortion is a cynical, dishonest and fear-mongering tactic designed to get headlines. This is a junk science bill that wont protect any mothers health or save any infants life.

The bills sponsor, state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, knows this, but he and his colleagues are rushing to make Montana central to the campaign to pass harsh and unconstitutional legislation that would join the numerous legal cases seeking to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade via a Supreme Court ruling.

We dont need this kind of spotlight. Women in Montana have other, more pressing needs. Despite ranking fourth in the nation in publicly funded womens health services needs met, Montana, ranks 41st in uninsured women.
In North Dakota, travel matters. From families that frequent local ice cream parlors to tour groups immersing themselves at vibrant art venues, to new residents calling North Dakota their forever home, to the brewery down the street, travel and tourism are vital elements of our states legendary story.

More than 2,900 businesses classified as tourism make up the third-largest industry in the state, contributing billions of dollars to our economy. National Travel and Tourism Week is a time to share the stories behind the travel; stories grounded in people who find passion in their work and its impact on the industry.

Gov. Doug Burgum has proclaimed Sunday through May 11 as Travel and Tourism Week in North Dakota. For 36 years, communities nationwide have united around a common theme to laud travels contributions to the economy and American jobs. This year, we celebrate why Travel Matters each day by stimulating economic growth, personal well-being, hometown pride and connecting us all.

To honor travel and tourisms role in developing and sustaining dynamic communities, North Dakota Tourism launched its own Travel Matters series last year to introduce prospective visitors to our states greatest resource -- North Dakotans. By showcasing stories and videos of our remarkable people and destinations, visitors, job seekers and residents alike can discover why we call North Dakota home and why North Dakota allows all to be legendary.

With spring and summer travel on the minds of many, be sure to include the experiences found here in North Dakota. Search "ND Travel Matters" on NDtourism.com to view the growing videos of our neighbors who invite you to come meet my North Dakota. After all, when we are curious, we learn and explore the countless opportunities North Dakota has to offer, which reminds us why travel matters.

Sara Otte Coleman is the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism director.

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"Ultimately, this bill is not in line with interstate commerce law, and it's going to be litigated. We believe that litigation will prevail against the state of Washington."

-- Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, on a likely legal challenge to a Washington state bill that would reduce the volatility of crude oil shipped by rail.

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"We could come to a point where we have $1 billion in earnings, and that's why the conversation and the information is so important because a plan really has to be set in place. I think that the people of North Dakota are expecting a plan."

-- State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt, on the need for a study on how to use the Legacy Fund.

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"People just came and worked hard and did their job."

-- Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, on the legislative session.

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"Certainly at the end, it feels like there is a lot more cooperation and collaboration between the House and Senate this go-around."

-- Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, evaluating the legislative session.

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"It's going to have impact longer than a generation. It's going to have impact that goes beyond a city or a region, and it's going to be a national and international impact."

 Gov. Doug Burgum, on the importance of funding the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

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"It's very, very confusing. It's a very odd loophole. It's putting a criminal proceeding standard into a civil proceeding with no trial."

-- Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, criticizing changes in his civil asset forfeiture reform bill. The bill was passed by the House, 55-37, and the Senate, 43-4.

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"The job of the auditor is to keep people out of trouble, not to go out there looking for trouble."

-- Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, voicing support for a measure that requires the state auditor to receive approval from the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee before conducting performance audits.

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"Our nation mourns with all those who held a special place in their hearts for this sacred place."

-- Chairman Mark Fox of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, after the historical Memorial Congregational Church burned.

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"The problem we're running into in Bismarck and Mandan is ... if we reduce service by very much, we run the risk of losing one or two of those increments of (federal) funding that we've received in 2019. This starts to put us in that quintessential between a rock and a hard place.'"

-- DeNae Kautzmann, on the challenges facing Bis-Man Transit.

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"Motorists were noticing the settlement ... you were starting to get the famous bump at the bridge that nobody really likes and takes out mufflers all the time."

 Ron Farmer, a representative of Short-Elliott-Hendrickson Inc., on the problems with the East Century Avenue Bridge approach embankments.

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Im kind of tired of In re Tam also. But I have been a bit surprised that there has not been a more discussion, or as far as I can... The post 43(a)? It...

19 hours ago
On May 1st, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a Catholic church named after the saintly carpenter and foster father to Jesus, tragically burned to the ground in Phoenix, Arizona.

On the very same May 1st in Europe it was a state holiday. It was International Workers Day, also known as Labor Day, when the workforce traditionally enjoys a day of non-work.

As Europeans picnicked and leisured, in the dark Arizona desert hell broke loose in the form of a fiery blaze to St. Joseph Churchs roof. Though only 50 years old, its demise seemed all too eerily similar to the inferno that devastated Frances Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral only a few weeks ago.

I have always had strange pangs about enjoying any genuine non-work time on Labor Day, as a Catholic American living and working in Rome. I inevitably will find some excuse to get some work done, even if it is sweaty yard work. The Phoenix tragedy reminded me of my own spiritual and worker proclivities.

May 1st is not a day to navel gaze about our glorious work-related personal achievements. Much less is it a day to celebrate the public system nor a day to worship our laborious collective efforts within it. We are not supposed to celebrate ourselves as 9-to-5 heroes laboring Monday to Friday toward a semi-divine societal cause. It is what Marxist propagandists, who originally established the public holiday to commemorate the bloody Haymarket Square Riots of May 4, 1886, wanted their valued workers to think and feel. They wanted them to be honored as precious cogs in the wheels of their centrally planned and utopia-creating machines.

The burning down of St. Josephs Church in Phoenix may not be a symbolic coincidence after all, but rather a purposefully planned crime to desecrate Christianitys supreme patron of work.

It conveniently falls along a sad trajectory of Christian bloodshed set in motion in the 20th century (like never before in human history) when collectivist dictators like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, sent millions to death for having a competing religious belief. They were murdered and worked to death in labor camps primarily for believing in a God who is the independent Author of their inalienable human rights and liberties. They did not fit into in the unbending homogeneous rules created by an Almighty Autocratic State with little respect for their individuality. So they were gotten rid of like rodents.

In brief, on May 1st, or any any other day, Christians are not supposed to celebrate heaven on earth or to worship their own work, but rather pay homage to a great saint in heaven. They are called to venerate the most exemplary human worker, St. Joseph, who dutifully labored for God, His Son, and to maintain His Holy Family. St. Joseph the Worker was the very antithesis of an impersonal State which seeks to replace family love and charity through public doles and welfare.

As Bishop Robert Barron, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reminds us in a recent article Violence against Christians and the Warnings of Reason, we are to never forget  especially on May 1st, that it was State-worshiping communist and socialists leaders of our recent past who systematically executed the greatest number of Christians since the Church was founded.

There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in all of the previous nineteen centuries combined. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and many of their lesser-known totalitarian colleagues put millions of Christians to death for their faith in that terrible hundred-year period, Barron writes.

If the Phoenix church burning is, in fact, result of arson, it will go down in history as part of a series of unstoppable and intensifying global persecutions of Christians, their lives, and their houses of worship over the past few years. As we just witnessed with martyrs slain in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings, crosses painted in excrement on church walls and a murdered elderly priest in France, and just a few days ago in Cesena, Italy, as inebriated vandals entered yet another sanctuary to destroy its precious artifacts.

The question is will it ever cease? One of the saddest features of the still-young twenty-first century, Barron concludes, is that this awful trend is undoubtedly continuing.

The good news is there was hope seen when the flames were finally doused at St. Josephs Church in Phoenix. Just as in the aftermath of the Notre Dame fire, there stood tall and bright through the hot steam and smoldering embers a miraculously well-preserved Cross. It was an auspicious oracle to all those who follow God, the only Author of their rights: He and His Church will never perish at the hands of evil.

(Photo credit for featured image: Screenshot from YouTube)
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
News / National

by newzimbabwe

A pre-election political marriage of convenience, between the Nelson Chamisa led MDC and Transform Zimbabwe fronted by Jacob Ngarivhume has ended.The union was part of a pre-election pact cobbled by opposition parties to form the MDC Alliance in a bid to unseat Zanu-PF but was unsuccessful.While former MDC secretary generals Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti have successfully been integrated back into the MDC, the situation has been different with Ngarivhume confirming he was going solo, at least for now."We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organization and then work with the alliance in 2023," said Ngarivhume.The other members of the coalition were faction of Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP), Ncube's MDC, Zanu Ndonga led by Denford Musiyarira, Multi-Racial Christian Democratic Party and Zimbabwe People First fronted by Agrippa Mutambara.Ncube is now Chamisa's deputy while Biti currently serves as vice national chairperson. The two are angling to be vice presidents at the upcoming congress set for this month.While Ngarivhume was unwilling to be dragged into the reasons for his leaving. Relations between him and Chamisa took a nosedive when he had an MDC candidate fielded in a constituency he had been allocated in the run-up to last year's general elections.The Transform Zimbabwe leader however said his party could still go into another pre-election coalition with the MDC in the next election."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organisation and then work with the alliance in 2023," he said.Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue."I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Special Anti-Corruption Unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's office has opened a fresh probe into Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) senior managers over multi-million dollar vehicle insurance tender fraud, it has emerged.The probe is targeting former Zinara acting chief executive officer Moses Juma, finance director Simon Taranhike and director for human resources and administration Precious Murove.The trio allegedly flouted tender procedures by directing insurance service providers to work with a company known as ICEcash which had not participated in a tendering process to issue electronic vehicle insurance cover notes.The Special Anti-Corruption Unit's chair Thabani Vusa Mpofu, an experienced prosecutor, confirmed the investigation, but declined to give further details, saying pre-empting via the press would "jeopardise investigations".The case has been dragging on since September 2016.Information at hand indicates that the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) called for a tender to recruit and select a provider to develop a third-party electronic cover note issuance system for vehicles.A lot of companies responded to the tender invitation and a shortlist drawn from the applicants had Courteville Solutions from Nigeria, Agilies from India, Westchase from Zimbabwe and Emali from South Africa.Courteville won the tender, prompting the ICZ to sign an agreement with Courteville Solutions.However, sources close to proceedings said the deal was hijacked by ICEcash which is related to Emali."How Zinara comes into the picture is through the fact that for the electronic cover note system to achieve its biggest objective of stopping fake insurance, enforcement had to be computerised. This would be achieved by having a data sharing agreement between the insurance industry and Zinara. This meant both bodies would be able to access the same database for the purposes of issuing the insurance cover and Zinara issuing road licences. So all Zinara agents would do before issuing a licence would be to go into the system and check if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to buy the licence for," a source said."The insurance industry would create a portal that would allow Zinara to access insurance information of the vehicle that wanted to purchase road licence and if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to licence the vehicle for, go ahead and issue it. Because both the insurance and licensing systems are cloud based, the former arrangement was better, given the connectivity issues of Zimbabwe. So whilst the insurance industry was trying to complete the arrangement for the complete process through a data-sharing agreement with Zinara, Serge was busy sabotaging the whole thing through several ways that included writing a letter to Zinara discrediting Courteville."Eventually Zinara issued a directive to the insurance industry asking them to all sign with ICEcash for the purposes of issuing electronic cover notes. ICEcash are one and same company with Emali."According to the sources, the order instructing companies to engage ICEcash came from Juma, who claimed he was acting on behalf of the Transport ministry.ICZ chief executive Oliver Guni declined to comment on the matter."The ICZ is unable to comment on the matter at this stage as it is still under investigation," he said.It also emerged that Courteville Solutions made spirited efforts to save the deal but to no avail.A letter by Courtville Solutions executive director Oye Ogundele, who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, dated September 26, 2016 and addressed to the then Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) chief executive Cletus Chitambira indicates that the company made frantic efforts to have the deal implemented."As you are aware, there is an ongoing mediation by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on the stalled process of deploying the ICZ/Courtville system for electronic cover note after our appeal letter to the minister following our inability to reach an amicable conclusion at the meeting with Zinara. To this effect, a meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 and the following resolution was reached at the meeting; that Zinara shall henceforth deal with ICZ directly for anything that has to do with electronic cover notes and that Zinara shall not in any way form or deal directly with individual insurance companies. With immediate effect, Courtville can activate its system to allow members of ICZ to issue electronic cover notes on the platform but without interaction with Zinara's system until the security clearance for Courtville is done," the letter, which sources say was ignored, reads.ICEcash officials could not be reached for comment as their mobile number was unreachable while Juma is currently serving a prison term for a related offence.
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE have busted a four-man-syndicate that was producing fake national identity cards, drivers' licences and defensive drivers' certificates among other documents countrywide. Police did not release the names of the accused persons but they reside in Harare.The syndicate's activities, police said, had far reaching consequences as companies nationwide may have engaged people to positions of authority and trust on the basis of forged qualifications.Speaking during a ZRP Crime Watch programme on ZBC TV, Officer-in-Charge Harare Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) Inspector James Chimombe said the suspects are being charged with 15 counts of fraud and 48 counts of unlawfully possessing national identification cards."Police from the CPU received information from the public that there were criminals who were going around town supplying citizens with fake driver's licences, national identity cards, defensive driver's certificates and skilled worker certificates."The team managed to arrest the accused person who led them to the office of the perpetrator who was arrested in his office while he was busy producing some certificates. The team conducted a search and managed to arrest four accused persons," he said.Insp Chimombe said police recovered the materials that they were using to make the documents and have since taken the case to the commercial crime unit Harare province for investigations.He said the criminals were also forging certificates of skilled worker qualifications duping many corporates and employees."We have since checked with the manpower planning and development board who confirmed that the certificates are forged documents which poses a risk to our manpower in the country," Insp Chimombe said.Officer-in-Charge of the Harare Crime Control Unit (CCU) Assistant Inspector Blessing Mutumbi said the suspects took original national identity cards and defaced them, leaving only the security features appearing on the actual identity card."They then superimpose them with information printed on paper such that one cannot notice that it's a fake document. These criminals even use the same font used on actual documents," he said.Officer-in-Charge CCU Insp Ngoni Kutadzaushe said police are engaging the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and the Registrar General's office in investigating the case."This case has a national impact and many companies and individuals might have fallen victim to such activities hence we are intensifying investigations," he said.Harare Central and Suburban districts Officer-in-Charge Insp Joshua Kadungu said the arrest was a milestone achievement for the police."We are expecting a decrease in crime as perpetrators have been held accountable. Anyone who knows people producing such documents should report to their nearest police station," he said.Police urged service providers who will be issuing documents to members of the public to educate them on the security features that are found on actual Zimbabwean documents to reduce crimes of this nature."We also urge members of the public to go to relevant offices to access documents because they are duped at unregistered service providers. Do not to consult any agencies in matters concerning identity particulars," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

IT is the battle of the titans in the MDC as party bigwigs vying for the three vice presidency posts defied the National Council to withdraw from the race ahead of the party's congress later this month in Gweru.Eight candidates, namely Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi, Lilian Timvoes, Lynnette Karenyi Kore, Paurina Mpariwa and Tracey Mutinhiri are all vying for the party's three vice presidency slots.Party's spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that none among the bigwigs have withdrawn from the cluttered race to deputise Nelson Chamisa who is now waiting to be anointed when the party congregates from the 24th to the 26th of this month."We are still waiting for people to make withdrawals but so far no one has withdrawn maybe because Wednesday was a holiday. But if there is no consensus then there will be elections," said Mafume.After a national council meeting last weekend, the MDC resolved that candidates who had been nominated were supposed to build consensus among themselves and minimise friction."All nominees had been given up to Tuesday (last week) to accept nominations or to withdraw. Where more than two candidates accept the nomination, they are encouraged to discuss in the spirit of consensus building," read part of the resolutions.However, the die is cast as all the candidates start to campaign for a fight that will either prop them up the political ladder or completely off the radar if they lose.Mafume said as things stand the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has already started the process of producing ballots."Since there are no agreements we are now going for contestations which will be superintended by the ZCTU. The Electoral Commission shall then produce ballots on every position where more than one candidate decide to contest. The positions to be contested include the president, vice president, national chairperson, secretary-general and treasurer-general," said Mafume.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Condolences are pouring in from all corners following the passing of EFF leader Julius Malema's grandmother, Koko Sarah Malema.Malema on Saturday tweeted a tribute to his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday morning."Our pillar of strength has fallen, the great tree that provided cooling shades of comfort, love and stability have been uprooted, forever, from our lives. I love you, my confidant..." Malema said.The ANC sent a message of condolences to Malema and his family."The ANC has learnt with sadness about the passing of Koko Sarah Malema, the grandmother to Mr Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF. The ANC conveys its deepest condolences to the Malema family."Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during their moment of grief. Koko Sarah Malema's life must be celebrated. She was a pillar of strength for her family. May the soul of Koko Sarah Malema rest in eternal peace," said the ANC.President Cyril Ramaphosa has also conveyed his message of support."This bereavement is felt more sorely because of the special relationship Mr Malema enjoyed with his grandmother. I too have fond memories of Koko Malema following an opportunity I had to speak to her when she was in hospital. It is my hope that Mr Malema will draw strength from his beloved grandmother's values and her presence in his life."DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: "To my fellow Brother, Leader of the EFF @ Julius_S_Malema I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the passing of your grandmother. We all know very well how much your grandmother meant to you and as such I pray with you and wish you strength.Other politicians and public figures also paid their respects on social media.
Opinion / Columnist

In his message to workers on the eve of the Workers' Day President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, and I quote "we must no longer merely survive, now is the time for us to blossom, thrive and prosper as a nation, as a people" and indeed as the Zanu PF Youth League we are confident that this will be a reality sooner than later.President ED Mnangagwa has opened up Zimbabwe for investment, removing bottlenecks that impended economic growth and opening himself to public scrutiny and engagement with stakeholders.Every minister, civil servant and business should religiously complement the President's efforts. His leadership style is reflective and a constant reminder to the model of Servant Leadership, it is a style he executes so well and with brilliance that slowly, even the naysayers are now appreciating that there is light at the end of the tunnel.Unfortunately, while our President has been an exemplary leader, traversing the globe and almost abandoning his roles as a father, it is of major concern to us that some in civil service including some businesses are either sleeping on the job or they are pulling in the opposite direction.We would like to call ministers, and other stakeholders in key sectors of the economic, be it service delivery or economic players to open up and appraise the nation on the progress they have made if any, and the challenges they face in executing their roles.It is trite that the party is supreme to government, but, and worryingly so, some civil servants view the party with disdain and a condescending attitude, forgetting that they are in a Zanu PF Government.We challenge ministers to open up, just as "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" and periodically inform the nation through various forms of the media what they will be doing, their failures and success.They are some senior civil servants who are now living in the lap of luxury, smug in their comfort zones they forget the reason why they are in Government, sometimes such officials, declare reckless statements that sadly are not a reflection of the thinking in Zanu-PF or the President.Yes, there are some public officials we are not even proud to associate with as the Zanu-PF Youth League, these people are in the habit of starting fires that they cannot douse, these people, soon, we will name and shame them and ask the party to recall them from whatever posts they are basking in.We want accountability in all sectors and that should start in ministries that remain closed to public scrutiny and engagement even when the President himself is accessible. The following sectors and players should update the nation periodically.Energy in particular fuel sector Food sector industry Monetary Authorities Transport Information Parliament Anti Corruption Justice System Our people deserve better from all public and private institutions as both are designed to serve the people of Zimbabwe not the other way round. Some pronounce policies that are inconsistent with the President's thrust to turn around the economy while others have become saboteurs to the President's vision.That must stop now. All those who receive foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) should be audited and the results must be publicised. Those who abuse the foreign currency allocation scheme should go to jail and banned from future allocations.All those breaking the country's laws should be brought to book. Violent characters and sponsors of anarchy should face the full wrath of law. Non governmental organisations sponsoring regime change should be banned immediately.We cannot continue to be romantic with those interfering with our politics, leaving their mandate. We would like to see all corrupt elements at whatever level going to jail whatever their social standing.Parliament should also play its part and enact laws that protect the general public from economic saboteurs. We do not expect double standards from parliamentarians and any corrupt legislator has no role in the august House, but rather a place in Chikurubi.MPs cannot expect good perks from Government while at the same time supporting sanctions that hurt the general public and Government, it is high time we enact laws that address the issue of sanctions and authors of Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA).While we are appreciative of the liberalisation of the media and enjoyment of civic rights we are appalled by the abuse of the media especially the social media, which is causing unnecessary suffering among the people of Zimbabwe through misinformation.At a major cost to the country's image dangerous information is being spread and hurting national interests. Equally, irresponsible media houses should be dealt in terms of the law. Because their actions or rather distortions are hurting the country especially its image and we cannot afford to stand akimbo while our Great Country is dented by surrogates of imperial powers.Those playing politics of the stomach and also who are into rent-seeking should be stopped forthwith. Licence of such businesses should fall while responsible players should be supported through licences and loans.The time to confront those working against the President's vision is now. We want answers now otherwise these purveyors of doom will destroy the hope created by the New Dispensation.
Person using calculator next to charts and graphs

When it comes to investing like the worlds best, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to have the worlds biggest bank account.

You just have to follow the same simple guidelines: invest for the long haul.

Beyond that, investors should look for stocks that have strong brand power, low cost of production compared to their peers, and can repeat the same sales for years to come.

If youre looking into new stocks to invest in, you dont necessarily have to be looking for high-risk, high-reward options. Instead, even during an economic peak or valley, your investment should continue to do well if youre planning to hold onto it for years to come.

Right now is actually a great time to be doing this, and there are some companies out there that some of the biggest investors in the world are starting to put their money on.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) may not be what it once was, but thats likely a good thing. The company that brought you BBM created a trend, and trends die; as did this company, frankly. But BlackBerry is now back from the dead and investing in an entirely new stream of production.

BlackBerry is now an enterprise software company, with a current focus on cybersecurity, the company acquiring Cylance in early 2019. While acquisitions like this will bring the companys top line down in the short term, over the long term is the start of real a real growth opportunity. The stock may only reach $16 per share by the end of the year, but that leaves plenty of room to grow.

Brookfield

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN)(NYSE:BIP) is on the opposite spectrum, currently at an all-time high at $55.75 per share at the time of writing. But again, if youre looking for a long-term buy, this one provides an excellent opportunity.

The biggest clue for investors should be the companys share split announcement back in 2016, when the company issued new shares to shareholders turning, say, 100 shares to 150 shares overnight. Since then, a share-repurchase plan was also put in place for 13.82 million shares, which management only does when they believe shares are undervalued.

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And frankly, it likely is. This company has been one of the most reliable on the TSX for years, outpacing its market average. That isnt set to change as the company has a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline (pardon the pun) for years to come and cash flow continuing to come in from literally around the world.

Royal Bank

Another company at an all-time high is Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY). Now, as Ive recommended in the past, you could wait for this stock to drop before buying, which its likely to do. A housing crisis will certainly hurt Royal Bank, and an incoming recession will definitely provide a buying opportunity in the near future.

But again, if youre planning on purchasing for the long haul, it shouldnt scare you that youre not buying at drastically low prices. Honestly, any dramatic dips have quickly rebounded within a month or so if you look at this stocks historical performance, so I wouldnt fret all that much.

Instead, look at how this bank has managed to rebound after any catastrophe, and its room to grow. After the Great Recession it fared as one of the best banks in the world coming out of 2008, and its recent focus on growing its wealth and commercial clients in the U.S. should provide the company with some serious growth coming out of next year. In fact, analysts predict the stock could rise to $130 in the next 12 months.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of BlackBerry. BlackBerry and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 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
Two hands holding champagne glasses toasting each other with Paris in the background

Finding the perfect investment mix that can offer growth and income-earning opportunities while still adhering to having a somewhat diversified portfolio can be a daunting task, as many times those great investments are clustered around one particular segment of the market, such as banking or utilities.

For those investors looking to diversify their portfolios with several unique and promising investments, here are three companies worthy of consideration.

Canadian Western (TSX:CWB) is not a bank that we often hear about, but investors wanting to add a bank to their portfolio would be wise to take a look at the Edmonton-based bank. Why should you consider investing in Canadian Western? That would come down to a slew of strong results, a healthy dividend, and strong growth prospects.

First, the bank reported strong results in the most recent quarter, which runs contrary to the weak quarter that many of the big banks recently reported. Specifically, net income registered a 7% uptick, while revenue saw an increase of 10%, coming in at $66.5 million and $212.4 million, respectively. While those amounts may pale in comparison to the big banks, Canadian Western also managed a phenomenal 10% loan growth and 13% term deposit growth during the quarter, which is something that long-term investors should take into consideration.

Finally, theres the dividend. Canadian Westerns quarterly dividend offers a yield of 3.73%, which, while lower than some of the larger banks, continues to see strong growth year after year, with the bank now boasting 27 years of consecutive growth  a feat that beats many of the Big Banks.

Canadian Western trades just shy of $30 with a P/E of 10.42.

Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is one of the big telecoms in Canada, offering subscription-based TV, internet, wired and wireless service to customers across large parts of the country. Across all of those segments, Teluss wildly popular wireless service is what investors should be looking at most.

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In a little over a decade, wireless devices have gone from being seen solely as communication devices to being vital to our daily lives. We are on our cell phones for longer periods of time, consuming more data with each passing year on a greater variety of applications that are steadily eliminating single-purpose devices we no longer have a need for, ranging from alarm clocks and cameras to pens, notepads, music players, and maps.

In terms of results, Telus boasted strong revenue growth of 6.3% in the most recent quarter, while EBITDA growth registered an equally impressive 4.3%. The company also added 112,000 net additions to its wireless network, while improving customer retention to an industry-leading 0.91% churn. Across the company, Telus registered 164,000 new customers across all of its segments, including some of the best quarterly figures in half a decade.

Teluss quarterly dividend is reason enough for many to consider investing. The current 4.41% yield is respectable, but what really makes the stock shine are the long-term growth prospects for that dividend. Telus has maintained a CAGR of over 7% over the past several years, providing investors with annual or better upticks that have kept the company as an attractive pick for dividend investors. Turning back over a decade, the dividend has more than doubled, and theres little reason to doubt further increases will continue.

Telus currently trades just under $50 with a P/E of 18.50.

Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) is a final pick that will power any portfolio to riches  literally. As one of the largest utilities on the continent, Fortis has a massive customer base that includes parts of Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Part of the reason that Fortis is so large today is thanks to the companys incredible appetite for expansion, which has seen the company take on increasingly larger acquisitions over the years, allowing it to expand to new markets.

That growth has helped Fortis continue to provide annual growth to its quarterly dividend, which currently provides a 3.63% yield and boasts nearly four decades of annual, consecutive dividend hikes. Throw in the stable, if not lucrative business model that utilities operates under and Fortis emerges as the must-have investment for nearly any portfolio.

Fortis currently trades near $50 with a P/E of 19.56.

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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
FILE - In this May 7, 2017 file photo, Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was in blatant violation of rules set out by the federal government restricting how the drug can be promoted, according to a leading expert on cannabis policy.

Deepak Anand, CEO and co-founder of the cannabis supply and distribution company Materia Ventures, and a renowned industry consultant, took to Twitter on Thursday with a screenshot of the provinces online cannabis store.

The image, which was also captured by Yahoo Finance Canada, shows the title Leafs By Snoop appearing above cannabis products.

Snoop Dogg promotes cannabis products under the name Leafs By Snoop. Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO), a longtime partner of the famous rapper, introduced the LBS branding a day before recreational legalization in Canada last year.

The title on the page has since been changed from Leafs By Snoop to LBS.

A screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website showing products endorsed by rapper Snoop Dogg on Friday, May 3, 2019.

The Cannabis Act, the federal legislation legalizing recreational use in Canada, states that it is prohibited to promote cannabis or a cannabis accessory or any service related to cannabis . . . by means of a testimonial or endorsement, however displayed or communicated and by means of the depiction of a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional.

This is a blatant violation of the Cannabis Act by a provincial government, Anand told Yahoo Canada Finance. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations that they have developed.

Cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser said the issue at hand is what exactly constitutes a depiction of a person and testimonial or endorsement under s.17(1) of the Cannabis Act.

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OCS spokesperson Amanda Winton said the Leafs By Snoop reference was posted due to a technical error and was corrected as soon as it was noticed.

Health Canada is tasked with monitoring regulated parties to verify compliance with the Cannabis Act.

Health Canada is aware of the issue you have raised and followed up with Ontario Cannabis Store yesterday, Health Canada senior media relations advisor Maryse Durette said in a statement to Yahoo Canada Finance. Ontario Cannabis Store informed Health Canada that they were already aware of the issue and had corrected their website.

Shortly after recreational legalization last October, Health Canada found New Brunswicks province-run online cannabis store ran afoul of the rules by displaying images of a woman doing yoga and a group of people smiling and taking a selfie.

In addition to rules on depictions of people and endorsements, the act forbids brand elements that evoke glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.

Cannabis NB said it made adjustments to its website.

The Wild West

The apparent disconnect between Ottawas rules and the influx of celebrity interest in the cannabis industry is causing confusion for companies looking to establish brands.

Anand, the former vice president of business development and government relations with the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance Inc., said advising clients on how to stay within the bounds of the law has been challenging.

While the rules expressly forbid celebrity promotion, many licensed cannabis producers have recruited star power to their brand.

Canopy works with Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Seth Rogan. The OCS sells a line of bongs, pipes and other accessories named after Bob Marley. OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI.V) has partnered with the Trailer Park Boys to develop a line of cannabis. The list goes on.

We see people every day asking if things are compliant, Anand said. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations, or else we are going to see the wild west.

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A Buffalo Airways aircraft made a forced landing off the runway in Hay River, N.W.T., on Friday.

According to Katherine Defosse, Buffalo Airways communications director, the cause was a mechanical issue. She said the two crew members on board are safe.

The incident happened at about 8 a.m. Friday. Buffalo Airways 169, flying a DC-3, took off from Hay River to Yellowknife at 7:41 a.m., and then turned back toward Hay River. The aircraft headed for the airport but didn't make it.

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information to decide whether it will send investigators.

It confirmed that moments before the landing the pilots told air traffic control they were "unsure" if they could make it back to the airport.

The pilot made a "forced" landing five nautical miles (nine kilometres) from runway 32.

Emergency crews, rangers dispatched

The town of Hay River dispatched emergency crews as close as possible to the crash site, said Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer.

Fire crews were notified of the crash this morning and were on standby roughly three kilometres from the plane, which is not available by road access.

RCMP and Canadian Rangers dispatched all-terrain vehicles to retrieve the two people from the crash site, she said.

Ross Potter, the director of protective services for the Town of Hay River, said he was pleased to see RCMP, rangers and the town's first responders work together.

Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways, which operates World War II-era aircraft, was featured in History Television's Ice Pilots NWT. The airline operates passenger, charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting and fuel services, according to its website.

Buffalo Airways has a history of hard landings and other incidents. The company's licence was suspended by Transport Canada back in 2015; it was reinstated the following year.
Caitlin Brady speaks of socialism as though it's the only rational response to 21st-century America.

"I work full time, I work 40 hours a week, and I qualify for food stamps," the 31-year-old said, explaining why she volunteered for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) campaign in Chicago's municipal elections last month.

To get food stamps in Illinois means Brady makes no more than $1,670 US a month. She pays no income tax on that  but neither did tech behemoth Amazon pay tax on the reported $10.8 billion it made last year.

"The richest country in the history of the world," Brady said, "and I'm not able to put a roof over my head and eat."

Like many toiling in the trenches of the DSA campaign, Brady is a millennial. Born between the early 1980s and 2000, theirs is the biggest generation since the baby boom and the most likely to think the American Dream  success equals prosperity  is dead.

Chicago is a historically big "D" Democratic city, and for years it has operated a bit like a one-party state. Republicans don't figure much in its politics. Political offices are sometimes passed between generations of the same Democratic families.

But in recent years, the socialists have spotted weaknesses on the Democrats' left flank: unaffordable urban housing and unkept promises of rent control. They struck, painting the Democrats as sellouts to big real estate developers.

Caitlin Ochs/Reuters

On election night, the media clucked and fussed over Democrat Lori Lightfoot, the openly gay black woman chosen to replace Chicago's unbeloved Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But underneath that headline was the news that the socialists running for a handful of city council seats had won them all. Granted, that's only four. But it means they now have six spots out of 50 in the government of the third-largest metropolis in the country  socialism's biggest victory in modern American history.

There are varieties of socialism around the world, but in the American context, it is fundamentally about ensuring that the health and welfare of the people does not depend on the incentives of capitalism.

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"People over profits" was a popular rallying cry among Chicago's DSA. But the DSA did not insist that workers should control the means of production and promise to take over Amazon. They ran on affordable housing, universal health care and returning government to the people.

'It's back'

The results in Chicago were preceded by a tsunami of speculation about the resurrection of the American left why and where in the land it might or might not pop up.

In March, New York magazine churned out several thousand words trying to answer its own question: When did everyone become a socialist? On the right, The Weekly Standard (just before it folded in December) took aim at what it called "the illusory dream of democratic socialism" in a piece called "Up from the Grave," which began: "It's back."

In between, countless think pieces have analyzed what's going on, usually making a link to the unexpected successes of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (a.k.a. AOC). But the truth is the warming trend for socialism began before any of that.

CBC

Nearly a decade ago, the Pew Research Center reported that American millennials, a generation with growing political clout, saw the world differently than their forebears. A 2010 Pew study found that, as a whole, Americans strongly favoured capitalism over socialism, but millennials slightly favoured socialism over capitalism.

Perhaps because they had no memory of the Cold War, they didn't see socialism as a bogeyman. They were open to it.

A few years later, the political scientist and writer Peter Beinart took the Pew study and contextualized it in a widely read essay in the Daily Beast. Under the headline "The Rise of the New New Left," he tried to unpack how a promise to make the rich pay for universal childcare turned lefty Democrat Bill de Blasio into the mayor of New York. Priorities were disrupted, thought Beinart.

Response to 'fail decade'

With a hat tip to the sociologist Karl Mannheim, Beinart argued that only certain generations disrupt the status quo, and they do it because something irregular and meaningful happens during their formative years  late teens, early twenties  that forever colours their worldview.

The political coming of age for the first American millennials wasn't at all like the decades that preceded it. The 21st century opened with the catastrophes of what some describe as "the fail decade"  as Beinart wrote, "the decade of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis."

With striking prescience, he warned that both Republicans and Democrats had something to fear from a maturing generation that believes government should play an expanded role in their lives, and that status quo politics had failed.

More than three years ahead of the fateful 2016 election, Beinart predicted that in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton would be "vulnerable to a candidate who can inspire passion and embody fundamental change, especially on the subject of economic inequality and corporate power."

Beinart saw Senator Elizabeth Warren as that candidate. The eventual challenger turned out to be Bernie Sanders, but other than that, it seems Beinart was right.

Both Warren and Sanders are vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination saying corporate power needs stronger guardrails. Sanders describes himself sometimes as a socialist, sometimes as a democratic socialist  probably to avoid persnickety arguments about whether there's a difference between them.

Tiffany Foxcroft/CBC

Warren eschews both labels and claims that ideologically, she's "a capitalist to my bones." But her skepticism about unrestrained markets is as defiant as Sanders'. She's against what she calls "shareholder value maximization ideology."

For instance, she has proposed an "Accountable Capitalism Act" about corporate governance. If it were law, it would force certain big corporations to have federal charters and allow their shareholders to sue company directors if they act contrary to the interests of "all corporate stakeholders"  meaning running afoul of employee rights and environmental impacts.

That sounds like a shout-out to the socialists that, whether they want to or not, Democrats are hosting in their party.

Legacy tied to FDR, LBJ

"We're being the real Democrats, that's how I like to view it," said 30-year-old Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, now in his second term as a DSA city alderman in Chicago.

"We're being truer to the history of the party, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to Lyndon Baines Johnson."

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

There is truth to that. FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society are monumental figures in the history of the Democratic Party. They established unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, financial regulatory reforms and other programs that conservatives still dream of trying to roll back.

But the Democratic Party of FDR and LBJ was not the party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom extolled the virtues of leaner government. Clinton and Obama largely conceded to the economic arguments of the Reagan revolution, which conflated market freedom with personal freedom.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." Obama's autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, has grudging respect for Reagan scattered throughout it.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has wrestled with the ambitious vision of the socialists in her caucus, and she's unequivocal about where she stands. "That is not the view of the Democratic Party," she told CBS's 60 Minutes recently.

Nor, from a strictly utilitarian perspective, could it be. Pelosi became Speaker after the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. Their margin of victory had little to do with democratic socialist AOC winning her seat in the reliably Democratic district of the Bronx. It had everything to do with candidates such as Abby Finkenauer, who overturned a Republican in swing state Iowa's First District.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Put another way, the number of degrees Democrats can safely shift to the left in 2020 is probably less than AOC and some others elected in safe Democratic districts would like.

No one knows that better than President Donald Trump, who used his State of the Union speech in February to kick off his campaign against an imagined red menace.

"We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said, and then went on to define socialism as the monster that ate Venezuela. "America will never be a socialist country," he pledged, implying the nation could bank on that only as long as he was in the White House.

DSA members often say that when they think socialism, they think Denmark, not Venezuela. But Democrats won't get to argue that case in the 2020 election debate when Trump is already winding up his base with wild stories about a socialist dystopia. He recently warned that the Green New Deal means people will have to give up their cows.

There are many reasons that this is a watershed moment for Democrats.

Not only do they want to beat Trump in 2020; many feel it's their moral responsibility. But socialist talk is unnerving to those who fear ideological flirtations are better put on hold  at least until they've dealt with job one.

WATCH | Municipal election results in Chicago could signal a broader turn toward socialism in American politics:
Two cruise ships have sustained "minor damage" after they came into contact on Saturday morning near Vancouver's Canada Place.

The Port of Vancouver said in a written statement that at around 6:30 a.m. the Oosterdam was berthing when they came into contact with the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was at berth.

There were no injuries, and no pollution as a result of the incident, and cruise operations are continuing normally.

In a written statement, Erik Elvejord with the Holland American cruise line said that the incident happened closer to 6:50 a.m.

"Disembarkation on both ships proceeded as usual. Damage to Oosterdam is minimal. Six [...] stateroom verandahs on Nieuw Amsterdam require repairs which are underway," he wrote, adding that guests booked in those rooms will be given other accommodation.

CBC

Elvejord said that all required repairs are above the ships' waterlines, and that the seaworthiness of the ships is not affected.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to depart today on a seven-day roundtrip to Alaska. The Oosterdam is scheduled to sail overnight to Seattle.

Elvejord said he does not anticipate that either itinerary will be affected.

Angela Hagen was packing up after a six-day cruise from San Diego on the Nieuw Amsterdam when she heard "lots of crunching and breaking of things."

At first, she thought the ship had hit the docks.

"My sister went out on the balcony and said 'we hit the other ship!'" she said.

Hagen said she could see the railing was gone from the rooms next to hers. They were briefly asked to leave but were eventually able to return to retrieve their luggage.

Transport Canada will work with the Holland America cruise line to fully assess the damage.
By Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapons into the East Sea in a military drill supervised by leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the North's state media reported on Sunday. The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units," the Korean Central News Agency said, implying that the latest firing was not the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States. Kim gave an order of firing and stressed the need to "increase the combat ability so as to defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance" of North Korea in the face of threats and invasions, the report said. The statement came a day after the latest firing, which analysts interpreted as an attempt to exert pressure on Washington to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure. "Yes, the tests were the most serious since the end of 2017, but this is largely a warning to Trump that he could lose the talks unless Washington takes partial denuclearization steps offered by Kim," said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "A resumption of long-range test could be next unless Kim gets what he wants soon." North Korean had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missiles testing in place since 2017, which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pointed out as an important achievement from his engagement with Pyongyang. The latest firing prompted Seoul to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula" on Saturday, while Trump said in a Twitter post that he was still confident he could have a deal with Kim. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday. The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a vaguer description and said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. North Korea demanded Washington to lift the U.S.-led sanctions in return for a partial dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, while the United States wanted the quick rollback of the Norths entire nuclear weapons programme. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Its official: Thailand has a new king and queen.

A coronation ceremony was held for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, on Saturday.

King Maha, 66, became monarch after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. The exact reason for the delayed formal coronation is unknown, although it was initially said to be due to a mourning period for the kings father.

Saturday marked the first day in a three-day coronation ceremony.

As the day began, Maha entered the Grand Palace and began the first of three major rites, the Royal Purification Ceremony, during which the king was showered with holy waters, according to the Associated Press.

From there, the king changed into ornate golden clothes, and while seated on a throne, underwent the Royal Anointment Ceremony. During the rite, holy water was poured on the kings hands and he was also given a ceremonial nine-tiered white umbrella.

At the conclusion of the rite, the king had assumed full regal power.

Thailand's King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

Thailand's King Maha | THAI TV POOL/AFP/Getty Images

In the last of the three rites, the Presentation of Royal Regalia, the king was crowned while seated on a throne. According to the Associated Press, the crown, which is covered in gold-plated diamonds, is over 200 years old and weighs 16 lbs.

As one of first acts as crowned king, Maha went on to present his wife with traditional regalia.

The coronation will be followed by a procession through Bangkok on Sunday.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Thailand's King Maha | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It was announced Wednesday that the monarch had married his consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, according to the Associated Press.

The announcement was reportedly made in the Royal Gazette, although it did not give a date of the wedding.

Thai television stations broadcast the royal order on Wednesday along with a video of Suthida, wearing a pale pink dress, laying before the king and presenting him with a tray of flowers and joss sticks, AP reports. Suthida, 40, was presented gifts in return.

Story continues

DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The couple also signed a marriage certificate book, also signed by the kings sister, Princess Sirindhorn, and Privy Council head as witnesses. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and other senior officials were also in attendance at the ceremony.

The Thai monarch has had three previous marriages. He divorced his most recent wife in 2014.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Thailand's Queen Suthida and King Maha | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Little is known about Thailands new queen. The couple reportedly met on a flight when she was working as a flight flight attendant for Thai Airways International.

In 2013, Suthida joined the palace guard. King Maha then appointed Suthida as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. He made Suthida a full general in December 2016 after he became king, and the deputy commander of the kings personal guard in 2017. He also made her a Thanpuying, a royal title meaning Lady.
Thousands of Alberta students  carrying signs like "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone: The Gays" and "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?"  walked out of their classes Friday morning to protest the new UCP government's position on gay-straight alliances (GSAs).

The United Conservative Party intends to overturn a law that prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins a GSA. However, Premier Jason Kenney repeated Friday that his party's plan would maintain "the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country."

The student-led protests spanned about 90 schools across the province, with participating teens stepping out of their classrooms at 9:30 a.m. MT for 20 minutes. Many schools saw dozens to hundreds of students walk out  despite snow falling in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and other parts of northern Alberta.

Scroll through the blog below to see tweets, photos and video from the protests around the province:

LGBTQ rights advocates say notifying parents who do not approve of their child's sexuality could lead to suicides and dangerous situations at home. The risk of being outed, they say, would deter kids from joining clubs and finding support.

"We think that this is a problem because in some cases parents might not be very accepting of their child and it could pose a danger to their child. This is not to say that all parents are going to do this but there are definitely some," Grade 10 student Aimee told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"Additionally, we believe that it should be up to the child themselves of when they want to come out and how they want to come out."

Tiphanie Roquette/Radio-Canada/CBC

Many students, like Alyssa Gabriel, echoed that message. Gabriel, who is gay, studies in Edmonton, and although her parents are supportive, she marched for her friends.

"I have a lot of gay friends who think the GSA is very important to them, and it's their little safe space and they have homophobic parents," Gabriel said.

Story continues

"But now with this [proposed] rule, it's not like a safe space anymore. They can't be there anymore 'cause they don't want to tell their parents they're gay because they might get kicked out."

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Protesters held signs with slogans, such as, "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone  The Gays," "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?" and "It's my choice, not yours. #KeepOurSafeSpacesSafe."

Sean Ruhland, one of hundreds of students who marched at William Aberhart High School in northwest Calgary, said his school's GSA was helpful when he came to terms with his identity as a gay transgender man.

CBC

He's graduating this year and said he wanted to protect other students' ability to come out to their parents on their own time.

"[The UCP] do not care. They do not care about youth, they do not care about future generations," Ruhland told Radio-Canada. "And they simply do not care about the quality of education in schools."

Not every school had large turnouts, though.

At Bishop Grandin High School in southwest Calgary, for example, fewer than 10 people took part.

One student told CBC they felt the walkout wasn't well-advertised, or worse, they worried that other students didn't care.

Only a few protested at Wheatland Crossing School but one student, Grant Carson, wrote on social media, "Our voice matters. Even in a small school."

Nelly Alberola/Radio-Canada

Other Albertans honked their car horns while passing protesters or shared their support of the students by posting on social media. Members of MacDougall Church in Edmonton marched to support students at Allendale School, as well.

Grant Carson

Former NDP education minister David Eggen attended the protest at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton, where students chanted, "Save our GSAs," and "Hey, Jason, leave our kids alone."

"Jason Kenney and his caucus seem bound and determined to out gay kids, to remove that safe place, that safe sanctuary," Eggen told reporters. "We're here to stand together to oppose that and to stop him."

MLA Sarah Hoffman, former NDP health minister, attended at Ross Sheppard School in Edmonton, where about 50 students protested.

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Student organizers said they kept it short so students could take a stand without missing much class time and encouraged people to seek parental permission as some schools said they would count it as an unexcused absence.

'They are fearful'

Teacher Kevin McBean, who is the GSA faculty sponsor at M.E. LaZerte School in Edmonton, says his school's club is a social space for kids to discuss social issues, watch movies and make pizza.

"Certainly many of my students aren't necessarily out to their parents, or if they are, it's already a rather contentious issue at home," McBean said in advance of the protests.

Dawson White

"The GSA provides them with a space where they can be themselves and just connect with other people, and so I think they are fearful that these kinds of policies could hurt them."

UCP promises 'strongest legal protection' in country for GSAs

Legislation came into effect under the previous NDP government in 2017 that protects the establishment of gay-straight alliance, or GSA, school groups. The law also prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins the group.

The UCP, which was sworn in on Tuesday after winning the recent provincial election, plans to give Alberta schools the discretion to inform parents of their child's participation in a GSA.

That announcement has been criticized by LGBT advocates, school administrators and teachers across Alberta, and sparked protests in Calgary and Edmonton during the election campaign.

Upon Kenney's victory, the students organized the mass protest.

Ariel Fournier/CBC

Kenney has said he would replace the NDP's Bill 24 with the seven-year-old Education Act  in essence removing some legal protections for Alberta LGBTQ students and school staff.

The Education Act, proposed under the former Progressive Conservative Party, does not have the change the NDP passed, including:

The requirement for school principals to grant student requests for GSAs.

The requirement for private schools to have public policies on protecting LGBTQ students.

Kenney has said that the UCP's proposed Education Act would still protect GSAs,

At an Edmonton event in March, he said that parents would only be notified by school staff of their child's involvement in rare cases  a position he reiterated when reached Friday.

"We're keeping our election commitment, which is to modernize the Education Act in Alberta and to maintain the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country," Kenney said ahead of the rally.

"It's great to see young people taking an active interest in issues. I'd suggest better for them to do rallies or protests after school hours and not during them. We want to make sure young people are actually learning in class instead of doing politics."

University of Calgary political scientist Melanee Thomas said on Twitter that she felt students had to protest during school hours as many take long bus rides to get home at the end of the day.

"Goal is to be inclusive," she Tweeted.

Chris Wattie/Reuters

Schools where students protested

The following schools are among those with students participating:
The city of Whitehorse is ramping up its forest fire preparedness efforts with the summer approaching.

Staff have a booth in the Canada Games Centre at the annual trade show this weekend. On Tuesday, staff are screening the documentary Into the Fire at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

In part the film looks at FireSmarting yards and homes.

Environmental co-ordinator Glenda Koh said embers blowing into yards are the main cause of homes burning during forest fires, not the actual flames.

She said the priority is creating a non-combustible zone around a home.

"So what we want to do is reduce all things that embers could eventually land on and ignite," said Koh. She used her home as an example.

Dave Croft/CBC

It has wood siding, "which is very nice, but wood is probably the worst siding you can have in terms of being resilient to fire," she said.

Better materials are cement board and stucco, she added.

Asphalt shingles on the roof are okay, said Koh, but wood shingles "would be absolutely a no-no."

There should be a 1.5-metre zone around a home completely clear of anything combustible, said Koh.

That includes firewood, bushes and accumulations of dead leaves.

Koh said anywhere dried leaves pile up, like in a carport or under a deck, are important to keep clean.

"Wherever you see leaves, that's probably where the wind has taken those leaves and so that's exactly the same path that an ember is going to take in case of a fire," she said.

Wooden fences that connect directly to the house should be avoided, she said, or least broken up with something like a metal gate.

Dave Croft/CBC

A moist lawn is not going to burn as quickly as dry grass, said Koh.

Wildfire risk reduction strategy started

Koh said preventing fire damage requires action on different scales and levels within the community.

"So it's not just a government issue and it's not a matter of how to evacuate," she said.

"In case of a wildfire there's a lot of preventative stuff that we can do on private property and on public land."

Koh said the city has begun work on a wildfire risk reduction strategy. It's expected to be done by next spring.

The city is also participating in the Nanook military exercise at the end of the month. Two neighbourhoods will be evacuated to test emergency preparedness.
It may not surprise you to learn people are getting hooked on an addictive Wisconsin export. But it might surprise you to learn that export is cheese.

In his book The Cheese Trap, doctor and author Neal Barnard argues that America is addicted to cheese. He says giving up cheese would help Americans lose weight and improve their health. Needless to say, Barnard will be stopped at the border if he attempts to enter Wisconsin.

Barnard grew up in North Dakota, no doubt in a household stocked with colored oleomargarine, a once-banned product Cheeseheads now begrudgingly accept. He says cheese is loaded with calories and sodium, and has more cholesterol than a steak. Apparently we are supposed to think all this is bad. But steak and salt are awesome, and as for calories, well, most of us arent posing for underwear ads anytime soon, so bring em on!

The book delves into the addictive nature of cheese, which contains casein, a protein with opiate molecules built in. This makes cheese dangerous, not unlike Wisconsins other top export, which is of course serial killers. Wait, no, I meant beer.

Brewskis go down like mothers milk for many a Wisconsinite. Barnard says consumers hankering for a hunk of cheese begins with infancy. When babies nurse, opiates in the milk reward them. When we eat cheese, we take in concentrated amounts of those same molecules.

Barnard isnt the only one who has warned against the dangers of cheese. My nine loyal readers may recall that in a 2015 study, University of Michigan researchers found the casein in cheese stimulates cravings by triggering the brains opioid receptors. As much as wed like to disregard any assertion made by Michiganders, who are of course not to be trusted  they stole the Upper Peninsula from us, doncha know  their findings certainly would explain the behavior one witnesses at Lambeau Field. Call it a curd mentality.

Subjects were asked to identify the foods they crave, and scientists quickly found a common ingredient. You guessed it: Asparagus. Just kidding, it was cheese. Researchers noted that while milk contains only a tiny dosage of casein, 10 pounds of it are used to produce a pound of cheese.

You start out with a few nibbles: Just a taste, the grocer says, First ones on me. The next thing you know, youre strung out, loitering outside Sargento and begging for a hit of colby.

The studys authors used their findings to identify a potential cause of addictive eating, and to call for public policy initiatives regarding the marketing of cheese to children. Hey, kids: Cheese is no gouda for you!

Theirs is an uphill battle. Theyre like Sisyphus, pushing a cheddar wheel up a mountainside. After all, the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people. No doubt Wisconsinites, who tend to be above average, consume considerably more than that. I bet 100 pounds are eaten at the Chuck E. Cheese in Green Bay every Tuesday.

Like the Michigan researchers, the author Barnard is going to have a hard time convincing Americans to give up cheese. His message certainly will fall on deaf ears in Americas Dairyland, where we love things that arent good for us. We live for beer and sausage. We swung for Trump. Half of us die ice fishing and snowmobiling. Were about as worried about our cholesterol as we are an alien invasion.

Plus, we might note that the National Dairy Council responded to Barnards claims by saying consuming cheese in moderation can be part of a healthy eating plan. After all, the only way most of us eat vegetables, other than at gunpoint, is to slather them with melted cheese.

Unfortunately, consuming things in moderation tends not to be Wisconsinites strong suit. Weve been known to take a second drink. And when it comes to cheese, we dont just eat it: We wear it.

Call us addicts if you like, we dont care. Besides, we can hardly hear you over the squeak of fresh cheese curds against our teeth.

Ben Bromley writes for the Baraboo News-Republic.

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Michael Hedges May 3, 2019 -

Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. Somber Tones, Little Sunshine, No RestMichael Hedges May 3, 2019 - Follow on Twitter Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here.
Charmaine LeMay Korn passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minn., surrounded by her family. She was born to Donavan LeMay and Ruth Lueck LeMay Nov. 6,1933, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Charmaine, lovingly called Char, graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1951. Following her graduation, she attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. Upon completion of her studies, she was employed by Cargill, in Minneapolis, in their accounting division.

In 1956 Char returned to her home town of Chippewa Falls, working in the accounting field for local businesses. It was at this time, during her first marriage, she had two children, a daughter, Darcy and a son, Bruce. In 1977 she married Gene Korn, and together they raised a blended family, while Char worked at National Presto Industries. In 1982 the Korns relocated to Minneapolis where she worked for FMC Corporation and Target.

Upon retirement from Target, she remained active in her book club, womens groups, bible study and other church functions. She especially enjoyed the womens yearly retreat sponsored by her church.

Char is survived by her daughter, Darcy LaVigne, of Columbia Heights, Minn.; her son, Bruce Lavigne, (Aubrey); and grandchildren, Ashton, Laithan, and Aspen of Trent, South Dakota; stepdaughter, Carla Korn Steinmetz; brothers, Don LeMay, and Karl LeMay, (Connie); sister, DeEtta Bachman; and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Donavan and Ruth LeMay; husband, Gene Korn; stepson, Jeff Korn; sister, Yvonne Kropidlowski; sister-in-law, Patricia LeMay; and brother-in-law, L. Bruce Bachman.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Zion Lutheran Church, 110 E. Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls, followed by lunch, and then a graveside interment.

Char will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor and generous nature. If you would like to honor her, a donation to your favorite charity would be welcomed.
WASHINGTON  Eight-year-old Liam Daly became an internet sensation when he penned a letter to his grandfather, William Barr, while sitting in the front row at Barrs confirmation hearing in January.

Dear Grandpa, he wrote. You are doing great so far. But I know you still will.

Alas for Liam, and for all of us, it was not to be. Now, just weeks on the job as President Trumps attorney general, Grandpa has disgraced himself. The speed with which Barr trashed a reputation built over decades is stunning, even by Trump administration standards.

Before, Barr was known as the attorney general to President George H.W. Bush and an eminence grise of the Washington legal community. Now he is known for betraying a friend, lying to Congress and misrepresenting the Mueller report in a way that excused the presidents misbehavior and let Russia off the hook.

Three weeks ago, Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., asked Barr about reports that special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs team complained that Barrs four-page summary of their work didnt adequately or accurately portray their findings. Do you know what theyre referencing? Crist asked.

No, I dont, Barr replied under oath, speculating that they probably wanted more put out.

Grandpa was fibbing.

Thanks to The Washington Posts reporting, we now know that two weeks before Barr denied knowledge of the Mueller teams displeasure, he received a letter from Mueller complaining that Barrs summary did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions and resulted in public confusion.

Barr, caught in flagrante delicto in his deception, told senators Wednesday that the question was relating to unidentified members of Muellers team, not Mueller himself  a technical answer that might get him off for perjury but doesnt avoid the conclusion that he deliberately misled Congress and the public.

Why didnt Barr disclose the Mueller letter when Crist asked the question? Barr replied that Crist had posed a very different question.

Um, right.

Of equal concern, Barr rejected Muellers requests to release more of the report to clear up the confusion. At that point, it was my baby, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Muellers.

It was his baby, and he smothered it  thus allowing Barrs misrepresentation of Muellers report (characterized by Trump as total exoneration) to harden.

Barrs mistreatment of Mueller is all the more appalling because, during his confirmation hearing, Barr boasted that the two men and their wives were good friends and would remain so. Barr reportedly told a senator privately that he and Mueller were best friends, that their wives attended Bible study together and that Mueller attended the weddings of Barrs children.

If so, Barrs betrayal reminds us: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. In addition to his unilateral clearing of Trump on obstruction of justice (something Mueller did not do), Barr also echoed Trumps claim that there was no collusion (a question Mueller did not address) and that there had been spying against Trumps campaign.

Barr continued undermining Mueller on Wednesday, calling Muellers letter to him a bit snitty and saying Mueller should have ended the investigation if he didnt think it in his purview to say whether Trump committed a crime. And Barr eagerly played Trumps defense lawyer.

Muellers finding that Trump repeatedly leaned on White House counsel Don McGahn to get Mueller fired?

Barr devised the implausible explanation that Trump only wanted Mueller replaced by another special counsel.

And Trump instructing McGahn to say publicly that Trump didnt order Mueller fired? Not a crime, Barr argued.

Barr also defended his assertion that Trump fully cooperated with the investigation, even though he refused to be interviewed and tried to get then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself and shut down the inquiry.

I dont see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation, Barr reasoned.

Even Barrs choice of pronouns  we have not waived the executive privilege, he said  showed he was Trumps lawyer, not Americas attorney general.

Repeatedly, Barr said it didnt matter that Trump had deceived the public. Im not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people, he said. But now Barr, by misrepresenting his dealings with Mueller, has gotten himself into the business of lying to the American people.

Even an 8-year-old knows lying is wrong, whether its legal or not. Surely Grandpa Barr should have. The attorney general owed better to his friend Mueller, and to the rest of us.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for Sri Lanka church and hotel bombings

The Islamic State has claimed that it was behind the horrific suicide bombings of churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend.

The terrorist group made the claim through its official Amaq news agency on Tuesday.

It comes after Sri Lankan intelligence named radical local cleric Moulvi Zahran Hashim as the chief mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks. He reportedly used his social media channels in the past to incite hatred against non-Muslims.

Senior government officials had blamed the little known radical Islamist group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which gained prominence last year after being accused of damaging Buddhist statues.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne previously said that whoever carried out the attacks must have been helped by an international network.

"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," he said.

"There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."

The devastating attacks were carried out on two Catholic churches and one evangelical church that were packed with worshippers celebrating Easter Sunday.

Four luxury hotels were also targeted in the attacks that claimed the lives of 321 people, including eight British citizens.

Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday that he believed the bombings were in retaliation for the recent attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed when a gunman opened fire in the mosques on March 15.

"The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch, but we are continuing investigations," Wijewardene said.
Viaje has announced the return of two Japanese-inspired small batch releases, the Viaje Hamaki and Viaje Hamaki Omakase. Both of these cigars were originally released in 2017 as a part of the Viajes White Label Project. This time the two small batch releases return and receive their own packaging.

Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar. The project was provoked by Viaje founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. It is a 6 x 54 box-pressed torpedo with the blend details not being disclosed. When Hamaki was first released back in 2017, it was a Dominican puro produced at the Quesada factory in the Dominican Republic.

Like Hamaki, the Hamaki Omakase was provoked by Viaje Cigars founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. Omakase is the Japanese tradition of letting a chef choose your order. The word actually means I will leave it to you and it fits in with the theme of the cigar (the name Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar) as the details of the blend have not been released. The cigar itself is a 5 x 52 Robusto produced in Nicaragua. The 2017 release of the Hamaki Omakase also was an undisclosed blend in a 5 x 52 Robusto size.

The Hamaki is packaged in 25-count boxes while the Hamaki Omakase comes in 18-count boxes.

In terms of the new packaging Viaje refers to this as graduating from the White Label Project series. The White Label Project is a series of experimental cigars and in some cases factory errors. Lately, Viaje has been using White Label Project to test the waters with a new line. This has allowed Viaje to see how the market responds to a release before investing in a more detailed packaging.

Photo Credit: Viaje Cigars
If youve been reading the liberal media and Left Twitter the past couple of months, youd be certain of one thing: Joe Biden is hopelessly out of touch  too old, too white, too male, too handsy, too racist, too misogynist, too unwoke, and far too compromised by his past positions to be the Democratic nominee in 2020. Josh Marshall, while liking Biden, regarded him as unsuited to the moment in almost every way imaginable. Jamelle Bouie saw him as a repugnant variant of Trumpism: For decades Biden gave liberal cover to white backlash. My colleague Rebecca Traister recently called him a comforter of patriarchal impulses toward controlling womens bodies. Ben Smith declared : His campaign is stumbling toward launch with all the hallmarks of a Jeb!-level catastrophe  a path that leads straight down  Joe Biden isnt going to emerge from the 2020 campaign as the nominee. You already knew that. Michael Tomasky summarized the elite consensus: Nearly everyone thinks [Biden] cant win the nomination.

Nearly everyone  i.e., all my friends and acquaintances in the journalistic and political elite  also thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in to win the general election. But Biden has had an extremely good start to his third campaign for president. His announcement video was aimed at those on the left who see Trump as the tip of the spear of white nationalism, and to those swingier voters who simply want to return to normalcy, constitutional order, and, well, decency. Thats a message that rallies the base but also appeals to those who may be exhausted by the trauma of Trump. As an opener, perfect. Even, at times, moving.

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The polling is just as impressive. In three separate polls released this week, Bidens support is somewhere in the upper 30s, and his nearest competitor is in the mid-teens (or, in one case, low 20s). In a field of 20 candidates, thats a big share, and in Nate Silvers analysis, Well-known candidates polling in the mid-30s in the early going are about even money to win the nomination, historically. Yes, hes riding an announcement bump right now and his numbers may and almost certainly will fade over time. His name recognition is sky-high compared with some others, who could catch up as the campaign progresses. And he might once again gaffe his way into oblivion. But he has a big enough lead to be able to afford a certain amount of erosion.

And his strength is drawn from two contrasting bases: older, moderate whites, and African-Americans. Although his share is in the 30s overall, he has a whopping 50 percent share among nonwhite Democrats, according to the latest CNN poll. A Morning Consult poll found him with 43 percent of the black vote, including 47 percent support among African-American women. Bidens deep association with Obama gives him a lift in the black vote no other white candidate can achieve. And so it turns out that the base of the Democrats has not been swept into the identity cult of the elite, wealthy, white left. As a brand- new CBS poll finds, Democrats may prefer a hypothetical female nominee over a male (5941 percent), a black nominee over a white one (6040 percent), and someone in their 40s to someone in their 70s. But thats in the abstract. In reality, Biden seems to scramble these preferences.

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Hes also been able to reach non-college-educated white men in ways few other candidates could. Thats a big fucking deal in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin  and if Biden can carry those states, hell be the next president. Hes a union man, and always has been. In what was a brilliant ad-lib, Biden began a speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers by making a joke about the excesses of #MeToo  I had permission to hug Lonnie, the union leader, he quipped. Later, as he brought some kids onstage, he joked again, as he put his hands on the shoulders of a boy: He gave me permission to touch him. The crowds reaction both times was bellows of laughter.

Yes, this might be seen as insensitive, or tone-deaf. It is certainly politically incorrect. But what Bidens joke did is tell the white working class that he has not defected to the woke, white urban elites. This matters. In a recent poll , 80 percent of Americans say that political correctness is a problem in this country. Hostility to new speech codes from elites was one factor that drove support for Trump in 2016. Americans do not want to abolish all differences between men and women, do not support reparations, and view college campuses as strange, alien pockets of madness. Any Democrat in 2020 has to reach that  exhausted majority  who are sick of all that. Biden has already done it.

Would upping the white working-class vote for the Dems alienate minorities, women, and high-income whites? Maybe. Charles Blow recently argued that these voters are fickle, getting smaller and smaller as a segment of the electorate, and are hostile to the interests of women and minorities. That is, theyre deplorables, unworthy of attention. Clinton tried that strategy. And she lost the presidency because of her thinly veiled contempt for the white working classes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The idea that the white working class is incompatible with a multicultural coalition is what two Obama campaigns disproved.

Bidens positive message is a defense of the worker from the excesses of decadent late-capitalism. He can effortlessly channel that and compete with Trump in the Rust Belt. Sanders can do this as well  but Bernie, for all his sincerity and authenticity, does not have the heft of a two-term vice-president who has long been at the center of his party. For those who simply want to defeat Trump at all costs, Biden, for now, seems the safest bet. He can run on a platform deeply informed by the lefts critique of the market, without the baggage of left wokeness or those eager to play into the GOPs hands and explicitly avow socialism.

Thats exactly what the Trump campaign fears. And in the critical head-to-head dynamic against Trump, Biden already seems to have gotten into the presidents head. Despite what we have been told is strong internal advice from his mute dauphin-in-law not to engage Biden, Trump couldnt help himself. When Biden got an endorsement from the firefighters union, Trump unleashed a torrent of 58 retweets before 6:30 a.m., all citing firefighters support for Trump. The president insists that every firefighter, cop, and service member supports him. All of them. And so the president went on to attack the union itself: Ive done more for Firefighters than this dues sucking union will ever do, and I get paid ZERO! After this sad temper tantrum, Biden was ready for a response: Im sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work. Biden 1, Tump 0.

In subsequent remarks, Trump revealed his current strategy for reelection: Hell tout a strong economy, fight mass immigration, and run against the threat of socialism. But hes obviously terrified that Biden wont fit easily into this AOCIlhan Omar rubric. Hes hoping that the left of the party will kneecap him: I think Biden would be easier from the standpoint that you will have so much dissension in the party, because itll make four years ago look like baby stuff  They want the radical left  they want the left movement  and he probably isnt there. And I think youre going to have tremendous dissension [sic] just like Hillary did. So the president just told the country that his most potent opponent is no leftist. A Trump adviser told Politico : We dont think Biden can make it out of the woke Democrat primary. Boy, are they hoping he doesnt.

The reason Trump is so rattled is that Biden is seven points ahead of him in head-to-head polls right now, and, after four years of Trumps assault on this countrys constitutional order, Democrats are likely to turn out in high numbers, and back whoever gets nominated. As it becomes clearer that this president regards himself as above the law, and has an attorney general who shares this view and will also target Trumps opponents if told to, opposition could intensify. New data from 2018 shows how big Democratic turnout was: 36 percent of young people voted, compared with 20 percent in 2014. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians all saw their turnout rates soar  up 11, 13, and 13 points, respectively, compared with 2014. When these voters have a chance to get rid of Trump, whoever the nominee is, I have no doubt theyll show up. If Biden could make some inroads with non-college-educated whites and seniors, it could be another big fucking deal. Adding Kamala Harris as his veep could unify the Democratic base behind the ticket.

Two other points: Biden is a Catholic. Anyone who has ever been saturated in American Catholicism can swiftly recognize the figure: old-school but open, a believer in the innate dignity of every human soul, regularly at Mass, deeply comfortable in the world of white ethnic America, surprisingly liberal. Catholics  shockingly, given the depravity of the Republicans  split their vote last time. Move them a few points, as Obama did in 2008 , and you have a real shift in our politics. And then theres the fact that Trumps uncanny ability to define someone with a brutal but telling nickname seems to have failed him with Biden. Sleepy Joe? I can detect nothing sleepy about this septuagenarian embarking on a third run for president. Biden seems to genuinely flummox Trump. Which is very good news.

There is also, dare I say it, a deeper contrast between the two men. One is decent, kind, generous, funny. The other is indecent, cruel, miserly, and has the callous humor of a bully. There would be a moral gulf between any current Democrat and Trump, of course. But with Biden, were reminded of the America we thought we knew. Yes, this is partly nostalgia, but no one should underestimate nostalgia in a country as turbulent, afraid, and resentful as America right now. Bidens moment, in my mind, was 2016, but he was prevented from competing by Clinton and Obama. But history takes strange turns. This already feels to me like a two-man race. That may change. Its extremely early, but the odds are with Biden. And the tailwinds behind him are intense.
SHELBY - The Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill was the only childhood home Columbus resident Dallas Thelen ever knew.

His parents, George and Cindy Thelen, purchased the building at 240 N. Walnut St. in 1979, less than a year after Dallas was born.

The Thelens operated their business by day before heading up a flight of stairs every evening after the bar closed.

It was definitely unique, Dallas said of the living arrangement with his parents and three siblings. That was the only home I ever knew growing up. But it was fun, there was a long hallway that we would run down playing hide and seek and stuff, and then dad actually took out a few walls and put in a swing set so we had our own playground indoors.

Dallas moved to Columbus with his wife, Denise, in 2007, and his parents continued calling the establishment home before moving just a few blocks away in January 2010.

Although the top portion of the Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill has now been vacant for some time, the bottom floor has remained lively with numerous area residents patronizing the facility on a regular basis. On Wednesday, the business celebrated 40 years of being in business with an all-afternoon gathering that drew in around 100 people.

Throughout the afternoon and night it was pretty busy, Cindy said. The kids are the ones who really did it, got it up on Facebook and told people to come  we werent going to do anything.

The couple is glad they celebrated, though. At the end of October, the establishment is permanently shutting its doors. Although there will be a final party  likely a Halloween-themed bash, this served as a bit of a farewell.

With Cindy turning 65 in June and George creeping up on 72, its finally time to throw in the towel. The couple has served as a two-person crew for multiple years following the departure of longtime employee Carol Funkhouser, who manned the short-order grill during the lunch hour for the better part of three decades.

I think that its a good time for them to retire, Dallas said. I think that they have put in their time for a business like that. Its an extremely long tenure, just because of all the time they have had to spend there. I remember that mom would be there before 7 (a.m.) when they opened, and then dad would be there until past 1 (a.m.) at close. And then they would wake up and do it all over again.

George and Cindy agree, but its still hard stepping away from the establishment that not only provided their livelihood, but also a shelter over their childrens and their own heads for so many years. Its a place where third-generation customers pop in and talk about their familys history and memories at the bar.

Just a whole lot of parties  good memories, George said of what he will remember fondly, with a laugh. Everything that has happened on Main Street we have been part of because we lived on Main Street for such a long time. The homecoming parades, all the Halloween parties and anniversary dances weve had over the years 

In the late 1970s when the Thelens opened shop, there were five watering holes in downtown area. Now, at least for the time being, there will be none beginning in November.

Dallas knows this is a tough pill for his father to swallow.

Hes always been really supportive of the community and just adamant that Main Street needs to have good businesses, Dallas said. He never wanted businesses to leave.

Now that the time has arrived for the Thelens, their focus is on the future. The couple will be able to relax a little bit more and enjoy the company of their seven grandchildren.

Shelby will still be their home, and they will undoubtedly keep seeing a lot of familiar faces. But they will miss the interactions theyve had with customers at the bar for so many years.

We just want to thank everyone for their business and for supporting us for all these years, Cindy said. Without them, we wouldnt be here, they are the ones that made our living and kept us going.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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Diane Thress and her former work partner, Linda Brandenburgh, used to operate the Child Support Enforcement office in a back corner of the Platte County Attorneys office.

While conveniently located directly across from County Attorney Carl Hart Jr.s office, it wasn't the most comfortable setting.

It was pretty small, Thress said. We were on top of each other. A lot of times, when you moved your chair or opened a file drawer, you would back into someone. We also had nowhere to meet with clients. It was time to approach the board for finding us a bigger location where we could serve clients who came in and needed assistance.

Thress and her newly expanded staff no longer need to worry about playing bumper chairs in their office. Three weeks ago, the Child Support Enforcement office moved into an old courtroom just a door down from the county attorneys Office.

The move was necessary due to the expansion of Thress staff following an audit by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. According to Hart Jr., the agency was worried that the two workers had too big of a work load and needed to expand in order to make it a bit more manageable.

They determined we had well over 1,500 cases that were being handled by two experienced workers, Hart Jr. said. They did a comparison with other counties (that had the same workload) and some counties had as many as four workers. They told us You people are doing more than your fair share if youre working 750 cases per employee. Thats twice the workload of child support collection workers in other counties.

With Brandenburgh retiring in June 2018, and with DDHS forcing an expansion of staff, space was incredibly cramped for the already extremely busy unit. Thus began the search for a new place to call home starting in fall 2018.

One of the options included moving the department into the basement of the courthouse that previously housed the Nebraska Extension-Platte County office. The idea was seriously considered, and hearings were held where discussion and debate took place.

Ultimately, it was not a popular recommendation.

The solution, arguably, was to put someone down in the basement, Hart Jr. said. Nobody wanted to go down there. Its not very nice.

The proposal also would have been inconvenient for both the workers and the attorneys appointed to fight these cases. They would have had to go up four flights of stairs just to get to the county attorneys office.

I didnt want to do it, because how could I supervise these three child support employees? Hart Jr. inquired. That means I have to get on an elevator or go down four flights of stairs. One of my lawyers is going down there, as well. We could do those things, but we found a (better) solution.

Eventually, the board settled on the old courtroom. Four months of work followed, in an effort to reconfigure the space from a hall of justice into suitable office quarters.

Tile was replaced with new carpet, and electrical wiring was installed to facilitate a modern office with computers and access to databases. Most importantly, Thress says that the new office has plenty of space for her staff, not to mention plenty of new amenities to help those who need it most.

Clients can come in and talk to us, Thress said. The front desk has a computer that we can all log on to and talk to the clients at the front desk, rather than having them come back and see confidential information that they dont need to see. We can talk to them up front and take care of them right there.

Hart Jr. is also very satisfied with how things transpired. While there may be a need for an additional courtroom sometime in the future, he doesnt think he will have to uproot the staff that just moved.

I dont anticipate that happening, he said. I dont think that in the near future we would expect to get that (Child Support Enforcement) bumped out of here.

Zach Roth is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net

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After the historic blizzards and flooding rolled through Nebraska and devastated our communities, weve heard countless stories of neighbor helping neighbor, and donations and help pouring in from across the country for our hurting communities, farms, and businesses.

I have been working hard in Congress to provide our state with relief  and I am proud to introduce legislation that would give a hand up to individuals and businesses.

Recently, along with Congressman Adrian Smith, I introduced the Disaster Tax Relief Act. This bicameral, bipartisan measure would deliver much-needed tax benefits to communities that were recently designated as disaster areas.

Id like Nebraskans to know some of the specifics of what the Disaster Tax Relief Act would do and what it would mean for our citizens and businesses impacted by the catastrophic weather conditions.

This legislation lifts regulations for the use of retirement funds. Currently, those who make early withdrawals from their retirement accounts are charged with a 10-percent penalty. But as we have seen in the wake of the severe weather, many Nebraskans are forced to dip into their retirement funds to restore their home or rebuild their farm or business. This bill would waive the 10-percent early withdrawal fee for those affected. Plunging into hard-earned retirement savings is disheartening on its own, Nebraskans should not be penalized in the process of putting the pieces back together.

The Disaster Tax Relief Act would also temporarily eliminate the cap on deductions for charitable donations within a disaster area. Charitable deductions are normally capped around 30 to 50 percent of income. Without these limitations in place, this legislation can provide even more incentive for donations to Nebraska communities that need the most assistance.

Usually the IRS offers a limited deduction for destroyed property. This bill would expand the deduction so it can be claimed for damages not covered by other insurance or federal programs.

Targeted changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the bill would help alleviate financial pressures some of our friends and neighbors are facing. EITC recipients generally receive credit based on the amount of money they have earned, but as floods have caused our businesses to halt operations, wages could fall. This bill would allow affected Nebraskans to claim their previous years credit, if their wages decrease.

This legislation would help families keep a steadier stream of income as they recover. A tax credit would be made available for employers in disaster areas who continue to pay their employees. In some cases, this would give businesses the flexibility to continue paying their workers while they recover.

The bottom line is this: the Disaster Tax Relief Act offers more flexibility and frees Nebraskans from regulations, so they can make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones as they recover.

Nebraskans are strong and tough. Day-by-day we are reopening doors and restoring our communities in the Good Life. I believe this common-sense tax relief measure would only help to speed up the process of getting back on our feet.

The passage of the Disaster Tax Relief Act would be an important step in the right direction. I will continue to fight to ensure that Congress quickly enacts this bill into law to lighten the load for our hurting families.

Deb Fischer is a United States senator who represents Nebraska.

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
The patients who inevitably see Hafiza Ferhatovic at UPMC Pinnacle Carlisles medical-surgical unit run the gamut of health issues, from orthopedic problems to adverse events related to chronic diagnoses to substance abuse.

A common element in many cases below her unit in the emergency department, however, is the help some of these patients could have received if they had help from a primary care provider.

The reason why we get people in our emergency department is they cant control their chronic illnesses because they dont have a primary care physician, she said.

That shortage is a nationwide issue, and one Ferhatovic hopes to address by becoming a family care nurse practitioner.

Ferhatovic, who was born in Bosnia but moved to Pennsylvania when she was in kindergarten, only has two years of nursing under her belt, but shes already taking classes to become a nurse practitioner. Though the Carlisle nurse doesnt know if shell end up staying in Pennsylvania, she like other nurses are hopeful Pennsylvania will be the next state to approve more independence for nurse practitioners.

If the Legislature passes a bill that would allow nurse practitioners more freedom to prescribe medication as well as other duties, the state would be more attractive to nurses like Ferhatovic who sees more nurse practitioners as an answer to the primary care provider shortage.

Im hoping it heads in that direction, she said.

Ferhatovic said that while nurse practitioners arent in school for quite as long as physicians, they are definitely beneficial, especially in hospitals and as primary care providers.

And providing care has been a goal for her since she experienced a complicated introduction to the countrys health care system.

My moms health took a turn unexpectedly while I was in high school, Ferhatovic said. English wasnt her first language  its not my first language  so I would go with her to appointments. I missed school to go with her.

What Ferhatovic discovered were nurses who would patiently explain to them everything they wanted to know and would simply try to make them feel better.

I learned a lot from asking them questions, she said. These nurses meant a lot to my mom.

Its the same experience she hopes to bring with her to her adult patients in the medical-surgical unit, and to emergency room patients she hopes to treat in the future as training for an occupation in family care. And she hopes patients, who are often experiencing their worst days while at the hospital, keep that in mind while she admittedly pesters them about keeping their socks on and generally being safe in the unit.

I just want them to get better, she said. Were with them 24/7. Your duty is to improve the health of the patient.

Giving them instructions and even addressing the primary care shortage may not be enough to keep patients out of the emergency room. Ferhatovic said she knows what the other factors are that prevent patients from seeking care or following through on a nurses instructions upon leaving the hospital.

I think one of the biggest challenges I face is that I cant control everything. Youll find that the patients who are least compliant have financial issues, she said, adding that they will give instructions on finding a physical therapist or give a prescription to pills that the patient may not be able to purchase. If a patient cant afford it, I guarantee that they will not do it.

While shes learning to let go of the factors out of her control, shes starting to embrace that her future may not be set in stone, either.

I talked to a lot of the older nurses, and you never know where your career is going to end up, she said. I never want to tell myself Im going to do just this.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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Cumberland Countys child services department is trying to get back on its feet after losing, and subsequently re-gaining, its full social services license from the state amid issues with turnover and heavy caseloads.

Cumberland County Children and Youth Services operated on a provisional license from July 19, 2018, until March 8, 2019, due to lapses in casework reviewed by the state during the renewal process in late 2017, according to state records.

Most, but not all, of those issues had been corrected as of late 2018, with a full license re-issued this spring.

It was a stressful six months but it got us reorganized and reinvigorated, said Necole McElwee, Cumberland Countys CYS director. When we were put on a provisional license, we really sat back and looked and divided apart every one of those citations and looked  at the areas we needed to improve upon.

Inspections

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services routinely inspects county agencies that carry out the state social services programs by spot-checking an agencys records and noting violations.

The inspection report on Cumberland County Children and Youth, issued last summer for inspections conducted in December 2017, logged 44 pages of problems, resulting in the revocation of the agencys full license and the issuing of a provisional status.

Many of these issues involved CYS not making contact with a family or completing the required Safety Assessment Worksheet within the required time frame. In some cases, people who are supposed to be contacted per state investigatory standards were not contacted at all.

In one citation, for instance, a report was received alleging lack of food and improper feeding of an infant with kidney issues. The referral was listed as a 48-hour response time, but should have been assigned 24-hour status, according to the state. Ultimately, no contact was made with the family until six days after the report was received.

Another citation found that, in five of the 14 cases reviewed, a preliminary SAW was not completed within the 72 hours prescribed by the state. One case took 13 days to have a SAW completed, and another had a SAW dated a day before the agency actually made contact with the family, according to the state inspection.

The states December 2018 inspection found significant improvement, with the number of violations cut roughly in half, something McElwee credited to better oversight and organization among her staff.

The department determined that significant and continuous progress has been made in the implementation of your plan of correction, the state wrote in re-issuing Cumberland CYS full license. The department commends the agency for implementation of the plan of correction in a timely manner and demonstrating the agencys commitment to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children served.

But some lapses remained. In one citation, law enforcement was not notified of a relevant case for a month despite the 24-hour notification statute. In another, one of the children in a home under supervision was not listed on the SAW and was not assessed at all, according to the state.

McElwee agreed with the assertion that those issues are likely an indication of rushed or sloppy work by caseworkers who are overloaded.

Staffing is an ongoing issue absolutely, getting qualified applicants, training them, staying ahead of that, McElwee said.

Staffing

Cumberland CYS is down five caseworkers, out of 47 total caseworker positions, McElwee said. Turnover for the 2018-19 fiscal year is already at 23 percent, meaning roughly one in four positions has or will change hands.

But it has been worse, McElwee said. Turnover in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was around 30 percent, before dropping down to just 7 percent in 2017-18. The number of open positions was also 12 at one point.

While this would be rapid by most standards, it doesnt appear to be uncommon for social workers. Casey Family Programs, the nations largest foster care nonprofit, estimates caseworker turnover of 20 to 40 percent in the child services field. York Countys caseworker turnover was 23.8 percent last year, according to county spokesman Mark Walters.

I work really hard with our current staff on morale, McElwee said. These folks deal with a lot of things.  Its a lot of nontraditional hours. When we hire new people I dont think you realize how much time youre going to spend away from your own family.

Cumberland County pays relatively well, with starting salaries around $48,000 for caseworkers, about $10,000 higher than surround areas of central Pennsylvania, McElwee said. The state pays 80 percent of the salary and benefit cost for local social service agencies, with the county responsible for the other 20 percent.

But Cumberland is also one of the few counties in the area to still staff its human services through the states civil service commission, McElwee said. When positions are open, the county relies on a list of qualified applicants from the state, with a hiring process run by the commission.

Cumberland County has submitted its letter to withdraw from the civil service system and set up its own state-qualified recruitment process, but this can take up to two years, McElwee said.

There are a lot of technical rules that dont make hiring easy, McElwee said. The department has just hired six new caseworkers via the civil service system.

This past month we have seen a more positive hiring [outlook], McElwee said.

Caseloads

The department is also planning to double its clerical staff, from the current three employees to six, to allow caseworkers to spend more time out visiting families rather than filling out paperwork. McElwee praised the willingness of the county commissioners to approve new positions, with a total of six  the three clerical staff, two caseworkers, and one manager  in the process of being created.

Cumberland CYSs caseloads include backlogs of cases that are awaiting a final clerical detail or clearance before they can be fully closed. One caseworker who does intake and initial evaluation  the most difficult role in the department to staff, McElwee said  was working 23 cases in March, for instance. But that person also had another 67 cases waiting for clearance from backlog, according to department documents.

Some of the violations cited by the state involved excessive delays, sometimes months, before supervisors were able review and sign off on safety plans. McElwee said she hopes to get the departments caseworker-to-supervisor ratio down to four-to-one, from the usual five-to-one.

Cumberland CYS has 227 children in its custody, McElwee said, of which 189 are in foster care or are placed with a relative under CYS supervision, and the rest in a group home, treatment center or other accommodation. The department also works with between 200 and 250 families in a given month who have experienced issues but whose children are not subject to removal.

High rates of removal often go hand-in-hand with parental drug use, which is often cited by social service agencies across the state and nation who are overburdened with the surge in opioid addiction.

Cumberland Countys opioid crisis is, by some measure, beginning to subside, with overdose deaths dropping last year versus 2017. While still elevated, McElwee said that the caseload appears to be leveling out, along with the rate of drug-related cases.

Last year, 48 percent of new placements were due to parental drug use, McElwee said, down from a peak of 74 percent a few years ago. But these cases are still difficult when it comes to the necessary standards for safety planning.

When youre dealing with a parent with an opioid issue, theyre at a higher risk, McElwee said. It does make safety planning with them harder  and if we cant safety plan, were asking for removal.

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The United States Air Force General Tod D. Wolters was sworn in as top military officer of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), at NATOs military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.

Tod D. Wolters

Service: He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He will succeed U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti to become new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for a term of two to three years.

(SACEUR) for a term of two to three years. He will also be a commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

A SACEUR is commander of NATOs Allied Command Operations (ACO). He is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium.

He also heads Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). SHAPE is ACOs headquarter.

SACEUR is second highest military position within NATO. In terms of precedence It is only after Chairman of NATO Military Committee.

Importance : NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer.

: NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer. A SACEUR position is dual-hatted i.e. one who serves as SACEUR also holds role of Commander of United States European Command.

It is one of most challenging and most important military positions in world.

NATO
Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod...

From my book Child and Domestic abuse vol II There was a very well known kiruv personality. Perhaps you could say that he was a poster ...

Absolute proof that the Vaccines are an intentional Bio weapon foward this to your Doctor Inbox PATTERNS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF TOXIC COVID ...

Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com
With the fifth day of May approaching on Sunday it is time once again to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations came to the United States in the 1960s when Mexican-American citizens of the United States, particularly in southern California, began to bring to holiday to light for their fellow citizens.

Many individuals in the United States mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexicos independence  this is a falsehood as Mexicos Independence Day falls on Sept. 16.

Cinco de Mayo is actually the celebration of Mexican armys victory over the French in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, during which Napoleon III had tried to build an empire in Mexico. In Mexico, May 5 is not a federal holiday, but just a regular day. There are some military parades, some recreations of the battle, and other festive events, however, banks and most businesses remain open on Cinco de Mayo.

While the holiday began in Mexico, some of the largest celebrations of Cinco de Mayo are held each year in the United States. It is an opportunity for people to celebrate Mexican-Americans and their culture by having parades, parties, and other festivals and events.

El Tapatio, at all three local locations (Park Hills, Farmington, and Desloge), will be offering several specials for the big celebration on Sunday. Regular pitchers will be $15, jumbo margaritas and margaronas will be $6.50, Lunch Special #5 will be $6.50 all day, and the Burrito California will be $7 all day. There will also be free T-shirt giveaways.

The Old Mine House Bar and Grill in Park Hills will be having $2 tequila shots and $3 margaritas featuring their new habanero mango whiskey margarita. These specials will run all day on Sunday.

Perhaps one of the biggest St. Francois County Cinco de Mayo celebrations will be at Hubs Pub and Grill in Bonne Terre.

Hubs will be having a Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. and featuring Top Gunz. The party is labeled all '80s, all night! There is a $10 cover for the evening. Top Gunz is an all '80s music group from St. Louis. The group calls themselves a tribute to 80s Hair Band RocknRoll and features Blaze Magnum on vocals and props, Izzy Rocks on guitars, keys, and pees, Razzle Foxx on guitars and more guitars, Hollywood Velvet on bass and fishnets, and Danger Zone on drums and beer fetcher.

On Sunday, Hub's will offer $2 margaritas and $2.50 Coronas all day and will be featuring live Mariachi music from 1 to 3 p.m.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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According to the Leadington Police Department, witnesses said that just before 12:45 p.m. David Taylor, 68, of Leadington, was driving a Chrysler 300 southbound when he swerved over to the left side of the road and then went off the right side of the road. The vehicle traveled up an embankment and overturned, landing on its top.
Four Florida men are in custody following a Walmart theft and a high-speed pursuit on Thursday.

Bernard Rodgers, 22, Carlos Green, 22, Anthony Rhynes, 23, and Reechaey Bush, 25, all of Tampa, Florida, have each been charged with felony resisting arrest. They are currently being held in the St. Francois County Jail on $75,000 bond each.

According to the probable cause statement by the Desloge Police Department, a Desloge officer was dispatched to Walmart for a report of theft. It had been reported by Walmart loss prevention that the suspects had left the store in a silver Chevrolet Tahoe with Florida license plates.

While en route to the store, the officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating his lights and sirens.

The report states that the vehicle initially appeared to be slowing, but abruptly sped up and overtook several vehicles that were in its pathway.

The Tahoe then sped through a red light and also ran through a stop sign at a four-way intersection. The pursuit then continued onto U.S. 67 southbound from Parkway Drive in Park Hills. While on U.S. 67, the Tahoe reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

The vehicle then exited U.S. 67 onto Highway 32/Karsch Boulevard in Farmington at which time the driver lost control and struck a ditch.

All four men continued to attempt to flee on foot even after officers commanded them to stop. The four men were quickly captured by officers, placed under arrest, and transported to the St. Francois County Jail where they remain detained.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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For the second year in a row, rain forced Thursday nights local National Day of Prayer observance inside the St. Francois County Courthouse. Despite the cloudy and wet weather, however, those who attended the observance were not dampened at all in spirit.

About 100 people gathered for fellowship and to pray together to exemplify this years theme, Love One Another. This years scripture, from John 13:34, read, Love one another, just as I have loved you.

After a time of praise and worship led by Kevin Kappler, pastor of Farmingtons New Life Church, the crowd joined together in the Pledge of Allegiance and then local pastors were invited to the podium to lead prayer for specific groups.

Praying for government officials was Elevate Faith Church of God Pastor Dane Corbett; law enforcement and first responders, Bismarck First Assembly of God Pastor Mike Barton; churches and revival, Faith Cowboy Church Pastor Ronnie Rothlisberger; schools and youth, Young Faith in Christ Executive Director Tim Burdin; families, Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church Pastor Daniel Clayton; Americas business and economy, United Assembly of God Pastor Rob Hampton; media, Three Crosses Cowboy Church Pastor Mike McGee; and military, Rev. Ryan Retzer of Eastside Church of God.

This years keynote speaker was Dwight Jones, Harvest Christian Centre pastor, who spoke on this years theme of loving one another.

Many of us in our nation have been delivered from the bondage of hell but we dont realize it, he said. "I want to share something with you that I really dont think most of us understand. How many of you are familiar with the children of Israel? Do you realize that we are knitted together as a nation of the children of Israel. Do you understand that the nation of America at its founding almost chose Hebrew as our national language?

Our first logo, our first emblem, our first sign of America was the sign of Moses with a rod lifted up over the Red Sea leading the children of Israel. Are you aware of that? There are so many things that lock us together with Israel. And something about Israel I dont think many of us realize is when we read about Israel being in bondage to the pharaoh and to the Egyptians, we think they were in bondage for 400 years  but they were not. As a matter of fact, if you read the scriptures, the Israelites were only in bondage around 80 or a little over 80 years. Much of that time they ruled with great authority and great power.

Listen to me, the power in the world is trying to marginalize the body of Christ. Theyre trying to tell us that our opinion does not matter. Theyre trying to tell us that we are the minority, but we are here tonight to declare that with the people around the nation, we speak with one voice and one accord and we are a mighty army because we are united as the body of Christ.

Rev. Jones also noted that he agreed with former Vice President Joe Biden who said recently that the American people are in a battle for the soul of the nation.

Unfortunately, Mr. Biden is fighting for a nation that has excommunicated God, Jones said. He is fighting for a nation where homosexual marriage is the norm. He is fighting for a nation where good is evil and evil is good; where right is wrong and wrong is right. My friend, we gather here tonight as do countless thousands across the nation to pray to a god who alone can heal our land. Listen to me, I told you earlier  hes not a Democratic god, hes not a Republican god. He is God and the only way to please him is to please Christ.

The event was sponsored by the St. Francois County American Family Association.

Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-756-8927 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Greetings Friends of the 144th Legislative District!

As session is on the final countdown, the Capitol is very active with visitors. Arcadia Valley students with the JAG program (Jobs after Graduation) along with Bart and Rhonda Ackley visited the Capitol this week.

Next week, we will have visitors from the District up for a luncheon with the Lt. Governor. The Lieutenant Governor will be selecting individuals for the Senior Service Award. It will be exciting to see if any of our locals are honored with this award. We have so many individuals in our community who put in countless community service hours and would be so deserving of this award.

General Assembly Approves Important Legal Reforms (SB 7)

The members of the House gave their stamp of approval this week to legislation meant to improve Missouris legal climate and bring fairness to courtrooms in the state. The legislation, which was previously approved by the Senate, now heads to the governors desk to be signed into law.

The legislation comes in response to Missouris existing laws on joinder and venue that have made the state a premier destination for out-of-state litigants to file their lawsuits. The reputation that courtrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City have for handing out big judgments have attracted thousands of litigants from across the nation. Only 1,035 out of 13,252 mass tort plaintiffs in cases being heard in St. Louis City were actually Missouri residents.

The changes approved by the legislature reflect a ruling made in February by the Missouri Supreme Court. The states highest court found that a St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge incorrectly allowed a suit by a St. Louis County plaintiff against a New Jersey-based company to move forward in his court. This legislation will reduce cost and increase access for Missouri residents to the court system by reducing the number of cases filed in Missouri courts by plaintiffs with no connection to the state.

Gov. Parson praised the legislature for sending the bill to his desk. The governor released a statement saying, Passing venue and joinder reform is a huge win and will provide long overdue relief to Missouri businesses that have been taken advantage of by rampant abuse of our states legal system. Todays passage of SB 7 will soon deliver a significant economic boost and create a better business environment all across Missouri.

I look forward to the Governor signing these positive reforms to improve our states competitiveness, strengthen our legal climate, and bring fairness to our courtroom.

Members of the Missouri House approved my House Bill 1135 meant to help victims of domestic violence get away from abusers and move on with their lives.

Under my bill, victims of domestic violence, who are engaged with an agency accredited with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence, would receive a one-time fee waiver for obtaining a copy of a birth certificate.

Individuals who leave a home where abuse occurs often leave behind birth certificates, as well as other documents and identification. When they attempt to obtain new forms of identification such as a driver license or attempt to open a bank account, it is difficult to do so without a birth certificate. The fee to get a new copy is often a burden to a survivor faced with numerous other expenses while trying to start down a new path in life.

These vulnerable people need access to birth certificates in order to participate in legitimate activities leading to independence and self-sufficiency. Abusers often take control of a victims vital records since that keeps them unable to leave. This is a bill I filed after a visit with individuals from the SEMO Family Violence Council from Bonne Terre. During their visit they shared with me some of the obstacles they face as they try to help these victims. This piece of legislation is a small step we can take to help these individuals get on their feet and away from their abuser.

The bill also provides a free birth certificate to any homeless or unaccompanied youth, and allows an unaccompanied youth to obtain a birth certificate without consent or signature of a parent or guardian. The bill now is now under consideration in the Missouri Senate.

House Bill Moving to the Senate

HB 1162 requires the Department of Economic Development to maintain a record of all federal grants awarded to entities for the purposes of providing, maintaining, and expanding rural broadband in the state of Missouri. In cases in which funds have been retained, withheld or not distributed due to failure to meet performance standards or other criteria, the department must seek to have the funds awarded to another eligible, qualified Missouri broadband provider. The bill would keep grant funds in Missouri instead of returning the funds to the federal government to reallocate. This would ensure that funds remain in the state to bring broadband to the rural areas.

HB 1002 requires dump trucks to be equipped with mud flaps that have up to 12 inches of ground clearance, instead of the eight inches required for other vehicles. Mud flaps on dump trucks get caught on piles and rip off. Raising mud flaps will help dump trucks maneuver better. This bill will allow mud flaps to be adjusted and prevents wasting mud flaps. Often times these mud flaps rip and then eventually fall off on the highway and cause a safety concern. The purpose of the bill is to save drivers money, to facilitate consistency and help keep our roads safer. There are 13 states that do not require mud flaps and only three states have the eight inch requirement.

HB 585 establishes the "Taxpayer Protection Act." For all tax years beginning January 1, 2020, this bill requires paid tax return preparers to sign any income tax return or claim for refund and provide the preparer's Internal Revenue Service preparer tax identification number. The bill will help prevent fraud and also serve as a consumer protection measure to help prevent taxpayers from being taken advantage of by unqualified tax preparers or criminals.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at 573-751-2112.

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Governor Parson and First Lady Theresa Parson hosted a BBQ at The Peoples House following adjournment on Monday evening. All who were invited were greeted graciously by the Governor and First Lady. They shook everyones hand and personally thanked everyone for coming.

Due to the rain, tents were set up on their lawn and table and chairs throughout the main floor of the Mansion. It was truly an honor to visit with them and to have the chance to mingle with all Representatives in a setting that they provided for us. Missouri is truly blessed to have Governor Parson and Mrs. Parson as the Governor of the State of Missouri.

To access the various events that the Governor Parson has attended or hosted, click on https://www.flickr.com/photos/141271541@N03/albums. Some of the photos on this site are Legislator BBQ, MO National Guard Swearing In, MRTA Teachers at the Capitol, Governors Faith Based and Community Service Partnership for Disaster Recovery.

To access the Governors Home Page, click https://governor.mo.gov/. Our Governor is totally a Governor for the People!

On Tuesday at the Capitol, I had the pleasure of meeting with students and their advisors from our district representing the JAG Program. JAG stands for Jobs for Americas Graduates. Jag is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who have serious barriers to graduation and/or employment. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results  helping over one million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities. A few (okay, many) years ago, when I was in the school system, I wrote and received for our school a grant to start a Jag Program in our district. It was a pleasure for me to see this program thriving and to meet with the JAG students from Farmington, West County and Bismarck. It is a great program for students, for parents and for our communities.

On Wednesday, in keeping with students and our future workforce, a Resolution was presented on the House Floor to the First Robotics group in our state. This will just be the beginning of future Robotics! A hearty Congratulations to these and all future students and a Thank You to the Teachers who are implementing these programs in our schools.

Bills of Interest

HB 942 will be a bill that will benefit small businesses. The House has passed this bill and the Senate committee has now taken up bill to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. Providing quality health insurance is often a fundamental part of efforts to retain good employees. Small companies are struggling with the rising costs of insurance. Current Missouri law prohibits multiple employer welfare arrangements from being publicly marketed, making them nearly impossible for small business to discover. These plans are cheaper than traditional plans as they allow small companies to combine their purchasing power. HB 942 will make these products available and let them be marketed to small business owners to help their employees. I believe that government must get out of the way and allow plans such as this to make it easier for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees

HB 324 dealing with drones over correction facilities has now been rolled into Senate Committee Substitute for HB 113, an omnibus piece of legislation dealing with criminal reform. I am very happy that this bill that protects our correctional facilities, state mental health facilities and open air stadiums such as Busch stadium is now in a bill that contains many non-controversial pieces of legislation that when passed will positively impact the lives of the citizens of Missouri.

HB 604 the school turnaround act has now been through the House and Senate Committees and is waiting to get to the Senate floor. This bill is intended to add support to buildings that are struggling with student achievement. It takes the approach of not punishing a building but offering assistance that will help teachers and staff in these buildings that have been identified. By doing this it is the students that ultimately benefit.

To track the legislation that I have filed, click here. https://house.mo.gov/MemberDetails.aspx?year=2019&code=R&district=117

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It is hard to believe, but we have reached the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session. After approving the budget, my colleagues and I have continued to work on several other important pieces of legislation, including two regarding property rights.

On Monday, April 29, we debated Senate Bill 391. This legislation deals with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Part of this legislation prohibits county commissioners and county health boards from instituting rules or regulations that conflict or are stricter than the rules and regulations put forth by the Department of Health and Senior Services. As long as property owners are in compliance with the departments regulations, they should have the freedom to choose how they manage their land and livestock and not be subject to stricter regulations.

On Wednesday, May 1, House Bill 1062 was heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee. This proposal specifies that no private entity has the power of eminent domain for the purposes of constructing above-ground merchant lines. The original purpose of eminent domain was to use private land in a way that would benefit the entire community. Private companies are using eminent domain to build on an individuals private property for private gain. While the land owners are compensated for the use of their land, sometimes the damage caused by the projects can have lasting effects on the property. Property owners should not be forced to agree to their land being used by a private company to construct these above-ground merchant lines.

Both pieces of legislation have the potential to affect property rights in our state. It is my job as your state legislator to protect your interests, and I certainly support the rights of all property owners in our state. I look forward to further discussing SB 391 and HB 1062 with my colleagues.

I always appreciate hearing your opinions and concerns regarding your state government. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov. For more information, please visit my official Senate webpage at www.senate.mo.gov/romine

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Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

Vote

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Benton Countys newest judge took the oath of office on Friday in a brief, informal ceremony at the county courthouse.

With about two dozen friends, family members and co-workers looking on, Joan Demarest raised her right hand and swore to uphold the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and faithfully discharge the office of a judge in the Benton County Circuit Court.

The oath was administered by Presiding Judge Locke Williams while the courts third jurist, Matthew Donohue, watched from the gallery.

Demarest was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown from among several applicants to succeed David Connell, who retired recently from the Benton County Circuit Court bench and now serves as a senior judge.

Judge Demarest will take up her new duties on Monday, and Williams let her know shell be greeted by a full caseload.

Judge Donohue and I are excited to be working with a new colleague, and were here to give you any help you might need, he said.

Demarest got emotional as she thanked those in attendance for their support.

The joke in my family is Im not going to be a hanging judge, Im going to be the crying judge, she said.

A formal investiture ceremony will be scheduled for a later date.

Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt.

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by Reese Erlich





Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden praise him as a man with extensive foreign policy experience. Hes living proof, however, that extensive doesnt necessarily mean good.





Biden reflects the mindset of the previous generation of mainstream Democratic leaders who are out of touch with the anti-interventionist sentiments of most Americans.





We dont like his experience, says Karen Bernal, the outgoing chair of the California Democratic Partys Progressive Caucus and who supports Senator Bernie Sanders for President. Biden is way too deferential to the military-industrial complex. I dont see him changing.





Biden is a liberal interventionist, at least historically, willing to wage wars of aggression in the name of human rights or national security. He actively drummed up support for US bombing in the Balkans, supported the occupation of Afghanistan, voted for the 2003 war in Iraq, publicly backed the bombing of Libya and supported vastly intensified drone wars in Pakistan and Somalia.





Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is running on an anti-military intervention platform. He offers solid criticism of the U.S. war-making system and calls for a sharp reduction in military spending in order to fund much-needed social spending.





These are hardly abstract points of debate. The U.S. has spent $6 trillion fighting the doomed war on terror. Between 480,000 and 507,000 people have been killed in the US post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including nearly 7,000 U.S. troops.





Bidens pro-war stand is morally and politically wrong, and I am not alone in my opinion. Biden will have a hard time convincing voters that his policies are all that different from Trump's. A recent poll confirms that a majority of Americans oppose Trumps foreign policy. But Biden's baggage could actually help Trump win.





Bloody Hands





In the early 1990s, Biden strongly pushed for war against Serbia and favored Bosnian independence, a war that tore apart former Yugoslavia. Some 25 years later, Bosnia, still plagued by ethnic conflict , is governed by a European-appointed high representative, and 7,000 NATO troops remain on the ground.





Similarly, Biden supported the U.S. invasion of Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, further splintering Yugoslavia and placing power in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army-- a group that U.S. officials had previously described as terrorist . To this day 4,000 NATO troops, including some 700 Americans, remain stationed in Kosovo.





Biden voted to authorize President George Bush Jr. to wage war against Iraq, despite his false claims of weapons of mass destruction. Well after the anti-war movement and even some establishment politicians denounced the war, Biden still defended it, saying in 2005 , We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq [but] I think that would be a gigantic mistake, or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out-- equally a mistake.





Biden later criticized Bushs handling of the Iraq war. But instead of calling for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops, he called for decentralizing Iraq, splitting it into three parts: Kurdistan, a Shia Muslim east and Sunni west. Far from being a peace plan, Biden sought to establish a U.S. sphere of influence in Kurdistan at a time when the US was badly losing the war.

After September 11, 2001, Biden supported the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. He initially called for maintaining U.S. troops there to rebuild the country. Later he favored keeping a smaller number of troops there to fight a counter insurgency war, supposedly to stop terrorism. In practical terms that means keeping U.S. troops and bases permanently in Afghanistan.





During internal White House meetings, Vice President Biden reportedly objected to various military interventions, including the 2011 bombing of Libya. But publicly, Biden supported the attack and even proclaimed it a model for future interventions.





NATO got it right , he said in 2011. In this case, America spent $2 billion and didnt lose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward than it has (been) in the past.





Biden chose to ignore the thousands of Libyan civilians who were killed and injured as the U.S./NATO war turned Libya into a failed state. And a year later insurgents killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in the infamous Benghazi attack. Libya is hardly a prescription for anything.





Sanders Foreign Policy





Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, offers a more systemic criticism of U.S. militarism. He calls for a significant reduction in the $700 billion annual military budget . Do we really need to spend more than the next ten nations combined on the military, he asks, when our infrastructure is collapsing and kids cant afford to go to college?





Progressive Caucus chair Bernal says shes seen a lot of progress in his views since the 2016 campaign, when he tended to deemphasize foreign policy. His base wants him to be much more progressive, she says, and he responded.





In a 2017 speech on foreign policy, Sanders rejected the benevolent global hegemony promoted by some in Washington. I would argue that the events of the past two decades-- particularly the disastrous Iraq war and the instability and destruction it has brought to the region-- have utterly discredited that vision.





Sanders has opposed all the recent U.S. wars of aggression and has said the U.S. should take military intervention off the table in Venezuela and Iran . Instead, Sanders emphasizes diplomacy and the need to root out the underlying causes of international conflict.





For sure, Sanders, as a democratic socialist, is still a captive of some Cold War myths. For example, in his 2017 speech he praises the Marshall Plan as an example of the U.S. unselfishly helping to rebuild Japan and Germany after World War II. In fact, the Marshall Plan was aimed at tying those countries to U.S. corporate interests and isolating the then-USSR. And its not clear how Sanders might react if confronted by liberals calling for military intervention on humanitarian grounds.













Trump And The Presidential Campaign





In 2016, Trump claimed to oppose the Mideast wars. But he kept US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and vetoed a Congressional resolution to end U.S. support for the disastrous war in Yemen. The drone strikes in Somalia that began under Obama have vastly increased under Trump. Hes moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognized Israels illegal annexation of the Golan and virtually eliminated the already remote possibility of a two-state solution with Palestine.





Trump also withdrew from the UN Security Council mandated nuclear accord with Iran and unilaterally re-imposed harsh sanctions. His administration declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist organization. What Democrat will move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv or acknowledge that the Revolutionary Guard is not a terrorist organization? I dont think Biden would.





During the primaries, when Biden will face sharp criticism from the left, he may try to reinvent himself as a progressive on foreign policy. Its true that he voted against the 1991 Gulf War and opposed the Reagan administrations aid to the Nicaraguan contras . And as vice president, Biden established a dovish reputation compared to hawks such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. On May 1 Biden criticized Trump's support for the Yemen War.





But the reality remains that Biden publicly defended each new war initiated by the Obama administration. When Obama and Biden took office, the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they left the White House, the U.S. had initiated, backed or vastly expanded additional wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia.





Sanders doesn't have Bidens baggage and will run an issue-oriented campaign. But even if you're not a fan of Sanders, Biden is a poor choice given the wide range of more winnable progressives. Its time the Democrats nominate someone willing to break with interventionism and reflect the views of the American people.
The same establishment hacks-- think Neera Tanden of the grotesquely corrupted Center for American Progress , for example-- who foisted Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party (bringing us Trump) now want us to get behind another Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden-- and for many of the same shiny reasons. Hillary represented the status quo establishment then; Biden does now. She was the most experienced candidate ever then; he is now. She did have one thing about her that everyone was genuinely excited about: she would have been the first woman president. He has nothing at all. His entire career has been about how bad a politician can be without joining the Republican Party. If you liked Joe Lieberman, you should love Joe Biden. If you think Joe Manchin is the ideal Democratic political leader today, Joe Biden is your man.

And... if you think the doddering, incoherent fool in this clip-- shot earlier this week in Iowa-- is the best man to bring down the Trump regime... good luck to you. Or better yet, please watch it again, and carefully:

The video, up top, of Elizabeth Warren, from David Doel of the, should remind people who don't remember the pre-Obama Biden of why progressives thought he was always such a danger to working families. Yesterday, reporting for, Alex Gangitano wrote about Biden's K Street problems . There have long been two Democratic politicians steeped to the point of drowning in lobbyist corruption-- one in the House (Steny Hoyer) and one in the Senate (Status Quo Joe)-- and to tie the Democratic Party nomination to this taint is a losing strategy. "The influence world," wrote Gangitano, "is stocked with former aides and supporters who have rallied around his previous bids for president. In this cycle, though, those lobbyist ties, past fundraising from corporate interests and perceptions that Biden is more favorable to businesses could hurt his bid for the Democratic nomination."

His campaign has said he will not take money from lobbyists and corporate PACs, but that is unlikely to be enough for progressive groups in the primary who have larger concerns about the candidate.





With Joe Biden, if he wants to say no to corporate lobbyists' money thats great and its a step in a positive direction that acknowledges the times, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told The Hill.





But, with Joe Biden, its not about course correcting any one little thing, its about his big picture brand, which is being cozy with big corporations and cutting back room deals with Republican political insiders.





Biden's allies run deep on K Street, where a number of former aides from his time as a senator now hold high-level positions at powerful lobbying firms.





Christopher Putala, who founded the lobbying firm Putala Strategies, was a lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden, as was Jeffrey Peck, now a lobbyist at Peck Madigan Jones.





Biden also has allies in Tony Russo, a lobbyist at T-Mobile, who served as his legislative counsel in the Senate; Larry Rasky, the chair of Rasky Partners, who worked on Bidens 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns; and Ankit Desai, a political assistant to Biden in the Senate and now a lobbyist at Tellurian.





And Biden's more than three decades in the Senate and previous runs for president will give his critics plenty of fodder.

When Biden ran for president in 2008, he raised money from lobbyists. He reversed course when he joined the ticket with President Obama, who made running against K Street and rejecting corporate money a centerpiece of his first presidential campaign.





In the Senate, Biden also represented Delaware, a state that is home to many large corporations, including a number of credit card giants.





Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, took a shot at Biden last week, accusing him of being on the side of "the biggest financial institutions" over "hardworking families."





This year, Biden also held a fundraiser hosted by David Cohen, telecom giant Comcast's chief lobbyist. And Biden allies led by Democratic fundraiser Matt Tompkins quickly launched the For the People PAC after he officially jumped into the race, a move first reported by The Hill. The PAC aimed to raise millions to boost Biden's bid.





His campaign, though, was quick to distance itself from the super PAC, telling The Hill that "Vice President Biden does not welcome assistance from super PACs."





Republicans, who see Biden as a strong challenger to President Trump, have also called for more scrutiny over the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden and potential conflicts of interest.





As vice president, Biden pressed Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor, who faced accusations he had ignored corruption among officials in the government. The prosecutor was eventually removed.





The New York Times in a story this week reported that Hunter Biden was on the board of an energy company the dismissed prosecutor was investigating. Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday called for an investigation into "Biden conflicts" of interest.





Biden's campaign told The Times that his son's business dealings had no connection to policies Biden carried out as vice president.





The issue of corporate ties has taken newfound importance in the Democratic Party, where liberal groups are pressing candidates to reject special interest cash.





Theres a new benchmark of what Democratic campaigns are now judged by, a new litmus test, and it would be hard for any candidate to not reject [lobbyists money], Zach Friend, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for Obama for America, told The Hill.





Its how you enter into the race. It would be equivalent to any other Democratic policy-- do you support unions? Do you support marriage equality? Do you support choice?





The scrutiny on Democrats is intense.





Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has seen his stock rise in polls of the Democratic primary race, has found strong support on K Street, especially among LGBTQ lobbyists who are rallying behind the openly gay 2020 contender. But that support led Buttigieg last week to say he would no longer accept lobbyist donations and that he would return the $30,000 he received in the first quarter of the year.





Not taking lobbyist money poses its own challenges for Biden, and he will need to show his strength at raising small-donor donations, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has, to stay competitive.





Biden's allies, though, won't be on the sidelines.





Those on K Street noted there are other ways for lobbyists to help without writing a check.





There are plenty of ways to help, Al Mottur, Democratic lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, told The Hill. Often, Mottur said, lobbyists can help a candidate by introducing them to other big donors.
A sandbox would allow experimentation with new approaches and new business models without legal repercussions.

A discussion on new business models and the exercise of creativity by startups drew a lot of interest from entrepreneurs, investors and experts at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

One of the big questions raised at the discussion was how to "behave" with new business models and what are the appropriate policies for models in the domestic market without legal framework or precedent.

"Through lessons learned from some countries, Vietnam can use a sandbox (approach). It enables a safe environment for businesses to test services or products without the risk of being sued for the legally unauthorized actions," said Nguyen Thien Nghia, deputy director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The use of technology in a new business model is highly competitive. There are some businesses that argue that the new business model destroys traditional business, but I personally have a different perspective. The new business model adopts highly competitive technology, for example, Uber or Grab combining e-commerce and transportation," he said.

Agreeing with the opinions of some leading government agencies and experts, Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam, said it was necessary to have a sandbox that would create space and time for new technology platforms and business models to demonstrate their ability to promote socio-economic development. However, businesses participating in the sandbox need to be selected carefully, he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Grab booth at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 on May 2. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The emergence of new technology always creates big changes and there will be some traditional businesses that are not willing to change. However, they also need to apply technology to enhance their capabilities. competitiveness, increasing customer benefits and reducing administrative burdens by themselves," Lim said.

In just seven years, from a small Malaysian startup with just 10 people, Grab is now currently a unicorn in Southeast Asia. It operates in eight countries with 6,000 employees. The emergence of a technology-based sharing economic model that Grab is applying has created jobs for millions of workers and small business partners throughout Southeast Asia.

However, because this economic model is still too new, and there is no legal framework in Vietnam, Grab's operation is currently facing many difficulties, the forum heard.

The Vietnam Private Economic Forum on May 2-3 was co-chaired by the government and the Central Economic Committee. The Research Department for Private Economic Development and event organizer IEC Group were the other co-organizers along with VnExpress.
The Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum was jointly organized by the government and the Central Economic Commission, in collaboration with VnExpress and the IEC Group.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposes policy prescriptions at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

"The private sector is a major job creator in Vietnam, contributing 40 percent to the national GDP," Vu Tien Loc, president of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at the forum on Thursday.

On behalf of enterprises, the VCCIs president offered solutions to promote the private sector's contribution to the national economy.

"Firstly, while state-owned enterprises play a leading role in some areas, the private sector needs to be the backbone of Vietnams economy."

He also stressed the fundamental importance of institutional reforms that are focused on supporting and facilitating private businesses.

Noting that 30 percent of GDP was contributed by individual business households, Loc proposed that the Law on Enterprises is revised to promote further growth in that area.

He said two things that have to happen in tandem are simplification of administrative procedures and establishment of a complete legal framework. "The legislative framework should catch up with the trend of the digital economy."

Vu Tien Loc, president of VCCI, speaks at the forum.

Furthermore, enterprise associations should be allowed to take the initiative to make legislative recommendations, he noted.

Loc also recommended that more be done to promote not just the number of enteprises, but also their quality.

"Socialization of public services and public-private partnerships should be promoted. Enterprises should play a role in projects of national significance."

Legislative reforms should ensure greater fairness and transparency, particularly in resolving business disputes, he said.

He stressed that private sector development cannot be separated from state-enterprises restructuring and policies to attract FDI firms.

Lastly, the VCCI head said that more effective policies were needed to boost startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large-scale enterprises as well as private economic groups, which are crucial elements of value chains, contributing to labor productivity and global integration.
Government inspectors will study the latest power price adjustment that saw electricity bills go up by 8.36 percent from March 20.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Government Inspectorate to work with the ministries of industry and trade, and finance to study the latest electricity price adjustment, including the method used to calculate the price and the collection of electricity bill payments.

The inspectorate and the two ministries should clarify whether the electricity price increase was right or wrong and report to the PM by next month.

A document issued by the Government Office says the prime minister's decision follows many households complaining about sudden and significant increases in their electricity bills for April.

However, the electricity sector has said that the surge in bills is only partially due to the increase in electricity prices. It has said that unusually hot weather conditions and the resultant increase in households' electricity consumption are other contributing factors.

Speaking to VnExpress Thursday, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said his ministry would set up inspection teams at electricity companies to ensure strict compliance with the ministry's decision to increase electricity price by 8.36 percent.

Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing economies, has been struggling to develop its energy industry.

World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said at a recent forum that Vietnam would need to raise up to $150 billion by 2030 to develop its energy sector.

Dione added that electricity demand in the country is set to grow by about 8 percent a year for the next decade.
Over 500 artifacts and documents mark the Memories of Truong Son trail exhibition open this month in Hanois Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum.

The exhibition is being held to mark the 60th anniversary of the opening of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, aka the Truong Son trail, which connected North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The road was used to transport soldiers and supplies from the north to the southern frontier during the Vietnam War.

Regiment 70 uses elephants to transport goods from the central province of Quang Binh.

For 16 years from 1959 to 1975, soldiers and people used the Truong Son Trail that traveled around 20,000 kilometers through 21 Vietnamese provinces, Cambodia and Laos.

It used 600 kilometers of waterways, 1,400 kilometers of petroleum pipelines, 1,500 kilometers of communication lines. More than two million soldiers used this trail to and from the battlefield, and over a million tons of weapons, ammunition and goods were transported on the trail.

Soldiers from regiment 71 proceed to southern Vietnam on Truong Son trail in August 1962.

Regiment 90 makes a temporary bridge on the trail.

Battalion 102 prepares to depart on the trail.

U.S. aircraft spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Anti-aircraft force unit fights to protect the Truong Son trail.

On a part of the trail where there was no forest cover, the Engineer Battalion made a leaf truss to camouflage and spread stones to cover the roads surface, ensuring safety for transportation trucks to run through on March 1971.

A training session for doctors in Laos in March 1972.

The opening ceremony of Reunification Railway held in Thuan Ly station in the central province of Quang Binh in December 1976 after the war was over and country had been reunified.

The exhibition will last from May 3-31 at the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum, Kilometer 15, Highway 6, Yen Nghia Ward, Ha Dong District.
An Australian court sentenced two Vietnamese crop-sitters working for hundreds of cannabis plants on Friday.

Quang Le was sentenced to three years and four months in jail while his accomplice Si Ngo got two years in prison after they pleaded guilty to "crop sitting" hundreds of cannabis plants at homes in the suburbs of Newcastle, ABC News reported.

Crop sitting refers to the act of living in homes and tending to cannabis plants grown there.

The court heard Quang had racked up $30,000 worth of gambling debt and was being pressured by loan sharks, forcing him to guard cannabis crops to service his debt.

It also heard Ngo became a crop-sitter after his student visa expired and his work as a strawberry picker dried up.

Ngo will be deported upon his release in August 2020, the court ruled.

It is a crime to be caught with cannabis in Australia. However, possession of a small amount for personal use is not a criminal offense in several states.

The Australian government estimates more than 2,300 Vietnamese students have overstayed their visas in the country. Many of them have been involved in growing and selling cannabis.

Last month, four Vietnamese men were sentenced to up to three years and four months in jail for playing different roles in a $2.8 million cannabis operation in Australia.
Garbage, including food waste, plastic bags and bottles are left on pedestrian streets around the Hanoi's Sword Lake after the New Years Eve countdown on January 1, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Two fixed cameras and over 30 environment staff are recording footage of those littering pedestrian streets in Hanoi's iconic Sword Lake area.

The Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO) and the central Hoan Kiem District are running a pilot project between April 26  May 19 to record littering offenses.

While the two fixed CTTV cameras operate full time, over 30 staff will use their smartphones or the companys mobile cameras.

"We will report the recorded violations by both locals and tourists case by case to the local police who will decide the follow up and punishment. In the case of businesses, we will build up a collection of videos and photos proving that they pollute the environment and submit the data to local authorities," said a URENCO representative.

The company has currently put up dozens of boards along the walking zone around the lake, telling pedestrians that littering in the area will be recorded. It warns that those caught littering will face fines of up to VND7 million ($300).

After the trial period, the company will assess the project and report the result to Hoan Kiem District authorities, who will decide whether to extend the action on a permanent basis.

The walking zone around the lake is activated from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. It first opened in September 2016 and was expanded two years later.

District authorities say the zone receives 20,000-25,000 visitors each day and the figure goes up to around 200,000 during holidays and festivals.

However, the pedestrian zone is badly trashed by the crowds that gather on the weekends, and it gets much worse on occasions when it is chosen as a venue for outdoor events.

URENCO said it has been collecting 200 tons of garbage each day from the walking zone.

Current laws in Vietnam regulate that a person can be fined between VND5-7 million for littering sidewalks, streets or the water drainage system. But fines are rarely issued.
Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018.

The number of distributed denial-of-service attacks in Vietnam was the second highest in the Asia-Pacific and sixth in the world in Q4 last year.

In the region, it ranked just below China, while globally it was after China, the U.S., France, Russia, and Brazil, according to data gathered by Hong Kong-based Nexusguard, a leading cloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solutions provider.

A DDoS is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet.

Incoming traffic flooding the victim originates from many different sources, effectively making it impossible to stop the attack simply by blocking a single source.

Nexusguard has said Vietnam is now in a precarious position, a meeting heard in Hanoi Friday.

Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018 compared to 9.52 percent for China.

Nguyen Huy Dung, acting head of the Authority of Information Security, told the meeting that these days it has become much easier to carry out DDoS attacks and preventing them, much harder.

His agency has now developed a system to fight cyberattacks by linking with businesses and Internet providers to handle DDoS attacks on significant data bases, he said.

Nexusguard has also warned about DDoS attacks aimed at communication service providers, including telecom suppliers.

Perpetrators are using smaller, bit-and-piece methods to inject junk into legitimate traffic, causing attacks to bypass detection rather than sounding alarms with large, obvious attack spikes, the company said.

Last September Russias Kaspersky Lab named Vietnam among the top 10 countries hit by DDoS attacks in the last quarter of 2017 and also among the top 10 nations affected by botnet-assisted DDoS attacks as more than 637,000 computers were hit.
iStock/welcomia(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) -- A credit card belonging to an American tourist killed six months ago while on vacation in Mexico was recently used in Oklahoma City, police said.

Taylor Meyer, a 27-year-old from California, was found dead last November in Playa del Carmen, near where he was staying with several friends to celebrate one of their 30th birthdays.

On Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department posted images of the man who used the card to its Facebook page, and requested the publics help in identifying him to hopefully help investigators get one step closer to solving this tragic crime.

Through the course of the investigation detectives working the case found out the victims credit card was used here in [Oklahoma City], police wrote in a Facebook post.

The man seen in the photos was driving a silver SUV and he was accompanied by a woman at the time, Oklahoma City police said. They are urging anyone who knows the identity of the man to contact Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or submit a tip online (case #19-0028862).

In an interview with ABC Los Angeles Station KABC following his death, Meyers parents said they were told that his body was found in a park not far from the bar where he had been with friends, and that his wallet, watch, shoes and iPhone had been taken.

Playa del Carmen sits along the Caribbean Sea in eastern Mexico.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Thomas Peter

The United States accused China Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps.

It was some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

"The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps," Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be "closer to 3 million citizens."

Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified "given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million."

"So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description," he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was "reminiscent of the 1930s."

The U.S. government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate "in proportion" against any U.S. sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were "the same as boarding schools."

U.S. officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there.
" " All-uppercase type has come to indicate shouting in internet-speak. But what's the first instance of its use in that way? David Schliepp/HowStuffWorks

WHAT IF I WROTE THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IN ALL CAPS? WOULD YOU READ IT? MAYBE IF IT WERE VERY SHORT, BECAUSE YOU'D OBVIOUSLY BE WONDERING, "WHY IS THIS WRITER/MY GRANDPA SO ANGRY?" BUT I BET YOUR CURIOSITY WOULDN'T LAST LONG.

HOW TIRED OF READING THIS ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED.

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Sorry, I was shouting  but you knew that.

These days, people use the written word to communicate more than we have in any other period in history. You can make a plan with a friend, discuss the grocery list with your spouse, and negotiate your kid's curfew without having to strain your precious, beautiful vocal cords one bit. But the problem with conversing through the written word instead of face-to-face has to do with tone. In order for your reader to get the full meaning of your 246-character text, you have to use all the tools the QWERTY keyboard has to offer. One of those tools is the caps lock key.

In a two-partseries on meh., the daily-deal-retail-site-turned-internet-forum, writer and former typesetter Dave Fleishman explores the evolution of SHOUTY CAPS, and suggests the history of using all capital letters to indicate outrage or very strong, spirited emphasis is much older than our internet forefathers would have us believe.

Capital letters evolved in the Roman Empire where stone cutters made inscriptions on the topmost capitals of monuments and buildings using big, straight letters. The lowercase letters evolved from adaptations of capitals that were written by hand in manuscripts. Eventually there was a crossover where the capital letters wound up being used as big illustrated centerpieces of illuminated manuscripts, and finally the two cases flirted with each other until the deal was sealed around the mid-1400's when the Gutenberg Bible became the first mass-produced book using movable type.

" " Ancient Greek writing used all capital letters (and no spacing between words), but it wasn't to emphasize shouting or anger. Danita Delimont/Getty Images

But throughout history, capital letters were used for emphasis: the use of capitals in NO PARKING and NO SMOKING, for instance, lend the messages a certain gravitas. Newspapers used all caps for their headlines until the 1910's, when it was pointed out that capital letters are just plain exhausting to read.

"But there's a difference between shouting and signifying importance," says Fleishman. "I was trying to figure out, was there a historical basis for the convention of using the uppercase to shout? A lot of things are tacit; everyone alive today who uses an online service appreciates that when you use uppercase, you're shouting. But was that true before?"

If you ask early internet users, they'd say modern use of all caps as tantamount to shouting goes back to at least March of 1984, when a guy named Dave Decot, then a computer science student at Case Western Reserve University, wrote in a forum:

Well, there seem to be some conventions developing in the use of various emphasizers. There are three kinds of emphasis in use, in order of popularity:

1) using CAPITAL LETTERS to make words look 'louder',

2) using *asterisks* to put sparklers around emphasized words, and

3) s p a c i n g words o u t, possibly accompanied by 1) or 2).

This was just after computer terminals switched from all-uppercase to mixed-case keyboards, so when given the option of writing in lowercase or uppercase letters, the early internet decided all caps was great for shouting. However, if you didn't know the implications, using all caps just made you seem old.

"Anybody who persisted in using all upper case even after the switch in computer terminal keyboards seemed fussy and out-of-date because they were still using older terminals or hadn't gotten used to the new system," says Fleishman.

But Fleishman sensed the internet didn't invent uppercase shouting, and after a protracted search, found a reference from an 1856 edition of The Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, that recounts the tale of a Dutchman with small pox:

"'I dells you I've got der small pox. Ton't you vetsteh? der SMALL POX!' This time he shouted it out in capital letters."

"That's the smoking gun right there," says Fleishman.

So, now you know and may go about your business, quietly and with good manners. All-caps-as-shouting predates the American Civil War, toilet paper, the machine gun, pencil erasers and postcards.

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Now That's Interesting A campaign began in Sweden in 2001 to remove the caps lock key from computer keyboards. In the early 1980's, caps lock took over the keyboard real estate where the control key used to be. These days, CAPSoff.org advocates for the removal of "this ludicrous key."
December 3, 1931  January 25, 2019

Joe Richard Williams was born in Cannon City, Colorado on December 3, 1931, to parents Veta Jeanette and Clyde Jackson Williams. Joe grew up in Cannon City and spent most of his time hunting and fishing in the surrounding mountains. This love of the outdoors lasted his entire life, and was a legacy he passed on to his children. Joe joined the Navy at 16 years old, with his parents assistance and consent, and spent four years serving his country during the Korean War.

Joe married his first wife Gloria Kathryn Miller on June 15, 1949 in Elko, Nevada while in the Navy and they had two children, Kathryn Louise and Jack Edward. He spent a brief period in the United States Merchant Marine after his honorable discharge from the Navy, which deepened his love of the ocean. After his service in the Merchant Marine, Joe returned to his family in Elko where he worked mainly in the casinos. Joe and Gloria left Elko after a couple of years to go back to Colorado, where Joe worked as a contract miner in several mines in the Leadville area, trying to make enough money to give his family a better life financially. After several years in the Leadville area, Joe and Gloria ended up back in Elko. During this time Joes love of the outdoors grew and he continued hunting and fishing in the Nevada Rockies with his father Jack, as well as his son, Jack.

Joe and Gloria moved to the Denver area, in 1962 to return to their beloved Colorado and to start new careers. Joe attended Barber College in Denver and worked as a barber for a brief time, but decided that this was not the career he sought. He was successful as a salesman in the office furniture business and ended up starting successful businesses, Desks Inc. and Electro-Coating Co. in Denver.

Joe and Gloria divorced in 1974 and Joe moved back to Elko, where he started Four Seasons Landscaping, Greenhouses and Floral Store.

In 1985 he married Frances Taylor in Elko. Joe and Fran were very happy together for nearly twenty years until Fran was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Joe dutifully cared for Fran in their home in Sunsites, Arizona until she passed away. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn; son, Jack; sisters, Cheryl (Jack) Paul and Janice Marr.

After Fran passed away Joe won one battle with lung cancer while still in Arizona, but at the expense of losing one lung. He moved to the Texas gulf coast town of Port Mansfield where his breathing was much improved and he could continue to enjoy his love of the ocean and fishing. During this period he met Naomi Jorgenson and he lived out the rest of his life abundantly with this very special lady friend. Complications from a second battle with lung cancer claimed his life on January 25, 2019 in Brownsville, Texas.

Joe lived all of his life abundantly and enjoyed all of the best things given by God to us in this life on earth. He passed on this legacy to his children and also to some of the many friends he made during his life. He is now with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Burns Funeral Home on May 31 at 10:00 am followed by a graveside service with Full Military Honors. A luncheon will follow at the VFW Hall.
Five trucks with food and hygiene kits, dispatched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), entered Russia-held territories in Donetsk region.

"Five trucks sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross have passed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint and entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Relief supplies (food and hygiene kits) weighing 95 tonnes are being delivered to residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of Ukraine's State Border Service said.
On the occasion of the UN events to mark the international day of press freedom, Ukrainian diplomats recalled the illegal imprisonment of journalist Roman Sushchenko in Russia and the suppression of freedoms by Russia in the occupied Crimea, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN said on Twitter.

"As the UN community gathers to mark #WorldPressFreedomDay, Ukraine appeals for the release of Roman #Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist @UKRINFORM, who remains behind bars in the Russian Federation under fabricated charges. #PressFreedom #FreeSushchenko," the message reads.

Also, the Ukrainian mission at the UN noted that the state of freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied Crimea is of the greatest concern.

"Areas of utmost concern remain #Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia. Crimean journalists and bloggers critical of the occupation are facing prosecution and prison sentences, while harassment of independent media and activists are intensifying. #WorldPressFreedomDay #FreePress," it says.

In addition, they added that more than 70 citizens of Ukraine were detained in the occupied Crimea for political reasons - "for simply raising the Ukrainian flag over their house, or perusing their cultural or religious rights."

"The case of Oleh #Sentsov, a jailed Ukrainian film maker and writer, is probably the most appalling examples of how the Russian occupation authorities in #Crimea crack down on the freedom of expression. This practice must be resolutely condemned. #WorldPressFreedomDay," the diplomats added.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree on the dismissal of Yuriy Artemenko from the position of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

Corresponding presidential decree No. 186/2019 of May 4, 2019 was made public on the website of the head of state on Saturday.

"In accordance with paragraph 13 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I order: dismiss Yuriy Artemenko from the post of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting," the document says.

Earlier today, a statement by Artemenko appeared on the website of the National Council, in which he announced the decision to resign and to leave his office.

According to him, there are two reasons for this decision. "The first reason is simple human fatigue - to work daily in constant stress for 10-12 hours during five years, sometimes even seven days a week. Secondly, the proposal, which came at that time to take another job," said he.

Yuriy Artemenko was appointed a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting by the presidential decree dated July 7, 2014. Soon he was elected chairman of the National Council.
Ukraine's Embassy to U.S. organizes charity concert, funds of which to be transferred to 'Next Step Ukraine' rehabilitation center

The Ukrainian Embassy to the United States, in cooperation with the "Revived Soldiers Ukraine" Foundation, organized a charity auction and concert of the Ukrainian violinist Oleksandr Bozhyk, and will transfer the proceeds to the rehabilitation center "Next Step Ukraine," the press service of the diplomatic department said.

"With the funds raised from the concert and the auction, prostheses will be purchased for three soldiers, the rest will be transferred to support the paralyzed of "Next Step Ukraine" rehabilitation center, which is located in Ukraine," it said on Facebook.

In addition, before the concert, ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly addressed the assembled guests with gratitude for their attention to the charity events of the embassy and Ukrainian-U.S. volunteer organizations that provide an opportunity to help Ukrainian soldiers and veterans.

Also, Chaly and Iryna Vashchuk, the president of the Foundation "Revived Soldiers Ukraine," congratulated and thanked for participating in the event of the Ukrainian military Maksym Shkabiuk, who is undergoing rehabilitation in the United States after receiving serious injuries during the fighting in Donbas.
Ukraine at the events on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership on May 13-14 should demonstrate the consistency of its foreign policy and convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv, Ukraine's representative to the European Union Ambassador Mykola Tochitskyi has said.

"On May 13, the President of the European Council gathers the heads of state and government of the six participating countries [Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia] for a working dinner. The Eastern Partnership's "fathers" Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt are also invited. A meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs will be held in the afternoon on May 13. The Ukrainian side will be represented by Pavlo Klimkin. And the next day, a high-level conference will take place with the participation of the heads of state and government," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering the question how the EU plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

In addition, according to him, a number of bilateral meetings of the president of Ukraine with the leaders of the institutions of the European Union and some EU member states are scheduled.

"I believe that from our side we need to use this forum in order to demonstrate the consistency of Ukraine's foreign policy, and this is the course towards integration into the European Union," said Tochytskyi.

The diplomat stressed that at the events of May 13-14, Ukraine should convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv when changing the composition of the European Commission and the European Diplomatic Service in November.
Advisors to President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Danyliuk and Ruslan Riaboshapka, continued discussing in Brussels support for the priority steps of the new head of state.

According to the press service of Zelensky, on May 3, they met with the offices of President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

In addition, members of Zelensky's team took part in a working lunch at the Canadian Embassy in Belgium with representatives of the participating countries of the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer.

"The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law. These areas are the top priorities of the newly elected president of Ukraine," the press service of Zelensky noted.

Advisor Danyliuk noted that Western partners are committed to supporting the declared policy of Zelensky and their interest in enhancing cooperation with Ukraine during his presidency.

Advisers of Zelensky also met with EU Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson and the European Defense Agency's Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
Based on the latest official figures released by the European Union, the amount of Iranian exports to the EU in the first two months of 2019 have dropped sixteen folds compared with the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the value of the EU export to Iran also decreased nearly to one-third of what it was in January-February 2018.

The statistics published on the official website of the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, also reveal that the value of products the Islamic Republic exported to the EU was only 136 million euros (approximately $152 million).

The same source also reveals that before the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018, the value of Iranians export to the EU in the first two months of the same year amounted to more than 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.5 billion).

However, the dramatic drop in Iranian exports to EU was in line with expectations, since 90% of it was crude and energy-related products. European countries stopped buying oil from the Islamic Republic in mid-2018.

The United States imposed financial and industrial sanctions on Tehran in August 2018, followed by bans on its oil exports and banking sector in November.

In the meantime, the value of the EU exports to Iran also dropped to 621 million euros ($695 million) in January-February 2019, while in the same period last year it amounted to 1.56 billion euros (roughly $1.75 billion).

According to the European Commission official figures, the 28-member union exported 8.9 billion euros (approximately $9.9 billion) to Iran in 2018, about 17.6 percent less than 2017, while their imports from Iran declined 4 percent year-on-year to 9.72 billion euros (approximately $10.86 billion).

The details of the statistics point to the fact that Iranian exports to the EU started

to plummet in mid-2018, as most European clients stopped buying crude from Iran.

The value of EU's imports from Iran amounted to 9.72 billion euros (roughly $10.855 billion) in 2018, or 4% less than 2017.

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece are the leading European trade partners of the Islamic Republic, respectively.

The latest statistics show that exports and imports between each of these individual countries and Iran have also sharply dropped in the first two months of the current year.

Germany, as the biggest trade partner of Iran, lost almost half of its exports' value to the Islamic Republic in the first two months of 2019.

Nonetheless, the other major European trade partners of Iran lost more exports to the Islamic Republic than Germany.

Based on the EU statistics, France, Italy, Spain, and Greece used to buy Iranian crude up to mid-2018, which accounted for almost all of the imports from the Islamic Republic.

Iran Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) recently reported that the value of Iran's imports from the EU in last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019) reached $9.82 billion, with nearly 22% drop compared with the previous year.

China, the United Arab Emirates, and the EU are now Iran's main trading partners, accounting for 19.5%, 16.8%, and 16.3% of Irans traderespectively. The EU used to be the first trading partner of Iran before the current U.S. sanctions regime was imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

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 on May 4, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.

As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue has featured the second plenary session on Youth for peace: Building a counter-narrative to violent extremism.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the session.

Leyla Aliyeva addressed the session which was moderated by High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

An official meeting under the leadership of Azerbaijans Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov was held at the Central Command Post on May 4, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry.

The meeting held with the participation of the deputies of defense minister, commanders of the branches of troops, chiefs of the main departments, departments and services of the ministry, as well as commanders of the army corps also involved the commanders of formations and other responsible officers via video communication.

The minister of defense brought to the command staff the specific tasks on the increasing military potential of the Azerbaijani army, set by President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, and instructed to focus on increasing the combat capability of all types and branches of troops, especially foremost units.

The minister of defense set the tasks for the officials to increase the intensity of exercises and training conducted according to the combat training plan, especially at night, in conditions and in areas as close as possible to the combat, to increase the agility and combat readiness of the troops, strictly observing the requirements of covert control and field camouflaging, general safety rules, in particular, fire safety, as well as to organize preparations for the transfer of weapons, military and specialized equipment of army corps and formations to the summer mode of operation.

The minister gave specific instructions to better organize combat training, to raise the level of military professionalism, to strengthen ideological work and moral-psychological support in order to increase military patriotism and the fighting spirit of the military personnel, as well as to solve other official issues.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Due to the coming spring-summer season, the number of tourists visiting the national parks of Azerbaijan has noticeably increased in recent days, said Irada Ibrahimova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

According to her, over the four months of this year, the national parks of the country were visited by 11,131 tourists, 9,850 of which were locals and 1,281 were foreign tourists.

"Of course, it will be great if more tourists visit national parks. It is true that it is not always possible during wintertime, but since May we are expecting a significant increase in the number of visitors to the parks, due to the favorable weather and beautiful nature. Ecotourism is a new concept for us and we hope to achieve successes in this area," she said

Ibrahimova added that today there are 110 different tourist routes in the national parks.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

As part of its 25th anniversary campaign, EY Azerbaijan carried out its first tree planting initiative on the Absheron peninsula, just north-east of the capital, Baku. Nearly 50 EY staff members joined the event together with their children. This initiative reflects EY Azerbaijans strive to contribute to the countrys sustainable development.

Ilgar Veliyev, Managing Partner at EY Azerbaijan said: We are a socially responsible organization. For us, corporate social responsibility isnt just a trendy expression. Both as professionals and citizens, we understand the importance of looking after the environment and giving back to the communities around us.

As a global firm, EY has pledged its responsibility to manage its own operations to limit environmental impact. Gunel Farajova, Head of Climate and Sustainability Services at EY said: As a company, we have been advising both public and private sector on how to build and maintain a sustainable and environmentally-friendly business. So we have to lead by example. EY Azerbaijan has therefore joined our global commitment to conduct our operations in such a way that will reduce the environmental footprint. Each and every business should acknowledge the importance of ecosystem services adopted by the UN.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan Aselsan Engineering signed an agreement on export of optoelectronic devises to Turkey, Trend reports via Kazakh media.

Furthermore, company signed a memorandum with Turkish venture on avionics modernization for helicopters within the territory of Kazakhstan.

This agreement was reached on the 14th International Defense Industry Fair in 2019, which took place in Istanbul.

More than 20 meetings with foreign partners took place during the fair. Issues of cooperation, creation of the new joint projects to attract investments and creation of new technology were among key topics during the meetings with Turkish companies MKEK and Aselsan. The discussion on the realization of the new joint project with TAI company also took place.

As a result of the meetings, it was agreed that five Turkish companies are to visit Nur-Sultan (former Astana) to define the technicalities on realization of the joint projects in the defense industry.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

Follow the author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Iran continues its negotiations with the UKs Pergas International Consortium on the Karanj oil field, located in Irans southwestern Khuzestan Province, said Ahmad Mohammadi, CEO of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), Trend reports referring to Mehr News Agency.

According to Mohammadi, hopefully, these discussions will result in an agreement.

Mohammadi added that production is, of course, currently underway in this field, and it is even provided with gas for oil extraction.

"With the participation of the Pergas consortium, the development will accelerate," he said.

Noting that the annual natural gas production in the southern oil fields of Iran have declined by 10 percent, he said that various steps, including repairs and sidetrack drilling, are used to compensate for the decrease.

Commenting on the volume of oil production in the southern oil fields, Mohammadi said that 3.5 million barrels of oil are produced daily without the implementation of development programs.

"Currently, Iran's oil production and exports are under sanctions. The problems faced by this process are undeniable. Iran has proved that it will overcome these problems," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

As part of the upcoming first forum dedicated to the development of social entrepreneurship, the main aspects and possibilities of the business environment in Azerbaijan will be discussed, Sakina Babayeva, the head of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, told Trend May 4.

She said that the agenda of the event includes discussion of the issues of a sustainable model for the development of social entrepreneurship, as well as key aspects of social entrepreneurship defined in the legislation.

During the panel discussions, a wide exchange of views and international experience in the field of social entrepreneurship is expected, she noted. The development of womens entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan and in international practice is a priority direction in the business sphere, so holding such an event is extremely important.

She noted that the forum will be organized by Education HUB, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy, as well as with the support of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan.

The forum is expected to be attended by Azerbaijani MPs, international experts and representatives of international organizations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to share their military airfields, Trend reports citing Kazinform.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Baurzhan Tortaev stated that relevant international treaties were signed on April 15 of this year within the framework of the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan and in accordance with the current plan for concluding international treaties of Kazakhstan for 2019.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of air defense was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It is aimed at addressing issues of operational interaction of duty forces, timely exchange of information on the aerospace situation, assistance to aircraft in distress, joint training of troops, and the exchange of experience in the development and improvement of air defense forces.

In addition, another agreement was signed between the two ministries on the organization of reception, aerodrome-technical maintenance and protection of military aircraft at military aerodromes of the Armed Forces of the two countries.

The agreement defines the mechanism of mutual settlements between the defense ministries of the two countries for refueling military aircraft with fuel, oils, lubricants, special liquids and gases.

During the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan on April 14-15, 2019, talks were held with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which resulted in a joint statement by the two heads of state.

The leaders of the two countries declared their intention to promote further development of cooperation in the defense and military-technical sphere, as well as in the field of space research and development.

The parties also stressed common positions in assessing the current situation in the region and in the world, and agreed on adopting joint measures aimed at anticipating and countering contemporary challenges and threats to security in the region, primarily in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal migration and other problems, both in a bilateral format and in the framework of multilateral structures.

Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova, Aysham Rustamova  Trend:

In order to expand cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of transportation, a relevant aviation agreement should be signed in the nearest future, the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.

"The aviation agreement is an integral part of the regional transport hub project, which is the next major project of Azerbaijan. This project is equally beneficial for both the EU and Azerbaijan," Jankauskas said. He added that a high-level dialogue on transportation with Azerbaijan began this year. We have various infrastructure projects, he noted.

Jankauskas also pointed out that negotiations are underway on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. "We had a series of video conferences after the last round of negotiations on trade issues. The work is underway. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the text is signed as soon as possible," said the EU ambassador.

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.

In November 201, the European Council issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct negotiations regarding a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan on behalf of the EU and its member states.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take into account the objectives shared by the EU and Azerbaijan and the challenges facing them today. It 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 policies with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should facilitate access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan now exports 113 types of products to China, Trend reports referring to kazpravda.kz

The export includes 16 types of livestock products, 16 types of crop products and 81 types of processed products. The obvious leaders among exported goods are wheat, vegetable oil, oil seeds, flour, soy and fish. Last year, Kazakhstan exported mutton and honey for the first time, reads the news report.

The increase in export is due to 13 added types of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates that were agreed on in the last three years. The dynamics of Kazakhstans export continue to increase. In 2015 the volume of export to China totaled 111 million tenge, in 2016 it amounted to 134 million tenge, in 2017 it stood at 180 million tenge and in 2018 it equaled to 250 million tenge, the report says. Total volume of Kazakh export manufacture increased by 12.9 percent in January-February of 2019, compared to the same period of 2018 and amounts to $610.2 million.

Kazakhstan mainly exports products of agribusiness to Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and China.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

In January-February 2019, Azerbaijan supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey compared to 1.1 billion cubic meters (an increase of 24.2 percent) in the same period last year, Trend reports referring to a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority ( EPDK).

The report shows that in January-February this year, Turkey imported 10.1 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 6.1 billion cubic meters were imported through pipelines, and more than 4 billion cubic meters accounted for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Azerbaijan supplied 683.2 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in February 2019, compared to 536.6 million cubic meters during the same period last year. The share of Azerbaijan in the total import of gas by Turkey in February 2019 amounted to about 16 percent.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.

Hossein Fereydoun, brother of the Iranian president, is charged with a series of corruption cases. His name was mentioned in connection with a scandal revolving around the exaggerated salaries of Irans state insurance company.
Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehrans ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with Iran on civil nuclear programs, Trend reports citing Press TV.

The waivers, which were due to expire Saturday, are being extended for 90 days, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Ford told Bloomberg on Friday.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the official added that two other waivers, one that allowed Iran to store surplus heavy water in Oman and the other that allowed Russia to process Iranian uranium, would not be renewed.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Irans eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May is optimistic that she is close to striking a deal to secure the opposition Labour Partys support for a deal to leave the European Union, reports Trend with reference to Reuters

In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU, sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said that its sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European Parliament elections due on May 23.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a glimmer of hope that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labours customs union proposal was a long-term solution, reports Trend citing to Reuters

The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered, he told the Press Association news agency.

If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal).
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, reports Trend citing to Reuters

Hamed al-Khaiyali told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded, the others slaughtered or shot.

A source in Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed Islamic State and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

Sebha  like much of the south and its oilfields  is controlled by the LNA but the force has moved troops north for a month-long offensive on the capital Tripoli, held by the internationally recognized government.

The campaign has not breached the southern defense of the capital.

The LNA faced strong opposition from the Tebu ethnic group during its campaign in the south at the start of the year.

Islamic State militants are also active in southern Libya where is has staged several hit-and-run attacks in recent months. It retreated to the south after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.
Seven hundred and 10 fighters of the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli have been killed since the beginning of the battle for the capital, the government said in a statement, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The offensive launched by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli has entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.
Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algerias de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflikas regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflikas system, a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed Algerias God because many saw him as the countrys real authority.

I send to this person a final warning, Salah said at that time.
Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce, Trend reports citing Press TV.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it, he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatars capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate cross-border attacks by PKK militants on Saturday, the defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases,Trend reports citing Reuters.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

It said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Three other Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after PKK militants shelled the region, the defense ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy the militant targets.

Turkeys military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated his country's opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, saying that Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Shanahan told journalists the government remained steadfast in its opposition to Turkey's adoption of the S-400 anti-aircraft technology.

"If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forward with, then we have to move work out of Turkey," he said.

Shanahan noted that he had met with delegations from US aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss options if Turkey refuses to forego the S-400.

Washington has warned for months that Turkey's adoption of Russian missile technology alongside US fighter jets would pose a threat to the F-35 and endanger Western defense.

As a member of NATO, Turkey is taking part in the production of the fighter jet for use by members of the treaty, and has plans to buy 100 of the jets itself.

Ankara's ties with Washington have been strained over Turkey's decision to buy the Russian-made defense system, and US officials threatened Turkey's removal from the F-35 program, halting the delivery of jets to the country and excluding Turkish manufacturers from joint production. However, Turkey received two more jets two weeks ago after the delivery of the first batch in June 2018, and four Turkish pilots currently continue their training at the Arizona base.

Like other NATO allies of Washington, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in production of the F-35, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays, and entered service in the United States in 2015.

Ankara has proposed a working group with the United States to assess the impact of the S-400s, but says it has not received a response from US officials.

The Ankara-Moscow S-400 deal was inked in December 2017, when the parties signed a $2.5 billion agreement for two batteries of the systems  Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system in use since 2007.
United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes there is a big potential for building good relations with Russia, Trend reports citing Reuters.

"Very good call yesterday with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia", he wrote on his Twitter account commenting on Fridays telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

"Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on "Russia Collusion." The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" he wrote.

According to the Kremlin press service, the two presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, had a lengthy telephone conversation on Friday that was initiated by the US side. The two leaders discussed issues of bilateral relations with a focus on economic cooperation and reiterated their commitment to closer dialogues in various spheres, including on matters of strategic stability.
KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 19:25 | Japan, All

Japanese whaling vessels launched on Saturday the last round of what Japan calls scientific research off the Pacific coast ahead of the country's pullout from the International Whaling Commission next month for commercial hunting.

Japan will resume commercial whaling possibly from July in waters of the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone after the withdrawal from the IWC takes effect at the end of next month.

The four ships organized by the Association for Community-Based Whaling based in Fukuoka left Hachinohe port in Aomori Prefecture Saturday morning and caught eight minke whales. They will operate through late this month.

They plan to catch up to 80 whales including those already caught in April.

"Waters off Hachinohe contain rich prey for whales. It could be a pivotal location for future commercial whaling," said Tatsuya Isoda, senior scientist at the Institute of Cetacean Research who leads the research whaling.

Related coverage:

Japan to leave IWC, resume commercial whaling in July

Quitting whaling commission is risky gambit by Japan

Australia, NZ rap Japan's IWC pullout, commercial whaling restart
By Kazushige Motokura, KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 12:00 | All, World

Japanese Emperor Naruhito is well-prepared and temperamentally suited to the role he assumed Wednesday after his father's abdication, said a friend from his time at the University of Oxford, reflecting on his early impressions of the royal figure then known as Prince Hiro.

"The Japanese people are fortunate they have him as the emperor, that he represents Japan," said Keith George, 57, an American lawyer from Charleston, West Virginia, who studied at Oxford in England for the same two years in the 1980s as Emperor Naruhito.

(Photo taken April 22, 2019, in Charleston, West Virginia, shows American lawyer Keith George holding a framed clipping from The New York Times showing a photograph of him speaking to Japan's Prince Hiro, now Emperor Naruhito, during the 1983 entrance ceremony for the University of Oxford.)

"Monarchies in some countries have scandals and erode moral standards, (but) Hiro doesn't have that at all," George told Kyodo News, describing the new emperor as a "perfect fit" to "maintain tradition but also respect change" in Reiwa, the new Japanese imperial era which began with the new emperor's enthronement.

George and the prince, whose official name in his college days was Hironomiya, first met in 1983 at the university's matriculation ceremony where they were placed alongside each other by name in alphabetical order. A photo of the two sharing a moment of levity later appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

"I was surprised because there were hundreds of photographers in front of us. Hiro said to me, 'You will get used to this,'" George recalled.

The future lawyer then speculated the two could induce a barrage of camera flashes by leaning in and staging a conversation.

"We did it and that worked. We laughed. He has a good sense of humor (and) I thought we would be good friends."

In the New York Times' coverage, a clipping of which George has framed, the two men were photographed smiling during the brief exchange.

While living in adjacent dormitory rooms, the friends enjoyed playing music -- the prince on his viola as George improvised country-style tunes on a guitar -- and going out to a student pub where George remembers the prince delighting in mundane things that his sheltered life had denied him, like, for example, handling money.

("Prince Hiro" at Oxford University in October 1983.)

U.S. media at the time reported that his grandfather Emperor Hirohito only handled money personally once in his life. The young Prince Hiro also treasured the new experience of doing his own laundry during his graduate studies in England.

At Oxford's Merton College, the prince worked on a thesis paper related to 18th-century navigation and traffic on the River Thames and later wrote a memoir about his time in England titled "The Thames and I" in the English translation.

In 1985, a few weeks after his Oxford stint ended, the prince traveled to the United States and spent a night as a guest of George's family in a quiet mountain town about two and a half hours by car outside of Charleston.

"His life would be totally different in Japan," George said. "There was a certain sadness of losing the freedom that he had in the university, but at the same time he said he was gratefully accepting his duties."

"He was prepared to assume his duty to be the crown prince and eventually the emperor -- it was very clear."

The Japanese royal officially became crown prince in 1991 and married rising diplomat Masako Owada, now Empress Masako, in 1993 after her own two-year period of studying international relations at Oxford.

George has been able to visit with the prince a few times in Japan, including at an official wedding celebration for the royal couple. The American has since released a country music album featuring some of the songs he played with the prince, and his eldest daughter is the same age as Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's only child.

"After the enthronement, the Japanese people will (get to) know him better," said George, who has maintained contact with his old friend through occasional letters and phone calls. "He is kind, honorable and caring -- he will never dishonor his people and his country."

The former Emperor Akihito has been lauded for a 30-year reign in which he sought to bolster relations with neighboring countries that suffered as a result of Japan's wartime aggression.

With all eyes on the 59-year-old emperor to see how he will take up his father's legacy, public sentiment seems initially to be in his favor. A Kyodo News survey conducted just after Emperor Naruhito's ascension found that over 82 percent of respondents had a fondness for their new emperor.
BENGALURU: On Friday, the High Grounds police arrested Gangadhar Amalajeri (30), a native of Rabakavi in Bagalakot district, and Ajith Shetty Haranje (40) of Bramhavara in Udupi, for morphing photos of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and actress Radhika and spreading fake news on social media and a news portal claiming they were visiting a resort in Udupi.

also read: Sri Lanka Bomb Blasts: Army chief claims suicide bombers travelled to Kashmir, Kerala for training

According to the police officials, a case was lodged on Wednesday when the morphed photos went viral on social media after the portal uksuddi.in published it. The media secretary in the CMO, who noticed the fake news, approached the police and registered a complaint.

In the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Gangadhar, who works in an MNC and also runs the news portal, had downloaded old photos of the CM and the actress and morphed them to make it seem that they were entering a resort. The duo had also claimed the CM had scolded the scribes who had taken the photos. After a day, Shetty posted the fake news on his Facebook page and tagged his friends, police said.

Amid the investigation, Gangadhar said he posted it to make his portal popular. Shetty, who owns a garment business, wanted to damage the Karnatakas CMs image. He has put up several posts on Facebook against the present government, police said.

also read: Apologized to SC not BJP or Modi: Rahul Gandhi
Firefighters Day was created in 1999 after 5 firefighters died tragically during a wildfire in Australia when the direction of the wind changed suddenly and engulfed them in flames. The first organized professionals whose job it was to combat structural fires lived in Ancient Egypthowever, at the time, firefighters worked for private companies that provided their services only to those who could afford them. It is celebrated on May 4th because that is Saint Florians day, and Saint Florian, who was said to be one of the first commanding firefighters of an actual Roman battalion and saved many lives, is the patron saint of firefighters.

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To be noted that Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighters life. International Firefighters Day (IFFD) is a time where the worlds community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions. By proudly wearing and displaying blue and red ribbons pinned together or by participating in a memorial or recognition event, we can show our gratitude to firefighters everywhere.

Let us share that international Firefighters Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year. The IFFD ribbons are linked to colours symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with  red for fire and blue for water. These colours also are internationally recognised as representing emergency service.

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Istanbul: On Friday, in a tragic incident, seven people including five children lost their lives after a boat carrying 17 people capsized off Turkey's Aegean coast. All the passengers were reportedly refugees. Five have been rescued while five are still missing with the authorities reportedly trying to locate them. Among the 17 on board the boat, one was a human trafficker, as per the coast guard.

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According to the Turkish coast guard, 7,100 migrants have attempted to cross over so far alone in 2019. In a bid to escape the turmoil in their own country, thousands have attempted to cross to Europe undertaking the dangerous Aegeans sea route. These migrants include people from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and some African nations. Turkey has been among the main routes for migrants trying to cross to Europe in recent years.

The infamous photograph of Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a shore had brought international attention to the migration crisis leading to a global outcry over the issue. The United Nations had launched "WithRefugees campaign to display solidarity with the refugees after the photograph went viral.

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Colombo: The Sri Lankan army chief claimed that some of the suicide bombers who were involved in bomb blasts in Srilanka on Easter Sunday had visited Kashmir, Kerala and Bengaluru in India.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke said, it is being suspected that the attackers travelled to India to establish their links with other terrorist organisations. In an interview to BBC, army commander said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us.

Boeing 737 slides off the runway, falls into river in Florida

On the reason of visit of terroristm he said, Possibly for some sort of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country.

Last Month, On April 21, nine suicide bombers carried out terror attacks in three churches and four high-end hotels of Sri Lanka, claiming lives of 253 people and injuring over 500. The Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group claimed the responsibility of the serial blasts.

Nepal to begin construction of railways linking Kathmandu with India, China

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently carried out raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and nabbed several people for suspected link with the ISIS. On April 27, the agency took a native of Kerala's Kollam, Faizal into its custody on suspicion of having direct contacts with Sohran Hashif, one of the conspirators behind the Colombo blasts. The agency later detained three more persons from Keralas Palakkad and Kasaragode.
" " Destroying an entire planet all at once? It happens in 'Star Wars,' but could it happen in real life? Peopleimages.com/Getty Images

In "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an evil military junta called the First Order has risen from the ruins of the Galactic Empire, and is waging war against with a particularly frightening new weapon. Starkiller Base, as it's called, is an icy planet that's essentially been converted into a giant ray gun, capable of obliterating an entire distant solar system with a single shot.

The bad guys upped their game considerably since the first "Star Wars" movie, in which the Empire's ultimate weapon was the Death Star, a moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy a planet.

As the official Star Wars website explains, Starkiller somehow harvests energy from the star it orbits, and then contains it within magnetic fields inside the base's planetary core. That energy is then harnessed and converted into an "ultra-powerful beam" that can blast through hyperspace  apparently a so-called wormhole in the time-space continuum in which incredible distances can be covered at speeds faster than light.

When the beam comes out at the other end of hyperspace, those in its path are doomed. The Starkiller's beam is "able to sterilize the worlds of a distant star system with a single shot," we're told.

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The Nitty-Gritty Starkiller Mechanics

As often happens in science fiction, the details of how Starkiller would actually work are left to the audience's imagination. And if you've suspended disbelief and immersed yourself in the "Star Wars" fictional universe, the idea of a weapon so immensely powerful probably doesn't seem any harder to buy than lightsabers, talking robots with human-like personalities, and The Force itself. In the actual universe that we live in, though, is a solar system-killing weapon even remotely conceivable? And if so, how would someone build it?

University of Glasgow professor Martin A. Hendry, head of the university's School of Physics and Astronomy and an occasional lecturer on the physics of "Star Wars," says that that though the Starkiller is fantasy, it has at least a little reality mixed in.

"The Sun's magnetic field is very important in funneling hot plasma, an ionized gas, close to its surface," says Hendry in an email. "We see these huge ribbons of hot gas as prominences, and they can be the cause of violent eruptions known as solar flares that send large amounts of hot gas across the solar system  producing displays of northern lights when the plasma hits our atmosphere."

A really powerful flare, he says, could create an electromagnetic pulse with extremely destructive effects. "It basically would send our technology back to the Stone Age," says Hendry, but it wouldn't be enough to wipe out the planet, the way that Starkiller supposedly can.

Hendry says the idea of using magnetic fields to contain and direct beams of plasma  which is pretty close to what Starkiller supposedly does  is based on perfectly sound physics.

"Where it jumps the shark is the way that the plasma is being directed from the star to the planet with the Starkiller base through apparently empty space," he says. "How does the Starkiller base generate a sufficiently intense magnetic field to re-direct so much of the star's plasma towards it? I thought the effects during that sequence looked great, but the physics wasn't very sound I'm afraid."

While the idea of stealing energy from a star to power a weapon seems like the way to go, "it's just not clear how you do it," says Hendry.

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Actual Star Death

When stars are wiped out in the real universe, they often do it to themselves, by blowing up into supernovas when they run out of fuel. Another way that a star can be destroyed is if it collides with a black hole, whose intense gravity creates forces that literally can tear a star apart if it comes too close, according to an article on NASA's website.

When that happens, the event is called a tidal disruption, and most of the resulting debris is sucked toward the black hole by its gravitational force. As that happens, the debris is heated to millions of degrees in temperature, and generates an enormous amount of X-ray radiation until the debris falls beyond the black hole's event horizon, a point from which no light can escape.

Astronomers actually have used NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer in concert to observe a black hole's destruction of a star, in an event called ASASSN-14li, which was first discovered in November 2014. The real-life star killer is a black hole located in the center of PGC 043234, a galaxy about 290 million light years from Earth, which is estimated to weigh several million times the mass of our Sun. Here's a video animation illustrating what it looked like.

Pretty cool, huh?

But in order to use a black hole as a star-killing weapon, you'd need to be able to build and control one. Back in 1989, a British scientist, Martyn J. Fogg, published a paper in which he suggested somehow placing a manmade black hole on Jupiter, and then using it to generate enough energy to warm the temperatures on the giant planet's moon Europa to Earthlike levels.

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Can We Actually Kill a Star?

That's something that, if possible, is way, way beyond anything that engineers can do today. In 2010, though, Chinese researchers did get some attention by building a device called an omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber that they likened to a "mini black hole," in that it could absorb microwave radiation in the manner that an astrophysical black hole could swallow up a star and its energy.

As you might imagine, they'd have to scale up that man-made version of a black hole quite a bit to have a weapon as potent as Starkiller. Until they do, we'll just have to rely upon George Lucas' special effects for stellar annihilation.

Now That's Interesting "When I've done my 'Physics of Star Wars' lectures in the past, based on the old-style Death Star laser that destroyed Alderaan," says Hendry, "I've tried to guesstimate how much energy must have been stored in the Death Star's batteries. It's equivalent to the total energy emitted by the Sun for thousands of years."
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new test that can reliably predict the future course of inflammatory bowel disease in individuals, transforming treatments for patients and paving the way for a personalised approach.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease - collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - are chronic conditions that involve inflammation of the gut. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. There is currently no cure, but there are a growing number of medicines that aim to relieve symptoms and prevent the condition returning; however, the more severe the case of the IBD, the stronger the drugs need to be and the greater the potential side effects.

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust previously showed that a genetic signature found in a certain type of immune cell known as a CD8 T-cell could be used to assign patients to one of two groups depending on whether their condition was likely to be mild or severe (requiring repeated treatment). However, isolating CD8 T- cells and obtaining the genetic signature was not straightforward, making the test unlikely to be scaleable and achieve widespread use.

In the latest study, published in the journal Gut, the researchers worked with a cohort of 69 patients with Crohn's disease to see whether it was possible to develop a useful, scaleable test by looking at whole blood samples in conjunction with CD8 T-cells and using widely-available technology.

The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.

The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London.

"Using simple technology that is available in almost every hospital, our test looks for a biomarker - essentially, a medical signature - to identify which patients are likely to have mild IBD and which ones will have more serious illness," says Dr James Lee, joint first author of the study.

"This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition."

The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments.

"IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine.

The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.

The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."

Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's

Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.

This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."

Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.

This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.

When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.

Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."

Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier.

"I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."

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Reference

Biasci, D and Lee JC, et al. A blood-based prognostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut; April 2019; DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318343
Scientists have shown that a brain imaging technique called fMRI can be beaten by the use of two particular mental countermeasures

People have certain physical 'tells' when they conceal information - and studies show that good liars can prevent these 'tells' being detected by displaying physical red herrings of their own.

But scientists have now shown that even a brain imaging technique called fMRI, which in theory is much harder to trick, can be beaten by people who use two particular mental countermeasures.

The work was led by Drs Chun-Wei Hsu and Giorgio Ganis at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with the University of Padova, Italy, and published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

This research is the first to explore the effects of mental countermeasures on brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - and it showed that when people used the countermeasures, the test proved to be 20% less accurate.

How do concealed information tests work?

Concealed information tests work because a person who is hiding something will 'give away' what they are concealing when faced with it in a list. For example, if a thief has stolen a diamond ring, the ring will be more striking to the thief than similar control items such as necklaces and bracelets - and the thief will show physiological signs (e.g. sweating) that reveal their guilt.

However, these tests based on physiological signs are easy to beat as perpetrators can artificially alter them when seeing a control item, therefore confusing the test. To overcome this problem, researchers moved to methods that look directly at brain activation using fMRI.

An fMRI machine tracks blood flow to activated brain areas. The assumption in concealed information detection is that the brain will show signs of recognition when presented with the concealed items while exerting extra effort to conceal signs of such recognition, and so the brain regions that do more work will get more blood. Such regions light up in scans, and they are primarily involved in directing attention and in decision making.

What did the study show?

In the new study, participants were asked to conceal information about a 'secret' digit they saw inside an envelope.

Researchers taught 20 participants two mental countermeasures. The first was to associate meaningful memories to the control items, making them more significant. The second was to focus on the superficial aspects of the item they were trying to conceal, rather than on the experience of familiarity it evokes, in order to make it less significant.

The results showed that these countermeasures lowered the accuracy of the test by about 20% because it was more difficult for fMRI to find any differences in brain activity. Thus, participants were more likely to be able to hide their concealed information item when using the mental countermeasures.

The research team concluded that in order to improve the robustness of the test, future work needed to identify a way of detecting mental countermeasures, and potentially look at conducting whole-brain analyses, rather than just examining regions of interest.

Lead author Dr Chun-Wei Hsu, a researcher in the CogNovo research programme at the University of Plymouth, said: "fMRI tests are not currently used by law enforcement in the same way as polygraph tests, but they have been considered for scientific and criminal use as a way of detecting when someone is concealing information. This study shows that the process can be manipulated if someone associates meaningful memories to the control items, or focuses on the aesthetics, rather than the memory, of the item they're trying to hide.

"None of our participants were seasoned liars or criminals, they were just everyday people, so before this test can even be considered for forensic use, there must be further studies carried out to help identify when someone is using mental countermeasures.

"Deception is a really challenging area of psychology, and the more we can find out about the techniques used to detect it, the better."

Dr Ganis is one of the lead researchers at the upcoming Brain Research & Imaging Centre, which will open in 2020 as the most advanced multi-modal brain imaging facility in the South West.

###

The full study, entitled The effect of mental countermeasures on neuroimaging-based concealed information tests, was carried out by the University of Plymouth and the University of Padova, Italy. It is available to view now in the journal Human Brain Mapping (doi: 10.1002/hbm24567).
The president of the British Pakistani Youth Council who previously hosted David Cameron on a visit to Birmingham once said he would 'salute' Adolf Hitler if he 'killed more Jews than Muslims' in a newly-uncovered Facebook post.

Kamran Ishtiaq, 37, says he set up the group in 2009 to 'focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people' and 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

But in 2014 he posted a picture of the Nazi dictator and when questioned about it said 'I would salute him still if he killed 90 Muslims and 92 Jews.'

His comments have caused outrage in Birmingham with MP Khalid Mahmood calling for authorities to investigate him.

And when questioned about his remarks, Mr Ishtiaq said he stood by the statement.

British Pakistani Youth Council president Kamran Ishtiaq, pictured with David Cameron when the politician visited Birmingham's Muslim community in 2007, once said he would 'salute Hitler if he killed more Jews than Muslims', it has been revealed

Mr Ishtiaq posted a pictured of Hitler on his Facebook in 2014, pictured, and made the comments when challenged by others

On the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, he added: 'Now (sic) why he [Hitler] is my hero cuz, he just killed Jews, didn't get a chance to kill Muslims... lol.'

Asked if he felt the same way about Jews now, Mr Ishtiaq, who welcomed David Cameron to his grocery shop in 2007 during a political visit, said: 'To be honest with you, I feel that about the Jews who are killing the Palestinians now.

'Not the Jews who are leaving Israel - there are Jews who support Palestine. I was reading today in the media that there are Jews leaving Israel because Israel didn't live up to their expectations.

'OK, but Jews, American Jews, yes I feel like that about them. The ones who are murdering the Palestinians. I do feel that about them.

'And what I wrote there, it's about the Jews.'

He also said Hitler was his 'hero' because he 'didn't get a chance to kill Muslims'. The 37-year-old said he stood by his comments this week, but claimed he was not talking about all Jews, but only 'Jews who kill Muslims'

He added: 'When I say Jews, it's not the Jews fighting the Jewish killers of Palestinians, the Jews who are with Muslims, but the Jews which are killing the Palestinians, yes. The murderers.

'I mean if anything happened to any Jewish community here my youths would be there frontline to support them. Jewish people here are not Palestinian-killing like the Jews over there.

'They're peaceful like us Muslims here. They don't want nothing to do with that.

'It's like the terrorists. You can't hate all Muslims because you hate terrorists. You can't hate all Jews because you hate the killing Jews.'

Asked about those killed by the Nazis, Mr Ishtiaq said he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

He said: 'To be honest, I don't believe that. Every attack, anything on Jews is exaggerated. Yeah. I think that was an exaggeration too.

'He killed Jews, yeah. He did kill Jews, there's no doubt in that. He killed Jews. But that figure is a question mark for me.'

Asked why he thought the Nazis killed Jews, he replied: 'We don't know what happened then.

'If they were doing this now, killing Palestinians, we don't know what they done to the Germans at that time.'

Mr Ishtiaq suggested the figure could have been exaggerated and added: 'It [the figure] gives the Jewish people a reason, you know retaliation - "Look what's happened to us? 'We were nearly being ethnic cleansed and have to stick together".

Mr Ishtiaq's (pictured) comments have been condemned in Birmingham and MP Khalid Mahmood called for an investigation

'It gives them a point of unity, it gives them a reason to retaliate, revenge, you know, empathy, whatever, you could say.'

On whether Hitler's actions were wrong, he added: ' I can't think for Hitler. I can't think why Hitler killed them. I just made that statement [on Facebook]. So why and how, I couldn't tell you.

'I stand by the statement I made, yes.'

Mr Ishtiaq said his views about Jews were shared by young people he worked with.

He added: 'They feel ten times worse.

'My job is to get that feeling out of them, but I need positives to erase that feeling out of them.

'The Jews, the Israel (sic), have not given me a positive. Them feelings are getting day by day worse after what the Israelis are doing.'

His group does not appear to have a website but does have a Facebook page that lists him as president and has not been updated since early 2016.

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Barr, said Mr Ishtiaq's remarks had no place in society.

He said: 'Clearly, these are very inflammatory, offensive, anti-Semitic remarks which have no place in society, in Birmingham, in the UK or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.

'Nor should we in any way look to try to justify that in the way he's tried to justify that.

'It is purely wrong. Hideous comments have been made about killing people and killing the Jewish community - and the non-recognition of the Holocaust is absolutely absurd for someone to make comment.'

Mr Mahmood added: 'These sort of people do not represent the views of the Pakistani or the Muslim community in Birmingham, and where these people exist they should be sought out and held to account for their views.'

Mr Mahmood also called for an investigation into Mr Ishtiaq's role.

He said: 'He is holding these views, he has access to young people. I think it is a serious matter for the authorities to look at.

'The authorities need to have a clear look and investigate this issue, because it certainly brings the whole of the community into disrepute and certainly we're not where the community wants to be at all.'

Mr Ishtiaq, pictured with Mr Cameron at his shop in 2007, said he took over the youth council in 2009 and wanted to 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

Kamran Ishtiaq previously worked as a store manager at his family's grocery business, with which he is no longer linked.

He says he took over as President of the British Pakistani Youth Council in 2009 and talks about the group 'building bridges' on his LinkedIn page.

He wrote: 'The BPYC is a national group of young people who, whilst recognising our faith and ethnic heritage, focus on the present and look to the future.

'We focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people. As the President I lead to work proactively with the mainstream media to counter the negative stereotypes associated with British Pakistani young people and highlight the positive contributions we add to British society.

'This work has led me to work across the UK and Pakistan to build bridges.'

David Cameron visited his family's Raja Brothers grocery business in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, in 2007, when Mr Ishtiaq was manager.

Speaking at the time he said the future prime minister appeared to be a 'normal bloke'.

He said: 'He was relaxed, cool and chilled - you couldn't tell he was the opposition leader.

'When he came here he seemed like a down-to-earth guy. His background didn't show, it was like he was just a normal average guy.

'He was easy to communicate with. I would definitely have him back to work in the shop.'
Sure, people love extolling the virtues of the road less traveled. I get it! Trying new things can be a great thing, and often leads to growth.

But taking another route can also occasionally lead to something uncomfortable and life-threatening...like sinking into a swamp. That's what happened to 83-year-old Alfred Cutting, a man in Staten Island whose seemingly harmless idea to take a shortcut required helicopter intervention.

CBS News reports that on Thursday afternoon, Cutting missed his bus on the way to a doctor's appointment, and decided to walk there instead. He then remembered a shortcut he'd taken in the past, and wandered over thereexcept that a lot's changed since he last took that route decades ago, namely the fact that it's now a swamp capable of swallowing people.

Cutting said that he fell backwards whle walking and was "drowning" ears-deep in the marsh, yet was somehow able to call 911 on his flip phone for help. Authorities eventually found Cutting near Seaview and Mason Avenues "unable to free himself from a swampy area," according to the NYPD.

Authorities then used a helicopter to hoist Cutting up from the wetlands, as The New York Post reports. An officer harnessed Cutting to himself, then pulled him up and out of the muck. He was then taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he sustained minor injuries and is probably rethinking all of his life's shortcuts.


By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked billionaire investor Carl Icahn's company for information about trades in crane maker Manitowoc, Icahn Enterprises disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, in its first acknowledgement of such a probe. Icahn Enterprises said it received a subpoena after critics questioned the timing of Manitowoc stock sales Icahn, who briefly served as an unpaid adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, made before his administration announced steep steel tariffs in March 2018. Questions had swirled about whether the sales were prompted by inside information about Trump's plans. The stocks of many U.S. industrial companies, major consumers of steel, fell that day after the announcement, with Manitowoc losing more than 6%. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises in June 2018, the company said in the filing. "We cooperated with the request and provided documents in response to the subpoena." The U.S. Attorney's office and Icahn's office had no immediate comment. Manitowoc did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors in Manhattan have a history of pursuing major cases over insider trading on Wall Street, famously securing the trial conviction of hedge manager Raj Rajaratnam and a guilty plea from the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. Icahn sold roughly one-third of his stake in Manitowoc, which uses steel to make its equipment, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22, 2018. Trump said on March 1 that he would impose 15% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on imported aluminum to make domestic production more attractive. In response to news reports about his stock sales, Icahn said he cut his position in Manitowoc for "legitimate investment reasons" and dismissed any speculation that his sale of shares was prompted by knowledge about Trump's plans. Icahn, who has been friendly with Trump for decades, has been a sounding board for Trump and was instrumental in vetting people for key positions before Trump was inaugurated in 2017. He stepped down as an unpaid special adviser to Trump in August 2017. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond; Editing by Richard Chang)
(Corrects to show all 11 board members are not Waterton nominees in 1st paragraph)

May 3 (Reuters) - Hudbay Minerals Inc said on Friday it had agreed with Waterton Global Resource Management Inc, its second largest shareholder, to elect a slate of 11 board members that includes some of the nominees proposed by both parties.

The agreement settles a long-drawn out proxy contest with the private equity firm, which nominated five directors to the the Canadian miner's board.

Waterton, which owns a 12.1 percent stake in Hudbay Minerals, had recently filed a suit against Hudbay in a bid to stop it from soliciting proxies for its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 7.

Both companies have also agreed to look for a successor as board chairman to Alan Hibben. After he steps down as chair, Hibben will remain on the board until the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

Much of Waterton's ire against Hudbay surrounds alleged talks the company had to acquire Chile's Mantos Copper for about $780 million last year, which Bloomberg reported in October. (Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
The airline industry has historically been a lousy one to invest in. It's sensitive to the economy, capital-intensive, highly regulated, and hypercompetitive. Making matters worse has been poor management decisions by some of the top airlines that have led to numerous bankruptcies over the years.

But with all the bankruptcies, wars, fuel-cost spikes, and recessions, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has stood tall for almost half a century. An early investment in Southwest would make even Walmart millionaires jealous.

I don't expect Southwest to be a home-run investment, but I do think it can outperform the broader market. Here are the main reasons I decided to buy shares of the low-fare giant recently.

An airplane sitting on a runway.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Industry-leading profitability

Since its founding in the 1970s, Southwest has prided itself on delivering best-in-class service and competitive fares. The formula of flying short routes, driving up productivity by flying one type of aircraft, and stripping out extraneous operating costs like in-flight meals has made Southwest the industry's most profitable airline since the late 1970s. Even with smaller airlines like Spirit Airlines trying to copy the low-cost model, Southwest still maintains industry-leading margins and returns on invested capital.

Southwest is the only airline that has turned a profit for 46 consecutive years, and that's while its competitors, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United (now United Continental Holdings, US Airways (now operated by American Airlines), and TWA filed for bankruptcy between 2000 and 2011.

2. Industry-leading financial fortitude

Southwest is the only airline with a credit rating of A- or better from the credit rating firm Moody's. The company has more cash than debt on its balance sheet and generated $2.97 billion in free cash flow over the past year.

The company's financial strength makes it a good dividend stock, too. The dividend yield is currently below average at 1.23%, but that's because Southwest pays out only 14% of its earnings as dividends. The important thing is that Southwest has increased the dividend by 236% over the past five years.

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With a low payout, a history of raising the dividend, and growth initiatives underway (more on this below), Southwest should be a great dividend growth stock for years to come.

3. Valuation

I love looking for fast-growing companies that could become multibaggers, but I equally enjoy looking for industry leaders that are on sale.

Southwest stock is cheap. It trades for a trailing P/E of 12.3 and a forward P/E of 10 based on next year's earnings estimates. That's at the low end of its trading range over the past 10 years. This is for a company that analysts expect to grow earnings by 12% per year over the next five years.

4. Track record of growth

Those growth estimates seem very reasonable, given that adjusted earnings per share climbed about 300% over the past five years. Much of that increase was from a significant improvement in operating margin, as revenue has increased only by 8.8% per year since 2009.

Keep in mind that Southwest's recent growth has come while there has been much skepticism about whether the low-cost pioneer would be able to maintain its lead, given the heightened competition over the past decade. While competitors have emerged from bankruptcy with a renewed focus on profitability, Southwest continues to maintain high returns on capital by modernizing its fleet, investing in facilities, and introducing new technologies, such as a new reservation system on the customer side and a new maintenance system on the company side, all designed to increase profitability.

Of course, staying ahead of the curve with these investments is a lot easier when you generate the best margins among your peers.

5. New growth opportunities

Management has big goals for the future. Its vision is "to become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline." It has already achieved that domestically, so now it is turning its sights on international expansion. However, consistent with its strategy in the early years, Southwest is expanding in baby steps.

First, Southwest is expanding its routing to Hawaii, which is management's highest growth priority for 2019 and 2020. After a delay, Southwest initiated its Hawaii flights in March. The delay in launching the Hawaii service caused some pressure to margins during the first quarter, as the company's fleet was underutilized. But management said during the fourth-quarter conference call in February that they expect the cost pressure to ease up in the second half of the year.

The new reservation system is also adding to the company's top line. Southwest rolled out this new system in 2017, and last year, it generated $200 million in additional pretax profit. Management expects the annual benefit from the new system to reach $500 million in incremental pretax profit by 2020, which is about a quarter of the company's current annual net income.

A well-run company built for sustainable returns

In recent years, Southwest has faced increasing competition, especially from ultralow-cost carriers, but Southwest stock has still outperformed the broader market, delivering a return of 120% over the past five years. Management's relentless focus on keeping costs down while investing in new moneymaking opportunities, such as new routes and technologies, should keep Southwest generating a healthy profit and paying a rising dividend for a long time.

On top of all the under-the-hood initiatives that could improve company performance, what I'm most enthusiastic about is the potential for extra juice to the stock's return stemming from its low valuation. The combination of a well-run business and a cheap valuation is what ultimately persuaded me to pull the trigger.

More From The Motley Fool

John Ballard owns shares of Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Brazilian aviation company Embraer is seen during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair (LABACE) at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil planemaker Embraer SA said on Friday that it delivered 11 commercial planes in the first quarter of 2019, three fewer than in the same period last year, as it works to cede control of that profitable division to Boeing Co .

The company said its overall backlog, a gauge of future revenue, stood at $16 billion, maintaining a recovery from a 5-year low that it had recorded in October of last year. The backlog at that time stood at $13.6 billion.

Embraer also said it had delivered 11 executive jets in the quarter, the same number as in the same period in 2018. Once it completes the separation of its commercial planes segment, Embraer's bottom line will become more reliant on the performance of this division, which has posted losses in recent quarters.

Boeing and Embraer's commercial aviation partnership, which would consolidate a global passenger jet duopoly, has been approved by the Brazilian government and by Embraer's shareholders but still needs regulatory approval from several countries.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic should not initially rule out any Chinese or Russian companies from plans to build up new-generation 5G mobile networks or expand its fleet of nuclear power stations, new Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said in an interview.

After a cabinet shuffle, Havlicek is stepping into the industry post on Tuesday as the state pushes ahead with both projects that face security questions over the possible participation of China's Huawei in 5G, as well as Russian and Chinese involvement in the nuclear expansion.

Havlicek said security would play a key factor in both sectors and warnings would not be ignored. But first, conditions for the expansions have to be outlined and discussion with key players should take place, he said.

"We have to evaluate all of the factors," Havlicek told Reuters on Monday evening, before his official appointment to the government on Tuesday.

"But definitely it is not acceptable from the business point of view, and communication point of view, to in advance reduce the group of potential investors, potential suppliers," he said.

In December, the Czech cyber watchdog NUKIB warned about possible risks from using Huawei equipment. The United States has also urged allies not to use Huawei products, saying they could enable Chinese state espionage - which the company denies.

Similarly, in nuclear power, a Czech government advisory body recommended last year security settings that would indirectly exclude Chinese or Russian suppliers in the multi-billion dollar expansion project.

NEW PLAYER

The state is holding an auction for new 5G frequencies later this year, seeking to draw a fourth operator to the country to boost competition against O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile and Vodafone and push down data prices, among the highest in Europe.

"I think the opportunity exists that a new multinational or Czech player is coming," Havlicek said, adding there had been talks with around 10 interested parties, including American, South Korean, French and Czech.

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The nuclear expansion has six potential bidders: China's CGN, Atmea - a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and EDF Group - Westinghouse, South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP), French state-owned Areva and Russia's Rosatom.

Czech utility CEZ, which runs two nuclear power plants accounting for about half of its traditional production, and the state, its 70 percent shareholder, have been stuck for years over financing the construction of new units.

In February, Prime Minister Andrej Babis outlined a plan under which the state would control construction after signing a contract with CEZ. The state would then have power to halt the project if power prices don't support it.

Havlicek said he hoped to have the contract with CEZ done in the autumn.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Potter)
May 3 (Reuters) - The city of Detroit said on Friday it agreed to pay $107.6 million for nearly 215 acres of land needed to construct a new $1.6 billion Fiat Chrysler Automobiles assembly plant.

The automaker also plans to invest $900 million to retool and modernize its Jefferson North Assembly Plant, enabling the creation of nearly 5,000 new jobs, the Mayor's office said.

The cost of purchasing the land will be split between Detroit and the state of Michigan.

Earlier in the day, FCA said new U.S. pickup truck models would help achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza? Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of

When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza?

Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET

In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of fast-food.

The pizza industry meets blockchain technology once again as #SingularityNET and @Dominos Malaysia and Singapore divisions announce a partnership leveraging SingularityNETs AGI token ecosystem. Read more here: https://t.co/x5hB8EaK2N pic.twitter.com/t9jRkzc3CQ  SingularityNET (@singularity_net) May 1, 2019

Does that mean your pizza will end up being delivered by a robot? Well, not exactly. Not for the time being, at least.

As the examples of predictive text serve to highlight, AI goes way beyond making robots work. SingularityNET is, in fact, a decentralised blockchain-based AI platform that allows developers to build and deploy artificial intelligence services at scale.

That makes it particularly interesting for large companies that suffer from multiple inefficiencies in the supply chain or delivery, such as Dominos Pizza.

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For now, though, the partnership will be limited to the Malaysia & Singapore arm of the fast-food giant, aimed at accelerating the companys growth in this region.

According to the release, this will allow SingularityNETs decentralised AI community to build innovative algorithms and solutions that will enhance Dominos operational capabilities and delight its rapidly growing customer base in Malaysia and Singapore.

What exactly will innovative algorithms do for Dominos Pizza?

The details of the partnership are a little fuzzy at the moment. After all, eluding to innovative algorithms and delighting customers doesnt exactly explain what the two companies are hoping to achieve.

Reading between the lines, however, it seems that AI can be particularly useful when it comes to automation and the supply chain. By using scalable algorithms, Dominos will be able to solve many of its most pressing challenges in logistics.

This means that the company may be able to achieve economies at scale by automating part of its delivery operations and even consolidating its operations centres.

Dominos CEO for the region, Ba U Shan-Ting, enthused SingularityNETs AI algorithms and services will allow us to explore these efficiencies at scale.

SingularityNETs CEO, Ben Goertzel, praised Dominos for its commitment to innovation. He said that we were moving into a new phase of society and economy, and that all businesses would need to embrace AI of some kind in order to survive and flourish in the new climate.

Specific to this partnership, he remarked:

We are proud to embark on a future partnership with Dominos to achieve their ambition of becoming the leader in pizza delivery and customer brand loyalty by 2020.

A pioneering company where emerging technology is concerned

Many large companies have jumped on the blockchain train in some way or another (just think Walmart or Carrefour). However, Dominos is the first to test out a blockchain-based AI solution. This gives the company a certain amount of kudos for being pioneering in the space.

Shan-Ting waxed lyrical about the Dominos constant commitment to innovation (I mean, what other company would combine salted caramel with pizza?). But while using vague words like mission, vision, innovation and excellence may come over as a little vapid, the company is expecting plenty of tangible results. These include greater efficiency for customers through automation and the consolidation of various operations centres.

SingularityNET, as part of the partnership, will be delivering AI-centric workshops, and conducting feasibility studies to see how to best impact Dominos business operations. At the same time, Dominos will widen its ability to access scalable algorithms that can help the company overcome its bottlenecks in the supply chain and logistics.

The partnership marks a key milestone for SingularityNET as part of its quest to bring enterprises to the AI marketplace.

So will you be getting your pizza delivered by a robot?

This is a pilot project starting in Singapore and Malaysia where Dominos Pizza has over 260 stores. The company will be using AI to speed up delivery, improve customer loyalty, and make cost efficiencies.

So, if its successful, this could be one more step toward bringing blockchain adoption to the masses. You can probably even expect that a robot will take your delivery by telephone, or even put your pizza together. Dont hold your breath that youll see Sophia knocking on your door any time soon though.

The post Your Dominos pizza may soon be delivered by a robot appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Gold and silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) had a rough year in 2018, with its stock falling around 40%. There were a number of factors behind that, including weak earnings, soft commodity prices, a strike at a key mine, and a heavy debt load. But Hecla also made some investments in its future, expanding into Nevada via acquisition. It believes that move, including mine-level improvements at the purchased assets, will help strengthen results in 2019 and 2020. When you look to the longer term, though, the company's future is likely to be driven by two investments in Montana. And the news there hasn't been very good lately.

What it means to be a miner

Running a mining business is a complex, expensive, and labor-intensive job. From a big-picture perspective, a miner has to find a location that might have precious metals (or other key materials, like copper). It then has to get permission to start building a mine. Assuming it can get its plans approved, the company will build a mine. And -- not a small issue -- it has to hope that the mine actually lives up to its predevelopment expectations. Lower ore grades or more-difficult-than-expected mining conditions can quickly turn a great plan into a bad investment.

A man standing at the mouth of a mine with the sun behind him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Once built, a mine is operated until it is no longer economically feasible to run, at which point the company must return the land to its pre-mining state. A lot can go wrong here, but there's one thing inherent to the process -- each mine has a life cycle and will eventually close down.

Indeed, mines are depleting assets. Once you pull an ounce of gold, silver, or copper (or whatever is in the mine) out of the ground, it is gone. And once you pull all of the commodity from the mine, you need to find a new mine to replace it, or the business will start to shrink. Running a mining company is like running on a treadmill in some ways: You can never stop to rest because you always have to be on the lookout for the next mine.

Story continues

Bad news for Hecla

This is exactly why Hecla investors need to be concerned about the fact that a judge recently blocked a permit for Hecla's Rock Creek mine project in Montana. This is one of two mines in the state that the company is planning to build in close proximity to each other. The other proposed mine is called Montanore. Bad permitting news at one mine is a bad omen for the other mine. Hecla's stock dropped around 10% following news of the adverse judgment at Rock Creek.

There's a couple of reasons for this. First, these two mines are in close proximity to the company's operating Lucky Friday mine in Idaho. The goal is to benefit from economies of scale by running a number of assets in the same general region. That will help lower costs for Hecla, which would be a good thing. Hecla's all-in sustaining costs (AISC, which includes operating costs and investments to maintain operations) for silver in 2018 were $11.44 per ounce, versus a year-end silver spot price of $15.40. Although by this metric it's profitable on the silver side of things, the company's AISC costs for silver rose over $3.50 per ounce last year. As for gold, Hecla's AISC were $1,226 last year compared to a year-end gold price of $1,282 per ounce, which isn't much breathing room. Keeping a lid on costs would be a good thing for the miner.

HL Chart

HL data by YCharts.

However, it's the second reason for the stock decline that should really worry investors. Rock Creek and Montanore are the company's two largest projects. The inferred resources (the amount of a commodity a miner's earliest estimates of the location's potential) at these mines dwarf any of its other long-term projects. Putting some numbers on that, the company hopes to find 148 million ounces of silver at Rock Creek and 183 million ounces of silver at Montanore. Together, these two assets make up 70% of Hecla's inferred silver resources.

In addition to the silver, Hecla hopes to find 658,000 tons of copper at Rock Creek and 759,000 tons of copper at Montanore, together making up virtually all of its inferred copper resources. If these numbers are close to accurate, Rock Creek and Montanore could rank among Hecla's largest operating mines.

There's no near-term worry, because the company still has plenty of silver and gold to mine for now, but every ounce it pulls out of the ground is one less ounce it has to mine in the future. And eventually, it will need to bring on new mines. So the setback at Rock Creek is notable because it will clearly be an important mine...but only if it gets built. The same holds true for nearby Montanore, which will likely experience the same environmental and regulatory headwinds that impact Rock Creek. If these two mines don't pan out, Hecla will have a big problem on its hands.

Far in the future, but still a concern

At this point, Rock Creek and Montanore are nowhere near close to contributing to Hecla's production. And near-term financial results aren't really going to be impacted by the trials and tribulations at these two proposed mines. That said, these are important long-term investments for Hecla. If they don't pan out, the miner will have to go back to the drawing board and find other investments on which to build its future. That, in the end, is why Rock Creek and Montanore should be on your radar, even if they aren't material to today's financial results.

More From The Motley Fool

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Signage is seen at the Huawei offices in Reading, Britain, May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies said it will "vigorously oppose" a motion filed by U.S. prosecutors on Thursday to disqualify its lead defense lawyer from a case accusing the Chinese company of bank fraud and sanctions violations.

According to a filing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. government sought to remove James Cole from the case.

Cole was the No.2 official at the Justice Department between 2011 and 2015, a period when the United States was obtaining information on how Huawei might have been doing business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The filing did not make public why it is seeking to remove Cole from the case. In a letter to the court, prosecutors said they had filed a sealed, classified motion to disqualify Cole and expected to file a public version by May 10.

Cole, the former U.S. deputy attorney general, is now a partner at law firm Sidley Austin in Washington. He declined to comment.

Huawei said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it chose Jim Cole as its lawyer in 2017. "We have seen no facts from the government that would justify disqualifying him and denying Huawei its constitutional rights. Huawei will vigorously oppose the governments motion," it said.

The case against Huawei has ratcheted up tensions between Beijing and Washington as the world's two economic powers try to close a trade deal.

Angering the Chinese, the company's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of U.S. authorities.

Huawei was charged with bank and wire fraud, violating sanctions against Iran and obstructing justice. Meng, who must answer to some of the charges, has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition. She is due in court in Vancouver on May 8.

Cole entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the company and its U.S. subsidiary on March 14 in Brooklyn.

Story continues

The crux of the case is that Meng and Huawei allegedly conspired to defraud HSBC Holdings Plc and other banks by misrepresenting Huaweis relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, a suspected front company that operated in Iran.

Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huaweis Iran business.

U.S. authorities claim Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods, technology and services in Iran, and to move money via the international banking system.

U.S. prosecutors said last month they planned to use information about Huawei obtained through secret surveillance in the case.

In March, Reuters detailed how U.S. authorities secretly tracked Huawei's activities, including by collecting information copied from electronic devices carried by Chinese telecom executives traveling through airports.

In February, Reuters exclusively reported how an internal HSBC probe helped lead to the U.S. charges against Huawei and its CFO.

The indictment references reporting by Reuters from six years ago that Skycom offered to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator. The reporting detailed links between Huawei and Skycom, including that Meng had served on Skycom's board of directors in 2008 and 2009.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The ticker symbol and company logo for InterContinental Hotels Group is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Karina Dsouza and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group Plc said fewer people checked into its hotels in the first quarter due to lower demand in China, South Korea and France.

InterContinental, whose 13 brands include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, reported a 0.3 percent rise in room revenue as strong demand in the Latin America and Caribbean markets was offset by weakness in the Greater China region.

Occupany rates slipped 0.2 percent in the period

The FTSE 100 company's shares fell 3.3 percent to 4,833 pence in the first hour of trading before cutting their losses to 1 percent by 0915 GMT.

IHG reported a 3 percent fall in revenue per available room (RevPaR) in France as it felt the impact of the "yellow vest" protest.

In South Korea, the company reported a 30 percent plunge in RevPar, because of tough comparisons due to the Winter Olympics hosted in the country last year.

The company has been focusing on business customers and expanding its luxury offerings to fight the rising challenges posed by companies such as Airbnb and online travel agents.

Weak demand in China's smaller cities meant the company reported flat room revenue. Accor SA, Europe's biggest hotel group, recently said weakness in Asia held back growth in RevPAR in its first quarter.

InterContinental Chief Executive Officer Keith Barr said on a call that China, where the company operates 400 hotels, would continue to be an important market.

Barr has steered the company towards affluent Chinese customers to lessen dependence on highly mature U.S. markets, while aggressively rebranding to compete against the likes of Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Writing by Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile programme and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

Story continues

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The Latest on North Korea test firing short-range missiles (all times local):

6:50 a.m.

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire drill of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons.

The report by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North launching several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast.

The agency says Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over Saturday's drills and stressed frontline troops to keep a "high alert posture" and enhance combat ability to "defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance of the country."

___

11:10 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he still believes a nuclear deal with North Korea will happen, after the country fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Trump tweeted Saturday that he believes that leader Kim Jong Un "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it."

Added Trump: "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A diplomatic summit between Trump and Kim over the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons broke down earlier this year without a deal. North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

___

4 p.m.

South Korea says it's "very concerned" about North Korea's weapons launches, calling them a violation of last year's inter-Korean agreements to reduce tensions between the countries.

The South Korean government says it urges North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear negotiations.

South Korea says it's working with the United States to find out details of the launches such as what type of projectiles North Korea fired earlier Saturday.

The South Korean statement came after a meeting of the presidential national security adviser, the defense minister, the intelligence chief and other officials following the North Korean launches at the presidential Blue House.

Story continues

___

3:20 p.m.

The United States and South Korea are analyzing North Korea's short-range missile launches while "carefully responding" to Pyongyang's action.

That's according to South Korean Foreign Ministry statement following telephone talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart in Seoul.

Later Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also talked by phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and they agreed to keep coordinating while also "carefully responding" to the launches.

___

2:45 p.m.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have held telephone talks after North Korea launched several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says Kono, who is currently visiting Angola, and Pompeo talked for about 10 minutes Saturday and confirmed the two sides will share information on the development and stay in close contact.

The two ministers also agreed to cooperate with South Korea.

Japan's Defense Ministry says the projectiles weren't a security threat and didn't reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim Jong Un.

___

11:45 a.m.

The White House says it is monitoring North Korean short-range missile launches.

In a terse statement, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says, "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea early Saturday launched several short-range missiles off its eastern coast into the ocean.

If it's confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

___

11:15 a.m.

Japan's Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It says at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

___

10:45 a.m.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has launched "several" short-range missiles off its eastern coast.

The military said in a statement Saturday that the missiles flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before they landed in the water.

The South had previously said the North launched a single missile.

___

10:05 a.m.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says the North's missile was fired from Wonsan on the east coast.

It says South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details of the launch.
wallstreetmarketshutdown.jpg





Wall Street Market, the second-largest darknet market in the world in recent months, has been shut down by international law enforcement agencies, including Europol as well as U.S., German, Dutch and Romanian law enforcement. Three suspected operators of the online marketplace for illegal goods and services have been arrested in Germany, while some of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics were arrested in the United States.

Darknet markets are the digital black markets only accessible through the anonymizing Tor browser; they use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment. Since the pioneering Silk Road was shutdown in 2013, such markets have only grown in popularity. According to research by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published in January 2019, darknet market activity almost doubled throughout 2018, surpassing a yearly volume of $600 million. Back in the days of Silk Road, the record yearly volume never topped $200 million, according to Chainalysis.

One of Silk Roads recent successors, Wall Street Market, offered a platform for selling illegal drugs as well as weapons, hacking software and stolen login credentials. According to Europol, over 1,150,000 user accounts were registered on Wall Street Market, and over 63,000 offers had been placed on the website by more than 5,400 seller accounts. This made Wall Street Market the second-most popular darknet market at the time of closure, Europol noted, presumably behind Dream Market.

The website was ultimately shutdown by German Federal Criminal Police, under the authority of the German Public Prosecutors office, and three suspected operators were arrested. The German police were supported by the Dutch National Police, Europol, Eurojust and various U.S. government agencies including the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice. German authorities also seized 550,000 (approximately $615,500 USD) in cash and six-figure amounts worth of bitcoin and XMR (monero), as well as several vehicles and other evidence.

Story continues

Europols Executive Director Catherine De Bolle commented in a statement published on the Europol website:

These two investigations show the importance of law enforcement cooperation at an international level and demonstrate that illegal activity on the dark web is not as anonymous as criminals may think.

Darknet Disarray

As reported by Bitcoin Magazine last week, Wall Street Market had been in a state of turmoil for several weeks. Following a presumed influx of new users from the also-defunct darknet market Dream Market, Wall Street Market operators started pulling an exit scam, reportedly stealing a total of $14 million to $30 million worth of bitcoin and XMR from user accounts. On top of that, some Wall Street Market users were being blackmailed, as one of the websites moderators threatened to leak identifying information about the users to law enforcement, unless these users paid him 0.05 BTC.

As reported by ZDNet, the same moderator went a step further only days later, as he published the IP address and his login credentials to the darknet market on darknet-focused forum Dread. This not only revealed the location of the Wall Street Market server, which was located in the Netherlands, but also allowed anyone access to the websites administrative section to collect information about users and orders, which reportedly included deanonymizing details like home addresses. Its likely that this is how law enforcement was able to shut down Wall Street Market and arrest suspects, but this has not been confirmed.

The takedown further confirms that the recent darknet market era, with Dream Market and Wall Street Market as market leaders, is coming to and end. Wall Street Market is now officially offline, and Dream Market halted trading weeks ago with its future unclear. While a notice on Dream Market predicted it would shut down on April 30, 2019, the website is still up  though with trading still disabled. The Dream Market replacement website is not online either, as the onion address in the notice is unresponsive.

On top of that, in the same press release, Interpol announced that Finnish authorities shut down yet another darknet market earlier this year. Valhalla, which was previously known under its Finnish name Silkkitie, was one of the oldest darknet markets online, though, according to Finnish customs, the site had been compromised by them since at least 2017. Still, according to Europol, Valhalla had its contents seized by Finnish Customs only this year, in close cooperation with the French National Police.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Monster Beverage Corporation MNST reported solid first-quarter 2019 results, wherein top and bottom lines outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. Notably, this marked the fourth straight positive earnings surprise, with the third consecutive sales beat.



A clear reflection of the companys robust first-quarter performance was visible in a 6.1% increase in its share price during the after-hours trading. Moreover, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock has surged 17.8% year to date, outperforming the industrys growth of 9%. This is mainly attributed to the strong momentum in its energy drinks business.



Q1 Highlights



Monster Beverages earnings of 48 cents per share rose 26.7% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Monster Beverage Corporation Quote

Net sales of $946 million improved 11.2% year over year and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $916.3 million. Moreover, gross sales (net of discounts and returns) rose 10.1% to $1,090.4 million. Robust gross and net sales growth are attributed to strong sales for the Monster Energy brand energy drinks, introduction of new Monster Energy brand energy drink and the launch of Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance energy drinks.



Additionally, net sales to customers outside the United States totaled $274.3 million, up 17.4% year over year. This represented about 30% of total sales in first-quarter 2019 compared with 25.8% in the year-ago quarter. However, top-line growth was partly negated by unfavorable currency that hurt gross and net sales by $25.9 million and $22 million, respectively.



Segmental Performance



Monster Energy Drinks: Net sales at this segment increased 11.5% year over year to $870.4 million. Robust gains from the sale of Monster Energy brand energy drinks and Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance drinks were partly offset by a negative impact of nearly $18.2 million from adverse currency rates.



Strategic Brands: This segment includes a range of energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company KO in addition to its affordable energy brands. Net sales at this segment rose 6.9% to $70.3 million in the first quarter. However, currency headwinds hurt the segments results by $3.8 million.



Other: Net sales at this segment, which includes some products of American Fruits & Flavors sold to independent third parties (AFF Third-Party Products), grew 12.8% year over year to $5.3 million.



Costs & Margins



First-quarter 2019 gross margin remained flat at 60.6%. Gross margin benefited from increased prices for products sold in the United States and Canada along with product sales mix. This was somewhat mitigated by negative geographic sales mix and higher input costs.



Operating expenses increased 11.4% year over year to $262.1 million. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, grew 60 bps to 12.9%. However, selling expenses, as a percentage of net sales, dipped 50 bps to 11%. Meanwhile, distribution costs, as a percentage of sales, declined 10 bps to 3.8%.



Despite higher costs, operating income of $311.5 million increased 11.3% year over year. Meanwhile, the operating margin remained flat at 32.9%.



Other Financials



Monster Beverage ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $618.3 million, and total stockholders' equity of $3,698.8 million.



Moreover, the company bought back 2.6 million shares for about $139 million (excluding broker commissions) in the reported quarter. As of May 2, 2019, it had nearly $20.6 million and $500 million remaining to be bought back under share repurchase plans authorized in August 2018 and February 2019, respectively.



Strategies on Track



Monster Beverage completed its strategic alignment with Coca-Cola system bottlers in the United States, with the allotment of the Kalil Bottling Groups distribution territories in March 2019 and the transition of the Big Geyser Inc. territory in April 2019. Further, the company is on track with the transitioning of the Monster Energy brand to Coca-Cola system bottlers in more countries.



Furthermore, management remains committed toward product launches to boost growth. In the first quarter, it successfully launched the Monster Energy Ultra Paradise, the Monster Dragon Tea line, Reign Total Body Fuel line of high-performance energy drinks and Java Monster Swiss Chocolate in the United States. Additionally, it rolled out many Monster Energy and Strategic Brands energy drinks in existing international geographies.



Moreover, the company is set to launch the new strategically preferred affordable energy brand  Predator  in additional international markets in 2019.



2 Better-Ranked Soft Drink Stocks to Count on



PepsiCo Inc. PEP has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 7.2%. Further, it has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



New Age Beverage Corporation NBEV, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, witnessed positive estimate revisions for the current year in the last 30 days.



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(Adds State Department's decline to comment in paragraph 9)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet.

Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Story continues

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

SECURITY GUARANTEE

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cold temperatures and rain didnt dampen the spirits of volunteers in northeastern Pennsylvania. The community united to demonstrate its support for the Hanover Township Fire Department at the fourth annual Ladders and Laces 5k. The annual race coupled with Team Navient contributions raised $17,000 to help the local fire departments efforts in keeping their firefighters and community members safe.



We cant express our deepest appreciation to Navient for their thoughtfulness and support to our department, said Joseph Temerantz, department chief, Hanover Township Fire Department. Without their support we would not be able to provide the level of service that we currently do to those who live, work and travel through our fire protection district. Last year, we responded to 941 calls for service and we can truly say we delivered a high level of service to those in need because of Navients support.

This years donations will help purchase new safety equipment and technology including two water rescue boats, several sets of fire gear and a smaller and more versatile jaws of life tool. In addition, funds will also help purchase a fire pup costume to support fire prevention awareness among children. The fire department provides activities for more than 400 children each year.

Despite the unfavorable weather, the 3.1 mile race attracted about 140 runners and many supporters and volunteers. This year, the event offered a race registration fee discount to students.

Were grateful for the Hanover Township Fire Department efforts in keeping our community safe, said Lisa Stashik, vice president, Navient. The Ladders and Laces 5k is our way of showing our gratitude.

In addition to the race, employees raised funds to support the fire department through Navient's popular Jeans BeCause program. The program allows participating employees a "pass" to dress casually on certain days.

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Since 2016, the annual race coupled with employee contributions has raised $68,000. Funds have aided the construction of a firehouse, the purchase of a state-of-the-art fire engine and life-saving equipment.

Connect with @Navient on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Medium .

About Navient

Navient (NAVI) is a leader in education loan management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare and government clients at the federal, state and local levels. The company helps its clients and millions of Americans achieve financial success through services and support. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Navient also employs team members in western New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and other locations. Learn more at navient.com .

Contact:

Media: Brianna Huff, 302-283-2973, brianna.huff@navient.com

NAVICP
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- electroCore, Inc. (ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, today announced that two oral presentations featuring non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) will be presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) to be held on May 4-10, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Abraham Nagy will present findings highlighting real-world evidence of cluster headache patients using nVNS. Dr. Maike Moller will present data demonstrating the effect of nVNS on specific brain regions providing further mechanistic support for the efficacy of nVNS in multiple headache conditions.



The pairing of real-world evidence-based findings and mechanistic rationale further support the use of gammaCoreTM, specifically as an early-line treatment. While the use of traditional pharmacologic options is valuable, the mounting evidence highlights the potential for gammaCore to provide patients with an effective, safe and convenient non-drug option, said Francis Amato, chief executive officer of electroCore.

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) and the Trigeminal Autonomic Reflex: An FMRI Study

Session: S20.002: Headache Imaging and Physiology and Episodic Syndromes Associated with Migraine

Presenter: Dr. Maike Moller of the Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

Time: 3:30  5:30 p.m. EDT

Title: Real-world Use of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Acute Treatment of Pain in Episodic Cluster Headache Attacks: Results From a Patient Registry

Session: S38.006: Headache: Clinical Trials II

Presenter: Dr. Abraham Nagy, Chairman of Neurology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 1:00  3:00 p.m. EDT

gammaCoreTM (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) is intended to provide non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on the side of the neck. gammaCore is indicated for:

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Adjunctive use for the preventive treatment of cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with migraine headache in adult patients.

The safety and effectiveness of gammaCore (nVNS) have not been established in the acute treatment of chronic cluster headache

gammaCore has not been shown to be effective for the preventive treatment of migraine headache

The long-term effects of the chronic use of gammaCore have not been evaluated

Safety and efficacy of gammaCore have not been evaluated in the following patients, and therefore it is NOT indicated for: Patients with an active implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker, hearing aid implant, or any implanted electronic device Patients diagnosed with narrowing of the arteries (carotid atherosclerosis) Patients who have had surgery to cut the vagus nerve in the neck (cervical vagotomy) Pediatric patients Pregnant women Patients with clinically significant hypertension, hypotension, bradycardia, or tachycardia

Patients should not use gammaCore if they: Have a metallic device such as a stent, bone plate, or bone screw implanted at or near their neck Are using another device at the same time (e.g., TENS Unit, muscle stimulator) or any portable electronic device (e.g., mobile phone)



NOTE: This list is not all inclusive. Please refer to the gammaCore Instructions for Use for all of the important warnings and precautions before using or prescribing this product.

About electroCore, Inc.

electroCore, Inc. is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company dedicated to improving patient outcomes through its platform non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy initially focused on the treatment of multiple conditions in neurology and rheumatology. The companys current indications are for the preventative treatment of cluster headache and acute treatment of migraine and episodic cluster headache.

For more information, visit www.electrocore.com .

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about electroCore's business prospects and product development plans, its pipeline or potential markets for its technologies, and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "anticipates," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," other words of similar meaning, derivations of such words and the use of future dates. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to pursue electroCores business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies, the ability to commercialize gammaCore, competition in the industry in which electroCore operates and overall market conditions. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and electroCore assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents electroCore files with the SEC available at www.sec.gov .

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors

617-535-7743

hans@lifesciadvisors.com

or

Media Contact:

Sara Zelkovic

LifeSci Public Relations

646-876-4933

sara@lifescipublicrelations.com




By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Chile's mining minister Baldo Prokurica said royalties for the ultralight battery metal lithium would be set on a "case-by-case" basis from now on, using a negotiation model similar to that used with top producers in Chile's Atacama salt flat.

State development agency Corfo struck deals with top miners SQM and Albemarle in previous years that set a sliding scale for royalties, depending on the price of the metal.

Prokurica, speaking late Monday, did not specify what rates would be used as a starting point for any new negotiations.

"This will be studied on a case by case basis, considering Corfo's experience with its holdings in the Salar de Atacama," Prokurica told Reuters.

Chile is the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, which is used in the batteries that power cell phones, electric vehicles and other consumer goods. Nearly one-third of the world's supply of lithium comes from Atacama, a sprawling salt flat in the country's northern desert.

Several companies, including Wealth Minerals, Lithium Power International, and Bearing Lithium , among others, are advancing projects in Chile to take advantage of surging demand.

Chile's government had been studying various options for royalty payments, from a system that would put lithium royalties on par with those of copper, as well as additional taxes to spur development in the regions where the metal is mined. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Dave Sherwood Editing by James Dalgleish)
Friday, May 3, 2019

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Pfizers shares have underperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry in the past six months (-5.7% vs. -1%). Pfizer beat estimates for earnings and sales in the first quarter. Pfizer expects continued strong growth of key product franchises, including Ibrance, Eliquis, and Xeljanz in 2019.

However, The Zacks analyst thinks loss of exclusivity on key drugs in the United States, mainly Lyrica and currency headwinds will likely significantly hurt 2019 sales. Other top-line headwinds are weak sales in the sterile injectables portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition.

To offset the threat of generic competition, Pfizer is strengthening its pipeline as well as oncology portfolio. Pfizer looks well positioned to deliver several potential new breakthrough innovative medicines in the next five years, which can drive long-term growth. Biosimilars are also expected to contribute to growth in 2019.

(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>> ).

Shares of Intel have outperformed the Zacks General Semiconductor industry in the past year, losing -4.3% vs. a decline of -7.4%. Intel reported stellar first-quarter results. Rising demand witnessed in companys higher performance products, both in data center and client domains acted as a catalyst.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company is benefiting from robust performance of the DCG, IoT Group, NVM Solutions and PSG. The companys strategy of expanding TAM beyond CPU to adjacent product lines like silicon photonics, fabric, network ASICs, and 3D XPoint memory is bearing fruit. However, a declining trend in PC shipments is detrimental to business prospects of Intel, which continues to depend substantially on PC sales.

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Further, the company provided a tepid forthcoming outlook. Weaknesses in demand from China, softness in NAND flash pricing trends, delay in transition to 10-nm process are other concerns. Moreover, intensifying competition remains a headwind.

(You can read the full research report on Intel here >>> ).

Buy-Ranked HCA Healthcares shares have outperformed the Zacks Hospital industry in the past year, gaining +28.7% vs. +13.1%. HCA Healthcares first-quarter 2019 beat expectations and increased year over year on the back of higher admissions and revenues.

The Zacks analyst thinks its top line has been growing over the last several quarters on higher admissions, volume growth, etc. Multiple acquisitions helped the company gain a strong foothold in the industry, fueling its inorganic growth.

A strong balance sheet and free cash flow are other positives for the company. However, high operating expenses are persistently weighing on its margins. The company is expected to witness a rise in costs due to its constant growth-related investments. Its high leverage is another concern.

(You can read the full research report on HCA Healthcare here >>> ).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Activision (ATVI), Xilinx (XLNX) and Cummins (CMI).

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

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Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Pfizer's (PFE) New Drugs to Push Sales Amid Generic Woes

Intel (INTC) Rides on Product Rollouts Amid 10nm Delay

Growing Revenues, Inorganic Growth Aid HCA Healthcare (HCA)

Featured Reports

Xilinx (XLNX) Rides on Solid Growth in Communications Market

Per the Zacks analyst, strength across the wireless communications market, driven by the 5G momentum, is a key catalyst for Xilinx.

Investments, Customer Additions Aid American Water (AWK)

Per the Zacks analyst, American Water's investment of $8-$8.6B in next five years to strengthen infrastructure and customer growth via organic and inorganic ways will boost its operations.

Twilio (TWLO) Banks on Burgeoning Active Customer Accounts

Per the Zacks analyst, Twilio's steady focus on introducing products and pursuing its go-to-market sales strategy is helping strengthen its active customer accounts, which is driving the top line.

Cabot (COG) to Benefit from Marcellus Acreage Holdings

The Zacks analyst believes that Cabot's large acreage holdings in the fast-growing Marcellus Shale would support its 2019 production growth target of 20%.

Dolby (DLB) Rides on Solid Licensing Unit, Liquidity Strength

Per the Zacks analyst, Dolby is well poised to gain from increasing content in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, coupled with growth in Dolby Cinema.

Acquisitions, Loan Growth Aid Raymond James' (RJF) Revenues

Per the Zacks analyst, opportunistic acquisitions, strong balance sheet and rise in loan balances will support Raymond James' revenues.

Maxim (MXIM) Rides on Automotive Strength Amid Soft Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, growing production of electric vehicles is aiding Maxim's growth in automotive space.

New Upgrades

Unit &RevPAR Growth to Drive Hilton's (HLT) Performance

Per the Zacks analyst, Hilton's continues to benefit from robust Unit and RevPAR Growth as well as industry-leading loyalty program. For 2019, Hilton anticipates net unit growth of 6.5%.

Cummins (CMI) Gains From North America's Truck Production

Per the Zacks analyst, augmented medium and heavy-duty truck production in North America owing to robust backlog is driving Cummins' engine and component sales.

Harris (HRS) Buoyed by Strong Order Trends & Merger Deal

Per the Zacks analyst, multiple contract wins from U.S. federal customers augur well for Harris' healthy top-line growth. Also, the approval of shareholders for the L3-Harris merger deal is laudable.

New Downgrades

Lower In-Game Revenues, Higher Costs Hurt Activision (ATVI)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower in-game revenues, higher costs and increase in investments is hurting Activision's profitability amid rising competition.

Input Costs & Divestitures to Dent Kellogg's (K) Bottom-Line

Per the Zacks analyst, high input costs are a drag on Kellogg's bottom-line, as also witnessed in the first quarter. Further, management has cut the view for 2019 due to divestitures.

Soft Sales at Unum International, High Costs Ail Unum (UNM)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower sales at Unum International, persistent soft results at Closed Block and Corporate segment and rise in total benefits and expenses are weighing on margins.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
(Adds comments about Keystone XL oil pipeline)

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 3 (Reuters) - Pipeline company TransCanada Corp said on Friday it has changed its name to TC Energy, to reflect the expansion of its business beyond Canada to the United States and Mexico.

Calgary-based TC Energy has been struggling to make progress in building new oil export pipelines out of western Canada.

The company has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion ($8.9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

"TC Energy better describes our complete business, which ... has grown steadily to become a C$110 billion enterprise with critical assets and dedicated employees across three countries," Chief Executive Russ Girling said at the company's annual general meeting.

Girling said there were no plans to move the company's headquarters out of Calgary.

TC Energy still has extensive operations in Canada, including the Keystone pipeline, which transports 20 percent of western Canadian crude exports to U.S. refineries, and natural gas pipelines, which are part of one of the largest gas transmission systems in North America.

Keystone XL faces hurdles in the United States, including a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

As those matters have dragged on, TC Energy has now "lost the 2019 construction season" for work on Keystone XL's U.S. portion, said executive vice-president Paul Miller. TC has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

"We will not make any major capital commitments until we have a clear path to construction," Miller said.

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TC's shares ended down 1.2 percent in Toronto at C$62.63.

The company reported a first quarter profit on Friday, beating analysts' estimates as it earned more by phasing into service the Columbia Gas pipeline and one of its Columbia Gulf growth projects in the United States, as well as moving more volumes on Keystone.

TC Energy said earnings from its U.S. natural gas pipelines rose 22 percent to C$792 million.

Comparable earnings rose to C$987 million, or C$1.07 per share, from C$864 million, or 98 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to C$3.49 billion from C$3.42 billion. ($1 = 1.3430 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky)
The uncertainty over whether and when the U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement this year is creating a cloudy outlook for grain volumes this fall.

"We expect uncertainty to persist in the grain market due to the foreign tariffs," said Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) executive vice president for marketing and sales, on his company's first quarter earnings call on April 18. Rocker said UNP's grain carloads were down by 7 percent in the first quarter, driven by reduced exports to China.

So far this year, U.S. grain shipments via rail are lower than the same period in 2018. Year-to-date U.S. carloads carrying grain are down 4.5 percent to 370,786 carloads for the week ended April 27, according to the Association of American Railroads. Grain traffic represented 8.8 percent of total U.S. carloads.

Grain producers, especially soybean farmers, have been concerned about the lack of progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S., including the 25 percent tariff that China levied on imported soybeans from the U.S., according to the American Soybean Association.

U.S. soybean exports are expected to fall this year. Projected soybean exports for the 2018-2019 marketing year, which runs from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, total 1.88 million bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In contrast, the U.S. exported an estimated 2.13 million bushels of soybeans in 2017-2018 and 2.17 million bushels in 2016-2017.

For the railroads, this drop in exports translated into diminished traffic to the Pacific Northwest last fall. What stings for soybean farmers is that both the railroads and landlocked soybean farmers in the upper Midwest have invested in equipment to enable greater soybean volumes to the Pacific Northwest, according to Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek. Steenhoek said the U.S. normally exports $14 billion of soybeans to China. At second place is Mexico, at $1.4 billion in U.S. soybean exports.

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According to U.S. Census export data, U.S. soybean exports were worth $18.2 billion in 2018, $22.2 billion in 2017 and $23.6 billion in 2016.

"All of this money has been spent based on this long-term forecast, that has changed. It really hurts industries like agriculture when you don't have the predictability," Steenhoek said.

Despite the uncertainty, some grain producers think a trade resolution is in sight, confirming market observations. Should the U.S. and China reach some trade agreement, the move could benefit grain producers, especially those that export wheat and corn, depending on the agreement's timing.

"We see encouraging signs regarding resolution of the U.S,-China trade dispute and we are optimistic for a resolution by mid-year, importantly, well before the U.S. harvest," said Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) president and chief executive Juan Luciano during his company's first quarter earnings call on April 26. Luciano described those signs as the language used by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping characterizing trade relations between the two countries, as well as ADM's Chinese counterparts preparing to receive grain imports.

"Our team has shown great agility and flexibility to minimize the impact of the dispute to ADM thus far. Nevertheless, a resolution will benefit several of our businesses."

But even though U.S.-China trade uncertainties could affect how much grain gets moved via rail this fall during harvest season, other factors come into play.

While severe flooding in the Midwest damaged some crops in storage, the damage was limited and not expected to have a big impact on the overall grain supply, said agricultural economist Jay O'Neil.

But U.S. exports will still need to compete with other grain-producing regions of the world, including South America and the Black Sea region of Russia.

"We still have grain surpluses and need more export demand," O'Neil said.

Image sourced from Pixabay

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FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Patriot missile system is seen at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $6 billion worth of weapons sales to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in three separate packages, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification.

The United States depends on allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian influence. In April, the U.S. moved ahead with part of a THAAD missile defense system sale to the kingdom.

In one of the notifications sent to Congress on Friday, Bahrain could potentially buy various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.48 billion. That potential Bahraini deal included 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles known as GEM-T, an upgrade that can shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles.

In a separate State Department notification sent to Congress, Bahrain was also given the nod for various weapons to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. That package included 32 AIM-9X missiles, 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles and 100 GBU-39s which are 250-pound small diameter bombs and other munitions.

In a third State Department notification, the United Arab Emirates was given potential approval for $2.73 billion worth of Patriot missiles and related equipment including 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale. The notification process alerts Congress that a sale to a foreign country has been approved, but it does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded.

The principal contractors for the sales were Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Co.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX), a Chattanooga-based truckload (TL) carrier, held a call with analysts and the media to discuss its first quarter 2019 earnings, which were $0.15 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $0.18.

The company said that given the subdued freight market thus far in the quarter it now expects its operating ratio (OR) will be worse year-over-year in the second quarter (second quarter 2018 OR was 93.4 percent). Management said that it will wait for better market visibility before updating its full-year OR guidance. That said, the 93 percent full-year OR target isn't off the table.

Management said that the OR goal could be achieved if the spot market were to produce a little improvement in both volumes and price. Additionally, the company has cost reduction initiatives in place to drive future OR improvement. Part of the 93 percent target will require insurance expenses to move lower.

The company has phased in hair follicle testing for drug use instead of 100 percent adoption of the policy in an attempt to stem any negative impacts in driver turnover. USX believes that all of its drivers will be in the hair follicle testing program by year-end. Also, the company continues to implement measures to achieve an entirely frictionless order system to improve service and lower cost, but this is a long-term project and not likely to impact 2019's OR.

While USX is not seeing robust seasonal volume increases, it is seeing positive results in contractual pricing. So far, the company has re-priced 40 percent of its contractual book and it is seeing 5 percent rate increases. USX expects to achieve mid-single digit price increases in 2019 as the company continues to have constructive conversations with customers regarding future contract renewals. Management believes that an increase in dedicated freight, along with modestly lower spot exposure, will provide tailwinds in achieving improved average revenue per mile. That said, the over-the road division has a bit of a headwind; this division has roughly 20 percent spot exposure (spot market exposure represents only 10 percent of USX's total revenue). Management expects to attain contractual rate increases in its over-the-road offering, but said that it will be tough to get increases in average revenue per mile in the division with spot rates down 20 percent year-over-year.

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DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX reported operating revenue of $415.4 million for the quarter, a 2.4 percent decline year-over-year. Revenue adjusted to exclude fuel surcharges and the company's discontinued operations in Mexico increased $2.9 million in the period. Adjusted operating income was 8 percent higher at $16 million. The adjusted operating ratio improved 40 basis points to 95.7 percent.

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

Average revenue per tractor per week increased 1.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019 to $3,762 in the TL segment as average revenue per mile increased 3.8 percent to $2.13, partially offset by a 2.5 decline in average revenue miles per tractor. The TL division reported a 20 basis point improvement in operating ratio, which was 96 percent. The company said that its spot exposure, 20 percent, in its over-the road division created rate and volume headwinds in the quarter. Additionally, both truck divisions were impacted by adverse winter weather, particularly in the Northeast where the dedicated division has a large concentration of volume.

USX's average tractor count was up 30 trucks to 6,275 units. The over-the-road division's truck count declined five units while the dedicated division increased its count by 35 trucks. Over-the-road average revenue per truck per week declined 6 percent as average revenue per mile increased 0.7 percent year-over-year. Dedicated reported an 11.8 percent increase in average revenue per truck per week with a 7.1 percent increase in average revenue per mile.

The brokerage division reported a 15.2 percent revenue decline year-over-year to $46.2 million as load counts declined 13.8 percent. Gross margins expanded 350 basis points to 17.5 percent. Operating income increased 18.9 percent to $2.8 million in the quarter as higher gross margins were driven by lower transportation costs on a per load basis and improved third-party capacity sourcing.

Management said that 2019 will be the last year for accelerated capital expenditures on equipment as the company lowers its average tractor age to 18 months by year-end (from 27.5 months currently). Total spend will be $170 million in 2019, but should normalize to $115 million beginning in 2020.

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

Image sourced from Pixabay

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SAN ANTONIO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) (Valero) today announced that members of company management will attend the Citi Global Energy and Utilities Conference on May 14, 2019.

About Valero

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products. Valero is a Fortune 50 company based in San Antonio, Texas, and it operates 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day and 14 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.73 billion gallons per year. The petroleum refineries are located in the United States (U.S.), Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the ethanol plants are located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. Valero also is a joint venture partner in Diamond Green Diesel, which operates a renewable diesel plant in Norco, Louisiana. Diamond Green Diesel is North Americas largest biomass-based diesel plant. Valero sells its products in the wholesale rack or bulk markets in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Latin America. Approximately 7,000 outlets carry Valeros brand names. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

Valero Contacts

Investors:

Homer Bhullar, Vice President  Investor Relations, 210-345-1982

Gautam Srivastava, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-3992

Tom Mahrer, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-1953

Media:

Lillian Riojas, Executive Director  Media Relations and Communications, 210-345-5002
GOLDEN, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 30, 2019 / Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (OTC PINK: VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma one of the world's emerging biotechnology companies focused on allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell ("MSC") research and clinical products including AlloRx Stem Cells, Brain Grow Technologies NutraVivo Stem Cell Activator, and the MSC-Gro Brand Stem Cell Culture Media has been awarded Certification to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Quality Standard 13485:2016 for medical devices.

This certification further strengthens Vitro Biopharma's quality management system that is ISO 9001:2015 and CLIA certified. Regulatory certifications encompass our quality system, clinical diagnostics and cGMP manufacturing based on our commitment to attaining customer satisfaction and seeking continual improvement as a primary goal. We use risk assessment guidance, extensive control systems encompassing outside service providers, manufacturing, process & product validation, and new product development in the operation of our quality system. Vitro Biopharma is FDA-registered and operates within a broad regulatory umbrella and platform suitable for FDA-compliant drug/biologics and medical device manufacturing.

Vitro Biopharma is executing its business model based on supporting IRB-approved stem cell therapies in off-shore locations that are now yielding evidence of safety and efficacy. This goal requires compliance to internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 to gain clinical trial approvals in global medical tourism destinations. The recent IRB approval of our clinical trial entitled "Vitro Biopharma Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem CellTherapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions" in the Bahamas was facilitated by our ISO certification. Through our partner, DVC Stem, in Grand Cayman Island we provide AlloRxStem Cells to support an IRB-approved trial determining the effects of MSC transplants on various inflammatory conditions. We provide our MSC-Gro stem cell culture medium to support clinical trials of MSC therapy for osteoarthritis (OA). These trials and several others totaling 2385 patients and pre-clinical studies in 20,000 animals provide evidence of safety and efficacy. In the US alone there are more the 30 million OA patients. The standard of care is joint replacement, but emerging evidence suggests that a single MSC injection into afflicted joints can regenerate cartilage, reduce pain, restore functionality and defer replacement at a fraction of the cost of joint replacement. We have gained preliminary evidence of safety and efficacy of AlloRx Stem Cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases through clinical studies in New Zealand. Our regulatory certifications support further expansion into other medical tourism markets as well as clinical trials leading to US approvals. The FDA is in the process of adopting ISO 13485 as its quality standard for medical devices and full legal implementation is anticipated in 2020.

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Dr. Jim Musick, CEO of Vitro Biopharma said, "We are extremely pleased with this milestone accomplishment as we have recently focused on achieving ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and CLIA certifications. This provides necessary support for our goal of suppling offshore medical tourism destinations with high quality AlloRx Stem Cells for various applications in regenerative medicine. AlloRx Stem Cells are distinctly superior to "stem cell" clinics operating in the US that are restricted to "minimally manipulated" products that contain limited stem cell content at very low purity and do not achieve international standards of stem cell definition. Adipose-derived allogeneic MSCs (Allofisel) have been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for treatment of a type of Crohn's disease. These are expanded and purified stem cells that presently require pre-market FDA approval in the US as drugs. Offshore venues allow studies of expanded and purified MSCs wherein the identity, purity and potency are clearly established. Several clinical studies support the concept that adequate stem cell dosage is critical in determining therapeutic outcomes. There are variations in the known types of adult MSCs and our patent-pending AlloRx Stem Cells are superior to other known adult stem cells."

About Vitro Biopharma

Vitro Biopharma, for over 10 years, has supplied major biopharmaceutical firms, elite university laboratories and clinical trials worldwide with Mesenchymal Stem Cells, MSC-Grow Brand of cell culture media, various stem cell derivatives and stem cell-derived differentiated cells. We also supply primary fibroblast cells and an expanding line of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from various tumors including lung, breast, melanoma, pancreatic and colorectal tissues. Our CAFs are purchased by major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical firms to advance immunotherapy of cancer.

We now support clinical studies of stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis, neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease while pursuing select US markets for stem cell therapies. We support high quality offshore medical tourism with the DaVinci Wellness Centre, our clinical trial partner in the Cayman Islands www.DVCStem.com.

We provide Brain Grow TechnologiesNutraVivo Stem Cell Activator that has been shown to induce proliferation, migration and epigenetic modification of human adult stem cells. NutraVivo improves overall cellular wellness and significantly increases expression of anti-aging genes.

We private label Limitless MD cosmetic products for topical applications in skin beautification.

About the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (www.iso.org) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It is comprised of national standards bodies from 159 countries that promote high quality standards for all company processes. To meet ISO certification requirements for Quality Management Systems, companies must establish a well-tuned system of interacting processes that ensures consistent quality of the company's products; their capacity to optimally meet customer requirements; and their fulfillment of all applicable regulatory requirements.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein regarding financial performance have not yet been reported to the SEC nor reviewed by the Company's auditors. Certain statements contained herein and subsequent statements made by and on behalf of the Company, whether oral or written may contain "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements are identified by words such as "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "expects" and "hopes" and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plan of business operations, product research and development activities, potential contractual arrangements, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues and related expenditures. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, acceptability of the Company's products in the market place, general economic conditions, receipt of additional working capital, the overall state of the biotechnology industry and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulations, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Dr. James Musick

Chief Executive Officer

Vitro BioPharma

(303) 999-2130 Ext. 1

E-mail: jim@vitrobiopharma.com

www.vitrobiopharma.com

SOURCE: Vitro Diagnostics, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/543561/Vitro-Biopharma-Receives-ISO-13485-Certification-Supporting-its-Stem-Cell-Medical-Tourism-Initiative




The worlds two largest economies can be competitors without being enemies.

Thats according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and a bevy of business leaders who gathered at Yahoo Finances U.S.- China Investor Forum on Friday evening on the sidelines of Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholders meeting.

Despite a year-long trade feud between Washington and Beijing and China seeing its lowest GDP growth rate in 28 years, investors are maintaining a positive tone on the East nation.

I think that China and the United States absolutely are destined to be the superpowers, beyond my great-grandchildrens lives, and will always be competitors, Warren Buffett said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper.

Both sides have learned to negotiate

Since the tit-for-tat tariffs that started last June, American businesses have been feeling the pinch of these incremental taxes. Many businesses caught in between the trade war have been trying to move supply chain out of China.

2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting

But thats not easy, according to Helen Ye, vice president of the Global China Practice at Ogilvy Group.

China is the only country to have a full supply chain around the world, Ye said at the forum. There's no next China. It can take years to build a whole region to be the next China.

Ye said clients who have thought about relocating supply chains quickly found it almost impossible.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, , USTR and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad in Beijing, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

This week the U.S. and China continued trade talks in Beijing and sent out positive signals ahead of what both sides hope to be the last round in Washington. Investors are expecting an announcement on a signing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, which will be held later this month or in early June.

The upside of the year-long negotiations, according to Jeffrey Towson, an investment professor at Peking University, is to bring two sides to the negotiation table to deal with an inevitable confrontation.

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There was not really a great mechanism for the two countries to discuss issues, Towson said at the forum. This past year, I think what we've seen is the two countries learning to talk to each other about meaningful issues for the first time. And I think this is going to go on for the rest of our lives that these two countries are going to learn to deal with their issues.

Ogilvy Groups Ye said she had seen more reflections from the U.S. side on what they can do. Meanwhile, China has a long-term development plan in place and is trying to attract top talent across the world.

I found a lot of people in DC start to talk about, Why don't we look at our homeland, the U.S.? How can we be competitive? Ye said. [The] government can do something to set up a long-term plan, and to forge and to attract more talent into the U.S., and to stay on top of the competition.

China hadn't remotely achieved their potential

The other issue on investors' minds is the slowdown of Chinas domestic economy. In March, the government lowered the growth target to 6%-6.5%, due to ongoing structural reforms among other things. At the same time, Beijing has pushed stimulus measures and tax cuts to make sure the economy doesnt head for a hard landing.

Buffett doesnt seem to be worried by the impact a slowing China could have on the global market.

China's going to grow a lot, over time, When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it, Buffett told Yahoo Finance. And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential.

Born in 1930, the legendary investor has seen Americas real GDP per capita grow six times from what it was. And he believes Chinas growth story has been even more extraordinary.

I don't think there's ever been anything like it. We've done it, too, but it took so much longer, said Buffett. Whats happened there almost is beyond belief. And that game's not over.

Berkshire Hathaway's major investments

Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to her via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter.

Read more:

Apple cuts iPhone XR price for partner sellers in China

Amazon shuffles thousands of workers in its quest to revamp delivery

Amazon eyes closed Sears stores for Whole Foods expansion
(Adds analyst comment, links)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday signaled his commitment to Kraft Heinz Co and defended his actions toward Wells Fargo & Co, two of the largest investments at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, despite mistakes at both that have caused many investors to sour on them.

Buffett, 88, spoke before tens of thousands of people in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Berkshire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 95, fielded more than 50 shareholder and analyst questions for six hours at the centerpiece of a weekend of events.

Kraft Heinz has been a thorn for Berkshire, which in February took a $3 billion writedown on its 26.7 percent stake, because of the packaged food company's inability to keep up with changing consumer tastes and reliance on older brands such as Oscar Mayer and Jell-O.

The company was created from the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz, the latter of which had been owned by Berkshire and Brazil's 3G Capital, which runs Kraft Heinz day-to-day.

Buffett defended 3G's management, saying the combined company is doing well operationally, and that its current problems cannot be blamed on a lack of investment.

But he also maintained that "we paid too much money" for Kraft.

"You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much," he said, while adding it was "not inconceivable" Berkshire could partner with 3G again on a transaction.

He said 3G had more willingness to take on leverage and "pay up," but in many cases also had "way better operators."

'MISTAKES' AT WELLS FARGO

Buffett, who became famous in 1991 for criticizing Salomon Inc's practices and becoming interim chairman to right the mess, also faced a question about his relative silence about Wells Fargo, where Berkshire owns a nearly 10-percent stake.

Wells Fargo has spent more than 2-1/2 years addressing fallout from mistreating its customers, including by creating fake accounts, losing two chief executives in the process, including Tim Sloan in March.

Buffett repeated that Wells Fargo "made some big mistakes" in its sales practices, and that "when you find a problem, you have to do something about it." He also said chief executives who make big mistakes shouldn't walk away with their wealth.

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But many questionable Wells Fargo practices long predated Sloan's becoming chief executive, and Buffett and Munger have defended him.

"I don't think people ought to go to jail for honest errors of judgment," Munger said, calling Sloan an "accidental casualty."

BIG PROFITS, BIG BUYBACKS

Berkshire also reported on Saturday that operating income, a measure of Berkshire's business performance, rose 5 percent, helped by the Geico auto insurer and BNSF railroad, though it fell just shy of analyst forecasts.

Results excluded Kraft Heinz because that company has not released its own quarterly results, Buffett said.

Berkshire also repurchased $1.7 billion of stock, reflecting Buffett's difficulty in finding better uses for the company's $114.2 billion cash hoard.

Buffett acknowledged he would be willing to repurchase $100 billion of stock if it became cheap enough, and Munger predicted Berkshire would become "more liberal" with buybacks.

"This much cash is certainly a drag" for Buffett, said Trip Miller, managing partner of Gullane Capital Partners LLC in Memphis. "He and Charlie are certainly open that they missed it on several great businesses for many years. The purchases of Apple and Amazon are a good sign."

Berkshire owns more than $50 billion of Apple Inc stock, and Buffett said one of Berkshire's portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, has invested in Amazon.com Inc .

Munger also lamented Berkshire's failure to invest in Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, saying "I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google earlier."

Berkshire's more than 90 businesses and roughly 389,000 employees make the company a barometer for the U.S. economy, and a report card for one of the world's most revered investors.

NOT JUST BUSINESS

The shareholder weekend is not all business.

Buffett on Saturday morning made his usual slow-motion crawl, with a crowd of photographers in tow, through an exhibit hall where shareholders could buy Berkshire-owned products, including 20,000 pounds of See's candies and 28,752 Dairy Queen bars.

"We love you Warren," shareholders shouted as Buffett nibbled a Dairy Queen vanilla orange bar.

People lined up before midnight to get early access to the best seats at the arena, which opened at 7 a.m.

Daphne Kalir-Starr, 9, a fourth-grader from New York City, lined up with her father at 11 p.m. on Friday night, along with her sleeping bag. It's her third time to see Buffett.

"I really like hearing from great investors," she said. "Even though he wasn't really recognized at the beginning, he kept working at it."

Bela Chowdhury, 49, came from Kolkata, India, with other students from a nonprofit group that promotes financial literacy for women. "He is the ultimate guru," she said.

Meanwhile, Luke On, a University of Toronto finance undergraduate, said he lined up at 10 p.m. on Friday.

"I have no place to stay and wanted to save money, but I wanted to see Warren and Charlie," he said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
The federal government is investigating a crypto crime involving the alleged theft off bitcoin mining rigs. | Souce:. Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP

By CCN.com: A New York Bitcoin miner hosting company called Northway Mining stands accused of stealing at least 5100 pieces of mining equipment from two companies. Given the scope of the investigation currently underway by the federal government, the damage might be much more significant than this.

Northway Mining Sued For Violation of RICO Act

At least four Bitcoin companies have been allegedly victimized, though we use the term allegedly in its most legal definition: strictly because the accused have not yet been convicted.

MinedMap, Inc, Serenity Alpha, Inc, both of Nevada, and Quebec, Inc from Canada. The other is BlockAssets, a company based in Perth, Australia.

The former chose Northway Mining to host more 2800 Bitmain S9 miners, over half of its entire fleet, in September 2018. Another 800 miners were sent to the facility by the companies. The latter had the decision made for them by a Canadian company who couldnt handle their 1500 units. Well be following up with a story about BlockAssets at another time.

As to MinedMap, Serenity Alpha, and Quebec Inc, theyre collectively filing lawsuits against Northway Mining, as a start. At the same time, the issue is currently being treated as a criminal investigation by federal authorities. As you can see in the videos below, the US Marshall Service searched the facility leased by Northway in Coxsackie, New York, this past week.

At Least Over 5000 Bitmain Miners Stolen in All

The pending lawsuit alleges that Northway bilked clients out of nearly 3600 pieces of Bitcoin mining equipment (one was recovered with the help of the Marshalls), as well as over $500,000 in deposits. The complaint records this:
Michael McDonough, downtown branch manager for First State Bank & Trust Company, recently completed the 2019 School of Banking Fundamentals. This School was held April 8-12 in Grand Island, Nebraska.

The School of Banking Fundamentals is sponsored by the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Associations and is in partnership with the Colorado, Louisiana and Wyoming Bankers Associations.

The school is designed to instruct students in the core banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank. Completion of this course assists students in developing skills, which allow them to better serve their banking community.

McDonough has been with First State Bank & Trust Co. since 2015. He is a member of the MainStreet of Fremont Board of Directors and the MainStreet Retail and Promotions Committee.

The Schools of Banking, located in Lincoln, is a jointly owned subsidiary of the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Association.

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Miami-Dade Police Department(MIAMI) -- A Miami-Dade police officer was charged this week for forcefully arresting a woman, and then making false statements about what happened, in an incident that sparked outrage after video of the incident went viral.

Police bodycam footage and a cell phone video recorded by the womans friend showed the officer, Alejandro Giraldo, pushing Dyma Loving against a fence before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her to the ground.

Giraldo had been responding to a 911 call made by Lovings friend, Adrianna Green, to report that a neighbor had threatened them with a shotgun. An internal police investigation later found there was no basis for arresting Loving.

Giraldo was arrested on Thursday and charged with official misconduct, a felony, for making false statements in official reports. He was also charged with battery.

After taking the sworn statements...and reviewing all the known video evidence, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to charge a violation of Floridas criminal statutes, the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office said in a statement.

On the morning of March 5, Green called 911 to say that her neighbor had been hurling racist insults at her, and that he had pulled out a shotgun and threatened to shoot her. Four officers reported to the scene and interviewed Green and Loving about the incident before going to the neighbors home to interview him about the allegations.

They told Loving and Green not to go anywhere, the warrant said.

It was at this point that Giraldo and a sixth officer, Juan Calderon, arrived at the scene and arrested Green.

Giraldo said he made the arrest because Loving would not obey commands, was uncooperative, and was screaming at us, causing a scene in a residential neighborhood, according to the police report. None of these statements, however, could be backed by evidence, officials said.

In sworn statements, each of the officers said that Loving did not in fact speak aggressively or act in a way that could have been perceived as a threat to the officers safety, the police report said.

Lovings attorney, Justin Moore, said that Loving had expressed relief over Giraldos arrest, and applauded prosecutors for moving forward with the case. But he said that other officers should also face charges for their role in the incident.

The fact is that the other officers involved in Dymas arrest assisted Officer Giraldo and drafted police reports detailing the incident, Moore said. It is more than reasonable that they meet the same scrutiny that Officer Giraldo has received.

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez called Giraldos arrest disappointing and said it overshadows the hard work of the dedicated men and women of law enforcement, who strive daily to serve and protect our community, according to a statement.



This particular case underscores our commitment to cooperate and work together with the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office in our continued effort to hold ourselves accountable, the statement said.



Andre Rouviere, Giraldos defense attorney, expressed concerns regarding the nature in which the case was brought about in a statement provided to ABC News. "Of the 35 body worn cameras and videos that were available, the media was shown only a small handful in which to present to the public," he said, claiming that the State Attorney's Office succumbed to "the pressure of a signature gathering campaign pushing for the filing of charges against Officer Giraldo."



"As a result of the pressure and rush to judgement, Officer Giraldo has already been convicted by the state attorney's office, his own Police Department, the media and the public," Rouviere said. "One would hope by the time the matter goes to court, Officer Giraldo will, as any accused, be cloaked in a presumption of innocence."

Giraldo has since been released from jail, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Whos going to get the farm? And what are they going to do with it? Will your future plans for your land create harmony or strife for your family? Or have you even started to think that far ahead?

Map of My Kingdom, a play focusing on farmland transfer, will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday at West Point Community Theater, 237 N. Main St., in West Point. A second performance will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cox Activity Center Theater on Northeast Community College campus, 801 E. Benjamin Ave., in Norfolk. Admission is free, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Community College Foundation.

The drama tackling land transition is by Mary Swander, and commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa. In the play, a lawyer and mediator share stories of how farmers and landowners approach land successions.

We hope this play will inspire the hesitant and the fearful to start the conversation that cannot wait, said Sandra Renner, project associate with the Center for Rural Affairs.

In the next 10 to 15 years, a tremendous amount of land transfer will take place as the average age of Nebraska farmers is around 56.4 years old.

The featured actor is Lindsay Bauer, a theatre educator from northwest Iowa. An audience discussion will follow the performance with Dave Goeller, retired deputy director of North Central Risk Management Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

These are the final performances in a series of four in Nebraska and six in Iowa. The Iowa performances were co-hosted by the Practical Farmers of Iowa.

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Looking for inspiration to get caught in the throes of the impending months of wedding fever? We have a list of upcoming romances, complete with a range of diverse authors and fresh character perspectives that won't disappoint.

'A PRINCE ON PAPER' BY ALYSSA COLE

Release date: April 30

Another gorgeous cover and delectable story in the "Reluctant Royals" series. This third installment mixes a fake engagement along with the usual sizzling chemistry Cole always brings to her books.

"A Prince on Paper" (Avon) features wonderfully diverse characters, the author's quick humor and also an exploration of deeper issues underlying the fairytale plot.

'LOVE FROM A TO Z' BY S.K. ALI

Release date: April 30

S.K. Ali's YA contemporary romance follows the crossing paths of two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip in Doha. Both are putting on brave faces despite tremendous personal challenges. Zayneb is trying to cleanse her toxic thoughts about her Islamophobic teacher and Adam is hiding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis from his friends and family.

Discarding their acts of pretend with each other, these two will win your heart through their honest conversations of feeling out of place, or rather cast aside, simply by being who they are. More perspectives like this in future romances please! "Love from A to Z" (Simon & Schuster) will be sure to resonate with many.

'PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND OTHER FLAVORS' BY SONALI DEV

Release date: May 7

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Trisha Raje is royalty, both in her blood and in her illustrious career as San Francisco's reigning neurosurgeon. DJ Caine is a chef with a rough background but promising future. While he is tempted to work for Trisha, he feels that she'll judge him before given a fair chance.

However, when DJ's sister is in medical danger, the two meet and confront their assumptions head-on. "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" (William Morrow) is a delicious multicultural spin on the iconic tale of class and character, you won't be able to put Sonali Dev's latest down.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE UNHONEYMOONERS' BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

Release date: May 14

In this enemies-to-lovers story, you'll find the perfect comedy to raise your spirits. In a freak turn of events, when the bride and groom are too ridden with food poisoning to enjoy their honeymoon, the bride's twin sister Olive and her archnemesis Ethan (brother of the groom) go on the trip instead to avoid the waste of money. In a fiasco of fake dating, the two rivals find real chemistry. You'll find your perfect beach bag read in "The Unhoneymooners" (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'AMERICAN FAIRYTALE' BY ADRIANA HERRERA

Release date: May 20

Another fairytale plot for the true romantics...the latest in Adriana's Herrera's Dreamers series features a modern setup for two men in New York City. In "American Fairytale" (Carina Press) determined billionaire Thomas Hughes courts the down-to-earth social worker Milo in a heartwarming story of personal growth and change.

Pre-order on Amazon, $9

'PASSION ON PARK AVENUE' BY LAUREN LAYNE

Release date: May 28

This story is the first of Lauren Layne's "Central Park Pact" series and full of female empowerment. Naomi Powell, daughter of a housekeeper, has hustled her way from the Bronx to a CEO position among the Upper East Side elite.

As she tries to prove her worth to her peers, this jewelry empress finds herself tangled with an old childhood rival, all grown up and looking for new ways to cause friction. Saucy and fun, this series is off to a promising start (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE SUMMER OF SUNSHINE AND MARGOT' BY SUSAN MALLERY

Release date: June 11

Twin sisters Margot and Sunshine are opposites in many ways but have one thing in common  their poor judgment with men. Both struggle with the emotional baggage of their mother absence to chase one man after another, but have grown closer for support in consequence.

However, when they strike up a friendship with a past Hollywood icon, the sisters learn from this enigmatic woman how to take their differences in stride and approach life with a whole new outlook. Friendship, healing and romance all come together seamlessly in what is sure to be Susan Mallery's latest bestseller (Harlequin).

Pre-order on Amazon, $18

'THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL' BY ABBI WAXMAN

Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19

Leila has always dreamed of finding true love on her own, but she's 26 years old (gasp) and her parents are now giving her a deadline. If she is not able to find a husband on her own terms in three months, then they arrange a match as many have before in their South Asian-Muslim American community.

In her debut "The Marriage Clock" (William Morrow), Raheem contributes thoughtful humor, well-drawn characters and a beautiful portrait of navigating cultural expectations with personal fulfillment.

Pre-order on Amazon, $16

'THE RIGHT SWIPE' BY ALISHA RAI

Release date: Aug. 6

This is a fantastic contemporary romance that captures the modern dating world head-on with a business rivalry between two app creators. While they are fierce competitors at work, Rhiannon and Samson can't help sparks flying in their personal lives.

So many extra points go to "The Right Swipe" (Avon) for a full cast of diverse and developed characters, many of the minor ones deserve books in their own rights.

Pre-order on Amazon, $15

BookTrib.com is the lifestyle destination for book lovers, where articles and books are paired together to create dynamic content that goes beyond traditional book reviews. (c)2019 BookTrib, All Rights Reserved Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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According to Scott Schaller, Fremonts Miller Skate Park gets a lot of use.

Its showing some wear, said Schaller. Theres been some maintenance issues that weve been working on.

For Schaller, the wear and tear at Miller Park is a sign that skating is still a popular activity in Fremont  one which could use some upgraded facilities.

I still think that need is here because if you go down to Miller Skate Park, theres always kids down there, he said. Its getting used, and obviously if its wearing out and things are needing to be repaired as much as they have been, obviously its a need.

Schaller and a group called SK8 Fremont, which had been involved in the formation of the original Miller Skate Park, which opened in 2003, are now beginning the process of exploring a potential new skate park for Fremont  one that will be built with community input.

Theyve been kind of tossing around ideas or thoughts and we decided lets bring the community together and see if this is something that the community really is diving into and seeing what the communitys thoughts and ideas are, he said.

The group is hosting a meeting at the Christensen Field Meeting Roomo on May 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting will be an open discussion, featuring options for new skate park elements that the community can explore and choose what they prefer. At this point, the group hopes to get community input on everything for the new park: from the location to the lighting to the pieces in the park.

Skating has changed since 19, 20 years ago, he said. What the meeting is kind of about is giving people the option to say well this obstacle on this photo looks good or maybe this planter like this or this lighting looks good. And thats what this is kind of about: putting together an idea of what the community wants or would like to see.

Still on the table is the possibility of renovating Miller Park instead of building an entiely new park, but it all depends on what kind of feedback the group gets from the community.

Schaller, a former city councilman in Fremont, added that the goal is for the park to be funded without city dollars and instead, with grants, though its too early to say what the financing plan will be for sure.

At this point, however, everything is in the early stages, and this first meeting is meant to lay the groundwork and get community input.

I just ask that everybody, whether you think youll be interested or not, show up and listen to feedback and listen to the groups and give your opinions, Schaller said.

He added that he believes creating opportunities for outdoor activity is important.

This gives kids another option here in Fremont in getting out and doing something with their bicycle or with their skateboard, Schaller said. t gives them something other to do than sitting on their sofa playing video games.

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Today

HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.

Walk for Clean Water, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church, 1  miles east of Walmart, just south of U.S. Highway 30, Fremont. Check-in is from 9-9:30 a.m. From 9:30-10:30 a.m., walkers, families and friends will walk the perimeter of the church green. Donations given (checks payable to Peace Lutheran) will be forwarded entirely to World Vision International.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Graduation, 5 p.m., Scribner-Snyder High School.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, 7:30 p.m., Fremont High Schools Nell McPherson Theatre.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday60th Annual Fremont Coin Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christensen Field Main Arena, Fremont. The annual event features a collection of coin dealers who can help coin enthusiasts sell, purchase or appraise valuable coins and other currency. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available.

Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Dodge County Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team (REACT), 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross, Dodge County Chapter, 439 N. Main St., Fremont. For more information, call 402-687-2160.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

MondayTOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Friends of the Library Board, 6 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Celebrate Recovery, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.

Fremont Night MOPS group, 6:30-8 p.m., Fremont Alliance Church, 1615 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, contact Fremont Alliance Church at 402-721-5180 or Cindy Slykhuis at 402-708-1561.

American Legion Post 20, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 20 meeting, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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For my birthday the Titter of Wit residents bought me a membership for the British Museum. It's probably the major museum in London that I'm least familiar with. I guess the first summer I spent working in London I must have visited the mummies at least once - I was only here for six weeks and I went to every big, cultural tourist attraction - and occasionally I've taken visitors there but it's always crowded and it can be a bit overwhelming. I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't used my membership card yet, well not until today.

I had nothing planned for today other than a trip to the food market. As Traybake is swanning around Sweden I went by myself so it didn't take long although I still managed to spend a small fortune. I had lunch at home and then set off to go to central London. It was one of those days when the weather can't decide what to do, one moment bright sunshine and then ominous black clouds and heavy downpours. Luckily I managed not to get soaked. It was cold though although not as cold as in other parts of the country where apparently it snowed today.

Before going to the museum I called into the LRB bookshop. This is my favourite bookshop in London and I imagine that it would be possible to meet interesting people in there who might start chatting to you and who knows where it would end (although probably a high percentage of academics so possibly not). I like the way they display books on tables as you nearly always see something interesting which you wouldn't necessarily get in places like Waterstone's. They are very good on non-fiction.

I bought The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson, the most recent Sally Rooney which is now in paperback and another novel by an Irish writer I'd not heard of before, Rebecca O'Conner. I've had a good run of reading books I've really enjoyed recently and I highly recommend the two books that are at the top of my currently reading list.

There was a massive queue to go through security at the British Museum but as a Member I got to go in the priority lane and walked straight through. I suspect all the people in the ordinary queue were looking daggers at me as they shuffled along. I visited the Member's Room which overlooks the central court and while it isn't particularly fancy it was good not to have to stand in line for 15 minutes to buy a cup of coffee and then struggle to find somewhere to sit. Most of the other Members were elderly and doing Sudoku puzzles. On the way up the stairs I passed some beautiful mosaics. I then went to the Munch exhibition which was pretty crowded. I have seen some Munch paintings which I've liked but the BM exhibition is prints and mainly of dying children or people suffering from anxiety attacks so not very cheery.

I have decided though that I shall visit the BM once a month for the remainder of the time that I have the membership and each time I will spend half an hour looking at something specific because otherwise it's just too much. I shall avoid the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles and of course the mummies.

While I was there today I tried not to think about the fact that one of my sisters calls it "the evidence room".






A young female moose was spotted Friday near Colorado 105 and Santa Fe Trail in the Monument/Palmer Lake area, according to a tweet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Wildlife officials received multiple calls about the moose, and asked that people keep their dogs leashed and avoid approaching it.

Moose, the largest big game species in Colorado, are unpredictable and will attack if they feel threatened, wildlife officials cautioned, adding that dogs are especially at risk.

We know you want to see the moose. But we want to keep you and the moose safe. Please stay back. Moose are unpredictable. Dogs are especially at risk. Take photos from a safe distance and move on. pic.twitter.com/j7XME1UzaK  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

ATTN @townofmonument /Palmer Lake, @COParksWildlife responded to calls today of young cow moose near Highway 105 & Santa Fe Trail. DO NOT approach it. Keep dogs leashed. If moose feel threatened, they may attack. Ears back and hackles up? Get back! Keep yourself & the moose safe. pic.twitter.com/9c1ZOIqmjm  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

This time last year, photos and video taken of people harassing, feeding or approaching moose across the state prompted officials to issue a warning to give the wild animals their space.

Last September, a 700-pound cow had to be tranquilized after wandering into the Ivywild neighborhood in west Colorado Springs. At the time, Bill Vogrin, spokesman for Parks and Wildlife, said that moose sightings were becoming more frequent because of population growth along the Front Range and into the wildland-urban interface.

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Religious organizations in the Pikes Peak region are banding together as places of worship worldwide become targets for gunmen and terrorists.

The Pikes Peak InterFaith Coalition began to take shape after an October shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 people dead.

Were trying to stand firmly and positively and together against terrorism, against hatred, against bigotry, against violence, said Jeff Ader, president of Temple Beit Torah and a member of the coalitions steering committee.

Its bad enough to be bigoted to another group. But to resort to the violence that weve seen worldwide  to act on that bigotry  is unconscionable, he said.

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Over the past six months, t.he coalition has grown to include temples, churches and the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, more than 50 people were fatally shot in a pair of terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Bombings targeted churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, killing more than 250 people.

And, on April 27, a 19-year-old man opened fire in a San Diego-area synagogue, killing a woman and wounding the rabbi and two others.

One more precious soul was lost, Rabbi Steven Kaye told dozens of people gathered at Temple Beit Torah on Friday night, where leaders of the newly formed coalition were presented at a special Shabbat service.

Showing up to synagogue tonight, to a church tomorrow, to a mosque, today or earlier today  in doing so, we will say, We will not let discrimination and hatred stop us from worship, Kaye said.

The Colorado Springs area was once home to the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue, an organization founded by Rabbi Howard Hirsch and other faith leaders with a similar mission. But Hirsch retired and moved away in 2013, and the center faded.

Local faith leaders hope that, by allowing people of different religions to learn about one anothers faiths, the new coalition can safeguard against prejudice thats fueled by a lack of understanding.

Theres a fear of the unknown, said Khurshid Qureshi of the Islamic Society. We believe in the same God. We have so many things in common. But a lot of people are so afraid.

In late February, members discussed the roots of anti-Semitism at a workshop that attracted dozens of people. Qureshi, the groups chairman, hopes the coalition can hold similar educational events three times a year.

The coalition also plans to invite organizations of other faiths, such as Buddhism, he said.

Were learning, in a way, how to hold hands, said Ralph Anderson, a retired pastor for First Lutheran Church whos also on the steering committee. That doesnt mean we are giving up those specifics individual to our own tradition. It means were simply learning how to understand each other in the context of those traditions.

It certainly seems that our circumstances here in Colorado Springs, as well as in the state, as well as in the country, demand it, he said.
Representatives with the Osage Chamber of Commerce and City of Osage welcomed U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, who represents Iowa's 1st district, to Osage on Friday afternoon.

Finkenauer took a brief tour of downtown and was able to meet with some local business owners.

Discussions included rural development, infrastructure and workforce.

"We have a lot to be proud of, from our new daycare center, hospital and school renovation projects, vibrant downtown district and so much more, said Kati Henry, Executive Director of the Osage Chamber of Commerce. It's great to be able to show off our successes and talk about where we need help to our representatives in Washington."

In Congress, Finkenauer serves as vice-chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

Finkenauer also sits on the Small Business Committee, where she chairs the Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee.

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Located 45 miles northwest of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the town of Tequila is known as the birthplace of the drink that bears its name.

The picturesque township, with its colorful buildings and cobblestone streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The federal government of Mexico calls it Pueblo Magico or Magical Town.

It's here that casual sippers drink this aromatic spirit, but there's one secret they may not know: Without the women of Tequila, there'd be no tequila.

The cultivation and annual replanting of the agave blooms in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes in Mexico, has historically been left to the women of Tequila.

No one knows exactly when women became an integral part of growing agave, but it's believed that when the male farmers ate their lunch and rested under parota trees, their wives stepped in to lend a hand. The women, who it turned out were exceptionally skilled at sorting and taking care of the young plants, began working in the fields sometime in the 16th century.

Reviving economy

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one hotel and a handful of restaurants in Tequila. Today it's bustling with Mexican and international tourists who've come to learn about the history of the spirit and its important role in Mexican culture.

Visitors can take a walk through agave fields, visit The National Museum of Tequila, watch production and enjoy a tasting at one of the 22 tequila houses in town, partake in a professional tasting guided by a Maestro Tequilero, a certified master of tequila, and take in a range of Mexican art exhibits at the newly opened Centro Cultural Juan Beckman Gallardo.

The Tequila train

On weekends, about 300 passengers take a day trip on The Jose Cuervo Express, also known fondly as the tequila train. The two-hour journey from Guadalajara to Tequila travels through the Rio Grande Canyon, which provides sweeping views of bluish agave fields and midget oaks spanning against the backdrop of Tequila volcano.

Traingoers can watch an Aztec dance performance before getting on board; upon their return, the performances are live mariachi and folk dancers.

During the ride, guests can enjoy tamales, chips and guacamole and unlimited tequila-based cocktails.

Growing agave

To be officially designated as tequila, the beverage must be distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico, mainly Tequila and surrounding municipalities. The rich volcanic soil and dry climate make it ideal to grow Agave Azul Tequilana Weber (blue agave), a plant native to the area.

If you walk or horseback ride through Jose Cuervo fields surrounding the town, you can see the growing, harvesting and pruning of agave plants.

Farmers wearing cowboy hats to shield their face from the hot sun, cultivate and harvest the prickly cactus-like agave plants, while the women of Tequila select, care for and plant the small delicate seedling, called hijuelos (little children).

Dressed in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, the women can be seen working in the fields from February to July, when the agave plants sprout shoots. They inspect, clean and sort the young plants and send them to the nursery for further care, until they are ready to be planted.

Indeed, there's something about knowing the care and dedication involved in the process that'll make you appreciate your salted margarita even more.

Making tequila

Visitors walking through Tequila's main square hear church bells chiming on the hour; they smell the sweet aroma rising from the chimneys of the distilleries in the area.

Once the pina (pineapple) of the agave plant is harvested, it is brought to a distillery, where it is roasted for 36 hours, releasing its sugars and juices.

A 90-minute guided tour through La Fabrica La Riojena, Latin America's oldest active distillery established in 1795, takes groups through the entire production process, from the brick oven to the cellars. It concludes with Jose Cuervo's premium tequila tasting experience where a master (equivalent of sommelier) demonstrates the proper way to sip tequila from an elegant slender glass.

"There are a lot of men but no more than 10 women certified as 'master of tequila' in Jalisco," says Sonia Espinola, one of the first women in Tequila to earn this designation. She passed the entrance exams based entirely on her own experience working in the tequila industry, and she went on to take the full course at a recognized university. She now conducts guided tastings and seminars.

Agave by-products

Since only the pina of the agave plant is used to make tequila, Mundo Cuervo's nonprofit arm, Fundacion Beckmann, found a way to utilize more of the plant and offer local women more of an opportunity to create and produce  and get paid for their work.

Workshops for aspiring women entrepreneurs teach how to use agave bagasse and recycled tequila bottles for artisanal crafts.

Espinola, who is also the director of Fundacion Beckmann, says, "The women don't only learn how to make the products, but how to sell, incorporate their businesses, create business plans, logos and much more."

Demonstrating their support for Tequila's ambitious women, many hotels including Hotel Solar de las Animas and Hotel Villa Tequila proudly display agave paper notepads and journals in the bedrooms for guests' use, a commitment to the local products of the region.

"When my 10-year-old daughter needed prescription glasses, I asked her to help me make agave paper so she can earn extra money," says Sandra Elizabeth Serna Caballero, one of the women currently enrolled in this particular program. "I feel useful, plus the creative process is quite relaxing," she adds.

One example of how the foundation, largely funded by tequila tourism, has directly impacted women in the area is through Ernestina Carrero Cortez's story.

Cortez, a Jalisco native who was experiencing financial difficulties, approached the foundation about work opportunities. Cortez's husband was a construction worker in the U.S., her son had fallen ill, and she'd resigned herself to cooking food in her home and selling it in the town to help pay for medical expenses. But it wasn't enough.

And so Cortez, through the foundation, learned to knit handbags and wallets using agave fiber. Her original designs became so popular that she started her own brand label, Puntadas. After seven years with the foundation, Cortez now employs 22 women in her business, some as old as 83, and she sells her products through boutiques, museums and hotels around Tequila.

The women's handicraft enterprises also make use of tequila bottles that are discarded by bars and restaurants. Used tequila bottles donated by Mundo Cuervo brands are recycled, selected, cleaned and given to the women at the foundation.

Mother of six, Carolina Garcia Torres faced psychological trauma when she was pregnant with triplets and was concerned with the future of her family's financial health.

"I was worried how my husband, who works in a tequila distillery, would support our family," says Torres. She was instantly drawn to glass-making workshops offered by the foundation, where she learned to cut recycled tequila and wine glass bottles to create decorative pieces like vases and spoons."

Every day, there's an open market in the town plaza where local women sell handmade bags, lotions, paper, jewelry and decorations. Visitors will want to save room in their luggage for gifts and self-care purchases.

Preserving Culture

Mundo Cuervo's Beckmann Foundation started 15 years ago with a mission to preserve the cultural heritage of the women of Jalisco. About 10 families participate in the foundation's culinary program through ongoing festivals, the opportunity to sell homemade products like jams and juices, home-hosted meals and cooking classes.

One such festival is Fogones y Metates (Ovens and Fans). In its second year, it will be held in early December in the town of Tequila.

The event brings together women from different regions of Jalisco to share and preserve old culinary traditions, using native ingredients such as blue corn and criollo beans.

Three generations of women, Amparo Rivera, Evalia Castaneda Rivera and Emma Ramos Castaneda, participated in the festival last year.

Travelers who want to have a gastronomic experience can pay to dine at The Rivera's home, where dishes incorporate local ingredients from the family's own ranch, called El Chiquihuitillo.

This home-hosted meal for visitors to Tequila is a popular foundation initiative. At the Rivera home, guests sit in the open-air patio and sip ciruela juice while they watch Evalia and her husband make fresh corn tortillas and warm gorditas de horno (corn and cheese cakes) in a wood-fired oven.

Curated dining experiences like this one are privately arranged through hotel concierge and tour operators familiar with Beckmann Foundation. The price of such an experience depends on the group size, dishes and more. Evalia said some people just call her to pick up one dish, or a few dishes; others are joined by friends around a table at the Rivera's house.

The food is very different from what you would find at restaurants. "This is how my family eats every day. It is simple for us, yet visitors find it exotic!" Evalia says.

A visit to Tequila not only involves insight into the history of the popular beverage and a greater appreciation for it, but also an opportunity to learn about the Jalisco region  its culture, traditions and people.

Almost all of of the world's tequila comes from Jalisco, and in Tequila, the women ensure that the tequila way of life continues.

The-CNN-Wire &  2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said she wants the wealthy to pay their 2 cents worth during a campaign stop in Mason City on Saturday.

Warren touted her 2-cent tax proposal in front of a standing room-only crowd at Fat Hill Brewing as a way to pay for proposals such as universal child care, free college and student loan forgiveness while still having $1 trillion left over that could be used to fund the New Green Deal as well as infrastructure building.

"Everyone should pay a fair share," said Warren.

Warren's proposal calls for those with assets of more than $50 million to be taxed 2 cents on every dollar over that amount.

She said the wealth tax is just part of the structural change that is needed to address economic inequality in America.

Warren said she wants to end lobbying as "we know it" and "shut the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington."

She also said she wants to re-write the rules to protect democracy.

Warren proposed a Constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American to vote "and have that vote count."

Warren's proposals were greeted by big cheers from the crowd.

During the Q&A portion of Warren's appearance, two protesters from the California-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere came to the front of the crowd and challenger her on her co-sponsorship of the Dairy Pride Act in the U.S. Senate to require that non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae no longer be labeled with dairy terms like milk, yogurt and cheese.

"Why aren't you standing up to big dairy?" one of the protesters yelled.

Employees from Fat Hill escorted both of them out of the building. The police were called, but no one was arrested, said Mason City Police Sgt. Greg Scott.

Warren continued answering questions after the protesters were escorted out.

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Local author Jason Gangwish will join the River City Wordsmiths Writing Group for their May 9 meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The meeting is held in the library of Grace Church, 440 N. Illinois Ave., Mason City. Jason will talk about his recent childrens book, Ivan, the -Inch Worm.

The public is invited to come and hear about Jasons writing and publishing process. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Gangwish will read his book for any children who come.

As a child and now as a father, nature has proven to be Gangwish's favorite classroom. He combines nature and nurture in his first childrens book.

For more information about Gangwish's book go to: www.ivantheinchworm.com.

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For 10 years, North Iowa Honor Guard members from Vietnam Veterans Chapter 790 have participated in the state's Vietnam Veterans Day Recognition ceremony on May 7.

Tuesday's occasion will make 11.

A group of eight North Iowa men will travel to Des Moines to present and post the colors as part of the annual commemoration at the state's Vietnam War monument.

They are: Larry Paul, Daryl Johnson, Dan Gatton, Larry Reynolds, all of Mason City; Steve Hanson, Waverly; Mike Nelson, Abe Borne, both of Clear Lake; and Mike Woodhouse of Nora Springs.

The state Legislature passed a resolution in 2008 naming May 7 the annual day to remember and thank the nation's most forgotten veterans. Tuesday's ceremony will include remarks by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a keynote address by Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, as well as a wreath laying at the monument.

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Americas Biggest Economic Challenge May Be Demographic Decline



Slower growth in the working-age population is a problem in much of the country. Could targeted immigration policy help solve it?



By Neil Irwin





Much of the United States is seeing a decline in working-age residents. In Dayton, Ohio, an economic program to attract immigrants has led to some restored homes over the last decade, including on Alton Avenue in North Dayton.CreditCreditTy William Wright for The New York Times





For many years, American economists have spoken of Japan and Western Europe as places where the slow grind of demographic change  masses of workers reaching retirement age, and smaller generations replacing them  has been a major drag on the economy.



But it is increasingly outdated to think of that as a problem for other countries. The deepest challenge for the United States economy may really be about demographics. And our understanding of the implications is only starting to catch up.



A new report from the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank funded in large part by tech investors and entrepreneurs, adds rich new detail, showing that parts of the United States are already grappling with Japanese-caliber demographic decline  41 percent of American counties with a combined population of 38 million.



At the national level, slower growth in Americas working-age population is a major reason that mainstream forecasters now expect the economy to expand around 2 percent each year rather than the 3 percent common in the second half of the 20th century. As a matter of simple arithmetic, lower growth in the number of people working will almost certainly mean slower growth in economic output.



But demographic change doesnt hit everywhere equally. Besides the inevitable effect of the extra-large baby boom generation hitting retirement age and stepping away from the work force, decisions by working-age people can accentuate or lessen the impact of that underlying shift.



Many younger workers move to bustling urban centers on the coasts, leaving smaller cities and rural areas behind. Immigrants bolster the labor force but also disproportionately go to those same big coastal cities.



Daytons height of population was 1953, and weve seen stagnant growth for the region since 1990, said Nan Whaley, the mayor of the Ohio city.



A lot of people say this was just going to happen, that this is the way it is  I hate that comment, she said, arguing that policy decisions had incentivized investment in coastal cities.



Over all, 80 percent of American counties encompassing 149 million people experienced a decline in the number of residents ages 25 to 54 between 2007 and 2017, according to the paper, which was written by Adam Ozimek of Moodys Analytics and Kenan Fikri and John Lettieri of the Economic Innovation Group.



They project that the trends will continue, and that by 2037, two-thirds of American counties will have fewer adults of prime working age than they did in 1997, despite overall population growth in that period. (Their projections tried to take into account undocumented immigrants.)



Policies to encourage American families to have more children would help over the long run by increasing the supply of potential workers in the future. So could efforts to ensure that even struggling cities have the kinds of amenities young families desire, particularly good schools.



The population of different places is always fluctuating, and economists have traditionally viewed that as a mostly healthy process. Workers make their way to where they will be the most productive, enabling the overall economy to adapt and grow.



But people who study regional economies are increasingly concerned that some aspects of this wave of demographic change make the pain more severe for places left behind  which can get stuck in a vicious cycle.



Theres a possibility that once local areas start on this downward spiral, its self-reproducing, said Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.



A shrinking supply of working-age people can prompt employers to look elsewhere to expand, making it harder for local governments to raise enough taxes to pay for infrastructure and education, and encouraging those younger people who remain to head elsewhere for more opportunity.



It raises the possibility that, if unchecked, these demographic trends might not merely reduce overall national growth rates in the decades ahead. They could also cause the left-behind cities to hit a point of no return that undermines the long-term economic potential of huge swaths of the United States.



The authors of the E.I.G. report suggest a potential solution: an immigration policy that would stop the vicious cycle. They propose that visas could be made available to skilled immigrants on the condition they go to one of the areas struggling with demographic decline. The idea would be to create growth in the working-age population in those places, increasing the tax base and the demand for housing, and giving businesses reason to invest.



The real power of this is that it would start to change how investors, businesses and entrepreneurs view locational decisions, said Mr. Lettieri, the president of the group. They would know that there is this new pipeline for talent.



Given hostility to immigration in large segments of the country, he said, places should be able to elect whether to make visas available to immigrants as part of an economic development strategy. It would have to be a dual opt-in approach in which both the community decides it wants more immigration, and individual immigrants elect to move there.



Dayton is the kind of place where that approach may just have some appeal. Ms. Whaley, the mayor, said a program called Welcome Dayton, intended to help immigrants move to the city, has been helpful in holding the population steady after a long pattern of losses.



Programs like that, she said, combined with a low cost of living and investment in community colleges to create qualified workers, can give smaller cities like Dayton the means to break out of demographic ruts.



Regardless of what one thinks about using immigration policy to try to arrest demographic decline, theres a more basic point that everyone who cares about the United States economic future must wrestle with.



Demography may be the most powerful economic force of them all, and for much of the United States, the trend lines, for now, are pointing in the wrong direction.





Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for The Upshot. He previously wrote for The Washington Post and is the author of The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.
This San Francisco purveyor of graffiti has it right.When times are bleak -- when country and planet sink under the barely restrained sway of greed, raw power, and fear -- it's time to restate what matters. I write here to preserve and kindle hope for a national and global turn toward multi-racial, economically egalitarian, gender non-constricting, woman affirming, and peace choosing democracy that preserves the habitability of earth for all. There's a big order -- but what else is there to do but struggle for this? Not much.Topics range from the minuscule to the transcendent to the global, from dire to delightful. I am not an optimist, but I refuse to allow myself to wallow within the easy bias that everything is going to always be awful. Good also happens; love lives too.I've been yammering here about activism, politics, history, racism and other occasional horrors and pleasures since 2005.I intend to continue as long as the opportunity exists. In this time, that means activism and chronicling resistance. Perhaps it always has, one way and another.My other internet project: 596 Precincts-Walking San Francisco
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Areas of fog early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines pushed ahead Wednesday with an attempt to cut retirement benefits to Indian Health Service pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber, who sexually assaulted Blackfeet children.

The Republican senator for Montana questioned Assistant Surgeon General Michael D. Weahkee on Wednesday about Indian Health Services handling of reports against Weber.

The questions came as the assistant surgeon general appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to make his case for the IHS 2020 budget. After the hearing Daines introduced a bill to cut off retirement benefits for federal workers convicted of on-the-job child sexual assault.

Despite numerous reported suspicions of Webers inappropriate behavior, IHS turned a blind eye and enabled Weber to continue his unspeakable actions for years, Daines said. IHS failed to protect the children they were entrusted to care for. Accountability must be demanded.

In January, Weber was convicted by a U.S. District Court in Great Falls of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all felonies. The charges stem from his 1993 to 1995 employment as an Indian Health Service pediatrician on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Working in Browning, Weber engaged in sex with a boy younger than 12 and attempted to have sex with another boy younger than 16, according to prosecutors.

He was sentenced to prison for 18 years and four months, and fined $200,000 by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. The case has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Weber faces 10 more charges stemming from alleged child sexual encounters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Pine Ridge accusations span 13 years occurring after Webers time in Montana.

Now retired, the pediatrician receives more than $100,000 a year in retirement benefits. Daines has asked IHS to cut off Webers benefits, which the agency has said would be difficult.

Weahkee told the Appropriations Committee the health service is weighing its options concerning Webers pension.

I have personally submitted a letter requesting Dr. Webers retirement pay be discontinued and we are working through the legal counsel, whether or not we have the authority to do that, Weahkee said. Dialogue continues as we evaluate whether or not we have current authority or were going to need to seek legislative support to make those changes.

The Daines bill denying benefits to federal employees convicted of child sexual abuse would apply to future offenses committed by any federal worker. As Weahkee indicated in his testimony Wednesday, denying benefits retroactively for child sexual abuse is legally difficult.

Its shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children, Daines said. "That is unacceptable, which is why Im going to be taking action introducing that bill today to fix this very flawed system.

In February, the Trump administration announced that it was creating a task force to investigate how Weber managed to sexually assault children within IHS.

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A lawsuit filed by a Helena landlord who alleged that NorthWestern Energy illegally cut off power to an East Broadway property he owned has been settled and dismissed with prejudice, according to court documents filed with the First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County.

A document filed March 26 indicates that Dwight Barrett of Salt Lake City reached a confidential settlement with NorthWestern by that date, prompting the April 25 order of dismissal.

Dismissed with prejudice means the plaintiff is barred from again bringing an action on the same claim.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2018, alleged that Barrett's property had the power cut off during a frigid week in February 2018 over an outstanding balance of $16.37.

As a result of NWEs conduct, temperatures in Apartment No. 1003 fell to 10 degrees, endangering the health and safety of the occupants of the property and resulting in thousands of dollars in property and consequential damages, the lawsuit said.

Previous reports state that the apartment was vacant at the time.

Notably, Barrett asked for more than $240 million in damages. He told the Great Falls Tribune in October that he did not believe he would receive that much, but saw an eight-figure settlement as possible.

Judge Mike Menahan of the First Judicial District Court signed the dismissal order, which requires each party pay their own legal fees.

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Today's Highlight in History:

On May 4, 1961, the first group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

On May 4:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1925, an international conference opened in Geneva to forge an agreement against the use of chemical and biological weapons in war; the Geneva Protocol was signed on June 17, 1925 and went into force in 1928.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."

In 1968, the Oroville Dam in Northern California was dedicated by Gov. Ronald Reagan; the 770-foot-tall earth-filled structure, a pet project of Reagan's predecessor, Pat Brown, remains the tallest dam in the United States, but was also the scene of a near disaster in February 2017 when two spillways collapsed, threatening for a time to flood parts of three counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.

In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, telling the convicted terrorist, "You will die with a whimper."

In 2009, President Barack Obama promised to crack down on companies "that ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., underwent the nation's first double-hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Mexican officials lowered a swine flu alert level in their capital. Cleveland's LeBron James was named the NBA's MVP. Actor, comedian and director Dom DeLuise, 75, died in Santa Monica, Calif.

In 2014, Eight acrobats were injured, most of them seriously, when a carabiner clip broke during an aerial hair-hanging stunt, sending the women plummeting to the ground during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island. Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams was released without charge after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in the decades-old IRA killing of a Belfast mother of 10, Jean McConville.

In 2018, President Donald Trump suggested that his newly-hired attorney Rudy Giuliani needed to "get his facts straight" about the hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election; Giuliani had earlier said that Trump knew about the payment to Daniels made by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and that Trump had paid Cohen back. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the 1975 bludgeoning death of a girl in Greenwich, finding that Skakel's trial attorney had failed to present evidence of an alibi. (The U.S. Supreme Court later left in place the Connecticut high court ruling.) Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single against the Seattle Mariners.

Thought for Today:

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

 Franklin P. Jones, American journalist-humorist (1908-1980).

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DECATUR  Decatur residents Ty-Aija Jones and her dad Tyrice Jones attended Saturdays annual Duck Derby at the Childrens Museum of Illinois during a father-daughter date.

The 5-year-old girl took advantage of a free day at the museum after she had her face painted like a butterfly at the Duck Derby.

We are playing on everything, she said.

This year is the 28th year for the Duck Derby, which is the largest fundraiser for the museum at 55 S. Country Club Road.

We are a stand-alone, non-profit, said Amber Kaylor, the museum's executive director. We dont get any state government or local funding. We rely on our fundraisers, admission, special events to keep the museum going.

The museum was open and free to the public through a sponsorship from Jerger Pediatric Dentistry.

The museum parking lot was filled with Duck Derby activities such as face painting, bounce houses, crafts and tours of heavy equipment. Food was also available from Mr. Softee and Dippin' Merv's.

Regina Rhodes, from the pottery business Outside the Lines, brought her white van to the event, allowing families to paint whatever design they wanted on the vehicle. Its all water based, so it washes right off, Rhodes said. These are things you are allowed to do anywhere but home.

For this year's Duck Derby, organizers created the Celebrity Derby in which five well-known community members were invited to run through an obstacle course located among the other events. All armed with duck flippers and inner-tubes, the racers consisted of the winner Lindsay Romano from Neuhoff Media as well as John Reidy, digital editor at the Herald & Review; Decatur firefighter Ryan Pritts; Debbie Bogle from United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois; and Abby Koester, the museums director of education.

For every $100 dollars that was credited to their name, they got a second off of their obstacle course time, Kaylor said.

Pritts, 36, has participated in similar community activities. But this is my first time doing a race like this, he said. Ive done all kinds of silly stuff like this before.

The big floppy duck feet gave the firefighter a challenge. Its not like you can just run forward like you normally would, Pritts said. Otherwise you end up tripping and falling.

The highlight of the event was the Duck Derby. This year the race among thousands of rubber ducks was separated into five heats with the winner announced after the final race. Guests were able to purchase a duck up until the last race.

This year's winners are Jennifer Smith in first place with $3,000; second-place winner Priscilla Burnett with $1,500, and third-place winners Mark and Tappy McLeod with $500.

The multiple races provide two advantages in the Duck Derby.

If a participants duck didnt win a previous heat, they can pay for another opportunity in the finale. They can buy back in, Kaylor said. It gives them greater chance to win.

Also, the children have more than one opportunity to cheer on toy ducks in a race.

The kids are there all day and the race takes all of 15 seconds, Kaylor said. This give them multiple races to see.

Scarlett Donoho, 3, brought her 1-year-old little brother Sullivan along with their parents Hannah and Austin from Moweaqua. Shortly after the family arrived at the Duck Derby, Scarlett had her shoes off. Weve done one bounce house and we are on No. 2, her mother said.

Although the event was filled with activities, the little girl had little interest on anything other than the inflatable houses. I want to do the blue one, she said after finishing the the first house.

Face painting, crafts, and even the museum couldn't pique her interest.

Well just go with the flow and see what looks good, her father said.

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

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RCC professor honored

DECATUR -- Professor Evyonne Hawkins has been named a recipient of the Dale P. Darnell Distinguished Faculty award by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Hawkins has been at Richland Community College for 25 years, where she began her career as an administrative assistant, part of the team that developed the associate degree in nursing program. She holds associate degrees in office technology and general education; bachelor's and master's degrees in education and has been named faculty of the year and a distinguished alumna at Richland. She created the African American studies degree program at Richland and dual credit programs at Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools.

Church to hold community fair

DECATUR -- Life Buildiers Church, 833 W. Pershing Road, will hold a free community event 2 to 6 p.m. today for all ages.

Activities include free food, a Kids' Zone, inflatables, a Construction Zone, stage acts, mobile zoo, escape rooms and more.

Photo contest entries sought

DECATUR -- Macon County Conservation District is inviting students in grades K through 12 to submit original photographs depicting scenes from Illinois nature.

Entries may be submitted in one of three categories: Landscapes, Wildlife and Humans and Nature. Each must be framed and measure at least 8 by 10 inches.

Conservation District staff will determine first, second and third place photographs and award ribbons in each category. All submissions will be displayed in Rock Springs Nature Center in June and August along with other artists' work.

Drop off or mail entries by May 24 to Rock Springs Nature Center, c/o Alysia Callison, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur IL 62521. Photographers must include their name, age, grade, school or home school, and a parent or guardian's phone number. Winners will be notified on Monday, June 10. For more information, visit maconcountyconservation.org.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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DECATUR  Heads up, drivers: With warmer weather approaching, repair crews could soon start fixing some of the region's most well-traveled roads.

City, county and state officials have identified several roadways for repair or improvement projects. Whether they begin this summer or are completed before the construction season ends depends on several factors: budgeting, weather and approval from governing bodies.

"We start putting together (a list of) streets for the coming construction season at the start of the previous construction season," said Griffin Enyart, Decatur's assistant city engineer. "... The goal is to get these projects out early in the spring."

The Decatur Public Works Department on Monday will present city council members a list of roads that it has targeted to repair using funds collected by the local motor fuel tax, which is 5 cents on each gallon of unleaded fuel and 1 cent per gallon for diesel. The council will vote on whether it wants to approve the list and allow staffers to work toward getting the projects ready for contractors to bid on.

More road projects could be coming in the next few years. Republican President Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state and federal lawmakers have all called for major increases in infrastructure spending, but progress has been stymied by how to pay for it.

Illinois needs $13 billion to $15 billion for highway maintenance over the next year, according to IDOT Acting Secretary Matt Magalis. Lawmakers generally agree that the state's roads and bridges need work, but they differ about how to cover the cost. Some have advocated for increasing the state's motor fuel tax, currently 19 cents a gallon, but others are deeply opposed to the idea.

At the federal level, infrastructure could bring together Trump and Democrats in Congress, who said last week that they had agreed to work together on a $2 trillion plan. How to fund that plan remains up in the air. Trump campaigned on a promise to upgrade deteriorating roads and bridges and has been trying for two years to roll out such a package.

For now, city and county leaders say they're focusing on what they can fix with the resources they have. The rising cost of asphalt, decline in motor fuel tax proceeds and other budget pressures have spurred a growing problem for Decatur and communities across the state that have struggled to keep up with repairs.

Deteriorating roads are a continual source of frustration for residents, who say the potholes hurt their cars and make for an unpleasant drive. County Engineer Bruce Bird said the highway department gets a lot of calls from residents about roads that they think should be prioritized for repairs.

There are more roads and bridges on the county's "to-do" list than can be repaired immediately, he said.

We dont use dart boards and Ouija boards, he said. Some people think we do it that way, but we have a five-year plan for any projects that we have on the radar.

Targeted city streets

Some of the Decatur roads targeted for improvement include a reconstruction of East Division Street and North 34th Street to North 35th Street, patchwork for East Wood Street and North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to North Maffit Street, and East Wood Street between Jasper and 22nd streets.

A memo provided to city council members highlighted the Wood Street project as the primary project on the list. About 80 partial lead water services will need to be replaced as part of the project, which means portions of Wood Street will be closed to all traffic until they're replaced.

The proposal as a whole is estimated to cost about $1.8 million, with $1.4 million coming from the motor fuel tax fund and about $367,000 in utility costs coming from the city's storm, sewer and water main replacement funds.

Enyart said the city does street inspections every year, and grades the roadways on a scale of 0 to 100 called a "pavement condition index."

The proposal memo said the city's annual capital improvement list generally focuses on streets with a PCI rating of less than 75. About 41 percent of the city's streets fall below that rating and the overall condition of city streets has dropped from an average PCI rating of 82 to 78 in the past six years.

Enyart notes that low PCI scores aren't the only things that city staff takes into consideration when planning repairs. Other factors such as how much traffic the street regularly gets, or whether underground repairs are scheduled for a certain road also guide the city's decision-making.

"There will be certain ones deferred to future years for some of those reasons," he said. "We'll also decide which ones really need the work based on the budget and what can fit within our budget."

In addition to the primary roads that city staff are recommending for repairs, the city's proposal also features alternate streets for council to consider.

These streets are ones that don't score quite as high on the PCI, but could be improved if bids come in below the engineer's estimate. They can also be switched out for some of the primary repair proposals if the council feels that their repairs should take precedence over the staff recommended projects.

Alternate projects mentioned in the proposal include a $40,000 asphalt overlay to East Eldorado Street and North 33rd Street to North Lake Shore Drive and a $105,000 overlay from 33rd and South Lake Shore Drive to East William Street Road.

Beltway progress

Elsewhere in the county, crews have already begun work to remove a section of Brush College Road near Mound Road to connect with new intersections as part of the ongoing $220 million Macon County Beltway Project.

YOUR TURN What roads should be fixed? Join the conversation and have your voice heard at herald-review.com/letters.

The beltway is a 22-mile loop of road that will run from Brush College near Interstate 72 over Lake Decatur and through Long Creek into Mount Zion before linking to Elwin Road. Macon County Engineer Bruce Bird said crews have made "really good progress" on the Brush College project.

David Brix operates a corn, soybean and alfalfa farm on Garver Church Road, near the closed portion of Brush College. While he and his family arent blocked in on Garver, he said, they now have to drive toward Illinois 48 and wrap around in order to travel south in the city. Looking toward the eventual completion of the beltway, Brix said itll be a challenge getting used to how the new traffic patterns work and also getting large farm equipment down the smaller lanes of roadway that the connector routes will boast.

He also said the overall cost of the beltway project could probably be used to tend to the needs of several other roads in the area. When asked what roads are in the most need of repair, Brix said all of them. Weve sure got a lot of bad roads that could be fixed."

One thing Bird said people should take into account is that local government may not have jurisdiction over many of the major roads going through the area. The responsibility for those roads typically falls on the Illinois Department of Transportation, Bird said.

Other road and bridge projects that the county currently has scheduled include work on Wyckles Road between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36, a bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek, the Baltimore bikepath between Harryland and a reconstruction of Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121.

IDOT has also organized a five-year improvement plan that was released last year. Recently, the department received Decatur city council approval to proceed with a $4.1 million project to fix a stretch of Eldorado Street that runs from North Fairview Avenue to North Church Street.

Decatur-area road projects The following is a list of Decatur roads and bridges targeted by the city and county for improvements in the near future: The end of East Central Avenue to North Warren Street

North Warren Street/East Central Avenue to East King Street

East Division Street/North 34th to North 35th

East Wood Street/South Jasper Street to South 22nd Street

North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Wabash Crossing)

East Wood Street/North MLK to North Maffit Street

Bayview, Country Manor, Lakeridge and Baker Woods neighborhoods

Brush College Road connector for Beltway project

Baltimore bikepath, between Harryland and Lost Bridge Road

Wyckles Road, between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36

Bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek

Bridge on School Road near Cisco

Niantic Road from old Illinois 26 to railroad tracks

Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121

Box culvert replacement near Warrensburg on County Highway 20

Bridge replacement on Lake Fork Road north of Argenta

Bridge replacement on Shellabarger Road in Illini Township

In addition to repaving the worn-and-torn street, new traffic lights and curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Greg Jamerson, program development engineer for IDOT's District 7, which includes Macon County, previously said there's no defined start date for that project. It will ultimately depend on how quickly the state can acquire land for the new traffic signal systems.

Enyart said that while the city doesn't currently have a multi-year plan for road improvements, staff is considering adopting one in the near future.

The plan "still maybe would change a little bit year-to-year as priorities do change, but we'll at least have a plan in place," he said.

Contact Jaylyn Cook at (217) 421-7980. Follow him on Twitter: @jaylyn_HR

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Sunday, April 28

Taylorville continues tornado recovery

Vickie Barker, 67, chose to build on the same Coal Street lot where her last house stood, before the storm roared through and blasted the structure that Dec. 1 evening. Heavily damaged, it had to be razed and a cement foundation was poured, ready for a new modular house on the way.

Were ready to come home, Barker said.

Barker is one piece of the sprawling, ongoing recovery underway in Taylorville this winter and spring. Wednesday marked five months since a violent EF-3 tornado tore an 11-mile gash through this Christian County community, leaving behind a trail of destruction and debris. More than 700 buildings were damaged in some way, but against all odds, no one was killed.

The story of Taylorvilles reconstruction is a lesson in the importance of emergency preparedness, hard work and community togetherness at a time of critical need.

Monday, April 29

City floats Lake Decatur fee hikes

Boat owners and other Lake Decatur users could see fee increases as city leaders contemplate how to make revenue for recreation on the lake cover the cost of supporting those services.

During a study session at the Decatur Civic Center, council members directed city staff to look into how a gradual recreation fee increase could be implemented at the lake in the near future. No action was taken on the issue Monday, but City Manager Scot Wrighton staff will work to have a proposal for council to consider finalized "fairly quickly."

"There are no specific rate hikes at this time," he said before the meeting. "We're at the broad policy stage of this."

Wrighton said dealing with recreational fees is just one aspect of a larger conversation surrounding the city's stewardship of the lake and how it should manage costs and keep it clean in the aftermath of the $91 million dredging project that ended last year.

Tuesday, April 30

Rains drench Central Illinois

Heavy rains and thunderstorms across Central Illinois are bringing a risk for flash floods, keeping farmers from their fields and creating challenges for construction projects.

The wet weather started Monday and was not expected to relent until late in the week. A flash flood watch is in effect until Wednesday evening for counties including Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, DeWitt, Logan, Shelby, Christian, Champaign, Sangamon and Coles.

"This extended period of rainy weather is starting to get a little unusual," though some rain is typical for springtime, said Chris Geelhart, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Geelhart said the region was expecting another 2 to 2 inches through Thursday night. People are itching to get out in the fields, he said, adding that a period of drier weather was expected to start Friday.

Wednesday, May 1

Students' mock trial marks Law Day

A mock trial was conducted at the Macon County Courthouse by members of the Decatur Bar Association in observance of Law Day, first instituted President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Three years later, Congress passed a resolution to make May 1 Law Day annually to celebrate Americans' rights as laid out in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This is something we do to demonstrate our commitment to the law and to really engage the community, said Regan Lewis, chair of the event for the Decatur Bar Association and a new Decatur School District board member.

This year's theme for Law Day was free speech, free press and a free society.

Typically, we give a little bit of information about it to the kids, and then we do a mock trial so they can sort of see how the pieces work. This one (Cinderella) is a civil trial, but I'm going to try to do a criminal (mock) trial next year because that's what the kids seem most interested in, Lewis said.

Thursday, May 2

Buffett gives another $1M to city

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has donated another $1 million to the city of Decatur for its community revitalization efforts.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe made the announcement during her State of the City address Thursday morning during breakfast as part of the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in the Decatur Civic Center.

The foundation previously gave $1 million for revitalization in November 2017, part of which was used to buy 750 parcels of Macon County trustee land, Wolfe said. The neighborhood revitalization project has been a longtime goal for city leaders.

"We're going to get those houses down, and we're going to build up this community," Wolfe said during her remarks.

Moore Wolfe said progress means she can barely find a parking spot downtown these days  and that's a good thing.

"Now, it's time to get really, really specific to fixing our other neighborhoods," Moore Wolfe said.

Friday, May 3

Costly details in property tax plan

Illinois Senate Democrats have sweetened a sales pitch to voters for a proposed graduated-rate income tax in 2020 by attaching to it a vow of property tax relief to weary taxpayers.

Like any sales pitch, the proposal  to freeze property taxes that go to schools  has some significant fine print attached.

First, it would only happen if voters ratify that proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. And, it would only take effect if the state shouldered more of the overall funding for education in Illinois  including funding special education, transportation, free and reduced meal programs and other mandated categorical programs.

The state also would have to meet its decadelong commitment to boost funding for the new general state aid formula by $350 million a year.

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CHICAGO  Mourners came by the hundreds to a Crystal Lake funeral home Friday to pay their respects to a 5-year-old boy many of them didn't know but whose tragic death and the circumstances surrounding it left them heartbroken and wondering why more wasn't done to save him.

Along with the many tears for Andrew "AJ" Freund was also the hope that his sad story would prompt greater action to protect children from the type of life and death authorities said AJ experienced.

The boy was killed last month, and his parents were charged with murder and other crimes after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock. The boy was born with opiates in his system and lived in a home often visited by police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line outside the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory. "Losing a life in general ... but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

People young and old walked solemnly through the funeral home and past a the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross. The casket was made and donated

Visitation for Andrew "AJ" Freund began at 1 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave., and will last until 8 p.m. By 12:30 p.m. hundreds of people had formed a line and were waiting to enter to offer their final goodbyes.

Among them was Elissa Emmert of Crystal Lake, who was holding and rocking her 21-month-old son Levi. She said she came to "show support to AJ. My heart breaks for what happened to him."

The funeral home was expecting thousands of people to attend the memorial visitation for AJ, who was killed last month and whose parents were charged with his death after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock.

Blue ribbons adorned poles and trees along Terra Cotta. There were several posters with pictures that showed AJ with angel wings and were inscribed with the words, "In loving memory of AJ." A flag was a half-staff at one local business.

At the nearby Twisted Stem floral design business, a big blue balloon archway was on display. Owner and designer John Regan had just finished making his 1,000th blue bow, which he has been giving to members of the community for them to display since AJ was reported missing April 18.

"I'm helping turn the city blue today," he said "It's just a simple gesture."

Many mourners, some who brought their children, questioned how, as authorities allege, the parents could beat and kill their own son. They also decried what they said were the failures of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and begged for change.

The Tribune has found that DCFS, which has had contact with the family over several years, missed signs of trouble despite hotline calls and police reports that documented squalid living conditions, substance abuse, domestic violence, suspicious bruises and, at times, uncooperative parents. DCFS' acting director said the agency is reviewing its "shortcomings" in the case and would take steps to address those issues.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line. "Losing a life in general, but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

Lovey Sauers of Crystal Lake asked why other local agencies and community groups were not contacted by DCFS to help in AJ's case.

She said "there are so many resources" that could have been called to help including shelters, CASA, local churches, schools and Safe Haven at Willow Creek Church.

"Crystal Lake is a family community," Sauers said. "It's a good community. To have this at our back door, it's shameful and it's disturbing."

Michelle Murphy of Cary attended because she wanted to pay respects to a boy who it appeared to her no one wanted.

"If they didn't want him, they're other things they could have done," she said. "Don't kill him. There are other things you could do."

Marjorie Lehmann, director of administration at Trappist Caskets of Peosta, Iowa, said the business is donating an oak casket, made by monks of the New Melleray Abbey child casket ministry.

The Abbey also will plant a tree in AJ's name to replenish the wood used to make his casket.

AJ was reported missing by his parents April 18. He was found buried in a shallow field near Woodstock a week later. An autopsy determined that AJ died from blunt force trauma to his head.

His parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham, have been charged with murder and are being held in McHenry County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

AJ is remembered in an online obituary as a doting and loving big brother to his 4-year-old brother and his mother's unborn child. He is described as "loving, affectionate and outgoing ... a virtual ray of sunshine to all who knew him, with a giggle and laugh that was uniquely his."

An online account remains active to raise money for AJ's siblings. As of Wednesday it had raised more than $58,000.

Donations may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/d62g4d-rest-in-peace-aj.

The funeral for AJ will be private.

Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.

Also forgot one bouquet was from a family in Florida... sweet messages on the flower cards people saying they are sorry and how he's an angel now...

**

Took about an hour to walk through, like my other notes people told me ... very somber, several comfort dogs, big flower arrangements everywhere, one bouquet from Chicago Cubs another from Crystal Lake Lions Club and others with what looks like random family names I didn't recognize .. flowers are all colors not just blue and white ... there are gifts, stuffed animals toy trucks near the casket, large pics of AJ smiling. When you walk in there is a big Batman balloon appearing to lay on and hold a huge stuffed teddy bear ... alps are in there and there is an honor guard by the casket.

Oh and a piece of art made by St Mary's preschool in Woodstock.. looks like a tree then all the kids thumb prints in different colors are the leaves ... very sweet ...

As mourners exited the funeral home many carrying big blue ribbons or tiny blue ribbons with a rose attached they described a "somber" and "sad" scene.

"It's very quiet. Very somber. Everybody was comforting everybody," said Laurie Pitner of Crystal Lake.

Many described several blue and white floral arrangements, oversized photos of AJ smiling and comfort dogs. A priest also was present hugging and consoling people.

Jenny Carlini of Crystal Lake described the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross that was protected by an honor guard. A statue of an angle was placed nearby the casket as were flower arrangements from area businesses and family members.

Carlini said the mood inside where many sniffles were heard was sad but also hopeful, as if this has presented the community and beyond a time for "resetting what's important."

"I felt mad (at first)," she said, but as she looked at the hundreds of mourners lined up along Terra Cotta Ave. waiting to go inside she added: "Look what we can do as a community."

"We have to take care of our children," Carlini said. "If we don't we're going to have a very bleak future."

***

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ALTON (AP)  A disaster proclamation has been issued by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for 34 counties along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers due to flooding.

Friday's declaration is to ensure communities battling floods caused by heavy rain will receive state support. That support includes the Corrections Department providing work crews to support sandbagging efforts.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for several rivers across Illinois after several days of soaking rain. More than 5 inches fell in places like Aurora, Morris and Chicago's Midway and O'Hare international airports.

Public works employees in Alton erected a barrier wall Thursday after a Mississippi River surge closed roadways. The weather service forecasts a crest of 35.5 feet by Sunday or Monday in Alton.

The Mississippi River at Chester on Friday was at nearly 37 feet with the weather service forecasting it to crest at more than 43 feet by Monday.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Fifty years ago, new Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie pushed through the state's first income tax to shore up Illinois finances. It was a flat 2.5% applying to all levels of income. Requiring a flat-rate income tax was hotly contested a year later among those rewriting the state Constitution. The Constitution enshrined it in 1971, Ogilvie lost re-election in 1972, but the debate over the system's fairness never abated.

Enter Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a multibillionaire who campaigned on dumping the flat-rate structure for a so-called "fair tax," a graduated scale that duns wealthy taxpayers at greater percentages. The Illinois Senate approved the inaugural steps to that goal last week.

Here are some questions and answers on the subject:

Q: WHAT'S THE IDEA?

A: Pritzker proposed a progressive structure which he touts as one in which 97% of Illinois taxpayers would pay the same as they do now or less. It starts at 4.75% for incomes up to $10,000. Those making $100,000 to $250,000 would pay the current 4.95%. The rates go up from there and top out at 7.95% for those earning $1 million or more.

Those 3% who would pay more would produce $3 billion in extra revenue, Pritzker contends, to help the state erase its structural deficit  wrought by spending unexpectedly outstripping revenue  and help the state twist its way out of tens of billions of dollars of debt associated with overdue bills, underfunded pensions, and more.

A non-partisan study largely agreed with Pritzker that his plan would spare the bulk of taxpayers from increased tax bills and narrow the ever-widening income gap.

Q: WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR THE CHANGE?

A: An amendment to the state Constitution. Democratic Oak Park Sen. Don Harmon's proposal won Senate approval last Wednesday by a three-fifths majority. It must get a three-fifths majority endorsement in the House before voters would get the final say at the ballot box in November 2020. If they approve, the new tax rate would take effect in 2021.

Q: IS THERE OPPOSITION?

A: Quite a bit. No Senate Republicans voted for the constitutional amendment or follow-up legislation from Sen. Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Olympia Fields, which sets the tax rates. The GOP and leading business interests say the plan simply generates $3 billion for Democrats to spend unaccountably. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs called the Senate vote "another step toward handing a blank check over to the Democrats and their reckless spending habits."

Q: BUT DEMOCRATS ARE ALL ON BOARD?

A: No. Chicago Democratic Rep. Robert Martwick is sponsoring a constitutional amendment in the House, and he's still counting noses. A three-fifths majority is 71 House votes, and there are 74 Democrats. The GOP is solidly opposed, and Illinois Democrats are a disparate group. Martwick says he's trying to combine "the right ingredients to make everyone happy with it."

Although the amendment doesn't mention rates, the two are inextricably linked. Martwick says some lawmakers are comfortable supporting the amendment but shy away from a vote on rates. Others don't want to commit to the amendment without seeing the rates.

Q: BUT PRITZKER PROPOSED RATES. AREN'T THEY ALREADY PART OF THE SENATE PLAN?

A: No. The Senate-approved Hutchinson legislation includes a top rate that differs from Pritzker's. It increases the top rate to 7.99% and applies it to $1 million in income for married couples filing jointly. But for single filers, Hutchinson's plan applies the top rate to income over $750,000. She said that's to make the process fairer for couples whose combined income can often kick them into a higher tax bracket, a phenomenon dubbed the "marriage penalty."

"It's a delicate balance, but right now, we have a system that doesn't tax where growth is actually occurring and growth is occurring in the top income brackets," Hutchinson said.

Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who inherits the Senate tax plan, said House Democrats are less concerned about slight changes in the rates than they are about property tax relief.

Q: AREN'T PROPERTY TAXES THE REAL BANE?

A: Arguably, yes, given that Illinois has the nation's next-to-highest property taxes after New Jersey. Pritzker's plan offers a 20% increase in the property tax credit, meaning taxpayers would be able to claim an income-tax credit of 6% of property taxes paid instead of 5% of property taxes paid.

And the Senate added another sweetener last week when it adopted Sen. Andy Manar's measure to rein in the property taxes collected by public schools, which rely to a disproportionate degree on real estate taxes because the state has traditionally not met its funding commitment. The Bunker Hill Democrat's plan would bar schools from increasing property taxes as long as the state met all its expected obligations for general state aid funding and so-called categorical program such as transportation and special education.

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SPRINGFIELD  Members of a liberal House caucus announced their opposition Friday to the Senates move to strike Illinois estate tax from statute, a measure unexpectedly included in a package of bills to change the states income tax structure.

Chicago Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the state is at a critical moment. The General Assembly is negotiating the terms under which to implement a graduated income tax system, and repealing a tax on the transfer of property, he said, is a move in precisely the opposite direction.

Giving a $300 million tax break to the estates of the richest people in Illinois, that nobody as far as I can tell is even really asking for, seems to me like a step in the wrong direction, Guzzardi said.

The measure, contained in Senate President John Cullertons, D-Chicago, Senate Bill 689, passed the Senate with 33 votes after unexpectedly being added to a package of bills which can only become law if the voters approve a graduated tax constitutional amendment in November 2020.

Six Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in voting against the measure. State Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, said the estate tax repeal is generally supported by Republicans, but his opposition was based on the fact that the repeal could be reversed at any time.

The estate tax currently only applies to estates worth more than $4 million, and it produces $305 million in revenue, according to a 2020 estimate from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Guzzardi said that revenue would have to be made up elsewhere or the budget would have to be cut to account for the $305 million  even with the estimated $3.5 billion in revenue that would be gained from a proposed graduated tax structure.

I think that we are pushing pretty hard on about every other source of revenue we can find, he said.

He said cuts might have to come from programs people care about, such as higher education, health care, human services or others.

I think it would harm our ability to balance our budget and it would undermine our efforts to make our tax policy more fair, he added.

Guzzardi said the Progressive Caucus supports the graduated income tax proposal because Illinois does not have the financial resources to fund services its members see as ones a government should provide  quality public schools, affordable health care and access to social programs.

Our tax system in this state is broken  we tax poor people and working-class people too much and very, very wealthy people way too little, Guzzardi said. We support the progressive income tax because it makes our tax system more fair and generates the revenue we need to pay for the services the government needs to perform.

He said he is optimistic the constitutional amendment necessary to enact the new tax structure will receive enough votes to be presented to voters in 2020. The bill needs 71 votes in the House, which has 74 Democratic members.

But either way, removing current law that taxes the transfer of property is not something Guzzardi said he thinks will be successful in his chamber.

To be clear, there arent enough votes in the House for a repeal of the estate tax and whatever happens with the fair tax, we dont believe that that should be or will be included, he said.

Democratic Reps. Carol Ammons (Urbana), Theresa Mah (Chicago), Celina Villanueva (Chicago), Delia Ramirez (Chicago), Kelly Cassidy (Chicago), Robyn Gabel (Evanston), Gregory Harris (Chicago), Joyce Mason (Gurnee), Anna Moeller (Elgin), Aaron Ortiz (Chicago), Lamont Robinson, Jr. (Chicago), Anne Stava-Murray (Naperville) and Maurice West (Rockford) joined in the caucuss opposition to the estate tax.

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The last time I saw John William King, he was leaving a courtroom in Jasper, Texas, in handcuffs. It had taken a jury of 11 whites and one African-American just 2 hours to convict him of one of the most heinous hate crimes America had ever seen.

King was 24 at the time, clean-cut with an engaging smile. He did not look like someone who could chain a man to the back of a pickup truck and drag him for nearly 3 miles, ripping the body into pieces scattered along the road.

He looked like an all-American guy. But 49-year-old James Byrd Jr., the unfortunate black man who crossed paths with King and his two accomplices that awful day in 1998, proved how easily looks could be deceiving. One had to gaze beyond King's boyish charm to see the monster that lived inside.

Last week, King was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. But his execution did not change a thing. Before the week had ended, evil was resurrected during a Passover service in California.

King orchestrated the lynching in Jasper and, for a while, he was one of the most loathsome men in America. A self-proclaimed white supremacist, he rekindled memories of a vile part of our nation's history that some thought had been buried 40 years before. He reminded us that hatred and bigotry, when cast into a shallow grave, could simply kick off the dirt and rise again with an even greater vengeance.

Byrd, an unemployed ex-convict, became a martyr. His funeral drew a thousand people from across the country, including politicians and activists. He had not lived a perfect life, but he did not deserve such a horrendous death. On this point, most Americans agreed.

The only way Jasper and the rest of the country could heal, most seemed to think, was if King were put to death. Two decades later, he was.

As a national reporter for the Tribune, I covered the 1999 trial, but I had long forgotten the defendant's name. By the time he was executed, most Americans likely had never heard about what King had done, or they could not recall.

One of King's accomplices was executed in 2011 and the third is serving a life sentence in prison. Byrd's murder reawakened America's spirit, but it quickly fell asleep again. People rarely mentioned it anymore.

In this country, outrage is fleeting. It mellows over time like emotional pain vanishes after injecting a synthetic drug. When it comes to easing the burden of injustice, America's drug of choice is apathy.

Byrd's slaying recalled an era when African-Americans were routinely lynched by hooded nightriders. Jasper residents feared their town being portrayed as one of the most racist communities in the nation. Some believed at the time, however, that the case would be a catalyst for change across the country, as the nation came together in solidarity.

But it changed nothing. Years later, there would be racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Charlottesville, Virginia. There would be religious slaughters in Charleston, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh. And there would be countless stories about attacks on Muslims, gays and lesbians, Hispanics and African-Americans that would not even make the news. And the nation would be even more divided.

When the trial was over, Booker T. Hunter, then the president of the Jasper chapter of the NAACP, told me that King would have to die in order for people to heal.

"If we get total justice, the death penalty, people will begin to heal," Hunter said. "We will never forget it, but we can move on."

The truth is that we moved on long before King was put to death. But we still have not healed. There have been too many evil people picking at the scab.

I am not an advocate of the death penalty. I have never believed that a life for a life is the best way to right a wrong. Retaliating with more violence is not the way to end violence. And certainly, it will not put an end to hatred.

But the timing of King's death seemed appropriate. As our country is under siege by bigotry, contempt and anger, America was reminded that evil is nothing fresh. It is something we have toiled with and cried over since our nation was founded.

Though people eventually forget and move on, bigotry lingers and waits for the perfect moment to strike again. Hardly a week goes by in today's America that we don't see this hatred manifested. Each time we stop and wonder if evil is winning, and whether we are helpless to stop it.

Last Wednesday, King lay on a gurney with a needle in his arm. Witnesses said his eyes were closed the entire time, moving only once to take a deep breath when the killing process began. When the warden asked if he had any last words, King, 44, said, "No."

Byrd's sister watched from the gallery. "There was no sense of relief," she said afterward. Some of the victim's relatives knew that from the start and had advocated mercy for the killer.

It only took three days for evil to rear its head again. A gunman, yelling anti-Semitic slurs, opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California. A 60-year-old woman was killed. A rabbi was shot in the hand and two others were wounded.

King's execution did nothing to stop it.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday. It was a simple and spiritual ceremony that belied his importance as a champion of global harmony.

He was the son of Emperor Hirohito, who approved the bombing of Pearl Harbor and helped lead the world into the chaos and destruction of World War II. Akihito inherited a new monarchy as victorious Allied Forces demanded that the institution become totally symbolic, a world of distance from his predecessors godlike status. In that new era, he was an unshakable pacifist.

Akihito became a leading moral voice who traveled the world marking the impact of Japans aggression. He honored his countrys own dead without excusing the deaths they caused. Educated by an American Quaker, he quickly came to understand the necessity of peace.

This has stood in contrast to recent moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed for a more unshackled military that has been constrained since the end of the war.

And Japan has not been alone in militaristic moods. The United States and Russia spend billions on their armed forces and eye Cold War-style aggression. Parts of the Middle East remain a battle zone. Terrorists the world over murder innocent civilians, and Western nations become more comfortable using drones as weapons as they argue over the principles of a just war. More leaders like Akihito are needed to stand for peace and acknowledge the terrible alternative.

I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Akihito, 85, said in a farewell address.

We couldnt agree more.

Newsday

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When around 870 million people globally are deprived of food, losing or wasting around 1.3 billion tonnes of food valued over $1 trillion is nothing less than a crime. A report by FAO says that if just one-fourth of lost or wasted food were saved, it could end global hunger. Another FAO statistics states that food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emission each year. Hence it is the responsibility of each stake holder(from farm to fork) to ensure nothing is lost/wasted. Food loss could be the result of inadequate infrastructure, markets, price mechanisms, poor supply chain, improper packaging and many more.Understanding the impact food loss has on the world population, Hitesh Lohani (Managing Director) & Priyanka Lohani (Director)incepted Top Fresh International Private Limited (TFIPL) in 2017 in Delhi. Our companys foundation stone was laid on the very concept of food

lost during transit. Most of the brands work with distributor model, which compromises their brand name in a lot of possible ways, where the quality is highly affected due to poor supply chain, explains Hitesh. Hence TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model. This helps the company keep a thorough check on the quality of the product and supply fresh products like fresh fruits, green peas, sweet corn, veg soya chaap, broccoli, mix vegetable, strawberry, blackberry French fries and many more at the top conditions.



"TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model"



Quality being the centrifugal force of the company, it packs every product at its own cold chain & packaging unit in Delhi that maintains a very low temperature but ensure no ice formation, which is common otherwise as the temperature drop leads to thawing of a product which degrades the quality. This gives the best shelf life and can be achieved only with good relations with third party warehouse providers and creating your own stock, adds Priyanka. To further ensure healthy products, TFIPL has leased a small land in Rudrapurcity of Uttarakhand for pesticide-free cultivation of green peas.



Customer is the King

Giving its ears to every client concerns, TFIPL puts their opinions and suggestions on top priority and
Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh spoke about the regimes reasons for planning such activities and the agencies that are involved and the role that each one plays.

Last year there was a significant escalation of the regimes malign activities in Europe and in the United States. As a result, several regime diplomats and members of the MOIS were arrested and jailed for terrorist and espionage activities.

Jafarzadeh spoke mainly about ten separate incidents and confirmed that the MOIS and Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are directly involved, emphasising that attacks are not planned by rogue agents. Indeed, the highest ranks in Tehran are involved.

He explained that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves all decisions. Plots are signed off by the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani. While the IRGCs Quds Force takes the lead on terrorist plots across the Middle East, the MOIS is in charge of terrorism in Europe.

Foreign embassies are used as intelligence centres where agents are given cover, documentation, weapons, and the all-important diplomatic immunity. The embassies will intervene if terrorists are arrested and the issue will be whitewashed with the suspects taken out of custody and sent back to Iran.

A number of PMOI members have been residing in Albania which has become a point of interest for the regime. A plot to bomb a Nowruz (new year) celebration was foiled by authorities and two regime agents were arrested. Jafarzadeh explained that a senior MOIS official became the regimes ambassador in Albania to prepare for terror attacks.

European authorities also foiled a plot to bomb the oppositions Free Iran gathering in Paris last year where a number of foreign dignitaries were due to attend, as well as 100,000 supporters. The regime diplomat that was residing in Austria was stripped of diplomatic immunity and is in German custody. The regime is taking great efforts to get him send back to Iran.

Jafarzadeh also pointed to the involvement of foreign ministers, including current minister Zarif who, as a member of the Supreme National Security Council, is aware of the regimes terrorist activity. Jafarzadeh said that Zarif should be arrested for his involvement, pointing out that of all the regimes diplomats that were expatriated back to Iran only one remains jailed.

Moving forward, Jafarzadeh believes that the Supreme Leader and his office as well as the MOIS should be designated as a foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) and that Iranian agents in Europe should be prosecuted. He also suggested that the regimes embassies in Europe should be shut down. Jafarzadeh said that the regime has taken advantage of diplomatic relations to plot terrorist attacks in the West.

He further went on to explain that the real solution to the regimes belligerence is not sanctions, but regime change that is effectuated by the people.
Zarif said: I put this offer on the table, publicly, now. Exchange them. All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on an extradition request from the United States Let us exchange them I have the authority to do that. We informed the government of the United States six months ago that we are ready.

Now, there is a critical inaccuracy in that statement. Zarif, as a member of the executive branch, does not have the power to make such offers to foreign governments. This power is held solely by the head of the judiciary, who is appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Zarif even manages to admit that he has no power to release prisoners when he was questioned about the environmental scientists held by Iran, claiming that the judiciary is independent and that he is busy enough preventing wars and economic pressures.

So how can it be that Zarif has the authority to release some prisoners but not others? After all, the eight environmentalists, arrested on vague charges like spreading corruption on Earth, have received support from human rights organizations and Members of the European Parliament urging their release but Iran has not responded. One scientist, Iranian-Canadian Kavous Seyyed-Emami, died in suspicious circumstances while in jail and the Regime claimed it to be suicide.

Other foreign citizens held in Iran include:

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

US Navy veteran Michael White

Princeton University student Xiyue Wang

US businessmen Baquer and Siamak Namazi

The truth is, of course, that Zarif only has the power to release prisoners that Khamenei believes will get him concessions from the international community. The Iranian Regime uses hostages as political pawns to gain leverage against other governments, something that has been true since the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh said: In a nutshell, the Iranian regime is once again using foreign citizens as hostages in order to blackmail other governments. It is incumbent on these countries not to submit to Tehrans hostage-taking game. Accepting Irans terms will only embolden and empower the regime.
General thoughts of fun stuff, like music, books and the like. Thanks for reading.
About Me William Kelly I am a freelance writer, journalist and historian whose major interests are music and history, with a special emphasis on the assassination of President Kennedy. View my complete profile

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SPRINGFIELD  This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). When the NIIW observance was established in 1994, the U.S. was in the midst of several outbreaks, the largest of which was among Illinois and Missouri residents. Decades of increased vaccinations led to the declaration of measles being eliminated in the U.S. in 2000; however, 25 years after the first NIIW, the country is once again seeing measles outbreaks. During NIIW April 27-May 4, 2019, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is asking parents to talk with a health care provider to ensure their children are fully immunized.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not have heard of some of the serious diseases they prevent. Children can suffer serious illness and even death when exposed to diseases like measles, mumps, and pertussis, said Dr. Ezike. Although vaccines are among the most successful, safe, and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death, some people still chose not to be vaccinated. It is essential that you protect your child against serious illness by having them vaccinated before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.

As of April 26, 2019, there have been more than 700 cases of measles in the U.S. this year, including 78 new cases identified last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Although Illinois data do not reflect the same trend, the U.S. is seeing an increase in the number of children younger than two years old who are receiving no vaccines. CDCs data suggest that many of these parents do want to vaccinate their children, but they may not be able to get vaccines for them. They may face hurdles, like not having a health care professional nearby, not having time to get their children to a doctor, and/or thinking they cannot afford vaccines.

Public health officials are working with schools, community organizations, religious groups, parent organizations, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to provide vaccinations.

Steps will include, but are not limited to:

Mobile Units: IDPH will assist in providing mobile health units to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates to hold clinics and provide vaccinations.

Targeted Events: IDPH will identify events with high parent and children attendance and support vaccination clinics at these events. These can include county fairs and neighborhood celebrations.

Faith Outreach: IDPH will work with religious organizations to sponsor vaccination clinics after services, during vacation bible school, and near other religious gatherings.

Community Coordination: IDPH will work with community health workers and parent educators to help set up appointment times for vaccinations, provide or arrange transportation, and assist parents in filling out the paperwork.

Public Education: IDPH will work to combat misinformation about vaccines and increase education efforts through health events, marketing, and social media.

IDPH is currently working with local health departments across the state to meet and talk with school officials and health care providers in the community to learn about barriers that limit vaccination and identify additional opportunities to increase rates. Barriers already identified include:

Transportation: Some parents do not have a way to get their children to clinics for vaccinations.

Time: Health clinic hours may not fit with working parents schedule.

Paperwork: Vaccination requires the consent forms to be filled by the parent. Some parents may be overwhelmed by the paperwork and not fully understand how to fill it out.

Wait Times: While local health departments and providers may offer special vaccination clinics before the beginning of the school year, the wait times can sometimes be more than an hour.

Additionally, IDPH continues to recruit and retain Vaccine for Children (VFC) health care providers. The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost for children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. The VFC program helps children get their vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule.

Through on-time immunization, parents can protect infants and children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases before age two. While overall childhood immunization rates remain high, unvaccinated children in the U.S. are at risk for contracting diseases that some parents might consider diseases of the past.

In the 1950s, nearly every child developed measles, and unfortunately, some developed serious complications including death from this serious disease. Today, many practicing physicians have never seen a case of measles due to the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, although rare in the U.S., they are still commonly transmitted in many parts of the world and brought into the country by unvaccinated individuals, putting other unvaccinated people at risk.

More information about the VFC program and immunizations can be found on the IDPH website at www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.

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Carriage Crossing Senior Living located at Green Mill Village in Arcola, Illinois, is hosting a free luncheon on Thursday, May 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at your Lifespan Center 11021 E. Co. Rd 800 N. Charleston, IL, behind Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital off Loxa Road.

This free luncheon is one of the Caring Conversations Luncheon Series where leading experts in the Senior Living industry discuss purposeful and thoughtful topics that interest seniors, their loved ones, and their caregivers.

With proper information, assistance and encouragement, informed decisions can be made allowing seniors to live the life they love with respect and dignity in their chosen community.

The speaker for this free luncheon is Ms. Brenda Hearn, a certified Assisted Living Cabinet Member of Leading Age Illinois. Ms. Hearn is a highly trained professional in the Senior Living industry who fully understands the needs of seniors and their families, and the importance of maximizing the independence of the senior while residing in an assisted living/memory care facility. Ms. Hearns topic for this luncheon will be: Navigating the Senior Living Curriculum.

Carriage Crossing Senior Living of Arcola is a leading choice for assisted living communities. Carriage Crossing has successfully implemented a focus on lifestyle, family and trust, with maintenance free living, exceptional farm to table meals, life-enriching opportunities and 24-hour personal care assistance.

Memory care at Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to support families caring for loved ones with dementia through a partnership built on trust between the well trained and caring staff, the resident, the family and the physician.

As seniors age and require personal care services, Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to grow with them, enabling them and their loved ones to know they have chosen a community that can meet their needs for today and tomorrow.

The luncheon is free and open to the public. An RSVP is needed to secure space for the luncheon. Please call 217-268-3516 today to reserve your spot.

For more information on this event or other upcoming activities open to seniors, find Carriage Crossing Senior Living Arcola on Facebook.

The LifeSpan Center is located at 11021 E. County Road 800N, Charleston. The telephone number is (217) 639-5150. The numbers for the programs are as follows: Coles County Telecare -- (217) 639-5166; Family Care Giver Resource Center -- (217) 639-5168 and Dial A Ride -- (217) 639-5169 or 1-800-500-5505. See you at your LifeSpan Center.

Come join us each weekday at noon for Lunch at LifeSpan. Peace Meals are served Monday through Friday at a suggested donation of $3.50. To register, reserve a lunch or learn more, contact Peace Meal at (217) 348-1800.

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CHARLESTON  A large pool of Eastern Illinois University graduates will be walking across the stage Saturday to receive their diplomas.

Just a few years ago, this annual ritual would have signified a major blow to the university's enrollment numbers. But officials are anticipating the arrival of a larger population of students this fall that should fill the gap left by those who are graduating.

May 1 was National Decision Day, the day many prospective students make their final college decisions, and predictive figures for EIU enrollment shows another year of growth.

Last year, the fall enrollment numbers saw a 7.1 percent increase.

The university is on track to see an overall increase for the 2019 fall semester.

"When you are at May 1, and you are sitting at over 20 percent (more compared to last year) on your freshman commitments, that is fantastic," Josh Norman, EIUs associate vice president for enrollment management, said.

Interestingly, the number of applications to the college is similar to what officials saw in the previous enrollment cycle, but the yield, the metric for commitments to EIU, is growing.

"The yield has just been abnormal in a great way," Norman said. "It is great to see what (the university) is doing is working."

The increases the university is seeing in its student populations are accelerating, especially in the freshman incoming populations. Exact figures were not given, but Norman said they can expect a significant increase in the freshman class this fall.

Beyond these metrics, the upward swing university officials have been seeing for the past couple of years has become most evident in the popularity of orientations, open house events, and regular visit days. On one recent regular visit day, where students and their families are given a tour around the campus, there were 67 who participated, a number not seen in a while.

"The momentum is wild," Norman said.

The international numbers will be the determining factor for how much student population growth the university will see.

International enrollments have become a wild card in the past couple of years, and this is not for a lack of interest, Norman indicated. The international applications are up, but that means little without the visa to get into the country.

As previously reported in the JG-TC, it is harder nowadays for the prospective students to get their visas accepted.

Looking at the incoming populations, the demographics appear to be diversifying.

This has been a slow-building trend over several years, but the university has been getting more interest across state lines. Norman said the university has been putting more resources into efforts to attract out-of-state students.

EIU is looking beyond bordering states to as far as California, where Norman said there has been a large export of students.

Norman noted these out-of-state students are often athletes looking to play at EIU.

This growth had not been at the expense of quality students, Norman said. The university academic profile is advancing, as well, with a 25 percent increase in honors commitments.

Officials have consistently pointed to the Vitalization Project, which tasked the university as a whole with identifying efficiencies and possibilities to make the university more marketable, as the reason for the upward trend.

The university has still got some time before it reaches its goal of 9,000 students. Norman said they are working at hitting that number by 2027.

Contact Jarad Jarmon at (217) 238-6839. Follow him on Twitter: @JJarmonReporter

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SHELBYVILLE  Joseph D. Denton, 50, of Shelbyville, IL, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 6, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mattoon, IL with Father John Titus as Celebrant. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Monday in the church. Following the service, a luncheon will be held in the Parish Center. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday in the Potomac Cemetery, Potomac, IL with military honors. Memorials may be given to the Immaculate Conception Church of Mattoon.

"Joseph Joe Dean Denton was born January 24, 1969 to Dean L. Denton and Ann (Berry) Denton in Charleston, IL. Joe grew up primarily in Nebraska and Alaska under his stepfathers name, Robinson. As a youth Joe was an avid hunter into his teens. Joe had the privilege to hunt in some of the most challenging areas of Alaska, primarily in the Arctic. Joe later became an avid shooter in the area of marksmanship.

Eventually, Joe graduated where he started with his last name restored to Denton, from Charleston High School with Honors in 1987. After graduation, Joe joined the U.S. Navy serving first on the Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) in Long Beach, CA. Later, after extensive and intense training in what is now known as Special Ops Joe became the head of security for Long Beach Commander Admiral John Hogginson. Joe was involved in extensive security issues when representatives of the previous USSR came to Long Beach Naval Station as part of the SALT II Nuclear Treaty. Joe was commended for his role in this and after activities. Joe was recommended, and received, a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy but for personal reasons could not attend. Joe traveled extensively to Asia and the Middle East.

Joe became a professional Firefighter, first at the now-defunct University of Illinois Fire Department, then the Champaign Illinois Fire Department. In March of 2000, Joe suffered a catastrophic injury to his back, left leg, and hip while carrying a woman from her residence during an emergency response. Joe would live the rest of this life in chronic pain and with titanium rods, bolts, and plates, Keeping me together as he joked. In 2010, he received a spinal implant which did wonders for his pain levels.

Despite this monumental hurdle, Joe took pride in helping those in need and giving back to his community. He was involved in Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Mattoon Knights of Columbus where he was a 4th Degree Knight. Immaculate Conception in Mattoon, IL became Joes spiritual home, presided over by Father John Titus, whom Joe was deeply impressed with and respected both as a man and as a Priest.

Joe served on various committees and Councils at Immaculate Conception. These included the reinstitution of 24 Adoration (hours) and was also involved with his Parish Council and the Legion of Mary, Joe was also a Cooperator in Opus Dei.

Joe had a passion for genealogy. He located several living cousins including Harry Selsor and his wife Shirley, and Cynthia Snider who assisted him with his membership application for Sons of the American Revolution, of which he became a member in 2017. His Patriot Ancestor was his 6th Great Grandfather Pennsylvania Militia Captain Martin Bowman. Joe eventually developed and became Chairman of the Public Safety Award Committee at the Ewington Chapter of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Joe also discovered he had an ancestor at the Jamestown Colony, a man named Isaac Madison, the common ancestor Joe shared with eventual President James Madison.

He leaves behind his adored wife, Julie, beloved stepson Jordan, sisters Julie McCarty of California, Jane Robinson of Louisiana, and father Dean Denton of Canada. Joe also leaves behind his faithful and constant companion, his dog Taz.

Joe served his Country, his communities, and people in need in general. He was a staunch supporter of the First & Second Amendments and was an Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association. He was a 3-sport letterman and held physical fitness in high regard, and the reason he was able to walk after his injury as a Firefighter. He will be missed by those who knew him."

Obituary as written by Joseph D. Denton.
CHARLESTON  Having a healthy lifestyle and knowledge of resources can help you stay healthier longer while improving your quality of life. The University of Illinois Extension will be holding a healthy aging summit at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County on Monday, May 13 from 9 a.m.  2 p.m.

The Amazing Brain will feature three Extension Educators focusing on valuable, timely research related to healthy brains. Local Foods/Small Farms Educator and State Master Naturalist Coordinator Dave Shiley will present Refresh, Relax and Recharge in Nature where he will point out how nature can reduce stress and attention fatigue while increasing creativity and brain wellness. Nutrition and Wellness Educator Mary Liz Wright will discuss Eating for Cognitive Health and will teach participants what to eat to delay cognitive decline. Family Life Educator Cheri Burcham will be presenting Two Heads are Better than One. She will share the connection between social engagement and brain health, while leading participants through intellectual exercises that will challenge their noggins! Special guest speaker Elizabeth Hagemann from the Alzheimers Association will be speaking on what the latest research identifies as the best (not foolproof) ways to prevent Alzheimers disease. There will also be fun brain breaks throughout the day.

The summit will be held at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County at 11021 E CR 800 N, Charleston. The cost for this summit is only $5 and includes a buffet lunch and all materials. Pre-registration is required by calling the University of Illinois Extension office at 217-345-7034 or by going online to http://go.illinois.edu/agingsummit Those wanting to attend must be registered and paid by May 8. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in this program, please call 217-345-7034.

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Investor Whitney Tilson used to attract a mix of seasoned professionals and amateur investors to his conferences around the Berkshire meetings. Tilson no longer holds the events, but he is looking forward to his 22nd annual meeting.

"There is really is nothing else like it. It draws people from all over the globe," Tilson said.

And the smaller conferences and gatherings of friends help enhance the attraction of Berkshire's meeting, Tilson added.

Author Bob Miles said it was natural to move his Value Investing Conference to Omaha from California in 2011 because the course already focused on Buffett, Munger and other prominent investors.

"Warren Buffett has popularized value investing and devotees from across the globe see the Berkshire weekend as a touchstone for honoring, learning and emulating an investment genius and masterful teacher," Miles said.

For Creighton University professor Gerald Jensen, setting up an investing conference at Creighton's campus just north of downtown made sense because of all the investors gathered before Berkshire's meeting.
Here are some ways to cope with loneliness during the holiday season, five foods that can help prevent cold and flu, and more videos to improv
A federal judge this week said Lincoln firefighter Troy Hurd must choose between a new trial on damages or a $630,000 reduction in the amount the city must pay him for retaliation he faced after reporting discrimination against a female firefighter trainee born in Iraq.

Senior U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said based on the evidence at Hurd's trial in Omaha in February, it wasn't shocking or plainly unjust that the jury awarded Hurd a substantial amount for past and future emotional distress.

In all, the jury awarded the fire captain $1,177,815.

"It is, however, shocking that the jury awarded $930,472.12 for future emotional distress, because the jury wasn't presented with any evidence of extraordinary circumstances that would merit such a large amount," she said.

Smith Camp said Hurd still works for the city and suffered no financial hardship.

At trial, Hurd said he always wanted to be a firefighter and now considers his career in Lincoln Fire & Rescue effectively over.

Over roughly seven years, he said he suffered from a list of problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and a loss of energy.
Nepals indecision on same-sex marriage leaves couples in limbo

Today, over a decade after the Supreme Courts verdict and four years after the committees report, same-sex marriage remains unrecognised, putting couples like Pant and Melnyk in limbo, with no decision in sight. Two years ago, the couple visited ministry after ministry to seek help for a spousal visa for Melnyk, before filing a case against the immigration office.
In February 2016, he delivered a TED Talk he said was a first of its kind. Prosecutors weren't allowed to say the kinds of things he said publicly. It could have spelled the end of his career.

Everything did change that day, but in a good way, he said.

"I remember the feeling of walking off the stage and just being like, something has happened. The universe has shifted," he said.

Prosecutors, he said in his talk, are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system, but they are unaware and untrained in the notion that the decisions they make every day have grave consequences.

Thousands of people make big mistakes, but they deserve to have the chance to transcend them. Prosecutors have the power to change lives instead of ruin them.

With that, in saying prosecutors have to admit they're part of the problem, people started to listen, he said. Foss has since founded Prosecutor Impact, an advocacy organization that develops training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. He travels the country providing training and delivering talks.
BILLINGS, Mont.  An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name, to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline were blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on Keystone XL's proposed route through the state.

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As Lincoln developed around the old village of Lancaster, there was no building originally located on the southeast corner of 10th and P streets and although it is unclear if Quick himself built the original frame building on the site, in 1873 it was known as Quicks Saloon and quickly became known as the citys quasi-official headquarters of many fraternal orders and was one of 18 saloons, mostly within a block of Market Square which was between 9th, 10th, O and P streets.

In February of 1874 a group of Lincoln women, from several local churches, were organized by the minister at First Methodist (later renamed St. Paul Methodist) Church to combat the ever-increasing presence and power of the citys saloons. On Feb. 14 and 15 the ladies visited each of Lincolns 18 saloons. At Quicks they were met by the owner and his attorney E. E. Brown, who was also Lincolns mayor, and both urged the ladies to move on. One of their number, Mrs. Ricketts, ignored the plea and entered the saloon only to be physically removed by the barman C. W. Whipple. Mrs. Ricketts husband, A. C. Ricketts, prosecuted Quick with the first trial ending with a hung jury. Then, with the second trial, Quick was assessed $57.50 though it was apparently never paid.
A group of Lincoln and Nebraska organizations -- the Native Womens Task Force, Sacred Winds United Methodist Church and Nebraskans for Peace -- concerned about violence against indigenous women will sponsor a discussion from 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at Sacred Winds UMC, 2400 S. 11th St. The event is titled Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: A service, discussion-meal and remembrance.

About 5,700 Native American and Alaskan Native women and girls were reported missing across the nation in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center. The number is probably higher, since many missing go unreported to authorities. An estimated 80% of native women have experienced violence. Nebraska ranked seventh-highest among the states for cases involving missing or slain Native American women and girls  as the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute found.

Omahas 24 cases were the eighth-highest total among 71 cities studied. As the Omaha World-Herald noted, Nationwide, 25% involved missing person cases, 56% were murder cases and 19% had an unknown status.
Had Barr taken the next two years to comb through Mueller's report to determine what information should be redacted, Democrats would have a point. But that's not what happened. On April 18, the public and Congress got a chance to read Mueller's report, with only about 10 percent of it redacted.

Yes, the full report is more damning to the president than the conclusions shared in Barr's letter. It describes sordid scenes where the president asks subordinates to lie. It says Trump had advance notice of the WikiLeaks disclosure of emails stolen by Russian hackers. It shows how Trump's campaign built up a communications strategy around those stolen emails.

As Barr's letter said, "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." As my colleague Noah Feldman has noted, Barr was only following Justice Department regulations when he issued his letter. He was not violating any procedures or rules.
Its commencement season at the University of Nebraska  a time for us to celebrate the achievements of thousands of young people who are about to start a new chapter in their lives.

I am often asked to characterize the universitys impact on the states economy. To me, theres almost no more powerful force for economic growth than the thousands of graduates Nebraskas colleges and universities produce for the workforce every year, including 11,000 students who graduate annually from the University of Nebraska.

These young people are Nebraskas future farmers and ranchers, nurses and doctors, teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. Upwards of 40 percent of them are the first in their families to attend college. Every graduating class of the University of Nebraska has a $2.4 billion impact on Nebraskas economy.

I know each diploma being handed out this week represents a story of hard work, sacrifice and opportunity. And each new graduate will be a catalyst for change for Nebraskas quality of life and economic competitiveness.

Theres just one problem: We are proud of our growth over time, but Nebraska is not producing nearly enough college graduates to solve the urgent workforce crisis facing our state.
Lincoln is a community of diverse political views, and no party holds a majority of registered voters. As a result, our leaders must be willing to work across party lines, to understand differing viewpoints and to craft consensus solutions from the best ideas of all stakeholders.

Leirion Gaylor Baird demonstrated those qualities last year, when our community addressed the safety and success of Lincoln's children.

Following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, community members asked the city and school district for a deeper partnership on student safety. However, there was significant contention on which preventative, protective and proactive programs to include, as well as how to fund them.

Leirion reached out to school board members to find common ground. She worked to unite the City Council, the Board of Education and the mayor's office. Together, we found a sustainable, consensus solution -- the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement.

Leirion's leadership, her commitment to building consensus and her love for this great community made that agreement possible. She demonstrated precisely the qualities we need in our next mayor. Please join me in electing Leirion Gaylor Baird.

Lanny Boswell, Lincoln

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RACINE  Downtown jewelry store Plumb Gold is poised to expand sideways in a unique way, into the space now held by beads and art shop Funky Hannahs.

The two adjacent businesses  Plumb Gold at 322 Main St. and Funky Hannahs at 324 Main St.  each occupy a storefront of a single, 1860s building. On Wednesday, Plumb Gold owner Austin Schultz, owner of his building, closed the purchase of the Funky Hannahs building from owner-operator Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath.

Paffrath will be closing Funky Hannahs in its current form and said she is not sure what will come next. Shes already marked down her inventory to prepare for an exit by about July 6.

If shes able to be out by then, Schultz said, he would like to open his new shop, Plumb Silver, by the next holiday season. But if the project goes later than that, it would have to wait until after the holidays.

Schultz purchase of 324 Main St. will have several outcomes, one being to reunite what was constructed as a single building  albeit with two separate storefronts  under one owner.

He will also make a doorway between the two spaces, and what is now Funky Hannahs will become a new Plumb Gold division of sorts, Plumb Silver.

The deal came about for a couple of reasons, said Paffrath and Schultz, who bought Plumb Gold from former owner Judy Olsen 3 years ago.

Were out of room, he said. I want to be able to offer our customers new things, and we just dont have anywhere to put them. So thats when I approached Amanda.

Austin talked to me about buying my building, and I was ready to do something different, Paffrath said.

But shes not yet sure what that something will be. What were saying that were doing is that were closing this location, and stay tuned for details.

Paffrath, also owner of Hot Shop Glass, 239 Wisconsin Ave., added, We have a great location at Hot Shop thats a possibility, but theres lots of possibilities.

Interesting history, she remarked, is that the second floor of that building is where Plumb Gold started.

Plumb Gold, Plumb Silver

Schultz said he didnt want to merely expand Plumb Golds footprint, but also to create something new.

The stores are going to have different personalities, he said.

Ive been trying to make Plumb Gold really welcoming and comfortable for people, Schultz continued. Before, I think  it was a little standoffish. So, (Plumb Silver) is my way of counteracting that and also putting my own stamp on a space.

He plans to put in chairs and a lounger and said, I want people to come in and just hang out. Come in and have a coffee with your friends  and we just happen to sell jewelry, or gifts.

Plumb Gold has a secured door, and customers have to be buzzed in. Plumb Silver will not, Schultz said. It will sell lower-priced merchandise than Plumb Golds, and all the silver jewelry from there will be moved over to Plumb Silver.

Keeping Downtown retail alive

It was always my dream, when I bought that business, Schultz said, to own both buildings.

I wasnt looking to sell this building, Paffrath said. I wasnt looking to retool the business  although its perfect timing to do that.

But with the movement thats happening Downtown, having somebody whos in retail, who lives locally, who wants to keep a thriving retail business and make it better, to me was a real motivating factor too.

Because I feel really strongly about having some properties being held by people who have local ties and who are interested in keeping retail alive Downtown. And thats not easy to do.

It was always my dream, when I bought that business to own both buildings  The stores are going to have different personalities. <&textAlign: right>Austin Schultz, owner of Plumb Gold and the future Plumb Silver

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RACINE  Seven months after the Wild Root Market reached one fundraising goal, it still needs to fill an approximately $1 million financing gap to be able to start renovating its building, and the group has again pushed back the project timing.

It is now going on a decade that the hoped-for food cooperative has been in the planning stage. In late 2009, a small group of people first met to talk about starting a community-owned, natural foods grocery store in the Downtown area. The impetus for their efforts came from a market study, in about 2006, for a Downtown grocery store that would emphasize natural foods.

Last Sept. 23, on its final day of member fundraising, the local food cooperative hit a milestone when it reached its $1.125 million goal in memberships and member loans. A precommitted loan from the National Cooperative Bank, for construction and equipment, was contingent on the co-op coming up with the $1.125 million in owner loans and donations.

At the time Wild Root was anticipating opening the north-side food cooperative, at 500 Walton Ave., this year.

The co-op did close on the purchase of that building in December, Wild Root Board Secretary Margie Michicich said Tuesday. The City of Racine released $175,000 of its promised project grant of up to $390,000 to help with the purchase, Michicich said.

However, per the property covenant, if Wild Root Market has not closed on its private financing by Dec. 31, Wild Root must deed the property to the city. The city would be able to sell the property in order to recoup the $175,000 grant. It has been determined that the property is worth more than $175,000.

The Wild Root board continues to work with the National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., as the primary lender for construction and equipment, Michicich said. Our primary lender wants us to have a strong cash position to ensure stability in our first year, she said.

Consequently, the Wild Root board has been talking with private, government and community entities that Michicich declined to identify as potential sources for closing the $1 million gap.

The boards goal is now to find that funding and begin renovations on the building this year, as soon as possible, she said. The expectation is that renovations will take at least six months.

Michicich said she and other Wild Root board members are cautiously optimistic about landing the needed funding to spring loose the main loan. And she said Wild Root has obtained more than 80 percent of the capital it requires.

The Wild Root Market plan

The cooperative, formed in 2011, is trying to open a full-service grocery store with 7,700 square feet of retail space, at an estimated cost of $5.2 million, in a former medical building two blocks west of the Racine Zoo. The plan includes a delicatessen and cafe, local and organic meat, eggs and produce; bulk foods; bakery; wine and beer; supplements and more. Wild Root says the grocery store will create about 50 jobs, all of which will pay above minimum wage.

Although the Wild Root Market would be member-owned, returning the profits to its members, it would be a for-profit operation that would increase the amount of property taxes paid to the city on the now-vacant building.

The co-op expects to make between $5 million and $6 million in its first year, and at least 20 percent would come from sales of products produced within 100 miles of the market.

For more information, visit wildrootmarket.coop or email info@wildrootmarket.com.

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ORLANDO, Fla.  Gateway Technical College Collegiate DECA Chapter earned several recognitions at the International College DECA Conference held recently in Orlando.

The following Gateway students received an award of excellence for placing a high score in their event: David Czuper, of Racine; Jada Peters, Taylor Arena and Angelique Ortiz, all of Kenosha; and Ailyn Castro, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.

Executive Leadership Passport Award to the Gateway DECA chapter. The Collegiate DECA Leadership Passport Program encourages local chapters and individual members to plan activities and participate in events that enhance the experiences of members. Individual Leadership Passport Awards were awarded to Gateway students Czuper, Peters and David St. Peter, of Kenosha.

Community Service Award. This award is designed to recognize Collegiate DECA chapters for civic activities performed in their community. This year students raised awareness and funds for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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DSP Dhungel suspended for suspected association with a robber

When the police division started the investigation after three of the six robbers had been arrested, Shresthas connection with Dhungel was revealed.
RACINE  The reconstruction of Three Mile Road from 150 feet east of Douglas Avenue (Highway 32) to 480 feet west of LaSalle Street is set to begin Wednesday, according to John Rooney, Racine city engineer.

The work is a joint project between Racine and Caledonia, with Racines Engineering Department overseeing the work. Waukehsa-based LaLonde Contractors was awarded the contract and is expected to finish the project by mid-August.

The road will be closed from just west of LaSalle Street to Charles Street during the project. Only westbound traffic from Charles Street in Caledonia or the quarry will be permitted on Three Mile Road to Douglas Avenue.

The western half of the project will be staged to allow westbound traffic on half of the roadway at a time.

Traffic will be able to exit businesses on the south side of Three Mile Road near Douglas Avenue by traveling west. Westbound traffic from Charles Street will be able to enter businesses on Three Mile Road.

The posted detour for eastbound traffic will be from Douglas Avenue to South Street to LaSalle Street, and the same route in reverse for westbound traffic.

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MADISON  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is raising concerns that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers gave temporary raises to workers at only state six prisons across Wisconsin, none of which are in Racine County.

Earlier this week, Evers authorized temporary raises of up to $5 an hour to workers at six prisons. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that guards and sergeants at Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun correctional institutions, as well as at the Lincoln Hills youth prison, will receive the additional pay.

While providing raises for our correctional officers is the right thing to do, cherry picking which facilities receive the benefits is fundamentally unfair and creates unnecessary animosity in a system that already needs reform, said Vos, R-Rochester. There are three corrections facilities in my district and every one of the hardworking officers deserves to be compensated for the incredibly important work that they do.

The three corrections facilities in the 63rd Assembly District, which Vos represents, are: Racine Correctional Institution on Wisconsin Street in Sturtevant; Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center on Highway C in Dover; and the Sturtevant Transitional Facility on Rayne Road.

I look forward to working with our finance members to bring forward a fair compensation package that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of our correctional workers in Racine County, Vos said.

The pay increases come at a time the state Department of Corrections is struggling to recruit and retain prison workers.

Overtime hours, turnover and vacancy rates in the states prison system rose dramatically over the last five fiscal years, according to a report state auditors released Friday.

The report underscores the DOCs ongoing struggle to find enough people willing to deal with inmates for relatively low wages. DOC Secretary-designee Kevin Carr said in a letter to auditors that unless the agency can get control of vacancies things probably wont change.

Until the vacancy rates of our institutions are decreased, overtime will continue to be the reality for many employees, he said.

The total number of paid overtime hours within DOC institutions grew 50.7% from fiscal year 2013-14 to fiscal year 2017-18, auditors found. Of the $397.5 million the state spent on DOC wages in fiscal year 2017-18, nearly $53 million, or 13%, went to cover overtime hours worked mostly by security personnel.

The 10 employees with the most paid overtime hours that year worked between 69 and 93.2 hours per week. Their earnings averaged $117,500, with $71,000 of that overtime pay.

High turnover

Playing into the overtime hours are turnover and a failure to fill vacancies.

Auditors found the turnover rate for guards grew from just under 18% in 2013-14 to 26% in 2017-18. Turnover was highest in maximum-security prisons, with Columbia Correctional Institution seeing the largest increase of about 25% from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

The turnover rate for health and social service employees saw the highest turnover rate for any type of DOC worker in both years at 24.4% and 31.7%, respectively. Nurses had a turnover rate of nearly 60%, and social workers had a turnover rate of about 54%. The report notes that DOC attributes that turnover to nurses and social workers finding more lucrative positions elsewhere.

The report also shows that DOC is struggling to fill empty positions. The vacancy rate for security personnel, including guards, more than doubled over the five fiscal years, from 6.7% to 14%. As of June 2018, the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, four prisons had vacancy rates of 20% or higher. Three of them were maximum-security institutions. The other was a minimum-security prison.

The report notes that perceptions that prison jobs arent safe and low pay are likely fueling the turnovers and vacancies.

There were more than 300 inmate-on-employee assaults or attempted assaults in each of the five years, with a high of 367 in 2015-16. As for wages, the report found Wisconsins $16.32-an-hour wage for entry-level guards in August 2018 was the second-lowest among seven Midwestern states, higher only than Indianas $16 an hour. The average entry-level pay among the seven states was $18.35 an hour.

Evers plan

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers state budget calls for spending an additional $23.8 million to implement a pay progression system for guards, sergeants and psychiatrists within DOC and the state Department of Health Services. The report notes that the budget doesnt specify amounts. Raising the starting wage for Wisconsin guards to $17.90, the median starting wage for guards in surrounding states, would cost about $30 million, the report indicates.

DOC is attempting to retain workers through training academies at six institutions where guard applicants work alongside guards and job fairs at its prisons, auditors noted.

They recommended DOC evaluate the effectiveness of the training academies, job fairs and potential pay progressions and report findings to the Legislatures Joint Audit Committee by March. Carr said in his letter he looks forward to providing the committee with details on the agencys follow-up to the report.

Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, co-chairman of the audit committee, said in a statement that DOC needs better data to determine the effectiveness of its worker retention programs.

The goal is still to reduce staffing vacancies, turnover and instances of excessive overtime, Cowles said. Doing this would not only result in cost savings, but ultimately a safer work environment.

Christina Lieffring of The Journal Times contributed to this report.

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- A Facebook page named Kren Austria received intense public online bashing

- The Facebook page is believed to be managed by the trending daughter who slapped her mother with a slipper

- Maria Magdalena Austria, Kren's mother also left a comment in the Facebook Page

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Amidst the bashing and online backlash, an apologetic message was posted by a 'Kren Austria' Facebook page. Netizens were convinced that the account was legit especially with Maria Magdalena Austria commenting on it.

Kren Austria was the daughter of Maria Magdalena Austria who took the Filipino netizens by storm when she asked for Raffy Tulfo's help.

The old lady went to Raffy Tulfo because she wanted to fix her relationship with her two daughters. They were also living with her in her house.

She emotionally shared how her younger daughter Kren slapped her with a slipper. When they finally got to talk to sort things out, the older sister Irish said she was willing to settle their feud. The younger sister, however, earned more hatred from the netizens when her mom hugged her but she seemed not to care at all.

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She did not hug her mother back. A 'Kren Austria' Facebook page was made recently. Based on the posts it was made by Kren herself because she deactivated her private account.

"I created a public FB account, but then it was disabled by Facebook. I deactivated my private account to protect my privacy. Let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry and please stop spreading hatred. Thank you!"

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

With the intense online reactions, Kren's employment could get affected especially with the netizens sending messages of protests to the company she is working with.

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

In the comment section, a message from Austria Maria Magdalena read, "To all....naintintihan ko po kayo, as a mother, kaya po pang unawa sa bawat isa sa amin ang pangyayari ito. Siguro pagsubok ito sa amin at nalusutan namin. Dios pa rin ang nangibabaw at nagtagumpay. God is good to all of us. I need your pang unawa nlng. God bless to all...I love you all....salamat po."

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Working through my ignorance with your help.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has introduced The Peoples Budget.

So its no surprise the most recent Marquette poll showed that 70 percent of Wisconsinites support the Medicaid expansion  a cornerstone of the governors budget proposal.

Unfortunately, since 2014 Republicans have refused to do the right thing and accept these funds. Let me give you a quick reminder about the positive impacts Medicaid expansion would have on our state.

Over 80,000 people across Wisconsin would gain access to affordable health coverage under BadgerCare. Insuring more people means healthier families and a healthier workforce.

Accepting the expansion is also the fiscally responsible thing to do for our state. It would save $324 million dollars for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Medicaid expansion also helps address the opioid crisis. Low-income adults are an especially high-risk population that are more likely to be uninsured and vulnerable to opioid abuse. Governor Evers budget proposes assisting all individuals in crisis, including those in need of substance abuse treatment.

Finally, Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do for our rural communities. Studies have proven there is a direct correlation between states that have expanded Medicaid and the ability of rural hospitals to stay open in those states due to increased reimbursement rates.

While Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion at every turn, its never too late to do the right thing.

Wisconsin Democrats stand with the people of Wisconsin who overwhelmingly want us to accept the Medicaid expansion.

Democrat Dianne Hesselbein, Middleton, represents the 79th state Assembly District.

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With shiny brown eyes, a glossy tan coat and a sleek physique, Belgian Malinois Tasja is a canine beauty with an elite pedigree. She is also a crime- fighting force in the La Crosse community.

With her striking visage, mental sharpness and impeccable physicality, Tasja was the perfect choice for the Vohne Liche Kennels and Kinetic Performance Dog Food K-9 of the Year, winning a year supply of kibble and bragging rights for both the diligent dog and partner Joshua Czys, investigator for the town of Campbell Police Department.

Their photo submission will also be featured in Kinetic and Vohne Liche media and marketing materials for the duration of the year.

We got another group of amazing entries this year, said Dave Dourson, co-owner of Kinetic Performance Dog Food. Teams like Investigator Czys and Tasja are great examples of why Vohne Liche is known as one of the best in the business when it comes to working police and military K-9 dogs and training.

We were excited. Its cool, Czys said of winning the nationwide contest.

Czys and Tasja graduated from Vohne Liche, an Indiana based K-9 training facility for police and military service dogs, in 2013.

She was sworn in at the Campbell Police Department in 2016 after community members raised the funds to purchase Tasja, previously owned by the Adams County Sheriffs Department, for the local force. The 7-year-old dog was trained in handler protection, finding drugs and evidence and locating missing people at Von Liche, founded in 1993 by U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Kenneth Licklider and staffed by 24 trainers of military or law enforcement backgrounds.

Investigator Czys and Tasja are a veteran K-9 team with years of great service together, said Vohne Liche owner Ken Licklider. Its great to see these guys looking fit and still serving strong years after we first introduced them here at our kennel.

Canine graduates have gone on to serve at more than 5,000 agencies including the Pentagon, National Security Agency and U.S. State Department, U.S. Army and more than 500 other U.S. government, police, military and civilian agencies. In addition to assisting in narcotics and patrol, Tasja also works with the SWAT unit.

With the Campbell Police Department funded through donations, Czys says the free dog food prize will save the department about $1,000. The hardworking dog, however, is priceless.

Shes trustworthy, Czys said of his canine partner. Shes fearless and reliable.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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A multifamily dwelling was left with minor smoke and fire damage after flames broke out Friday morning.

The La Crosse Fire Department was called to 704 Division St. at 7:31 a.m. Friday for reports of a possible fire.

Fire crews arrived in less than two minutes and found smoke and flames coming from a stairwell doorway leading to a second-floor apartment. The fire was quickly extinguished and all residents were safely evacuated, firefighters said, with one resident evaluated and released by Tri State Ambulance at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Damage was confined to a stairwell, door threshold and steps, firefighters said, and extensive ventilation of smoke from the basement and two apartments was required.

Firefighters determined careless use of smoking materials caused the fire. The La Crosse Fire Department received assistance from La Crosse police.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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This key and this fire truck are both in the artifact collection of La Crosse County Historical Society.

While small, the key is certainly not the smallest item in the collection, but the fire truck is one of the biggest. Probably Historic Hixon House itself is the only thing that could be considered bigger.

A relatively large key, 5.5 inches long, it folds in half for convenience  not a feature we often see on keys these days. But handy for keeping it safely in a pocket.

Its been in the collection for a very long time: so long, the documentation about who donated it has been lost.

But we know it was a key to the old La Crosse Courthouse because it still has its original tag, with very old writing in script that has turned sepia with age, reading key to court house square, please return to Central Police Station.

We presume this refers to the La Crosse County Courthouse, which opened in 1904 and was torn down in 1965.

The fire truck is a chain-driven 1922 American La France pumper ladder truck, used by the La Crosse Fire Department.

This truck was actually maintained and used as a back-up until 1962, when the Southside Businessmens Club bought it for $250 and donated it to the Historical Society.

A few years ago, it was on display in our exhibit All Fired Up: The History of Firefighting in La Crosse.

At that time a retired firefighter told me he remembered riding in the open back of this truck and bouncing down city streets like the keystone cops. He was the last of a generation of firefighters who rode on the outside of their vehicles. Im sure its safer this way, but possibly not as much fun.

In terms of size, the key and the fire truck represent two extremes of the roughly 10,000 local historic artifacts that LCHS preserves and shares with the people of this region.

Proper storage and cataloging are priorities, and we share our treasures as best we can: at our house museum, Historic Hixon House; at our small local history museum in Riverside Park, Riverside Museum; in our online database; and every Saturday through this newspaper column.

Despite our name, LCHS is not a part of any branch of government: we are a private non-profit corporation and have been 1898.

We are very grateful for the $18,100 grant we receive every year from the La Crosse County commissioners, but as you can imagine, it doesnt begin to cover our costs.

From year to year we are dependent on our members and donors to fill in the gaps left by grants and museum admissions, and do more with less. Our computers are second hand, our staff of 2.5 receive no benefits, and there are no stipends for devoted volunteers who give guided tours or make Silent City possible year after year.

So why am I telling you all this in a Things That Matter column?

Because people keep asking me what we are raising money for. It is to keep our doors open, and to keep people caring for our artifacts. La Crosse County Historical Society is a public trust: we collect, preserve and share these artifacts on behalf of you, the people of La Crosse County.

We pay for core mission support through memberships, appeals and events. I cannot overemphasize the importance of membership. Members receive free admission to Hixon House and they stay abreast of LCHS events through an excellent quarterly newsletter that also publishes well-researched articles on local history. We are a member-governed organization, with the membership electing our board of directors.

LCHS members are engaged with our goal of creating a new local history and cultural center for the region, where we will have the opportunity to display many more of our historic treasures and share stories with more people. We are eager to be able to display more cool things, such as fire trucks and memorabilia from the old Courthouse.

Membership is easy to do and isnt expensive: individual membership is just $35. You can join or make a donation from our website, lchshistory.org, or you can call our office at 608-782-1980 for more information on this, as well as on our museum and event schedules.

Have a historic day.

Peggy Derrick is executive director of the La Crosse County Historical Society.

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Fall in imports, bird flu scare drive up price of goat meat

Goat meat has become dearer by around Rs150 per kg in the Kathmandu Valley over the past month, mainly due to a fall in imports of live animals from India and a surge in demand caused by consumers switching to goat from chicken over a bird flu scare.
FOUNTAIN CITY  Karl Hoffmann wanted $100 for the cast iron, claw-foot tub he bought last year while Up North near his cottage in Crivitz.

The chamber pot he found at a resale shop had a $10 sticker, but the three remaining 7-week-old kittens in the nearby carrier were free.

Meanwhile, Nellie, a pregnant and plump 6-year-old golden lab, waddled her way up and down the sidewalk here where Hoffman was having a garage sale.

In a few months, Nellies litter will also be up for sale at $325 a pooch.

I should have a sign on her back, Hoffmann joked about Nellie, who is expecting 11 puppies. Shes a great duck retriever.

The weird, unusual, living and vintage are all on display  and for sale  this weekend with the spring ritual known as the 100 Mile Garage Sale. Many towns, villages, cities and neighborhoods set aside specific dates throughout the spring and summer in an effort to group together sales and maximize the crowds.

But along both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sides of the Mississippi River this weekend, 22 communities have joined together to create a string of sales, many of them just feet away from the passing traffic on the Great River Road.

On Highway 61 from Hastings to Winona, Minnesota, and on Highway 35 from Prescott south to Fountain City, Wisconsin, the four-day event that roughly circles Lake Pepin brings thousands of people to the region that is punctuated with bluffs, barges, passing trains and historic buildings.

Residents along both sides of the river have always had garage sales, but according to Pat Mutter, executive director of Visit Winona, Minnesota, around 2005 the first weekend of May became the official event and was dubbed The 100 Mile Garage Sale. The title plays off of 100 Miles of Friends, a collection of about 15 communities that promote themselves through an umbrella organization, Mississippi Valley Partners. That organization puts together a comprehensive website that lists scores of sales, their addresses and brief descriptions of the inventory.

Each year it really changes, Mutter said when asked about the size and scope of the event. I mean, we get people from around the United States who come to this.

And some of those visitors arent just buying.

Bonna Schultz came from Gwinner, North Dakota, with a truckload of clothing to sell at a family sale in a rural subdivision between Buffalo City and Fountain City. The family has been doing a sale for about 15 years, and Schultz was quick to pull out her smart phone to show off pictures from 2013 when the sale was blanketed in wet snow.

It was actually a good sale because a lot of people wanted to get out after the snow, Schultz said.

The 70-mile Rummage Along the River set for May 17-18 For those who missed this weekend's 100 Mile Garage Sale or didn't get their fill, there's another major sale, only this one is south of La Crosse. The 9th annual Rummage Along the River is a 70 mile garage sale event on May 17 and 18 along Highway 35, also known as the Great River Road. The event features a wide range of sales in Stoddard, Genoa, Bad Axe, Victory, De Soto, Ferryville, Lynxville and points in between. Seneca and Mount Sterling on Highway 27 northeast of Lynxsville are also taking part. Information about the sales can be found at www.rummagealongtheriver.com and the event's Facebook page. Maps for the sales will be placed on-line on May 16 while gas stations and convenience stores, some bait shops and select village offices will also have the maps.

Her familys driveway included a CB radio, a red, three-piece set of American Tourister luggage, five waist-high vases and a Sun-Mar composting toilet thats never been used.

We had an offer of $300 on it, said Jerry Axvig, of Moorehead, Minnesota. It would be great for a hunting shack.

Next door, Paul and Cindy Lorenz, of Fountain City, were just hoping to make enough money to pay off the $150 plumbing bill they incurred the previous weekend while setting up the sale at their sons home. Paul thought he could easily replace the outdoor faucet so he could wash off a few dog transport crates and a bike he had stored in a barn but he broke the faucet off at the pipe. Thankfully the water had been turned off.

I think Im almost even, Paul said Thursday morning shortly after selling $85 in fishing lures. Its not bad for a couple of hours of work.

Back in Fountain City, Frances Burt and her husband have an old lumber yard building stuffed with old tools, signs, outboard motors, vintage soda and beer bottles and even an A&W toboggan. There are buckets of nails, thousands of car parts and plastic bottles filled with small agates.

Wed actually like to sell the building, said Burt, 81.

The couple will also likely, someday, sell one of the Great River Roads more unusual roadside attractions. Burt and her husband, John, 86, who is in declining health, own the Rock in the House. In 1995, a 55-ton boulder broke loose from the hillside and crashed into the bedroom of Maxine and Dwight Anderson. The couple escaped death and sold the home to the Burts a few months later.

The first year the Burts owned the house, 20,000 people visited. Last year, about 3,000 people paid $2 to get a glimpse at the rock that remains embedded in the house that fronts Highway 35 on Fountain Citys north side.

Were trying to downsize, Frances Burt said.

In Alma, where the bluffs have contained the community into a two-block-wide, seven-mile-long city, history mixed with rummage.

In a cinder-block garage that at one time was used to store appliances and hardware for a local store, tables filled with items lined the buildings interior. Windows in the back offered views of the swelling river and the occasional passing freight train. Other items spilled out onto the sidewalk and into the street, including a box of sweaters for $2 each, 25-cent Christmas decorations and an old metal bed spring.

A bin also held a few dozen wooden yardsticks including some from the Bank of Mondovi, Gilmanton Co-op Creamery and the Lincoln Lumber Company in West Allis. They were all priced at $1 each but others inside were $5 apiece because of their outdated telephone numbers. The Goodrich Lumber & Coal Co. in Durand, for example, had a phone number of 28.

Robin Becker owns the building and seven others in the city and used two personal days from her job as a teacher in Eau Claire to run the sale on Thursday and Friday. Last year, she made $3,000 over the four-day event.

We were setting up last weekend and people were stopping, Becker said. I had sales starting at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Its been crazy.

One of the neatest settings was just up the street where Gina Dyess used the old Heise Grainery barn, constructed in 1862, to hold her sale. The building still has its original wood floor and the pulley system in the rafters used to pull grain from wagons. Modern Mylar balloons with long strings, and purposefully let loose by Dyess, dotted the ceiling to discourage bats.

Her inventory, like most, was a melange of items. However, one stood out. She was asking $125 for a Victrola from the Victor Talking Machine Co. in New Jersey. The price includes a small collection of records, one featuring the song Theres a Little White House on a Little Green Hill performed by the Cadillac Orchestra.

It gets really busy, Dyess said of the weekend sale. Whatever youre not looking for, you can find.

Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

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They're big, they're burly -- and they're baaaaack.

We're talking about basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, and they've been spotted all over the coast of Southern California for the first time in decades.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are reporting dozens of basking shark sightings from Ventura and the Santa Barbara Channel, all the way to Los Angeles and the Channel Islands.

Basking sharks can grow up to 30 feet long -- almost the size of your average Metro bus -- and boast a mouth that can stretch open to more than 3 feet wide. (Lucky for us they eat plankton, not people.)

While they're found pretty much all over the world, especially off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, basking sharks are a fairly rare sight in Southern California.

In the 1950s and '60s, boaters and fishermen reportedly spotted them in the hundreds or thousands, They've since all but disappeared -- until now..

"It's a pretty big deal," said NOAA fisheries biologist Heidi Dewar, who is part of the team that's now keeping a close eye on the sharks. "Time will tell if this is a one-off rebound or a real comeback."

No one is quite sure why basking sharks seemed to disappear, but Dewar said there's strong evidence that, locally, many of them became victims of commercial fishing bycatch. They were also targeted eradication efforts against populations of basking sharks in British Columbia to keep them out of salmon fishing nets.

Fortunately for the sharks, things have changed quite a bit since then. In 1994, California banned gill and trammel net fishing within three nautical miles of the state's coastline, and that zone appears to make up a good portion of the sharks' preferred feeding grounds.

A basking shark spotted by NOAA researchers near Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

Dr. Chris Lowe with the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach agreed that the latest sightings appear to be a good sign, but noted that it could also just be another indicator of climate change.

Warming ocean temperatures and recent marine heatwaves are causing plankton and other microorganisms to slowly shift north up the West Coast, bringing the larger animals that feed on them (e.g.: basking sharks) with them.

"Ultimately, what we don't know is why they show up at certain places at certain times," Lowe said.

That knowledge gap is largely due to the fact that scientists simply haven't had the opportunity to properly study their range in the Pacific or what their regular offshore habitats look like. And because it's been so long since one of them was spotted, data collection on basking sharks in California has been sporadic and inconsistent over the years.

"It was, honestly, off my radar that we used to have basking sharks off California," Dewar said.

NOAA researchers follow a basking shark for satellite tagging off Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

But with more basking sharks popping up in recent weeks, NOAA is now actively maintaining a database of those sightings -- and they're asking anyone who sees one to let them know.

"We can take that data and link it to environmental conditions that day and try to get a better sense of what their preferred habitat is or even get a boat out on the water to catch up with them and put a satellite tag on them," Dewar said.

So if you do spot a basking shark, help a scientist out and call NOAA's basking shark hotline at (858) 334-2884 or send an email to basking.shark@noaa.gov.
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A charter school in South Los Angeles, whose future was already in doubt, has taken the unusual step of ending its school year a month early before ceasing operations for good.

Friday was the last day of classes at Summit Preparatory Charter School, which originally planned to end its school year on June 7. The charter enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood.

Summit Prep parents have known about the closure for about a month.

On April 2, the L.A. Unified School Board voted against renewing Summit Prep's charter. Later the same day, with the school already running a deficit, Summit Prep's leaders decided to begin the process of shutting it down.

Summit Prep students have technically already clocked a complete school year; they've met a state minimum for instructional time, the school's founder and executive director Arianna Haut said.

"We will continue to work with our families to ensure our students are enrolled in schools for next year," Haut said in a statement. "With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to a community that welcomed us."

While Summit Prep's closure isn't exactly sudden, for a charter school to close this early is rare.

In the past two decades, state data shows that 135 charter schools have closed in L.A. County. But the vast majority closed in June or July -- likely after the school year ended. Before Summit Prep, just 13 charter schools closed between October and May.

Every three to five years, charter schools must apply for renewals from the "authorizer" that regulates and oversees them -- often, the local school district in which they operate. LAUSD officials asked school board members to deny Summit Prep's renewal application, citing concerns with the school's financial and academic track record.

Last school year, nearly one-quarter of Summit Prep's students were at-risk or long-term English learners. District officials said only 1.1 percent of the school's English learners had been "reclassified" as English-proficient -- far lower than other area schools.

"That number matters," said Ed Lin, president of Summit Prep's governing board, in an emotional interview. "We would've liked to have a chance to address it." (The school had developed an action plan to improve its English learner metrics.)

Summit Preparatory Charter School enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood. (Kyle Stokes/KPCC)

Summit Prep leaders could have appealed the LAUSD board's April 2 vote on its petition to renew its charter for five years, and sought a new charter from either county or state officials.

But Lin said the LAUSD board's non-renewal vote jeopardized a short-term loan the school was counting on in order to continue operations. Summit Prep had a projected net income of $275,000 this year -- but that still left the school with negative net assets of around $310,000.

"There's no way we could've gone all the way to June," Lin said. "We would be so far into the red that it would be irresponsible. This is the best plan we could come up with."

"Is it what we wanted? No," Lin added. "We wanted to finish out the school year."

Donations to a GoFundMe page for Summit Prep, which Haut posted shortly after the decision to close last month, netted just under $15,000 for the school, Haut said. Those donations -- coupled with an early closing date and selling off school equipment -- should allow Summit Prep to settle all of its existing expenses, including staff payroll before it closes its doors.

Summit Prep's shutdown has raised eyebrows among critics of charter schools. Teachers unions in particular see charters as existential threats to the finances of traditional, district-run public schools.

Prominent charter critic Diane Ravitch posted a write-up about the early closure on her widely-read blog.

The post noted that Summit Prep claimed space on an LAUSD campus under the state law known as Prop. 39, which entitles charter schools to operate on district-run campuses at minimal cost. These "co-locations" sometimes force the LAUSD host school to give up computer labs, music rooms and parent centers for the charter school's use.

"Nothing, I mean nothing," the blog post quoted an LAUSD teacher as saying, "is worse to me than lying to immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much to get to this country, to give their children a better life."

An exasperated-sounding Lin, who was a founding board member of Summit Prep, said that criticism of charter schools has gotten out of hand -- particularly after January's L.A. teachers strike.

"I passionately believe in public education," Lin said. "The treatment we've received from LAUSD, and from the public ... it's ridiculous. We're members of this community trying to do a good thing."
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An Orange County infant who was too young to be vaccinated is hospitalized with measles, OC health officials announced Saturday. That latest case became public hours after UC Irvine officials said a graduate student who spent time on campus this week had also been confirmed to have the highly-contagious disease.

The student, identified as a man who lives in Long Beach, did not need hospitalization and is currently quarantined at his home, officials said. Orange County health officials said he had been vaccinated and had no history of international travel.

Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said the man is among some 3% of people who still contract measles despite being vaccinated. The good news is that those people typically suffer less severe symptoms and also are not as contagious to others.

Here's What You Need To Know About Measles, As The Outbreak Continues To Grow

The man had spent extensive time in public before his diagnosis, including at a movie theatre, grocery stores and wine bars in Long Beach, according to information released by health officials.

L.A. County officials also named some of the region's most popular tourist destinations as having been visited by a local person now known to have been contagious, including The Grove, L.A. Farmers Market and the La Brea Tar Pits. [Details below.]

L.A. County officials on Saturday also said another person infected with measles recently traveled through the area. They did not offer any additional details about that individual. To date this year, L.A. County has reported eight cases in residents and another six non-resident cases.

The majority of the people who had measles had not been vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Orange County had announced its first case of measles this year, a Placentia woman in her 20s who became infected while traveling internationally. She went to the movies in Fullerton while contagious, according to health officials.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE INFANT

OC health officials said the baby has "no history of international travel." They did not give a specific age for the infant, who was cared for at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) emergency department.

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a child get the first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine when they are between 12 months and 15 months. A child who is traveling internationally should get the first vaccination at 6 months of age, health officials recommend.

OC officials said the infant was infectious while being cared for at CHOC's emergency department at these dates and times:

Sunday, April 28, 7 - 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, 9:30 p.m. through Wednesday, May 1 at 12:15 a.m.

Thursday, May 2, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

One of the key reasons public health officials say vaccination is important has to do with a concept known as herd immunity. If enough people are vaccinated -- typically at least 90 to 95% of the population in cases of highly contagious diseases such as measles -- that effectively protects those who cannot be vaccinated like infants or people who have compromised immune systems by limiting the spread of the disease.

UCI CASE

In an announcement released to the UC Irvine community Saturday morning, Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university had been "informed that the student attended classes or was present while contagious."

The latest case comes after concerns about the spread of measles on two campuses in Los Angeles County, Cal State Los Angeles and UCLA, led health officials to quarantine hundreds of students until the period for signs of new infections passed earlier this week.

As of Thursday, state health officials reported 40 people in California have been diagnosed with measles so far this year. Most were unvaccinated. The number is already twice the reported cases in all of 2018.

Nationwide, a number of large outbreaks have propelled the number of measles case over 700, already more than in 2014 when an outbreak tied to Disneyland led to a renewed vaccination push and stricter rules on exemptions in California.

The trend is concerning to many public health officials who point out measles had once become so rare in the U.S. that the disease was considered eliminated in 2000.

WHERE THE GRAD STUDENT WENT

Gillman provided a list of places where the student came in contact with others on the campus:

Monday, April 29: Humanities Instructional Building 100, 10 a.m.-noon Krieger Hall, Classic Dept. 4th Floor, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Humanities Hall 112, 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2, UCI Student Health Center, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Dr. Albert Cheng, of the UCI student health department, said they'd worked to evaluate if students who came in contact with the infected man had immunizations or lab work to show immunity.

If not, he said they're working to reach out.

Gillman said some students who may have come in contact with the contagious person had already been cleared. He described the number of people on campus who did not have vaccinations as a "small percentage."

"I want to assure you that campus health experts have been working closely with local public health officials to ensure that notifications are made and proper care is provided to all who might be affected," he wrote. "We are currently notifying students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed, providing them with information about treatment and prevention."

In addition to the places on campus, OC health officials provided the following locations in Fullerton the man visited on Friday, May 3:

The Pickled Monk, 1:45 - 3:30 p.m.

Brick Basement Antiques, 2:40 - 4 p.m.

Buffalo Exchange, 3 - 4:15 p.m.

8Eightyeight Cigar, 3:15 - 5 p.m.

He also said the student will remain at home, which is in Los Angeles County.

Long Beach health officials also released a list of locations the man had visited in his home city:

Sunday, April 28: Pizzanista, 1837 E 7th St, 5:30- 7:00 p.m. Total Wine, 7400 Carson Blvd, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Susan European Dressmaker, 3319 E 7th St, 5 -7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1: Art du Vin Wine Bar, 2027 E 4th St, 8 -10 p.m. Ralph's, 2930 E 4th St, 2 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2: Ralph's, 6290 Pacific Coast Highway, 3- 6:30 p.m. AMC Marina Pacifica, 6346 E PCH, 6- 10 p.m.

Friday, May 3, Broadway Carwash,4000 E Broadway, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

L.A. County offered this list of public places visited by a person infected with measles. They did not specify which case, the Long Beach resident or the non-resident individual, the exposures are tied to:



Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28, Farmer's Daughter Hotel 115 S Fairfax Ave

Also on Saturday, April 27: Peet's Coffee, 3rd & Fairfax, 9 a.m. - noon Fratelli's Cafe, 7200 Melrose Ave, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. TART Restaurant (located in Farmer's Daughter Hotel), 5 -8 p.m. The Grove, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles Farmer's Market, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Paper Source, 3rd & Fairfax, 4 - 6 p.m. Whole Food's (Fairfax) 6350 W 3rd St., 8 - 11 p.m. La Brea Tarpits, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, LAX International Terminal, 7:45 - 11:45 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1, LAX Employee Shuttle, unclear time and 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1,LAX International Terminal, 7:10 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

ANOTHER OC CASE

Earlier this week, Orange County health officials announced a confirmed case of measles in a county resident who was infected while traveling internationally.

Places where that person, identified as a Placentia resident in her 20s, could have come in contact with others while contagious are:

Tuesday - Thursday, April 23-25, 5 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, 7:45 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. daily

Thursday- Friday, April 25-26, AMC Movie Theatre, 1001 S. Lemon St., Fullerton, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Saturday, April 27, St. Jude Emergency Department, 7-9 a.m.

THE LATEST FROM LA COUNTY

In Los Angeles County, officials this week announced a seventh confirmed measles case on Tuesday.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting that day, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer warned that there will likely be more cases.

And she cautioned that although most people who get measles get a high fever and a rash all over their body and recover, there is a small risk of much more serious harm.

"It does cause and can cause very serious illness," she said, "including brain swelling, deafness, pneumonia, and death."

That's why she and other health officials are urging everyone to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date.

Megan Garvey and Michelle Faust Raghavan contributed to this report

UPDATES:

11:45 p.m.: This article updated with additional details about the new L.A. County cases and locations where the public was exposed.

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details about vaccinated people still contracting the measles.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the case of the infant in Orange County as well as additional details about where the UCI student had been while contagious.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
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Congresswoman Barragan Hosted Town Hall Meeting on Compton Potholes

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44) hosted a community town hall regarding residents concerns over the growing number of potholes in Compton. During the town hall, Rep. Barragan questioned panelists from the state, county and city regarding funding sources, including Measure P and the progress of street repairs in Compton and Unincorporated Compton. Although street repairs are the responsibility of state and local officials, it is among the top issues reported to our office. As a result, constituents received some transparency on sources of funding and spending, and were also given the opportunity to ask questions about the status of repaving their roads.

Panelists included Compton City Manager Cecil Rhambo, Compton Public Works Director Wendell Johnson, LA County Public Works District Engineer Dai Bui and Caltrans Deputy District 7 Director Paul Marquez.

For years, potholes in the City of Compton and Unincorporated Compton have damaged residents vehicles, caused people to get in or near accidents and made it difficult for first responders to rapidly address emergencies.

ADVERTISEMENT

This issue has been years in the making due to the mismanagement of the citys funds and a lack of an organized schedule to repave the roads, said Rep. Barragan. I will continue working to ensure our roads are safe for my constituents and our first responders.

To report a pothole, residents are encouraged to call our office at (310) 831-1799 or email [email protected].

Live stream of the town call can be found here.

Photos of the town hall can be found here.
One of my all-time favorite Westerns -- indeed, one of my favorite movies -- has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber That movie is BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), the second collaboration between star James Stewart and director Anthony Mann BEND OF THE RIVER has a well-written screenplay by Borden Chase based on the novel BEND OF THE SNAKE by Bill Gulick. It's the story of Glynn McLyntock (Stewart), a man with a violent past seeking to reform and live a new life with a group of settlers in Oregon.McLyntock meets Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) when he saves him from a lynch mob. Cole, like McLyntock, has a dark past. Cole is initially helpful to McLyntock, whether battling Indians or retrieving stolen supplies, but although Cole wins the love of Laura ( Julie Adams ), one of the settlers, he still finds himself tempted off the straight and narrow.This is a marvelous film in every respect, with a great cast in a well-paced 91-minute story. It was a particular pleasure having the chance to see it shortly after watching Stewart and Mann's first Western, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), at this month's TCM Classic Film Festival . I wrote about the WINCHESTER '73 screening for Classic Movie Hub In both films Stewart plays a tough man who balances tenderness and gallantry with sadness and bitter anger. We see his affection for Laura in the ways he watches her when she's not looking; he's a man with deep, unspoken feelings who's capable of not only love but deep hurt. His "You'll be seein' me" when betrayed by a friend conveys pain but is also downright chilling.Stewart is matched by Kennedy as a man who can't quite make up his mind what he wants and whether to be bad or good. Kennedy and Stewart have many wryly funny moments together as well as darker dramatic scenes. Watching two very similar men struggle and ultimately chart different paths is part of what makes the film so interesting.I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes to flesh out Julie Adams' character, who goes through some interesting transitions which could have been presented with more depth. That's really my only criticism of the film. Rock Hudson is charming in the third lead as Trey Wilson, a gambler who throws in his lot with McLyntock and Cole when trouble brews in town. He has a cute courtship of Laura's younger sister Marjie (Lori Nelson) and is delightful to have on hand.Also in the excellent cast: Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Howard Petrie, Jack Lambert, Frances Bavier, Frank Ferguson, and Lillian Randolph. I especially enjoy the sweet relationship between Chubby Johnson as a paddlewheeler captain and Stepin Fetchit as his helper; though Fetchit at times speaks in stereotypical fashion, I find that aspect is offset by the depth of the loving friendship between Johnson and Fetchit's characters. The movie was shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg , shown off nicely via Kino's attractive Blu-ray.Extras include a typically solid commentary by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s , who shares the background of all the players as well as some of the difficulties faced by the company shooting at remote locations in Oregon. The disc also includes the trailer, as well as five additional trailers for Westerns available from Kino Lorber.For a bit more on this film, I wrote about seeing it at the Egyptian Theatre with star Julie Adams present in 2011 , along with a more cursory post way back in 2006 BEND OF THE RIVER is a film I go back to time and again, always finding something new to appreciate. Highly recommended.
Opposition parties disrupt Provincial Assembly meeting

The NCP and NC criticised the ruling parties for appointing their activists only while forming committee in all eight districts.
Saturday, May 4, 2019





Structural Tools of Settler Colonialism by Carrie Rosenbaum, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming

Abstract

The systems of immigration and criminal law come together in many important ways, one of which being their role in instilling difference and undermining inclusion and integration. In this article, I will begin a discussion examining the concept of integration, simplistically described as inclusion into American life, not in the more traversed realm of citizenship, but in the context of crimmigration. I posit that when considering the relationship between those who are formally considered integrated versus other, or outsider, which may or may not overlap with immigration status, the accepted concept of integration is misguided at best. Instead, if the concept of integration is framed as an epistemological tool of settler colonialism, the construction of race provides a more fruitful line of inquiry.



There remains a divide in United States civil society, where people racialized as nonwhite do not have the same lived experience as people racialized as white. Similarly, identity, or the perception of race, play a role in the criminal justice system, wherein people racialized as nonwhite are disproportionately incarcerated. These two problems are mutually reinforcing  being poor increases the chances of being incarcerated, while being a person racialized as nonwhite is part of the equation in socio-economic standing and the likelihood of experiencing incarceration. Achieving socio-economic parity with people racialized as white has generally been considered a hallmark of what over-simplistically, and even dangerously, is characterized as integration.



These problems are replicated in and by the crimmigration system. Just as people racialized as nonwhite are more likely to be relatively socio-economically poor and more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, immigrants racialized as nonwhite face these same challenges. The effects of racialization are significant, and the mechanisms purportedly designed to reverse, erase, or change these dynamics have failed immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite. There is a longstanding myth that in a democratic society, such as the United States, everyone has the opportunity, the path, and maybe even a right to strive to and achieve integration. Becoming a naturalized United States citizen is a symbol or marker of such achievement, although it is superficial and still limited with respect to full membership and integration. Citizenship does not elevate one above the caste system of racialized hierarchy. The failure of integration is evidenced by the reality that immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite do not obtain the socio-economic successes of the dominant class.



This article will propose that the promise of integration is a myth. Even more than a false promise, the concept of integration itself erases the historical racialized institutional infrastructure that is responsible for the falseness of this promise. Crimmigration is a piece of this larger puzzle.



Derrick Bells consideration of racial realism and theories of settler colonialism will be explored here to propose a theory of why the offer of integration is disingenuous and a promise never intended to be fulfilled. Settler colonialism is a continuing form of nation building, whereby settlers fortify the dominant culture, removing and replacing communities with constructed ones. (While racism predates colonialism, it plays a leading role in settler colonialism.) These methodologies also help explain why and how crimmigration is an extension of settler colonialism and is responsible for reinforcing racialized differences and the impossibility (and perhaps undesirability) of integration. While the theoretical tool of integration provides some insight into the relationship between racialization and the roles of the criminal justice and crimmigration systems, broadening the lens to examine crimmigration via the methodologies of racial realism and settler colonialism exposes the flaws in the integrationist paradigm.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/05/immigration-article-of-the-day-crimmigration-structural-tools-of-settler-colonialism-by-carrie-rosen.html


Today we tell a traditional American story called a "tall tale." A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated  much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories.



Pecos Bill was a larger than life hero of the American West. No one knows who first told stories about Pecos Bill. Cowboys may have invented the stories. Others say Edward O'Reilly invented the character in stories he wrote for the Century Magazine in the early 1900s. The stories were collected in a book called "The Saga of Pecos Bill," published in 1923.



Another writer, James Cloyd Bowman, wrote an award-winning children's book called "Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time." The book won the Newbery Honor in 1938.



Pecos Bill was not a historical person. But he does represent the spirit of early settlers in the American West. His unusual childhood and extraordinary actions tell about people who believed there were no limits to what they could do. Now, here is Barbara Klein with our story.



Pecos Bill had one of the strangest childhoods a boy ever had. It all started after his father decided that there was no longer enough room in east Texas for his family.



"Pack up, Ma!" he cried. "Neighbors movin' in 50 miles away! It's getting too crowded!"



So they loaded up a wagon with all their things. Now some say they had 15 children while others say 18. However many there were, the children were louder than thunder. And as they set off across the wild country of west Texas, their mother and father could hardly hear a thing.

Now, as they came to the Pecos River, the wagon hit a big rock. The force threw little Bill out of the wagon and he landed on the sandy ground. Mother did not know Bill was gone until she gathered the children for the midday meal. Mother set off with some of the children to look for Bill, but they could find no sign of him.



Well, some people say Bill was just a baby when his family lost him. Others say he was four years old. But all agree that a group of animals called coyotes found Bill and raised him. Bill did all the things those animals did, like chase lizards and howl at the moon. He became as good a coyote as any.

Now, Bill spent 17 years living like a coyote until one day a cowboy rode by on his horse. Some say the cowboy was one of Bill's brothers. Whoever he was, he took one look at Bill and asked, "What are you?"



Bill was not used to human language. At first, he could not say anything. The cowboy repeated his question. This time, Bill said, "varmint."



That is a word used for any kind of wild animal.



"No you aren't," said the cowboy.



"Yes, I am," said Bill. "I have fleas."



"Lots of people have fleas," said the cowboy. "You don't have a tail."



"Yes, I do," said Bill.



"Show it to me then," the cowboy said.



Bill looked at his backside and realized that he did not have a tail like the other coyotes. "Well, what am I then?" asked Bill.



"You're a cowboy! So start acting like one!" the cowboy cried out. Well that was all Bill needed to hear. He said goodbye to his coyote friends and left to join the world of humans.



Now, Pecos Bill was a good cowboy. Still, he hungered for adventure. One day he heard about a rough group of men. There is some debate over what the group was called. But one storyteller calls it the "Hell's Gate Gang."



So Bill set out across the rough country to find this gang of men. Well, Bill's horse soon was injured so Bill had to carry it for a hundred miles. Then Bill met a rattlesnake 50 feet long. The snake made a hissing noise and was not about to let Bill pass. But after a tense minute, Bill beat the snake until it surrendered. He felt sorry for the varmint, though, and wrapped it around his arm.



After Bill walked another hundred miles, he came across an angry mountain lion. There was a huge battle, but Bill took control of the big cat and put his saddle on it. He rode that mountain lion all the way to the camp of the Hell's Gate Gang.



Now, when Bill saw the gang he shouted out, "Who's the boss around here?"



A huge cowboy, 9 feet tall, took one look at Bill and said in a shaky voice, "I was the boss. But you are the boss from here on in."



With his gang, Pecos Bill was able to create the biggest ranch in the Southwest. Bill and his men had so many cattle that they needed all of New Mexico to hold them. Arizona was the pasture where the cattle ate grass.



Pecos Bill invented the art of being a cowboy. He invented the skill of throwing a special rope called a lasso over a cow's head to catch wandering cattle.

Some say he used a rattlesnake for a lasso. Others say he made a lasso so big that it circled the whole Earth.



Bill invented the method of using a hot branding iron to permanently put the mark of a ranch on a cow's skin. That helped stop people from stealing cattle. Some say he invented cowboy songs to help calm the cattle and make the cowboy's life easier. But he is also said to have invented tarantulas and scorpions as jokes. Cowboys have had trouble with those poisonous creatures ever since.



Now, Pecos Bill could ride anything that ever was. So, as some tell the story, there came a storm bigger than any other. It all happened during the worst drought the West had ever seen. It was so dry that horses and cows started to dry up and blow away in the wind. So when Bill saw the windstorm, he got an idea. The huge tornado kicked across the land like a wild bronco. But Bill jumped on it without a thought.



He rode that tornado across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, all the time squeezing the rain out of it to save the land from drought. When the storm was over, Bill fell off the tornado. He landed in California. He left a hole so deep that to this day it is known as Death Valley.



Now, Bill had a horse named Widow Maker. He got that name because any man who rode that horse would be thrown off and killed, and his wife would become a widow. No one could ride that horse but Bill.



And Widow Maker, in the end, caused the biggest problem for Pecos Bill. You see, one day Bill saw a woman. Not just any woman, but a wild, red-haired woman, riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande River.



Her name was Slue-foot Sue. And Bill fell in love with her at first sight. Well, Bill would not rest until he had asked for her hand in marriage. And Slue-foot Sue accepted.



On their wedding day, Pecos Bill dressed in his best buckskin suit. And Sue wore a beautiful white dress with a huge steel-spring bustle in the back. It was the kind of big dress that many women wore in those days  the bigger the better.



Now, after the marriage ceremony Slue-foot Sue got a really bad idea. She decided that she wanted to ride Widow Maker. Bill begged her not to try. But she had her mind made up.



Well, the second she jumped on the horse's back he began to kick and buck like nothing anyone had ever seen. He sent Sue flying so high that she sailed clear over the new moon.



She fell back to Earth, but the steel-spring bustle just bounced her back up as high as before.



Now, there are many different stories about what happened next. One story says Bill saw that Sue was in trouble. She would keep bouncing forever if nothing was done. So he took his rope out -- though some say it was a huge rattlesnake -- and lassoed Sue to catch her and bring her down to Earth. Only, she just bounced him back up with her.

Somehow the two came to rest on the moon. And that's where they stayed. Some people say they raised a family up there. Their children were as loud and wild as Bill and Sue were in their younger days. People say the sound of thunder that sometimes carries over the dry land around the Pecos River is nothing more than Pecos Bill's family laughing up a storm.



This tall tale of Pecos Bill was adapted for Learning English and produced by Mario Ritter. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. The video was produced by Adam Brock.

________________________________________________________________

Test your understanding of this story by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Pecos Bill Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy classify to help students understand the story of Pecos Bill.



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

debate - n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something

varmint - n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem

lasso - n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)

tarantula - n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions

scorpion - n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end

make up ones mind - idiom. to decide on something
Nearly 100 years ago -- in 1920 -- the U.S. Constitution was changed to guarantee women the right to vote.

Today, at least six women are running for president  the highest number the country has ever seen.

The struggle for womens political rights in the United States has deep and complex roots, says historian Kate Lemay. She recently launched a show at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., called Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence.

The show explains that the struggle for womens political equality began long before 1920. It was connected to the fight against slavery in the 1800s.

It also connected to efforts to reach civil rights for African Americans during the 1900s.

Political rights for women are only part of the story, argues another historian, Katherine Marino. In March, she released a book called Feminism in the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement.

Marino writes that a group of influential feminists in Latin America in the early 1900s split with some feminists in the United States over the goals of the movement. These Latin American feminists wanted to advance social and economic rights along with political rights.

For example, they spoke out against government oppression and international imperialism. And, Marino says, Latin American feminists sought rights for families as well as individuals.

Marino says feminists from Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Chile, and other places often worked together. Their work resulted in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. It also gave birth to the phrase womens rights are human rights.

Today, says Marino, some feminists in Latin American still combine struggles for women's rights with other issues. For example, she says, before the #MeToo movement began in the United States, some Latin American women created Ni Una Menos. The phrase means not one woman less. It speaks out against the killing of women and girls, and in some cases also opposes national austerity measures.

Marino notes that, even with an early split, feminists across the Americas are sounding similar again.

She says, Today in the U.S. we are seeing a broader definition of feminism thats connected to social, racial, economic justice.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

persistence - n. the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people

imperialism - n. a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world

austerity - n. a situation in which there is not much money and it is spent only on things that are necessary

broad - n. including or involving many things or people : wide in range or amount
A Vietnamese woman who was tried in the killing of the half brother of North Koreas leader left a Malaysian prison on Friday and flew back to Hanoi.

Doan Thi Huong recorded a video just before her airplane left Malaysia. In the recording, she thanked everyone who prayed for her.

I want to say I love you all. I thank you my Lord Jesus. Thank you so much, she said.

Huongs release likely closes the murder case.

Four North Koreans are named as co-conspirators in the 2017 killing of Kim, but they escaped to North Korea. Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea. The officials also made it clear they did not want the trial politicized.

Huong was the last suspect in detention. In March, Malaysias attorney general decided to drop charges against her co-defendant, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia.

The decision followed Indonesian efforts to persuade the Malaysian government to suspend the case against Aisyah. Huong asked to be acquitted after she was freed, but government lawyers rejected her request. Aisyah returned home to Indonesia.

The two women were charged with working with the four North Koreans to murder the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The women put VX, a nerve agent, on the face of Kim Jong Nam in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, 2017. Both women later said they believed they were taking part in a prank for a television show.

Last month, the 30-year-old Huong admitted guilt to a lesser charge of causing injury after the Malaysian government dropped a murder charge against her. She was sentenced to 40 months in prison from the day of her arrest and was released early for good behavior.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik is Huongs lawyer. At the airport Friday, he said that the case has come to a complete end because the government did not appeal her sentence.

After her sentencing last month, Huong said she wants to sing and act when she returns to Vietnam.

Last August, the High Court judge had found there was enough evidence to believe that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans plotted to kill Kim Jong Nam. He called on the two women to present their defense.

The four North Koreans left Malaysia the day Kim was killed.

Lawyers for the women have said that they were pawns in a political assassination. They said the killing clearly had links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They also said that the Malaysian government failed to show the women wanted to kill Kim.

The desire to kill is an important part of a murder charge under Malaysian law.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

co-conspirator  n. the partner of a person who is involved in a secret plan to do something harmful or illegal

attorney general  n. the senior legal officer of the state or country

acquit  v. to decide that someone is not guilty of a crime

prank  n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

pawn  n. a person or group that does not have much power and that is controlled by a more powerful person or group

assassination  n. to kill a usually famous person for political reasons
Eschenbrenner, Hain and Naprstek held a presentation for the LRHC Auxiliary over differences in Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans that a beneficiary should be aware of when making a decision whether to leave the traditional Medicare benefits, and the vast network of providers which are contracted with Medicare versus the current Medicare Advantage plans in the area which do not have the same developed network. This can mean that a beneficiary in a Medicare Advantage network may have limited choices of providers and services compared to beneficiaries covered under the traditional Medicare network of providers. These facts are often not known to the beneficiaries when they are sold these plans and the women in the Auxiliary were also surprised to learn these facts. There were approximately 40 people in attendance, said Hain. Eschenbrenner said they also spoke about the network of specialists that come to LRHC and the services that can be done at the hospital.
Praying for the direction to take in this years devotions, God directed my thoughts to the alphabet and 2x26 equals the weeks in a year, and that He can be described by many English words beginning with those 26 letters (X is the exception, but EX words will work). This year, I will gaze at the glory of God using the ESV and the alphabet!




Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo(SEATTLE) -- Its a boy!

The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington welcomed one of its latest and tallest babies this Thursday.

Olivia, the zoo's 12-year-old giraffe gave birth to a healthy boy at 4:56 am yesterday morning.

Unlike human newborns, the baby was on his feet within an hour after he was born, which is what we want to see, Katie Ahl, a lead zoo keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, said in a press release.

Olivia and her unnamed calf are currently out of view in the giraffe barn to allow what the zoo calls a cozy, quiet environment for maternal bonding and nursing.

The first 24 to 72 hours are critical to the proper development of newborn giraffes, Ahl said.

An experienced mother, Olivia is showing good maternal behavior for her second offspring, Ahl said. In 2013, she gave birth to her first boy, Misawa, with another male giraffe, Chioke.

This babys father is 6-year-old Dave, who also fathered Olivias sisters baby.

Olivias sister, Tufani gave birth to a girl, Lulu, in 2017 -- making this latest giraffe the second baby born in the zoo within the last 5 years.

Although the baby is nursing and standing, concerns remain about his rear legs.

Hes not walking normally on his rear legs, a condition known as "hyper extended fetlocks," Dr. Darin Collins, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo, noted in a press release.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In the coming days the zoo will be a holding a community naming contest to give Seattle residents a chance to name their zoos newest addition.

For all the other giraffe fans that cannot make it to the zoo to see the new baby, the zoo will be putting up a live barn cam. Fans can visit www.zoo.org/giraffe or follow the zoo on social media to find updates on when the live barn cam will be up.

Baby giraffes have a magical way of touching the hearts and minds of people, no matter how old you are," said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

"We hope everyone connects again with this new baby and comes to care about saving giraffes in their natural ranges in Africa. We want everyone to care about giraffes as much as we do.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Police arrest man with 1kg smuggled gold

Anukesh Kumar Sah, a local, was held while he was transporting the contraband gold on his motorcycle (Lu 4 Pa 5803), said police.


Ronald Reagan

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Albert Einstein

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

Winston Churchill





It isnt so much that liberals are ignorant. Its just that they know so many things that arent so.

With integrity nothing else counts; Without integrity nothing else counts.

Winston Churchill





Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey S. Firestone





It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. H. L. Menken



Referenda insure all have a voice in land use decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Listen carefully to first criticism of your work. Note just what it is about your work the critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.

Jean Cocteau
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Private sector urges SAARC nations to invest in Nepal

The countrys private sector on Thursday urged the business fraternity from SAARC member nations to invest in Nepal, saying that the government has adopted lenient policies to boost investment in the country.
In an era of increased scrutiny of and cynicism about law enforcement and policing practices, it is easy to lose sight of the dangers and stress experienced by the rank and file, and how this contributes to mental health problems.

On a daily basis, police officers encounter individuals and situations that put their lives at risk. They regularly witness and investigate unspeakable acts of violence, cruelty and tragedy. Compounding this burden is the constant awareness that every action, utterance and split-second decision, on good days and bad, are captured on video and subject to scrutiny by superiors, the public and, in worst cases, prosecutors. It doesnt take an expert to conclude that these extraordinary burdens can have a deleterious effect on mental health.

Although most segments of our society, including the military, have made great strides in reducing the stigma associated with common and treatable mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and addiction, the law enforcement community has lagged in this respect.

Thanks in part to organizations like Badge of Life and Blue H.E.L.P., there is a growing awareness within law enforcement of this issue and the need to address it in a meaningful way. This is a critical first step.
Mack's Mets Blogspot - Mets News and Links, #Mets Twitter Feed, Mets Minor Leagues, and comments. Mobile Uses click down arrows for more pages
Illustrating the importance of networks, Madison shared how City Council President Shiva Bidar, who works for UW Health, helped secure funding for local yoga instructor Keena Atkinson to get certified as a teacher.

Ive been trying to really work at UW Health to be really intentional about not creating these barriers in the system to give money out because thats what systems do, Bidar said.

Madison was seeking a black yoga instructor to work with young girls in the community. Atkinson described how she felt unwelcome in yoga studios to the point where she could not focus on the class.

Im going to teach yoga, so people can have the experience I want to have, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said she wants to focus on living her life authentically and unapologetically as a black woman.

A lot of mornings I hear Sabrinas voice in my head, I quit my job to work for black women, so I was like Im going to quit my job because I want to live my purpose, Atkinson said.

Atkinson ended up quitting her job to focus on teaching yoga and on her hair and wellness businesses.
Supervisor Analiese Eicher, District 3, said new supervisors, including herself, were not expecting to take another vote on the major capital project. She agreed with the boards action in the 2018 budget and thinks the south tower option makes sense.

At the end of this, our goal is a smaller jail, a safer jail and a jail that is more in line with jail reduction strategies that allow us to engage in best practices, Eicher said.

Though he campaigned after the board first voted on the jail project, Supervisor Yogesh Chawla, District 6, vocally opposed the plan. Chawla feels the county needs more information, such as the results of a mental health study, before proceeding with a decision.

Were really making critical decisions with incomplete information and the big question I think we need to ask the community is do we want to take a $150 million risk without all the information in front of us?

When the board first voted, four supervisors voted against the project. Two of those supervisors  Heidi Wegleitner, District 2, and Richard Kilmer, District 4  remain on the board.

To move forward, the county will have to vote on a budget resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Two held for extortion

The suspects planted a suspicious object saying it was an explosive at Dhadkan Road on April 27 apparently to terrorise the business community.
A seven-year Idaho study of non-lethal methods, with zero wolf killing, mirrors these results: sheep depredation losses to wolves were just 0.02% of the total number of sheep present, the lowest loss rate among sheep-grazing areas in wolf range statewide.

As The Grizzly Times states in The Problem of State Wildlife Management:

Management of wildlife by state agencies is almost wholly for the benefit of hunters and fishers  Hunters are a shrinking minority, not the majority of those who care about wildlife and places like Yellowstone. As the Tribes in the Northern Rockies are fond of saying, state wildlife management agencies represent a last bastion of the ethos of Manifest Destiny, which led to genocide and the destruction of ecosystems during the 1800s and early 1900s.
Interestingly enough, it was a medical professional who originally recommended marijuana, highlighting several studies that demonstrated not only relief from pain, but also from muscle spasms. I remember being embarrassed to admit that I had never used marijuana (I know, Im a square) but I was willing to try. Luckily, I had a college friend who was willing to help, and that was how I tried marijuana for the first time.

Not only did it eliminate my pain symptoms, but for the first time since my accident, I had no spasticity. Having lived for so long with pain and discomfort, it was overwhelming to just feel normal. I had tears welling up in my eyes. Unfortunately, the side effects were a little too intense. I found it difficult to focus, my appetite grew unruly and it made me way too sleepy. It just wasnt for me.

Im fortunate, because I have been able to regulate my pain using legally prescribed medications  but what has worked for me has destroyed the lives of many others. I know how difficult it can be to step away from pain medications after an injury. When I was in the hospital recovering from my accident, they prescribed all kinds of opioids: hydromorphone, fentanyl patches, morphine, OxyContin, hydrocodone and diazepam.
Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19
Aaron Kennedy is an entrepreneur with national credentials. He was founder and chief executive officer for Noodles & Company, led Colorados successful branding and marketing campaign, managed product rollouts for major firms and continues to advise emerging companies through some of the nations leading accelerators.

Now, perhaps somewhat to his surprise, UW-Madison graduate Kennedy is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UW-Green Bay.

The late April announcement that Kennedy will join the effort to put Green Bay on the map for startups and scale-ups is the latest example of how the Upper Midwest is making a collective case for being a place where innovation is valued, talent is available and companies with the ideas can grow.

Not that anyone is hanging Vacancy signs in tech hubs such as Californias Silicon Valley, Boston or North Carolinas Research Triangle, which continue to flourish, but there are reasons for investors, entrepreneurs and others to tap the rise in activity across the Upper Midwest.
The high volume of police calls at Rethke Terrace and Tree Lane has exposed challenges in housing so many of the citys most vulnerable at the same sites and inadequacies in the funding model to pay for critical support services for tenants, OKeefe said.

Police calls for service at the properties stabilized in colder months, but have bumped up again with warmer weather, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

The primary issue for police centers on the lack of long-term or permanent property managers at each site, DeSpain said, adding that Heartland is working to resolve the situation. Problems, he said, are often related to people being allowed into the buildings when they shouldnt be there. The hope is these situations, and calls for police service, will be mitigated with more consistent management, he said.
This was my goal, Lor said of opening his own business. I wanted to have my own shop someday. But it took me almost 15 years.

How did you and your family end up in Madison?

In like 1979, (the Thai government) tried to eliminate all the camps so we (were) sent to a second one, and after the second one my family, they had to decide to come here or go back to Laos. My parents did not want to do either one so we escaped from the official refugee camp to live with Thai people. And then, like 10 years later they closed all the camps and we (were) stuck in the middle. Then the Thai government took us and registered us and told us we had to come here.

When you got here what did you do?

I went to school. I was barbering in Thailand for four years so when I came to this country it took me three and half years to learn English, go to (Madison Area Technical College) and get my (barbers) license. And then I went to work at Dick & Arnies (Barber Shop, in Middleton) for almost 10 years.

Did you need a license to cut hair in Thailand?
MILWAUKEE  The Evers administrations war on school choice continues.

The latest attack is from Gov. Tony Evers appointed successor at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who is refusing to allow private schools in the choice programs to count online (virtual) learning toward annual class-time requirements. She is doing so even though DPI has permitted public schools to use virtual learning for a variety of reasons, including to make up for class cancellations caused by Wisconsins winter weather.

This is unfair and wrong. We also believe it is illegal. Last month, attorneys at our organization, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), sued Taylor and DPI in Waukesha Circuit Court on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action, a membership organization of private choice schools.

This winter has been brutal for Wisconsins schools. With unprecedented snowfall, temperatures frequently below zero and mass flooding, Wisconsin K-12 schools have been forced to cancel classes at an extraordinary rate. Because of a state law that requires students to attend more than 1,000 hours in the classroom, many schools are having to make up class time by extending minutes in their school day or by adding days to the school year.
Perhaps Republicans work from a principle akin to Facebook: If the project is liked, the land is taken. This is exactly how conservative Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling described Republican views on eminent domain in a Nov. 9, 2017, interview in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Many of the people on my side  the conservative side  they change their opinion on this [eminent domain] if the project is something that they like.

Such arbitrariness in whose property is protected and whose isnt erodes public trust in government institutions and undermines citizens confidence they live in a fair economic system.

Seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke warned that the arbitrary taking of property by the government absolved the people from further obedience. Heeding Lockes advice and recognizing the threat to a new democracy, our countrys Founders crafted the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The amendment limits government to taking private land only if it is for public use. It is time for Wisconsin Republicans to anchor their eminent domain actions to the constitution and work to secure the property rights of all Wisconsinites.

Borchardt, of Marshfield, is founder of 80 Feet Is Enough, a group advocating for property rights in Wisconsin: 80feetisenough.org and mbgs@tznet.com.
Prayers for All is today

TWIN FALLS  The first Saturday of the month is time for Prayers for All. The public is invited to attend at 10 a.m. Saturday at Max Newlins home, 328 Seventh Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Celebrate by trying something new  praying for everyone from different faith perspectives.

This months theme will be Indigenous Traditions, including Yoruba, Animism, Native American Church, Shenism and Zoroastrianism.

Prayers from Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish scriptures, the Quran and Bahai Prayers will be read. Discussion will follow without proselytizing and with respect for all viewpoints.

For more information, call 208-221-8621.

Feed My Sheep Ministry recognized by IEF

TWIN FALLS  The Feed My Sheep Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension was recognized by the Idaho Episcopal Foundation with an Excellence in Mission Award at the Bishops Banquet April 27 in Boise.

Ascension parishioners Bette Krepcik and Georgia Durbin received this distinguished award for their efforts in 2016 to re-establish an abandoned monthly meal program for those affected by food insecurity in Twin Falls. The Mustard Seed Ministries in Twin Falls offered their location as a place to hold a Saturday hot meal, and monthly meals have been provided for the past three years.

Their dedication to and passion for serving Christ in others through this feeding ministry has inspired and transformed the lives of both those who receive a warm meal and those who have volunteered, the Idaho Episcopal Foundation said in a statement.

In 2018 Feed My Sheep served 912 meals  many of those to children who do not have access to food on weekends.

Unitarian Universalists ponder anxiety

TWIN FALLS  Why do we get so anxious? Sundays sermon will explore the concept of fear and anxiety  the good and the bad. Sometimes we just get nervous about getting nervous. We can work ourselves into a frenzy trying to figure out why we are getting nervous.

Perhaps it is time to break the cycle and just accept that a certain level of anxiety is to be expected.

We must allow ourselves to feel the fear and then do it anyway.

The public is welcome at the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at 160 Ninth Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths individuals travel. Congregations are places where people celebrate, support and challenge one another as they continue on their spiritual journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Newcomers of all religious paths, or none at all, are always welcome. Child care is available.

The church is handicapped-accessible.

Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building.

For more information, call Ken Whiting at 208-410-8904 or email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or go to magicvalleyuu.org.

Bishop Thom visits Ascension

TWIN FALLS  The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will welcome the Right Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho, for his annual visitation on Sunday.

Holy Communion will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at the church, 371 Eastland Drive N. Childcare for infants to five-year-olds will run from 8:45 a.m. until after worship.

A fellowship coffee hour will be held after the 10 a.m. service.

All are invited to meet and greet the bishop.

The community is invited to the final seven weeks of Living the Questions which will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays at First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls.

This video and discussion series helps participants explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in todays world.

Prior participation in the earlier portions of this program held at Ascension Episcopal Church and Our Savior Lutheran Church is not necessary.

The knitting and handwork group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Choir practice is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Bible study is held from 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

All are welcome for worship, fellowship or study at Ascension which is handicapped-accessible.

For more information, call 208-733-1248 or go to ascension.episcopalidaho.org.

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Whose government is it anyway? People ask as President presents policies and programmes

On social media, some posted screenshots of Part 1 (Preliminary) of the Constitution of Nepal, asking why the Head of State was referring to the government as my government. Article 2 of the Constitution of Nepal reads: The sovereignty and state authority of Nepal shall be vested in the Nepali people. It shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Constitution.
KIMBERLY  Rock Creek Rural Fire District has hired a firefighter out of Wyoming to replace its long-beleaguered fire chief who resigned in August.

Aaron Zent will take over the fire department May 28, district Clerk Jennifer Egbert said Friday. Zent is a Rawlins, Wyo., fire battalion chief.

Rock Creek fire district covers 212 square miles in eastern Twin Falls County  including the cities of Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh  and parts of Cassia County. The department responded to 402 fire calls and 897 medical calls in 2018.

Keller resigned his position Aug. 31, and Interim Chief Stacey Thomas took over on Sept. 3.

Thomas, still a captain with the department, later resigned as interim chief, and long-time firefighter Assistant Fire Chief Greg Vawser stepped in.

The department has been through several rounds of applications before deciding on Zent, Egbert said.

Thomas spoke with the Times-News after Keller resigned and credited the past chief with the departments growth in recent years.

We wouldnt be where were at had it not been for Chief Keller, Thomas said.

But townsfolk say discord often surrounded Keller.

A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against Keller and the Rock Creek Fire District by former training Capt. Brent Blamires was settled in January 2017 for $26,000.

Blamires claimed he was fired in January 2016 for blowing the whistle on Kellers driving a fire district vehicle while under the influence, which led to Kellers week-long suspension in August 2015.

Keller was a finalist to become Twin Falls fire chief in 2016, but the city dropped Keller from consideration over allegations in the suit.

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November 27, 1960April 30, 2019

TWIN FALLS  Deena would like to inform you all that her work here is done. She began her work on November 27, 1960 and survived this place for 58 years. On April 30, 2019, she received a call (sort of an offer you cant refuse). She accepted and will not be returning from this endeavor. Deena requests that everyone wipe the tears from their eyes and smile. Fill your hearts with joy, as this call has lent her the opportunity to be free from pain while reuniting with many family and friends.

Deena was born in Rexburg, Idaho, to Dee and June Newman. She was raised in Sugar City and Howe, ID., but attended high school in Arco, ID. Deena was a part of the Butte County High School graduating class of 79. Shortly thereafter, she met and later married Nelson Dean Slaymaker on February, 1980. Together they had four beautiful children to which Deena cherished. (Randy Nelson, Andrea Rose, Brittany Dee, and James Dean). Deena and Dean later divorced in 1994 but remained great friends until his passing in 2008.

Deena met her husband, Eric Saeugling, in January 2000. It took a year before Deena agreed to a date with him but it was worth the wait for both. They married in August of 2001 and have been inseparable since.

Deena had a love affair with her fuzzy blankets, A&E criminal television shows, and butter. Not necessarily in that order. She did not care for Idaho Power and towels folded incorrectly (which was any way other than her way). She had her quirks however as her family and friends, we never questioned her love for us, the gospel, and her pet chickens. Not necessarily in that order. Deena was passionate about several things. For instance, she loved to sing, read, and was always expanding her education. Deenas love of singing and beautiful voice was noticed by many. She was often asked to sing at celebrations. Her strong thirst for knowledge led her to pursue a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, completion of her CNA, and certification as a Behavioral Specialist. Deena enjoyed reading, whether it was a mystery novel in bed at night or a childrens book to the grandchild on her lap, she seemed to always have a book in her hands. Deena often bragged about her 8 grandchildren. She welcomed every opportunity to cuddle and sing to them. She was fortunate in life to have five best friends, her sisters, (Sheila, Jolene, Clara, Jennie, & Pennie). Not a day passed that she didnt speak to at least one of them. When all six girls reunited several times a year, Oh... help us all! No husband nor child was safe from the giggling teasing of the ole biddies. They laughed (at our expense) till they cried. Most truly a beautiful thing to witness was the strong bond they shared and their love so great.

Deenas children not only consisted of her four biological but also included several that she took under her wing and loved as if they were her own (Kelsey Stanger, Justin Wallis, Brandy Hill, Dan & Lucy Thieman, Jhovan Ellinger). Suffice it to say, Deenas greatest love in life was family.

Deena was preceded in death by her two loving parents and her little sister Jennie. She is survived by her husband, four sisters, children, grandchildren and several other family members.

She was beautiful. Beautiful for the way she thought. She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful for the ability to make others smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasnt beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She was just beautiful.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 6, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Cedar Draw Ward, 840 W. Midway Street in Filer. A viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, at White Mortuary Chapel by the Park, 136 4th Ave E. in Twin Falls and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral at the church. Burial will be at Twin Falls Cemetery.
With 40 percent of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.

All Idahoans benefit from the clean water, abundant wildlife habitat, recreation and wood and paper products that healthy forests provide, along with many positive economic impacts.

Arbor Day is April 26, a time to celebrate the benefits forests provide us, but also a time to reflect on how forests depend on humans for their continued health through active forest management  the sustainable cycle of harvesting followed by replanting of trees and using fire as a management tool to reduce overgrown vegetation.

There are 21.4 million acres of forests in Idaho. About 10 million acres of federal forests in Idaho are overgrown, unhealthy, and prone to devastating fires.

Impaired forest health conditions and wildfire know no boundaries. As Land Board members, we oversee the management of one million acres of forested state endowment lands. The lands are a gift to Idaho in all they offer. Timber sales on endowment lands generate millions of dollars in revenue for Idahos public schools annually. Sustainable forest management practices ensure these lands will continue to benefit public schools and Idaho citizens for years to come.

However, 94 percent of forested state endowment lands border federal national forests in Idaho. Wildfire, insects, and disease move freely between federal, state, and private lands.

To address the forest health crisis in Idaho and maintain healthy state endowment forests for public schools, we directed the Idaho Department of Lands to work with the U.S. Forest Service, forest industry, conservation groups, and others to help improve forest conditions on a scale that matters.

The recently inked Shared Stewardship agreement recognizes that different land owners  federal, state, and private  need to work together to reduce the risk of fire and infestations of insects and disease in our forests.

The state and federal government are using spatial planning tools to identify, coordinate, and treat priority landscapes across ownerships. The result will be reduced fuels to protect Idaho communities from wildfire, improved forest health, and job creation in the private sector.

We are just getting going with Shared Stewardship in Idaho, but we are anchoring to our success with the Good Neighbor Authority, a related program that encourages collaboration, resource sharing, and a get it done approach to land management.

We all love forests. But most of Idahos forests need to be conserved, not preserved. Active, sustainable forest management is part of conservation. The steps we are taking with your support will ensure our forests are healthy for future generations.

The State Board of Land Commissioners is comprised of Gov. Brad Little, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, State Controller Brandon Woolf, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

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The federal government should meet a high threshold of proving illegal activity when seizing personal property in a criminal investigation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should not be given cart blanche to take an Americanshard-earned and legally-earned moneyand then require the accused to prove the IRS should not have taken it in order to get it back. Unfortunately, there have been reports over the years of the IRS seizing the bank accounts of small businesses making cash deposits of money earned legally and then only returning portions of the accounts after an exhaustive, drawn-out and nebulous investigation. I have pressed for an end to this abuse. Thankfully, progress is being made in making reasonable changes to federal law putting better restraints on the IRS, requiring it to prove criminal intent to seize property.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 was intended to prevent money laundering. It requires financial institutions to report daily cash transactions that exceed $10,000. The problem is some small businesses with legal earnings have been accused of structuring cash deposits to fall below the reporting threshold. Small business owners have been caught up in costly, drawn-out, bureaucratic nightmares to try to get their money returned for deposits of legally earned money. As I have looked into this issue and questioned the IRS about it, I have found that while property owners have the opportunity to challenge the governments evidence in court, this opportunity unjustly comes after the account has already been seized.

For example, at congressional hearings to look into this abuse of small businesses, a Maryland dairy farmer detailed his family farms awful experience with the IRS. The agency seized more than $60,000 from his familys bank account and filed criminal charges after his family made cash deposits from dairy sales. He testified about the difficult and lengthy process to try to get the money returned while trying to keep the farm afloat. Another producer, who grows corn and raises chickens, was investigated by the IRS for cash deposits from sales of produce at farm stands. The farm was left with a zero balance in its bank account when the IRS seized all of the roughly $90,000 in the account. The producer testified that IRS agents told them that after being investigated they may get part of their money back, but they should not expect that to happen quickly. He explained how overwhelming this was during a challenging year stating the seizure left them without money for family living expenses, for their daughters wedding, or to pay the many farm vendors.

This is backward and beyond outrageous. The federal agency should have to prove illegal activity before seizing property. The property owners should not have to prove their innocence to get their property back.

Bipartisan legislation, known as the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, is making its way through Congress. This legislation includes important reforms aimed at curbing wrongful seizures that leave American small businesses in limbo. Among its provisions, the legislation would restrain the IRS from seizing bank accounts of taxpayers for structuring deposits to fall under the $10,000 threshold to avoid reporting requirements unless the funds are from an illegal source or connected to criminal activity. The House of Representatives passed this legislation unanimously by voice vote before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. I look forward to enactment of these much-needed restraints on shameful, federal bureaucracy run amuck.

Mike Crapo represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

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J.R. Strunk Benefit Dinner organizers appreciate community

Thank you to some very special people. On April 20, we held a benefit dinner for J.R. Strunk  with a last minute change of venue. With a few Hail Marys and a lot of phone calls, we got it ready.

Thank you to Greer Copeland for allowing us to use his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on South F Street in Rupert. He and his young men were a blessing. They opened the building, set up the tables and chairs and opened the kitchen for us to use. Then they came and helped tear down and put everything away.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated their wares and gift cards to be raffled off, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle 13-5, all the kitchen help, Adam Fowler for taking care of the riffles to be raffled off, Zeb Bell, Weekly Mailer and Cat Country for advertising our event, Les and Marilyn Wilson  our co organizers, Rupert Veterans Memorial Inc., Penny Schell of the Minidoka County Senior Center and the riders and car clubs that did the awesome drive around the building. Thank you most of all to the public who showed up and contributed to our success. We could not have pulled it off without everyones help.

George and Dona Mas

Les and Marilyn Wilson

Rupert

Wendell schools thank sponsors

Thank you to the sponsors that made the Wendell schools Cinco de Mayo Fiesta a free event for the community: Jesus Hurtado Dairies, Stouder Holsteins, Double A Dairy, Glanbia, Idaho Power Co., Mr. Amigo El Bailador, Lupita La Indomable Madrigal, Payasitos Felices/The Happy Clowns, 208 Photo Booth, Garibaldis, El Tapatio, Washington Federal, Wells Fargo, Simerlys, Advance Restoration, Bunn Insurance, Miller Brothers and Thomas and Darlene Neal.

Wendell schools personnel

Thank you from the ERC

The Environmental Resource Center of Ketchum thanks its sponsors for the Clean Sweep event: KBs of Hailey and Ketchum, Cox Communications, Idaho Mountain Express, Clear Creek Disposal, Atkinsons Market, McLaughlin & Associates Architects Chartered, AlA, Lee Gilman Builders, AC Houston Lumber Company, Clearwater Landscaping, Friesen Gallery, Idaho Lumber and Hardware, Idaho Mountain Builders, Mahoneys Bar & Grill, Perrys, Wood River YMCA, All Seasons Landscaping, Conrad Brothers Construction, Lutz Rental, Rickshaw, Sushi on Second, Trout Unlimited/Hemingway Chapter, Wiseguy Pizza Pie, Dangs Thai Cuisine, Hailey Coffee Company, Johnny Gs Subshack, Starbucks, the Board Bin, the Cellar Pub, and Whiskey Jacques.

Special thanks to Blaine County and the cities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

The Environmental Resource Center staff

Cassia School District Federal Programs appreciates support

Cassia School District Federal Programs would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for their generous support of our fifth annual College and Career Day  Your Future, Your Choices: Packaging Corporation of America, Southern Fabrication Works, Burley Fire Department, First Federal Savings Bank, Fairfield Inn, New Cold, Dow Chemical, High Desert Milk, Landview Fertilizer, Lynch Oil, McCain Foods, Raft River Electric, United Electric, Stotz Equipment, Streamline Precision, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop, Square One Restoration, C3 Customer Contact Channels, Vivent Smart Home, D.L. Evans Bank, Idaho Central Credit Union, Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho Workers Opportunity Network, Intermountain Health Care, ISU Credit Union, Nifty Marketing, Boise State University CAMP Program, Cassia Regional Technical Center, College of Southern Idaho Mini-Cassia Center, College of Southern Idaho, Cosmetology School of Arts and Sciences, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Rocks National Reserve, United States Forest Service, Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center, Community Council of Idaho, Idaho State Police, United States Army, Idaho National Guard and the United States Navy.

We would also like to extend a big thank you to Steffany Wells and the Best Western Burley Inn and Convention Center staff. Without their help and support, this event would not have been possible.

In addition to providing the students of Cassia School District with ideas for college, career opportunities and options, our students will also benefit from the generous donations which helped purchase swag bags and provided door prizes. Thank you: Butte Irrigation, Cassia Regional Hospital, DOT Foods, Lewis Clark State College, Packaging Corporation of America, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop and Square One.

The community support for Cassia schools has been amazing. Please help us continue to thank these businesses by shopping locally. While you are there, thank them for their support of our schools and children.

Kim Bedke, Federal Programs Coordinator

Jeanne Allen, Federal Programs Assistant Coordinator

The Letters of Thanks column will publish letters of up to 200 words from organizations thanking contributors or supporters and individuals thanking public agencies and businesses for extraordinary service. Send letters to letters@magicvalley.com. If you would like to purchase a classified ad to express gratitude of a personal rather than public nature, call the Times-News Customer Service Department.

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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 ...



ENJOY


El 2 de diciembre de 1970, Oscar Arnoldo Rios Maldonado, estudiante de Periodismo de la Universidad de Concepcion y militante del MIR, fue asesinado por un disparo de un integrante la Brigada Ramona Parra del Partido Comunista. Salvador Allende, quien habia asumido la presidencia de Chile el 4 de noviembre, solicita a las direcciones de ambos partidos que logren un acuerdo que impida conflictos que empanen el desarrollo del naciente gobierno. En la foto de izquierda a derecha aparecen Andres Pascal Allende, Luciano Cruz y Miguel Enriquez, quienes aun clandestinos por el caso Osses Santa Maria se presentan en el velorio de Rios que se realizaba en esos momentos en la pinacoteca de la universidad. Al fondo de la foto se puede apreciar el conocido campanil de la Universidad de Concepcion. Foto y texto tomado del muro de Facebook de MARCO BRAVO, 29 de sept 2018 4 Comments 2 Shares 23 Rolando Briones, Matias Salvador Villa Juica and 21 others
Every day, 78 Canadians receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, the most deadly form of cancer in the country. Some of them will have one of the lobes of a lung removed by thoracotomy, a common, but risky surgical procedure that requires months of recovery. However, a less invasive and safer surgical technique exists and could be used more widely.

In a large international clinical study presented at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Moishe Liberman, a thoracic surgeon and researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), and his team showed that thoracoscopic lobectomyvideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)combined with pulmonary artery sealing using an ultrasonic energy device reduced the risk of post-operative bleeding, complications and pain.

Unlike surgery with thoracotomy, which involves making a 25 cm incision in the patient's chest and cutting the ribs, a VATS procedure requires small incisions. A miniature video camera is inserted through one of the incisions. In both types of surgical interventions, there is a risk of bleeding because the branches of the pulmonary artery are very thin, fragile and are attached directly to the heart.

"Thanks to this clinical trial conducted in Canadian, American and British hospitals, we have shown that it is possible to safely seal pulmonary blood vessels through ultrasonic sealing and effectively control possible bleeding during a VATS procedure," explained Dr. Liberman, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Montreal.

Currently, only 15% of lobectomies around the world are performed by VATS, mainly because of the actual risks of major bleeding or surgeons' perception of these risks.

"I truly hope that the results of our clinical trial will reassure surgeons about the technical feasibility and safety of this operation and will encourage them to adopt it. A large number of patients could benefit from it and would be on their feet faster, with less pain," indicated Dr. Liberman.

Next-generation device

After five years of preclinical research at the CRCHUM, trials conducted on animals, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials showing the safety of the surgical intervention, Dr. Liberman's team has recently completed their large international phase 2 clinical trial launched in 2016.

It was able to evaluate the effectiveness of this new technique on 150 patients in eight hospitals across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. 139 of them underwent a lobectomy, while the remaining 11 underwent a segmentectomy (removal of a small part of the lung).

A total of 424 pulmonary artery branches were sealed during the study: 181 using surgical staplers, 4 with endoscopic clips and 239 using the HARMONIC ACE +7 Shears, designed by the company Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson). With a 3-millimetre jaw at its tip, this high-tech "pistol" allows a surgeon to seal blood vessels by delivering ultrasonic energy. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills nearly 1.69 million people around the world every year.

Explore further Revolutionary surgery for lung cancer

More information: "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, www.aats.org/aatsimis/AATSWeb/  9-A-655-AATS-44.aspx
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You can hear some of Montana in the high-decibel drone of "Life Metal," the new album by metal band Sunn O))).

Tim Midyett, of the late indie-rock band Silkworm, plays bass and baritone guitar on the tracks, which were recorded at Electrical Audio, the studio run by fellow Hellgate High School graduate Steve Albini.

Sunn sounds like someone liked the part at the beginning of a Black Sabbath song, where unaccompanied guitar makes a crashing entry, and decided to make that the basis for an expansive new sound.

"It's fairly challenging music to play because the riffs are so long," Midyett said in a phone interview, "and time is kind of indeterminate. It's kind of predicated on whatever happens on a given note, however long you're going to be hanging out on it, so it was challenging for me at first."

The idea of crushing riffs played for extended periods of time, as in 20 minutes long, might sound inaccessible, but the record was named "best new music" by Pitchfork and premiered on NPR's First Listen series, where it was described as "joyous" in its own way, which might become clear after you adjust to the density.

"If you're a musician or you have a certain appreciation of experimental art or whatever," Midyett said, then you'll recognize "there's a depth of character to it."

*

Midyett grew up in Missoula and played in a local art-rock band called Ein Heit. His next group, Silkworm, headed to Seattle and then Chicago, where they recorded a succession of albums with engineer Steve Albini, whose credits include classics like Nirvana's "In Utero" and the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa." Albini's own guitar work with Big Black and Shellac added to his reputation for experimental, abrasive rock.

Midyett has known the main forces behind Sunn since his time in Seattle in the 1990s, and they invited him to record on "Life Metal."

In an email, guitarist Stephen O'Malley said, "Tim's presence not only brought a great sense of spirit," but they also both play Travis Bean aluminum neck guitars, a first in the band's history. He said Midyett's the first person he knew who had one of the guitars, which are no longer made.

The band is named after the manufacturer of their favorite model of amplifier, and the ones used by drone pioneers Earth. The "O)))" is a reference on the amp's logo, and isn't pronounced. The album title, meanwhile, is an in-joke  the term "life metal" was frequently used as a derogatory term in the metal community, and the band members began to make jokes about it.

"If you had to go do your laundry and pick up your robe at the dry cleaners or whatever, that would be doing 'life metal,'" Midyett said.

The band does feel that the name reflects the music on this album, which is "very uplifting" and "expansive" once you've acquainted yourself with the sound, Midyett said.

"Sometimes the playing is aggressive, but the overall experience I think is rather welcoming and enveloping. And I think it encourages reflection and meditation, and a kind of calm state of being in time," he said.

That plays out in different ways live. For instance, O'Malley and fellow guitarist Greg Anderson cue the rest of the band live, when the fog and lights and robes can be an impediment.

"If you're going to hang out on some part of a piece for awhile, that'll be indicated in some subtle way by somebody and then you'll kind of go with the flow and see what's going to happen. A lot of times you can tell by careful listening, when the change is about to happen," Midyett said.

They recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio studio, all to analog tape with very few overdubs. Even string player Hildur Gunadottir was in the room for her parts, such as a long, modern classical section on the album-closer, "Nov."

Midyett said that Albini's often stereotyped as a "noisy rock band" engineer, but "some of the most beautiful records he's made are records that are heavy on acoustic instruments."

For this session, it meant "an awful lot of sound" to capture on tape. "He has decades of experience of doing it, and I think he's only gotten better over time," he said.

In an email, O'Malley said, he thinks "Steves accomplishments on behalf of the recording are self evident in the fidelity and capture of the reality of what the band sounds like at that moment in time. Remarkable isnt the right word, but minimalism, realism and cinematography are all metaphorical terms I have been using lately when discussing this recording."

In an email, Albini said his task "was to somehow make the listening experience at home evoke the sensation of hearing the music in person."

"Beginning each piece, Stephen and Greg would trace out the outline of the structure and then fine-tune the sound of each of their rigs. With a band like this, where so few sounds are present at any one time, each of the sounds needs a voice that can suffer scrutiny, and these two are meticulous about sculpting the density and texture of each chord. They can hear the difference between 2 o'clock and 2.30 on the dial of one of their pedals, and they should be able to hear that same difference in the studio once it's been recorded," he wrote.

During the sessions, O'Malley and Anderson might run their guitars through six to eight amps, some set up in different rooms.

"Any one of those amps might not sound particularly perfect on its own," Midyett said, "but you put the whole thing together and they tweak them so that they're adding up to this huge thing that you could never get out of a single piece of equipment."

Albini said the multiple-amp configuration contributed to the final wall of guitar tones in a few different ways. They can have different pedals and different pickups send to different amplifiers.

"Also, each amp will have a particular breakup character that may be overbearing if the whole signal is breaking up, but as a component of the sound can be invigorating. There's a mode of distortion that Sunn O))) use where the individual notes disappear and you hear the buckling sound of the speakers as a principal voice. Blue Cheer and other heavy bands hint at that sound but Sunn O))) have really made it a trademark. This sound is a product of volume, and strictly speaking is a kind of failure mode for an amplifier. Each amplifier will enter that mode in different ways, and the effect, especially in stereo, can be startling," he wrote in an email.

Over the 70-minute run time, there are plenty of shifts in texture and variations in the sound.

Albini said that "the hack, stock way of thinking about electrical guitars in the studio is that they are unsubtle and don't require careful attention or technique. Stick a mic on there and don't ask too many questions. If I've learned anything over the years it's that guitarists are extremely particular about precisely what their instruments sound like, and doing them justice is as demanding as recording a string quartet or chamber orchestra."

He had to keep track of all those signals and then work in additional instruments like the cello, pipe organ, synth, baritone guitar, and halldorophone, a "self-contained amplified cello that produces feedback and infinite-sustain effects," he said.

In the fall, the band will release a second album, "Pyroclasts," with material from the same sessions. Midyett said they're fairly meditative pieces, in the 11- to 14-minute range, based on a single root note. They were recordings from the beginning or end of a session, "where everyone would gather together and play these things to kind of either wake up and introduce the studio to what was going to happen to it that day, or calm it down," he said.

Midyett, who is on tour with the group, said the new albums are the closest to the live Sunn experience yet. "It's essentially impossible to replicate that unless you have a really big stereo, and even then you're not going to have a bunch of people in robes and fog, probably in front of you, unless you hire somebody."

O'Malley and Anderson tune their lowest guitar string down a fifth from standard tuning, and which means it's lower than the famously heavy riffs on Sabbath records. They often have 15 amps on stage, with O'Malley and Anderson running their guitars through three Sunn amps, plus one more. Another member, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, plugs his Moog synthesizer in three amps. Steve Moore runs his synthesizers through several Fender amps (and plays trombone), and Midyett plays through two amps.

He estimates that it adds up to about 3,200 watts on stage. "The technical rider is very detailed, with particular focus on being able to source enough current to keep everything up and running," he said. Sound tech Chris Fullard is "super important to the whole thing coming off properly," and so is Anne Weckstrom's pink-and-blue lighting and fog design. "The fog is kind of a great leveler. It can transform any space you're in," he said.

O'Malley said the overall sonic experience to be "a kind of spiritualism in my life."

"Id hesitate that the band has a unified philosophy as far as being inside the group as there are very distinct and different characters involved, with vastly differentiating points of view, tastes, tendencies, beliefs and lifestyles, but also vastly compatible and amenable ones as well. And these change all the time. We get together for the glory of being able to be part of the greater phenomena of sound of the O))) rather than individual philosophies, but those philosophies are all welcome inside of this."

*

Regarding the music itself, Midyett's been able to "live in the riffs for awhile, so I'm used to it."

He compared it to playing improvisational jazz, combined with modern composition, in which they have to listen closely and read the moment.

"There's a map, and the map is there and you have to know what the map is, but you can wander quite a bit as a group. It's a pretty wide trail. As long as you're going together, or if you going to go against things, you're doing it intentionally," he said.

With such long sustained notes, it adds a degree of difficulty.

"You might be living with whatever you do for awhile. So if you hit a wrong note, and you don't get it right, you've got to figure out a way to adapt whatever you did to make it work, but ideally you want to hit them right in the first place," he said.

The set, which can last for a couple of hours, is paced as one continuous piece of music, with several long songs stitched together through interstitial drones, which he compared to a monolith that you can view from multiple angles.

He said it's all of a piece, and that "a lot of art that's any good has a kind of fractal quality to it, where you can break it down to smaller subsections of the whole and it still maintains its integrity somehow," he said. "People have analyzed Jackson Pollock paintings and you look at a square inch of a Jackson Pollock painting and then it has the same compositional qualities as the whole thing has, and that's the reason you and me can't go drip-paint all over something and make it look like a Pollock."

He feels the same about the sound O'Malley and Anderson have created with Sunn, where any short section of the set is carefully considered. "But in terms of the texture of it, they're kind of the only band in the world that sounds like that," he said.

Midyett's band, Mint Mile, just finished a double album with a fall release planned. It's called "Ambertron," a word he coined himself. He likes music that tries to capture a feeling, impression or thought and presents it in a form that allows you to re-live it, although it might be slightly different, something preserved in amber. The "tron" part comes from Greek word for an instrument.

"I think bands are kind of machines for doing that," he said.

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Hotter, drier summers. More wildfires and smoke. Additional flooding. Lower stream flows with higher water temperatures. Shorter ski seasons.

Welcome to what could be Missoulas future.

A draft Vulnerability Assessment on what the greater Missoula area might be like by 2050, based on climate projections paints a disturbing picture. Despite that, two authors of the study are upbeat, noting that now that the community has identified potential impacts, its residents can prepare and work on strategies and solutions.

Climate change is such an overwhelming issue. But when people dive in and start to understand the local effect, they can start to think about what approach we can take so its not so depressing that we want to run away, said Amy Cilimburg, executive director of Climate Smart Missoula. It is sobering and a lot to take in, but the Vulnerability Assessment should lead to helping people feel motivated and figure out what to do.

Diana Maneta, the energy conservation and sustainability coordinator for Missoula County, adds that they learned a lot in creating the report, which used input from more than 100 local stakeholders ranging from agriculture to public health sectors.

The report is based on a workshop that brought together the stakeholders, many of whom I knew nothing about, Maneta said. It was interesting to learn about the impacts to these stakeholders.

The Vulnerability Assessment is the product of collaboration among Missoula County, the city and Climate Smart Missoula. Its part of the Climate Ready Communities: Building Resiliency in Missoula County initiative, an 18-month climate resiliency planning process that started last summer.

The new document, which was unveiled on Friday, comes on the heels of a Climate and Community Primer, which included three mid-century climate scenarios that illustrated a range of possible futures Missoula County could face within 30 years. That document was released in December.

The climate projections presented in the primer suggest that Missoula County is likely to experience hotter, drier summers; warmer, wetter springs; decreased low-elevation snowpack, and earlier spring runoff, the Vulnerability Assessment notes. We are already beginning to see the impacts of these changes. The conditions that led to our 2017 fire season and the 2018 flood season are likely to become increasingly common in the coming decades.

Addressing more frequent and intense wildfires, with the potential loss of lives, is probably the greatest climate-related change for Missoula city and county emergency services. The report notes that rural parts of the county are served by a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, whose departments already are understaffed and shrinking. With more people building homes next to forested wildlands, those limited resources are expected to be increasingly strained.

For instance, the Missoula City-County Health Department recommended evacuating the entire town of Seeley Lake in 2017 due to wildfire smoke, and there may be an increased need for such evacuations in the future.

The reports note that these and other impacts may be wide ranging. People could experience more health problems and increased health care costs due to smoke from wildfires. Water supplies could become unreliable due to drought. Business revenues could drop as tourism declines due to smoke, fires and floods. Forests could change to grasslands. Crops could be damaged from more intense rains and early or late freezes.

The report adds that its important to keep in mind that although the risks are described one by one, in the coming decade, the Missoula community may experience impacts concurrently, like wildfire smoke combined with higher temperatures. They also could come in quick succession, with heavy precipitation and flooding in the spring followed by dry conditions and wildfires in the summer. That will make dealing with them even more challenging.

Yet even as the local results to a worldwide problem are daunting, Cilimburg said theyre not insurmountable.

We need to think about mitigation to reduce carbon pollution and our carbon footprint. Everyone needs to do it, she said. We also have some time to adapt to changes that already are here and those that are coming. This Vulnerability Assessment is part of the process of us understanding the risks, prioritizing those risks and impacts, and deciding which really are the most crucial to develop strategies to deal with them.

The report also notes that warmer weather may have positive impacts on Missoula Countys agricultural sector. It could increase the length of the growing season, creating opportunities for new crops such as stone fruits, grapes, melons and corn. Those extended growing seasons also could benefit alfalfa and hay producers by allowing for additional cuttings.

Two informal workshops, where the public can provide input on the draft and gather feedback, are set for this month. One will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, and the other is noon to 1:30 p.m. May 16.

Both events will take place in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse Annex at 200 W. Broadway. People can also provide input online at missoulaclimate.org/resiliency-planning.

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Even back in 1966, a University of Montana graduate student talked about preserving Native American languages, in this case the names of edible and medicinal plants used by residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

"As knowledge of my study became known on the reservation, many curious and interested Indians asked me if I had collected various plants or told me of different uses for plants which I already had," wrote Ron Stubbs in his master's degree thesis. When possible, he had at least two people identify each plant. "  My informants  expressed an intense desire to make sure that I recorded information concerning each plant correctly."

This year, prompted by a UM faculty member, Montana lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

"Montana is the home to 13 different Indigenous languages," said associate professor Rosalyn LaPier in an email. "Folks like me and others at UM work on the national and international stage to strengthen policies regarding (Native American) languages."

In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly made a proclamation declaring 2019 a time to support Native languages, which the UN noted "play a crucial role in our lives."

"They are not only our first medium for communication, education and social integration, but are also at the heart of each persons unique identity, cultural history and memory," said the UN proclamation.

LaPier requested the 2019 Montana Legislature's American Indian Caucus take up a resolution in support of the UN proclamation, and legislators adopted the statement partly to "draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages."

The joint resolution was introduced by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder; Rep. Jade Bahr, D-Billings; Rep. Barbara Bessette, D-Great Falls; Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula; Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning; Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, D-Crow Agency; and Rep. Marvin Weatherwax, D-Browning.

"The 66th Legislature is committed to the continued preservation of tribal languages in Montana and urges all state agencies to take appropriate steps, when applicable, to support the preservation, revitalization and promotion of these valued languages and cultures."

Higher visibility

Kelly Webster, chief of staff for UM President Seth Bodnar, said in an email the campus stands behind the legislation.

"The UM family celebrates the signing of this joint resolution in support of the United Nations proclamation of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages," Webster said. "UM faculty and students have long been leaders in revitalizing, preserving, and strengthening indigenous languages and cultures, work that enriches our campus, our state, our country, and our world."

Native American language preservation is recently more visible on the UM campus. Last month for Arbor Week, LaPier said Environmental Studies interns added Salish names to local tree tags, such as satqp for Ponderosa pine.

In January, LaPier herself participated in a gathering at Harvard University as an invited speaker to discuss the National Coalition of Native American Language Schools and Programs, an organization she helped found. She said this week that people often consider Native language and Native knowledge as separate entities, but that's not the case.

"Those things are really deeply connected," LaPier said. "  That's something I teach at UM, how those things are connected. And when you are revitalizing or even saving an indigenous language, you're also saving that community's indigenous knowledge, which is connected to their ecological knowledge and their environmental knowledge."

LaPier is an indigenous writer and ethnobotanist in Environmental Studies at UM, and she said the flagship has worked hard toward Native language preservation.

"University of Montana is one of the leaders in promoting and preserving Native American languages on the national stage," said LaPier, also an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Metis.

The joint resolution notes the Montana Secretary of State will provide copies of the legislation to recipients including the secretary general of the United Nations, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., each tribal government on the seven Montana reservations and Little Shell Chippewa tribe, and the Montana governor.

Please sign up on Missoulian.com to subscribe to Under the M, the weekly email about the University of Montana and higher education news in Montana.

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NorthWestern Energy issued a warning Wednesday that scammers are targeting Montana customers, threatening immediate utility shut offs unless payment is made.

The company says customers have reported that they have received a call in which a recording instructs the customer to call a 1-800 number to avoid having their utility service interrupted.

Customers who called the phone number report that the person who answers the call demands immediate payment.

The scammers appear to be calling utility customers throughout Montana.

NorthWestern says it does not call customers and demand immediate payment of past-due bills. The utility will provide multiple past-due notices before terminating service.

If you get a cancellation notification, the company recommends dialing the customer service number on your utility bill to verify the notification. NorthWestern never asks customers to use a prepaid debit card for payment.

NorthWestern Energy has reported the scam and the phone number being used to authorities.

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Custos Media Technologies runs a unique blockchain-based anti-piracy product, which leverages the immutability of public blockchains and game theory to curb incidents of piracy.

Custos cofounder Fred Lutz told MyBroadband that the companys technology functions by encouraging pirates to anonymously rat out their compatriots  with a Bitcoin reward up for grabs.

While at the forefront of blockchain technology, Custos was founded in Stellenbosch, South Africa  once again showing that the country can be the home of world-first developments.

Great adoption

The great thing about building on global platforms like Bitcoin and AWS means we were global from day one, Lutz told MyBroadband.

Our first customer was the foremost film distributor in South Africa, Indigenous Film Distribution. They are very forward-looking and jumped on the opportunity to increase the security of their customers content.

Custos has applied its piracy protection to over 350,000 movies across the film industry, and it has seen a dramatic reduction in piracy since it entered the market.

In South Africa, for example, about 60% of films were pirated before we entered the market  it is notoriously bad for piracy, Lutz said.

We have not had a single leak from any of the movies we protected since.

And its not as if the pirates left  there have been two cases where our internal web crawler picked up pirated copies of movies that we protected well before they were in the market.

Custos contacted the customers and in both cases a single unprotected DVD copy was sent out to a reviewer that insisted on it. Needless to say, they refused to send any DVDs following that.

The company has also been contracted by one of South Africas biggest universities to protect the content that goes through their learning management platform.

Based in South Africa

Lutz said that the physical distance of South Africa from the rest of the world can be a challenge for companies with international clients, but they have managed to overcome this obstacle.

We now have customers in Hollywood, Atlanta, New York, Canada, the UK, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, Norway, and even Trinidad and Tobago. We also protect just about all major movies in South Africa, Lutz said.

Id say the biggest issue is the flights, he said, adding that time zone differences also impact working hours.

Lutz said another big issue has been raising venture capital in South Africa, noting that while the local industry is developing at an exciting pace, there are still few early-stage deep tech investors locally.

Luckily, Custos was able to source funding from TIA, Stellenbosch University, local angel investors, and US-based firms.

This was coupled with exchange controls in South Africa, Lutz added.

Youd think that the government would be happy about money flowing into the country, but the expected time for funds to be cleared into South Africa through the Reserve Bank is eight weeks. Show me a startup for which an eight-week knock to cash flow is easy to weather.

Blockchain in SA

Lutz said that South Africa is a powerhouse for blockchain innovation, which he ascribes to early adopters, a general distrust for the government, and good tech talent.

This access to great engineers and talent, in general, has been a very big plus for building a blockchain startup in South Africa, Lutz said.

The lower cost of living locally has also helped the team develop their technology for a fraction of what it would have cost to do in the United States, Lutz added.

Now read: The one thing IT professionals like more than money
Eskoms power generation woes mean that it may be time to look to alternative energy sources that can assist in keeping the national power grid running.

This is particularly important given the monumental failure that has been South Africas two newest coal plants  Medupi and Kusile.

One possible alternative energy source is wind energy, with wind turbine generators currently providing 2020 MW of operational capacity to the grid.

South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chair Mercia Grimbeek explained to MyBroadband how wind energy offers great potential in South Africa.

No need for nuclear

Grimbeek said that according to the current draft update of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which serves as the governments long-term energy plan, there is no need for any new nuclear power to be added to South Africas grid.

Instead, Grimbeek said, the country can reduce its reliance on coal plants by using other clean forms of power such as wind power, which is expected to constitute 15% of installed power capacity by 2030.

Government has, to an extent, embraced renewables, which have gained traction in other parts of the world as countries recognise this economically sound means to combat climate change, said Grimbeek.

She added that while wind power has the potential to provide even more grid capacity than the planning current foresees, SAWEA recognises that issues of social and economic development are as important as successful energy transition.

The feasibility of wind power

Grimbeek said that wind and solar are the two fastest power generation systems to deploy, as it takes just 1-2 years as opposed to 10+ years for coal and nuclear plants.

As a result, said Grimbeek, these generation methods are ideally suited to assist Eskom in dealing with the current energy crisis.

Operational wind power has avoided lots of additional load shedding and additional diesel burn, and more of them will avoid more, said Grimbeek.

Grimbeek added that wind is often available during the evening hours of the day, which is the time of day with the highest demand. This means that wind power is particularly well-suited to helping Eskom deal with peak energy usage periods that are most likely to otherwise necessitate load-shedding.

Outside of reducing the threat posed by load-shedding, Grimbeek said that other benefits of wind power include:

Low cost power generation.

Construction that happens on-budget and on-time while creating jobs.

Advancing the transformation agenda.

Attracting foreign direct investment.

Contributing to national emissions reduction targets.

The value of wind energy is evident in the fact that it is one of the fastest growing sources of electricity, while also being one of the cleanest and safest means of generating power.

The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other research institutes have conclusively demonstrated that the option of new wind, solar PV and flexible generation capacity in South Africa delivers the least-cost electricity price trajectory in the years ahead to 2050 and beyond, as well as least water consumption, lowest carbon emissions and the most jobs, added Grimbeek.

The department of energys plans for wind power

Grimbeek highlighted that the Department of Energy, in its Draft IRP 2018, has outlined its cost-optimised path for the South African electricity sector.

According to this scenario, wind would be the largest source of electricity by 2040. The DoE foresees 12 GW of wind by 2030, 38 GW by 2040 and 50 GW by 2050.

The DoE however omitted three key disruptions in its IRP2018: batteries, electric vehicles, and flexibility on the demand side, added Grimbeek.

All three factored in, wind will reach 18 GW by 2030, 57 GW by 2040 and 75 GW by 2050.
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AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CALVARY CHAPEL NAPA

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets as well on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. Check out our website at calvarynapa.org.

CARMELITE MONASTERY

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. Confession Days for English and Spanish: Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.; 8-9 p.m. First Saturdays: Confessions at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. 944-2454. oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING

Services are 9 and 10:30 with Teen Group at 10 and Youth Program at 10:30. Rev Jay's topic is "Springing into Action for the Environment". Path of the Sacred Self Workshop with Ardyce West this Sunday after services at noon. Spanish Meditation Mondays, 7-8 p.m. Course in Miracles on Tuesdays from 6:15- 8:15 p.m. Open Meditation Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. followed by Power of 8 Healing Circles. Three-week Interfaith Series continues Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m. with a Shasta Abbey Buddhism presentation. Spiritual Cinema Night Friday, May 10, features "Barbara Marx Hubbard Tribute: Co-Creative Evolution". Rev Jay's 8 week class Practical Wisdom from Ancient Roots begins Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30-8:45. 1249 Coombs St.; 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase. 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

Congregation Beth Shalom-The Center of Jewish Life in the Napa Valley-Shabbat Worship Services, Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. followed by Oneg Shabbat at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at 9:30. Religious School at 10 a.m.. Join Roy Barush and learn to make Chocolate Babka. At 10 a.m., Shorashim for tots. May 6 at 7 p.m., Women's Wisdom Circle. Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 1455 Elm Street, Napa,; 707-253-7305. www.cbsnapa.org

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Rev. Jesse Larson examines the Gospel of Luke 24: 13-35 this week assisted by Liturgist, Doreen Wilkinson. The text reminds us that when the lonely become our friends, when a stranger is welcomed, when hope is stronger than despair, we will find Jesus walking beside us. Our doors open wide every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome to worship and lead. The Covenant Choir is back, accompanied by Mark Osten, and well sing one of our favorite hymns this week, Here I Am, Lord. Youll find us tucked among the vineyards in north Napa at 1226 Salvador Avenue. Join us for a Cinco de Mayo feast in the fellowship hall after church. Well enjoy good food, friendship, and conversation while celebrating our neighbors. See you Sunday! (707) 255-9426, www.cpcnapa.org.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH

Please join us Sundays at 8:30 or 10 a.m. for a new series about our relationship with the "Stuff of Life". Money-related issues are among the most stressful that we face in life. The wisdom of Jesus offers a helpful guide. Children's programs available during 10 a.m. service. Check out our website for more information -- CrossWalkNapa.org. This year's theme: Love is Bigger, It is Hopeful  whatever we go through, Love is Bigger.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We welcome you to come and experience a Sunday morning at First Christian Church. Be inspired and encouraged by a message from the Bible that you can apply to your daily life. Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. Our Kids Ministry has a great time planned for your kids (babies through 5th graders) We are located at 2659 First Street; www.fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

You are invited to worship with us at First Presbyterian Church - Napa! Sunday, May 5, is Communion Sunday. All are welcome. Our Traditional Service with hymns and choir is at 9 a.m. and our Contemporary Worship Service with Praise Music is at 10:30 a.m. Childcare for newborns to age 4 is available, and The Path (Children's Sunday Schools) is during the 10:30 a.m. service. We invite you to stay and enjoy coffee and refreshments following both services. 1333 Third Street, 707-224-8693; www.fpcnapa.org or Facebook.com/fpcnapa.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY

Grace Church of Napa Valley: Worship service at 10 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 8:45 a.m.; Childrens Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. and Childrens Church at 10 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior High and High School ministry meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036. hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses, there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE

Sunday worship service 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840. The public is welcome.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De La Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Please join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. for Sabbath School and Connection Classes. Stay for the worship service at 11:15 a.m. Our Community Services is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 2110 Seminary St., 252-8552, Napacomm.com, 1105 G St., Napa; 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH

You are invited to worship each Sunday at the Napa Methodist Church at 625 Randolph St. where ALL are welcome. The May sermon series is "Unafraid: Facing Fear with Faith". This Sunday, the Bonner Handbell Choir will play at the 9:30 am worship service and the Fusion Band will play at the 11am service. Keith Calara will preach on "Holiness and Silliness" at both worship services. Our Sierra Service Project Youth are hosting a fundraiser on May 11 and everyone is welcome to enjoy a God's House Band Concert at 4pm and a Bar-B- Que Dinner at 6pm. A good will offering will be requested at both fundraisers. Please call the church at 253-1411 for more information.

NAPA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS)

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. Childrens program available with advance notice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

(See Napa Valley Life Church listing)

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching, and a class is available for children and youth during this service. A Bible study on the Song of Solomon is being held at the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. 1559 Second St., Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH

We welcome you to join us Sunday at 10 a.m. for our morning service! We also welcome Brad Jameson to lead us in the message entitled Loving Others: Eternal Grace Revealed in Love, using the text from 1st John 4:7-12. We will celebrate the Lords Supper. Sunday School for children and childcare also provided. Open forum discussion immediately after refreshments after the service. Napa Valley Community Church is a Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. www.napavalleychurch.org.

NAPA VALLEY LIFE CHURCH

Napa Valley Baptist Church is now Napa Valley Life Church. Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 2303 Trower Ave. for exciting worship, relevant message and a safe and fun childrens program. A well-staffed and trained nursery is provided. Tony Valenti is Senior Pastor. nvlife.org.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN

We welcome all regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, culture, age, etc. All are welcome!

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS

At 9 a.m.: Leaders: Shawna Bynum & Margaret Kelso (What Moves Us: UU Theology #9) An Organic Faith for Our Time William Schultz considers Unitarian Universalist worship services to be places where one learns how to seek, perceive, and touch the Spirit. These practices translate into a willingness to think and act in global and nondualistic ways. What in our religious history and our congregational life shapes and forms our moral values and informs the way we act in the world? Schultz uses word like holy, grace and spirit. 11 a.m: Lessons from a Tuscan Grasshopper Traditional service with Jeanne Foster and Sunday Service Assistant, Jeff Leles. When we use the word diversity, we usually think of the differences among human beings. But the interdependent web, we UUs vow to support, embraces all being, including non-human beings. The little creatures of the world have a lot to teach we big ones if, in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau and Anne Dillard, we will take the time to simply see. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH

All masses are in English. Visitors are welcome. Sunday Mass times: 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday Evening (Vigil for Sunday) 4:30 p.m. Daily mass times: Monday-Friday: 7 and 8:45 a.m.; Saturday: 8:45 a.m. Confession: Saturdays: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Monday-Friday: 6:30-6:50 a.m., Monday-Saturday: 8:15-8:35 a.m. 3700 Lassen St., Napa.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome streets in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH

We start a new series on May 5, Visions of Hope, finding hope in the visions of John in the Book of Revelation. This week we focus on the vision of the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation 5:1-14. Worship at 8:30 (traditional, Communion, Hand Bells) and 10:15 (contemporary, childrens church). All are welcome! (3521 Linda Vista, stjohnslutheran.net)

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY

Worship meetings every Sunday at 9 a.m.  breakfast included! Everyone is welcome and we always include solid Bible teaching. Need something less churchy? Try our 10:30 a.m. Coffee and Conversation time: A Bible study which allows anyone to bring their questions about life, spirituality, and Jesus to the table. Join us for one or both each week. Childrens meetings are available too. The Salvation Army, 590 Franklin Street, Napa. 707-226-8150; Napa.Salvationarmy.Org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY

Sunday, May 5 at the 10 a.m. service, Unity welcomes, Rev. Marjorie Brach, her message is titled,How To Let God Help You: Chapter 1-The Purpose of Living. Her theme: This week, we are beginning a new series based on the Unity Classic Book, How to Let God Help You. This compilation of treasured teachings and writings of Unitys Co-founder Myrtle Fillmore, is full of inspiring and practical ideas for how to live the Truth as we know it. Join us for a wonderful Sunday celebration of living our purpose, of fully expressing the God wisdom that lives within us! Unitys musical director, Lon Eakes, will be performing our Sunday Service music this week. 11:40 a.m.-Forum-After a brief refreshment break, Rev. Marjorie will facilitate a discussion group pertaining to her message. Sunday Service and Forum are held at the historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagan Road (1 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking next to the building. www.Facebook.com/USCNV, www.UnitySpiritualCenterNapa.org 255-6881.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH

This Sunday, May 5, we will have Senior Chaplain of Napa County Lee Shaw as our guest speaker. Come join us at 10 a.m. Sunday for our worship service. We have our weekly Prayer meeting at 9 a.m. in the conference center. The main church building is under repairs and we are meeting in our Sunday School classrooms on the North side of the church. Come join us for coffee, doughnuts, and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sunday School is for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fifth - eighth grades and high school students),and Children's classes "Jesus and Me", (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. Church office hours at Tuesday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; 6619 Yount St., Yountville; 707-944-2179.

Want to have your church included in Worship Notes? Need to update your congregations information? Contact editor Kelly Doren at kdoren@napanews.com or 256-2263.
Heather Hernandez has been the manager of Live Fire Pizza in the Oxbow Public Market for about a year now. Asked about her impressions, she was quick to respond, I am beyond impressed. I dont think I expected it to feel this natural. And the quality  from the food, to the staff to the owners  is amazing.

Thats hardly idle praise. Hernandez is a self described foodie who has spent her career in the hospitality and food industry. Shes seen all sides of the business, from fast casual, to cafe to full service.

Live Fire is actually a blend of all of that, depending on what our guests want. Many people pick up their food to go; others order, get a pager and walk around the market or enjoy Live Fires private patio, and some prefer to sit at the bar for full service.

The delicious and approachable menu, crafted by Liza Shaw (San Franciscos A16, Redd Wood and Merigan Sub Shop), features artisan pizzas, salads, sandwiches and plenty of wine country inspired small plates.

Pizzas, cooked in a brick oven, are charred just enough to give them a full flavor, and to add a little bit of love, as Hernandez puts it.

The mushroom pizza, which is prepared with a bounty of roasted mushrooms, also features ricotta, smoked mozzarella, radicchio, grana, garlic and oregano. Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts? Wait until you try a side of fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, which are roasted in the wood fire oven, quickly fried and then drizzled with lemon, capers, chilies and mint, and you may change your mind. Live Fire offers a carefully curated selection of beers, wines and other beverages.

For Hernandez, Live Fire is all about people. We really listen to our guests. Shes worked in corporate environments, which allow for no deviation from the formula.

Its wonderful here. Were going to remodel the outside patio this summer, largely based on wanting to create a comfier dining environment for all our locals and visitors.

When the owners are in, its to taste product and high five the staff. That really rubs off on the people dining here.

Even the staff is amazing  high energy, creative, willing to do what it takes to make the guest experience completely positive.

Grand re-opening

Antiques on Second, at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets, celebrates new ownership and a remodel on May 18 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Expect a splash, small bites and a great new look for the store. New owner Jennifer Smith, who has been an antique dealer at the site for ten years, said she didnt have to change a lot.

Molly (Silcox, who opened the business 17 years ago) did a great job. Its updated, but we are still keeping the vintage look and feel.

Smith has rearranged vendors and added six new ones. The store is open daily.

See you downtown!

Craig Smith is the executive director of the Downtown Napa Association and also the author of Lies That Bind  How Do You Arrest Somebody Who Doesnt Exist? Reach him at 257-0322 or craig@donapa.com.
Depending on whos describing it, Measure F is either a tool to protect reasonably priced senior housing or an unwelcome government intrusion into a cordial relationship between Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Parks tenants and owners.

St. Helena officials steered a neutral course during Saturdays informational workshop, taking a just the facts, maam approach to a polarizing measure that will be decided by a June 4 special election.

We are Switzerland, said City Manager Mark Prestwich before he and Deepa Sharma, an attorney representing the city, delved into the details of the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO).

A yes vote would enact an ordinance passed by the City Council last November introducing rent stabilization at the citys mobile home parks, of which there is currently only one. A no vote would maintain the status quo at Vineyard Valley, where tenants typically sign a long-term lease with annual rent increases of 3 percent.

Under Measure F, tenants entering into new leases would have two choices: a short-term lease of 12 months or less subject to rent stabilization or a long-term lease with the parks usual rent increases.

Annual rent increases for rent-stabilized leases would be capped at 100 percent of the change in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3 percent of the base rent, whichever is less.

If park owners seek a higher rent increase than the formula allows, they would have to hold informational meetings to explain the reason for the increase  major capital improvements, for example  and engage in mediation with the leaseholders.

If mediation fails, the dispute could end up in arbitration, where an arbitrator would ensure that the park owner receives a just and reasonable return.

Rent increases exceeding 300 percent of the change in CPI would go straight to arbitration once mediation fails. Rent increases of 300 percent or less of the change in CPI would go to arbitration only if 51 percent of the rent-stabilized leaseholders sign a petition for rate review.

The city would pay all related costs (mediation, arbitration, staff time) until 50 percent of the leases opt into rent stabilization. Once that threshold is crossed, the city could charge a fee to the owner, who could pass half of that cost on to tenants.

The ordinance also contains a vacancy control provision. When a unit is sold in place and the new buyer chooses a rent-stabilized lease, the park owner wouldnt be able to increase the rent beyond whats allowed by the rent stabilization formula.

The owner would be able to bring the rent up to market rate if the buyer signs a long-term lease, if theres a termination of a tenancy, if a mobile home is abandoned or removed for reasons other than off-site rehabilitation, or if the owner can establish that an adjustment is necessary for the owner to receive a fair return.

The city will hold another informational workshop about Measure F at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the firehouse.

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19382019

On Monday morning April 29, 2019, Wallace Wally Dean Gray, Jr., devoted husband and loving father, passed away at the age of 80 surrounded by family after an arduous battle with bone cancer. Wally was born on December 22, 1938 in Ohio to Wallace and Clarice (Rogers) Gray, Sr. After his childhood spent in Idaho, Wally went on to receive his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho, then proceeded to earn his license in engineering. He carried on his work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for over 40 years. After retirement, Wally taught computer classes for the Adult Education Program at Napa Valley College.

At the tender age of 19, he met the love of his life, Judith Santina Ramos, in Costa Rica. Despite a language barrier, they fell in love and married on August 29, 1959. They had three children together. When he wasnt attending to his family, he used his time to obtain his pilot license, read numerous books, contemplate physics, and become an avid Star Wars fan and Trekkie. With his children as his accomplices, he occasionally partook in playing practical jokes on his unsuspecting wife. He was known to be a kind, welcoming man who gave great hugs.

In his passing, Wally is now reunited with his parents and his youngest son, Eric. Wally is survived by his wife, Judy; his son Greg and his wife Melissa; his daughter Sue and her husband Ken; his grandchildren Jeanette, Blake and Gianna; and his great-grandchildren Noah, Sariah and Michael.

Services will be held on Friday, May 10th, 2019 at Tolucay Cemetery on Coombsville Road at 11 a.m. with a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society.

May the Force be with you.
Chad Frazier thinks theres some special scenery along Highway 128 as it runs by Markley Cove Resort along Lake Berryessa in remote, eastern Napa County.

Were quintessential California, said Frazier, the resort general manager. Were the oak trees and poppies and lupine at this time of year  were kind of this hidden gem up here that people dont know about.

California could help spread the word. Highway 128 might someday have the blue signs with the orange poppies that mark official California scenic highways.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, is trying to open the door to a designation. Her Assembly Bill 998 would make Highway 128 eligible for scenic highway status, though not bestow the honor in-and-of itself. It recently passed the Assembly and now moves to the Senate.

As a designated scenic highway, Highway 128 will promote tourism and enhance local pride in the region, Aguiar-Curry said in a press release.

Highway 128 is about 140 miles long. It runs from Highway 1 near the misty Pacific Ocean in Mendocino County east through Sonoma, Napa and Yolo counties before ending at Interstate 505 at Winters near walnut orchards in the hot Sacramento Valley.

Thats the big picture. Theres also the smaller, Napa County picture.

The highway enters the western county near Calistoga, travels northern Napa Valley on a shared route with Highway 29 through St. Helena, cuts across wine country, then heads into eastern mountains past Lake Hennessey. It leaves the county near Monticello Dam, that 300-foot-tall, Lake Berryessa-creating concrete monolith blocking Putah Creek at Devils Gate.

Highway 128 has more than the scenic beauty of oak-covered hills and sprawling vineyards, according to Assembly Bill 998.

There are also many Michelin star restaurants and world class resorts, from spas to rustic bed-and breakfasts, where drivers can stop and enjoy local cuisine and comforts, the bill said.

California began its scenic highway program in 1963. To be chosen, a state highway must first be on a list of eligible roadways passed by the state Legislature. Napa County already has highways 29, 121 and 221 eligible, though none of them are designated.

Being eligible isnt enough. A local government such as Napa County must prepare a scenic highway proposal that includes a survey of the visual highlights. The proposals must be discussed at a public meeting.

Then the paperwork goes to Caltrans. Once Caltrans accepts the proposal, the local government creates a corridor protection program that details how the scenic views will be protected. Then Caltrans decides whether to designate or not.

That means, if Aguiar-Curry succeeds in making Highway 128 eligible for scenic road status, Napa County must decide whether it wants to complete the effort for the segment within its boundaries.

The county hasnt ignored the idea of scenic roadways. In fact, it has designated 280 miles of scenic roads on its own and tried to protect them from visual intrusions with its viewshed ordinance. Among them is Highway 128.

But Napa County has never taken those extra steps that would bring official state designation and those official poppy signs.

Historically, the county has refrained from seeking official state designation due to concerns about maintenance and improvement costs, the county general plan says.

The general plan doesnt detail the nature of the costs. A Caltrans report gives an example, saying counties are responsible for installing and maintaining those scenic highway signs with the poppy logo at three-to-five mile intervals and at important intersections.

Could Napa County have a change of heart in the case of Highway 128 if Aguiar-Currys bill passes the Senate and wins Gov. Gavin Newsoms signature?

Supervisor Diane Dillons district contains much of the Napa stretch of Highway 128. She said she looked at the ramifications and whats involved with state scenic highway designations after Aguiar-Curry asked for her support.

There didnt seem to be a downside, Dillon said.

Meanwhile, a regional push to publicize Highway 128 has resulted in a Highway 128 website. The site features attractions along the route and has web links to tourism groups in all four counties along the route, including Visit Napa Valley. Go to https://www.visit128.com to see the site.

Among the Highway 128 attractions featured on the website is Markley Cove, with its marina, store, launch and cabins on a finger of Lake Berryessas 160-mile shoreline. The Frazier family has operated the resort on federal land for more than 30 years.

Chad Frazier wasnt recently ready to take a position on Assembly Bill 998, given he didnt know the details of what state scenic highway status entails. But he doesnt want the area to be hidden away, adding its tough for people to care about something if they dont know anything about it.

If youve never driven that whole length of 128, that really is a fantastic drive, he said.

Assembly Bill 998 is co-authored by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg and Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa.

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A Napa County jury will soon decide whether a Bay Area man accused of pimping a young woman in her 20s will be found guilty of human trafficking charges.

The case stems from the October 2018 arrest of 28-year-old Kevin Lamarr Lewis. He was arrested at the Motel 6 in Napa after he drove the woman to meet law enforcement officers who had responded to her online prostitution ad. The Napa Special Investigations Bureau, which focuses on human and drug trafficking cases, partnered with the Vacaville Police Department in the sting operation that resulted in his arrest.

The woman involved in this case is not being named in this article because the Napa County District Attorneys Office has identified her as a victim of human trafficking.

Court records show Lewis is charged with seven felonies related to pimping, human trafficking, pandering and witness intimidation. He also faces four misdemeanors related to violating a protective order, obstructing an officer and driving with a suspended license. Judge Rodney Stone presided over Lewiss week-long trial before the 12-person jury of six men and six women.

At the time of his arrest in Napa, Lewis was out on bail after abandoning a court date in Los Angeles a week earlier, law enforcement officials said in court. That court hearing was related to human trafficking charges he faced in Los Angeles after a September arrest that involved the same woman targeted in the Napa arrest.

Prosecutors argue that Lewis and the woman were heading to Los Angeles for prostitution, but Lewis said he invited the woman on the trip for company while he broke into cars.

Los Angeles law enforcement filed a protective order that barred Lewis from contacting the woman. Napa officials have since done the same.

When questioned in court by prosecutor Stephanie Macumber of the DAs Office on Wednesday, the woman claimed she fell in love with Lewis, who encouraged her to return to prostitution after leaving an abusive pimp, then took all of the money she earned from performing sex acts and threatened her. Lewis took the stand Friday afternoon to deny those accusations and claim that he did not know the woman continued to prostitute.

Alleged victim takes the stand

The woman who accuses Lewis of being her pimp said in response to the prosecutors questions Wednesday that she did not want to testify and was subpoenaed. Her family had recently received threatening phone calls and she worried for their safety, she said.

She told the prosecutor that she and Lewis had known each other for years and were introduced through family. They were friends at first, she said, but that changed about six or seven years later when their relationship began to change to one that she described as being more than friends.

She had previous experience with prostitution, but that didnt last long, she said. Her last pimp was physically violent and she left, she said.

She had tattoos on her hand and neck that referred to Lewis, plus another large thigh tattoo that referred to her old pimp. Tattoos can be a way for pimps to brand prostitutes, Macumber said, though the woman said she had received those tattoos before Lewis became her pimp, and Lewis denied forcing her to get the tattoos.

She said he promised her money, nice clothes and a nice car if she prostituted for him, but he kept all of the money she made, she said.

She would place ads for sexual services on the internet, and Lewis would text her to commit sex acts, drive her to dates and wait nearby for her in his Infiniti with paper plates covering the license plate, she said. He would keep her purse while she went on dates, and sometimes keep her phone and delete text messages between the two of them, she said. Lewis denied doing this.

She wanted a regular job, but Lewis discouraged her and said people with regular jobs are squares, she said.

Lewis September arrest in Los Angeles came up several times in court Wednesday when Los Angeles Police Department officials and the woman testified.

Lewis, who said he has been breaking into cars for the past decade and has faced seven or eight related felonies in various counties, maintained he and the woman took the trip to L.A. so that he could break into cars. Los Angeles police returned stolen items found in their car to at least five owners, said Lewiss public defender Andy Rubinger.

The Napa County District Attorneys Office played body camera footage from an arrest in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, when officials say Lewis was apprehended after skipping out on a court hearing for charges related to human trafficking.

The video shows Lewis in a Hogwarts T-shirt and an unzipped black hoodie. Officer Michael Liebe led him into the back of a black-and-white police SUV on a sunny day. The video captures some small talk between Liebe and Lewis while sitting in traffic, on their way to the South-Central Los Angeles police station.

Audio from the footage captures Lewis asking Liebe to let him go and tell officials that he escaped instead.

I got $10,000 for you, bro, Lewis said, before asking the officer to turn off his body camera.

Lewis said Friday that he did not have that much money and had no intention to give the officer any money, but wanted to avoid going to jail.

Lewis tries to clear his name

Lewis said that he met the woman on her 18th birthday. The two began to develop a sexual, noncommittal relationship over the coming months, but fell out of touch until late 2017, when he said they reconnected over social media. He then asked her to accompany him on a trip to Los Angeles so that he could break into cars.

Los Angeles was a better spot to break into cars because frequent car break-ins are featured prominently on Bay Area news, Lewis said. They returned to Los Angeles between five and 10 times for such trips, Lewis said, though the woman did not participate in the car break-ins.

During their September trip to Los Angeles, Lewis said he broke into at least 40 to 50 cars at one point and stole property worth about $2,000. He agreed to drop the woman off to meet with friends since he had already made so much money.

Thats when the woman got arrested after meeting up with an undercover officer.

Lewis said when Los Angeles officers found him later, guns drawn, there were many stolen items in his backseat. He initially thought he left a cell phone turned on and officers had tracked the devices location.

After his arrest, Lewis said he called his girlfriend, who is not the same woman as the alleged victim, to ask her to start gathering bail.

He said he skipped his court date the next month because the bail had been raised to $245,000 from $100,000, he said. Lewis knew it was wrong, but he had about $160, he said.

He headed to catch a Greyhound bus, where he was arrested. Again, Lewis said he called his girlfriend for help pulling together the bail, but she came up $1,500 short. His grandfather agreed to loan him the last sum he needed to be released and the alleged victim said she could give Lewis $1,500 to repay his grandfather, he said.

He texted and called the woman multiple times to no avail, but she eventually answered and agreed to meet with him, Lewis said. Lewis agreed to drive her to meet someone in Napa who he believed to have the $1,500, he said. Thats when the woman and Lewis were arrested at the Motel 6.

He denied that he would drive her to commit an act of prostitution and said he knew the woman had previously been a prostitute, but didnt know whether that continued to be the case, he said. Lewis also said he did not know that the woman had previously accused him of pimping her out.

While Lewis denied the human trafficking charges, he admitted to contacting the woman in spite of protective orders, delaying officers, driving on a suspended license and making phone calls in jail, in spite of a judges order that he could only contact his four-year-old son.

The trial resumes Monday, when closing arguments are expected to be made.

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Napa Valley College will host a campus housing forum on Wednesday, May 8, in the Community Room 1731 on campus. Members of the public are invited to drop in any time from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with presentations at set times during the day.

The college recently implemented a feasibility study on campus housing to determine if there was a true demand for housing, and if so, what NVC's specific needs would be.

This is the publics opportunity to learn more about the process and weigh in on the feasibility study. The Community Room at Napa Valley College will be open to the public all day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that people can review materials and post comments and questions.

The college's vendor, the Scion Group, will make three presentations at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m and also be available for questions throughout the day.

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Anyone whos visited the Oxbow Public Market on a weekend or downtown Napa on a Friday night can attest to the number of tourists making Napa a destination.

The statistics back it up.

In 2018, the Napa Valley welcomed 3.85 million visitors who spent $2.23 billion, said a new report from Visit Napa Valley. To compare, the 2016 report said visitors spent $1.9 billion in Napa Valley.

On Friday, Visit Napa Valley released the 2018 Napa Valley Visitor Industry Economic Impact and Visitor Profile reports, with results of a yearlong research study conducted by Destination Analysts.

According to Visit Napa Valley, nearly 70 percent of the $2.23 billion is generated from overnight hotel guests, who spent an average of $446 in Napa County per guest, per day.

The $2.23 billion spent in 2018 represents $85.1 million in tax benefit to residents, said the report. Taxes generated by the visitor industry include revenues from the transient occupancy tax (TOT), sales taxes and property and transfer taxes paid on lodging facilities.

The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County (after the wine industry), supporting the livelihood of an estimated 15,872 people in the community, with a combined payroll of $492 million, said the report.

The tourism industry continues to provide a significant positive impact to Napa Valleys economy, while also supporting local initiatives essential to the well-being of our community, said Linsey Gallagher, the new president and CEO for Visit Napa Valley.

As residents, we sometimes overlook the ancillary benefits that visitor spending achieves. Napa Valleys healthy and vibrant tourism industry contributes to the quality of life that we are so fortunate to enjoy. We live and work in one of the most desirable destinations in the world.

Direct visitor spending within Napa County increased 15.4 percent since 2016, outpacing visitor growth of 8.9 percent in the same time period, said the report.

Our goal is to maintain and increase travel and spending in the Napa Valley during nonpeak time periods, including November through April (Cabernet Season) and midweek, Sunday through Thursday nights, said Gallagher.

The city of Napa generated more than $21.6 million in TOT in 2018 followed by $6.9 million in Yountville, $3 million in St. Helena, $6.2 million in Calistoga and more than $1.5 million in American Canyon.

Revenue from tourism allows local government to invest in services and programs that benefit all residents, including infrastructure improvements, civic amenities and public safety, said Gallagher.

Additionally, tourism creates demand for a diverse range of goods, services, and cultural programs that are available for both residents and visitors to enjoy, she said.

In 2018, Visit Napa Valley rallied the support of the hospitality industry and other leaders to pass a voter supported 1 percent increase in TOT for a special fund dedicated to workforce housing in five out of six jurisdictions. Approximately $5 million will be collected annually to promote future housing development for residents, said Visit Napa Valley.

Napa Valleys second largest industry

In 2018, tourism put an estimated 15,872 people to work in the community providing a combined payroll of $492 million to support their families, reported the data.

This represents an employment increase of 18.1 percent from 2016 and a 27.2 percent increase in combined payroll in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the majority of hospitality jobs are related to either restaurants or hotels. Since the last survey in 2016, three hotels - Las Alcobas, Vista Collina and Archer Hotel Napa - opened, along with four smaller inns with 10 rooms or less.

Overnight guests versus 'day trippers'

More than one-third, or 35.5 percent, of visitors in 2018 stayed overnight in the Napa Valley, while the remaining 64.5 percent were on day trips.

In total, 80.7 percent of overnight visitors stayed in a hotel within Napa Valley and 12.4 percent stayed in a private residence.

Compared to the 2016 study, overnight visitation grew 13.7 percent in 2018 with day trip visitation growing 5.3 percent, supporting Visit Napa Valleys mission to inspire visitors to extend their stay by experiencing the valleys more than 125 hotels, motels, and inns, said the release.

Hotel guests in 2018 were responsible for $1.55 billion in direct visitor spending, or an average of $446 per person, per day, compared to an average of $170 per person, per day spent by day-trippers. This represents a 15.4 percent increase in spending from 2016.

The largest proportion of day trip visitors originated their trip from San Francisco, followed by Vallejo-Fairfield, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

How much visitors spend

The largest component of visitor spending in 2018 was on retail, which accounted for 40 percent of all spending, or $746 million, reported Visit Napa Valley.

The second and third largest components of Napa Valley visitor spending included restaurants at $479 million and lodging at $476 million. Group meetings, weddings, and social events generated $267 million in direct spending in Napa Valley.

How often they come back

The Napa Valley draws a substantial amount of repeat visitation, with the average visitor in 2018 making 3.6 trips to the Napa Valley in the past twelve months (compared with 2.9 trips in 2016). In total, 88.1 percent of respondents said that they were very likely or likely to return to the Napa Valley.

Why they visit

Visitors stated the primary reason for visiting the Napa Valley was for a getaway or vacation, representing 71.8 percent of all visitors. Wedding or special events represented 11.3 percent of visitors and a conference or business travel represented 5.8 percent of visitors.

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For the last few decades, Californias largest utilities and the states Public Utilities Commission have conducted an elaborate kabuki-style dance every two or three years, whenever the utilities applied for general rate increases.

Now the amounts at stake in these dramatic farces are rising to absurd levels, with all three of the states big privately-owned utilities suddenly asking that shareholders get rates of return on investment approximating what they could net from risky junk bonds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the largest of these, asked in late April to increase shareholder returns from about 10 percent to 16 percent, essentially trying to reward itself and its investors for negligence that led authorities to hold it largely responsible for two huge blazes in less than a years time. Southern California Edison, No. 2 in state electricity sales, is gunning for a leap from 10.3 percent to just under 17 percent, while San Diego Gas & Electric seeks a jump from around 10 percent to more than 14 percent.

Customers around the state would pay an extra $11 to $12 per month for these ill-gotten rewards, if the PUC grants them. Add in the approximately $2 each company will seek to get in increased profits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the added tab goes to about $14 per month for the average customer.

This mere concept outraged Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opined of PG&Es bid for 16 percent that Theyre not going to get it, periodIts jaw-droppingly wrong.

Newsom, unlike his long-serving predecessor Jerry Brown, at least wants to protect consumers. Trouble is, while he can appoint new PUC members, he cant fire anyone on the commission once theyve been confirmed by the state Senate for six-year terms. So Newsom wont make the vital upcoming decisions; holdover Brown appointees will do that.

It appears these cases will proceed in the old-fashioned way, via a Japanese-style kabuki-like charade. If past is prologue, it will work this way: After months of public hearings and massive paper filings, the utilities will get something above current profit rates on facilities and equipment, but less than theyre asking. The PUC will brag about its toughness, while the utilities cry all the way to the bank  or to Wall Street investment houses. As with an elaborately acted out and costumed kabuki dance, everyone in the cast and audience knows this outcome in advance.

The utilities say they must offer shareholders junk-bond level payouts to draw investors while their corporate futures are in doubt due to fire responsibility and liability. Virtually all fire-related lawsuits against the companies have not yet been decided or settled, but the firms are desperate to protect themselves.

We are having to make significant investments to harden the grid and make it more resilient to wildfire, one Edison executive told a reporter. To attract the capital, we need (for this), we need a return on investments that reflects the operating risks we have today.

As usual, the big utilities expect customers already paying some of the highest rates in America to foot the bill. Employees are not being dunned, no matter how negligent. Just customers, most of whom live nowhere near fire areas and will get no new benefits for their higher rates.

Essentially, these companies seek to deflect responsibility for their actions or lack of action away from management and ownership and onto consumers.

No matter what Newsom says, theres little reason to suspect the PUC will act differently from how it predictably has in the past, rewarding utility ineptitude and error with increased revenues.

Rather than sticking with that course, the better path for state regulators would be to cut rates and punish the utilities for their cavalier attitude about past errors.

This could encourage formation of more publicly-owned Community Choice Aggregations, which already supply power to dozens of cities and counties around the state, and are answerable to elected officials, and, thus, to voters.

But utility rate cases have long followed the same path. Chances are the new kabuki dance will play out like the old ones, with the big utilities again making out like bandits.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

This is an urgent question in the wake of the latest synagogue attack last week in Poway, Calif., that left one brave congregant dead as she tried to defend her rabbi and three wounded.

A raft of statistics demonstrates the shocking increase in violent extremism by white supremacists over the past three years. That includes near-historic levels of anti-Semitic acts in 2018 and the single deadliest attack against the Jewish community in American history, which killed 11 at Pittsburghs Tree of Life Synagogue six months ago.

Yet rather than denounce radical white nationalism, the president deliberately downplays it, or even excuses it.

His pro-forma denunciation of anti-Semitism hours after the Poway killing came one day after he once again defended the torch-bearing white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

And rather than organize a counterterrorism strategy, the Trump administration has gutted the very federal programs that were set up to deal with this insidious threat.

A number of these programs were run by George Selim, who held senior posts in countering terrorism and confronting domestic extremism under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. He recalled having a budget of more than $21 million under President Obama and 16 employees to develop local strategies to combat and prevent such violence. Now the budget is $3 million and the staff cut by half.

Now a senior vice president for programs of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which closely monitors extremist groups, Selim says the incoming Trump administration was not interested in prioritizing this issue: We certainly saw an emboldening under Trump. At no point in recent memory have we seen a march like Charlottesville with white nationalists from 30 states carrying tiki torches and chanting Jews will not replace us.

The statistics reveal how much has changed for the worse since Trump.

ADLs annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded a total of 1,879 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions across the USA in 2018, the third-highest year on record since ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s. That includes white nationalist banners hung over highway bridges, and flyers distributed on campuses.

ADLs audit also identified 59 people who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017. That includes the record 11 murders at the Tree of Life synagogue, where the killer shouted All Jews must die.

ADL Senior Vice President Eileen Hershenov told a congressional hearing: White supremacists in the United States have experienced a resurgence in the past three years, driven in large part by the rise of the alt-right. There is also a clear corollary ... to the rise in polarizing and hateful rhetoric on the part of candidates and elected leaders.

Another grim statistic: White supremacists, Hershenov noted, were responsible in 2018 for 78 percent of all extremist-related murders.

In the Trump era, radical white nationalists have taken full advantage of social media. Racist and anti-Semitic white nationalist rhetoric and manifestos, filled with particular catch phrases and memes, spread across borders via the internet and hate-filled internet chat rooms, such as 8chan or Gab. For example, the Poway shooter cited as his inspiration the manifesto of the New Zealand killer who shot dead 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch.

The language these white nationalists use often conflates fear of replacement  whites being replaced by minorities, especially Muslims  with claims that international Jewry is facilitating such replacement. Example: the Tree of Life killer claimed, falsely, that American Jewish financier George Soros was funding the migrant caravans on Americas southern border. Thus, this mad murderer justified killing Jews.

When President Trump whips up hysteria over migrant caravans on Americas southern border, when he refuses to denounce the torch-bearers at Charlottesville, he is viewed by white supremacists as signaling his approval.

When Trump hinted last fall that the caravans were funded by George Soros, he only confirmed the conspiracy theories of the alt-right.

The New Zealand killer wrote that he saw Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.

Unfair? If Trumps unremitting winks and nods at white nationalists are not meant as approval, he can easily prove it. He need only denounce white supremacists violence publicly.

He needs to devise an overarching policy to deal with these issues, says Selim. Trumps actions dont match his strong words about condemning anti-Semitism.

There is plenty he can do. The ADL has a list that includes revitalizing agencies working against hate crimes and strengthening laws against perpetrators of online hate.

Most important, Id add, is for the president to stop yellow lighting white supremacists who support him and who blame Jews, Muslims, blacks, and immigrants for all their problems.

How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If you've ever seen a horse break a leg and go down on a racetrack, you'll never forget it. Sometimes the injured animal will get up and try to run with the limb dangling below the break.

Tracks have become adept at hiding this horror. A vehicle follows the Thoroughbreds in every race, and when a horse goes down, huge fabric screens are pulled from the truck and quickly erected between the horse and the people in the stands.

But it's not the spectators who need protection -- it's the horses.

That became clear this year when a public that has grown intolerant of racing's cruelty erupted in outrage after 23 Thoroughbreds died at Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles between December and April. In response, Santa Anita officials took unprecedented steps to prevent further carnage and enacted rules to protect horses. This was a good first step, and so far, no more horses have died.

But the changes must not stop here. The Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown season will be haunted by those 23 horses -- and thousands of others who have died -- unless the entire racing industry does away with the worst forms of abuse immediately. All 38 racing states should ban all medications in the two weeks before a race, ban trainers with multiple medication violations, stop pushing very young horses beyond their capacity, end whipping, and switch to high-quality synthetic tracks, which are known to be safer.

Even that isn't enough, but it's a start. The racing industry must be held accountable for the harm that it has caused.

Broken bones should never have become business as usual. But the more than two dozen horses who die on tracks every single week in the U.S. have been sold out by an industry that puts speed and winning above decent care.

While several factors may contribute to a horse's leg snapping, evidence from thousands of necropsies of Thoroughbreds overwhelmingly shows that most horses who break legs have been recently injured. In other words, unfit horses are being forced to train and race when they should be recuperating.

These horses don't appear sore because they're given a constant cocktail of medications that mask injury. They feel OK because they've got painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, sedatives and other drugs in their bodies. But they're not OK, and sometimes they die.

It made good sense for Santa Anita Park to call for a ban on more than a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs, decrease the allowable limit of medication in a horse's system on race day, mandate inspections of horses for training as well as for racing, require trainers to disclose veterinary and medication records, and more. This is how they can find out if horses are injured and, if they are, allow them to recover fully.

It's also logical to use a synthetic track, which has been proven to be safer; allow horses to develop properly before forcing them to run at high speeds; and get rid of the trainers who think a syringe full of drugs is a prerequisite for every race.

And finally, it's time to stop the whipping. The constant refrain of "we love our horses" coming from the racing community rings hollow when the very animals who supposedly love to race are being beaten to make them run.

Owners, trainers and racetracks, the next move is yours. Do right by the horses.

Kathy Guillermo

Senior Vice President

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
In 1914, at the young age of 18, a young woman crossed the Atlantic, bound for New York City. Anna did not speak a word of English, nor could she read the English alphabet, speaking Hebrew, Yiddish, and some Polish and Russian.

She left her parents, grandparents, and four brothers and sisters behind. In her home country, due to her religion, her family faced persecution, attacks, and discrimination.

Anna passed through Ellis Island carrying the hopes and aspirations of many.

Anna faced many obstacles, eventually finding employment as a seamstress. She worked in a garment sweatshop alongside other immigrants looking to make a living. Over the next few years, Anna was able to send enough money home and bring her parents and all siblings (but one) to join her in NYC.

Leon, the one brother who remained, was blocked from joining his family by the Immigration Quota Act of 1921, designed to limit immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe and Italians from Southern Europe. Leon was trapped.

Twenty years later, having started his own family, Leon died in the Birkenau Concentration Camp.

This is part of the history of my family. It is also the history of so many other families today. There are currently over 65 million refugees in the world, each fleeing grinding poverty and oppression, searching for better lives. The prejudice these refugees face presents insurmountable odds to their finding peace.

Last weekends violent shooting in a synagogue in Poway, California, is an example of where such ideology leads.

When immigrants are turned away at the border or deported into dangerous situations, we are all harmed. When we allow the concept of the other to support prejudice, we lessen our own humanity.

Elie Wiesel, the author and Holocaust survivor, said that: We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

At Blue Oak, we welcome all, creating a safe place to learn, connect, and act. But we know that the problems of the world still deeply affect many of our Blue Oak families. Therefore, two years ago, we enacted this Board Immigration Policy to protect our community.

On this anniversary of the Holocaust, what else can we all do to make our world a better place?

Dan Schwartz

Head of School

Blue Oak School
Dollar still losing value in Armenia

Parliament vice-speaker receives American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia board chairman

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Armenia Health Ministry Legal Department head: Decision of Constitutional Court is ministry's victory

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Armenia President receives group of parents of deceased servicemen

Armenia Security Council holds session

Iran FM: Tehran is ready to participate in next stage of negotiations with Saudi Arabia

Zakharova on Armenia-Azerbaijan railway link: Substantive discussions continue on trilateral working group

Kremlin: US may consult with Ankara over settlement of situation in Ukraine

Zakharova: Moscow believes Ankara will take Russia's signals seriously

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Audit Chamber official: Armenia banks have misused state subsidies they received

Armenia health, labor inspectorate to inspect 700 economic entities in 2022

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe travel of more than 2,000 people to, from Karabakh in one day

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Russia MFA: Not only Turkey ready to hold 3+3 regional consultative mechanism meeting

Maria Zakharova wishes Yerevan and Baku peace and patience

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Putin, Aliyev confirm readiness to strengthen Russia-Azerbaijan strategic partnership

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1 more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh

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Lavrov: Involvement of Kiev in NATO poses serious risks, even large-scale conflict in Europe

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President thanks Russia peacekeepers, Putin in terms of Artsakh security

Newspaper: What is actual Covid death toll in Armenia?

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US arms exports fall 21% in 2021

Diaspora Commissioner: More than 1.5 million people left Armenia in 30 years

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Armenia won't build relations with Turkey at expense of interests of nation

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Fifth Turkish Column is very active in Armenia

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Armenian High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Living in Armenia is safer than in developed countries

Analyst shares information about growth of sales of Armenian wines

Analyst: Artsakh wine export indicators have dropped

Karabakh President: Presence of Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh needs to be guaranteed and termless

Iraq calls for launch of direct talks between US and Iran

Hayk Marutyan bids staff of Yerevan Municipality farewell

Moscow State Institute of International Relations to introduce Armenian language courses

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Iran FM expresses willingness to assist Azerbaijan in restoring Karabakh's occupied territories

Turkish vice-president tests positive for COVID-19

Lights of main Christmas tree in Yerevan switched on

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NEWS.am daily digest: 23.12.21

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Turkish court rules to leave Osman Kavala in custody

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59 N. Ogden St., #5. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Speer?

According to Walk Score, this Denver neighborhood is quite walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and has good transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Speer is currently hovering around $1,295.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

59 N. Ogden St., #5

Listed at $1,340/month, this 595-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 59 N. Ogden St., #5.

In the apartment, you can expect a dishwasher, granite countertops and air conditioning. The building has on-site laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are allowed. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

619 Logan St., #406

Next, there's this apartment situated at 619 Logan St., #406. It's listed for $1,335/month for its 492 square feet of space.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking, outdoor space and a fitness center. In the unit, expect a dishwasher, air conditioning and in-unit laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. There's no leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

636 Pearl St.

Here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 636 Pearl St. that's going for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts on-site laundry, assigned parking and storage space. Pet owners, you're in luck: this spot allows cats and dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

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77 S. Ogden St.

Lastly, check out this 414-square-foot studio that's located at 77 S. Ogden St. It's also listed for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher, a balcony and carpeted floors. The building features a fitness center, a swimming pool, a residents lounge and outdoor space. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are permitted here. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
1218 Walnut St., #306. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Washington Square?

According to Walk Score, this Philadelphia neighborhood is a "walker's paradise," is convenient for biking and is a haven for transit riders. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Washington Square is currently hovering around $1,470.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1312 Walnut St.

Listed at $1,400/month, this 782-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is located at 1312 Walnut St.

In the unit, you can anticipate hardwood floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Neither cats nor dogs are welcome. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

1218 Walnut St., #306

Next, check out this 500-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1218 Walnut St., #306. It's listed for $1,395/month.

In the unit, you'll get hardwood floors. The building features on-site laundry. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

319 S. 12th St.

Located at 319 S. 12th St., here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's also listed for $1,395/month.

The building boasts on-site laundry and outdoor space. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are permitted. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

1109 Spruce St., #1F

Here's a 350-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 1109 Spruce St., #1F that's going for $1,350/month.

In the unit, there are hardwood floors. Cats and dogs are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

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(Take a look at the full listing here.)

1229 Chestnut St., #314

Then, check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1229 Chestnut St., #314. It's also listed for $1,350/month.

The building offers on-site laundry, a fitness center and an elevator. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

735 Spruce St.

Finally, located at 735 Spruce St., here's a 655-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's listed for $1,350/month.

In the unit, you can expect a dishwasher and a fireplace. Package service is listed as a building amenity. Dogs and cats are not welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
(Corrects location of base on west bank of river, paragraph 11)

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Turkish army post hit by artillery shelling, wounding two

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit (Updates with Turkish defense ministry statement)

By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun

BEIRUT/ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion.

Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months.

The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory.

Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.

Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria.

But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people.

Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia.

The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now.

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Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT

A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
* Scotland's Davidson pledges "no more referenda"

* Support for independence from the UK at 4-year peak

* Handling of Brexit has eroded Conservative support (Adds details, color, quotes)

By Elisabeth O'Leary

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 4 (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises.

The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands.

Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives.

"We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum.

But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall.

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At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support.

POLL RATINGS

In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls.

Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters:

"I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said.

Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister.

But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood.

"It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
(Adds CHP spokesman, details)

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish businesspeople in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name."

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labeled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

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"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
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(Adds senior parliamentarian urges talks with world powers, IAEA)

DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

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Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
(Corrects location of summit to Hanoi in lead paragraph)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as analysts said the country is stepping up pressure against the United States after February's failed nuclear summit in Hanoi.

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description.

If the unidentified projectiles were missiles, it would be the first missile launch since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

In Saturday's statement South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) which flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles).

In an earlier message, South Korea's military command had said the North fired an "unidentified short-range missile."

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches.

Surveillance and vigilance has been stepped up in preparation for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

The latest firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April, added to the pressure Pyongyang has sought to exert on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program.

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Korea's presidential Blue House is "analyzing the situation," a Blue House official said without elaborating. There were reports of a missile launch by North Korea, but we have not confirmed the entry of any ballistic missile into Japans Exclusive Economic Zone. At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected. Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Korea's action would send a message to the United States.

"It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates and Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Flare-up follows killing of two Hamas militants

* Cairo trying to mediate truce

* Netanyahu convenes Israeli security council (Adds U.S. State Department comment)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.

The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups.

Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

"The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar.

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The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike.

"According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details.

Two multi-story buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said.

Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel.

TRUCE EFFORTS

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

"Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts.

The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks.

"The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

"The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.

Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years.

Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
(Adds updated injury count, details on investigation plans from news conference)

By Brendan O'Brien

May 4 (Reuters) - Federal investigators on Saturday began searching for what caused a Boeing jetliner with 143 people on board to slide off a runway into a shallow river while landing at a Jacksonville, Florida, military base during a thunderstorm, injuring 22 people.

The Boeing 737-800 chartered by the U.S. military was arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members when it slid into the St. Johns River at the end of the 9,000-foot runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday night, authorities said.

Officials raised the count of people injured to 22, from 21, after a three-month-old child was admitted to a local hospital for observation, Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer at the Jacksonville station, told a news conference.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have recovered an undamaged flight data recorder and it has been sent to Washington for analysis, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at the news conference.

"We expect to get a very full report on that shortly," he said.

Investigators said they are hoping to interview the crew on Sunday. The cockpit voice recorder is in the tail of the plane and submerged underwater. Investigators will not be able to recover it until the aircraft is lifted out of the water, Landsberg said.

"We are going to be very careful in preserving the perishable evidence," he said.

Officials were determining the best way to remove the plane from the water, NTSB investigator in charge John Lovell said.

"There are some ideas being floated in terms of putting some sort of cushioning below it ... and moving it on those cushions," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard placed floating booms around the jetliner to contain leaking jet fuel in the water, Landsberg said.

The plane, chartered from Miami Air International, was attempting to land at about 9:40 p.m. local time amid thunder and lightning when it slid off the runway and came to rest in the shallow water of the river, authorities and passengers said.

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Landsberg said investigators will look closely at whether the weather played a role in the incident.

"It is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story," Connor said early on Saturday.

Active duty military members, civilian government employees and their dependents were on the jetliner, Connor told CNN.

The military base is on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles (12.87 km) south of central Jacksonville, about 350 miles (563.27 km) north of Miami.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane.

Representatives of the airline did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Boeing Co said that the company was aware of the incident and gathering information.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" round-trip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles, and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)
(Recasts with new information throughout)

BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theaters of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces," said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defense ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Adds comments from Prime Minister May, context)

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - British police will not investigate the sacked defense minister, Gavin Williamson, after a senior officer said the information that was leaked about Chinese telecoms company Huawei was too minor to count as a criminal offense.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson on Wednesday, despite his denials that he was to blame for a newspaper report that Britain would allow Huawei equipment to be used in part of a new 5G mobile data network.

The Daily Telegraph story, which came from a meeting of Britain's normally top-secret National Security Council (NSC), embarrassed the government and set it at odds with the United States over the next generation of communications technology.

The opposition Labour Party had called for a criminal investigation into the leak. But on Saturday, Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer rejected this.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Williamson, once in charge of party discipline for May's Conservatives, was an important ally for the prime minister as she struggled to steer Britain through Brexit without a majority in parliament or consensus on how to leave the European Union.

May defended her decision to sack him following a brief investigation by the government's most senior civil servant, Mark Sedwill, who unusually is also the NSC's secretary.

"The importance of this was not about the information that was leaked, it was where it was leaked from. This was about the NSC and trust in the NSC," she told Sky News on Saturday before the police said there was no criminal case to answer.

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"The investigation was conducted properly, and was about the fact that something was leaked from the NSC, and the importance of everybody around that table having trust when they come together in those meetings," she added.

Williamson said he had not been given full details of the evidence against him.

"With the Met Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt," he told reporters. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Ros Russell)
Eat This, Not That!

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has surged worldwide in record timeit was only three weeks ago that the first case was identified in South Africa. Last week, it accounted for 73% of new COVID infections in the United States, according to the latest CDC data. It's highly contagiousscientists estimate it's twice as transmissible as the Delta variant, which itself was twice as transmissible as the original COIVD strainwhich calls for an abundance of caution. How do you know if you've been infect
(Updates sourcing, adds details, background)

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

"The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority.

"I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time.

Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria.

Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!."

Story continues

The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests.

Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft.

Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Photography has shaped the American memory of the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings.

The image of a young woman screaming in horror as she crouches beside the body of a student has become the defining moment of the day when National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio.

This year, on the 49th anniversary of the shooting, historys lens has gotten a little wider. Getty Images has released previously unpublished pictures revealing the weekend leading up to the tragedy, the moments when the guards opened fire and the grief afterwards.

An unidentified demonstrator runs through a cloud of teargas on the Kent State University Commons during a student antiwar protest, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

The new photos were taken by John Filo and Howard Ruffner, two students at the university. Filo captured the days most iconic image: 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio beside the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller.

View, from behind, as Ohio National Guardsmen in gas masks and with rifles as they prepare to advance up Blanket Hill, through clouds of teargas, to drive back Kent State University students during an antiwar demonstration on the university's campus, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. Visible at left is Taylor Hill. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Ruffner, a second-year-student who had learned about photography while serving in the U.S. Air Force, was working on the universitys yearbook. Recruited as a freelance photographer by LIFE magazine, he snapped photos after students set fire to the campus ROTC building and National Guardsmen began to take over the school grounds. The campus was mostly empty, because Kent State was known to be a suitcase school  where students leave on the weekend, Ruffner told TIME.

Paramedics and students run as they push the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller (1950 - 1970) on a gurney after he'd been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Students were arriving back on campus on May 4  a Monday  and about 500 people gathered for a rally to protest the presence of the National Guard and the Vietnam War at around 12 p.m.

Ruffner said he was standing about 80 feet from the soldiers when they opened fire on the protesters.

On Blanket Hill, Kent State University students, several with hands over their mouths, stare in the aftermath of the Ohio National Guard having opened fire on their antiwar demonstration, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

I heard people shouting, Oh my God, theyre shooting with real bullets,' Ruffner said. And I looked around with my camera by myself, and I saw people on the ground in front of me, a person on the ground beside me. I was probably in a [state] of awe, or disbelief. But it didnt stop me, or change who I was I had to continue doing what I was doing.

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Bob Ahern, the director of Getty Images archive, told TIME that Ruffner and Filos perspective as students makes the images even more powerful.

Students kneel on the grass beside wounded classmate John Cleary after the latter had been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Its incredible coverage because it is [a] kind of eyewitness, he said. It was people there with cameras They werent seasoned photojournalists, they were very much in the moment. [The pictures are] incredibly immediate like any good news photo can be. They still have a freshness and a rawness about them, which is kind of chilling.

Prior to the shootings anniversary, Getty asked Ruffner and Filo to look through their archives and check whether they had any unreleased photos. As they were freelance photographers at the time, their full collection of photos likely wouldnt have gone into a magazine archive, Ahern says to explain why the photos are surfacing now.

Closeup of a bullet hole left in a metal sculpture after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. In the background, an unidentified person photographs the hole from the opposite side. The sculpture, 'Solar Totem #1' by Don Drumm, is located outside Taylor Hall. | John FiloGetty Images

Ahern said the power of the Kent State photographs echoes through time.

[The pictures remind] us of whats involved in protest, and how high that price can be, he said.

Correction, May 5:

Captions in the original version of story misidentified two of the victims during the Kent State shootings. They are believed to have died while walking to class, not while taking part in the protest. The original version of this story also misstated why Mary Ann Vecchio was present at the Kent State protest. Vecchio was visiting Kent State, she was not a student and was not Jeffrey Millers classmate.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Looking to get out into the community this weekend?

From an architecture tour to a community bike ride, there's plenty to do when it comes to community and cultural events coming up in Milwaukee. Read on for a rundown.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

Thoroughly Modernist Milwaukee

From the event description:

The stroll will explore different forms of architecture and urban planning, from the mid-century era and beyond. The event will also include discussions about the legacies of renowned modernists Eero Saarinen, Dan Kiley, Harry Weese, Harrison and Abramowitz and others, as well as the late-century landmark collaboration between Santiago Calatrava and Dan Kiley.

When: Friday, May 3, 5:15-7 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WeGiveMKE: Spring Food Distribution

From the event description:

Kingdom Manna and F.I.N.A.O., will be providing food for individuals within the community. Quantities are limited. There are also opportunities to volunteer for set-up and food distribution.

When: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-noon

Where: CFFC Destiny Plaza, 7220 N. 76th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WPR Listener Appreciation Event

From the event description:

Join us for an open house at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee. You can chat with Larry Meiller and other Wisconsin Public Radio staff over coffee and pastries while exploring all the nature center has to offer. There will also be live music from PK Harmony, guided nature hikes with Havenwoods naturalists, arts and crafts, yard games and more.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-noon

Where: Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Re-imagining Villard Forward Session 1

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From the event description:

Momentum is building as the Villard Avenue business corridor is currently being revitalized. Community members are invited to share their thoughts and opinions.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee Public Library Villard Square Branch, 5190 N. 35th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail Spring Ride

From the event description:

Join the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail for the inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail spring ride to celebrate the opening of the west end of the trail. The event will kick off with a presentation about the trail, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Two sculptures will also be unveiled in a new artistic monument planned for this very location: People of the Road. People of the Road is a five-sculpture public artwork that will honor and celebrate the thousands of workers who built the locomotives and rail cars made in Milwaukee.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2-3:30 p.m.

Where: Menomonee Valley Community Park, 212 S. 36th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
ABC News(DALLAS) -- Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters at an event in Texas Friday night, but one of his fellow Democratic challengers was happy to immediately come to his defense.



Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner Friday when he was interrupted on several occasions by anti-gay remarks.



The protesters yelled, "Marriage is between a man and a woman," and, "Repent," according to CNN reporter DJ Judd, who was in the audience. Judd also filmed footage of a woman being ushered out of the venue for making anti-abortion comments.



Buttigieg came out as gay just four years ago, at 33 years old, in an op-ed for the South Bend Tribune. He married his boyfriend, Chasten, in June 2018.



He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in history. Buttigieg has periodically been heckled on the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in mid-April.



Fellow presidential candidate, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, quickly came to his opponent's defense on Twitter.



"Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred," O'Rourke wrote. "Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon."



O'Rourke was also in Texas on Friday night, speaking at an outdoor event in downtown Fort Worth, just a half hour west of Buttigieg's event in Dallas.



"This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through," O'Rourke told the assembled audience.



Texas, once regarded as a magnet for conservative candidates, has seen an influx of Democratic presidential contenders stumping in the state. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth last week and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will also be in the city this weekend.



The protesters' comments at Buttigieg's event echoed those of Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, an evangelist who was a spiritual adviser to a dozen presidents, both Republican and Democrat. Billy Graham died last year.



Franklin Graham tweeted on April 24, "Mayor Buttigieg says hes a gay Christian. As a Christian, I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as a sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman  not two men, not two women."



The 37-year-old Buttigieg was largely unknown nationally before launching an exploratory committee earlier this year and officially beginning his presidential campaign last month. The candidate has emerged as a serious contender early in the race, though.



The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll from late April showed Buttigieg in third place among a very crowded field. He ranked at 5%, behind former Vice President Joe Biden (17%) and Sanders (11%).

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Thai House Restaurant. | Photo: L C./Yelp

Looking for a sublime Thai meal near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Thai restaurants around Mesa, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to meet your needs.

1. Thai Patio

Photo: JASON P./Yelp

Topping the list is Thai Patio. Located at 1929 N. Power Road, Suite 101 in Moondance, the Thai spot is the highest rated low-priced Thai restaurant in Mesa, boasting four stars out of 186 reviews on Yelp.

2. Thai House Restaurant

photo: L C./Yelp

Next up is Golden Hills's Thai House Restaurant, situated at 1155 S. Power Road, Suite 121. With four stars out of 165 reviews on Yelp, the Thai spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option.

3. Wok In

PHOTO: MATTHEW M./YELP

Wok In, located at 7530 E. Main St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the inexpensive Asian fusion, Vietnamese and Thai spot four stars out of 131 reviews.

4. Royal Thai Grill

PHOTO: CRIS N./YELP

Royal Thai Grill, a Thai spot, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 106 Yelp reviews. Head over to 321 W. McKellips Road to see for yourself.

5. Thai Food Corner

photo: kim g./yelp

Over in Alta Mesa, check out Thai Food Corner, which has earned four stars out of 74 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Thai spot by heading over to 5253 E. Brown Road, Suite 104.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
El Molcajete. | Photo: Elizabeth R./ Yelp



In search of a new favorite Mexican spot?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Mexican restaurants around Louisville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. Fiesta Time Amigos

PHOTO: CAPTAIN M./YELP

Topping the list is Fiesta Time Amigos. Located at 135 S. English Station Road, the Mexican spot is the highest-rated low-priced Mexican restaurant in Louisville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 58 reviews on Yelp.

The restaurant offers various lunch and dinner entrees that range from taco salads and burritos to fajitas, quesadillas and enchiladas. Look for the flatbread filled with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle sauce and served with rice, or try the shrimp nachos with grilled shrimp, cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Happy hour is Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. when domestic and Mexican beers and margaritas are flowing.

2. Taqueria La Mexicana

PHOTO: MEGAN F./YELP

Next up is Taqueria La Mexicana, situated at 6201 Preston Highway. With 4.5 stars out of 28 reviews on Yelp, the Mexican spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option. Choose from a menu of tacos, tortas, sopes, burritos and quesadillas. Keep it simple with steak or chicken tacos with cilantro and onions or quesadillas with a flour tortilla, beef and cheese.

3. El Caporal

PHOTO: RAYMOND B./YELP

Bon Air's El Caporal, located at 2209 Meadow Drive, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the affordable Mexican spot 4.5 stars out of 48 reviews.

With a history that dates back to 1989, El Caporal has fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, seafood, house specials and more. A menu favorite is the Burritos Mexicanos, consisting of two burritos stuffed with beans and beef tips and topped with lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Save room for dessert, from ice cream to sopapillas to cheesecake.

4. El Molcajete

Photo: EL MOLCAJETE/Yelp

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El Molcajete, a Mexican spot in South Louisville, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 144 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2932 S. Fourth St. to see for yourself.

El Molcajete serves up gorditas, sopes, tacos, burritos, tortas, desserts and more. Enjoy dishes like the steak or chicken grande quesadilla served with salad or the shrimp fajitas topped with bell peppers, onions, rice and beans.

5. Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza

PHOTO: KATHY T./YELP

Finally, over in University, check out Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza, which has earned four stars out of 82 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Mexican spot by heading over to 2787 S. Floyd St.

This spot offers soups, salads, burritos, tortas and a number of specialty dishes. Opt for empanadas, nachos and carnitas. The Baja fish tacos are customer stand out as well.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
New Dong Khanh. | Photo: Little J./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for Southeast Asian fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Southeast Asian restaurants around Boston, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings.

1. New Dong Khanh

Photo: new dong khanh/Yelp

Topping the list is New Dong Khanh. Located at 83 Harrison Ave. (between Knapp and Beach streets.) in Chinatown, the Vietnamese and Chinese spot, which offers bubble tea and more, is the highest-rated affordable Southeast Asian restaurant in Boston, boasting four stars out of 553 reviews on Yelp.

For starters, try the deep-fried shrimp bean cake served on a bed of vermicelli and lettuce. Stir fried noodle and rice dishes are available as entrees. Fruit shakes and smoothies are available as well.

2. New Saigon

Photo: chris h./Yelp

Next up is East Boston's New Saigon, situated at 985 Bennington St. (between Saratoga and Trident streets). With 4.5 stars out of 140 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option.

On the menu, you'll find rice plates, pho and more. Try the fried squid or the crispy soft-shell crab.

3. S & I Thai

Photo: nguyen t./Yelp

Allston's S & I Thai, located at 168 Brighton Ave., Suite A (between Parkvale and Harvard avenues), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the low-priced Thai spot four stars out of 451 reviews.

Lunch and dinner specials are served with a spring roll, chicken wing, gyoza, dumpling, fried tofu or crab wonton. Try the whole fish, available steamed, grilled or pan fried.

4. Pho Viet's

Photo: stephanie c./Yelp

Pho Viet's, a Vietnamese spot in Allston, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 415 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1095 Commonwealth Ave. to see for yourself.

The business has another location in Newtown Centre. In addition to the usual pho, rice and noodle dishes, it offers vegetarian specials like tofu saute, with vegetables, lemongrass and rice.

5. New Saigon Sandwich

Over in Chinatown, check out New Saigon Sandwich, which has earned four stars out of 418 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the deli and Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and more, by heading over to 696 Washington St. (between Lagrange and Stuart streets).

Sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, chili peppers, cilantro and soy sauce or fish sauce. Boxed meals include teriyaki chicken with noodles.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Michigan State University interim President addresses graduates Friday, May 3, 2019, during commencement ceremonies at the Breslin Center.

EAST LANSING, Mich.  Acting Michigan State University President Satish Udpa was taken to a hospital after falling on stage during an commencement ceremony Friday.

An MSU spokeswoman said Udpa had "a health incident" and was receiving medical attention.

"He is receiving medical attention and everyone in the Spartan community has he, (his wife) Lalita and their family in our thoughts and prayers," said the spokeswoman, Emily Guerrant.

Guerrant declined to elaborate about the nature of the health problem and said she had not received an update about Udpa's condition.

The incident happened late Friday afternoon during the commencement ceremony for advanced degree candidates. No other details were available Friday evening.

Udpa, an executive vice president for administrative services, was appointed acting president of the university in January after John Engler resigned as acting president under pressure related to the Larry Nassar scandal.

Udpa has been an executive vice president at the school since 2013. He previously served as dean of the school of engineering for seven years.

His wife, Lalita Udpa, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU.

Follow Ken Palmer on Twitter: @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Acting Michigan State Univ. President Udpa hospitalized after falling during commencement
WASHINGTON (AP)  The "no-collusion" chorus sang loudly this past week, with President Donald Trump in full-throated roar and even Russian President Vladimir Putin chiming in.

The upshot: substantial misrepresentations of what the special counsel's Russia investigation actually found.

A review of recent rhetoric from Trump and his associates on Russia and more, with Putin in the mix:

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

PUTIN on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: "A mountain gave birth to a mouse."  remarks Tuesday, echoed in a phone call with Trump on Friday.

THE FACTS: Some might say this is a mouse that roared.

The investigation produced charges against nearly three dozen people, among them senior Trump campaign operatives and 25 Russians, as it shed light on a brazen Russian assault on the American political system.

The investigation did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia and it reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Yet it described his campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt rival Hillary Clinton and it exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The Russians caught up in the investigation were charged either with hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

___

TRUMP: "The Mueller Report strongly stated that there was No Collusion with Russia (of course) and, in fact, they were rebuffed ... at every turn in attempts to gain access."  tweets Thursday.

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: "The evidence is now that the president was falsely accused of colluding with the Russians and accused of being treasonous. ... Two years of his administration have been dominated by allegations that have now been proven false."  Senate hearing Wednesday.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Mr. Mueller and his team concluded there was no collusion."  Senate hearing.

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THE FACTS: This refrain about the Mueller report stating there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign is wrong.

Trump's assertion that his campaign denied all access to Russians is false. The Mueller report and other scrutiny revealed a multitude of meetings with Russians. Among them: Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Clinton.

On collusion, Mueller said he did not assess whether that occurred because it is not a legal term.

He looked into a potential criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign and said the investigation did not collect sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges on that front.

Mueller noted some Trump campaign officials had declined to testify under the 5th Amendment or had provided false or incomplete testimony, making it difficult to get a complete picture of what happened during the 2016 campaign. The special counsel wrote that he "cannot rule out the possibility" that unavailable information could have cast a different light on the investigation's findings.

___

BARR, speaking of Trump: "He fully cooperated."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: It's highly questionable to say Trump was fully cooperative in the Russia investigation.

Trump declined to sit for an interview with Mueller's team, gave written answers that investigators described as "inadequate" and "incomplete," said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and  according to the report  tried to get aides to fire Mueller or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry.

In the end, the Mueller report found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice.

___

GRAHAM: "As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide after two years, and all this time. He said, 'Mr. Barr, you decide.' Mr. Barr did."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: Not true. Mueller did not ask Barr to rule on whether Trump's efforts to undermine the special counsel's Russia investigation had obstructed justice.

According to the report, Mueller's team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted.

As a result, the report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, specifically leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter or for prosecutors to do so once Trump leaves office.

Barr wrote in a March 24 letter that he ultimately decided, as attorney general, that the evidence developed by Mueller was "not sufficient" to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Barr subsequently acknowledged that he had not talked directly to Mueller about making that ruling and did not know whether Mueller agreed with him.

___

VENEZUELA

TRUMP says Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."  remarks to reporters Friday after speaking with Putin on the phone.

THE FACTS: Putin is already deeply involved in Venezuela as U.S.-supported Juan Guaido, opposition leader of the National Assembly, challenges President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

Russia has a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support Maduro's hold on power.

The Russians have provided Venezuela with substantial assistance, including an air defense system and help circumventing U.S. sanctions on its oil industry.

"Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down," said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

___

NATO

TRUMP: "We're getting ripped off on military, NATO. I'm all for NATO. But you know, we're paying for almost 100 percent of defending Europe."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: The U.S. is not paying "almost 100 percent" the cost of defending Europe.

NATO does have a shared budget to which each member makes contributions based on the size of its economy. The United States, with the biggest economy, pays the biggest share, about 22 percent.

Four European members  Germany, France, Britain and Italy  combined pay nearly 44 percent of the total. The money, about $3 billion, runs NATO's headquarters and covers certain other civilian and military costs.

Defending Europe involves far more than that fund. The primary cost of doing so would come from each member country's military budget, as the alliance operates under a mutual defense treaty.

The U.S. is the largest military spender but others in the alliance obviously have armed forces, too. The notion that almost all costs would fall to the U.S. is false.

In fact, NATO's Article 5, calling for allies to act if one is attacked, has only been invoked once, and it was on behalf of the U.S., after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

___

ECONOMY

TRUMP: "We just did 3.2 ... 3.2 is a number that they haven't hit in 14 years."  interview Wednesday with Fox Business News.

THE FACTS: First-quarter growth of 3.2% in the gross domestic product is nowhere close to the best in 14 years, by any measure. It's only the best since last year, surpassed in the second and third quarters with rates of 4.2% and 3.4% respectively.

Perhaps he meant to say it was the best first-quarter growth in 14 years. But that's not right, either. It's the best in four years.

The economy grew by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2015. So President Barack Obama has a better first-quarter record than Trump to date.

___

TRUMP: "Wages are rising fastest for the lowest-income Americans."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: This is true, though he's claiming credit for a trend that predates his presidency.

Some of the gains also reflect higher minimum wages passed at the state and local level; the Trump administration opposes an increase to the federal minimum wage.

With the unemployment rate at 3.6 %, the lowest since December 1969, employers are struggling to fill jobs. Despite all the talk of robots and automation, thousands of restaurants, warehouses, and retail stores still need workers.

They are offering higher wages and have pushed up pay for the lowest-paid one-quarter of workers more quickly than for everyone else since 2015. In March, the poorest 25% saw their paychecks increase 4.4% from a year earlier, compared with 3% for the richest one quarter.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Eric Tucker, Lolita C. Baldor and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

___

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
ASHEVILLE, N.C.  Students whispering into phones and hiding behind barricaded doors. Panicked parents calling on behalf of their children, feeding information from text-message updates. Faculty members requesting help, unsure whether their classrooms could be the next target.

The four-dozen 911 calls placed in relation to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting Tuesday paint the picture of a campus in chaos moments after a gunman wielding a pistol opened fire in a large lecture hall, killing two people and injuring four more.

Student Riley Howell, who in his last seconds fought to subdue the gunman, died not far from a professor who called to report the shooting seconds later.

"A student went out to make a copy, and he came running in saying he saw people bleeding," she told one of several 911 operators fielding calls about the shooting. "I have a room full of students ... these doors don't lock ... look, we need help."

Mourners pause to look at a variety of memorials left at Kennedy Hall at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, May 2, 2019. A gunman opened fire at Kennedy on April 30, killing two and wounding four.

Several of the 911 calls came from faculty members working in buildings close to Kennedy Hall, where police say Trystan Andrew Terrell entered a room during an anthropology lecture and began shooting. One male teacher told an operator that he could see students running around all over campus from his window but that he hadnt been alerted of an emergency by the university.

We dont really know the status of anything, he said.

More: Police stopped UNC Charlotte shooting quickly. But what about preventing it?

Looking for information

That was the case for about a dozen parents who called 911 asking for updates or trying to relay information theyd received in text messages.

One man called to tell police that his daughter was hiding in the bathroom of the Chick-fil-A in the student union. There, she was taking shelter with her roommate and with members of the fire department providing first aid to one of the shooting victims.

Shes hiding in a bathroom right now, the man told the operator, talking about his daughter. The fire department is with the girl who was shot there, and theyre hiding her, too.

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Though many of the calls came from people who had witnessed only the panic and not the shooting, a handful of student callers were able to identify the suspect, describing his light skin, dark hair, black clothes and the pistol with which he was armed.

One of the callers told an operator she had escaped from the class in which the shooting unfolded.

It seemed like he was shooting at one person, she said. It was a lot of shots. He was still shooting when we left.

For those students who werent close to the shooting, only text messages and the shouts of others informed them of what was happening. One such caller told an operator he was in the library  located just across the street from Kennedy Hall  when he learned of the shooting.

I was sitting at the computer when someone came in yelling, and I ran, he said. I didnt even see who yelled it. I just got up and ran.

Some of the people who called 911 to report the shooting didnt even have that much information.

One woman who called on behalf of her sister, who was hiding and unable to call for herself, cried as she tried to pass her sisters location on to the operator. During their discussion, she received a troubling text.

Oh gosh; she said people are running outside in the hallway, she told the operator just before breaking down and sobbing.

As she was still on the line, the operator got word that Terrell, 22, had been taken into custody. She told the woman on the other end that her sister was no longer in danger.

Thank you, the woman said, struggling to get the words out between sobs.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'It was a lot of shots': 911 calls from UNC Charlotte shooting describe campus in chaos
The plane that greeted the 143 passengers and crew at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was four hours late and lacked air-conditioning.

It got terrifyingly worse when the Boeing 737 hours later crashed into the St. Johns River off a runway in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night at 9:40 p.m.

Cheryl Bormann, a passenger on the military-chartered plane heading from Cuba to Jacksonville, said they were in a "universally miserable" mood when they boarded the plane but begrudgingly took their seats anyway.

Appearing on CNN with host Don Lemon Friday, she described a frantic, confusing final minutes, with the pilot seeming to lose control before the plane skidded off the runway and into the marsh of the nearby river.

This handout image obtained courtesy of Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff's Office on May 3 shows a Boeing 737 aircraft after it went off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the St. Johns river, near Jacksonville, Florida.

All passengers and crew aboard the plane are safe and accounted for, although 22 were treated and one, a 3-month-old child, was hospitalized overnight as a precaution. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there were no critical injuries.

More: Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe

The plane traveled through rain and lightning to make it to Jacksonville  but the tumultuous landing came afterward.

Bormann, a prominent defense attorney from Chicago, said the landing "didn't feel right." She said the plane "literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right."

She added: "The pilot was trying to control it but couldn't, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something."

She said the plane "came to a complete like crash stop."

The plane skidded off the runway at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the river, but it did not submerge in the water. Photos showed the plane landed in a shallow dredge of water with minimal damage.

Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at the station, called the safe landing "a miracle."

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CNN reported that the plane was carrying military personnel headed home, on vacation, or to get medical care. The group included families, civilians, grandparents and children connected to the military.

Bormann said that after the crash landing some oxygen masks deployed, and overhead bins opened up and sent belongings spilling out. She said her identification, cash, credit cards, computers, phone and passport were sent flying to the seats behind her.

Passengers didn't know what happened or where they were, she said. However, she recalled that they weren't screaming, and people helped each other put on their life vests and exit the plane onto its wing and into a raft.

Bormann told CNN that as of Friday night most passengers didn't have the identification that authorities are asking for because their items are still on the plane.

"Everyone is sort of milling around because no one knows quite what to do. They won't let us leave," Bormann said. "Everybody is curious about their belongings and want to know what will happen next."

Connor, the commanding officer, told reporters Saturday that despite the chaotic landing, those on board were "very cordial" and there wasn't "any commotion or panic."

While all of the passengers on board made it out OK, at least four pets aboard the plane had not been found and are presumed dead.

More: Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

The pets, which included dogs and cats, were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane, the portion that was partially submerged.

Connor told reporters the status of the pets became the "second priority" for responders after it was determined all passengers were safe. He said first responders looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said. He said that he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positive determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about 8 miles south of downtown.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it is investigating the crash landing and officials were working Saturday to retrieve the plane's flight recorder and get the jet to shore.

Contributing: Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'All of a sudden it smashed into something:' Jacksonville, Florida, plane crash survivor recounts chaotic landing
Photo: Miyako Yakitori and Sushi/Yelp

Want the dirt on Austin's most talked-about local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this spring.

Miyako Yakitori & Sushi

Photo: lenny d./Yelp

Open since November, this sushi bar and Japanese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, sushi bars saw a median 3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Miyako Yakitori & Sushi saw a 57.7 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Miyako Yakitori & Sushi's review count increased by more than 170 percent.

Located at 8701 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 2128, Miyako Yakitori & Sushi offers sushi (special, baked, tempura, house rolls and nigiri and sashimi), yakitori (skewers with chicken, beef, pork seafood and vegetables), ramen, donburi (rice bowls), curry and chicken, salmon and beef entrees. Click here to view the full menu.

Anthem

Photo: alice l./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Austin's Anthem, the beer bar, cocktail bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Anthem bagged a 14.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

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Open at 91 Rainey St., Suite 120, since September, Anthem's Hawaiian-themed menu includes an Aloha burger (bacon, gruyere cheese and grilled pineapple), a curry vegan hot dog on a pretzel bun and the coastal fish and fries (redfish fried in a tempura beer batter with cilantro and Cajun panko served with furikake fries). To view the menu, click here.

Bao'd Up

RMMA's Bao'd Up is also making waves. Open since July 25, 2017 at 1911 Aldrich St., Suite A1, the popular Asian fusion and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers bubble tea and more, has seen a 7.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bao'd Up's review count increased by more than 200 percent.

There's more than one hotspot trending in Austin's breakfast and brunch category: Il Brutto has seen a 7.1 percent increase in reviews.

On Bao'd Up's menu, look for items such as barbecue pork and vegetable bao, pork belly guabao, picked vegetable salad and apple curry or sesame noodle bowls. There are also breakfast options. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.

Austin Taco Project

Photo: harvard p./Yelp

Downtown Austin's Austin Taco Project is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The well-established bar, which offers tapas, tacos and more and opened at 500 E. Fourth St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 3.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Austin Taco Project features fusion tacos inspired by Latin and North American, European, Asian and African flavors. Try the Eisben (caramelized pork shank and sauerkraut) from Europe and the Umami Tofu (mushroom mix, fennel salad, candied ginger and portobello shell) from Asia. View all of the choices here.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
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Crypto exchange Bitfinex will conduct an initial exchange offering (IEO), aiming to raise $1 billion, according to details from an upcoming white paper reviewed by The Block. The final version of the white paper is still under review.

Bitfinex's exchange tokens, dubbed LEO, would first be offered to private investors, then subsequently opened to the public after May 10 if there is any allocation left, according to the information shared by shareholder Zhao Dong. According to Zhao Dong, Bitfinex has already raised $600 million in private, verbal commitments. Since last week, it has been rumored that Bitfinex would raise money via an IEO, a red-hot fundraising mechanism that allows crypto firms to sell tokens on an exchange to raise cash.

As per the white paper details, the firm says it is issuing the exchange tokens to cover the $850 million currently frozen in several accounts controlled by the payment processing company Crypto Capital. A week ago, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) sued Bitfinex and Tether for allegedly commingling funds to cover the loss of that $850 million.

In documents described as "information from the white paper," Bitfinex says it is actively collaborating with the legal investigation and applying to unfreeze these funds through legal procedures. The company is confident that it will retrieve these funds, according to the white paper details.

As for the specifics about the new tokens, they will be bought back on a monthly basis at market price, with at least 27% of Bifinexs profit from the previous month  akin to stock buybacks on Wall Street. Notably, Bitfinex also reserves the right to buy back the tokens within 18 months after its funds are unfrozen.

In fact, at least 95% of the unfrozen funds will be used to redeem and burn the LEO in an equivalent amount. Zhao Dong said that even if the seized money cannot be retrieved, according to the projections from Bitfinexs profits in 2017 and 2018, the company should be able to buy back all of the tokens within 4 years.

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If Bitfinex were to retrieve a portion of the hacked 119,756 bitcoins (~$72 million at the time) from 2016, at least 80% of it would be used to buy back and burn the tokens. Market observers, however, tell The Block this would be nearly impossible.

Like other exchange tokens, such as Binances BNB, LEO will also offer discounts on trading fees. In addition, LEO holders will have access to a 15% discount of taker fees for crypto-to-crypto trading, discounted lending rate, and discounted withdrawal fees.

Bitfinexs profit in 2018 was $404 million, and it paid out a dividend of around $261 million.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the information contained within this report was pulled from documents related to Bitfinex's white paper, not the official white paper itself.
UPDATE: May 7  The bodies of a dog and two cats have been recovered from the cargo hold of the airplane that crash-landed in a Florida river, Naval Air Station Jacksonville said Sunday in a Facebook post. All three animals belonged to a military family. A fourth animal on the flight was traveling in the cabin with its owner, who safely took the pet off the plane.

PREVIOUSLY:

While all humans aboard a charter flight that crash-landed in a Florida river on Friday night survived, multiple animals remain in the planes waterlogged cargo hold, and its unclear whether any are alive.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737 was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members from the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it skidded off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville during a thunderstorm. The plane ended up coming to a stop in the St. Johns River.

The people were rescued with only some minor injuries. But NAS Jacksonville spokeswoman Kaylee LaRocque told USA Today that based on the flights manifest, there were at least four animals that had been checked as luggage traveling in the planes cargo hold. Although the plane is not totally submerged in the river, there is water in the cargo hold and the animals there are unaccounted for.

The charter plane sitting in the river on Saturday.

Our first priority was obviously human life, NAS Jacksonville base Cmdr. Mike Connor said at a Saturday-evening press conference.

After learning there were animals still aboard, Connor added, My heart immediately sank because I am a pet owner myself and cannot imagine what the pet owners were going through.

At that point, he said the next priority became to attempt to determine the status of the pets.

Connor said first responders looked inside the cargo bay, and did not see any animals or hear any animal noises. They then backed out, he said, because at that point responders were unsure if the plane could sink at any minute.

Later, he said he asked first responders to assess the cargo hold again, and said they could not see any pet carriers that were above the water line.

NAS Jacksonville did not immediately return a request for comment from HuffPost. But LaRocque told NBC News that no one will know the animals status for sure until the plane is removed from the water.
Miami (AFP) - A Boeing 737 slid off a runway into a river after crash-landing at a Florida naval air station Friday, officials said, with no fatalities reported.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ended in shallow water next to the air station in Jacksonville, with all passengers safely evacuated, naval authorities said.

"There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter.

Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Images showed the plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry tweeted.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries military personnel and family members.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and gathering information.
Algiers (AFP) - Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.

There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.

He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after a stroke in 2013.

Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.

In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.

Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika to neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state".

Tartag -- described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother -- was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.

Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."

According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

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Mediene said "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudo-meeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.

Algeria's former defence minister Khaled Nezzar meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.

Demonstrations are ongoing in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

___

Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.
By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday. No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV. Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair. Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration. "The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday. Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people. Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority. "I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time. Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria. Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!". The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests. Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft. Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Charlie Munger, business partner of billionaire Warren Buffett, said Saturday the two are "ashamed" of not having invested in Google, which has become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire, of which Munger is vice president, recently took a stake in Amazon and has a $40 billion stake in Apple, but has generally steered clear of the technology sector.

"We are ashamed," Munger, 95, told a shareholder at the annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, when asked about the absence of an investment in Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger said.

"We screwed up," he said, without indicating whether Berkshire Hathaway aimed to catch up now.
OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday swung to a big quarterly profit, bolstered by gains in its stock investments, and also posted a small increase in operating earnings.

The $21.66 billion overall profit, or $13,209 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per share, and a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.39 billion.

These results illustrate what Buffett has called the "wild and capricious" and, in his view, meaningless swings caused by an accounting rule requiring the reporting of unrealized stock gains with earnings, regardless of Berkshire's plans to sell.

Berkshire said operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 5 percent to $5.56 billion. Operating profit was $5.29 billion, or $3,215 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Kneeling in front of her King, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya was invested as Queen on Saturday in Bangkok's Grand Palace, taking up a prominent role in a country where the monarchy is deeply revered, a fairytale ascent for the former flight attendant.

Wearing a pink traditional dress, Suthida took her seat next to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the throne hall after he poured a few drops of sacred water on her forehead and handed over insignia according her status as queen.

The newest member of the royal family is the fourth wife of 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, a deeply private monarch who spends a lot of his time abroad in Germany. He has a 14-year-old son from his third marriage and six other children.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation Saturday came just three days after a stunning palace announcement that the pair had married bestowing Suthida with the title of Queen.

But not much is known about his long-time consort-turned-queen, who faces a new and protocol-filled life in the wealthy and venerated Thai monarchy.

Broad biographical details such as her work as a flight attendant and her education at an upper-crust institution have emerged in Thai media. But the palace has so far declined requests for more information.

Suthida does not have the same royal lineage as Vajiralongkorn's mother Queen Sirikit, who is the great-granddaughter of the Chakri dynasty's fifth king.

She has "really come from the people", said Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Thailand specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside the country is dangerous and can result in a prison term of up to 15 years per count.

Thailand's normally effusive social media have been subdued in reaction to the royal news.

Suthida's first public engagement came Thursday when the couple kneeled to pay their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's old quarter.

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On Friday, she accompanied her husband to the sacred Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the heart of the Grand Palace.

- Queen brings 'legitimacy' -

Born on June 3, 1978, she graduated with a Communication Arts degree in 2000 from the Catholic-run Assumption University of Thailand.

She then worked as a flight attendant for national carrier Thai Airways.

According to a local media report she met the future king, a keen aviator with a pilot's licence, when he flew the company's aircraft during a charity event in 2007.

In November 2013, Suthida entered the royal army before becoming part of the monarch's prestigious security detail less than a year later.

She was promoted to the rank of general in December 2016 two months after the death of revered former King Bhumibol Adulyadej as Vajiralongkorn took to the throne.

Less than a year later, in 2017, she was made deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard, often seen shadowing the monarch at public events.

One of her latest appearances was in April, when she sat stone-faced behind her future husband wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed police.

The couple would often travel to Bavaria in southern Germany, where Vajiralongkorn has several residences.

The king's marriage to Suthida is a "way of further legitimising" his reign, said Paul Chambers, political analyst at Thailand's Naresuan University.

"A king is supposed to have a queen and now he has one."
The California Legislature is attempting to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns  a move that could bar President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's primary ballot if he does not make the documents public.

The state Senate voted 27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state's presidential primary ballot to publicly release five years' worth of income tax returns. The proposal is in response to Trump, who bucked 40 years of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns prior to his election in 2016.

California's presidential primary is scheduled for March 3. If the bill becomes law, Trump could not appear on the state's primary ballot without filing his tax returns with the California secretary of state.

"We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn't have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns," said Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg and the co-author of the bill along with Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.

Congress fights for returns: Treasury misses second deadline to release Trump's tax returns, will make decision by May 6

Opinion: It's April 15. Do you know where President Trump's tax returns are?

Sarah Sanders: This Congress not 'smart enough' to understand Trump's tax returns

The Legislature passed a nearly identical bill in 2017, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, telling lawmakers he was concerned the law was unconstitutional. Brown, a Democrat, refused to release his tax returns while in office.

He left office in January and was replaced by Gavin Newsom, who has released his tax returns and embraced his role as a national "resistance" leader to Trump and his policies.

Newsom's office didn't say whether he'd sign it. If the bill reaches his desk, "it would be evaluated on its own merits," spokesman Brian Ferguson said.

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McGuire said he has had "initial discussions" with the Newsom administration about the proposal.

"I never want to put words into his mouth, but here's what I'll say: Gov. Newsom has led by example," by releasing his own tax returns, McGuire said.

The bill would also apply to the more than a dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. But many of them have already released their tax returns. They include California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who released his tax returns last month after refusing to do so in 2016.

Candidates would have to submit tax returns to the secretary of state's office, which would work with the candidates to redact some information before posting the returns online.

The bill echoes similar legislation being considered in Illinois, Washington and New Jersey.

In New York, Democrats have examined multiple approaches in hopes of helping release Trump's tax returns, including bills requiring officials to release tax returns to appear on the ballot. State lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would allow the state to release Trump's state tax returns if any of three congressional committees  the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation  ask for the documents.

Trump is a resident of New York and does much of his business in the state.

'Im not gonna do it': Donald Trump says he won't give his tax returns to Congress

All of the bills come as Democrats in Washington continue to fight for access to Trump's returns.

Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal officially requested six years of the president's tax returns last month from the IRS but it hasn't been easy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also oversees the IRS, has missed two deadlines, imposed by Neal, to hand over the documents and instead said he would wait for the Justice Department to weigh in on the legality before making a decision.

In his latest letter last month to Neal, Mnuchin detailed both the constitutional concerns and his department's worries with releasing the president's financial information. He also accused Democrats of attempting to skirt the law in order to obtain the documents, something they have been after since even before Trump was elected.

Contributing: Joseph Spector

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California bill: President Trump won't appear on ballot unless he releases tax returns
Julian Castro (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Nati Harnik/AP, Moises Castillo/AP, AP)

Presidential elections are decided by many things: media exposure, financial backing, personal chemistry, timing and luck. Policy positions often are just a way of signaling where a candidate stands on the political spectrum. But 2020 is shaping up to be different, the most ideas-driven election in recent American history. On the Democratic side, a robust debate about inequality has given rise to ambitious proposals to redress the imbalance in Americans economic situations. Candidates are churning out positions on banking regulation, antitrust law and the future effects of artificial intelligence. The Green New Deal is spurring debate on the crucial issue of climate change, which could also play a role in a possible Republican challenge to Donald Trump.

Yahoo News will be examining these and other policy questions in The Ideas Election  a series of articles on how candidates are defining and addressing the most important issues facing the United States as it prepares to enter a new decade.

Three years into the presidency of Donald Trump, who launched his campaign with a call to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, the United States is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southwest border without proper documentation in more than a decade.

But more important than the totals, which remain well below the historic rates of illegal border crossings reported during the late 1990s and early 2000s, is the demographic makeup of the migrants.

During the month of September 2018, Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 people caught illegally crossing the border with a family member  ending the fiscal year with what was, at the time, the highest monthly total of family unit apprehensions to date. Since then, arrests of families between official ports of entry on the southwest border have continued to climb to historic highs each month, with significant spikes in February (36,531) and March (53,077) and another big jump last month to over 92,000, a 12-year high.

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Immigrants from Central America seeking asylum at Travis Park Church in downtown San Antonio. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Families and unaccompanied children  mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  now make up a majority of migrants arriving at the southern border without documentation, supplanting single adult males from Mexico.

But unlike single men, families and children arriving at the border to request asylum cannot be quickly deported after arrest. Border officials have found themselves ill-equipped to accommodate this new population in facilities that were designed for single men.

Beyond the border, the United States is home to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, 66 percent of whom had been in the country for more than 10 years as of 2016 and who, because of Trump administrations aggressive enforcement policies, are increasingly vulnerable to the threat of deportation.

More than 50,000 immigrants are in detention, a record high, with ICE actively searching for more space to house detainees.

Although the crisis has been shaped by Trumps immigration policies, its origins can be traced to legislation that dates from well before the current administration.

Much of the legal framework for todays immigration system is rooted in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, or INA, of 1965, which eliminated discriminatory country-based quotas that favored immigrants from Western Europe in favor of a system that prioritized family reunification and, to a lesser degree, employment-based immigration.

The law helped create the diverse, multicultural immigrant population that has changed the makeup of the United States  legally and illegally  over the last half-century.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed another immigration overhaul that laid the groundwork for todays deportation and border enforcement system.

The changes made it easier for the U.S. to deport people, and made more people eligible for deportation, while also making it significantly harder, if not impossible, for immigrants already in the country unlawfully to obtain legal status. Deportations skyrocketed after 1996, as did the undocumented population in the U.S.

After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, new laws and policies greatly expanded the immigration enforcement crackdown set into motion by the 1996 law, a trend that continued through the Obama administration and has accelerated under Trump.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Immigration Bill of 1965 on Liberty Island, with a view of the New York City skyline in the background. Next to the president on his right are first lady Lady Bird Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. To the president's left are Sen. Edward Kennedy (third from right) and Sen. Robert Kennedy (second from right). (Photo: Corbis via Getty Images, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Among the changes were the expansion of immigration detention and expedited removal, the use of criminal penalties against some border crossers and restructuring the Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Services to become part of the newly established Department of Homeland Security. These moves officially conflated the missions of immigration and border enforcement with counterterrorism and national security.

Meanwhile, Congress, the White House and the courts have wrestled for years over how to treat Dreamers  people who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as children  an issue that was caught up last year in the debate over Trumps request for funding for a wall on the border with Mexico.

While many the Trump administrations immigration policies have been widely condemned by Democrats, most of the 2020 presidential candidates have held back from presenting specific plans for reform.

In fact, of the 20 candidates currently crowding the 2020 Democratic primary field, just one so far has produced a detailed policy proposal on immigration: Julian Castro. On April 2, the former San Antonio mayor who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Obama unveiled his People First Immigration Policy.

Castros ambitious proposal includes many standard Democratic positions, including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, for refugees with temporary protected status because they would be in danger in their homelands, and millions of others living in the U.S. without protection or other options for legal status. He pledged to undo a number of Trump administration policies, including the ban on entry for citizens of majority-Muslim countries and barriers to asylum seekers. He would reverse Trumps large cuts to refugee quotas and expand the qualifying categories to account for new global challenges like climate change.

Castros proposal also includes bold reforms to the broader immigration system, starting with a repeal of the law that treats crossing the border without authorization as a federal crime rather than a civil violation. This statute, he notes in his proposal, has allowed for separation of children and families at our border, the large-scale detention of tens of thousands of families, and has deterred migrants from turning themselves in to an immigration official within our borders.

He also seeks to eliminate the private immigration detention and prison industry, and drastically reduce the population of detainees. He proposes restructuring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into two separate agencies, one tasked with general immigration enforcement and another focused on investigating terrorism, drug and human trafficking, an idea supported by many ICE officials in a letter sent last year to then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Looking beyond U.S. borders, one section of Castros proposal outlines a plan for Establishing a 21st Century Marshall Plan for Central America, to improve conditions in the countries from which refugees are fleeing.

Julian Castro with students at Rancho High School in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Asked why he chose to dive head first into immigration at this early stage in the campaign, Castro told the New Yorkers David Remnick, I wanted to go as straight to what this President has considered his bread-and-butter issue. This is how he stokes division.

Other candidates have been more hesitant to take the plunge.

Before entering the race, former Rep. Beto ORourke seemed to be positioning himself as Trumps most formidable adversary on border and immigration issues, especially on the construction of a border wall. When Trump traveled to El Paso to speak about the border wall earlier this year, ORourke held a counter rally, proclaiming, We are not safe because of walls but in spite of walls. In a post on Medium, he listed 10 immigration, security and bilateral policies that match reality and our values, including increasing visa caps, and investing in additional infrastructure and personnel at the ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug and human trafficking.

As a presidential candidate, however, ORourke has been light on specifics. At a town hall in San Diego this week, ORourke talked loosely of comprehensive immigration reform that would include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers and their parents.

While Bernie Sanders hasnt shied away from the immigration debate, he hasnt offered much in the way of new ideas on the issue.

During a Fox News town hall on April 16, Sanders expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform, and called for hiring hundreds of new judges to more quickly clear up backlog of more than 800,000 pending immigration cases. He also endorsed building proper facilities right on the border for the surge of families in custody.

Demonstrating the sensitivity of the issue, though, Sanders, speaking in Iowa last month, denied he was "an advocate for open borders, an accusation Trump regularly lobs at Democrats.

"If you open the borders, my God, theres a lot of poverty in this world, and youre going to have people from all over the world, Sanders said, once again calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

Meanwhile, candidates such as Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are working on immigration issues in Congress, rather than on the campaign trail. Harris, the California senator and daughter of immigrants, who has made clear that she intends to court Latino voters, has introduced legislation to expand oversight of ICE detention facilities. She said she plans to introduce a bill with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., to allow Dreamers to serve as congressional staffers.

This week in the Senate, Booker took the lead to re-introduce Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, an ambitious bill to drastically undo the countrys vast immigration detention system in response to the Trump administrations latest efforts to expand it.

Castros proposal was praised by immigration advocates, who have long been pushing for Democrats to push back harder against Trump on immigration issues. Some predicted Castros plan would be the catalyst to force other Democrats to offer clear proposals of their own, though thus far no one has really followed suit. The question now is how long the other Democrats can avoid taking a strong position on what will surely be a central issue of Trumps 2020 campaign.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats generally steered clear of the topic, focusing instead on issues such as health care and taxes, while many Republicans copied Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and his efforts to stoke fear about migrant caravans.

President Trump at a recent rally in Green Bay, Wis. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

The result, a historic gain for Democrats in the House of Representatives, appear to have vindicated that strategy.

But the politics might play out differently in a presidential election, when Trump himself is on the ballot.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week, Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about illegal immigration at the southwest border, with 24 percent now agreeing that the situation is a crisis, compared to 7 percent who felt that way in January.

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Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - The leader of South Africa's main opposition party urged voters Saturday to give "change a chance" in next week's general election after 25 years of ANC rule.

"Let us be brave and give change a chance," Mmusi Maimane told more than 10,000 Democratic Alliance supporters at Dobsonville stadium in Soweto.

South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in one of the most competitive national elections since the first multi-racial vote in 1994.

Nelson Mandelas African National Congress, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has won every election since then.

But addressing his final and biggest rally before the vote, Maimane said it was time for change as the country battles corruption, poverty and high unemployment.

"Today the choice is between fear and bravery. If South Africans were not brave, I bet you apartheid would still be in place.

"We are brave and we are going to show courage and hope for change in this election".

He condemned the ANC for going from from "leaders in the struggle for freedom" to those who now "stand directly in the way of freedom".

"They were once our liberators but today we need to be liberated from them," Maimane told the cheering crowd in his home township.

- 'Yes we can!'-

Donald Mlangeni, 28, said in the last election in 2014 he had voted for the ANC, but now he will go with the DA.

"We are going to put an end to corruption," he said, complaining that he struggles to get access to basics such as water at his house. "I think the DA will bring change. At least let's give them a chance".

Ketsie Kobedi, 67, echoed a view driven by disappointment with the ANC that things were actually better under white rule.

"We want to go back to the white people era when things were in order. We don't trust the ANC because of corruption," she said.

The DA, which has been the largest opposition party in South Africa for the past 19 years, has hammered away on the ANC's failure to deliver Mandela's dream of a prosperous and equal South Africa.

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Its popularity has steadily grown over the years to 22 percent in the last election. During the 2016 local government elections the DA wrested control of the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the administrative capital Pretoria, from the ANC.

For the past decade, the DA has also been in charge of the Western Cape - one of the country's best run provinces.

Plagued by intra-party wrangling, the DA is not expected to move much in numbers at Wednesday's polls, according to latest pre-voting surveys, which give the ANC a victory of up to around 60 percent of the ballots cast.

"This is not a popularity contest. This is about competence. Im merely asking you to employ a government with a proven track record. But let us first prove to you that we can do this job because I know we can. I have no doubt that the DA can turn South Africa around," said Maimane.

"Yes we can!" said Maimane concluding his 40-minute long speech, borrowing former US president Barack Obama's famous campaign slogan.
Paris (AFP) - On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making.

Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe.

It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises.

- Dating back to Napoleon -

Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages.

A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes.

In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation.

Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons".

The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later.

In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build.

Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side.

But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons.

- Bridge or tunnel? -

After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus.

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A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel.

Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option.

It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986.

- Breaking through -

Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain.

AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres.

Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up.

An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk.

Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British.

- Queen and president -

"Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel.

"We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said.

After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent.

Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh.

During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported.

Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey.
Dover (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's "greatest achievements" but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

"I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit," the 70-year-old told AFP. "I don't see that as incompatible."

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community -- the forerunner to the EU -- in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

"We voted for a trade deal," he explained. "I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'."

- 'Little bit overwhelming' -

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

"I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other," Cozette told AFP this week.

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The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

"I don't think it will drive the English and French apart," he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered "it was all a little bit overwhelming" and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

"They had champagne, wine, food," he said. "On our side we had just tea, coffee and water -- and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!"

- 'I had other plans' -

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

"The faster we went, the more money we got," he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

"I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough'," he added.

"I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans."

-'Historical moment' -

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

"It's a great engineering feat," he said. "It's good that people enjoy it."

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

"It was a historical moment," he recollected of his famous handshake.

"The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you."
Sam's Canterbury Cafe. | Photo: Henry F./Yelp

Visiting Tuscany-Canterbury, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this Baltimore neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Mediterranean spot to Hong Kong-style beverages and desserts.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Tuscany-Canterbury, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cypriana Of Roland Park

Photo: cypriana of roland park/Yelp

Topping the list is Mediterranean, vegan and Greek spot Cypriana of Roland Park. Located at 105 W. 39th St., it's the highest rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 126 reviews on Yelp.

This spot, which has operated for nearly three decades, was named one of Baltimore's "hidden gem" restaurants by Open Table in 2017, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. On the menu, look for selections of wood-fired flatbread and small plates of grilled eggplant and stuffed grape leaves.

2. Sam's Canterbury Cafe

Photo: sam's canterbury cafe/Yelp

Next up is cafe and breakfast and brunch spot Sam's Canterbury Cafe, serving coffee, tea and more, situated at 3811 Canterbury Road With 4.5 stars out of 45 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite.

Yelp named this spot one of the top 50 places to eat in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun. On the menu, expect all-day breakfast, along with lunch fare like sandwiches, flatbreads and greens. Look for The Charles, a flatbread topped with mozzarella, burrata, spicy red sauce and basil.

3. TSAOCAA

Photo: Tea T./Yelp

TSAOCAA, a spot to score beverages and desserts, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 4 W. University Parkway, 4.5 stars out of 31 reviews.

With nearly a dozen locations across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Las Vegas and more, this Hong Kong-style tea and dessert shop offers a wide selection of teas, milk bubble beverages, smoothies, milkshakes and more. Look for the hot cheese-infused mango tea.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Photo: iStock

The number of crime incidents in Miami saw an overall increase last week, after a previous decline, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents rose to 443 for the week of April 22, up from 360 the week before.

The specific offenses that increased the most were theft and burglary. Theft rose to 175 incidents last week, from 146 the week before. Burglary went from 21 to 27. Reports of burglary have continued to grow for the last three weeks.

There was also a notable percentage increase in robbery, from eight incidents per week to 12.

There was one reported shooting last week. That represents a steady state from the previous week.

Among the few types of offenses that saw a downturn last week, reports of assault went from 69 to 61.

There were 166 reports of "other" crimes, an increase of 52 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 44 involved arrests, for offenses such as drug possession, up from 28 reported arrests the week before.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, Allapattah, Downtown and Little Havana continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Crime in Liberty City went up the most. Crime reports in Downtown also rose, after declining the week before, and incidents in Allapattah are up considerably as well.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday saw the most crime incidents last week. The largest increase from the previous week occurred on Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday, while incidents on Sunday, Saturday and Thursday went down. Comparing times of day, late afternoon, late morning and evening saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) (AFP) - The Dutch territory of Curacao said Saturday it would do what was needed to prevent measles spreading from a Scientology cruise ship, after a crew member came down with the disease.

The Freewinds, which left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia on Friday, arrived back in its home port of Curacao Saturday.

There were about 300 people aboard the ship, according to Saint Lucia authorities.

The Curacao government said it would "take all necessary precautions to handle the case of measles on board of the Freewinds," including vaccinations.

"An investigation will also be done to determine who will be allowed to leave the ship without (posing) a threat to the population of Curacao," it said in a statement.

The vessel is moored in an area not accessible to the public.

Three health officials had gone aboard to examine passengers, Dutch broadcaster NOS said, quoting its correspondent in Curacao.

Anyone who could prove they had been vaccinated or who had contracted measles in the past would be allowed to leave the ship while the others would have to stay on board, the reporter told NOS.

"It is imperative to make all efforts to prevent a spread of this disease internationally," the Curacao government said.

It said the risk of the disease spreading was relatively low as many people had been already been vaccinated in the past but advised parents to make sure their children were vaccinated.

The Church of Scientology says the 440-foot (134-meter) vessel is used for religious retreats and is normally based in Curacao.

The vessel had arrived in St. Lucia from Curacao on Tuesday, when it was placed under quarantine by health authorities because of a measles patient, said to be a female crew member.

The resurgence of the once-eradicated, highly contagious disease is linked to the growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as a major global health threat.

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The church, founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, did not respond to requests for comment.

Its teachings do not directly oppose vaccination, but followers consider illness a sign of personal failing and generally avoid medical interventions.

The Curacao government is asking people who may have visited the Freewinds between April 22 and 28 to report to health authorities.
Photos: Petfinder

Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of charming rabbits up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Pittsburgh, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect fit.

Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of rabbits available for adoption near you. Read on to meet some friendly locals.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.

Blue Belle, rabbit

Adorable Blue Belle is a female American rabbit being kept at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Blue Belle's compatibility with kids and other pets.

What my friends at Rabbit Wranglers think of me:

Blue is one beautiful, 9 pound ball of "please love me." After six months in a shelter, she decided she needed a break, and really, who can blame her? Blue immediately cheered up in her foster home! She started greeting her foster parents within two days by showing off her bunny dance moves when they would enter the room.

Apply to adopt Blue Belle today at Petfinder.

Lemmy, rabbit

Lemmy is a charming male satin rabbit in the care of Rabbit Wranglers.

Lemmy is looking for a kid-free family.

His vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but he's been neutered.

Notes from Lemmy's friends:

Lemmy is a gorgeous black satin rabbit. He came to Rabbit Wranglers to give him a much-needed break from shelter life and to help him resolve some behavior issues. He is now sweet and calm. He loves to run around and find new hiding places. Hes also big and strong at just over 10 pounds!

Read more about Lemmy on Petfinder.

Remmie, rabbit

Remmie is a female rabbit being cared for at the Humane Animal Rescue.

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Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Remmie is looking for a kid-free forever home.

Remmie's friends say:

Meet our darling girl, Remmie! Remmie is a sweet, shy girl who is learning to come out of her shell and enjoy things. Remmie enjoys playing with toys that she can chew and toss around (especially cardboard boxes, tubes and stuffed animals). While Remmie is a bit unsure about her new environment, give her some time and love and you'll see her blossom into a curious and active girl, ready for adventure.

Read more about Remmie on Petfinder.

Trooper, rabbit

Trooper is a female bunny rabbit mix being cared for at The Foster Farm.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, and she hasn't been spayed yet.

There's no information on Trooper's profile about how she does with children or other animals, so it's worth asking The Foster Farm directly.

Notes from Trooper's caretakers:

Trooper and her siblings were an accidental litter surrendered to us when the owner had to move. She is pretty human friendly, but a quieter bunny and prefers to lounge in the company of another rabbit.

Read more about Trooper on Petfinder.

Harriet, rabbit

Darling Harriet is a female tan rabbit currently housed at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Harriet's compatibility with kids and other pets. Harriet is a special needs pet, so please inquire about her specific care requirements.

Harriet's caretakers say:

Harriet is a very active girl with lots of love to share. She was found roaming free and we suspect that experience has caused her be scared and distrustful. But, once you've earned her trust, she'll gladly join you on the couch for TV binge-watching! One of Harriet's favorite activities is sitting and listening to someone read to her; it calms her down and lulls her to sleep if you are still enough.

Read more about Harriet on Petfinder.

This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Damascus (AFP) - The Syrian government has accused Kurdish leaders of "treason" for organising a conference with allied Arab tribes to plot out the political future of territory under their alliance's control.

The Kurds and their Arab allies control a vast swathe of the north and northeast that makes up around a third of Syrian territory, much of which they captured in the long and costly campaign against the Islamic State group.

Buoyed by its recapture of most of the rest of Syria, Damascus is now demanding that alliance-held areas too return to central government control.

Weakened by the decision of its main ally Washington to withdraw most of its troops following the defeat of the last vestige of IS's "caliphate" in March, the Kurdish-led alliance has opened talks with Damascus.

But its leaders are determined not to accept the negotiated surrender of a "reconciliation agreement" like those imposed by Damascus on various rebel groups, and on Friday convened a conference of Arab tribes to seek their support.

The state SANA news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as accusing organisers of the conference in the alliance-held but mainly Arab town of Ain Issa of "treason".

It claimed that the meeting in a town "held by armed militia dependent on the United States and some European countries" had ended in "failure" as a result of a "boycott by most of the tribes".

"Such gatherings are clear embodiments of the treason of their organisers, whatever their political, ethnic or racial allegiances," the source added.

In his address to Friday's conference, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said that Damascus would need to recognise the authority of the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria as well as the "special status" of the alliance and its role in defending the region against IS.

He said there could be no going back to the situation before the civil war erupted in 2011 when the Kurds were denied any official recognition as a minority that accounts for some 15 percent of the population.

"It is not possible to reach a democratic and pluralistic Syria without full recognition of the rights of Syria's Kurds," he said.

The SDF has been cornered into seeking an accommodation with Damascus by two-pronged pressure from the looming US troop withdrawal and a longstanding threat by Turkey to send troops across the border to end the experiment in self-rule by Kurdish forces it regards as "terrorists".
By Elisabeth O'Leary ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises. The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen. On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands. Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. "I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives. "We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen. Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum. But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall. At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support. POLL RATINGS In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls. Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters: "I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said. Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister. But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster. In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood. "It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done". (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
Today marks the anniversary of an important Supreme Court case that helped to end the Hollywood studio system and fuel a young television industry in the late 1940s.

Hollywoods greatest drama took place over two decades in a fight that featured movie barons, President Franklin Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, and the United States Supreme Court.

In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The major studios had a near-monopoly on the movie business in the United States. Each studio had exclusive contracts with actors and directors; owned the theaters where their movies played; worked with each other to control how movies were shown in independent theaters; and, in some cases, owned the companies that processed the film.

The system of vertical integration was expensive to maintain, but it was lucrative when the movie business was booming.

Independent movie makers and theater owners started taking legal action decades before the 1948 Supreme Court ruling.

The website Hollywood Renegades Archive has a detailed history of the 27-year fight that pitted movie titans like Adolph Zukor and Jesse Laskey against the Justice Department in the 1920s.

The Justice Department won the first round of the fight in 1930, when the Supreme Court ruled that the movies studios were monopolies. A key finding was that the process of block booking was illegal. In block booking, studios forced theaters to buy films as a group well in advance, and often without seeing them.

But the studios, after some legal delays, found an ear with incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Claiming that the movie business was in dire straits during the Depression, the studios asked President Roosevelt to stop the forced breakup of the monopolies. After all, the nation needed movies as a relief from troubled times.

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Roosevelt used the National Industrial Recovery Act to justify a delay. But the Supreme Court threw out the Recovery Act in 1935, and in 1938, the Justice Department filed a new lawsuit against the studios.

Again, the studios found a way out of losing their monopolies. In 1940, they reached a deal with the Justice Department in a consent decree. During a three-year trial, the studios could keep their movies theaters, but block booking was regulated and theater owners had a chance to see movies before they bought them.

The decision enraged independent producers like Disney, Chaplin, David Selznick, Mary Pickford, and Orson Welles. They organized as a group, even though some would be defendants in the case because of their roles in United Artists, a studio that only distributed films.

The Justice Department, with the support of the independent producers, renewed the case in 1946. A federal district court in New York eliminated the studios ability to sell blocks of films, but it also let the studios keep their movie theaters.

Both sides appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In its 1948 ruling, the court effectively dismantled the Hollywood studio system.

In an opinion from Justice William O. Douglas, the court killed the block booking system, and recommended the breakup of the studio-theater monopolies. The justices asked the lower court to decide the issue of selling the theaters.

As the movie studios regrouped for another fight in the lower courts or another deal with the Justice Department, their unity in the case cracked. Maverick studio owner Howard Hughes of RKO Pictures decided to sell his movie theaters.

The Justice Department made it clear that no deals were coming, and then the biggest studio, Paramount, sold its movies theaters. Its involvement in the antitrust case blocked its ability to buy into a new fad called television. The battle was over.

In the end, the Paramount case greatly fueled the growth of television, in addition to changing the movie business. RKO and other studios sold their film libraries to television stations to offset the losses from the Paramount case. The studios also released actors from contracts who became the new stars of the television world.

The audience for television grew tremendously as people stopped going to movie theaters. In 1948, about 90 million people were regular moviegoers. By 1958, that number fell to 46 million people. The audience for television grew to 204 million people in 1958.

Scott Bomboy is editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.
Denver-based travel app company Pana has secured $10 million in Series A funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced April 29 and led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Pana is on a mission to make travel simple, personal and delightful. From an app, they make booking travel as easy as texting a friend, provide white-glove care for the highs and lows of travel and offer best travel perks, rewards and experiences."

The fo-year-old startup has raised four previous funding rounds, including a seed round in 2016.

The round brings total funding raised by Denver companies in commerce and shopping over the past 90 days to $35 million. The local commerce and shopping industry has produced 11 funding rounds over the past year, capturing a total of $81 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, risk management company Insurdata announced a $3 million seed funding round on April 15, led by Anthemis Group.

According to Crunchbase, "Insurdata provides insurance and reinsurance underwriters property-specific data to support their pricing, underwriting and portfolio management decisions. The firm specializes in high-resolution, peril-specific exposures and building-level risk data, using technology that includes mobile augmented reality and 3-D model creation, providing both desktop and mobile products."

The company also raised a $1 million seed round in 2017.

This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Catenae Innovation Plc (LON:CTEA) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 91%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 52% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 39% in the last three months.

We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Check out our latest analysis for Catenae Innovation

Catenae Innovation recorded just UK15,851 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). Investors will be hoping that Catenae Innovation can make progress and gain better traction for the business, before it runs low on cash.

Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. Catenae Innovation has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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Our data indicates that Catenae Innovation had net debt of UK863,835 when it last reported in March 2018. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But with the share price diving 39% per year, over 5 years, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. The image below shows how Catenae Innovation's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CTEA Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Catenae Innovation had a tough year, with a total loss of 52%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 39% over the last half decade. 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. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (HKG:2343), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Basin Shipping

Pacific Basin Shipping Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Mats Berglund, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$1.9m worth of shares at a price of HK$1.85 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of HK$1.62. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive). Mats Berglund was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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SEHK:2343 Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.8% of Pacific Basin Shipping shares, worth about HK$56m, according to our data. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Pacific Basin Shipping Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Pacific Basin Shipping shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Pacific Basin Shipping insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Pacific Basin Shipping.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Shaw Communications Inc.'s (TSE:SJR.B) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Shaw Communications has a P/E ratio of 29.87. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying CA$29.87 for every CA$1 in prior year profit.

View our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

How Do You Calculate Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Shaw Communications:

P/E of 29.87 = CA$26.92  CA$0.90 (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Shaw Communications's 81% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 12% per year over 5 years.

How Does Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below, Shaw Communications has a higher P/E than the average company (23.2) in the media industry.

TSX:SJR.B Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

That means that the market expects Shaw Communications will outperform other companies in its industry. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Shaw Communications's Balance Sheet

Shaw Communications's net debt equates to 29% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio

Shaw Communications trades on a P/E ratio of 29.9, which is above the CA market average of 14.4. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and its EPS growth is very healthy indeed. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: Shaw Communications may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides again faltered.

Israel said around 50 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defence systems intercepted dozens of them.

The army said it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response.

A Gazan security source said later that a series of Israeli strikes hit at least three separate areas of the Gaza Strip and that three "resistance fighters" were wounded.

It was not yet clear if there were casualties on the Israeli side.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.
Doha (AFP) - The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

- 'Failed strategies' -

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

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Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the opposition's local election victory in Istanbul to be declared invalid and the vote re-run, increasing the pressure on the country's electoral authorities.

"Clearly, there were irregularities and corruption," Erdogan said in a speech at a business leaders' meeting.

"If the Supreme Electoral Council could dissipate all this, that would ease the conscience of our fellow citizens," he added.

The electoral body, the YSK, is due to meet on Monday to examine a request by Erdogan's AKP party to cancel the result of the March 31 local elections which the party lost in Istanbul, where the main opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu won the mayoral race by a tight margin.

Several partial recounts have so far supported the initial results in both Ankara and Istanbul, with the main opposition CHP party calling Erdogan a "bad loser" willing to do anything to hold on to power in the country's economic capital.

Observers attribute the electoral setbacks to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to voter discontent over Turkey's ongoing economic troubles.

Refusing to concede the Istanbul result, Erdogan denounced "massive irregularities", and his party accused voting officials of under-reporting votes cast in favour of its candidate.

"My fellow citizens say to me: 'My president, there must be a re-run of this election'," Erdogan said. "Come and let's go before the people and we will accept what the people's wish dictates."

Istanbul prosecutors on Thursday said they had opened around 30 probes into the vote, and over 100 voting booth managers had been summoned for questioning.

In comments later Saturday Imamoglu urged the electoral council to "take a decision based on the law and justice,".

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told Erdogan to "stop putting pressure on the YSK".

"There were no irregularities, no abuse," he insisted.

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Istanbul (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fiercely denounced Israel for the bombing of a building housing Turkey's state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

"We strongly condemn Israel's attack against Anadolu Agencys office in Gaza," Erdogan said on Twitter.

"Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks," he wrote.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff were evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: "Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israel's unrestrained aggression.

"Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is Anaa crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone," he said.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a "tyrant" after Netanyahu called him a "dictator" and a "joke".
BAMAKO, May 4 (Reuters) - At least 18 civilians were killed in two related attacks this week in central Mali, the United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission said on Saturday, as the death toll from fighting between local hunters and herders continues to climb.

MINUSMA did not identify the assailants in the attacks on a Dogon ethnic community in the Mopti region.

The region has been engulfed in a conflict between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders that killed hundreds of civilians in 2018 and is spreading across the Sahel, the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa's savannas to the south.

MINUSMA said a number of Dogons were killed in an ambush on Wednesday, while other members of the same community were killed on Thursday as they tried to retrieve the bodies from the previous day's attack. One Fulani civilian was also killed, it said.

"The U.N. urges the authorities to redouble efforts to stop this cycle of intercommunal violence, whose recurrence is very worrying in an already alarming security context," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said in a statement.

The Malian authorities have come under fire for failing to disarm militias or beat back Islamist insurgents, who have been capitalizing on the spiraling communal conflicts to recruit new members and extend their reach in the Sahel.

This week's attacks follow a March massacre of at least 157 Fulani villagers in Mopti, in what was seen as one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the region in living memory.

The escalating violence led to the resignation in April of the entire Malian government.

The largely Saharan nation has been in turmoil since Tuaregs and allied jihadists took control of more than half the country in a rebellion in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year. (Reporting by Souleymane Ag Anara; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - The United States' allies in Europe have criticized its recent decisions to restrict oil trade with Iran and to limit the extension of waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects.

"We ... take note with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran," Britain's foreign office said in a joint statement with its German and French counterparts and the European Union.

"We also note with concern the decision by the United States not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects," Britain's foreign office added.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Last week, the United States said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Brussels (AFP) - EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union.

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement.

"In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights".

On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September.

According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.

Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights".

In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources.

Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move.

"This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said.

It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation".

The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration.

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Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February.

The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara.

European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling.

Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island.

In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships.

Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.

The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed.

Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern".

In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law.

Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Reacting to President Trumps over hour-long Friday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said he didnt press Putin on meddling in the 2020 presidential election, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi claimed that POTUS had given the Russian leader the green light to interfere again.

Speaking at the White House shortly after the call, the president said that Putin sort of smiled when they talked about the Mueller Report, adding that the Russian leader said it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. The Mueller Report, while finding no chargeable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, found Russia engaged in sweeping interference during the 2016 election.

During Fridays Deadline: White House, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Figliuzzi what jumped out at him about the phone call, noting that Trump and Putin share a personal relationship, and she hasnt heard Trump describe a foreign leader smiling since he was president.

Its troubling to think the president is finding comfort in our adversary, Figliuzzi, an MSNBC national security analyst, replied. And our nations adversary is actually now his buddy. Hes finding self-affirmation in someone who gets up every morning trying to hurt our country.

The former FBI official pointed out that Trump should have told Putin that the Mueller Report contained troubling information about Russias attempts to mess with our democracy and that hed receive the wrath of American sanctions if it happened again.

Wallace went on to ask about Trump discussing the Mueller Reports conclusions with Putin, wondering what he thought about a president talking to a U.S. adversary who attacked our democracy and theyre sharing some sort of commonality about its result?

After stating that Trump is once again mixing up collusion with criminal conspiracy and that Mueller didnt actually look at the matter of collusion, Figliuzzi said the president was welcoming further meddling by the Russians.

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With regard to continued relations and cozying up to Putin, Putin has the green light now, he declared before referencing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen describing Trump as having a mob boss mentality.

And the lack of pushing back by this government and by the president has got to be giving Putin the green light to do it again, Figliuzzi added. Do it again. Help us out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Zendo. | Photo: Mario C./Yelp

Spending time in downtown Albuquerque? Get to know this Albuquerque neighborhood by browsing its most popular spots for food and drinks, from a restaurant featuring New Mexican cuisine to a tapas bar.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit downtown, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cocina Azul

Photo: diana s./Yelp

New Mexican spot Cocina Azul, situated at 1134 Mountain Road NW, has proven to be a local favorite, with 4.5 stars out of 1,088 reviews on Yelp.

2. The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine

Photo: adrienne a./Yelp

Bar and Spanish spot The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine, which offers tapas and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW, 4.5 stars out of 229 reviews.

3. Slow Roasted Bocadillos

Photo: Carol R./yelp

Slow Roasted Bocadillos, a sandwich shop that offers sandwiches, tacos and more, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with five stars out of 58 Yelp reviews. Head over to 200 Lomas Blvd. NW, Suite 110 to see for yourself.

4. Zendo

photo: alice w./yelp

Check out Zendo, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 185 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score coffee, tea and more at 413 Second St. SW.

5. Cafe Lush

Photo: michael c./Yelp

Finally, there's Cafe Lush, a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 150 reviews. Stop by 700 Tijeras Ave. NW to hit up the cafe and New American spot next time you're in the neighborhood.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Havana (AFP) - US giant ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against Cuba's state-owned oil company and a major business group for what it called "unlawful trafficking" of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeks $280 million from Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and Cimex, which operates service stations on the island nation.

The lawsuit from America's biggest oil producer came as the administration of US President Donald Trump lifted the suspension of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

The provision allows anyone whose assets were seized after the revolution to sue Cuban individuals and businesses profiting from the former holdings.

It had been suspended by all previous US presidents to avoid causing friction with allies, some of whom view it as overstepping American jurisdiction.

Exxon said in the suit it was seeking compensation "for property that was expropriated by the Fidel Castro regime in 1960, including oil refineries and service stations, which are still in use today even though Plaintiff has never received any compensation for this property."

Exxon is one of the companies born out of the now-defunct Standard Oil, whose refinery in Havana was one of the first American entities nationalized by Castro.

The refinery is currently operated by Cupet.

Exxon merged with Mobil in 1988.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliament's Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian party's rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: "Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us."

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: "There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity."
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
TRIPOLI, May 4 (Reuters) - Recent fighting in southern Tripoli in Libya has killed 187 people and wounded 1,157, a spokesman for the ministry of health said on Saturday.

The government has also transferred a number of wounded to Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Ukraine for medical treatment, said Tarek al-Hamshiri, the head of the government forces' Field Medical Centre.

The offensive launched by eastern Libya-based military commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli is now in its fifth week.

The U.N.-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli issued a statement earlier on Saturday recognizing 710 fighters killed in Libya's civil war in 2014 as "martyrs," in a move a Tripoli government source said was aimed at winning the backing of forces in nearby Zintan in the fight against Haftar.

"The GNA took this step in a bid to get support from the mountain town of Zintan to strengthen its forces in confronting the eastern forces deployed by military commander Khalifa Haftar," the government source said. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Miami (AFP) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

The issue is an especially sensitive one in

Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

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The issue is an especially sensitive one in a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.

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a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.
File image of jail cell (Photo: Getty Images)

After a mentally ill Florida woman was allegedly left alone to give birth in her jail cell, advocates are pushing for a full review of medical and isolation practices.

In a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Friday, Public Defender Howard Finkelstein expressed outrage over his 34-year-old pregnant client, who was left alone in a jail cell for almost seven hours, despite asking for assistance. She eventually gave birth alone, the Associated Press reports.

I am incensed and heartbroken after learning that a mentally ill client was forced to deliver her child alone in a jail cell, Finkelstein writes.

According to Finkelstein, his client complained of contractions and bleeding. However, jail staff, who were fully aware that his client was pregnant, only attempted to contact an on-call doctor, instead of taking her to a hospital. The doctor said he would check on the inmate when he arrived at the jail.

Six hours and 54 minutes after asking for help, a BSO (Broward Sheriffs Office) tech notified medical staff that Ms. Jackson was holding her newborn baby in her arms, having delivered her baby without medication or the assistance of a physician, the letter reads. She was forced to deliver her baby alone.

In her time of extreme need and vulnerability, BSO neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve. Not only was Ms. Jacksons health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk, Finkelstein continued.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, 1396 pregnant women were admitted to prisons from 2016 to 2017. 92 percent of outcomes resulted in 753 live births, while there was also 46 miscarriages (6%), 11 abortions (1%), 4 stillbirths (0.5%), 3 newborn deaths, and no maternal deaths. Of the 753 live births, 30% were cesarean deliveries, and 6% were preterm.

It continues by saying that three quarters of incarcerated women are between the ages of 18 and 44, which is considered to be childbearing age. Two thirds are mothers and the primary caregivers to young children.

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The study concludes that those in positions of power should work to optimize health outcomes for incarcerated pregnant women and their newborns, whose health has broad sociopolitical implications.

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Washington (AFP) - Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a firm that operates centers for housing unaccompanied migrant children, US media reported Friday, prompting a storm of criticism from Democrats.

The ex-Marine general -- who as Homeland Security secretary proposed the controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents -- joined Caliburn International four months after leaving the White House.

"General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Caliburn International CEO James Van Dusen in a statement cited by various US outlets.

Democrats including 2020 presidential hopefuls accused Kelly of profiting from policies he had supervised during his stint in President Donald Trump's administration.

"John Kelly oversaw many of the Trump Admin's most morally repugnant immigration policies," tweeted Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Now he could be making big bucks serving on the Board of a company that's profiting from the same cruel plans he put in place. This is corruption at its absolute worst."

Senator Cory Booker, another Democrat candidate, tweeted: "Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting."

Caliburn is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, a private firm that has been given contracts by US Customs and Border Protection.

It runs Homestead, a temporary facility for housing unaccompanied migrant children, in Florida.

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.

During his stint as Trump's Homeland Security secretary, Kelly said would consider separating migrant children from their parents and would "do almost anything to deter the people from Central America" getting into the US via the Mexico border.

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He later became White House chief of staff, before his relationship with the president reportedly deteriorated.

In December last year, shortly before leaving the White House, Kelly said he had "nothing but compassion" for undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

"Illegal immigrants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people.... I have nothing but compassion for them, the young kids," Kelly told the LA Times, adding that many had been manipulated by traffickers.
Paris (AFP) - French investigators are looking at several videos that appear to show police violence during May Day demonstrations in Paris, including one showing an officer push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man.

The man attacked with a telescopic truncheon had been plucked from a crowd of protesters, many of whom were chanting "everyone hates the police".

Paris police chiefs have asked the IGPN, the body that investigates police abuses, to investigate the incident, which happened when the arrested man was pinned down by other officers.

They are also looking at two other incidents caught on video.

One shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester while the second shows another officer hurling a paving stone at protesters.

On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told journalists: "If someone is at fault, there will be a sanction, legal and administrative sanctions."

The traditional May Day workers' march took place in an already tense atmosphere, given the weekly "yellow vest" protests in Paris and other French cities over the past six months.

Clashes occurred even before the march got underway and continued throughout the day.

For months, yellow vest activists have accused the police of heavy-handed repression of their right to assemble and protest, in particular the use of rubber bullet launchers that have seriously injured dozens of people.
Paris (AFP) - Film stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart joined hundreds of people from the arts world in backing France's "yellow vests" movement, as the latest anti-government marches took place Saturday.

Binoche and Beart joined more than 1,400 signatories to an open letter published in the left-leaning daily Liberation.

Entitled "Yellow Vests: we are not fooled!", it denounced what it said were attempts to discredit the movement.

It also backed the demands of the protesters, which it said included calls for greater social and fiscal justice, and radical measures to tackle what they called an ecological emergency.

The open letter condemned what it said were the increasingly repressive measures taken against the movement, noting that international organisations such as United Nations and the European Union had already expressed their concern.

Binoche and Beart were among the most prominent signatories, which also included directors, scriptwriters and composers. Binoche won an Oscar for her role in "The English Patient" while Beart is perhaps best known internationally for her role in the first "Mission Impossible" film.

Official estimates suggested that turnout for Saturday's marches was down, in the wake of the May Day rallies when yellow vest activists joined the traditional trade union march.

The interior ministry said 18,900 people demonstrated across France, 1,460 of them in Paris -- well down on their count for the previous weekend, when they said 23,600 turned up across the country.

The yellow vest organisers, who regularly dismiss the accuracy of the official count, put the turnout across France on Saturday at 40,291.

The day's marches were relatively calm, with only a handful of arrests and eight people detained in Paris.

In the southwest city of Bordeaux, where support for the movement has been strong, 61-year-old teaching assistant Jose acknowledged that the movement was running out of steam a little.

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"That's 25 weeks that we have put our life on hold for a bit to at least get back a minimum of dignity," he said.

- Police violence probe -

At Charles de Gaulle airport, meanwhile, around 20 yellow vest protesters handed out leaflets objecting to government plans to privatise Aeroports de Paris (ADP), which runs the capital's three airports.

Saturday's protests come just days after Wednesday's May Day protests, and the fallout over the violence was still being discussed.

The IGPN, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is looking at three incidents caught on video that appear to show police violence against May Day protesters.

In one, an officer appears to push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man. Another shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester, while a third shows another officer hurling a paving stone.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday that if anyone was at fault they would be punished.

But he is under pressure himself after acknowledging Friday that he had been wrong to call an incident at the Paris Pitie-Salpetriere hospital an "attack".

Video footage and accounts from hospital staff and demonstrators suggest that protesters had been fleeing riot police.

And on Saturday, more than 30 people arrested inside the hospital grounds held a news conference to say that all they had done was "flee the ultra-violent police".

Several placards at Saturday's demonstrations denounced Castaner as a "liar".

In the northwestern city of Metz, meanwhile, yellow vest protesters and ecologists joined forces in a march ahead of a meeting there of G7 environment ministers on Sunday and Monday.

Police said 3,000 people turned out for the march, while the organisers -- an alliance of around 40 environmental and grass-roots groups -- put the figure at between 4,500 and 5,000.
JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes.

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli forces in the often violent weekly demonstrations at the Gaza-Israel border.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March set off a burst of intense fighting, have been working to prevent any further escalation.

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Al-Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

Some two million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people. Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky. The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities. The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military. Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan. The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. "The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike. "According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel. TRUCE EFFORTS Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo. In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza. Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. "Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts. The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks. "The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza." "The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant. Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
Berlin (AFP) - German police have shut down one of the world's largest illegal online markets in the so-called darkweb and arrested the three men allegedly running it, prosecutors said Friday.

The "Wall Street Market" (WSM) site enabled trade in cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines as well as stolen data, fake documents and malicious software.

The encrypted platform had more than one million customer accounts, over 5,000 registered sellers and more than 60,000 sales offers, according to Frankfurt prosecutors and affidavits filed by US prosecutors in federal court in Los Angeles.

"WSM operated like a conventional e-commerce website, such as eBay and Amazon. However, its sole existence was geared to the trafficking of contraband," US prosecutors said.

Three German administrators of WSM were arrested, while a fourth man -- a Brazilian who acted as an online mediator for the website -- was being pursued in Brazil.

In addition, two people US prosecutors said were top WSM vendors and major drug dealers operating out of Los Angeles were also arrested in an international operation that involved Europol, German and Dutch police and the FBI.

Launched in 2016, WSM grew over the past three years to be the largest darknet site after the 2017 shutdown of the notorious AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces.

The site was accessed through the encrypted Tor network to shield customers from detection and transactions were made with crypto currencies Bitcoin and Monero.

It offered interfaces in six languages -- English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian -- and numerous separate categories for merchandise, including drugs, jewelry, equipment and support for credit card fraud, software and malware, among others.

One vendor category was simply called "fraud," according to the court filings.

Like legal online marketplaces, buyers could search by product, product popularity, vendor ratings, payment type and price.

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The operators allegedly received commissions of two to six percent of the sales value.

The police operation started after Finnish authorities shut down the illegal Tor trade site Silkkitie (Valhalla) earlier this year, said Europol.

This had led some Finnish narcotics traders to move to WSM.

In April, the WSM administrators were apparently alarmed at the sudden surge of customers and, the court documents said, enacted an exit plan that involved freezing the escrow accounts and customer wallets and taking all the virtual currency held in them at the time -- estimated at $11 million.

That spurred investigators to act and on April 23 and 24 they arrested the three German suspects, aged 22 to 31, in the states of Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

They also seized servers, over 550,000 euros (about $600,000) in cash, and hundreds of Bitcoin and Monero, as well as several vehicles and a gun.

In the United States, an investigation in Los Angeles led to the arrests of two of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics, and the seizure of illegal weapons as well as millions of dollars in cash, said German authorities.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) are becoming unelectable after the head of their youth wing JUSOS called for companies such as BMW to be collectively owned, works council chiefs have warned. JUSOS chief Kevin Kuehnert, 29, unleashed a storm of protest, including from party allies, this week when he said that "without collectivization, overcoming capitalism is not thinkable", citing BMW specifically. The uproar took on a new dimension with the publication on Saturday of comments from works council chiefs, traditionally among the party's biggest supporters, who said the SPD was alienating itself from workers. "For workers at German companies, this SPD is no longer electable," Manfred Schoch, head of the general works council at BMW, told WirtschaftsWoche magazine. Works councils are elected bodies dealing with management on issues such as working conditions and are a particular feature of Germany's post-war economic success. Kuehnert's vision for some evokes memories of Communist East Germany. The backlash threatens to further erode support for the SPD, junior partner in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. The SPD is languishing in polls and risks heavy losses in European and regional elections later this month. The party may even lose power in Bremen, a city state they have ruled for 73 years, in a May 26 vote. Kuehnert, who opposed going into coalition with Merkel's conservatives, appeals to those on the left of the party but less so to the centrists and floating voters it needs to increase its overall vote share. Mass-selling daily Bild splashed the backlash on page one of its Saturday edition and quoted the head of Daimler's works council Michael Brecht as saying: "I share the view that it is becoming ever hard for workers to vote for the SPD." Brecht pressed the SPD to work out quickly what it wants to stand for: "For secure jobs and a sustainable industry policy, or for fantasies far from reality that in the end only cost jobs and increase social inequality." Bild also quoted the former head of Porsche's works council, Uwe Hueck, an SPD member since 1982, as saying the party was still electable but adding that Kuehnert's comments were absolute nonsense that could be excused by his age. "If he had witnessed the GDR himself, then he would not say something like that," Hueck said with reference to former Communist East Germany. SPD leader Andrea Nahles told the paper: "Workers can feel assured: The SPD is not demanding nationalization. Every day, we pursue policies for good work, high collective wage agreements and secure pensions - all in line with the works councils." (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by David Holmes)
LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labour's customs union proposal was a long-term solution. "The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered," he told the Press Association news agency. "If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal)." (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
Lizzie Deignan found the going tough on home roads

Lizzie Deignan admitted the conditions on the second and final stage of the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Womens Race had pushed her to the limit.

The Otley-born former world champion was pretty much a spent force after trying to keep track of stage and GC winner Marianne Vos as the race entered a crucial stage.

And she was honest enough to admit the gruelling conditions had left her making the wrong tactical moves when it mattered most.

She said: I probably wasnt in the best tactical moves today but I was on the limit physically so I wasnt making the most intelligent decisions but I had a good race.

Marianne is a phenomenal rider. She was there with me in the breakaway and was probably a lot smarter than I was. She saved herself and wasnt pulling through when we made that first move.

An oil spill before the first climb at Cote de Silpho meant the race was briefly neutralised and the womens peloton were diverted around.

Anna van der Breggen blew the race apart shortly after and after she was reeled back in, Mavia Garcia tried her luck before she was joined by Vos and Italian rider Soraya Paladin.

The trio never really looked like letting anyone else have a look in and finished the stage with a three-up sprint more than a minute ahead of Christine Majerus and Amanda Spratt who battled it out for fourth.

Despite not quite having the legs to be prominent in the finish of either stage former Tour de Yorkshire winner Deignan, racing for the first time in Britain since the birth of her daughter Orla in September, said she was pleased with her progress.

She said: I think my progression has been really good and Im really happy with the team and my personal progress has been good.

My legs were good and then bad and then good. I went through all kinds of emotions. But I think the main point for me was that at the pinch points there on the climbs when it really mattered I was able to follow the best in the world, so I know Ive still got a lot of improvement to make but Im happy with my progress.

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Deignan, who finished the stage three minutes 54 seconds behind Vos, didnt leave the race empty-handed though.

She won the public vote for the grey jersey given to the most active rider.

And the 30-year-old was quick to thank the thousands of fans who braved the horrendous conditions to line the route despite the dreadful weather conditions.

She said: I think the whole womens peloton is incredibly grateful for the support weve received. Its been a real top class race.

Hannah Barnes of Canyon-SRAM was the top-placed Brit in eighth with Biglas Lizzy Banks 20 seconds behind her in ninth.

Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk/tdy
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MyState Limited (ASX:MYS) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 6.8% makes it one of the market's top dividend payer. In the past ten years, MyState has also grown its dividend from A$0.10 to A$0.29. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for MyState for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio.

See our latest analysis for MyState

What Is A Dividend Rock Star?

It is a stock that pays a stable and consistent dividend, having done so reliably for the past decade with the expectation of this continuing into the future. More specifically:

Its annual yield is among the top 25% of dividend payers

It consistently pays out dividend without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout

Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past

It is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings

It is able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future

High Yield And Dependable

The company's dividend yield stands at 6.8%, which is high for Mortgage stocks. But the real reason MyState stands out is because it has a proven track record of continuously paying out this level of dividends, from earnings, to shareholders and can be expected to continue paying in the future. This is a highly desirable trait for a stock holding if you're investor who wants a robust cash inflow from your portfolio over a long period of time.

ASX:MYS Historical Dividend Yield, May 3rd 2019

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. In the case of MYS it has increased its DPS from A$0.10 to A$0.29 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.

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The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 86%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a payout ratio of 88% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 7.1%. In addition to this, EPS should increase to A$0.34.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

Next Steps:

Investors of MyState can continue to expect strong dividends from the stock. With its favorable dividend characteristics, if high income generation is still the goal for your portfolio, then MyState is one worth keeping around. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I've compiled three important aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MYSs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MYSs outlook. Valuation: What is MYS worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MYS is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The uprising marked the first time soldiers had become directly involved in the bid to remove Nicolas Maduro - AFP

Juan Guaido and his advisers were perhaps too impatient in their keenness to force out Nicolas Maduro, according to the only man to have ever ousted the Chavista rulers of Venezuela.

Pedro Carmona, now 77, toppled Hugo Chavez in a 2002 uprising whose anniversary was marked across Venezuela last month. He was sworn in as interim leader inside the Miraflores presidential palace and ruled the country for 48 hours, before supporters in the military rallied round Chavez and restored him to power.

Mr Carmona, in his first ever interview with a British newspaper, said that the uprising launched on Tuesday was disappointing, risky, and should have been better planned.

Five people have been killed in a week of protests, yet Mr Maduro has held on, despite this being Mr Guaido's most serious push to oust him since declaring himself the constitutionally-legitimate interim president on January 23.

Its hard to opine from outside, said Mr Carmona, who has lived in exile in Bogota since his failed rebellion. But it looks like they could have given advance warning of some actions. They could have planned better. It seems like they should have had some more things in place. It was risky.

Mr Guaido released a video on Twitter, calling on more soldiers to join him in Credit: EPA-EFE/REX

Despite its failure, however, it was a stunning gambit on the part of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader. Venezuelans woke up to a dawn video message from Mr Guaido, flanked by dozens of troops, stationed just outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas, announcing the start of "Operation Freedom". By his side stood Leopoldo Lopez, the long time opposition leader, freed from house arrest by members of the state intelligence service, Sebin.

Across Venezuela, protesters heeded Mr Guaido's call, pouring on to the streets. Most of the military, however, heeded Mr Maduro's, and succeeded in putting down the rebellion. But while the state was able to reassert its grip, the fracture within the armed forces was left in evidence; at one point, the gates to the La Carlota base opened, allowing in anti-government protesters.

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While Mr Guaido has since acknowledged that he did not have enough military support for a definitive break, last weeks events saw Mr Maduro come closer to losing his hold on the nation than ever before. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, even said that Mr Maduro had an aeroplane waiting for him on the tarmac, destined for Cuba, but was convinced to hang on by Russian advisers.

Rebelling forces identified themselves with blue armbands Credit: Yuri Cortez/AFP

In Venezuela, its never just the opposition at work  its international geopolitical forces, and armed gangs, Mr Carmona said. Last week the Russian ambassador was acting like a military spokesman, reassuring the nation that everything was fine in the country.

Its a disgrace that the Russian government supports Maduros genocidal regime.

Mr Carmona sees clear parallels with his own attempted uprising 17 years ago, which was preceded by street protests similar to those occurring now. Fourteen people died in the violence and a group of soldiers, angered at the civilian bloodshed, conspired to remove Chavez. Mr Carmona, the president of the chamber of commerce (Fedecamaras), was chosen as interim president.

On April 11, 2002, the military swung into action, and arrested Chavez, taking him to the national army headquarters, Fuerte Tiuna. Chavez accepted an offer of asylum from Fidel Castro, but was prevented from leaving by coup leaders who wanted him tried in Venezuela - a mistake which was to prove fatal to their plot. Pro-Chavez soldiers then came to his defence, and on April 13, at 4:40am, he addressed the nation from inside Miraflores, president once again.

John Bolton pointed to three members of Mr Maduro's inner circle as being involved in the plan to remove him Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX

Recently declassified documents have shown that the US - as well as Spain - were strongly supporting Mr Carmona behind the scenes  he, however, insisted to The Telegraph that he never spoke to any US agent or official either before or during the coup.

This time around, Donald Trump's administration has been open about its role. Speaking amid the uprising, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, claimed Mr Maduro had been betrayed by three of those closest to him: the supreme court president , the head of the presidential guard, and, crucially, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister. The next day, Elliot Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, said that those who had been negotiating Mr Maduro's departure had "switched off their cellphones".

The Sebin intelligence chief, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, was also allegedly on board - and indeed was fired by Mr Maduro the day of the uprising; he himself released a letter admitting knowledge of, if not complicity in, the plot, before apparently fleeing the country.

On Thursday, Mr Maduro addressed troops with Gen. Lopez by his side, insisting he was in control of the military Credit: Jhonn Zerpa/Miraflores Press Office

Gen. Lopez, meanwhile, later appeared to confirm the Americans had contacted him, telling troops on Thursday there were those who approached him with a "ridiculous offer" who then went "shooting their mouths off". Whether he rejected the offer, double-crossed the US or reversed course as failure loomed isn't clear.

Leopoldo Lopez, meanwhile, also claimed on Thursday that senior military figures had committed themselves to ousting Mr Maduro. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he insisted.

Mr Carmona, however, believes the uprising has brought the end of Mr Maduro's reign closer.

Guaido did make advances last week  it wasnt a total failure," he said. "He weakened the resolve of many soldiers. He freed Leopoldo Lopez from house arrest. He reiterated international support. Its a process of steps. Now he is moving to a strike. And history has shown us that dictatorships in Latin America often fall with general strikes.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Southern District of New York Court.

Matthew Herricks high-profile legal case against Grindr had all the ingredients of a salacious story about the unintended victims of the internet until late March, when a federal appeals court ruled against his case proceeding. Although his lawyers are seeking a rehearing, for now its looking like Herrick may never get his day in court, and its business as usual at the gay hookup site that is used by millions of people worldwide.

In a message to Yahoo News, Herrick said he was heartbroken upon learning of the decision.

I find it reprehensible that a company that knew the horror I experienced from their platform for an entire year has no responsibility to step in or take any accountability, Herrick wrote. This wasnt simply harassment. This was a full-fledged attack on my life.

Herrick, an aspiring actor living in New York City, had his life upended when an ex-boyfriend turned to Grindr to torment him between October 2016 and March 2017. The ex set up fake profiles impersonating Herrick, using his photo, allegedly directing would-be hookups to his real address. The profiles were intended to attract men who were into deviant, hard-core sex, and in the profile description were code words for drugs, unprotected sex and bondage. The fake profiles also falsely claimed Herrick was HIV-positive.

What happened from there was described in court papers as a nightmare for Herrick. Strangers would show up at his home and workplace, directed there, he alleges, by Grindrs geolocation features, which allow men to meet other men in their vicinity. Herrick would try to explain to the men that the profiles were impersonations, but because the lewd enticements in the fake profiles included rape fantasies, some of the men thought Herrick was role playing, and refused to leave, aggressively demanding sex, sometimes violently.

Evidence in the Grinder v. Herrick court case. (Photos: Southern District of New York court)

Herricks bitter ex had apparently got what he wanted: revenge. Although the ex was arrested and charged with stalking and other felonies in October 2017 (he remains in custody awaiting trial), Herrick believed that Grindr should also be held responsible for his ordeal. He had complained to the company numerous times, filed more than a dozen police reports and even got a temporary restraining order issued against Grindr, but his complaint says the company failed to take action and the unwanted solicitations continued. Herrick, the complaint said, experienced grave emotional distress and trauma because Grindrs products and services marshaled an endless stream of horny and violent strangers into his life.

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For its part, legal filings by the companys attorneys claim Grindr rigorously worked to try to stop the alleged impersonation...and identified and deleted numerous accounts. But its central defense was that it couldnt be held responsible for content posted on its site by a third party. It was invoking a powerful statute that has long protected online platforms from being sued  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Grindr, like Facebook, Reddit, Yelp or other online platforms that do not produce their own content, are generally immunized from lawsuits such as Herricks. Section 230 was intended to encourage freedom of expression online, but it leaves victims like Herrick without much legal recourse against powerful Internet companies. The dismissal of Herrick v. Grindr by the Second Circuit was yet another affirmation of the laws broad protections for companies like Grindr.

The weaponization of products has become a major issue with no legal recourse to the ones it harms, Herrick wrote in his reply.

Im on a f***ing crusade against Section 230, Carrie Goldberg, Herricks attorney, told Yahoo News. Goldberg is owner of a law firm specializing in defending abuse and harassment victims, and author of the forthcoming book Nobodys Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls.

It was never supposed to give the tech industry blanket immunity for any harm thats caused on their platforms, Goldberg said. I had all this hope, especially with the Second Circuit, that the court could narrow back down the scope of 230.

Goldberg says courts are interpreting the law too broadly and is calling for legislators to scrap the section entirely. And she isnt the only one calling for more scrutiny of a law that has long been considered a bulwark against censorship. Section 230 is being attacked from the left and right sides of the political spectrum, by everyone from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

But as much as Section 230 is under political attack, the Herrick v. Grindr lawsuit shows what an uphill battle victims face in challenging the liability protections in court.

Matthew Herrick. (Photo: Larry Hamilton)

Herricks legal team filed 14 claims against Grinder, claiming that it was legally liable for a defective product design, that it had engaged in false advertising and inflicted emotional distress on Herrick, but virtually none of them stuck. The court ruled that Section 230 barred all the claims, except for the claim of copyright infringement for use of Herricks photograph in the phony profiles.

As Aaron Rubin, co-chair of the Technology Transactions Group at Morrison & Foerster, pointed out in an interview with Yahoo News, courts have shown ambivalence in recent years about Section 230 protections. In one controversial case, Doe v. Internet Brands, the Ninth Circuit found that a company that posted model profiles was not protected by Section 230. A model had posted her profile, and a rapist used the information to lure her and later rape her. The judge found the company could be held liable for failing to warn the model that this could happen.

What was interesting about Herrick v. Grindr is that the Second Circuit didnt go down that rabbit hole. This is a pretty standard Section 230 analysis, says Rubin. Weve seen over the past few years this seesaw back and forth. Herrick and Grindr is another swing in that pendulum.

Powerful tech companies and digital rights groups are lobbying to uphold 230 protections. Following the Herrick v. Grindr decision, the Electronic Frontier Foundation issued a statement praising the courts decision: In a victory for online freedom of expression, the Second Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a dangerous lawsuit that would threaten to undercut what makes the Internet an essential tool for modern life.

After the ruling, Herrick tweeted: We started a conversation. I feel as though we have contributed to something much bigger than just my case. I am proud of our fight. This is a road block, not an ending. I will continue to advocate for reform and justice. One day the courts will have to see the light.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Kyle Hendricks threw a complete-game shutout on 81 pitches to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

Hendricks (2-4) allowed four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter in the opener of the three-game series. It was his third major league shutout and first since a 5-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1, 2016.

The last Chicago pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches was Carlos Zambrano, who beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on 98 pitches on Sept. 25, 2009.

Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer among his three hits for Chicago, which has won five in a row, the past two by shutout.

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty (3-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts and a season-high four walks.

The Cardinals had wrapped up their four-game series at the Washington Nationals on Thursday night after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay. The Cubs had been off since finishing their two-game series at the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Flaherty walked back-to-back batters with one out in the third before Rizzo lifted an 0-1 pitch just inside the right field foul pole for a 3-0 lead.

It was Rizzo's fourth home run in the past five games and the 199th of his major league career.

After striking out in his first three plate appearances, Javier Baez lined an RBI single to right in the seventh to make it 4-0.

Only one batter moved into scoring position off Hendricks, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Cardinals on Sept. 12, 2016.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong led off the third with a single. He was thrown out at second for the second out on a bunt back to the pitcher by Flaherty, who then became the first pitcher in the majors to steal a base this season. Hendricks got Matt Carpenter to ground out to first to end the inning.

--Field Level Media
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Encana Corporation's (TSE:ECA) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Encana has a P/E ratio of 9.89. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Encana

How Do You Calculate Encana's P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Encana:

P/E of 9.89 = $6.51 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD )  $0.66 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Most would be impressed by Encana earnings growth of 17% in the last year. In contrast, EPS has decreased by 9.1%, annually, over 5 years.

Does Encana Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Encana has a lower P/E than the average (16) in the oil and gas industry classification.

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TSX:ECA Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

Encana's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Encana's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Encana's net debt is 81% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On Encana's P/E Ratio

Encana trades on a P/E ratio of 9.9, which is below the CA market average of 14.4. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

But note: Encana may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
WASHINGTON  A key Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says he fully expects the panel to vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over a full, unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

There is a huge groundswell on the committee to move this as quickly as possible next week, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a Friday interview on the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. So I would be startled if we didnt do it next week.

Raskins comments came the same day that committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr one last chance to turn over the full Mueller report  and the underlying evidence used to reach its conclusions  by Monday or face contempt. Nadler, however, softened his demands somewhat, offering to work with the Justice Department to make a joint request to the courts to release grand jury material, one of the main sticking points in the dispute. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who has emerged as one of the leading Democratic voices on the panel, also said that 99.9 percent of the American public would conclude that Barr lied when he answered, No, I dont after being asked by Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., whether he knew what was behind press reports that mentioned members of Muellers staff had objected to the way he described the Russia report in his March 24 letter to Congress clearing the president of any wrongdoing. The question came on April 9, 13 days after Mueller had sent Barr a letter saying that the attorney generals letter did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.

Did he lie? Raskin said. Yeah, he lied. Of course he lied. Now, could he be prosecuted for perjury? Now, certainly the Department of Justice is not going to accept our referral and prosecute the attorney general, so its kind of the same position were in with Trump. We would have to impeach the guy. Could we impeach him? Sure, we could impeach him for perjury.

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On Wednesday, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he took Crists question to mean members of Muellers staff, not Mueller himself. And when he called Mueller after receiving the letter, the special counsel told him that he didnt believe anything he wrote in his letter was inaccurate  and that his beef was really with the press coverage of the letter.

Raskin laid out the likely strategy the committee will pursue against the attorney general: It will vote to hold Barr in civil, rather than criminal, contempt, and then ask a federal judge to hear the case on an expedited basis. That could result in Barr being personally fined if a judge rules in the Houses favor and the Justice Department continues to withhold the full report.

Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News

That move, however, could get bogged down in a protracted legal battle. Raskin acknowledged an alternative route  seeking to hold Barr in criminal contempt  would ultimately not prove fruitful since the Justice Department under Barrs leadership would never prosecute.

Still, Raskin said, he doesnt consider the criminal contempt threat to be pointless.

Its not toothless if you have any shame. Would you like to be held in contempt of Congress? he said. I would consider it, in a democracy, if you have civic self-respect and respect for other people, you would consider it a major shame and stigma for the rest of your life, as I suppose President Clinton carries it as a shame and stigma that he was impeached by the House of Representatives despite the fact that it was a totally tawdry partisan affair.

Asked why it was important for the committee to see the full report, given that most of it including all of Muellers conclusions  has already been publicly released, Raskin pointed to a key sentence about Trumps potential motive for obstructing justice. After saying that Trumps underlying conduct did not show that he was engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the Russians, Mueller added: But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns.

Raskin said that sentence could point to all of the money that came in through laundering schemes with the Russians who bought condo units in Trump Tower and all of the other money which members of the Trump family have bragged about coming from Russians to bankroll them after Trump suffered four bankruptcies, and they said, Oh well well just get all our money from the Russians now. Theyre talking about dirty money that was laundered here, he said.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seeking financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said they needed to intervene in the lawsuit in order to "defend their significant interests in the enforcement of their subpoenas" as part of "investigations on issues of national significance." In a separate filing on Friday, Trump, his children and his company asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos for a preliminary order blocking the banks from responding to the subpoenas while their lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, is pending. They said they will suffer "irreparable harm" without such an order, and that the subpoenas appeared to be intended to expose their confidential financial information "for the sake of exposure." "That purpose is illegitimate and provides no constitutional footing for the subpoenas," they said. Deutsche Bank has long been one of the main banks for Trump's real estate empire. A 2017 financial disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to Deutsche Bank. Democratic lawmakers had asked Capital One's chief executive in March for documents related to potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's hotel in downtown Washington and other business interests. In their lawsuit, Trump, a Republican, and the other plaintiffs accused House leaders of pursuing records for no legitimate or lawful purpose in hopes they would "stumble upon something" they could use as a political weapon against Trump. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on April 15 their panels had issued subpoenas to multiple financial institutions for information on Trump's finances. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January, including possible dealings with Russia, and has said "we're fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House. The White House is also resisting other House subpoenas, including for Trump's personal and business tax returns, and sought to block current and former administration officials from cooperating with House investigators. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Pontianak (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesia began sinking dozens of impounded foreign boats Saturday to deter illegal fishing in its waters, a week after a naval vessel clashed with a Vietnamese coastguard near the South China Sea.

Up to 51 foreign boats -- including from Vietnam, Malaysia and China -- will be scuttled at several different locations over the next two weeks, officials said.

Over a dozen were scuttled Saturday near Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province.

Fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the action was necessary to warn neighbouring countries that Indonesia was serious about fighting illegal fishing.

"There's no other way," she said. "This is actually the most beautiful solution for our nation, but yes, it's scary for other countries."

She said Indonesia suffered great economic loss from lax regulations that gave leeway for foreign boats to fish in Indonesian waters.

Since president Joko Widodo took office in 2014, hundreds of captured foreign fishing vessels have been sunk -- more than half from Vietnam.

The practice was suspended for several months, but has resumed since last week when a Vietnamese coastguard boat rammed an Indonesian navy ship attempting to seize an illegal trawler.

A dozen fishermen were detained and remain in Indonesian custody.

"If we don't act firm, they will be even more daring. I believe these collisions will get worse one day, this will escalate," Pudjiastuti said.

Jakarta claims the area in the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone and two years ago changed its name to the North Natuna Sea in a bid to show sovereignty.

More recently, it inaugurated a new military base in the chain of several hundred small islands to beef up defences. The moves prompted criticism from Beijing, whose claims in the sea overlap Indonesia's around the remote Natuna Islands.

str-dsa\fox
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Cora Gold

Cora Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Paul Quirk for UK125k worth of shares, at about UK0.038 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK0.038. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Cora Gold share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 3.9m shares for a total of UK150k. Cora Gold may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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AIM:CORA Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

Cora Gold 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.

Insiders at Cora Gold Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Cora Gold. Overall, three insiders shelled out US$150k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership of Cora Gold

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 29% of Cora Gold shares, worth about UK742k. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Cora Gold Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Cora Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soliders took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim. (Reporting By Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Additional reporting by the Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Emperor Naruhito urged Japan to work together for world peace as he made his first public appearance Saturday in front of a cheering, flag-waving crowd of tens of thousands.

"I sincerely wish that our country, hand-in-hand with foreign countries, seeks world peace and further development," said the 59-year-old Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Wednesday.

Japan's 126th emperor wore a morning coat to make the brief appearance on a glass-covered balcony of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, along with other adult royals including Empress Masako.

Masako donned an elegant yellow, long-sleeved dress with a matching hat and pearl necklace.

Emperor and empress emeritus, Akihito and Michiko, did not join their children as they have decided to withdraw from official duties after their three-decade reign.

Akihito, 85, was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than two centuries.

The royal family were scheduled to make a total of six appearances throughout the day, with some 50,000 people gathered before the main gate of the palace before the first one, according to national broadcaster NHK.

More elaborate festivities are planned for October 22 when he and Masako will appear in traditional robes for a palace ceremony before parading through the streets of Tokyo to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals.
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space Saturday, making it the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company's test site in the town of Taiki on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido and flew about 10 minutes.

"We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching the space," Interstellar Technologies CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference from Hokkaido.

The rocket, about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in diameter, weighs about 1 ton. It is capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 20 kilograms (44 pounds) but currently lacks an ability to send them into orbit.

The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, who was a former Livedoor Co. President, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites into space. Horie expressed high expectations for his new business.

"I'm hoping that many manufacturers and satellite makers will come here to join us," he said.

The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by U.S. startups such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Saturday's success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times EDT):

9 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is making his foreign policy experience a primary selling point to top donors to his presidential campaign.

At a private fundraiser Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Biden told several dozen donors that "at least 14 world leaders" have called him during President Donald Trump's tenure expressing unease.

Biden said British Prime Minister Theresa May asked him directly for reassurance that the U.S. and the United Kingdom "still have a special relationship."

Biden said the U.S. under Trump "is about to squander alliances" built over generations. He noted that he's "spent my entire adult life" in foreign affairs, first with 36 years in the Senate then eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden told donors he doesn't believe he's the only Democrat who can beat Trump. But he said he can beat Trump and then "on Day One" be ready to serve as head of state and lead post-Trump world affairs.

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8:15 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is telling donors in South Carolina that he knows President Donald Trump is "going to go after me and my family" in the 2020 presidential race.

Biden said he will answer Trump "directly" in the future without name-calling. He recalled saying in 2016 that in high school he'd have fought Trump. "Guess what? I probably shouldn't have done that," Biden said. "The presidency is an office that requires dignity and reestablishing respect and standing." Biden said he doesn't want to give the president the "mud-wrestling match" that Biden believes Trump wants.

There "are so many nicknames I want to give this guy," and he drew laughter when he joked that he'd "start with clown."

"The only place he has any confidence is in the mud," Biden said, because the president "doesn't understand how to respond to issues."

Story continues

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6:30 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says one area in which he doesn't fault President Donald Trump is his handling of North Korea.

The independent senator from Vermont tells ABC's "This Week" that Trump's face-to-face meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un "is the right thing to do."

Sanders says North Korea is "a threat to the planet" and that the U.S. has to do everything possible to have China and others in the region put pressure on the North and "make it clear that they cannot continue to act this way."

South Korean officials say North Korea fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Saturday. The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown between the U.S. and the North.

"This Week" airs Sunday morning.

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5:40 p.m.

Joe Biden is suggesting any adult American should have the option to buy "Medicare-like" insurance as part of expanding health-care access in the U.S.

The former vice president made his pitch for a so-called "public option" during his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other Democratic presidential hopefuls back a single-payer health insurance commonly referred to as "Medicare-for-all."

What Biden pitches is adding a government-run insurance program like Medicare and Medicaid to the insurance exchanges that were created by the Affordable Care Act that was enacted when Biden was vice president.

Exchanges now sell private insurance policies to individuals who don't otherwise have access to coverage. Biden says even workers with access to employer-based plans should be able to buy a public plan.

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5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. "You see it," he said Saturday. "You got Jim Crow sneaking back in."

The former vice president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be "aggressive in making sure it doesn't happen." Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target "mostly ... people of color."

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the South's first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Biden's son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. "Joe and I love South Carolina," she said.

The former vice president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Biden's first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesn't endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Biden's event, but Biden noted one of Clyburn's daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains "at risk" for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump "puts us squarely in trouble" with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Mueller's report "demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

She says Trump then "turns around two weeks later and says 'we're all good on this'? We're not all good on this."

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of "tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia."

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, "then I need to buy more ammunition."

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, "When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesn't just save ammunition. It saves American lives."

Under his presidency, Moulton said, "we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department."

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsel's report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didn't warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. "What I would say when I'm president to Vladimir Putin is that we've got your number, I've got the FBI after you, I've got the CIA looking at all of this, I've figured out what you guys are up to and we're going to protect our elections and we're going to put increasing sanctions on against you."

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators haven't been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as "the witness we need to go after Russia so that they don't attack our elections again."

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke says the legacies of "slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression" are "alive and well" today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. He's spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says "the work is far from over."

He's previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

O'Rourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
Marseille (AFP) - Investigators in southeast France have seized a white tiger cub at the home of a suspected exotic animal trafficker, while pythons and endangered marsupials were found at his mother's house, a police source said Saturday.

Members of the public health agency OCLAESP were recently informed of the illegal sale of lemurs and their investigations led them to the suspect's premises.

The arrested man is believed to have cashed the sum of 17,000 euros ($19,000) "but had not yet handed the small primates from Madagascar to the buyer," the French police said in a statement.

A raid on his home uncovered the white tiger cub, while a simultaneous operation at the home of the suspect's mother in northeast France uncovered four sugar gliders -- small, nocturnal marsupials native to part of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea -- as well as nine snakes including two royal pythons.

Appearing before a judge, the arrested man was immediately jailed for eight months in connection with an earlier fraud case.

Illegal trafficking in wild animals is punishable in France by a year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.

The baby tiger, now called Hermes, was taken to the Barben zoo in southeast France.

White tigers are not a separate subspecies. The white fur is a rare genetic mutation which is mainly seen among animals inbred in captivity.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  A man who was one half of the first gay couple to attend a high school prom says he didn't expect to become entrenched in LGBTQ rights history and that he looks back on the event in South Dakota 40 years later as "just a moment."

Grady Quinn was 20 when he attended the Lincoln High School prom in Sioux Falls with 17-year-old Randy Rohl.

The May 23, 1979, event drew news media from across the country, and it's still commemorated in Sioux Falls today. But Rohl told the Associated Press at the time that he didn't think they were "more worthy of special attention" than any other couple.

Quinn echoes the same sentiment now, the Argus Leader reported.

He said he's glad the prom happened, but he didn't think at the time that they might be making a historical stand for LGBTQ rights. Quinn said "it was just us being real and being who we are."

The Sioux Falls newspaper first wrote about the story on May 11, 1979, saying that Lincoln High School had approved a request from an unidentified high school senior to take his boyfriend to the prom. Later stories clarified that the two weren't romantically involved.

Apart from the attention and news coverage, the night ended up being an average high school prom.

The Washington Post wrote several days later that the only special treatment that Rohl and Quinn received "was a lot of room on the dance floor."

Rebuffing suggestions from acquaintances in the years that followed that he could somehow capitalize on the event, Quinn told them: "What? No. It's part of my life. It was just a moment."

The two drifted from the public eye after the prom, eventually losing touch after they both moved away from Sioux Falls.

Quinn said he later learned that Rohl had died of AIDS in 1993.

"It hit kind of hard," Quinn said. "I lost a lot of good friends in that era. It was sad to learn that was what got him."

Story continues

Sioux Falls Pride hosts an annual event named after Rohl. The Randy Rohl Youth Prom is held for LGBTQ and allied youth who aren't permitted to bring their partner to prom, or who would feel unsafe doing so.

Quinn Kathner, president of Sioux Falls Pride, said she doesn't think many Sioux Falls residents know about this part of the city's history.

"It transcends," Kathner said. "The message transcends whether it was 40 years ago or today."

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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
Presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was heckled by several anti-gay protesters at a campaign event in Dallas on Friday night.

Buttigieg, the first openly gay man to run for President, was speaking at an event hosted by the Dallas County Democratic Party when he was interrupted by multiple hecklers, shouting calls such as Marriage is between a man and a woman! and Repent, according to CNNs DJ Judd.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

As the hecklers were escorted out of the event, Buttigieg acknowledged to the crowd that he had fought for their right to protest, according to journalist Marcus DiPaola. Buttigieg was deployed to Afghanistan for six months on active duty as a navy officer.

A woman, who event staff said did not have a ticket, was also escorted out of the venue after crying out anti-abortion comments, according to a video tweeted by Judd.

Anti-gay protester Randall Terry is back and yelling at @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/SBwjP8ocTZ  Marcus DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) May 4, 2019

Buttigieg has been openly gay since 2015, when he published an op-ed about his identity in the South Bend Tribune. He married his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, last year.

Story continues

After the event, presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke defended Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred, ORourke wrote. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon. https://t.co/IhRDtIBREb  Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) May 4, 2019

Both Buttigieg and ORourke are considered to be serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. The most recent Quinnipiac poll, from April 30, said that Buttigieg is ranking fourth among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with 10% of the polls (behind Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders). ORourke ranked sixth, with 5% of the vote.

Buttigieg told TIME earlier this year that his observation of homophobic behavior has convinced him that people can change and earn forgiveness.

This idea that we just sort people into baskets of good and evil ignores the central fact of human existence, which is that each of us is a basket of good and evil, said Buttigieg, The job of politics is to summon the good and beat back the evil.

Correction, May 4: The original version of this story misstated the results of the April 30 Quinnipiac poll. Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders polled ahead of Pete Buttigieg.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - One member of Mexico's navy was killed and three were injured on Saturday when they came under fire while patrolling a section of state-run oil firm Pemex's frequently plundered pipelines, the country's naval secretary said. Members of the navy were monitoring part of the Tuxpan-Azcapotzalco pipeline, which runs from the southeastern state of Veracruz to Mexico City, the navy secretary said in a statement, without saying exactly where the attack took place. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to crack down on the country's rampant fuel theft, which cost Pemex an estimated $3 billion last year alone. "Groups dedicated to fuel theft have increased the level of aggression against the staff of this institution," the navy secretary said. "The navy secretary of Mexico rejects these actions and reaffirms its commitment to act firmly in defense of the peace of Mexico." (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Julia Love; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
New York (AFP) - As scandals under the Donald Trump administration offer a steady stream of fodder for satirists and comedy show hosts, now the world of musical theater is taking a stab at lampooning the White House.

This weekend a New York take on "The Mikado" -- a 19th century comic operetta originally intended to satirize British politics through Japanese imagery -- sees its characters take on decidedly Trumpian airs.

Ben Spierman's revamp of the Victorian musical in which a clownish despot rules over his juvenile population is an attempt, he says, to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"For me 'The Mikado' is a perfect example," Spierman, the director of the Bronx Opera, told AFP.

"The politics and the reality of the fact that we have corruption, and that we have unqualified people in jobs or whatever, nepotism: these things have not changed."

Performed this week as part of New York's Opera Fest, the themes of the piece originally staged in smog-choked 1880s London by dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan resonate "almost too well," says Spierman.

"We're in a time that's shadowed not just by this person, by Trump himself, but by 'Trumpism' -- by this kind of cultural battle that we're having," he added.

Spierman's production, set in the White House press room, doesn't match characters one-to-one with members of the US president's administration, instead weaving elements of real-life personalities into the show.

The likenesses of Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are featured alongside elements of former chief strategist Steve Bannon, senior advisor Stephen Miller and press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Another character evokes the personalities of Hillary Clinton and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren -- a champion of progressive causes in the US -- while the titular Mikado himself recalls none other than Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Trump himself is an overarching presence rather than a specific character, with all of the players in the comic romp inhabiting aspects of his persona.

"To put Gilbert's words, or even the adapted words of Gilbert, into the mouth of Donald Trump just didn't make any sense to me," Spierman said. "He's just not that clever with the language."

- Art as critical vanguard -

Opera has long been a potent medium for provocative takes on the contemporary moment, according to Spierman -- one that can make audiences laugh before encouraging more sober reflection on the state of our times.

"I think that one of the things we have in this country which is important to remember is that we are allowed to poke fun at the president," he said.

"It's important that we use that right, because if you don't... you lose that. It's important to be aware that yes, we've just laughed, but we also need to understand the serious issues that underlie what you just saw on the stage."

Spierman continues to update the script as events unfold at the White House, and even squeezed in some tweaks when the infamous Mueller report into Russian interference in US democracy came out last month.

"We all as artists have to be aware of what's going on; I think that part of our job is to be the vanguard in some ways of political criticism."

At one moment in 'The Mikado' a character presented as a female challenger to authority describes herself "an acquired taste," Spierman's nod to the double standards in contemporary coverage of male leaders and their female counterparts.

"I really think that is very telling, when it comes to talking about how strong women are looked at in our political discourse," he said.

- From footnote to chapter -

Considered a classic of British musical theater, "The Mikado" is no stranger to controversy: modern critics have skewered it not for its political commentary but for what they dub casual racism.

Many point to the traditional production's setting in Japan that includes excessive bowing by white actors, who sing in pinched voices while wearing yellow-tinted makeup.

The Bronx Opera's revamped version eschews those ingredients, aiming instead to "focus people on the fact that it is ultimately about the political state," Spierman said.

Actresses on his stage sport the business casual pantsuits quintessential to the halls and corridors of Washington's great institutions while several of the men don excessively long red ties, a clear visual nod to Trump.

Twitter also features strongly in the show, whether via a series of Trump tweets or allusions in the libretto to direct messages between characters.

For now, the production is running solely as part of the city's annual Opera Fest -- a bid to bring shows to a wide audience and highlight the diversity of New York's contemporary opera scene -- but Spierman sees it as fitting into a broader narrative of the Trump presidency.

"He's just a fact of history," the director said. "That's what happened when he was elected president -- he went from being a footnote to a chapter."

Though he is satirizing the 45th US president's term, for Spierman it remains to be seen whether Trump is comedy or a tragedy: "I think we're not at the end of the show yet."
ABC News(CARACAS, Venezuela) -- Two days after violent clashes ended in Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido said that although the protests did not end President Nicolas Maduros usurpation, those who stood in opposition had still made progress.



Guaido called on supporters to rally in a video on Tuesday, saying that their push to oust Maduro had reached its final phase and that they had obtained the support of some of the embattled presidents key aides. Three senior aides in particular were believed to be ready to declare their allegiance to the constitution, according to U.S. officials. However, that failed to materialize.



In an interview with ABC News, Guaido said that although Maduros senior aides did not defect, there are fractures in the military and government, and pointed to Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the head of the countrys SEBIN intelligence agency.



The very director of intelligence under Maduro, who used to be Chavezs guy for 12 years is against whats happening now, Guaido told ABC News. And its not like hes on my side necessarily, but on the side of the constitution.



Guaido said that hes open to evaluating all our options in order to return the country to stability and governability. He noted that Cuba is already helping the opposition with counterintelligence against Venezuelan soldiers. But he also emphasized that any transition should be done peacefully and with as little violence as possible.



Weve built the majority, we have manifested our discontent, we have achieved getting a hold of Parliament, we have succeeded in getting support from the armed forces, said Guaido, noting that theres been a lot of sacrifice too.



After just this weeks protests, at least four people had died and 239 were injured, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a human rights group, told ABC News on Thursday.



Maduro, who has faced months of protests over the countrys economic collapse and his consolidation of power, made a show of force on Thursday when he appeared on state TV and again derided what he has called a U.S.-backed coup and vowed to combat traitors.



Something good came from evil, which is loyalty, in full combat, Maduro said. The time has come to defend peace.



Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, was sworn in as interim president by that body in January. He was immediately recognized by the U.S. and, ultimately, 53 other countries as the legitimate leader.



Guaido said the best options so far are to end Maduros usurpation, to establish a transitional government and to hold free elections all within our constitution.



Those who are on the side of the constitution, on the side of the Venezuelan people...we would be willing to talk to all of them, Guaido said. We expect that...theyre still in a phase of rumors and doubt among themselves while we are very clear in our objective, our way, our direction, and we would like for there to be many more of them to guarantee a democratic and peaceful transition in Venezuela.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Kinshasa (AFP) - More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organization had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

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Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began. Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

- 'Deeply worrying' -

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."

The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert. This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."

In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

burs-jah/qan
415 N.W. Ninth St.| Photos: Padmapper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Overtown are hovering around $1,500, compared to a $1,900 one-bedroom median for Miami as a whole.

But how does the low-end pricing on an Overtown rental look these days  and what might you get for the price?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is extremely walkable, is convenient for biking and has excellent transit.

Read on for the cheapest listings available right now. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1720 N.W. First Place

Listed at $800/month, this 391-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom, located at 1720 N.W. First Place, is 46.7 percent less than the $1,500/month median rent for a one bedroom in Overtown.

The building boasts on-site management. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Pet owners, rejoice: cats and small dogs are allowed, according to the company's website. An application fee of $20 and a security deposit of $1,600 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

415 N.W. Ninth St.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 415 N.W. Ninth St., is listed for $850/month for its 472 square feet of space.

In the unit, look for hardwood floors and in-unit laundry. Cats and dogs are not permitted. A $20 application fee and security deposit of $1,500 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

1533 N.W. Second Ave.

Then there's this 600-square-foot at 1533 N.W. Second Ave., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, look for in-unit laundry and hardwood floors. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are allowed. The building boasts assigned parking and on-site management. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

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(See the listing here.)

219 N.W. 10th St.

Check out this 408-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 219 N.W. 10th St., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, you'll find ceramic tile floors. The building offers assigned parking and on-site management. Pet owners, you're in luck: furry companions are allowed on this property. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Here's the listing.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A year ago at the UnitedHealth Group offices at 1 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, Wali Omarkheil, a 43-year-old regional marketing director, gathered with five of his colleagues to meet their new supervisor, Josiane Peluso.

But before Peluso even introduced herself to her new team, she complained to the group about the new strict security in the building.

Its because of all the darn terrorists we have in this country, she said as she made eye contact with Omarkheil. She didnt look at anyone else, he said. Suddenly, he felt the rest of the staff turn their heads and stare at him, too.

Omarkheil brushed it off as a coincidence. I remember thinking, I hope she didnt mean what she said, he told HuffPost.

But it turns out she did mean it, according to Omarkheil. Within six months of their first meeting, Omarkheil, who had put in nearly 12 happy years at UnitedHealth, was out of a job. He was fired.

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January against UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the individual supervisors involved, Omarkheil detailed the abuse he faced under Peluso, as well as the lack of proper recourse by her manager, David Willhoft, and the human resources representative assigned to handle his case, Jennifer St. George.

He alleged that Peluso frequently made comments about his Muslim faith when it had no relevance to his work, pressured him to work on weekends during the holy month of Ramadan when he was fasting and berated him for using his lunch break to attend Friday prayers. Just weeks after Omarkhail issued a complaint with human resources which was escalated to Willhoft, UnitedHealths Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he was terminated without warning.

There is little data that tracks anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace. But Muslims across the country have complained of bias during interviews, targeted harassment during employment, and, like Omarkheils case, unlawful termination.

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Over 24,000 anti-Muslim allegations have been brought to the EEOC since 2000. Over 1,300 cases were brought in 2019 alone. The EEOC saw the highest numbers of complaints in 2016 with over 2,500 cases. Half of those total allegations were complaints regarding unfair discharge.

In 2018, the Council on American Islamic Relations received more than 228 cases of employment discrimination nationwide, compared to 225 cases in 2017.

Muslims are also less likely to get hired when their social media profiles mentioned their faith compared to their Christian counterparts, according to a 2013 Carnegie Mellon study. Even after being hired, Muslims still faced high levels of discrimination. In November 2018, a group of Somali Muslims in Minnesota forced Amazon to negotiate better treatment for its workers, including the right to pray during breaks. In 2016, the New York City Police Department allowed for Muslims and Sikhs to grow out their beards for religious reasons.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, whether its firing an employee or a refusal to accommodate an employees religious garb such as the hijab or holiday schedule.

Civil rights law generally requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices of their workers and that doesnt always happen in practice, Daniel Mach, the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion & Belief, told HuffPost.

Omarkheil says that for several months, Peluso verbally abused him and used hostile comments about his faith. Once he sought help from human resources about the rising workplace discrimination, the targeted harassment intensified. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

After that initial meeting with his new boss, Omarkheil dismissed the incident as a one-off misunderstanding. The next day, Omarkheil had a one-on-one meeting with his new manager to discuss work goals and team expectations. He had hoped the meeting would start them off on the right foot. But Peluso didnt discuss any of that during the meeting, instead, she wanted to discuss Omarkheils Muslim faith.

Before we can start our one-on-one meeting, I want you to know that I am a Christian and I take my religion seriously, Peluso allegedly told Omarkheil, according to the lawsuit. I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

Omarkheil was first hired to be a sales rep for UnitedHealth in 2007, after being aggressively recruited. It didnt take much for him to decide to take the job. He knew this was where he wanted to work and grow  he even hoped to retire there someday.

For the next 12 years he soared at the company. He hopped from promotion to promotion, moving up from sales representative to supervisor to regional marketing director, where he oversaw a team of over 50 sales associates and five supervisors. According to the lawsuit, he increased the companys Brooklyn membership by more than half, from 130,000 members to 200,000 members, and even opened a new storefront in downtown Brooklyn.

Omarkheil, who immigrated from Afghanistan when he was just 11 years old, embodied the quintessential American dream. But none of that would matter when he was assigned a new supervisor in 2018.

Over the next 5 months working under Peluso, his situation significantly worsened, as the level of harassment increasingly became more aggressive.

Omarkheils team was spread across five boroughs of New York City and Long Island, requiring him to commute between offices every day. Peluso would call Omarkheil three to four times a day, according to the lawsuit, asking him to prove his whereabouts at any given time. She didnt trust Omarkheil to be where he said he was going to be, Omarkheil said. On multiple occasions, she asked him to pass the phone to a co-worker nearby to confirm that he was indeed where he said he was.

Peluso would call Omarkheil repeatedly when he attended Friday prayers. Every week Omarkheil attended a service, also known as Jummah, where Muslims go to a mosque for congregational prayers.

For years, Omarkheil attended the prayers during his lunch break, since the service usually began around noon, without any problems. His previous managers were accommodating, he said. But Peluso repeatedly called during this time and made anti-Muslim remarks about his choice to attend prayers.

Oh, you do that? she would sarcastically ask him despite the fact he told her he attended prayers every week.

If he didnt pick up, she would admonish him. Omarkheil says he was clear about when and where he was going to be, but every week she continued to harass him during his time at prayer.

My previous managers had no issues with it. But she was disrespectful to it from the beginning, he said.

Omarkheil believed he was being harassed by Peluso because of his faith. He began to take notes after every incident, according to documents reviewed by HuffPost. Two of Omarkheils former colleagues, who asked for anonymity because they are still employed by UnitedHealth Group and they fear retaliation by the company, told HuffPost they either witnessed or discussed Pelusos harassment with Omarkheil.

The Targeted Harassment Intensifies

Peluso gave Omarkheil menial tasks not normally required by managers, such as pitching tents for work events and delivering flowers. During a midday meeting with a client, who happened to be a friend of Peluso, the client and Peluso began drinking alcohol. When Omarkheil asked to excuse himself from the the rest of the meeting, Peluso demanded he stay. You dont drink because youre Muslim so you can start taking notes for me, she said, according to the lawsuit.

For several months, Peluso verbally abused Omarkheil and made hostile comments about his faith. Whenever he was unavailable to take her phone call, Peluso said, Let me guess, you were at prayers again? She would perceive Omarkheils religious commitment as laziness and treated him as though he was a delinquent, according to the lawsuit.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. Instead, he worked late nights and felt obligated to take on weekend events during the long summer days.

I felt scared of her. I thought she was coming after my work. I thought, I gotta do everything that she was asking of me. I started going to events on weekends and it was very, very tough. Hot weather, no water no food and Im out there and Im sending her pictures [to prove that] Im here, he told HuffPost.

But nothing seemed to appease her, he said. Instead, the abuse escalated. She started to berate him in front of other UnitedHealth employees and embarrassed him in front of his clients. During a June incident detailed in the lawsuit, Peluso scolded Omarkheil in a phone call, which he had on speakerphone, for hanging out around the Muslim/Arab community way too much.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Trying To Do It The Right Way

The next day, on June 13, 2018, Omarkheil wrote a letter to UnitedHealth Groups Human Resources department, which HuffPost has reviewed. He voiced his concern to the HR representative that he was particularly worried that speaking out could result in retaliation, but the representative reassured him not to worry.

But days after Omarkheil wrote to HR, Peluso informed him that he would not be receiving his quarterly bonus due to poor performance, which Omarkheil disputed. His numbers were strong, he said. HuffPost has reviewed a number of Omarkheils performance reviews which indicated he had consistently met or exceeded work expectations.

The following week, Omarkheil was instructed by HR to meet with Pelusos manager, David Willhoft. When he did, Willhoft told him if he was unhappy he could always find work elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. He was also advised that he address his concerns directly with his manager and not with human resources.

Laszlo Bock is the chief executive officer and co-founder at Humu.com, a technology company based in Mountain View, California, that uses behavioral sciences and artificial intelligence to help organizations improve their work culture.

Bock said instructing an employee to go above their own manager could invite conflict from ones immediate manager and may escalate a situation.

The former senior vice president of People Operations at Google said most HR departments are pretty forward-thinking in terms of a social justice perspective and want to do the right thing.

He said when it came to allegations of discrimination, it was imperative for HR representatives to address the situation carefully and in full transparency. For starters, when an allegation like Omarkheils is raised, he said HRs default presumption should be that the victim is being truthful.

If somebody raises a complaint of discrimination, you start from a bias of believing that person, said Bock. It doesnt feel good to make a complaint like this. [That person has] typically been second-guessing [themselves] this whole time.

Large companies, Bock said, should employ several best practices in situations like this one. He said that they should conduct a thorough investigation and know that an investigation will make all parties in the conflict uncomfortable. Do get all the facts, he said, and do conduct interviews with other people beyond those directly involved. But, he warns, dont drag out the process. Dont ask the junior employee to conduct the investigation themselves. Do provide a path for redemption, he added, but if warranted, dont shy away from firing people.

Back at UnitedHealth, Omarkheil followed the instructions by his HR representative Jennifer St, George, and detailed his concerns in an email to Peluso, despite his extreme discomfort registering his complaint and discussing it without St. George present. He wrote that it was clear he was treated different and that he did not want to be harassed anymore for anything including my beliefs or cultural background. Omarkheil told his manager that he felt embarrassed, demoralized and degraded as a result and requested a meeting with her to settle the matter.

Instead what followed was a series of emails and meetings between Omarkheil, Peluso and Willhoft, none that brought any resolve. He attempted to go back to the human resources department but each time he was pointed back to Peluso or her manager. He was stuck in a bureaucratic circle.

A company like UnitedHealth, who the public trusts [with] their families healthcare coverage, and these are people from every type of community, its incumbent on them that they must show that theyre dedicated to servicing everyone and that theyre going to treat people, including their employees, equally, regardless of their background. said Lawrence Pearson, partner at Wigdor LLP, an employment litigation law firm based in New York City representing Omarkheil.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group told HuffPost the company could not comment on specific matters that are in ligation, but it took such allegations seriously and that the company remained committed to inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and continuing to meet the needs of the multicultural clients, communities and individuals we serve.

Peter Romer-Friedman is a workers rights attorney at Outten & Golden LLP based in Washington, D.C., where he litigates and supervises employment discrimination cases.

Romer-Friedman said Omarkheil case is a clear cut case of discrimination and retaliation and pointed to the very brief time period between when the complaint was filed to Omarkheils termination as one of the main indicators.

It also appears to be a strong discrimination case, because even though most of the evidence of discrimination would be considered circumstantial, there is such strong evidence here that the person who is directly involved in Omarkheils termination harbored animus against Muslims and crossed some real lines in harassing this man when he was trying to exercise his religion outside of the workplace.

Two months after initiating a formal complaint with HR, Omarkheil went into work when he noticed he couldnt access his email. Once at the office, he was brought into a meeting with Peluso and Willhoft. There was no one from the Human Resources present at the meeting. He was told then that his position was being eliminated and he was terminated effective immediately.

The term at-will employment refers to the U.S. labor law in which an employee can be let go by an employer without establishing a reason, so long as it is not illegal. Romer-Friedman, who previously taught civil rights law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, however noted that the civil right laws overrules the at-will employment rule, including in Omarkheils case.

Just invoking the discretion to fire someone doesnt bar the person from making a claim for discrimination. Even if someone is a lousy employee, if the real reason you fire the person is motivated by bias, then its discrimination full-stop, Romer-Friedman told HuffPost.

A lawyer representing Peluso, Willhoft and St. George did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

I was completely shocked. I have kids. I have a family. I have bills. Suddenly everything is going through your mind. [I thought] how am I going to survive this? said Omarkheil. It was a tough process. I really didnt know what to do because I was there for over 11 years, with a really good record.

Omarkheil and his daughters in their home. He is worried he might have to sell his home if he doesnt find work soon. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Two UnitedHealth staff members who spoke anonymously told HuffPost that Omarkheils position was in fact never eliminated instead another employee was designated to take his place and now oversees his team.

United Healthcare did not respond to HuffPosts questions confirming or denying what actually occurred to Omarkheils position.

It was only after the lawsuit was filed, UnitedHealth revealed to Omarkheil that he had signed documents during his employment that required his claims to be arbitrated and not heard in court. With his case now in arbitration, a widely criticized behind closed door process required by private companies including UnitedHealth meant to resolve legal matters outside the court system, Omarkheil and his lawyers withdrew his case from court.

Romer-Friedman, who is critical of cases being taken into arbitration, explained during the process the employer has the upper hand. For example, the panel selected to mitigate the issue is often selected by the employer.

Arbitration is not transparent, Romer-Friedman said. It denies the worker often the opportunity often to tell his or her story which impacts the ability of other people to learn about these problems at a company.

For the past nine months, Omarkheil has been looking for work, and hasnt found anything yet. With a wife and three daughters to support, Omarkheil says he will be forced to sell his home if something doesnt turn up soon. An Afghan native who immigrated to the United States in 1985, Omarkheil calls himself a New Yorker through and through, with the accent to prove it.

All these years you work hard and youre left with nothing, Omarkheil told HuffPost. At the end of the day, it had nothing to do with my performance. It had nothing to do with anything that I was doing wrong. It was just who I was. I didnt think we would part ways this way. I never saw the ugly side until now.
SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analyzing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)
* North Macedonia holds presidential election run-off

* Country's name change has dominated campaigning

* Ruling coalition candidate seen winning vote

* Low turnout could invalidate vote, force fresh election

*

By Ivana Sekularac and Kole Casule

SKOPJE, May 5 (Reuters) - Voters in North Macedonia will elect a new president on Sunday in a run-off vote dominated by deep divisions over a change in the country's name agreed with Greece that has opened the path to NATO and European Union membership.

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for the presidential election, when about 1.8 million voters will choose between two candidates who got through to the second round.

The ruling coalition's candidate, a long-serving public official and academic, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova came neck-and-neck in the first round two weeks ago.

In the run-off, political analysts give the advantage to Pendarovski, who is expected to win support from voters of the second largest Albanian party whose candidate Blerim Reka came third in the first round.

"We are half way to full NATO membership, and in two months we expect a date to begin membership talks with the EU," Pendarovski told supporters at a rally.

"After 10 years Macedonia deserves to have a president who will speed up every positive government policy."

Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change accord but is also pro-EU. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

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The refusal of outgoing President Gjeorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language -- 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia.

THREAT OF LOW TURNOUT

The main concern is that if voter turnout falls below 40 percent in the second round the election will be declared invalid. In that case, the speaker of parliament would become interim president and new elections would have to be held.

"The ruling coalition voters are disappointed with the pace of reforms, while opposition supporters see that their candidate is not set to win, so many people are likely to stay at home," said Petar Arsovski, an analyst.

Turnout in the first round of voting was 41.6 percent.

Some opponents of the name change planned to boycott Sunday's vote.

"Vote? Why? Voting means Im giving legitimacy to the name change. No thanks," said Dejan Temelkovski, 47, a dentist.

"By not choosing a president we are sending a message to all politicians that it is enough."

Polling stations will be open until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), with the first preliminary results due two hours later. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac Editing by Gareth Jones)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes.

"I will never hesitate even for a second to fly on a 737 MAX," he said in response to a question from AFP on the sidelines of the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha.

While Buffett, the world's third-richest man, owns stakes in several of the most prestigious American companies -- from Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs to Apple and, recently, Amazon -- he holds no shares in Boeing, though he has invested in airlines.

Buffett was responding to a question about the damage to Boeing's reputation after 737 MAX planes were involved in two fatal crashes that left a total of nearly 350 people dead in a span of less than five months.

Boeing's entire 737 MAX fleet has been grounded since shortly after the latest crash in March, while investigators study the incidents and engineers work on solutions.

Another Boeing plane -- a 737 model that preceded the MAX line -- was involved in a rough landing late Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, when it skidded off a runway and into a river, but without causing any serious injuries.

"Planes have never been so safe," Buffett said, even as he encouraged Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to always make safety a priority.
Tripoli (AFP) - At least nine people were killed Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group targeting forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar in southern Libya, officials said.

IS fighters, "backed by criminal groups and mercenaries", launched a dawn assault on a military training camp in the southern city of Sebha, which is controlled by Haftar's forces, the city's mayor Hamed al-Khayali told AFP.

"The attack left nine dead ... some of whom had their throats slit and others who were shot dead," he said.

A spokesman for the Sebha Medical Centre confirmed it had received nine dead bodies.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through social media, saying it had targeted "Haftar's heretical militia" and freed prisoners held on the base.

Sebha is controlled by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which opposes the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

A power struggle between the unity government and Haftar -- who has over the last month launched an offensive against Tripoli and forces loyal to the GNA -- has left the country's vast desert south a lawless no-man's land.

The rugged territory, which shares borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan, has become a haven for jihadists and other armed groups.

In a statement, the GNA said Haftar shouldered "direct responsibility for the reemergence of the Islamic State organisation; for (its) terrorist activities and its return to the scene... after the GNA had been successful... in destroying" the jihadist group.

"Ever since the offensive against Tripoli, we have warned that the only beneficiaries... are the terrorist groups and that what is happening will offer them a fertile ground to restart their activities".

Meanwhile the UN's mission in Libya, UNSMIL, said on Twitter it "strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sebha, which was claimed by (IS) and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties."

"Perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," UNSMIL added.

Ahead of its assault on pro-GNA forces on the edge of Tripoli, the LNA in mid-January announced the start of an offensive intended to "purge the south of terrorists and criminal groups", including rebels from Chad.
Beirut (AFP) - At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.
London (AFP) - The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

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"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

- 'Royally screwed': Williamson -

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself."

He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
WASHINGTON  North Korea fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the defiant nation's first launch in more than a year and possibly re-stirring tensions with the U.S.

Both the White House and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches. South Korean media reported the missiles were fired about 9 a.m. local time Saturday from the city of Wonsan. The missiles flew about 125 miles in the direction of the ocean before landing in the water, the joint chiefs said.

Officials are analyzing the situation and details surrounding the type of missiles that were launched, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said late Friday that the White House was "aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The launch comes less than three months since President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi to negotiate denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The summit, which was the second held between the leaders, ended without any agreement on denuclearization or sanction relief.

The launch would not violate Kims self-imposed testing moratorium, which prevented the country from testing intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But the news is sure to raise tensions between North Korea and the U.S. and is the first missile launch since the North's November 2017 test of an ICBM.

In March, after North Korean officials threatened to resume testing missiles, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Kim had promised Trump that such tests would not happen.

"In Hanoi, on multiple occasions, he spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing nor would he resume missile testing," Pompeo said. "So thats Chairman Kims word. We have every expectation he will live up to that commitment."

More: North Korea wants Pompeo out of talks; Kremlin announces an April visit by Kim Jong Un

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More: Negotiations between Trump, North Korea at a standstill, but optimism still in force at DMZ

President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June.

Last month, Kim oversaw the testing of a new "tactical guided weapon." It was the nation's first publicly announced weapons test since last year and came amid growing signs that Kim has soured on his negotiations with Trump.

The country's state-run news outlet KCNA did not specify what kind of weapon the North Koreans tested last month but said the event was "of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power" of the country's military.

Since the February summit, the country has asked that Pompeo be pulled from negotiations, saying he'd been "talking nonsense" and misrepresenting comments made by Kim.

Harry Kazianis, who works for the conservative think tank National Interest, said the launch made it clear that "North Korea is angry" after February's summit with Trump, and the administration's "lack of flexibility" when it comes to sanctions.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," Kazianis said. "My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."

In March, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that the U.S. threw away a "golden opportunity" when the two countries did not come to an agreement during the February summit and said the country was rethinking its moratorium against missile launches.

"We have neither the intention to compromise with the U.S. in any form nor much less the desire or plan to conduct this kind of negotiation," Choe said.

At the time, Pompeo downplayed the threat, saying Trump would continue to pursue negotiations with the North Korean leader. Pompeo added that the U.S. expected Kim to live up to his promise to Trump to maintain the moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and dismissed North Korean demands that he be removed from negotiations.

Just last week, Pompeo reiterated that negotiating with the North could be fruitful and stressed that it would take time.

"There are lots of elements of this. There are many pieces. Its an enormous challenge for that country to make its shift, too," Pompeo said in an interview for CBS' "Intelligence Matters" podcast, noting the country's history of telling its citizens that nukes "kept them secure."

"So theres not just a military strategic decision, but a political strategic decision that we think Chairman Kim is prepared to make," Pompeo said. "Only time will tell for sure, but Ive seen enough to believe that there is a real opportunity to fundamentally shift the strategic paradigm on the peninsula there."

Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea fires several short-range missiles, its first launch in more than a year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leads the testing of a newly developed tactical weapon, November 2018 - REUTERS

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong-un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

The tests were the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.

The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9am (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.

The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017, before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.

Kimhas vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

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The missile firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical weapons system, added to the pressure it has exerted on Washington in talks on ending the North's nuclear programme.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with US President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear programme due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.
By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April. Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program after a summit in February ended in failure. South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year. "We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement. "We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearization talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defense minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief. In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration. "It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang. The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year. SECURITY GUARANTEE Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize." During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media. "The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification. "CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND" U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement. Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary." Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. "At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February.

The talks broke down after cash-strapped North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong Un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand.

The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio.

Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him.

Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.

- 'Unbureaucratic' -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger.

"But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said.

Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm.

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Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.

- Investing in tech -

On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.

Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today.

Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up."

But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.

Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp).

The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater.

Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip.

He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing.

"It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal.

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.




All 143 passengers and crew have escaped after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a terrifying attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air international plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

Officials said the 136 passengers and seven crew were alive and accounted for after the plane ditched in shallow water.

Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries but were in good condition.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. On Saturday the National Transportation Safety Board said 16 investigators were arriving to determine the cause.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.Photograph: Thomas A Higgins/AP

A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was alive and accounted for but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville sheriffs office said on Twitter.

Plane slides off runway into river in Jacksonville, Florida https://t.co/YPpdEyZ6zp pic.twitter.com/ACeadSy14O  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2019

A passenger on board the plane, lawyer Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced, it was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane, it bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.

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Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. We were in the water, we couldnt tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

The Jacksonville fire and rescue department posted on Twitter that about 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier Friday.

Later, Capt Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse. I think it is a miracle, Connor said. We could be talking about a different story.

It wasnt known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Miami Air international is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly rotator roundtrip service between the US and Guantanamo, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the naval station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

Reuters and Associated Press also contributed to this report.
All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but three pets weren't as fortunate.

The bodies of a dog and two cats were recovered, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, where the crash landing occurred, confirmed Sunday. An owner safely removed one animal that traveled in the cabin.

"Those who were involved in this sad tasking performed the recovery in the most dignified way possible with the base veterinarian on site to ensure all protocols were followed," the station posted on Facebook. "The animals will be cremated through a local company. Every possible avenue to rescue these animals was pursued following the incident."

Previous reports indicated at least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each was presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Theres water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."

Authorities have left the plane untouched as the National Transportation Safety Board conducts an investigation of the crash landing, meaning passengers' possessions, including pets, are still on the plane.

Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said the status of the pets became the "second priority" for initial responders after it was determined all passengers were safe.

He said they looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said at a Saturday news conference.

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He said he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positively determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

LaRocque said earlier Saturday that the pets include dogs and cats. The flight's manifest recorded a total of four pets on board, but she said it's possible more could have been boarded.

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

The plane skidded off the runway at around 9:40 a.m. Cheryl Bormann, prominent defense attorney who was aboard the plane, described a chaotic landing in which the pilot appeared to lose control of the aircraft before it smashed into the water and screeched to a halt.

LaRocque said that once the plane is removed from the river, authorities will then retrieve the pets and everyone's luggage.

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about eight miles south of downtown.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3 pets died in Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility's ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy "in the coming weeks," according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-based PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has "concurrent jurisdiction" with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E's bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for Californias goal to source 60% of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

"PG&E recognizes its important role in supporting the state's commitment to clean energy initiatives and remains committed to continuing to help California achieve its bold clean energy goals," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We appreciate the concerns from stakeholders across the state concerning the impact that Chapter 11 filing could have on the state's clean energy progress. PG&E has made no decisions as to whether to assume or reject contracts as part of filing for Chapter 11."

Officials from NextEra were not immediately available for comment.Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)
Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and Jerad Eickhoff and four relievers shut down a decimated Washington lineup as the host Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 4-2 on Friday.

The Nationals are now 1-9 in the first game of a series this year, as Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his fifth save while the Phillies won for the fifth time in six games. Neris fanned Michael A. Taylor for the last out with a runner on.

The winning rally started as Jean Segura reached on an infield single with one out and Bryce Harper followed with a walk against his former team in the bottom of the sixth.

Hoskins then hit a 1-1 pitch from lefty reliever Dan Jennings (0-1) well over the fence in left for a three-run shot and a 4-2 lead. That was the 10th homer of the year for Hoskins.

Eickhoff lasted five innings but allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Washington starter Jeremy Hellickson fanned five in a row at one point. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs against his former team while striking out nine. That was the most since he fanned nine at the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Eickhoff was replaced in the sixth by Seranthony Dominguez (3-0), who gave up a solo homer with one out to Kurt Suzuki as the Nationals took a 2-1 lead. The reliever allowed one run in one inning with two strikeouts.

Segura, hitting second in the Phillies lineup, hit a solo homer off Hellickson to make it 1-0 in the first.

The Nationals tied the score in the third as Hellickson led off with a walk, went to second on a single by Adam Eaton and scored on an RBI single by Howie Kendrick.

Washington left fielder Juan Soto did not start again Friday, as he is dealing with back spasms. It was the third game in a row that he missed. Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are on the injured list for the struggling Nationals, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games.

--Field Level Media
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB - Getty Images

From Esquire

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To The Last Post Of The Week From The Blog's Favourite Living Canadian)

They have to be kidding now. From the Washington Post:

President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour Friday about topics including special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation but that he did not confront Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the two leaders devoted only a brief part of their conversation to what Trump characterized as a finding of no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

I sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and ended up as a mouse, Trump said. Pressed by a reporter on whether he had confronted Putin on Russian interference in the election, Trump said: We didnt discuss that.

All "checking in with the home office" japery aside, the President* of the United States was on the line with the Russian president whose people ratfcked the 2016 presidential election and already may have started ratfcking the next one, and neither of those events even came up? This is like JFK's getting on the teletype with Khrushchev in October of 1962 and discussing the weather in Havana.

And this had escaped my notice.

Putin has echoed some of Trumps talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand, Putin said last month. Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump.

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Explain to me how this entire presidency* isn't a national-security crisis. Jesus, Lord, somebody throw the emergency brake, or hand out parachutes.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images

'Fi were king of the forest...the following things would happen.

Beto O'Rourke-or Joaquin Castro-would be running for the Senate in Texas, and Stacey Abrams would be running for the Senate in Georgia, and Steve Bullock would be running for the Senate in Montana. Michael Bennet would stay in the Senate to torment Ted Cruz further-a worthy goal for any right-thinking American. Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan would be running for re-election to the House, and Bill DeBlasio would be back in New York, trying to get the subways to run on time.

Nobody who watched William Barr's performance before a Republican-majority Senate Judiciary Committee this past week can sensibly deny that, as long as the Senate remains in the hands of the Republican Party, it doesn't matter what happens in the 2020 presidential election. If the incumbent* wins, there will be four more years of enabled destruction of our political institutions. If one of the Democrats wins, and the Senate stays Republican, the Democratic president simply will not be allowed to govern. Not as a Democrat, anyway.

And this didn't start with El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, either. The record shows that, upon Bill Clinton's election, good ol' Bob Dole announced that he was there to represent everyone who didn't vote for the winner. The Florida burglary in 2000 was in part a refusal to allow another Democrat to succeed Clinton, and the upper echelons of the Republican Party in Congress decided to obstruct Barack Obama at a dinner on the night of Obama's inauguration. If the Democratic Party can't get its senatorial campaigns together, they're chasing a fool's errand for which no fool would volunteer.

Thus, one of the most important Democratic politicians in the country is a woman named M.J. Reger, an Afghanistan vet and the favorite to win the Democratic nomination in Texas for a chance to relieve the Congress of the presence of John Cornyn. Outside of the presidential contest, that's the most critical election of them all.

Photo credit: Jessica McGowan - Getty Images

WWOZ Pick To Click: Once again, the mighty, mighty 'OZ was doing some broadcasting from Jazz Fest this week. Anyway, "Downtown Soulsville" (Chuck Edwards): Yeah, I pretty much still love New Orleans.

Weekly Visit To The Pathe Archives: Here's a British guy in a motorized bathtub. Nice that they gave him a license plate. I don't know why I felt like including this but history is pretty cool.

Is it a good day for dinosaur news, ScienceDaily? It's always a good day for dinosaur news!

An early winged dinosaur couldnt fly, but it could run. Now, with assists from a robotic dino and young ostriches wearing artificial wings, a study suggests that the dinosaurs running gait caused its wings to flap, in what may have been an evolutionary precursor to flight.

Caudipteryx was a peacock-sized dinosaur with feathered and winglike forelimbs that lived about 125 million years ago. Running at speeds of about 2.5 to 5.8 meters per second sent vibrations through its body, causing its wings to flap vigorously, scientists report online May 2 in PLOS Computational Biology. If true, the results suggest that some dinosaurs had to run before they could fly - adding a new wrinkle to a long-standing debate over whether the earliest fliers were flappers or gliders.

The vision of dozens of these poor beasts flapping their way across the savanna in futile attempts to get airborne is truly heartbreaking, even if does bring to mind a very famous skit from the Pythons.

In particular, Zhao and his colleagues wanted to see how Caudipteryxs running gait might have jostled its forelimbs, perhaps causing them to flap involuntarily. Hypothetically, with strong enough vibrations - and if the wings were large and strong enough - such flapping could generate enough lift to leave the ground.

Imagine being the first dinosaur to find itself flying by accident. That seriously could screw you up. But the vision of all those plucky dinosaurs trying to conquer the air is enough to be glad they lived them to make us happy now.

The Committee was very impressed with Top Commenter Carol Nicklaus and her ability to use various variations of words beginning with "pend--" while resisting the temptation to employ the word, "pendejo" which in our current circumstances can be an overwhelming one.

As for any "pendency" inhibiting the president*'s ability to perform any "governance," I think that would be the "pendency" of his twitter device perpetually "pendent" from his fingers...

Pending delivery, you will have 80.11 Beckhams on the house.

I'll be back on Monday with the results of my borscht taste-testing, which is part of Making American Kiev Again. Be well and play nice, ya bastids. Stay above the snake-line, and don't give up trying to fly. A few million years from now, who knows?

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

('You Might Also Like',)
Lisbon (AFP) - Portugal's Socialist prime minister has boosted his credibility in an election year and piled pressure on the conservative opposition by threatening to resign if parliament approves salary increases for teachers, analysts say.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa issued the warning on Friday, a day after a parliamentary education committee approved giving teachers salary increases that were not paid during the country's financial crisis.

The proposal was unexpectedly backed by his minority government's far-left allies -- the Communists and the Left Bloc, plus the conservative PSD and CDS parties which have long defended the need for stiff austerity measures.

It must be ratified by the full parliament but Costa said his government will resign if it goes through, bringing forward general elections slated for October 6. The far-left parties have already ruled out any compromise.

Costa said the measure would cost 800 million euros ($895 million) a year and undermine efforts to balance the budget.

The stand-off however positions the Socialists as "a centre-left party ... (and) puts pressure on the rightist camp because it shows their incoherence and contradictions" on austerity, political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto told AFP.

"Whoever thought the Socialist Party would turn left was completely mistaken. The centre is what matters for the elections," he added.

Recent polls have suggested the Socialists are on track to win the next general election but fall short of a majority.

The popularity of the party has slipped in recent months amid a scandal over perceived nepotism within the government. Costa's cabinet includes a married couple and a father and daughter.

- 'Only responsible party' -

The Socialists' chances have now improved since they "appear as the only responsible party," political analyst Pedro Marques Lopes wrote in a column Saturday in daily newspaper Diario de Noticias.

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"Welcome to the now real possibility that the Socialists will win an absolute majority. With compliments of the PSD," Lopes wrote.

Since coming to power in 2015 with the support of the Communists and the Left Bloc, Costa's government has focused on restoring fiscal credibility and balancing the budget.

The budget deficit, once 11 percent of total economic output during Portugal's 2010-14 debt crisis, has been almost eliminated even as the government has opened the purse strings in some areas, raising pensions and cutting taxes for those on lower wages.

This helped the government win the prestigious post of Eurogroup leader for its finance minister, Mario Centeno, who in this role chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers.

- 'Act of political mastery' -

Centeno was quick to accuse opposition parties of being irresponsible in voting for the teachers' salary hike.

Costa has also warned that the extra spending would have to be made up through "significantly higher taxes" or steep public spending cuts.

Costa's move was "an indisputable act of political mastery" since it allows him to present the Socialists as the "guarantor of fiscal stability and the right as being irresponsible," political analyst Jose Miguel Judice told private TV station Sic.
UN and other experts Saturday praised India for its early warning systems and rapid evacuation of more than 1 million people, which they said helped minimise loss of life from a deadly cyclone that battered its eastern coast.

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, tore into Odisha Friday, leaving a trail of devastation across the coastal state of 46 million people before swinging towards Bangladesh.

In 1999 the same state was hit by a devastating 30-hour super-cyclone that saw a storm surge sweep 20 kilometres inland. Unprepared for the scale of the diaster, authorities struggled to evacuate the stricken population and some 10,000 people were killed.

This time, improved forecasting models, public awareness campaigns and well-drilled evacuation plans -- backed up by an army of responders and volunteers -- has seen Odisha's inhabitants spared the worst of Fani's fury.

Only twelve people have been killed by the cyclone in India -- which escaped being hit by a major storm surge -- and at least 160 injured, local media reported.

As soon as it became clear this week that Fani was on course to hit Odisha, emergency teams began the mammoth task of evacuating those living in low-lying regions, moving 1.2 million residents away from danger areas and in to temporary shelters.

Alerts asking residents to stay indoors and follow the dos and don'ts were issued repeatedly on TV and radio, and broadcast through loudspeakers in public places.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised the government's "effective" evacuation, saying it had "saved many lives".

- New weather models -

The state government in Odisha along with national disaster response teams and volunteers have worked in tandem to carry out evacuations and set up safe shelters.

Workers have been equipped with satellite phones and inflatable boats along with food and medicines to distribute in the storm's aftermath.

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Some 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters have been set up, thanks to an army of 45,000 volunteers.

Emergency workers are now focussing on restoring damaged infrastructure, including power and telecom lines, and clearing roads.

Mahesh Palawat, the vice-president of meteorology at private forecaster Skymet, said the early warnings had been vital in allowing authorities to plan in advance.

"From April 25 onwards we (the Indian Meteorological Department and Skymet) had been monitoring the track and intensity of the cyclone continuously, what time it would make landfall and the probable points of landfall," Palawat told AFP.

Numerical models, adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2014 to supplement the more traditional statistical modelling, allowed forecasters to track Fani's progress and wind profiles in the upper atmosphere.

Denis McClean, a spokesperson for UNISDR, said "the almost pinpoint accuracy" of the early warnings from the IMD had enabled the authorities to "conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan."

Social media users also lauded the Indian authorities for averting a mass human disaster, despite the fact that a densely populated region was in the eye of the storm.

"Credit goes to #India authorities for their aggressive pre-impact response, including massive evacuations," wrote Josh Morgerman, a US-based cyclone expert.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For months, President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen tried  but failed  to position himself as a whistleblower in the vein of Watergate hero John Dean.

As the time ticked down toward his deadline to report to prison, Cohen also lost the interest of the one group of people who could help him out: the federal prosecutors he desperately hoped would ask a judge to shorten his sentence.

Since mid-March, prosecutors in New York have rebuffed Cohen's repeated offers to provide more information about alleged wrongdoing by Trump and other people in his orbit, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis told The Associated Press on Friday.

"Why not see him?" Davis asked. "What's the downside? He's about to go to prison."

Cohen's legal team reached out to prosecutors in March asking for an opportunity to meet for a "frank discussion" about reducing his sentence, based on his cooperation. That meeting never happened.

That snub might be the best evidence yet that Cohen's months-long campaign to sell himself as a potential witness hasn't paid off.

Cohen is scheduled to report Monday to a federal prison 70 miles north of New York City to begin serving a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress.

In an apparent bid to maintain a semblance of normalcy before starting his sentence, Cohen left his Manhattan apartment building on Saturday with his son to go to a coffee shop and then to a barbershop, Eddie Arthur Salon. They both got haircuts. Cohen's next stop was the pricy retailer Barneys New York, where he told journalists that he plans to hold a news conference Monday before heading to prison.

Cohen remains the only person charged in a scandal involving hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who were threatening during the presidential campaign to speak up about alleged affairs with Trump.

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Cohen started to cast himself publicly as a whistleblower less than three months after the FBI raided his home and apartment.

He gave a series of tantalizing teases that there was "more to come," starting with an interview last July in which he told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos he was no longer loyal to Trump. More dribbled out over the next few weeks. Davis released a tape of Cohen and Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments.

That effort, though, has largely been met with an uncompromising approach by federal prosecutors.

New York investigators built their case for months without speaking with Cohen, then finally agreed to meet with him on a Saturday last August, just a few days before he would plead guilty.

At the meeting, they delivered an ultimatum: plead guilty or be indicted within days. Cohen also believed after the meeting that his wife could be charged with financial crimes if he didn't cooperate.

"I love this woman, and I am not going to let her get dragged into the mud of this crap," Cohen later told an acquaintance, the actor Tom Arnold, in a conversation that Arnold recorded and provided to The Wall Street Journal.

Cohen's wife, Laura, filed taxes with her husband and made investments with Cohen in taxi medallions. She ultimately was not charged.

After pleading guilty in August, Cohen did meet with Manhattan-based prosecutors multiple times to discuss several issues. Those included Trump's personal business dealings, the president's personal involvement in attempts to pay off McDougal and Daniels, and his inaugural committee, which is now the subject of a criminal investigation centering on possible donations by foreign nationals and influence peddling.

Cohen also met with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators several times, culminating with a session just days before the former FBI director turned his report over to the Justice Department.

Still, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, in court filings before his sentencing, criticized what it described as Cohen's unwillingness to cooperate fully and be debriefed "on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past."

They didn't ask the judge for a lenient sentence and have given no sign that they intend to file a so-called Rule 35 motion a legal filing that could reduce Cohen's punishment if his cooperation is deemed to be of substantial assistance. Cohen's attorneys say they believe Cohen's information supports several potential prosecutions.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

In February, Cohen testified before several Congressional panels about what he said was dishonesty by Trump in his business affairs. He also testified that a Trump Organization executive, Allen Weisselberg, and Trump's son Donald Jr. were involved in reimbursing him for one of the hush money payments.

During that testimony, Cohen said a number of Trump-related topics were still being probed by New York prosecutors.

"I am currently working with them right now on several other issues of investigation that concerns them, that they're looking at," Cohen said.

Yet, within weeks, prosecutors were through speaking with him.

Davis, in the interview Friday, said he believes Cohen has been treated unfairly.

"The Southern District of New York was disproportionate in the sentence it asked for and appears to have targeted just Michael Cohen for reasons that I can't understand," Davis said.

___

Sisak reported from New York.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A protest in the South Darfur city of Nyala ended in violence on Saturday, with security forces launching tear gas at protesters and firing gunshots, state news agency SUNA and Sudan's main protest organizer said. Around 5,000 protesters marched peacefully from the Atash camp for the displaced to a military installation housing the 16th Infantry Division, SUNA said, citing South Darfur's governor. Sudan has seen frequent protests near military buildings. The agency said protesters attacked military personnel and tried to seize military vehicles in the town, some 1,100 km southwest of Khartoum. However the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests that led to the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir last month, said the protesters were peaceful, and made no mention of casualties. South Darfur Governor Hashim Khalid Mahmoud said four military and Rapid Support Forces personnel were injured, SUNA reported. He said the joint forces fired live ammunition into the air and used tear gas, but said no demonstrators were hurt. The SPA is locked in a standoff with the ruling Transitional Military Council over who will control a proposed joint civilian-military body to oversee the country until elections can be held. Protests have continued in a bid to push the council to cede power to civilians. The SPA, part of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, called on people across Sudan to take to the streets "in rejection of the practices of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militias, and condemning their attacks on the peaceful rebels in Nyala". "Let us go out to the streets and rally at the sit-ins to support our brothers in Nyala, in support of them and their right to recapture their glorious sit-in in front of the 16th Infantry Division," the SPA said in a statement. Mahmoud said he would "not allow again the presence of protesters" in front of the military's general command and the state government building in Nyala. "They have to choose any other place to sit in," he said. A widely circulated video that was shared live on Facebook from inside a hospital in Nyala showed several people with gunshot wounds to the limbs. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jan Harvey)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Puerto Rico's government has reached a key debt restructuring deal with a group that bought bonds issued by the U.S. territory's power company.

The deal announced Friday is expected to reduce some of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority debt by 33 percent as the company prepares to privatize the energy generation.

The deal also was reached with bond insurer Assured Guaranty Corp. and calls for a fixed transition charge of 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour that will rise to 4.5 cents. The increase would be reflected in customer's bills as Puerto Ricans decry austerity measures.

A federal control board that oversees the island's finances said the plan would save about $3 billion in debt service payments over the next decade.

The deal has to be approved by a federal judge.
The Cincinnati Reds on Saturday released outfielder Matt Kemp, who had been a disappointment since being acquired in an offseason deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati also demoted former 30-homer man Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville.

The moves come one day after the Reds recalled top prospect Nick Senzel. He made his major league debut in center field on Friday night and went 1-for-5 with two walks in a 12-11, 11-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Kemp, a three-time All-Star, was batting just .200 with one homer and five RBIs in 20 games with the Reds, who are managed by David Bell.

"With our support, David is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

The 34-year-old Kemp last played for the Reds on April 21, when he suffered a broken left rib after colliding with the left field wall in San Diego while trying to catch a two-run double hit by Padres outfielder Wil Myers.

Kemp batted .290 with 21 homers and 85 RBIs for the Dodgers last season. He was traded to Cincinnati in December as part of the deal in which the Reds landed outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed from Louisville. Reed was 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances.

Reed has spent part of the last three seasons with the Reds and is 2-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 39 career appearances (18 starts).

--Field Level Media
Kigali (AFP) - The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered in Rwanda's genocide were laid to rest Saturday in a sombre ceremony in Kigali, a quarter of a century after the slaughter.

Mourners sobbed as 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mass killings were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital.

They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, massacred over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militia forces determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 -- the day the genocide began. But this year has witnessed particular commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary.

"Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is every Rwandans responsibility -- and so is giving them a decent burial," said Justice Minister Johnston Busingye at the mass burial.

Some mourners broke down wailing as survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the funeral by ushers.

Emanuel Nduwayezu said the discovery meant he finally had somewhere to come each April 7 and lay a wreath in memory of his murdered family.

"Right now I am very happy because I have buried my dad, my sister and her children, and my in-law. Twenty-five years have passed and I had not known where they were," he told AFP.

"Everyday I was thinking and getting confused (about) where my dad was but now I found him and I have a buried him.

The remains of those interred on Saturday were only found early last year, when 143 pits containing thousands of bone and clothing fragments were discovered beneath homes on the outskirts of Kigali.

Those exhumed for burial on Saturday came from just 43 such pits -- leaving 100 more to go.

A painstaking effort was undertaken so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothing and other markings.

They join 11,000 other victims already laid to rest at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial.

Story continues

- Grim discovery -

Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors, said a landlord from the area revealed the location of the graves only after he was threatened with arrest.

More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 with dumping corpses, came forward with new information.

Dusingizemungu said it was likely those living on the graves knew what lay beneath their homes.

"It is unfortunate that... these perpetrators, now free, never bothered to reveal to bereaved families the location of these grave sites, so they could get closure," he said.

Clementine Ingabire was the sole survivor from her extended family of 23 who were massacred in the frenzy.

Seven of her relatives were identified from the pits, their remains scattered among the coffins. But at least they were granted a dignified burial, she said.

Just seven at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous she made it out alive.

"Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others," the 32-year-old said.

"I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend to my mother. She saw me running and grabbed me... that's how I survived."

The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing the genocidal killers out of Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became Rwanda's president and has remained in power ever since.
2030 15th Ave., #3. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Sacramento?

We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down housing in Sacramento if you've got $1,000/month earmarked for your rent.

Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

4500 63rd St. (Tahoe Park South)

Here's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 4500 63rd St. This apartment is listed for $995/month.

Amenities offered in the building include on-site laundry, storage space and secured entry. In the apartment, there are granite countertops and a walk-in closet. Cats are allowed, but dogs are not. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

Per Walk Score ratings, this location is car-dependent, is relatively bikeable and has some transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

603 11th St. (Alkali Flat)

Here's a 550-square-foot studio apartment at 603 11th St. that's also going for $995/month.

In the unit, you'll get a walk-in closet. The building boasts on-site laundry, outdoor space and secured entry. Pets are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $25 application fee.

According to Walk Score, this location is very walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

2030 15th Ave., #3 (Carleton Tract)

Located at 2030 15th Ave., #3, here's a 700-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that's listed for $895/month.

The building has on-site laundry and assigned parking. Apartment amenities include air conditioning and laminate flooring. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted.

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According to Walk Score, this location is friendly for those on foot, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive

His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan's fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. "I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops," Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the frontline of Islamist militancy in Pakistan.

Tyson Foods recalls almost 12 million pounds of chicken strips over contamination fears

Tyson Foods Inc significantly expanded a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips to close to 12 million pounds (5.4 million kg) over contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday. The Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was aware of six complaints from consumers who found pieces of metal in the product.

Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone

A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.

UK's Vectura wins patent infringement case against GlaxoSmithKline in U.S

British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said.

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Congo Ebola deaths surpass 1,000 as attacks on treatment centers go on

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, with attacks on treatment centers continuing to hamper efforts to control the "intense transmission" of the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record. The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Newly adopted children need specialized health exams

Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcare workers should play a significant role in the adoption process, the guideline authors emphasize.

AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms  where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples.

Scientology cruise ship leaves St. Lucia after measles quarantine

A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia late on Thursday after health officials provided 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, media reports said. The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined in port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected on board.

Scientology cruise ship faces renewed quarantine at home port in Curacao

A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said. A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations

An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds. The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in April test accident

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an "anomaly" - science jargon for when something goes wrong.

First moon landing manual could fetch $9 million at auction

The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie's said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apollo 11 lunar module timeline book details every procedure that was needed to undock, land and rendezvous the Eagle with its Columbia command module when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK politicians can reach Brexit deal in next few days: Scottish Conservative leader

A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen.

North Korea fires 'projectiles', South Korea says stop raising tensions

North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula." The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rocket attacks, air strikes

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday and an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

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'I shall reign with righteousness': Thailand crowns king in ornate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

UK Conservatives look for Brexit compromise after local poll losses

Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

South Africa's largest opposition party promises to lead coalitions, tackle racism

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions.

Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports. Rouhani's comments, carried live on Iranian TV, came a day after Washington acted to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting its ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Cyclone Fani kills at least 12 dead in India before swiping Bangladesh

The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety. Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'Deep Depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan dismissed concerns about a potential intelligence failure on Venezuela like the one that preceded the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and said top U.S. officials had held talks at the Pentagon on Friday. President Donald Trump's strategy on Venezuela has come under growing scrutiny as President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, raising questions about the way ahead for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and some 50 countries recognize as the legitimate head of state.

English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos: early results

English voters used local elections to punish both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the deadlock over Brexit, partial results showed on Friday. With just under a third of English local council vote results declared, the Conservative Party had lost 212 councilors and the Labour Party had lost 54 councilors, according to a BBC tally. The Liberal Democrats gained 145.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Thailand to crown its newlywed king in elaborate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday begins intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowns its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The king will be joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

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Canada vows to defends its business in Cuba as U.S. opens way for lawsuits

Canada vowed on Friday to defend its businesses operating in Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a ban on American citizens filing lawsuits against investors working on the island nation. "The Government of Canada will always defend Canadians and Canadian businesses conducting legitimate trade and investment with Cuba, and is reviewing all options in response to the U.S. decision," a foreign ministry statement said.

Scotland's Davidson girds for fight as support for independence rises

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

Trump says he, Putin discussed new nuclear pact possibly including China

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

Israel kills two militants in Gaza; two Palestinians killed in border protest

Israel killed two Hamas militants in air strikes on Gaza on Friday, and two Palestinian protesters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces along the enclave's border. The strikes were a response to gunfire from southern Gaza that wounded two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said.

One Venezuelan protester's brush with death

A young protester, his arms outstretched and his head thrown completely back, is struck from behind by a Venezuelan National Guard riot control vehicle and pulled underneath. Luis Alejandro had joined a protest outside 'La Carlota' military base in Caracas after opposition leader Juan Guaido called on Venezuelans to support the "final phase" of his effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.

U.S. cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant

The United States acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of U.S. sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programs designed to prevent Iran from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons program.
By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc's drivers in New York will go on strike next week shortly before the ride-hailing company goes public to protest what they view as unfair employment conditions, a taxi union said on Friday. The protests underscore the challenge for Uber of finding a way to lower driver costs in order to become profitable and paying drivers enough to retain their services. Drivers for Uber, as well Lyft Inc and other ride-hailing apps, will strike on Wednesday for two hours, beginning at 7 a.m. ET (1100 GMT). Uber currently expects to price its IPO on Thursday and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following day. The drivers join peers in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., who are also planning to strike. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) said the drivers are demanding job security, livable incomes and a cap on the amount ride-hailing companies can collect from fares. "Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our work day," Sonam Lama, a NYTWA member and Uber driver since 2015, said in a statement. "Uber executives are getting rich off of our work. They should treat us with respect. We are striking to send a message that drivers will keep rising up," Lama said. Uber cautioned in its IPO filing that its business would be "adversely affected" if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors. The company hopes to be valued at between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion. Uber has yet to turn a profit. It reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2019. "I voted to go on strike because drivers need job security," said Henry Rolands, an NYTWA member and Lyft driver. Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lyft said in an emailed statement that its drivers' hourly earnings have increased over the last two year. "Over 75 percent drive less than 10 hours a week to supplement their existing jobs. On average, drivers nationwide earn over $20 per hour," Lyft said. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)
A University of North Carolina student who died charging an active shooter on the schools Charlotte campus will be buried with full military honors, local TV station WJZY reported Friday.

Wells Funeral Homes confirmed to the outlet that 21-year-old Riley Howell, a ROTC cadet, will receive the special recognition when he is laid to rest.

Howell, who was nearly finished with his junior year of college, was killed on Tuesday as he tackled the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Trystan Terrell, a former UNCC student who has been arrested.

A second student, 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, was also killed, and four others were injured. Terrell faces two charges of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

In Howells obituary, he is remembered as an adventurous guy who loved the outdoors and had a passion for life and all living things.

The family is profoundly moved by the outpouring of love and support shown by our friends, family, community and people around the country we have never even met, the obituary reads. Riley died the way he lived, putting others first.

In the wake of the violence, UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois told students in a statement Thursday that we will emerge from these difficult days.

We will not emerge unchanged, but we will emerge united and stronger, he said. That will be our new normal.
DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated.

"This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying.

Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail.

Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by David Holmes)
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated. "This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying. Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added. The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail. Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani. The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)
(Repeats story moved May 2)

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, May 2 (Reuters) - During Thailand's main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4, the monarch will be presented with five royal regalia, which are treated as symbols of kingship, marking the legitimacy of his reign.

Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known.

The items were first made for the coronation of King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok, or Rama I, and heavily infused with Hindu-Brahman beliefs.

Here are the five royal instruments that will play a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, the 10th divine monarch of Thailand's Chakri dynasty.

THE GREAT CROWN OF VICTORY

The crown is the most important article among all the royal regalia. Adorned with diamonds set in gold enamel, the crown is 66 cm (26 inches) tall and weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb). At the tip of the cone-shaped crown is a large diamond from Kolkata, India, called "Phra Maha Wichian Mani."

During coronation ceremonies of the early reigns, kings Rama I to III would only place the crown next to them upon receiving it. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries, King Rama IV started the practice of placing the crown upon his head, to be more in line with the Western idea of kingship.

The high-reaching crown symbolizes the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra's heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch's royal burden.

THE SWORD OF VICTORY

The sword is believed to be an ancient sword of the Khmer Empire, which was lost at the bottom of a lake in Siem Reap until it was caught in a fisherman's net and later presented to King Rama I.

The king then ordered the sword's hilt and sheath to be ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems, becoming the sword "Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri" as we now know it.

The length of the sword is 89.8 cm (35 inches), including the 64.5 cm (25 inch) blade. It weighs 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) when enclosed with the sheath.

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It represents the king's ability to protect his nation.

THE ROYAL SCEPTER

The 118 cm (3.8 feet) staff, called "Than Phra Kon," is made of Javanese Cassia wood enameled in gold. The finial is shaped like a trident gilded with gold, and its iron hilt is also inlaid with gold.

The staff symbolizes the righteousness of the king.

THE ROYAL FAN AND FLY WHISK

The "Walawichani" was originally only a fan made of a palm leaf, with gold-trimmed rim and gold-enameled rod.

However, King Rama IV said "Walawichani," in the Pali language, refers more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, an animal found in the Himalayas. The king, therefore, ordered the whisk to be made and included it in the royal regalia along with the original palm-leaf fan.

The fan and whisk signify the king's duty to chase away his people's troubles.

THE ROYAL SLIPPERS

The curve-tipped slippers, called "Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon," are made of colorful enameled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

During the coronation ceremony, the chief Brahmin, who presents the king with the five royal regalia, will put the slippers on the king's feet.

The royal slippers represent the ground of Mount Meru, the abode of the god Indra. (Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
Havana (AFP) - Russia is stirring the ghosts of Cuba's Cold War past as it looks to re-establish its influence in the Communist-run island nation, although this time analysts say Moscow has no intention of bankrolling Havana.

Whereas once the Soviet Union and Cuba were linked by an ideological bond, now pragmatism and a shared rejection of US foreign policy is drawing them together again.

At Havana's colorful May Day parade Wednesday, Raul Castro, the first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party, received the highest distinction from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: the Order of Lenin.

The former Cuba president said the prize -- first presented in 1930 by the Soviet Union -- pointed to the "historic relations" between the two countries that "have endured different scenarios and today are being reinforced and renewed."

This rapprochement is not new but has been consolidated by shared opposition to sanctions imposed on Cuba by Washington, which accuses the Caribbean nation of providing military support to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, another Moscow ally.

"The effect of this policy is that it isolates the United States on Cuba and we're opening the door for greater Chinese and Russian presence on the island," said Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, which connects Cuban-Americans advocating economic and political freedom on the island.

Relations between Havana and Washington had thawed under former president Barack Obama, but have chilled considerably since Donald Trump's administration took over.

- 'Lovers triangle' -

The Soviet era may have been confined to history, but it hasn't been forgotten.

"In Cuba, we've always had fond memories of Russia," said 82-year-old Luis Corredera Rodriguez as he played dominos with friends on a Havana sidewalk. "They supported us in everything."

"They're friends for life," added Julio Garcia, 59, although he noted that "the Russians have changed." In effect, he said, the Cubans have become more Russian than the Russians themselves.

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"They're no longer Soviet, they're capitalist like everyone."

Behind the dominos table -- Cuba's national pastime -- a parked Russian Lada is passed by a revving classic 1950s American car.

"It's almost like a lovers triangle between the US, Cuba and Russia: it's an old relationship, there's a lot of emotion here," said Scott B. MacDonald, senior associate of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the last two years have seen Cuba slide into "a new Cold War," although with a different dynamic this time.

"At the end of the Soviet Union, it was about $4 billion a year that went to prop up the Cuban economy."

That came to an end when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1990.

Now, Russia is only Cuba's third largest commercial partner, after the European Union and China.

"Russia likes the idea of warming up this relationship, but does Russia want to spend $4 billion a year to keep Cuba alive economically?" asked MacDonald.

The US may be wary of Russia sidling up to Cuba but the EU seems to have no issue with it.

The EU ambassadors in Cuba invited their Russian counterpart to their monthly meeting, where Andrei Guskov talked about the collaboration between Moscow and Havana and his desire to increase it, several participants said.

After agreeing to business deals worth $350 million in 2018, Russian investments will allow Cuba to increase its energy production by 20 percent and renew the 14-strong fleet of the national airline, Guskov said.

- 'No ideological dimension' -

On top of that, Russia has agreed a 38 million euro ($42 million) loan to modernize Cuba's military, $1 billion to refurbish its railway lines and agreements in civilian nuclear power and cybersecurity.

This "is part of a larger effort by Russia to destabilize the United States, rather than" a bid "to form a Soviet satellite 90 miles off the (US) shores like during the Cold War," said Herrero.

However, the friendship between the two countries today is "built on a pragmatic base, without the ideological dimension there was during the Soviet era," said Nikolai Kalashnikov, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

While Russia is no longer communist, socialist Cuba is driven in part by the threat it will lose its oil aid from crisis-wracked Venezuela -- itself creaking under the strain of US sanctions -- and its need for cash.

"Cuba needs to export and Russia is a market of 143 million" people, said Santiago Perez, deputy director of the Cuban Research Center for International Policy.

There may no longer be a common ideology, but there are "mutual interests."

"The relationship with Russia is crucial for us right now, and I think it's the same for them too."
By Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said.

A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, chief epidemiologist for the Curacao Biomedical and Health Research Institute, said passengers and crew who can prove they were already vaccinated or have had measles in the past would likely be free to disembark "and go about their business."

Others would likely be restricted from leaving the vessel for the duration of the incubation period - the time during which they could potentially transmit the disease to others, he told Reuters by telephone.

"What we don't want is for the disease to spread further," Gerstenbluth said. "There is no other way than ... by not allowing anyone who may be infected off the ship."

Incubation can last up to 21 days after exposure, with infected individuals most contagious from four days before the onset of tell-tale measles rash - while the person is experiencing cold-like symptoms - to four days after the rash appears.

Gerstenbluth said the infected crew member had traveled to Europe and rejoined the ship on April 17, then reported feeling ill on April 22. She remained on the vessel after a blood sample taken several days later came back positive for measles, by which time the ship was already en route to St. Lucia.

Health authorities placed the ship under quarantine after its arrival there on April 30, barring anyone from disembarking. St. Lucia also was reported to have furnished 100 doses of measles vaccine to the vessel before it departed on Thursday for Curacao.

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A total of 318 passengers and crew are believed to be aboard the ship, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified by maritime-tracking records as SMV Freewinds, the name of the 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

The church, on its website, describes Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion."

It says the boat is based in Curacao, an island once part of the Dutch Antilles north of Venezuela and now an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Scientology officials have not responded to requests for comment.

Although the measles-infected crew member has supposedly been restricted to her cabin since diagnosed, the relatively confined interior of a cruise ship and highly communicable nature of the virus - it can linger in an enclosed space for two hours - raises the risk of exposure to others who lack immunity, Gerstenbluth said.

The quarantine comes amid a worldwide resurgence of measles blamed by public health officials on declining inoculation rates in some populations due to misinformation about the safety of the vaccine.

The number of measles cases in the United States alone in recent months has climbed to more than 700 this week, a 25-year peak. Health authorities in Los Angeles last month ordered quarantines on two university campuses after each one had reported at least one confirmed case. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Dakar (AFP) - Senegalese lawmakers on Saturday approved a constitutional reform to scrap the post of prime minister, the first initiative of President Macky Sall's second term in office.

The motion passed with 124 MPs voting in favour and only seven against, National Assembly president Moustapha Niasse said Saturday evening after a nine-hour debate.

The government approved the measure last month before sending it to the parliament where the presidential party enjoys a majority.

Sall, who was comfortably re-elected in February, announced the plan in early April, telling the prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, to abolish his own job.

The move was a surprise as it had not been part of Sall's re-election campaign.

On Saturday, lawmakers also backed legislative changes aimed at preventing the president from dissolving the National Assembly, which in turn can no longer table a motion of no confidence against the government.

Justice Minister Malick Sall said the changes were "purely technical and administrative".

"The goal is not to increase the powers of the president of the republic," he told MPs.

Opposition parties have denounced the constitutional amendments.

"It's a democratic setback. You can't concentrate powers in the hands of one person," said Toussaint Manga, who heads an opposition group founded by supporters of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall has been in power since 2012 and secured 58 percent of the popular vote in the recent election.

A self-proclaimed social liberal -- despite a flirtation with Maoism in his youth -- Sall has described, in his autobiography published last November, a slow, steady rise from a modest background all the way to the top, despite a stint in the political wilderness.

But critics argue that such single-mindedness has made Sall willing to bend the rules to get what he wants.
Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) - When he first heard Pope Francis would visit North Macedonia, the birthplace of the world's most famous Catholic nun Mother Teresa, Marinko Pinjuh thought it was "fake news".

Like many of his fellow Catholics, the waiter said he is equally puzzled and delighted to welcome the pontiff to their tiny country on Tuesday.

Catholics account for less than one percent of the Balkan state's population of 2.1 million, most of whom are Orthodox Christians while a quarter are Muslim.

But the capital Skopje does have one claim to Catholic fame: Mother Teresa -- who earned the sobriquet "Saint of the Gutters" for her lifelong work with the poorest of the poor in the Indian city of Calcutta -- was born there in 1910.

"He is coming to the hometown of Holy Mother Teresa, who became the moral conscience of the world," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said ahead of the pope's "historic" visit.

Mother Teresa, who was canonised in 2016, lived in Skopje when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire.

Born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she belonged to a rich family from the ethnic Albanian minority in Skopje.

North Macedonia's Catholics hail from both the country's Albanian and Croat minorities, as well as descendants of Macedonian Slavs who did not embrace Orthodox Christianity after the Great Schism in 11th century.

- Mother Teresa everywhere -

Although Mother Teresa rarely returned to her birthplace after leaving in the 1920s, her legacy is everywhere in the small Balkan capital.

A motorway bears her name while a plaque marks the place where she was born, though the house itself was destroyed in a devastating 1963 earthquake that nearly wiped the city off the map.

Next to it are trees she planted during her last visit in 1980, according to her grand-nephew Gombar Alojz, 71, who sells pendants with the nun's effigy in his nearby shop.

A few metres away tourists pose for pictures with a photo of Mother Teresa, while down another road stands a memorial devoted to her life and works, which the Pope will visit on Tuesday.

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Believers should thank the revered nun for the pope's visit, Macedonian bishop Kiro Stojanov told AFP.

During an Easter mass he called on his congregation to welcome Francis with "humbleness" and to show themselves as "worthy of his love".

Outside Skopje's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart stands a statue of Mother Teresa with her hands clasped in prayer, while nuns of her order were recognisable at the Easter mass by their white saris with blue borders.

"Do not be afraid, little flock," said the bishop, quoting the Gospel of Luke.

In this "small country, the number of (Catholic) believers is equally small... but like Jesus, the pope is devoted to the ordinary man," he said.

- Why North Macedonia? -

Believers are now gearing up for the mass of a lifetime, with Francis set to guide them in prayer in Skopje's central square. Around 15,000 people are expected to join the ceremony.

Pinjuh, the 42-year old waiter, never thought his town would host the pontiff.

Why did the pope choose North Macedonia?

"No idea," he says. "Everybody has the same question."

Andreja Atanasovska, a 22-year old Catholic economy student, echoed him.

"It is a bit odd, isn't it?," she said. "But it is nice to meet the pope!"

Catholic saleswoman Katerina Milevska said the visit is related to the recent change of the country's name -- which added "North" to Macedonia -- that helped seal a deal to end a long-running dispute with Greece.

"Since the situation is tense in the rest of the Balkans... the pope wants maybe to release a message of peace to Christians of Europe in these difficult times," she said.

Gombar Alojz, who met Mother Teresa twice, is convinced that the pope is coming to tell Macedonian Catholics: "You are a small flock and I want you to increase."

"There are really very few of us," he added.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions. At the DA's final campaign rally on Saturday, Mmusi Maimane, the first black African to lead the center-right party, told 5,000 supporters in the township of Soweto the DA would grow jobs, protect minority rights and unite the country. "You will find us at the heart of coalition governments in this country, as we build a strong center for South Africa, free from the divisions of the past," Maimane said. Parliamentary and provincial elections take place every five years, with seats allocated according to a proportional representation system. The DA and the hard left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) teamed up in 2016 local elections to clinch control in three of the country's largest metropolitan districts - South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, administrative capital Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay in the eastern province. But the parties have been at odds since, disagreeing over key laws at national and local level, particularly land reform. The DA rejected a move to amend the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation after the EFF brought the motion to parliament, and eventually saw it passed with the support of the ANC. Polls in the past two weeks suggest the DA, as well as the ANC, will struggle to win outright majorities in crucial urban areas. "The smaller parties pose somewhat of a threat to the dominant ones this year. New parties, many launched by former ANC and DA members, will siphon away votes and could be key in provincial coalitions," political risk organization Eurasia said in a note. The DA won 22 percent of the parliamentary vote in 2014, giving it the second biggest number of seats in the National Assembly. Analysts also say a sharper fracturing of voters along racial and ideological lines has seen smaller, more hardline parties gain traction. "Your vote should not simply there to expression your race," Maimane said. "If the rights of the minority are going to protected they are going to be protected by the majority," he said, responding to a growing challenge by smaller nationalist groups to the party's traditional base of white, English and Afrikaans-speaking middle class voters. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ros Russell)
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter's suicide bombings, even as police and troops tightened security.

Father Edmund Tillakaratne said public masses were suspended for a second week amid fears of a repeat jihadi strike, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television.

Police, meanwhile, said they were stepping up search operations over the weekend ahead of a planned re-opening of over 10,000 public schools after an extended Easter vacation.

Some 257 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings against three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21.

"We will not allow any parking near public schools from Sunday afternoon," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. "Search operations will be intensified as part of tighter security."

Police and troops across the country had recovered small quantities of explosives, guns, swords, daggers and kris knives, Gunasekera said.

"We will grant a two-day amnesty for people to surrender such weapons," he added.

Despite the tight security, Catholic churches will remain shut on Sunday, a spokesman said, adding that a private mass will be telecast live from the residence of the Archbishop.

"It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live," spokesman Edmond Tillakaratne told AFP.

Ranjith, also archbishop of Colombo, said Thursday a "reliable foreign source" had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for a second week.

"The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution," the Cardinal said in a statement.

- Basilica secured -

Official sources said the Thewatte National Basilica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

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"There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security in the neighbourhood," a police official said.

Although the 10,194 public schools re-open on Monday, a few Catholic schools will remain shut "until further notice".

Sri Lankan authorities had advance warnings from Indian intelligence of the impending Easter attacks, but police and security forces failed to act.

There were at least 42 foreigners among the 257 killed, while some 480 were also wounded. About 50 children were among the dead.

Armed guards have been stationed outside hotels, churches, Buddhist temples and mosques across the country since the attacks.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Friday that some of the conspirators may still be at large.

"Most of those responsible for the Easter attacks have been arrested. Some have been killed," Wickremesinghe said during a tour of island's east, where a Christian church was hit.

"We are trying to see if there are any more secret IS cells in the country," he said. "We will ensure that IS terrorism will be eradicated from our land."

Sri Lanka bolstered security Friday with fears of attacks against several bridges and flyovers in Colombo as well as police stations.

The attacks were blamed on the local National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) whose leader was among the suicide bombers. The group had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
By Shihar Aneez and Shri Navaratnam COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would "eradicate terrorism" following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end. Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility. "Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism," Sirisena told Reuters. The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election. "We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them," Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 "active members" linked to the bombings still at large. Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: "It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings." Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known. Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings. Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation. Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers. ATTACKERS ON LOOSE Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done. "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers." Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago. Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday. The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks. "This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement," Sirisena said. "Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace." Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent. Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15. "Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas," he said. Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues. Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a "big blow" by the attacks, Sirisena said. The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year. "It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sirisena said. "For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks." (Reporting By Shri Navaratnam & Shihar Aneez; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - As the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway gets underway on Saturday, a key question hangs over the gathering: who will take the reins of the empire built by 88-year-old billionaire Warren Buffett?

"Warren Buffett is irreplaceable," said Macrae Sykes, a research analysts at Gabelli & Company.

But Meyer Shields, managing director at the investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, was less concerned.

"Berkshire Hathaway can certainly survive without Warren Buffett," he said. After all the conglomerate is made up of "mostly solid businesses that are only minimally impacted by their ownership."

Investors are not expecting major upheaval, since Buffett has taken steps in recent years to carefully prepare for a leadership change, although he has not made the plan public.

Among four likely candidates, there are two clear frontrunners: Gregory Abel, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67, who were both promoted last year to the board of directors and who are both known quantities who have been with Buffett for decades.

- Leading candidates -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities.

Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

Also potentially in the running are Todd Combs, 48, and Ted Weschler, 56, chosen by Buffett and his long-time business partner, Charles Munger, 95, to handle the group's investments.

"That's never been officially disclosed, but I suspect it will be either Greg Abel or Ajit Jain... and probably the former, given his solid and growing exposure to Berkshire's non-insurance businesses," Shields said.

Sykes agreed, noting that Jain "really likes to focus on insurance businesses and... seems less interested in the spotlight."

It is always possible a dark horse candidate could emerge from the company's board, which includes fellow billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

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One is Tracy Britt Cool, 35, a Harvard graduate and Buffett's right-hand woman for the past 10 years.

Regardless of who the successor will be, Shields said markets should at first "respond very negatively" to Buffett's absence, in part due to his unique status.

But it is also partly because Berkshire's "exceedingly weak" disclosures "have forced investors to rely more on Mr Buffett's carefully-managed public persona than on the companies' individual or aggregated earnings potential," Shield said.

Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager at Meeschaert Financial Services, said Buffett's presence added 10 to 15 percent to the company's share price, and without him, that premium would "disappear."

- More transparency? -

In a little more than 50 years, "the Oracle of Omaha" has built a juggernaut worth more than $530 billion, with businesses that range from paint to railways to consumer products, and include energy, clothing, insurance, banking and fast food.

Buffett never embraced the idea of passing the baton to his children -- Susan, Howard and Peter -- who are involved in many charities.

Only Howard is listed in the Berkshire Hathaway organizational chart as a member of the board of directors.

In 2011, Buffett told CBS that he wanted his son "Howie" -- who has joined in night patrols in Arizona to prevent unauthorized immigrants from crossing onto American soil -- to succeed him as non-executive chairman of the board of directors.

But even if the face of the company will change, its culture and investment strategy likely will remain marked by the caution that has been so central to Buffett, the world's third richest person, analysts say.

Buffett epitomizes safe, value investing. His investments are carefully scrutinized, as are decisions to pull out of any businesses.

Leaders of the individual business units will maintain a high degree of autonomy, while frivolous acquisitions are unlikely.

His departure could lead the financial community to demand more transparency from the company. Berkshire only publishes its results once a year in Buffett's annual letter and does not hold a conference call, as other publicly-traded companies do, to answer questions from financial analysts and journalists.

And even the questions asked at the annual shareholder meeting are selected by journalists whom he has picked.

"I'm not sure investors will be as satisfied with the crumbs of disclosure that are currently offered," Shields said.
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit

* War monitor says at least 67 killed so far in offensive

BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest with fresh air strikes on Saturday, the fifth day of a widening campaign that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee, sources in the area and a war monitor said.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas has strained a Russian-Turkish agreement struck last September that staved off a government offensive into the last major foothold of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

Syrian state media has said government forces are attacking jihadists. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

ESCALATION

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he told Reuters from northern Syria.

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The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib province, but that such an operation was impractical for now.

Russia's deal with Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence.

Mustafa, their spokesman, said Damascus was well aware the rebels were well armed and capable of repelling any assault: "The regime will not be able to advance." (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Khalil Ashawi in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry Editing by Gareth Jones)
"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming," the Japanese artist's largest solo show to date, will open on May 18 at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.

The exhibition, curated by Sun Qidong, features a series of LED displays and performance pieces, spanning the Japanese artist's career since 1988. It will also present several artworks created specifically for the show, including the LED installation "Time Waterfall" and the video performance "Counter Skin Face."

The show reevaluates Miyajima's core concepts in the light of Japan's radical postwar art wave. Entitled "Keep Changing," "Connect with All" and "Goes on Forever," these guiding principles are the foundation of the artist's installations and performance videos.

Often billed as "immersive," Miyajima's artworks invite viewers to reflect on continuity, eternity and the flow of space and time. Most of his installations feature LED lights counting down from 1 to 9 -- embodying the human life cycle and the Eastern philosophy of change and renewal.

"In Western thought, permanency refers to a sense of constancy, without change. In Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, change is natural and consistently happening," the artist explained in a statement.

"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming" will be on show at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum from May 18 to August 18, 2019. See additional information on the museum's website: www.minshengart.com.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It's not possible to invest over long periods without making some bad investments. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of China Nonferrous Gold Limited (LON:CNG); the share price is down a whopping 92% in the last three years. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And over the last year the share price fell 79%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 41% in the last three months.

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 Nonferrous Gold

We don't think China Nonferrous Gold's revenue of US$291,000 is enough to establish significant demand. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. For example, investors may be hoping that China Nonferrous Gold finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money.

As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. China Nonferrous Gold has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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China Nonferrous Gold had net debt of US$402,333,000 when it last reported in June 2018, according to our data. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But since the share price has dived -56% per year, over 3 years, it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak. The image below shows how China Nonferrous Gold's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CNG Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.

A Different Perspective

Investors in China Nonferrous Gold had a tough year, with a total loss of 79%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 37% over the last half decade. 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.

But note: China Nonferrous Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
West Texas Chophouse. | Photo: Jay B./Yelp

Looking to try the top steakhouses around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end steakhouses in El Paso, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

1. West Texas Chophouse

Photo: cody a./Yelp

Topping the list is West Texas Chophouse. Located at 1135 Airway Blvd., Suite 7B, in Cielo Vista, the steakhouse, which offers burgers, sandwiches and more, is the highest rated high-end steakhouse in El Paso, boasting four stars out of 195 reviews on Yelp.

2. Garufa Argentinean Restaurant

Photo: kris p./Yelp



Next up is Mesa Hills's Garufa Argentinean Restaurant, situated at 5411 N. Mesa St., Suite 26A. With four stars out of 121 reviews on Yelp, the steakhouse, pasta shop and Argentine spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge.

3. Ruth's Chris Steak House

Photo: ruth chris steak house/Yelp

Cielo Vista's Ruth's Chris Steak House, located at 8889 Gateway Blvd. West, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse four stars out of 99 reviews.

4. The Grape Italian Steakhouse

Photo: josh a./Yelp

The Grape Italian Steakhouse, a bar, steakhouse and Italian spot, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 52 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6350 Escondido Drive, A11, to see for yourself.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force captured a village from Kurdish YPG forces north of Aleppo on Saturday, the spokesman for the rebel force said.

"There is military action, and the village of Maranaz has been liberated," said Yousef Hammoud, the spokesman for the Syrian National Army, a force formed from a number of factions of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The YPG could not immediately be reached for comment.

The village is part of a YPG-held piece of territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat that the FSA groups have long vowed to recover. "Our aspiration is to reach Tel Rifaat and what is beyond it," Hammoud said. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi and Khalil Ashawi; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Israeli forces had targeted a building in Gaza where the offices of Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency are located, and added that the attacks were a crime against humanity.

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - One Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat on Saturday, during an attack by the Kurdish YPG militia, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aiming to drive Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

The ministry said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Turkish forces shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defense ministry said Turkish and Russian forces carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by David Holmes)
(Reuters) - Two Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders said on Friday they would withhold their support for the re-election of all ExxonMobil directors at the company's annual meeting due to the U.S. oil major's "inadequate response" to climate change.

The Church Commissioners for England (CCE), the endowment fund of the Church of England, as well as New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who manages the state's pension fund, also urged other shareholders to vote in favor of an independent chairman.

ExxonMobil's inadequate responses to climate change indicated its board was not functioning effectively due to the absence of an independent chairman, the two shareholders said in a filing.

Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for DiNapoli declined immediate comment on Friday.

The filing comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier in April that Exxon Mobil was not required to let investors vote on a shareholder submission calling on the company to set emissions targets beginning next year.

Exxon had called the resolution misleading, substantially implemented and an attempt to interfere with its management responsibilities.

The proposal, which would have asked the oil company to set emissions targets "aligned with the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the Paris climate agreement," was rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Reporting by Akashdeep Baruah and Philip George in Bengaluru and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Stephen Coates)
By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday approved a $307.5 million civil settlement for about 100,000 U.S. owners of Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that the government said had illegal software that allowed them to emit excess emissions.

Under the settlement approved by Judge Edward Chen, about 100,000 owners and lessees of Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0-liter diesel vehicles from model years 2014 to 2016 will receive payments for having a software reflash completed. Most owners will receive $3,075 payments.

Current owners and lease-holders have until February 2021 to submit a claim, and until May 2021 to complete the repair and receive compensation, while former owners have until August to submit a claim.

The Italian-American automaker on Jan. 10 announced it had

settled with the U.S. Justice Department, the state of California and diesel owners over civil claims that it used illegal software that produced false results on diesel-emissions tests. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

Chen also approved the consent decrees announced in January between Fiat Chrysler and California, Environmental Protection Agency and agreements with all 50 states.

Under the agreement, Fiat Chrysler agreed to apprise an independent auditor of the status of various initiatives. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it has launched three-quarters of the initiatives and one-third are already complete.

Fiat Chrysler estimated the total value of the various settlements at about $800 million.

Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided emissions control software for the Fiat Chrysler vehicles, agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve claims from diesel owners, while Fiat Chrysler is paying $280 million of the $307.5 million.

Fiat Chrysler is also paying $311 million in total civil penalties to U.S. and California regulators, granting extended warranties worth $105 million. Fiat Chrysler is also paying $72.5 million for state civil penalties and $33.5 million to California to offset excess emissions and consumer claims.

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Fiat Chrysler and Bosch also agreed to pay $66 million to the lawyers representing the vehicle owners.

The hefty penalty was the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules.

Regulators said Fiat Chrysler used "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests in real-world driving. Fiat Chrysler did not admit liability.

U.S. regulators are also reviewing Ford Motor Co's emissions certification process and emissions questions about some Daimler AG vehicles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A panel of three federal judges on Friday ruled that Ohio's Republican-drawn congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and ordered the state to revamp it before the 2020 presidential election. The ruling comes a week after another federal court ruled that Michigan's congressional maps were unconstitutionally drawn by Republican politicians to dilute the power of Democratic voters. Both Michigan and Ohio are expected to play a pivotal role in the 2020 election, as they have in recent elections. They were key swing states in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. "We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity," the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati panel wrote in its decision, ordering the state to create a plan to fix the map by June 14. The ruling in Ohio could be short-lived if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be brought in federal court. In partisan gerrymandering, one political party draws legislative districts to weaken the other party's voters. The lines are typically redrawn once a decade after the U.S. census, and in many states the party in power controls the decision-making. Republicans control both houses of the Ohio legislature, as well as the governorship. Four congressional elections have occurred under the map and each resulted in 12 Republican representatives and four Democratic representatives, the ruling noted. Included in the 2012 map was the "'Snake on the Lake'  a bizarre, elongated sliver of a district that severed numerous counties," the judges wrote in their 301-page opinion, referring to the state's 9th district that runs along Lake Erie. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement that the state will seek a stay and appeal. The court said it will redraw the maps itself if Ohio fails to come up with a solution that the judges deem fair. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought last year by the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union against the state's attorney general. "This opinion, declaring Ohio an egregiously gerrymandered state, completely validates every one of our claims and theories in every respect," Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. Ohio's secretary of state, Frank Larose, a Republican who oversees the state's elections process, said his office will work to "administer fair, accurate and secure elections in 2020, pending the conclusion of the judicial process," he said. The conservative justices who hold a 5-4 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court at a March hearing focused on gerrymandering in Maryland and North Carolina signaled that they were skeptical of lower courts' authority to block electoral maps drawn to give one party a lopsided advantage. Critics have said gerrymandering has become increasingly effective and insidious, guided by precise voter data and powerful computer software. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
By David Shepardson and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials rejected Tesla Inc's bid for relief from President Donald Trump's 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot "brain" of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to China's industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed "strategically important" to the "Made in China 2025" program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: "Our costs for producing our vehicles in the U.S. have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China."

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart China's efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of U.S. intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing China's prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and U.S. demands for sweeping changes to China's policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

ECONOMIC HARM

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the "brain of the vehicle" when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that "increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability."

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In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Tesla's request because it "concerns a product strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs." USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a U.S. government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corp's Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

"The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit," Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

NO U.S. SOURCES

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that "choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training."

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

"For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China," Tesla wrote. "When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers' lives due to a defect from a supplier."

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls "the brain responsible for Tesla's Autopilot functionality" and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of U.S. sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of U.S. Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, David Gregorio and Sandra Maler)
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U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc (NYSE: USX)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

May. 02, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:





Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the U.S. Xpress first-quarter 2019 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Brian Baubach.

Thank you, you may begin.

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate your participation in our first-quarter 2019 earnings call. With me today are Eric Fuller, president and chief executive officer; and Eric Peterson, chief financial officer. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available on the Investor section of our website through May 9, 2019.

We've also posted a supplemental presentation to accompany today's discussion on our website at investor.usxpress.com. Before we begin, let me remind everyone, that this call may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include remarks about future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements.

More From The Motley Fool

Such risks and other factors are set forth in our 2018 10-K, filed on March 6, 2019, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements. Additionally, during today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Eric Fuller.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to start by reviewing our first-quarter results and the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives and then conclude with a review of our market outlook. Eric Peterson will then discuss our first-quarter financial results in more detail before opening the call for questions. I am pleased with our team's execution to the first quarter given the more challenging market backdrop that we encountered as we managed through the closure of our Mexico joint venture and encountered weather disruptions.

Despite these challenges, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is a 40-basis-point improvement from the year-ago quarter and our seventh-consecutive quarter of OR improvement. Our results clearly demonstrate the continued successful implementation of our strategic initiatives as we strive to transform our operations and improve our profitability. While we have achieved a great deal over the last several years, we have much more to accomplish in order to realize our goal. Turning to our segment-level highlights.

In our over the road division, average revenue per tractor per week declined 6.1% compared with the first quarter of 2018. This was a result of a 6.7% decrease in average revenue miles per tractor per week, partially offset by 0.7% increase in our average revenue per mile. The impact on average revenue per tractor per week resulted from unfavorable weather conditions, the transition out of the companies US-Mexico cross-border operations and the less favorable freight environment. Typically, about 80% of our over the road division's volume is contracted and approximately 20% is noncontracted.

In the first quarter, we experienced an 8% increase in our contract rates, while noncontracted spot rates declined more than 20%. Turning to our dedicated division. The average revenue per tractor per week, excluding fuel surcharges, increased to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily the result of a 7.1% rise in the division's revenue per mile in addition to a 4.4% increase in the division's revenue miles per tractor per week.

The increase in utilization was largely the result of our initiative designed to grow our business with those accounts that offer a more attractive combination of rate and utilization while reducing our business with accounts that have a less attractive blend. We implemented this initiative through 2018, and I am very pleased with the improved execution in the dedicated division over the last two quarters. Brokerage segment revenue decreased to $46.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 on fewer loads and decreased revenues per loads. The revenue decrease was more than offset by a higher gross margin as transportation cost per load decreased significantly due to sourcing third-party capacity more efficiently.

As a result, operating income increased 18.9% to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. Importantly, the brokerage segment continues to provide additional selectively for our assets to optimize yield, while at the same time, offering more capacity solutions to our customers. I would now like to spend a few minutes reviewing our strategic initiatives designed to deliver improved profitability and the priorities that we have for the year ahead. As we've discussed on previous calls, our management team has been driving a complete overhaul to company strategy and operations in order to improve our execution and profitability.

We have created an execution-oriented structure, whereby we now manage the business by core metrics with the focus on rate, truck count, utilization and cost. We've also designed and implemented initiatives to improve these core metrics. And ultimately, our operating ratio where we strive to meaningfully improve our profitability. As part of our transformation, we have improved our asset optimization through a redesigned fleet-renewal and maintenance program, optimized our asset utilization through the use of proprietary optimization software and implemented our load-planning initiative in our over the road initiative, designed to improve utilization.

The successful implementation of these initiatives have contributed to the significant margin expansion that we have achieved over the last three years. Another key focus for our initiatives is to improve the quality of life for our drivers as we reduced the day-to-day challenges and frustrations that they encounter. Our drivers are critical to our success and are our greatest asset. As a result, we have launched a series of initiatives designed to position U.S.

Xpress as the company of choice for drivers in the industry. One such initiative was the launch of our new driver development program and the opening of our redesigned development center in Tunnel Hill, Georgia this past February. The newly launched program was created with input from our drivers and provides continuous learning opportunities for both new and experienced drivers. The multi-platform program features in-person development sessions; a hands-on commercial motor-vehicle learning lab, where drivers inspect and identify faulty equipment; a competency-aligned simulator program; a driving range, where drivers can practice complicated maneuvers; over a 150 e-learning modules; and ELD practices and device training.

Our goal is to provide our drivers with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for successful driving career. Moving to the balance of 2019, our priority continues to be on improving the lifestyle and satisfaction of our drivers, as well as our operations as we focus on technology, including digital load matching, automated load acceptance and prioritization and working toward our ultimate growth of the frictionless order. When you analyze the process from order to cash, what you find is that there are many gates in that process where manual decisions are made. These manual decision points open the door to less-than-optimal decisions, along with the potential for errors, given that data entry is often required.

As we remove more the friction that exists, those errors, which frustrate our drivers, will be reduced, and our driver satisfaction will improve. Our goal over time is to have a frictionless order, which we believe will not only improve driver retention but also reduce costs and optimize freight planning, not to mention improved capacity. As you can see, utilizing technology to improve our operations represents a significant opportunity for U.S. Xpress.

As the trucking industry continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. Xpress will be at the forefront, and we're very excited to have Cameron Ramsdell join our team as President of our newly formed unit U.S. Xpress Ventures. As we announced last week, U.S.

Xpress is internal business unit focused on developing and implementing new asset-based business models and technology strategies. Turning to the market and our outlook. The second-quarter freight environment remains subdued relative to normal seasonality and in comparison to the strongest market in 20 years, which we experienced in the second quarter of 2018. While we expect ongoing improvements in network efficiency from the exit of our Mexico business and then operating efficiencies from our strategic initiatives, the changing market conditions since our fourth-quarter call has changed our expectations on second-quarter earnings.

While we continue to expect our initiatives and an improving market backdrop to allow us to improve our adjusted operating ratio on a sequential basis, we now expect our second-quarter adjusted operating ratio to deteriorate as compared to the year-ago comparable quarter. Importantly, we believe the operating improvements implemented over the past several years has positioned the company to better manage market fluctuations such as those that we are now experiencing. As we look forward, our current guidance of delivering a 93% adjusted operating ratio for the full-year 2019 remains achievable, though, it is dependent on market conditions strengthening through the balance of the second quarter. As a result, we plan to update our full-year adjusted operating ratio guidance when we have better visibility on the freight market and our full-year results.

Despite the more challenging freight market, we have contractually agreed to rate renewals for approximately 40% of our anticipated truckload revenue for 2019 with an average rate increase of approximately 5% since November. While current rate increases have moderated slightly, we believe full-year contract rates will increase in the mid-single-digit range. I would now like to turn the call over to Eric Peterson for a review of our financial results.

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon. As Eric discussed, we are pleased with the continued successful execution of our strategic initiatives which enabled our team to manage through a more challenging market backdrop. We offset more challenging market conditions through leveraging our fleet and our brokerage operations and taking advantage of our enhanced dedicated business mix achieved during 2018. In addition, we believe we are well positioned to continue to execute on our current initiatives to drive continued operating ratio improvement.

I'm going to spend a few minutes summarizing our results for the quarter, and we'll focus on the core metrics we use to evaluate and monitor our progress. Operating revenue was $415.4 million, a decrease of $10.3 million compared to the first quarter of 2018. Excluding revenue from our Mexico operations, which were discontinued in January 2019, operating revenue increased $2.9 million, excluding fuel surcharge. The increase was attributable to a 3.8% increase in revenue per mile, mostly offset by decreases of $8.3 million in brokerage revenue.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $12.5 million, compared to the $14.9 million achieved in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $3.4 million in costs related to the exit of our Mexico operations, our adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $15.9 million, which compares to $14.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. As Eric discussed, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is the 40-basis-points improvement from the year-ago quarter. Additionally, our adjusted operating ratio improved by 260 basis points to an adjusted operating ratio of 93.9% from 96.5% for the trailing four quarters ending March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $4.7 million, compared to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income for the first quarter was $7.3 million and compares favorably to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.15 for the first quarter of 2019. As we discussed our fourth-quarter call, the exit of our fixed cost investment and our cross-border US-Mexico operations was expected to be a drag on our first-half results as revenues would declined more rapidly than expenses which we experienced in the first quarter.

Looking forward, we expect the headwind to persist into the second quarter, though, at a reduced level before turning neutral in the third quarter. Thereafter, we expect to build an annualized operating income benefit. Importantly, we'll offer customers, both additional capacity within our core U.S. lanes and continued access to cross-border coverage through an asset-light alternative.

Our effective tax rate for the third quarter was approximately 27.5%, and we continue to anticipate our full-year 2019 effective tax rate to be between 27% to 29% that we outlined on the fourth-quarter 2018 call. For the full-year 2019, we continue to expect our cash tax rate to be in the low single digits. Turning to our fleet, we continue to manage our tractors to a 475,000 mile replacement cycle, and we are converting a portion of our leased tractors to owned, and we'll spend approximately $170 million to $190 million in net capex through 2019 to execute that strategy, with approximately $45 million of the total related to replacing leased equipment with owned. As a reminder, when thinking of free cash flow, a normalized net capex figure over a four-year period is approximately $115 million annually, and we expect our net capex to revert to more normalized levels in 2020 and 2021.

During the first quarter of 2019, the company adopted new ASC Topic 842 leases. The new standard requires us to recognize right-of-use assets and a comparable amount of lease liabilities arising from operating leases on the balance sheet. This resulted from in approximately $187 million of assets and a comparable amount of liabilities being recognized on the balance sheet at March 31, 2019. Rent associated with these operating leases was approximately $20 million for the first quarter of 2019 and is reflected under vehicle rent and general and other expenses in our income statement for the 2019 quarter.

The impact on stockholders' equity was immaterial, and the impact on covenant compliance under our credit facility is also immaterial. Capital leases will continue to be recognized on the balance sheet but are now referred as finance leases as required by the new standard. In regards to leverage, we ended the first quarter with $407.1 million of net debt and had $120.4 million of cash in availability under our revolving credit facility. Interest expense for the first quarter was $5.6 million, and we continue to expect interest expense to be approximately $22.0 million for the full year of 2019.

Looking for the remainder of the year, we continue to have opportunities for improvement as our existing driver-centric initiatives mature and as a focus on operational execution. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Eric Fuller for concluding remarks.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Eric. In summary, we are pleased with the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives, enabling us to achieve our seventh-consecutive quarter of adjusted operating ratio improvement in the first quarter and the highest earnings of any first quarter in our company's history. As we've discussed, the outlook for the second quarter remains challenged in comparison to an exceptionally strong 2018 comparable quarter. That said, we continue to have much opportunity and remain well positioned to capitalize on our numerous initiatives aimed at driving operational efficiencies as we work toward our goal of achieving a 100% frictionless order, which will improve the lives and daily routines of our drivers, not to mention, reduce costs and expand our capacity.

As we focus on managing the core metrics within our business, we remain committed to our goal of improving our operations in solidifying U.S. Xpress as a leader within the industry. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress on our second-quarter call. Thank you again for your time today.

Operator, please open the call for questions.

Questions & Answers:





Operator

[Operator instructions] Our first question here is from Ravi Shanker from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Thanks. Good evening, guys. So on the OR target for the year, obviously, it's understandable it's going to be dependent on market conditions. But part of the story here also was you guys undertaking a number of cost initiatives to close the gap to peers and so maybe that OR improvement was not as market depend on some of your peers.

So can you help us understand that how much tailwind or opportunity there is in the cost side this year? And kind of, if that's tracking consistent with your initial expectations behind the IPO?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So this is Eric Fuller. So we had -- obviously, we have focused around a couple of the big factors and driver turnover being one of them. That is an area where we still believe we're going to continue to get traction through the year.

Our big focus -- the big initiative that we have in our operation is around what we're calling the frictionless order. And we believe that's going to greatly improve our driver retention. So we think we can drive a good bit of cost in that area over probably the next, say, four quarters. We also still believe that we're going to get improvement in the insurance line item.

Insurance is the area where we continue to see higher than what we had expected or what we'd hoped for. But with the forward-looking event recorders, we're putting a new program around driver training. We're trying to move more toward -- all of our drivers going to hair follicle testing. We believe that we will start to see some significant results in that area as well.

So those really are our two biggest cost items that we think we can see some improvement over the next couple of quarters.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. Got it. And just on the pricing side, I think your mid-single-digit pricing expectations sounds pretty good and may be ahead of some of your peers. What gives you confidence that you should be able to kind of sustain that rate going into the back half of the year when maybe you could see some more pricing pressure if current trends continue?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Yes, I think we can -- we will continue to see a little bit of pressure from where we're at today. But we're still having constructive conversations with customers in a positive manner in relation to rate increases for this year. So we feel confident that where the market is -- where we believe the market is going, and we will continue to be able to get decent rate increases on a go-forward basis that will still put us in that mid-single-digit range.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. And if I can just squeeze one more in. Can I just ask you what U.S. X ventures, sounds pretty interesting? Can you just give us maybe two or three top priorities for that venture? And kind of does that involve M&A? Is this homegrown? Kind of, what do expect to see there and maybe some timing on some of the new initiatives?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. I think it's really an exploration about what technology can do for us going forward. If you look at all the money that's getting thrown in to venture capital, all the investments out there, we believe that technology is going to be a big driver of asset-based trucking companies going forward. I think it's going to be an improvement to the overall operations and profitability.

We also think that there's going to be some -- maybe not on the asset side, exactly, but there's going to be some new entrants and some new things that we're going to have to face that maybe we have faced in the past. And we think applying technology to those problems is going to be key to having a lot of them. And so we're going to be exploring exactly what that means. I think today, I would tell you that we are in an infancy stage, but we will be looking at opportunities whether it be an M&A-type opportunities or whether it be looking at some homegrown opportunities to further make better business model-type changes in our existing business or potentially new businesses as we explore what technology can do for us.

And we just think there's a lot of exciting things going on in the market, and we think that we can capitalize if we put a focus on it.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. Thank you.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Brad Delco from Stephens. Please go ahead.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon, guys. Eric, I think you kind of touched on this in your comments, but can you sort of help us reconcile the revenue per loaded mile being up 60 basis points versus kind of your comments about mid-single digits? I mean is it just because you have 20% exposure of a spot? I mean why wouldn't we be reducing that and trying to get more trucks into a committed or contractual basis or maybe even in more dedicated?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So it is in -- it is because of the spot concentration. So absolutely, we are looking at probably more dedicated. The market is probably a little tougher from bringing on new opportunities.

The one thing that we have -- that's been a little bit of a headwind for us is that move out of Mexico where we've had additional capacity that we've had to try to fill. So we've had to go to customers and find new opportunities. And so I think that for us to move some trucks out of these spot environment, we're going to have to probably go to dedicated. But we're doing that, and we are seeing some a little bit of growth in our dedicated area.

And so I think that over time, we'll continue to migrate more into that dedicated arena. I think -- personally, I think that where we're at from our spot exposure though is still decent level of spot exposure. And when you look at a long term -- on a long-term basis, so while it is kind of affecting us today, I think long term, we're in the right position.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then when we think about sort of weather impacting results, would that have -- would you have visibility to know if that impacted your OTR business or dedicated business more? And any comments would be helpful there.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So dedicated, we had a big concentration in the Northeast. And so obviously, any time you've got any kind of weather issues -- winter weather issues, you end up being pretty impacted in those areas. So I would say it's probably a fair mix. But with our concentration of dedicated in the Northeast, we definitely saw a fairly large impact from that business.

The over-the-road piece was typically because the trucks aren't as concentrated, you do end up having trucks probably down for a little bit longer. So when you're ending up having a maintenance-related issue as it relates to weather, that's probably a little bit more impactful in the over the road division. But I would say that both areas were impacted by the weather.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then maybe last one. I appreciate the comments about second quarter and not seeing OR improvement on a year-over-year basis. What is -- maybe this is for Eric Peterson, what's really happening on the cost side that gives you that much visibility.

I mean I feel like it's pretty early into 2Q, and June's probably the most important month, but is there anything specific that's occurred in April, whether a bad accident or something that maybe gives you less confidence in being able to improve margins in this environment?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Brad, I think the biggest thing right now is our visibility, where we stand today on May 2 as it relates to the quarter from an overall volume standpoint. The freight is a little bit weaker than we would like. And as we get into spring shipping, we would have liked to seen a little bit of a more robust environment than we're seeing today. So that leads us to believe where we stand today that may be the quarter could be a little weaker than we expected.

Now obviously, your quarter's made in May and June. And so things could change, but we felt like it was prudent to go ahead and get that out there. We're not seeing any kind of cost issues as it relates to this quarter that have us concerned at this point.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. All right, guys. I'll get back in queue. Thanks for the time.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Scott Group of Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Hey, thanks. Afternoon, guys.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Afternoon.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

So I just want to follow up on the second-quarter comments. Can you say -- are you including or excluding the Mexico cost? And then what's the base of OR you're using for second-quarter '18?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. If you look at our adjusted second-quarter OR for '18, we're comparing that to a 93.4%. The headwinds on the -- we had a $3.4 million adjustment in the first quarter related to Mexico. That adjustment in the second quarter is going to be significantly lower than that $3.4 million.

So it won't really impact the adjusted OR by a meaningful amount.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Helpful. And then as we think about the utilization on the OTR, it was down 7%. Maybe, Eric, what are some of the initiatives to get that better? Are you seeing that start to get better? When can that turn positive? And then on the pricing side, if we look at the rev per loaded mile, up less than a percent.

Even with the pricing -- contract pricing, are we confident that that stays positive in the second quarter?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So on the utilization piece, it really impacted in two areas: weather was a big impact and then just overall freight volumes was an impact. I would say we're not going to have those weather issues in the second quarter. I still think that freight volumes are lighter than we would like, and so that could have a little bit of a drag in our utilization in our over the road division as we go into this quarter, especially in comparison to the previous year. On the contract business, we still think that the contract rates will trend in a positive manner.

And even with that little bit of underlying weakness in the market, we are still getting positive rate increases currently from our customers. So I still feel confident that we will be positive, up, and like we said that mid-single-digit range in contracts for the year.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

I guess I was asking about the total revenue per mile.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, OK. Oh, we're going to be higher than that. I think that with our exposure to spot, I think that's going to be difficult.

To be higher than --

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Understood. And then maybe just lastly for Eric Peterson. Given sort of the backdrop here, any thoughts to maybe slowing in the capex a little bit, maybe doing less of the lease conversions just to generate some cash and pay down some debt?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. I think it's too early to make that call. I think if we look at why we're here is to stick to our strategy, which we believe is in the best interest of our shareholders over the long run to bring that equipment in. When we do the math, it shows that if we delay that equipment cycle, the operating costs increase significantly.

And it might get a temporary benefit on my net debt for a quarter or free cash flow calculation, but I believe that's absolutely the wrong decision over the longer for the enterprise. And so we're going to stick to our strategy at 475,000 miles. Obviously, if there's an extreme situation or circumstance, then we won't be so bullish on that strategy if we need to make a change. But I don't see us as anywhere near the type of situation right now with our current credit profile and liquidity that would prevent us from executing our strategy.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Makes sense. Thank you, guys. Appreciate the time.

Operator

Our next question is from Ken Hoexter from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon. Eric, can you just quickly clarify, what is your spot exposure now and what was it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So it's really -- it's right in that 10% of our total revenue or, say differently, 20% of our over the road division, and that really hasn't changed. It's just that obviously the spot rates have changed dramatically, but our overall exposure hasn't changed much.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

And how significantly have you seen the spot rates change whether it's year-to-date, year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I think we're down roughly 20%.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

At this point?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. So just to come back to, I guess, the first question. I guess I'm little -- still troubled by the lack of improvement on the initiatives. During the IPO process, you talked about all the different programs you were putting in place that were specifically focused irrespective of the market that we're going to see the operating ratio improved.

And even -- last year was the best freight environment in generation, so we should have been setting all-time record. And now we're back to kind of -- it seems like October '17. If you're down 20% on spot rates, that's kind of right around the time of the hurricanes but maybe a little bit before ELDs but not a collapsed market. And if you're talking about rates being up mid-single digits, I'm confused as to why we're not seeing some of the benefits from the initiatives that you made.

Has something gone awry in terms of driver pay or has turnover actually gone against you and increased? Maybe talk a little bit about what's going against some of the initiatives that you have been rolling out?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

OK. I think -- This is Eric Peterson. I believe when I'm looking at the financial results from these initiatives, I think it's fair to say that there are some we haven't made progress on that we'd like. But I think if I step back and look what just happened in the first quarter, it was the best first quarter from an earnings perspective in the enterprise's history.

And I believe in what -- 100% of the people would agree, it was not the strongest market from a first-quarter perspective. To answer your question on where we're behind is these event recorders with the insurance and you look at our insurance expense for the quarter, I believe it was adversely impacted by weather. But I also believe we're not making the progress at the speed of financial return that he probably thought we would. With that said, Eric addressed earlier, with our new training facility that launched in the first quarter of this year and also with the hair follicle testing, we are laser-focused on this forward-facing event recorder that we are going to get the savings.

And just because we don't have it now doesn't mean we're not going to get it. It's a path that we're not recreating anything. Other organizations are doing this successfully. And it's -- just because it's not implemented doesn't mean that it will not be.

And so that's where we are on that initiative. But I guess just to step back, are we where we want to be on an absolute basis on earnings? No. Was it the best quarter in the enterprise's history and are we still progress and do we have initial initiatives that we're launching that we think will accelerate over earnings improvement? Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Thanks for that Eric. And then just on your ability to get to 93% full year, you said you need to see some see strengthening. Is that -- you need to see a strengthening on where? Is it on the volume side as Eric talked about? Maybe not as strong of a second quarter or is it pricing to accelerate? Maybe just walk through on that target.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I mean I think that a little bit of market pick up as it relates to both volume and rate. If we can just get some -- a little bit of life in the spot market, I think that would go a long way and then get a little bit more volume. As I mentioned, part of our utilization impact has been a lack of volume opportunities in the market.

So we believe with just a little bit of pick up on the demand side, then we can start to see some movement there that I think can get us in that direction. As Eric just mentioned, I still -- we're going to have to see a little bit of life in the initiatives around insurance. That has been an area that admittedly has been disappointing and one that we did talk about on the IPO that we expected to see a little bit of movement there previous to now. So that is an area that we continue to believe that we have put a lot of focus on and investment on.

And we're going to -- we believe we will see some improvement in that area, but that is an area where -- at this point, if there's anything, I would say, disappointing as that we haven't seen that move as of yet.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Just one last one, if I can. We head some other companies talk about Amazon and Walmart bringing business in-house. Have you seen any enterprises pull any dedicated business away from the market? Is that any exposure of yours that we should look to?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. I'm not seeing anything on the dedicated side at all.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Or over the road?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. we have seen some stuff on -- that we're really were running mostly in our brokerage division. But we've had two customers -- two larger customers that did pull some business out of the brokerage side and take that in-house. So that's probably been about the only thing that we've seen from somebody moving business back in-house.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Appreciate the time and thoughts. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Our next question is from Brian Ossenbeck from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Hey, guys. Good afternoon. I just want to come back to the hair follicle testing for a second. Is this something where you're going to see a bit of cost before you get some benefit, potentially on the insurance side? I'm thinking when you make switch you have a higher standard and little bit more cost and probably a little bit more turnover.

So maybe if you can just walk us through that, and if that's the right way to look at it? And if so, where you are in that process? This is going to get a little bit worse before you start to get some improvements and some benefits from it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. If you look at how we're managing that process is we're doing it a little bit more in a phased approach. You've seen some people who've had probably the most impactful results from an overall truck-count standpoint that went 100% all-in. We have been a little bit more phased in our rollout.

And it's for that reason that we know -- we're trying to overall manage the impact on the negative side. I do believe though that we are seeing some real positive results as it relates to, not only less accidents and insurance-related issues from drivers who have been hair follicle tested, but we're actually seeing less turnover as well. So I feel confident that as we continue to roll this out to the entire fleet, then we can manage any kind of downside issues as it relates to truck count, and we can get through this with a positive impact throughout the entire process.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And then so the timing, is it supposed to be done by the end of the year, I mean, what specifically [Inaudible] would look like?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Yes, I would say that at this point our plan would be to have the entire fleet under hair follicle testing by the end of the year.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And Eric, one more for you. You talked about this frictionless order concept. And it sounds like there might be something we talk more about in the next couple of quarters.

It sounds like from what you said about the timeline. So maybe you can give a high-level view in terms of what that means in the longer term. And I guess in the intermediate step, what you're looking to accomplish? Is this in brokerage or do you tend to see a lot more of the tech-enabled stuff? Or it does sound like it's going to be more impactful for the drivers, so maybe you're approaching a little bit differently than what we've seen so far in the market.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I would say we're approaching it a little differently and really focused around on the asset side of our business. So if you look at a typical order, there could be as many as 15 gates. And those 15 gates are points in the order in which either they are some sort of data entry point or some sort of decision has to be made.

Some of those decisions are being made by office employees and that entries being entered by office employees. Some of those gates are actually managed by the drivers. So it creates a level -- it's a couple of issues. One, when you're -- every time you have to enter data, there's a chance that you're going to have errors.

So being able to completely take that data entry piece off the table can reduce the amount of errors I have on my system. But then also, by optimize -- and then I can optimize those gates and make better decisions and make sure that I'm making an optimal decision every time. And then also, by optimizing and potentially even automating the gates on the driver side, I can reduce the amount of friction and frustration that the drivers have. So the drivers aren't constantly having to send information back into us on things going on with them or in their order that we can automate a lot of that.

And so for us, we believe it's probably more impactful on the driver turnover side. So as the drivers job become easier and they don't have that friction in their day-to-day, we can drive the driver -- the driver turnover down. And we think it's going to be extremely impactful as we go through the year. Admittedly, we started this process, what, about three or four months ago.

I can tell you today we're at 0% frictionless. But we believe over this next year, we'll start to drive some of those gates out to where we can automate them, and we're going to make things a lot easier for the drivers and also a lot easier for office employees as well.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And I just want a quick follow-up. Is this an internal process where you're dealing with the U.S. X folks or you have consultants? Is this more off the shelf? What's -- how's this all structured and being handled?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It's mostly internal. We have worked a little bit with some consultants here and there, but for the most part we're doing this internal. And so that's where we think we're going to get the biggest benefit, and we think it will be a differentiator.

Operator

Our next question is from David Ross of Stifel. Please go ahead.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

Yes. So just a follow up there on the technology costs. Is there any lumpiness to the investments that you are making in the technology around the frictionless order or other? And is it going to flow through mainly in capex or opex?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Eric Peterson. I look at this more of a continuation of what we've been working on.

If you track back to our S-1, this is launched last June, two of our four strategies were technology. And we were using words like AI and graph databases, and we were doing that back then. And then kind of as we've evolved, and we've had these initiatives around the fleet management, the customer service, the load planning, part of those initiatives had a technology component. And as these initiatives evolve, you start putting the investment where you're getting the largest return.

And what we found right now is that on the technology component to those initiatives, they're all ultimately driven around to see the tractor utilization rate and cost is where -- how we focus our initiatives. We see that as we're putting extra investment to the technology piece that we're getting a larger return. And so as we mentioned, the core part of that was a consultant component and then part of that now is bringing some of that talent and ideas in-house to augment the team with perspectives we haven't had before. So right now, we're not talking about a significant capex investment that we're making.

But to the extent that we're walking in trying to enhance the enterprise value and we have a discovery on this initiative where an investment might make a lot of sense relative to the return, then we would do that. But right now, I don't have a plan in place that says, this is how much -- I'm going to have this big lumpy spend in the next month, and then it's going go away. We're just focused on the technology and investing in it as we go along.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. So no lumpiness in the opex or anything, it just flows through and then..

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Correct.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

What's the current average fleet age for the tractors and trailers?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're in that mid-27-month range right now. And I think the important with this capex here to point out as we plan on exiting the year at 18 months on the tractors. And so when you're -- and that's why that investment looks heavy in 2019, but I think what really sets us up for the 2020 is having a really young fleet, lower operating cost and a chance to really enhance our earnings as we migrate down to 18 months over that remaining seven months of the year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

And what about the trailer side?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

I don't have that exact number in front of me.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And you talked about the event recorders, what percent of the fleet now has those event recorders? And when is it going to be 100%?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I mean we're pretty much at 100%. There are some straggler out there. But for the most part, we're at 100% and have been, since mid-summer of last year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And last question is just a clarification. When you talked about a couple customers moving freight from your brokerage division in-house, were they moving it in-house to their own private fleet, in-house to their own in house brokerage or in-house to manage under contract with another carrier?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Not moving into another carrier, in most cases, moving it in-house to manage through potentially their own brokerage.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. Excellent. Thank you very much.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. We appreciate everybody's time, and we'll see you in a couple of months. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 54 minutes

Call participants:

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

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ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen. "There is a deal that could be done in the next few days in quite short order, and I really hope we can get to that point." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, writing by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Elisabeth O'Leary and David Milliken

ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.

Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash from voters.

The Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election, and Labour - which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote - instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If we thought yesterday's results were a wake-up call, just wait for the European elections on the 23rd of May," Davidson told a party conference in Aberdeen.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she said there had been progress in the weeks of talks between the Conservatives and Labour to find a Brexit deal which passes parliamentary muster.

"There is a deal that could be done in the next few days ... and I really hope we can get to that point," she said, describing the results as "a kick up the backside".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday there was now a huge impetus on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

But even if the Conservative and Labour Party leaderships reach a Brexit compromise, there is no guarantee that it will pass through parliament, which has roundly rejected May's proposals three times already.

In an indication of the hostility May faces from the most pro-Brexit wing of her party, former leader Iain Duncan Smith renewed his call for her to step down soon, calling her a "caretaker prime minister" after the local election losses.

Story continues

Complicating the picture, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two major UK parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

"MOOD FOR COMPROMISE"

Health minister Matt Hancock urged pragmatism in a BBC radio interview earlier on Saturday.

"I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt also saw a "glimmer of hope" that there might be a deal with Labour soon.

But an EU customs union that prevented Britain from striking its own trade deals was not a viable long-term option for the world's fifth-largest economy, he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Buzzfeed News reported sources saying that May was optimistic about a deal, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," the sources familiar with the talks said.

One source told Buzzfeed "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

However, the sources did not think a deal was necessarily imminent, as Labour might wish to delay any agreement until after the European elections to maximise the damage to May.

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement favoured by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in ABERDEEN and Kalia Shubham in BENGALURU; Editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Jan Harvey)
(Reuters) - British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said. The jury found that GSK, which is also a UK-based pharmaceutical company, willfully infringed the patent, which Vectura said gives it the right to seek enhanced damages. Vectura expects to seek application of the 3 percent royalty to sales of the infringing products through the end of the patent term in mid-2021, it said. Vectura started legal proceedings against GSK in July 2016 after a patent license agreement between the two companies expired and GSK declined to license additional patent families under the original agreement. GSK did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

His speech at a military base in the northwest, where he appeared alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

Earlier this week, Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection but it quickly fizzled out as a group of 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

Maduro had responded to that by insisting the military high command had reasserted its loyalty to him.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty ... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech broadcast on public radio and television.

The socialist leader accused Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- of trying to launch a "coup d'etat."

Despite Guaido's best efforts, the military has remained loyal to Maduro.

His appeal came during a week in which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned Caracas that "military action is possible."

Despite repeatedly alluding to such an intervention, Washington has so far limited its actions to ramping up sanctions against key figures in the Maduro regime, as well as state oil company PDVSA.
LIMA (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting "terrorist groups" in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on the groups in Colombia that it alleged Maduro was protecting. But it said in its joint statement that it rejected any attempt to assassinate Colombian President Ivan Duque or undermine regional security. Duque said on Twitter on April 27 that explosives set off at a military base had been orchestrated from Venezuela, where he alleged Maduro was protecting Colombian ELN rebels. Maduro's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro often accuses the right-wing Duque, the Lima Group and the United States of plotting to overthrow his socialist government. The Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, reiterated on Friday that it opposes military intervention to remove Maduro from power, and encouraged Venezuelans to continue efforts to keep fighting for democracy. "This process must be done peacefully and respecting the constitutional order in Venezuela," Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told journalists after meeting with his counterparts in a Lima Group meeting in Peru. The Lima Group backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's push to oust Maduro on Tuesday, which failed to trigger the military defections needed to wrest control of key institutions. The Lima Group said it wants Maduro's ally Cuba to join efforts end the political crisis in Venezuela, and called for an urgent meeting with the EU-backed International Contact Group, which has placed more emphasis on dialogue to find a solution. (Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
FOCA, Bosnia, May 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of Muslims flocked to the town of Foca on Saturday for the reopening of a historic mosque leveled at the beginning of the Bosnian war, in a ceremony aimed at encouraging religious tolerance between deeply divided communities.

The 16th century Aladza Mosque was one of the most prominent masterpieces of classical Ottoman architecture in the Balkans before its destruction in the 1992-95 war by Bosnian Serb forces trying to carve out an ethnically "pure" state.

The eastern town of Foca became notorious for the mass persecution and killings of non-Serbs that took place there during the conflict.

Before the war, the Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, made up 51 percent of its 41,000 residents with the remainder mostly Serbs. Today, among some 18,000 residents, just over 1,000 Bosniaks remain.

"Everything that was connected to Islam, its civilisation or culture was destroyed," said 65-year-old Muslim worshipper Sulejman Dzamalija.

Sacred items dumped on rubbish tips have been restored and built into the mosque "to mark the start of a new era in this part of the country," he said.

Nestled in the valley by the Drina river, Aladza, also known as the Colourful Mosque, was one of 17 Ottoman mosques in Foca. Five of them were destroyed during World War Two, while the 12 remaining were demolished during the 1990 war.

During the war, Bosnian Serbs authorities renamed the town Srbinje, but Bosnia's top court ordered the reinstatement of the original name of Foca in 2004.

Muhamed Jusic, the Foca assembly speaker, said the reconstructed mosque offered hope for the return of pre-war residents and "a new beginning in Foca."

Twenty four years on from the devastating war between its Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, Bosnia remains split along ethnic lines, with rival groups blocking reconciliation and reform needed to join the European Union.

"Today we are witnessing a hope that people will again find peace at this place," the head of Bosnia's Islamic Community Husein Kavazovic said at the ceremony.

Story continues

Work on rebuilding the mosque started in 2012 and was financed by the governments of Turkey and the United States.

"Aladza should serve as a monument to resilience, reconciliation and diversity," said U.S. Ambassador Eric Nelson.

Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said reopening of the mosque demonstrates that "racism and hatred can make material damage but cannot destroy culture of co-exsistence nourished for centuries."

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela Editing by Ros Russell)
By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday rejected a frequent criticism that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc does not disclose enough about its more than 90, often large operating businesses or its common stock investments.

Buffett defended Berkshire's disclosures in responding to three questions at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Meyer Shields, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is among the critics of Berkshire's disclosures, saying in an April 28 report they leave investors "disproportionately reliant" on Buffett's public persona and past investment successes rather than actual knowledge about the company.

Berkshire owns or co-owns several companies, such as the BNSF railroad, large enough to be in the Fortune 500 on their own, yet which merit no more than a couple of pages in its quarterly and annual reports. Profit and revenue for many smaller units are not disclosed at all.

Buffett said "I don't think we actually provide less information" in periodic reports, but may present it in a different form.

He insisted that overwhelming investors with technical information was the wrong idea, saying you can "lose people" in a 300-page report that says less than a 50-page report.

Buffett also said Berkshire did not need to know the reasoning beyond its investments in stocks generally and foreign stocks, saying it might require the disclosure of proprietary strategies or would not be legally required.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
Just four short years ago, things weren't looking so hot for the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). The company had announced a 75% dividend cut to help with its high debt load, and the share price dropped like a stone.

However, since then, Kinder Morgan has been pulling itself together. Can it keep it up? Here's where the company is likely to find itself five years from now.

Pipes head toward a refinery in the distance

Kinder Morgan, the largest gas pipeline company in the U.S., has been punished by the stock market. Image source: Getty Images.

Slow but steady improvement

Kinder Morgan's fortunes cratered during the energy price slump of 2014-2017. By 2016, the company's revenue on a trailing 12-month basis fell almost 20% to just over $13 billion. Net income dropped off a proverbial cliff, falling 85.6% between Q3 2014 and Q3 2016. Long-term debt levels soared 28.5% from about $35 billion to more than $45 billion. And with the company's painful dividend cut, investors fled the stock, shares of which collapsed 65%, from more than $40 per share to $13 per share.

Since then, however, the company's fundamentals have improved slowly but steadily. Revenue is up 8.4% from its 2016 low. Free cash flow is up 259% from its 2015 low. And management has used some of that cash to pay down long-term debt by 22% and double the dividend payout.

But more important than the improving fundamentals are the improving industry conditions driving them.

More gas than producers know what to do with

Since the oil price slump began in 2014, domestic oil and gas production has exploded, thanks to the comparatively inexpensive shale drilling available in the Permian Basin and other U.S. hydrocarbon hot spots. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. natural gas production has increased by 8.3% since 2014, and estimates it will jump an additional 10.9% by 2020.

All that gas has to go somewhere, and Kinder Morgan has been expanding its pipeline network to accommodate it. The company currently has about $6.1 billion of expansion projects under construction, and expects to greenlight an additional $2 billion to $3 billion annually moving forward. These projects include two major gas pipelines from the Permian Basin: the Gulf Coast Express, which is slated to begin operation this October, and the Permian Highway Pipeline, which will enter service in October 2020. Management admitted on the most recent earnings call that it's even considering a third pipeline as well.

Story continues

Some of these new projects push the envelope a bit. Kinder's traditional focus has been on natural gas pipelines, but the company is pursuing a joint venture with Tallgrass Energy (NYSE: TGE) to develop an oil pipeline through the Rockies. The JV would primarily consist of Tallgrass' existing Pony Express oil pipeline system and Kinder's Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline, which would be converted to handle oil.

Looking long term

Kinder Morgan plans to keep growing its gas pipeline network and to expand into the oil pipeline business through its JV with Tallgrass. But it's worth pointing out that pipelines aren't built in a day. We're looking at where the business will be five years from now, but some of the projects currently in Kinder Morgan's $6.1 billion program may not even be finished by then.

That's not stopping the company from looking ahead to 2024. Indeed, on the most recent earnings call, president Kim Dang had this to say about where the company might be in five years: "Overall, the higher utilization on our systems ... will drive nice expansion opportunity. If you look at the longer term, by 2024 the natural gas market is projected to grow to almost 110 [billion cubic feet] a day, driven by increases in power generation, LNG and Mexico exports, and continued industrial development, with most of that supply growth expected to come out of the Permian, the Haynesville [Shale of Texas/Louisiana], and the Marcellus [Shale of Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio]."

Is anyone surprised that Kinder Morgan has significant pipeline assets in all three of these named formations that are expected to drive supply growth?

Keep an eye on Kinder Morgan

The U.S. energy boom seems to be here to stay, and Kinder Morgan is poised to ride the wave of higher domestic production. With a steady stream of new projects in the pipeline (no pun intended), the company looks set for sustained growth over the next five years.

Investors should expect that growth to power additional dividend increases and debt reduction, which makes the company even more attractive as a long-term investment.

More From The Motley Fool

John Bromels owns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I cant think of a better illustration of our partisan divide than the reactions to Attorney General William Barrs testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Democrats are furious at Barrs defense of his rollout of the Mueller report and his assertions of executive power. Some Democrats want Barr to resign, others want him to be impeached, and Nancy Pelosi says hes guilty of lying to Congress. Republicans have found a hero.

Barr is the new Dick Cheney: a stocky, bespectacled, confrontational, blunt, intelligent, unapologetically conservative, experienced, high-powered official who believes in and fights for the office of the president. Just as Democrats loathed Cheney as a bugaboo manipulating President George W. Bush to further the interests of Halliburton, they attack Barr as a dishonest factotum of President Trumps. The qualities that drove Democrats batty over Cheney  his inscrutability, his cleverness, his asperity, and above all his success  make them incensed about Barr. These happen to be qualities Republicans find appealing.

Whats behind conservative support for Cheney and Barr is their lack of embarrassment. Most Washingtonians, no matter their party, find it important to be held in esteem by the citys tastemakers, who are overwhelmingly liberal. Not these two. The classic Cheney moment was his 2004 exchange with Pat Leahy on the Senate floor. Cheney complained that Leahy had called him a war profiteer. Leahy responded that Cheney had said he was a bad Catholic. So Cheney ended the conversation by telling Leahy to perform a physically impossible four-letter act. Youd be surprised at how many people liked that, Cheney recollected in a 2010 interview. Its sort of the best thing I ever did. Hes selling himself short.

Republican fans of Barr circulated clips of his Senate appearance Wednesday even as media coverage of his testimony was uniformly negative. No Democrats are held in less esteem by conservatives than are the ones on the Judiciary Committee. They will never live down their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh. Trump supporters nodded in agreement when Barr said the controversy over his March 24 description of the Mueller report is mind-bendingly bizarre. They chuckled when he said Muellers March 27 letter to him was a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff members. They guffawed when Barr described the verb spying as a good English word. They cheered when Richard Blumenthal asked for notes Barr had taken of his phone conversation with Mueller and Barr told him no. Why should you have them?

Story continues

Where his predecessor was genial and deferential to Congress and the press, Barr is disdainful and combative. At his April 18 press conference before the publication of the Mueller report, a CBS reporter asked Barr if his use of the word unprecedented to describe the circumstances of the Russia investigation was quite generous to the president and his feelings and emotions. Barr replied, Is there another precedent for it? No, the reporter acknowledged sheepishly. Another reporter wondered, Is it an impropriety for you to come out and sort of spin the report before people are able to read it? Barr said, No, and left the room. Lib owned.

In 2001, Cheney fought with Henry Waxman over records related to the formers energy task force. Almost two decades later, Barr and Jerry Nadler face each other in a standoff over whether a sitting attorney general ought to be questioned by staff counsel. Not even CNN could locate an instance where a Cabinet official was interviewed by staff members during a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. But that hasnt stopped Nadler from claiming theres ample precedent for his request. Committee Democrat Steve Cohen accuses Barr of being afraid of staff attorneys, but anyone whos watched Barr before Congress knows he doesnt spook easily. The fight with Nadler is over optics. Nadler wants his hearing to evoke memories of Watergate and Iran-Contra. Barr has no problem denying him the opportunity.

The Democrats have a dilemma. Their base would like to impeach Trump, but the public at large is against it, and Democratic voters themselves dont put impeachment high on the priority list. The people most interested in impeachment, it seems, are cable-news anchors and the same four Democrats  SwalwellSchiffLieuBlumenthal  who appear on their shows day after day. Pelosi has adopted a too-clever-by-half strategy of letting the committee chairmen hound the Trump administration while leadership resists full-bore impeachment. The danger of overreach is real.

Barr is an obstacle not just because of his support for a strong presidency. He also shows every sign of wanting to get to the bottom of malfeasance at the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 campaign. His critics decry his use of the word spying to describe surreptitious intelligence gathering on Trump advisers, but the day after his Senate testimony the New York Times revealed that George Papadopoulos had been contacted by a second FBI employee as part of the Bureaus counterintelligence probe. It was another vindication of Barr, who had told Congress last month the question wasnt if spying had occurred, but if it had been adequately predicated.

I think we did the right thing, Dick Cheney tells James Rosen in Cheney One on One. And I dont have any problem defending it. Bill Barr gives every indication of feeling the same way. Thats why hes become a Democratic target. And a GOP star.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Free Beacon.

More from National Review
(Bloomberg) -- Bombardier Inc. backed away from its 2020 forecast a week after cutting its 2019 outlook, and said it would sell a Northern Ireland wing factory as the company extends a revamp to focus primarily on making luxury jets and trains.

The manufacturer is unable to reaffirm its financial targets for next year, and Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert said he couldnt provide any additional precision. Bombardier also announced Thursday the formation of a new aerospace division that will oversee private aircraft and CRJ regional jets.

The cloudy outlook underscores the challenges still facing Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, who began a five-year turnaround of the debt-laden company in 2015. While the planned divestiture in Belfast would further his overhaul of Bombardier, the potential sale would take a bite out of revenue -- and face uncertainty from Britains planned split from the European Union.

We think it is going to take longer than we had previously thought to get the company to the targeted levels of cash flow and profitability, Rob Stallard, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in a note to clients as he cut the stock to hold from buy. The decision to sell half of the aerostructures division, with no buyer lined up, also removes a considerable chunk of the projected future profits and cash flow.

Bombardier fell 4.7 percent to C$2.23 at 2:25 p.m. in Toronto, paring declines of as much as 11 percent. That came on the heels of a 15 percent one-day decline a week ago, when the company cut its 2019 sales and profit forecast. The bonds also weakened, as $2 billion of notes due in 2027 traded to yield 7.91 percent, from 7.73 percent Wednesday.

Potential Buyers

Bombardier last year handed control of its C Series jetliner to Airbus SE, which Airbus renamed the A220. The Belfast factory makes wings for the single-aisle plane.

It still isnt clear whether barriers will be erected between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain after a divorce. The exit has been postponed until Oct. 31, and a chaotic no-deal scenario that would snarl trade -- the worst-case for businesses -- hasnt entirely been ruled out.

Story continues

The government will work with potential buyers to take this successful and ambitious business forward, U.K. Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement about the Belfast plant.

The biggest players in aircraft parts include U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. and Triumph Group Inc., plus Britains GKN, acquired last year by Melrose Industries Plc in a $10 billion hostile takeover.

Speaking to journalists after the annual meeting of shareholders in Montreal, Bellemare said the decision to sell the Belfast plant had nothing to do with Brexit, adding the company also employs 4,000 people on the train side in the U.K. and loves its presence there. The wing factory in Belfast has about 3,600 employees.

This asset could benefit from having a company that would focus on aerostructure to grow because the potential in Belfast is very significant, he said. Its a high-value business and were confident there will be lots of interested buyers.

Bombardier wants to get the full value of the asset, he said, adding that its not a fire-sale situation.

Prized Asset

Selling Belfast would further distance Bombardier from the A220, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Seth Seifman said in a note to clients. This makes it a prized asset and with Airbus still ramping production of a young program, we imagine it will have an opinion about who owns this integral piece of it.

Spirit said Wednesday that it was looking for acquisitions to diversify away from its dependence on Boeing Co. and the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes in five months.

If Airbus does not want the asset itself, another possibility is Spirit AeroSystems, Seifman said.

Spirit declined to comment on the Belfast plant.

For all of the Belfast plants technological prowess, buyers will also need to assess its profitability, said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

We dont see wing businesses as being very lucrative, Ferguson said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg TV.

Beyond Bombardier

Belfast plant chief Michael Ryan told Bloomberg in November that he planned to look beyond Bombardier for growth as the company shrank its aerospace business, adding that all options would be considered, with nothing out of the question.

There are no new workforce announcements as a result of this decision, the Northern Ireland operation said.

Bombardier said it would also look to sell an aerostructures plant in Morocco.

A new division called Bombardier Aviation will oversee the Global, Challenger and Learjet private aircraft, the manufacturer said in a statement. Bombardier said the unit will also maximize the value of its proven CRJ regional jets, a business for which the company has been exploring strategic options.

The aviation business will be one of two strong pillars for the future, Bombardier said in the statement.

This change reflects our strategic and discipline approach to simplify and better focus the company on the growth opportunities, Bellemare said on the conference call.

Geographic Footprint

Bombardier Aviation will retain a geographic footprint stretching from Montreal to Texas and Mexico. The division will be led by David Coleal, the head of Bombardiers business-jet operations. Bombardier expects to close a sale of its turboprop operations this year.

The Montreal-based company burned through $1.04 billion on a free cash flow basis in the first quarter, more than the expected outflow of $947.2 million. Sales fell 13 percent to $3.52 billion. That fell short of the $3.67 billion expected by analysts. The company swung to an adjusted net loss of seven cents a share.

Bombardier last week cited challenges in its rail-equipment business as it pared its 2019 outlook for sales and profit.

Before effectively pulling its 2020 forecast, the company had targeted financial objectives including revenue of at least $20 billion and free cash flow of $750 million to $1 billion.

Bellemare said its good to have a prudent approach on 2020 because of recent difficulties in the rail unit.

Theres been some disappointment on our performance in the train sector, we acknowledge it and it is being addressed, he said.

(Updates with CEO comments.)

--With assistance from Emma Ross-Thomas, Christopher Jasper, Esteban Duarte and Julie Johnsson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net;Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
News about a good book often travels fast. Readers love to share what they are reading and talk about the last great character or plot-twist they encountered. At the library, all of that shared information turns into some books being checked out more often than others. As we look back at 202
Harry has cancelled his trip to the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images

Two days after announcing a trip to the Netherlands, The Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip, and the world is holding its breath

The Duke had been scheduled to visit Amsterdam and The Hague next week, but will stay in England in the coming days.

Logistical challenges have been cited as causing the sudden change of plans, but as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex suspicion is mounting.

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours ago, Buckingham Palace have now cancelled the first day of the trip.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussexs scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019 .

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The Duchess is suspected to be long overdue. Photo: Getty Images

Harry was originally scheduled to visit the Netherlands on the 8th and 9th of May.

The announcement left observers wondering if something more was afoot, as the decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife a little longer.

What is unclear is whether he will spend the time waiting for, or enjoying the company of their newborn baby.

Is possible the change of plans is a nod to his father, the Prince of Wales, who will be undertaking an important diplomatic visit to Germany next week at the request of the Foreign office.

The trip will see the Prince meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to secure the friendship between the two countries amid ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Some are concerned the importance of Charles visit would play second fiddle to the development in the Sussex family life.

The delay could be a nod to his father Prince Charles. Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry will now instead travel only to The Hague on the 9th to launch the Invictus Games.

The Duchess is now thought to be overdue, and international media and fans are waiting with bated breath.

Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

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A YouTuber inadvertently filmed what might be the body of a murder victim stuffed in a suitcase for a travel video.

The suitcase may be connected to a serial murder case rocking Cyprus politics, nearly two years after the video was filmed. The suspected killer confessed to murdering seven people just days ago, and told law enforcement officials he dumped some of his victims' bodies in suitcases into a lake that's become a destination for travel influencers.

New York-based vlogger Sarah Funk visited Cyprus' Mitsero Red Lake, a toxic, acidic body of water tinted red from now-abandoned British mining operations in June 2017.

"This is what murder episodes are made of," Funk's partner, Luis Yanes, can be heard joking in a YouTube video she posted of their visit to the eery locale.

They climbed over barbed wire and scrambled down a steep hill to get to the lake.

"This feels like death, you know what I mean?" Funk exclaimed. Later, she quipped, "I just feel death in the air, it's so nice."

A shot of Funk squatting to photograph a boxy object in the water can be seen at roughly 2:08 in the video. The object may be one of the suitcases containing a woman's remains.

Cypriot officials believe there are three suitcases in the lake and on Saturday retrieved one of them. It's unclear if that suitcase is the same one Funk saw nearly two years ago and police have not confirmed whether they used Funk's video during the investigation. On Sunday, Cypriot military officer Nicos Metaxas confessed to murdering five women and two children over a three year period. He said he dumped three of their bodies into Mitsero Red Lake. His adult victims were domestic workers for households around Cyprus, according to the Guardian, and are thought to hail from the Philippines, India or Nepal, and Romania.

Political critics are blaming police for mishandling the case, noting that they were unmotivated to find the missing persons because they were foreigners.

Story continues

The Washington Post reports that two of the suitcases have been located, but only one has been retrieved. Authorities continue to search for the third suitcase.

Funk said she thought the suitcase was a log.

Image: sarah funk

After news of the confession broke, Funk posted a blog post with photos of one of the suitcases and asked people to stop contacting her about it.

"This is terrible and I am devastated for the victims' families," she wrote. "It felt eerie there but I did not see anything completely out of the norm ... I dont have any other information about the lake. This is all of the information I have, and I hope it helps."

She added that at the time, she thought the suitcase was a log.

Funk also said she didn't have any other information about the lake.

Image: sarah funk

The Guardian reports that four bodies have been found so far, but notes that the island has "scores" of unsolved cases related to missing migrant women.
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The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

Source A common scene from the 405 in LA.

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

Analyst downgrade due to debt

The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

Source

We should acknowledge though for a company with $1.3 bn in market capitalization, having $5.2 bn in long term debt poses, at least an optical problem in the balance sheet. In the last six months "Capital Restraint" has entered the oilfield lexicon, and companies are being held to account.

But, the debt was right there on the balance sheet in February of 2018, when the very same firm, Goldman upgraded CRC to neutral (whatever neutral means...maybe, don't buy it, but don't sell it?). About the same time two other firms upgraded it to buy. It then started its ramp to $50. Proving only that you shouldnt overly rely on investment analysts advice when making decisions!

Source

Now, Goldman is downgrading a company with significantly more cash flow, and less debt than a year before. A headscratcher, that one! The debt was a legacy from its former parent, Occidental Petroleum, when the two separated in 2014.

In 2018 CRC repurchased about $230 mm in debt for $199 mm, saving approximately $31 mm in the process. It was able to do this as a result of improving cash flow YoY, and high net realizations from an aggressive hedging strategy. I think this will continue, the oil price allowing. Related: Mexico Puts The Squeeze On Fuel Theft

Bottom-line, I think, absent a big drop in oil prices, debt is a false flag to fly with California Resources. This a well-managed company, that was born with a stone around its neck, and has been gradually working its way to a better Enterprise Value. In the currently supportive price environment, the stock should not be punished for the debt.

CRC's Strategic Advantage in California

It can't really be over-stated what the importation of ~60 percent of its crude means to California. I've heard higher figures, some approaching 70 percent, but let's go with what the state tells us. What it boils down to is that a significant disruption in shipping could cripple the state, energy-wise.

Source This goes back a lot farther than the 10 year period I captured. If you go back to 1982, California only imported about 5 percent of its needs.

So as California has become more and more addicted to foreign crude it is interesting to note the sources to which it has turned to keep its roadways clogged up.

Source

It's easy to see that over a third of Californias crude comes from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-KSA, and KSA has been making the news for one reason alone in the past few months. They are reducing total shipments to the U.S., and other countries (but, the U.S. in particular), in an effort to drive prices up.

IMO 2020

From the table published by the State of California, almost 370 mm bbl of crude were brought into the state by oil tanker in 2018. Let's assume these were all VLCC's that hold a 2-million barrels a pop, that's a hundred and sixty-five loads. I am not going to get all wonky and try and calculate the carbon foot-print of a VLCC, but what I will say is that the cost of crude shipping will be rising due to this IMO 2020 mandate, that restrict the amount of sulfur in diesel used in marine engines. This will make locally produced crude even more competitive. A win for CRC.

Let's not forget, as well, that crude shipping is an interruptible supply, meaning that these boats can go anywhere.

New vapor pressure law in Washington State could shutdown Bakken crude.

As if California drivers shouldn't already be paranoid about having enough gas to fill up the minivan for a trip to the soccer field, now the very 'green' State of Washington throws them a curve ball. You may ask, "What's the legislature in Washington have to do with driving in California?" A fair question. The answer is that that California does not produce all the refined products it needs, and the five refineries in Washington are the marginal suppliers to them.

If the new law mentioned goes into effect, about 150 K BOPD of Bakken crude could have to find another home. I am sure you see where I am going with this line of thought. California crude and refined product supply could come under potentially greater threat, making locally produced oil still more valuable.

Summary of CRC's California advantage

Source

100 percent of CRC's daily production comes from fields within the state. A guy named David Ricardo once postulated what has become known as the Law of Comparative Advantage. I won't get too deep in the weeds here, but the relevance to this article is that CRC has an advantage over other (foreign) producers by being in the state, and can sell every barrel it produces at Brent prices, and a lower net cost.

A new potential problem that is weighing on the stock.

California AB-345 is a red-herring that will never see the light of day as a law, but has made waves as it passed through a key committee. What it does essentially is sunset the entire oil production industry in the state. Here is a link if you would like to read the bill.

What hasnt gotten a lot of ink in the press is the fact, that even in the unlikely event it did become law, all permits to drill that have been issued will remain valid. California Resources currently has over 600 permits to drill approved and I see this bill as non-event in assessing CRC stock.

Related: How The Renewable Revolution Is Reshaping Geopolitics

Notable outtakes from Production Data and other Key Financial metrics for 2018

Daily production was132 BPOED, 8 percent higher YoY, and with a slight increase in Q-4 to 86 K from 84 K in Q-3. A trend that it would be nice to see continue in Q-1 of this year. Worth mentioning also was the product skew improved in favor of liquids over gas.

Source

CRC is guiding for capex of about $500 mm for 2019, with about 2/3 of that generated internally. That's a slight step back from 2018, and reflects a conservative outlook with respect to price realizations. Speaking of which, CRC benefits from its exposure to Brent pricing and aggressive hedging.

Source

CRC also built its reserves base YoY while cutting costs.

Source

CRC is telling us to expect daily production of about 132K BOPED for 2019, or ~$2.9 bn in gross revenue at hedged prices. If you back out roughly $2.3 bn in core costs, that leaves about $250 mm in free cash. If you give them a multiple of 10 it suggests a price of $48-52 might be in a fair range for CRC. A 100 percent upside from current pricing, making CRC an easy 2-bagger, assuming favorable oil price conditions persist.

Your takeaway

The market is currently whacking CRC like it had the same fundamentals as shale players. It doesn't. CRC produces from predominantly conventional reservoirs with a low decline curve, (about 10 percent a year), as opposed to the much higher curves for shale.

As I've said, I think too much is being made by the analysts of CRC's debt. In my view they are taking the same metrics applied to shale drillers without considering CRC reservoirs and unique sales scenario in California.

When the market comes to its senses, CRC is well positioned to see some gains.

By David Messler for Oilprice.com

Disclosure: The writer does not hold and does not intend to obtain a position in this stock within the next 72hrs. The author expresses his own opinions and has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Global oil market fundamentals are looking particularly bullish, from the OPEC+ production cuts, to the constraints of exports in Nigeria and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuelan. While oil price volatility has increased thanks to financial analysts putting an emphasis on Trumps apparent Twitter agreements with OPEC leaders, market fundamentals are still very bullish. Until the global market realizes that U.S. oil storage reports are not the be all and end all for oil prices, volatility will remain.

There is a new threat looming though as OPEC+ prepares to meet at its June 25-26th Ministerial Meeting in Vienna. The internal cohesion of OPEC is being called into question at present, as several major member countries are facing not only external sanctions but threats of a total internal implosion of their respective regimes. The removal of U.S. waivers for leading oil importers of Iranian oil and gas is putting the Tehran regime under severe pressure. While Trumps target of reducing Iranian production to zero is unrealistic, the impact of the sanctions is undeniable. No new oil contracts have been reported between Iran and its main clients, China and India, since the sanctions. It seems that the fear of indirect sanctions by the U.S. is already having its desired result, Irans hydrocarbon exports have been hit hard and seem to have no response. Reports about Iran having trouble to pay not only its own bills, but also its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, also show that the regime is struggling.

At the same time, Irans staunchest supporter in OPEC, Venezuela appears to be on the brink. Confronted by U.S. sanctions and increased political support from Arab and European countries for opposition leader Guaido, Venezuela is a facing an economic meltdown as its hydrocarbon sectors come to a standstill. In recent days the situation here has worsened as the opposition, supported by parts of the Venezuelan armed forces and security services, has openly started a rebellion to remove current president Maduro. The latter remains in power, but mainly due to Russian, Chinese and Turkish support. Irans Latin American partner is heading for a possible civil conflict of unknown proportions. Related: Economists: Higher Oil Prices Here To Stay

Based on these two key OPEC producers, at least on paper, OPECs internal structure is fragmenting. The Saudi-led OPEC+ production cut strategy is still in place, but it is partly successful due to the negative repercussions of the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. The high level of compliance with the agreement (128%) is based on the loss of these particular volumes. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia, are sticking to their roles, cutting as needed. Optimism about Iraq is based on uncertain assumptions, while Libyas overall situation is highly volatilie.

To top up OPECs internal issues, Africas main oil producer Nigeria reports that it is not even able to sell some of its cargoes. Nigerian sources stated on May 2 that around 20 Nigerian oil cargoes are not sold, even after severe price cuts. Nigeria has already reduced its selling prices of a basket of May-loading crude oil grades, mainly as buyers were not showing an interest in contracts for cargoes offered at and above a premium of $2 compared to dated Brent. At present, Nigerias major grades, including Bonny Light and Qua Iboe, Forcados and Escravos, saw a decrease of around 20 to 25 cents compared with April. At the same time, Nigeria has been hit by several force majeurs, such as that declared by oil major Shell on exports of Nigerias major Bonny Light stream after the closure of one of two export pipelines, while Amenam, operated by Total, is also under force majeure. The main reason for this is not a lack of demand from China or India, but from European clients. Related: BP CEO: Trump Is The Wild Card In Oil Markets

In the coming weeks, as analysts focus on production figures, storage volumes and demand, OPEC will be focusing on defusing pressure to increase production, while at the same time the Saudi-led faction will likely confront the Tehran-Venezuela (and possibly Iraqi) axis. Iran has openly threatened to undermine OPECs stability if no support can be gathered before the June meeting. In several statements to the press, Irans oil Minister has warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse. Tehran threatens at present to take all necessary measures to block oil and gas flows from OPEC members that are supporting the U.S. sanctions regime. At the same time, Tehran has warned to take measures against countries trying to fill in the supply gap left by Iran. Zanganeh reiterated the latter during a meeting with OPEC secretary general Barkindo in Tehran. Barkindo reacted by saying that OPEC will do its utmost to depoliticize oil and gas policies of the organization. OPECs SG statements however look very bleak in light of the growing heat in the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Zanganeh is counting on Iraq, Libya and Venezuela to keep the pressure on Riyadh an Abu Dhabi, not to fully support U.S. sanctions. The meeting in June will be crucial. Geopolitical pressure, combined with an aggressive power projection of Iran in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya), leaves less room to maneuver for Arab countries than before. Tehrans hope to keep Moscow on its side also seems to be backfiring as Russia openly is behind OPEC+ cuts, while backing Saudi-UAEs efforts in Libya.

In many ways this appears to be a repeat of the 2018 meeting of OPEC in Vienna. The main difference will be that Tehran has lost much of its internal OPEC powers, due to the departure of Qatar and the implosion of Venezuela. Tehran doesnt hold any real cards anymore, even the threat of military action in the Gulf or elsewhere will backfire. The cartel is heading for a rearrangement of powers, a rearrangement in which a new actor may be taking part. Moscow is still heading for an official agreement with OPEC, threatening to topple any Iranian future in the cartel for a very long time. Putins need for Iran is gone, new power plays are already in place, in which Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Libya are much more prominent.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Russias second largest natural gas producer, independent player Novatek, has signed up key participation from two state-owned Chinese oil majors in its massive Arctic LNG 2 project. The deals were inked last week at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation held in China. This cements Novateks position as Russias leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer, moving it a step ahead of the countrys two state-backed companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and China National Oil and Gas Development Co. (CNODC), a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), signed up to acquire 10 percent each in the project. CNOOC is also Chinas largest offshore oil and gas producer and developer.

Novateks chairman, Leonid Mikhelson, welcomed CNOOCs involvement, saying China was one of the key consuming markets for our LNG sales. He added that Arctic LNG 2 would be a game-changer in the global gas market and noted the companys experience from its Yamal LNG project as a demonstration of its ability to carry out operations in the Arctic.

The entry of the CNPC unit, meanwhile, was described by Mikhelson as an important milestone for Arctic LNG 2, while he noted the Chinese companys participation in Yamal LNG. The accumulated experience of working together is a solid basis for the successful implementation of our new LNG project, he said. No details have been given yet for the price the Chinese companies paid. French oil major Total also invested in Arctic LNG 2 in March. Novatek, in its first-quarter results, said the sale of a 10 percent stake in the project had resulted in a net gain of $4.8 billion. Related: Oil Market Is Set To Become Very Tight Later This Year

Experience

China was instrumental in making the Yamal LNG work. In addition to the participation of CNPC, which acquired a 20 percent stake in 2013, the Silk Road Fund (SRF) purchased a 9.9 percent stake for $1.21 billion in March 2016. SRF also provided a 15-year loan worth some $813 million. Additionally, CNPC signed up to a 20-year off-take agreement, covering 3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of Yamal LNGs production, indexed to the Japanese Crude Cocktail (JCC) price, the leading LNG pricing benchmark in Asia. The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) also provided loans, of $10.4 billion and $151 million in 2016. This came on top of a $4 billion loan from Russian funding.

Massive gas project

The Arctic LNG 2 project will cover three production trains, each with 6.6 mtpa worth of capacity. An all-important final investment decision (FID) on the project is anticipated later this year, with the first LNG delivery slated for the end of 2023, around the time when most analysts forecast that global LNG markets will pivot from its current overhang to a possible shortage of the super-cooled fuel.

Insatiable gas demand

hinese LNG demand could reach 80-100 mtpa by 2025, according to various industry forecasts, up from 53.7 million tonnes in 2018. Rising demand for the fuel is part of Beijings drive to clean up the air quality of the countrys largest cities, which have been plagued by high air pollution levels for years. This drive has seen an explosion of demand in recent years that has been increasingly met by imports, including U.S.-sourced geopolitically charged gas imports that have also been embroiled in the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Overall demand for gas is expected to climb to 620 bcm by 2035, according to CNPC, up from at 280.3 bcm in 2018. The oil major has also predicted that domestic production will amount to 300 bcm by 2035, up from 161 bcm last year. This will mean an expansion in imports from 124.7 bcm in 2018 to 320 bcm in 2035.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Read From Oilprice.com:
In spite of their political differences, the display of warmth between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Dakar shows that they are cool outside politics.

Pundits expected them to be at each others throat, especially with the completion of the presidential election to which Obasanjo had joined forces to try to unseat Buhari.

The boisterous exchange of pleasantries by Buhari and Obasanjo at the inauguration of President Sall of Senegal is a confirmation that politics is a game. No hard feelings.

Obasanjo, who supported Buhari in 2015 election, gave his support to Atiku Abubakar this time.

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A Massachusetts teenager named Mathew Borges is currently facing murder trial after he stabbed his classmate Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, and later beheaded him for sitting with his girlfriend in the cafeteria of Lawrence High School in the United States.

The prosecutor, Jay Gubitose, said that argument later ensued between Borges and Viloria-Paulino following the development which happened in 2016.

Gubitose told the jury that Borges, who was 15 years old at the time, was very jealous. He started screaming at his girlfriend. He sent her a text that said:

I think of killing someone and I smirk  Its all I think about every day.

In November that year, a day before Borges allegedly killed Viloria-Paulino, he texted the girl with whom he had broken up by then because of his jealousies saying:

The next time you see me, look at my eyes because thats the last time theyll be like that. Theyll be dead.

Surveillance video at the home of a neighbor of Viloria-Paulino showed the victim and Borges leaving together and walking toward a river, the prosecutor told the jury.

Borges, who is being tried as an adult, told police that he and the victim walked toward the river to smoke marijuana and that he left.

The video showed four people later walking near the victims house, and then returning with duffle bags, the prosecutor said, adding that Viloria-Paulinos home had been burglarized.

Borges attorney, Edward Hayden, said that his client and his friends burglarized Viloria-Paulinos home, but that Borges did not commit murder.

Hayden also said that the case against Borges lacked evidence such as DNA, weapons or blood implicating his client, that witnesses who are going to say he committed murder are not reliable.

And while Borges texts supposedly indicate jealousy, he argued, they did not mention Viloria-Paulino.

In these thousands of texts and messages there is no evidence that Mathew killed Lee. Anything incriminating is referring to the house break. There is nothing in all these messages and theres no motive, he said.

Police searching Borges home found a journal in which he wrote kill him, and he spoke of calling his friends, and telling them to cover their shoes with bags.

The defendant told them he stabbed him to death and cut his head and hands off so he couldnt be identified, Gubitose said.

A man who was walking his dog found Viloria-Paulinos decapitated body by the river. Police later found his head in a bag close to where the body was located.
Foreign Affairs Ministry says its silent diplomatic efforts in the past few weeks culminated in the release of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar arrested by Saudi authority for a drug-related offence.

The ministry said this in a statement by its Acting Spokesperson, Friday Akpan, on Thursday in Abuja

Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian student who travelled for Lesser Hajj with her mother was arrested by Saudi Security Officials on December 26, 2018, in a hotel in Madinah.

She was accused of possessing a bag containing illicit drugs purportedly bearing a tag with her name.

Another passenger, Ibrahim Abubakar, unrelated to Zainab who also travelled on the same aircraft, was also arrested on the same day, it stated.

The ministry explained that Zainab Aliyu was released on April 30, while Ibrahim Abubakar was released on May 1.

It also stressed that the intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari directing that all efforts be exerted to secure their release facilitated the expedited final favourable resolution of the matter.

While explaining further its efforts on the release of the two Nigerians, the ministry stated that on receipt of the information on their arrest, the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah intervened.

It stated that the Nigerian Mission in Saudi then requested for a full investigation to ascertain the innocence of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

Investigations conducted by the Airport Authorities and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano discovered a drug cartel at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, that specialises in planting illicit drugs on innocent travellers without their knowledge.

It was also discovered that the bag tagged in Zainabs name was planted by the cartel without her knowledge.

Following the arrest of members of the cartel, the Federal Government is currently prosecuting the suspects in the Federal High Court, Kano.

The outcome of the investigation and subsequent trial of the suspects confirmed the innocence of the two Nigerians.

The Consulate General of Nigeria in Jeddah, upon instruction from Headquarters, therefore sent series of Diplomatic Notes to the Saudi Foreign Ministry informing of the arrest of members of the syndicate in Kano and forwarding the report of the NDLEA investigation and court proceeding.

It stated that investigation documents were forwarded to the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah to further support the innocence of the two Nigerians and also resolve the issue of luggage tag numbers.

According to the ministry, following these efforts, officials in the Consulate secured an appointment and met with the Director General of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Jeddah.

It said that the DG then requested the official in the consulate to forward the NDLEA report to all concerned Saudi agencies with a view to releasing Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

All these processes followed were consistent with the usual diplomatic channel of engagement.

To maintain the diplomatic pressure, another Note was sent by our Embassy in Riyadh conveying the same message to the Saudi Authorities.

On April 26, a Note was also sent to both the Saudi Embassy in Abuja and its Consulate in Kano, forwarding court documents relating to the trial of members of the Kano syndicate, it stated.

It added that the Legal Adviser of the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that relevant agencies and departments in Saudi Arabia were going to meet to consider all the Notes Verbal and reports submitted by Nigeria.

This, it stated, was to facilitate early resolution of the case of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

The ministry added that the judicial and legal process in Nigeria also provided the critical documentation that aided the diplomatic efforts to establish the innocence of both Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

It stated that the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jeddah is currently processing travel documents for the two individuals to facilitate their return to Nigeria.

The ministry commended the Saudi government, through its Embassy in Abuja and officials of Saudi Foreign Ministry, for cooperating with Nigeria in the eventual resolution of the matter

Post Views: 91
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

This is a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast.

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the U.S. mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

South Korea said in a statement its very concerned about North Koreas weapons launches, calling them a violation of last years inter-Korean agreements to reduce animosities between the countries.

The statement, issued after an emergency meeting of top officials at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, also urged North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear diplomacy.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that U.S.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (U.S.-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.

Post Views: 30
State governments across the country are taking a fresh look at their finances with a view to mapping out strategies for payment of the new N30,000 minimum wage.

They are also awaiting guidelines from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on how best to handle the situation.

Although some of the states, including Kano, Zamfara, Kwara, Rivers, Kogi and Edo, had expressed their readiness to pay the new minimum wage, there seems to be discordant tunes from some other states about their ability to pay.

One of such states is Oyo where the current monthly wage bill stands at N5.6 billion.

The state is allocated an average of N4.4 billion a month from the federal purse while its internally generated revenue is about N1.6 billion monthly.

Information, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Toye Arulogun, could not tell what the wage bill would look like when details of the new minimum wage are released.

He said that could only be determined when the Federal Government gazettes the new minimum wage and guidelines are out.

The commissioner explained that the government would take the necessary step if it was confronted with inability to pay.

But he was quick to add: We will wait to cross the bridge before deciding the appropriate line of action.

The Kwara State Government is also awaiting the template for payment from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

It says the template is required by the 13-man minimum wage reviewing committee it set up to guide it on computing new salaries for workers.

Investigations revealed that the state government receives between N2.5 and N3.8 billion monthly, going by the figure usually released by the Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC).

The internally generated revenue of the state also stands at between N1.7 billion and N2.3 billion per month.

The Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Prof Muritala

Awodun, recently said that the service generated a total sum of N6.279 billion as revenue in the first quarter of 2019.

Awodun, said that the agency generated N2.16 billion in January, N1.76 billion in February and N2.38 billion in March 2019.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of N60 billion revenue per annum or N5 billion monthly, however, said that the service has been developed to a point that it would not make less than an average of N2.5 billion every month.

It was gathered that the state government currently spends over N2 billion on the payment of workers salaries.

A source gave the breakdown of salary payment as follows: core civil servants N600 million; primary and secondary school teachers N940 million; local government staff N500 million and pensioners N400 million.

Like Oyo and Kwara, Cross River State is also waiting for the guidelines from the federal authorities.

It currently has about 25,000 workers on its payroll and receives an average of N3 billion allocation from Abuja monthly and generates between N1.5 billion and N3.5 billion.

Apart from paying salaries and meeting financial obligations in respect of projects, the state also services the loan taken for the execution of the Tinapa complex.

This is put at almost N100 million per month.

There is also the controversial superhighway expected to gulp over N700 billion.

The governor recently transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly to approve modalities for funding the project by the state government.

The letter, which was leaked on the Internet, sought approval for an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for N648.8 billion in favour of a construction company.

The letter with reference number SSG/S/300/VOL.XVII/1199, addressed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, sought the state legislature to consider and pass a resolution granting an approval for the state government to issue an ISPO of N300 million monthly through a bank in favour of the construction company.

Imo ll pay, says Okorocha

as gov-elect insists on checking records first

The Chief Press Secretary to outgoing Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told The Nation that the state government would pay the new minimum wage.

He said: Imo State was the first state to pay the N18,000 minimum wage and it will also pay the new minimum wage of N30,000.

The governor has always considered the welfare of workers a top priority of his administration.

But Mr. Chibuike Onyeukwu, the media aide to Governor-elect Emeka Ihedioha, said the records would have to be checked first to determine what could be done.

He said: The issue of the minimum wage is a matter the governor-elect will not comment on until he is sworn in and assumes office on May 29.

Thereafter, he will check the records on ground and make the position of the state known.

Investigation showed that the current monthly wage bill of workers in the state is about N4 billion, pensions gulp N1.4 billion, while internally generated revenue (IGR) is N1.4 billion per annum.

The state also gets between N3.4 billion and N5 billion as allocation from Abuja monthly.

Speaking on the states chances of paying the new minimum wage, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Iyke Njoku, described it as a complicated issue.

He said: With the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law, every state is expected to pay. For it to be obtainable, the Federal Government should have made it optional rather than foisting it on the states.

States should have been allowed to negotiate with the workers and agree on what they can pay.

For instance, in Imo State, we have free education going on, and this is taking a lot of money and we cannot stop that to meet up with the new salary because they will bring back hardship on the people.

And if you fail to comply with the new salary structure, labour will revolt. So it is a very complicated issue for now.

Niger to initiate discussion with labour

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is seeking talks with labour leaders in the state on how to proceed with payment of the new minimum wage.

He wants to find out why governments wage bill has remained unchanged despite the large number of those who have either retired from the service or died since 2015 when he assumed office.

Bello said that while he is committed to paying the new minimum wage, we will initiate discussions with the organised labour on how to proceed with the necessary modalities for the full implementation of the 30,000 minimum wage bill as signed into law by the President.

He said it was disheartening that despite conscious efforts to turn around the fortunes of the state, the state wage bill continues to remain static, regardless of the number of the people that have retired from the service and those who died between 2015 and now.

The civil servants need to be sincere with themselves and support government in changing the ugly trend.

The federal allocation to Niger State in January 2019 was N4.043 billion.

Figures recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the states IGR last year at N6.5 billion per annum, an average of N543 million per month.

Abia ready to pay, says commissioner

The Abia State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, told The Nation that the state government was ready to pay the new minimum wage, saying it will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be on the same page with other states.

Asked whether the state has the financial muscle to pay, he said: Our IGR is not static; it fluctuates. In my time, it has gone beyond N1 billion, and at times, it has fallen below N700 million.

It keeps fluctuating, but we have arrived at a point where I think today, we can target N2 billion as IGR in Abia and achieve it.

Ultimately, people believe that Abia can make N5 billion as IGR, and I share that optimism. But that hasnt happened yet.

Minimum wage is something that we have all agreed that the amount currently being earned by workers is low, and as a state, we are going to abide with the decision, in line with other states. Whatever other states are doing, be rest assured that we are going to do it.

But I am not also worried, because if you check the whole of Southeast today, Abia pays the highest. N30,000 minimum wage will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be at the same page with other states.

On the possibility of the wage bill being a burden on the state, the commissioner said: There is no doubt that it is going to be a big burden on the state.

But why I am not a bit bothered like other states is because Abia has been paying well above the N18, 000 minimum wage since 2011 till date.

So, we are not as jittery as other states. But like I told you, this has also provided a very good platform for us to look at our wage structure, knowing that we pay the highest.

We have the capacity to continue paying highest. We are going to use this opportunity and adjust and then make it easier for us to pay and for the workers to earn this money as and when due.

It is going to be a win-win situation for everybody. The workers will be happy and the state will also be happy.

I know that when we came in and did the biometrics and the new payroll administration strategy where we have centralized payroll system, that assisted us in realigning our wage structure and we made huge savings from that exercise.

This exercise was basically for the MDAs, but the minimum wage now is going to give us the opportunity to look at what is being earned even in other parastatals like Abia Poly where the wage structure is dysfunctional because a PhD holder in Abia Poly earns higher than a professor in ABSU (Abia State University, Uturu).

It is absurd and totally unacceptable. So, be rest assured that with the restructuring that we are trying to do, it will realign these things and make it look like what it should be, so that the state will be alive to its responsibility, these institutions will also be alive and running.

We are going to restructure our salary wage bill to be in line with what is obtainable elsewhere.

Concerning our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), we are currently undergoing restructuring. During the period of restructuring, you dont get that kind of quantum leap that you expect, but any moment from now, we will start reaping the dividends of those things.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly kept the selection of his choices for new ministers for his second term in office to himself.

According to The Nation, some members of the inner power circle popularly known as Cabal went to London to meet with the president but were denied access based on strict orders from him.

It was reported that unlike his first term in office, the president has not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party.

A top source said: It seems Buhari has realized that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.

His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London.

Those who went to London came back empty-handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).

We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.

A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015?

He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.

Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him.

A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.

I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President.

We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended.
Anglican Diocese of Aguata in Anambra State has asked the state governor, Willie Obiano to tender an unreserved apology to Ndigbo for betraying them by supporting President Muhammadu Buharis reelection during the electioneering campaign.

The church said that the insult the governor gave the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, in the run-up to the last general elections, is a betrayal to the entire Igbo race.

These were contained in the Bishops Charge presented on Friday by Rt. Rev. Samuel Ezeofor at the 2nd Session of the Fifth Synod of Diocese of Aguata holding at St James Anglican Church Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of the State.

The church described Obianos betrayal as an insult which inflicted a deep wound on Igbo people.

The insult Chief Willie Obiano laid on President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo was a betrayal of the highest order, a betrayal of the whole Igbo people, a betrayal of his own people. It was an insult on the whole of Igbo race and we call on him, His Excellency Chief Willie Obiano to apologize to Ndigbo. We do not know how Governor Obiano can explain the stance he took but may it please him to know that he wounded us so deep in his bid to stop his benefactor Sir Peter Obi. We also need to let the Governor know that we are not unaware of his moves against the Anglican faithful in Anambra State.

Chancellor of the Diocese, Justice Pete Obiora commended the Bishop for his analysis of the society and courage to say things the way they were.
Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT], Lanre Osibona has reiterated the Federal Governments commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are un-banked or under-banked.

Osibodu made this assertion in his keynote address at the recently concluded Lagos Fintech Week that was held in Lagos.

Lagos Fintech Week is an invigorating week of distinct Fintech events that delivers exciting discussions, stimulating demos and insightful debates.

He said that digital financial services is critical to building a robust digital economy and government is determined in using it to make financial services affordable to everyone irrespective of their status and gender.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity  the National Identity Number (NIN).

For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians, he said.

He also pointed that government has put in place a number of initiatives that include FECs approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies, developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

He said the Federal Government was expected to have setup an independent Data Protection Agency. This is currently in the National Assembly for final adoption before being signed into law, he added.

The Presidents senior adviser also mentioned that government is developing a robust cyber security framework on the outcome of the cyber security assessment initiative.

We have upgraded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) technology in order to scale the number of records it can hold and working with a number of stakeholders including the private sector to develop strategy for e-commerce in the digital economy.

He stated that the country cannot afford to lose out in leveraging the opportunities that digital economy is bringing but must work together in developing policies and regulations that will address challenges of data sovereignty, data ownership and commercialisation of data.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will meet with the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigerias power sector to assess the take-off and implementation of the third-party meter deployment scheme, Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), initiated by the regulatory agency.

However, as the date for the MAPs to begin rolling out meters to all electricity consumers enters the third day, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr. Kola Adesina, has said meter rollout alone will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

It was also gathered that many Discos did meet NERCs May 1 deadline for the conclusion of their selection of MAPs.

However, the regulator has insisted that all Discos must engage a MAP, insisting that the Discos conclude theirs immediately.

The roll out commenced Thursday as contained in the permit. We shall have update from Discos/Permit holders during the NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry) meeting on Monday, May 6, in Lagos, a senior official of NERC said.

NERC, from various notices it released, has indicated that it had issued permits to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc; Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc, to engage MAPs.

According to the agency, Discos MAPs permits were in accordance with section 4(3) of the MAP Regulations- NERC- R-112 of 2018.

It added that the Port Harcourt Disco appointed Armese Consulting Ltd and Holley Metering Ltd as its MAP; Yola Disco appointed Chris Ejik International Agencies Ltd; while Enugu Disco appointed Mojec International Ltd.

Ibadan Disco, NERC said, appointed CWG Plc, Integrated Resources Ltd, Mojec International Ltd, Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd, New Hampshire Capital Ltd, Protogy Global Services Ltd and Tinuten Nigeria Limited to provide meters within their respective franchise under the MAP scheme.

It also issued permits to Ikeja and Benin Discos to appoint their preferred MAPs, as well as to Abuja and Jos Discos.

NERC approved for Ikeja Disco to appoint Mojec International Limited to provide 399,790 meters; Consolidated Infrastructure Group Ltd  397,922 meters and New Hamshire Capital Ltd  276,699 meters respectively for it within its franchise network, while Benin Disco got its nod to appoint FLT Energy System Ltd; G-Unit Engineering Ltd; Inlaks Power Solution Ltd; Sabrud Consortium Nigeria Ltd and Turbo Energy Ltd to provide meters within its franchise network.

For Abuja Disco, NERC approved Mojec International Limited, Meron Consortium and Turbo Engineering Limited to provide 487,000; 213,000 and 200,000 meters respectively for the distribution company.

NERC also approved Triple 7 and Mojec International Limited consortium to provide 500,000 meters to Jos Disco.

The commission had directed that the rollout of meters under the MAP shall commence not later than May 1, 2019, and asked customers of the Discos to expect from the commencement of rollout date for meters to be installed in their premises within 10 working days of making payment to MAPs in accordance with section 18 (3) of the MAP Regulations 2018.

It added that MAPs shall charge an upfront amount of N36, 991.50 for single-phase meters and N67, 055.85 for three-phase meters.

These costs of meters are inclusive of supply, installation, maintenance and replacement of meters over its technical life.

The commission shall monitor closely the rollout plan of distribution licensees and overall compliance with the regulation and various service agreements by the MAP and electricity distribution licensees, the NERC had stated in one of its statements on the scheme.

However, out of the 11 Discos, NERC reported that only eight have procured their MAPs. Kaduna, Kano and Eko Discos have not.

Meanwhile, Kola Adesina, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), said only meter rollout will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

Adesina, who spoke with journalists on the side-lines of the inauguration of the 2019 Young Engineers Programme (YEP), an initiative of the company, said rather than shifting focus to metering, the federal government and the regulators should recommend a holistic solution to all the fundamental problems in the power sector.

He said: Well, you said it all, yesterday (May 1), was meant to be the first day for meter rollout. I believe that from today most of them will begin to see how fast they can rollout the meters. My own view has always been this: when you have a problem of this nature, it is a holistic solution that you need to recommend.

But because the narratives for the power sector have shifted to metering as above the key solutions here, we want to see whether that alone can solve the problem. But I know that alone will not solve our problem. We still have many other issues within the value chain that need to be solved.

Citing the power outage experienced in the country recently, which he said was caused by a bolt that went off leading to shutting down the pipeline for repair, Adesina stated that as a country, having only one pipeline was not acceptable.

He explained: I give you an instance; recently we had serious power outage in Nigeria. The reason for that was that the gas provider had a leakage on the pipeline, and in solving that leakage, all generation companies had to ramp down their power because they cannot be supplying gas while they are repairing what needed to be repaired.

So, it is a bolt that actually got off within the pipeline. So, they needed to repair that. Now, I say, for us to have a holistic, total, systemic solution, Nigeria should not have just one pipeline supplying gas to different power plants. Nigeria should have multiple gas pipelines to all the power stations that we have, such that if there is shortage in one, they can divert gas all to the other. But that is one side of the equation as well.

He re-echoed the issue of electricity tariff as another fundamental issue that needs to be addressed in the power sector, saying without a cost-reflective tariff in place, stable, uninterrupted power supply might not be achieved as desired by Nigerians.

According to him, Once there is cost reflective tariff and all the relevant critical enablers apart from tariff, are made available, investors and business will all fall suit. They will want to make more money doing the business and they will want to make legitimate money doing this business.

If the cost of generation is N10 and tariff is N6, you cant get power. If the tariff methodology is very clear; if the generation companies are charging to power companies, using the exchange rate of N305 to a dollar, therefore, the distribution companies must use the exchange rate of N305 to charge the customers for the power they are consuming.

But today, the distribution companies are using N199 to $1. I am sure none of you can get a dollar at 199. So if the equipment required by distribution companies are being gotten at N360 per dollar, which is even the open market rate, then there is a big issue that somebody needs to speak to here.

They cannot be using N199 as the exchange rate for distribution companies to you and I the consumer, and whereas the generation companies use N305 to charge to the distribution companies. So somebody is losing money and it is the distribution companies.

Adesina called for the review of electricity tariff, saying tariff review was supposed to have been done for six times since the last review but that that has not happened till date.

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There was a brief commotion after a helicopter landed at the stadium in Kogi State University yesterday 3rd of May. It was gathered that the helicopter made an emergency landing at the school due to bad weather.

The Universitys stadium was overcrowded with students who rushed to the scene in their numbers to catch a glimpse of the chopper and also to take some pictures.

The pilot later revealed they were flying to Abuja, but because of the weather condition, they landed inside the school stadium as it was about to rain.

The helicopter later left for its destination after spending some minutes there. Continue to see photos below;
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
One of Chinas most popular tourist destinations has been hit by an avalanche in the middle of a busy holiday period.

The landslide at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan took place on Friday morning near Baisha Ancient Town, another popular local attraction.

Although the incident happened in the middle of the extended May Day public holiday, no injuries were reported.

Visitors to the area recorded dramatic pictures of the avalanche, showing clouds of dust being thrown into the air along the mountainside, footage first published in the local newspaper Spring City Evening News.

The Yulong county government said rocks had been sent hurtling into the valley below, but the area was uninhabited and away from the main tourist areas and there had been no risk to life as a result.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also known as Mount Yulong, is the southmost glacier in the northern hemisphere, stretching over 35 kilometres (22 miles) and consisting of 13 peaks, the highest of which is at an altitude of nearly 5,600 metres.

One of Chinas busiest tourist sites, it attracted about 4.32 million visitors last year, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, according to the local government.

A preliminary investigation by the authorities concluded that the rock collapse had been caused by a free-thaw effect in the alpine landscape, which is common in high-altitude mountains and frozen soil regions.

A similar incident was recorded on the mountain in March 2004.

The government said it was conducting comprehensive field inspections and had set up warning signs on the periphery of the collapsed area to stop members of the public from entering the area.

The county will then call in geologists to conduct a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the impact of the incident.

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Taiwans presidential election is still eight months away but there is already an elephant in the room for the opposition Kuomintang hoping to defeat incumbent Tsai Ing-wen.

Its the China factor  the one issue KMT candidates are hesitant to mention but has played a big role in previous presidential polls.

The self-ruled island has elected four leaders since its first democratic presidential race in 1996 and the mainland has remained a key influence each time during and after the elections.

For the KMT, embracing Beijings economic incentives could boost the economy and its chances of winning. But such cross-strait associations also risk a backlash from voters who fear encroachment from the mainland, analysts say.

Four KMT members have signalled their interest in taking part in the partys primaries next month to determine who will be on the KMTs ticket  former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng, former Taipei county magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, and Foxconn billionaire chairman Terry Gou. Popular Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu has yet to say whether he will run.

But so far, none of them has said how they would deal with the mainland if they became president.

Wang Yu-min, legislator and former KMT deputy legislative caucus head, said the candidates would not be able to dodge the question forever.

Taiwans president is responsible for handling cross-strait policy and relations, so all hopefuls will have to address this issue if they want to run for president, she said.

While the KMT supports having conciliatory ties with the mainland to maintain cross-strait peace, it also faces censure and criticism by the pro-independence camp here for trying to sell Taiwan to the mainland, thus making both the party and the KMT hopefuls more cautious over the China factor during presidential elections.

Analysts said that since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party first took power from the mainland-friendly KMT in 2000, the China factor has been growing increasingly more complex as Beijing has tried to influence the election results in its favour.

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It used military intimidation and wooed away Taiwans diplomatic allies to try to discourage Taiwanese voters from supporting the DPP. But tactics like this only led to a backlash from residents, Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping said.

Beijing first tried those tactics before the 1996 presidential election, the islands first. It launched unarmed missiles at Taiwans doorstep to discourage voters from electing Lee Teng-hui, over what it saw as Lees attempt to promote Taiwanese independence.

It tried again by mounting vitriolic attacks and staging war games around Taiwan when Chen Shui-bian from the DPP ran in 2000 and again in 2004, only to find that such spurred resentful Taiwanese to vote for the pro-independence Chen.

Fan said Beijing had learned the lesson and become more sophisticated in its attempts to influence the islands elections, using tactics such as cybertroops and content farms to feed false information.

Wang said the party and its hopefuls did not want to be tarnished by such associations with the mainland if elected.

Other dangers in aligning with Beijing are closer to the surface.

Recent disputes over [People First Party chairman] James Soong Chu-yus visit to the mainland exemplify what the KMT wants to avoid in times of election, she said.

Soong came under intense criticism in Taiwan after Beijings state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying he supported Chinese President Xi Jinpings January proposal to have the two sides to discuss cross-strait unification under one country, two systems model used in Hong Kong and Macau.

Opinion polls suggest the model is highly unpopular in Taiwan, and Soong later denied ever making the comment to Xinhua.

Another contentious cross-strait issue is the 1992 consensus, an understanding reached verbally in 1992 in Hong Kong to allow both sides to continue talks as long as they support that there is only one China. Tsai, from the DPP, has refused to acknowledge the understanding, which Beijing demands as the foundation for any exchanges.

KMT deputy spokeswoman Angel Hung said the KMT still supported the consensus. But we define that China as the Republic of China, she said referring to Taiwans official title, adding Beijing could have its own interpretation of what that China stands for.

Chang Ling-chen, an emeritus political science professor at National Taiwan University, said that while the KMT might try to avoid the China factor during the election, the DPP would do all it could to capitalise on it.

They [DPP] would resort to the scare tactics by saying Taiwan might be forced to reunify with the if the KMT won the presidential poll, she said.

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US President Donald Trump has said China would like to be part of a new three-way accord to limit nuclear arms  a suggestion greeted with scepticism by many observers who questioned whether Beijing would want to limit its ability to enhance its second-strike capacity.

Trump, who had a lengthy telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, said they had discussed ways to include China in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which became effective in 2011.

We discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal. And China  Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Slovakias Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road, Trump said.

We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less, and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he added.

The New Start Treaty between the US and Russia restricted the number of strategic nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy to 1,550 and halved the number of missile launchers they possess.

China is not believed to have any deployed warheads but is thought to be expanding its nuclear capacity.

The exact number of Chinese warheads is a closely guarded secret, but a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year estimated China has about 280 nuclear warheads, compared with a total of 6,450 deployed and non-deployed warheads for the US and 6,850 for Russia.

On Friday Trump implied that the question of arms reduction would be linked to talks on ending the US-China trade war.

During the trade talks, we started talking about that. They were excited about that  they felt very strongly about it, he added, noting that the new treaty would be a very comprehensive one.

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Trump may be completely misreading China

Zhao Tong

Last month he suggested that China and Russia should join America in discussing arms controls once Washington and Beijing have settled their trade war.

During a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the US president said it was ridiculous that the three countries were spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

He then turned to Liu and said: A lot of money could be put in other things, would you like to respond to that?

Liu replied: I think it is a very good idea.

If this is Trumps basis for saying China felt very strongly about joining a nuclear arms control agreement, he may be completely misreading China. In fact, all reactions in Beijing to the US proposal have been very negative, showing no serious interest, Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said.

China is very sceptical of US intentions to pressure China on arms control.

China fears the United States is seeking to gain advantage in a comprehensive competition with China by withdrawing from existing arms control agreements such as the INF [Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces] Treaty and giving itself more freedom to strengthen its military capabilities against China on the one hand and pressuring China to limit its own strategic capabilities on the other.

Earlier this year German Chancellor Angela Merkel said China should be incorporated into a new INF deal  to ban land-based intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and launchers  after Trump pulled out of the previous agreement blaming Russian non-compliance.

But China, which mainly possesses missiles that would be affected by the ban, has dismissed the idea.

Its top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi said China would develop its capabilities according to its defensive needs and would not pose a threat to anyone.

But Beijing has yet to comment on Trumps remarks and analysts believe the chances of China joining the treaty are low as Beijing is eager to enhance its nuclear arms stockpile.

Beijing perceives China to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia

Adam Ni

In January, China ran a simulated launch and strike mission against an imaginary enemy, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from an underground facility, a second-strike exercise widely interpreted as a way of enhancing the credibility of its deterrent.

Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said China  which has a no-first-use policy  is rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal, but does not feel secure about its ability to deter nuclear attack.

There is virtually no prospect that China will voluntarily sign up to something that would limit its ability to develop and enhance a credible nuclear second-strike capability.

This is especially so because Beijing perceives it to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia, he said.

Ultimately, Beijing wants to develop its nuclear capabilities in order to raise the credibility of its nuclear deterrent while the US wants to slow Beijing down.

The likelihood of a meaningful nuclear treaty with the participation of China is virtually zero, at least in the short term.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said China would be unlikely to sign a new Start treaty.

I am not optimistic about the feasibility of a new trilateral nuclear deal due to Chinas limited number of nuclear arms, he said.

Chinese experts believe that China's nuclear capabilities are too small due to the expansion of US missile defence.

Indeed, US missile defence has been posing rising threats to the credibility of China's nuclear deterrent and constitutes a major driver of Beijing's efforts to modernise and expand its nuclear capabilities.

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AVAIL of limited time offers from IXS  the newest Internet service provider in the country offering high-speed dedicated fiber Internet connectivity for the enterprises since 2012.The plans range from

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Legal adviser to Hong Kongs legislature questions why mainland China is not excluded from controversial extradition bill

The row over a contentious proposal to amend Hong Kongs extradition laws has deepened, with the legal adviser to the legislature questioning why mainland China is not excluded and a prominent law expert suggesting local suspects be exempt from transferral across the border.

Both the Legislative Councils legal division and scholar Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, raised doubts on the amendment ahead of a showdown meeting among lawmakers on Saturday. That meeting will discuss a motion by the pro-government camp to unseat a rival who presides over the committee that will scrutinise the extradition bill.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

If passed, the amendment will allow case-by-case fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including Taiwan and the mainland.

But in a letter to the Security Bureau dated April 30, Legcos legal adviser raised dozens of questions about the proposal, including whether the government had changed its policy on seeking a formal extradition agreement with the mainland.

The letter said that the intent of excluding China from the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance when the law was localised for the handover in 1997 was to have a separate agreement with the mainland.

Timothy Tso Chi-yuen, the divisions senior assistant legal adviser, said the bureau should explain if there had been a policy change, and if so, give the reasons.

Tso also wrote that there had long been a case-by-case arrangement under the existing ordinance, to allow Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to places it lacked an extradition deal with.

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Such a move was possible if the chief executive issued an order under the ordinance, he wrote.

Tso urged the bureau to clarify why such an arrangement was considered impracticable now.

His other queries included whether further human rights safeguards could be introduced to the bill, as well as how Legco and the public would be informed of possible transfer requests.

By convention, the bureau had to answer questions from the division, lawmakers said.

Separately, in an online commentary, University of Hong Kong legal scholar Chen said local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to the mainland. Instead, the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen said it was advisable to include more restrictions and safeguards in the bill. He said case-by-case extradition should be limited to the most heinous crimes and a small number of the most serious offences.

The professor also said the amendment should be non-retroactive, meaning it would only apply to cases that happened after the bill passed.

He also said that if the bill passed, Hong Kong courts will be placed in a difficult and invidious position, as judges would have to decide whether the mainlands legal system complied with human rights standards before granting extradition requests.

In a statement issued on Friday night, the Security Bureau said the exclusion of mainland China from the existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was not intentional.

A bureau spokesman said mainland China was not included as a destination of fugitive transfer in the British law the ordinance was based on.

The matter was not handled in the process of localising the ordinance, and the exclusion of China was not intentional, he said.

The spokesman also said the current amendment did not target individual jurisdictions, but any that currently lacks an extradition agreement with Hong Kong.

The bureau will issue a reply and submit it to the bills committee before May 14, he said.

Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said Tso had pointed out the flaws and unanswered questions related to the bill, noting that the document had been in greater detail than usual.

Why is there a sudden change in a policy that was established 20 years ago to exclude the mainland? Kwok said.

Pro-establishment legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a former security minister, said the existing case-by-case arrangement would not work in Chans case, as Taiwan was considered by the central government as part of China.

Two functional constituency lawmakers in Ips camp  Ma Fung-kwok and Tony Tse Wai-chuen  also faced pressure from their sectors to properly consult electors before backing the bill.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming will head to Canada and the United States on a 14-day visit in a bid to persuade the international community to voice its opposition to the bill.

The group will also testify at a public hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington to voice concerns over the threats Hongkongers may face from the bill.

Additional reporting by Alvin Lum

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North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.
Row over controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong intensifies as legal scholars call for changes sends shock waves through political circles

An adviser to Hong Kongs leader on Saturday hit back at a prominent legal expert who expressed doubts over the controversial proposal to amend extradition laws, as legislators passed a motion that was likely to lead to more chaos at the committee scrutinising the bill next week.

Academic Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, wrote on Friday that local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to mainland China. Instead, the University of Hong Kong law professor said the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen was commenting on the governments proposal to amend fugitive laws, such that Hong Kong could transfer suspects to places it lacked a formal extradition agreement with, including the mainland and Taiwan.

His proposal sent shock waves through political circles as the scholar had in the past tended to side with the government on thorny legal issues.

At least one opposition party has called for a discussion of his suggestion, while a pro-Beijing lawmaker who had been lined up to steer scrutiny of the bill expressed doubts.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

On Saturday, senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member to Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngors cabinet, said Chen had given in to public pressure.

He should know that trying Hongkongers in Hong Kong is not the answer, Tong wrote online, citing as an example the United States, which he said did not have extraterritorial powers over serious crimes.

Criminal acts are internal issues of each country or jurisdiction, it is part of a regions sovereignty, it will not be easily controlled by other countries, Tong said.

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However, Section 2332 of US law states that whoever kills American nationals outside the country can still be punished by its courts.

Tong also said it would be hard for local courts to obtain evidence and witness statements for crimes committed outside Hong Kong.

Alvin Yeung, leader of the opposition Civic Party, who had made a similar suggestion on extraterritorial powers, said even Chen was having some strong doubts about the amendment.

Whatever Professor Chen is suggesting its a way to counter the present proposal, Yeung said, adding the academics other suggestions also deserved thorough discussion.

But pro-establishment camp veteran Paul Tse Wai-chun said Chens suggestion on trying Hongkongers locally might be easier said than done, as it would require foreign law enforcement agencies to send over witnesses and physical evidence.

Nonetheless, the authorities should carefully study Chens suggestions, Tse said.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, held a special House Committee meeting on Saturday, triggered by moves from the pro-establishment camp to remove pan-democrat James To Kun-sun from presiding over the committee that will vet the extradition bill.

A letter signed by 42 pro-establishment lawmakers called for To to be replaced by the camps Abraham Razack. They asked the House Committee, which considers matters relating to Legco business, to issue guidelines on ousting him.

Their motion to issue a non-binding guideline to the bills committee for Razack to replace To was passed 37-19.

The bloc has accused To, who is leading the bills committee because of his seniority until a chair is elected, of filibustering.

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters protested against the bill outside Legco as the meeting took place.

The bills committee meets for the third time on Monday afternoon.

The struggle for control of the bills committee did not end with the vote. Soon after the meeting, Legcos secretariat issued a circular to lawmakers on the committee, asking them to express in writing before Monday noon whether the guideline should be adopted  instead of letting To deal with it.

To insisted that only he, as the presiding member, had the power to issue circulars, and the matter had to be debated at the meeting.

Ive lost faith in the secretariat, it has become a political tool, To said.

However, the secretariat said it was practical to issue the circular, as the bills committee lacked an elected chair at the moment.

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The plane was carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

A Boeing 737 skidded off a runway into a river after crash-landing during a lightning storm in Florida on Friday, officials said, with terrified passengers all safely evacuated to shore from the stricken jet's wings.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down ... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."

Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told a news conference early Saturday it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane ... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft", NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook Saturday.

'Lightning and thunder'

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday a team was being sent to investigate the incident.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to website FlightRadar24.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October, and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa, occurred shortly after takeoff.

 2019 AFP
The IMF said that carbon pricing is "the single most effective mitigation instrument" in cutting greenhouse gas emissions

At $70 per ton of carbon dioxide, a carbon tax would be the most efficient means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to an International Monetary Fund report published Friday.

But for the moment, carbon taxes remain unpopular, particularly in France, where plans to increase it to 55 euros (or $61.60) from 44.60 euros recently ignited the Yellow Vest protest movement.

The French government was forced to suspend the plan in the face of popular revolt.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 by more than 200 countries, aims to cap overall increases in global temperatures at two degrees centigrade above the pre-industrial era.

"The 2C target would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around $70 per ton," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar, the fund's head of fiscal affairs, said in a joint blog post.

"There is a growing consensus that carbon pricing... is the single most effective mitigation instrument," they said.

It allows for a reduction in energy consumption, favors cleaner energies and mobilizes private financing, according to the IMF.

"It also provides much needed revenues," they said, adding that countries could use that income to finance sustainable and more inclusive growth.

In the report, the IMF said that in China, the world's largest emitter, and in India or South Africa, countries which rely heavily on coal, a carbon tax of just $35 per ton would cut emissions by 30 percent.

But in nine countries that use little coal, such as Ivory Coast, Costa Rica or France, the result would be a reduction of only 10 percent.

 2019 AFP
Morocco and Tunisia are two success stories of the Arab Spring. They are two countries struggling to establish democratic rules in a regional environment plagued by the rise of the military as a kingmaker.

In Algeria, the army scapegoated an ailing president and is currently trying to refurbish its facade despite mounting popular protests.

In Libya, renegade general Khalifa Haftar, bolstered by foreign support, is on the offensive to take Tripoli where a UN-backed government of national accord is trying to hold still.

In Mauritania and Egypt, the head of the military is the head of state with a blank check to quell dissent and flout basic democratic rules and human rights standards.

In such a regional context, the two stable Maghreb countries face increasing security and economic challenges. In Tunisia, the degradation of security conditions in Libya implies more displaced people flowing into its borders seeking refuge and medical treatment in crowded hospitals.

Tunisian border towns rely heavily on trade with Libya and the war will only hamper the flow of goods.

Morocco will also have to wait for a new Algerian leadership that sees the Maghreb as a win-win project. The North African Kingdom has on multiple occasions called on Algeria to open the borders in order to pave the way for an integrated region. However, the call falls on deaf Algerian ears.

Both Morocco and Tunisia are looking closely to the uncertainty in their surrounding where military regimes continue their power grab.
Indian residents inspect damage on a street in Puri in the eastern state of Odisha after Cyclone Fani made landfall

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India.

Eight people reportedly died in India and Bangladeshi police said nine perished even before the eye of the storm rumbled over the border in the morning.

Some 400,000 people have been taken to shelters, Bangladeshi officials told AFP.

Fourteen villages were inundated as a tidal surge breached flood dams. The dead included a minor in Barguna district on the coast and five others killed by lightening.

"We are mooring our boat because it's the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again," Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

With the storm weakening but still packing a punch, winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battered overnight and on Saturday morning the Indian state of West Bengal and its capital Kolkata, including the Sundarbans mangrove forest area.

"It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister.

Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall

"Locals spent a sleepless night and many came out of their thatched huts and stood on the river banks measuring the level of the water," Pakhira said.

"Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled."

Several hundred thousand people were told to evacuate coastal areas of West Bengal before the arrival of Fani ("snake" in Bengali), with 5,000 leaving the low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings of Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people.

"Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," Kolkata's mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place."

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal's chief minister and a key figure in India's ongoing mega-election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Kolkata's international airport was ordered closed. Train services were also halted.

Cyclone Fani ripped down trees, power lines and damaged buildings

Flying trees

Worst hit was the state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

Eight people were killed in Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris.

While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster management official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 people injured in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri alone.

"It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident.

"There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air," the man told AFP. "The wind is deafening."

An Indian resident rides a bike past a bulldozer clearing debris from a road in Puri

PTI reported that a construction crane collapsed and that a police booth was dragged 60 metres (yards) by the wind.

As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services.

Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and windows on many buildings were smashed.

Puri's famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped damage, however.

Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his six-strong family collapsed, its roof blown away.

"I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP.

Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hundreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs.

burs-stu/qan

 2019 AFP
Traditional Songket weaver. Credit: Universiti Teknologi MARA

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr. Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layerswhich include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

Explore further Mobile phone 'Have-nots' sidelined

More information: The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.
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ATHOL  It was a rich life of family, farming and community. And for many years James E. Galusha delighted residents during Thurman Maple Days when they toured Toad Hill Maple Farm and its maple syrup operation.

On Thursday, just four months after Galushas wife Norma Jean passed away, Galusha, 78, died while a patient in Glens Falls Hospital. Married in 1959, Jim and Norma would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August.

James Elliott Galusha April 5, 1941  May 2, 2019

One of the couples favorite adventures was taking long Sunday drives and traveling out west for horse auctions and rodeos, according to his obituary.

A horseman for many years, Galusha won several awards with Long Shadows Duke, an American Quarter Horse.

Serving as the Thurman town justice for six years and the town supervisor for four years, Galusha was also well known for leading the bidding at Warrensburgs annual auction at the Smoke Eaters Jamboree and for several charity auctions.

In the 1960s he began Toad Hill Stud Farm, where he trained, bred, boarded, bought and sold horses. And he competed throughout New York in horse shows and in team roping events at local rodeos.

According to Galushas obituary, friends may call from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Alexander Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg.

A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation at 4 p.m. at the funeral home, and burial for both Jim and Norma will follow at the Warrensburg Cemetery.

A dinner will be held after the burial at the First Presbyterian Church of Warrensburg, 2 Stewart Farrar Ave.

Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online guest book, condolences and directions.

Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli covers Washington County government and other county news and events.

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Editor:

I have three sons and one son-in-law who have served our country for 17-27 years. My Marine was injured in Afghanistan and has three Purple Hearts.

In October 2011, my husband passed after a short bout of cancer. On his gravestone, I left two dimes; the meaning known to only my husband and I. My Marine left one of his Purple Hearts.

On Monday, April 22, I went to the Moss Street Cemetery and the dimes and Purple Heart were there. I went on Sunday, April 28, and lo and behold, the dimes were there and the Purple Heart gone! After eight years, the ribbon faded, the shiny medal still recognizable, but not as shiny. It could not mean anything to anyone but our family.

So, please, if you have it, return it. It cant possibly be as important to you as it is to us.

Disappointed and brokenhearted.

Patti Stoy and Family, Hudson Falls

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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
Morocco has offered key intelligence to help Sri Lanka avert further attacks after offering tip offs that led to identifying the perpetrators of the Sunday Easter Bombing in the Island nation, Indian paper The Economic Times reported.

Morocco, which maintains a substantial information bank on ISIS and its network, provided leads to Sri Lanka in collaboration with India that led to an operation in Colombo to eliminate terrorists who were planning a second round of attacks after Easter Sunday bombings, the Indian paper said.

The paper also highlighted that Morocco cooperates closely with India in counterterrorism and that both countries lent a helping hand to Sri Lanka in the wake of the bombings that targeted churches and hotels in different parts of Sri Lanka, killing at least 359 people.

Morocco maintains close cooperation with many leading countries in the global fight against terrorism including the US, Spain and France as well as India, recalls the paper, noting that the North African Kingdom signed last February with India a cooperation agreement to counter terrorism.

Morocco, which follows a moderate school of Islam, has one of the successful records of counterterrorism and de-radicalization. Last year Abdelhak Khiame, Head of Moroccos Central Bureau of Legal Investigation (BCIJ), said Moroccan security services dismantled 183 terrorist cells in the country that were in various stages of planning 361 devastating terrorist projects. More than 3,000 people, including 292 individuals with previous criminal record, have been arrested by Moroccan security services, said the Economic Times.

The paper also highlighted the measures taken by Morocco to foster the legal framework including the adoption of laws that criminalize a range of terrorism-related actions including foreign travel to conflict areas such as Syria as well as the creation of the counterterrorism agency BCIJ.
The semi driver saw the car circle around behind him, so he swerved and struck the Volkwagen, pinning the car under the trailer.

Johnston fired several more rounds into the passenger door of the semi. The semi then pulled onto Atalissa Road, just south of the interstate, and observed the black Volkswagen travel south on Atalissa Road and turn around and park.

Moments later, the black Volkswagen approached the semi.

Iowa State Patrol arrived on scene, and Johnston fired two shots at a trooper, striking the squad car.

Officers fired on the Volkswagen. Additional officers arrived and secured the scene.

Johnston was brought to an ambulance to be checked out and was transported to the Cedar County Jail. After his arrest, he mentioned he was taking several prescription drugs and had recently been hospitalized.

Officers found several prescription pill bottles in plain view in the vehicle.

Johnston also said he became enraged or obsessed over a family supposedly killed in a crash with a semi and that the motive behind his actions was to harm a truck driver or truck drivers in retaliation, according to the application.
You just have to wait for Mother Nature to heal itself, Onken said. The flood event and crest doesnt concern as much as what the forecast holds for next week. We dont have any room for heavy rain.

Forecasts for next week predict rainfall on four days. With land and levees at full saturation already, even an inch or two of rain could yield major repercussions for farmers.

We are really not in a panic situation by any stretch. All were doing is being concerned and attentive going into next week, Onken said. This is the longest stretch of time that weve been in major flood stage. Its a learning experience for us.

Although it remains too early to know how flooding will affect the price of crops, farmers said it is unlikely consumers will be affected.

The consumer will never see (an issue), Onken said. Its going to have to take a lot more. We have such a surplus of commodities on hand right now. As you can see by watching the commodity trade right now, in Nebraska and Iowa, its not reflected in the value of our corn and soybeans one bit.
Representatives of food and beverages major PepsiCo India, which has decided not to pursue the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, met state officials Friday seeking "amicable solution for everyone".

Senior officials including Chief Secretary J N Singh and Additional Chief Secretary of the agriculture department Sanjay Prasad met PepsiCo India representatives in Gandhinagar.

"PepsiCo representatives informed us that the company has decided to withdraw cases against nine farmers in Gujarat," Prasad said after the meeting.

Also Read: PepsiCo withdraws lawsuit against Gujarat potato farmers

The company will now file necessary applications in the concerned courts, he told reporters. The company's delegation was led by Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President, Snacks Category.

"We came here to update the government about our decision to withdraw cases against farmers. The meeting was positive. It was aimed at bringing an amicable solution for everyone in the longer run," he told reporters.

The multi-national firm has sued nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts for allegedly growing a variety of potato for which it claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

Also Read: BT Buzz: Pepsi vs farmers - Lay off the potatoes

Following public outcry, it announced Thursday that it will withdraw the cases.

Meanwhile, following the PepsiCo's litigation, some 25 major farmers' bodies including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body, Seed Sovereignty Forum, to protect farmers' rights to seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith, said farm rights activist Kapil Shah.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non- negotiable," he said.

Also Read: PepsiCo seeks Rs 1 crore from four farmers it sued for patented Lay's potatoes

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a watch on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, a common practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips of Lays brand), while small potatoes are discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed only those potatoes. We have now realized that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.
1944  75 years ago: After eighteen months in various naval hospitals, preceded by a year of war during which time he was reported killed, took part in seven major and twenty-one minor naval engagements, and carried an unexploded 20 mm. anti-aircraft shell in his right hip for two weeks, Allen Gordon came home last night. He was driven by Earl Wendt in an ambulance.

1969  50 years ago: Two purse snatchers were apprehended about 10 last night by definitely non-apathetic citizens, who chased them and held them until police arrived.

Mrs. Robert Horn, 39, of 1013 South 11th St., Silvis, was leaving Moline Public Hospital, where she had been visiting her mother, who is hospitalized there, about 9:45 p.m.

As she approached her car in the east parking lot, two youths grabbed her purse and ran through the lot, over the terrace and onto 8th St. in the 500 block.

1994  25 years ago: ROCK ISLAND  After eight days of questioning 100 candidates, attorneys this morning picked a woman to be the 12th juror who will decide whether Larry Simpson brutally killed and sexually assaulted 5-year-old Amber Sutton.

Ask the Times appears on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can call 563-333-2632, email ask@qctimes.com or write Ask the Times, Quad-City Times, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA 52801.

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If those stories aren't enough to scare drivers into taking care, perhaps doubling the bite will raise awareness of the prohibition and scare scofflaws into compliance.

Cheers to Moline for pursing a light-timing study for the Avenue of the Cities.

"We have never gone back and looked at either the timings or the phasing since those intersections were installed years and years ago," city engineer Scott Hinton told the Moline City Council this week. "We have them all timed together so we can coordinate them, but the coordination doesn't work real well."

Motorists who use this busy business district artery should be applauding. So should pedestrians who walk the corridor and would no doubt welcome changes that make it easier for them to cross the busy avenue.

Though the study is expected to cost $200,000, it will be a good investment if it makes this central essential corridor safer, easier to travel and more inviting.
I am so sick of hearing about the media urging people to get vaccinated, get a booster shot, etc. While Covid is a deadly and dangerous disease to get, it is just common sense to mask up, wash your hands and disinfect. I believe everyone should get vaccinated and booster shots or this will never go away! Joe Biden should mandate it for frontline workers. Stimulus checks won't solve this issue. Mask up if you don't believe in vaccinations, and shut up if you get the virus from not protecting yourselves and others! Thank you for your time.
A celebration of the culture of Moline's culturally diverse Floreciente neighborhood will be held Sunday afternoon.

Celebra Floreciente, a neighborhood festival, will happen at the Catalyst Kitchen, located inside St. John's Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Ave. from 2-6 p.m.

The fest, hosted by the church and A Palomares Social Justice Center, will feature: food vendors, music from DJ Candela, free children's activities including Miller's Petting Zoo, games and an inflatable obstacle course.

Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers, director of Cafe Mundo, said in a press release the cafe aims to encourage acceptance and inclusion of the many cultures that exist in the Quad-Cities.

"Food perhaps is the most universal language, and it brings people together," she said. "By breaking bread together, we break down barriers and appreciate the joy of experiencing another culture's food, music and other things that make it unique."

A portion of the proceeds from Cafe Mundo dinners will go towards scholarships for entrepreneurs to become certified food managers before they start their business.

The event was made possible by a generous grant from the Exelon Corporation, according to the press release.

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But as the Mississippi River reached a record crest of 22.64 feet at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, she said the flooding became an emergency.

"Our block wall has shifted in about two feet from where we placed it; the water moved it two feet," she said. "And (Thursday), we had water at the very top of our blocks. If we had any other rise in the crest, that water was coming over."

Managers, she said, had to make an immediate decision to reinforce the inside of the building with a sandbag wall.

"It was a lesson we learned from the city of Davenport: You better have a back-up plan," she said.

Crews brought in two truckloads of sand, sopping wet from the rain, then took them to the building by boat.

"We pulled as many available crew people as we could. And friends and family came from Iowa City and drove in, and took off work, to come help," she said. "By 2:30, the sandbag wall was built inside the building to protect us in case water comes over the wall."

By 4:30 p.m., she said, all they could do was "sit back and watch."
Although its long been a dream to serve in public office, Iowa City businesswoman Veronica Tessler has decided not to run for Congress.

Tessler posted on social media that with a heavy heart, she has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination in Iowa 2nd District. There will be an open-seat race in 2020 because U.S. Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack has announced he will not see re-election. Loebsack was first elected in 2006.

Tesslers announcement follows a similar decision by state Sen. Kevin Kinney of Oxford not to run.

Like Kinney, Tessler, 33, has not endorsed another candidates.

However, in her announcement she offered suggestions on who should run in the 24-county district that stretches from Johnson County to the Mississippi River on the east and Missouri to the south.

For too long, Democrats have played it safe, she wrote. These times call for courageous leaders, and I urge those willing to fight for the solutions we need to get in the race, she said.

Loebsacks retirement, she said, provides an opportunity for fresh, bold leadership.
The Moline Police Department has announced the arrest of a man on suspicion of being a gang member being armed with a gun.

Maycol J. Lopez-Miller, 20, Moline, was arrested around 5:38 p.m., Thursday, in the 2100 block 6th Avenue, Moline, according to a department news release. A residence in that block was being watched by Moline and East Moline police because of reports of gang activity.

The officers allegedly observed Lopez-Miller, a known member of the Latin King gang, leaving that residence while carrying a revolver and arrested him on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, according to the release.

He was being held Friday morning in the Rock Island County Jail, according to jail staff. He was expected to make his first appearance in the afternoon.

The investigation is still open, and police are asking for information from the public.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident or any gang activity is asked to contact the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.

Crime Stoppers can also be contacted through the P3 Tips app.

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Two men have been charged with stealing copper piping from the appliances on the roof of the former Hotel Davenport and Conference Center, located at 5202 Brady St.

Todd Aaron Cottrell, 48, of 2503 Pacific St., Davenport, and Jeffery Robb Willson, 53, no address listed, each are charged with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

Each of the charges is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Both men were being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail on $20,000 bond each, cash or surety.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police officer Dwight Swartz, at 5:59 a.m. Friday officers were dispatched to the closed hotel to investigate a report of people on the roof damaging and stealing property.

Officers found Cottrell and Willson on the roof, where they used a DeWalt saw to cut copper piping from several appliances. The two men were cutting off the copper pipe with the intent to sell the metal.

Police seized the saw, which had copper shavings on the blade.
ITC Ltd is mulling to broaden its reach in the Indian market by expanding its dairy beverages portfolio to the rest of the country by next summer. The company is also looking to grab a 5-10% market share in the first year of its operations.

With the launch of its three fruit beverages under its B Natural brand in PET bottles, ITC is on the expansion spree. The company presently offers nine flavours of fruit juices in tetra packs and has a market share of 9-10% in the Rs 2,000-crore fruit beverages component.

The Tobaccos-to-hotels major's food division is already present in India selling fruits-based beverages for the past four-five years. ITC also offers dairy-based beverages which it soft-launched in the South in December 2018.

Also Read:ITC, Patanjali under lens for not passing on GST rate cuts to consumers

With the launch of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk last December, the company entered the ready-to-drink dairy beverages market. The milkshake market in India is around 1,000 crore.

"We would be extending our dairy beverage business and will be launching across the country by the next summer. We expect to clock 5-10% of the Rs 1,000-crore market in the first year of operations," Sanjay Singal, Chief operating officer for dairy and beverages unit at ITC told PTI.

Also Read:ITC to launch milk-based beverages to take on Coca-Cola, Britannia

ITC is also planning to export its dry fruits-based dairy beverages badam milkshake to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It had also unveiled its Aashirvaad brand in Kolkata and Bihar. The company offers packaged milk and curds under this brand.

Meanwhile, Singal told the news agency that ITC would focus concentrate only in the Eastern markets for its packaged milk business in the foreseeable future as there is less competition in these markets.

He also said that the company will launch vegetable juices within a month and is also assessing possibilities in the water segment.
The Figge was without an executive director for 18 months after former director Sean O'Harrow became director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Most of the University of Iowa's collection of 12,000 pieces is housed at the Figge after a 2008 flood irreparably damaged the Iowa City museum.

Schiffer said Friday he's moving to Iowa City, but not to become new director of the new University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. The plan is to break ground for that museum June 7, and have the building completed in two years.

We are very grateful for Tims contributions to the Figge and the community as a whole, said Cindy Carlson, current Figge board president. We will greatly miss the leadership, knowledge and love for art that he brought to the Figge.

During his tenure, the museum has become a hub of community activity, as well as a major factor in community initiatives such as the Q2030 regional vision and Davenport riverfront plans, she added. I am proud of what we have done here and believe we have lived our mission of bringing people and art together.
When Georgia's biggest political star left Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the altar earlier this week, Republicans cheered.

Stacey Abrams, who came whisper-close to winning her state's governor's race last year, spurned the Senate minority leader's efforts to entice her to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue next year. Instead, Abrams is expected to make another bid for governor in 2022.

Nor was she the first much-talked-about Democrat to take a pass on a Senate race. Texas's Beto O'Rourke, a narrow loser last year against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, is running for president, instead of taking on Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.

In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is also expected to soon announce a presidential bid, after ruling out a challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. And in Iowa, Rep. Cindy Axne, who flipped a House seat to Democratic in the 2018 midterms, announced that she is staying put, rather than challenging GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

The political world is fixated on the rapidly growing 2020 presidential field, but it is worth remembering how much Democrats have at stake in next year's Senate races. They need three more seats to take control if they win the White House, and four if they do not.
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BISMARCK, N.D. | North Dakota plans to invest $33 million in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in an attempt to establish the state as a premier location for drone research, testing and commercialization.

Gov. Doug Burgum is expected to sign a bill authorizing the investment in a ceremony Monday with state leaders. The majority of the money will go toward building out infrastructure to support operations to fly drones beyond the sight of the pilot.

About $2 million will be used to support an unmanned aircraft test site in Grand Forks that's been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones without chase planes to observe the flight. Another $3 million will upgrade infrastructure at Grand Sky, the country's first unmanned aircraft business park located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The first trans-Atlantic flight of a medium-altitude unmanned aircraft flew from Grand Sky to England last July.

Burgum lauded the state's strong commitment to supporting researchers, entrepreneurs and technology in the field when announcing the decision this week.

"The exciting work made possible by our statewide UAS infrastructure network and beyond visual line of sight capability will diversify our economy and create lasting benefits for taxpayers, businesses and industry alike," Burgum said.

The new commitment will raise North Dakota's total investment in drone research and development to $77 million.

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A Montana senator has introduced a bill that would deny pensions to a former Pine Ridge doctor and any federal employee convicted of child sexual abuse.

The law would make sure "any monster who's guilty of the unspeakable crimes that Stanley Patrick Weber was convicted of will not receive a federal government pension," Republican Sen. Steve Daines said at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 1. "A convicted pedophile should not receive one cent of taxpayer money in retirement benefits."

Daines' bill, Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act, is inspired by the fact that Weber  who awaits trial in Rapid City to face allegations that he sexually abused Native American boys while working at the Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation  is set to receive more than $1.8 million while serving his more than 18-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing boys on Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"It's shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children," said Daines, calling it "unacceptable" and "outrageous."

Daines said he hopes federal agencies will try to come up with a fix as he works on the legislative angle.

Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, principal deputy director of the IHS, told Daines he is exploring "every possible avenue" to hold Weber accountable and make sure he doesn't receive his pension.

Weahkee said he's working with lawyers to see if IHS is able to cancel the pension itself, or if it can only be done through legislation. He also said he asked the Health and Human Services Department and Surgeon General's Office to see if they can do anything.

Weber, 70, receives his pension, worth about $100,000 a year, from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which sends doctors to the IHS and other federal agencies. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

There are three current and planned investigations into the IHS, which for decades failed to investigate or cleared Weber after receiving tips that he was abusing children. A White House task force is investigating how Weber was able to sexually assault children in his care and how to prevent future abuse, while the Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing the effectiveness of the actions IHS has already taken. The IHS is hiring an independent contractor to review whether laws and policies were followed in the past, and what future improvements it can make.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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PM Narendra Modi Saturday hit back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over reports that Gandhi's former business partner received defence offset contracts during UPA regime.

Addressing an election rally in UP's Pratapgarh, PM Modi said, "Today I read that during UPA, one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha (It was their government, their friend and their own defence deal.... which means they had arranged it all)".

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

We'll fire up the economy with NYAY, create jobs, says Rahul Gandhi

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up.

On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owed 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

Edited by Aseem Thapliyal
BELLE FOURCHE | George Douglas Doug Johnson, 83, passed away at the South Dakota Human Services Center in Yankton, after a ten-year-long battle with dementia.

The third of eight girls and two boys, Doug was born on Jan. 27, 1936 in Newell, SD to George J. and Mamie (Stolnack) Johnson. His family rented ranches from south of Newell to south of Camp Crook until purchasing a ranch between Castle Rock and Redig in 1946. At the age of 10, he trailed 500 head of sheep from Camp Crook to their new home 50 miles away, with a 15-year-old friend, one horse and one dog in four days.

He attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1954. While in high school he worked as a bellhop at the Don Pratt Hotel for his room. Following high school, he attended Colorado State University for one year. Along with working on the family ranch, he worked in the Fall in the sugar beet factory and drove truck until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1961, where he served as a Military Policeman at Fort Riley, Kansas. His job in the Army was to bring soldiers back who went AWOL. On one of his trips to New York to find a prisoner, he met Patricia Ann Caswell. Following his honorable discharge from the service in 1963, he flew back to New York and the couple married in October of 1963.

They moved to the family ranch and had four children. He and his brother worked on the ranch until it was sold in 1974. Doug then bought a ranch southeast of Belle Fourche where he resided until dementia forced him into an assisted living. In 1977, he purchased an interest in a car dealership in Rapid City. He sold his interest in the dealership in 1984 and bought another dealership in Spearfish in 1986. He owned and operated that business for 17 years. He always said his best customers were the farmers and ranchers from the five-state region.

While he would spend his weekdays at the car dealership, his weekends were always spent on the ranch. During his time selling cars, he also bought a registered Angus herd and sold bulls for 20 years. His wife loved animals and calved out and kept records for the herd until her death in 1987.

Through the years he was a director for the Federal Land Bank, holding that position for ten years, and was on the advisory board for Norwest Bank. He won numerous awards for excellence and customer satisfaction through his 25 years as a Ford dealer. He was a member of the Buckaroos and the Custer Trail Riders. The highlight of the year for him was the annual trip to the NFR in Vegas. Following his retirement from the Ford dealership, he would still get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and go to town for his morning coffee, occasionally help his son with the morning chores and field work, and his favorite, Chase the tail of a cow on horseback.

Doug is survived by his three children; Tammie Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Tyron (Tami) Johnson, Coffeyville, KS and Troy (Carolyn Stansberry) Johnson, St. Onge, SD; grandchildren, Jack and Jessa, St. Onge, SD; brother, Andrew (Linda) Johnson, Rapid City, SD; sisters; Betty Niemi, Buffalo, SD, Doris Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Beverly Miller, Mission, TX, Darlene Schafer, Mission, TX, Arlene Reynold, Rapid City, SD, Judy Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD and Ida (Melvin) Johnson, Apple Valley, MN; and friend and brother-in-law, Arnie Schmidt, Brandon, SD.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Patricia; daughter, Teryl Johnson; and sister, Marilyn Schmidt.

Doug will be laid to rest privately with his family present at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A public celebration of Dougs Life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, from noon-4 p.m. at Troy and Carolyns home at 11295 SD HWY 34 between Belle Fourche and St. Onge. All of Dougs friends are encouraged to stop by.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels & Isburg Crematory of Spearfish.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com.
The oversight of private residential treatment programs for troubled teens in Montana no longer rests in the hands of program owners who, for the past 12 years, have regulated the same programs they operate.

On Friday, Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill into law that terminates the Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs (PAARP) board and moves licensing of programs under the state health department.

I would say its one of the first steps toward regulation, said Sen. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, who carried the Senate Bill 267.

This is not the last step. Its the beginning of a process of paying very focused attention to both the implementation of that law but to other potential activities that will bring these programs into compliance with every other residential treatment program, Sands said.

The board has been criticized as the fox guarding the henhouse because the 12 years since its creation have seen 58 complaints against programs, yet the board has not issued any significant sanctions, a yearlong investigation by the Missoulian found.

Under the move to Department of Public Health and Human Services Quality Assurance Division, which oversees more than 70 similar facilities, more complaints against programs will be public.

The Department of Labor and Industry, which oversaw the PAARP board, and the board chairman both conceded that the board lacked the resources to properly oversee programs and supported the shift to DPHHS.

I do think that DPHHS is probably better set up to offer the kind of oversight and regulation than is the Department of Labor and Industry, board chair John Santa, who co-founded Montana Academy in Marion, told the Missoulian.

Santa said he feels confident in the move because DPHHS has indicated they would be cooperative with us in creating regulations that meet the kinds of levels of care that we represent and that weve been operating under for the last 10 years.

The health department has yet to establish new rules for standards of care at private alternative residential treatment programs.

The original version of SB267 included language specifying minimum standards of care, but that language was removed in an amendment by Rep. Bob Brown, R-Thompson Falls.

Brown, who previously worked at the now-closed program known as Spring Creek Lodge where a student died by suicide in 2004, said he proposed the amendment because language in the bill could hinder programs ability to exist.

The fact that those things could be a barrier to these programs operating, how is that not a huge warning sign? said Tamara Cherwin, who attended Montana Academy from 2010 to 2011.

If you cant operate with minimum standards of care and qualified staff, I dont think you should operate at all, Cherwin said.

Cherwin said shes grateful the bill passed but still feels that its not enough and that she still deals with PTSD that she was diagnosed with from her time at the program.

When I think of the state of Montana, I should think of huckleberries and hiking and Glacier Park, Cherwin said. Instead, I think of the worst two years of my life.

Santa said he has some concerns about the rules that DPHHS could create, but declined to specify examples that would hinder a programs ability to operate.

They could create regulations that would make it impossible for the levels of care we offer, and that would not be a good thing because it would close a number of businesses throughout Montana and it would also take away levels of care that are very important, Santa said.

Carter Andersen, the administrator for the Quality Assurance Division at DPHHS, expressed an interest in working to accommodate programs needs in a February PAARP board meeting.

Andersen is currently responsible for the oversight of residential treatment programs in the state, including a program where he was formerly the CEO called Acadia Montana, which has been criticized recently by the state of Oregon for its use of chemical restraints and other practices.

The rules governing Acadia Montana and other residential treatment programs for youth remain unclear, as The Montana Standard reported.

Sands said her efforts to bring increased oversight to programs isn't done. She said she remains interested in following the programs' transition to the health department.

Sands also said she intends to continue to bring up religious programs in the interim between legislative sessions. Those programs are allowed to operate unregulated if they claim ties to a religious organization. Currently, if children at religious programs are sexually assaulted or psychologically or physically abused, the state's child protection system can move the child to safety but can do nothing to the program or its employees.

House Bill 222, which would have regulated religious programs, died in committee, adding to a history of failed attempts to bring religious programs under licensure.

However, Sands found success with another bill which made it illegal for staff and therapists at private residential treatment programs to have sexual relationships with the teens they treat  even if those clients are 16, the age of consent in Montana.

All three of the bills in the 2019 legislative session to increase protections for youth in residential treatment programs were met with emotional testimonies from former program participants.

"Its the courage of people to come forward in all of this that makes a difference," Sands said.

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Gov. Steve Bullock signed Hannas Act into law Friday, authorizing and providing funding for the state Department of Justice to hire a missing persons specialist to help quickly coordinate searches for missing Montanans  especially Native Americans.

The bill is named for Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman who went missing on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in July 2013 and was found murdered soon after. Rep. Rae Peppers, a Democrat representing Harris's hometown of Lame Deer, carried the bill for the State-Tribal Relations Committee.

Hannas Act was one of 24 bills Bullock signed into law Friday, and one of two carried by Peppers. The other, House Bill 54, requires Montana law enforcement to accept reports of missing persons without delay and compile a complete and accurate record of information for cases that go unsolved after 30 days, including a photograph of the missing person. Reports of missing persons younger than 21 must also be entered into the FBIs National Crime Information Center database within two hours.

In addition to Peppers's bills, Bullock signed another bill requested by the State-Tribal Relations Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 40, carried by Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, requires the state Office of Public Instruction to maintain a database of photographs of Montana schoolchildren, though their parents can decide to opt out. The Missing Persons Clearinghouse at the state Department of Justice would have continuous access to the database.

Montana's attorney general called the new law an important step forward in solving missing persons cases.

"My team and I have been working on this legislation since before its inception, and we are already working on its implementation," Tim Fox said in a Friday statement.

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One man's odyssey through the world of books
Guyana Goldstrike Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties. It explores for gold deposits. It primarily holds an interest in the Marudi Gold project that covers an area of approximately 13,500 acres located in Guyana, South America. The company was formerly known as Swift Resources Inc. and changed its name to Guyana Goldstrike Inc. in March 2017. Guyana Goldstrike Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Just because cryptocurrency is having a bad time of it doesnt mean crypto thieves arent thriving: On the contrary, theyve managed to nab at least $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year alone, according to CipherTrace cybersecurity firm. That figure includes outright theft from crypto exchanges and complicated digital scams.

If you break it down, theft alone was $356 million for Q1 2019--the rest was fraud.

Even more specifically, exit scams in which crypto company founders steal everything accounted for $195 million in losses.

CiperTrace CEO Dave Jeans blames inadequate regulations and enforcement, noting that insider issues such as fraud or theft have grown mostly due to operations outside of the U.S. where regulations are poor, or simply due to greed and mismanagement by young management teams at these cryptocurrency companies that are managing hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

For last year, CipherTrace noted in its Q4 Anti-Money Laundering Report that $1.7 billion in stolen and exit scammed crypto needs laundering. That figure represented a 3.6-fold increase over 2017 thefts, even though token prices were lower.

The most high-profile exit scam went down in Canada, when an estimated 90,000+ investors on the largest crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, were left high and dry after the CEO and owner, Gerald Cotten, passed away and took his passwords with him to the grave. Perhaps it wasnt an outright scam, but it does speak to the crypto exit vacuum that investors have to deal with in this little-known and little-understood digital world. All told, these investors lost around $190 million in fiat and digital tokens that have since been rendered to the black hole.

It was a one-man show that took everyone down with it.

Last summer, Chinese police busted a group of hackers who had allegedly stolen around $87 million in cryptocurrencies in what was the highest-value crypt heist in China so far.

Related: Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs On Blue Chip Earnings

During that same period, South Korea-based Bithumb, the sixth-biggest exchange in the world, revealed that it had lost $30 million to hackers, leading to a temporary shut-down of its services.

And just last week, the New York Attorney General said that over $850 million in crypto had been misplaced by Bitfinex. Last Thursday, crypto markets lost a whopping $10 billion in a single hour after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Bitfinex and Tether of rigging the market in order to hide an $850-million loss. James aid that Bitfinex used up to $700 million in stablecoin Tethers cash reserves to cover up the losses.

And on the theft side of things, new techniques are popping up at breakneck speed, with crypto thieves using methods. One such method involves SIM swapping, a fraud that tricks a provider into transferring a subscribers phone number to a SIM card controlled by someone else, according to Reuters. And then its just a matter of emptying their wallet.

The wider picture, though, is that this is a major global--and even geopolitical problem because its the new heart and soul of money-laundering and terrorism financing. From CipherTraces perspective, then, its a gold mine as it flaunts its AML and ATL wares for the crypto world. With that in mind, CipherTrace is now expecting a whirlwind of new global regulations aimed to make crypto less amenable to the underworld.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com
The 37th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival will return to Santa Marias Rancho Sisquoc Winery on Saturday, when winemakers and winery owners will pour from their collections and answer wine-related questions. Held from 1 to 4 p.m., the festival will feature over 70 wineries, many pouring newly released wines. In addition to tasting from locally grown varietals, festivalgoers will enjoy local food purveyors, live music, culinary and wine demonstrations, and a silent auction.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in exclusive story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up. On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owned 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Live Updates: Cyclone Fani throws campaign schedules out of gear in West Bengal; Modi, Shah, Mamata's rallies re-scheduled
" " A maintenance worker inspects the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel in the CERN (European Organization For Nuclear Research) research center on Nov. 19, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Vladimir Simicek/isifa/Getty Images

When the Large Hadron Collider was first turned on in 2008, there were seemingly endless possibilities  and ideas  for what it might find. Maybe it would spot the elusive Higgs boson, which would help scientists confirm how other particles gain mass. Maybe it would uncover a host of new particles that would give physicists not just confirmation of supersymmetry, but also a bonanza of new science to study. Maybe it would create a new universe where it was OK to eat Cheetos for dinner and protons looked like Froot Loops.

Some of these possibilities were more likely than others. And a few of them (ahem) were, in fact, not really within the LHC's scope. While naysayers predicted that the LHC's mini Big Bangs would create black holes that would destroy the world and eat the universe like so many Cheetos for dinner, the truth is that there weren't that many theories that the LHC could prove or disprove.

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And in terms of that scope: No, the LHC is not going to prove string theory  but it might provide evidence to support ideas that are central to string theory.

Think about it like this: I'm walking along and see a tunnel. I think that tunnel might have some sort of creek running through it, so I throw a ball in and see what happens when it comes out the other side. If the ball comes out sopping wet, I could say that it totally supports my theory that the tunnel contained a stream. But someone else could say that it supports the theory that there is a sprinkler in the tunnel. Still another could say that it is actually raining in the tunnel, and a wet ball is just the thing to prove it.

The only thing we can say for certain is that the wet ball supports all those theories, and perhaps rules out the theory that the tunnel is bone-dry. At the LHC, physicists with very disparate ideas are looking for "the ball is wet" statements to support  or refute  theories about how particles (and the universe) work. One of those theories is string theory.

String theory basically says that particles are composed of energies that resemble vibrating strings. The distinctive vibrations of the strings create all the different particles and forces. So, fundamentally, all matter and forces in the universe are made of these vibrating strings [source: Greene]. But here's a fun fact: String theory doesn't really become a unifying theory  one that can explain the makings of every force and particle in the universe  unless it turns out that the universe also has more than three dimensions. Which, you know, is hard to get a lot of physicists to shake hands on.

And for good reason. This not being Hogwarts, we can't just apparate into another dimension to check on whether it's really there. We can only look around and see three observable dimensions in front of us. But you might be able to talk yourself into believing it if you think of the dimensions as really, really tiny ... maybe they're just too small to see.

That creates a problem: If the necessary dimensions are too tiny to see, how the heck can we expect to observe  or even test a hypothesis about string theory?

That's where the LHC comes in. There are a few ideas being bandied around to test some of string theory's characteristics. One is pretty straightforward: The simplest model of string theory predicts the existence of superpartner particles. Basically, these are much heavier partners to the Standard Model quarks and leptons that physicists have already observed, and they would unite force and matter. Physicists expected to find superpartners in the same mass as the Higgs, but they haven't yet. So, the LHC is doing its darndest to try to find those superpartner particles, both in their latest proton collisions, and in future experiments at even higher energies. The "wet ball" in this case  superpartner particles  would also support the theory of supersymmetries, which is connected to, but separate from, string theory.

The LHC can also jump into the hunt for those ultra-tiny dimensions that would have to exist for string theory to work as a unified theory. If those dimensions exist, we'd be pretty much swimming in them. LHC can slam protons together to produce new particles  just like it's been doing. By adding up the energy of the particles formed in the collisions and subtracting it from the energy the particles pre-collision, we can tell if some of the energy is MIA. If it is, we might then be able to say, "Hey, we don't know where that energy went  but maybe it's in another dimension."

This time, the wet ball is the difference in energy before and after the collision. Again, this wouldn't be "proving" string theory or even extra dimensions. But it would be ascientific discovery that supports some of the things necessary for string theory to work.

What we can't predict is whether string theory will mature into a scientific hypothesis we can test or observe. Right now, one of the reasons it's so controversial is that many physicists don't think it's possible to test, and more importantly they don't think it's possible to prove false. Some in the physicist community are comfortable saying that string theory is straight-up not falsifiable [source: Nature Physics]. (That means that you have to be able to disprove the hypothesis, not just confirm it.)

So, while we can be reasonably certain that no, the LHC isn't going to prove string theory is true using proton collisions, physicists might find some evidence that doesn't prove it wrong.
" " This deep-sea hydrothermal vent octopus was discovered 2,394 meters below sea level (nearly a mile and a half down) near Antarctica in 2012. NOAA

A lot of people are pretty sure that we've discovered everything there is to discover. Oh sure, there are probably some bacteria we haven't classified yet, but as far as large animals and land masses, there isn't too much left to explore.

Not so, say scientists, who in recent years, have discovered new species all over the world  mainly smaller mammals, fish, insects and microbes. But does that mean larger animals we've never seen are still out there, too? That's exactly what Matt Frederick, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown discuss in this episode of Stuff They Don't Want You to Know.

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There are an estimated 8.7 million classified species in the world, and scientists figure that there are 5 million left to be described. Add microbes and bacteria to that number and it jumps to 1 trillion. A number of them have been discovered recently, including a small primate in Africa called the pygmy galago; an enormous spider guaranteed to give you nightmares; and scores of fish and other sea creatures. But so many are still left to be found, it's hard to imagine none of them are large mammals. Could just one of them be a cryptid like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster?

Maybe so. Of course, you won't find either of those  or any other undiscovered species  in your backyard. More than likely, they'll be found in habitats that are difficult for human scientists to explore  like caves  where species flourish under extreme conditions. Movile Cave in Romania, for instance, housed many previously unknowns, and is referred to as a "poison cave" because of its lack of oxygen and high density of dangerous gases like hydrogen and sulfide. The conditions explain why it took so long to find out about the species calling this place home.

Other unwelcoming habitats include the massive teeming biome of the Amazon rainforest, where discoveries of new species including plants, insects and mammals are made every day. Thermal vents under Antarctica have yielded "lost worlds" of new animals; the Himalayan mountains, as well, have led us to exciting new classifications. And deserts, what seem to be the most inhabitable of all climates, have also given us new creatures to study, including ant-like bees and the Mongolian death worm. But almost everyone agrees that if there is a large animal out there we've never seen before, it's bound to be in that most mysterious biome of all: the ocean.

The ocean is as mysterious a place to us as space. Fathoms deep, teeming with life and hard to explore, the ocean has yet to give up all its secrets; scientists estimate that two-thirds of marine life has yet to be discovered. And with the rates of extinction, many species are winking out before we have a chance to study them. Tune into the podcast to hear Matt's, Ben's and Noel's thoughts on whether we'll ever know exactly what we're sharing this world with.
The news was reported by the Kyodo News and has caught my attention, Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as defense against cyber attacks.

The Kyodo News revealed that Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as a defense measure against cyber attacks and that the development will be completed by next March.

The Defense Ministry plans to use the malware as a vaccine that could neutralize the other malicious codes.

The Japanese Government aims at improving its defense capabilities in the fifth domain of warfare and wants to be ready to face threats from the cyberspace.

Japan wants to fill the gap respect more advanced countries in the cyber space. and plans to make important investimests to reach the goal in time.

The government has said it is looking to enhance its defense capabilities beyond the ground, marine and air domains to address security challenges in new areas such as cyberspace and outer space amid technological advances in recent years. states the KyodoNews website.

Japan lags behind other countries in addressing the threat of cyberattacks. It plans to increase the number of personnel in its cyberspace unit to 220 from 150, compared with 6,200 in the United States, 7,000 in North Korea and 130,000 in China, according to the ministry.

The efforts are the result of the latest national defense guidelines launched by the Defence Ministry in December.

The use of malware for defense purposes is in the middle of a heated debate. The cyberspace has no boundaries and the risk that malicious code will go out of control, threatening the sovereignty of foreign states, is concrete.

Some defense experts say the ability to obstruct an enemys use of cyberspace could exceed the limits of the countrys exclusively defense-oriented policy. continues KyodoNews.

The virus will be developed by private companies and will not be used for pre-emptive attack or active defense, a ministry source revealed.

The Government policy allows cyberattacks only against a country or any other organization considered equivalent to a country.

Pierluigi Paganini

( SecurityAffairs  malware, Japan)

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 "When Plea Bargaining Became Normal" | Main | Assembling criminal justice questions for the 2020 Prez field 

This local article out of Florida, headlined "Legislature OKs criminal justice reforms but no change to mandatory-minimum sentencing," reports on how the Sunshine State is starting to move forward on reform inspired clearly by the federal FIRST STEP Act. But, as the article explains, political challenges have resulted in Florida's first step being even more limited that what has been achieved at the federal level:

The Florida Legislature passed a 296-page criminal justice reform package bill Friday, the last full day of the session, addressing the issue of a bulging prison population that has long eluded resolution....

Reshaping Floridas tough-on-crime policies and reducing the states nearly 100,000-person prison population is a rare issue that has united Trump populists and progressive civil rights groups, yet often results in open and closed-door fights among Republicans over how far to go.

This year, compromise was reached. The House passed the bill unanimously Friday, following the Senates near-unanimous passage on Thursday. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk. Despite the victory for Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, whos long been a leading voice in the Legislature for the need for criminal justice reform, the bills passage was bittersweet.

I am incredibly disappointed, he said Thursday, referring to several big-ticket reform pieces that were taken out of the bill at the behest of the House. Im not surprised we didnt get there, but I think what we did was advance the conversation.

House Bill 7125 is the result of private negotiations between the two chambers over the past week and contains many changes proposed by those seeking to reshape Floridas tough-on-crime laws from the 1990s. That includes making it easier for felons to get professional licenses and allowing state attorneys to decide whether juvenile cases should be transferred to adult court. Currently, that happens automatically if the crime is severe or the child has certain prior convictions.

It also would raise the threshold dollar amount at which theft charges go from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $300 to $750. Thats not as high as the Houses original proposal, which was to raise it to $1,000, but it brings Floridas law closer to the national average. It also eliminates or reduces drivers license suspensions as a criminal penalty, which lawmakers have said unfairly hampered peoples ability to get to their jobs and continue to make an honest living.

The bill has been dubbed the Florida First Step Act after the federal reform law with the same name. Shortly after the bill passed the House, Kara Gross, the legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the bill amounted to a baby step, at best....

What didnt make the cut of the final bill:

 Allowing judges discretion over sentences for certain drug crimes that currently have required amounts of time that defendants must serve, called mandatory minimum sentences.

 Permitting prison inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies to be released after serving a minimum 65 percent of their sentence if they have good behavior and participate in educational and rehabilitative programs (current law is 85 percent).

 Retroactive re-sentencing for people who were convicted of aggravated assault back when the states punishment for that crime was harsher than it is now.

Email messages between House and Senate staff obtained by the Herald/Times show that the House had, at one point last week, been comfortable with modified language related to giving judges more discretion over sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, reducing the length of some sentences. But that didnt make it into the final bill....

Despite some lukewarm support for giving judges more sentencing discretion, Gov. Ron DeSantis poured cold water on the idea of letting inmates out after serving 65 percent of their sentence, likely one of the reasons that piece was scrapped....

The bill passed with only one no vote in the Senate, which came from Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, who praised Brandes efforts but said that he, too, was frustrated with the compromise. Honestly, Im tired of submitting to the will of the House on these types of issues, he said.

Still, the willingness of the House, traditionally the more tough-on-crime chamber, to cobble together a criminal justice reform package of this size shows a shift of tone, however subtle, toward reducing Floridas burgeoning prison population.

Fridays bill also creates a task force to reevaluate Floridas entire criminal punishment code, and whether the set punishments fit the crime. House Speaker Jose Oliva said that this bill is the result of several years of discussion on this issue. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they intend on taking up some of the issues that failed next year. Sometimes ideas take time for people to understand and to have a chance to really let set in. For a lot of years the idea was being tough on crime, Oliva said recently. He added, though, that data showing the harms of these policies started a conversation. I think that conversation is now maturing.
From Guoco Midtown and Shaw Towers to the new residential developments at Tan Quee Lan Street and Middle Road, the Beach Road-Rochor Road area is set for a massive renewal

For the past four decades, those driving along Nicoll Highway from Singapores East Coast to the CBD have been treated to the landmarks defining Beach Roads skyline: first, the Golden Mile Complex and Tower, a relic of the 1970s; followed by the 1990s modernist architecture of The Concourse, designed by the late American architect, Paul Rudolph, and the knife-edged triangular towers of The Gateway by the legendary American-Chinese architect I M Pei who turns 102 this year.

In recent years, the skyline has been enhanced by the addition of two multi-billion-dollar integrated developments designed by star architectural firms of the current era, namely DUO by Buro Ole Scheeren, and South Beach by Foster and Partners.



DUO, an integrated development by M+S, completed in Dec 2016, was designed by Buro Ole Scheeren (Credit: M+S)

The stretch of Beach Road from Ophir Road and Rochor Road onwards has changed a lot, says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of listed property group GuocoLand Singapore. But the eastern stretch of Beach Road is still quite old.

GuocoLand is developing Guoco Midtown, a new integrated development at the junction of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road. Adjacent to Guoco Midtown is Shaw Tower, which will be redeveloped. A commercial tower built on a site sold in the government land sales (GLS) programme in 1970, Shaw Tower is a redevelopment of the former Alhambra and Marlboro theatres, and also where the original Satay Club at Hoi How Road was located. The 34-storey tower contains offices from the 11th to the top floor, carpark lots from the second to 10th floors and a retail podium with two cinemas. Shaw Tower is owned by Shaw Foundation, which was established in Singapore in 1957.

NEW ADDITIONS

The new commercial development that will replace the existing Shaw Tower will be predominantly office with a total net lettable area of 222,700 sq ft. The redevelopment of Shaw Tower is overdue, says Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

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Construction is underway at the Guoco Midtown site, with the adjacent Shaw Tower to be redeveloped into a new commercial development (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The new Shaw Tower and Guoco Midtown will be linked to each other and to their neighbouring developments on the second level, and by underground pedestrian links to the MRT stations. For instance, there will be an underground link from Guoco Midtown to Bugis MRT Interchange Station for the Downtown and East- West Lines. From South Beach, they will have direct access to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. South Beach is also linked directly to Suntec City via an overhead bridge that brings pedestrians to City Hall MRT Interchange Station for the North-South and East-West Lines.

Guoco Midtown and the redevelopment of Shaw Tower will be new additions that will complement South Beach and DUO, says Chris Archibold, JLL head of leasing. They will bring a critical mass of Grade-A office space to the area, which GuocoLand has aptly branded Midtown.

There will be very little new office supply in the next two years until Guoco Midtown is completed. South Beach Tower, which contains about 500,000 sq ft of premium office space, and was completed in 2015, is full today, says Archibold. Likewise, DUO Tower, which has 568,000 sq ft of office space, and was completed in 2017, is also almost full. The average rent in these two towers is said to be around $11 psf. Guoco Midtown is expected to trade at double- digit rents. However, the office tower in the development will only be put up for lease two years from now. Our view of the market is very positive, he adds. The supply pipeline is fairly low, and demand seems fairly robust across many different sectors.



The new redevelopment on the site of Shaw Tower will have predominantly office space and will be linked to the neighbouring South Beach and Guoco Midtown (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

JLLs basket of premium, Grade-A office buildings are made up of those that are under 16 years old and have floor plates of at least says Archibold. Whether they are in Marina Bay, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar, they are all trading at around $11 psf per month.

MIXED-USE APPEAL

Beach Road appeals to a wide spectrum of occupiers, notes Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore managing director. Potential tenants could include fintech, technology, energy sector, co-working operators and MNCs that appreciate the accessibility within the CBD, he adds. We anticipate the new developments will attract tenants keen to upgrade and flight-to-quality will be a feature of tenants relocation drivers.

Planned as a mixed-use district with offices, hotels and residences, the Beach Road/ Ophir-Rochor corridor primarily serves as an extension of the central business district due to its proximity to Raffles Place and Marina Bay, adds Armstrong. The area is also unique due to its heritage and cultural vibe from the Kampong Glam conservation area. It has the cool factor. The existing commercial building architecture in this micro-market is particularly distinctive.

When South Beach Tower first entered the market five years ago, 80% of prospective office occupiers were already drawn to the location. The Beach Road area has a very nice mixed-use feel, says JLLs Archibold. Theres a fair amount of retail and F&B in the area, and youre also near a very large retail mall of over a million sq ft at Suntec City. From an immediacy point of view, it works very well.



Completed in 2015, South Beach Tower contains about 500,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space is full today (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Construction has already started at Guoco Midtown, located on a 2.1ha GLS site purchased by GuocoLand in October 2017 for $1.622 billion.

Designed by acclaimed Australian architectural practice, Denton Corker Marshall, Guoco Midtown is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The property, which has a gross development value of $2.4 billion, will contain a 30-storey Grade-A office tower linked to a five-storey Network Hub. Office space will account for 770,000 sq ft (81%) of the total gross floor area (GFA) of 950,000 sq ft within the development.

Landscaped public spaces comprise a total of 170,000 sq ft spread across multiple floors. There will also be a 32-storey residential tower with more than 200 units, called Midtown Bay. Within the site is a three-storey, conserved colonial- era building that once housed the Beach Road Police Station.

BUILT-IN FLEX COMPONENT TO CHANGE LEASING MODEL

GuocoLand has announced that it will be offering a core and flex leasing concept at Guoco Midtown. The floor plates of the office tower are rectangular in shape and measure 27,000 to 30,000 sq ft. There are also four different access points in each floor, which makes it very efficient for sub-division, says JLLs Archibold.

CBREs Armstrong agrees: Where Guoco Midtown stands out is that it specifically incorporated agile areas and facilities into the developments design concept, he says. We are likely to see changes in lease contracts whereby end-users core occupied space is leased for conventional, longer periods, while a proportion of the space is held under shorter and more fluid terms.

This in turn will change leasing models, says Armstrong, where core leased space will be offered at a lower cost base, with a premium payable for flexibility. This is akin to an airline ticket whereby the customer pays a higher price for a ticket that can be changed versus one that is more rigid, he adds.



Guoco Midtown will have a total of 770,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space and is scheduled to be completed by 2023 (Credit: GuocoLand)

ENLARGED RESIDENTIAL CATCHMENT

Located directly across the road from the upcoming Guoco Midtown is an empty green plot of 124,119 sq ft, flanked on one side by the conservation shophouses along Tan Quee Lan Street.

The GLS site has been earmarked by URA for a residential development of about 580 units, with a maximum height of 30 storeys, and a low-rise block of six storeys. The first level will be allocated to commercial space. The site will be launched for sale in May, with the tender to close in September.

Meanwhile, just one block away on Middle Road, another GLS site was sold in early April to listed property developer Wing Tai Holdings. The group had emerged at the top of 10 bids received at the close of the tender on March 29. Wing Tais bid price was $492 million ($1,458 psf per plot ratio).



The Middle Road GLS site was sold to Wing Tai for $492 million or $1,458 psf per plot ratio (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The site, which covers 80,000 sq ft, will be developed into two high-rise, 20-storey residential towers with a low-rise block containing commercial units on the first level and residential units on the upper levels.

As it is within the Central Area, we are excited by the excellent opportunity to create a fresh, exciting living space that caters to urbanites who desire to live in the city and experience its vibrant, cosmopolitan culture, says Tan Hwee Bin, executive director of Wing Tai Holdings.

C&Ws Li expects the future projects to enlarge the residential catchment in the area and further boost the attractiveness of the sub-market. On the one hand, you have more residential developments which cater to the expatriate community in town, she says. On the other hand, you have more top-notch corporate clients coming over from older CBD buildings to take up office space in this up-and-coming submarket.

DIFFERENTIATED OFFERINGS



The residential site at Tan Quee Lan Street will be put up for launch sometime later this month (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

She reckons the new 99-year leasehold residential developments in the area are likely to have selling prices in the $2,550 psf to $2,800 psf range, depending on the unit sizes. The products will be differentiated to suit the spectrum of buyers and tenants at Beach Road, adds Li.

For instance, at South Beach Residences, which was launched last September to coincide with the Singapore Grand Prix, prices of units sold started from $2,795 psf for the lowest floor on the 23rd level to a high of $3,950 psf in the first month of sales. The super penthouse, a triplex, was sold for $26 million ($3,865 psf) last October. Units in the 190-unit luxury residence occupy the 23rd to 45th floors of the 45-storey tower, with luxury hotel JW Marriott Singapore occupying the lower half.

Units at South Beach Residences have still been sold at prices from $3,207 to $3,551 psf over the two months from March to April, according to data from URA REALIS. Sales at South Beach Residences have been pretty encouraging despite the property cooling measures, notes C&Ws Li.



View from a unit at South Beach Residences, where units have been sold for as high as $3,950 psf (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

GuocoLand could well position the residences at Midtown Bay as a luxury project similar to its 181-unit Wallich Residence, which sits on top of Guoco Tower at its $3.4 billion integrated development, Tanjong Pagar Centre.

According to GuocoLands Cheng, the residences at Midtown Bay will have spectacular views of Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and Orchard Road. We will take advantage of these views, he says. We hope that Guoco Midtown will be a game-changer, adds Cheng. We want to redesign street life, city living and Grade-A office space in the Beach Road district.

Meanwhile, Golden Mile Complex, designed in the 1960s and completed in 1973, was relaunched for collective sale with a price tag of $800 million at the end of March with Edmund Tie & Co as the marketing agent. The tender closed on April 25 with no bids.



Golden Mile Complex was put up for collective sale a second time last month at a price tag of $800 million (Credit: Edmund Tie & Co)

While the main 16-storey tower with its stepped facade is to be retained, URA has indicated that intensification of the existing development to a total GFA of 925,677 sq ft with a plot ratio of 6.387 can be considered.

In the long term, it is likely to be redeveloped into another landmark integrated development with office, retail, hotel, serviced apartments and residences. For now, as an industry veteran remarks, Golden Mile Complex will remain a golden o

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Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly.

"We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards."

Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.
A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. May 3, 2019 in this picture obtained from social media. JACKSONVILLE SHERIFFS OFFICE /via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union. "We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement. "In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added. "In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights". On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September. According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights". In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources. Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move. "This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said. It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation". The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration. Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February. The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara. European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling. Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island. In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships. Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed. Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern". In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law. Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip Friday, authorities in the enclave said, after Israel reported two of its soldiers wounded in a shooting on the border. Two of the Palestinians were shot dead during clashes along the frontier while two fighters from Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers, were killed in an air strike, the health ministry in Gaza said. The Israeli army said the air strike was in retaliation for the shooting incident on the border that left its soldiers wounded. Hamas confirmed two of the dead were members of its military wing and pledged to respond to what it called an "Israeli aggression". The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border. The Israeli army said "one soldier was moderately injured, and another soldier was lightly injured" when they came under fire during renewed protests. An army spokeswoman said around 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day. Palestinians have participated in often violent demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave. At least 269 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period. Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
SIOUX CITY | Kevin McManamy, president of United Real Estate Solutions, Inc. presented production awards to the companys top producers at their Quarterly Awards breakfast. Twenty-six people received honors for the 1st quarter of 2019.

Earning the real estate industrys highest production honors, the Presidents Award, were Barb Kimmel, Gayle Miille, Dave Pepin and Mark Vos, as well as Beau Braunger and Nathan Connelly of NAI United.

Claiming the Diamond Award were Rick Arnold, Paula Brown, Liz Deurloo, Joe Krage, Jeff Nelson, Adam Stokes and Nick Tramp. The Platinum Award was presented to Chuck Burnett.

Receiving the Gold Award were Hank Baker and Sheryl Ford. Silver Award winners were Judy Clayton, Mick Morgan, Mike Wojcik and Kuen Yeh. Those earning Bronze Awards were Mike Borschuk, Anne Danielson, Eric Hoak, Bob Patton, Patti Robinson, and Tonya Vakulskas.

Individual company awards were also presented to the overall Top Producer in several categories. Dave Pepin was the companys Top Residential Producer with the highest overall production volume for the quarter. Joe Krage earned the Top Lister Award for the highest number of listings taken.

United Real Estate Solutions has been the Sioux City areas real estate market leader since 2001 with professional sales associates licensed in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company has three offices located at 302 Jones St. in Sioux City, Iowa, 1913 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City, Neb., and 400 Gold Circle in Dakota Dunes, S.D. They can be found online at www.unitedrealestatesolutions.com. NAI United is headquartered at 400 Gold Circle Suite 120 in Dakota Dunes and online at www.naiunited.com.

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HARTLEY, Iowa -- An Archer, Iowa man was arrested Friday after he reportedly abducted his ex-girlfriend in Hartley.

According to a press release from the O'Brien County Sheriff's Office, at around 2:27 p.m. Friday, authorities took a report of a woman taken against her will and forced into a car near Neeble Park in Hartley. The abductor was the woman's ex-boyfriend, and the two had recently broken up.

The Hartley Police Department issued an attempt to locate notice to all area law enforcement agencies.

At around 4:33 p.m., an Iowa State Trooper located the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Audi, on Highway 59 south of Calumet. The woman was recovered and the ex-boyfriend, Justin Michael Banta, 37, of Archer, was taken to the Hartley Police Department for an interview.

Banta was taken into custody and faces charges including third-degree kidnapping charge (a class C felony), domestic abuse assault first offense and driving while suspended.

A no-contact order has been issued between Banta and the victim. Banta went before a magistrate Saturday and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SIOUX CITY -- Shortly after being accused of fatally stabbing two Sioux City teenagers, Tran Walker offered no regrets for his actions, a police officer testified Friday.

Det. Nick Thompson said he interviewed Walker soon after he was released from a local hospital in the wee hours of Jan. 28, 2018.

Thompson recalled he asked Walker if he had anything to say to the families of the two victims, Paiten Sullivan, 17, and Felipe Negron Jr., 18.

"He said, quote, 'I would tell them, I would tell them that, I don't think I would apologize to them just because right now I don't feel sorry," Thompson said.

The detective's testimony came during the second day of Walker's trial in Woodbury County District Court.

Walker, 19, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sullivan and Negron Jr., both of Sioux City.

Police believe Walker stabbed Sullivan in a PT Cruiser near the King Koin Launderette in Morningside because he was upset about a recent romantic breakup with her. Negron was stabbed as he tried to protect Sullivan, according to court documents.

Sgt. Todd Sassman recounted that he knew Sullivan would not survive upon seeing her after the stabbing.

"I knew as soon as I looked at her that she was probably already deceased," Sassman testified.

During the trial Friday, prosecution and defense attorneys reached an agreement over the use of text messages sent by Walker and Sullivan prior to the stabbings as evidence.

Mark Campbell, an assistant Woodbury County attorney, had Thompson read a set of messages from Walker to various acquaintances.

"The only reason I'm able to smile and talk about my issues is Paiten," Thompson said, reading one of Walker's texts. "And if she were to cheat or leave me, IDK how I'd react. All I know is that it would be very bad."

Walker also sent messages threatening to kill "witnesses," and, at one point, wrote, "I'd rather just have someone beat her a--, LMAO, bust her face in so she's hideous."

Sullivan, meanwhile, expressed fear of Walker in some texts.

"Tran, until you are better, we won't work. I love you to death, but FFS when you said that about killing (me), that scared me. I can't be in a relationship where I'm scared," she wrote. FFS is an abbreviation for an expletive-containing phrase.

Campbell quoted another text message from Walker during the discussion about whether the pages of messages would be included in evidence.

"At the top it says, 'So she wants to say I'm controlling. Most guys (wouldn't) allow their girls to talk to their exes but I did,'" Campbell said, quoting from the text.

Defense attorney Jennifer Solberg argued that the authorship of the messages is not proven, that the recipients of the messages are unknown to the defense, that the messages are irrelevant and remote in time to the case and that they represent hearsay.

"There's different authors, there's people who aren't here, they're unknown that any of these things are actions or thoughts or who the author actually is, some of them are just people that have not testified," she told the court.

In the end, Judge Tod Deck agreed to withhold some pages of text messages from evidence but to permit others.

"The court believes that the records themselves are, (we are) satisfied that they are accurate representations of statements that were made on Facebook, so because of that the court does not believe that they would be excluded as hearsay," Deck said.

Walker's defense attorneys also have vociferously objected to the prosecution's bid to enter as evidence dozens of Facebook messages sent by Walker to various people prior to the slayings.

During the trial Friday, some employees of the Gordon Plaza Hy-Vee also testified about Walker's appearance at the store after the stabbings. Employees called 911 after Walker arrived bloodied and asking to use the restroom. He told an assistant manager that he had been jumped.

Authorities arrested Walker in the store restroom, following a search through Morningside that involved the use of K-9 search dogs. After he was apprehended, he was hospitalized briefly after injuring himself in the alleged incident.

Also Friday, the defense asked many of the witnesses about Walker's mental status in the hours after the killings.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Because Walker waived his right to a jury trial, Deck will render the verdict. If convicted of first-degree murder, Walker will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DES MOINES -- Democrats see an incumbent Republican president ripe for electoral defeat and no standard-bearer within their own party whose candidacy convinces others to remain on the sidelines.

Those factors and a few others, experts say, is why we have nearly two dozen Democrats running to become the next President of the United States.

The largest-ever field of presidential candidates grew this week to 22 when former vice president Joe Biden and Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet made their campaigns official.

The field will grow even more when Montana Gov. Steve Bullock joins the race as expected later this month, and media reports appear to indicate New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also is expected to announce his run soon.

How did the field of Democratic candidates grow so large, blowing well past even the 2015 field of Republicans, which capped out at what at the time seemed like a remarkable 17?

Experts say myriad factors have contributed to the candidate boom, but there are two particularly influential reasons: the Democratic Party has no clear national leader, and Republican President Donald Trump has stoked Democrats passion and sense of urgency.

It looked like a wide open opportunity with no heir apparent taking the baton or carrying the torch, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University. He said that contrasts to 2016, when Hillary Clinton appeared to be the partys heir apparent to President Barack Obama. A new generation of more diverse Democrats and their supporters are now jockeying for position to lead.

The field includes party stalwarts like Biden and Elizabeth Warren, and longtime progressive independent Bernie Sanders, who is making is second run for the Democratic nomination; but also young faces and candidates new to the national scene like Pete Buttigieg and Beto ORourke.

Prominent though theyve been on the national stage, and while they have led in most early polling on the primary race, Biden and Sanders were not strong enough candidates to stop 20 others from also running.

The fact there is a couple dozen candidates announcing indicates theres no clear leadership in the Democratic Party in the Trump era, said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University and co-author of a historical encyclopedia on the Iowa caucuses.

And then theres the current president.

Democrats are fired up by Trumps policies and actions, and they believe his re-election prospects are shaky.

Politicians are rational animals, and the fact that so many Democrats have gotten in reflects a view that they really do think they have a reasonable chance, if not an excellent chance to defeat an incumbent president, Goldford said.

Trumps average job approval rating, according to Real Clear Politics average of national polls, is 43.6 percent approve and 53 percent disapprove. His average Gallup poll approval rating while in office is 39 percent, easily the lowest of any president in the polls history.

And its not just the perceived weakness of Trumps re-election chances, said Sue Dvorsky, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman. Its also Democrats fierce opposition to Trumps policies and behavior, particularly on social media.

The current occupant has really made a situation that feels dire, Dvorsky said. There is so much passion involved in this. That is driving people.

Republicans, unsurprisingly, see matters differently. A spokesperson for the national Republican Party said Trumps policies are gaining favor with Iowans while Democratic candidates are becoming increasingly liberal.

While Democrats continue to embrace costly, out-of-touch policies that will hurt middle America, those same families continue to benefit from the policies enacted by the Trump administration and the choice for them could not be clearer, Republican National Committee spokesperson Preya Samsundar said in a statement to the bureau.

Goldford said the field may also be large because some candidates could be running with ulterior motives. He said some candidates may not believe themselves to be legitimate contenders, but could be using a run to boost their national profile in order to sell a book, earn a job as a cable news commentator, or land a job in a future Democratic administration.

If people can monetize their candidacies, even if they dont get the nomination, that may very well not be the rationale (anyway), Goldford said.

The expansive field creates a unique challenge for most of the candidates to find a way to establish and distinguish themselves. Other than Biden, who served for 8 years as vice president, and Sanders, who ran for president 4 years ago, the candidates must find a way to rise above the crowded field.

Many of these candidates are going to have to do the relatively quiet work of putting together organizations in key states before they can begin to build momentum and make any noise, said Donna Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. Right now, this can happen by doing ground work in early states and trying to catch the attention of local activists, local media, and parlaying that into some level of momentum that might be noticed in other early states and with national media.

It will take a candidate with a dynamic personality, a message that is relevant to voters concerns in 2020, and a natural constituency that will be drawn to the candidate, Steffen said.

Goldford said one thing will not change despite the fields enormous size: the Iowa caucuses will still come down to which campaign can best organize and mobilize its supporters.

Right now obviously youve got Biden and Sanders seemingly ahead of everybody else. A lot of thats familiarity and name recognition. ... Everybodys out there working away, trying to carve out something, Goldford said. It still is the standard caucus route: organize, organize, organize and get hot at the end. Thats the ticket.

Experts said while the current atmosphere allows candidates to survive longer than in the past --- online fundraising makes it easier for candidates to support their campaigns and social media makes it easier to communicate with voters --- they still expect the field to narrow before the caucuses.

Were not going to have 23 people to caucus for. That is not going to happen, Dvorsky said. I think the field will winnow.

Hoffman noted a number of Republicans in that large 2015 field dropped out before the caucuses, and said she thinks even more Democrats will drop out this year ahead of Februarys caucuses, especially if fundraising streams start to dry up for bottom-tier candidates.

Goldford said he expects the field to thin by mid-summer, or at the latest by the state fair in August.

But he added a caveat that summarizes the whole caucus campaign.

In many ways, Goldford said, were in uncharted territory here.

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Its that time of the year again, when the pollen-heavy rains of spring have overstayed their welcome, and we all breathlessly await the real arrival of summer. Along with the prospect of beach days comes the annual opportunity to guess what new trends and takes on warm-weather staples will overtake Instagram. Throwing her hat into the predicting ring early is Who What Wear senior news editor Erin Fitzpatrick, who declares that the Montunass Trellis Lirio Rope-Trimmed Acetate and Linen Tote  is ripe to become a summer It bag. How exactly Fitzpatrick has divined this forecast isnt entirely clear, but the Montunas bag is certainly ripe to be named of the strangest objects Ive ever laid eyes on.

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Apparently inspired by the shape of plant pots, the Trellis Lirio tote is a curious little bag that costs a mere $435 and resembles either an inverted lampshade or one of the little trash cans that one keeps in their bathroom. Or perhaps a half-full, to-go cup of ice cream. Maybe an Easter basket?

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The tote features a structural exterior made of acetate pearlescent slats and a drawstring pouch interior. Theres also a pink tassel involved. The website copy suggests that buyers match your lip color to the pretty pink rope handle and that the tote is one for Instagram, which makes sense since it looks as if it will fit approximately three things. Other bags in the Montunas line are comparably  eccentric. The Guaria tote, for example, looks a bit like a rectangular green spice rack attached to a silk scarf and is inspired by hanging pots and planters. The Lirio bag is similar in structure to the Trellis Lirio, except without the slats, which somehow makes it look even more like a bathroom trash can, albeit one cast in resin. According to one of the founders of Montanaus, all of the acetate bags are inspired by their orchid house in the mountains of Costa Rica.

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The shapes are all based on orchid pots and vessels, and the names are native Costa Rican orchids. For us, nature is our biggest inspirationits not hard when youre from Costa Rica! The new Pearl collection fuses together the two important parts of nature there: the jungle and the sea.

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Yes, of course. Now that Ive read that, I definitely understand the raison detre for this little trashcan orchid pot bag. While the entire bag strikes me as nonsensical, what I will say is that the most confounding part is that the little interior linen pouch is apparently removable, which feels both like a security risk and a huge hassle. Whoever owns this purse is stuck holding it perfectly upright, lest their linen bag of three things tumble out onto the street. Or should you leave your home without the linen pouch, youre walking around with what is functionally a bucket with slats through which anyone can see what three things youve chosen to carry with you. Actually, now that I think about it, this might be the perfect bag for a concert venue where youre only allowed to bring in a transparent vessel.

Price: $435

Who would buy this thing? Cher Horowitz going Easter egg hunting
Rachel Held Evans, an influential progressive Christian writer and speaker who cheerfully challenged American evangelical culture, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans, 37, entered the hospital in mid-April with the flu, and then had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, as she wrote on Twitter several weeks ago. According to her husband, Dan Evans, she then developed sustained seizures. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma, but some seizures returned when her medical team attempted to wean her from the medications that were maintaining her coma. Her condition worsened on Thursday morning, and her medical team discovered severe swelling of her brain. She died early on Saturday morning.

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She put others before herself, her husband, Dan Evans, said in an email on Saturday. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

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Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism, first as a blogger and later as an author and sought-after speaker. She started her eponymous site more than a decade ago, and in her years of writing she confronted every controversial issue in American evangelical culture. She wrote about biblical literalism, racism, abortion, evolution, theology, marriage, patriarchy, women in leadership, and evangelical support for Donald Trump. She advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church and analyzed her own complicity in racial bias after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Washington Post once called her the most polarizing woman in evangelicalism.

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Evans political and cultural polemics attracted the most attention. But she also wrote passionately about her own evolving faith, her prayer life, her wrestling with doubt, and her love for the church. Anyone who has loved the Bible as much as I have, and who has lost it and found it again, knows how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend, she wrote in her most recent book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.

Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism.

Evans announced in 2014 that she was leaving evangelicalism, exhausted by wearing out my voice in calling for an end to evangelicalisms culture wars. She began attending an Episcopal church. But she remained widely read within evangelical circles and among Christians and others who had left evangelicalism but still felt connected to it in some way. Evans was famous enough among Christians that many referred to her online simply as RHE. When her friends and colleagues, the writers Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu, announced an online prayer vigil for her on April 19, the hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter.

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High-profile female writers and speakers in American evangelicalism have traditionally focused on spiritual questions and shied away from controversy and confrontation. But Evans often used her platform to challenge male pastors and leaders. Over the years, she sparred about theology, culture, and politics with prominent Christian men including Russell Moore, John Piper, Rod Dreher, and Mark Driscoll. (Many of them have expressed their prayers for her in recent weeks, after Evans shared the news of her illness.)

Evans reacted righteously to injustice wherever she saw it: She published a series on her blog about abuse in the church in 2013, years before many evangelical institutions began to seriously confront the problem. But her writing was also warm and funny. For her second book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, she spent a year following the Bibles instructions for women literally, gamely camping out in her yard in obedience to Levitical instructions for menstruating women. She put so much of herself into her books, her husband said. I tell people: If you want to know Rachel, read her work. She was the author of four books, and the co-founder of two major conferences aimed at progressive Christians, Why Christian and Evolving Faith.

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Evans was born in Alabama in 1981 and moved to Dayton, Tennessee, as a teenager. She graduated from Bryan College, a small Christian institution there named for William Jennings Bryan, who had prosecuted the Scopes monkey trial in Dayton in 1925. Evans was an enthusiastic and devout believer from the start, steeped in the American conservative evangelicalism of the 1980s and 90s; as a teenager, she was quoted in Christianity Today praising her high schools federally funded abstinence program. (As an adult, she became a vocal critic of shame-based purity culture.) She married her college boyfriend, Dan, and worked as a journalist and humor columnist before her first book was published in 2010. The couple has two young children: a 3-year-old boy and a girl who turns 1 later this month.

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Evans last blog post appeared online on March 6, Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. It is a day of repentance and solemnity that marks the beginning of Lent, which leads up to the joyful Easter celebration of resurrection. She wrote:

It strikes me today that the liturgy of Ash Wednesday teaches something that nearly everyone can agree on. Whether you are part of a church or not, whether you believe today or your doubt, whether you are a Christian or an atheist or an agnostic or a so-called none (whose faith experiences far transcend the limits of that label) you know this truth deep in your bones: Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. Death is a part of life. My prayer for you this season is that you make time to celebrate that reality, and to grieve that reality, and that you will know you are not alone.

More on Rachel Held Evans

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: An Evangelical Blogger Follows the Bibles Instructions for Women

An Evangelical Writer Spent a Year Living Biblically. Now a Major Christian Bookseller Wont Carry Her Book.

With the Religious Right in Turmoil Over Trump, Can Democrats Become the Party of God?
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

When I moved to Europe I was 29 and my skin-care routine consisted of a nightly face wash, a slap of Differin, and some moisturizer. No 12 steps (11 of them Korean) and no bathroom vanity spilling over with tubes and bottles. My skin was easy and needed very little. But life changes: I became a bicycle-loving expat. I met the love of my life in Berlin, on an app. Also, my forehead exploded, and I suddenly had problematic skin.

So for the first time ever, I went after my skin care. Under duress and budget constraints, it was an unscientific process. I picked up a bottle of micellar water at my local apotheke, going for Bioderma, the much-touted clear-skin fixer of every Parisian I knew. I swiped morning and night, and waited.

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Based on what showed up on the cotton pad, my face was obviously cleaner than in its pre-micellar state. It was not, however, any less red and angry, and it was still just as broken out. The Bioderma went under the bathroom sink, and I went down an oligosaccharide-filled rabbit hole of online reviews. Bioderma contains solvent and humectant propylene glycol which, to some people online, is contentious. Im not sure if that was the source of my problem, but I decided to look for an equally loved, more natural micellar.

Melvita Floral Bouquet Cleansing Micellar Water

Somewhere deep in the internet I found Melvitas Bouquet Floral Micellar Water. Made in France, the Bouquet Floral ticked all the boxes: It contains clearing, soothing, and dependable witch hazel and rose water, and none of the preservatives or fragrances that can be found in plenty of other micellars.

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With the Bouquet Floral, my skin relaxed, and even brightened. The redness of unwisely savaged zits calmed down. After transferring a supply to a travel bottle and using it throughout the day against sweat and street dirt accumulated from biking, I noticed the micellar water was particularly effective as a preventive. I would never ditch my face wash for micellar-only cleansing, as some do, but its an essential part of my slightly-more-adult skin-care regimen, and I absolutely credit the Melvita for my skins willingness to finally relax and enjoy life in a new city.

More skin savers

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

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As stated, Bioderma didnt work for Susannah. But finding a skin-care routine is always a matter of trial and error, and plenty of people swear by Bioderma  like our own Rio Viera-Newton, who once said, since Ive incorporated this Bioderma micellar into my routine (pre-cleanser), my skin has felt even more supple and rejuvenated.

Cosrx Whitehead Power Liquid

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Another Rio favorite, this time from Korea: this Cosrx liquid works wonders on breakouts.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the country, the company announced Friday.

The company, Caliburn International, owns Comprehensive Health Services Inc., which operates a massive shelter in Homestead, Floridaa facility congressional Democrats have described as keeping children in prison-like conditions.

It seems that Kelly, as a former White House official, would not be prevented from sitting on the companys board under current White House ethics rules, but he is still not allowed to try to influence government policies in a way that would benefit the company, according to the Associated Press. Democrats have expressed outrage over what they have deemed the corruption and callousness of a former administration official joining a company that participated in the separation of thousands of families at the border during the administrations zero-tolerance policy in the spring of 2018.

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This is unforgivable, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district containing the facility, tweeted. It confirms what we knew about the Presidentthat he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.

Sen. Cory Booker echoed that sentiment on Twitter: Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting.

Kelly, who left the Trump administration in January, had already been on the board of advisors of the investment firm that now owns Caliburn before joining the White House. Kelly stepped down from the board in January 2017 when he joined the administration. The company was awarded at least $222 million to operate the Florida facility between July 2018 and April 2019, according to CBS News.

The Homestead facility, which is continuing to expand, still holds thousands of migrant children, most of whom arrived at the border without a parent or guardian. During the zero-tolerance period, the shelter held up to 140 children separated from their families, according to the AP.

Comprehensive Health Services has won licenses to operate three shelters in Texas for migrant children along with the one in Florida. According to CBS News, the Florida shelter is the only one in the country not subject to routine inspections from child welfare experts.
North Korea fired several short-term projectiles into the sea Saturday, in what could be the countrys first missile test since 2017 and a possible warning to the U.S. after the two countries denuclearization talks stalled.

While its not clear what the projectiles are, the South Korean military, which reported the test and originally identified the projectiles as short-term missiles before revising its statement, has used the term before for missiles before they can be identified. There is no evidence that the test Saturday involved a nuclear explosion and it appears not to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the New York Times.

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The projectiles were fired from the east coast of the peninsula and launched 45 to 125 miles. The launches will not have violated the moratorium the country declared in November 2017 on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile tests, according to the Washington Post. That moratorium was intended to help clear the path for negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea.

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In April, North Korea tested a new weapon, which it called a tactical guided weapon, and which is thought to have been a more conventional weapon. That test appeared to be a warning to President Trump to continue the talks between the two nations, as in February a failed summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim Jong-un resulted only in frustration. In that summit, Kim demanded sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament and Trump refused to lift sanctions until North Korea gave up all of its nuclear weapons. The two did agree to remain in discussions, and both nations have said a third summit between the two leaders remained a possibility.

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Since then, it appears North Korea has only become more frustrated with sanctions and the hard line taken by the U.S, as well as with continued U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Last month, Kim said in a speech he was losing patience and that he would give the U.S. until the end of the year to come up with new terms.

According to the Post, South Koreas president said the Norths actions violated a September military cooperation agreement between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions. A spokeswoman for the president said the South would work with the U.S. to ramp up vigilance and closely communicate with neighboring countries as needed. According to the Times, the South Korean foreign minister said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in a conversation with her that the U.S. would respond with caution. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said he still believes he can reach a nuclear deal with Kim.
On Thursday, we found out what the sound of a defenestrated troll is like. That afternoon, Facebook banned Infowars, Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, and other inflammatory figures like far-right personalities Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos, white supremacist politician Paul Nehlen, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has long been criticized as holding anti-Semitic and homophobic views. These bans are reportedly permanent and extend to the fan pages and groups affiliated with their accounts.

The breakup wasnt clean. The news broke before Facebook had actually banned all of their accounts across its platforms. Loomer and Yiannopoulos were still able to post to Instagram for nearly an hour after the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, and the Verge published stories saying they were getting the boot. In that time, Loomer and Yiannopoulos used their accounts to tell their legions of followers where else to find them. On Facebook, Alex Jones was able to stream on Facebook Live for nearly two hours after the world learned that he was technically no longer welcome there. Facebook told Wired the reason for the time lag was that scrubbing these characters footprint was a bigger job than they anticipated.

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While Facebook briefed news organizations ahead of time over these actions, the company didnt specify how these accounts had violated the platforms policies. Instead, a spokesperson told multiple outlets that the company has always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology, which was a bit tough to swallow, considering these accounts have been spewing hate for yearsand many, many hateful accounts remain on the social network. (A quick search Friday on Facebook for the term jews oven unearthed a page called Jewsinoven?) The Facebook spokesperson continued, The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today. Facebook didnt share what rules specifically were violated or what the process was for reviewing its rules. Presumably, if Thursdays actions reflect a new approach that Facebook is now takingor at least a new sense of urgencythen far more than seven accounts would have been banned.

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Still: At the end of the day, a bunch of high-profile bigots had been stripped of a major platform. It shouldve resonated as a victory against the fringe figures who have benefited from the distortionary effects of social media, where ranking algorithms tend to benefit divisive, emotional content. So why did this latest act of content moderation instead feel underwhelming?

The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists.

Deplatforming certainly does help to reduce the spread of hate. Since Alex Jones lost his main Facebook and YouTube pages in August, traffic to Infowars has plummeted. Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right provocateur who was banned from Twitter for directing racist harassment at the actress Leslie Jones, can no longer receive financial backing from his fan base via Venmo or PayPal and is reportedly in severe debt. (Those services banned him last year after he sent $14.88, a number that symbolizes a salute to Hitler in neo-Nazi communities, to a Jewish journalist.) But, particularly in Facebooks case, deplatforming also has to align with a set of clearly articulated policies so that it isnt read as a tyrannical act of corporate censorship that will further inflame accusations of bias. In this case, Facebook created a news story in much the way it might if it had announced a new product, but it didnt actually say why specifically the accounts were removed. What should have been a by-the-book punitive act became a spectacleand probably one that Alex Jones and the like will try to spin to their advantage. Facebook has the power to punish wrongdoers, as it did on Thursday. But we dont know its full rationale for doing so, nor do we know who will be next.

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The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists. For years, black users on Facebook have been forced to navigate the platforms mercurial enforcement of its speech policies. Its become so routine for black activists to get suspended when they complain about racism that its become common practice in activist communities to create backup accounts and use slang like wypipo to dodge the companys content moderation algorithm. Complaining about racism isnt hate speech. But Facebook appears to have done less hand-wringing when moderating content from this community than it has with content that is anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, or racist, or that promotes dangerous conspiracy theories that have led to violence. While figures like Alex Jones might attract the attention of higher-up Facebook executives, most people are moderated by a mix of algorithm and low-level contract workersand are subject to a broad brush with little room for appeal.

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I emailed Facebook to ask specifically which rules were violated, what the process was for reviewing the rules, and if this means more accounts, presumably of lesser-known users, would be banned for engaging in hateful rhetoric soon, too. I have yet to hear back. But unless this move is part of an overall cleanup effort in which the company includes its rationale for taking action and promises to do so consistently into the future, dont expect Facebook to become free of bigotry anytime soon. Removing hate will always be a game of whack-a-mole. Its good to ban high-profile bigots. Its also critically important to explain in clear terms what policy was violated, how many violations were tabulated, and what they did to violate the policyeither shared with the account holder or with the public. Simply saying the company always does this isnt sensical or sufficient.

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What might be more bothersome, however, is that Facebook risks unleashing a whole other breed of hate and disinformation across its networkone that a high-profile act of deplatforming doesnt address.

Earlier this week, Facebook shared that it is redesigning its platform to promote the use of private groups for sharing Facebook posts, which would reduce the prominence of the more open news feed. Moving people into private rooms will certainly make it a lot easier for Facebook to continue its haphazard style of governance. Its a lot easier to promote and share bigotry in a closed group of racists than it is to do so on a public pageand for that bigotry to spread widely without anyone noticing, as it did on WhatsApp during the Brazilian elections last year. And its a lot harder for users who are trying to fight hate to report it. I expect the people who lost their accounts on Thursday to start new ones soon, or worse, commandeer an account or group with a large following from an ally. Sure, they probably wont have the reach they did before, but hate is insidious. Policies against racism dont eradicate racism. Unless Facebook applies its rules consistently and transparently, people with an agenda will find a way to come crawling back to find their fans. And if theyre in big private groups, where only their fellow sexists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, homophobes, and racists are allowed in, they may well find a hideout there too.
Imagine this: Scientists have just detected an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. According to their calculations, the damage would be catastrophic, and we dont have long to prepare. Experts determine that the best plan of action would be to launch armed spacecraft, perhaps with nukes, to rendezvous with the asteroid.

Though this sounds suspiciously like the plot of Armageddon, its also the plot of the sixth International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference. Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the European Space Agency, the U.N., and other international space experts have gathered in College Park, Maryland, this week to do a cosmic fire drill. The premise of this role-play universe begins with an imaginary asteroid called 2019 PDC, which has a 1 in 100 chance of striking Earth in 2027. According to NASA, those odds were selected for this drill because experts worldwide generally agree that thats the threshold for when we should take collective action.

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Sure, it seems far-fetched, but its only a matter of time until were faced with a serious asteroid threat. This year has already seen three close asteroid flybys, between 73,500 and 274,000 miles away from us, but none close enough to sound the alarm. (For reference, the distance between Earth and the moon is 238,900 miles.) Small asteroids pass within 4 million miles of Earth all the time. Earth has definitely seen some giant impacts before, but it seems in our best interest to be ready next time around. (As this amazing shirt from the European Space Agency says: Dinosaurs didnt have a space agency.) So, the logic goes, practice makes perfect.

The conference looked like any otherexperts giving presentations in a nondescript meeting hallbut instead of covering new advances in the field, the talks gave a broad outline of the hypothetical impact scenario and discussed the questions and decisions that would stem from it. The scenario is wrapped around an excellent and compelling storyline. Though every tweet from organizers and attendees, as well as the PowerPoint slides, included the word EXERCISE in bold letters, I found myself getting drawn into the role-play as I watched the conference livestream from home (and, apparently, so did some momentarily alarmed folks on Twitter, prompting one astronomy account to remind followers that the scenario was not real). Like a good sci-fi storyline, each day of the exercise advanced the story forward. While Day 1 took place in real time, Day 2 took place three months later, in July 2019, and then we jumped forward to Dec. 30, 2021, on Day 3, to 2024 in Day 4, and to 10 days before impact on Day 5.

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At first, efforts focused on quantifying the problem: Where might the asteroid strike, and with how much force? By Day 3, experts had calculated that 2019 PDC would land in the middle of Denver, completely incinerating the immediate area (one scientist used the phrase molten buildings to describe the damage) and casting shock waves hundreds of miles out. Windows are breaking from Pueblo to Laramie, said physicist Mark Boslough to set the scene at his end-of-day briefing about the asteroids physical effects.

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A great deal of discussion has focused on how best to deflect the asteroids path. Some suggested deploying kinetic impactors, launched to collide with the asteroid and knock it into a different path, as well as launching nuclear weapons. The problem is that scientists arent yet sure exactly how each method would move the asteroid because theyre not sure of the asteroids mass, which, as you may guess, matters a lot when it comes to physics. The logistics of this exercise assume that humankind will send a probe up to study the asteroid more closely, but given the lag in how long it takes for spacecraft to reach the asteroid, scientists will need to make a decision about their deflection method before the probe sends back additional data.

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In imaginary 2024, the experts decide to send up a series of kinetic impactors, which successfully move the asteroid out of Earths path, but the force of the impacts also causes a chunk of the asteroid to break offand the simulation has it hitting Earth in April 2029. Luckily, the fake piece is small, by celestial standards: Its estimated at 60 meters. While it will likely become smaller or even vaporize while entering our atmosphere, it still has the power to inflict damage; for instance, the Tunguska meteor in 1908 was thought to be around the same size, and while it didnt leave a crater, it flattened hundreds of miles of Arctic forest. On Day 5, it was revealed that 2019 PDC would hit Manhattan in 10 days, an incident worse than Tunguska. Experts drew up models of the damage and began planning for evacuations.

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Unsurprisingly, much of the drill focused on decision-making and mission logistics. How do we learn as much as we can about this asteroid, and what do we do to minimize its damage? But a full-scale rehearsal like this also brings more practical considerations to the forefront, and attendees questions and experts analyses highlight the very real concerns people might have should a scenario like this arise in real life.

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One attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S.

At the end of Day 3, for instance, one attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S., even for a thought exercise, saying, I might be biased since were all on the East Coast here, but   This person went on to ask: Had we considered possibly sending spacecraft up just to nudge the asteroid slightly away from any major population center, instead of nudging it out of Earths orbit? The speaker, NASAs Brent Barbee, politely shot him down. I would characterize that as a last resort. Our primary goal would be to move the asteroid off of Earth, he said. The moderator of the Q&A also jumped in to add that the impactors targeting wouldnt be precise enough to ensure the exact amount the asteroid would be moved. But still, this questioner is probably not alone. The people who would be tasked with huge decisions like this are more likely to live in certain cities, and, as well-intentioned as they may be, that could color decisions.

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But its also not clear who, ultimately, will get to make those calls. Attendees brought up questions about the possibilities of different countries getting in each others way when it comes to launching spacecraft meant to work together, like if three different space agencies each contributed kinetic impactors to a global mission. With a mission of this scope, youd need strong coordination, said discussion moderator Paul Chodas, of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With procedures and protocols, we could achieve the coordination necessary, but it would be essential to coordinate very closely.

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In theory, there would be an international team that coordinates important intergalactic decisions, like how to launch defense against the asteroid or, if nuclear weapons are used, who actually initiates the detonation. (Hopefully, this coordination is better than that of the crew in Armageddon, when Bruce Willis pushes young Ben Affleck out of the way at the last moment.) We dont have those procedures in place right now, but were developing them, Chodas said.

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Figuring that out appears to be outside the purview of this conference, but it seems like a piece of the puzzle law and politics experts should figure out long before were faced with an actual asteroid threat. And one hopes that any team meant to represent the interests of all humans on Earth includes delegates from countries that dont have their own space programs but can contribute in other ways, like drawing up policies and offering technical expertise. Currently, the International Asteroid Warning Network is the go-to group for finding and monitoring near-Earth objects and coordinating international resources, and while there are a good number of institutions from space-faring countries represented, its definitely biased toward wealthier powers.

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This thought experiment also demonstrates how important it will be to bring in experts outside of physics and astronomy. In several summaries, experts have mentioned the consequences of a huge asteroid event on plane or train travel and internet access, as well as the possible destabilization of the economy as property values in potential strike areas plummet. Others have pointed out that areas outside the immediate strike zones will likely be ravaged by wildfires caused by the impact. There are real costs to culture, as well. One researcher noted that when 2019 PDC incinerates Manhattan, museums like the Met would need to move their collections elsewhere as quickly as possible.

My favorite question came from an attendee who has clearly seen his share of action movies: How big would [the asteroid] need to be to pop the cork on Yellowstone? The scientists onstage didnt seem to immediately understand his question, so the attendee went on to explain that an impact could destabilize the Wyoming supervolcano. We have not considered volcanic impacts, replied one of the scientists. Well, the attendee said, maybe its something to take a look at.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Foreign investments quite beneficial in stabilising national economy: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Friday, announced federal government plans for strategies to alleviate the creation of business and investment opportunities.



He was addressing the Investment Conference in Islamabad when he said that foreign investments would be quite beneficial in stabilising the national economy as well as creating employment and remittances. There is a need to promote investment and trade, he added. FM Qureshi believed it was high time for entrepreneurs to take advantage of lucrative business opportunities in the country.



The minister talked at length about various sectors, which would be enhanced to improve the economy by facilitating foreign investors and businesspersons. Minister Qureshi assured the exchange of modern technology would be made possible on easy terms.



He maintained the tourism sector would also play an important role in economic betterment. However, the developing countries were said to definitely need the cooperation of the developed nations to meet their targets. Qureshi said for the first time government was pursuing economic diplomacy for socio-economic development of the country.





Saudi Arabia was said to have committed $20 billion investment in Pakistan while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were also eyeing investments in various sectors.



He noted, Saudi Aramco wants to establish an oil refinery in Gwadar, moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister had expressed his interest in various sectors in Pakistan during his visit. ExxonMobil Company has returned to Pakistan and has been engaged in the exploration of energy resources, he continued.



Qureshi also talked about the major steps taken to promote tourism. He asserted, Pakistan is providing E-Visa facility to tourists besides provision of other facilities.



The foreign minister reiterated that Islamabad desired longstanding peace in Afghanistan and was also playing its due part in the peace process.



Pakistan played a role for peace, and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, took peace overtures towards India, including opening Kartarpur corridor and reinvigorated relations with China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia and Iran, he added.





He further asserted, We are moving in the right direction following the vision of Prime Minister [Imran Khan]. The Foreign Ministry is also taking steps for amelioration of economy on diplomatic fronts. he continued.
This week's 'Rewind' is the regular monthly edition of Years Ago, this time devoted to events, personalities and memories from the decade of the 1970's. This offering is a bit different than usual in that all of the pictures and accounts are from the same location.

For many years, horsepeople from numerous geographical areas in Canada raced at Wolverine Raceway located on the outskirts of Detroit. Thanks to the work of archivist and photo collector Don Daniels, viewers are able to see some good quality photos from the Abahazy collection that Don has painstakingly restored. It is interesting to note that in each photo a rather large crowd is visible as a background.

1970 - Springfield Wins Matron Stake at Wolverine

The connections of Springfield gather in the winner's circle at Wolverine following a victory (shown in photo above) by the Dr. George Boyce-owned two-year-old son of Shadow Wave. He and Mrs. Boyce are at the far right end of the picture receiving the trophy. (Abahazy photos)

Two races after Springfield's win came the second division of that year's Matron Stake and it was won by the amazing Albatross, then driven by Harry Harvey. That year saw the great son of Meadow Skipper win a total of 14 races in 17 starts good enough for $183,540 taking a two-year-old mark of 1:57.4. Numbers not seen too often back then or since for that matter.

1971 - Ontario-Owned Merrywood King Scores in 2:02.3

Merrywood King is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver and trainer Don Larkin with his distinctive polka dot silks. (Abahazy photos)

For many years Don Larkin was the private trainer and driver for the Merrywood Stable of Grand Bend, Ont., owned by Eric McIlroy. Their farm and training centre was located close to this once-popular summer resort town located on the shores of Lake Huron. At one time Mr. McIlroy operated a popular dance hall dating back to the 1930's. The Merrywood name for their horses became popular and many of the farm breds were successful across Ontario and Michigan. When the O.S.S. started in 1974 Merrywood Sara was the fastest performer during that entire season.

1974 - McIntosh Brothers Winning At Wolverine

By the 1970's the brothers McIntosh -- Doug as driver and Bob as trainer -- were making their mark. Both were introduced to the sport through their father Jack McIntosh who bred and raised a number of notable performers at his Wheatley, Ont. farm. In the 1950's, accompanied by the noted veterinarian Dr. Lloyd McKibbin, the senior McIntosh purchased a filly named Success Barbara at a U.S. sale. After racing her at many local one-day meets and at Old Woodbine she was retired and began her career as a broodmare. Among her better offspring was Baroness Barbara, shown in the photo below.

Baroness Barbara, owned by Leo Thibodeau of Windsor, Ont., is shown in the Wolverine winner's enclosure following a win in 1974. On the left is Bob McIntosh with brother Douglas John on the far right. Mr. Thibodeau, long associated with the transport industry as part-owner of Thibodeau - Finch, owned a lot of good horses over the years. In later years Mark Austin trained a number of his horses. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Ray Remmen Campaigns At Wolverine

Western-born horseman Ray Remmen of Hanley, Sask., made his way eastward in the late 1960's. His journey, which eventually led him to become a star at the Meadowlands in New Jersey when it opened in 1976, included stops at Windsor Raceway and many trips across the border to Wolverine. Always in demand as a catch driver in addition to his own trainees, Ray made numerous visits to the Wolverine winner's circle. A couple are shown below.

Ray Remmen reaches the wire a winner behind the pacer Goyo, owned by Eric and Harry Whebby of Dartmouth N.S., in 2:00.3 to defeat Master Command (Boring) in a conditioned event for $3,400. The betting public must have had others to wager on as this winner paid $37.00, $10.60 and $5.00 across the board. The roan son of Canadian Dares out of Betts Folly was a six-year-old at the time. (Abahazy photos)

Jewell Mir, co-owned by trainer and driver Ray Remmen and Wilbur Thompson of Weyburn, Sask., is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver Remmen after a 2:01 score which was a pretty good mile for April. The six-year-old son of Buxton Hanover had been a member of the Miron Farms contingent in previous years racing for Marcel Dostie. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Quebec Stable Successful at Wolverine

Even a few horsemen from Quebec made the long trip to Wolverine and showed their expertise. Yvon Demers of Angers, P.Q. was one of those who campaigned here during the 1976 season. His own Chief Hielo was also among the top performers in his stable.

Yvon Demers had his trainee Keystone Sheldon, a four-year-old son of Bye Bye Byrd in top form as he took a new lifetime mark of 2:02.3 on April 13th. This horse was owned by Thaddee Matte of Papineauville, Quebec and won a total of eight races that season. As shown, the winner received a nice Wolverine Raceway cooler to mark this victory. (Abahazy photos)

Note: There are a number of unidentified individuals in the above pictures. If anyone in the reading audience can readily identify these people please feel free to do so.

Who Is It?

Can you identify this driver appearing during the 1978 season at Wolverine? The correct answer will be given during the upcoming week. (Abahazy photos)
Do you eat, sleep and breathe harness racing? Do you have exceptional customer service skills? If this sounds like you and you feel like you have the potential to be an outstanding ambassador for Standardbred Canada, read on.

Standardbred Canadas Member & Stakeholder Relations Department is seeking a summer student/intern to assist with various member and customer service related activities. Knowledge of horse racing is an asset.

The position requires an energetic self-starter with strong interpersonal and computer skills, outstanding organizational and presentation skills, and experience in social media applications. This individual will have the ability to work independently while contributing to a team. The successful candidate will work out of SCs office in Mississauga, Ontario.

Some of the duties include:

Data entry & analysis

Report writing

Writing for website

Assisting with producing video content for web & social media

Assisting with SCs Member Value Program

Assisting with writing web stories for National Caretaker Appreciation Day

Assisting with industry research

Taking photographs at events, etc.

Administrative duties as required

Qualifications

Currently enrolled in a Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or Business Administration program

Detail oriented with outstanding time management skills

Customer Service training an asset

Knowledgeable about horse racing is an asset

Computer Skills Required

Excel/MS Office/Power Point

Experience with SurveyMonkey & DirectIQ

Experience with social media tools

Experience with Premiere Pro would be an asset

Applicants must be returning to a post secondary program in the fall of 2019. Access to a car would be an asset, and the applicant should be willing to work a few weekends if required.

Duration: 8-10 weeks (start date of mid-June)

Please submit applications via email no later than Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. to:

Member & Stakeholder Relations - Kathy Wade Vlaar

Standardbred Canada

2150 Meadowvale Blvd.

Mississauga, ON L5N 6R6

email [email protected]

We thank all those who apply, but only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.
These men  some of these old Jewish men  are a special breed  from a special time and place.

I mean, all the expectation today leaves little for a kid to dream about. You are supposed to go to college. Then maybe law school or medical school. Family and responsibilities then start to add up. A decade or two goes by and you wonder where it all went.

But these guys.

These guys peak the imagination, if only in a villainous way.

Because what boy wants to work 8-5 and take orders?

A reflection of a road not taken. A tough guy, indeed.

Around each other, these men have a kind of ease that makes you want to confide things. The ease of old friends. Late nights. Stories by now more fiction than fact. Stories set on the stoops and corners of Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Brownsville, in a time when Jewish gangsters, that lost romantic breed, still roamed the streets, when Italians had no monopoly on hooliganism, when a Jewish boy could still fashion his future as murderous and daring and wide open, a future shot full of holes. Alleys. Blue smoky rooms. Basements. The ominous echo of footsteps. Leather shoulder holsters.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews
Texas Tech University

At Texas Tech, in Lubbock, students can pursue a PhD in Technical Communications and Rhetoric. A focus area in technical communication is available. Research methods is significant emphasis of the program. The degree can be completed on campus, or through an online program. To earn the degree, students will be required to complete 60 credit hours, a qualifying examination, and a dissertation comprised of original research. Students may choose a minor in a complementary subject area.

Texas Tech also offers an MA in Technical Communication. The program can be completed on-campus or online. Students will be required to complete 36 credit hours to earn the degree, and students must assemble a portfolio of their work. Students may complete an internship as a component of their degree. The Media Lab offers space to collaborate on the integration of new media literacy within technical communications.

Texas State University

Texas State University, in San Marcos, offers an MA in Technical Communication. The 30-credit program is offered on-campus with evening classes, or online. The department offers a user experience (UX) research lab, for students to see how readers or users would interact with a product they create. Scholarships or graduate assistantships may be available to assist with funding, and a travel fund supports students in attending professional conferences.

University of Houston

At the University of Houston, students can pursue an MS in Technical Communication. The program requires 33 credit hours of study. A capstone course requires the production of a portfolio containing five major projects. Concentrations are available in areas including Science and Medical Writing, Instructional Design, and Usability Research. Students can also pursue certificates in Plain English or Medical and Applied Health Communication.

University of Texas El Paso

At the University of Texas El Paso, those who are interested in technical writing can earn a graduate certificate in technical and professional writing. The program is offered online. It requires twelve credits to complete. Professionals working in any field who wish to improve their communication skills are encouraged to apply.

University of North Texas

Students can choose to pursue an MA in Professional and Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Students are required to specialize in a technical cognate field. Those pursuing the degree can choose a 36-credit hour program with a written exam; or a 30-hour program with a thesis. A graduate certificate in teaching technical writing is also available.
Are you hoping to have a fun and educational Fourth of July celebration with your family this year? This blog post offers interesting July Fourth facts you can share with your kids.

Fourth of July: Keys to Celebrating

The Fourth of July is a fun, family-friendly holiday. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the warm weather, delicious cookouts, and exciting fireworks. But it's also a holiday that marks a key moment in American history, which is important to remember during your celebration. To make the holiday more educational, we recommend you share these seven fun facts with your children.

Fact 1: The vote to declare independence from Great Britain was almost unanimous.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted on the decision to declare the colonies' independence. Almost every representative voted ''yes,'' except for the delegation from New York, who were awaiting authorization from their home state.

Fact 2: The Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed on July Fourth.

Rather, it was signed almost a month later, on August 2nd. July Fourth is actually the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. The later signing date was partly due to the delay in getting the New York State delegation's approval. Additionally, it took two weeks for the document to be written on parchment.

Fact 3: The Fourth of July was first celebrated as a holiday in 1777.

That was the year colonists began celebrating July Fourth as their day of independence. Their celebrations usually included reading the Declaration of Independence, enjoying bonfires, firing cannons, and watching parades and concerts. They even celebrated July Fourth throughout the Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783.

Fact 4: Congress made the Fourth of July an official federal holiday in 1870.

In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress voted to make July Fourth a paid holiday. What a great way to encourage people to celebrate the United States' independence every year!

Fact 5: Fireworks were invented in China between 600 and 900 A.D.

Between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese scientists were experimenting with mixing different substances when they accidentally created gunpowder, an explosive mix of charcoal, sulfur, and other substances. Then they filled bamboo shoots with the powder and threw them into a fire, creating the world's first firecracker. The Chinese later went on to use paper tubes to create firecrackers that were used in celebrations and battles.

Fact 6: The fireworks first used to celebrate the Fourth of July only came in orange and white.

Buried within the gunpowder used in fireworks are pellets of substances, like strontium, calcium, iron, and sodium, that produce bright sparks of different colors when lit. The colorful fireworks displays you see on the Fourth of July today are due to these materials. However, in 1784, not long after the first Independence Day celebrations, these combinations had yet to be developed. So the fireworks used in colonial celebrations only came in orange and white.

Fact 7: The 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old boy.

The American flag has evolved throughout the years, as the number of states in the union has changed. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th American state, and the flag needed to be updated again. A contest was held to find a new design, and a 17-year-old boy was named the winner. His flag design is still the one we use to this day.

For more engaging, educational lessons you can share with your child, check out Study.com's library of over 70,000 lessons for all ages.
In the fall of 2018, a fundraiser was held at all 14 Fibre Federal Credit Union locations to raise money for Doernbechers Childrens Hospital.

Titled Doernbecher Days, offered at the branches to members for small donations were Childrens Miracle Network balloon signs and Credit Unions for Kids piggy banks.

In addition, several independent staff-driven fundraisers were held including raffles and sales of snacks.

Over the seven-week fundraiser, FFCU staffers raised $32,751.52 for the hospital. The money was combined with a $20,000 donation from early 2018 staff fundraisers to donate $52,751.52 to the hospital for the 2018 year.

This year, on April 11, the top fundraising credit union employees visited the hospital to present the donation check and to meet with a doctor to discuss plans for the hospitals growth. The group toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and saw firsthand how premature infants are cared for at the hospital.

According to a press release from FFCU, Northwest credit unions have for decades supported Doernbecher through Credit Unions for Kids, a collective effort with the Childrens Miracle Network.

The Gary and Christine Rood Family Pavilion, the newest addition at Oregon Health Science University, will house patients families from distant locations. One of the floors in the pavilion will be named after Credit Unions for Kids to honor the organizations commitment.

Fibre Federal Credit Union will continue to raise money for Doernbechers.

The credit unions president and chief executive officer, Christopher Bradberry said in the press release that the credit union is passionate about supporting Doernbecher because we see the miracles they achieve every day.

He noted all children should have access to caring and comprehensive medical treatment, even if their families cannot afford to pay for it.

Every fundraising dollar for Doernbecher supports those children and helps give them a better chance at growing into healthy and vital adults.

What better way to support our communities than to help children have a better future?

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India made several efforts to politicise proceedings at FATF: FO

Islamabad on Friday expressed deep concern over Indian finance ministers statement about New Delhis intention to have Pakistan downgraded on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list.



The Indian ministers statement re-confirms Pakistans longstanding concerns that this technical forum is being politicised by India against Pakistan, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.



The Foreign Office said that India has made several efforts in the past as well to politicise the proceedings at FATF. Prior to the FATF plenary meeting in February 2019, India circulated its own assessment of Pakistans progress and solicited immediate support for blacklisting Pakistan. On several previous occasions, calculated leaks were made to the Indian media about the proceedings of FATF, which were otherwise strictly confidential, the Foreign Office said. These instances of politicisation by India have been brought to the attention of the FATF president by the finance minister of Pakistan, it added.



Indias attempts to politicise the proceedings in FATF against Pakistan call into question its credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group, that reviews the progress made by Pakistan to implement the FATF action plan, the statement observed. Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the FATF action plan. This commitment has been made at the highest political level, it continued. However, FATF must ensure that the process remains fair, unbiased and firmly grounded in the technical criteria of the forum, it demanded.
There are fewer minority employees than statistically expected at Kelso schools, but the district is working toward adding diversity to its workforce within the next five years, according to an affirmative action report.

The federal government requires any employer that receives federal funding to complete an affirmative action plan. These plans show what the current minority representation is in the workforce, compare it to the statistically expected percentage of employees and outline how the business can make sure minorities are fairly represented in their workforce.

An analysis of the 2017-18 school year staff showed that were are no administrators or supervisors from minority backgrounds working in the Kelso district at that time. Kelso would need three minority administrators and one minority supervisor to meet its statistical expectations, according to the report.

As for teachers and support staff, Kelso has about 19 and 17 minority staff members, respectively. Thats compared to the expected rate of 32 teachers and 49 support staff.

The report says one reason for the disparity in Kelso is that the percent of minorities in teacher and education staff associate training programs has not kept up with demand. Certificated training programs with higher concentrations of minority students are outside Washington state.

To balance out minority representation, the Kelso School District plans to advertise jobs in minority-focused media, attend a variety of job fairs and post jobs with colleges, universities and professional organizations that traditionally have diverse populations, among other strategies listed in its affirmative action plan.

The district will also continue its equal opportunity hiring practices, which base screening criteria on job qualifications and create a bias-free selection process with a diverse hiring committee, among other practices.

The school board will review the complete affirmative action report and plan at its meeting Monday night.

Also Monday the board will:

Vote on an architect/engineer for the districts capital bond projects that will not receive any state match money. District officials are recommending the board select Collins Architectural Group of Longview.

Vote to accept a bid for soil stabilization work at the Wallace and Lexington elementary school build sites. Additional information about the bids was not included in the board agenda packet.

Vote on a boiler project at Kelso High School. Additional information about the project was not included in the board agenda packet.

Set its 2019-20 meeting schedule.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Administrative Offices on Crawford Street.

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State lawmakers revision of Washingtons sales tax exemption rules has many Cowlitz County retailers worried that their Oregon customers will stop crossing the Columbia River to shop here.

The bill, which legislators approved last weekend, eliminates the sales tax exemption at checkout for residents from tax-free states and countries, including Oregon and British Columbia. Instead, these customers would need to apply for a reimbursement for paid Washington state taxes through the state Department of Revenue, starting January 2020. Only one application will be allowed per calendar year.

Under the new system, which takes effect in July, eligible shoppers must save sales receipts to submit together, complete special reimbursement paperwork and wait to get their refunds. Its a process that used to be paperless and took just seconds and the flick of a ID at checkout stands.

Im 86-years-old. Im not interested in messing with the little details, said Jack Crosby, a long-time Rainier resident.

Crosby was shopping at Rainiers Grocery Outlet Friday afternoon, but he said he also does a lot of my shopping in Longview because there are some items that he cant buy locally.

Its available there, but its not available here, he said. But now hell be more likely to drive to Portland for those items to avoid the extra paperwork, he said.

While the new law does not affect vehicle sales, it will apply to most other tangible goods, such as furniture, appliances and electronics. And all customers will be charged sales tax on vehicle parts, too.

Right now they dont pay sales tax on the parts, but they do pay sales tax on the labor. Now they will have to pay sales tax on the parts, as well, said Pat Sari, president of Columbia Ford in Longview. Those are things that could hurt our economy quite a bit. Those customers in Oregon will have to decide if they want to go all the way to Portland  if they want to buy furniture or have work done on their cars.

Sari said he hopes the level of quality and the convenience of close-to-home car service options will convince Columbia Fords Oregon customers to continue shopping at his dealership.

If a car breaks down and they need it repaired, it might not be practical to get it to Oregon.  Hopefully they will keep all the benefits they had, and they just have to fill out the (reimbursement) paperwork, Sari said.

After several failed attempts in the last five years to alter or eliminate the sales tax exemption, the Legislature finally succeeded in pushing the bill through. It passed with close votes in both chambers: 55-43 in the House and 25-22 in the Senate.

The six local lawmakers who represent Cowlitz and Lewis counties voted no on the measure. One of the no votes came from Sen. Dean Takko, a Longview Democrat.

For a lot of people that dont live in a border districts, its an easy vote.  I dont think they really realize its impact on retail in the border counties, particularly in Clark and Cowlitz counties, Takko said. People in Rainier and Clatskanie, they dont have the variety and options in those communities across the river like they do in Longview. They come across here.

This particular bill was drafted as a strategy to increase state revenues. It banks on the hope that Oregon buyers arent going to save their receipts and turn them in once a year for the sales tax rebate, Takko said.

If every one of those residents saved all their receipts and submitted them, then there would be  zero income for the state, he said.

The state anticipates the new law will generate nearly $54 million in fiscal years 2019-21. That estimate is based on several assumptions, including a loss of sales to non-residents and a tax rebate submission rate of only about 21 percent of Oregonians and 11 percent of residents from other tax-free places.

Takko said the bill will negatively affect retail sales in border areas such as Cowlitz County. He said it is likely to deter Oregon buyers from coming across the bridge to shop.

Ranae McKee, owner of Sears Hometown in Longview, said about 40 to 50 percent of her customers come from Rainier, Clatskanie and other rural Oregon towns. She doubted whether those customers would really be willing to fill out the forms to get a tax rebate.

What Ive learned in the retail industry is that they want instant gratification, and thats applying to any kind of discount they can receive. How many people, when they look at rebate option so to speak, really submit that paperwork? McKee said.

Instead, those customers might decide to drive to whatever competitor they live closest to in Oregon because it is more convenient than having to save and submit receipts, she said.

Rainier resident Jewell Labelle said he agrees that the new reimbursmenet system will be a hassle for buyers.

Who is going to save their receipts? What a pain that would be, Labelle said.

Although it will be more inconvenient to drive the extra distance to shop in Oregon  as opposed to the short jaunt across the bridge to Longview  Labelle said hed be willing to make the drive to save money.

Theres always Clatskanie. Theres always St. Helens. And then theres always Portland, Labelle said.

McKee, the Sears owner, said she worries that the appeal of getting an immediate savings of hundreds of dollars in sales tax for appliance purchases will detract from her Longview store.

I think instead of the hassle of applying for rebates, I think they will choose to go somewhere in the Oregon state to avoid having to do that, McKee said. I am afraid it will lose business for us.

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Probation violation  Longview police Thursday arrested Mark Anthony Edmonds, 33, of Longview on suspicion of probation/parole violation, resisting arrest, obstructing a public servant and driving with a suspended license.

Possession of a stolen vehicle  Woodland police Thursday arrested Devon Lee Miller, 24, of Kelso on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Vehicle prowls

200 block of Shawnee Street, Kelso. Thursday. Subjects tried to break into a neighbors car.

200 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. A man and a woman seen going through a vehicle then leaving on foot.

Burglary

4000 block of Westside Highway, Castle Rock. Thursday. Black 2014 Yamaha stolen.

Stolen vehicle

500 block of Seventh Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. White 1995 Honda Civic. Washington BEJ4256. Tape over front lights. Back the Blue sticker on the trunk.

Theft

1100 block of Second Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Reports girlfriend has taken his vehicle, phone and other items.

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NEW YORK  Understanding Donald Trumps foreign policy is a challenge, since the president has written and spoken little on the subject for most of his life. So how to make sense of his worldview? Is there a Trump Doctrine?

Michael Anton, a former Trump national security official, believes there is, and he explains it in a new essay in Foreign Policy. The Trump Doctrine, Anton argues, is simple: Lets all put our own countries first, and be candid about it, and recognize that its nothing to be ashamed of. But, as Daniel Larison responds in the American Conservative, That isnt a doctrine. It is a banality. What country has not put its own interests first? What president has argued to give preference to global interests over American ones?

Anton outlines a certain kind of nationalist conservatism that does seem at the heart of Donald Trumps worldview. More important  since Trump is rarely consistent and could change his mind tomorrow  it reflects the views of the man closest to him on foreign policy, national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton has been variously described as a neoconservative, a paleoconservative and a conservative hawk. In fact, he is simply a conservative, in the oldest, most classical sense, someone who has a dark view of humankind. As a former U.S. official told the New Yorker, Bolton believes that Thomas Hobbes famous description of life without order applies precisely to international lifenasty, brutish and short.

Bolton believes that to protect itself and project its power, the United States must be aggressive, unilateral and militant. Bolton seems to share the worldview that animated Dick Cheney, who after 9/11 spoke openly about the need to work ... the dark side and to use any means at our disposal basically to achieve our objectives.

There are some in the foreign policy establishment who believe that a revanchist Russia poses a grave threat to America. Others worry about a rising China or an ideological Iran. For Bolton, its all of the above and more. He has at various points warned darkly about the mortal threat posed to the United States by Cuba, Libya, Syria and of course, Iraq. A longtime fan of regime change, he recently labeled Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a triangle of terror and said the U.S. looks forward to watching each corner of the triangle fall. It seems he wants them to fall not to usher in an era of democracy, but because they resist American power and influence. The Monroe Doctrine is alive and well, Bolton told the New Yorkers Dexter Filkins. Its our hemisphere.

This kind of conservatism believes that national interests are worth pursuing not because they are virtuous  about democracy and freedom  but because they are ours. This view originates in a cultural chauvinism and can easily morph into racism.

And sure enough, a senior State Department official, Kiron Skinner, this week explained that the challenge with confronting China is that it is a great power competitor that is not Caucasian. She noted: The Soviet Union and that competition, in a way it was a fight within the Western family.

Where to begin? The Cold War was an existential struggle because the Soviet Union believed it had a superior ideology of economics, politics and society that it would impose on the rest of the world. That is why it was called totalitarian. Chinas rise to power is the standard process by which a new powerhouse economy tries to find a space on the international stage. Chinas system, incidentally, is largely a mixture of two Western ideas, capitalism and communism  Adam Smith and Marx  which is why The New York Times Nicholas Kristof has aptly described it as Market-Leninism.

By Skinners logic we had more in common with Hitlers ideology than with the Chinese because the Nazis were Caucasian, which is both historically uninformed and morally grotesque.

The more practical problem with the Cheney-Bolton worldview is that it is profoundly inaccurate. The world is not nasty, brutish and short. Life has improved immeasurably over the last 100 years. Political violence  deaths from wars, civil wars and terrorism  has plummeted. And this has happened in large part because human beings also have the genes to cooperate, to compete peacefully and to weigh the costs of war against their benefits.

Bolton says that he might well invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine  which asserts that the U.S. can use force unilaterally anywhere in the Western hemisphere. If he does, what is the argument against Russia doing the same in Ukraine, China in the South China Sea, and Iran in Yemen? Without rules and norms, the U.S. would have to militarily thwart every such effort or else accept a world of war and anarchy. You see, nationalist assertiveness works as long as only you get to practice it.

Fareed Zakarias syndicated foreign affairs column appears each week in The Washington Post.

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Pak Army support Afghan peace process: COAS

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Friday reiterated its support for Afghan peace process and vowed to continue working for sustainable peace in the country.



The support for Afghan peace process was reaffirmed as the latest round of talks between the United States and Taliban in Qatar ran into a fresh stalemate due to the latters refusal to accept the American demand for a ceasefire. The US has made it clear that a peace deal would require simultaneous agreement on troops withdrawal, counterterrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.



Forum reiterated to continue its efforts for bringing enduring peace in the country while supporting all initiatives towards regional peace, ISPR said in a statement on the corps commanders conference held at the GHQ, which was chaired by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.



Pakistan facilitated the talks between the US and Taliban and more lately Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged neutrality in Afghan conflict. Pakistan will not be party to any internal conflict in Afghanistan anymore, Mr Khan said in a policy statement on Afghan peace last week in which he denounced violence by both sides of the conflict. The prime ministers statement was welcomed by the US government.



However, such categorical statements from Islamabad too have failed to push the peace process forward with the Taliban first refusing to talk to the Afghan government, then last month cancelling a meeting with Afghan representatives in Doha, and now refusing to observe a ceasefire. The Taliban, it should be recalled, had on the occasion of Eidul Fitr last year observed an unprecedented ceasefire raising hopes for peace. In a related development the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan ended on Friday with demands for peace and ceasefire.



The commanders meeting, which is a monthly feature, discusses internal and external security situation and professional matters of the Army. Forum reviewed evolving geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country including progress of operation Raddul Fasaad, ISPR said.



Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had at a press briefing earlier this week said that Operation Raddul Fasaad (RuF) was progressing satisfactorily. Sharing statistics, he said 47 major operations and 100,000 intelligence-based operations had been undertaken, which resulted in the recovery of over 64,000 weapons and 5.1 million units of ammunition.



A major success under RuF has been the border fencing. A total of 1,000kms of border has so far been fenced decreasing chances for unauthorised border crossing. Additionally, the security of the border with Afghanistan has been buttressed by construction of 300 border forts. A total of 843 forts are planned to be constructed.
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.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
What was formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale has expanded its mission, and changed its name to match.

After 15 years in operation, the organization will now be known as the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois, according to a Friday news release from the group.

The release states the name change is to reflect its expanded goal of serving more children and teens around the region.

The club also launched a fundraising goal on Friday; they are trying to raise $15,000 by June 30.

For more information, visit bgcsi.org.

 The Southern

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Les Winkeler Sports editor Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Follow Les Winkeler Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

You have to see it to believe it.

Nearly one-fifth of Alexander County has been inundated by Mississippi River floodwaters since mid-February. Yet, little is said about the chronic flooding because relatively few people are affected. No industries or serious infrastructure are threatened by the flood.

Many of the homeowners in the area sold their homes following the 2016 New Years Flood caused by a massive breach of the Len Small Levee. While water currently covers about 30,000 acres, most of the acreage is farmland located south of Olive Branch.

There are a few homeowners living on small islands throughout the region. They use boats to get to and from their land. But, little or nothing is being done to assist them.

Fact is, at the current time, it appears little can be done.

Prior to the levee breach, the Mississippi River had to top 48.5 feet at Cape Girardeau to put the land in danger. With the three-quarter mile gap in the levee, water begins pouring through the breach at about 33 feet.

In recent years, thats a pretty good bet to happen at least once or twice a year.

As tempting as it is to blame politicians and government agencies for the inaction, thats not really fair. As Jeff Denny, county engineer in Alexander County explained, levee repairs can only be made when the river is low for an extended period of time.

That hasnt happened recently. As noted earlier, much of the county has been underwater since mid-February. With the drenching rains that struck the Midwest this weekend, those waters arent likely to recede anytime in the near future.

Once upon a time plans were on the table to repair the levee breech, but that was three or four floods ago.

The roiling floodwaters have expanded their damage since then, scouring more dirt away from the levee.

And, the floodwaters have become more insidious since the levee gave way in 2016.

These arent passive backups from water topping a levee. The water now is forced through the breach with a vengeance, powerful enough to carry away homes and pull pavement off roadways. The floodwaters deposited tons of sand on Alexander County farmland.

When the water recedes, large portions of the county are covered in several feet of sand. And, no one is quite sure what the floodwaters are doing to Horseshoe Lake and its trademark cypress and Tupelo trees. Aerial photographs graphically illustrate the siltation occurring.

The flooding has become a slow-motion natural disaster occurring right under our noses. There are just so many questions that appear to have no answers.

Will Horseshoe Lakes cypress and Tupelo survive? Will the shallow lake become nothing more than a wetland? Will the Mississippi change course as many are worried it might do? Will any of the flooded land be tillable again? Will state and federal agencies be willing to appropriate money to repair the levee? Will and state or federal government simply buy up the property to turn the area into a wildlife refuge? What would taking the land off the tax rolls do to an already cash-strapped Alexander County?

Worst of all, the people of Alexander County will be waiting months, likely years, for answers.

LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call 618-351-5088 / On Twitter @LesWinkeler.

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South Carolina Telehealth Alliance Receives National Award

BAMBERG -- The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance was awarded the American Telemedicine Association Presidents Award for Transformation of Health Care Delivery during the ATA Annual Conference held recently in New Orleans.

The ATA Presidents Award for the Transformation of Healthcare Delivery recognizes the leadership of an organization that incorporates virtual health care services as part of an initiative resulting in improved health care quality and value for a large population of patients.

The SCTA is a statewide collaboration of many organizations that have joined forces to expand telehealth services across South Carolina. Led by the SCTA Advisory Council, it provides guidance, assists with strategic development, and advises on technology and standards. The SCTA was formed with founding strategic providers, Greenville Health, McLeod Health, Medical University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health, providing telehealth care services.

SCTA Advisory Council co-chairs, Kathy Schwarting, MHA, Palmetto Care Connections chief executive officer, and James McElligott, MD, MSCR, MUSC Center for Telehealth medical director, accepted the award along with representatives from S.C. Area Health Education Consortium, S.C. Department of Mental Health, SCTA, McLeod Health, MUSC Health, Palmetto Care Connections and Prisma Health.

This award recognizes that SCTA is a national leader in statewide telehealth collaboration, Schwarting said. And its a testament to the great work that is being done to improve access to health care for all South Carolinians.

ATA stated that the SCTA has demonstrated exceptional character, leadership along with continued service to the association and telehealth industry.

The winners of this years awards are doing amazing work and its wonderful to see the innovation and transformation that is happening in the Telehealth field, said Laurie Poole, vice president, clinical innovation at the Ontario Telemedicine Network and chair of the ATA Awards Committee.

Consideration for this award included: the impact on the population served such as special needs groups; academic peer-reviewed research and presentations; targeted education programs; number of telehealth sites; business case or business model; long-term sustainability; and effective partnerships and collaboration.

The ATA is a non-profit association based in Washington with a membership network of more than 10,000 industry leaders and health care professionals. As the only national organization completely focused on telehealth, the ATA is working to change the way the world thinks about telemedicine and virtual care.

The SCTA provides administrative functions of programs and services, telehealth equipment and maintenance, technical support and security and leads initiatives determined by collaborative strategic planning.

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C. PCC is the leader of the Palmetto State Providers Network, a broadband consortium which facilitates broadband connections throughout the state.

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A Revolutionary War battlefield near Eutawville is being enhanced as part of its inclusion among a system of Liberty Trails that aims to connect all of the war's battlefields throughout the state.

As part of the process, the battlefield will be one of five battle sites to be developed into a park, complete with amenities such as a visitor's center, trails, shelters and an amphitheater.

Its a real source of pride

"The Liberty Trail was a project conceived by the South Carolina Battlefield Trust and we're partnering in this project with the American Battlefield Trust, a large foundation in Washington," said Doug Bostick, executive director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, a land trust that preserves battlefields in the Palmetto State.

In that role, Bostick also serves as the director of the South Carolina Liberty Trail project, which includes 69 American Revolutionary War battlefields which are divided into four trails stretching from as far south as Jasper County to as far north as Spartanburg County.

"What we want to do is connect all these sites. First, we want to preserve the ones that are not currently preserved. There are three that are run by the National Park Service, three that are run by state parks and two that are preserved by individual organizations," Bostick said.

"But the balance of all those are not currently protected. So our objective is to acquire as many of them as we can either through direct ownership of the land, or through a conservation easement," he said.

The work doesn't stop there.

"Then our plan is to interpret all of these to the public, both with battle signage and battle maps on the ground where there properties are, but also through a smartphone tablet app that will be available to the public for free.

"This app is currently being engineered. So it would give you drive-in directions, battle narratives, biographies, battle maps, any engravings or paintings that have ever been done of these battles, even down to linking you to where to stay and where to go eat when you visit these areas," Bostick said.

He added, "Our objective is to get all of this in place prior to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which is coming up in the next six years. Now some of these are just going to be small sites, where you might have the chance to pull off and park and then read the interpretive signage and understand what happened there," while others will be developed into parks.

"Five of them are going to be developed into full parks, meaning it'll have visitor amenities, shelters, trails, everything that you would expect to see if you went to a state park or a national park," said Bostick, noting that the Battle of Eutaw Springs deserves to be recognized.

The battle occurred on Sept. 8, 1781, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. The site includes a historic marker, a monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the tomb of British Commander major John Marjoribanks.

The Eutaw Springs battlefield site became listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 2, 1970.

We think itll draw a lot of just attention to Eutaw Springs. Eutaw Springs was a really big deal in its day. It was one of the most important battles in our state and in the nation. And so, number one, we want people to understand the real story of Eutaw Springs and, number two, to have the opportunity to go there and learn about all the people who were involved in this.

Several of the American Revolution's heroes fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs -- William Washington, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion, Andrew Pickens, "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Wade Hampton.

There are many captivating stories related to this battle. Thats the thing about the American Revolution. Theres kind of a piece of the story for everybody. At Eutaw Springs, we jokingly refer to it as the Patriot All-Star Game because most all of the notable commanders for the American cause were at Eutaw Springs, Bostick said.

A treasure trove of stories have come out of the battle, including that of slave Jim Capers.

He enlisted with Francis Marion in 1775, fought with Marion throughout the war, was wounded four times at Eutaw Springs, but was with his unit a month later to watch the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, Bostick said.

When he returns to South Carolina, hes given his freedom and he moves out West, which was Alabama in those days, and remarkably  I dont know how he did it  lived until the age of 110. But if you go to his grave today in Alabama, youll find a Revolutionary War veterans cross on his grave. So these stories about Eutaw Springs just go on and on and on, and thats why that particular battle is a very big deal to us, he said.

Bostick also shared the story of one of the battles Maryland commanders who later became governor of Maryland.

When he goes home after the war, he renames his own plantation Belvidere for the name of the plantation on which the battle was fought. And he names what today are all of the historic downtown streets of Baltimore. Theyre named after other patriot commanders that fought with him at the battle.

And if you go to a Baltimore Orioles game today to walk through to the gate of Camden Yards, which is the name of their stadium, you walk down Eutaw Street. Now I doubt that anyone in Baltimore knows where those names came from, but they all come from Eutaw Springs, he said.

Bostick added, Its a real source of pride. This battles a big, big deal, so big that a guy from Maryland goes home and names everything after people and things in the battle. So I think that that gives us a different understanding and appreciation of what happened there.

Its going to draw peoples attention

Cameron resident Douglas Doster is the past state president of the Battle of Eutaw Springs Chapter of the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Doster is excited about the Liberty Trail project and the enhancements that the S.C. Battlefield Preservation Trust proposes to make to the memorial battle site in Eutaw Springs.

"It's pretty common knowledge that this group has purchased several properties around Eutawville. And it is all going to be part of this group of Liberty Trails. We're on Liberty Trail One. It starts down here in Charleston.

They've already built up the grounds around Fort Fair Lawn, an old plantation there, but it's going to come up to Eutaw Springs and go all the way up to Camden and end up in Lancaster County at a mass grave of patriots that were killed. It's called Buford's Massacre, and we observe that every May, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trust is buying big pieces of land at different phases of the battle.

So weve been buying land in Eutawville for a while now. Weve bought four properties there so far. We have others under contract, and we others that were still negotiating over. Well never buy the entire battlefield. The whole battlefield is 4-1/2 square miles, but what we want to do is buy significant pieces of this battle because this battle stretched over four miles in length and was five hours long, he said.

Bostick said the enhancement plan includes turning the old Chefs Choice restaurant into a visitors center. The Preservation Trust purchased the restaurant  less than one mile from the site  in 2017.

Were still developing the master plan, but we would like to create a visitors center there so that you could go inside and get a proper orientation to the site. And, again, our hope is that well have an amphitheater there and a shelter there where people could meet, trails and facilities, he said.

The part of the battlefield that includes the historic marker and the monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is being leased to the Preservation Trust by Santee Cooper.

We own a total of 20 acres so far, and the Santee Cooper property that were going to lease is about another eight acres. Thats the end of the battle on that property. A lot of people think thats the whole battlefield, but thats just where the British camp was and thats the very end, Bostick said.

Doster said, Its going to be developed with a visitors center with displays and hopefully some artifacts. Some of the people whose families have been there since that time may say, Well, you know, so and so has got those old cannonballs that came from there, and old muskets and so forth. Were hoping that we can entice some of them to put them on loan like they would do with artifacts at a museum.

He added, The key thing is whats happening now with this Liberty Trail program. Thats going to pick things up and draw peoples attention. Were excited about that.

While an interpretive visitors center is not yet developed, there are illustrated signs throughout the Eutaw Springs battlefield site that tell visitors about the battle.

Doster said the South Carolina Society of Sons of the American Revolution traditionally celebrates the anniversary of the battle. This years commemoration will take place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

We do the commemoration every year. In 1936, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of Interior to establish a battlefield park near Eutaw Springs. It could have been a national park right then, but this was never implemented. Then, of course, World War II came along and everything got swept under the table, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trusts mission, however, will continue to highlight and preserve not just the Eutaw Springs battle sites, but others across the entire state.

Weve been around a good little while. To date, we have preserved 58 battlefields around the state, and were adding to that list fairly rapidly right now with the focus on the Liberty Trail, he said.

Bostick said the reason is simple.

People have lost touch with the founding of our country. If we had a better understanding of what it took to become the United States of America, then I think we will take better care of it.

The Liberty Trail is a project to create outdoor classrooms to allow people to visit these places and learn the stories of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Jim Capers. Every battlefield has its own story. We want to get Americans, South Carolinians and our visitors back in touch with all the great stories about how we started, he said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will stop by Orangeburg next week.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will host a meet and greet at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Sulit, located at 1005 Broughton Street.

Buttigiegs campaign recently told the Associated Press that his visit to South Carolina stems from a focus on outreach to African American voters.

While hes in South Carolina, Buttigieg will hold town hall events at North Charleston High School and the Eau Claire Print Building in Columbia.

This will be the former naval intelligence officers first campaign visit to Orangeburg County, which is no stranger to presidential candidates.

Buttigiegs fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have all recently visited the county. Beto ORourke visited Bamberg County.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516.

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A group of fathers came together Thursday evening at Mellichamp Elementary School to put the hood back in fatherhood.

The topic of discussion was the impact of fathers and father figures in the community. A four-person panel and audience members discussed topics ranging from the absence of a father in the home to the necessity of mentoring youth in the community.

Mellichamp Elementary School Principal Hayward Jean, who hosted the forum, sparked the conversation.

Im learning now that youre not a father just because you are a father biologically, he said.

The panel consisting of Jerrod Anderson, Jamall Grant, Aldolphus Johnson and Van Gaffney followed with their definitions of fatherhood.

Fatherhood to me means putting someone other than yourself first for providing a safe environment, for taking responsibility and investing in loved ones and your community, Anderson stated. Its very important, vital what role we play today, and not only for those who we bring into this world but those who are in our community.

Grant said being a father covers many areas.

For me personally, it means being a provider, a protector. Sometimes it means being a mother. It means being a disciplinarian. It means being a friend. We dont get a lot of credit for it, but a real father sacrifices a lot, Grant said.

Gaffney said fatherhood means setting an example for the youth.

To me, fatherhood is being a positive role model because what you do, your children usually mirror you. So, if you set a good example and are a good example for them, the old saying the chip doesnt fall far from the tree is true, he stated.

Johnson said being a father represents, being protector. It means that youre a provider, but to me being a father means that youre responsible.

I believe that if youre a father, youre responsible for your kids, youre responsible for their well-being.

Panelists discussed their relationships with their fathers and noted how it impacted them.

Gaffney noted that his father was in his life.

My father was in the military, and we traveled a lot. Discipline was his thing. He taught us that he was a provider. He was organized and he taught that if youre going to be a man, be a man, do the right thing. He set that tone for us early in our life, Gaffney stated.

It taught you responsibility. It taught me that you handle your business first before you go do something else, he stated.

Grant stated that his father was involved in the early years of his life, but became absent in his pre-teenage years.

In the first part of my life, I had my father. Then, being honest, I dont know what happened, even to this day. When he left, that was probably when I needed a father the most, he stated.

At that time, Im being raised by music, he said. I hid a lot from my mom. I had male figures in my family, dont get me wrong, but I had none I could look up to from the time I was 12 until the time I was maybe 24.

Grant stated that the circumstances led to him making decisions that involved the street life. Now Grant has a mentoring program at Mellichamp Elementary and is looking to expand his program.

Jean asked the panelists how they can become visible to the youth who may not have father figures.

Anderson said it requires an investment to reach the youth.

I think you just have to take the time and get involved, he said.

Gaffney also said it requires a commitment to make a change.

Youve got to be committed because once you are involved with a young persons life, you cant just be there then leave them out there after you talk to them, he said. You have to take time with your children or any child because if you want them to respect and trust you, youve got to show them you can be trusted and respected.

Grant said parents have to be willing for their children to be mentored.

The mothers who want their child to get help and be helped, theyve got to be willing to let somebody help, first of all, Grant said.

Johnson said that it also takes practice.

I think before you go out in public that you should practice at home. I see a lot of younger people, a lot of people that have a good heart for their community, but theyre not practicing it at home, he said.

All panelists agreed that fatherhood ultimately comes down to sacrifice and unconditional love.

I believe that if you want to be a great father, you have to be willing to sacrifice, Johnson said.

Its important that you make the time to teach your children how to live with you together because if youre not there, then theyll learn to live without you, Anderson said.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516

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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.
North Macedonia goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential run-off vote that will be a litmus test for the pro-Western government, which has warned low turnout could invalidate the vote and trigger a general election.

The first round of voting last month was a tie between the candidate favoured by the ruling Social Democrats and his right-wing rival, reflecting a deep divide in the Balkan state, particularly over the country's historic name change.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but the poll is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's centre-left government, which recently finalised the controversial deal to add "North" to Macedonia's official name and end a long-running dispute with Greece.

The ruling party's preferred contender, 56-year-old Stevo Pendarovski, is a strong backer of the name deal and has cast himself as the pro-Western candidate who will join Zaev in bringing North Macedonia closer to Europe.

His nationalist-backed rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor who would be the country's first female president if elected, is highly critical of the change. She has framed her campaign around tackling weak rule of law and corruption.

But in addition to taking a majority, the candidates are pressed with drawing high enough turnout to clear a legal threshold.

More than 40 percent of the Balkan state's 1.8 million electorate need to cast ballots to validate the poll, a margin that was barely passed in the first round of voting last month.

If enthusiasm dips any further, it could hand a political crisis to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

According to the premier, the country would have to either restart the election process or make constitutional changes, such as allowing parliament to choose the president.

A failure to reach the turnout threshold -- or a victory for Siljanovska-Davkova -- would also trigger snap parliamentary elections, Zaev has said.

But the premier remains optimistic about hitting the turnout target, saying in TV interview this week: "We believe that citizens will elect a president".

- Voter discontent -

Some new voters may be motivated to head to the polls to avert more turmoil in a country that lurches from political crisis to crisis.

"I did not vote (in the first round)... but now everyone says there will be a crisis if we don't elect president, so I'll just do it," said Jana Damjanovska, a 27-year-old Skopje resident.

The country's name change was a compromise to end a decades-old row with Greece, which has a province called Macedonia and has never accepted its northern neighbour's use of the name.

In return, Athens promised to stop thwarting Skopje's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.

But that is just one of a range of issues concerning voters.

Petar Arovski, an analyst in Skopje, said the record low turnout last month reflected "dissatisfaction with rule of law reforms, the fight against corruption and the poor economy".

More than a fifth of the country is jobless while average wages are stuck at around 400 euros ($450) a month, helping fuel waves of emigration abroad.

In 2018 GDP growth was 2.5 percent, the lowest figure in the Western Balkans region according to the World Bank.

The presidential candidates are also vying for votes from the country's ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up around a quarter of the population.

The Albanian candidate fell out of the race after the first round.
Un avion commercial Boeing 737 avec 136 personnes a bord a du atterrir dans les eaux du fleuve Saint Johns, pres de Jacksonville en Floride, a annonce un porte-parole de la base aeronavale de Jacksonville.

Laccident na fait aucun blesse mais lequipage saffaire a controler le kerosene dans leau, a declare le maire de Jacksonville sur Twitter.

We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

 Lavion na pas ete submerge. Tous les passagers ont ete retrouves et sont en vie , ecrit le sherif de Jacksonville dans un tweet.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Le vol en provenance de la base navale de la baie de Guantanamo est entre dans l'eau en bout de piste vers 21h40 locales, a annonce la base aerienne. L'avion, portant le logo de la compagnie Miami Air International, est reste parfaitement intact, dans des eaux peu profondes.

Miami Air International est une compagnie charter qui exploite une flotte de Boeing 737-800. Boeing a dit etre au courant de l'incident et rassemblait des informations pour expliquer cette arrivee en catastrophe, a declare un porte-parole.
The Virginia businessman whose attempt to buy the Kemmerer coal mine in western Wyoming failed this month blamed the busted bid on the creditors of the bankrupt coal company Westmoreland.

The Kemmerer mine is owned by Westmoreland Resource Partners. As part of the bankruptcy process, the troubled coal firm was set to sell the coal mine to Tom Clarke for $7.5 million in cash and more than $200 million in secured promissory notes.

There was also the challenge of bonding  secured funding for cleaning up the large open surface mine.

During a private status conference call Tuesday to discuss Westmorelands creditors attempt to block Clarke from buying the mine until reclamation was secured, it was disclosed that Clarke would no longer be purchasing the Kemmerer mine due to his failure to provide bonding terms prior to an April deadline.

Clarke rebuffed that narrative in a call with the Star-Tribune, arguing that he had been ready to acquire the mine as early as mid-March and had obtained a bonding package. However, the lenders became inflexible, he said. The impending sale fell short as the first-in-line lenders that Westmoreland is indebted to balked at the deal offered by Clarke, the businessman maintained.

We had everything, he continued, detailing a plan for bonding that included cash collateral and ongoing payments to equal approximately $14 million paid over the next 10 months and provided by operations from the mine. We had the money. We had bonding commitments, maybe not the bonding commitments that the creditors wanted, but they were the only bonding commitments available.

The deadline for the sale closure was extended from April 15 to 25. Clarke said he received a letter from the creditors attorneys asking for more time. After the first extension, Clarke said he was approached by the creditors asking for another.

Clarke said he wasnt interested in an extension, but he still wanted a deal. The deadline passed and the asset purchase agreement cleared by the bankruptcy court expired.

A call to the secured lenders attorneys in Houston, Porter Hedges LLP, was not returned by press time.

Clarke still wants to buy the mine, he said.

His interest in Wyoming has expanded to other potential assets, though he declined to disclose which mining operations he was interested in. Clarke said the mine-to-plant operations, in which a coal mine feeds directly to a power plant, could be kept open for years to come with the right strategy.

Wyoming has been facing increasing concern over the potential closure of power plants like PacifiCorps Naughton plant  which is the chief purchaser of the Kemmerer mines coal, a relationship that goes back to the 1950s. PacifiCorp has a coal supply agreement with the mine that ends in December 2021.

As coal is pummeled in a power market where cheap natural gas is replacing the black rock as a fuel source, companies like PacifiCorp have become more interested in closing uneconomic coal plants in favor of new wind or gas power.

The utility disclosed recently that closing Naughton and other coal plants by 2023 would save customers $12 million.

Clarke said his ongoing interest in the Kemmerer mine, and other mine-to-plant operations in Wyoming, is based on his belief that he has a solution to the trend of retiring coal plants.

Rather than have a sudden announcement of early termination of power plants, there ought to be a longer term plan so that a community like Kemmerer can figure out a new economic base, he said.

Clarke first got involved in Westmoreland as a shareholder. He said he and his wife were at one point the largest private shareholders in the company. With the bankruptcy, Clarke saw an opportunity to take over the mining operations. Clarke had made a similar, surprising move in 2015, when he acquired coal assets in Appalachia from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal  a spinoff of Peabody Energy in the early 2000s that took on some of the coal giants liabilities and operations in Appalachia.

Patriot went bust after five years, declaring bankruptcy in 2012. It entered bankruptcy again in 2015, when Clarke picked up a number of coal mines from Patriot, including a number that were not operating.

Clarke considers those mines his success stories in coal. Those once-fallow mining operations from Patriot have generated nearly 1,000 jobs under his ownership, Clarke said.

The businessman, whod started out in nursing homes and health centers, said in a previous interview with the Star-Tribune that he became interested in coal when its decline played a role in shutting a struggling local hospital in Virginia. Hes had a number of high-profile acquisitions or projects in his home state, including a public spat with current Gov. Jim Justice over coal pollution in Appalachian waterways.

Few of Clarkes public ventures have gone smoothly, and a number of critics have risen in their wake.

The state of Ohio opposed the sale of Westmoreland coal assets to Clarke when they went before the bankruptcy judge, arguing that Clarke and his wife, Ana, did not appear to have the money to support reclamation associated with those sites.

In March, the Sierra Club asked a U.S. district court judge in West Virginia to force Clarke to pay $6 million that the environmental groups claim he has failed to pay  payments to an environmental nonprofit that were part of a settlement agreement for coal-polluted waterways in Appalachia.

Clarke also ran into trouble in the iron ore business in Minnesota, picking up assets from a bankruptcy in 2016. He was later booted from his role as an executive in the iron ore companies, ERP Iron Ore and Chippewa Capital Partners, at the insistence of the other investors, according to reporting at the time from Business North, a Minnesota business news publication based in Duluth.

In a previous interview with the Star-Tribune, Clarke said that the iron ore experience was a lesson learned in whom to partner with.

With the Kemmerer acquisition in limbo, Clarke argued that he is like a bride left standing at the altar. However, he said he is still willing to negotiate with the mines debtors. His style is in part a social one, making connections locally in Kemmerer, he said.

For the sake of the miners and the community, I hope, if not me, they find somebody else. But there are not too many people left, he said. There are people that are like Write me a check and well take over, but real mining companies? Youre not going to find Arch or Peabody coming [out there].

Follow energy reporter Heather Richards on Twitter @hroxaner

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BY MARK OSBORNE/ ABC News





Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries originally appeared on abcnews.go.com





A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.





There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.





"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."





The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."





Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.




Sally Ann Shurmur Community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur arrived at the Star-Tribune to cover sports two weeks after graduating from the University of Wyoming and now serves as community news editor. She was raised in Laramie and is a passionate fan of Cowboys football, food and family. Follow Sally Ann Shurmur Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Thank you for your service.

Five words say everything necessary, said Lt. Col. A. Michael Pezeshki, one of a number who spoke to the standing-room only crowd on Thursday night.

Speakers quoted songwriter Lee Greenwood and William Shakespeare.

Bagpipes and drums played America, and Amazing Grace.

The governor arrived 15 minutes late and spoke from his heart.

The Rev. Bill Pierce, who is a preacher and a doer and a Vietnam veteran, prayed over the group.

He thanked God for the wonderful country You have given us, for all of those who served on the front lines and here at home.

Gary Cohee, a Marine Vietnam veteran, explained that the first name on the wall is of the first casualty suffered in 1956. He said the wall contains six sets of fathers and sons, 11 sets of brothers. West Virginia has the most names on the wall, and there are the names of seven women, all nurses.

Indeed, the wall is constructed by date, with some panels reaching more than six feet high, containing names of lives lost in sometimes a period of five or six days.

Casper College president Dr. Darren Divine spoke of gratitude that often is felt but not shown. He choked up as he quoted from Lee Greenwoods song, God Bless the USA.

It was a remarkable evening.

Veteran students at Casper College worked for months to organize the five-day visit of Americas Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall, an 80 percent replica of the same wall erected in Washington, D.C., in 1982.

The opening ceremony was solemn and heartfelt, uplifting and sad all at the same time.

Gov. Mark Gordon said he was honored to attend.

He spoke of a cousin, George Patton IV, who served in Vietnam and another cousin who was Secretary of the Air Force.

In our family, there is quite a bit of talk about having a mission you can understand, he said. Americans stand up and step forward. Because we are Americans, we are the greatest country in the world and I am proud to be governor of the greatest state in the greatest country in the world.

In addition to the more than 5,000 names on the wall just outside the windows of the Gateway Center, Gordon remembered the 1,711 unaccounted for, including five from Wyoming, whom he mentioned by name, hometown and date they went missing.

(Harry Bob Coen, Riverton, May 12, 1968; Orville Dale Cooley, Range, Jan. 16, 1968; Joseph Leslie Hart, Afton, Feb. 25, 1967; Alva Ray Krogman, Afton, Jan. 17, 1967, and Thomas William Skiles, Buffalo, Dec. 19, 1971 I knew him, the governor said.)

The keynote speech was delivered by Eric Distad of Casper, who served in Vietnam for 14 months before returning home, where he graduated from Casper College and then the University of Wyoming before practicing law.

He said that there was a tremendous amount of survivors guilt for having come home virtually unscathed.

Perhaps some who view the wall only see the numbers, we still see the faces, feel the pain of their deaths. The wall is a symbol of closure and healing, Distad said.

He closed his remarks by quoting Shakespeare in Henry V:

... From this day to the end of time, without our being remembered: we few, we happy few, we band of brothers  for whoever sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother.

The wall is open to the public until 3 p.m. on Sunday, when a closing ceremony will be held. It is located just across the parking lot from the Gateway Building on the Casper College campus, off of Casper Mountain Road.

Follow community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur on Twitter @WYOSAS

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GILLETTE  More than four decades ago, a 30-year-old shoe salesman named Mike Enzi was elected mayor of Gillette, kicking off a political career that would take him all the way to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the senior senator from Wyoming announced the end of his political career from right where it began  Gillette City Hall.

In a press conference in the city council chambers, Enzi, 75, announced his term ending next fall will be his last, drawing a storied  if understated  career on Capitol Hill to a close.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, he said. I want to be able to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt, to do several small business initiatives, to protect and diversify Wyomings jobs. I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this term, Ill find other ways to serve.

While not the longest-serving senator in the states history (that distinction belongs to Francis E. Warren, who served the Equality State in Washington for nearly four decades), Enzi has spent 22 years in office  among the longest tenures of any delegate from Wyoming.

Long-known as one of Washingtons more reserved statesman, Enzi is also one of the Senates more influential members, passing more than 100 bills since taking office in 1997, when he replaced former Sen. Al Simpson. During that time, Enzi led efforts in the Senate to pass the Republican tax cuts of 2017, and has served terms as both chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and its Budget Committee, a position he has held since 2015.

At the press conference, which was attended by Enzis family, friends and a handful of journalists, Enzi noted that most of his successful bills passed with fewer than 15 votes in opposition, which is considered very bipartisan, he said.

I didnt get into the Senate for the fancy titles, he said. I like passing legislation.

A strong fiscal conservative, Enzi in recent years has been highly outspoken about the nations looming fiscal crisis, and has introduced legislation intended to avert future shutdowns of the United States government and reduce the national debt.

Enzi told reporters he had also addressed roughly 14,000 individual constituent issues while in office.

My biggest job, as it turns out, is to solve problems for the people of Wyoming, he said.

Prior to his time in Washington, Enzi spent a decade as a member of the Wyoming Legislature, serving two terms in the House of Representatives and six years in the Senate.

With Enzis retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. The most recent opening in Wyoming came in 2007, when Sen. John Barrasso was appointed to replace Craig Thomas, who died in office.

Barrasso lauded Enzi in a statement released shortly after Saturdays announcement.

Mike Enzis character, courage and credibility have made him a respected moral leader in the U.S. Senate, Barrasso said. In four terms in the Senate he has never wavered in his commitment to God, family or Wyoming. The Senate and Wyoming will miss the valued leadership of the trusted trail boss of our congressional delegation.

Potential replacements

The field to replace Enzi in 2020 could be large.

Recent candidates for Senate like Democrat Gary Trauner and David Dodson  a Republican who ran an unsuccessful bid against Barrasso last year  could potentially try another run for office, and other names floated have included statewide elected officials like Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow, who gave an open-ended answer when asked by the Casper Star-Tribune earlier this year whether shed consider a run for Senate.

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr  who hinted at higher political aspirations last year  told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in January she would not be running for the office.

Rep. Liz Cheney  who is currently the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives  could potentially mount a run for the Senate, having made an attempt to unseat Enzi in 2014. However, recent power struggles with members of party leadership could leave the door open for her to make a potential run at Speaker of the House in 2020, should the Republicans take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections.

In a statement released after Enzis announcement, Cheney said Wyomings senior senator never forgot where he came from.

During his 20 years in Washington, he brought our states values to the nations capital, fighting for smaller, less obtrusive, and more efficient federal government that would allow people to grow and thrive, she said.

Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Enzi  one of nine Republican candidates for office the last time an open seat became available with Sen. Al Simpsons retirement in 1996  declined to comment on future prospects for his seat.

Typically, when its an open seat, the delegation doesnt take sides, itd be an unfair advantage, said Enzi. The voters get to decide, and Ive thought theyve done a good job for 22 years.

Legacy

As mayor of Gillette during its first oil boom, Enzi helmed the ship at a time where a new era of prosperity was being ushered into what locals consider to be the Energy Capital of the Nation. During his eight-year tenure, the citys population doubled in size, new municipal buildings were constructed and the citys profile began to grow.

Enzis administration laid down a foundation for the future, he said, building a system to provide water for 30,000 people, striking a deal with the county for a local landfill, developing a street plan for the future and constructing a number of new parks in town.

I never intended to get into politics, said Enzi, who was urged to run by Simpson when the former senator was in state office. But I was mayor eight years during the first boom. I got to work with some amazing people who didnt know what couldnt be done  so we did it.

In 1996, while recovering from open-heart surgery, Enzi was urged by local leaders to try and run for Simpsons seat, despite Enzis wishes to take some time to hunt and fish. Relaxation didnt seem to be in the cards, however. In his speech, Enzi remembered leaving his church in tears, after hearing some higher power telling him I didnt keep you alive to hunt and fish.

The career that followed saw many successes. The first bill he ever sponsored  which preserved property rights for Campbell County residents caught up in a coal-bed methane dispute with the federal government  passed unanimously. He enjoyed a high legislative success rate thanks, in part, to what he called his 80 percent rule, where you work across the aisle to come to terms on the 80 percent of a bill the two parties agree on and ignore the 20 percent where they dont.

A legislative workhorse, Enzi was also known as an effective vote counter, and has long advocated for a slow, methodical approach toward passing legislation, working his fellow lawmakers one at a time, over a long period of time, in order to affect incremental change.

I sold shoes for 28 years, said Enzi. Thats the best training for being in Washington. You have to know who your customer is, you have to know what they want and you have to see how it matches up with your inventory. Its the same thing in Washington.

Thats why you dont see me on the floor as much, he added. Im talking to customers and my inventory is the bills.

In an era where Washington seems more polarized than ever, Enzi told reporters that this method is still effective, but has often gone unrecognized  citing a career and technical education bill he recently passed that got little attention.

I asked reporters about that, he said. And they responded, it passed unanimously, it must have been easy. That was seven years of my life.

Theyre not looking for what gets done, he said. Theyre looking for good fights they can report on, that people get excited over. We can come out of a meeting where weve just accomplished something, and they dont want to know what weve just accomplished  they want to know what this person has just said about that person which, in my opinion, is starting a fight because they couldnt find one. Thats not journalism. Getting the word out on whats being done is journalism. People might not be as excited about that.

Most recently, Enzi has placed most of his focus on addressing the national deficit and the nations looming fiscal crises. Earlier in the week, Enzi gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor warning of the imminent insolvency of the nations Social Security and Medicare programs. As chairman of the budget committee, Enzi has been central to conversations around that issue in recent years, and has worked several pieces of legislation intended to address it, including a five-year plan he announced earlier this spring intended to fight the national debt.

Though those conversations will soon be in someone elses hands, Enzi said he was not done yet.

Ive got a year-and-a-half yet, so dont write me off, said Enzi. Weve had some success with it before, but we just werent able to get it across the finish line. So we should be able to do what weve done before and move it along. Ill be able to concentrate on that this year instead of a campaign, which is a very complicated thing and getting even more complicated all the time. So now, I can devote myself to this for the next year-and-a-half, and I will.

Enzi also mentioned he would be continuing his work on ambitious proposals in health care and economic development over the next 18 months. But  on a trip home in a job that keeps him in Washington for four days a week  Enzis Saturday plans in Gillette were more simple:

First lunch, then fishing.

Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds

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Recently I attended a fundraising event at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs for the Western Bear Foundation (WBF). There were about seventy people in attendance. There were several raffles, an auction for some beautiful prints, free snacks and a cash bar.

The big issue of the event was the use of bear baiting as an aid in hunting. This is the practice of having a barrel, with a small opening and containing aromatic foods, like old donuts, preset in the wilds at the end of a clear line of fire. WBF speakers demonized environmental and animal rights groups, who have filed an intent to sue the government in order to stop this practice. The speeches, however, had an evangelical quality to them, as though WBF indisputably held the moral high ground of an aggrieved victim.

For example, speaker Joe Kondelis, WBFs president, harped on and on about how the public needed to be educated  meaning they are uneducated. If we were to listen to Kondelis, however, we could become blessedly educated. According to WBF, environmentalists are spreading misinformation among the public. But might it be that environmentalists are also the public, and have a right to say what they may? Is there any value to what little education environmentalists might have?

Kondelis also seemed to take it upon himself to speak for state wildlife agencies and their professional biologists and experts, as the rightfully intended party to make wildlife policies, and that it is morally wrong, and maybe even unconstitutional, for the judiciary to interfere in matters of hunting. Are all individuals, who work for wildlife agencies, in agreement with WBF? Some were in attendance, but, as usual, they didnt say anything  are they scared?

According to Kondelis, environmental extremists are inappropriately getting in the way of the public, now meaning WBF, and a strong tradition of bear baiting. Looked at linearly, both ends of an argument are extremes, and WBF is certainly at one of them, making WBF extremist, too. As for a bear-baiting tradition, WBF would have you believe that only beneficial and equitable results come about from baiting, for both bears and people. This is because, a little contrarily, the bears end up dead or maimed, and some humans can form a pretty superior image of themselves.

The huffy environmentalists, WBF complains, oppose baiting animals as contrary to the doctrine of fair chase and tradition. Here, WBF surely has two good points, so lets have bear baiters hunt with only a sharp stick and a rock, in the nude like our ancestors. This would put tradition back into things. Simply pull the bears head out of the bait barrel, and have a more or less equal fight. Sportsmen and sportswomen could then rightly call what they do a sport, because a sport involves opponents who have an equal chance of winning.

There was a short film showing the step-by-step drama of a bear-baited black bear hunt, though it was nothing like Ive just proposed above. Instead, to background sounds of a breeze and mystical instrumental chords, and speaking in a hushed conspiratorial tone, the narrator, decked out in trim paramilitary clothing and expensive gear, allows us to see, using powerful optics, the bear on a distant mountainside. We drive in a spotless truck some distance to within twenty minutes easy walking of where the bear is struggling to extract goodies from a bait barrel.

The narrator slowly and methodically gets into position and aims his high-powered rifle, from which we now view the bear through an expensive scope. We concentrate hard and take deep breaths. We are dramatic, holy and wise. The trigger is slowly, expertly, pulled, and the bear pops up in astonishment! It runs this way and that, till shortly exhausting itself and falling face forward into the grass. It heaves once or twice, then stops moving. We cautiously, yet reverentially, advance towards it. The hunter kneels before it, he reaches out to touch the great bear, he sensuously pushes his hand from the front of the bear to the back, pushing deeper and deeper into its fur and body, in a seemingly sexual show of dominance over the now submissive wild animal. Now law and order, or at least obedience, can prevail over wild and dangerous nature, as personified in the bear.

Tom Gagnon lives in Rock Springs.

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Each Sunday we ask you a question about an issue important to Wyoming, then print what you think the following Sunday. We call it Open Air because its a chance to examine a topic from all sides  wide open like Wyomings sky.

You can reply through our website or by email, postal mail, Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to specify youre responding to the Open Air question. Please keep your responses to 350 words and include your full name, town and contact information so we can verify your submission. Be sure to submit your comment by Tuesday or it might not make our deadline.
The second half of the book also explores Barajass history, from his childhood spent on Tucsons south side to his stand-up comedy career nurtured at Laffs Comedy Caffe under the tutelage of his mentor Gary Hoodie Hood, who died in 2016. Barajas, 30, gave up standup when he moved to Los Angeles several years ago to pursue a career in comic book publishing with Top Cow, where he is an operations director in charge of organizing events including comic-cons.

The first installment of La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, which is available digitally through gumroad.com, introduces us to Jaurigue, a first-generation Tucson native who returned home after the war, married a Pascua Yaqui girl and lived in Old Pascua, a settlement along the Santa Cruz River on West Grant Road. When the federal government stepped in during the early 1960s with plans to extend Interstate 10 through Tucson, the land the Pascua Yaquis occupied was in the direct path. Thats when Jaurigue and a group of Yaqui activists formed M.A.Y.O. and began lobbying to save their land.
We want this great place to be accessible to the American people and to the people of the world, as much as possible, he said.

Another consideration is the enormity of the Grand Canyon, which is 277 river-miles long. That makes effective enforcement a challenge, he said.

If a visitor wants to head off trail or peer over a precipice, Torres said, it better be an isolated event with no distractions or tomfoolery.

Quinley said relatively small choices and decisions visitors make at the park can lead to significant consequences.

Nancy Meyer of Phoenix visited the Grand Canyon over spring break with family and friends from New York and England. She said the rules and regulations at the national park shouldnt be changed at all.

Its such a natural and beautiful thing, and I really believe that people should be responsible and understand what they need to do if theyre going to take more of a hike than a tourist look at the Canyon, Meyer said. And also be responsible for their own health. You know, the usual that we do when we go to beaches  use sunscreen, drink enough water, hydrate, wear the proper clothing. Mostly common sense.
Michael Torres, a detective with the Marana Police Department, died Friday after a battle with an "aggressive form of cancer," department officials confirmed.

Torres began his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Tucson Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator.

Marana Police Department welcomed Torres into their family on July 9, 2012, officials said. In that capacity, he worked in a similar role as he did with Tucson police before becoming a detective in June 2014.

Officials say he worked "tirelessly" to investigate cases and provided "unparalleled service," which made him well-known in the community.

After he was diagnosed in February, Southern Arizona law enforcement agencies came together for the "Towers for Torres" event to raise money in support of Torres and his family. They raised more than $6,000 during the event on April 12.

Services in honor of Torres are pending.

Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1

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I would like to extend my thanks to Emily Bregel and Kendall Blust for their excellent reporting on the serious problems with sewage being fac
Days from now, works will begin on the disassembly of a 134-year-old cathedral in Nam Dinh Province of north-central Vietnam, removing from existence an architectural marvel that has served the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the Southeast Asian country.

Built in 1885 during French colonist era, the Bui Chu Cathedral serves a namesake diocese in Nam Dinh with over 412,000 Catholics.

It is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in Vietnam, founded in 1533 during the first wave of European missionaries who arrived in the area to proselytize.

Bui Chu Cathedral is considered a one-of-a-kind architectural gem that holds a significant place in the history of Catholicism in Vietnam.

As the priest who oversaw its construction was Spanish, Bui Chus design incorporated elements of baroque architecture with inspirations from East Asian culture.

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Most materials used in construction of the cathedral were sourced locally, allowing the structure to withstand the tropical climate of north-central Vietnam for nearly one and a half centuries, according to Vietnamese architect Cao Thanh Nghiep.

Its structural strength comes from weight-bearing brick walls combined with rows of ironwood pillars juxtaposed among exquisite sculpted stone platforms, a unique construction technique unseen at any other Catholic churches in Vietnam, Nghiep said.

At 78 meters long, 27 meters wide and 15 meters high, Bui Chu is also one of the largest Catholic churches in the area.

Ironwood pillars inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam remain in good condition after 134 years. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Bui Chu Cathedral is up for disassembly on May 13, according to a plan agreed upon by a council of priests and local Catholics.

Severe degradation and risks of collapse are cited as reasons for the demolition.

Construction of a new cathedral on the existing ones grounds  bearing the same design and architecture albeit with entirely new materials  has also received approval from provincial authorities.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

VND200 billion (US$8.57 million) worth of ironwood trunks have been imported and are being carved by artisans working at a camp set up near the cathedral to prepare for construction of the new building.

The new cathedral will be bigger and better than the old one, said a local official.

The current building may be a heritage to architects, but to us it is a wreck thats no longer safe for service, he added.

A large number of visitors  including regular tourists, photographers, journalists, architects, and art researchers  have been drawn to the site in recent days to pay one last visit to the historical structure before its demolition, according to a woodworker.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Reflection of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is seen on a puddle. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The roof and bell towers of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is badly degraded. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Signs of degradation are seen on a wall of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Children offer prayers inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Parts of the roof of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam have fallen off, posing risks to churchgoers. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Stained glasses are used inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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BANGKOK, May 04, 2019 : Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will be officially crowned on May 4 as part of elaborate three-day coronation ceremonies, has been listed as the worlds richest monarch by publications such as Business Insider in 2018.





His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was also listed by Forbes magazine as the worlds richest royal ruler in 2011, edging out the Sultan of Brunei.





Estimates of Vajiralongkorns personal wealth start at $30 billion, according to Business Insider.





That puts him among the wealthiest individual rulers, although when it comes to royal families, Saudi Arabias tops the list with an estimated $1.7 trillion, according an MSN Money report in 2019. The Thai royal family ranked fifth in that list.





Reuters was unable to independently confirm those estimates.





The Crown Property Bureau did not respond to Reuters request for comment. The Bureau of the Royal Household did not respond to written questions about the value of royal assets.





The following is a look at some of the Thai kings most significant assets:





PROPERTY Most of Vajiralongkorns wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau, which holds title to 6,560 hectares (16,210 acres) of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the capital.





Vajiralongkorn in 2017 placed the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control and later announced the removal its tax exempt status.





In Bangkok alone, the Crown Property Bureau owns 1,328 hectares of land, some of it prime real estate in the heart of the business district. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth $33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorns father, King Bhumibol, A Lifes Work.





The kings private secretary, Air Chief Marshal Satitpong Sukvimol, was appointed chairman of the Crown Property Bureau in 2017, a position previously held by the Finance Minister.





NEW DEVELOPMENT DEALS





Since the king took control of Crown Property Bureau, some $4.7 billion in new developments have been announced on land it owns, based on company announcements.





Property developers have stepped up investment on Crown Property real estate in recent years with the latest in April, when mall operator Central Pattana Pcl and hotelier Dusit Thani announced the $1.2 billion residential, retail and office project Dusit Central Park on a 67-year lease on 3.68 hectares. It is expected to be completed in 2024.





In 2018, TCC Group and Fraser Property Ltd, both controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, announced the $3.5 billion One Bangkok. The mixed-use project, on 16.7 hectares with a lease to 2083, is expected to complete its first phase in 2022, according to Fraser Property.





COMPANY STOCK





In a statement last year, the Crown Property Bureau announced assets previously registered to Crown Property would be held in the Kings name, placing shares worth some $9 billion in companies Siam Cement Group and Siam Commercial Bank among his personal assets.





Vajiralongkorn has a 23 percent stake in Siam Commercial Bank, Thailands second largest lender and 33.3 percent in countrys largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Group.





Both companies were founded by royal decree in the 1900s.





Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.





GOLD AND GEMS





Among Thailands crown jewels is the 545.67-carat brown Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world. Its value is estimated at up to $12 million by The Diamond Authority, a jewellery website.





It was presented to Vajiralongkorns late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1996 to mark the 50th year of his reign, according to the Gem and Jewelry Information Center, an industry body in Thailand.





On coronation day, the King will also be presented with five royal instruments, including the 7.3 kg (16 lb) golden Great Crown of Victory, which in inlaid with gems and topped by a large diamond from Kolkata, India.





The other priceless regalia are also adorned with diamonds and set in gold enamel, each steeped with history and cultural significance.





MALLS





While the Crown Property Bureaus 17,000 Bangkok rental contracts cover everything from government agencies to shophouses, some of the most visible holdings are the land on which some of the best-known shopping malls are built.





Siam Paragon shopping centre, Siam Discovery and Siam Center, all of which rest on Crown Property land, drew in some 200,000 shoppers per day last year.





The Crown does not run the malls but collects an unknown amount of rent from their operator, Siam Piwat, which also opened the $1.7 billion luxury mall, IconSiam, last year on its own land.




Check out whats in the news today.

Society

-- Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, landed in Hanoi on Friday night, hours after she was released from a Kuala Lumpur prison in the morning.

-- A journalist of Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper on Friday received death threats from phone calls of a woman who is the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit in the south-central city of Nha Trang that his newspaper had previously reported.

-- Local people residing along the banks of To Lich River in Hanoi, which is seriously polluted by wastewater, were surprised by its sudden greener color on Friday, thanks to water released from the West Lake as a way to prevent flooding in the iconic lake following recent downpours in the Vietnamese capital.

Business

-- Vietnams newest carrier Bamboo Airways announced on its website on Friday that it will open commercial air routes from the northern port city of Hai Phong to Quy Nhon, the capital of the south-central province of Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from May 10 with one round-trip flight per day for each route.

-- Vietnams automobile import turnover reached US$2.4 billion in the first four months of 2019, up 95.6 percent year-on-year, of which imports of completely-built-unit cars from countries in the ASEAN soared 619.3 percent.

-- Ho Chi Minh City reported a zero turnover in gasoline import in the first four months of this year, as to businesses have switched to sourcing petroleum locally produced at Dung Quat oil refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

-- Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has tasked the government inspectorate with coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to scrutinize a recent power price hike that has been widely opposed by members of the public and local media.

Lifestyle

-- The 2019 European Book Days is taking place simultaneously in the three major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from May 2 to 25.

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Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman who spent more than two years in a Malaysian prison on suspicion of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, has thanked those who supported her during the legal battle in a letter released after she was freed on Friday.

Huong, 30, was charged along with an Indonesian woman with poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong last month after she pleaded guilty to an alternate charge of causing harm.

Huong was taken into immigration custody immediately after her release from prison, where she remained until boarding a flight from the Malaysian capital to Vietnam later on Friday.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Video: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

In a handwritten letter, Huong thanked the governments of Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as those involved in her trial and imprisonment, for "all the support".

"I'm very happy and thank you all a lot. I love you all," Huong said in the letter shown by her lawyers at an airport press conference before her flight.

Thank [you] so much [to] everybody [who] pray[ed] for me [at] the church, and at home as well, Huong wrote in broken English.

Thank you Lord Jesus for he love[s] me so much, reads the letter, dated May 2, 2019.

A close-up view of Huong's letter

Huong's father, Doan Van Thanh, said he and her brother would be in Hanoi to welcome her home.

"I am so happy now, my whole village is happy now," Thanh told Reuters by telephone.

"We will hold a party on Sunday and anyone can come and join the party. We will slaughter some pigs for the party. My daughter particularly likes fried fish, so we will prepare that too," he said.

Huong arrived in the Vietnamese capital at 9:35 pm on Friday on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Doan Thi Huong smiles as she leaves the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam surrounded by reporters on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Speaking with the press upon arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport, Huong said she was happy to be back in her home country and sent thanks to the government of Vietnam and Malaysia as well as to her lawyers.

Huong said she had no immediate plan for her future except to spend time with her family in the neighboring province of Nam Dinh.

We are happy with the release of Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong and that she is reunited with her family in Vietnam, said foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang the same day.

This is the fruit of citizen protection efforts by the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Vietnam Bar Federation as well as Malaysian lawyers, Hang said.

At the same time, we acknowledge the positive efforts made by competent Malaysian authorities in resolving this issue, she added.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Huongs co-accused, Siti Aisyah, was freed in March after prosecutors also dropped a murder charge against her.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in the murder 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 came under criticism for charging the two women with murder - which carries a mandatory death penalty in the Southeast Asian country - when the key perpetrators were still being sought.

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Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Friday nabbed a 25-year-old man who broke into a local elementary school and stabbed students playing in the yard with a knife on the morning the same day.

The incident took place at around 9:00 am at Dong Luong Elementary School in Lang Chanh District, with one fifth-grade student killed and four others injured by the knifeman, Do Minh Chieu, who is now in custody, according to the district deputy chairman Le Duc Chung.

The man, who broke into the school by jumping over its fence, also stabbed a teacher when she rushed to stop him, and then fled the scene.

Local authorities immediately mobilized all forces to hospitalize the injured and hunt the suspect.

It took law enforcement only one hour to arrest Chieu, a Thanh Hoa resident.

The suspect is seen in this photo provided by the police.

As of Friday evening, the four wounded students and the injured teacher were still receiving treatment at a local hospital. Three of the students were severely injured, according to officers.

The knifeman still lives with his parents in Thanh Hoas mountainous Lang Chanh District and does not have a stable job, according to police. Local residents said he is addicted to online games.

The motive for the knife attack remains unclear and police are investigating further.

The knife used in the attack is seen in this photo provided by the police.

Also on Friday, police in Ho Chi Minh City said they have arrested Truong Tin, 29, for allegedly killing his grandmother, mother and aunt the day before, when he was apparently high on drugs.

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Presidents Trump and Putin held a 90-minute telephone conversation on Friday. Hopefully, it is the start of a long-overdue strategic dialogue to repair the damage done by Russia-gate and other political roadblocks thrown up in the way of a resumption of Russian-American efforts to find areas of common global interest and set aside points of conflict in the interest of global stability.

The list of shared concerns is long: Extension of the New START Treaty covering strategic weapons; efforts to either salvage or replace the INF Treaty before both Russia and NATO begin deploying intermediate range missiles along a European front; Korean denuclearization; a diplomatic solution to the Syrian War, now that it is clear that President Bashar Assad has survived the eight-year regime change effort.

While the MSM continues to assail Trump every time he tries to strike up a conversation with Putin, a number of Cold War veterans have come out recently, pressing for US-Russian dialogue. William Perry, Sam Nunn and George Shultz penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on April 10 headlined "The Threat of Nuclear War Is Still With Us." They argued for a multi-track resumption of US-Russian diplomacy, involving the Executive and Legislative Branches. Most urgently, they called for the US and Russia to agree to abandon the "launch on warning" doctrine of nuclear retaliatory strikes, which give leaders only moments to decide whether to launch Armageddon. A majority of Democratic Senators recently wrote to President Trump, urging the beginning of direct dialogue with Russia over extension of New START beyond the 2021 termination date.

Before the Trump-Putin phone call, two Administration officials traveled recently to Moscow to confer with counterparts. Fiona Hill, the National Security Council director for Russian Affairs visited around the same time that the President's envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun made an April 17-18 visit to the Kremlin to discuss US-Russian collaboration to revive the stalled Korea denuclearization talks.

The Hill and Biegun talks were a very cautious first step towards reconstituting a Russian-American diplomatic engagement. Still far from plans for the Trump-Putin summit that has been on hold since July 2018, when the two presidents met in Helsinki.

All of the bitching and moaning about Donald Trump's personality, his unpredictability and worse cannot any longer stand in the way of some effort to resume real substantive Washington-Moscow engagement. Nuclear war and the other pressing issues on the US-Russian table are adult stuff. The Beltway infantile fits about Trump-Russian "collusion" have played their course. It's time to let it go.
Tonight on 60 Minutes Liz Hayes fronts a special investigation into Boeing following recent aviation failures.

Fatal Flaw

When aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced its brand-new passenger jet, the 737 MAX, it thought it was onto another winner. Airlines around the world  including Australia  ordered thousands. But Boeing was wrong, and the plane has turned out to be a catastrophic failure. In the last six months two of the jets have crashed and 346 people have been killed. In a special edition of 60 MINUTES, Liz Hayes reconstructs the final horrific moments of both Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. In startling interviews with 737 pilots, aircraft engineers and a former Boeing insider, Hayes investigates the fatal flaw of the 737 MAX, and questions not only why Boeing designed a plane with the ability to override the control of the pilots, but also why the company didnt tell the airlines buying the planes it was doing this. Boeing says it can, and will, fix the problem, but Hayes asks whether the damage has already been done. For decades Boeing has relied on the undisputed trust of pilots and millions of passengers flying worldwide. But now, has it all been lost?

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producer: Gareth Harvey

8:40pm Sunday on Nine.
EXCLUSIVE: Foxtels Head of Drama Penny Win is stepping down from a full time position but will continue in a consultancy role.

Win (pictured top left) joined the company as Programme Promotions Manager in 1996, before a five year stint as programmer at TV3 & TV4 in New Zealand and rejoined Foxtel in 2003. She has held the positions of Channel Manager with Foxtel Networks and was appointed as Commissioning Editor for Drama in 2012 and then to Head Of Drama in 2014.

Dramas under her watch have included Wentworth, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Secret City, A Place to Call Home, Fighting Season, Devils Playground, Deadline Gallipoli, and The Kettering Incident. Upcoming commissions include Lambs of God, Upright and The End.

The achievements under Penny are impressive, said Executive Director of television Brian Walsh.

Under her direction, Foxtels drama series have been recognised by the Australian creative community and industry professionals to great acclaim and won numerous accolades for achievement in excellence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Penny for her enormous contribution and more broadly, for her invaluable participation in furthering the creation of unique Australian stories for television. Penny will continue to play a key role in Foxtels local production plans, specifically as our Drama Consultant on signature series, Wentworth.

Pennys associates in our Drama Department, Carly Heaton and Lana Greenhalgh, will now report direct into Ross Crowley.
excerpt from The Real Face of Facebook in India: How Social Media Have Become a Weapon and Dissemninator of Disinformation and Falsehood by Cyril Sam and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (April 2019) Published by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta | available via: https://amzn.to/2ViCdzV

aThe 2014 Modi pre-election campaign was inspired by the 2012 campaign to elect Barack Obama as the aworldas first Facebook President.a Some of the managers of the Modi campaign like Jain were apparently inspired by Sasha Issenbergas book on the topic, The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. In the first data-led election in India in 2014, information was collected from every possible source to not just micro-target users but also fine-tune messages praising and amythologizinga Modi as the Great Leader who would usher in acche din (good times) for the country.a

[ . . . ]

aEarlier, in 2015, the Modi government rallied support for the social media platform by announcing an e-governance scheme called aDigital Indiaa a all government departments, ministers and bureaucrats were asked to create Facebook pages to reach out to their friends and constituents. In effect, Facebook became the default communication platform for the government of India. In the years that followed, supporters of the BJP started aweaponizinga Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to target voices critical of Modi and his party.

These three social media platforms together comprise the biggest advertising network of its kind in the history of humankind. But they have huge design issues that go beyond leaking user data. Facebook and its sister platforms are not just addictive but seek to convert politics into games. Democracy and interpersonal interactions turn into games of engagement: likes, shares, comments and a race to gather more followers.

In India, representatives of various political parties have been reported saying that the chances of a person getting a party ticket to stand for elections would go up if the concerned person had a large number of followers on Facebook. In March this year, Prime Minister Modi asked his party MPs how many of them had over 300,000 agenuine likesa on their Facebook pages and said he would incentivise such MPs by appearing on video conferences for their supporters.

The social media giant is no ordinary corporate conglomerate. As the New York Times recently put it: aIn just over a decade, Facebook has connected more than 2.2 billion people, a global nation unto itself that reshaped political campaigns, the advertising business and daily life around the world. Along the way, Facebook accumulated one of the largest-ever repositories of personal data, a treasure trove of photos, messages and likes that propelled the company into the Fortune 500 (list of the worldas largest companies).a

Facebook makes money, and lots and lots of it, on engagement. aCommercial, political and personal speech are different a Facebook short-circuits democracy by blurring the lines between and among them,a said Dr Ravi Sundaram, media scholar at the aSaraia programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a Delhi-based think tank, adding: aIt is an infrastructure that makes money by conflating all forms of messaging and speech into commercial speech.a

Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, together also comprise the biggest consciousness manipulation infrastructure of its kind that has been constructed on a scale never seen before in the history of the world. In 2012, Facebook conducted a notorious global experiment to evaluate how changes to its news feeds affect the emotional state of its users. The results published in 2014 were not surprising. When users see more positive content on their feeds, they post positive content. And when people see negative posts, they post negative things.

Simple, but true! Facebook makes lots and lots of money by manipulating the consciousness of its unsuspecting users. Extreme content generates extreme emotions and, therefore, enhances engagement. Advertisers realised this quite quickly. The tactics employed by political hackers is borrowed from the playbook of advertisers. Facebook does its part by providing support to political operatives to generate better, more effective and more polarising messaging.

In the book, we have already examined the role played by Facebook and WhatsApp in disseminating fake news, hate speech and incendiary information and their alleged complicity with Modi, and the BJP. We have reported on how Facebook arrived at the dominant position it is in India at present with more than a little help from the current ruling regime. We continue to outline the role played by key individuals with close links with the BJP and Prime Minister Modi in propagating his partyas right-wing Hindu nationalist agenda on social media platforms like Facebook.a
The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said. The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.(AP)

The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

(AP)
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish business people in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name".

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labelled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

Story continues

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.

Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.

The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.

A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.

Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.

A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.

The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.

Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.

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Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.

The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.

There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
More than 1 million recovered from puppy fraudsters in Scotland A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK.

More than 1 million has been recovered in Scotland as part of a crackdown on fraudsters selling puppies on the black market.

A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK after welfare groups suggested that tens of thousands of puppies were being reared in unregulated conditions and sold illicitly.

Officers uncovered fraudsters selling puppies on a mass scale and for huge profit.

Due to the underground nature of the activity, the sellers had failed to declare their sales.

In the west of Scotland, two unconnected puppy breeders were handed tax bills of 425,000 and 337,000, while a puppy dealer in the east of the country was handed a tax bill in excess of 400,000 as part of the probe.

Using a full range of civil and criminal enforcement powers, HMRC recovered a total of 5,393,035 in lost taxes in the UK from 257 separate cases since the formation of the taskforce.

Several arrests have been made as part of the taskforces work across the UK over the past four years.

Puppies seized as part of Operation Delphin (HMRC/PA)

HMRC is also involved in Operation Delphin, a multi-agency collaboration across the UK and Ireland designed to tackle illegal puppy smuggling and its consequences.

It is led by the Scottish SPCA and includes partners such as the RSPCA, Ulster SPCA, Dublin SPCA, Irish SPCA, Border Force, and the police.

The head of the Scottish SPCAs Special Investigations Unit, who cannot be named due to undercover operations, said: Unfortunately, the puppy trade is big business, with thousands of dogs being brought into the country each year, particularly from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is a multimillion pound industry and many of these poor dogs are bred on large scale puppy farms with little to no regard for their welfare.

We have seized 27 puppies smuggled from Ireland at Cairnryan Port in Dumfries and Galloway as part of Operation Delphin, which is dedicated to ending the illegal puppy dealing industry and bringing those who prioritise profits over animal welfare to justice.

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Its a barbaric trade which commands huge profit from selling puppies. Often these puppies are kept in appalling conditions and this leads to injuries, health issues and behavioural problems.

Some are so far gone that they pass away from complications due to the way they are bred and kept.

The efforts of all involved in the taskforce have helped us to make inroads into this brutal trade but it is a growing problem.

Last year nearly half of all animals seized by the Scottish SPCA were rescued from puppy farms and I would urge everyone to sign the pledge #SayNoToPuppyDealers and send a clear message that this cruel trade has to end.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured."They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.""We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings."Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.(AP)

Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday.

Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Story continues

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.

(AP)
The Scottish Tory leader pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18.

Ruth Davidson has made her pitch to be Scotlands next first minister, pledging to bring about a blue-collar revolution that would get the country on the right track.

Despite the next Holyrood elections being two years away in May 2021, the Scottish Tory leader said the choice voters would face would be between another SNP government led by Nicola Sturgeon banging on about independence and a Conservative administration that would offer a brighter horizon.

Ms Davidson pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18, or take up a structured apprenticeship or training place if they want to go into work.

The Tories want the 10,000 youngsters who leave school every year and take a job with no training, or who have no job at all, to be able to carry on with their education or learn new skills, with a future Tory administration pledging between 20 million and 60 million to help make this happen.

In her speech she said the greatest service we can do to our nation would be bringing down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance.

Closing the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, Ms Davidson said: As first minister, I wont use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. Ill use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.

And Ill make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotlands next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. Weve had enough to last a lifetime.

We can't see the potential of another generation go unfulfilled. These are the people who should demand our attention.#SCC19 pic.twitter.com/e2eqkENrAv  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The speech marked her return to frontline politics after going on maternity leave, and she told activists: Im back because I want to put Scotlands constitutional division aside, to allow the country to come back together again.

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Im back because I want us to build a better Scotland  right here, right now.

That election is still two years away but today its time we fire the starting gun on the campaign.

With Ms Sturgeon having declared her desire to hold another independence referendum within the next two years, the Scottish Tory leader was clear about saying no to another referendum.

But she stressed that was because she wanted to deal, front and centre, with the very real issues affecting our country.

Here are the policies announced in Ruth's speech to #SCC19 that will help bring Scotland back together:  A New Economic Strategy for Scotland A Scottish Exporting Institute Investment Hubs in the Rest of the UK Economic Growth Fund Reformed Enterprise Agencies 1/2  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The bulk of her speech was about the policies the Tories could bring in if she achieves her goal of ousting Ms Sturgeon.

She outlined plans for a new skills participation age of 18, ending the current system which allows children to finish education when they are 16.

Ms Davidson said she wanted it to be the law that everybody up until the age of 18 has to either go to college or university, or if they want to start work, its through a structured apprenticeship or a traineeship.

As part of a sea change in culture in vocational education, she argued for junior colleges to be set up to provide more opportunities for those who choose not to go to university.

Ms Davidson also promised a lifelong skills guarantee that could help workers of all ages to retrain or improve their skills to help their careers.

What we need is nothing short of a blue-collar revolution. And a government led by me would deliver on it.

On the economy, she pledged the Tories would start by untangling the bureaucracy thats spread like Japanese knotweed under this SNP Government.

Outstanding speech by @RuthDavidsonMSP. Setting out our @ScotTories vision to grow the Scottish economy, transform the life chances of Scotlands young people, restore our public services, and end 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance. #SCC19 pic.twitter.com/5aNeF4opYN  Miles Briggs MSP (@MilesBriggsMSP) May 4, 2019

In addition there would be a new economic growth fund to support those looking to invest in Scotland, as well as the establishment of a Scottish exporting institute.

With the world facing the massive challenge of climate change, she said Scotland could be at the forefront of the new clean energy revolution of the future too, adding that her government would work to encourage technologies such as hydrogen power.

Countries like Australia are already investing millions in developing hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas, she said.

Its zero emissions, you can make it from water using renewable electricity, you can store it and then export it to neighbouring countries. Well why not us too?

You cant trust a word @RuthDavidsonMSP says today. Heres what she really thinks pic.twitter.com/OciYsrdBDo  Scottish Labour (@scottishlabour) May 4, 2019

But SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: Ruth Davidson is, just like her boss Theresa May, running scared of democracy.

Support for independence is on the rise, and the Tories can see that, which is what lies behind their utterly undemocratic move to block the people of Scotland having a say on their future.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said the Tory had been silent about how the reforms she promised would be funded.

Mr Gray said: Labour is committed to lifelong learning, but the most urgent reform our education system needs is more funding  we have over 3,000 fewer teachers under the SNP but Ruth Davidson wont ask the richest to pay their fair share to deliver it.

In fact, Ruth Davidson was silent on how she plans to pay for her plans.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

Shamima Begum, pictured going through security at Gatwick airport, before catching a flight to Turkey in 2015 to join Islamic State (Met Police/PA)

She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

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Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Three men have been arrested over the incident in the south of the city on Friday.

A teenage boy is critically ill after being attacked in Belfast.

The 17-year-old was found by police inside a flat on the Donegall Road in the south of the city on Friday afternoon following reports of a disturbance.

He was found injured and unconscious.

Police are currently investigating the serious assault of a teenage boy in the Donegal Road area of south Belfast this afternoon. He has been taken to hospital for treatment. Witnesses or anyone with info call 101, quoting reference number 1018 of 03/05/19.  PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 3, 2019

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said the victim is understood to be critically-ill in hospital.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at about 4.15pm on Friday.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said those who were arrested are being questioned at Musgrave police station.

Anyone who can assist us with our investigation is asked to contact Musgrave CID on 101, quoting reference 1018 03/05/19, he added.
Wellbeing and sport spokesman Brian Whittle said the issue was 'not an easy one' for the party to deal with.

Government welfare policy on the rape clause is a not an easy one for Conservatives to deal with, a leading Scottish Tory said.

Brian Whittle, the sport and wellbeing spokesman for the Conservatives in Holyrood, said great marketing by opposition parties had seen them use the policy to attack the Government.

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird insisted it was absolutely shameful that Conservatives, including Ruth Davidson, support the despicable Tory rape clause.

But speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative Aberdeen conference, Mr Whittle argued it was legitimate to debate the limits that should be put on benefit payments.

He said: The thing about the rape clause, and I think it is fair to say the opposition have grasped hold of that and are driving that really hard into us, the thing is this, were looking at a system where the question is, should there be an upper limit on social benefits, and thats a debate that has to happen and its a very legitimate debate

We think there should be a limit to what social security payments should be, and if we agree to what social security payments should be, you would accept there have to be exemptions to that.

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He added that if the party had not included an exemption to the policy  which limits to two the number of children for which families can claim tax credits  they would have been massively criticised.

But Mr Whittle said Tories were getting beaten for doing that, when the actual debate is around social security benefits, should there be an upper limit, what it should be, and if there isnt an upper limit how does that encourage people to go back into work.

He continued: Its not an easy one for Conservatives to get round, and Ive been beaten for that as well.

But there is a legitimate debate to be had here that is not being had.

Alison Thewliss MP, SNP, said: Brian Whittles comments are not only offensive, theyre totally heartless.

He seems to be in total denial about the hardship and misery his own party is causing.

The rape clause is not a political invention  its an utterly horrific policy of the Tory government, which has forced families across Scotland and the UK into poverty.
[Translation from the original statement in Portuguese - Nota da Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia em Defesa do Ensino e Pesquisa Nas Areas de Humanas, BrasAlia, 26 de abril de 2019 is made available here for public information, hoping that social scientists in South Asia will express their solidarity with Brazilian sociologists protesting end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and write letters of protest to the Govt of Brazil]

sacw.net - 3 May 2019

Statement from Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia / Brazilian Sociological Society

BrasAlia, April 26, 2019.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology (SBS) publicly expresses its strong criticism of the statements made by the President of the Republic regarding his intention to "decentralize" university resources to human areas - specifically philosophy and sociology - in order to "focus" on areas such as veterinary medicine, engineering and medicine.

Certainly, the areas of veterinary, engineering, medicine - and others such as biology, chemistry, etc. - are fundamental for the social and economic development of the country.

However, it is necessary to point out that the humanities, among which the mentioned disciplines philosophy and sociology, have a long trajectory in the history of knowledge elaborated in several universities in Brazil and in the world and are equally important for the construction of a modern country, developed and more supportive.

Sociology is a scientific discipline as much as physics, medicine, chemistry, biology, etc. The knowledge it draws is based on empirical facts confronted with theories and concepts, but also on conceptual reflections and analyses of social reality carried out through the use of analytical categories that are proper to it. The results obtained through sociological research are the result of the use of rigorous methods for obtaining data, considering and analyzing multiple sources of information and also sophisticated techniques in the treatment of quantitative and qualitative data obtained in various ways. In this sense, the Brazilian Society of Sociology cannot accept the unreasonable charge that sociology, both national and international, produces ideologies or the like. Sociology is a science, and like all others, it is separated from notions of common sense.

Sociology, moreover, is an academic discipline present in virtually every country that has universities. In all the contexts in which it is present, it has provided relevant contributions in analyzing issues of public interest such as violence, inequalities, social, urban and rural life, etc. Their results contribute, in no small measure, to the formulation and implementation of public policies to address the many issues facing our societies.

Sociology, as one of the most respected contemporary sociologists Anthony Giddens has argued, has, after all, become a fundamental actor in modern societies, since the knowledge produced by it enables citizens to understand the world around us and the broader contexts in which we live.

It will never be too much trouble to warn that countries with more robust university systems than Brazil have vigorous departments of human sciences and sociology, such as Harvard, Columbia and Yale in the USA, the London School of Economics in England and France, Ecole des Hautes Atudes en Sciences Sociales, as well as sociology departments at the German universities of Bielefeld, Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt, or in emerging countries such as China and its Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Instead of suffering senseless accusations and threats of budget cuts, these institutions and their departments of sociology enjoy social and intellectual respect for their local communities and, at the same time, the protection and academic encouragement of their respective governments.

Finally, it is important to point out that numerous international calls for the execution of large technological projects (in areas as diverse as the environment, health in general and public health, engineering) have required the presence of sociologists or sociologists in the teams of researchers, since more and more discussions in international political arenas take into account the possible ramifications and consequences of the results of these projects on the living conditions of broad population segments.

To decree and / or stimulate the end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and humanities, is to stimulate and promote the international isolation of the country in front of the most advanced in all fields of science in the world.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology urges the national and international university communities to join in the defence of the departments of sociology - and philosophy - in Brazil, as well as the other areas of the human field.

SBS also calls on Brazilian society to defend freedom of thought and research, preservation of academic dialogue between the various areas of knowledge, namely, the intellectual exchange between the natural sciences, the technological areas and the human build together scientifically and socially relevant knowledge for a modern and supportive society as we hope
As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.May Day hangoverAfter the May Day demonstrations \- when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops. * Yellow Vests battle images of violenceThen, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'Numbers drastically fallingOne would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central ParisHowever, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.This may be attributed to two reasons:Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten. Notre Dame vs the people? After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms. * Fall in Yellow Vest numbers after Macron's proposed reformsThe reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.Sacred summerAnother reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?

As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?

For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.

Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.

The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.

The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.

May Day hangover

After the May Day demonstrations - when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.

The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.

Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops.

Then, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.

Story continues

This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.

But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'

Numbers drastically falling

One would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central Paris

However, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.

This may be attributed to two reasons:

Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.

Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.

Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.

He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.

The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.

But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten.

Notre Dame vs the people?

After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.

Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms.

The reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.

A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.

The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.

Sacred summer

Another reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.

As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.

Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.

Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.

One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is engaged to her longtime partner, fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, after a proposal over the Easter holidays, her spokesman said on Friday.

The forthcoming nuptials are a rarity for world leaders in office and follow Ardern's pregnancy last year which was seen around the globe as a symbol of progress for female leaders.

She is only the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and, if she marries while in office, will be the first major leader to do so since French President Nicolas Sarkozy wed Carla Bruni in 2008.

Her fiance, Gayford, is a 41-year-old host of a television fishing show who takes care of their 10-month-old daughter Neve Te Aroha, while Ardern, 38, runs the country.

News of their engagement broke after journalists noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger at a public event on Friday.

Her spokesman Andrew Campbell confirmed she had been wearing the ring since Easter. He did not give details of the proposal.

Ardern was asked by the BBC while visiting London in January if she would consider asking Gayford to marry her or wait for him to propose.

"Absolutely, I'm a feminist, but I want to put him through the pain and torture of having to agonise about that question himself. That's letting him off the hook, absolutely not," she said jokingly.

The couple met about six years ago when Gayford went to complain to a member of parliament about the then National Party government's proposed changes to security legislation.

He bumped into Ardern, a rising star in the Labour Party, they had coffee and were living together not long after.

Gayford's television show, Fish of the Day, takes him around the Pacific, fishing and finding recipes for his catch. The series has been sold to 20 countries and won a gold award at the Houston International Film Festival in 2016.

While Ardern was breastfeeding her infant daughter, the family travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Story continues

The family divides their time between the capital Wellington and Auckland, where they own a house in a central city suburb.

Ardern's calm and compassionate response to the killing of 51 Muslims in March burnished the credentials of a leader who has been criticised domestically over her handling of the economy and flip flops in government policy.

Three U.S. presidents married in office, according to the White House historical association, wartime leader Woodrow Wilson and two nineteenth century presidents, widower John Tyler and Grover Cleveland, who married at the White House.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jacqueline Wong)
May 5 is Your Last Chance to Win a $1.3K PokerNews Cup Package For $33

May 03 2019 Matthew Pitt

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This final $33 satellite shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. GMT on May 5 and is your last chance to get your hands on the following package:

550 ticket to the PokerNews Cup Main Event

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Is This the Best Welcome Bonus?

Those of you who have already attempted to win a PokerNews Cup package in the previous two $33 satellites can now register for the final satellite and see if it is a case of third time lucky. If this is your first attempt at winning a satellite or if you havent got a Natural8 account yet, youre in line for what could be the best online poker welcome bonus.

Download Natural8 via PokerNews, create your free account and when you make your first deposit, Natural8 matches it 100 percent up to a maximum of $1,688. Not only is the bonus amount large, there is no timeframe attached to releasing the bonus into your account; you can have as much time as you wish as long as you do not make a withdrawal while the bonus is active.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you contribute $50 to the cash game rake or in tournament fees. You will also gain access to a $500 New Player Freeroll if your initial deposit is at least $10.

Join us in Bulgaria for the 2019 PokerNews Cup and see if you can write yourself into pokers history books.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least 152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of 4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive 827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.

EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.

Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.

For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.

Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.

Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?

History of the EPT in Monte-Carlo at a Glance

Year Entries Prize Pool Winner Country Top Prize (in EUR) 2005 211  1,983,400 Rob Hollink Netherlands  635,000 2006 298  2,801,200 Jeff Williams United States  900,000 2007 706  6,636,400 Gavin Griffin United States  1,825,010 2008 842  8,420,000 Glen Chorny Canada  2,020,000 2009 935  9,350,000 Pieter de Korver Netherlands  2,300,000 2010 848  8,480,000 Nicolas Chouity Lebanon  1,700,000 2012 665  6,650,000 Mohsin Charania United States  1,350,000 2013 531  5,310,000 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland  1,224,000 2014 650  6,500,000 Antonio Buonanno Italy  1,240,000 2015 564  5,640,000 Adrian Mateos Spain  1,082,000 2016 1098  5,325,300 Jan Bendik Slovakia  961,800 2017* 727  3,525,950 Raffaele Sorrentino Italy  466,714 2018 777  3,768,450 Nicolas Dumont France  712,000 2019 922  4,471,700 - -  827,700

*Held as PokerStars Championship
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.
Local banks are taking precautionary measures to cope with card fraud, such as asking cardholders to change their passwords and locking automated teller machines (ATMs) after 10 p.m. during public holidays.

How much does it cost to convert magnetic into chip cards?

Vietnam to have first domestic chip cards in Q1 2019

More Vietnamese consumers embracing digital payments: Visa

A client of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank withdraws cash from an ATM. Local banks are adopting preventive measures to minimize risks for themselves and their clients  PHOTO: SACOMBANK

A cardholder of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that she had received an email from the lender on April 28, which detailed the types of scams being employed.

For example, scammers pose as bank staff and tell clients they have won prizes, or they hack into Facebook accounts to send phishing messages. These individuals also pose as police officers and threaten clients to make them provide their bank account details.

Some cardholders of Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, recently complained that they could neither withdraw cash at ATMs nor make online transactions.

VietinBanks Chairman Le Duc Tho told Tuoi Tre newspaper that multiple ATMs of the bank had been targeted for credit card skimming, where a small device is planted on the ATM to read credit card details, which scammers then sell or use to make fraudulent purchases.

To ensure card security during the long holiday, VietinBank has identified ATMs at high risk of skimming and has changed the card status for those clients in addition to sending SMS messages to the cardholders, who will need to change their passwords at ATMs before conducting any transactions.

Other banks, such as Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), have taken similar steps. Some have also imposed a limit on cash withdrawals at their ATMs at night.

An Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the State Bank of Vietnam allows commercial banks to close their ATMs at a number of locations that are at high risk of skimming. As such, clients can only access these ATMs at a certain time. However, the banks are required to post their opening hours at these ATM locations and on their official websites.

In August last year, the State Bank of Vietnam asked these banks to flexibly cap the amount of cash withdrawals at ATMs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., following scores of unauthorized withdrawal cases.

Credit card skimmers are often placed over the card swipe mechanism on ATMs, though skimmers can also be placed over almost any type of credit card reader. With ATMs, a small, undetectable camera may be placed nearby to record people entering their PIN numbers. This provides thieves with all the information they need to manufacture fake cards and withdraw cash from the cardholders accounts.

Victims of credit card skimming are often unaware of the theft until they notice unauthorized charges to their accounts or have their cards unexpectedly declined. SGT
In the context of Industry 4.0, Vietnam is trying its best to promote a digital economy, with an initiative to promote a national innovation centre.

Vietnam wants to boost enterprises by creating innovative facilities such as the NIC

Let's takes a look into which incentives are expected to be offered to investors that wish to be involved in the initiative.

Soon after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to speed up the development of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment has called for investment at an international level through visits to developed countries like Singapore and Germany.

At the first seminar in Singapore to introduce the NIC to the international market, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung received questions about policies for investing in the centre.

According to Minister Dung, innovative entrepreneurs operating in the centre will pay just 50 per cent of personal income tax. They will be supported in training, and consultancy on capital mobilisation, trade management, and marketing by the Vietnamese government. For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the minister said that those established in five years can register to operate in the centre and be facilitated to commercialise their research results and technology development. They will also enjoy incentives of corporate income tax at the rate of 10 per cent within 30 years. Furthermore, they will also be exempt from import tax for input goods and services in support of research and development activities.

These businesses can register to establish an enterprise without listing business lines and receive a business registration certificate within 24 hours after providing the necessary information for the NIC.

Minister Dung also emphasised that SMEs can receive capital contributions, purchase shares of venture capital funds, foreign angel investors, and be supported by the NIC in administrative procedures related to investment, business, and product and service commercialisation.

Moreover, investors who fund startups operating in the centre will benefit from a 50 per cent tax reduction on transfer of shares and capital contribution if they invest for more than two years.

With such outstanding incentives, the centre will be a model in which enterprises and startups can bring into full play their creativeness and ability, Minister Dung said.

Vu Tuyet, principal at Boston Consulting Group, one of the two consultants for the NIC, told VIR that there are two notable factors that would set the centre apart from what currently exists in Vietnam.

The first is the development of a complete innovative ecosystem, especially with the presence of established big companies and links between those companies with smaller enterprises and startups, said Tuyet. The second is the experimental regulatory environment that allows the piloting of nurturing regulations and policies for new sectors to grow.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, the centre is the place to test new institutions, including giving autonomy to the management board with a special governance model. The centres head will be hired and will play a very important role. This person must be truly talented, internationally influential, and be paid an internationally competitive salary, he said.

Cung also noted that the centre is result of the serious learning of lessons from hundreds of innovation centres across the world. These centres include 17 ones in South Korea, which help startups connect with big international and domestic corporations operating in the region like Lotte, LG, Hyundai, Samsung, and SK to take advantage of their resources and experience. Meanwhile, China has established a network of manufacturing centres, a national technological innovation centre, and a network of areas demonstrating innovative ideas. In the Made in China 2025 plan, the government plans to create a national-level network of innovation centres with 15 centres established in 2020 and up to 40 such facilities in 2025.

As one of Asias leading countries in innovation, Singapore has established JTC LaunchPad, a site over six-and-a-half acres which offers a nurturing environment for startups. This environment has helped them have the chance to share and learn from each other through common use of equipment and workshops.

According to Tuyet of Boston Consulting Group, Vietnams NIC places a lot of emphasis on talents which will be the core competitive advantage for Vietnam going forward. There is huge untapped potential of Vietnamese talents who have made their mark in the world, she said. We will provide the best working and living environment in a vibrant community around the NIC, with talents at the centre, and will provide what is required for them to prosper here in their home country, she added.

Being aware of the NIC, foreign groups like German-based Bosch Vietnam and Swedish tech pioneer ABB see new opportunities, confident with their achievements gained over recent years in Vietnam. Bosch Vietnam is now getting to know about the level of foreign investment that could get involved at the centre, while ABB Vietnams priorities in smart factories, smart cities, and digital industry provide competitive advantages and so investment in the NIC is being seriously considered.

According to Ho Duc Hoan, CEO of tech startup Edu2Review, capital is a big challenge to Vietnam private companies. Vietnam hasnt got a single information gate so that startups can find capital easily. Therefore, the NIC, with its incentives, will be a good place for startups to find capital, and share and develop their ideas. Hoan also said that the current procedure of granting investment certificates for foreign-invested enterpirses often takes from five to 10 days. When the procedure is shortened to 24 hours as proposed, it will become a great area of support from the government.

Meanwhile Ho Minh Duc, co-founder of Artificial Intelligence solutions firm VBee, said that startups need financial support. Over the years, due to lack of suitable legislation, we have witnessed a lot of startups move to neighbouring countries. This brain drain wastes Vietnamese talent. He said the mechanism of capital, tax, and business procedures will help attract and keep talent in Vietnam.

Pham Minh Tuan - CEO, FPT Software

The NIC will be a place for startups to carry out and test their ideas. This is very important because to have any perfect product, we have to try again and again. Particularly in technology, its very normal to redo, repair, and improve. Being fearful or refusing responsibility are barriers to innovation. So when the government commits and accompanies startups, their chances will be wider.

The government will understand the difficulties of startups and have quicker, better solutions for them. For example, digital signature will be easier and widely applied with the support of the government. Moreover, the voice of government will help startups and innovative enterprises promote their products.

Vietnam is now attracting many major investors from across the globe. It seems that international financiers are excited with the Vietnamese market. In fact, many investors are overpaying for some of Vietnams initiatives. We have witnessed that products with potential are welcomed by funders, and they even compete with each other to own innovative products.

Norihiko Muratake - General director NTT DATA Vietnam

NTT DATA is a company with over 50 years of experience in supporting the social infrastructure in Japan and 45 other countries. Recently, we have begun collaboration with startups in possession of the worlds most advanced technologies, which we aim to utilise for the purposes of creating innovative and sustainable businesses. This is the reason why NTT DATA is interested in the NIC. This model is ideal for Vietnam to improve its IT infrastructure for Industry 4.0 through connecting startups and innovative enterprises, not only within the country but also in the ASEAN, especially Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. We will endeavour to understand more about the concept and contents of the NIC and eventually enact our plan to contribute to its progress in the future.

Brian Hull - Country managing director, ABB Vietnam

Operating in Vietnam for 25 years, ABB is proud to be a continuing partner in the countrys sustainability. The technology for utilities and automation, used in both smart cities and Industry 4.0, is changing rapidly and Vietnam is at an exciting phase of its development.

The establishment of the NIC sends a strong signal for startups, innovative enterprises, and investors. Startups will make use of the convenient infrastructure of the NIC for their innovation while larger companies such as ABB can collaborate and garner benefits from these new developments.

We look forward to continuing with clear guidance from the government on the technological and cybersecurity aspects, as well as the appropriate financial mechanisms where necessary. VIR
The Vietnamese private sector has gone on a journey from no to yes, suffering stumbles to become mature.

From zero

Even though the Vietnamese private sector suffers from mistakes and losses, pioneers constantly appear, seeking ways for breakthroughs, and becoming mature, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chung, Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Economist Pham Chi Lan said that after the national liberation, the private sector was not recognized. Only in the renewal period, the private sector was mentioned.

However, statistics showed that, after five years of reform, the private sector emerged outstandingly. Average growth rate of the non-state sector was 6.2pc. Meanwhile, the state sector only grew 1.9pc. The proportions of the state sector, non-state sector, and FDI sector are 31.8pc, 64.6pc, and 3.6pc, respectively. However, the number of private businesses remained modest amidst a range of economic barriers.

The Law on private enterprises and the Law on companies were introduced in 1990, making a turning point for the private sector. As of 1996, Vietnam housed 21,000 private companies, 9,000 limited liability companies, 210 joint stock companies. Meanwhile, the number of household businesses increased from 840,000 in 1990 to 2.2 million in early 1996.

However, the Law on Enterprises was released in 1999, marking a big leap in thinking of the State, serving to generate a new wave of the private sector. The Law was passed by the National Assembly in 1999, changing the face of the Vietnamese private economic sector, said Economist Lan.

Since 2000, the number of newly-founded enterprises yearly surged from 20,000 to 25,000, to 30,000, to 100,000 in 2015 after the Law on Enterprises was passed in 2014. Especially, the figures increased vigorously and set new records in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to 110,000; 126,000; 131,100.

The development process of private enterprises is on a pair with the national economic integration path. The 1999 Law on Enterprises was introduced, helping Vietnam to catch up with the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement. So far, the private sector is regarded as an important driving force for the economy, Ms. Lan said.

Strong rise

The private sector is strongly attached with a large number of trademarks. In the early period, famous brand names included Da Lan toothpaste, Biti's footwear, My Hao dishwashing liquid, Kinh Do bakery. At present, well-known trademarks include Vietjet Air, VinGroup, FPT, TH True Milk, VPBank, Trung Nguyen. They have contributed to bringing Vietnam to speed up in the world economic map.

Statistics showed that the private sector accounted for 38-43pc of GDP in 1995-2017 period. However, the proportions decreased from 43pc in 1995 to 39pc in 2010, 38pc in 2017.

Mr. Cung assessed that the development of private enterprises with big brand names has created counterbalance with the State sector and FDI sector, serving to generate more competitiveness.

For example, the emerge of Vietjet Air has served to make the domestic aviation market more dynamic.

Some careers appear of which private sector plays a vital role including software, Internet, real estate, steel, coffee, food.

Vietnamese billionaires made debut including Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Ba Duong, Tran Dinh Long who were listed in the Forbes list. Vietnamese brand names such as Truong Hai, Vietjet Air, Masan, FPT have reached the outside world.

What will the Vietnamese private enterprise sector look like?

So far, private enterprises have changed. A large number of Vietnamese trademarks appeared and disappeared. The hard and competitive market functions its selective competence. The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that besides the record number of newly-established enterprises, there are temporarily suspended or dissolved enterprises.

Hence, it is necessary for Vietnam to own more powerful firms.

According to Mr. Chung, it is difficult to forecast which enterprises will up and which enterprises will down or whether enterprises are successful at present will look like in the future. However, institutions decide development of enterprises.

Mr. Cung suggested private enterprises focus on five issues namely costs, legal risks, business safety, fair competition, good administration.

He also recommended the Party and Government attach importance to generating a proper environment in favor of the private sector which is expected to become the key engine for the economy. VGP
TheStable.ca, racings fastest-growing fractional ownership operation, will welcome special guest Daniel Dube to its Open House on May 12.

Dube will join a collection of top drivers showcasing TheStable.cas two-year-old hopefuls.

The Quebec native celebrated his 9,000th win on March 17 at Yonkers Raceway.

Having driven horses to more than $121 million, Dube is one of the top 20 all-time money-winning drivers in harness racing. Among the many standout horses he has steered are Horse Of The Year winners Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010).

"I've known Anthony for a long time, said Dube. When he approached me about attending their Open House, I was intrigued. Driving in the stakes program in New York I was impressed with what I saw from TheStable.ca's videos of their New York eligible horses, he said.

Another good friend of mine, Scott Di Domenico, owns a piece of one of them and will be training all four this summer, so I am looking forward to going with the babies. It's going to be a lots of fun," said Dube.

Clients of TheStable.ca and newcomers of all ages are welcome to attend the event at Tomiko Training Centre (210 Campbellville Rd., Hamilton) and drop-in any time from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The event is free but an RSVP is requested.

During the Open House, guests are invited to meet the horses of TheStable.ca and chat with owners Anthony and Amy MacDonald, their staff, clients, and industry professionals.

The event will showcase many of the engaging features of TheStable.ca, including its bi-weekly live streaming video broadcasts of TheStable.ca horses in training.

The Open House broadcast kicks off at 10:00 a.m., when the horses will train on the racetrack. Dube and fellow drivers will steer the young colts and fillies, while TV commentators preview the horses pedigrees. The broadcast will include live interviews and video features and be streamed at TheStable.ca starting at 10:00 a.m. EST

A catalogue will be available on The Stable.ca on May 10, detailing all horses for which fractions are available for purchase. The catalogue will include a schedule of when each horse will be showcased on the broadcast during the Open House.

Several prizes will be awarded throughout the event, including one-percent fractions of the horses.

Onsite purchasing will be available for horses and merchandise. Payment can be made with credit card, PayPal, cash, cheque and e-transfer.

The facility offers a heated viewing area with limited seating. Hot and cold drinks will be sold as a fundraising effort by Racing Under Saddle Ontario. Lunch is available to purchase from the Gastro Grub Food Truck.

Now in its fourth year, TheStable.ca is an award-winning fractional racehorse ownership operation based in Guelph, ON. There are currently 130 Standardbred horses owned by nearly 700 people from 11 countries worldwide.

Complete Open House event details and the RSVP form are available here.

(TheStable.ca)
More than 1,000 domestic and international delegations paid tribute to former President, General Le Duc Anh at ceremonies held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and his home province of Thua Thien-Hue on May 3.

At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh

Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Condolences sent to Vietnam over former President Le Duc Anhs death

Leaders of various countries have extended their condolences to the Party, State, Government and people of Vietnam over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.

Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.

The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.

In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.

On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Respect-paying services held for former President around the globe

Respect-paying services for former President General Le Duc Anh in the Republic of Korea

The Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General in Germany are staying open on May 3-4 for individuals, organisations and Vietnamese people in the country to pay tribute to General Le Duc Anh, former President of Vietnam.

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu and staff of the embassy as well as representatives of the Vietnamese community in Germany spent a minute of silence in memory of the former leader.

On May 3, foreign ambassadors in Germany, including Spain, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Jamaica, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burkina Faso, and representatives from the diplomatic corps, the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, as well as foreign friends came to the embassy to pay last tribute to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, World Trade Organisations and other organisations in Geneva held a memorial service and opened the funeral book for former President Anh.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the mission, recalled great contributions by the former leader to the country, especially his efforts to normalise Vietnams relations with China and the US as well as the countrys joining of the ASEAN.

The diplomat said that the mission received condolences from many international organisations over the former leaders passing away.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong (China), the Vietnamese General Consulate opened the funeral book in memory of General Le Duc Anh. Representatives from the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, the administration of Hong Kong, general consulates of ASEAN countries, and diplomatic delegations from various countries in Hong Kong paid tribute to the former leader.

Writing on the funeral book, Thai Consul General in Hong Kong expressed deep condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the great loss, stating that the deceased made great contributions to the development of the Thailand-Vietnam relations.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and held a memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh.

A delegation from the Malaysian Government led by Deputy Foreign Minister Haji Marzuki Yahya paid homage to the deceased. The official highly valued efforts by the former President to the strengthening of the bilateral partnership.

In Seoul, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Taeho headed a delegation to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh. Representatives from many countries in Seoul, including Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Ireland, Mexico, Angola, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, the US, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Thailand also came to the embassy to pay tribute to the deceased.

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh have also been held in many other countries around the world, including Belgium and Israel.

Foreign officials pay respect to former leader at overseas ceremonies

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai writes down in the funeral book

Senior officials of many countries have paid homage to Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh at the tribute-paying ceremony held by Vietnamese embassies.

President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin led a parliamentary delegation to pay tribute to the former leader of Vietnam at the service organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh on May 3.

In the condolence book, he wrote that Gen. Le Duc Anh was a close friend of Cambodia who greatly helped to liberate the Cambodian people from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and to recover and develop the country.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol also came to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh and handed over King Norodom Sihamonis condolence letter.

Other Cambodian officials, including Senate President Samdech Say Chhum and Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development Yim Chhay Ly, also showed their respect for Le Duc Anh at the ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said General Le Duc Anh directly made enormous contributions to the two countries friendship.

From 1981 to 1986, he served as Deputy Defence Minister and Commander of Vietnams volunteer soldiers in Cambodia. He was Defence Minister of Vietnam at the time the countrys volunteer soldiers fulfilled their mission in Cambodia in 1989, the diplomat noted.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in India held a respect-paying ceremony.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, wrote in the condolence book that Gen. Le Duc Anh was an excellent leader with considerable contributions to Vietnams development. The Indian people will always keep in mind his role in enhancing the India-Vietnam friendship.

Indian officials and representatives of diplomatic corps in the country also came to pay homage to the former leader.

A similar ceremony took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand the same day.

In his note, First Vice-President of Thailands National Legislative Assembly Surachai Liengboonlertchai expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Vietnam on the passing of Le Duc Anh.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Sakchai Tanaboonchai, along with many diplomats and Vietnamese people in the country, also attended the event.

Officials, diplomats and Vietnamese people in Russia, Singapore and New Zealand also paid homage to the former leader at the ceremonies held by the Vietnamese embassies in the countries.

The overseas ceremonies are scheduled to last through May 4.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Lao leaders pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993

General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith led a high-ranking delegation to pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Vientiane on May 3.

In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3.

Foreign officials pay homage to former President in UK, France

Scene taken at the respect-paying services held at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK

The Vietnamese Embassies in the UK and France held respect-paying services for Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh on May 3.

Attending the ceremony in London, on behalf of the UK Government and people, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field extended his deepest condolences toward the passing of the former President.

The ceremony, to last until late May 4, has so far gathered the attendance of representatives from foreign embassies in UK, including those of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, China, Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea, among others.

Meanwhile, at the ceremony in Paris, Corine Crespel, a representative from the French Foreign Ministrys Asia-Pacific Department, paid respect to the deceased. In the condolences book, she wrote about the significant role the former President once played in consolidating Vietnam  France relations.

The same day, many members of foreign diplomatic corps came to pay their homage.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

General Le Duc Anh remembered at former military base browser not support iframe.



During recent days, thousands of visitors flocked to the former military command base of the People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam, a national special relic site that witnessed daily works of General Le Duc Anh during Vietnams resistance war against the United States in the past.

The 3,200-hectare site, known as Ta Thiet military base in Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province, consists of a tunnel system, accommodations and workplaces of high-level party and state officials during the resistance war, including former State President Le Duc Anh, who passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Here in the base, strategic decisions were made, which greatly contributed to the glorious victory of Ho Chi Minh Campaign and liberation of the South to reunify the country.

With its rich historical values, Ta Thiet military base has become not only a tourist destination in Binh Phuoc province, but also a venue for educating youngsters about patriotism.

Besides Ta Thiet Military Base, Loc Ninh is also home to other renowned historical relic site, including the Headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and Loc Ninh military airport.

Foreign officials mourn former President Le Duc Anhs passing

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

On behalf of the Cambodian officers, Defense Ministry Secretary of State Elvan Sarat expressed his deepest sorrow at the passing of General Le Duc Anh.

He recalled the former Presidents great contributions to enhancing the friendship, solidarity and multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies.

Representatives from several ministries and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia also paid their last respects to former President General Le Duc Anh.

The same day, Russian Ambassador to Cambodia Dmitry Tsvetkov came to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay his homage to the late leader.

The diplomat showed his respect to the deceased for his talent, and lauded his huge contributions to consolidating and strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in various spheres.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt also opened the book of condolences for former President General Le Duc Anh on May 3 and 4.

Representatives from foreign embassies and diplomatic corps in Egypt, local officials and Vietnamese expats in the country came to pay tribute to the late leader.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Foreign leaders extend condolences over death of former President

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk (second, right) received President Le Duc Anh (second, left) on August 8, 1995 during the latter's official visit to Cambodia

Leaders of Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Palestine have sent messages and letters of condolences to leaders of the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

In his letter of condolences to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni offered the deepest condolences to the top Vietnamese leader, people and the family of former President General Le Duc Anh.

King Norodom Sihamoni also highlighted the late leaders great contributions to Vietnams national construction and development cause, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh was an excellent and respectable leader of Vietnam.

Saudi Arabias King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, extended their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Palestinian President, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas also sent messages of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra sent a letter of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Respect-paying ceremonies held for former President in Myanmar, Netherlands

Myanmars Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin came to the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar on May 4 to pay respect to former President Gen. Le Duc Anh.

Writing in the condolence book, the minister extended his deepest sympathies to the Vietnamese people and the family of the deceased.

The passing away of the former President on April 22 was a great loss for the Vietnamese people, he wrote, adding that the general will be remembered for his important role in Vietnams struggle for national liberation and development.

On May 3-4, ambassadors of many countries in Laos, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and international friends paid tribute to the former Vietnamese leader at the embassy.

On these two days, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands also held a respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for the former President.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered in China, ASEAN

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao writes in the condolences book.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China on May 3-4 opened a condolences book for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month at the age of 99.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Chaiman of the Steering Committee of the National Peoples Congress Li Zhanshu, and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Wang Yang sent wreaths in memory of the Vietnamese former leader.

Paying last respects to the deceased, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao wrote in the condolences book that the passing of Le Duc Anh is a great loss for both Vietnamese and Chinese peoples, describing him as a friend of the Chinese people.

He affirmed that the Chinese Party and State always attach much importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, and want to promote the Vietnam-China friendship collaboration in a practical and stable manner.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi, Deputy Secretary-General Hoang Anh Tuan and staffers at the ASEAN Secretariat on May 4 paid homage to former President Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia.

In the condolences book, Lim expressed his deep sympathies to the Vietnamese people over the passing of Le Duc Anh, who made great contributions to the nations peace, stability and economic development, particularly in the nations joining the ASEAN in 1995. He will be remembered as one of the most respected leaders in Vietnam and a leader that gave strong support to the ASEAN, the official wrote.

At the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters, the Vietnamese national flag flied at half-staff on May 3-4.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered abroad

Vietnam's permanent mission to the United Nations opened a condolence book for former President Gen. Le Duc Anh in New York on May 3.

Maria Luiza Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sent a representative to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese leader and write in the funeral book, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh will go down in Vietnams history as a talented and respected leader.

Ambassadors of several countries such as Laos, Cuba, Singapore and Australia also came to the missions headquarters to pay homage to Gen. Anh.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in the US also held a solemn respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for him.

Crowds of representatives from the US administration, organisations and diplomatic missions of many countries in Washington DC came to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese President.

Susan Parker-Burns, Acting Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State, extended her profound condolences to the family of the deceased, emphasizing that under the leadership of the former President, Vietnam and the US made important steps forwards towards reconciliation and establishment of cooperative ties, laying important foundations for the current good relationship between the two countries.

In the funeral book, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families Ann Mills-Griffiths affirmed that President Le Duc Anh had made great contributions to building the US-Vietnam relations, including supporting and promoting Vietnams humanitarian policies on POW/MIA work,

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh were also held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Mozambique, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Canada.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Respect paid to former President Le Duc Anh in Latin America, Africa

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile holds a respect-paying ceremony on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile held a respect-paying ceremony in the Latin American country on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month.

The ceremony saw the presence of many local officials, representatives of political parties and Vietnams friends in the countries. Heads of many foreign diplomatic offices in Chile were also on hand.

They expressed their deep condolences to Vietnam over the passing of the former President.

Meanwhile, representing the Tanzanian government, Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi on May 4 came to the Vietnamese Embassy in the African country to pay his last respect to the deceased.

Writing in the condolences book, the minister highlighted that former President Anh had greatly contributed to the strengthening of the bilateral relations.

Representatives of many foreign embassies in Tanzania also came to pay respect to former President Le Duc Anh.

VNA/VNN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang

On April 1, Malaysias Shah Alam High Court (MLS) sentenced Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of a man holding a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder. The prison term was calculated starting from the time Doan Thi Huong was detained on February 15, 2017.

Huongs lawyer Salim Bashir said after the trial that Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behaviour.

Huong was set free on the morning of May 3. She took a flight from the Kuala Lumpur Airport afterwards and arrived at Hanois Noi Bai airport the same day.

Spokesperson Hang said: We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

This outcome was contributed by continuous efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong, she said.

We also acknowledge positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time, she added.-VNA
Bui Hai Hung, PhD, who has resigned from his post at Google DeepMind to be the head of VinAI Research, said that he was returning to Vietnam to struggle, not to retire.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.

Mr Bui Hai Hung

He obtained a scholarship to Curtin University of Technology which was offered to one Vietnamese student winning an international prize in 1991. The scholarship program for Vietnamese students unexpectedly was postponed the next year.

This drove him to continue study for a doctorate and skip the masters degree after he finished Curtin University in Australia with high marks. Later, he left for the US and realized that the US, not Australia, was the ideal environment for technology engineers.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.



When I started working at Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, there were only several Vietnamese. The figure now is several hundred, Hung said. There, staff develop research and seek opportunities themselves, while Vietnam does not have a methodical process to produce a high-quality labor force, he said.

The former senior expert of Google DeepMind will to draw up a plan to produce a high number of talents in IT industry for Vietnam, or those who can perform in technology centers such as Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are many talented Vietnamese, but they developed their careers accidentally like me. They dont know how good they are, how far they can go, and where they should go to develop their abilities, he said.

In the field of AI, Bui Hai Hung is a leading expert in the world who has been carrying out research on AI for the last 20 years in Silicon Valley. In recent years, scientists have begun talking about the 4.0 industry revolution, and AI is at the center of the revolution.

However, despite Hungs stature, Vietnam remains a zero on the worlds AI map. Hung has vowed to change the situation.

Hung met Pham Nhat Vuong, chair of Vingroup, a Vietnam conglomerate which has made heavy investments in R&D and technology. Hung said the meeting was, once again, something he did accidentally in his life.

The meeting of a leading scientist in AI and the US dollar billionaire ended up with Hung deciding to come back to Vietnam to take the post as head of VinAI Research. Hung believes that he and his future colleagues can perform top-level research in Vietnam.

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For lifetime Hanoian Thanh Van, days filled with fresh air and walks down the cool, tree-shaded streets of the capital are few and far between.

Hanoi to focus on air quality monitoring

Hanoi residents worry about air pollution

Thick haze engulfs Vinh Tuy Bridge connecting Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien District.

The woman born and raised in the Old Quarter is more used to a thick blanket of haze on her daily commute.

Some 7 million people living in the city suffer the same ordeal.

Hanois air quality has worsened dramatically in the last few years, remaining at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels almost year-round, according to air quality forecast app AirVisual.

A report released by Greenpeace in early March listed Hanoi as the second most polluted city in Southeast Asia, following Indonesias Jakarta.

Theres an estimated global cost of US$225 billion in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets, noted Yeb Sano, Executive Director of Greenpeace South East Asia, on the effects of air pollution.

Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by nearly two years, research by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found.

Hanois heavy concentration of particulate PM2.5 in the citys air has also raised concern.

At monitoring stations in areas with high traffic density such as Pham Van Dong Street, Hang Dau Street or Minh Khai Commune in Bac Tu Liem District, PM2.5 concentration is usually measured at 300-400 micrograms, far exceeding the World Health Organisations safety limit of 25 micrograms.

PM2.5 refers to tiny dust particles, also known as fine particles, that are about 30 times smaller than a human hair, which allow them to intrude the lungs and blood.

Exposure to fine particles can lead to reduced lungs function, respiratory and heart-related diseases.

Be careful

Despite visual indications used by monitoring apps, tracking air quality is tricky.

It depends a lot on which location you put a sensor. Simple activities like cooking can also lift the index, implying the air quality is worsening, said Do Van Nguyet, director of NGO Live&Learn Centre for Environment and Community.

The declining air quality in Hanoi has been blamed on inner city pollution sources including rapid rise of vehicles, constructions and daily activities like using coal-stoves or burning waste.

The citys sunken terrain and poor urban planning along with temperature inversions also foster pollution spikes, according to researcher Nguyen Thi Anh Thu from Green ID.

Hanoi is being choked by high-density construction. Photo taken on Minh Khai Street. VNS Photos Khoa Thu



Cross-border air pollution has also emerged because of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial zones and energy production or burning forest for agriculture.

There are several causes of air pollution so to tackle the problem, Hanoi needs to determine its major causes, Thu stressed.

Unfortunately, there has been no completed report on what triggers the citys air pollution, making people blame traffic as the biggest pollutant.

Meanwhile, according to a report by International Energy Agency, the total CO2 emissions of Vietnam in 2016 were 187.1 million tonnes, of which thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, accounted for 40 per cent, followed by manufacturing industries and construction with 33 per cent.

Transport contributed 35.7 million tonnes, equivalent to just 19 per cent.

Most of nearly 30 operating coal-fired plants in Vietnam are located in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh.

Urgent intervention

In early April, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan rejected the 2018 World Air Quality Report by Greenpeace and AirVisuals report, saying Hanoi ranking as the second-worst polluted city in Southeast Asia was inaccurate.

According to Nhan, the report just showed pollution results of 20 cities of four among 11 nations in the Southeast Asia.

It was a baseless conclusion, he said.

For Thu Thuy, an apartment resident on Minh Khai Street, Hanois ranking is not important.

I do not care whether Hanoi is the second most polluted city in the region or not. What I want to know is how we can take action to improve the situation, not downplay it. Air pollution is real. I can feel it, I can see it without anyone telling me the citys air quality is declining, she said.

Pham Huyen, a NGO officer in Bach Mai Street, said she was not put at ease by the deputy ministers statement.

Frequently travelling to Southeast Asian countries, despite having no data, I still feel Bangkoks air is much more breathable than Hanois, she said.

The authorities need to give instructions on how to protect our health and urge companies and people to use eco-friendly materials and energy in construction, transport and daily lives, Huyen added.

Meanwhile, data provided by Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network at moitruongthudo.vn is updated slowly.

We need air quality to be forecasted, just like weather so that people can take measures to protect them when going out, said Nguyet.

While authorities seem to be passive in responding to polluted air, NGOs have launched several initiatives.

Clean Air  Green Cities, a project by USAID and Live & Learn, is working with the Center of Multidisciplinary Integrated Technologies for Field Monitoring (FIMO) to install low-cost air sensors in Hanois schools and offices.

Data collected from these sensors is updated at fairnet.vn for students and parents easily tracking air quality at where they are studying.

A bulletin on air quality is also published weekly, focusing on air pollution challenges and community-based solutions.

The systematic problem of air pollution needs a systematic solution, according to experts.

Hanoi authorities need to specify major pollutants and promptly take action to reduce and manage them, said Thu. Regulations on construction dust control should be tightened along with reducing vehicle emissions.

Collaboration between Hanoi and neighbouring provinces in monitoring toxic air is key, she added.

To tackle bad air quality, Hanoi has mulled banning motorbikes by 2030, aiming to accelerate public transportation use.

In the recent three years, the PM2.5 concentration recorded at the US Embassys air quality monitoring station has slightly reduced yet remained at a high level. Therefore, we need more commitments to improve the situation as well as more sensors and shared data to fully portrait the citys air quality, said Thu.

As all these efforts take time to alter Hanois air quality, Van is looking for help from nature.

Sometimes, rain can wash away all dust and give back Hanois clean sky, even for a short moment, she said.

Lucky for her, summer rains are forecasted for the next few days.

Information on Hanois air quality can be found at:

Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network: www.moitruongthudo.vn

FAirNet Map of air quality: www.fairnet.vn

PAM Air Map of air quality: www.pamair.org

Real-time Air Quality Index: www.aqicn.org/city/vietnam/hanoi

US Embassy in Ha Noi: www.airnow.gov

German Embassy in Ha Noi: www.hanoiair.de/en_US/

AirVisual: www.airvisual.com/vietnam/hanoi

(Source: The Clean Air - Green Cities Weekly Bulletin)

VNS
Vietnam needs to settle fundamental problems before it can think of building smart cities, experts say.

The Da Nang City Peoples Committee has announced it will spend VND2.1 trillion to implement a smart city project from now to 2025.

To date, more than 30 cities and provinces have been implementing or have begun preparing for similar projects.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that local authorities have been too hasty to build smart cities, though they think agree with the concept.

Nguyen Van Ngai, vice rector of Hoa Sen University, said that there was a smart city rush which follows the airport rush, university rush and a movement to build administration centers.

He said while local authorities have called on to build smart cities, their understanding about smart cities remains vague.

Authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.



Ngai said that authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.

An analyst, agreeing with Ngai, said it is easy to attract foreign investors. They will come if they can see promising profits. However, before inviting them to Vietnam, local authorities need to think about how to program the development of the cities, and how much to budget for smart city plans and other issues.

He said Vietnam needs to learn a lesson from the heavy-industry development plan initiated in the 1970s. It was too hasty to implement the plan when it lacked capital and technologies.

Smart city sounds fashionable. But in the context of a scanty budget, he said, local authorities have to prioritize to spend money on the most essential needs.

Meanwhile, Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City, said there was no need to worry about smart city rush, saying that it is the era of IT and digital technology application in urban area management.

Cuong pointed out that there will be obstacles in building smart cities.

First, the IT era is an era of communication, but the ability of Vietnamese to cooperate and exchange information is poor.

Second, to have smart cities, it is necessary to have information systems for exchange. Agencies and individuals need to have the desire to provide information and get shared information.

Third, its necessary to re-train and upgrade peoples knowledge in science and technology. Fourth, financial capability is limited.

RELATED NEWS

First phase of smart city project considered a success

Smart urban areas are right for VN

Kim Chi
A Vietnamese suspect in the murder of the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol arrived home on May 3 after two years in prison in Malaysia.

Doan Thi Huong arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 3

Doan Thi Huong arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 10pm on Friday after being freed from a prison in Malaysia's Selangor State at 7.20am the same day.



Huong, wearing jeans, long coat and sunglasses, constantly smiled as she was met by well-wishers and journalists who came to see her at the airport. Huong's father and brother were also present to welcome her.

She was accompanied by a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese lawyer, and three Malaysian lawyers.

Huong answered questions from the media for about five minutes and then quickly got on a car and left with her family members.

Huong said she was very grateful to the Vietnamese and Malaysian governments and some lawyers both from Malaysia and Vietnam for their work.

"I was treated well in prison in Malaysia," she said. "I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone for that."

The 30-year-old former hair salon worker said she still wanted to follow her dream to become an actress and wished to have a chance to return to Malaysia again.

Anh:

Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were put on trial for murdering the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur Airport in October 2017 and faced death by hanging if convicted.

The two women always denied having committed murder, arguing that they were pawns in a plan hatched by North Korean agents who fled Malaysia after the killing.

The defence stage of the case was due to start in March, but in a shock move, prosecutors announced they were withdrawing the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, and she flew back to Jakarta.

Her release followed intense diplomatic pressure from Indonesia, including from President Joko Widodo.

Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong's murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. Dtinews
US chemical firms, including Monsanto should be responsible for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Monsanto court ruling bolsters the hope for millions of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

VN welcomes Monsanto ruling: Foreign ministry

Vietnam demands Monsanto compensate Agent Orange victims

Illustrative photo



Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical?  a Vietnamese association has questioned US courts for ignoring those of US Agent Orange chemical warfare.

Vietnam is again seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange (AO), inspired by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California. The biotech firm had supplied the US military with the chemical during the Vietnam War, the RT has reported.

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) has logged a letter to a US court asking it to restart a class-action lawsuit by AO victims against American chemical firms, including Monsanto, which the Eastern District Court of New York dismissed in 2004, claiming a lack of evidence and asserting that herbicide spraying... did not constitute a war crime pre-1975.

Citing two recent court rulings in San Francisco, where Monsantos Roundup was found responsible for health damages and the company was ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, VAVA asserted that it is time for the company to take responsibility for supplying the US military with AO during the brutal chemical warfare campaign (1961-1971) in which 12 million gallons of herbicide were used.

Dioxin, a highly toxic element of AO, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. Stressing that Vietnam currently has more than 4.8 million AO victims, the letter asked for justice for people with hideous deformities.

Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical? the letter states.

Is all the scientific evidence, with people as living proof, and Vietnams environment ravaged by AO used by the US in a meaningless war from 1961-1971 still not convincing?

Monsanto, which was acquired by German giant Bayer AG last June, in the past argued that it was the US military that had set the specifications for making AO and decided on where and how the herbicide was used. The company also noted that it was just one of many wartime US government contractors who manufactured the toxin.

Last month a jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million in punitive damages to Edwin Hardeman after the court found that Roundup, Monsantos infamous glyphosate-based herbicide, was a substantial factor in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

In a similar case in August 2018, Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million after developing cancer from long-term exposure to Roundup. After months of legal drama, the terminally ill cancer patient agreed to a reduced payout of $78 million.

Earlier last month, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said that Monsanto needs to be responsible for settling consequences caused to people and environment in Vietnam. Hanoitimes
A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War.

War-remnant coffee shop in Hue City

Little House on the Prairie in town

A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War. -- Photo: VNN

The cafe, which opened over a year ago, used to be a weapons vault supervised by Tran Van Lai, who was a Sai Gon special soldier.

Lais son Tran Vu Binh, who runs the cafe now, said it is decorated with memorabilia of soldiers in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

"I was researching materials to rebuild this house in its original form and collecting artifacts to make this a historical cafe for people to visit. This idea was born out of my affection and respect for the soldiers," he said.

The three-level building still has its original brick floor and tiled roof. The houses specialty is a tunnel system that opened to visitors last year.

Many objects used to make the tunnel are also displayed at the cafe, including iron boxes and wooden barrels for weapons.

The coffee shop also showcases items once used by Saigon residents many decades ago, evoking nostalgia for a bygone era.

VNS
WATERLOO  William L. Burts dream of operating a mobile barbershop is on hold  for now.

Burt, who cuts hair at four different locations in the Cedar Valley, has been trying to launch Kut Kings, a mobile barbershop, since December. But Iowa code prohibits barber shops not having a fixed location.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, who said Burt wants to serve people who cant come to his shop, such as people at homeless shelters, veterans clubs, senior centers and schools.

The bill went through the Iowa House, but was stopped by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, later in the State Government Committee.

A no vote wont stop me, Burt said. So if the people need me, give me a call.

Burt has been one of Smiths barbers throughout his life.

Some of the things that he was doing are really in line with my mission as a member of the Legislature, Smith said.

The legislation to legalize mobile barbershops was bipartisan and had a Republican co-sponsor, Smith said. Americans For Prosperity also endorsed the bill.

It passed in the House with broad support, Smith said. We were pretty surprised to see when it, singularly, was pulled out of a cosmetologist bill. It was the only thing that was pulled out of that bill.

Zaun never made his reasons for opposing the bill clear, Smith said.

He was pretty dead set on not negotiating and not having a conversation about it, Smith said. To me, if were allowed to groom a dog in a mobile vehicle, then it doesnt make sense why we cant have a barbershop do the same thing for humans.

Zaun didnt respond to The Couriers call for comments on the legislation.

Smith plans to start over again next year.

This was just the first step, Smith said. Were definitely not finished.

Mobile barbershops are going to become a need, especially in rural Iowa, he said.

Burt hopes the legislation moves forward next year.

Im keeping my ducks in a row, Burt said. Im kind of just waiting in limbo.

If hes unable to operate in the state, Burt said hell leave Iowa to operate Kut Kings. It doesnt stop here.

Currently, his prospective shop is sitting in his backyard waiting to be used.

Everythings tied up. Its like a clogged drain right now, Burt said. Im just trying to stay afloat.

Burt has invested thousands of dollars into the stalled project, but hes still making house calls.

If you need me, if youve got anybody thats sick or shut-in, give me a call, Burt said. I just wont pull the bus and cause a big scene, but I will bring my clippers.

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NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

May 3, 2019



NEW YORK, May 3, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks by an Alabama legislator:

Alabama state Rep. John Rogers is against the death penaltyfor those who have been convicted of murdering someone.

But he believes in the death penalty for innocent unborn childrenon the incredible supposition that they might grow up to be violent criminals 15 or 20 years later.

"Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later," he told the Alabama legislature earlier this week, as he spoke in opposition to a bill protecting the unborn. "You bring them into the world unwanted, unloved, then you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later."

Rogers' hypocrisy knows no bounds. In 2002, speaking against the death penalty, he lectured pro-lifers: "If you are against abortion, you ought to be against the death penalty."

But the obverse, in his view, doesn't hold. While many pro-lifers do oppose capital punishment, Rogers, while opposing the execution of convicted criminals, believes innocent unborn children should be executed, for crimes they might commit if they are permitted to be born and grow up.

In 2002, arguing for changes in Alabama's death penalty law, Rogers declared, "We need to at least give a man a chance to prove that he is innocent." But unborn children targeted for abortionwho clearly are innocentdon't get that chance. They are presumed to be headed for a life of violent crime, and thus can be killedshould be killed, in Rogers' viewbefore they can grow up and prove to be productive, law-abiding citizens. History is literally filled with the stories of people who, having grown up in terribly deprived, destitute, neglected or abused circumstances, went on to make inestimable contributions to the common good.

Since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 1,494 executions in the United States. During that same time, there have been upwards of 40 million babies aborted. Does Rogers really believe, if abortion had not been legal, that we would have had anywhere near 40 million executions over the last 43 years? If not, that's an awful lot of innocent lives destroyed to get at the relatively few who might have become criminalsand whose lives Rogers would have fought to protect if they did commit violent crimes.

Pro-life people are of course aghast at Rogers' callous remarks. But many abortion supporters are upset as well, for a different reason. They know that Rogers has ripped the mask off the human carnage that is abortion.

Rogers fully acknowledges the brutal truththat every abortion kills an innocent, living human being. We appreciate his honesty, even as we deplore his cold-hearted embrace of that killing. In calling it what it is, he is far more truthful than most abortion supporters.
WAVERLY  After many years selling his wares, Doug Cole of Cole Art Pottery in Sumner noticed a trend: Young people his daughters age didnt seem to be buying art anymore.

Millennials and Gen X, theyre just not buying stuff  they go more for experiences, Cole said. They dont want to collect stuff.

Thats a big problem for Cole and other artists who sell stuff. Hes seen galleries close up and shows dissipate over the years.

Its a tough time for the art world, he lamented.

And yet, Cole was doing brisk business Saturday morning at the Art Walk in Waverly, selling his ceramic pottery to a crowd he called fantastic and one of the better turnouts hed seen. Hes the only artist who has been at the event all 14 years.

Apparently, today seems to be a little bit of an exception, Cole said.

Plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the high 60s worked in the favor of the artists showcasing their wares at the 14th annual Art Walk, held at the riverside Kohlmann Park in downtown Waverly.

Its the kickoff to the spring season for a lot of people, said Tiffany Schrage, tourism and special events director for the Waverly Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the Walk. A nice day like today, people can see their friends and see some art while theyre down here.

Thirty-one artists, the vast majority from Iowa, set up along the parks winding sidewalk, hawking everything from paintings to metal sculptures to jewelry to wooden benches as hundreds passed through.

Jennifer Jones Ruiz began the Art Walk as a service project while in high school and continues to direct the event 14 years later.

We have a lot of talented artists for one, and a lot of community support, Jones Ruiz said. I think people appreciate and are happy we have an event like this.

Food vendors and childrens activities, like the yearly piano painting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., helped bring families out.

But kids were painting more than just a piano. At age 11, Maria Tonelli of North Liberty was the youngest artist selected for the event this year, showcasing watercolors and pastels.

Shes been painting since she was 5, she said.

I think I just like doing them  the animals, she said.

Her pieces featuring puffins were a top seller, friends working her booth confirmed.

Grandmother Margie Kline of St. Ansgar, a ceramics artist herself, said Marias art can be found in stores in Decorah, St. Ansgar, Mason City and Austin, Minn.

I do pottery and (husband) Bill does pottery, and Maria started coming along with us, she said.

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WATERLOO  Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in the case of a Waterloo man accused of killing his girlfriends daughter in 2015.

Chad Allen Littles defense team rested their case on Friday after Little declined to take the stand.

Prosecutors said Little, now 35, called a hospital hotline using another persons name on the morning of May 30, 2015, to report Gracie Buss, 4, had a seizure and fell down the stairs of her Downing Court townhouse. He then left Gracie and her mother, Kristi Buss, at the apartment before the ambulance arrived.

Gracie remained unconscious in the hospital until she died days later. A medical examiner determine she died of blunt trauma to the head but wasnt able to determine if it was accidental or homicide.

During trial, doctors said the collection of injuries to Gracies body and retinal hemorrhages in her eyes pointed to abusive trauma.

Little first told police he wasnt at the apartment May 29 and 30, 2015, but then admitted he was there for a little while and said Gracie was asleep at the time.

Buss, 34, is charged with child endangerment, and she is being tried separately.

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WATERLOO -- A former Waterloo man is in custody awaiting extradition to Texas on a warrant for three counts of manslaughter.

Jarmmal Augustine Phillips, 36, was taken into custody without incident at 10:10 a.m. Saturday at Kwik Star, 506 West Ninth St.

Waterloo Police ran Phillips' license plate Saturday morning and found the manslaughter warrant out of Texas, and pulled him over.

Phillips was being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a no-bond hold as of Saturday morning awaiting extradition to Kaufman, Texas.

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office in Texas said Phillips is wanted on three separate charges of manslaughter, but had no further details Saturday.

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In the northern hemisphere, April showers bring May flowers, or so the saying goes. We see the earth waking up around us at a frenetic, energetic pace. Bare stems on trees that survived winter sprout green buds, lush flowers, and shiny leaves. May marks the best of spring: the fiery heat of full summer has not yet emerged, and the blistering cold of winter appears to be a just a memory. Traditionally, the month of May invites a celebration of fertility created through fun, fortitude, flexibility, and foundation.

Fun:

While many may see the definitive start of May celebrations as May Day or the sabbat Beltane, imagine six days of games and celebration, where everyone, including sex workers, revels in the full emergence of spring and fertility with the release of fertile animals, such as hares and goats. This is the traditional Roman festival of Floralia, honoring the goddess Flora, held from April 27-May 3 in the Julian calendar (May 11-May 16 in the modern Gregorian calendar). As a festival of the people, and not just the elite or upper classes, everyone celebrated, including prostitutes.

As a precursor to raucous modern May Day festivals, Floralia symbolizes the ability to let go of inhibitions and to frolic in the present. Spring flowers bloom and die, but while they live they capture moments of pure joy. Other festivals, such as Maiouma, where nocturnal revelry reigned, serve as a reminder that the heart of the month comes down to fun.

Fortitude

For most of the world, the start of May means International Workers Day. While Labor Day in the United States in September is a holiday now associated with picnics, the traditional end of summer, holiday sales, and politicians giving speeches that honor the common laborer, the start of May and Workers Day highlights the strength and bravery that many undertake on a daily basis for workers rights. Although the timing of the Haymarket Affair led to the eventual designation of May 1 as International Workers Day, the underlying problems and themes continue to this day.

The fight for economic security, a mandatory eight hour work day, the rights for all workers to earn a livable wage, the right to work in a safe environment, and the right to collectively bargain for changes are the bedrock of many issues that are still being fought. Even though the legal Labor Day in the United States is in September, marches, demonstrations, and protests to bring awareness to the importance of the worker and to workers issues traditionally take play on May Day. In 2017, workers protested immigrant rights against the wishes of the governmental designation of May 1, 2017 as Loyalty Day. The continued willingness to use the energy of spring to demonstrate strength of character and resilience is what makes International Workers Day an important May celebration.

A free press demonstrates fortitude by having the courage to shed light on issues that are not always popular. The UN General Assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, and the current theme is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. The freedom to express oneself without restrictions is one that many enjoy during the positive upbeat festivities in May;however, acknowledgement of the role that a free press plays remains vitally important in continuing to have such expression.

Flexibility

May is a time of great flexibility. The weather can easily change. One day a few plants are sprouting, and a week later, an entire field of bushes displays a lush array of flowers. Completion and beginning can seemingly occur in one breath. The rush of college graduations in the United States that occur in May simultaneously launch the graduate into a new world and complete a long phase of individual development for the student. It can be a mix of hearty congratulations, gifts, and parties one week, and hitting the reality of finding a permanent job or a new stability the next.

The traditional commencement speech marks the rite of passage from the walls of academic learning to the open vistas of the larger world. It is no accident that the speech reflects the speakers own life and experiences as lessons that are passed onto the new graduates. Works of wisdom such as the final work by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You Will Go and his earlier, less controversial I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew are classic gifts.

Graduation symbolizes achievement on many levels, including the ability to take charge of ones own path through the many challenges that life brings. Each year is a renewal of this celebration in a variety of forms, such as watching high school students arrive in colorful gowns and dashing tuxedos to celebrate the coming end of the school year at prom. From the presentation of a wrist corsage or pinning on a tuxedo of a boutonniere, to the official photo outside the venue, to dancing for hours to music, it is the experience of prom that provides memories.

Graduation and prom are institutional symbols of achievement that mark conclusions and beginnings. They require a willingness to accept the change and to start in a new direction. Such flexibility allows us to enjoy all that the month of May has to offer.

Foundation

May is also a common month for weddings. How better to celebrate change, fertility, and foundation than with a wedding? Many who come to Paganism do so from other traditions and faith practices given by families of origin. A wedding is a formal rite of marriage, and as such is seen as foundational for the continuation of a strong society. The ceremonial space often includes flowers, as bridal wreaths and bouquets symbolize the hope for a fertile, long-lasting union. We toast to the health and happiness of couple.

Beltane is another celebration that provides a foundation for the rest of the year. Whether it is placing yellow flowers on doors, leaping over a bonfire, or bringing a bit of the community bonfire back to ones home to light the family hearth fire or altar, Beltane provides a chance to start fresh. Traditionally, the start of summer, the sabbat Beltane takes the spark, the fire that burns literally and asks us to use it figuratively and spiritually in our lives. Beltane celebrates the act of union, be it the physical act of sex or the symbolic creation of something new.

One of the largest foundational holidays in May in the United States is Mothers Day. Although the holiday has become more commercialized with sales, the obligatory Mothers Day card, text, flowers, and calls, the sentiment remains one of celebrating family, and in particular, maternal bonds. Restaurants tend to fill with families taking Mom out so that she does not have to cook for the family. Calling Mom becomes a popular way to maintain a sense of growth and continuation. We celebrate foundation with that call or remembrance of our mothers.

In the end, we plant in May, or when the soil is receptive, moist, and able to promote maximum growth for harvest later in the year. We use the warmth of the sun, the diurnal flame that warms our planet and our bodies to grow, to begin unions, to release ideas, and to remember why life is so much fun in the first place. We celebrate what it means to be human. After all, it is the laughter and the uncertainty that allow us to embrace all that this time has to offer.

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.
SHE GOT PROMOTED TO OUR 'PERMANENT REGISTER' THIS IS THE LINE OF THINKING OF YOUR 'FUTURE BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP'. She does NOT value "Black lives". She ONLY cares about RE-RATIONALIZING HER MIND - using a WHITE REFERENCE. I WILL RE-WATCH THIS VIDEO WHENEVER I BELIEVE THAT 'MY LOVED ONES' ARE SAFE FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL MOLESTATION - AS A WEAPON.









Black Inferiority / Progressive Nationalism



Foreign Colonization Is AMERICAN DOMESTICATION



RIZZO IS DEAD IN PHILLY. LONG LIVE FRAUD IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY.



America: One Big INTEREST ONLY Loan



US Government USED Americanized Blacks' To Achieve Its African Goals Why Did You Hear This Admission About The US/NATO Actual Destructive Goals From 'WHITE TRiUMP', While The "We Are In The White House Negroes' Never Pushed President Obama To Admit That The Coup In Libya North Africa WAS NOT A 'Humanitarian Mission', As 'The Black Commander In Chief' Told The World?

What Is The 'American Containerized Black' Tribe GIVING UP In The Name Of PROGRESSIVE DISARMAMENT, Which Will Later Be Used Against Them Toward Their Destruction, That Will Be Called 'Social Justice'?

A Major Step In Protecting Black Valuables Investmented



We Are Now In The "Or Else WHAT" Stage



Slavery In Libya North Africa 2017 6 Years After The "Humanitarian Mission" - Not A Peep From "Black Grievance Studies" Professors

Perfect 1.0 'Spiritual Whiteness' Is No Respecter Of Skin Color



The "Blackest" Moment In American Jurisprudence

A Ninja Got Himself Kilt Last Night



Few Colonial Subjects Will Ask "Who Were They Fighting Against Between These Two Historical Points"



The Qualifications For Admission Have Increased



Street Pirate Adverse Community Experience Creator



When The Colonizer Becomes Aware Of The Need To Find A NEGRO CONFIDENCE MAN PARTNER



The Revenge Of LBJ After MLK "Stabbed Him In The Back" Over Vietnam



#BlackLivesMatter Is NOT A GOVERNANCE Movement It Is ONLY A POLIITCAL OPPORTUNISTIC Movement With Up To 75% Of The Homicide Victims In Philly Being Black This Means That About 126 Black People Murdered In 2015 Have Not Triggered More National Awareness Than The Cherry Picked Small Number Of Inductees In The "Black Civil Rights Homicide Victim Martyr Hall Of Fame" That Is Used As A Reference Of The Status Of Black People With Reference To White Americans

"#All Killers Of Black People Are Equal Street Pirates" The "#BlackLivesMatter" Movement Must Prove That It Is More Than The 'Ideologically Bigoted' Analog To "Police Racial Profiling" By Eliminating Its Propensity To 'Walk Past Dead Black Bodies That Don't Fit Their Agenda' On Their Way To The Protest Rally On The Downtown Public Square.



The Flag Of A New Colonizer Is Hung At Full Staff



Sudan - To-Damned-Day



The Manifestation Of Progressive Feminism As A Cultural Replacement Download Video: .mp4

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose From "My Queen" To "My Bitch" In A Few GenerationsCONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose

THE NINJA WHO GOT HIMSELF KILT



YOU ARE A WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION IN "HAMSTERDAMN"



Thanks To The Progressives I Can Now Breath



Getting Your Ass Whipped In Prison Is Not A Choice. Silence In Public Reaction To It Is



Kermit Asks That You Be Consistent



A Friend Of "Black Community Development"



The Capture Of The Assassination Killer Of Kim Jones Of Philadelphia Should Be Top News Among Those Who Value "Black Lives"

Maybe You Are Being "Colonized" Today?



The Henry Dee & Charles Moore Martyr Hall Of Fame & Last Chance NIT Tournament



"Black Consciousness" Is NOT Proven By A Large Headcount



A Black Man Seeing Crying In Philly After A Loss At The Hands Of A Street Pirate



A Question Of Personal Values And Community Priorities And Black Media Agenda

I Want To Be Allowed To Develop Into Maya Angelou



Dr King's Pulpit Then And Now



The Americanized Negro Has Known No Rivers Beyond The Urban Water Supply Spigot



The Fire Hose As A GPS Coordinate Depicting Black People's Coordinates Upon "The Struggle"



If After 20 Years Of Observations I Am On To Them, The Fact That The Media Has Been Echoing Them For 50 Years Without Challenging Them About The DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAST OF THESE UNDER THEIR CARE - Points To A Conspiracy

Converting "Safe Passage" From Municipal Street Sign To A Consciousness Within The People



The Embedded Confidence Man's Press Agents Blow Smoke Rings As Circular References



The SUPERIORITY Of White People's Thoughts



Material Access To Consumer Comforts Is Not Indicative Of A Greater Consciousness



Mayor Nutter's Lessons Learned



Gen Edmund Pettus C.S.A. - Thanks You



He Cracked The Code On Black Progressive Outrage



In This House We Still Believe In God!!!

Tavis-You Blacks Need To Fire The Negro Generals Who Have Failed & Get New Leadership



The Inside Threat That Lurks Outside Of The Window Of Community Consciousness



My Faith In Institutions That I Once Trusted To Indoctrinate My Children Will Forever Be Shattered



Regulatory Capture







The Black Racial Services Machine



A Miscalculation On The School Busing Program To Social Justice



Full Faith And Confidence Of The Office Of The President Of The United States

The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection.

Who Diverted The Community's Eyes Off Of The Prize In Pursuit Of Shortsighted Political Gains?



As I Increase The Scope Of My Sample For Observation It Is Becoming Clear To Me That The "Machine Effect" In Metro-Atlanta That Distorts And Disrupts The Development Of Black People Is Not A Geographic Phenomenon But Instead Is Rooted In Lack Of Conscious Awareness Beyond One's On Provincial Interests And, More Importantly, The Absence Of A GOVERNING OVERLAY That Can Push Back Against These Misappropriations Of "The Black Community Development Consciousness"

NYOil - Ya'll Should All Get Lynched

Why Haven't Those Who Claim To MANAGE Your Community Told You The Dimensions Of The Space?



The Rabid "Embedded Black Fox Confidence Man"



The Mayor Of Philly Learned What The Korean Merchants Already Know



A Black Man Is Not Equal Until He Can Commit A "Civil Rights Violation" With His Actions



The Elephants In Africa Are Not Republicans







Bishop Henry McNeal Turner



Obama - The First American President To Bomb Africa w/o Massive Protests From "The Blacks"



Prison Radio Speaks To BLAX News



A Foreshadowing In "The Motherland"



What About All Of The Black Executions That The Police Or The State Did Not "Sponsor"?



The Pathway Upon Which The Hijacking Occurs



With The Loss Of Black American Consciousness Comes This Detachment



With the failure of the institutions within the Black Community to develop ORGANIC COMPETENCIES domestically there is no chance that the interests of the diasporatic Blacks can be protected by American Blacks who are more focused in domestic political affairs. The main utility of this video will be to make the American Negro "angry", increasing his resolve in "VOTING HARDER" as his means of fighting against racism, this according to his present consciousness. :'(

The "Mission Accomplished" Banner Hung By The Black Progressive-Fundamentalist



A People's Consciousness Fused To An Agenda Not Of Their Own



My Relative Ideological Position



Malcolm X Called You A "Race Traitor". CF Calls You A "Racial Consciousness Misappropriator"` The "Racial Consciousness Mis-Appropriators Malcolm X Picture On Your Blog" Removal Project

Racism Chasing - The Ultimate Hustle



The Nationalization Of The Black Community Consciousness



The PPP&HWBC Blog Supports The BAOHPEH, Inc



Evaluate The Varacity Of The PROCESS Of Judgment Not Merely The Verdict Rendered



Community Management 101



Profiles In Community Consciousness



Make Black America Happy Once Again



When We Were Colored



Schuyler And X



The 10P's In The Pod Of The Black Establishment Progressive Politicians

* Perpetual Protesters (Civil Rights orgs)

* Policy Influencers (lobbyist groups, think tanks)

* Press Operatives (the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")

* Performers (singers, rappers, actors)

* Preachers w/ and w/o Pulpits * Public Intellectuals (Humanities Professors)

* Public School Teachers

* Pro-Union Labor Forces

* Posters (Bloggers) (Civil Rights orgs)(lobbyist groups, think tanks)(the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")(singers, rappers, actors)

Don't Shoot Me Street Pirate! I Am Attempting To Be A Positive Asset To My Community



Will The Black Comunity Recover From The Hijacking Of Its Consciousness?



The Use Of "Slave/Jim Crow Images" In Black Political Debate - Evaluate The Agenda The use of "slave imagery" is common in ideological discourse among Black people today. The best way to appraise the veracity of the agenda of the presenter is to distinguish between those images which are used to cajole Black people into "Ideological Unity" versus those images used to bring consciousness to the sad fact that in far too many cases today - the man holding the gun is a Black man, his disturbed consciousness allowed to fester because the balance of our community organizers are focused on external political affairs. They sell us on the notion that when our people assist their political/ideological external partners in their success that these individuals who suffer from BENIGN NEGLECT will be cured - no longer terrorizing us. In the circular reference that is their struggle - the more damaged individuals that matriculate through the local institutions that they now control per their struggle, the louder their call for continued UNITY and redirection lest our community's long time external adversaries start terrorizing us again. They successfully avoid community scrutiny of their stewardship of our key "Human Resource Development" institutions.

I Am A Man!!



The Photographic Negative Of The Black Progressive Blogs That Focus On What White Folks Are Doing Black Racism And Race Hatred Blog

Stuff Black People Don't Like

Chicago Lady 216 - The Crisis Of Consciousness WITHIN The Black Community You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

Consciousness Mission Accomplished



I Support The "Corporate Premise Security Equality Project"



New York Times Demographic Mapping



The Antidote For Fear And Ignorance Antidote to the use of the tactics of FEAR as propagated by 'confidence men' to prompt a people toward a certain direction that is against their permanent interests is the development within these masses a base of Knowledge. When this knowledge is applied to their daily lives this builds up their Competencies. As a result their "Standard Of Living" is increased toward the a favorable level.

Obama Commemorative Plate = "Mission Accompished - An Ensnared Black Community"



Black Male Un-Demployment Rates In "Mission Accomplished" Cities



The Conflict Between The Civil Rights Pharisees Vs The Neo-Progressive Establishment Players You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

From Reactionary Transactionalism To Management Of Our Community



Ideologically Polarized Vision



Ted Kennedy & Black Independent Consciousenss



People Who Aide & Abet Street Pirates Need To Hear These Words & Instead Pursue Absolute Justice

THe NAACP & Rachael Maddow See These Guns As INFERIOR To Guns Used By Right-Wing Militias ** No matter how many guns these Street Pirates gather and no matter how many Black people are killed - these "equal human beings" will never been EQUAL in the mind of Civil Rights Pharisees and their White Snarling Fox Liberal co-conspirators because there is no ideological and political advantage in going after them.

The Rallo Tubbs Fan Club



Blog Archive

Those Who Have Their Conciousness Focused "Within The Black Community"

Page Views - Last 7 Days
SSC results on May 6

Staff Reporter :

The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations will be published on May 6.

Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee President Professor Muhammad Ziaul Haq said that the chairmen of all education boards would hand the results to

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni in the morning of May 6.

"The Education Minister will then announce the results in a press briefing at International Mother Language Institute," Professor Ziaul said.

Usually, the Education Minister submits the results to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a programme at Ganabhaban in the morning of the publishing day. After getting PM's approval, the Education Minister announces the results formally. But this year, as the Prime Minister is not at home, Dr Dipu Moni will announce the results, the Education Ministry sources said.

A total of 21,35,333 students -- 10,70,441 boys and 10,64,892 girls - from 28,682 institutions took part in the examinations.

Of the examinees, 17,00,102 sat for the SSC examinations under eight general education boards while 3,10,172 for Dakhil examinations under the Madrasa Education Board, and 1,25,059 for vocational examinations under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

A total of 434 students appeared in the examinations from eight overseas centres as well.
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for reelection in 2020. Enzi, 75, was first elected to the Senate in 1996. He has been returned to the Senate for three additional terms, getting over 70% of the vote each time.

Possible replacements could include former Gov. Matt Mead or Rep. Liz Cheney. In July 2013, Cheney announced she would challenge Enzi for the Republican nomination. After failing to gain significant party support, she withdrew in early 2014. Enzi would easily defeat four other challengers on the way to winning a fourth and final term in November that year. Cheney went on to win the state's at-large seat in the U.S. House in November, 2016.

Enzi becomes the fourth Senator to announce a 2020 retirement. His Republican colleagues Lamar Alexander (TN) and Pat Roberts (KS), as well as Democrat Tom Udall (NM) will be leaving. All these seats are seen as safe for the incumbent party.
Nicholas Mulder in n+1:

Where most of the charges that the right levels against the EU are hard to take seriously, the left has produced cogent and sophisticated critiques of the organization. Leftist skepticism about the project of integration goes back to the beginnings of the European Economic Community, but was generally a minority current; the Eurozone economic crisis and Britains ongoing attempts to depart from the EU have reanimated this tradition, with some arguing for a left exit, or Lexit. The Lexit position points to a split among the Unions left-wing critics: varying diagnoses of the EUs democratic deficit and neoliberal bias in turn suggest different paths to a more progressive and democratic Europe.

Currently, there are two broad varieties in left-wing anti-Europeanism. The first line of criticism is that the EU is an unaccountable technocracy constitutionally opposed to democracy. On this reading, unelected Eurocrats at the European Commission threaten national sovereignty as they enforce budgetary rules, laws, and regulations with no accountability. A related but distinct accusation is that the EU is terrible for national democracy because it is a vehicle for German empire. On this reading, the technocrats are either simply doing the Germans bidding, or else the Germans are responsible for long ago having rigged the rules of the union in favor of the continents largest and most powerful country.

These left-wing analyses focus on a real problem: the constraints of current EU and Eurozone economic policies, which have deepened and prolonged the continents crisis. Yet in their urge to counter the tyranny of the market, left nationalists misread the nature of the neoliberal project in European politics.

More here.
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The best athletes, teams, coaches of 2021: South Dakota Sportswriters awards

The South Dakota Sportswriters Association honored the best teams, players and coaches in college, high school and independent sports.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In late June 2015, Enrique Palomino, then 14, went mobbing overnight with five friends in a Foothills neighborhood. The spree ended early the next morning when one of the teens, 16-year-old Jeremiah King, shot and killed a 60-year-old homeowner  a popular local bartender who had tried to chase the teens away from his house.

Last month, police say, Palomino  now an 18-year-old on supervised probation  and two other teens shot and seriously injured a homeless man during a robbery. A GPS monitor put Palomino at the scene of the crime, according to court documents.

Palomino, Xavier Pino, 18, and Dominic Lopez, 17, are charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the April 4 shooting of 29-year-old Garfield Lopez, who was homeless. There is no indication that Garfield Lopez and Dominic Lopez are related.

Palomino was arrested for an unrelated probation violation on April 11 and booked into the juvenile detention center. The charges connected to Garfield Lopezs shooting were filed against him this week.

Meanwhile, Pino has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Dominic Lopez.

In another twist, police say the casings found at the scene of the shooting have been traced to at least six other shootings, including a 2017 homicide and the April 8 slaying of 15-year-old Martin Maestas. A police spokesman did not provide details about any of the shootings.

Palomino was at the scene of Maestas slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

Palominos mother, Amanda, told the Journal that Maestas and her son were good friends and that the two were shot at randomly by two robbers.

My son does not deserve what were going through, she said.  He has a lot of people that love him and are going to fight for him.

Palomino was detained at the scene of Maestass slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

A storied history

Palomino has a storied history in the case files of the Albuquerque Police Department and Childrens Court.

Most notably, he was the second youngest of six teenagers charged in the 2015 death of Steven Gerecke after a night of mobbing  when a group of teenagers broke into cars and homes.

Palomino, who said he was in the car when Gerecke was shot, pleaded guilty to larceny, conspiracy, aggravated burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced as a juvenile and shuttled around treatment facilities, two of which he was kicked out of for fights and drug possession.

Palomino was released in November 2018 and placed on probation, but it didnt take long for him to catch the eye of the law.

On April 2, a Facebook photo surfaced of Palomino holding a gun and beer  a violation of his probation. That is what led to his April 11 arrest. He pleaded guilty earlier this week to that violation, and a judge sentenced him to a juvenile detention facility until he is 21 years old.

This is our neighborhood

The recent robbery and assault charges against Palomino are the most serious since Gereckes slaying.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded to a shooting around 7 p.m. in the 3400 block of Tulane NE, near Carlisle and Candelaria, on April 4. They found Garfield Lopez, who friends and family described as being homeless, had been shot four times.

Neighbors told police three young men  later identified as Palomino, Pino and Dominic Lopez  sped off in a gray car after the gunfire. One man said two of the suspects pointed guns, one with a green laser on it, at him as they fled.

Benjamin Gomez told police he was walking with Garfield Lopez down the street when three men said this is our neighborhood, asked if they had drugs and called them a slur for homosexuals.

Police say two of the suspects drew guns and one tried to pistol whip Garfield Lopez as the other robbed Gomez of his phone and wallet. When Garfield Lopez punched one of the suspects, they shot him and ran off.

A woman who lives nearby told police that her son Dominic Lopez and his friends may have been involved. She told police that the three all carry guns and were outside her home when the shooting occurred. She called her son a wanna be gangster who loves guns and thinks its cool.

Detectives spoke with Palomino after he was arrested for the probation violation and told him his ankle bracelet put him at the scene. He told them he was with Pino and Dominic Lopez but a couple blocks away when he heard gunshots.

Before APD officers could track down Pino, he was arrested April 21 in Moriarty by local police after he allegedly pointed a gun  with a green laser on it  at another driver during a road rage incident.

When questioned about the shooting of Garfield Lopez, Pino told police he was chilling in the car when Dominic Lopez and Palomino robbed the two men. Pino said Palomino shot Garfield Lopez after being punched and they jumped in his car and fled the scene.

According to the complaint, Pino said he had not seen Dominic Lopez or Palomino since, and he has been focused on school.

Journal staff writer Elise Kaplan contributed to this report.
It just felt right, Cathy Baehr said, when asked why she has decided to retire from Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Baehr, the principal at Enchanted Hills Elementary since January 2000, is the longest-serving RRPS principal. She said leaving is truly bittersweet  its a humbling experience.

Sometimes you feel its time to look for new adventures, she said.

Growing up in Oklahoma, she recalled wanting to be a nurse, then laughed when she noted her college degree was in business management.

I found it wasnt going to fulfill my heart and soul. I returned to school and got my teaching license, she said.

That was back in 1984, when her first job was teaching language arts in Cyprus-Fairbanks, north of Houston.

That forced her to renege on something she had told her mother: I am not going back to school to be in school, (but) I loved it.

In 1986, she and her then-husband moved to Albuquerque and she got a job with Albuquerque Public Schools.

In making a long story short, she basically wound up in Rio Rancho because she learned then-Enchanted Hills Elementary Principal Carl Leppelman was not only looking for references for someone, but also recruiting. Baehr said she was interested, and soon found herself teaching in Rio Rancho  at Lincoln Middle School, in the 1986-87 school year.

Eight years later, when the APS buildings in the City of Vision were absorbed when RRPS became a reality, Leppelman brought Baehr to Enchanted Hills to be his assistant principal. When Leppelman became an RRPS administrator  hes now the executive director of curriculum and instruction  Baehr was named the schools principal.

Its been a great ride, she said, soon to say goodbye to at least six teachers who have been there for 20 or more years, and two women who work in the office, with 12 years each under their belts.

Shes always in good humor  Ive never heard her raise her voice, said Liz Bushma, the schools attendance clerk. She can multi-task like nobody on the planet.

Added Aileen Patrick, the schools registrar, Cathy has been a pillar of the school. Anytime you think of Enchanted Hills, you think of Cathy Baehr: not only a great principal, (but) a great friend  to the staff and the kids. Shes been a blessing.

Its leaving a family, Baehr said, making her decision to retire hard. I need to learn to unwind after 35 years  25 in this building  and take a bit of a break.

That break includes a cruise to Cuba and Cozumel with her sons, both of whom attended EH El. Now shell have more time for housework, walking her dogs, organizing, church and reading.

Her EH El highlights have been many, among them seeing the school receive an A from the state Public Education Department, being rated as one of just 12 exemplary schools in the state and hiring one-time Enchanted Hills students who decided to become teachers.

We get to help mold them with their parents, she said of her role as an educator and principal.

She sees the good in even the students with the most challenging demeanors and biggest struggles, says former EH El teacher Kristi Smith, now teaching in California. Cathy is also fiercely loyal and loves students.

She notices that good in her staff, Smith added.

When Cathy sees something in you, there is nothing that will stop her from helping you believe as well, Smith said. For example, Cathy approached me quite a few years ago and asked if I would consider being our schools next education tech specialist. Intimidated by the idea, I told Cathy I did not think I was capable of that role. She pushed in the way only Cathy can until I decided to give the job a try. It was a decision I will forever be thankful for, both professionally and personally.

Baehr said current Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary assistant principal Jennifer Bartley has been named her successor.

Baehrs advice to Bartley: Keep a great sense of humor.

As far as her legacy is concerned, Baehr, who doesnt like talking about herself, said she hopes others understand that I tried to give the kids the best learning environment, a safe school, and I provided lots of encouragement for the students.  Im glad my work has meant something to others.

After all, she concluded, We need to prepare them for the world  and its moving very fast.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
If someone libels, slanders or defames your character, you can sue them. Of course, youll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business, and youll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion. Youll have to show the offender made a false statement of fact.

I got to thinking, if everyone is equal under the law, shouldnt this standard also apply to those high-powered lawyers who routinely throw out defamatory comments while defending their celebrity clients?

Currently two brothers, Bola and Ola Osundairo, have filed a defamation lawsuit against the attorneys representing television actor Jussie Smollett. You probably remember that Smollett was accused by law enforcement in Chicago of filing a false police report in late January.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, reportedly told police that while he was out on a late-night sandwich run, two white men wearing Trump-inspired MAGA hats attacked him, shouting homophobic and racist slurs while splashing him with bleach and looping a noose around his neck. Smollett later told ABC he never mentioned MAGA hats but his attackers declared This is MAGA country!

The Osundairo brothers came forward to say they were the attackers but it was all a pre-planned publicity stunt choreographed by Smollett himself. They explained they were bit actors on the TV program Empire, on which Smollett also appeared, and had staged the hoax hate crime as a favor to Smollett. Sixteen felony charges were filed against Smollett, but in a controversial move they were later dismissed. Smollett insists he is a victim.

Smollett engaged the top-tier law firm of Geragos and Geragos. Its founder, Mark Geragos, and his associate Tina Glandian went on a publicity drive of their own, calling the brothers liars and saying they were guilty of a hate crime. On March 28, Glandian appeared on the Today Show and went so far as to say the brothers, who are black and from Nigeria, may have been wearing whiteface during the attack. In early April, Glandian was on the popular podcast, A Reasonable Doubt, strongly suggesting one of the brothers had a sexual relationship with Smollett.

Less than a month later the Osundairos filed their defamation suit against Geragos and Glandian, alleging they had falsely maligned the brothers to distract from Mr. Smolletts farce and to promote themselves. They claimed damage was done to their reputations, personal lives and acting careers. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria, punishable by long jail sentences or even death by stoning, and the brothers claimed the lawyers false statements made them fear for their familys safety back home. The suit also pointed out that many of the ugly accusations by Smolletts lawyers came after charges had been dropped, so the Geragos team could not convincingly say they were just doing their job defending a client.

The written response to the defamation suit from the Geragos and Geragos firm may have compounded the problem. It calls the lawsuit comical and then clearly accuses the brothers of fraud. It reads in part, While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public.

Wouldnt it be something if this suit was not dismissed? If high-profile, camera-loving attorneys were held accountable for their public statements defaming adversaries? It might change the whole tone of the justice system when dealing with headline cases.

Last December, criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman preemptively released emails between his former client, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and two women who have accused him of sex crimes. Brafman alluded to more emails from other women who may be called to testify at Weinsteins upcoming criminal trial. Brafman wrote to the judge, For the most part, these extraordinary emails suggest, beyond question, that many of these women have lied in making their complaints against Mr. Weinstein. Brafman branded these women as liars, and under the defamation standards you and I would be held to he would have to prove his claim or be held liable, right?

I was in the Florida courtroom during opening statements in the trial of Casey Anthony, accused of killing her toddler daughter. Her lawyer, Jose Baez, sought to deflect attention and told the jury Casey had been sexually abused for years by her father. Yet during the trial he presented no evidence of that. Could George Anthony have sued for defamation? Id think so, but he didnt.

Jurors and journalists need to be on the lookout for these flamboyant lawyers who steamroll over peoples reputations without repercussion or proof. Verdicts should be reached only on the actual evidence presented at trial. Publicity-seeking lawyers who face the cameras first before entering the courtroom in hopes of influencing public opinion arent doing their job. Their job is to defend their client in court with the truth.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Student test scores will not be included in New Mexico teacher evaluation process this year, the state Public Education Department announced this week.

A memo from Deputy PED Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment to superintendents and charter school leaders statewide said the test scores are being dropped from the Transition Teacher Evaluation Reports for 2018-19.

Under the teacher evaluation system unveiled this week, teachers will be graded on a 100-point scale.

 Classroom observations will be worth 50%.

 Planning, preparation and professionalism will be worth 40%.

 Family and student surveys will be worth 10%.

Student assessments accounted for 35% of the previous evaluation under the administration of then-Gov. Susana Martinez. Earlier in her administration, it had been higher, but she reduced it after opposition from a wide spectrum of educators.

Despite the change, the use of test scores was still opposed by teacher unions.

The PED memo said the decision to drop test scores was made to comply with an executive order addressing teacher evaluations signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The governor issued an executive order in January  just days after being sworn in to office  directing the PED to come up with new rating and assessment tools to decrease unnecessary pressure on students and teachers, while also providing more time for instruction.

But the executive order did not specify what factors the new evaluation system should use, and two bills aimed at revamping the states current system  and putting those changes in state law  stalled in this years 60-day legislative session.

The first-term Democratic governor earlier ordered that New Mexico drop the PARCC exam and create a new state-specific assessment system in its place. Scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exam have been used by the state in past years as a factor in teacher evaluations and school grades, which were used to identify low-performing schools for potential closure.

As we look to the future of teacher evaluations in New Mexico, the educator growth and development team will engage stakeholders across the state to ensure all voices are part of designing a new teacher evaluation system, the memo said. NMPEDs stakeholder engagement events will begin in late May and (be) held throughout the state.

The change drew both praise and criticism.

The transitional system helps students by putting teachers, not standardized test corporations, back in control over classroom teaching, and it will improve and showcase our teaching, National Education Association-New Mexico President Betty Patterson said in a news release. Increasing classroom observation to 50% is appropriate. So too is the increased importance of planning, preparation and professionalism to 40% of the total.

Patterson said all teachers will be able to show their hands-on abilities as they are observed by their highly trained administrators.

There is no doubt our students will benefit from these changes, she said.

But National Council on Teacher Quality President Kate Walsh called the decision a step backward.

Good teachers have nothing to fear from such measures (student assessments), Walsh told the Journal.

Walshs organization praised the states previous evaluation system in a report, calling it a model for success.

NewMexicoKidsCAN Executive Director Amanda Aragon called the decision a disservice to students and teachers.

She predicted that New Mexico would fall further behind other states. She said student scores are part of most states teacher evaluations.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
SANTA FE  With her trial date approaching, former state Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla allegedly defied a judges order by attempting to contact a division director at her old state agency who is also listed as a possible witness in her case.

Thats according to Attorney General Hector Balderas office, which has asked a judge to revoke Padillas conditions of release over the incident.

The dispute is the latest legal salvo in the states public corruption case against Padilla, a former Cabinet secretary in Gov. Susana Martinezs administration who has pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and using her appointed position to push for favorable tax treatment.

In a motion filed this week, the AGs Office alleged that Padilla tried to call Aysha Mora, director of the Taxation and Revenue Departments Audit and Compliance Division, in March regarding a taxpayers audit. Padilla is a certified public accountant who has been working as her case plays out.

Mora, who did not respond to the telephone message, is among the states possible witnesses in the case against Padilla, who was ordered last year by a judge to have no contact with witnesses.

Attorneys with the AGs Office have previously raised the issue of improper contact with witnesses, as an assistant attorney generally said during a November 2018 preliminary hearing that he had personally observed Padilla speaking with two witnesses and said he had been told she also mouthed something to another individual who was testifying.

The judge did not immediately act on the request at the time and allowed Padilla to remain free on her own recognizance. In addition to no contact with witnesses, her conditions of release also include no alcohol and no leaving the state without the courts permission.

In its latest motion, the AGs Office said Padilla was already on notice that she should not attempt to communicate with potential witnesses.

On its face, defendants attempted contact with Mora might not seem alarming; but viewed in proper context, the contact should make the court question why defendant is willing to continue to violate her conditions of release by contacting identified witnesses in her pending criminal case, two assistant attorneys general wrote in their court filing.

Padillas attorney, Paul Kennedy, declined to comment Friday on the latest allegations.

Padilla was charged by the AGs Office in June 2018 with embezzling more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo-based company, Harolds Grading & Trucking, and other alleged crimes, including violating the ethical principles of public service and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain.

If convicted of all seven charges she is facing, Padilla could face up to 16 years in prison and as much as $20,000 in fines.

The effort to revoke Padillas conditions of release is one of several motions state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer could rule on this month. The case is expected to go to trial this summer.
Climate change is not a lie. Do not let our planet die.

Thats a chant that could be heard by those passing by the University of New Mexicos Johnson Field around 1 p.m. Friday.

Repeating those words was a crowd of more than 100 mostly high school students who were skipping school.

They didnt seem to worry about getting caught. They were proudly carrying signs that said Climate Crisis, Stop Climate Change Before Its Too Late, System Change, Not Climate Change, and Claim Our Rights.

For them, walking out of class was a way of making their voices heard about the future of their planet. The demonstration was part of the National School Strike for Climate Action in which high school students throughout the U.S. and Canada walked out to urge action to halt the damage caused by climate change.

I want to send a message to our senators, people who can vote and those in charge that we need to take action immediately, said Aubrey McCullough, a freshman at Sandia High School.

She wants government officials to cut down on carbon emissions and switch to renewable resources.

Obviously, its not something that will happen with an immediate change, she said. Its not going to happen with one bill. We definitely need to start weaning ourselves off of it (fossil fuels).

Eldorado High School junior Jared Sichler walked out to encourage more action and legislation to save the planet for future generations.

We need to start using renewable energy more and start committing more money to it, Sichler said. He agreed with McCulloch that America needed to start cutting back on its dependence on oil.

Teslas doing a lot of things to make electric cars more affordable, Sichler said.

Sandia High School junior Alyssa Ruiz was concerned about the damage continued dependence on oil would do to the environment and the economy.

She said didnt want to live in a world where climate change causes drought and food shortages.

Ruiz said she would like to see climate change declared a national emergency.

Jennifer Patterson, also a junior at Sandia High, said she would like to see more policies cutting down air pollution by companies.

Id also like to see Styrofoam bans in Albuquerque, she said.

Eldorado sophomore Mitchell Hahn voiced a concern that the Earth is being destroyed and pointed to the problems being caused by plastic products piling up in the oceans. Hes in favor of banning plastic products.

That includes water bottles, straws and plastic utensils, Hahn said, with the exception of use by some businesses.

He views the recent decision by the Albuquerque City Council to prohibit businesses from providing single-use plastic bags at the point of sale as a positive step.

I believe we should be using reusable bags, Sichler said.
SANTA FE  Two New Mexico state lawmakers  one Republican and one Democrat  were feted Friday by a national group for their work on criminal justice legislation.

Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, were among 10 individuals selected to receive the People Over Partisanship award by The Coalition for Public Safety, a Washington D.C.-based group.

The honorees, who also included U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were recognized at an upscale ceremony at a Kentucky castle that both Maestas and Rue planned to attend.

Rue and Maestas teamed up during this years 60-day legislative session  along with a few other lawmakers  on a crime package signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that will expand a diversion program aimed at unclogging the states court system.

The two also worked on a different bill dealing with changes to New Mexicos probation and parole system that was vetoed after prosecutors statewide raised concerns about it.

Maestas and Rue are also co-chairs of the state Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that meets while the Legislature is not in session to study ideas and hear testimony. The subcommittee was disbanded several years ago but later revived after a three-year break.

Along with Rue and Maestas, bipartisan legislative duos from Kentucky and Pennsylvania were also honored Friday by the Coalition for Public Safety for their work.

Party staffing: With a high-stakes election cycle on the horizon next year, the New Mexico Republican Party currently has only one full-time employee.

GOP spokeswoman Anissa Ford-Tinnin said Friday that Pam Kingston, the partys bookkeeper, is currently the only full-time staffer as others doing work for the party, including Ford-Tinnin herself, are volunteers.

Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said after being elected to the post in December that he planned to get to work immediately on fundraising and hiring a full-time staff. And a hiring ramp-up could still happen before next years election season, which will include a presidential election and a race for an open U.S. Senate seat.

By contrast, the Democratic Party of New Mexico currently has five full-time staffers, including an executive director and communications director.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to  contain any type of fuel.

____

Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
WASHINGTON  Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill  charges he denied. People may know hes a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and hes said he doesnt plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trumps nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some pretty radical decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the courts more conservative justices  Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito  can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high courts longest-serving justice, the senior associate justice, when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the courts ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the courts far right.

Thats won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas highly underrated. Trump said Thomas has been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas views may now have more sway, something she described as terrifying to many progressives.

Still, Thomas views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he wont be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but theyre kind of sucked along in his wake, Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law . He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the courts Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans werent citizens, labeling both notoriously incorrect.

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as abdicating our judicial duty. Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest  with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that hes not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when hell celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the courts third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: Its a pretty good job. Im having fun, and Im winning.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
CHICO, Calif. - A structure fire was reported in Chico on Saturday just before noon. The Chico Fire Department and CAL FIRE Butte County crews responded to the scene on Dead End Court.

According to Chico Fire Captain Ken Smith, the fire appears to have been caused by a wiring issue involving an air conditioner.

The homeowners had the air conditioner mounted on the shake-shingled roof. Captain Smith referred to those shingles as "a receptive fuel bed on the roof."

He said smoke was noticed by a neighbor who sprayed the air conditioning unit with a fire extinguisher, keeping the situation in check until firefighting personnel arrived.

Captain Smith suggests that as the summer heat picks up, people should get their air conditioners serviced by a quality, professional company.
Blue Dart, Indias leading logistics service provider and part of Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) Group, has been conferred with the prestigious and highly acclaimed Superbrands Award for the 12th consecutive year. Superbrand is the worlds largest independent arbiter of branding and pays tribute to the strongest and most valuable brands in the world through an intense process of selection.

The selection criteria followed by Superbrands is internationally renowned and is considered as one of the esteemed awards in the Branding category. This year Superbrands India invited brands from an exclusive group and were voted by 18,031 consumers and senior professionals from a cross section of industries.

Commenting on the occasion, Ketan Kulkarni, Head - Business Development & CMO, Blue Dart said It is an honour for Blue Dart to be recognized as a Superbrand for the 12th year in a row, validated by the industry and consumers. As leaders in the express logistics industry and trade facilitators for the country, Blue Dart has been established based on strong brand equity; we will continue to delight our customers at every touch point through high service quality, best-in-class technological innovations, products and services. This accolade stands testimony to our ability to continuously raise the bar in driving innovation in the industry. We are focused on building an organisation that sets new benchmarks in driving customer delight in Blue Dart country.

Superbrands has earned the proud distinction of being the award that brands consistently use as a symbol of excellence and credibility. Superbrands is a concept that started in 1993 in the UK to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands, to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians. Since then 86 countries have already published 360 volumes featuring more than 15,000 case studies.

Blue Dart remains one of the best managed companies in India which is evident by the awards and recognitions it has received. The company is benchmarked to international standards and continues to be Indias Most Innovative and Awarded Logistics Company.

Prior to this, Blue Dart was ranked no.1 amongst the 25 best multinational workplaces in Asia  2019 by Great Place to Work Institute, Asia for the third time in a row. Great Place to Work identified Blue Dart as the top organization that has successfully created high-trust, high-performing cultures in the Asia and Middle East regions. It was also recognised as a Readers Digest Most Trusted Brand for the 11th consecutive year.
Cinepolis, Indias 1st international and the worlds 2nd largest movie theatre circuit in terms of attendees has collaborated with Paytm and Student Of The Year 2, to provide an exclusive offer on the popular Student Combo. The blockbuster offer was announced in the presence of the supremely talented and spunky star cast of the much-awaited release, Student Of The Year 2. The excitement was heightened as the vibrant actors unveiled the second song of the movie.

Cinepolis in sync with the popularity of the sequel Student Of The Year 2 has curated this initiative to enhance the movie watching experience for the movie buffs. Tickets for Student Of The Year 2 can be exclusively booked via Paytm to avail the 90% off on the Student Combo. The offer will be available from 10th to 12th May, with advance bookings open from 5th May onwards, across 20 cities. The offer has been customized in line with Cinepolis constant endeavor to engage their patrons with interesting initiatives.

Devang Sampat, Director  Strategic Initiatives, Cinepolis India said We constantly look out for enticing offers that will not only ease the accessibility to watching movies but also truly enhance the experience. Given that Student of the year-2 is anticipated to be one of the biggest release of 2019, we want to add to the excitement of the experience by providing the most demanded combo at an unbelievable price. We look forward to our patrons availing the exclusive offer.

Siddharth Kadam, Head of Marketing, Dharma Productions added, We have partnered with Cinepolis to create an exciting offer for all students. SOTY2 is an anticipated franchise film and we feel the student combo offer, available India wide, across Cinepolis theatres, will be like icing to their Summer movie delight. Hope the students enjoy the film and the combo!

Cinepolis understands the importance of a quality culinary experience and thus focusses on constantly innovating their offerings. A new lip smacking menu handcrafted by the celebrated Chef Saransh Goila was recently launched to advance the premium immersive experience for its patrons. Adding to its list of initiatives for foodies, the blockbuster offer available on Student Combo can availed through bookings on the Paytm website https://paytm.com/ and App.
Indian tyre major JK Tyre & Industries Limited has launched a powerful TVC in their effort to build a premium imagery of the brand and establish a youth connect. Aimed at capturing the imagination of the young and ambitious Indians, new TVC talks about the enduring journey of international Indian ace-racer Armaan Ebrahim.

The new television commercial by creative agency BBH India builds an emotional connect with Armaans journey, riding on the different waves of his life that brings hope, dreams and achievements.

The ad reflects the character of every kid who loves speed; the kid is portrayed in the role of Armaan Ebrahim, who grows up to become an international motorsports racing star and trusts JK Tyres at every step of his journey to achieve speed. The commercial captures three stages of Armaans life, as a 3-year-old bike enthusiast growing into an 8-year-old boy, thereon to a 15-year old with dreams and aspirations of racing to becoming the present champion of the track and how with JK Tyre, he finally achieves his dream speed with tyres that finally keep up with him in all conditions and help him be in Total Control.

Elaborating on the commercial, Vikram Malhotra, Marketing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, The new TVC highlights our core brand values of determination, passion and unwavering commitment towards realising dreams. The new commercial showcases the emotional connect we have with our customers who like to stay in total control, be it on small car or luxury sedan. We cherish our association with Armaan Ebrahim and his journey to success has encouraged millions of youngsters to dream big and never lose sight of the goals. This is a true reflection of our brand philosophy.

The advertisement has been produced by Vivek Singhania of Picture Perfect and directed by Ruchi Narain, mostly known as the writer of the film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. The TVC is currently running across platforms.
Field work for IRS Q2 2019 has already begun: Ashish Bhasin

Adgully spoke with Ashish Bhasin, CEO  Greater South and Chairman & CEO  India, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman, MRUC, and Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH, Madison World and IRS Technical Committee Chairman, to know more about the key trends and observations on IRS Q1 2019.

Mark Tuttsel moves on from Leo Burnett

Mark Tuttsel the executive chairman of Leo Burnett has announced that he will retire from his role at the agency. He has been associated with the creative shop for 34 years.

IPL, Polls, World Cup will buoy news broadcasters revenues by 40%: MK Anand

In a freewheeling interaction with Adgully, MK Anand, CEO & MD, Times Network, speaks about the 2019 Elections and what they mean to the news media industry, marketing opportunities, key trends and much more.

The Zoom Studios achieves milestone of 80 mn+ views and 1 mn+ subscribers in year one

The Zoom Studios, original content arm of Zoom today announced the successful completion of its first year and with it sets a new benchmark in storytelling with powerful and real-life narratives aiming a 100% growth over the next year. The Zoom Studios also announced its plans of 6 new originals for FY 19-20, targeting 200% increase in subscriber base.

Offbeat: Indira Rangarajan - A Zoya Akhtar fan girl spreading tinsel magic on-air

Indira Rangarajan is the National Programming Head for Radio Mirchis second frequency, Mirchi Love. Rangarajan has spent the last 12 years of her life across various roles in Radio Mirchi  from heading programming across various cities to managing and curating music across multiple stations in India.

Ad lands Young Guns: Shreya Natasha Shah, FCB Ulka

With 2 years of experience in advertising, Shreya is a Senior Copywriter at FCB Ulka, Delhi. Shreya first ventured into advertising when she was completing her Bachelors in Mass Media from St.Xaviers College, Mumbai. However, with an ardent interest in human behaviour and the ability to influence it through writing, Advertising, always seemed like a natural fit.

The Lion marks its new territory in Mumbai

In a move that will enable the agency to become the crucial hub for its much-acclaimed Power of One capabilities, Publicis India, the full-service ad agency from Publicis Groupe has announced its relocation to a swanky new office in Mumbais iconic commercial landmark in Parel (East).

Honda Cars awards Dentsu X its media duties

According to media reports, dentsu X, part of Dentsu Aegis Network has won the media duties for Honda Cars. The creative mandate for Honda cars is already being handle by Dentsu One. The account was previously held by the media agency Motivator who was handling the business since 2015.

Solomon Wheeler moves on from Vistara

Solomon Wheeler, VP & Head of Marketing at Vistara the Joint Venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. According to media reports his last day with the aviation company was April 17th.

HONOR ropes in Mullen Lintas as its new creative agency

The agency won the creative mandate for HONOR following a multi-agency pitch held in New Delhi recently. The agency will errand conceptualizing and developing innovative communication strategy to support HONORs long term vision of providing best quality products for the young dynamic target audience.

Saint-Gobain appoints Vizeum India as its media agency

The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch. Under this partnership, Saint-Gobain is launching its new brand campaign after a gap of 15 years. The campaign will be rolled out nationally across television, digital and content streaming portals.

Hansa Research appoints Praveen Nijhara as Chief Executive Officer

Praveen Nijhara takes over from veteran Ashok Das who will continue as Senior Advisor of the Group. Till recently, Nijhara was Senior Executive Director, responsible for the Customer Experience Business for Kantar IMRB South Asia region, which he led for nearly a decade.

Viacom18 appoints Gourav Rakshit as COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures

Gourav Rakshit will be joining the organization in May 2019, and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18. Rakshit is currently serving as the President and CEO of People Group that owns and operates Shaadi.com.

Sabeer Ahluwalia joins BBC Good Food India as COO

BBC GoodFood India has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Sabeer Ahluwalia to spice up the luxury quotient and consolidate their presence in Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events.
RTHK: Trump and Putin have 'positive' Venezuela talks

US President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks on Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Collaborative spaces  led by global giant WeWorks expansion in India  are having a real impact on the concept of workspaces and therefore the economy. A new report assessing economic impact has outlined interesting insights that point to Indias work-life moving in a new direction.

Democratization of neighborhoods

Intensive urbanization and growing population density in a few areas have made the CBDs of metropolitan India practically inaccessible over the past two decades, especially in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. NITI Aayog foresees the growth of the Indian real estate sector to jump over fivefold to $650 billion by 2040. As commercial real estate become more expensive, flexible workspaces are democratizing access by reducing the prohibitive barrier of price. This is re-injecting vibrancy to these locations and enabling businesses and individuals to benefit from proximity to business areas. In fact, the report found that 76% of WeWork members in Mumbai, 74% in Bangalore, and 67% in Delhi and did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork.

This has also had an impact on associated activities in these areas; 9-15% of WeWork members have moved closer to the WeWork location since joining, especially in Bangalore where 1 in 4 (37%) members visit neighborhood restaurants, cafes and businesses daily. In Bangalore, the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,957 crore and in total supports INR 2,002 crore (INR 44 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city.

Mumbai comes next in terms of impact, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,692 crore of GDP and in total supports INR 1,737 crore (INR 45 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Economic contribution of WeWork in Delhi is the highest, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 2,986 crore of GDP and INR 62.7 crore indirectly, resulting in a whopping INR 3,049 crore GDP impact.

Knowledge workers, entrepreneurs are the biggest beneficiaries of co-working revolution

Growing automation is driving a shift towards knowledge work, and these contributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the growth of collaborative workspaces. Flexibility and low capital commitment helps encourage entrepreneurship, with 17% of Mumbai WeWork entrepreneur-members, for instance, pursuing their first startup project at WeWork.

Likewise, over 77% of WeWork members in Bangalore are in the innovation economy, and a fifth of WeWork member-entrepreneurs are taking the plunge to self-employment for the first time. In Delhi, 53% of members are in the innovation economy while 11% of entrepreneur-members are first-timers.

Flexible working correlated to the rise of women in leadership roles

The flexibility, access and convenience that collaborative workspaces offer have an impact on women rising to leadership positions, and Indias WeWork members are ahead of the curve.

Led by Mumbai, where a significant 41% of senior roles (executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors) are held by women, followed by Delhi (29%) and Bangalore (26%), India is far ahead of the rest of Asia, where the percentage is at 23%.

Companies grow faster with better collaboration, global access

Across cities, collaborative working has had a direct impact on company growth, with 65% members in Bangalore and 58% in Delhi stating that WeWork has helped accelerate growth. This is especially true among small and medium companies, who benefit from the national and international network of member companies, ease of collaboration and world-class infrastructure access. In fact, the average growth rate across SMB WeWork members in Bangalore is 25% compared to 4% for all companies in the city. The difference is even starker in Mumbai, where SMB WeWork members have grown at 37% on average compared to 2% for all companies in the financial capital.

Flexible workspaces more efficient, sustainable

Easier access to flexible workspace has also increased the viability of sustainable forms of commute, including walking, biking or public transport. In Bangalore and Mumbai, over half of WeWork members use sustainable public transit modes. Members also tend to switch from self-driving to sustainable public transit, with 15% in Bangalore and 25% in Mumbai reporting that theyve done so since joining WeWork. In Delhi, over 60% of members use sustainable transit options and about 29% have given up polluting cars since joining WeWork.

Karan Virwani, Co CWeO WeWork India says, WeWork as a community enables its members to collaborate with each other, which has led to the creation of efficiencies in terms of increased creativity, productivity at the workplace and innovation. This process has effects that go far beyond individual considerations as it also sparks the development and support of local communities, neighborhoods and businesses, a culture that we as an organisation look to actively imbibe, encourage and promote. This is true for WeWork across countries around the world and in India.
Note: Dan wrote this post in 2016. It holds truer than ever today, when vaccine mandates and pushes to eliminate exemptions are raging from coast to coast. I miss Dan so much. Our anchor. Our beacon. The General of the Rebel Alliance. Kim



By Dan Olmsted



"An effort spanning two decades has resulted in a global first," CNN reported Thursday. "The Americas have eliminated measles, the World Health Organization said this week. The battle was won through mass vaccination to prevent the viral disease, which can cause severe health problems including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death."



Well, the battle was mostly won before the battle began, as anyone who's looked at the pre-vaccine wipeout of the disease would know.



From Mark Blaxill and my 2015 book, Vaccines 2.0:





In Vaccines 2.0 we wrote: Much of the recent publicity about measles reflects a small increase in US cases in the past few yearsusually overseas travelers becoming infected and then spreading the illness in small pockets that generate alarmist headlines.



In the spring of 2014, a news outlet in suburban Washington, under a large banner titled Health Warning, reported public health workers are informing people who were at various locations . . . that they may have been exposed to a person with measles. Northern Virginia area health officials are mounting a coordinated effort to identify people who may have been exposed.



The idea that measles is highly infectious is certainly true; the claim that it is a health emergency is not. For generations, measles was considered a rite of passage for children, with little risk of complications and the reward of lifetime immunity."



A blogger at Livingwhole.org made the same point in June 2014 in a post titled, Measles Shmeasles:



So far, in 2014 there have been 288 cases of measles, no cases of encephalitis, and no death. In 2013 there were 189 cases of measles, no encephalitis and no death. In 2012 there were 54 cases of measles, no encephalitis, and no death. In 2011, there were 22 cases of measles, and you guessed it . . . no encephalitis, and no death.



I could go on, but you get the point.



By and large, measles is unpleasant, not deadly.



In comparison, the same cannot be said for the MMR vaccine. As of March 1, 2012 there were 842 serious injuries following the MMR vaccine and 56 deaths. Since 1990 there have been more than 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Whats even more sad is that only 110% of cases are actually reported .



Honestly. If youve seen Vaxxed, you know it does a great job of contrasting the Disney measles hysteria with the blase attitude of mainstream media and medicine and the CDC and the NIH and HRSA and etcetera to the endless, increasing, debilitating, sometimes lethal autism epidemic and its allied catastrophes.



But of course kids will all be getting the MMR into perpetuity  now with one part that doesnt work and spawns epidemics post-adolescence that are far more dangerous (mumps); a vaccine for a disease that is usually not serious and is no circulating (measles) but can have serious side effects, and one for which there can be an altruistic argument given the risk of congenital rubella syndrome, but also with serious risks. Put them all together, shake it up and voila -- the autism shot, as Jenny called it.



Kind of like the DPT  diphtheria doesnt circulate, tetanus is not a serious risk, and certainly not to anyone but the person who might get it, and pertussis, for which we believe there is a case worth discussing.



Not to mention the deadly and disgusting HPV, the useless and dangerous Hep B, the useless and dangerous chickenpox.



This is why parental choice and no mandates are so important, regardless of ones stance on vaccines overall. Too much autism, too many vaccines with too many side effects  but at least, thank God, no measles.

--

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
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Hundreds of current and former members of the Badr Organization protested April 13 in downtown Baghdad demanding long-overdue financial compensation for their combat service against Saddam Hussein, whose regime was toppled in 2003. However, security forces affiliated with the party's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, used violence to deter protesters, and a number of demonstrators were jailed for days.

The protests failed to get coverage in local Iraqi newspapers and media outlets because of Amiri's political influence, according to participants and organizers.

Amiri doesn't seem to have earned the confidence of ex-combatants who fought by his side against Saddams regime in the 1980s. They blame him for their marginalization and lack of compensation.

The Badr Organization was founded in 1982-83 as a military group in Iran. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Badr turned into a civil organization that ran all elections in Iraq. Amiri has been heading the organization since early in its founding days.

Many Badr members, annoyed by the unilateral internal decision-making process, left the organization earlier this year. They attacked Amiri's leadership and labeled the organizations policies as "racist, sectarian and serving foreign projects.

Politically, Amiri seems to be on top of his game. His Al-Binaa Alliance, in participation with the Sairoon Alliance led by Muqtada al-Sadr, formed the new government. Al-Binaa is now seeking to pass parliamentary laws in line with its agenda.

Yet, at the internal Badr level, Amiri has his difficulties. He is surrounded by a group of dissidents who lash out at him on social media, along with a group of ex-combatants who believe he abandoned them for power and money.

This organization is not the one we knew," said Sattar Douwad al-Tamimi, who fought alongside Amiri from 1984 to 1997. "It is entangled in a lot of corruption issues. Amiri has turned it into a family establishment," granting favors to friends.

Tamimi is leading a broad campaign demanding rights for a number of Badr ex-combatants. Under an order issued in 2004 by US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer, combatants who fought against Saddams regime are entitled to recognition and benefits and may be integrated into the regular armed forces.

Badr has abandoned its members. Many of them were wounded and suffered chemical injuries and did not receive any compensation for fighting the former regime," Tamimi said. "Amiri has not kept his promise over the past 15 years to about 3,000 ex-combatants in Badr who are today in dire need."

One of those ex-combatants, Mahmoud al-Qazwini, who left Badr in 2017, told Al-Monitor, We cannot leave our brothers with whom we fought on the front lines. I would not accept enjoying rights that my brothers are being denied.

On April 13, Qazwini participated in the protest outside Badr headquarters. "We wanted to get our rights," he said. "But our protest seems to have worried those close to Amiri. We were severely beaten and detained for several days at two police stations in Baghdad.

He went on, I was detained along with six other people. We were interrogated on charges of defamation of Amiri and the Badr Organization. We were also accused of using violence. We are old people, how can we use violence in a peaceful protest?

Two days after the protest, while Qazwini was still under investigation, Amiri issued a press statement requesting that the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meet the demands of the protesters "and do them justice," pointing out that their demands are "true and legitimate."

Tamimi and Qazwini believe Amiri is trying to evade his responsibility to secure the rights of Badr ex-combatants.

Amiri promised before the elections to get us all our rights immediately after the formation of the government in return for our electoral support of Badr," Tamimi said. Instead, Amiri has put the names of his close associates on the compensation list instead of real fighters.

Al-Monitor tried to obtain more information about the changes taking place in Badr, but more than one member refused to talk, fearing reprisals.

However, a source close to the Badr Organization told Al-Monitor, Anger toward Amiri is growing within Badr over a series of positions, including the neglect of ex-combatants and the expansion of internal influence of those close to Amiri. He also said Amiri often appears to be under Iran's control.

The source said on condition of anonymity, There will be new splits within Badr in light of the unilateral decision-making process by Amiri. The current situation is stirring anger. A shake-up inside Badr is imperative.

Meanwhile, Tamimi and Qazwini said they will continue to issue statements and stage protests to expose the Badr situation and get all ex-combatants what they are owed.
By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovi?, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovi? said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.
Putin brokers Israel-Syria goodwill gestures

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two Syrian prisoners as a "goodwill gesture last week, a sign that he may be ready to live and let live with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The prisoners release was the sole decision of Netanyahu, Ben Caspit reports, made without authorization from the Cabinet and carried out in utmost secrecy. In the harsh public and political criticism that followed, it was argued that the move was the second part of a secret deal that Netanyahu made with Assad under the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first step, it was said, was the transfer of the remains of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel to Israel just prior to the April 9 elections, winning Netanyahu brownie points from the public as a world-class statesman, as we reported here.

Putin, it will be recalled, outed Syrias role in the return of Baumels remains, telling Netanyahu, As you may know, our military personnel and their Syrian partners helped find Zacharys remains. The official response from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) at the time was that Syria has no clue about Baumel and that the incident confirms cooperation between terrorist groups and Mossad.

Russia Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev later said that the retrieval of Baumels body paid off for Syria in the end and that Russia would never act in a way that contradicts Syrias interests.

Between the lines is another astonishing fact with regard to Israels relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, writes Caspit. Many high-level Israeli figures have long since branded Assad as finished, someone who had lost international and ethical legitimacy and committed genocide on his own people. Now, however, it seems that Israel has simply decided to reconcile itself to Assads full return to power. It even maintains covert relations with Assad via Russian mediation, including goodwill measures and confidence-building steps. Despite Israel's frequent attacks on Iranian targets in Syrian territory, according to foreign reports, there are no direct conflicts with the Syrian ruler himself. On the contrary  many high-level Israeli figures have maintained over the last two years that Assad knows that he has a lot to lose from the Iranian presence on his territory and agreed to it only under pressure. He is loath to pay Israel the price for that presence.

Could it be, Caspit asks, that the Israeli-Syrian deal was designed to mobilize Assad to leave the Iranian camp for the Israeli side, with Russian encouragement?

Pro-Syrian commentators have suggested that Putin, and by extension Assad, got burned in the exchange with Netanyahu. Syria News remarked that Netanyahu released a Palestinian who didnt want to go to Syria in the first place  and a drug dealer who has already spent his 11 years sentence in the Israeli prisons and was set to be released in a couple of months completing his sentence without any deal!

SANA nonetheless reported the return of the prisoners on April 28, with photos, and quoted Quneitra's governor, Humam Dibyat, as saying that the Syrian state puts the liberation of all captives in the Israeli occupation prisons as a priority, on top of them Sidqi al-Maqt and Amal Abu Saleh. The reference to Syrias most prominent prisoners in Israel hinted that Damascus may have expected they would have been the ones released. It might also signal the prospect of a subsequent exchange or some other quid pro quo to compensate, from Damascus perspective, from a disappointing trade.

Akar: United States has moved closer to our position on safe zone

US Syria envoy James Jeffrey was in Ankara this week to narrow differences with Turkey over a "safe zone" on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The official Turkish readout of Jeffreys meeting with Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on May 1 set a high bar for the talks: With the planned safe zone, Turkeys security concerns would be addressed and the area would be cleared of all terror groups.

For Turkey, all terror groups includes the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which make up the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US on-the-ground-partner in the coalition to defeat the Islamic State.

Amberin Zaman got the scoop on the gap between the Turkish and Kurdish sides heading into the talks: Turkey wants a lead role in a safe zone that would be 32 kilometers (20 miles) deep and stretch the length of Syrian Kurdish-controlled territory all the way to Iraq.

The trouble is that the YPG refuses to accept any Turkish presence in Kurdish-controlled territory stretching east of the Euphrates River to Iraq, Zaman writes. It has reportedly rejected one of the ideas being floated  that Turkish and US forces conduct joint patrols as they currently do in Manbij. The Arab-majority town that lies west of the river has been the source of unremitting tension between Turkey and the United States.

SDF commander Mazlum Kobanes demand that Turkey return Afrin to its people, is also a nonstarter, Zaman reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was guarded following Jeffreys meetings, saying, We have not agreed on everything, but we are making progress, while Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he was extremely happy to see that Jeffrey and his delegation have moved closer to our position.

By painting a rosy picture, Zaman writes, Turkey jams US officials into a corner from which they cant publicly contradict Ankara in hopes over time to pull them toward its own interpretation of events.

Kobane said on May 3 that the SDF was holding indirect talks with Ankara through "intermediaries," adds Zaman, in other words, through the United States. Kobane said his group stood ready to negotiate with Turkey and resolve outstanding problems in peaceful ways.

The recent US diplomatic flurry with Turkey reflects Washingtons priority in getting Ankara more closely aligned with American objectives in Syria, and preventing a Turkish attack on the YPG. This is no easy task, given the differences over the YPG and PYD, Turkeys purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defense systems, Americans held in Turkish jails and Ankaras indignation that the United States will not extradite Fetullah Gulen, who it blames for the attempted coup in 2016.

Meanwhile, Turkey is joined with Iran and Russia in the Astana group talks on Syria. Representatives of the three countries met April 25-26 for the 12th time since October 2016 in Nursultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, as reported here by Kirill Semenov. The Astana grouping is, in principle, based on the conditions for a Syrian transition in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Astana format has basically absorbed, and in many ways overtaken, the Geneva process. UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen participated in last weeks talks. The United States and Jordan are observers, rather than participants, in these sessions. Iraq and Lebanon, which favor some lines of engagement with Damascus, were added last week as Astana observers.

Both Russia and Iran have also developed a backchannel between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad. The Syrian Kurds are already talking with the Syrian government, and we can probably expect that channel to accelerate, as the United States seeks to accommodate Turkey while withdrawing its ground forces from Syria.

The first-order challenge for the Trump administration is whether it can tilt Turkey away from the Astana orbit  a tall order, given Putins assertive diplomacy in Syria, the strains in US-Turkey ties and a trend toward normalization with Damascus among some regional states. The UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and other Arab countries, to varying degrees, are also seeking to rebuild ties with Syria, in part to balance Iranian influence. And even Israel may be resigned to Assads staying power, as reported above.

Jeffreys meetings reflect an aggressive US approach to turning this around. Otherwise, there is probably only so long the United States may be able to keep up the present workaround of the Assad government. The trendlines "on the ground" lead to dealing with Damascus. Washington is nonetheless steadfast in its opposition to any normalization efforts. US oil sanctions are taking their toll, and if Iran policy is any guide, we can expect even more sanctions on Syria in the coming months.
A vacation home is a luxury. But for many, its also about family, and that was at the heart of every decision Joanna Goodman made while designing this luxurious Florida beach house. As vice president and director of interiors at Birminghams Christopher Architecture & Interiors, Goodman is accustomed to getting to the heart of each assignment.

This Gulf Coast home was a significant project: The four-story, 8,000-square-foot house includes four master suites, four kitchens, 10 bathrooms, and it sleeps 28 people. Early in the nearly three-year process, Goodman visited the owners multigenerational family at their Little Rock, Arkansas homes to learn how they liveand how they want to live on vacation.

Goodman describes the patriarchs home as dripping with tradition, including mahogany walls and a two-story library. But the beach house was meant to provide a different environment, a place where the couple, their daughters, grandchildren, and cousins could relax and enjoy easy living.

The familys requests were fairly straightforward: The home should be clean and fun, incorporating LED lighting and other technology while avoiding a typical beach house look.

Goodman used a neutral color palette in each room, creating a look designed to remain in style throughout the years.

I was trying to appease several different generations and tastes, and keep in mind the longevity of the interiors, making sure it was going to be timeless and comfortable, low-maintenance and livable, she says.

Accessories add color to the rooms, such as bedroom pillows and a bench cushion in living coral. Texture also adds visual interest. Goodman says layering over a neutral palette makes it easy to update a room when a homeowner grows tired of a look, or wants to change out details for a season. Artwork ties the rooms together, and the family has since added its own whimsical touches to reflect their personalities.

Goodman also considered details to ensure that the family finds easy living when they visit their beach home. She used performance fabrics throughout the house to keep the interiors low-maintenance and livable.

They dont have to worry about wet bathing suits or spilled wineor, in this case, splashes from the pool, Goodman says.

That pool is one of the most striking features in a home full of thoughtful details. The radius infinity pool surrounds the homes main living area. A motorized wall system allows the living areas windows that open out to the pooland to the sundeck a story above itto stack behind a curved wall. The result is seamless access to the homes outdoor living spacesand views of the beachas well as ample space for the family to socialize.

Their love of spending time with others was obvious when Goodman visited the familys Arkansas homes, and the beach house is full of spaces for them to gather.

Such a meaningful part of how I design is I really get to know the people. Its a strong bond, she says.

And it showed when the family arrived for their first visit to the completed home. Goodman and her team had stocked the pantry, lit candles, and had wine ready to serve.

They were crying and laughing. It was such a moving experience, she recalls. It was probably the highlight of my whole career. It was incredible to see that all your hard work and time paid off at the end.

Designing Across Borders

Christopher Architecture & Interiors is based in Birminghams Highland Park neighborhood, but its common for the firms clients to come to them from far beyond the metropolitan area. Pinterest has been an asset for the firm, which has seen a number of clients find it because of images that link back to the companys website.

Vice President and Director of Interiors Joanna Goodman says the social media site also is an asset in collaborating with clients. A current client is based in Hong Kong, for example, but the client and Goodman are easily able to share ideas via Pinterest.

The firm counts several West Coast residents among its clientele, including actors, musicians, and other high-profile individuals. But the principles of design are the same, regardless of location or the clients time in the spotlight.

You treat everybody the same and it doesnt matter who they are, Goodman says. You design for their life.

This story appears in Birmingham magazines May 2019 issue. Subscribe today!
Casey Cep has a message for folks in Alabama: Go into your garage, climb into the attic or head to the bookshelves in your home. Pull out that old set of reference books that nobodys touched for decades  or better yet, dust off the battered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird thats been passed down in the family.

If youre lucky, you just might find literary treasure inside, in the form of a letter signed by Monroeville native Nelle Harper Lee.

The author of Mockingbird was a prolific correspondent during her lifetime (April 28, 1926  February 19, 2016), writing letters and notes to family members, friends, acquaintances and people who briefly entered her personal sphere. In the early years of her acclaim, after her best-selling novel was published in 1960, Lee even responded to the voluminous amounts of fan mail that arrived at her doorstep.

Its not out of the question, then, that a small part of Lees correspondence  precious but long forgotten  might be tucked into a book that you own.

Harper Lee wrote graciously to total strangers, says Cep, a writer from Maryland whos become something of a specialist on Lee. She had decades-long relationships with some of her correspondents. ... Some of it is high-octane writing. There are great, incredibly vivid little scenes and set pieces.

Lee, a reluctant celebrity, was not inclined to discuss her writing with the public or reveal any projects she might have in the works, post-"Mockingbird."

Her letters can be telling, though, offering a window into what this famously private woman was thinking and feeling.

Case in point: In 2009, a woman named Sheralyn Belyeu found a note from Lee dated June 11, 1978, inside an Encyclopaedia Brittanica that was purchased by Belyeus husband at the Salvation Army in Alexander City. A card from Lee, thanking the hosts of a cocktail party shed attended, was discovered near the encyclopedia entry for Harpers Ferry.

You simply cant beat the people in Alex City, Lee wrote. If I fall flat on my face with this book, I wont be terribly disappointed."

The book in question? It certainly wasnt Go Set a Watchman, a precursor to Mockingbird that was set aside by Lee but found its way to print in 2015.

As it turns out, Lee was working on a true-crime project in the late 1970s, documenting a murder case in her home state. The case involved a rather notorious figure in the Alex City area, the Rev. Willie Maxwell, who was suspected of killing five people to cash in on insurance policies.

Maxwell was fatally shot in 1977 during the funeral of one of his alleged victims, and Maxwells former attorney, Tom Radney, was now defending the man who shot him.

Lees efforts to research and write about the Maxwell case are the subject of a new book by Cep, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95 hardcover, in stores Tuesday).

In Furious Hours, Cep offers readers a detailed look at the Maxwell case and three primary figures whose lives intersected because of it: the reverend, the lawyer and the celebrated author who wanted to write about them.

Correspondence by Lee  including that note hidden inside the encyclopedia  formed an important part of Ceps research for Furious Hours, along with legal documents, court transcripts, police reports, autopsy files, death certificates, press clippings and other documents.

Cep conducted interviews with a long list of people with were involved in the case in some way or had firsthand knowledge of her three main characters: Maxwell, Radney and Lee. She also relied on an archive that few have ever seen: a briefcase stuffed with original materials on the murder and the trial of Maxwells killer, including typed notes by Lee and hundreds of pages Radney had given Lee for her research in the 70s.

Lees estate found the briefcase after her death and returned it to the Radney family, who allowed Cep to review the contents for her book. (Tom Radney died in 2011 at age 79.)

Cep spent about three years working on Furious Hours, prompted by her longtime love of Mockingbird and some tips shed received while visiting Monroeville for a 2015 piece on Go Set a Watchman in The New Yorker.

Ceps reporting for The New Yorker revealed that Lee had been planning to write a true crime book, The Reverend, but no one seemed to know what happened to the project.

This one was darker, stranger, and made me reconsider what I thought I knew about one of my favorite writers, Cep says in a message to readers on her website. Having already helped her childhood friend Truman Capote report In Cold Blood, she had a template for what she wanted to doand being Harper Lee, she saw in this almost tabloid-tale a parable about race and criminal justice. I wish that shed been the one to tell you this story, but Im honored to pick up where she left off.

Furious Hours is divided into three sections devoted to Maxwell, Radney and Lee, telling the story in a chronological manner but providing information about the trio -- biographical, social, political, emotional -- that resonates throughout the book.

There are three core ways of making sense of the world: religion, law and literature, Cep says during a phone interview with AL.com. In some ways, the book tells the same story three different times.

Given the enduring fascination with Lee, some readers may be tempted to skip the first two sections on Maxwell and Radney, and go straight to the chapters on the Mockingbird author.

Cep says she certainly understands that impulse, but hopes people will tackle the text -- which spans 314 pages, including the notes and bibliography -- in a straightforward way.

Youll understand her more and will have more sympathy for the struggles she faced," Cep says. You need each section to build on the previous one. Like any writer, shes a creature of her time and place. Youll learn about her context as a Southern writer, and as an Alabamian."

The image of Lee that emerges isnt always a flattering one, but Cep, a meticulous researcher, wasnt interested in writing a hagiography. Furious Hours tells us, for example, that Lee had a drinking problem, and could be quite unpleasant when she indulged in an excess of scotch or vodka.

Lee could be grumpy, irascible and sharply critical, the book indicates; she didnt suffer fools gladly and resented the demands celebrity made on her time and privacy. On the flip side, Lee is described as warm, friendly and charming. She was fiercely loyal to her family members and intimates. Her intelligence was formidable. She valued the truth and had a sincere love of history, music and literature.

Lee also enjoyed a good mystery, a fact that might have drawn her to the Maxwell case.

Although she was said to be writing constantly -- people who lived in Lees apartment building in New York City often heard her typewriter clicking -- Lee admitted that the task made her unhappy. Her perfectionist tendencies were more curse than blessing, and resulted in something akin to writers block.

Despite several attempts and approaches, and in spite of much labor and strife, Lee never managed to complete her book on the Maxwell case. At least, all the available evidence points that way in Furious Hours."

Some might regard it as a failure on Lees part, but Ceps book seeks to illuminate, not to judge. That philosophy extends to her entire portrait of Lee, whom Cep regards as a complex and fascinating figure.

Its clear that she was juggling a lot," Cep says. Writing made her miserable, but she was not a miserable person. She was vivacious and witty and clever. ... I hope, by the end of the book, that you feel she was a happier person than others thought she was. She is not an entirely tragic figure. Like all of us, she was a complicated person."

Cep will make six stops in Alabama next week on her book tour for Furious Hours, and her wish list for those dates, May 5-11, includes conversations with people who can add to her extensive storehouse of Lee lore. Cep says shes looking forward to hearing stories, anecdotes and trivia about the author from the people in Lees home state.

You live in a story, when youre writing a book, and form your own ideas and opinions about it, Cep says. I think itll be exciting to go from that to being with people who have their own ideas about Harper Lee and this project. Thats exciting to me. I cant wait to talk to them."

Ask Cep what Lee might think about Furious Hours," and her response is a thoughtful one thats tinged with humor. Shes been digging into Lees life for years, after all, and casting a wide net with her research. No subject was taboo and no stone unturned, within the time constraints.

Surely that wouldnt sit well with the woman who once told a reporter from AL.com to Go away! in no uncertain terms.

I think obviously she would have been allergic to being a character in this book, Cep says. I would like to think that the scrupulousness of the reporting would impress her. I just think I would have a hard time getting her to open the book. I think shed read the first two sections and then slam the lid closed.

If you go: Casey Ceps book tour for Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee will make the following stops in Alabama. The agenda for each includes a talk by the author and a Q&A with the audience.
Celia Keenan-Bolger remembers To Kill a Mockingbird being one of the first chapter books her mother ever read to her as a child.

My parents used it as a teaching manual about race in America, she said.

Now she can be seen nightly playing the role of Jean Louise Finch, aka Scout, in the new Broadway adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, best known for writing works like The West Wing and A Few Good Men.

Keenan-Bolger, who is a nominee for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, may not seem like the obvious choice for Southerners protective of Harper Lees iconic novel. After all, she aint exactly from Maycomb County.

Like Jeff Daniels, who currently portrays Atticus Finch, Keenan-Bolger grew up in Michigan. Shes spent most of her adult life in New York -- though she points out her husbands family is from Atlanta and shes made many long drives through the South. Still, shes always felt a connection to Mockingbird.

Its so easy for us in our little bubble to look as other places as The Other and even as a kid, Maycomb was so different than inner city Detroit but I felt such a pull to the story, she said in an interview with AL.com

It felt different but it didnt feel Other. Its easy to feel so divided. But I didnt feel like a crazy Northerner from New York City. It made all 50 states not feel so spread apart.

AL.com columnist John Archibald gave the production his stamp of approval when he attended previews in December 2018.

This story, this work of genius that used fiction to reveal truth about justice in the American South, was somehow evolving before my eyes, he wrote in a column.

Not in a way that was untrue to the original. Not in a way that was obvious or upsetting. In a way that was timely. And necessary.

Keenan-Bolger said that she did visit Alabama for several days when researching the role of Jean Louise, spending two days in Lees hometown of Monroeville which was the basis for the books Maycomb. She also visited Selma and Montgomery. The trip was different than she anticipated.

I was going there in hopes of finding someone who would tell me everything about Harper Lee but that was not what happened. It was a spiritually nourishing trip, she said.

Because the movie is black and white, I just assumed it was a dusty old town and getting there, its certainly a small town, but it was so green and the sky was so blue. The air feels so differently from New York City, I found it really helpful in imagining what it would be like to grow up there. That trip ended up being enormously helpful.

She said witnessing her three year-old son explore Monroeville gave her insight into what it wouldve been like to be a child there.

This isnt the first time Keenan-Bolger has portrayed a child on stage. In 2011, she starred as Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher, a play based on the 2004 novel offering a unique interpretation of Peter Pan.

But taking on the role of Jean Louise offered a different challenge. In Aaron Sorkins To Kill a Mockingbird, the children are portrayed by adults. However, its also clear to the audience that the story is framed as Jean Louise and Jem looking back on their childhood as adults.

These are adults looking back on a summer in their life and trying to figure what doesnt make sense, Keenan-Bolger said.

That allows Sorkin and the actors to explore themes that would otherwise be too mature for a child to understand. The audience sees Scout looking at the trial and understanding that Oh, the reason this all happened is because [Mayella Ewell] was abused by her father, said Keenan-Bolger.

That doesnt make it right, but it does help you walk around in someone elses skin.

Thats a point that wasnt clear in the 1962 film but was clear in Lees novel. Keenan-Bolger said it was important that Sorkin restore that aspect of the narrative. Part of that decision was driven by the #metoo movement and other real world considerations.

The theme of false rape accusations was discussed among the cast during rehearsals in the Summer of 2017. Brett Kavanaugh was being considered for the U.S. Supreme Court and under scrutiny for allegations of sexual assault. Some pundits began comparing the situation to To Kill a Mockingbird.

We all collectively felt was that we didnt want another story about a woman testifying against someone in this climate. So obviously we have to stay true to the story but is there a way to point the audience in a direction to help us understand why she does this?

Politicians have used the play to its advantage, but the play is trying to reclaim that.

Tickets to Mockingbird are currently on sale through November -- and theres an HBO documentary in the works, as well -- but Keenan-Bolger hopes the show will be extended long past that.

Ive never been a part of something that reached so many people.

One attendee stood out, however. Mary Badham who iconically portrayed the role of Scout in the film. Badham, who grew up in Birmingham, visited the Broadway production in a few months ago and Keenan-Bolger said it was one of the most moving experiences shes had with the production so far.

She could not have been more generous or more supportive of the play. She was eight years old when she played this part and she made it her life work to support anybody that wants to talk about this novel, Keenan-Bolger said.

It has a lot to do with the novel that Harper Lee wrote in the first place. She wrote the book in 1960 about the 1930s and here we are in 2019 and the story still endures.
Make a list; check it twice.

Thats our advice for anyone who plans to cover the entire Spring Parade of Homes in Birmingham.

A total of 73 homes are on the tour this year, and it takes careful planning -- not to mention a dose of stamina -- to travel to every one of them.

Luckily, organizers at the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders provide a comprehensive map on the Parade of Homes website, along with information, addresses and photos of the featured homes.

Twice per year, the home builders association opens the doors of models, spec houses, remodeled and pre-sold homes, aiming to give potential buyers and real-estate buffs a look at the latest trends, designs, colors and accessories.

The 2019 Spring Parade launched on April 26 and will conclude on May 5. Hours for the tour are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today, and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free on the self-guided tour, which covers territory ranging from Morris to Montevallo, Pell City to McCalla.

More than 40 homes on the tour received awards linked to various communities and price categories. A house by Drummond Built Homes, at The Overlook in Liberty Park, earned the accolade for best in show.

One house, at The Cove at Overton, is featured as the 2019 Ideal Home. It takes the No. 1 spot on the tour and is a good place to start for visitors. (Five homes on the tour are featured in the photo gallery at the top of this post, including the Ideal Home and best in show.)

For more information, see the FAQs on the Parade of Homes website or call the home builders association at 205-912-7000.
Federal agents this week arrested seven Birmingham residents who allegedly conspired to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana in Alabama, prosecutors said Friday.

The seven defendants were indicted in April stemming from a long-term investigation of an operation to bring large quantities of marijuana from California to Birmingham through commercial flights.

Three of the defendants were also charged with federal gun-related offenses, including alleged ringleader Stephen Lamar Gadson, 38. Gadson was charged with discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Two others, 32-year-old Lynn Darnell Gadsdon, Jr. and 31-year-old Ryan Jamal Washington, were charged with felon in possession of a firearm.

The other defendants were: Keoni Keith Gaddy, 30; Erica Jacinda Gadson, 30; Cormisha Ketua Quinn, 24; and Janacia Latrice Thomas, 28.

Guns and drugs are a volatile mix, as well as a problem for the Northern District of Alabama, which we will continue to do everything within our power to stop, said Jay Town, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Gadson, Gadson, Jr., Erica Gadson, Washington and Quinn were also charged with money laundering, which carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department and three police departments.

These indictments represent the long-term enforcement efforts by ATF and area law enforcement, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. As a result, the violent criminal acts that plaque our neighborhoods have been reduced.

ATF agents and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies found a gun in Gadsons car while arresting him on an outstanding state trafficking marijuana warrant from 2016, prosecutors said. The state warrant stemmed from an incident where Gadson allegedly shot a Jefferson County sheriffs deputy during a narcotics search warrant in June 2016. Three charges against Gadson from the April 2019 indictment deal with his conduct from the 2016 arrest, including the discharging a firearm during a trafficking crime charge. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The establishment of an Alabama abortion ban intended to trigger a federal court challenge to abortion rights is drawing closer to completion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing and vote on the bill Wednesday, committee Chairman Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said its likely the Senate will consider the bill on Thursday if it is approved by the committee.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 74-3 on Tuesday, with the Republican majority prevailing over Democratic opposition. Most of the 28 House Democrats did not vote.

Republicans control the Senate, too, holding 27 of 35 seats. They could give the bill final passage and send it to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law.

Lori Jhons, deputy press secretary for Ivey, said the governor is withholding comment as the bill works its way through the process.

The bill would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion. A woman receiving an abortion would not be liable.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the sponsor, said the purpose is to spark litigation that could lead to a challenge of the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.

The bill would allow abortions to protect the woman from serious health risks. But there is no exception for pregnancies caused by incest or rape.

Collins opposed the Democrats amendment to add that exception in the House, saying the intent is to confront the Roe v. Wade decision by asserting that the unborn child is a person. The House rejected the rape and incest exception by a vote of 72-26.

Marsh said he expects the rape and incest exception to be debated in the Senate. Marsh said he supports allowing that exception, as well as the exception for the health of the woman.

Someone is going to have to make a pretty good reason why you would change that for me, Marsh said

Democrats proposed an amendment that would have required lawmakers who vote for the bill to bear the legal cost of defending it in court. That amendment was voted down 61-27.

Rep. Louise Alexander, D-Birmingham, said it was wrong to try to take away womens right to choose abortion. She criticized the lack of an exception for rape and incest.

Until all of you in this room walk in a womans shoes, yall dont know, Alexander told the House.

Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston, said he feared a return to the days of back room surgeries and unsterile conditions.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, has a Senate bill identical to Collins bill.

Albritton, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he does not know how the votes will line up on the committee. Albritton said committee approval will likely be the biggest hurdle for the bill because he said the committee is generally not as conservative as the Senate overall.

Albritton said his purpose in supporting the bill is not to trigger a court challenge, although he expects that would happen if it passes.

Whether it results in a court challenge and such, Im not going to worry about that, Albritton said. Im not going to focus on that. My purpose is trying to get this bill approved and pushed into law so we can protect human life in Alabama.

Ward said the public hearing on the bill would be Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., followed by the vote.
Rachel Held Evans, a young writer whose books about her journey from a conservative Christian upbringing to a new faith brought her tens of thousands of readers, has died at age 37, according to multiple press reports including Religion News Service.

Evans never recovered from a severe infection caused by a reaction to antibiotics, reports said. She had been in a medically induced coma and never regained consciousness.

Writer and friend Sarah Bessey said Evans died surrounded by friends and family who sang and prayed at her bedside.

It is with a broken heart that I share that @rachelheldevans passed away early this morning. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends - we sang, prayed, held her always. Woman of valour, eshet chayil. Official update: https://t.co/WYznnc5tYh  Sarah Bessey (@sarahbessey) May 4, 2019

Evans grew up in Birmingham before moving to Dayton, Tenn., when she was 14 years old. Her father was an administrator at Bryan College, where Evans graduated with a degree in English literature. She married her college sweetheart and worked briefly as an intern at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

News of her death brought an outpouring of grief from new and longtime fans and leaders of established denominations and organizations. Bible teacher Beth Moore was one of those who posted her grief on Twitter.

Sobbing over @rachelheldevans death. My heart is broken for Dan and the children and for all of you who loved her so so much. I will spend the time Ive been daily praying for her praying for all of you.  Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) May 4, 2019

The president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, said he was grieving and asked for prayers and financial support for her family.

. @rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills:https://t.co/LZnq7Z3j0p  Russell Moore (@drmoore) May 4, 2019

Other fans expressed their own grief on social media as news spread about Evans death.

This is such a loss for all of us. I learned so much and was inspired by the writings and life of Rachel Held Evans. :( "Christian writer Rachel Held Evans is dead at 37" https://t.co/j4z1Mk3zVU  Lisa Burgess (@LisaNotes) May 4, 2019

Evans books included including New York Times best-seller A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Searching for Sunday and, most recently, Inspired. She was popular for her Internet blog posts and her support of women in ministry.

Her husband posted on Evans website today that physicians had weaned Evans from her coma medication but she never returned to a wakened state. On Thursday, her condition changed dramatically and her medical team found swelling in Evans brain. They took emergency steps, Evans wrote, but the swelling was not survivable. She died early Saturday morning.

This entire experience is surreal, Evans wrote. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.
Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African American student to attend The University of Alabama, on Friday received an honorary doctoral degree from UA at a commencement ceremony.

The architect of desegregating Alabamas education system, Autherine Lucy Fosters bravery + tenacious spirit paved the way in the face of adversity. #TodayAtUA  a legendary moment as we presented our 1st civil rights trailblazer with an honorary doctoral degree  Her story  http://bit.ly/2IYbnYo  #BamaGrad #WhereLegendsAreMade Posted by The University of Alabama on Friday, May 3, 2019

I love The University of Alabama, and it is an honor to be recognized in this way, said Foster upon learning of the honorary doctoral degree. I am thankful for opportunities such as this, which allow us to talk about the past while looking to the future, said Foster, who believes that while talking about the past may be painful, it is necessary so that none of us forget.

Foster applied to attend the university for graduate school in 1952, but was denied attendance because she was black. A federal court reversed the decision in 1956 and Foster attended class for just three days before she was removed from campus because of threats against her life.

Fosters dismissal was reversed in 1988 and she re-enrolled with her daughter Grazia. The two graduated together in 1991.

Its truly a privilege to award Mrs. Foster with an honorary degree from The University of Alabama, Stuart Bell, UAs president, said. Her tenacious spirit, gracious heart for helping others and unfailing belief in the value of education and human rights positions Mrs. Foster as a meaningful example of what one can achieve in the face of adversity.

Since graduating in 1991, UA has honored Foster for her desegregation efforts by issuing two endowed scholarships in her name every year and erecting two markers on campus.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A charter plane traveling from Cuba to north Florida ended up in a river at the end of a runway Friday night, officials said.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, crashed into the St. Johns River, according to s Naval Air Station Jacksonville news release.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist. The plane was in shallow water and not submerged. Officials say everyone on the plane was alive and accounted for, although 21 adults were transported to the hospital, none with critical injuries.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted on Twitter that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water.

4. All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all. @JFRDJAX @jaff122  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

Officials didnt immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.
By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.



As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

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.
An Alabama lawmaker this week defended his kill them now or kill them later criticism of strict abortion legislation pending in the Legislature, and more details emerged about horrific conditions in state prisons reported by the U.S. Justice Department.

Measles remained a hot topic of conversation as officials continued to clarify which adults may need measles vaccine and which ones probably dont.

Readers in Alabama and across the nation also were shocked by the death of a Delta Force commander in a lawn mower accident at his home.

Mother of measles victim attacked online

The mother of the 5-month girl confirmed as Alabamas first case of the measles was attacked online for her comments related to vaccinations. Audrey Peine of Pell City wrote in a now-private Facebook post that she did everything to protect her daughter Emma before her diagnosis. She blamed negligent parents who didnt vaccinate their own kids.

Lawmaker defends abortion comments

An Alabama lawmaker is defending comments that on Wednesday quickly shook the hornets nest of the abortion ban debate. So you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later, State Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said in a video posted on Twitter.

On Thursday, Rogers defended the statement, arguing Alabama does not value life despite the House having just passed what some say is one of the strictest abortion laws in America.

Inmates mom: I dont want my son dead

Linda Donahoo says she occasionally gets phone calls from inmates at Easterling Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Thats where her son Shannon is imprisoned.

The phone calls are simple: Send money, or your son could die.

She says she sent $300 last time. Shes sent larger sums over the years - $400, $500. The money is sent through Green Dot, Pay Pal, Western Union or Walmart cards.

Here are Alabamas top 56 high schools in 2019

U.S. News and World Report came out with its list of the best high schools in America this week and Alabama had one high school----Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery ranked 13th in the nation--- near the top of the national list.

The next-closest Alabama school in the national ranking is Mountain Brook High School, located in the states wealthiest suburb and ranked 213th out of more than 17,000 schools nationwide.

This is the first time the list includes nearly every high school, up from last years ranking of 2,700 schools. The new methodology relies heavily on student access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and tests, state standardized test results, and graduation rates.

Former Delta Force commander dies in accident

A retired Army Major General and one-time commander of the elite Delta Force died in a lawnmower accident at his Alabama home, according to reports. Retired Major Gen. Eldon Bargewell, 72, died Monday after his lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his house in Eufaula,

According to his military biography, Bargewell enlisted in the Army in 1967 and served in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. According to the award citation, Bargewell placed a deadly volume of machine gun fire on the enemy during an attack, despite being wounded himself. He later refused medical treatment in order to defend the area and allow the safe extraction of his team.
The introduction of tolls for the new Interstate 10 bridge and the Wallace Tunnel has sparked concern among state transportation officials about toll-averse drivers changing their commutes and traveling on free roads.

In Mobile, expectations are for a traffic surge onto the Spanish Fort Causeway and Interstate 165 toward the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.

And that is the same bridge that leads into the heart of Africatown, a mostly black, low-income community that has long found itself forced to co-exist with the pollution and industrial stench of paper mills, oil storage farms and chemical plants, and the all-hours noise from big trucks moving back and forth.

We are sick and tired of being dumped on, said Ruth Ballard, a resident of the Africatown-Plateau community three miles north of downtown Mobile for most of her 83 years.

We have nothing

The Alabama Department of Transportation is aware of the concerns, and has met with residents in the community. The state is looking for ways to mitigate the potential new river of traffic through the community.

An ongoing analysis by ALDOT, as part of an environmental impact statement process for the massive $2.1 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, will be discussed during two separate public hearings this week: 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Spanish Fort Community Center and 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the Mobile Civic Center.

The meetings will focus on topics addressed in the supplemental draft analysis, released in March. The 200-plus-page document contained a chapter dedicated to environmental justice and focused on the bridges effects in Africatown-Plateau. The historic communitys roots reach back to the 1860s, when the survivors of the last known slave ship into the U.S., the Clotilda, settled within the area after the Civil War.

Many descendants of these original families still live in Africatown today.

In the past half-century, residents have struggled amid what they claim is an inundation of heavy industry. Some protest that dumping and discharges have spiked the cancer rate; there is persistent suspicion of International Paper, which closed more than two decades ago: An ongoing lawsuit maintains that the company is responsible for dangerous toxins in the communitys midst.

At one time we had a viable community, said Ballard. We had grocery stores and everything. We didnt have to leave the area. Now we have to leave the area for everything. Doctor trips, the cleaners. We have to leave to go to a service station. We have nothing out here.

Community benefits agreement

A map of the Africatown-Plateau community's boundaries north of Mobile, Ala., in relation with the preferred route for the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge. (map courtesy of the Alabama Department of Transportation).

ALDOT has met with the community on multiple occasions within the past year, highlighted by a March 19 meeting at Union Missionary Baptist Church.

About 50 people attended, and ideas were floated to include traffic signal adjustments, new traffic lights, and crosswalks.

But the idea that packs the most intrigue is a request for ALDOT and its future toll operator to consider the creation of a community benefits agreement.

Under the agreement, a portion of the revenue generated from the new toll roads would be reinvested in the areas where toll diversion could result in more congestion  Africatown, Spanish Fort, downtown Mobile, to name a few.

The suggestion was included in a letter sent Thursday to ALDOTs I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening spokeswoman Allison Gregg.

ALDOT, as a way to pay for the new six-lane, 215-foot-high bridge across the Mobile River and eight-lane Bayway, is pitching tolls that would cost $3 to $6 for a one-way trip. The plan calls for segmented tolling, in which the total fee is based on how far someone travels along the 10-mile length of the Bayway project stretching from Virginia Street in Mobile to U.S. 98 in Daphne.

ALDOT is also exploring a 15% discount for local drivers who would use the Bayway and Bridge when taking 20 or more trips.

The tolls, which would be assessed on the new bridge and the Wallace Tunnel, has generated concern among ALDOT officials and the public about pushing more traffic to the non-tolled roads. Interstate 165 and New Bay Bridge Road  the main routes leading motorists to the non-tolled Cochrane-Africatown Bridge -- are likely to bear the most traffic.

Ramsey Sprague, president of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, said the Africatown community views the toll revenues as something that should be reinvested into communities dealing with the new traffic.

The letter to Gregg, signed by Sprague and other Africatown leaders, does not say what this reinvestment should entail.

Separate from the community benefits agreement, Sprague and his group are requesting infrastructure improvements that include putting timers on the traffic lights at Magazine Street at the foot of the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge. They also want more crosswalks to the historic Old Plateau Graveyard, the resting place of many of the enslaved Africans borne here by the Clotilda.

Africatown has a number of needs that are severe and when the community approaches the city to discuss these things, they say there is only so much money to go around, Sprague said. The community needs to attract grocery stores, small businesses and to do that, you need existing store fronts. You need something to attract business.

Cleon Jones, president of the Africatown Community Development Corporation (ACDC) who is a famous father-figure in the neighborhood best known as a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York Miracle Mets, said he thinks the community benefits agreement is a great idea.

Jones and the ACDC have voiced support for progress projects in Africatown.

You cannot take from communities all the time, Jones said. Something has to be given back to the community. The concession from tolls  some of that, if its given back to the community to help facilitate the needs in the community and help with its growth, I think its a great idea.

ALDOT reactions

Gregg said that ALDOT is well-aware of the community benefits agreement suggestion, but isnt committing to it.

She said that toll revenues, as currently planned, will be reinvested in paying for the massive project that  without a toll system  would likely never get off the drawing board.

As for the concept of funding for Africatown, Gregg said, We just dont have a plan for that right now. It would need to be further explored.

She added, We have mitigation efforts that are a part of the project.

Indeed, ALDOT is considering several elements to help resolve the projected traffic surge, such as new signals at a four-way stop outside Union Baptist Church.

Projections show that with or without the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, congestion is expected to rise along Bay Bridge Road within Africatown.

Jones pointed out that the new traffic wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing: As more drivers see Africatown, interest and tourism will rise, especially with the prospects of a new $3.5 million welcome center forthcoming.

Another tourism possibility exists if ALDOT decides to construct a bicycle-pedestrian pathway in Africatown leading onto the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. The current plan from the state provides for a bike-pedestrian path for the area.

The community was very supportive of that idea, said Gregg.

Jones predicts the commercial trucking industry preferring to pay for the toll costs, and not diverting off I-10 for an out-of-the-way non-tolled route to I-165.

It depends on how you look at it, said Jones. If I had a choice, I would take the non-tolled road to go home if I lived (in the Eastern Shore). But if I was a truck driver, the toll would not be a problem for me and I would take the bridge.

Tolls for semi-tractor trailers weighing more than 80,000 pounds or requiring a special permit to drive, are estimated to cost $36.

Gregg said ALDOT was unsure as to how the trucking industry will react to the proposed toll fee.

We are working with the trucking industry, she said. Its a question of time versus money and whats more important to you  getting through and paying the toll or taking the time to divert through the toll-free route. That is up to the individual drivers to make that kind of judgement call for themselves.

Gregg said that ALDOT does anticipate fewer hazardous material vehicles traveling through Africatown. Currently, trucks carrying hazardous materials are prohibited from traveling through either the Wallace or Bankhead tunnels.

We anticipate seeing less of those vehicles cutting through that community, she said.
As white supremacy reigns supreme in the US, a new book seeks to bring back to the fore one of its ideological branches.

In March this year, a new volume called, The Four Horsemen, hit the book market in the United States. The book boasts an introduction by British comedian Stephen Fry, three essays and the transcript of the 2007 recorded discussion among four proponents of the so-called new atheism  Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens.

Prior to this encounter, all four had authored books arguing that religion and holy war pose the greatest threat to human civilisation and therefore, religiosity should not be tolerated in Western societies.

Their works  Dawkinss, The God Delusion, Harriss, The End of Faith, Dennetts, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and Hitchenss, God Is Not Great  were all essentially written as a blind reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and all zoomed in on Islam and the Muslim world, demonstrating a remarkable ignorance of both.

Needless to say, none of the four was able to offer any serious historical understanding of this terror act, why it happened, what it meant, or how to prevent similar acts of wanton violence in the future. Nor did they make any intellectually challenging or noteworthy contribution to the millennia-old debate on belief and disbelief in God.

That publishers have chosen to resurrect, today, this 12-year-old Islamophobic backslapping session advertised as a landmark discussion about modern atheism is indeed quite telling. With white supremacy currently flourishing in the US and elsewhere, a book on new atheism  a pseudo-intellectual movement that has heavily contributed to its rise  would surely sell.

Spectacular ignorance

Before proceeding any further, let us be clear: Atheism as such is a perfectly healthy proposition and the world, including the Muslim part of it, has never been devoid of atheists  all the power to them.

Across religions and cultures, there are decent and reasonable atheists, as there are equally decent and reasonable believers, who can and should openly engage in debate about religion and the belief in God without succumbing to hatred and convictions in ones supremacy. Such open and honest conversations are indeed healthy for any community or nation and should be encouraged.

But what the so-called four horsemen have engaged in during their 2007 discussion and in their public appearances and writings, is not an open and honest debate. Instead, the entirety of their work is just a vicious attack on a 1.5-billion-strong, immensely diverse and dynamic community.

So who are these four new atheist crusaders (yes, they may deny it, but they are indeed very much the product of the white Western Christian crusader tradition)? They are all white older men, who have never embarked on studying Islam, do not speak Arabic  the language of the Quran  and certainly have no special insight into any Muslim community on earth. They are, literally, illiterate.

Let us take Sam Harris, for example. In his book, End of Faith, he dedicates a whole chapter to the The Problem with Islam. There, he explains that: While Christianity has few living inquisitors today, Islam has many  In our opposition to the world view of Islam, we confront a civilization with an arrested history. It is as though a portal in time has opened, and fourteenth-century hordes are pouring into our world. Unfortunately, they are now armed with twenty-first-century weapons. One is left breathless considering whether to address the unabashed racism, the astonishing ignorance, or the barefaced vulgarity of such utterances.

The other rabid Islamophobe, Dawkins uses the infamous Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, which sparked mass protests in a few Muslim countries, to portray in his book, The God Delusion, all Muslims as a gang of delusional psychopaths. In his opinion: Danes just live in a country with a free press, something that people in many Islamic countries might have a hard time understanding. With this one sentence, Dawkins tries (but fails) to erase the long and sustained history of Muslims struggle for freedom of expression and truthful journalism.

In Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett, too, engages in some sweeping and vastly inaccurate conclusions. For example, he makes the following mind-boggling observation: It is worth recalling that the Arabic word Islam means submission. The idea that Muslims should put the proliferation of Islam ahead of their own interests is built right into the etymology of its name. Yet, Islam means submission to the will of God, which is a central theological pillar in many religions and which has nothing to do with proliferation of Islam.

Last but not least, Hitchens is equally creative with his spurious conclusions about Islam in God Is Not Great. Just one example would suffice: Real horror of the porcine is manifest all over the Islamic world. One good instance would be the continued prohibition of George Orwells Animal Farm, one of the most charming and useful fables of modern times, of the reading of which Muslim schoolchildren are deprived.

I am a Muslim. I was born and raised in a Muslim country. I read Orwells Animal Farm in Persian in Iran when I was a teenager. The book was translated into Persian soon after its publication in English, and ever since has had numerous Persian translations and I, myself, have repeatedly included it in my courses.

New atheism and Western imperialism

In other words, it is quite clear from the writings of the four horsemen that new atheism has little to do with atheism or any serious intellectual examination of the belief in God and everything to do with hatred and power.

Indeed, new atheism is the ideological foregrounding of liberal imperialism whose fanatical secularism extends the racist logic of white supremacy. It purports to be areligious, but it is not. It is, in fact, the twin brother of the rabid Christian conservatism which currently feeds the Trump administrations destructive policies at home and abroad  minus all the biblical references.

While the right-wing conservatives favour the Judeo-Christian canard (the idea that the Judeo-Christian civilisation is superior to all others), the liberals opt for new atheism (or the idea that secular Western societies are superior to all others). Both, however, are in perfect agreement about their perceived white supremacy, which supposedly gives them the right to wreak havoc across the world as they please. That is  they are the two faces of that same cheap imperialist coin.

And just as religious white supremacy encourages individual and state-sponsored violence against those perceived as inferior, so does its new atheist version. Historically, the liberal atheists have always eagerly joined their Christian conservative brethren in the battle call in advance of any US aggression anywhere in the world.

However, this is, not to say that such deadly fanaticism occurs only in the US (and by extension Europe). Militant Islamism and extremist Zionism have the same exact roots. If Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden are the symbols of Muslim fanaticism, Meir Kahane, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked, and Naftali Bennett are the prime examples of the Zionist equivalent, while the four horsemen, along with Steve Bannon, Mike Pompeo et al are the flag bearers of secular-Christian imperialism in full power.

In the raging battle between these hateful, toxic ideologies, they thrive and feed off of each other. Caught in the crossfire of this clash of ignorance and barbarity, are billions of human beings  Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists  who pay the price with their lives.

Thus, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in the US, Brenton Tarrant who massacred 51 Muslims during Friday prayers in New Zealand, members of National Thowheed Jamath, who murdered 257 people during the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka and the Israeli soldiers who over the past year have slain more than 260 unarmed Palestinian during right of return protests at the Israel-Gaza fence are all kindred souls.

In todays world, mass murder and religious and secular fanaticism go hand-in-hand.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Said Bouteflika was seen as Algerias de facto ruler after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013.

Algerian police have arrested former President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas youngest brother alongside two former intelligence chiefs, according to local media.

Said Bouteflika, General Bachir Athmane Tartag and General Mohamed Mediene were taken into custody for questioning on Saturday, the private Ennahar TV reported.

The younger Bouteflika, who served as adviser to the president for more than a decade, is seen by many as having taken de facto control of the North African state, after his brother suffered a crippling stroke in 2013.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked to the former administration.





Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, a former associate of President Bouteflika, came to the fore in late March after he broke ranks with the ailing leader, and called on him to step down. The president resigned five days later.

The 79-year-old Gaid Salah has since sought to win the confidence of demonstrators by vowing to prosecute members of the old guard suspected of corruption.

But the arrest of more than half a dozen prominent businessmen seen as close to the presidential clan has largely failed to appease protesters, who continue to take to the streets demanding a complete overhaul of the political system.

On Friday, during the eleventh straight week of demonstrations, some protesters called on Gaid Salah to resign. They held up banners accusing him of failing to take on senior figures in the Bouteflika government, including the presidents brother.

Others held placards reading No to military rule.

North Africa analyst Rochdi Alloui said that, in prosecuting members of the ruling elite, Gaid Salah was hoping to set himself further apart from Bouteflikas immediate entourage and signal both his readiness and credibility to negotiate a transition with the opposition.

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An important question that we should ask is what these arrests mean to the popular movement, Alloui said.

Honestly, it offers an opening for negotiations between Gaid Salah and some of the leaders in the movement.

Gaid Salah had previously criticised the younger Bouteflika, without ever citing him, instead describing the 61-year-old as the head of the gang that was running the country.
Brazilian president drops plan to attend New York gala in his honour, citing resistance and deliberate attacks.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has cancelled a trip to the United States after major protests in New York City prompted several companies to withdraw sponsorship for a gala event in his honour.

Bolsonaro, who was named 2019 Person of the Year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, was due to receive the award at a May 14 event in New York.

But on Friday, Bolsonaros spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros said the president would not attend the gala, citing resistance and deliberate attacks by the New York mayor and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organise, sponsor and host the event annually.

Bill de Blasio, New Yorks mayor, welcomed the announcement, saying Bolsonaro just learned the hard way that New Yorkers dont turn a blind eye to oppression.

We called his bigotry out. He ran away. Not surprised  bullies usually cant take a punch. Jair Bolsonaro, Good riddance. Your hatred isnt welcome here, de Blasio said in a Tweet.

.@jairbolsonaros assault on LGBTQ rights and destructive plans for our planet are reflected in too many leaders  including many here in our country. EVERYONE must stand up, speak out and fight back against this reckless hate. https://t.co/JX96ZokYfB  Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 4, 2019

Bolsonaro swept to power in a highly divisive October election on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption and tough on crime ticket.

He is revered by his supporters for his outspoken pro-gun, conservative family values and military stances but is despised by critics for his frequent homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks.

Bad for Brazil

The gala was originally scheduled to be held at New Yorks Museum of Natural History. But the venue ditched the event last month amid heavy criticism for potentially hosting Bolsonaro, who has pushed to deregulate existing environmental policy since taking office.

In particular, Bolsonaros plan to open up the Amazon for commercial activities such as mining, logging and farming has drawn fierce censure from scientists, climate activists and environmental NGOs.

At the time, de Blasio praised the museums move, denouncing the 64-year-old Brazilian leader as a dangerous man.

The event was then moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, prompting protesters to gather outside the venue seeking the galas complete cancellation.

Amid the demonstrations, major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week pulled their support for the event.

Analysts said the events in New York were bad for Bolsonaro and bad for Brazil.

This is a direct result of Bolsonaros rhetoric and it is something that he will have to deal with in the upcoming years; he might change his narrative and try to demonstrate more empathy to some topics, or he might present it as an attack on him and spin it around, Thiago de Aragao, director at the Brasilia-based political consultancy Arko Advice, told Al Jazeera.

Bolsonaro-Trump ties

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce confirmed the event will still take place as planned, however, with Bolsonaro now set to be acknowledged in absentia for his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro has actively courted a closer relationship with the US since assuming office and repeatedly expressed admiration for President Donald Trump.

The pair met for talks at the White House in March, after which the Brazilian leader said the two countries were tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news.

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Mauricio Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaros cancelled visit to New York was an embarrassment for his administration as it seeks to pivot to Washington.

Bolsonaro is facing an international backlash that is without precedent for any democratic Brazilian president, Santoro told Al Jazeera, adding more censure and protest would likely accompany the presidents overseas trips in the future.

In general, Brazil has had quite a lot of soft power abroad  and that has been important for Brazilian foreign policy, but its very different with Bolsonaro, he added.

If he goes on with the kind of policies he is pursuing concerning the environment, education, human rights, and sexual and ethnic minorities we are going to see many other cases of international reaction against him  its a difficult moment in Brazil right now.
Nearly 30 people killed in the two South Asian countries as the strongest storm in years hits the Indian subcontinent.

Cyclone Fani, the strongest storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in five years, has barrelled into Bangladesh after leaving a trail of deadly destruction across the eastern coast of India.

At least 16 people died in India, mostly in the worst-hit state of Odisha, Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler said on Saturday, citing local Indian media reports.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said at least 12 people died and scored of others wounded as Fani swung northeastwards into the country.

At least four of those deaths were reported from Kishorganj district in central Bangladesh. They died after they were struck by lightning. There have been heavy rains and storm here since Friday noon, the districts Deputy Commissioner Sarwar Murshed Chowdhury told Al Jazeera.

Kabir Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Barguna district, said an elderly woman and her grandson died around 3 am on Saturday morning after a tree fell on their tin-shed home.

Millions moved to safety

Over a million people were moved to safety, Bangladeshi officials said, a massive evacuation exercise also followed in Indias Odisha state, where a similar cyclone 20 years ago had killed 10,000 people.

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After it made landfall early on Friday, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a Deep Depression by the Indian Meteorological Department as the storm moved inland over Bangladesh.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladeshs low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.

We are mooring our boat because its the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again, Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP news agency while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

The fear of a major disaster is mostly over as it has weakened, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Al Jazeera.

Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeeras Heidler said the priority for Indian authorities is to reach the areas hit by the monster cyclone.

The biggest concern now is clearing the roads so that they can get to the communities that are cut off, he said, adding that the hardest-hit areas are without electricity.

Heidler said there are also fears over Fani (snakes hood in Bengali) triggering a heavy rainfall or storm surge along the eastern Indian coast.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengals chief minister and a key figure in Indias ongoing general election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Motorcycles lie on a street in Odishas Puri city after Cyclone Fani hit on Friday [AP Photo]

Odisha state worst hit

Worst hit was the Indian state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200km an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

With power lines down, authorities in Odishas Bhubaneswar city installed these lights on the roads [Subrat Kumar Pati/Al Jazeera]

As authorities assessed the damage, Indian media reported that at least 12 people died across Odisha, with most deaths caused by falling trees.

But a mass evacuation of 1.2 million people in the 24 hours before Fani made landfall averted a greater loss of life.

The seaside temple town of Puri, which lay directly in the path of Fani, suffered extensive damage.

Destruction is unimaginable  Puri is devastated, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters news agency, adding that over a 100 people were injured.

At least six people died in Bhubaneswar, Odishas capital, where fallen trees blocked roads and electricity supply was still to be fully restored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the midst of a general election, said in a tweet that he would visit Odisha on Monday.

Bhubaneswar airport suffered considerable damage, but would re-open on Saturday afternoon, Indias aviation ministry said.

Shelters were set up in schools and other safe buildings to accommodate the evacuees, who included scores of tourists.

Neighbouring West Bengal state escaped substantial damage, but authorities moved nearly 45,000 people to safer locations.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December.

Faisal Mahmud contributed to this report from Dhaka, Bangladesh
The escalation has raised fears that a truce that lasted almost eight months in Idlib will be declared over.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have intensified their air offensive on the countrys rebel-held northwest for a fifth consecutive day in a widening campaign, killing and wounding dozens and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

After an overnight lull, government and Russian warplanes escalated bombings on Saturday hitting rebel areas in Idlib and the neighbouring province of Hama, aid workers in the area said.

The Syrian military sent new reinforcements towards Idlib, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and hundreds of troops on Saturday.

The official SANA news agency said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the UN humanitarian coordinator said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

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Now, the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama, Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the US-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), told Reuters News Agency.

The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse, al-Dbis added.

The recent upsurge in violence is the most serious in Idlib since Russia and Turkey negotiated a ceasefire in September.

The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days.

Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Medical facilities bombed

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the civil defence director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: Civil defence centres have been targeted directly.

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaeda-linked fighters attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week, according to the AP news agency.

Idlib is the last major area of Syria still in rebel hands after a string of government offensives backed by Russian air power since 2015 turned the tables in a protracted civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad has regained control over most of the country, with the northeast held by Kurdish groups backed by the United States.

Idlib is held by an array of rebel groups, including the powerful Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of armed groups including those formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

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Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the air attacks with little success.
By 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 on May 4, Trend reports.

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 US has imposed sanctions on Iran, which relies on oil and gas for 80% of its exports. How will this impact the Iranian economy?

Irans economic situation is even more precarious now that US sanctions waivers on eight major buyers of its oil have expired.

Irans oil sales have already fallen by half since Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The end of the sanctions waivers will likely impact the whole region, especially other oil-producing countries.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid explains the economic impact of Washingtons actions.
A court in Iran has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis younger brother to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that supporters of the Iranian leader allege is politically motivated.

Hossein Fereydoun, who is also a close confidante of the president, has vowed to appeal the sentence, local media reported on Saturday.

This person [Hossein Fereydoun] was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations, Hamidreza Hosseini, a judiciary official, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges.

He had initially been held in 2017 on financial crime charges before being released on bail.

Fereydoun, responding to the courts decision on Saturday, said he rejected the ruling.

I strongly and categorically reject allegations against me in the court and some of the media, and Im protesting, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Fereydoun was a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Some supporters of Rouhani, who was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname, view the charges against his brother as a move by the judiciary to discredit the president.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in the cases it tries.
Police say leak from meeting on Chinas Huawei  which felled the defence secretary  is not a criminal offence.

British police have declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms company Huawei, saying the disclosure did not amount to a crime.

In a statement on Saturday, Neil Basu, Britains counterterrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the defence secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act.

No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said.

Opposition politicians had called for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over media reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

The councils discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

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Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office, the assistant commissioner said.

The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Royally screwed

Williamson has strenuously denied he was the source of the leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper and suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

On Saturday, he told the Daily Mail newspaper: I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

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The 42-year-old was once a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was Mays parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

He was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip  tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

May appointed International Development Minister Penny Mordaunt to replace Williamson.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huaweis involvement in developing Britains 5G network due to the firms obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, Mays effective deputy, said on Thursday there were no plans to pass information from an internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.
Weapons test seen by analysts as a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with the US.

North Korea has fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and United States authorities are analysing the details.

If its confirmed that North Korea fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since its November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from North Korea and a belligerent response from US President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas latest action sent a message after the failed summit between North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump in February when the two disagreed over weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, told Reuters news agency.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to cautiously respond to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Koreas foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japans Foreign Minister Taro Kono and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans defence ministry said in a statement.

Undesired consequences

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

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North Koreas vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the US would face undesired consequences if it fails to present a new position in denuclearisation talks by the end of the year.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, Kim said that peace and security on the Korean Peninsula depended on the US, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.
Fighters in Gaza fire more than 200 rockets into Israel, as Israeli air raids continue to hit besieged enclave.

A pregnant Palestinian woman and her one-year-old niece have been killed in a wave of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, shattering a month-long lull in violence in the besieged enclave.

The bombardment on Saturday came as Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine fired more than 200 rockets towards cities and villages in southern Israel.

At least three Palestinians, including the woman, an infant and a 22-year-old man were killed in the air raids, the health ministry in Gaza said, while 13 others were wounded.

Shrapnel from the Gaza rockets meanwhile wounded two Israelis; one of them was an 80-year-old woman.

The latest escalation comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday. Those killed included two Hamas fighters, who died in an Israeli air raid, and two Palestinian protesters, who were shot dead near Israels fence with Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded with rocket fire on Saturday, promising a broader and more painful response if Israel pursues its aggression.

Israeli military hit back with air raids and tank fire against more than 30 targets belonging to both groups.

Relatives of 22-year-old Emad Naseer mourn during a funeral in the Gaza Strip [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Dangerous situation

Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

Ibtessam Abu Arar, aunt of Siba, the 14-month old infant who died in the Israeli raid, said: The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby.





Siba was being held in the lap of her pregnant aunt Falestine Abu Arar, 37, who was also struck. She died from her wounds hours later, the health ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, it was mistakenly reported that Falestine was Sibas mother.

The Israeli military denied responsibility for the two deaths, blaming a misfiring of a Hamas rocket.

Across the fence, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead, and Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for Israeli military, said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks.

The European Union called for an immediate de-escalation late on Saturday, and threw its backing behind efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to calm the situation.

The rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. A de-escalation of this dangerous situation is urgently needed to ensure that civilians lives are protected, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU.

Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity, she added in her statement.

Egyptian mediation

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Some two million Palestinians live in the coastal enclave, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2007.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to the cash-strapped territory.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut crossings in and out of Gaza entirely on Saturday.

Smoke rises during Israeli air attacks in Gaza [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israel had also so far failed to facilitate the promised extra funding from Qatar and that other easings of the Israeli siege have not borne fruit either.

Mukhaimer Abu Sadda, a professor of political science at Al Azhar University in the Gaza Strip, said the onus was on Israel to implement the agreements brokered following the March fighting.

Its the Israeli government who has not implemented the latest understandings, Sadda told Al Jazeera.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

The latest outbreak of fighting, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, also comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv.

Al Jazeeras Fawcett said the bout of conflict had erupted at a politically sensitive time for the Israelis.

Perhaps the calculation is that Israel wont ramp up this military escalation to the extent of a full conflict because of the concerns about those events and this might be a time to try to get it to follow through on what it reportedly promised at the end of the last military escalation at the beginning of April, he said.
Gazas health ministry says 51 Palestinians were also injured in both incidents.

Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that two demonstrators, Raid Abu Tair, 19, and Ramzi Abdo, 31 were shot dead in the eastern Gaza Strip, near the Israeli fence.

Fridays protests broke out in the afternoon as part of weekly rallies and protests that have been going on since March 30 last year.

Qidra added that another two Palestinians, belonging to Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli air raid on the central Gaza Strip, east of al-Mughazi refugee camp.

They were identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Abu Malooh, 33 and Alaa Ali al-Bubali, 29.

Hamas confirmed the deaths of its members and pledged to respond to what it called an Israeli aggression.

A total of 51 people were also injured in both incidents, the ministry said.

According to the Israeli army, two of its soldiers were injured at the Israeli fence east of Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border.

An army spokesperson said about 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day.

As part of the Great March of Return, protesters in the Gaza Strip demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israels 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclaves economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

The Gaza health ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests last year, the Israeli army has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others, who were officially referred to hospitals.

Israel has waged three offensives on Gaza since December 2008.

The last war in 2014 severely damaged Gazas already weak infrastructure, prompting the United Nations to warn that the strip would be uninhabitable by 2020.
Israeli raid kills Palestinian in Gaza, amid latest flare-up a day after Israel kills four in two separate incidents.

A Palestinian has been killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip, according to Gazas health ministry, amid a fresh escalation between Israels military and Gaza fighters.

Imad Nseir, 22, was killed in Beit Hanoun after Israeli warplanes targeted multiple areas in the besieged enclave on Saturday morning after dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

The latest flare-up comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza came after an Israeli drone attack in the north of the strip early on Saturday, which injured three people.

We are looking at another military escalation, the first since last months in which we saw another exchange of air raids and rocket fire out of Gaza, which seemed to end with some hopes towards some kind of longer-term resolution, he said.

There was a good deal of reporting about talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt with further relaxing of the situation likely to happen from the Israeli side, he continued.

Hamas says so far all they have seen is the relaxation in maritime controls, allowing fishing out to 15 nautical miles from six, which has now been reduced again.

Rockets fired

The Iron Dome missile system intercepted dozens of projectiles, the Israeli army said, adding that about 90 rockets were fired from the strip. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side, the army also said.

According to Palestinian news agencies, Israeli warplanes targeted an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun, a northern town in the Strip, with multiple air raids following the rocket fire.

Israeli forces at the fence with Gaza also shelled several monitoring outposts east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Gaza health officials also said four Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli raids.

The Iron Dome system intercepted rockets above Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Israelis look on as the anti-missile system intercepts rockets over Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Sirens went off in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, and nearby Zikim beach, located two kilometres north of the Gaza Strip, was also closed off.

Municipality workers told beachgoers to leave following rocket fire in Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza.

The Palestinian Information Center quoted Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif Al-Qanou as saying: The resistance will remain present to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow it to shed the blood of our people.

The Islamic Jihad movement also released a similar statement, saying the resistance is doing its duty to protect and defend our people, adding that it will respond to the [Israeli] aggression to the fullest extent.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in the occupied West Bank has condemned the escalation on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to curb the aggression.

https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1124587570837499904?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents; two of them were shot dead during the weekly Great March of Return protests near the Israeli fence east of Gaza, while an air raid targeting a Hamas outpost killed two members of the movements armed wing.

Raed Abu Tair was killed during a protest at the fence on Friday [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The Israeli army said it had hit the Hamas base after two of its soldiers were injured by gunfire from Gaza at the Israeli fence.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israels April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

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Israels army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Following the air raid, the Israeli military said two rockets were launched from Gaza toward Israel, setting off sirens in parts of the south.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head, Yahya Sinwar, left the enclave for Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on the truce.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently engaged in negotiations to form a new government following last months election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers intentionally shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report outright but Hamas called for Israel to be held accountable.
The king has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has performed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida on Saturday after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

The king appeared dressed in white as he underwent a royal purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The countrys Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the kings body, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members.

Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects.

The kings coronation, after a period of mourning for the late king, comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military government chief and a democratic front trying to push the army out of politics.

King Vajiralongkorn has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thai kings coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, signifying that he is the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782.

The monarchy is the only institution in this country that has lasted for more than 700 years, Sulak Siwarak, a historian in Thailand told Al Jazeera.

I think the new king means well about his country. He wants to do something significant.





Royal patron of Buddhism

Saturdays rituals are about transforming him into a Devaraja, or a divine embodiment of the gods.

As the waters started pouring, ancient cannons from the 19th century, used specifically for the coronation, started firing 10 volleys each.

The king will then change into a full uniform and take a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hands in an anointment ritual.

Selected officials, including military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the National Legislative Assembly, and the chairman of the Supreme Court, will pour the waters from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

The waters used in both rituals were collected from 117 sources last month and blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country before they were combined and consecrated.

Before noon, the purified and anointed sovereign will sit under an elaborate nine-tiered umbrella, where he will receive the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week.

The king will also receive and wear five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

Once in full regalia, the king will give his first royal command, a short utterance that will highlight the essence of his reign.

The king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done.
Wine says his supporters relate to him because of his fight against injustice.

Ugandas opposition politician Bobi Wine has told Al Jazeera that he is willing to sit down with President Yoweri Museveni to discuss challenges facing the country.

The popular musician-turned-politician was released after three days in custody for taking part in what the authorities called unlawful protests against a social media tax.

Bobi Wine has support among young Ugandans, many of whom are poor, frustrated and have struggled to find jobs.

Catherine Soi reports from Kampala.
The protest call comes days after Guaidos failed bid to convince the armed forces to rise up against President Maduro.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido will make a fresh bid on Saturday to rally Venezuelas armed forces behind him calling on his supporters to march to military bases and barracks.

The protest call by the head of the National Assembly legislature  who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries  comes just days after he urged the military to rise up against the socialist president.

Peacefully, civically  we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas on Friday.

The call is to add and not to confront, to ask the military to be on the side of the constitution, he said on Twitter.

Calle permanente y sostenida!

Manana a las 10:00 am, todo el pais se moviliza en paz a las principales unidades militares. El llamado es a sumar y no enfrentar, a que se pongan del lado de la constitucion.

Anunciaremos los puntos en @Presidencia_VE. #VzlaEnPieDeLucha  Juan Guaido (@jguaido) May 3, 2019

A small group of military personnel responded to Guaidos call to join him on Tuesday, but the effort petered out, triggering two days of protests against the government in which four people were killed and several hundred injured.

Military supports Maduro

Also on Tuesday, Leopoldo Lopez, a politician and Guaidos mentor who was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017, appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish ambassadors residence.

Venezuelas military has since reiterated its support for the government, and President Maduro is standing his ground.

Do not come to buy us with a dishonest offer, as if we do not have dignity, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said.

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The countrys attorney general Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for civilian and military conspirators following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

However, analysts say the actions of the military reveal the uncertainty of the current situation.

What happened on April 30, displays the fragility of the system at this moment, Ramon Pinango, a Venezuelan sociologist told Al Jazeera.

How is it possible that Leopoldo Lopez was under house arrest, with officers in front of his house, and he was able to walk out, and be in the streets for a good part of the day? he added.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the Constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

The standoff has drawn in major world powers, with the US throwing its support behind Guaido and Russia and China backing Maduro.





The United States has imposed tough sanctions and President Donald Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro out.

But Trump adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone after a more-than-hour-long conversation with Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis, describing the Friday talks with his Russian counterpart as very positive.

He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump said of Putin.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, in Moscow on Sunday.

Interference in internal affairs

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisers, in particular, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The US is insisting Maduros days are numbered, but experts say its options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.
By Trend

Russia did not keep the word it gave to Turkey, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said, Trend reports referring to Turkish media on May 3.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow agreed that with the mediation of Russia, the YPG troops would leave the Syrian district of Tall Rifat. Much to our regret, for the time being, the YPG detachments remain in this district and periodically shell the territories that the Turkish Armed Forces liberated from the terrorists, said Akar.

He added that in general, the joint actions of Turkey and Russia in Syria are aimed at ensuring stability and peace in the region.

On April 30, the Turkish Armed Forces shelled the positions of the Syrian branch of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terrorist network - PYD/YPG in the north of Syria in Azaz and Tall Rifat towns.

The operation to eliminate terrorists began after an attack on a Turkish military convoy, as a result of which one Turkish soldier was killed and three were injured.

On August 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against the "Islamic State", and liberated, with the support of the Syrian opposition, Al-Bab town and the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria.



On January 20, 2018, Turkish Armed Forces together with the Free Syrian Army launched the Olive Branch Operation in Afrin, Syria.
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.
These days in Japan, the attention of most people has been riveted on the historic abdication of one emperor and the ascension to the throne of a new one, whose reign inaugurates the Reiwa era, by the imperial calendar. This occasion seems appropriate for expressing appreciation for the character of Japanese people and their achievements as a nation. I am an American citizen but have spent more than 30 years in this country and often reflect on how fortunate I am to be able to live here.

This appreciation has not at all been dampened by consideration of unpleasant facts about past national wrongdoing. Without a doubt, there have been dark periods in Japanese history, such as the period leading up to World War II. During that interlude, a "holy war" ideology (not the one we are very familiar with nowadays) violently supplanted democratic government and inflicted much harm. Few in Japan want a return to those days.

Multitudes all over the world are attracted by Japanese comic books, animation, and other pop culture icons. Others are fascinated by traditional elements like ninja warriors and haiku poetry. My perspective is different. In my view, the most attractive aspects of the Japanese are qualities like gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition.

To begin with, the Japanese are generally very grateful people. Thankfully, an entitlement mentality does not yet pervade Japanese society. If one is congratulated or thanked in Japan, the appropriate response is often to say "okagesama de," which means something like "it is only thanks to you/everyone." Boastfulness and self-glorifying behavior are usually frowned upon.

Foreigners, including Americans, also experience this kind of gratitude from people. In view of the devastation brought on Japan by the American military during World War II, it would not be surprising if there were widespread, deep-rooted resentment toward the U.S., but this is generally not the case. The opposite is true.

In Sapporo, the city where I live, there are monuments in various places to Americans and other Westerners who helped modernize and advance Japanese education, agriculture, and industry, such as statues of William S. Clark, who started Sapporo Agricultural College in the nineteenth century, the origin of present-day Hokkaido University. His parting words to his students  "Boys, be ambitious!"  are legendary throughout Japan. Likewise, a museum in Sapporo commemorates Edwin Dun, an American rancher who came to Hokkaido to develop livestock farming. Even in small towns here, one often finds replicas of the Statue of Liberty and American flags on display. In the town of Kutchan, I once encountered a laundry named "America."

Along with this, Christianity is generally appreciated, since its influence helped to remedy some of the feudalistic features of Japanese society, including the low status of women. Education for women in Japan was pioneered mostly by missionaries and Japanese Christians. My own university began as a girls' school, started by nineteenth-century American missionary Sarah Smith. Many Japanese would be surprised to find out that Western feminists often blame Christianity for oppressing women, since the opposite has been Japan's experience. However, the number of Christian believers in Japan is small.

Though they are often open to ethical reforms, Japanese people value tradition and are basically conservative in outlook. As Scruton observes in England: An Elegy, royal families provide a symbolic link to the past, and Japan's imperial family has also performed that role. There has been nothing akin to the Cultural Revolution in communist China, when many of the young, at the instigation of Mao Zedong, went on a rampage against the "Four Olds" (old ideas, customs, culture, and habits), abusing their elders and destroying many objects associated with China's past. The new imperial name, "Reiwa," comes from an ancient collection of Japanese poetry. In regard to the era name, the current prime minister expressed his hope that Japanese culture and tradition will be passed down to future generations.

Finally, there is the well known civility of Japanese people, still intact though somewhat eroded by social media and other influences. The Japanese tend to make a practice of showing consideration for the feelings, social standing, and reputations of others. Generally speaking, the worst offenders against good manners in Japan come from the minority of political ideologues, delinquents, and criminals. I need not fear that Japanese university students will try to mob me if I say something in class they disagree with. They even make a point of personally thanking me for my teaching efforts.

It is sad to note that gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition used to be more widespread in places like North America and Europe before left-leaning educators, entertainers, activists, politicians, and journalists got to work "fundamentally transforming" things. My hope and prayer is that most Japanese people will continue to capitalize on their strengths and resist the voices advocating unhealthy changes.

Bruce W. Davidson is a professor at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan and a contributor to The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia.
According to Julius Caesar, in first century B.C., Gaul was divided into three parts, though it was probably more accurate to say that all Gaul was at that time divided into five parts. Differences still exist about the origins of France, but generally speaking, the beginning of modern France is seen with the emergence of the Kingdom of France in 987 under Hugh Capet (987-996), who made Paris the power center of the country. He was the first of 14 Capetian kings of a people who regard the Gauls as their ancestors, and their legendary hero Vercingetorix who united the Gauls in revolt against Roman control.

The national myth often rests on shaky foundations. Is France the eldest daughter of the church? Certainly, Notre Dame, started in 1187 and completed a century later, though it has had frequent small changes, was quickly understood as the center of international gothic with its perfect form and style, and its famed gargoyles, flying buttresses, and stained-glass rose windows. It is one of the symbols not just of Paris but of the whole country. Notre Dame was nationalized in November 1789 and is the property of the French state, though its use for religious purposes has been returned to the Catholic Church. Notre Dame therefore is maintained at the expense of the State, mostly by the Ministry of Culture.

Notre Dame has played a conspicuous role in French life. Napoleon was crowned Emperor there in 1804, and a memorial service for Charles de Gaulle took place there on November 12. 1970. It is a great place of worship and seen as a symbol of peace, but it is also a major tourist attraction, the most visited French monument after the Louvre, with 13 million visitors a year. The whole country, indeed the whole world, was traumatized by the event, apparently a tragic accident, on April 15, 2019 when the roof caught fire and caused damage that may be irreparable, though President Emmanuel Macron has vowed it will be restored, irrespective of the cost and within five years.

The interesting thing is the deep concern that a church, though a Gothic jewel, should exist in a secularized country. According to Article 2 of the October 1958 Constitution, France is an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social republic, a modern version of the republican slogan adopted during the days of revolution in 1792. All the main symbols of French pride are political and or military: the main national holiday, July 14, commemorates the storming of the Bastille; the tricolor flag, the motto, Liberty Equality, Fraternity; the national anthem, the Marsellaise, written after the declaration of war against Austria, for the Rhine Army of revolutionary France; the personification of the country, bare-breasted Marianne, a national symbol displayed through the country who in recent years, has taken on, since Brigitte Bardot, the visage of well-known celebrities.

Despite the respect and love exhibited by countless people after the tragic fire at Notre Dame, France is not a Christian country, nor a united one. The struggle between church and state continued through the 19thcentury until the 1905 Law separated them, and church property was confiscated. This is a law of separation, not discrimination, neutral to all religion, and tolerant to all. Reflecting the cultural diversity of France, the law and current practice rests on the principle of laicite, which however differs in interpretation as on the issue of wearing religious symbols in state schools.

However, religion today, apart from the issue of immigration of Muslim Arabs, is not as important or divisive as social and economic ones. President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Notre Dame: It is our history, it is our literature, it is our imagery. Its the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars, to pandemics, to liberations. But he is faced with a number of issues that divide the country.

Macron is a pluralist rather than a populist. His misfortune is to be confronted by the gilets jaunes, the yellow vests, the grassroots movement that began on October 18, 2018, originally motivated by government plans to increase fuel prices. For 24 subsequent weeks thousands have demonstrated in streets in Paris and other cities, blocking roads and fuel depots, and damaging shops and other property, smashing windows, burning cars, using violence against the police. Even on the annual May Day celebrations, thousands of yellow vests took to the street to demonstrate. The protestors, slowly aligning themselves with Frances old leftist organizations, have adopted various formulas: they are underpaid, overtaxed, want a higher minimum wage, more direct democracy, lower taxes but restore the tax on wealth, increase the public sector.

The supposed objective of the yellow vests is to reduce elitism in France, though the paradox is that they are now already a symbol of France.

Macron has been unable to end the demonstrations and the violence. He suggested a great national debate, 10,000 local debates, though the danger of this is that the process might raise too many grievances, reminding the country of the unhappy past experience when a similar set of grievances led to the cahiers de doleances in 1789 which galvanized a spirit of insurrection and the French Revolution.

So far, the record of Macron is mixed, but so is that of divided France. The French work fewer hours than the OECD average, 14 hours less than the average U.S. figure. France has a higher than average share, 82%, of full-time employees. The working week is three hours shorter than in the U.S. or UK. Its high productivity rate is countered by high unemployment.

Macron remains a puzzling, polarizing figure. He has good, sensible ideas on economic and political reforms in France. He is an internationalist, an advocate of deeper EU integration and global governance, a severe critic of British Brexit policy. On a platform of freedom, protection, progress he has called for more border controls, higher taxes for global tech companies, an EU-wide minimum wage, and a European innovation council to fund business investment.

He is also an elitist, overconfident, the youngest French president ever, accused of hubris. He is essentially a part of the French meritocratic elite, a brilliant technocrat, investment banker, millionaire. He resurrected the Palace of Versailles, seat of monarchy, as the place for summits. For a number of reasons, he has also been accused of lack of concern for civil liberties. In October 2017, an anti-terrorism law increased the power given to police forces. In February 2018, an immigration law weakened the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Macron, the young man in a hurry, has slowed down. Now at 41 he is confronting at least four problems, social, territorial, economic, and democratic. He remains ambitious, as his proposal to criminalize some criticism of Israel as a form of hate speech, and his partnership with Egypt worth millions of euros, show. He is also forthright with his attack on far-right nationalists who he called anger-mongers backed by fake news.

Macrons immediate comment on the Notre Dame tragedy was to call on the nation to unite and rally the country, to rebuild a society of equal opportunity and national excellence. Yet, Macron has been criticized for lack of emotion and connection with people. An interesting test may come over Macrons proposal to close down or radically change the prestigious ENA, a college that trains public servants. Macron is himself a graduate, as are his prime minister, finance, and defense ministers, and six of his top advisers. Will any proposed change satisfy the yellow vests and reduce the gap between the ruling French elite and the workers of France?
Normally, one would expect that a university fortunate enough to get a sitting Supreme Court Justice to join its faculty would be receiving accolades from its students. But of course, these are not normal times. Thus, when George Mason University recently announced that Justice Brett Kavanaugh would co-teach (along with Professor Jennifer L. Mascott) a summer class at its Antonin Scalia Law School, the campus Left was seriously triggered.

Students immediately launched protests, a petition drive, and an ad campaign claiming that they would suffer harm due to the uncorroborated allegations of sexual assault made against Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings last fall.

Reason's Robby Soave described the unhinged response:

'The hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well-being of all survivors on this campus,' said one female student during the public comment period of GMU's board meeting last week Another student, a survivor of sexual violence, claimed that her mental health had already suffered as a result of the Antonin Scalia Law School's decision to hire Kavanaugh. 'It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty,' she said. A third student said, As someone who has survived sexual assault three times, I do not feel comfortable with someone who has sexual assault allegations walking on campus.'

And it wasnt just students. Professor Bethany Letiecq, president of GMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, actually suggested that the university conduct its own separate investigation of Kavanaugh. It's hard to imagine what such an investigation would even look like, Soave noted, given that the incidents in question do not involve GMU, were made three decades ago, and were already explored by the federal government and the news media.

GMU president Angel Cabrera sought to bring some common sense and civility to the discussion, saying that:

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. 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.

Dr. Cabrera later reiterated his support for Kavanaugh at a town hall organized by GMUs student government, saying that even if the outcome is painful, whats at stake is very, very important for the integrity of the university.

What is so absurd about all this is that Kavanaugh will not be teaching anywhere near the GMU campus in Virginia. The course will be taught in Runnymede, England. In other words, we are being asked to believe that some university students (and professors) will be traumatized by the presence of an individual teaching at a campus 3,600 miles away.

The contretemps may surprise some who think of GMU as a conservative university. However, Walter Williams, the respected professor of economics at GMU, explained that the university's reputation as a bastion of conservatism is somewhat overstated:

George Mason University erroneously earns a reputation as a conservative/libertarian university because of its most distinguished and internationally known liberty-oriented economics department, which can boast of two homegrown Nobel laureates in economics. Its Antonin Scalia Law School has a distinguished faculty that believes in personal liberty and reveres the U.S. Constitution -- unlike many other law schools that hold liberty and our Constitution in contempt. The rest of the university is just like most other universities -- liberal, Democratic Party-dominated. The chief difference between my GMU colleagues and liberals at some other universities is that they are polite, respectful and congenial, unlike what one might find at places like U.C. Berkeley or University of Massachusetts.

The subject of Justice Kavanaugh's course itself might prove triggering to the Left. The course is entitled Creation of the Constitution. According to the course description, students will study the historical origins of the Constitution and read Founding-era documents and debates shaping the content of the document.

Runnymede, where the course will be taught, was the location of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

In his indispensable book, The Roots of American Order, Russell Kirk explained the significance of the Magna Carta [p. 195]:

It became the rock upon which the English constitution was built. It was principle of the supremacy of law: the idea that an enduring law exists, which all men must obey. The king himself is one of those men under the law. Along with this principle ran the corollary principle -- that if the king breaks the law, and invades the rights of his vassals, then barons and people may deprive him of his powers. From this principle, the whole English constitution -- an unwritten constitution in the sense that it can be found in no single document -- developed in time. This principle would be asserted by the Americans in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; it is the root of the Declaration of Independence.

This is our shared heritage, the British legal system, the foundation of America's freedom. Recently, Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner for the presidency, said that our "English jurisprudential culture" should be changed, although he declined to say what he might replace it with. Biden ought to take some time to visit Runnymede this summer and audit Justice Kavanaugh's class. He just might learn something.

You can follow Nicholas J. Kaster on Twitter.
On April 6, 2019, AT published the article, On Joe McCarthy, Washington Post Gets It Embarrassingly Wrong, by the estimable Jack Cashill. It drew hundreds of comments, which were overwhelmingly laudatory of McCarthy. The relatively few anti-McCarthy comments were pounced on by the McCarthy partisans.

McCarthys (few) detractors in the comments section of that article included this writer. My comments against McCarthy drew lots of ire and opprobrium from his fans. I thought that it would be best to write a rejoinder.

Perhaps my disdain for McCarthy is almost genetic, for it comes from my late fathers personal knowledge of him. My father, Lt. Col. Anthony R. Nollet, was a Marine Corps aviator and knew McCarthy well, they having served together in the same squadron that flew Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers in the South Pacific. McCarthy was the Air Intelligence Officer for that squadron. My father passed on to posterity three stories about McCarthy, based on his personal observations. Perhaps this oral history has predisposed me to despise McCarthy.

THE CARD SHARP

McCarthy was a ferocious poker player -- and a cheater and a welsher on his poker debts. He left the South Pacific owing his fellow officers some $4,000 in unredeemed markers from poker games.

Today, that would be less than a months pay for an O-2 with under two years military experience, which is what McCarthy and most of his fellow officers were. But during world War II, the monthly basic pay for such officers was all of $166.67. At this salary rate, McCarthy left the South Pacific owing two years pay.

There was, of course, no way that the Marine Corps could force McCarthy to honor his debts. This is because gambling for money was illegal, and the Marine Corps cannot enforce illegal contracts. The only factor compelling any officer to discharge such debts is his own integrity. Honorable officers pay their gambling debts and dishonorable ones dont. McCarthy didnt.

And dont ask me for evidence, either, for there is none. The last surviving aviator of the Black Sheep Squadron, the sister squadron of my fathers SBD squadron, died five years ago, and probably all my fathers squadronmates likewise have passed on. Perhaps some of the enlisted men are still with us.

But there is indirect evidence. The two great poker players of 20th-Century American politics were Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy. Nixon was so good at it he was able to use his winnings from the Pacific War to finance his first campaign for Congress. And McCarthy was so good that before the war, he was able to finance his way through the Marquette University Law School with winnings acquired in the gambling halls of Wisconsin. Historian Arthur Herman describes McCarthys poker style as demonic. That is, McCarthy played poker the same way he played his politics: with bluster, boisterousness, intimidation, and lots of bluffing for high stakes. Herman also says that McCarthy cheated whenever he thought he could get away with it and thought it was a hoot whenever he was caught. It is easy to envision such a man eagerly participating in the poker games of the Marine Air Wing in which he and my father served. (Nixon at least couldnt have defaulted on his poker debts, since he was able to bring back enough money from the Pacific to run for Congress.)

THE SHYSTER

After the war, my father and McCarthy found themselves together again -- in Camp Pendleton, California. The Marine Corps thought that a former Wisconsin judge like McCarthy would be perfect to serve in the bases Legal Department pending his discharge. My father was there awaiting the decision on whether he wouldnt be demobilized and discharged.

A M arine corporal was facing court-martial for beating up an illegal Mexican immigrant. Nowadays, such offenses would be within the jurisdiction of the State of California, but not so in 1945. McCarthy was assigned to be the corporals defense attorney.

McCarthy found a typically devious and, well, McCarthyite way to win a trial victory: he went to the Mexicans hospital room and said to him, Here, spic, take this $50 and get back to Mexico, or Ill have you arrested and deported. The Mexican accepted the stipend and did just that, after he was discharged from the hospital. Without a complaining witness, the case against the corporal collapsed. McCarthy wins again!

Dont ask for evidence here, either. There isnt even indirect evidence. I now regret that I never thought to ask my father how he knew of the story. Perhaps McCarthy boasted of it; it would be like him.

THE DRINKING MAN

Fast-forward eight years, to 1953. By this time, my father had not only been permitted to remain in the Marine Corps, he had also earned a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. And on March 5, 1953 (the day Stalin died), Polish pilot Francizek Jarecki defected by flying his MiG-15bis from Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. They sent my father to help evaluate the MiG-15.

When my father returned to the USA, they sent him to Washington to give testimony about the MiG to Congress. And when in the Capitol Building, he was surprised to run into his old squadronmate from the South Pacific, none other than Joseph R. McCarthy himself, now a U.S. senator.

McCarthy remembered his old comrade and greeted him most jovially. He said, Ello there, Owlet [sic], owre you doing? Perhaps one reason McCarthy mangled the pronunciation of my fathers name is that even though it was only midday, McCarthy was already stinking drunk.

And no, dont ask me for evidence about that one, either. There would have been no witnesses. Although indirect evidence does exist for this one as well, in that McCarthy is well known to have died a roaring, angry alcoholic.

I already know what McCarthys partisans are going to say: Wheres the proof? If theres no proof, then it cant be true. And I reply by stipulating that of course there is no proof in the formal sense. But I will add that I hope that McCarthys partisans can sympathize with me that if my father said it, then I take it to the bank. No matter how correct McCarthy was about Communists in the United States government -- and for the most part, he was correct -- he was still a scoundrel.

Ill go farther. I say that not only was McCarthy a scoundrel, he was the worst internal enemy that the United States ever had during the Cold War. Through his demagoguery, his bullying, his reckless accusations -- a few of them against innocent men -- and his alcohol-fueled rages, he gave respectable conservatism and anti-Communism a black name from which they arguably have not recovered to this day. Even seventy years later, shrieks of McCarthyism! continue to be the Lefts favorite dog whistle to stifle conservative opposition. McCarthy made our eventual victory in the Cold War harder and more costly, because we conservatives had to fight on with his albatross around our necks.

So hail and farewell, Joe McCarthy. We did it without you. More precisely, we did it despite you. That is, we triumphed over Communism and won the Cold War anyway, and we did it despite all the difficulties that you threw in our way by bringing our cause into such disrepute. My father saw right through you and had your number.

Thanks for nothing, Tail Gunner Joe.

The author is an Iowa truck driver known to some AT readers as "Kzintosh."
Last April 24 was Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Millions of Armenians around the world remembered how the Islamic Ottoman Empire killed  often cruelly and out of religious hatred  some 1.5 million of their ancestors during World War I.

Ironically, most people, including most Armenians, are unaware that the first genocide of Christian Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks did not occur in the twentieth century. Rather, it began in 1019  exactly one thousand years ago this year  when Turks first began to pour into and transform a then much larger Armenia into what it is today, the eastern portion of modern-day Turkey.

Thus, in 1019, "the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts ... the savage nation of infidels called Turks entered Armenia ... and mercilessly slaughtered the Christian faithful with the sword," writes Matthew of Edessa (d. 1144), a chief source for this period. Three decades later, the raids were virtually nonstop. In 1049, the founder of the Turkic Seljuk Empire himself, Sultan Tughril Bey (r. 10371063), reached the unwalled city of Arzden, west of Lake Van, and "put the whole town to the sword, causing severe slaughter, as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons."

After thoroughly plundering the city  which reportedly contained eight hundred churches  he ordered it set ablaze and turned into a desert. Arzden was "filled with bodies," and none "could count the number of those who perished in the flames." The invaders "burned priests whom they seized in the churches and massacred those whom they found outside. They put great chunks of pork in the hands of the undead to insult us"  Muslims deem the pig unclean  "and made them objects of mockery to all who saw them."

Eight hundred oxen and forty camels were required to cart out the vast plunder, mostly taken from Arzden's churches. "How to relate here, with a voice stifled by tears, the death of nobles and clergy whose bodies, left without graves, became the prey of carrion beasts, the exodus of women ... led with their children into Persian slavery and condemned to an eternal servitude! That was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia," laments Matthew. "So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital."

Contemporaries confirm the devastation visited upon Arzden. "Like famished dogs," writes Aristakes (d. 1080), an eyewitness, "bands of infidels hurled themselves on our city, surrounded it and pushed inside, massacring the men and mowing everything down like reapers in the fields, making the city a desert. Without mercy, they incinerated those who had hidden themselves in houses and churches."

Similarly, during the Turkic siege of Sebastia (modern-day Sivas) in 1060, six hundred churches were destroyed, and "many [more] maidens, brides, and distinguished ladies were led into captivity to Persia." Another raid on Armenian territory saw "many and innumerable people who were burned [to death]." The atrocities are too many for Matthew to recount, and he frequently ends in resignation:

Who is able to relate the happenings and ruinous events which befell the Armenians, for everything was covered with blood[.] ... Because of the great number of corpses, the land stank, and all of Persia was filled with innumerable captives; thus this whole nation of beasts became drunk with blood. All human beings of Christian faith were in tears and in sorrowful affliction, because God our creator had turned away His benevolent face from us.

Nor was there much doubt concerning what fueled the Turks' animus: "This nation of infidels comes against us because of our Christian faith and they are intent on destroying the ordinances of the worshippers of the cross and on exterminating the Christian faithful," one David, head of an Armenian region, explained to his countrymen. Therefore, "it is fitting and right for all the faithful to go forth with their swords and to die for the Christian faith." Many were of the same mind; records tell of monks and priests, fathers, wives, and children, all shabbily armed but zealous to protect their way of life, coming out to face the invaders  to little avail.

Anecdotes of faith-driven courage also permeate the chronicles. During the first Turkic siege of Manzikert in 1054, when a massive catapult pummeled and caused its walls to quake, a Catholic Frank holed up in with the Orthodox Armenians volunteered to sacrifice himself: "I will go forth and burn down that catapult, and today my blood shall be shed for all the Christians, for I have neither wife nor children to weep over me." The Frank succeeded and returned to gratitude and honors. Adding insult to injury, the defenders catapulted a pig into the Muslim camp while shouting, "O sultan [Tughril], take that pig for your wife, and we will give you Manzikert as a dowry!" "Filled with anger, Tughril had all Christian prisoners in his camp ritually decapitated."

Between 1064 and 1065, Tughril's successor, Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri  known to posterity as Alp Arslan, a Turkish honorific meaning "Heroic Lion"  "going forth full of rage and with a formidable army," laid siege to Ani, the fortified capital of Armenia, then a great and populous city. The thunderous bombardment of Muhammad's siege engines caused the entire city to quake, and Matthew describes countless terror-stricken families huddled together and weeping.

Once inside, the Islamic Turks  reportedly armed with two knives in each hand and an extra in their mouths  "began to mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants of the entire city ... and piling up their bodies one on top of the other[.] ... Beautiful and respectable ladies of high birth were led into captivity into Persia. Innumerable and countless boys with bright faces and pretty girls were carried off together with their mothers."

The most savage treatment was always reserved for those visibly proclaiming their Christianity: clergy and monks "were burned to death, while others were flayed alive from head to toe." Every monastery and church  before this, Ani was known as "the City of 1,001 Churches"  was pillaged, desecrated, and set aflame. A zealous jihadi climbed atop the city's main cathedral "and pulled down the very heavy cross which was on the dome, throwing it to the ground," before entering and defiling the church. Made of pure silver and the "size of a man"  and now symbolic of Islam's might over Christianity, the broken crucifix was sent as a trophy to adorn a mosque in modern-day Azerbaijan.

Not only do several Christian sources document the sack of Armenia's capital  one contemporary succinctly notes that Muhammad "rendered Ani a desert by massacres and fire"  but so do Muslim sources, often in apocalyptic terms: "I wanted to enter the city and see it with my own eyes," one Arab explained. "I tried to find a street without having to walk over the corpses. But that was impossible."

Such is an idea of what Muslim Turks did to Christian Armenians  not during the Armenian Genocide of a century ago, but exactly one thousand years ago, starting in 1019, when the Turkic invasion and subsequent colonization of Armenia began.

Even so, and as an example of surreal denial, Turkey's foreign minister, capturing popular Turkish sentiment, recently announced, "We [Turks] are proud of our history because our history has never had any genocides. And no colonialism exists in our history."

Note: The first Turkic invasion of Armenia (and others) is documented in Raymond Ibrahim's recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. American Thinker reviews of the book can be read here and here.
Over the next few weeks, we will learn why so many Democrats wanted to destroy or derail the Trump presidency. It had nothing to do with ideology or liberal versus conservative ideas or tax plans or foreign policy. It had everything to do with covering up what the Obama administration did to protect Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The counterattack is led by Attorney General William Barr, and a lot of information that will make the "Trump-Russia story" look like a G-rated movie.

As Andrew McCarthy wrote, the next move will come soon:

The coming weeks will expose the true genesis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation  and just how it is tied to some of the highest Obama-era officials, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy. McCarthy made the ominous prediction on Fox News host Bill Hemmer's "Hemmer Time" podcast and said he expects the answer to what really spurred the investigation to be revealed when the Department of Justice's Inspector General releases his much-anticipated report. "We're going to start getting the answers in the next four to six weeks when we can expect that Inspector General [Michael] Horowitz's reports are going to start flowing out," McCarthy told Hemmer.

We will wait for such a report. My guess is that the report won't make a lot of people look good and some could be looking criminal.

All this is about to boomerang on the Democrats because they couldn't accept the 2016 election results. They had to find excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss, from Russia to "they stole the election" to whatever.

In other words, they put the country through two years of hell just because Hillary Clinton could not accept that voters turned on President Obama.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because you may get it, as the expression goes. The Democrats are about to get it, and they won't like it.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
By Trend

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.



Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.
That didn't take long.

Mere days after President Trump lifted the waiver on lawsuits by Americans to sue communist Cuba for expropriated assets, Big Oil's Bigfoot, ExxonMobil, was on this case like Godzilla. The Miami Herald reports that it is ready to stomp Cuba:

Exxon Mobil has filed suit in U.S. federal court against Cubas CIMEX and CUPET companies for their use of an oil refinery and other properties seized by the Fidel Castro government six decades ago. Exxon Mobil is the first U.S. company to file suit after President Donald Trump allowed Title III of the Helms-Burton Act to take effect, opening the way for demands against Cuban and foreign companies that benefit from properties seized by the communist government. Title III had been suspended every six months by every U.S. president since the law was approved in 1996.

That's a monster. And it's going to cost Cuba big, if ExxonMobil wins, and ExxonMobil always plays to win, and with some of the world's best attorneys, it usually does win. The Helms-Burton law of 1996 states that U.S. companies who had their property stolen by communists in Cuba are entitled to sue for three times the value of the stolen properties, plus 6% annual interest, which, compounded over 60 years of Castro rule, is a...lot of interest. The company must have had that lawsuit ready for Trump's move, given the speed with which it was executed.

It shows just how major President Trump's act was. Over the years, much of the reporting on this matter has focused on small-time Cuban-American stakeholders who lost shops and apartments in the vast uncompensated thievery of communization, and these are people who have largely been dismissed as poor mice hopelessly living in the past.

Exxon's the elephant, though, and it never forgets.

Why do I think this will be a monster for the Castroites? Well, because back when I was reporting news, I wrote an investigative story describing ExxonMobil's response to Venezuela's expropriations. The company fought the Chavistas like the Mobil tiger in the tank  and it eventually won more than a billion in compensation. The company plays for keeps. Here is an old story I found from 2005 that ran on Page One of Investor's Business Daily, describing how ExxonMobil responded to Chavista Venezuela's attempt to steal ExxonMobil's assets.

ExxonMobil, of course, is going to be painted as a bully for doing it by the Chavista left, and it's likely the leftists are painting their signs and calling up their media buddies as I write this. But ExxonMobil has a rationale for this, because its business extends across the globe, and it doesn't get to pick where the oil is  which means it often has to deal with some very gamy dictators. Of course they have to fight the thieves among them. Because once word gets around in the global dictator community that big-moneyed ExxonMobil can be pushed around (its revenues, as I noted in the IBD piece back in 2005, were three times the size of the Venezuelan economy), all of them will jump in and try to shake ExxonMobil down for more for themselves. It's dictator nature. So for ExxonMobil, it's fight the miscreants, and keep the rest on their best behavior. It's the only way to run an international oil company. Now Cuba is about to learn that the hard way.

This is precisely what it deserves, given its propping up of the Maduro regime in Venezuela through its use of intelligence agents, incompetent technicians, and torturers. Trump's move is about squeezing Cuba to force it to get the hell out of Venezuela, and Trump plays hardball.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of socialist thieves.
Despite the barbarism seen in Venezuela these days  the latest the running down of protesters with armored military vehicles  President Trump's hard words for the brutal socialist dictatorship there have largely been seen in the context of winning the Florida vote, or blustering for the sake of it, or speaking loud and carrying a small stick based on the geopolitical realities of confronting Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Most important, Trump himself has been seen as reluctant to get the U.S. into any conflict abroad, based on the miserable series of nation-building wars on Stone-Age people.

Consequently, the conventional wisdom that Venezuela's acting president Juan Guaido's inability to enact a military uprising has been dubbed a 'failure.' Trump's not gonna act, so dictator Nicolas Maduro stays in place strong.

There are now signs that that may not be the case. Here's longtime Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer's surprising take on what he's hearing. He writes:

How likely is a U.S.-Brazil-Colombia military intervention in Venezuela? I still think that it's highly unlikely, but judging from what I'm told are secret talks between United States and Latin American officials to resurrect a dormant 1947 Inter-American mutual defense treaty, I'm no longer willing to bet that it won't happen. First, the Trump administration is escalating its rhetoric following the Venezuelan opposition's courageous but unsuccessful April 30 attempt to spark a military rebellion. Going beyond his earlier talking point that, "All options are on the table," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that "military action is possible."

He adds that it's Latin diplomats who are telling him that talks about a collective military intervention effort are going on. Hmmm, real interesting. Perhaps there really will be a Panama-style pounding and then leaving the Venezuelan democrats in charge to take care of the matter.

The Venezuelans themselves  and its most notable dissidents  are certainly calling for it. Maria Corina Machado, who's been opposing the dictatorship for at least 15 years, has pointed out on Twitter and in television interviews that Venezuela pretty much doesn't have many other options. Venezuela's former United Nations ambassador and U.N. Security Council president, as well as senior statesman, Diego Arria has pointed out that the U.N. went into Bosnia to defend its locals from the Serbs in the 1990s for much less.

There seems to be a lot of support for the idea inside Venezuela and with Venezuelans pouring over Brazil's and Colombia's borders, the attitudes are changing in those quarters, too.

It's very significant to read this coming from him, because he's the Latin swamp thing, he knows what goes on in the thinking of the established elites around Latin America and in Latin American policy circles. If he's hearing military talk, and he's balancing that against the establishment, there's general inertia and fear toward intervention in the affairs of other countries, there must be something going on.

If it comes off right, it certainly would argue for a bright future for Colombia and Brazil, not only in that they'll have a democratic neighbor instead of a bleeding ulcer of socialism on their border, but that their own troops are highly competent. It would demonstrate the case for their joining on as full-blown NATO members, too, something President Trump has brought up earlier. Meanwhile, as long as this looks to be a multi-nation effort, it would be nice to see the Dutch and Maltese involved, too, given the positive role both nations have played in checking the Maduro regime  the Netherlands by helping out with aid and the geography of its Curacao island territory off the coast of Venezuela, and Malta by throwing a massive roadblock to Russia's designs in setting up military supply lines to Venezuela.

If this is what's going on, it shows that the matter is not over. It shows that Venezuelans have not failed, and that their refusal to stop fighting  two decades into what became a socialist dictatorship  is something that may ultimately lead to its liberation  by whatever means necessary.

Maduro can sleep with one eye open on this report.

Image credit: Sgt. Anthony J. Kirby, U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Is it time to break up Twitter, or regulate it as an edited platform?

The people over there really went over the line, not to enforce rules, but simply to show us all how powerful they've become by suspending one of the most popular Twitterers, actor James Woods, whose pithy, perfectly composed tweets have brought him 2.12 million followers.

Breitbart had the story that happened.

James Woods, one of the few conservative stars in Hollywood, has been locked out of his Twitter account for over a week now for "abusive behavior," once again demonstrating the double standard the tech giant holds when it comes to enforcing rules. Twitter suspended Woods for a tweet that read, "'If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll," according to his girlfriend Sara Miller.

And the disgusting censorship was noticed by President Trump, who went into a full tweetstorm about all the instances of social media censorship of conservatives he could think of in just the past few days:

So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

This seems to have ended the Woods suspension early this morning, a capricious censorship of a powerful conservative voice that was over absolutely nothing. Update: It hasn't.

Thing is, it is censorship, a very raw, creepy, Mao-style censorship coming from a private company. The leftists running Twitter and its algorithms claim to be a private company, which they seem to think gives them the right to run their company any way they want, but their erratic censorship practices make them an edited platform.

Now, it's fine and dandy to be an edited platform as a private company, but they want it both ways  the non-accountability of a public utility but the private censorship practices of an edited platform. If they can be declared that, they would need to be regulated as newspapers are  responsible for every single word that goes out on their site, including the words of the freaks and killers and terrorists who also employ their platform. They'd have to edit every last bit of it, not just the words of people they don't like politically, or who have politically powerful voices they don't like politically. Someone tweets murder; maybe Twitter should now be suable for it, given that it's chosen to be an edited platform instead of a public utility.

Because it isn't rules anyone is violating based on their banning practices; it's big voices they don't like.

How capriciously are they censoring? Well, against the backdrop of Woods's tweet, which was the repetition of an old saw dating back to a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, I've gotten actual death threats that Twitter didn't deem worthy of any censorship when I complained to it about the problem. Only time constraints prevent me from locating the correspondence and posting it. Freaks threatening death? Not a problem for them. Woods citing an old saying? Ban!

What's more, they make their money through getting their customers' information in exchange for the right to post, something Mickey Kaus has noted is legally known as 'consideration.' If they are going to go around censoring now, not only are they an edited platform, but they are also suable for breach of contract with their customers.

Here's another thing. Woods is big, and Woods attracts a lot of eyeballs to Twitter, which is exactly what it should want as a company to make money. Banning Woods is contrary to its own business interests, given that it drives away customers for the practice. As a public company, Twitter ought to be suable for lost profits by shareholders, too.

Trump was right to point out that the matter is getting out of hand. It's time for some legislation to hold the company accountable and force it to choose whether it wants to be the equivalent of a public utility, such as the phone company, or else a censoring, capricious, edited private platform that would also be forced to be accountable.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Seven of the UAEs top projects were named winners among the Gulf regions best projects at the recently held 2019 Meed Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, in Dubai, UAE



The UAE was followed by Oman with four winning projects, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had three winners each and Kuwait had one regional awardee.



The only awards programme recognising excellence for completed projects in the GCC, Meed Projects Awards honoured national winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in ceremonies held at the Conrad Hotel Dubai.



We are honoured to be a partner with Meed in recognising projects excellence in the GCC. This is our way of putting a spotlight on these projects for not only upholding quality standards, but also in improving the standard of living in the Gulf through their invariable impact on the socio-economic aspirations of the region, said Mohammad Khader Al Shouli, senior vice president, Head of Contracting Finance at Mashreq Bank, headline sponsor of the awards programme.



The 2019 Meed Quality Project of the Year, in association with Mashreq, the award programmes highly coveted honour, was given to Saudi Arabias Haramain High Speed Railway Project (entered by Saudi Railways Organization and owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia). It also won the GCC Transport Project of the Year award.



The judges praised the projects efforts to maximise social impact and the efficient design of departure and arrivals lounges improving passenger flow and comfort and which are also low energy with innovative prismatic daylight collectors on the roofs.



The other Saudi Arabia winner was the Titanium Sponge Plant Project in Yanbu Project (entered by a Joint Venture of Chiyoda Corporation and CTCI Corporation and owned by Advanced Metal Industries Cluster and Toho Titanium Metal Company Limited) which was awarded the GCC Industrial Project of the Year.



The GCC is home to some of the worlds most high-profile projects, known worldwide not just for their engineering and construction brilliance but also for being beacons of the regions economic progress. We are delighted to honour their commitment to the highest quality standards for projects excellence, said Richard Thompson, editorial director, Meed.



Among the regional winners from the UAE were Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (GCC Tourism & Leisure Project of the Year), Bluewaters Mosque (GCC Small Project of the Year), Improvement of Mafraq to Al Ghweifat Border Post Highway  Section 4A from Himeem Interchange to Abu Al Abyad (GCC Road Project of the Year), Sheikh Shakbout Medical City (GCC Healthcare Project of the Year), Offices 4 and Offices 5, One Central (GCC Commercial Project of the Year), Khalifa University (GCC Education Project of the Year) and Dubai American Academy (Innovation Medal, sponsored by China State Construction).



In Oman, the projects honoured for excellence were Diyar Al Salam (GCC Residential Project of the Year), Suhar Refinery Improvement Project (GCC Oil and Gas Project of the Year), Salalah II Power Project (GCC Power Generation Project of the Year) and Muscat International Airport (Mega Project of the Year).



From Bahrain, the projects which gained regional recognition was Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Works, Long Sea Outfall & Irrigation Network which received the GCC Water Project of the Year, GCC Engineering Project of the Year and the Sustainability Medal (sponsored by China State Construction).



Kuwaits regional winner was The Ministry of Education Headquarters Project which received the GCC Social, Culture and Heritage of the Year award.



Special awards were also given to Maher Habanjar, senior director of the Water & Environment Division at Khatib &Alami, (Engineer of the Year), The Founders Memorial (Meed Editor's Award for Special Achievement) and Al Karamah School, Abu Dhabi (Meed Editor's Award for Contribution to Community).  TradeArabia News Service
Creators are driving record audiences to YouTube, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told the presentation audience gathered at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. Two-hundred million people come to YouTube every single day just to watch gaming videos. Thats twice the audience of this years Super Bowl.  Los Angeles Times
Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO Jatan.

Ahemdabad: A day after PepsiCo announced that it would withdraw cases filed against the potato farmers in Gujarat, activists and farmer leaders on Friday said the company must do it unconditionally and also pay a compensation to the cultivators for causing "harassment".

Agitated by PepsiCo's earlier decision to sue potato growing farmers for allegedly growing a variety of potato registered by it, around 25 major farmers' bodies of Gujarat and the country, including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body - Seed Sovereignty Forum - to protect farmers' rights on seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO 'Jatan'.

"We are apprehensive because PepsiCo's statement yesterday does not offer anything new. The company had earlier told the court that it will withdraw cases on two conditions - either farmers give up using company's seeds or farmers become part of contract farming with the company," Shah told reporters here.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' or cultivators' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non-negotiable," he said.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts were sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights, and sought damages ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from each of them.

They have been sued by the company under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.

Shah said the issue touches farmers of the entire country and not just of Gujarat.

"After this issue cropped up, around 25 national and regional organisations working for farmers decided to come under one roof to form 'Seed Sovereignty Forum'. We will hold a meeting today to devise an action plan to fight against such cases in the future and formulate a long-term strategy to ensure that farmers' rights are not snatched away," said Shah.

Shah was accompanied by four farmers of Sabarkantha district, who were sued by the MNC. Office-bearers of the BKS and several other farm rights activists were also present.

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading of awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a check on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani, who is the president of Gujarat Association of Agricultural Sciences, said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, which is a natural practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips), while small potatoes were discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed those potatoes only. We have now realised that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PepsiCo India had said it has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers after holding talks with the government.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection," the statement said.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing.

New Delhi: Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on Saturday said it will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"The Board has constituted a sub-committee named "Special Committee for Issuance of Securities" and authorised the said Committee to decide upon various factors viz. mode, pricing, terms & conditions and other allied matters in respect of the said issuance," DHFL added.
Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

Mumbai: Indias sugar production could rise 1.5 per cent in 2018/19 to a record 33 million tonnes, increasing inventories in the worlds second-biggest producer and putting pressure on local prices, a producers body said on Friday.

The record production could force New Delhi to continue incentives for overseas sales of sugar into the next season, weighing on global prices, which are now trading near their lowest in four months.

In the first seven months of the 2018/19 marketing year that started on Oct. 1, mills have churned out 32.1 million tonnes of sugar, 3 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.

India produced 32.5 million tonnes of sugar for the whole of the 2017/18 marketing year.

The sugar recovery in northern India has been substantially better than the sugar recovery achieved in the last season, the association said.

Years of bumper cane harvests and record sugar production have hammered domestic sugar prices, making it hard for mills to pay monies owed to farmers, who form an influential voting bloc.

Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers, who have gone unpaid for their produce for more than a year.

To bring down cane arrears and reduce rising inventories, New Delhi has been providing incentives to mills for overseas sale of sugar and set an export target of 5 million tonnes.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

That means Indias sugar inventory levels will rise to 14.7 million tonnes at the beginning of the new season on Oct. 1, 2019, up 37.4 percent from a year ago, the trade body said.

The industry has been hoping the 2019/20 seasons output could drop due to higher ethanol production and a drought in the western state of Maharashtra, the countrys second-biggest sugar-producing region.

With additional ethanol production capacities getting installed and expanding existing capacities at a very fast pace ... (that) in turn will further reduce sugar production in the next season, the trade body said.
The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of Gaddi Lohar community.

Mumbai: Deana Uppal, Miss India UK, is all set to direct and produce an in-depth documentary on the life of this Banjara community. The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of the Gaddi Lohar community.

Uppal is also working on forming her own organisation that will work for the issues faced by the Banjara community on a day-to-day basis. As the entire country participates in the mega general elections with fervour, Rajasthans Gaddi Lohar community has been left out. This nomadic tribe, who fall below the poverty line, do not possess any voter ID, Aadhar Card or any other identification document.

In the absence of these vital documents, this nomadic tribe does not get a chance to exercise their franchise. Also, being bereft of these documents, this community does not get the benefits of the government schemes.

As part of her campaign for the nomadic community, Uppal is also holding meetings with several ministers of Rajasthan and putting forth the issues faced by these people.

The Miss India UK has been to the offices of Public Works and Development Ministry, Health Ministry, Women and Child Development Ministry to discuss the problems faced by the Gaddi Lohar community.

As Rajasthan goes to polls on May 6, Uppal has written to the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan, Anand Kumar, urging him to devise a strategy for future so that this community can have their voting rights and get a chance to elect their representative.
Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

There were reports that Priyan would return to direct Hera Phera 3. The Hera Pheri producer Firoz Nadiadwala had a massive fall-out with his director after Hera Pheri in 2000. The second Hera Pheri film was directed by writer Neeraj Vora who passed away last year. Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

Priyan is busy shooting his most ambitious film to date in Hyderabad.

It is called Marakkar: The Lion Of The Arabian Sea. It features my favourite actor Mohan Lal in the lead. This time hes playing a real-life character, says Priyan excitedly.

Priyan and Mohanlal have worked in a staggering 44 films together. Marakkar is their 45th collaboration. Says Priyan, We are shooting on ships that weve created and erected in a studio. At the age of 62, Im shooting non-stop for nearly 90 days. I must retire soon. But only after I finish directing my 100th film. Marakkar is my 93rd film. Hope God will keep me going for seven more films.
The UAE government has signed a strategic agreement with National Bonds, the leading Sharia-compliant saving and investment company, to launch its new Labour Saving Programme (Tharaa) initiative.

The laborer in UAE is the creator of foundations, the thread that holds together the social fabric, and the one who is impacting the domestic economy and its development. Thus, he deserves special attention and privileges awarded by the UAE Government, said a satement from Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE).

The attention paid by the leadership is notable as it recognises laborers rights and ensure that laws are in place and being regulated by various bodies and ministries, such as the MOHRE, which is working to ensure laborers happiness, convenience and rights.

In keeping with MOHREs efforts, Tharaa was launched under the National Happiness and Positivity Programme of the Ministry of Happiness.

Tharaas launch occurs ideally in conjunction with the global and local celebration of Labor Day, emphasizing MOHREs constant efforts to provide laborers with the best services and competitive earnings, in order to achieve the highest level of happiness. This, in turn, is reflected in the Happiness Index for the UAE, as a whole, said the statement.

Tharaa is aimed at enabling labourers to build a financially stable future through monthly fixed deductions directly from their Wage Protection System (WPS), the amount of which is voluntarily contributed by the laborer throughout the duration of his/her stay in the country.

The laborer shall also have several benefits, annual profits, micro-financing facilities through third party tie ups and entry into National Bonds generous rewards program.

This allows the laborer the chance to win several rewards including a million-dirham every quarter, in turn enabling him to create a happy and secured future.

The savings initiative, Tharaa, is supported by automated kiosks at thirty-eight of MOHREs Tawjeeh Centers, spread across the Emirates.

They will be also eligible to participate in additional program benefits and awards, which amount to more than Dh37 million. These rewards are distributed on a monthly and quarterly basis to local and expatriate employees working in the private sector, said the statement.

The most prominent of these awards is the quarterly one million prize draw. This draw is divided into two parts: the quarterly one million prize draw for UAE locals, and the same for expatriates.

UAE locals and expatriates can also participate in the monthly draw for two cars or their equivalent of Dh100,000, two monthly draws for a cash prize of Dh10,000 and 40,000 prizes of Dh50 each distributed monthly.

Furthermore, 50 savers will benefit yearly from Takaful services that protect them in the event of work-related death or injury.

In addition, more benefits will be provided including a complimentary quarterly money transfer service; a labor loyalty program, which will be launched in a later phase it stated.

On the novel scheme, National Bonds CEO Mohammed Qasim Al Ali said Tharaa come as part of the development of innovative programs and products to enhance financial happiness and strengthen the UAE's position as one of the best countries to live, work and invest in.

"This initiative will help employers and workers develop quick and practical plans for better financial health, and contribute to their families welfare and thus enhance their productivity," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour. (Photo: File)

Bhubaneswar: Back in 1999, when Odisha was hit by a cyclone, thousands had lost their lives. The state was left in shambles with the story of despair and fear written all over it.

Twenty years later in 2019, when cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India, the state was better prepared to handle the crisis.

Odisha is prone to incessant rainfall, cyclone and extreme weather conditions. The state is among the poorer states in India with coastal cities and villages exposed to the cyclone.

The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

In this process, they had to ensure the expediency and immediacy.

The New York Times reports that the state engaged in 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, around 1,000 emergency workers, buses, police and civic administration and reaching every lane of every village informing the last man about the nearing disaster.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour.

The impact was huge as trees and structures were ripped from their roots. While the millions were evacuated, very few lives were lost.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation spoke to the NYT. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

After the catastrophe in 1999, the state undertook the construction of numerous cyclone shelters. These were built miles away from the seashore.

Designed by some prestigious engineering colleges, the shelters, basic in design, have been of great help.

The Indian Meteorological Department had kept a close eye on the movement of the cyclone. Its path was accurately predicted and it landed at Odisha coast. Odishas fishermen were warned beforehand.

On the morning when the storm hit the coast, Odisha government had released a five page action plan prioritizing the safety of lives.

Having practised the evacuation drills on numerous counts, the task was clear in volunteers minds.

Food and beverages were delivered at the shelters. The loudspeakers kept asking people to reach the nearest shelter at the earliest.

In some areas, police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, asking people to leave.

Packed buses made rounds around Puri. Each shelter accommodated several hundred people.

In Puri, the officials said the winds reached at the speed of100 m.p.h. knocking down the very machine which measured the speed.

Though the lives were not lost, it did affect livelihoods. However, the storm of 1999 did prepare the state to gear for this battle.

Evacuating a million plus people in a span of 3-4 days was a challenging task. The bitterness sown in 2019 bore sweets in 2019.
In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Puri: Eight people were killed as Cyclone Fani battered Odisha on Friday, packing in rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees and electricity poles, cutting off power supply and swamping towns and villages.

The monster weather system, the biggest in years, made landfall at the holy city of Puri at around 8 am and continued to wreak havoc for four hours.

Special relief commissioner B.P. Sethi said three people had died in different incidents in Puri, Nayagarh and Kendrapara districts. While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district. By evening, the toll mounted to eight.

In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Extensive damage to the structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, all patients, staff and students safe, Union health secretary Preeti Sudan was quoted as saying.

Fani, which is pronounced as Foni and means snake hood in Bengali, struck with the fury and venom of a poisonous snake, bringing destruction to districts like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

The landfall of Fani happened at Puri at around 8 am. We have recorded wind speed of 142 km from hour gusting up to 175 km per hour, said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of India Meteorological Department, New Delhi.

Puri city, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and many other parts of the state remained completely disconnected from the world with internet and telephone services hit, flight and train services remaining suspended.

Airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata were closed. Bhubaneswar airport was shut on Thursday midnight. No flights departed Kolkata airport after 3 pm on Friday. Operations will remain suspended at Kolkata airport till 8 am on Saturday, aviation regulator DGCA said in New Delhi.

After pounding Odisha and heading northeastwards, losing strength on the way, the extremely severe cyclone (ESC) moved towards West Bengal where it is likely to hit Kolkata early on Saturday with gale wind speed reaching 90 to 100 kmph.

We are monitoring the situation 24x7 and doing all it takes... Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

The authorities in Odisha, where 10,000 people perished in a 1999 cyclone, had evacuated more than a million people two days ahead of the cylone from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in probably the largest evacuation exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the Centre has released more than Rs 1,000 crore to Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in advance for undertaking preventive and relief measures

A baby was born near Bhubaneswar just as the cyclone passed through. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit, said a spokesperson for the hospital.

Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which claimed close to 10,000 lives and battered the Odisha coast for 30 hours

Winds from to the weather system of the were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

As Fani pummelled Odisha, neighbouring West Bengal braced itself for its fury.

The sky was overcast in Kolkata and several other places since Friday morning as rain came in spurts, inundating several parts of the state capital.

Traffic snarls were reported from different places in the city. The storm brought down the political temperature, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelling all her election rallies that were planned over the next 48 hours and getting down to monitoring the situation.

The eye of the storm is likely to be weakened when it enters West Bengal. The wind speed will be around 100 kmph to 110 kmph, an official of the meteorological department said.

A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

New Delhi: Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was all set to face sanctions as a terrorist by the European Union due to the efforts of France but the proposed move has now been supplanted by the UN designation of Azhar as a global terrorist, French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said on Friday, even as he termed the listing of Azhar by the UN as a very good news for the world community and an important political decision.

The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

The UN sanctions on Azhar will need to be followed by all countries including the EU nations. The French ambassador said the UN listing would hinder the JeM chiefs activities. He also said that India had been officially invited (by France as the host) to the G-7 Summit to be held in France in August this year. The G-7 group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, termed as seven of the largest advanced economies in the world.

The French envoy described the listing of Masood Azhar as a successful realisation of the diplomatic efforts that France has been conducting for many years.
Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Patna: Leadership battle in the RJD resurfaced after Lalu Yadavs elder son Tej Pratap hinted that he is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

While addressing a rally in Jehanabad, he called h-imself a second Lalu and also attacked his you-nger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has been spea-rheading RJDs campaign in the absence of Lalu Yadav. He said, Lalu Yadav is a role model and guru for many leaders. There are some leaders who fall sick by addressing two or four rallies but Lalu ji used to campaign continuously and attended 10 to 12 political meetings during elections without taking rest even during excessive heat.

Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Tej Pratap was in Jehanabad to campaign in favour of his candidate Chandra Shekhar Yadav, where he gave the statement.

"The RJD candidate is weak because he has lost twice from this seat. Please vote for my candidate Chandra Prakash Yadav because he is capable of defeating the BJP in Jehanabad."

Senior RJD leader Surendra Yadav has been pitted against BJP candidate Chandeshwar Chandrawanshi from Jehanabad seat. The election in Jehanabad is in the seventh phase on May 19.

Political analysts claim that Tej Pratap fielding candidate against the RJD may upset the partys caste calculations in Jehanabad. He had has also been campaigning against RJDs Sheohar candidate Syed Faisal Ali.

Grand Alliance insiders said that reports of a rift in Lalu Yadavs family have confused RJD workers.

Reacting sharply to Tej Pratap's statement, former Bihar chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "People don't take Tej Pratap seriously but I feel that he has made a mistake by fielding a candidate against his own party."

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The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site.

Srinagar: Lateef Tiger, the only surviving member of Burhan Wani group, is among the three militants killed in a fierce fire fight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Shopian district on Friday.

Wani, the 22-year-old Internet savvy poster boy of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, was along with two associates killed by the Army in Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, triggering widespread unrest in the Kashmir and parts of Chenab valley of Jammu region.

The officials said that the fighting broke out in Adkhara village of Shopians Imam Sahib area at dawn on Friday after the security forces, including the Armys 34 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), laid siege to the area on learning about the presence of the Hizb militants in a private house.

A police spokesman, while confirming one of the slain militants was Lateef Ahmad Dar alias Tiger, said that he was a close associate of Burhan Wani and was active in south Kashmir since 2014. The two other militants killed with him have been identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh alias Mufti Waqas alias Tariq Moulvi and Shariq Ahmed Nengroo, both local residents.

The officials said that one Army soldier was injured during the fighting. The residential house in which the militants had been holed up was completely and two adjacent houses were partially damaged in the security forces final assault against them, the local sources said.

The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site. The security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet shotguns to quell stone-pelting mobs, leaving, at least, 17 persons injured. Three of them have been brought to Srinagar for specialized treatment.

As the word about the killing of the Hizb militants spread, traders brought their shutters down and transport services were withdrawn from the roads in most parts of Shopian and Pulwama. The authorities immediately snapped mobile Internet services in south Kashmir whereas train services through the area have also been suspended.

A handout issued by the police here said that, as per police records, Lateef Tiger had a long history of crime records since 2014 and was involved in planning and executing several attacks in the area. It said that similarly, Tariq also had a long history of crime records and was involved in several attacks. About Shariq, it said that he too was involved in several attacks.
Modi said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

New Delhi: A day after Congress claimed that multiple surgical strikes were carried out by the UPA regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the me too claim of the rival party on Friday, saying only the Congress can do a surgical strike on paper and in video games.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, Mr Modi suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes and also hit out at the UPA for shifting IPL tournament abroad in the past due to its failure to provide security.

Showcasing the ruling BJPs muscular nationalism, Mr Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during that partys term and now another leader is saying there were six. PM mocks Cong me too claim on surgical strikes

The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time the elections are over, this will increase to 600, he said.

Jab kagaz par hi karni ho, jab video game mein hi strike karni ho to 6 ho ya 3 ho, 20 hon ya 25 hon, ye jhoote logon ko kya fark padta hai (When the surgical strikes are to be done on a piece of paper then how does it matter if they have conducted 6 or 25), Mr Modi said.

Hitting out at the Congress for questioning his governments anti-terror action across the border, Mr Modi hit out at the party for Pehle upeksha, fir virodh, ab me too, me too (They initially rejected it, then opposed it and now they are saying me too, me too).

He said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

Mr Modi accused Congress leaders of calling the Army chief a goonda (thug) and the Indian Air Force chief a liar, in an apparent reference to alleged remarks by Sandeep Dikshit and Veerappa Moily in past years.

He said the Congress leaders do not trust the valour of the countrys jawans and raise doubts on casualties inflicted on terrorists.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

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Speaking at a rally in Karauli, the Prime Minister hit out at the Congress for shifting IPL tournament abroad on the pretext that they cannot ensure security for it.

IPL matches were played outside the country on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, because the government did not give permission, citing elections. But now, elections are also happening and so is the IPL, he said.

Ye poonch daba ke bhaagne waali sarkar mein the, Modi seena taan ke jata hai (It was a government that was scared while Modi is here standing tall), Mr Modi said.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of cheating people in the name of various schemes.

In Rajasthan, people are given forms for Rs 100 for getting Rs 72,000. This is how they cheat, he said.

Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan will be held in the fifth phase of the election on May 6. Thirteen other seats in the state went to polls in the fourth phase on April 29.
Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

New Delhi: Days before polling in Amethi, considered by many to be the pocket-borough of the Gandhis, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to voters there urging them to vote him back as their MP and promising to push schemes for the region blocked by the BJP when his party gets to form the government at the Centre.

Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

It is my promise to the people of Amethi that the moment the Congress comes to power at the Centre, the schemes blocked by the BJP will be started soonest. On May 6, vote in large numbers to bring back this member of the family, he wrote in the letter.

The Congress president, who is said to be facing a tough fight in Amethi from Union minister Smriti Irani, has not been seen much in his constituency, which has been managed by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation is rife in the Congress that if Mr Gandhi wins both Amethi and Wayanad  the second seat from where he is contesting  then he is likely to vacate Amethi for Priyanka.

In the letter on Friday, Mr Gandhi accused the BJP of setting up a factory of lies and distributing rivers of cash to voters.

Amethi is my family. My Amethi family gives me courage that I stand with the truth, that I can hear the pain of the poor and weak and raise my voice for them and to ensure equal justice for all, he wrote.

With your love, I have tried to unite the country from north to south; east to west... My karmbhumi Amethis ideology is getting support from across the country, the Congress president said in his letter.

Amethi has voted elected Mr Gandhi since he first took his eletoral plunge in 2004. But the much-reduced votes and vote share in the last election in 2014, when the BJP fielded Ms Irani against him, has given the Congress chief reason to worry.

The BJP has alleged that he chose Wayanad to also contest as he was afraid of losing from Amethi.

Smriti Irani said the letter signifies that he has not given importance to Amethi.
In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was assaulted by a man during his road show in Moti Nagar area here on Saturday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the Chief Minister.

The man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway, said police. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

However, this is not the first time that his security has been breached. In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

AAP condemned the cowardly act and said that opposition sponsored attack cannot stop AAP in Delhi.

"Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi," tweeted AAP.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi.  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

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'Intimate Audrey': Hepburn exhibition opens in Brussels on the 90th anniversary of her birth.

An exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth. (Photo: Pixabay)

Brussels: From personal pictures and dresses to film props and awards, an exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth in the Belgian city.

Put together by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Intimate Audrey features hundreds of private and professional photos - originals and reprints - as well as some movie memorabilia, such as the scooter used in the 1953 classic Roman Holiday for which Hepburn won a best actress Oscar.

Hepburn Ferrer, whose father was U.S. actor Mel Ferrer, said he wanted to offer a more personal perspective of the life of the British actress, who dedicated her later years to charity work and became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She lived a humble life, a simple life, and maybe in there lies the key to why she is still so beloved today, he told Reuters.

Hepburn was born in 1929 in the Brussels area of Ixelles to a Dutch mother and British father. She later moved to London to pursue ballet training and eventually turned to acting, taking to the stage in New York in 1951 for Broadway play Gigi.

She starred in a string of films in the 1950s and 1960s, including Breakfast at Tiffanys, Charade and My Fair Lady. Hepburn died in 1993 aged 63.

On display are also Hepburns fashion drawings and humanitarian writings. Hepburn Ferrer said one the key features of the exhibition was a replica cherry blossom tree, a tribute to the childhood home in Switzerland his parents bought in 1963 and remained Hepburns residence until her death.

It is an unusual exhibition because it has been completely devoid of the Hollywood aspect of her career so its the woman who is coming home, naked of the legend, of the icon, he said. Intimate Audrey runs Espace Vanderborght until Aug. 25.
No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Global security officials agreed a set of proposals on Friday for future 5G networks, highlighting concerns about equipment supplied by vendors that might be subject to state influence.

No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies over concerns their gear could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei denies this.

The overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country should be taken into account, participants at the conference in the Czech capital said in a non-binding statement released on the last day of the two-day gathering.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.

Diplomatic sources said participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home but called for participants to seize on the momentum moving forward.

This would be a pity if this turns out to be a one-off event, Japans ambassador for cyber policy Masato Ohtaka said.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Some western countries concerns about Huawei centre on Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law, stating that Chinese organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.

EU members have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to a bloc-wide assessment by October 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of the year.

Huawei said it was ready to work with regulators and other stakeholders on creating effective rules.

We are encouraged by the emphasis on the importance of research and development, open markets and competition, but would urge policymakers to avoid measures that would increase bureaucracy and costs and limit the benefit that 5G can bring, it said in a statement.

As the EU continues its deliberations, we firmly believe that any future security principles should be based on verifiable facts and technical data.

The final document looked at the impact of 5G on policy, technology, economy and security, with general recommendations on how best to mitigate potential risks.

All stakeholders including industry should work together to promote security and resilience of national critical infrastructure networks, systems and connected devices, the document said.

The security issue is crucial because of 5Gs leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them.

Europe  where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are preparing to auction 5G licences this year  has emerged as a battleground over Huaweis next-generation technology.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has collaborated with the IE School of Global and Public Affairs (IE) and International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch the groundbreaking Executive Master Degree in Internationalization and Trade in Spain.

Held at the IE School campus in Madrid, the event featured a panel discussion on the Challenges of Global Trade and International Business Expansion with panelists including Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol (ITFC CEO), Arancha Gonzalez (ITC Executive Director) and Isaac Martin Barbero (Cabify Chief Cities & Communities Officer).

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is a co-designed program, originally initiated by the ITFC after it recognised the need for a specialised executive course capable of developing trade professionals with rounded knowledge and expertise in order to thrive in global trade and international business.

The programme which focuses on trade, trade finance and trade development, is the first of its kind to be initiated by a multilateral financial trade institution, said a statement from ITFC.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade has been designed for two complementary profiles: executives and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their global businesses, and professionals working in trade policy and regulation of global trade.

This provides each with a unique opportunity to share experiences of addressing the universal challenges of making trade more inclusive and improving livelihoods to lift people out of poverty worldwide.

Through collaboration with IE and the ITC, ITFCs vision of shaping a comprehensive degree has led to the creation of a course built around a blended methodology, combining live videoconferences and interactive forums, with face-to-face sessions in Geneva and Madrid.

This approach enables students to advance their career while simultaneously pursuing a valuable and meaningful education.

Salem Sonbol said: "Shaping up a programme like the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is an answer to the needs of the dynamic and evolving landscape of Trade and Trade Finance."

"Partnering with prominent institutions like IE and ITC in this Program provides a unique transformational experience that combines academic excellence and practitioners leadership with the aim to push the frontier of learning beyond conventional practices and assumptions to new horizonsthis is at the core of our mandate of Advancing Trade and Improving Lives," he stated.

IE Dean Manuel Muniz said: "We live in a time of exponential change. This is also evident in the space of trade. The digitalization of value chains, 3D printing and the use of cryptocurrencies or Blockchain technology is radically reshaping trade."

"We need policymakers and trade practitioners to understand this change, navigate it and make the most of the opportunities it brings," he explained.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade programme is a notable milestone for ITFC. It is the organizations first foray into education and a major contribution to encouraging experienced professionals in the industry to take up the challenge of transforming trade.

Salem Sonbol pointed out that after witnessing the dynamics of global trade over the years, the need to equip professionals with the essential skills and latest trends has become a necessity.

"Working everyday across the value chain of trade, we could tell the Why, but to get a mastery on the What and the How directed us to partner with IE and ITC; and together we designed the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade to establish the excellent means to improve transformation of trade executives, professionals and experts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The launch would be North Korea's first action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned. (Photo:File)

Washington: Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy, prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.
Rich Guys Are More Likely to Pretend to be Experts, Says Study

Rich Guys Are More Likely to Bullshit You

While some people seem to have a natural ability to call BS, for other people, it isnt quite as easy. However, heres some help. According to a new study, rich guys are more likely to pretend theyre experts on subjects they know nothing about.

RELATED: The Surprising Trait Self-Made Millionaires Share

The study, published in April in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, aptly titled Bullshitters. Who Are They and What Do We Know About Their Lives? assessed the ability to pretend to be an expert without actually being one  or, the ability to bullshit.

The research conducted by John Jerram and Nikki Shure of the University College of London and Phil Parker of Australian Catholic University involved assessing participants and their knowledge of 16 math topics. The study also used data from the Program for International Student Assessment, which involves tens of thousands of 15-year-olds globally. The participants answered topics based on a five-point scale from never heard of it up to know it well, understand the concept.

But there was a twist in the topics. Three of them were fake, essentially outing which of the participants were the true BSers. Those who pretended to know about the fabricated topics, proper numbers, subjunctive scaling, and declarative fractions, ranked highest on the BS meter.

Just who those imposters were, might surprise you. According to the study, men were more likely than women to pretend like they knew what they were talking about. There was also a difference between those who were wealthy, poor, and middle class. Rich guys, specifically, were the biggest BSers.

The study also suggested that North Americans were more likely to pretend to know about something than English speakers in other parts of the world. Incidentally, participants from Canada ranked at the top of the list.

RELATED: Best Dating Sites for Rich Men

Do you know any self-proclaimed math whizzes? It turns out, those participants were also the most likely to claim to be experts in other non-existent subject areas. According to the study, if you frequently boast about your abilities, you might also be good at bluffing and pretending to know about topics you know nothing about.

Fortunately, there are some good things about having a knack for pretending like you know about stuff that you dont. The studys authors wrote, Being able to bulls- convincingly may be useful in certain situations (e.g., job interviews, negotiations, grant applications).

And, it could also explain why the biggest BSers also happened to be wealthy. The study suggests that this behavior could help them earn higher wages and explain some of the gender wage gap, said study co-author Nikki Shure. This has important implications for thinking about tasks in job interviews and how to evaluate performance.

One thing to note about the study is that the participants were 15-year-olds, which doesnt necessarily mean the results apply to adults. Although the studys authors guess that most traits like the ability to successfully bluff transfer from teenage years to adulthood, there isnt definite proof of it.

Further, the study only involved math topics, which may or may not have something to do with the participants inclination to embellish on their knowledge. Who knows, maybe participants are more honest about their knowledge when it comes to other topics. In the meantime, its probably safest to take what your self-proclaimed math genius friends tell you with a grain of salt.

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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy. Cloudy and damp with rain, possibly heavy this morning, then becoming partly cloudy late. High 53F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill earlier this week declaring marital rape illegal and repealing the state's previous exemptions, reports AP.

The state of play: The state house approved the bill 132-0, while the Minnesota senate unanimously voted 66-0 this week. Previously, the law protected a rapist if he or she lived with the victim and had a prior voluntary sexual relationship. State Rep. Zack Stephenson, who wrote the bill, called the marital rape exception an "abominable law," in a statement, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Marital rape was made illegal in all 50 states by 1993, but many loopholes and remnants of the historic "spousal defense" persisted, per AP. Maryland made marital rape illegal in 2017, reports the Baltimore Sun. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers are continuing to close these loopholes, intending to reintroduce a similar bill later this month, per NPR.

Go deeper: Tech companies step in to stop date rape
Beto O'Rourke told supporters at a Fort Worth rally on Friday that he would put former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in charge of voting rights initiatives if he were elected president, CBS reports.

Driving the news: Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has fielded offers from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Joe Biden for respective Senate and 2020 White House runs. O'Rourke reportedly said at the rally he spoke with Abrams on the phone "to thank her for all the work that she's doing on voting rights."

What they're saying:

When asked about O'Rourke's potential offer, an Abrams spokesperson told CBS, "As she thinks about her own campaign for the Presidency, Leader Abrams has taken the time to speak with numerous Democrats who are already running about the need to combat voter suppression and about the importance of Georgia's 16 electoral votes."

An O'Rourke campaign spokesperson told CBS that "Beto believes he would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ms. Abrams in any capacity and looks forward to continuing to follow her incredible lead on the many efforts she's championing including protecting voting rights and fighting to increase access to the ballot box."

"...we will put Stacey Abrams in charge of this effort so that we get it done," O'Rourke said at his rally on Friday, in reference to automatic voter registration and gerrymandering.

The context: Abrams filed a federal lawsuit challenging the gross mismanagement of Georgias 2018 gubernatorial election after she narrowly lost to Republican opponent Brian Kemp amid mass voter purging.

Go deeper: Stacey Abrams commends Joe Biden for recognizing harassment claims
Ariston Thermo, an Italian specialist in heating systems and related products that opened its first manufacturing plant in Bahrain last year, sees the Gulf Construction Expo as a major platform in the kingdom to establish and expand its business and network of contractors.

The three-day event, organised by Hilal Conference and Exhibitions (HCE), concludes today at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The 7,000-sq-m plant located in the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) has a production capacity of 250,000 electric water heaters. The company manufactures storage electric water heaters branded Ariston, which are mainly marketed in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

We see a good number of construction and real estate developers at the event. We hope to build new contacts at the show and yield new projects too, said Edoardo Pauletta dAnna, country manager, UAE, Gulf and Levant, Ariston Therma SpA Middle East Branch.

A leading company in the water heating and heating industry, Ariston Thermos product portfolio includes water heating, heating and solar systems, heat pumps and gas boilers. Apart from showcasing its Made in Bahrain water heaters at the Gulf Construction Expo, Ariston for the first time is also promoting its new Kairos Thermo  a solar system for sanitary water heating.

We see a trend towards energy-efficient water heaters and thats why we are promoting this here, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
By Trend

For as long as Armenia continues to engage in a destructive propaganda campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and keeps its soldiers in the Azerbaijani territory, recent bilateral talks hosted by the Russian Federation and OSCE, with the intention to pacify the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, are doomed to failure, Peter M. Tase, expert in Transatlantic Relations and Azerbaijani Studies, a senior advisor to the Global Engineering Deans Council and to various European and Latin American governments, told Azernews, Trend reports.

He noted that the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at the center of these talks, however concrete actions by the government of Nikol Pashinyan are nowhere to be seen, and Armenia continues to occupy twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and maintains a posture of belligerence in the region.

Tase recalled that on April 10-11, Nikol Pashinyan visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, in this occasion he delivered once again an inflammatory speech against Azerbaijan, stating the following in the plenary: [Azerbaijan] must refrain from the use of force, threaten by use of force and military rhetoric.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, who pretends to refrain from the use of force and calls upon Azerbaijan to stop using force, is simply bluffing, deceiving the international community and misinforming the Council of Europe. In fact Armenia is the belligerent party and the main source of violence and turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighboring seven districts, all of this territory is a sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and is recognized as such by United Nations and by all its member states, said the expert.

He believes that Pashinyan must review the OSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

In the Helsinki Final Act the principle of refraining from the use of force, included as the second point among its ten tenets, states: The participating States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations and with the present Declaration. The entire international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said Tase.

He went on to add that Armenian Prime Minister must take immediate steps to refrain from the use of force according to the demands of the international community towards the full withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in order to ensure a lasting peace, regional security and economic prosperity in the region.



Tase pointed out that the two governments are not equally positioned on a negotiating table: Armenia is the aggressor (occupying twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and plundering its natural resources) and on the side is the government of Azerbaijan (fully respecting International Laws, U. N. Security Council Resolutions and patiently waiting to solve this conflict by peaceful means, even though Azerbaijan has the military might to liberate its occupied territories with the use of force).

Prime Minister Pashinyan is utilizing every diplomatic tool and international factor that would delay any progress made in the bilateral negotiations time table. International Economic sanctions against Yerevan and constant political condemnation of its aggressive actions in the Caucasus are very much necessary in order to pressure Pashinyan to fully withdraw Armenian Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. Only after the withdrawal of Armenian Armed Forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, we may have lasting results in the solution of this conflict that has caused so much pain and suffering for Azerbaijan and its peace loving nation, he said.

As for the statement of the Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan about the possibility of moving military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, Tase said that David Edgari Tonoyan is a former representative of Armenia to NATO, in his current position as Minister of Defense he should focus more on providing sufficient quantities of food and overall resources to the Armed Forces of Armenia, which is going through economic hardships. Tonoyans statement on upcoming Armenian Military Operations is a deceptive message that wont frighten Baku, he added.

Tase noted that Azerbaijani Armed Forces are ranked among the top ten military forces worldwide, thanks to their impeccable training, cutting edge weapons technology and high levels of moral and patriotism. Tonoyans forces will be met with an unmatched response and a heavy thunder of weapons, if they try to awaken the Azerbaijani might. As the old Latin adage states: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon).

On the other hand, Tase believes that one concrete example of showing international pressure towards Armenia is to suspend the current cooperation framework between Armenia and NATO, until the Government of Nikol Pashinyan has withdrawn all of its Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

NATO must take steps on the ground and deliver political statements that condemn Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories; the alliance should halt the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with Armenia for as long as this country is ruled by politicians that have kissed the blarney stone and use epizeuxis approach when engaged in a smear campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its people, he concluded.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovic said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.

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By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order appointing Khalaf Khalafov Deputy Foreign Minister, Trendreports.

By another presidential order, Khalafov has been entrusted with the duties of a Special Presidential Representative for border and the Caspian Sea issues.

Earlier, Khalaf Khalafov served as head of the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

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By Trend

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.

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By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."

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By Trend

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

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Perhaps at no point over the past 30 years, since the recognition of the newly-independent Republic of Armenia by Turkey in 1991, have the circumstances been so auspicious as to begin a lasting and sustainable normalisation of the relations between the two nations.
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Bahrain has reached an agreement with the Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni to develop the northern concession 1, said a BNA report.

The National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) will sign the commercial deals with the Italian firm, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, adding that a draft law would be referred to the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council to be endorsed.

The minister made the press statement on the sidelines of his patronage of the annual Bapco Green School Award 2018-2019.

Noga is now gathering information regarding the analysis of the seismic and geological data of concessions 2, 3 and 4 in the north of Bahrain, he said, adding that international companies would be invited to participate in the exploration later.

He revealed that Bapco is studying a project to make use of carbon dioxide for injection into the Bahrain Field to increase the output when extracting oil.

Noga is also studying plans to cooperate with Government departements in carrying key projects such as the fish farming and tree planting across Bahrain.
Lukoil, one of the worlds largest vertically integrated and privately-owned global energy companies and the market leading lubricants brand in Russia and Europe, has partnered with Al Mustaqbil Al Zahir Cars Trading (Amaz) to distribute its extensive range of lubricant products in the UAE.

Lukoils premium product range includes Genesis, the advanced Synthetic Automotive Lubricants products, already acclaimed in the industry and approved by reputed car manufacturers globally.

Lukoil Lubricants boast over 700 products in their global range and carries more than 1000 international OEM approvals and endorsements, which include Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Scania, MAN, Mack, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, Siemens, Wartsila, ZF and several more car makers from Japan and Korea.

The agreement between the two parties was finalized at the offices of Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC. The event was presided over by June Manoharan, the managing director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC; William Gilbert Dsouza, Lukoil Sales Director, Automotive Lubricants; Sandeep Malhotra, Lukoil Regional Sales Manager besides Amaz officials including Abdullah Ahmed Bahwan, Executive Director; Shyam Asnani, Chief Operating Officer, Intl Business; Paulo S Fernandes, VP, International Business and Parvinder Singh, Head of Lubricants Business.

Manoharan, who is responsible for Automotive Lubricants in the region, said: "As the 21st century consumers, governments and industries move towards advanced technology to achieve increased efficiency and reduced emissions, the role and scope of oil manufacturers changes and calls for huge R&D investments in new product developments."

"Lukoil being a progressive organization, has already kept itself ahead of the curve and developed an impressive range of synthetic products. The Lukoil Genesis products meet and exceed the stringent quality and high-performance standards set by the global industry organizations, API and ACEA," she stated.

"We are pleased to partner with Amaz to market our Genesis range and other motor lubricants in this highly sophisticated and competitive market," he added.

On the Lukoil tieup, Ahmed Bahwan said: "We are very pleased to partner with Lukoil, a progressive organization and respected global brand, whose strategy for the region matches with ours."

"We want to bring high quality products & services to UAE consumers and continuously strive to provide best in class customer service. Our experienced and motivated teams will significantly contribute to the success of Lukoil Lubricants in the UAE," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Californians Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Include your name and phone number; they wont be published.
One of the two men convicted in the murder that introduced a scandalized public to the so-called Lords of Bakersfield is out of prison after 3
Beachy Dating Advice: Three Wowing Central Oregon Coast Make-Out Spots

Published 05/01/2019 at 3:53 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Newport, Oregon)  Whether it's trying to find a place to really impress someone on a first date or provide a little zing into an ongoing relationship, the Oregon coast is hard to beat. Though theres a lot thats cliche about romantic getaways along the shoreline, and its easy to veer into very unsurprising territory (Above: 15th St. ramp, Lincoln City).

So, what can you do on these beaches that is different and really romantic? This article looks at three places on the central Oregon coast to wow and woo that first date in a very singular way (while in a previous article suggested North Oregon Coast Romantic Surprises).





Pier at South Beach. Newport has tons of lovely beach area, but not a lot thats unpopulated unless youre wandering at night. One spot, however, is a manmade beauty by day or night, sitting on the other side of the bay from Newport.

Park in or around the marina, close to the south jetty, and youll find a pier stretching out a hundred feet or so into Yaquina Bay. Mostly, youll find crabbers and their crab pots  if you find anyone at all. But at night theres usually not a soul here. The lights of the bayfront shimmer and twinkle on the water, and the sound of the waves in the distance is quite lulling. Cuddling together to keep warm in this somewhat exposed spot is another kiss-inducing plus. Lodgings in Newport - Newport Virtual Tour





SW 15th Street Beach Ramp, Lincoln City. In many ways, this central Oregon coast spot doesnt stand out for natural beauty or the possibility of being really alone. In fact, its sort of the opposite: theres a lot of people on this one, with their cars, and its a tad on the greasy side because of the oil from the auto traffic.

However, the fact it allows cars on the beach offers some unique opportunities for interesting romantic moments. Hit this beach later at night, and youll likely find yourselves alone. Slip in your sweethearts favorite romantic, slow dance tune into your vehicles CD player or I-pod port. Then engage in a gushy slow dance on the sand with the surf nearby.

Youll be the hero for what appears to be a spontaneous tender moment and for thinking outside the box.

After dark, the ramp is lit up in an especially lovely way, and either the sloped pavement or the stairway will make for a nicely atmospheric stroll down to the beach should you decide to not take your vehicle down there.

If you do take a rig thats not well equipped for driving on the sand, be careful to stay on the wet and hard parts, and watch for the mushy sections. Its quite easy to get stuck here.

During the day, this spot does provide some fascinating rocky areas at the tideline, which can yield engaging tide pool life. Lodgings in Lincoln City - Lincoln City Virtual Tour











Intoxicatingly Lovely in Lane County. In that 20-mile or so stretch of central Oregon coast between Yachats and Florence, there are copious possibilities for finding yourselves the only two people on the beach. Even on the busiest of weekends, its not hard to find a chunk of sand to yourselves. Its a smorgasbord of kissy-kissy possibilities.

Various hidden accesses lie next to better-known spots like Ocean Beach Picnic Area, Ten Mile Creek or Neptune State Park. These are all hidden enough and even rough enough in landscape as to make them largely unusable at night, unless youve got a really good flashlight. But even then things get so dark and bumpy its a tad comfortable for a totally romantic vibe. However, this all depends on how adventurous the two of you are.

Daylight provides a whole lotta lovin opportunities around here, however.

On the southern side of the little blob-like hill of Ocean Beach Picnic Area sits Rock Creek Campground and Roosevelt Beach. Just south of the campground and the bridge over the creek youll find some hidden accesses trailing off through the shrubbery. These lead to parts of Roosevelt Beach, which is one seriously enchanting tract of sand mixed with rocky structures. Youll pretty much never find anyone here.

This beach, like many along this area, is not wide. So these are big no-nos during high tide events or stormy conditions. But the big plus is that theyre surrounded by high bluffs from which to watch the tidal melee while smooching. Along this part of 101 sit many little overlooks, which make this an awesome spot for wintry dates as well, especially if you want to remain hidden from the elements in your car. And what can be more perfect than making out in your car with a wild beach view, as the wind and rain batter your rig? Lodgings in Yachats - Lane County Virtual Tour











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Over the last several months, a visit to any Beaumont-related social media was almost guaranteed to lead to conversation about one of the citys most hotly-contested council races.

The matchup of incumbent Mike Getz, 62, and Jefferson Fisher, 30, has seemingly prompted the most conversation among city residents.

During the campaign season, a website disapproving of Getz appeared online through an unknown owner. Fisher quickly made clear he didnt approve it, instead choosing to refocus on his own mission to reshape the future, according to his campaign Facebook page.

The website later was taken down, but speculation spread on who could have started such a page and what side they belong to.

THE BALLOT: Candidates in contested races across Southeast Texas

Fisher says he entered the race because the city needs a breath of fresh air. He says hes the candidate to foster positive relationships and be a young, civil force to help improve the citys image.

Getz, a sometimes controversial council member first elected in 2011, has acknowledged that his tenure has drawn opposition from some, but believes many detractors live outside of Ward 2. He says his constituents know him as a council member who answers phone calls and emails, and addresses complaints as soon as possible.

Both local attorneys have discussed addressing crime with differing approaches.

Fisher said he believes in fighting crime smarter, not harder, which doesnt always mean bringing in more officers. He said members of the Beaumont Police Department have told him theyve had trouble hiring to fill current vacancies, so simply budgeting for more officers likely isnt the best response.

He has said the city needs to focus equally on the causes of crime, including taking care of youth.

Getz has stressed being an advocate for keeping police, fire and EMS at proper staffing and training levels, ensuring they have the equipment they need to do their job.

While in office, Getz has stuck with that campaign promise, and also led and funded a charge to put In God We Trust on emergency vehicles.

Fisher was endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association; Getz was endorsed by the Beaumont Professional Firefighters Local 399.

If elected, Fisher has said he plans to open a dialogue with the school board to build a trusting relationship and push for an overhaul of the citys website to provide residents easier access to information, among other initiatives.

Getz plans to advocate for an extension for Dowlen Road and start a multicultural festival that could happen on the Great Lawn outside the downtown Event Centre.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
One of the biggest issues facing Nederland voters at the polls this spring is a proposed $155.6 million school bond issue split into two proposals.

Proposition A would devote $82 million to build a new high school at the site of the existing building; $49.1 million to repair and expand all four elementary schools; $11.1 to make improvements to both middle schools; and $4.8 million to upgrade technology throughout the district.
Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 120 miles per hour, said media reports.

Odisha was put on high alert with several teams of the Indian Army, Navy, Coast Guard, National Disaster Rapid Force (NDRF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on standby for rescue and relief operations. The cyclone is said to be the worst to hit India since 2014.

Eight people were killed in Odisha due to the cyclone. According to the government, nearly 160 people were reported injured, with extensive damage to kuchha houses, old buildings and temporary shops, news agency ANI reported.

While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, it stated.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani over coastal Odisha and adjoining northwest bay moved north-northeastwards and has weakened further before reaching Bangladesh.

It now lies over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area at last reported around 9pm, according to the latest special weather bulletin from Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

By Friday night, the full impact of the storm was still being assessed according to local officials. Indias Coast Guard said on Twitter that emergency workers had started providing aid within the first hour of the storm making landfall, reported The New York Times.

Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclones path. India and Bangladesh evacuated more than 1 million people each from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.

The fast-moving storm struck the coast as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Several hours after it made landfall, the cyclone was downgraded to a very severe storm from an extremely severe storm.

Some relief efforts were hampered by extensive damage. Many large trees were uprooted and toppled onto roads in Puri district, according to a government spokesman, but road restoration work had already begun by Friday night, stated the report.

Phone lines, internet and electricity were all down in the city, but the government vowed to have services running again soon. At least 160 people were injured by the storm, it added.

The military conducted aerial surveys Friday evening to assess the damage, and at least four ships with aid supplies were stationed in affected areas, the navy said on Twitter.
Audiovisual technologies company Christie has been named the Official Displays and Projection Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai. It will create life-like visuals on Al Wasl Plaza dome to provide unparalleled visual experience across the entire Expo 2020 site.

With more than 250 ground-breaking laser projectors will illuminate iconic dome, visible from the sky, unparalleled visual experience awaits at Expo 2020 Dubai for the visitiors, said the event organiser.

As the Official Displays and Projection Partner, Christie will showcase its breakthrough laser projection technology, including using more than 250 of its D4K40-RGB projectors to create life-like evolving scenes on Al Wasl Plazas giant 130-metre-wide projection surface, which can also be seen from above.

Christies ground-breaking innovations have featured in Hollywood blockbusters and at major sporting events.

The award-winning company operates in more than 20 countries, and has a major presence in the UAE and Middle East since 2007 with the opening of its Dubai office.

The firm has installations across world-class events, retail centres, classrooms and movie theatres, and operated at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.

Regarded as setting the gold standard for display and projection technology, Christie will supply and manage all display screens across the Expo site, contributing to an exceptional Expo experience for the millions of visitors expected to attend.

Ahmed Al Khatib, the chief development and delivery officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We aim to create an unrivalled experience at Expo 2020 and spectacular visuals on the giant Al Wasl Plaza dome will be an iconic part of this."

"Christie is a trailblazer in this field and we anticipate an array of memorable displays across the Expo site thanks to Christies innovative technologies," he stated.

Bryan Boehme, the executive director, Global Sales and Business Development, Christie, said: "We are proud and excited to be an Expo 2020 Dubai Official Partner and look forward to creating memories with our unparalleled visual displays."

"The Christie D4K40-RGB pure laser projector is a powerhouse of technology and will wow the world with its unrivalled, rich and crisp visuals that raise the bar in image quality, making sure Expo 2020 welcomes the future in the most unforgettable and magical way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
She's the voice that soothes us into an easy Sunday morning on BBC Radio Ulster. But for veteran broadcaster Roisin McAuley, a recent holiday of a lifetime was far from stress-free due to a terrifying medical emergency.

Cookstown-born Roisin, who lives in Belfast with her husband Richard Lee and is stepmum to two children and a granny to one, took seriously ill on a world tour in March.

The much-loved and respected former news reporter, who returned to Northern Ireland five years ago after spending three decades in England, was rushed to hospital in Queensland after falling ill while visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

"We were doing a six-week, I suppose you could call it, world tour," she says. "We wanted to go and visit our friends and relations in Australia and in New Zealand. We decided to go via our nieces in New York and our nephew in California. Our friends also flew down to join us. We went then to Tahiti, to New Zealand and then on to Australia.

"We were in north Queensland beside the rainforest at a lovely resort called Port Douglas. We were able to travel on the Skyrail over the rainforest and we went out to see the Great Barrier Reef.

"It was during the trip out to the Barrier Reef that I fell ill. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I just felt suddenly ill and was out of it. I felt funny and started vomiting. We were on a kind of platform on a reef so it wasn't exactly sea sickness.

"I have very little memory of it. I just remember that Richard was going out snorkelling on the reef and I was thinking to myself, do I want to go out there, too?

"I remember thinking that you had to wear a wetsuit at that time of the year on the reef, because there were little fish out there which could bite you horribly and some of them could be poisonous, and maybe even lethal," she says.

"I was thinking all this and thinking about putting on a wetsuit and how tight it was going to be and I started to feel very unwell. I thought, I don't know if I want to do this at all, and then I started to feel even worse.

"Richard had come back from snorkelling at this stage and all I can remember is being violently sick and staff running to help me. The staff were absolutely excellent.

"They must have been medically trained. One of them, Johan, saw that I really wasn't well at all and acted very quickly.

"He took my blood pressure and told me that they were going to get the Flying Doctor in. He took a list of the medication I was on. I think he must have guessed what was happening, or perhaps he had seen it happening before.

"The boat was at this stage making its way to shore and the Flying Doctor wasn't needed as there was an ambulance waiting there for me. Thankfully there were no helicopters involved, but I was whizzed off to the hospital in a nearby town, Mossman, which was a really small place.

"It was a lovely little hospital, almost like the cottage hospitals that used to exist in Ireland. It was a small, local, district hospital but it was very well staffed," she adds.

When Roisin arrived at the hospital, doctors quickly diagnosed her with hyponatraemia, a critical depletion of salt levels in the body. Signs and symptoms of the condition include nausea and vomiting, headache, short-term memory loss, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma.

"The doctors quickly diagnosed me with hyponatraemia," she says. "It basically meant that my body was depleted of salt. It is a very serious condition. It is the illness that took the lives of the five children - Adam Strain, Claire Roberts, Raychel Ferguson, Lucy Crawford and Conor Mitchell - in hospital in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2003.

"It can lead to all kinds of problems and if I hadn't have been lucky enough to have been on the boat and had it spotted by staff, things could have turned out very different.

"I originally thought that it was heat stroke, as someone I knew had suffered from that and they had been sick like I w as. They had gone to bed to sleep it off and felt fine when they got up again. If I, feeling unwell, had gone to bed and gone to sleep, it might have been curtains for me.

"They were absolutely wonderful at the hospital. They put me on a saline drip. I was very confused. I kept saying to my husband 'Where am I?' and he would say to me 'You're in Australia' and I'd keep asking him 'What am I doing in Australia?' I was totally confused and out of it. But after a few days I came around all right.

"They asked me the usual questions: What day of the week is it? Do you know where you are? What year is it? I was able to answer them all correctly and they were able to let me out when my salt levels returned to normal. They looked after me so well. I was very fortunate and very lucky."

Roisin says it was explained to her that her condition arose due to her medication.

"It all happened because I had taken medication for blood pressure," she says. "My medication is called bendroflumethiazide and because it acts like a diuretic it can deplete the salt in your body.

"I have been taking the same medication for a number of years. But sometimes, they explained to me in the hospital, something else can trigger the condition and cause a low salt crisis. And in my case it was probably the heat and the humidity.

"It was very, very hot in Queensland at the time. In fact, there was a cyclone when I was recovering in the hospital. There was torrential rain - it is the rainforest, after all - and that was spectacular. At least I got to see that, even if it was from my hospital bed.

"I'm just glad that my condition was spotted by wonderful people and treated by amazing people and it was dealt with. They took me off the medication and I'm still off. My blood pressure now seems fine."

Roisin says that she doesn't like to dwell too much on the life-threatening experience, but instead the fact that she is so lucky and blessed.

"I never like to make things too dramatic," she says. "I was very fortunate that I was around people who knew what they were doing. Had the symptoms not been spotted, who knows how serious it could have been? I don't particularly think of my own mortality when I think of this. It just makes me think I am very, very lucky. It was an extraordinary experience and an interesting one.

"I feel that I always appreciate life and I just feel that I was so fortunate that we were able to get help quickly.

"There is a really excellent health system in Australia as far as I could see. They were very prompt in dealing with me and their hospital was very well staffed. There is a Medicare system - a system of reciprocal medical treatment between the UK and Australia. So we didn't even have to pay for my hospital stay.

"We just had to go to an office and register with Medicare and the reciprocal arrangement stood. That was very good and very reassuring.

"I might not have been so lucky had I fallen ill in Tahiti. I don't know what the hospitals are like there. I feel that it is hugely important that when people are travelling to another country they have insurance and know all about these things."

Roisin says she wouldn't be qualified to give others a warning on her condition, as it was so unique to her situation and came on so suddenly, but advised that if anyone feels unwell when travelling they get themselves checked over by a doctor. "As far as symptoms go, mine was just severe vomiting," she says. "I just felt awfully unwell. I just remember thinking that there was something really not right.

"I'm sure there are other ways it presents but I am not medically qualified to advise others. I just know the reason it happened to me.

"It is an unusual condition and it had to do with the medication I was taking so I couldn't put out a general warning to others to watch out for it, except to say that if you feel unwell, go seek medical attention.

"I don't think that it's a common condition by any manner of means, but I would just implore everyone to make sure that they are aware of the health arrangements in the country they are going to."

"For me, I don't have to keep an eye on this. They just took me off the medication I was on and it was fine. And if it continues to be okay, that's fine.

"And it if goes up again they will put me on something different," she says.

Roisin spent four days and four nights in hospital while on holiday recovering from her ordeal.

She says she has one big regret over the whole experience - not getting to see a famous Sydney landmark.

"One of my biggest regrets about the whole thing was that we had booked to go to the Sydney Opera House," she says.

"Before I took ill we had planned to go and stay with friends of ours in Sydney, visit the city and attend the opera house.

"We were so looking forward to five days in the city. That obviously didn't happen. We missed what might have been a highlight of our holiday.

"But in any case we had a wonderful time away. We loved Australia. It was hot and cheerful and beautiful. We will certainly go back.

"Next time, though, we will definitely stay out of the hospital and go to the opera instead."

Roisin is no stranger to drama and stress, perhaps due to her four decades working in the newsrooms of Belfast and indeed England.

"I went to the BBC from a post-grad secretarial course," she says. "It was brilliant for typing like smoke and taking a note, but I was never cut out for keeping 'the boss's diary'.

"It was in the days when there were ads in the newspapers for 'Girl Fridays'. I answered a BBC advert for a newsreader but I suppose I went into journalism because I wanted to write the news rather than read it.

"I've had some rather memorable moments over the years.

"I met Yasser Arafat. I made a film in Sarajevo while under siege and bombardment. We had no electricity and had to depend on water from trucks. I remember racing down 'Sniper Alley' in a 'soft' car - which is one with no armour plating.

"I remember meeting the incredibly brave hospital staff who could only operate when they had to switch on the reserve generator to keep the blood supplies cooled."

She adds: "I remember being tear-gassed in a Lima riot and reporting on the revolution in the Philippines. I remember walking through the abandoned palace of President Marcos after he fled. I filmed in Beirut during the hostage crisis, being the only reporter in West Beirut.

"I recall there being armed guards in the hotel whose only other occupants seemed to be arms dealers but bizarrely, there was a wedding by the swimming pool with belly dancers and obligatory firing of rifles, all this while I lay with my ear to the BBC World Service hearing reports about the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"There are just too many other memories to list."

And Roisin's Australian medical emergency is not the first time the broadcaster has had her holiday interrupted by a hospital stay.

"My return to Belfast in 2014 was actually prompted by an accident in France while we were on holiday there in 2013," she says. "Both my Achilles tendons were ruptured when I fell down a flight of stairs.

"I spent two weeks in a hospital in Bordeaux and 18 weeks in a rehab clinic there learning to walk again.

"I had magnificent care throughout.

"Richard stayed in an apartment nearby and visited me every day.

"Every single member of the family came out to Bordeaux as well as friends from Ireland.

"It prompted Richard to suggest we should move to Belfast. He had retired from his job as chairman of a law firm and we'd been talking about moving from Reading, where we were living."

Roisin adds: "Just after we moved - in early 2014 - the BBC offered me the job presenting Sunday Sequence.

"So you could say my return to the BBC was because of my Achilles tendons. Life takes you in unexpected directions sometimes."

Roisin presents Sunday Sequence on BBC Radio Ulster at 8.30am every Sunday morning
Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Counting has resumed for a second day in Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

Amongst the DUPs successes was the election of their first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, at Antrim and Newtownabbey Council.

Although she received warm congratulations from many of her party colleagues, former DUP health minister Jim Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Expand Close Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster. Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster.

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA)

In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA)

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Derry ward where journalist Lyra McKee was murdered (PA)

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly has topped the poll in a Derry ward weeks after the dissident republican murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

Mr Donnelly is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

He polled 1,374 first-preference votes in the Moor district electoral area (DEA) of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

He was first elected to the council as an independent in 2014. Mr Donnellys re-election came as Ms McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry, was remembered during a May Day parade in Belfast.

Her murder sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly said she died because of a reckless act.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said: This is wrong and my thoughts like the thoughts of this entire community are with her loved ones.

I would plead with those behind this attack to desist from any further attacks and seriously consider the consequences of their action.

Revulsion at her death has galvanised a new bid for political agreement at Stormont following criticism of the stalemate from a Catholic priest.

Demands for action from Father Martin Magill and Ms McKees sister Nichola Corner during her funeral in Belfast spurred the UK Government into a renewed effort to restore Stormont powersharing, due to begin next week.

On Saturday, members from the NUJ paid a special tribute to Ms McKee at Belfast City Hall as the parade made its way through the city.
DUP leader Arlene Foster at the count centre for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Pic: Cate McCurry/PA Wire

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the partys first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by party members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking a vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of the dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Hogg said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
A former MP, Barry McElduff, who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat (Barry McElduff/PA).

A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

On Friday, the Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate was elected in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA). PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA).

Alison Bennington was propelled onto Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to represent the pro-union and Christian party and praised her supporters good, hard work and good teamwork.

The DUPs founder, the late Rev Ian Paisley once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Sidelined former DUP health minister Jim Wells has said his former leader would be aghast, but her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from her supporters at a leisure centre near Belfast..

The DUP is staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and has thwarted recent efforts to legalise it.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where it is banned, despite five attempts by the devolved administration to introduce it and calls on Westminster to bypass Stormonts quarrelling politicians.

Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same-sex marriage were two separate issues.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the centralist Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the shooting dead of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.

Antrim and Newtownabbey voters have re-elected a former DUP mayor following his recent conviction for drink driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.
A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre has won a council seat in the Northern Ireland local elections.

Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

The Co Tyrone man was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on the fourth count.

Newly elected councillor Barry McElduff - who was forced to resign as Sinn Fein MP after angering relatives of the Kingsmill massacre - said he wants to move forward with dignity and integrity. pic.twitter.com/PuZzk7NHRr  Cate McCurry (@CateMcCurry) May 4, 2019

Mr McElduff and his supporters did not celebrate when it was officially confirmed.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she does not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle DEA  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance Partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

He previously ran for office in the 2017 Westminster election in North Belfast and won 19,159 votes, finishing second behind DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.

Pat Finucane was shot dead by loyalists at the age of 39 in front of his wife and three children in 1989.

The Ulster Unionist Party has suffered a number of high profile causalities, including Jeffrey Dudgeon who lost his council seat in the Balmoral DEA of Belfast.

In what has been a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

In 1981, Mr Dudgeon took a legal challenge to Europe to change the law on homosexuality in Northern Ireland.

The court ruled in his favour and the law in Northern Ireland was changed, bringing the region into line with the rest of the UK.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking at vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston  while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA)

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey, a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA)

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland wants to move away from them and us politics, the leader of the Greens has said after her party made significant gains.

The Green Party picked up four seats on Belfast City Council, including holding the one they won in 2014.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

The centralist Alliance Party also made gains in Belfast, going from eight seats to 10 seats.

Expand Close Eric Hanvey of the Alliance party (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Green Party leader Clare Bailey told the Press Association she is feeling overwhelmed by their success.

Mal OHara received a jubilant response from supporters as he emerged from the counting room having been deemed elected in the Castle DEA of north Belfast holding a rainbow flag.

He received a kiss from his partner and a hug from Ms Bailey.

Green Partys Mal OHara is elected in Castle DEA in what has been a phenomenal election for his party in Belfast. Celebrated with a kiss from his partner and a big hug from party leader Clare Bailey pic.twitter.com/GeQu2nmszr  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 4, 2019

Ms Bailey also praised the performance of first-time candidate Aine Groogan, who topped the poll in the Botanic DEA.

Mal OHaras election is a phenomenal breakthrough for the party to get a seat in north Belfast. It was a very tight race, and Aine Groogan topping the poll in Botanic as a first-time candidate coming in ahead of the mayor and deputy mayor of the city, she said.

People have really come out and supported us, they have shown us by their vote that they really want to make the change and our conversations at the door have really resonated, climate change and climate chaos right at the front of the arguments.

Expand Close Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

So regardless of our traditional cultural identities, the them and us politics, what we really need to be looking at is how we all mitigate against climate change, and that message is just being understood on the doors and over the last few days we are seeing that result coming in.

Its phenomenal.
A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service

A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service.

James McGaughey was sentenced at Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday where a judge said, that in the circumstances, he was not ordering any compensation to be paid.

McGaughey (24), of Celandine Court in Londonderry, had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm on James Healy on May 7 last year.

He also denied harassment of Healy between January 1 and January 31 last year.

At the earlier hearing at Derry Magistrates Court, Healy, the injured party, gave evidence that last January he had been crossing the Peace Bridge when he encountered McGaughey.

He said McGaughey started shouting things like "you murdering b******" and "I'll get you".

He told the court that McGaughey then followed him up to his flat and said he felt "anxious" after the incident.

The court was also told that the pair had met later outside a shopping centre and the defendant told him he was lucky he had his child with him or he would have killed him.

In relation to the incident last May, the witness said he had been walking across the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge when he encountered McGaughey and another man.

He said the defendant said to him "no knives today big man" before punching him and breaking his nose.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Alan Stewart, Healy agreed he had been convicted of the manslaughter of McGaughey's father on October 30, 2011.

He also agreed the killing involved a knife and that he had been released from prison in October 2017.

The barrister put it to him that when he saw McGaughey, he had said to him "would you like me to murder you like I murdered your father?". This was denied.

McGaughey had told the court that Healy had used "two knives" to kill his father and said the first time he had seen Healy since his release was in May.

He said when they met on the Craigavon Bridge Healy had made the remarks about his father and then reached to his pocket.

McGaughey said he thought Healy was reaching for a weapon so he punched him.

Under cross-examination by a prosecution solicitor, McGaughey denied having met Healy before the incident in May.

District Judge Barney McElholm said the case came down to a credibility issue and he believed the injured party.

He said he did take issue with McGaughey's anger towards the witness.

But he added people could not simply "lash out as that road leads to anarchy".

At yesterday's hearing Mr Stewart said that his client was basically a carer for his mother. He said he had sought counselling on a voluntary basis.

Imposing a sentence of 160 hours community service, Judge McElholm said he was not ordering any compensation to be paid and Healy could pursue that himself if he chose to do so.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to a Northern Ireland man who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) hosted a record 3.43 million delegates for the first time in its history in 2018 with visitation growth of 4 per cent year-on-year.



The results, announced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, deputy chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA), were driven by 363 Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and business events  a notable 3 per cent increase over 2017  of which 97 were large-scale events.



Aligned with Dubais progress towards a knowledge-based economy, top-performing events reflected steady growth across key sectors identified within the UAE Vision 2021 national diversification agenda, equally reflecting the strong return on investment witnessed by show participants across these sectors.



Chairing the Dubai World Trade Centre Authoritys Annual Board Meeting, Sheikh Ahmed reviewed the companys 2018 results and its strategic plans for future growth and expansion. Members of the Board in attendance at the session included Buti Saeed Al Ghandi; Ziad Abdulla Galadari; Abdulla Mohammed Rafia; Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin; Saoud Ibrahim Obaidalla; Abdulrahman Mohammed Rashid Al Sharid; and Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DWTCA and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of DWTC.



In his address to the board, Sheikh Ahmed said: This year marks 40 years since the opening of the Dubai World Trade Centre and the iconic Sheikh Rashid Tower, which was forged by the ground-breaking vision of our citys founding father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. As we remain future-focused with the aim to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world, DWTC will continue to play a central role in fuelling innovation across all sectors, driving destination competitiveness, and creating future economic opportunities for both, Dubai and the global community.



The year-on-year footfall increase was a reflection of the strength of DWTCs entire business portfolio in its ability to attract 54,717 exhibiting companies from 162 countries, of which 41,147 were foreign exhibitors (5 per cent increase from 2017), accounting for 75 per cent of total exhibitor participation. DWTC has been able to build on the success of 2017 by continuing to assert its regional leadership and impactful contributions in the international Mice sector and by leveraging Dubais strategic positioning as a powerful international convening platform for business and trade enablement, fuelling investment and expansion opportunities across industry verticals throughout the wider EMEASA region.



With strong international participation in 2018, DWTC welcomed 1.04 million foreign business travellers to Dubai, representing 41 per cent of its overall participant volumes. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to aid Dubais destination competitiveness with the development of critical event-related infrastructure and successfully succeeded in spurring growth within its key source markets. The primary source for attendees continued to be dominated by the proximity markets and Europe, namely Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, China, Egypt, Turkey, UK, Germany, Italy and Kuwait, ranked in order of participant volume. While several of the non-regional markets moved up in their ranking in 2018, Italy entered the Top 10 business visitor source country list for the very first time.



Growth across key sectors aligned with national diversification agenda

DWTCs scalable and content-rich events calendar added 28 new entrants including seven exhibitions, nine associations and 12 conferences in 2018, of which 13 were categorised as large scale events with more than 2,000 attendees. Overall, DWTCs 97 large-scale events attracted 2.5 million participants, 23 of which were classified as mega-events and attracted over 30,000 attendees per event. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to demonstrate its ability to meet the demands of the global Mice sector across a range of high-performing sectors including healthcare, science, F&B, hospitality, technology, energy and environment.



Healthcare, medical and science

In alignment with the UAE vision and Dubai Plan 2021, the Dubai Health Strategy aims at transforming Dubai into a leading healthcare destination by promoting public and private participation in the sector and enhancing Dubais competitiveness as a global medical destination. DWTC hosted 22 events in the healthcare, medical and science sector in 2018, including seven new events. Total visitor participation in this sector grew by 7 per cent from 419,217 in 2017 to 449,098 in 2018. Mega-event Arab Health, the largest medical exhibition and conference in the Middle East, topped the sectors figures with a 3 per cent increase in exhibiting companies, while Dubai Derma recorded a 29% increase in foreign visitors.



Hospitality, food and catering

The hospitality, food and catering sector once again rallied strong, reflecting the criticality of the industry and the far-reaching impact that its sustainability bears on global society. With 10 events collectively witnessing a robust double-digit surge in the number of participants, the portfolio was up 32 per cent in its visitation volumes from 325,438 in 2017 to 428,183 in 2018. Dominating the hospitality sector, as always, Gulfood, the worlds largest show for food business professionals and suppliers, attracted close to a 100,000 visitors, its strongest performance to-date. Meanwhile, the regional and global F&B manufacturing industry convened at Gulfood Manufacturing, which witnessed a 4 per cent increase in exhibiting companies from 1,543 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2018. Gulf Host, hospitality equipment and food service expo attracted significant interest with an impressive 25,000 visitors, up 144 per cent from 2017.



Travel and tourism

With Dubais global positioning as the #4 most visited city in the world and travel and tourism driving 5.1 per cent of the UAEs GDP, the sector continued to be a major focus in 2018. Arabian Travel Market, the leading global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, welcomed around 39,000 visitors while the Hotel Show had a strong showing with over 30,000 attendees.



Information communications and technology

One of the fastest growing and most disruptively transforming sectors across the world, ICT continued to remain a priority feature of the DWTC Calendar with 13 shows recording 42 per cent growth in the number of participants across events  from 226,708 in 2017 to 321,871 in 2018. These growth figures are reflective of Dubais visionary leadership to pioneer innovation, enable sustainable shared economic development and create a platform for continuous knowledge sharing and start-up empowerment. Flagship mega-show GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Future Stars, the regions premier technology and start-up events, showcasing game-changing innovations and the most illustrious investor and start-up gatherings, retained its ascendancy as it welcomed over 150,000 participants (4 per cent growth year-on-year), out of which approximately 40 per cent were foreign visitors with over 5,000 exhibiting companies. The new ICT event entrants in the calendar included the inaugural Future Blockchain Summit, which attracted significant interest with an impressive 14,000 visitors.



Energy and environment

Showcasing the UAEs progress to a sustainable future, the 20th WETEX and third Dubai Solar Show, a regional showcase of the latest developments in conventional energy and renewables reported 2,100 exhibitors and 35,088 visitors, a 10 per cent increase over 2017. Middle East Electricity Exhibition attracted 62,567 visitors, of which nearly half were from international markets.



Corporate portfolio drives synergistic value and sustainable future growth

Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to carry out critical event-related infrastructure upgrades and introduced a number of new facilities across its assets to enhance the experience of business travellers to the exhibition complex. DWTC saw the completion of Offices 4 and 5 in One Central, Dubais newest business district located within the DWTC complex, offering an integrated residential, commercial and hospitality destination, ahead of schedule in December 2018, marking the conclusion of the commercial aspect of the mixed-use destination.



DWTC also continued to extend its successes throughout Dubai through its role in the development of the Expo Village and the new Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at the Expo 2020 site.



DWTCs position as a global innovation leader in the MICE sector continues to be enhanced by the scaling up of strategic events within its calendar  both through the introduction of novel formats, niche segments and new events, as well as the development of the scalable, flexible content for its existing event portfolio. By harnessing new technologies and future-proofing DWTCs businesses by setting the gold standard in digital innovation, DWTC is able to deliver the ultimate, integrated, game-changing business destination experience, not just for 2019 but equally ensuring that we pioneer the evolutionary journey of the global MICE business as we look to the future, said Almarri. - TradeArabia News Service
Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson, who is acting as an ambassador for a huge summer commemoration to honour police and army veterans of the Troubles, says there is nothing dissident about the New IRA terrorists who killed journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry.

"They're just the same old, same old as far as I am concerned," said Lawson, who used the words of Gerry Adams to claim: "They haven't gone away."

The Enniskillen actor said he was "humbled" to have been asked to play a role in the August 17 events paying tribute to police and army veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Thousands of former members of the security forces, along with ex-prison officers and retired emergency service personnel are expected to descend on Lisburn for a drumhead service and parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of Operation Banner, the name for the British Army's deployment here from 1969 to 2007.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lawson, who plays Jim McDonald in the TV soap, will fly in next Tuesday to take part in the press launch for the parade organised by the Northern Ireland Veterans Association (NIVA), who are inviting all servicemen and women to take part in the commemoration.

Lawson said: "My family are all from the services. All through my life relatives have been associated with the armed forces and I have done everything I can to support veterans over the last 30 years.

"So when the association asked me to be an ambassador for the commemoration in August I had no hesitation in saying yes.

"It's the least I can do. I have always stood my ground in defence of the people who served here," added Lawson who has campaigned for more help to be given to the men and women who served here during the Troubles and to families whose loved ones died.

"I didn't lose any relations in the Troubles but I know many people who were affected by the violence. Even as a child I was very much aware of what was going on. When we lived in Fermanagh we owed a great debt of gratitude to the security forces for providing the security they did.

"My own father, who was a unionist politician, was considered a target. I also know that my mother lost friends in the Enniskillen bombing."

NIVA who have expressed concerns about the recent charging of soldiers with murders here, have said that the August commemoration will be primarily a day for reflection on the losses sustained by the security forces and other services during the Troubles.

The official figures for Army, police and prison service deaths stand at just over 1,200 but research by NIVA has uncovered the names of 2,400 men and women who they say died not only in terrorist attacks but also as a result of suicide and stress related illnesses.

"I'm only too aware of post-traumatic stress disorder. I know personally of people who are getting no help. It makes me very angry," said Lawson who is on record as saying that he didn't meet a Catholic until he was 20 when one of his first friends "from the other side" was fellow Fermanagh actor Adrian Dunbar, currently starring in the hit TV series, Line of Duty

"We're still close friends and we've never had a cross word during 40 years about what happened back home," said Lawson who uses social media to keep up to date with developments in Northern Ireland.

He added: "I knew there was trouble in the Creggan estate even before journalist Lyra McKee was killed. That was shocking and I see graffiti has gone up on the walls supporting the New IRA. To me there's nothing dissident about them. They're the same old same old as far as I am concerned."

On a lighter note on the subject of Adrian Dunbar, Lawson said: "Don't ask me if he's H. I'm not saying a word."
There has been a surge in support for Northern Irelands smaller parties in the local government elections.

Alliance and the Greens have topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.

With all 462 seats filled in 11 councils, Alliance is celebrating victories across the country, which saw its representation jump by 65%.

However, the political landscape in Northern Ireland stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the countrys largest.

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The unionist party gained 24.1% first preference votes  up by 1%  and ended the election with 122 seats, a loss of eight seats compared to the 2014 council elections.

Sinn Fein suffered a slight dent to its support base with 23.2% first preference votes  a drop of 0.8%. The party walked away with 105 council seats, the same number of seats they won in 2014.

The Alliance party saw a surge in its share of votes which increased from 6.7% to 11.5%. Its number of seats rose from 32 to 53.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said she not expect the remarkable breakthrough in the local government elections, adding that it has transformed the party.

She said: We got seats in places that our target was to get a candidate who would run there.

We were not expecting the surge that we got and it has been tremendous. We were fortunate that we have a robust approval system for our candidates.

It has completely transformed the party and I am excited about where the party can go from here.

The Green party and independents also made significant gains across the 11 councils.

The Green partys Mal OHara was elected to Belfast City Council in what has been a hugely successful election for his party in Northern Irelands capital.

The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party suffered some of its biggest causalities with the loss of high-profile Belfast councillor Jeff Dudgeon.

In a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

The party now has 75 council seats, a loss of 13 compared to the last local government elections.

The SDLP also lost seven councillors and gained 12% of first preference votes  a drop of 1.6%.

The Traditional Unionist Voice suffered a heavy blow to its representation after losing over half of their seats. The party have been left with six seats.

Independents made significant gains taking 23 seats. People Before Profit added a councillor to its representation, taking home five seats.

In Omagh, a former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre won a council seat.

Expand Close Barry McElduff (Barry McElduff/Twitter/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she did not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle district electoral area  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would have been aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made the comments to the media.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in the Moor district electoral area of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.
The 17-year-old victim was found unconscious in a flat in Belfast.

A teenage boy is in a critical condition following an assault in Belfast.

Three males have been arrested in connection with the attack, which happened at around 4.15pm on Friday, May 3. Police were called to reports of a disturbance at a flat on the Donegall Road, where they found the 17-year-old victim unconscious.

He has been taken to hospital where his condition is understood to be critical.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said: The arrested males were detained at the scene and were taken to Musgrave police station for questioning. They remain in police custody this morning.
Patricia Irvine, chair of the United Nations Association NI, speaking at World Press Freedom Day in Belfast

The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday described Northern Ireland as "an inhospitable place for journalists".

Speaking in Belfast on Unesco World Press Freedom Day, NUJ official Seamus Dooley warned of increasing threats to both the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

At least 95 journalists were killed last year while at work, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Mr Dooley said that the unsolved murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan in 2001 was "a stain on the history of policing in Northern Ireland".

Turning to the murder of Lyra McKee, Mr Dooley said: "Unlike Martin's murder, Lyra was not the target of a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a journalist.

"But Lyra was killed in the course of her work, the important work of witnessing news on the streets of Creggan."

He also criticised the arrest of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their investigation into the Loughinisland bar murders.

"The treatment of Trevor and Barry illustrates in microcosm the difficulties faced by those who seek the truth," he said. "On a regular basis we get reports of threats to journalists from both sides of the political divide. The threats are vicious and vile and increasingly directed at women and misogynistic in nature.

"Today we must assert the right of journalists to do our job, not just in Northern Ireland but across the globe."

In London, the Society of Editors has called on all politicians in the UK to give their support to the media.

Ian Murray, executive director of the society, said: "All too often strong words in support of a free media are quickly forgotten when new laws on being considered to constrain what the public has a right to know."
The Unite union has said it will campaign for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation to be nationalised if a new owner seeks to break up the company.

Announcing the sale of its aerostructures and engineering operations in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards on Thursday, the Canadian giant said it was committed to finding a buyer that will "operate responsibly" in Northern Ireland.

A number of major companies involved in aerospace components have already been suggested as potential buyers, but the prospect of a venture capital-led takeover has prompted fears among unions.

Susan Fitzgerald from Unite said such an outcome could spell the "kiss of death" for Bombardier's 3,600 workforce and could threaten thousands more jobs in the supply chain.

"The idea of somebody coming in and picking what they want and scrapping the rest is just a recipe for job losses, not just within the Bombardier workforce, but in the supply chain as well," she said.

"Shorts was nationalised in the past. If that's what it takes to secure jobs in communities, we don't have a problem putting that out there and standing over it. If we thought the workforce could be broken up, we would put forward that as a campaigning demand and we would be vigorous in pursuing it.

"We have no choice. Do we just sit by and let market forces dictate what happens to communities, to jobs and people's lives? The answer from Unite is no."

While Bombardier has previously expressed concern over the uncertainty posed by the threat of a no-deal Brexit, the company said on Thursday that its exit from Northern Ireland was down to a strategic move away from commercial aviation.

But the UK's eventual status within the EU is likely to be a significant factor in who buys the business.

American-owned manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems and UK-based GKN have emerged as potential front-runners.

Both companies declined to comment yesterday on a potential bid for Bombardier.

GKN was recently acquired by Melrose Industries in a hostile 8bn takeover and may not be geared toward an acquisition.

Spirit Aero, which is heavily dependent on Boeing's crisis-hit 737 Max, has recently expressed interest in acquisitions to diversify its business.

Airbus, which is one of the biggest customers for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation, could also potentially step in. The European aerospace giant owns the majority stake in the A220 aircraft series, which Bombardier makes the wings for. The sale of the business is likely to include the wing programme.

In a statement, Airbus said it does not anticipate any impact on A220 production as a result of the sale, but added: "We will of course monitor the evolution with our partner, Bombardier, to ensure that this is the case."

China's state-owned AVIC, which acquired NI aircraft seat manufacturer Thompson Aero three years ago, could also see Bombardier as an opportunity to strengthen its stake in the UK.
Sinn Feins John Finucane celebrating with party colleague Mary Ellen Campbell during the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

Veteran Eamonn McCann celebrates after being elected for People Before Profit during Derry and Strabane District Local Government Elections count in Derry on Saturday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin 4-5-2019 

Counting continues at Belfast City Hall for the Belfast City Council elections after Thursday's voting across Northern Ireland. Alliance parties Nuala McAllister celebrates topping the poll in Castle pictured with Naomi Long. Picture Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

The 2019 Northern Ireland Local Government Elections saw a surge in support for the middle ground with smaller parties claiming a bigger share of the vote - and the Alliance Party surging in popularity.

The DUP took a 24.1% share of first preference votes - a 1% increase on the last election, while Sinn Fein's vote was slightly down by under 1% to 23.2%. The Alliance Party share of first preference votes was up by almost 5% to 11.5%. The SDLP, UUP and TUV all saw a drop since 2014, while the Greens enjoyed a 1.2% increase.

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For a full breakdown visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

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Here's how the results unfolded:
The son of murdered prison officer David Black has been elected in the Mid Ulster Council.

Kyle Black ran as a candidate for the DUP in the Carntogher electoral ward.

His father, David 52, died following a motorway drive-by shooting in Co Armagh in November 2012 while on his way to work.

A republican organisation calling itself the IRA said it carried out the murder.

Kyle celebrated with family as he was unveiled as the first candidate returned in his District Electoral Area (DEA).

He said he was over the moon and ecstatic to be elected, adding that his thoughts were also with his father.

Its something I think of every single day, he said.

Its been a big part of my drive as to do what Im doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially and offers opportunities.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live inKyle Black

He said that by getting involved in politics he could give back to his community.

Speaking to Radio Ulster, he said: (My dad) was a huge influence on my life and he moulded me into the man I am today.

He was a man of principle, a man of great moral integrity and if I can live up to half the man he was I will be doing well.

He was a fantastic man and anybody that did know him would be able to testify that.

If I had of reacted differently (to his murder) that would have been understandable.

However, my family had no control over what happened to us but we have control over what I do and what we do and out of absolutely devastating consequences, that will impact our lives forever, I felt that out of that I would try and do something positive and put something back into the community.

I felt it was something good to be able to do for the people in the local area.

I cant change what happened but I will create my own identity in who am I.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live in.

He also welcomed the election of the DUPs first openly gay candidate.

Alison Bennington will serve on the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

I believe that individuals should be elected on the basis of their merit and their personal capabilities, Kyle added.
Damac Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality arm of UAE developer Damac Properties, has signed a key partnership agreement with Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, a leading regional name in hospitality, on the opening day of the 26th Arabian Travel Market expo in Dubai.



Under this agreement, Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh, an architectural landmark in the heart of Riyadh, featuring luxury hotel apartments furnished by Fendi Casa, will be operated under the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand.



Ali Sajwani, the general manager of operations at Damac, said: "Our partnership with Rotana will help us realise our vision of offering unrivalled investment opportunities in the hospitality industry. The kingdom sees continued growth in the travel sector, which is driven primarily by leisure, pilgrim, and corporate visitors, and we are confident that this partnership will translate to renewed value for investors and differentiated experiences for our guests."



Rotana's acting CEO Guy Hutchinson said: "We are proud to be signing this agreement with Damac and to be participating in the kingdoms development journey towards Vision 2030."



"The partnership confirms our commitment to achieving the goals of the National Transformation Program 2020, which entails the activation of the kingdoms regional and global role as a commercial and economic centre, as well as a destination for tourists and investors alike," he noted.



"Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana in Riyadh looks forward to welcoming guests, while supporting the diversification of the kingdoms hospitality offering, characterized by Rotanas personal touch developed for long-term guests and families," stated Hutchinson.



The agreement with Rotana, with a footprint that now crosses the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, will further boost investors confidence through an attractive rental pool programme.



Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh is the first property to be included in the agreement and comprises of two towers that offer deluxe serviced apartments and a collection of penthouses.



The partnership between two of the regions most prominent home-grown brands also highlights a shared commitment to service the thriving hospitality market of Saudi Arabia.



This rise in tourism is attributed to the kingdoms ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap that emphasises diversifying its economy with increased investments in infrastructure, real estate and tourism sectors, said the developer.



International arrivals to the kingdom are expected to increase on average by four per cent per year, reaching figures of 22.1 million by 2025, it stated.



Earlier this year, Damac chairman, Hussain Sajwani, expressed interest in new plots in Saudi Arabia. Around the same time, Rotana also laid out its plans of stepping up efforts to expand its footprint in the kingdom, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Ulster Unionists' vote has fallen significantly as the Alliance Party made massive gains in the council elections.

UUP leader Robin Swann last night acknowledged Alliance's success but insisted his party was far from finished. He pledged he would "listen to what the voters are telling us" and learn from the poll.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

Counting continues today but with over half of 462 seats across Northern Ireland filled, there has been a significant shift to the centre ground.

The DUP vote increased and the party elected its first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who took a seat in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from DUP supporters.

Party leader Arlene Foster said DUP opposition to same-sex marriage was unchanged.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson welcomed Ms Bennington's election. "If you believe in our party's principles, if you stand for our values, if you are prepared to go forward and seek selection and you are selected and elected by the people - then get on and do the job," he told the BBC, adding that opposition to Ms Bennington's candidacy expressed by DUP MLA Jim Wells was shared only by a minority of members.

The Greens and People Before Profit secured notable victories in Belfast where the performance of the day came from the SDLP's Paul McCusker and his poll-topping 2,856 vote in Oldpark.

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The son of murdered prison officer David Black, Kyle, took a seat for the DUP on Mid-Ulster District Council. "I'm absolutely ecstatic at being elected," he said. "I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support that I received."

He said that the murder of his father was always prominent in his thoughts. "It's been a big part of my drive as to do what I'm doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially."

In Belfast, DUP group leader Lee Reynolds failed to get elected in Titanic where the party fell short of the three seats it wanted.

In Oldpark, PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston lost her seat. UUP councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory in Titanic to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death in east Belfast.

Dr Anne McCloskey made history as the first candidate to be elected for new party Aontu. She won a seat on Derry and Strabane District Council.

Overall in the District Electoral Areas (DEAs) where votes have been counted, election pundit Nicholas Whyte said the Alliance vote had increased 4.1 percentage points from 2014 with the DUP recording a 1.6 percentage point rise. The SDLP's vote fell by 0.6 percentage points, Sinn Fein was down 0.8 points and the UUP 2.2.

Alliance topped the poll in a number of areas including six DEAs in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and in three Antrim and Newtownabbey DEAs.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Alliance leader Naomi Long said she was delighted with her party's performance.

"I am conscious we are only halfway through the election results but there is no doubting this is a fantastic day for Alliance," she said.

"While this is a council election, it is clear people have been left disillusioned with the stagnation at Stormont and deadlock at Westminster.

"While others engaged in the politics of fear, many people instead responded to Alliance's positive campaign by voting in a different way than they had before. That vote to increase the centre ground may well have changed the dynamic in terms of local politics."

Mrs Long added: "Some people and parties spent the campaign accusing Alliance of being unionist or being nationalist.

"We didn't engage in that but rather told people what we would do if elected; it is clear people desire that delivery, which has been reflected in the results."

The UUP leader admitted he was disappointed in how his party polled in Belfast.

"There's still a bit to go and more results to come," Mr Swann said. "It has been a day of mixed fortunes. We acknowledge we have issues in Belfast and we will work to address that.

"This has been a good election for the Alliance Party. The UUP will still have representatives in every council chamber in Northern Ireland.

"And we have had some good results such as John McDermott winning a second seat in Carrick Castle, Alex Swan winning a second seat for us in Downshire East alongside James Baird on Lisburn and Castlereagh Council with possibly more gains there. Louise McKinstry was a first-time candidate and was elected on the first count in Lurgan to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council."

Mr Swann added: "I acknowledge this has been a good election for the Alliance Party, but the UUP are in this for the long haul. We will learn from these elections and come back stronger. We will listen to what the voters are telling us."
An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher

An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher.

A judge varied an earlier ruling that there was to be no further publication of any evidence in the trial of the two 14-year-olds accused of the murder of Ana Kriegel until after the verdicts.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the ruling would only apply to one media organisation.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to the murder of schoolgirl Anastasia 'Ana' Kriegel (14) in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys has also denied a further charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's body was found by gardai at a disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen by her father leaving her home at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison including Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Star Wars fans have gathered in Ireland to mark the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Hundreds of fans, many dressed as their favourite characters from the film, descended on Kerry and Donegal for the May the Fourth festivals.

Themed festivities and events for all ages attracted tourists from all over the world to Irish locations made famous by the films.

Activities included walking tours, childrens work shops, movie screenings, exhibitions, fireworks and boat trips.

Storm Troopers invading the universe of #MalinHead #Donegal today for our #Maythe4thBeWithYou festival which is in full swing with lots of adventures for the entire family. Find out more https://t.co/NZ0KEjHD1Z #WildAtlanticWay pic.twitter.com/9RPhdXX4lE  Failte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) May 4, 2019

Star Wars events were held around the world on May 4, due to the date sounding like the films famous phrase  May the Force be with you.

In Ireland, two festivals were staged over the weekend at locations close to where scenes from the most recent movies were shot  Malin Head in Co Donegal and in Portmagee in Co Kerry.

Ciara Sugrue, head of festivals and events at Failte Ireland, said the festival in Kerry connected fans from across the world.

She said: This festival is really something that we created to celebrate the fact that some of the greatest movie makers in the world picked this part of Ireland to include as the location for their movie.

Its that connection with the Wild Atlantic Way and Stars Wars and attracting people to this beautiful part of the country and to celebrate universal Star Wars day.

The place is buzzing.

Expand Close Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Gary OToole, who makes Star Wars costumes, was one of the main attractions for the festival.

He paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who recently died at the age of 74.

Chewbacca is quite possibly one of the most popular characters and one of the first that comes to mind when you think of Star Wars, he said.

Peter was a very gentle sole. Some of us has the pleasure of meeting him and his family. Who doesnt love Chewbacca and Stars Wars?

He was gentle giant, someone with a very kind heart who was dedicated and brought a lot of charisma to the role.

Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as Star Wars character Rey.

She said: Its an amazing experience. The scenery is stunning and I can see why they chose here.

I was almost in tears when I got to see Skellig Michael, its a stunning place that everyone should go see.

I loved Chewbacca  it was my favourite character. I burst into tears when I heard Peter (Mayhew) died.

He lived a great life and it impacted on so many people. He will live on.
An emergency fund should be set up to help NHS workers at Hairmyres Hospital facing a potential delay of their wages due to a new payroll system, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon has said.

The new system is set to be introduced at the hospital in East Kilbride this month by NHS sub-contractor ISS, with fears that the change could cause financial hardship for staff.

Currently, payments are made in arrears on a fortnightly basis, however during the rollout of the new system it is claimed there are plans for staff wages to be delayed for one week on the first payment.

Hospital workers at Hairmyres are facing the loss of a weeks pay because of their money grabbing PFI employer.



As a trade union organiser I fought against PFI, as Labour First Minister Ill end it because this is what it does to workers. pic.twitter.com/Weq0sTmy75  Richard Leonard (@LabourRichard) May 3, 2019

It would mean workers receiving two weeks pay covering a three-week period, with a weeks worth of wages retained by the employer.

Workers who could struggle to make ends meet have been offered bridging loans to help make up the shortfall, although the money would have to be paid back to the employer.

According to employees who applied for loans, some have still not received them.

In a letter to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman Monica Lennon requested that funding be granted to support the workers.

Shame on @issworld for implementing this cruel pay-grab. I raised it with @NHSLanarkshire today and requested emergency support for those put into hardship. @lilian_macer represented the workers brilliantly and presented the facts that NHS Lanarkshire needed to hear about ISS. https://t.co/vtDOdvxBo6  Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) May 3, 2019

Ms Lennon and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also addressed a rally of workers who held a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

It is scandalous that hospital workers are being forced to fight for their wages and are having to consider industrial action, said Ms Lennon.

I have called on NHS Lanarkshire to work with the GMB and Unison to put an emergency fund in place for low-paid, frontline staff who need urgent assistance.

The possibility of industrial action is growing.

NHS Lanarkshire must urgently send out a hard message to Prospect Healthcare and its sub-contractor ISS that this conduct breaches the principles of fair work, and will not be tolerated in our health service.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: The Health Secretary wrote to both ISS UKs managing director of healthcare and chief executive officer to express concerns about the financial impact of these changes on staff at Harimyres Hospital, who are a vital part of our NHS Scotland staff.

We welcome the ISS proposal to provide an interest free bridging loan to cover the additional six days pay now being withheld from staff and which are to be repaid over a 20-week period.

ISS is a PFI contractor appointed in 2001 during the reconstruction of the hospital. It provides facilities services at Hairmyres Hospital, and its staff are valued members of the local healthcare team.

Senior staff at NHS Lanarkshire are in dialogue with ISS and a dedicated helpdesk has been set up by ISS, offering help to individual members of staff who wish to discuss changes in the payroll system.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said: I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was compelling evidence he was behind the leak  something he denies.

In a statement, Mr Basu, head of the Mets Specialist Operations, added: Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Mr Williamson himself has said he would welcome a police probe, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs on Thursday there was no plan to pass information from its leak inquiry to police, and said the Prime Minister regarded it as closed.

It was understood the information leaked from the meeting was not judged by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to be of a classification level that would require a criminal investigation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has described the partys local election performance as brilliant and believes its opposition to Brexit will be the key to future successes.

The Twickenham MP told BBC Breakfast that the gains of 676 after Thursdays vote were the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Sir Vince said the Lib Dems positioning as a Remain party will win them votes in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for EuropeSir Vince Cable

He told the BBC: We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for Europe.

When people are trying to make their minds up, they would and they should vote for us, knowing that every vote is a vote to stop Brexit.

The Lib Dems have taken control of ten councils, including Winchester and North Norfolk, which Sir Vince credited to lots of hard work, over months.

Congratulations to hundreds @LibDems councillors elected today, scoring 703 gains - the most in our partys history. Your commitment and formidable campaigning were crucial to this stunning result. Next the European campaign, when every @LibDems vote will be a vote to #StopBrexit pic.twitter.com/9lOQWXKiGf  Vince Cable (@vincecable) May 3, 2019

The party increased its presence across England, including in Chelmsford, where it gained 26 seats and took control from the Conservatives.

The town, which had a population of 168,310 according to the 2011 census, voted 53,249 in favour of Leave in 2016, compared with 47,545 to Remain.

Thursdays poll saw the Conservatives lose almost 1,250 seats and 45 councils  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Meanwhile, the number of councils under no overall control has increased by 36, to 71 in total.
Police are appealing for information about the robbery (Joe Giddens/PA)

Robbers have stolen a safe containing a five-figure sum of money from a mans home after bursting in and threatening him.

Police believe the robbery in Galston, Ayrshire, may have been a pre-planned, targeted attack.

The group of men entered the property on Shields Road at around 2.15pm on Friday.

One of the men threatened the 66-year-old victim while the others stole the safe, which contained a five-figure sum.

Police Scotland is appealing for information after a 66 year-old man was robbed at an address in Galston yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/XXuxGORkZ5 pic.twitter.com/aCNTz62rIS  Ayrshire Police (@AyrshirePolice) May 4, 2019

The men then made off in a silver coloured Lexus GS300 vehicle, which had a broken rear windscreen, heading towards the centre of Galston.

Police are appealing for information about the incident.

Detective Sergeant Ewan Bell, at Kilmarnock Police Office, said: Although the man was not physically injured, this robbery was a terrifying experience for him to have to go through and he has been left shaken.

Nobody should be afraid in their own home and it is vital that we find the men responsible for this incredibly callous and forceful crime.

Our officers are currently going through CCTV and making door to door enquiries, however we are appealing for the wider public who may have any information that can help us to get in touch.

We believe that the man we have described may have been in the area in the days leading up to the robbery and that it was a pre-planned, targeted attack.

Do you remember hearing or seeing anything in the area prior to the incident taking place, or did you see the vehicle described driving away from the area?

We know the area was busy with people at the time, think back, you may have information that did not seem like anything at the time, but now you know a robbery took place, may now seem significant.

The men are described as a group of four of five, with one wearing a grey balaclava.

One of the men is described as 5ft 10ins, of stocky build with pale skin, stubble and short cropped blonde or red hair.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police via 101, quoting incident number 2010 of Friday May 3, 2019 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

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Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

Expand Close Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

Expand Close Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Theresa May must set a date for her departure or her MPs will do it for her, a former Conservative Party leader has said in the wake of devastating local election results.

Iain Duncan Smith described the polls as a judgment on leadership as he urged the caretaker Prime Minister to say when she will stand down.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils after the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

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Mr Duncan Smith said the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should urgently meet again to decide on Mrs Mays fate.

We have to make a change The message was loud and clear that, since March 29, people have decided they are absolutely furious with the political class, he told LBC.

The committee has to sit again now, urgently, and decide that either the Prime Minister sets the immediate date for departure or, Im afraid, they must do it for her.

The threat of an imminent challenge to Mrs Mays position as Conservative leader was lifted last month when the 1922 Committees executive rejected calls to change party rules which protect her from a no-confidence vote until December.

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Earlier, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the outcome would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

He said the results were very disappointing, telling BBC Breakfast: What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit.

We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Ministers meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the message from voters in local elections was: Get on, deliver Brexit and then move on.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The electorate right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt pointed the finger at purist Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories drubbing.

Asked who was responsible for the losses, he told reporters in Africa: You can look at lots of different groups of people  you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

You can for sure look at Government  Im sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently.

But it was a good night for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Sir Vince Cable hailed the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Mr Cable said the Lib Dems opposition to Brexit will help them in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that, he told BBC Breakfast.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as PM and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei which cost Gavin Williamson his job did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked as defence secretary over his alleged involvement in the disclosure, was among those to call for a criminal investigation, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, Mr Basu said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

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Whatsapp Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network (Steve Parsons/PA)

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

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According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

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She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UKs National Security Council.

Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry:

April 23  A meeting of the UKs National Security Council (NSC), the countrys top national security body, is held.

April 24  The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britains new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting.

Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council.

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April 25  Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is deeply worrying.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is completely unacceptable for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should absolutely be looked at.

Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible.

In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had divulged information from the National Security Council.

April 26  An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions.

Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak.

Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved.

Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved.

April 27  It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill.

Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting.

Chinas ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure.

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April 28  Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone.

He says the UK should exercise a degree of caution about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei.

April 29  The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers.

May 1  Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information.

Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having lost confidence in his ability to serve.

May 2  Gavin Williamson says he would be absolutely exonerated if there was a police investigation into the leak.

May 4  The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.
Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech to local party members at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby (Nigel Roddis/PA)

Tory leader Theresa May has overseen a local election massacre, with one-in-four of her councillors being booted out of their seats.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils as the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw the Tory leader heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was always going to be difficult at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main partiesTheresa May

She said: Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties.

As the party who has been in government for nine years, it was of course always going to be particularly difficult for us.

But as we look at what happened, nobody was expecting that Labour was going to do as badly as they did.

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Labour lost 63 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.

He told ITV: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done, parliament has to resolve this issue. I think that is very, very clear.

Well see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections- Brexit - sort it. Message received.  John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) May 3, 2019

And shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: So far, message from local elections  Brexit  sort it. Message received.

Mrs May welcomed the Labour leaders offer to get a Brexit deal done as the only escape route.

She said: I welcome the fact that Jeremy Corbyn has said today that he sees the time is now to get a deal and to deliver on Brexit  its what Ive been saying for some time.

Its what we want to do, its what weve been working for, so now we must get on and do that.

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But backbench MPs called for her removal and warned that the party would be toast if it did not change direction.

Heckler Stuart Davies, a Tory Party member and former county councillor, said he called for Mrs May to resign because of her handling of Brexit.

The 71-year-old, from Llangollen, told the Press Association: I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly, she is telling lies  We will be out by March 29.

I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move onSir Bernard Jenkin on Theresa May

There were calls from Tory MPs for Mrs Mays removal as leader, with senior Brexiteer Sir Bernard Jenkin warning that the party would be toast unless it mends its ways pretty quickly.

He said voters overwhelmingly believed that the Prime Minister had lost the plot and that the time had come for a change of leader.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move on, he said.

His comments were echoed by former Cabinet minister Priti Patel, who said voters saw Mrs May as part of the problem.

I just dont think we can continue like this. We need change, we need a change of leadership. Perhaps the time has now come for that, she told the BBC.

Labour was also licking its wounds after forfeiting control in heartland councils like Burnley, Hartlepool and Bolsover.

Despite some predictions that Jeremy Corbyns party could pick up three-figure gains, Labour was down more than 100 seats, though it did have the consolation of restoring control in Trafford for the first time sine 2003.

Remain-backing Labour MPs warned the leadership against striking a Brexit deal without the promise of a referendum, after shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner suggested the party was bailing out Tories in cross-party talks.

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Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said: Labour should not be bailing the Tories out. Any deal  any  must go to a public vote. Without a commitment to a public vote, Ill vote for a Labour-Tory deal when hell freezes over and Im not alone in that.

With all results in the Conservatives had lost 1,269 seats, Labour 63 and Ukip 36.

The Lib Dems gained 676, the Greens were up 185 and independents increased by 242.

The Conservatives lost councils including Peterborough, Warwick and Worcester to no overall control, while Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton fell to the Liberal Democrats, with North Kesteven going to independents.

However the party held on in the bellwether council of Swindon, seen as a possible Labour gain, and took Walsall and North East Lincolnshire from no overall control.

Labour, meanwhile, lost control in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Wirral and the mayoralty in Middlesbrough, where its vote was down 11% as independent Andy Preston was elected, although it did gain control of Amber Valley from Tories.

Even where the party held on in its traditional stronghold of Sunderland, which voted heavily for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, it still lost 10 council seats.
Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council as a shabby and discredited witch hunt and called for a probe into it.

The Metropolitan Police said the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, but the former defence secretary accused Prime Minister Theresa May and Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill of badly mishandling the inquiry.

Huge thank you to all of you for all your support the past few days. Enormously grateful to have received so many kind and supportive messages - there have been far too many to respond individually to!  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 3, 2019

He said: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamson was sacked on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the leak of information about Chinese tech giant Huawei, and has previously called for a criminal investigation which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said on Saturday that he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

AC Neil Basu statement re National Security Council disclosure https://t.co/BZJUdDnBQY pic.twitter.com/rRRl13meVq  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 4, 2019

Mr Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case was referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.

40 years ago today Margaret Thatcher entered Downing St as Prime Minister. She demonstrated to Britain & the world her passion, commitment & courage to stand up for her values, party & country. #IronLady pic.twitter.com/LT4ga4dLaT  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 4, 2019

Several Tory MPs aired their anger at the handling on the inquiry following Mr Williamsons sacking, including Conservative backbencher Peter Bone who said he had been found guilty in secret in a kangaroo court, as he called for an independent inquiry into the probe.

I think it more and more looks like there was a rushed judgment. If the police dont think theres an offence it does rather put a question mark on why the Secretary of State was fired, he told the Press Association.

It smells this investigation, and it looks like for whatever reason they wanted to get rid of the defence secretary.

And Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson told the Press Association: Its good to hear that there was no breach of the OSA, but that doesnt change the facts of what happened.

An official investigation found that there was compelling evidence that Gavin Williamson leaked details from the NSC. Given that, why does Theresa May think it appropriate that Gavin Williamson maintains the Tory party whip?

But Mr Williamson, an avid user of social media site Instagram, struck an upbeat tone following his dismissal, posting a photograph of him eating at McDonalds on Friday instead of attending a cancelled dinner with the US defence secretary.

Smiling alongside chips and a soft drink, he wrote: So the plan had been for dinner this evening with the US Defence Secretary at Lancaster House. Obviously things change and you just cant beat a @mcdonalds#mcdonalds #food.

In what has been seen by some as a thinly veiled dig at Mrs May, he tweeted a photograph of Margaret Thatcher on the 40th anniversary of her election as prime minister, saying she demonstrated her passion, commitment and courage to stand up for her values, party and country.
The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to hold US Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with a new deadline for providing special counsel Robert Muellers full, unredacted report on his Russia probe.

The new offer from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler comes after the Justice Department missed the committees earlier deadline for the information.

Mr Nadler slightly narrowed his offer in a new letter to Mr Barr on Friday, saying the committee would limit its request for underlying materials to those directly cited in the report.

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He also asked for the department to work with Congress to seek a court order for secret grand jury materials, a request Mr Barr has previously denied.

The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr.

But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.

The contempt threat comes a day after Mr Barr skipped a Judiciary panel hearing on Mr Muellers report amid a dispute over how Mr Barr would be questioned.

Mr Nadler said after that hearing that he would give the Justice Department one more chance to send the full report and then he would move forward with holding Mr Barr in contempt.

Mr Nadler set a 9am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to respond to the latest offer.

Democrats have assailed Mr Barrs handling of the Mueller report and questioned the truthfulness of his statements to Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she believed Mr Barr had lied about his communications with Mr Mueller in testimony last month, and that was a crime.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Ms Pelosis accusation reckless, irresponsible and false.

In the letter, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr that Congresss constitutional, oversight and legislative interest in investigating misconduct by the President and his associates cannot be disputed.

In terms of the underlying materials, Mr Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and items such as contemporaneous notes that are cited in the report.

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He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version of the report.

The Justice Department has made a less redacted version available for House and Senate leaders and some committee heads, but the Democrats have said that is not enough and have so far declined to read it.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the new letter. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes at no point will it ever be enough for Democrats.

It is astonishing to me that not a single Democrat has yet to go read the less redacted version of the report, yet they keep asking for more, Ms Sanders said.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, and for the first time in almost 20 years a local journalist was prominent in our minds.

The death of Lyra McKee, who was murdered by the New IRA in Londonderry just over two weeks ago, was all the more shocking because only two journalists have been killed during more than four decades of the Troubles and also in the lingering but savage violence which still disfigures our society.

Sadly, other journalists have been shot, wounded and subjected to other forms of intimidation, despite the fact that it is widely accepted a free press is a vital component of democracy.

Lyra's untimely death is a stark reminder of the price that can be, and often is, paid by those journalists who seek to report on events and to uncover the truth in the public interest.

Freedom, including freedom of speech, is under attack across the globe as never before. The hostility to journalists shown by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious acts of violence against news professionals.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least 95 journalists were killed last year while carrying out their work. The hallmark of many of these crimes is what press freedom campaigners describe as "the concept of impunity" whereby people who want to attack the press are emboldened by the authorities to countenance such behaviour.

This is characteristic of both the developed world and elsewhere. All of which is why it is vital that the PSNI investigation of Lyra McKee is robust and ongoing.

Of course, the detectives here have to face challenges peculiar to Northern Ireland, and while it is regrettable that the police have to take such a step, it is nevertheless welcome to see them offer anonymity to anyone who could assist them with bringing her killers to justice.

Without doubt, a successful conviction for Lyra's murder would be one of the strongest signals that press freedom remains a cornerstone of democracy in these islands.
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There is a certain tension in the phrase, social democracy, and the description of someone as a social democrat. Social in this context is socialism by the state. A democrat supports the freedom for individual electors to express and defend personal interests in regular plebiscites. The two positions are incompatible, Eurasia Review writes in the article Why Social Democracy Is Failing Europe  OpEd.

Social democratic political parties express a belief in social justice. But social justice is a meaningless term used by the far left to attract support for more extreme forms of socialism. In Europe, social democrats advocating social justice have held sway since the Second World War. But they are becoming victims of their success at taking down capitalism, because they are losing electoral support.

The era of social democracy appears to be coming to an end. Germanys SPD recently suffered its worst electoral result since the Second World War, and Frances Socialist Party came fifth in the presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron, a political outsider. Other social democratic parties to have lost ground include the Netherlands Labour Party, Italys Democratic Party and Austrias Social Democrats. In the United States there was a rejection of the Democrats in favor of President Trump, who like Macron in France started as a political outsider.

Brexit was the rejection by the British voter of the socializing controls imposed by a remote super-state. The British parliament initially paid lip-service to the electorates wishes, before rallying round its socialist credentials and is now conspiring to stop Brexit. So strong is Parliaments collective socialist instinct that Mays appeasing government is prepared to destroy its electoral base rather than stand against the socialist tide. It comes at a time when the Labour Party has been captured by a Marxist clique which appears increasingly likely to form the next government.

Commentators attribute the decline in social democracy to events such as the great financial crisis. This and other reasons are why traditional working-class and blue-collar workers have drifted away. The philosophical conflict between socialism and democracy is at the heart of the rebellion, if only the voters themselves knew it. Instead of rejecting socialism, they are embracing extremes, and the extremes are always socialist extremes. Notably, almost none of the disillusioned social democrats support free markets.

The point missed by most analysts is that social democracy is failing because of the contradiction between personal freedom and state control.

As a form of mild socialism, it fails for the same reason as did communism. It all plays into the hands of the communists, for whom the failure of social democracy is an opportunity.
After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

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After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

"Theres no words to explain it. Everything has changed for her  she has energy, shes eating better, playing better, shes mentally better," Adetudimu said of her 14-year-old daughter, Dorcas. "When you have a sickle cell crisis, you dont have your life  Now, shes free like a bird to be able to do anything and everything."

Dorcas Adetudimu14, and her mother Juliette sit together in her bedroom earlier this week. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

Sickle cell disease is a severe form of anemia that is found more frequently in people of Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean and African descent because those geographic regions are most prone to malaria. It causes red blood cells to become irregularly shaped, rigid and sticky  prone to getting stuck in small blood vessels and slowing or blocking blood flow to parts of the body, which can be extremely painful.

Two years ago, Dorcass condition was worsening, Adetudimu said. She was suffering through multiple crises a year  one of which landed her in the intensive care unit in Winnipeg after her lungs collapsed.

"Some (crises) were worse than others," Dorcas said. "I would get back pain, joint pain  it felt like someone was squeezing your ribs together."

Doctors suggested a stem cell transplant for Dorcas, Adetudimu said, so the family kicked into gear  with the help of Canadian Blood Services  raising awareness in the community for the stem cell registry while at the same time hoping to find Dorcas a stem cell match.

They held a stem cell registration and swab event in Shoppers Mall in 2017, and while it didnt lead to a match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said the community support was amazing.

"We were happy to raise awareness about the importance of being a donor," Adetudimu said. "If people hadnt been giving that blood, she wouldnt be here today  you dont know who is going to need it."

It was shortly afterward that a family member was found to be a 70 per cent match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said. While an 100 per cent match would have been better, they decided to go ahead anyway in hopes the transplant would take.

The treatment was a long process, Adetudimu said, beginning in April last year and continuing through until August.

Dorcas had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of her existing red blood cells before the transplant could be completed, Adetudimu said.

She also had to stay in isolation because of the risk of infection.

"Shes like a newborn baby in that you have to protect her from infection, her immunity was wiped out," Adetudimu said, adding that Dorcas is in the process of being completely revaccinated.

As of August, the treatment was declared to be successful, and Dorcas was able to go back to school in September.

Dorcas Adetudimu, 14, plays the video game Fortnite at her home Wednesday, in her room that was renovated by people behind the charitable organization The Dream Factory. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

"Going to a treatment like that, you dont know if youre going to have the same child when you get back  it could have been the opposite," Adetudimu said. "Were just fortunate shes alive. Many kids have died before this age because of the disease. Were just blessed to be here."

These days, Dorcas is catching up on things she wasnt able to do before.

Shes enjoying playing volleyball, she said, and is trying to get as much swimming in as possible.

"Its good  I dont have to worry about medicine. I can also go swimming; before I couldnt go swimming because the cold water would make me go into a crisis," Dorcas said.

"She hasnt really had fun as a kid," Adetudimu said. "You cant play too much, when its cold  its a problem, when its hot its a problem, everything wasnt good. So now that life is good, we can start having fun."

Always a need

At any given time, there are more than 600 patients across Canada looking for a stem cell transplant, said Canadian Blood Services donor relations representative Adrienne San Juan, as there are more than 80 diseases  between blood disorders and blood cancers  that stem cell transplants can help cure.

There are approximately 445,000 people signed up to be potential stem cell donors in Canada, with Manitoba only representing three per cent of that  or approximately 15,000 donors.

Right now, there is a need for more ethnic donors to register, San Juan said.

"The registry is comprised of 69 per cent of Caucasian registrants, while only 31 per cent of the database is comprised of people from diverse ancestry," San Juan said. "So in order to accurately reflect the patient population, more potential stem cell donors from diverse ancestry are needed on the Canadian registry."

Registering to be a donor is quite easy, San Juan said. After completing a health questionnaire on their website, Canadian Blood Services sends interested registrants a swab kit to complete at home and mail back.

It takes between six and eight weeks to be put on the registry, but even then it could be months or even years before a registrant is matched with someone in need of a donor, if at all.

"Its actually more likely for you to win the lottery than to actually match someone  its that rare," San Juan said.

There is also a tight criteria to register, as donors need to be between the ages of 13 and 35.

However, a lot of people outside that age range can still help by donating blood, San Juan said.

While waiting for her transplant, Dorcas went for blood transfusions every four weeks for 18 months, Adetudimu said, just to get her body ready.

"Patients who are waiting for a match and undergoing transplants are an immediate need for blood and blood products," San Juan said. "So we really strongly urge everyone to continue to donate blood, as well."

New room, new Dorcas

Support from organizations such as Westman Dreams for Kids and The Dream Factory have been a blessing in Dorcass treatment and recovery, Adetudimu said.

When The Dream Factory approached Dorcas asking if they could fulfil a dream for her, Dorcas said she knew exactly what she wanted  a new bedroom.

"At first she wanted to renovate the whole house," Adetudimu said, laughing. "But her room was so important to her recovery. Coming back after chemo and radiation you cant socialize, you cant go out, youre in isolation because of the risk of infection. So to be able to stay in the room for 24 hours it has to be nice. (The room renovation) made the recovery process so much better."

When The Dream Factory approached Jaydi Dinsdale with Timber + Lace Interior Design asking for help making Dorcass dream possible, she said she jumped at the opportunity.

"Ive always wanted to be able to do projects like this, to really make a difference for somebody and donate my time to a good cause, so I was really excited," Dinsdale said. "I actually spent quite a bit of time in the hospital when I was a kid, so it kind of has a special spot in my heart."

Working with Dorcas to pick out colours, look over designs and discuss what Dorcas needed out of her space, Dinsdale said she created vision boards from which Dorcas could choose.

With generous donations from local businesses such as Blinds by Anita, Jeannies Interiors and Westman Premier Homes, Dinsdale said the room was able to be completed in a couple of months  just in time for Dorcas to come home from treatment.

"I didnt like my room at all before," Dorcas said with a chuckle. "When I saw this room, I thought it was so cool. I really like it."

"She spends all her time in here," Adetudimu added.

Westman Dreams for Kids has also been a huge support while Dorcas travels back and forth to Winnipeg for appointments and treatment, Adetudimu said.

They also made it possible for Dorcas to visit Disneyworld.

"We were just so lucky and fortunate to go (to Disneyworld) because we didnt know if it would be the last time, the last trip, wed be spending together," Adetudimu said, adding shed like to bring Dorcas back to Disneyworld and create new memories, now that shes cured.

"If I have my way, Ill take her back ... now that she can really enjoy it, she can really have fun."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

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A collection of drugs and cash Brandon Police Service members seized on Thursday, which was part of a broader pattern of seizures that have totalled approximately $450,000 during the past week. (Brandon Police Service)

Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

"When we have those numbers in those amounts that we can remove from the street, at the end of the day its protecting the most vulnerable in the community because those will filter down to the people that are addicted and have a substance-use disorder," Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said.

"If we can remove that, it allows them time to not have access to those drugs and seek some sort of assistance for their addiction."

The most recent Thursday incident comprised of Brandon Police Service members finding 11 ounces of meth  worth approximately $30,800 and a quantity of Canadian currency during a vehicle stop.

A second vehicle was stopped shortly after, where police found four ounces of heroin, which according to the Brandon Police Service has a maximum street value of $56,000.

After the second vehicle was stopped, a 28-year-old Brandon woman was found in possession of 71 grams of meth, with a maximum value of $7,000 and a can of bear spray.

Later in the day, police conducted a search warrant on a house in the west end and found another nine ounces of meth and two grams of heroin, which added up to a value of $26,400.

As a result of the drug busts on May 2, six people were arrested and charged with drug offences, including a 45-year-old man from Thompson, a 45-year-old man from Brandon, a 40-year-old man from Winnipeg, a 28-year-old woman from Brandon, a 24-year-old man from Winnipeg and a 20-year-old man from Thompson.

All six are in police custody and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Balcaen wouldnt say specifically how long the investigation took before the arrests but said the days events unfolded over around 10 hours. He said the drug bust was "very significant."

At a Brandon police funding announcement on Friday, Mayor Rick Chrest called the news of the drug bust a "pleasant surprise."

"We know it helps to at least seemingly temporarily disrupt the flow of illicit product into our community and presumably to other communities around us."

The city is currently dealing with a meth crisis and an influx of the drug into Manitoba, but Balcaen said the increased appearance of fentanyl is relatively new in the city. Fentanyl is an opioid used as a painkiller. It is especially powerful and responsible for a large number of overdoses in other parts of the country.

"Weve seen it in the last month or so starting to have an increase here, so its certainly a concern to us when you have that because ultimately it can result in serious harm or death to individuals."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

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SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

The joint rescue co-ordination centre received a notification Saturday from an emergency locator transmitter, indicating a small plane had gone down.

The centre's navy Lt. Tony Wright says a search was launched and the wreckage of the Cessna 182, capable of carrying four passengers, was found about 100 kilometres northeast of Smithers.

Wright says a technician was lowered by cable from the helicopter to check for survivors and the operation was handed over to police.

RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says they know there is at least one fatality, but they are still working on getting people to the crash site.

She says the coroner and Transportation Safety Board have been notified about the crash.
MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

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Residents of Holy Street in Ile Bizard west of Montreal, float a porta-potty down their street, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Residents of the street have not been evacuated but cannot flush their toilets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit currently by floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

"Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners," they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels haven't dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.
People in Drogheda are living in fear that someone will die before the violent feud between rival drug gangs in their town is brought under control.

Up to a thousand people have attended a rally in the Co Louth town over gang violence.

The town's locals have been sending a message to gangs that enough is enough.

They are unhappy with the Government's response in tackling a violent feud between rival drug gangs in the town.

People gathering in Drogheda for a rally against the gang violence that has blighted the town in recent months@VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/xULPp0o6Yd  Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 4, 2019

Labour councillor Pio Smith has hit out at the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for not putting enough resources into the local Gardai.

He said: "The fault lies squarely with Minister Charlie Flanagan because... we should have had the 25 gardai earlier on.

"The challenge now for him and the Government is, are they going to fully resource An Garda Siochana?"

Standing in solidarity with the people of Drogheda saying to the thugs and criminals Enough is EnoughThomas Byrne TD Breathnach https://t.co/5tZMEgeo2K pic.twitter.com/Qyo4YVLbD2  Declan Breathnach (@BreathnachLouth) May 4, 2019

Declan Breathnach TD said the message from the community was clear.

He said: "There was a massive crowd there...made up of men, women, children, community organisations, the public and politicians.

"The message was loud and clear to the criminals acting in Drogheda, enough is enough, and they want these people to get off the street and leave their town."
UPDATE: A missing 18-month-old baby, Shania Constantin, and her grandfather, Condrut Iosca, have been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai have issued an appeal to the public for help in locating a missing baby who is in the care of her grandfather in Dublin.
Maria Pearson, a native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, has won a seat for the Tory Party in the local elections for Brentwood Borough Council in England. This is the first time a native Irish speaker has been elected.

Maria was elected in the Herongate, Ingrave and West Herndon Ward of Brentwood, an area in the London commuter belt.

Maria got a huge majority of the vote, approximately 70%, and said she was both surprised and proud of the result.

"This is the first time I have stood, and I was nervous about running, people don't normally get in the first time. It was a personal vote I think, and I have to say that I'm very proud of the result."

Speaking on the on the Ronan Beo show on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta on Friday, Maria said that her husband, who's Scottish, had owned a pub in the area for two years, something which meant that they knew many people in the area personally, and she felt that this helped her campaign a lot.

"People gave me a vote who would never normally have voted Tory, and indeed never had. It was a personal vote ..."

Maria said that Brexit was a huge issue on the doorsteps and that they were 'eaten alive' on that subject.

She explained that there was strong support for a No Deal Brexit in the area, that all people wanted was to be going out of the EU, but that people had little or no understanding of the border question.

She believes that they can't go with a no deal Brexit and said explaining the implications on the doorsteps was challenging.

"Over here, in the papers and on the radio, nobody was talking about the border and what was going to happen in Ireland, something that was of huge importance to me.

They don't understand the border, they think it's like something they've seen on TV with guards walking up and down patrolling.

"I was explaining how there are houses that straddle both sides of the border, and they found it hard to believe.

"But it's something that's so important to me personally, and to everyone at home in Ireland.

"When I explained the implications to them of a no deal Brexit, then they began to understand and to come around to my point of view."

You can listen to the full interview here.
More than 20 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, Yandex. Schedule service informs.

It is reported that two flights were delayed and two canceled at Vnukovo, six flights delayed and nine canceled at Domodedovo. In Sheremetyevo, two flights were delayed.

There is no information about the reasons for the delays.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As far as blue-ribbon seats go, Wentworth was one of the Liberal Party's safest.But in the byelection that followed the resignation of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, independent Kerryn Phelps trounced the Liberals and forced Scott Morrison's government into a minority. The contest for Wentworth was a litmus test for a government trailing in the polls, and Phelps' victory was a fillip for independents. The independents who make it to Canberra are generally the exception rather than the rule  but they can make a big splash when they get there. Fast-forward to this federal election campaign, and prominent independent candidates for the lower house  Phelps, Julia Banks in Flinders, Helen Haines in Indi, Rob Oakeshott in Cowper, Zali Steggall in Warringah, Andrew Wilkie in Clark, and Oliver Yates in Kooyong  release a statement setting out the "price of power" for their support after May 18. This includes demands to take action on climate change and to potentially block the Adani coal mine. Loading Sydney Morning Herald and Age commentator David Crowe says: "The demands are a sign of confidence among key independents that climate change policy will help swing the federal election, helping them defeat Liberal or Nationals candidates." Meanwhile, the Centre Alliance party is being forecast as a likely kingmaker in a post-election Senate. In Parliament's upper house, senators assume the role of gatekeepers, deciding which laws will pass. The support of the crossbench can be critical.

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These confident candidates are not the only ones hoping to shape the agenda of the future government. What role do independents  and minor parties  play in our Parliament? Who are the ones to watch at this election? What chance do other independents and smaller parties have? And how much influence can they wield when the election dust settles? Independent, minor and micro: what's the difference? All minor and micro-party and independent MPs elected to Canberra sit on the crossbench, the seats between the government and the opposition in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Independents are not members or affiliates of a political party. To run, they havecollected 100 signatures, filled in a nomination form and paid a $2000 deposit at their local electoral office.

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Ninety-five independents have put up their hands to contest the 151 lower house seats, and 37 independents are fighting for state-based Senate spots. There are 76 Senate seats but elections are staggered and fixed to six-year terms so only 40 are up or grabs. Loading Once elected, some independents, such as Pauline Hanson, have sought to build their personal popularity into a party that can spread their message.

The term "minor party" is used to describe a party that is not Labor, the Liberals or the Nationals, which for decades have been the only parties big enough to form government. There are more than 50 minor parties registered with the Australian Electoral Commission this election, ranging from the Animal Justice and Australian Affordable Housing parties through the alphabet to Pirate Party, Australia, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, The Women's Party and Yellow Vest Australia. In the Federal Parliament, there is a higher hurdle under parliamentary entitlement rules to gain recognition as a minor party  five elected MPs are needed to obtain minor party status and the extra staff and other resources that come with it.

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Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota were able to thrust themselves into the public debate. Micro-parties are the very small parties that have risen to prominence in the Senate in the past 10 years  including Family First, the DLP and the Liberal Democrats  by winning seats with small numbers of votes because of preference deals. After the 2013 federal election, the micro-parties lobbed a hand grenade into the political arena. Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota (Ricky Muir from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party infamously pulled in .51 per cent) were able to thrust themselves into the public debate by joining together to block the passage of contentious legislation. The major parties joined to change the Senate voting system, making it difficult for micro-party candidates to get elected. Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull then called a double-dissolution election, putting all the upper house seats up for grabs. Greens leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Derryn Hinch embrace after the Senate agreed on amendments to a bill in the Senate in February. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Is the era of micro-parties over? The 2016 rule changes to Senate voting mean groups of unknown micro-parties are no longer able to funnel their votes to each other until they have a quota of votes in their own right.

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The voting system is now optional preferential above the line, in which voters rank at least their first six candidates  thus distributing their own preferences. "I think the reform is a huge advantage for democracy," says ABC election analyst Antony Green. The members that now get elected actually get votes. "The Arts Party  I dont know what theyre doing," he says. "Seniors  who are they? Pirate Party  vague idea who they area. Health Australia party are anti-vaccinations. None of these have a hope in hell. All these people think they can be the next Ricky Muir, but they cant get elected [now because of recent Senate reforms]." But some independents and minor parties with high enough profiles are still likely to get elected, says Green. These include Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, the Australian Greens and Pauline Hansons One Nation, which are able to attract a significant primary vote. "The members that now get elected actually get votes," says Green. Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has entered the fray. Credit:AAP

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A crime scene has been set up in Brisbane's north as police investigate a suspicious death.

Emergency services were called to a 42-year-old mans Mitchelton home about midday on Saturday.

He was rushed from the Osborne Road unit to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital but died shortly after arrival, according to police.

A police spokesman said a crime scene had been declared as police worked to determine the cause of death.

No information about the mans injuries was available.
A saw accidentally hitting a fuel tank is believed to have sparked a fire that broke out at a business north of Brisbane.

Emergency services, including six firefighting crews, were called about 10am on Saturday to A1 Car Wreckers used-car and wrecking business on South Pine Road at Brendale.

A fire broke out at Brendale. Credit:Video by Chloe MacIntyre supplied to Seven News

Police said the contact between a saw and fuel tank sparked the flames that destroyed a shed on the premises.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the fire was under control 20 minutes after the initial call but firefighters were still on scene to put out the blaze.
A year-long police operation that disrupted and dismantled a drug syndicate in north Queensland has come to an end.

The investigation targeting the trafficking of drugs in north Queensland led to 20 raids in properties at Bowen, Collinsville, Mackay, Sarina and Ayr.

Queensland police have busted a drug syndicate after raiding properties in north Queensland.

Police discovered about 60 grams of meth, a quantity of cannabis plants and seeds, more than $25,000 in cash, two firearms, knuckledusters, a flick knife and pepper spray.

It will be further alleged that a clandestine laboratory was located as a property in Bowen as well as two hydroponic cannabis production sites.
Iran's revenues from the tourism amounted to $ 11.8 billion since March 28, the chairman of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation of Iran, Ali Asghar Monesan reported.

He stressed that the impact of the sanction pressure on Irans tourism sector is negligible.

In addition, the chairman of the organization drew attention to the fact that tourism makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. "The creation of new tourist accommodation sites will help the development of the sector," Trend quotes Monesan as saying with a referring to ISNA.
New Delhi: The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri on Friday with wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometres per hour before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswa.

Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'deep depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladesh's low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.
Seoul: North Korea has fired "a barrage" of unidentified short-range projectiles toward the ocean, according to the South Korean military.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities were analysing the details of the Saturday launch.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch in Seoul on Saturday. Credit:AP

The South initially reported that a single missile was fired, then said it was a barrage of missiles, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometres before splashing into the sea toward the north-east. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions

They flew for a range of about 70 to 100 kilometres from 9.06am (10.06 AEST), the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details of the missiles.
Jerusalem: Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters. There are reports of four Palestinians killed since Friday.

Medics move their wounded colleague, shot by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border at Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.
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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 Israeli military began to strike the targets of radical Palestinian groups, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces informs.

It is specified that the strikes were the answer of Israel to the missiles fired from Palestine.

"To date, more than 10 terrorist targets were hit with tanks and drones, TASS cites the military communique.
The gathbandhan, the term in common parlance for the Uttar Pradesh alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has left the big two of Indian politics rattled in the most populous state.

Over the past three days, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing. The results of UPs 80 seats could determine whether the BJP would make a comeback or struggle to get the requisite number of allies, as happened in 1996, and fails to prove its majority. ...
While a battery of some 100-odd erstwhile left activists have been deployed to campaign extensively for Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Avantika Nehru, daughter of former MP Arun Nehru, has been roped in at Rae Bareli. ALSO READ: Rae Bareli Lok Sabha polls: Voters say Congress turncoat no match for Sonia The Congress is getting its act together, following reports of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar making extra efforts in Amethi to dislodge Rahul Gandhi, who had had a ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
Exxon Mobil on Friday sued Cubas state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and CIMEX Corp in US federal court seeking $280 million over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized after Fidel Castros revolution. Exxon, the largest US oil producer, is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents ...
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick. That, of course, was nothing new. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as chief executive of Uber in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in Silicon Valley, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Mr. Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future. Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would ...
By 9:30 am the line for Fultons Pancake House and Sugarbush had snaked out the door and down the driveway toward the parking lot, like the day a new iPhone goes on sale. But the restaurant, roughly 40 miles southwest of Ottawa, isnt brand-new. Its in its 50th year, and its star attraction, maple syrup, is much older. It was invented by Native Americans long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. Maple is a social crop, said Shirley Fulton-Deugo, the owner. Its the first crop of the year and a sign that spring is ...
U S President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour. The 2011 New START ...
Hours after approximately 200 rockets were fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel on Saturday, the latter responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, one person has died as a result of the Israeli strikes, and seven others have been wounded, reported CNN.

The rockets fired by Gaza wounded two Israelis, including an 80-year old woman in the city of Kiryat Gat, about twenty miles from Gaza.

In light of the rocket fire, Israel announced that it was closing Kerem Shalom and Erez crossing between the two countries, as well as the Gaza fishing zone. No specific date has been given for when the crossings and the fishing zone would reopen.

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days after nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel fired artillery and launched air raids into Gaza on Saturday morning in response to what it said had been scores of rockets launched out of the strip, escalating tensions after an airstrike killed two Hamas members and Israeli border forces shot two protesters on Friday, The National reports.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes on Saturday. Hamas-run Al Aqsa Voice reported that there was shelling in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

Israeli radio said that there had been air raids and shelling in response to 50 rockets in the space of about 30 minutes  some launched deep into Israel. The official Israeli military Twitter account reported a heavy barrage of rockets being fired at southern Israel from Gaza. It added that air-raid sirens were being sounded in towns across the area.
The sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Roopnagar Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Singh welcomed Amarjit to the party's fold and said it was Punjab government's initiatives in the last two years that had encouraged the opposition MLAs to join the Congress.

"We have got a major boost from the wave of the exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state. It is a clear endorsement of our government's path-breaking initiatives over the past two years," said Chief Minister Singh while speaking to reporters here.

He said that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's oppressive style of functioning had forced the leaders of his party to join the Congress.

"Arvind Kejriwal's autocratic style of functioning and the chaos in the state wing of the party were making its legislators feel suffocated. They are motivated to shift to the Congress because of our focus on the state's development," he said.

Singh urged Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state and help Manisha Tewari, who is the party's MP candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency in Punjab.

This is the second jolt to the AAP in a week's time. Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, joined the Congress on April 29.

Punjab will see polling for all 13 seats on May 19, the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A girl was hacked to death allegedly by her neighbour in Agra's Khandauli area, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the reason behind the girl's death is yet to be ascertained.

A case will be registered soon and strict action will be taken against the culprit, police added.

Superintendent of Police (SP) City Prashant Verma said, "The body has been sent for postmortem. Her (victim's) family is at the police station registering a complaint.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Special CBI court here on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against a Gulf-based investor for being allegedly linked to the AgustaWestland case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar issued the warrant against foreign investor Omar Al Balsharaf after pursuing the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) counsels -- Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Pramod Kumar Dubey and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta.

During the course of hearing, ED's counsels argued that the agency had issued summon to him multiple times since March 2018, but he didn't join the investigation deliberately and also didn't provide the information sought from him, while he was availing his legal remedies before the different legal forums.

The agency further claimed that by not joining the investigation, he is evading the process of law and the NBW issued against him and it is necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the investigations carried out by the ED, it was revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, transferred an amount of USD (5,303,471) to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai but the same was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf-Gautam Khaitan in the book of RAKGT, which raises many questions and need clarification. Some other entries were also found to be suspected in the case, which needed Omar to join the probe.

As RAKGT is associated with Shiekh Omar Al Balsharaf, it is contended that Balsharaf trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain about the money he got from various companies into Dubai account, in which some companies are related to accused Gautam Khaitan and other accused.

On July 18 last year, ED had filed a prosecution complaint against 34 accused persons and companies including Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former directors of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, former IAF chief SP Tyagi and others in the case of VVIP helicopter scam.

The ED investigation revealed that the kickbacks were allegedly paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels.

One channel was handled by the middleman Christian Michel James and the other channel was handled by Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.

According to ED investigations, Gerosa and Haschke in collusion with Tyagi brothers, cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi, allegedly conspired with Gautam Khaitan of OP Khaitan and Company Auditors & Solicitors based in New Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded at Bhubaneswar airport due to cyclone Fani. The flight will leave for Bhubaneswar from Delhi Airport at 3 pm and from Bhubaneswar to Delhi at 5.45 pm.

Also, Air India on Saturday announced the recommencement of operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the cancellation of all flights to and from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports due to the cyclone on Thursday.

The carrier also stepped forward and decided to ship free of cost relief material to cyclone-affected areas in the state by any NGO, Civil society, Self Help Group etc.

Heavy rains along with over wind speed of over 175 kmph battered Odisha as cyclone Fani made landfall close to the temple town of Puri on Friday morning, leaving a trail of destruction in the state.

The cyclone, which crossed Odisha coast close to Puri coast between 8 am and 10 am, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday introduced a "baba," having apparent resemblance with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The 'baba' donned a saffron attire as Adityanath does and also had his head shaved in a similar fashion. However, his face is not visible. Baba can be seen accompanying Yadav in the pictures shared by latter on his twitter handle.

"We cannot bring fake God but we bring a 'baba' ji. He has left Gorakhpur and is telling truth about the government to everyone in the state," tweeted Yadav.

SP, BSP and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as an alliance. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, BSP, SP, and RLD are contesting 38, 37 and three Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Robert Daigle, Pentagon's top official, has resigned from his position, announced the US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Friday.

Daigle, the Director of the Department Of Defence's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, will vacate the office in mid-May after serving for two years.

"On behalf of the entire Department of Defense (DOD), I thank Bob Daigle for his extraordinary service over the past two years," The Hill quoted Shanahan as saying.

He adds that Daigle and his team "have been key architects of the investment strategies that ensure our military is ready to compete, deter, and win in any high-end fight of the future. These investments have formed the foundation for our Department's FY19 and FY20 strategy-driven budgets, enabling DOD to field new technologies and weapons systems at the speed of relevance."

Reportedly, Daigle is leaving to rejoin the private sector. He did not ascertain the reason for resigning.

Daigle, who took over CAPE in August 2017, earlier worked in House Armed Services Committee and led the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission for three years.

During his tenure, his office took the decision to decommission Truman aircraft carrier and called for the Air Force to buy the F-15X.

His departure will add to the expanding void of confirmed top-official in DOD.

At present most top positions at Pentagon are filled by individuals on acting-basis, including the secretary and deputy secretary of defence, the chief management officer, the office of the undersecretary of personnel and readiness and the Air Force secretary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tiger Found Injured In Orang Park, Treatment Underway In State Zoo

Assam [India], May 4 (ANI): A Royal Bengal tigress was brought to a state zoo here on Friday after she was found injured near the Orang Park in Sonitpur district.

She had accidentally drifted away from the park. "The reason for straying out of the park may be due to territorial fight with another tiger. Orang has seen a rise in tiger population and has the highest tiger density in India. Tigers being fiercely territorial, such fights are common in high tiger density areas," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswamy told media persons here.

The tigress has now been kept in a comfortable cage.

On being rescued, she was found to have developed blindness due to corneal opacity, which might have happened due to starvation or injury to the eye.

The nails of her feet had become brittle, eyes had begun to lose vision and she was nearing her death when found by the team of zookeepers in Sonitpur district.

"The blindness, however, is curable. On May 10, doctors will again monitor her health," officials confirmed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States on Friday (local time) warned that assisting Iran in expanding its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could invite sanctions, according to the US State Department Spokesperson.

The latest announcement is part of United States' "unprecedented maximum pressure campaign" on Iran, as per an official press release. Washington also targetted Iran's enriched uranium exports through its statement on May 3.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable. In addition, activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable," Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in the statement.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment. We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the statement added.

"The US will continue to apply maximum pressure until #Iran's leaders change their destructive behaviour, respect the rights of their people, and return to the negotiating table," the US State Department tweeted.

The relations between Iran and the United States have worsened after the latter pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump came into power. Washington re-imposed sanctions on nuclear cooperation with Iran, including by re-designating Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entities, and by placing new limits on foreign assistance that could expand Iran's nuclear program in November 2018.

Furthermore, in March 2019, the US designated an additional 31 Iranian individuals and entities "linked to Iran's WMD proliferation-sensitive activities," as per the US Department of State.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar being placed on United Nations terror list will not have any impact on Pakistan and United States relations, asserted Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on Saturday.

"We want good relations with the US. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Majeed said quoting Duniya news.

On Wednesday, the UN designated Azhar as a 'global terrorist' after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal floated by US, UK and France in the UNSC following the Pulwama terror attack.

"Those steps are not to make anyone happy but it is for our own need. It will not have any impact on US-Pakistan relations," he asserted.

In a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, the United Nations on Wednesday added Azhar to the United Nations 1267 ISIL and al-Qaeda Sanctions List.

After putting technical holds for 10 years, China on Wednesday supported the draft resolution put forward by P3 Nations - United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The United States has welcomed the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist and has sought "sustained actions" from Pakistan against terrorism perpetrating from its soil.

This was the second proposal in a year by the P3 nations, the first proposal was moved 12 days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in Kashmir in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed after a Pakistan-backed JeM terrorist rammed an IED laden car into the jawans' convoy.

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Stepping up the attcak after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, Finance Minister Arun jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's PM," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 per cent stake) and US Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.

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One person died and four were injured as a result of the attack by Israeli forces responding to the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

"A 22-year-old Palestinian was killed, four more injured as a result of an Israeli air forces strike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip," spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said.

According to the press service of the Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian militants fired about 90 missiles in the morning, dozens of which were intercepted by missile defense systems. Israel responded with tank fire and air strikes on militant positions and rocket launchers, including in the north of the enclave.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at BJP calling its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls -- 'a cut and paste job of old documents'. "Who is discussing BJP Manifesto? I have not seen or heard anyone talking about BJP's manifesto. It is a "cut and paste job" of old documents, he said addressing a press conference here. "The only manifesto which is being discussed across the country is Congress manifesto. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not discuss his party's manifesto. I have not seen any BJP minister who speaks about its manifesto. They are only speaking against the Congress manifesto. The only manifesto, which is before the people, is the Congress manifesto," he said. Claiming that the Congress and its declared allies are ahead of BJP and their declared allies in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said

"The government will not let NSSO publish the data. Where are the jobs? We have learnt 4 lakh government posts are lying vacant and 20 lakh post are vacant in the state government. It was our first election promises that we will fill all these 24 lakh vacant posts by March 21, 2020. This is a low hanging fruit and we will do it." Chidambaram said Modi also said he will double farmers' income but in the last five years, farmers' death has doubled.

"Ask any farmer he will say the same. That is why we are promising a separate Kisan budget. For the first time, people will know what is really being done for agriculture. If a farmer defaults on a loan, he will not be jailed. It is a big promise," he added. Asserting that if BJP comes to power there will be no Nyay to people of India, Chidambaram said: Nyay scheme (Nyuntam Aay Yojna) is justice for India's poorest people. "Around 20 per cent of Indian population lives below the poverty line. Nyay will revolutionise the poorest part of India's economy."

"BJP can say they cannot implement NYAY because it is unimplementable for them. The biggest idea they have done is to ask people to do yoga," he added.

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Leicester City's manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as "one of the best players in the world."

"What I loved about Raheem was that, for a young boy, he knew what he wanted to be," Rodgers told a press conference.

"When I ask young players what it is they want to achieve, he wanted to be one of the best players in the world, at that age," Goal quoted Rodgers, as saying.

"He's taken his game now to a level where he clearly is one of the best players in the world," he said.

The 46-year old further added that Sterling has put in the work and did not rely solely on his talent.

"He was someone who was always going to do the work, he wasn't just expecting it because of his incredible talent. This was a boy who looked after his body and his life to ensure that he could give himself every chance to do that," Rodgers said.

Rodgers even enunciated that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is not the same without Sterling.

"I look at Pep [Guardiola's] team and it's not the same if he's not in it," he said.

Rodgers' Leicester City will compete with Manchester City in the Premier League on May 7.

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At least 17 people, including police officers and Taliban militants, were killed during clashes here on Saturday, according to the provincial police chief.

"The clashes started in the early hours of the day after Taliban stormed Boldak Nika police security checkpoint in Spin Boldak district, southern part of provincial capital Kandahar city. And the exchange of fire lasted for four hours leaving the casualties," General Tadeen Khan told Xinhua.

Out of the deceased, three are police officers while 14 are Taliban militants. Furthermore, four police officers and seven Taliban militants were also injured due to the fighting.

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In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the Prime Minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Gandhi.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA, the Gandhi scion said he is ready for all the investigation.

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Gandhi told reporters.

Gandhi also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar Chor hai' as he hasn't apologized for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan.

"The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The results of all the phases will be announced on May 23.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said the party wanted Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to focus on 20 seats instead of being captive to only the Varanasi parliamentary constituency with an aim to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi by contesting polls.

On being asked whether Priyanka's decision not to contest elections from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is because Modi is said to be invincible from the temple city, Pitroda in an interview to ANI said, "Earlier also I have said that it has to be her own decision because contesting elections is a very personal decision and it has to be a decision between a party and a person. When the party and the person collectively made that decision, we all have to support it."

When asked about the reason behind Priyanka's decision not to contest polls, Pitroda said, "They must have felt it is better to use her time and talent on more seats rather than one seat and not divert her energy to one place as opposed to 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh."

Priyanka had faced much criticism for her decision not to contest from Varanasi against Modi despite a big build-up.

Congress has fielded Ajay Rai, a local Congress leader against Modi in the temple town.

Varanasi will go to polls in the last phase of elections on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

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Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching speed of 200 kmph, and left three persons dead besides over 160 injured, a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst April storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre has released Rs. 1,000 crores to Odisha and other states to deal with the devastation caused by Fani.

Director General of the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said that three persons lost their lives during the cyclone.

"As of now, three persons have lost their lives in the cyclone. The precautions that have been taken should be continued," Pradhan told ANI.

Central government spokesperson Sitansu Kar said quoting a telephonic conversation with state administration officials that 160 people were reportedly injured.

A state government statement said, "There is extensive damage to dwelling houses. Almost all kutcha and old pucca have been fully or severely damaged."

Power supply snapped due to the uprooting of electricity poles, damage to substations and KV lines. "Power restoration process is in full swing," it said. Uprooted trees and electricity poles blocked roads preventing vehicular movement.

The cyclone caused damage to telecom towers resulting in failure of cellular and land-line telephone networks in several areas including capital Bhubaneswar. "All telephone and cell phones are down in Puri district," the statement said.

Large-scale devastation has also been caused to summer crops, orchards and plantations, it added.

The storm caused extensive damage to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with several overhead water tanks and a part of the roof getting blown away. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said.

Strong winds uprooted several electricity poles on the campus. However, all patients, staff and students are safe. "We have enough supply and are ready to support the state," Sudan said.

Massive waves along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state inundated low-lying areas in Ganjam. Khordha, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A large crane at an under-construction building site fell on the buildings nearby but there was no indication whether there were any human casualty.

The office of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik posted on Twitter that over 11 lakh people from the vulnerable regions have been evacuated since Thursday.

Over 3 lakh people were evacuated from Ganjam district alone, followed by 1.3 lakh from Puri district. Around 5000 kitchens are operating to serve people in shelters.

A 60-year-old reportedly died in a shelter home in Kendrapara following a heart attack.The cyclone weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" after landfall.

"Everything is flying in Air ..have literally turned deaf because of wind sound ..All window panes were broken..difficult indeed ..if this is my condition in a concrete building ..I pray for the lives of millions," tweeted BJP leader Sambit Patra who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Puri.

"The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun ..extremely high wind speed ..heavy rain ..the harrowing sound ..reminds me of 1999 Supercyclone With folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jaganath ji to give us the strength to endure this," he said.

Civilian air services have been suspended from airports in Odisha and Kolkata while nearly 225 trains cancelled including 56 on Friday.

Indian Navy's P-8I and Dornier aircraft are scheduled to undertake an aerial survey to assess the extent of impact and devastation caused by the cyclone.

Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Paradip, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata besides four ships at Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Helpline number - 1938 - has been made operational by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter, saying that she has cancelled all her election rallies till May 5 in her state.As Fani continues to move north-northeast, it is likely to further weaken into a "severe cyclonic storm".

The system is expected to weaken gradually and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal as a "severe cyclonic storm" by the early morning of May 4, the MeT department said. Thereafter, it is expected to move further north-northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh by May 4 evening as a cyclonic storm.

Disaster Response Force teams deployed in Digha, West Bengal, has evacuated nearly 150 people including children from Dattapur and Tajpur to a shelter.

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The Odisha government claimed the cyclone 'Fani' has led to one of the biggest human evacuations in history as a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours including 3.2 lakh from Ganjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri.

"3.2 lakh from Ganjam and 1.3 lakh people from Puri were evacuated with almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. The mammoth exercise involved more than 45 thousand volunteers, 3 million targeted messages, 2000 emergency workers, youth clubs and other civil society organizations, ODRAF, NDRF, PRI agencies," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik also added that the death toll is only in single digit without mentioning the exact number. "According to our latest report, it is only in single digit," he said.

Cyclone Fani on Friday made landfall in Puri with a wind speed of over 200 Km/hr. 'Kuccha' houses were completely destroyed in Puri, parts of Khurda, and other districts. The cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply. Lakhs of trees were uprooted blocking roads, breaking homes and damaging infrastructure.

The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in the state. It left three people dead and over 160 injured along with leaving behind a trail of destructions that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm" was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Cyclone Fani has weakened and is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of the cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal," said Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations, NDRF.

Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching the speed of 200 kmph, and left three people dead and over 160 injured. It also left behind a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Air India on Saturday announces the recommencement of its operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport.

On the other hand, for the convenience of passengers, the Railways has decided to run a special train from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, today evening. This Special Train will leave Bhubaneswar at 7 pm and will reach Bangalore at 1.35 am on May 6.

It will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nandayal, Guntakal and Dharmavaram between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.

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BJP candidate from North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat Hans Raj Hans on Saturday mentioned the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman while addressing a rally here.

Hans said that Wing Commander Varthaman was taken into custody in Pakistan after a "successful operation."

"Hum sochte they ki pehle jaise delay ho jaega, Ye na ho Sarabjit jaise usko bhi fansi laga dein bahut papi,beimaan mulq hai," he added.

This comes after the Election Commission earlier today gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Wing Commander Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

While addressing a poll rally, Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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The US Defense Department is preparing for the final exclusion of Turkey from the program to create the newest American F-35 bomber fighters, the acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said, specifying that this measure is due to the purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 by Ankara.

According to him, he held a meeting with the direction board of the US military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin and the United Technologies company. The parties discussed in detail the consequences of Turkeys possible exclusion from the F-35 program. "If we cannot find a solution to the current situation, then we need to carry out our plans in terms of their progress," TASS quotes Shanahan as saying with a reference to the transcript of the conversation published by the Pentagon.

The acting Defence Minister stressed that it is necessary to make sure that the plan is effective. I need plans that don't have a single weak point, with a zero risk of failure, so that we can smoothly deliver F-35 to our other customers, he stressed.

In addition, Shanahan noted that during the meeting with the management of the companies he understood where the risk level is high. "Now it is necessary to make decisions to reduce this risk, but at the same time, we continue the negotiations with Turkey," the acting Defence Minister noted.

He stressed that the Turkish side is still the US strategic partner. "In my opinion, today the relations between Turkey and the United States are better than two or four months ago, simply because of the frequency of contacts," he explained, reiterating that the purchase of S-400 by Ankara will lead to the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program.

Shanahan also confirmed the Pentagons position on impossibility of the simultaneous use of the Russian S-400 and the American F-35 systems.
Final voter turnout in the fourth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections held on April 29 stood at 65.51 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (EC) on Saturday.

The voting percentage is 2.46 per cent higher than in 2014. The 2014 Lok Sabha witnessed 63.05 per cent turnout in the fourth phase.

The first, second and third phases of the Lok Sabha polls held on April 11, 18 and 23 witnessed a turnout of 69.5 per cent, 69.44 per cent, and 68.4 per cent respectively.

A total of 72 seats from nine states including Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the fourth phase.

The polling percentage in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections was the highest in West Bengal - around 76.44 per cent till 5 pm, EC had said on Monday.

Eight seats of the state went to the polls in the fourth phase. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage for these seats was 83.38 per cent.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout with just 10.5 per cent votes. Polling for Anantnag seat is scheduled to be held in three phases. Kulgam district went to polls in the fourth phase.

The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

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Escalating the tensions in the region, Gaza on Saturday launched rockets towards Israel after the latter's forces killed four Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip on Friday, reported Al Jazeera.

Reportedly, Israeli defence forces are intercepting rockets through its Iron Dome missile.

According to Gaza health ministry, while two civilians were killed in the firing by Israeli forces, two others died in air strikes. Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries.

Israeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling with Palestinian protestors.

Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson said, "Some roads and sites along the Gaza border, including the Zikim beach, would be closed off after Friday's incident, which comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are in Egypt in an attempt to bring about calm in the border."

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days as nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

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The British police on Saturday declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecom company Huawei, saying that the disclosure does not amount to any crime.

In a statement, Neil Basu, Britain's counter-terrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the Defence Secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act, Al Jazeera reported.

"No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police," he said.

Opposition lawmakers had urged for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary over reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain's new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). The council's discussions were only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first signed the Official Secrets Act that allows them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office," Basu was quoted as saying.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances," he added.

Williamson has repeatedly denied he was the source of the leak and suggested that May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G networks.

The 42-year-old former minister was once a trusted ally of May. He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

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A day after North Korea fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, their leader Kim Jong-un supervised the "strike drill" of defence units to test their performance, state media reported.

"The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance of large-calibre long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units in the frontline area and on the eastern front," said state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from its eastern coastal town of Wonsan into the East Sea. They flew about 70 kilometres to 200 kilometres, reported Yonhap News agency.

Despite this, United States President Donald Trump reaffirmed confidence in the North Korean leader, saying that "he won't break his promise."

"Anything in this very interesting is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" Trump tweeted.

Saturday's weapons tests were the most serious by the Asian country since it launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017, The New York Times reported.

South Korean officials said the "short-range" projectiles flew only 42 to 124 miles off the North's east coast, ruling out the possibility that the country had resumed tests of intermediate- or intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

The launch of the short-range missile comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea are yet to see progress following the abrupt fallout of the Hanoi summit.

Ties between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock over the ease of sanctions, where Pyongyang sought relief as a recognition of the steps taken towards denuclearisation.

No joint statement was released following the talks, as it is reported that the two countries could not resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

Washington has, until now, reinforced that relief in sanctions would only be given after Pyongyang carries out "complete and verifiable" denuclearisation.

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Hitting out at the BJP for terming his party's rule in Uttar Pradesh as "gundaraj," Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that "let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us but show us FIR copies registered against state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath." "They blamed us for gundaraj (hooliganism) in Uttar Pradesh. I want to say let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us. But also show us FIR copies registered against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," Akhilesh Yadav said while addressing an election rally here. "He has been charged under several sections. I can not even count them and you cannot even imagine what kind of sections he was charged under," he added. The SP chief and former chief minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled the nomination of his party candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav from Varanasi. "The government claims that it wants to end terrorism but it was afraid of a jawan."

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Yadav said: "What are the BJP people bringing on roads? It is bulls. And bulls are hurting the people on roads. If a bull hurts anyone, what charges the police will impose on them? Will they register an FIR against a bull?"

Yadav wondered if a case will be filed against any bull if it hurts anyone and demanded that the FIR should be registered against Adityanath instead. He also claimed that seven people died in Lucknow because of the bulls.Later, Akhilesh attacked Adityanath for branding him a 'tonti-chor' (a thief who steals water tap).

"The Chief Minister (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) and a few of his officials have taught 'chilam' (tobacco pipe) to PM Modi. Those who are calling us 'tonti tonti,' they are the one with chilam" (Mukhyamantri ji ne aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chilam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chilam wale)."

Polling for 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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A retired employee of an insurance company has been arrested for allegedly molesting at least six girls including minors in Jagrati area of Meerut.

The accused identified as Vimal, 65, has been working as a social activist, providing shelter and free education to the poor girls.

"We have arrested an old man for allegedly physically exploiting at least 6 girls, including minors, at his residence in Jagrati Vihar colony. FIR will be registered in the case. Have also arrested another person in connection with the case," senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told ANI.

The horrendous incident came to light on Thursday when CCTV footage of Vimal's residence at Jagrati Vihar was inspected. Vimal used to persuade young innocent girls and later used to sexually abuse them.

"The accused was living in the posh area while going through CCTV footage we found young girls being molested. Vimal has been arrested and the family of the victims have been informed., he added.

A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

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Muslim Education Society (MES) President Dr P A Fazal Gafoor has received an anonymous call threatening to kill him, a day after he issued a circular banning students from covering their faces with religious veils at its educational institutions.

He received the call from an international number on Friday, following which he filed a complaint at Nadalkavu police here, he said in a complaint in which he had alleged that the caller used "threatening, harsh and demeaning" words against him.

Founded in 1964, MES runs as many as 35 colleges and 72 schools.

In the notice banning religious veils issued on May 2, he had also asked the institution heads and officer-bearers of the local management of the institutions to remain vigilant.

His notice had come days after Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' demanded the imposition of a ban on the burqa in India in the interest of security, citing a similar measure taken in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks last month.

The editorial had stated, "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the Prime Minister as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday."

The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by an NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.

The Sri Lankan government on April 28 took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on the occasion of Easter Sunday on April 21, claiming the lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds.

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A Delhi court is recording the statement of former Union Minister MJ Akbar today in connection with a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani after she complained of sexual misconduct.

Ramani and other senior journalists will also appear before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal today.

She had on April 10 pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar.

In the last hearing, ACMM Vishal had also granted a permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance in the hearings to follow.

In February, Ramani was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

Ramani was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo campaign.

Akbar, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, had filed a defamation case against the journalist for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The allegations levelled against him forced him to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.

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Actor Vivek Oberoi, who essayed the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his biopic 'PM Narendra Modi,' on Saturday said that the latter will remain the Prime Minister of the country even after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The history of India demonstrates that whenever any a prince or any foreigner has ruled us, they have only robbed us. Now, all the citizens and all the 'Chowkidasrs' won't let the country be robbed again," he told media persons.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory is confirmed. He is the Prime Minister and he will remain the Prime Minister. Now, India won't get robbed. Rather it will rise," Vivek said.

Vivek was in the capital to take part in BJP's 'Saaton Seetein Modi Ko' campaign at the India Gate. Bengaluru South BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya and Kapil Mishra were also present.

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Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JDU and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling it a "vote cutter" party. He also accused Congress and SP of "betraying" BSP supremo Mayawati for their personal gains.

"Congress leaders are happily sharing the stage with SP in rallies. These people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. The party which was staking claim to prime ministerial post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said at a public rally here.

"These people made an alliance just to benefit themselves. They took advantage of Mayawati by showing her dreams of becoming the prime minister. But instead, Congress and SP kept her in the dark," he added.

Raking up the alleged links of Congress president Rahul Gandhi with Scorpene deal, Modi said: "Today I read that during UPA's tenure, one of naamdar's (dynast) business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

Continuing his attack on Congress, the Prime Minister remarked: "The naamdars used to say they are scared of Modi's effect and his aura. Now they are openly saying they can't win against Modi unless they can taint his hard work, honesty and nationalism. The naamdar (Gandhi) himself admitted that a campaign is being run against Modi to spoil his image."

Targeting 'mahagathbandhan', Modi alleged that if the grand alliance come to power, then it would spoil the future of the youth in the country and indulge in personal benefits.

"If the 'mahamilavat' is given free rein, they will ruin the future of the country's youth and pursue benefits only for themselves. So, naamdar, open your ears. This Modi has been working hard for the country in the last five decades. He has given his life for the nation and nothing else," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister listed five dangers that the mahagathbandhan poses including corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic and bad governance. Taking a dig at Congress, Modi said he was not "born with a golden spoon or into a royal family."

Exuding confidence that the BJP will be voted to power again, he said, "The people of Uttar Pradesh decided the results already in the four phases of voting. The people here have vowed that they want development and nothing else. The 'mahamilawati' can't understand now what game they should play in the remaining phases of polling. A situation could arise that they will run away from the field seeing people' enthusiasm."

Accusing the Congress of not doing anything for poor, Modi said: "Rahul is shouting loudly that he wants proof of Modi's works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor," he said.

Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, 39 of them have gone to polls in Uttar Pradesh while remaining 41 constituencies will go to polls during the next three phases of the polling, that is scheduled on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of being a 'Chowkidar' only for a few businessmen while ignoring the welfare of farmers and youths.

Addressing a poll rally in Sultanpur parliamentary constituency, Rahul Gandhi lambasted the Prime Minister and said, "The whole country has understood this now that this 56-inch-chest man or chowkidar has done chowkidari of only Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and not of farmers or youth. This chowkidar has no strength and he couldn't stand in front of Choksi and Vijay Mallya and sold off complete country".

He also said that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are a fight between NYAY and injustice and said, "I had asked Prime Minister four questions in Lok Sabha but he couldn't answer. He gave a speech of one and half hours in the Parliament but was very comfortable while making that address."

"There have been many promises made by him one after the other but during these elections, he is not able to speak a single word about his own promises. It is because he has no strength and he is hollow," said the Gandhi scion in a strongly worded attack against the Prime Minister.'

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi is contesting on BJP's ticket from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Congress has fielded former legislator Sanjay Singh against her.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

"The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. After examination, the Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted," the electoral body stated on Saturday.

While addressing a poll rally, Prime Minister Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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Prince Harry delayed his trip to the Netherlands next week as he awaits the arrival of his first child.

"Due to the logistical planning for the traveling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as saying.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned," the spokesperson added.

While there have been speculations that Meghan Markle has already secretly given birth, Buckingham Palace recently confirmed to E! News that the baby hasn't been born yet.

The announcement of Harry and Meghan expecting their first child together was made on the Twitter handle of Kensington Palace on October 15 last year.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sending bribes of Rs 20,000 to village headmen of Amethi parliamentary constituency.

Addressing a public gathering Priyanka levied these strong acquisitions against her political rivals and said: "Wrong kind of campaign is happening here as money is being distributed. I am sending our election manifesto to village headman but BJP is sending letters with Rs 20,000 in the envelope. They are thinking that Amethi headmen will sell themselves for Rs 20,000. They think that generations of love, generations of development can be purchased in Rs 20,000."

Priyanka, who is also Congress's general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh East, said the BJP government is halting development work in Amethi.

"BJP government has been there in the country for five years. People voted in large number to bring their government in power in the state and Centre. Now there is BJP government in State and Centre and the effect is such that the projects started by Rahul Gandhi are being halted in this parliamentary constituency," she said.

In a direct attack on the BJP candidate Smriti Irani, she accused Irani of visiting Amethi for very less number of times. She said: "BJP candidate came to this constituency only for 16 times in all these years. Every time she comes, she leaves in just four hours. Compared to this, your MP Rahul Gandhi has come two times more to the constituency and has always met people and listen to their problems."

On April 30, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said, in last five years, BJP leader Smriti Irani visited Amethi more times than Congress President Rahul Gandhi did in the last 15 years.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting against BJP candidate Smriti Irani from Amethi parliamentary constituency. Gandhi had defeated Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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Draught in many parts of Maharashtra is adversely affecting students from these regions who are living in other cities of the state for higher or to prepare for tests for government jobs.

One such student living and studying in Pune, Deepak Kangne said, "I belong to a drought-prone district and I am preparing for competitive exams staying in Pune. My native place gets hit by drought every year and farming suffers which in turn hampers our financial situation. I do a part-time job to support my studies."

Many students from these drought-hit areas also say that they won't be going back to their homes during summer holidays as that would increase financial burden on their families.

Another student Nivrati Tiwode said, "I am from Nanded district and have been living here for four years. I do not get money from home and hence work with a catering company during weekends. I cannot go home even during vacations because I have to work during that time to earn money for fees for next year."

While, these students fight through these adversities to continue their education, there are also organisations which help them sail through these challenging times.

Tiwode said that an organisation called Student Helping Hand provides them with free food twice a day.

Vinayak another student from Nanded living in Pune said, "I do not get any financial help from my home and work on a cloth shop part-time. Students Helping Hand provides us with food two times a day."

Organisation President Kuldeep Ambedkar says, "We try to help the students who are financially struggling. 2,000 students filed an application seeking help. But due to financial constraints, we are able to provide food to 600 only."

The Government of Maharashtra has declared 151 talukas as drought affected.

On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for wishing to scrap the sedition law if they come to power after the Lok Sabha polls.

"Rahul baba says; Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap the sedition law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail," asked Shah, while addressing an election rally here.

He also went on to recall the incidents which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in February 2016 and said that if the sedition law was removed, then those raising anti-India slogans could not be jailed.

"Slogans were raised in JNU -- Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah, Insha Allah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government put them behind the bars under sedition law. If you scrap sedition law, how will you put them in jails," he asked.

The BJP president was joined by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and BJP MP candidate from North West Delhi Hans Raj Hans in the public meeting.

Shah also said that he had just attended a roadshow in Amethi and he could guarantee that Rahul Gandhi's constituency will make BJP win this time.

"I have just come after holding a roadshow in Amethi and I will tell you what is going to happen this time in Rahul baba's constituency. Lotus will bloom in Amethi this time, guaranteed," he said.

"I will not speak much but I promise to come here again and reveal every misdeed of Arvind Kejriwal," he said attacking the Delhi Chief Minister.

Delhi will see polling for seven Lok Sabha seats on May 12, the sixth phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Rescue and relief operations were mounted on a massive scale in Odisha, which was recovering from devastation on Friday left by Cyclone Fani that crossed West Bengal on Saturday, bringing in its wake heavy rains in Kolkata and causing damage in various towns of the state.

Extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure was reported from Puri, Bhubaneshwar and other parts of Odisha when the storm with wind speed reaching up to 175kmph lashed the Odisha coast after it made landfall near Puri coast.

The Crisis Management Committee met in Delhi on Saturday and reviewed the rescue and relief measures being carried out in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It was felt that due to timely measures and large scale evacuation of people to safety shelters, loss of human lives was minimal.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the death toll was only in single digit but did not give the exact figure. He said a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours and called it one of the biggest human evacuations in history.

A total of 3.2 lakh people from Gunjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri were evacuated.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreaked havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'Fani' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Patnaik over phone and discussed the situation in the wake of Cyclone Fani wreaking havoc.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Cyclone Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster," the PM said.

He also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi and promised Centre's readiness to provided all help needed to cope with the cyclone.

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Severe Cyclone FANI weakened into a Cyclonic Storm and lay centred at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon," tweeted IMD.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said that he believes that party President Rahul Gandhi is capable of being a Prime Minister as he is the right man to lead the country.

On being asked whether there would be any consensus among 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders for pitching Gandhi as the first choice for prime minister, Pitroda said, "...if we get to form the government, the party will decide who will be the candidate for the prime ministerial post. I, Sam Pitroda, personally would like Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister because he is a young guy and is highly skilled, well-educated, his heart is in the right place and he has learned a lot in the last decade. You have seen a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years. I think he will make a good leader and I am convinced."

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Calling himself a "small party man", Pitroda, a confidant of the Gandhi scion, said he personally believes that India needs leaders who are in their 40s and 50s and not someone above 60 years of age.

"No, I am just a small party man but I genuinely believe that today India needs younger people. We have 650 million people below the age of 25 and I would like to see leaders who are in the 40s and 50s and not in 60s and 70s," he said.

Before Pitroda, DMK president MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had batted for Gandhi as a PM candidate.

Meanwhile, Pitroda slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning Gandhi's nationality.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for 15 years. You (those questioning his citizenship) sat with him in Parliament, 15 years you worked with him in Parliament, why did you wake up today with lies and you think people are stupid? Don't underestimate the intelligence of Indian people, don't play with their emotions. It's not a good thing and they will show you in these elections. I am telling you, you can't just cheat and lie all the time. If you had a question on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship, you had 15 years to ask but you asked two weeks before elections. Rahul Gandhi is a proud Indian citizen," Pitroda said.

The remark came after the Ministry of Home Affairs recently issued a notice to Gandhi regarding his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

Swamy had also claimed that the Congress president had declared his nationality as British in a UK-based company.

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NCP president and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday discussed the current drought crisis in the state with his party leaders.

Prominent leaders of the party, its MPs, and MLAs attended the meeting. According to party sources, Pawar also spoke to every district unit party president via video conference.

As the drought is expected to aggravate in the state in coming days, the NCP chief is likely to visit the farmers. The meeting also discussed important issues to be taken up during the Monsoon Session of the state assembly, which is scheduled to commence from next month.On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

"Extreme summer. There are a number of infrastructure works such as drilling of bore wells, repairs to drinking water schemes, irrigation canal maintenance works, etc. which need to be taken up during the extreme summer," wrote Chief Minister Fadnavis.

"The Government of Maharashtra declared 151 talukas as drought affected and the Government of India has extended the assistance of Rs 4,714 crore in this regard. Separately I am proposing the Cabinet Meeting on this issue at the earliest," Fadnavis further wrote.

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In the wake of the serial bomb attacks that rattled Sri Lanka killing over 250 people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday ordered the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to regulate madrasas, instead of the education ministry.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas, though the minister had earlier said the education ministry would take steps to regulate them.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam said.

Earlier, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said around 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at the Madrasas. These clerics had arrived on tourist visas and therefore they should be deported, the minister added.

Sri Lankan authorities are on high-alert after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts that shook three churches and three high-end hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring more than 500.

The IS (Islamic State) or 'Daesh' terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), believed to be associated with the former, for the deadly attacks.

Wickremesinghe on Friday visited the Zion Church Batticaloa, which came under terrorist attack on Easter Sunday and discussed with the church authorities on the various matters related to security measures.

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Tesla is very serious about its data and the level of seriousness is evident from the company's latest e-mail to its employees, warning against leaking confidential information.

The e-mail, shared with CNBC, warns that outsiders who will do anything to see Tesla mail are targeting employees for information through social media and other methods.

It reminds employees about their confidentiality agreements and warns them that leaking propriety business information will result in action against them, including termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has officially crowned the reigning monarch on Saturday, after his father, the late King Bhumibol passed away in October 2016.

"I will continue to preserve, develop and rule the land with justice for the benefits of all Thai people," the new King said shortly after being crowned in a ceremony at the Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence at the Grand Palace here. He was flanked by two men wearing military uniforms during his address.

In an event marked by elements from both Buddhist and Hindu faiths, the new King donned an elaborate gold crown weighing around seven kilograms while sitting on his throne beneath a nine-tier umbrella. Only the King is permitted to sit under the nine-tier umbrella in Thailand, which signifies the reigning monarch's connection with heaven.

Cannons were fired in honour of the new King, as Thai citizens around the country wore yellow to commemorate the crowning, which is being held for the first time in 69 years. The colour yellow is associated with the monarch's day of birth, according to CNN.

Vajiralongkorn is the 10th member of the Chakri dynasty, making him King Rama X. The dynasty has ruled Thailand since Rama I took the throne in 1782.

Just days before the coronation, he married his royal consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, declaring her as the queen of the nation. The wedding ceremony took place at the Ampornsathan Throne Hall in Bangkok's Dusit Palace on May 1 and was attended by members of the royal family and Junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha amongst others.

"I am happy to see this event. Now we have a full King the country will be better. This ceremony is an auspicious thing to see. I am so proud of it," a 62-year-old Thai citizen, watching the coronation outside the palace, told CNN.

The official coronation ceremony will last three days. It began with a purification ritual which used water collected from all 76 provinces on Saturday. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway ever since the passing away of King Rama IX in 2016.

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The United States and South Korea have agreed to "prudently" deal with North Korea's launch of a short-range missile on Saturday, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

South Korea also alleged that the missile launch breached inter-Korean military accords which were signed between the two states last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said.

The statement comes after the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks via phone, hours after the North Korean launch on Saturday.

Kang also spoke with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono over the phone with regard to Pyongyang's latest move and vowed to respond "with discretion".

The unidentified short-range missile was launched in the eastern direction from the east coast town of Wonsan in North Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This latest development comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock following the abrupt ending of the second US-North Korea summit held in Hanoi earlier this year.

The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences over the ease of sanctions, leading to the summit ending with no agreement. The much-awaited agreement was expected to chart out the future course in the denuclearisation process, which was agreed upon by Pyongyang in the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year.

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Pentagon is planning to eliminate Turkey from a programme on creating F-35 multi-role fighters over the latter's deals to buy Russian S-400 defence system, said acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

He also underlined that Turkey remains a key "strategic US partner", however, it cannot have S-400 and F-35 "together", reported TASS on Saturday.

"I want air-tight plans that have near-zero execution risk so that we can flawlessly deliver on all the other F-35s to, you know, our other customers. So part of me going through there is, and meeting with folks is like, show me where the risk is. Let's talk about what kind of decisions we have to make to mitigate that risk. But at the same time, we are talking with Turkey," said Shanahan.

"Now, S-400s and F-35s do not go together. That's a big bump," he added.

Last week, Shanahan held a meeting with the leadership of Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corporation, US' principal defence manufacturers, to discuss the consequences of removing Turkey from the programme.

Earlier Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said that US considers Russia deal with Turkey as a "strategic trick" of Moscow to disconnect Ankara from its western allies.

However, Turkey has indicated that it would not go back on its deal, regardless of the US decision.

"Turkey could cooperate with any other country if the US refused to supply F-35 fighters," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The development would further strain the already fragile US-Turkey relations.

Russia and Turkey signed a deal for S-400 in 2017 after engaging in hectic negotiations for a year. Reportedly, Turkey has already transferred the advance payment.

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Union Minister V K Singh, a former army chief, on Saturday denied knowledge of a surgical strike during his tenure and accused the rival Congress of lying about it.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So-called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS (chief of army staff). Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story."

The statement from the Union Minister came days after Congress leader Rajiv Shukla told reporters at the AICC briefing that six surgical strikes were conducted during Manmohan Singh government.

Shukla had further stated that two surgical strikes were carried out when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister--one on January 21, 2000, in Nadala Enclave across the Neelam River and second on September 18, 2003, in Baroh Sector in Poonch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday mocked the Congress party for its claim of having conducted surgical strikes during the UPA regime and said after questioning the NDA government's strikes it was now claiming having done similar strikes by saying "me too, me too".

The Congress hit back saying by making these remarks the prime minister was insulting the armed forces.

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Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

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BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Twitter after a news report alleged that the Gandhi scion's former business partner Ulrik McKnight got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," tweeted Shah.

According to the report, McKnight was the 35 per cent owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up.

McKnight was later director in a company that acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

This news came to light just days after Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.

"Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read.

The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake while McKnight had 35 per cent.

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The Yellow Vest protesters took to the streets in Paris for the 25th consecutive week on Saturday.

At least three rallies are expected in Paris on Saturday alone, according to Sputnik.

The protests have continued despite French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge of a "significant" cut in income tax during a conference recently. Macron had previously unveiled an 'economic and social emergency plan' after the demonstrations started in November last year

The protests reportedly attracted more than 23,500 people across France last week. Scores of people were arrested by the police as clashes erupted during the protests.

The Yellow Vests also used the May Day rally to protest against the French President's economic policies. Police had to resort to using tear gas and sting grenades to control the crowd gathering near Paris' Montparnasse train station during Wednesday's protests. The demonstrators responded by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the police.

At least 165 protesters were arrested on Wednesday as per the French police.

Demonstrators donning yellow vests have been taking to streets across France since November 17, to protest against rising fuel prices and Macron's policies. Even though Macron has since scrapped the rise in fuel prices, protests have continued with calls for the President's resignation being rampant throughout the agitation.

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A total of 159 students were taken into custody from an unlicenced resort in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi early on Saturday for drug abuse, police said.

According to police, a large number of college students, mostly from Kerala, gathered at the Agri Nest resort in Pollachi on Friday to party.

However, the blaring music throughout the night and also a drunken brawl amongst the students disturbed the neighbours, who complained to the police.

Police then raided the resort and saw some of the students drunk while others seemed to have consumed narcotic substances.

While the resort's owner is absconding, police have seized the two and four wheelers of the students.

According to police, the students contact each other via social media for such parties and this time they fixed a fee of Rs 1,200 per head.

Meanwhile, the district administration has sealed the resort.

--IANS

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The Assam government deported 20 convicted Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, on Saturday, an official said.

"The 20 people were deported to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh) border check post (in Assam) in the presence of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh," police inspector (border wing) Utpal Sharma told the media.

These 20 people, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, were convicted for violation of either the Passports Act or the Foreigners Act, or both and had been lodged in Silchar jail.

"These Bangladeshi nationals have confessed that they entered India illegally in search of jobs or to meet their relatives," Sharma added.

Assam shares a 263 km border along Karimganj district with Bangladesh's Sylhet district.

--IANS

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Aamir Khan-starrer "Laal Singh Chaddha", which is the Hindi remake of Tom Hanks' 1994 classic "Forrest Gump", will release around Christmas in 2020.

The release date of the film, produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, was announced on Saturday.

The film, which is expected to go on the floors in October, is written by Atul Kulkarni and will be helmed by "Secret Superstar" director Advait Chandan.

Aamir had announced the project on his birthday in March. The actor, who tasted failure with his last film "Thugs of Hindostan", said he would be losing around 20 kgs for his role in "Laal Singh Chaddha". He also shared that he would be sporting a turban for some segments of the movie.

"Forrest Gump", directed by Robert Zemeckis, is based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name. It follows the life of Forrest Gump, a big-hearted man from Alabama, who witnesses and influences several historical events in the 20th century in the US.

The film went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hanks.

It is also being reported that "Laal Singh Chaddha" might clash with Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Krissh 4".

--IANS

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"Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."

--IANS

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Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

--IANS

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Promoters and top officials of realty firm Amrapali Group diverted homebuyers' money for personal benefits and building their own empire, said the forensic report submitted to the Supreme Court.

The audit report reveals that around Rs 3,500 crore of homebuyers' money was diverted by the Amrapali top brass. According to the auditors, the money was spent on houses, luxury cars and weddings among others and also invested in shares and mutual funds.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed both the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and the banks concerned for the diversion of funds by the group.

Pointing to the diversion of Rs 3,500 crore by the Amrapali Group as estimated by the forensic auditors, Justice Arun Mishra said: "Rs 3,500 crore have gone away. Due to your inaction, cheating has taken place. The banks' inaction has contributed to it. Had you taken action timely, this would not have happened."

"It is your own doing. You have not done anything. If you had done anything, this would not have happened. If it is not hand in gloves then what it is," Justice Mishra told the Noida, Greater Noida authorities and the banks.

The forensic auditors' report pointed to instances where money moved from one company to another company of the Amrapali Group.

The court said that that "without the active support of the banks, this kind of large scale money laundering could not have happened".

However, as per the auditors, it is possible to raise the required funds to complete the Amrapali projects. For this, they said the money diverted will have to be brought back and several other assets of the group will have to be sold.

A total of around Rs 9,590 crore can be recovered from the group, noted the auditors.

--IANS

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Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.

--IANS

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The Boeing 737 charter jet that was seen floating on the St. Johns River in Florida after crashing, was reminiscent of the January 2009 emergency landing of a now-defunct US Airways jet in New York's freezing Hudson River.

Twenty-one people were injured in the Friday night incident when the pilot attempted to land the Boeing amid thunder and heavy rains. All the 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued by early Saturday morning.

Images from social media showed rescue teams scurrying over the plane in the St. Johns River, similar to the January 15, 2009, emergency landing on the Hudson River.

That time, the US Airways' Flight 1549 with 155 people on board had suffered a bird strike upon take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. It was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The US Airways' pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, had told the air traffic controllers that the plane suffered "a double bird strike" that led to loss of both the engines and that he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart.

Given the total loss of power and time constraints, the pilot opted to land on the Hudson River.

Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia saw the plane clear the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before gliding into the water.

Later, Sullenberger, emerged as a hero, with praise being heaped on him by passengers, officials and aviation experts for handling the emergency river landing with aplomb and avoiding major injuries.

The incident was dubbed as "Miracle on the Hudson" and the story behind it was told in the movie "Sully". Actor Tom Hanks played pilot Sullenberger.

Sullenberger's final words before losing contact with Air Traffic Control were calm but direct: "We're gonna be in the Hudson."

The time between the loss of the engines and landing the plane was 208 seconds, just under four minutes.

--IANS

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.

--IANS

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Campaigning for five Bihar Lok Sabha seats -- Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur and Saran -- concluded on Saturday for the fifth phase of the seven-phased elections on May 6.

Nearly three-week long canvassing saw intense campaigning by top leaders of the ruling NDA and opposition grand alliance as well as Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP). While the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are part of the NDA; the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, the RLSP, the HAM and the VIP have formed grand allaince.

Amid the political war of words creeped in some personal attacks by various leaders. For the NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with other star politicians, spearhead the campaign.

For the grand alliance, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and the Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav (both RJD), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the campaigning scene hot.

It's more or less direct contest between the NDA and the grand alliance, except in Madhubani where a rebel Congress candidate Shakeel Ahmad has made the contest triangular.

The prominent candidates in the fray are Chandrika Rai (RJD, Saran), father in law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav. He is taking on senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

In Muzaffarpur, sitting BJP MP Ajay Nishad is caught in a tough battle with Vikassheel Insaan Party's Raj Bhusan Choudhary. In Hajipur, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Pashupati Kumar Paras is being challenged by RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram. Paras is younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has kept himself out of the election this time.

Besides economic development, quota in government jobs and eradication of corruption are among the main electoral issues. However, the BJP is also tom-tomming nationalism and action against Pakistan.

According to political pundits, caste equations will dominate the voting pattern. Thus, the NDA is banking on upper castes and economically backwards besides OBCs and dalits. The grand alliance is hoping to garner votes of OBCs, EBCs, Muslims and Dalits.

More than 87 lakh voters would decide the fate of 82 candidates on Monday. Tight security arrangements have been made and adequate para-military personnel have been deployed. Surveillance will also be conducted by drones, officials said.

--IANS

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Campaigning came to an end on Saturday in 51 constituencies spread over seven states which will go to the polls on Monday in the fifth phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise.

Since poll timings vary in different seats, the campaigning period also ended at different times between 4 p.m and 6 p.m., 48 hours before the voting closure time at each constituency.

The 48-hour period preceding the conclusion of voting is called the "silence period" during which any kind of political campaigning is prohibited.

As the silence period began, election rallies and street corner meetings ended in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven each in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand.

Campaigning also ended in Ladakh, and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.

--IANS

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A court on Saturday reserved its order on BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to bring a Delhi Police Vigilance report on record in Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj said it would pass its order on May 13 on Swamy's plea seeking to bring on record a vigilance report on the alleged tampering of evidence in the case.

The court was hearing arguments against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, accused of abetment of suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Swamy told the court that there is certain evidence which is required in the case. He told the court that some people had gone to "extraordinary extent" to "make sure that the evidence was destroyed."

But Tharoor's counsel and senior advocate Vikas Pahwa opposed the plea and said that Swamy has no locus in the case because he is neither associated with the prosecution nor with the accsued or victim.

Swamy responded that he has locus in the matter as chargesheet in this case was the outcome of his public interest litigation filed in the higher court.

Defence counsel Pahwa said public suits did not grant anyone the right to be a part of a trial.

Advocate Pahwa also said that all the allegations on destruction of evidence were false.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava also opposed Swamy's plea and raised question over its maintainability.

On May 14 2018, police chargesheeted Tharoor under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to abetment to suicide and cruelty to wife, which entail a jail term of up to 10 years.

Pushkar, 51, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in south Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

--IANS

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Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.

--IANS

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History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)

--IANS

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The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has filed a criminal complaint against UK-based Liberty House Group for withdrawing after successfully bidding for Amtek Auto.

The IBBI, the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings in the country, filed the complaint on Friday.

Liberty House had emerged as the highest bidder for Amtek Auto but soon backed out citing inadequate information being provided, which was allowed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after imposing a cost.

But the lenders moved the NCLT, alleging that Liberty House wilfully withdrew. The tribunal in agreement with them said the board may move against Liberty House as per the regulations laid down under the bankruptcy code.

Section 74(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) says that any party that violates conditions laid under the resolution plan is liable for prosecution and may face a prison term of up to five years with a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore.

--IANS

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An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the UK for causing a death of another man due to dangerous driving.

Jaskaren Dayal, 47, pleaded guilty to the crime which took place on January 6 last year when he crashed his Mercedes into the victim's vehicle while driving drunk and above the speed limit in northwest London.

He pleaded guilty in April at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced by the same court on May 2, MyLondon News reported on Friday.

The report said that cabbie Anwar Ali, 55, was working in the early hours of January 6 last year in Kensal Rise area when out-of-control drink-driver Jaskaren Dayal crashed into him.

Witnesses say they saw him driving at "excess speed", reaching 76mph in a 30mph area just before he crashed into Ali's taxi.

Ali, from Stoke Newington, was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested Dayal at the crash site and he was found to be over limit. He was taken to hospital for treatment for a leg injury before being taken into custody.

The police charged him in March 2019.

Detective Constable Rob Simpson, of the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This was an awful incident in which the actions of an irresponsible man resulted in the death of an innocent man going about his work.

"There was simply no justification for the way Dayal was driving; as a result, it meant that the victim, Anwar Ali, did not stand a chance.

"Dayal will quite rightly spend a significant amount of time now in prison, but this will be of little comfort to Anwar's family, who continue to grieve for his untimely loss."

--IANS

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Israel attacked about 70 military targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad organisations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, said a report by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Israeli attack followed a barrage of more than 200 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel starting around 10 a.m., wounding two people, of whom was an 80-year-old woman seriously injured in the city of Kiryat Gat, Xinhua reported.

According to reports by the Israeli media, during the IDF attacks in Gaza Strip, a 14-month-old Palestinian infant was killed.

The IDF announced that one of the destroyed Palestinian targets was an Islamic Jihad 20-metre-deep cross-border tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

In addition, other Islamic Jihad targets were struck, including military compounds and refugee camps.

According to the IDF, five military compounds of Hamas in the city of Gaza were also attacked, which are used for training and weapon manufacturing.

One of the compounds, according to the Israeli army, serves the Hamas Naval Force.

A joint compound belonging to both organisations was also under attack in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Indian air strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot would have been ranked "among one of the major military operations of the world", had it not been for "politics".

In an interview to India TV's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma in front of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Modi was asked what had prompted the early release of captured Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The PM replied cryptically: "That was a (terrible) night. There are many mysteries buried in (the darkness of) that night. Let those mysteries stay where they are," he added.

Speaking at length about the air strike on Balakot, Modi said in the absence of the general election, the air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world.

In a sharp jibe at the Opposition, who sought credible evidence of the strike, he said: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence... political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself."

He argued that after the air strike, Pakistan was in a quandary. "If it admitted that the air strike caused damage, the world would know that there was a terrorist camp there. It was a lone residential building housing 600 people on a hill surrounded by trees. So, to hide this, they had to do something," he added.

Recounting the sequence of events on the day of the strike, Modi said: "As per our strategy, we were to meet in the morning to plan something. At 3.30 a.m., when the operation was over, and our pilots and aircraft returned, took off their uniforms and were sipping tea and joking among themselves... But I was curious, to find out how the world took this. I started surfing online for international news."

He said that at 5.15 a.m., the Pakistan Army tweeted saying that Indian aircraft had dropped their payload and left. Such a reaction was self-explanatory that they were trying to gain sympathy, he added.

On the dogfight between Indian and Pakistan jets, a day after the air strike, Modi said it was a Pakistan fighter plane which had crashed, and its pilot died, but they said that an Indian plane was downed.

"They had lost their balance, and they are still to come out of that trauma," he added.

--IANS

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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has sent a letter to the Justice Department's inspector general, requesting a probe into whether Attorney General William Barr has acted upon requests or suggestions from President Donald Trump to investigate his "perceived enemies".

In a letter addressed to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, cites the findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and Barr's Wednesday congressional testimony as the reasons, reports CNN.

"Such inappropriate requests by the President have been well documented," Harris wrote. "Special Counsel Mueller documented a disturbing pattern of behaviour on the part of the President -- repeated attempts to target his perceived opponents.

"There must be no doubt that the Department of Justice and its leadership stand apart from partisan politics, and resist improper attempts to use the power of federal law enforcement to settle personal scores," the letter said.

Harris' letter comes days after a heated exchange between the California Democrat and the attorney general, in which Barr parsed words to answer Harris' question about whether the White House has "asked or suggested" that he open an investigation into anyone.

In her letter, Harris also points to details in Mueller's report where he notes three occasions on which the President called for an investigation into former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister and AAam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday attacked during a road show in the national capital allegedly by a party worker, police said.

Kejriwal, who was campaigning for party's candidate in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area along with party candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar, was "slapped" by a person wearing a maroon colour T-shirt soon after the CM boarded the open jeep to participate in a road show.

AAP workers and supporters overpowered the alleged attacker.

Today's road show was organized from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at R.K. Ashram Marg. Police said security was in place for the event in consultation with the organizers.

"The Chief Minister arrived around 5.43 p.m. at the venue. He stepped out of the official vehicle and got on to the open Gypsy prepared for the road show. As he was greeting his party workers who had gathered around the Gypsy, a person, later identified as Suresh, got to the bonnet of the Gypsy and attempted to assault the CM," said Additional PRO (Delhi Police) Anil Mittal.

"Suresh was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The road show then resumed as per schedule," said Mittal.

"Preliminary interrogation has revealed that Suresh, a scrap dealer in the area, was an AAP activist and worked as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings", he said.

As per the accused version, over a period of time he got disenchanted due to behaviour of its leaders. He got further angry due to distrust of the party in the armed forces, Mittal said.

"Today Suresh was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party as he stood near the the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault Kejriwal", the officer said.

Suresh, a resident of Kailash Park, is being interrogated. Police are awaiting a formal complaint from AAP to register an FIR against him", the officer added.

"An inquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered as to how the accused was allowed to be in the proximate area," he added.

--IANS

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Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will meet his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza for talks on Sunday.

The two diplomats will discuss the situation in Venezuela in light of the attempt by the opposition led by Juan Guaido - whom more than 50 governments have recognized as the country's interim President - in urging the armed forces to turn their backs on embattled President Nicolas Maduro, Russia's TASS News agency reported.

Russia, one of Maduro's main backers, is against involvement in Venezuela's internal affairs, while the US has not ruled out military intervention.

Trump has long stated that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Venezuela, where Maduro is clinging to power despite street protests and withering US sanctions.

But the US President's aides have appeared to lean further into military options in recent days as an uprising led by Guaido, whom the US recognizes as the country's legitimate President, failed to topple him.

Venezuela was one of the topics of conversation during a telephonic talk held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Trump that external interference and any attempts to forcefully change the power structure would go against a peaceful solution to the crisis gripping the Latin American country.

--IANS

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to declare ceasefire in the state during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Addressing a press conference at her high-security Gupkar Road residency here, Mufti said that people in Kashmir were being subjected to immense hardships in the name of militancy and stone pelting.

"People pray day and night during the holy month of Ramadan and the government should consider a halt in its anti-militancy operations in the Valley as was done last year when I was the Chief Minister," she said.

She simultaneously appealed to the militants to stop attacks on security forces during the month of Ramadan that starts on May 7.

She also alleged that space for the people of Kashmir was being choked at every front.

"In the name of militancy, people are being intimidated and harassed while various institutions such as the J&K Bank are being targeted to choke the people economically.

"Now even the government employees are on the radar of the intelligence agencies. Many other tactics are also being employed to choke the people," Mufti said as she slammed decisions like suspension of cross LoC trade, closure of highway for civilian traffic and the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

She also warned that such tactics would not work and the only way to keep the state with the rest of the country was through dignity, and not by coercion.

--IANS

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Veteran actress Mumtaz is in London, hale and hearty, said her family members after a death hoax on social media.

Mumtaz's daughter Tanya Madhwani confirmed that her mother is doing well through a post on social media. And her nephew and actor Shaad Randhawa told IANS that Mumtaz is enjoying her time with her grandchildren.

"So exhausting, another rumour of my mother's death. She is healthy and looking beautiful as always and has asked me to let her fans know she is well! It's all rubbish," Tanya wrote on Instagram.

In an accompanying video, she said: "My mother is fine. She is in London... She is sending her love to you all."

Sharing how the veteran actress reacted to the rumour, Shaad told IANS: "Firstly, Mumtazji is absolutely fine, healthy. She is actually having a happy time as she has four grandchildren.

"When she got to know about the rumour, of course, initially, she was upset and irritated but then eventually we all were laughing. She was like, 'what is this rubbish, why these people keep doing this? More than anything, my fans, who loved me for years, are misguided'."

The buzz began with some social media users, including key film trade experts, writing about Mumtaz's death on Friday night.

"Well, Komalji (Komal Nahta, who first tweeted about the rumour) is a very respected journalist and even our family knows him. I am sure he did not do it intentionally. But we all know about the power of social media. If we put out anything, it just spreads everywhere like wildfire," Shaad said.

Film director and writer Milap Zaveri had also dispelled the rumours first, and tweeted: "Just spoke to Mumtaz aunty and her nephew Shaad Randhawa on the conference. She is hale and hearty."

According to Shaan, several family members also panicked after the death hoax.

"Milap started calling me repeatedly and my mother also got worried and started calling. They panicked. Then I made Milap talk to aunty and now things are fine."

Even last year, rumours of Mumtaz's demise had done the rounds. The 71-year-old actress is known for films like "Do Raaste", "Bandhan" and "Loafer".

--IANS

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North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.

--IANS

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Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.

--IANS

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Sheer negligence on part of various security agencies might have resulted in the avoidable tragedy in which 15 commandos of the elite Quick Response Team (QRT) were killed in a Maoist blast in Gadchiroli on Maharashtra Day, May 1, a top security expert opines.

Former Additional Deputy Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID), Shirish Inamdar, in a freewheeling chat with IANS, said that from all available indicators, the QRT squad may have unwittingly walked into a 'trap' laid by the Maoists.

There were at least a dozen intelligence alerts indicating the possibility of precisely such attacks in the Maoist-infested district, but complacency may have overtaken caution, particularly since the Parliament elections had passed off virtually peacefully.

"Ominous signs had come in the hours preceding the strike. Just a day before (April 30), the Chhattisgarh Police had nabbed six dreaded Maoists from Aranpur in Dantewada. In the early hours of May 1, the Maoists hit back by torching around 36 heavy vehicles in Kurkheda, resulting in higher movement of security forces. Barely hours later they triggered the road blast claiming 15 of our commandos," Inamdar, a retired Intelligence Officer, points out.

In such circumstances, he suspects the Maoists had practically "anticipated the retaliatory moves" by the Maharashtra security forces, which reacted as per their assumptions, leading to tragedy.

Soon after the Kurkheda incident, the Deputy Superintendent of Police had ordered the QRT to rush there and probably since official armoured vehicles were not immediately available, they took a private van, says Inamdar.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar and Director-General of Police Subodh Jaiswal referred to this aspect - which Inamdar dubs akin to making the security forces asitting pigeons easily targeted by the rebels.

"The question is for how how long was that private vehicle working for the QRT, was the driver knowledgeable or trained for such sensitive assignment like transporting troops in a danger zone, did the information about the security itinerary leak out to the Maoists and how?" wonders Inamdar.

On the contrary, the government is trying to make political capital with emotional reactions - a Minister claiming credit for successful elections in the Maoist-infested regions, the Chief Minister saying their sacrifices won't go in vain and the Prime Minister saluting their bravery - instead of concentrating on the root causes.

Suspecting that standard operating procedures may have been "thrown to the winds", Inamdar said it was not clear whether the Road Clearance Party (RCP) and Road Opening Party (ROP) did their job of sanitising the expected route taken by the QRT van.

"The fresh road digging activity is clearly visible in videos/telecasts, apparently two vehicles had passed that route before the security van was blasted. The Maoists got sufficient time to plant the explosives by digging the road, covering it and retreating to their dens, there are too many unanswered questions," Inamdar said.

On how the rebels in Maharashtra and other Maoist-troubled states manage to get unlimited funds or uninterrupted supplies of arms and explosives, the former top cop revealed that their methods were similar to terror groups worldwide.

"Nearly two-thirds of the arms and ammunition are stolen. In the May 1 case, there were no guns seen lying in the vicinity of the blast, so we can easily draw this conclusion," he adds.

As for funds, they cultivate opium in isolated areas which is sold for their various needs or simply swapped for more arms with the narcotics mafia.

"While the sophisticated arms go to the top-level guerillas, the other lower cadres use mostly country-made arms or even bow-arrows and occasionally even slings," smiles Inamdar knowingly, having served in some of the affected regions.

He rued that in the so-called Controlled Areas where the Maoists are the virtual rulers, they cultivate opium, have illegal arms manufacturing factories, build small dams, bridges, well-equipped training camps and other necessary infrastructure for their survival and it is practically impossible for anybody to infiltrate there.

Even in the Liberated Zones, which Maoists don't completely control but even the government has limited access, other illegal activities nevertheless flourish virtually unhindered.

However, Inamdar says that the three-pronged policy of the former UPA government when P. Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, has proved to be "extremely successful" in containing the red rebels menace across the country and left untouched even by the BJP-led NDA government since past five years.

These pertained to 'No Negotiations' with the Maoists, Low Intensity Conflict to clear their areas of influence and All Inclusive Development in all the affected regions around the country.

"The proof of success is that since the past nearly two decades, the government and security forces have restricted them to their areas of influence without giving them space to spill over to other territories, development activities along with employment has noticeably increased in the affected areas," Inamdar explains.

However, on the 'surrender policy', Inamdar is a tad sceptical as mostly new Maoist recruits, with limited knowledge of the operations of the top commanders and their forces, opting for it, or others defecting to the law's side without specific reasons.

"The latter variety can be tricky as some maybe tempted to act as 'double-agents', but the entire responsibility of protecting and rehabilitating them is the government's job, making it a very risky and costly proposition," concludes Inamdar.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reacting sharply to Sri Lankan Army chief Mahesh Senanayake's statement that some of the 12 suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings were trained in Kashmir, a top intelligence officer here said that there was no input to prove the claim.

Speaking to IANS, the officer, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have no such information. The Sri Lankan intelligence has not sent us any input on this so that we can work on those links.

"As far as our information and inputs are concerned, there is nothing to prove that any of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir in connection with any subversive activity or for obtaining terror training."

Backing the officer's statement, a Union Home Ministry official said, "Sri Lanka hasn't shared any such information with us. More importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies have themselves ruled out this possibility after investigation."

There have been instances in the past when foreign militants, other than those belonging to Pakistan, got involved in militant activities in Kashmir.

Militants from Afghanistan, Sudan and even Chechnya have been killed by the security forces in Kashmir in the last 32 years. However, there have been no militancy-related incidents proving the involvement of Sri Lankan militants here.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while Pakistan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP and several other parties on Saturday blamed the BJP for the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a road show in West Delhi today, calling it yet another instance of "negligence" in the security of the AAP leader.

AAP said the "opposition-sponsored attack" won't be able to stop the party in Delhi.

Delhi will go to the polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of the election. The AAP is contesting against the BJP and Congress.

Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal has remained "unstoppable" in the last few years, alleging that "(PM) Modi and (BJP chief) Shah are trying to kill Kejriwal".

AAP spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj too blamed the BJP.

"Kejriwal is supposedly a Z+ security protectee, who has been attacked several times in a systematic and clearly visible pattern. Whenever there is an attack, BJP tries to justify it on national TV. They try to make a hero of the attacker," said Bhardwaj.

"Many of the attackers in the past have had links with the BJP. The wife of today's attacker also confirmed that he is a Modi bhakt."

He alleged the Delhi Police deliberately lowers its guard to make the CM vulnerable to such attacks. "No one talks of suspension of Commissioner of Police... this is in itself a glaring evidence that the Modi government is patronising these attacks."

Several other parties too blamed the BJP and condemned the attack.

Sharad Yadav, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief, said the slap will ensure the defeat of BJP.

"The slap on Arvind Kejriwal today during the roadshow will ensure BJP's total defeat. The BJP has made in the country very dirty in the last five years. It will take years now to cleanse in our country," he tweeted.

TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack.

"Political vandalism. Political goondaism. Political vendetta. Maligning and attacking Opposition leaders show that BJP has lost the election and is making desperate attempts. We condemn the attack on Arvind Kejriwal... we are all with you, Arvind," she said.

CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury also condemned the attack, saying: "This is highly condemnable. Delhi's security is controlled by Modi and his government. Even then a Chief Minister is not safe. But many middle-rung BJP and RSS persons have got top-level security."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the attack "shocking and unacceptable."

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said after trying to defeat, demoralize, degrade, destabilize and dethrone Kejriwal, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles "are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal".

"This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such a dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this act. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy."

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Tanweer Hassan and Manoj Jha too condemned the attack.

The Delhi police said the attacker was an AAP supporter and worked as an organiser of party's rallies and meetings.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, however, said Delhi Police was doing everything at the behest of the Modi government.

"Delhi Police planted that man. This is shameful... even wife of the attacker has herself said that her husband is a Modi bhakt and that he did not like anyone talking against Modi. This is same Delhi Police that had planted a man for the 'mirchi (chilli powder) attack' on the CM. The police's statement is a proof that Delhi Police is taking orders from the Modi government," he said in a statement.

Kejriwal has been attacked multiple times. Last year, the CM was attacked with chilli powder outside his office in Delhi Secretariat.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
the UK's Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby's arrival.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most parts of Assam witnessed incessant rains on Saturday due to the impact of cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades.

Following the rains, the state government has issued an alert to suspend ferry services between Jorhat and Majuli, Guwahati and North Guwahati, Dhubri and other places from Saturday to Sunday.

While flight services from Guwahati has been suspended till Saturday evening, the Northeast Frontier Railway has also cancelled several trains to Kolkata and Odisha. Similarly, trains from Kolkata and Odisha to Assam were also cancelled.

Weather experts at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar had warned of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds to lash the northeastern states on Saturday and Sunday.

Assam government had earlier warned the district administrations to remain alert ahead of Fani and deployed 40 companies of National Disaster Rescue Force at some vulnerable locations across the state.

As of Saturday, Fani has weakened into a "cyclonic storm leaving no more major threat" for West Bengal. It is situated at Shantipur in Nadia district about 60 km north of Kolkata, and is likely to enter Bangaldesh around Saturday noon.

The cyclone made landfall in Odisha on Friday morning.

--IANS

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(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 said that restoration work was going on following the devastation caused by cyclone Fani, that hit the state earlier in the day but weakened soon after.

Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha's Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur, with a wind speed at 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. The storm will later move towards Bangladesh.

"Electricity poles went down, some sub-stations were damaged. As per the latest report, around 12 kuccha (thatched) houses have been destroyed. Restoration work is in process," Banerjee told the media.

She said that trees that were uprooted in places like West Midnapore's Goaltore, Digha, Mandarmani and North 24 Parganas district were being cleared.

Major damage will be taken care of in the next two days.

"All the District Magistrates have been instructed to repair the damaged houses," she said.

According to the Chief Minister, nearly 42,000 people who were evacuated will be asked to return to their houses from Sunday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After a section of employees floated the proposal to take over management control of the grounded Jet Airways and arrange up to Rs 3,000 crore from external investors, a group of frequent flyers of the cash-strapped airline has approached the key lenders, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, to submit the 'Revival of Jet Airways Plan' or 'Roja'.

Claiming to be reputed professionals and minority shareholders in Jet Airways as well as nine banks that have lent money to Jet, the group has proposed a leveraged buy-out plan (LBO) to revive the grounded airline.

The group of professionals, led by Sankaran P. Raghunathan, has given a presentation on the airline's revival plan to various stakeholders, including pilots, engineers, employee unions and bankers.

As per the plan, the employees of Jet Airways would first take control of the company. They will take loan from existing lenders and invest in the company, eventually becoming part-owners.

"The banks can give Rs 1,500 crore loan to the employees. This is six months' salary of each employee as personal loan. The employees will use this money to buy out 51 per cent stake in the company from SBI and 12.5 per cent from Etihad. The balance Rs 200 crore would be given to the company for new shares. This way the employees will control Jet Airways," said the presentation reviewed by IANS.

In the next step, the plan is to raise money involving the frequent flyers.

Accordingly, the banks can be persuaded to give a personal loan to all those who want to buy four tickets each for Rs 10,000 which would be valid for two years. By pre-selling these tickets, as much as Rs 8,000 crore could be raised.

The employees, already in controlling position, would pass a resolution to authorise the additional issue of shares on a preferential basis to all those who buy the ticket packets -- 100 shares each for Rs 150 each -- and thus raise Rs 12,000 crore.

"The Rs 20,000 crore raised will now be used for operational working capital and for repayment to creditors over five years," the presentation said.

Facing severe financial crisis, Jet Airways had on April 17 announced to temporarily suspend its flight operations. The airline continues to be grounded and its revival depends upon fresh fund infusion by the investors.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With its 3,500 to 4,000 shakhas across Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to play an active role in the state during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

With around 20-100 active workers in each shakha, the RSS began doing its homework for the parliamentary elections right after the December Assembly polls, which saw the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government voted out.

Since January, the organisation has been working on the ground to ensure that the voting percentage in the state increases during the Lok Sabha elections. Thirteen of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan voted in the fourth phase of elections on April 29 while the remaining 12 seats will go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 6.

As part of its plans, the RSS has categorised the voters into four categories -- A, B, C and D.

While the first two categories include RSS workers and people connected to the organisation and BJP workers and those who vote for the party, the 'C' category comprises people who keep shifting parties. This section has at times voted for the Congress, while at other times, it went with the BJP.

The last category are those who vote for the Congress or the other opposition parties.

The RSS workers believe that there is no point in appealing to the last category of voters as it would be a waste of time. However, they definitely want to spend time with the 'C' category which, they feel, can be influenced towards supporting the BJP.

While the outfit is in constant touch with people belonging to the 'A' and 'B' categories, it is putting in extra efforts to convince those falling under the 'C' category.

As part of its mobilisation plans, Krishna Gopal, the national Joint Secretary of the RSS, had convened two meetings in the state in January and March.

In between, the RSS workers also held meetings in February to chalk out a clear-cut strategy for the elections, state RSS prachar pramukh Manoj Kumar said.

Even before the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10, the RSS had worked out a three-tier plan for the elections. The first stage included holding meetings, the second stage involved distributing pamphlets while the third stage focused on ensuring that the voters exercised their franchise.

As many as 40 different branches of the RSS, including Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, are working with the tribals in the state while a separate unit is active in the border areas. However, Kumar said that the RSS is focusing more on areas where its network is strong.

"We have also chalked out a clear plan for social media to ask voters to cast their votes. We went from door-to-door and met people in different areas," he said.

However, not everyone is ready to beleive that the RSS is working hard on the ground.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Chaudhary said that RSS, which was once a social organisation, has now turned into a political unit supporting the BJP and trying to get plush portfolios for its people. "It (RSS) works for the BJP and is now enjoying it's due share in politics," he alleged.

He also said that in 2003, Vasundhara Raje had come to power in the state with the help of RSS after it helped dethrone the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

(Archana Sharma can be reached at archana.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday pushed back Congress chief Rahul Gandhis attacks on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a telling tweet: "Midas Touch, no deal is too much!

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga."

The reference was to a media expose on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

The former partner, Ulrik Mcknight, who was also co-owner at BackOps, acquired defence assets when the UPA was in power at the centre. The media story claimed that Rahul Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake in Backops between 2003 and 2009, when it was wound up.

However, after that McKnight acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011. He also went on and signed a contract with a Visakhapatnam-based firm for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene missile, a report in Business Today said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi responded to the charges and to Shah's remarks, saying, "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale."

There is also a company named Backops Services Private Limited, an Indian firm, in which Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as co-director. Rahul Gandhi owned 83 per cent shares in this Indian firm and had made a capital investment of Rs 2.50 lakh in the same. This also folded up. As for McKnight, he won the offset contracts from the French company, the Business Today report said.

In 2011, as part of his contract with the Naval Group, McKnight had signed a contract with Visakhapatnam-based Flash Forge Private Limited for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene submarines being built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) -- the contract to build the submarines was worth Rs 20,000 crore, the Business Today report said.

The Indian firm Flash Forge also acquired a UK-based company named Optical Armour Limited in which Mcknight was given directorship. He also had 4.9 per cent shares in it.

For the record, the Indian and European companies associated with Rahul Gandhi were dissolved before the Naval Group engaged in a contract with Flash Forge, the Business Today report said.

The website of the Naval Group refers to a September 18, 2018, event to mark 10 years in business for Naval Group in India.

"Naval Group in India was created in 2008 as a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of the group to ensure a long-lasting presence in the country, thereby demonstrating the strong commitment to the Indian Navy.

"This partnership led to the emergence of an industrial ecosystem which fosters the indigenous manufacturing of submarines," it says.

--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.)
The Auckland-based mother and sister of one of the Sri Lankan Easter Sunday suicide bombers have been "cooperating fully" with the New Zealand police following the attacks that killed over 250 people.

Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed was to blow up the luxury Taj Samudra hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. He, however, is believed to have botched the attempt to detonate bomb at the five-star hotel and instead blew himself up at a nearby budget motel, killing 2 guests who had just arrived.

Mohamed's mother, sister and her husband live in a modest house in southern Auckland. They refused to comment on the extent of their involvement in the suicide bombings' investigation, which involves the New Zealand police and Sri Lankan authorities.

"We only cooperate with the (New Zealand) police, no matter what they want to know, that's about it," Mohamed's brother-in-law told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday.

According to a report by the daily, 10 years ago, after the death of Mohamed's father Abdul Latif, his mother Samsun Nissa moved the family to Colombo, renting the upper floor of a mansion in a majority Muslim eastern suburb.

After completing his studies in Britain, Mohamed returned to the property and fell in love with Shifana, daughter of their landlord who came from an affluent meat-trading family. Mohamed married her and shifted to Australia with her to pursue postgraduate studies.

Mohamed's sister, meanwhile, married a Sri Lankan and emigrated to Auckland along with her mother.

Mohamed, who had his first child in Australia, later returned to Sri Lanka to live in the mansion his family previously rented. His grandfather had left him an extensive property portfolio, including the family home in Kandy.

As a result, the trained aeronautical engineer did not need to work.

The bomber's sister said Mohamed had been well educated but became increasingly withdrawn and intense as he descended into extremism. "My brother became deeply, deeply religious while he was in Australia. After he did his postgraduation in Australia, he returned to Sri Lanka a different man.

"He had a long beard and had lost his sense of humour. He became serious and withdrawn and would not even smile at anyone he didn't know, let alone laugh," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)








Top astronomers all over the world have had a working understanding for about a century that the universe is continually expanding. But recent discoveries have had astronomers double-checking their facts. This is because according to recent research, the current universe is expanding 9% faster than the early universe. This is faster than first predicted. And you can read about these findings in an article published by Astronomy Magazine.

These findings, which seem to be valid, have caused some controversy among scientists, though. This research, which was conducted from the Hubble Space Telescope, is in direct conflict with the European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies of the early universe and how it would continue to expand. The European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies suggest that as the universe expands in the future, it will follow the same pattern as it always has.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy, which have been theorized about for some time now, seem to be one of the unpredictable variables that partially explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. However, most dark matter, which scientists have only caught glimpses of, is too small to reflect light and therefore cannot be seen, even with the Hubble Space Telescope. And the existence of dark energy has never actually been established for certain.

And while all of this new information is fascinating, this kind of science isnt as easy to follow as television shows like Star Trek or the Big Bang Theory. In fact, even if you read the article in Astronomy Magazine (which is written for laymen), you may walk away scratching your head. This is because astronomers dont use the words Star, Planet, and Galaxy so much as they use the words Cepheid,Magellanic Cloud, Type Ia Supernova, Neutrinos, and Dark Radiation.

So to fully appreciate even the simplest explanation of how the universe is expanding, you will need a glossary of astronomy. This is a book that is set up like a dictionary, with entries that define astronomy terms and also explain the concepts of astronomy, cosmology, and their sub-disciplines. An astronomy glossary can turn you from a stargazer into a person who has a concept of how the universe works.

One such glossary, Astroglossary: Revised Edition, compiled by the late G. Cyr, is one of the most comprehensive and easily understood astronomy reference books on the market today. It is an invaluable resource which includes all of the critical terms needed to understand modern astronomy, and at the same time gives any reader a deeper appreciation of the universe.

In fact, using this glossary as a resource is the first step to fully comprehending new findings of the universe. Whether you are reading an article in a scientific magazine or watching a television program about how the universe is developing, you will be able to absorb much more information if you have the Astroglossary on hand. Knowing critical terms while you educate yourself about the wonders of the universe will also help you better understand how infinitely beautiful, awesome, and ever-expanding it is.
After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the apparent failure of the Sri Lankan government to act on intelligence on Easter Sunday's suicide bombings, information has now surfaced that the defence authorities had also ignored Turkish government alerts that 50 members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) had arrived in the island country.

Sri Lankan former External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said that Turkish Ambassador Tunca Ozcuhadar had handed over documents related to the matter to him, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday.

Peiris is a loyalist of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

There was an attempted coup to overthrow the Turkish government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016. The coup bid was blamed on FETO, a terrorist outfit led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, in which 250 people were killed. Later, FETO terrorists fled to different countries.

Peiris said that the Turkish Embassy had repeatedly alerted the Sri Lankan government, Denmark, Austria and some African countries about the terrorists sneaking into their territories. While the governments of these countries took prompt action on the alert, the Sri Lankan authorities paid no heed, he added.

The former Minister said that he then brought this to the notice of President Maithripala Sirisena when he met him with a delegation led by Rajapaksa on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the country.

Sri Lanka has been on alert since the April 21 bloodbath in which over 250 people were killed and hundreds injured. The authorities have cancelled weekend mass in the capital due to fears of fresh bomb attacks.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine soldiers were killed as a terrorist attack on Saturday targeted an Army training centre in the Libyan city of Sabha, officials said.

"Terrorists launched an attack at 5 a.m. (local time) on the training centre of the Army in Sabha. The attackers used vehicles and opened fire at the soldiers," a military official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He added that the Islamic State was likely to be behind the attack.

Osama al-Wafi, spokesman of Sabha medical centre, said they received nine bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based Army since January.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.

--IANS

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UN's humanitarian agencies have met ahead of Cyclone Fani arrival in India to study the readiness for it, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Guterres.

He said on Friday at his news briefing: "Our colleagues in India are well aware (of the situation). The UN humanitarian agencies in India have also met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures."

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) referred to the evacuation of over a million people from the endangered areas and the opening of thousands of cyclone centres and said "it is to be hoped that the massive mobilisation operation ahead of Fani will keep casualties to a minimum".

The Geneva-headquartered WMO noted that the fatalities from severe cyclones have been coming down in India because of "forecasts and warnings and better coordinated disaster management".

Super Cyclonic Storm BOB06 caused more than 10,000 fatalities in October 1999, but the toll from an equally intense cyclone, Phailin, in 2013 was less than 50.

Fani was less intense at landfall than either of those two, "but is still one of the most intense storms to make landfall in Odisha for 20 years", it added.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are stretched bringing aid to East African countries reeling from a double punch delivered by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone was about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget. We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people hit by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said. "What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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India and Sri Lanka have urged countries to come together and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by India in 1996 but blocked by some nations, as the world mourns the victims of terrorist attacks in the island nation.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue," Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Rohan Perera said on Friday at a UN event to mourn the Easter Sunday attacks' victims.

"The time has come for the international community to go beyond words and demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

Perera is the chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism that is charged with piloting the CCIT.

"The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the global counter terrorism strategy," he said.

The CCIT has been derailed by differences over defining terrorism, with some making a false distinction between "freedom-fighters" and terrorists instead of seeing that it's the tactic of killing civilians, including children, and not the ideology that defines a terrorist.

India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin joined Perera in appealing for concluding the CCIT as a tribute to the victims of terrorism.

Perera, "has, for more than two decades, tried to steer us to an outcome on the CCIT", Akbaruddin said. "Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of putting in place a global legal framework to counter the global scourge," he said.

At the meeting, musical tributes were paid to Sri Lankan and international victims of the Easter attacks. UN leaders and representatives of nations pledged to fight terrorism.

There were also calls for international action to stop social media from being used to spread hate and violence. "While protecting the freedom of expression, we must also find ways to address incitement to violence through traditional and social media," General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces said.

"It's sobering that the theme of World Press Freedom Day today is 'Journalism in times of disinformation'," she said. "We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote -- and not harm -- human security," Garces said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke about social media being used to spread hate. "The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. Today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet," Mohammed said and added,

"The UN continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism."

The Sri Lankan Permanent Representative was more forthright in calling for a consensus on how to regulate social media, like Twitter and Facebook, to prevent them from becoming the media to spread hate.

"It's time to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework. It's vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools, such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are used as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism," he said.

Sri Lanka blocked access to social media after the Easter bombings because it was being used to circulate fake news and create enmity between communities. Access to social media was restored on April 30.

Denouncing the use of religion to justify violence, the UN deputy Secretary General said: "As a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance. Tragically yet, again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become killing grounds and houses of horror.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence."

The General Assembly President reflected on how religions can bring people together.

"I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans -- Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others -- donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage and resilience. Of unity," she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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Renowned US geophysicist Roger Bilham, who was denied a visa to attened a International workshop on climate change and extreme events in the Himalayan region last month, will receive the document the next time he applies it, the California-based convenor of the event has said.

"I got a phone call from the Ministry of Home Affairs saying his case is now cleared and that he will get the visa next time he applied," workshop convener Ramesh Singh of Chapman University in California, who took up the visa issue with India's Home Ministry, told this correspondent on the phone.

Bilham welcomed the move.

"That I am again allowed to visit India comes as welcome news to my many scientific colleagues in India, and restores global confidence in the fundamental integrity of Indian science," Bilham said.

"I always believed that banning Roger Bilham was a very bad move by the Indian government and went against the fundamental right of free expression," said Chittenipattu Rajendran, a leading seismologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru. "I am extremely happy the ban has been revoked and I am looking forward to interacting with him."

"Roger Bilham is a true scientist, solely driven by the spirit of enquiry," said Vinod Gaur, former director of the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad. "For example, the list of research investigations required to calculate ground accelerations to arrive at a safe seismic design of Jaitapur nuclear structures for reassuring the public, still remains outstanding, even as Roger was banned from entering the country in the wake of this publication."

Bilham, a professor at the University of Colorado who catalysed the GPS and modern geosciences research in India, first came to know he was on the country's list of "unwanted persons" on May 18, 2012 when he was sent back to US immediately on landing at the Delhi airport.

Bilham met with a similar fate in 2014 when he was denied visa to deliver a talk at the UK-India workshop on Himalayan earthquakes held in Jammu & Kashmir. Last month's visa denial prevented his presence at the workshop in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

"I have twice applied for a visa and, after payment of $450, have been refused one," Bilham had told this correspondent at the time.

Though he was not told the reason, Bilham says he learnt from the US State Department he was "blacklisted" by the Indian government allegedly for "national security/intelligence reasons."

He says it was likely a reaction to his publications in 2011 bringing to light seismic risks to Jaitapur - the proposed site south of Mumbai - for a 9.9 Gigawatt nuclear power plant. His plea that he did not mean to scare, but only provide a starting parameter to engineers for safe design of the power plant was apparently ignored.

"The scientific findings that led to my banishment are not controversial, although they were considered so by one or two former seismologists who proposed scientific blacklisting to the government in 2012," Bilham said without naming them.

(K.S. Jayaraman is a veteran science journalist. He can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

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Actor Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving after his arrest for driving under influence last year.

Vaughn accepted a no-jail plea deal on Friday involving his drunk driving arrest at a sobriety checkpoint in California last June, reports nydailynews.com.

The "Wedding Crashers" star had a lawyer appear on his behalf in the courtroom here and enter a plea of "no contest" to one count of misdemeanor alcohol-related reckless driving, sources said.

He was immediately sentenced to three years probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said.

Vaughn was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program, pay fines and submit to any alcohol screening tests requested by law enforcement while on probation.

The actor's lawyer was advised that if Vaughn drives under the influence and a person is killed, he could be charged with murder, prosecutors said.

The deal, which dropped the original three charges in the case, means Vaughn won't have a DUI on his record.

Vaughn, 49, was stopped around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 last year at a checkpoint in the coastal community of Manhattan Beach.

--IANS

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Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

"It was not done by the Congress," Rahul said amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking credit for Azhar being designated terrorist by world body UN, and terror strikes to wipe out terror launch pads across the border.

Addressing a mid-poll press conference here, the Congress leader said, "Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him."

He also asserted that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

"Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly," he added.

He was responding to a question over Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist by the United Nation Security Council.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.

--IANS

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Campaigning ended on Saturday evening for the seven seats going to poll in the fifth phase on May 6 in Bundelkhand, Vindhya and Narmada regions of Madhya Pradesh. This would be the second of the four rounds of polling in MP. The remaining two phases are scheduled for May 12 and May 19.

The Congress has fielded new faces in all seven seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put its bet on old hands in five seats.

With poling for more than 60 per cent seats over, star campaigners, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief Amit Shah, made electoral sorties in MP in quick succession.

The BJP, which won all these seven seats in 2014, replaced four candidates and RSS stamp is pronounced in its selections. There is growing resentment against the candidates chosen for Khajuraho and Betul, where (like Bhopal) the sole merit for selection is candidates' proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

After the first phase witnessed complaints of sabotage from the BJP candidates, the leadership is keen to ensure better booth management this time.

Damoh, Tikamgarh and Khjuraho, the three seats in the Bundelkhand region gearing up for the polling, have strong BJP leaning.

The BJP has held Damoh since 1989. The Congress has fielded Pratap Singh Lodhi here against Prahlad Patel a two-time winner. The Congress has changed its candidate on each of the past four occasions. It ignored the recent acquisition from the BJP, Dr Ramkrishna Kusmaria, who won the seat twice.

Tikamgarh also has a contest between experience and fresh face. The BJP has retained Union minister Virendra Khatik, seeking a third term, while the Congress has nominated state women's Congress Secretary Kiran Ahirwar. An untested Ahirwar is toiling on gamely hoping to benefit from resentment against Khatik over his long incumbency.

Khajuraho boasts of having returned former Chief Minister and Union minister Uma Bharti four times. Both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces this time. The RSS which had insisted on fielding Vishnu Dutt Sharma in the face of near rebellion in Bhopal has shifted him to Khajuraho. The party has overlooked protests with some party members burning Sharma's effigies.

The Congress has settled for Kavita Singh, wife of Vikram Singh Natiraja, MLA from Raj Nagar. Natiraja hails from an influential Royal family in the neighbourhood. It will be interesting to see how the RSS ensures victory of Sharma who has no connection with the constituency.

The BJP has dominated the constituency since in 1989 and has returned the Congress candidate Satyavrat Chaturvedi once from 1999 to 2004. His mother, Vidyawati Chaturvedi, was elected twice in the early 1980s. Former state minister Nagendra Singh, member of outgoing Lok Sabha, has apparently been denied ticket over incumbency fatigue.

The two Vindhya constituencies in the second round of polling are Rewa and Satna. Though the constituencies have only one Assembly segment each reserved for Scheduled Castes, the Bahujan Samaj Party wields immense influence here. Rewa has returned a BSP member to the Lok Sabha thrice, while Satna has elected a BSP candidate once.

Sitting MP from Rewa Janardan Mishra, faces Siddharth Tiwari, son of 2014 runner-up Sunderlal Tiwari who died recently. The Tiwaris are a prominent political family with the patriarch Srinivas Tiwari (Sunderlal's father) having been the Assembly Speaker for over a decade. The contest is triangular with Vikas Patel of the BSP making a strong presence.

In Satna, Ganesh Singh is in the fray for a fourth term. He faces Rajaram Tripathi who earlier contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Patels and Brahmins dominate the electoral scene in the region. Caste has played a key in the region all along since formation of MP.

The other two seats Hoshangabad and Betul lie across the Vindhyachal ranges on the gateway to south. They were part of the old MP, which had its capital in Nagpur.

Rao Udaypratap Singh, who won the 2009 election from Hoshangabad on the Congress ticket, switched to the BJP and won the 2014 battle. The BJP has been winning the seat since 1989 except for 2009.

Significantly, Udaypratap who won the seat with a margin of 19,000 votes in 2009 saw 17 per cent swing in his favour in 2014 to win by nearly 3.8 lakh votes. He would find it hard to match that performance. The Congress has overlooked the five-time representative of Hoshangabad, Sartaj Singh, who switched from the BJP not long ago. It has fielded a new face Shailendra Dewan.

In Betul, reserved for Scheduled Tribe, the Congress has had a history of approaching each election with a new face for past many terms. The Congress has nominated Ramu Tekam against the RSS choice of Durgadas Uikey. Two-term MP Jyoti Dhurve has been disqualified following controversy over her ST certificate.

The BJP's move to change the narrative to tune it to the RSS agenda is likely to have a bearing on elections. It is Modi versus Congress now on and the BJP supporters do realise Modi's popularity has waned considerably since 2014.

--IANS

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Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Saturday raided a zoo here and rescued 134 foreign animals, allegedly brought into the country illegally.

On a tip-off, DRI officials raided the zoo located in Malharganj area, run illegally by the NGO Karuna Sagar, an official release said.

Creatures found in the zoo included a South American Marmoset, Australian Iguanas, a Persian cat, Red Eared Singapore Slider Turtle, North American Alligator Gar, South American Guinea Pig and South American Macaw.

The rescued animals, birds and reptiles were shifted to Kamala Nehru Zoo in the city.

The NGO which was running the zoo could not present legal documents related to import or purchase of these foreign animals, the DRI release alleged, adding that appropriate legal action will be taken against it.

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The death toll in the Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years



It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit. Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure."



An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected. Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations. The state has so far been able to restore all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration. Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work. The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday. Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

He said trains originating from Bhubaneswar, including the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express will run normally from Sunday barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express.

There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, the official said.

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Two private cars of same make, colour and bearing identical registration number were seized in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A police spokesman said they have arrested a man in this connection.

The person was arrested after the owner of one of the cars lodged a complaint with the Lakhanpur police station that another car of the same make, colour and registration number is plying in the town.

He also said he had purchased his car from a person named Mohammad Rafiq, a resident of Broindhai Hatli village in Kathua. Police said Rafiq was arrested after it came to light that he recently purchased a brand new car and intentionally used the same registration number.

The spokesman said a case has been registered and police are seeking clarification from authorities concerned.

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The US city of Minneapolis on Friday announced a $20 million civil settlement with the family of an unarmed Australian yoga instructor who was shot dead by a police officer.

Mohamed Noor was convicted Tuesday of murder for the 2017 shooting that killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had moved to the US to marry her fiancee.

The 40-year-old was killed while approaching Noor's police car. She had called police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home.

Noor's conviction was the first time in the Midwestern city's modern history that an officer was found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited the unprecedented circumstances as playing a role in the record $20 million settlement with Damond's family -- the highest in the city's history.

"As the proceedings made clear, there was not a clear threat before the use of force was made, as per Mr Noor's statements," Frey said at a conference.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward." The family was to donate $2 million of that money to a fund to fight gun violence in Minneapolis.

Robert Bennett, a Ruszczyk family attorney, said the large settlement was meant to send "an unmistakable message to change the Minneapolis Police Department in ways that will help all of its communities," according to CNN.

The 33-year-old Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7.

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Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three suspected drug peddlers and four bovine smugglers were arrested Saturday in two separate operations in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The three suspected drug peddlers were arrested from Poonch town and were detained under different preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and sent to judicial custody, a police official said.

In a separate incident, four persons were arrested after police foiled their attempt to smuggle bovines along the Mughal road, connecting Poonch with Shopian district of south Kashmir, the official said.

Four load carriers, heading towards Kashmir, were intercepted separately by a police party and 16 buffaloes were rescued, he said.

A case was registered and the accused were arrested, the official said, adding that their vehicles were also seized.

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Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

"The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near SaraiKale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An AAP supporter slapped Delhi Chief Minister during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders, police said.

Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.

The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the and used to work as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings, they said.

"An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to enquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group," Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said.

According to his version, over a period of time, Suresh got disenchanted due to behaviour of the AAP leaders. His anger intensified due to "distrust of the party in the armed forces", the official said, adding further interrogation is on in the matter.

No FIR has been registered in the matter as police did not receive any complaint.

"Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM," said in its statement.

The AAP, however, alleged that the had planted that the man belonged to the party.

The AAP roadshow was organised from 4 pm to 10 pm in Moti Nagar. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at RK Ashram Marg, it said.

Proper police arrangement from both Security Unit and local police was put in place for the event in consultation with the organizers of the event, it added.

The chief minister arrived at around 5.43 pm at the starting point. He got out of the official vehicle and boarded the open gypsy prepared for the roadshow. As he was meeting and greeting his party workers who had gathered around the gypsy, suddenly a person got on to the bonnet of the vehicle and attempted to assault the chief minister, the statement said.

He was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The roadshow then started and continued as per the schedule, it said.

During security arrangements at such events, which are put in place in consultation with the organizers, necessary tie-up is made with the organizers so that they ensure that only the persons identified by them are in the reception party or the proximate group or near the vehicle used for the roadshow, police said.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the had planted the man.

"Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker's wife has herself said he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi.

"This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no 'mirchi attack' happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red faced," Bharadwaj said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday attacked BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that after the Lok Sabha poll results, 'bua' will term 'babua' the king of goons and 'babua' will say that she is the very image of corruption.

Mayawati and Yadav are referred to as 'bua' (aunt) and 'babua' (nephew) respectively.

"Bua-babua are together now, but after May 23, bua will say babua is the king of goons and babua will say bua is the very image of corruption," he claimed.

Adityanath Saturday addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Faizabad, Gonda and state capital Lucknow.

On the UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "Countries all over the world are happy about the news, while in India one can understand why there is silence in the camps of opposition parties."



He asked why had the Congress and SP linked terrorism with votebank. "Their intentions are clear. They are not bothered about the national security, they are only worried about their votes," Adityanath said.

The BJP leader also launched a scathing attack on Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over a video in which children were seen using abusive language in front of Vadra.

"I was looking at a video of the Congress shehzadi which went viral on social media. At an age when kids should be taught about moral values, she was seen teaching them abusive words. The Congress should not teach its kusanskaar (bad values) to the children of the country," he said.

He also referred to the Congress leader touching and petting snakes during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, a video of which was circulating on social media.

"I saw Congress ki shehzadi playing with poisonous snakes, the same way in which the Congress gave this country poisonous snakes like terrorism, Naxalism and separatism during its rule.

"For 55 years, these snakes continued to bite the country. The Congress cannot improve (on its own), and now the public of the country will improve it," he said.

Taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad besides Amethi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is losing elections in Amethi and now he has gone to Kerala to hide his failures."



"...When we were asked why the BJP speaks of nationalism, we said that nationalism for us means that the poor have their own concrete houses, toilets, gas connections, electricity and security of 120 crore people of India (is ensured)," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish-Iraqi Border: Turks Bomb and Kurds Use Assyrians As Human Shields

House in Tashish, Barwari Bala valley, in Iraq, near the border with Turkey; destroyed by Turkish aviation. It is only a matter of time until the last of the Christians who still resist on the Iraqi side of the Zagros, on the border of Iraq with Turkey, disappears. The Chaldean-Assyrian Christian villages are being devastated by the missiles launched by the Turkish army against the Kurdish secessionist guerrillas, which use them as human shields and even 'squatted' monasteries.

It happened in Tashish, a Christian village in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border, at nightfall and in the usual way.

First, the buzzing of the drones was heard and it did not take long, the thunderous and horrendous detonation of the two bombs dropped by a Turkish plane. With absolute certainty, he was one of the F16 fighters or the F4 Phantom II that Ankara has active while imploring the Americans to provide his desired F35.

The missiles struck in a very precise way in one of the houses of the Christian village. The shock wave caused damage in more than one hundred meters to the round and the shrapnel and the metal splinters projected against all the houses of the surroundings, biting the outer walls and leaving big notches in the formwork so that the memory never is lost of what happened at 10.37 at night, local time, on April 11, 2019.

In the pictures taken the next morning, the lethal destructive power of these weapons is seen in all its magnitude. The building-one of those bright, one-story little houses that rise above the shady orchard of the hills of the Barwari Bala valley -was reduced to a mountain of twisted iron, large blocks of reinforced concrete and broken concrete slabs. A few meters from the house, the perforations and dents of the pick-up of the Kurdish militiamen who 'squatted' the house are intuited.

Nobody wants to talk about it, but that someone died is taken for granted . How could someone have survived such an explosion? The Turks know well the objectives of their so-called "war against terrorism". That has to be granted.

Attending, exactly, to the 'surgical' accuracy of their air attacks and the meticulous information they obtain thanks to their drones and their intelligence services it is possible to conclude that the Turks did not ignore that the night of that bombardment there were eight civilians in the town. All of them were Chaldean-Assyrian Christians , oblivious to the pulse that the Turkish Government of Erdogan holds in Iraq against the Popular Defense Forces (HPD, according to its Kurdish acronym), armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), around which the bulk of the Kurdish secessionists from Turkey gather.

It was providential that there were no civilian casualties: the few Christians who resist in the valley dined shortly before twilight in two courtyards near the building that the missiles hammered. Twenty meters from the blast site, a family of four was talking. As it has been common, they waited at dawn and left scared of the small town. The night had been long.

Parish closed in Sharanish, with the poster in Arabic and in Syriac.

Turkish artillery bombs Christian villages

Just one day earlier, on April 10, Erdogan's artillery had bombarded the town of Sharanish, another Chaldean-Assyrian enclave located near the Turkish border, in the Kurdish-Iraqi district of Zakho, about fifty miles east of Tashish, and northeast of Dahok. Both its Muslim and Christian neighborhoods were devastated by the projectiles.

Sending Sharanish mission fighter-bombers or beating him with artillery has been a long tradition since, a few years ago, the Kurd militia of the HPD, at war with Turkey, left the high and steep snowy peaks of the Zagros to seek refuge among the civilians who occupy the hidden valleys of one of the wildest and most uninhabited borders of the planet.

Kurds "kind" but armed: they use Christians

In a systematic way, Christians have been used by the guerrillas as human shields. It is an open secret that they stand in their villages to avoid, without success, the attacks of the Turks.

An Assyrian bishop visits Hezaney, in the Nahla Valley; has tried to convince the Kurdish militias to leave the place, without success.

"They are kind, that's true, " a Christian from the Nahla Valley tells us, while imploring us to identify him with the nickname of Saad Matey. " They are as kind as can be someone who holds a kalashnikov. It is also true that there have never been problems of coexistence and, unlike the Barzani peshmerga [the Kurdish armed forces that operate in the Noriequen territories], they always pay for what they take and interact politely with us. Of course, that is not the real issue. The point is that we are not a judge or part of a foreign conflict, and nobody has ever asked us if we want to live in a militarized zone or in peace. and oblivious to a struggle that does not concern us and that is forcing us to abandon one of our last Iraqi enclaves. "

Christians have been trapped with the rest of Iraqis in the crossfire of a war that is not theirs.

No one in Iraq needs the Islamic State to turn their lives into hell. These types of situations have often been silenced by the great reports about the criminal activities of Daesh.

Unlike what usually happens in other parts of Iraq, such as Bajdida or Erbil, the bulk of NGOs, humanitarian organizations and Christian charities operate on the border . It remains 'terra incognita', an opaque blur whose precise location ignores, in a literal sense, even large maps.

A wild border with mini-guerrilla states

"Look at our house," laments a countryman from the town of Sharanish interviewed by a local television station while showing the shrapnel notches, the vain busts and the cracks of the walls of a house hit by the shock wave of the bombs. artillery. "We were around eighty families. Then, that number fell to twenty, and later, to eighteen , and so on until everyone, Muslims and Christians, left for fear of being busted or buried in the rubble. "

Almost the entire border strip has been occupied in progressive waves by small groups of Kurdish guerrillas attached to the HPD (or PKK) that NATO, EU and Turkey still have today as terrorists. Some of the fiefs that the guerrillas have in places like Sinyar or Qandil are real proto-states beyond the control of the Erbil governments (of Kurdish-Iraqi autonomy) or Baghdad.

The Kurds often crossed the Zagros mountain range, coming from Turkish Anatolia, to get away from Turkey. Of course, gradually, small groups of them left their holes in the rocks to descend to the populations that mark the border. One of the last occupations took place in the Nahla Valley, four years ago.

It was as of that moment when the Government of Turkey stopped settling for illegally invading Iraqi airspace to displace several contingents of replacement soldiers . With the acquiescence of the Kurdish leader Masud Barzani, the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan, the different Turkish units of the Komando were quartered in positions of tactical importance from where they control the natural steps of the guerrilla and from where they strike indiscriminately anyone who is in the immediate vicinity of the guerrillas, even if, as it almost always happens, it is against their own will.

Sharanish is one of the Chaldean-Assyrian peoples most punished by Turkish bombs . What happened in that small town is a good example of the process that is about to end Christians, in this case, without stenographers. Today there is no one who goes to pray to any of his two churches; one belonging to the Chaldeans (Catholics) and the other, built in the 4th century on an old synagogue, by the Eastern Church (Nestorian, or "of the Persians"). In Antiquity, all its population was Jewish, before its conversion to Christianity.

Descendants of the Turkish genocide a century ago

Like other valleys ravaged by Turkish bombs such as Nahla, most of its inhabitants descend from the survivors of the Assyrian-Greco-Armenian genocide of a century ago in Turkey. They arrived, originally, from Turkey, where the Christians were literally exterminated by Kurdish tribes under Ankara, during the First World War.

From their old patriarchal headquarters, located in Kodshanes, their ancestors fled with the almost legendary patriarchs Simon Sea XXI and Agha Patros at the head , to undertake a circular road through Persia that would take them back to the mountains, only from the side Iraqi from their lands. They are the survivors by antonomasia.

Long before the emergence of the Islamic State in the geopolitical scene, the persecution against this minority has been brutal, systematic and often sponsored by the nationalist and supposedly democratic governments of the hostile ecosystem where they live. The jihad to which the Salafist parties appeal is often only an alibi to appropriate their assets.

The same happens against Bartella's babaquAes, who have their own religion, different from Islam, although influenced by it. Or much earlier, in the villages of Nahla. Spiritual differences have often been used to fuel rivalries that, in the end, mask the petty desire to steal their lands. Daesh has been just one of his problems. And not necessarily the biggest one.

On the border of Turkey is another conflict that is settled on the bloody Chaldean-Assyrian sand. It is not religious differences that worries the PKK. In fact, there are Turkish Christians in their ranks from Tur Abdin. They are not, as is usually agreed, an atheist militia, but secularized.

The Kurdish militia paraded in an Assyrian monastery,

Among the buildings occupied by the Anatolian Kurdish militia to hide from the Turkish bombs is the 1,400-year-old Assyrian monastery of Qayoma Mar. As a general rule, Kurdish guerrillas look for uninhabited houses in the heart of the villages, and 'squat' without the opinion of their legitimate owners, who have very little to say about it. In fact, not even complaints have been registered. Could they complain about it? The supposedly temporary occupations against which several Assyrian priests protested have become permanent.

The Kurdish militia at Assyrian funerals

In some villages like Hezaney, the daily coexistence with the militiamen is now daily, and it is possible to see the militia girls , very young, go to a funeral, with their campaign uniforms and without detaching themselves from a moment of their AK47 , to present your respect to the family of the victims. Thanks to the belligerency of Turkey, the guerrillas have indirectly exported their conflict, drawing the violence of the Turkish government of Erdogan towards families completely unrelated to their disputes.

Often, when night falls, from Chaldean-Assyrian populations such as Kanimase (Barwar Valley), it is possible to see in the distance the flashes of Turkish artillery blinking against the cross of the Mar Sawa church.

Aviation raids do not only start, in fact, from Turkey. Also the Iranian neighbors have launched their missiles on the positions of the PKK occupied by Chaldean-Assyrian civilians. They are so accustomed to it that, unless it rains bombs, there is nothing to alter their daily lives. In summer, they gather in the cool to look at the sky, as if they were fireworks.

Article translated from Spanish to English by Google Translate.
An Afghan official says at least seven Afghan policemen were killed overnight when the Taliban stormed security checkpoints in western Badghis province.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said Saturday that three other security forces were wounded during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry said Saturday that two separate airstrikes conducted Friday night by coalition forces in coordination with Afghan forces killed at least 43 militants from the Islamic State group in eastern Kunar province.

The statement said the airstrikes targeted IS in Chapara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"



"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition.

"If you scrap the sedition law, how will you send such people to jail?"shah asked.

"The Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they hurl a brick at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make their stand clear on the demand for a separate prime minster for Kashmir.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one can take it away from India till the BJP is there," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the Army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."



Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A barrage of around 50 rockets was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and dozens were intercepted by air defences, the Israeli army said.

The army said earlier it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response. It was not yet clear if there were casualties on either side.

The escalation follows the most violent protests along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank and said they consider even a "human being just a number".

Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

"SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj PArty) and have been affected by a bad habit that they consider even a human being just a number, Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing when SP chief vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.
There will be no negative repercussions of UN's designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Pakistan's ambassador to the US has said, asserting that the move only reinforces Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

The United Nations on Wednesday designated Pakistan-based Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him.

China removed its hold on the proposal, which was moved by France, the UK and the US in the Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February just days after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, who is on a rare visit to Houston this week, noted that the United States also appreciated Pakistan's commitment in its first reaction to the designation on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

Before the adoption, China and Pakistan worked jointly to delink the designation from the Kashmiri struggle for freedom and the Pulwama terrorist attack, it said.

The delinking allows Pakistan to continue to support the Kashmiri movement, it added.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the United States or China," said the ambassador while talking to the media after his address at the World Affairs Council in Houston on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism," Khan said.

In his address to the council, the ambassador also spoke about improvements in the US-Pakistan relations after a recent dip.

"This is a very important and consequential relationship. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Khan said.

The ambassador also spoke about Pakistan's role in promoting US-Taliban talks in Doha and asserted that Islamabad helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks," he said.

Ambassador Khan said that while Pakistan's role was important, other regional actors must also play their part.

Pakistan also supported US efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban, he said.

Khan hoped that the progress in the Afghan peace process would improve Pakistan's relations with the United States.

Underlining Pakistan's efforts for better ties with India, the ambassador noted that in February the two nuclear states had the first dogfight.

"This is very dangerous but unfortunately India seems more interested in whipping up differences for domestic political gains than in resolving disputes," he said.

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A madrasa teacher who was declared a Bangladeshi living illegally in Assam was arrested, and 20 other Bangladeshis were deported to their country on Saturday, officials said.

Abdur Rashid, who was working as a teacher in a government run madrasa since 2001, was declared a Bangladeshi by the Foreigners Tribunal of Morigaon district on October 30, 2016, official sources said.

He had then moved the Gauhati High Court but it upheld the declaration of the Tribunal in September 2018.

Rashid was in service till Saturday, the sources said adding that he will be sent to the detention camp inTezpur on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 20 jailed Bangladeshis, including a woman, were deported through Sutarkandi on the international border in Karimganj district.

Karimganj Superintendent of Police Manobendra Debroy said those 20 people were handed over to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the border guards of the neighbouring country.

Of them, 19 were in Sichar Central Jail and one in Kokrajhar Central Jail for the last two to five years, official sources said.

Debroy, district Deputy Commissioner M S Mani Mannan, BSF Deputy Commandant S K Uppadhay were present when they were deported.

The Bangladesh side was respresented by police and BDR officials, Debroy said.

Another group of 21 Bangladesh nationals was deported on January 19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (BJP) on Saturday attacked chief for his alleged links to a defence firm that got an offset contract when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Gandhi refuted the allegations and said he was willing to face any probe, but added that an investigation should also be ordered in the fighter jet deal.

At a press conference, Union Finance Minister pointed to a media report to allege that and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt Ltd registered in in 2002. He said a firm of a similar name was registered in the in which and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an influence-for-cash company, Jaitley alleged. The FM said Mcknight was married to a leaders daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhis social gang. Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor

In 2009, Rahul Gandhi left the firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, Jaitley alleged. Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an deal to build submarines, he said, citing the report. Jaitley said Rahul Gandhis was a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and was now aspiring to be prime minister.

The rejected the allegations. This has all been dealt with (already). Please take any investigation, any action you want. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. (But) please also investigate Rafale, he said.

BJP Subramanian Swamy said he had sent a complaint to central probe agencies in December 2015, and insinuated that Jaitley blocked the probe. Is this on part of Jaitley a prayashchit (penance) or credit grabbing after blocking the ED (Enforcement Directorate) from investigating my complaint on Backops money laundering? Swamy tweeted.





Congress said it was an allegation that needed to be proved. Sibal released three video clips purportedly showing government officials who claimed they could get old notes exchanged months after demonetisation, and alleged that it was done at the behest of the BJP. The videos were apparently shot in 2017 by an investigative journalist. However, there was no authentication of the clips by the party or any other agency. No immediate reaction was available from the BJP.

The first video was shot in a car in Delhi on March 27, 2017. According to Sibal, a serving sub-inspector alleged in the clip that Piyush Goyal, who was BJPs treasurer, regularly instructed security personnel posted at the BJP headquarters to let in specific vehicles without any checks. He also introduced the journalist to a couple of retired IAS officers who agreed to get the currency exchanged, Sibal alleged.

The Congress claimed the second video was shot in Delhi on March 27, 2017 and the same official discussed the exchange of notes with a face value of Rs 300 crore. Sibal claimed that in the third video from April 1, 2017, a government official said the new currency notes were printed in Moscow. Extra notes were printed, more than the value of demonetised currency, the Congress leader said.

Sibal said, if elected, the Congress would conduct an investigation into the matter. He termed demonetisation an ill-thought decision. Demonetisation apparently was the biggest political scam has ever seen. The victims were the hapless 1.25 billion people, Sibal said.

Sibal said one of the objectives was to discourage the use of cash and check the currency in circulation to reduce flow of black money, but now cash was being used in a big way.

Demonetisation allowed black money to be generated and stashed abroad which is reflected by the latest data released by Zurich-based Swiss Bank (SNB), where money deposited by Indians rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion swiss francs (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, a year after the note ban, he claimed.


BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy by threatening TMC workers to bring musclemen from Uttar Pradesh and kill them like a dog if they dared to act smart.

Ghosh, a former IPS officer who was once close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Senior TMC leader Parthat Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

When contacted, TMC's Ghatal candidate Dev said, "I do not understand what to say. I think people should not forget decency. I had huge respect for Bharati-di, but after this incident I think that will be affected. I think the people of Ghatal will give a befitting reply to this."



Earlier, Banerjee conducted a road show in West Midnapore urging people not to cast their votes for BJP candidates and save the country.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nomited for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging that the party was distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi, instead of handing out its election manifestoes.

Addressing an election meeting here, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Money is being distributed here. The Congress has distributed its election manifesto among the public, but the BJP is not distributing manifestoes, it is distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans."



Priyanka Gandhi also attacked Union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting from Amethi on BJP ticket. "She is doing drama in your constituency. She has herself come here 16 times, while your MP has visited the place twice as much. He has even stayed in villages," the Congress leader said.

"She comes here with the media and distributes shoes. She wants to insult you. She has been unable to understand what the public of Amethi wants," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had committed suicide. "Insurance premium worth Rs 10,000 crore paid by the farmers goes into the pockets of big industrialists," she claimed.

She took a dig at BJP leaders over the issue of stray animals and asked whether any of them had come to the people's agricultural fields to do 'chowkidaari' and safeguard them from stray animals.

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Militants shot dead BJP leader Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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BJP's Telangana president K Laxman Saturday said the party plans to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and others in Delhi over the alleged goof-up in the declaration of intermediate exam results.

Laxman had called off his indefinite fast on the issue Friday following an appeal from BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir.

Laxman was discharged from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Saturday.

He was shifted to the NIMS on April 29, hours after he launched the fast and continued his fast in the hospital.

The state party unit intends to move ahead by preparing an actionplan - consoling parents of deceased students, giving confidence to parents, meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and also the President, he told reporters here.

The party also plans to meet the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the alleged police detention of BJP workers and how force was allegedly used to 'suppress' the agitation by students and organisations like the ABVP, he said.

Though the stir started by BJP against the alleged injustice to the students has been on since April 15, there was no response from the government as it was 'dictatorial and autocratic', Laxman alleged.

Asserting that BJP would stand by the students, he appealed to them not to take the extreme step.

He hit out at TRS working president K T Rama Rao over his comments that the opposition parties was involved in "cheap politics."



"When 26 children had died (allegedly committing suicides), it is cheap politics for you," he said.

The state government has not seriously pondered over why more than three lakh students had failed among the more than eight lakh who appeared for the exams, Ahir had alleged here Friday.

The Centre would check the technical issues of the matter and study the possibility of conducting a CBI probe if the state government fails to take up the issue with due compassion, Ahir had said.

"We don't interfere in the work of any state government. But, we cannot leave the students in the lurch," he added.

Laxman started his fast with demands, including sacking of minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of Board of Intermediate (BIE) secretary, judicial inquiry into the whole episode and paying compensation to families of students who allegedly committed suicide.

BJP staged a state-wide bandh on the issue Thursday last.

Meanwhile, CPI activists held a protest here Saturday on the alleged bungling of the results.

About 9.74 lakh students had appeared for the intermediate exam in March this year and 3.28 lakh of them had failed, according to official sources.

The BJP has claimed that 25 students killed themselves since the declaration of results April 18.

The alleged bungling by BIE in the announcement of results led to widespread protests by students, their parents, student organisations and political parties.

Some students and their parents claimed even meritorious students have scored low marks.

Errors like not displaying practical exam marks in the memos of certain geography students and error by examiners, along with mistakes of other nature, have come to the fore since the announcement of results.

A three-member committee, appointed by the state government to look into the issue, has pointed out certain shortcomings in conducting the exam and suggested remedial measures.

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Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven)... Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."



Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act". He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.

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The has issued a notice, seeking reply of BJP's candidate Kirron Kher after she shared a video on twitter in which children were seen campaigning for her.

The poll panel has asked the actor-turned-politician to reply within 24 hours.

"You have shared a video on your twitter account which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour through slogan 'Vote for Kirron Kher' and 'Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar'," the notice, issued on May 3, said.

In the notice, it was mentioned that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January 2017 had requested the to ensure that children are not involved in any form with election-related activities, by either elections officials or political parties.

The EC had subsequently instructed that it should be ensured by all political parties and election officials that children are not involved in any election-related activity, as per the notice.

Kher is seeking re-election from the seat and is pitted against four-time MP and candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan.

will vote in the last phase of elections on May 19.
Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."



"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

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A BJP worker was shot dead by suspected militants in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, police said.

Unknown terrorists fired at a member of the BJP, Gul AhmadMir, at Nowgam Verinag, a police official said.

The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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With less than 48 hours to go for polling in West Bengal's Bongaon(SC) Lok Sabha seat in the fifth phase, its BJP candidate Shantunu Thakur Saturday met with an accident at Hanskhali in Nadia district, police said.

Shantanu Thakur, who is the grandson of the Matua community matriarch late Binapani Devi, his driver and two others who were in the vehicle, were injured, the police said.

He suffered an injury in his head and was rushed to the Bongaon sub-divisional hospital.

The accident happened at around 12.15 p m when a police van lost control and hit Thakur's vehicle at the front when he was heading towards Kalyani to attend an election rally on the last day of campaigning, the police said.

BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya was scheduled to speak at the rally.

None was arrested in connection with the accident and the police vehicle was allegedly damaged by BJP workers.

A West Bengal Police officer said "We are trying to find out what actually happened and whose fault it was. We are talking to drivers of both the vehicles. So far nobody has been arrested".

When contacted the BJP candidate's mother Chabirani Thakur alleged that the accident was the result of a "conspiracy" hatched by Trinamool Congress.

"My son's vehicle was standing on the side of the road and suddenly from nowhere this police van came and hit it. We want a thorough investigation into the matter," she told PTI.

Seven parliamentary constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpore both in North 24 Parganas district, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampore, Hooghly, Arambag are scheduled to go to the polls in the fifth phase.

BJP has pitted Shantanu Thakur of the Matua community against sitting TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur, the daughter-in-law of the late Matua matriarch. The family is witnessing a feud over control on the community, which has an estimated 30 lakh population in the state and can influence results in at least five parliamentary constituencies of North and South 24 Parganas districts.

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Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

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Campaign ended on Saturday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which go to the polls in the fifth phase of general elections on May 6.

The five seats are Muzaffarpur, Saran, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Hajipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaigning from the front, holding a rally at Muzaffarpur where he canvassed in favor of the local BJP candidate as also nominees fielded by alliance partners the JD(U) and the LJP.

He described the ruling NDA in the state as a cohesive three in one entity and the opposition weak, loosely knit and helpless against menaces of black money, corruption and threats to national security.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose party is not contesting any of the five seats going to the polls on Monday, did not hold an election meeting in these constituencies which are, however, being contested by alliance partners in the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies at Saran and Sitamarhi and spoke about the prime ministers commitment to his work which is evident from his having not taken a day off in 20 years.

In his speeches Shah sought to present a contrast with Gandhi whom he accused of going on a holiday every three to four months.

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Hema Malini held a rally at Sitamarhi where she expressed delight over the improved infrastructure in Bihar and recalled with amusement the 1990s when the then chief minister Lalu Prasads reported promise of making the potholed roads of the state as smooth as her cheeks had made headlines.

All the five seats going to polls in the fifth phase were won in 2014 by the NDA two each by BJP and LJP and one by Upendra Kushwahas RLSP, which quit the coalition last year and joined the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

Sitamarhi MP Ram Kumar Sharma, who had supported Kushwaha when he severed ties with the NDA, revolted after he was denied a ticket by RLSP, which is contesting five seats as against three five years ago.

He shared the stage with Amit Shah at the latters Sitamarhi rally dropping ample hints about his future political move. The seat has now gone to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U), which has fielded former MLA Sunil Kumar alias Pintu.

The party had earlier nominated Varun Kumar, but he declined to contest. Pintu faces Arjun Rai of RJD, who had won in 2009 on JD-U ticket.

BJP MPs Ajay Nishad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy are seeking re-election from their respective seats of Muzaffarpur and Saran respectively. Ajay faces another Nishad, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary fielded by the Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which is seeking to assume leadership of the Nishads.

Rudy faces Chandrika Rai of RJD, father-in-law of Lalu Prasads elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who has announced that he would no longer contest direct elections, has fielded his younger brother and state minister Pashupati Kumar Paras from his pocket borough of Hajipur.

In neighboring Vaishali, he has replaced mafia don-turned-politician Rama Singh with former BJP MLA Veena Devi, who is said to have joined LJP after her candidature was announced.

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Campaigning for the four Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the second phase of elections in Jharkhand on May 6 came to an end on Saturday evening.

A total of 65,87,028 electorate will decide the fate of 61 candidates.

Among the total electorate, 31,44,679 are female voters and 83 belong to the third gender, the Election Commission said in a release here.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Khunti (ST) Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday.

Union minister Jayant Sinha is seeking re-election from the Hazaribagh constituency as a BJP candidate.

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is pitted against him.

Two-time MP and CPIs Jharkhand unit secretary B P Mehta is also in the fray from Hazaribagh.

The BJP has fielded former chief minister Arjun Munda from Khunti, Sanjay Seth from Ranchi and Annapurna Devi from Koderma, replacing its sitting MPs Karia Munda, Ramtahal Chaudhary and Ravindra Rai respectively.

Annapurna Devi, who quit the RJD and joined the BJP on March 25, is facing Mahagathbandhans Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi and CPI (ML- Liberation) MLA Raj Kumar Yadav from Koderma.

Seth is taking on former union minister and Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay from Ranchi, where the five-time BJP MP, Ramtahal Choudhary, is also contesting as an independent after being denied ticket by the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi canvassed for Annapurna Devi from Koderma while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed Hazaribagh people through a video conference from Lucknow as he could not reach the constituency on Friday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the people of Khunti and sought their votes for party candidate Kalicharan Munda.

Adequate security arrangements have been made to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections, police sources said.

The EC release said that total number of polling personnel for the second phase polling is 39,909 and the number of micro observers will be 1,191.

Out of a total of 8,834 polling stations, 105 will be manned by women polling personnel.

At least 918 polling stations out of the total will have webcasting facility.

The first phase of polling in Jharkhand was held in three Lok Sabha seats - Lohardaga (ST), Palamu (SC) and Chatraon - on April 29.

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BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23.

Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

"Kamal Nath, you think you can win elections in a democracy by repressing our workers? Let Lok Sabha results be declared on May 23 and all four legs of your chair will tremble," he said, adding that the "Congress's way" of suppressing the opposition would not work anymore.

"During recent visits, I heard the ordeal of our workers. Those engaged in campaigning were externed from the districts, cases of murder were filed against them, and two workers were killed," Shah alleged.

The BJP chief also accused the state government of encouraging activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

"There was a time when Malwa region of the state was the base of SIMI. Shivraj Singh Chouhan (ex-BJP chief minister) dismantled the SIMI network and they (SIMI workers) were forced to leave Madhya Pradesh. Some of them are in Ahmedabad jail, some in Delhi jail and others in prison in Bhopal," Shah said.

"But due to vote bank politics, this government is again encouraging SIMI. I want to warn them, do not play with the country's security or your hands will get burnt. The BJP will strongly oppose their every step," the BJP chief asserted.

Shah claimed that the Congress, which came to power in the state in December 2018 after a gap of 15 years, had already started failing the people.

The BJP chief alleged that within three months of the Congress coming to power, transactions worth Rs 281 crore were unearthed during Income Tax raids at the premises of those close to Kamal Nath.

Seven seats of Bundelkhand, including Rewa, will go to polls on Monday.

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Former legislator from Langate constituency in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Sheikh Abdul Rashid Saturday said the Centre would be responsible if anything bad happens to JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik who is in Tihar Jail.

"Malik is not a criminal. He is a leader, a soldier of the people who respect him. Whether we like his ideology or not, we warn New Delhi not to play with fire... If anything bad happens to Malik, the responsibility will be on the Government of India," Rashid told reporters here.

A Delhi court last week sent Malik to judicial custody till May 24. He was arrested in a case related to alleged funding of separatists and militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), said the low poll percentage in parliamentary polls should make New Delhi understand that the separatist leadership "has its routes deep in masses and their voice cannot be muzzled by force".

"Be it banning Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF, nothing will change on the ground unless New Delhi realizes significance of resolving Kashmir issue," he said.

The former MLA said his party would take out a protest march outside Civil Secretariat on Monday the day it opens in the summer capital here as part of the bi-annual darbar move -- against the alleged failure of the government to provide basic immunities to people, arrest of youth, "state suppression against pro-resistance leadership" and for seeking revocation of ban on the Jamat-i-islami and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) .

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Three Naxals were Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.

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A Saturday posted for May 7 plea of Rajeev Saxena, a middleman-turned-approver in a case related to the chopper scam, seeking permission to travel abroad.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar, before whom the matter came up for hearing, posted it for May 7.

The court had earlier issued notice to the (ED) on Saxena's plea to travel to Europe, UK and in May.

Saxena has sought permission to travel abroad on the ground of medical ailments.

The court had earlier allowed Saxena to turn approver and his plea for grant of pardon on the condition that he will fully disclose all information in the case.

He was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusal of reports submitted by AIIMS.

Saxena, director at two Dubai-based firms -- UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings -- is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore scam.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party's internal assessment after four phases of polling shows that the BJP will lose in the Lok Sabha elections and he sees a "scared prime minister" unable to face the onslaught of the opposition.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he stated that it was said five years ago that Modi cannot be defeated and will rule for 10-15 years, but the Congress has "demolished" him.

"The structure that is standing is hollow. It is going to fall in 10-15 days," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

With more than half the election process completed, there is a clear cut feeling that PM Modi is losing, Gandhi claimed.

"There is an undercurrent and the BJP is losing. I don't see a strategic campaign by the BJP...I see a scared prime minister unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and a PM who is absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped and he is not going to succeed," he said, adding that the BJP's is a "panicky campaign".

He expressed confidence of a very good showing of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

First time defence ministry officials have written that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is directly negotiating with France, Gandhi alleged.

"What does it mean. Why is the PMO holding parallel negotiations, it has to be a money transaction. Why has Anil Ambani got Rs 1000 crore tax rebate in France. There is going to be zero tolerance on corruption," Gandhi said.

Asked about who will be the prime minister after the election, he said people have to decide who will be PM.

"The main issues are of employment, farmers, PM's corruption, and attack on institutions," Gandhi said.

The biggest issues are of unemployment and that Modi has destroyed the Indian economy, he said.

"The country wants to know from the Prime Minister. You had told the youth that you would give 2 crore jobs in a year, and today unemployment, is at a 45 year-high. Congress party's manifesto's first chapter is on jobs. We have given all the details, how we will make jobs available, the benefits of Nyay scheme," Gandhi said.

Modi does not say a word about employment, because he cannot say anything as there is neither any plan nor there is any record, he claimed.

"First, he used to talk about corruption. Now wherever you say chowkidar, people say 'chor hai'. Narendra Modi's system is to distract. When he sees he is losing he comes out with some distraction like the sea plane in Gujarat," Gandhi claimed.

But, the reality is that he is losing the elections, he said.

Gandhi also elaborated on the Congress's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme Nyay, saying it aims to put money directly in the bank account of the poorest people and also jump-start India's economy.

"Narendra Modi demonetised the economy, Nyay yojana will remonetise it," he said.

"As soon as the Nyay yojana money will come, people will start buying, shops will get impetus and then factories will get more work and jobs will be generated," he said.

Gandhi also listed other key promises of the Congress such as 22 lakh government jobs to youths within a year and 10 lakh jobs in panchayats.

"What is the BJP doing about jobs. Everybody has said Congress manifesto is an effective document as it is the voice of the people. What has Modi promised," he said.

"Congress has fought on the ground and changed the narrative. The country is in danger," he claimed.

Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi over not holding press conferences during his tenure, saying "please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences as it is really looking very bad".

"He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A scuffle broke out between Congress workers and BJP supporters after the latter raised pro-Modi slogans during a Congress' roadshow here on Saturday, police said.

The roadshow was being conducted by the Congress in support of party candidate Jyoti Khandelwal.

During the roadshow, a group of people raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to that, Congress supporters allegedly manhandled two-three people and raised slogans like 'chowkidar chor hai' (watchman is a thief).

Police said both the groups were separated within a short span of time and situation was brought under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister on Saturday claimed that the Congress-led opposition was staring at an imminent defeat after completion of four phases of polls and seeking excuses to cover up the same like a batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled.

They began with hurling abuses at Modi, all day long. When they realized it was not paying electoral dividends they changed tack and started complaining about faulty After four phases of elections, they have become flustered and started pointing fingers at the Election Commission, Modi told an election rally in this remote Lok Sabha constituency located along the Indo- border.

These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness, he said wryly.

The Prime Minister also charged the Congress, which has ruled the country for so long, with lacking a clear vision with regard to combating terror and said I was appalled to see that they have promised in their manifesto, among other things, withdrawal of special powers given to armed forces in insurgency-hit areas and abolition of the

ALSO READ: A journey down the Ganga in the age of Narendra Modi

They do not realize the consequences. They are unmindful that if the armed forces are divested of the special powers, they will end up spending their time and in appearing before courts for cases that secessionists may frame them in. And they are promising scrapping of which would only embolden extremists and the pattharbaaz gang (stone- pelting mobs phenomenon recently observed in the restive state of and Kashmir), Modi claimed.

They are simply clueless about how to combat terrorism, naxalism or any other type of security threat. And what disgusts me most as the language they have ended up speaking reminds us of what the Pakistanis keep on using, he alleged.

Before we came to power in 2014, not a month used to pass without some corner of the country or another being rocked by bomb explosions. That has been effectively checked since we took over. The credit goes not to Modi but to your vote which helped a strong government come to power. You, through your vote, sent the message across that will no longer take things lying down, the prime minister said.

Speaking in the presence of alliance partners - Chief Minister and Union minister who head the JD(U) and the LJP respectively-, Modi also took a veiled dig at the proposed NYAY scheme of the Congress, saying they could not help the poor in getting their accounts opened in banks and now they have suddenly begun to promise direct cash transfer. Beware of their misleading promises.

About another poll plank of the waiver of loans to farmers Modi said they made a similar promise ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. And after the elections, they waived loans to the tune of a meagre Rs 54,000 crore when debts ran into nearly Rs six lakh crore. And, as the CAG later pointed out, many of the so-called beneficiaries had their loans waived despite not being engaged in agriculture. They want to indulge in a similar fraud once again.

It has been an old trait of the They promised to the people of that they would build houses for the poor and got many people sign forms to make their tall talk credible. Nobody got these houses which remained on paper. In Rajasthan, where they have come to power, they are again making people sign forms saying these were meant to enroll them for the NYAY scheme which promises remittance of Rs 72,000 per year. Beware of such scams, Modi alleged.

The Prime Minister also sought to draw a contrast between the and the BJP saying whenever his party was in power it handled volatile issues with care unlike the opposition party which often left the country in turmoil.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, three states of Uttarakhand, and came into being. All these new entities have excellent and cordial relations with the parent states. Compare that with Telangana which was carved out of under Congress rule. So much of bitterness prevails between the two states despite both being peopled by Telugu-speaking citizens, Modi said.

Similarly, we have seen so much of tension in the past on the issue of caste-based reservations. There has been rumor- mongering that quotas are under threat. We demonstrated by introducing quotas for the economically weaker sections among the general category, without infringing on the rights of other social groups, how these things should be handled, he asserted.

has worked very hard to pull out of the lantern age, Modi remarked in a lighter vein in a veiled dig at Lalu Prasads RJD which is the main opposition party in the state, and added please do remember whichever NDA constituent you vote for your vote shall be going to Modi.

Seeking to strike a rapport with the local populace, Modi began his speech that lasted 40 minutes with a few sentences in the local dialect Bhojpuri evoking rapturous response by the crowds.

He also spoke of the NDAs role in getting the Tharus a tribe populating the terai region along the Indo- border



the Scheduled Tribe status.

Modi also said that he had drawn the inspiration for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Mahatma Gandhis satyagrah in Champaran. He also showered praise on Bhagirathi a local BJP MLA who has been awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her social work.
/ -- Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) supports concerted joint action



The Council for Healthcare and Pharma hailed its just concluded Legislative day at Capitol Hill D.C. as engaging and successful. The forum received overwhelming support and consensus for greater traction between India and the USA to fully utilise mutual synergies and complementarities in the Pharma & Health space for the cause of Universal Healthcare.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881557/CHP_Legislative_Day.jpg )



The 'Legislative Day' had attendance of over 20 eminent US Congress leaders, representatives from Industry & Trade, Medical Fraternity and Board of Management AAPI, supporting the need for greater affordability, accessibility and accountability in keeping populations healthy.

Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, President, CHP, said, "For Universal Healthcare to become a reality, we must pull out all the stops to optimise the sourcing and delivery of each element of the health value chain. This calls for extensive deployment of the best-known bases and practices around the world for high quality medicines, technologies and skill sets. The logic, natural synergies and complementarities between India and the US in healthcare are compelling and the potential to realise accelerated gains from bringing these together is enormous and immediate."



A strong proponent of Affordable Medicare, Congressman Steny Hoyer emphasized the need for Government to work for improving healthcare access and affordability and to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health coverage. Further, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is a champion for Universal Healthcare expressed her commitment towards working proactively for the same.

Senator Roger F Wicker was of the view that one of the biggest concerns facing the US in the arena of Health is the lack of affordable health insurance coverage. Expressing his support to the cause of Women's Healthcare, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was categorical that America succeeds when women succeed in their quest for affordable healthcare. He also expressed his commitment towards accessible and affordable medicines to achieve the goal of 'Health for All'.

Congressman Frank Pallone who serves as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee was of the opinion that all Americans should have access to high quality affordable healthcare. He assured the gathering that he is committed to work steadfastly to protect the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin applauded the Council and its members in its committed support towards the TB elimination programme in India. Furthering their collaboration, the two organisations have entered into a joint dialogue to offer affordable Oncology Medicines for women, especially for cancers of the Breast and Cervix.

The Indian Ambassador to USA, H.E. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, hailed the contribution of the Indian Generics industry in its drive towards affordable care. He also applauded the role of the AAPI community in the US Healthcare system.

The opportunity to lower cost clearly lies in emphasizing a high quality Generic Formulary, realizing supply chain efficiencies, complementing R&D strengths to amplify drug development efforts, locating manufacturing where advantageous, leveraging new technologies such as Robotics, AI and Blockchain for greater efficiencies, better health surveillance, early detection of disease, improved treatment protocols, enhanced patient experience with significantly better outcomes.

These opportunities can be developed where best feasible through a Make in USA or Make in India initiative.

India has critical mass in providing affordable, high quality generic medicines to the USA and the world. India additionally has strengths in IT and a vibrant start-up environment for frugal innovation with interesting health applications being developed that have the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and outcomes in delivering healthcare.

On the other hand, American firms can outsource significant parts of their R&D efforts with considerable savings in new drug discovery as well as to amplify their shortlist of drug candidates for further research and development. These drugs in turn can be marketed not only in the US but also in India and other populous countries.

In addition, there are medical challenges of significant proportions like AMR which continue to deplete our arsenal of antibiotics by rendering them ineffective on account of overuse and misuse. The US has done a lot of work in alleviating this global problem and both countries can collaborate to mount a sizable program to mitigate this menacing challenge and such others.

The Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) is an integrated, not-for-profit, Global think tank that advocates the development of sustainable health systems around the World. It looks at engaging with Governments and other stakeholders to adopt rational approaches that capture benefits, that accrue through the optimization of the eco-system and value chain involved in treating diseases and keeping people healthy. CHP members include domestic and global Pharmaceutical companies, Providers of Diagnostics, Medical device Manufacturers, Hospitals and adjunct services.

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the Council focuses on Africa, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK and the USA. Its important areas of work are in ease-of-doing business; increasing competitiveness; broadening access to safe, efficacious and affordable healthcare services and medicines. CHP is guided in its work by expert advisory committee's in Intellectual Property; Market Access; Regulatory Policy; Key Therapeutics - Women's Health, Oncology & Tropical Diseases; Research & Development (R&D); Artificial Intelligence (AI); Environment; Healthcare start-up's.

As a significant and credible stakeholder in alleviating the burden of disease, the CHP brings to bear the collective wisdom of industry and policy makers on health issues that stand to make a positive contribution to society in bringing about Universal healthcare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court Saturday issued open ended Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against a Gulf based investor for his alleged links to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar, allowed the Enforcement Directorate's application against Gulf investor/ businessman Omar Ali Balsharaf.

The agency's Special Public Prosecutor D P Singh and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta argued that the ED had summoned Balsharaf multiple times since March 2018, but he did not join the investigation deliberately.

The ED further said by not joining the investigation, he was evading the process of law and NBW against him was necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the ED investigation, it is revealed that M/s interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius, a company which received the AgustaWestland kickbacks, transferred an amount of USD 5,303,471 to the account of M/s Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading (RAKGT) LLC, Dubai which was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf and Gautam Khaitan, another accused, which raised many questions and need clarification.

Some other entries also found suspected in the RAKGT need Omar to join the probe, the ED said.

The agency contended that as RAKGT was associated with Balsharaf, his trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain the money he got from various companies into the Dubai account. Some companies are also related to accused Khaitan and others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Air Force Saturday sent three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Bhubaneswar from Hindan Air Base for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, an IAF spokesperson said.

The aircraft are carrying approximate 45 tonnes of relief material including medicines for the locations affected by Cyclone Fani.

"The IAF had remained on hot standby for a launch ever since the first warning about the cyclone was received. The aircraft were positioned at Hindan for a short notice take off, waiting for the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields," he said.

The Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter landed at Bhubaneswar for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The helicopter, launched from Guwahati airbase, is one of many IAF aircraft being deployed to the cyclone affected areas, he said.

"Air operations began after the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields and are going to continue with full force in the coming days.

"The Indian Air Force is committed to providing dedicated efforts to bring succour and relief to the affected populace and help in restoring normalcy in the region," the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 14 people were killed and 63 injured as severe Fani barrelled into on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in neighbouring India, media reports said on Saturday.

authorities said that more than 1.6 million people have been shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in country's coastal areas.

The deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur that were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone, the Tribune reported.

The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

"In Noakhali district, a minor has been killed and several of the family injured when the house collapsed on them during storm. Moreover, 30 villagers were also injured as the storm destroyed over hundred houses in the two unions," the paper reported.

Similarly, in Lakshmipur district a 70-year-old woman, Anwara Begum, was killed in house collapse due to the storm.

The cyclonic storm battered the coastal districts of the country and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Sky in several parts of continue to remain overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds is continuing across the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel12 flights so far and delay several others, the paper reported.

The severe Fani also caused destruction in

The cyclonic storm, which made landfall at India's eastern state of Odisha on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Indian officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
A day after cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, a massive restoration and relief work was launched on war-footing Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas, officials said.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, they said.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

All the four people were killed after uprooted trees fell on them at different places in Baripada, the emergency officer of Mayurbhanj district, S K Pati, said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the cyclone's landfall in the coastal state.

The prime minister assured continuous support from the central government.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.



Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Though the "extremely severe" cyclone weakened into a "very severe" cyclonic storm in a few hours, it flattened houses with thatched roofs and kutcha houses, uprooted scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers in coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit.

Patnaik, after reviewing the situation on Friday night, had said that Puri district suffered huge damage.

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he had said.

Hundreds of engineers and technicians are working to restore power supply, the officials said.

Work is on to restore road communication, thrown into disarray with thousands of uprooted trees blocking the way in innumerable places, Patnaik said.

ALSO READ: Bhubaneshwar flight operations expected to begin by 1 pm on Saturday

Men and machinery of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services swung into action and launched a massive restoration work to bring back normalcy, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), B P Sethi, said.

Odisha Energy Secretary Hemanth Sharma said around 3 million power consumers have been affected by the cyclone, which threw electricity distribution infrastructure out of gear in most coastal districts.

Restoration work is on in full swing, he said.

In Bhubaneswar city itself, over 10,000 electric poles have been uprooted or broken, he said, adding, efforts are on to restore power supply in 25 per cent crucial sectors such as the airport, the railway station and hospitals.

Another 25 per cent work will be completed on Sunday and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest, Sharma said.

The power network had been severely damaged in districts such as Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore.

The Quick Action Team (QRT) of the premier naval training establishment, INS Chilka, was immediately deployed to provide emergency assistance in cutting and clearing trees in some areas, said an official.

A naval Dornier aircraft carried out aerial survey and found extensive damaged to vegetation in many places around Puri.

Large-scale water inundation was observed in many places, particularly in low-lying areas between Puri and Chilka lake, he said.

The chief minister said nearly 1.2 million people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, "probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country".

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially-designed cyclone centres, he said.

Cooked food is being served to them for free.

The cyclone, after the landfall, passed through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal, the SRC said, adding, Bhubaneswar city was hit by high velocity winds of around 140 kmph.

Telecommunication lines got snapped in several parts of the state capital and other areas.

Summer crops, orchards and plantations also suffered huge damage, he said.

Around 220 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled in view of passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.
'Fani', which ravaged most parts of and left 12 people dead, poses no threat to West Bengal anymore, as it weakens further before entering neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official said on Saturday.

As per forecast, there will be moderate to light rainfall, particularly in the districts adjacent to Bangladesh, but the weather condition in and around the city will normalise through the course of the day, Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here, Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

"There is absolutely no threat from this system ( Fani) to West Bengal. The very severe cyclonic storm had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over coast before entering West Bengal," he said.

"Fani is likely to continue to move and further weaken in the next six hours. It is very likely to move to Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression," Bandyopadhyay said.

Light to moderate rain is likely in the districts adjacent to Kolkata, and clear skies are expected in the city by afternoon, the official said.

The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures Friday in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans, in wake of the cyclonic storm.

'Fani' barrelled through on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least 12 people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.
Committees of Creditors (CoCs) should provide all relevant information and share their vision for companies under the insolvency process, a senior official said Saturday as he asserted that it will be dangerous to let viable firms to close down.

Amid rising number of stressed assets being referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), IBBI chief M S Sahoo said the law also gives opportunities to rectify the mistakes during the insolvency process.

The objective of the law is to rescue viable companies and close down unviable ones, he said.

"If due to incompetence (of market participants) the reverse happens, then it is dangerous," Sahoo said here.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson also noted that CoCs must provide all relevant information to resolution applicants so that they find interest in the companies.

"Commercial decisions are not black and white. There is no mathematical formula to say that a company is unviable and another is viable. It depends on so much considerations and it depends on who is looking at it," he noted.

Speaking at an event, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said that financial creditors should not play foul while going through the viability and commercial aspects of a resolution plan.

Citing examples, he indicated that operational creditors should also be getting money and not just the financial creditors in a resolution process.

Responding to a query on whether operational creditors are not getting their dues, Sahoo cited data till December 2018 to say that both operational and financial creditors "on average, got about 48 per cent each of their claims".

About haircuts taken by creditors, he wondered what can be done if the resolution process started very late.

"Today about 370-380 companies have been ordered into liquidation. Most of them, 80 per cent, were in BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) or defunct companies. So when there is nothing to really recover, when the liquidation value almost zero, you will have to take haircut," he noted.

According to him, it also needs to be seen how much one gets in comparison to his claim and in comparison to the liquidation value.

"Up to March data, creditors have got about 195 per cent of the liquidation value. That means companies have been rescued and thereafter creditors have got 195 per cent of the liquidation value. Anything above liquidation value is bonus and that has come because of the IBC," he said.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) President and Chief Justice (Rtd) M M Kumar said that 32 more members would be joining the tribunal, which would help in stabilising the system.

At present, it has 25 members.

Despite the adjudicating authority functioning with a very poor infrastructure, the average timeline for resolution of cases is around 300 days, Kumar said.

Under the IBC, the timeline for resolution of a case is a maximum of 270 days.

Kumar also said the institution of resolution professionals needs to be strengthened and such professionals must be more equipped and full of knowledge.

They were speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by industry body Assocham.

The IBC provides for market-driven and time-bound resolution of stressed assets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sana Niyaz has joined the league of her three sisters after topping the Delhi government-run schools in the CBSE Class 12 examination.

Niyaz, who studied at Sarvdaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Jama Masjid, scored 97.6 per cent marks in the examination and thus bagged the first position among the students of the schools run by the Delhi government.

Her three sisters had also studied in the same school. While one among them was the top scorer of the school in her Class 12 exams, the other two also had performed excellently.

Niyaz, whose father is a cook at Matia Mahal's famed Al Jawahar restaurant and mother a housewife, says she had to maintain the "standard" set by her elder sisters.

And she did not disappoint.

"I never had to take any tuition because my sisters were there to clear all my doubts. I wanted to live up to the standards they had set in the family," Niyaz said.

Her family says they felt happy when Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called them to congratulate for the results of Niyaz.

The results for the Class 12 examination were announced by the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) on Thursday. The pass percentage of Delhi government schools has gone up by 3.6 per cent to 94.24 per cent this time.

Niyaz wants to pursue Bachelor of Arts at St Stephen's college and also prepare for civil services.

Niyaz's younger sister is studying in Class 9 in the same school and she also has to follow suit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost a hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly also -- we discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal," the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

"And China, I've already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that," Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

We're going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. We'll be talking about nonproliferation. We'll be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major drug racket was busted at a resort near Pollachi in the district and over 150 college students were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Based on a complaint that a large number of students, who were camping in the resort since Friday night, were involved in drug abuse, a raid was conducted, they said.

A total of 159 students were allegedly under the influence of ganja, cocaine, intravenous drugs, sedatives and also liquor when they were arrested, police said.

Majority of the students were from neighbouring Kerala and studying in private colleges in and around Coimbatore, they said.

Six employees of the resort were also arrested while the owner was at large, police said, adding that a large number of narcotic substances and vehicles were seized from the resort.

Meanwhile, District Collector K Rajamani has issued an order to seal the resort, official sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."



The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Embassy Office Parks REIT, India's first listed real estate investment trust, has raised Rs 3,000 crore through private placement of debentures mainly to repay debt.

Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between global investment firm Blackstone and realty firm Embassy Group, is a leading developer of commercial real estate. It launched the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to raise Rs 4,750 crore.

In a statement, the company said "it has successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement Rs 30 billion of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable and non-convertible debentures (NCDs)."



The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market segment of the BSE.

The debentures, EMBASSY REIT Series I NCD 2019, carry a face value of Rs 1,000,000 with yield to maturity of 9.4 per cent and will mature in June 2022.

Embassy REIT intends to use the proceeds from the issue to repay its existing debt and for general corporate purposes, it added.

On April 23, 2019, the Debenture Committee of the board had approved the issue of debentures aggregating Rs 3,650 crore in two tranches.

The panel on May 3 approved the allotment of the Tranche A debentures aggregating Rs 3,000 crore.

Embassy REIT owns and operates a 33 million square feet (msf) portfolio of seven Grade A office parks and four city-centre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, comprising two completed hotels, two under-construction hotels and a 100 MW solar park supplying renewable energy to park tenants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready." Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban appeared to rebuff the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither Khalilzad or the Taliban have said much about progress in their latest talks, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms" and "stop repeating failed strategies & expecting different outcomes."



Last year, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.

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"Westworld" star Evan Rachel Wood will be headlining the Hiroshima bombing survivor drama "One Thousand Paper Cranes".

According to Variety, Richard Raymond will direct the project from a script by Ben Bolea.

Wood, 31, will be joined by actors Jim Sturgess and Shinobu Terajima in the cast.

The film is based on the story of Hiroshima survivor Sadako Sasaki and author Eleanor Coerr, who wrote the bestselling children's book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes".

Sasaki was a two-year-old when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. She was later diagnosed with leukemia caused by exposure to radiation from the blast. She, however, drew strength from a Japanese legend that, if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish, which in her case was to live.

Coerr, an aspiring journalist and young mother, learns of the girl and becomes determined to share her story with the world.

Raymond will also produce the film Ian Bryce and Irene Yeung.

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A retired Army man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The deceased, identified as Irdaus Lakra (68), had gone out to answer nature's call at his vegetable farm adjacent to his house in Sithra village under Chhal forest range in the wee hours when he was attacked by the elephant, he said.

"Lakra, a retired Army man, died on the spot in the attack. After being informed about the incident, forest personnel reached the place and sent the body for post- mortem," the official said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000, he added.

According to the official, a herd of 11 elephants has been spotted in this forest range and the forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on their movement to avoid untoward incidents.

After the incident, local residents staged a protest and blocked the Dharamjaigarh road for about three hours, demanding protection from the wild elephants.

The villagers also asked the forest department to keep them informed about the movement of wild elephants and provide them equipment like torches to keep the pachyderm away from human habitations. The protesters were later pacified by the forest officials.

The forested Surguja division comprising five districts- Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Balrampur and Surajpur- and two other districts- Korba and Raigarh- of Bilaspur division, are notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.

The region, which falls in northern part of the state, has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in past years.

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Not farmers' income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former minister alleged Saturday.

The also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

"Farmers' income will be doubled (if the comes to power). In the last five years, farmers' income has not doubled but their debt has doubled," told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 400,000 vacant posts in the government will be filled when the comes to power, he said.

said another issue is farmers' distress.

"I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014," the Congress said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

"Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJP's alliances," he said.

The BJP won all the seats in and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in in the last elections, but Prime Minister did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 1.5 million in of every citizen and 20 million jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congress's election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people."Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room," Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJP's manifesto, they are discussing the Congress's, he said.

On his party's proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise India's economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.
A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

"Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Arjun Singh is known for his local connections and strong booth management skills but sitting TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi dismisses the chances of his former chief election manager in their fight for supremacy in this seat, saying he is a non-factor in this poll.

Having a 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, Barrackpore is one of the key seats where the Modi-Mamata factor has turned the contest into a prestige fight for both the TMC and the BJP.

With Trivedi eyeing a consecutive third term from the seat, which goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6, Singh, who defected to the BJP recently, is hoping to upset the former Union minister's applecart.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in West Bengal had claimed that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to accuse him of engaging in horse trading and demanding for cancellation of his candidature.

"After this statement and counter statement, the election in this seat is more about whether the BJP and Modi will be able to make a penetration in Bengal or Mamata Banerjee will be stop them and become the next prime minister," says a senior TMC leader of North 24 Parganas district.

Even wall graffiti mention a Modi vs Mamata fight.

"It is a fight to make Didi (Mamata Banerjee) prime minister and stop horse trading of MLAs", says a wall writing here whereas another writing goes: "Vote to re-elect Modi as PM and end the misrule of Mamata".

Barrackpore, situated in the north western part of Kolkata, has about 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, which had migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the past few decades. They are likely to be a deciding factor in the polls.

Though Singh is a four-time former TMC MLA from the Bhatpara assembly constituency and is said to have considerable influence among the Hindi-speaking population of the area, Trivedi asserts his rival is a non-factor in the elections as he has lost connection with the masses.

"He was never a factor in this seat. His tall claims that it was his organisational skills that helped TMC win the seat would fall flat in the Lok Sabha polls. He will get to know his political stature once the results are out on May 23," Trivedi, who was railway minister from July 2011 to March 2012, told PTI.

Singh, who was the main election manager of Trivedi since 2009, had switched over to the BJP in March, after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from this seat.

Once also known to be close to former CPI (M) MP from Barrackpore Tarit Baran Topdar, Singh was considered a game-changer for the TMC in several elections, from panchayat polls to parliamentary battles, due to his local connections and strong booth management skills.

"The people of this seat will vote for BJP and Modiji. Trivedi has been a complete failure as an MP. People will oust him," Singh told PTI.

At present, all the seven assembly seats in the Lok Sabha seat are held by the TMC.

There is also a minority-dominated Amdanga assembly segment and the TMC eyeing these votes.

Apart from Trivedi and Singh, the contest has also become a prestige issue for BJP leader Mukul Roy whose son Subhranshu Roy is a TMC MLA from Bijpur assembly seat which falls under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.

The onus on Roy is to ensure victory of Singh from Barrackpore, whereas for Subhranshu it is a fight to prove his loyalty to the party.

Roy, once considered number two in the TMC, had switched over to the BJP in 2017. Many also consider him to be the BJP's key organisational man in engineering defections in the TMC.

"It's has nothing to do with father-son relationship. I can ensure you that TMC would win from this assembly segment with a big margin," Subhranshu says.

In 2014, Bijpur gave the TMC the highest lead among the all seven assembly segments in the constituency.

But with the fast changing political equations in the area, both the TMC and the BJP have kept the cards close to their chest.

The Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, which has been a CPI(M) stronghold since early sixties, had elected Trivedi for the first time in 2009.

Also in the fray are Gargi Chatterjee of the CPI(M) and Mohammed Alam of Congress.

Trivedi won the seat in 2014 by defeating his nearest rival of the CPI(M) by a margin of over two lakh votes. The constituency at present has 14,33, 276 voters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol.

Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Donald Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation.

This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration.

"One of the things that everybody in this country needs to think about is when the president denies the Congress documents and access to key witnesses, basically what they're doing is saying, Congress you don't count," said Rep.

Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. "We cannot we simply cannot have a presidency that is run as if it were a king or a dictator in charge," said Cummings, D-Md. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversight and Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do so is testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

Trump derides the oversight of his business dealings and his administration as "presidential harassment" and has the backing of most Republicans in Congress. With Mueller's work completed, Trump wants closure to what he has long complained was a "witch hunt."



"No more costly & time consuming investigations," Trump tweeted.

Stunned by the administration's refusal to allow officials to testify or respond to document requests, lawmakers have been left to think aloud about their next steps against the White House.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding a redacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge.

Barr could face another subpoena to appear before Nadler's committee after skipping a hearing Thursday in a dispute over the rules for questioning him.

Nadler, D-N.Y., also has subpoenaed testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

Cummings is considering what to do on several fronts, including about testimony from Carl Kline, the White House's personnel security director.

Cummings said Kline declined last week to answer specific questions in a closed-session hearing about the security clearances granted for White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president's son-in-law and daughter.

Also, the House Ways and Means Committee is being refused access to Trump's tax returns. Republicans are largely declining to join Democrats in pursuing the investigations any further.

"It is over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Barr testified last week before the committee.

Graham, R-S.C., has asked Mueller to respond to Barr's testimony, particularly after the disclosure of a letter the special counsel sent Barr complaining about attorney general's summary of the 400-plus page Russia report.

The rejection of oversight is the latest and perhaps most high-profile example of the new normal in the Trump era.

Gone are the daily White House press briefings, once a fixture in Washington.

Top department vacancies go unfilled, leaving fewer officials to respond to congressional requests.

Agencies across the government seem more insular than before. Princeton professor Julian E Zelizer said what's unfolding between the White House and Congress "fits in a long history of bad moments when the branches clash over vital information."



While other presidents, including Barack Obama, have resisted congressional oversight in certain situations, including during Attorney General Eric Holder's blockade of the "Fast and Furious" gun-running investigation, Zelizer said "Trump is going further by saying no to everything."To Zelizer, "certainly there are echoes of Watergate when the administration did everything possible to stonewall Congress as they undertook legitimate investigations and hearings into presidential corruption."He said presidents with "too much power" can easily make decisions that undermine government operations in everyday lives.

"Should citizens care? Of course, the restraint of presidential power is an essential part of our Constitution and the health of our democracy," Zelizer said.

Impeachment is being shelved, for now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her leadership team are taking a step-by-step approach to the White House standoff, declining any rush to impeachment proceedings, as some in her party want, for a more incremental response.

Pelosi did note this past week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there?" Pelosi said Friday.

"I don't agree with that."



Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt.

They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jail time.

Capitol Hill has been buzzing about the unlikely prospect of using a jail that some say exists somewhere in the Capitol and that was used in the past to detain those in contempt of Congress.

But the House and Senate say no such facility exists. "No evidence suggests that any room in the Capitol was ever designated for use as a jail," says an entry on the House website's historical pages.

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A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see if he is still fit to rule.

The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible", according to the ruling seen by AFP Saturday.

Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.

But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.

"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads up one of the groups behind the bid, said.

Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered on October 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.

During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum.

A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.

But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial enquiry into his state of health.

Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.

Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who ruled from 1967.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farmers' organizations alleged Saturday that the Gujarat government had yet to consult them or the cultivators sued by PepsiCo India for growing a 'protected' variety of potato in its discussions with the company.

PepsiCo has decided to withdraw the cases filed against nine farmers in Gujarat following an outcry.

"The Gujarat government, after making itself a mediator in this controversy, has not consulted the farmers sued by PepsiCo and has not involved any farmers' organizations in the discussions it is holding with PepsiCo India," farmers rights groups said in a joint statement.

They also said they would intensify their agitation, if the government, as reported by an English daily, tried to persuade farmers not to grow the variety of potato for which PepsiCo is claiming Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights, or tried to persuade farmers to sell the produce only to the company.

"Why should the government try to persuade the farmers when they have not committed any crime under our law?" the statement asked.

No permission is required to be taken by farmers for growing any variety including registered ones as per the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001, they said.

PepsiCo India Thursday announced that it will withdraw cases filed against potato farmers in Gujarat.

On Friday, representatives of the company held a meeting with the Gujarat government officials and called for an "amicable solution for everyone".

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by the company for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which it has claimed PVP rights.

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Shops and other businesses in Gujarat can remain open round the clock now with the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 coming into force from May 1, the government said.

The act, passed by the state Assembly in February, was notified on May 1, a government release said Saturday.

With this, commercial establishments in municipal corporations limits, or those near national highways, railway stations, state transport depots, hospitals and petrol pumps will be allowed to operate 24 hours.

The shops and commercial entities operating near state highways and within municipality limits can now operate between 6 am to 2 am.

The act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act of 1948, which prohibited shops and other businesses from operating between 12 am to 6 am.

Under the new act, shops and commercial entities employing more than 10 workers will require one-time registration with no need for renewal, while those with less than 10 employees will need no registration.

Employees will get twice the regular salary for working overtime, against the one-and-a-half-time as provided under the earlier act.

Under the new act, working hours for women employees can be between 6 am and 9 pm, which could be relaxed only if a written request is made and after the authorities consider safety issues.

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(ANSA) - Turin, May 3 - A three-man gang sold drugs as Communion wafers in Turin, police said Friday.

A 31-year-old Ivorian, a 27-year-old Gabonese and a 22-year-old Mauritanian were arrested at their underground drugs lab.


US President Donald Trump has said that he had a very positive conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Venezuela, emphasising that Moscow was not looking at all to get involved in the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump on Friday spoke with Putin for about an hour, during which Venezuela was one of the major topics of discussion.

I had a very good talk with President Putin -- probably over an hour. We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump told reporters.

Stating that he too wanted something positive for Venezuela, Trump said the US was willing to help the nation with humanitarian aid as people were starving.

We want to get them some humanitarian aid. Right now, people are starving. They have no water, they have no food. This is one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago, and now they don't have food and they don't have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis, he said.

Responding to questions, Trump said the alleged Russian interference in the US election was not discussed.

We didn't discuss that. Really, we didn't discuss it. We discussed five or six things. We went into detail on various things, especially, I would say, the nuclear. Especially, maybe, Venezuela. We talked about North Korea at great length, and pretty much that's it, he said.

The two leaders also discussed trade.

We intend to do a lot of trade with Russia. We do some right now. It's up a little bit. But he'd like to do trade and we'd like to do trade, he said.

Getting along with Russia and China, getting along with all of them is very good thing, not a bad thing. It's a good thing. It's a positive thing. We want to have good relationships with every country, he added.

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Police in Sri Lanka on Saturday asked members of the public to hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police station after a haul of such blades were recovered from mosques and homes during searches following the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara that the knives which are used for day-to-day "domestic" and "justifiable" purposes were not required to be handed over to police.

Apart from large blades, Gunasekara said that police and army uniforms or such camouflaged materials, which are in possession with the common people should also be hand over to the police.

"This will be in effect from today until tomorrow", he said, adding, "If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station".

The move came after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, and camouflaged materials during searches of mosques and houses following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

According to the police, several people including politicians were arrested for possession of sharp-edged weapons like swords since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests to identify around 56 bodies, laying unclaimed in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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SAD candidate from the Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday accused the Punjab government of failing to procure gunny bags that led to "stalling" of wheat procurement process in the constituency.

"The Congress government's criminal negligence in failing to procure gunny bags has choked all the grain markets in the constituency, besides stalling the wheat procurement process and causing untold misery to farmers," she claimed.

Holding Amarinder Singh responsible for farmers' "hardships", the Union minister said the farmers had the right to know why their chief minister had "let them down".

"Raja Sahab you are accountable to the people. You should tell farmers why your government failed to procure gunny bags in advance by placing orders in time. It is condemnable that you are still not paying attention to this problem forget about identifying those responsible for this lapse and taking strict action against them," she said.

She advised Singh to lead from the front and address farmers' grievances.

Badal said the CM had made only one visit to a grain market while enroute to a political function more than one week back.

She said with no political will to mitigate the problems of farmers, the administration as well as procurement agencies were now also giving a "raw deal" to the farmers.

Badal said she was getting complaints from all mandis in the constituency, including Bhucho, Naruana and Kaljharani, besides the local mandi that despite complaints to staff, no attempt was being made to lift wheat from the mandis.

She said farmers were complaining that the procurement process had also been delayed.

"Even commission agents are suffering due to lack of lifting," she added.

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BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday that if an alliance of opposition parties came to power, there will be a different prime minister every day.

The Opposition is leaderless, Shah said, addressing an election rally at Govindgarh in Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.

"Friends, tell me who will be the leader of the alliance....I am asking who will be their leader, but there is no reply," he said.

Quoting a WhatsApp message sent by a BJP worker, he said, "...if an alliance government is formed at the Center, on Monday, Mayawati will be PM, Tuesday Akhilesh (Yadav), Wednesday Sharad Pawar, Thursday (H D) Devegowda, Friday Chandra Babu (Naidu), Saturday Mamata Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and on Sunday the country will go on holiday!"



"Can a country be run like this? The country needs a strong leader and a strong government at the Center. Congress government will not help the poor. It will not fight terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give a befitting reply to Pakistan," the BJP chief said.

Referring to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's suggestion that Jammu and Kashmir should have a separate prime minister, Shah alleged the Congress wanted the same.

"But the Modi government will never allow secession (of Kashmir) from India," he said.

"Anti-national slogans like 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge' were shouted in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). Shouldn't these people be sent to jail?" he asked.

On Congress leader Sam Pitroda's statement that India should hold talks with Pakistan, he said, "Rahul Baba's guru Sam Pitroda made a statement....tell me, should we talk to those who killed our 40 jawans (in Pulwama terror attack) or should we attack them? This is a Narendra Modi government which will reply to gunfire with a bombshell."



When the whole country was rejoicing over India taking revenge of the Pulwama attack (by conducting air strike at Balakot in Pakistan), Shah alleged that there was gloom only in Pakistan and "at (houses of) Rahul Gandhi and (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Kamal Nath".

Congress leaders were sad after the Balakot air strike because "their vote-bank was sad", he added.

Even if people do not wish to vote for the development carried out under the BJP, they should elect Modi (as PM) for strengthening the country's security, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut Saturday advised Sitaram Yechury to drop his first name after the CPI(M) general secretary said Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were replete with "violence".

Raut also asked Yechury if he would term as "violence" the action of security forces while defending the country against Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

"If Sitaram Yechury calls Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu violence, then he should remove Sitaram from his name," Raut added.

In an article for the CPIM mouthpiece, People's Democracy, Yechury had said the BJP's decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal is an expression of its efforts to consolidate the Hindutva "communal" vote bank.

Yechury also took on Narendra Modi for his claim that Hindus can never be violent, alleging that the Prime Minister erases Indian history replete with gruesome battles and wars.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

Raut said, "What do you mean by saying Hindus are violent? The Ramayana and Mahabharata conveyed a central message -- victory of good over evil, truth over falsehood. Ram, Krishna and Arjuna are symbols of truth."



"If this is the meaning they interpret, then tomorrow they will say our soldiers fighting against Pakistan is 'violence'. When we defend ourselves against Pakistani acts of terrorism in Kashmir, is that violence?" he asked.

"Sitaram Yechury's intentions are clear: it is to attack Hindus and make oneself a secular person," the Sena Rajya Sabha MP alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here convicted two persons, including a woman, in the abduction and rape case of a 13-year-old girl.

While the court sentenced Jhalawar's Chitawa village resident Inderraj Gujjar (25) to life imprisonment till the remainder of his natural life, Seema Saina (27), a resident of Salora village in Jhalawar, was given 10-year rigorous imprisonment.

In the order that was delivered on Friday, the man and the woman were also told to pay a fine of Rs 95,000 and 50,000, respectively.

The convicts had abducted the minor from Kanwas in Kota district in May 2015. The police had rescued her after two months from Jhalawar district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a 'Pathalgadi' area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering don't strike a chord in Jharkhand's Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or 'Pathalgadi', declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where 'gram sabhas', or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes don't recognise any authority and don't owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6 BJP's former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress' Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

"Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes," proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through 'Pathalgadi' leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

"We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference," Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers' outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, "It is no subject."



"There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here," he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, "No one has reached us."



The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhand's high profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their "jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land)".

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, "We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us."



"Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat," added an elderly man. "We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright."



To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Munda's home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India could soon be facing a predicament of having more writers than readers, feels iconic author Ruskin Bond.

Bond also said the publishing industry in the country has developed and matured over the years, benefitting young writers.

The 85-year-old author was in the city recently to launch 'myELSA', an English learning app for school students.

"Publishing has come of age and more and more writers are making a good living out of it... But, I think with so many people writing now, there is a danger of having more writers than readers," he said in reply to a question on the present Indian literary scenario.

"After all, we want people also to buy them (books)," the celebrated author told PTI.

In a word of advice for budding writers, the 'Padma Bhushan' awardee said they must be sure to be able to write first. "Confidence in the language is a must. You should have something to say and be able to research on it well. Clarity is key."



On the increasing trend of people turning to e-books and other alternatives on the digital platform, Bond said the printed book is still the first choice for those in love with literature and reading.

"I would call e-books and other such apps an extension, in a way, of people's reading habits. They offer convenience and are useful for seeking information or hone one's writing and speaking skills. But, printed books are here to stay as a form of pleasurable reading," he said.

Talking about his favourite authors, Bond said there have been "too many" since his childhood days, but Charles Dickens, Somerset Maugham and Rabindranath Tagore are among his most-loved writers.

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India, close on the heels of getting Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar blacklisted, has given a clarion call at the UN for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending global convention on international terrorism amidst increasing terror attacks on places of worship across the globe.

India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at a solemn commemorative event Friday for victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, said the early adoption of the global framework to combat terrorism will be a "tribute" to those killed and injured in the "barbaric and cowardly" terror attacks in the island nation last month.

"The barbaric and cowardly attacks on places of worship and recreation, that took lives of hundreds of innocent people of different nationalities, is a reminder that terrorism aims not only to disrupt livelihoods, destroy lives and traumatise people, but also rupture societies, destabilise states and undermine the fabric of human beliefs by creating panic for the sake of panic," he said.

Akbaruddin highlighted the efforts by Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Amrith Rohan Perera over the last two decades towards achieving an outcome on the CCIT.

"Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of a putting in place a global legal framework to counter a global scourge," he said at the event co-organised by the President of the General Assembly and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN.

India's clarion call to adopt the CCIT came just a day after it won a massive victory in the fight against terrorism with the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The blacklisting of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief on Wednesday came 10 years after India first moved a proposal in the UN body to sanction him.

Perera underscored the need for the international community to demonstrate a "political will" to adopt the legal framework to combat international terrorism, saying "too much blood" has been spilled due to terrorism and nations can no longer remain deadlocked over the issue.

"I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue. The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy," the Sri Lankan envoy said.

Akbaruddin stressed that the challenges posed by the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka reflect threats to the common heritage of mankind that nations strive to build at the UN.

"Terrorists, globally, seek to lay the foundations of edifices built on violence, even as we strive here to promote the culture of peace. They are antithetical to all that we promote here. Terrorism fundamentally stands for the denial of all that we stand for here at the UN - peace, development, security and human rights," he said.

UN leadership and members expressed their condolences to Sri Lanka for the attacks that killed over 250 people and injured close to 500.

Nationals from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US were among those who lost their lives or were affected by the attacks.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the commemorative meeting that "tragically", again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become "killing grounds and houses of horror".

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said, adding that "as a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance".

Mohammed said the world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, voicing concern that today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet.

President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly Mara Fernanda Espinosa said the attacks, targeting worshippers, families, workers and holidaymakers, ignited fear among communities in Sri Lanka a country still grappling with the deep wounds inflicted by three decades of civil war.

"Against this backdrop, I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage, resilience and unity," Espinosa said.

On March 15, a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and injured as many others in two Christchurch mosques, the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history.

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A group of 18 Indian fintech companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme.

The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually.

"These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT).

"The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming our nation as the best place to raise capital for foreign investment," he said.

The Indian delegation included Nomisma Mobile Solutions, Nineroot Technologies, Chillar Payment Solutions, Rupeepower, Credenc, Lithasa Technologies, CredRight, Fingpay, Aye Finance, StashFin, Intelligence Node, Safehouse, Zuper, Oro Wealth, Clensta, Zest IOT, Inclov and Mobile Wallet.

At an event organised by the City of London Corporation and the Indian High Commission in London, the companies attended a fintech roundtable at India House on Friday to discuss barriers to entry in the UK and how these can be addressed.

Led by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Charanjeet Singh, the event brought together stakeholders from Innovate Finance, Grant Thornton, Santander and investment firm CoBa to share their expertise on the UK-India relationship.

"India and the UK have much to gain by increasing ties in fintech, an area seeing significant growth and innovation in both our countries," said Estlin.

"Many Indian firms have expressed interest in setting up in the UK, but market access remains an issue for some, especially smaller companies. This meeting in London aims to explore what support organisations like the City of London Corporation can provide to address this and further open our doors," he said.

According to the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the financial heart of London known as the Square Mile, the UK's fintech sector is worth around 6.6 billion pounds to UK GDP and accounts for 76,500 jobs.

The latest Indian fintech delegation follows a visit to India in October 2018 by former Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, who led a UK fintech delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The delegation from India coincided with the UK Fintech Week, backed by the UK government and City of London Corporation.

UK Fintech Week, which concluded on Friday, was designed as a think-tank and collaborative approach to cover topics such as post-Brexit UK, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cyber security.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian man in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 15 million (USD 4 million) in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi, the latest addition to the long list of lucky winners from India.

Shojith KS, who lives in Sharjah, won on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket series draw which was livestreamed on Youtube.

Shojith bought his winning ticket online on April 1, but is unaware that he is now a multi-millionaire as he repeatedly rejected the calls of the officers who tried to get in touch with him.

"If (our calls) don't get through we will keep on trying. And if we still can't get in touch with Shojith, we are going to his house - we know where he lives in Sharjah," Richard, who conducts the Big Ticket Raffle at the Abu Dhabi International Airport every month, told the Khaleej Times.

Another Indian expatriate Mangesh Mainde won a BMW 220i in the draw, it said, adding that eight other Indian nationals and one Pakistani won 9 consolation prizes.

Last year, Indian driver from Kerala John Varughese won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw.

In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.

Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic State (ISIS) is an "extremely dangerous" terror organisation, which is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, Dr Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has said here.

He was delivering a lecture on 'Israel, Iran and the Arabs: The Middle East of the 21st Century' at the Pune International Centre here on Friday.

"We have to distinguish between the IS as a territorial facet in the region, which I think has been demolished...But ISIS is internationally extremely dangerous, not because of their military power, not because of their territorial base, which has disappeared, but because ISIS is a source of inspiration for international terrorism," he said.

Since it is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, it is very difficult to combat, he added.

"ISIS has the capacity to engage in terrorism. We have seen it in France, we have seen it in Sri Lanka," he said.

Giving the example of Israel, Susser said the country fought terrorism fairly successfully due to its "outstanding intelligence" and "effective military force".

"The problem of those who stand up to ISIS, they have neither of these capacities...take the example the European Union. Their intelligence on ISIS and military capabilities are relatively poor. Although every EU member has its own intelligence operations, they do not cooperate," he said, and called for greater international cooperation.

Prof Susser said the Middle East of the 21st century is not the Arab world as it used to be.

"Arab countries have declined economically, politically and also in terms of their power in the region. This is due to lack of political freedom, deficit of first world education and gender equality," he said.

Former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also present at the talk.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public Saturday for the first time since his succession, expressing hope for Japan to keep pursuing peace.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the palace ground, Naruhito thanked throngs of well-wishers for congratulating him.

"I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today," said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

"I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further."



As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long lines outside the palace.

More than 140,000 people came to celebrate, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 59-year-old new emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after World War II and the first who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death. Still, there has been a lack of discussion about maintaining the monarchy's male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is still recovering from stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Naruhito's succession leaves only two younger male heirs in line for the throne, his 53-year-old younger brother Fumihito and 12-year-old nephew Hisahito.

Adding to the issue, the family faces a declining royal population because female royals are stripped of their status when they marry commoners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday accused the Congress of damaging constitutional institutions and patronising corruption during the UPA regime.

He claimed that it was Congress' character to give threats of impeachment to Supreme Court judges.

"The Congress-led UPA government gave 2G scam, CWG scam to the country. The party is known for corruption in every deal and for taking commission in different forms," the minister alleged.

"The Congress has now come up with a claim that surgical strikes were carried out in its rule also but Union minister and former army chief V K Singh, in whose tenure the strikes were claimed to have happened, has also said that he is not aware of any such action during his tenure," he said.

He also alleged that then prime minister Manmohan Singh did not give permission for surgical strike after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 but Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his assent to the Indian Air Force after the Pulwama attack.

Javadekar, who is BJP's poll-incharge in Rajasthan, said security of the nation was the main issue in the election and people have expressed their faith in the leadership of Modi.

He exuded confidence that the BJP would win more than 300 seats in the ongoing polls.

"We will win more than 300 seats in the country and will maintain the record of 2014 Lok Sabha polls of winning all the 25 seats in Rajasthan," he said.

Javadekar said the BJP has done intense campaigning in the state where top leaders of the party, including Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, addressed public rallies and conducted roadshows.

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Seeking to promote use of public transport and make commercial areas pedestrian-friendly, the north corporation has hiked parking fees for using a Karol Bagh street in this popular marketing zone in Delhi.

The move comes right after a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road in the area was made pedestrianised on Wednesday.

Senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials Saturday said, the approval for the project and on parking fee hike was taken just before the elections dates were announced.

Ajmal Khan Road for decades has been clogged with traffic and haphazard parking leading to discomfort for visitors.

"This project had been first conceptualised in 2010 but could not take off for some reasons. So, we picked up this zone, as soon I took charge at NDMC, and we engaged with market associations and created off-street parking spaces by utilizing old, defunct municipal spaces," NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

On Wednesday, visitors taken by surprise, when they found a stretch of the nearly one-km road, decongested, and pavements lined with benches and the street decorated with flower pots.

"About 600 metre of the Ajmal Khan Road has been pedestrianised, rest of it being done. People were taken by surprise, as we did most of the work at night time, from installing benches to painting kerbs, etc, she said.

The street has been marked with yellow and white strips demarcating space for hawkers. Besides, bollards have been put at the entry points of Ajmal Khan Road on Pusa Road and Arya Samaj Road to restrict entry of vehicles to the road.

Joshi said, the project could not have been executed without arranging for alternative parking spaces, and so, off-street parking zones were built in a couple of places nearby, adding, the idea is to enhance shopping experience and encourage walking among people.

In pursuance of its pilot project to decongest Karol Bagh and disincentivise use of private cars, the NDMC has increased the surface parking rates on portion of Arya Samaj Road.

The civic agency has increased the parking charge for cars from Rs 20 to Rs 40 for the first hour. For the second hour, the charge will be Rs 50; between two and three hours, the rate will be Rs 60; between three and five hours, it will be Rs 70; and for over five hours, the charge will be Rs 300.

Also, instead of perpendicular parking, parallel parking is being implemented to give more access of the Arya Samaj road to pedestrians, the commissioner said.

The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation has also launched a similar project to remove vehicles from Chandni Chowk, and work on which is currently underway.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act".

Police said the man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway.

Kejriwal was on an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before he was pulled off the jeep.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park area.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj too alleged that the BJP might be behind the attack and asserted the incident would not deter the spirit of the party.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi," he said.

BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari condemned the incident and said the AAP might have "scripted" the incident.

"We do not support violence and condemn such action by anyone. But I have doubt as to why such incidents happen with Kejriwal in election time only.

"I doubt this incident may have been scripted by Kejriwal himself," Tiwari alleged.

Kejriwal was holding the roadshow in favour of New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the Lok Sabha seat.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally. Earlier, he was also attacked with ink and spices.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited and for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka mulls regulating Madrasas under religious and cultural ministry

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in and Kerala, the chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka police arrests Indian photo journalist on trespassing charges

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security".

He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the chief added.
Madrasas in should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Prime Minister has said, days after the country's worst terror attack killed over 250 people.

Authorities are on high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring about 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Wickremesinghe has stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror newspaper.

Earlier, Kariyawasam had said that the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.

Some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at Madrasas, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, adding that they had arrived on tourist visas and therefore should be deported.

has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.

Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
A city-based advocate Saturday approached police over an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana which called for a ban on burqas in India.

In the editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqas and other face-covering garments in India considering the threat it poses to the nation's security.

Police said advocate Munsif Khan has approached Santa Cruz police station demanding action against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut and others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

"The Constitution of India has given right to life and liberty to the citizens of India and it allows the citizens to wear clothes of their choice and there is also freedom to follow religion," Khan's complaint stated.

When contacted, senior inspector Shriram Koregoankar of Santa Cruz police station said police had received an application from Khan but no case has been registered as yet.

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The Press Club Leh has accused the BJP of trying to bribe its members by offering "envelops filled with money", a charge denied by the party which said the allegations were "politically motivated".

BJP state president Ravinder Raina also threatened to file a defamation suit if the body did not issue a public apology.

"The BJP will not tolerate such allegations. It will file a defamation suit in the high court against the press club if it fails to make a public apology," Raina said.

He said the charges were "baseless and false propaganda" and it was a "politically motivated move".

A two-page letter signed by several members of the Press Club was circulating on social media, seeking an FIR against Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa for allegedly trying to bribe journalists by offering money in envelops to influence the outcome of elections.

Press Club, Leh, president Morup Stanzin confirmed that the letter was written but said they had not lodged the complaint with the police.

"We have lodged our complaint with deputy commissioner, Leh, who is also the returning officer on Friday... After a press conference, Randhawa handed over the envelops filled with money to some journalists who returned these to him immediately," Stanzin told PTI.

Raina refuted the claim, saying he had left the room immediately after the press conference was over on May 2 around 1.30 pm as he had interviews lined up with media groups.

The Ladakh parliamentary constituency is going to polls on May 6.

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Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Saturday visited Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the force in the sector.

The GOC-in-C Northern Command visited the headquarters of Fire and Fury Corps, a defence spokesman said.

The Army commander was briefed by Lt Gen Y K Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on the operational readiness being maintained in the Ladakh sector, he said.

Lt Gen Singh appreciated the high standards of professionalism displayed by all ranks of the Corps, the spokesman said.

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Winning this Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma claimed, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

The seat was won by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee five consecutive times between 1991 and 2004, and Sharma believes that Singh will win as he has carried forward the BJP stalwart's "vision for development".

Lucknow is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and will go to polls on Monday, the fifth phase of the general elections.

While the SP-BSP-RLD alliance's Poonam Sinha, who is backed by her actor husband and former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, is making her political debut, the Congress has fielded self-styled spiritual guru Pramod Krishnam, who had unsuccessfully contested Sambhal in 2014 and got just 1.52 per cent of the votes.

Krishnam is seeking votes invoking Vajpayee's legacy and has promised that if he wins, he will build a grand statue of Vajpayee in the UP capital on the lines of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.

The statue in Gujarat is designed as a memorial to India's Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In the midst of his hectic campaigning, Sharma told PTI: "The (Lucknow) seat will be a cakewalk for Rajnathji, who has carried forward the vision for development of Atalji in this constituency."



Singh was a minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet between 2003 and 2004, and also the president of the BJP from 2013 to 2014 before Amit Shah took over.

He was made the district chief of the Jana Sangh in 1975, became an MLA in 1977 and an MP in the Rajya Sabha in 1994.

Campaigning in Lucknow, an urban constituency, has been peaceful, with Shatrughan's daughter Sonakshi Sinha adding a tinge of glamour towards the fag end of hectic electioneering by her mother.

On his part, Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister between 2000 and 2002, during his campaign, tried to portray a balanced image by visiting temples and Muslim clerics.

Since Muslim voters are a force to reckon with in Lucknow, with around 13 per cent of the city's residents belonging to the community, every party has been making efforts to woo them.

Singh met with some Muslim clerics, including Lucknow Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali.

Rasheed, however, downplayed the meeting as "non-political", saying it had nothing to do with the elections.

Poonam Sinha, too, has been meeting Muslim leaders. "We are meeting Muslim clerics because we feel they are important. We need their blessings," she said.

During most of his public meetings, the Union home minister has harped on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India has surged ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has acknowledged the fact that Modi has done wonders to help the country attain great heights," he has been telling voters, sounding confident of a big win from Lucknow.

He led a massive road show in the Uttar Pradesh capital in April before filing his nomination.

Similarly, gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLD alliance) candidate Poonam Sinha held public meetings in Aminabad, an area in old Lucknow with a large Muslim population, and famous for 'chikan' (thread work).

Khalid, a rickshaw puller who mostly plies his cart between Qaiserbagh and Hussainganj, hoped that Muslims will vote for the SP-BSP alliance candidate.

However, in the busy commercial zone of Hazratganj, a Muslim youth, requesting anonymity, said young voters would back the BJP for Modi's "vision and dynamic personality".

Poonam Sinha is relying on transfer of votes from the BSP along with SP's own votes.

"But, presence of a Congress candidate will queer her pitch," said, Harish Tiwari, who runs a betel shop outside Charbagh railway station.

"Ultimately, Rajnath Singh will emerge victorious," he said, with a BJP party flag fluttering atop his kiosk.

Tiwari pointed out that Singh has been a politician for over four decades.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."



"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message.

"The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation." This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.

"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving." Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go.

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Mahindra wants to make South Africa the hub of its exports into the rest of the Africa, a senior official of the company has said.

Arvind Mathew, Chief of International Operations at Mahindra & Mahindra, joined Rajesh Gupta, CEO of the company's local subsidiary, Mahindra SA, on Friday to launch two models in the 7500 series and three in the 6000 series of its tractors from its farming equipment range, which are very popular in India and several other countries.

Africa is the future agricultural base of the world, Mathew told reporters and farming sector representatives at the event in the heart of the farming community in North West Province.

In the15 years that Mahindra has been in South Africa, it is very well recognised in the automotive and information technology sectors, and today we are announcing our advent into this sector with our farming equipment, he added.

Alongside the two tractors, the guests were also introduced to the entire range of farm equipment, including Mahindra implements, Sampo Combines, and Hisarlar implements sourced from India, Turkey and Finland.

With the strong historical bonds between India and South Africa, we have embraced South Africa as our home outside India and have already established a strong presence in the automotive business.

South Africa will always be our base for Africa. We have our assembly plant in Durban and we have built our brand in automotive, he said.

Mathew was referring to a plant which was set up a year ago to assemble its Pik Up-range, that is now among the top six brands in this category in South Africa.

We have also seen initial success in our generators and construction equipment businesses. We feel this is the right time for us to introduce our wide range of farm solutions.

Gupta explained that extensive research across South Africa had shown that farmers wanted versatility, efficiency, reliability, comfort and good service, which matched exactly what the two models of the Mahindra range of tractors which were unveiled offered.

Mahindra is the world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume and many of our models are designed for markets that demand tough and efficient solutions which are also effortless to operate in harsh conditions.

Our initial market study shows that these attributes are in high demand in South Africa as well and we trust that it will find favour with our customers, he said.

Gupta said Mahindra South Africa was now among the fastest growing automotive brands in South Africa for its range of bakkies and SUVs in a market where the industry overall was going through a difficult time amid the economic slump in the country.
The main accused of kidnapping and killing a minor boy here was nabbed after a gunfight with the police at HapurModinagar road, a day after his four accomplices were arrested, officials said Saturday.

Aditya Bansal, a student of Class 6, was kidnapped by two bike-borne men on the evening of April 27 and his body was recovered the next morning from a jungle under the Niwari police station area, Superintendent of Police (rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

During its routine checking late Friday night, the police had signalled a bike to stop, but the rider took a U-turn and sped away, Jadaun said.

The bike-borne men then entered inside a sugarcane field and fired upon the police team. During exchange of fire, a goon and constable Irfaan sustained bullet injuries. They both were immediately rushed to hospital.

The injured youth has been identified as Dinesh alias Ajay, who was riding the bike. He confessed to killing the boy, the SP said.

Police have recovered two country made pistols, three live and two used cartridges from his possession, Jadaun said.

Four people, including a woman, were arrested Friday in this connection.

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The Thane district court in Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

Judge S A Sinha also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 42-year-old man (name not disclosed), a resident of Uttan in the district, after convicting him under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC on Friday.

The victim and the convict, who worked as a security guard, were neighbours, said Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar Saturday.

On August 27, 2018, the victim and her younger brother had gone to the convict's residence to play with his cat, she said.

The convict sent the boy outside to purchase something and raped the girl.

After the girl narrated the incident to her grandmother, a complaint was lodged against the convict at the Uttan Sagari (Marine) police station, Moholkar said.

The judge relied on the victim's testimony as well as on the medical evidence, the prosecutor added.

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PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the Centre and the militants to announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir for the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan so that the "people get some relief".

"The month of Ramzan is starting after a couple of days and so, I appeal the Government of India that ours is a Muslim-majority state and people here are facing difficulties.

"It is a month of prayer and so I request them (Centre) to announce a ceasefire like the last year so that crackdowns, search operations and encounters are stopped and people get some relief, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told reporters here.

She also asked the militants to stop attacks on security forces.

I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attacks in this month, she said.

Ramzan is likely to commence from Monday or Tuesday.

The Union government had in May last year directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". Mehbooba was at that time heading a PDP-BJP coalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

Mehbooba said Ramzam ceasefire would be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he was following former prime minister A B Vajpayee's policy of "insaniyat', jhamooriyat' and Kashmiriyat".

Modi keeps on saying that he wants to follow Vajpayee's policy of insaniyat, jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat and I feel that announcing a Ramadhaan ceasefire will be the biggest proof of democracy and humanity, she said.

The former chief minister said while elections were going on in the country, the Centre has turned Jammu and Kashmir "into a battlefield" and slammed decisions like ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and JKLF, suspension of cross-LoC trade and the closure of highway for civilian traffic for two days a week.

The PDP president said since the elections started, youths have been arrested "in the name of stone-pelting" especially from south Kashmir where from she is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if anti-militancy operations like the Friday's in Shopian would have any impact on the polling in the two districts of Shopian and Pulwama in the last leg of the three-phased polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mehbooba said naturally, it will have an impact.

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Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad laughed off some of the allegations that the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has levelled against him, in his book 'Game Changer'.

In the book, which is officially launched in Pakistan on Saturday, Afridi described the former captain Miandad as a small human being.

Claiming that Miandad didn't like him and his batting style, Afridi said one day before the first Test against India at Chennai in 1999, the 61-year-old didn't even give him time in the nets to practice.

Miandad laughed off the allegations.

"I leave everything to Allah but how is it possible that a player is not given net practice a day before a Test match he is supposed to play," Miandad laughed as he told PTI.

Miandad said it is true that he had his issues with Afridi but they were purely professional.

"I always told him the potential he had he could have been a much better player for Pakistan. There were times I spent hours with him in the nets trying to improve his temperament and batting techniques," claimed Miandad.

The former batsman added that he is not surprised by the content of Afridi's book as nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies and autobiographies.

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Dozens of shocked passengers were evacuated to safety from the wings of a stricken Boeing 737 on Saturday in Florida after the jet made a rough landing in a lightning storm and skidded off the runway into a river.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."



Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, the Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told reporters it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven air crew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft," NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a 16-member team had arrived on site to investigate the incident, and would brief the media later in the day.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident was and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the rough landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters were on the scene.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US military base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to the FlightRadar24 website.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa occurred shortly after takeoff.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks courage to speak even a word about the poll promises, including on jobs, that he had made in 2014 and said a strong leader should be able to apologise for failing to keep his word.

Addressing an election meeting here, Gandhi repeated the claim that six surgical strikes were conducted during the tenure of the UPA and said his party never used it for political benefit.

He said the prime minister must tell as to how the youngsters will be given employment after 2019.

"Modi is unable to speak even a word about his earlier promises.

"If Modi had the guts, then he would have said that I had spoken about giving two crore jobs every year in a rush of blood but I have made a mistake. But, this man lacks courage....

"A strong leader is the one who accepts the truth. A strong leader is the one who would tender an apology for failing to provide two crore jobs to youngsters and Rs 15 lakh, and then talk about rectification (of the mistake)," Gandhi told voters in the constituency from where the BJP has fielded Maneka Gandhi, the estranged sister-in-law of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress has given ticket to Sanjay Singh, while the BSP has nominated Chandrabhadra Singh.

Gandhi said the entire country has understood that the "chowkidaar is doing chowkidaari of Ambani, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. This chowkidaar has spoken lies before the country."



"The lion-like Congress workers have burst Modi's balloon which was inflated by the media," he said.

A day after Modi mocked the Congress saying the party, which first ignored the surgical strikes carried out under his government across the Line of Control and then opposed them, was now crying me too, me too, Gandhi reiterated his party's stand.

"There were six surgical strikes during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress never used it for political purpose and neither wants to say anything now. It gives the credit for this to the Army, and not to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress president also said that "India's ideology is influenced by love. Nothing can be derived from hatred. But, the BJP people speak about violence.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are likely to conduct roadshows in Kolkata before the last phase of elections on May 19.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said though the dates are yet to be fixed, the two leaders are likely to hold separate road shows in the city.

"Both the prime minister and our party president have addressed rallies in each and every phase (of polling). But they have not conducted any roadshow. They are likely to hold separate roadshows in Kolkata. The dates will be fixed by next week," Ghosh told PTI.

BJP sources said the decision to conduct roadshows of Modi and Shah is a reflection of the "special focus" that West Bengal has in the party's scheme of things.

Shah has set a target of winning 23 out of the 42 seats in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier had rescheduled the election rallies of Modi and Shah in coastal districts of West Bengal where cyclone Fani was supposed to have an impact.

BJP general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Friday that Modi's May 5 rallies in Tamluk and Jhargram were rescheduled to May 6.

Similarly, Shah's rallies scheduled for May 6 at Ghatal, Midnapore and Bishnupur will be held on May 7.

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More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organisation had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began.

Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."



The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert.

This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."



In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

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The opposition BJP Saturday released an 'aarop patra' or charge sheet against the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh, targeting it over its "failure" to deliver on the promises it had made to the people.

The charge sheet, which is a 12-page booklet, lists the "unfulfilled promises" of the Congress, which formed the government in the state in December last year.

The saffron party alleged that among other things, the Congress duped farmers in the name of loan waiver. It also said that the ruling party has disappointed the people of the state as its assurances have remained "only on paper", as against its claim of implementing 83 promises.

However, the ruling party hit back at the BJP saying the allegations against it were "baseless".

The booklet was released at the BJP's state party office by former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party's national vice presidents Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Prabhat Jha, among others.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Chouhan said, "The farm loan waiver scheme of the Congress, on the basis of which it came to power, has been a complete failure. Not a single farmer in the state has received a loan waiver certificate."



"Although the Congress government had issued an order of loan waiver, the debts of not a single farmer have been written off.

"Farmers across the state are setting on fire the copies of false certificates, while Congress leaders, including party chief Rahul Gandhi and CM Kamal Nath, claim that the government has waived loan of up to Rs two lakh as promised, which is actually false," Chouhan alleged.

Referring to the power outages in the state, he said, "It reminds us of the 'Bantadhar Yug' (ruined state) when electricity cuts had become routine."



Chouhan's 'Bantadhar Yug' remark indirectly referred to former MP chief minister Digvijay Singh's rule.

He said, power had tripped even when Nath had gone to cast his vote in his constituency.

"It shows the kind of situation in the state and the government is blaming BJP for it instead of tackling the issue...They are so afraid of power cuts that now the CM has provided a mobile generator to (Digvijay) Singh for his campaign to deal with power cuts," Chouhan added.

Singh is Congress' candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, polling for which will take place on May 12.

On the Congress's promise of providing Rs 4,000 as unemployment allowance to the youths in the state, the BJP national vice president claimed that nobody has got the assistance so far.

He also alleged that a number of welfare schemes launched by the erstwhile BJP government led by him, were closed due to paucity of funds, including the scheme under which Rs 5,000 used to be given for performing last rites of poor people.

Chouhan said instead of improving the situation in the state, the Congress government has launched a "transfer industry to mint money".

"The recent I-T raids on persons close to Nath in which Rs 281 crore worth illegal assets were unearthed shows the kind of government in the state and reflects the nature of the Congress," he alleged.

Chouhan said that after the Congress came to power, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

"The recent rape and murder of a minor girl and shooting down of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in his residence in Bhopal are just some examples of it," he said.

Responding to his charges, state Congress media cell chairperson Shobha Oza said, "BJP's charges are baseless. BJP and Chouhan ruled the state for nearly 15 years, during which over 21,000 farmers committed suicide and 25,000 to 30,000 incidents of rape and gang rape occurred."



"Then why did Chouhan remain a mute spectator all these years?" she asked.

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The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges.

"The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf.

According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added.

In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.

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The RJD on Saturday demanded resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in view of the CBI's revelation in the Supreme Court that 11 minor girls were allegedly murdered in the Muzaffarpur shelter home where a sex scandal has broken out in 2018.

If Kumar does not quit on his own, the RJD said, Governor Lalji Tandon should dismiss his government for its inability to protect the lives of 11 inmates of the state aided shelter home.

The party of Lalu Prasad stepped up its offensive against the Bihar government a day after the CBI, in an affidavit, told the apex court that 11 girls were murdered by Brajesh Thakur, the key accused in the Muzaffarpur home sex scandal case, and his accomplices, and "bundle of bones" were recovered from a burial ground inside it.

"We request the governor to sack the Nitish Kumar government immediately following its involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case," RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "If there is any shame left in Nitish Kumar, he should tender an apology after evidences have been found in Muzaffarpur shelter home case Why Nitish Kumar used to go to Brajesh Thakur's home at Muzaffarpur?"



The leader of opposition in Bihar assembly also asked, why an FIR was not lodged initially against Thakur, and when it was lodged, why he was not booked under the POCSO act.

RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha, who held a press conference here on the issue, said Kumar should resign on his own and if he does not resign, the governor should sack him.

"After the CBI's confirmation that 11 out of 42 minor girls were murdered at the shelter home, the chief minister has no moral right to continue in the post," he said.

"We demand that Nitish Kumar resign taking up moral responsibility in the matter. If he does not resign, the governor should sack his government," Jha said.

Asked whether the RJD will approach the governor to press for the demand, Jha said the party will wait till May 6, when the matter will be heard again in the apex court.

Tejashwi, through his tweets, also wanted to know whether the 11 missing girls of the shelter home were buried after being killed as it appeared that they were not cremated following Hindu traditions.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The probe into the case was transferred to CBI and the agency has chargesheeted 21 people, including Brajesh Thakur who, as the head of an NGO, used to run the home.

Tejashwi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not utter a single word on this issue as Kumar and several BJP ministers in Bihar government are involved in it.

The PM addressed an election meeting in Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the RJD spokesman Jha defended fielding Vibha Devi, the wife of former RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav who was convicted for raping a minor, from Nawada seat.

"Raj Ballabh Yadav was convicted in the rape case but his wife was not. If someone is convicted, you cannot hold the entire family guilty," he said.

To another query whether or not Tej Pratap Yadav's comment that his father-in-law and the party's Saran Lok Sabha candidate Chandrika Rai is an "impersonator" amounts to indiscipline, Jha replied in the negative saying statements sometimes flow in the heat of electioneering.

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A newly-married couple was found dead at Visva-Bharati university campus in Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.

The bodies were found near Cheena Bhavana, located within the campus, on Friday late night, the police said.

The Department of Chinese Language & Culture of Visva-Bharati university is known as Cheena Bhavana.

The deceased were identified as 18-year-old Somnath Mahato and 19-year-old Abantika, a police officer said.

The couple had got married recently and both of them were students of Srinanda High School at Bolpur, the police officer said.

Somnath had appeared for Higher Secondary Examinations this year and Abantika had appeared for class 10 board examinations, he said.

Though it appears to be a case of suicide, it can be confirmed only after the most-mortem examination report arrives, a senior officer of Bolpur police station said.

"Our security personnel informed us about the matter after they spotted the bodies near Cheena Bhavana," the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Visva-Bharati, Anirban Sarkar, said.

"We will look into the matter and the authority may issue an order to find out how they had entered the campus at late night," the PRO said.

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Except for damaging a few huts, cyclone Fani did not cause much havoc in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as the severe cyclonic storm weakened Saturday morning and headed towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

While flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am, train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) also resumed its routine operation this morning at both Haldia and Kolkata docks.

"The entire administration was awake the whole night. We were very worried about the cyclone Fani," Banerjee said.

Banerjee had cancelled her election programmes and stayed put at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation arising out of the cyclone.

"There were not much damage in the state. At least 850 mud houses in the districts were partially damaged while 12 were completely destroyed," she said.

Banerjee said the state government will extend help to people whose houses have been damaged due to the cyclone.

Trees uprooted in different parts of the state due to speedy wind have been removed and the roads cleared for plying of vehicles, the chief minister said.

Restoration of electricity snapped in different districts is underway.

"Around 42,000 people have been evacuated by our people who took them to relief shelters. The civic services have been restored in Digha, Mandarmoni, whereas it is work in progress at other places," she said.

The storm weakened on Saturday morning and moved towards Bangladesh. Kolkata witnessed wind speed of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am Saturday, officials said.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district from where it will go to Murshidabad district before entering Bangladesh. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation.

"We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Much to the glee of passengers, flight operations, which was suspended from 3 pm on Friday, resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.

Air India was the first airline to start operating out of Kolkata airport, the AAI official said, adding that a GoAir flight from Delhi was the first flight to land in Kolkata at 10.10 am.

The AAI official said that airlines had refunded fares of cancelled flights to the passengers and took care of them.

Very few passengers had stayed back at the airport on Friday, the official said.

Out of an average 224 daily flights only 110 flights operated on Friday, the official said.

Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal, officials said.

The ferry services on river Hooghly, however, were yet to resume.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in central Kolkata's Beniatola Lane, police said.

All the five injured persons were released after treatment.

Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said there had been no damages to the port infrastructure. "Operations at both Kolkata and Haldia docks have resumed since morning.

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With the rollout of the agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications from May 1, the number of Indian students in French universities will go up substantially, a senior French diplomat has said.

Talking to PTI here on Friday, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Sonia Barbry, said the number of Indian students in her country may go up to 15,000 by 2025 from the current figure of 9,000.

Four Indian academic qualifications -- Senior School Certificate (SSC), Bachelor's and Master's degrees and PhDs - from government-approved institutions have been recognised by the French government from May 1.

Barbry said inviting Indian students to study in the universities of France has been one of the priorities of the consulate.

"We want to have more Indian students. Now, we have 9,000 students studying in France. They are studying business management, engineering, social sciences and others. We have a number of courses in English and they need not learn French," she added.

"This has been made possible by an agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications signed during President Macron's visit to India last year," she added.

The agreement was signed during the India-France Knowledge Summit, the first high-level summit for university, scientific and technological cooperation held by the two countries.

The diplomat said that five years ago, only 3,000 Indian students were studying in France.

"President Macron gave us an objective of 10,000 Indian students by 2020, now we are almost there. We want to have 15,000 in 2025 or 20,000 in 2030," she said.

According to Barbry, the course in France have better value for money.

"Basically, we have a very high quality higher education, which is recognized all over the world and it is very affordable for Indian students. If they study in France, they get two year visa to work," Barbry said.

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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted.

In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

"It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Four foreign nationals including one from Pakistan who violated immigration and emigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested persons include two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 people.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

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Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

"It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families," another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.

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Gazan authorities reported a pregnant Palestinian mother and her one-year-old daughter killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, but an Israeli army spokesman challenged the Palestinian account of the incident.

The Gazan health ministry said in a statement Falestine Abu Arar, 37, died from the "Israeli targeting east of Gaza".

It had earlier announced the death of her 14-month-old daughter in the same incident as Israel carried out strikes in response to some 250 rockets fired from Gaza.

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesman on Twitter questioned the claim and suggested Palestinian fire may have been to blame, but did not provide details on what he believe occurred.

"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike," Avichay Adraee said.

He added that pictures from the day "clearly show the launching of rockets from crowded areas."



Israeli army international spokesman Jonathan Conricus declined to provide more clarity.

The army said earlier it was only targeting military sites in Gaza. The incident took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw significant damage to a building. Neighbours said an area outside had been hit by an Israeli strike.

Two other Palestinians were also killed in the Israeli strikes Saturday, according to the ministry, bringing the death toll to four.

In Israel, one woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Israeli police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

Medics said the woman was 80 and the man 50. A house near Ashkelon was damaged while other rockets hit open areas.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."



Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans. In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'chowkidar' of his industrialist "friends" and accused him of speaking one lie after the other.

Gandhi was addressing his first poll rally in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress has fielded Ajay Singh Yadav from the Gurgaon parliamentary seat.

"During last elections, PM Narendra Modi made different promises to people of this country and Haryana Modi speaks one lie after the other. He said he will give two crore jobs to the youth, put Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts, remunerative price for farmers' produce and will double farmers' income," Gandhi said.

"Did you give farmers the right price for their produce? Did you put Rs 15 lakh? No," he said.

"He (Modi) waived loans worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore of 15 industrialists of this country," Gandhi claimed.

"I want to ask how much loans of farmers of Haryana he waived," Gandhi asked the gathering.

He also spoke about how the Congress, after coming to power in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, waived farmers' loans.

When the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and in Haryana, the MSP was hiked from time to time. Modi is not your Chowkidar, not Gurgaon's chowkidar," he said, claiming that the prime minister was a 'chowkidar' of a "big" industrialist.

Referring to alleged Rafale scam, the Congress chief Rahul claimed that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to an industrialist's company.

"Modi stole your Rs 30,000 crore and put it into his (industrialist) accounts," he claimed.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Gandhi said, "To seek votes, whatever comes to Modi's heart, he utters from the stage without applying the mind".

Referring to Modi's statement made from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Rahul said he said that the "elephant was sleeping" before he came to power.

Gandhi said Modi was trying to project as if nothing had happened in the country before the BJP came to power.

"Modi said nothing happened in the country before he came to power," he said.

"Gurgaon was not developed by Narendra Modi, but its people, its youth, labourers, farmers. Gurgaon was world famous before you (Modi) came, it was an IT hub. What have you given to Gurgaon, what have you given to Gurgaon and its people. Did you bring Metro?" he asked.

"When Modi says from the ramparts of the Red Fort that elephant was sleeping before he came, he insults you, your parents, your forefathers. The country is not built by one person, but crores of its people. Its farmers, labourers, mothers and sisters build this nation.

"Gurgaon is an example where people of various castes and communities co-exist peacefully. Before the BJP came, people lived peacefully in entire country. Wherever Modi goes, he spreads hatred, speaks lies," he alleged.

Congress president further accused the PM of "destroying" small trade and businesses with demonetisation and GST that he described as 'Gabbar Singh Tax.'



"Entire Gurgaon knows how adversely these decisions hit them. Fugitives were given money and they fled the country," he claimed.

He also said no farmer who failed to repay his loan will be arrested if the Congress comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Hardworking farmers of this country tell me that when they take loans and are unable to pay, they have to go to jails. But rich industrialists, who borrow money and don't repay and then flee the country, are not caught.

If the Congress comes to power at the Centre, a law will be brought so that no peasant who is unable to repay loan will have to go to jail, he said, adding that a separate budget for agriculture will be brought out.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies on May 10 and May 13 in Punjab, where polling for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 19.

Modi will address first rally in Hoshiarpur on May 10 and second in Mansa on May 13, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma said on Saturday.

The BJP has fielded Phagwara legislator Som Prakash from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) seat and he is pitted against Congress candidate and MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal.

Modi's second rally will be held in Mansa which falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency from where Akali candidate and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting for the third time.

BJP chief Amit Shah will also hold rallies on May 5 in Pathankot and on May 12 in Amritsar, said BJP's national secretary Tarun Chugh.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement, Akalis will contest on 10 seats while the BJP on three seats.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday wished speedy recovery to javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who underwent an elbow surgery.

"Undergone elbow surgery in Mumbai...Will require some months of rehabilitation...Every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before," Chopra tweeted on Thursday.

Modi wished him well, saying he is a brave youngster who has been making India proud continuously.

"Everyone is praying for your quick and complete recovery," the prime minister tweeted.

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Sri Lankan police on Saturday directed the public that those who are in possession of any sharp-edged weapons like swords or Kris knives, and uniforms similar to that of the Army and the Police should deposit them at the nearest police station by tomorrow.

The move was taken after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, during searches of mosques following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said "This will be in effect from today until tomorrow".

"If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station," he said.

The police said that several people including politicians were arrested for their possession of sharp-edged weapons like sword since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests on them as around 56 bodies, laying in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary, are yet to identified.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Saturday appealed to industry chambers to organise relief operations for helping people affected by Cyclone Fani.

"Appealing all in commerce & industry organise relief for the unfortunate affected by #FaniCyclone. We will organise best possible way to ensure the help reaches those who needs it most. All Chambers must immediately respond to this calamity," Prabhu tweeted and tagged industry chambers CII, Ficci and Assocham.

Cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people. Fani or the 'Hood of Snake', labelled as a category 4 storm on a scale of 1 to 5, made landfall around 8 am in Puri on Friday, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

The storm has weakened as it entered West Bengal last night.

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: A priest was killed and another was injured allegedly by a masked robber-gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy Temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying tobreak the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday directed minister Brahm Mohindra to meet representatives of government employees and resolve their issues after the Lok Sabha elections.

Singh reviewed the issues relating to government employees with top officials and directed the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mohindra to meet their representatives on May 27 to work out an early resolution.

Polling to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on May 19.

Since the government can not take any decision in the matter till the model code of conduct is in place, it was felt that a meeting should be held immediately after the declarations of results to resolve the pending issues, an official spokesperson said.

The government employees under the banner of 'Saanjha Mulazam Manch' had protested against the government in March, seeking clarity on dearness allowance issue, regularisation of contractual employees, reducing the term of probation period, restoration of old pension scheme, among others. PTI CHS VSD



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As turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on Saturday.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."



Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."



Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if loses."



Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."



Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday accused the Congress of doing a U-turn on the issue of surgical strikes, saying the party which earlier sought proof from the Modi government, was now claiming that six such operations were carried out during the UPA rule.

He claimed that people came to know about the phrase 'surgical strike' thanks to the Modi government.

The chief minister also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have become the butt of jokes on social media.

"Congress, which was seeking a proof of air strike and surgical strike, had to say yesterday that it had conducted surgical strike six times. It means looking at the mood, enthusiasm and patriotism of people, you have made a U-turn. You would ask for proof earlier, but now you accept that it has happened. Now you say we (UPA) also conducted it," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"It means you have quietly accepted that there was a surgical strike (under the Modi government)...The truth is that the people of the country learnt about the word 'surgical strike' from Modi government, which conducted the operations in response to the terror attacks in Pulwama and Uri. People were not even aware of the word till then. And India made it possible," he said.

The Congress had Friday stated that it conducted six surgical strikes between June 2008 and January 2014.

On the controversy surrounding the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said, "Congress is blaming the Election Commission. It will start blaming the EVMs. These machines worked fine in three state elections (where Congress won), but they will be called faulty when it is defeated."



He also targeted Congress in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her meeting with snake charmers in Uttar Pradesh, and said that she and her brother Rahul Gandhi have become the butt of joke on social media.

"Priyanka Gandhi is playing with snake charmers. This is childishness. Both the bother-sister have become the butt of joke on websites, YouTube," he said.

He said the Congress will get the least number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

"Congress is left with nothing but hopelessness. People want a strong government, which only Modi can give," he said.

He also attacked the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh alleging that they failed to deliver on the promises of loan waiver and unemployment allowance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday cited a media report to attack Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a defence deal under the UPA government in which an alleged business partner of Gandhi had got an offset contract.

According to Business Today magazine, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm in which Gandhi owned a majority stake received defence contract as an offset partner of a French company when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

"With Rahul Gandhi's midas touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," Shah tweeted, tagging the report.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge conducted a two-day hearing here to ascertain whether there was sufficient cause to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an unlawful association.

The tribunal, presided by Justice Mukta Gupta of the Delhi High Court, began its hearing on Friday in Pune and it concluded on Saturday.

Founded in 1977, SIMI was banned in 2001. The tribunal, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was constituted by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 21 this year after the five-year ban on SIMI ended on January 31.

Officials from the Maharashtra Police's Crime Investigation Department, the state Anti-Terrorism Squad and State Intelligence Department deposed before the Unlawful Activities Tribunal, to justify the ban on SIMI.

Among officials who deposed before the tribunal were Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS), Ganesh Shinde, Special Branch (CID), Mumbai Police and Nisar Tamboli, Deputy Commissioner, State Intelligence Department.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who is part of the tribunal, said the three nodal officers from the state CID, ATS and Intelligence deposed before the tribunal stating the ban on SIMI is essential in view of national security and to ensure there are no anti-national activities.

"All three officers deposed and briefed about the pending trials, discoveries and seizures made and information gathered regarding SIMI activities and how the ban is essential in view of national security," she said.

DCP Tamboli, while deposing before the tribunal Saturday, informed there are about eight cases involving SIMI.

He also told the tribunal that if the ban on the organisation is lifted, it will regroup and carry out anti-national activities.

ATS SP Pardeshi, who deposed on Friday, justified the ban on SIMI and submitted information about the Mumbai local train bombings of 2006 and also briefed about a SIMI operative who was convicted by the court.

He also submitted that the lone convict in Pune's German Bakery blast case, Mirza Himayat Baig, had links with SIMI.

DCP Shinde from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cited a 2001 case from Mumbai where a SIMI operative was arrested and some incriminating material were recovered.

Anand said the tribunal will head to Hyderabad for the next hearing and, thereafter, will return to Maharashtra, where a hearing is likely to take place at Aurangabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six persons, including three women, were injured when two groups hurled stones at each other over a minor dispute at Khaikheda village under the Kakroli police station limits in this district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

According to Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Jitender Kumar, the incident occurred on Friday, following an altercation between a man and a woman. The altercation turned into a violent clash involving two groups which hurled stones and bricks at each other, the officer said.

The injured -- Bidyawati, Rinu, Mamta, Chatrapal, Deepak and Prince -- were rushed to a hospital, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."



Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."



"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...for development to take place in real sense."



Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the SP, BSP and Congress of "trampling upon" principles for gaining power, and said they were so obsessed with poll arithmetic that they treat people merely as vote banks.

Addressing an election rally here, the PM continued his 'mahamilawat' (grand adulteration) jibe at the opposition alliance and predicted that the bonhomie between the parties fighting the BJP together was short-lived. They will be at each others' throat after May 23, when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared, he said.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and the BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

The PM said NDA's work culture was different from that of the 'mahamilawati' alliance. "We want to decentralize the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said, adding his government has worked strongly keeping development in mind.

"When your 'sevak' goes to different parts of the world, they realise the power of 130 crore Indians," Modi said.

He also referred to the UN listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

"Earlier governments used to cry over activities of Pakistan. They were more concerned about their vote banks than the country's enemy. There was a time, when Indian leaders were seen crying, and today Pakistan is going around crying," he said.

Attacking BSP chief Mayawati over her recent tweet that number of violent incidents during her government was fewer than that during the BJP's, Modi listed out some such incidents in Uttar Pradesh from Mayawati's 2007-2012 tenure.

"On May 23, 2007 there were serial blasts in Gorakhpur, whose government was there? Six months later, there were serial blasts in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Lucknow, whose government was there then? In 2008, there was an attack on CRPF camp in Rampur, and in 2010, a blast took place at Dashashwamedh Ghat, whose government was there at that point of time?" he asked.

He also slammed the three parties over the "condition of Poorvanchal".

"When the Congress was in power at Centre, and the SP and BSP governments were in the state, what was the condition of Poorvanchal? You know it very well. The lives of the children were in danger due to Japanese Encephalitis, and they (political parties) were busy in vote bank "



Modi also said those who are contesting just eight seats have readied themselves for taking oath as the prime minister.

"Those who are fighting just 20 seats are also salivating. And those who are fighting 40 have given their their clothes for stitching," he said.

"Tell me which is the face that can eliminate terrorism? Who can rise beyond casteism and think about the betterment of the country?" he asked the gathering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a big game against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Addressing BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, Modi said the SP-BSP alliance partners will be at each other's throats when the results are out on May 23.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh.

He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about respect towards her.

It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now 'Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said.

"By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that the Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four persons, including two minors, resting under a tree alongside the Lucknow-Varanasi road here were killed after being run over by a speeding car, police said Saturday.

The accident took place in Mahkani village and the deceased were identified as Mamta Devi (30), Gudhiya Devi (32), Neeraj (5) and Suman (4), Additional Superintendent of Police Avneesh Mishra said.

The four were rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, he said.

The car also overturned and fell into a ditch, he added.

The driver of the car was taken into custody and the bodies were sent for post-mortem, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK president M K Stalin Saturday blamed the ruling AIADMK government for not holding civic polls and said it was the reason for problems related to provision of basic amenities like drinking water and roads.

Addressing people in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency here, which goes to the bypolls on May 19, Stalin said his party had held over 12,500 village level meetings (Ooratchi Sabai) and listened to the grievances of the people.

"You have listed the problems of your region.

If you look at the basic problems, there are several of them like providing drinking water, road and bus facilities, and sanitation and hygiene," he said.

"If you ask the reason for such problems, this government has not held the local body elections. Had civic polls been conducted (and if elected bodies had taken charge) there is no scope for such grievances," he observed.

Local body elections were originally scheduled to be held in October 2016.

Subsequently, the DMK moved the Madras High Court and the State Election Commission had said in January this year that notification for the civic polls would be issued in May.

Days ago, the SEC has again approached the court, seeking three months time for issuing the notification.

Assuring that DMK would solve the problems of the people, Stalin said the government should address issues pertaining to the handloom sector (Tirupparankundram is home to handloom weavers), with the Centre's support.

"This (State) government, however, is unable to solve even basic problems...this is a minority government (alleging that AIADMK does not have majority support in the Assembly) which is not worried about the poeple," he alleged.

The DMK had for long been working for the welfare of handloom weavers, he said and recalled that party founder C N Annadurai and late leader M Karunanidhi had sold handloom goods by going door to door for the benefit of handloom weavers.

Also, 100 units of electricity was provided free of cost to handloom weavers to help them, he said.

"This is the history of DMK," he said and assured that such bonding with handloom weavers would continue for ever.

Stalin alleged that the AIADMK, the ruling party for eight years, was giving several assurances since bypolls were around the corner, and all of these were nothing but a "deceitful drama."



"On May 23, (the day of counting of votes) there will be a change of government at the Centre and State and after that the grievances of weavers will be addressed.

I would like to assure you that the DMK will take resolute steps to ensure that," he said seeking support for his party candidate, P Saravanan (Tirupparankundram).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma' (duty as a husband), she will also play her 'patni dharma' once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."



When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the one-man show' and the two-man army will not return.

The 72 year-old quit the BJP after being sidelined for years.

Sinha, who had served as minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has often targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

His exit from the BJP was precipitated by that party's announcement that Ravi Shankar Prasad will contest from Patna Sahib, the seat Sinha won in 2009 and 2014.

In the build-up to the inevitable breakup, Sinha needled his party bosses repeatedly on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.

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: Additional general manager of Southern Railway Rahul Jain inspected the Pamban railway bridge Saturday and said the bridge was strongand that the construction of the new railway bridge has been speeded up.

Talking to reporters here, he said the construction of the new Pamban bridge would be done without affecting the marine resources.

The first phase of work on the extension of train service to Danushkodi has been completed, and the rest of the work would begin soon, he said.

The new bridge uses 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally. In the new bridge, a 63-metre section would lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck. It would be done using sensors at each end, an official had told PTI.

The entire bridge, including the navigational span, was being designed keeping in mind the railways electrification plan, according to PTI.

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President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."



"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."



Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognized as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduro's days are numbered -- but experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leader's strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trump's position -- that "all options" are on the table -- Shanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

"I'm trying to avoid walking into 'We could do this or we could do that,'" he said.

"What people should feel confident about is we have... there's depth to these plans."



"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and I'm just going to leave it at that."



Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

"Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections," Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered out -- with 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas -- sparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez -- who made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arrest -- has since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuela's military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesday's failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing "a very confusion situation," a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

"The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united," he said.

"There are cracks, but not in the military leadership," said the source. "International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"



Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles." But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly. "We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards." Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.

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Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing e-rickshaws after offering the drivers cold drinks laced with sedatives in northeast Delhi, police said Saturday.

The accused, identified as Dheeraj Pal (32) and Gaurav (25), were operating the infamous 'Jahar Khurani' gang, they said.

The arrest was made on Friday after a trap was laid at the Dharampura red light following a tip-off that two persons travelling in an auto-rickshaw would be coming towards Seelampur from Shastri Park, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) said.

Eight stolen e-rickshaws were seized from them, he said.

The accused duo used to offer cold drinks laced with sedatives to e-rickshaw drivers and then fled with their vehicles, he added.

They used to dispose off the vehicles out of Delhi, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice has been the major achievement of Narendra Modi government during the last five years.

He said Prime Minister Modi has put corruption on 'ventilator' and development on 'accelerator' in the last five years.

"This has made the champions of corruption feeling suffocated in the atmosphere of honesty and transparency," Naqvi said at an election meeting here in support of the party's Jaipur candidate Ramcharan Bohra.

He said in the last five years PM Modi has restored the dignity and stability of the government.

"The Modi government has removed policy paralysis by taking bold and tough reformist decisions keeping in mind the welfare of the common man. It has proved to be a government of 'Iqbal' (authority), 'Insaaf' (justice) and 'Imaan' (integrity)," he said.

Naqvi said PM Modi has provided equal opportunities of development to every needy of the society without 'vote bank politics'.

"No section of the society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on the basis of caste, religion, region or state. All the sections have been provided equal opportunities for socio-economic-educational development," the minister said.

He claimed that "loot and leakage" of the public money has stopped in Modi-led central government.

"Our Government has created 'high-way of development' by demolishing 'speed breaker of corruption', he stressed.

Hitting out at the Congress, Naqvi said the party wants a "contractual prime minister who can be remote controlled."



"But the people of the country do not want a prime minister on 'rotation and contract' for 6 months," he said.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



His speech at a military base came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

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Idea said Saturday it will seek its shareholders' approval on June 6 to transfer optical fibre assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Towers Limited.

The company has proposed to hive off its telecom fibre infrastructure to Towers before monetising it and approached the National Company Law Tribunal Ahmedabad on April 11, 2019, for its approval.

"NCLT has directed a meeting to be held of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company... notice is hereby given that a meeting of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company will be held...on Thursday, the 6th day of June 2019," said in a regulatory filing.

According to an industry source, (VIL) has received valuation of around Rs 15,000 crore for its around 156,000 kilometre long telecom fibre assets.

"... the Transferor Company (VIL) believes that it would be beneficial to restructure its business by divesting the Fibre Infrastructure Undertaking into a separate legal entity with sharper and dedicated focus on the fibre infrastructure business so as to achieve greater infrastructure sharing, operational efficiencies and cost optimization resulting in more affordable and reliable telecommunications services to its consumers," the filing said.

VIL in the filing said that there would be neither any change in its the capital structure nor in the Vodafone Towers pursuant to the sanctioning of the scheme.
A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of AgustaWestland chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan, in a black money and laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to Ritu Khaitan after she appeared before the court in pursuance to summons issued after filing of charge sheet.

In the same case, the court had on April 16 granted bail to Gautam Khaitan and had put various conditions on him, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.

The fresh criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Gautam Khaitan and his wife on the basis of a case lodged by the Income Tax Department against him under the provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP's Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

His remarks came a few days after Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia joined the Congress.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

"Everyday, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return," said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of "jhadoo" to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the "unparalleled" work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for "ruining" Punjab.

"In Punjab, you have seen divisive in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues," he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state government's 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar' scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsiders -- Hardeep Puri and Sunny Deol -- from Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

"Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections," he said.

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A woman was arrested for allegedly blackmailing a BJP corporator from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and extorting money from him, police said on Saturday.

The woman was identified as Priya Chandrakant Kharat (28), police said.

Corporator Daya Gaikwad, who is also the Kalyan unit chief of BJP's backward cell, had lodged a complaint at Khadakpada police station against her.

"In the complaint, he said that after befriending him on a social networking site a few years back, the woman started demanding Rs 10 lakh from him. But when he did not pay heed to her demands, she allegedly filed a false case of rape against him in September 2017," police said.

"On April 15 (last month), she again demanded Rs five lakh from him and threatened that if he failed to pay, she would lodge a similar complaint against him. She forcibly took him to an ATM and made him withdraw Rs 5,000," police added.

Based on the complaint, police arrested Kharat, a resident of Thane, on Friday night, and booked her under IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 500 (defamation).

Further investigation is on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna visited Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart to commemorate the first anniversary of the partnership between the two companies, the e-commerce company said Friday.

McKenna who is on a four-day internal business (April 30 to May 3) visit to Flipkart, interacted with the company's top management and employees, Flipkart said in a release.

Richard Mayfield, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Walmart International and Leigh Hopkins, Walmart's International Strategy Head were also a part of the interaction.

The company said Judith praised the "creativity and passion" of the team and commended the Flipkart leadership for its commitment to bringing e-commerce to more Indian consumers to make their lives better.

She also met with the top leadership and employees of Flipkart Group companies- Myntra & Jabong & Phonepe. Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer met Mckenna to update her on how the cash-and-carry business is changing the lives of kiranas (general stores) in India, the statement said.

During the visit, Walmart International's Judith McKenna had expressed confidence in team Myntra as well. Judith along with Kalyan and Amar Nagaram, Head Myntra and Jabong, announced the launch of Myntra's first of its kind service kiosk that offers shoppers a host of value added services such as flexible pickup and drop, instant returns, trial room and free alteration of products.

Judith also met with Flipkart employees at its head office and with PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam and his team at the PhonePe office. McKenna visited a Flipkart fulfilment centre to understand the supply-chain efficiency which Flipkart is bringing to the country, and also met with kiranas (general stores)that are a part of the Myntra's unique MENSA (Myntra Extended Network for Service Augmentation) network.

Judith said she was "delighted" to see Flipkart excelling by leveraging its homegrown innovations, cutting-edge technology and deep customer centricity and making the most of synergies with Walmart as it seeks to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online.

After Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon's visit to Flipkart a few weeks ago, she met with the PhonePe staff and said she appreciated the work they were doing to revolutionise financial payments through technology.

"Flipkart's partnership with Walmart is helping the Group better serve Indian customers and accelerate its growth with products and solutions that solve real problems in the country. These include supply-chain infrastructure that is disrupting the industry to benefit local consumers, suppliers and manufacturers, "Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Walmart in May 2018, had announced that it is buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about Rs 1.05 lakh crore, it's biggest deal which will give the US retailer access to Indian e-commerce market that is estimated to grow to $200 billion within a decade.

Also Read:Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Birla Corp profit surges 66.10% to Rs 255.70 crore in FY19; board declares dividend of Rs 7.50 per share
After PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah took on Rahul Gandhi over reports that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. Jaitley said Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself has been involved in corruption.

Meanwhile, PM Modi Saturday tore into Congress saying that the party leaders who shared the stage with BSP supremo Mayawati, betrayed her "so cunningly" that even she is not able to understand it. "Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP.

Cyclone Fani has thrown a lot of poll campaigns of political parties in the run-up to Lok Sabha Election 2019 out of gear especially in the eastern states. While PM Modi's public meetings took a hit in Tamlik and Jhargram in West Bengal which were scheduled on May 5 but have been scheduled to be held on May 6, Shah's rallies in Ghatal and Bishnupur (West Bengal) on May 6 have been pushed back to May 7.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee also announced Friday that her party has cancelled all its poll campaigns and political programmes for the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, top leaders across the political spectrum including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will campaign across the states today.

Where PM Modi will canvass for BJP in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Pratapgarh and Basti followed by a public rally in Ramnagar in Bihar's West Champaran district, Shah will campaign in Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Rewa, he will also, hold a roadshow in UP's Amethi and address a public meeting in Rohini, Delhi. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will canvass for his party in Harayana's Gurugram and UP's Dhammor. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal will hold a roadshow in South Delhi where he will campaign for AAP candidate Raghav Chadha.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details

Here is the timeline for Lok Sabha election 2019:

7: 30 pm: Union Minister VK Singh hits out at Congress party over its claim of having carried out 6 surgical strikes when the UPA government was in power.

The BJP candidate from Ghaziabad and the current member of Parliament from the district in a tweet questioned the claim of Congress that surgical strikes had been conducted between 2008 and 2014.

Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS. Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story . - Chowkidar Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) May 4, 2019

7:10 pm Election Commission gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on April 21. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

6: 57 pm: Electioneering ended Saturday evening for 12 Rajasthan constituencies, which saw hectic campaigning by the BJP and the Congress over the past week. Election campaigning for 14 Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituencies also ended today evening. Polling for the fifth phase on Monday will see a clash of titans including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6: 45 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah accuses the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23. Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

6: 20 pm: Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Sharma says winning Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

6: 10 pm: Man taken into police custody. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

6: 00 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by a man during his roadshow in Moti Nagar, Delhi. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4 - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

: Chidambaram said, "Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person."

5:20 pm: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram over banning of terrorist Masood Azhar by United Nations

Chidambaram asked, "We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie and only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?"

4:59 PM: PM Modi takes on RJD in Bihar

Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar says Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs.

4:45 pm: Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" Jaitley said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

4:35 pm: RED CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF TWEETS

PM Modi's higher overall reach also is on account of a larger number of tweets. Since 10th March, Modi has tweeted 654 times (excluding retweets) - the highest among all leaders.

4:30 pm : After Modi, FM Jaitley hits back at Rahul Gandhi over defence offset clause deals during UPA regime.

Jaitley in a press conference said, "It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher & today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge. "

4:00 pm: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offered prayers in Amethi today.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offers prayers at Hazrat Meer Imamuddin dargah in Amethi. pic.twitter.com/DsgcKFJF3m - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3:46 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank politics during a rally in Basti and said they consider even a "human being just a number". Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the Congress and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

3:25 pm: ORANGE CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NET ENGAGEMENT

In terms of total retweets and favourites in this election season, PM Modi is far ahead than Rahul Gandhi. PM's total engagement--retweets and favourites combined--over the given time period was 20.7 million, which is 5.5 times more than Rahul Gandhi's 3.7 million.

3:20 pm: BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani held a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency.

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3.00 pm: Manoj Tiwari gives a rebuttal to Kejriwal on his "naachta bahaut acha hai" remark

"By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it," says Tiwari.

Manoj Tiwari on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's remark 'Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai,is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena,naachne wale ko vote mat dena': By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it pic.twitter.com/J5LZmJWw8U - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

2.45 pm: Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP during rally in Barabanki, UP

"BJP wale kinhe utar rahe hai sadak par,dekha hai kabhi?Saand aa rahe hai aur aisi BJP ki sarkar hai,saand logon mar raha hai.Agar saand maar de kisi aadmi ko,bataye humari police kaunsi FIR hogi uspe? Agar saand maar raha hai toh FIR CM pe honi chahiye," says Yadav.

1:59 pm: PURPLE CAP FOR RAHUL GANDHI: HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT PER TWEET

However, in terms of engagement per tweet, Rahul Gandhi beats the Prime Minister. Gandhi, on an average, got 8,094 retweets per tweet, compared to Modi's 4,844. Same for favourites: Gandhi got 30,673 favourites per tweet, on an average; Modi got 19,242.

1.50 pm: Congress leaders betrayed Behenji (Mayawati): PM Modi in Pratapgarh

"Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP

1.45 pm: Kejriwal attacks BJP's Manoj Tiwari, says "naachta bahaut acha hai" (dances very well).

"Manoj Tiwari dances very well, Dilip Pandey (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate) doesn't know how to dance, he only knows how to work. This time vote for the one who works, not the one who dances," says Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, hitting out at BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi.

#WATCH Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai, Pandey ji (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey) ko naachna nahi aata, kaam karna aata hai, is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena, naachne wale ko vote mat dena. (03/05/2019) pic.twitter.com/a3EuxyNytP - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

12.40 pm: The Central Government Saturday filed a fresh affidavit inRafale review case pertaining to the deal in the Supreme Court saying that theDecember 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiatedmedia reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in aselective manner cannot form the basis for review, ANI reported.

Centre files fresh affidavits in Rafale review case in SC saying- the Dec 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form basis for review. pic.twitter.com/oMfFYdZltG - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

11.15 am: Amit Shah alleges Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA.

BJP Chief Amit Shah Saturday slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi after a Business Today story alleging a company associated with Gandhi's former business partner received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way." Shah tweeted.

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

10.00 am: Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi at press conference.

On Unemployment Issue: "The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

On Surgical Strikes on Pakistan: "The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army," says Rahul.

On Chowkidar Chor hai jibe: "Process is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' will remain our slogan," says Rahul.

On UN ban on Masood Azhar: "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt," says Rahul.

On BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," says Rahul.

On PM Modi: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down," says Rahul.

9: 05 am: GREEN CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

With over 47 million followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is far ahead than any other leader.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," PM Modi tweeted.

Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts. - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

8.30 am: Poll campaigns across parties have been rescheduled in Basirhat, Jaynagar, Diamond Harbour, Medinipur, Ghatal, Howrah, Hooghly, Kanthi, Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency which are either adjacent to Odisha or close to the sea, IANS reports.
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Penticton

Penticton city hall story of the year: Byelection brings controversy Contentious byelection Casey Richardson Castanet is revisiting the top stories of an eventful 2021. Today, for Penticton's City Hall Story of the Year, we are looking at the controversy that was brought when a managing editor of a local paper won a councillor seat. Penticton residents went to the polls in 2021 to fill an empty council seat left by Jake Kimberley, who retired following a stroke. Ten candidates came forward in the by-election, many taking a second shot after losing in 2018. On June 19, Penticton Herald managing editor James Miller took the seat with 33 per cent of the votes. But his win didnt come without controversy. As a local newspaper editor, he would have to make some changes, limiting his writing and editing coverage. During his election campaign, Miller had taken time off from the paper and hired freelance reports to cover his run. Miller felt he had prepared the right tools in order to succeed. Im gonna have obviously a lot of strict guidelines. I tried to test run before I even announced to see if I can do it. As I said, and thank you to the 1,666 people who, who trust me when I said, I can wear two hats, but not at the same time. I will not be mentioning City Council, I will not be writing on it, he said on election night, after his win. When council has their bi-weekly meetings, Miller stated he planned to not be in the Herald building at all and assured that he would absolutely not mandate to staff what they are to report or say. The union that represents some Penticton Herald reporters and employees expressed their concerns after Miller won, citing conflict of interest of retaining both positions. We have concerns when the editor of a paper is elected to council and wants to hold onto his newspaper job. There's a very serious conflict of interest there, and it certainly raises ethics concerns as well. And it puts our one remaining reporter there in a very awkward position where he is reporting on his boss, Jennifer Moreau, the secretary treasurer for Unifor Local 2000 told Castanet back in June. Miller joins Barbara Roden, Mayor of Ashcroft and editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, as one of the few in B.C. who work in both a journalist and local politician role. Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs of people in power. And in this case, you have someone holding both positions. So I don't know how you can be a watchdog of people in power and also be sitting on council and keeping your position at the newspaper. I just don't see it working, Moreau added. Miller was sworn in to council on July 6. Penticton will once again head to the polls in the fall of 2022. When Castanet reached out to the union for comment in December, president Brian Gibson said he was unable to comment, since the organization was currently in collective bargaining with the newspapers in Penticton and Kelowna.







Oliver, Osoyoos mayors grateful for town spirit throughout 2021 Mayors talk town resiliency Photo: Casey Richardson The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire sat between Oliver and Osoyoos throughout the summer of 2021 It was a long year of pandemic, drought, wildfires, intense heat and evacuations for the South Okanagan. The mayors of Oliver and Osoyoos look back on 2021 as a time when the community came together through hardships. I just think that the town is showing leadership. We're getting on with our lives with COVID, Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen said. Tight restrictions were still in place at the start of the year, and care homes throughout the region dealt with outbreaks. Oliver saw a handful of their own deal with rising case numbers in staff and residents. McKinney Place care home had an outbreak that took the lives of 13 residents. When the pandemic restrictions allowed visits with friends and family again, things began to find new normal. Then, restrictions from the provincial government in the spring limited hotels, accommodations and campsites in the South Okanagan, with non-essential travel cut off for BC residents outside their own health authority regions. As vaccine doses continued to roll out, the area saw an increase in their visitors with travel limits taken down. I guess one of the positives about living in Osoyoos is that we didn't see as much of the lack of tourists or lack of business as other places did. We were kind of a go-to spot during tourist season for a lot of people in B.C. and certainly we had many from Alberta as well, Osoyoos Mayor Sue Mckortoff said. The area suffered a loss in the spring when a church was set ablaze near Osoyoos in April. Fire crews in Oliver were called to a church on Nk'Mip Road on Osoyoos Indian Band land on June 21, the same day Penticton fire crews had responded to the fire at Sacred Heart Church on Penticton Indian Band land. Then in July, wildfire season kicked off with the Wolfcub Creek wildfire that destroyed one home. Two weeks later, the massive Nk'Mip Creek wildfire that would rage for over two month between Oliver and Osoyoos, sitting mostly on OIB land, would officially claim three properties, burning through rural areas and forcing people from their homes. One thing that does stand out for me is how the community came together during the wildfire. It was inspiring to see the support of those that were impacted by evacuation orders and it was pretty intense there in July and August, Johansen said. The fire season was a huge, huge issue around Osoyoos. And the heat, oh my goodness, it's kind of scary, isn't it? To think of all the things sort of gone wrong, McKortoff added. The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire reached over 20,000 hectares and lasted until September as a wildfire of note. The final evacuation alerts associated with the wildfire were also rescinded then. It definitely took centre stage for quite a while here and the town of Oliver stood up. Our emergency support services put in more hours than I think anyone in the surrounding South Okanagan, as well, Johansen said. We are doing a post-review on how things rolled out during the fire and what we could do better when another one comes. This is our second one in a couple of years. You have to plan for more because I don't think this is the last one that we're going to see. The situation presented challenges for peak summer tourism as well, with some visitors impacted by evacuation orders debating whether to go home or not. I did say that, if they were in an evacuated area, they should probably consider going home. It was probably safer to do that, McKortoff said, adding that she was never encouraging all visitors to leave. But the skies were full of smoke and the community was on edge, which did push some visitors from the area. South Okanagan tourist towns were hit further as they faced more challenges seeing visitors drop due to BC's vaccination passport program. We're going to have to learn to adapt and live with COVID. It isn't going anywhere. It isn't going to suddenly disappear. But we just need to find a way forward to keep everybody safe and keep getting back to the things that everybody likes to do, Johansen added. Both towns saw phenomenal support and turnout at local events that were allowed to proceed. There's a lot of pent up demand. We just need to find ways to get back to having the festivals and events and the programming and having our town open for business and open for the community, Johansen said. The town of Oliver ran events, celebrations and a history exploration for reaching their centennial year. Snowbirds and other travellers were eager to cross the Canada-U.S. land border in Osoyoos in November, with non-essential land travel resuming for the first time in nearly 20 months. Certainly the day that the border opened in November you could see the cars and trailers parked up the highway for about three miles. Pretty well close to town, McKortoff said with a laugh, adding that it levelled off after that first weekend. People were happy that that is an available route now. But I sure don't see it as busy as it could have been or I thought it might be. Even throughout a tough year, both towns saw a boom in development and construction for the area, including Canada's first wine village finally opening in July. All that development that is getting started, I'm looking forward to seeing it getting completed, Johansen said, pointing to plans for further affordable housing developments, condos and industrial buildings. Mckortoff added that Osoyoos has seen around 20 new businesses open up since January. Last year, our building report showed, I think about $7 million in building and this year it's close to $30 million. It just shows that there is a great deal of work going on here. And the mayors look forward to the continued growth heading into 2022. They shared excitement to see projects move forward, developments come to fruition and hopefully, more of their usual celebrations. I think that we have to kind of look at ways that we can help one another and celebrate things but do it in a safe way and I think we've been able to do that. So we'd sure like to have music in the park next year and all of the events that people normally put on, McKortoff said. I think that there's so much COVID fatigue going on, but I just hope you know this new variant coming out, you can just see the ripple of concern, but just hoping that we can continue to move forward, Johansen added. While next fall will bring municipal elections, both Johansen and Mckortoff are considering it as they work through the next ten months, but neither confirmed whether they would be running for re-election. I love the job. I think it's fascinating. I'm so lucky to be in this job. Yes, there are some negatives because there certainly are some people who don't agree with what we're doing and that's totally understandable. You're never going to have everybody on side. But the bottom line is we're trying to look at the whole picture, what's best for our town and our citizens, Mckortoff said.

Highway 97 Brewery opens its doors after moving into downtown Penticton Brewery opens its doors Photo: Facebook Pull up a bar stool at a familiar brewery in a new spot in Penticton. Highway 97 welcomed customers through their doors on Ellis Street, with their grand opening on Wednesday. The brewery has been open since 2017 at its location on the highway across from the South Okanagan Events Centre. "We will be opening with minimal food until the new year but will have all our delicious beer flowing. Come check out our new digs and celebrate our opening," they shared on their Facebook page. Highway 97 Brewing got an official thumbs up from Penticton city council to move forward with their plans to take over the former Mile Zero bar on Ellis Street in January. The boutique-style family-owned and operated craft brewery is also dog-friendly. The brewery will also be operating with limited holiday hours until the new year. Find out more information on their Facebook page here.







Penticton gym asking for locals to help out fitness centres as closures come down Help out the local gyms Photo: Contributed One Penticton business is feeling the impact of nearly two years of the pandemic as gyms and fitness centres are dealing with another closure, with provincial restrictions coming into effect. City Centre Fitness Owner Kirby Kirby Layng explained that he thought classes might be cancelled in the midst of rising numbers, but the full closure was a complete shock. The gym has dealt with changing restrictions, class size allowances and vaccine passports. "A [number] of fitness clubs have already closed down across Canada...So this is just going up that number. There's a little bit of government help, but in a lot of cases, it won't be enough." There comes a question on looking after not only an individuals physical health during this time, but their mental health. "It's a tough time for people since you can't really exercise outside, especially with the coming cold weather. It's gonna be a tough one. So yeah, just really try and stay healthy and watch your nutrition, of course, this time of year, which is tough," Layng added. But the gym is hoping to keep people active with online classes starting in the new year on Zoom. "We're open for supplement purchase. The other thing we are doing is we're renting out some equipment as well. Spin bikes, weight equipment and dumbbells and selling gift certificates." Keep an eye on your own gyms or fitness centre website or social media page for updates on what they're offering and how to support.

Penticton mom gifted a free vehicle and holiday feast from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Deserving mom gifted a car Photo: Casey Richardson One family in need had Christmas come early on Thursday afternoon, when they were given a car for free from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Penticton. Courtney Brown walked into the dealership with her mom expecting to help her find a car and instead was greeted with a giant surprise. I had no idea what was going on. My mom had just told me that she had something for me. So she asked if I was able to leave work early. I thought we were coming down here to look at cars for her. And little did I know, I was coming in to find a car for myself, she explained. This is so wonderful. I am still in such complete shock. The dealership gifted Brown a 2013 Grand Caravan, along with three months insurance, an extended warranty and a Christmas feast with some presents for her two kids. Brown had been trying to save for a car for the past year, to help take her kids to school, go to appointments and make it to work. But just like anyone else, things come up with the kids. I just didn't have the funds at the moment. Huber Bannister Chevrolet started taking nominations in the beginning of December and had over 50 submitted for families or friends that could use a car. With everything that's been going on this year with COVID and with floods, we had a lot of nominations and that's without even expanding it to too much, General Manager Julian Smallbone said. Everyone deserves to get one but we found this would really help this family. Tears of joy shed down Browns face after being given the car. I've had to rely on my mom. I've had to rely on some friends to help me out over the last couple years. And so this is just going to help so much, she said. It is amazing. I could not thank the staff here at Huber Bannister enough. The idea came from Sales Manager Will Seguin, who wanted to spread some Christmas cheer, especially this year. If we had more vehicles, I would love to give them all the way. There were so many. It's really tough to decide on the submission and some tears are shed when we were reading those things, he added. Seeing the look on their face when they actually get the keys in their hand is probably my biggest achievement. The dealership hopes to see others join in the holiday giving over the coming years. What we are hoping to do is to make it into two cars next year, three and four afterwards. Again, we're going to have to get other other businesses support to be able to do that, but we are hoping to be able to give away more cars in the future, Smallbone explained. Photo: Casey Richardson

COVID-19 has caused the BCHL to cancel its 60th Anniversary event BCHL cancels all-star game Photo: BCHL COVID-19 has caused another cancellation. The BC Hockey League is postponing its 60th Anniversary event which was scheduled for January 2022 due to increased provincial restrictions around events and a spike in COVID-19 cases in B.C. The event, was going to feature an outdoor 3-on-3 All-Star Series, skills competition and alumni game, as well as a Top Prospects Game, over several days, Jan. 14 to 16 in Penticton, B.C. We are extremely disappointed to announce todays news that, in the interest of public safety, we have decided to postpone our 60th Anniversary event to next year, said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. We are disappointed for our loyal fans that were planning on attending the event, but we feel the worst for the 50 players who were set to participate in the weekends festivities. The outdoor game was also set to be a Save Pond Hockey event, in partnership with the Climate and Sport Initiative. We are grateful to all our event and league partners who supported us and are eager to work with them again next year to make the event even bigger and better. The silver lining is that the event will go ahead next year in Penticton at the newly built outdoor arena, if health protocols allow.

Princeton continues to work on flood recovery and housing for the community Overcoming all together Photo: Contributed The Town of Princeton continues to work on getting interim housing in place for the residents displaced by the floods. Mayor Spencer Coyne shared an update on Wednesday night from town's facebook page, amid ongoing discussions with the Province. "We have identified a temporary area and hope to have some answers soon," he stated. "We are working on a Resiliency Centre that will help navigate our communities recovery stage." Emergency Support Services are being carried out through Red Cross with the Province and those in need are asked to contact them if not already done so. Do not consume and boil water orders still stand for much of the community and Princeton hopes to see answers come in the next week, waiting on information from the health authority. Much of their water and sewer infrastructure was damaged. "We are working with NGOs and Provincial agencies to bring mental health supports into the community. We understand that this is a hard time of year and moving forward things will get harder we want to have the supports in place to assist not only with what is to come next, but the realization of what has just happened," Coyne said. "We have lobbied hard to get our community those much needed supports." The town is working on syncing their recovery with that of surrounding rural communities that were effected including Tulameen and Coalmont, so services can be provided to throughout equally. "We are in this together and we want to overcome this together." "I know some days it seems as nothing is happening or that we have hit a wall. I will reassure you all that there is still an army of volunteers and town employees and outside agencies working tirelessly to try and bring some sense of normalcy back to our community. We are Princeton Strong as people have started to say and we will overcome this and we will do it together." The town will have a long road ahead of extensive, expensive cleanup. To contribute to Princeton residents who need help in the wake of flooding, click here. Casey Richardson

Some facilities to close at Penticton Community Centre Community Centre changes Photo: Contributed The City will be closing Penticton's Community Centre fitness room, as a response to new health orders issued by the province on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the city announced the changes, along with a note that all customers who hold valid passes will receive an extension to their pass equal to the duration of the closure. All of the land-based fitness classes are suspended as well. Clients who are impacted by the fitness class cancellations and facility rentals impacted by the restrictions will be contacted by staff. Currently, all other recreation programs and services are able to continue as scheduled, including public swim, public skating, drop-in sports and general recreation classes. These closures will begin at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 22 and run through Jan. 18.

Baldy Mountain Resort sees strong opening week with fresh powder and new snow activities Fresh powder on opening Photo: Troy Lucas Try out your volleyball skill's at Baldy's new snow court Baldy Mountain Resort was ready for opening on Dec. 17 with a snow packed hill and groomed runs for power hounds to enjoy. "We had a great snow this year, because we had lots of time to groom it and pack it," Troy Lucas, operations manager with the resort shared. "Lots of snow and there's a lot coming." Opening numbers were a little smaller start but Lucas expects that to progress as people take time off heading into the holidays. "The local community we had a dry run with, we put on a lunch for them," he added. "We got rave reviews from them and they even sent us emails and thanked us because it's first year they've done that up here, inviting all the locals to meet our staff and get to know the community." On top of the 110 cm base and all lifts open, the resort has a snow volleyball court set up on 'Baldy Beach', along with a frisbee golf course through the forest, an improved picnic area and an outdoor s'mores pit. "We've kind of re-done the kiosk and the picnic area for lunches because of obviously COVID and seating so we have that outdoor seating all good to go and the umbrellas up." The focus this year was to make the resort very family friendly. "This is more of a family mountain," Lucas added. The resort also spent part of the summer working with the Ministry of Transportation on the road heading up to the hill. Check out Baldy's snow report on their website here. Photo: Contributed
Photo: The Canadian Press TransCanada Corp. president and CEO Russ Girling addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary.

TransCanada Corp. topped expectations as it reported a profit of $1.00 billion in its latest quarter, up from $734 million a year ago, as its revenue edged higher.

The pipeline company says the profit amounted to $1.09 per share for the quarter ended March 31. That compared with a profit of 83 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for what was the company's first quarter totalled $3.49 billion, compared with $3.42 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

On a comparable basis, TransCanada says it earned $987 million or $1.07 per share for the quarter, up from $864 million or 98 cents per share a year ago.

Chief executive Russ Girling says the increase was due to the strong performance of the company's legacy assets, along with roughly $5.3 billion of growth projects that were placed into service in the quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 99 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
A joint investigation with special agents from the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with multiple East Tennessee law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a New Market police officer for arranging to have sex with a minor.

At the request of 4th District Attorney General Jimmy B. Dunn, TBI agents, along with investigators with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the 4th Judicial District Attorney Generals Office and the Knoxville Police Department, began investigating New Market Police Officer Joseph Ray Miller, 43.

During the course of the four-week investigation, agents developed information that indicated Miller attempted to arrange through an adult to engage in sexual activity with a female under the age of 13.

The investigation revealed Miller intended to pay money to the juvenile for engaging in the act, and to the adult for making the arrangement.

On Friday night, TBI agents, with the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, arrested Miller and charged him with one count of solicitation of a minor. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail. His bond will be set at his next court appearance.
The two religious leaders sign a joint declaration of solidarity with the victims in Sri Lanka. Those who sow death are "the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth." This is why it is our duty [. . .] to banish them".

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  The head of the Catholic Church of India and the leader of one of India's most important Islamic groups signed a joint declaration this morning in Mumbai, expressing their solidarity with the victims of the Sri Lanka bombings and condemned the bloodshed in three churches and three hotels in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

For Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), and Mawlana Mahmood A. Madani, general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, "The persons and the groups responsible for the serials blasts are anti-human, anti-civilization and anti-God.

According to the two religious leaders, those who killed at least 257 people "are the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth. To associate them with any faith would be most sacrilegious to the faith itself. Therefore, the people of all faiths must disown and condemn such barbarous individuals and groups. It is our duty to expose them and banish them from civilized society.

In their statement, the cardinal and the mawlana list five points in which they lay out their rejection of violence perpetrated in the name of religion and call for the elimination of terrorism. The points are:

1) The terrorist attacks become all the more gruesome if launched under the garb of religion and holy mission. Besides causing great loss of innocent lives, peace and harmony is destroyed. It is the prime duty of all faith leaders to stand up and use all our resources and to cleanse society of this evil.

(2) Attacks on religious places and during religious festivals such as Easter are perpetrated with a design to cause a divide between people of various faiths and communities. Therefore, we feel it all the more necessary that we stand together with our Christian brothers everywhere and assure them that we share their sorrows and pains and express our solidarity with them.

(3) We appeal to the government and law-enforcement agencies all over the world to be more vigilant and take effective precautionary measures making it impossible for any terrorist groups to play havoc with the life and property of civil society anywhere.

(4) Sri Lanka being our closest neighbour, we are ready with an offer of help to enable the victims to get over the unprecedented crisis in their lives. We propose to depute a high-level delegation of various faiths to Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of cooperation and also to offer our sincere condolence to the bereaved families.

(5) We sincerely hope that media and peace-loving citizens of this country will extend their fullest cooperation for our endeavour against terrorism. We express our resolve to continue our struggle against terrorism and for global peace. We appeal to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste and creed to come forward to save humanity and to maintain social harmony and peace.
Sugar-white beaches and aqua blue waters have drawn sun seekers to Anna Maria Island for more than a century. Yet, the seven-mile-long barrier island off the coast of Bradenton, Florida, seems to be a well-kept secret among loyal visitors for whom it reflects a bit of old Florida with understated charm.

Notwithstanding recent growth, Anna Maria has intentionally kept its local flavor, respectful of the natural habitat and with an eye towards sustainable development. There are no high-rise hotels or chain restaurants; the island character is a blend of retro bungalow and Key West chic  with an element of funky flair.



Thanks, Fig Newton



The first wooden bridge was built from the mainland in 1922, but development on the island began in 1897 by the family of homesteader George Emerson Bean and Charles M. Roser, inventor of the Fig Newton. Roser sold his would-be famous cookie recipe to Nabisco, and reportedly funded early building and infrastructure on Anna Maria.

Three towns, three vibes



Surprisingly, the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay comprises three distinct municipalities: the town of Anna Maria at the north end, Holmes Beach at mid-island, and Bradenton Beach at the south end near the bridge to Longboat Key. There are countless small hotels, resorts and vacation rentals in each township.

The north end is mostly residential and quiet, but its charming Pine Street is a village hub with great restaurants, boutiques, and LEED-certified buildings. The middle of the island is the main commercial area and further south, Bradenton Beach is the hot spot with lively restaurants, Tiki bars, and the historic Bridge Street, where the original wooden bridge once stood and is now a popular fishing pier.



You can explore the island by bike or car (be forewarned that car parking is limited in busy areas) or take the free island trolley that operates daily. Another option is the Monkey Bus, a color-schemed minibus that offers rides for tips only.

A three-day jaunt



Despite frequent visits to Floridas west coast, I only recently discovered Anna Maria Island on a weekend getaway, thanks to Allegiants new flights to Sarasota/Bradenton from Nashville. The island is a 30-45 minute drive from the airport (or one hour from Tampa/St. Pete).

Even a short stay allowed us plenty of time to enjoy the pristine beaches and activities such as biking, fishing and kayaking. My husband and I stayed at the new Anna Maria Beach Resort at Holmes Beach (formerly the Blue Water Beach Motel) which is completely renovated and well appointed with luxury upgrades, a lovely walk-in pool, Jacuzzi and beach access. Some suites have full kitchens and living space with mesmerizing views overlooking the Gulf.



We set off to explore the island on colorful cruiser bikes available to motel guests, heading north to the town of Anna Maria, which has bike paths and quiet roads along the bay side. After passing several beach access points we finally propped our bikes against a picket fence and walked through a nearly hidden tunnel of palms before the wide expanse of beach known as Bean Point opened before us. The tip of the island is stunningly beautiful and a favorite spot for beach walks and watching sunset.



Out on the water, we took a guided kayak tour with AMI Paddleboard Adventures, a wonderful outing which led us through mangrove tunnels, bayous and lagoons. We also signed on with Paradise Boat Tours to see dolphins, manatee, herons and other wildlife that inhabit Sarasota Bay. Our knowledgeable captain shared interesting tidbits about the habits of the various species we spotted; even my skeptical husband was most impressed with the eco-tour.



Seafood and champagne sunsets



Youll find front row seats for sunset at several beachfront restaurants, but the place to be for toes-in-the-sand dining and the fresh catch of the day is The Sandbar, where sunset is our big event every night, our waitress told us. If you correctly guess the exact minute of sunset, you win a bottle of champagne. Another dining favorite for fine food and a romantic experience is Beach Bistro, top-rated by Zagat.

Gulf Coast seafood reigns on Anna Maria, though there are plentiful culinary options. We found wonderful choices for brunch or lunch, including Eliza Anns Coastal Kitchen, the Waterfront Restaurant for new American cuisine and delicious salads, and the irresistible Poppo's Taqueria for a healthy, fresh take on Mexican. Dont miss the Donut Experiment  fun for families, where every donut is your creation and choices range from plain Jane to glazed keylime and Sriracha.



Make sure to stop in at The Doctors Office, creatively themed after the actual doctors office it once was, and now serving craft cocktails and fresh, ingredient-driven bar fare. The Painkiller  made with Pussers Rum, fresh pineapple, orange juice and cream of coconut  cures what ails you.



Anna Maria has not lost sight of its greatest assets and experiences  from beachcomber mornings to nature activities and the celebrated sunset hour. Even the locals say, Anna Maria Island is where old Florida still exists. https://www.bradentongulfislands.com/



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Ann Yungmeyer is a travel writer and frequent contributor to print and digital publications.


There is a problem in one area of Soddy Lake that is out of the jurisdiction of the city of Soddy Daisy. Caused by flooding at the end of September 2018, a lot of debris washed into the lake and collected in the area between State Highway 27 and Dayton Pike in the area known locally as Soddy Embankment. In that area, which is always shallow, just one foot deep in some places, there is a path almost 200 feet wide now filled with dangerous pieces of jagged metal, wood and other materials that have accumulated. The trash lies just below the surface and cannot be seen from above. With the temperatures warming and people increasingly using the lake, there is a real fear that jet skiers, boaters and children being pulled on inner tubes could be seriously hurt if they run into the rubbish.

Mayor Gene Shipley said the city has made every effort to clean out that space but has been unable to. The water level never has dropped low enough because of the huge amount of rain this winter and spring. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for cleaning it up and keeping people safe, he said. Officials from the city have met with representatives from TWRA to ask for help by putting up buoys as markers and signs of warning until they are able to get rid of the debris. In the meantime, the mayor is asking to get the word out through social media about staying away from the dangerous area.



A public hearing was held at the commission meeting Thursday night about an amendment to the city code that will allow beer sales every day of the week, 24 hours a day. Just one resident of Soddy Daisy spoke saying he was in opposition and asking instead for the city to allow no alcohol sales at all. The commissioners voted five to one to change the law. The state controls the sale of wine and spirits and has made changes to times that is allowed. The new hours approved for beer sales will match those for alcohol and will reduce confusion by retailers who sell both.



City Manager Janice Cagle received approval from the commissioners for several expenditures including $24,400 for a contract with Johnson, Murphy and Wright for yearly auditing services. The public works department has paved several roads and payments of $27,465 for labor and $64,040 for materials to pay for the work was authorized. Some fire hydrants in Soddy Daisy were originally installed in the 1940s and parts are no longer available to repair them. There are 10 hydrants that are scheduled to be replaced this year. Only one bid was received for $23,500. These were planned for in the budget, said Recorder Burt Johnson.



A solution is being sought for speeding cars that several commissioners routinely hear complaints about. Commissioner Rick Nunley said that the city has tried using rumble strips, posting signs, putting up speed displays that show how fast a car is traveling and giving tickets, but he said, "We are not getting anywhere." He asked the commissioners to consider enhancing existing rumble strips and adding new ones.

City Manager Cagle questioned that being the answer, because she said, where they have been used in the past, people living nearby call and wanted them removed. The people that are speeding most often are residents who live in the neighborhood where they are stopped, she said. The possibility of putting in speed humps was also discussed. City Attorney Sam Elliott said the city has been advised that its insurer considers them to be a liability. He suggested talking to the liability carrier for their advice.


Kelly Ann (Richie) Burns, 51 of Chattanooga, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Kelly was born on June 5, 1967, in Chattanooga, to Gene and Norma (Bolton) Richie.



She received her Masters of Science in Accountancy from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2007 and worked in payroll supervision for the past 4 years. Most recently, she was the payroll supervisor for the Hamilton County Department of Education.



On May 26, 2006, she married the love of her life, Barry Burns. Kelly was the proud mother of Jonathan Chase Hudson, a 2013 West Point graduate, and currently serving as a captain in the United States Army.



Kelly loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her family, people, and life. Her interests were varied and included sewing, traveling, motorcycles, and pets. Her smile was infectious and she touched many lives.



She is survived by her husband, Barry; her son, Captain Jonathan and his wife, Lisa; her parents, a sister, Chris and her husband, Doug; and a large number of extended family.



A celebration of Kelly's life and her Savior will be held at noon on Tuesday, May 7, at Stuart Heights Baptist Church, 3208 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, with Pastor Gary Jared and Pastor Doug Raynes officiating. Burial will take place at the Chattanooga National Cemetery at 2 p.m.

Those wishing to memorialize Kelly's life are encouraged to contribute to the Stuart Heights Baptist Church's Chosen Ministries.

Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort.



Visitation will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the church.



Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421.


Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo recently surprised fans with the announcement that they were moving to Los Angeles. The couple posted some information on their blog, and everyone was extremely thrilled to see the two branching out on their own  and heading to a city thats so different from where they were raised. But now, fans are a bit confused about the move, since Jinger keeps posting photos from Laredo, Texas, where they currently live. Are they still moving?

Jinger Duggar with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo and daughter, Felicity Vuolo. | Jinger Vuolo via Instagram

Duggar and Vuolo recently announced theyre starting a new chapter in Los Angeles

A few months ago, Duggar and Vuolo took a family trip to California and allowed their followers to live vicariously through all of their Instagram photos from the trip. Fans loved how much fun the two seemed to be having, and several people suggested Los Angeles might make a perfect home for the couple and their young daughter, Felicity. Not long after the family returned home, they made a huge announcement on their blog  they would, indeed, be moving to Los Angeles.

People were thrilled to see the couple taking their lives into their own hands

When Duggar and Vuolo made their announcement, everyone was extremely happy for them. Duggar has been dubbed the most rebellious of the family, since she broke away from some family traditions once she got married. While shes still extremely religious, she wears pants and tank tops now, and reportedly even stood up for transgender rights. People were excited to hear that the Vuolos would be moving to a city as liberal and accepting as Los Angeles, because it might make them see that all kinds of people deserve to be loved and respected.

Fans keep asking Duggar if shes still moving to California, since she keeps posting photos from Laredo

Although Duggar and Vuolo made their major announcement, fans have been a bit confused about their timeline. Duggar recently posted a photo of Felicity sitting on a friends couch in Laredo, and her followers were confused. Are you guys still moving, one user wrote. Are yall still moving to Cali? Another questioned. The comments section saw several confused fans wondering what the couples big announcement meant, since they still havent moved.

We have some BIG NEWS to share with all of you  https://t.co/ui64DhFKUT  Jinger Vuolo (@jingervuolo) March 25, 2019

To clear things up, Duggar and Vuolo wont be moving to California until July. Vuolo will be starting graduate classes out in Los Angeles in the fall, which is why the couple is waiting until the summer to move. The move is still in place, but they have a few months left in Laredo before they start a new life in California.

People clearly favor Duggar and Vuolo over the other Duggar family couples

When it comes to the Duggars, Jinger Duggar flew under the radar up until she married Vuolo. When the two started their own life together, fans realized how funny and friendly Duggar seemed, and they loved that she didnt always play by the rules. According to a poll conducted by InTouch, Duggar is the overwhelming favorite of fans among any of her siblings. She received 33% of the vote; Jana Duggar came in second with 21%. All of the other Duggars received less than 10%. Fans will continue to follow Duggar as she makes her move out to California and eventually grows her family even more (were still waiting on a baby no. 2 announcement).

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Dannielynn Birkhead, 12, and her father Larry Birkhead have officially made their yearly pilgrimage to Churchhill Downs. She is looking even more like her mother with each passing day. The father-daughter duo was first spotted on Friday evening at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala, an event held in honor of the upcoming race each year. The pair is expected to stay in Louisville through the weekends festivities. They will be on hand for Saturdays officially running of the 145th Kentucky Derby. This year marks Dannielynns 10th appearance at the event, according to People.

Why is the Kentucky Derby important to Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead?

arry Birkhead and Dannielynn Birkhead | Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/WireImage

Dannielynn has been residing with her father, Larry in rural Kentucky for years now, but thats not how it always was. Dannielynn, born to Anna Nicole Smith in September 2006 was at the center of a custody battle when she was just a few months old. Birkhead had been purposefully left off of the childs birth certificate, and a bitter court battle ensued following Smiths untimely death at a Florida hotel.

I cant catch a break even on my birthday! But I am proud of Dannielynns grades! #birthday #honorroll #bankrolled pic.twitter.com/Ex7TDkzO8A  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) January 22, 2019

Birkhead eventually won the battle, proving he was the biological father of the child and had every intention of raising her. Since then, they have kept a low profile  even moving to the rural Kentucky area to allow Dannielynn to be raised in relative anonymity. The duo does surface each year for the famous horse race for one important reason; its precisely where Larry Birkhead met Anna Nicole Smith so many years ago. According to the Courier-Journal Birkhead told Steve Harvey I make it as normal as I can. Shes like any other kid; she goes to school with every other kid, and shes a girl scout. She does things that I think her mom would be really proud of her for,

Kentucky Derby time once again. Dannielynn looks pretty in pink in her dress by Junona and her Moms hat from her unforgettable appearance at The Kentucky Derby in 2004#KentuckyDerby2019 pic.twitter.com/5oUZfcGfbW  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) May 4, 2019

The event at Churchhill Downs is a way of connecting Dannielynn with her mother. The younger Birkhead surely doesnt remember much of her mother, but Birkhead is dedicated to keeping the memory alive while raising the tween in a healthy environment.

How did Anna Nicole Smith die?

Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at around 1 pm on February 8, 2007. Smith was rushed to a local hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. An official autopsy report noted the existence of 11 drugs in the 39-year-old models system, many of which had never been prescribed to her. The lethal concoction is blamed for Smiths demise.

Anna Nicole Smith | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Smiths death came on the heels of the passing of her son, Daniel. Daniel died while visiting Smith in the Bahamas following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn. An inquest found that Daniels death was caused by an accidental overdose. Birkhead has suggested that the 20-year-old may have stolen his mothers methadone; methadone was one of three drugs found in his system.
No one was too surprised to hear the newsafter months of keeping so many details of the pregnancy private, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted that they were taking it one step further. Instead of posing for a post-birth photo a few hours after Baby Sussexs debut, the couple announced that they have taken the personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private and that they look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.

Understandably, the decree drove royal fans into a frenzy. As the hours ticked by towards the speculated (yet unconfirmed) due date, conspiracy theories abounded. Did Meghan Markle already have the baby in secret? Could we guess the plans based on Prince Harrys travel plans? How long would the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make everyone wait before sharing the news?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

This babys birth feels even more exciting than any of Prince William and Kate Middletons kids, which is weird because he or she is even further from the throne. The mystery is part of the appeal. However, there are critics who believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a huge mistake by being so secretive.

Meghan Markles influence has changed Prince Harry

Whether its good or bad is up for discussion. But theres no denying that Prince Harry is a much different man these days than he used to be, and many say its Meghan Markles presence that inspired the change.

Before Markle came along, Prince Harry was known for wild partying and controversial antics. He had calmed down in recent years, but he seemed perfectly content to hang out as the third wheel with his brother and sister-in-law. Thats all different now.

Ever since they became serious, Prince Harry has been forging a new path with his wife by his side. First, it was the break from offices at Kensington Palace and starting his own official household apart from Prince William. Now its throwing up walls of privacy where none existed before.

Critics think Prince Harry is shirking his royal responsibilities

Meghan Markle joined the royal family with little exposure to their customs. It makes senseMarkle is an American Hollywood actress, not a British socialite. Its logical shed expect a different approach.

But now people are miffed by her reticence and failure to do those things that the public expects from the royal family. It may not go along with Markles agenda, but in certain ways the royal family belongs to the public, and allowing them access to their big life events is part of the deal. This whole veil of mystery was fun at first but its starting to make people irritated.

Prince Harry may be intentionally punishing the media

There are lots of people blaming Meghan Markle for keeping all the birth details secret, but there are just as many fans who think it stems from Prince Harry, too. Its common knowledge that the Duke of Sussex has a complicated relationship with the press and some say hes hiding royal baby details on purpose to punish them.

As Sun photographer Arthur Edwards told the New York Times: Its the way Harry is at the moment, hes just got this bee in his bonnet that all the media are to be ignored.

But destroying his relationship with the media could prove disastrous for Prince Harry, especially as he and his wife are trying to get specific issues (such as mental health) into the spotlight.

The next few weeks will reveal more about Prince Harry and Meghan Markles deeper agenda. For now, we all just have to wait some more.
Anna Duggars announcement of her sixth child with Joshua Duggar was met by fans with a mix of concern and sadness. While another baby is undoubtedly a happy occasion, fans have long wished Anna would leave the man who spent a good portion of his time in Washington D.C trolling the internet for extra-marital affairs. While the news of Joshuas indiscretions broke back in 2015, fans have held out hope all these years that Anna would finally take a stand.

#Throwback to when Jill, Joy & I were pregnant together!Currently, there are 4 Duggar sisters/sisters-in-law that have shared expectant baby news! I wonder how many more new cousins will be announced before https://t.co/IelSs196ih  Anna Duggar (@Anna_Duggar) May 2, 2019

The announcement of their 6th child together have evaporated those hopes, but are fans the only ones disappointed in Annas decision to stand by her man? What does her large, ultra-conservative Christian family think of her choices?

Anna Duggars brother has offered her a chance to escape

While the majority of the Keller family has stayed mum about their feelings for Joshua Duggar, there is one Keller who has held nothing back. Daniel Keller, the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family, has been outspoken about his feelings regarding Josh. In fact, Daniel has informed fans he offered Anna the chance to escape. Not only was he willing to give the homeschooled mom a place to stay, but he even offered to pay for her childrens needs.

Daniel has not spoken publicly about Anna since the 2015 scandal, but if his words from back then still apply, hes likely not thrilled with the recent turn of events. Daniel stated that he wouldnt stop trying to get Josh out of his family.

Annas parents might be part of the reason she stayed

According to In Touch, the Keller family does not consider divorce an option, under any circumstances. Mike and Suzette raised their large family in Florida, and while they adhere to most of the Duggar family rules, insiders allege they take the conservative rules around dating and marriage even more seriously. Divorce would be seen as a massive sin, and Anna may have been advised by her parents to stick it out.

In 2017 an alleged insider posted an AMA on Reddit and noted that things were really rocky when the news first broke about Joshs cheating. According to the insider, Michelle Duggar was under the impression that Anna was planning to leave the family, but something happened that changed her mind. Some fans surmise that watching her divorced siblings being treated with icy indifference was enough to make her stick it out with Josh.

The Keller kids dont all adhere to the rules

While Anna and her siblings were all raised in an ultra-conservative household, they all dont share their parents moral leanings. In fact, two of the Keller kids are officially divorced. Rebekah Keller, who was married to Joshua Macdonald in 2005 filed for divorce from her husband in 2015.

Happy Thanksgiving for our family to yours! We have so much to be grateful for and what a better time then today to give thanks to God and others for all that has been given and done for us. @annaduggar @susanna_keller pic.twitter.com/ZPOqFIWCu6  David & Priscilla W (@DavidNCil) November 23, 2018

According to Radar, the reasoning for the divorce is purposefully vague, but its clear Rebekah broke all the rules. Not only was she the one to file the paperwork, but she also requested full custody of the couples two children. The divorce was finalized the following year.

Daniel Keller also called it quits with his wife. Keller married a woman named Candice in 2008, but their marriage dissolved in 2016. They share one son. Neither Daniel nor Candice have ever spoken publicly about their marriage or divorce.

Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar | Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images

Rebekah and Daniel arent the only Keller kids to face romantic issues. Younger sibling Susanna broke free from the Keller family years ago. She gave birth to a child in 2013; she never married the father of her daughter. Susanna was featured on several episodes of 19 Kids and Counting during Josh and Annas courtship.
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are officially a married couple.

Shortly after the 2019 Billboard Awards, the famous couple headed to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas to take their relationship to the next level.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas |Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Getty Images for dcp

Though none of us saw this spontaneous wedding coming, Jonas and Turner tied the knot while they were in Sin City for one particular reason.

Their marriage needed to be legal in the U.S.

On May 1, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner shocked us all when it was revealed they had tied the knot immediately following the 2019 Billboard Awards.

Shortly after Joe Jonas performed alongside his brothers and Sophie Turner presented, the couple, along with their friends and family, headed to A Little White Chapel to say I do at the Sin City locations Chapel LAmour.

Videos from the wedding were caught and shared by Diplo on his Instagram Story.

Those in attendance were Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Kevin Jonas, and Danielle Jonas. The country duo Dan + Shay even sang their smash hit Speechless during the ceremony.

Though many fans knew Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were planning on getting married, they were not expecting a ceremony to happen so soon.

Jonas and Turner have discussed their plans to get married this upcoming summer in France but there was a reason the couple decided to tie the knot in Vegas.

According to sources, if the couple only got married in France, their marriage wouldnt be legal in the United States.

They knew they needed to have a legal ceremony in the U.S. and decided a few weeks ago to do it in Vegas after the Billboard Awards, a source revealed to E! News. Some of their friends and family would be there so it felt like the perfect timing.

It was just the right time

Though Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopras wedding was well-thought out and beautifully executed, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turners Las Vegas wedding was in the spur of the moment.

Since they were already in Vegas for the Billboard Awards, what better way to end the night than getting married in a wedding chapel?

Their wedding this summer will be a lot more formal, but Jonas and Turner just couldnt wait any longer to be man and wife.

They booked the chapel for a big block of the night to make sure they had it to themselves and that the timing could be spontaneous, an insider shared. A friend paid and set up the entire thing.

Instead of exchanging wedding bands, Joe and Sophie gave each other ring pops and couldnt be happier that they are officially married.

A source says that the couple is just so excited to be together and to be married.

As for their summer wedding in France, the couple still plans for that to happen.

The ceremony will be a lot more formal than the one in Vegas and more of their family and friends will be in attendance.

It looks like multiple wedding ceremonies are a thing in the Jonas family!
It was only a few weeks ago when reports of a new royal feud were underway. It started with The Sun publishing the first story about Kate Middleton and her once good friend Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The two were believed to be good friends and were often seen together at royal gatherings. The Duke and Duchess had also been on several double dates with Hanbury and her husband. Now it seems there is a rift between them and rumors say infidelity is to blame.

When the article first came out in March, it only covered the alleged feud between Middleton and Hanbury. What happened next caused a social media firestorm and even bigger rumors to circulate.

Rumors of Prince Williams infidelity are going viral

According to Page Six, it was In Touch Weekly that first published cheating allegations against William. It was their unnamed source that claimed Middletons friend and husband had an affair together, causing the end of their friendship and marital problems. However, there is no tangible proof that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are having marriage problems and no evidence of infidelity.

The public cant seem to drop it. Its just too juicy of a story to let go. Social media has also exploded with opinions. It seems people are divided. Some believe William is having an affair, taking after his father, Prince Charles. Others believe that the duke and duchess are too in love to worry about the Marchioness. Still, others wonder why the British media isnt covering the story.

Why isnt the British media covering Prince Williams alleged affair?

While many American media outlets have started covering the rumors of Prince Williams affair, the British press seems decidedly absent. This has caused even more speculation, as the British media never stay quiet on these matters. They are known to be the most aggressive in their search for the truth or a good story.

Some have taken to Twitter, questioning why theres a lack of coverage. It could be that he is the future king, and they dont want to get on his bad side. We should also remember that he and Kate have sued them in the past for publishing inappropriate photos of the duchess, and they won.

According to the Daily Beast, the royals had their lawyers send a letter to the media outlets that said: In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights.

It might be that the British press is worried about another lawsuit. After all, there is no evidence to support the rumors as of yet. Then again one Twitter user, @Celia, wrote, How much tax money does the British monarchy give to the British media to keep quiet about Prince Williams affair?

How much tax money does the british monarchy give to the british media to keep quiet about Prince William's affair ?  Celia (@_MrsWanted) April 24, 2019

There is plenty of coverage for Meghan Markle

Still, one cant help but wonder why the British media can trash Meghan Markle in the press when they rarely have proof. A Twitter user, @Wiltshire said: The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story theyre threatening to sue the media over is probably true! 90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didnt notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!

The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story they're threatening to sue the media over is probably true!



90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didn't notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!  Wiltshire (@SocialIssueNews) April 23, 2019

Another reason, Williams affair rumors arent being covered might be due to Meghan and Prince Harrys baby. They have had a lot of media attention over the past year. It could be that the Sussex celebrity status is bigger than the Cambridge celebrity status right now.
Russell Finex, worldwide suppliers of high quality separation equipment, celebrate 80 years of experience in chemical sieving and filtration. With innovation at the core of their business, their wide range of vibratory sieves, liquid solid separation equipment and self-cleaning liquid filters have been the answer for many customers within the chemical industry around the world. Russell Finex work closely with renowned chemical companies, providing them customized solutions to their unique separation and filtration needs.



Russell Finex are aware that every process or application is different and choosing the right machine is essential to assure a maximum throughput. Therefore Russell Finex provide their machines for trials at either the customers site or at their specialized test facilities. By offering this service customers are assured they have the right machine for the application.



With offices in the UK, Belgium, USA and India and a broad network of agents, Russell Finex serve over 140 countries offering the support you need. Within the chemical industry Russell Finex have offered screening solutions such as the precise filtration of liquid paint, the sieving of chemical powders and separation or recovery of plastic. Below you can read more about the machines suitable for these applications.



Liquid paint filtration



The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter has been used by many coating companies for the filtration of liquid paint. The filter provides a fine and continuous filtration down to 15m, removing any impurity or skins from the paint at the end of the production line. The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter is a major advancement compared to bag- or cartridge filters. It has a stainless steel re-usable filter element which is continuously cleaned by a wiper system. This way product loss is minimized and costs for replacing bag or filter media are eliminated.



Sieving chemical powders



Russell Finex have often provided the Russell Compact Sieve for the sieving of various chemical powders. This vibratory sieve meets the high standards of the industry. It is a reliable machine providing a consistent high capacity and accurate fine screening. In combination with the Vibrasonic Deblinding System, which uses ultrasonic frequencies to keep the mesh clear, sticky or porous chemical powders can be easily screened down to 20m.



Separation or recovery of plastics



The Finex Separator is a multi-purpose machine which can be used for separation, grading, screening, dewatering or recovery. This high performance machine is often used for the grading of plastics pellets such as masterbatch. When installed with up to 4 meshes, the Finex Separator is able to provide 5 accurate product fractions. The Finex Separator is also used to process recovered or recycled plastics, like UPVC. The machine separates unwanted material from the plastic and grades it leaving a pure fraction fit for reuse.



Please visit the Russell Finex website for more information about separation equipment for the chemical industry.
The ceremony began at 10.09, an auspicious time. The rituals of purification and anointing turned the man into a Buddhist deity. The king ascended to the throne in 2016, following the death of the late monarch Bhumibol.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) - This morning King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned king of Thailand, at the start of three days of ceremonies.

Dressed in the golden robe required for the occasion, the 66-year-old monarch placed the 7.3 kilo Great Crown of Victory on his head before issuing his first royal command: "I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever.

The coronation began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, with the purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

The king received the five Royal Regalia - the symbols of kingship - which include the Great Crown of Victory, the Royal Slippers, the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Sceptre.

The celebrations will last until Monday and represent the kings transformation from human into a divine figure.

Today, in addition to the coronation and gifts, Rama X will visit the Emerald Buddha temple (Wat Phra Kaew), where he will proclaim himself Royal Patron of Buddhism. Afterwards, he will symbolically move into the official Royal Residence with a housewarming ceremony.

Tomorrow he will ride the Royal Palanquin allowing people to pay homage to him. On Monday, he will grant a public audience on a balcony in the Grand Palace.

Born on 28 July 1952, King Vajiralongkorn is the second child (only male) of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He has an older sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya  who recently put herself forward as a candidate in an election, only to be forced to withdraw because traditionally the royal family remains above politics  and two younger siblings, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn Walailak.

He studied abroad, in Great Britain and Australia, and was proclaimed heir to the throne on 28 December 1972.

King Vajiralongkorn, who will be known from now on simply as Rama X, is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since in 1782.

He ascended the throne in 2016 following the death of his beloved father, but had to wait until after a long mourning period before he could be crowned. Two days ago, in a surprise move, he married Queen Suthida Tidjai, his former bodyguard.
Guest Commentary

As president, Donald Trump has leaned heavily upon what he has called an America First policy. This nationalist approach involves walking away from cooperative agreements with other nations and relying, instead, upon a dominant role for the United States, under girded by military might, in world affairs.

Nevertheless, as numerous recent opinion polls reveal, most Americans dont support this policy.

The reaction of the American public to Trumps withdrawal of the United States from key international agreements has been hostile. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in early May 2018, shortly before Trump announced a pullout from the Iran nuclear agreement, 54 percent of respondents backed the agreement. Only 29 percent favored a pullout.

In July 2018, when the Chicago Council on Global Affairs surveyed Americans about their reaction to Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement, it found that 66 favored remaining within the Iran accord, while 68 percent favored remaining within the Paris accord  an increase of six percent in support for each of these agreements over the preceding year.

Most Americans also rejected Trumps 2019 withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. A survey that February by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reported that 54 percent of Americans opposed withdrawal from this nuclear arms control treaty and only 41 percent favored it. Furthermore, when pollsters presented arguments for and against withdrawal from the treaty to Americans before asking for their opinion, 66 percent opposed withdrawal.

In addition, despite Trumps sharp criticism of U.S. allies, most Americans expressed their support for a cooperative relationship with them. The Chicago Councils July 2018 survey found that 66 percent of Americans agreed that the United States should make decisions with its allies, even if it meant that the U.S. government would have to go along with a policy other than its own. Only 32 percent disagreed. Similarly, a March 2019 Pew Research poll found that 54 percent of American respondents wanted the U.S. government to take into account the interests of its allies, even if that meant compromising with them, while only 40 percent said the U.S. government should follow its national interests when its allies strongly disagreed.

Moreover, despite the Trump administrations attacks upon the United Nations and other international human rights entities  including pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council, withdrawing from UNESCO, defunding UN relief efforts for Palestinians, and threatening to prosecute the judges of the International Criminal Court  public support for international institutions remained strong. In July 2018, 64 percent of Americans surveyed told the Chicago Councils pollsters that the United States should be more willing to make decisions within the framework of the UN, even if that meant going along with a policy other than its own. This was the highest level of agreement on this question since 2004, when it was first asked. In February 2019, 66 percent of U.S. respondents to a Gallup survey declared that the UN played a necessary role in the world today.

But what about expanding U.S. military power? Given the Trump administrations success at fostering a massive military buildup, isnt there widespread enthusiasm about that?

On this point, too, the administrations priorities are strikingly out of line with the views of most Americans. A National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey of U.S. public opinion, conducted from April through November 2018, found that only 27 percent of respondents thought that the U.S. government spent too little on the military, while 66 percent thought that it spent either too much or about the right amount. By contrast, 77 percent said the government spent too little on education, 71 percent said it spent too little on assistance to the poor, and 70 percent said it spent too little on improving and protecting the nations health.

In February 2019, shortly after Trump indicated he would seek another hefty spending increase in the U.S. military budget, bringing it to an unprecedented $750 billion, only 25 percent of American respondents to a Gallup poll stated that the U.S. government was spending too little on the military. Another 73 percent said that the government was spending too much on it or about the right amount.

Moreover, when it comes to using U.S. military might, Americans seem considerably less hawkish than the Trump administration. According to a July 2018 survey by the Eurasia Group Foundation, U.S. respondents  asked what should be done if Iran gets back on track with its nuclear weapons program favored diplomatic responses over military responses by 80 percent to 12.5 percent. That same month, as the Chicago Council noted, almost three times as many Americans believed that admiration for the United States (73 percent) was more important than fear of their country (26 percent) for achieving U.S. foreign policy goals.

Unlike the president, who has boasted of U.S. weapons sales to other countries, particularly to Saudi Arabia, Americans are also rather uncomfortable about the U.S. role as the worlds pre-eminent arms dealer. In November 2018, 58 percent of Americans surveyed told YouGov that they wanted the U.S. government to curtail or halt its arms sales to the Saudi Arabian government, while only 13 percent wanted to maintain or increase such sales.

Finally, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to express their support for nuclear arms control and disarmament. In the aftermath of Trumps withdrawal of the United States from the INF treaty and announcement of plans to build new nuclear weapons, 87 percent of respondents to a February 2019 poll by Chicago Council said they wanted the United States and Russia to come to an agreement to limit nuclear arms.

The real question is not whether most Americans disagree with Trumps America First national security policy but, rather, what they are willing to do about it.

Dr. Lawrence Wittner syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor of history emeritus at SUNY/Albany. He is the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).
Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T) has known that the hydropower cable that connects Haines and Skagway to the Kasidaya hydropower project has been vulnerable to damage for years, predicting the faults that the cable would develop with great accuracy. Still, no steps were taken to provide maintenance.

An average household in Haines or Skagway pays between $200 and $250 a month for power, according to AP&T power operations manager Darren Belisle

They charge us a lot of money for the electricity we use, and maintenance has to be a part of their budget, said veteran Haines Borough planning commissioner Rob Goldberg.

We dont have any routine maintenance, Belisle said. Because its hard to do when its in such deep water.

Belisle explained that there are only a few ships in the world capable of dealing with a hydropower cable at that depth, and it costs at least $250,000 to bring one of them here. The 17-mile armored cable is 4.5 inches in diameter and rests below 800 feet of water at the place where the cable is damaged worst.

On March 3, AP&T first lost communication with the Kasidaya plant and realized that some of the cables fiber-optics were damaged. The company contacted a remotely operated submarine to assess the damage. It arrived two weeks later, which Belisle said is a fast response time. The submarine found significant damage caused by underwater landslides, which are frequent occurrences in the Taiya River Delta. Since the end of March, AP&T has known that the cable is on the verge of failure.

Nothing has changed, said Belisle. Now, AP&T is going through the process of a long and complex contingency plan. AP&T is just beginning to talk to the municipality about other places to relocate the cable.

In 2011, then AP&T operations manager Danny Gonce predicted that one or more faults would develop on the cable within the next 10 years.

Its not a question of if, its a question of when our cable is going to fail, the CVN reported that Gonce said.

When exactly the cable might failThats the million-dollar question, said Belisle. Reading all of the documentation on them, they last from 20 years to 50 years. Theres quite a large gap there, said Belisle.

The hydropower cable was bought for $6 million in 1998. According to CVN reporting from 2011, the Italian manufacturer that built the cable, Pirrelli, guaranteed it for 30 years. Since then, Pirelli has been taken over by a company called Prysmian, and Prysmian did not respond for comment about the cables warranty. The cable is now 21 years old. Belisle estimated that a new cable would cost $7 million.

If that cable does have an expected life span, then its a maintenance item. And if its a maintenance issue, it should be replaced in a timely manner, said Goldberg, We said it back (in 2011), why dont you just schedule this and replace it if its a maintenance item? But they didnt do it.

AP&Ts explanation for not providing cable maintenance was that it was unaffordable and impractical to do so.

If the power cable fails, it will take at least six months to replace it, according to Belisle, meaning that for at least six months, Haines would rely on diesel power.

In 2010, AP&T first proposed to build a hydropower project closer to Haines, on Connelly Lake, which many opposed due to environmental concerns. In 2013, due to the high cost of the project, AP&T scrapped its Connelly Lake plans.
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.
Q&A with Greg Laurie: America ripe for spiritual awakening

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SoCal Pastor Greg Laurie caught up with My Faith Votes recently at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He talked openly with us about his new book, Jesus Revolution, Americas need for another spiritual awakening, the churchs role as salt and light and where our ultimate hope lies. For a few truly uplifting moments, watch the full interview.

Standing in front of the colorful Jesus Revolution bus, Pastor Greg Laurie shared his testimony of becoming a Christ-follower during Americas last great spiritual revival  the Jesus Movement  in the 1960s and 1970s. He believes America is in desperate need of spiritual revival today and that the apparent divisions in our country over race, economic status, politics, religion, etc., poses no obstacle to God. In fact, Laurie suggests the timing might be more ripe for spiritual awakening because most revivals seem to happen during times of conflict.

Laurie says Christians must pray for spiritual revival in their own lives as a catalyst for America to experience spiritual revival and must recommit to follow the biblical exhortation to live as salt and light in our culture. By comparing believers to salt, Laurie says the Bible calls Christians to be cultural preservatives, and the best way to do that is to proclaim the gospel. As light, Christians are to beat back the darkness and stop the spread of evil.

Along with prayer and preaching, Laurie suggests a practical way for Christians to oppose evil is to register and vote. No candidate will ever align perfectly with biblical values but, he says, find one that is as close to biblical values as possible and vote for them.

Thats our core mission at My Faith Votes. We work every day to empower Christians to put their faith into action. That means helping Christians to be informed and think well about the issues being decided at the ballot box, to pray for our country and our leaders and, ultimately, to live out our faith by voting.

There is no perfect political or cultural solution for America. Our hope is in nothing that human beings can do, Laurie says. Our hope is in God. The Bible calls that our blessed hope.
National Day of Prayer: David Platt on the 'greatest hindrance' to advancing the Gospel

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WASHINGTON  Influential megachurch pastor and best-selling author David Platt voiced concerns about a trend within church culture that he suspects might be the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel today.

As Americans celebrate The National Day of Prayer Thursday, Platt spoke before a group of church leaders gathered for the Mens and Womens Prayer Breakfast Wednesday morning at The Willard Hotel located about a block from the White House in Washington, D.C.

The Radical author and former leader of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board explained that church and ministry leaders are too frequently tempted to accomplish their ministry goals through human abilities and ingenuity without the presence of God.

I believe you and I are tempted in a strangely similar way all across our church culture, said Platt, the teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. Think about it. You and I are tempted every day in our lives and in our churches to do the work of God apart from the power and the presence of God.

Lets be honest with each other. We have created a whole host of means and methods to our ministry today that require little if no help at all from the Holy Spirit of God, he continued. We dont have to fast and pray for the Church to go. We have marketing for that today.

It's dangerously possible for leaders to carry on the machinery and activity of churches and ministries," the 39-year-old pastor said. "All of it to be successful in the eyes of the world and we can never notice that the Holy Spirit is totally absent from it, Platt worried.

If we are not careful, we can deceive ourselves by mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a building for the existence of spiritual life in a church. I wonder if the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel in our day may be the attempt of the people to do the work of God apart from the power of the Spirit of God.

He suggests that the greatest barrier to spreading the Gospel might not be the self-indulgent immorality of our culture but rather the self-sufficient mentality in the Church evident in our prayerlessness.

Earlier in his keynote message, Platt explained that he recently returned from a preaching trip in South Korea. He said it was a trip in which the Lord convicted him in a fresh and deep way after seeing how hours of intentional prayer, repentance and fasting played a major role in the spiritual awakening in the country.

Platt noted that around 1900, less than 1 percent of the Korean Peninsula was Christian. But in 2000, there were as many as 10 million Christians in South Korea. Today, the country is only second to the United States in the number of missionaries sent around the world.

At the church I was preaching at recently, they still gather every morning. They have a prayer gathering every Friday night, all night to pray. There's not a formal event for them once a year. Prayer is a way of life every single day in the church. And I walked away convicted because I have not led the church well in this way, in a country where I am part of the church culture where I preach at conferences and events filled with hours of talks and sermons and relative minutes of prayer and confession.

Platt warned that leaders in the American Church culture are known for preaching and teaching, writing and blogging, organizing and strategizing, planning and planting.

But we are not known for our praying and fasting, He added. And in this, we're in profound danger of missing the whole point. When was the last time we got together with the church just for worship on Sunday and crowds of people fell on our faces weeping for hidden sin in our midst, crying out for God's mercy upon us? We have no room because we need to get on to the next song we have planned, the next program that is waiting.

What kind of church culture have we created where we pastors, members of churches like ours, are content to go week after week after week in church, watch what happens on stage and then move on with our lives? Platt asked.

Platt pointed to Exodus 33, a story in which Moses and the Israelites were faced with the possibility of having to journey to the promised land flowing with milk and honey without the presence of God.

So what does Moses do when faced with the prospect of doing Gods work apart from Gods presence? He prays. He goes in the tent of meeting, Platt explained. You should see this scene.

Platt detailed the scene in which Moses goes far outside of the camp to set up a tent in which he meets face-to-face with God just as a man speaks to a friend. A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Moses as he entered the tent and were struck with awe when the pillar of cloud came down to speak with Moses.

This is one of those places where you cant believe this is in the Old Testament, right? Platt commented. We didnt gather here today to watch Ronnie [Floyd] go into a tent or anybody go into a tent. Every single one of us can go into the tent. We dont have to go anywhere. You are the tent.

Platt added that Christians today have the privilege to speak with God face-to-face before they even get out of bed in the morning, a privilege that we have that Old Testament saints could only long for.

We have the privilege of knowing God face-to-face through Jesus what He has done on the cross for us, Platt said. What a privilege we have. Lets not forsake this privilege. Moses goes in and he says, I cant do this without you. He pleads for Gods presence to go with him. And God answers.

Lets do this. Lets get on our faces before God, not just these couple of days but day after day, all night in our churches and say, God we cant do this without you. We need Your grace. We need Your mercy. We need Your presence among us.

Platt called for ministries in the U.S. to throw aside their damning dependence on natural ability and human ingenuity and plead for God to do in our churches, across our countries and among the nations what only God can do.

Keep on pleading until the day when Scripture promises we will see His face and all His unchanging perfections, Platt concluded. Purposes and promises will come to pass in His ever-unfolding plan in which you and I get to play a part. Lets play our part.

In addition to various National Day of Prayer events held throughout the country on Thursday, a national observance ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Child sex trafficking victims, ex-drug addicts find healing in Duck Dynasty star's jewelry line

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Driven by her belief that God is a God of grace, forgiveness, and redemption, Missy Robertson is giving hurting and broken women a second chance at life through her new jewelry line.

The former Duck Dynasty star told The Christian Post she created Laminin by Missy Robertson back in 2016 to provide jobs for women in the West Monroe, Louisiana, area coming out of the sex industry, addiction, and poverty, among other life issues.

When women come to apply for a job, they dont fear checking that box that says have you ever been convicted of a felony? That doesnt scare us, and it doesnt stop us from hiring you, Robertson told CP. I strongly believe in second chances, and Laminin is about second chances.

But that wasnt always the goal.

Robertson, a mother of three, admitted that when he first conceived of Laminin  not without the help of her mother-in-law, Miss Kay, she said  it was with the intention of helping women like herself.

I pictured women who had married early and didnt have a college degree but were working and at the same time trying to be involved in their children's lives, she said. But Gods will is different from ours, and it takes a while to see it.

The women who applied were nothing like me, she continued. Theyd had tumultuous backgrounds and many of them were basically the result of being on drugs, whether their choice or their parents choice. Many of them were trying to stay out of trouble and had lost everything they had because they had been in prison.

Robertson recounted the story of Brandy, a former Laminin staff member who has overcome a life of drugs, crime, and unimaginable abuses. She shared how Brandy was born with drugs in her system and at the age of 9, was sold by her own mother into prostitution.

Her own mother took her to men at truck stops to fuel her drug habit, Robertson said. She would be tied to a bed and given drugs so that these men could do what they wanted to her.

Addicted to drugs and desperate to make ends meet, Brandy ended up prostituting herself and eventually ended up in prison on a slew of charges. While in prison, Brandy found Christ and decided to turn her life around.

While working with Robertson at Laminin, Brandy went on to finish school and earned her degree in counseling. Now married, she has a daughter of her own and works to help save other women from the life that nearly destroyed her.

I would just say one word, and thats God, Robertson said. Its truly amazing how He works.

The former A&E star shared another story of a Laminin employee who was previously involved in the mafia: One day, she was put into a vehicle, blindfolded, Robertson said. They took her to this area where a man was tied to a tree. They said, This man was caught talking, and heres what happens to people who talk. They shot him, right in front of her.

These things happened right in my hometown, she continued. This is a huge problem, and what were trying to do is provide them a safe environment to come to and give them the skill to create something thats useful and beautiful. It gives them purpose and value.

This month, the Laminin website was re-launched. Each piece of jewelry available is handcrafted and consists of natural stones and beads with mixed metals, deer horns, Druzy stones, leather, rosary beads, and more. Robertson emphasized that Laminin is a business  not a charity.

Thats something I feel strongly about, Robertson said. If this was a charity, these women would have their hands out. Theyve learned how to manipulate the world around them to get what they can to survive. If this business grows and thrives, its because of their commitment to it. Every time I walk in with another success story, whether its a new account or business, they get so excited and thrilled because they feel that what theyve done is valuable.

She explained that Laminin is a molecular protein that holds everything in our bodies together. If seen through a microscope, laminin is in the exact shape of the cross. The organizations mission verse Colossians 1:17: He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

This year alone, weve had three women come to Christ at Laminin, Robertson shared. God has His hand all over this ministry. When women come to work for Laminin, not only do they get a second chance at life, they learn about the greatest gift there is  and thats a relationship with the Lord.

Yes, its a business, but its a ministry, too, she added. What greater way to grow the kingdom of God.


Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian writer, dies at age 37

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Rachel Held Evans, a New York Times best-selling progressive Christian writer, has died at age 37.

Evans died Saturday morning at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after she had been in a medically induced coma for several weeks.

It is with a broken heart that we share with you that Rachel Held Evans died early this morning. She took a serious turn on Thursday morning and deteriorated quickly. Rachel died in the very early morning hours of May 4, 2019. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends  we sang and we prayed and we held her always. We are grateful for your prayers and for all the ways you have supported not only her but her family especially Dan and the kids, wrote Sarah Bessey, a feminist Christian author and friend of Evans in an update on the official GoFundMe page for the family.

In a public statement on the crowdfunding page, Evans' husband, Dan, wrote:

"Rachel was slowly weaned from the coma medication. Her seizures returned but at a reduced rate. There were periods of time where she didnt have seizures at all. Rachel did not return to an alert state during this process. The hospital team worked to diagnose the primary cause of her seizures and proactively treated for some known possible causes for which diagnostics were not immediately available due to physical limitations.

"Early Thursday morning, May 2, Rachel experienced sudden and extreme changes in her vitals. The team at the hospital discovered extensive swelling of her brain and took emergency action to stabilize her. The team worked until Friday afternoon to the best of their ability to save her. This swelling event caused severe damage and ultimately was not survivable.

"Rachel died early Saturday morning, May 4, 2019.

"This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her."

In an email to Ruth Graham of Slate on Saturday, Dan Evans added: She put others before herself. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

Evans announced on April 14 that she was in the hospital to treat the flu and a urinary tract infection and had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. She then began experiencing symptoms that caused her to have constant seizures and was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Jeff Chu, a reporter and friend of Evans, wrote on Twitter Saturday: She gave me some of the best advice I ever received. She loved me so, so, so welland I know I'm not alone in that, because she gave so much of herself to others. Last night, a few of us gathered to say goodbye to her. I got to hold her hand and thank her for being who she was.

Pray for Dan and their two beautiful children. And I love you, Rachel, and I miss you so much already, he added on Twitter.

Chu and Bessey are co-curators with Evans for the Evolving Faith Conference. They, along with Jim Chaffee, started the GoFundMe page that has raised over $122,000 to help pay for the cost of Evans medical care.

Christian writer Jen Hatmaker, who made headlines in 2015 for voicing support for the legality of same-sex marriage, also shared her reaction on Twitter Saturday: Eshet chayil, beloved Woman of Valor. You ran a beautiful, faithful race. We are crushed. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Evans was a former evangelical who joined an Episcopal church and operated a blog that is popular among progressive Christians.

She wrote the book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a New York Times best-selling e-book in 2012. She also authored other titles such as Searching for Sunday, Faith Unraveled and Inspired.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, continued to call for an outpouring of support from believers across the political and theological spectrum for Evans' family.

On Saturday, Moore extended his public condolences in a post on Twitter: "I am shocked and broken-hearted to hear of the death of @rachelheldevans. Please stop right now and pray for this young family."

He also encouraged believers to continue to donate to Evans' family to help pay for expenses incurred for treatment at the hospital: ".@rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills."
North Korean defector details decade of abuse, forced labor at orphanage

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WASHINGTON  A North Korean defector recounted Thursday the hell she experienced during a decade full of abuse, starvation and enslavement as an orphan in the rogue nation, a fate that too many children are still experiencing today under the Kim regime.

As part of a weeklong advocacy effort in support of human rights reform in North Korea, Park Ji-Hye told attendees at an event held at the Family Research Council headquarters that she spent time in two different orphanages after her father died of starvation during a famine in the 1990s.

With her mom having been trafficked to China, Park said she knows too well the desperate situation facing North Korean orphans today, as they have no social protections guaranteed by the government and are treated as property in the country that has been ruled by the repressive Kim dynasty over the past 70 years.

It was just like going through hell for me to live in an orphanage, then running around by myself and being trafficked to China, Park said through a translator during a 45-minute recounting of her life. It was a long journey of suffering. I know for sure even now there are people going through the same thing, whether it's in an orphanage or in China.

While much attention has been paid in the last several years to the fact that thousands of Koreans are worked to death in labor camps, not as much focus has been paid to the human rights abuses being committed in North Korean orphanages, said Suzanne Schulte, head of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a key organizer behind North Korea Freedom Week.

I can tell you when we brought the first survivors of the political prison camp to testify [before Congress] in the late 1990s, people did not believe the stories because there were only a few witnesses, Schulte said.

Now, there have been hundreds of folks that have been able to escape and testify about the horrible political prison camps that are really death camps for innocent men, women and children. Today, we're facing that same issue except now it is the orphans.

Schulte, who has been involved in North Korea human rights advocacy for over 20 years, said that many people dont know what is happening to orphans in North Korea because there are very few survivors.

Thursdays North Korea Freedom Week event at FRC was the first time Park has shared her story on the international stage, according to an event organizer.

Life in two orphanages

Park was born into a family of four children. She has a younger sister, an older sister, and a younger brother and her mother left home on a quest to run a business in hopes of supporting her family. However, Parks mom ended up being trafficked into neighboring China.

In the 1990s famine spread throughout North Korea. It's been estimated that between 330,000 up to 3 million people died as a result of starvation. One of those people was Parks father, who worked as a miner.

While her younger sister was adopted and her older sister was allowed to live at her grandmothers house (before defecting at the age of 13), Park and her younger brother were not as fortunate.

The first orphanage they went to, she said, was a state-run orphanage where countless children were being housed in a three-story building.

The facility was awful and they didnt provide any food to children, she explained. So many children tried to escape and jumped out of the building.

Park and her younger brother eventually escaped and fled to their grandmothers house. During that time, her brother became ill and they both stayed at their grandmothers house until he recovered before being sent to a second orphanage where they were held for about 10 years.

She said it was a private orphanage run by a married couple. The couple themselves were honored as heroes by the Kim regime, she recalled.

According to Park, there were 170 children at the orphanage. Each bedroom housed as many as 30 children, she added.

The family that ran the orphanage also ran a farm at the same time. Park said that a typical day for the orphans started at 4 a.m. as they were forced to work for two hours on the farm.

At 6 a.m., she added, the children would then be forced to march in the streets to wake people up. Following that, they would head back to the orphanage for breakfast.

After breakfast, the school-aged children would go to school while the rest of the children would go back to work in the field.

At school, Park said, the facilities were awful and only one textbook was provided for the whole class. Also, the students were not provided with lunch at the school.

After school, the orphans returned and were forced to go into the mountain to fetch firewood. According to Park, each orphan had a quota to meet. If the orphan didnt meet his or her quota, they would not be given dinner.

This meant that Park, whose younger brother was only 6 at the time and too weak to carry his weight, had to work doubly hard to ensure that both she and her brother would eat each day.

At night, the children would be called into self-criticism sessions, park added.

Not only did we have to confess what we did wrong that day, we also had to criticize others for what they did wrong, she remembers. Since we lived together, we basically took a turn to say, I would criticize you today and you can criticize me tomorrow.

Those who made mistakes, they were scolded and punished, she continued.

Following the self-criticism session came the recreation session, when the children were made to sing and dance.

But even if the children cried, they had to smile and pretend they were having a good time during singing and dancing, she said.

It wouldnt be until about 10 p.m. that children would be allowed to go to bed on most nights, Park explained.

That is how I lived for about 10 years of my life, she contended.

The three sons

Park said that manual labor was only part of the problem with the orphanage. The worst part of the orphanage, she recalled, was the three sons of the couple that owned the orphanage.

Although the sons were all married, they considered the girls in the orphanage as their possession or slave they could use.

Whenever they liked, they designated one person. There was no choice for the girls that were designated and anyone who did not fulfill their needs or request, then all the children were summoned. In the morning, we found out the first thing, they would share who was called and who got pregnant by the three sons.

Park said that the mother who ran the orphanage tried hard to cover up what her sons were doing.

Most of the time the pregnant girls had an abortion, Park explained.

Park detailed that one of the sons tried to abuse her. However, the mother prevented Park from getting abused by the son because Park has family on the outside. She said that children with family on the outside of the orphanage were largely protected from such abuses.

However, Park wasnt completely shielded from abuse. She recalled a time in which the mother of the orphanage allowed her to borrow a bicycle and go to the market to buy something.

But when she returned, she said that one of the sons summoned all the children because he was furious that the bike was taken without his permission. Park told the son that his mother had allowed her to take the bike. As punishment, the son forced all the children to stand outside barefoot for 30 minutes in the winter cold.

During this time, Park said the son started beating the orphans with his belt.

He started to beat me also with the belt but the female owner came in and screamed at her son, she said.

For the next month, the female owner allowed Park to stay in a special room with just her and her husband to recuperate from the scars all over her body. After the husband tried to abuse Park, she asked to move back into the room with all the other children.

Eventually, the female owner got Park out of the orphanage by sending her to work and live at a restaurant. But during her three months at the restaurant, Park said she was treated like a slave.

The husband of the owner of the restaurant was disabled. After long hours of work at the restaurant, I would go back to the house and take care of the husband, she recounted. After three months, I got ill because of the hard work in the restaurant.

She was then forced to move back to the orphanage. She stayed there for about another year before she finally escaped at age 19.

I decided to escape from the orphanage and live my own life, she said.

Living her own life

Park said she immediately went back to her grandmothers house but was scolded for fleeing from the orphanage. So Park asked one of her grandmothers neighbors if she could stay at their house, which she was allowed to do.

Eventually, the orphanage released her younger brother at the age of 16 because he was on the verge of death from starvation. Park said they released her brother so that he wouldnt die in the orphanage. The orphanage, she said, was more worried about keeping its reputation intact than helping her brother.

He came back to my grandmother's house and stayed there to recover. My grandfather decided to let both of us go because he couldnt take care of us anymore, she said. We started wandering around in the street. In order to support my younger brother, I started my business in the market.

Park said she was inspired to go into the market because her sister who was adopted did. Eventually, Park rented a room in a small house that she and her brother could stay in.

Park also borrowed money on high interest in order to start her business and pay for her brothers expensive medication. She was eventually beaten because she was not able to pay back the lender.

Trafficked to China

After being beaten, Park decided to flee to China. But without money to flee, she decided that the best route was to get trafficked to China.

I stayed there about a year-and-a-half in China and I married a Chinese man and gave birth to a son, she explained, adding that her child was stateless because he couldnt be registered to a government.

In China, Park reunited with her two sisters and as a family they fled to South Korea.

When they arrived in South Korea, Park said the sisters discovered that their mother, who had been trafficked to China when they were children, had also resettled in China.

All four members in my family reunited and having a great life in South Korea now, she said.

Whats happening now?

Although Parks horrifying past is behind her, she recognizes that there are still helpless children in the same shoes that she was in.

I am a mother with two children now. I have my own family, she said. Whenever I see orphans, I feel the same pain that they might be going through. I really urge that the international community will get together to solve this North Korean human rights issue.

Kim Yong-Hwa, a former military officer who escaped North Korea in 1988 and founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association, told the audience that the Kim regime has put up propaganda-type orphanages that foreign delegations are sent to in order to get the idea that orphans in North Korea are well cared for.

These are orphanages set up to show the outside world, Kim said. This is for Kim Jong-Un, he wants to promote that he loves children, which is show and nonsense. This show and a lot of people are believing in the nonsense that he has set up for the outside world.

At the private orphanage that Park was at, she explained that it received humanitarian support from humanitarian associations from other countries because it was famous for being run by so-called heroes.

As soon as officials from the humanitarian associations left, two of the North Korean officials arrived and took half of the aid we got from them, she explained. After that, the family of the founders took most of the leftovers which left us almost nothing. Children in the orphanage were starving.

After listening to Parks experience, Kim vouched by saying that orphanages in North Korea are like a slavery facility.

When you hear the word orphanage, you think of a place where kids can be safe and be adopted, that is not what orphanages are like in North Korea, Schulte added.

In addition to the orphans in North Korea, Kim said there are as many as 40,000 North Korea orphans who have crossed the border into China.

Recently, we have seen even the boys are being sold and trafficked. They are being sold to coal mines as workers or as hard laborers in mountains and woods. Even if they die, there is no compensation. There is nothing. Even if the employees dont get money, there is nothing to complain about with the Chinese government [which repatriates defectors back to North Korea]. There is really no way to improve the circumstances for them. As they have lived as slaves in North Korea, even in [China], they are also living as de-facto slaves.
Why Is Kim Jong Un Afraid of Christianity? Group Points to Clash Between Jesus and 'Supreme Leader'

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A persecution watchdog group has explored the reasons why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains "afraid" of Christianity, which go to the heart of people's beliefs about Jesus.

"It's likely because people who are following Jesus and who are committed to one another mean there are people he can't control, and who follow a greater King. It means there are people who practice radical love for each other and for Jesus  who won't so easily follow him and the lies of his regime," Open Doors USA suggested.

"This is why Christians continue to be seen as 'dangerous' and are also part of the hostile class, according to the country's social system called songbun. What this means is that anyone who is known to be a follower of Jesus is immediately assumed to be a hostile political figure."

The organization, which lists North Korea as the No.1 worst persecutor of Christians around the world, noted that Christianity "directly challenges the notion of any Supreme Leader and the idea that there is any master outside of Jesus Christ. Additionally, Christianity offers a new way and identity for people in North Korea. Both aspects of faith are direct threats to the ruling family of North Korea."

Kim has reportedly made the unprecedented move of inviting Roman Cathoic leader Pope Francis to visit him in Pyongyang, with reports indicating that the pontiff is considering agreeing to the meeting.

Kim, who earlier this year met U.S. President Donald Trump in another controversial and unprecedented meeting, has been criticized by the United Nations for human rights abuses in the country's labor camps.

Kim continues making moves to meet major world leaders, though the consequences of that for the suffering minorities in his country, including close to 300,000 Christians, are yet unclear.

Back in May, the congressionally-mandated 2017 International Religious Freedom report by the U.S. found that there are between 80,000 to 120,000 people trapped in North Korea camps, many imprisoned for their faith.

"The government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in almost any religious practices through executions, torture, beatings, and arrests," the report stated.

"An estimated 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, some imprisoned for religious reasons, were believed to be held in the political prison camp system in remote areas under horrific conditions.

"Religious and human rights groups outside the country continued to provide numerous reports that members of underground churches were arrested, beaten, tortured, and killed because of their religious beliefs."

Christian defectors have spoken of torture they have suffered at the hands of the North Korean regime. Believers are often thrown in prison or even executed if they are found with a Bible.

Amid the uncertainty for believers, Open Doors urged people to pray.

"Please continue to join your brothers and sisters in North Korea in prayer. Pray for their strength in the face of a regime that views their faith as a special threat. Pray for God's grace in every situation. And pray for a change in the hearts of the regime, that they would see the love of Jesus as the road to truth and peace," the group stated.
Alabama lawmaker defends abortion: 'You kill them now or kill them later'

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A Democratic state representative in Alabama justified the practice of abortion during a debate over a pro-life bill by arguing that some kids are unwanted" and you either "kill them now or kill them later."

Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham garnered widespread condemnation for comments he made during a debate over House Bill 314, which makes most abortion procedures a felony. The bill eventually passed by a vote of 743.

Rogers argued that he was opposed to the bill because he believed it was a womans choice whether to abort her children, and then went on to say that some kids are unwanted.

Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later, said Rogers.

Rogers' statement was posted to social media on Wednesday by Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra, whose tweet got as of Thursday afternoon over 7,700 retweets.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Saavedras post and weighed in on the comments by Rogers, describing them as stomach curling.

Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we've seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening, tweeted Trump Jr.

Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review called the comment horrifying and chilling, adding in an opinion column that she believed it was a striking reminder of how rarely abortion rights activists openly admit the reality of the right they are demanding.

Most often, they dismiss unborn human beings as a clump of cells or a parasite within the mother, wrote DeSanctis.

Rogers has exposed those lies, admitting, as abortion defenders so rarely do, that every abortion procedure  no matter when or how it takes place  intentionally ends an innocent human life.

For his part, Rogers has defended his comments, saying in a statement on Thursday that his comments were centered on his belief that Alabama in general does not value human life.

Weve closed 13 rural hospitals in this state, including Cooper Green. We have put hundreds of people in jail. Making it hard for you to get food stamps. In other words, if youre on drug tests, you cant get food stamps, said Rogers, as reported by al.com.

And then youve got at least two people a night dying in our Alabama prisons. It just doesnt make sense. So why do you want to bring these people in the world and then deny them the right to process and live in Alabama?
The murder took place on the morning of 17 October 2011. The defendants are the two alleged killers, a tribal leader and three militants, and the member of a paramilitary group. Charges against the former mayor of Arakan and two army officers previously investigated have been dropped. The four key witnesses are under the protection of the authorities.

Manila (AsiaNews)  A court in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, has remanded seven people for trial in connection with the unsolved murder of Fr Fausto "Pops" Tentorio (picture 1), a priest with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), this according to Fr Pietro Geremia, also a missionary with the Milan-based Institute in Mindanao.

Fr Tentorio was killed on the morning of 17 October 2011, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Aid in Arakan, North Cotabato (Mindanao). He had been in the Philippines for more than 32 years

Because of his work in favour of Manobo tribes threatened by mining, the missionary was not liked by the Filipino military. In December 2017, the case took a new turn when new suspects came into the picture.

Now a court has now decided to try the new suspects: Jimmy and Robert Ato (the suspected killers); Jan Corbala, commander of a group of tribal militants called Bagani, and three members of his unit; and Nene Durado, a member of the Ilaga movement, a group of fanatic Christian settlers who have been fighting against Muslims and tribals since the 1970s and who still continue to steal land from them.

It should be noted that the charges against some people who had previously been investigated were dismissed. These are the former mayor of Arakan, Romulo Tagpos, and two businessmen from the city; the Lieutenant Colonel Joven Gonzales and last Major Mark Espiritu, officers in command of the 57th Army Battalion and Special Forces units at the time of the killing of Fr Fausto.

In the brief filed on 1st April by Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan G. Parrocha (picture 2), the circumstances of the missionarys murder are summarised: "That on or about 7:20 oclock in the morning of October 17, 2011, at the compound of Our Mother of Perpetual Help parish, Arakan, North Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and mutually aiding one another, with the aim of accomplishing a common design, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously kill FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO.

The indictment goes on to say that the accused, with treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, and with evident premeditation, as shown by evidence that such killing was previously planned on October 20, 2011 at Sitio Kamanagan, Brgy. Ganatan shot and hit said harmless victim FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO, several times using 9mm caliber firearm with frangible bullets, hitting him several times on his head, trunk and the different parts of his body, which caused his instantaneous death.

As preparations for the trial get underway, "The four key witnesses and their families are kept in a safe house under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Fr Geremia noted. There are also new witnesses preparing to testify.

"The trial can identify the perpetrators and the motive for the killing. It can obtain at least partial justice for Fr Fausto and other similar Extra Judicial Victims (EJK). The trial can provide more security to the witnesses so that they can return to their homes and their jobs.

"It can also provide more security for those who continue the programs of Fr Fausto and all those who serve the Tribals all over the country, and it can even inspire more volunteers to serve the poor.

Finally, "It can bring some comfort to the Tentorio family and to the PIME family and to all the communities who shared Fr Faustos activities. In particular, it can contribute to the peace process in Arakan and Mindanao.
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Speaking at a campaign event last week in Nevada, Democratic Presidential candidate Robert Francis Beto O'Rourke was asked by a student how he will protect a womans right to access safe and legal abortion.

During his response, ORourke reiterated his support for abortion rights. This was unsurprising. Every Democratic Presidential candidate this election cycle is a vocal proponent of legal abortion. However, during his response, ORourke raised eyebrows with his effusive praise for Planned Parenthood. He stated that Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women.

Here O'Rourke is misinformed. Planned Parenthood is America's number one performer of abortions. Their most recent annual report indicates that they performed over 330,000 abortions in 2017. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood's annual reports indicate that the number of abortions they perform has been consistently increasing, while the number of other health services they offer has been consistently decreasing. Specifically, between 2005and 2017 Planned Parenthood conducted 64 percent fewer breast exams and 69 percent fewer cancer screenings  while performing 26 percent more abortions.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that funding Planned Parenthood improves other aspects of public health. In his remarks, O'Rourke referenced high rates of maternal mortality. However, reports of high maternal mortality rates in Texas are based on a flawed study that was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2016. A 2018 study published in the same journal finds that due to coding errors in the 2016 study  the maternal mortality rate in Texas is half of what was previously indicated. Furthermore, there is no evidence of any kind that funding reductions to Planned Parenthood has increased maternal mortality rates.

In 2011, the Texas state legislature and former Governor Rick Perry took the lead in cutting off taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Many media outlets and health professionals confidently predicted doom. The New York Times, The Texas Tribune, and NPR cited a Legislative Budget Board analysis which predicted an increase of over 20,000 unplanned births. Similarly, a Guttmacher Institute analysis, according to a piece put out by The Nation, predicted that in the absence of funding for family planning, abortions would increasb e by 22 percent in the Lone Star State.

However, since that time, many public health trends in Texas have been very positive. The most recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicates that since 2011, minor pregnancies have declined by 33 percent, minor births have gone down by 30 percent and minor abortions have been reduced by over 48 percent. The total number of abortions in Texas has fallen by 22 percent since 2011. The record indicates that Beto O'Rourke is incorrect. Planned Parenthood is not saving lives. Indeed, ORourkes home state of Texas is faring very well without forcing its taxpayers to fork over millions of dollars annually to Planned Parenthood.

Originally posted at cnsnews.com

Michael J. New is a Visiting Associate Professor at Ave Maria University and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
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Some questions come from people who are skeptical about the Christian faith. Some come from believers who have skeptical friends. And some come from believers who are struggling with the issue themselves.

Our question is found in the hearts of all three.

Who of us hasnt wondered at times why we believe this ancient book is the revelation of the God of the universe?

Think about it for a moment: The Creator of all that exists reveals himself to a small group of former Egyptian slaves in a remote corner of the globe. Not to kings and emperors, or to scholars in leading universities, but to shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, refugees. On documents which no longer exist so that we must depend on the copies that history has handed down to us. Through circumstances completely foreign to our culture and lives today.

Think of King Arthur and Camelot, and you envision ancient history. The Bible sitting on your shelf is more than twice that old. If we arent sure King Arthur existed or why he matters, what of this ancient book upon which we build our faith? Why should we believe it to be the word of God?

The Bible claims to be the word of God

This fact does not settle the issue, of course.

The Koran claims to be the word of Allah; the Book of Mormon claims to be the revelation of God. But at least we know that Christians do not believe something about the Bible which it does not claim for itself.

Paul was convinced that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). He meant the Old Testament, which was the Bible of his day.

Peter, the leader of early Christianity, considered Pauls writings to be Scripture as well: [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16, my emphasis).

Jesus believed his words to be divinely inspired: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Luke 21:33).

Speaking of the totality of biblical revelation, the writer to the Hebrews claims, The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Someone said, God said, I believe it, and that settles it.

His friend replied, No, God said it and that settles it, whether I believe it or not.

J. I. Packer called the Bible God preaching. Augustine described it as love letters from home.

The copies we possess are trustworthy

Now, lets turn to objective evidence that the Bible is right in its self-description as Gods inspired, authoritative word.

We begin with the manuscript evidence. No original manuscript of any ancient book exists today. The materials used in that era could not stand the effects of elements and time.

For instance, we have only nine or ten good copies of Caesars Gallic Wars, none made earlier than nine hundred years after Caesar. Tacitus, the greatest ancient Roman historian, wrote fourteen books of his Histories; we possess only 4, none made earlier than the tenth century AD. We can find only five manuscripts of any work of Aristotle, none copied earlier than fourteen centuries after Aristotle wrote the originals.

By contrast, we possess five thousand ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and ten thousand copies in other ancient languages. Fragments and parts of these copies date back as early as thirty years after the originals were written. Complete versions of the Gospels, Acts, Pauls letters, and Hebrews date to the early part of the third century. Revelation dates to the latter half of that century. Complete volumes date to the fourth century. Extensive quotations of Scripture in the letters of early Christians date to AD 100.

Textual critics are scholars who devote their attention to comparing ancient manuscripts and trying to produce a copy as close to the original as possible. Those who work with biblical texts believe that the Old and New Testaments we possess today are virtually identical to the originals. The only questions that remain affect matters of spelling, punctuation, and isolated verses. None relates to essential doctrines or practices of the faith.

Archaeology confirms the biblical record

Archaeological finds continue to give us confidence that the biblical writers accurately recorded history.

For instance, the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) was once dismissed as non-historical. Now, tour guides in Jerusalem point groups to its location in the northeast quarter of the Old City. Ive seen the ruins myself.

We have a stone inscription documenting the life and office of Pontius Pilate; the ossuary (coffin) of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the crucifixion; an inscription found at Delphi that describes the work of Gallio, proconsul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17); and scores of other artifacts that document the accuracy of biblical history and description.

The best test for the Bible

There are strong evidential reasons to believe the Bible is Gods word. But the best test comes from personal experience.

I once owned a 1965 Ford Mustang and found myself under its hood as often as I was behind its wheel. Chiltons Car Repair Manual became my constant companion. I learned to trust its advice because it worked.

Try living by the Bible. Accept its Savior as yours. Make its principles the guideposts of your life. And youll learn for yourself that its words are the word of God.

What makes the Bible different from other religious books?

My grandfather was born before the turn of the twentieth century. In his lifetime, he saw the advent of the automobile, commercial airplanes, and the computer. But he never met a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Mormon. Our question never occurred to him.

Today, its a common issue: Why do we believe the Bible is right and other religious books are wrong?

Other religions are just as sincere in their commitment to their sacred writings as Christians are to ours. Is it not the height of bigotry and hypocrisy to claim that our book is right and theirs are not?

In our post-9/11 world, there has been an explosion of interest in Islam and an accompanying cry for tolerance. When we claim that our holy book is true and theirs is not, arent we just as intolerant as those who attacked our nation?

Different paths, different mountains

Conventional wisdom these days dictates that the various religions are just different roads up the same mountain. It doesnt matter which God you trust because they are all the same. Allah is Jehovah; Buddhists and Hindus seek the same God we worship. Different holy books are simply religious diaries. Whos to say that your diary is right and mine is wrong?

Such an approach to world religions and their writings feels tolerant and hopeful. But is it true? Do other religions agree with this characterization of their faith commitments?

In a word, no.

Buddhist beliefs

Buddha taught that there is no god, despite the fact that some of his followers now worship him. He instructed his disciples to avoid all material desires that they might cease their sufferings. The Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path are the keys to enlightenment. The Tripitika is the oldest compilation of the rules, sermons, and doctrines of this approach to life.

Hindu beliefs

Hindus believe in thousands of territorial deities but no Lord of the universe; Brahman is the divine force that sustains the universe, not a personal God to be worshiped. The Rigveda, their earliest scriptures, refer to Brahman as the power that is present in religious sacrifices and actions. Their Upanishads glorify the concept of Brahman over other inferior forms of personal deities.

Muslim beliefs

Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) is the one supreme ruler of the universe, that Jesus was a prophet but not the divine Son of God, and that salvation comes through obedience to the Koran. This book is Allahs self-revelation through his prophet Muhammad. All other holy books are inferior to it, for its pages alone contain the very word of God.

Jewish beliefs

Jews believe that Yahweh revealed himself through the Laws and Prophets of their Scriptures, that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the New Testament is not the Word of God. They base their hope of heaven on the mercy of God in response to their lives of obedience and morality.

Mormon beliefs

Mormons believe that God revealed himself in the Bible but also in their Book of Mormon, a history of the early peoples of the Western hemisphere. Joseph Smith translated the book from golden plates that he claimed to have received from the angel Moroni. Doctrine and Covenants contain further revelations received by Smith from God. The Pearl of Great Price contains more writings of Smith. They picture God as an eternal being of flesh and bone who had physical relations with Mary to produce Jesus. Salvation and heavenly rewards come through obedience to these revelations.

If any one of these religions is right, the others by definition are wrong. None believes that other religions are equally correct or divinely inspired. The scriptures that the various world religions trust do not describe different paths up the same mountain but very different mountains.

Examine the evidence

So far, we have demonstrated the fact that the worlds great religious books cannot all be right. In fact, if any of them is correct in its teachings regarding the supernatural and eternal, the others are by definition wrong.

So, how do we decide which documents to trust?

Examine the evidence for their truth claims.

Hindu documents, for instance, posit an afterlife filled with reincarnations. Is there any historical support or objective evidence for such a position?

Does objective, independent evidence exist to document the Buddhas enlightenment or Muhammads experiences with Allah?

A number of cities, inscriptions, and places are described only in the Book of Mormon. To date, none have been found by archaeologists.

Conversely, independent evidence for the existence and deity of Jesus Christ is remarkable. Manuscript evidence documenting the trustworthy nature of the biblical materials is overwhelming. There are excellent reasons to believe the Bible is what it claims to be: the word of God.C

What makes the Bible different from other holy books?

In a word, Jesus.

He taught that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). The Bible was written to help us believe in him and find life in his love (John 20:31).

The sacred writings of the various world religions each tell a different story about the divine, the afterlife, and the purpose of life today. Different roads lead to different destinations. The road you choose determines where your trip will end.

Choose wisely.

Isnt the Bible filled with contradictions?

Here is one of the most common ways skeptics justify their skepticism about the Bible. The question is based on the commonplace supposition that contradictions are bad. If you can find a statement I make that disagrees with something Ive already said, youll feel justified in rejecting both. Even though one may be right. Even though they both may be.

Why?

Contradict the contradictions

We have Aristotle (384-322 BC) to thank or blame. In his desire to compile all knowledge into an organized system, he devised laws of logic as organizational tools.

One of them is called the law of contradiction: A cannot equal B and at the same time not equal B. A fish cannot also be a mammal, if a biologist like Aristotle is going to classify it. From then to now, we Westerners have adopted Aristotles law as the basis for determining all truth. If we can find a contradiction in the Bible, we have reason to dismiss its veracity.

But theres a fly in the ointment. Aristotle applied his laws to physical and rational truth, not to spiritual or relational experience.

It may appear contradictory to claim that you love your children and yet sometimes wish theyd never been born. But if youre a typical parent, both are sometimes true.

Jesus claimed to be fully God and fully man; God is three and yet one; the Bible is divinely inspired but humanly written; God knows the future but we have freedom to choose. Inside every essential Christian doctrine, there is a paradox, an apparent contradiction.

Many of the so-called contradictions in the Bible fit into such spiritual or relational categories. For instance, the Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet it also states clearly, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). And it warns, For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Romans 2:8).

How can God both love and hate? Dont ask Aristotle. But you can ask any parent.

Not all truth fits into test tubes. My seventh-grade geometry teacher claimed that parallel lives never intersect. But to prove it, hed have to draw them forever. Black and white are not the only crayons in the box.

Consider the context

The second category of apparent contradictions in the Bible is more historical and factual.

For example, here are two of the common questions Ive been asked. Each is clarified when we understand the larger context of the text in question.

The Old Testament teaches, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. Which is right?

Both.

Moses was dealing with an ancient culture in which blood vengeance was common and drastic. If you kill my son, I kill your entire family. To limit retribution to the actual criminal and crime was a great step forward.

On the other hand, Jesus was speaking to the issue of personal insult. People in his day used only the right hand in public (as the left was used for personal hygiene). To strike you on the right cheek (Matthew 5:39) with my right hand meant to slap you, a threat to your social standing but not your life. Here you are to forgive rather than punish.

Matthew says that Judas hanged himself; the book of Acts says he fell down and died. Which is it?

Matthews gospel does indeed record Judas suicide by hanging (Matthew 27:5). In Acts 1, Peter says, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out (v. 18).

It may be that Judas body decomposed so that when the rope broke or was cut, it fell as Peter describes. Or it may be that the Greek word translated hanged is actually the word impaled (both meanings are possible) so that Peter describes more vividly the way Judas killed himself.

Either option is a possible way to explain the apparent contradiction.

When we consider the intended meaning of the text and its larger context, such apparent contradictions are resolved.

Check all the options

The third category of supposed contradictions is not the result of context.

For instance, 2 Samuel 24:1 states that the Lord incited David to take a census of the people; 1 Chronicles 21:1 records, Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

But the Jewish people saw all that happens as within the providence and permission of God, so that Satans activity (1 Chronicles) was permitted by the Lord and thus attributable to him (2 Samuel). And the people grew in their knowledge of God so that the Chronicler (writing four hundred years after 2 Samuel) could record Satans activity in more detail than the people had earlier understood.

Matthew 4 records Jesus temptations in a different order than does Luke 4. But neither claimed to be writing chronology, so the order is immaterial. One could set them in time order, the other in spiritual priority, for instance.

1 Kings 7:13 states that Huram, one of the builders of Solomons temple, came from the tribe of Naphtali; 2 Chronicles 2:14 says his mother was from the tribe of Dan. But she could have lived in the territory of Naphtali, or her parents could have come from both tribes.

The real contradiction

The next time someone claims the Bible is full of contradictions, ask him if he has read the Bible. Then ask if it is a contradiction to dismiss a book he hasnt read. Then offer to help him study the Bible and meet its Author.

It is a contradiction to me that a holy and perfect God would want me to live in his perfect paradise.

Im glad its not a contradiction to God.

Who decided what books should be in the Bible?

My earliest experience with the Bible was leafing through an ancient King James Version my parents kept in the guest room. The fountain-penned family tree calligraphied in the first pages fascinated me. The printed thees and thous made no sensethe begats even less. I assumed the entire thing had been handed from God to man in black leather.

Most people know better. Theyve heard somewhere along the way that some books were excluded from the Bible and wonder why. Maybe a group of church officials decided the whole thing. Maybe there were books that told a different story than the one we have in our Bibles. Maybe there was a smoke-filled room somewhere. Maybe there were hanging chads.

The actual story is nowhere near that interesting.

How the Hebrew Scriptures came to be

Christians typically call this section the Old Testament, but those who wrote the New Testament didnt.

When Paul, writing from death row in Rome, asked Timothy for his scrolls and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13), he was asking for his copies of the only Bible he knew. Most scholars appropriately call these thirty-nine books the Hebrew Scriptures, in deference to the Jewish faith they express.

The Hebrew Bible was first divided into Law, Prophets, and Writings, the arrangement current in Jesus day (see Luke 24:44).

The Jews numbered the Scriptures as twenty-four books, combining Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the 12 Minor Prophets as The Twelve. These books were written and compiled over centuries of use.

According to Jewish tradition, a council of rabbis and scholars met at Jamnia on the Mediterranean Sea in AD 90 and again in AD 118. They finalized the list of books as we have them today, recognizing what their people had accepted as Gods word for centuries.

How the New Testament joined the Old

Eventually, the Christian movement began recording its faith and doctrines as well. The eyewitnesses to Jesus life and ministry were dying or growing old. Fraudulent claims were beginning to appear. Believers needed a canon (rule) by which to measure truth and defend the faith. The New Testament was the result.

Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

1. The book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony.

Matthew, the tax collector, was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John.

Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Acts 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Pauls second missionary journey at Troas (note Acts 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from they to we). He wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Luke 1:1-4).

Pauls letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Acts 9:1-6), as did the letters of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John.

This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon.

2. The book must possess merit and authority in its use.

Here, it was easy to separate those writings that were inspired from those that were not.

For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24).

It wasnt hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

3. A book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation.

Pauls letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter that became circular in nature, i.e., read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status.

By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally by the church, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. Others were not considered to be inspired by God.

4. A book came to be approved by the decision of the church.

The so-called Muratorian Canon was the first list to convey the larger churchs opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around AD 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius in AD 367. His list was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God.

By the time the councils had approved the twenty-seven books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

So, who decided what books should be in the Bible?

Ultimately, their Author.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical revelation (2 Peter 1:20-21) led the Christian movement to those books he inspired.

You can know that the Bible you hold today is the book God means you to have.

He did, in fact, hand it to man, through manthough the color of the cover is your choice.

Originally posted at Denison Forum.
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Six-year-old Biola, four-year-old Leona, and eleven-month-old Seth were dressed in their Sunday best by their parents Rangana and Danadiri to attend St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka Easter Sunday to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Christian faith. Moments after arriving for worship, the entire family was brutally murdered by an Islamist terrorist who detonated a bomb inside St. Sebastians.

This beautiful Christian family represents five of the 359 killed and more than 500 injured in a wave of bombings targeting Christians on Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. Suicide bombers hit churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa as worshipers celebrated the resurrection of their savior.

The horrific scenes across Sri Lanka are an abomination to the world and a brutal reminder that terrorism from ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for Sundays bombings, and other Islamist groups are still a significant threat to peace-loving citizens across the world, particularly Christians.

Christians are being persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith across the world. Unfortunately, the coordinated attacks targeting Christians in Sri Lanka were not isolated incidents. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS suicide bombers killed 45 Coptic Christians in Egypt as they worshiped. A Taliban suicide bomber killed dozens of Christians celebrating Easter in 2016 in a public park in Pakistan. A Boko Haram killer took the lives of 38 Christians worshipping on Easter Sunday in 2012 in Nigeria.

U.S. State Department estimates show that over 250 million Christians suffer some form of oppression for their beliefs around the world, most notably in North Korea and Iran. Recent studies show that 215 million Christians in more than 50 countries currently experience extreme levels of persecution  simply because they believe in Jesus Christ.

Christian communities in have existed for nearly 2,000 years in Iraq and Syria, but in the past decade have been nearly exterminated by Muslim extremists. More than a million Syrian Christians have been killed, forcibly converted, or chased out of their own country. Iraq, which once was home to 1.5 million Christians, has just 200,000 Christians left after years of violence. In Iran, Christians face imprisonment, torture, and execution for their faith. Last August, a Christian couple was sentenced to one year in prison in Iran on the charge of propagating against the Islamic Republic in favor of Christianity." These Christian converts were arrested in 2015 and held without trial for three years before being sentenced.

Anti-Christian violence is also spreading throughout Asia and Africa. Christians in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan report increasing occurrences of Muslim and government-sponsored persecution. In North Korea, a recent defector described a life of hell for her nations Christian population as the Kim regime kills, imprisons and tortures Christians found practicing their faith. In Nigeria, the killing of Christians because of their faith shot up by more than 62 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The list of atrocities committed against Christians peacefully practicing their religion is taking place in more than 50 countries all across the world. Places like China, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, and Indonesia continue to crack down on churches and worshippers who dont adhere to their respective regime's rules of worship. Even political allies of the U.S. such as Saudi Arabia and India have seen dramatic increases in the number of Christians persecuted or killed for their faith.

As the most religiously tolerant and free nation on earth, the United States must lead the way for the rest of the world in allowing believers of all faiths to live the tenets of their religion peacefully. However, as the data surrounding religious freedoms around the globe illustrates, it is imperative that President Trump and Congress continue efforts to insist that nations that do business with the U.S. must defend the rights, liberties, and lives of all people, including Christians, in their countries.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have displayed strong leadership on the international stage to advance the cause of religious liberty. Christians around the world are counting on the United States to continue to lead the way in stopping religious persecution and protecting the rights of Christians and other religious minorities around the world.

Tim Head is the Executive Director of Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Interfaith leaders slam US law firm lobbying for Chinese govt, other repressive regimes

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An interfaith group of religious leaders and human rights activists asked one of Americas top international law firms Wednesday to stop representing foreign governments known for their repeated human rights abuses.

In a joint letter sent to the chairman of Squire Patton Boggs, 44 leaders and activists from various faiths and political backgrounds voiced their concerns about the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered organizations representation of foreign governments that are among the worlds most aggressive persecutors of people of faith.

It is deeply troubling to us that your prestigious firm and the many good people it employs are currently associated with and providing legal counsel, representation and other services to such nations, the letter reads.

SPB has 47 offices in 20 countries and has clients that range from local and national governments to large corporations and emerging businesses. Wednesdays letter specifically calls out SPBs relationship with the governments of China, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Surely, Squire Patton Boggs attorneys and advisors  including former House Speaker John Boehner and other prominent, retired American lawmakers  and your firms other clients, have no desire to be associated with, let alone involved in defending or otherwise being implicated in, these governments odious practice, the letter contends.

The letter is spearheaded by the grassroots organization Save the Persecuted Christians and its president, Frank Gaffney, a conservative security analyst and a former acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

Save the Persecuted Christians is pleased to join with others determined to hold accountable those who persecute people of faith  including lobbyists who, as a practical matter, work to enable the persecutors to do so with impunity, Gaffney said in a statement. This is an important initiative in STPCs effort to build a grassroots movement that will help create real costs to the perpetrators for their crimes against humanity.

Included as a signatory in the joint letter is former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican who is considered by many to be an icon in the international religious freedom movement and is the namesake of the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act.

Wolf has been vocal over the years about his concerns with SPBs work for governments in countries like China and Sudan, among others.

Pastor Bob Fu, a religious freedom advocate who runs an influential Chinese religious freedom watchdog, the nongovernmental organization China Aid, also signed onto the letter. Fu has on different occasions testified before Congress about Chinas abuses against Christians.

Signatories also include Foley Beach, the primate of the Anglican Church in North America; popular conservative Christian radio host Eric Metaxas; Greg Mitchell, a longtime lobbyist for the Church of Scientology and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable; Omer Kanat, director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project; and Lily Zhang, director of government and advocacy for the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Association of Washington, D.C.

The letter notes that the communist government in China has systematically repressed every religious minority group in the country through means that include controlling what citizens can access on the internet.

The Uighur Muslim community has greatly been impacted by Chinas intolerance to faith as hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been imprisoned in concentration camps.

Some such camps have reportedly, chillingly had crematoria installed for disposing of the bodies of those who die while interned, the letter explains.

The letter also stresses that the Chinese government has destroyed countless underground Protestant and Catholic churches and regularly arrests pastors who are not registered with a state-sanctioned church. The letter adds that the Chinese government has begun offering rewards for information about secret worship gatherings.

As for other faiths, Falun Gong believers are being subjected to organ harvesting while Tibetan Buddhists are suffering from a cultural genocide.

As for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the leaders contend that the country is systematically repressing its own people, especially women.

The monarchy places a particular emphasis on the suppression of religious freedom at home, the letter states. "As a result, Christians and other faith communities in the Kingdom risk imprisonment and gruesome corporal punishments, including decapitation.

Last week, Saudi Arabia received much criticism from the international religious freedom community when 37 Saudi nationals, most of whom were Shia Muslims, were executed.

The joint letter also criticized the Saudi regime for promoting intolerance in its textbooks, mosques and overseas madrassas.

The leaders specifically pointed to the killing last year of journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

On the basis of the KPIs, unquestionably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most egregious offenders of religious liberty and that is why it is a [a country of particular concern], Commissioner Johnnie Moore from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said this week during the rollout of USCIRFs annual report.

Moore was among a group of evangelical leaders who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year as part of a USCIRF delegation that met with Saudi religious police.

Qatar is ranked as the 38th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA. Open Doors warns that the Qatari government has engaged in heavy persecution of Christians.

The letter contends that Qatar is funding terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and propaganda outlets like Al Jazeera. The letter adds that Qatar is promoting intolerant practices worldwide toward people of other faiths or not faith at all.

As advocates for suffering religious communities globally, we are determined to hold accountable those responsible, the letter concludes. We respectfully call upon your firm promptly and fully to disassociate itself from and cease all work on behalf of the governments of the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Christian Post reached out to SPB for a response to the letter. A response is pending.
From Paris to Boston, the crucial role of fire chaplains

Chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, Jean-Marc Fournier, is credited with saving several items of great significance  such as the crown of thorns  from the Cathedral of Notre Dame as it burned.

Previously a military chaplain in Afghanistan, Fournier also cared for survivors from the 2015 terrorist rampage at the Bataclan in Paris that killed more than 100 people.

Fournier is not alone in placing himself at great risk in service of others. Mychal Judge, the first casuality of 9/11, was a Catholic chaplain to the New York City Fire Department.

Although rarely seen by those on the outside, fire departments across the country include chaplains. They provide care to firefighters, family members and members of the public in a range of crucial ways.

Regardless of their own faith background, they typically work with people of all faiths and beliefs, outside of traditional congregations or parishes.

The chaplaincy context

Historically chaplains were required in the military, federal prisons and the Veterans Administration.

But as congregations shrink and growing numbers of Americans move away from organised religion, it is chaplains that are often doing the work of spiritual care.

Chaplains these days are mostly present in health care settings such as hospices, hospitals and some nursing facilities where people are more likely to need end-of-life spiritual care.

They are also to be seen in airports, seaports, car racetracks and in areas where disasters have struck. There are chaplains even for pets and their owners.

Some chaplains have graduate degrees and extensive clinical training while others may not.

Fire chaplains in Massachusetts

As scholars of contemporary religion and its practice, we interviewed 65 chaplains in a range of sectors over the past three years and spent time with fire chaplains who work across the greater Boston area.

The Boston Fire Department appointed its first chaplains in the early 1900s and since then chaplains have served continually in the Mass Corps of Fire Chaplains. Over the course of the 20th century, several of them have put themselves at great risk to serve firefighters and others in need.

During the 1942 fire in Boston's popular Coconut Grove nightclub in which more than 450 were killed and 160 injured, chaplains were a steady presence and served in whatever way was most helpful.

In another devastating fire in Hotel Vendome in 1972, in which nine firefighters died, James Keating, Catholic chaplain to the fire department, crawled into holes dug in the rubble to administer last rites to two of the firemen who had died in the collapse.

In 1973, Father Daniel Mahoney provided support at Logan Airport when a flight crashed, killing all 89 on board.

In 1983, Father Maloney entered Temple Tifereth Israel in Everett to save the precious Torah scrolls during a fire. Like Fournier in Paris, he took an extraordinary risk to save religious items. Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains later honored him for his distinguished service.

The emotional work

Fire chaplains also serve firefighters and their families when they are sick, getting married or have other needs.

In our interviews, one fire chaplain described blessing the bodies of firefighters killed in the line of duty and accompanying their families and coworkers through memorial services and months of grief. He explained how chaplains try "to bring some solace," when there is loss of life during a fire. "Whether it's through prayer or just chatting with them or .. blessing a body  the whole entire reverence that takes place at that time is important," he said.

Chaplains help firefighters cope with other difficulties as well. Witnessing injuries, losing colleagues in the line of duty, or recovering the remains of fire victims all take an enormous emotional and mental toll on firefighters.

"Chiefs appreciate our role," one reflected, "I look at the scene and I have been around long enough to assess this is going to be a three-hour operation so it is worth rolling the rehab truck up."

Sometimes this includes being a resource for fire victims. One chaplain remembered a time when the fire had been put out and everyone was ready to leave. He said, "And there is one man who lived there and he was waiting," as the Red Cross had not shown up yet. He recalled thinking,

"I can't walk away and just leave this man here by himself. So I sat there with him for like almost two hours before the Red Cross finally came. No one even really knew that I did that and that is one of the things we do. We are silently there and do what needs to be done."

Chaplains are a central, if often overlooked, element of the changing American religious landscape.

Jean-Marc Fournier's service is a reminder of the role many play. Often it is quiet and behind-the-scenes.

Wendy Cadge, Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University and Michael Skaggs, Executive Director, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Brandeis University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
India: decades of hostility against NGOs have worsened under Narendra Modi

India has nearly 3.4m non-governmental organisations (NGOs), working in a variety of fields ranging from disaster relief to advocacy for marginalised and disadvantaged communities. They are a major part of civil society which bring rapid change and social transformation.

NGOs are considered as independent of the state, and voluntary in nature. They depend on individual donations, foreign funding and aid from different government agencies and private donors. Their work helps rid India of

prejudices, corruption, illiteracy and poverty.

But in recent decades, India has been a difficult environment for a number of organisations  particularly those working to empower people against unjust government policies, question structural discrimination and advocate for the rights of Dalits, tribal people and other deprived groups. A succession of Indian governments have tried to curb their activities.

The most draconian attempt to crack down on NGOs came in 2010 with amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA) by the Congress government of the then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The law was first enacted in 1976 by the Congress government to prohibit the use of foreign funding in political activities in an effort to restrain foreign interference in domestic politics. But the 2010 amendments meant "any organisation of a political nature" was forbidden from taking foreign funding. This vague definition allowed the government to question those NGOs demanding better government accountability about their funding sources.

Soon after Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister in May 2014, a leaked report from India's Intelligence Bureau accused NGOs such as Greenpeace, Cordaid, Amnesty and Action Aid for reducing India's GDP by 2-3% per year. It helped to legitimise the government's actions against NGOs.

In late 2018, it was revealed the Modi government had cancelled the licenses of nearly 20,000 NGOs receiving foreign funds under the FCRA. According to a report on India's philanthropic landscape by the consultancy Bain and Company, there was around a 40% decline in foreign funding between 2015 and 2018.

Even NGOs such as the Public Health Foundation of India, which has expertise in public health policy, and Navsarjan, which works for the protection of Dalit rights, have had their licences to receive foreign funding cancelled.

In 2015, Greenpeace staff member Priya Pillai was taken off a flight on her way to a meeting in the UK about issues relating to the allocation of coal exploration licences and its impact on tribal people.

In 2018, a number of rights NGO activists were arrested and accused of being Maoists working against the state. This included Sudha Bhardwaj, general secretary of the Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties, who had worked for decades to empower disadvantaged, voiceless groups in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

Muzzling NGOs

Such clampdowns are not new and not merely the result of the ideology of Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) regime. They reflect decades of attempts under various governments, irrespective of political ideology, to curtail the work of NGOs.

In 2012, Singh's government cracked down on NGOs protesting against the Kudankulum nuclear power project, without recognising the fact that NGOs were representing and supporting people's safety and environmental concerns. At the time, Singh criticised NGOs, saying: "There are NGOs, often funded from the US and the Scandinavian countries, which are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces." Three NGOs lost their licence.

READ MORE: 'It Is Devastating For Families': How Compassion International Is Being Forced Out Of India

Modi has used his political platform to speak out against NGOs, in an attempt to fuel mistrust of their activities. In early 2016, he claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy by NGOs to finish him and remove his government.

Yet, in recent decades, many NGOs in India have assisted the state to serve its citizens by pushing for laws including those on the right to information, food security and rural employment.

Still, India's disproportionate number of NGOs and the sector's lack of transparency and accountability is clearly an issue that needs reforms. Nor should allegations of corruption against NGOs be ignored. In 2009, 883 NGOs were blacklisted after being found to have indulged in misappropriation of funds. In such cases, NGOs need to uphold probity in their work. But the government's tactics of cracking down on rights-based NGOs through vague legislation goes against the idea of justice.

Issues such as the rising cases of violence against Dalits and land grabs by the state in India provide an opportunity for NGOs to ask uncomfortable questions of the government. This particularly so at a time when the rights of those who don't agree with the state need to be protected.



Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Is Britain breaking up?

Is Britain about to break up? The argument is being made more frequently by the commentariat in London and Manchester  especially those who are opposed to Brexit. 'Look' they say, "Brexit will mean the break up of Britain" and this, along with the other apocalyptic predictions 'planes will stop flying, the NHS will collapse, the end of civilization as we know it', is being used as a weapon to prevent Brexit.

But how true is this meme? And does it matter from a Christian perspective?

I live in Scotland. I am a Scot. And I have been involved in the Scottish political scene since 1979. In 2014 the independence movement came very close to achieving its aim. David Cameron had granted a referendum on Scottish independence confident that he would easily win it and kill off Scottish nationalism for good (does that sound familiar?).

He was so confident, (polls were showing 70% for the Union) that he even allowed the leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, to draft the question; "Should Scotland be an independent country?" It became a close run thing with all the stops being pulled out, everything from Project Fear to Gordon Brown. The union survived 55%-45%, but the SNP thrived. Its membership quadrupled and in 2015 they won an astonishing 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the Westminster election.

In the 2016 EU referendum 1.6 million Scots (63%) voted Remain, 1 million (37%) voted Leave. The narrative since then has been that Scotland wants to remain and so will leave the UK in order to join the EU. This narrative is superficial and simplistic. It won't happen. In fact the opposite has occurred  instead of strengthening the chances of Scottish independence, Brexit has killed the possibility off for decades.

Why?

One third of SNP voters voted for Brexit and they cannot understand why the SNP would want Scotland to become independent of one union, only to join a larger one, where we would have less say. 'Independence in the EU' is to them an oxymoron.

Whatever the pros and cons of the EU, when your economies, laws and courts are largely controlled by an outside body, that is not what most would call independence. The obsession with Brexit seems to have turned the SNP into the EUNP. Ironically they now use the same Project Fear arguments against leaving the EU, as were used against leaving the UK. In the 2017 General election the SNP lost 21 seats and the Tories gained 12  largely because of the Brexit issue.

Secondly, as the UK has found with leaving the EU, breaking up is hard to do. If leaving a 50 year old union is hard, how much more complex will leaving a 400 year old one be?! That is why, despite the chaos in Westminster, polling figures show that support for independence has not risen, and may even have shrunk. In order to call a secnd independence referendum Nicola Sturgeon wants the polls to be at about 60% Yes. They are generally 15-20% short of that.

But didn't the First Minister talk recently about putting legislation for another Independence referendum before the Scottish Parliament? Was she bluffing? To put it bluntly, yes. She was speaking to a conference of SNP activists hungry for news and hope. She offered them the carrot of another referendum knowing that it is not going to happen.Because another referendum cannot happen without the Westminster government giving what is called a Section 30 order. Both the Tories and Labour have said they will not do this.

When the UK parliament refuses, this is a win/win for Sturgeon and the SNP. They don't have to fight a referendum they would almost certainly lose and they get to blame the bad politicians in Westminster yet again.

So if you are concerned about the breakup of the UK, relax. Scotland won't be leaving soon (although Northern Ireland is a different and even more complex story).

But should we care? And is there a particular Christian perspective on this? I think so.

There are Christians who want Scotland to be an independent country (I am one of them) and others who want us to remain within the UK. I hope that none of us will claim particular biblical sanction for our positions. Amazingly, the Bible says nothing about Scottish independence! But we should be concerned about the state of Christianity in our countries.

The 17th century was also a time of great turbulence in the British Isles  with a civil war in England being extended to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Amidst all the turmoil, including a king losing his head; parliament requested a large group of 'divines' (clergymen) to meet in Westminster to formulate a plan for uniting the churches, and thus the kingdoms, in Britain.

Although that didn't exactly pan out, it did result in the Westminster Confession of Faith (the basis of most Presbyterian churches). Ultimately by the end of the century we had a stronger parliamentary democracy and the union of Scotland and England.

Who knows but the current chaos in the land may yet lead to something better! We can only pray!

The United Kingdom was formed for economic, military and social reasons. But what is often forgotten is the fourth element  the United Kingdom was founded on the basis of Christianity.

Whether that was a good or bad thing  I tend to plumb on balance for the former  is not the question. The real question is now that we are removing Christianity can a United Kingdom that was founded upon it, remain? And do we want it to? Perhaps there is more that hangs on that question than we realise.

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He blogs at www.theweeflea.com
Will Europe's persecuted Christian refugees be acknowledged in Jeremy Hunt's review?

Many Christian refugees from the Middle East report facing persecution from Islamic extremists in the refugee camps and centres in Europe and converts from Islam to Christianity are in the worst danger, as they are considered apostates by the extremists.

Although protection policies exist in UN treaties and international refugee law, these protections are rarely implemented because officials fear that they will be accused of discrimination. In effect, most agencies and charities working with refugees in Europe choose to ignore the problem.

The interim report into persecution by the Bishop of Truro for the Foreign Secretary, released on Friday, also ignores the plight of Christian refugees in Europe, even when it was highlighted as part of the oral and written evidence submitted to the independent review panel in Westminster.

In fact, the report doesn't mention what is happening with Christians in Europe or Great Britain at all.

Yochana Darling, head of mission at (ICC), which manages a day centre and safe houses for Christian refugees in Greece, was one of those who gave oral evidence to the Westminster panel.

According to that evidence, Christian refugees in Athens were surrounded by Muslim extremists and shown videos of the Islamic State beheading Christians. They were told they would be next.

The review panel were told that when a family was relocated from a camp to official agency accommodation, they were attacked with knives.

An Iranian refugee in Greece suffered a heart attack when around fifty extremists surrounded their accommodation unit after he returned from church with his family. The extremists poured petrol on their temporary home and held knives to the throats of the women and children. The security guards were too afraid to intervene.

"Verbal abuse is normal," Yochana tells me. "Christians are mocked, ridiculed, and called kafirs [unbeliever]. That happens daily. More concerning though are the high numbers of regular death threats and threats of physical harm. Over the past three years, we have come across countless cases of actual physical and sexual assaults."

In 2016, both Open Doors in Germany and ICC in Greece published two separate reports on the persecution of Christian refugees. These reports were independent from each other but produced almost identical results: at the time, 87-88 per cent of respondents reported of persecution in refugee and migrant camps and accommodation. And because the persecution is ignored, it continues unabated.

"Rape is used as a punishment for conversion and a method of coercion to get apostates to repent and return to Islam," Yochana says.

"Women and children have had knives held to their throats, whilst fathers and husbands are beaten with metal pipes and other implements. Families have had petrol poured over them and threatened with burning alive, just because they were reading their Bibles together and singing some worship songs.

"Tents and accommodation have been destroyed and Christians driven out of camps and other accommodation.

"The police and camp officials don't intervene, and no protection is given."

In Greece, there have been many reports of male converts being gang-raped as punishment.

In the Moria camp, on the island of Lesvos, 95 per cent of Christian refugees told ICC it was unsafe to read the Bible. In Germany, an Afghan man was recently stabbed because of his faith. He survived but the police told him he was lying and that the attack had nothing to do with him being a Christian, so that it wouldn't be recorded as a hate crime.

Some Western Christians are sceptical about refugees converting to Christianity but the grim reality is that converting from Islam to Christianity can be dangerous anywhere in Europe. We hear similar reports of attacks on converts across Europe, including Britain.

Our contacts in Germany tell us that when Muslim converts to Christianity are attacked, the emergency services often delay their arrival. This has resulted in the death of some converts.

"It's a politically sensitive question but overwhelmingly the persecutors are fellow asylum seekers from the Middle East and from Islamic backgrounds," Yochana says.

"There are concerns about the number of extremist groups in the camps, and this is something that we are told regularly by our charity's beneficiaries, who are shocked that their persecutors in the Middle East have followed them into the camps.

She asserts that government and other official agencies "avoid looking at religion at any cost".

"The general policy is to not ask anything about religious beliefs or issues, and consequently, religious persecution is usually completely off their radar," she says.

"They fear political consequences or accusations of preferential treatment if they consider the dangers faced by Christian refugees and converts.

"People still tend to consider Europe as a Christian majority continent, and it can be challenging for people to understand that Christian refugees are a religious minority group in need of protection in certain situations."

ICC has a day centre in Athens specifically for the Christian refugees. They need to feel safe to access integration support services and other types of support, so it has become a vital hub for many of the organisation's beneficiaries.

So what does Yochana want to see happen?

"The first thing that needs to happen is recognition of the issue," she says.

"Fear of political backlash or accusations of discrimination is not an excuse to ignore serious violations of religious

freedom rights in Europe.

"More support needs to be given to this group, which is currently a hidden persecuted minority, and protection measures in camps and other accommodation need to be implemented. Currently this is not happening."

Yochana says that the wider refugee population also needs to be educated about religious freedom rights.

Many people working with refugees are willing to talk about the issue off the record but fear that talking about it publicly could endanger the important work they are doing improving the lives of the refugees. Also, they fear that the wider refugee population, who have nothing to do with the extremist groups, will be demonised and that public opinion that is often already hostile against refugees, will become even more so.

But we can't ignore these attacks any longer, she concludes.

"It would be wonderful to see the British Foreign Office take a stand in this matter and lead by example in upholding these fundamental human rights, which are currently being completely ignored for Christian refugees", Yochana says.

With the Bishop of Truro's full report due out in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the plight of Europe's Christian refugees is acknowledged then.
A pilot from Anahuac survived the second helicopter crash of his life Saturday afternoon, this time in New Caney.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported the helicopter crash just after 2 p.m in a parking lot near FM 494 and Antique Lane.
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Humble residents gathered at the Humble Civic Center on Thursday to love one another and to pray for the community and country, city officials said.

As part of the National Day of Prayer, residents, community religious leaders and city officials also offered prayers to the government, military, first responders, educators, businesses, families and the media.

The goal was to bring the community together.

This years theme is Love One Another, and it is taken from John 13:34, Jennifer Wooden, Humble Civic Center director said. Love one another just as I have loved you.

Back in 1952, Kansas Senator Frank Carlson and Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels initiated a bill asking Former President Harry S. Truman to set aside a day, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer.

It wasnt until 1983 when the first National Day of Prayer was observed and organized by the National Day of Prayer Committee. It took place in Washington D.C.

Former President Bill Clinton signed a bill that became law in 1998 recognizing the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring May 2 as the 2019 National Day of Prayer. Trumps proclamation acknowledges religious liberty as a natural right, given to us by our Creator, not a courtesy that government extends to us.

The City of Humble also gave a proclamation declaring May 2, 2019 as the National Day of Prayer in Humble, which was read by Mayor Pro Tem Norman Funderburk.

The city is pleased to serve as host for this significant event offering unified public prayer for our countrybringing us together from all backgrounds, transcending whatever differences that may exist between us, Funderburk said. Through our participation we become part of a movement nationwide where millions of Americans of all faiths praying for our country.

Many residents who attended the ceremony donned their patriotic colors as they prayed for the U.S. Many if not all who attended the ceremony believe prayer is a powerful thing.

Prayer is so important to me because without it, were nothing, Humble resident Pam Ripley said. We have to have our God for wisdom, guidance and direction. He loves us, and He hears our prayers.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
A longtime member of the Katy Social Services Advisory Board and a coordinator of the Katy United Methodist Church home-delivered meals program is the 2019 Katy Senior Citizen of the Year.

Peggy Dimmick, director of social services, said she nominated Nevelynn Melendy for the honor and her nomination was unanimously supported by the advisory board. Her name then was submitted to Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner and she will be honored at the May 13 Katy City Council meeting. May is recognized as Older Americans Month.

Dimmick said Melendys contributions to the Katy community through the years are the main criteria for her being selected this year for the honor.

Nevelynn is very special to us and has been an asset to our community ... we are all proud to honor her with this special Senior of the Year Award, added Dimmick.

Melendy was among seniors who participated in the August 2011 ground-breaking for the senior citizen center built at 5370 E. Fifth St. in Katy. She volunteered on the Katy Social Services Board at the Fussell Senior center from October 2001 to May 2018. For 14 years, she coordinated the meals program at the Methodist church first through the Stephen Ministry and then through Interfaith Ministries.

Born in Sweetwater, Texas, she moved with her family when she was about a year old to Katy where she grew up. After she married, she moved to Cypress for about 20 years before moving back to Katy. Shes lived in the Katy area for over 64 years, said William Melendy, of Houston and one of her three children. Her son, Wes, and her daughter, Patti, live in the Katy area. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When he was a youngster, William Melendy said his mom volunteered first with the Boy Scouts and then worked for them a number of years as director of handicapped Scouting before she retired. She also served in various positions with the AARP  Katy Chapter #2655.

Shes always been involved in the community, he added. Shes always there to lend a helping hand. Thats just my mom.

Her involvement includes teaching Sunday school at church and belonging to the Joyful Noise Makers choir which makes weekly visits to nursing homes as well as singing with the church choir.

A huge Astros fan, Melendy turned 85 on April 15. Through AARP, shes able to attend Astros games with her friends. If an Astros game is on TV, shes watching the Astros, added William.

karen.zurawski@chron.com
The woman who died after hitting a downed tree in a Kingwood street on Friday night has been identified as a fourth-grade teacher in the Humble ISD, according to Houston police.

Amy Woodeshick taught at Groves Elementary, the district confirmed in a letter sent to parents.

The 25-year-old hit the fallen tree around 8:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Kingwood Drive, a business and tree-lined thoroughfare near the HEB grocery store, according to officials.

An officer was flagged down to the crash and she was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where she died, police said.

"She loved helping children learn and grow, and she made students' school days bright," the Humble ISD statement said.

Counselors will be on hand to support students and staff on Monday.

Woodeshick was a graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball and the University of Houston. She previously taught at Humble Middle School and Shadow Forest Elementary.

The crash happened after several storm cells swept through Waller, Montgomery and north Harris County with multiple confirmed tornadoes, hail and flooded streets in the Spring area.

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Each year, they gather to celebrate accomplishments, raise money and have a little fun. But what makes the difference for those gathered for the annual Go Red For Women luncheon is that they leave the respective facility with a little bit of education.

Hundreds of women and men gathered Friday for the 2019 Northwest Harris County Go Red For Women Luncheon at The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.

The Go Red For Woman cause is to raise awareness among women about the health threat of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, one in three women are impacted by cardiovascular disease.

By the end of the luncheon, thousands of dollars had been raised to help the cause  through pledges and donated auction items  and stories were shared which punctuated the notion that women need to be aware of their heart health.

CVS Health serves as the national sponsor for Go Red for Women. Locally, Houston Methodist takes the reins as a top sponsor.

Emcee Lindsey Caldwell lauded the events 15th anniversary but cautioned against complacency.

The fight is not over, she said while pointing out 80% of heart events are preventable.

Go Red For Women Chair Darcy Mingoia said, The Go Red movement starts with us. We raise money. We also educate men and women in our community.

Telling their stories of heart disease were survivors Regay Hildreth and Temika Jones, who connected as young mothers and wives with heart problems.

Jones was just 32 when she ended up in the hospital when she landed in the hospital, where she was heavily sedated for a week as doctors worked to heal her damaged heart.

Hildreth has a history of parents and grandparents with heart disease and had a similar story to share.

Together, Jones and Hildreth led the way for the Open Your Heart campaign, which according to the American Heart Association $0.90 of every dollar raised supports research and education for women and heart disease.

For more information, go to GoRedForWomen.org or locally visit nwHarrisCountyGoRed.heart.org.

rkent@hcnonline.com
The largest tribe in South Dakota told the state's governor on Thursday that she is "not welcome" in its homelands, a sprawling reservation southwest of the capital city, Pierre.

The extraordinary step is the latest escalation in a years-long feud over the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, a conflict that now pits advocates of indigenous rights, environmentalism and free speech against the state government, the Trump administration and a powerful oil company.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted Wednesday to ban Gov. Kristi Noem, R, from its Pine Ridge Reservation and sent a sharply worded letter on Thursday.

"If you do not honor this directive," wrote tribe President Julian Bear Runner, "... we will have no choice but to banish you."

In response, Noem's spokeswoman said the governor was surprised at the letter but said she will "maintain her efforts to build relationships with the tribes."

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Bear Runner pledged that the ban would last until Noem rescinds her support for a pair of laws the state passed in response to promised demonstrations against the Keystone XL pipeline project. The laws, which codify "riot boosting," are designed to prevent protests that may disrupt pipeline construction.

Critics say the legislation was designed to prevent the sort of large-scale, high-profile protests that unfolded over the Dakota Access pipeline in neighboring North Dakota, which began in 2016 and lasted for months. Demonstrations there led to more than 750 arrests, and the policing effort cost the state $38 million.

Noem announced the bills in the waning days of the year's legislative session, and the state's Republican majorities pushed them through the House and Senate in just 72 hours.

"My pipeline bills make clear that we will not let rioters control our economic development," Noem said in a statement after she signed the bills into law in late March.

But the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have staunchly opposed the new laws, criticizing what they see as serious threats to free speech.

Together, the laws would allow officials to sue activists if violence or law breaking occurs at a protest they organized, promoted or somehow encouraged. Money collected from those lawsuits would be used to pay for damage claims stemming from that demonstration or for law enforcement costs.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new statute (and two existing criminal riot laws), claiming that it is too vague, too broad and impinges on protected speech.

"We believe they chill free speech and they are therefore unconstitutional," said Courtney Bowie, the legal director for the ACLU's South Dakota chapter, in an interview with The Washington Post. "I don't think anyone can accurately define what 'riot boosting' is ... the law is completely unclear and that's part of the problem."

Chase Iron Eyes, the public relations liaison for Bear Runner, told The Post that the laws pose a direct threat to members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, many of whom plan to oppose the pipeline project, which would run through, and could threaten, sacred tribal lands.

"We have a right to speak freely," Iron Eyes said. "We have a right to peaceably assemble."

Tribe leaders have said Noem and state legislators excluded them from the bill crafting process and instead elected to meet with TransCanada Corp., the company behind the $8 billion project. Iron Eyes said the effort amounted to a violation of the tribe's sovereignty and the treaty it signed with the United States.

"We don't feel Kristi Noem wrote this legislation for the good of South Dakotans, or our land, or our water," he said. "We believe big extraction wrote this legislation."

The tribe's response on Wednesday was an unprecedented step, said Iron Eyes, who couldn't recall another instance when leaders told a representative of state government that she wasn't welcome on their land. If Noem violates the resolution, she could face banishment, a serious formal tribal process - though Iron Eyes said he doesn't think it'll come to that.

Noem's press secretary, Kristin Wileman, said in a statement that the governor "has spent considerable time in Pine Ridge building relationships with tribal members."

"This announcement from Oglala Sioux tribal leadership is inconsistent with the interactions she has had with members of the community," Wileman said.

Noem visited the reservation in March, as residents were recovering from severe flooding in the region, a trip leaders welcomed at the time. However, Iron Eyes said, she made subsequent trips to the reservation without informing Bear Runner or other leaders, which, he said, was a lapse in diplomatic courtesy.

"It's unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux's leadership when resources were needed during recent storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community," Wileman said.

The letter is another sign of further fraying relationships between the state government and its neighboring tribes in the weeks since Noem proposed the protest bills. In mid-March, four tribal chairmen, including Bear Runner, asked the state not to display their flags at the Capitol, saying that the bills had "destroyed our trust" in South Dakota's leadership.

But Iron Eyes said he's confident the laws will be struck down eventually.

"We're on the right side, here, of spirit and morality," he said. "And the legality just needs to come along. We've got to evolve."

From the Oval Office, however, President Donald Trump has tried to muscle the pipeline project through its court challenges. Days after Noem signed her bills into law, Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to clear a path for pipeline construction. That, too, now faces legal challenges.
High school students from Spring, Klein, Tomball, Humble and The Woodlands raised their right hands and pledged to serve in the U.S. Army on Wednesday, May 1.

While most of the 52 student recruits dressed in matching black shirts taking the oath were high school seniors, Caston Benoit of Klein Collins High School, is still a junior.

I just hope to be on base and work on the big trucks, all of the equipment and do my best, he said.

After completing his basic training, Benoit said he will return to complete his last year of high school in September, less than three weeks after the year officially begins.

While getting ready to take the oath, he said he enjoyed getting to know the other recruits.

Its like a big family  a bunch of brothers and sisters. It doesnt take long to get to know someone, he said.

Other students, like Mirakle Clayton, a senior at Westfield High School, said her decision to enlist was more practical.

Eventually, she also plans to enroll at a university when she can obtain financial aid and pursue her studies in microbiology.

Wherever Im stationed, I will look up universities, she said.

As the first in her family to join the military, Gina Lucciono, a senior at Spring High School, said she wanted to join so that she could travel around the world.

Lucciono said that while shes still not sure what she wants to study, she plans to eventually enroll at a university wherever she is stationed.

After a year or two, Im hoping to start college while Im deployed, she said.

While on stage with the other recruits, Lucciono said that reciting the oath reminded her of her commitment.

It gives you that rush of anticipation. You know its happening. Youre not quite there yet, but youre saying this stuff. Youre ready to go, she said.

The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the Church at Creeks End in Spring as a way to honor families and encourage students for their upcoming military service, said chamber president Jenan Blank.

With the way the world is right now, who knows if some of them are coming back. Why not support them and their families? Whether you agree with whats going on politically or worldwide, these kids still believe in our country enough that we can believe behind them, she said.

Tariq Carter, a senior at Tomball High School, said his family talked him into enlisting so that he could receive help with tuition costs once he enrolls in college classes.

Carter said he hopes to stay in Texas so that he can close to his family and eventually take film studies courses at the University of Texas or the University of Houston.

While he was taking the oath along with the other recruits, he said he would take his responsibility seriously.

I was just thinking its real. Its a big commitment youve got to make. I was just thinking to myself, This is what I want to do, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
May 3, 1621  Sir Simonds DEwes published his political biography of Sir Francis Bacon, in which he accuses the great lawyer, scholar of his most abominable and daring sin. DEwes continued, I should rather bury in silence than mention it, were it not a most admirable instance of how men are enslaved by wickedness and held captive by the devil. DEwes accused Frances Bacon of keeping still one Godrick, a very effeminate-faced youth, to be his catamite and bedfellow deserting the bed of his Lady. That same year, Bacon resigned as Lord Chancellor over accusations that he accepted payment from litigants, which, while against the law, was a widespread and accepted practice at the time. He quickly confessed to accepting payments, a confession that may have been prompted by threats to charge him with the capital offense of sodomy.

Wrote DEwes:

. . the favour he had with the beloved Marquis of Buckingham emboldened him, as I learned in discourse from a gentleman of his bedchamber, who told me he was sure his lord should never fall as long as the said Marquis continued in favour. His most abominable and darling sinne I should rather burie in silence, than mencion it, were it not a most admirable instance, how men are enslaved by wickedness, & held captive by the devill. For wheeras presentlie upon his censure at this time his ambition was moderated, his pride humbled, and the meanes of his former injustice and corruption removed; yet would he not relinquish the practice of his most horrible & secret sinne of sodomie, keeping still one Godrick, a verie effeminate faced youth, to bee his catamite and bedfellow, although hee had discharged the most of his other household sevants: which was the moore to bee admired, because men generallie after his fall begann to discourse of that his unnaturall crime, which hee had practiced manie yeares, deserting the bedd of his Ladie, which hee accounted, as the Italians and the Turkes doe, a poore & meane pleasure in respect of the other; & it was thought by some, that hee should have been tried at the barre of justice for it, & have satisfied the law most severe against that horrible villanie with the price of his bloud; which caused some bold and forward man to write these verses following in a whole sheete of paper, & to cast it down in some part of Yorkehouse in the strand, wheere Viscount St. Alban yet lay: Within this sty a *hogg doth ly,

That must be hangd for Sodomy. (*alluding both to his sirname of Bacon, & to that swinish abominable sinne.) But hee never came to anye publicke triall for this crime; nor did ever, that I could heare, forbeare his old custome of making his servants his bedfellowes, soe to avoid the scandall was raised of him, though hee lived many yeares after his fall in his lodgings in Grayes Inne in Holbourne, in great want & penurie.

At a time when moralists described gay love as unnatural lust, and a variety of other degrading terms, Sir Francis Bacon was the first person in the English language to use the non-stigmatizing phrase masculine love

May 3, 1921  Dr. Clarence P. Oberndorf, a New York City psychoanalyst, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Brooklyn about one of his patients, a 74-year-old Civil War veteran who suffered from depression, saying For sixty years I have been leading a double life. He became aware of his feelings for other men at a very early age. He preferred rough, coarse men, like longshoremen, husky and full of vitality. These he sought at intervals, while his acquaintances knew him as a refined gentleman interested in art and literature. He never married. Oberndorf quoted tim: In my younger days, I used to grieve because of my affliction, but in later years I have become indifferent.

Oberndorfs goal was not to cure homosexuality per se. Where treatment is undertaken for passive homoerotism in the male,  active homosexuals, or tops, were not considered truly homosexual in the early 20th century  psychoanalysis may powerfully influence the attitude of the patient toward his malady by removing some of the urgent neurotic fears which accompany the inversion. After analysis such an invert at least feels himself more reconciled to his passive homoeroticism than previously. I have had male passive homoerotics seek treatment with just such stipulations  not to be cured but to be made more content with their lives.
ALBANY  Presidential candidate Tim Ryan on Friday spoke to more than 1,000 delegates at the New York State United Teachers convention at the Capital Center.

Of the 21 Democrats running for president, the Ohio congressman is one of the more obscure candidates but that was OK. In fact it may have been one of the reasons he was there.

Thats because NYSUTs national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, is taking a decidedly different approach toward the 2020 presidential race in comparison with 2016.

AFT, considered an essential pillar of support for any Democrat, was badly burned the last time around when their leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, a full year before the convention. The early support of Clinton angered those union members who wanted to support Bernie Sanders and it left them on the losing end of the race to Donald Trump.

Union leadership, as well as rank-and-file members, has conceded that. I think there was a significant backlash, said Jennifer-Jo Moyer, a teacher from New York City attending Fridays convention.

So this year, AFT is trying for a more inclusive and deliberate process.

AFT President Randi Weingarten, in her speech before she introduced Ryan to the crowd, noted that the union has a website devoted to gathering input from members on the upcoming races. Answer the questions. Tell us what you think, she told NYSUT delegates.

And following his talk to union members, Ryan participated in a Town Hall style meeting with a small group of activists.

Topics ranged from the high cost of college and the subsequent loans, to mandated testing. One union member asked Ryan how he plans to win over voters in New York City, which is several times larger than the candidates hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

More for you With new Democratic Senate, education debate could grow protracted, complicated

My experience is that people are people, he said.

AFT says there will be a number of such meetings with candidates this year. And during her speech, Weingarten did mention other Democratic candidates the union is engaging with, including Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.

Normally, endorsing early can have benefits.

Its rational from their perspective. You get on the train early and you get rewarded, said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College and a longtime electoral observer.

But these arent normal times, with Trumps unexpected win in 2016. Public sector unions like NYSUT/AFT are also under additional pressure due to last years Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case, which can make it easier for people to leave their unions. That doesnt appear to be happening at NYSUT, but Janus has caused a rethinking of how labor leaders have to keep their members happy.

The historically large field of Democratic candidates is another complicating factor. There are too many candidates, said Muzzio. Its more problematic.

The NYSUT gathering marked the largest convention to come to the Capital Center since it opened in 2017.

That was welcome news to Jill Delaney, president and CEO of Discover Albany, which promotes visitors and tourism in the Albany area.

Overall, more than 2,000 union members were expected for the event, which runs through Saturday.

Were using all of our properties congruently, said Delaney. In addition to filling up the Capital Center, spaces in the adjacent Empire State Plaza also are being used. There are 1,700 room-nights, or rooms booked for the event, and Delaney said $1 million would be a super conservative estimate about the economic impact on the area. That represents money spent on ancillary services like restaurants, Uber drivers, bars and other businesses in town.

This is our proving ground for a multi-site event, she said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
Authorities said theyve confirmed that a human foot found in April in a pond in northwestern Indiana was that of a missing Indianapolis-area woman.

Police responded in Crown Point after a fisherman reported snagging what appeared to be a human foot. Officers determined the remains were human and a distinct tattoo led authorities to believe the remains belonged to 30-year-old Najah Ferrell of Avon, who has been missing since mid-March.

The Avon Police Department said Wednesday that the identification was confirmed by DNA analysis and comparison.

Family members have said that Ferrell left for work early March 15 and never made it. Ferrells vehicle was found March 26 abandoned in Indianapolis and some of her belongings were located along an interstate.

SPILLED GRAVY: A simple accident revealed child porn on a man's computer

The investigation into Ferrells disappearance is ongoing.

"It's a very disturbing a case of this magnitude. A mother of 5 just simply vanishes. It doesnt just happen on its own. Somebody has some involvement," Avon Police's Deputy Chief of Investigations Brian Nugent told Fox 59.

Nugent said investigators recognize foul play is involved and understand residents are concerned.

"We certainly agree that there is concern about what took place. Does that make one area more unsafe in our community than another? I dont believe so," Nugent said.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to Ferrells disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477).
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the end of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election during a lengthy phone call Friday but said he did not raise concerns about the possibility of Russian interference to come in the 2020 contest.

Trump also contradicted his top national security aides on Russian motives in Venezuela, where the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a deadly political schism.

The two leaders, during their first known conversation in months, also discussed North Korea, whose leader met with Putin last month, and a potential nuclear arms control deal.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the call with Putin, Trump described a brief exchange about the conclusion of the two-year investigation. Mueller found that while Russia interfered "in sweeping and systematic fashion," there was not a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's campaign.

"We discussed it. He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse," Trump said. "But he knew that, because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever."

The two leaders could not see each other during the call. Trump's description was meant to convey that it was a light moment, a spokesman said.

Trump was asked repeatedly whether he raised the issue of election interference or warned Putin not to do it again.

"We didn't discuss that," Trump said eventually. "Really, we didn't discuss it."

In the past, Trump has bristled at criticism that he has not forcefully confronted Putin over Russian actions aimed at influencing the election and undermining Americans' faith in their democracy.

After the two leaders met in Helsinki last July, Trump accepted what he called Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of election interference, despite the opposite conclusion by American intelligence agencies.

Trump's comments Friday came shortly after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Mueller report was discussed "very, very briefly" during the morning phone call, which lasted slightly more than an hour.

"It was discussed, essentially in the context that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," Sanders said.

Sanders said most of the conversation was devoted to other topics, including nuclear agreements, North Korea, Venezuela and trade.

Trump later tweeted about the call, referring to the Mueller investigation as the "Russian Hoax."

Russian election interference in 2016 included a social media campaign that favored Trump and disparaged Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as the hacking of computers maintained by allies of Clinton and the subsequent release of stolen documents.

The special counsel did not find sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy with Russia against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. The report did not offer a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General William P. Barr later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for obstruction of justice, but House Democrats are continuing to pursue that issue.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned last month that Russia is continuing to attempt to undermine U.S. elections, including the presidential election next year.

Putin has echoed some of Trump's talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has also denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

"We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand," Putin said last month. "Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump."

Trump also contradicted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other advisers who have said this week that Russia propped up embattled Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and blocked what might have been a peaceful transfer of power to the U.S.-backed opposition.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said after the conversation with Putin, which had been arranged in large part to air differences over Venezuela and de-escalate a brewing proxy fight.

Instead, Trump appeared to take Putin at his word that Russia wants to help ease a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Right now, people are starving. They have no water. They have no food."

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the White House had said that Russia "must leave" Venezuela and "renounce their support of the Maduro regime." Russia has significant investments in Venezuela and has been a strong backer of Maduro.

Pompeo delivered the same message in a Wednesday call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Pompeo will see next week in Finland. Pompeo had said that Russia had told Maduro not to step down and accept an offer of passage to Venezuelan ally Cuba.

"It's the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he's not going to govern," Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday. "Structurally, there's no way he stays in power. It's time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door."

A day earlier, national security adviser John Bolton had said that if Russians continue to ignore U.S. warnings about malign influence in Venezuela, they "will do that at their own cost."

The Kremlin said that Putin "underscored that only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country, whereas outside interference in the country's internal affairs and attempts to change the government in Caracas by force undermine prospects for a political settlement of the crisis."

Sanders said Trump reiterated "the need for a peaceful transition."

Trump said he and Putin also discussed the possibility of extending a current nuclear agreement or creating a new one that includes China. A trilateral agreement among the world's major nuclear powers would be significant advance in arms control.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now," Trump told reporters.

It was not clear whether he was referring to an extension of the existing New START accord limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons with Russia, or a separate compact. The 2011 New START accord expires in 2021 but can be extended for five years by mutual agreement.

Regarding North Korea, Trump's focus was on "the importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," Sanders said.

- - -

Troianovski reported from Moscow. The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
A teenager was shot at an after-prom party at Preet Banquet Hall off Fairbanks North Houston Road in northwest Houston late Friday, authorities said.

A sheriff's deputy said there had been a high school party when one boy was shot in the torso at around midnight. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. It's possible a white sedan four-door vehicle was involved, deputies said.
A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Kent State University School of Information (iSchool) presented Library Media Specialist Angie Jameson, Chagrin Falls Schools, with its Dan MacLachlan Award in Library and Information Science on April 25.

The award is given to a library media specialist who exhibits creativity, leadership and dedication in his/her school. Each year, the university recognizes the alumni who are transforming the global information environment.

Dr. Meghan Harper, MLIS program and school library media concentration coordinator, nominated Jameson for this award, which is named for Dan MacLachlan, Riedinger Middle School Librarian from 1984-1993.
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Democracy Day was observed Thursday (May 2) in South Euclid, as people from several communities gathered at City Hall to center on the themes that corporations are not people and that corporations have too large an influence on todays elections and lawmaking.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in the case Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that corporations are entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections as natural persons.

Those who gathered Thursday believe the decision restricts the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity.

Hence, this decision supported the increasing amounts of money being spent by corporations to influence election results and legislation at federal, state and local levels, said South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo, the first of 14 people to speak at the Move to Amend, non-partisan event.

In November 2016, South Euclid voters joined a list of communities in Ohio -- including Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lorain, Lyndhurst and Mentor -- as well as about 800 others throughout the country and 19 states, in seeking change.

Seventy-seven percent of South Euclid voters approved Issue 201 in 2016, which called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights; and that money is not equivalent to speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Until a constitutional amendment is ratified reflecting the principles listed above, Welo said, South Euclid will continue to hold a public meeting (a Democracy Day) every two years where our citizens will have an opportunity to speak on the impact that uncontrolled political contributions have on local governments.

Thursday marked the second such meeting held in South Euclid since the 2016 passage.

After each public hearing, a letter will be sent to key elected leaders of our state and federal government, including a reminder that in 2016 the citizens of South Euclid voted in support of this constitutional amendment, Welo said.

As was the case in 2017, South Euclid resident Madelon Watts organized the event. Watts has also worked in other Ohio communities to forward the cause.

Speakers included interested parties from across Northeast Ohio. Tish ODell, of Broadview Heights, said that corporate influence is present when many of our countrys laws are written.

Were following, very obediently, laws written by corporations, ODell said. Thats got to change.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Sara Continenza took to the podium, which had on it logos of corporations such as Exxon, McDonalds and GE under the statement End Corporate Personhood."

I recently read an article that Amazon paid zero dollars in taxes to our federal government -- zero, Continenza said. "Yet, they have over $10 billion in profits. Meanwhile, we have someone working 40-plus hours a week at minimum wage with a family paying more taxes than that.

So we have to really think where we cast our votes, and every dollar we spend is a vote we cast. She urged shopping at mom-and-pop stores and curbing urges to always shop online.

Brecksvilles Jack Petsche spoke of how the costs of elections have been on the increase in the eight years since the Supreme Court decision.

The 2018 election was the most expensive midterm ever by a large margin, with total spending surpassing $5.7 billion, he said. That cost exceeded the 2016 presidential election, in which $5.3 billion was spent.

In 2018, Petsche said, "a blue wave of money helped Democrats crush House Republicans. Democrats outspent Republicans across the board in the 2018 cycle.

Ten individual mega-donors combined to pour $436 million into the election, displaying the widespread influence of wealthy individuals in the post-Citizens United era.

He concluded by saying, I ask my Republican friends, Democrats and independents to join forces and fight to obtain reasonable regulation of money in politics so that our individual votes do count, and our great democracy survives and thrives far into the future.

The event attracted Shaker Heights High School students Lauren Sheperd, a sophomore, and senior Christos Ioannou, who spoke about the harsh realities of school shootings, as well as Suzanne DeGatano, owner of Macs Backs bookstore on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights.

Ioannou said of firearms in society, This is not just a gun issue, its an empathy issue." He said that politicians are "dehumanizing human beings.

DeGatano said of her bookstore and the online competition it faces, I feel we can compete with online sellers. Were in touch with the community.

Cleveland Heights residents Carla Rautenberg and David Berenson took a different approach to attempt to show the absurdity of the Supreme Court ruling by performing a pair of skits.

In one, Rautenberg played a driver and Berenson a judge in a skit based on an actual California case in which a woman was cited for driving alone in the carpool lane. She answers the charge by saying that the photograph in her car that day of a corporate charter was her passenger that day. Like in the skit, Rautenberg said the person in California had her case dismissed.

Watts said anyone wishing to join the Cleveland East Move to Amend affiliate and help pass a 28th Constitutional Amendment can do so by visiting movetoamend.org/oh-cleveland-east, or Facebook.com/movetoamendclevelandheights.

See more Sun Messenger news here.
WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Chase, Interstate 90: A Westlake police officer at 1:15 p.m. April 27 stopped a vehicle on the Crocker Road overpass for equipment and moving violations.

As the officer got out of his cruiser and began to approach, the vehicle drove off and committed several traffic violations while fleeing westbound on I-90, according to police. The officer pursued the fleeing vehicle for two minutes before calling off the chase for safety reasons.

The vehicle, which belonged to an Elyria resident, soon was reported stolen to Elyria police. It was reported stolen from an apartment complex in Elyria.

Arrest on warrant, I-90: Police at 11 a.m. April 29 found a pedestrian walking along the highway near Crocker Road.

The man told police he was walking back to Cleveland. Police discovered that the Parma Police Department had a warrant for the mans arrest for a dangerous-drug charge. Westlake police arrested the suspect and turned him over to Parma police.

Westlake police also warned the Cleveland man against walking on the highway and for a marijuana pipe they confiscated from him.

Theft by deception: Westlake police arrested a suspect April 29 on several warrants for theft by deception.

Police said the suspect on multiple occasions approached local business owners asking for loans. The suspect claimed to be a small businessman who had locked himself out of his building or out of a car and needed to borrow money to hire a locksmith.

In one instance, the suspect got away with $40 and in another, he got away with $60.

The suspect never returned with the cash. The suspect is being held on $7,500 bond.

Felony theft, Center Ridge Road: Management at a business contacted police at 7 p.m. April 30 to report that they suspected one of their employees had stolen more than $1,500 in gift cards.

A 25-year-old female employee from Lorain admitted to the theft, and police arrested her for felony theft.

Prostitution arrests: Westlake police arrested three people accused in two suspected prostitution cases.

At 7:30 a.m. May 1, investigators learned that a woman was advertising online that she would provide services at the Red Roof Inn on Clemens Road. Police stopped a suspicious vehicle leaving the motel, and two woman inside admitted to soliciting prostitution.

The women, 30- and 31-year-old Cleveland residents, also were charged with drug possession for suspected ecstasy found in the vehicle.

In the second incident, at 7:30 a.m. May 2, investigators learned that a female suspect was advertising services online at the Super 8 Motel on Sperry Road. Officers again responded to the advertisement and arrested the suspect as she walked from the room. The 24-year-old Cleveland woman was charged with soliciting for prostitution.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the West Shore Sun here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man with a service dog was taken into custody then hospitalized Saturday after he bit a Cleveland police officer.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police were called to assist TSA with a man who was being disruptive, police said.

The man became combative and bit one of the officers, police said. Police did not say where the officer was bit.

He was taken into custody and admitted to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for an evaluation, police say.

Police took the service dog to the citys kennel, police say.

The incident is still under investigation and the officer was not seriously hurt, police say.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland judge is calling on U.S. Attorney Justin Herdmans office to consider reaching a consent decree with Cuyahoga County over conditions in its jail, where eight inmates died in 2018.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Michael Nelson hand-delivered the May 1 letter, which cites the recent indictments of several jail guards, along with the former director and warden, as underscoring ongoing dysfunction thats eroded public confidence in the management of the jail.

Nelsons letter says it is time Herdmans office consider meeting with the County to carve out a consent decree to ensure the jail is run in accordance with state and federal law, according to a copy of the letter provided to cleveland.com.

Read the letter below.

Nelson first spoke out in October about jail conditions later deemed inhumane by the U.S. Marshals Service. He vowed not to send people charged with most crimes to the county jail because he believed it unsafe following a spate of six deaths over a four-month span.

Two more died in 2018. The county is now facing several lawsuits and a federal civil rights investigation over inmate conditions. The administration of County Executive Armond Budish says it continues to implement reforms.

The dysfunction directly impacts on the fair pursuit of justice, which is the lynchpin of a civilized society, the letter says. It appears from all of the preliminary reports that the County cannot protect the rights of detainees without the intervention of your department.

Nelson in an April 17 interview with cleveland.com called for a U.S. Justice Department consent decree, but had yet to ask Herdman to begin the process. U.S Attorney spokesman Mike Tobin declined comment at that time about whether his office is considering such a proposal.

Cleveland.com previously reported that the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI are looking at the Nov. 21 marshals report that said inmates civil rights were routinely violated.

U.S. Attorneys offices elsewhere in the county have pursued consent decree agreements with jails and prisons, including through intervention in existing lawsuits. One filed in December on behalf of seven Cuyahoga inmates has called for a federal monitor.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Theft, Shopping Center: After a high school-age boy was heard asking if a cell phone on a restaurant counter belonged to anyone at 3:15 p.m. April 22, an employee noticed hers was gone.

She said it had been behind the beverage containers and on the employee side of the counter at Einstein Bagel. The $800 phone was deactivated with the carrier, but the owner would like it returned to her.

Identity theft, Nob Hill: A man received an email April 22 indicating that he had an outstanding bill for $3,700 from a Good Sams reward Visa card. The bank for the credit card will investigate.

Animal at large, High Street: A homeowner, 47, was cited for not containing his dogs on his property at 9:56 a.m. April 22 and faces a Bedford Municipal Court date.

His two dogs charged out from a yard at walkers in Whitesburg Park. He had been warned for the same infraction the previous week.

Disturbance, Hall Street: Police arrested an Avon Lake woman, 28, for obstructing official business at 1:20 a.m. April 27. A man had called police when his intoxicated passenger would not get out of the car at his home. The woman would not cooperate with police, either.

EMS checked her out and she was transported to the Bedford jail.

Suspicious, South Franklin Street: A worshiper contacted police during a church service at 11:20 a.m. April 28 after seeing a man in the front row with a guitar case large enough to contain a weapon.

The Chardon man with the guitar checked out fine, but he said he could understand the concern.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Disturbance, Pekin Road: Police were called at midnight April 28 about a large party with numerous vehicles stopped -- blocking both lanes of travel -- and more than 200 party attendees.

Police backup was called for from South Russell, Chester and the Geauga County Sheriffs Office. The homeowner was extremely agitated about the police presence. Officers stood by to keep the peace until all the vehicles were moved.

Drunken driving, Sunrise Lane: Police responded at 4 a.m. April 22 to a one-car crash with an unresponsive driver. Upon arrival, the driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Theft, Chillicothe Road: Police detained a man at 1:17 a.m. April 27 after he stole two cases of bottled water from Circle K. He also had an outstanding warrant and was taken into custody.

Traffic stop, Kinsman Road: An underage driver, stopped for ignoring a traffic signal at 10:45 p.m. April 26, was found to have alcohol beverages and a fake ID. He will face charges for those offenses.

Suspicious vehicle, Kinsman Road: An officer on patrol at 1:30 a.m. April 23 encountered a man in a parked car. The man explained that he had been kicked out of his home and was sleeping in his car. He was advised of park hours and available resources and sent on his way.

Animal at large, County Line Road: A Hunting Valley resident found a brown and white female cat, approximately 1 year old, in her yard April 23 and took it to the Happy Tails cat sanctuary. She reported it to police in case someone was looking for the cat.

Suspicious, Chillicothe Road: After receiving an email that he had purchased a ticket to Boise, Idaho, and receiving a Federal Express package from the same location, a man called police April 29. He had not purchased a ticket, and was told it was a scam that he should not respond to.

When the package was opened at the police station, it was discovered that he had ordered those items.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Noble Prize-winning economist, says there are "several problems facing the global economy."

These challenges range from President Trump's protectionism to trouble in Europe and concerns about the stability of growth in China.

He points to the increased deficits from Republican tax cuts, which he says are "not well designed," as the primary driver of increased growth in the United States. He expects a growth slowdown moving forward.

Stiglitz, a longtime skeptic of the broad benefits of globalization, also discusses Trump's strategy of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

"Many of us who were critics of the WTO, and I think correctly, didn't really appreciate the virtues of the WTO until we actually confronted the reality of a world without rules," he says.

Watch the video above to hear more from economist Joseph Stiglitz on risks to the economy and global trade.

See more:
Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a small stake in Occidental Petroleum, people close to the matter told CNBC on Friday.

The company is in the middle of a rare bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum, having bid $38 billion for its smaller rival. Chevron had previously bid $33 billion for Anadarko.

Shares of Occidental jumped 2% in extended trading Friday, immediately following the news.

The size of Icahn's stake is still unclear, and Bloomberg  which first reported the stake  reports Icahn hasn't decided whether to push for changes at the company. Still, the stake throws another heavyweight name behind a bidding war that's already captured Wall Street's attention.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $10 billion in Houston-based Occidental in an effort to help the takeover bid. CNBC reported earlier Friday that Buffett was willing to invest as much as $20 billion.
Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters

WASHINGTON This one is both highly personal and disturbingly global. On Wednesday afternoon this week, fifth grade students of Sidwell Friends Middle School walked down Wisconsin Avenue to the Washington National Cathedral to say goodbye to one of their own. A suicide terrorist's bomb  at an Easter Sunday brunch at a Sri Lankan hotel  had taken the life of their classmate, Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, age 11. They gathered in pews with parents to celebrate the life of Kieran, who had died along with more than 250 others in nine coordinated attacks. They heard about his pet ball pythons and the wooden mazes he built for them, about his too-long showers and tendency to misplace things, about his knack for math and science and his gentle spirit and captivating smile. Our daughter Johanna, also 11, had been a classmate and friend of Kieran since pre-kindergarten. Like her classmates, she was looking forward to his return from a year abroad in Sri Lanka. Like the others, she couldn't fathom why God would take this sweet soul so prematurely, this boy with the biggest heart and the most inventive Halloween costumes. The pastor couldn't help them. "How did this happen? Why did this happen? These are the questions that haunt us," said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. "Why God allows such tragic events to take place, I do not know." Yet he did offer a response: "We have to push back against the evil that would divide us, the evil that seeks to create fear, hatred and destruction. We have to push back, not with violence but with a renewed commitment to reach out to one another, to be like Kieran and seek to build new relationships, new understandings, to live with love and hope and courage." "This is Kieran's example to us."

A global and more coordinated response

What Reverend Hollerith didn't say was that events of recent weeks have underscored that the community that pushes back would need to be global and more coordinated and resourceful than is currently the case. The ISIS terrorist cancer that took Kieran's life isn't defeated or even in remission, but rather it is metastasizing since its loss of a caliphate first in Iraq and then finally Syria. The Trump administration's national security strategy has represented a shift from the post 9-11 emphasis on fighting terrorism to address a new era of major power competition with China and Russia. However, what's growing clearer with each day is that the United States and its allies will likely have to contend with extremist, Islamist terrorism for decades to come. On Monday, just two days before Kieran's funeral, the so-called Islamic State released a video of its leader and the world's most wanted man, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, signaling this new challenge. "Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy," he said in an 18-minute video, "and they must know that jihad will continue until Judgment Day." He praised the Sri Lanka Easter attacks as an act of vengeance against "Crusaders" for ISIS' last loss of territory in Baghouz, Syria and added "Praise to Allah" that "among the dead were Americans and Europeans." Much remains to be explained about the video and what it says about the well-being and location of the ISIS leader and the capabilities and reach of his terrorist organization. The apparent intent of Baghdadi's decision to surface, despite a $25-million bounty on his head, is to reassert his authority and send a signal that the Islamic State still exists and that he is still in charge, even after having lost his caliphate. It's believed several thousand battle-hardened ISIS combatants have now re-formed as an international network of militants that will sometimes remain silent and at other times launch unpredictable attacks in under-prepared settings like Sri Lanka. In a piece in The Atlantic, Graeme Wood studies the image Baghdadi projects in the video, his first since declaring the caliphate in 2014. He has morphed himself from the religiously robed, rhetorically grandiose leader of a caliphate with a well-armed military, tax collectors and health inspectors to "a terrorist leader, an insurgent, a shadow leader of a subterranean movement of global reach." The garb is a pocketed vest, rifle by his side, with a sheet as backdrop.

Terrorism 3.0
Isabel Diaz Tinoco (L) and Jose Luis Tinoco speak with Otto Hernandez, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as they shop for insurance under the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of Americas on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images

The Affordable Care Act once again faces legal hurdles after President Donald Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit questioning the health-care law's constitutionality. If the lawsuit succeeds and the courts decide to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans could lose their health care if a replacement plan is not established. Though Trump wanted to replace the law with a new Republican plan before the 2020 elections, the GOP refused to bring forward its own proposal until it wins a majority in the House of Representatives. The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn Obamacare after a federal judge in Texas ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the removal of a tax penalty levied against citizens without health insurance. The Trump administration reduced the tax penalty, called the individual mandate, to $0 in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Though Obamacare remains law while it awaits deliberation in the courts, about 25 million Americans may be left uninsured if the law is struck down in its entirety. Here's who is at risk of losing their health insurance if Obamacare is repealed:

Exchange plans

Approximately 11.4 million Americans enrolled or re-enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan in 2019. Obamacare established public marketplaces for individuals and families to shop for insurance plans that are compliant with ACA regulations. The exchanges also let citizens see if they qualify for federal subsidies that can help reduce health care costs. Twenty-eight states use federally run marketplaces, while 12 states use their own state-based marketplaces. Eleven states use either federally supported state marketplaces or marketplaces that are run by a partnership between the federal government and the state. But those exchanges would likely cease to exist if Obamacare is repealed, according to Cori Uccello, a senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries. "If the entire law has to go, then what is an exchange?" asked Uccello. Uccello said she is not sure what would happen to the state exchanges, but people who got their plans on the federal marketplace would almost certainly lose their coverage. States could potentially step in and fund their own exchanges, according to Ben Sommers, professor of health policy and economics at Harvard University, "but that's not a straightforward process," he said.

Medicaid expansion

Medicaid enrollment increased by 16 million people since Obamacare went into effect, with 13.6 million of those people living in Medicaid expansion states. Obamacare expanded Medicaid eligibility to cover adults at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid was also expanded to make uninsured children and many people with mental illnesses eligible for coverage. Thirty-six states and D.C. have adopted Medicaid expansion and 14 states have not. As of now, the federal government pays 90% of the cost in states that have expanded Medicaid, but if Obamacare is repealed, states would no longer receive that funding. Sommers said states don't have the resources to continue Medicaid expansion without federal funds, which could cause the people now insured through expanded eligibility to lose their coverage. "We're talking about millions of low income adults that become uninsured," Sommers said.

Pre-existing conditions
Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images

For Emmanus Stephen, an Uber driver from Asbury Park, New Jersey, earning enough to pay the bills means strategizing carefully about where he will work each day. Local, short-distance rides near his home on the Jersey Shore are convenient for him, but they don't pay well  "You drive all day and you can make $100," says the father of six. So to pay the bills, he'll often drive the 45 miles to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he can shuttle travelers on longer distance, more lucrative trips. He works all night to beat the New Jersey traffic, then heads home at 4 a.m., dropping his children off at school before getting some shuteye. With Uber preparing for an IPO, the issue of whether gig economy workers like Stephen can earn a living wage is likely to reemerge. For publicly traded companies, the issue of social impact is a growing issue. Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers, according to The State of Independence in America 2018 report by MBO Partners, which studies the freelance economy. For those millions of full-time gig workers, getting recognized as a full-fledged employee  at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere  is not coming anytime soon. This week the Department of Labor clarified that these workers are to be classified as independent contractors that are not entitled to health insurance and other benefits that would force companies to follow federal minimum-wage laws. (However, companies still have to abide with local minimum wage requirements.)

Making a living wage

Steve King, an analyst at Emergent Research, which studies independent workers, says Uber and Lyft drivers net $12 to $15 an hour after costs, based on his firm's calculations. "That is substantially below what you need to earn to have a middle-class job," says King. The median household income in the U.S. was $63,378, according to Sentier Research, which bases its calculations on U.S. Census Bureau data. But many ride-share drivers don't have the skills required for jobs where they could earn more and would otherwise have to take a minimum-wage position somewhere, notes King. For them, gig work offers a benefit they would not have in a lower-skilled, hourly job. "They have more flexibility and freedom driving," he says. More from At Work: 4 gig economy trends transforming the job market

What's key for workplace happiness That said, many gig workers earn far more than ride-share drivers do. "A lot of them are highly skilled and paid that way," says King. The Freelancing in America 2018 survey, run by the giant platform Upwork, found that 31% of freelancers earn $75,000 a year or more, up 15 points since 2014. Among respondents who left a traditional job to freelance, 73% said they earn more now freelancing than they did at their prior, traditional job.

Julie Ewald, founder of Impressa Solutions, a marketing firm in Milwaukee, got her start as a solo freelancer on Upwork eight years ago. She made enough to quit several part-time jobs she was juggling and has since expanded her business by bringing on a small army of contractors she found on Upwork. Being very specialized has helped her to command healthy fees, she says, and she does not find she's an anomaly in the world of freelance workers. "Some of the folks I meet are doing really, really well," she says. Jeff Brown, a radio veteran turned podcaster from Nashville, Tennessee, who runs an online event for freelancers called The Boss-Free Virtual Summit, says the best paid freelancers generally aren't "trading time for money" like Uber and Lyft drivers but instead are creating products or recurring services that tap into their knowledge. "Create something once and sell it hundreds, if not thousands, of times," he advises. In his own case, he started a paid, subscription-based book club.

The talent chase heats up
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of his country's own Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017.

North Korea launched "several unidentified short-range projectiles" on Saturday, a South Korean military official told NBC News.

"We confirm that what North Korea launched today was not ballistic missiles," the official told NBC News.

The official said the projectiles were launched at about 9:06 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. Korean Standard Time from Wonsan's Hodo Bando area in a northeastern direction. The official said the projectiles traveled about 70 to 200 kilometers (about 43 to 124 miles).

Officials had originally said there was one missile launched.

"The National Security's chief, the Minister of National Defense, the head of the National Intelligence Service have gathered at South Korea's presidential office and are monitoring the current situation and are sharing information closely with the U.S. counterparts," a South Korean's presidential spokesperson told NBC.

The Associated Press reported that Japan's Defense Ministry does not see any immediate risk to the country's national security as the missiles did not enter the territory.

South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the situation, the military official told NBC, adding that the South Korean military has upped its surveillance and on the look out for more launches.

A senior administration official told NBC that National Security Advisor John Bolton has "fully briefed" President Donald Trump on the situation.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

This incident comes a little over two weeks after Pyongyang said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of a new type of tactical guided weapon.

Saturday's launch is the second time North Korea fired a missile since talks collapsed between Trump and Kim in February. The two men had met in Hanoi to discuss the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, but those talks ended abruptly without a deal. That summit had followed the historic meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June.

In April 2018, North Korea had pledged to cease its nuclear and long-range missile tests. But suspicions about that promise flared when satellite images surfaced suggesting that a long-range missile test site was undergoing "rapid rebuilding."

Saturday's missile launch risks reigniting tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

The Trump administration has been pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons but so far Pyongyang has resisted. On Friday, Sanders said Trump pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage Kim to denuclearize. But the Russian leader responded by urging the U.S. to ease its sanctions on the isolated state.

The North Korean leader had his first meeting last week with Putin. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin discussed that meeting and his takeaways with Trump.

 CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed reporting.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at federal court, April 4, 2019 in New York City. A federal judge will hear oral arguments this afternoon in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seeks to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal.

Tesla's security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who "will do anything to see us fail" are "targeting" employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, "Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges."

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, "In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists."

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

Tesla's beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the company's recent accomplishments including:

Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

CEO Elon Musk's promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So it's not surprising that Tesla's security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

Here's the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges. As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day. When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they "will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish" any of Tesla's confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted]. If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted]. The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary. We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization. Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information. If you're unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences: * This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day. * A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information. * A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets. * Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations. * In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Tesla's Communications policy. It's every employee's responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Tesla's mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

WATCH: Elon Musk is interested in buying $25 million Tesla stock
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.

OMAHA, Neb.  88-year-old Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway shareholders another hint about who his successor (or successors) will be, but once again refused to tip his hand too much, frustrating some in the audience at the company's annual meeting who repeatedly asked him for more information on the matter.

The chairman and chief executive officer said at the company's annual meeting that longtime executives Greg Abel and Ajit Jain could one day join him and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on stage and answer questions from shareholders.

For years, Buffett and Munger have taken questions from Berkshire shareholders without sharing the stage at an arena in Omaha. But Buffett said Saturday that "this format will not be around forever and if it's better to have them up on the stage, then we'd be happy to do it." He added that they thought of having all four of them on stage at the same time.

Abel and Jain were promoted last year, with Abel running Berkshire's noninsurance businesses while Jain handles all insurance-related operations. These promotions made them the clear-cut favorites to succeed Buffett once he departs from his post.

Jain and Abel even answered shareholder questions on Saturday at Buffett's urging, two rare occurrences at the annual gathering.

Still, Buffett shied away from hinting at exactly who is the frontrunner and when they would take over. Instead, he said of Abel and Jain: "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished."

Buffett made his remarks after hearing a shareholder's question on the succession matter. The crowd erupted in applause after the question was read, a sign of just how much the matter is weighing on their minds. Buffett has been running Berkshire since the 1960s and over that time the conglomerate has returned more than 20% annually, double the return of the S&P 500. Many shareholders want to know what the long-term succession plan is.

But Munger, Buffett's longtime right-hand man, said the way Berkshire operates makes succession questions tough to answer.

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," Munger said. "We don't have analyst committees deliberating forever and making bad decisions. We're radically different. It's awkward being so different, but I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us."

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People Ethan Miller | Getty Images

When Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping student debt forgiveness proposal last month, many borrowers imagined how their lives would transform if their loan balance shrank or disappeared. "Emotionally, it's the biggest thing in the back of your mind," said Dominic DeFelice, 23, who owes more than $100,000. "To have Elizabeth Warren actually come out and have a plan for it felt really good." On Twitter, people described what student debt forgiveness would mean to them and included the hashtag #cancelmydebt. Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans. Average debt at graduation is currently around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the early 1990s. Repayment is a challenge for many: Every day, 3,000 borrowers default.

Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "The time for half measures is over," Warren writes. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Critics of the proposal, which could cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, say much of the money would go to borrowers with high incomes who are capable of repaying their debt. Others say the plan only throws money at the larger problem of rising tuition. Still, more than half of Americans say student debt is "a major problem" for the country, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. And it's no wonder people saddled with student debt can't help but dream of a different life (even if the candidate with the proposal trails in the polls): 67 percent of people with student debt say the loans delayed them from buying a house, car or large appliance. Forty percent claimed the debt caused them to put off having a child or getting married. CNBC spoke with borrowers about how the Massachusetts Democratic senator's proposal would change their circumstances.

Dominic DeFelice Source: Dominic DeFelice

DOMINIC DeFELICE'S bachelor's degree in geology left him $120,000 in the hole. "That amount of money is incomprehensible to someone like me," said the 23-year-old DeFelice. "I should have known that at 17." The entry level jobs to which he's been applying since he graduated last year from Juniata College in Pennsylvania offer annual salaries of around $30,000. After taxes, he calculates, he'd have $2,200 a month to live on. His student loan bill is more than $1,300. (The loans are currently on pause, accruing interest.) "I invested in an education and I don't see a return in sight," DeFelice said. He said his brother, who is 2 years younger and never went to college, makes more money as a security guard. DeFelice noticed a lot of the environmental jobs he hoped to fill require a graduate degree. And so thanks to a grant he received, he recently enrolled at Brooklyn College to get his master's degree in geology. However, he decided to leave school after just one semester, realizing that, given the high cost of living in New York, he'd still have to take out some loans.

I could actually plan my life. Dominic DeFelice

"It could really amplify my earning potential, but I just can't," he said. "I'm just digging myself deeper when I'm already at rock bottom." Education loans, ironically, can be a barrier to education: One study found that bachelor degree recipients without debt are 70% more likely to enroll in further schooling than those with debt. Under Warren's plan, DeFelice would have $50,000 of his federal loans wiped away, and potentially some of his private loans, too. With a smaller debt load, he said, he could likely finish his schooling and not have to move back in with his parents or his girlfriend's, a reality now on his horizon. "I could actually plan my life," he said.

Kanu Mendoza Source: Kanu Mendoza

KANU MENDOZA wishes she could work less, but she owes more than $50,000 in student loans. When a disk in her back ruptured, the 52-year-old had to leave the Navy after a two-decade career. To advance in the Navy, she pursued a bachelor's degree in leadership and then a master's in public administration at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Currently, she's a supervisor at an aerospace manufacturing company in San Diego. "If I didn't have that debt hanging over my head, I'd probably find a less demanding job," Mendoza said. "It's difficult when you're in so much pain you don't want to move, but you have to get up and go to work." Student debt is growing fast among older people: In 2018, Americans over age 50 owed more than $260 billion in student loans, up from $36 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Mendoza said her $400 monthly student loan bill makes it hard for her to save for retirement. Her pension is just $1,500 a month. "If I didn't have that debt I could retire in the next few years," Mendoza said. "With it, I'm going to be in the workforce another 10 years, if not longer."

Morgan Hopkins has paid off more than $12,000 in credit card debt during the break for student loan borrowers. Source: Jaheem J. Green

MORGAN HOPKINS would like to start a family. But she owes more than $75,000 in student loans, for her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and women's studies. "If I could understand the implication of having this debt forever, I might have made a different choice," Hopkins, 31, said of her education. Today, she works as a national field manager at a nonprofit in Denver. She said it's going to take years of planning for her and her boyfriend to be able to have a child and buy a house  and even just a financial cushion should one of them lose their job or fall ill. "If I didn't have half-a-rent payment in student debt, I'd have an emergency savings plan," she said.

How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life? Morgan Hopkins

Her monthly student loan bill is more than $900, most of which she said just goes to interest. "I haven't seen any significant reduction," Hopkins said. Under Warren's plan, half of Hopkins' debt would be canceled, and all of her boyfriend's loans would be forgiven. The result: She could see a future. "I have a lot of financial stress now, as a lot of our generation does," Hopkins said. "How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life?"

Madeline Smith Source: Madeline Smith
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday retweeted messages from conspiracy theorists and far-right figures after Facebook banned several right-wing personalities for promoting violence and hate.

Trump has lashed out against Facebook following the bans, tweeting on Friday that he is "continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms." On Saturday morning, he retweeted a number of Twitter users who defended the far-right personalities, including one of the banned users.

Later in the day, Trump questioned why The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were allowed on Facebook and Twitter, saying much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

Trump resumed his attacks on tech giants on Saturday afternoon, asking how it is possible for a "strong but responsible Conservative Voice" like actor James Woods to be banned from Twitter. Woods got locked out of Twitter for posting the hashtag #HangThemAll in an apparent reference to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, according to a screen capture shared by Woods' girlfriend Sara Miller.

Tweet

Facebook on Thursday banned Infowars, as well as its founder Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, the former editor-at-large for the website, which is notorious for pushing conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was staged. Facebook also banned far-right media personalities Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as Paul Nehlen, who has run for Congress in Wisconsin and is widely considered a white supremacist.

"We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today," Facebook said in a statement.

Trump on Saturday retweeted two messages from Watson, the former Infowars deputy who now hosts a YouTube channel called Prison Planet Live known for its nativist screeds. On Friday, Trump tweeted that he was "so surprised" to see "Conservative thinkers" like Watson and Woods banned from Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

He also promoted a tweet by Lauren Southern, a far-right author and activist who backed the anti-refugee campaign Defend Europe, which sought to harass boats attempting to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, Southern and activists from the nativist Generation Identity movement filmed themselves firing flares at a Doctors Without Borders vessel.

The president on Friday retweeted an anti-Islamic video shared by Deep State Exposed, an account tied to author Jeremy Stone, who is associated with a pro-Trump conspiracy theory called QAnon.

The video shared by Stone and resurfaced by Trump shows a bearded man with subtitles saying Muslims will conquer the U.S. and kill Americans, take their women and smash their churches if they do not convert to Islam. The last subtitle highlights the words "this is Islam."

Stone boasts in his Twitter profile that he has been retweeted by Trump nine times.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to promote his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for the two countries to have a good or great relationship.

Trump suggested the "Fake News Media" is not covering that potential fairly. He alleged the media misled the public about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media," he tweeted.

Tweet

Trump and Putin spoke for over an hour on Friday, the White House said. The two discussed the Mueller report, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea and nuclear arms control.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are currently heightened on several fronts.

Washington backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in his bid to push strongman Nicolas Maduro from power, while Moscow is supporting the Maduro regime. The Trump administration also suspended a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia this year, and U.S. sanctions remain in place on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and its role in the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in order to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster Trump. Mueller indicted 13 individuals and three entities in Russia on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by posing as Americans to stoke political and racial tension on social media during the election.

Mueller's report concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's assistance in the 2016 campaign but found insufficient evidence to bring a charge of conspiracy. American law enforcement warns that Russia will likely step up its efforts during the 2020 election.

Trump continued his long-standing criticism of the media's coverage of the investigation on Saturday, saying "Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.'"

"When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!" Trump tweeted earlier on Saturday.

Trump questioned why the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC are allowed on Twitter and Facebook. He said much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

In fact, Mueller's investigation did not attempt to assess whether collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place. Collusion is not a legal term. The special counsel considered whether there was evidence of criminal conspiracy.

 CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a break in talks at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on February 28, 2019.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with North Korea 'will happen,' hours after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had fired new tactical guided weapons.



Trump said he believes Kim Jong Un will do nothing to interfere with the "great economic potential" of North Korea.



"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me," Trump said. "Deal will happen!"



Trump tweet: Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!



The South Korean military said Sunday that North Korea fired multiple rocket launchers including new tactical guided weapons. A military official told NBC News that Pyongyang did not launch ballistic missiles.

Seoul originally said the North had launched a single missile, but subsequently changed its language and said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified, short-range vertical objects.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the projectiles landed in the sea east of the Korean peninsula and never posed a threat to South Korea, Japan or the United States.

"We know that they were relatively short range and beyond that we know they weren't intercontinental ballistic missiles either," Pompeo said.

The South Korean president's office said Seoul and Washington are sharing detailed information and analyzing the material used in the projectiles and what exactly they were.

"In particular, we do notice that North Korea's action this time has taken place when the de-nuclearization dialogue is in lull state," presidential spokeswoman Koh Min Jung said. "We do hope that North Korea would positively participate in efforts to resume the dialogue."

A senior U.S. administration official told NBC News that National Security Advisor John Bolton had "fully briefed" Trump on the situation.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration is aware of North Korea's actions: "We will continue to monitor as necessary," she said.



In April, North Korea claimed to have "tested a powerful warhead" in the first public weapons test for the regime since Trump and Kim met for a historic summit in Singapore last year.



Trump and Kim held a second round of talks in Vietnam February of this year, but negotiations collapsed after Trump reportedly handed Kim a note demanding he turn over the North's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel.
Warren Buffett has shown a bigger interest in the oil industry with Berkshire Hathaway's recent $10 billion investment to back Occidental Petroleum's bid for Anadarko Petroleum, and he said it's a bet on the Permian Basin.

"I mean the Permian Basin is four million barrels a day. It's incredible," Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an interview before the start of Berkshire's 2019 annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Remember it was the last great find in the United States 40 years ago or more...The United States is producing 12 million barrels and four million" are from the Permian, he added.

Occidental revealed this week that Berkshire has committed to invest $10 billion in the company to help fund its proposed acquisition of Anadarko. Berkshire would make the investment by purchasing 100,000 shares of preferred stock, which pays out an 8% annual dividend.

Backed by Berkshire, Occidental's bid topped an earlier bid by Chevron. However, the "Oracle of Omaha" doesn't consider it to be a hostile deal because Anadarko wants to sell its properties.

"I mean it's not a hostile deal in that Anadarko had been talking to Occidental about the sale of their properties...It's different than Coca-Cola or something like that. You are buying physical assets...Anadarko wanted to sell...It wasn't like a private company being sold or a management controlled company," Buffett told Quick.

When asked about why Buffett didn't buy Anadarko outright, Buffett said he's not an expert on the oil industry.

"Charlie is quite impressed with the Permian Basin. He knows more about oil than I do, which isn't really much praise, but we both follow that," Buffett said.

The Permian Basin, which is 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, stretches from New Mexico to Texas and holds more than 20 of the top 100 oil fields in the country, according to Chevron.

"You can mess up oil fields very easily. A lot of that was done in the early days, so you can take a field that is huge and by foolish production techniques you can reduce the recoveries dramatically," Buffett said.

At a Q&A session at the annual meeting, when asked if Berkshire will do other large financing transactions in the future, Buffett said "Maybe there's one three or four years from now, it won't be identical. I hope it's larger. The point is we are very likely to get the call because we can do something that really no institution can do it."

"Well I like it," Charlie Munger, Berkshire's Vice Chairman and Buffett's longtime partner, said at the annual meeting, referring to the Occidental investment.
Warren Buffett tours the shopping kiosks at the 2019 BHASM in Omaha, NE on May 3rd, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway's Amazon bet seems to stray from Warren Buffett's value investing style, but the Oracle of Omaha said the e-commence giant still meets the philosophy.

"The people making the decision on Amazon are absolutely [as] much value investors as I was when I was looking around for all these things selling below working capital years ago. That has not changed," Buffett said Saturday during a Q&A session at Berkshire's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. "The considerations are identical when you buy Amazon versus ... say a bank stock that looks cheap against book value or earnings of some sort."

Berkshire Hathaway revealed this week that one of its investment managers has been buying shares of Amazon. The news sent Amazon's stock soaring more than 3% that day. The stock is up 30% this year.

Buffett said the money managers who bought Amazon shares took into consideration a slew of financial metrics including the company's sales, margins, tangible assets, excess cash and excess debt.

"All those things go into making a calculation as to whether they should buy A versus B versus C and they are absolutely following the principal...I don't second guess them," he added.

Berkshire has been sticking with big value companies such as Coca-Cola and Bank of America over the years, missing out on the big tech boom that saw some of the so-called FANG names crossing $1 trillion market cap. Buffett just started purchasing Apple as recently as February 2017.

Berkshire's vice chairman and longtime investing partner, Charlie Munger, said he'd forgiven himself for not investing in Amazon earlier, but missing out on Google is a hard one to swallow.

"Warren and I are a little older than some people... Of course if something extreme as the internet happens and you don't catch it, other people are going to blow by you ... I give myself a pass. But I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google better. I think Warren feels the same way," Munger said Saturday.

"We saw it in our own operations and how well the Google advertising is working and we just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger added.

Google parent Alphabet's stock has surged from about $96 a share at its inception in 2004 to about $1,189 today.
Warren Buffett's aversion to bitcoin just escalated.

"It's a gambling device... there's been a lot of frauds connected with it. There's been disappearances, so there's a lot lost on it. Bitcoin hasn't produced anything," Buffett told a group of reporters ahead of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"It doesn't do anything. It just sits there. It's like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me," he added.

Buffett even compared the cryptocurrency to a button on his jacket.

"I'll tear off a button here. What I'll have here is a little token...I'll offer it to you for $1000, and I'll see if I can get the price up to $2000 by the end of the day... But the button has one use and it's a very limited use," Buffett said.

Buffett had previously called bitcoin "rat poison squared," and Berkshire's vice chairman Charlie Munger said trading in cryptocurrencies is "just dementia." Bitcoin rallied to a six-month high on Friday, rebounding from a steep loss last year.

However, the Oracle of Omaha acknowledged the blockchain technology that bitcoin is built on has some promise.

"Blockchain...is very big, but it didn't need bitcoin. J.P. Morgan of course came out with their own cryptocurrency," Buffett said Saturday.

Asked if Buffett will get involved with blockchain, he said "We are probably doing it indirectly, but no, I wouldn't be the person to be a big leader in blockchain."
Max Beaverbrook: Not Quite a Gentleman by Charles Williams

Max Beaverbrook is one of the most entertaining figures ever to have sat in a British Cabinet. He did so twice, during both the First and the Second World Wars, despite being detested and distrusted by a large part of the Establishment.

And yet the Beaver, as he was known, has slipped almost into oblivion, a name but not much more to most people under the age of 70. This book performs the valuable task of bringing a strange and gifted figure once more before the public.

Charles Williams provides, at the start of this biography, a useful list of some of the people who loathed Beaverbrook. They included Kings George V and VI, Stanley Baldwin, Clement Attlee, Lords Alanbrooke and Curzon, Hugh Dalton, Ernest Bevin and a large segment of the Canadian political and industrial establishments.

But Winston Churchill decided he was just the man to put in charge of aircraft production in May 1940, and David Lloyd George entrusted propaganda to him in early 1918, when the Germans were gathering themselves for a last attempt at a knockout blow in the west.

Beaverbrook was an adventurer who spotted opportunities where others could only see problems; a businessman of genius whose early fortune was founded on attaining, by devious manoeuvres to which this author devotes too much attention, a near monopoly in Canadian cement.

He was born Max Aitken in 1879, the third son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who had emigrated to New Brunswick, in Canada, as there were no jobs going in Scotland. Max was a rebel who started out with nothing except a knowledge of the Bible, but who soon displayed astonishing gifts as a financier.

Having made large sums and a reputation for sharp practice in Canada, he moved to Britain, where in December 1910 he was elected Conservative MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. At the same time he made friends with Bonar Law, like him the son of a minister in New Brunswick, who the following year became Conservative Party leader.

Aitken was at the heart of the manoeuvres which at the end of 1916 saw Asquith supplanted as Prime Minister by Lloyd George, after which Aitken was raised to the peerage as the first Lord Beaverbrook.

The King was not pleased, nor were the upper reaches of the aristocracy. But Beaverbrook had taken control of The Daily Express, and was turning it into an enormous success, the greatest mid-market newspaper of its time, smart and popular and a source for its proprietor of great influence, for there could be no doubt who decided the editorial line.

Beaverbrook sent jolts of electricity through any outfit where he took control. He was a malicious bully who was also capable of great generosity, and who stood by friends when they got into trouble. He had a brilliant eye for talented subordinates.

He despised Stanley Baldwin, who dominated the Conservative Party for the 14 years after Bonar Laws death in 1923. Baldwin tempted Beaverbrook into overplaying his hand, and gave him and his fellow press baron Lord Rothermere a bloody nose by accusing them of exercising power without responsibility  the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.

It seemed as though Beaverbrooks career, except as a newspaper proprietor and a writer of vivid and perceptive books about Lloyd George and other men of power he had known, might well be over. Then the nation turned to Churchill, an outsider in Conservative Party terms, and Churchill needed to recruit other outsiders who could help him to grip and dynamise Whitehall.

This is the most exciting part of Williamss account. The pace quickens as Beaverbrook seeks to ensure that the RAF gets the planes it needs. He picks tremendous battles within the bureaucracy, threatens at frequent intervals to resign, but is told by the Prime Minister that he is indispensable.

For Churchill, Beaverbrook is a boon companion, a friend with whom in the darkest days of the war he can find relief from the almost intolerable burden of leadership, an ally who can be sent to negotiate with Stalin and Roosevelt, and who charms them too. Clementine Churchill, by contrast, regarded him with lifelong distrust.

The first sentence of this book reads:

Lady Diana Cooper, in her day one of Londons leading society lionesses, described Max Beaverbrook as this strange attractive gnome with an odour of genius about him.

The word lionesses will not do as a category in which to place Lady Diana. Nor is there any need for in her day. But the quotation which follows is wonderful.

This mixture runs through the book. Williams can be cloth-eared, but has a keen eye for good material. The dust jacket notes that he is 86. His industry puts many younger biographers to shame.

At times, however, it is excessive. He sketches more of the background to various early transactions than we really need, and this thoroughness is accompanied by a sense of responsibility which sometimes gets in the way of conveying his subjects utter irresponsibility.

He is not unscrupulous enough to revel in Beaverbrooks exploits. The author remarks that his own wife, Jane Portal, who got to know Beaverbrook in her capacity as Churchills secretary, still describes him as somebody you would instinctively walk away from.

Her instinctive reaction was right. Beaverbrook usually treated the women in his life, who were numerous, with cruel neglect once his eye had been attracted by new conquests.

To get an idea of how intolerable but also invigorating Beaverbrook was, the short sketch of him in old age by his great-nephew, Jonathan Aitken, published as the first essay in Heroes and Contemporaries (2006), is in some ways a better place to start.

Williams quotes an admirable description of Beaverbrook by Peter Masefield, who worked for him during the war:

He was unlike any other man I ever knew. For all his foibles and tough exterior, he was at heart deeply sensitive and often lonely. Critical, thrusting, demanding, self-centred and intolerant, he could be kind and even generous, just as he could be hasty and vindictive. He could reverse passionate feelings within hours. He perpetually maintained a hard front, even when the man inside had softened. I often thought of the frightened little boy in Canada, whose Presbyterian father had drunk away the familys slender funds.

The religion mattered. Beaverbrook was steeped in it, and said it was better to be an evangelist than a cabinet minister or a millionaire. As a lapsed Calvinist, he suffered from deep feelings of guilt, and was profoundly hurt by the scathing reviews given to one of his last books, The Divine Propagandist, which attempted to present the life of Jesus as it appears to worldly men of my generation.

Williams touches on the religion, but does not convey how important it was. Perhaps that is an impossible task. Beaverbrook was good at covering his tracks, and in 1964, shortly before his death, had a lot of his personal papers burned.

He liked buying up other mens papers, and controlling access to them during his lifetime, but there were strict limits to how mischievous the great mischief maker wanted anyone else to be at his own expense.

It is a pity he is not better known today, for among many other qualities, he was a remarkable journalist, who for over 60 years cultivated at his various houses a range of contacts of which most people could only dream, and was ruthless and vulgar enough to publish what they told him, except when he was covering up Churchills stroke or Tom Dribergs trial for indecent assault.

Beaverbrooks refusal to treat the Establishment with the respect it believed it deserved was attractive to men of the Left such as Driberg, Michael Foot and A.J.P.Taylor.

But it was not attractive to Attlee. When Churchill said during the 1945 general election that a Labour government would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo  an accusation against his wartime coalition partner which was generally reckoned to have gone much too far  Attlee was quick to counter-attack, while at the same time exculpating Churchill, whom he liked and admired:
Local elections 1) The Conservatives lose 1,300 councillors, the worst results since 1995

The results in full  BBC

Conservatives must change course, or die  Leader, Daily Telegraph

The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blairs humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago as they lost 1,269 council seats. Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a devastating voter backlash over Brexit. On a night described as brutal by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live TV interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents. Labour, which had expected to profit from the Conservatives failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful Opposition leader of the past 40 years.  Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: The local election aftermath. May and Corbyn are like two spooked children, drawing nearer for comfort as the thunder rages.

>Yesterday:

Local elections 2) There is worse to come, warns Javid.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted voters had issues of trust over Brexit, and said the European elections would be even more challenging. But, in a rallying cry to Conservatives in Aberdeen, he said that a divided party cannot unite a divided nationThe home secretary said the party risked losing voters trust after not delivering on a promise at the heart of our last manifesto. And, speaking about the European elections, due to take place on 23 May, he said: We shouldnt be surprised if people tick the protest box on the ballot paper. Without anything else at stake, it will be a verdict on the delivery of Brexit.  BBC

Home Secretary vows to secure more funding for the police  The Sun

Local elections 3) May to be told she must set a departure date

How can the battered Tories defend themselves with a leader whos keeping them on their knees?  Leader, The Sun

One member of the 1922 Committee  has already told colleagues that he has changed his mind and would now favour a rule change to allow a challenge  James Forsyth, The Sun

Theresa May will be told by senior Tories that she must set a date for her departure next week after their party was given its worst drubbing in local elections in almost a quarter of a centuryThe head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, will meet the prime minister when the Commons returns on Tuesday to request that she set a timetable for her departure. It is understood that Sir Graham met Mrs May before the elections on Thursday but agreed to defer the committees demand for her to set a date to leave until after the vote. Yesterday a source on the committee said that if Mrs May refused to set a date they could move to rewrite the rules to allow a fresh no-confidence vote in her leadership. Priti Patel, the former cabinet minister, led calls for Mrs May to go while Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, called on the 1922 Committee to take action.  The Times

.>Today: Dinah Glover on Comment: The Prime Minister lacks empathy, negotiates badly  and doesnt lead. The Conservative Party needs to get her out now.

>Yesterday: WATCH: May heckled at the Welsh Conservative conference. Why dont you resign?

Local elections 4) Labour lost seats too

Labour had expected to make gains, but instead suffered a net loss, and lost control of a string of councils, including Burnley, Darlington and Wirral.Many Labour MPs suggested the results underlined the urgency for Labour to shift to a full-throated remain position. But Corbyn insisted: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done. Parliament has to resolve this issue  I think that is very, very clear. Close Corbyn allies Ian Lavery and Richard Burgon echoed his message, saying Brexit was detracting from a string of other crucial issues, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the message from voters was: Brexit  sort it.  The Guardian

Sir Tony Robinson resign from the Labour Party  The Sun

McDonnell had predicted 400 net gains  Daily Express

How Corbyn was snared in a death trap by trying to appeal to either side of the Brexit debate but ended up offending both  Peter Oborne, Daily Mail

Local elections 5) Lib Dems feeling tiggerish

Pavement politics can still matter  Sir John Curtice, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 6) Charge of the independents

Sir Vince Cable, who is preparing to stand down as leader, described his party as the big success story of the night. He took a swipe at Change UK, which also backs a second Brexit referendum, saying: We are clearly the dominant, successful Remain party. Change UK was not formed in time to compete in the local elections but will field candidates in the European elections on May 23. A Lib Dem source said that their party had a bounce in our step and we are feeling Tiggerish, a play on Change UKs first name, the Independent Group (TIG), and the Tiggers nickname given to its members. On a bruising night for the two main parties, the Lib Dems scored a victory in Leave-supporting Chelmsford, Essex, where they are now in control of the council. They also took councils including North Devon, North Norfolk, Winchester, Cotswold and Vale of White Horse in OxfordshireThe Lib Dems also did well in typically strong Labour areas like Hull and Barnsley. Lib Dem sources played down the idea that the party was simply the beneficiary of protest votes, pointing out that it had taken seats in areas where it had a strong local history.  The Times

A community fed up with party politics has seized control of its council as independent candidates made big gains across the country. Voters in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, elected a new independent party to 30 of the councils 35 seats amid anger at Brexit wrangling. Only three Conservative councillors and two Labour survived as 65 per cent of the working-class districts voters backed the Ashfield Independents, with candidates in some wards taking 90 per cent of the vote. The humiliation for Labour in Ashfield came as independent candidates made sweeping gains across the UK, with more than 575 new councillors elected and 997 independents taking seats. In North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, the Tories lost control as eight independents were elected, while in the Labour heartland of Bolsover, Derbyshire the party lost control of the district council for the first time in 40 years. Among 11 new independents was Ross Walker, a bricklayer who went into politics after the council cut down a sycamore tree commemorating his grandfather.  The Times

Local elections 7) Green Party boasts of phenomenal gains

Local elections 8) Thousands of spoiled ballot papers

The Greens have hailed a phenomenal set of local election results Bartleys co-leader, Sian Berry, said the party had won its first councillors in areas not seen as traditionally Green areas, including South Tyneside, Sunderland, Colchester, Folkestone and the Cotswolds. Weve broken through on to the councils to become the new voice, she told BBC News. Weve done that through hard work, basically. I can pretty confidently say were going to have a record number of Greens on a record number of councils. In Sunderland, the Greens defeated Labour in Washington South. In South Tyneside, the party crushed Labour as its candidate took more than two-thirds of the vote to become the first Green member of the council.  The Guardian

Election results were delayed in parts of England overnight after so many people had deliberately spoilt their ballot papers. Some voters scribbled Brexit means Brexit, Get May out and us out of the EU or traitors on their forms and refused to mark crosses against any candidates names. Each of the spoilt papers had to be individually adjudicated and the number to be examined was higher than normal in Ipswich, Suffolk  delaying the result.In Basildon alone there were 800 spoilt ballot papers, reported BBC Essex. Brexit Party MEP candidate Michael Heaver said the figure showed huge anger out there. It was 200 in Immingham, Lincolnshire, with councillor David Watson saying: That is a phenomenal amount. The residents have disengaged with the political process. Meanwhile there were 414 in Castle Point, 600 in Tendring and 539 in Chelmsford, all in Essex, plus 647 in Folkestone & Hythe, Kent, and 693 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.  Daily Mail

Local elections 9) DUP holding up in Northern Ireland results so far

Son of murdered prison officer ecstatic as he thanks supporters after election  Belfast Telegraph

Local elections 10) Rees-Mogg: It could be a blessing in disguise

It was a good day for the Alliance and a bad one for the UUP and the TUV. Sinn Fein and the DUP look to be holding up their vote. Greens and People Before Profit had notable victories while the new pro-life party Aontu secured its first seat. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (which finished up at 6am), Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Mid Ulster councils have all completed meaning with still have eight councils still to declare.  Belfast Telegraph

People who normally vote Tory either stayed at home or voted for a protest party, be it Liberal Democrats, Greens or independents. Labour suffered too because it also failed to deliver on its Brexit promises. Thus, the warning shot has been fired and the Conservative Party must heed it. While the importance of local government must not be understated, this could possibly be a blessing in disguise as it now gives the Tories the opportunity to make the things right that have gone wrong. Inevitably, this will be with a new leader. Mrs May has already announced that she will retire before the next election but it must be someone who will advocate Conservative principles, put them into action and ensure that promises and deeds match.  Jacob Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 11) Parris: These results show remainers must unite

The Voters Verdict  Leader, The Times

Something is rotten in Britains political system  Leader, Financial Times

Leadership 1) Davis declares for Raab

Surely this cries out for a temporary alliance of Remain-leaning political movements, and a temporary coming-together of Remain-leaning voters? Its too late for this in the European elections due on May 23. Change UK appears to have blocked co-operation. The Lib Dems are open to it. The Greens just might. But a leaked alleged strategy document from the Tiggers makes ugly reading. Strategy: Win over LD activists and members . . . attract support and resources from LD backers . . . draw attention to any ex-LD [parliamentary candidates] joining TIG . . .. Change UKs response when this was published was hardly a denial. And an article by Umunna, defending his partys disinclination to get into bed with anyone else, was shot through with an overconfident, even conceited, expectation of a moment that never came.  Matthew Parris, The Times

We will need a leader with focus and drive, a combination of conviction and tenacity. There is no shortage of talent in our party, but the demands on him or her will be great. Bluntly Brexit alone will require a unique combination of intellect, determination, decisiveness and courage. The next stage of Brexit, and the coming election will both be a real test of the character of the next prime minister. With all these considerations the standout candidate is Dominic Raab, so I will back him if he runs. I have known and worked with Dominic over the last 13 years so I know he has the vision and personal attributes required to lead us at these crossroads in our history.  David Davis, Daily Mail

Leadership 2) Gove claims to be a team player

Leadership 3) Hunt speaks out against the Customs Union

Michael Gove has insisted he has not gone soft on Brexit as he pledged to strive to get it over the line in the wake of the Tories disastrous local election resultsSpeaking from his parents home in Aberdeen, he also said he had learned from his botched 2016 Tory leadership campaign and insisted he was now a team player. Although he refused to be drawn on whether he intends to stand again in the race to succeed Theresa May, he argued that his conduct since being recalled from the subs bench showed his fellow Tory MPs that he is trustworthy. With his mother and father watching on, he paid tribute to them for instilling in him compassion and being unafraid to tell him home truths over his mistakes.  Interview with Michael Gove, Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt makes another thinly veiled leadership pitch by speaking out against the prospect of Britain staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit. The Foreign Secretary warned that it would fail British exporters because the UK would have no say in trade deals the EU signs with third countries.His comments came in an interview with the Press Association where he refused to reveal the naughtiest thing he has done  because its too X-rated. But the Foreign Secretary said it was definitely naughtier than running through a wheat field, which Theresa May famously said was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.  The Sun

Foreign Secretarys wife is his secret weapon  Daily Telegraph

Leadership 4) Hancock: Voters want the centre, not the extremes

Sedwill accused of failing to investigate troop numbers leak

 We need to deliver Brexit and then turn the page and we need to deliver from the centre ground, says Matt Hancock. The 40-year-old health secretary could be the new-generation Conservative leadership candidate. He is wearing jeans, a T-shirt and trainers when we meet the morning after the local elections at a cafe packed with mothers and babies in Kensal Rise, northwest London, where he orders us all a latte and fried banana bread and leans back to discuss the results.He dislikes the way some in his party, including the prime minister, have disparaged citizens of nowhere who havent stayed close to their roots.We need the Conservatives to be not just comfortable with modern Britain but champions of modern Britain.  Interview with Matt Hancock, The Times

Sir Mark Sedwill, the man behind the leak inquiry that led to Gavin Williamsons sacking, has been accused of refusing to investigate a leak which risked putting soldiers lives in danger. Allies of the former minister claimed Sir Mark had declined to intervene when a newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was to almost double the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr Williamson was so concerned that the story would compromise troop safety that he had tried to issue a D-Notice  the mechanism used to prevent newspapers reporting the most sensitive security issues. Sir Mark, however, declined to instigate a leak inquiry despite two separate requests from the then minister, according to Mr Williamsons allies.  Daily Telegraph

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy demands to see the evidence against Williamson  The Sun

Davidson promises an end to constitutional games

News in brief

The age of political volatility  Sunder Katwala, CapX

How the Tories can turn their dire election results around  James Forsyth, The Spectator

Grieve escapes deselection proceedings despite losing confidence vote  Independent

This climate change fantasy will cripple our economy  Benny Peiser, Conservative Woman

Neoliberals must retake the reins of the Conservative Party  Samuel Prosser, 1828

Ruth Davidson will deliver a withering assessment of Nicola Sturgeons record in government on Saturday as she promises no more constitutional games and no more referendums if she becomes Scotlands next First Minister. The Scottish Conservative leader will tell delegates at the party conference that the country must get out of the trenches of the last decade of Yes and No, Leave and Remain. Setting out her plan to replace Ms Sturgeon in 2021 she will pledge to build a better Scotland now, using the Scottish Parliaments powers, rather than blaming Westminster and agitating for independence.- Daily Telegraph
74%

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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-20, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-25, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
You might think that archaeology is nothing but sifting through the dirt trying to find 3,000-year-old toilet pits. But since we make the past every single day, the whole field of preserving history has had to step up its game. That means we're digging up 20th-century artifacts in places that are far stranger than any viking crapper. For example ...

5 The Original Lunar Photos Were Recovered From Somebody's Filthy Backyard

From '66 to '67, five NASA lunar orbiters took pictures of the moon's surface to pinpoint the best landing sites to model Stanley Kubrick's set after. These pictures, including the first-ever earthrise image, were beamed directly into magnetic tape decks. And in deference to their lofty purpose, these tapes were preserved with the same dignity afforded to your weird uncle's collection of 1970s amateur porn. They were printed once, in really terrible quality, and then shoved in a dusty box to be forgotten

Fast-forward to 2004, when NASA hackers in an old Usenet group learned that retired archivist Nancy Evans had saved the tapes from being destroyed in 1986. And when they tracked Evans down, they found both the tapes and the refrigerator-sized drives to read them on in her backyard garden shed, surrounded by farm animals. Together, Evans and the hackers launched the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (or LOIRP), tasking themselves with recovering the history trapped inside the hundreds of tapes. They established their base of operations in the greatest symbol of JFK's America: an abandoned McDonald's.
The AIDAstella made her inaugural call to Gibraltar on Friday, April 26, according to a statement.

Minister for Tourism Gilbert Licudi QC said: The call by the first AIDA cruise ship is significant and shows that Gibraltar continues to be an important port of call for cruise ships in the Mediterranean.

As with other inaugurals, there was an exchange of plaques onboard the ship between the Captain and representatives of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, the Port Authority and local shipping agents Lucas Imossi.
STRATFORD  Oronoque Village will host its sixth annual Mini Walk and Car Show to benefit the Alzheimers Associations Connecticut Chapter on Saturday morning, June 1 (rain date is Sunday, June 2).

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the South Clubhouse parking lot on South Trail and the short walk, loops around South Trail, starting at 9:30. The recommended entry donation is $10 per walker, but donations above the entry are very much appreciated. Water will be provided for the walkers. At 10 a.m. the Car Show begins in the back parking lot. A $10 entry donation per car is recommended. There will also be a bake sale so please bring money to indulge in our delectable baked goodies after the walk!
Contributed Photo / Google Maps

STRATFORD  Melanie M. Ordner, a 55-year old Stratford resident, was found dead in a vehicle in a New Hampshire store parking lot on Thursday, state police there said.

Around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, troopers from Troop A in New Hampshire responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the southbound State Liquor Store parking lot along Interstate 95 in Hampton, N.H., state police said.
Our own Bruce Siwy and Eric Kieta talk about their true-crime cases in Return To View: The Roundtable
CRUDE OIL PRICE FORECAST  TALKING POINTS

Selling pressure in crude sent oil prices tumbling over 2.5 percent before trimming losses during Fridays session to finish the week roughly 1 percent lower

A surprise stockpile build in the US sent oil prices swooning while calls on OPEC to increase production countered the prospect of supply constraints from the expiration of Iranian sanctions

Crude oil price outlook now shifts focus to the possibility of a US-China trade deal next week which could boost future demand for the commodity if materialized

Crude oil dipped 1.17 percent to $62.15/bbl over the last 5 trading days, inking back-to-back weekly losses for the commodity. The primary driver of recent downside could be attributed to reports from the EIA that crossed the wires during Thursdays session which stated US crude stockpiles skyrocketed 9.9m/bbl to their highest level since September 2017.

US OIL PRODUCTION AND CRUDE INVENTORIES

Source: EIA, Reuters | Henning Gloystein

Ballooning crude oil production in the US now tops 12m/bpd and largely contributed to the recent bulge in oil inventories. The trend looks to continue after the Trump administration announced that the Interior Department released a fresh set of regulations last week that makes offshore oil drilling easier for energy companies.

Furthermore, President Trump continues to demand that OPEC increases its output after oil prices have soared since the start of the year  but the recent threats of higher supply has sent crude plunging in response. Also, Saudi Arabia is already rumored to have plans in place to boost production ahead of an expected spike in domestic demand during the summer.

That being said, the updated EIA short-term energy outlook report is due for release on May 7 and looks to provide oil market participants with the latest comprehensive insight over potential supply and demand imbalances.

OIL DEMAND & US-CHINA TRADE DEAL

Looking forward, however, global demand for crude oil  and consequently its price  hinges principally on the final outcome of US-China trade talks which are now expected to conclude within the next two weeks. A positive outcome where the worlds largest two economies reach a trade deal looks to provide a solid boost to global growth and thus demand for oil.

Although, this scenario has largely been factored into market pricing already and may limit potential upside in oil prices. On the other hand, a negative outcome where the US and China fail to reach an agreement could quite possibly derail bullish prospects for oil demand and prices.

TRADING RESOURCES

Whether you are a new or experienced trader, DailyFX has multiple resources available to help you: an indicator for monitoring trader sentiment; quarterly trading forecasts; analytical and educational webinars held daily; trading guides to help you improve trading performance, and even one for those who are new to FX trading.

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MIDDLETOWN >> Approximately two dozen residents of Chester and Delaware counties, joined by state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, and a representative of U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, met Friday morning at the site of Sunocos latest known sinkhole along Route 1 in Middletown.

Since assuming office in 2016, Quinn has repeatedly expressed his concerns about the risks to public safety associated with the proposed Mariner East pipelines.

Shut it down, said Quinn. Ive visited the sinkholes in the Lisa Drive area, but this area is built on granite.

There shouldnt be sinkholes here  yet there are. Its like youre driving a car when a warning light comes on. You need to stop immediately and get it checked out. Im calling for an immediate halt to construction and operation of these pipelines.

Signs were held high for the benefit of drivers on Route 1.

Gov. (Tom) Wolf needs to shut down these dangerous pipelines now, said Linda Ciavarelli, a Middletown resident and health care provider whose property lies in the blast zone of Sunocos proposed hazardous, highly volatile liquids export project, marketed as Mariner East.

There is no way that this sinkhole did not expose the leaky old 12-inch workaround pipeline. This project is putting our community, our first responders, and workers at unacceptable risk.

Delaware County Council procured an assessment of the risks associated with Mariner East, which was publicly released in November 2018. It predicted lethal blast and thermal effects resulting from a leak of highly volatile liquids from Mariner East could extend a mile and a quarter from the point of a release.

The 12-by-12- by-12 foot sinkhole opened near the State Police Barracks in Middletown on Wednesday, April 24. Apparently, before notifying appropriate regulatory agencies such as Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utility Commission, or Middletown Township, Sunoco filled the sinkhole with flowable fill, a kind of concrete.

While the sinkhole appears to be directly over the centerline of the 12-inch workaround pipeline, these agencies currently have no knowledge of whether this sinkhole exposed the line. The nearby 8-inch Mariner East 1, another 1930s-era Sunoco pipeline, was shut down by the PUC in 2018 and again in 2019, both times after the pipeline was exposed by sinkholes in Chester County.

Middletown Council Chairman Mark Kirchgasser wrote to the chairman of the PUC on April 29. In his letter, Kirchgasser stated on behalf of a unanimous township council, We have grave concerns that despite an unexplained subsidence with no determined cause in an otherwise stable area that an aged, repurposed 12-inch line carrying highly volatile liquids is allowed to continue to operate without a clear cause for the event, or any knowledge of what an adequate remedy to the subsidence issue could or would otherwise be.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Sunoco continue to investigate the subsidence that occurred in front of the State Police barracks; both parties assert to the township that the 12-inch HVL line is safe to operate. While Sunoco has answered all of our inquiries, Middletown Township firmly stands by our letter to the chairman of the PUC and requests that the 12-inch HVL line be shut down until a clear cause of the subsidence has been made.

The sinkhole is next to the shoulder of heavily trafficked Route 1, adjacent to the Pennsylvania State Police Media Barracks, and across the street from Granite Farms Estates retirement community and the Rocky Run YMCA.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance, said there is no prof that the sinkhole is related to the pipeline.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has proven itself to be an effective watchdog that relies on science and engineering before rendering decisions. There has been no definitive report to conclusively determine cause in this area, and there is risk. No portion of the pipeline was exposed, Knaus said.
If Shakespeare had titled Attorney General William Barrs appearance on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he would have called it Much Ado About Nothing.

Democrats seized on the supposed bombshell that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Barr expressing dissatisfaction with the attorney generals four-page memo to Congress from March 24, declaring it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of his report. Barr told senators upon receiving the special counsels letter that he immediately called Mueller and said Bob, whats with the letter? Why dont you just pick up the phone and call me if theres an issue?

Heres a better question he should have asked: Bob, why didnt you accept my offer to review the memo before it was released to the public?

The fact is, Barr gave Mueller the chance to go over the document, and offer comments or suggested edits, before the attorney general made it public. Mueller declined to do so. Sorry, you dont get to turn down an opportunity to review a document before release, and then complain about it later if you dont like how it is being covered by the media.

And putting his complaints in a letter  going to paper in Justice Department parlance  the details of which (surprise, surprise) were then leaked to the media on the eve of Barrs testimony, was dishonorable. The entire episode hurts Muellers reputation more than it does Barrs.

Moreover, officials told The Washington Post, When Barr pressed [Mueller] whether he thought Barrs letter was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not, but felt that the media coverage of the letter was misinterpreting the investigation. So, there was nothing wrong with Barrs letter per se. What Mueller really wanted was for Barr to release more information  specifically the introduction and executive summaries of each volume of the report, which he had marked with redactions to remove any information that potentially could be protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure that concerned declination decisions; or that related to a charged case.

But, as Barr testified on Wednesday, even if he had agreed that releasing the introductions and executive summaries was a good idea (which he did not), he could not have done so because they required additional redactions from the intelligence community. Barr did not want to release the report piecemeal. I thought what we should do is focus on getting the full report out as quickly as possible, he said. The attorney general did just that.

Regardless, the whole issue was moot by the time Barr testified, because the entire 448-page report  including the introduction and executive summaries  has been released to the public. That did not stop Democrats from using it to attack Barrs credibility. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told Barr you lied to Congress and had chosen to be the presidents lawyer rather than Americas lawyer. She announced that she had asked the Justice Department inspector general to investigate his conduct. She called on Barr to resign. Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. It was a disgusting partisan display. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rightly chastised Hirono, declaring, You slandered this man from top to bottom.

ar from lying, Barr has bent over backward to be open with Congress and the American people. He overrode Justice Department regulations, and released the full Mueller report with only minor redactions. Thats virtually unprecedented. And he has made an almost completely unredacted version of the report available to members of Congress, who now have access to all but one-tenth of 1 percent of the document. And while the Justice Department worked overtime to speed the redaction process, he released a memo which accurately informed the American people about Muellers bottom line conclusions. It is a fact that Mueller declared that his investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

And it is a fact that while the report does not exonerate him of obstruction it also does not conclude that the President committed a crime. For two years, Trump was falsely accused of being a Russian agent and colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin  including by many of those on Capitol Hill now attacking Barrs credibility. If members of Congress want examples of dishonesty and efforts to mislead the American people, they can start by looking in the mirror.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post Writers Group
Only a fool believes the political landscape will never change. As the Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan once told his aides: There are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of.

As it happens, Callaghan said those words almost exactly four decades ago, as he was preparing to lose the 1979 election to Margaret Thatcher.

Perhaps the Tories should reflect on the irony that yesterday, which saw one of their most wretched electoral performances in recent times, was the 40th anniversary of one of their greatest landmarks, when Margaret Thatcher won her first General Election.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion.

Triumphant: Margaret Thatcher, flanked by husband Denis and son Mark, salutes the party faithful on May 4, 1979

The truth, however, is that the political landscape over which the Iron Lady presided has largely disappeared.

Voters today are angrier, more frustrated, less deferential. Influenced by social media more than ancestral loyalty, they are more likely to swing between extremes, and much more likely to be wooed by radical new groups.

A number of voters took to social media to boast of spoiling their ballot papers in the local elections. People shared images of voting slips with messages including Get May out, Brexit betrayal and Traitors written across them.

These are not normal times.

Despite the Tories taking a battering and Labour performing wretchedly, their spokesmen yesterday robotically intoned prepared lines about their determination to listen and learn from voters frustrations. But if the two main parties think things will soon return to normal, they are deceiving themselves.

For with Brexit having rewritten the rules of British politics, I believe these local elections are a last warning for the two historic parties of government.

Unless something changes radically, the local elections may well go down in history as the first part of a three or four-act drama that could reshape the landscape of British politics to an extent not seen since the 1920s.

And with European elections likely to follow on May 23, and a possible General Election or second referendum to come, both the Conservatives and Labour are in serious danger of being torn apart completely.

Conservative MP Vicky Ford after the Tories lost a comfortable majority in Chelmsford, Essex

Much of this story, of course, is about Brexit. For as soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box.

The Prime Minister can hardly blame them. For almost three years, she has assured us that her priority is to deliver Brexit. Yet the original deadline for leaving the EU has come and gone, and she has conspicuously failed to do so.

This is not entirely her fault. If all Tory MPs had backed her withdrawal deal, their party would surely not be in such a mess. But the British people are perfectly entitled to conclude that many Tory MPs have completely lost the plot, and are more interested in ideological posturing and self-promotion than in reaching a compromise in the national interest.

It is true, of course, that Conservative governments often do badly in local elections.

It is generally forgotten, for example, that David Cameron lost a whopping 2,000 council seats between 2012 and 2014, but still won an overall majority at the next General Election.

Yet if the Tories think they can easily repeat the trick, then they are even more deluded than I thought.

Whatever you think of Mr Cameron, his government gave an impression of competence and unity. By contrast, these abysmal results come against a background of unprecedented Tory divisions, infighting and paralysis.

No wonder that, among the public at large, frustration and anger are running higher than at any time I can remember.

Leave voters, in particular, are outraged that Britains exit from the EU seems to have been delayed indefinitely. But many Remain voters, too, can barely contain their exasperation with a Government that seems incapable of winning a vital vote in the Commons.

The one consolation for the Tories is that Labour is doing equally badly. For while governments almost always lose council seats, it is extraordinary to see the main Opposition party haemorrhaging seats, too.

In other circumstances, Labour might expect to be celebrating a tremendous night.

Under Ed Miliband in 2012, Labour won more than 800 seats. Yet on Thursday, facing a far weaker Tory Government, it lost at least 87 seats, which suggests it would find it very hard to win a majority at a General Election.

Labours performance in many working-class Leave areas was astonishingly bad.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion

In the West Midlands it lost control of Dudley, while the Tories gained control of Walsall.

And in the North East, Labour lost control of Hartlepool, shed seats in Sunderland and lost the mayoralty of Middlesbrough to an independent.

The explanation is no mystery.

Labours flagrant dishonesty on Brexit has disgusted Leave voters, who rightly suspect most Labour MPs would like to pretend the referendum result never happened.

Yet at the same time, Jeremy Corbyns refusal to back a second referendum has alienated enthusiastic Remainers, who turned on Thursday to the Lib Dems. So in effect, Labour has tried to be all things to all men and ended up pleasing very few.

On top of that, Labour is suffering badly from the Corbyn factor.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst.

Social media data shows hard-Left websites are losing support. And Mr Corbyns shameless evasions on Brexit have clearly alienated thousands of youngsters, who care more about staying in the EU than they do about his weird enthusiasms for Palestine, Venezuela, punitive taxes and the nationalisation of water.

The longer Mr Corbyn remains as Labour leader, the more he looks like just another shop-soiled, dishonest politician.

Indeed, given that almost every week brings some new accusation of anti-Semitism, I find it hard to see how his personal ratings, already dire, can ever improve.

As soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box

What both major parties need is a long break to rest and reflect  but that is precisely what they are not going to get. For, barring some miraculous breakthrough in their Brexit talks, the bloodied, weary combatants will have to drag themselves back into the ring for the dramas second act: the European elections.

And although it is never wise to make predictions these days, I am very happy to stick my neck out.

Turnout will almost certainly be dreadful. The Tories will do abysmally, probably sinking below 20 per cent of the vote. Labour will lose votes to the Lib Dems, the Greens and the new Change UK party, which will divide up the Remain vote between them.

Above all, the big winners, sweeping up Leave supporters across the country, will be the Brexit Party, with perhaps as much as a third of the vote.

The day after the results come through, every paper will carry a prominent picture of a grinning Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, raising a pint in victory.

In other words: chaos. And if that scenario does materialise, I dont expect things to become any clearer over the summer.

If the Tories do as badly in the European elections as everybody expects, the pressure on Mrs May to stand down will probably become intolerable.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst

That would mean the Tories could face a summer leadership contest, which could well tear the Conservative Party in two and see the Government fall from office.

Most Tory insiders think that if a Brexiteer such as Boris Johnson made it to the final run-off between two candidates, he would almost certainly sweep to victory with the partys national membership.

But if he did win, many pro-Remain MPs might refuse to support a Johnson government, forcing him to call a snap election.

Alternatively, Tory MPs might gang up to keep Mr Johnson (or another Brexiteer such as Dominic Raab) out of the final two. If that happened, the grassroots could revolt en masse.

In turn, that would be a huge boost to the Brexit Party and could create an irreparable rift between Tory MPs and party activists.

In other words, the Conservatives would be damned if they did and damned if they didnt.

For Labour, the picture is scarcely brighter. If it does badly in the European elections, there could be more defections to Change UK.

And if Change UK and the Lib Dems have the sense to strike a formal alliance, the newcomers could easily position themselves as the natural home of liberal, do-gooding Remainers.

That would leave Labour as well, as what?

As the natural home of working-class Leavers? That doesnt seem likely, given the pro-European predilections of many of its MPs.

As the last redoubt of anti-Semites, crypto-Communists and the Fidel Castro fan club?

That would be true to Mr Corbyns convictions, but I cant imagine such a party would fare very well at a General Election.

Should anything like this come to pass, all bets would be off. Anyone who claims to know what the political landscape will look like this time next year is a fantasist.

Not since the early 1920s, when Labour supplanted the Liberals as Britains main anti-Conservative party, has politics been so fragmented. And the comparison seems particularly apposite because then, as now, seismic change led to the proliferation of insurgent alternatives, rather like todays Brexit Party and Change UK.

Among the candidates at the 1922 election, for example, were 334 Liberals, 155 National Liberals, three Independent Liberals, 20 Independent Conservatives, five Communists, four Agriculturalists and four Independent Labour candidates. And although things had calmed down a bit by the 1924 election  the third in three years  there were still 12 Constitutionalist candidates, among them a certain Winston Churchill.

The big winners in the end were the Tories and Labour. But had the Liberals remained united, they might have seen off the Labour challenge and political history would have been very different.

The fate of those Liberals, once a mighty party of government, should be a chilling warning for todays mainstream parties.

Adrift in this bewildering new world and apparently baffled by Brexit, they seem incapable of charting a new course. And if they continue to haemorrhage votes, the next General Election could see one, even both, swept away.

Given how both the Tories and Labour have behaved over the past three years, I suspect few people would mourn their demise.

Yet the alternative  a fragmented, European-style mosaic of squabbling parties  would hardly make for effective Government.

And if that sounds bad, theres an even grimmer possibility.

What if the Tories fall apart and Labour dont? What if a chaotic General Election ends with Jeremy Corbyn walking into No 10, to the cheers of assorted Communists, Trotskyists, anti-Semites and the Russian secret service?

You might think it could never happen. But if the political shocks of the past few years have told us anything, it very certainly could.
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Julian Coulston's battle with a rare bone cancer wasn't one he was left to fight on his own.

His girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018, with doctors in Melbourne, Victoria, telling the couple chemotherapy had failed.

And she stood next to him on March 28 at their dream wedding ceremony, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.

Sadly, that only meant another eight days for Julian.

Julian's girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, (both pictured) stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018

The 27-year-old was told by specialists that the last round of treatment had been ineffective and they would have to remove 100 per cent of his sacrum - which is connected to the pelvis - if he wanted any chance of survival.

Vital nerves that control bowel and leg function would also be taken out as a result and he'd be unable to walk.

Above all else, surgery couldn't promise that the cancerous cells wouldn't return a third time either.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle.

So she reached out to volunteer group My Wedding Wish in hopes they could help make their special day come true.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle (Ayla pictured)

The company provides free weddings - with the help and support of the local community - to terminally ill brides and grooms.

Julian and Ayla's application was approved within the hour.

'The only issue was that Julian was currently in Peter Mac Hospital undergoing pain management protocols. We all had to wait, eager to create magic, but unable to without a time or place for the wedding,' the company wrote on their Facebook page.

'On March 26 a date was set because doctors couldn't get Julian's pain under control and we were concerned this may change. We had two days.

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day.'

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day,' My Wedding Wish wrote on Facebook

My Wedding Wish organised the cake, Ayla's wedding dress, a suit for Julian and the legal proceedings in just a few short hours, with a photographer, celebrant and makeup artist soon to follow.

With Julian's health deteriorating the wedding was set to be one of the most emotional days for the two families joining as one, with images from the day showcasing just how close the couple were.

'The next day, Thursday March 28, 2019, a stunning autumn day, close friends and family gathered at 2pm to watch Julian and Ayla marry in a moving ceremony,' the team at My Wedding Wish wrote online.

'There were a lot of tears and there was so much joy.'

In writing to the charity foundation a few days after her nuptials, Ayla expressed extreme gratitude for the team who brought her the greatest gift of all: Eternal love.

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' Ayla said

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' she said.

'I can't believe the generosity of everyone who helped pull off the wedding.

'I cried out of bittersweet happiness because I finally married my best friend of seven years and it will always mean the world to me.'

In the weeks prior to the wedding, Ayla had been packing up their home in Melbourne to move as Julian wanted to be in New Zealand surrounded by family when he died.

They were due to fly out on the evening of April 3, 2019, and that night the new little family prepared to jet off abroad.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand

Harry from Melbourne Portraits dropped by that evening to deliver their wedding album. Julian was able to reminisce on the day he married his wife.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand.

He was in too much pain to board the three-and-a-half hour flight and had to be admitted back into hospital.

Julian died two days later in the arms of his beloved wife on April 5 and his funeral will be in the country he had hoped to return to on May 4.

You can donate to Julian's funeral fund by visiting this website.
From Victoria to The Crown, we cant get enough of TV dramas about British royals.

The latest to hit our screens is about another queen of England, albeit one who has often seemed like the side story in the bigger tale of her husbands murderous reign.

The Spanish Princess, a sequel to the hits The White Queen and The White Princess about the Wars of the Roses and the early days of the Tudor dynasty, centres on Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs first wife.

It shows her before she was scorned in favour of a younger model who might be able to give Henry the male heir he so desperately wanted.

Catherine is typically portrayed as little more than the older, uglier, spurned wife whose refusal to go quietly led to Henrys break with the Catholic Church.

A new series retells the love story of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon (pictured) - to whom he was married for 17 years

But in this retelling, which like those previous series is based on books by Philippa Gregory, she is much more than that.

Catherine is perceived as an older woman who was unwanted baggage for Henry VIII, when in fact she was the love of his life, says the dramas co-writer Emma Frost.

They were married for 17 years before he took up with Anne Boleyn, and we felt it necessary to dignify Catherines place in history with a retelling of her story.

This starts in Spain with Catherine, daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile, being brought up to believe its her destiny to be queen of England because, as a direct descendant of John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV, shes an heir to the English throne.

Played by British actress Charlotte Hope, Catherine arrives in England at the age of 15 to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales.

The princesss arrival in this dour, warring nation from what was then the most powerful country in Europe is a culture shock for her.

Shes surrounded by enemies, in particular Maggie Pole, played by Downton Abbeys Laura Carmichael  her brother Edward Plantagenet, a nephew of Richard III, had been killed to ensure there were no challengers to Arthurs  and so Catherines  path to the throne.

British actress Charlotte Hope (pictured right) stars as Catherine alongside Ruairi OConnor (pictured left) as Henry VIII. The drama begins with Catherine preparing to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales

Most marriages come with a degree of pressure, says Emmas co-writer Matthew Graham.

But this one particularly so because the security of Europe hinges on it being successful.

When, less than five months after their wedding, Arthur dies of a disease known as the sweating sickness, Catherine is forced to take destiny into her own hands.

From the age of four shed been told God was giving her the throne of England, says Matthew.

When circumstances changed and the throne seemed to be out of her grip, she refused to believe that was Gods will.

'She had to fulfil the destiny God laid out for her.

So we see Catherine spin the tale that will lead to her becoming queen of England  she claims her union with Arthur was never consummated, something that would allow her to marry his younger brother Henry (Ruairi OConnor), now the king himself after the death of Henry VII.

The drama's co-writer Emma Frost says Henry was obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife (pictured: Catherine and her retinue arrive in England in the new drama)

Catherine is such a fascinating character because she has this absolute belief in what her destiny should be, says Emma.

She makes dangerous choices to get where she wants to be.

Although her marriage to Henry, five years her junior, was convenient as it meant her valuable dowry stayed in England, it also turned out to be a real love match, Emma insists.

But when Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry became obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brothers wife, says Emma.

It becomes a story about a lie. The series looks at the decisions she made and their consequences.

'Its a strong story of a woman trying to define her place in the world, and one modern audiences will be able to relate to.

The Spanish Princess will be on Starzplay (via Amazon Prime and Virgin) from tomorrow.
Whether it's nature or nurture, what makes someone a killer is something that's long been debated by psychiatrists.

That question is even trickier when you apply it to child murderers - how does an innocent young person turn into a cold-hearted killer?

FEMAIL spoke to Dr Keri Nixon, a consultant forensic psychologist, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series which focuses on the deadly crimes of young people.

She told how generally, people who commit murder or acts of extreme violence have usually got troubled backgrounds.

'That's the case for some of these perpetrators,' Keri explained. 'But interestingly with some of the cases this series covers, many of them haven't, which makes them quite unusual.'

Here Keri gives her take on some of the UK's most famous child killers - and whether murder was inevitable or could have been avoided.

The mystery: William Cornick

The nation was horrified when model student William Cornick, then 15, stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish lesson

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed his Spanish teacher Ann Maguire to death during class

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014.

He left his classmates in a state of shock when he casually walked up to Ms Maguire and stabbed her seven times while she was writing on the whiteboard.

The teenager was described as a 'a clever child from a loving middle class home' and the 'most unlikely perpetrator of a crime that would shock Britain'.

The teacher in charge of his year said he was 'a delightful pupil who always gave his best', while fellow pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College said he was a just a 'typical lad' who rarely misbehaved.

'William Cornick doesn't fit the profile of what we would usually see,' Keri told FEMAIL.

'As a forensic psychologist, I can honestly say that the majority of murderers or violent offenders that I've worked with, whether that's young people or adults, have got that history of dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyles.

FEMAIL spoke to forensic psychologist Keri Nixon, pictured, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series examining the crimes of young people

'There were some dark sides of his personality, but it's easy for us to unpick that with hindsight.'

Keri suggested that, had Cornick come from a dysfunctional family and had previous convictions, people may have taken his threats to kill his teacher more seriously.

' I think people thought his disturbing behaviour was just him being a bit bizarre, a bit dark,' she said.

'There was evidence of personality disorder and psychopathic traits, although you can't diagnose somebody at that age because he's far too young. But some of his behaviour was evidencing of that.

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014

'People talked about him being a loner, a bit odd, but didn't consider him a genuine threat because he didn't have those risk factors, so I think there's a bit of confirmation bias going on.'

She said 'bystander apathy' also came into play, with people presuming someone else would raise concern about the violent threats he was making.

'Nobody takes on the responsibility for reporting it themselves because they assume somebody else is doing it,' she explained.

'I think also, we'd be quite surprised and troubled if we could hear a lot of the conversations that go on between adolescents, especially on social media. I think a lot of adolescents make some quite throwaway comments and threats, but they don't take each other seriously.'

Flowers and tributes left the entrance to Corpus Christi College in Leeds following the shocking murder of teacher Ann Maguire

Ann Maguire's family say they still don't know what caused him to kill - except for severe hatred for the teacher.

Cornick told a psychologist: 'I wasn't in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still do.' The criminal also said after the killing that he thought everything he had done was 'fine and dandy'.

Speaking about the 'nature versus nurture' debate, Keri said the two are very much entwined because a person's environment impacts on their brain.

But the fact Cornick showed no remorse makes one question whether there is something within him that drove him to commit such an unprecendented atrocity.

Britain's youngest female double murderer: Lorraine Thorpe

Lorraine Thorpe, pictured age 16, was given a life sentence for killing her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009

Age: 15

Crime: Murdered her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt

Lorraine Thorpe became Britain's youngest female double murderer when, aged 15, she smothered her father Desmond Thorpe to death in the hope he wouldn't tell the police about her killing a stranger, Rosalyn Hunt, following a row over a dog in 2009.

Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days, with Thorpe responsible for kicking, punching and stamping on her head.

Her father, 43, a 'vulnerable' alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about her first crime.

She was given a life sentence, with the judge ruling she had been brought up 'with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong'.

She was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who five years later was found dead in his cell.

Thorpe, now 24, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Thorpe was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, pictured, who five years later was found dead in his cell

Mr Justice Saunders said she could be 'manipulative' and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: 'She found violence funny and entertaining.'

The judge said Clarke, also an alcoholic, was the 'instigator' in the murder of Ms Hunt, although Thorpe 'played a full part'.

'Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head,' he said.

For Keri, Thorpe's crime is one that could have been prevented - especially if she had never met Clarke.

She explained: 'I start to feel complete empathy for the girl that was let down, by society and professionals. No girl should be living with her alcoholic father at the age of 12.

Keri said she very much feels Lorraine Thorpe's crimes could have been prevented had she not been let down by society and professionals

'She was lost. She went from her mother to foster care, and then she ran away to be with her father and eventually social services lost her and she was living on the streets drinking with alcoholic men. That shouldn't happen in our society.

'I believe she was groomed by Paul Clark and living a life that no teenager should be living.

'But then we look at the level of violence she enacted on Rosalyn Hunt. It was so extreme, so vicious, and that's where it's difficult to look at the vulnerable girl.

'Would those murders have taken place if she wasn't part of that drinking community, and if she hadn't met Paul Clark? No, I don't believe they would have done.'

Britain's youngest serial killer: James Fairweather

James Fairweather was just 15 years old when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex - and was set to kill again

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed two people, stopped while planning a third

James Fairweather was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins.

Fairweather was branded a monster at Guildford Crown Court in 2016 when he was found guilty of two murders and was sentenced at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Spencer, who said the killings were 'brutal and sadistic'.

He was caught after a dog walker spotted him lurking in woods 'lying in wait for his next victim'. After his arrest, he admitted he had been hunting down a third victim.

Fairweather's first was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014.

Three months later the 5ft 6in schoolboy - who was 'obsessed' with killers including the Yorkshire Ripper - attacked Saudi PhD student Nahid Almanea, 31, knifing her 16 times with a 10-inch bayonet on a public footpath.

Both victims were stabbed in their eyes. During the two-week trial, the jury was shown clips from Fairweather's police interviews in which he provided 'chilling' details of his attack on Mr Attfield.

Fairweather, who told a psychiatrist he could have killed another 15 victims, committed the murders under the noses of his parents James, 45, a cleaner, and Anita, 45, a McDonald's worker.

Keri said Fairweather's obsession with serial killers and other 'warning signs' could have made these crimes preventable.

'There had been a previous non-custodial sentence for armed robbery where he'd used a knife on a newsagents, so again I think with this one there were definitely warning signs there,' she explained.

James Attfield, pictured with his mum Julie Finch, was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014 by James Fairweather

A knife used by James Fairweather, the teenager who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper and murdered two innocent people

'Apparently after he was in a psychiatric unit he did start to respond well to some treatment. He's got autism, and he was obsessed with serial killers, and that's something that we see with autism - that obsession and absolute focus on something.

'It doesn't mean people with autism are more likely to commit violent crime, absolutely not, in fact we know studies have shown that it doesn't increase a predisposition to violence.

'However, somebody who has got autism and was not given that support, plus the different difficulties that he has, then he's certainly somebody that became quite obsessed with violence.'

She added: 'This is a young man that needs treatment in a hospital, not a prison, in my opinion.'

The Twilight Killers: Kim Edwards & Lucas Markham

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards, right, was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, left, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016

Age: Both 14

Crime: Killed Kim's sister, 13, and mother, 49

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016.

Edwards and Markham, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders.

In his police interview Markham described with a complete lack of emotion how he killed Elizabeth and Katie Edwards by 'stabbing them in the neck'.

The couple, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders

TIMELINE OF HORROR May 23, 2015 - Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham began their relationship, shortly before he was excluded from Sir John Gleed school just a year before the murders. March 17, 2016 - Edwards, who had been assessed by mental health professionals after expressing suicidal thoughts, makes an attempt on her own life and spends two days in hospital. April 11, 2016 - During a conversation in the back garden of the Edwards' family home, Markham and his girlfriend agree to kill her mother and sister. April 13, 2016 - Markham smothers and stabs both victims through the neck. April 14 - Edwards and Markham are reported missing to the police by their school and his aunt. April 15 - Police find Ms Edwards and Katie dead in their beds. Both defendants are arrested on suspicion of murder. April 17 - Both teenagers are charged with two counts of murder. September 6 - Edwards and Markham both admit manslaughter but plead not guilty to murder. October 10 - Markham admits murder and is remanded in custody October 11 - Edwards is found guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict. November 10 - Edwards and Markham are both given life sentences with minimum terms of 20 years. June 9, 2017 - Their minimum terms are reduced to 17 years the Court of Appeal which also rules they can be named. Advertisement

The lovers hatched the gruesome plot after Elizabeth tried to break them up, and also as revenge because Edwards believed her mother favoured her sister Katie over her.

The clinical justifications they gave for their crimes in police interviews were so startling officers took the unprecedented decision to make the recordings public, because of the danger they believed the teenagers represented to society.

Markham pleaded guilty to murder, and Edwards denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - a defence rejected by the jury. They were both sentenced to 20 years in prison, but this was later reduced to 17 following a hearing at the Court of Appeals.

Liz Edwards with daughter Katie Edwards who were both found dead in their house in Spalding, England

Keri said she believes had this pair not been in a 'toxic relationship', it's likely these killings would not have happened when they did.

She told FEMAIL: 'I don't believe that individually, each of those two people would have killed at that particular time. That's not to say that neither of them would have gone on to do something else at some point.

'They both had difficult childhoods, Lucas Markham in particular had a very dysfunctional background and was desperate for love and attention, and I think he had a toxic relationship with Kim Edwards. I think they both had a toxic relationship with each other.'

Likening the case to that of Lorraine Thorpe, Keri said the threat of an outsider on their relationship and situation was the 'trigger' for them to kill.

'Just before the murders occurred, the families had separated them; there was this dramatic, "You two or not going to be together," and the murders took place shortly afterwards,' she said.

'All these factors that have been put forward, that she hated her mum and was jealous of her sister, but I think fundamentally the key trigger was when their relationship was threatened and they were being kept apart.'

Killed his girlfriend for a free breakfast: Joshua Davies

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast

Age: 15

Crime: Bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her by bashing her over the head with a rock so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him.

In the court case the following year it emerged that in the time before the meet-up in October, the killer had been publishing hateful material about Rebecca online and bragging to friends that he was going to poison her with plants like deadly nightshade, or push her over a quarry or into a river.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca, pictured, for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him

'Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now,' Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley later said.

'In January 2010 he left Becca for another girl. She was absolutely devastated and I hated seeing her so hurt. But in time she started going out with another boy herself - only for Josh to convince her to end it and to meet up with him.

'She did so, almost instantly, thrilled at the thought of their reconciliation.'

As the day of the meet-up wore on, concern started to grow as Rebecca failed to return home.

Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now.

After a night of searching, Rebecca's body was found at around 9am the next day near Aberkenfig. The wooded area was said to have been popular with teenagers.

Davies, who had since turned 16, was accused of Rebecca's murder after bludgeoning her to death with a large rock.

With Rebecca's mother sitting in court alongside family and friends, the horrifying details of what happened that day began to emerge.

It was heard that Davies had told a friend he was going into the forest with Rebecca and smiled as he said 'the time has come'. The same friend later phoned Davies to ask if he was with Rebecca. The defendant replied with two words - 'define with'.

After summoning the fellow 16-year-old into the forest, the murderer then told his friend he had hit Rebecca from behind with a rock until she stopped screaming, before discarding the bloody weapon into the undergrowth.

Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley said she believes there was a controlling element to Rebecca and Davies' relationship

His demeanour was described merely as 'cool'. Together the boys went home, in full knowledge that Rebecca's body lay in the woods behind them. Davies even sent texts to Rebecca's phone, knowing she was dead, pleading with her to let people know where she was.

Keri said she believes Davies was a very controlling individual with 'all the hallmarks of a domestic abuse perpetrator'.

'None of these people can be diagnosed with any personality order because of their age, but he is certainly demonstrating traits that would point to that direction in the future,' she explained.

'The complete lack of remorse, the planning; people thought that he was not possibly serious because of the way that he would calmly talk about what he was doing.

'He wanted to take control of her, break her down and destroy her, and he ultimately did the worst thing he possibly could.'

Gang of sword-wielding baby-faced murderers: 'The Liverpool Launderette killings'

Andrew Hewitt (right) and Corey Hewitt (left) who murdered an apprentice bricklayer in a launderette then boasted about the killing in September 2013

Five teenagers attacked and murdered a man in a Liverpool launderette when two of them were only 13 in September 2013.

The gang chased Sean McHugh, 19, into a launderette and killed him. As he lay dying in hospital, the yobs sent each other a series of chilling messages mocking their victim.

Liverpool Crown Court heard gang member Keyfer Dykstra, just 14 at the time of the murder, posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty  we always knew ye was a p***y'. Shockingly, 11 people 'liked' the comment.

Keyfer Dykstra, 14, and Corey Hewitt, then 13, plus his 15-year-old cousin Andrew Hewitt, and Joseph McGill, who was also just 13 at the time of the attack, were all convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with 19-year-old Reese OShaughnessy.

Recorder of Liverpool, Clement Goldstone QC, took the unusual step of naming the young gang members after a jury found them guilty.

Keyfer Dykstra, pictured, far left, was 14 at the time of the murder, and posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty.' The ringleader Reese O'Shaughness, 19, pictured middle, had been carrying the sword stick weapon. Joseph McGill, just 13 at the time of the attack, pictured right, was given a minimum sentence of nine years

Victim Mr McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang. As Mr Williams sought refuge inside a nearby newsagent, Mr McHugh, who was known as Shorty, was chased back into the launderette they'd just come from.

O'Shaughnessy, who was carrying a sword stick - a walking cane with a blade hidden inside - and Dykstra, armed with a knife, arrived a short time later and the gang kicked the back door of the shop open.

Victim Sean McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang - and he was chased into a laundrette

Prosecutors were unable to prove just who struck the fatal blow but argued that all involved in the attack were guilty of murder, whether they held the blade or not.

The boys were slammed by a detective in the case, who said they had shown little remorse for their actions, including the suffering heaped upon Mr McHugh and his family.

The senior police officer also said he heard the boys laughing and joking as they sat in the dock.

Corey Hewitt, 13, pictured left, was convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with his cousin Andrew Hewitt, 15, pictured right

Keri put this brutal crime down to 'gang mentality'. She explained: ' None of those young people intended to go out and take somebody's life that night. They intended to do harm, because of the weapons they went and got, but the they didn't intend to go out and kill that man that night.

'However that doesn't make it any less horrific; what happened was awful. But the gang mentality kicked in there - that pack mentality where they all get involved.

'They all had difficult lives; I worked with Merseyside Police looking at knife crime 10 years ago and I looked at the backgrounds of 105 young offenders who used knives and guns, and they fit every single characteristic of the ones we looked at.

'They've come from dysfunctional backgrounds, poverty, they've got no hope, they've got no identity apart from the identity of this low level, geographical gang. It gives them something.

'It means they have little respect for life, and it's incredibly sad. It's something social workers are dealing with all over the country right now.'

Britains Deadliest Kids premieres at 10pm on Saturday 11 May on Quest Red.
A British man has become the first patient in Europe to undergo walk-in, walk-out prostate surgery  carried out while he was wide awake in an outpatient clinic. The procedure, for an enlarged prostate, requires only a local anaesthetic and the 76-year-old patient was allowed home just hours later.

Its hoped the procedure will soon be offered at community clinics, benefiting thousands of men with prostate problems.

Those suffering from prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are currently offered major surgery as a last resort, which is effective but can cause loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence. Some are too frail for the operation, which is called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP.

Others, understandably, are simply unwilling  up to 42 per cent of those needing it delay it due to fears about complications. The TURP operation can mean three nights in hospital.

The new treatment will hopefully mean no more rushed trips to the toilet (a man using a urinal, pictured above)

The UroLife treatment works by firing clips into the prostate which hold the urethra open

The new procedure, called UroLift, has been available for about ten years but this is the first time it has been carried out as a walk-in, walk-out case, with no need for an operating theatre or an overnight stay.

The new operation was offered to John Penny, from Thornton, near Crosby on Merseyside. He had had BPH for a decade, getting up five or six times a night to go to the toilet.

John kept postponing his operation because a traumatic surgical experience in his teens left him terrified of going under the knife. I nearly died having my appendix out when I was 18, recalls John. Every time I go into hospital, my blood pressure, which is usually absolutely healthy, shoots up.

Now, eight months after the UroLift procedure, his symptoms have eased considerably and he is sleeping much better.

An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties (stock image of man and woman holding in their urine)

The prostate, a walnut-size gland, sits beneath the bladder and is essential for producing components of semen. An enlarged prostate is not linked to cancer  yet the symptoms are similar, so men with the problem are tested to make sure their prostate is not cancerous.

Although two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with BPH, it is thought to affect as many as half of those over 50, and 60 per cent of those over 60. Many suffer symptoms without realising the cause.

The most common sign is a frequent, urgent need to urinate, even throughout the night. An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties. As a result, men often find they are unable to go, even when they are desperate to.

Enlarged prostates are thought to be linked to hormonal changes as a man gets older. John recalls: About ten years ago, I starting having difficulty peeing. My GP told me I had an enlargement of the prostate, due to my age, and put me on tablets. Things did improve but I was still waking five times a night, so I never got a proper nights sleep. I even moved out of the bedroom, as I was disturbing my wife Lorraine.

It was very stressful. It takes over your life because it is constantly on your mind.

Treatment for BPH usually begins with medication to relax the bladder muscles and shrink the prostate. John was told he needed TURP surgery  carried out on some 18,000 men a year in the UK  when he began to worry that wouldnt be able to go to the lavatory at all.

He says: My GP again asked me to think very carefully about surgery, but I was very nervous.

In the meantime, he read an article in a newspaper about UroLift, which described how it was done as a day case under a local anaesthetic. After showing the newspaper clipping to his GP, John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital, who offered the procedure.

John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital (pictured above)

Mr Lucky says: Its been available as day case surgery on the NHS since last year and has far fewer complications than TURP. It involves no cutting or incisions, and men who may have heart problems that make them unsuitable for major surgery can have it.

It is a huge development, and means we could see community clinics offering it in the not- too-distant future, meaning that patients could be treated without even visiting hospital.

A catheter is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder and anaesthetic is injected through it. The catheter is then removed and a protective sheath, about 7mm in diameter, inserted into the urethra to protect it against damage from instruments used in the procedure.

The UroLift device itself is a handpiece  a little like a gun, with a trigger  with a long, fine metal tube on the end.

The tube goes through the sheath to where the prostate is enlarged and the trigger pulled to fire a tiny clip into the organ, anchoring it to the tissues beside it. This lifts the gland away from the urethra, allowing urine to flow again.

Several clips can be used  John had three  and the operation can be repeated if necessary.

Consultant urologist Professor Roger Kirby, director of The Prostate Centre, London, welcomed the advance, saying: UroLift is better at preserving sexual function than other procedures, and now it can be done without a hospital admission, which will provide a cost-saving to the NHS.

It doesnt work so well for very large prostates as the tiny implants [clips] may not be able to hold the tissue back. In these cases, a type of laser treatment may be a better alternative. UroLift is still relatively new, so we dont totally know how durable the procedure is. But it looks promising.

John recalls: I was quite nervous but I couldnt believe I was only in there for 15 minutes.

He was home later the same day. Its been a vast improvement, he says. Id recommend it. It hardly feels like youre having a serious operation.
Tolkien Cert: 12A, 1hr 52mins

Rating:

Tolkiens The Lord Of The Rings was first published in the mid-Fifties, understandably giving rise to the idea in some quarters that the author had got his inspiration for the endless battles and marauding orcs of Middle-earth from the Second World War.

A new biopic  recently disowned, it must be quickly said, by the Tolkien estate  knocks that notion very firmly on the head. It places the books origins 30 years earlier amid the mud, shell holes and carnage of the First World War, the horrors of which John Ronald Reuel Tolkien  now often described as the father of modern fantasy fiction  experienced first-hand.

Whatever the estates misgivings (its brief statement did not elaborate), the movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Finnish film-maker Dome Karukoski, nevertheless comes across as plausible, tender and, for the most part, extremely watchable.

Tolkien begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) is desperately searching for news of a friend

Anyone who was ever a Tolkien fan  even if only for a few brief teenage years  will find something to interest and enjoy here.

It begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien is desperately searching for news of a friend. But, to the despair of his batman, he cant find the right regiment and the trenches are under constant bombardment.

Wounded and exhausted, he collapses and so the flashbacks begin.

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Geoffrey Bache Smith (Anthony Boyle), Robert Gilson (Patrick Gibson) and Christopher Wiseman (Tom Glynn-Carney)

What follows is a tale of triumph over adversity  Tolkien had lost both his parents and anything resembling family money by the time he was 12  and of enduring male friendship, with Tolkien winning a scholarship to King Edwards, Birmingham, where he made the sort of friends you assume are made for life.

Unless, of course, the war to end all wars is just around the corner.

I love this section, with the younger Tolkien, already skilled in several languages and knowing his Chaucer by heart, very nicely played by Harry Gilby until Hoult takes over.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Robert Gilson, Geoffrey Bache Smith and Christopher Wiseman. Together they are four impetuous, intelligent boys with a love of tea and cake and a touching desire to change the world through the power of art.

One of them, of course, in a film not exactly subtle in tracing cause to effect, will. With two of the boys, Tolkien included, hoping to go to Oxford and two to Cambridge, its atmospherically reminiscent of Alan Bennetts great tale of grammar-school success, The History Boys.

At Oxford, the film begins to lose a little traction, despite the best efforts (and they are uniformly good) of Messrs Hoult, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle and Tom Glynn-Carney.

This is partly because were very used to the sight of posh white boys in tweed jackets getting drunk in pretty quadrangles and partly because the screenplay, by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford, has made its one serious mistake.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches, fencing and drunken run-ins with the police.

IT'S A FACT Tolkien and fellow author CS Lewis once dressed up as polar bears to attend a New Year's Eve party - which wasn't fancy dress. Advertisement

Meanwhile, as anyone who heard the 2017 Radio 4 drama Tolkien In Love may recall, the real action was taking place in Cheltenham, where Edith, banned from seeing the smitten Tolkien until he was 21, was on the verge of marrying someone else, and Tolkien was desperate to stop her.

Here, however, we see and feel almost nothing of this romantic tension, leaving Collins little to do except flounce out of a teenage high tea and improbably mime her way through Wagners Ring.

Despite liberties clearly being taken with the chronology, and the fact that were never quite sure whether the war scenes are real or hallucinatory (Tolkien was eventually diagnosed with trench fever), theres no doubt that the film has a real emotional power, underpinned by the enduring idea that brave men died in the mud of the First World War so that others could live to do great things.

J R R Tolkien did not let his friends down.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

Long Shot (15)

Rating:

This is surely one of the most welcome surprises of the cinematic year, with Jonathan Levines enjoyable film showing that unorthodox casting combinations can work and that there is still life in the romantic comedy. Hurrah!

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky, whos just lost his job.

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky

They used to be childhood friends, reconnected as adults, and when Charlotte decides to run for President and finds herself in need of a speechwriter well, Fred seems perfect for the job.

What ensues is intelligent, funny, bang up to date and without stereotypes. Amid the romantic fun, look out for a bedroom scene that is not only very funny but mildly sexy too.

Vox Lux (15)

Rating:

Brady Corbets cautionary tale of fame and pop music has real quality, particularly in the first half, as the actor-turned-film-maker tells the story of Celeste, a young pop wannabe who achieves overnight success when she survives a high-school shooting and writes a haunting musical tribute to classmates who did not.

With Jude Law playing her manager, we see the still-only-14-year-old Celeste  played very well by Raffey Cassidy  taking her first steps to fame and fortune. Then the story jumps 16 years and Natalie Portman  in a very big performance  takes over as the, by now, badly damaged diva.

The film will divide opinion but the late Scott Walkers score is wonderful.

A Dog's Journey (PG)

Rating:

A surely unwanted sequel to A Dogs Purpose, the 2017 oddity about seemingly endless doggy reincarnation. With Baileys original owner now very old, a new succession of pooches  all reincarnations of Bailey  are charged with looking after his granddaughter.

Josh Gads canine voiceover is as testing as the near two-hour running time.

The Curse Of La Llorona (15)

Rating:

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity, murders her children and has been killing other peoples children ever since.

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity and murders her children

Expect a Seventies Los Angeles setting, plenty of jump-scares and a generous dollop of The Exorcist.
Man Of La Mancha

London Coliseum Until Jun 8, 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

Kelsey Grammer  the great sitcom star of Frasier  is the nicest performer to interview. I saw him in his first major Broadway Shakespeare, in which he acted just as he seemed off-stage: a friendly, cheery, charming man incapable of violence.

Unfortunately, he was playing Macbeth.

Now Grammer is better cast in Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darions Sixties musical retelling of Cervantes novel about Don Quixote, the shows windmill-jousting hero who does knightly deeds in an unchivalrous age.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical

Grammer sings the shows only hit, The Impossible Dream, in his sturdy baritone, and he does it well. But when the show opened in 1965 it ran for almost six years. Watching this plodding London revival, I couldnt see why.

Director Lonny Prices conception for the show doesnt help. Its set in a concrete bunker-like prison in some modern fascist state ruled over by the Inquisition (theyve dropped the Spanish).

The author Cervantes (Kelsey Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel

The author Cervantes (Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel and leaves its fate to the jury of captives, who take various parts.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical.

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea. De Niese is a feisty presence but her brutal rape scene at the hands of the villagers proves a terminal downer in an evening that trades in comic whimsy.

Peter Polycarpou comes off best as a charming Sancho Panza.

As long as karaoke exists, The Impossible Dream will never die. But I am not so sure about this musical. Grammer fans like me will still worship at the altar. But he looks too unsure of himself to ride to the rescue here.

Ghosts

Royal & Derngate, Northampton Until Sat, 2hrs 25mins

Rating:

This is the play that was deemed a public health hazard in the 1890s. The Norwegian writer Ibsen wilfully dragged syphilis, incest and assisted dying into this drawing-room drama in which the truth will out.

And boy it does, when the son of the widowed Mrs Alving returns home, having inherited syphilis from his debauched father, whose reputation his mother loyally shielded from scandal.

Penny Downies ramrod Mrs Alving is superb  severe but with occasional bright flashes. Lecturing her on her past failure as a mother is Pastor Manders, expertly played by James Wilby with a greasy smirk and a bad temper.

As her son Osvald, Pierro Niel-Mee is steeped in self-loathing.

For the family, the sins of the past are the unavoidable ghosts. The diseased, futureless Osvald and his adoring mother end up alone with a stash of morphine.

Lucy Baileys classy production comes with the sound of ceaseless rain and a lively new English version by Mike Poulton.

A cracking evening.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Rose Theatre, Kingston Until Sat, touring until Jun 29, 2hrs 50mins

Rating:

The book that spawned a thousand holidays to Cephalonia arrives onstage, 25 years after it became a publishing sensation.

Louis de Bernieres novel about a romance between an Italian soldier and a Greek woman during World War II is in safe hands with adapter Rona Munro and director Melly Still, who knows how to mount big, beautiful productions of bestsellers (see also The Lovely Bones and My Brilliant Friend).

This is a hugely enjoyable evening, reminding audiences why de Bernieres sweeping historical fiction was so popular, while also finding new theatrical means of telling the story.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia is irresistible

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat being played  very charmingly  by actors. But Still also fills the stage with epic, evocative images and movement, whether suggesting changing seasons or the horrors of war.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia, portrayed with real freshness by one-to-watch Madison Clare, is irresistible  although given that he doesnt arrive until halfway through the show, the relationship occasionally feels oddly rushed.

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat (Luisa Guerreiro) being played  very charmingly  by actors

Two crumpled copper panels loom over Mayou Trikeriotis sparse set, and with Malcolm Rippeths gorgeous lighting, you can almost feel the Mediterranean sun on your face.

Warmly recommended.

Holly Williams

captaincorellismandolin.com

This Is My Family

Minerva Theatre, Chichester Until Jun 15, 2hrs 20mins

Rating:

Tim Firths musical about a family who go on a terrible camping holiday is given a warm, fuzzy staging by Daniel Evans that has a campfire-cosy glow.

Firth (who wrote Calendar Girls) has a pleasingly light touch: this is a sitcom with songs, the humour broad and relatable. Its pretty predictable, from the male midlife crisis to the overlooked mum, from the moody teenager to the grandma losing her marbles.

Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock (pictured with Kirsty MacLaren) steals them back with a bittersweet performance

But in turning hackneyed gripes into nimble songs with comic observation, it feels familiar and fresh.

James Nesbitt is touching as the emotionally constipated dad, with Clare Burt nicely shaded as his long-suffering wife. Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock steals them back with a bittersweet performance, both mischievous and melancholic.

Holly Williams
Britains best-known brothel-keeper cheered up the nation, remembers Rowan Pelling

Madam Cyn flicks the V-sign

I was 12 when Cynthia Payne  Madam Cyn  was found guilty of running a disorderly house and sentenced to 18 months in prison. I read my dads newspaper on the school run, risking car sickness to devour every last salacious detail of the trial. Scriptwriters couldnt have dreamed up a more British tale of suburban swinging  down to the fact that her ageing clientele paid for sexual services with luncheon vouchers.

The police infiltrated Cynthias South London home during a sex party, where they found 53 men  allegedly including a lord, an MP, a couple of vicars and a clutch of lawyers  queuing for, or enjoying, the ministrations of 13 scantily clad women. PC Stewart Taylor told the judge he posed as a client and went upstairs with a woman called Isobel, who explained in a German accent that her specialisms were bondage and domination.

The timing of the trial, in the early months of 1980, couldnt have been more fortuitous. Britains steel workers had gone on strike for the first time since 1926 and the years headlines were dominated by soaring unemployment. The country was in drastic need of cheer and Cynthia delivered it in spades. In the dock she explained her ideal slave was someone who does all the housework and in return he likes a little bit of caning, insulting and mild humiliation. Judge Brian Pryors sentence was widely viewed as overly harsh and the term was reduced on appeal to six months.

This photo shows an exuberant Cynthia on her release, giving a V-sign to the establishment as she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to a champagne reception. The trial elevated her to national treasure status  two films were made of her life and she even stood for parliament, as a member of the Payne and Pleasure party. So when I became editor of the Erotic Review magazine, I was able to remind my anxious mother that being a woman of ill repute hadnt harmed Cynthia Payne.

Sebastian Coe (right) won gold in the 1500m event at the Moscow Olympics

Also that month
Trophy hunters are paying huge sums to shoot big game animals  including endangered species  and its all legal. Lady VICTORIA HERVEY reports on a bloody trade thats attracting women in ever growing numbers

To my left is a magnificent lion standing regally at the centre of an African landscape. To the right crouches a beautiful leopard, while in the distance a cheetah lies sprawled in a tree. This is not, however, the Serengeti plain. Nor am I watching these creatures through the lens of a camera in the bush.

I am, in fact, in the US  thousands of miles from their natural habitat  under the gaudy neon lights of a convention centre in Reno, a casino town in the Nevada desert. Here the natives are paunchy Americans and their camouflage-clad wives who are sipping cocktails at 9am while plotting their next hunting safari. The animals around me are stuffed and lifeless, victims of one of the worlds most senseless hobbies.

Lady Victoria Hervey with trophies on show at the Safari Club International Conference in Reno

I am here for the Safari Club International (SCI) convention, the worlds biggest gathering of trophy hunters. I have been interested in conservation for more than a decade. Ive done everything from vaccinating wolves in Ethiopia to making a documentary about the illegal bushmeat trade of gorillas and chimps in Cameroon. But in November 2017 I decided to take direct action after the Trump administration announced plans to lift the outright ban on importing elephant kills to the US. Although approval is still on a case-by-case basis, it effectively means these animals can be butchered, stuffed and hung on ranch walls. So I started my own foundation, Preserve Our Wild, to highlight crimes against wildlife, and this is what has brought me here today.

Billed as a hunters heaven, this event sees 20,000 people from more than 100 countries flock through its doors over four days. More than 800 exhibitors peddle everything from the latest guns and wolf skins for little over 100 to week-long trips that offer the chance to kill a rhino for somewhere in the region of 100,000. Within minutes of entering the conference centre, Im offered a ten-day stay at the Okarumuti Game Lodge in Namibia where I could hunt eight different animals, including a zebra and a giraffe. A snip at 13,326. Nadia Savoldelli, the Okarumuti Game Lodge representative at the show, adds conspiratorially that: This is the only place you are going to be able to kill a Hartmann mountain zebra.

You may have seen pictures of these safaris on the internet, featuring people grinning broadly while holding up the head of some of natures most extraordinary, and rare, creatures. Indeed, most of those I spoke to at the convention dreamed of bagging the big five  an African elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo, African lion and African leopard  and were willing to pay up to 100,000 for the privilege. And its all completely legal. Despite pressure on the UK government to ban trophy-hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were brought into the country last year, the law has yet to be changed.

Larysa Switlyk

The SCI has more than 50,000 members worldwide. Most of those here today are white men dressed in camouflage hunting gear. Most accents are American, but I also hear Russian, Spanish and Italian. Some brag to me that they are the messengers of death. The one thing they all bond over is the thrill of a kill. What surprises me more are the women and children  babies in camouflage onesies; toddlers gazing in awe at guns bigger than they are  who are here, albeit in smaller numbers. What was traditionally a rich white mans sport has seen increasing numbers of women flocking to pay 90 to kill a baboon or 2,940 to gun down a giraffe. In many ways women are the perfect hunters, Nadia told me. They typically dont have as big an ego as men and are more patient.

Gun camps with names such as Babes with Bullets encourage women to join. Over the past few years a record number of women have joined the organisation. And who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare, had been old and she was simply participating in conservation through game management. Even Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whose father is associated with a hunting safari in Zimbabwe, has been spotted at SCI conventions.

Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year. Set up three years ago to teach hunting skills to women, it has doubled in size every year since, and camps get booked up months in advance. Women listen, recognise the guides skills and follow instructions. Men are more governed by their egos, co-founder Shannon Lansdowne says. Ive hunted all my life and the thrill of the kill never goes away. When you pull the trigger and know this beautiful animal has given their life for you it is an emotional moment.

Who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare

She Hunts, along with many other hunting companies, peddles the same message that the slaughter is somehow necessary in the name of conservation. I was told repeatedly that money earned from hunting safaris funds preservation, that older animals need to be culled and that, thanks to the millions of dollars raised through legitimate hunting safaris, the economies in poor African countries are bolstered, creating a regulated environment where endangered species can thrive. Yet a report by Washingtons House of Natural Resources Committee in 2016 found that there was little evidence of the money being used to help threatened species such as lions, rhinos and leopards. Instead, corruption and poorly managed wildlife programmes take it all. The report reached the damning conclusion that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals, including elephants.

At a stand for Charlton McCallum Safaris, I watch a horrific video showing an elephant hunt. Two men appear to shoot randomly at a herd of elephants charging towards them as an elephant drops to the ground. We only kill the older male bulls and the ones that are causing a problem for the rest of their herd, one of the men on the stand tells me. But studies claim younger elephants depend on their elders to teach them to forage and raise a family. Dan Bucknell, executive director of Tusk Trust, an organisation that protects African wildlife, says: Elephants are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals that are known to mourn their dead. Killing any individual is traumatic for those that remain, while shooting older herd members removes decades of ecological knowledge and social experience that is important for the herd. Far from being past their prime, the older males that get targeted are often the prime breeders and leaders in male society; younger males become more aggressive when theyre not around.

Victoria at an exhibition stall targeting women. She writes: 'Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year'

There are hundreds of hunting trips advertised here, with names such as The Grizzinator and Blazin Hot Guide Service. How much you spend depends on what you want to kill. When, at one stand, I enquire about rhino hunts, Im asked whether I prefer white or black. The rare subspecies of white rhino is critically endangered after the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 80s. The southern white rhino is classed as near threatened while the black and Sumatran rhinos are also critically endangered. Yet a trophy hunter can still kill these animals in places such as Namibia and South Africa legally, albeit with a licence. Its mind-boggling, until you see the numbers. One pound of rhino horn is worth around 150,000 on the Asian black market, where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Last year China partially reversed a ban on the trade of rhino horn to allow parts from captive animals to be used for scientific, medical and cultural use  a move the World Wide Fund for Nature said would have devastating consequences.

It is even possible to hunt big game on US soil. The Ox Ranch in Texas breeds exotic animals specifically for hunting. To shoot a zebra costs 4,000; a kangaroo 5,300. If all this continues, we risk making these creatures extinct for little more than machismo, and the facilitators profit. The future must be one where we shoot wild beasts with cameras not bullets.

For more information on Victorias foundation, visit preserveourwild.org
How to help yourself heal

How do you learn to live again when life as you knew it has fallen apart? When her marriage broke down, Mary Jane Grant discovered that the little pleasures can make the biggest difference

After her husband Stuart announced he wanted a separation from their 25-year marriage in November 2013, Mary Jane decided to move from their home in Canada to London to be near her son, Ryan. She told herself that this was a test of their relationship and that they would find a way to get back together. But in London she found some simple but effective ways to help ease her sadness, which made her feel more alive than ever

Mary jane With her son ryan

The pleasure of living in the moment

The vibrant city of London was at my feet and I was barely taking it in. Upon seeing something remarkable, I would instinctively reach out to touch my husbands arm and say, Will you look at that? but nobody was there and I felt the sting of rejection. Youve been discarded, remember? Then I went into a tea shop and came face to face with a display of small white pots filled with different types of tea. Smell the teas said the laminated sign. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and picked up a cup labelled tranquillity. The scent of lavender hit me first but also something citrus.

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, then opened them to look at the tea  tiny buds of pale purple lavender and dried lemon peel. I was present and it felt wonderful.

I walked back to my rented room and instead of looking down, I looked up at the faces of people coming in the opposite direction. Sometimes my eyes met theirs and I must have been smiling because several smiled back at me.

Cool air, I said to myself as the damp evening chill touched my cheeks. Spicy curry, catching an exotic scent as people went into an Indian restaurant. Listen. The sounds of rush hour swirled around me. As I walked home I clung to the five senses. For the first time in months, obsessive thoughts of what a lifetime of loneliness might look like were refreshingly absent.

By focusing on the moment, I was not stuck in the past or worried about the future. I could calm the mind and soothe the spirit by doing something blissfully ordinary. Paying attention to our senses is intelligent, not indulgent. It is, in fact, the only way to live fully connected to the world and to each other. The choice was stark  I could continue to stumble through life, senses dulled, heart aching for what wasnt here, or I could live right now.

The pleasure of wandering

I began to walk everywhere. Using my senses had started to make me feel more alive. Now, more than ever, I wanted the journey and the day, the space and the time to simply unfold. I could appreciate what Rebecca Solnit said in her book Wanderlust, Part of what makes roads, trails and paths so unique as built structures is that they cannot be perceived as a whole all at once They unfold in time as one travels along them.

Is that a metaphor for our journey through life? I wondered. No matter how much we plan and worry, we can never see round the next bend. Immersed in the green of trees, the cool of the air, the scent of autumn leaves, I had nothing to do but feel the simple pleasure of moving through the world at this moment. The never-ending script that had been my constant companion, so full of babble, interior dialogue, worry and what-ifs, had been nudged out of the frame by a quiet awareness, a simple noting of this and that and a most welcome peacefulness that was new to me.

You dont live for 80 years. You live today and then today. You dont live yesterday, you dont live tomorrow. You can only be alive one moment at a time. This seemed suddenly obvious to me, but why had I lived my life up until now as though something else was true? As if tomorrow mattered more than today? I realised I had spent most of my time designing a future life, while forgetting to live the only current life I have.

If my life is only one moment long, how do I choose to live each moment? If I am ready with a kind word, I will live a life of kindness. If I am quick to offer someone a warm embrace, I will live a life of compassion. If I ask why? then I will live a life of curiosity. If I stop to savour beauty, my life will be lifted by what is beautiful.

The pleasure of letting go

In London, I was living in a much smaller place and carrying few possessions. I was feeling freer and happier than when I energetically chased happiness and meaning. Living lightly, I was starting to sense what it felt like to have, do and be enough.

A friend invited me to a fundraiser one evening. But I dont have anything to wear, I said. Its ten in the morning, youre in the middle of London and you have a credit card, she replied.

I met my son Ryan, who lives in London, and we went shopping. I found a little black dress made of light wool, cut in a slim silhouette. I tried it on and it looked as though it had been tailor-made.

After showering, I put on the dress. It was perfect paired with my new suede high heels. So far, my time in London had been solitary  save for when I got together with Ryan. I was feeling a little nervous when I arrived at the party but as the evening went on I felt my confidence coming back. By the way, I love your dress, my friend said when I found her to say goodbye.

What happened next came as a surprise  I started to wear that little black dress everywhere. In my previous life, after its initial debut, this special dress would have hung unworn in the wardrobe for months. But now, with limited choices, I wore it often. Every time I did, it reminded me I was living a full life in this fantastic city and doing it all with so little. I thought about all the striving I was leaving behind. I had been trying to have it all, do it all, create a more beautiful home or fashionable wardrobe. Slowly, I was moving away from that, towards a state that felt like enough.

The pleasure of doing what you love

I could see that the void created by the loss of my marriage was now available to be filled with something new. And that was the opportunity to do something that I loved. A new routine took shape. I rose early and walked from my flat to the British Library. My days began to acquire a sense of purpose and focus.

As I spent my time reading and writing, I felt a deep connection with something  creativity brought a feeling of satisfaction and meaning that had been missing in recent months. Working in the library with hundreds of other people eased my feelings of isolation. In following my instincts, I was bringing something  my writing  into existence. No matter how it might turn out, the process of creation produces something that can never be wrong  engagement, meaning and aliveness.

The pleasure of appreciation

What am I doing here? Isolation swirled around me just before Christmas. I was painfully aware of my husbands absence. Was he sitting in front of the fire with this new woman now?

I held my tear-soaked face in my hands. I remembered what the writer Julian Barnes said after the death of his wife. All couples, even the most bohemian, build up patterns in their lives together and these patterns have an annual cycle. As the morning progressed, I moved like someone recovering from a fall  bruised and sore but knowing it was better to work through the discomfort than resist it. Remember, I reminded myself, thoughts and feelings, good and bad, will come and go. Nothing lasts for ever.

To chase only the good feelings while resisting the bad would be living half a life. Wasnt this what I had been experiencing in the past few weeks? Being present, loving the here and now and allowing life to unfold in the moment? I could see that I had been operating with an implicit assumption: if I got through the pain, I would reach a better, brighter place. What if this pain and sadness was worth much more than that  not something to endure but embrace?

There was a silver lining to what had happened. I got to live in the incredible city of London and spend time with my son, seeing him working and happy. I was free of the obligations that had stolen my creative life in the past. And I was becoming reacquainted with myself  rediscovering parts that had been suppressed for years.

The poet David Whyte says, We use the word heartbreak as if it only occurs when things have gone wrong. But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human And of coming to care for what we find along the way.

The pleasure of starting a new life

On a surprisingly warm autumn day in 2016, I briskly walked through the streets of Soho to a small bar on Dean Street. I had dipped my toe into the world of online dating and I was going to meet someone I liked, at least on paper.

And here he is today, just returning from his morning run through Greenwich Park. In less than a month we will be returning to that same bar on Dean Street to celebrate the second anniversary of the day we met. We dont know what life will bring, but we are living it together now, one small pleasure at a time.
The police forces in England and Wales that are most - and least - likely to cancel a speeding fine has been revealed.

There's a huge difference in the chances of being let off a speeding fine depending where in the country you've been caught, according to Home Office data.

For instance, three in five motorists are let off a fixed penalty notice (FPN) related to speeding by City of London, while drivers are pretty much banged to rights by North Wales police, according to a new report.

These are the police forces that cancelled the highest percentage of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences in 2017-2018

Analysis of government data covering the 12 months to the end of March 2018 was conducted by vehicle finance provider Moneybarn.

The figures not only highlighted which police forces have dished out the most FPNs for speeding during that period but also revealed the ones most and least likely to cancel them for one reason or another.

Exclusive data for This is Money showed the top 10 forces that ripped up speeding tickets more frequently and 10 who cancel fewer than four per cent of fines they issue for the offence of driving over the limit.

Police forces that cancel the most speeding fines 1. City of London - 62.6% 2. Cambridgeshire - 30.6% 3. Greater Manchester - 26.7% 4. London Metropolitan - 24.2% 5. Bedfordshire - 23.2% 6. Hertfordshire - 21.3% 7. Warwickshire - 17.9% 8. Northamptonshire - 15.0% 9. Avon and Somerset - 14.9% 10. West Midlands - 13.0% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

City of London was way out in front for the most commonly canceled speeding fines.

Some 62 per cent issued to motorists over 12 months were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons.

This includes:

The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) had incorrect details about the nature, time or location of the alleged offence

The alleged speeder wasn't driving when the offence took place

The road signage for speed limits was missing or incorrect

The speed measuring equipment had not been calibrated or was being misused

Cambridgeshire police are the next most likely to revoke a speeding FPN, with just over 30 per cent being cancelled.

Manchester Metropolitan police tore up more than a quarter, while Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police also revoked more than 20 per cent of speeding tickets they issued.

Some 62% of speeding fines issued to motorists caught by City of London police were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons

Some police forces are not quite as forthcoming when it comes to cancelling speeding FPNs, the figures reveal.

North Wales police are least likely to let a driver off, with almost 99 per cent of speeding fines upheld.

Police forces that cancel the fewest speeding fines 1. North Wales - 1.3% 2. Devon & Cornwall - 1.6% 3. Dyfed-Powys - 1.8% 4. Wiltshire - 2.1% 5. Nottinghamshire - 2.1% 6. Cleveland - 3.3% 7. Gwent 3.3% 8. South Yorkshire - 3.3% 9. Surrey - 3.8% 10. Humberside 3.9% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Devon and Cornwall police is second in the table, revoking just 1.6 per cent of tickets, while Dyfed-Powys was third with just 1.8 per cent of intended prosecution notices for speeding being overlooked.

The minimum penalty for a speeding ticket in England and Wales is 100 and three points added to a driver's licence.

If you're caught by a camera, you will receive an NIP and Section 172 notice in the post.

You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.

After you've sent the Section 172 notice back and admitted you were at the wheel, you'll be sent a FPN requesting a payment of 100 or more, depending on the severity of the offence and punishment.

Last week, information released by forces in England and Wales identified the tolerances set for speed cameras in different regions, with most operating a 10 per cent plus 2mph threshold.

Motorists caught speeding by an officer will be handed a FPN on the spot or will have one issued in the post.

You're least likely to get off a speeding fine if you were caught in Wales. Though stats also suggest the chances of being caught driving over the limit is less likely than in England

Moneybarn's stats also revealed which police forces handed out the most fines.

Avon and Somerset issued the largest number of fixed penalty notices FPNs for speeding, with a staggering 199,337 brandished to motorists during the 12-month period - the equivalent of 548 issued each day.

The vast majority of drivers would have been caught by the 800 active speed cameras - both fixed and mobile - in the area rather than the 3,000 officers in its constabulary.

West Yorkshire and London Metropolitan follow in second and third place, with 174,796 and 135,430 FPNs issued for speeding.

The police forces issuing the most and least speeding fines (Apr 2017-Mar 2018) FORCES ISSUING MOST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs FORCES ISSUING LEAST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs 1. Avon and Somerset 199,337 1. Gwent 242 2. West Yorkshire 174,796 2. Dyfed-Powys 793 3. London Metropolitan 135,430 3. Wiltshire 1,191 4. Thames Valley 131,401 4. City of London 3,888 5. Greater Manchester 101,421 5. Durham 8,802 6. Essex 95,967 6. Derbyshire 10,480 7. Norfolk 92,750 7. Cleveland 11,308 8. Hampshire 79,126 8. Kent 18,878 9. Bedfordshire 74,297 9. North Wales 20,462 10. Surrey 74,163 10. Gloucestershire 21,727 Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Welsh police forces dominated list of areas where the lowest number of speeding fines were issued - though we now know that most of these are upheld.

Gwent police - which has just eight active speed cameras - issued the lowest, at just 242 speeding tickets.

Knowing that 96.7 per cent are upheld, by our calculations that means just eight drivers have their FPNs rebuffed.

Dyfed-Powys and North Wales also feature. It means you're least likely to be hit with a speeding fine in Wales, but if you are there's very little hope of squirming out of the fine and penalty points.
Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of its burgeoning population.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts.

Former farmland on the edge of Sydney is being consumed by new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits.

Australia's biggest city could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of a population boom (pictured is Oran Park in Sydney's outer south-west)

In just a decade, the population of the Camden local government area ballooned by 58 per cent, surging from 49,645 in 2006 to 78,218, Australian Bureau of Statistics Census figures show.

That rate of growth was more than triple that of greater Sydney - at 17 per cent - over the same period, as the population climbed to 4.8million, fuelled by high levels of immigration.

In Sydney's south-western outskirts Oran Park, a former car race track, mushroomed from less than 200 people in 2011 to 4,765 people five years later.

In another part of Sydney, the opening of the Metro Northwest railway line is also underpinning apartment construction near the Rouse Hill station, almost 50km from the city.

Nearby, West Schofields is expected to house another 45,000 people between 2021 and 2031, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment projected.

Mark Steinert, the chief executive of residential building group Stockland, this week predicted Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade.

Hemmed in by the Blue Mountains to the west and national parks to the north and south, there was little room for further expansion.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses (Oran Park pictured) are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts

Former farmland (Narellan pictured) on the edge of Sydney is making way for new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits

'There's very little housing land left in Sydney, in fact we'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years,' Mr Steinert told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon.

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would unavoidably lead to high-density housing, killing off the backyard.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert: 'We'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years'

'What has been Australian life will vanish inevitably,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'You cannot ramp up the population of the Sydney basin with the highest level of immigration of any developed country - in proportion to the existing population - without forcing the city to go up in increased densities.

'We are now looking at the last land available for broad-acre subdivision and development.

'We were never going to be able to sprawl forever.'

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would eventually kill off the backyard

Australia's population surpassed the 25million mark in August 2018, 24 years earlier than predicted in the federal government's first inter-generational report of 2002.

The 1.6 per cent population growth pace is also more than double the rich-world average of 0.7 per cent.

Mr Carr served as foreign minister in 2012 and 2013, as Australia's annual net immigration level surged above 200,000 for the first time, when Julia Gillard was prime minister.

'There was no discussion in cabinet on immigration levels,' he said.

'They continued to be pumped up but there was no opportunity to have a broad debate on migration and population.'

Since the late 1990s, backyard sizes in new Sydney houses have shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres, in places like Oran Park in the Camden Council area.

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said backyards had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres (new house at Oran Park pictured)

Sydney's median house price has fallen by 16.1 per cent since peaking in July 2017.

But at $880,369, detached homes with a backyard are still more than 10 times an average full-time salary of $83,500, which is forcing couples with children to move to an outer suburb.

How backyards are shrinking or disappearing Griffith University senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning Tony Matthews said backyards, during the past two decades, had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres. Tony Matthews: 'We're running out of greenfield land' The traditional 'quarter acre block' backyard was becoming rarer as houses grew larger and in many cases, land sizes became smaller. 'The building footprint fills up a considerable portion of the block, maybe as much as 90 per cent,' Dr Matthews told Daily Mail Australia. High land costs were also encouraging developers to fit in more master-planned houses to get higher yields. 'The cost of land is so high developers or master planning development companies need to get a yield that will allow them to make sufficient profit to go ahead with the actual development,' Dr Matthews said. The lack of new land in Sydney was also contributing to smaller backyards and more apartment towers. 'We are basically running out of greenfield land,' he said. 'Within our existing urban areas and our existing suburban areas, and even our existing outer-suburban areas, what has been a planning priority over the last 20 years is to try and curtail sprawl development, particularly at the edge of the cities. 'That's also why we've seen so much high-rise development.' Advertisement

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said many parents were moving to small blocks 60km from the city to find somewhere affordable with a vague semblance of a backyard.

'Their priorities shift when they have children and they starting thinking about, "You know what, I'd really rather raise my children in a more conventional house",' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're prepared to sacrifice their backyard or a large backyard.

'There has been a long history of reluctance to equate family living with apartments in Australia.'

The excessive commute times in Sydney were also creating 'socially detrimental consequences'.

'You've just got less time with your kids or one parent has less time with their kids,' Dr Matthews said.

'Children end up often being not just in daycare but long daycare so they might be there from 6am to 6pm, which isn't necessarily optimal for them for their social development.

'The amount of time that you spend commuting is almost directly proportional to the amount of time that you are likely to engage with your community and participate in things like voluntary activities.'

Camden Liberal councillor Peter Sidgreaves, who until recently was mayor, said population growth was a problem in his area.

'I have to say that the traffic congestion is getting worse,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

An influx of new immigrants - from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal - were moving into the area, 65km from Sydney's city centre.

'Yes, that's certainly a major change to Camden and that's something as a community we're dealing with,' Mr Sidgreaves said.

At this stage, Mr Sidgreaves said Camden's population increase was fuelling more demand for house and land packages than apartments.

'There have been a lot of residential developments and that has been happening in the south-west growth centre precinct,' he said.

Late this week Dart West Developments, the group behind the new Narellan Town Centre, lodged a council application to knock down 11 houses to build a new four-storey apartment complex along Somerset Avenue.

Whether they sell for a good price is another matter, with New South Wales already home to almost half of Australia's apartments.

While younger people may prefer apartments (Sydney Olympic Park pictured), Dr Matthews said parents with young children were preferring to live in house, even a long way from the city

Tim Lawless, the head of research with real estate data group CoreLogic, said younger people were preferring to live in apartments closer to the city instead of houses a long way from work.

'We are seeing a gradual shift towards medium to high-density preferences,' he said.

Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics; House of Representatives Standing Committee for Long-Term Strategies, December 1994 Advertisement

'Those people look to, say, sacrifice the Hills Hoist in their backyard and live close to the city where they can perhaps live in medium to high-density but also be much closer to where they work, closer maybe to transport connections, social opportunities, perhaps where their parents live.'

At the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon, in Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel overlooking The Rocks, the Property Council of Australia's group executive of policy and advocacy Mike Zorbas slammed Mr Carr's suggestion as premier that Sydney was full.

Mr Carr said big business and federal Treasury economists were wedded to 'remorseless population growth as the underpinning of our economy'.

'It is the orthodoxy that links business and the Canberra bureaucrats,' he said.

He said Mr Steinert's prediction of land running out in Sydney 'confirms the warnings I've been making for over 20 years about the "more the merrier" ideology'.

'The inevitable depletion of the land supply mandates a basin filling with towers.'
Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate, lifestyle and safety.

A report by AfrAsia Bank found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running.

In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular.

Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate and lifestyle (pictured is the Sydney Opera House at night)

'Sydney is one of the top financial centres in Asia and has become one of the most sought-after destinations for the world's super-rich due to its lifestyle, safety and climate,' the 'Global Wealth Migration Review' report said.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

Despite having had seven prime ministers since 2007, Australia was also regarded as being the 'most politically developed country in the world'.

'Politicians in Australia are seen as everyday public servants and do not have extreme power,' the report said.

A report by AfrAsia Bank, with headquarters in Mauritius, found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running. In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular

'Notably, the Prime Minister of Australia is often replaced between elections if party members feel they need a change.'

After Australia, the U.S. was the second most prevalent destination for the rich, with 10,000 high net worth individuals moving there last year, as 108,000 wealthy people migrated globally.

By comparison, 4,000 wealthy people moved to Canada as another 3,000 relocated to Switzerland.

The United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean, which includes the tax havens of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, each attracted 2,000 very rich migrants.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised in the AfrAsia report for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, Portugal, Greece and Spain each welcomed 1,000 wealthy new residents last year.

Australia was regarded as the best place for the rich which, unlike the U.S., doesn't have inheritance taxes, is free from gun massacres and has accessible universal health care for everyone regardless of their income.

'Australia is also a particularly safe country to raise children,' the report said.

'The U.S. has some safety problems especially in the big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.'

Australia was also praised for having the 'highest minimum wage in the world' and a migration program biased towards those with skills instead of family reunion.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, from billionaire Meriton Group founder Harry Triguboff (left) to online retail millionaire Ruslan Kogan (right)

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996

'Most of the immigrants that are allowed into Australia are professional people (i.e. doctors, lawyers, engineers),' it said.

'Notably, in Australia there is only a small difference in wages between manual labour jobs and corporate jobs - this encourages a more equal society.'

Apart from Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts, Perth and Brisbane were popular with rich migrants.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, with their ranks including billionaires Harry Triguboff, the 86-year-old Chinese-born founder of the Meriton apartment building group, and Westfield shopping mall founder Frank Lowy.

Young entrepreneurs born overseas include 36-year-old online retail king Ruslan Kogan, who moved from Belarus as a child and grew up in a Melbourne housing commission flat.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996.
A wild raccoon has moved into a zoo - and keepers can't kick him out.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover the uninvited guest inside the existing raccoon enclosure on Friday, Germany's Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung reported.

It's not known how the animal managed to get through the security barriers keeping the animals inside, but he has been integrated into zoo life.

Keepers, who have nicknamed him Fred, have seen him getting along with the seven other raccoons in residence, the publication reported.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover a wild raccoon had moved into the raccoon enclosure (stock image)

'Fred came to us and got used to the good life in the zoo,' Sandra Reichler, mammal curator at Heidelberg Zoo told the publication.

While Fred initially had issues adapting, Ms Reichler said: 'he has become accustomed to the zookeepers and also adapted his daily rhythm to his conspecifics in the zoo.'

The raccoon can now expect to a live comfortably alongside the captive raccoons for the rest of his life.

The 2015 EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species forbids wild animals from being released back into the wild after life in captivity.

The wild creature, nicknamed him Fred, can expect to live 'the good life' from now on as EU law forbids him from being released back into the wild (stock image)

Despite upgrading to a life of luxury, Fred will unlikely produce any offspring with potential mates at the zoo.

Fred will also need to be castrated, as per the 2015 EU Regulation.

Raccoons are considered an invasive alien species that may pose a threat to European plants and animals under rule.

Wild raccoons in Europe are the descendants of animals that escaped from fur farms decades ago.
The family of a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death in east London have paid tribute to the 'loving, caring boy' who had an 'infectious laugh'.

Detectives believe aspiring musician Tashaun Aird was killed after a 'fracas' with a group of young people in a park in Hackney on Wednesday evening.

His family went to the scene of his death in Somerford Grove, Hackney, with one woman heard screaming: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

He was described by friends as a 'good guy' and produced Afrobeat and drill music.

In a statement released by Scotland Yard on Friday, they said: 'Tashaun was family orientated, he loved his family and we loved him dearly. He was passionate about his music and he loved drawing. He was a loving, caring boy with an infectious laugh.

The family of aspiring musician Tashaun Aird, 15, have paid tribute to him after he was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday evening

'There are no words to avoid this empty void we now have, a huge part of us is now missing. He was a talented young boy and worked hard in his studies, particularly with his English.

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by our loss; we have lost a dear son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson and an uncle in Tashaun.'

Another teenager, 16, was riding a bicycle when he was stabbed and chased, before he sought refuge in a convenience store.

He remains in hospital after he was found with stab injuries in nearby Shacklewell Road, but police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Tashaun Jones, 15, was described by friends as a 'good guy' who produced drill music

There have been no arrests and police are appealing for information.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Rance said: 'Tashaun's family have been left devastated by the sudden loss of their son and we are continuing to do everything we can to find those responsible.

'We believe both victims were attacked following a fracas with another group of youths in a park near Somerford Grove before both fled.

'Although we are following a number of leads we are urging anyone who has any information that may help our investigation to get in touch with us or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

The killing, which is the 43rd homicide in the capital this year and the 27th fatal stabbing, happened in Somerford Grove on Wednesday night.

Despite efforts of medics to save him, he was pronounced dead at 9.49pm. He is the eighth teenager to die violently so far this year.

A post-mortem examination gave his provisional cause of death as a stab wound to the lung.

Members of the victim's family were seen today at the estate in Hackney, East London, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son'

Police in Hackney, East London, this morning after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death

A blue tent was erected overnight in Hackney as police continue to investigate this morning

A friend who visited the scene of the boy's death said: 'It's sad. It came to us as a surprise because he was a good guy.

'We did music together. He didn't only produce afrobeats, he made drill music as well. He also sold some beats to some big artists.

'I never thought that any of my friends would be murdered. I'm shocked.'

Another friend added: 'I'm so done. It doesn't feel safe anymore.'

Family members leave flowers at the scene in Hackney on Thursday following the stabbing

Police officers investigate the scene in Hackney after the boy was stabbed to death

There have been 43 murders in London so far this year, and another on a London-bound train

Members of Tashaun's family were seen at the estate, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'I am deeply saddened by the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy in Hackney. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

'This horrific violence has absolutely no place on our streets. To anyone with information - please contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

No arrests have been made and the Metropolitan Police put a Section 60 order in place for Hackney, which allows officers to stop and search anyone in the area.
Police said Aida Melcado, 18, is one of two women who stole 2,000 pairs of underwear from a Pennsylvania Victoria's Secret store

Police in Pennsylvania have identified two suspects accused of stealing $21,000 worth of Victoria's Secret underwear last month.

Lower Allen Township police said Aida Melcado, 18, and a minor identified as 'BC' were behind the theft of 2,000 pairs of underwear from the Victoria's Secret store at the Capital City Mall near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 7.

Authorities said Melcado and BC were identified and arrested during a drug investigation in Virginia's Fairfax County on April 18, according to Fox 43.

The duo was said to have had the stolen underwear with them at the time of the arrest and that police later found their 'booster' bags  specially lined to prevent electronic security tags from working  which they allegedly used during the robbery.

Melcado and BC are believed to gone into the Victoria's Secret store at about 3 p.m. on April 7. Each was said to have been carrying a large, black shopping bag while using their cell phones.

Police said that the pair took the underwear off of a display table and out from inside the size drawers. BC was said to have acted as the lookout while Melcado secreted the huge quantity of underwear into the booster bags.

Authorities released surveillance pictures of the two women accused of stealing the underwear. It's believed that the woman in these images is Melcado

Police also released this image of the second suspect in the theft, who was identified as 'BC'

Melcado and BC are accused of having lifted the 2,000 pairs of underwear from this Victoria's Secret in Pennsylvania's Capital City Mall

Police said the pair stole 375 hipster panties (similar to left), 375 cut thongs (similar to right), 1,000 thongs and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties from the store display

The theft occurred at a time when the Victoria's Secret employees were busy assisting other shoppers, police said after releasing surveillance pictures of the suspects during their initial investigation of the crime in early April, CBS 21 reported.

All told, Melcado and BC are accused of having swiped $21,000 worth of merchandise, which was broken down as being 375 hipster panties worth $3,937.50; 375 cut thongs worth $3,937.50; 1,000 thongs worth $10,500, and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties worth $2,625.00.

On Friday, police issued an arrest warrant for Melcado, who now faces a felony charge of retail theft and conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of an instrument of crime, according to Penn Live.

BC faces juvenile charges as well, although the specific charges are unclear.
Jeremy Corbyn was humiliated in Labours heartlands yesterday as the party lost councillors on a night it had hoped to gain hundreds.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils.

The party suffered a string of stunning reverses in heartlands and Leave- voting areas such as Hartlepool and Bolsover, the local council of Left-wing firebrand Dennis Skinner.

By 7.30pm last night, Labour had recorded a net loss of more than 70 councillors.

Despite Theresa Mays extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour (Jeremy Corbyn is pictured left) recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils. Despite Theresa Mays (right) extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives

As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats

The astonishing scale of Labours failure came as a total shock to the party leadership. As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats.

By yesterday morning he was forced to admit the voters message from the local elections was: Brexit  sort it.

He added: Message received. Mr Corbyn could only say he was very sorry at the scale of the losses. Last night, an internal row broke out over the partys Brexit policy, with backbench MPs saying the poor performance was because of its mixed messages on the issue.

Former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw said: When you cower in the middle of the road on the biggest existential crisis facing Britain for generations, you get squashed.

I quit after 45 years, says furious Baldrick He once had a cunning plan to get Labour in power. But thats all history now, as Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson last night quit the party over its complete s*** leadership. The actor, who played Baldrick, said he had left Labour after 45 years because of Brexit and anti-Semitism. Actor Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder He described as duplicity the partys decision not to come down fully on the side of a second referendum. Sir Tony has appeared in party political broadcasts for Labour and has served on its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from 2000 to 2004. He tweeted: Ive left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at branch, constituency and NEC levels, partly because of its continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of its anti-Semitism, but also because its leadership is complete s***. Sir Tony tweeted to say he was leaving the Labour party Actress Tracy Ann Oberman replied: I feel your pain. Huge part of our identity  gone x. But one Corbynista said: The middle-classes always cave in, they never have the stamina for a long fight. Another wrote: Bye bye, sulky saboteur. During the 1980s Sir Tony played Baldrick, famous for his cunning plans, across four series of Blackadder. Advertisement

Remain-supporting Labour MPs said the fact that both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens had done well showed the party should back a second referendum.

Jess Phillips said: Those who had a clear message last night seem to have prospered much better. People dont know where the Labour Party stand on Brexit.

But MPs in Leave areas claimed the polls proved the party would prosper only if it helped to facilitate Brexit.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery told the BBC the clear message from the local elections was that the two parties need to get on and get Brexit sorted.

One MP, Neil Coyle, blamed Mr Corbyn himself for the poor results, saying: The number one negative for Labour was Jeremy Corbyn.

Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, said Mr Corbyn was losing the support of the working classes. Its a mixed picture for us, but the key worrying trend is the white working-class moving away from Labour, she said. Its a long-term trend, but Brexit has put rocket boosters under it.

Labour celebrated taking Trafford Council in Greater Manchester, and it made gains in Amber Valley, High Peak and Calderdale.

But results elsewhere were disastrous. The party in Barnsley said it was their worst night in years, with a 17 per cent swing to the Lib Dems. And Labour lost control of Bolsover for the first time in 40 years. Outgoing Labour leader Ann Syrett said: What weve met on the doorstep is that its just not clear to people what Labour means on Brexit. It simply isnt clear.

Visiting Trafford, where the party won overall control for the first time since 2003, Mr Corbyn said he was very sorry at the scale of losses. I wanted us to do better, of course, he said. Results across the country are interesting, to put it mildly. But I also say the swings to Labour in many parts of the country show that we can win seats in a general election, whenever that comes.

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis said: Last night John McDonnell was boasting about winning more than 400 seats.

Theyre actually going backwards, which is a dreadful place to be in Opposition.

Former Labour minister Chris Bryant said: I never thought constructive ambiguity would survive the white heat of the ballot box. Voters want to know what theyre getting from a party. Fudge just sickens them.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: Whats important is that before the European elections, we have clarity in relation to our position on Europe. In my view, that means giving the British public a final say on whether they accept the deal negotiated by the Prime Minister or the one which has the most support in Parliament, with the option of remaining in the EU.

But shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: We are not a second-referendum-at-all-costs party.
Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country, it was announced Friday.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Donald Trump cabinet member in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described 'prison-like' conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida and the news has already been condemned by several senior democrats.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was 'corruption at its absolute worst,' and Sen. Cory Booker said Kelly's actions were 'disgusting.'

U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district where the facility stands tweeted: 'This is unforgivable. It confirms what we knew about the President - that he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.'

But CEO Van Dusen said: 'With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team.'

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate operating the largest facility for migrant children in the country

An executive order on ethics issued by Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities. Trump and Kelly are pictured here in 2017

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space.

It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

CBS News first reported on the board appointment in a Friday news report.

Kelly revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was already affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.

Kelly was seen last month touring the migrant teen detention camp in Homestead, Florida, where he was also spotted by activists protesting over the detention of children.

The new conglomerate formed last year by DC Capital Partners consolidated four companies. One of them is the facility contractor, called Comprehensive Health Services.

About 2,500 children are detained at The Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Florida. The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space

Children are seen as they walk through the facility in February. The facility is the nation's largest for housing migrant children

Among its executives, Caliburn also has a high-ranking military officer who advised President Donald Trump his first months in office, and a former Department of Defense inspector general.

'It appears to be a strategy of trying to leverage Washington insiders to help the company win contracts,' said Mandy Smithberger, a director at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog group.

The government recently gave the company new contracts to run other facilities in Texas and awarded it $340 million to expand its Florida operation in a no-bid phase.

The corporation's chief compliance officer, Lynne Halbrooks, served as Department of Defense's principal deputy inspector general from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015. She is included in a 'revolving door' database by an independent watchdog group of military officials who are now working for companies they used to oversee.

The chief strategy officer for Caliburn is Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, who was an assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 2015 to August 2017.
A father-of-three who was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on issued a chilling warning about the dangers of the machine just days before he died.

Craig Tanner, 42, from Engadine, 33km south of Sydney, had been working as an industrial cleaner for an ink plant in Auburn when he was fatally struck by a mixing blade that abruptly began moving in December 2017.

It's now emerged that Mr Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services and was working at the site on a contract basis, had predicted his own demise in an eerie caution to his brother-in-law Mark Riach.

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Craig Tanner, 42, (pictured right alongside his wife Rachel Tanner and three sons) was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on

'Craig said to me, "I'm scared the ink vat is going to turn on one day",' Mr Riach told The Daily Telegraph.

Tragically Mr Tanner's worst fears were confirmed just days later when he was trudging through the ink tank and it suddenly revved up and trapped his leg and crushed his pelvis.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident.

Another worker, 29, was injured while a third man, 28, sustained leg injuries when he tried to save his co-workers at the DIC Australia premises on Chisholm Road.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death (Mr Tanner pictured alongside his three sons)

Ms Tanner (pictured alongside her three sons) said she struggles with the lack of closure from not knowing the exact circumstances around her husband's death

Mr Tanner has left behind a loving wife Rachel Tanner and three young sons all under the age of ten.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death.

'Craig was my best friend and soul mate. He was such an involved father that loved nothing more than his sons. He loved taking them on adventures and they worshipped him,' she said.

Ms Tanner said she struggles with the lack of closure from still not knowing the exact circumstances surrounding her husband's death.

'I'm his wife. I should know what happened to my husband. I can't even tell my sons why their father was killed. It's difficult to explain that we have no answers,' she said.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident

The incident occurred at DIC Australia factory on Chisholm Road in Auburn, western Sydney

A man dressed in protective clothing stands in the factory metres from where the accident occurred

At the time of his death SafeWork NSW issued multiple safety notices to the Auburn plant which, according to the government agency, have now been complied with.

SafeWork NSW and the police have also submitted an investigation into Mr Tanner's death to the coroner.

However, Jacob Carswell-Doherty who works as a lawyer for Ms Tanner, said the investigation had taken far too long.

He also said that while he understood the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation there had not been an adequate amount of transparency.

A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW told the publication the agency was committed to continue to provide 'significant resources' to the ongoing investigation.

The case will be reviewed at the NSW Coroner's Court on June 28.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Tanner for comment.
A cancer sufferer has received disgusting abuse online after she reached out to a Facebook group for help to save an injured ibis.

Chelsea Campbell, 21, who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across the injured bird on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday.

She immediately reached out to NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), who contacted Sydney Trains to help save the injured bird.

Chelsea Campbell, 21 (pictured), who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across an injured ibis on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday

But when the transport authority was unable to provide immediate assistance, and Ms Campbell commented about it on Facebook, she was slammed by trolls.

'Basically the response I got was, 'Is she kidding?',' Ms Campbell told Yahoo News Australia.

The 21-year-old said she was horrified to read the replies to her post about the ibis - which is often referred to as a 'bin chicken' for its scavenger eating habits.

Initially, Ms Campbell was ridiculed for suggesting Sydney Trains should intervene, but eventually the comments took a dark turn, she said.

She said 'some really nasty people' began leaving horrific messages on her Facebook post, in relation to photos of her taken during cancer treatment.

One Facebook user replied to her call-to-action post by commenting on a photo of Ms Campbell without hair, saying she resembled an ibis herself.

While another disgusting message told the 21-year-old to 'go kill yourself'.

The post quickly garnered more than 50 negative comments, before the Facebook group's admin intervened and removed it from the page.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued (stock)

Ms Campbell, who suffers from anxiety and depression, was so traumatised by the comments that she reached out to her family, who have slammed the online haters.

Her aunt, Sam Ward, was so angered by the actions of the trolls that she took to Facebook to share her concerns over the incident.

'How would any of you feel if your son, daughter brother, sister, mum, dad was told to go 'kill themselves' when asking for help?!?! (sic),' Ms Ward wrote.

She told Yahoo News the people responsible for the hateful comments have no right to be so judgmental and should be ashamed of themselves.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued.
He has launched a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools

Pushy parents are driving teachers out of their jobs by ranting on social media when their children get told off, the Education Secretary has warned.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies.

He revealed that he plans to update guidance for heads and teachers on what to do when they are cyber-bullied by parents and pupils.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn [File photo]

He told the conference of the NAHT school leaders union: Teachers and leaders should not be subject to online abuse simply for doing their jobs. He also said social media companies had a role in protecting victims.

Speaking earlier to the Daily Mail, he said it used to be that if you were in trouble at school you were in trouble at home.

He added: Thats still true in lots of cases but there is this minority. In the very worst cases  and I do stress this is a tiny minority  social media then comes into play.

Social media changes everything. It does concern me greatly because I want to attract and retain the very best people into teaching. I dont want there to be any untoward thing that makes that profession less attractive.

Some parents were also quick to phone or email schools, very ready sometimes to be over-challenging of what schools are doing.

Mr Hinds warned: School teachers are in charge of schools and its really important for good discipline, good behaviour, that everybody knows where they stand.

These cases are a small minority of parents, but it would be crazy to say there isnt that problem. With some families there is a much quicker willingness to say, Why are you taking this action against my child?.

He said that for teachers who are considering leaving the profession, behaviour is one of the key things that is part of that consideration. He added: When you ask parents and grandparents, what is it about the school system that they care about most, behaviour comes out really high.

And one of the reasons for that is, its what they are hearing from their children.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies [File photo]

Mr Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn.

He was speaking before the launch today of a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools. It will create a network of head teachers who have a track record on improving discipline to provide bespoke support for other schools.

From next year mentor schools will provide advice on issues including detention and sanction and reward mechanisms.

More than 82 per cent of parents consider good discipline in the class a key factor when choosing a school for their child, according to research. However, more than a third of schools are currently judged as not having good enough behaviour by Ofsted.

Mr Hinds, 49, a father of three, said children were most likely to reach their academic potential if they have clear boundaries where everyone has mutual respect for each other.
Gary Hill was caught having sex with Crystal Frances Monday night in Florida. Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public

A Florida man has arrested after being caught having sex with a woman outside a police station following them downing a pint of vodka.

Gary Hill was spotted on North Roosevelt Boulevard Monday night with his short around his ankles and a woman passing by alerted cops at headquarters in the immediate vicinity.

A police report states the witness told cops via dispatch telephone in the Key West Police Station lobby that she saw two subjects who appeared as if there were about to have sex.

His partner in the 9pm clinch Crystal Frances was found on the sidewalk by a pond with no underwear or clothing on her bottom half.

According to a report after the incident, Hill and Frances were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' between a metal fence and concrete barrier when law enforcement went to investigate.

When confronted Hill told Officer Brian P Leahy: 'It was a Key West moment.

'I'm horny. She was giving it up to me right then and there.'

The couple is said to be homeless. Hill's address was listed as a general reference to Key West.

Police said Hill put his clothes back on when prompted.

However Frances angrily refused and cops took her to hospital after being led to believe she was intoxicated. The report stated her speech was not understandable.

A woman passing by Key West Police Station spotted them appearing as if they were about to have sex. They were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' when police arrived

Officer Leahy called in Sergeant Siracuse for backup and he handcuffed Frances after she eventually did put clothes on.

The reporting officer stated Hill had 'glassy/bloodshot eyes' and emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath.

'I observed Hill to have slurred speech and be unsteady on his feet,' Leahy wrote.

Hill, 46, told cops he and Frances had consumed a pint of vodka between them earlier in the evening.

Police found a half empty bottle of vodka near where they were caught having sex.

Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public.

Police said they aimed to obtain a warrant for the woman's arrest on once she's released from hospital for treatment of alcohol consumption and 'possible ingestion of narcotics'.
A mother and son have opened up about their terrifying ordeal when a group of robbers strapped bombs to the pair in an elaborate plot to rob the son's bank.

Matt Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home.

Matt was then zipped and headphones were placed over his head so that the robbers could speak with him, saying that he would need to go the credit union where he worked and steal money.

Matt Yussmann opened up about terrifying moment he was held hostage by a gang of robbers who strapped a bomb to him in a plot to steal millions of dollars from the bank where he worked

Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home

'It was a very specific amount. We want $4.2 million in cash,' says Matt in a clip obtained by DailyMail.com.

'They knew where I work. What I did. That I had my mother in the house.'

The men then showed him the explosives he would be wearing, and that would be placed under this mother's bed, if he did not comply.

'They said, "Do you know what this is ?" And I said, "No",'says Matt.

'And they said, "This is C4 explosive. We're gonna make an explosive device and we're gonna strap it to you because we don't trust that you're gonna do what you're told."'

His mother could also hear the men from the next room.

The men broke into Yussman's home in Bristol, Connecticut (pictured)

'And then I could hear them unwrapping duct tape, lots and lots, I could hear that unwrapping. And that must've been when they were strapping it around him,' says Valerie.

'And I began to cry harder and really panic because - as you're laying there, and I'm thinking, "they're putting a bomb on him".'

Yussman told police that two men confronted him when he arrived at his home in Bristol after work. The suspects bound Yussman and his mother and held them for hours before sending Yussman out at daybreak to get money from a branch of the credit union in nearby New Britain, police said at the time.

When Yussman arrived at the branch, he called a fellow credit union official, who called police.

Minutes later, police found Yussman alone in his car outside the New Britain branch of the credit union with the bomb strapped to his chest.

Attempted heist: Police swarm around the Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Connecticut on February 23, 2015, after Yussman was found in the parking lot with a device strapped to his chest

Public works trucks were brought to the scene as 'shields' because they would be large enough to withstand a blast or stop a car from fleeing if needed.

The state police bomb unit was called in and rendered the device safe, police said.

The suspects had disappeared by the time police arrived, fleeing in a white older model four-door Mazda, according to reports at the time.

The incident sparked a massive police response involving dozens of officers and SWAT equipment. Schools were put on lockdown and roads were closed.

Yussman, 46, was treated at a hospital for exposure to freezing temperatures while having to sit in the unheated car while authorities removed the device, police said. His mother wasn't harmed.

Police withheld many other details at that time, including whether the suspects made off with any money and whether Yussman was an unlucky victim or part of the plot.
Authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao have announced they will quarantine a ship carrying 300 people, after confirmation that a female crew member has measles.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, and is set to dock early Saturday.

Health officials say they will board the vessel when it arrives and assess who has been vaccinated for measles or has had the virus previously.

They say proof will be required, and that those who do not comply will be vaccinated immediately, regardless of their religious views.

The Church of Scientology website describes the Freewinds as a floating 'religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion'.

It is normally docked in Curacao when not in use, but Church officials have not returned messages for comment.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, will be quarantined when it arrives in Curacao on Saturday

Detained passengers were pictured on the deck of the vessel in this picture during its mooring at St. Lucia earlier this week. The passengers were not let off the ship, and it has now turned back to Curacao

The ship departed Curacao for the nearby island of St Lucia on April 28.

Prior to departure, a female crew member had visited a doctor for cold symptoms. She told medics that she had recently been in Europe.

A blood sample was taken, but by the time officials diagnosed her with measles, she had already left port on the ship.

Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia, who banned passengers from disembarking when they reached island. The ship has now turned back to Curacao.

Officials urged anyone who visited the Freewinds ship from April 22-28 to get a medical checkup.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks, in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
Derryn Culverwell and her children survived but her husband Alan was shot dead

The wife of a man shot dead at close-range by callous Caribbean pirates, who raided the family yacht on a round-the-world trip, survived the traumatising ordeal despite being brutally attacked with a machete.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht near Morodub island in the Guna Yala district in Panama's northeast at about 2am local time on Thursday.

It's understood Mr Culverwell was attacked after he was woken up by a noise on the yacht's roof, but when he went upstairs to check what the noise was he was fatally shot.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of Mr Culverwell, local media outlet TVN Noticias reported.

The former paua diver's wife Derryn and daughter Briar, 11, were also set upon by the hooded assailants, but the mother and daughter managed to stay alive because Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

'There were about two hours where Derryn just sheltered with the kids in the boat,' Derryn Hughes, Mr Culverwell's sister, told Stuff.co.nz.

Despite suffering with knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand who helped the family get back to safety.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean

'As a family, we are so proud of her,' Ms Hughes said.

Ms Hughes also said she believed both her sister-in-law and niece, who had been taken to hospital in Panama City, had now been released from hospital.

The couple's son Flynn, 11, was not injured in the attack, it's understood.

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean.

Panama was to be their final destination before making their way back to New Zealand.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the incident and the director of the Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, confirmed an investigation was ongoing.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

A GoFundMe page had been set up by loved ones to help the Culverwell family (pictured) in the wake of the traumatising incident

He also said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.
A man who called police to report his cannabis plants were stolen was charged when officers allegedly found more illegal plants in his house.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in Tennant Creek, a Northern Territory town, on Friday.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants (pictured) at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in the Northern Territory on Friday

'Police were alerted to the presence of the plants when the male called them to report that a number of individuals had been stealing them,' a Northern Territory police spokeswoman said.

'A search warrant was executed at the property.'

The man was charged with cultivating a commercial quality of cannabis, supplying a dangerous drug and possessing a trafficable amount of cannabis.

He was issued a notice to appear at court.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants (pictured) ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material
A New York schoolteacher who was jailed for murdering her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus, 55, murdered her lover's wife Betty Jeanne Solomon in 1989 by shooting her in the back with a gun nine times.

She was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail in 1992 for the bloody murder, which drew parallels to the famed film Fatal Attraction that came out just two years prior in 1987. In the film the main character is obsessed with her lover and seeks to harm his wife.

After decades behind bars, a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison on Friday, and she could get out as early as June 10.

'Fatal Attraction' killer Carolyn Warmus, 55, was granted parole on Friday. In 1992 she was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail for the bloody murder of her lover's wife in 1989. Warmus pictured left in 2017 and right in court in 1991

A three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10. Pictured above in New York Supreme Court in 2017

The convicted teacher was denied parole after her initial board appearance in 2017.

Warmus is the daughter of a millionaire insurance executive and worked as a teacher at Greenville Elementary School in Scarsdale, New York in the late 1980s.

She was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him.

Then on January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back.

After she committed the horrific murder she met up with Paul for drinks at a hotel bar and reportedly had sex with him in his car.

Warmus was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him. Solomon pictured above with his wife Betty Jeanne at their wedding

Paul Solomon pictured testifying in her murder trial in 1991

On January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back. Paul Solomon pictured above talking with a friend as he left court in 1992

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

Warmus pictured above in her high school year book photo

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus has always maintained her innocence.

At her first parole hearing she insisted she was innocent and 'was found guilty because of the media attention and the publicity', as per the New York Post.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, 'We are indeed pleased that release has been granted.' He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting 'the particulars of her future' in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.
Had his chips: Gavin Williamson posted this picture of himself in McDonald's last night

Gavin Williamson has received the backing of more than 200 Conservative MPs since his brutal sacking by Theresa May, friends revealed last night.

Amid mounting Tory unease at Mr Williamson's dramatic ejection from the Cabinet, allies of the former defence secretary said around two-thirds of the party had sent him supportive messages.

He is also understood to have received a consolatory call from DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose MPs prop up Mrs May's Government.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  allegations he strenuously denies  is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name.

He told the Mail last night: 'I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.'

Downing Street had reportedly decided that Mr Williamson was guilty of leaking 48 hours before he was given an ultimatum of quitting or being sacked.

Sources told The Times that it was apparent on Monday that Mr Williamson no longer had a place in Theresa May's government - two days before he was sacked.

A cabinet source had said: 'Everyone knew [Mr Williamson] was a serial leaker so the onus was on him to disprove it. The test is whether he has the prime minister's confidence.

'That is the only test that needs to be applied.'

Mr Williamson is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate. Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who oversaw the inquiry, has also resisted calls to ask the police to investigate, despite opposition claims that the leak  which revealed secret details of Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G mobile network  constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act which can carry a two-year jail term.

Mr Williamson has claimed Sir Mark was engaged in a 'vendetta' against him amid suggestions that he found him guilty before the inquiry even began. One Whitehall source yesterday said Sir Mark had told a meeting of officials on the morning the Huawei leak was reported that he believed Mr Williamson was guilty.

'Sedwill was telling people last Wednesday that Gavin was guilty,' the source said. 'It raised a few eyebrows because at that stage no one can have known.'

His astonishing 'F*** the PM' memo Mr Williamson scrawled 'F*** the Prime Minister' across an official memo as his relationship with Downing Street deteriorated, it emerged last night. Friends of the former defence secretary confirmed that he had written the aggressive message in frustration after Theresa May overruled his controversial decision to deploy the UK's new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. Word of Mr Williamson's angry response in February spread like wildfire around the Ministry of Defence and is said to have reached the ears of Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who would play a central role in his downfall. Mr Williamson's announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to the South China Sea underlined his position as the Cabinet's leading hawk on China's expansionist policies. He said the UK had to be prepared to use 'hard power' against countries that 'flout international law', as critics claim Beijing has done in the disputed South China Sea. The decision angered Beijing and caused consternation in Whitehall, where officials were eyeing up a potential trade deal with the communist giant. China's rulers were so irritated that they cancelled a planned visit by the Chancellor Philip Hammond. Downing Street responded by overruling Mr Williamson, with the PM's official spokesman making it clear that she would make the 'final decision' on the route taken by the aircraft carrier when it is deployed to the Pacific. The row highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Mrs May and the man who masterminded her 2016 leadership victory and forged an alliance with the DUP that kept her in power following the disastrous 2017 general election. Mr Williamson had been one of Mrs May's most trusted allies. But, as No 10 came to be dominated by Brexit, relations grew more strained. The former Remainer became an increasingly vocal advocate of a hard Brexit. He was one of a handful of Cabinet ministers urging Mrs May to leave the EU without a deal if she could not get her plans through. Advertisement

Mr Williamson and Sir Mark are known to have clashed in recent months.

The Cabinet Secretary, who also serves as the PM's national security adviser, was said to be 'sore' after coming off second-best during a clash over defence spending last year when Mr Williamson secured more cash for conventional forces at a time when Sir Mark was pushing for the money to be invested in cyber defences.

One source said: 'Gavin and Mark basically agreed on 90 per cent of things.

'In most relationships that would be enough for two people to get along.

'But Mark is someone who if you are not 100 per cent with him, he sees you as being 100 per cent against him.'

Yesterday, Parliament's cross-party National Security Committee demanded that Sir Mark, Britain's top civil servant, hand over the evidence that led to Mr Williamson's sacking.

Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, who chairs the committee, told Sir Mark that MPs had to be 'apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry,' adding: 'This directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the National Security Council.'

The involvement of Huawei in the rollout of the high-speed, next-generation 5G network is highly controversial. The Chinese firm insists it is a private company, but ministers have been told that the security services judge it to be under the control of Beijing's communist regime. The United States, which has banned Huawei from its networks, has warned that intelligence sharing with the UK could be jeopardised if the deal goes ahead.

No 10 yesterday denied tensions between Mr Williamson and Sir Mark had coloured the inquiry. A spokesman said the investigation, led by the Government's chief security officer Dominic Fortescue, had been conducted 'fairly and impartially'.

In the PM's letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, she said the investigation had found 'compelling evidence' that he was the source of the leak.

But the former defence secretary has told friends the only evidence produced against him by the PM was an 11-minute phone call with the Daily Telegraph journalist who reported the leak. The inquiry is said to have found that the reporter later spoke to 'several' other ministers and officials who attended the National Security Council meeting on April 23.

Mr Williamson, who was refused access to the inquiry's findings, pointed out that he had reported the phone call himself and flatly denied divulging any details of the Government's dealings with Huawei.

Mrs May yesterday said it had been a 'difficult decision' to sack Mr Williamson, adding: 'This was not about what was leaked, but where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

But she ducked a direct question about whether she was 'convinced' that Mr Williamson was responsible, telling ITV News: 'I took the decision I did. It was the right decision.'
Sir James Dyson's former PA has hit back at claims that she stole family secrets including his wife's medical records.

The inventor and his wife Lady Deirdre are suing Lynette Flanders for allegedly plundering emails, family records and photos of their grandchildren at their 20million mansion.

But Mrs Flanders, 50, branded the claims 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files.

Lynette Flanders has been accused of 'spying' by her former boss, businessman James Dyson

James Dyson and his wife Deirdre are suing his former PA Lynette Flanders for 50,000

She also said she had only taken photos of framed family snaps to remember their position on a windowsill so she could return them to the right place after tidying.

The Dysons, who are worth 9.5billion, have lodged High Court papers demanding 50,000 compensation from Mrs Flanders.

The married mother-of-three joined their staff as a cleaner in 2007 and rose to become the 35,000-a-year house manager of Dodington Park, where the couple live, with a staff of 100.

Lawyers for the 72-year-old vacuum cleaner tycoon said this gave her 'extensive access to private and confidential information' before she was made redundant last August.

In May last year, she allegedly created a folder called 'Deirdre' on her work laptop containing 'private, confidential and sensitive medical records' of Lady Deirdre, then later copied it to a portable data storage USB stick.

She also copied 5,000 emails to her personal email account and sent herself five photos taken on her phone inside the Dysons' home, it was claimed.

Mrs Flanders, 50, denies the allegations, saying they are 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files

On another occasion, it was said, she copied a list of guests invited to a 'private opera' the Dysons were hosting, including their private email addresses. It is also alleged she made a secret recording of a conversation between two senior estate staff.

The Dysons, who bought their 300-acre Georgian estate in south Gloucestershire in 2003, said there was 'no legitimate basis' for her to have the data.

But Mrs Flanders, of Bristol, denies their claims of breach of contract, breach of confidence, misuse of private information and causing distress and anxiety. She admits creating a computer folder called Deirdre and moving records of the work she had done for Lady Deirdre into it 'in an effort to try and tidy the electronic files', her lawyer said.

She later copied it to a USB device 'in order to retain a profile of the work she had undertaken as an aide-memoire'.

To the claim that she photographed pictures of the Dysons' children and grandchildren, she said it was for a 'legitimate work-related purpose'.

The couple's sprawling country home, the 300-acre 20million Dodington Park in Gloucestershire

Her lawyer Allan Roberts said: 'These photographs were a general view of a windowsill area, which contained items including photographs. The windowsill was to be cleared and the photographs taken to enable the items to be returned to their original place.'

He added that Mrs Flanders had intended to send them to her work email address 'but inadvertently selected her personal address'.

The opera guest list was indeed sent to Mrs Flanders's personal email address, he said, but this was because she was working from home and could only print it out from her home computer, not her work laptop. The recording of a staff conversation was also made as an aide-memoire, he added.

Mrs Flanders claims Lady Deirdre, 76, was well aware of her using her personal email address for work because the tycoon's wife had often sent work emails to it. She had never been asked to delete the files in her personal email account, her lawyer said.

Mrs Flanders denies all the Dysons' claims and says they are 'retaliation' for her intention to sue the billionaire couple for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

No date has yet been set for a court hearing. Neither side wished to comment last night.
Ministers have set up a Line of Duty-style anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drug-taking in prisons.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'.

But there is growing evidence the drugs are being smuggled in by prison officers working for organised gangs.

A new anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drugs in prisons will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty (pictured)

Police chiefs strongly suspect gang members are encouraging associates or family members to get jobs in prisons to bring in banned substances.

In one unnamed jail in the West Midlands, up to 13 employees were suspended last year for smuggling in drugs.

The Counter Corruption Unit was launched this week and will pursue any officers suspected of corruption in prison and probation services.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'

It will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty, which is tasked with rooting out police corruption.

The unit will consist of intelligence analysts who will work on tip-offs from prison staff to identify culprits.

Prison employees can already report wrongdoing anonymously via a hotline.
Travel broadens the mind, but it can broaden other things, too.

Two pies, two haggises, two whisky and lemonades and two packets of crisps, please, is the dinner order from my neighbours at the next table in the restaurant car on the Caledonian Sleeper.

If an alien with even a faint grasp of cultural indicators were to beam down from Mars and hazard a guess at what was going on, it might conclude that I am on a Scottish train with Scottish people heading to Scotland for a Scottish break, and it would be entirely correct.

But it is not just any old Scottish train.

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous! The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life

With the help of a 60 million subsidy from Scotlands government, the services giant Serco has spent 150 million relaunching the ageing sleeper service whose previous set of carriages had ploughed up and down between England and Scotland for the past 40 years. It is not before time.

For decades, regular passengers like me increasingly despaired at the decrepit carriages on the sleepers, the balding carpets and the prison-like sleeping berths where every expense was spared and comfort was as thin as the duvets.

Now the 75 ageing carriages have finally been replaced by a spanking new fleet which came into service this week on the Lowlander trains, which run between London and Glasgow or Edinburgh. Highlander trains to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William are due to get the new carriages next month.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine

The trains boast the first commercial sleeper cabins to offer double beds, complete with mattresses from the Queens own supplier.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel.

Certainly, the prices dont make sense to ordinary travellers, who might find that it is cheaper  and quicker  to fly or drive.

What can I tell you? The high-profile launch was, alas, a complete disaster.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night

The first train from London rolled into Glasgow three hours late and blushing with shame.

The journalists, dignitaries, passengers and MPs on board endured lost bookings, delays, unmade beds, water leakages and even a shortage of butter, shriek.

A signal failure at Carstairs Junction, South Lanarkshire, was blamed for much of the woe. Did matters improve for my midweek journey from London to Glasgow a few days later?

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous!

The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life.

Just as before, the train splits into two (or joins up, on the reverse journey) at Carstairs Junction, a violent shunting process that traditionally and infuriatingly wakes everyone up in the wee small hours.

But not any more, as train bosses promise a smooth new transition in every way. Well, we shall see about that.

At least we leave on time, just before midnight, sliding quietly out of London on the long journey north.

I paid a rather gasping 270 for my First Class Solo Cabin ticket  one way!  which provides an ensuite toilet and shower, a sink, a little desk, space under the bed to stow your luggage and coat hooks.

There is a smart plaid carpet, pleasant lighting, power and recharging points, but best of all, the whole cabin seems to be hermetically sealed from your neighbours. What utter luxury.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel. The club car is pictured above

But whats this! On a hook, there is a grotty mesh nylon bag crammed with crushed towels and a spare loo roll; like something you would be handed before going into solitary confinement at a maximum security facility.

Are those towels clean, I squeak? Yes, we just havent thought of a better way of storing them, says the steward. After she has gone, I cant figure out how to use the sink tap, and have to wash my hands with bottled water before going to dinner.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy.

Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals.

Dishes include a traditional hand crafted pie, 7.50.

Oh, what is it today, I ask, expecting something glorious and gamey, such as venison or grouse. Pork, says the waiter. He makes a circle with his hands. Its about that big with a thick crust.

Instead I have the haggis, neeps and tatties (9).

The tasty haggis is supplied by Cockburns of Dingwall and is actually not bad, but the vegetables are lumpy and the dish is so badly made and terribly served  slumped on a plate with a splat of whisky sauce on top  that it looks like an unspeakable effluence that has been ejected at speed from the Monarch of the Glen himself.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap

Nothing is actually freshly made on site but cooked and pre-plated elsewhere in the dreary modern way, before being heated up in the trains warming ovens.

Still, at least there are some genuine Scottish delicacies on board, in the form of Mackies haggis crisps (1.10), and Tunnocks teacakes (50p), hurrah.

They also charge 50p for an apple  at these ticket prices youd think they could find it in their hearts to give them away free, but no.

Back in my cabin I snuggle under the crisp cotton sheets and lulled by the rocking of the train, fall into a deep and lovely sleep.

Sleeper travel has always been expensive, but for me travelling home on the Highland line, to Perth and beyond, is more convenient than flying.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night.

I have booked breakfast in the dining car at 6am but oversleep. At 6.10 I am woken by a female Scottish voice crackling through my ears. Hello! Hello! Jan. Thats your breakfast ready. Repeat, your breakfast is ready for you.

What? Is that my mother? Mum? Whassgoinon? I had no idea they had a kitchen to cabin intercom system. But now I do.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy. Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals

Yet despite all the improvements, a part of me does mourn the sleepers of old. Even I can remember when dining cars had genuine kitchens staffed with real chefs, who would sizzle bacon, fry farm eggs and cook up proper breakfasts for 50 in a space the size of a telephone box. The porridge was historic and always made with water and salt, never with Sassenach cream and sugar, in the proper Scottish way.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap.

Whisky or brandy, madam? they would say. How civilised. Still, progress means we have more comfort and less pain, give or take the loss of charm.

Yes, the Carstairs shunt is more of a gentle bump  that really is progress  and you can even have a shower in your room, can you imagine!

So back in my cabin, I get in the shower cubicle, switch on the tap and wait to experience the latest in luxury train travel.

Except there is no water. Of course there isnt. I should have known.
A Central California school district has allowed a high school newspaper to publish a risque profile of an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry and has earned as much as $475 in three hours from selling nude images.

The Lodi Unified School District didn't stop the story from running Friday in the Bear Creek High School paper, The Bruin Voice, where Caitlin Fink says that one of the hardest things since leaving home after a fallout and moving in with her friend's parents, is earning enough money.

But she quickly learned some tough lessons

'I used to sell my content first before receiving any sort of payment, and when I asked for the payment, [buyers would] save my content and block me,' Fink said in the article Friday. 'I've also had to put my name on pictures sometimes because people would try and sell them, claiming them as theirs.'

Lodi Unified School District didn't stop a story about Bear Creek High School student Caitlin Fink's porn career from running Friday in The Bruin Voice

The editorial team of the Bruin Voice and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby (right), fought hard to get the article published, saying that the piece humanized Caitlin Fink (left) and tells the story of the challenges she has faced

The lawyer who represents teacher Kathi Duffel (left) and student writer Bailey Kirkeby (right) concluded that the story didn't violate education codes

The paper's adviser, English teacher Kathi Duffel, had accused district officials of censorship after they demanded to review and approve the article before publication.

In an April 11 letter, district Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of possible discipline, 'up to and including dismissal' if she refused.

Duffel refused on free speech grounds, and officials in the San Joaquin Valley district, which has about 31,500 students, agreed to let an attorney review the story.

Matthew Cate, who represents Duffel and the student who wrote the article, concluded that the story didn't violate education codes.

A lawyer for the district, Paul Gant, wrote to Cate Wednesday to say the district wouldn't prevent publication of the story. But Gant also called Duffel insubordinate for refusing to submit the article for review, and said, 'There is no question that the article could be lawfully reviewed or censored,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Duffel refused to let district review story she oversaw before its publication

California English teacher, Kathi Duffel (pictured), could lose her job after overseeing a high school newspaper story about senior, Caitlin Fink, 18, who is working in the porn industry

'Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,' the district said in a statement. 'Because we are charged with the education and care of our community's children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law.'

The Bruin Voice tweeted Thursday that Duffell said: 'This is a whole new level of district administrators who have lost their minds, quite frankly.'

Duffel, who has taught English for 33 years in the Lodi School District, believed that Fink should be able to tell her own story.

Fink says in the piece: 'When I first started selling, it was just for money. But then I liked the attention I got, [such as] being called beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me feel good about myself.'

The article profiles a student who sells nude videos and aspires to be a stripper

Fink works as a part-time dishwasher and pays a friend's parents $300 per month to live with them. Duffel said the teenager wanted to share story and challenges that led her to do porn

She details how she was 'so excited' when her agent told her about scenes she was going to do under her professional contract with Pornhub. She passed mandatory blood test every two weeks in order to film sex scenes but was told to get her body acne cleared because the camera picks up details.

Her first professional porn shoot was cancelled as a result and she hasn't earned anything so far with the website.

Fink has a second job as a dishwasher to make ends meet.

'You can choose how you get paid,' Fink shared. 'It usually goes by view count, or you can sell your videos if [users] want to download them. There is also a tip option on [member's] profiles. Pornhub sends money to your PayPal.'

Officials from Bear Creek High School believe the Bruin Voice (file image) story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'

Video courtesy KTXL

Fink aspires to be a stripper where it's easier to rake in the cash.

'When I auditioned at a strip club, I made $80 in what felt like five or six minutes,' Fink - who calls herself a 'lovey-dovey, old school romantic' reveals.

She warns in the Friday article that her onscreen encounters do not reflect real-life sex.

The district believes the story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'.

The editorial team and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby, said the piece humanizes Fink.

'I am very proud of the story and how it turned out,' she told the Chronicle.

Duffel contacted an attorney after the district warned (letter picture) her that she would be personally liable for any legal claims that could result from the article and if she failed to provide a copy of the story, she could face 'dismissal'

Duffel had told the paper that the article doesn't glamorize pornography, but it 'will help students think more critically about the choices they do make at this age in their lives.'

The student who was interviewed said she wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm 18, what I'm doing is legal, and I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,' Fink said.

California law ensures that the First Amendment applies to student journalists. It prohibits prior restraint of school newspaper stories unless they are obscene, libelous or slanderous or incite unlawful acts or school disruptions.

Duffel's students 'are getting a front-row seat to our government in action,' she told the Chronicle. 'What better way to teach the value of the First Amendment than by teaching them firsthand not to have their voices silenced?'

Duffel has relied on the law before to block censorship attempts over her nearly three decades advising the Bruin Voice. For example, in 2013 the principal at the time confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper when students exposed inaccuracies in the school safety handbook.
A conman has launched an appeal against his eight-year sentence while on the run, in an echo of notorious speedboat killer Jack Shepherd.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue.

It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction.

Raja, 32, a cold-call scammer from Grays, Essex, who duped elderly victims into handing over their life savings by posing as a broker, fled to Dubai before his trial. In January he was sentenced to eight years in jail for his part in the 2.4million fraud, which he had used to buy an Aston Martin and a 4,000 Rolex.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue. It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction

Yesterday, at a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, it emerged he is launching an appeal from his hideaway. Prosecutor Paul Casey said: We understand Mr Raja is contesting his conviction.

Judge Christopher Hehir replied: It seems to be in vogue these days, that one contests ones conviction having fled overseas.

Shepherd, 31, was convicted in his absence after he fled to Georgia instead of attending his trial for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, who died in December 2015 when Shepherds defective speedboat capsized on the Thames, throwing the pair into the freezing water.

He triggered public outrage when he was granted legal aid to fund his appeal, but was brought back to justice last month after a Daily Mail campaign flushed him out in Georgia, where he was working as a web designer.

Back in London, he was given an extra six months on his sentence for running away by a judge who praised the Mail for finding him. His appeal has yet to be heard.

Shepherd has been found guilty of manslaughter after Charlotte Brown, 24, died in 2015 when his speedboat flipped on the Thames while they were on a first date

Raja was found guilty in his absence of six counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Victims received unsolicited calls from brokers who used high-pressure sales techniques to persuade them to invest in the scam products. As a fugitive in Dubai, he is believed to still be running Sami Raja Consultancy, which claims to help investors set up and expand their businesses in the UAE and the UK.

Senior investigating officer Hayley Wade, of the City of London Polices fraud squad, said: Raja cruelly targeted often elderly individuals with the intention of defrauding them of their life savings. He clearly felt no remorse.

Raja was one of five men convicted over the scam, which saw 130 victims conned between 2012 and 2013.
A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies.

In a thread of communications between the teacher and a year 13 student, seen by Stuff, the Auckland teacher allegedly discussed meeting up and going for a drive.

The teacher then allegedly recalled sexual dreams she had about her student, which included kissing him all over and 'sensuous' oral sex.

A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies (stock image)

The male student and female teacher are connected on social media and have shared their phone numbers.

The Auckland college where the teacher was employed denied to comment on the alleged dirty texts but said the matter was before the Teaching Council.

A spokeswoman confirmed to Stuff they were following up a report lodged by the college but were unable to comment further.

She said teachers who did not maintain their professional boundaries with students were in breach of the profession's Code of Professional Responsibility.

'Also, serious misconduct as defined in the Education Act 1989 and the Teaching Council Rules 2016 includes breaches of professional boundaries such as engaging in an inappropriate relationship or any behaviour or communication of a sexual nature with a student.'

A parent at the school alleged the teacher had also sent nude pictures to students amid the offending.

The parent told Stuff she understood the teacher had been dismissed.

The register of New Zealand teachers says the student voluntarily agreed to step away from teaching.
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Shoppers were sent jumping out of the way as a huge tree fell in strong winds on Soho Square in the centre of London as gusts came in from the North Sea earlier today.

Racegoers at Newmarket had to cling onto their hats and umbrellas as they battled the bad weather during the first day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival.

Arctic winds and biting rain blasted attendees, with temperatures reaching just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area.

This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a chilly one, in stark contrast to the warmer climes seen this time last year and over the Easter holiday.

Many of us are still sporting tans from the glorious sunshine over Easter but the heatwave is now long gone, with unseasonably cold temperatures and even hail forecast for the May Day bank holiday weekend.

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday.

Saturday will see a cold and frosty start for many with possible heavy showers for the Midlands and South East, and a risk of hail.

A tree fall that squashed a van has blocked off Soho Square in central London, as strong winds hit the country and the capital faces hail, showers and wind

This woman was left holding on to her hat as arctic winders battered the Newmarket racecourse today

Others struggled to control their umbrellas as rain fell during day one of the QIPCO Guineas festival

Temperatures reached just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area today

Elsewhere, an inch of snow couldn't stop the Shepherd family from Dornoch eating their breakfast outside at a campsite near Aviemore today

Wendy Stewart and Marilyn Hemingway went out for a run in the snow near Aviemore with dogs Chunk and Rowan

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.' Pictured: the Inverness to Edinburgh citylink bus near Inverness

Waves crashed over the sea wall at Tynemouth earlier today as Brits prepared for a chilly Bank Holiday weekend

Pictured: People braving the rain to go punting on the River Cam in Cambridge

Sunday is set to be dry except for showers in the North East, continuing into Monday.

Andy Page, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: 'After cold, frosty starts and cool days for many across the Bank Holiday weekend, daytime temperatures will gradually recover early next week.

The daytime average for the start of May is around 16C (61F) - and the top temperature over Easter was 77F (25C).

The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather  including 28.7C (83.7F) at Northolt, north-west London, the warmest since records began in 1910.

The lowest temperature ever recorded on the early May bank holiday weekend was -6.4C (20.5F) in Grantown-on-Spey in 1981 and then again in Kinbrace in 1988 - a figure that could be beaten this weekend in Scotland.

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.

Pictured: snow on the hills of Herefordshire near Longtown today. The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather

Tourists didn't let the wet weather in Cambridge stop them from going punting on the River Cam

People watch others surfing in the Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships held at Perranporth, Cornwall

This group of tourists huddled under umbrellas on the River Cam in Cambridge earlier today

Huge waves pound Seaham lighthouse on the North East coastline as cold weather beckons for the bank holiday weekend

People out punting on the river Cam in Cambridge today get caught in one of the rain showers

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday. Pictured: Tynemouth today

'What we are expecting is a weather 'battleground' as we are seeing influences from all parts of the compass. Higher parts of the country, including the Highlands, will see some snow over the weekend, as will the Southern Uplands.

'It will be a cold and frosty start to Saturday but the day is expected to produce plenty of sunshine as well. That will help keep up day time temperatures, even though it is a cold air mass moving down from an Arctic direction.

'It will feel chilly but it shouldn't stop you getting out and about this Bank Holiday  even if you need extra layers.'

Mr Madge added: 'We might see night-time temperatures getting pretty cold. The cities should not drop too far below freezing but in sheltered spots in the north of Scotland, expect it to get down to 3C, 4C or possibly even 5C over the next few days.'
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said - a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington over its nuclear arsenal.

Missiles from Hodo peninsula flew for between 70km and 200km before landing in the sea, according to Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details, South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said.

If Saturday's activity in the city of Wonsan between 9.06am and 9.27am is confirmed as a firing of banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.'

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast. It's two months since Kim Jong Un (pictured April 24) and President Trump (pictured Friday) didn't come to an agreement at a nuclear summit

If confirmed as a firing of a banned ballistic missile, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Pictured is North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang on August 29, 2017

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

Their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February ended without an agreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry said it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the US mainland

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.' Trump met with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC Friday

Last month Pyongyang said it was testing a 'tactical guided weapon' conducted in 'various modes of firing at different targets'. They demanded that Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations.



Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to 'cautiously respond' to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

North Korea has claimed to have ballistic missiles that could reach the US mainland. The country also says it has developed a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a long-range missile.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday

Japan's Defense Ministry said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security. In Tokyo people walk past a screen showing a TV news on unidentified short-range projectiles fired by North Korea

As the projectiles were launched it was still Friday in the US when Trump hosted reporters during his meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

North Korea's vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the United States will face 'undesired consequences' if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

'The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today,' said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times 'the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.'

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone

'With North Korea never promising to completely stop all missile testing - it only promised a self-imposed moratorium of testing long-range missiles such as ICBMs that can hit the US homeland - we should not be shocked by North Korea's short-range launch,' Korean studies director at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, Harry J. Kazianis, said.

'Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough. It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump Administration's position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'.'

Experts believe that the North has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons.

In this April 18, 2019 photo, a mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, center, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea

North Korea said last month it had test-fired a new type of 'tactical guided weapon' and demanded Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations. Pictured above, visitors watch a photo showing North Korea's missile launch at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea on April 19

During the diplomacy that followed a rocky 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

However satellite images last month indicated radioactive material could be being turned into bomb fuel.

A short-range missile would not violate that self-imposed moratorium.

It may instead be a way to register his displeasure with Washington and the state of talks meant to provide sanctions relief for disarmament without having the diplomacy collapse.
A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier.

Nick Rose, 32, was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo.

'I was in total shock to see this dog running towards us like that, stopping and then just lunging,' Mr Rose told Daily Mail Australia.

A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo (pictured) needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier

Following the savage attack, Cosmo (pictured) was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated

He said the attack wasn't about dominance as the comparatively huge dog locked onto Cosmo's leg and wouldn't let go - thrashing him around like a rag doll.

'The bull terrier latched on and started to twist and turn its head,' Mr Rose said.

He recalled how terrifying it was to witness what was happening to Cosmo, and at one point he heard the dog's leg snap and twist around at the weirdest angles.

'I heard the cracks as its (the bull terrier's) teeth were chipping the bones and everything,' he said.

Desperate to free Cosmo from the other dog's grasp, Mr Rose kicked, punched and screamed at the bull terrier, but try as he might, he couldn't separate the animals.

He said it felt like the longest time had passed before help eventually came in the form of a horse trainer called Jason, who was passing by the field.

'Jason had the lead rope from some horses he'd just taken to the stables nearby, which he clipped onto the bull terrier's harness and started pulling,' Mr Rose said.

As Jason pulled the lead, the bull terrier started to let go of his grasp, and when he finally did, Jason led him around the field in a circle to keep him away from Cosmo.

Nick Rose, 32 (pictured), was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo

Cosmo (pictured) is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest

'If it hadn't been for Jason, Cosmo would have died,' Mr Rose said.

When the dog's owner eventually turned up and saw Cosmo's leg wound, he simply said 'aw, mate' before putting his lead on the animal and walking off.

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving.

He said rangers are investigating the matter and a number of people have come forward to say they have seen the man around the streets of Hamilton South.

Following the savage attack, Cosmo was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated.

Mr Rose (left) said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving

Cosmo is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest.

'The amount of damage and dead tissue has prevented blood flow to the area so, even after amputation, the whole thing (the wound) is breaking down,' he said.

Mr Rose said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000.

'I've borrowed from family and friends, sold off what I can and maxed Vetpay for almost everything to date but there's still money owing on vet bills,' he wrote.

Mr Rose, who describes Cosmo as his first born child, said while he doesn't like having to ask for help, the idea of putting him is just devastating.

'Help me get this guy back on his feet and give him at least another 5 years of Hawaiian shirts, stolen cheese and cuddles,' he wrote.
Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate

The acclaimed poet Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate to focus on her own work.

Miss Dharker, who was widely tipped to receive the highest honour in British poetry, would have been the first Asian laureate in the posts 350 years.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing.

I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands pf a public role. The poems won, she told The Guardian.

It was a huge honour to be considered for the role of poet laureate and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and encouragement from all over the world.

Miss Dharker, who was born in Lahore but grew up in Glasgow, was due to be announced as the next laureate - taking over from Dame Carol Ann Duffy who has been in the post for 10 years this month.

The Queen presenting Imtiaz Dharker with The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

It is understood that any formal selection was yet to take place but an announcement is expected this month.

The honorary position expects doesnt entail any specific duties but he holder is expected to write verse for significant national and royal occasions.

It is now up to the individual whether or not to produce poetry for royal occasions.

Some former poet laureates have said the role has not been kind to their own their work.

Andrew Chalice, who held the position from 1999 to 2009 said the role was very, very damaging to my work. While still in the post he said: I dried up completely about five years ago and cant write anything except to commission.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing

A stipend of 5,750 is given to the laureate and traditionally a butt of sack equivalent to roughly 600 bottles of sherry.

Ms Ann-Duffy, 63, used her money to fund a poetry prize.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said yesterday: The recommendations of an independent panel have been considered in the usual way. An appointment has not yet been confirmed
President Trump says he is 'closely monitoring' Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after the social media giants removed a number of conservative figures from their platforms.

Right-wing personalities Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer were banned from Facebook this week, as the site attempts to combat criticism that it spreads misinformation and hateful content.

However, in a flurry of Tweets on Friday, the Commander-in-chief seemed to imply that the purge was merely an attack on right-wing voices and that shutting off their access to social media may be a violation of first amendment rights.

'I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America  and we have what's known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH!' Trump wrote in one post.

He added: 'We are monitoring and watching, closely!!'

President Trump took to Twitter Friday to declare that he is monitoring social media sites for censorship of conservatives. It comes in the wake of Facebook's announcement that it was banning several far-right figures from its site

Trump shared a flurry of outraged tweets - clearly unimpressed by Facebook's recent purge of controversial users

Later, the president posted a tweet referencing Diamond & Silk, right-wing commentators who were briefly blocked from Facebook last year amid claims that their page was 'unsafe'.

'The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we're looking into.

'It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media! ' he proclaimed.

Trump then shared a link to a Breitbart article that discussed the social media bans of two more famous right-wing figures.

'So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook!' he tweeted sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. also weighed in on Facebook's recent purge.

'The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @Facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears they're taking their censorship campaign to the next level.

'Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back,' he implored.

Despite the president hitting out at the social media giants, he is still a prolific user of Twitter.

He has tweeted a whopping 41,600 times and he boasts an incredible 60 million followers.

Donald Trump Jr. joined his father in criticizing Facebook and other big name social media sites

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site.

They additionally blocked Paul Nehlen, a white nationalist who ran for Congress in 2018.

However, the social media giants have also barred other controversial voices who do not identify as conservative or right-wing.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was one figure who was blocked from the website, following accusations of antisemitism.

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site (pictured is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg)

Alt-right radio host Paul Joseph Watson, also a writer and conspiracy theorist, is among the right-wing personalities banned from Facebook this week

A Facebook spokesperson told Dailymail.com that it conducts a lengthy process to determine which people or groups it considers to have a violent or hateful mission.

Among the factors include whether or not the person has called for or directly carried out acts of violence against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity or national origin.

The firm also considers whether they're a self-described or identified follower of a hateful ideology, use hate speech or slurs in their bio on Facebook, Instagram or other social sites, and whether they've had pages, groups and accounts removed from Facebook or Instagram for violating its hate speech policies, the spokesperson added.

Facebook's policies around dangerous content are further detailed on its site.

The company first signaled a broader crackdown on content when, in March, it banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform.

As part of the sweeping crackdown, Facebook said it would no longer allow posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer' to remain on its site.
A Texas woman's world was turned upside down when she took a genetic history test and learned that a sperm donor she believed was her father, wasn't her dad - her mother's fertility doctor was.

Eve Wiley, 31, spent years looking for her father after she learned she was conceived by artificial insemination in 1987. Fourteen years ago she traced her mother's sperm donor Steve Scholl - known as Donor #106 - and over time they've built a loving father-daughter relationship.

But that relationship was rocked when she took genetic history tests on 23andMe and Ancestry.com and learned that her true father was fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries.

McMorries had quietly mixed in his sperm with that of the donor after the donor sperm failed to impregnate Wiley's mother Margo Williams after five tries.

He used his own sperm that he donated to a sperm bank from his medical school days - and succeeded in getting her pregnant.

But he didn't tell a soul.

Dr. McMorries has now defended his actions, claiming they were 'acceptable practice for the times.'

'I had no idea, 33 years ago, the importance of an offspring's desire to know their biological identity. At that time, the anonymity was supposed to be permanent,' he added.

Texas woman Eve Wiley, 31, was shocked to learn that her mother's fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries (right) is her biological father after he artificially inseminated her mother using his own semen, without her knowledge. The truth finally came to light after Wiley took 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on learning her true father's identity on ABC's 20/20

Margo Williams (pictured) was artificially inseminated by her fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries after Williams and her husband experienced fertility problems

But the truth finally came to light when Wiley decided to learn more abut her family and medical health history and took the genetic 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

The hits however, didn't match that of her believed sperm donor father Scholl who she spent years developing a close relationship with.

'I call him dad. We say I love you,' Wiley told the Dallas Morning News, referring to Scholl, 'We spend holidays together and he actually officiated at my wedding.'

The hits of her genetic family tree matched her to someone in east Texas  where neither Scholl or his family ever lived. After she found a biological first cousin and traded information, she learned the truth.

'I have one uncle,' her first cousin said when Wiley asked him about his family. 'He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas, and his name is Kim McMorries.'

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on ABC's 20/20.

Neither Wiley nor her mother ever knew that McMorries had used his semen in the procedure.

The family even has a picture showing McMorries carrying her in his arms after delivering her.

'It looks like he's holding me like a prize. You can see him smiling through his mask with his eyes, and he's holding me up... It's his little secret,' Wiley said on the photo.

Dr. McMorries pictured carrying Wiley moments after delivering her in 1987

McMorries is considered a reputable and respected doctor in Texas and runs the McMorries Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility clinic in the small town of Nacogdoches

McMorries says that he mixed his semen with the donor's as a practice he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. He says he couldn't tell Williams he was the donor because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation

Williams said she had no idea that Dr. McMorries had mixed in his own semen with that of a donor to artificially inseminate her

Sharing the hard news to Scholl and her mother, broke Wiley's heart.

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' she said.

'I was just in shock. I was shaking. I couldn't believe it. I really trusted him,' her mother Margo Williams said.

Finally Wiley confronted McMorries in a letter explaining their genetic connection.

McMorries then replied in a letter saying that Donor 106 failed to impregnate Wileys mother six times, leaving him to resort to mixing Donor 106's sample with another local sample.

Mixing was a practice he claimed he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. The doctor claimed that Williams was on board with the mixing plan.

When Williams is asked if she knew he was using local donor sperm she shook her head and says, 'Absolutely not. That never happened.'

Wiley believed sperm donor Steve Scholl was her father and developed a father-daughter relationship with him 14 years ago

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' Wiley said on breaking the hard news to Scholl

Wiley has a half sister who was conceived naturally by Williams and her husband 14 months after Wiley's birth

She said she didn't want to mix to avoid the chance of Wiley growing up and discovering she had a half sibling in town.

Nonetheless McMorries fetched his own sperm from his donor days back in medical school and continued with the fertility treatment.

Though McMorries declined to be interviewed for the ABC special, he maintains he couldn't tell Williams that he was using his own sperm because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation.

He argued 'there is no law that requires the disclosure of donor identity'.

He used semen from his donor days back in med school (above) to artificially inseminate Williams

In Texas, the act is not considered a crime as the state does not include rape by deception charges.

But Wiley wasn't satisfied and asked if he had inadvertently fathered any other children in the same way.

The doctor said he knows of one to two other women who became pregnant after he mixed his semen in with a donors.

'It is easy to look back and judge protocols/standards used 33 years ago and assume they were wrong in todays environment,' Dr. McMorries wrote. 'However, it was not wrong 33 years ago as that was acceptable practice for the times.'

Dr. McMorries still runs an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility clinic in Nacogdoches called the Womens Center. Its website says the clinic offers 'conservative values with personal health.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor

His lawyer defended him saying: 'Dr. McMorries is a good and fine man who is an excellent, well respected ob/gyn. He has a reputation for trying to help his patients as much as he possibly can.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor.

She has visited more than 20 legislative offices to press for passage of bills that would change the law in Texas to categorize fertility fraud as sexual assault.

'It's really important to protect vulnerable people,' she told The Dallas Morning News. 'You spend a lot of time with those doctors. There's a lot of trust. You are trusting them and you are incredibly vulnerable.'

If the bill goes into law then offenders can expect a punishment of between six months and two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee have unanimously approved the bill and sent it to the full Senate.
Elvis Presley was not hurt in the 1973 Las Vegas crowd attack but was 'rattled' and bought the weapon

Elvis Presley's gun, bought after a four-person onstage attack in Las Vegas left the star 'rattled', is to be auctioned next weekend along with other personal pieces.

Other lots include chest x-rays taken just months before his death by heart attack, golden jewellery owned by the king of bling and Graceland documents.

The personal pieces are expected leave bidders 'All Shook Up' when they go under the hammer with GWS Auctions in Beverly Hills next weekend, Saturday May 11.

Elvis's Smith & Wesson handgun bought by the star after he was attacked onstage in 1973 could sell for up to 15,300.

He was left unhurt by the attack at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada, but was believed to have been so 'rattled' by the encounter that he purchased the weapon.

According to a provenance letter, the 'Shook Up' star then added black grips and filed the hammer down so he could 'strap it to his right leg while onstage'.

The Smith and Wesson handgun bought by Elvis after he was attacked onstage in 1973 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada. Expected to sell for up to 15,300 ($20,000 USD)

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000USD). It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD)

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death has an estimate of $3,000 USD.

The x-ray that could have been taken to analyse chest pains, with the cause of Elvis's death in August 1977 ruled as a heart attack.

Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand scanning for a potential break or fracture where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot.

A dimpled signet ring owned by the star, diamond and white gold, with Elvis Presley's initials E.P. spelled in diamonds

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with KING is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present

The 10-karat gifted watch bares an inscription on the back plate reading 'KING' in true Elvis style

A 14-karat yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing. It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back - To Bobby from 'Squirrly'

Brigitte Kruse, of GWS Auctions, said: 'When Elvis was attacked on stage by a crowd of people during one of his it rattled him and put things into perspective.

'He was able to get away and from my understanding his security team would have been able to mitigate the situation.

'I don't think he was harmed but it was a wake-up call for him.

'Being a performer on stage, you don't know if someone is coming at you to cause harm to kill or embrace you, it really scared Elvis.

'What he did with this revolver was file it down to fit in his boot, that way he could wear it on stage, should something happen.

'There has always been this crazed fanbase surrounding Elvis Presley and then The Beatles, people tried to steal Elvis's body after it was buried the first time.

'The chest x-ray was before Elvis passed away, I can only speculate but it's quite possible that Elvis had chest pains - ultimately passing away due to heart issues.

In these shots you can see Elvis and his gold bracelets. Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand for a potential break or fracture, where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death that could have been taken to analyse chest pains. The lot could sell for up to 2,300 ($3,000 USD)

A chest scan. The cause of Elvis's death in August 1977, was ruled to from a heart attack

'He had heart disease and what is amazing to me is that in September 1976, less than year before his death, he was obviously complaining of chest pains.

'I would say in the medical realm of memorabilia these are extremely rare because unlike pill bottles, x-rays are kept in medical files.

'What's also really neat is that in the hand x-ray you can see his gold bracelet, it's something very different and you won't see this kind of item again.'

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000 USD).

It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD), where he would live for 20-years.

Brigitte said: 'I have never seen anything with all three of their signatures on it, which is just incredible.

'Elvis loved his parents so much, so to be able to have something like this and share such success with them, makes it one of the most notable pieces.'

Some of the elaborate jewellery of Elvis is also up for sale including his iconic diamond and 14k yellow/white gold nugget ring bearing his initials.

Elvis Presley Custom Made Solid 18K Yellow Gold Guitar Brooch with tiger eye inlay. It was given to Aunt Delta, with a certificate of authentication. He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, Flying Lady and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornaments. Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet

An 14k yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing.

It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back 'To Bobby from Squirrly EP'.

Although misspelled by the engraver, the nickname 'Squirrley' was given to Elvis due to his 'fooling around' during rehearsals.

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with 'King' is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present.

Brigitte said: 'Jewellery was Elvis's way of decorating himself, you realise his parents were sharecroppers.

'For someone of such humble beginnings, he could never have dreamed about owning jewellery, so then to become one of the most famous people in the world.

'I think jewellery was the first thing attainable to him, it was something he never had before and could only have dreamed of those finer things as boy.

A rare pair of unused concert tickets from The Tour That Never Was a mere month after Elvis's death

Gold Record to commemorate Suspicious Minds selling more than one million copies

'When he found a piece that he really loved he would buy five or ten, he was a very giving person, gifting jewellery and cars.'

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, 'Flying Lady' and 'Spirit of Ecstasy' hood ornaments.

Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death - it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet.

He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death, and also received a custom made 18k yellow gold guitar brooch.

Jimmy said: 'Delta disclosed that she was going to pass away soon and wanted me to purchase all of the things which Elvis had given her over the years..'

These feature alongside a rare pair of unused concert tickets from 'The Tour That Never Was' a mere month after Elvis's death and 1969 RIAA Gold Record to commemorate 'Suspicious Minds' selling more than one million copies.

An autograph book with Elvis, his girlfriend Anita Wood and uncle Vester Presley's signatures, a promotional collection from Blue Hawaii, and a sympathy acceptance card from the Presley family to a fan.

Other headlining pieces include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather.

The timepiece that is engraved with 'Vito's' after his character Don Corleone and 'MB' his initials, could sell for $10,000 USD.

Other headlining pieces in the May 11 auction include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather. Expected to sell for 7,600 ($10,000 USD)

Marlon Brando's watch. The timepiece is engraved with Vito's after his character Don Corleone and MB his initials. It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship

It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship.

Brigitte said: 'This is a pretty incredible find and has never been offered at auction, it's a piece no one knew existed.

'It's arguably the most significant film of all time, Marlon Brando and Don Vito Corleoni, in the film world that's as good as it gets.

'Patricia built such a great rapport and relationship with Brando that he said, "This will probably fit you and I want to give it to you."'

The Archives of Hollywood & Music auction will take place on May 11 starting at 10am PST (6pm UK time), for more information or to place a bid visit: www.gwsauctions.com
The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship.

A Labor candidate is also in hot water over anti-refugee comments posted on social media.

According to The Guardian, Ms Zaki declared she had renounced her Afghan citizenship on April 16, but the document she provided to the Australian Electoral Commission and Afghan citizenship law both suggest an additional step is required for complete renunciation.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship.

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The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship

In 2018 the High Court ruled - in the midst of the dual citizenship crisis of the 45th Parliament - that the 'reasonable steps' defence for renouncing foreign citizenship was insufficient.

This is the first election where all candidates are required by the AEC to fill out an eligibility checklist declaring whether they have any issues, such as bankruptcy or dual citizenship, that could put them in breach of section 44 of the constitution.

While the Canberra seat is notionally held by Labor on a 12.9 per cent margin, uncertainty about another candidate's eligibility will rock the Liberals who have already lost nine candidates since the election was called.

Meanwhile, Labor is under pressure to disendorse their candidate for the Western Australia seat of Durack over anti-asylum seeker posts on social media.

The West Australian reported that Sharyn Morrow made her comments on Facebook in 2013 in response to a riot at the Nauru detention centre.

'These trouble makers should be sent back to where they came from, they do not deserve our charity. When will we see a government that understands charity begins at home.'

Questioned by reporters about Ms Morrow's comments shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it was the first he'd heard of her remarks.

'We have processes to look at these things. We would need to look at that closely,' he said.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship

Environment minister Melissa Price holds the seat of Durack on a margin of 11.1 per cent.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said that all parties would be examining their processes after the election, including candidate endorsement.

'All parties have been struggling with candidates that have not quite met the mark for both the parties they choose to represent but also the broader Australian public,' she told the ABC.

So far fifteen candidates have either been sacked or stood down ahead of the federal election because of a string of scandals.

From rape jokes and Islamophobic comments to anti-Semitic remarks, the controversies have involved candidates from a number of parties.

Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery. She stepped down on Friday.

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

Earlier in the week One Nation candidate Steve Dickson resigned after footage emerged of him making inappropriate comments at a strip club in the United States.

Dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity

Ms Whelan was accused in Parliament of advocating the genital mutilation of Muslim women and selling them as slaves, and of saying Tasmanians 'don't bloody want' to take in Syrian refugees.

A Facebook profile under the candidate's name recently commented on a post about US police officer Mohamed Noor, saying: 'He's a filthy Muslim!'

Her second alleged remark was under a Reclaim Australia Rally's Facebook post about Iraqi and Syrian refugees being settled in New South Wales.

'Don't bloody send them to Tasmania. We don't want them. Nick McKim, the biggest waste of space in politics, does not represent Tasmanians,' the same account wrote.

Ms Whelan has denied the allegations, but stepped down as the candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club.

The recording was captured by an undercover journalist and was leaked to Nine's A Current Affair, which broadcast the footage on Monday night.

Mr Dickson, who is married, called one of the dancers a 'bitch' before describing her as 'hot' and could be heard saying Asian women don't know what they're doing during sex and 'white women f*** a whole lot better'.

Liberal candidate Jeremy Hearn was also dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light.

The House of Representatives candidate for Victoria state wrote online in 2016 that taxpayers should not fund Muslim schools because they were 'fomenting rebellion against the government'.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club in the US

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson (pictured) online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE RESIGNED OR BEEN SACKED SO FAR Jessica Whelan (Liberal, TAS) - Facebook comments about Muslims Luke Creasey (Labor, VIC) - Rape jokes and memes on social media Jeremy Hearn (Liberal, VIC) - Anti-Muslim Facebook posts Wayne Kurnoth (Labor, NT) - Anti-Semitic Facebook posts Peter Killin (Liberal, VIC) - Homophobic blog posts, insulting Tim Wilson Murray Angus (Liberal, VIC) - Breaking party rules Melissa Parke (Labor, WA) - Anti-Israel comments Steve Dickson (One Nation, QLD) - Strip club scandal ELIGIBILITY PROBLEMS: Kate Oski (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Vaishali Gosh (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Helen Jackson (Liberal, VIC) - Public servant Sam Kayal (Liberal, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Courtney Nguyen (Liberal, NSW) -citizenship doubts Mary Ross (Labor, NSW) - Citizenship doubts James Harker-Mortlock (Nationals, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Advertisement

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected.

Liberal candidate Murray Angus, 71, was disendorsed after breaking party rules.

The candidate for Corio in Geelong, Victoria, told News Corp papers he thought Labor opponent Richard Marles was a 'good bloke'.

Helen Jackson was dumped as the candidate for Cooper in Victoria as she was an employee of Australia Post.

Labor candidate Mr Creasey resigned from his party after it emerged he once joked on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

The 29-year-old faced calls to step down for sharing porn and rape memes and insulting working class voters on Facebook in 2012.

In the posts in 2012, Mr Creasey shared one meme titled 'overly attached girlfriend' which read: 'Hey I just met you / If you don't date me / You'll go to prison / I'll say you raped me.'

Another meme he shared, designed to insult people with concerns about immigration, said: 'Complains refugees waste tax dollars / Uses Centrelink money to buy drugs and alcohol.'

Mr Creasey also insulted working class voters in Scott Morrison's south Sydney seat with a post that read: 'Endorsement by those who call the Sutherland Shire home is not something that anyone with decency should aspire to.'

He also shared a link to porn involving the sexual kink pegging.

Another Liberal candidate, Jeremy Hearn, was dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook

In the latest post to emerge, he joked about watching a female friend have sex with several people and wanting somebody to 'roughly take her virginity'.

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook.

Mr Kurnoth, who was set to run for the party in the Northern Territory, was given the boot by Labor after it was revealed that he shared a video by controversial British lecturer David Icke.

In the clip, Icke claims that the world is being run by shape-shifting Jewish lizards.

Mr Kurnoth shared the conspiracy theory - in which Icke also alleged that the Rothschild banking family are controlling the world - on his Facebook page in December 2015, according to The Australian.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten might still be leading the polls, but the Labor leader has not been able to avoid the scandal brought to his party by its candidates

Mr Kurnoth was already under pressure after being caught posting an image of Malcolm Turnbull beheading ABC journalist Emma Alberici, and making offensive remarks about former MP Natasha Griggs.

Labor candidate Melissa Parke quit the party after a controversial speech which outraged the Jewish community.

The candidate for Curtin at Perth, Western Australia, described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 'worse than the South African system of apartheid' while speaking to pro-Palestinian activists last month.

Labor's Mary Ross and the Liberal party's Kate Oski, Vaishali Ghosh, Courtney Nguyen and Sam Kayal all pulled out over citizenship uncertainty, as did the Nationals' James Harker-Mortlock.


The mother of a toddler who was punched by a shopper has revealed how a malfunctioning self-service checkout sparked the Kmart clash.

The mother, identified as Rebecca, was purchasing her items at the store in Westfield Albany, Auckland, when the alleged assault occurred on Thursday at about 12pm.

Rebecca recalled joining a fairly long queue at the checkout with her three young sons in tow, NZ Herald reported.

A woman believed to be in her 60s is accused of punching a two-year-old boy and pushing a trolley towards him after he threw a tantrum at Kmart in Westfield Albany (pictured)

The boys, aged six, four and two, became increasingly restless and her youngest began to throw a tantrum.

She tried to console him by explaining they would leave soon to visit their grandma's but the meltdown only got worse.

'He wouldn't usually behave like this, but I've got to admit - it was a really bad tantrum. Probably one of the worst I would have seen,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items.

She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

'I had my two-year-old in my arms and was trying to scan my products with the other arm it was getting quite bad,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items. She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

She then put her son down in front of the shopping cart when a woman, believed to be in her 60s, appeared to have lost her patience with the young family.

Rebecca claims she turned around to see a trolley being pushed straight towards her son by the woman.

When the mother moved to stop the attack, the woman hurled abuse at her, telling Rebecca to 'take him bloody home'.

Rebecca said people watched on in shock as the woman screamed at her.

She continued to scan her items as she tried to come to terms with what had transpired and her son quieted down.

A stranger came over to tell her she was doing an 'amazing job' as she finalised her shopping.

After the alleged attack, Rebecca approached Kmart staff to see what could be done, and CCTV footage allegedly shows the woman appear to intentionally steer her trolley towards the young boy.

A store worker said they would review the footage further, file a complaint and see if they could find the woman, and Rebecca left the store.

The woman has not been identified, but police are investigating the allegations

Later that day, the man called Rebecca with more terrible news.

'We've reviewed the video footage in detail and we can see that she has actually punched your son in the head with quite some force, when your back was turned,' he told Rebecca.

A spokesman for NZ Police told Daily Mail Australia an investigation had been launched.

'Police were notified on Thursday afternoon about an earlier incident where an assault was reported to have taken place,' he said.

'Police will be looking into the matter and will be following up with the complainant.'
Fire and Rescue crews rushed to Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night after a military charter plane carrying 143 people skidded off the runway and plunged into water.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing shortly after 9.30pm.

The plane was not fully submerged in the water, and all passengers were evacuated safely.

Two people were treated for minor injuries, according to CBS.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

Pictures show the plane in shallow water, with crews working to control jet fuel which had spilled out of the aircraft

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing will be investigated.
This is the moment staff and customers in a South Carolina McDonald's watched as a homeless man smashed up the front windows then waited for police to arrest him.

The man is seen on video taking a brick to break glass as shocked spectators urge staff to call law enforcement to detain him.

At the same time onlookers are concerned for the man who later smashes another area of the fast food chain's window using only his forehead.

A homeless man smashed up a South Carolina McDonald's then waited for police to arrest him

He's seen throwing stones outside the fast food restaurant and angrily demands attention from people inside

'He's going to kill himself,' one woman is heard yelling in the clip filmed from a witness inside the restaurant.

When the cell phone recording begins the man knocks on the door and window to get the attention of people inside the McDonald's branch then begins throwing stones.

At first onlookers sound amused then realized real damage could be done and begin to question where the cops they called earlier could be.

After destroying multiple areas of the glass front, the shouting man then plants himself on top of a bush and patiently waits for law enforcement.

He then smashes glass with a brick and uses his forehead to break the windows if the venue as customers stand back. One window near a children's play area is pictured broken

The voice of the woman's recording the incident states that the commotion began when 'he grabbed my hand when he asked for mustard'.

She adds: 'Y'all are blaming this on mental health problems. That's crack. That's heroin.'

But another concerned woman warns the person filming to quieten down predicting the man will get upset if he hears.

'Don't say that to him because that makes him angry,' a woman says, noting that he comes in regularly and predicting he'll simply return are temporarily being taken to a psych ward.

The camera shows the restaurant covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'.

The restaurant was covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'

The man wearing a high visibility jacket then patiently waited for a policeman to detain him

Later in the 10-minute-long video the witnesses are appalled when a policeman finally shows up six minutes into when they first began recording the man who appeared to have earlier been locked out.

However a woman explains that the door was in fact not locked.

They then note how only one officer arrived to detain him in what seems to be a lengthy process getting him into a car.

'He probably did that just to get somewhere to stay,' one man is heard saying as staff continue to take customer's orders.

Staff express their frustration at how difficult it will be to find someone to fix the windows on the same day. The woman filming points out that police are quick to stop people but take an alarming long time to respond to a scene like this.

'South Carolina is crazy', she adds.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been ruthlessly mocked online for cringeworthy memes about 'Star Wars Day'.

May 4 has been dubbed as 'Star Wars Day' for its similarity in sound to the movie's famous catchphrase 'may the force be with you'.

But Mr Morrison's attempt to connect popular culture with the impending Federal Election backfired with Star Wars fans and voters alike questioning the Liberal Party's bizarre ploy.

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday.

'The economy is strong with this one,' the meme, written in Star Wars text, said.

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

A second meme, with Mr Shorten dressed as Emperor Palpatine, suggested the Labor Party's 'debt' was similar to the death star.

The moon-sized weapon lurked over Australia and the meme was covered in a red tinge, reminiscent of the Opposition Party's colour.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read

Mr Morrison was even transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers'

One unimpressed Twitter user hit back with Princess Leia saying 'no thanks'

They hit back with more Star Wars memes, including Princess Leia saying 'no thanks' and the movie's famous yellow opening text.

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read.

'This is not the hot take you're looking for,' another person wrote in response to Mr Morrison's Obi-Wan portrayal.

Mr Morrison was also transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers' with his head planted on to his body.

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' an image of Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca read

Despite being labelled as 'embarrassing' some viewers requested more of the 'great' memes

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text.

Despite numerous attempts to mock Mr Morrison, some viewers enjoyed the Party's humorous take on Star Wars Day.

'Please continue to make more of these,' one person tweeted.

'Keep going these are great,' tweeted another.
Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a ship off the Great Barrier Reef after getting caught in fishing nets.

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year and obtained by WWF, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe.

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Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a fishing ship off the Great Barrier Reef after meeting their fate with destructive fishing nets

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said.

'These pictures show that gill nets are indiscriminate killers in that they drown whatever swims into them including many iconic and threatened species.'

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines.

The photos of the bloodied and lifeless sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off.

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said

Scalloped and great hammerheads are both listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List as endangered.

A marine turtle was also snapped caught in a net on the deck, with their rostrums cut off.

WWF-Australia is advocating for a 85,000 square-kilometre safe space, where gill nets would be banned from the north of Cooktown through to the tip of the Cape.

Supporters of WWF had previously helped the organisation buy and retire three commercial gill net licences operating on the Reef.

'We're calling on the next Australian government to help create a Net Free North and to end targeted shark fishing in the Great Barrier Reef by providing adequate financial adjustment for affected fishers to remove the last 3 remaining industrial sized gill nets from the whole GBR,' Mr O'Gorman said.

The photos of the bloodied and lifelesss sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines

GILL NETS The nets are used to target species, typically, gummy shark, saw shark and elephant fish. They are long rectangular panels of netting with diamond-shaped mesh. Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net, their gills, fins and spines become entangled. The are normally implemented in waters less than 100 metres deep. SOURCE: Australian Government: Australian Fisheries Management Authority Advertisement

In 2018, 125,000 sharks were caught in nets according to data from Fisheries Queensland, the Cairns Post reported.

Of the total, 41,000 were discarded and 84,000 were processed.

The fillets of small sharks can be sold as 'flake' in fish and chip shops but larger sharks are not appropriate for human's to eat.

Their fins, however, are usually cut off from their discarded bodies and are exported.

Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the government was taking the necessary steps to encourage sustainable fishing.

'There is already an existing catch limit on commercial harvest of sharks, which can be harvested sustainably, particularly smaller, faster growing sharks like black tip sharks,' he said.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data
Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers.

The cigarettes are then sold for less than the lollies and chocolates sitting on the counter nearby.

Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers (stock image)

Health advocates believe the practice is aimed at children who can't afford more than $20 for a pack but can use their meager cash to buy one or two at a time.

Cigarettes can only legally be sold in packs of at least 20 and shops can be fined up to $19,028 for selling 'loosies'.

The ban was brought in as part of the Tobacco Act of 1987 specifically to protect children, who are particularly prone to nicotine addiction.

The Geelong Advertiser visited 10 convenience stores and milk bars undercover and found two in Norlane that sold single cigarettes.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers (stock image)

One sold them for 50c each and their other for $1.50, and the customer merely had to ask before the cashier opened the secret drawer.

Norlane and neighbouring Corio have the highest smoking rate in Victoria with 30 per cent of the population describing themselves as 'current smokers'.

The local council is responsible for cracking down on illegal sales but would not reveal how many fines it had dished out.
The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse.

On Friday, a Church spokesperson slammed an article published by Vice News, which questioned whether a 24-hour abuse help line was effective in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.

'Abuse is taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' the spokesperson said.

'The Church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse'.

The helpline is available to its 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents so that they can report suspected cases of criminal behavior.

But, earlier this week, Vice published its bombshell article alleging that the hotline may actually be used 'to shield the Mormon Church from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to them'.

The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse

Vice claims that calls to the hotline were 'funneled' through to law firm Kirton McConkie so that they could help the Church identify cases that might pose a high financial risk

According to the publication, calls to the the hotline 'are not immediately transferred to authorities', but are rather 'funneled' through to the law firm Kirton McConkie, which has close ties to the Church.

The publication quotes a source as saying that one lawyer from Kirton McConkie 'acknowledged that that they [the firm] uses information gleaned from helpline calls to identify cases that pose a high financial risk to the Mormon Church.'

The Church does not publicly disclose the number of calls that are made to its hotline.

Vice claims that the 'lack of transparency contrasts starkly with actions taken by other religious groups and institutions' and that it is a 'visible symptom of a system that appears to place Church interests ahead of abuse victims.

Church practices surrounding the hotline were reportedly brought to light in a sexual abuse-related civil lawsuit brought against the Church by six plaintiffs in West Virginia.

All plaintiffs say their children were abused by convicted Mormon sex offender, Michael Jensen.

'Helen' spoke with Vice about the alleged sexual abuse suffered by her son at the hands of his babysitter, Michael Jensen

One of the plaintiffs, known only as Helen, was interviewed by Vice, and relayed harrowing details of the alleged abuse her child suffered at the hands of Jensen.

She said her four-year-old son tearfully told her that Jensen 'made him suck his privates' while he was employed as their babysitter.

In 2013, Jensen was jailed for the abuse of two other children in the community whilst working as a babysitter.

He is currently serving 35 years in prison without parole.
A paedophile wanted in Australia was able to roam free and commit a series of sickening crimes against young boys in the UK after he slipped through the net.

Barry Radford, 53, who resided in Northumberland, in the northeast of England, was wanted by New South Wales state police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999.

But the British-born spray painter moved back to the UK the year after he committed the alleged crimes.

Barry Radford (pictured) resided in Northumberland, in northeast of England, and was wanted by New South Wales police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this week, after he admitted to committing multiple offences including inciting a child into sexual activity, grooming and possessing indecent images.

Radford had taken indecent images of one of his victims on two occasions.

On one occasion the boy had passed out after taking drugs and drinking, and another he had paid the boy in a bid to let him take the inappropriate images.

He also possessed more than 1,000 indecent images of other children.

Radford's heinous crimes were only alerted to authorities last year when one of his victims came forward.

In 2007 Australian authorities issued an arrest warrant and Interpol got in touch with Northumbria Police after Radford had been stopped for a driving offence.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and trampoline parks

But two years later New South Wales authorities revoked the warrant when it did not lead to Radford being sent back to Australia for the alleged offences.

Meanwhile Radford was left to prey on teenage boys in the Northumberland area.

It's understood Radford would groom the young men by giving them money and buying them expensive gifts such as trainers.

He allowed the teenagers to drink and smoke cannabis, a class B drug in the UK, at his home where the boys could also play pool.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and to trampoline parks.

Throughout a lengthy grooming process Radford conned one boy's parents into trusting him.

One of Radford's victims described him as a 'very dangerous man' and said he had known 'exactly what he was doing'.

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) earlier this week

Handing down the sentence, Judge Amanda Rippon noted Radford's action had had a 'profound effect' on his victims and their mental health.

Radford's lawyer said his client was remorseful and had taken the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.

Outside the courtroom a spokesperson for New South Wales police said in 2000 authorities had established that Radford had fled to the UK.

'In 2000, it was established that the man had left Australia and travelled to the UK.

'In 2002, NSW Police issued two warrants for his arrest, however a decision was made to revoke them in 2009.

'Given the man remains before the courts in the UK, it would be inappropriate to comment on further action by NSW Police,' the spokesperson said.

But a Northumbria police spokesperson said they were made aware of Radford in 2007.

'We can confirm we were made aware, by international partners, of Radford in 2007, who was suspected of living in our area at the time.

'This was an intelligence-led request by police in Australia. This was an investigation by NSW Police and we had no power of arrest.

'We are unable to comment on this any further,' the spokesperson concluded.
A man who was seen wearing a Nazi swastika armband while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community.

The man was riding his bike along Atherton road in Oakleigh this week, when a shocked member of the Jewish community saw him and took a photo.

The identity of the man is not known.

The Jewish man then sent the photo to the Anti-Defamation Commission - an organisation that keeps track of anti-Semitic activity and tracks perpetrators.

A man who was seen wearing a Nazi Swastika armband (pictured) while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community

Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich responded to the incident by issuing a statement, where he slammed the man's actions.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol.

'No one can feel safe when such sickening incidents happen, and we should not stand for this heinous behavior,' Dr Abramovich said.

He said people shouldn't have to see such things - especially after Christchurch and San Diego when white-supremacist ideology manifested itself in such a deadly way.

'It is chilling that anyone would so openly exhibit the ugly Nazi swastika - a universal symbol of genocide and evil, Dr Abramovich said.

'This open display of hatred, which would have caused enormous distress to a Holocaust survivor, should anger all people.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol (stock)

'During a week, in which we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the millions of victims who died at the hands of Hitlers regime, it is abhorrent that individuals filled with hate are intimidating and terrifying community members.'

The chairman said the 'repulsive display of racism' is an attack against all Australians and violates the memory of courageous diggers who fought to defeat Hitler.

'At this time, we repeat our call for federal and state governments to ban the public displays of symbols from the Third Reich,' he said.
Australian voters trust New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern far more than any Aussie politician - as it's revealed female candidates are more 'believable' than men.

The country's leader was 24 points more trustworthy than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the 'Believability Index' by OPR.

Ardern scored 77 out of 100 while prime minister Scott Morrison scored 43 and Bill Shorten scored 42.

The top four positions were all taken by women with Senator Penny Wong in second, Julie Bishop in third and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek in fourth.

The NZ PM was 24 points more believable than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the Belivability Index by OPR

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said

The most believable Australian politician was Senator Wong with 53 points, closely followed by Julie Bishop with 52 and Tanya Plibersek with 50.

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said.

Politicians and business people were assessed across six 'dimensions of believability' by 1400 people in March and April.

The dimensions were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important.

Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton and Clive Palmer all performed poorly in integrity and were the least believable politicians with scores of 36, 34 and 30, respectively.

Prime minister Scott Morrison (left) and Labor leader Bill Shorten (right) were neck and neck in the believability index. Mr Morrison beat out Shorten by one point

The dimensions of believability were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important

Greens Party leader Richard Di Natale scored 45 and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson scored 44, both beating out the major party leaders.

Anthony Albanese scored 46 to beat Shorten by four points, suggesting Labor may have backed the wrong horse in the 2013 party leadership election.

Australians even found business leaders more believable than politicians.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose scored 64 points.

Former Fortescue CEO Twiggy scored 53, tying with Senator Wong.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose (pictured) scored 64 points, 11 more the most trusted Australian politician Penny Wong
Former Vice President Joe Biden charged Saturday that Jim Crow is 'sneaking back in' as he emphasized the need to ensure voting rights are protected, which he said is lacking under the Trump administration.

Biden drew several hundred people to a community center in Columbia as he opened his presidential campaign in South Carolina, home of the first-in-the-South primary and where black voters play a major role in the Democratic nominating process.

In criticizing Republican attempts to reconfigure voting rules, including establishing identification requirements, Biden recalled the racial segregation laws of the past known as Jim Crow.

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, (left), has attacked Donald Trump, (right), for letting 'Jim Crow sneak back in' by attempting to reconfigure voting rules in his latest campaign appearance

'You've got Jim Crow sneaking back in,' he said, and added: 'You know what happens when you have an equal right to vote? They lose.'

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House, continuing to make his campaign a full-throttle assault against President Donald Trump.

'Quite frankly, I've had it up to here,' he said. 'Your state motto is, "While I breathe, I hope." It's not a joke. We're breathing, but God, we have got to have hope.'

Biden's initial campaign agenda to South Carolina included a fundraiser and a Sunday morning visit to a black church in Columbia.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now, Biden is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. The laws, which existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964, were meant to return Southern states to a two-tier class structure by marginalizing black Americans.

Biden recalled racial segregation laws of the pasts as he took a swipe at Trump. He is pictured taking photos with supporters following the first rally of his 2020 campaign on Saturday

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House

The dawn of the 20th century saw states across the south ratcheting up Jim Crow laws, which affected every part of daily life.

Laws forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas.

Signs posted at town and city limits warning African Americans that they were not welcome were also a familiar sight. The post-World War II era then saw an increase in civil rights activities in the black community, with a focus on ensuring that black citizens were able to vote.

This heralded the era of the Civil Rights Movement which resulted in the gradual removal of Jim Crow laws in various states.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended discrimination and segregation that became entrenched in American society.

Biden claimed the Trump administration was allowing 'Jim Crow to sneak back in.' He was referring to a set of laws that legalized racial segregation. The regime existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964 with the start of the Civil Rights Movement

Laws also forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas across the South

Meanwhile the latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. He is pictured posing for photos with audience members during a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday

Biden has attacked many of the policy areas and changes presided over Donald Trump, (pictured), since launching his presidential campaign last month

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.
A father-of-two was knocked out with a single punch and left in a heap on the floor after becoming caught up in a wild street brawl.

Footage shows the 26-year-old man was knocked unconscious during a mass fight on Hindley Street in north-west Adelaide late on Friday evening.

South Australia police attended the scene just after midnight and the violent altercation is still under investigation.

A 26-year-old father-of-two (pictured) has been knocked out by a single punch in a violent altercation

The man could be seen among a group of other men who were fighting.

The reason for the attack is not clear from the video.

A man could be seen grabbing the young father by his t-shirt during the melee.

He then punched the man square in the face, causing the target of the attack to be seemingly knocked out cold.

The man then punches him one more time before he hits the floor.

The young father appeared to lie completely still on the ground.

No arrests or charges have been made but police are investigating.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said the current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming.

Buffett, 88, notes that the current climate is an unusual one with unemployment at the lowest levels for a generation, inflation and interest rates staying low and the U.S. government continuing to spend more money than it brings in.

'No economics textbook I know that was written in the first couple of thousand years that discussed even the possibility that you could have this sort of situation continue and have all variables stay more or less the same,' Buffett mused in a CNBC interview on Friday.

Warren Buffett notes that unemployment remains its lowest since 1969, yet interest rates and inflation are not rising

Speaking on CNBC Buffett notes how the U.S. continues to spend more money than it takes in

A shareholder arranges her belongings under a large graphic of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. An estimated 40,000 people are expected in town for the event

A shareholder and his son, both dressed in suits with pictures of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, try to get a glimpse of Buffett as he arrives at the 2019 annual meeting

Shareholders linedup before dawn to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett

'These conditions are not sustainable for the long term', Buffett said during the broadcast which came one day ahead of the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha this weekend.

'I don't think our present conditions can exist in terms of fiscal and monetary policy and various other elements across the political landscape,' he said. 'I think it will change, I don't know when, or to what degree. But I don't think this can be done without leading to other things.'

The figures tell the story. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April on Friday, the lowest since 1969.

Inflation was up just 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, well below the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is surrounded by press and fans as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting

The current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming, Warren Buffett said

Shareholders gather to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska

Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett (not pictured), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway,

Buffett doesn't believe today's current economic conditions are sustainable for the long term

A cutout of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett holds Duracell Batteries during a shareholders shopping day in Omaha

The third-richest man in the world also revealed that his firm has been buying shares of Amazon.

On Saturday, he will appear at the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire.

The 'Oracle of Omaha' and his 95-year-old business partner Charlie Munger will take more than five hours of shareholder questions posed by three journalists.

Two questions are sure to come up, as they did last year: 'Who will succeed him?' And 'When does he intend to retire?'

Buffett will also meet privately with investors and business owners, many of whom are making the trek to Nebraska.

Jaymee Wei of Taiwan poses with a life-size photo of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett

He is attending his firm, Berkshire Hathaway's, annual meeting Saturday

Last year, about 40,000 people made the trip to Omaha, a leafy city home to about 410,000 residents, to hear him speak. Lines start forming at 4am to enter the theater and by 8am all the seats are gone.

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Does he believe in the strength of the sharing economy, symbolized by companies like Uber and Airbnb?

What does he think of artificial intelligence and self-driving cars?

David Kass, finance professor at University of Maryland, has made the trip each year for the past decade, sometimes with MBA students, a number of whom were granted private meetings with Buffett.

'It's pretty much a hobby,' said Kass, a Berkshire shareholder since 1985 and the author of a blog on Buffett.

This year he invited 200 of his students to follow the proceedings along with him, broadcast live in one of the university's auditoriums.

Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' with 'festival-goers' hailing from the Who's Who of the American business community.

People pass an illustration of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, during the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists'

In addition to well-known names like billionaire Bill Gates - Buffett's friend and bridge partner - business executives and investors come to seek the approval of the well-liked, folksy mogul at a time when appearing elitist can be a curse.

'He sets a great example for the leaders, especially business leaders, setting a great example for young people. He gives his money to help other people... and I think there is something we are missing now in this world,' said Indian millionaire Paul Singh, 68, who became an angel investor after the sale of his Primus Telecommunications company.

Singh's son Jay Phoenix, 32, a psychiatrist who became a millionaire after selling his startup, said Buffett represents a long view.

'Because you are getting wealthy and you are hitting those numbers, it doesn't mean that your lifestyle has to change that much,' he said. 'It's... about how you treat other people and the integrity that you have.'

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.

Apart from surveillance cameras, no other security is visible, but if a visitor takes photos, an agent will come out and ask 'nicely' what they will be used for.
Scott Morrison had to hit the ground running as he became Prime Minister just ahead of a series of regional summits.

But the newly-minted leader had an experienced ally to show him the ropes as he entered the world stage - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Mr Morrison spoke of his admiration for the veteran head of Australia's second-biggest trading partner, calling him 'the senior figure' among Asian leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of his admiration for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

'He's got a real wisdom about him which I found really helpful and which I have leaned on,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Morrison said a dinner in Darwin together with their wives stuck out among the many meetings he had after he replaced Malcolm Turnbull.

'It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had... and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period,' he said.

'Because I became prime minister and went pretty much into the summit season.'

Mr Morrison said his Japanese counterpart was particularly useful in helping him balance Australia's strong alliance with the US with its proximity to regional power and huge trading partner China.

Japan has to navigate a similar situation and Mr Morrison said this meant his new friend had a wealth of experience to share.

He said the Japanese Prime Minister was similar to 'us' as the country also has an important relationship with the US.

Mr Morrison explained the connection with China was intercultural and economic, while the US attachment was based on values and history.

He said maintaining a stable relationship with the south-west Pacific is a priority.
A mother has made a heartbreaking plea to find the people responsible for a brutal bashing that has left her two sons in hospital.

Lochie, 20, and Rueben Higgins, 17, were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, about 3am on Saturday.

The pair's mother, Amanda, took to Facebook to share photos of her badly beaten sons following the attack.

'These are my two boys at the Alfred [Hospital] Emergency Department. Both king hit early this morning.'

Lochie and Rueben Higgins (pictured) were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, at around 3am on Saturday

The photos show her injured sons (pictured, Lochie) wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds

The photos show her injured sons wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds.

Dry blood is splattered across the face of one of the men, and his left eye badly bruised.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward.

The brothers are understood to have been walking through the car park in front of the supermarket on Railway Grove at the time.

The pair became involved in an argument with a group of men, before they were knocked to the ground.

Bystanders intervened before the attackers fled in an unidentified car.

Both victims were taken to hospital with non-life threatening head injuries. One of the men is in a serious condition.

A 28-year-old man presented himself to police in the afternoon and is assisting officers with their inquiries.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward (pictured, social media post made to Facebook following the attack in front of a Mornington Coles on Saturday)
An earthquake shook homes in Surrey's leafy commuter-belt overnight as residents in the county's tremor hotspot were panicked by rumblings for the third time in three months.

'Scary loud bangs' were reported by people in the Crawley area and a seismograph from the British Geological Survey confirmed the quake happened at 1.19am.

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years.

Last night, one concerned resident tweeted: 'Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!'

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years

A seismograph from the British Geological Survey shows the tremor at 1.19am BST

'Scary loud bangs' and 'shakes' were reported by people in the Crawley area overnight

Another said: 'Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up'

The magnitude of the tremor is not yet clear.

It follows a series of earthquakes in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration in Horse Hill, but this has not been proved.

However, Professor Stuart Haszeldine of Edinburgh University believes that the recent tremors are a direct consequence of drilling into known fault lines.

And the geoscience expert, who has described the Surrey patch as an 'earthquake zone', told MailOnline that the tremors are likely to become more frequent over time and could even see buildings damaged.

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport

He said: 'We know that there are fault lines and that the oil company has said the oil production has drilled into these.

'To me it's entirely unsurprising that is has caused some movement'

'As this goes on this is just going to get worse and I think the frequency with which they occur will increase.'

This is because the rocks below the surface are under more pressure and will be more likely to shift which could lead to buildings on the surface cracking.

MailOnline approached UK Oil and Gas, which is drilling at Horse Hill, for comment.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were 'keeping an open mind', there was 'still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities'.

He said: 'It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.'

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
Sydney train services were thrown into chaos after a passenger was hit by a train at Town Hall station.

A woman is understood to have walked onto the train tracks before she was injured at around 4.30pm on Saturday.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia the passenger has since been transported to hospital for treatment.

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed as a result.

Sydney train services have been cancelled amid reports of a commuter being hit by a train at Town Hall station

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed on Saturday afternoon

Trains travelling through Platform Three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line.

'We temporarily had to suspend services over the bridge,' Sydney Trains said on Twitter.

Passengers took to social media to vent their frustration when trains suddenly came to a screeching halt.

'So there is someone on the track between Central and Townhall... Whats going on?' one person tweeted.

A Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia police had been investigating the incident..

'We can't say how long delays will take as police are currently undertaking their investigations,' a Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Only earlier today, an electrical fire in the roof of the station forced train services to skip platforms two and four.

The delays come as hundreds of rugby league fans make the commute to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Roosters face off the West Tigers.

If you are in need of advice or assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Trains travelling through platform three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line and services leaving the city
Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after drunken visitors caused fights and had too many accidents.

Hikers, Kayakers and campers in the Ardeche national park won't be able to indulge in a cheeky alcoholic beverage from May 1 to September 30 this year.

Officials said it was is in response to regular fights at the only campsites, Gaud and Gournier, and accidents caused by drunkenness.

The famous gorges, such as the natural Pont d'Arc bridge, are visited by around 1.5million people, and 180,000 kayakers, including people from Britain, according to the Syndicate of Management of the Gorges de l'Ardeche.

Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after hikers and campers caused too many accidents

The park in southeastern France is well known for natural features including the famous Pont d'Arch natural bridge (pictured)

Francoise Soulimane, the state prefect for the Ardeche, made the temporary order.

'It is forbidden for hikers and users of boats to hold alcoholic beverages for consumption in the bivouacs (tents) of Gaud and Gournier [the only areas where camping is allowed in the gorge] or on the fluvial area,' it read.

Anyone caught flouting the rules to sneak in a bottle of wine, beer or spirits, will face a 28 (23.83) fine, reports The Times.

Once taken, the drinks can be reclaimed from authorities headquarters in Vallon Pont d'Arc village for up to a week.

Founded in 1980, the park covers 32km of gorges carved from limestone rocks by the river Ardeche.

The Ardeche gorges are located in southeastern France near Avignon, Nimes and Valence
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Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public for the first time since his succession - as more than 65,000 people queued up in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, Naruhito thanked tens of thousands of well wishers for congratulating him.

'I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today,' said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greeted the public for the first time since his succession from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today

He greeted well wishers waving hundreds of Japanese flags alongside his wife Empress Masako and other members of the royal family

Naruhito's father, Akihito, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor. Pictured: Princess Tomohito, Princess Kako, Princess Mako and Princess Kiko

In this aerial shot, thousands of well wishers can be seen queuing for the chance to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

Emperor Naruhito was joined on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by Japan's Crown Prince Akishino

The area in front of the balcony was filled with a sea of Japanese flags and cellphones as people scrambled to take a picture of their new emperor

During his speech, Naruhito said: 'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further'

'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further.'

As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace. An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate.

Pictured: crowds queuing up outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate. Pictured: people wait in line to see Japan's new Emperor

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace

People walk towards the Imperial Palace as they are led by Imperial Guard officers ahead of the emperor's speech

People wave Japanese national flags and try to take photos of the new emperor in Tokyo earlier today

Here, a group of Imperial Guard officers stand in front of the gate at the palace earlier today

The 59-year-old emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after the Second World War and one who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death amid the lack of discussion about the significance of maintaining the social upper-class bound by its male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, Harvard-educated former diplomat Masako, is still recovering from her stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.

But her parents, from Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay 3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.

They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

Claire told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her  and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'

The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.

It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.

The letter they received asked that Martin pay 2,038.62 and Claire contribute 1,595.

He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'

The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.

Gretna Green (pictured) was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'

Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.

At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.

Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.

As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.

The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.
Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal.

The Environment Secretary said that he is opposed to the prospect of a customs union but said that there is no 'arithmetic' in the House of Commons for Britain to leave the EU without a deal.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures.

Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal (Pictured today at the Scottish Conservative Party conference)

He said in an interview with The Telegraph at his parents' home in Aberdeen that he had not 'gone soft' on Brexit, but instead said that the country and his party had to 'face facts'.

'At the moment the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal,' he said.

'There would be economic challenges. We could get through them but they would undoubtedly be there in the short term.'

Mr Gove added that leaving without a deal would 'undermine the Union' and that the best way of 'bringing the country together is to leave with a good deal'.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures

Outlining his opposition to a customs union, Mr Gove said that he wanted Britain to have an 'independent trade policy' and that the best way to secure it was to 'get the Withdrawal Bill' through and persuade Labour 'of the merits' of it.

The Brexiteer also said he had learned from his failed 2016 Tory leadership campaign, in which he dramatically withdrew his support for Boris Johnson's bid before announcing his own candidature, saying that he is now part of a team.

However, he refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May, but said that his conduct since being made Environment Secretary showed that he is trustworthy.

He said that the local council results, in which Labour lost seats in areas which had voted strongly for Leave in the referendum, showed that Jeremy Corbyn should help the Government pass a deal and ditch any prospect of a second referendum.

Despite his own party's disastrous results, Mr Gove said that Labour should have done 'much better' in the elections after nine years of Conservatives' in power.

'I hope they will recognise that they need to work with the Government in order to deliver Brexit,' he said.

The father-of-two has become a leading Cabinet figure again after many accused him of 'treachery' over the way in which he brutally torpedoed Boris Johnson's chances of becoming Tory leader in 2016.

Since then, he said the pair had 'worked well' on issues such as the 'Brexit strategy' and the illegal wildlife trade.

The results left the two-party system at breaking point and the Conservatives lost 1,335 seats

Mr Gove refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May. Mrs May said he had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted that Brexit was an 'added dimension' to the results

He added that Johnson remained 'a friend' who he held in 'enormously high regard'.

The Surrey Heath MP was at his parents' home in Scotland ahead of his keynote speech to the Scottish Conservative Conference today, in which he is expected to pay tribute to Ruth Davidson's leadership.

He was born in Edinburgh but adopted by Ernest and Christine Gove when he was just four months old.

The couple, now aged 82 and 79 respectively, live in the same house in which Gove grew up in from the age of eight.

Following the disastrous results yesterday, Theresa May claimed she had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted Brexit was 'an added dimension' to that result.

'There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit,' Mrs May said.

'This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that,' Mrs May told the Welsh Conservative Conference.
An explosion at a Chicago chemical plant on Friday night has left three people dead and four others injured, officials have confirmed.

The blast erupted at the AB Specialty Silicones plant in Waukegan at 9:45pm last night, leveling the large structure.

A local resident's doorbell camera captured the dramatic moment a ball of fire erupted into the night sky, causing surrounding homes to tremble as and debris to fall to the ground below.

Another terrified local remarked that it 'felt like an earthquake' had struck the Illinois town.

Waukegan Police Commander Joe Florip described it as a catastrophic explosion and said an employee at the plant was found dead this morning shortly before authorities suspended their search due to structural instability at the site.

The search could not be continued, officials said, as heavy-duty equipment needed to be brought in to dig further beneath the rubble to find those who remained missing.

However by 11:30am, officials confirmed that the bodies of two other employees who were previously reported missing had been recovered.

Firefighters are seen battling a blaze at a chemical plant in Waukegan, Illinois, on Friday

The AB Specialty Silicones plant was reportedly leveled by the blast at around 9.45pm

Pictures taken on Saturday morning show the horrifying aftermath of the explosion

Debris can be seen scattered across the roads nearby. Local residents said houses shook for miles around

Officials say the cause of the explosion is still not yet known. The victims' identities have not yet been released.

All of those affected by the blast are employees of AB Specialty Silicone. The four injured workers were taken to local hospitals with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

The plant was open and in operation when the blast rang out.

Ablaze for several hours, all fires at the dilapidated building have now been fully extinguished.

Hazardous materials technicians and other specialist crews are also at the scene to assist local emergency responders.

Twitter users living nearby said the blast shook houses for miles around.

One wrote: 'Huge explosion across the street from me, my friend over 10 miles away said he heard it... felt like an earthquake.'

The Lake County Sheriff's office said on Twitter last night that it was aware of a very loud explosion sound and the ground shaking.

They have asked residents living nearby to avoid the area.

They wrote: 'Fire, police, and paramedic personnel are working diligently at this scene.

'Again, please stay out of the area and let the first-responders work.'

A doorbell camera captured the moment the 'catastrophic' explosion occured

As of Saturday morning, three people were still unaccounted for

Footage captured by ABC 7 Chicago on Saturday morning showed the devastation at the scene.

Florip estimated that damage to buildings in the area is likely to exceed $1 million. At least five surrounding structures are thought to have been affected.

Many neighboring properties are going to have damage, he said. I would categorize this as a massive explosion.

He added they have no concerns about air contamination or quality and insisted theres no need to seek immediate shelter.

The plant has been very responsive and was safety cautious after the incident from the previous fire, Lenzi said in a press conference. We have had no instances as far as code violations or anything like that with the plant.
A British father and son who travelled to Spain in March for a six-day road trip and haven't been heard from since 'may have come to harm' detectives have admitted.

Daniel Poole, 46, and his 22-year-old son Liam, travelled to Malaga on March 31 for the short break.

The pair, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex were last in contact their their family on April 1.

Daniel Poole, 46, left, and his son Liam, 22, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, flew to Malaga on March 31 and hired a car for a six-day road trip. They were last in contact with their family on April 1

The pair had checked into the Valle Romano Hotel, pictured, before they vanished. Police are becoming increasingly worried about their safety and fear they may have come to some harm

The Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team are now investigating the case to find the pair from Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

They are working with the Spanish authorities to investigate the circumstances of their disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Heater of Sussex Police said: 'We are working closely with the Spanish Police.

'One possibility that must be considered, as they have not contacted family or friends, is that they have come to harm.

'Their family are very concerned about them as they last heard from them on April 1, the lack of contact is out of character for the pair. The family are being supported by family liaison officers and are being kept informed.

'We know that Daniel and Liam hired a grey Peugeot 308 car when they got to Spain but this has not been returned to the car hire firm. We would like to hear from anyone who has seen them, the car or has any information about their whereabouts in Spain or any other location since March 31.'

The father and son flew to Spain on March 31 and checked into a hotel.

Detective Sergeant Alan Fenn of Sussex Police's missing persons team said last month: 'This is extremely unusual behaviour from Daniel and Liam to not be in contact with their family.

'They have been on holiday together before, but never have they lost contact with family members in Burgess Hill where they live.

'We, and their family, are eager to hear from anyone who has made contact with either Daniel or Liam since Monday April 1.'

The men were reportedly staying at the Valle Romano Hotel, after arriving in Estepona on March 31 for a six-day holiday.

Daniel's wife, Tara Poole, told The Olive Press last month: 'This is completely out of character for them. They never have their phones off and always keep in touch - we are so worried.'

Tara said she last spoke to Daniel, who runs a car repair shop in Burgess Hill, at about 6.30pm on April 1.

Sussex Police said that Daniel, 46, is white, 5ft 9in tall, of heavy build and with short grey hair.

Liam, 22, is white, 6ft, of medium build and with short light brown hair.
Magistrate Richard Pithouse (pictured) told Rex Morgan, who had refused further testing, not to call him 'bro' and to 'drop the attitude'

A man has been slammed by a magistrate after he called him 'bro' and gave him 'attitude' in court.

New Zealand man Rex Morgan appeared Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria this week after he reversed his car 30m on the opposite side of the road and up a driveway before crashing into his neighbour's fence.

Police observed the crash and the man tested positive for alcohol in a preliminary breath test, he was then asked to undergo further testing at a police station.

Morgan refused and told officers 'just charge me bro, I don't care', the Herald Sun reported.

Magistrate Richard Pithouse was not impressed with his behaviour.

'Don't call me bro,' Magistrate Pithouse said.

'Drop the attitude, take your hands out of your pockets and start showing some respect to the court,' he said.

Morgan was convicted and given a three-year cancellation on his license along with a $1,500 fine at Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria (pictured)

During proceedings, Morgan claimed he had no idea why he had been forced to attend court as he claimed to have only consumed one drink.

Morgan claimed he was the designated driver at a friend's 21st birthday party and the only drink he had consumed was in his car while in his own driveway before the crash.

The magistrate berated Morgan over his refusal to take a breath test and said that the police had every right to demand he undertake further testing.

Mr Pithouse convicted the man and cancellled his licence for three years - a full year over the required minimum for refusing a breath test.

Morgan was also fined $1,500.
Despite having some of the best wines in the world, France is turning towards craft beers, stouts and British-inspired pale ales.

And one micro-brewery launched by a French man and his British neighbour in the wine-soaked Loire valley last year UK-origin pale ales.

France has been flowing to these alcoholic beverages for some time, with the number of breweries in the country almost tripling in eight years from 387 in 2010 to 1,100 in 2018.

Their number looks set to rise too as demand went up by up to 4.2 per cent alone last year.

The number of French breweries has tripled in eight years to 1,100 in 2018 (stock image)

A French man and his British neighbour have started a brewery together making UK-inspired India pale ale (stock image)

Dominique Terray, 63, who spent 40 years advising Loire vineyards, teamed up with his British friend Simon Armstrong, 42, to produce the alcoholic beverages, reports The Times.

The pair were neighbours in Chinon, Loire valley, and used to go on beer tasting holidays to Britain together.

Mr Armstrong moved back to Somerset as a stonemason, but then returned to Chinon last year where he began brewing in the kitchen.

Describing the choice to brew pale ales, Mr Terray said it was because of their fruity scent with a hint of honey.

'When you swill it around the glass it exudes a scent that is fresh, fruity and floral, with a hint of malt and honey. Once in the mouth, the taste is full and rounded and capped by a well-controlled bitterness.'

They sell an India pale ale and an extra pale ale, both priced at 2.90 (2.50) for a 33cl bottle, and a black India pale ale for 3.30 (2.81).

France has the third highest number of breweries in Europe, behind Britain with 2,250, and Germany with 1,408, according to organisation the Brewers of Europe.

The country has the second highest area of land devoted to wineries at more than 800,000 hectares according to Eurostat, while Spain has the most land for making wine at 941,000 hectares.
A British music teacher who plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines has been jailed.

James Alexander, 42, was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017.

British music teacher James Alexander, 42, plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines. He was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Illigan City, in Northern Mindanao

Forensic analysis of his electronic devices showed Alexander, of Beeston, Leeds, sent at least 15 money transfers to abuse facilitators between August 2017 and June 2018.

It also showed that Alexander tried to arrange with abuse facilitators over Skype and WhatsApp to travel to the Philippines to abuse little girls himself.

Alexander admitted one count of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence; three counts of attempting to cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

He was prosecuted under section 72 of the Sex Offences Act 2003, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed abroad.

Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard Alexander had a discussion with one female facilitator about a 13-year-old girl, in which he said: 'If I meet anyone else I would like younger'.

He then asked the facilitator for pictures of her 12-year-old daughter.

It is believed indecent images of the 12-year-old were sent to him, as his recovered chat history shows he said: 'nice baby * now take the other pictures I asked.'

On 1 February 2018 Alexander and the woman discussed plans for him to meet the girls in a hotel and he asked: 'Are you going to bring them both with you and stay also'.

He added: 'You'll show them what to do.'

The woman told Alexander she had other daughters aged nine, six and four.

Alexander, who taught in Leeds and Malaysia before moving to Thailand, asked for sick images of the girls aged nine and six posing in a certain way, and asked what the six-year-old would do with him.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017. Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (Photo supplied by the National Crime Agency)

He also explained how he would like to sexually abuse the four-year-old.

Alexander told another Filipino mother - who says she will make her daughters do anything for money - that he wants to have sex with her seven and 11-year-old girls. He directed them to pose for photographs.

NCA officers also discovered other WhatsApp messages where Alexander asked a 10-year-old to send him images of her posing, and asked if he could meet her.

There were no records of Alexander ever travelling to the Philippines.

In-country investigations into the facilitators continue, but as a result of NCA intelligence, one suspect was arrested and several children safeguarded.

Alexander taught at Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok, Thailand, which dismissed him upon notification of the investigation. Safeguarding checks were made at the school and there was no evidence of Alexander offending there.

Alexander's phone contained child abuse images.

He was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court. He was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Speaking after the hearing, Hazel Stewart, NCA senior investigating officer, said: 'Alexander clearly tried to manipulate and exploit the poverty of the vulnerable in order to gratify his sick sexual desires.

Alexander was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order at Leeds Crown Court which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life

'He believed he could abuse Filipino children safely from his home and wanted to visit the Philippines to carry out the sexual abuse himself.

'The NCA has strong partnerships with law enforcement in the Philippines. We work together to combat this kind of offending.

'We and UK policing will never give up our pursuit of offenders who commit these horrendous crimes.'
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A Cambridge postgraduate student has reportedly been arrested for forcing himself upon a female student in his college dormitory.

The 27-year-old suspected rapist is thought to come from a 'wealthy overseas family' according to a source who spoke to the Sun.

He allegedly sexually attacked a 20-year-old undergraduate but is believed to deny these claims.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year (stock pic)

Instead, he is reportedly insisting it was consensual sex and has been bailed until May 22.

A source said that the alleged rape has caused 'considerable shock'.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year.
Three people - including a minor - have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday.

His daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury.

Three people were arrested following the attack and will front court in Colon, a city in Panama, on Sunday, the NZ Herald reported.

A minor and two other people have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack (pictured, Alan Culverwell with partner Derryn)

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea-bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday (pictured, Derryn, Briar, Flynn and Alan)

Mr Culverwell's daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury (pictured, Alan Culverwell)

Mr Culverwell is understood to have been sleeping below deck with his family when he heard a noise on the yacht's roof.

When he went up to check on the cause of the noise, he was fatally shot.

His wife, and two children, managed to stay alive after Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

Despite suffering knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand.

'He kept Derryn on the phone and as calm as he could,' Mr Culverwell's sister Derryn Hughes said.

'The attackers had left the boat at that stage, but Derryn was very scared but trying to keep it together for the kids.

The friend notified authorities in Panama and New Zealand Police, before the family was finally rescued.

A tracker was also installed on the boat, which helped rescuers locate the vessel.

Ms Culverwell received stitches for her injury and left hospital with her two children on Saturday.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Mr Culverwell's stepson and a close friend are understood to be leaving New Zealand to be by the family's side.

Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela has since appeared on television and publicly apologised to the Culverwell family.

During the broadcast, Mr Varela promised that the attackers would pay for their crimes.

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island.

The father used the money to purchase the 65ft yacht from a seller in Florida, US.

'It was a beautiful big boat that had been owned by someone with way too much money and [Culverwell] just timed it perfectly, he bought it in Florida for way less than had been spent on it,' Paua Industry Council chief executive Jeremy Cooper said.

The family were sailing the newly-bought boat back from the place of purchase, making numerous stops along the way.

They made a stop at the Panamanian island of Bocas del Toro and were to make their way back to New Zealand before they were intercepted.

Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.

The family are in the process of also arranging Mr Culverwell's body to be transported back to New Zealand.
Andrew Marks (pictured) who is running as a United Australia Party candidate is the youngest member in the federal election

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook.

Andrew Marks is representing the United Australia Party at this year's federal election, and is the youngest candidate running for a seat.

The 18-year-old has been criticised after he posted a meme referencing Hitler on Facebook in 2016.

Mr Marks, who is studying accounting and communications at university, shared an image of a man giving a Nazi salute.

He also shared a meme of a character using a time machine to applaud Hitler.

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook

Election candidate Andrew Marks has been slammed for sharing memes about Adolf Hitler on Facebook in 2016 (pictured is an image shared by Mr Marks)

His father, Robert Marks, who helped set up the UAP and is also running as a candidate, said his grandfathers fought against the Nazis and the family aren't anti-Semitic.

'We are absolutely anti-Nazi. My son was 15 when he posted those memes. He is now 18,' Mr Marks told The Sunday Telegraph.

'The memes are from a WWII Facebook history page that my son signed up to. It may be substandard to us but this is how the kids communicate these days,' he said.

The co-chair executive officer at the executive council of the Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said these memes harm and are damaging to the Jewish community.

Mr Marks had also previously shared an image referencing school shootings.

The post which pictured chips, a bag of McDonalds and a rifle, said: 'Everyone wishes that they were your friend when you bring these to school!'

His father Robert Marks (pictured) said they are anti-Nazi and his son was 15 when he shared the posts on Facebook

A number of UAP candidates have also been criticised for inflammatory social media posts.

North Sydney's Peter Vagg shared a post about stopping Muslim extremists and African gangs from immigrating to Australia.

Mr Vagg also shared images calling for a ban on the burqa and a ban on school excursions to mosques.

Also, the candidate for Greenway, Scott Feeney, posted an image of comedian Bill Cosby following his sentencing for sexual assault.

He captioned the photo: 'Holy crap, Morgan Freeman just got sent to prison.'

Mr Feeney said the post referred to a joke officers made while he was in the navy and he is not a racist.
A snake catcher has found a huge python that had slithered under the bed of an unsuspecting woman.

The photo of the two-metre long carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was posted online by snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie, who found the intruder in a woman's bedroom on Friday.

A neighbour had spotted a snake in the area but after the woman's bedside lamp blew out she wasn't able to spot it easily, Mr Mckenzie said on Facebook.

The photo of the two-metre carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was uploaded to Facebook

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?' snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie asked

'I relocated this Carpet Python out of the ladies' room and back in to the bush,' Mr Mckenzie said.

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?'

He said that while the snake is not venomous, they can still be dangerous if they grow bigger, noting that he has caught ones as big as 3.3m long.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Mr Mckenzie said.

The snake catcher said the it was able to get inside the house due to an all too common mistake.

'The screen door to the house was left open so the dogs could come in and out, unfortunately that means other wildlife can come in and out too!' Mr Mckenzie said.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Stuart Mckenzie said (pictured)

The Carpet Phython is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland

'You can leave your screen doors open if you are there, but if you are leaving the house you have got to shut everything up, especially at night because that is when they get in.'

He ended the post by asking people how they would react to seeing such a large snake in their house.

The carpet python is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland.

Some commenters were braver than others but many people said they would happily run away from their houses or 'burn the house down'.
A mother of a ten-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome claims her daughter was left in tears after she was refused entry into a trampoline park.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana, pictured, was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out trampolining park, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment

She said she was told by Flip Out staff that neither would be a problem and had taken her daughters to the park in the past, the Daily Record reported.

However, when the family arrived, Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment.

Ms Henry tried to speak to staff about her daughter's condition, but said they were 'not in the slightest bit interested'.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer

The mother-of-two said that the family were served by a male member of staff who 'was gone for approximately five minutes' after seeing her daughters.

She said they were then asked to go to the manager's office and was told that Dana's Down's Syndrome meant that she could not take part.

'The manager said: "Sorry we notice your daughter has Down's syndrome and the policy that has come in means she won't be able to take part,"' she said.

'As I stood there I felt like my heart was ripped out with my daughter at my feet and she started sobbing,' she added.

People with Down's Syndrome who want to participate in gymnastics require a medical screening and approval under requirements issued by the British Gymnastics Association.

Ms Henry said she then tried to clarify her daughter's condition and explained that she was 'registered under the British gymnasium and is more than able'.

But she said the manager refused to let Dana get on the trampolines because 'his mind was made up'.

The family were then taken to reception and given a refund.

'I was totally heartbroken,' she added and claimed that, rather than being taken to one side to be told away from her daughter, Dana 'heard everything'.

She said that Flip Out staff have since failed to resolve the the situation and said she had to call the firm four times before they responded.

However, when the family arrived at Flip Out (pictured), Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment

A Flip Out spokesman apologised for the 'misunderstanding' and stressed that their policy 'follows the advice given from the Down-syndrome.org website and the British Gymnastics Association which strongly recommends screening before any trampolining activities for people with Down-Syndrome.

'We then require a GP's approval letter confirming the participant is safe to take part in trampolining activities,' they added.

The firm invited the family to return as a 'treat' and said they had 'put on additional training' to 'further increase awareness.'

MailOnline has approached Flip Out directly for comment.
Lancashire police confirmed a body found in the woods near Parbold railway station was missing teenager Alex Davies, pictured

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of a Home Bargains worker who was found dead in the woods.

Victim Alex Davies, 18, had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire on Monday when he got a taxi to Parbold railway station.

A murder probe was launched after his body was discovered off Parbold Hill in West Lancashire on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives were initially unsure if the body was a man or woman.

Mr Davies had recently been promoted to the job of lead sales assistant at Home Bargains in Skelmersdale, and was looking forward to the future, friends said.

A post mortem examination has been carried out and the cause of death has been established but for operational reasons we cannot disclose this at this time.

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said yesterday: 'We recognise the impact this investigation has had in the Parbold area and would like to thank the community for its support.

'We can confirm officers investigating Alex's death have tonight arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He is currently in custody.

'This is a truly shocking murder of a young man and my thoughts are with his family and friends at this desperately sad time.

'Alex was a much loved son and brother and his family are obviously distraught by what has happened.

Police cordoned off an area of woodland where the missing teenager's body was found

'I have a dedicated team of officers and staff working on this enquiry.

'We are keeping an open mind for the reason Alex was in the Parbold area. I would appeal to anyone with information which could assist to come forward.

'We are carrying out CCTV and house to house enquiries in the area to try and piece together Alex's movements but I need the public's help as someone out there could hold the key to solving this horrendous crime.

'Furthermore, if you have seen anyone acting suspiciously or any unusual behaviour in the area in recent days, please come forward.

'You may think you are doing the right thing protecting them but if anyone does have suspicions about an individual I would ask them to search their conscience and do the right thing and contact police.'

Mr Davies had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire and his body was found off Parbold Hill two days later

On Thursday before his body was discovered, his boss Gerard Boylan said: 'This [going missing] is not something that he does.

'It's a complete mystery. Alex had his whole future ahead of him, and he loves his job and had recently got himself a promotion.

'He comes from Skelmersdale and lives with his mum.

'He's an energetic, kind and helpful lad, who loved working with customers.

'He's not a shy bloke, and is the type of person who would talk to anyone.

'He's a brilliant lad.'

Mr Davies had worked for Home Bargains for the last two years. He had not used his mobile phone since Monday afternoon.

Lancashire Police launched a missing person enquiry, which was upgraded to 'high-risk' on Thursday with the search reaching into its fourth day.

Police cordoned off two areas of field - one leading up towards Wrightington and a further field towards High Moore Lane.

A shocked passer-by said: 'Nothing ever happens here, I'm shocked to see so many police cars here.'
Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn.

They say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity in jeopardy unless immediate steps are taken to reverse climate destruction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests (Amazon pictured) and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction

Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn (Young eco-activists chain themselves to the Houses of Parliament yesterday)

It is the first dossier of its kind since 2005 and is due to be released in Paris on Monday, but a preliminary copy has been leaked to the Guardian.

Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told the paper: 'There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

'We are in trouble if we don't act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.'

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population (Pictured: deforestation on Indonesia's Borneo Island)

The experts say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity (pictured: Hong Kong Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday)

Hundreds students took part in the School Strike for Climate yesterday as the global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - was leaked

The global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - will construct several scenarios for the future based on likely decisions taken by governments and policymakers over the coming years.

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population.

The report comes after scores of eco-activists rallied in London to raise awareness of climate change and its global impact.

Extinction Rebellion protesters paralysed parts of the capital for ten days as they blocked roads and caused transport chaos.

And earlier this week Members of Parliament approved a Labour motion calling on the government to declare a 'climate emergency'.
A police dispatcher has sued the state of Queensland for causing her post-traumatic stress disorder after she was forced to listen to the murder of a young mother in a chilling triple-0 phone call.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie boyfriend Lionel Patea on a Gold Coast road on September 8, 2015.

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call.

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond.

The 50-year-old has blamed Queensland police for the lack of support following the call, which led to her PTSD leaving her unable to work for 15 months, and has sued the state for $615,572.

'It's with me every day. I can replay every moment,' Ms Jansen told The Sunday Mail.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie ex-boyfriend Lionel Patea

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call. Pictured: Patea, left, and Ms Brown

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond. Pictured: Patea and his child

Ms Brown made the emergency call as she was chased by her tattooed partner who was driving a black Jeep on the morning of September 8.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries.

A neighbour was initially helping Patea smash the windscreen of Ms Brown's car, thinking he was trying help the woman get out.

Ms Brown was heard yelling out for her young daughter Aria by a witness and brave mother- of-four Leesa Kennedy, who tried to help stop Patea from murdering her.

Ms Kennedy, who said she had been haunted by vicious dreams since the murder, said the distressing event felt like 'it went for hours but it was really just 15 minutes'.

Ms Jansen remembered trying to find out where Ms Brown was and was told Patea was threatening her with a knife.

The dispatcher had asked not to deal with emergency calls but was only taken off the job for two days.

TARA BROWN'S CHILLING EMERGENCY CALL In the call, which left senior police officers traumatised, Ms Brown was heard repeatedly asking Patea to stop the attack that ended in her death a day later in hospital. Ms Brown phoned emergency services after she left the Nerang childcare centre, on Queensland's Gold Coast, where she had dropped off her daughter about 8.45am. Just 40 seconds later, the 24-year-old mother was heard begging for Patea to go away and then a huge crashing noise rings out. The noise was the moment Patea used his car to deliberately run Ms Brown's off the road. Advertisement

'The next minute he'd just run her off the road. I could her screaming. I just prayed she would talk to me, but she couldn't,' she said.

'It was 40 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to me.'

She was able to send emergency services to where the young mother was, despite the fact she was no longer responding.

Ms Jansen was unable to attend work after she was haunted by numerous news reports about Ms Brown's murder, including CCTV footage and details about the pre-trial hearing.

Apart from the lack of support, she also claims no one had done a welfare check on her.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyer Beth Rolton backed Ms Jansen's claim of being given no support for dealing with one of the most distressing phone calls.

'I never knew of a murder that has taken place while a person was on the phone, Ms Janson, who now works with Queensland Police as an acting executive secretary, said.

She said her new role has put her in a lower salary in comparison to her previous role.

Ms Jansen, who filed her personal injury damages to the District Court, is waiting for the response of the State Government.

Ms Brown and Patea shared a daughter, Aria, born in 2012.

Former Bandido sergeant-at-arms Patea was jailed for life on February 27, 2017 after pleading guilty to the murder of Ms Brown at the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Tara Brown's mother Natalie Hinton read out a victim impact statement to the court about the 'monster' who claimed her daughter's life.

'Tara was empathetic, warm and trusting. She was a lover of life from a very young age,' Ms Hinton said.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home at about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries

'The monster was now in control, she feared him. He took full advantage of her vulnerability. I was oblivious to the extent of his sickening actions.

'My whole world caved in around me as this misogynistic narcissist murdered my baby girl.'

Ms Brown had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at day care when Patea chased down her hatchback with a four-wheel-drive.

She had been hiding from him at a safe house and friends' homes since taking out a domestic violence order against him just days earlier.

Witnesses saw the pair reaching speeds of more than 100km/h and Patea bashing on Ms Brown's driver's side window with both fists when she had to stop at red lights.

Patea (left) ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's (right) car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle

Patea ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle.

He used the metal slab weighing 7.8kg taken from the side of the road to repeatedly bash her head, causing 'non-survivable' brain injuries.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Ms Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

It wasn't until they heard her crying out that they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he fought them off.

Emergency operators listened helplessly as the mother cried for help - as more than a dozen 'thumping' sounds were recorded over the phone.
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was subjected to homophobic heckling during an event in Texas on Friday night  but one of his Democratic challengers was quick to come to his aid.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by anti-LGBT+ remarks on four separate occasions.

Marriage is between a man and a woman, shouted one protester. Repent, added a second.

CNNs DJ Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by four protesters

The protesters' cries were in reference to biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were 'reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy'

Others shouted marriage is between a man and a woman.' Another protester repeatedly shouted repent, during Buttigieg's speech

After the fourth heckler - all of whom were part of a group for truth and justice who oppose same sex marriage and abortion - called out, Buttigieg reminded his audience of why he decided to enroll in the military and serve in the Middle East.

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance.

He also deadpanned that it was a lively room, adding later that he was just thinking of that scripture that says bless and do not curse.

Each of the protesters' cries were in reference to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Bible claims were reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy.

It's believed their group is led by Randal Terry, who founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue in the 1980s.

The good news is the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you, Buttigieg responded in stride as the protesters were ushered away. Remember the beauty of our democracy. Everyone here gets the exact same voice and vote. Feels like the numbers are on our side, he added.

CNNs JD Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door

Demonstrators also positioned them outside of the Hilton Anatole, in Dallas, ahead of Buttigieg's arrival

Buttigieg, the first gay presidential candidate in history, married his partner Chasten Glezman in 2018

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, came out as gay just four years ago when he was 33.

He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in US History  but his trailblazing hasnt come without adversity.

As a result of his sexual orientation, Buttigieg has been heckled a number of times already early in the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in April.

But this time, Buttigieg didnt have to face the jeers alone.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred,' O'Rourke wrote. 'Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

ORourke also spoke in Texas on Friday night, where he hosted a town hall rally in downtown Fort Worth Texas, thirty minutes west from Buttigiegs event in Dallas.

This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through, O'Rourke told the assembled audience.

Long a Republican stronghold, Texas has seen an influx of Democratic presidential candidates flock to the state early in the trail for the 2020 bid.

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance

Last week, Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be hosting an event there on Saturday.

Before launching his campaign last month, little was known of 37-year-old Buttigieg outside of Indiana.

However he is now emerging as a serious contender, placing third in the late April polls at a ranking of 5%.

Only former president Joe Biden (17%) and Bernie Sanders (11%) are besting him.
The charity allowed Kamran Hussain (pictured) to give sermons in front of an ISIS flag and tell three-year-old children that martyrdom is better than school over a period of four months

A charity which ran a British mosque has been dissolved after it allowed a radical Imam to tell three-year-old children martyrdom is better than school and give sermons in front of an Islamic state flag.

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was closed for 'facilitating terrorism' by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from running a charity in future.

It comes after radical Imam Kamran Hussian was allowed to speak at its mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, over a period of four months in 2016.

Hussain was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2017 after being convicted of six charges of encouraging terrorism and two of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic state.

An inquiry, opened by the commission last year, said the trustees 'failed to properly manage, administer and protect the trust and its resources, resulting in it being used to facilitate terrorism offences'.

It was also found the trust did not have a viable future leading to its dissolution with 132,000 funds split between five charities in Stoke-on-Trent which have similar objectives.

The Charity Commission's director of investigations, Michelle Russell, said what happened was 'unacceptable' and a 'clear failing on the part of the charity's trustees as its custodians'.

'Our actions will reassure the public that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated.

Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust, based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was closed by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from setting up a charity in future

'While instances of abuse of charities for terrorism are rare, such links undermine public trust and confidence in charities, and the vital work that charities do. It is right that those responsible have been held to account for their actions.'

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was set up in 2003 with the aim of 'educating all people, particularly children and young people, in the Muslim religion and Urdu language and the advancement of the Muslim religion through collective prayer meetings and otherwise'.

As part of the investigation, the Charity Commission carried out an unannounced visit and scrutinised material seized by the police including bank statements.

The report reads: 'The inquiry found that the charity's premises had been misused, by the Imam, to encourage terrorism and encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic State.

'The fact that the sermons delivered by the Imam which resulted in his conviction were delivered over a number of months compounds the failure on the part of the charity's trustees to ensure that the charity and its property were not used for criminal purposes.

An entrance to the charity's mosque, pictured off the side of a street in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

'Trustee A (Fazal Ellahi) advised that he was not aware of what the Imam had said and that there had been no complaints made about him by those in attendance at the mosque.

'It is unclear whether the trustees were present for some or all of the Imam's sermons between June and September 2016 which resulted in his conviction; irrespective of whether or not either or both of the trustees were present, the inquiry found that the trustees failed to manage the charity's resources appropriately and that their failure to do so facilitated their use for terrorist purposes.'

Hussain, 40, of Knightsbridge Way, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed at the Old Bailey in September 2017 after anti-terror police planted an undercover officer in the Tunstall mosque.

The officer recorded 17 sermons and six were found to have 'crossed the line' by encouraging terrorism and two encouraged support for Islamic State.

The court heard Hussain would often deliver speeches in front an Islamic State flag and laud the values of terrorist groups.

In one he told the congregation: 'Inshallah...we will see the black flag rise over Big Ben and Downing Street.'

The preacher supported the virtues of killing, martyrdom and violent jihad and endorsed the efforts of those who had undertaken such acts.

And he told worshippers the UK government funded far-right groups to attack Muslims.

Hussain said: 'The kuffar (unbeliever) will attack you and kill you.

'Stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to stand in the face of the elements of Shaytan (Satan), be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt.'

It is not yet clear what the charity's dissolution means for the mosque, which had around 40 worshippers.
The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden (left), who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders (right)

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll of Democrat voters was conducted from April 30 to May 1

The poll represented a surge in support for Biden following his announcement. The previous Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted in March, prior to Biden entering the race, showed him at 35 per cent and Sanders at 17 per cent.

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop Saturday in Columbia, the capital, followed by a fundraiser.

Biden, seen campaigning in Iowa this week, opened with an appeal to white, working-class voters. Now he is jetting to South Carolina to test his message with crucial black voters

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now Biden now is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.

Outside those early-voting states, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is in Houston, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio visits Michigan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee is in California.

Maverick businessman Andrew Yang, who proposes instituting a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for every U.S. citizen, is holding a campaign event in Detroit.
A 23-year-old man with a took his own life while under investigation for rape which his family claim is false.

Mark Hunton, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation.

Mark Hunton, 23, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him

Devon Live reported that the pressure of the investigation contributed to Mr Hunton's mental health issues, his father Nick said.

He added that he does not know how he will return to normality after the tragedy.

The family said: 'Despite our best efforts to look after him, Mark's mental health deteriorated and collapsed under the strain.

'When Mark took his own life he effectively took ours with him.'

The family have now turned to crowd funding in the hope of raising 25,000 to secure legal representation at the upcoming inquest into Mr Hunton's death.

In a tribute written on the day of his cremation, Nick Hunton wrote of his grief after having his son cremated 'in the presence of his mother and two brothers'.

'No mourners, no service, no friends and family to grieve only our boys who we truly trusted. No one to ask why, no awkward questions or explanations to provide,' he added.

'Asking each of my family in repeated turns 'Are you OK' - perhaps the most stupid words I've ever spoken - in sure and certain knowledge that they were not, but hoping that my two surviving sons would one day return to some level of normality. But how are we to return, Judy and I.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation

'They said that there was nothing worse than to out live your child. No one has yet, I don't think, tried to categorise the severity of that tragedy.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'We are aware and continue to look into concerns raised by the family in relation to Marks' death.

'At this point, due to active and ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

For confidential support in the UK: call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
A man struggling with a severe lung condition and given just two years to live by doctors has been deemed fit to work and has had his benefits slashed.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions after attending a mandatory work capability assessment.

Mr Nicholson, from Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: 'I failed even though my condition has worsened. But because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work.'

The widower, who lost his wife to cancer when she was 36, previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month directly into his bank account.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions. He said: 'Because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work'

But after being put on Universal Credit, his money has been halved to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat.'

The payment he receives just covers his expenses including 48 phone bill, 60 per month for electric, and 10.37 for gas, and around 15 per week for food.

'I'm not expecting to go on holiday or buy a car. I'm just expecting to be able to live. Sometimes I only have one meal a day, and there are days where I go with no food.

'This has a knock on affect and means that I can't take all of my medications because you have to take food with them. I've lost half a stone.

'A downside of my illness is that my immune system is weak and it will only weaken.

He underwent a mandatory reconsideration which was rejected and is now awaiting a tribunal.

'I should be focusing on life instead of this. I have spoken to people about work, but I don't know what I could do to be honest. I am stage three and would have more sick days than working days,' he said.

Mr Nicholson applied for two more benefits - the illness and disability enhancements on Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment - and has called the process humiliating.

Mr Nicholson previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month but has had his money slashed to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat'

'I know I am going to die young. I was young when I got diagnosed, now I'm 47, and have been told I could live until I'm 50.

'Someone who does not understand this condition made this decision, with someone with even less understanding making a final decision.'

Mr Nicholson said the mandatory reconsideration process needs overhauling and the tribunal service needs to clear its back log, starting fresh.

'I'm wanting to share this not just for me, but for the thousands of other people who are also affected. It is atrocious and is like going back to the Second World War. It is like a slow genocide.'

A DWP spokesman said: 'Decisions for ESA are made by medical professionals following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including evidence from their GP or medical specialist.

'There is a free and independent appeals process where claimants can provide any further documentation.

'Mr Nicholson continues to receive benefits and support during his appeal and is not required to seek work.'
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the National Security Council leak as a 'shabby and discredited witch hunt' and called for a 'proper, full and impartial' investigation into it.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked after he was accused by PM Theresa May of leaking details from the top secret meeting wants a full investigation into the scandal.

His comments follow the decision by Britain's top anti-terror officer Neil Basu to recommend no further police action into the Huawei leak. Assistant Commissioner Basu said the contents of the leak did not warrant further action as they 'did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'.

Commissioner Basu is the head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations and is the senior officer in charge of counter terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations said there was no evidence to suggest the Huawei leak which led to Gavin Williamson's sacking breached the Official Secrets Act

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured on his last official duty on board a nuclear submarine was sacked after Theresa May accused him of leaking details from a top-secret National Sercurity Council briefing to a newspaper

Mr Williamson, pictured yesterday on his Instagram feed, strongly denied allegations that he was responsible for the NSC leak

In a statement, Commissioner Basu said: 'I have spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material that was discussed in the National Security Council. This material was used to inform a discussion, the outcome of which was subsequently disclosed to the media. I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

'I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice. I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

'Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

'At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

'No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage Misconduct in a Public Office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.'

The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

The SO15 officers have special arrangements with government to examine information to determine whether a criminal prosecution was necessary.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured, insisted sacking Mr Williamson was the correct decision

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in 'non-core' elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was 'compelling evidence' he was behind the leak - something he denies.

Downing Street insisted the leak probe into the NSC affair was carried out 'fairly', however, friends of Mr Williamson dismissed it as 'slipshod' and 'rushed'.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The investigation was conducted fairly by officials operating impartially.'

The chairwoman of Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Dame Margaret Beckett, wrote to Sir Mark Sedwill  who is also Prime Minister Theresa May's National Security Adviser  seeking information on the inquiry.

'The committee notes your ongoing inquiry into the leak of the National Security Council's decision on the use of Huawei in the UK's 5G telecommunications network,' wrote Dame Margaret.

'As this directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the NSC, the Committee would like to be apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry once it is complete.'

Following the sacking, PM Theresa May insisted it was the correct course of action.

She told ITV News: 'I did take a difficult decision.

'This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: 'I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.'

How Huawei leak sunk Gavin Williamson's ministerial career Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson's sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UK's National Security Council. Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry: Gavin Williamson, pictured, was sacked as Defence Secretary after a leak from the National Security Council to the media. Mr Williamson, pictured, strongly denies the allegations April 23 - A meeting of the UK's National Security Council (NSC), the country's top national security body, is held. April 24 - The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting. Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council. April 25 - Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is 'deeply worrying'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is 'completely unacceptable' for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should 'absolutely be looked at'. Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible. In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had 'divulged information from the National Security Council'. April 26 - An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions. Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak. Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved. Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved. April 27 - It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill. Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting. China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure. April 28 - Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone. He says the UK should exercise 'a degree of caution' about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei. April 29 - The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers. May 1 - Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information. Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having 'lost confidence in his ability to serve'. May 2 - Gavin Williamson says he would be 'absolutely exonerated' if there was a police investigation into the leak. May 4 - The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was 'satisfied' that the details disclosed to the media did not 'contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'. Advertisement
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Archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC.

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday.

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah.

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre.

Khafre, also known as Khefren or Chephren to the Ancient Greeks, built the second of the three famous Pyramids of Giza as well as the Sphinx.

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, statues of jackals, as well as hieroglyphs.

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today: 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty.'

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday

An excavation worker carefully uses a tool inside a burial shaft at the Giza pyramid plateau following the recent discovery of the tombs

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah

This excavation worker carefully brushes dust from the face of the sarcophagus

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre

Another member of the excavation team carefully brushes away sand and debris from the sarcophagus

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, as well as statues of what appear to be jackals

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today : 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty'
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Palestinian militants fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

On Saturday video footage of a family screaming in fear during rocket attacks was posted on social media.

A picture taken in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2019 shows an explosion following an airstrike by Israel

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators (pictured: A target explodes during airstrikes in Gaza City, May 4)

An explosion is pictured among buildings during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 4, 2019

Palestinians gather on the beach in Gaza City as smoke and fire billow following airstrikes by Israel in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites (pictured: Gaza City)

Missiles are fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells,

Gaza's militant strongholds came under fire (fireball pictured) from Israeli troops after they launched rockets into southern Israel

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 13 miles from the Gaza border, police said (pictured: Gaza City)

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire.

In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

Pictured: Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza city Israeli airstrike

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them (pictured: An explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike)

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday (pictured: Fire rises in Gaza on May 4)

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said 'the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.'

'We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks,' she said in a statement.

Smoke rises after Israeli army carried out airstrike in Rafah, Gaza on May 4, 2019

Israeli bomb squad inspect the remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Yad Mordechai

A picture taken from the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara shows an explosion caused by an Israeli air strike across the border in the Gaza Strip

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a 'high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel' that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to 'de-escalate' and restore recent understandings.

A missile fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells races towards Gaza

Damage to a house is seen after a rocket fired from Gaza Strip hit in the southern Israeli city Kiryat Gat, May 4

A statement from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, allied to Hamas, claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary (pictured, rocket fired from Gaza towards Israel)

'Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all,' he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying 'firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.'

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas, 70, from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied.

People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court.

But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Legal scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been the 'senior associate justice' on the Supreme Court since Anthony Kennedy retired in 2018

Many Americans know Thomas from his 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill (center)

He is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September.

Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas became the high court's longest-serving justice, the 'senior associate justice,' when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer.

Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White on October 18, 1991. Scholars say Thomas is an 'originalist' who believes in interpreting the Constitution as it's written, the way its authors intended

Thomas is also a staunch conservative who recently was joined on the court by President Trump's right-leaning nominees Neil Gorsuch (top left) and Brett Kavanaugh (top right)

But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump. As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas 'highly underrated.' Trump said Thomas has 'been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.'

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump.

Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the current President and First Lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as 'terrifying to many progressives.'

(Front row, left to right) US Supreme Court Justices Elena Kegan, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservative justices are now firmly in control of the court, which is expected to rule on issues like abortion, gun control and LGBT rights in the near future

Thomas and his wife, Virginia (left), herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas.

Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as un-influential, but Rossum disagrees.

'He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake,' Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, 'Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.'

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

Thomas' far-right rulings have earned him praise from President Donald Trump. More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump

Thomas is now on a court with at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, according to political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist, believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant.

He feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.'

He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both 'notoriously incorrect.'

Thomas recently called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law'

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as 'abdicating our judicial duty.' Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained: 'My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.'

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news.

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

'Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale, where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice.

But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: 'It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning.'
A 97-year-old New Jersey man's indomitable work ethic is earning him praise and admiration from peers in his town.

Second World War veteran Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto of Edison, New Jersey, has been working a regular job virtually his entire life and refuses to stop doing so now, even though he's nearing 100 years old.

Ficeto currently bags groceries at the Stop & Shop grocery store in his community, doing four-hour shifts two days a week.

He technically retired from his job as a cosmetics company warehouse supervisor back in the 1980s, but told CBS News he's been doing odd jobs ever since because he has always loved putting in a hard day's work.

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Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto, 97, of Edison, New Jersey, bags groceries at his local Stop & Shop grocery store four hours a day, two times per week

Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner during WWII. He flew a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy

The store's manager says he tries to make Ficeto take required breaks, but the 97-year-old yells at him, saying 'Don't tell me how to work'

'Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy,' store manager Sal Marconi told ABC 7 NY.

Stop & Shop assistant manager Mike Moss said he's tried to make 'Bennie' take his mandatory 15-minute break during shifts, but Ficeto just yells at his boss, saying 'I don't want to stop. Don't tell me how to work. See the light on? That's where I'm going.'

'I don't take no breaks,' Ficeto told CBS. 'Why would I take a break when I only get to work four hours?'

Ficeto's attitude about work may have a lot to do with his time serving in the US Army Air Force during WWII.

In his youth, Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner, flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy.

Bartholomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto (center) and members of his 310th Bombardment Group 428th squadron during WWII. Ficeto, a gunner who flew missions on a B-25 Mitchell, was a barber and he shaved his soldiers head with the word, 'victory.'

Ficeto supposedly retired from his job as a warehouse supervisor for a cosmetics company in the 1980s, but he's been doing odd jobs ever since

Ficeto told reporters he wants to work until he drops dead

'I was scared every time I had to get into the plane. But the Lord took me back,' Ficeto said. 'The day I didn't fly, they shot my plane down. And I don't know where they went down.'

The loss of his brothers in arms seems to have stuck with Bennie throughout his life. He told reporters he isn't that old and still has all his wits about him, so doesn't plan to stop using them and will work until he drops dead, according to ABC 7.

'I get a feeling that I did something good. You can't just stand around, like an idiot. You have to have a reason to keep alive,' Ficeto said.
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A funeral service has been held for the three children of the Asos billionaire who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Fashion tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen was seen comforting his wife Anne and daughter Astrid as the flower-covered coffins of his three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes emerged from their hearses at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark.

Astrid was seen walking with her parents towards one of the three hearses to cut a bouquet of balloons from a coffin.

Today's service was attended by members of the Danish Royal Family and the country's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Crown Princess Mary could be seen holding her daughter Princess Isabella as she was flanked by her son Prince Vincent and daughter Princess Josephine.

At a memorial service last week Mr Povlsen described the family's loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' but thanked family, friends and neighbours in the Danish town of Brande for their love and support and promised to come through the tragedy 'together'.

He was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant.

His son Alfred and two daughters Alma and Agnes were killed in the blast, while his third daughter Astrid survived. It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt.

Flowers are pictured covering the coffins of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes as they arrive at Aarhus Catherdral in Denmark today. He is pictured with his daughter Astrid, who survived and his wife Anne

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid as she prepares to cut a bouquet of balloons from one of the coffins

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne stand before the three flower-adorned coffins of their children as their surviving daughter Astrid holds a bouquet of balloons outside Aarhus Cathedral

Anders Holch Povlsen, his wife Anne and their surviving daughter Astrid walk towards the three hearses of their murdered children Alfred, Alma and Agnes

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne watch as their surviving daughter Astrid releases the bouquet of balloons into the air outside the cathedral

The bouquet of balloons floats into the sky as a choir sings outside the cathedral in Aarhus at the funeral service

The coffins are carried out of Aarhus Cathedral by family and friends of the children after the funeral on Saturday

The coffins adorned with flowers and framed pictures of the children were carried out by family and friends of the victims

The girls' coffins were covered with pink and purple balloons along with their smiling faces in picture frames

Alfred's coffin with a bouquet of balloons attached and blue flowers was the first to be carried from the cathedral followed by those of his sisters

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid outside Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark on Saturday

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne walk across the cobbles outside the church with their surviving daughter Astrid

Anders Holch Povlsen and his Anne and daughter Astrid stand outside the Aarhus cathedral (far right) as the bishop looks on at their coffins

One of the children's white coffins adorned with pink flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

One of the children's white coffins adorned with blue flowers has a bouquet of balloons attached to it which young Astrid Holch Povlsen cut with a pair of scissors

One of the children's white coffins adorned with purple flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (pictured centre) and her children Princess Isabella (centre being held by her mother), Prince Vincent (left), and Princess Josephine (right) attended the funeral service for the three children

The wife of Asos tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, Anne, is pictured holding back tears as she watches her children's coffins emerge, embracing her husband and surviving daughter Astrid

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary consoles her daughter Princess Isabella outside the cathedral

Denmark's ambassador to India, Peter Takse-Jensen, confirmed that one family member was injured but was discharged and returned home.

At a memorial service in Brande, Denmark, last Thursday, the family expressed their loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' in a text message.

Reading the message to a crowd of around 700 well-wishers, pastor Arne Holst-Larsen said: 'The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred are completely incomprehensible.

'With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

'We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.'

Mr Povlsen's children were killed just days after he revealed plans to hand his Scottish estates to them, in the hope they'd carry on his legacy of conservation.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (right) also attended the funeral today where hundreds paid their respects

Other mourners outside Aarhus cathedral on Saturday as friends and family of the Holch Povlsen family paid their respects

He has been working via his Wildland project to 'rewild' parts of Scotland, bringing back endangered species by reviving long-lost habitats.

In an open letter posted on the firm's website, Mr Povlsen and wife Anne Storm Pedersen wrote that the project will take longer than a lifetime to complete and so would be carried on by their children after they died.

He wrote: 'From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape.

'As the holdings have grown and our common vision for the work becomes ever clearer, we have incorporated the entirety of the project into a venture we call Wildland.

'It's a significant and lifelong commitment that we have made - not just for ourselves but for the Scottish people and Scottish nature too - a commitment which we believe in deeply.

An emotional funeral service is being held for the three children of the billionaire Asos tycoon who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka

Friends and family left floral arrangements outside the church in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier today as Anders Holch Povlsen held a funeral for his son Alfred and daughters Alma and Agnes today

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant

It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt

Povlsen, 46, and Anne Storm Pedersen, pictured together, met when Anne began working in sales for Bestseller

Pictured are daughters Astrid and Agnes alongside son Alfred, in an image taken by daughter Alma. Mr Povlsen has confirmed that Agnes, Alfred and Alma died in the terror attack, while Astrid survived

Mr Povlsen and his wife described the loss of their three children as 'utterly incomprehensible' but vowed to overcome the tragedy 'together' (pictured are Astrid, Agnes and Alfred in an image taken by Alma)

The Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka is pictured after it was targeted by two suicide bombers on Easter Sunday morning

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo, when it was targeted by two suicide bombers identified as suspected plot mastermind Zahran Hashim and Ilham Ibrahim

Sri Lankan Police officers inspects a blast spot at the Shangri-la hotel in Colombo a day after a bomb ripped through the building on Easter Sunday

A map showing where the eight blasts went off, six of them in very quick succession on Easter Sunday morning

'We wish to restore our parts of the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state and repair the harm that man has inflicted on them.

'There are many vulnerable properties across all of the holdings that we have the wonderful and privileged opportunity to rehabilitate and restore to life; there are also archaeologically important structures that we have the responsibility to protect.

'Our vision of Wildland is of a project that provides security and an enduring connection, not just for those that work and live on our estates but also for the greater communities.

'We are working towards an entirely sustainable model; everything in balance a project that can endure beyond what Anne and myself can ever expect to see in our own lifetime.'

Just days before the devastating attacks, Alma had shared a holiday snap of her siblings next to a pool.

Sri Lankan officials have blamed a little-known Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the terrorist attacks, adding that the organisation had 'international help'.

A video has emerged of eight men pledging allegiance to ISIS and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before the attack.

The bombers co-ordinated their attacks targeting five-star hotels and churches on Easter Sunday in an apparent deliberate attempt to target westerners and Christians.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' after the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

The death of Mr Polvsen's three children came just days after he revealed plans to pass on his estates in Scotland - where he is the country's largest land-owner - to them after he died

Memorial services were held for the three children in Stavtrup, a suburb of Aarhus where the family lives, last Thursday, ahead of the funeral today, as a torch-lit walk went from the town centre to their house

Walkers gathered outside the Povlsen house before Anders and Anne emerged and stood with them for a few minutes

As well as the memorial in Stavtrup (pictured), commemorations were also held in Brande last Thursday, where Mr Povlsen's fashion empire is based, the capital Copenhagen and third-largest city Odense

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

'Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism,' Sirisena said.

'We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them,' Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 'active members' linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: 'It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organisation made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.'

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end

Sirisena said more needs to be done: 'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers'

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasised that more needs to be done.

'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.'

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo last Monday - the country remains on high alert

Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

'This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement,' Sirisena said. 'Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.'

Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

'Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas,' he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a 'big blow' by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

'It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry,' Sirisena said. 'For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.'
Channel Nine star Erin Molan has helped convict a troll who sent her disgusting online threats about her unborn baby daughter.

Molan, 36, was 33 weeks pregnant when she reported the man's string of violent Facebook messages, including one hoping she would give birth to a stillborn baby.

'I wish u a f** still born I use u a f** still born I wish u a f** still born AND U DIE IN THE PROCESS ... hip hip hooray hip hip HOORAY,' one of the threats said.

'I am used to copping nasty comments, I am not a snowflake,' Molan told the Sunday Telegraph.

'But when it gets to the stage when I felt unsafe and I was heavily pregnant, and someone is threatening my life and the life of my child, it's too much.'

Erin Molan (pictured) was the host of the The Footy Show when she was bombarded with violent threats

A Facebook troll had sent her a string of offensive messages, including one wishing she would give birth to a stillborn when she was pregnant with her daughter

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages

Ms Molan was initially abused online for being the host of the NRL Footy Show, before receiving frightening messages about her unborn daughter.

'Get the f** off the footy show you fake f** slag...guarantee you are killing the show...maybe go do the weather report on channel 2 wheir ya belong yiu f** rag,' one message read.

'... pls i mean pretty please have a still born birth ...im praying u do,' another read.

The harasser also told Molan he would hunt her down and kill her.

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages.

Molan reported the messages to Chatswood Police after she felt the threats risked the safety of her and her child .

She had also reported the threats to Facebook but received a slack response from the platform saying the messages weren't 'abusive or offensive' enough to be taken down.

Facebook eventually deleted two accounts linked to the man.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence for the threats

Facebook Policy Communications Manager for Australia and New Zealand Ben McConaghy said the platform is meant to be a space 'where people feel safe to express themselves'.

'Our bullying and harassment policies are clear; we don't allow this type of vile content on Facebook and we'll remove it as soon as it's reported to us,' he said.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence.

He was initially arrested after failing to appear in court.

Molan gave birth to her daughter Eliza Ogilvy in 2018.
Former Tunnel Bore Machine Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph at Samphire Hoe, Dover

A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's 'greatest achievements' but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

'I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit,' the 70-year-old told AFP. 'I don't see that as incompatible.'

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

Graham Fagg engineer (aged 42) from Dover (left) greets his French counterpart Phillippe Cozette in the Channel Tunnel as they make the first break through on December 1 1990

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community - the forerunner to the EU - in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

'We voted for a trade deal,' he explained. 'I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'.'

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph next to the cooling facility for the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg looks at a memorial to workers who died in the construction of the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

'Little bit overwhelming'

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

'I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other,' Cozette told AFP this week.

The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

The former miners of the Channel Tunnel - France's Philippe Cozette (left) and Britain's Graham Fagg, who dug the last meters of the Eurotunnel and met in a maintenance tunnel in 2014

'I don't think it will drive the English and French apart,' he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered 'it was all a little bit overwhelming' and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

'They had champagne, wine, food,' he said. 'On our side we had just tea, coffee and water - and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!'

French President Francois Mitterrand (R) welcomes Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) as she disembarks from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France in May 1994

Francois Mitterrand (2L) and his wife Danielle Mitterrand (L) welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) and Prince Phillip as they disembark from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France

'I had other plans'

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

'The faster we went, the more money we got,' he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

'I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough',' he added.

'I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans.'

A Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international terminal at Waterloo Station in London

'Historical moment'

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

'It's a great engineering feat,' he said. 'It's good that people enjoy it.'

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

'It was a historical moment,' he recollected of his famous handshake.

'The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you.'
Facebook has been slammed for banning a breast cancer advertisement that featured topless survivors.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) was ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests.

In a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite earlier approving the campaign.

According to the BCNA, the decision was made because the photographs violated the social media site's partial nudity policy.

'We certainly understand that the ads are promoting awareness for breast cancer, however the images associated with the ad are in violation of our policies for partial nudity,' a Facebook employee told the organisation.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) were ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies

'We will uphold the disable here until the ads can be modified for compliance.'

Outraged cancer survivor, Emma featured in the advertisement and slammed Facebook's decision.

'That's not nudity, it's joyful and it's ridiculous that they would stop and look at something like that,' she told breakfast talk-show Today.

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies.

Bakers Delight had provided the cakes used to cover the victims.

Slogans for the advertisements read: 'Breast cancer comes in all shapes and sizes' and 'Every fun bun counts.'

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate for its advertisements, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors.

'Every single one of those images is just amazing and the campaign has been set up as 'breast friend'. So we all got to come to shoot with our 'breast' friends and people who support you through what is a really awful journey  the campaign sends a wonderful, wonderful message.'

BCNA's Kristen Pilatti picked up the thread and said the campaign gave a voice to the victims.

Though in a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite approving the campaign last month

'We know that the physical and psychological scars of breast cancer can often be invisible to the wider community and this campaign lifts the t-shirt on the reality of the disease while reinforcing the importance of support,' Kirsten said.

'The campaign is also a celebration of those people in your life who support you during a diagnosis.'

She told the ABC campaigns like this were vital to raise money to help BCNA provide the necessary resources to victims.

'The opening days of the campaign are where we raise the most money for BCNA to ensure we can provide free resources to those people with breast cancer.'

'Facebook is a very important tool for us to promote the campaign.'

While the images will not be used as ads in Facebook, the social media site will still allow them to appear on the BCNA and Bakers Delight pages.

'It does seem to me that Facebook need to review their policies and have some consistency but, probably most importantly, some common sense around what they do approve and what they do reject,' Ms Pilatti said.

ANZ Facebook head of communications Antonia Sanda told CBS News on Friday that the social media giant would only allow the ads if they complied to its policy.

'I love these ads and our team has been working hard with Bakers Delight to allow them to run on our platforms,' she said.

'We recognize the importance of ads about breast cancer education or teaching women how to examine their breasts and we allow these on our platforms.

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors

'However, these specific ads do not contain any of these messages, rather it is a brand selling a product.'

Ms Sanda said Facebook had been working with the advertiser for weeks in the lead-up to the launch of the campaign.

She claimed they had not taken their advice into consideration.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling out fellow tech industry titans for violating users' privacy rights and expressing concern about he much time iPhone customers and their children are spending using Apple products.

Cook also mentioned Facebook and Google after criticizing sites that sell people's data, saying such sites can obtain more information in secret than a 'peeping Tom.'

His highly-critical comments were made during an exclusive ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer that aired on Friday.

The 58-year-old leader of the world's most profitable tech company was discussing the issue of online privacy and ways to help Americans spend less time looking at smartphone screens during a conversation about how technology is damaging people's lives.

'When I was growing up, one of the worst things other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the peeping Tom, you know, somebody looking in the window,' Cook told Sawyer.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave ABC News an exclusive interview that aired Friday

Cook told Diane Sawyer that some companies know a lot more about you than a 'peeping Tom,' which he described as 'one of the worst things'

'The fact is that the people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window, a lot more. Because you tend to put your thoughts online, what you think about something.'

Facebook, for one, has been embroiled in major privacy-related scandals over the last year or so.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the political data firm provided the 2016 Trump campaign with data from more than 50 million Facebook users, including information about their identities, who their friends are and what they've 'liked' on the website.

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify

Facebook vowed to improve its privacy features while announcing a new version of its site at the company's F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday

The world's largest social media company has vowed to change the way it manages users' private data.

During its F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday, Zuckerberg told a crowd of revelers Facebook's 'future is private,' as the company announced a redesign of its main app and website and plans to one day unify the site with the company's other platforms, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

'We dont exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But Im committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product,' Zuckerberg said. 'Over time, I believe that a private social platform will be even more important to our lives than our digital town squares... We believe that for the future, people want a privacy-focused social platform... This is about building the kind of future we want to live in.'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October.

Apple offers Google apps including the search engine company's Chromes web browser, in its App Store. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed disapproval of Google's data collecting, but said Apple believes Chrome is the 'best web browser'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October

He characterized the issue of online privacy as a 'crisis' on Friday.

'Privacy in itself has become a crisis. I think it's a crisis,' he said.

Sawyer pointed out Apple offers Facebook and Google apps like Chrome in its App Store and also does business through data collecting apps.

'You're making money through the App Store on the apps that are doing things that you think have got us in a crisis,' she said.

'We don't make any money on Facebook,' Cook responded pointedly. 'Google, we do make money on the browser. We selected Google, frankly, because we believe it's the best browser.'

American adults spend what amounts to 49 days per year looking at their smartphone, according to a 2018 Nielsen report.

That adds up to one and a half months staring at a phone screen over a lifetime.

During the interview, Cook said overuse of tech products concerns him, particularly how it is affecting parents and children.

He pointed out Apple created ways for parents to control screen time on specific iPhone apps in 2018, allowing them to track and police what children are using and how long they are using Apple devices.

'We have been working hard to add key capabilities into our products to help people find a better balance,' he said.

Cook emphasized that Apple makes most of its money from selling iPhones, iPads and other hardware devices, but the company doesn't want customers to overuse the products and miss out on real-world experiences.

'You make money from how long people stay on the app,' Sawyer challenged.

'No. No, we make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone. And so it's kind of a straight forward and honest business model. But I don't want you using the product a lot. In fact, if you're using it a lot, there's probably something we should do to make your use more productive,' Cook responded.

Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to request for comment on Cook's comments.

The Apple CEO also said his company prioritizes customers' privacy and that other companies need to do the same to solve the growing problem.

Apple also installed a system on its Safari web browser in 2018 that allows users to limit access to their personal data.

'We treasure your data. We want to help you keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side,' Cook said. 'This [privacy crisis] is fixable... We very much are an ally in that fight.'
Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc.

Mr Juncker, 64, who is set to leave his role as president of the European Commission in November, was speaking a few days before a leaders' summit on the future of the bloc in the Romanian city of Sibiu.

He told German newspaper Handelsblatt: 'We have lost our collective libido  Five or six years after the second world war there was one.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc

'Yet these days it should be much easier for Europeans to fall in love with each other than it was in 1952,' he added in the light-hearted analysis.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and as he took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'.

He said: 'Brexit is a special case. If you pepper a nation for 40 years with the message that it doesn't actually belong in the EU, then the decision to leave is the logical outcome. The bride was systematically reviled and then rejected.'

'The European commission is doing its best, but it cannot solve every problem,' he added.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'

'The commission cannot compensate for the weaknesses of the national governments and democracies in Europe. Look at the United Kingdom.

'The fact that the government and the opposition there only started to talk to each other three years after the Brexit referendum is hardly a sign of strength for the British democracy, he added.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg went on to defend his leadership of the European Commission and said that it no longer got involved in 'every tiny detail' of citizens' lives.
President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after a string of social media bans on controversial, mostly right-wing, figures sparked uproar.

'When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning, apparently referring to revelations of FBI surveillance on his campaign.

'Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!' he continued.

It followed a string of retweets of criticism aimed at Facebook for its recent ban of several controversial figures, which the company labeled 'dangerous individuals'.

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet reading ''If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll,' a paraphrase of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after the companies banned controversial, mostly right-wing, figures

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet paraphrasing a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote

Facebook's ban on Thursday included right-wing personalities Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as radio host Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

Facebook also banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, an ally of left-wing Democrats.

Trump retweeted former InfoWars editor-at-large Watson, who wrote: 'The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don't let it rest.'

Trump's retweets included a range of commentary blasting Facebook's ban as politically-motivated censorship.

'When did we decide, as Americans, that it's ok fo govt & 3d parties to censor/ curate our info? That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info?' read one tweet by Sharyl Attkisson, host of the Sinclair Broadcasting television show Full Measure News.

'Lmao at establishment conservatives who think they won't be labeled the new 'dangerous' / 'extremist' voices when those to the right of them are all banned. Good luck with that one guys,' wrote author and filmmaker Lauren Southern.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew criticism after the company banned a range of controversial figures on Thursday

Facebook said the newly banned accounts violated its policy against 'dangerous individuals and organizations'.

The company says it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

It added that when it bans someone under this policy, the company also prohibits anyone else from praising or supporting them.

It is not clear what events led to Thursday's announcement. In a statement, Facebook merely said, 'The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.'

Asked to comment by AP on the bans, Yiannopoulos emailed only: 'You're next'.

Jones reacted angrily Thursday during a live stream of his show on his Infowars website.

'They didn't just ban me. They just defamed us. Why did Zuckerberg even do this?' Jones said, referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Jones called himself a victim of 'racketeering' by 'cartels.'

'There's a new world now, man, where they're banning everybody and then they tell Congress nobody is getting banned,' he said.

Also on Saturday, Trump tweeted about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said the door was still open to de-nuclearization talks with North Korea after a weapons test on the peninsula early on Saturday, and said a phone call with Putin on Friday was productive.
Madeleine McCann could have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, a think-tank has claimed.

The shocking allegations were made by John Whitehead, president of US-based Rutherford Institute and author of a recent report on child sex abuse in the US, who said he believes she was taken in the same way as other children.

This comes after police began investigating an alleged foreign paedophile who was in the area in May 2007, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard, according to Portuguese media.

Maddie has been missing for 12 years since she disappeared from her hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents had dinner in a nearby restaurant. She had been with her younger twin siblings.

Madeleine McCann may have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, claims a US-based think-tank

Kate and Gerry McCann posted on their website findmadeleine.com where they said they would like to 'fast forward' the first couple of weeks in May (Madeleine pictured above)

When asked whether he thought Maddie was taken in a similar way to other children, Mr Whitehead told the Daily Star: 'Oh I think she was. Kids are being snatched all over the world.

'When you look at migrant children coming across the border in the US, they just go missing.

'It's big business. You can get more money than from drugs and guns because you have kids doing multiple sex acts a day and they're being filmed'.

Whitehead also claimed the child sex industry was being made possible by 'predatory cops' - although there is no evidence to suggest Portuguese police were involved.

The Rutherford think-tank recently published a report on child sex trafficking, entitled The Essence of Evil: Sex with Children has become Big Business in America, which looked into how kids are bought, sold and exploited sexually.

Portuguese detectives were recently given extra resources to look into a new suspect, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard.

Authorities are said to have 'many doubts' that Maddie is still alive amid claims police are 'nearer to knowing what happened'.

A report by news website Expresso said the enquiry 'relates to a complaint made about a foreigner who was in Portugal in May 2007.'

'The suspect is no stranger to Portuguese police,' it goes on.

'At the time the PJ investigated him on suspicion of being involved in cases of paedophilia but in light of the information coming from London, the investigators are looking into this case in more detail.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation was 'ongoing' but said they would 'not provide a running commentary'.

Lisbon-based newspaper Correio da Manha said prosecutors had turned down a request to see material in the case because of 'active lines of investigation'.

'Police are following new Maddie kidnap clues,' the newspaper claimed.

'More inspectors are advancing with an investigation into a new suspect. A new clue and a new suspect, which the PJ are trying to keep an absolute secret, has led to new resources being put in place to investigate the little girl's whereabouts.'

A spokesman for Portugal's attorney general said: 'Regarding these facts, as is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing. It is under investigation.'

The latest development came as Madeleine's parents vowed to carry on looking for their daughter 'for as long as it takes'.

Kate and Gerry, who cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie could still be alive, tell of their 'comfort and reassurance' that the police hunt to find her carries on.

In a message to mark the latest harrowing milestone which they wish they could 'fast forward', they share their heartache that Maddie would soon be turning sixteen.

In a posting on the Official Find Maddie Campaign website the couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, jointly say: 'It's that time of year again. As much as we'd like to fast forward the first couple of weeks of May, there's no getting around it.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured above) have vowed to continue to look for their daughter Madeleine, who went missing in 2007

Three-year-old Maddie vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals at the seaside complex.

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker and eminent heart doctor Gerry, 50, said continued supported from family, friends and the public boosted them.

In a joint message they write: 'The months and years roll by too quickly; Madeleine will be sixteen this month. It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.'

They add: 'Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief. For as long as it takes.' before signing off Kate and Gerry.

The couple (pictured above) have remained extremely grateful to Scotland Yard

The Facebook page, run by a close friend of the McCanns and seen by millions across the globe, has updated its cover photo with the couple's key words 'For as long as it takes.' in yellow, a couple representing hope in Portugal.

Kate and Gerry's message entitled '12th Anniversary of Madeleine's Abduction (3rd May 2019)' was posted just hours before they are due to join well wishers tonight to remember their daughter during a poignant prayer service in their home village.

Family, friends and locals will gather at the war memorial where a lantern - a beacon of hope - still shines brightly around the clock for the world's most famous missing child.

Maddie's parents remain extremely grateful to Scotland Yard who have actively been searching for their daughter for the past eight years.

Madeleine McCann (left and right) would be turning sixteen this month and her parents posted a heartfelt piece on their website

Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick confirmed yesterday that the force had applied for more money from the Home Office to continue its Operation Grange search for Maddie.

She said: 'We have active lines of inquiries and I think the public would expect us to see those through. A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding.'

Kate has previously said in a log standing post on the Find Maddie website: 'As a parent of an abducted child, I can tell you that it is the most painful and agonising experience you could ever imagine. My thoughts of fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable - crippling.'

A controversial new Netflix documentary re-examining Maddie's kidnap was released last month, triggering a barrage of online abuse against Kate and Gerry by heartless trolls. They pair, who refused to take part in the eight hour programme series, slammed it for 'potentially hindering' the search for their daughter while an active police hunt is ongoing.
A farmer who objected to the way Rihanna was dressed while she filmed a music video in his field has lost his council seat.

Alan Graham, of the Democratic Unionist Party, hit headlines across the world after voicing concerns over the revealing outfit Rihanna wore while recording for her 2011 hit We Found Love.

Mr Graham, who had agreed for one of his fields in Bangor, County Down, to be used for recording, said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain'.

Alan Graham said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain' (pictured: Rihanna on the first day of filming We Found Love in Northern Ireland, 2011)

Alan Graham, left, said he had not halted the filming, adding that Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke (pictured right: Rihanna during filming in the New Lodge area of North Belfast, September 2011)

The farmer, who was 61 at the time, said Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke, and they had 'parted company on good terms'.

Carry On and EastEnders star Barbara Windsor spoke out in support of Mr Graham's stance, commenting at the time: 'I don't blame him. How old is he? Does he need that at his time of life, seeing Rihanna taking her top off? He doesn't.'

Mr Graham has been a councillor on Ards and North Down Council for several terms.

He is known for his conservative views and last year objected to a proposal to light up Bangor Town Hall in the rainbow colours for a Pride event.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land'

The DUP veteran lost his council seat on Saturday morning to Alliance Party representative Scott Wilson.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land.

Someone explained she was as big as it gets as far as pop stars were concerned. I am a bit illiterate about those issues.'

After the issue came to light in 2011 it was reported that Mr Graham had said: 'I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God.'
Royal Navy supply vessels could be built in Spain as a result of Brexit negotiations regarding Gibraltar, union leaders say.

The GMB has raised fears that contracts worth 1billion to build the vessels could go to a naval yard in northern Spain.

The union said the contract for Fleet Solid Support ships could go to Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company.

A contract for Fleet Solid Support ships (pictured) could go to a Spanish shipyard as a result of Brexit negotiations, according to union leaders

Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company that could win the contract for the Royal Navy supply vessels

The trade union said there were rumours that the decision to give the work to Spain is linked to negotiations over the future of the British territory of Gibraltar.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said: 'If the contracts for these ships go abroad, the Government is basically sticking two fingers up to shipbuilding communities and the entire manufacturing industry in the UK.

'No other government would outsource national security.

'If it is true this deal is being done because of ministers' abject failure to sort out Brexit then it's not just negligent, it's grubby and reeks of self-preservation and putting party politics ahead of people's livelihoods and communities.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said the potential deal is 'grubby and reeks of self-preservation'

'If this is what the Government is planning, it needs to think again.'

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We are required by law to procure the Fleet Solid Support ships through open international competition.

'We issued formal tender documents to bidders, including a UK consortium, in late 2018.

'The final decision regarding the winning bid will be made in 2020.'

There are believed to be five bidders to build the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, with the Rosyth yard in Fife, Scotland, in line for work if Babcock wins the contract.
King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace, the 64-year-old is the only son and male heir of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain, including King's Mead School, Seaford, Sussex, and then at Millfield School, Somerset. After, he embarked on a military career, training in Australia.

In 1976, he graduated as a newly commissioned lieutenant with a liberal arts bachelors degree from the University of New South Wales.

After graduating he started a career in the military training with US, British and Australian armed forces. He also qualified as a a fixed wing helicopter pilot in the late 1970s in the Royal Thai Army.

His military career was interrupted in 1978 so he could be ordained for a season as a Buddhist monk, as is customary for all Thai Buddhist men.

He married his first wife in 1977, a cousin, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978. They divorced in 1993.

Nine months after his daughter was born, the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with whom he went on to have a total of five children and a tumultuous relationship.

Three years later his relationship broke down with Ms Polpraserth as she fled to the UK in 1996, after a spectacular bust up.

In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee, describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone' and like his previous relationships there were to be a number of controversies in their time together.

In 2007, footage published online showed the couple throwing a party for his pet poodle - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Princess Srirasmi, a former waitress, who sang happy birthday to the dog topless, also got on her knees and ate from a dog bowl in the same video.

In late 2014, Srirasmi suffered a very public fall from grace when several members of her family were arrested as part of a police corruption probe and charged with lese majeste (treason).

Vajiralongkorn later divorced her and she lost her royal titles . The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

Despite holding a number of military titles, including Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems, the prince admitted to an interviewer he was unable to tie his own shoe laces aged 12 because courtiers had always done it for him.

The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, living overseas in Germany, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

In August 2015 he led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance.

He was drafted in as King in October 2016, 50 days after the death of his father, the highly revered Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had to fly back from Germany after learning of his father's deteriorating health in the days before.

Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne with tthe statement: 'The government will inform the National Legislative Assembly that His Majesty the King appointed his heir on Dec. 28, 1972.'

However, in a shock move he requested to delay his coronation and ascension to the throne for a year to mourn the passing of his father.
Private security contractor Erik Prince's connection to the right-wing activist group Project Veritas has been revealed.

Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, a self-described 'activist journalist', even visited Prince's family ranch in early 2017 to learn 'spying and self-defense,' according to a report Friday in The Intercept.

Prince, 49, famously founded Blackwater Worldwide, the private security company that subsequently changed its name and was sold after its guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

In late 2015 or early 2016, Prince became involved with Project Veritas, according to a former Trump White House official cited by the Intercept.

Private security contractor Erik Prince (left) invited Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe (right) to his family's Wyoming ranch in February 2017 for 'spy training'

Project Veritas uses hidden cameras and phony identities to attempt to catch subjects making embarrassing statements.

The group generally targets left-wing subjects, and first shot to fame in 2009 with video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

More recently, the group has sought to expose liberal bias in big tech and the media, and targeted teachers' unions.

According to the Intercept, Prince arranged for O'Keefe and Project Veritas to receive training in intelligence and 'elicitation' techniques from a retired military intelligence operative named Euripides Rubio Jr.

After several weeks of training, the frustrated Rubio quit, saying that the Veritas activists weren't 'capable of learning,' the report says.

The relationship between Prince and Veritas continued, however, with O'Keefe and his colleagues visiting Prince's family ranch in Wyoming in February 2017.

O'Keefe posted this photo on Instagram showing him on Prince's ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer, saying he was 'learning some new skills on spying and self-defense'

O'Keefe posted on Instagram and Twitter at the time that he was at a 'classified location' where he was learning 'spying and self-defense,' in an effort to make Project Veritas 'the next great intelligence agency.'

A photo O'Keefe posted on Instagram shows him on the ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer.

In response to questions from The Intercept, Prince's spokesperson said, 'Mr. Prince supports Project Veritas's mission of uncovering government largesse and corruption, and has allowed Project Veritas to use his family's ranch in Wyoming.

The statement said that Prince has no business relationship with James O'Keefe or Project Veritas.

The Intercept report also gives a detailed account of Prince's dealings in Africa and the Middle East after selling Blackwater in 2010.
Penny Mordaunt (pictured on Friday) leaving Westminster Abbey after attending a service to recognise fifty years of continuous at sea deterrent

New Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt delighted the Royal Navys top brass on her first day in the job by sporting an honorary submariners badge.

The silver dolphin pin is awarded to submariners when they complete the final part of their training and, in an old tradition, they have to catch it between their teeth while drinking a tot of rum.

Ms Mordaunt, the first female head of the Ministry of Defence, who is herself a naval reservist, had previously served at the department as junior Minister for the Armed Forces in 2015.

During her tenure, she successfully completed the boozy submariners challenge and earned her own dolphin pin, which she chose to sport on her first official outing in the new role.

On Friday she joined the Duke of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey to commemorate Britains nuclear submariners, just hours after being promoted to replace sacked Gavin Williamson.

The service, attended by 2,000 naval representatives and their families, was in recognition of the Royal Navys commitment in maintaining Operation Relentless  the longest sustained military operation ever undertaken by the UK.

Since April 1969, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at least one British nuclear-armed submarine has been on patrol.

Prince William (pictured above) also attended the event

Ms Mordaunt said: We pay tribute to those incredible crews, their supportive families, the Royal Navy and the thousands of industry experts who will continue to sustain this truly national endeavour for many years to come. A Royal Navy source added: The dolphin was a really nice touch. Went down very well at a difficult time.

Ms Mordaunt vowed to channel her inner Nelson in her new role, putting up a picture of Britains greatest naval hero in her office in the MoD as one of her first acts in charge.

And The Mail on Sunday understands that she is poised to lambast France and Germany for not paying their way on Nato commitments. The move is likely to endear her to Washington, as Donald Trump has made such complaints a central part of his defence outlook.

All major Nato members have vowed to increase defence spending to two per cent of their economic output by 2024, but to date, only the US and UK have hit that target.
Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440-foot ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told The Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

'We will go on board and do our job,' he said, adding that aut horities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

The Freewinds cruise ship is docked in the port of Willemstad, Curacao early on Saturday. Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded the ship to start vaccinating people

A 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, SMV Freewinds, is docked under quarantine from a measles outbreak in port in Willemstad, Curacao on Saturday

'If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when we're talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance,' Gerstenbluth said.

Authorities worry people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St. Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St. Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early Saturday.

A passenger is seen on the deck of the Freewinds as the ship docks under quarantine

The Church of Scientology says the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling'

Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it's a small ship.

'This is what happens when we don't vaccinate,' he said.

Church officials have not returned calls for comment.

According to the church's website, the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling.' It says religious conventions and seminars also are held aboard.

Though Scientology takes a well-known stance in opposition to psychiatric medication, the church does not oppose standard medical treatment for physical illness and injury.

The Church of Scientology has previously said that it takes 'no position' on the question of vaccinations.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms of measles include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
The Russian ambassador to London is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy.

Alexander Yakovenko, 64, became a contentious figure after making mocking remarks about the Salisbury poisoning attack, which nearly killed Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and led to the death of British mother Dawn Sturgess.

In March, a Mail on Sunday investigation suggested Mr Yakovenko was expelled from the US during a purge of agents at the height of the Cold War.

Experts believe our expose could be behind the decision to send him back to Russia.

Russian ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko (pictured with his wife Nana) is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy

The revelation, which Russia has strenuously denied, centred on Mr Yakovenko's disappearance from the US in 1986 at the time the US was sending dozens of Soviet diplomats working in New York back home.

Tory MP Bob Seely and Independent MP Ian Austin, who both sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, have written to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US.

Russian media has reported that Mr Yakovenko will leave his London post in midsummer to become head of the Russian diplomatic academy in Moscow.

An intelligence source said of his recall: 'The more direct attention being paid to his activities, including the news of his likely expulsion from New York, then the less able he was to do his job. His recall, and probable replacement by a more conventional mainstream diplomat, likely reflects an awareness in Moscow that an increasingly sceptical British Government is paying greater attention to who Russia chooses to represent it.'

Tory MP Bob Seely (left) and Independent MP Ian Austin (right) both wrote to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US

Dr Andrew Foxall (pictured) said: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight... it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change'

Mr Seely said: 'The ambassador allowed himself to become a figure of comedy rather than a serious diplomat. The Mail on Sunday's brilliant expose of him as someone who was, very probably, a former spy, compounded his problems.'

Dr Andrew Foxall, director of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, added: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight. Given that eight isn't easily divisible by three or five, it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change.'

The Foreign Office last night confirmed the ambassador would be leaving his post.

The Russian authorities have dismissed accusations that Mr Yakovenko was a spy as 'a blatant lie'. Last night they did not respond to requests to comment on his departure from London.
In public, she has been the soul of discretion throughout her long reign.

But a very different side of the Queen is revealed today with the extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated.

According to a senior diplomat's diary, Her Majesty said she was 'surprised nobody had found means of putting something' in the coffee of the Jordanian king's 'wicked' uncle.

And in a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools.

A very different side of the Queen (pictured with Former Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden) is revealed with an extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated, according to a senior diplomat's diary

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis.

At the time, Britain feared that Jordan's King Hussein, an Old Harrovian aged 19, was under the malign influence of his uncle and aide-de-camp, Sharif Nasser Bin Jamil.

Evelyn Shuckburgh, Assistant Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, wrote on July 7, 1955: 'After lunch I had what seemed like 20 minutes' conversation with the Queen, mostly about King Hussein of Jordan and his new Queen Dina.

'I told her the sad story of their estrangement and the machinations of the wicked uncle, Nasser. The Queen said she didn't really think it a good idea to send Arabs to English public schools.

'She had seen poor little Hussein, fresh from Harrow, a year or two ago and all he could do was stand stiffly to attention, saying, 'Your Majesty' and not another word.

'As for Uncle Nasser, she said she was surprised nobody had found means of putting something in his coffee.'

In a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools (Pictured: Prince Hussein of Jordan, who studied at Harrow, aged 17)

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis (pictured)

Mr Shuckburgh had revealed to Her Majesty that King Hussein's uncle wanted to expel British soldiers from Jordan. It was then that the Queen joked somebody should assassinate him. The quip was not that far-fetched: British intelligence was involved in plots to kill Egypt's Nasser.

Mr Shuckburgh's diary entry was found by Dr Rory Cormac, professor of international relations at Nottingham University, and will be shown in a documentary tonight that also reveals King George VI's intelligence role in the Second World War.

Prof Cormac said: 'It shows the closeness between the Monarch and the secret state.'

In March 1956, British troops were expelled from Jordan, just a few months before the humiliation of the Suez Crisis.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on 'private conversations from more than 60 years ago'.

D-Day: The King Who Fooled Hitler will be shown on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.
With 4,000 animal kills to his name, including hundreds of lions, Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth.

The 89-year-old Spaniards appalling lifetime tally of kills includes 1,317 elephants, 127 black rhino, 167 leopards and 2,093 buffalo, along with 340 lions.

And disturbingly  despite the carnage  for some he is an object of adulation, celebrated as the worlds most dangerous and experienced game hunter and with a formidable reputation as a marksman who builds his own game cartridges and rifles, each one with his name engraved in gold on the barrel.

Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth. Over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards

He is a close friend of Spains former King Juan Carlos, who was discredited and dropped as honorary president of the countrys World Wildlife Fund branch after it was discovered he had hunted and killed elephants and buffalo in Botswana.

With astonishing hypocrisy, Sanchez-Arino has even had the temerity to say he fears the African elephant will be hunted to extinction in the wild within our lifetime, to the shame of humanity.

He made the jaw-dropping remark in his book Elephants, Ivory And Hunters, published in 2002, in which he describes how he has devoted his life to the pursuit of this magnificent animal.

Having gone to Africa on his first hunting safari at 21, he has since been hunting for ivory, guiding trophy-hunting clients and adding to his tally of big game, which he does for eight months each year, mostly in Botswana and Tanzania.

He was still leading safaris in his mid-80s and, although he has begun to slow down in his advanced age, over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards.

Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: This man is little more than a serial killer of wildlife. Governments give them licences to kill, and the hunting industry lavishes them with awards.

Cold-blooded killers like Sanchez-Arino should get prison, not permits and prizes.
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A powerful Walther PPK pistol and a spear gun would seem excessive for most anglers  but then most anglers aren't James Bond.

Our exclusive pictures show Daniel Craig filming on set in Jamaica for 007's latest adventure.

And while there is no Pussy Galore, the spy's latest feline co-star clearly enjoys the finer things in life.

Daniel Craig looks down the sights of a Walther PPK pistol as he plays James Bond while filming on the Jamaican coast

The spy who love me: A very happy cat gets to share some of the delicious red snapper caught by a smiling Daniel Craig

Fishy galore for Bond's pussycat: Daniel Craig fed the cat as his feline friend took a liking to the fish 007 had caught

Tinned fish just won't do. Instead, Bond feeds it fresh red snapper killed with the spear gun and filleted on the beach.

But this being a Bond film, danger soon approaches and the secret agent has to reach for his pistol, main picture, left.

Like the cat, Craig, 51, is also being well looked after  with a physio, trainer and chef to ensure his physique is impressively ripped for Bond's 25th outing, and the actor's fifth as the British spy.

The unnamed film  scheduled for release next April and rumoured to be a remake of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby  opens with Bond having left active service.

Unfortunately his retirement is interrupted by the arrival in Jamaica of his CIA friend, Felix Leiter, who persuades him to help rescue a kidnapped scientist.

Bond's arch-enemy will be played by Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Craig chomping on a cigar as he walked along the boardwalk for a scene for the upcoming film set in Jamaica which is rumoured to be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Bond caught a red snapper with a harpoon gun and chomped on a cigar as he filmed for the new Bond movie, for which he is rumoured to be getting 50 million

James Bond carrying a huge red snapper fish in his right hand and a harpoon in the other (left) as he holds a handgun close to his chest (right)

More familiar faces include Ralph Fiennes as M, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Jeffrey Wright as Leiter.

Craig can certainly afford the cigars he was seen, left, enjoying during breaks in filming.

He is rumoured to be getting 50 million for his latest  and, he insists, final  Bond adventure.
Theresa Mays relationship with sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson collapsed after No 10 was told he had been spreading claims that her health was failing, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Mr Williamson  who was fired on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister.

The claim infuriated Mrs Mays allies, who say she is in robust health despite having to inject herself with insulin at least twice a day.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation.

Gavin Williamson was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister

Reacting to an announcement by Scotland Yard that the leak did not breach the Official Secrets Act, he told Sky News: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation, it is clear that a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled.

As the recriminations continued, this newspaper has also been told Mr Williamsons friends believe that one of his Ministers, Tobias Ellwood, reported him to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill over unfounded claims of a bullying management style and briefing against him.

This included disputing Mr Ellwoods heroics when he fought to save the life of stabbed PC Keith Palmer during 2017s Westminster terror attack.

Sir Mark oversaw the inquiry which concluded that Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak  which revealed details of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G network, which critics have warned poses a national security threat.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation (pictured: Gavin Williamson with Sir Mark Sedwill)

Will he do 'a Geoffrey Howe'? Gavin Williamson used his Instagram account to give a coded warning to Theresa May last night, appearing to question her loyalty and whether she was acting in the national interest. The spurned Tory posted this picture, above, of Margaret Thatcher at No 10, praising her for standing up for her party and country. It came amid speculation he could be planning to give Mrs May a Geoffrey Howe moment in the Commons. In 1990, Howe, who had been Deputy PM, gave a withering resignation speech criticising Mrs Thatcher, which triggered a leadership contest. Advertisement

Mr Ellwood infuriated Mr Williamson by making repeated criticisms of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, who he accused of holding Mrs May hostage and blocking the progress of her withdrawal agreement.

He has also indicated his support for a second referendum. Mr Ellwood, a former Green Jacket, was hailed as a hero when he tried to save the life of PC Keith Palmer  although an unfounded whispering campaign claimed his actions had actually impeded the work of the emergency services.

A source close to Mr Williamson said: Tobias and Gavin always worked closely together on military affairs, and no complaint was ever made regarding bullying.

But an ally added: Gavin did grow frustrated at the amount of time Tobias spent on the airwaves making the case for a second referendum and slagging off the ERG.

MPs were left reeling by Mrs Mays decision to sack Mr Williamson last week, despite the only publicly acknowledged evidence being an 11-minute phone conversation with the Daily Telegraph journalist who wrote the story.

One source said: She would only have done that if she had been presented with incontrovertible evidence in black and white.

In her letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister said that the investigation had found compelling evidence that he was the source of the leak.

There have even been claims in Whitehall that Mr Williamsons office in the MoD was being monitored by the security services at the behest of the Americans, who were angered by his claim last year that the Russians posed a threat to European energy supplies, which Washington said came from classified US naval intelligence.

'Don't underestimate how vindictive I can be' It was a cold January day and in a scene more akin to the politics of a Tudor court, powerful mandarin Sir Mark Sedwill gave Gavin Williamson a chilling warning that he was determined to oust him. According to the former Defence Secretarys account, the Prime Ministers seething enforcer stopped him in Cockpit Passage, the red-brick corridor that is the last surviving part of Henry VIIIs Whitehall Palace  and the scene of many historic executions. Do not underestimate how vindictive I can be Mr Williamson, the usually silver- tongued official is said to have spat towards his nemesis after yet another testy meeting where they had clashed. It was all very dramatic, Mr Williamson told friends, and further proof, he said, that there had been a long-running campaign by Sedwill for his head. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sir Mark confronted Mr Williamson as the pairs working relationship deteriorated. The extraordinary moment came after Mr Williamson jettisoned a plan by Sir Mark  the Prime Ministers National Security Adviser  to hive off part of the defence budget to use on his pet cyber security projects. The row saw two of Whitehalls most Machiavellian characters pitted against each other. Mr Williamson is said to delight in his image as a master of the dark political arts. He once said: I dont very much believe in the stick, but its amazing what can be achieved with a sharpened carrot. Meanwhile, Sir Mark has always been keen to play up his spooky securocrat image. This was all about spies v soldiers and in the end Mark got his revenge, just as he told him he would, said one observer. Last night the Cabinet Office refused to comment on the allegation against Sir Mark, but a supporter said: Dont believe everything you hear. Advertisement

Mr Williamson rose quickly under Mrs May, running her successful leadership campaign in 2016 and being rewarded with the job of Chief Whip.

He became Defence Secretary the following year after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over the pestminster scandal, but the relationship with No 10 started to sour after Mr Williamson lobbied for greater funding for the Armed Forces.

A senior party figure is understood to have reported to No 10 that they heard Mr Williamson suggesting her health condition meant she was not fit to continue as PM.

One of Mrs Mays allies said: Its absolutely outrageous he would attempt to use the Prime Ministers health condition against her and to suggest it makes her too frail and ill to be the Prime Minister.

When Mrs May revealed in 2011 that she had diabetes, which carries the risk of heart attacks and strokes, she said: The diabetes doesnt affect how I do the job or what I do. Its a case of head down and getting on with it. She is often seen wearing a diabetes monitoring patch, which helps sufferers keep track of their sugar levels without having to resort to fingerprick tests.

It was also revealed yesterday that Mr Williamson had scrawled f*** the Prime Minister across an official memo in February after Mrs May overruled his decision to deploy the UKs new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea.

Friends of Mr Williamson say he has received the backing of more than 200 Tory MPs since his sacking. He said yesterday: I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report that sealed his fate. Mr Williamson is weighing up whether to make a speech about his sacking in the coming days.

Last night, a source close to him said it was nonsense that his office had been bugged because the MoD office is a secure zone, with no mobiles allowed.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have strict security measures in place to prevent the use of listening devices in all sensitive areas of the MoD.

Mr Ellwood did not respond to requests for comment.

You'll never guess where Williamson's nemesis is jetting off to this week!

By Harry Cole, Deputy Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
It was the television advert that captured the nation's heart.

A young boy valiantly pushes a bike loaded with bread up the steep cobbled hill of a post-war British town.

Now, 46 years after it first aired, Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time.

Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time

Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a gorilla playing the drums is another of the nation's favourite adverts

Set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony, the 1973 advert was directed by Sir Ridley Scott six years before his Hollywood debut with Alien.

Although the commercial is supposed to be set in a fictional Yorkshire town, it was in fact filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, which has one of the steepest streets in Britain.

Once the young boy reaches the top of the hill, he excitedly freewheels back down with a smile on his face, declaring in a heavy Yorkshire accent: 'T'was like taking bread to top of the world. T'was a grand ride back though.'

The advert was later parodied by numerous comedians, most famously by The Two Ronnies.

The 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book made the top five

Coca Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing is another of the nation's favourite adverts

In the poll it beat Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a 'gorilla' drumming along to Phil Collins's hit In The Air Tonight, and the 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book.

Research firm Kantar conducted the poll.

Other adverts that made the top five included John Lewis's 2010 Always A Woman and Coca-Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing.
A new suspect police want to quiz over Madeleine McCann's disappearance 12 years ago is understood to be a German child sex fiend killer.

Detectives in Portugal are closing in on a foreign paedophile of 'considerable significance' following a tip off from Scotland Yard.

Prolific pervert and convicted triple-murderer Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on and are set to quiz behind bars.

Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry are yet to be informed of any fresh leads.

Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on (left), and a previously issued suspect's photofit (right)

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz as a three-year-old in May 2007

Ney was jailed for life in 2012 for abducting and murdering three young children and abusing many more, The Sun reported.

The killer, known as the 'masked man', was reportedly known to haunt the Algarve and travelled throughout Portugal in the 1990s.

He revealed in chatroom messages, under the username GerdX, he had dressed in camouflage to jump out of bushes, 'in children's playgrounds if a beautiful boy goes past,' The Sun reported.

He also wore masks, balaclavas and replied 'yes' when one girl awoke from a nap and asked if he was her daddy.

Ney was jailed for killing Stefan Jahr, 13, in 1992, Dennis Rostel, eight, in 1995, and Dennis Klein, nine, in 2001.

His known victims are all boys, but experts claim gender is often unimportant for paedophiles.

It was reported last year that Ney confessed a fourth killing to a cellmate, that of 10-year-old French school boy Jonathan Coulom, who was kidnapped and killed from a holiday camp in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in 2004. This has not resulted in a charge.

He was also investigated over the disappearance of German boy Renee Hasse in Aljezur, Portugal, in 1996, but never charged.

He is known to have finished his teacher training aged 21 before travelling to Ecuador in 1993, Peru in 1995 and Portugal a year later. He was jailed in 2012 after a wide scale police operation.

Former disgraced Portuguese Police chief Goncalo Amaral gave a recent interview to Australian journalist Mark Saunokonko in which he claimed police were on the verge on naming a new Maddie suspect, a German paedophile whom he didn't identify.

Family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said of potential new kidnapper Ney: 'It might be him and he fits the profile, he is a known predatory paedophile and he's a foreigner.

'He wore camouflage gear, carried knives and jumped out of bushes to pounce on victims.'

Ney is believed to have leapt out at children from behind bushes wearing a mask and dressed all in black (photofit pictured)

He told MailOnline: 'It is quite possible and plausible police are looking at him again but it could be someone else. There is a degree of credibility it is Ney but we cannot speculate.

'Ney has been previously interviewed by detectives over Madeleine's abduction, and denied it. He is in a German jail now.'

Mr Mitchell said that Portuguese Police's fresh bid to close in on Maddie's kidnapper was 'action on a tip off from Scotland Yard.

He explained: 'The Yard has been doing a fair amount of work on this new person of interest and they then ask Portuguese officers to nail it down.

'If activity needs to be done, the local police have to do it even if it's a foreign force's investigation. And if Ney is the person of interest a German force will then have to get involved to interview him on their soil.'

He added: 'Kate and Gerry are not in a position to comment on this, nor would they because it is operational detail and they will not discuss it.

Police are reportedly pursuing two theories and two potential suspects including the German paedophile and another revolving around a suspect in another country

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are focusing on a convicted German paedophile

'It is purely for the police if they choose to comment. The family will wait to hear of any developments and remain grateful to the British police for everything they are doing.'

A close friend of the McCann's said: 'If Ney is the suspect can you imagine how Madeleine's parents will be feeling, knowing that a child killing pervert may be involved in their daughter's kidnap. It is beyond horrendous.'

Kate has previously said there is 'always the worst case scenario' as she told of her need to know if Maddie dead or alive.

She said in an interview to mark the seventh anniversary in May 2014 that not knowing was the worst thing.

She said: 'But there is always the worst case scenario. That's always been a possibility and anyone who thinks that we're blinkered doesn't know us.

'We obviously want Madeleine back number one, but we want an answer whatever.

'I'm not underestimating the blow of hearing bad news that your child has been killed, because obviously we're not going to go 'OK, at least we know.'

'But I've spent hours thinking about that and, each time, I still come up thinking we need to know.'

It is understood the new suspect, who is already in prison, has only been recently identified

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker, told in her 2011 best seller book 'Madeleine' that several witnesses reported seeing 'men behaving suspiciously' around the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz where Maddie vanished from as a three-year-old in May 2007.

Kate of Rothley, Leicestershire, said: 'The witnesses helped to produce images of these men.'

Of four, two look very similar and have been likened to Ney.


Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

A Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, the source said

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
Tickets can cost up to 18,000 and create nearly two tons of carbon dioxide

High-flying hypocrite: Dame Thompson is spotted on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning, despite earlier demanding: We should all fly less

Left-wing actress Dame Emma Thompson was branded a first-class hypocrite last night after jetting to New York just days after backing climate protests that brought chaos to London.

The Jeremy Corbyn supporter took her personal booth in the luxury cabin of a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning after earlier demanding: We should all fly less.

First-class BA flights to New York cost up to 18,000 and generate nearly two tons of carbon dioxide  the main driver of climate change  for each passenger in the elite cabin.

Onlookers claim the multi-millionaire activist also drank Laurent-Perrier champagne and dined on beef carpaccio  even though cattle farming is also a major contributor to greenhouse gasses.

Dame Emma has also previously called on people to eat less meat in the name of preserving the planet.

Cows produce methane  which is 23 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide  while clearing forests for pasture and to grow feed for livestock also drives global warming.

Just two weeks before her 3,400-mile flight, lifelong Labour supporter Dame Emma, 60, joined the Extinction Rebellion protests that shut down swathes of Central London, climbing aboard a pink boat the activists had used to blockade Oxford Circus.

The group wants to curb air travel and even made an abortive attempt to close Heathrow Airport, from where she departed at 11.20am on Friday for the eight-hour journey. Her share of the carbon dioxide generated by the flight was the same as that emitted by heating an average house for nine months.

The 60-year-old jetted 5,400 miles from Los Angeles to join Extinction Rebellion protestors who had taken over swathes of London's streets, closing off Waterloo Bridge for days and bringing Oxford Circus to a standstill

Airbus A380-800 Super Jumbo airliner with it's four engines creates a vapour trail (pictured above)

Dame Emma was spotted in 2F  one of the most exclusive seats on board the Boeing 777-200, which accommodates just 14 wealthy passengers in the first-class cabin.

An onlooker said Dame Emma  who has previously championed the Meat Free Monday movement which aims to raise awareness of the environmental damage caused by eating meat  was tucking into those bovines who produce all that methane.

Extinction Rebellion believes that there is now a climate crisis and has suggested that flights be used only in an emergency.

Dame Emma was previously criticised after flying 5,400 miles from her 60th birthday party in Los Angeles to join their protests over the Easter weekend. On Good Friday, the Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street.

The Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street on Good Friday

I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion. We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed, she told the protestors in an address from a large pink boat

Addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

She told them: I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion.

We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed.

At the time, the group defended its celebrity backer. It insisted that the tons of carbon her flight produced for her to be at their protest was an unfortunate cost in our bigger battle to save the planet.

And addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

Yes, its unhappy and an inconvenience and were often involved in situations where we will be hypocritical, but if we dont address this we are failing our children and our grandchildren.

The plane pictured above is the same model which Emma Thompson has been pictured on

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night. It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade

Wearing gold sandals and dungarees, Dam Thompson struggles for a few seconds to disembark the large pink ship in the centre of Oxford Circus

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

But she insisted: We should all fly less, the future of this planet is at stake and thats perhaps more important than our own reputations.

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said: If Emma Thompson wants to come and help out, thats great  shes using her platform which is incredibly valuable to anyone. If she has to fly around the world like a climate lawyer might have to fly around the world, it seems counter-productive in the short term but we are looking at the bigger picture.

But last night critics branded the excuses nonsense.

Tory MP David Morris said: This is typical Left-wing Do as I say, not as I do. Dame Emma Thompson is clearly a first-class hypocrite and a champagne socialist.

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night.

It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade.
In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
Hilarious footage has emerged of Star Wars' character Chewbacca speaking English to Han Solo during an outtake for The Empire Strikes Back.

Video shows Chewbacca, a Wookiee warrior who mumbled much of his dialogue and didn't speak English, welding piping while scolding Harrison Ford's character Han Solo in his native London accent.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Han Solo's hirsute and lovable sidekick, died of a heart attack aged 74 on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played the character Chewbacca in Star Wars, died of a heart attack on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height

Fans around the world have been paying tribute to Mayhew as a day of celebration for the iconic film series, dubbed 'May the fourth be with you' takes place on Saturday.

Mayhew was born in Richmond-on-Thames in London 1944 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2005.

In the footage, Chewbacca tells Han Solo in his native Cockney accent: 'Where the hell have you been?.' Solo then replies: 'Alright, don't lose your temper, I'll come right back and give you a hand.

Chebacca responds: 'Where you going? Tell them we're leaving,' to which Ford responds: 'Alright I'm tell em.'

Harrison Ford led the tributes to Mayhew at news of his passing, having last appeared on screen with him in 2015's The Force Awakens.

He tweeted: 'Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.

'These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him.

Video shows Chewbacca welding piping while scolding Ford's character Han Solo in an outtake for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back and unusually speaking English

Chebacca, a Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk, was Han Solo's hirsuit and lovable sidekick in the film franchise and starred in most of the franchise's nine movies

He added: 'He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience.

'Chewbacca was an important part of the success of the films we made together. He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them.'

Mark Hamill, who played Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the franchise, also spoke out - praising Mayhew as 'a big man with an even bigger heart' and said that he was 'forever grateful' for the memories they had shared.

Mayhew, (pictured in 20017), was a mainstay at Star Wars conventions around the world, including the bi-annual Star Wars Celebration, and he was heavily involved in the Make-A-Wish foundation. He is pictured in character in 1978, (right)

His costars and fans around the world paid tribute to him following his death last Tuesday. He is seen in character with actors Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in a promotional shot Star Wars Episode Vi - Return Of The Jedi - 1983

Mayhew landed the role of the Wookie due to his towering 7ft 3ins frame.

He came to the attention of film casting agents by chance while working as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital when a reporter for a local newspaper took his photograph for an article about men with big feet in 1976.

Seeing the picture, producer Charles H. Schneer invited Mayhew to audition for a film he was working on - Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger - and he was cast as the Minoton, a robotic creature based on a Minotaur.

A short time later Mayhew was spotted by George Lucas who was looking for a large man to play the Wookie in his upcoming film, Star Wars.

He is sen here in costume as Chewbacca in 1983 with American actress Carrie Fisher, who played the role of Princesss Leia and died of a sudden cardiac arrest in December 2016

Lucas had originally cast 6ft 6ins bodybuilder David Prowse in the role, but he ended up playing Darth Vader. Lucas was desperate for a taller actor for Chewbacca, and said all Mayhew had to do to get the part was 'stand up'.

Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing film of all time.

It has been followed by another seven canonical films, with an eighth episode due this December, two standalone films, and has spawned TV series, video games and books.

Incredibly, Mayhew went back to his job at the hospital following the first Star Wars film and continued working there until Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, was released in 1983.

Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in five films, most recently in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. By that time Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones

After that he quit and made his living off the character, giving speeches and appearing at fan conventions.

Mayhew would reprise the role twice more - in 2005 for Revenge Of The Sith and 2015 for The Force Awakens.

By the time Force Awakens was produced, Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones.

Producers gave him a courtesy call to say they would be casting a new actor in the role but Mayhew, who had just undergone a double knee transplant, insisted he could make himself fit enough to play the role one more time.

He underwent a physical training regime for three hours a day, every day, for four months. That was enough to get him out of the wheelchair and he was able to reprise the role alongside Ford as Solo.

Joonas Suotamo was then brought in to take over the role of Chewbacca after The Force Awakens.
Federal investigators have retrieved the flight data recorder to investigate why a chartered jet ran off a military base runway and into the St Johns River in Florida Friday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted aerial photos of the Boeing 737 stuck in the river along with a picture of an investigator holding the orange recorder that was recovered Saturday.

The military charter landed hard in a thunderstorm carrying 143 people from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overran the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Everyone on board survived without serious injuries, leading one former transportation official to liken the event to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson landing.

However, the animals on board were not so lucky. At least four pets are presumed dead after being transported in the luggage compartment below the plane when it landed in the river.

Miami Air International Boeing 737 crashed into Jacksonville's St Johns River on Friday night and is still stuck in the shallow water

The plane was carrying 143 passengers and seven crew members from Guantanamo Bay. All people on board were rescued, with two passengers treated for minor injuries

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee told Fox: 'I also call it a miracle in St. John, akin to the miracle in [the] Hudson with the great Captain Sully.'

Ten years ago, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger and co-captain Jeff Skiles saved all 155 people on board Flight 1549 when both engines blew out after striking Canadian geese.

The hero pilot made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River on a chilly January morning.

Now this Boeing 737 remains stuck in the riverbed, with the bottom of the fuselage under water and the plane's nose cone missing.

Marine units from local sheriff and fire departments joined first responders from the naval air station in helping passengers and crew who had lined up on the plane's wings to safety.

NTSB investigator Dan Boggs holds the flight data recorder to investigate why the plane overran the runway

At least four pets that were stored below the plane are presumed dead

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee likened the water landing to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing is still being investigated.
Demands for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour to face a full-scale anti-Semitism probe intensified last night with the delivery of a 'damning dossier' alleging hundreds of incidents of anti-Jewish prejudice within the party.

Equality watchdogs were sent a huge file alleging 'endemic' anti-Semitic behaviour in Labour and the party's apparent 'don't care' attitude to the problem.

The digital dossier  equivalent to 15,000 pages  was delivered by anti-Semitism campaigners to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which is now considering whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into Labour.

Embarrassingly for Mr Corbyn, the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice by revealing her own 30-year-old daughter Ruby had now quit the party 'in disgust'  partly over his failure in dealing with anti-Semitism.

Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Manchester on Friday), the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice

Mr Corbyn leaving his home on Thursday - he has been challenged by Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton after her own daughter quit the party 'in disgust' over his Brexit policy and the anti-Semitism row

Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton tweeted: 'Well done @jeremycorbyn  the teenager who canvassed with you and for you in 2005 and who voted for you, has left the party in disgust at your failure to deliver party policy on Brexit and deal with anti-Semitism.

'My daughter along with many others  heartbroken.'

The EHRC said yesterday that it had yet to decide whether to launch a full investigation into how the Labour Party handled claims of anti-Semitism.

But campaign group Labour Against Anti-Semitism revealed that it had submitted a detailed dossier involving over 15,000 screenshots taken from hundreds of Labour members 'and officials' promoting anti-Semitic views.

Group spokesman Euan Philipps said the file provided evidence of anti-Jewish racism on a massive scale within the party and a lack of commitment to deal with it.

Mr Philipps said: 'Over the last two years, our team of dedicated volunteers has systematically collected and detailed evidence of Labour Party members promoting anti-Semitic views and tropes across a range of social media platforms.

'This has all been reported to the party's compliance team, in a format suggested by them and including a significant level of detail.'

But he claimed the response by the party had been 'shocking and alarming', with reports ignored and party members suspended for only weeks at a time.

'Most distressing of all, reports containing the most appalling levels of racism have been given only the lightest reprimand.

'The message again and again has been the same: we don't care about this issue.'

Last night, Lady Thornton said she shared her daughter's 'frustration' but said she did not intend to resign from Mr Corbyn's front bench.

Responding to the dossier last night, a Labour spokesman said: 'This has not been submitted to the party so we cannot establish whether or not these relate to party members.'

Mr Corbyn was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband (pictured in Washington on Wednesday), who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'

They declined to comment on Baroness Thornton's remarks.

In the latest anti-Semitic row to hit the party publicly, Mr Corbyn himself came under fire last week for having endorsed a book containing anti-Jewish ideas.

As a backbench MP in 2011, he wrote the foreword for a new edition of J. A. Hobson's 1902 book Imperialism.

His aides said Mr Corbyn completely rejected the 'anti-Semitic elements' of the book.

But he was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'.
Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister uses an article in todays Mail on Sunday to appeal directly to the Labour leader to reach an agreement. She hopes such a deal could avoid the UK having to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

But last night, Tory Eurosceptics reacted with fury to the plan for a so-called customs framework or customs arrangement, describing it as abject surrender.

Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU

Downing Street hopes that Mr Corbyns poor showing in Thursdays local elections, when Labour lost dozens of seats in heartland Leave-voting areas, will motivate him to strike a deal.

Do they have the numbers? The hopes of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn of achieving a controversial customs union Brexit will rest on whether they can bring the so-called middle 400 MPs on board. Those are the Tory, Labour and other MPs who just want a Brexit deal passed to avoid either No Deal or a second referendum. If the Prime Minister can get most of the 270 pro-deal Tories to back her and Mr Corbyn can cajole even half of his 246 MPs to follow him, the deal may yet get through. Advertisement

The Tories were also punished over the Brexit impasse, losing 1,300 seats  their worst result in 24 years.

Mrs May writes that reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides  but promises her MPs that if the UK enters the arrangement now in order to secure cross-party support, they will be able to unpick it at a future date.

This deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead, she says. This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

She adds: To the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, Tory negotiators have told Labour that the Government would accept UK membership of a customs union  a red line for Brexiteers  but on condition that they called it something else to avoid inflaming party anger. One source said: It must look like a duck and quack like a duck, but it doesnt have to be called a duck.

Gove and The Saj play their leadership cards Values: Michael Gove makes his pitch in Scotland Two leading contenders to replace Theresa May made major pitches for the keys to No 10 yesterday as the battle for the Tory leadership intensified. Environment Secretary Michael Gove gave an emotionally charged address to the Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen, where he was raised by adoptive parents. In a well-received speech in which he gave his clearest hint yet that he is preparing to run to be Prime Minister, Mr Gove set out a vision of how he would lead the country based on the values taught to him by his mother and father. He said his parents values included: A belief that business is a force for good. A faith in education as a good in itself. A compassion for those less fortunate, which leads to action not just words. A big heart that they dont want to wear on their sleeve. A willingness to take risks and believe the best in others. A basic sense of justice, combined with a readiness to forgive. He later refused to rule out running in the looming contest when asked by The Mail on Sunday. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Sajid Javid also used his life story to set out his stall. In a clear pitch to the Left of the party and Labour voters, he spoke at the Welsh Conservative Party conference about how the state had helped him rise up from being a working class child in Rochdale to a City high-flyer. Straying way beyond his Home Affairs brief, he said: Health, education, work and pensions. For many in Westminster, these are the names of departments to be managed. But for my family growing up, they were our lifelines, and ultimately the ladder to my success. Referring to his brothers, he added: Theyre one reason that my parents, themselves raised by dollar-a-day farmers in rural Pakistan, could go on to raise a chief superintendent, an entrepreneur, a finance professional and a Cabinet Minister. Advertisement

Government sources insisted last night that an arrangement would differ from a union in that the UK would still be free to strike trade deals with non-EU countries. It could also be written directly into the Withdrawal Agreement Bill without approval from Brussels.

But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith branded the idea of a customs union deal as total anathema. He said: The idea we would leave the EU but have the EU decide all our future trading arrangements, decide what our tariffs are  basically, thats the most ridiculous position to be in.

Mr Duncan Smith added: The election result was so devastating that the Prime Minister now has to consider herself a caretaker PM.

She must now move fast to resolve this matter of leadership urgently because everywhere you went [during campaigning], the element of trust in the PM had completely broken down.

The idea that she is now able to do a deal with an equally discredited Labour Party is ridiculous. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory partys Brexiteer European Research Group, condemned a customs union deal as symbolic of an attempt by the political establishment to avoid Brexit, to have a pretend Brexit. He also appeared to suggest it was Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill who was making the decisions, not Mrs May. She seems at the moment to have such authority as the Cabinet Secretary allows her, Mr Rees-Mogg said.

Tory arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said any customs union deal would amount to an abject surrender. He added that in the wake of the local election results, his Wellingborough Tory association executive had called on Mrs May to resign by May 23 and for Brexit to happen on No Deal/World Trade Organisation terms. The warning was echoed by Alanna Vine, chairman of the Cheadle Tory association, who said: If we dont change course, bin the non-Brexit withdrawal agreement, prepare properly for a WTO deal, immediately cease discussions with Corbyn about remaining in the EU Customs Union and stop endlessly extending our leaving date, our party will be wiped out for a generation.

In her MoS article, Mrs May apologises to Tory councillors who lost their seats, saying: Voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

She adds: The Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency in this.

Now that's what you call a people's vote! The scale of grassroots anger over the Governments failure to deliver Brexit was reflected in the blizzard of spoilt ballot papers across the nation in Thursdays local elections. A social media campaign, using the hashtag SpoilYourBallot, led to thousands of voting papers being scrawled with Brexit Party and Brexit means Brexit. Others said: None of these deliver Brexit. One ballot paper, in Staffordshire, had written next to Jeremy Corbyns candidate: Led by a terrorist sympathiser. Next to the Tory candidate were the words: Theresa May betrayed Brexit. Other voting slips stated simply, again in reference to Brexit: Traitors. Advertisement

My Message to Jeremy Corbyn: Let's do a deal

By Prime Minister Theresa May

In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
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Country House has won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after first-place finisher Maximum Security was sensationally disqualified in a stewards' call.

Maximum Security had crossed the line first, but was taken down due to an incident on the final turn when he veered out of line and impeded War of Will and Long Range Toddy.

Jockey Luis Saez was able to straighten Maximum Security up almost immediately, but the stewards ruled it was a foul after reviewing footage.

The 150,000 spectators who descended on Churchill Downs in Louisville to watch the race were forced to wait for more than 20 minutes for a victor to be declared.

The decision left 65-1 long-shot Country House to be declared the winner of the world-famous $3 million race.

The shock decision marks the first time in the race's 145-year history that the victor has been changed on the day.

And it's possible the situation doesn't end here. There could be appeals to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or the courts.

Controversy rocked the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, after first-place finisher Maximum Security (right) was disqualified shortly after the race

Maximum Security crossed the line in first place, but the victory lap was short-lived, with the thoroughbred subsequently disqualified in a stewards' call

Country House (right) crossed the line in second place, but was later crowned the winner

Country House jockey Flavien Prat was seen celebrating after his surprise victory

Maximum Security's jockey, Luis Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict- seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations

Country House was the second longest shot to win in the history of the Derby and paid out $132.40 on a $2 bet.

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby.

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations.

He later said: 'No words can describe this. It's amazing.'

'I really lost my momentum around the turn,' he said of Maximum Security's foul, which came as several horses were gaining ground on the leader.

The stunning outcome gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first Derby victory at age 65.

'It feels pretty darn good,' an elated Mott said after the race.

'It was an odd way to do it and we hate to back into any of these things. It's a bittersweet victory but I've got to say our horse ran very well and our jockey rode very well.'

He added: 'You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the very good horse and great athlete that he is.

'Due to the disqualification, I think some of that is diminished.'

Country House is pictured in the winner's circle following the most dramatic Kentucky Derby in history

The disqualification was a crushing turn of events for Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis and jockey Luis Saez, who already had begun celebrating what they thought were their first Derby victories.

Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict - and was seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed.

Maximum Security - owned by billionaire philanthropists Gary and Mary West - was the odds-on favorite to win the Derby, making the disqualification all the more heartbreaking.

"I never put anybody in danger," Saez said.

Servis backed up his jockey, saying: "He's right. He straightened him up right away and I didn't think it affects the outcome of the race."

Prat claimed that Maximum Security ducked out in the final turn and forced several horses to steady, including Long Range Toddy. War of Will came perilously close to clipping heels with Maximum Security, which could have caused a chain-reaction accident.

The only other disqualification in Kentucky Derby history occurred long after the race in 1968.

In that race, Dancer's Image, the first-place finisher, tested positive for a prohibited medication, and Kentucky state racing officials ordered the purse money to be redistributed. Forward Pass got the winner's share. A subsequent court challenge upheld the stewards' decision.

Saturday's race came at a time when the sport has come under scrutiny following the death of 23 horses at the famed Santa Anita track in Southern California since Christmas.

The spate of fatalities has prompted an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and led to protests by animal rights activists at the track, which is scheduled to host the Breeders' Cup in November.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks

While there was certainly plenty of drama on the track, there was much happening elsewhere at Churchill Downs.

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks - with female racegoers sporting stylish hats and stylish fascinators.

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions.

Organizers cautioned guests to bring a pair along a pair of flat shoes as the 'historic grounds can be tricky to maneuver and the day is long'.

No doubt, the sensible footwear came in handy, as the rain intensified over the course of the afternoon, creating mud and slush as punters prepared to head home.

Plenty of men at the event also made sure to dress to impress for the occasion - wearing stylish suits and trendy hats
Facebook is allowing anti-Christian extremists freedom to peddle hate despite closing down accounts of far-right and anti-Semitic leaders, MailOnline can reveal.

The social media giant this week said it had shut down profiles belonging to Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were thrown off Facebook, along with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and the white nationalist Paul Nehlen, saying they had violated its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

But the company was today accused of hypocrisy when hordes of anti-Christian fanatics and anti-Semites are allowed to function freely on the site despite a raft complaints.

They say hate preachers like the Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik  spreads anti-Christian rhetoric to thousands of followers on the network.

Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year.

Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik - spreads anti-Christian rhetoric - and is still allowed to remain on Facebook

He also praised the murder of Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah by Islamists in Glasgow in 2016.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the anti-racism group Faith Matters, reported him to Facebook in November 2017 amid concerns that his hatred was influencing British Pakistani communities.

But no action was taken and the fanatic remains active on the social network today.

'How long can this farce continue when Facebook says it acts and then does not?' Mr Mughal told MailOnline.

'How long can violence inspirers have Facebook pages? This man has praised the murderer of a British resident for allegedly 'blaspheming'.

'It is like we are back in the barbaric Dark Ages with Facebook giving us spin, whilst the founders lounge in San Francisco, batting away these issues with slick public relations statements.'

Rizvi is not the only Islamist using Facebook to spread his messages of Christian-hatred.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) had his Facebook account deactivated

Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation, said that the platform has become 'a sewer of poisonous anti-Christian hatred and anti-Semitism'.

'Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood are very active on Facebook, both as organisations and as individual members,' he said.

'They have been reported so many times but Facebook does nothing. In fact, when a Muslim friend of mine wrote an article that was mildly critical of Islamic fundamentalism, Facebook removed it.

'Sometimes I wonder whether the platform is really being run by Islamists.'

Mr Aleji demanded to know why Facebook purge hasn't included Ayat Oraby, the Egyptian blogger linked to the Muslim Brotherhood living in the US.

'Some of the things she writes on Facebook about Christians are truly poisonous, especially in Arabic,' he said. 'People have complained many times. Yet she is allowed to carry on freely.'

Far-right British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has also had his Facebook account deleted

It comes as a report by the Foreign Office found Christians are 'by far the most persecuted' religious group and are enduring what amounts to genocide in some parts of the world.

They are being driven out of the Middle East in a modern-day exodus that means the religion could be wiped out in parts 'where its roots go back furthest', the study found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed 'political correctness' for a failure to confront the oppression of Christians, which he called the 'forgotten persecution'.

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi (pictured), a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa during his five-day tour of Africa, Mr Hunt  who is a committed Christian  said: 'I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

'I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.'

As well a Christian haters, Jewish groups have also long complained that Facebook tolerates anti-Semitism while coming down hard on pro-Israel sentiment.

Alison Chabloz, the Holocaust denier who was convicted of hate crimes last year, remains active on Facebook, often using it to promote her vile views  even though a court has banned her from using social media.

Similarly, Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Israel firebrand who lost a court case last year over his claims that anti-Semitism was invented to defraud the taxpayer, has a large Facebook following.

Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir (Facebook profile image pictured) and the Muslim Brotherhood are still active on Facebook, Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation claims

And David Icke, an arch conspiracy theorists who was banned from entering Australia and has been thrown out of numerous venues in Britain, operates openly on the social network.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'While we welcome Facebook's removal of a handful of bigots, this is mere virtue signalling as the platform remains a vehicle for hatred.

'The fact is that Facebook is where neo-Nazis, Islamists and far-left extremists feel at home, using it to spread poisonous hatred against Jews and many others.

'Facebook is the only major social network that refuses to talk to us about our concerns.

'For years, Facebook has done its best to avoid stamping out incitement on its network. This is too little, too late.'

A Facebook spokesman told MailOnline: 'We work hard to make Facebook a hostile place for extremism and do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism.

'We have invested heavily in specialist teams, expert partnerships, and new technology to identify, review and remove extremist content.

'99% of terrorist content which is removed from the platform is done so proactively before it is reported to us. '
Q. I would like to hitchhike or catch buses following the Mississippi River. What do you recommend? I am 66.

Tommy MacDonald, Chelsea, London

A. Hitchhiking could be risky, as well as tiring.

Rides on Greyhound buses from Minneapolis in Minnesota to New Orleans in Louisiana, stopping for a few days at St Louis in Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee, to get a flavour of life by the river, would come to about 200-250 (greyhound.com).

Long and winding: The Mississippi River is one of the longest rivers in the world and the route along it is well-served by Greyhound Buses

Q. We are going to a wedding in Positano in Italy, flying in to Naples. Can you advise on the best, and cheapest, way to get there from the airport?

Mrs Sam Pugh, via email.

A. For an adventure, take the 20-minute airport bus (4.30) to Garibaldi Station in Naples.

Then catch a 68-minute Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento (3.90). From Sorrento, its a 35-minute ferry to Positano (18, directferries.co.uk).

Or, much easier, a shared shuttle bus direct to your Positano hotel is from 48 for two (positanoshuttle.com).

Pretty as a picture: To reach Postitano, pictured, from Naples take the train to Sorrento then a 35-minute ferry for 18

Q. We want to go to Florida for a holiday, then hop over to Cuba for a week before flying back to Florida. Can we do this?

Chrissie Mobbs, via email.

A. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says: Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the U.S. to Cuba is not allowed under U.S. law. See gov.uk.

If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card. These cost 25 (cubavisa.uk).

Colourful: If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card costing 25

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions and provide tips for your precious time off. Send questions to: holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk or write to Daily Mail Travel, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT  and include your contact details.

We will do our best to answer your queries but we cant reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Britain has over 1,000 islands and many of them, as a fascinating new book reveals, are ripe for exploring.

Islandeering: Adventures Around The Edge Of Britains Hidden Islands, by Lisa Drewe, charts 50 hidden islands, many accessible but little known  all perfect for adventure and circumnavigation.

The new book underscores what each island is best for, with categories including skinning dipping, epic tidal crossings and pubs. Here we pick out our favourite examples. Scroll down to behold some of Britains last undiscovered wildernesses

Best for epic tidal crossings: Worm's Head

Worm's Head, pictured, is described as 'one of the UKs most exhilarating islands by Lisa Drewe in her Islandeering book

Drewe describes Worms Head  on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea - as one of the UKs most exhilarating islands.

Not least because the jagged causeway to the island is submerged at high tide.

Handily, a large board below an old Coastguard lookout reveals the safe crossing times.

In the book, Drewe also lists the following islands as being best for tidal crossings: Lihou, Foulness, Scolt Head, Lindisfarne, Chapel, Hilbre, Ynys Lochtyn, Oronsay/Colonsay and Vallay.

Best for skinny dips and secluded swims: Sark

The potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches on Sark (pictured) is huge, writes Drewe. She lists it as one of the top spots for skinny dipping

Channel Island Sark, says Drewe, is a quirky, timeless island with a coastline thats packed with caves and swimming spots.

Perfect, the book points out, for skinny dipping.

Drewe, who lives in Wiltshire and the Isle of Skye, continues: Once ashore you seem to have inadvertently stepped into a time warp: This island has no cars, has its own parliament and the potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches is huge.

Drewes other skinny dipping hotspots are Lihou, Scolt Head, Cei Ballast, Ynys Gifftan, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Vatersay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for wild and remote: Steep Holm

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year to Steep Holm (pictured) and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds

Getting to Steep Holm, which is off the coast of Weston-super-Mare, isnt easy, but your efforts will be rewarded with panoramic views of the Somerset coast.

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year  roughly  and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds.

The island is now a nature reserve but used to be a military outpost. Today, says Drewe, its packed with signal stations, watchtowers, gun batteries and underground munition stores  and about 2,000 pairs of nesting gulls.

The other wild and remote islands listed in the book are Samson, Foulness, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Oronsay/Skye, Vatersay, Eriskay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for glorious beaches: Vallay

Vallay is Drewe's favourite island. She says that it's a 'great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot'

Vallay is not only a glorious beach spot but Drewes favourite island overall.

Drewe, who spent the past 10 years researching this book, told MailOnline Travel: It has everything for me. There is an epic two-kilometre crossing to the island on tidal sands and stunning views out to the remotest part of Britain, the St Kilda archipelago, with the sea in between uplit by the bone-white sands.

This is a great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot. This is freedom.

The other islands listed as having glorious beaches are Samson, St Martins, Herm, Scolt Head, Llanddwyn, Vatersay, Berneray, Taransay and Great Bernera.

Best for ruins and ancient remains: Great Bernera

At Great Bernera there's an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known

Great Bernera, off the west coast of Lewis, is an island with a passionate history, writes Drewe.

The highlights include an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known.

And theres a bonus, apparently  great cakes at the community centre.

Other islands that excel in the ruins and ancient remains department are Samson, Steep Holm, Alderney, Skomer, Flat Holm, Kerrera, Flotta, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for cafes, local food and inns: Muck

The cafe at Port Mor on Muck is, by all accounts, a great place for a scone, a cup of tea or a beer

Muck, in the Inner Hebrides, has much to recommend it, enthuses Drew  not least the cafe at the islands main hamlet, Port Mor.

She says that the owners are a hoot and serve up great scones, beer and tea.

And the cafe generally stays open until the last ferry leaves.

The island also boasts the Godag B&B, which is stunningly located on the northeast shore.

Other islands picked out for their cafes, food and inns are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Lundy, Mersea, Luing, Kerrera, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for families: Brownsea

Brownsea has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, writes Drewe

Brownsea, in Poole Harbour, was voted the best nature reserve in the UK, and Drewe can understand why.

She says that it has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, from pine-woods to meadows, crammed with flowers and wild creatures.

Heading to the peaceful South Shore for a swim is highly recommended.

The other family friendly islands listed in the book are Looe, Lundy, Lihou, Herm, Thorney, Llanddwyn and Flat Holm.

Best for birds, wild creatures and flowers: Skomer

Skomer is home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect

Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, is the location for one of Britains greatest natural spectacles, says Drewe  the nightly return of thousands of Manx shearwater sea birds, back from a days fishing.

Its also home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect.

Plus, there are lots of wildflowers. Springtime bluebell walks on the west coast are a must.

The other islands listed as best for birds, wild creatures and flowers are Looe, Brownsea, Lundy, Alderney, Two Tree, Canvey, Scolt Head, Vatersay and Taransay.

Best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks: Ynys Lochtyn

Ynys Lochtyn 'is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure'

This tidal island on the coast of Cardigan Bay is described by Drewe as a rocky adventure.

She continues: It is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure.

If youve got adventure in your veins, she says, this island will not disappoint.

The other islands listed in the book as being best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks are Bryher, Lundy, Sark, Hilbre, Worms Head, Davaar, Iona, Oronsay/Skye and South Walls.

Best for trail running: Thorney

On Thorney there's an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior

This West Sussex MoD-owned island is a haven for wildlife and the wild, says Drewe.

Theres an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior and a nice sandy beach at the southern tip thats great for a swim.

For a change of pace, pop into atmospheric St Nicholas Church.

Other islands highlighted for their trail running potential are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Alderney, Mersea, Lindisfarne, Ramsey, Flotta and Papa Westray.

Best for contemplation and retreat: Iona

Iona is the perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation. Must-visits include the abbey and St Martin's Cave. Heading along the north coast, youll see a Bronze Age stone circle on the peninsula of Aird an Uan, which leads to Eilean nan Each (Horse Island)

This sacred Inner Hebrides island is adorned with rock pools and secluded white-sand beaches, says Drewe.

The perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation.

Must-visits include the abbey, which is guarded by an array of beautiful Celtic crosses, and the remote and mesmerising St Martins Cave.

Other islands you should consider for contemplation are Lindisfarne, Llanddwyn, Bardsey, Holy Island (Arran), Davaar and Oronsay/Colonsay.

Best for spotting whales and dolphins: Bardsey

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place

HOW TO STAY SAFE 'The most important thing is to understand the tides around the island,' says Drewe, 'particularly if you need to cross tidal sands or causeways to get there. Not only the times of the low tides but also their depths as these can vary between spring and neap tides and could mean the difference between a walk, wade or swim. Tide tables are available but if in doubt the locals are the experts. They also know about water flows if you are thinking of a swim.' Advertisement

From the summit of Bardsey, which lies at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, its possible to spot pods of Rissos dolphins cavorting in the sea.

And seals and porpoises can be seen on the harbour beach.

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place.

Don't forget to climb Mynydd Enlli summit for panoramic views, says Drewe.

Other islands that are prime spots for wildlife spotting are Lundy, Ynys Lochtyn, Ramsey, Davaar, Eriskay, Berneray, Taransay, South Walls and North Ronaldsay.

This graphic indicates 12 of the 50 islands that are featured in Islandeering - and what they're best for
She recently shared her fears over giving birth after stumbling upon a book about childbirth.

But Gemma Atkinson, 34, looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during Strictly Come Dancing's professionals tour.

The former Hollyoaks star concealed her baby bump in an all black ensemble as she smiled for the cameras.

Radiant: Pregnant Gemma Atkinson, 34, smiled for the cameras as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, on Friday

The English star sported figure-hugging black leggings and an unbuttoned cream shirt as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by the BBC One stars.

Gemma kept her hands in the pockets of her stylish black coat as she she stepped outside to meet the chilly weather.

She completed her look with a pair of sleek flat shoes and a handbag slung over her shoulder.

Also making an appearance at the Manchester theatre was actress Denise Welch who was accompanied by her husband Lincoln Townley.

Mum-to-be: The actress looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Manchester venue to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals Tour

Looking good: Gemma sported a casual look as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by dancing stars

Smile: The beauty sported a stylish black and a pair of sleek flat shoes as she arrived at the theatre

The former Waterloo Road star donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper, a pair of blue jeans and white trainers as she came to support the Strictly professionals.

Gemma's appearance comes less than a month after she discovered the unsettling reality of what might occur during her labour.

Writing to her 988,000 on Instagram the actress wrote: 'Baby books are fine until you read the part where you "May tear from your vagina to your bum"'.

Strike a pose: Also arriving at the Manchester venue was soap actress Denise Welch and husband Lincoln Townley

Keeping it casual: Denise donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper and a pair of blue jeans as she arrived at the theatre

Gemma and professional dancer Gorka Marquez, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, are expecting their first child later this year.

The couple, who went public with their relationship in February 2018, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram.

Since sharing their news the Gemma and Gorka, who is currently on tour with his Strictly co-stars, have been keeping fans up to date with the pregnancy on social media.

Joining Gorka for this year's Strictly tour are professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Oti Mabuse, Karen Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, AJ Pritchard, and Pasha Kovalev.

Horror: Gemma recently revealed her horror after stumbling upon a baby book that gave the gory details of childbirth

Chilling: The couple, who met in 2017, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram




Paris Jackson and Caroline D'Amore go together like pepperoni and cheese.

The 21-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson hosted a dinner party to celebrate the new Pizza Girl by Caroline DAmore pasta sauce at the private home of the CEO of Absolut Elyx, Jonas Tahlin.

The Chanel model wore a dramatic, low-cut black crop top that showed off her chakra tattoos and patterned boho pants.

Empowered women empower women: Paris Jackson hosted an event in Los Angeles on Thursday to support her friend's new product

She wore a number of bracelets ad three necklaces, each draped at different lengths around her neck.

The 21-year-old musician also wore a pair of large, beaded hoop earrings.

Paris wore her hair in tight curls and finished off the boho-rocker look with dramatic winged black eyeliner.

Gal pals: Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore

Pizza girl: Pizza, pasta, salad and specialty cocktails were all on the menu

Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore, 34, in celebration of the new Pizza Girl sauce she created.

Notable attendees included Ashlee Simpson, Emile Hirsch, Ryan Cabrera and Evan Ross.

Ashlee and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm and were happily enjoying the beautiful night before before taking their seats at the beautiful outside tables for the sunset dinner.

Guests of honor: Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm

Feast fit for a king: Dozens of guests gathered round the dinner table

Be our guest: Attendees feasted on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe

Just before 8pm guests sat down at the magical poolside dining table to feast on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe.

Guests were also treated to specialty cocktails made with Absolut Elyx.

The most popular cocktail of the night was named 'Thats DAmore.'

The outing comes less than two months Paris was hospitalized.

Paris denied a report that she had attempted suicide, and sources told DailyMail.com that the King of Pop's daughter had been 'partying' very hard and cut herself with kitchen scissors after she had gotten out of control.
Nina Dobrev knows how to show a friend a good time.

The Vampire Diaries star, 30, helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress posted videos to social media on Friday.

And 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina.

Gal pals: Nina Dobrev (L) helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's (R) bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress, 30, posted videos to social media on Friday

Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out.

Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic.

Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil.

She not only models, but is also an aspiring actress.

Stunners: 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina

Impressive: Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out

Keleigh appeared in the short film Opeth: The Devils Orchard in 2012 and in the short film Dance in 2017, according to IMDb.

And Keleigh recently partnered up with Wells of Life, whose mission is to bring clean water to the villagers of Uganda.

She posted a picture from a Wells of Life meeting with the caption: 'Thank you Kingdom of Uganda for your partnership,agreement, and donation to breaking ground on our sanitization compound to keep these wells in Uganda clean'

Seductive: Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil

Sweet snap: Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic

Keleigh's sister Christie revealed in 2017 that Miles had popped the question to Keleigh while the pair were on a romantic safari holiday in Africa after dating for nearly four years.

Miles even brought Keleigh home to meet his whole family.

'I brought her to meet my grandparents,' he said in a 2014 interview with Elle magazine. 'My grandma tweets my girlfriend.'

Gangs all here: A gaggle of gorgeous girls help Keleigh celebrate

Last name! The ladies surprised her with balloons spelling out her fiance's last name

Keleigh and Miles have been a couple since way back in 2013, the year he drew attention for his high school film The Spectacular Now.

Meanwhile, Miles is busy wrapping up his highly anticipated sequel to Top Gun.

The film - directed by Joseph Kosinski - is subtitled Maverick with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles.
They have remained on great terms following their split.

And Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday.

The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple.

Family time: Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday

Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat.

Under the jacket the blonde kept it casual in denim jeans and a camel knit.

She boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a burgundy handbag from FRAME.

Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up.

Trendy: Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat, and she carried her favorite burgundy red bag from FRAME

Yum! The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple

Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper.

Tom caught the eye in bright blue trousers and a matching jacket underneath a navy raincoat.

Later on, Sienna seemed to step away from Marlowe and Tom as she took a phone call.

Fashionable: Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper

Sienna previously gushed to Harper's Bazaar that Tom was her 'best friend in the entire world' - and that while they don't share a property, they often stay together to spend mutual time with their little girl.

Admitting their close bond has not broken since they cut romantic ties in the summer of 2015 after four years together, she explained: We still love each other.

'I think in a break-up somebody has to be a little bit cruel in order for it to be traditional, but its not been acrimonious in a way where you would choose to not be around that person.'

Trendy: Sienna boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a oxblood handbag

Natural: Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up

Sienna is now dating Lucus Zwirner, 28, the pair went public with their romance in January.

The couple, who met through mutual friends in New York, went public with their romance last year when they attended her ex Tom's birthday party in London together.

Lucas, who currently oversees 25 book releases a year as editorial director of David Zwirner Books, is a Yale-educated literature aficionado.

The star famously dated fellow A-lister Jude Law on-off from 2003, with the actor famously issuing a public apology to her after having an affair with his children's nanny.
Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children.

The 56-year-old reality star, according to The Blast, told a South Carolina court his ex-girlfriend Dennis, 26, has had her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, watch their two children - Kensie, four, and Saint, three - in the latest chapter in their bitter custody fight.

Dennis's time with the kids should immediately be suspended pending Price moving out of her home, Ravenel told the court.

The latest: Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 56, claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis, 26, foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children

Ravenel, a one-time treasurer for the state of South Carolina, was responding to a previous request Dennis made that the court bar Ravenels girlfriend Ashley Jacobs from contacting the two children; or posting their images on social media.

Dennis has also requested the court give her a temporary order that would award her primary custody and Ravenel visitation (in which he'd be barred from consuming alcohol); and modified child support to reflect the arrangement.

Ravenel told the court Dennis's request for an immediate result was unwarranted, as there have been no drastic changes in their parenting arrangement as of late.

He chalked her requests involving Jacobs to jealousy, saying they were a means of control; and said that Dennis has past told the children he wants to harm and kill her, according to the outlet.

Romance: Dennis was seen with her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, in an Instagram shot

On the offense: Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her

Ravenel also requested child support from Dennis, saying she has a six-figure income.

Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her, after her custody was revoked three years ago after she failed a drug test (She has since finished a rehab and been granted joint custody).

The custody battle last year involved Bravo, as Ravenel sued the network in November to cease broadcasting content that hadn't previously been aired (linked to a discussion about his ongoing sexual assault case).

Bravo encouraged Dennis to enter a long custody battle with him in hopes of creating content for their series, Ravenel told the court.

Southern Charm comes back on May 15, airing on Bravo at 8/7c.
She first revealed her burgeoning pregnancy back in January.

And Kate Mara covered her growing bump during a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon.

The 36-year-old actress and heiress was pushing along a stroller, presumably for one of the other women's children.

Day out: Kate Mara, 36, was seen going for a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon

The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a black shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket.

She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag.

The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week.

Back in black: The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a blakc shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket

Matching: She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag

New 'do: The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week

Kate was chatting with two friends who were recent mothers while pushing a stroller, though her own baby is still on the way.

The happy news was first reported in early January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans while waiting in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes.

She revealed she was pregnant after A Quiet Place's Emily Blunt commented on her growing breasts.

She was reportedly five-months pregnant at the time, suggesting she's close to her due date now.

Revealed: The news was first reported in January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans after Emily Blunt remarked on the size of her breasts while in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes

This will be the first child for Kate and her husband Jamie Bell, whom she married in July 2017.

The two began their relationship in late 2015, after working on the doomed superhero flick Fantastic Four.

This baby will be her first, though Jamie shares a five-year-old son with his former wife Evan Rachel Wood, whom he divorced in 2014.

The Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool actor will next be seen in the Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which he'll play John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.

Kate will appear in the TV movie A Teacher. She played Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, a young campaign worker who was killed while riding with the late Senator Ted Kennedy when his car plunged off a bridge.
She's getting ready for another showstopping appearance at Monday's Met Gala.

But Kim Kardashian wasn't waiting to steal the spotlight as she commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday.

The 37-year-old reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe while eldest sister Kourtney's ex Scott Disick joined in on the fun.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian, 37, commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday

Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle.

Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders.

Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots.

Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades.

Impressive: Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle

Sister act: The reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe

The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022.

And the reality TV star proved how focused she is on becoming a lawyer in a preview for Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The Selfish author was looking through letters from prisoners asking for her help with clemency when her mother Kris Jenner entered the room to give her some compliments about her new career goal.

Rear view: Kim put her pert derriere on full display as she was joined by Scott Disick

They could be twins! Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots

Kim is sitting on a sofa when she says, 'I'm reading this letter from prison and this one's a good one.'

Kris asks, 'How many cases do you do at a time?'

'The average time to get someone clemency is seven to 10 years,' said Kim, who did not finish college but is able to take the bar with proper studying. She has to pass a mini bar this year.

Hair story: Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders

Casual cool: Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades

'I'm super proud of you Kim, you take this all seriously and I think that they're lucky that you listen,' added the momager.

'If I see something that I feel like has a real shot and just like moves me, then I'll send it to my attorney's who look over everything just to make sure it's legitimate,' she tells Jenner.

She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer.

Meanwhile, Kim is getting ready for another appearance at the highly anticipated Met Gala in New York City on Monday.

Aiming high: The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022

Inspired: She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer

This year's exhibition, titled Camp: Notes On Fashion, will examine 'how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.'

'We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures,' curator Andrew Bolton told the New York Times in October.

How 'camp' went from the margins to mainstream

Inspired by the Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on Camp, the exhibition will comprise more than 250 objects, dating from the 17th century to the present.

These objects will take visitors through the evolution of camp, from the royal courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV at Versailles, to the American and European queer subcultures of the 20th-century, according to CNN.
Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun.

A source told the publication that the actress, 23, had been approached to appear on the show last year, but was banned from such deals under strict rules by ITV bosses.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced she would be leaving Coronation Street in 2020, making her seventh cast member in three months to quit the show.

Dancefloor ready: Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun

The source said: 'Lucy is a huge fan of Strictly and was invited to watch last year's live show in Blackpool. When Strictly bosses realised she was keen, they told her she'd have to quit Corrie because of its ban on deals.

'Lucy took the plunge as she knows her acting career has more opportunities ahead than sticking around in Weatherfield.

'Talks have started between her representatives and Strictly bookers. Some male dancers already want to partner her.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing and Lucy Fallon for comment.

Next big thing: The star had reportedly been approached to appear on the soap while she is stil playing Bethany Platt, but is banned from such deals by ITV bosses

Lucy would not be the first Corrie star to appear on Strictly after quitting the soap, joining stars such as Natalie Gumede and Georgia May Foote.

Gemma Atkinson also appeared on Strictly in 2017 after leaving Emmerdale, but it is unclear whether the same rules apply to the stars of ITV's rival soap.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020.

She's off! The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020

In a statement the star told MailOnline: 'After the most incredible four years, I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave Coronation Street at the end of my contract in 2020.

'It's hard to put into words how much this show means to me. I've made lifelong friends with some of the most talented and hardworking people in the industry, I've had some terrific and immensely important storylines and I've laughed with the best people everyday.'

The star added: 'I'm so thankful to Iain and everyone at Coronation Street, I owe everything to them and I will miss them greatly.'

Sequins at the ready: Several Coronation Street stars have gone onto take part in Strictly, after they left the soap (last year's winner Stacey Dooley pictured above)

Lucy then went onto clarify her decision in a tweet, writing: 'My decision to leave was made in August last year and has nothing to do with ANYONE at Coronation Street. I didn't make it lightly and I am going to miss every single person there.'

The beauty has joined stars such as Faye Brookes, Katie McGlynn and Kym Marsh who have recently decided to leave the soap, with a total of seven stars quitting in the last three months alone.

It comes after it was claimed by The Irish Sun that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as several stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary and long hours, as well as their bans on performing in panto and other big brand deals.

A source said: 'Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won't let her take them on.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coronation Street for comment.

Mass exodus: Lucy has joined seven other stars who have decided to leave the soap in the past three months
They first met on an international flight in August last year and since then, their relationship appears to have gone from strength to strength.

So much so, that Sophie Monk looked completely smitten with boyfriend Joshua Gross as they enjoyed a date night together while holidaying in the Maldives.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the Love Island host, 39, shared a sweet snap of herself and her beau staring into each other's eyes, as they cuddled up together.

The look of love! Sophie Monk and boyfriend Joshua Gross looked nothing but smitten as they cuddled up together for a new Instagram post shared by the Love Island host on Friday

In the photo, Sophie stunned in a plunging white crochet dress that tied together at the waist and teased a look at her ample bust.

Joshua was also dressed in white and wrapped his arm around Sophie, while she affectionately leaned on her love's shoulder.

Sweetly looking at each other, the couple looked the picture of happiness as they continued to mark their first relationship milestone - their very first holiday together.

Stunning: Sophie jetted to the Maldives for her first holiday away with boyfriend Joshua, who she met in August last year on an international flight

Sophie has been sharing plenty of snaps from their romantic getaway for her followers to see, including one of her posing in a low-cut fitted dress and round shades by the sea.

Other photos saw the beauty flaunting her enviable frame in a cut-away scarlet red swimsuit, as she posed by the water and alongside her beau.

Sophie's romance with businessman Joshua follows her less-than successful relationship with millionaire publican Stu Laundy, who she met on The Bachelorette in 2017.

Smitten: The TV star has been sharing snaps from their romantic break away with her Instagram followers, including a picture of herself and Joshua posing together by the pool

Wow: Other holiday snaps saw Sophie slip into a stunning scarlet red swimsuit that teased a look at the beauty's enviable frame with its cut-out panels

Monk has spent two decades in the spotlight and recently confessed, as she approaches turning 40 later this year, that she thought she'd now be living a 'normal life' with four children and a husband.

Speaking to TV Week, she said: 'I thought I'd have four children and be married.

'I thought I'd be in this industry for a little bit and then get out and have a normal life, where I'd pick up the kids from school, but I've realised that's not going to happen.'
Line of Duty star Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into his cab earlier this week.

The 34-year-old actor was reportedly left 'shaken' but unscathed after the HGV ploughed into the side of the vehicle he had been sitting in during a taxi ride through Salford, Manchester, on Thursday.

According to reports, one of cab's door's had been left completely destroyed following the crash.

Narrow escape: Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into a taxi he had been sat in during his journey through Salford, Manchester on Thursday

Dashcam footage obtained by The Sun shows the moments after the star escaped serious injury as he was being driven back to his hotel in the city.

Taxi driver Derek Burton, 71, who claimed he had been waiting at a red light when the accident took place, described the moment the large truck smashed into his vehicle.

He told The Sun: 'There was a thundering bang. I thought it was a bomb. Martin screamed. We didn't know what happened. We hadn't seen the truck.

'It smashed into where he was sitting. Martin's door was bashed in. It was probably doing 10mph but was so big it destroyed the cab.'

Fighting crime: Footage obtained by The Sun shows the star after he escaped serious injury

On the hunt: The actor is currently starring in the fifth series of the BBC drama Line of Duty

Footage following the crash shows the Line of Duty actor walk around the cab as the taxi driver and the HGV driver exchange details.

The actor, who currently stars as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the BBC One series, recently shared his thoughts on the countless fan theories surrounding Jed Mercurio's plot.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast he said: 'I saw some people the first time saying, 'I can't believe they got that wrong, that's a mistake.'

Theres no mistakes with Jed Mercurio. Hes got every single thing thought through.

Earlier this year, the award-winning drama, which follows the controversial police anti-corruption unit AC-12 and is currently in its fifth series, confirmed it had been renewed for a sixth season.

MailOnline has contacted Martin Compston's representatives for comment.
She has been embracing her newly-single status after announcing her split from husband Lee Henderson in October last year.

And showing her former love exactly what he's missing, Jackie O stunned as she stepped out for a Mother's Day High Tea hosted by her best pal Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta.

The radio presenter, 44, looked sensational in a chic all-black getup that made for a very leggy display.

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Sensational: Jackie O, 44, (pictured) looked incredible as she made a very leggy appearance at the Mother's Day High Tea hosted by Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta on Friday

Jackie paired together a black square-necked top and tailored shorts that were cut just above the knee.

She wore a stylish long blazer on top of her outfit choice and added a boost to her look with a pair of clear perspex heels.

Her footwear only emphasized her incredibly toned pins further and she finished off her outfit by styling her blonde locks into soft curls that framed her face.

Smile! The radio presenter was seen rubbing shoulders with her BFF Roxy (pictured far right) and other guests at the stylish event

Gorgeous! Jackie favoured a chic all-black getup that teamed together a long blazer and tailored shorts cut just above the knee

The mother-of-one wore glamorous make-up that boasted a dramatic smokey eye, bronzed cheeks and a glossy nude lip.

She was seen posing on her arrival to the event and flashed a smile alongside BFF Roxy, who dazzled in an off-the-shoulder pink layered dress, and other guests.

Jackie's appearance at the tea comes after she was recently heard discussing dating again on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, following her split with husband Lee last year.

Jackie joked that she could see herself dating a celebrity chef next, as her co-host Kyle Sandilands teased: 'You'll probably end up with one!'

Ready to find love again? Jackie recently joked on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she'll probably end up dating a celebrity chef following her split from husband Lee Henderson

She announced her split with Lee in October and stressed the decision to end their marriage after 18 years together was 'not made lightly'.

The exes have remained amicable despite separating and are now actively co-parenting their eight-year-old daughter Kitty.

Speaking on her radio show, Jackie, who has been supported through her split by close friend Roxy, explained: 'It's not a decision we took lightly at all.

'Lee and I have been so lucky that our separation has been extremely amicable.

All over: The star and husband Lee announced their split in October last year - they have separated after 18 years together, but continue to co-parent their daughter Kitty (pictured)

'I know everyone says that, but we actually have remained really good friends throughout this.'

She added that the pair were separated for quite some time before announcing their split, but decided to play things out privately at first, and still speak every day.

In December, just two months after news surfaced of their split, Jackie and Lee took their daughter Kitty on holiday together in Fiji.

Jackie and Lee married in 2003 - three years after first meeting in a bar in Sydney, when Lee had been backpacking around Australia in 2000.
Luke Perry was buried in an eco-friendly mushroom suit.

His 18-year-old daughter Sophie took to Instagram to confirm the news as well as share a cute story about how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet.

She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday with the caption: 'In December I went to San Francisco with two of my best friends.

'One of them, had never never been to California, so we went to show him the Redwoods. I took this picture while we were there, because i thought, "damn, those mushrooms are beautiful."'

Bond: Sophie Perry revealed that her father Luke was buried in an Infinity Burial Suit after his untimely death in March

Interesting: The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms

Sophie goes on to explain that mushrooms mean an entirely different thing for her as she goes on to explain the concept of an Infinity Burial Suit.

She continued: 'Any explanation i give will not do justice to the genius that is the mushroom burial suit, but it is essentially an eco friendly burial option via mushrooms. '

The teenager goes on to suggest that her followers read up on the suit as she shared that it was one of her father Luke's final wishes to be buried in one.

Sophie said: 'My dad discovered it, and was more excited by this than I have ever seen him. He was buried in this suit, one of his final wishes.

'My dad was more excited by this than I have ever seen him': She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday as she revealed how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet

'They are truly a beautiful thing for this beautiful planet, and I want to share it with all of you.'

The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms.

It has three main functions: aid in decomposition, neutralizes toxins found in the body and transfer them to plant life.

Sophie has been doing plenty to honor her father's name as she has had a school named after him just two months after his untimely death.

Earlier this week she took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star.

She shared a group photo which included her mother and Luke's ex wife Minnie Sharp in front of the building which had his name emblazoned on the side.

Amazing gesture: Earlier this week Sophie took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star

Alongside the image, Sophie wrote a thoughtful caption which read: 'Thank you to everybody who donated to help with our projects!

'Our first school is finished and I cant tell you how proud and excited I am to see it open on Wednesday. Thank you to my amazing partner Ruben for everything. Especially for fighting to name the school after my dad.'

Over the past few months Sophie and her friends Gabriella and Ruben have been living in the southeastern African country serving as development instructors to help build preschools in rural communities.

Back in early March, Sophie rushed back home after the Riverdale star had suffered a massive stroke. He later died at the age of 52.

Since his untimely death, his daughter and 21-year-old son Jack Perry have gotten back to work.

Jack made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month and posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day.

Back: After spending the last month grieving, Jack Perry made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month

The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match.

'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video.

Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory.

Volunteer work: Sophie Perry also revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to her volunteer work in Malawi while wearing an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her dad

Triumphant return: The 21-year-old wrestler posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day

Work: The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match

Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event.

'Unfortunately Jungle Boy will no longer be wrestling at our March 13th show,' the promotion said on its Twitter account. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.'

Luke Perry - who shot to fame in the early 90s playing Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 - died March 4, about five days after he suffered a massive stroke at his Sherman Oaks, California home February 27.

Changed: 'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video

Motorcycle ride: Sophie also shared a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle

Sophie meanwhile revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to Africa to continue her mission work.

She posted a selfie wearing a blue cap with an Andrews Construction label while traveling in a vehicle and also a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle for her roughly 92,000 followers on Instagram.

Luke at the time of his death was portraying Fred Andrews on Riverdale who owned his own construction company Andrews Construction.

Charity trip: The teenager cut short her six-month charity trip when Luke suffered the stroke

TV tribute: Sophie in a selfie wore an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her father's character Fred Andrews on Riverdale

Sophie wrote in the caption: 'First few days back in Malawi have been very emotional but it feels right to come back, to finish what I started, to do the most with whatever time we have left.

'I recently learned that may not be as much time as we think. It was quick and scary to leave home again so soon, but theres a job to be done, and someone to make proud,' she wrote.

Sophie added: 'Also excuse my ''post 30 hours o travel'' face'.

Good times: She was back in Malawi where she was volunteering to develop pre-schools

In September Sophie, who lived in Dowagiac, Michigan, posted a video describing her charity work for non-profit One World Center, and asked for fundraising help for her trip.

'I'm in a group of eight people, seven of us are going to Africa and one of us is going to Brazil,' she said.

'We're going to be there for six months, and we're going to be working on community development projects. These can range from teaching teachers, building schools, helping with agriculture, providing water purification, all types of good stuff.'

Technique: Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory

Moving forward: Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event

Loving: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began

Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52.

'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began.

'He loved supported me in everything, and inspired me to be the best that I could possibly be.'

Jack continued: 'I've learned so much from you, and my heart is broken thinking about everything you wont be here for.

Touching: Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52

'I'll miss you every day that I walk this earth.

'I'll do whatever I can to carry on your legacy and make you proud.

'I love you Dad.'

Memories: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began
Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night.

The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer.

Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand.

On the town: Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night

She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs.

Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos.

The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection.

When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby.'

Chic to the hilt: The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer

Family matters: Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand

What a look: She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs

A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

The caption set online tongues wagging, and an E! News insider gossiped: 'Kylie talks about having another baby very frequently'

To hear this source tell it: 'She would love to have another baby with Travis and would love to be pregnant by next year. She talks about it all the time and feels like she was truly meant to be a mother.'

Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga.

Hoofing it: Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos

Recovery: The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection

Bombshell: When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby'

Late that year, she was the subject of a storm of pregnancy rumors, but kept publicly mum on the subject until their baby was born in February 2018.

In the midst of a widely covered scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had sex with U.S. President Donald Trump, the baby was named Stormi.

Tyga has a six-year-old son called King Cairo with Blac Chyna, who shares a two-year-old daughter called Dream with Kylie's half-brother Rob Kardashian.

Specifics: A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

History: Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga

Steamy: The mom-of-one set pulses racing later with a provocative Instagram post
Brittney Weldon just finished her stint on Australia's Bachelor in Paradise, but she's already keen to join the American version of the show.

When asked about it by fans during an Instagram Q&A with her Bachelor in Paradise co-star Rachael Gouvignon, the reality star said she'd 'definitely' be up for a stint on the American series.

'I totally would, but I haven't been asked!' the 26-year-old exclaimed.

'Definitely!' Bachelor in Paradise star Brittney Weldon has revealed that she's keen to star on the American version of the show

Rachael was more hesitant about doing another season of Paradise, offering a less enthusiastic 'maybe' when pressed.

On Friday, Daily Mail Australia revealed that producers behind The Bachelor franchise in America are considering casting some Aussie talent for the show's upcoming sixth season.

A handful of names are already being thrown around, with Rachael and Alex Nation at the top of the list.

Coming to America? Producers behind the American Bachelor franchise are looking to cast stars from the Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise. (Pictured: Alex Nation)

'Bachelor in Paradise is far more extreme in the US than Australia, so producers are only interested in people who are outgoing and dramatic,' an insider revealed.

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up,' the source continued.

'Plus, she's been on the show three times now so she's knows what's expected and how to deliver on camera.'

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up!' Rachael Gouvignon (pictured) and Alex Nation are the main names being considered for the show

Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise.

'She's gorgeous and she forms connections with a lot of people in a short amount of time, both men and women,' the insider said of Alex.

'Her sexuality will bring some much needed diversity to the show, which is something fans have been clamouring for.'

'She's gorgeous!' Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise

Paddy Colliar, James Trethewie and Brittney Weldon are also being considered.

'Paddy and Brittney are hilarious and would fit right in with the American version, which is a lot funnier and more tongue-in-cheek,' the source said.

'James could be good but he's more reserved than the others, so producers need to find him an American match who is genuine about finding love to make it worthwhile.'

Comedic relief? Brittney Weldon (pictured) has also made the list thanks to her hilarious antics on Bachelor in Paradise this year

Producers are only looking at Bachelor stars that are currently single, leaving some regretting going public with their relationships.

'So many people went public with new relationships recently and I know they must be kicking themselves right now!' a Bachelor source revealed.

This isn't the first time that Aussies have been cast for the American Bachelor franchise.

Bring the boys out! Producers are also keen on Paddy Colliar and James Trethewie for the show

Producers first toyed with the idea back in 2016 for the third season, before Keira Maguire was officially cast as an intruder for the fourth season.

However, right before flying to Mexico to start filming, a sexual incident between cast members Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson resulted in production being halted - leading to Keira's role being canceled.

The Bachelor spin-off Winter Games went on to cast a number of international participants last year, including Australia's own Tiffany Scanlon and Courtney Dober.
Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth was on lunch duty at Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a suspected knife attacker on the school grounds, it has been reported.

Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler, 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday.

Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Private Sydney on Saturday, the couple were actually on the grounds during the police lock-down.

Thor blimey! Chris Hemsworth (pictured) and his wife Elsa Pataky were reportedly on the grounds of Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a person who allegedly stabbed a teacher in the face on Tuesday

The school was locked down for four hours during the alarming incident.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Chris Hemsworth's management and Byron Bay Public School for comment on this story.

Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is recovering after receiving cuts to his face and and arm at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Close call! Chris and Elsa were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Confidential on Saturday, the couple were reportedly on the grounds during the four-hour police lock-down

Hands-on dad! Earlier that day Chris and Elsa, who live in Byron Bay, arrived with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the school canteen

Chris and Elsa, who are parents to daughter India, six, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, five, had arrived at the school with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the cafeteria.

Police allege that Sbaraini and Mr Vockler were 'speaking on the premises before she approached him with what's believed to be a pair of scissors'.

Sbaraini fled the scene after the alleged attack, but was later arrested at her home on Beachside Drive in Suffolk Park at about 10.30am.

Disturbing incident: Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler (left), 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday

She was found crouching in her backyard when police arrived and questioned for hours before being taken to the station.

Later that day, she was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and trespassing.

She was refused bail and will face Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

In footage shared to Instagram just hours after the alleged incident, Chris and Elsa were seen carrying food into the school before helping out at the canteen.

Elsa captioned one of the clips: 'Another dad to help in the canteen today!'

Another video showed them inside the canteen preparing food with the other parents.

Having a laugh: Footage shared to Instagram showed Chris and Elsa inside the canteen preparing food with other parents

At one stage, Chris said, 'I've got a bigger pile than you', and gestured towards a mound of sushi rolls wrapped in paper on the table in front of him.

He then started rolling out more sushi servings while singing happily: 'Roll, roll, roll your boat!'

The other volunteer parents smiled and told Chris he didn't do 'too bad', to which he replied: 'Too bad? We dominated! Dominated!'
She has been giving fans a better glimpse into her life as a mother-of-one, by sharing more and more pictures of her daughter Mae, four, on social media.

And proving just how smitten she is with her mini-me, Kate Ritchie penned an open letter to her daughter in the new issue of Marie Claire, ahead of Mother's Day.

In the heartfelt note, the former Home and Away star, 40, gushed that life without Mae would be 'unimaginable', as she revealed becoming a mother has taught her to 'accept herself and her body'.

'Life without you seems unimaginable' Kate Ritchie, 40, has penned a heartfelt open letter to her daughter Mae, four, in the new issue of Marie Clarie

Addressing her daughter, Kate wrote in part of the letter: 'A life without you seems unimaginable and goodness knows who I'd be today if you hadn't come along to change me and my life.'

The actress added: 'You are teaching me to accept myself and value myself, especially when it comes to my body.'

She also credited Mae for helping her to be 'brave' and 'patient'.

'Greatest gift': The former Home and Away star described her little girl as an 'inspiration' and said Mae has helped her to 'accept herself and her body'

Kate concluded: 'You are my greatest gift, achievement and inspiration and I will feel this way even when you're a teen slamming doors in the hallway, just as I did.'

The letter made no mention of Kate's husband of nine years, Stuart Webb, who was charged with drink driving in March.

Stuart, 38, reportedly ran a red light on Avoca Street in Randwick, just a short distance from the couple's home.

Family: Kate's letter didn't mention her husband of nine years Stuart Webb, who is facing drink driving charges after running a red light in March

Police later learned he was also allegedly driving on a suspended licence.

If convicted, the former Sydney Roosters and St George Dragons player faces a further six-month licence suspension for the drink-driving offence alone, while driving without a licence carries up to 12 months in prison.

Kate, who shot to fame as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away, married Stuart back in 2010.

They share daughter Mae, who is now featuring more regularly on Kate's social media channels.

Showing her off: Kate has been giving fans a better insight into her life as a mother by posting more frequent snaps of daughter Mae online

Previously, Kate wanted to protect her daughter's identity and refrained from posting her face on Instagram.

She has since changed her mind and explained to fans that she was 'tired of protecting' Mae and wants to 'rejoice' in her little girl instead.

Kate said: 'I don't often share this most precious being but sometimes I am tired of protecting her and want to rejoice in her.

'She is full of wonder in so many ways and she also helps me to simply be me.'
Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York.

The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience.

Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa, 40, posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators.

Limelight: Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York

The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side.

She balanced on a pair of gold ankle-strap stilettos and wore her wavy hair down, turning to the side to treat the audience to multiple angles of her outfit.

While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania.

Dolores herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin.

Fun for the whole family: The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience

Life begins at 40: Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators

When you got it, flaunt it: The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side

Mingling: While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania

What a night: Dolores (right) herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to former New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin

At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider.

Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants.

While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno.

Fabulous: At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs (center) and Jackie Goldschneider (right)

Exquisite: Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants

Date night: While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno

However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand.

Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie.

Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress.

Feel the heat: However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand

Dynamic duo: Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie

Night out: Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress

Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway.

The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13.

Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa.

Jennifer Aydin, one of the newest members of the hit Bravo series' cast, arrived at the fashion show on the arm of her besuited husband Bill Aydin.

Heartthrob: Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway

Party of three: The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13

Spot the resemblance: Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa
She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson.

And Anne Hathaway landed in JFK on Friday to continue the public relations media blitz for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake.

The 36-year-old Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport.

Model traveler: Anne Hathaway, 36, landed in JFK on Friday

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner was seen with no shirt on as she wore suits for the latest issue of Shape.

The mother-of-one talked about trying to stay positive. 'Finding yourself takes as long as it takes, and I'm still in the process,' said the brunette.

The star has had plenty of his and lows since she became famous with The Princess Diaries. After she won an Oscar for Les Miserables, trolls attacked her viciously. But she has found a way to handle herself.

'Some days are still like, Whoa, I just fell off this cliff again! But learning how to be kind to yourself while youre discovering who you are is something I wish for everybody.

Stunner: The Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport

'Not having all the answers, not knowing what to do, and making mistakesthose arent reasons to beat yourself up.'

And she has also slowed down. 'Before I had my son, I sensed this pressure to fill my schedule,' she said. 'If I wasn't working, I felt like I was wasting time. Now I know I have to build in breaks in my year, and there are times when I'm just not available to work because it's important for me to be home with him.'

Anne's appearance comes after the star admitted she big plans in place for when her little boy is grown, admitting in a candid interview with ITV's Lorraine that she'll spend 'the back half of my life completely sloshed.'

Working hard: She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson

The Hustle is a female-centric remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin.

The Sydney-born star explained that in one of her improv scenes with Anne, she suggested The Devil Wears Prada actress call her a 'big-t*tted Russell Crowe'.

'I insulted Anne a lot in that film and she didnt have many back so I gave her that one,' Rebel told Fitzy and Wippa.

'Thats not really an insult. I think thats a compliment.'

Anne shares three-year-old son Jonathon with her husband Adam Shulman.
Between the Billboard Music Awards and her brother-in-law Joe Jonas' surprise Vegas marriage to actress Sophie Turner, she's had a huge week.

But Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight.

The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top.

Looking good: Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight

The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal.

Chopra clad her feet in patent leather high heeled boots and wore her raven tresses loose and with a center part.

The Baywatch star needed only minimal makeup for the day, allowing her naturally gorgeous features to shine through.

She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year.

Feeling fine: The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top

Strut: The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal

However Nick's brother spent considerably less on his own nuptials to his Game Of Thrones star fiance.

Joe Jonas, 29, surprised fans by exchanging vows with fiancee Sophie Turner, 23, after the awards show in a wedding chapel on the Vegas Strip on Wednesday.

The two, who got engaged in October 2017, opted for a quickie $600 ceremony presided over by an Elvis impersonator and with candy rings.

Priyanka, who has become close friends with the X-Men: Dark Phoenix star, served as Sophie's maid of honor while Nick and brother Kevin were Joe's groomsmen.

Her man: She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year. The pair are seen here Wednesday night
The Hollywood actress recently announced that she is raising her eldest son Jackson, seven, as a girl.

And fully supportive of Jackson's decision to identify as female, Charlize Theron insisted it's 'not for her to decide' who her children are and will instead 'celebrate, love and support' their choices.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's BW magazine, the 43-year-old said she wants her children to enjoy figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Supportive: Charlize Theron has said her children's choices are 'not for her to decide' but to 'support and celebrate' after revealing her eldest child Jackson identifies as a girl

Speaking of the prejudice her children may face, Charlize told the publication: 'My oldest is already a little aware, but I watch that she enjoys this moment.'

'She gets to find herself and who she wants to be - for both my kids, that's not for me to decide.'

Charlize pointed out: 'My job as a parent is to celebrate that and to love and support that... to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be who they want to be.'

'That's not for me to decide, they are born who they are': The 43-year-old actress says she wants Jackson to enjoy finding out who she is without the fear of prejudice

The Long Shot star is he mother to two adopted African-American daughters, now three and seven.

She had introduced her eldest child Jackson as a boy when she first adopted her brood and over the years, rumours circulated suggesting Charlize was raising Jackson as a girl.

Addressing the speculation in April, Charlize confirmed Jackson identifies as female to the US Daily Mail.

When asked about Jackson, she said: 'Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three-years-old and said, "I am not a boy!"'

'So there you go! I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive.'

Charlize, meanwhile, also spoke about her single status in her interview with BW and admitted she always tends to 'make herself smaller' when she is dating to try and 'better' her relationship.

As a result, she admits she would rather 'stay single' instead of changing who she is for a partner, as it only leads to resenting the other person.

'I'd rather be single': Charlize also discussed dating in her interview with BW magazine and insisted she'd rather be single than changing who she is to be in a relationship

Charlize recently found herself at the centre of rumours she is dating Brad Pitt, but was quick to deny such speculation and shut down the claims.

She previously dated her Trapped co-star Stuart Townsend between 2001 and 2010, with the actor giving her a 'commitment ring' during their relationship.

Charlize later became engaged to Sean Penn. They were together for two years, later ending their relationship in 2015.
Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green.

The 'Hot Felon', 35, shared a snap of the Topshop heiress, 28, alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine, in Monaco.

Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours.'

Love: Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green, sharing a photo of her alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine

Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage.

The model's tribute to his other half comes after rumours of a split swirled after Chloe stepped out without her 'engagement' ring in London earlier this week.

Chloe ditched her sparkling diamond band for a photocall, although she has been seen without the bling before.

The couple are parents to son Jayden Meeks-Green, one, and in October Jeremy hinted that he is set to wed Chloe imminently.

Post: Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours'

They fuelled engagement rumours after she was spotted flashing a jaw-dropping diamond ring on her wedding finger last year.

When speaking to US Weekly, the model teased 'maybe' when asked if they were set to take the next step in their relationship anytime soon.

Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht.

Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength and the couple welcomed Jayden at the end of May last year.

Split: Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage

Romance: Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht

In March, Chloe and Jeremy looked happier than ever as they jetted off on a romantic break to Thailand and shared a slew of snaps from their idyllic getaway.

The couple enjoyed some alone time together as they continue to settle into their roles as parents.

Before their holiday, the lovebirds were hit with rumours they had a public spat in Dubai in February, where hunky Jeremy stormed out of a club - leaving Chloe alone.

However, insiders revealed to MailOnline of their latest sighting in Thailand: 'They seemed really happy in each other's company and there was no sign of a strain in their relationship as has been reported recently.'
She's been dating NRL star Braith Anasta since early 2016.

And on Friday night, Rachael Lee and Braith looked as loved-up as ever as they celebrated the brunette beauty's 31st birthday in Sydney.

Heading to China Doll restaurant, Rachael shared photos from the night with her hunky boyfriend, labeling him: 'The absolute love of my life.'

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'Absolute love of my life!' Rachael Lee cuddles up to NRL boyfriend Braith Anasta in a thigh-skimming yellow frock as she celebrates her 31st birthday in Sydney on Friday night

Rachael stunned in a thigh-skimming yellow floral dress, as Braith looked smart in jeans and a black T-shirt.

Braith, 34, also uploaded an affectionate image of the pair from the evening to his Instagram, as they sporting huge smiles.

'Yes I know... I'm batting overs,' he wrote in his caption.

It all started with a kiss: Braith, 34, also uploaded to his Instagram the same picture where the pair can be seen sporting huge smiles

Time to celebrate: Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photo's with friends from the evening sharing laughs at dinner

In another photograph, Rachel can be seen giving Braith a big smooch on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photos with friends from the evening.

The entourage then appeared to go to another bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations.

'Amaaazing night w my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote

Heating up the dance floor: The entourage then went to a bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations

'Amaaazing night with my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote.

The couple, who welcomed their first child together, daughter Gigi in January last year, have been dating since 2016.

Rachael is also a mother to eight-year-old son Addison from a previous relationship, while Braith is a father to five-year-old Aleeia from his former marriage to Jodi Gordon.

Jodi and Braith confirmed their separation in 2015 after three years of marriage.
They welcomed their first child together, a son, in February this year.

And now Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday.

The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre.

Happy: Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday

Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms.

He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look.

Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels.

Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection.

Loved-up: The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre

Laid back: Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms

The couple looked more loved-up than ever as they hugged and laughed on the red carpet.

Richard even lovingly put a protective arm around his wifes waist as they smiled for waiting photographers.

The pair were joined by a plethora of other celebrities at the event including Robert De Niro, 75, and Michael Douglas, 74.

Keeping things casual: He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look

Glam: Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels

Dressed to impress: Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection

Gangs all here! Billy Lyons, Robert De Niro, Wynn Handman, Michael Douglas and Richard posed for a group shot

Also in attendance at the premiere were Billy Lyons and Wynn Handman.

It Takes A Lunatic is a documentary film about the life and pioneering work of Wynn and The American Place Theatre.

According to the Tribeca Film Festival website, the film focuses on Wynn who was 'known for bringing voices worth hearing to the American stage'.

Oh baby! Richard and his wife Alejandra welcomed their first child together in Febrruary, a son born in New York City (pictured together in May 2017)

Richard and Alejandra, who's son Alexander was born in New York, revealed that they were expecting their first child together back in September.

Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama - who put his hand on her bump to bless the unborn child. Gere is a long-term friend of the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled spiritual leader.

A Buddhist himself, Gere is a prominent advocate for human rights in Tibet - something he says led to him being blacklisted in Hollywood. His support for the state also led to him being banned from entering China.

News: The couple announced they were expecting their first child together back in September, when Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama

Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together.

Respected Madrid-based daily newspaper ABC broke the news of Geres wedding to the pretty Spaniard, 33 years his junior, earlier this year and first reported the pregnancy last month.

Pretty Woman star Gere tied the knot with Alejandra at a civil ceremony in Spain in April before celebrating the occasion with friends and family at his home near New York the following month.

Love and marriage: Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together. (pictured in October 2018)

Both Alejandra and Richard are already parents to a child each from previous relationships. Richard has a son called Homer  who celebrates his 19th birthday this month  with former wife Carey Lowell.

They married in 2002 and split 14 years later. He had previously been married to first wife Cindy Crawford for four years between 1991 and 1995.

Alejandra, who met her current husband while divorcing her first husband Govind Friedland, the son of mining magnate Robert Friedland, has a five-year-old son called Alberto, who she affectionately she calls Albertino.

Gere met wife Alejandra back in 2014 at a luxury Italian boutique hotel Alejandra bought with her former husband and was managing at the time.
She recently revealed how menopause has 'crippled' her sex life and left her 'wiped out physically and mentally'.

But Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram.

The blonde beauty, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach with her hands on her hips.

Pose: Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram

Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace which settled on her trim frame.

And she wore her blonde locks loose around her shoulders as she dried off after a dip in the Aegean Sea.

Meg later posted a clip of herself on her seventh day of weight training inside the lavish Macakizi Hotel.

Relax: The entrepreneur, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach

Delicate: Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace settled on her trim frame

In the caption of her snap, she wrote: 'Day 7 feeling better chest infection / cough still not feeling great but having my implants out have been the best thing I have done.

'But hanging in there as don't want to spoil this much needed rest and ... and the sun and sea ... #megsmenopause #menopause #53 #lovelife #noimplants #silicone free'.

It comes after Meg revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'.

The 53-year-old spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers.

Getting older: Meg recently revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'

Breaking the stigma around menopause, she told Closer Magazine: 'I lost all my libido, I was like "urgh, dont come near me", I just wanted the whole bed to myself.'

'The minute he wanted to have sex with me I was like, "get off", it was the last thing that I was feeling.

'But you need keep masturbating because when you stop having sex, you don't miss it, after four or five weeks, you're much happier to just cuddle up with your dog.'

Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set.

Honest: Meg spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers (pictured last month)

In the 90's Meg would spend her nights partying away with the likes of Kate Moss, Davinia Taylor and Sadie Frost.

So when menopause hit her 'like a tsunami' at the age of 48, Meg initially feared her rock 'n' roll lifestyle had caught up with her because she didn't realise her symptoms were the onset of menopause.

The entrepreneur stayed in the house for the next three months battling social anxiety and mental issues which made her life feel 'really overwhelming'.

Party girl: Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set (pictured with Kate Moss and Fran Cutler in 1988)

Reformed: Meg is now a devoted mother-of-one to her 19-year-old daughter Anais (pictured in February) and prefers a quieter life than her 90's rock 'n' roll lifestyle

The mother-of-one, who shares 19-year-old daughter Anais with Noel, started taking hormone replacement therapy a year later and found her symptoms alleviated.

She has since launched her own MegsMenopause product range to help women cope with the symptoms.

The reformed party girl recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health.

She shared a number of lists to show the negative side effects of having the cosmetic procedure, alongside a candid before and after shot of herself.

The side-by-side comparison saw her pose in the same coral pink bikini which had a patterned hem, and in the first image the top could barely contain her assets before the removal.

Happy: Meg recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health

Alongside it, Meg posed for a mirror selfie so that she could showcase her noticeably smaller chest, as large plasters were placed on either side of her rib cage, and stuck out from underneath the bikini top.

Speaking honestly, she wrote: 'The best thing I did was taking my implants out 2 years ago.'

In December 2017, she admitted to Lizzy Cundy during an interview on Fubar Radio that it was time to 'take it down a notch', and has said goodbye to fake nails and false lashes as well as going back to a B cup from a DD.

The '90s it girl explained that she had been struggling with social anxiety and not able to leave the house, and that she felt better when she removed her implants 21 years after getting them done.

Meg admitted she said that she wished she had done it ages ago, as she said: 'You get in to your 50s I think we try and stay young, I thought just let it go, come to terms with it.

'I can still wear all my clothes  they just look better. I have a Celine [the French luxury label] cashmere jumper and, with big boobs, it looked rubbish. Now, it looks amazing. I was a DD; Im now a B.'
Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview.

The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby for Hunger magazine in 2013.

Phillip - who was a CBBC host from 1985 to 1987 - told Holly he 'partied a bit' as a 'lad' but never lost his 'son of Enid Blyton' image because he knew to stay out of central London.

Confession: Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview

He said: 'It wasn't a case of hiding it. I did the same as everybody else. I was a lad, we partied a bit, but I didn't hide anything. It's just that nobody bothered to look in the right place.

'We were simply getting leathered in Chiswick where we lived at the time. Everybody knew us and nobody was bothered, and nobody would tell. So I got away with it.'

The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Past: The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star for Hunger magazine in 2013 (Pictured with Sara Greene of Going Live! in 1990)

Scandal: The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall

Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes.

He confessed: 'We got in the car and we drove through Checkpoint Charlie with these two East German hookers, no questions asked. God knows what the children's television would have thought!'

But despite his boozy past, the presenter - who has daughters Ruby, 23, and Molly, 26, with wife Stephanie Lowe - said he 'never got much into drugs' because he 'wasn't very good at it'.

Drinking buddies: Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes (Pictured with Holly and Steve Wilson)

His confession comes after Holly evealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out.

The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air.

The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio.

Nightmare: It comes after Holly Willoughby also revealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out

However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning.

She told the Mail On Sunday's Live magazine: 'There were times when we went straight from the hotel bar to going live on air.

'Everyone in children's TV drinks until 5am. If you mess up, no one cares. It got a bit too wild when my breast popped out of my dress.'

Had a shocker! The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air

Messy: The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio

'It doesn't help when you read the script and you've got to drink anchovies in custard with some eight year old. No matter how hard you scrub in the shower, you can't get the smell of custard pie off your skin.'

Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV children's game show which saw Holly dress as a French maid and even boast a cockney accent, encouraging her guests- and celebrity guests- to catapult sweet treats off a skateboard.

The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood.

Yuck! However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning

Co-hosts: The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood

Holly and Stephen have stayed firm friends over the years after their two-year presenting stint together on the children's television show.

As their friendship has flourished over time, their presenting careers have blossomed in the limelight.

Holly's most recent success includes reportedly securing a six-figure sum to step into the embattled star Ant McPartlin's shoes for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

Day job: She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip Schofield since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm

She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm.

Holly's hectic schedule has also included her Dancing On Ice hosting role, which she reprised in 2018 after the show returned following a seven-year hiatus.

Despite her clean-cut image, Holly also showcases her cheekier side during appearances on Celebrity Juice, which she has been a team captain on since 2008.

Holly is a firm fan-favourite on the programme, which she worked on alongside her pal Keith Lemon and best pal Fearne Cotton, until she left in 2018.

True love: During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side throughout, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin

Big brood: They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four

Before embarking on her TV career, she was signed to British icon Kate Moss' former modelling agency Storm Models at the tender age of 14.

During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin.

Sparks first flew between producer Dan and Holly when they met during their time on Ministry Of Mayhem and enjoyed a secret romance.

Speaking of their relationship, Holly previously explained: 'At first, I didn't fancy Dan at all  I didn't even think about it,' she revealed to Woman & Home. 'I don't think he could have fancied me either because it was such a genuine friendship.'

However their friendship proved to be a firm foundation for their romance, as six months after meeting they embarked on a relationship.

After just 18 months of dating Dan popped the question and the couple later tied the knot in 2007 in a lavish ceremony.

They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four.
She has just returned from a sun-drenched trip to Dubai.

But no sooner had she landed, Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page.

The Love Island star, 21, showcased her peachy posterior in a very high-rise white swimsuit as she leaned against the pool bar in a casual fashion.

'Not your baby: Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page

She added a defiant caption to the image which read 'Not your baby', following her recent split from her convicted fraudster ex Medi Abalimba.

Georgia looked typically glamorous in the visually pleasing snap, as she showcased her glowing tan which was only accentuated by the bright white swimwear.

She coordinated her stylish look with a pair of kooky white cat-eye shades, which helped to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunshine.

Beach babe: Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches

The Celebs Go Dating star opted for a signature full face of make-up, while wearing her glossy locks in perfectly styled curls.

Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches.

She rocked a skimpy neon green bikini for the shot, while wearing her long locks in French braids and posing up a storm for the camera.

Wow! Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection

Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection.

The appearance follows Georgia's emotional interview with The Sun earlier this month, in which the Celebs On The Ranch star said: 'I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone.

'I was in my flat and I've never been in a situation like that in my life. I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.'

Ex: She recently claimed her ex Medi Abalimba had stolen 'tens of thousands of pounds' from her following their split, despite her former flame, 26, protesting it had 'nothing to do with him'

She added that she had confronted Medi about her missing funds, but he said it was nothing to do with him.

Georgia said the matter is now in the hands of the police and MailOnline contacted her spokesperson for further information at the time.

The Love Island star has just appeared on Celebs Go Dating after splitting from ex-boyfriend Sam Bird in 2018 after moving in to their very own love pad together following the hit ITV2 show.
She regularly turns heads with her sensational sense of style.

And Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday.

The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim miniskirt.

Stunning: Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday

She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt and styled her blonde locks into loose waves.

The reality star is one of several famous mothers who are currently selling their children's used clothes online.

Ferne, who is worth a reported 2.7million, is the most active on the Market For Mums app with 26 listings for clothes worn by her 18-month-old daughter Sunday, and has so far made 257 from the site.

The app, which promises buyers gorgeous one-offs from celebrity mums', is where Ferne is selling her daughter's used items, ranging from 5 for a pair of baby top to 25 for a 'balloon dress and frilly knickers' set.

Fashion: The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim mini-skirt

Other celebrity mums are also a fan of the app, with Mario Falcone's wife Becky Miesner selling her breast pump.

Love Island star Tyla Carr's items are on sale on the app too, as well as Teen Mom UK's Amber Butler's belongings.

The Market of Mums website revealed: 'Were a group of Mums and shopping experts who got fed up hunting through apps to find nice stuff for our kids.

Style: She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt

Ensemble: Ferne also sported cream handbag and a pair of bracelets for the fun event

Look: The TV star styled her blonde locks into loose waves for the day

'So we made our own, for busy parents like us.'

Last month, Ferne informed her Instagram followers of the app, revealing: 'Hey parents. Ive just joined a great app called @marketofmums where you can sell all your unwanted or second hand baby items.

'Its ideal for clearing out all your childrens outgrown clothes and accessories whilst supporting other parents! Ive added a few items already and all the sales made through the app help support the childrens charity BLISS.'
Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'.

The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview with The Guardian's Weekend magazine.

But Richard added that he firmly believes directors should cast 'the best actor for the role' - regardless of their personal life or sexual orientation.

Terrible: Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'

He said: 'It's a really terrible route to go down if we start restricting people's casting based on their personal lives. We have to focus more on diversity and having everyone represented, but also I'm a firm believer in the best actor for the role.'

Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic.

Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality after he famously came out as bisexual in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976.

Backlash: Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic

Candid: The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview

Richard, who plays Elton's manager and lover John Reid in the film, went on to describe the Tiny Dancer hit-maker as a 'very interesting and interested man'.

The role is the latest in a long line of impressive bookings for the actor - who has previously starred as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and the Prince in Disney's live-action retelling of Cinderella.

The actor said he put on weight through on-set catering when he was younger - but decided to shed the extra pounds when he applied for drama school at 18.

Good choice? Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality

He said: 'I didn't want to be the fattest boy in drama school'.

Richard also revealed he doesn't like the look of himself in the mirror, and joked he loves 'a high waist, always good for a fat lad'.

The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard.

On playing the stony-faced character, he said: 'Likable is the actor's flaw. It's something I've tried to shake off over the years.'

Smash hit: The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard (Pictured with Keeley Hawes)

Anxiety: Taron, 29, admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24

Richard's comments come after Taron admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24.

Speaking in GQ magazine's May edition, the actor spoke candidly about the life changing role as he discussed possible LGBTQ backlash, taking on a musical icon, and why life will never be the same from now on.

He reasoned: 'I've approached it wholeheartedly and I hope that for that reason people accept me [as Elton].

'The LGBTQ community has always been about inclusiveness, hasn't it? Not about "We're here. You're there." In fact, if you want to come in, come on in.'

He continued: 'It was a fairly revolutionary time. Men were more outlandish. We didn't have role models like that when we were growing up. Sometimes, I think I'm from a time gone by, born too late.'
Margot Robbie jetted home to the Gold Coast in time to attend her grandmother's burial on Saturday.

First reported in the Sydney Morning Herald's Emerald City, the Australian actress left New York on Friday after having attended the Tribeca film festival.

The 28-year-old joined her loved ones, including brother Cameron Robbie, at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs.

Loss: Margot Robbie, 28, flew back home to the Gold Coast in time for her grandmother Narnie's burial on Saturday. Pictured on April 29 at the Tribeca film festival in New York

Emerald City understands that Margot's family held a funeral service on April 26 at Southport's Trinity Lutheran Church.

However they decided to delay the burial until Saturday in order for Margot to arrive home in time.

Margot's grandmother Verna, 92, who was affectionately called 'Narnie', passed away on April 13.

Just days prior to the burial, the I, Tonya star was pictured looking understandably downcast in New York.

Support: Margot is understood to have joined her loved ones at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs, in time for Saturday's burial. Pictured at the Tribeca film festival on April 28

Margot had been attending a slew of events at the Tribeca film festival, promoting her latest movie Dreamland.

She stars in the film opposite Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Kerry Condon, Finn Cole and Darby Camp.

Margot plays a seductive bank robber on the run in 1930s Texas while Cole is an innocent young man who falls under her spell.

The drama, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, is adapted from a screenplay by Nicolaas Zwart and got its official premiere last Sunday at Tribeca.

Prior to the festival Margot and her English husband Tom Ackerley returned from a vacation in the Caribbean.

The pair wed in a private Byron Bay ceremony on the New South Wales coast of Australia, and are now based in Los Angeles.
Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason is ready to admit he has issues he needs to work on, following a brutal incident that left their family dog Nugget dead.

Eason has apparently come to terms with the fact he has serious anger issues, according to an insider who spoke to TMZ, and is now 'ready' to seek therapy or get into an anger management program.

But the reality person can't undo the damage done to Teen Mom 2, which has lost a number of key sponsors amid the controversy.

Ready for help: David Eason, the husband of Teen Mom 2's Jenelle Evans, is ready to admit he has serious anger problems and get help following a brutal incident that left their family dog death

Eason has come to terms with the fact that his anger issues are out of control and is ready to get the help he needs. It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant, and had previously admitted that she's 'thought' about divorce.

All the while, MTV is dealing with the fall out from the controversy, even though they already axed David from the show last year for making homophobic and transphobic comments online.

The pet company Greenies was one of the first to take a stand, tweeting: 'We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty. We can now confirm that, as a result of this incident, our GREENIES ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming.'

Chipotle also announced they were pulling their support, tweeting: 'We are no longer airing our ads during episodes of Teen Mom.'

Dove Chocolate echoed those sentiments, writing, We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.

Twix candy echoed the sentiment, writing: We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.'

Blow back: Teen Mom 2 has lost several sponsors over the dog controversy, even though Eason left the show last year

It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant

David admitted to killing the family dog via social media earlier this week.

He defended killing the defenseless animal on social media Wednesday, sharing a video on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face.

Eason took to his HickTownKing Instagram page and posted the clip showing Nugget on the couch with his daughter Ensley who tries to go in for a kiss.

Instead of intervening between the animal, who is clearly uncomfortable as it cowers and pulls away from the little girl, Eason sits across the room and films the dog nip back at the girls face, causing her to cry.

He also shared a photo of a tearful toddler after the incident with a slight red welt on her cheek, the skin having not been broken by the dogs teeth.

Heartless: In response to the accusations that he killed the defenseless animal, Eason shared a video in his defense on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face while he sat across the room and watched

Proof? Eason shared a photo of his daughter after the nip that showed a small welt as the dogs teeth had not broken the skin

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption.

'I'm all about protecting my family, it is my lifes mission,' he continued.

He wrote: 'Some people are worth killing or dying for and my family means that much to me. You can hate me all you want but this isnt the first time the dog bit Ensley aggressively. The only person that can judge weather or not a animal is a danger to MY CHILD is ME.'

Eason turned off the comments function on the video post.

People were horrified when the brutal details of the dog murder emerged earlier this week.

The hunting enthusiast was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast.

Horrible: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast; seen on Instagram

Sad: The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death

The Teen Mom 2 star 'grabbed the dog by the throat and slammed it on the ground' before throwing the helpless animal into the kitchen table after filming the French Bulldog nipping at their two-year-old daughter Ensley.

The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything' to Jenelle.

The Attorney General's Office in North Carolina reportedly received 138 complaints from the animal welfare office once news broke that the dog had been killed, according to TMZ.

Sources revealed to the publication that Animal Control will be sending an officer to Jenelle's home on Thursday to 'confirm the dog is dead' and verify who has 'possession of the dog's corpse.

Law enforcement officials did later confirm to TMZ that a home check did take place, and the officers were able to drive onto the property through an open gate.

The Animal Control officers did see a grey pit bull on the porch, along with numerous 'No Trespassing' signs.

Sources claim that the Animal Control officers feared for their safety and left the property, alerting the Sheriff's Department who would come in and complete the visit.

Officers were hoping to determine whether or not Nugget was still alive, and whose name was on the ownership papers for the dog.

Later this afternoon, a source close to Jenelle told TMZ that right after Nugget 'nipped at his daughter,' David took the dog out back and slammed it repeatedly into their backyard shed, and then took the dog into the woods and shot it.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything to Eason

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office confirmed later on Thursday afternoon that they are conducting a 'joint investigation into allegations of animal cruelty' with Columbus County Animal Control.

Jenelle told US Weekly that she's had 'thoughts' of divorcing Eason, 'but nothing is finalized,' adding that 'David and I are not on talking terms.'

In North Carolina, killing a dog is a Class H Felony under the Animal-Cruelty statute.

But officials told TMZ on Wednesday that they will only go after David if Jenelle reports him.

On Tuesday unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter.

Eason's reality star wife took to social media to express her grief at the situation.

'Nugget... Im crying everyday. I love you so much and Im so sorry. Im speechless. You were my side kick and knew the moment I felt bad and would cuddle with me,' she penned.

Adding: 'You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons. Everyday I wake up youre not here, when I come home youre not here, when I go to bed... youre not here. Youre gone forever and theres no coming back. #Heartbroken #Distraught.'

Jenelle had adopted the French bulldog in August and the couple also has two Pitbulls.

Unsafe: The couple have two other dogs, pitbulls, the safety of status of which are unknown

Eason made it clear he had no comment about the incident when he appeared in court to pay $5k of back child support Friday in North Carolina.

David proved he was not to be trifled with when a photog/reporter for local station WSFX asked about the canine's murder.

'Don't get in my face, bro. I promise you don't want to do that,' 2nd amendment enthusiast Eason threatened in video obtained by TMZ .

Eason and the photog's tense exchange happened after the former appeared in court over $5187 he owed in child support.

Though he was at risk of being sent to jail for failing to pay child support, Eason originally showed up to court without the money he owed.

The judge granted him a small reprieve, allowing him to come up with the money by the end of day. He returned with the money shortly after time in court.

But Eason still faces serious accusations from Olivia Leedham, a woman he dated briefly in 2013 and subsequently had a son with.

Tough guy: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason threatened a photographer who asked him questions about killing the family dog when he appeared at a North Carolina courthouse Friday. He was in court over $5k of unpaid child support

Horrifying: An unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter

The pair have been embroiled in a tense custody battle for years.

In court, Leedham claimed Eason was physically abusive to her. Among her her claims, that Eason shoved her while eight-months pregnant and that he left her in the middle of the road at night when she was seven-months pregnant.

She also said Eason was 'thousands' of dollars behind in child support.

Eason has been accused of domestic violence in the past. Last fall Evans called 911 claiming her husband 'assaulted' her, causing her to break her collarbone.

'He got violent because he's been drinking,' Evans sobbed to the 911 operator in October.

'I'm recovering from a surgery on Monday. I can't breathe. I have four kids in the house with me right now. They're all sleeping. I don't know what to do. He left the house. I don't know what to do right now.'

But the reality star later dismissed the incident as a drunken misunderstanding.




Her glitzy looks and outrageous curves have made her a style icon.

And Dolly Parton is now throwing her cowboy hat into the fashion ring, set to launch her own clothing line according to WWD Friday.

The Jolene crooner, 73, explained how 'excited' she is about her forthcoming line of clothing, jewelry, accessories and home goods in a statement to the publication.

Fashion icon: Dolly Parton (above 2016) is giving fans the opportunity to embrace her style, set to launch a fashion line with IMG

Speaking about her multi-year partnership with high-powered management company IMG, she said: 'I am excited to be working with IMG on a global scale to give my fans products that they will cherish for years to come.

'You might even see my mug on a mug,' she joked.

IMG's VP of licensing Gary Krakower explained how 'thrilled' the company is to work with Dolly, telling WWD: 'Dolly Parton is an international icon and we are thrilled to be working with her.

'Together, we look forward to building cohesive lifestyle brand products that will celebrate Dolly and bring her iconic style and personality to her millions of fans worldwide in engaging new ways.'

More information about the line and its release date will be forthcoming.

Yee-haw! Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late. Above the beauty is seen in '77

Signature style: Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour. Above Dolly's seen in 2017 on The Tonight Show

Dolly has never shying away from sartorial drama through her six decade career.

Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour.

And it's said that Parton and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year.

Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late.

Lots o' looks! It's said that Parton (2002 above) and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year

Muse: Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection

Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest. Her face was also emblazoned onto a sweater.

Though she'll be a newcomer to fashion, Dolly has a number of other business ventures.

Her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee will celebrate its 33rd anniversary next year.

And later this year Netflix will debut an eight-part film anthology series, Heartstrings, inspired by her music.

True star: He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest and emblazoning her face onto a sweater
Kylie Minogue has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children.

Reflecting on her 2005 diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family, the pop icon told Sunday Times Style: 'I was 36 when I had my diagnosis (breast cancer). Realistically, youre getting to the late side of things.'

The petite beauty, 50, also spoke to the publication about her new relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons, who is the creative director of British GQ.

'Late side of things': Kylie Minogue, 50, has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children

Speaking of her desire to have children, Kylie explained: 'While that wasnt on my agenda at the time, it changed everything.'

Revealing how she has remained positive, she added: 'I dont want to dwell on it, obviously, but I wonder what that would have been like. Everyone will say there are options, but I dont know.

'Im 50 now, and Im more at ease with my life. I cant say there are no regrets, but it would be very hard for me to move on if I classed that as a regret, so I just have to be as philosophical about it as I can. Youve got to accept where you are and get on with it.'

Kylie also couldn't resist gushing about her new beau Paul, admitting: 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'.

'It changed everything': The pop icon reflecting on her 2005 breast cancer diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family (Pictured 2005)

'Have to accept it and move on': While Kylie admitted that having children 'wasn't on her agenda at the time', it changed everything

She shared: 'I can feel my face going, people say "Your face changes when you take about him," and it does.

'Happiness. Hes an inspiring, funny, talented guy. Hes got a real-life actual job! Its lovely.'

Meanwhile, Kylie has bagged herself a space in the famous afternoon Legend Sunday slot of the Glastonbury festival coming up this summer in 2019.

She was previously booked to play at the festival in 2005 but was forced to bow out after being given a breast cancer diagnosis.

'Happiness': The petite beauty also spoke to the publication about her relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons who is the creative director of British GQ

Smitten: Continuing to gush about her new beau Paul, Kylie revealed 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'

Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday.

She said: 'I keep losing my breath. Everytime someone mentions Glastonbury Im like, "yup, thats happening.

'It was 2005 and that was thrilling at that time that I was going to play Glastonbury. Then I received my diagnosis which put a halt to everything.

'All these years have passed and I was thinking, "well I guess thats never going to happen for me, I missed the boat on that."

'Then bang, I was offered the Legends slot which is incredibly exciting to me.'

Exciting! Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday

Kylie has been reported to be writing and recording new music recently for Glastonbury.

A source told The Sun: 'Kylie's been writing and recording new music for a while and its likely fans will hear some of the material when she plays Glastonbury in June.

'She's just registered a song called A Rose Is A Rose which she wrote with producer EG White.

'He worked with Kylie on her most recent album and has written songs for big-name artists including Adele and Celine Dion.'

Read Kylie Minogue's full interview in Sunday Times Style.
Line Of Duty wraps things up tonight with a special extended episode.

In theory anyway...

Put another way, only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions.

What's next? Line Of Duty wraps things up tomorrow with a special extended episode, and put another way, that leaves only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions

Why did Supt. Ted Hastings misspell definately for example, and why did no one else in AC-12 notice?

Why had he accepted that 50, 000 in cash but not spent some of it on a better hotel - one where he could actually flush the toilet?

Had he really lost thousands in something called The Kettle Bell Complex, which sounded more like one of a conspiracy anthem by Radiohead than a serious investment?

Was Gill Bigelow a baddie or just habitually bitchy? Was it true that you couldnt send flowers to people in hospital anymore, as she told like when she told the Deputy Chief Constable? And were muffins really the right alternative as DCC Wise decided (for Teds wife)?

Dramatic: Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent

Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent. And thats even if Mercurio wanted to, which frankly seems unlikely based on the previous four series.

You might be thinking the big issue in the finale is meant to be: will Superintendent Hastings turn out to be the high-ranking police officer/organised crime boss known as H?

Ironically though, thats the one thing we dont need to worry about.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! (As Ted would say.) Of course he isnt. Hes Ted Hastings!

Hes the last person who could be H.

So many questions: Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow

Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow.

Who is H?

Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out.

But here are 20 questions that should be answered in the Line Of Duty finale.

1. Is Ted Hastings H ?

Just because Hastings told the OCGs Lisa McQueen and Miroslav Minkowicz he was H, has spent the whole series seemingly helping the gang as H would, and misspelt definately like H didnt mean that he was H. We didnt float up the Lagan in a bubble you know Jed.

2. Will Ted go down for being H anyway?

This would give Mercurio a sensational ending for this series and a way to start the next (Arnott and Fleming trying to get him out of prison by exonerating him). Mercurio has dug such a deep hole for his hero its hard to see how he can come up with a convincing story to explain all Teds uncharacteristically strange behaviour and bad decision-making.

Bizarre: Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out

3. For instance why did Supt. Hastings furtively take his laptop to be disposed of in an Electronics Disposal Centre as soon as he learnt Arnott had made contact with undercover cop John Corbett?

This not only seemed highly suspicious but like a lot of trouble to go to  rather than just sticking it in a bin-liner and throwing it away. Where did Ted find a shop like this? Do they even exist?

4. And why had Ted Hastings accepted that Jiffy bag stuffed with 50K in cash and then just kept it on his desk, staring at it for several episodes, for AC-3 to find and use as evidence against him?

Teds explanation to DCS Patricia Carmichael was dodgy ex-detective Mark Moffatt had given him the money using false pretences and that hed been in the process of returning it. Clearly not only inadequate excuses but just not true.

5. Was Ted/Mercurio seriously going to claim hed been posing as H in order to discover Hs identity/trap H?

If Ted was going to use this (ridiculous) defence he was in trouble. H would not be living in a grotty Travelodge like Alan Partridge for a start and wasnt even a good cover story  given that H would want to maintain anonymity and Teds financial difficulties actually attracted suspicion that he was open to corruption.

Pretending to be H was a rubbish plan, as was proved when Lisa McQueen refused to believe H would break his cover at such a dangerous time after all those years undetected. Surely even Ted could see his trap could never work. H would know that Ted wasnt really H - because he was.

Odd: So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

6. If Ted was innocent why didnt he have anyone to corroborate that hed been pretending to be H? Or had been framed and by who?

Ted indignantly insisted to DCS Carmichael that hed been set up, but didnt have the foggiest clue who by. Ted had basically framed himself. He had nothing to corroborate his story about the 50, 000 because - much to Teds amazement, Moffatt hadnt left his fingerprints on the cash. And his visit to OCG member Lee Banks in Blackthorn prison - unaccompanied, unrecorded, and unbeknownst to any of his colleagues in AC-12  looked even more unwise/dubious when Banks failed to deny the accusation Ted had tipped the OCG off that Corbett was an undercover police officer (thus sealing his fate) by answering no comment to AC-3s questions.

7. Why had Ted Hastings spent THE WHOLE SERIES looking so shifty or sweating like the pilot in Airplane?

God knows how Mercurio would explain Teds behaviour  ordering Steve Arnott to shoot Corbett, moving armed officers away from the OCGs raid (allowing the balaclava gang to get away with 50m of stolen goods), panicking when AC-12 discovered a surveillance photo of the figure in the flat cap, or when corrupt PC Jane Cafferty revealed whod recruited her to the gang. No wonder at one point DI Kate Fleming even asked Ted: are you alright Sir?

8. Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

Ted Hastings had clearly been un-co-operative/ wilfully obfuscating regarding his involvement in the murder of John Corbetts mother - a police informant during The Troubles when Hastings was a young officer in the RUC.

Motives: Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

9. So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

Every time Ted said we will get our man or Lisa McQueen argued this is how he operates it seemed more like a red herring.

10. So could Gill Bigelow be H?

The PCCs legal counsel and Ted Hastings man-eating stalker was evil enough. Poor woman, she sighed, about the attack on his wife. At her age... She certainly seems keen on what she called a non-exclusive relationship with the truth. And the way she headed straight into the bathroom when Ted took her back to his hotel was suspiciously gratuitous. Had she been plotting to stitch him up by planting his DNA amongst the condoms discovered in AC-12s raid on the OCGs brothel?

11. Could DS Amanda Powell, DCC Andrea Wise, or DCS Patricia Carmichael be H or corrupt?

Any of these would be a cheap shot by Mercurio given that they had hardly featured. DCC Wise was also nice enough to send Roisin Hastings those muffins.

Sinister: Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

12. Were any minor characters working for the OCG  the likes of PC Tatleen Sohotra, authorised firearms officer Sergeant Kyle Ferringham, AC-3s Martina Trantor, or DS Arnotts ex-girlfriend for example?

The way Tatleen was running AC-12 virtually singlehanded seemed suspicious and DS Sam Railston rather desperate to get close to Steve.

13. Was Ryan Pilkington, the OCG thug who slashed PC Maneet Bindras throat, the new Dot Cottan  the next gang member to be planted in AC-12? (And was he really the kid on the bike in Series One nearly SEVEN years ago?)

It didnt bode well when Lisa McQueen asked Ryan how his exams had gone and heard back that he was preparing for an interview that ruled him out of any more fun with the OCG.

14. Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

Her emotional reaction to the death of Maneet Bindra and the way she spared PC Caffertys life in episode one still contradict her image as the OCGs toughest cookie.

Who is it? Were any minor characters working for the OCG?

15. Could Lisa McQueen be the secret love child of series ones protagonists corrupt cop DCI Tony Gates and his lover Jackie Laverty - whose legs were in Terrys freezer?

This would explain why she seemed so satisfied by John Corbetts demise.

16. Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

Lisa McQueen and the gang had identified Steve from Terrys photos of AC-12 raiding the OCGs print shop.

17. Was DI Kate Flemings life in danger from the OCG?

The way Kate kept telling people like Steff Corbett that shed worked undercover seemed unwise/unprofessional and the soppy scenes of her life at home with her kids and (grumpy) husband worryingly uncharacteristic for Line Of Duty.

Scared: Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

18. Could Kate Fleming be H?

Admittedly the most outlandish rumour amongst LoD websites.

19. Does H actually exist?

The entire theory about the codename H stemmed from Dot Cottan blinking to confirm it just before he died. Kate Fleming was rushing through the alphabet so quickly some fans theory is that he really indicated G.

20. Should the next series of Line Of Duty be about AC-3 given that AC-12 are so useless?

Patricia Carmichael may be more icy and less noble than Ted Hastings but she would be a worthy replacement. And if AC-12 cant even arrest Terry  who lived in the flat opposite the OCGs print shop with Jackie Lavertys legs in his freezer all that time  it seems unlikely they will ever discover who H is.
She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015.

And Bella Hadid made sure her look for this year's affair would be picture perfect, as she headed to a final fitting in NYC on Saturday.

The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers.

Finishing touches: Bella Hadid got ready for Monday's Met Gala by going to a dress fitting in NYC on Saturday

The black and white and red all over Miaou pants, which retail for just under $300, rose high up her hips and featured a row of slick silver buttons and a cropped hem.

Keeping her look nonchalant, she tossed a crisp shirt on top.

Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble while she topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant.

The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun, also framing her face with hoop earrings.

Read all about it! The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers

Bun in the sun: The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun

Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion, which is inspired by the similarly titled Susan Sontag essay Notes On Camp.

Defining 'camp,' the public intellectual described the concept as 'the metaphor of life as theater.'

And while the Gala is known for bringing out the dramatic, stars are said to be worried sick about how to tackle this year's theme.

Cool kicks: Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble

Accessories: She topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant

Camp chic: Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion

'I know some A-listers who regularly attend were unhappy with the looks designers were pitching them,' one fashion insider told Page Six.

'The idea of "camp" is out of their grasp. One major hairstylist to an A-list actress told me, "Shes freaking out because she just wants to look pretty."'

Meanwhile, many are worried about offending the tastes of Ms. Anna Wintour.

As one insider explained: 'You get to the top of the stairs [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art] and... if she isnt smiling, your dress sucks.'

Previous years' themes have include 2015's China: Through The Looking Glass, 2016's Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, 2017's Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, and 2018's Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination.

Freshman year: She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015, above
Billie Lourd honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, marking May 4 Star Wars Day.

The 26-year-old actress posted a shot of herself and her mother with a caption of emojis honoring the nostalgic celebration that plays on the date and a key line throughout the Star Wars anthology, 'May the force be with you.'

Lourd had initially posted the mother-daughter shot prior on December 14, 2015 prior to screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which marked her onscreen entry into the Star Wars universe as the Lieutenant Connix character.

In her heart: Billie Lourd, 26, honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, which marked Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Fisher died at 60 on December 27 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, four days after she had a heart attack on a December 23, 2016 flight from London to Los Angeles.

Her mother and Billie's grandmother, Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds, died after a stroke December 28 as she was planning Fisher's memorial.

Lourd in December took to Instagram with a tribute to her late mother with clips of herself playing the 1967 Nico song These Days - a favorite of Fisher's - on a family heirloom piano.

'It has been two years since my Momby's death and I still don't know what the "right" thing to do on a death anniversary is (I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way about your loved ones),' the actress wrote.

Cherished memories: Lourd posted a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away Thursday

Icon: Fisher was seen in this still from the initial Star Wars film released in 1977

Lourd said that she's coped with the tragic experience by staying busy and keeping good company.

'I've found that what keeps me moving,' she wrote, 'is doing things that make me happy, working hard on the things that I'm passionate about and surrounding myself with people I love and making them smile.

She added that she hoped the emotional clip would inspire others 'feeling a little low or lost to "keep on moving."

'As my Momby once said, "Take your broken heart and turn it into art" - whatever that art may be for you,' she added.

Lourd, who's been seen on Scream Queens and American Horror Story, took to the site Friday with a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew - who passed away Thursday.

Classic: Mark Hamill, Fisher and Harrison Ford are seen in this shot from Star Wars

On the move: The trio was pictured with classic Star Wars characters Chewbacca (played by the late Peter Mayhew) and CP-30 (played by Anthony Daniels) in this shot from 1983's Return of the Jedi

No bargain: The Leia character found herself chained to Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi

Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, John Stamos, Jimmy Fallon and Bret Michaels paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists.

Also chiming in were Star Wars alums Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, who have appeared in recent Star Wars films in the anthology.

Star Wars with the stars: Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists

Hey there: Hollywood stalwart John Stamos posed alongside a shot of of R2-D2 in this retro post he brought back for the special day

Lots of laughs: The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon hearkened back to a bit based on the films

Cloud City checks in: Billy Dee Williams, who plays Lando Calrissian, took to the site with an uplifting message

Amusing: Mark Hamill's tweet inspired a back-and-forth with pop culture king Jeff Goldblum

Nothing but a good time: Poison's Bret Michaels shared a lively concert pic for the occasion

Hulk meets Chewy: The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno shared this shot with characters from the film
Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks

US authorities are seeking to sell a $39-million luxury mansion in Los Angeles allegedly bought by a Malaysian financier with money looted from scandal-hit state fund 1MDB, court documents showed.

Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks.

Financier Low Taek Jho is suspected of playing a central role in the fraud and has been charged in absentia in Malaysia and America, which is seeking to recover assets allegedly bought with looted funds via civil lawsuits.

Among these assets is the mansion in Beverly Hills, a wealthy area of LA that is home to many Hollywood stars, said to have been bought by Low in 2012 with stolen money.

US prosecutors and Low's holding company that owns the property have agreed to try to sell it, according to documents filed in a California court Friday.

"The property is at risk of deterioration and damage as it will likely be uninhabited during" ongoing legal action unless it is sold, the filings said.

"The expense of keeping the property is excessive and/or is disproportionate to its fair market value," they added.

The US legal action linked to the mansion will continue despite the agreement. Proceeds from any eventual sale will be held in a government account until the action ends, the filings said.

Low's spokesman in a statement welcomed the "mutual effort to preserve the property's value while ensuring the owners' claims are protected and may proceed in a timely fashion".

The current whereabouts of Low, who gained a reputation as a jet-setting playboy, are unknown. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The 1MDB scandal played a huge part in the election loss last year of Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

The ex-leader has since been arrested over the fraud and went on trial last month.

Malaysia's new government has re-opened investigations into 1MDB and vowed to get back stolen money. The US is getting ready to return about $200 million of recovered funds to Malaysia, Bloomberg News reported this week.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month's first round.

Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a country deeply polarized between the governing Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE conservatives. Turnout will be crucial, with 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past that point, with a turnout of 41.8%.

Campaigning in the first round centered on a recent deal the Balkan country reached with neighboring Greece to rename itself North Macedonia in exchange for Athens dropping objections to it joining NATO and the European Union. This time round, the candidates have focused more on the issues of corruption, crime, poverty and brain drain.

Here is a look at the two contenders for North Macedonia's presidency.

____

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63 - The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock 'n' roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

A woman walks past a poster of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan "Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls." She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country's name to North Macedonia and had hinted she would challenge the name agreement in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But last week, Siljanovska said during a debate on national television MTV she will not "spend the whole mandate in reviewing the name agreement with Greece."

"I will fight for democratization of the undemocratic Macedonian political system," she added.

During a campaign speech, Siljanovska said her country needs a "radical reversal," and described it as being "in many elements a failed state."

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country's first constitution.

____

Stevo Pendarovski, 56 - A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovski's second bid for the presidency after being defeated by Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He has defended the name deal with Greece, arguing it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan "Forward Together" reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring foreign investment, jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

"People should know what is at stake, they should not stay passive," he said during the television debate. "They have to go out and choose between two concepts - the one that is for progress, cohesion and integration in the strongest international organizations, (and) the other that draws the country back in time."

People walk past a campaign poster of Stevo Pendarovski, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads: "Together Forward", in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Campaign posters of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, left, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, which reads in Macedonian: "Justice for Macedonia" and a poster of Stevo Pendarovski, right, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads in Macedonian: "Together Forward", are placed in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied. People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some "pretty radical" decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high court's longest-serving justice, the "senior associate justice," when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas "highly underrated." Trump said Thomas has "been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit."

FIILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as "terrifying to many progressives."

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

"He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake," Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, "Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise."

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as "policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law ." He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both "notoriously incorrect."

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as "abdicating our judicial duty." Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : "My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances."

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

"Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest ... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: "It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning."

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 1991, file photo, Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White. Watch from left are first lady Barbara Bush, President George H.W. Bush, behind Thomas, and Thomas' wife, Virginia Lamp Thomas. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2011, file photo Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laughs while talking with other guests at The Federalist Society's 2011 Annual Dinner in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, from left, Supreme court Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts arrive for services for former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 1991, file photo, newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talks to reporters while posing on the plaza of the court in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP photo/Dennis Cook, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include the new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DOHA, May 4 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways' return to flying over Syria as its eight-year war dies down is part of its efforts to grapple with a nearly two-year Gulf dispute that has blocked it from using the airspace of many of its neighbours, CEO Akbar al-Baker said on Saturday.

Syrian transport minister Ali Hammoud said last month that his country had approved a request by Qatar Airways to begin using the country's airspace for routes, one of the first airlines to do so. Qatar did not comment at the time.

Qatar's state-owned carrier has had to re-route many of its flights since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with the tiny Gulf state in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

The adjusted routes have increased the duration and cost of flights moving west and south of the Gulf, and in March the company reported an annual loss for the second consecutive year.

"This is all about the blockade," Baker said of the decision, referring to the 2017 boycott. "We are blockaded, so we have to find ways to fulfil the requirements of my country. It's very simple".

Baker said the restored routes, which analysts have said include flights to Doha from Beirut and Larnaca, do not pose safety issues.

"You know Qatar Airways would not fly anywhere that is not safe. We have to protect our passengers and our crew," said Baker. (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was later quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency as saying the military had killed 23 militants in retaliation for the attacks from Syria.

A Turkish security official told Reuters that the army was carrying out small operations to eliminate threats from the Tel Rifaat region, but that it could launch "a bigger operation" if necessary.

Separately, three Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after Kurdish militants shelled the region, the defence ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy militant targets.

Akar said the military had killed five other militants in the cross-border operation into northern Iraq, and a total of 28 militants in response to the two attacks.

"We neutralised the 28 terrorists who carried out the attacks. Our operations both inside and outside our country continue with great determination," Akar said, according to Anadolu.

Turkey's military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defence ministry said Turkish and Russian forces had carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Holmes, Jan Harvey and Hugh Lawson)
BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theatres of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces", said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defence ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
Any reform in any community is sustainable in the long run only if it follows internal churning. It shouldnt be thrust down a community's throat, ideally, but it should come after debates, discussions and deliberations from within.

This, of course, applies only to practices that are not a threat to human life.

It is beyond time the Muslim community itself banned the burqa. (Source: Reuters)

The move of Keralas Muslim Educational Society (MES)  which controls 150 educational institutions  to ban any dress that covers the face for girls on all the campuses is thus a positive move.

The MES will not encourage any type of veils on its campus... Managers of each MES institution will have to ensure that girl students do not come to the campus with their faces covered. They are hereby asked to include this as a rule on the campus from the academic year 2019-20, the MES circular read.

It has for long been maintained that regressive practices within the Muslim world must be questioned  from within.

While many say that covering the face is a matter of 'choice', the hard fact is, millions of women in the world are forced to cover up their bodies, including their faces. The hard fact is also that in some countries, women can be stoned to death for not covering up. Every call for a ban on the burqa is met with senseless rebuttals, stating it is a matter of choice  and also a fashion statement for many. Both these weak defences either naively or deliberately miss the hard truth behind the practice.

But this glamorisation of the burqa by some has proven to be an incarceration of sorts for many others, who have risked their lives fighting for their right to walk with their faces uncovered and their heads held high.

However, when countries like France implemented this ban without much debate, almost as a diktat, they faced backlash. The implementation of a similar move is currently under discussion in Sri Lanka, following the terror attacks on April 21 that claimed over 300 lives.

Such a 'burqa ban' by a state, topdown and sans sufficient consensus, actually furthers divide  but when such a move is implemented from within the community, it creates room for positive dialogue.

Why should men be given the right to enforce a ban on women leaving their faces free? (Source: Reuters)

Some would say Keralas MES should have waited for a consensus to build on the subject. But that makes little sense, given that the burqa has been in existence for pretty long and has been implemented with such an iron fist for so many women that it needs to be done away with  now.

There is no reason for women to cover up their faces, just as there is no reason for women to join their deceased husbands on a funeral pyre, just as there is no reason for women to be killed while they are still a foetus.

Burqa is not a matter of choice of choice for many. It is a marker of deep misogyny. If there is a God, why would s/he want women to cover their faces and let men beat them up for not doing so? If womens faces were indeed problematic, why would that Supreme Being create them in the first place?

As the debate gathers steam, Kerala MES has made a very good beginning.

It is time more Muslims support it and speak out against the veil.

Also read: AR Rehmans daughter wearing the veil is her choice. But it's still a hugely regressive one
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Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC.
BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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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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Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is engaged principally in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing, management and ownership of an industrial global rental portfolio of properties in North America and Europe leased primarily to Magna International Inc. and its automotive operating units. It is a service REIT with an international portfolio consisting of over 100 properties. It provides a range of services that includes sourcing and real estate acquisition, site development, assisting with government approvals and re-zoning to specific uses, build-to-suit construction, property renovation, project management and long-term leasing. In November 2013, Granite Real Estate Investment Trust completed its acquisition of a 2.5 million square foot portfolio of seven properties located in Germany and the Netherlands from funds managed by AEW Europe.

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Shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF reverse split on the morning of Monday, November 7th 2016. The 1-2 reverse split was announced on Friday, October 14th 2016. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the market closes on Friday, November 4th 2016. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split.
Power Financial Corporation provides financial services in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers life, disability, critical illness, and health insurance products, as well as wealth savings and income products, and specialty products. The company also provides financial products, including employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, enrollment services, communication materials, investment options and education services, fund management services, and investment and advisory services. In addition, it offers protection and wealth management products, such as payout annuity products; reinsurance products; and sub-advisory services. Further, the company provides mutual funds, pooled funds, segregated funds, separate accounts, and other investment vehicles; securities, mortgages, and other financial services; and investment management services. It offers its products primarily through distribution network of third-party financial advisors, consultants, and independent financial advisors. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Power Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada.

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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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4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Dimeco has received 32 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Dimeco has received 16 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Dimeco has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Dimeco and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe DIMC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe DIMC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
The Williams Cos., Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico; Northeast G&P; and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment comprises of interstate natural gas pipelines, Transco and Northwest Pipeline, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment includes midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation businesses in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment consists of gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of south Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins. The company was founded by David Williams and Miller Williams in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa,

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African Battery Metals Plc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for and exploits mineral resources. It explores for cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, gold, and other battery metals. The company holds interest in cobalt-copper exploration licenses, which include the Kisinka license covering an area of 50 square kilometers; and Sakania license covering an area of 140 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also holds interest in the Ferensola Project, a gold, iron, and coltan deposit covering an area of 153 square kilometers located in Northern Sierra Leone. The company was formerly known as Sula Iron & Gold plc and changed its name to African Battery Metals Plc in January 2018. African Battery Metals Plc was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in long-term, investment grade municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock MuniHoldings Insured Fund II, Inc. BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. was formed on February 26, 1999 and is domiciled in United States.

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CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bioxyquell Limited, CALGON EUROPE LIMITED, CALGON LLC, CID LINES HOLDING NV, CID LINES INVEST NV, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstaff Inc., Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AP Holdings LLC, Ecolab AT 2 GmbH, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab B.V.B.A./S.P.R.L., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH, Ecolab CH 5 GmbH, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co., Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 S.a.r.l., Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab NL 4 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V.B.A., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Guangzhou Green Harbour Environmental Operation Ltd., HYDROSAN LIMITED, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BVBA, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., London & General Packaging Ltd, MALAYSIA SDN. BHD, MANUFACTURING S.R.L., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Europe Limited, Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, Midland Research Laboratories UK Limited, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM BVBA, NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND MANUFACTURING GMBH UND CO. KG, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO LUXEMBOURG HOLDINGS SARL, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO NORTH AFRICA LIMITED, NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO ZAO, NALFLOC LIMITED, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC, Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Nalco Gulf Response Corp., Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Shield Salvage Associates Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, Technical Textile Services Limited, Techtex Holdings Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, Wabasha Leasing LLC, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.
ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V..
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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Intu owns and manages some of the best shopping centres, in some of the strongest locations, in the UK and Spain. Our UK portfolio is made up of 17 centres, including eight of the top-20, and in Spain we own three of the country's top-10 centres, with advanced plans to build a fourth. We are passionate about creating compelling experiences, in centre and online, that make our customers smile and help our retailers flourish. We attract around 400 million customer visits and 26 million website visits a year offering a multichannel approach that truly supports retail strategies. Our strategic focus on prime, high-footfall flagship destinations, combined with the strength and popularity of our brand, means that intu offers enhanced footfall, dwell time and loyalty. This helps our tenants flourish, driving occupancy and income growth. We are committed to our local communities, with our centres supporting nearly 130,000 jobs (representing about 3 per cent of the total UK retail workforce), and to operating with environmental responsibility. We have already met or exceeded a significant number of our 2020 environmental targets.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF's stock was trading at $20.50 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, BBJP stock has increased by 170.4% and is now trading at $55.43.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Heap of Dirt Abandoned at Bamenda Food Market Camera

Inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have been inhaling strong smell from the heaps of dirt dumbed along major areas in town, after the company in charge of keeping the town clean, HYSACAM, abandoned duty for security reasons.



Following the kidnapping of four workers of the waste disposal company few weeks ago in Bamenda, council officials expressed doubts if HYSACAM would continue cleaning the town.

Suspected separatists kidnapped four workers and seized a truck, around the dumpsite in Mankon on Thursday, April 11. The truck driver was freed along with the truck but the company had to pay ransoms for the other three to be released, although they didnt state how much.

Today the Bamenda Food Market is littered with dirt, stinks and makes the environment, quite uncomfortable for business persons, who say they dont have a choice, because they still have to earn a living, despite the condition they face.

Similar attacks on the company few months ago, pushed HYSACAM authorities to suspend its activities in three towns in the Anglophone regions. In January 2019, the company suspended its activities within the city of Bamenda. In a press statement, it explained the company was exposed to violence, perpetrated by armed separatists in the North West. They announced they had lost close to FCFA 1Billion.

Suspected separatists, damaged the bridge, connecting the city to the waste management center This grounded HYSACAMs activities for 15 days with no way to carry on with waste disposal in Bamenda.

The main bridge leading to the dump site in Mbelewa- Mile Four Nkwen in Bamenda 3 subdivision was broken by unidentified gun men, trying to restrict the movement of cars into certain parts of Bafut thus rendering the dump site inaccessible to trucks of the company.

HYSACAMs Communication Officer, Funwi Jude said their man power and machinery is ready to keep Bamenda clean but they couldnt access the dump site . The company also announced that same thing was done in Buea on the 2nd of December 2018. In Kumba, separatists burnt down two new brand trucks of theirs, that had just been commissioned. HYSACAM employees all over Anglophone regions, were threatened and some received calls to contribute to the war.

Since the arrival of HYSACAM, commended efforts have been done to clean up the city of Bamenda, to the acknowledgement of the population. As the Anglophone crisis intensified, the company has on several occasions complained of being attacked by separatists, as they carry out their activities.

However, the council has not released any official statement, on its activities in Bamenda.
Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 11 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 97.53%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.17% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $80.84 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, HYG stock has increased by 7.8% and is now trading at $87.16.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares MSCI India ETF's stock was trading at $28.76 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, INDA shares have increased by 56.8% and is now trading at $45.10.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
UN Security Council concerned about humanitarian situation in Cameroon Internet

According to French magazine, Jeune Afrique, the United Nations Security Council will meet on May 13, to discuss the ongoing unrest in Cameroon's North West and South West regions.

The paper says the United States is behind the initiative, that will focus on the humanitarian aspects of the conflict that began since 2016. No statement is expected to be released by the council, after the meeting.

The magazine quoted a statement from the US mission to the United Nations, who said the situation in Cameroon had caught their attention, especially with the devastating humanitarian crisis.

"We hope that this meeting will encourage a more robust regional and international response (...) to avoid further deterioration of the situation," the source added.

Many diplomats and international bodies have voiced out on several occasions, the need to push forward the ongoing sociopolitical unrest in Cameroon, to the United Nations Security Council.

At least four million persons need humanitarian assistance in the English a speaking regions of Cameroon . The International Crisis Group, recently reported that over 500,000 persons have been displaced as a result of the crisis, while 1,850 persons have died as a result of the crisis.

Cameroonian government continues to believe that it can take control of the situation in the Anglophone regions by exerting force, while armed separatists believe that they would achieve independence at any moment from now.

A humanitarian assistance response plan, carried out by Cameroon and other international partners have seen an inadequate response, according to UN resident coordinator, Ms.Allegra Baiocchi.

Meeting in Yaounde on Friday with the national coordinator of the Humanitarian Response plan, Ms Allegra and Minister Atanga Nji Paul, announced they had created a platform to effectively account to the distribution of humanitarian needs.
The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; premium fleet services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment processing solutions for payment and transaction monitoring needs. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented and that require pre-authorization; and prepaid and gift card products that enables secure payment and financial management solutions with single card options, access to open or closed loop redemption, load limits, and with various expirations. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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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..
5 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for bioMerieux in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" bioMerieux stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in BMXMF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for bioMerieux or view top-rated stocks.
Kouam Wokam Paul Atia Azohnwi

The Divisional Officer (DO) for Buea, Kouam Wokam Paul has fired a missive at Chief Mafany Njie Martin of Liongo Village in Buea who doubles as President of the South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC.

In a "letter of observation" dated May 3, 2019, the Senior Civil Administrator conveyed to Chief Mafany Njie his "total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct." It was sent to the recipient through the President of the Buea Chiefs Conference.

The DO's epistle follows a letter signed by Chief Mafany Njie in his capacity as SWECC president in which he condemned the South West Governor Okalia Bilai Bernard's "ordering" of Chiefs to march on May 20 along with their subjects under pain of losing their royal crowns.

In a communique signed Tuesday April 30, 2019, Chief Mafany Njie Martin on behalf of his peers said the governor did not have to remind them of their civic responsibilities.

"We, the South West Chiefs categorically condemn the demeaning and threatening manner by which the Governor of the South West Region reminded us of our usual civic duties, which we have always performed so diligently without be ordered to do so by whosoever," the statement in response to Governor Okalia read.

The regional chief executive had on Thursday April 25, 2019, as he chaired a preparatory meeting ahead of the 47th edition of Cameroon's National Day nationwide celebrations billed for May 20, said chiefs who fail to march with their subjects will be sanctioned severely 30 days after the national unity feast.

"During the 20th May this year, all the Chiefs will march with a placard indicating their village and with their population behind them," Okalia said, adding that, "If that is not the case, it means those chiefs don't exist. And if you don't exist as a body, as a village, then you should neither be called a village nor be counted among villages."

"I said this some two, three years ago but the Chiefs refused to do it because they were still volunteer Chiefs. But today, know that the volunteerism is finish. Tradition is there, but you are tied to the state with an obligation. Eh Chief? You know noh? I don't want to disclose it here. But we understand each other," Okalia said with a feigned smile.

In a firm tone, he handed down a subtle threat: "If you fail to do what I am instructing, you'll see 30 days after, the consequences of that disobedience."

Okalia turned to the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge to know the number of villages within his municipality and the mayor's response put smiles on his face. He then instructed the Mayor to prepare placards bearing the names of all the villages in Buea - which placards will be carried by the Chiefs as they lead their kits and kins during the National Day parade.

"So Lord Mayor, prepare the placards because soon they will say they don't have money. Prepare it. How many villages do we have in Buea? Ah! a hundred, put them on placards. Every Chief will march. And those who are in exile in Douala or Yaounde, Let them stay there. When they come back, they'll find someone else as chief," Okalia decreed.

The chiefs say their native laws and customs do not allow them as natural rulers to march past the grandstand during official ceremonies, according to the Chief Mafany Njie signed statement.

"We completely dissociate ourselves from such a representation and remind the public that the traditions and customs of the South West people are full of values of respect, tolerance, nobility and unity. We therefore call on our population to remain calm and positive as we look forward to accompanying the State in all national events like we have always done," the chiefs said through their president.

But in a rare outing, the Divisional Officer for Buea set the records straight.







What the DO "observed":

"It has been brought to my attention that in a declaration dated 30th April 2019 addressed to the general public and currently circulating in the social media, you took upon yourself on behalf of traditional rulers of the South West region to denounce, in calumnious language to the person of H.E. the Governor of the South West region the appeal he made on the 30th April 2019 during the first preparatory meeting for the 20th May 2019 at which you were conspicuously absent, an appeal made to traditional rulers and community leaders of Buea Subdivision for the mobilisation and massive participation of their population in the celebration of the National Day in Buea.

"Further thereto, I have the honour to observe that by embarking in this exercise of the deliberate distortion and manipulation of the words of the Governor, your statements which are characterised by untruths and gratuitous assertions could not be only demobilise to the population that you are expected to be catering for but to also severely undermine the relentless efforts deployed by public authorities to ensure the success of this event in Buea - the cradle of our National Unity. In this light, your statements constitute a sort of caution for the actions of enemy forces that have made the disruption of the celebration of this solemn event on of their main objective.

"At a time when I expect to see you actively engaged in the company of your peers within Buea Subdivision in action geared at ensuring a commendable representation of your respective communities through various socio-cultural associations and traditional dance groups, I regret to realise that you are rather actively trying to dubiously involve the entire body which you now chair of South West traditional rulers who were never mentioned at any point whatsoever of this working session.

"I deem it necessary to remind you that in your capacity as auxiliary of the administration, such agitation is punishable both at the administrative, disciplinary and penal levels especially in this period of security challenges.

"Consequently, this letter of observation is intended to convey to you my total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct."






Rutherford said King sexually assaulted the victim and took advantage of her by taking her to get clothes and food when she was in need. He described her as the perfect victim.

Thats whats so horrible about this case, Rutherford said.

He requested King serve a 10-year sentence and said the defendant deserves every day of that time behind bars.

He takes advantage of girls who are in need, Rutherford said. Thats his M.O.

Rutherford submitted a victim impact statement from the victims mother, which Garrett initially ruled would not be allowed as evidence after hearing a defense motion, but the judge later reversed the decision.

Lamson said though King has some criminal history he has no previous sex offenses. He said King has helped teenagers in the area and others find employment, overcame his background as a felon by starting his own business and has spent more than $60,000 on his defense, which caused stress for his family.

In serving just more than two years in jail already, Lamson said King already exceeded the low end of the time sentencing guidelines called for and requested time served.
 Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association (Rixeyville) holds Gospelfest, featuring the Swanee Quintet of Augusta, Georgia, and others at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Womens Auxiliary holds a Prayer Luncheon at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. 15044 Ryland Chapel Road. (540) 661-2013.

 Zion Union Baptist Church Womens Fellowship hosts a Prayer Breakfast with the Rev. Denise Watson-Smith at 9 a.m. Saturday. Womens Day will be observed with performances by various gospel groups at 3 p.m. Sunday. 1015 Preston Ave. (434) 297-2271.

This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication, including an address and phone number, should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication.

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WASHINGTON  Heres how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending May 3:

House

Keeping America in climate accord. The House on May 2 voted, 231 for and 190 against, to continue U.S. participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The bill (HR 9) would deny funding to carry out President Donald Trumps plan to withdraw the United States from the global pact in November 2020. The bill also requires the administration to develop a plan for achieving voluntary carbon-reduction goals to which America subscribed when the Obama administration joined the agreement in 2016. Those goals would be reached primarily by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Signed by 195 nations, the Paris Agreement is designed to limit the increase in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (about 1850) levels. Each participant is responsible on a voluntary basis to meet emissions targets it negotiates with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The United States is the only signee nation to have disavowed the agreement.
Now a corner of Madison County has gotten its shot at world-class status.

We all knew that Old Rag Mountain was a challenging and rewarding hike, and we knew that it wasnt a local secret. Old Rag attracts tons of hikers, to the extent that it often can seem overcrowded.

Now Outside magazine has listed Old Rag as one of the 25 best hikes in the world . That puts it right up there (pun intended) with such sites as Everest Base Camp in Nepal and the Lares Trek in Peru.

Now we can expect more visitors.

That should be good news for Madison County (Old Rag lies in Madisons portion of the Shenandoah National Park) and for nearby counties.

Outside magazine acknowledges the crowding issue and suggests hiking the 9.2-mile loop (rock-scrambling might be more like it) during the winter at midweek instead of spring, summer or autumn weekends.

But the National Park Service warns against making the attempt in wet or icy conditions. (The website www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/old-rag-hike-prep.htm has more information.)
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:41PM

Well, this killed any remaining mystery surrounding the more affordable Google Pixel devicesspecifically the Pixel 3a XL. The phone was spotted at a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio. The phones were kept under glass but it showed the two previously leaked colours, Purple-ish and Just Black. The phone was being rumoured for a launch at Googles I/O event on May 7th. This seems to confirm that the phone will make an appearance then. The rumoured specs of are 5.6-inch for the Pixel 3a and 6-inch for the Pixel 3a XL. The phones will reportedly run on a Snapdragon 670 and 710 processors, respectively, with 4GB of RAM and the same Pixel Visual Core that runs on the cameras of the current Pixel 3 phones. The prices are said to be US$399 for the Pixel 3a and $479 for the Pixel 3a XL. While this seems legitimate, the launch hasnt happened yet, so as usual, its best to take this information with a grain of salt.

Source: Android Police
Under the insolvency proceedings, 41 per cent of the members of the committee of creditors (CoC) voted against the proposal, while 23 per cent were in favour.

New Delhi: Financial creditors of Jaypee Infratech on Friday rejected Suraksha Realty's bid for the debt-laden firm as the offer was low on upfront cash payment and will meet on May 9 to discuss the future course of action, sources said.

Mumbai-based Suraksha group was the lone contender in the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd on the grounds that the offer did not have approval from various government departments.

NBCC wants its bid to be reconsidered, while Adani Group has also shown interest in acquiring Jaypee Infratech and completing over 20,000 delayed flats in Noida.

Interestingly, Jaypee Group's promoters too have put in a bid to retain control of the company.

Under the insolvency proceedings Friday, members representing 41.85 per cent of voting rights were against the proposal, while 23.47 per cent were in favour.

Most of those voting in favour were homebuyers, who hold about 60 per cent of the voting rights in the CoC.

The remaining around 34.69 per cent homebuyers abstained from the voting process, which started on April 30 and concluded on Friday.

"Section 28(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code stipulates that 'No action shall be approved by the committee of creditors unless approved by a vote of 66 per cent of the voting shares'.

"Since the members representing 23.47 per cent of the voting rights assented to the matter, the decision on the item stands rejected," Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain said in a statement.

The CoC will meet again on May 9 to decide the future course of action, sources said, even as the court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution process ends on May 6.

Lenders have sought extension of the deadline and the matter is pending before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

IDBI Bank, India Infrastructure Finance Company, LIC, SBI, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank, ICICI, IFCI, Axis Bank and SREI Equipment Finance voted against Suraksha's offer. Only J&K Bank voted in favour.

Among homebuyers, 8,019 people voted in favour, 860 against while 14,632 abstained.

Suraksha Realty had in this round offered lenders Rs 18.55 crore as upfront payment and land parcels worth Rs 5,000 crore to settle the debt. It also proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital to complete pending flats.

After its bid got rejected, NBCC Ltd got the necessary approvals from various government departments for its offer and has written to the IRP that its bid should be reconsidered on merit.

Last month, business conglomerate Adani Group too wrote to the IRP, expressing its interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group's promoters too are keen to retain control over its realty arm and have already submitted their debt resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Meanwhile, the lead lender IDBI on April 29 approached the Allahabad bench of the NCLT seeking extension of insolvency proceedings beyond the May 6 deadline.

In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after the NCLT admitted the application by an IDBI

Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee Group's flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates, owes nearly Rs 9,800 crore to financial creditors.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the IRP to oversee the affairs of the company and conduct the bidding process to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech who can complete pending 20,000 flats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the company's net worth and assets as well as liquidation value of about Rs 14,000 crore.

In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT's direction.

To protect lenders interest, NBCC has offered Rs 5,000 crore worth land as well as 100 per cent equity of Yamuna Expressway, the only cash generating asset with Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur has promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore to complete pending apartments over the next four years. The group had submitted a Rs 10,000-crore plan before lenders in April 2018 as well, but the same was not accepted.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with the NCLT.
The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated. (Photo: Representational | ANI)

Panaji: The Government of France is planning to organise an investment conclave in Goa in October this year, to encourage French companies to invest in various sectors in the coastal state.

A proposal to this effect would be submitted to the Goa government soon, Consul General of France in Mumbai Sonia Barbry said here on Friday.

The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated, she said.

"During that conclave, a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LOI) were signed between French and Indian companies. Now, we will try to bring in French investment into Goa," she said.

The 'Franco Goa Investment Conclave' will look at investment in the field of green marinas, health, medical equipment and waste management besides others, Barbry said.

"We have some companies in France that know how to make sustainable marinas without disturbing the environment," she said.

Barbry, who was in Goa to oversee Indo-French Naval Exercise 'Varuna', met Goa Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Thursday and discussed economic interests of France in Goa.

She said some French companies were interested in investing in Goa in different fields.

During her visit, the Consul General also met Goa University Vice Chancellor Varun Sahani to discuss about preparations for the upcoming workshop for French teachers to be held from May 20-25 at Goa University.

She said around 130 teachers from various colleges from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal would take part in the workshop, which will improve their pedagogical skills.
Dabangg actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is currently shooting for Salman Khans Dabangg 3, took some time off from her hectic work schedule to head to Lucknow. There, the actress was seen campaigning for her mother, Poonam Sinha, whos contesting the General Elections as a candidate from the city.

Sonakshi, who is active on Instagram, also posted pictures of her with her mother Poonam in Lucknow as an Instagram story.

Reportedly, Sonakshi spent time meeting Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple and the rest of the family. Later in the afternoon, she participated in the road show that started from GPO in Hazratganj and urged people to vote for her mother. A huge turnout was seen, as many wanted to catch a glimpse of actress,while Sonakshi was seen waving to the crowds.
Based on Anna Todds successful fan fiction series on Harry Styles, After is being brought to the big screen. PVR Pictures is all set to charm the country with its release on 3rd May 2019. This romantic drama introduces us to the journey of a young woman who falls for a guy with a dark secret and the two embark on a rocky relationship. Directed and written by Jenny Gage, After is based on the 2014 fiction novel of the same name by Anna Todd. The movie features Hero Fiennes Tiffin(Hardin) and Josephine Langford(Tessa) in prominent roles, alongside Selma Blair, Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder, Swen Temmel, Inanna Sarkis , Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals , Pia Mia, Meadow Williams, Dylan Arnold.

We found Hero early on in the process, remembers Director Jenny Gage. His tape from London was one of the first auditions that we all saw. We didn't meet him in person until later, but even on tape there was something about his vulnerability in his performance that really captivated me. He was perfect for Hardin.

The character of Hardin Scott is described as having intense green eyes, an English accent, brooding good looks, and a piercing stare. Todd knew the moment she saw Hero that he was the perfect choice. When I got in the room with Hero, about 30 seconds in, I said to Jen, What just happened? This is it. No one else can be Hardin." Todd continues, I was to the point where I was literally saying, If you guys even think about trying to hire someone else, were going to be making a mistake. Hero has something.

Despite being unaware of the source material, the actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin was interested in what makes Hardin Scott tick. I had never heard of the book After when I first auditioned, but as soon as I mentioned it, everyone and their mum around me knew what it was, remembers Fiennes Tiffin. I don't relate to Hardin in too many ways, and that's why I find him funny to play, because there are aspects of his personality that interest me  his lack of self-control, the fact he's very logical but also impulsive and can be very erratic and unpredictable. Hardin is a womanizer who changes throughout the film, thanks to Tessa. Hardin is a dangerous character, he can go either way, you think you know him and then he will surprise you.

Hero comes from an incredible lineage of actors: his uncles are Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, states producer Mark Canton. Also, Josephines older sister Katherine, has been a big star on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. But it was more than their famous gene pools that made Josephine and Hero right for these roles.

The search for the role of Tessa proved to be more challenging and continued until just before shooting began. At the exact right moment, this girl happened to Skype in from Perth, Australia auditioning for the role of Molly, and the second she came on screen, I said That is our Tessa, explains producer Jennifer Gibgot.

Josephine Langford recalls, I was back home and did a self-tape for Molly, then I did a Skype callback, then a week later when I was waiting to hear back about Molly, I got a call at 5:00AM from my agents who said, The producers want to meet with you for the lead role. So I got on a plane with about sixteen hours notice, read the script on the plane to LA, had a meeting and about two other meetings and then got the job.

When asked about working with each other Fiennes Tiffin shares, I could go on for ages about working with Josephine, but Ill start with her acting ability, which helps me so much, and the fact she's such a nice, considerate person. She acts so well, especially in emotional scenes, and really gives me a lot to feed off. Shes really carrying this film,.

Langford is equally complimentary of her leading man. Hero brings this vulnerability and sincerity to Hardin which is difficult to find with a character like that. Ive loved working with him, Langford comments. When you're doing this type of content - a lot of intimate and intense scenes  its so important that you feel safe and comfortable with the person youre working with. So I feel lucky to have had him as a partner through this experience.

Catch this saga of love on the silver screen on 3rd May 2019 in the cinemas near you.
Bengaluru: Two BMTC bus drivers and a photographer were arrested recently by the Yelahanka police while they were trying to circulate fake notes.

The arrested were identified as Somanna Gowda, 38, from Raichur and working as a driver and conductor in BMTC, Nanje Gowda, 32, from Channarayapatna and works as a driver in BMTC, and Kiran Kumar, 24, who is from Hassan and a photographer. The police seized around Rs 81 lakh worth of fake notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations.

The police also raided a room in Garvebhavipalya, which was rented out by the trio. They had a computer and scanning and printing machines. They used to scan and print the notes and circulate them.

A couple of days ago, they were near Kogilu Circle trying to circulate the money. Based on a tip-off, the police went to the spot in civil clothes, identified the trio and started questioning them. The three tried to flee, but were arrested. The police found fake notes in their possession, the police said.

A case was registered at the Yelahanka police station and investigation is on.
Rameswaram: Bharathan, a Rameswaram fisherman who went missing after his fishing boat capsized in 1996 while he was fishing on the high seas, is alive 23 years later. He has been sighted among beggars in Colombo, his family members here claim.

The fisherman, who was 42 then, had set out for fishing in April 1996 along with five others when the boat capsized. While others were rescued, Bharathan went missing. He could not be traced for the next couple of months and there was no report of his body being washed ashore.

Believing that he had drowned, his wife, two daughters and a son conducted the rituals. As the fisherman had set out for fishing in the name of another fisherman Raju, the family members did not seek any compensation from the government.

The family had given up all hopes of his survival, when Rajesh, the fishermans grand nephew, an auto-rickshaw driver in Rameswaram, spotted him among beggars while watching a YouTube clipping of a special story done by Jaffna Tamil TV about a beggar millionaire in Colombo.The video clip showed beggars who had been begging for more than two decades in Colombo and one beggar had striking similarities with the missing Bharathan.

Rajesh showed the clip to his mother-in-law and Bharathans daughter - Saravana Sundari, 42, and she confirmed the man was her father.

On seeing the picture, Sundari wailed saying it was that of her father, Her husband Ramesh, also an auto-rickshaw driver said, after seeing the picture she is crying and is refusing to even take food.

Bharathans other daughter and son also confirmed that the beggar was their missing father, he said.

The fishermans wife Sarasu, however, is mentally unstable and is in no position to identify her husband, he said.

The family has no idea as to how Bharathan reached Colombo. They suspect that he may have lost his memory.

M. Karunamurthy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Meenpidi Thozhirsanga Kottamaippu has proposed to take the family members to the district collector so that steps could be taken to secure Bharathans return.
Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.

KOCHI: The health department has issued an alert against an outbreak of infectious diseases such dengue fever as summer showers intensified.

Residents of those areas where dengue fever was reported earlier have been told to be extra careful. The other vulnerable areas are plantations and migrant labourers' colonies.

The conducive climatic condition - drought, followed by intermittent summer rains - is a major reason for the increased breeding of anopheles aedes mosquitoes. The high daytime temperature coupled with evening showers also helps increase mosquito density.

Acute fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and pain around the eyes are the preliminary symptoms of dengue.

People have been asked to take preventive measures such as source reduction, proper waste management and obser-ving dry day against vector-borne diseases. Chances for outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases are higher this year as the city corporation is yet to intensify the pre-monsoon cleaning.

Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.
Kozhikode: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Hussain Madavoor on Friday came out in support of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) banning face-covering dress for female students in its educational institutions.

He said face-covering dresses like burqa or niqab had not been recommended in the Quran.

The MES circular last month banning face-covering dress from 2019-20 academic year had sparked controversy with Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SKJU) coming out against it.

Quran only directs covering the body parts that create sexual urges in men. It can be a sari or a churidar provided it decently covers the female body, he told DC.

In schools, there can be law and order issues as even a boy could move around in such a face-covering dress, he said, adding that religion need not be mixed unnecessarily with all such issues.

He believes that the diktats to cover the face of women came in a later period through the interpretations of covering the body by the religious scholars.

Meanwhile, MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor, who issued the circular, said in Mukkam near here that the society was undergoing fast changes which the communities also should adopt.

"Those who believe that another should not see ones face should remain at their homes. It is time we gave ear to the changing times, he said.

Many scholars think that the veil is the dress in the deserts, not Islamic. Among the over 150-crore Muslims living all over the world, Arabs are only around ten crores.

In that too, hijab covering the face is used only by a few such as Yemenis and Saudis which is not limited to women as they protect them from sandstorms.
Ramani had pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar. (Photo: File I PTI)

New Delhi: In a heated courtroom drama that lasted for almost two hours, former Union minister M J Akbar on Saturday recorded his statement and was cross examined in a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "malafide" and "defamatory".

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, cross examined Akbar on details regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age, among others.

However, Akbar responded to most of the questions as "I do not remember". Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations. The court has posted the matter for the next hearing on May 20.
'The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official said. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kozhikode: The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges. "The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added. In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.
The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

Kollam: In the wake of intelligence reports about possible terror attacks in the state, a luxury car with the caricature of deceased Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was seized here on Thursday.

Though the police could not find any link to terrorist groups, the issue is being investigated by the local police.

The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

The car was plying under the nose of the police for nearly a year, but was seized only after its pictures turned viral on the social media. The photos of the car bearing a West Bengal registration number with Bin Ladens caricature on its boot and his name written on the rear windshield were circulated on social media after it was spotted at Thattamala, Eravipuram and Mayyanad areas. A complaint about it was also received by higher police officials, following which action was taken.

The car was seized by Eravipuram police while it was being used by a young couple for their marriage at Ayathil on Thursday. Upon inspection, the car was found to be registered in the name of Praveen Agarval of West Bengal. Muhammad Haneef had bought the car about a year ago from his friend in Bengaluru for Rs 4.5 lakh, but the ownership was not yet changed. He told the police that the caricature of the terrorist was printed at a sticker shop at Mundakkal and intended just for fun. The police are further verifying the ownership details and whether the car is involved in crimes.
Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kamareddy: A police official here attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

Speaking to media on Friday, Kamareddy DSP Laxminarayana said earlier in the day, Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

"He was immediately shifted to Kamareddy government hospital for treatment. Doctors have said he is out of danger. We are shifting him to Hyderabad for better treatment," he added.

The DSP said the reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained.

"Further details will be revealed after investigation," he added.
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has started an inquiry to identify officials said to be leaking information about the goings-on in his office to the Chief Ministers Office. This come just a day after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took umbrage at Mr Subrahmanyams absence from his review meeting.

According to reports, some officials were relaying information from the Chief Secretarys review meetings to the CMO.

Citing an instance, sources said that Mr Subrahmanyam had recently conducted a review meeting about a corporate hospital in Nellore demanding the organs of a brain dead patient in lieu of the bill payment. The matter was leaked.

Information of several other review meetings also leaked to the CMO, sources said, which left officials at the Chief Secretarys office worried. According to sources, Mr Subrahmanyam himself found some persons leaking information and had decided to take action.

Further, Mr Subrahmanyam had ordered an inquiry into alleged double payments in the Comprehensive Financial Management System and into payments of bills to contractors and firms by the finance department, which the Chief Ministers Office reportedly tried to stop.

Sources claimed that Mr Naidu had tried to stop Mr Subrahmanyam from holding reviews meetings by lodging complaints with the Election Commission but in vain.

Mr Naidu has been critical of Mr Subrahmanyam from the time he was appointed by the Election Commission. He has called the official an accused in the quid pro quo cases of YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, something that has angered IAS officials.

Officials are worried that the tussle between Mr Naidu and Mr Subrahmanyam will split the bureaucracy into two groups which would not good for the administration.
Vijayawada: In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has alleged that Naidu deceived people of AP State on Polavaram funds, by taking Polavaram construction into his hand, for political benefits.

He stated that AP Re-organisation Act, 2014 mandates that the Central Government shall take over the Polavaram Project and complete it on expedient public interest. The Congress MP alleged that Naidu helped the contractors by paying variation charges from the year 2013, resulting in Rs 30,000 crores as burden for AP exchequer.

Mr Ramachandra Rao said that the then UPA Cabinet had also taken a decision that an Exclusive Authority (Special Purpose Vehicle) shall be constituted for the construction of Polavaram and also, entire cost escalation on the project due to cost and time overruns and also, the new Land Acquisition Act shall be borne by the Central Government.

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu both deceived AP People and the Central Government renounced the responsibility over the project reconstruction, agreeing to Mr Naidus requests and put several conditions on the expenditure of the project.

Mr Rao said that in a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee of Water Resources in February, the Committee approved the project cost of Rs 55,549 crore at the 2017-2018 price-level. He stated that in the same meeting, the Advisory Committee also approved the estimates of Polavaram, at the 2013-14 price-level, at Rs 27,082 crore.

He lamented that now, according to the Central Governments decision, the Centre will only bear the price at the 2013-14 level and the difference in price- Rs 28,467 crore has to be borne by the AP Government.

Mr Ramachandra Rao alleged that Mr Naidu also issued GO 22 and GO 67 to help the contractors and spent several crores of rupees in the name of site visit of people, foundation and inauguration of several gates and pillars of head works and also Gallery Walk, family trip etc., giving an additional burden to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore to the State.

The Congress MP claimed that due to the greed of Mr Naidu, now AP was burdened with Rs 30,000 crore and also, AP is compelled to bear the entire expenditure of Polavaram initially and later, seek the funds from the Central Government and wait for their mercy.

He said that the Congress-led UPA Government had taken every precaution to safeguard the interests of APs people after bifurcation. He stated that the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, will not allow AP to lose further and it will assure that every provision of the AP Reorganisation Act will be implemented.

He urged Mr Naidu to ask an open apology to the people of AP for the loss that occurred to them in Polavaram, due to his selfish attitude.

Mr Ramachandra Rao further demanded Mr Naidu to immediately ask the officials concerned to file a counter to the PIL filed in AP High Court, requesting to issue an order directing the Central Government to bear the entire cost of Polavaram Project, without any conditions.
Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines.

Thrissur: Security will be tightened for the Thrissur Pooram in view of the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the Easter day and the terrorists threat to attack targets in South India.

The public will not be allowed to take carry bags to the site of the Pooram to be held on May 13. The police will take other precautions too to avoid any untoward incidents, said Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the Pooram at the collectorate here on Saturday. Collector T.V. Anupama and city police commissioner Yathish Chandra also attended the meeting.

Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines. The PESO officials in the regional office at Sivakasi had declined permission for the chain cracker citing a Supreme Court order in connection with festivals. The Pooram organising committee had sought permission from the Chief Controller of Explosives at the head office of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) at Nagpur last week.

The functionaries of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, who conduct the fireworks display said at the meeting that they had moved the Supreme Court over the matter and that the court was expected to take up the matter on Monday.

The decision to lift the ban on star elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran who had killed two persons during private celebrations at Kottappadi, Guruvayur, in February was not discussed in the meeting, Mr Sunil Kumar said.

Kerala Elephant Owners Federation functionary P. Sasikumar said that as the forest secretary was on election duty in Delhi, the forest department would issue an order to lift the ban on Ramachandran only after his return to Kerala.

Sasikumar also said that the ban on Dr P.B. Giridasan, veterinary doctor treating elephants in Thrissur, from issuing fitness certificates for parading captive elephants had been lifted. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (forest management) had asked the director of animal husbandry department on Saturday to keep the earlier direction issued by PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden on May 2 in abeyance and conduct a detailed inquiry into the complaints against the veterinarian.
'Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher,' Yogi said. (Photo: File)

Fatehpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday hit out at Congress general secretary for UP, Priyanka Gandhi, over a video in which children were seen using objectionable language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Terming Priyanka Gandhi as "shehzadi", the UP CM claimed, "I was seeing a video of the Congress' "shehzadi" (princess) which went viral. At an age, when kids should be taught about 'cultures', she is sowing poison in their hearts. She is teaching them to abuse. This is the reality of the Congress party"

"Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher. When there is flood and drought, then they do not remember India. At that time, they go to Italy. When elections are around, they begin to tour to show that they are the biggest well-wishers," he said addressing an election rally here.

The chief minister also boasted about dealing with criminals with a heavy hand.

"We made it clear that criminals will either be in jail or they will be on their way to "Ram naam satya hai"," said Yogi Adityanath.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting Masood Azhar listed as a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "You would have read that UNSC has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This has happened due to PM Modi's diplomacy. The countdown for Masood Azhar has begun just like Osama bin Laden."

Yogi also accused the rival parties of being soft on terrorism.

"First job that SP government took after coming to power in 2012 was to take back cases against terrorists," he said while referring to the various terror attacks between 2005-2014.

"Why are Congress, SP, and BSP being so generous towards terrorists?" the CM questioned.

Taking a dig at BSP president Mayawati, the BJP leader said, "I want to ask Mayawati jee, how did you go to seek votes for the people who insulted Baba Sahib?"

The Lok Sabha polls in the state are scheduled to be conducted in all seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 06, 12 and 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he 'insulted' the armed forces by taking credit. (Photo: ANI)

Chennai: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into politics.

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading.
Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday. (Photo: File)

Patna: Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JD(U) and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly.

Hyderabad: A detailed analysis is under way in the Telugu Desam and YSRC camps of candidates who are most likely to win, which will come handy for the last-minute strategies that could well be adopted by both parties.

Simultaneously, there are quite a few hush-hush brainstorming sessions in which some super rich men have been heard discussing scenarios and possibilities if either political party falls short of 10 or 20 seats.

Top government sources told Deccan Chronicle that a few trusted aides of the powers-that-be were analysing the chances of candidates who contested on YSR Congress tickets. Right from ground reports to their financial status, their family background, their support and dominance in their respective constituencies are being analysed, sources said.

The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly. The analysis is part of the preparations for worst-case scenarios which may emerge on the day the results are announced, they said.

It is unclear if feelers were being sent from either party to the candidates who are sure to win. The possibility always exists till the results are out, sources said.

It is believed that the bitterly fought elections has led to a polarisation in the state due to which various caste groups, it is learnt, are willing to help the party of their choice in any way possible to steer them to power.

Such meetings, or rather brainstorming sessions, have come to notice mostly in Guntur and Krishna districts in the last few days, where participants are discussing all sorts of possibilities on the day of results.

It is learnt that a similar exercise is going on in the YSRC camp, where leaders are trying to identify candidates who are sure to win. Obviously, the exercise in the YSRC is not on the same scale which the TD loyalists are doing as the ruling party has an edge over the rival parties it has the Intelligence department working for them, which collates ground reports and gets huge feedback about the candidate. The YSR Congress has some trusted people within the government who are helping them in the analysis, sources said.

The YSR Congress had won 67 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections and the party raised a hue and cry when 23 legislators switched sides and joined the TD.

Since there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, one can expect anything, one official said indicating that both parties are preparing for worst-case scenarios.
New Delhi: Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major national parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Hyderabad: The local income-tax office has issued notices to around 40 MLAs, all belonging to the TRS, demanding explanations for the increase in the value of their movable and immovable assets. These MLAs include those in the state cabinet and the TRS top brass.

Sources have confirmed that nobody from the Opposition has received such notices.

The income-tax investigation team studied the affidavits filed by the legislators before the Election Commission in 2014 and compared them with the affidavits submitted ahead of the Assembly elections last year. Those legislators whose records reflected a large difference in their I-T payments and assets are the ones who have been issued the notices, an official said.

This newspaper inquired with at least 10 elected representatives from Karimnagar, Medchal, Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthi, Adilabad, Asifabad, and Khammam districts, who confirmed receiving the notice.

Notices were issued to those whose incomes were found to have increased tenfold over a span of 4 years, since the previous election. The Income Tax department has asked the legislators to submit annual records explaining their source of income and legitimate reasons for the increase in their income. The MLAs have been given time to respond to the notice.

It is learnt that many legislators are seeking the assistance of their accountants and consulting chartered accountants to prepare their explanation.

According to the affidavits submitted, the highest increase in assets (movable and immovable) has been noted in the case of the Nagarkurnool MLA Marri Janardhan Reddy at Rs 160 crore, followed by the former finance minister Etela Rajender at Rs 42.41 crore, TRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, Parkala MLA Dharma Reddy, Wardhannapeta MLA A. Ramesh, and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took everyone by surprise when she named Saradha scam accused Madan Mitra as the party's candidate for the by-poll to the Bhatpara Assembly seat. It was widely believed that Mr Mitra had fallen from grace after he was jailed in connection with the infamous Saradha chit fund scam. Though he was released more than two years ago, the Trinamul chief had chosen to keep him at arm's length. But Ms Banerjee had her reasons for rehabilitating Mr Mitra. The move was necessitated after she received feedback that Dinesh Trivedi, sitting MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, was being given a tough time by BJP's Arjun Singh, who had recently left the Trinamul Congress in a huff when he was denied a ticket by Ms Banerjee. Mr Singh is a known bahubali and the genteel Mr Trivedi was ill-equipped to deal with his rough ways. So, Ms Banerjee pulled out Mr Mitra from oblivion and named him candidate from Bhatpara, an Assembly seat in Barrackpore constituency. Mr Mitra is also a known bahubali of the area and, more importantly, Arjun Singh was once his protege. The upshot is that Mr Trivedi can now breathe easy as his chief opponent Mr Singh is being ably handled by his former mentor Mr Mitra.

The four-term chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, is known to be low-key, understated and reclusive. He barely moves out of the state and is seen and heard on a few occasions which had led to a lot of speculation about his failing health. However, in this election  Odisha has simultaneous state and Lok Sabha polls  Mr Patnaik has turned a new leaf. He is now more visible and vocal. Faced with a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in his home state, the chief minister has been campaigning actively, has given several interviews and has also reached to the youth through social media. In addition, he has put out video clips about his exercise regimen to dispel the widespread impression that he is ailing and, therefore, incapable of discharging his duties as chief minister. In fact, he has publicly blamed his former party colleague, Jay Panda (now with the BJP) for spreading rumours about his ill health in Delhi. This reference to Mr Panda and his health has touched an emotional chord among the people, especially women, who are clearly upset and angry about how Mr Patnaik had been backstabbed by a party member. All these efforts are working to Mr Patnaik's advantage who may well return as chief minister for a record fifth term.

The Bharatiya Janata Party cadre is wondering if it was necessary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a massive road show in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. His two-day stay in the city involved hectic preparations by party workers in the midst of an election and was also an expensive affair with several hundred tons of rose petals being showered during the seven-kilometre roadshow through the streets of Varanasi. It is believed that Mr Modi's programme, which would normally have been scheduled just before polling, was held earlier to pre-empt and overshadow the announcement about Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's candidature from Varanasi. However, the Congress backed off from fielding her, as a result of which the main purpose of Mr Modi's roadshow was defeated. While questioning the need for scheduling the programme, BJP members said it was unnecessary considering Mr Modi's victory in Varanasi is a foregone conclusion. Instead, the BJP's star campaigner could have been utilised in constituencies where the party needs a boost.

The Trinamul Congress and the Congress may be busy attacking each other on the campaign trail but they are also keeping their options open for a post-poll rapprochement. Last week, a delegation of Trinamul Congress leaders approached the Election Commission to complain that the Bharatiya Janata Party's name was being displayed along with the party symbol on the electronic voting machines during a mock drill in West Bengal's Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. On learning about this, the Congress also decided to reach the Election Commission with a similar petition. Congress leaders were, however, baffled about their involvement in this case as they felt that their petition was unnecessary and uncalled for. Apparently, it was Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel's idea that the Congress also led a delegation on the same issue on the same day the Trinamul Congress leaders were reaching the Election Commission. The canny politician that he is, Mr Patel later explained to his doubting colleagues that this display of solidarity with the Trinamul Congress was needed as it could become necessary to build bridges with Mamata Banerjee after the Lok Sabha elections.
RTHK: North Korea tests short-range missile

North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06am to 09.27am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres towards the Sea of Japan the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong-un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong-un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The decision of Gujarat state last Thursday to deny the CBI sanction to prosecute suspended senior police officers D.G. Vanzara (who in an explosive letter of resignation from service, written from prison in September 2013, condemned the "betrayal and treachery" of then BJP general secretary Amit Shah, who had been minister of state for home) and N.K. Amin is an administrative, political and judicial scandal.

Mr Vanzara, who was a DIG of police and headed the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad at the time of a series of high-profile police encounters  those of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan, Tulsiram Prajapati and Sadiq Jamal  was arrested by the CID in April 2007. These encounters looked like extra-judicial killings.

The controversial police officer was released on bail in February 2015 and acquitted in the Sohrabuddin case in 2017, but not in the other cases. Last Thursday, the state government denied the CBI special court permission to try him, leading to all the cases being dropped.

Foremost among these was the much-talked-about Ishrat Jahan case in which a 19-year old girl was shot dead in circumstances that appeared to be cold-blooded murder. The manner in which events have panned out, it would seem no one killed the teenager.

Administratively, withholding permission to prosecute uniformed personnel charged with heinous crimes suggests the existence of an unaccountable government which permits those accused of high criminality by a leading organ of the state to roam free.

In his high-voltage letter of resignation, Mr Vanzara called then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi his God, but blamed the CM's government for his own woes. In the ten-page letter to the Gujarat Home department, the suspended officer did not once plead his innocence. He insisted that every act that he had committed was government policy.

I, along with my officers, stood beside this government like a bulwark whenever it faced existential crisis in the past, the disgraced police officer wrote. He wrote that between the government and the police, there ought to be a relationship of mutual protection and reciprocal assistance. It was his grievance that this turned out not to be the case.

He was deeply aggrieved that while Mr Shah had managed to secure his release in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, after being externed by the Supreme Court for two years from Gujarat, the state government had clandestinely made efforts to keep him in jail to save its own skin. This appears to be the crux of the matter on the political side. If, like Mr Shah himself, Mr Vanzara and others were not discharged from various cases, they would always remain a threat.

But the dead deserve justice. The system needs to be healed. The police personnel can have a fair trial only when the state government's order is challenged and reversed.
The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

After pushing along for several months, the Modi sarkars move on lateral entry into government has finally become a reality. The government has selected nine private sector specialists for appointment to the post of joint secretary in the Government of India on a contract basis.

But still playing it safe, these appointments have to wait for clearance from the Election Commission.

The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

Those selected are Amber Dubey (for civil aviation), Arun Goel (commerce), Rajeev Saksena (economic affairs), Sujit Kumar Bajpayee (environment, forest and climate change), Saurabh Mishra (financial services) and Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale (new and renewable energy). Suman Prasad Singh has been selected for appointment as joint secretary in the road transport and highways ministry, Bhushan Kumar in shipping and Kakoli Ghosh for agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare.

The newly appointed joint secretaries include IIT, IIM and Oxford alumni who have worked with the United Nations and renowned multinational financial organisations.

Mr Saksena is a former banker who has worked at the Saarc Development Fund, Mr Dubey is an IIT-IIM alumnus who is a partner at KPMG, while Ms Ghosh holds a doctorate in plant sciences from Oxford University.

The lateral entry mode, which relates to the appointment of specialists from the private sector in government, is an ambitious step of the Modi government to bring in fresh talent in bureaucracy.

Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by IAS, IPS, IFoS and IRS officers who are selected through a three-step process undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In June last year, however, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) had invited applications for 10 joint secretary-rank posts through the lateral entry mode.

While nearly 6,000 candidates had applied for the posts, only 2 per cent of them qualified for the interview stage.

The long delay, sources say, was due to the government having to surmount opposition from entrenched babus who fear encroachment on their turf. The entry of domain experts from the private sector would mean relinquishing their carefully protected dominance of government administration.

The announcement of these appointments has, predictably, set tongues wagging. The civil service babus are expressing worries about conflict of interest due to the new appointees experience in the private sector during which they were advising private companies while liaising with government officials.

The other chief concern, it emerges, is that the appointments would undercut the heavily defined hierarchy in the administration, since some of the appointees are felt to be too junior for such key decision-making positions.

It is clear that the appointees have joined an elite club, but where despite their professional expertise, they will still need to earn their spurs! Fortunately, unlike on previous occasions when individual domain experts were inducted into government and had done well in their respective fields but were inundated by the vast civil service apparatus, the lateral entry move is strongly backed by the Niti Aayog.

Even then the government was moving slowly to avoid a pushback from the babus. Which is why the announcement, coming in the midst of elections, has taken many people by surprise.

With electioneering in full swing, it was widely believed that any development on this front would have to wait until the elections were over and a new government had taken over.

So typical of Narendra Modi to spring a surprise!
In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates. (Photo: File)

There is no precedent for the massive protest that was undertaken by the Congress before the Supreme Court of India on April 28. The Apex Court agreed to urgently hear a Congress petition that said the Election Commissions (ECs) ongoing silence on complaints regarding vitriolic speeches and the misuse of Indian forces as propaganda by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president, Amit Shah, was tantamount to a tacit endorsement of their conduct.

A bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, had consented to hear on April 30 a petition, whose urgency had been stressed by lawyers A.M. Singhvi and Sunil Fernandes.

In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates.

The Congress said that no action had been taken by the commission on the many petitions of violations that the Model Code of Conduct had moved so far. The delay, the Congress emphasised, was a deliberate action itself. According to the petition, since the notification of the election in March, the Prime Minister and Mr Shah had specifically in sensitive areas and states, ex-facie violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Rules.

The petition described at length the reported remarks of Mr Modi that allegedly contravened the code of conduct. For instance, Mr Modis utterances presented Rahul Gandhis choice of Wayanad as a seat where the minority is majority and called for votes in the name of the troops killed in the Pulwama attack in February. The petition alleged that the lack of action by the commission against the Prime Minister and Mr Shah was a tacit endorsement of their statements and a clean chit to the individuals.

Inaction on the part of the Election Commission is a sign of invidious discrimination and is arbitrary, capricious and impermissible ... certain selected very powerful individuals have been permitted to gain an unfair electoral advantage by their material infractions of the Representation of the People Act, Election Rules and Model Code of Conduct.

Eyebrows were raised when the present Chief Election Commissioner and his two subordinates were appointed brazenly without any consultation with the Opposition. On April 30, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to explain its silence against the hate speeches alleged against it in a 146-page affidavit. Forty representations had been now made against them since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 10.

Not since the days of Indira Gandhi (1972-77 and 1980-1984) have institutions been suborned as under Mr Modi. What is now directly in issue is the state of the Election Commission and its bogus code of conduct, which is of recent origin. The commission once based its rules on the rulings of the Supreme Court. The Model Code of Conduct that was enforced by the commission had no statutory back-up. It is well settled, since the days of A.V. Dicey that executive action against a persons rights are devoid of legality.

The time has come in 2019 to amend the Constitution to make consultation with Opposition leaders imperative in the appointment of all Election Commissioners and make it obligatory on the commission to seek legal opinion on whether the facts warrant a prosecution. The Election Commission seems to obey no rules except its own. Constitutional legislation is imperative if the situation is not to get out of hand. For this, an all-party consensus is essential. But that can be attained only after the elections. Indian political parties abhor consensus. We are in an acute dilemma.

By arrangement with Dawn
You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query. (Photo: Pixabay)

Google released its Chrome OS 74 which promises bug fixes, enhanced hardware support, and more importantly, a unified search experience.

As Engadget reports, the reworked search experience unifies Google Assistant, on-device and web search. You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query.

Other improvements include USB camera support for Android Camera app, output audio for Linux apps, and document annotation in Chrome PDF viewer.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie.

Google has built a new AI that uses your selfie and combines it with your choice of words to create your unique portrait, overlaid with poetry.

Called PoemPortrait, the online collective artwork is a combination of poetry, design, and machine learning. As Google explained in its blog, starting today, you can create your own custom portrait with poetry.

To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie. Each word is then expanded into original lines of poetry by an algorithm that has been trained using nineteenth-century poetry.

The AI then provides a unique PoemPortrait of the face, illuminated by the original lines of poetry. All the lines are then combined to form an ever-evolving, collective poem.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

US trade officials rejected Tesla Incs bid for relief from President Donald Trumps 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot brain of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to Chinas industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the US Trade Representatives office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed strategically important to the Made in China 2025 program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: Our costs for producing our vehicles in the US have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China.

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart Chinas efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of US intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing Chinas prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and US demands for sweeping changes to Chinas policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the brain of the vehicle when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability.

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Teslas request because it concerns a product strategically important or related to Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs. USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a US government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corps Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit, Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training.

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China, Tesla wrote. When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers lives due to a defect from a supplier.

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls the brain responsible for Teslas Autopilot functionality and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of US sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent US tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of US Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

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Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1. (Representational Image)

Washington: A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the ISIS and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the ISIS and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group. "Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for

Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well. The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Koreas missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang during a news show at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyong-yangs first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washin-gton with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The US and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyangs concessions on its atomic arsenal. North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06 am (0006 GMT) to 9.27 am today, the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 km towards the East Sea, the JCS added. In an earlier statement, it said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions reli-ef, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyon-gyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean vice-foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea. Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on. The White House said it was aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was no confirmation of ballistic missiles entering its territory.

At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used as a training area for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.
The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice. (DC)

Colombo: Sri Lankas Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter suicide bombings that killed 257 people, a spokesman said.

Father Edmund Tillaka-ratne said public masses were suspended for a second week, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television. It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live, Tillakaratne said.

Ranjith, who is also archbishop of Colombo, said on Thursday that a reliable foreign source had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for the second week. The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution, the Cardinal said. Official sources said the Thewatte National Basi-lica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security, a police official said.

The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice.
A woman reacts as she stands amidst scattered objects in a house that was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip in the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara, on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed one Palestinian gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Pales-tinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Israel hit Gaza with air strikes and tank fire after Palestinian militants fired about 150 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. The Israeli military said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike.

The Gaza Health Ministry said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

The Palestinian Educa-tion Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Across the border, rocket sirens sent Israelis running to shelters, and the Magen David Adom ambulance service said one woman was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the city of Kiryat Gat. Many of the missiles were intercepted, the military said.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene his security council, comes days before Muslims begin Ramzan.
In what is the biggest seizure of smuggled gold from an individual this year at the Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials confiscated gold worth Rs 1.19 crore from a passenger.

The man, who hails from Chamarajanagar, was travelling to Bengaluru from Dubai and had hidden the gold in a bench vice. He hid two gold bars worth one kilogram each and four cut pieces of a bar.

They were wrapped in black insulation tapes and were neatly packed in a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice, an official of the customs department said.

Having concealed the gold inside the bench vice, a thick iron sheet was welded and ground over the compartment to cover the area. The vice was painted to make it appear genuine. Besides the essential parts, around 7.6 kilograms of iron was packed with the bench vice to hide the gold. The item appeared to be suspicious when we scanned it. Air Intelligence officials then questioned the passenger. His responses prompted the officials to thoroughly check the vice, and they found the gold, a source said.

In a separate instance, officials also arrested a passenger flying in from Muscat, who attempted to smuggle in 358 grams of gold worth Rs 11.75 lakh. The man hid the yellow metal as 14 pieces in his trolley bag.

Officials found four very thin strips of gold painted in aluminium colour on the trolley bags handle and two black-painted gold buckles in the strap, besides eight thin straps of aluminium-painted gold strips fixed inside the bags metal casing.
India may engage with Pakistan soon after its parliamentary elections get over  notwithstanding the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's high-pitched poll-time rhetoric against the neighbouring country.

Though the formal dialogue, which remained stalled since January 2013, may not restart immediately, India and Pakistan are likely to have some engagements after the Lok Sabha elections, beginning with a bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two nations on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek  the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

If incumbent Narendra Modi retains the office of Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections, he is likely to attend the SCO summit in Bishkek on June 14 and 15. In case the poll results in a change of guard in New Delhi, his successor may take part the summit of the eight-nation bloc, which admitted both India and Pakistan as its newest members in 2017. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also likely to attend the conclave.

Pakistan is learnt to have informally conveyed to India through China and Russia that the opportunity presented by the presence of the leaders of the two South Asian neighbours at the SCO summit in the capital of Kyrgyzstan could be utilized for a bilateral meeting between them so that they could at least explore the possibilities of further engagements.

The top brass of the government in New Delhi did not turn down the proposal outright but asked for an assessment on the pros and cons of having a meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Bishkek. A source told the DH that the political leadership of the current dispensation in New Delhi might not be averse to have a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the SCO summit, but would like to make it sure that such engagements would not be misconstrued as resumption of the formal bilateral dialogue.

New Delhi would never budge from its stand that talks and terror could never go together, the source said, underlining that the onus to set the stage for resumption of the structured bilateral dialogue would remain on Imran Khan's Government, which would have to take credible, effective and verifiable actions to address India's concern over cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend a meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers in Bishkek on May 21 and 22  just after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on May 19 and before the counting of votes on May 23. Her counterpart in Pakistan Government Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also likely to take part in the meeting. It is still not clear if Swaraj and Qureshi are going to meet on the sideline and explore the possibility of a meeting between the leaders next month.

Another source in New Delhi said that the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the forthcoming SCO summit could not be ruled out, but much would depend on the political situation that would emerge after the Lok Sabha polls. If a new government with a new Prime Minister takes office after the poll, it would possibly like to review the status of India-Pakistan relations before deciding on such a meeting, he told the DH.
A girl has made a suicide attempt in her college campus in Thiruvananthapuram accusing the college union of forcing her to political activities and not allowing to study.

The incident took place at University College in Thiruvananthapuram, a decades-old prestigious institution.

Meanwhile, in a statement given to the police on Saturday, the girl maintained that she wrote the letter accusing the college union activists owing to the mental condition and she did not want to proceed with any complaint against anyone in this connection.

The first-year degree student, reported missing since Thursday, was found unconscious in a waiting room in the college on Friday morning with her wrist nerve severed. A note recovered by the police from her revealed that she was under stress from the Students Federation of India (SFI) led college union.

Even as the SFI denied any sort of pressure on her, the incident could trigger fresh discussions on banning politics in college campuses.

The condition of the girl was stable by Saturday morning and the police would be recording here statement in detail. Based on her statement further steps would be taken against any SFI activists, police sources said.

University College situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city has been a stronghold of SFI over these years. There used to be even allegations that SFI cadres would not allow any other political parties to function in the campus.

According to sources, the girl said in the note that some college union leaders were forcing her to participate in the union's programmes during the class hours and hence she could not study properly. She was also learnt to have shared this concern with some of her classmates and wanted to resist such acts by the college union. But most students feared of hostile measures by the union activists.

Meanwhile, SFI Kerala state secretary Sachin Dev told DH that there were no such issues at the college. "I had enquired about the incident. There was no pressure on any students to take part in union activities. Moreover, now it is vacation time at the college and hence no union activities used to take place these days," he said.

Despite restrictions imposed by High Court several times earlier, campus politics with the backing of mainstream political parties continues in Kerala college campuses. The brutal killing of a college student in Kochi last year over campus political rivalries had also triggered demands to strictly ban politics in campuses.
India has been invited to the G-7 (Group of Seven) summit which France would host at Biarritz on its southwestern coast from August 24 to 26.

Alexandre Ziegler, Paris's envoy to New Delhi, on Friday, told journalists that India had been officially invited to the G-7. He said that France had also invited India to take part in the preparatory meetings during the run-up to the summit.

The G-7 at present comprises France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States  the seven of the advanced economies designated so by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Russia was also a member of the bloc from 1998 through 2014, a period when it was known as the Group of Eight (G-8).

The bloc, however, suspended Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

Sources said that New Delhi had about a month back received the French Government's invitation for India to attend the G-7 summit and the invitation had already been accepted.

If incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be in the office after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, he, himself, may attend the summit. In case of a change in the regime in New Delhi after the elections, the new government would take a call on the level of participation, sources told the DH.

Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh had attended an outreach session of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles in the United Kingdom in July 2005. The bloc had then also included Russia. The UK, which had hosted the 2005 summit, had invited not only India but also Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa in the outreach session.

Sources in New Delhi said that the French Government's invitation to India to attend the G-7 summit this year had reflected growing stature and economic clout of the country.

The G-7 represents 58% of the global net wealth, more than 46% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on nominal values and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity. It came into existence in 1975 as a Group of Six with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US. Canada joined the bloc in 1976 making it Group of Seven or G-7, which remained as an important forum of the industrialized democracies for coordinating economic, security and energy policies. Its relevance, however, came under questions in the recent years, particularly after the G-20 came into existence in 1999 as an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union and started expanding its agenda in 2008.

India is a member of the G-20 and the Prime Minister  Modi or whoever else succeeds him after the LS polls  is expected to take part in the summit of the bloc at Osaka in Japan from June 28 to 29.
Chinas move to lift the hold on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee resolution to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist is a well thought-out move on the South Asian chessboard, part of a much larger diplomatic effort to preserve peace in the region so as to avoid any adverse impact on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Protecting this signature trillion-dollar initiative from any form of conflict is now the highest Chinese foreign policy priority, especially on two of the six BRI routes  the China-Pakistan and China-Myanmar corridors  threatened by durable disorder.

Pakistan and Myanmar provide China with important land-to-sea access that helps Beijing get around the Malacca chokepoint and hugely reduces transportation cost for its energy imports. The Chinese live in dread of a US naval blockade of the Malacca Straits in the event of exacerbated conflict. Hence the determined effort to cultivate Pakistan and Myanmar to seek an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Chinas geostrategic weakness of a small East Asia-focused coast (in contrast to Indias location in the middle of rimland Asia, with large coastlines in both East and West) has influenced much of its recent foreign initiatives, the BRI included.

Having interacted with a large number of Chinese academics, business and political leaders in recent weeks, many of them with links to decision-makers in Beijing, I got the feeling that China was almost desperate to avoid escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict post-Pulwama. If Kashmir, including the Pakistani part of it, became a battleground post-Balakot, the Chinese would not be able to operationalise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which begins in that area. The Balakot airstrike and Pakistans retaliatory air raids raised the spectre of an India-Pakistan war and left Beijing worried, because that would unsettle the CPEC at its point of origin. Who would believe that Chinese maps put up at the April 25-27 BRI conference showing the whole of Kashmir (and also Arunachal Pradesh) as Indian territory were a mistake! It may be one subtle effort to signal to Delhi that BRI would not undermine its sovereignty concerns on Kashmir. And why such a move just when Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visits Beijing amidst the humdrum of the BRI conference that India boycotted a second time!

The Chinese apprehend that Indian tit-for-tat covert operations inside Pakistan could intensify. Indian intelligence has assets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amongst the Shias, who resent resettlement of Sunni Punjabi ex-servicemen in Gilgit and Baltistan. A serious Indian effort to get them to attack Chinese-funded Pakistani assets is not a threat that Beijing can wish away. The Chinese already have trouble where the CPEC terminates  in Balochistan. The April 18 ambush in that restive province, in which Baloch rebels dressed in Pakistani military uniforms pulled out bus passengers, segregated military personnel, and shot 14 of them, has raised the hackles in Islamabad and Beijing. The Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an united platform of three separatist rebel groups, have stepped up the heat in Pakistans most-endowed province, beginning with the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi late last year. That attack showed that the Baloch rebels were now willing  and somewhat capable  of hitting even outside their province.

With huge investments in Balochistans mineral resources and in the deep sea port of Gwadar, the Chinese surely dont fancy a powerful Baloch separatist movement that India (and now Iran) may back to counter Pakistans terror exports to Kashmir (and Sistan). In his book Kaoboys of R&AW, the late B Raman wrote about how India had used its assets in Sindh in the late 1980s to force Pakistan to stop making mischief in Punjab. That could be repeated in Balochistan. Indeed, early in his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the prospect, as had NSA Ajit Doval.

Baloch rebels

The Jaish-ul-Adl ambush on Irans Revolutionary Guards, in which 27 died, a day after the Pulwama suicide bombing, has left Iran fuming. The Revolutionary Guards chief even threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if such attacks continued. Pakistan has recently alleged that the Baloch rebels who murdered 14 Pakistani military personnel at Ormara came from Iran, where they now have bases.

This is Pakistans (and Chinas) worst nightmare  a joint India-Iran covert effort to arm and shelter Baloch rebels. Pakistan has already announced plans to fence its border with Iran. Insurgencies in PoK and Balochistan do not augur well for the smooth functioning of the CPEC  and the one way to prevent India and Iran from backing them is to restrain the Pakistani deep state from its terror exports. Withdrawing the hold on the UN resolution against Masood Azhar is Beijings first symbolic gesture to placate India and signal to Iran that Beijing will try to rein in the Pakistani terror factory. Pakistan itself has much to do to escape blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force. Just grey-listing is costing its economy nearly $6 billion annually.

The Chinese are also making a serious effort to get the Burmese peace process going. The Burmese army recently declared suspension of operations for two months against the Northern Alliance rebel groups in Kachin and Shan provinces. Of them, the Kokang group MNDDA is a Chinese surrogate. Peace in North Myanmar is crucial for the Chinese to implement their projects under the BRI and exploit the regions considerable natural resources. That the Burmese army announced suspension of operations after its chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaings visit to Beijing (followed by Aung San Suu Kyis visit to the BRI conference) is significant. China now has a huge interest in regional peace to ensure that its BRI routes are not affected by any conflict.

(The writer is a veteran BBC journalist and author)
CHESTER  Widener University President Julie E. Wollman announced last month the appointment of Andrew A. Workman, Ph.D. as the next provost of the university.

Workman, who is currently the interim president of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, will serve as the chief academic officer at Widener, comprising the main campus in Chester, Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Del.

As provost, Workman will play a significant role in advancing Wideners ongoing growth as a thriving, nationally ranked university that offers innovative programs, taught by faculty who are leaders in their fields, and that puts students on an inside track to success. He will oversee the full student experience, including student affairs and academic affairs.

My academic and administrative experience has prepared me to help lead a dynamic university like Widener, Workman said. Its history of growth and change demonstrates the universitys willingness to make the strategic moves that strengthen its core programs, embrace new opportunities, and move it toward an even stronger national profile. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute my talents at such a vibrant place.

He will begin his new position on July 17.

Kutztown draws up winning graphic design program

KUTZTOWN  Kutztown Universitys Communication Design program was ranked third in Animation Career Reviews 2019 Top 10 Graphic Design School Programs in Pennsylvania. This 2019 list is Animation Career Reviews fifth annual ranking compilation for graphic design. More than 700 schools with graphic design programs were considered in preparation for this years rankings.

KU was the lone state system university recognized.

Animation Career Review considers every degree-granting four-year school. The organizations goal is to give students and their parents access to ample information as a starting point for students to discover the schools that are the best fit for them and make an informed decision about their program.

High school students noted for leadership by Widener

CHESTER  Widener University, one of the nations premier universities for civic engagement and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, is proud to recognize the 2019 winners of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.

In its eighth year, the program recognized 163 students from high schools throughout the region for their abilities to stand up for what is right, address a wrong and make a difference in their communities or schools.

ASTON: Meaghan OBrien.

BROOKHAVEN: Bryson Eldridge.

BROOMALL: Hanna McDermott.

BRYN MAWR: Noor Bowman.

DARBY: Lowoe Samolu.

FOLCROFT: Anna Conrad.

GARNET VALLEY: Reece Gabriele.

GLEN MILLS: Thomas Carney.

HAVERTOWN: Gwendolyn Pfister.

MEDIA: Ann Crockett.

NEWTOWN SQUARE: Kathleen Till.

RIDLEY PARK: Ethan McKellar.

SPRINGFIELD: Elizabeth Lynch.

UPPER DARBY: Ciro Diop and Raisa Sharif.

VILLANOVA: Kian Bina.

WALLINGFORD: Grayson Ray.

WAYNE: Isaac Debrosse.

YEADON: Maya Taylor.

Glen Mills student inducted to Lebanons honor society

ANNVILLE  Julia Brewer of Glen Mills, was inducted into Phi Alpha Epsilon, the Colleges honor society celebrating academic achievement and volunteer service. Brewer, a graduate of Garnet Valley High School, is pursuing a bachelor of science and doctor of physical therapy in exercise science and physical therapy.

Widener expands international footprint

CHESTER  Widener University is pleased to announce it will build on its strong partnership with American Community Schools of Athens  a prominent K-12 school based in Greece  to begin offering graduate programs that focus on international school leadership.

An agreement signed recently by leaders of both institutions offers:

A doctoral degree, the Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

A masters degree, the Master of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

Access to online undergraduate coursework in general education subject areas, for qualified ACS Athens high school and non-ACS Athens students through Wideners Center for Extended Learning.

The masters and doctoral level programs are designed for people who want to be leaders in international K-12 schools. They may already be teachers or mid-level school administrators, either in public or private U.S. schools, or at institutions around the world.

These programs will position educators who want to advance in international K-12 school settings to compete for leadership opportunities, said Robin Dole, dean of Wideners School of Human Service Professions.

Bloomsburg claims fourth at national sales competition

BLOOMSBURG  the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania professional sales team recently finished fourth out of 75 teams competing at the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Kennesaw, Ga. It was BUs best finish ever.

Kimberly Oaster, of Springfield, along with Austin Collins took third place overall in the graduate competition.

The NCSC is a university sales role-play competition for more than 400 of the top university sales talent along with college sales professors during the three-day event.

Ashland University

ASHLAND, OHIO  Alana Waldt of Swarthmore, will receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing during Ashland Universitys spring 2019 commencement ceremonies on May 4.

Central Penn College

SUMMERDALE  Drexel Hill residents Nasir Copeland and Sabir Copeland were both named to the winter 2019 deans list at Central Penn College.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

MADISON, N.J.  Grace Schug, of Villanova, and Aleah Stevens, of Darby, made deans list at Fairleigh Dickinson Universitys Florham Campus for carrying a 3.2 GPA or higher for the fall 2018 term.

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

BRADFORD  The following students graduated at University of Pittsburgh at Bradfords commencement exercises on April 28.

COLLINGDALE: Mercy Johnson.

DARBY: Aaliyah Hyman.

MEDIA: Darien Talley.

UPPER DARBY: Malcolm Hardie.

Western Governors University

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  A number of local residents earned their degrees from the online university during a number of commencement exercises held from late last year to early this year.

BRYN MAWR: Stacey OBrien.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS: Belgica Urena.

SPRINGFIELD: Melissa Brennan.

UPPER DARBY: Emanual Amadiguwe.

YEADON: Kalese Dawson.
CHESTER  The citys Polish community gathered downtown Friday morning at the 1724 Courthouse to commemorate the 228th anniversary of the worlds second oldest democratic constitution. Members of St. Hedwigs Church were joined by leaders of Polish-American groups from throughout the region and city officials to honor Polands short-lived but long influential Constitution of 3 May 1791.

It is said that our Polish constitution was the culmination of all that good in our Polish culture, said keynote speaker Richard Piascik, a Philadelphia native and member of the Polish American Congress, Eastern Pennsylvania District. The constitution, in effect for only a year-and-a-half, followed shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and brought greater political equality to all classes of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Poland would soon be divided amongst surrounding kingdoms and remain non-existent as a political entity until the end of World War I.

Organizers estimated the annual courthouse event has been held since at least the 1970s, continuing despite a declining Polish population in the West End and 2019 marking 25 years since the process of redesignating St. Hedwigs Parish as a worship site and linking it with Scared Heart Parish in Clifton Heights was completed.

As long as were still here, well keep on doing it, said David Chominski, president of the Polish American Heritage Association of Delaware County. Back in the day when we had (St. Hedwigs School) open, we had the children doing Polish dancing, said Judy Kuchinski, vice president of the county heritage association and chairwoman of the constitution day event. This place used to more packed, but people are getting older, Kuchinski said, as both noted the challenge faced by many civic and fraternal groups of getting younger generations involved to carry on events. Kuchinski remained optimistic, however, saying her grandchildren are receptive to Polish traditions, singing holiday and celebratory songs in the Polish language.

City officials were on hand for the ceremony, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams giving an opening speech on the Chesters role in the founding of Pennsylvania. He landed here in Chester  not Philadelphia, Williams said. History started right here in Pennsylvania under William Penn, and our city is known as the Seat of the Nation, she said.

Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland presented a city proclamation honoring the anniversary, stating, in part, that the constitution serves as an everlasting platform for social justice and equality.

During his closing remarks, Chominski referenced Williams remarks about Chesters place in colonial history. Stating St. Hedwigs has been a major part of the citys recent history, he said We were in Poland back in 96, our (parish) was suppressed in 92. (Polish residents) asked where we were from and we said St. Hedwigs, and they said Chester,' he said. I think thats pretty cool  and Im proud to say Im from Chester, and that our church is from Chester.

Piascik provided a keynote address on his family history and their efforts to establish successful lives in America. I stand before you now on the shoulders of two great, heroic, and patriotic families, who through hard work and sacrifice got to live the American Dream, Piascik said. All while keeping what was good and Polish alive in me; I am proud of my Polish and American heritage. Piasciks familys process of emigrating to the U.S. meant enduring both world wars, German and Soviet occupation and the rise of the Eastern Bloc.

He first told of his paternal side, emigrating to America at the turn of the 20th century before returning to Poland with his young U.S.-born grandfather. His grandfather would return in 1931, intending to send for his wife and infant son. The scheduled October 1938 would be delayed eight years due to the outbreak of World War II, with Piasciks grandmother and father enduring slave labor amongst other oppression under the German occupation.

Piasciks maternal family endured both the Soviet and German occupations of then-eastern Poland, avoiding death in a mass execution in their village during the German occupation. A person pulls the trigger, but God guides the bullets, he said. Piasciks mother, then 13 years old, escaped execution while standing in the front of the crowd 15 yards from the machine guns. Finding themselves in newly claimed Soviet territory after the war, they then trekked back into Polish lands, where Piasciks mother worked in a fishery while completing a college degree. While on a U.S. visit in 1961, she met Piasciks father and soon married. She worked as the financial and operations officer of her husbands general contracting and rental property businesses  which he founded after arriving in the U.S. speaking no English and taking work making steel casting molds.
The stories coming out of Venezuela and Washington are complicated and confusing. Political cartoonists put their spin on these stories and more throughout the week.

Venezuela has been all over headlines this week.

The country's opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has been asking armed forces for the last few months to join his side to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido challenged the country's leadership when he declared himself interim president two weeks after Maduro was sworn in for his second term back in January. Thousands of protestors supported Guaido and several countries, including the United States, recognized him as the head of state.

Guaido spoke with the military base Tuesday in the capital of Caracas, signalling the military may finally have sided with him.

This caused serious clashes to happen outside the base when Maduro's government and supporters suspected an attempted coup.

Venezuela is one of Latin America's most prosperous countries, but the political upheaval has created an economic and humanitarian crisis.

Attorney General William Barr was also a big name to know this week.

Barr appeared before a Senate panel Wednesday and said he thinks "spying did occur" against the presidential campaign of President Donald Trump.

He did not define what sort of "spying" occurred.

Barr skipped a house hearing Thursday.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., made headlines for sending a message to Barr by placing a bucket of chicken in front of Barr's empty chair.

The large number of Democratic candidates is still making news.

Commentators are worried about the variety in platforms and the confusion it may cause voters.

Other stories this week included the fate of Social Security, infrastructure week and the recent tragic acts committed against religious communities.
When I first saw the original print of Andrew J. Russells East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of the Last Rail from the Union Pacifics Historical Collection at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, I found it surprisingly ... small. I had always imagined this iconic photograph, also known as the Champagne Photo, to be grandiose, superlative and towering compared to its hundreds of counterparts in the collection.

Over the course of a century and a half, this photo has been framed by historians, scholars and educators to encapsulate the entire narrative of the construction of the nations first transcontinental railroad. Yet, there it was before me, a standard imperial print measuring 10 inches by 13 inches like most of the other photographs.

The Champagne Photo is both a source of pride of accomplishment and a painful reminder of exclusion. While the old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words, it may not always tell us the entire story. As a member of the organizing entity to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, I and my colleagues hope to widen the lens of history to truly understand the magnificence of this project.

In Russells Chinese laying the last rail on May 10, 1869, eight Chinese railroad workers are placing a ceremonious rail just moments prior to the driving of a golden spike into a polished laurel tie.

Same day. Same photographer. Different story.

While teaching professional development to fourth-grade teachers across the Wasatch Front as part of the new Utah history curriculum, nearly all the teachers recognized the Champagne Photo and nearly all have never seen the photograph with the Chinese workers. One teacher even confessed to me she was surprised to learn the Chinese even worked on the railroad in Utah.

Not only did the Chinese work in Utah, they were part of a more than Herculean effort to lay an unfathomable 10 miles of track from sunup to sundown on April 28, 1869, to help settle a wager between Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific and Doc Durant of the Union Pacific. On that day, an estimated 4,000 Chinese workers along with a handful of Irishmen lifted more than 4.4 million pounds of materials including 25,800 ties, 55,000 spikes and 3,520 rails each weighing 560 pounds. These railroad workers were asked to do the impossible and they delivered the impossible.

The construction of the combined 1,776 miles by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads gave America its independence to move into the modern era of industrialization and to rise as a global power. On the other hand, there was undoubtedly collateral damage. In just a half century, the bison population declined from an estimated 30-50 million to just a few hundred. The way of life for the Native Americans was irrevocably altered. The Chinese became scapegoats for economic and labor woes and eventually became the first and only race to be excluded from immigrating to the United States with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

The stories behind the construction of the transcontinental railroad are exponentially greater than an image of a single photograph. In order to navigate our countrys present and future, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of our past. Flaunting the celebratory while flouting the dolorous is a disservice when it comes to fully recognizing and honoring the perseverance, resilience and fortitude of all those involved in the building of not just a transcontinental railroad but of Utah and America.
Despite decades of general knowledge about the negative effects of smoking, the effort to reduce the number of smokers and incidents of nicotine addiction never ends. Now, new research highlights the gaps in knowledge and the lack of education about the latest form of tobacco use  electronic cigarettes.

Recent numbers estimate that about 30% of youths between 13-18 have used e-cigarettes. A gap in language, however, reveals that the statistic could be much higher. U.S. health officials are having a hard time measuring underage vaping because to many young people, juuling is its own verb and is considered separate from vaping. To get a more accurate number, pollsters have now added juul as its own option.

The slim, sleek design of Juuls stands out from other popular vaping products and has caused the product, manufactured by Pax Labs, to become popular among youths. Its easy to conceal, and the company came under fire earlier this year for ads that appeared to target an underaged demographic. Last year, studies revealed that youths also were unaware that vaping can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

We have previously cautioned against using a product whose side effects still arent fully known. Evidence also shows that teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to convert to traditional tobacco products eventually. These troubling facts indicate that decades of effort to reduce smoking in youths, which had seen tremendous progress, are starting to decline in effectiveness.

In an effort to combat this trend and prevent a new generation from becoming tobacco users, a Utah congressman and senator are among those who want to raise the legal smoking age to 21. A new bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would raise the age for the legal sale of tobacco products, which includes e-cigarettes.

Additionally, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is among a bipartisan group that supports prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. This effort echoes the example set here in Utah, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to raise the smoking age incrementally to 21 by 2021.

The number of youths who have been duped by sleek devices, fun flavor names and a trendy term may be troubling, but hope abounds. Efforts to crack down on underage vaping and to educate teens about the dangers of smoking and nicotine addiction have ramped up significantly in the last year. Lawmakers around the country have taken note, and even youths themselves are becoming advocates to fight the trend.

More precise language will give better insight into just how pervasive the problem is. Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step in finding ways to tackle it. Significant steps already have been taken, but its ultimately the responsibility of parents, educators and lawmakers to take initiative in educating youths about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes, even by any other name, are still tobacco products. Juuling may be considered a part of the youth lexicon, but the repercussions of a new generation becoming addicted lasts much longer than those teenage years. Increased education and smart lawmaking decisions are steps toward a healthy, addiction-free future.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Pew Research Center study released April 22 finds that people across the globe say their country has increased in diversity and gender equality while at the same time the role of religion has become less important and family ties have weakened.

The study surveyed over 30,000 people in 27 countries.

In the U.S., it finds 71 percent are in favor of more gender equity and 68 percent say gender equality has increased over the past 20 years. It also reports a majority  58 percent  of Americans say religion plays a less important role today than it did 20 years ago.

The exact link between these two phenomena  rising gender equity and the changing role of religion  is the topic of much debate.

In an April 2017 article, City University of New York professor Peter Beinart comments on a cultural departure from religion in the U.S.:

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.

Beinart explains that this separation from religion has results on the political left as well.

In 2016, the least religiously affiliated white Democrats  like the least religiously affiliated white Republicans  were the ones most likely to back candidates promising revolutionary change.

A cultural movement away from religion could offer the possibility of change in other areas, such as gender inequity, as the shift in focus allows society the space to address neglected issues, Beinart writes.

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.  City University of New York professor Peter Beinart

Religion itself can also be a driver of the trend toward gender equality.

While religion is historically seen as perpetuating gender norms, society often overlooks feminisms roots in those seeking equality within religious practice, explains the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

And women of faith have long been integral in changing gender inequality, argue Rachel Koehler and Gwen Calais-Haase of the Center for American Progress. As women assume leadership positions within their faith communities, serve in public office and advocate for immigrants and against sexual harassment, religious women make a societal space for women to flourish.

Additionally, Courtney McCluney writing for the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan suggests that because churches are not regulated by government policies seeking to amend wrongs toward women, congregations make their own decisions about putting women in religious leadership positions. Within many denominations, including predominantly black churches in particular, women are fighting against traditional religious patriarchy.

Efforts to promote religious freedom also have been integral to creating a greater platform for gender equality around the world.

A 2014 study by researchers from Georgetown University and Brigham Young University found that governments denying religious freedom contributes to economic instability  and this also impacts gender equality. Countries with severe religious intolerance affect womens financial empowerment by limiting their ability to participate in the economy, according to the World Economic Forum.

The restrictions present in religiously hostile environments threaten elements necessary for sustainable economic development, such as entrepreneurship  a component women often participate in both in the U.S. and around the world.

This correlation suggests that in places of religious tolerance  including religious indifference  women have increased opportunities to thrive.

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred.  New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof

Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, writes: (W)omens status, power, wealth, and life choices are stronger/better in the most secular societies on earth today, and weaker/poorer in the most religious."

He also suggests a clear relationship between religious decline and the rise of gender equality:

(T)he scriptures of major world religions contain explicitly misogynistic passages that cannot be equated to any similar such sentiments in modern, secular-humanist manifestos or declarations.

Zuckerman suggests that religion currently plays a lesser role in society than it has previously because many traditional religious tenets are so disparate from todays social practices. This contrast has resulted in the present-day shift that enables increased gender equality.

Whether one is religious or a proponent of gender equality, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof writes that because religion is changing, society is also:

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred. But just as religion was initially used to justify slavery but later to inspire abolitionists, faith is now evolving from a rationale for suppressing women to a means for empowering them.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Canadian amputee has filed a new petition to have his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission after officials at an airport in Calgary reportedly confiscated the batteries he needs to power his scooter, CBC reports.

The Canadian man, Stearn Hodge, lost his left arm and right leg from a workplace accident in 1984. Since that time, he has used a scooter that uses lithium batteries to move around.

In 2017, Hodge traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife for their wedding anniversary. A security agent at the Calgary International Airport, who was also a representative from United Airlines, told him it was unsafe to fly with that battery, which cost $2,000, CBC reported.

Without the batteries, the scooter wouldnt work, which left Hodge confined to his bed for three weeks.

Hodge said he earned approval from the International Air Transport Association with prepared documents. But no one would listen to him, according to CNN.

"I still remember the CATSA agent saying, 'Well, you could get a wheelchair.' How's a one-armed guy going to run a wheelchair?" Hodge told the outlet. "How am I going to go down a ramp and brake with one hand? But that shouldn't even have to come up."

Hodge asked a United Airlines agent to confirm that he received permission, but the agent sided with the security team, according to CBC.

"We are looking into the allegations, and because of the pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment," Andrea Hiller, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, told CNN. "That said, the experience described falls far short of our own high standard of caring for our customers. We are proud of the many steps we have taken over the past few years to exhibit more care for our customers and we are proud to operate an airline that doesn't just include people with disabilities but welcomes them as customers."

According to The Hill, an airline complaint resolution sent an email to Hodge that there may have been a violation of federal disability requirements. The email reportedly offered Hodge and his wife an $800 travel certificate.
SALT LAKE CITY  An 83-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a young boy outside of a church nearly a decade ago was charged Friday.

John "Jack" Gordon, of Salt Lake City, was charged in 3rd District Court with sodomy on a child and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies. A $750,000 warrant was issued Friday for his arrest.

According to charging documents, sometime between 2008 and 2010, a boy, who was 7 or 8 at the time, was waiting outside a Salt Lake City church for his dad when Gordon approached him, according to charging documents.

He told the boy "he had some trinkets to show him if he would walk to the back of the building," the charges state. Once the two went behind the church, the boy was sexually assaulted, according to the charges.

The assault was reported to a police agency in Davis County in December, according to a search warrant affidavit. Gordon denied the assault when interviewed by police.

Court documents do not indicate why the allegations were being brought up 10 years after the alleged incident or what other evidence police may have collected.

According to state court records, this is the first time Gordon has been charged with a crime in Utah.
HELPER  A semitrailer hauling two tankers of crude oil rolled near Helper on Friday, dumping about 5,000 gallons of yellow sludge onto the roadway and into a creek, troopers reported.

They have not released a cause of the double-tanker crash that happened about 7 a.m. Friday on Highway 191, about 7 miles north of Helper. Crews were working to contain globs of waxy crude that had solidified in chilly Willow Creek about 5 miles downstream. Drinking water is unaffected.

Troopers said a portion of the road would be closed into Saturday and asked travelers to instead use U.S. 6 and state Route 40. They released drone footage showing the tankers tipped on their sides and surrounded by the waxy crude oil in both lanes.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Lawrence Hopper said the truck driver did not sustain injuries serious enough to be transported to a hospital. Hopper said the agency did not immediately know what caused the crash. No other cars were involved.

Scientists were taking samples from the creek, but results won't be available until Monday, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said on Twitter.

The truck had been carrying 280 barrels but 120 spilled out of the truck, Hopper said.
PROVO  A woman who admitted to having marijuana in her system when she caused a crash that killed a South Jordan teenager has been ordered to speak with students about the dangers of driving distracted or impaired, in addition to time behind bars.

Kali Shae Hardman, 31, was sentenced Friday to more than five months in jail in the death of Baylor Christian Stout, 13. Baylor, who loved loved hiking and motorcycles, had hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder, according to his family, and tried to make the world better with little acts of kindness.

He was killed July 22 after Hardman's Kia Sedona drifted into oncoming traffic on U.S. 89 near the small community of Birdseye and hit a Ford pickup truck head-on, troopers reported. Baylor, who was travelling in the truck with his father, was rushed to a hospital where he later died. Both had been wearing a seatbelt.

Hardman pleaded guilty in March to driving with marijuana in her system and causing a fatal crash, a third-degree felony, and driving without insurance, a class C misdemeanor.

Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell ordered her on Friday to three years of probation, and to pay roughly $35,000 in restitution to a hemophilia charity, court documents show.

Baylor's parents, Marty and Staci Stout, said they are satisfied with the sentence because it reflects the profound impact of Hardman's actions, but still gives her a chance to make a positive contribution.

But they also believe their son's death exposes a gap in Utah law that imposes lesser penalties on those impaired by certain drugs, including marijuana, than by alcohol.

"Whether it was marijuana or alcohol," Marty Stout said outside the courtroom, "this tragedy still had the same impact on our family, so we'd like to see more equity in the sentencing guidelines."
SALT LAKE CITY  In a rare action, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced a news story reported by Vice News, saying Friday that the media outlet irresponsibly mischaracterized the faith's response to sexual abuse.

"In short, Vice News chose to misreport this story," said Eric Hawkins, the church's director of media relations. "Abuse is a matter taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he added. "It is not tolerated, and the church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse."

On Thursday night, HBO's Vice News Tonight aired a story about the ongoing pain and suffering of Christopher Michael Jensen's sexual abuse victims and their families in West Virginia. A print version was published Friday on the Vice News website. Both versions incorrectly reported the church's name multiple times.

Jensen was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children while babysitting as a teenager. Vice News interviewed the attorney and two of five families who sued the church in 2013 regarding the Jensen cases, alleging the church acted improperly in its response to Jensen, a church member.

The families and church settled the suit last year. The church, which excommunicated Jensen in 2013, denied any wrongdoing and the settlement amount is confidential.

The Vice News story focused in part on the 24-hour abuse help line the church makes available to its approximately 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents. Those leaders, who are not professional clergy, are instructed to call the hotline promptly about every situation they believe includes abuse or neglect or risk for either, Hawkins said. The goal, he said, is to prevent abuse and advise bishops about compliance with local abuse reporting laws.

Vice News said its reporting "suggests that the system serves a very different purpose: to shield the 'Mormon Church' from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to the church."

Timothy Kosnoff, the attorney who represented the families in the lawsuit and who according to Vice News has been involved in more than 100 cases against the church, alleged in the story that the church uses the hotline to intimidate victims into not suing the church for possible liability in the abuse.

Hawkins called those claims an egregious mistake and said the hotline is designed to maintain confidentiality.

"We are deeply disappointed by Vice News' irresponsible mischaracterization of the church help line," he said.

West Virginia requires clergy to report abuse allegations and Hawkins said that contrary to Vice's reporting, the church complied with every reporting requirement in the Jensen cases, "and in years of investigation and legal process, no church leader was ever charged with a failure to report or to comply with the law."

"We disagree with many of the statements made by the plaintiffs in this story and are frustrated that no fact-checking appears to have been done to verify what individuals told Vice," Hawkins added. "Their statements to VICE are wildly different than (what they said in) police reports, depositions and court testimonies."

He pointed to the example of a victim's mother who told Vice that when she couldn't reach the bishop about Jensen's abuse, she called police.

Hawkins said she testified differently in court, that when she couldn't reach her congregation's bishop, she instead called his first counselor in the bishopric.

"She testified in court," Hawkins said, "that when she reported the abuse to him, he told her, 'this is a crime,' and provided her with the phone number so that she could call the police. The church leader then called the church help line, and the church then called the police to make sure a report had been made."

Hawkins said that was the most egregious fact withheld in the story. He also said the case is a positive example of the church's local leaders correctly using its hotline system and generating a criminal report.

Vice News representatives did not immediately respond to messages for them left Friday afternoon seeking comment on Hawkins' statement. Kosnoff, the families' attorney, also did not immediately return messages left for him and the families.

"To be very clear," Hawkins added, "the case in West Virginia is very different from the types of cases where churches have been held liable for not preventing or even covering up abuse. None of the abuse happened on church property or during a church activity. None of the abuse was committed by a church officer or leader. Tragically, a number of children were abused by a teenage member of the church, Michael Jensen, while babysitting or vacationing or temporarily residing in their or his homes. Jensen is in prison, as he should be, for a very long time."

Vice News said the church's hotline is operated by LDS Family Services and Kirton McConkie, a law firm retained by the church.

The church created the abuse hotline in 1995. A church document released last year states, "When bishops or stake presidents call the help line, legal and clinical professionals will answer their questions and provide instructions about how to assist victims, comply with local laws and requirements for reporting abuse, and protect against further abuse."

Hawkins said the legal advisers on the hotline strongly encourage and assist bishops and stake presidents to report suspected abuse to law enforcement whether reporting is required by local laws or not.
The Salt Lake City Jewish community held the event in response to the recent shooting attack at Poway Chabad in California, which took the life of 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three other worshipers. Houses of worship in the faith were encouraged to #ShareShabbat by encouraging synagogue attendance in the wake of the shooting. While the lighting of Shabbat candles is uniquely tasked to Jewish women, all wishing to show support were welcome to attend. In a statement, Rabbi Benny Zippel, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, said This coming Friday evening, May 3rd, Jewish women and girls the world over are being called upon to kindle Shabbat candles, in loving tribute to Lori, and in prayer for peace and tolerance amongst all of humanity.

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SALT LAKE CITY  Patient advocacy groups in Utah have dropped their argument in a legal challenge that lawmakers made broad changes to a voter-approved plan legalizing medical marijuana at the behest of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The groups' Friday court filings now focus on claims that lawmakers violated voters' constitutional rights and passed directives that conflict with federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal drug.

The recrafted argument comes after the Utah Attorney General's Office contended in filings last week that lawmakers had the authority to change the law. The office asked a judge to toss the suit, arguing the church was exercising its right to free speech when it called on lawmakers to find a different solution to Proposition 2, and when the church announced it was working to identify legislation it believed to be appropriate.

"The church was simply expressing its views and desires on a matter of public interest, as any person or group has the right to do," the Attorney General's filing says.

A church representative declined comment Friday. When attorney Rocky Anderson, former Salt Lake City mayor, first published a letter threatening legal action regarding Proposition 2 last year, it said it stands behind the compromise.

Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, or TRUCE, and the Epilepsy Association of Utah sued the state in 3rd District Court in December in an effort to block the replacement law, a compromise reached by legislators, plus backers of the ballot measure and opponents, including the church. The groups asked a judge to impose the voter-approved plan instead.

Ahead of the November election, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, brokered the legislation in private talks. The Utah Patients Coalition, the campaign that promoted and helped author Proposition 2; Libertas Institute, the campaign's largest in-state donor; the Utah Medical Association, a fierce critic of the initiative; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, another critic of the measure, all agreed to support the contents of a sweeping medical marijuana compromise bill following dozens of hours of negotiations.

The groups that hashed out the compromise said the measure created legitimate access to medical marijuana while also involving medical providers more with patients and guarding against recreational use. The bill, sponsored by Hughes, passed overwhelmingly at the Utah Legislature during a December special session. Herbert signed the bill later that day.

The lawsuit fighting the compromise maintains that it "unconstitutionally undermines or entirely defeats core purposes of Proposition 2" and "severely reduces or eliminates" some patients' medical marijuana access.

The groups previously contended the bill had violated Article I Section 4 of the Utah Constitution, which states "there shall be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate the state or interfere with its functions." But the new legal complaint filed Friday leaves out those arguments.

The suit names Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, as defendants.
SALT LAKE CITY  American International School of Utah is asking the Utah State Board of Education to forgive $360,000 of $514,000 in special education funds state officials say must be refunded because the money was used for "unallowable expenditures."

The full State School Board will consider the appeal during its June meeting. The boards finance committee on Friday referred the matter to the state's full school board without addressing the appeal or making a recommendation.

Following a review of the schools special education expenditures for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, State School Board staff notified the public charter school in late March that it must repay more than $500,000 in state and federal special education funds plus interest.

The appeal comes as the charter school's governing board is contemplating the future of the K-12 public charter school that serves 1,300 students amid growing concerns about its financial viability.

"Every effort is being made to keep the school open until the end of the year. There's a whole lot of work going on to try to make sure that happens," said Kent Burggraaf, chairman of AISU's governing board.

Still, "it's a dire circumstance," and it remains uncertain whether the school will remain open until the end of the academic year, he said. Earlier this week, the school's governing board voted to postpone a vote on the school's future.

Repayment of the special education funding is just one of the school's challenges.

Given state reviewers' findings with special education funds, instead of automatically disbursing restricted funds to the school, the state is reimbursing AISU as it presents documentation for those expenditures.

"The school has to front those costs," some $300,000 a month, Burggraaf said.

Earlier this year, the school received an unanticipated $250,000 property tax bill from Salt Lake County. Burggraaf said the school pays property tax as a condition of its lease.

It had no grounds to appeal the assessment so it wrote a check to the county, Burggraaf said.

"This SPED (special education) funding issue takes it over the top," he said.

According to state officials' letter to AISU, the state review determined that both state and federal special education funds were used to pay for expenses not supported by proper documentation.

The letter, dated March 28, said the funds need to be repaid "out of unrestricted funds within 90 days of receipt of this letter." The school had 30 days to appeal the state's findings, which it did.

The review by state special education staff found that during the 2016 fiscal year, "it appears" AISU incorrectly allocated more than $157,200 of federal special education funds to pay for "unallowable health insurance premiums and salaries and benefits of teachers."

A review of account records and supporting documents such as invoices, teacher contracts, schedules, payroll time cards and personnel activity reports did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act special education fund, the letter states.

The review also found that in the 2017 fiscal year that "it appears that American International School of Utah has incorrectly allocated $154,197.44 of state special education funds to pay for unsupported salaries and benefits of school administrators, teachers, social workers and health insurance premiums."

The letter goes on to say the review of document and records "did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the state special education fund."

In an earlier interview, the school's executive director Tasi Young said about 25 percent of AISU students receive special education services.

Burggraaf said the school has submitted additional documentation to the State School Board to support its position special education funds were spent appropriately.

AISU is described on its website as a "public-private hybrid STEAM international charter school in Murray, Utah." It has a partnership with Realms of Inquiry, a private school also located at 4998 S. Galleria Drive, the site of the former Galleria Mall.

The public charter school was placed on warning status by the Utah State Charter School Board in December 2018. It is a formal action taken by the state charter board after a school has not resolved deficiencies previously identified by regulators.

"Warnings require the school to take action," the state charter board's annual report explains.

The process includes developing a timeline to address the deficiencies and can result in "possible removal of board member, director or business manager."

AISU contracts with Charter Solutions as its business manager. The firm's president is Lincoln Fillmore, according to its website. Fillmore is a Utah state senator. He did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Friday evening.

Charter Solutions was selected as the school's contract business manager through a request for proposals in 2017 and "was fully in place by January 2018," said Burggraaf.

Speaking during a governing board meeting at AISU Wednesday night, Fillmore urged the school's directors as they weigh the future of the school to keep in mind "it's not your money that you're spending. It's taxpayers' money. That taxpayers' money is a trust that the taxpayers of Utah have given to you to spend but they're wanting it to be spent on the education of students."
MOUNT PLEASANT, Sanpete County  Emily Wheeler said the last day she spent with her big sister, Kodi, and her best friend, Julie, she tried to join in on their secret handshake, but she couldn't quite match what they had already mastered.

"They were so perfectly in-sync," Emily Wheeler said. "They were perfect."

Now, Kodi and Julie are gone.

"It wasn't real," Emily said. "It's not real now."

Emily, 15, said she was "shaking" in the car when she heard the news after she and her mom drove to the scene of the crash.

There, on Power Plant Road in Sanpete County, 16-year-old Kodi Wheeler, 16-year-old Julie Oldroyd, and 18-year-old Ryan Lyman died after their vehicle rammed into the back of a slow-moving flatbed truck and burst into flames Friday night.

Emily said she and her family are in shock.

"Kodi's been by my side my entire life," Emily said. "And to have her not by my side, it feels like she's still gone hanging out with her friends, like she's coming home. And it's like half of me is gone.  It's been the hardest moments of my life, to not have her come home."

The girl choked back tears as she spoke.

"When you're a little girl, you dream of growing up together, being at each other's weddings, doing all these things together," Emily said. "She was my everything. And now I'm just here."

The group of high school kids were in a sedan, driven by a 16-year-old female, and were traveling west at about 9:20 p.m. when they came over a hill directly behind the slow-moving truck. The driver of the sedan tried to stop but was traveling too fast. The car hit the back of the flat-bed truck and burst into flames, Utah Highway Patrol reported.

The driver was taken to the hospital with a head injury but was later released.

Front-seat passenger, Lyman, of Ephraim, and back-seat passenger, Oldroyd, of Fountain Green, were both killed on impact, UHP reported. Wheeler, who was also in the back seat, was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.

All three teenagers who died in the crash were not wearing seatbelts, UHP Cpl. Colton Freckleton said. The crash is still under investigation, but drugs or alcohol are not suspected, the corporal said.

The 16-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger of the truck received minor injuries and were later released by the hospital, Freckleton said.

The six occupants of the two vehicles were all students at North Sanpete High School, according to Freckleton.

The Facebook account for the North Sanpete Hawks, the high school's mascot, posted a statement Saturday morning saying counselors and administration officials would be available Saturday afternoon in the counseling center at North Sanpete High School. A state crisis team was also expected to come to the school Monday to give students support.

"We are all in this together, and we will stand by each other," the post said.

As news of the crash spread Saturday, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox lamented the loss to his community.

"A horrific tragedy in our small communities last night," Cox tweeted. "Our hearts are broken for these kids and their families."

Emily said her sister and Julie were "like two peas in a pod" and "did everything together. She said they had plans to raise lambs together for this year's local lamb show.

Emily said her sister and her best friend could "make anybody laugh" and connected with each other on an extraordinary level.

"I think that's something we can all look for in a friendship, is what Kodi and Julie had," Emily said.

Contributing: Tania Mashburn, Wendy Leonard
GILLETTE, Wyo.  Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for a fifth term in 2020, costing the GOP a loyal conservative senator but likely not the seat.

Enzi, 75, announced his pending retirement in his hometown of Gillette, where he owned a shoe store and "never intended to get into politics." But his election as mayor in 1974 was the start of a successful political career that led him to the Senate in 1996.

"I have much to get done in the next year and a half," he said. "I want to focus on budget reform. I don't want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this year, I'll find other ways to serve."

During his tenure in the Senate, Enzi has gained a reputation of being low-key and willing to work across party lines to produce results.

"I didn't get into the Senate for the fancy titles," Enzi, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Saturday. "I like passing legislation."

President Donald Trump sent out a tweet Saturday night praising Enzi: "Mike has been a fantastic Senator!"

With Enzi's retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. It's expected to remain in Republican hands. Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in over 40 years. The state's other senator, Republican John Barrasso, easily won re-election last year.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that he's confident Wyoming will elect "another Republican who will best represent the state's values."

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and Democrats are looking to flip a number of Republican seats to win a new majority in 2020.

Enzi's departure could open the way for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Five years ago, she launched an ill-fated challenge against Enzi. She dropped out of the race before the primary after being labeled a carpetbagger for having moved to Wyoming from Virginia barely a year earlier. Still, she was elected to Congress in 2014 and was re-elected last year.

Cheney has been a rising star in Congress and already is the third-most senior House Republican.

In a statement Saturday, Cheney didn't mention any further intentions for the Senate seat.

She praised Enzi for his service to the state and country.

"He never forgot where he came from and always put the interests of Wyoming first, constantly championing our Western way of life," Cheney said.

A phone message left with her spokesman was not immediately returned Saturday.

Enzi said Saturday that he envisions Cheney eventually becoming speaker of the House.
OREM  Former state lawmaker Derek Brown's easy win Saturday in the race to lead the Utah Republican Party was hailed by Gov. Gary Herbert as a "new beginning" for a party split by years of infighting over a controversial election law.

The governor told reporters the party now needs to stay out of efforts to change the law still known as SB54 that creates a signature-gathering alternative to the party's traditional caucus and convention system for nominating candidates.

"Let's not say, 'I'm more pure than you're pure. You're not really a true Republican and I am.' That stuff has got to be over inside the party," he said. "This is a new beginning, a new opportunity, for us to unite and stand together as Republicans."

Brown, who has served as Sen. Mike Lee's deputy chief of staff, was elected state Republican Party chairman with the support of more than 62 percent of the more than 2,300 delegates attending the convention held at Utah Valley University.

The new chairman said delegates made a "decision not to look backwards but to look forward in the future," by choosing him over three other candidates including Phill Wright, a leader of the faction of the GOP behind the battle over SB54.

"The SB54 fight is over because the Supreme Court has decided not to take it," Brown told reporters after his first-round victory. "The Legislature can do what they want to do, but as a party, we're going to look forward."

Wright, who ended up with about a third of the vote, a second-place finish ahead of Chadwick H. Fairbanks III and Sylvia Miera-Fisk, said he felt like he heard more support in the college arena.

"It is what it is," Wright said. "I'm a Republican. I'll support our chair."

Brown said in his speech to delegates he wasn't aligned with either side of the election law debate but is "the win elections guy. I'm the put Republicans in office guy," promising to maintain Utah's status as a reliably red state.

Wright told delegates "winning elections isn't just about winning elections. It's about making sure we elect candidates that have the same principles and values that we do."

Before the convention started, Brown and Wright campaigned at booths set up just outside the hall. While both candidates attracted supporters, Brown drew a much bigger crowd, including a number of elected officials.

Earlier in the week, Lee endorsed Brown as having the skills needed to "give the Utah GOP a fresh start." So did Sen. Mitt Romney, who did not attend Saturday's convention because of a family commitment out of state.

The governor, who paid for the more than $18,000 electronic voting system used at the convention out of his political action committee funds, had also encouraged Brown to get in the race.

Brown had briefly considered running for party chairman two years ago, when Wright lost to Rob Anderson. The now-former chairman campaigned on ending the SB54 fight, blamed for a debt that currently adds up to about $100,000.

As a member of the party's State Central Committee, Wright sparred with Anderson repeatedly over continuing the legal battle. His boss, Entrada CEO Dave Bateman, has picked up the legal cost.

But financial support for the state's dominant party slowed after the Utah GOP sued the state over SB54, which created an alternative path to the primary election ballot by allowing candidates to gather voter signatures.

The bill was passed in 2014 by the GOP-controlled Legislature as a compromise with supporters of the Count My Vote initiative that would have replaced the caucus and convention system with a direct primary.

The state won legal challenges to the law in federal district court in Salt Lake and in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case earlier this year.

Anderson, who chose not to seek a second term, told delegates the convention was paid for thanks to contributions by the governor and others. The price tag for the event was about $20,000.

The governor said the "clean sweep" of party offices, which included replacing now-former Utah GOP Secretary Lisa Shepherd with Kendra Seeley, means the financial situation should improve.

"It takes you a while to get into the hole, it takes you a while to get out of the hole," he said. "Those who have said, 'You know what, I'm going to sit on the sidelines,' I hope they will take a new, fresh look at the party and say it's time to re-engage."

Anderson said the message the convention results send to donors is positive enough that the party's debt could be retired in the next month or so. He said unlike when he took office, rent and utility payments are current.

GOP delegates gathered in the university's arena moved relatively quickly through the convention agenda, deciding not to take action on a long list of proposed bylaw changes and resolutions, including a call to repeal a new hate crimes law.

Speeches by elected officials largely focused on uniting against an increased interest in socialism and Democratic candidates in next year's elections, and the convention ended in less than four hours.

The usual sparring over procedural issues was kept to a minimum. State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the sponsor of SB54, presided over the convention until voting for party offices began.

The governor said delegates, which included the first lady, don't want the divisiveness of past conventions.

"They want to be able to work together with people, with respect and civility," Herbert said. "I think you saw an uprising here today that said, 'We don't have to have this elongated debate on silly issues."

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated SB54 was passed by the Legislature in 2015. It passed in 2014.
Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr. Paul Kehoe, T.D., paid tribute to the members of the 114th Infantry Battalion who will leave in the coming weeks for service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Minister was accompanied at the review by Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces , Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

In his address to the troops the Minister said: "I have had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas in Lebanon on several occasions and on each visit, I have seen the fine work that our personnel are doing on the ground, to help bring stability and peace to the region. Irish peacekeepers play an important part in improving the lives of vulnerable citizens on the ground."

The Minister went on to say that he was impressed by the strong relationship forged between our personnel and the local communities in which they serve. Liaison with the local population and the provision of support and humanitarian assistance is one of the hallmarks of Irelands approach to involvement in peace support operations.

Soldiers from 29 counties around Ireland were represented among the 450 strong battalion deploying to UNIFIL. Personnel from the Armed Forces of Malta will also deploy to UNIFIL for the second time as part of the Irish Battalion.

Minister Kehoe noted: Also today, we have twenty eight female personnel ready to deploy as part of this Battalion. Irish women peacekeepers have proven that they can perform the same roles, to the same standards and under the same difficult conditions, as their male colleagues.

The UNIFIL mission represents Ireland's largest overseas deployment. Following Finland's withdrawal from a joint Battalion in November 2018, Ireland increased the number of personnel deployed and assumed the full duties and responsibilities of the Battalion for a twelve month period. Earlier this year it was confirmed that a contingent of the Polish Armed Forces together with a contribution of troops from Hungary will join the Irish UNIFIL contingent in November 2019. The Minister today again welcomed this development commenting "Partnership with other States is an important element of peacekeeping operations."

The Minister thanked the families and friends for the support they provide to those serving overseas and concluded by wishing the 114th Infantry Battalion a safe and successful mission.
Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties such as Donegal who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region.

In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Donegal. Key findings from the report from a Donegal perspective included:

 60% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal are holidaymakers

 26% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal visit from mainland Europe ie Barcelona, Milan

 Overseas visitors spend an average of 6 nights in Donegal when visiting the region

Hiking, cross country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Donegal. 32% of overseas visitors coming to Donegal said an event or festival was also one of the highlights of their stay in Donegal. In addition the Wild Atlantic Way, Sliabh Liag and Malin Head featured as three particularly popular attractions for visitors coming to Donegal.

Visitors to Donegal through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 57% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a hotel or B&B during their stay in Donegal whilst visitors to Donegal estimated they spent on average 697 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016.

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019.

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Donegal & the entire region.

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland.

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said: "The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region.

"The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Donegal economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism."

Seamus Neely, CE, Donegal County Council, said: We welcome these research findings which will be of great value to us in determining future marketing strategies for the development of our tourism sector. Access and ease of access are important factors in growing visitor numbers in Donegal.

"Ireland West Airports plans for continued route development for overseas markets particularly through new European and US routes will benefit Donegal from both an economic development and inbound tourism perspective."

Pictured with this story: Members of the region's Local Authority delegation pictured in the new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre at Ireland West Airport Knock. Pictured with Board Chairman Arthur French and Airport Manager Joe Gilmore, were from left Donegal Head of Tourism, Barney McLaughlin, Sligo Cllr Paul Taylor, Sligo Co Council Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes, Mayo Co Council CEO and airport board member Peter Hynes, Galway Co Council Chief Executive Kevin Kelly, Roscommon Co Council's Leas-Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher, Galway City Council's Chief Executive Brendan McGrath, Roscommon Co Council Chief Executive, Eugene Cummins and Leitrim Co Council's Director of Services Joseph Gilhooly. Picture Henry Wills.
Donegal beef farmers are on their knees. That is the stark succinct warning from recently elected county Donegal IFA chairman Brendan McLaughlin, who called a crisis meeting earlier this week in the Clanree Hotel Letterkenny, to highlight the current crisis in the livestock industry locally.

And he called for immediate help from the government and the EU to help alleviate this crisis. Mr McLaughlin said the reason for the meeting was that the beef farmers in Donegal are all on their knees at the moment.

There is a major beef crisis here at present and farmers have been losing from 100 to 300 in the price they get for their animal. It is as high as 300 in some cases.

Mr McLaughlin said there were two major factors causing this crisis-market forces and the grave uncertainty over Brexit.

Supply and demand always govern prices. There are not enough live exports going abroad to Europe because of a recession.

You need that competition with the beef factories to keep the prices up for the farmers.

He added: The negativity on Brexit is also causing big problems here and is discouraging in investment in beef. This is a scare mongering game and that should not be happening.

Nobody knows what is going to happen in Brexit and Britain could still stay in, so how can the factories and the farmers know? The threat of Brexit means we will have no investment. We export 50 per cent of our beef to Britain. If tariffs go up and if you have an animal going for 1,000 to Britain, the farmer could be paying a tariff of up to 700. So that would put us out of business in the morning and lamb is much the same.

He added: There could be tariffs of up to 70 per cent on beef and we can do nothing about that. It is not the farmers fault and it is not the factories fault, it is to do with the EU and Britain and I think Europe has to compensate us in some way or another to save farming.

The suckler farmer is the basis for farming in Donegal and the West of Ireland and we need the beef man around the ring to buy our calves that we rear, the weanlings. And if we dont have those men, we are finished, beef men will not invest anymore because of all the uncertainty.

He added: "We are lobbying the government and Irish farmers in general have lost 102m since last September on beef alone. We want the government and the EU to do something. We want the government to stop hiding behind the EU and the EU to stop hiding behind the government.

And that is why I called the crisis meeting in Letterkenny on Monday night, the IFA is doing its very best for the farmers of Donegal," he added.
Following highly successful workshops over the past two months, a third workshop for Donegal businesses to get customs-ready for Brexit will take place on Thursday, May 9 in Solis Lough Eske, Donegal town.

The feedback on the first workshops has been very positive and businesses attending, engaged on six key steps to prepare their business for Customs after Brexit.

Any businesses in Donegal planning on moving goods to, from or through the UK after Brexit are being urged to prepare by attending the one day interactive workshop.

Previous workshops were oversubscribed and with demand once again expected to be very high for the limited places, businesses are being asked to make sure they book in good time.

Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, have stressed that the workshop is open to businesses from all sectors.

"If the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market, it will become a 'Third Country' for customs purposes. At this workshop businesses can learn about the potential impacts, formalities and procedures you will need to adopt when trading with a country which is outside the Single

Market and Custom Unions (a 'Third Country')," Head of Enterprise in Donegal, Michael Tunney said.

He added that the workshop is fully funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and is delivered by BDO Ireland on behalf of the Local Enterprise Offices.

"It will cover areas such as what export and import procedures apply, how tariffs work and how to correctly classify goods," he said.

This workshop is open to businesses from all sectors and the aim is to help Donegal businesses understand:

- The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) process

- The Administration process around import and export procedures.

- Custom formalities at borders

- Tariffs and cost implication of tariffs

- Import procedures, such as the Electronic Declaration Process and

- Automated Entry Processing (AEP)

Places are booking up fast, so interested businesses are asked to call book online on: localenterprise.ie/donegal or call the office on 0749160735



Local Enterprise Office Donegal is supported through co-funding from the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund 2014 - 2020. To contact the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal, log on to www.localenterprise.ie/donegal or phone 0749160735.
Two brave and heroic youths who saved the life of their friend were recognised for their courage at the National Garda Youth awards.

Odhran O'Neill from Ballyshannon and Ruby Hurst from Rossnowlagh were presented with their award on April 17, in Portlaoise.

Garda Grainne Doherty warmly congratulated the two youths this week.

She said: They showed immense bravery and remained very level-headed and they saved the life of one of their friends," she said.

They were very deserving winners of the award.

Recognition was also paid to the Irish Water Safety organisation in Ballyshannon where the two youths voluntarily undertook the CPR course.

Ruby said: We were at school, in a PE class and the student, he collapsed and started into cardiac arrest. Odhran immediately went for the defib.

The two youths then began to perform CPR on their friend and awaited the arrival of the paramedics.

Odhran said: Since we were eleven we have been training with Irish Water Safety in the Ballyshannon pool and the training kicked-in and the adrenaline kept us calm."

He paid tribute to his PE teacher, Michael Doherty, from Ardara, whose very presence kept both youths calm during the course of events and cleared the hall for them.

He let us take over the situation. If he hadn't been there I don't think we would have been as calm.

Ruby said that both youths worked well together as a team.

We both took turns doing compressions because it is very physically demanding.

Odhran commended the early intervention of the paramedics who were at the scene within around five minutes.

Ruby praised the Irish Water Safety Organisation which supports and facilitates people with the skills to save peoples' lives.

It is not just a skill for the day - it is a skill for life, she said.

Both youths work as lifeguards on beaches during the summer.

Garda Doherty said that without the training by the Ballyshannon organisation lives would have been lost.
An investigation into allegations that a Dothan High School teacher had been having sex with a student yielded an arrest Friday afternoon.

Julia Engle, 29, of Dothan, is charged with one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19. Dothan Highs website lists Engle as a math teacher.

According to a Dothan Police Department release, the agency began an investigation into the allegations Friday. Officers took Engle and two students to the police station for interviews, and Engle was arrested following the conclusion of interviews.

She faces a $30,000 bond on the charge. Other charges could be filed since the investigation continues.

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For example, under the 1872 law it's perfectly legal for foreign interests (many mining companies are based abroad) to stake claims on U.S. public land, and remove valuable "economic minerals." These companies make billions of dollars in profit, but they don't have to pay a dime in royalties to our government for the privilege, costs and enduring problems of mining public land. Safeguards to protect water, air quality and wildlife are virtually absent from the Mining Act. State and federal environmental laws can be marshalled against mining companies to some degree but state law in particular is provisional, changeable, and the Mining Act still enshrines the right of corporations to scar our mountains, foul our streams and pollute our air. If environmentalists file lawsuits, companies can declare bankruptcy or retreat to offshore unaccountability.

The rationale for the Mining Act's sweeping support for extraction above all else is as dated as the law: The urgent need to open the West to settlement and commerce. The ethos of the 1870s wasn't sustainability, let alone conservation. From the beginning, the Mining Act was steeped in corruption because it was written by the very industry that benefited from its passage. It has become only more advantageous to contemporary mining corporations with time, technology and greedy globalism.
We realize a citizen's video of the arrest was already circulating on social media, which likely contributed to Anderson's decision to release the footage. After viewing that citizen's video, our impression, like Anderson's, was that the officers had not gone too far, even though at one point one of the officers hit the woman with his baton, forcefully. Without context, without knowing what came before or after or what might have happened that we couldn't see, we wanted to know more to determine whether it was newsworthy.

Too many times the media have jumped to conclusions on something like this, only to learn that first impressions were wrong. Usually, that has meant someone was cast in an unfavorable light that turned out to be unfair. This case appears to be the other way around. The body cam footage showed the execution of an arrest that seemed well out of proportion to what the circumstances required. Not only was the arrest unnecessarily physical, the woman was threatened with bodily harm  You do anything other than what you're told to do right now and I'm going to kick you in the teeth  and subjected to a stream of profanity.
Bronac Mackin is the Business Development Manager at Carlingford Lough Ferry

Whats your favourite thing about Dundalk?

I know its been said a million times before but my favourite thing about Dundalk is undoubtedly its people.

My father was a Dundalk man born and reared, as is my husband and the entire Mackin clan!

When Im at family occasions or nights out in the town, I get that feeling of being at home. The craic is not the same anywhere else as it is in Dundalk town.

What would your perfect day in the local area be  and why?

Hands down my favourite place to spend some time is on the Navvy Bank.

A morning walk down towards Soldiers Point does the soul good. I love nature and and there is nowhere better in the area to get a glimpse at the abundance of wildlife that inhabits the shores of Dundalk Bay.

After that I would go to the Isle De France for a bag of chips! I would then spend the afternoon in Faughart Graveyard.

This is where I ran about as a child and still go to for peace as an adult.

Faughart Graveyard has the most stunning views of the mountains and sea and the town itself, especially at night when the entire town is illuminated!

What would you like to change about Dundalk?

I would love if more shops took up residence in the town centre.

As a child, my mam always took us up town on a Saturday and we spent the whole day in Clanbrassil Street, Park Street and the square going from shop to shop.

While I know there is work being done at present in the town centre, I hope that this brings some life back to the main streets and helps the traders who are fighting tooth and nail there at the minute.

What annoys you about the town?

The cycle lane coming up Chapel Street, from the Home Bakery to Ta Tas really annoys me.

I know that cycle lanes are important but the positioning of this one and some other cycle lane locations in Dundalk make absolutely no sense and are more dangerous than advantageous.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?

The ferry is getting busier with each passing week and we expect the coming summer season to be a bumper one so the rest of my working year will consist of getting out and about promoting the ferry business and the area, and encouraging new visitors to Dundalk and surrounds.

Over Easter weekend we welcomed over 6000 passengers onboard the ferry which contributed to a good boost to the local economy.

20+ national and international tour operators are committed to including the ferry and the area in their itineraries this coming season, and this number is growing.

So I will spend a lot of time getting to know business owners and providers in the locality to confidently showcase what this area has to offer.

Outside of work, I am looking forward to spending lots of family time with my husband and three girls.

How would you describe Dundalk people?

Dundalk people are down to earth, welcoming and full of life, but are always ready for a good slagging match!

Nowhere else do you get the type of caustic wit that exists in the town  if theyre not verbally hammering you  chances are they dont like you!!

What's your favourite story you've heard about Dundalk?

There are so many hilarious stories about Dundalk and a lot of emotional ones too, but my favourite is a story that everyone of a certain age can remember and most people tell.

When we had the old town square with the big fountain in it, every teenager at some point in their school career got a bottle of washing up liquid and emptied it into the water.

The suds would be everywhere and lasted for hours. Seems silly now but it was hilarious at the time.

What's your favourite Dundalk phrase?

Alright horse or Well hen!!

Is Carlingford Ferry a popular tourist attraction for Dundalk people?

We are seeing more and more Dundalk people using the ferry service.

Before the existence of Carlingford Lough Ferry, people from the town were not as likely to visit the tourist offerings that exist on the other side of Carlingford Lough like the St. Patricks Centre in Downpatrick, Castle Ward, Kilbroney Park, Spelga Dam, The Silent Valley and the seaside town of Newcastle to name but a few.

The ferry really adds to the whole day out experience and we are delighted that the service has been embraced by so many Dundalk people.

These days we all need some time to put down the phones and enjoy being outdoors.

The stretch of water that the ferry traverses is the most scenically beautiful in the country and people use the 20 minute crossing time to relax and breath while taking in some of the most stunning views in the area.
Photo: Contributed There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown Kelowna museum.

The Okanagan has the greatest biodiversity in all of Canada, and Kelowna Museum is celebrating some of that diversity in a new exhibition.

The museum is hosting Birds of Prey, a bilingual travelling exhibition from the Royal BC Museum. There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown museum, including barred owls, ospreys, turkey vultures and peregrine falcons.

Curatorial manager Amanda Snyder believes the intriguing birds will leave people impressed.

This exhibit presents a truly unique opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close, to analyze their details and to see what makes them so special. Im sure our guests will be fascinated by these beautiful birds," she says.

Theres an opening celebration today, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Snyder, who happens to be a bird watcher, is particularly excited about Birds of Prey, but believes it will have broad appeal with local audiences.

Birds of prey have what people might refer to as a wow-factor  theyre impressive and engaging I genuinely believe this exhibit will appeal to bird novices and avid watchers alike.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 5.
YouTube executives have been unable or unwilling to rein in toxic content because it could reduce engagement on their platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

In a 3,000-word article, Mark Bergen wrote that the US$16 billion company has spent years chasing one business goal: engagement.

In recent years, scores of people inside YouTube and Google, its owner, raised concerns about the mass of false, incendiary and toxic content that the worlds largest video site surfaced and spread, he noted.

Despite those concerns, YouTubes corporate leadership is unable or unwilling to act on these internal alarms for fear of throttling engagement, Bergen wrote.

The problem with the social internet, IMO, is metrics. They're almost always a false indicator  shock rather than quality  but because businesses are built on KPIs, they will always manage by any given numbers, even bad ones. https://t.co/peTyXPb6BR

 Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 2, 2019

Tackling Tough Content Issues

YouTube did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but in a statement provided to Bloomberg it maintained the companys primary focus has been tackling tough content challenges.

Some of the measures taken to address the toxic content challenge:

Updating its recommendations system to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation by adding a measure of social responsibility to its recommendation algorithm, which includes input on how many times people share and click the like and dislike buttons on a video;

Improving the news experience on by adding links to Google News results inside of YouTube search, and featuring authoritative sources, from established media outlets, in its news sections;

Increasing the number of people focused on content issues across Google to 10,000;

Investing in machine learning to be able to more quickly find and remove content that violates the platforms policies;

Continually reviewing and updating its policies (it made more than 30 policy updates in 2018 alone); and

Removing over 8.8 million channels for violating its guidelines.

Bad Virality

Corporate culture began to change at YouTube in 2012, Bergen explained, when executives like Robert Kyncl, formerly of Netflix, and Salar Kamangar, a Google veteran, were brought in to make the company profitable.

In 2012, Bergen wrote, YouTube concluded that the more people watched, the more ads it could run  and that recommending videos, alongside a clip or after one was finished, was the best way to keep eyes on the site.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At that time, too, Kamangar set an ambitious goal for the company: one billion hours of viewing a day. So the company rewrote its recommendation engine with that goal in mind, and reached it in 2016.

Virality  a videos ability to capture thousands, if not millions of views  was key to reaching the billion-hour goal.

YouTube doesnt give an exact recipe for virality. But in the race to one billion hours, a formula emerged: Outrage equals attention, Bergen wrote.

People inside YouTube knew about this dynamic, he explained. Over the years, there were many tortured debates about what to do with troublesome videos  those that dont violate its content policies and so remain on the site. Some software engineers have nicknamed the problem bad virality.'

Borderline Content

The problem YouTube now faces is how to create an effective mechanism to handle problematic content, observed Cayce Myers, an assistant professor in the communications department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Much of this content doesnt violate YouTubes social community standards, he told TechNewsWorld. This is content that is borderline.

Any mechanism that removes content from a platform creates risks. You run the risk of developing a reputation of privileging some content over others as to whats removed and whats not, Myers explained.

On the other hand, if something isnt done about toxic content, theres the risk that government regulators will enter the picture  something no industry wants.

Any time you have government intervention, youre going to have to have some mechanism for compliance, Myers said.

That creates an expense, an added layer of management, an added layer of employees, and its going to complicate how your business model runs, he continued.It may also affect the ease at which content is populated on a site. Regulatory oversight may take away the kind of ease and quickness that exists today.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

From Lake to Cesspit

Its doubtful that government regulation of YouTube would be beneficial, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California.

Though Facebook and YouTube and Google execs have claimed for years to be doing all they can to curb toxic content, the results are pretty dismal, he told TechNewsWorld.

The video shared by the suspect in the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque massacre is just their latest failure, King remarked. That said, its difficult to envision how government regulation could improve the situation.

Companies ought to be concerned about toxic content because it can have a negative impact on a companys brand and financial performance, he pointed out.

You can see evidence of that in various consumer boycotts of advertisers that support talk show and other TV programs whose hosts or guests have gone beyond the pale. No company wants to be deeply associated with toxic content, King added.

Failing to control or contain toxic content can poison a platform or brand among users and consumers. That can directly impact a companys bottom line, as weve seen happening when advertisers abandon controversial programs, he explained. In worst case circumstances, the platform itself may become toxic. With inattention and pollution, a popular mountain lake can quickly transform into a cesspit that people avoid. Commercial companies are no different.

Trump Card

Meanwhile, YouTubes efforts to manage toxic content may get more complicated due to a federal court ruling in New York state. That decision stems from President Donald J. Trumps blocking of some Twitter followers critical of his job performance.

We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account  the interactive space where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the Presidents tweets  are properly analyzed under the public forum doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.

That public forum analysis has social media executives wondering about the legal status of their platforms.

Everybody is concerned that rather than being a private club where everybody can have their own dress code, theyre more like a public forum or town square where theyre subject to the First Amendment, said Karen North, director of the Annenberg Online Communities program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

If theres a question of freedom of speech, then everyone is wondering where they can draw the line between what should be available and what should be blocked, she told TechNewsWorld. Some pretty vile and toxic speech is legal, and in the town square that speech is protected.
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By Kaitlin Grable

1. The media still isnt addressing climate change in a way that matches the urgency of the problem. Despite years of record-breaking extreme weather, the climate crisis usually gets minor mentions when mainstream news comments on climate-linked disasters or Trump's pro-fossil fuel rhetoric. Climate change shouldn't be a footnote  it should be center stage. Holding a climate-focused debate will ensure that the climate crisis is treated as a serious issue to address, not an opinion to be questioned. It would push the candidates to specifically address how they will tackle one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime, and give us all the ability to make an informed choice on who will lead us into an era of bold climate action that's accountable to communities.

2. We need bold, visionary leaders to beat Trump in 2020. We've spent more than two years resisting a racist and destructive Trump agenda. With daily attacks on our values and freedoms, this administration has attempted to divide us and wear us down. But people power has given us a record number of women in Congress, voting rights restoration in Florida, and the beginnings of an ambitious Green New Deal. This is just the start. Now we need presidential candidates that will look beyond the status quo and reimagine what's possible. The next president should have the guts and vision to move us toward a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future where we reject the politics of fear and exclusion  while directly confronting how corporate polluters tarnish our air, our water and our climate without repercussions. It's not the time for half-measures if we want to beat Trump. For decades, the bar on climate policy has been incredibly low. If a politician says they believe in man-made climate change, they've been lauded as progressive on climate. Agreeing with nearly every climate scientist in the world isn't leadership. We all deserve to know whether each Democratic candidate has a well-thought-out plan for the climate crisis and go toe-to-toe with the oil and gas industry. Here's what a climate-focused debate could reveal: Who supports the Green New Deal and who doesn't; How the candidates will stop the fossil fuel industry's influence on our democracy; Who will push our economy to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy; How candidates will support communities affected by climate disasters; Who will make a responsible plan to phase-out fossil fuels while protecting workers.

3. Communities across the country are being badly hurt by the effects of climate change. Politics has always been divisive. But recently the emphasis on "us versus them" has gone too far. Instead of creating common goals for thriving communities, with healthy air and water, and shared access to clean energy, the calls of "fake news" and "build a wall" put people in conflict with one another. We need to hear how candidates for president are going to bring us together  because we need everyone in this fight. If we don't shift the way we produce energy in this country, the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis will continue to suffer the most from devastating extreme weather events and environmental pollution. The time for talk has passed. We need to move to a 100 percent renewable energy economy and hold corporate polluters accountable for the damage they've caused.

4. We only have just over a decade to take drastic action on climate change. Scientists tell us we have until 2030 to cut carbon pollution in half to stave off the worst effects of climate change. You do the math. Our future rests on the shoulders of whoever we elect as the next president. Every day we allow to pass without taking action is one day we come closer to an irreversible ecological tipping point. Since we have just over 10 years to take major steps forward on climate, the coming years will be a critical time to make up for all the years of climate inaction on both sides of the aisle. The next president of the U.S. must take bolder, faster climate action than any leader has before. We want to see who is going to claim the mantle of climate leadership, and the best way to do that is for the candidates to debate their plans face-to-face on the debate stage.

Together, we can build a powerful movement to make sure that bold climate action is at the top of presidential candidates' priorities  but we need everyone on board.
Photo: Colin Dacre Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre, speaking to SILGA delegates in Penticton on Friday.

A regulated and decriminalized drug supply.

Thats what mayors and councillors from across the Southern Interior heard is the answer to the opioid overdose crisis, in the opinion of the woman leading the provincial agency trying to get a handle on the emergency that killed nearly 1,500 British Columbians last year.

Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre within the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, spoke at the Southern Interior Local Government Association convention in Penticton Friday morning to update politicians on the provinces response to the post-fentanyl era.

In response to a delegate question about what law enforcement is doing to stem the tide of fentanyl in communities, Patterson qualified her answer as her own opinion and not that of the ministry.

Not sure if anyone in this room is going to like my answer, she said. But the answer is regulation.... There are harms from the illicit, illegal, toxic drug supply and there is criminal activity that surrounds that.

Like what happened with the prohibition of alcohol the answer is I believe regulation [and decriminalization], but it takes political bravery to take that step.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made similar public comments last month.

Patterson told delegates overdose is now killing more people in B.C. than motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides combined, making it the leading cause of unnatural death. Fentanyl was detected in 87 per cent of fatal overdoses in 2018, up from just four per cent in 2012.

Presented statistics showed the emergencys impact on segments of society outside the stereotypes. Sixty per cent of fatal overdose victims are not intravenous drug users, 40 per cent were employed at the time of their death and 68 per cent in Interior B.C. died while using at home.

Patterson spoke at length about the need to reduce the stigma associated with drug use, telling the room substance-use disorders are a health issue.

Not a failure of character, not a moral issue, but a health issue, she said. Because of stigma, people are more likely to use at home alone and die, alone.

The provincial government has been rapidly distributing naloxone kits throughout the province since declaring a public health emergency in 2016. The drug quickly reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Patterson said 45,000 kits have now been distributed in Interior B.C., with estimates of one life saved for every 65 kits handed out.

Opioid-replacement therapy like methadone or suboxone is also being made more accessible, with enrolled participants climbing from 14,000 in 2015 to 22,000 today.

While this is an improvement, this number represents less than half of all individuals diagnosed with an opioid-use disorder, Patterson said, noting there are hundreds of thousands more undiagnosed.

She said many of those now addicted to opiods started with prescriptions from doctors following an injury or surgery, with Canada very well known in the international context for liberally prescribing opioids. The country would benefit from a new, less opioid-dependant, pain management strategy, she said.
Primary school singing extravaganza to hit Villa Marina stage

More than 600 of the Islands primary school pupils will take to the Villa Marina Royal Hall stage next month.

The Sound of Stories will take place on Wednesday 12th June and features a variety of songs from films and musicals that have been adapted from books, stories and tales. 23 local primary schools, plus two local singing schools and choirs, will take part in the mass singing concert.



Organiser Katie Lawrence, a music teacher at Ballacottier Primary School, explained: The concert will showcase classics and family-favourites from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Wicked, Oliver and The Little Mermaid, amongst others. Its an opportunity for the children to just have fun and enjoy singing alongside their friends, without any sort of competition pressure.



Ive wanted to bring this idea to life for some time now and I decided 2019 would be the year I finally put it into action. There will be a live band and the evening promises to be something really special  certainly a feel-good night to remember!



Tickets for The Sound of Stories are priced at 10 for adults and 5 for under 16s and are available to buy online from www.villagaiety.com or by calling the Villa Gaiety Ticket Hotline on 01624 600555.
Education system praised in recent visit

The quality and diversity of education in schools in the Isle of Man has been praised following a recent visit from Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research at The Edge Foundation.

The Edge Foundation is an independent education charity dedicated to shaping education in the UK.

The focus of the visit, which took place at the beginning of April, was to research and gain an insight into the education system on the Isle of Man.

Following the visit, Olly Newton praised the Isle of Man Governments innovative approach to learning.

In his recently published blog, Olly Newton summarised:

The Isle of Man presents an excellent example of what can flourish when schools are released from the strictures of the rigid EBacc and academic curriculum. Head teachers with greater autonomy, a broader curriculum, inter-disciplinary learning and early access to vocational opportunities  all giving young people on the Isle of Man more opportunities to develop the skills that our research shows that employers are looking for.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A northern Ontario First Nation where a mother and four of her children died in a house fire this week has no effective means or equipment to fight fires, a spokesman said Friday as the community grappled with its loss.

Sam McKay, spokesman for the chief and council of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, said the community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay has a fire truck that doesn't work, a fire hall that was never completed and no fire hoses.

There are fire hydrants in some parts of the community of roughly 1,000, but not everywhere, he said. At times, the community has used drinking water delivered there by truck to combat flames but that's not enough to put them out, he said.

"When there's a fire, you pretty much stand and look at the building burn and make sure there's nobody there," he said. "At this time we were very unfortunate that we lost five people."

Thursday's fatal fire happened around 3 or 4 a.m. so no one was around to help at first, McKay said, though some rescue attempts were made later. Three people were airlifted to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and other injuries after they tried to go into the burning home, he said.

Seamus O'Regan, the federal minister of Indigenous services, expressed his condolences in a tweet Thursday evening and said his department was working to provide assistance to the community.

Ontario's minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford, said in a statement that the province will also offer support to the community.

McKay has said the victims of the fire were a single mother and four of her children  aged six, seven, nine and 12. Her older daughter was away at the time and survived, he said.

A prayer vigil was held at the site Friday morning at the request of the family before police began their investigation, he said.

Ontario's fire marshal's office, coroner's office and forensic pathology service have also been dispatched to the community.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, has said a team of crisis and support workers would also be sent there.
Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries.

A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the US outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

HARD LANDING

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the sheriffs office said on Twitter. The sheriffs tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into East Sea

North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Koreas military said.

North Korea fired unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, according to South Koreas state-run Yonhap News Agency.

"MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF MISSILES"

Yonhap cited South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. today".





The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles seem to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The incident comes more than a year after the country fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details of the launch, the agency said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it has been certified to represent hundreds of flight attendants at WestJet Encore.

The union says the decision was made by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after a majority of flight attendants signed cards in support of unionization.

The unionization of about 600 flight attendants at WestJet's regional carrier comes after their colleagues at WestJet's mainline carrier were unionized last July.

Together, nearly 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are unionized, while CUPE says it is continuing efforts to add flight attendants as WestJet's low-cost carrier, Swoop.

Meanwhile, the Calgary-based airline says that 92 per cent of its Encore pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association voted in favour of a five-year agreement that runs until Jan. 1, 2024.

Canada's second-largest airline saw the repercussions of labour strife last May, when WestJet pilots voted in favour of strike action before the Air Line Pilots Association and the company agreed to a settlement process two weeks later.
Pentagon: No F-35 for Turkey if it acquires Russian S-40

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated US opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Michael Shanahan said Turkey would not receive F-35 fighter jets if it proceeds with its purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, the Washington Examiner reported.

"ONE OR THE OTHER"

US officials have repeatedly said the S-400s could be used by Russia to collect sensitive information on the F-35s if the two systems are used simultaneously. They have threatened to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme and not deliver the 100 fighter jets it has ordered from the United States.

"There's no confusion on our part," Shanahan said at a House of Representatives Appropriations Committee hearing. "It's one or the other".





The US Congress passed legislation last year to block the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey if the Turkish government took delivery of the Russian missiles. Washington has also offered to sell Patriot air defence batteries to Turkey, of Ankara cancels the S-400 purchase.
The culture of political opportunism and hyper-masculinity fails the cause of womens representation.

The intention behind the demand for an increase in the representation of women in electoral politics has been to not only ensure the physical presence of women in the political arena, but also influence a change in the dominant political discourse rife with opportunism, sexism and, hyper-masculinity. Incidents like Priyanka Chaturvedis move from Congress to Shiv Sena, however, bring to attention a tragic irony. Chaturvedi, who left the Congress on grounds of inaction by the party on sexism and lumpenism against her, instead, chose to be co-opted by a political party that can hardly boast of a bright record on gender justice. While justifying her move up the ladder, Chaturvedi also reiterated her commitment to womens rights.

Such a move, though not in the least isolated, brings to focus the new normal of politics: a naked careerism bereft of principled or ethical stands, commitment, and guilt. It is important to interrogate this normality. This incident also reflects how parties may end up looking at their members as employees on a payroll, whose job is to market the partys brand and image. Such members could, however, not be considered politicians inasmuch as they are not expected to have any deep connect with people or even with the partys core beliefs and ideology. This also makes a switch between parties normal as it is in a corporate culture.
Indian sociologists and historians have retained a certain foundational bias and blindness regarding caste. M N Srinivass theory of Sanskritisation saw underprivileged castes as aspirational, seeking social mobility. Socio-economic changes were seen as destabilising caste relations and leading to their disappearance. The persistence of upper-caste hegemony, and the resistance to it from underprivileged sections, does not corroborate the thesis forwarded by Srinivas and other sociologists and historians. The neglect of B R Ambedkar has been part of a strange refusal to acknowledge the political in caste.

The intellectual discourse in India has since long been sitting comfortably in its deliberate blindness towards certain proper names of suffering. The proper name of caste struggled to find place in the world of social science theory as upper-caste academicians did not care or pay attention to it. Both liberals and Marxists in India have been reluctant to expand the terminologies of their discourse to include caste as a political category deserving theoretical investigation. Caste was of course mentioned, but never in terms of a political hierarchy that thwarted social change. And Untouchability was addressed not in its radical (meaning, radically exploitative) specificity but as a feature within the caste problem. The left and liberal discourse that supported reservations did so through the Western narrative of positive discrimination, or affirmative action. It was welcomed within the narrative of special, legitimate rights. But this did not simultaneously translate into a political discourse of caste erasure, of challenging the ideological edifice of the caste system.

The grounds were laid by a host of Indian political and social thinkers. In The Discovery of India (1964), Jawaharlal Nehru (1985: 85) speculated on the fluid condition of caste in its earlier stages, and rigidity coming in only later. According to Nehru (1985: 216), the institution of caste, with all its evils  was infinitely better than slavery. Unlike slave-labour in Greece, Nehru found a measure of freedom in the fixed occupational system of caste. This led, according to Nehru (1985: 216) to a high degree of specialisation and skill in handicrafts and craftsmanship.
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement today of its short list of finalists to host the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) underscores its unilateral and evidence-lite approach to addressing the future of US food and agriculture research.

"Any gains that USDA asserts will result from relocating ERS and NIFA away from our nation's research, food and agricultural policymaking are overwhelmingly outweighed by the detrimental impacts," stated Ron Wasserstein, executive director of the American Statistical Association (ASA). "Further, USDA has neither made a compelling case for such an upheaval nor listened to their own stakeholders, experts and leaders. Adding insult to injury, they have bypassed the 155-year partnership with land grant universities and Congress that has been a hallmark in determining American agricultural and food research policy."

ASA leaders also reissued their points made regarding USDA's March release of the "middle" list:

"We're disappointed to see USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue persisting in his plans to uproot the USDA research arm, despite the overwhelming concerns of its former leaders and the greater statistical and agricultural research community," said Wasserstein. "The USDA leadership developed their plans without consulting any of the agency's current or former research and statistical heads or the broader research community. With that community now having strongly voiced its concerns and opposition, USDA seems intent to proceed without course corrections." "We thank Congress for expressing its concerns and seeking clarity from USDA for both the rationale and the costs and impacts of the ERS/NIFA move," said 2019 ASA President Karen Kafadar. "Regrettably, USDA's announcement today dismisses the input from ERS/NIFA's customers and stakeholders, primarily policy- and decision-makers. We continue to believe that this move is not only costly to US taxpayers but removes ERS from its critical mission, 'to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision-making.' We strongly urge Congress to halt USDA's plans to move ERS/NIFA to protect the research and statistical foundations of our food, agricultural and rural economies."

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See also the March 25 press release, 101 Agriculture, Food, and Science Organizations Urge Congress to Block USDA Moves; the March 12 press release, American Statistical Association, Other Leaders Maintain USDA's Upheaval of Research Arm Unwise, Counterproductive; and the December 5 press release, The American Statistical Association Board of Directors Decries USDA Undermining of Federal Statistical Agency and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Contact: Steve Pierson, pierson@amstat.org, (703) 302-1841.

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.

As part of ASA's commitment to support the importance of government statistics for evidence-based policymaking, ASA created Count on Stats. In partnership with over a dozen organizations, the initiative is designed to educate and inform the public about the critically important nature of federal data. Without federal agencies' data collection and analysis, we would not have key insights into nutrition, economic trends, community issues, public safety, agriculture, and countless other facets that are vital to our society. For additional information, please visit the Count on Stats website at http://www.countonstats.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

###

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 8987 2499

Mobile: +33 (0) 7 8531 2036

Email: press@escardio.org

Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews

Notes to editor

The hashtag for EuroHeartCare 2019 is #euroheartcare.

Funding: This work was supported through the Swedish National Science Council (K2013-69X-22302-01-3, 2016-01390), Swedish National Science Council/Swedish research council for health, working life and welfare (VR-FORTE) 2014-4100, The Swedish Heart and Lung Association E085/12, The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20130340 and 20160439), the Vardal Foundation (2014-0018), the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS 474681).

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1The abstract 'Cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure: a descriptive international study' will be presented during Moderated poster session - Heart Failure on Saturday 4 May at 10:45 to 11:45 CEST in the Moderated Poster Area.

About the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions

The mission of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) is to support nurses and allied health professionals throughout Europe to deliver the best possible care to patients with cardiovascular disease and their families.

EuroHeartCare is the annual Congress of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

Information for journalists attending EuroHeartCare 2019

EuroHeartCare 2019 will be held 2 to 4 May at the Milano Convention Centre (MiCo) in Milan, Italy. Explore the scientific programme.
New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layers - which include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

###

The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.

The Paper's authors are Dr Min Zhang, Professor Corina Sas and Dr Zoe Lambert, of Lancaster University, and Dr Masitah Ahmad, of Universiti Teknologi MARA.
New analysis of 16th-century drawing by Italian doctors concludes da Vinci's right hand affected by ulnar palsy, rather than stroke

A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."

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The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) is a leading voice in the UK and internationally for medicine and healthcare. Published continuously since 1809, JRSM features scholarly comment and clinical research. JRSM is editorially independent from the Royal Society of Medicine, and its editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.

JRSM is a journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it is published by SAGE Publishing.

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com
Richard Perez, the president of San Antonios Chamber of Commerce, apologized Friday for suggesting domestic violence allegations are not a business issue.

The comment, made Thursday after the chamber hosted San Antonios final mayoral debate at KLRN-TV, drew criticism from city leaders such as Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

After the debate between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and challenger Greg Brockhouse, a reporter asked Perez why the moderator did not ask Brockhouse about past police reports of domestic violence. The councilman was not arrested in either incident and has denied any wrongdoing.

We didnt really see it as a business issue, Perez said at the time.

In a statement from her campaign Friday, Gonzales said the comment was alarming.

I want to be very clear about this, domestic violence is very much a business issue, said Gonzales, herself a business owner. To deny this is at best willful ignorance and at worst conscious neglect.

On ExpressNews.com: In final debate, San Antonios mayoral candidates agree: They present a clear choice

Gonzales said people cant work when their basic needs arent being met, and safety is a basic need.

This is about basic human principles and as our city closes in on making important representative government decisions, its the best and proper time to talk about it, she said.

Soon after Gonzales released her statement, Perez said there had been a misunderstanding and apologized.

I explained our focus was on business issues rather than the allegations against (Brockhouse), Perez said. I, in no way, meant to imply that domestic violence is not a business issue, and I apologize for that.

Perez called domestic violence a vitally important issue that needs to continue to be a priority for our entire community.

Others were upset by Perezs initial comments as well.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO, said she read the statement in the newspaper Friday and was immediately upset.

Domestic violence should be an issue that everyone should be discussing, Chavez-Thompson said. The fact of the matter is we dont get enough attention in San Antonio, or even nationwide, on the issue of domestic violence.

She said she heard from a number of friends who were similarly troubled. Chavez-Thompson said she has reached out to Perez and wants to see if the chamber could do something to bring more awareness to the issue in the future.

The Express-News reported in March that Brockhouses ex-wife and current wife accused him of domestic violence in separate police reports in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He was never arrested or charged and his wife has repudiated her earlier account to police.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayoral candidate Brockhouse told debate moderators he would leave if they asked about domestic violence police reports

At a previous debate held by the nonprofit Rivard Report, Brockhouse told a moderator he would leave if asked about the reports.

I just told them Im not answering any more questions on it, Brockhouse said then. (My wife has) fully denied them. Ive denied them. I dont know what else there is to talk about.

Before Thursdays debate, Brockhouse said he would answer a question about the reports if asked. But Jim Forsyth, the moderator for KLRN, did not broach the topic.

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
Photo: The Canadian Press A Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River.

A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the U.S. military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing onto the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members came to a stop in shallow water in the St. Johns River. Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

Marine units from the sheriff's department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Capt. Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

"I think it is a miracle," Connor said. "We could be talking about a different story this evening."

Several pets were on the plane as well, and their status wasn't immediately clear. A navy statement early Saturday offering "hearts and prayers" to their owners said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

It wasn't immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information." The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

It wasn't known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.
Ethan Miller /Getty Images

More than 65,000 people have donated to Julian Castros presidential campaign, providing more assurance the former San Antonio mayor will appear on stage during the first Democratic presidential debates in June.

Castro, one of more than 20 candidates vying for the nomination, had already qualified for the debates by reaching 1 percent in three approved polls. That was one of two ways to qualify in rules laid out by the Democratic National Committee. The other way is by having at least 65,000 unique donors.
Arlis Olson wants mandatory trash service for suburban neighborhoods in unincorporated Bexar County. So do her neighbors Karen Roth and Mallie Van.

They are tired of picking up the trash others leave behind. Tired of seeing dumped mattresses, couches and TVs at empty street corners. They are disgusted by trash bags piled high behind a strip mall near their Candlewood Park neighborhood on the Northeast Side near Kirby. They are exhausted by asking the county to do something even though they know that something is never enough.

This is a slightly different story than The Glen, a Northeast Side neighborhood where garbage can pile 5 feet high, and it oozes and seeps across the street. It is an out-of-control public health crisis.

That doesnt happen at Candlewood Park, just beyond the city of San Antonios limits. The trash problem is not nearly so extreme here. But that doesnt mean there should be a trash problem  and it points to the failure by the county and state lawmakers to meaningfully address this issue.

Candlewood Park has the familiar and orderly trappings of the suburbs. Good schools. Spacious homes. Quiet streets. Part of its allure is being beyond city limits, and development signs herald the lack of city property taxes.

Its a fine place to live. Many military families call this neighborhood home, Van said. Its a mixture of rentals and longtime residents. But, yes, there is dumping and trash.

As Olson wrote in a letter to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in March, We have a cleanup crew of neighbors that pick trash a couple of times a week. Our efforts are the only things keeping our neighborhood from swimming in trash like other unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

Some of that dumping is coming from beyond the neighborhood. But some of it is coming from neighbors who dont have private trash service, the three women said.

Its just an ongoing problem, Roth said. Its time for us to have mandatory garbage collection.

It was a sunny April morning, and the three women sat around Olsons kitchen table as a breeze drifted through open windows.

It wont solve everything, Olson said of mandatory trash service. But it would help.

Van agreed, but added she would like to see regular bulky pickup to deal with the mattresses, sofas and TVs.

None of this is unreasonable. Its not unreasonable to want your neighborhood to be free of garbage and dumping. Just as its not unreasonable to look at the mounds of garbage in The Glen and be disgusted, not just by the trash, but the inaction from the county and state.

Why is it two years after legislation was passed to grant the county the power to mandate trash service, so many Bexar neighborhoods continue to have trash problems? Why is it nearly four years after the city and county successfully partnered to provide mandatory trash service in the Camelot II neighborhood, no such partnership can be formed for The Glen? Its the next neighborhood over with nearly identical conditions.

The answer to these questions resides in that 2017 legislation. When state Sen. Jose Menendez filed it, the legislation originally included language that required landlords to provide trash service. But that language was stripped away.

Menendez said the law still gives the county the authority to do something, and they are choosing not to.

This may be so  never underestimate the power of indifference  but there is no doubt removing the landlord language undercut the intent.

Why? Because as many residents in The Glen and Camelot II have said, much of the trash problem in these neighborhoods is tied to rental properties.

But wait, there is more.

While the law allows the county to contract with the city or private haulers to provide mandatory trash service, it also allows residents to keep their existing trash service. This is problematic because the city would never provide such a service to a patchwork of homes (and the city has no interest in serving the unincorporated county). And if residents can keep their trash service, the county cant put an entire subdivision out to bid for one hauler.

Menendez said its probably too late in the session to fix the legislation. Hes hoping to meet with county officials.

In other words, its a political and bureaucratic mess  and Olson, Roth and Van are stuck with the cleanup.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
In case youre thinking of wearing a big sombrero to a Cinco de Mayo party  dont.

Please dont. Just take a few minutes and rethink the hat.

I know, theyre just hats. Its just a costume. Its fun, right?

Not really.

Its not so much that dressing up like a Mexican from 1915 is offensive, although people are offended when they are openly mocked. To be clear, speaking with an exaggerated accent, joshing about citizenship and tossing out punchlines involving the words siesta, beans, arriba, no bueno, ole and ay-ay-ay are  in most cases in which a Mexican costume party is concerned  mockery.

And silly stuff happens when people are in costume.

Still, were used to it. People have been putting on sombreros and quoting Speedy Gonzales to us since Richie Valens changed his name.

We are used to non-Latinos picking out a few cultural markers and using them as props and party favors during Fiesta, and on Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis  although in San Antonio, a fiesta can happen on any day.

Most of us dont give this more than a smirk or an eye-roll, as this doesnt directly take food off our table. In fact, for those of us who know how to properly make enchiladas or form a pinata the way God intended, it actually puts food on our table.

But unless youre a mariachi or are planning to spend a long day out in the sun, the sombrero is impractical. Thats why we dont wear them.

The glittery velvet numbers you see on mariachis and charros are ceremonial. Mariachis play at weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries, special dinners and happy events during which we like to hear songs that remind us of our past.

But we dont all dress like this, and even the charros and mariachis who do only dress up when theres a performance involved.

And that big straw sombrero? That is a throwback to an agrarian life that went away a long time ago. Today, we wear cowboy hats, Spurs caps and Selena newsboy hats  the same stuff you wear. Even my grandpa was a Resistol guy. Those of us who do work out in the sun all day have figured out a better way to stay cool than those hats worn by El Guapo from The Three Amigos.

So when we see you wearing a big sombrero at the party  or a bright sarape or a fake Emiliano Zapata moustache  we know where youre coming from. Youre wearing a silly, outdated caricature of us.

That you think its OK to do this shows us that you arent worried about what we think about that caricature. It shows us you dont know us at all.

My Mexican mom taught me that everyone deserves respect. Those whom we dont know, especially, deserve respect because how we treat them defines not only who we are but also how we will be perceived.

Think about this before you put on my great-great-grandpas hat so you can get your party on. None of us are wearing it; a few of us will take offense, but most of us will just roll our eyes.

But everyone will see you coming.

Mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
In the normal course of events, the successful demagogue demands and receives cringing deference. But how about a little empathy now and then?

Everyone loves heroic dissidents like Sir Thomas More, at least when canonizing them has no cost. They get all the best press and plays about them. Yet who stops to consider the predicament of the prince? He can always find some lickspittles who will do as they are told. But the problem with lickspittles is their darned undependability. Men or women who are subservient out of self-interest will turn against the prince when their interests change, or when they get a plea deal. One day they are drinking at a princes open bar. The next they are talking to 60 Minutes or congressional investigators. No matter how much the Michael Cohens of the world are favored and rewarded, their allegiance will go with a better bid.

Deep down  at their most honest and vulnerable  what demagogues really want is sycophants who act out of conviction. Is it too much to ask for servants who grovel because they really mean it?

By this standard, Donald Trump must be a very happy man. In Attorney General William Barr, he has finally found someone who licks his boots out of principle.

Barr was clearly chosen for his position because he genuinely believes in expansive executive authority. But his performance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee went a step further. Barr made an argument for expansive and largely unaccountable executive authority.

The attorney general essentially argued that if a president really, really, really believes he is innocent of a crime, then he can undermine an investigation of that crime without the corrupt motive required to prove obstruction of justice.

Said Barr: If the president is being falsely accused  which the evidence now suggests that the accusations against him were false  and he knew they were false, and he felt that this investigation was unfair, propelled by his political opponents, and was hampering his ability to govern, that is not a corrupt motive for replacing an independent counsel.

This is a remarkable claim on several counts. The evidence from the Mueller report does not provide evidence that the accusations against Trump were false. It found that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a criminal conspiracy. If the accusation is that the Trump campaign had extensive, disturbing contacts with a hostile foreign power in an attempt to gain political advantage, then the Mueller report comprehensively proves the charge. This tendency by Barr to equate the absence of a crime with vindication for the president is what makes him sound like part of Trumps defense team. It is also what seems to have rubbed special counsel Robert Mueller the wrong way, provoking his snitty letter of protest to Barr.

It is the broader implications of Barrs view of obstruction, however, that should concern us the most. He is claiming that Trumps belief in his own innocence, along with his conviction that political opponents were out to get him, constituted a sufficiently pure motive to fire Mueller (and much else) without incurring the guilt of obstruction of justice. But what president  Richard Nixon included  does not believe in his own innocence until a smoking gun appears? What president does not believe that his opponents are unfairly accusing him? And how should an attorney general determine that such beliefs are sincerely held?

The standard that Barr sets essentially makes obstruction of justice by a president impossible to demonstrate. And this amounts, for a president such as Trump, to preemptive permission.

I have no doubt that Barr believes his own argument. But this is what should please Trump the most. Barr is not merely summarizing Muellers findings. He is providing justification for Trumps whole approach to the Mueller investigation  the presidents charge of a witch hunt, his raging paranoia, his belief that everyone who serves at his pleasure should do his bidding. Barr is bowing and scraping with complete sincerity. Finally, Trump has found a man of integrity to bless his corruption.

Does this mean that Barr should resign as attorney general? He has diminished the independence of his office, not just in fact but in theory. He has removed a check on presidential power within the executive branch. This does damage to the effectiveness and standing of federal law enforcement.

But Barr, by his own lights, is performing his duty. And his boss has every reason for satisfaction. Why begrudge a prince his fondest wish?

michaelgerson@washpost.com
West Kelowna's Kalamoir Regional Park was filled with dozens of people looking to prepare the area for the upcoming fire season.

Friends of Kalamoir, a local community group dedicated to maintaining the regional park, teamed up with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan to clear wildfire fuel from the 27-hectare park's forest floor.

While the cleanup event was scheduled for two hours, the turnout was much better than expected, and the group of volunteers filled up the large bin with pine needles, pine cones and small branches within 45 minutes.

We're really kind of overwhelmed, said Cathy MacKenzie, parks natural resource technician with the RDCO. They've covered an amazing amount of ground in that amount of time.

MacKenzie said the main thing they were looking to remove from the site was smaller ground fuels that a fire could get started in, as well as some of the ladder fuels that can move a fire from the ground into the top of trees.

Saturday is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Canada, and the event in Kalamoir Park was an educational experience for those in attendance.

(The volunteers) learn about Fire Smart activities for their own homes and what to do around their own homes to help prevent forest fires, MacKenzie said.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund stopped by the park Saturday.

Every little bit of work helps, so seeing a community cleanup in the park here today is a really great thing, Brolund said. That's a whole big, huge bin load of material that's no longer in the park to burn.

The problem is so huge but every little drop in the bucket helps.

The waste material collected Saturday was taken to the Glenmore landfill's OgoGrow composting program.
The ancient hatred has migrated to the internet.

The San Diego synagogue shooter was self-radicalized on a right-wing message board on the website 8chan, posting before he went on his rampage a thank-you to the boards users: what Ive learned here is priceless.

The attack, which killed one and injured three, came six months to the day after the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11. The San Diego shooter declared the Pittsburgh shooter  also a creature of fringe internet culture  one of his heroes.

Anti-Semitism is a millennia-old phenomenon, and anti-Jewish shootings in the U.S. arent new either (several occurred while George W. Bush and Barack Obama were president).

Whats disturbing about the latest spate of violence is the common thread of white-nationalist ideology, propagated and readily available on the internet and developing its own twisted culture of mass shootings. What happened two decades ago with the Columbine shooting  which set the predicate for years of copycat killers, each soaked in the iconography of Columbine and seeking their own moment of notoriety  is being replicated by a loose collection of sick racists.

The San Diego shooter attested to how quickly hed been prepped for mass murder by 8chan, where white nationalists push one another to undertake acts of violence that they call real-life effort-posting. He said he never could have imagined killing even a few months ago and that he planned the attack in four weeks.

He explained that he was inspired by the Christchurch mosque shooter, who killed 50 in New Zealand and came from the same white-nationalist 8chan sewer. The San Diego shooter aped his hero by also posting a similar long manifesto to the site and attempting to livestream his crime.

Todays internet anti-Semitism is based on very old lies, at the bottom of which is the belief that the Jews are an alien, parasitic force conspiring against their host  in this case, supposedly the white race. The San Diego shooter even cited a notorious lie dating from the 15th century that Jews had used the blood of a Christian boy to bake their Passover matzos.

The addition the 8chan haters make to the anti-Semitic oeuvre is their very internet in-jokes and memes, underscoring their rancid nihilism.

Because everything must be about Donald Trump, the left blames him for Pittsburgh and San Diego. His critics point to his shabby response to Charlottesville (Trump actually did condemn the white nationalists and neo-Nazis, but posited fine people on their side who didnt exist). Yet Trump was explicitly rejected by the San Diego and Pittsburgh shooters, precisely because hes so pro-Israel.

His State of the Union address earlier this year was notably philo-Semitic. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism or those who spread its venomous creed, he said while recognizing a hero of the Pittsburgh massacre. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.

At the same time that an extreme fringe on the right marinates in its own malice, a different sort of anti-Semitism, rooted in hatred for Israel, is getting normalized on the left. It can be seen in the refusal of House Democrats to forthrightly condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar for her anti-Semitic tropes and in the astonishing publication by the international edition of the New York Times of a political cartoon worthy of Der Sturmer.

Its not the 1930s again, but the elite atmosphere is becoming more hostile to Israel than it has been for many decades, and the physical threat to Jews is growing. According to news reports, the San Diego shooting might have been much worse if the Poway Chabad congregation hadnt recently practiced shooter drills, and other synagogues will have to take note. If the freaks on 8chan have anything to say about it, there will be a next time.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The charge was criminal trespass, but Jack Michael Ule was put in jail because he was homeless and mentally ill. He died there, a tragic example of the criminal justice reform needed but that too many are still trying to stymie.

Ule spent two weeks in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center for a nonviolent misdemeanor simply because he could not afford a nominal bond. He spent two weeks locked up, and he never saw a judge.

Tragically, this is all too familiar. The contours of Ules death on April 18 mirror the December death of Janice Dotson-Stephens, another inmate in the Bexar County Jail. Both had schizophrenia diagnoses. Adults in their 60s, both were charged with criminal trespass and held on low bonds. For Ule, bond was $500. For Dotson-Stephens, it was $300. Neither received representation at their bail hearings, nor appropriate mental health treatment while languishing in jail.

Their deaths were four months apart, but each is the same damning indictment of a broken system desperately in need of the very reforms Bexar Countys judges continue to resist and reject. If Bexar Countys judges had embraced bail reform for nonviolent misdemeanors, Ule would never have died in jail. If Bexar Countys judges truly embraced public defender representation for all defendants at bail hearings, Ules mental health issues may have been flagged, and again, he may never have ended up in jail.

But he did end up in jail. Just like Dotson-Stephens was placed in jail. Just like countless others who are homeless or have mental health issues find their way into jail each day.

Ule was from Ohio. He was a bright student, earning straight As in grade school and high school. He studied agronomy at Ohio State University, his brother Joseph Ule told us. But as an adult, he was kind of diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Joseph Ule said.

He could be difficult when not on his medication, which was often. But he made his way, working at times as a cook and living with his mother, Sylvia Ule, in Richmond Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland.

After his mother died about four years ago, Ule became homeless. Sylvia was behind on her property taxes, and Joseph Ule said the house had to be sold.

He didnt understand why he had to move out of the house, said Peggy Taksar, Ules sister. He kind of just went on his own.

Joseph Ule lives in Kansas City and said he offered his brother a place to stay there, but his brother wasnt interested. Instead, Ule drifted across the Southwest. Phoenix. Albuquerque. Colorado. El Paso. North to Ohio and then south to the sunshine.

It was hard to keep tabs. Joseph Ule was battling pancreatic cancer back in Kansas City, and his brother was an adult. Ule might have been schizophrenic, but his siblings couldnt force him into treatment. As long as he wasnt a danger to himself or others, he was free to come and go. Joseph Ule said he had long been dreading the call he received about his brother.

His family didnt know how long Ule was in San Antonio or what brought him here. Joseph Ule thought it was the warm weather. Taksar thought her brother might have been making his way to El Paso.

But we know from a University Health System police report that he received medical assistance in February, and that UHS police had warned him about criminal trespass in March. We also know he listed Haven for Hope, the communitys homeless shelter, as his address. On April 4th, UHS police arrested Ule, 63, for criminal trespass at University Hospital in the Medical Center.

It was 12:08 a.m., and he was watching television in an unoccupied waiting area without an appointment, wrote officer Edwin Bell.

Ule said he had recently been discharged from the hospital and he wanted to rest and watch television. Bell said he was loitering.

University Hospital is the immediate alternative to jail for people in mental health crises, but in this case the system worked in reverse. The hospital sent a person with mental illness to jail. Why?

In a situation where we have a disturbance at the hospital or another University Health System facility, officers are faced with three options: asking the person to leave, making an arrest, or putting the person in emergency detention, wrote Elizabeth Allen, a public relations manager for UHS. The officer, like the majority of our officers, has had crisis intervention training to accurately assess these things, and this person did not qualify for emergency detention.

But that doesnt mean he should have qualified for jail.

In jail, his case was fast-tracked. It moved so fast the public defender never had the chance to meet with Ule and represent him at his bail hearing. It moved so fast no one took into account his previous mental health history.

Consider this timeline:

2:30 a.m. Ule entered the countys Justice Intake and Assessment Center.

2:42 a.m. The public defenders office received his booking slip.

3:30 a.m. Judge Celeste Ramirez set his $500 bond.

There are two problems here. The first is that even though the public defenders office is supposed to represent defendants at bail hearings, that representation comes with caveats. Per a district judge order, the public defender cant represent defendants with existing representation or another bond.

In real terms, that has meant public defenders have to jump through many hoops to determine if someone is eligible for representation. In our view, this obstacle reflects the district judges resistance to expanding the public defenders office and providing representation at bail hearings.

The second problem is that beyond bail hearings, the public defenders office primarily represents mentally ill defendants accused of low-level offenses. People just like Ule. But in this case, Ule was assigned a private court-appointed attorney.

He would have been the perfect candidate for our program, said Bexar County Chief Public Defender Michael Young. He had indicated some mental illness. He was charged with a low-level offense.

But the public defender never even had the chance to speak with Ule.

Instead, he spent the next two weeks in jail, a homeless man from Ohio with a $500 bond. It might as well have been $5 million. His family would have paid the bond in a heartbeat, but they had no idea where he was.

People being thrown in jail because they are homeless, said a disgusted Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who oversees Commissioners Court. Because they got a mental problem. Because they cant afford to pay a bond. Thats what the justice system is? No, its not.

In jail, Ule joined a cadre of people charged with criminal trespass who couldnt make nominal bonds. According to data from the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the week Ule died, 54 people were in jail for criminal trespass. Their bonds ranged from $100 to $2,000.

Ule died April 18, and the cause of his death remains unknown. A press release from the sheriffs office cites ongoing health issues as a possible factor. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he will no longer prosecute people charged with criminal trespass.

There are exceptions to every rule, but as a general matter, I dont think we need to have the homeless population in the Bexar County Jail because they are homeless, he said.

And Ules death was one of the reasons Bexar County Commissioners decided to have city of San Antonio judges oversee bail hearings. Municipal Court Presiding Judge John Bull has welcomed the public defender and said the defense and prosecution will be present at all bail hearings.

As welcome as these changes are, they are not enough. Meaningful criminal justice reform must be embraced by Bexar Countys felony and misdemeanor court judges, and this includes a better job identifying mental health issues to keep people out of jail.

There will be one more journey for Jack Ule. His ashes will be sent to Kansas City where there will be a service at a Slovenian church to honor his heritage, Joseph Ule said. His remains will then be buried in Ohio, beside his mother.
Being tough on crime means being smart on crime.

It means recognizing what cases to prioritize and how best to use limited resources. It means understanding some people accused of crimes should never be in jail, but others should not be released pretrial out of concern for the safety of victims and the community.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales gets this. Its early in his term, but Gonzales is moving forward with a number of smart and overdue reforms that should keep more people accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes out of the overcrowded Bexar County Adult Detention Center, and hes offering opportunities for these defendants to avoid ever being charged for these crimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, prosecutors have been working nights and weekends to address a backlog of family violence cases  another campaign promise from Gonzales.

By far the biggest reform Gonzales has promised voters is a meaningful cite-and-release program. This is when certain nonviolent misdemeanors are treated similarly to tickets. Picture charges such as marijuana possession of 4 ounces or less, criminal mischief, theft and theft of service  not paying for ones bill at a restaurant.

Under this program, defendants facing such misdemeanors will be given tickets and asked to appear at Bexar Countys Reentry Services building within 30 days. They may be asked to take a course, perform community service or enter drug treatment. If such conditions are met, then charges are never filed. And, of course, if conditions are not met, then charges will be filed and its back to the old way of doing things.

But the old way of doing things isnt always the best way of doing things. Thats the point of cite and release and other reforms.

Gonzales had hoped his cite-and-release program would be running by now, and so did we. But it looks as if it wont launch until this summer when new ticket books finally arrive. Part of this delay reflects the work Gonzales has put in to get this right. Gonzales has buy-in from the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the two largest local law enforcement agencies.

Gonzales told us a successful program might serve 100 people a month. In terms of dollars and cents, that would mean 100 people a month who arent languishing in jail for minor crimes at considerable taxpayer expense. In terms of supporting families, that would mean 100 people a month who could stay employed and live with their families, or who might participate in a program to meaningfully change their lives.

But this is also not the only reform in play.

Gonzales will no longer be charging most homeless people with criminal trespass. This policy change follows the tragic case of Jack Michael Ule, 63, a homeless man from Ohio who died in jail in April. He was charged with criminal trespass.

There will be exceptions to this rule, but the basic premise is that homeless people need to be guilty of something more than being homeless to be jailed for criminal trespass. We agree.

Ule was in jail on a $500 bond, which is yet another reminder about the inherent unfairness and absurdity of the cash bail system. One that rewards wealthy defendants, but punishes poor defendants and has absolutely nothing to do with community safety.

Gonzales has said he has instituted a policy for prosecutors to recommend personal recognizance bonds for such nonviolent cases. Hes going where Bexar Countys judges have refused to go.

Hes also considering declining charges for small amounts of marijuana possession and trace amounts of other drugs.

These are all welcome reforms that highlight an intention to bring fairness to the system, but its more than that. Its also about focus. The community is better served prosecuting violent crime (remember the backlog of family violence cases he inherited) than clogging the jail with low-level offenses.

Gonzales is lighting the way, and Bexar Countys judges, who have been so resistant to bail reform and other changes, should follow.
Re: Gun owners alerted to vehicle theft, Metro, April 24:

Do local authorities truly believe I am not aware of the possibly of theft if I leave my firearm in my vehicle? I can assure you that is not the case.

The off-the-cuff solution is to prevent law-abiding citizens from being forced to disarm whenever they enter certain venues, but I do respect the property rights of business owners who erroneously believe that I am the cause of violent crime in our society.

Instead, I exercise my right to do business elsewhere when possible, and I encourage other law-abiding armed citizens to do the same. Perhaps, if we work together, we can combat theft of firearms from vehicles and make society safer by starving gun-free zones of the monetary funds needed to continue business in their inherently unsafe spaces.

Robert E. Thornburgh III, Canyon Lake

Get armed, ladies

It seems like every couple of days one hears of a lady jogger or other women being attacked and sometimes killed. After watching the news or otherwise knowing about these attacks, I cannot fathom why girls still fail to arm themselves when continually being in situations where they are completely alone.

For heavens sake, ladies, I think a trip to the local gun dealer, a concealed carry license and a firearms course would be better than losing your life to some maniac. Just because you may have been getting away with it for a while doesnt mean that tomorrow you wont die!

Get armed, and dont be afraid to use the weapon. They make fanny packs especially for concealed carry that you could use. Protect yourselves!

John Burner

Really look at Trump

Re: Breaking the bank, Your Turn, April 23:

Larry Kovalchik overlooks the most glaring part of the issue. He is fine with criticizing Beto ORourke and Kamala Harris, but he never mentions the abomination he obviously voted for in the last election, who has not and will not ever release his tax records voluntarily.

Our liar in chief has defied even legal requests for these documents, and his supporters are more than willing to defend his actions. His protectors ignore every one of his egregious actions even when it involves cozying up to our enemies.

So, Mr. Kovalchik, please dont lecture about Rep. ORourke and Sen. Harris, when the biggest penny pincher is in the playpen with you.

Jeffrey Hall

Theyre the worst

Both parties have produced rotten presidents. But two presidents stand out: Richard Nixon, meet Donald Trump.

And to seal the deal, Attorney General John Mitchell, meet Attorney General William Barr.

William Larson, Universal City

Pick up a shovel

If the president is so obsessed with a wall around the border, I believe we should get him a hat, a pickax and a shovel, and tell him to start digging. Maybe then he will get some common sense.

Rolando M. Pena

Do they care?

Listening to the news, I fail to understand why we are trying to downgrade President Donald Trump, but our supposed Congress and senators cannot address or care about all the people coming illegally into our country and for whom we are paying  and at 77, Ive been paying for a long time.

Do our elected officials not care?

Patricia J. Wood

Why 20 years?

It is absolutely ridiculous that our penal system takes 20 years, on average, for a person to be executed on death row. How can anybody justify housing and feeding prisoners that have taken someones life? I can't understand why our supposed leaders of the state never touch that issue.

They are much more interested in getting their face in the newspaper or getting reelected than wasting taxpayers money housing killers. Instead of building new prisons, we need to clean out some and make room for more. That might even deter a few criminals once they see it happen.

Michael B. White

Never forget the past

Re: Statue must be placed in a museum, by columnist Josh Brodesky, Opinion, April 21:

History, like current news, is not always fair and balanced. More often than not it is mythologized, conflated and convoluted, as pointed out by Mr. Brodesky.

In bright daylight, place American romantic-nationalistic Confederate statues in museums. Red-blooded, American-soil heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Stephen F. Austin and William B. Travis, all who owned slaves, were no doubt held in high regard by the average Confederate soldier.

Slavery was not Americas so-called original sin. In fact, for centuries, it had been defended and condoned by the Bible. Removing Confederate statues is surely not enough. Truly, we must apply ethical reason, hard facts and abundant evidence to not forgetting what we did  and do.

Jesse L. Howell

A new work program

I have read that there was a Bracero program during World War II. The program was, for the most part, between the U.S. and Mexico, and was ended a long time ago. The program provided farm field workers. While it was not perfect, maybe Congress can come up with a better program and add other services such as caregivers, cafeteria workers and construction workers, to name a few.

They would be screened and given work visas that would permit them to legally work and file the proper U.S. income tax returns for income earned in the U.S. Would that not solve some of the immigrant claims that they come to the U.S. to find a job?

Manuel Vera Jr.
GREENWICH  Greenwich Hospital will spearhead an effort to help doctors better recognize the symptoms and signs of ovarian cancer and breast cancer and more effectively diagnose the potentially deadly diseases.

Town resident Kaile Zagger and Dr. Elena Ratner, a leader in the field of gynecological oncology, co-founded the MAT Education Program, which will provide doctors with a rigorous curriculum to help them to better understand the vague signs and symptoms of the two cancers at an early stage.

The issue is meaningful to Zagger, whose mother, Marilyn Ann Trahan, died after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. It was Trahans struggle with the disease that inspired the MAT initiative, which bears her initials.

She was a warrior and waged repeated battles with the horrific nature of ovarian cancer, Zagger said. In 1999 at the age of 46, she succumbed to the disease. My family was splintered. ... The impact was devastating.  Cancer doesnt just impact the patient. It traumatizes families, creates financial devastation, depletes communities and leaves scars that are unable to be healed.

The MAT program is designed to identify women who are at an elevated risk of breast or ovarian cancer as well as find those showing initial signs of the diseases sooner. Primary care physicians and specialists will learn more about the signs and symptoms, with a goal of diagnosing women sooner, instead of when they reach Stage 3 or Stage 4.

In the U.S. last year, nearly 300,000 new cases of breast and ovarian cancer were diagnosed. Of those patients, 55,000 women died.

Studies show that women with ovarian cancer have the disease for 24 months, and they have seen four to six physicians before it is diagnosed, Zagger said. Symptoms are vague, they whisper, but they are there and they are just enough for us to ignore and prioritize something more interesting.

And when some women seek medical care for abdominal pain, frequent urination, bloating, trouble eating, mild back pain, rashes, exhaustion or even flu-like symptoms, the diagnosis is not made. Saying the puzzle is not being completed, Zagger said the health care community needed more training to understand breast and ovarian cancers.

The curriculum was designed by Ratner, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Yale School of Medicine and clinical leader for the Gynecological Oncology Program at the Smilow Cancer Hospital. Her colleagues helped with the curriculum, which she will take to physicians working in a variety of specialities at Greenwich Hospital.

This truly will change the future of womens care, Ratner said. Greenwich Hospital will soon set an example for other hospitals and health systems to follow, she said.

We need to not only find these cancers early, we need to prevent the cancers, she said. The future is prevention. Im not only going to cure your cancer or find it early, were going to find it before it even happens so you never have to hear those words  that you have cancer.

The MAT program has partner organizations from around the community, including town government, the Greenwich-based Breast Cancer Alliance, YWCA Greenwich and the UJA-JCC of Greenwich.

The effort at Greenwich Hospital will officially launch June 1 with the goal of completing training by Oct. 31.

The MAT Education Program was celebrated May 1, with a special proclamation ceremony at Town Hall. First Selectman Peter Tesei presented the formal proclamation to Zagger and her two children, Geralyn Grace and Colton.

Tesei recounted that his mother and wife have both been treated for breast cancer, and his aunt died from it.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing together the resources medically, in research and within the professional medical community, to put this together, Tesei said. What youre doing is saving lives and saving the future for those women and their families. Ive seen first hand what happens when a parent doesnt survive and how it indelibly changes the future for those children.

During the ceremony, Greenwich resident Diane Powis, discussed what she is facing as an ovarian cancer patient. Her mother died from breast cancer, as did both of her mothers aunts. Because of her familys Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish descent, which research has shown is of high risk for breast cancer, Powis said she was hyper-vigilant about checking for any sign of breast cancer.

But when Powis became ill, neither she nor any of her doctors had any idea what was happening as she got sicker and sicker. It was only after she went for a colonoscopy that she found out that she had a large cancerous mass inside her that was caused by Stage 3 ovarian cancer. It had gone undetected and spread like sand thrown sideways inside her, she said.

When I was finally diagnosed in 2013, my prognosis was, at best, five years, and I am acutely aware that I am only still alive today because of recent advances in gynecological oncology as well as the amazing work of countless health professionals who have guided me through multiple surgeries, years of chemotherapy infusions, two clinical trials and my current regiment on a PARP inhibitor, Powis said. She wondered how her life would have been different had MAT training been in place and her cancer had been detected sooner.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
People of West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as severe cyclonic storm Fani weakened on Saturday morning and was moving towards neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official of the regional meteorological centre said.

The city witnessed wind speeds of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight, he said. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed, officials said. "Fani is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours.

"It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and enter Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am on Saturday.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district...and is moving towards Murshidabad district," Bandyopadhyay said. A senior official said apart from a few mud houses collapsing and tress falling, there were no reports of casualties from any of the districts. "However, we are awaiting further details," he added.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation. "We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Meanwhile, flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am on Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Flight services were suspended at the airport from 3 pm on Friday. Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections were also getting back to normal, the officials said.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in the central part of the city's Beniatola Lane, police said. All the five injured persons were released after treatment. The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans.

The cyclone barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.

-PTI
British pig producers are 'furious' at the 'dismal' prices currently being offered at a time when the global pork market is buoyant.

The UK's competitors are enjoying increased prices on the back of soaring Chinese demand as the world's biggest pig producer comes to grips with the African swine fever (ASF) crisis.

Following recent small increases, the EU-spec Standard Pig Price (SPP) rose by just over 1p to reach 139.84p/kg last week.

This increase represents the largest weekly rise since June last year and the highest price since the first week in January.

Nonetheless, the price is still around 6p below the price this time last year. The National Pig Association (NPA) says the increases seen in April 'pale into insignificance' in comparison to what is happening in the EU.

'Game-changer' for UK's competitors

Danish Crown, Europe's largest pork producer, recently described the surge in demand for EU pork from China as a game-changer  the processors export volumes to China have doubled since February.

The latest Eurostat figures show EU fresh and frozen pork shipments to China were up by 16% (+19,600 tonnes) year-on-year in January and February, which has had a big impact on EU pork prices.

Meanwhile, the EU reference price has soared from 117p/kg in early February to nearly 146p/kg in the week ended April 22.

Most major producing countries have seen massive hikes over that period.

The China effect is being seen on prices all over the world, including the US, where prices have almost doubled since February.

UK pork exports to China were up 40% year-on-year in February  and yet the UK price is still almost exactly where it was at the start of February.

'Dismal prices'

The NPA says it has received a number of calls from concerned pig producers who want to know what is happening.

Chairman Richard Lister said the price British producers are getting is 'dismal', especially in the context of what is happening with China.

As the EU pig price surges ahead, UK pig producers are left feeling like the modern day Oliver Twist, he said, faced with heavily over-stretched overdraft facilities, producers were entitled to breathe a sigh of relief at the increase in EU prices.

Sadly, this relief has turned to anger and frustration at the scraps being offered over the last four weeks. Processors will know full well the pressures producers are under, with owning so many of their own sows, and having seen another significant independent producer disappear.

He added: I have had numerous producers ringing me during the last fortnight wanting to understand why we are not seeing a proper and significant recovery in their price.

It is important producers make their feelings known to processors and marketing groups because we need a fairer share - just like Oliver Twist, he said.

The NPA has been collecting data from members about the current market situation, which chief executive Zoe Davies said was proving to be illuminating.

The group is demanding 'rapid and significant change' from processors in the prices being paid.
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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan.

I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.

-PTI
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Autodesk, Avigilon, CommScope, Finastra, McAfee, Poly and T-Mobile honored for channel program excellence at Impartner's annual customer and channel management conference

SALT LAKE CITY, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Impartner, the world's best-selling pure-play Partner Relationship Management solution today announced the winners of its fourth annual customer awards, which were presented at ImpartnerCON19, the company's annual global customer and channel management summit. The theme for this year's conference, which is now the largest conference of channel chiefs in the industry, was Elevate, with the focus being on helping companies prepare for 2020 and the decade beyond. Following are the winners of this year's Impartner Elevate Awards, which are presented to companies setting the pace for channel operations:

Autodesk: For pushing the boundaries of personalized channel communications in eight languages using Impartner's News on Demand solution.

Avigilon/Motorola: For innovation in CPQ functionality for partners and spectacular growth in partner engagement.

CommScope: For completely transforming their CRM and PRM solutions simultaneously and in record time, and at the same time, delivering an innovative, ground-breaking partner experience.

Finastra: For pioneering use of PRM in the fast-growing fintech industry.

McAfee: For a rapid, streamlined, efficient implementation of a PRM solution, despite the complexities of a major organization.

Poly: For nimbleness in transformation of the company's channel management solution, all while integrating a major acquisition.

T-Mobile: For the creation of a unique partner and distribution experience to enable an unparalleled, more comprehensive market presence.

At the event, Impartner also presented its first Partner of the Year Award to AchieveUnite, for being the company's highest producing referral partner.

The 4th annual conference comes as Impartner continues a growth streak that's driven by an ever-increasing slate of customer wins from Fortune 100 corporations in multiple verticals from tech, to manufacturing, to oil and gas, to fintech, all of which has resulted in a 10x growth in new customer logos in the same four-year time period. During the conference, the company also announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate direct and indirect sales by co-marketing and co-selling Impartner PRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

About Impartner

Impartner helps companies worldwide transform the performance of their indirect sales, increasing revenue an average of 31 percent and reduce administrative costs as much as 23 percent in the first year of use alone. Impartner's SaaS-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software is the best-selling, most award-winning pure-play solution on the market and can be up and running in as few as 14 days. For more information on Impartner, which is based in Utah's tech hotbed, the Silicon Slopes, visit www.impartner.com , or in the United States call +1 801 501 7000, for EMEA general call +33 1 40 90 31 20, for London call +44 0 20 3283 4465, and for LATAM call +1 954 364 7883.

Follow Impartner on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .

Contact:

Kerry Desberg

Impartner

425-231-9529

Kerry.desberg@impartner.com

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By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday. The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares

By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday.

The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares.

The conversations have been ongoing with companies that seek exposure to the Gulf of Mexico, the people said, but did not specify which companies the talks were with.

Fieldwood has both deepwater and shallow-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico, including a stake in more than 500 platforms, according to its website. With over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in output, it is the sixth-largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, marginally ahead of Exxon Mobil Corp, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.

Fieldwood declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. Barclays facilitated the meetings, two of the people said.

Fieldwood has grown to operate more than 1,000 wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since its formation in 2013 by buyout firm Riverstone Holdings. The company has acquired assets from oil firms exiting the Gulf, including Apache Corp, Noble Energy Inc and SandRidge Energy.

Fieldwood also operates two fields in Mexico's shallow water Bay of Campeche.

The company's fortunes have see-sawed in part due to an oil price rout that began in 2014 and to the massive onshore shale ramp-up in the United States, where production costs are generally lower than offshore operations.

Like a number of offshore producers in 2016 and early 2017, Fieldwood filed for bankruptcy in February 2018. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in April after restructuring its debt.

Fieldwood retained advisers to study an IPO last year in hopes to list on the stock market in 2019, seeking a valuation of more than $5 billion, according to media reports in September.

However, Fieldwood has been unable to pursue an IPO after several years of underperformance in the stock market by oil and gas producers compared with other economic sectors, the people said. In the last 12 months, energy companies in the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 index are down 12 percent, compared with a 10 percent gain for the broader index.

(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S

By Julia Harte

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

The Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must be approved by federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump's presidency and first disclosed by Reuters, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits.

Congressional staffers confirmed to Reuters that the Trump World Tower lease requests were never submitted to Congress. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said his committee has been "stonewalled" in its efforts to obtain detailed information about foreign government payments to Trump's businesses.

"This new information raises serious questions about the President and his businesses' potential receipt of payments from foreign governments," Cummings said in a statement to Reuters. "The American public deserves full transparency."

A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved "matters related to ongoing litigation." The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which declined to comment before publication.

Following publication of this article, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten sent an email to Reuters describing the story as "inaccurate" and "misleading". He said Trump World Tower is owned by its third-party condominium owners and therefore Trump would not receive proceeds from the lease of such units.

Six legal experts said that regardless of who owns those units, the fact that Trump was collecting fees for managing the building while foreign governments were paying to live there represents a potential breach of the emoluments clause. Certain constitutional scholars counter that the definition of "emolument" should be more narrow, a view that Trump's attorneys share.

The 1982 Foreign Missions Act requires foreign governments to get State Department clearance for any purchase, lease, sale, or other use of a property in the United States. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Reuters obtained diplomatic notes sent to the agency under this requirement from early 2015 until late 2017.

The records show that in the eight months following Trump's January 20, 2017 inauguration, foreign governments sent 13 notes to the State Department seeking permission to rent or renew leases in Trump World Tower. That is more solicitations from foreign governments for new or renewed leases in that building than in the previous two years combined.

The governments of Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Thailand and the European Union got the green light to rent a combined eight units in Trump World Tower and followed through with leases, according to other documents viewed by Reuters and people familiar with the leases. Five of those governments - Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the European Union - had also sought to rent units there in 2015 and 2016, State Department records showed.

Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait.

"Letting this go without Congress knowing about it condones the creation of a second, opaque track of foreign policy," said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor at Yale Law School and former legal adviser at the State Department. "What it might lead to is a group of countries enriching the people in power on the mistaken belief that it's going to improve their access."

(For a graphic on foreign government leases at Trump World Tower, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2DHJKOS)

PAYMENT CHAIN

The 18-year-old luxury skyscraper is located next to the United Nations headquarters near the East River, and is not to be confused with Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue landmark where Trump maintains a residence.

Although Garten, the attorney, contended the emoluments question is moot because Trump World Tower units are owned by third parties, Trump does earn income through the Trump Corporation, a Trump-owned company that manages Trump World Tower and draws its income from fees paid by unit owners, according to the building's financial records.

In 2017, the president earned more than $15 million in management and related fees through the properties managed by the Trump Corporation, according to the president's financial disclosure. The document did not reveal how much of that sum came from Trump World Tower.

In at least eight instances in 2017, third-party owners in Trump World Tower leased their units to foreign governments. When privately-owned units are leased, their owners typically use that rental income to cover management fees and other common charges, according to two unit owners in Trump World Tower and four real estate experts interviewed by Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine exactly how the owners who leased the units to the foreign governments paid their fees.

But even if the condominium owners did not use their rental income to pay their common charges, it still could be considered an emolument because the foreign governments helped those owners defray their costs, with the benefit flowing to Trump, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law who has studied the history of Justice Department interpretations on the subject.

In other words, Clark said, payments passing through a chain of intermediaries to a U.S. official could still constitute emoluments because they could ultimately enrich and influence the behaviour of the official.

In legal opinions issued under previous administrations, Clark said, "the Justice Department has expressed concern that foreign governments would use companies as conduits for foreign emoluments."

However, South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said that foreign government payments that enrich a U.S. official should only constitute emoluments if they are "tied to the discharge of official duties." He has filed briefs in each emoluments lawsuit against Trump endorsing this view.

While U.S. presidents have rarely needed to seek approval of payments from foreign governments in the past, Trumps continued ownership of his vast network of businesses has left him exposed to more potential emoluments issues than any previous U.S. president, according to legal and ethics experts.

The revenue Trump draws from foreign government business at his properties, such as the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has sparked lawsuits by U.S. lawmakers and the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, alleging this income violates the emoluments clause. Defining exactly what constitutes an emolument is at the heart of those cases.

Trump's attorneys have argued in court that the Constitution only requires him to seek congressional approval for foreign emoluments offered in connection with his role as president. Trump has retained ownership of his global business interests while president, but handed off day-to-day control to his oldest sons and a longtime company executive.

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge denied Trump's motion to dismiss one of the emoluments lawsuits against him, saying Trump's narrow definition of emoluments was "unpersuasive and inconsistent". Courts may ultimately decide whether some of Trump's business dealings violate the Constitution.

Issuing such judgements is not the job of the State Department office in charge of reviewing foreign government property requests, according to Patrick Kennedy, who from 2007 to 2017 was the top State Department official in charge of the internal administration of the agency. He said that office's mandate is to screen for national security and diplomatic concerns, not for potential emolument violations.

If the State Department began obstructing requests from foreign governments to lease units in Trump-affiliated properties, he said, it could prompt them to retaliate against U.S. diplomats seeking housing in their territories.

"The State Department's interest in saying 'no' is probably zero if there's no security threat and we have good reciprocal relations with the countries," Kennedy told Reuters.

'CONVENIENT AND COMFORTABLE'

According to the State Department records obtained by Reuters, which covered the period from January 2015 through September 2017, Trump World Tower was the only Trump-affiliated building in the United States where foreign governments sought to lease or buy units.

In 2017, the median monthly asking rent for units in Trump World Tower was $8,500, according to real estate website StreetEasy. That was more than 2.5 times the median in the surrounding neighbourhood, known as Turtle Bay.

Some of the foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, had previously purchased property in the building, where the average unit currently sells for nearly $7 million, according to StreetEasy.

Mohammad Alkadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Mission to the United Nations, said Trump World Tower's prime location near U.N. headquarters was the kingdom's motivation to lease there.

"The governments pay for these units in the building not to get favours from Trump or anything, but just because it's very convenient and comfortable for us," Alkadi said. He said he moved into his own unit in Trump World Tower at the end of 2017.

Slovakia, another Trump World Tower renter, said in a statement that its lease was "fully in line with U.S. legislation and our internal guidelines." Slovakia's prime minister is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House today to discuss security cooperation and other issues.

The Malaysian mission to the United Nations said it was not currently renting a unit in Trump World Tower when reached by phone in April. It declined to comment on the unit it rented in 2017. That lease was confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the transaction.

All the other governments that sought to rent units after Trump's inauguration declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Jason Szep and Marla Dickerson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution.

The largest U.S. oil producer is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents had waived Title III of the Act, under which anyone whose property was nationalized after the 1959 Cuban Revolution can sue any individual or company profiting from their former holdings.

On Thursday two Cuban-Americans sued Carnival Corporation for using Cuban ports nationalized from the family members who owned them.

Exxon Mobil accuses the Cuban defendants of "unlawful trafficking in Plaintiffs confiscated property in violation of Title III of the ... Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996," according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Standard Oil refinery at Havana Bay, now operated by CUPET, was the first U.S. property taken over by Castro and his bearded revolutionaries after the company refused to process oil from the Soviet Union as tensions mounted with the United States.

CIMEX operates gasoline stations in Cuba with CUPET.

Standard Oil was broken up into several companies, one of which was Exxon, which merged with Mobil in a 1998 deal.

In the 1960s the United States certified 5,913 claims against Cuba valued at $1,9 billion of which Standard Oil and Mobil each have a claim valued at a combined $245 million according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York - based organisation whose expertise includes U.S. claims.

"This filing is significant. This is the fifth-largest company in the world using Title III of the Libertad Act to sue a company owned by the government of Cuba," said John Kavulich, president of the council.

"This provides comfort for other large claimants to sue, will increase fear by companies in other countries from engagement with Cuba due to the reach of Exxon Mobil and is consistent with Exxon Mobil efforts to recover assets in Venezuela and defend themselves in other countries," he said.

Under a Cuban law passed in 1996 in response to the Helms-Burton Act, certified claimants who take advantage of the Act will be disqualified from future settlements.

CUPET and CIMEX were not immediately available for comment.

An Exxon Mobil spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Cuba charges Title III violates international law because its nationalisation of property was legal and also because Cuban-Americans were not U.S. citizens when their properties were taken.

All other nations settled their citizens' property claims decades ago. Certified U.S. claims by American citizens at the time of expropriation were never settled.

Canada, the European Union and other countries charge the United States has no jurisdiction over their citizens' activity in Cuba and they will take the issue to the World Trade Organization, among other actions.

International opposition, and the fear that thousands of suits brought by Cuban-Americans would clog U.S. courts, led previous U.S. presidents to waive implementation of Title III.

Title I and II of the Helm-Burton Act codify all previous sanctions into law and set conditions for the U.S. Congress to lift them.

Title IV bans executives and their families from the United States if they profit from expropriated properties.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered.

The Gujarat government wants the best possible deal for farmers and has told PepsiCo India it can play the 'umpire' in its contract farming arrangement with potato farmers, Gujarats Chief Secretary J N Singh said.

Singh said the company was paying 'a good price' to farmers and the government wanted the contract farming programme to go 'smoothly'. He had suggested tripartite agreement as a model, where the government would be a party to a contract between PepsiCo and potato farmers.

Singh spoke to Firstpost after PepsiCo offered to withdraw the cases it had filed against nine farmers and two traders-cum-farmers for allegedly using its protected FL 2027 variety, which it sells under the trade name FC 5. PepsiCo had sued some farmers for Rs 20 lakh each. From others it had sought damages of Rs 1.05 cr each. A PepsiCo executive said the higher damages were meant to fast track the litigation and not for monetary gain.

The FL 2027 variety was registered in the United States in February 2004 and enjoys protection there till February 2024. PepsiCo India Holdings commercialised the variety in India in December 2009. It applied for registration under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 in February 2011, two months after the PPVFR Authority allowed new varieties of 11 crops including potato to be registered. Registration for FC 2027 was granted in February 2016. It will remain protected in India till February 2031.

PepsiCo was forced on the back foot by a backlash on social media. More than 190 organisations and individuals which claim to speak for farmers urged PepsiCo to take back its suit. The company was also on weak grounds legally because Indian law gives not just exemptions from breeders rights to farmers but also active entitlements. Congress Party leader Ahmed Patel chided the company and the Gujarat government. PepsiCo felt isolated.

Rather than risk further damage to its reputation, Pepsico India withdrew the litigation. This has been passed off as a triumph of the underdogs and a reminder to multinational corporations that however high they might be, the Indian law is above them.

Ashwani Mahajan, Co-Convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar which supports economic nationalism tweeted that it was a moral victory for farmers.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch had condemned PepsiCos decision to sue farmers in Gujarat. Pepsi: PepsiCo should have apologised for intimidation of farmers; ASHA - The Economic Times https://t.co/Nc2kt7ICtd  ASHWANI MAHAJAN (@ashwani_mahajan) May 3, 2019

Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable settlement to all issues around seed protection, PepsiCo India said in a statement.

If PepsiCo had persisted with the litigation, an opportunity would have been afforded to the courts to clarify the extent to which the entitlements of farmers could abridge the rights of breeders, a legal executive at an Indian agricultural biotechnology company with a portfolio of IPRs said. The section of the PPVFR Act granting farmers the exemption to save, share, exchange and sell produce and seed of even protected varieties (in an unbranded form) has not been legally tested, she said.

The Act says farmers will be deemed to be entitled in the same manner as before the law came into force. The legislative intent, she said, was to permit the customary practice of farmers using saved seed for sowing. The courts would have been able to say when a farmer selling the seed of a protected variety became a trader.

PepsiCo is the largest procurer of chips-quality potatoes. It buys 3 lakh tonnes annually from 24,000 contract growers. It paid about Rs 10 a kg in the last season. That would have resulted in a transfer of Rs 300 crore to farmers. The sued farmers were not on contract to PepsiCo India. If they wanted to supply chips-quality potatoes to PepsiCos rivals they have a choice of non-protected varieties like Lady Rosetta, ATL or Atlantic and Chipsona 1, 2, and 3.

PepsiCo India executives say they have been advertising in local newspapers that FC 5 is protected. They have distributed pamphlets in villages to create awareness and also told cold storages not to stock FC 5, which is meant for is captive use.

PepsiCo India had offered to buy FC 5 produce from the sued farmers and invited them to become its contract growers the next season. It had sold FC 5 seed to its contract growers at Rs 20-25 a kg depending on size and had brought produce from them at about Rs 10 a kg.

PepsiCo India executives say FC 5 gives it a competitive advantage. It is higher-yielding, has a higher proportion of dry matter and lower percentage of reducing sugars. But Vinay Bhardwaj, Head of Crop Improvement at the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, says ATL was better in some respects. Ismail Sheru, a contract grower in Banaskantha of French fry-quality potatoes for McCain, a Canadian supplier to McDonalds was also of the same opinion.

PepsiCos rates were similar to those offered by Hyfun Frozen Foods, which has 1,200 farmers on contract and procured 62,000 tonnes of potatoes in the last season. The company has a processing plant at Mehsana and supplies French fries to Burger King and KFC. It charged Rs 26 a kg for seed and paid Rs 9 a kg for potatoes at the farm gate.

The backstory is that Fulchand Kachchhava, the Managing Director of Tirupati Balaji Potato Chip, a company that procures potatoes for Balaji Wafers is orchestrating the agitation. The companys registered office is in Deesa, Banaskantha. Kachchhava and his brother, who are also potato growers, were among the 11 who were sued.

Kachchhava admitted to Firstpost that he was procuring 40,000 tonnes of potatoes. He had bought at the rate of Rs 9.50-10 a kg. These were both cooking variety and chip quality. He said he went by the characteristics of potatoes and not their trade names. He denied backing the sued farmers or engaging a PR agency to smear PepsiCo. I dont know what a PR agency is, he asserted.

Kachchhava said farmers were agitated by PepsiCo action. Till it withdrew the suits, farmers unions have decided to continue with the 'seed andolan' or protest at its potato collection points. They might even boycott its contract farming programme, he added.

Contract farming is good for farmers. It gives them the assurance of prices. India wants to encourage it. It has drafted a model law for the states to enact. Farmers also gain from hand-holding in good agronomic practices.

PepsiCo says it encourages sustainable practices like water-saving drip and sprinkler irrigation, the application of precise quantities of liquid fertilisers and the use of labour and cost-saving machines for planting, spraying and harvesting.

In the late 1980s, when PepsiCo sought a license to ply its soft drinks business in India, the government made horticultural development a pre-condition. Under the leadership of Ramesh Vangal, PepsiCo India set up a tomato processing plant in Punjab. It got farmers to grow tomatoes under contract. The varieties they planted were tall with fruit at various stages of ripening. These could be plucked manually with family labour.

Since the harvesting was in instalments and not in one go, the processing plant was smaller than in the developed countriesappropriate for a country with scarce and expensive capital. The pasteurised paste was of a quality that was acceptable to the finicky Japanese market. PepsiCo also introduced techniques like deep chiselling to break the hard pan that was formed about two feet below the surface in Punjabs fields due to compaction by tractors. This allowed plants to access underlying nutrients.

Another contract buyer, McCain, also changed the way potatoes were grown in the Banaskantha region. Before it began its operations in 2006, farmers would flood irrigate their fields. They would tap into the aquifers recharged by the River Banas. The water used over the course of a four-month period, from sowing to harvesting, if stacked, would rise to a column about two feet high.

McCain converted the farmers to micro-irrigation. With information provided by its weather stations, its agents in the field would tell them when to irrigate and how much. Not only was water saved but pests and diseases caused by humidity decreased. Jalgaon in Maharashtra has become a banana hub because of Jain Irrigation. The state is the second largest producer of bananas. Jain Irrigation promoted the cultivation of the fruit through a combination of tissue culture, drip irrigation and fertigation. It replaced traditional varieties with the high-yielding Grand Naine from Israel in the early 1990s.

While speaking at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association in Delhi in December 2017, NITI Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand said the involvement of companies was essential for profitable and innovative agriculture. But their share in agricultural investment at 2 percent was very low compared to that of farmers (84 percent) and the government (14 percent).

Indias milk revolution was brought about by Amuls contract dairy farming and the Green Revolution in north-west India was due to the price, procurement and hand-holding support given by the Indian government.

It will be a hollow victory for farmers if companies like PepsiCo India who benefit farmers through contract farming arrangements are painted as villains for trying to protect their intellectual property.

(The author is a senior journalist. He tweets @smartindianagri)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

ANI reported while Kejriwal was waving to the people at the roadshow he was holding for the Lok Sabha polls, an unidentified man climbed his car and slapped him. CNN-News18 further reported that the man who slapped him has been taken into custody by Delhi Police.

The Delhi chief minister has been attacked several times since he entered public life.

On 20 November, Kejriwal was attacked by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

The incident occurred at 2.10 pm when the chief minister was leaving for lunch.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal for his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Transport Nagar of Rajasthan's Bikaner district, PTI reported.

Following the ink attack, ABVP activists Dinesh Ojha and Vikram Singh were taken into custody.

In April 2016, a man identified as Ved Sharma and claiming to be from the Aam Aadmi Sena (a breakaway faction from Aam Aadmi Party) threw a shoe at the Delhi chief minister when he was addressing a press conference in the secretariat.

Sharma was eventually detained by the police.

In March 2016, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Punjab's Ludhiana. The car's windshield was broken in the attack, The Hindu reported. Kejriwal was in Ludhiana on the last day of his tour to Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI
Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said

Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. IMD also said that it is expected to further weaken over the course of the day on Saturday.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 on Saturday with four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, three each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and one each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, briefed the media after the storm ebbed on Saturday and said, "A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri and almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers."

In West Bengal, a total of 52,297 people were evacuated from 131 gram panchayats and put up in 723 rescue shelters. However, some people returned to their homes as the situation improved on Saturday. At least 771 houses have been fully or partly damaged.

Disruptions in traffic were reported in Garb2, Kharagpur 1, Keshiary and Mohanpur blocks due to broken trees. Power supply has also been restored by WBSEDCL

The cyclone left a trail of destruction to life and property after it made landfall in Odisha's Puri on Friday morning, with several structures collapsing in the district's temple town. The cyclone then moved into West Bengal via Kharagpur in the wee hours of Saturday. The effects of the cyclone were also felt in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Kolkata airport resumed operations, however, dozens of people were stranded at Howrah station in the city as most trains under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway remained cancelled. National carrier Air India offered to deliver relief material to affected areas free of cost. The airline resumed operations at Kolkata airport around 9.30 am on Saturday.

The CS FANI over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards & weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 0830 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6N & long 88.8E. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs. pic.twitter.com/VzDrqMJK2F  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 4, 2019

The airport in Odisha's capital, Bhubaneshwar, is likely to resume operations on Saturday. The equipment at the airport was significantly damaged on Friday but flight operations are expected to begin by 1 pm, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The passenger terminal building at Bhubaneswar has been considerably damaged, particularly at the rooftop and facades... Based on the feedback and action taken, it was decided that Bhubaneswar will resume commercial flight operations with effect from 1300 IST on May 4, 2019," the statement said.

However, as state governments and the Centre took stock of the damage in the wake of the storm, reports said that even though Digha was expected to face a major impact of the cyclone, the situation seemed calm on Saturday morning despite heavy rainfall on Friday night.

The IMD in Alipore was quoted as saying that there was no more threat from Cyclone Fani for West Bengal, as it has headed towards Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governors of West Bengal and Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situations and said that he will visit Odisha on Monday, 6 May. Monday also happens to be the election day for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election. He also said that he had spoken to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and "assured continued support" from the Centre.

During his conversation with West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centre's readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," Modi said in a tweet.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans were expected to be hit by the storm that then moved towards Bangladesh and is likely to taper off.

Modi also extended the Centre's support to Odisha governor Ganesh Lal and said that the people of the state had shown "exemplary courage" in the face of the "natural disaster".

The United Nations agency for disaster reduction on Saturday commended the IMD's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life.

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Goa President, Ahraz Mulla has written a letter to the President, Prime Minister and Union HRD Ministry requesting them to postpone NEET exam, in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone 'Fani' in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," the letter reads.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm. The storm was initially categorised as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" by the IMD.

Effects of Cyclone Fani were felt as far as the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying. The Nepali government issued a warning that heavy snowfall was expected in the higher mountain areas with rain and storms lower down, and asked trekking agencies to take tourists to safety.

Hundreds of climbers, their guides, cooks, and porters huddled at the Everest base camp, according to Pemba Sherpa of Xtreme Climbers Trek, who said weather and visibility were poor. May is the best month to climb the 8,850-foot Everest when Nepal experiences a few windows of good weather to scale the peak.

It is still the beginning of the month, so there is no reason for climbers to worry that weather from the cyclone will cost them their chance to reach the summit, Sherpa said.

With inputs from agencies and 101 Reporters
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Priya Ramani, then began her cross examination of MJ Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details.

New Delhi: Former Union minister MJ Akbar came face to face with journalist Priya Ramani during a courtroom battle on Saturday. Akbar, who has slapped a criminal defamation suit against Ramani for going public with sexual misconduct allegations against him, recorded his statement in the case. When it came to the cross-examination, however, Akbar did not reveal much, choosing instead to claim that he did not have much memory of what happened then.

Several prominent women journalists were also in attendance in court, in a show of support to Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "unwarranted, defamatory and mala fide". India's one-time Minister of State for External Affairs, Akbar began by essaying his careergraph  often a technical necessity in defamation cases, seeing that to put forth such a charge one would need to prove that there was a reputation of some worth to begin with in the court.

After speaking of his lengthy career spanning several publication houses and ultimately in the North Block, Akbar went on to say that he was in Africa when the allegation against him was levelled by Priya Ramani. "There was a curious anomaly. The original article in Vogue did not contain my name. I can infer that this was because the inclusion of my name would have been defamatory. The tweet however referred specifically to me, MJ Akbar," he said, alleging that the allegations had adversely affected his public life.

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, then began her cross examination of Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details. However, Akbar responded to most of the questions with "I do not remember".

John began with an examination of why Akbar had not mentioned in his detailed deposition that he had been a Congress MP from Bihar's Kishan Ganj from 1989 to 2002, a spokesperson of the party in 1988, and that he had lost on a Congress ticket in 1991. Moving on from her allegation of Akbar's "political opportunism", displayed by several U-turns in his political career, John went on to ask him if the Delhi High Court had indeed issued a contempt notice to him in 2003, when he was editor-in-chief of The Asian Age for "deliberate false reporting court proceedings."

A verbal battle broke out between Luthra and John over the former's interjections several times in the course of the cross-examination at this point. This was also the point from which onwards Akbar noted not remembering much. Among things he claimed to have never known or forgotten were where Ramani studied, whether he had asked her to meet at a hotel after 7 pm, and whether a friend had dropped her to the hotel.

Proceedings then had to be stopped for the day as Akbar's counsel claimed he had engagements for the day. Judge Vishal, while agreeing to the request, ended with a curt advice to "come prepared for the full day on the next date."

The court posted the matter for the next hearing on 20 May.

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on 17 October last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations.

With inputs from Bar & Bench and PTI
A string of incidents of people being injured because of explosives detonating accidentally have been reported in Kashmir.

On a Friday afternoon in February this year, a loud bang left two children soaked in blood at Rahmoo village in Jammu and Kashmir. After a grenade exploded near a river bed, eleven-year-old Intizar Bashir and his 12-year-old playmate Junaid Bilal lay writhing. Five days later, the older one died at a hospital in Srinagar. Hours before the explosion, the curious children had brought the grenade from a gun battle site in the neighbouring village of Drubgam, in which two militants were killed on 1 February, according to a police report.

The explosion led to injuries to Intizar's face and arm. His father, 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad Bhat, said, "The blast tore off the flesh from my sons face, and we had to get his arm operated...The children just picked up the shells out of curiosity. Security forces told us that my son was lucky that the grenade did not explode in his hands but hit a river bed."

Junaid's father Bilal Ahmad Wani said that his son succumbed to multiple shrapnel wounds that he had received in the head and limbs. A fragment of a shell had hit him in the head and he died at a hospital in Srinagar, he said, adding, I was praying at a mosque when I received a call from a neighbour telling me that my son was wounded. I was deeply shocked and it left me shattered.

Wani said that the government is considering compensating the families as "the police report mentions that they are not involved in any criminal case. He added, We have filed an application for compensation with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.

The explosion at Rahmoo is among a string of such incidents reported in Kashmir. Several people have sustained injuries, while some people have died due to leftover shells exploding. In some cases, children collect shells from sites of gun battles between security forces and militants. In some other cases, blasts take place while people remove the rubble of damaged houses.

In a recent such example, on Wednesday, two boys were wounded as they were playing with a shell in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. They were fiddling with the shell near a water tank, when it burst, leaving them injured, said a police official. He described the blast as mysterious, adding that the nature of the explosive that resulted in minor injuries to the boys is being ascertained.

In Kashmir, for several years, human rights activists had campaigned against the use of a large swathe of a land close to a civilian area in central Kashmirs Budgam as an artillery firing range. Following public pressure, the army abandoned the area. But now, explosives that are not cleared from encounter sites are posing a new threat.

In the past four months, fatalities have been reported in at least half a dozen explosions across Kashmir. In October 2018, 6 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at an encounter site at Kulgam. In another incident, a shell exploded as a boy was playing with it, while another one detonated at a school in Sirnoo area of Pulwama, leaving several injured. Fatalities in similar incidents have been reported from Shopian as well.

Human rights activists have denounced authorities for their failure to clear shells from gun battle sites. Activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo said that it is the responsibility of the government forces to clear explosives from gun battle areas.

In some cases, bodies of militants are left badly charred as the houses are blown up through the use of heavy shells. The forces are not adhering to their own standard operating procedures (SOPs). They dont sanitise areas to clear explosives, he said.

However, Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Kulgam, Gurinderpal Singh, said that youth converge at gun battle sites, and disrupt operations launched to clear the areas of any explosives.

We even put up banners asking the youth not to gather near encounter sites until combing has been completed. But they dont adhere to the advisories, due to which, at times, it becomes difficult to ensure a foolproof clearing operation, he said.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar.

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The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'. With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj said on Saturday that while Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati had allegedly called him a "gunda" or thug at a rally in Gonda, "she is Uttar Pradesh's gundi." Singh added that Mayawati had allegedly threatened to throw him into jail after elections.

Sam Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress chief said on Saturday that the BJP was sure to lose the Lok Sabha election and slammed its charge over citizenship against Rahul Gandhi. "He has been a Member of Parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the Parliament. You worked with him in Parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate the intelligence of Indian people," Pitroda told ANI.

"...you are a hilarious man!!! Anyway, we are still granting visas to Pakistanis for medical tourism. I will personally take you to a psychiatrist," Gambhir tweeted. He is the BJP candidate for the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Afridi in his just-released autobiography Game Changer had sarcastically referred to Gambhir as someone who "behaves like a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond," and has a "lot of attitude and no great records"

Not known to pull back punches, Gautam Gambhir hit back at Shahid Afridi, offering to take him to a session with "a psychiatrist" after the former Pakistan captain wrote a few uncharitable things about the Indian opener.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

He also accused the Congress of playing fast and loose with Mayawati's confidence. "Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behen ji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. A party which was staking a claim to the prime minister's post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said.

Narendra Modi, at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday, directed a tirade at the alliance, calling it a 'mahamilavat'. He said the alliance had five evils, including corruption, unstability, communalism, dynasty and misrule. He particularly cited a news report which claimed Rahul Gandhi's one-time business partner had received offset contracts during the UPA's rule, just what the Congress has been accusing Modi of orchestrating for Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal. He also alleged that several summons had been sent to Rahul by the government, presumably to deal with his corruption, but said that Rahul was waiting for the time when his government would come in power and these cases could be done away with. It is not known which cases Modi was referring to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

But the poll panel was unanimous Thursday disposing a third complaint against Modi, finding no violation of the poll code by him in his speech in Barmer in Rajasthan where he had warned Pakistan, saying Indias nuclear arsenal is not meant for Diwali, Express has reported.

A high-ranking source in the Election Commission told NDTV that on five occasions, one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let PM Modi and Amit Shah off the hook for their comments.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said.

On the Congress' claim that as many as six unpublicised surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA's tenure, the party's adviser on matters of national security said, "Call them surgical strikes, call them cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of the exact dates and areas that have been brought out."

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Yoga exponent Ramdev, along with a few other godmen, have filed a complaint with the Haridwar SSP against CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury for his statement, "Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence and battles,"

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the only Member of Parliament, who holds the distinction of being thoroughly disliked as the serving representative of the Amethi parliamentary constituency and yet having been re-elected from there three consecutive terms. Since the last 15 years, thousands of people  who even say that he has consistently failed on every count for last three term  would still vote for him because of the emotional connect they have had with the Gandhi-Nehru family.

'Won't abandon Rahul Gandhi when he needs us most': Amethi voters admit to lack of development but are 'bound by emotions'

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Jharkhand: A polling station in Ramgarh, under Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the looks of coaches of a train. The Parliamentary constituency will undergo voting on 6th May, in the fifth phase of #LokSabhaElection2019 pic.twitter.com/5WHVsS6G9P

A polling station in Ramgarh, under the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the look of a rail coache. The Parliamentary constituency will go to polls on 6 May, in the fifth phase of the election.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister and the party's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani are holding a roadshow in Amethi, a seat held for generations by members of the Gandhi family.

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

At his Basti rally, Narendra Modi once again spoke of Diwali as a synonym for warfare on Pakistan. "Every Indian has waited for the day when Pakistan-supported Masood Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the world's biggest organisation. Our government was so powerful that Pakistan must wait for Diwali now or find itself compelled to deal with Masood Azhar," Modi said, adding that his own strength had compelled Pakistan to deal with the problem.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said. Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'.

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the chowkidar chor hai jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The army, air force or navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are . When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

On the last day of campaigns before the fifth phase of the election on Monday, Modi will campaign in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister is scheduled to hold rallies in Pratapgad and Basti in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, he is expected to address rallies in Valmiki Nagar.

BJP president Amit Shah is expected to hold a roadshow in Rahul's home constituency of Amethi. He will also address rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to declare a ceasefire during Ramadan and stop crackdown and search operations during the holy month

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the government of India that just like a ceasefire was put in place during Ramadan last year, crackdowns and search ops should be stopped, so that people of Jammu and Kashmir spend at least this one month in relief," Mufti said addressing told media.

"I would also like to appeal to the militants that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," she added.

Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

"Whether it is imposing a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF and after that the manner in which business was stopped on Muzaffarabad Road and it was announced that highway will be closed for two days. It feels like the government of India wants to break the backbone of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the garb of militancy. They want to completely end our economy," Mufti said.

"Ever since the elections have begun, a lot of people are being arrested in the name of stone pelting. In this kind of an atmosphere, it is difficult to understand how they will be able to work with people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"They have left no stone unturned to push people of Jammu and Kashmir to the war. Because of this alienation is increasing. The space of the Jammu and Kashmir people - democratic space, economic space or financial space - they all are being choked... They have made life hell for the Kashmiris," the former chief minister added.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

NEET dress code 2019: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), the nodal body for the country's biggest undergraduate entrance test for medical courses, has prescribed a specific dress code for the applicants, which has been mentioned in the official brochure too. The 2019 NEET dress code is well-defined by the NTA in terms of clothes, footwear and other accessories.

This has been done to prevent cheating and to maintain the fairness of the exam. The exam body said: "The NTA believes in the sanctity and fairness of conducting the Examination, however, it also believes in the sensitivity involved in frisking (girl) candidates and will issue comprehensive instructions accordingly to the staff and other officials at the Examination Centres."

NEET 2019 dress code has been mentioned in the brochure on page 52 along with the list of barred items that cannot be worn or carried to the exam hall. The NEET dress code 2019 will also be mentioned in the admit card of the candidates to point out what would be allowed and what would not be allowed on the day of the exam.

However, we are listing down the major highlights here for convenience.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is allowed?

Male examinees are advised to wear simple shirt or t-shirt without any elaborate embroidery, multiple pockets, large buttons or patchwork motifs. The simple shirt or t-shirt qualifying as NEET dress code 2019 should be of half sleeves. Candidates wearing trouser, slippers or sandals are allowed to appear for the examination. Kurta pajama is not allowed for male aspirants.

Likewise, women candidates are asked to opt for simple kurtas in half sleeve without any embroidery or pockets. As per NEET 2019 dress code, Salwars and trousers are suggested for women candidates. All female aspirants are advised to wear slippers or sandals with low heels as shoes are not allowed in the examination hall.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is not allowed?

Light clothes with half sleeves and long sleeves are not permitted. Closed footwear, like shoes, is not permitted to the exam centre. Candidates who wish to wear cultural or customary dress to the exam centre should report at least an hour before the reporting time for proper frisking.

Burqa or head scarves come under this section. As per the Delhi High Court order, Sikh candidates will be allowed to carry traditional kangha kara and kirpan with them. These articles will be considered as a part of the customary dress.

Any footwear that causes obstruction in searching or frisking will have to be removed by candidates before entering the exam hall.

Other sundry items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap etc are not allowed inside the exam hall. Watches/wrist watches, bracelets, or any kind of elaborate ornaments are also barred from the examination hall.
If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Some things never seem to change. One of them may well be the United States department of defences cartographic perception of the India-Pakistan boundary, which seemingly has not changed from the Cold War-era when India was seen to be a Soviet bloc follower. If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Released on Thursday (2 May), the Pentagon's much-awaited 123-page annual report to the US Congress called Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China 2019, had at least 10 maps of the relevant region where Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is shown to be inside Pakistan. The delineation of the India-Pakistan boundary lies in the realm of political controversy because of the Kashmir issue.

While Indias claim over PoK is ignored, the region is shown to be a part of Pakistan as a result of which the disputed status of the region is glossed over. But at the same time, the disputed status of the Aksai Chin region which Indian claims, but is under the effective control of China, is acknowledged.

In one particular illustration on page 78 of the report, the 1972 Line of Control (LoC) is mentioned on the map but the area India referred to as PoK is shown to be totally under Pakistan. Pakistan calls a large swath of this region Azad Kashmir. The LoC is the line that divides Kashmir and signifies the military control on either side.

The Pentagon is another name for the United States department of defence which is mandated to submit such a report to the US Congress every year. This year, the report has been prepared at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. In the past too, India had complained to the US several times whenever official US government maps failed to acknowledge Indian territorial claims. In most cases, the US made the appropriate rectifications.

While omitting any reference to the disputed India-Pakistan border, the report specifically mentioned the bickering over the India-China border. It says: Tensions remain with India along the shared border over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is part of Tibet and therefore part of China, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau. Chinese and Indian patrols regularly encounter one another along the disputed border, and both sides often accuse one another of border incursions.

Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a bitter 73-day stand-off in the Doka La near Sikkim before it ended on 28 August, 2017. The Indians objected to Chinese road building in a disputed area. It was followed by another incident at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, but that was also resolved.
The government in its Saturday response held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The Centre, Saturday, filed a fresh affidavit in the Rafale case, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions demanding a detailed investigation into the case on the grounds of national security. The BJP-led central government has argued that disclosing the procurement process will have "grave repercussions on existence of Indian state" and on national security, given the current environment in the country, as well as in neighbouring ones.

The Centre had been asked to file a reply latest by today (Saturday) on petitions seeking review of last December's verdict in which the apex court had dismissed pleas challenging India's deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

In its 14 December order, the Supreme Court had ruled that it was satisfied by the government's submissions and dismissed all petitions demanding a probe into the controversial defence deal. The court had asserted that the Rafale deal was not a case of "commercial favouritism", as opposed to what was being alleged by Opposition parties.

However, in the light of some media reports highlighting fresh facts about the negotiation process of the deal, and the alleged "parallel negotiations" by the prime minister's office, the Supreme Court had agreed to review its order.

The government, however, in Saturday's response, held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The reference here was to a report in The Hindu, which leaked a "dissent note" by a defence ministry official objecting to the PMO's parallel discussions which has weakened the negotiation of the MoD and the Indian Negotiating Team.

The government had then opposed the admissibility of these documents as proof, stating that these were stolen from classified government files and had submitted that the "privilege documents" were procured by petitioners illegally. However, the court had shot down this "peculiar argument", maintaining that documents revealed by media without authorisation can also be treated as admissible evidence in public interest.

Now, the Centre has admitted to the PMO's intervention in the negotiation process but has claimed that mere "monitoring" by the prime minister's office of an important deal did not translate to conducting "parallel negotiations" with the French side.

"Monitoring of the progress by PMO of this Government to Government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations," the government told the Supreme Court.

The government also raised questions on the Supreme Court order of 10 April, allowing the submission of these documents saying that the by letting closely guarded State secrets be obtained through whatever means will have "great repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State".

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. A deal to procure the jets was signed between India and France in 2015. The delivery is expected to begin in September this year.

With inputs from @utkarsh_aanand and @ANI
By Azera Parveen Rahman Like fish trapped in a net, Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in the Kutch region, Ismael pointed at the massive structure of an ultra mega power plant releasing water from its outfall channel. Another power plant stands on the other side. They said it (power plant) would not adversely affect us. Truth is, it has driven away the fishes and nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing, he said. Ismael Ali does not have scientific data to support his claim. But when he, and other traditional fishermen like him in Traghadi, talk about the drastic drop in their catch ever since the 4000 megawatt Tata Mundra Power Plant came up in Tunda, in the vicinity of their village less than a decade ago, it strongly indicates the correlation. Before the thermal power plant came up, we used to fish here, in this intertidal zone and get 60-70 kilograms of fish every day. We now barely get two kilograms, he said. Pagadia fishing nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing is a traditional form of fishing in the intertidal waters of Kutch wherein the fishermen use only nets; pag from Pagadia means foot, indicating they go as deep into the water as their feet can take them. Mundra falls within the seven-kilometre intertidal zone where these fishermen live, and this type of fishing typically takes place during the 'off-season', between April/May to August, when the monsoon winds pick up, making it unsafe for boats to venture deep into the sea. For as long as I can remember, this type of fishing helped us sustain during the off-season, and we would get a very good catch. The women would sell the fishes in the nearby town and villages, Ismael said. But now, because there is not enough to sustain ourselves and we dont know any other work, the fishermen families go to moneylenders to help them see through this period. The debt builds up, and the rest of the year goes in repaying that.

Hussain and Ismael (L to R). Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

The imported coal-fired thermal plant became functional in 2012, but Hussainbhai, another Pagadia fisherman of the same village, said that not only were they "not consulted beforehand, but were later told the water from the outfall channel would be let off in a different direction that would not affect them in any way. However, the released water which is much hotter  seven to eight degrees warmer  came where we typically went fishing. Over time, the fisheslike pomfret and lobsters that were found in abundance earlier  started disappearing. Malai, Ser, Khagai (local names), all migrated elsewhere. Now we mostly get small fishes, thats it, he said. The Gulf of Kutch has nearly 200 species of fishes. Standing close to the Tata Mundra Power Plant is the Mundra Power Project by the Adani group. Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) which works for the fishermen community, said, The Tata Mundra Power Plant uses an open-cycle cooling system and releases 6,000 lakh (600 million) litres of water of higher temperature through its outfall channel, per hour. The Adani power project has a somewhat lesser impact because it uses a close-cycle cooling system, which means it cools the water before releasing it back into the sea; it releases 600 lakh (60 million) litres per hour. Although a 2015 law required all plants to install cooling towers to minimise thermal pollution by the end of 2017, the Tata plant has failed to do so, he added. In 2008, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a pan-India wildlife research organisation, assessed the possible future effect of the Tata Mundra Power Plant on the surrounding coastal and marine biodiversity, so that proactive measures could be taken to minimise the ecosystem damage. Published on the companys website, the report says that the 4.9-kilometre-long outfall channel through which the sea water is released into the open water of the Gulf of Kutch, crosses the Modhva creek. The channel will be carrying the saline water having seven degrees higher than the intake channel seawater, it said. The shoreline, intertidal area and the open sea adjacent to the outfall channel is rich in fisheries resources including elasmobranch (sharks). Traghadi, Salaya and Modhva have been considered as important fish landing centres. All these fall in the impact zone of the outfall channel, the report said. However this is a temporary (fishermen) settlement and is active only during the fishing season, i.e. September to May. Nearly 10 years on, the local fishermen say that not only has fishing during the peak season been affected  they now have to venture deeper into the sea, often risking venturing into international waters  but also during the off-season, nearly wiping away Pagadia fishing.

An abandoned fishermans settlement (left) near the outfall channel of the power plant in Mundra. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

Patel said that in the Mundra-Anjar region, 10,000-15,000 fishermen have been directly impacted by the industrialisation process along the coastline. Kutch also supplies the bulk of crude oil production. This and other factors have led to busy port traffic that also affects fishermen, he added. Coal ash from thermal power plants threatens life and livelihood The BNHS report also mentioned the adverse impact of high-temperature water on the breeding ecology of turtles. This area is an important nesting site for two endangered species  green sea turtle and the olive ridley turtle. Another impact on the fishermen is by the coal ash generated by the power plants. Although the Tata Mundra Power Plant says that all the coal ash it generates is stored within the plant premises and dry ash is transported in sealed carriers to the cement industry, the locals complain of its adverse effect on them. Gajendra Sinh, the Panchayat leader of Navinal village in the same area said, The coal ash from the power plants stains the fish that are left to dry, thereby reducing its market value by a big margin. Navinal has at least 40 fishermen families. Coal Kills, a joint report by the Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace estimated that the two coal-fired power plants in Mundra put the lives of 100-120 people of the region at risk of premature death. The clash between industrialisation and coastal ecology in Mundra with a direct socio-economic impact on the local population is just a sample of what is happening along Kutchs, and the rest of Gujarats, coastline. Nearly 60 percent of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) undertakings are along the coastline. In Kutch, particularly post the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, there has been a spurt in industries taking root, mainly cement, salt, and, along the coastline, of thermal power plants and ports. Mangroves are under threat too Yet another concern from the rapid industrialisation along Kutchs coastline, particularly by the salt industry, is mangrove destruction. Mahendra Bhanani of Sahjeevan, an NGO that works on the welfare of pastoralists and for the unique Kharai camel of Kutch, said that industries typically block a natural creek and create bunds that dont allow natural tidal water to come in. This dries up the mangroves and makes it easier for heavy machinery to uproot them, and create salt pans. The Rabari community  the tribe that typically owns the threatened species of Kharai camels that are highly dependent on the mangroves for feeding  near Tunda, voice a similar concern. The warmer-than-normal water from the power plants, they say, has been detrimental to the mangroves. In a village here, there was a time when almost every family owned Kharai camel. When the two power plants came up, its access to the sea was cut off by the canal and the conveyor belts built by the companies. So they now have to walk a much longer route to reach the sea, for the camels to swim to the mangrove islands. From around 2,500 camels a decade back, less than 200 remain in the village today. No hope from political leadership At a time when Indian political parties are going all out to appease voters and promising to meet their demands in the backdrop of the national elections, these local communities have little hope from them. For the villagers of Traghadi for example, politics makes no difference to their lives. It doesnt make any difference to us if Modi comes back to power or Rahul [Gandhi]. We are on our own, the Pagadia fishermen said.

(L to R) Bharat Patel, Jam Ismael, Hussainbhai. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

MASS filed a suit against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bankwhich had financed the Tata power plantin the US Federal Court in 2015 for failing to ensure that the plant complied with the environmental and social conditions of its loan. Although the US district court ruled that the IFC had absolute immunity, the US Supreme Court, on 27 February this year, gave a ruling in the Kutch fishermens favour, saying that the IFC does not have absolute immunity and can be sued. This was a landmark moment for us, said Patel, We are now pursuing the case legally. As part of their corporate social responsibility, the thermal power plants in Tunda have supplied drinking water to the villages in the vicinity. We dont want the lights, the water, nothing. Just give us our livelihood back and we will take care of ourselves, Ismael said. There was no official response from the Tata and the Adani group despite attempts to get one. The BNHS did not respond either. However, in a recent development, an official statement from the Tata group said that its Mundra plant is making consistent, significant losses and that its experience (in Mundra) has helped convince the company to turn away from new coal-fired power. *** This article was originally published on Mongabay.com Mongabay-India is an environmental science and conservation news service. This article has been republished under the Creative Commons licence.
Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

New Delhi: Stepping up the attack after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, finance minister Arun Jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on Saturday and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's ," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 percent stake) and US national Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.
The Bhil community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

Jaipur: Miffed at constant neglect from the government, a section of tribals inhabiting parts of central and western India have organised themselves as a formidable political force pushing for a separate state.

The Bhil tribe is demanding a separate Bhilistan state comprising 22 districts of four states: Rajasthan (five districts), Gujarat (seven), Madhya Pradesh (five), and Maharashtra (five). Their evolution in the political field is indicative of their commitment to the cause.

They first tasted success in 2017, when their student wing  Bhil Pradesh Vidyarthi Morcha (BPVM)  secured a clean sweep in colleges across Dungarpur, Sagwara, Banswara, and Khairwada in Rajasthan and came second in Udaipur, trouncing heavyweights ABVP and NSUI.

The 70-year-old slogan of Jai Bhil Pradesh resonated in the Rajasthan Assembly when it gathered for its first session in February. It was raised by two legislators belonging to the newly-formed Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), formed by Chotubhai Vasava, a legislator from Gujarat, in 2017. Rajkumar Roat won from Chourasi seat and Ramprasad Dindor won from Sagwara, both with decent margins. BTP contested 11 seats, won two, and did well in two other seats.

A fight for tribal might

Roat said, All we want is our rights as tribals, as Bhils. It hurts us when we are compared to Naxals. We are not against the state or union of India. All we want is reservation within reservation. Out of the 12 percent reservation for tribals, one community takes up 11 percent and all other tribals get a mere 1 percent. This must end.

BTPs MLA from Sagwara, Dindor, seconded him. Ensuring tribal rights is our main aim. For that, the formation of a separate Bhilistan is necessary. This was the slogan we raised in the Assembly on the first day, when we took oath in the name of nature  the sun, moon, rivers, mountains, and forests; these are our gods. We have arrived on the platform from where our voice can reach people, he said.

The Bhils are tribals, classified as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tripura.

In Rajasthan, they are the largest tribe. As per the 2011 census, there are more than 92 lakh people belonging to Scheduled Tribes in the state. This is 12 percent of the states total population and nearly 40 percent of its tribal population.

The Bhils established Rajasthans Banswara, Udaipur, and Dungarpur kingdoms, which are now districts. They also fought alongside Maharana Pratap in the Haldighati battle against emperor Akbar.

BTP state president Dr Vela Ram Ghoghra confirmed, We have fielded candidates from four seats, Banswara-Dungarpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Jodhpur. We hope to register our presence in the Parliament this time. Our candidates are Sansi Lal Roat from Banswara-Dungarpur, BL Sanwal from Udaipur, Amar Singh Kalunda from Jodhpur and Prakash Meena from Chittorgarh. We will regularly raise our demands through rallies, first in Rajasthan and later in Delhi."

Ghogra further said, Why is it that governors and Presidents, who are our guardians as per the Constitution, never took up our cause? Its time they did now.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be held on Monday, during which some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls.

How Bhils emerged in politics

Before jumping in the political arena, Bhil leaders had changed tactics and started initiatives to infuse pride in their historic icons among community members and establish the tribal identity. Over the last decade, birth anniversaries of community leaders and icons have been celebrated with increasing enthusiasm and participation.

In 2017, Adivasi Parivar, a Gujarat-based community-funded organisation helped to form BTP.

The RSS did intensive outreach programmes through its Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad. But it failed to stop Bhils from gravitating towards their own party.

The community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

The 2018 Assembly polls saw the BTP polling 12.5 percent votes in Bhil-dominated seats of Banswara, Dungarpur, Sagwara, Bagidora, Chorasi, Ghatol, Kushalgarh, and Gadhi in Rajasthan.

The Bhilistan dream

The demand for a separate state for Bhils was prominently discussed at the annual convention of the Adivasi Ekta Parishad organised in Silvasa on 14 and 15 January this year. The Parishad is the largest body of tribals.

The community wants Bhilistan formed out of Udaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Aravalli, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, a part of Surat, and Panchmahal in Gujarat; Nashik, Thane, Dhule, a part of Pune, and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra; and Jhabua, Dhar, Barwani, Khargone, and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

The 22 districts have a dominant population of Bhils, a tribe unique to these areas. Historians confirm that, during the British Raj, these areas were called Khan Desh for their mineral mines, and were also called Bhil Patti (strip). They have one language, one gotra, and similar food styles, traditions, and rituals.

(The author is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com)
Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only 'on paper' and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

New Delhi: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists  Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh  were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the army," the Congress chief said.

He said the army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it? It is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

Thursday, 2 May was quite an unusual day on Prime Minister Narendra Modis calendar. He stayed put in Delhi.

In a departure from his routine since the election season took over the country, he did not hop from state to state holding three rallies a day.

But today he will be back to that punishing schedule. It is likely to remain so for most of the remaining days of campaigning that ends on 17 May 5 pm.

Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

In around 125 days  from 25 December to 1 May  Modi has held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories. Directed at the ongoing elections, these programmes, however, have been only a part of all the activities that Modi has been a part of in this period. He has chaired 14 Cabinet meetings in the interim.

This post on Narendra Modi's website gives an account of his campaign and how he has been juggling politics and administration.

Take for instance, the days of 25 and 26 February just two months ago. Modi delivered a keynote address at the inaugural of the two-day Rising India Summit 2019 of News18 at Taj Palace hotel. He left the venue around 9 pm on 25 February, six hours before the air strikes on Balakot. He remained awake throughout the night to keep himself abreast of the IAF operation to destroy Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps at Balakot around 3 am on 26 February.

After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his next days schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am.

He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. Soon thereafter, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi and took a Metro ride from Khan Market to attend an event at ISKCON temple in the city.

"There can't be any substitute to Modi ji as PM. Our country needs an energetic, strong and vibrant leader like him. It's always easy to criticise ones work, but through his hard work and perseverance, Modiji has set an example before the young generation," says Atanu Das, a grocer in South Delhi.

In fact, Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah seem to have taken the wind out of the Oppositions sails with their whirlwind election campaigning.

One of enduring images from the 2019 election campaign will be the sea of humanity that took to the streets to welcome their MP, Narendra Modi, when he landed in Varanasi to file his nomination papers. Slowly winding through the streets of the city, the juggernaut of the procession underscored yet again the strength of Modis grassroots connect.

His connect with the masses has always operated at several levels such as the Townhall programmes, Pariksha Pe Charcha through which he has connected with students, Main Bhi Chowkidar programmes that have touched the nationalistic chord among the voters, or the radio programme Mann Ki Baat that gets citizens in the remotest corners tuned in to listen to their leader.

"Whether one likes or dislikes Narendra Modi or many of his statements and ideas, what can't be ignored is his die-hard spirit and energy that he brings to his election campaigning, besides running the country simultaneously as prime minister," says Rajeev Bakshi, an engineer working with an ITES company in Noida.

But the Prime Minister is a multi-tasker who did not allow the approaching elections to cast any shadow on the ongoing work of the government, even though the country knew that polls would have been the top priority for all political leaders in the last year of the current government in power.

Two big successes for the nation that the PM oversaw just before the elections were announced were the Balakot air strike and the successful conduct of the Anti-Satellite Missile Test (A-SAT) on 27 February.

Its quite clear that being on the go 24x7 and not showing any stress from it is one of the biggest assets that Modi takes to elections. That at 68 he can maintain a schedule over such a long time is a vote-catcher.
For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. BJD is expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 election.

For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. His party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)  named after his father Biju Patnaik  is widely expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly election.

However, Patnaik doesnt seem to be comfortable with the B factor. For the names of his two former associates-turned-bete noirs, start with the second letter of English alphabet: Bijoy Mohapatra and Baijayant Panda. Both are in his enemy camp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contesting polls. It was evident all within a space of less than a week on either side of the poll.

In the last and final phase of polls on 29 April, the entire state watched keenly the high voltage tussle between BJD and Naveens political enemy Baijayant Panda, seeking re-election from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. All thought the drama ended there. They were wrong.

On 30 April, while most of the leaders, following the grueling month-long campaign in terrible heat and energy-sapping humidity, searched for a welcome breather, Patnaik, who had also extensively held roadshows and addressed rallies for his party candidates, was in New Delhi.

He met the Election Commission (EC) and urged it to postpone polling in Patkura Assembly seat and withdraw the Model Code of Conduct for all the coastal districts in view of the severe cyclonic storm Fani. Polling in Patkura has been rescheduled for 19 May, following the death of the BJD nominee Bed Prakash Agarwal.

BJP knew what Patnaik exactly aiming at. So on 1 April, a BJP delegation, led by Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met the EC and urged it not to postpone the polls in Patkura seat  under Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat  from where its candidate Bijoy Mohapatra is contesting.

"The chief minister in his letter to the EC has mentioned that the cyclone is likely to hit Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. This is not correct. The cyclone is likely to hit Krushna Prasad block under Brahmagiri Assembly segment, which is 150 km from Patkura," Pradhan said in a statement.

Both politicians and experts realised that Patnaik's demand for postponing the elections in Patkura was a ploy to block his longtime rival Mohapatras entry into the Assembly. Mohapatra, who is at the centre of this political drama, doesnt seem to be bothered though. He has been through worse. Mohapatra said that Patnaik tried his best to postpone the election but when that failed, he went to the EC to delay it post 23 May. It shows his mindset. I cant imagine how someone can be so mean, Mohapatra said in between answering calls.

He exuded confidence that both he and Panda are going to win and Patnaik is aware of that. I have noticed from the minds of the people that they are very unhappy with Naveens tactics. There is a sympathy wave in favour of me. Baijayant Panda will also win, he declared.

Mohapatra said that Patnaik is scared of him. He is highly scared, therefore adopting such dirty politics. Naveen is just the opposite of his father and has a very small heart, he added.

Even leaders of the Congress, BJPs principal enemy, criticised Patnaik for such a move. They believe Patnaik is trying to scuttle Mohapatras attempt to get inside the Assembly, by hook or crook.

Naveen is in the habit of playing this type of politics. He dislikes honesty and efficiency. He thinks he can play with the entire democratic system, maintained senior Congress leader and Cuttack Lok Sabha candidate Panchanan Kanungo. He wants people around him who would remain surrendered and never raise their voice. When the state is about to face a natural calamity, the chief minister went to Delhi with his own personal agenda. This is really unfortunate, Kanungo, who once was the finance minister in Patnaiks cabinet, added.

Senior journalist Rajaram Satpathy, who hails from Patkura constituency itself, during his long career as a reporter has seen Kendrapara and Odisha politics closely. He too has watched political careers of Patnaik, Panda and Mohapatra, equally from close quarters.

According to him, Patnaik doesnt like to see the rise of the Panda-Mohapatra duo. Patnaik is against Panda due to his growing popularity. Panda as a two-term MP has done quite a lot of good work and is liked by the people of Kendrapara. Naveen is aware Mohapatras presence in the Assembly would create horrors for him. Otherwise, he wouldnt have forced Bed Prakash Agarwal to contest against Mohapatra, Satpathy believed.

But the BJD leaders are not ready to accept any such argument. Our president has always worked hard in the best interest of the state. If the BJP or others are thinking that BJD or our leader is against a particular leader, they are free to do so. Its their problem, said a block-level leader of the party. However, when asked about the reasons behind fielding an ailing Agarwal, he tried to avoid the question and said, Wait. The people of Patkura will tell us in the election what is right or wrong.

Incidentally, the entire state was baffled when Naveen announced Agarwal as BJDs candidate for Patkura. Consider this. While Patnaik chose to give rest to many seventy plus leaders like Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik (Berhampur), Jugal Kishore Patnaik (Bhadrak), V Sugnan Kumari Deo (Kabisuryanagar) and Jogendra Behera (Loisingha), he thought it prudent to nominate the 83-year-old Agarwal.

Not only that. The veteran leader, who was fighting for life in the ICU of a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar couldnt come to collect his ticket for nearly a week. Incidentally, Agarwals wife and son had met Patnaik and pleaded that the ticket be given to someone else in the family. But Patnaik maintained silence. On the other hand, he thought it apt to give tickets to sons of Pravat Tripathy (Banki) and Pravat Biswal (Cuttack-Choudwar). Both of them served jail terms for their links in the chit fund case.

The image of Agarwal filing nominations in a wheelchair, as beamed across TV channels, shocked all, as they dreaded the obvious. Agarwal passed away on 20 April. Ironically, the BJD then nominated his widow Sabitri Agarwal.

The voters have seen everything and they know the truth. Therefore, the sympathy wave that Naveen thought would help his party is not going to happen. Perhaps Naveen knows it and thats why he had approached the EC to postpone the election in Patkura, Satpathy said.

Patnaik-Mohapatra rivalry is part of the Odisha politics folklore. In the 2000 elections, Mohapatra headed the BJDs powerful political affairs committee. He was distributing tickets. He had filed his nomination and was sure of a successful return to the Assembly for a possible bigger role.

However, just a couple of hours before the deadline for filing nominations ended, Mohapatra, who was chairing a meeting of party leaders in Bhubaneswar, was informed of the cruel truth: someone else had filed nomination on the partys ticket. He didnt have the required time to even reach Kendrapara, let alone file nominations.

Since then, he experimented but remained in political wilderness.

Ironically, both Mohapatra and Panda were not only among the founding members of the BJD but they also regard Patnaik's maverick chief minister father with great respect and admiration. While the Twitter savvy, suave Panda always refers to Biju as 'uncle' for his familys long association with the senior Patnaik, Mohapatra, who welded immense power during Bijus rule (1990-95), cant stop lavishing praises on him. Biju babu was not only a great leader but also had a large heart. You rarely see such great men in Indian politics, Mohapatra said.

Kendrapara district was known as Biju Patnaiks karmabhoomi. The district has been loyal to the Biju family for over fifty years.
The 'full commission' which takes such decisions comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

On Saturday the Election Commission Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on 21 April. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

One of the two election commissioners gave a dissenting view in the decision of the 'full Election Commission' to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said on Friday.

The 'full commission', which takes such decisions, comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. In the past three days, the commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Congress against the prime minister, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

One of the election commissioners, according to the sources, gave a dissenting view in EC's decision to give clean chit to the prime minister on his speech at Wardha on 1 April where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Wayanad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama martyrs in Latur on 9 April.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the poll panel was unanimous in disposing of a third complaint against the prime minister for his speech in Rajasthan's Barmer where he warned Pakistan about India's nuclear arsenal. Every other day they used to say we have nuclear button, we have nuclear button. What do we have then? Have we kept it for Diwali? he said, as per the report.

However, NDTV reported that one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah off the hook for their comments on five occasions, as per a high-ranking source. In addition to Modi's speeches in Karnataka and Maharashtra and his questioning of Rahul Gandhi selecting the Wayanad seat, the fifth instance related to Shah's comments, also on Wayanad, where in a speech in Nagpur, he said "Rahul Gandhi is contesting in such a place where it is impossible to say when a procession is taken out, whether it is a procession in India or Pakistan."

Since it was not a quasi-judicial decision, the dissent was not recorded. It was a view verbally presented in the meeting, a functionary explained. The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 states that if the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The commission transacts its business by holding regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All election commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the commission.

With inputs from PTI
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, the Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modiji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modiji, it is a hollow structure and in 10-20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground." He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"The Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Rahul.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got the defence offset contract during the UPA's tenure, Rahul said he is ready for the investigations.

Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army. pic.twitter.com/wAPPISCXUq  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Rahul told reporters.

Rahul also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar chor hai' as he hasn't apologised for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan. "The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologise to BJP or Modiji. 'Chowkidar chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised, and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for 6 May. The results of all the phases will be announced on 23 May.

Rahul also slammed Modi for raising suspicion over the claims of the surgical strike during the UPA regime and asserted that doing so is an insult to the Army. On Thursday, Congress party claimed that six surgical strikes were conducted during former prime minister Manmohan Singh's regime from 2004 to 2014.

On Friday, Modi, in a rally in Rajasthan had said that the Congress had first objected "decisive" action against terrorist by way of surgical strikes and then claimed that they had also done the same. He also said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

In response, Rahul said: "The Army, Air Force or Navy is not personal properties of Narendra Modiji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress, but the Army. These air strikes were done by the Army and we do not politicise the Army. The prime minister should not insult the Army."

Rahul also claimed the Congress's internal assessment is clearly saying that the BJP is losing. "More than half of elections are over and there is a clear-cut feeling that Narendra Modi is losing. The main issues are jobs, farmers, corruption by the prime minister and attack on an institution.

"People of the country are asking questions. Unemployment is the biggest issue in front of the country. The country is asking that Narendra Modi had promised employment to 2 crore people, but today there is maximum unemployment in the country in 45 years. In Congress's manifesto, we have the first chapter on jobs whereas Narendra Modi is not speaking a word on jobs because he cannot speak over it.

"He cannot speak because he has no plan or vision on the issue," said Rahul.

The Congress president once again attacked the BJP on the issue of release of Masood Azhar and said, "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Government."
What makes things worse in the case of Rahul Gandhi is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse.

The India Today interview of Rahul Gandhi that was published in the groups magazine but wasnt aired on its TV channel (despite promos and teasers) for reasons unknown, proves a simple point. The Congress president is unfit for any public office, leave alone serving as Indias prime minister.

It is difficult to reach any other conclusion after going through the transcript of the interview. The interviewers were sympathetic. Not too many tough questions were asked, Rahul was given a free pass on dubious claims and allowed to go unchallenged on what he claimed were facts. They let him speak  and that is all the encouragement that the dynast needed to expose his ineptitude anew.

Obviously, this wasnt the first time Rahul has made a case against himself in public life. What came through in the interview, however, was that the Gandhi scion has sank deeper into his dystopian reality and started believing in own delusions.

This happens when a cocooned dynast  who has not been exposed to the rough and tumble of life, or has never done a real job to earn a living  is airdropped onto the top of an organisation not on merit but entitlement, and surrounds himself with sycophants who are determined to tell him only what he wants to hear.

The leader becomes cut off from reality, develops an exaggerated sense of self-importance and starts believing that the world revolves around him. It isnt a crime for a leader not to be an orator. For instance, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee are not known for their oratorical skills. Yet, they have repeatedly won electoral success and established their credentials as chief ministers and mass leaders.

It is possible that Rahuls grasp of reality is not sound enough for him to be able to deal with complex questions on policy and politics that he is expected to answer as a challenger to the prime minister. Then, he needs to do his homework and come up with sane responses to legitimate questions. The answers that he came up with are beyond belief.

What makes things worse in Rahuls case is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse. This has degraded his ability to self-detect the inconsistencies and gaps of logic in his arguments. And since nobody within his party dares point out to him these anomalies, his delusion becomes progressively deeper and may eventually become incurable.

For instance, when asked in the India Today interview whether he would like to be the prime minister or is ready to be one, the Congress president comes up with a sensible answer. Who am I to say that? About 900 million people are casting their votes, its up to them to decide. Whoever they choose, Im happy with that.

He says much the same thing in a recent NDTV interview.

This would mean that Rahul grasps the key factor in a democracy  it is the people who decide and choose their leaders. Keeping this in mind, let us see scrutinise his answer to a rather innocuous question on his fitness mantra. While describing the value of persistence in fitness, Rahul draws a political equivalence.

Everyone told me Mr Narendra Modi cant be defeated. I said, 'Yeah, you really think so? I asked them, Tell me what Mr Narendra Modis strength is. They said, His strength is his (incorruptible) image. I said, Okay, Im going to rip that strength to pieces. Im going to take it and shred it. And Ive done it. Persistence, my friend! Keep going and keep going and keep going. And I will keep going until the truth on Rafale is out!

This is an extraordinary comment at multiple levels. At one level, it shows Rahuls confusion about key tenets in a democracy. It is not for Rahul or any other politician to rip into shreds the reputation of a rival who enjoys popular support and mass appeal. Even after five years in power as prime minister, Narendra Modis popularity far exceeds that of his rivals, and he punches even above the weight of his own party. His popularity graph, according to surveys and opinion polls, instead of dipping towards the end of tenure seems to have got a second wind after the Balakot air strikes.

It is breathtakingly arrogant for the Gandhi scion to assume that he can make the electorate think on his terms and sway their opinion. The logic behind his assertion isnt clear.

At another level, these comments reveal that Rahuls charges against Modi on the Rafale deal are fictional. These charges are not based on facts but driven by Rahuls self-declared urge to rip Modis strength (incorruptible image) into pieces. Whats more, Rahul is convinced that he has done his job (of damaging Modis image ostensibly through concocted charges and insinuations). This may also explain why Rahul continues to play truant with facts on the Rafale deal "controversy" and remains entitled to his own unverified and constantly fluctuating statistics.

We shall soon know whether Rahuls confidence is well-founded or misplaced, but from surveys and reportages, it seems that allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal have failed to catch public attention and Modi still enjoys an image of incorruptibility despite Rahuls effort to rip it into pieces.

Rahuls comments on the privatisation of public sector entities such as Air India are equally worrying. Not because he believes in socialism, capitalism or market economy. It is not clear what exactly he believes in, because his answers are fuzzier than mist on a winter morning in Delhi.

The question by the India Today interviewers was rather straight: Are you for or against public sector disinvestment? Does Air India need to be shut down?

Rahuls answer: This, if I may be blunt with you, is too basic a question: are we against it or for it? He goes on to say that the Congress has a strategy on public disinvestment, and he hates being asked these simplistic questions. This is not the kind of question you should be asking a national political leader, its the kind of question you ask high school kids. Come at me with sophistication and Ill come back at you with sophistication.

It is unclear what exactly Rahul means by sophistication. Perhaps it is his belief that "my mother is my sister. My sister is my mother." He insists, "They are the same thing, the same force. They are not different." This level of sophistication, one suspects, might boggle the minds of ordinary folks.

Rahul shows the same level of sophistication while dealing with a question on his favorite fruit. According to him, vipassana has made his mind so adaptable that his mind can construct the flavour of the fruit. Which apparently means that, You can choose to like mango, you can choose to hate it. You can choose to like poor people, you can choose to hate them. You construct everything in your mind. The mind decides everything.

Interestingly, the India Today group seems to have chosen not to telecast the interview on its TV channel. One of the journalists belonging to the group clarified on Twitter that this was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week."

This was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress Presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week. https://t.co/yAd6xop0ZE  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 4, 2019

This clarification, however, runs thin on facts, because the media house had run promos and teasers of this interview on its channel.

And you say "watch" the most in-depth interview. pic.twitter.com/YNi804gdYH  Arun (@nonemnura) May 4, 2019

Dear Rahul kanwal, Your channel ran a ticker to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview at 6:30 on 2'nd of may Your channel's Twitter feed asked people to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview Now tell me how was it supposed to be a Print interview when you asked people to "watch" it https://t.co/yUBDWvVjnP     (@indiantweeter) May 4, 2019

It is quite clear that the understanding was that this interview was meant to be aired. The group wouldnt have run promos based on the Congress material. It is not clear at what stage it was taken off air, why and whether the group came under any sort of political pressure in not airing it.
Agence France-Presse

The fossilised remains of an early human cousin found in the mountains of Tibet prove mankind adapted to live at a high altitude far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

A jawbone dating from at least 160,000 years ago of a Denisovan  a now-extinct branch of humanity  is the first of its kind discovered outside of southern Siberia, and experts believe it holds the key to understanding how some modern-day humans have evolved to tolerate low-oxygen conditions.

Contemporaries of the Neanderthals  and like them, possibly wiped out by anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens  the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago.

Their existence was determined through a piece of the finger bone and two molars unearthed at the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia's Altai Mountains and dated to some 80,000 years ago.

But the new remains  discovered in passing by a local monk nearly thirty years ago  has led researchers to conclude that Denisovans were far more numerous, and far older than previously thought.

"To have beings, even if a little archaic, living at 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) on the Tibetan plateau 160,000 years ago... That's something that no one could have imagined until today," said Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Max Planck Institute's Department of Human Evolution.

The bone, found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe, China, was donated by the monk to a local museum, before scientists set about analysing its composition. It was so old no DNA could be extracted.

But Hublin and his team used the latest protein analysis to date one of its teeth and to link it genetically to Denisovan specimens found in Siberia.

"From my point of view it's confirmation of a working hypothesis I've had for a while: Nearly all Chinese and East Asian (hominim) fossils between 350,000-50,000 years ago are probably Denisovan," said Hublin, lead author of the study published in Nature.

Extraordinary

A recent research paper suggested that humans only reached the Tibetan plateau  a vast area of mountainous terrain north of the Himalayas  around 40,000 years ago.

"Here we have something that's four times older," said Hublin. "It's absolutely extraordinary."

The jawbone discovery also solves a riddle that has troubled anthropologists for years.

In 2015, researchers found that ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese living at altitude had buried in their genetic code an unusual variant of a gene, EPAS1, which regulates haemoglobin, the molecule that hauls oxygen around the blood. At high altitude, common variants of the gene overproduce haemoglobin and red blood cells, causing the blood to become thick and sludgy  a cause of hypertension, low birth-weight and infant mortality.

But the variant found in Tibetans increases production by much less, thus averting hypoxia problems experienced by many people who relocate to places above 4,000 metres in altitude. The mutation is nearly identical to that found in the DNA of Denisovans discovered in Siberia  at an altitude of less than 700 metres.

"That was something that no one really understood, because the Denisovans weren't known to live at altitude, so they didn't really need that gene to survive," said Hublin. "Now we know why. It's not the DNA from Denisovans from (Siberia), it's the DNA from the Denisovans of Tibet."
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday when a sniper from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired at Israeli troops across the border wounding two of them, according to the Israeli military. A retaliatory Israeli air strike then killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired more than 200 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. In response, the Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft carried out attacks against more than 30 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby was killed by one of the Israeli strikes and at least 13 other Palestinians were wounded throughout Saturday. Residents identified two of them as militants.The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby, said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. An Israeli military spokeswoman made no immediate comment.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. Across the border, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two people were wounded by shrapnel. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

In a joint statement in which they claimed responsibility for firing rockets, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression.

Egyptian mediation

Although Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets from Gaza are a frequent occurrence, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent any further escalation of hostilities. Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel but there is no conclusion yet, said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairos mediation efforts.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day. Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Fridays events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairos mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza.
Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

Seoul: North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland. The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (US-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong-un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

After the launches, South Koreas presidential national security adviser, the defense minister and the intelligence chief gathered at the presidential Blue House to monitor the situation, according to the Blue House. It said South Korea and the United States are closely sharing information about the launches.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.
Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

Bangkok: Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago. The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favour the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralise royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers  though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said. A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometre (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election. In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so. On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning: 'The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions,' Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election.

In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning:

"The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions," Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday.

"The very system of government in the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator is very much at stake."

His remarks came after Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, refused to attend the same hearing before Nadler's committee, which is examining Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's efforts to stifle the probe.

In an unprecedented approach, Trump in recent days has filed lawsuits meant to block congressional subpoenas that were sent to two banks and an accounting firm that have worked with his businesses, which he did not divest when he took office. The subpoenas seek access to past financial records for Trump.

A businessman-turned-politician, Trump also still refuses to disclose any of his annual tax returns, rejecting decades of practice by recent presidents.

Standing by their president, Republicans in Congress dismissed as hollow Nadler's rhetoric about Trump's defiance and played down Barr's refusal to attend the House hearing.

The Republicans complained that Nadler wanted committee staff lawyers to be able to question Barr, a departure from the standard hearing format where lawmakers do the questioning.

They stressed Barr's readiness to defend his handling of the Mueller report before a Republican-controlled Senate panel on the day before he skipped the House hearing.

On Nadler's comments, Republican Representative Tom Cole said, "It's over the top. The attorney general showed up before the Senate committee and took every question."

POLITICAL RISKS

The partisan shouting match in Washington is intensifying as a platoon of Democratic presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail, with Trump lobbing Twitter insults at the front-runners.

Both sides run risks in ramping up their confrontation. The Democrats could turn off voters if they push too hard to investigate, and perhaps ultimately try to impeach Trump, allowing him to play the victim, a role he excels in.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading Democrat in opinion polls, said this week that Trump's stonewalling left no alternative but impeachment, which other Democrats have urged.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed the public split evenly over impeachment, with 40 percent in favor and 42 percent against it.

On the other hand, Trump's behavior may already be worrying Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump with a 37 percent approval rating after the Mueller report's release, his lowest of the year. [L1N2210EG]

Any further erosion will likely be muted by the economy, which is churning along in its 10th year of expansion. But if economic growth were to falter, the stand-off in Washington could become a bigger issue ahead of the November 2020 election.

MUELLER'S FINDINGS

Mueller's 448-page report, almost two years in the making, unearthed numerous links between Russians and Trump's campaign, but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

It described attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller's probe, but stopped short of declaring that Trump had committed a crime.

House Democrats are treating the report as a guide book for more investigations. Shortly after its release in redacted form on April 18, Nadler subpoenaed an unredacted version, as well as the underlying evidence that informed it.

Barr's Justice Department has refused to comply and Nadler is weighing a contempt citation against Barr over the matter.

In response to Nadler's and other inquiries, Trump has dug in. In a letter obtained by Reuters, the White House argued that Trump is within his rights to order his advisers not to testify before Congress, even though he allowed them to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, accused Barr of lying to lawmakers about his interactions with Mueller. "That's a crime," she said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman called Pelosi's allegation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on Nadler's panel, said Democrats are resorting to hyperbole because the Mueller report did not land a knock-out legal blow on Trump.

"If you don't have the facts and you don't have the law, the old joke is that you stand on the table and yell. Well, he's just standing on the table and yelling now," Collins said, referring to Nadler.

(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Kieran Murray and Howard Goller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the United States Steel Corporation's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder today's call is being recorded.

I'll now hand the call over to Kevin Lewis, General Manager of Investor Relations.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning. On the call with me this morning will be US Steel President and CEO; Dave Burritt; Executive Vice President and CFO; Kevin Bradley; and Sara Greenstein; Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions. Sara has responsibility for the Mon Valley and the new technology we announced yesterday.

After the close of business yesterday, we posted our earnings release and earnings presentation under the Investor Section of our website. Yesterday morning, we also post an investor presentation highlighting our announcement on Mon Valley. On today's call, we will walk through via webcast, select slides, highlighting our investment in first quarter results. The link to the webcast can be found on the Investor Section of our website. We also posted this morning slides to our website.

Before we start, let me remind you that some information provided during this call may include forward-looking statements that are based on certain assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings and actual future results may vary materially. Forward-looking statements in the press release that we issued yesterday along with other remarks today are made as of today and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to US Steel President and CEO, Dave Burritt, who will begin today's presentation on Slide four.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Kevin. Today is a great day for US Steel. I could not be more excited for our employees; for our community; for our customers and for our current and future stockholders. Before I get into our strong first quarter financial results, I want to take a few moments to provide context for yesterday's state-of-the-art high-tech transformational announcement.

We have all seen in the headlines some on this call have even said US Steel's competitive position has weakened. US Steel can't compete with recently announced capacity additions. We know the competition, we live it and we welcome it, we don't fear it, but we respect it. We love to compete, it's our competitive spirit, our unwavering commitment and our relentless focus that has brought us to yesterday's announcement.

First, before we get into the materials, I want to talk about some facts, then I'll talk about the future. These are the facts, US Steel is special and you know this, US Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the US and the only US headquartered steel company that can mine, melt, and make steel in USA, that's a fact. We have a world-class safety performance, you all know that, that's a fact.

And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry, we understand cash is king, that's a fact. We are executing projects better, here are few examples; in the last two years, we spent $800 million on North American engineering capital projects, 90% were on or under budget. On the last five major projects, we underspent them and had an internal rate of return greater than 22%, I'm talking about projects like galvanizing line upgrades at Midwest, pipe mill and threading line projects in tubular, caster upgrades at Granite City, pickle line upgrades in Europe.

We completed nine large infrastructure projects and underspent the budget. These projects include; multiple blast furnace steel rebuilds at various facilities and steel shop environmental projects at Great Lakes Works and Granite City Works. On finishing projects, all the can do projects for our tin business were right on budget. We are executing projects better, that's a fact.

Typically first quarter is always a lighter quarter for financial results. You know -- you now know these first quarter issues well, whether or like the Polar Vortex this year and of course we can't ship pellets from Minnesota Mines, because the Soo Locks are closed. By now everyone should know how difficult the first quarter is. But we beat even our own expectations in the first quarter, because we are performing better. Asset revitalization is working, our performance and productive capability are better, that's a fact.

We're now pivoting from playing defense to offense. So let me tell you a little bit about yesterday's announcement and the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Hundreds of US Steel employees welcomed local government and community leaders to Edgar Thompson, Pennsylvania. The support we have received for this investment and the value it will create for our company, our customers, our employees and our community is extraordinary. I thank each and every person, who has reached out to congratulate the company for bringing state-of-the-art sustainable steel advanced manufacturing to Western Pennsylvania.

Following the announcement of the EAF in Alabama and a Dynamo Line in Europe, yesterday's announcement is another step in our value creation strategy. Here are the highlights: we expect the investment to be about -- approximately $1.2 billion; we are investing in the first state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line in the United States; we expect to achieve a $35 per ton reduction in operating costs. We are creating new product boundaries that create a moat around the most attractive markets we serve. Gauge and width combinations not available today in the United States. And we expect to deliver significant environmental improvements.

Turning to Page five, we have been making significant improvements to our business over the past few years, enhancing our operational excellence, creating operating leverage through improved performance and investing in technology to improve our cost structure and expand our capabilities. Our strategy is straightforward and we continue to be guided by our critical success factors. We will move down the cost curve, we will win in attractive markets and we will move up the talent curve.

Turning to Page six. This investment is truly transformative, again here is the proof. The Mon Valley is currently a low cost mill in the steel industry and we are now combining the best of both, our high quality integrated steel making process with industry-leading casting technology. Again, we expect the investment to further reduce operating costs by $35 per ton, and we are equipping the facility with best-in-class capabilities that significantly improves the quality and product attributes to meet the needs of our customers today and into the future. This is a significant competitive advantage for our company, and it delivers enormous value to our customers, as we will be able to provide sustainable steel solutions many thought impossible. The lightest, thinnest, strongest and most formable steel available.

Turning to Page seven, as part of our investment in this new technology, we are also building a state-of-the-art co-generation facility at our Clairton plant. The facility will convert coke oven gas to electricity and steam, delivering significant environmental improvements within our facilities and across the region. Once completed, we expect our investments to significantly reduce emissions; including the following estimates: 35% reduction in particulate matter 10 and 2.5, 50% reduction in sulfur dioxide, 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide.

Turning to Page eight, we've been listening to what our customers are telling us and our strategy is clear, we're creating a moat around the attractive markets through dimensions and differentiation, and are expanding our capabilities to be the material provider of choice in growing markets. We know that sustainable profitability lies with being a flexible and agile steel producer capable of solving 21st century material problems.

From asset revitalization to endless casting and rolling, our investment strategy expands our capability and cost profile to win share. We are revitalizing and now we are revolutionizing. From wide to narrow and from light gauge to heavy gauge our footprint will be well positioned to win in the US market and will help shape the future markets, we will create with our customers. To be clear we are not adding steel making capacity, instead we are transforming our footprint to capture market share. I have never been more confident in our future than I am right now.

With that I'll turn to Page nine and Kevin Bradley. Kevin?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Dave, and good morning everyone. Given yesterday's announcement, Page nine provides a helpful visual of the work we've done on our capital structure over the last two years. We've made great progress reducing our overall debt and shifting our maturity profile. We've reshaped our capital structure having eliminated or refinanced over $1.8 billion in debt. We've extended our maturity profile with no significant maturities until 2025 and beyond.

In addition, our strong liquidity at $2.5 billion including cash of $676 million and $1.8 billion of availability on our US and European revolving credit facilities, positions the company well for strategic investments like the one we announced yesterday.

Turning to Page 10, let's talk about the investment in Mon Valley. At a $1.2 billion level of investment, we are estimating a return of 15% or higher. You can see the expected cash requirements between today and 2022 with just over a $1 billion being required between 2020 and 2021. We are planning to fund the investment from a combination of vendor-supported financing and senior unsecured notes. The vendor-supported financing will be approximately $250 million, and we'll have flexible draw-down terms to match project cash flow requirements.

Slide 11 provides a summary of our recent technology investments. In January, we announced the construction of a new Dynamo Line at our European steel mill. We expect that this $130 million capital investment over the next two years will deliver an annualized run rate EBITDA benefit of $35 million. Full year EBITDA benefits are expected in 2021. In February, we announced the restart of the tubular EAF in Fairfield, Alabama. We expect annualized run rate benefits by 2021, up to total approximately $80 million from our $280 million capital investment to complete the EAF. This investment makes our tubular business self-sufficient on round substrate for the seamless pipe mills, resulting in significant cost savings.

Yesterday's announcement of the endless casting and rolling line is targeting first coil in 2022. With a full year $275 million EBITDA benefit expected in 2023. The combination of these three technology investments totaled approximately $390 million EBITDA expansion over the next three to four years.

Before I turn it back to Dave, let's recap some of the first quarter highlights on Page 12. Total adjusted EBITDA of $285 million was, up $30 million over the prior year quarter, and up approximately $60 million versus our expectations. Overall, it was a strong first quarter. We gained market share and continue to see opportunities to improve our competitive position. The better-than-expected results in our Flat-Rolled segment were largely driven by increased shipments and strong operational performance. I was very impressed with the team's execution across the Flat-Rolled footprint.

Our European segment performed in line with our expectations, while our Tubular segment capitalized on an improved commercial environment to deliver material upside. First quarter adjusted EPS of $0.47 was significantly higher than the first quarter of 2018 at $0.32.

Please note our Q1, effective tax rate was 12.4% as you know we released a significant portion of the valuation allowance against our NOLs at the end of 2018. That action is resulting in a more normal annual rate for the company. Our tax rate also reflects the benefits of the depletion, deduction generated by our mining operations. While, our reported tax rate should be higher than prior years going forward, we do not expect to incur US cash taxes for a few more years, due to the NOLs. As discussed in January, we will provide quantitative guidance later in the quarter, but given today's environment, we currently expect Q2 adjusted EBITDA at the enterprise level to be similar to Q1. The Flat-Rolled segment should benefit from stronger sheet and third-party pellet shipments. However, our European business is being negatively impacted by increasingly challenging market conditions across Europe. Overall, we feel good about the company's performance and our ability to execute our strategy and deliver results.

With that let me turn it back to Dave.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Kevin. Before we turn to the Q&A, we've covered a lot today, so I want to take a moment to recap. As Kevin said we are obviously happy with the first quarter. We have some serious headwinds in Europe that we have to work through, the market is certainly more challenged than anyone anticipated when we entered the year. But overall we feel good about the business and 2019.

Lastly, we have some really exciting news yesterday, we think this unleashes value in so many ways. It's a big time capability improvement and big time cost improvement and it's a big time sustainability improvement. It checks all the boxes. Strong strategic rationale, high levels of value creation and our capital structure is well positioned to support this investment. I couldn't be happier for our employees, the community, our customers and the returns this will yield for our long-term stockholders.

Kevin let's move to Q&A.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, Dave. We have a lot of people in the queue today. So, we'd appreciate your cooperation help us get everybody to questions. Greg, can you please queue the line for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instruction) Your first question comes from the line of Martin Englert from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Hi, good morning everyone.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Good morning.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

So for the Mon Valley project you've highlighted potential sources of funding of $250 million, I believe you said from vendors and then also unsecured notes, as well as cash and the revolver. Can you provide a rough breakdown of the remaining allocation? And also remind us of your targeted leverage metrics and what comfortable ranges?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we're in good shape and I kind of talked about the timing of the requirements, so I think overall we would look to fill most of it. You know, other than the vendor supported with high yield. But we're going to be opportunistic pick the right time, we want to make sure our message here is being absorbed and so we're in no hurry to go out there until the market is right and we need to. But I would say the majority ideally would be high yield and the vendor-supported financing.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay, and the leverage metrics that you're comfortable with?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, I mean given where we are now right, with this project and the Dynamo and the EAF, we're still very comfortably within our goal, which is kind of, you know, when we double the range. I don't think at any point we get to more than three times the total debt through this list. Obviously subject to market conditions as always. But you know given where we're starting from in terms of total and net debt leverage, we feel really good about our ability to pull this off and stay strong.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for that. and if I could one last one. The new Mon Valley project is potentially a significant support for the company. Can you discuss from a high level, if other similar transformational projects are potentially under consideration?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, of course, we're always looking at opportunities, I will say this is such a big transformational project for us this is one of a kind we don't see another project like this coming on for anyone, anytime soon.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for the detail there and congratulations.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Gagliano from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay great. Thanks for taking my question. I'm sure a lot of people are going to questions on Mon Valley. So I'll try and focus in on just one piece of it. Thanks by the way for the additional information on the longer-term targets here. I was wondering, if you can give us more details behind the targeted $275 million of EBITDA in 2023 that incremental contribution; for example what price is that based on or there offsetting reductions since I -- it looks to me like this is an upgrade to existing downstream production mix that kind of thing. And any other additional detail behind that $275 million would be great. Thank you.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understood. This is Dave, but the way I interpret your question is what are driving these EBITDA benefits, you know, there's yield improvement, there's reduced externally purchased energy, there's more efficient staffing, there is improved operational efficiency, there is all those things that are going to be making the business stronger and better in fact, if you think about this investment we are already low on the cost curve this will make us from a variable cost perspective, the -- from our out side in-look, the lowest in the United States and maybe Sara you can provide a little more color on this issue.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Sure. Thanks, Dave. This is Sara Greenstein, you know, when you think about what this icon -- what this iconic investment does, it does a couple of things; it makes the Mon Valley Works, one of the lowest cost steel mills in the world; able to profitably compete with both domestic and foreign steel producers; delivering sustainable profits through cycle. The other thing it does is enables the Mon Valley Works to be the producer of choice for the lighter, wider, stronger and more formable steel.

So the combination of this advanced manufacturing technology when combined with our integrated steel making process at the Mon Valley enables us to do what no other North American steel producer can do today. We will be able to produce our proprietary advanced high strength steel, substrate at the Mon Valley making the strongest, most formidable products available to allow our auto customers to continue to lightweight their end products previously incapable -- when we were previously incapable of doing this at the Valley.

We will continue to support our appliance, our construction and our industrial customers from the Valley and provide both our current and future product capability to them as they continue to lightweight their products, driving innovation and growth for them. But the profitability piece, which was the core of your question, really lies in the fact that we as Dave mentioned in his earlier comments will be the material solution of choice for these end markets, that we seek to serve, while simultaneously reducing $35 a ton reduction in our overall conversion costs, reducing our overall sustaining CapEx, and then all the things that Dave just mentioned, improving yield, lower energy consumption and greater production efficiency.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

You know, thanks for that, Sara. You know, I'm just, I'm sitting here holding a piece of steel in my hands, it's a sample of a 0.6 millimeter thick hot-rolled strip and that's 0.236 inches hot-rolled that is a thickness nobody in this market comes close to making today. We're going to unlock solutions for our customers that they've never thought possible to allow them to reengineer what they buy. This is clearly breakthrough folks.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And in addition to the investment that we're making at the Valley, our ability to be able to produce the thinner, lighter, wider product then frees up our Gary facility and all the investments that we've recently made in our hot strip out there, to go after the sicker, wider, heavy gauge product especially focused on the API market.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So the thick and thin of things are, we got the thin inside and we got to thick side, you know, what we're doing in Gary, $0.5 billion investment on hot rolled, and so we're building the moat on that side and the moat here on the thin side. So we feel very good about where we are on this journey and we're sort of over the top excited about the possibility. So thanks for the question, sorry for the very long answer. One more thing, Kevin Bradley --

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

One thing, Dave. It's a great question. You mentioned the commercial piece just, you know we model the IRR on this at 50% or higher. We're using a backward-looking through-the-cycle, you know, CRU. So this did not based on today's market this is a much more conservative assumption that, you know, the market would revert back to. We always look at it on a backward looking, so if you believe there's a new normal or that today's pricing is better and sustainable, the 15% would be much higher.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Just my follow-up question here. Just curious how much capital has actually been spent at Mon Valley as part of the asset revitalization program, so far. And how much additional CapEx at Mon Valley tied specifically to that, you know, the ARP piece?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

So, this investment that we announced yesterday is in addition to the revitalization investment that we've made at the Mon Valley. And all in on -- across the Mon Valley, we will have spent a $200 million revamping our primary end and our finishing line.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

But think of this as a technological breakthrough. This is not revitalization, this is revolutionizing the way steel is made.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

And, specifically you know the hot mill has not received, you know, very much capital investment the last couple of years. So that's part of the question. We want to clear on that, as well.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The cold mill there is a significant, critical -- one of the 13 critical assets we talk about and is receiving capital.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And is our primary end.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Terry from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Hi guys and thanks for taking my questions. Just in terms of the technology given you'll be the first in the US. Can you just talk through your conference on the reliability, and the technology itself? And then just -- I know you touched on this in some of the earlier questions. but why Mon Valley specifically? And how long have you been looking at this investment? What's the decision -- time line that you've been doing the details in this process. Thanks.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, this is Dave. First, the way we approach this when we look at our strategy, of course we look at our global footprint and make sure that we're optimizing the value we have, the rigorous capital allocation process. And then through that process we find out where the attractive markets are, and we focus on those markets where they have sufficient size, and have adequate margins and they're continuing to grow. And then we look at our capabilities and say how do we fit those capabilities into the markets that we want to pursue, and we looked at our footprint and we looked at the opportunities it was clear that Mon Valley was the place we knew, we need to be doing some upgrades on the 1938 mill at that time, and this was going to be something that would take this not just to a good level, but to an absolutely great level.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you, Dave. And if I could just add a bit, the state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling technology, while the first of its kind to be introduced in the US is actually in operation and it has been for years in other countries around the world. So this is a proven technology and capability. We are bringing it to the US and we are combining it with our lowest cost facility already and the integrated steel making process, and as a result have the ability to make products that no one else in this country can.

So, it's deploying proven advanced manufacturing technology with our integrated steel making process that allows us and positions us to really make a game changing difference in this industry in this country. But why the Mon Valley? I talked about some of these things. The first and foremost it expands our structural cost advantage at the Valley. We are currently a low cost provider, this move has even further down the cost curve. It provides us as US Steel greater footprint optionality. I mentioned what this allows us to do and focus on now at our Gary Work facility. It upgrades a 1938 vintage hot strip mill and takes us from being more limited in what we can do to being the most capable field producer in terms of thinner, wider, stronger product in this country. And finally it enhances the number of markets that we can and intend and will serve.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well said, Sara, you know, it's -- and there's obviously going to be a lot more discussions that we have on this. We have models that have built that will bring this to life to you. But if you think about this technology and think about the four processes of steel making, you've got iron making, steel making, hot rolling, you know, and then finishing. And where we've been challenged is typically at our mills. Liquid steel, we do exceptionally well and integrated mills have this great cost advantage from our mine side and from our coke making, because we can use that energy to power the facilities, still there's a lot of advantages that we have with liquid steel. Where we've had trouble is providing the extra variety of steel, the extra capability and this now expands our capability and moves us further down the cost curve. So that we can be a -- if not the leader certainly one of the leaders in US, because we are clearly in a great cost position when this is finished.

So it's really important to understand the benefits of this because it has the conversion costs benefits as we use our state-of-the-art PRO-TEC XG3 steel at -- in Ohio, where we'd be starting to run coils at the end of this year. So all of this connects very well with the footprint that we've been working on for quite some time. And we're finally able to get it announced to you folks. But it's going to take a while for you to digest it and understand it, and we have some models that we can be taking you through at the appropriate time.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Just a follow-up question on the CapEx and the layering of the asset revitalization program about $900 million still to spend at EAF at Fairfield and now Mon Valley. Is there a way to maybe delay this? So you saw a sense of urgency, as well, a limited time frame to get this and/or do you think the balance sheet can handle it?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understand you're breaking up a little bit, but we don't intend to slow down the asset revitalization we've always said, if we can get the returns faster we're going to go after them. So we need to make sure that we get ourselves positioned well and the revitalization is well under way we're executing, and so we don't want to move slower, we want to move faster.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Karl Blunden from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Hi, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the question. I guess on the side of funding here when you think about funding all of the CapEx and organic investment on Mon Valley. Are there any non-core assets in the portfolio that you've taken a look at that may help you raise some of the cash there and reduce the debt burden you're going to take on?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Well, we're always looking at our footprint and you know and you've heard me say this so many times everything's for sale all the time, but you know we certainly like our footprint currently and we're basically doing our best to create monetized value from all of our assets and upgrading them and improving them, so that we will be positioned here with this breakthrough investment for a better tomorrow.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Got you. And historically there was some discussion of the European asset. Is the environment now just not conducive to raising capital from that market through asset sales?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, I think you know about the Dynamo Line, so that's an important investment force and that is a extraordinarily well-run asset and it's been throwing off substantial EBITDA for the -- from well-run operations, you know, this is one of those businesses that makes money in the trough, and so it's an ideal asset for us and we'll continue to make sure that we manage that well and with the Dynamo Line that also gets us a additional EBITDA.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Okay, and just quick one. You mentioned unsecured debt in your slides, wondering if you'd be open to secure debt, as well if that's needed given the funding costs?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're always going to be open to anything the company needs at the same time we don't see that as a requirement, so that is not a preference for us, we'd like to stay unsecured, and that's our intention.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Thanks for your time.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And maybe that gets into a little bit here of our capital allocation strategy, because you know what we're -- it's really important people understand this because we're always looking at throughout the business cycle and the way we manage this, and we have these three priorities for cash and that gets into what you're kind of walking around here on the balance sheet. We've got to have a strong balance sheet that's supportive of the company's strategic objective that's first and foremost and we'll do what's required in order to deliver that. We're investing now and the second one is investing in operational excellence, investing in technology, investing in innovation that's aligned with these critical success factors that we mentioned. Moving up the talent curve and moving down the cost curve and then winning in attractive markets, we got to take share.

And then finally this -- the third priority here is return capital stockholders, who have consistent dividend payments and opportunistic stock repurchases. This is what we want to construct here and with these types of improvements that we're making over the last few years, if you think about the clean up of the balance sheet, the cleanup of the operations and taking the operations to a better level or increasing our execution capability and demonstrating that we can perform. Now is the right time for this announcement for us to accelerate and set the stage for people that were, you know, we'll still play some defense, but mostly we're going to be pushing forward to show that we're a leader now and not somebody that's having market share taken from us, we're going to be taking it from others.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Nicholas Jarmoszuk from Stifel. Please go ahead.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning. Had a question on the CapEx outlook. We've got the Fairfield project, we have the Mon Valley provided the -- how that's going to be spent over through 2022? The Dynamo line, you have the ongoing asset revitalization and there's going to be a line for sustaining CapEx. Can you give us a sense for what those various line items are going to be for the next couple of years?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I'm not going to break it down. Let me let me start by saying that you've got the new updated guidance on CapEx moving up to 1.3. That reflects all the projects that we've announced, so in total and sustaining capital and all engineering capital, that's all in what we know today and what you know today is reflected. Clearly the icon, the project in the Valley et cetera is going to increase that going forward. Next year is our last year of revitalization and so it will be -- you'll see the same level coming through. There is going to be some spillover because of payment terms into the following year, as well from revitalization. But we're not going to, you know, forecast beyond this year in terms of CapEx. But as I shared earlier very comfortable with our liquidity, our cash flow position, the balance sheet strength and our ability to handle this lift.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

And then regarding that 275 uplift from the Mon Valley project. So if you're saving $35 per ton and the production is still going to be roughly 2.6 million tons, there I can account for roughly $90 million of EBITDA uplift. Can you talk about the remaining amounts in terms of how to think about the buckets in terms of the thinner gauges, the better pricing on that regard. How we can think about, what was it, the lower purchases of energy purchases, better staffing. How could we think about the bridge from the $90 million -- from $0 million to $90 million to $275 million?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sure. Nick, you've summarized the calculation, the cost reductions appropriately that is about approximately $90 million of the EBITDA benefits expected as a result of this investment. Additionally we're sizing the commercial opportunities about 50% of the $275 million, so that's everything we're looking through for additional mix improvements and all the benefits that Dave and Sara have described here on this call today.

And then we have some other benefits from the co-generation facility and just some overall efficiencies throughout the entire Mon Valley footprint. So kind of to summarize the variable cost is about a third of the improvement with the half attributable to the commercial benefits. So that should give you some good insight to the anatomy of where the EBITDA is coming from on a run rate basis.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Hi, good morning. I want to ask little bit about the quarter, if I could just steer things that way. First half the decline in prices for the Flat-Rolled segment was a lot smaller than the spot price obviously you have annual contracts. But just as you see the current environment, so we expect to see, kind of, the same, kind of, decline going forward given the recent spot declines and on the Tubular side, you saw prices go up and PIPELOGIX price fell about $40 a ton. So, can you just provided a little bit more color on kind of the trends you're seeing in pricing?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, so Timna. I'll talk a little bit first maybe about the 4Q to 1Q change in Flat-Rolled. I think we saw a really good improvement in our mix, we were able to capture some high-end hot-rolled and some other project business that kept our average selling prices pretty resilient in this spot market environment that we were in. It also reflects the success we had in our annual contract, so we were pretty happy with where we came in for the first quarter from an average selling price perspective.

On the Tubular side, we did see some good improvements in pricing, mostly on the seamless side. So early mix, nice mix change there with the -- with seamless and which contribute a lot to the commercial uplift in the Tubular segment from a 4Q to 1Q perspective.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. Helpful. And then did ask a little bit about like it's that's -- if either one or both of those are trends that you could see continuing. And then separately can you give us your perspective and the updates you're seeing on the air quality issues in Clairton, I think, I saw last night or this morning comes through a lawsuit claiming $50 million in damages. Just wanted to get your response to that. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

So, Timna, maybe I'll take the first question on the trends, and then maybe ask Sara to give an overview about where we are at Clairton. So, I think we all seen the recent move down in spot prices, so we certainly expect that to impact our commercial portfolio. But we remain committed to kind of the mix improvements and going after those markets as described by Sara and Dave. So you could certainly model through the impact of a decreasing price environment here on the business. But overall our strategy remains to make sure that our mix is strong, and we can generate the right types of average selling prices and different types of the -- through cycle environments.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes. Thanks, Kevin. And while we don't nor will we comment on any legal activity as it relates to Clairton, what I will comment on is, and I think you all know we experienced a catastrophic event on December 24th and couldn't be prouder of the people and the team and the community that came together to support us and getting us back up. As of April 4th, we restarted the desulfurization process facility at the Clairton plant. We -- as of that date we're desulfurizing a 100% of the coke oven gas that we generate at that plant. And in fact on our January earnings call, we had forecasted about a $40 million impact from this fire. And we had about a $31 million impact in the quarter primarily really due to the purchase of natural gas and inefficiencies that we experienced. But we are backup, we are running and that's where we're at.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, thanks for taking my question. You know, forgive sort of an equity question from a debt guy. But you know, I thought share buybacks were really sort of something you did when you didn't have anything better to do with the cash. If you guys have identified $3 billion of value-add projects. What's the hurry in getting cash back to shareholders at this time?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're not seeing it as a hurry, when we announced the program last year, what we're trying to do is make sure we've got a balanced capital allocation methodology. So the $300 million over the two year period, we think, is an appropriate level and we're kind of committed to it. So we're going to continue to do that. Agree, we've got some very high and exciting opportunities, high return exciting opportunities. We want to make sure we're balanced as we go through it. So for now, we feel good about the program, we're executing against it, we think appropriately and you can expect that to continue.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Then one quick follow up, as you think about coming to the high yield unsecured market, you'd mentioned sort of a leverage cap, if you will of around 3 times, and you've referenced, you know, a strong balance sheet a number of times today. I mean is that your sense that up to 3 times levered balance sheet would sort of maintain that strong balance sheet?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

No. And I didn't mean to imply it as a cap, What I was saying is what we've announced, you know, we don't think over the coming years would put us above 3 times. So what we said is you know and we've been talked with the agencies regularly, you know, under 4 times we think is a BB, and that's our medium to long term goal. And so I'm not implying a cap at three, I'm just saying given where we are and what we've announced in terms of investments, I don't think we go above three with that.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Tumazos from Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you very much. Could you give us a little more explanation as to the physical breakthroughs of the new rolling mill. How much wider is it? You already gave us thinness. Forgive me. Could you describe the scientific measures of improved ductility or formability that you refer to qualitatively? How much wider will this steel be for an automaker, because it's thinner, stronger, more ductile. Forgive me for my specificity and enthusiasm, please.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a very detailed question, and I think I'll keep it back to the -- is it strategic, we're going thinner and we're going thicker on the strategy, and we can get you more details on those specifics at another time. But I think today we're talking what the strategy is, and if we can get into those details at this point.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Congratulations.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you. What I can tell you just very quickly, as you know, we can go down to 0.03 on gauge and we can go as wide as 77 inches.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Phil Gibbs from KeyBanc. Please go ahead.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Hey, good morning. Thanks for all the good details this morning, appreciate it. I have just a question on the guidance for the second quarter, I know European spreads have been weak. Are we -- should we be expecting Europe to on an EBIT basis be in the red in the second quarter similar -- similarly should we expect that for Tubular given a little bit of softness in that market. And do you expect Flat-Rolled volumes to be higher relative to Q1 in the US?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

What I would say, you know, we're not going to give specific quantitative especially at the segment level. But given my comments you can expect Europe to be down from Q1. And we do expect shipments in North American Flat-Rolled to be up in Q2 sequentially, if that helps. But we're going to -- later in the quarter we're going to come out with more quantitative guidance and give you much more clarity around what to expect.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's no question, there's pressure in Europe and we see the economic reports and we feel the pressure on margin, no doubt about it. But as you look at this year and where we started this year and where we are right now, we feel as good about the year now as we did then. Now the mix of where things are has been shifting a bit, but the first half will be about the same as what we thought it was at the beginning of the year and we're going to have a really good 2019, that's where we are.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks. And then just have a follow-up question. Just wanted to be clear so the $1.2 billion investment on Mon Valley, obviously need to support that with capital. Are we expecting that $1.2 billion to be syndicated right now? Meaning are you going out and raising those funds in the market today? Or is that going to be staggered through time. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we went through this a little bit, but the bulk of the requirement is in 2020 and 2021. So, yes, we're in good shape right now, we can be opportunistic. We want to pick the timing, we don't need to get out too far ahead of it. So when the market's right and we're ready we'll go in, but there's no hurry here for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Gambardella from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, David and team and congratulations on the quarter and more importantly the project in Mon Valley. My question is really around the strategy with Mon Valley and the rest of your projects. A lot of other domestic steel producers have opted to import semi-finished or intermediate steel and then do the downstream finishing in the US. With some recent announcements by the administration with exemptions being denied out in California steel, I know you don't do stainless, gratings and some others, the administration is clearly saying we want domestic industry to invest in the US and invest in US jobs, like you're doing at Mon Valley. What assurances do you have from the administration that they'll be able to maintain that stance, and how do you think they'll address trade in terms of trend shipping, which, in my mind, is the key to fair trade and eliminating trend shipping?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's a lot in that question. I'll just say first on the slab things, we're open for business and so if anybody needs slabs we can certainly provide that. As far as assurances nobody can give anybody assurances on any of these things, but we have enough contacts and enough connections here that we just can't imagine this administration blinking and at a time like this, I mean there's a lot going on and we know it's very heavy, you got to get three different governments to agree on USMCA, you got Canada, you got Mexico, you got the United States so this is a heavy lift.

And also the more important issue is related to China, and China is the one with the excess capacity and to your point until you apply these things everywhere you're still going to have some leakage. So we have some leakage of unfair trade. That's happened in Europe right now and that needs to be shored up. And when that gets shored up, we'll start seeing a better pricing environment in Europe, as well. But as far as assurances, I don't know that anybody could say that, but we feel strongly that the 232 will continue and we're going to continue to operate our facilities and our business to the best we can within the current environment, and also continue to be more nimble take costs out, so that if it does change we're still going to be able to generate value. So it's really a hard question to speculate on. But we're optimistic that we'll get to the right conclusion with this administration.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I agree, Dave. Just want to add a reminder. When we model out our strategy we absolutely try to look at it from a standpoint of not depending on things that we can't necessarily predict. So our strategy holds up on a through-cycle basis on a look-back. But agree completely. We feel the group -- the strong support from the administration, and we expect that to continue.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a great point, we're focused on what we can control the -- we understand this whack-a-mole thing that you've been talking about for a long time, you know, the Vietnam case, and we have had changes with CBD and the whole trade situation. So certainly there are several provisions designed to increase the use of USMCA original steel and increased trade enforcement coordination among the three countries, and we look forward to getting an agreement there that's in the best interest of all, and we think we will. We absolutely think that there will be always some type of appropriate measure, maybe moving more toward quotas than tariffs for the USMCA, but we'll have to wait and see in any case we're optimistic that it will be a good result.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

The West Coast market is pretty much served for carbon sheet by your joint venture with POSCO, UPI and California Steel, which was recently denied exemption on the slabs they have to import to finish. Are you shipping or intend to ship a fair amount of slabs, hot band out to the West Coast, which would move it out of the Midwest market?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Go ahead, Kevin.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So I was just going to -- yes, we have been shipping to our JV, UPI, for a few years now and that's continuing this year. So we're the primary supplier of substrate to that joint venture today.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Piyush Sood from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Hey, guys, good morning. A lot of questions have been covered, couple more from me. Once you're done with the Mon Valley investment and maybe reusing some of that equipment elsewhere. Is there a need to do something similar elsewhere down the line in a few years?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Good question. Really what we are putting in is brand-new technology. And what we are -- we'll no longer use is a 1938 hot strip mill. So I don't imagine that being redeployed anywhere else.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

So you probably get rid of the old equipment, but this one to understand, if the other operations need a similar upgrade down the line?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Hey, Piyush. Yes. so as Dave described earlier when we look at our footprint, we look at the markets where we want to participate, and then we understand our capability to serve those markets. So with that strategy in mind that's what we found particularly compelling about this investment, the Mon Valley. As we evaluate our footprint and the capabilities required to serve the markets we find attractive. We will choose the investment strategy required to kind of satisfy that strategy. So that's the lens through which we look at these types of projects. And similarly, the Gary hot strip mill, we understood what it's capabilities were, what markets we wanted to serve out of that facility, how they are best positioned to serve those markets. So we'll continue to do that type of analysis on our footprint and we will invest in those types of projects that return value.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Charles Bradford from Bradford Research. Please go ahead.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Good morning. Do you have any current blast furnaces offline and/or any -- about to go offline. Hello?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're planning right now for us to turn off any blast furnaces today with the exception of planned outages for revitalization. But there's no plans to take anything offline today.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I'm not sure I understand. I think you're asking about major outages that we have scheduled for the second quarter, because we have Mon Valley the blast furnace number three Great Lakes split, B2 furnace and a shorter duration outage at number 14 in Gary. Is that what you're referring to because we have no plans to shutdown any blast furnaces.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

No, I was thinking specifically about number 14 and that state problem.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Okay. So, yes, we did have an outage in Q1.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, which was normal, and that was a high-tech improvement. That's a whole another discussion that we could have, that was incredible, awesome work. This was rehearsed. The team pulled it together. This is something you guys ought to come visit to see what the people did. This was absolutely remarkable. So, yes, that was an improvement that we made there and then that's behind us. Big success story for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Fields from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, everyone. Don't want to be the dead horse on the funding issue. But noted your preference for unsecured bonds for the $1.2 billion. Is it are you willing to consider a short-term bond like a five year issue inside of your current maturities. Or is it important to be out there beyond 2026?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yeah we kind of -- we like the runway that we've created so we want to preserve that. So that's our intention. Again we're going to be nimble and flexible, we're going to do what's in the best interest to have an efficient capital structure. So we'll look at our options and pick the right option at the right time. But I'm indicating longer term high yield is the likely anchored tenant in the funding strategy for this project.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. And then what was the look-back CRU price through the cycle that you used for your IRR calculation?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. It's just mathematical so you can do it yourself. But we're looking you know just above 600, that's kind of a multi-year look-back through cycle average for hot rolled.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay, great. And then last one from me. I appreciate the color on Clairton. I know you can't talk about existing litigation. But --

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Operator?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Can we loop him back?

Operator

Matthew Fields, your line is open.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hello?

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Yes, Sorry Matt. You have to jump off there for a moment. So continue with your question please.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Just with regards to Clairton. Are you currently fully in compliance with your air emissions permit?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

We are.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Alright. That's it from me. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Tyler Kenyon from Cowen. Please go ahead.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Hey good morning. So appreciate all the colors, so far. But my first question was just related to the Mon Valley investment. And are you expecting any improvement, reduce bottlenecks or commercial optionality across the rest of your US Flat-Rolled operations outside of Mon Valley? And if so can you talk a bit about those?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

The answer -- the short answer is, yes, we are. And I think you might have heard Dave talk about we're going to be able to go thinner, lighter, wider and thicker, heavier and build moats around the markets that we are seeking to serve in a very differentiated way. So we've talked a lot about the investment and the technology investment at the Valley and then at Gary through our revitalization efforts have put significant money into our hot strip mill there and downstream assets there, that have positioned us to be able to serve the API market, the packaging market in a very differentiated cost competitive way. We're leveraging the best of our footprint with the best technology available to deliver to the market that we will serve and creating moats around those markets as we do so.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

And so our -- are all of those benefits captured in your projected EBITDA contribution from the $1.2 billion or could those be in addition to what it is that you've laid out here?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

It would be in addition.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

So we're closing up on our time here, 9:30. So on behalf of the entire leadership team here at US Steel, we appreciate everybody's strong interest in the company, and the investment we made yesterday. And we are certainly available to take any additional questions that you have. And so with that, I'm going to hand it back over to Dave as we wrap up today's call.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Thanks everybody for your interest in US Steel, and as Kevin just said we know there was a lot to take in -- on the call the day, so obviously, you know, we're incredibly excited about this transformative announcement. So for those not able to have their questions answered on the call, our team is available to continue that dialogue. But before I sign off, I do want to recognize our US Steel employees, you finish the first 123 days of 2019 with all time record safety results as measured by days away from work. Thank you for making safety first, not a slogan, but a reality. Your hard work has gotten us to today and our announcement at the Mon Valley. This investment is a sign of our continued confidence in your abilities to deliver high quality sustainable steel solutions to our customers. Competitive pressures are increasing, but so is your fight and perseverance. We have made good progress so far, but I know our best days are ahead. Let's get back to work with safety and environmental stewardship as our core values.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

Duration: 61 minutes

Call participants:

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

More X analysis

Transcript powered by AlphaStreet

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.
In 2015, a waste containment dam ruptured at one of Vale's (NYSE:VALE) Brazilian mines. Earlier this year, another of the global iron ore miner's Brazilian containment dams broke. Lives were lost in both instances, but, understandably, the government of Brazil is taking a harder line with the company after the second mishap. Still, following a broad shutdown, Vale has been allowed to increase production at a key mine in the country. But if you step back and look at the big picture, most investors should remain wary of Vale stock despite this good news. Here's why.

Stop and start

After a mine waste containment dam broke at Vale's Samarco joint venture with BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) in 2015, the Brazilian government stepped in and hit the pair with large fines. However, when a similar disaster occurred at the company's Brumadinho mine earlier this year, the company and the government were faced with a bigger question: Were there broader concerns about the safety of Vale's facilities? When it turned out that Vale may have known about the risks at Brumadinho, the best course of action was obvious -- err on the side of caution.

Thus, Brazil suspended operations at a number of Vale's mines pending deeper reviews of the facilities. (Other miners voluntarily followed suit, to ensure the safety of those who live near mining assets.) Vale announced that the forced shutdowns would result in a roughly 20% reduction in its iron ore output in 2019. That's a huge drop, amounting to a reduction of around 75 million metric tons of iron ore. Iron ore prices moved higher on the news. The company also decided to part ways with some of its top brass, including the CEO, as it looked to hit the reset button.

Now, the company has announced that it has been allowed to restart some of its operations. The move will eventually mean the return of around 30 million metric tons of iron ore to Vale's production. Investors reacted by pushing iron ore prices lower. While this change is notable for the industry, and will likely be a benefit to Vale's business, it doesn't remove the big-picture problems the miner is facing today.

Not so big a deal

The first real indication that the restart isn't as helpful as it may appear is the simple fact that Vale didn't increase its production guidance for the year. It's maintaining the lowered range it announced following the government-imposed closures. It's possible that new management is simply taking a conservative stance, but the truth is, it kind of has to tread cautiously given the circumstances.

Two similar mine disasters in such a short period of time speak to bigger issues at the company. With the government taking a harder line, Vale can't politically afford to be overly aggressive in any way. It needs to show a significant level of contrition, if for no other reason than to convey it accepts responsibility for what happened. The impact that the production increase will have on the iron ore market, realistically, is almost immaterial to Vale's situation right now. The bigger problem the company faces is going to be on the legal and regulatory fronts.

For example, Vale and BHP have yet to settle all of the outstanding legal issues surrounding Samarco. According to a federal prosecutor, the $41 billion settlement agreement over that disaster is on hold until there's further clarity on the more recent disaster. If Vale turns out to be at fault, the Samarco deal could cost more, or at least end up being more complicated to finalize.

Vale is responsible for at least half of any costs associated with Samarco. It will likely be fully on the hook for any legal costs stemming from this year's dam failure. And, at this point, there's no way to tell how large the costs will be. What is clear, however, is that there are a number of very negative inputs. Those include the fact that this is the second disaster in a short time and that there were considerably more lives lost because of the second dam breach. Whatever the outcome is, conservative investors should probably see the $41 billion figure from Samarco as a low estimate for what Vale will face this time around.

Even if Vale is allowed to spread out the payments over a number of years, any fine will create a long-lasting bottom-line headwind. And that will be on top of the impact that comes from the Samarco settlement, the cost of which may actually go up. With so much legal uncertainty surrounding it, Vale is, at best, a special-situation stock right now. Most investors should avoid it.

Not worth the risk

Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore miners. What happens with its business has a major impact on the global supply dynamic in the industry, so investors do need to pay attention to what's going on with the company. However, amid uncertainty regarding the longer-term impact of the two mine disasters at Vale facilities, most investors would be better off avoiding Vale's stock. That remains true despite the fact that some market watchers are suggesting Vale's stock is undervalued. It's too hard to quantify the financial headwind that legal costs will impose, and they will likely hit the bottom line for years to come.
Oil giant Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) desperately wants to buy rival Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). It's so intent on making a deal that company executives flew out to Omaha, Nebraska last weekend to meet with super-investor Warren Buffett. They wanted his help in funding their battle with oil behemoth Chevron (NYSE:CVX) for control of Anadarko and its prime position in the oil-rich Permian Basin.

Occidental walked away from that meeting with a $10 billion commitment from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B), which gives it ammunition in its hostile fight for Anadarko. The deal, however, doesn't make much sense from Occidental's perspective. Not only is it willing to pay a high price for Buffett's support, but it has offered a significant premium to beat out Chevron. That seems excessive, since Anadarko's not the best strategic fit.

An epic battle in the oil patch

Occidental Petroleum has long admired Anadarko Petroleum, which holds an expansive position in the Permian Basin, as well as the Rockies, the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Africa. It sees those assets as highly complementary to its portfolio, which includes a leading position in the Permian, as well as Latin America and the Middle East. That's why it has made three offers to acquire Anadarko since late March. However, instead of engaging with Occidental, Anadarko agreed to merge with Chevron in a stunning $50 billion transaction that was below what Occidental offered.

Undeterred, Occidental took its battle public, reiterating its proposal to acquire Anadarko for $76 per share, well above the $65 per share it accepted from Chevron. CEO Vicki Hollub also went on CNBC to drill down into why she believes Occidental is the right buyer for Anadarko. She stated that:

We are the right acquirer for Anadarko Petroleum because we can get the most out of the shale. We have a lot more experience [in the Permian]. We are performing really, really well, and what hasn't been talked about very much is that the upside in this deal is the shale play.

She noted that Occidental's wells in the Permian perform 74% better than Anadarko's and that it spends less money on drilling and fracking. Because of that, the company believes it can extract more value out of Anadarko's assets. That leads the company to estimate it can capture $3.5 billion in cost savings and other synergies by combining, which is well above the $2 billion Chevron believes it can deliver.

Occidental has also directly addressed the concerns analysts and investors have with the deal. While Anadarko's positions in the Gulf of Mexico and its Mozambique LNG project line up well with Chevron's expertise, these assets only comprise about 15% of the deal's value according to Hollub. As such, they're not as meaningful as it might seem.

Another issue raised by analysts is that Occidental will need to take on a significant amount of debt to close this deal. They see the company's leverage ratio zooming from less than 1 times debt-to-EBITDA up to about 2.4 times its anticipated EBITDA in 2020. The company plans to address this issue by selling $10 billion to $15 billion in assets within a year or two of closing the deal. Investors, however, worry that the company might stretch itself too thin, especially if oil prices plunge again in the meantime.

Backing from Buffett

Occidental is working to address those balance-sheet concerns by bringing Buffett on board to help fund the deal. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to invest $10 billion into Occidental in the form of cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The preferred stock will pay Berkshire an 8% annual dividend, which works out to a hefty $800 million in cash flow per year heading from Occidental to Berkshire.

Buffett's company also will receive warrants to buy up to 80 million shares of Occidental's common stock at $62.50 apiece, which is a bit below the current price. That represents another $5 billion of potential investment in the oil company. It's also worth noting that Occidental can't redeem the preferred stock for a decade, though there's a mandatory redemption feature upon certain capital return events like a stock buyback. Meanwhile, Buffett has 11 years to exercise the warrants.

It's an excellent deal for Buffett and Berkshire since the preferred stock pays a very high rate. On top of that, Buffett picks up low-risk upside from the warrants that could pay off spectacularly if the merger delivers the benefits Occidental envisions.

This funding agreement, however, makes no sense for Occidental investors. For starters, the company would pay nearly twice the rate on the preferred stock as it would if it issued new debt to fund the deal. While they would help ease the potential leverage burden, the company is paying a high cost for Buffett's support since most analysts believe that the company could issue preferred stock in a public offering at 6%.

Further, the warrants give Warren Buffett the option to buy enough shares to dilute existing investors by 10%. As such, it transfers some of their upside potential to Berkshire Hathaway.

This battle could end badly for Occidental

Occidental Petroleum is doing everything in its power to position itself to emerge as the victor over Chevron in the fight for Anadarko. It's not only willing to pay a much higher price for the company, but it's prepared to secure expensive and potentially dilutive financing to ensure it has the firepower to compete against the big oil behemoth.

While that could be enough for it to win the bidding war, Occidental might not end up victorious in the end. The extra interest payments could hamper the company's ability to operate -- and might even put its high-yielding dividend in jeopardy -- especially if oil prices tumble. That's why its deal with Buffett doesn't make as much sense for Occidental's investors, though it certainly does for Berkshire shareholders.
Albo pointed out that several witnesses confirmed the suns glare was extremely potent that morning. One man said hed lived in that area since 1999 and it was the worst glare hed ever seen.

The defense attorney said Vancamp was the victim of a massive blind spot created by the sun and the shiny tanker truck, which was stopped at the time of the collision.

Its a sad and tragic situation, Albo said. But just because someone dies doesnt make it a crime.

Bird said that Vancamp was clearly not following his training by driving nine miles over the speed limit and not slowing down until an instant before the impact. The investigation showed that Vancamp traveled 1,948 feet in a straight line prior to the crash.

He was checked out, Bird said. I dont know why. But he certainly wasnt paying attention to what he was doing.

Bird pointed out that the other drivers adjusted for the suns glare by slowing down. She said a trained, certified driver should have done at least as much.

Vancamp was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail following his conviction. Because his conviction is a misdemeanor, he will only have to serve half of his time, or six months.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The Virginia Supreme Court, stating it was not filed in a timely fashion, has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multi-year battle with the town of Culpeper over the 2013 condemnation of 5.4 acres.

In July of 2017, a Circuit Court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in in just compensation for the property the town took through eminent domain to build the four-lane Col. Jameson Boulevard in an area he had envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer had asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, what he estimated as its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the jurys just compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, which heard arguments on it. On March 28, the court dismissed the case, agreeing with the town that the appeal was filed after the 30-day deadline to do so.
You have to take a look at how you think about where you locate them, how it doesnt end up affecting your power rates because of the enormous amount of power they use. And are there ways to do that and to make sure that theres going to be good jobs to go along with them? Because a lot of those centers dont bring a lot of employment, Warner said.

Del. Bob Thomas, RStafford, expressed his views on the Interstate 95 corridor with hopes to accelerate the process to relieve congestion in the area through local efforts and a push at the federal level.

This is the one thing that I need the federal government to step up onespecially on interstates, because its their responsibility, said Thomas. I think its good to know that even if theres not a major infrastructure package coming right now, that if we do come up with a proposal for 95which were going to study this yearto be able to take it not only to Congressman [Rob] Wittman, but also to Sen. Warner to help push this through the process. That would be a tremendous help. Its a non-partisan issue. Weve got to fix the roads.

Supervisor Gary Snellings also found another ally to help with Staffords transportation woes.
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How to make Adjarian Khachapuri at home - GeorgianJournal
Amazon Summer Sale on Nokia smartphones: Get attractive offers and discounts Features oi-Harish Kumar

The Summer sale is currently running over Amazon's shopping platform. Under this sale, you can purchase devices, gadgets and other wares at amazing discounts and other exciting offers. Those who are keen on having Nokia phones can follow our list. The enlisted devices from Nokia are the ones which will leave you satisfied with the features they are coming with.

Offers provided by Amazon, until the sale gets over include- no cost EMI option on all major credit cards and select debit cards, amazing cashback and exchange offer, 10% instant discount up to Rs. 1500 on minimum order of Rs. 3,000 with SBI Debit and Credit cards and Credit Card EMIs, get up to Rs. 2,400 cash back(on Swiggy, BookMyShow, Netmeds, Yatra) and on recharges & bill payments, and get GST invoice and save up to 28% on business purchases. The platform also offers a 100% purchase protection plan on these devices. You can find detailed offers, after following the devices individually.

17% off on Nokia 6.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.8-inch (2280  1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio with 96% NTSC Color Gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM, 64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android P

16MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP secondary rear camera

16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size

Fingerprint sensor

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 15% off on Nokia 5.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.86-inch ( 7201520 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass 19:9 aspect ratio display

Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor with 800MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU

3GB RAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS, upgradable to Android P

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

13MP rear camera and secondary 5-megapixel rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typcial) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 6% off on Nokia 8.1 Best Price of Nokia 8.1

Key Specs 6.18-inch (2246  1080 pixels) Full HD+ Puredisplay

Octa Core Snapdragon 710 10nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 616 GPU

4GB (LPPDDR4x) RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP rear camera and 13MP secondary rear camera

20MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3500mAh (typical) / 3400mAh (minimum) battery with fast charging 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.84-inch (2244 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ HDR 10 display with 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP (Monochrome) secondary rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh battery with fast charging 50% off on Nokia 3.1 Best Price of Nokia 3.1

Key Specs 5.2 Inch HD+ IPS Display

1.5GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750N Processor

2/3GB RAM With 16/32GB ROM

Dual SIM

13MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

8MP Front Camera

4G VoLTE/WiFi

2990mAh Battery 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

6 inch FHD+ 2.5D Curved Display

2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

12MP + 13MP Dual Camera With Dual-Tone LED Flash And PDAF And ZEISS Optics

16MP Front Facing Camera

USB Type-C

Fingerprint Sensor

3300 MAh Battery 10 % off on Nokia 8 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.3 inch 2K 700 Nits Display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono) Camera

13MP Front Facing Camera

Quick Charge 3.0

Nokia OZO 360 Degree Audio

3090 MAh Battery 22% off on Nokia 3.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

13MP+5MP dual rear camera | 8MP front camera

15.24 centimeters (6-inch) capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio

Memory, Storage & SIM: 3GB RAM | 32GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB | Dual SIM dual-standby (4G+4G)

Android v8.0 Oreo operating system with 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6762 octa core processor

3500mAH lithium-ion battery

Best Mobiles in India

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HTC might soon launch an entry-level smartphone with 6 GB of RAM reveals Geekbench listing News oi-Vivek HTC = High Tech Computer

HTC or High Tech Computer, a Taiwan tech-company was the first smartphone maker to launch a smartphone powered by Android OS. In the last decade, HTC has launched a good number of smartphones with a lot of innovative features. However, the last few years have been very challenging, where the Chinese smartphone brands have been offering affordable smartphones, and HTC fails to cope up with the same.

An entry-level phone with 6 GB RAM

The recent listing on Geekbench suggests that the company is working on a new entry-level smartphone, which might launch in the coming day. An unknown HTC smartphone with model number HTC 2Q741 has been spotted on Geekbench.

Geekbench listing reveals that the smartphone scores 897 points on single core and 4385 points on multi-core performance. As per the listing, the smartphone is powered by an Octa-core chipset from MediaTek (Probably the MediaTek Helio P35), coupled with 6GB of RAM.

The benchmark scores reveal that the smartphone will sport an entry-level processor with 6 GB of RAM, which is a bit strange, considering the performance of the device. The listing also reveals that the smartphone will run on Android 9 Pie OS, probably with a custom skin on top.

Do note that, the company is also working on a similar smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC with the model number HTC 2Q7A100. It looks like the company will launch the Qualcomm variant in select markets, and the remaining countries will see a MediaTek variant.

If HTC price their devices competitively, then HTC still has brand value, at least in the country like India, where HTC is considered as a premium smartphone maker. What is your opinion companies using a MediaTek or a Qualcomm chipset? Which one do you prefer over one onther MediaTek or Qualcomm? Let us know in the comment box below.

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Pornhub wants to acquire Tumblr and bring adult content back News oi-Karan Sharma Verizon looking to sell Tumblr and Pornhub is ready to grab the opportunity. All you need to know.

Verizon has seemed to be interested in selling its blogging platform Tumblr which it has acquired two years back as part of its Yahoo acquisition. Now Pornhub has announced that it is interested in buying the blogging site after which it will end the porn ban which is imposed by Verizon.

"Verizon Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for blogging website Tumblr, according to people familiar with the matter, as it tries to steady a media business that has struggled to meet revenue targets," as per The Wall Street Journal report.

Just after the news broke Pornhub quickly showed its interest in buying the site. However, it is not clear that both companies have talked so far or not. Back in December 2018, Verizon banned all the adult content from Tumblr. It seems this Pornhub want to restore the site with all the adult content which were removed by the company.

"There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr," Pornhub VP Corey Price said in a statement to Ars. "We're extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content."

The announcement and interest of Pornhub buying Tumblr were first reported by BuzzFeed. Just to recall, back in 2013 Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. In June 2017, Verizon acquires Yahoo's operating business, including Tumblr, for $4.48 billion. Now, Verizon is also selling the blogging website.

Let's see who is going to buy Tumblr, would it the Pornhub or some other company. Hope we will see some acquisition soon in the near future.

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Tech Mahindra launches Blockchain Technology to curb spam calls News oi-Priyanka Dua Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share.

Tech Mahindra has announced the deployment of a cutting-edge solution leveraging Blockchain Technology aiming at mitigating spam calls for the telecom sector in India impacting 300 million mobile subscribers.

Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share, in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of TRAI in order to enable Telecom providers to prevent unauthorized access of their subscribers' data.

Further, the firm is also demonstrating Blockchain capabilities in diverse sectors including Telecom, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech Industries, and Financial Services.

"Blockchain is a focus for corporates and government alike and is expected to be a trillion-dollar market by 2030. With the concerted and coordinated efforts by the Indian government and the industry backed by appropriate regulation, India can continue to sustain and enhance its leadership position in Blockchain technology. At Tech Mahindra, we are betting big on Blockchain as part of our TechMNxt charter, to deliver tangible business value and empower our customers to provide a completely differentiated experience to their end customers," Rajesh Dhuddu, Global Practice Leader, Blockchain, Tech Mahindra, said.

The digital transformation provider has already identified and is working on a holistic framework called Block Ecosystem that comprises of various levers; Block Studio, Block Engage, Block Talks, Block Geeks, Block Accelerate, Block Access & Block Value, which create industry-leading applications that are architected on innovation and human excellence to unlock significant value for all stakeholders.n

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How to get 25% cashback from BSNL annual broadband plans News oi-Priyanka Dua Customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

The State-run telecom Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has once again extended the deadline for the 25 percent cash back on its annual broadband plans till May 31, 2019.

BSNL also tweeted that through its official Twitter handle saying,"-Get flat 25 percent off on BSNL annual subscription."

For the unaware, this cashback offer was first announced last year in December for its landline and broadband customers.

However, there are some terms and conditions for this scheme as this cashback will be credited when a customer opts for an annual plan and makes payment timely.

In fact, the customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

Meanwhile, telco installed 54000 towers during 2018-2019, which is higher than the combined figures of the previous three years.

BSNL has also started installing 4G towers during the financial year 2018-2019 and has installed approx.

Subscribers have welcomed the network expansion and attractive plans offered by joining BSNL and leaving other operators in large numbers. During the year 2018-2019 more than 50 lacs subscribers have ported their number to BSNL from other operators, utilizing the MNP facility. BSNL is one of the two operators showing net addition of more than 9 lakh subscribers, during February 2019, as per the latest TRAI report.

Recently BSNL has also offered Eros Now premium subscription free of cost with unlimited movies and exclusive video series to its consumers of select STV/plans of Rs.78, Rs.98 and Rs.298.

Source

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Jordanian king sacks senior intelligence chief, security officials, fearing plot: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 09:43AM

Jordanian King Abdullah II has sacked his intelligence chief along with other senior security officials, fearing a plot to destabilize the kingdom, according to a report.

The removals followed reports that several senior Jordanian officials were found to have planned mass demonstrations against Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper says.

General Intelligence Department Chief General Adnan al-Jundi was among the most influential officials to have been sacked by the king, along with other figures in the country's defense establishment and police force.

Following the removals, the king explained that the measure came in response to reported shortcomings in the country's intelligence apparatus, with some officials allegedly using their positions to advance personal interests at the expense of the kingdom.

Jordanian officials have said that they expect further changes to take place at the palace and in the country's security apparatus.

The abrupt dismissal and concerns over instability come as Jordan fears Saudi Arabia's recent push to normalize relations with the Israeli regime, in line with the US-proposed "deal of the century", may greatly destabilize the kingdom.

The plan formulated by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will reportedly deny Palestinians any right to a sovereign Palestinian state while recognizing further Israeli rule over the occupied territories.

Jordanian officials have expressed concern that Riyadh may be seeking to compromise the special status of Jordan as the custodian of the Haram al-Sharif in East Jerusalem al-Quds and surrender the Palestinian right of return in order to achieve the deal.

"Half the population of Jordan are Palestinians and if there is official talk in Riyadh about ending the right of return, this will cause turmoil within the kingdom," said a senior official close to the royal court in Amman speaking to the Middle East Monitor.

King Abdullah has strongly voiced his opposition to any plan compromising Palestinian right to return in recent months.

Although many Palestinians in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and access to medical care, they are under-represented in parliament and have insignificant presence in the country's security services.

Jordan countering Israel

Jordan's heightened concerns over an impending Tel Aviv-Riyadh deal come as the country has recently taken a more vocal stance against Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that King Abdullah had ordered a review of the country's controversial multi-billion-dollar deal to import natural gas from the Israeli-occupied territories.

Jordan has also recently warmed ties with Tehran. Last year, King Abdullah met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for the first time in 15 years.

Last month, Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh and Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed the importance of Muslim unity against the Israeli regime during a meeting.

The Jordanian speaker said concerns over Israeli aggression on the al-Aqsa mosque make it necessary for Muslim states to pay special attention to the issue of Palestine.

King Abdullah has also recently expressed hope for improved relations with Syria and Iraq, hailing the improved security situation in the two countries.

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Jordan's King Sacks Intel Chief, Senior Officials Amid Plot Suspicions  Reports

Sputnik News

07:04 03.05.2019(updated 08:03 03.05.2019)

Jordanian King Abdullah II fired several senior officials, including the general intelligence chief over the past week following reports of a plot to destabilise the kingdom.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, citing anonymous sources, reported that several senior and influential Jordanian figures had conspired to hold a mass protest outside the royal palace in Amman to demonstrate a lack of public confidence in Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and thereby create instability in the kingdom.

The Jordanian King replaced the director of the General Intelligence Department, General Adnan al-Jundi, who held one of the most influential positions in the country. The palace issued a statement stating that the king had decided to retire Jundi, replacing him with General Ahmed Husni, who has served in several senior intelligence posts.

The king said in the statement, cited by Haaretz, that the move was prompted by complaints of shortcomings in the management of the intelligence system and finding that some people were using their status and positions to advance personal interests at the expense of those of the kingdom. Before Jundi, the king also replaced several officials in his bureau, including the head of policy and information.

Jordanian media reported that changes had also been made in the defence establishment and police force, with new commanders appointed for some regions. According to Jordanian officials, additional changes are expected to take place at the palace and in defence-related positions.

Haaretz also noted that Jordanian officials are worried about the repercussions of the Middle East peace proposal that the Trump administration is gearing up to present. The concern is that the plan could destabilize the kingdom and undermine its relations with the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and other Arab countries.

The Jordanian King has previously said that he has been subject to heavy pressure in the course of preparations to release the plan, noting that Jordan "will not compromise on issues of principle such as the Palestinian right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, as well as the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees".

Jordanian officials have firmly denied reports that the kingdom will grant citizenship to more than a million Palestinian refugees in exchange for generous economic assistance, estimated at tens of billions of dollars, as part of the peace plan. A senior Jordanian official told Haaretz on Thursday that King Abdullah has set clear red lines and would not "surrender to dictates that infringe on the Palestinians' basic rights." Jordan would not become an alternative to a Palestinian state, the official added.

 Sputnik

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3 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/3 19:21:37

Three militants were killed and a trooper wounded on Friday in a fierce gunfight with government forces in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out at village Aadkhara, Imam Sahab of Shopian district, about 58 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A gunfight broke out this morning between militants and joint contingents of army and police here. The militants present inside a house fired upon search party, which was retaliated by it resulting into a stand-off," a police official posted in Shopian told Xinhua.

Police said the identity of slain militants was being ascertained. However, local media reports said the three were local cadres of region's indigenous militant outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to police, the operation in the area was launched on specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the districts, south of Srinagar, in the wake of the gunfight.

Locals said clashes broke out between youth and government forces in the area following the killing of three militants in the gunfight.

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NATO Secretary General praises the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's long-standing contribution to Euro-Atlantic defence and security

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

03 May. 2019

"For seven decades, NATO has defended the way of life, and the values that underpin it: freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. This makes the job of SACEUR one of the most challenging  and most important  military positions in the world," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today (3 May 2019), during the change of command ceremony for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons (Belgium).

"Those who have held the title 'SACEUR' have led our Alliance during the Cold War, deterring the Soviet Union. They stopped brutal wars in the Balkans, helped to defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and spread freedom and democracy across the nations of Europe," Mr. Stoltenberg said. Speaking of General Scaparrotti, Mr. Stoltenberg said: "Your leadership and vision have proved critical to strengthening our Alliance. Under you command, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation, we have deployed four multinational battlegroups in the eastern part of our Alliance, and we have enhanced the readiness of our forces. You have been instrumental in the development of NATO's Hub for the South, increasing our understanding and approach to challenges in the Middle East and North Africa," the NATO Secretary General added.

"But now it is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters," Mr. Stoltenberg said. "As SACEUR you will now take command of forces from across our Alliance, ensuring the safety and security of the 29 nations of our NATO Alliance; standing up to current challenges as well as new evolving threats. I know you will continue to demonstrate the same levels of excellence you have become known for throughout your career," he pointed out.

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USS Louisville Returns to Pearl Harbor

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS190503-02

Release Date: 5/3/2019 9:25:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shaun Griffin, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment, May 2.

"Louisville Sailors are some of the finest in the world," said Cmdr. Robert W. Rose, from Garland, Utah, and Louisville's commanding officer. "Their hard work, ingenuity, and constant effort kept Louisville ready for every phase of deployment. As commanding officer, it is my absolute privilege to lead this crew in carrying out our nation's most important tasking."

During the deployment, 27 Sailors were promoted and 26 Sailors and six officers earned their submarine warfare qualification.

"Our strength on Louisville has always been our teamwork and mentorship; it's what enables us to succeed," said Senior Chief Fire Control Technician Teruedum A. Cox, a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina and Louisville's Chief of the Boat. "The senior members of our crew did an incredible job training our junior Sailors on the deck plate level. My hat's off to our entire crew."

While deployed, Louisville conducted port visits in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets and hosted several Royal Thai Navy dignitaries during the bilateral exercise Guardian Sea.

"Seeing the crew serve as great hosts to our Thai allies on board speaks to the Louisville way," said Senior Chief Yeoman (Submarine) Gary White, a native of Dallas, Texas. "For many on board, this was the first time they interacted with foreign Sailors, and it was an awesome opportunity for them to learn about a different culture."

"Experiencing different cultures in the 5th and 7th Fleets was certainly a highlight of this deployment," said Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Alex York, from Tucson, Arizona. "This will stick with me for many years."

Louisville is the fourth United States ship to bear the name in honor of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. She is the 35th nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the Los Angeles-class design. The completion of her deployment in the 5th and 7th Fleet area of operations marks her last deployment as she prepares for decommission.

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Afghan president expresses readiness to declare ceasefire with Taliban

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:50PM

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

"If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it," he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as "a gesture of goodwill".

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatar's capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to "declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire."

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

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Exclusive: Hamas official says Palestinians will resist Trump's 'deal of century'

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:59PM

A senior Hamas official has told Press TV that Palestinians will resist the so-called deal of the century proposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, stopping at nothing less than creating an "independent Palestinian state."

"As Palestinians, we will not accept such ideas. We will resist. No one can accept selling his own land. We will not accept Jerusalem al-Quds being the capital of another state; it will be the capital of the Palestinian state forever," said Hamas' international relations committee head Osama Hamdan on Friday.

Hamdan made the comments on the sidelines of the first "Return of the Century" international graphic arts workshop for Palestine, which is currently being held in Mashhad, Iran.

The workshop has been held in a bid to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation of Palestine as well as Trump's "deal of the century," which is designed to do away with the Palestinian people's right of return to their own land.

Trump's "peace plan" is expected to be unveiled at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in June.

Describing the so-called plan as "a new Israeli-American arrangement" for the region, Hamdan said that Palestinians stood united against any concessions on the liberation and sovereignty of Palestine.

"We have to liberate it. There are Palestinian refugees that have to return to their homeland and we have to create our own independent state on all the Palestinian lands from the river to the sea," he said.

Hamdan also made reference to what he described as the Palestinian nation's objection to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's Camp David negotiations with Israel.

"If anyone of the Arabs is seeking to have relations with Israel, he can bring the Israelis to his homeland, [not Palestine]," he said.

The Hamas official added that, "if anyone wants to do anything good, he has to help the Palestinians and the resistance against the occupation."

Hamdan went on to laud the weekly "right to return" marches that have been held in the Gaza Strip since March 2018 as part of the "resistance against the occupation."

"We will continue the resistance, be it by either the return marches or by military action against the occupation. We will do it until the occupation ceases to exist on Palestinian land," he said.

The "Return of the Century" workshop, which kicked off on May 1 and will continue for three days, is attended by graphic designers from 12 countries. Thirty artists from Iran are also participating in the event.

According to organizers, 40 posters will be selected to be showcased by pro-Palestinian groups around the world on Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) as well as the International Quds Day.

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US Senate fails to end military assistance to Saudi war in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:38AM

The US Senate has failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution demanding an end to American military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, a country plagued by more than four years of a devastating conflict.

The vote on Thursday was 53 to 45, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, despite a handful of Trump's fellow Republicans joining Democrats in backing the War Powers Act, which limits the president's ability to send troops into action without congressional authorization.

The resolution's passage earlier this year marked the first time both the Senate and House of Representatives supported the provision of the War Powers Act.

Supporters of the resolution said they wanted to reassert the constitutional power of Congress to declare war, and send a strong message to Saudi Arabia about the devastating civilian toll of the war in Yemen.

The Saudi-led war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world's most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the former Saudi-sponsored government back to power.

The US along with some Western countries are complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

Last November, Washington stopped providing aerial refueling for the coalition's warplanes. It only halted the support after the coalition grew independent of it.

Many members of Congress have also become angry with Riyadh over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and columnist for the Washington Post.

US intelligence agencies believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

However, some observers believe the anti-Saudi sentiment in Congress is not genuine and Riyadh continues to have widespread support in Washington.

Riyadh spent $27 million on hiring lobbying firms in 2017 to influence Congress, compared with $10 million in 2016, according to the Center for International Policy, which tracks foreign influence spending in the US.

The Senate vote on Thursday comes less than two weeks after the beheading of 37 Saudi nationals across the kingdom.

World leaders and several human rights organizations have expressed shock and condemnation over the mass execution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that most of those beheaded were minority Shia Muslims. She also voiced concern about a lack of due process and fair trial in the kingdom amid allegations that confessions were obtained through torture.

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Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Calls For Immediate Cease-Fire

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

A Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, has wrapped up in Kabul, with leading Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire to help settle the nearly two-decade long conflict in the country.

Some 3,200 representatives, separated into dozens of individual committees, met in the Afghan capital under tight security to find common ground and discuss methods of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban militant group.

According to the state-run Afghan broadcaster RTA World, the Loya Jirga also called for a prisoner exchange and the opening of a Taliban office in Afghanistan.

Reacting to the Loya Jirga demand for a cease-fire, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was "prepared to implement the fair and legitimate demand" for a truce but stressed it "cannot be one-sided," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The Taliban later rejected calls for a truce, which the Loya Jirga proposed should start on May 6, the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, the Taliban said waging jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan had "even more [holy] rewards."

They called the Loya Jirga "symbolic" and a "failure."

The Loya Jirga said the government in Kabul must have a central role in the peace process with coordination provided by the international community. It also said human rights, including women's rights, must be protected in Afghanistan.

Some opposition politicians boycotted the assembly, saying they had not been consulted by the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who organized the event. Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, was among those saying he would not attend.

Ghani has alienated much of the country's political elite, who say they have been sidelined from the government's peace efforts.

Many concerns remain within Afghan society about a potential peace deal with the Taliban, with some people expressing worries that the militant Islamists would try to seize power and reverse advances in women's rights, media freedoms, and legal protections.

Hundreds of women attended the assembly and set out their "red lines" for any negotiations with the Taliban.

Semin Noori, head of one of the assembly committees, said that "withdrawal of foreign forces should not mean that all advances made in women's rights are forgotten and we are forced to suffer again."

Many leaders said the government and the Taliban must immediately agree to a nationwide battlefield truce as a prelude to a peace deal.

Abdul Hannan, a committee chairman who traveled from the south of the country to attend the assembly, urged "both sides to announce a cease-fire."

"The war will end only when both sides stop fighting before they sign a permanent peace agreement," he added.

"Every day, Afghans are being killed without any reason. An unconditional cease-fire must be announced," said Mohammad Qureshi, another committee leader.

Taliban negotiators have so far refused to negotiate with the government, calling it a puppet of the West, and have insisted on the withdrawal of foreign forces before talks with Kabul can begin.

The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support, a NATO-led mission that provides training and assistance to security forces in Afghanistan as they battle Taliban fighters and other extremist groups.

The Taliban now effectively controls or influences about half of the country. Dashing hopes for any quick cease-fire, the militant group has announced the start of its spring offensive, despite taking part in several rounds of talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar.

Even if U.S. and Taliban negotiators strike a deal to end fighting in the 18-year war, the militant group would still need to reach agreement with Afghan politicians and tribal leaders before a sustainable cease-fire could begin.

Loya Jirga is an ancient Afghan tradition that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle major disputes. It plays a purely consultative role but usually carries much influence in Afghan society.

The most recent jirga was held in 2013, when the Afghan government endorsed a security agreement allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond their planned withdrawal in 2014.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-loya- jirga-assembly-wraps-up-statement- possible/29918505.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 Top NATO Military Officer Sworn In

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

MONS, Belgium -- U.S. General Tod Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the NATO military alliance.

Wolters became supreme allied commander in Europe, a post always held by a U.S. military officer, at a ceremony on May 3 at NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

At the ceremony, NATO's top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said the command is "one of the most challenging and most important military positions in the world."

"It is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters. Tod, as an Air Force pilot you have fought in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The leadership, professionalism, and dedication to duty you showed in the air has been an essential part of your career on the ground," Stoltenberg stated.

Wolters, who replaces U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, will also be commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

"Fifty-seven years ago my dad, then-Captain [Thomas] Wolters, was a NATO F-102 pilot out of Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, and he was responsible for securing West German skies. Thirty-two years ago, this Captain [Tod] Wolters was a NATO F-15C pilot out a Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, responsible for achieving local air superiority in the vicinity of the East German border. NATO had changed, yet the prospect of surviving a conflict in dad's F-102 and my 1987 F-15C was a challenge," Wolters said at the ceremony.

He takes over at a time when the alliance is preparing for the likely demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a U.S-Russian disarmament pact that has protected Europe for the past three decades.

Wolters had served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe -- Air Forces Africa based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Wolters is a fighter pilot by training, with more than 5,000 hours through his nearly 32-year military career, according to his Air Force biography.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/new-top-nato -military-officer-sworn-in/29919201.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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Pentagon May Deploy Submarines in the Arctic to Deter Alleged Chinese Threat

Sputnik News

16:18 03.05.2019

Last year, China released its Arctic Policy, in which it vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a key stakeholder in the region.

On the pretext of China's growing activity there, the US may expand its military presence in the Arctic and deploy submarines, the Pentagon announced in a report published Thursday.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region," the report said.

This follows the publication of China's Arctic Policy, released in June last year, in which Beijing vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a major stakeholder in the region.

In the document, the Asian superpower introduced its plans to create shipping lanes opened up by global warming to develop a "Polar Silk Road" that relies on China's President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative; the programme's key aim is to develop infrastructure and boost ties between Eurasian countries.

The Polar Silk Road project is of great significance to China, as it allows the Asian state to ship goods to Europe faster than via the Suez Canal; shipping via the Arctic route may save Chinese vessels around 30 days.

In addition, the recently released Pentagon report showed its concern with the alleged Chinese threat after last month Beijing showcased a nuclear-powered submarine for the first time during a key international naval parade, held on the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy's founding. The parade was held in the western port city of Qingdao, featuring 32 naval vessels led by China's latest and largest Type 094 (Jin-class) nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub.

The document went on to note that US submarines might be used "as a deterrent against nuclear attacks."

 Sputnik

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India-Pakistan Nuclear Exchange Would 'Immediately' Kill 20 Million  Official

Sputnik News

13:04 03.05.2019(updated 13:12 03.05.2019)

Earlier this week, the Pakistani Army blasted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks about New Delhi's willingness to use its "mother of nuclear bombs" to retaliate in case of a nuclear war between the two South Asian powers.

A nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India would quickly turn into a "nuclear Armageddon" affecting the whole world, Sardar Masood Khan, president of the Pakistani-administered jurisdiction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has warned.

"If there was a nuclear conflict between the two countries, 20 million people would die immediately," Khan said, speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs in Istanbul, Turkey, with his remarks cited by the Anadolu Agency.

According to Khan, the long-running Pakistani-Indian conflict over Kashmir, which came into being immediately after the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947, "should be resolved and peace should be established. We have no other options," he stressed.

Among the three wars India and Pakistan have fought, between 1948 and 1971, two of them were over the Kashmir region, with low-intensity conflict raging inside the divided Kashmir region for decades, claiming thousands of lives and occasionally spilling out into broader tensions.

"The conflict in Kashmir is not only related to politics, economy and geopolitics, but it is also a human tragedy," Khan noted, adding that India and Pakistan might turn to the United Nations and neighbouring powers in a search for ways to resolve the problem.

Earlier this week, a Pakistani Armed Forces spokesman urged New Delhi not to "test" Pakistan's "resolve," saying that nuclear weapons were "a weapon of deterrence that should not be mentioned lightly."

The comments were a response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told supporters at an election rally last month that India had the "mother of nuclear bombs" and would never yield to what he described as Pakistan's attempts at nuclear blackmail.

According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan and India have a total of between 140-150 and 130-140 nuclear weapons, respectively. Both sides also have access to air-launched, land-based and sea-based nuclear delivery systems.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in mid-February, when al-Qaeda* affiliated terrorists believed to be operating from the Pakistani side of the border in Kashmir attacked an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 personnel. India retaliated by launching airstrikes inside Pakistan in late February, with these resulting in a series of clashes along the Line of Control border area which have continued to this day.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Indian Forces Kill Three Militants in Kashmir, 20 Hurt Protesting the Move

Sputnik News

11:51 03.05.2019(updated 13:51 03.05.2019)

The authorities have suspended Internet services across south Kashmir following clashes and a gunfight; a shutdown is being observed in the state's Shopian sector and other parts of neighbouring districts.

New Delhi (Sputnik): At least 20 civilians suffered pellet injuries in Jammu and Kashmir state on Friday during clashes with the Indian security forces that erupted after the killing of three militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.

The clashes occurred in the state's Shopian district in the morning.

Three out of the 20 hit were struck by by pellets in their eyes, and were referred to a hospital in the state capital city of Srinagar for specialised medical attention while the others were being attended to in Pulwama and Shopian, other sectors of the state, a Police official said.

The security forces lobbed tear smoke shells and resorted to firing pellets to quell the stone-throwing crowd, witnesses said.

Earlier in the morning, a gunfight occurred after a joint team of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Adkhara village in the Shopian district.

According to police, Lateef Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pulwama district and the lone surviving terrorist of Burhan Wani group, was among the three terrorists gunned down by security forces. The two others were identified as Tariq Molvi and Shariq Ahmad Negroo, the residents of local villages in Shopian district.

"The trio was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen militant group," a police official said.

Burhan Wani was a commander of Kashmiri group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, perceived to be a prominent face of resurgence of terrorism in Kashmir whom security personnel neutralised in 2016. His killing had triggered massive civilian unrest, especially in the form of stone-pelting crowds, in which around 100 protestors were killed and thousands others were injured mostly with pellets.

 Sputnik

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Taliban Reject US, Afghan Demands for Cease-Fire

By Ayesha Tanzeem May 03, 2019

An Afghan grand assembly, or loya jirga, ended Friday with the delegates in Kabul demanding peace with the Taliban, as President Ashraf Ghani promised to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, which begins in a few days.

The Afghan Taliban, for their part, responded harshly to demands for a cease-fire, saying the United States should end the use of force instead.

"@US4AfghanPeace should forget about the idea of us putting down our arms. Instead of such fantasies, he should drive the idea home (U.S.) about ending the use of force & incurring further human & financial losses for the decaying Kabul administration," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, who started a sixth round of direct negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday as the jirga was taking place.

"It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace," Khalilzad said on Twitter.

Cease-fire vs. foreign troop exit

The government says the jirga was convened to allow delegates from Afghan society to formulate the parameters of negotiations with the Taliban.

In its final resolution presented Friday, the jirga demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The Taliban in turn issued their own formula for peace in the form of an op-ed on their website, titled, "What is the path towards Peace?"

"[O]ccupation and war are tied on a linear string as cause and effect," the piece read, adding that without the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, peace cannot be achieved.

The Taliban insist on postponement of an intra-Afghan dialogue involving the current Kabul administration until foreign troops are out of the country. Pressure has increased on the Taliban to include the government in peace negotiations as China, Russia and other regional countries add their support to this U.S. demand.

"So, when the occupation ends and the foreign aspect of war [is] removed from the equation, peace then requires the Afghans, especially the political class to be lenient, cordial and forgiving by learning from historic experiences and working hand in hand with one another to achieve the common goal of the people, a peaceful Islamic government," the opinion piece stated.

Prisoner release

Even though the Taliban have engaged with Afghan stakeholders in the past, including opposition politicians, they refuse to have direct talks with official representatives of the Kabul government, labeling it a puppet of foreign occupiers.

Ghani announced that he was ready to implement more than 20 recommendations of the jirga immediately. As a gesture of goodwill, Ghani pledged to release 175 Taliban from Afghan prisons.

Apart from an immediate cease-fire, the jirga also recommended the opening of a Taliban political office in Afghanistan, a prisoner exchange, preservation of human rights, including the rights of women during negotiations with the Taliban, and the formation of an all-inclusive negotiation team to talk to the Taliban.

Ghani has repeatedly asked the Taliban to move their peace negotiations to Afghanistan and promised them a political office and security. So far, the Taliban have ignored his requests, and usually meet Khalilzad and his team in Doha, where they have maintained an unofficial political office for years.

While the loya jirga does not have legal status, analysts say its recommendations will put public pressure on the Taliban.

The jirga was not without controversy. A majority of opposition politicians, including 12 presidential candidates, boycotted the jirga, calling it a waste of money and a campaign stunt by Ghani, who seeks a second term in presidential elections scheduled for September.

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European Security Chiefs Alarmed at Threat From Far-Right Terrorism

By Jamie Dettmer May 03, 2019

When British police first visited 41-year-old Steven Bishop at his home in the ethnically-diverse London suburb of Thornton Heath he told them he was planning a fireworks display.

But officers, who had been alerted by one of Bishop's co-workers who feared his colleague was making a bomb, examined the fireworks and discovered they had been tampered with.

Last month, Bishop, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, pleaded guilty to terror charges, including planning an attack on a nearby mosque in revenge  as he saw it  for the 2017 Manchester Arena suicide bombing by a radical Islamist that left 23 dead and 139 wounded, half of them children.

From Germany to Britain, alarm is rising across Europe about the terror threat from fringe far-right groups and their supporters. Analysts and intelligence officials say the groups are studying the tactics of jihadist factions, like the Islamic State terror group, and copying their bomb-making methods and social-media propaganda techniques, using YouTube and messaging platforms to radicalize others.

This week, German authorities said the number of far-right extremists and fringe groups has jumped by 50 percent over the past two years.

In Britain, intelligence agencies are now being drafted to help police tackle the far-right terror threat with authorities saying four attacks have been foiled since 2017. The country's Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, which is coordinated by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, has been tasked to assess the threat posed by militant right-wing terrorism.

Britain's interior minister, Sajid Javid, told reporters last month, "The marked shift in the nature of extreme right-wing activity, and in the organization of such groups and their reach, from being small groups mainly focused on promoting anti-immigration views and white supremacy to actual engagement in terrorist activity, has resulted in this aspect of the threat presenting a higher risk to national security than it previously has."

The alarm in London, Berlin and other European capitals has jumped since the live-streamed shootings in April at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 50 dead and 50 wounded. It emerged after the massacre that the 28-year-old assailant had ties to so-called Identitarian (white nationalist) groups in Europe, having sent donations to France's far-right anti-immigrant movement Generation Identaire and to an Austrian affiliate.

In an analysis of far-right extremist activity, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, warned that monitoring far-right militants with violence in mind is becoming increasingly challenging and labor-intensive. Traditional extremist groups have fragmented into even more shadowy and secretive factions. The potential for 'lone-wolf' attacks has increased dramatically, the agency warned.

"They are developing in different currents and spectra of the right-wing extremist scene, but also on the fringe or entirely outside of organized right-wing extremist tableaus," the report said. Online surveillance must be increased to try to keep tabs and head off attacks in the early stages of planning, the agency counseled.

The overall assessment of the threat from right-wing terrorism and violence has changed dramatically. Until two years ago, analysts were reporting that the number of deadly incidents perpetrated by far-right militants had declined considerably between 1990 to 2015, although they noted that that in most Western democracies, the number of deadly attacks motivated by far-right beliefs was higher than those motivated by Islamism, including in the United States.

Writing in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism in 2016, Jacob Aasland Ravndal, a Norwegian analyst of militant activism and political violence, noted the decline was puzzling given that the conditions commonly assumed to stimulate such violence were plentiful. "These conditions include increased immigration, enhanced support to radical right parties, Islamist terrorism, and booming youth unemployment rates," he wrote.

But intelligence officials across the Continent now say jihadists and the far-right militants are feeding each other, using similar methods to radicalize people quickly and to inspire loners to carry out copy-cat attacks. A London court heard last year how Darren Osborne, who drove a van into pedestrians in the capital's Finsbury Park neighborhood near a mosque, had been radicalized in a matter of weeks. Osborne was cited by the Christchurch attacker as an inspiration.

"Evolving technologies and increasing exploitation of social media for the purpose of spreading terrorist material and radicalizing others poses a particularly difficult challenge," Javid told reporters in London last month. Analysts say social media can indeed help turn political extremists into violent ones and the fear is that the trajectory may be shifting and that right-wing motivated violence may be heading back up.

Researchers at the University of Maryland, who compile the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism database (START) on terrorist attacks in North America, Western Europe and Oceania say "a spate of right-wing terrorist attacks broke out after a lull in the early-to-mid 2000s, just as social media began to gain popularity."

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Bahrain - Patriot Missile System and Related Support and Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-06

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain of various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.478 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Bahrain has requested to buy sixty (60) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, thirty-six (36) Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, nine (9) M903 Launching Stations (LS), five (5) Antenna Mast Groups (AMG), three (3) Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III, two (2) AN/MPQ-65 Radar Sets (RS), and two (2) AN/MSQ-132 Engagement Control Stations (ECS). Also included is communications equipment, tools and test equipment, range and test programs, support equipment, prime movers, generators, publications and technical documentation, training equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training, Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT), U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO), field office support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $2.478 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a Major Non-NATO ally which is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance Bahrain's interoperability with the United States. Bahrain will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats. Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 Missile is Lockheed-Martin in Dallas, Texas. The prime contractor for the GEM-T missile is Raytheon Company in Andover, Massachusetts. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require approximately 25 U.S. Government and 40 contractor representatives to travel to Bahrain for an extended period for equipment de-processing/fielding, system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Patriot Missile System and Related Support Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-37

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to United Arab Emirates of four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.728 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested to buy up to four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE). Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design, U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics, sustainment and program support. The estimated cost is $2.728 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important ally which has been, and continues to be,' a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modem systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance the UAE's capability to meet current and future aircraft and missile threats. The UAE will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. The UAE will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 System will be Raytheon Corporation, Andover, Massachusetts, and Lockheed-Martin, Dallas, Texas. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed program will require additional contractor representatives to travel to the UAE. It is not expected additional U.S. Government personnel will be required in country for an extended period of time.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Air Force Research Laboratory completes successful shoot down of air-launched missiles

88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published May 03, 2019

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Research Laboratory Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator Advanced Technology Demonstration Program successfully completed a major program milestone with the successful surrogate laser weapon system shoot down of multiple air launched missiles in flight, April 23.

The SHiELD program is developing a directed energy laser system on an aircraft pod that will serve to demonstrate self-defense of aircraft against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.

"This critical demonstration shows that our directed energy systems are on track to be a game changer for our warfighters," said Dr. Kelly Hammett, AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate director.

During the series of tests at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility, the Demonstrator Laser Weapon System , acting as a ground-based test surrogate for the SHiELD system, was able to engage and shoot down several air launched missiles in flight.

The demonstration is an important step of the SHiELD system development, by validating laser effectiveness against the target missiles. The final SHiELD system, however, will be much smaller and lighter, as well as ruggedized for an airborne environment.

"The successful test is a big step ahead for directed energy systems and protection against adversarial threats," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander. "The ability to shoot down missiles with speed-of-light technology will enable air operation in denied environments. I am proud of the AFRL team advancing our Air Force's directed energy capability."

High Energy Laser technology has made significant gains in performance and maturity due to continued research and development by AFRL and others in the science and technology ecosystem. It is considered to be a game changing technology that will bring new capabilities to the warfighter.

For more information about the Air Force Research Laboratory, visit www.afresearchlab.com.



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May 3, 2019

News

By Jim Garamone

Defense.gov

DOD Official Details Continuing Chinese Military Buildup

WASHINGTON -- China continues to build up its military to challenge and supplant the United States as the preeminent power in the Indo-Pacific region, the assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs said today.

Randall G. Schriver briefed the Pentagon's press corps following the release of the new China Military Power Report. He said China continues to challenge U.S. military advantages, such as America's ability to deploy and sustain forces anywhere in the world and its unparalleled alliance system.

China is investing money and time into capabilities and capacity, Schriver said.

"Our 2019 report finds that in the coming decades, China seeks to become both prosperous and powerful, and the report notes that China has a stated goal of becoming a world class military by 2049," he said.

China Building Military

China is continuing to build its missile force, Schriver said, and it has begun building a second aircraft carrier. The nation is sailing two new cruisers and is building more, he said. And China's air force has flown its J-20 fifth-generation aircraft, Schriver said. The aircraft has stealth characteristics and many U.S. officials have said they believe it may contain technologies stolen from U.S. manufacturers.

Chinese conventional forces are moving to improve training and evaluation of ground, sea and air forces, he said. Newly published doctrine "emphasizes realistic and joint training across all domains and tasks the PLA to prepare for conflict aimed at 'strong military opponents,'" Schriver said.

China is emphasizing civil-military integration with civilian companies entering the military market to achieve greater efficiencies, innovation and growth, he said.

The report also touches on Chinese espionage, including cybertheft, targeted investment in foreign companies with crucial technologies and its exploitation of access that Chinese nationals may have to U.S. technology. "In 2018, we saw specific efforts targeting such areas as aviation technologies and anti-submarine warfare technologies," Schriver said.

DOD officials have said they expect China will increase its military footprint, both in and out of the Indo-Pacific region. "We believe China will seek to establish additional bases overseas as well as points for access," Schriver said. He cited Chinese desires to establish military bases in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.

International Status-Seeking

China has been working seriously to bulk up its worldwide status for more than 20 years. China's economy is expanding and the Chinese Communist Party can mandate a strategy unchecked by democratic forces in the nation. Two programs  the "Made in China 2025" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives  point to the path China would like to take to ensure it is the preeminent power in the region.

Schriver said the initiatives have caused concern in many nations that following them would mean a loss of sovereignty if the nations by into the Chinese strategy. "Chinese leaders have softened their rhetoric and sought to rebrand [the initiatives], however the fundamental goals of these programs have not changed," he said.

The report covers Chinese efforts in "influence operations"  Chinese efforts to influence media, culture, business, academia in other countries to accept the Chinese way.

China continues efforts to claim the South China Sea and East China Sea. They continue to claim land on its borders with India and Bhutan.

China's attitude toward Taiwan continues to be threatening as they use elements of persuasion and coercion against the island," Schriver said. He said this is destabilizing to the entire region.

The U.S. National Defense Strategy says the United States is in competition with China, but that does not preclude the United States and China from working together when the interests align, Schriver said. "We continue to pursue a constructive results-oriented relationship between our countries, and it is an important part of our regional strategy to have stable, constructive relations with China and a relationship which mitigates the risk of incidents or accidents."

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US alarmed as China flexes military muscle with bases

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:22AM

The United States has expressed disquiet over Chinese increasing military activities, including the deployment of submarines to the Arctic Ocean as well as the construction of military bases around the world.

The US Defense Department released a report on Thursday, saying Beijing was planning to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in its trillion-dollar project, known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The initiative would reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects for international trade in an effort to counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies.

The US report said China, which currently has just one overseas military base in Djibouti, is believed to be planning others, including possibly in Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower.

"China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries," it said.

The report also said the target locations for such bases could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

The report was issued as Beijing and Washington are locked in dispute over US military presence in resource-rich South China Sea.

The US has been taking sides with several of China's neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, stepping up military presence under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

China has constantly warned Washington that close military encounters by air and naval forces of the two countries in the region could easily trigger miscalculation or even accidents at sea or in air.

'China's activities reaching the Arctic'

The Pentagon report noted that China has been accelerating military activities in the Arctic as well.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The eight-nation Arctic Council will convene a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday with the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Chinese military presence in the region.

The expansion of submarine forces is just one element of China's broad and costly modernization of its military, according to US experts, who believe the move is largely aimed at deterring any action by US armed forces.

The Pentagon assessment also mentioned Beijing's military actives in Taiwan, the self-ruled island, over which Beijing asserts sovereignty.

China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing's leadership pursues their reunification.

In 1979, the US adopted the "One China" policy, but under the administration of US President Donald Trump, it has courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China.

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful "reunification."

Beijing has accused Washington of making "a series of moves" on Taiwan and "other issues" that harm China's sovereignty.

The self-ruled island is only one of a growing number of sticking points in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war initiated by the US as well as an aggressive campaign it launched against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei's equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company's 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the law calling the bans unconstitutional.

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China May Create Bases in Pakistan to Protect Silk Road, Pentagon Report Claims

Sputnik News

11:24 03.05.2019

The Belt and Road Initiative, which was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe; the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt deals with Russia as well as countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Beijing may create more military bases across the world to protect its investments in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments.

With China currently having just one overseas military base in Djibouti, target locations could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific, according to the report.

"China's advancement of projects such as the 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative will probably drive military overseas basing through a perceived need to provide security for OBOR projects," the document pointed out.

The document singled out China's push to "establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries".

In March, Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the US White House's national security adviser urged the Italian government not to participate in China's BRI, calling it a "vanity project".

Shortly after, however, Italy became the first major Western country to support the BRI, which stipulates promoting investment in projects that would link dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe through the creation of infrastructure networks similar in purpose to the ancient Silk Road trading routes.

During a recent BRI Forum in Beijing, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaie, in turn, said that major EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding on BRI as a group rather than as individual states.

As for the Pentagon report, it comes at a time of ongoing Indian-Pakistani tensions, which escalated after the 14 February Pulwama terrorist attack in which at least 40 Indian security personnel were killed.

Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and New Delhi accused Islamabad of harbouring and sponsoring the Islamist terrorist outfit, a charge which Islamabad denies.

 Sputnik

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Pentagon Warns of Chinese Military Spying

By Carla Babb May 03, 2019

China's two decades of military modernization has paid off big in missile development and domains like cyber and space, but the Pentagon says China is still relying on spying on others to steal the latest military technology.

"China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals' access to these technologies, as well as ... computer intrusions and other illicit approaches," according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Thursday.

Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters Friday at the Pentagon that China frequently uses tactics that fall just short of armed conflict to reach its goal of becoming a "world-class military by 2049," from threats and coercion against media and academia to jamming systems against ships in international waters in the South China Sea.

The report said China has used these illicit approaches to acquire military-grade technologies from the United States that ranged from antisubmarine to aviation equipment.

He said the Chinese were "very aggressive" with modernization and had made "significant progress" in their ballistic and cruise missile development, but he stopped short of calling Beijing an adversary.

"We certainly don't see conflict with China, and it doesn't preclude cooperation where interests align," Schriver told reporters.

Arctic

The report also shows increased Chinese activities in the Arctic region.

Arctic states have expressed concerns that Beijing could use its presence there to strengthen China's military reach, mirroring worries about Chinese military presence in Africa and Latin America following its Belt and Road economic initiative.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report notes.

The Pentagon report noted that European allies like Denmark have expressed concern about Chinese proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station in Greenland.

Concentration camps

Schriver also noted the U.S. military's concern that the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission has taken sole authority of the People's Armed Police, China's primary force for internal security.

He accused China of imprisoning close to 3 million Chinese Muslims in "concentration camps" that "erode the rules-based order." He later defended his description, which harks back to the Jewish concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as appropriate, given the magnitude of the Chinese detentions and the goals of the camps based on public comments from the Chinese government.

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Seoul Confirms North Korea Tests Short-Range Missile

By William Gallo May 03, 2019

North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest small-scale provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the missile toward the east from the eastern town of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

No other details about the missile were immediately available, but a short-range missile would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirt the line of moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang said. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.

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India Considers Purchasing Russian Ka-31 Helicopters in $500 Mln Deal - Reports

Sputnik News

12:17 03.05.2019(updated 12:42 03.05.2019)

India recently also started formal negotiations with Russia to purchase 21 MiG-29 fighter jets, worth over $800 million, to bolster the ageing fleet of the world's fourth-largest air force. In January, India approached Russia for 18 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft, worth $700 million.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Having concluded multi-billion dollar deals since last October, the Indian government is likely to begin dwelling upon purchasing 10 Kamov-31 helicopters from Russia later this month for aircraft carrier operations and deployment on future Gregorivich-class warships.

The Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopter is based on the Ka-27 (Ka-28) design and its development started in 1987.

"The Defence Ministry is scheduled to take up over $500 million proposal for buying around 10 Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control choppers for the aircraft carrier operations and deployment of future warships of the Gregorovich class," reported Indian news agency ANI, citing government sources.

Russia has supplied a total of 14 Kamov-31 helicopters to the Indian Navy since 2003. The first four were inducted into the Indian Navy in April 2003 and the second batch in 2005.

The helicopter is powered by 2  Isotov TV3-117VMAR turboshafts generating 1633 kW (2217.7 hp) each driving contra rotating rotors, which allow the helicopters to be stowed on board frigate-sized ships.

Currently stationed on INS Talwar class frigates, Ka-31s will be based on the INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy's new aircraft carrier. The radar antenna of the helicopter can be folded and stowed under the fuselage during cruising.

The Koryo-A radar, produced by Phazotron NIIR Corporation, gives the Ka-31 the ability to monitor airspace all around it, up to a radius of 250 km. The radar detects and tracks aerial as well as surface threats using an electro-mechanically steered antenna. It can pin-point the geographical locations of the threats with co-ordinates, allowing data linked surface ships (Talwar class frigates, INS Vikramaditya) or airborne aircraft (MiG-29Ks operating from INS Vikramaditya) to engage the targets without turning on their own sensors and giving their position away.

Amid the backdrop of last year's annual summit in October 2018, which witnessed India and Russia sealing a $5.43 billion deal for S-400 air missile and defence systems, the old friends have inked defence deals worth over $7 billion, including the sale of submarines, short range air defence systems, frigates, and assault rifles by Russia to the Indian Armed Forces.

 Sputnik

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No looming war between US, Iran: Zarif

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he believed no military confrontation between Iran and the US is imminent and stressed that accidents like lack of communication with Iranian forces controlling the Strait of Hormuz could lead to conflict.

The Independent's journalist, Negar Mortazavi, released Thursday a summary of her recent talk with the Iranian foreign minister at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In the conversation, Zarif sees no possible war between the US and Iran as imminent but says that the lack of communication between the American ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf with Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) which is in charge of controlling the strategic strait on Iranian side might result in military confrontation.

IRGC, a major part of Iran's official Armed Forces, was listed by the US on terrorist organizations.

Zarif tried to highlight the consequences of such move when it comes to the oil lifeline in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian minister described lack of communication with IRGC as an 'accident' the other instance of which was the detention of US Navy boats in the Persian Gulf in 2016.

The incidents, however, were handled by Zarif and his then American counterpart John Kerry who were in touch directly following the nuclear deal that was signed with other permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Foreign Minister Zarif had also told the media in the past, that he had the authority to make prisoners swap deals with the US, but the swap would not include Europeans, the Independent added.

Commenting on his interview with the Fox News in New York, Zarif argued that speaking to the other side is sometimes important, according to the Independent.

In the interview, the Iranian foreign minister warned about the consequences of the 'B-Team' efforts, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, US National Security Advisor John Bolton, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and United Arab Emirates Prince Bin Zayed who are trying to exert a great influence on Trump's policies toward Iran.

9156**1424

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Iran's missile program 'national defense issue': Envoy to UN

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New York, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations reaffirmed that the country's missile program is non-negotiable and Tehran will not retreat from its stance on the program as it is a matter of national defense.

Responding to a visit by the US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, to New York for mobilizing UN Security Council members against Iran's missile program, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said Thursday, 'In a statement we announced our stances. Our missiles are by no means subject to the Resolution 2231. The Resolution that was proposed and ratified by the US itself and other countries stipulates that only the missiles that are designed for carrying nuclear warheads are forbidden.'

The permanent representative added that the Iranian missiles are not meant for such a purpose and Tehran has repeatedly announced and clarified the issue.

The 14 reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are evidences that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, Takht-e Ravanchi said.

The issue raised by Washington is not legitimate at all, he said adding that this was the US that had to explain why it withdrew from the nuclear deal and violated the Resolution 2231, as the deal was a part of the Resolution and Washington's pull-out from the deal was a blatant violation of the Resolution 2231.

'In the statement the US Secretary of State has issued on the visit of the official to New York, the Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal have not been mentioned, and this is evidence that they are misleading others, but they will get nowhere,' he said.

Iran's stances are absolutely clear, he said adding that the country is in contact with the opposed members of the Security Council.

'The missile issue is a matter of national defense, and therefore, it will not be negotiable, and there is no contradiction between the program and Resolution 2231 whatsoever,' the Iranian permanent representative to the UN said.

Hook has convened a meeting with the Security Council members on Iran's missile program.

9156**1424

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US imposes sanctions on Iran enriched uranium exports, but renews nuclear work waivers

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 08:19PM

The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium but at the same time renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with the Islamic Republic on civil nuclear program.

"Any involvement in transferring enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium will now be exposed to sanctions. The United States has been clear that Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the State Department announced in statement issued on Friday.

Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran is limited to keeping 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent. As part of the JCPOA, Iran is allowed to sell any enriched uranium above that threshold on international markets in exchange for natural uranium, with Russia a key player.

The waivers, due to expire Saturday, are extended for 90 days, the State Department statement added.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the JCPOA, reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

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FM Zarif rules out US-Iran war, but says 'accidents' possible

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 02:40PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismisses the likelihood of a war between Iran and the United States but says certain "accidents" might ignite a military confrontation.

In a recent interview with the British online newspaper Independent at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Zarif said although he did not think a war between Iran and the US was imminent, "accidents can happen" that then spiral into a "military conflict."

In response to a question about the nature of such accidents, Zarif gave the example of a recent move by US President Donald Trump to put Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on its blacklist of foreign "terrorist" organizations.

A lack of "vital communication" between the IRGC forces and ships going through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where most of the world's oil exporters pass through, can easily lead to conflict.

The United States in April officially registered the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization," according to a notice published on the website of the US Federal Register.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) slammed the US government as "supporter of terrorism," designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization."

In a statement, the Iranian top security council said the designation came as a "reciprocal measure" against US President Trump's "illegal and unwise" move to blacklist the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

In a meeting with IRGC personnel and their family members in the capital Tehran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the recent US decision is rooted in America's "rancor" against the force, which has been in the forefront of the fight against enemies.

"The IRGC is the vanguard both on the field confronting the enemy on [Iranian] borders and even several thousand kilometers away [in Syria] as well as on the political battleground against the enemy," the Leader said, adding that Americans hold a grudge against the force for that reason.

Also in his interview, the top Iranian diplomat mentioned an incident happened in the Persian Gulf in January 2016 when the IRGC naval forces arrested 10 US sailors after their patrol boats entered Iran's territorial waters.

Zarif said that "a direct line of communication" between him and his US counterpart at the time John Kerry let the two top diplomats control the situation and secure the quick release of American sailors, adding that no such communication channel exists today.

"So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," he said.

On January 13, 2016, the IRGC announced that ten US Marines, who had drifted into the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and had been taken into Iranian custody, had been released after Americans apologized for the incident.

When asked about Zarif's interview with Fox News, the Iranian foreign minister said he wanted to reach out to Trump's base in American mainstream "because it is important to speak to the other side sometimes".

However, he noted that it was not his first interview with Fox and that he had talked to the channel years ago when he was Iran's ambassador at the United Nations in New York.

In the interview with "FOX NEWS SUNDAY", the top Iranian diplomat said all measures adopted by the administration of President Trump in dealing with Iran conveyed a message that "the United States is not reliable."

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Iran won't let US threaten Persian Gulf Security: FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 10:17AM

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran does not seek to escalate tensions with the United States, but it will not let Washington disrupt the security of Persian Gulf, the "lifeline of Iran".

"We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation," Zarif said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera TV, which is to be aired on Saturday.

"We have been clear that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are our lifeline. We depend on them for our livelihood, and we want them safe, secure, and free for navigation of all countries, including Iran," he said.

"As we have stated before, Iran won't permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf," the foreign minister added.

The US has vowed to cut Iran's oil exports down to zero, prompting Tehran to warn that it will not allow any other country to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz if Tehran cannot sell its crude.

Last Sunday, Iran's top military commander said Iran wants the strait  through which nearly one-third of all oil traded by sea passes  to remain open and secure, warning that the country will not allow anyone to destabilize the waters.

"As oil and commodities of other countries are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, ours are also moving through it," said Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri.

Iran "will definitely confront anyone who attempts to destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, and if our crude is not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, others' [crude] will not pass either."

The Iranian commander explained, "This does not mean [that we are going to] close the Strait of Hormuz. We do not intend to shut it unless the enemies' hostile acts will leave us with no other option. We will be fully capable of closing it on that day."

The US administration said in a statement on April 22 that buyers of Iranian oil must stop their purchases by May 1 or face sanctions. The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

The US also said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would "more than make up the oil flow difference" to make sure that global markets were not unsettled. The two OPEC members are close Washington allies and firmly back US President Donald Trump's hostile Iran policy.

"We will continue to sell our oil and we will seek customers, and we will always remember those who worked with us during times of difficulty," Zarif said.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani played down Washington's plan to cut Iran's oil sales to zero, saying Tehran has its own ways of selling oil and will keep up its exports despite US pressure.

"America's decision to block and cut Iran's oil exports to zero is wrong and we will not let this decision become operational," Rouhani said during a ceremony commemorating Workers' Week in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has also said that the US administration's hostile attempts to block Iran's oil sales will lead nowhere, and that the country will export "as much crude as it needs and wishes" in defiance of American sanctions.

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Iran to respond to threats made by other OPEC members if interests are threatened: Iranian Minister of Petroleum

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:00AM

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has warned that Iran will reply in kind if its interests in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are threatened.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organization seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh said on Thursday.

The petroleum minister made the comments after a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo who had arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to participate in the 24th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition.

"I told Barkindo that OPEC is threatened by the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organization may collapse," said Zangeneh following the meeting.

Barkindo said that the organization seeks to reach decisions collectively.

"We have seen numerous times in the past how one-sided decisions made by state-members have failed to be effectual. The same will happen again this time," said the OPEC chief.

OPEC and its allies are set to meet in June to decide on any supply changes.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member-states, have however pledged to step up oil production to substitute Iranian barrels in line with the US policy of zeroing out Iran's oil exports.

The US announced last month that it would not renew waivers that allowed Tehran's eight largest customers to purchase its oil. The exemptions expired on May 1.

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of exaggerating their ability to replace the country's oil.

Countries affected by US sanctions have so far opposed the expected move, citing tight market conditions and high fuel prices that are harming oil-dependent industries.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US decision to end sanctions waivers had even angered Washington's allies.

"People are not happy. China is not happy, Turkey is not happy, Russia is not happy. France is not happy. US allies are not happy that this is happening and they say that they will find ways of resisting it," said Zarif.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned of the repercussions of the American sanctions on Iran, saying they negatively affect the entire region, including his own country.

Regarding the expiration of the waivers, the top Turkish diplomat said his country cannot quickly abandon Iranian oil.

"The refineries in Turkey are not adapted for Iraqi oil," said Cavusoglu.

Last week, China slammed the US sanctions, saying the country's dealings with Tehran were in accordance with international law, "reasonable and legitimate".

Bejing also warned that Washington's decision would "intensify turmoil" in the Middle East and in the international energy market.

On Monday, Chinese tabloid newspaper the Global Times said China and India could work together "to form a buyers' bloc" to counter US sanctions on Iran.

Opposition parties in India have also urged the government to push the US to reconsider the Iranian oil ban, describing the sanctions as a violation of India's sovereignty.

Earlier this week, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj accosted her US counterpart Mike Pompeo, saying immediate arrangements for alternative supplies to replace Iranian oil were "not possible,"

South Korea and Japan have also sought negotiations with the US, calling on Washington to backtrack on its decision.

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Turkey Says Unable To Quickly Diversify Away From Iranian Oil

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Turkey says it will not be able to diversify oil imports quickly after the United States ended sanction waivers on purchases from Iran, and Ankara continues to urge Washington to reconsider its decision.

"It does not seem possible for us to diversify the sources of the oil we import in a short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on May 2.

Turkey has reduced its heavy reliance on Iranian crude in the past year  traditionally some 1 million barrels a day --- but Ankara said its refineries were not suited to handling oil from some other countries.

"We have to renew the technology of our refineries when we buy oil from third countries. That would mean the refineries remaining shut for some time. This, of course, has a cost," he added.

The statement comes a day after the United States told international buyers to stop oil purchases or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers for eight countries to continue buying Iranian oil to ease disruptions on their own economies.

Washington has encouraged countries to find alternative sources and has pressed Persian Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to export more oil to meet potential shortages arising from Iranian sanctions and prevent a spike in prices.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on April 26 said Turkey was working to persuade Washington to allow oil refiner Tupras to continue crude imports from Iran.

"Tupras is following the subject closely. The characteristics of their refineries are suitable for Iranian oil. We are trying to convince the U.S.," Aksoy said.

Turkey and China are the only two countries so far to have expressed a need to continue substantial purchases of Iranian oil. Others, such as India, Japan, and South Korea, have indicated they will comply with U.S. demands.

China last month said it opposed "long-armed jurisdictions implemented by the United States" and would continue "rational and legal" cooperation with Iran.

The United States has said it wants to cut Iranian oil exports to zero as it looks to pressure Tehran for what it has called "malign" activities in the region, including support for extremists and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the accusations.

With reporting by Reuters, CNBC, and TRT

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-says- unable-to-quickly-diversify-away-from- iran-oil/29918502.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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State Dept Threatens Sanctions for Helping Expand Iran's Nuclear Power Plant

Sputnik News

23:59 03.05.2019(updated 00:38 04.05.2019)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States may impose sanctions against actors providing assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant starting on May 4, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a press release on Friday.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable," the release said.

Iran reached a deal with Russia on the first stage of the Bushehr project  the Bushehr 1  in 1992. Russia and Iran signed an agreement in 2014 to build the second and third reactors for the Bushehr plant.

The press release says that the United States will no longer permit storage for Iran of heavy water in excess of limits related to its nuclear program.

"We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the release said on Friday.

US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also said that the United States calls on Iran to stop all proliferation-sensitive actives and warned Tehran that transferring enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the release said. "Activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable."

 Sputnik

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US Grants Shortened Waivers to Iranian Nuclear Power Sites - Report

Sputnik News

23:53 03.05.2019(updated 23:55 03.05.2019)

The Trump administration has decided to renew waivers for Iran's limited nuclear power program, albeit on terms half as long as before. However, it has also revoked other waivers allowing disposal of excess nuclear material, putting pressure on Tehran to end all uranium enrichment to stay within the international deal signed in 2015.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ended international sanctions against Iran in exchange for its rejection of a nuclear weapons program. The deal, signed by Tehran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, provided for a limited amount of nuclear fuel to be produced by Iran for experimentation and nuclear power, but not of the quality or quantity necessary to produce a nuclear bomb.

While Washington unilaterally left that agreement last May, it has permitted nations that remained in the deal to engage in nonproliferation activities and nuclear research at three sites in Iran  Fordow, Bushehr and Arak  without facing sanctions. Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Ford announced on Friday that these waivers would be renewed, but this time only for 90 days instead of 180 days, as they had been before.

However, that deal has come at a price: Washington has also revoked two waivers allowing Iran to send its excess heavy water to Oman and to export excess enriched uranium, a practice it used to remain within the strict limits of the JCPOA. In turn, Tehran received from its trade partners "yellowcake" uranium, a type of the radioactive element with a much lower concentration than enriched fuel.

"We are tightening restrictions on Iran's nuclear program as part of our pressure campaign," US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Bloomberg for a Friday article. "Iran cannot have any path to a nuclear weapon."

Two of the three facilities given waivers have relationships with foreign countries; the heavy water reactor at Arak is being redesigned with Chinese help, according to the JCPOA; the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was built with help from the Soviet Union, and today Russia supplies enriched uranium for the plant and takes away its spent fuel rods. The third site, Fordow, is a uranium enrichment facility. Its inclusion in the waivers has drawn heavy criticism because of the potential for the facility to be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is derived from uranium.

While US President Donald Trump and hawkish associates such as National Security Adviser John Bolton have pressed for a total cessation of all Iranian nuclear fuel refinement, the US State Department is forced to navigate a difficult and narrow path between, on the one hand, constraining Iranian production so as to avoid the perceived danger of an Iranian nuclear program, and on the other, pushing Tehran into such a desperate situation that it departs from all cooperation with the JCPOA powers and resumes its pre-2015 activities  something it's threatened to do more than once in the last year.

"Our leadership is not comfortable with any mechanism that allows uranium enrichment," Ford said. "We don't want to give Iran a supposed excuse to continue to enrich."

 Sputnik

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Zarif Warns Iran-US War Possible If 'Accident' Spirals Into Military Conflict

Sputnik News

17:08 03.05.2019(updated 20:01 03.05.2019)

Tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to mount amid US threats to bring Iranian oil exports down "to zero" and Iranian officials' warnings that the country may close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if its security was threatened.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe that a war between Iran and the US was imminent or inevitable, but does not exclude the possibility of some "accident" 'spiraling' into a military conflict.

Speaking to The Independent, the foreign minister indicated that the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 percent of the world's oil supplies pass, may be the spark that could ignite a war, particularly in the event of a lack of communication between the US military and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with each side recently labeling the other as "terrorists," in this narrow passageway.

Zarif also recalled a January 2016 incident in which two US Navy vessels entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and were detained by the IRGC. Here it was possible to avoid escalation thanks to the existence of a direct line of communication between Zarif and then-Secretary of State John Kerry. "But today there is no such line of communication between the Iranian foreign minister and US Secretary of State. So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," The Independent noted.

Zarif spent much of last week in the US, making appearances on US media and speaking to policy experts about the dangers of another war in the Middle East. The trip included an interview with Fox News, during which the foreign minister said he felt President Trump himself had no interest in war, but that some of his officials and US allies, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Prince Bin Zayed, were interested in "dragging the United States into a conflict."

In a separate event last week, Zarif warned that Iran would continue selling its oil abroad despite US threats and warned that Washington should prepare to face "consequences" if it took "the crazy measure" of trying to prevent Iran from selling its oil.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and the United States took a turn for the worse in May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and began slapping Iran with several rounds of sanctions, including energy restrictions aimed at bringing Iran's oil exports down "to zero", as well as banking restrictions and other measures meant to cripple the country's economy.

In late 2018, the US granted eight major importers of Iranian oil with temporary waivers exempting them from the possible US secondary sanctions. The wavers formally expired on Thursday, with the US Treasury giving no indication of any plans to extend them. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have promised to increase oil production to substitute Iranian oil, with Iran warning that its fellow OPEC members' policy would not be left unanswered.

 Sputnik

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Iran Vows Response to OPEC's 'Threats', Warns Organisation of 'Collapse'

Sputnik News

15:54 03.05.2019

The warning comes after Washington claimed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member states, promised late last month to increase oil production to substitute Iranian crude, in line with the US policy of bringing Tehran's oil exports "to zero".

Iran will respond in kind if its interests in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are damaged, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said after his talks with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organisation seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh underscored.

He added that he had told Barkindo that OPEC, in turn, is damaged by "the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organisation may collapse".

Additionally, Zangeneh accused "certain" OPEC members of exaggerating their capacities to compensate for any shortfall in the oil supply caused by a tightening of US sanctions on Iran, aimed to zero out Iran's oil exports.

"As I have already said, the US wishes to cut Iran's oil exports to zero but this is a pious hope. Any independent market expert knows that a surplus of capacities declared by certain countries is exaggeration and overstatement", Zangeneh told the opening of the 24th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran on Wednesday.

In late April, Zangeneh did not mince words and berated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for overstating their oil capacities.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, for his part, noted that he did not see any need for Riyadh to raise oil output in response to the tougher anti-Iranian sanctions, but added that Saudi Arabia would supply "more oil if asked to by its customers".

This came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recalled that Washington would not renew any exemptions from US sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil, and that he had received a commitment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE ensuring that oil supplies will remain stable.

The six-month waivers from oil sanctions against Iran were granted by the US in early November 2018 to Greece, Italy, Taiwan, China, India, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea.

The move followed the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

After that, Washington has repeatedly stressed that it wants all importers to eventually cut their oil sales from Iran to zero, in what the US claims will have a significant impact on the Islamic Republic's economy.

 Sputnik

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China, Turkey, India Silent on Buying Iran's Oil as US Ban Begins

By Michael Lipin, Anjana Pasricha, Hilmi Hacaloglu May 03, 2019

Iran's biggest likely remaining oil customers, China, Turkey and India, were silent about purchases of Iranian crude Thursday as a total U.S. ban on such trade took effect, leaving their next moves a mystery.

The Trump administration was equally silent about what action it might take if any of the three countries continues to purchase Iranian oil after Thursday, with no statements on the subject issued during the day by the departments of State or Treasury.

A six-month grace period granted by the United States for China, Turkey, India and five other governments to reduce their Iranian oil imports to zero expired Wednesday. In an April 22 statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said no nation would receive any further exemptions or waivers from U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's oil industry last November. The sanctions are part of a U.S. bid to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal to end its alleged nuclear weapons program and other malign behaviors.

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful and it intends to keep exporting oil, its main revenue source, in defiance of the U.S. sanctions.

Washington has been encouraging Iran's oil customers to switch to other major oil producers such as Gulf Arab nations that have pledged to keep energy markets appropriately supplied. Pompeo also has said the United States will enforce its unilateral ban on Iran's oil trade and warned that paying Iran for its crude entails "risks" that will "not  be worth the benefits," a reference to the possibility of purchasers facing U.S. secondary sanctions.

Turkey

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said diversifying Ankara's oil sources in a short time "does not seem possible."

Cavusoglu said Turkish refineries that have been processing Iranian crude are capable of handling oil from Iraq but not from many other nations, whom he did not name. He said Turkey would need to upgrade the technology of its refineries in order to import oil from those other countries, requiring the refineries to be shut down for a period of time.

"This would have a cost. However you look at it, the unilateral decision made by the U.S. is adversely affecting everyone," Cavusoglu said. "The U.S. should review its decisions."

The top Turkish diplomat did not say whether Ankara will buy Iranian oil in future.

But Turkey has been significantly reducing its reliance on Iranian imports since the start of the U.S. sanctions waiver. Data from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority show the country imported an average of 209,000 tons of Iranian crude per month from November through February, the first four months of the waiver period. It had been importing an average of 701,000 tons per month in the prior 10 months, accounting for around one-fifth of its total oil imports for the period.

China

China, Iran's biggest oil customer, made no comment on Thursday's expiry of the six-month U.S. waiver for buying Iranian crude. But its initial response to the U.S. decision not to extend the waiver was similar to that of Turkey. In an April 24 news briefing, Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing also opposes the unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdictions" of the United States. He also urged Washington not to undermine what he called Beijing's lawful and legitimate "cooperation" with Iran.

India

India also did not comment Thursday. In an April 23 tweet, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said New Delhi has a plan to maintain an "adequate" supply of crude to Indian refineries, adding: "There will be additional supplies from other major oil-producing countries."

Pradhan did not name those countries or say whether the additional supplies would completely replace crude from Iran, which had been India's third biggest supplier a year ago.

Indian media have said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj appealed to Pompeo in an April 27 phone call for New Delhi to have more time to import Iranian oil without being hit by U.S. secondary sanctions. Swaraj was quoted as calling for flexibility in the U.S. position because India is in the midst of a general election and wants the next government to make decisions about whom to buy oil from.

China and India had been reducing their dependence on Iranian oil before the end of the U.S. waiver period. An April 30 report by Reuters showed both nations significantly cut their Iranian crude imports in the January to March quarter compared to the same period a year before, with China making a 28% reduction and India a 40% reduction in imported barrels per day.

What will the three do?

Frank Verrastro, a Washington-based energy analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told VOA Persian he expects further reductions in China's purchases of Iranian oil.

"They have been increasing purchases of similar-quality Saudi oil as well as looking at alternative supplies from the U.S., other Mideast nations and Russia," Verrastro said in a Tuesday email.

But Verrastro said Beijing also may try to keep importing some Iranian crude in ways that bypass the U.S. financial system and sanctions regime. He said China could barter with Iran, enable Iran to repay loans with oil, or make non-U.S. dollar purchases of Iranian crude.

Indian strategic affairs analyst Manoj Joshi of New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation told VOA the U.S. ban on Iranian oil exports presents India not just with an economic challenge but also a foreign policy one.

"It puts us in a very awkward spot," Joshi said in a Thursday interview, noting the move will hurt India's ties with Iran. "The U.S. may be our partner, but we cannot have a congruence of interests in everything. When there are no options, what do you do?"

Turkey is likely to wait and see what Iran's bigger customers China and India do before deciding whether to keep importing Iranian oil, according to Hakki Uygur, acting director of Ankara's Center of Iranian Studies. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Turkish, he said that if China and India maintain their recent levels of imports, Turkey may do the same.

"But if the U.S. sanctions are enforced strictly, Iraq would be one of our most important secondary sources of oil," Uygur said.

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service. Anjana Pasricha contributed from New Delhi and Hilmi Hacaloglu contributed from Istanbul.

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Five terrorists killed in Pakistan near Iran border

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 3, IRNA -- Pakistani security forces have killed five terrorists in two separate operations in Pakistani province of Balochistan near Iranian border, local media reported.

The security forces conducted operations in Khuzdar and Turbat areas of Balohcistan province of Pakistan.

The police also recovered radio sets, transmitters, GPS devices, explosives and huge cache of arms from the terrorists.

Pakistani province of Balochistan has faced a number of security challenges in recent months, with security personnel in the province often being targeted by roadside improvised explosive device (IED).

Last month at least 14 security officials were offloaded from buses and were shot dead by terrorists on the Makran Coastal Highway.

In the same month 22 people were killed and several others injured in a terrorist attack in Quetta targeting Shia community.

272**1416

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South Korea Approves $6.3 Billion Deal for New Warships

Sputnik News

21:58 03.05.2019

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has approved the construction of three more KDX-III Sejong the Great-class destroyers, along with three more KSS-III diesel-electric attack submarines. The procurement is worth $6.3 billion.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee, a division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, decided on Tuesday to OK the $6.3 billion deal, which will enhance South Korea's ballistic missile defenses above the waves and its offensive capabilities below. The vessels are expected to join the Republic of Korea Navy by 2028, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 11,000-ton Sejong the Great-class destroyers carry the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system, giving them upgraded air defenses as well as ballistic missile defense. The Diplomat notes the ships, roughly comparable to the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, will carry the SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missile and SM-3 Block IB missie, both of which are made by US defense giant Raytheon and are used for different types of anti-air defense.

While three of the destroyers have been in service with the navy since 2008, the KSS-III submarines, also called the Jangbogo-III-class, are new and of an indigenous design.

The first boat, dubbed "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho," only put to sea for the first time in September 2018, Sputnik reported. The 3,450-ton sub is Seoul's first ballistic missile submarine and by far the largest of South Korea's 18 submarines, sporting 10 vertical launch tubes that can carry either ballistic missiles or cruise missiles.

However, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho is still being tested and won't be delivered to the navy until at least 2020. That hasn't stopped Seoul, though, which hopes to have all four KSS-III subs in service by 2025.

 Sputnik

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Damascus won't let Turkey control even one centimeter of Syrian territory: Deputy FM

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 04:54PM

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad says the Damascus government "will not allow Turkey to control even one centimeter of the Syrian territory," stressing that Ankara should know that "Damascus will not accept the survival of militant groups" in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

"The Damascus government's resolution is to liberate every inch of the Syrian territory, and Idlib is no exception," Mekdad said in an exclusive interview with the Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network.

He added, "The Turks and others should know that the Syrian government is determined to recover all of Syrian soil. Turkey must also understand that its support for terrorism and its occupation of the Syrian territory will not guarantee security."

The high-ranking Syrian official then advised US-sponsored Kurdish militant groups active in northern Syria to stop being used as a pawn by Washington, and to prove loyalty to their homeland.

Mekdad told the pro-government and Arabic-language al-Watan daily newspaper on November 4 last year that "occupation" forces from Turkey must depart the territories of his conflict-plagued Arab country in order for security and stability to be restored there.

"The Syrian Arab army is the only party that stands against the Turkish occupation of the Syrian territories," he said.

"We believe that these (Kurdish parties) should return to the spirit of citizenship and to believe in their homeland; not to use Americans, Israelis and others against the interests of their native soil," Mekdad said when asked about calls by some Kurdish militant groups in the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stand against Turkish attacks.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister added, "The Syrian army stands with all groups, parties and tribes in order to tackle terrorism for the benefit of Syrian people."

He stated that Syria will eventually emerge victorious over terrorism and its sponsors, and all areas will be liberated from the clutches of Americans, Turks and separatists, thanks to the high motivation and sacrifices made by the Syrian nation and Syrian army.

The senior Syrian official highlighted that the Damascus government cannot trust Turkish assurances, because Ankara's objectives are colonial and expansionist.

"The Ankara government misleads the public opinion inside Turkey and in the (Middle East) region by announcing something but implementing something else," Mekdad commented.



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Militant attempt to shell Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria foiled, no one injured

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 12:46PM

A high-ranking Russia military official says foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants have attempted to shell the country's strategic Hmeimim airbase in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia, but it was successfully foiled.

"On May 2, militants from illegal armed groups, who hold positions near the towns of Qalaat al-Madiq and Bab al-Atika, made another attempt to shell the Hmeimim airbase. Their attempt was repelled. No Russian servicemen were injured, and no damage was done to the facility," Major General Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation, said on Friday.

He added that Takfiri militants had also launched barrages of shells at the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, Handarat town north of Aleppo city, as well as the city of Mahardah and Saklabiya town in Syria's western-central Hama province over the past 24 hours.

Kupchishin said on Wednesday that the Russian military had repelled 12 drone and rocket attacks by terrorists based in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib against Hmeimim airbase and positions of Syrian government forces in Latakia since early April.

Russia Defense ministry rejects reports on death of four soldiers

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry has dismissed media reports that four Russian servicemen had been killed as terrorists shelled an area in Syria's Hama province.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, described the reports as "fake news," stressing that all Russian forces deployed in Syria are well and fulfilling their duties.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other foreign-backed terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russian air cover.

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Military Escalation Continues in Northwest Syria

By Sirwan Kajjo May 03, 2019

Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighboring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA.

The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.

"The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.

"This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to northwestern Syria, it's only Russia who calls the shots," Abdulrahman added.

Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.

Russia has been backing the Syrian regime since 2015, helping government forces and allied militias recapture rebel-held cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Damascus suburbs.

Idlib is under the control of a former al-Qaida affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The Syrian province is the last stronghold of rebel forces battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. stance

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, the U.S. has twice carried out airstrikes against Syrian regime targets, punishing Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus and elsewhere.

The U.S., which has led a coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) terror group in eastern Syria, does not have any military presence in northwestern Syria, including Idlib. In the past, however, U.S. officials did voice concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of foreign fighters, including al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, in the province but cautioned against full-scale military operations, maintaining that doing so would lead to a humanitarian crisis, as the province is home to 3 million people.

"Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaida affiliates in the world right now," Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said this week during remarks at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

"We have very limited insights as to what's going on," he added.

Idlib is one of several de-escalation zones in Syria that were created in 2017 after trilateral talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran to try to prevent further escalation among warring parties.

U.S. officials have urged Russia and the Syrian regime to comply with their commitments in Idlib, which were to ensure that the zones remain free of escalation.

"The violence must end," Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement this week. "The United States reiterates that any escalation in violence in northwest Syria will result in the destabilization of the region."

Turkey's role

Turkey and Russia reached an agreement last September that prevented a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border. Turkey assured Russia that the local rebel and militant groups, some of which are allied with Ankara, would not assault Russian and Syrian government forces.

However, HTS's advances in Idlib earlier this year, which led to the terror group's consolidation of power over most of the province, has put an already fragile agreement between Russia and Turkey at further risk.

One point of the Turkey-Russia deal was that Ankara would work to disarm and dislodge the jihadist group and other extremists from Idlib. But Turkey has so far been unable to implement that part of the agreement.

"Turkey has two options. The first one is to give in to Russian demands by entering a war with HTS and its allies," said Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian army general who is now a military analyst based in Istanbul.

"But this unlikely because the jihadists are based in a civilian area where more 3 million people live. Turkey cannot enter such a war because it would create a major refugee and humanitarian crisis. That's why Ankara is pushing for a diplomatic solution."

The other option for Turkey, according to Rahal, is to yield the way for its allied Syrian rebel forces to enter an open-ended war with Syrian regime troops.

Military buildup or containment?

Pro-regime Syrian media outlets on Thursday reported a continued military buildup by regime troops near the southern part of Idlib, in what appears to be a final preparation for a ground offensive against rebel forces.

But experts say a major offensive carried out by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is unlikely at this point.

"I don't think the Syrian regime would launch a large-scale ground offensive in Idlib," said Fabrice Balanche, a professor at the University of Lyon in France who is an expert on Syria and follows developments in the country.

He told VOA the ongoing movements of Syrian government forces in south Idlib could be part of the "Syrian regime's policy of containment" to ensure that jihadists would not be able to expand their operations into Idlib's neighboring provinces.

Civilians displaced

The U.N. has blamed the Russia and Syrian regimes for the damage to a medical center and two hospitals resulting from the airstrikes in northwestern Syria this week.

While thousands of civilians have already evacuated from Idlib and its surrounding areas, the U.N. fears that such military activities could result in a massive refugee crisis in the region.

"Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib," said David Swanson, an official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"Between 1 and 28 April, it's estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates," Swanson told AFP.

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China could use force against Taiwan in push for unification: Pentagon

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 16:22:28

Washington, May 2 (CNA) China could use force to push Taiwan into unification or into unification dialogue, the United States Department of Defense said in its annual military report, which was issued Thursday.

In the 2019 report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon said China is likely to pursue a measured approach by demonstrating its readiness to use force or take punitive actions against Taiwan.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) could also conduct a more comprehensive campaign designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or unification dialogue, under China's terms," said the Pentagon report, which focuses on military and security development involving China.

According to the report, Taiwan remains the PLA's main strategic direction and serves as one of the geographic areas the Chinese government identifies as having strategic importance.

"China's overall strategy toward Taiwan continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence," the Pentagon said in the paper.

To force Taiwan into unification or unification dialogue, China is likely to employ an air and missile campaign against Taiwan, the report said.

"China could use missile attacks and precision air strikes against air defense systems, including air bases, radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications facilities, to degrade Taiwan's defenses, neutralize Taiwan's leadership, or break the Taiwan people's resolve," the report said.

Taiwan has much smaller military capabilities than China, and the gap is growing, the Pentagon report said.

According to its estimate, China has 2,600 fighter jets, including 1,100 fighter trainers, while Taiwan has only 450 fighter jets in total.

China also has special mission aircraft, 450 transport planes, 450 bombers and 150 special mission aircraft, while Taiwan deploys only 30 transport planes and 30 special mission aircraft and has no bombers, the Pentagon said.

It said that while China speaks of peaceful unification with Taiwan, the Chinese government has never given up the use of force as an option, and continues to develop and deploy advanced military capabilities, paving the way for a potential military campaign to increase the pressure on Taipei.

Chinese President Xi Jinping () said in a speech on Jan. 2 that China is willing to talk with any party in Taiwan to push forward the process of peaceful unification on the basis of the "one China principle," but said he was making no promises to "renounce the use of force and reserved the option of taking all necessary means" to achieve that end.

In its report, the Pentagon said that in the event of a protracted conflict, China might resort to escalating cyberspace, space, or nuclear activities.

Alternatively, China might choose to fight to a standstill and pursue a political solution, the report said.

The Pentagon said the U.S. supports a peaceful resolution of China-Taiwan issues, and under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), will contribute to peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan Strait by providing defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain adequate self-defense capability.

According to the Pentagon, Washington has announced more than US$15 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010.

The TRA was signed in April 1979 by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a few months after the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

(By Lu Tzu-ying and Frances Huang)

Enditem/pc



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Expert praises Taiwan's plans to purchase F-16V jets

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 22:57:30

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A Taiwanese military expert on Friday hailed the government's decision to purchase F-16V fighter jets from the United States for deployment in eastern Taiwan as a "correct strategic choice."

The F-16V jets are to replace the aging fleet of F-5E fighters at the Chi-Hang Air Force Base in Taitung County, which will be out of the reach of China's S-400 anti-air missiles, Su Tzu-yun (), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA.

Although the S-400 Triumf missile is intended to hit targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers, Su said, they are only capable of covering the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's western half, given the geographic features in eastern Taiwan, which has the Central Mountain Range and Coastal Mountain Range running down most of it.

Under such conditions, Taiwan's Air Force will gain an air supremacy in the region with the F-16V jets, he contended.

Su's comments came after the U.S. Defense Department published a report on Thursday warning that "China's leaders are leveraging China's growing economic, diplomatic and military clout to establish regional preeminence and expand the country's international influence."

Beijing in particular increasingly sees the U.S. as becoming more confrontational and trying to contain China's expanding power, the report said.

According to Su, since Chinese President Xi Jinping () assumed power, China has begun to incorporate its economic might into its military strategy, and it is seeking to further strengthen its military and economic power by building a strong national defense industry.

China's brisk military sales have made it the world's fourth-largest exporter of arms and weapons, Su noted.

Taiwan has officially asked to buy 66 F-16V jet fighters from the United States and Washington is expected to give a response in July.

(By Flor Wang and Yu Kai-hsiang)

Enditem/cs

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Russia 'ready to cooperate' to sell Turkey Su-57 fighter jets: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:25PM

The chief executive of Russia's state-owned hi-tech industrial development conglomerate, Rostec Corporation, says his country is "ready to cooperate" to sell Turkey Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets in case Ankara is excluded from the F-35 fighter jet program with the United States.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Sergey Chemezov told Turkey's official Anadolu news agency on Thursday.

He noted that Moscow would "gladly evaluate" any Turkish suggestions for the localization or transfer of technologies of Su-57 warplanes as well as advanced S-400 air defense missile systems.

"We are ready to support Turkey's desire to develop its own defense industry," Chemezov said.

The Russian official went on to say that Turkey, irrespective of US-led pressure regarding the S-400 deal, is holding a very direct and consistent position concerning implementation of all provisions of the contract.

"We signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries," Chemezov commented.

He also said Russia welcomes Turkey's participation in the development of S-500 missile system.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defense system without equal throughout the world," Chemezov said, stressing that both countries had the capacity to contribute to such a project.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 stealth fighter jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

On April 24, Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country will look elsewhere for an alternative to American F-35 fighter jets if Washington blocks the delivery of its advanced stealth warplanes to Ankara.

"We are already partners in the F-35 manufacturing program, we participate in this project, we have paid the necessary amount. There are currently no problems with this," Cavusoglu said.

"But in the worst case scenario, we will have to satisfy our need in another place, where the best technologies will be offered," he added.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017.

Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

A number of NATO member states have criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

They also argue that the purchase could jeopardize Ankara's acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in US sanctions.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against Ankara in July 2016.

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Turkey says not moving away from NATO with S-400 deal

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:41PM

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar says his country is not distancing itself from the US-led NATO military alliance by acquiring Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Akar said Ankara should not be excluded from the F-35 fighter jet production program over the deal, noting that such a move would put "very serious" burdens on the other partners in the project.

"There is no clause saying 'you will be excluded if you buy S-400s' in this partnership. Excluding us just because any one country wants so would not be in line with justice, laws or rights. This should not happen," Akar said in an interview with broadcaster NTV on Friday.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017. Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

The US and a number of NATO member states criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The US also warned of tough sanctions if Turkey pursued plans to acquire S-400. Ankara, however, said it would not go back on the deal with Russia.

Turkey also proposed to form a working group with the US to determine whether the S-400s pose a threat to the F-35s, but says US officials have not responded to the offer yet.

Akar said that Ankara was attempting to clarify to the US and other partners in the F-35 project that the S-400s would not pose a threat to the F-35s, and added that his country had taken measures to prevent that.

President Erdogan on Tuesday criticized the US for threatening to stall the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to his country, saying "The F-35 project is bound to collapse if it excludes Turkey."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish minister said his country was still assessing the latest US offer to sell Raytheon Co. Patriot missile defense system, which he described as more positive than Washington's previous offers.

Turkey said two weeks ago it expected US President Donald Trump to use an S-400 sanctions waiver, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Ankara could face penalties under a law that calls for sanctions against countries buying military gear from Russia.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against the Ankara government in July 2016.

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Russia Ready to Sell Su-57 to Turkey if Ankara Quits F-35 Programme - Rostec CEO

Sputnik News

20:09 03.05.2019

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.

Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.

 Sputnik

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Russia Hails Turkey's Push for S-500s Amid Ankara's Adherence to S-400 Deal

Sputnik News

17:05 03.05.2019(updated 22:06 03.05.2019)

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara's commitment to its deal with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, adding that Turkey may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.

Sergey Chemezov, head of the Russian state-owned corporation Rostec, has told the Anadolu news agency that Moscow would welcome Turkey's desire to join the project on developing the sophisticated Russian S-500 missile systems.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defence system without equal throughout the world", Chemezov said, adding that Turkey has the necessary technological capacity to contribute to such a project.

Separately, he touched upon the S-400 deal between Russia and Turkey, saying that "we signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries".

The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Ankara's readiness to look into buying the S-500 systems in the future during his interview with Kanal 24 in March.

This followed Erdogan telling the Turkish broadcaster in June 2018 that Ankara is looking forward to the joint production of the S-500s; he said that he had "contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal" on the matter.

The development comes against the background of tensions between Ankara and Washington over Turkey's push to purchase the S-400 systems.

Turkish officials have repeatedly indicated that Ankara has no plans to abandon the S-400 deal, with deliveries due to start in July, despite heavy pressure to do so from Washington.

The US alleges that the S-400 systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards, and pose a possible danger to the F-35's stealth technology. Washington has threatened to withhold the sale of the fighters to Turkey, or to slap Ankara with anti-Russian arms sanctions if it goes through with the S-400 deal.

Meanwhile, Russian Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov disclosed last month that the development of the S-500, the successor to the S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, had reached its final stage.

With the S-500's specs remaining officially classified, the system is reportedly capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away, and it is also believed to be able to track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (approximately Mach 20).

 Sputnik

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Zelenskiy: Relations Between Moscow, Kyiv Far From 'Brotherly'

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that current ties between Kyiv and Moscow cannot be called "brotherly," and the two countries now have little in common outside a shared border.

In a Facebook post on May 2, Zelenskiy reacted to recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Russians and Ukrainians had "lots in common."

"The reality is that today, after [Russia's] annexation of Crimea and [its] aggression in [Ukraine's eastern region of] Donbas, the 'common' thing that is left is the state border: 2,295 kilometers and 400 meters. And Russia must give back to Ukraine control over each millimeter. Only after that can we look for what is still 'common' between us," Zelenskiy wrote.

Zelenskiy said Russian actions such as banning oil exports to Ukraine, holding Ukrainian citizens in Russian jails, issuing passports to residents in territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists "do not bring our countries' relations one bit closer."

"And it is definitely impossible to call such relations 'brotherly,'" Zelenskiy added.

On April 29, Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians "may at the end of the day have common citizenship, as we have lots in common."

Zelenskiy's Facebook statement came a day after Putin signed a decree to fast-track passports and citizenship for people in Ukraine and Soviet-era deportees.

Before that, just days after Zelenskiy's April 21 victory in a presidential runoff, Putin signed another decree that simplified the process to get Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia-backed-separatist-controlled territories in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Putin's moves were decried by Ukraine and the West as an attempt not only to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty but Zelenskiy's electoral win.

Zelenskiy mocked the passport offer, telling Ukrainians not to bother since Russian citizenship means "the right to be arrested for peaceful protests," and "the right not to have free and competitive elections."

Meanwhile, separatists controlling parts of the Donetsk region have announced that they will start accepting applications for Russian citizenship from local residents as of May 3.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy- relations-between-moscow-kyiv-far- from-brotherly/29919040.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, Putin discuss possible new US-Russia nuclear accord: White House

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:06PM

US President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour, discussing the possibility of a new nuclear accord, North Korean denuclearization, Ukraine and the political situation in Venezuela, according to the White House.

Trump and Putin talked on Friday about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear accord between Washington and Moscow or an extension of the current US-Russia strategic nuclear treaty, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The New START treaty, which was signed in 2011, is the only US-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed nuclear weapons.

The accord expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree.

Trump has called the New START treaty a "bad deal" and "one-sided."

"They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well," Sanders said.

The two men also discussed briefly about the report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 US presidential election.

The Mueller probe discussion was "essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," said Sanders.

Trump told Putin "the United States stands with the people of Venezuela" and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, Sanders said.

Sanders also said the two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump canceled a summit meeting with Putin in late 2018 after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on November 25 and arrested 24 sailors.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Kim has yet to agree to a denuclearization deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

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New York, NY, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York, opening at the Museum of the City of New York on May 1, will trace how New York became the most unionized large city in the United States. For more than two centuries, New York City has been an incubator and battleground of movements by and for working people and today, 24 percent of New York City workers are unionized, compared to the national average of 11 percent. This exhibition will examine the social, political, and economic story of the diverse workers and movements in New York through rare documents, artifacts, photographs, archival film footage, and interactive features.



You cannot understand the history of New York City without understanding the history of labor movements here, said Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. Through this exhibition, visitors will learn how labor movements evolved over two centuries in New York, the current state of affairs for workers, and what the future may hold.



"Labor movements have been central to the rise of the city that we know today. It's exciting that City of Workers, City of Struggle explores New Yorks rich labor history, and also gives voice to contemporary labor activists and working people as they face the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing urban economy," said Steven H. Jaffe, curator of the exhibition.



City of Workers, City of Struggle will follow the progression of the labor movement by breaking the history into four segments and then looking toward the future. The exhibition begins with the section In Union There is Strength, which documents the 19th century when there was a shift from the artisan to wage worker through the development of new patterns of work and employment, as well as new technology. This will be exemplified in the exhibition by an enormous wrench used to build the Brooklyn Bridge. It will also include an illustration of the day in 1882 when New Yorks Central Labor Union launched the nations first Labor Day to underscore Labors efforts to secure better pay, hours, and working conditions.



The exhibition moves on to the period of 19001965 with the section Labor Will Rule, looking at an era when New Yorks unions gained monumental power. By 1950, New York City had about one million union members representing at least a quarter of the entire workforce. However, this power was not equally shared as female, African American, Latino, and Asian American New Yorkers still fought obstacles to their presence in union ranks and leadership.



Sea Change, the third section, focuses on the years between 1965 and 2001. Over the preceding decades, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants had joined African Americans from the South and Puerto Ricans in coming to New York to seek opportunity. The citys fiscal crisis in 1975, and a growing anti-union mood in local and national politics, led to challenges for the movement to organize labor. These developments coincided with court and federal agency decisions that scaled back legal protections earlier won by organized labor. Together, they began a long weakening of unions economic and political power, as many New Yorkers worried about the costs of union contracts to the city and as the number of unionized workers declined nationwide. Between 1960 and 2000, New York City lost more than 650,000 manufacturing and port jobs as businesses automated or moved away in pursuit of lower wages and taxes, and fewer regulations.



By the 1970s, a new militancy fueled the activism of previously marginalized workers: women, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans were challenging union establishments. As union membership declined in private industry, organizations of government employees and service workers (hospital, maintenance, security, clerical, and others) increasingly became engines of upward mobility for thousands of New Yorkers.



The last section, New Challenges, looks at how New York activists after 2001 continued to reshape the future of labor by broadening the agenda to confront issues ranging from racial profiling to sexual violence, LGBTQ equality, environmental safety, and citizenship status. Worker Centers and other new community organizations used foundation grants, legal action, and public pressure to help non-unionized and undocumented workers. In a changing economy, this Alt Labor or New Labor movement also mobilized people who worked as freelancers or in a succession of jobs.



Although New York remains the most unionized city in the United States today, current realities are challenging. Conflicting visions for the citys future have sometimes pitted different groups of organized workers against each other. Yet local labor activists have also achieved important recent victories, including paid family leave, guaranteed sick leave, and a $15 minimum wage.



The exhibition is organized by curator Steven H. Jaffe with the help of a distinguished panel of scholars.



A companion publication takes a deeper dive into some of the topics touched in the exhibition. City Workers, City of Struggle features essays by leading historians of New York along with vivid depictions of work, daily life, and political struggle. Edited by Joshua B. Freeman, Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, it is published by Columbia University Press and is available for $40 in the Museum shop.



City of Workers, City of Struggle is presented in collaboration with the Kheel Center at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.



City of Workers, City of Struggle, its associated programs, and its companion publication are made possible through the generous support of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.



Additional support for the exhibitions companion publication is provided by Atran Foundation, Inc., and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and other generous donors.



Made Possible in part by The New Network Fund, supported by JL Greene.



Exhibition Committee

Governor David A. Paterson, Co-Chair

Patricia Smith, Co-Chair, Senior Counsel, National Employment Law Project Law Project; former New York State Commissioner of Labor

Vincent Alvarez, President, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Esta R. Bigler, Director, Labor and Employment Law Program, Cornell University ILR School

Marco Carrion, Commissioner, Mayors Office of Community Affairs

Janella T. Hinds, UFT Vice President, Academic High schools, United Federation of Teachers

Ed Ott, Active in the Labor Movement for more than 50 years

Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor

Lorelei Salas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Maritza Silva-Farrell, Executive Director, ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York

Lara Skinner, Executive Director, The Worker Institute, Cornell University ILR School

Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City



Scholarly Advisory Committee

Joshua B. Freeman, chair, Rachel Bernstein, Michelle Chen, Margaret Chin, Richard Greenwald, Louis Hyman, Alice Kessler-Harris, Richard Lieberman, Stephen McFarland, Premilla Nadasen, Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Christopher Rhomberg, Aldo Lauria Santiago, Robert W. Snyder, Michael Spear and Clarence Taylor.



Public Programs

Uncovering the Lost Lives of Workers: The Archaeology of Labor

May 8, 6:30pm  8:00pm

$15 Admission | $10 Members

The New York City we know today was profoundly shaped by workers. Not only did workers build and maintain the physical city, but their struggles over pay, power, and inclusion have made and remade the city many times over. Join archaeologists Dr. Meta Janowitz, Dr. Jean Howson, and Alanna Warner-Smith as they share their latest findings about New York Citys working and living conditions. Moderated by Sharon Wilkins, Deputy Borough Historian of Manhattan.

Meet the Curators: Steven H. Jaffe

May 14, 4:00pm  5:00pm

$40 Admission | $35 Members

Join Curator Steven H. Jaffe as he guides you through City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York. Did you know that some of the nations foremost labor leaders have been New Yorkers? Ask questions, give feedback, and learn something new with your fellow New Yorkers (or New Yorkers at heart) during this truly behind-the-scenes experience.

New Labor in New York and the Fight for Workers' Rights

May 22, 7:00pm  8:30pm

$20 Admission | $10 Members

Join three of New York's most dynamic new labor activists, Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Allison Julien of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Michelle Miller of Coworker.org, for a conversation about recent gains (and setbacks) in their movements to protect the workers who make this city run. Moderated by Ed Ott, former Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council.

Moonlight & Movies Series

$15 General Admission

9 to 5

June 20, 8:00pm  10:30pm

This classic 1980 feminist satire 9 to 5 still remains all too relevant in today's #MeToo America. Prior to the screening, Jessica Bennett will share her perspective as the first-ever gender editor for The New York Times, working to expand the newsroom's coverage of social issues and culture through the lens of gender.

En el Septimo Dia

July 16, 8:00pm  10:15pm

En el Septimo Dia follows Jose, an undocumented bike delivery worker, over the course of seven days. Prior the screening, director Jim McKay and Make the Road New York's Mel Gonzalez sit down for a conversation about the contemporary immigration and labor issues that inspired the film.

Modern Times

August 21, 7:30pm  9:30pm

Charlie Chaplins timeless 1936 masterpiece, Modern Times, was the last outing for his iconic Little Tramp character, who stars as an inept factory worker caught up in the cogs and sprockets of modern industrialization. As one of the last great films of the silent era, Modern Times represents Chaplin's rejection of the forward march of modernization.

On the Waterfront

September 10, 7:00pm  9:30pm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan introduces this outdoor screening of Elia Kazans 1954 classic On the Waterfront. Egans latest novel, historical noir thriller Manhattan Beach, navigates the crime-ridden underworld of New York Citys shipyards in the 1940s.

Labor Day week union member discount

The Museum is offering a 50% discount on admission for union members who show any union card from Sunday, September 1st through Saturday, September 7th in honor of Labor Day week.

#CityofWorkers

About the Museum of the City of New York

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the worlds most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the citys past, present, and future. To connect with the Museum on social media, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumofCityNY and visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MuseumofCityNY. For more information please visit www.mcny.org.



Press Contacts:

Mary Flanagan | 917-492-3480 | mflanagan@mcny.org

Sarah Jackson | 917-492-3483 | sjackson@mcny.org

Attachments
Upon assuming office as the Nassau County, N.Y., executive in 2018, one of Laura Currans top priorities was to build more transparency and accountability into the jurisdiction.Nassau County is home to nearly 1.4 million residents, situated in western Long Island beside the New York City borough of Queens. In recent years, the jurisdiction has had some controversy in its local government stemming from malfeasance by elected officials. Specifically, the county executive that proceeded Curran, Ed Mangano, was convicted in March in the wake of a 13-count federal indictment related to fraud and bribery. Curran, who said she doesnt like to focus on the countys past troubles, is now using a number of tech-based projects to push forward and foster more transparency and accountability.When I ran for office I knew it was very important to deliver on the promise of transparency, making sure that it was up to us now to win back the trust of the people, Curran said. The trust really was frayed. You can talk about transparency and accountability, but you have to do concrete things to show people youre serious about this.The concrete things that Curran is doing now are wide-ranging, to be sure, including many that arent related to technology at all, such as signing an executive order that prohibited her from giving jobs to anyone whod donated to her campaign. Whats happening in Nassau County involves technology being used as part of a unified philosophy around bolstering the governmental investment in transparency and accountability.This has resulted in a number of tangible projects in just the first nearly year and a half she has been in office. In conjunction with the office of the comptroller, the county has launched a new open checkbook , which details more than a billion dollars of annual county outside expenditures in an easy-to-read format.The county has rolled out an 18-month pilot program partnership with the private company Exiger. This partnership gives the county access to the companys Insight 3PM platform, which streamlines due diligence vendor research to help the county spot red flags that might be related to a conflict of interest.Not all of the work with tech to prevent malfeasance is that complicated, though. In fact, some of it is as simple as moving from paper-based to digital workflows. Curran said that when she first took office there were many vital documents being kept on paper and filed away in cardboard boxes, sometimes in a basement.These things included the financial disclosure forms required of county employees. They were being filled out on paper and filed away in physical containers, a format that inherently makes them easy to forget about and very difficult to search.People would have to dig through reams of paper to find this contract or that agreement, Curran said. Now with a click of a button, its right there.Moving forward, the county is working on a way to enable vendors to track where they are in the governmental procurement process. This is part of a larger idea to simplify the procurement process in general, bolster competition among the companies that the local government works with, and also open the doors to smaller, more agile companies like tech startups.Nassau County is far from alone in using digital tools in this way. In fact, it is part of a larger movement of jurisdictions that are putting an increasing amount of governmental business online, where it can be more easily accessed by both the public and other internal agencies. As this software has become cheaper and easier to develop or use, the prevalence of it in local government has gone up, thereby enabling counties like Nassau to combat long-standing accountability challenges with tech.
(TNS)  5G, the fifth generation of wireless, promises lightning-fast download speeds and could lay the foundation for high-tech advancements like self-driving cars. But like many new technologies, its sparking concern about potential health issues.The first generation of wireless ushered in mobile phones and 2G brought texting. 3G laid the groundwork for smartphones, and 4G allowed video streaming and more. 5G is expected to download data 20 times faster than its predecessor, and some experts argue it could be much faster.And its not just about streaming data faster, its about streaming more of it. On a 5G network, a user can download a movie instantly and data will flow between connected objects without delay. The amount of data people use on mobile devices has gone up 40 times since 2010, and is only expected to increase. 5G networks are wireless companies attempts to satisfy that demand.5G taps into millimeter waves at the top of the radio spectrum, which have not previously been used for telecommunication. The higher waves allow for faster transfer of data, but they also dont travel through buildings, trees and rain like previous generations of wireless, which operate on lower wavelengths.That means wireless companies must install more equipment with 5G than they did with previous generations of wireless. That includes new base stations and antennas on parking garages, or equipment on light poles that fill gaps for cellular coverage.The untested nature of 5G, and the extensiveness of its infrastructure, has some worried that the increased exposure could have serious health effects.Wireless safety advocates have called for more studies on the effects of the exposure, and one group is trying to stop the rollout of 5G networks in Chicagos neighborhoods. Verizon and Sprint turned on their 5G networks in parts of Chicago earlier this year, putting the city among the first in the nation with access to 5G. AT&T plans to turn on parts of its Chicago network later this year, and T-Mobile is aiming for 2020.The federal government has safety rules that wireless companies must abide by that limit human exposure to radio waves, including frequencies used with 5G. Wireless industry association CTIA says typical exposure to 5G infrastructure is comparable to Bluetooth devices and baby monitors, and there is no scientific evidence of adverse health effects.The companies, for their part, say they abide by the wireless network standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.Still, assurances from government agencies and industry operators are not enough for Chicago resident Judy Blake. Additional studies on 5Gs health impacts likely wouldnt soothe her either, she said. People cant choose whether or not to be exposed to this radiation.I dont need another test. The only test thats going to happen now is peoples lives, said Blake, 67.Though little is known about the long-term health impact of the millimeter waves that 5G operates on, some research has shown short-term exposure could be problematic, said Joel Moskowitz, a public health expert at the University of California at Berkeley.The eyes and sweat glands are among several body parts studies have shown could be at risk, Moskowitz said. Insects and plant life could also be affected, he added.Additionally, studies on the impact of radiation from radio waves used by previous generations of wireless have raised health concerns, and some 5G networks will operate in part on those lower-frequency waves too.The findings concern Chicago resident Kristin Welch.We absolutely need to study these high-frequency waves  before you put (this new equipment) in front of someones home or a school, said Welch, 39. Were putting the cart before the horse here.Cellphone radiation study finds biological changes in animals; human implications unclearThe mother of three recently co-founded a Facebook group called Stop 5G Chicago, aimed at halting the rollout of the network in residential areas. Welch said she is especially worried about the impact the radiation could have on vulnerable populations, like children and pregnant women.This is not an unreasonable thing to be concerned about, Welch said. We are now in a position where this untested technology is going to be widespread throughout our city.The wireless companies are using different technologies and techniques to achieve the new 5G standards. Sprint, for example, is building out its 5G network mostly on top of its 4G footprint in Chicago. Its installing new radios and other equipment on existing stations.The millimeter waves used in 5G are absorbed by the upper layers of skin, potentially causing the temperature of the skin to rise, said Suresh Borkar, senior lecturer in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The effects of extended rises in skin temperature becomes a big unknown, he said.Wireless industry association CTIA said in a statement that cellphone users safety is important, and it follows the guidance of experts regarding health effects.Following numerous scientific studies conducted over several decades, the FCC, the FDA, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society and numerous other international and U.S. organizations and health experts continue to say that the scientific evidence shows no known health risk to humans due to the RF (radio frequency) energy emitted by antennas and cellphones, the CTIA statement said.This isnt the first time people will come into contact with millimeter waves: Theyre also used in airport body scanners, said Lav Varshney, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Still, its the first time the high-frequency waves will be used on such a scale, and concerns surrounding new technologies are common throughout history.When cars first started replacing horse-drawn carriages, people were afraid of what the health impacts of traveling at high speeds would be, Varshney said. There has always been occurrence of this fear.
Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High near 55F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Irizar has signed a contract for 15 zero emissions electric buses and charging infrastructure for Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The energy needed for the charging stations will be generated by the Rhine River as it passes through Schaffhausen.





Irizar was awarded the supply contract for the first line of electric buses for the city of Schaffhausen by public tender. The contract includes 15 Irizar ie tram model zero-emissions electric vehicles (7 of which are 12 meters and 8 are 18 meters long); 12 fast charging stations; and 16 in-depot charging stations.

This is a lighthouse project with the aim of electrifying public transport in the city of Schaffhausen. There will be the possibility for a second phase in 2022-2027 when the amount could rise to 47 vehicles, 20 quick charging stations and 51 in-depot charging stations.

The Irizar ie tram model includes integrated Irizar Group technology in its electronics, energy storage and communications.

This is a unique project in Switzerland and in Europe where 12 fast charging points of 600 kW will be installed in one of the main avenues of the city and charging will be done using green energy generated by the river Rhine as it passes through Schaffhausen. Once more the Irizar Group is showing its capacity to provide turnkey solutions by supplying buses and charging stations that meet specific requirements of a city. Hector Olabegogeaskoetxea, Manager Director of Irizar e-mobility

Irizar e-mobility aims to provide comprehensive electric mobility solutions for cities, both in terms of manufacturing zero emissions 100% electric vehicles, and in terms of manufacturing and installing the major infrastructure systems necessary for charging, traction and energy storage, all designed and manufactured using 100% Group technology, with the Irizar guarantee and service quality.

The Irizar ie tram is a 100% electric bus that combines the large capacity, ease of access and internal configuration of a tram with the flexibility of a city bus.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Maid of the Mist, which has been navigating the waters of the Lower Niagara River since 1846, will launch later this year two new all-electric, zero-emission passenger vessels constructed in the United States.





Rendering of the new electric Maid of the Mist vessels

The catamaran-style vessels will provide more than 1.6 million guests from around the world with an up-close, iconic view of Niagara Falls. The vessels feature a wide stance, resulting in a smooth, quiet ride, allowing guests to better enjoy the roar and majesty of Niagara Falls.

Designed by Propulsion Data Systems, the new totally integrated vessels are currently under construction by Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wisc. In mid-May, the modules will be transported to Niagara Falls and lowered onto the Maid of the Mist dry dock and maintenance facility for assembly. Following completion of construction, launch and certification, the new vessels will be placed into service in mid-September.

ABB will supply a comprehensive integrated power and propulsion solution for the new-build vessels, including lithium-ion battery packs and an onshore charging system, enabling sustainable operation with maximum reliability.

Powered by ABBs zero-emission technology, the two fully-electric vessels will take tourists to the heart of the Niagara Falls, undisturbed by engine noise or exhaust fumes. Batteries will be recharged for seven minutes after each trip to 80% capacity, allowing for maximum efficiency and battery life.

The hull of the new vessels features an icon of the electricity symbol within a water droplet surrounded by a turbine with Niagara Falls in the background. The color scheme is environmentally-friendly green combined with the blue of the water.

Maid of the Mist VI (1990) and Maid of the Mist VII (1997), will be retired from service when the new vessels begin operating.

New York is leading the way in the transition to an electric transportation system. The Maid of the Mists conversion to an all-electric fleet is a bold move that shows the world we take our commitment to lowering carbon emissions seriously. The Niagara Power Project has been a long time partner to the Maid the Mist and we are pleased to support the Maid going electric and making our environment cleaner and greener with every trip.  Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO at the New York Power Authority

Maid of the Mist first launched in 1846, making it one of North Americas longest running tourist attractions. Maid of the Mist vessels have been continuously operating tours to the base of Niagara Falls for 134 consecutive years, providing guests from around the world with an iconic experience.

In 2012 Maid of the Mist faced closure in the absence of storage space for its boats on the New York side of the river. Governor Cuomo struck a deal to keep the boats running and produce increased revenues for Niagara Falls State Park. The Maid of the Mist Corporation agreed to invest $32 million in the former Schoellkopf Power Station site near the falls to make it suitable for the winter storage and maintenance of its boats. Under the memorandum, the company agreed to increase its license payments to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, totaling $105 million over 30 yearsthree times the revenues that were projected for the 30-year period when a contract was initially approved in 2002.

The new Maid of the Mist vessels build on a $70-million revitalization of Niagara Falls State Park. The initiative has renewed the parks major viewing areas including Luna Island, Prospect Point, Lower Grove, Three Sisters Islands, North Shoreline Trail, Luna Bridge, and Terrapin Point with new pedestrian walkways, enhanced landscaping, new benches, light posts and railings. Under Governor Cuomos NY Parks 2020 program, the state has made a multi-year commitment to revitalize state parks and includes $110 million in the 2019-20 State Budget for park improvement projects.
From December 19th through December 26th we will be granting free access as a gift to our readers presented by High Point University
The Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha dates to 1965 and was inspired by the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes from the early 1600s.

It may not be surprising, then, that Triad Stages artistic director, Preston Lane, felt the need to set his companys production in a more contemporary situation.

Similar to the original musical written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, this Man of La Mancha is set in a jail.

But this jail is modern, perhaps even futuristic. It has chain-link fences, barbed wire, security cameras and other current fittings. It has harsh lights, along with projections that include the watching eye of Big Brother when they arent setting a scene for the imagined adventures of Don Quixote.

Its inmates, similarly, wear individualized, up-to-date clothing (designed by K. April Soroko).

As Lane says in a program note, I was determined to shake off the 1960s theatricality and place the musical firmly and immediately in our times.
Participants also visit classrooms, ranging from talking about Native American boarding schools in AP History classes to presenting a Native American dance for elementary students. Malesovas said they'd welcome more chances to visit schools.

Academic support is a big part of the program's mission. There's a library of laptops, calculators and school supplies at students' disposal.

"We offer students the opportunity to participate in college visits in the fall and spring," said Malesovas, adding that she shares information about scholarships.

The American Indian Education Program has another feather in its cap  literally.

"Beginning last year, our graduating seniors were eligible to wear a coup feather in their graduation regalia, as a symbol of the milestone that they are achieving," Malesovas said.

The feather was given to the seniors by the American Indian Education Program at its annual student recognition banquet.

"Not every school district has that," she said.

Contact Cindy Loman at cindy.loman@greensboro.com, 336-373-7212 or on Facebook at Cindy News-Record Loman.
20190505g_nws_native americans "People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," says UNCG student Raven Dial-Stanley, a member of 

In February, a stare-down between a Native American man beating a drum and a white teenager in a MAGA hat caused a national stir outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Three years ago, President Trump began calling U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas.

And 10 years ago, Leslie Locklear, a member of the Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan tribes, was a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill when classmates asked if she lived in a teepee.

As a younger Native woman, I spent countless hours explaining myself and my race, she said. It was both infuriating and exhausting to have the same conversation, in every class, with every new group of people, for countless semesters.

Raven Dial-Stanley, a third-year UNCG fashion design student and a member of the Lumbee tribe, knows how Locklear feels.

A college classmate told her "I didn't even know we still had Indians in the U.S.," Dial-Stanley said.

"People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," she said.

General confusion about Native American culture and history remains.

Locklear said her peers comments were the fault of an American public school system that doesnt teach the roles of American Indians in an accurate way. Educators see long-term problems with glossing over Native American history starting in elementary school.

Not only is it not accurate, there is a significant portion of information missing, said Locklear, now the program director for the First Americans Teacher Education Program at UNC-Pembroke.

Dial-Stanley agrees.

"If it wasn't for the knowledge my mother and my people instilled me in, I would be ignorant of my history," she said.

Dial-Stanley, 21, is passionate about her culture. She has been a member of the One Spirit Cultural Class and Dance Team and the N.C. Native American Youth Organization and as a freshman at UNCG, she was president of the Native American Student Association, chairwoman of the UNCG Pow-Wow Committee, and president of the founding class of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, the nations oldest Native American Greek letter organization. She attended the United National Indian Tribal Youth Conference and the 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering in Washington, where then-first lady Michelle Obama was the guest speaker.

In Guilford County, indigenous students have resources that aren't available in most school districts. Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers monthly extracurricular classes that focus on academic and cultural elements "intended to further enhance the childs education and exposure to Native traditions," said Mia Malesovas, American Indian Education coordinator for Guilford County Schools.

The classes are created for Native American students, but others are welcome, Malesovas said. She and others also visit schools by invitation to share lessons and demonstrations on Native cultures.

Native Americans compose about 1 percent of the U.S. population. American Indian/Alaska Native residents make up 1.8 percent of North Carolinas population as of 2014. N.C. was one of only 15 states to have 100,000 or more people from this group.

When a voice is so small, its very easy to overlook it, Locklear said.

Kayla Trevethan, who teaches social studies in Wake County, thinks her first- and second-grade students arent getting much information about Native American life and history even though they could handle it.

I dont really think that, you know, its the best teaching practice to be reading and sharing literature with younger kids that pretty much just paints this happy-go-lucky picture of Native American lives, she said. Because that is not what happened.

Dial-Stanley graduated from Glenn High School in Kernersville, and her twin brother graduated from Atkins High in Winston-Salem. Their mom used to go to their school open houses and ask to see her kids' history books.

"If you're going to be teaching my children our history, I want to make sure it's done correctly," her mom told the teachers, Dial-Stanley says.

Her mom also volunteered to talk to classes and share that history, she said.

According to the N.C. State Board of Education, teachers are required to teach changes in American Indian life before and after European exploration in the fourth and eighth grades, but Locklear said this leads primarily to discussions of the Trail of Tears and thats it.

Some educators say whats taught is whitewashed.

Christopher Scott, an assistant professor at UNC-CH and member of the Lumbee tribe, said classroom instruction enforces that the world just began when Christopher Columbus came to the new world.

We dont teach kids that a holocaust happened in our country to the natives that were here, Scott said.

Dial-Stanley said most people don't know that indigenous children were placed in boarding schools in the late 1800s, torn from their families and culture for years at a time.

When she was a kindergartner in Charlotte, Erin Stacks learned about Thanksgiving by dressing up and joining her fellow Indian and Pilgrim classmates to peacefully eat a meal together. They held hands and broke bread, learning that the Indians and Pilgrims were allies who shared knowledge and thrived together.

This rendition of the Thanksgiving story has been played out for decades, but it glosses over the true relationship between indigenous people and Pilgrims.

Today as a senior at UNC-CH, Stacks has seen improvements in her peers education on native culture but there are still glaring gaps of knowledge.

You can ask people when did blacks in our nation receive the right to vote, when did women receive the right to vote; people know these things, she said. But you ask someone when did Native Americans receive the right to vote, and people dont know that it was 1924 because its not taught as intensely in our school system.

While the North Carolina education standards for elementary school call for a discussion of the Trail of Tears in the fourth grade, Locklear does not think this goes far enough to educate students about tribes outside of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee.

A study conducted by social studies scholars in 2013 found that 87 percent of state-mandated K-12 education standards placed Native Americans in a solely pre-1900 context, not mentioning the ongoing battle for civil rights.

Trevethans second-grade students learned about Native Americans by studying the concept of artifacts left behind from past civilizations.

Im not totally sure that (my students) have an awareness that there are still Native Americans today, almost like it was a thing of the past, Trevethan said. Wow.

Scott and Locklear worry about American Indian students sense of identity.

Scott, a former elementary principal, has seen the education system penalize students for displaying their culture. For example, students who are Lumbee have a linguistic marker that varies from standard English. Because of this, Scott said they cant write the way they speak at home because it is viewed as incorrect. These punishments for showing ethnic identity in the classroom can lead students to choose between success or showing their heritage.

You learn to hide, he said. You learn these traits of invisibility. You learn to mask who you are because thats safety.

Locklear sees the same thing.

Im spending 12 years in a school system that does not mention my people, does not recognize my people, she said. And then in those critical middle school, early high school years, where Im trying to develop my identity and all I see in the media is Pocahontas, and the savages, and the cowboys and the Indians, it almost harms that positive identity development.

Stacks said that her sense of Native American identity started forming because her family kept traditions alive, but she had to explain to students what her culture was.

It kind of started in middle school, she said, when I kind of realized that Native Americans live in society normally and that my classmates didnt understand that.

Today, Stacks answers more questions from college classmates about cultural appropriation than the questions Locklear faced during her time at UNC-CH.

Around Halloween, Stacks and the Carolina Indian Circle carry signs in the heart of campus to educate their peers about costumes that hypersexualize native women or fuel cultural stereotypes. At UNCG, the Native American Student Council put up a display spotlighting indigenous cultures with posters that said "We're a culture, not a costume."

Stacks can provide this education, but she said the earlier people can be taught about Native American tradition and culture, such as in elementary school, the better.

The State Advisory Council on Indian Education advocates to end low achievement rates among Native American students and provides an annual report to schools displaying the achievement gap between Native students and others in the subjects North Carolina tests.

Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers resources in academics and culture Mia Malesovas holds a position not many school systems in North Carolina have: American Indian Education coordinator.

Guilford's American Indian Education Program addresses that gap with academic support, mentoring and tutoring.

Olivia Oxendine, member of the state Board of Education and member of the Lumbee tribe, said the gap was startling. By providing an annual report highlighting the difference in testing between Native students and other groups, Oxendine said creative teachers can build lesson plans around this information.

The standards might be too skimpy and too focused on only one tribe, but publishing information on the achievement gap and requiring it on every schools website is a step in the right direction, Oxendine said.

The advisory boards website provides resources on teaching about Native Americans and, for instance, how to teach about Thanksgiving.

Scott said that the burden of accurately teaching this information cant just lie on educators, but also on policy.

Right now, Stacks calls the amount of information in the school systems about her people empty, but she has hope that will change one day.

I feel like society is slowly moving toward becoming more receptive and more aware, she said.

According to Dial-Stanley, "There's no subject in school that isn't touched by indigenous people."

For educators like Locklear, theres no reason why the learning shouldnt begin at a very early age.

To me, it is just the right thing to do, to tell the truth, she said, to not basically lie about the history of what this country was founded on.

Sophie Whisnant is a senior in the UNC School of Media and Journalism studying reporting. She is from Wilmington. News & Record Editor Cindy Loman contributed to this report. Contact her at cindy.loman@greensboro.com or 336-373-7212.
The report also advises city officials to require any group that discharges contaminating foam to clean it up afterward by containing, treating and properly disposing of the substances before they reach stormwater drains or sink into the ground.

Greensboro officials have linked pollution problems to years of actual firefighting and training exercises in the airport area, as well as to industrial plants that use the compounds either in production or in their fire-suppression systems.

For example, PTIs fire department is required by federal regulations to conduct annual training drills using PFOS-containing foams, a requirement that apparently would supersede any state statute. But Congress passed a law last year ending the PFOS requirement in October 2021, so that could change.

Over the years, other fire departments also have used the area for testing because of its industrial character, which includes the massive gasoline tank farm near PTI.

Greensboro officials discovered that the local water supply was contaminated by PFOS and PFOA while participating in federally mandated testing for unregulated emerging contaminants five years ago.
Climate change pact: The House has passed the Climate Action Now Act, which would require the president to submit annual plans for the U.S. to meet a goal set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change of cutting its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 26 to 28% by 2025, and request that other large economies meet similar emissions reduction goals. The vote Thursday, May 2, was 231-190.

Nays: Walker, Budd

U.S. Senate

Energy Department lawyer: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Cooper to serve as the Energy Departments general counsel. Cooper is a senior counsel at the McConnell Valdes law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former legal official on various House energy and natural resources committees. The vote on Tuesday, April 30, was 68-31.

Yeas: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, both R-N.C.
Attorney General William Barrs testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee was an exercise in what committee member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accurately described as masterful hairsplitting.

But give Barr credit for making one thing clear: We must hear from special counsel Robert Mueller, directly and publicly.

At one point, under the Whitehouses questioning about the special counsels report, the attorney general said: I dont want to characterize Bobs thought process here. Except he did. Again and again.

Most strikingly, Barr told a blatant falsehood about Muellers reaction to the attorney generals efforts to portray the report as an exoneration of President Donald Trump. Barr did that twice  first in a four-page letter March 24 summarizing the findings of the report, and then in a news conference shortly before the 448-page document was made public April 18.

Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate, Barr said during his testimony. I certainly am not aware of any challenge to the accuracy of the findings.
A threat made by a student to shoot up Weston Middle School was investigated by police and school officials.

In a letter to parents, Weston Middle School principal Daniel Doak said a number of students knew about these threatening statements for several days and perhaps, as long as three weeks.

Fortunately, one student turned to a trusted adult to report these comments and that adult passed the information on to the middle school administration. We immediately called the Weston Police Department.

Through our investigation, we quickly determined the nature of the comments and the time frame. We interviewed several students who had knowledge of the threatening comments. When we asked these students why they hadn't reported them to an adult (parent, teacher, counselor administrator), the consistent response was we knew it was just a joke.

In meeting with all three grades in the school, Doak told them we must never assume that a threatening comment is a joke, adding even if it is meant as a joke, is a very serious violation of our code of conduct with school and legal consequences.

Doak said some students mentioned a specific date for a shooting to take place (June 13) and several students referenced a list" of targeted individuals.

For the record, we have no evidence of a physical list. No student claims to have seen a list of names. Many students gave very different versions of who might be on the list. If we had knowledge of a list of that type, we would immediately notify all affected individuals.

Doak said students were not a risk and the situation is under control.

Police determined the student accused of making threats did not have direct access to firearms.

Doak said school officials and police would not allow us to open the school if we believed that our students, staff and visitors were not safe.
Last week, we reported that Nokia 3.2 and 4.2 were listed on the company's official India website hinting at an imminent launch. Now HMD Global, via Nokia, has shared a video teasing the May 7 launch date of the Nokia 4.2 in India.

This video shows off the dedicated Google Assistant button on the Nokia 4.2 which is located on the left side of the phone. The 3.2 also has this dedicated Assistant key on its left bezel, and it remains to be seen whether it will debut alongside the 4.2 in India on May 7, or will launch at a later date instead.

All your answers are a tap away. 4 days before you can #DoItAll

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/r4Jwsxj744  Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) May 3, 2019

The flagship Nokia 9 PureView, announced back in February at Mobile World Congress is also expected to go official in India soon. The smartphone was teased by the company in March and it recently bagged a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, hinting at an imminent launch in the country.

Source
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND  Celtic won the Scottish league title for the eighth straight year on Saturday, completing the second leg in its bid to clinch a domestic treble for the third straight season.
Xiaomi seems to be quite deliberate in its efforts to muddy the waters surrounding its upcoming Redmi flagship device. Conflicting info has been floating all over the place and it seems that Lu Weibing - the brand's general manager remains one of the only fairly reputable sources on the matter. Thankfully, he is quite active on social media and willing to interact with fans. That's precisely how the latest revelation of an ultrawide camera on the phone came about.

To be more specific though, it is more of a reaffirmation, since a previous specs leak did mention a 48MP, plus 13MP and 8MP setup for the upcoming flagship phone. Coincidentally, that seems to be the exact setup on the Mi 9 SE, which would make a lot of sense.



Leaked specs of Redmi flagship

Other bits and pieces of info Lu Weibing has also spilled or at least eluded to on social networks include a 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming device, as well as NFC. Some other leaked alleged specs for the Redmi flagship include a 6.39-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display, Snapdragon 855 chipset and an 8GB/128GB memory configuration, which could be one of a few available. On the selfie side, rumors hint at a 32MP snapper, likely mounted on a periscope.

We only say likely since the design in question last appeared in a rather questionable, potentially photoshopped render, along with the mention of the Redmi X moniker. All the while, in yet another informative post, Lu Weibing noted that the Redmi flagship will not be called the Redmi X and will instead have "a better name". Now, that could either be interpreted as Redmi X being an internal codename for the product or, alternatively as the name of yet another unreleased Redmi device. Unfortunately, to further add to the confusion, rumors have mentioned that a Snapdragon 730 Redmi phone is also currently in the works.

Circling back to our original point - info on the upcoming Redmi flagship is messy and incomplete to say the least. We'll be sure to keep you posted if we get a clearer picture in the upcoming days.

Source (in Chinese) | Via




Haiti - Environment : A businessman blocks the landfill of Limonade





Esaie Lefranc, Deputy Mayor of Cap-Haitien criticizes the behavior of the businessman Lesly Nazon, who claims the land located in Mouchinette, in the commune of Limonade where the construction of the landfill, started to serve the populations of Limonade, Quartier-Morin and Cap-Haitien.



A claim followed by a decision that is the basis of the blocking of work.



Esaie Lefranc regrets that despite the energy and money spent by the town halls of the communes concerned in concert with international partners to carry out this project, nothing else moves because of the ownership claim of this businessman. For the Deputy Mayor the approach of the businessman is part of a "plot conspired with State authorities, especially at the north department to confiscate the land."



He recalled that following a popular protest organized by some inhabitants of Limonade, the 19 families who occupied the land at that time had submitted invoices confirming that they had paid taxes to the DGI as owners, stating that these people had already started to receive some of the money provided for compensation he wonders where was Lesly Nazon during this first stage of the process...



The Deputy Mayor is counting on the popular movements of citizens aware of the importance of a dump site in the corridor Cap-Haitien, Quartier-Morin and Limonade, to force the entrepreneur to listen to reason and withdraw his decision.



In the meantime, despite the resentment of the residents of the Madeline area, in the communal section of Petite-Anse, it is in the mangroves located near the habitats that the waste is thrown away. A practice that should no longer be appropriate, recall the Deputy Mayor.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Drug Trafficking : The Haitian Justice extraded Gregory Georges in the United States





Rebound in the case of the Panama-flagged "MV Manzanares" vessel carrying sugar from Colombia for the Nabatco Company (owned by Haitian businessman Marc Antoine Acra) and where a significant amount of cocaine and of heroin was found on board in various caches in April 2015 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html by agents of the Brigade for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (BLTS) coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a final estimated quantity of between 700 and 800 kg of cocaine and 300 kilograms of heroin with a market value of approximately $ 100 million.



This operation led to the arrest of 16 people including 3 Haitians https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html then to the arrestation of several members of an important family https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-more-members-of-a- large-family-Haitian-inculpes.html



Gregory Georges, aka "Ti Ketan" presented as a "lieutenant" of an international network of traffickers, only of all suspects apprehended in this case to be incarcerated in prison first in the national penitentiary and then in isolation for his safety at the civil prison of Croix-des-Bouquets, having survived 6 assassination attempts was extradited to the United States.



Arrived Friday on American soil in Florida, "Ti Ketan" will appear on May 6 before a federal judge where he will be tried for conspiracy to distribute drugs. For the US authorities this is a key witness in this case that could reveal names and bring down heads in the business community both in the US and Haiti, circles that have not ceased to accuse him of lying... what contradicts the many assassination attempts in prison to silence him...



This extradition to the United States was authorized by Jean Roody Aly, the Minister of Justice.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-several-members-of-an-important-haitian-family-accused.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17272-haiti-flash-burglary-of-the-government-commissioner-s-office.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-15537-icihaiti-justice-11-crew-members-of-manzanares-released.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The Minister of Tourism meets French-Chilean investors

Thursday, Marie Christine Stepheson Minister of Tourism, spoke with Franco-Chilean investors. The discussions focused on the opportunities offered by Haiti in terms of tourism potential.



Words of Jovenel Moise

"I welcome the work of the press on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd. I urge press workers to be more respectful of ethical rules and more responsible in the exercise of their noble mission," Jovenel Moise.



Beekeeping source of income

Beekeeping is one of the income generating activities that Food for the Poor (FFP) facilitates across the country. The organization accompanies beekeepers, from training to setting up hives and inspection. As Roselaure, mother of 4 children in the commune of Gros Trou(Fond des Blancs), the inhabitants of Gros Morne (Department of Artibonite), the Small Artibonite River and Mole Saint Nicolas (North-West Department) can take care of their families through hive products. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22216-haiti-agriculture-beekeeping-an-alternative-activity-for-fishermen-in-st-jean-du-sud.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22870-haiti-environment-development-of-the-beekeeping-industry-in-the-south.html



Response Plan to the Southeast Food Crisis

Launch of the Food Crisis Response Plan in the Southeast. This two-month project aims to strengthen the resilience of inhabitants of the communal sections of La Montagne and Bas Cap Rouge to cope with food insecurity. About 800 families will benefit from this project, which will be implemented in close collaboration with the CASECs of the two communal sections and the organized groups of women living in these areas.



New union

A delegation from the Office of Citizen Protection took part in the launch of a union within the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights. This delegation, headed by the Coordinator of Territorial Presences, Mrs. Yolande M. Jodeph, was composed of Mrs. Erna Eloi, Head of Complaints and Investigations Department, Ms. Berline Jean Pierre, Legal Counsel and Mr. Jean Jolin Dodier, Communication Advisor. In her remarks of circumstance Ms. Joseph insisted on the bad conditions in which work citizens and the non respect of the quota 30% of the women in the decisional positions within the public administration.



The Minister of the Environment in DR

As part of the Cuba - Haiti - Dominican Republic Corridor Biological Project https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12513-haiti-environmentcaribbean-biological-corridor-signature-of-a-tripartite-agreement.html , Joseph Jouthe, the Minister of the Environment at the head of a delegation is in Santo-Domingo (3-4 May) to give a speech during the graduation of the 15th class of graduates executives in environmental management and natural resources. The Haitian delegation will take advantage of his stay to meet the management team of the Corridor Biologique project to discuss the progress and next steps of the project.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Getting millennials to move to San Diego has been a concern of business leaders who are struggling to fill highly skilled jobs. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. launched a campaign last year to attract workers, many of whom are millennials, in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.
Recerca

Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumor with no cure, usually associated with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The main EGFR mutation found in this tumor known as EGFRvlll- is treated with the antibody mAb806, a drug developed by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (United States) about twenty years ago, although its action mechanism was unknown. Now, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) reveals for the first time the action mechanism of this antibody on the mutated EGFR receptor.

The results of the study, which open new pathways for the treatment of cancer, suggest the antibody mAb806 could be used in many tumours in which EGFR has mutated and not only in a specific mutation like researchers believed so far. The study counts on the participation of experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the University of California (United States), among other institutions.

Moreover, the scientific team proved that, even if EGFR has not mutated yet, it can be treated to make it sensitive to the protocol with the antibody mAb806. These findings provide the rational basis to conduct anti-EGFR therapies combined with antibodies and kinase inhibitors, instead of blind testing them, as it has happened so far, notes Modesto Orozco, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB, head of the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Lab at IRB Barcelona and member of the Bioinformatics Barcelona platform (BIB).

Universitat de Barcelona
Two friends have been sent for trial accused of having more than 13,000 of cocaine in the west of the city.

Carley O'Connor (30) and Gemma Reilly (26) had books of evidence served on them when they appeared at Blanchardstown District Court.

Ms O'Connor, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, and Ms Reilly, of Briarfield Grove, Kilbarrack, are both charged with possession of more than 13,000 of cocaine, with intent to sell or supply.

They are also charged with related counts of simple possession and sale or supply of the drug. The offences are all alleged to have happened at the Outer Ring Road, Clondalkin, on November 24, 2017.

A State solicitor said books of evidence were ready and had been served on the accused.

The DPP was consenting to their return for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Warning

Judge David McHugh gave each woman the formal warning that they must provide details of any alibis they intend to rely on in their trial to the prosecution within 14 days.

Free legal aid had been granted previously, after the court heard they were both working but their earnings came in under the threshold to qualify.

A lawyer for the accused asked Judge McHugh to extend legal aid to cover a senior counsel as well as a junior given the potential sentences on conviction.

Judge McHugh said that although he would not refuse the application, it should be renewed in the circuit court.

The accused have not yet indicated how they intend to plead to the charges, which are under Sections 3, 15 and 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They were remanded on bail under existing terms, to appear in the circuit court later this month.
'Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.' (stock photo)

A young man who claimed a stolen phone was his own but could not open it when challenged by gardai had told a "likely story", a judge said.

Christopher O'Grady (27) first said he bought the phone, which had a picture of women socialising on the cover, but then maintained he found it outside a McDonald's.

Judge Michael Walsh ordered him to carry out 120 hours of community service, instead of a three-month prison sentence.

O'Grady, of Cedarwood Park, Cox's Demesne, Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

He was not charged with stealing the phone.

Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.

When asked why he was doing this, O'Grady "said he was not".

When searched, he had a mobile phone in his pocket with a picture on the cover of three women socialising.

He said the phone was his property and gardai told him to enter the pin but he said that the battery needed charging.

Threatening

However, it was turned on and he said he was unable to enter the pin. He then told gardai he had bought it for 50.

He was asked if he was aware of the value of the phone and he said: "Yeah, a couple of hundred euro."

The phone had been stolen from a woman while she was socialising in Temple Bar the night before, the court heard.

Separately, O'Grady admitted threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour when he was caught smoking drugs in a city centre car park.

The court heard that last February 13 gardai were called to Fleet Street car park, where security said a man became aggressive after refusing to leave when he was seen smoking heroin from a metal pipe.

The accused had had problems with heroin over the years, his lawyer said. He had a relapse after a bereavement.

The accused maintained he had found the phone outside McDonald's and had been "foolish" in keeping it.

"A likely story," Judge Walsh said.

The phone had now been returned to its owner.

O'Grady had previous convictions for public order offences.
Prices Lane where the innocent victim was brutally beaten

A man has been arrested over a random attack that put an innocent man in hospital with serious injuries.

The man, who is from Moldova, was not previously known to gardai for involvement in serious crime.

Most of his previous encounters with officers are said to be for minor matters, including public order offences.

Violent

The 32-year-old suspect, who is living in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin, was arrested by detectives from Pearse Street in Dublin yesterday morning as he made his way to work in the south inner city.

Detectives believe he launched his "violent attack" after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol.

The victim, a respected 46-year-old family man, was attacked by the crazed thug in Prices Lane, Dublin, at around 10.25pm on April 26 as he made his way through the city centre.

Earlier this week, the victim's niece shared heartbreaking photos of him in a serious condition in hospital.

It is understood there is high- quality CCTV of the attack.

The victim and attacker are completely unknown to each other.

"This poor man was just walking along, minding his own business, and his assailant went for him, violently attacking him in an entirely unprovoked incident," a senior source said.

"Gardai believe his attacker was heavily under the influence."

"A 32-year-old man was arrested this morning, Friday, May 3, in Dublin in relation to a serious assault in Prices Lane, Dublin 2, on Friday, April 26," a garda spokesman said yesterday.

"He is detained at Pearse Street Garda Station under the Provisions of Section 4 - Criminal Justice Act 1984."

"The injured man remains in hospital with serious injuries. Investigations are continuing."
This court finds it unsettling, nay, repugnant, that after violating the public trust, Mr. Boyle should stand poised to collect a pension, Judge Martin said in November 2009. However, the court is duty bound to apply the law. There is simply nothing in the record before this court that points to Boyle using any of his training as a fireman to further the commission of his felonious activities.
Eads said $1.3 million of the general fund increase is offset by state and federal funds, and the actual rise in city spending totals about $900,000.

The majority of that goes for raises for employees  $400,000  information technology is $70,000 [one position with benefits] and to fund capital [expenses] is $345,000, Eads said. The other piece was $50,000 for the CVB, which puts it where it was last year. It was also based on conversations with council in June or July of last year. When it was cut, I know there was a change of heart, and we discussed during the fall maybe CVB needed to be funded on a percentage level.

The mayor said its too soon to give additional funds to the bureau, and more study is needed to show what the citys return on investment of taxpayer dollars is from the tourism promotion organization.

Both Mumpower and Wingard also spent several minutes revisiting their concern that the city employs too many firefighters given its land size and population. And both renewed calls from 2017 to close a fire station, reduce staffing and relocate station one from next to the city courthouse to a more central location.
Superintendent Keith Perrigan said Friday the issue is timing.

The School Board will be in Marion that night for input for changing the SOQ [state Standards of Quality] as well as other conflicts, Perrigan said. I will try to make it back and some are trying to change their schedules, but no one is able to commit at this time.

Hopefully, in the future, Perrigan said they can work together to plan activities to ensure optimum participation.

Some members of City Council are expected to attend.

Chapter members have met with parents and other community members to gauge their thoughts about school consolidation, according to the statement. The reaction was overwhelmingly against closing our neighborhood schools. Its Virginia Organizings role to give voice to community thoughts, Melissa Roberts, parent and chapter leader, said in the statement. City leaders and School Board members continue to say the barrier is a lack of communication. We are holding this forum so they have the opportunity for discussion.

According to its website, Virginia Organizing, based in Charlottesville, is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives, especially those with little or no voice in society.

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She was a teacher and college counselor at Gerard High School in Phoenix. (I wrote about her once before.) She convinced me to apply to Pomona College in California. My parents, who were in dire financial straits, knew nothing about colleges or applications. And given that they were preparing to move our family into a motel room during my senior year, my college quest was not high on their agenda.
He said he was scared, but kept looking over his shoulder as he ran away.

As I was running, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I was too scared to notice much, but I saw him take out the money and run up to the main road.

Police said they were on the lookout for an old model black sedan with Tennessee license plates. Barnett described the holdup man as white, between the ages of 25 and 30, with blue eyes and sandy, curly hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, gray trousers and brown shoes.

Barnett said after the man left, he returned to his truck and tried unsuccessfully to chase him down.

Police searched for the suspect for several days, but its not clear whether anyone was ever arrested. The Abingdon Police Department has no record of the case in its current files.

We do not have many open case reports from that far back, Abingdon Police Department Community Relations Coordinator Tenille Montgomery said. This case could have been handled by us, the Virginia State Police or the WCSO [Washington County Sheriffs office]. For a long time, towns were not allowed to investigate felonies. Once they were granted authorization, many still relied upon the VSP or the county sheriff.

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Robert Sorrell Follow Robert Sorrell Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
A multi-state investigation into the armed robbery of a Marion, Virginia, business has resulted in the arrest of a Newport, Tennessee, man.

Travis Day, 47, has been charged via a federal criminal complaint with one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence.

On Thursday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, along with Marion Police Department Detective Wes Tomas, executed a search warrant in the 700 block of Raven Way in Newport at Days residence.

Marion Police Chief John Patrick Clair said Day was the primary suspect in an armed robbery that occurred April 18 at the Fas-Mart in Marion. A person with a gun entered the store and removed cash from the register, Clair said.

As a result of information obtained during the search warrants execution, Clair said Day was located by ATF agents in Morgantown, West Virginia, and was taken into custody without incident.

Clair said the investigation, which involved Marion police and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, led officers to Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Bidens well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasnt that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

Id never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Bidens explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.
(We must be clear, however, that case files remain open to the public and the news media.)

Del. Mike Mullins, a Newport News Democrat who led a bipartisan group of legislators in 2018 to work on legislation addressing transparency in the court system, was less than impressed by the high courts new rules. Speaking with the Daily Press, he was blunt in his assessment: You could drive a truck through these [rules].

And hes right; these rules are designed for the benefit of judges and court officials, certainly not the public.

The battle over court openness began more than three years ago when the Daily Press embarked on a statewide investigation project examining the differences in sentencing across the state, with an eye toward the defendants race and what type of legal representation the person had. The papers reporters discovered there was a tremendous discrepancy between counties regarding how such records were assembled and maintained, but that there was also a much more sophisticated database at the Supreme Court level. The paper sued for access to that database, but lost in court. From that legal battle, came the effort in the General Assembly to address transparency in the court system.

And not just the judicial systems case records shielded from the public: The new rules put information about the court systems finances and administration off limits to the public. Why the justices enacted these sweeping rules is anyones guess, but we believe they went much further than the Assembly intended in 2018. We hope, in 2020, legislators revisit the matter and pry the courts open.
The other day I overheard a person (white older male) comment that that he was tired of seeing all these immigrants coming in and stealing jobs away from good, hard-working Americans and he especially didnt want any of them around HERE! I felt compelled then to answer him in this letter.

Sir, have you noticed that the population of Southwest Virginia is shrinking? We are losing folks, not gaining them. The young people are leaving, by and large, and it is the habit of old people to die. That alone would seem a rather good reason to be welcoming immigrants, not discouraging them.

And, let me say, they are indeed NOT taking jobs away from hard-working Americans. Have you seen any immigrants lazing around the streets or just hanging out at a coffee shop? Id hazard a guess not. Chances are the immigrants you HAVE seen have most likely been working harder than many Americans would at the jobs they have and doing them very efficiently while learning a new language, to boot. Think about that the next time you talk about stealing jobs.

And have you SEEN all the help wanted signs out? Americans arent lining up for these jobs.
A Provo family caring for foster children needs help with Christmas magic

A Provo family needs help to make Christmas magical for their foster children this year. Maya and her family had cared for three foster children years ago who suddenly needed to stay with them again. According to Maya, the sudden change in family size has been a difficult adjustment. She has struggled to get enough sleep in addition to supporting all of the kids. Its hard to give everyone the attention they need, Maya said. As a previous Sub for Santa volunteer, Maya understands the tremendous impact that the program can have on a family. Using this service will help her to ...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago by Montgomery Ward copywriter Robert L. May to sell toys in 1939. Heres how the popular Christmas character  and its author  went down in history.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago: Here's how the story became a book, song and TV special
Once is enough when it comes to big news stories
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted to set up shop here, at least for now. Instead, the focus would be on small craft growers, with an emphasis on helping people of color become entrepreneurs in the weed industry. In addition, adults would be allowed to grow up to five plants per household, in a locked room out of public view, with the permission of the landowner.
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Grand Prize Winner: Donna Rickey Blog Winners: A Song for her Enemies by Sherri Stewart: Mary Ann Hake Spies & Sweethearts by Linda Shenton Matchett: Connie Ruggles Sword of Trust by DebbieLynn Costello: Brenda Walters Justice for Julia by Donna Schlachter: Natalya Lakhno Party Prize winners: Sherri Stewarts Winners A Song for her Enemies: Angie Pool Bottle of Dutch Syrup: Carol Koch Alscheff Corrie ten Boom book: Deb Gramie Burgess Linda Shenton Matchetts winners: $5.00 gift card to online retailer or choice (Kobo, B&N, AppleBooks, Amazon): Karen Hadley A Bride for Seamus: Carol Osterhouse Wotring DebbieLynn Costellos winners: Sword of the Matchmaker: Melissa Planas Sword of Forgiveness: Paty Hinojosa Gomez Shattered Memories: Charlene Zall Capodice Sword of the Perfect Bride: Licha Haney Donna Schlachters winner: Leather Journal: Lisa Turley

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HICKORY  Thomas Dufour, son of Harold and Jennifer Dufour of Hickory, was recently honored for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, scoutings highest achievement. In addition, he was awarded a Bronze Palm for having completed an extra five merit badges more than the 21 required for Eagle.

Only seven percent of Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle and less than one percent earn a Palm. The ceremony was held in the Althouse Room at Corinth Reformed Church and officiated by Scoutmaster Brad Lasecki and Committee Chairman Mark Faruque. A closing prayer was given by Pastor Peggy Stout of Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ.

Dufour, 16, a junior at Newton-Conover High School, has been active in scouting since first grade when he joined Pack 231 at First Presbyterian Church as a Tiger Cub. He continued through to Boy Scouts joining Troop 351, which later merged with Troop 1 at Corinth Reformed Church, where Thomas is currently an active member. He has enjoyed many camping excursions through scouting such as: hiking part of the Appalachian Trail, Mountain Man Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee, and sailing around the Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. John with Seabase Scout Camp. When wildfires struck New Mexico last summer, a planned trip to Philmont Scout Ranch was cancelled because the ranch was forced to close for the entire summer. Now that the camp is back in operation, he plans to attend Philmont next year.
A year before he left the assessors post, Hynes was tapped with heading up President Bill Clintons re-election campaign in Illinois, chairing what has become a routine staple of Illinois politics  the coordinated campaign which linked national and local Democratic candidate strategy and fundraising. So successful was the effort that Democrats, after two years as the minority, won back control of the Illinois House despite a Republican-drawn redistricting map. It also returned Michael Madigan to the speakers chair after the only two years he has not held the post since 1983.
The Islamic Research Foundation of Dr. Zakir Naik who is overtly supporting terrorism and propagating the ideology of terrorism was banned in India by the Indian Government on 17.11.2016. Even after that, the terrorists have committed bomb blasts in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, by taking inspiration from the speeches of Dr. Zakir Naik. A chargesheet submitted recently by the Enforcement Directorate in the court mentions that the illegal property of Dr. Naik worth Rs. 193 crores was found.

Similarly, the National Investigation Agency has claimed that the literature of Dr. Zakir Naik was found with the terrorists of Islamic State in Kerala. Therefore, if the Indian Government claims that Dr. Zakir Naik is dangerous for the national security, why the Facebook accounts of Dr. Naik himself and those of Islamic Research Foundation have not been banned so far by the Government ?

If Dr. Zakir Naik is allowed to propagate through an effective medium such as Facebook, the ban imposed on him appears pretentious. Therefore, the ban should be imposed immediately on the Facebook and other social media groups of Dr. Zakir Naik and his organisations, demanded Mr. Ramesh Shinde National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

After the Central Government imposes a ban on the organisation, as per the prevalent rules, the organisation or its activists cannot remain active in the interest of that organisation. Still, 1.7 crore followers are active on the Facebook account of Dr. Zakir Naik and 6 million followers on the Facebook account of the Islamic Research Foundation.

An official complaint was lodged on 5th June 2017 with the Union Home Ministry, Home Secretary and National Security Agency by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti demanding a ban on both the Facebook accounts. A memorandum to this effect was also personally submitted to the Minister of State of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir. Despite the lapse of 2 years, why is the Government has not taken any action in this matter ? Is the Government waiting for the terrorist attacks in India too on the lines of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ? These questions were also raised by Mr. Ramesh Shinde.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was eligible for the National Film Awards under the rules. According to the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the awards, Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for Awards.

The only condition for an artist under the rulebook is that his or her name should appear in the credit line and the person should be a resident of India.

Clause 7.1 of the regulations say that Only those persons whose names are on the credit titles of the film and are normally residing and working in India will be eligible for the Awards.

When a row broke out on social media about Akshay Kumars national award, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia made a similar point and said that foreign nationals can get National Awards.

Akshay Kumar was named for the Best Actor award for 2016. Akshay issued a statement on Friday regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He says he has never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport and that he doesnt understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about it.

I really dont understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years, Akshay tweeted.

I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others, he added in the statement.

He concluded by saying: Lastly, I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.

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Actor Priyanka Chopras to be sister-in-law Ishita Kumar has deleted every wedding-related picture from her Instagram account, after it was rumoured that her wedding to Priyankas brother Siddharth had been called off. Priyanka had recently come to India for the celebrations, which were reportedly supposed to take place at the end of April. Her cousin Parineeti Chopra, too, joined the family in Mumbai. But the actors flew back without any vows having been exchanged between Siddharth and Ishita.

Ishita had earlier deleted pictures from her and Siddharths roka ceremony and had shared fresh pictures of herself, hinting at new beginnings and beautiful endings. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Ishita has now deleted her solo pictures from the roka ceremony as well as the bridal shower that took place in London.

Ishita has posted a new picture of herself hanging out at a restaurant with the caption, Cheers to new beginnings. With a goodbye kiss to beautiful endings. Her mother Nidhi Kumar had written on the post, Close old book and write, whereas her father had commented, We are with you; Feel the expanse of the universe and be the star you were born to be.

Earlier, it was reported that the bride-to-be had undergone an emergency surgery just days before the wedding, which was thought to be the reason for the postponement. There has been no official word from the family regarding the matter.

Priyanka, however, ended up attending brother-in-law Joe Jonas surprise wedding with fiance and Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner in Las Vegas. Sophie and Joe tied the knot in a private ceremony soon after attending the Billboard Music Awards with the rest of the family. The Jonas Brothers performed at the awards and were cheered on by their wives, after which they headed to the Little White Chapel for the wedding. Priyanka was wearing a halo of white ribbons and is assumed to have played one of the bridesmaids to Sophie.

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If, as most polls suggest, Narendra Modi is likely to return as Prime Minister albeit weakened by the loss of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) majority, its time we took seriously some of his partys manifesto commitments. The ones I want to focus on concern Kashmir. It is, undeniably, one of the most serious challenges awaiting the next government and, arguably, very poorly handled by this one.

Compared to 2014, terrorist incidents have increased nearly 300% according to home ministry figures. Bomb blasts have gone up by 330% according to the National Bomb Data Centre of the National Security Guard put out by PTI. Last year, the people killed in Kashmir was the highest in a decade, according to the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The number of local Kashmiris joining militancy was also the highest in a decade, according to army sources quoted in PTI. Today its not uncommon for young Kashmiris, often young girls, to throw stones at security forces to prevent them from capturing militants. These young teenagers show no fear. It seems weve alienated them.

Its in these circumstances the BJP manifesto commits the party to abrogating Article 370 and annulling 35A. Other than BJP supporters, practically everyone else believes this will inflame the situation. Its a recipe for making things worse.

The key question is: Does the BJP mean what its manifesto says or is this political posturing to enthuse and consolidate its voters in the rest of the country? Until last weekend, there were few doubts but then general secretary, Ram Madhav, queered the pitch. Speaking in Anantnag, he said the issue will be decided by the Parliament. The BJP is fighting in Kashmir on the agenda of development, so lets now focus on this. He then proceeded to speak about Insaniyat, Jamooriyat, Kashmiriyat, the Vajpayee formula of two decades ago.

So was Ram Madhav tweaking the manifesto commitment? Was he, subtly, telling Kashmiris not to take it seriously? Possibly. That conclusion was seemingly corroborated when, a day later, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh reiterated in strong terms the commitment to abrogate. But they were speaking in Barabanki and Lucknow, far away from the Valley.

The truth is the BJP position on 370 has repeatedly changed since the mid-1990s. In 1996 and 1998, it promised to abrogate. In 1999 and 2004, it was silent though LK Advani publicly said (24 March 2004) that this was not the right time to abrogate. In 2009 and 2014, the BJP, once again, decided to abrogate. A year later, in 2015, in the Agenda for Alliance with the People Democratic Party (PDP), it committed itself to retaining 370. Now, in 2019, its gone back to abrogating.

So what should we make of the latest commitment? To whom is it addressed? And if the party wins, will it be implemented or forgotten? Whilst clear answers are awaited, one thing is certain: If the commitment is serious its certainly no more so than it was in 1998 and 2014, when the BJP-led governments that followed did not even for a moment consider abrogation.

This time around the commitment has provoked anger in the Valley. That, perhaps, is what the BJP wanted. It has the right effect on its supporters in the rest of the country. But lest the situation in Srinagar and Anantnag get out of control, Ram Madhav sought to delicately defuse it. And in case that sent the wrong message south of the Banihal, Shah and Singh trumpeted the undiluted commitment.

This feels like different strokes for different folks. Of course, thats what the BJP has been attempting for two decades. But does it reveal Modis BJP in a flattering light? Or suggest a preference for opportunistic tactics over conviction and principle? I wonder how Modi would answer that question.

The views expressed are personal

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India is being acclaimed around the world for upholding democracy by conducting the largest general election ever held. But this election once again raises two questions. How democratic is Indias democracy? And, is parliamentary democracy right for India?

It is often suggested that presidential democracy would be preferable to parliamentary democracy in India, that a president would be able to deliver development more efficiently than a prime minister. Certainly a president elected by the people is far freer to act than a prime minister because he is not answerable to the Parliament, and doesnt have to restrict his choice of ministers to members of parliament (MPs). But a president is less of a democrat than a prime minister because so much power is concentrated in his hands. That is dangerous and not necessary. Its often forgotten that two prime ministers whose powers were particularly limited by the constraints of parliamentary democracy were the most successful economic reformers  PV Narasimha Rao, who headed a minority government, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had to hold a jumbo coalition together.

It can certainly be argued that India would be more democratic if its MPs, now elected by being first-past-the-post in their constituencies, were elected by proportional representation (PR). There are different forms of PR but the basic principle is that seats in Parliament are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes each party wins. In other words, a party winning 30% of the votes gets approximately 30% of the seats in Parliament.

The results of the 2014 election demonstrate how undemocratic the first-past-the-post voting proved to be. We have come to believe that a popular wave swept Narendra Modi into Parliament, whereas, in fact, most Indians voted for parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party Modi led won 282 seats with just 31% of the votes. This is the lowest percentage of votes ever to win an absolute majority in Parliament. The Congress performance wasnt as miserable as its tally of seats, 44, suggests. Its vote share was 19.3%. Third came the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 4.2% of the vote which didnt give the party even one seat. If the election had been held under PR and if the voting had been similar, the BJP would have been well short of a majority, with about 170 seats and the Congress would have had a more respectable total of nearly 110 seats. The BSP would have found itself with 23 MPs. These figures show that under PR there is much more chance of every voters vote getting him or her representation in Parliament.

The main argument against PR is that it would lead to unstable coalitions . As Vajpayee showed, coalitions dont have to be unstable. The Congress coalition under Manmohan Singh survived for 10 years but it has to be said that apart from those two prime ministers, the survival rate of coalitions has not been encouraging. Against that, the long years of the Congress dominating Indian politics are not an advertisement that first-past-the-post can lead to stability because they favour bigger parties. Speaking in the Rajasthan town of Jalore in this campaign, Amit Shah called on Rahul Gandhi to give an account of what he called 55 years of Congress rule. With his call for a Congress-free India, Shah is now trying to create a one-party democracy under the BJP rule. Speaking on another occasion in Rajasthan, he said the BJP will now rule for the next 50 years.

I believe PR elections resulting in coalitions would be the most democratic way for a country as diverse as India to choose governments, rather than first-past-the-post elections, which might lead again to one-party domination. However, I doubt whether politicians can exercise the discipline and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices of personal interests and ambitions for multi-party coalitions to work. So maybe the best outcome for India after all, would be first-past-the-post elections leading to a two-party democracy. That would require the Congress to revive and the BJP to temper its ambition.

The views expressed are personal
Three men from Bangladesh  who allegedly used to take flights to Delhi to commit dacoity in different Indian

states before flying back to evade arrest  Friday landed in Delhi Polices net.

The stolen valuables and the passports used for the frequent trips have been seized from them, police said.

Police said the three are members of a larger gang that operates in different states of India. Besides the several crimes they have committed in Delhi, police officers maintained, five dacoities reported from Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Dharwad and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh have been solved with their arrest.

According to police, the three arrested men have been identified as Kamrul Kamaal (42), Sahidul Islam (38) and Nazrul (36)  all of them Bangladesh nationals. Kamaal was lodged in a jail in Delhi between 2003 and 2010, and then, at a jail in Muzaffarnagar between 2011 and June, 2017, police said, adding that Nazrul is involved in at least 21 cases and has been convicted in several of them. Islam, meanwhile, has six cases of robbery, theft and cases under the Arms Act registered against him, police maintained.

G Ram Gopal Naik, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said recently, a number of dacoities were reported from different states. All of the incidents were reported late in the night by a gang comprising six-eight members. The gang used to cut open window grilles and tie up all members of the targeted houses at gunpoint before fleeing with their valuables. During investigations into the case, it was revealed that a Bangladeshi gang is involved in these cases, and therefore, we put Bangladeshi gangs active in India under surveillance, Naik said.

Elaborating further, Naik said police managed to zero in on one Kamrul Kamaal, who was suspected to be leading the gang. Following an input of his presence in Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, our team swung into action and arrested Kamaal and two of his aides, later identified as Islam and Nazrul. Two countrymade pistols were recovered from their possession, he said.

During questioning, the trio told police that all of them are Bangladesh nationals. They said Kamaal and Islam had entered India with passports after procuring a visa while Nazrul had sneaked in through border, illegally. Passports revealed Kamaal visited India eight times since July, 2017, and Islam entered India thrice since. Nazrul said he had gained entry illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying R5000, the DCP said.

Police said the gang targeted houses in posh colonies. If any member resisted, they did not hesitate to kill them. They mostly stayed near railway stations or in the forested areas of the city. After committing the crime, the gang used to return to Bangladesh. Since the other two used to fly back, Nazrul, who used to sneak in illegally, used to carry the stolen valuables, which the gang later distributed equally, Naik said.
It was a two-minute conversation that 27-year-old doctor Chandra Prakash Verma had with his mother over the phone Thursday morning that led police to him.

Police tracked down Vermas last phone call location to Uttarakhands Rishikesh, but it took them more than 24 hours to identify the guest house where he was staying. They finally nabbed him from Roorkee when he was about to jump into the Ganga canal.

Vermas phone was switched off near NH-24 around 10pm Tuesday, almost two hours after he allegedly murdered his flatmate, Dr Garmia Mishra, a crime branch officer said.

As Verma did not turn up at his family home in Bahraich nor at his relatives or friends houses, we were waiting for him to switch his phone on or try to contact someone from a landline. The phone numbers of his family, relatives and friends were on surveillance, the officer said.

On Thursday, around 7am, Verma called his mother and said he had committed a big mistake and sought her forgiveness. He told her that he was going to kill himself and disconnected the call, the police said.

The call location was traced to Rishikesh. The police teams visited over 30 guest houses in Rishikesh found the one where he had stayed till 6am Thursday, the crime branch officer said.

Police said the guest house staff told them that Verma had been enquiring about the depth of the Ganga, the points where the river was very deep, and the chances of survival if he jumped into the river. The staff told him that the Ganga canal is much deeper at places in Dehradun and Haridwar. Our team began scanning areas along the river and the Ganga canal. They spotted him standing on a bridge in Roorkee and caught him. He confessed to killing his roommate and also admitted that he was about to kill himself, DCP (crime branch) G Ram Gopal Naik.

During questioning, Verma revealed that he tried to kill himself thrice but could not do so.

Verma said on Wednesday, at the guest house in Rishikesh, he planned to hang himself from the ceiling fan but dropped the idea as he thought that the fan would break, the officer said.

The second time, he tried to get himself electrocuted by touching a power transformer in Haridwar. But since Verma had dealt with cases of attempted suicides gone wrong at the hospital, he knew the problems the families of such people faced and decided to drop the second plan, the officer said.

He then decided to jump into the Ganga canal and reached the Roorkee bridge. But we caught him before he could jump, the officer added.
Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was booked on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after Baba Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in Haridwar.

Yechury had in Bhopal on Thursday said, Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Taking objection to the comments, Ramdev lodged a complaint with senior superintendent of police Haridwar, Janmejaya Khanduri.

Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies, Khanduri said.

A case under IPC Section 153(a) has been registered against Yechury.

Reacting to the case, member of CPI(M) state secretariat, Bacchiram Konswal said, Ramdev is working for BJP and his complaint is part of BJPs polarisation efforts. Yechury didnt make the statement against Hindus but on a statement of the BJPs Bhopal candidate. He never said anything against any community.
A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.
Two branches of Bank of Baroda in Surat sparked a controversy on Saturday for banning entries of customers in burqas and helmets and then backtracked following protests from Muslims.

Notices saying remove burqa/helmet and no admission with burqa and helmet had come up at Ambaji Road branch and New Civil Hospital branch in Surat. On Saturday, Muslims raised objections over the ban on burqa which is a religious tradition.

As Muslim leaders raised objections, the bank said it did not intend to hurt sentiments of any community and removed the notice.

Bank officials maintained that the notice was put up after recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka. Only two branches of the bank in the city had the notice.

There was no ill intent behind the notice. Also, it was not meant to target any community. It was done for security reasons. And it has been removed now, Ambaji road branch manager Navin Gohiya told the media.

But not everybody was convinced with the explanation.

Such notice definitely targets the Muslims. Helmets can be removed anytime. But Muslim women put on burqa to follow the religion. They are not supposed to remove it, said Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh.

The ruling BJP maintained that the government was not involved in the in the banks decision and said that peoples consent is required even in the matters of security measures.

The government has nothing to do with the banks decision. But the BJP believes that even for security steps, consent of people or community should be taken. Besides, the rules should not be the cause of inconvenience for anyone .
After cyclone Fani weakened into a severe depression and moved course towards Bangladesh by Saturday morning, chief minister Mamata Banerjee resumed campaigning, as she had put them on hold to monitor relief efforts, a day after she had cancelled all her political programmes for 48 hours.

PM Modi called up Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and expressed his concern and directly asked Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prepare a report.

An irked TMC secretary general and minister Partha Chatterjee said, In a federal structural a state government has its own position and rights. The Modi government never respected that.
A woman lawmaker in Telangana, who recently defected from the Congress to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, faced the fury of her former partys supporters who attacked her with stones and chappals on Saturday when she entered a village in her constituency to campaign for a TRS candidate in the local body elections.

Banothu Haripriya Naik, who represents Yellandu assembly constituency in Khammam district, visited Govindrala village of Kamepalli block in the morning to campaign for TRS candidate Lakhavarthu Sunitha contesting as mandal parishad (block) territorial constituency member.

As the MLA entered the village in an open-top vehicle, followed by the local TRS workers, irate villagers, mostly Congress supporters, shouted at her and asked her to go back. They questioned how she dared to enter the village after betraying them by defecting to the TRS.

We toiled day and night in the assembly elections held in December to get Haripriya elected braving tough fight with the TRS. But within a couple of months becoming the MLA, she joined the TRS betraying our faith, an angry Congress worker told local reporters.

As the Congress workers started pelting stones and chappals at Haripriya, the TRS workers formed a shield around her and saved her from the attack. The shocked MLA got back into her car and left the village, while the TRS workers retaliated by pelting stones back at the Congress workers. At least five people were injured in the stone pelting.

Police stopped the situation from getting out of hand by dispersing the warring groups. We immediately shifted the injured to the Yellandu hospital for treatment. The situation is under the control now, sub-inspector Tirupati Reddy said.

Police beefed up the security it the village and are trying to pacify the leaders of both parties to bring normalcy.

Haripriya could not be reached for her comment.

The Telangana unit of the Congress has been protesting against alleged illegal poaching of its MLAs by the TRS to eliminate an opposition in the state. The Congress won 19 seats in the elections to 119-member assembly in December and of them, 11 MLAs have defected to the TRS, leaving the grand old party with just eight members.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who began Prajaswamya Parirakshana Yatra (Save Democracy tour) from Khammam on Monday , called upon the party workers to pull up the defected MLAs for ditching the party.

He demanded that the turncoat MLAs be booked under Section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code, as they cheated the people who voted for them against the TRS.

Defecting from one party into other party was a matter of concern to all people. The Constitutional bodies should respond to the issue without delay, he said.

A TRS leader said on condition of anonymity that defection of MLAs from the opposition to the ruling party was not a new phenomenon. Even during the Congress regime between 2004 and 2009, then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy poached several TRS MLAs into the Congress, he pointed out.

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Dismissing the Congress as a vote cutter party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the grand old party has now stooped to maligning his honesty and hard work.

Addressing a rally in Pratapgarh on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase of national elections, Modi said till the first phase, Congress leaders were looking at the prime ministers post. But after four phases of polling, they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter, Modi said.

He said the Opposition was not able to accept the mandate given by the people to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the four phases of polling so far. Desperate Opposition is now trying everything up their sleeves to keep Modi out of power, the Prime Minister said.

Modi also accused Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav of cheating his Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair. However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the

Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he said.

If they [Opposition] see the crowd in my meetings, they will be rattled. I have never seen so many people gathering for a political cause in the month of May, said Modi, in a choked voice.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as maha milavati [adulterated], the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance  corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule, and misgovernance.

Dubbing Congress president Rahul Gandhi as naamdar, Modi said the Congress president has accepted that his motive was to malign his image by harping on false issues. Naamdar, listen to me. Modi has grown up eating dust of Bharat mata and has lived for Bharat mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceits, he added.

He also accused the Congress of not doing anything for the poor. Rahul [Gandhi] wants proof of Modis works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our jawans, as the conscience of country has awoken. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi while seeking support for BJP candidates from Basti, Siddharthnagar and Sant Kabeernagar.
Friday started on an unforgettable note for Sana, the daughter of a cook at the Walled Citys iconic Al Jawahar restaurant. She got a call from Manish Sisodia, Delhis deputy chief minister and education minister, congratulating her for topping the Class 12 school-leaving examination across the citys government schools.

The 17-year-old humanities student from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Chandni Chowk scored 97.6% overall and scored a perfect 100 in history. I received a call early in the morning, saying the minister wanted to speak to me. I thought it was a prank call. I believed it only after I heard him speaking! she said.

A bright student right through school, Sana never wanted to switch to a private institution. There were instances when my friends in the neighbourhood advised me to switch to a private school. They used to say I cannot do well in life after studying in a government school. But the private schools were expensive for us. I did not care about the suggestions and worked hard. I did not even take tuitions, said Sana, who wants to be an IAS officer.

First. I want to pursue BA (Honours) in Political Science from a top Delhi University college, and then will prepare for the civil services exam, she said.

Sanas father Niazuddin, whose secret twist to the butter chicken, is renowned across the city, cooked for the family on Friday as a special treat. My father loves to cook for us on big occasions, Sana said. He has always encouraged me and my four siblings to work hard. Even my sister had topped her school in Class 12 in 2017.

Niazuddin, who has been working at the Old Delhi restaurant for the last 35 years, said he takes care of its kitchen along with assisting the head chef who cooks the iconic delicacies, including the butter chicken. I am overwhelmed today. Despite all odds, my daughter has made us all proud, he said.

Gyan Kaur, 17, a student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Ramesh Nagar, got the second rank across Delhi government schools, scoring 97%. Kaurs father works in a cement company. She scored a perfect 100 in Economics and wants to pursue Political Science (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College.

The topper in the Commerce stream across the Delhi government schools is Pooja Singh, whose parents have hearing and speech disabilities. A student of Government Senior Secondary School in Sant Nagar, she got 481 marks out of 500. Her father works in Delhi University as a staffer. I want to pursue my career in finance, she said.

Sisodia said on Friday that the Class 12 results were unprecedented, with the overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools 94. 24% in the Central Board of Secondary Education exam. The results could have been better if the Delhi government was given land to build more schools. But our teachers and students worked very hard to make it possible. Even the results of our evening shift schools have improved to 89.3% from last years 83%, he said.

The results have improved even as the number of students appearing in the Class 12 exam rose from 112,826 last year to 129,917 in 2019.

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In a major security breach, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was attacked during his roadshow in New Delhis Moti Nagar area on Saturday.

The incident took place when Arvind Kejriwal was holding a roadshow in favour of his partys candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the New Delhi seat.

In the video, a man wearing a red shirt can be seen climbing atop the open jeep and slapping Kejriwal across the face before he is pulled off the jeep.

The assailant, identified as Suresh, 33, who has a spare-parts business in Kailash Park, was immediately apprehended by the AAP workers around the jeep and handed to the police. He has been taken to the Moti Nagar police station.

Heres the video:

This is not the first time that the Delhi CM has been attacked.

In November 2018, a man had thrown chilli powder on him outside his office in the Delhi secretariat.

In 2016, a man had thrown a shoe at Arvind Kejriwal when he was giving the details of the phase 2 of the odd-even scheme. Around the same time, a woman had also thrown ink on him at a thanksgiving gathering at Chhatrasal Stadium.

In 2014, an autorickshaw driver had slapped Kejriwal while he was campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections in Sultapuri in northwest Delhi. Kejriwal had suffered a black eye at that time.

Earlier, he has had engine oil and eggs also hurled at him.
India has conveyed to Pakistan its concerns about the security of its high commission in Islamabad and complained about the harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month, people familiar with developments said on Saturday.

Concerns about the security of the high commission were conveyed in a demarche submitted to Pakistans Foreign Office recently, the people said. They declined to go into the details of the security threat but indicated it was a serious matter.

In a separate note verbale sent to the Pakistani side on April 25, India protested about the harassment and detention of two of its diplomats at Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The diplomats, who were at the shrine to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were locked up in a room for close to half an hour by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, the people said. The intelligence operatives also questioned the diplomats and searched their belongings, they added.

Before letting the diplomats go, the intelligence personnel warned them not to come back to the area, the people said.

The note verbale asked the Pakistani side to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to ensure such incidents did not occur again.

Indian diplomats have been repeatedly harassed while trying to assist and facilitate visiting Sikh pilgrims at several gurdwaras in Punjab province. Indians pilgrims have also been confronted with propaganda by pro-Khalistan groups.
The chief of Sri Lankas army said some of the people who carried out the April 21 serial bombings in his country had travelled to regions such as Kashmir and Kerala in India to possibly be part of terrorism training activities, according to an interview with the BBC published online on Friday.

The comments by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke is the first confirmation by a senior security official in either of the countries of the terrorists having travelled to India, a link that Indian security agencies have been pursuing since shortly after the attacks in the island nation.

They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us, Senanayke said.

Asked if he was aware of the purpose of those visits, the army commander replied: It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

WATCH: Moment of explosion at Sri Lankas Kingsbury Hotel caught on CCTV

Counter-terror agencies such as the National Investigation Agency have carried out raids in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they have picked up several people for suspected links to the Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group that claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Indian officials who have not to be named, at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

A Union home ministry official did not comment on the Sri Lanka Army chiefs comment. Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation, a senior official in the security establishment, who did not wanted to named, said. Till now, Indian investigators have not mentioned a Kashmir link to the Lankan bombers, though leads were still being followed.

One of the key suspects who is believed by Indian officials to have visited India is Islamic preacher Maulvi Zahran Bin Hashim  leader of Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and the ringleader of Easter Sunday attackers.

Indian officials refused to share details about the purpose of Hashims visit or the people he was in touch with. Hashim, an official said, was initially associated with Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ) but the organisation was not found involved in any terror activities. He subsequently broke away from TNTJ to form his own  Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and started preaching violent form of Islam in the island nation.
The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case after the head of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), who banned wearing niqab, the face veil, on campus of his institutions complained of receiving a death threat.

I received a call on my mobile phone on Friday evening threatening to kill me. He was very agitated and heaped abuses on me. He told me not to fiddle with religious issues, said MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor. I tried to reason with him but he was not willing to listen.

But Gafoor insisted his group will go ahead with its decision to ban the veil.

The police later found that the threat call came from one of the countries in the Middle east which has a sizeable non-resident Indians. The police did not name the country.

The MES had issued the circular on Thursday citing a recent Kerala High Court order to ban hijab which covers a womans head in all its institutions. The MES runs 150 institutions.

While many progressive Muslim outfits have welcomed the decision saying face veil was nothing to do with the religion but many traditionalists opposed it vehemently dubbing it an incursion on religious freedom.

Samastha Kerala Jemiayathul Ulema president Muthukoya Thangal criticized MESs move saying: The MES has no right to dictate terms to believers. Burqua is the identity of Muslim women and nobody can deny this, and demanded the withdrawal of the circular. Jammat e-Islami has also criticised the move.

But the dominant Muslim political party, the Muslim League, is yet to comment on the issue. The ruling Left Democratic Front has welcomed the move. Even while performing the Haj pilgrimage women never cover their face. It is nothing to do with religion and we should promote such saner voices from the community, said K T Jaleel, state minister for local administration.
A 56-year-old villager was killed on Friday when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to be planted by Maoists to target security personnel, exploded in Aurangabad district of Magadh region, about 125 km south of Patna, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred between Pachrukhia and Langurahi forest area where road construction work was on. The villager who was herding his cattle home stepped on the IED which blew up injuring him seriously. He succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.

The deceased was identified as Karu Bhuiyan of Koilwa village Madanpur Tehsil. A police official said Karu had gone to the area to bring back his cattle when he stepped on the IED.

The official said the Maoists often plant IEDs to target security forces who regularly visit the area on routine patrol. A police team rushed to the spot after the blast and Karus body was sent for post mortem.

Additional Superintendent of Police (operations) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that a case has been registered in this connection. Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras, he said.

Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the ongoing parliamentary election, have stepped up violence in their areas of influence.

On Friday night, suspected Maoists blew up the election office of Jharkhands former chief minister and BJP candidate from Khunti Arjun Munda.

On Wednesday, Maoists blew up a vehicle in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district killing 15 policemen and the driver on Dadapur road.

Shortly after the attack, Maoists set ablaze at least six vehicles and other machines of a construction company engaged in road construction in Bihars Magadh division.
India is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of buying more American shale oil, which the US has been pushing to counterbalance the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

Indias main problem with US shale is that it will be more expensive for Indian refineries to process it, effectively increasing the price of the output.

The officials, who didnt want to be named, said that once the US sanctions on Iranian oil kicked in, Indias future purchases from alternative energy suppliers will be finalised keeping in mind the countrys energy and commercial security.

Also Read | India could cut US shale import to offset Iran loss

The US sanctions will disrupt supplies from Iran, which accounted for 10% of Indias energy imports in 2018-19, but the officials said relying on US shale oil will be more expensive and require changes in the configuration of refineries currently set up to process Iranian and other crude.

This, in turn, will make output costlier, and hence, economically unviable, they added.

Were already taking a hit due to the disruption of supplies from Iran. It makes no sense if we have to take a bigger hit by sourcing oil that is more expensive from an alternative source, said an official familiar with developments.

The officials said India is reconsidering a decision to import more shale oil from the US.

Only a handful of new refineries, such as Indian Oil Corporations (IOC) Paradip Refinery, can process shale oil as its composition and properties are different from crude oil. The officials said shale oil processing requires refinery recalibration, which is not commercially viable, especially at a time when the country has been hit by the economic impact of the disruption of Iranian crude supplies.

Also Read | Easter bombers visited Kashmir for training: Sri Lanka army chief

On April 22, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to any country importing Iranian oil. India had been hoping for an extension of the six-month exemption or Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) that had been granted to it last November.

India imported oil and gas worth close to $4 billion from the US last year, and Indias envoy to Washington, Harsh Shringla, said in January the country is committed to buying American oil and gas worth $5 billion per annum.

IOC executives confirmed the company imported 3.8 million tonnes of shale oil from the US during 2018-19 for Paradip Refinery. Even earlier, we imported some shale oil from the US from the spot market in absence of any NOC [national oil company] in America. Now we have term purchase (long-term supply contract), an executive said, requesting anonymity.

The chief executive of a private refinery said on condition of anonymity: The government cannot force us to buy oil from the US if that does not make any economic sense.

Crude or shale oil have different assay, and refiners extract value based on that. One would buy crude oil or shale oil depending on the value one gets. It is a purely commercial consideration, he added.

Asked about Indias future oil purchases once the US sanctions kicked in on May 2, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a briefing on Thursday that all decisions will be taken on the basis of the countrys energy security, commercial considerations and economic security interests. He said the petroleum ministry has a robust plan for obtaining additional supplies from other countries.
India may use a mix of Euros and a Rupee-Rouble transfer to pay for new defence platforms it is buying (or which it has recently bought) from Russia to avoid attracting sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) even as New Delhi continues to explore options of a waiver from Washington, a senior official aware of the details said on condition of anonymity.

A team of senior defence officials led by the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was in Russia last week and one of the issues discussed was the payment channel. Over next few years, India will have to pay approximately $ 7 billion to Russia for weapon systems such as the surface-air-missile Triumf or the S-400, the leasing of the second nuclear-propelled submarine, and the two warships being built in Russia. The S-400 alone is likely to cost India 40,000 crore alone. This surface-air-defence system detects incoming threats at a distance of about 350380 km and its induction is likely to give Indian air-defence a major boost.

The Donald Trump administration passed CAATSA in 2017 with the aim to hurt Russia, Iran and North Korea through punitive measure  primarily sanctions. As many as 39 Russian entities have been placed on the blacklist. An entity dealing with them could attract sanction . Some of the Russian entities are Rosoboronexport, Almaz-Antey, Sukhoi Aviation, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, and United Shipbuilding Corporation. CAATSA came into force from April 2018; since then India has deferred its payments to Russia. Indias problems are at two levels: legacy equipment, most of which are of Russian origin, and which require spares or ammunition; and new weaponry. Washington understands India cannot stop using Russian origin equipment, payment for new equipment, however, is a tricky issue, a second senior official aware of the details said, asking not to be identified.

The Indian delegation met Dmitry Shugev the head of the Federal Service for MilitaryTechnical Cooperation, the body that regulates military-technical cooperation issues, the second official added. Rupee-Rouble trade was discussed as one possible avenue, he said. India, however, needs to make some payment in hard-currency and thats where the Euro comes in. Some countries like China, for instance, have used barters to settle payments with Russia. but that isnt an option for India. India doesnt export enough to Russia to cover the entire amount of the cost. In 2018-19, Indias exports to Russia in 2018 stood at about $2.1 billion whereas it imported about $8 billion from Russia last year.

Payment in Euros to Russia isnt entirely risk-free because it will have to be made through the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and attract sanctions. While the issue of paying Russia without attracting sanctions hasnt been sorted completely, we are closer to a solution, the second senior official said. Sanctions are currency neutral, but there are a lot of ifs and buts, but I am sure that if India has the political will, a way forward will be there and the deal will go through, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Country is run by small-scale shopkeepers, farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand that the nation is not run by a few industrialists but by small-scale shopkeepers and businessmen, said Rahul Gandhi while concluding his rally in Haryanas Gurugram.

We want nyay, not two Indias: Rahul Gandhi in Haryana

We want nyay, not two Indias. As soon as PM imposed demonetisation, you stopped buying and the producers stopped producing. The shopkeepers of Gurugram understand the loss very well. Now we introduced this scheme which will ensure 6,000 goes to every poor persons bank account. Yearly, you will get 72,000. In addition, small shopkeepers and youth will get benefitted. People will start spending on small things and the economy will benefit from it, said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Gurugram

PM Modi is reluctant to use the word chowkidar now in his rallies, lest someone shouts back chor hai, said Rahul Gandhi.

Man who assaulted Arvind Kejriwal during road show held

The man who assaulted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during road show in Moti Nagar area, was held and taken to Moti Nagar police station. He was recognised as Suresh (33).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by man during his road show

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was assaulted by a man during his rally in Moti Nagar area today. :ANI

They are trying to push you back in the lalten era: PM Modi in Bihar

Nitish ji removed Lalten (RJDs symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the lalten era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. :ANI

Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other: PM Modi

Unlike Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh- Uttarakhand, Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other, said PM Modi.

It has become fashionable to spread lies on reservation to divide community: PM Modi

It has become a fashion to spread lies on reservation to divide the community.

Congress, RJD want to save face through playing dirty politics: PM Modi

Congress and RJD now want to save face through playing dirty politics. Their intension is not to serve the people of Bihar. They do not consider themselves servants of the democracy, but rulers. They can go to any extent for their betterment, said PM Modi.

Amit Shah, Smriti Irani hold roadshow in Amethi

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. :ANI

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

BJP candidate hospitalised after SUV rams his car

Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Partys Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, West Bengal, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. :ANI

West Bengal: Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. pic.twitter.com/w8DBpl8gga  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

People of Bihar did not let mahamilavati allies strength increase: PM Modi

Congress, RJD and their allies have cheated this land. The youngsters of this land have been cheated. Bihars dreams were broken, and you all are witness to it. But Bihars people did not let these mahamilavati peoples strength, said PM Modi.

Sisters like Bhagirathi Devi leading new India commendably: PM Modi

It makes me happy when sisters like Padma Sri Bhagirathi Devi lead the new India commendably, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar.

After four phases, they are preparing ground for defeat by insulting me, EC: PM Modi

They used to insult me all the time. But after four phases, they have started insulting the Election Commission and blaming the EVMs too. This is nothing but their excuse for not winning the elections, said PM Modi.

PM Modi addresses public meeting in Bihars Valmiki Nagar

Bihars Champaran has lead the country into understanding the concept of cleanliness, said PM Modi in Bihar.

PM Modi addresses public meeting at Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. Dial 9345014501 to listen LIVE. #DeshKiPasandModi https://t.co/zD6kA12z6u  BJP (@BJP4India) May 4, 2019

Congress and its mahamilawati allies dont want stable government: PM

Congress and its `mahamilawati allies dont want a stable government, PM Modi at rally in Uttar Pradeshs Basti.

BJPs next 5 years will take the country to a new high: PM Modi

They raised bogey of Hindu terrorism in a way that even big terrorists managed to get away but we have changed this. We are promoting defence, farming and other industries in this region. The past 5 years were laying foundation stone of development and the next 5 years will take the country to a new high, said PM Modi

Under BSP rule, nothing or no one was safe: PM Modi

In BSP rule, neither the Taj mahal nor the ambulances were safe. Be it sand or anything else, nothing was safe

its clear that SP under guise of alliance have taken advantage of Mayawati: PM

Now, it is clear that SP under the guise of alliance have taken advantage of behen Mayawati, by keeping her in dark, telling that they would make her the PM but now it is becoming clear to her that SP and Congress have played a game for themselves. Behenji is now openly opposing and criticising Congress, said PM Modi

UP has decided to vote for development: PM Modi

I bow down my head to salute you. You have supported me wholeheartedly. You have already decided to vote for development. The opposition are at their wits end as to what to do to save themselves, said PM Modi

People of UP have decided what poll outcome going to be: PM Modi

The people of UP have already decided what the outcome of the polling is going to be. Bracing such scoching heat, you are standing on roof tops to bless me. I am sure none has been able to get such blessings. I urge caution to people standing on walls that they do not fall off, said PM Modi in UPs Pratapgarh

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan: Rahul Gandhis return fire at PM

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan, said Rahul Gandhi in a return fire at PM Modi. Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by UN on May 1.

Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt, said Rahul Gandhi.

Still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

I apologised to Supreme Court for misquoting their statement, but I still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan, said Rahul Gandhi.

Our main aim is to defeat PM: Rahul Gandhi

Our main aim is to defeat PM Modi. Our manifesto is an effective document, it talks about main issues faced by our country like jobs and farm woes, said Rahul Gandhi.

BJP insulting armed forces: Rahul Gandhi

The BJP is insulting our armed forces. Army is not their property. The strikes were done by them and not by the prime minister, said Rahul Gandhi.

Modi damaged economy, NYAY will give it a jump-start: Rahul Gandhi

PM Modi has completely damaged the economy. He doesnt say anything about jobs. Our NYAY scheme will give it a jump-start. Our ,said Rahul Gandhi.

Our assessment, BJP is going to lose LS polls: Rahul Gandhi

It is now clear that BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha polls. You can see it in the prime ministers face that he is losing. Our assessment says that the BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha elections, said Rahul Gandhi
PM Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up the political temperature on Saturday with a volley of attacks aimed at each other, two days before the fifth phase of the ongoing national elections amid a slugfest over anti-terror strikes conducted in Pakistan during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

At rallies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two key heartland states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting to repeat its impressive 2014 performance, Modi called the Congress a vote-cutter and said the people will reject selfish parties that insulted the countrys soldiers. He also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav, of cheating his so-called Bua, or aunt (ally and Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayawati), by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair.

However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he alleged in Pratapgarh.

Gandhi responded in a speech in Delhi, saying the defence forces were not the PMs personal property, and took a swipe at the BJP for the previous NDA governments decision to release Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Indian Army. We do not politicise the Indian Army, said Gandhi. The comment came a day after Modi said the surgical strikes conducted during the UPA tenure  the Congress has claimed there were six  were only on paper or in a video game.

Gandhi also hit out at the Election Commission of India (EC) and said that the poll watchdog was on the straight line when it came to complaints from the BJP but was completely biased when it came to Opposition complaints.The EC cleared Modi of any wrongdoing in six cases of alleged poll code violation and BJP chief Amit Shah in two. Gandhi himself has been cleared in one case. The EC did not immediately respond to Gandhis charge.

Responding over allegations against the EC, Modi said: These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness. The 48-year-old Congress president also criticised Modi for taking credit for the United Nations Security Council designating Masood Azhar a global terrorist earlier this week. Gandhi said it was the BJP-led government under AB Vajpayee that released Azhar. Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? Did the Congress party do it? Who bowed in front of terrorism, he asked.

The war of words took place in the middle of a general elections in which nationalism and national security, opposition alliance arithmetic, unemployment, and agricultural distress have emerged as big issues.

In Uttar Pradesh, Modi dismissed the Congress as vote cutter party and said it was maligning his honesty and hard work. Till the first phase, the Congress leaders were dreaming of PMs chair, but after four phases of polling they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter party, said the Prime Minister in Pratapgarh.

It was a reference to remarks attributed to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that the party had fielded weak candidates in some constituencies in UP just to cut into the votes of the BJP and help the SP-BSP alliance.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as Maha Milavati (mega adulterated), the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance which were corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule and mis-governance. Naamdar [dynast  a reference to Gandhi], listen to me. Modi has grown up with the dust of Bharat Maa and had lived for Bharat Mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceit, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our soldiers as the conscience of country has woken up now. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi.

He also accused his rival parties of mismanaging law and order. During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SPs tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared, he said. In Bihars West Champaran district, Modi warned people against gimmicks by the Congress to dupe poor farmers.

Later in the day in Delhi, Gandhi credited his party for demolishing Modis image. He is using nationalism as a means to distract. We have fought him in four-five elections, in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like the seaplane in Gujarat. That was a reference to Modi landing on the Sabarmati river in a seaplane towards the end of the Gujarat poll campaign in 2017. He signed off by asking the PM to address at least one press conference before the elections end. It is really looking very bad. He is looking terrible...
Former Union minister MJ Akbar was cross-examined for the first time on Saturday in the criminal defamation suit that he filed against journalist Priya Ramani, who accused him of sexual harassment last year.

Akbar had resigned from his position as minister of state for external affairs in November 2018 after Ramani named him as a harasser.

The case pertains to Ramanis allegations of sexual misconduct against Akbar, dating back to 1993 when he was editor and proprietor of the Asian Age, and she was applying for a job at the paper. I do not remember that Priya Ramani met me in my office in December 93 or that she was looking for a job in Asian Age, Bombay, Akbar told the Ramanis counsel, Rebecca John.

He further added that he does not recollect calling her to a five star hotel in Mumbais Nariman Point in the evening.

Ramani wrote two tweets in October that accused Akbar of sexual misconduct at the workplace. Her tweets also tagged other women, who had similarly accused him of the same.

Soon after the allegations surfaced, Akbar issued a statement that said, The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice.

On October 15, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, stating that his reputation had been irreparably damaged. If proven, Ramani could go to jail for two years in prison. The case will continue on May 20.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday that the Congress lacked the political will but Prime Minister Narendra Modis diplomatic skill led to the UN declaring Jaish-e-mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and the isolation of Pakistan in the international community.

She said the demand to declare Masood Azhar a global terrorist was being raised since 2009 but due to Modis diplomatic skills, Azhar was declared a global terrorist on May 1.

After the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, the then UPA government could have isolated Pakistan but it could not due to lack of political will. Our government has given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, she said while addressing the Vijay Sankalp Samwad in which women from various fields and different sections of society participated.

She said Prime Minister Modi is among the prominent leaders in the world and is now setting the global agenda.

She said in the last five years, Indias respect in the international stage has grown and a lot of development work has taken place. Five years back India was among the weakest economies in the world while now it is the worlds sixth biggest economy.

She said any Indian citizen who sought help on twitter was given assistance and resolution of their problems within 24 hours. She said the Indian government has been successful in bringing back 2.75 lakh persons stranded in other countries.

She said the government had made its slogan sabka saath, sabka vikas a reality. Our government has given 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS), has increased tax exemption limit to 5 lakh for middle class and given constitutional status to the OBCS. The Haj quota for Muslims has been increased and Muslim women has got a reprieve from triple talaq, Swaraj said. This all became possible becase Modi hai toh mumkin hai.

At another press conference, BJP leader and former minister Vasudev Devnani said Lok Sabha election results would be a jolt to the Congress, claiming that the BJP will win all 25 seats. He said political equations in Rajasthan would change after declaration of results.
There will be no water cuts in the city till June-end, said Girish Bapat, guardian minister, on Friday. The minister said that a review of water stock in dams will be taken every ten days.

Bapat said, We have water to suffice only for May and June, and rains are expected in June. So, by considering this, there is no need to cut water supply till June-end.

The minister urged residents to use water judiciously.

We will take a review of the water level in dams every ten days and if needed will take appropriate decision at that time. Also, if needed, we will use water from dams dead stock, said Bapat. Bapat advanced the review meeting, scheduled for Saturday (May 6), to Friday. He held a meeting at Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters where officers from the civic body and irrigation department were present.

Last year on the same day the water level was eight thousand million cubic (TMC), but now it has come down to six TMC.

An official of the irrigation department on condition of anonymity said, At least half TMC water would be needed during the Palkhi procession and half TMC water will evaporate.

Meanwhile, as the civic administration plans to implementing water cuts in the city, the opposition targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bapat on the water issue.

Congress leader Mohan Joshi said, Bapat has released more water to rural areas during the voting period to attract votes for BJP candidate in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc at the pilgrim town of Puri with wind speed in excess of 220 km per hour, the district administration still grappling with the devastation which includes damage to parts of the Jagannath temple.

So far 16 people across Odisha have been killed in the cyclone due to wall collapse, falling of trees and flying debris. But officials said the death toll may go up as rescuers are unable to reach several places of the coastal districts which are still inaccessible.

Till now we are unable to reach disconnected blocks like Krushnsprasad, Bramhagiri and Astaranga. Though we have managed to somehow clear the national highway connecting Bhubaneswar and the roads in the town, many interior roads are still inaccessible. We have pressed NDRF and ODRAF teams for the job. We have opened around 25 free kitchens in the town, said Puri district collector Jyoti Prakash Das.

For people in Puri however the words were of little consolation as sweltering heat and lack of drinking water have made their lives miserable. Officials said it would take at least a week to restore power supply in the temple town.

In Kashiharipur village on Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, housewife Pushpalata Patra said she is at her wits end on how to feed her kids.

I have lost my home to the cyclone. Theres nothing to eat and not a drop of water to drink. I am forced to buy bottled water. How do I feed my five kids, asked Patra. In Batagaon village, 70-year-old Hatu Jena wept inconsolably over thinking of ways on how to survive after his small grocery shop was blown away. How do I feed my wife and grandchildren?  asked Jena.

Also read: Towns in darkness, deserted villages: Fanis destructive trail

In Ramchandi sahi slum of Puri, 55-year-old Sushmita Sahu too was distressed over her next meal after she discovered the 10 kg of rice that she stored had turned soggy.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said his government was trying hard to help people in the aftermath of the cyclone, but conceded that the challenge was huge.

Fani is one of the rarest of rare cyclones  the first to hit in 43 years and one of three to hit in 150 years. Because of the rarity, the prediction and tracking of the cyclone was challenging. In 24 hours, one was not sure of the trajectory it was going to take. Fani after landfall, tore apart the infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply,  said Patnaik, adding that the districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh have also been affected.

In the meteorological centre of Puri, weather officials said Fani was possibly as strong as 1999 super cyclone. The anemometer in our centre broke after clocking gusts of 148 knots (274 km per hour). This was the strongest cyclone I have ever experienced in my life, said Hrusikesh Panda, the officer in charge of the weather office.

Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said getting power and mobile connectivity was a huge challenge considering that thousands of kilometres of low tension and extra high tension lines have been snapped by the cyclone and hundreds of mobile towers wrenched apart. By Monday we are trying to restore BSNL connectivity in Puri and Bhubaneswar. We are trying to restore power in large parts of Bhubaneswar by Sunday. In Puri power restoration will take at least a week, he said.

Odisha energy secretary Hemant Sharma said 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar have been completely damaged affecting 30 lakh consumers. Electricity supply will be restored in 25 per cent area of the Capital city, he said. The electric poles and uprooted trees have brought traffic to a standstill on several national and state highways.

Also read: In Puri, Cyclone Fani terrorizes residents, submerges temple town

In Bhubaneswar, the East Coast Railway officials resumed operations on Saturday by running three special trains including one to Bangalore. The Airports Authority of India resumed operations in the afternoon.

The 500 odd hoteliers in Puri who depend on tourists, said they were worried over piling losses. Laxmidhar Sahu, who owns Hotel Shakuntala on the Puri sea beach, said he cant even think of the losses. The rooms in my hotel are stinking after the cyclone swept seawater. The beds are covered with thick layers of sand. I dont know when will the officials restore power. It will take at least three months to bring my hotel back to shape, said Sahu.

The fishing community in Puri too has been hit badly. In Balinolia sahi, the fishermen were glum over their overturned boats. Earlier we never feared the sea. But after Fani, we are not even thinking of going to sea. We have never seen the sea so violent, said P Dhananjay Swami.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi said he will visit Odisha on Monday morning to take stock of the post cyclone situation.
An analysis of Pakistans air strikes against Indian Army installations along the Line of Control on February 27 by a reputed think tank indicates that while the neighbour wanted to be seen to be retaliating against the Indian Air Forces strikes in Pakistans Balakot a day earlier, it carefully planned its response to misguide its domestic audience and ensure that the conflict did not escalate into war.

A new paper published by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) on Friday said Pakistan was fully aware that it was no match for India in a conventional conflict and the air strikes were merely a demonstration of will and did not intend to target Indias military or civilian assets. The paper, titled Reality of Pakistans Counter Air Strike on February 27: A Demonstration that Failed, noted that Pakistan was encouraged by false bravado and with the intention to misguide their masses.

It said the hurried announcement about the early repatriation of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also indicated Pakistans reluctance to escalate the military situation. Varthaman was captured by the Pakistan Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down. He downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan before his plane was hit. Varthaman was released on March 1. The paper, written by CENJOWS senior fellow Group Captain GD Sharma (retd), noted that Pakistan planned its strikes at an altitude that cost them stealth and launched the attack during the day when its strike package could be easily detected.

It appears that Pakistan planned strikes at 7000-10000 feet. Clearly, this denied them stealth and also gave Indian air defence a warning time of 10-12 minutes strikes planned at lower levels could have remained undetected for a larger portion of their flight, the paper noted, questioning the strike planning. Planning of strike at 9000h-1000h is militarily illogical as strikes are planned at a time to achieve surprise. At late morning hours, air defences could be expected to be at their best performance augmented by visual observers to detect flights which escape the radar detection, it added.The paper said the PAFs objective was not to strike targets on the ground. It noted that only three F-16 attempted shallow ingress of less than 10 km and then exited with the Bison on their tail. Missing a target is difficult unless the intention is not to hit. The only inference one can draw is either poor state of training or intended drop of arsenal was not meant to hit any military or civilian target, Sharma wrote.

CENJOWS director Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), who has commanded an army division along the LoC, said the area targeted by the PAF has a high density of military and civilian population along with other installations, and its near impossible to miss a target there. The paper said it was clear that Pakistan could not afford armed conflict with India because of its precarious financial situation. At the same time, it did not want to present an impression to its masses that it has chickened out of the prospective conflict..., it added.

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A radio-tagged female Amur falcon, which flew non-stop for five days covering thousands of kilometers to reach Somalia in November last year, has returned to the Indian sub-continent on her way to her breeding area in northern China, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said on Friday.

After the long open ocean journey, the bird skirted the coastline of Diu and flew straight over to Surat instead of Mumbai, scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is currently monitoring the route of the migratory bird, said. Right now she is in Maharashtra, he added.

Longleng, a female Amur falcon named after Nagalands district was radio-tagged and arrived in Somalia on April 18 from her winter sojourn in South Africa and started her four day return passage to India on April 29 flying at a speed of 45 km per hour, the WII scientist said.

The bird was radio-tagged in October 2016 as part of projects to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

The smart small raptor weighing around 175 grams, depending upon the weather condition is likely to fly across Nagaland and Manipur for her onward journey to China via Myanmar after passing through Bangladesh, Kumar said.

It seems she is tracking Cyclone Fani, Kumar, who has tagged 10 birds over the last five years, said. So lets wait and watch her next move as Cyclone Fani is heading towards her migratory route.

Two more Falcons-Tamenglong (female) and Manipur (male), were also tagged in Tamenglong district in Manipur on November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, Manipur was found dead four days later while Tamenglong has lost contact after reaching Zambia.
Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after yoga guru Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechurys statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ramdev led a delegation of seers to submit his complaint to Haridwars senior superintendent of police (SSP) Janmejaya Khanduri.

Confirming the complaint, SSP Khanduri said, Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

After receiving the complaint, Khanduri directed the local police to take required action on the complaint after which a case was registered.

Based on the complaint we have registered a case against Yechury for promoting enmity between religious communities under section 153(a) of IPC. Investigations are on, said sub-inspector Thakur Singh Rawat, in-charge of Roori-Belwala checkpost.

Earlier before lodging the complaint, Ramdev addressed a press conference along with other seers comprising ex-ShankaracharyaSwami Satyamitranand, Mahamandaleshwar Harichetnan and Maharaj during which he attacked Yechury for his statements.

By making such a statement against Hindus, he has committed a sin ob both religious and social grounds. Calling it a national crime wont be wrong, he said.

He added, Yechury whose own name comprises name of lord of Ram, should be ashamed of what he has said. He should change his name to Kans, Babar or Ravana.

Ramdev called for the boycott of communists in the country.

People should launch a protest against them in states where they are in power. They should also burn their effigies and this should continue till he offers an unconditional apology for hurting sentiments of crores of Hindus, he stated.

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Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the central government to announce ceasefire and stalling of operations against militants in the month of Ramzan starting next week.

After two days the month of Ramzan will begin. I request government of India that J&K is a Muslim majority state. People here are already facing hardships. Ramzan is the month of prayers ...So I request the government of India to announce ceasefire like last year. Crackdowns, search operations should stop so that people of J&K could pass the month peacefully, Mehbooba told mediapersons.

Mehbooba also urged militants against attacking the security forces during the month.

Last year, the Union home ministry had announced ceasefire in Kashmir ahead of Ramzan, however, the month had witnessed a spike in militant attacks. Despite requests from then CM Mehbooba Mufti, operations against militants resumed after Ramzan ended as Centre had refused to extend the ceasefire.

...Modiji has been repeating that he believes in ideology and follows insaniyat and democracy of Vajpayee ji. And for that,... the government of India should announce ceasefire, she said. Whether it is the ban on Jamaat, JKLF, stopping of cross-LoC trade or the closure of national highway, the government of India is trying to destroy the economy of the state, she said accusing the Centre.
Facing a sharp attack by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday offered to face a probe over allegations that his former partner in a UK-based company had acquired defence offset contracts when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power

At the same time, Gandhi called for an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the 59,000 crore contract signed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government

At a press conference, Gandhi said: Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale.

According to a news article posted on the website of Business Today magazine, the co-promoter of Gandhis UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets under the UPA regime. Ulrik Mcknight was 35% co-owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned the remaining 65%. The company, founded in 2003, was wound up in 2009. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the article claimed.

The article offered instant ammunition for leaders of the BJP, which Gandhi has doggedly pursued over the deal for 36 Rafale jet fighters signed by the NDA government, alleging that the aircraft cost three times the initial bid by Dassault Aviation, the maker of the planes, when the UPA regime was trying to buy the warplanes. He has also alleged that the deal was signed to offer an opportunity for businessman Anil Ambani of the Reliance Group to win an offset deal from Dassault. Both the NDA government and Reliance Group have denied any wrongdoing.

Defence offsets require a foreign supplier to source a certain percentage of the value of the contract from Indian sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally on Saturday: Today, I read that during UPAs tenure, one of naamdars [dynasts] business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha.

The Hindi quote translates loosely as: His government, his friend, even the defence deal was big. That means the cream was ready to be served to the dynast.

BJP president Amit Shah took to Twitter to attack Gandhi. Midas Touch, no deal is too much! he wrote.

When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga.

After the remarks by Modi and Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a more elaborate attack on Gandhi at a press conference. Jaitley claimed that on May 28, 2002, a company was formed in India named Backops Services Private Limited with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as its directors. On August 21, 2003, another company was formed in Britain with the same name  Backops Limited  which had Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight as directors, the minister claimed.

This in itself is quite innocent but what does Backops mean. It was not a company that was into services or manufacturing but naturally into liasioning. Its an influence-for-cash company. We will use influence to get your work done, he said.

Jaitley alleged that Mcknight was also part of Rahul jis social gang and the son-in-law of a senior Congress leader from Goa and his wife was a journalist by profession.

After Backops wound up, Mknight continued his work through different companies, including one named Optimal, Jaitley claimed. In 2011, when the French company, DCNS (former name of Naval Group), got the contract to build six Scorpene submarines in Visakhapatnam, a small Indian company  Flash Forge  acquired two companies of Ulrik. And the offset contracts of the Scorpene deal were bagged by this company, Jaitley claimed.

Hindustan Times could not independently verify any of the allegations made by the minister or the magazine article.

Referring to Congress allegations on the Rafale deal, Jaitley said the party had set in place new norms that not the law of evidence but rules set by Rahul Gandhi apply. Now those standards will apply to Gandhi himself, Jaitley said.

He demanded a response from the Congress.

Did he [Gandhi] want to start as a defence dealer, disguised defence dealer, proxy defence dealer, facilitator. What is the meaning of Backops? It is a serious issue and we would want the Congress leadership to answer it as early as possible, he said.

It is the story of a man who once aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be the prime minister. It is a serious charge, he added.

Incidentally, Backops also figured in the row over Gandhis citizenship sparked by a home ministry notice to clarify his position on a claim by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy that Gandhi had mentioned his nationality as British in annual returns filed by the company in 2005 and 2006.
Saudi Arabia is learnt to have arrested Maulana Rila, brother-in-law of the Islamic State inspired Shangri-La hotel bomber Zahran Hashim, and a colleague of his, who just goes by the name Shahnawaj, last week on the basis of inputs from Indian intelligence. Hashim was the leader of National Towheed Jamaat and chief radicaliser of the hardline salafi group responsible for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. India is believed to have provided several warnings on the attacks, including time- and location-specific details, which were ignored by Sri Lanka.

Officers in Indian security agencies say they are already in touch with their Saudi Arabian counterparts to find out on any links between the IS cadres responsible for the Sri Lanka attacks and Kasargode (Kerala)-Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) module in India, with Colombo on the verge of sending a team to Saudi Arabia.

After the Easter Day bombing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is believed to have called up the top-brass of the Tata owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) to ask them to install security scanners and metal detectors at their three properties in Sri Lanka because all the suicide bombers are still not accounted for. The IHCL owned Taj Samudra had a lucky escape on April 21 as UK educated suicide bomber Abdul Latif Mohammed Jamil entered the hotel but could not trigger the device. He later died in a blast at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala suburb with a couple also losing their lives in the blast.

For the record, Indian intelligence alerted Sri Lankan police and security agencies on April 4, 10, 16 (the day the device was tested in a motorcycle), 20 and two hours before the multiple suicide bombings on April 21, the last with the names of three churches under imminent bombing threat.

The IS inspired bombings in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns over spread of this Islamic group in India through the virtual space as the rabid group hardly holds any territory in Syria or Iraq. IS handlers are radicalising cadres in India through cyber-identities such as Yusuf al Hindi/ Abu Hurairah (used by Indian Mujahideen absconder Shafi Armar), Sameer Ali (used by Shajeer Mangalassery of Islamic State in Khorasan Province, killed in Afghanistan), Gold Dinar (used by Abdul Rashid Abdulla, main motivator of radicals from Kerala in ISKP and Babyboy111/Snickers021/Anwer (used by Ashfaq Majeed, who hails from Karala and belonging to ISKP). Since the rise of IS in 2014, around 115 Indian nationals have been radicalised and reached various conflict zones where the group held sway.

Around 81 reached Syria, Iraq and Libya, another 34 reached Nangarhar province of Afghanistan largely. From this original group of 115, 24 died fighting in Syria and Iraq and 11 lost their lives in Afghanistan. In addition to this 35 Indians were deported to India. Around 126 individuals are under the scanner of law enforcement agencies in India with 8 Indian nationals under arrest for their affiliations in other countries. So far nine persons affiliated to Islamic State, J&K have died in encounters in the state with security forces with eight of them hailing from Valley.

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Minister of state for foreign affairs and former chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on Saturday took on the Congress, which claimed that operations across the Line of Control (LoC)  the de-facto border between India and Pakistan  by the Indian military did happen in the past as well. In a tweet, he said: ... Will you please let me know which So called surgical strike are you attributing to my tenure....

General Singh was chief of Army Staff between April 2010 and May 2012.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress both slugged it out politically, former chiefs and veterans made a clear distinction between operations in the strategic and tactical domain.

Yes, we do carry out cross the border, but these operations are tactical in nature, carried out at the initiate of local formations, there was no political clearance, a general officer, who retired as director general of military operation, said on conditions of anonymity. Importantly, the scale of the previous cross-LoC strikes were limited. The targets were single unlike the 2016 operations when multiple targets spread across an arc of 250 km were hit simultaneously, he added.

General Deepak Kapoor, who led the army between 2007 and 2010, underlined the difference between strategic and tactical level operations across the LoC.

Local or tactical level operations dont have political clearance or backing, he said and are generally done by local commanders for reasons that are completely local, whereas the magnitude of the strategic operations are much bigger in magnitude and nations use to message adversaries. By claiming the 2016 operations, the government backed the operations and therefore should get credit, he said and added, Government backing gives credibility and shows strong resolve. General Kapoor, however, had a word of caution; The Indian Army is a professional military and should be kept away from politics.

General Syed Ata Hasnain who commanded Srinagar-based 15 corps echoed a similar view. The politics around cross-border operations is unfortunate. Local operations at the initiate of senior commanders do happen. But 2016 strikes across the border or the 2019 airstrikes, had a strategic message behind them: India is capable of hitting back, he said and added Comparing the operations of the tactical domain with those in strategic domain are like comparing apples to oranges.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by raising the question of who had released the terrorist in 1999.

Saying that the strictest of action should be taken against Masood Azhar, he said, Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan? Did Congress send him to Pakistan? Which government negotiated with terrorism? Congress didnt send him there, he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

Also Read | I apologised to Supreme Court, not PM Modi. Stand by chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

The reality is that BJP compromises with terrorism. Congress has never sent anyone to Pakistan and we never will, he said.

Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist on May 1 by the United Nations Security Council. Masood Azhar was among the three terrorists who were released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers aboard flight IC-814 which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

We deal with terrorism with a strategy, not with revenge, Rahul Gandhi said while referring to the recent air strikes at Balakot in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives.

He said, if voted to power, his party would adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government has displayed.
Political parties in West Bengal enthusiastically plunged back into campaigning on Saturday after cyclone Fani lost severity upon hitting the state on Friday.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, on Friday morning, had announced the cancellation of political programmes for 48 hours and positioned herself right on the projected path of the storm in Kharagpur to monitor and coordinate relief efforts, participated in two roadshows in Ghatal and Chandrakona in West Midnapore district.

We are happy that cyclone Fani had no major impact in Kolkata and Bengal. Our campaigning schedule will follow its normal course, said Sayantan Basu, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Bengal unit.

Even when the disaster was looming, our candidates conducted door-to-door campaigns as far as possible. Saturday will be a normal day, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sujan Chakraborty. On Friday, Left candidates went door to door in Tamluk in East Midnapore district, one of the areas where the cyclone was supposed to hit the hardest.

Saturday was the last day for campaigning for seven constituencies in Bengal where polling will be held during the fifth phase on Monday.

#Odishas emergency helpline number for #CycloneFani +916742534177, Control room number of different districts:- pic.twitter.com/aMoXKgDFJf  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 3, 2019

Though the damage to the Bengal districts from cyclone Fani is yet to be documented fully, the chief minister said on Saturday morning that 12 brick-built houses were flattened and 825 houses were partially damaged. We will build them again. I have told the district magistrates, she said on Saturday morning. Mamata Banerjee also said that power supply was disrupted in some areas since electric poles were toppled on Friday night.

The state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) evacuated 42,000 people. The KMC mayor and his team of civic officials stayed awake on Friday night to meet any eventuality, said the chief minister, adding that the roads had been cleared of uprooted trees. Banerjee also expressed the hope that those evacuated would be moved back to their homes quickly.

Damage was mostly reported in the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. In some areas of West Midnapore, farmers began harvesting paddy since the wind and rain flattened the ripe crop.

Though meteorological officials said on Friday that Fani would hit Bengal as a severe cyclone between midnight and early morning, the storm lost its sting by the time it reached Bengal.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director, IMD Kolkata, said on Saturday morning that Fani will start moving into Bangladesh by 10 am.

Rain was predicted in some areas of Nadia, Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas.

Kolkata airport began operations from 8 am on Saturday after remaining closed for 17 hours.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday he will stand by his Chowkidar Chor Hai jibe as it is a reality and continue using the slogan again Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference in New Delhi that he apologised to the Supreme Court as he felt he had made a mistake.

There is a process is going on in the Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologised. I did not apologise to the BJP or Modi ji. Chowkidar Chor Hai will remain our slogan, he said.

As he launched another attack on the Prime Minister, he took on the issues of unemployment and agrarian crisis and criticised Modi for insulting Indias armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi said that it is clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is losing in the Lok Sabha election 2019 and is conducting a panicky campaign.

More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing  Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections, Rahul Gandhi said.

The reality is that Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face, he said.

The main issues facing the country, he said, were unemployment and the crisis facing the farmers of the country but the Prime Minister said nothing about the concerns of the common people.

The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. The country is asking that Modi ji you promised us two crore jobs, what about that? He doesnt speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, Rahul Gandhi said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: Modijis entire strategy is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like he brought seaplane in Gujarat.

The Congress does not politicise the army, Rahul Gandhi said, and it is not anyones property as Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned the Congress claims that the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes during its tenure.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the army, Gandhi said.

The Congress presidents remarks come a day after the Prime Minister said during a public meeting in Rajasthans Sikar that the party which questioned the surgical strikes is now saying me too, me too.

The issue of surgical strikes has been a regular refrain in PM Modis electoral speeches after the IAFs air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility at Balakot in Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF jawans had lost their lives. He had even asked the first-time voters to dedicate their vote to Balakot.
The election commission will welcome 999 centenarian voters in Himachal Pradesh with roses and other flowers at polling booths on the May 19, when the state goes to polls.

Out of about 53 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh, 999 are more than 100-year-old. They include 377 male and 622 female voters. The highest number of centenarian voters  293, including 111 males and 182 females  are in Kangra district. Lahaul Spiti district has only 5 such voters, including two males and three females, lowest in the state.

Special facilities will be provided to voters who are more than 100-year-old at polling booths, said chief election officer (CEO) Devesh Kumar.

The list of the centenarian voters also includes the name of 102 year-old Shyam Saran Negi of Kinnaur, who is said to be the first person to cast his vote in independent India on October 25, 1951.

Himachal Pradesh also has 5,775 voters with visual disability, 4,366 with hearing and speech impairment, 19,173 with locomotor disability and 8,538 with other disabilities.

The state has 53,30,154 electorate, including 27,24,111 male, 26,05,996 female and 47 third gender voters.

As many as 1,52,390 voters  82,500 males, 69,880 females and 10 third genders  will exercise their franchise for the first time.

Of the 7,730 polling booths in the state,seven have been set up for the convenience of senior citizens and differently abled voters, the CEO said.

In Kangra district, two auxiliary polling stations  in an old age home at Dari in Dharamshala and at GHS, Bara Bhangal  had been set up for the convenience old residents, he said. Another such booth would function at an old age home at Key in Lahaul-Spiti district, he said.

Key Gompa, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries, is situated 4166 metres above sea level in the Spiti valley.

Two auxiliary polling booths have been set up in Mandi district, and one each in Shimla and Solan districts, he added.

In Mandi, the auxiliary booths had been set up in ICSA building at Sundarnagar to facilitate differently-abled voters and at Balh Bhangrotu-I, Vridhashram Bhangotu, for the convenience of old age home inmates.
Barely two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was widely seen as the party all set to end the dominance of traditional parties that had dominated the electoral politics in Punjab for decades.

Its leaders, many of them first generation politicians lured into politics by party chief Arvind Kejriwals appeal and his promise of corruption-free, transparent government, were scenting power in the state assembly polls. But, it is an entirely different story today. A sub-par performance in 2017, frequent squabbles and splits have left hurt the party badly. And, the party is a pale shadow of its former self in the state with a flagging support base and an organisational set-up in total disarray.

SHRINKING SUPPORT, LIMITED CONTEST The AAP has had to struggle to find candidates for several of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. Its poll battle is limited to just Sangrur seat from where state unit chief and sitting MP Bhagwant Mann, the partys best bet in the May 19 polls, is in the fray. The stand-up comedian-turned-politician is in a tough three-way contest with Kewal Singh Dhillon of the Congress and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa of the SAD in his re-election bid.

In almost all other constituencies except Faridkot where sitting MP Sadhu Singh is the AAP nominee, the contest is directly between the Congress and the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine or is being made triangular by other smaller outfits. The mood is not the same in most constituencies, but Mann is doing well, thanks to his rural connect and image. This is one seat where we have a strong chance and have gone all out, one of the senior-most state leaders said, requesting anonymity.

Mann, the face of the party in Punjab, is mainly caught up in his own fight and not gone out much to campaign for other candidates. A bit of a letdown from a party that had pulled off a stunning performance in the 2014 parliamentary polls in Punjab as a rookie player by winning four seats  Sangrur, Patiala, Faridkot and Faridkot  with 25% vote share.

Prof Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science, Panjab University, said the AAP was in a moribund state in Punjab because the leadership failed to build a vibrant organisation, did not develop local leadership and got hampered by lack of resources. Though it promised internal democracy and transparency, the party leadership lost its basic moral fibre by taking decisions arbitrarily, leaving those who had joined the party driven by idealism disappointed.

COMPETING AMBITIONS, FREQUENT UPHEAVALS Though the party had its share of internal squabbles from the start, things got worse after the 2017 assembly polls in which it emerged as the principal opposition party, pushing the SAD to the number three position. The Punjab leaders and their supporters blamed the central leadership, which virtually controlled the state unit, for flawed ticket distribution and not allowing the state leadership a free hand, leading to state affairs in-charge Sanjay Singhs resignation.

There was no observer for eight months even as several state leaders with competing ambitions and distrustful of each other created chaos and the party did poorly in byelections and civic polls.

Kejriwal appointed his close aide and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, but he, too, could not set the house in order.

All hell broke loose after Kejriwals apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia to settle a drug charge-related defamation case. Most of the 20 party MLAs led by leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira challenged his authority. Though a split was averted, it set off a chain

of events that led to revolt by eight of the 20 party MLAs in July 2018, demanding autonomy, when Khaira was removed from his post.

The party has been plagued by desertions since.

The Delhi chief minister, whose own charisma was the prime reason for the groundswell of support for the party, also seems to be focusing more on Haryana (his home state). However, AAPs campaign committee head Aman Arora said the state leadership was concentrating on the entire Malwa region with Sangrur being the epicentre.

He said Kejriwal would spend five days in Punjab after polling in Delhi and Haryana on May 12 to address a series of public meetings and hold a road show.
As another year marked by the global pandemic comes to an end, our photojournalists remain challenged  and, frequently, awed - by the constant state of change.



We documented our ever-evolving world in ways few photo staffs could as we all worked to regain normalcy amid COVID-19s seemingly unbreakable hold on our communities. We showed the relieved faces of people receiving a coveted vaccine, telling the story of a scientific breakthrough with images of those benefitting from it. We covered new workplace policies, school protocols and policing practices. We traveled half-way across the world to an Olympics where the athletes couldnt hug each other, masked medalists step atop the podium and no one came to watch.



The Chicago Tribune faced its own series of changes, too. We have new owners. New bosses. Endured another move. Gained new talented journalists and lost many others from the newsroom ranks. The one constant has been our dedication to providing photography on a daily basis that is relevant to the communities we cover: The joy of picnicking at the lakefront on a summer afternoon, the pain of children, police officers and neighbors all falling victims to violent crime. Documenting whos in and whos out in the political landscape, escaping to your favorite cultural event or sports competition.



We hope this installment of the annual Photos of the Year project reminds us of the moments that shaped our lives and the thoughtful way we portray them. Its also a platform for acknowledging the talent and dedication of Tribune photographers, and all photojournalists, who make change a way of life.



The Chicago Tribune staff photographers for 2021: Brian Cassella, Erin Hooley, Terrence Antonio James, Vashon Jordan Jr., John J. Kim, Youngrae Kim, Jose M. Osorio, Antonio Perez, Armando L. Sanchez, Chris Sweda, Abel Uribe, E. Jason Wambsgans, Stacey Wescott and Raquel Zaldivar.



Tribune visual editors: Mark Hume, Andrew Johnston, Marianne Mather, Steve Rosenberg and Peter Tsai.

- Todd Panagopoulos, Director of Content/Visuals
A Christian priest prays for his victory as union home minister Rajnath Singh, who has had several Muslim clerics supporting him in his bid for a second term as Lucknow MP, patiently meets everyone at the residence of his lawmaker son Pankaj Singh.

In a poll season marred by Ali vs Bajrang Bali controversy, Rajnath has blended his campaign with temple visits, sandwiched by visits to Muslim clerics and churches.

Rajnath is up against the Alliance candidate Poonam Sinha, whose daughter and actor Sonakshi Sinha and actor-turned-politician husband Shatrughan Sinha are drumming up support for her, and Congresss nominee Pramod Krishnam.

In an interview to Manish Chandra Pandey, Rajnath spoke on a range of issues including elections, patriotism and Kashmir. Excerpts:

Patriotism and nationalism have become poll talk. Congress has accused the BJP of politicising the valour of the armed forces. What is your take?

Every Indian, who values nationalism, is a patriot. Praising a commendable work undertaken in the interest of the country from poll stage doesnt come under the violation of model code of conduct. Cant we even praise our security personnel who toil so hard for the country?

Why then is the BJP being accused of politicising patriotism?

Its a baseless charge. We will praise our security forces come what may. Nothing is bigger than the country and those who guard it.

BJP chief Amit Shah has spoken of scrapping Article 370 and giving special status to J&K. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti says Kashmir would burn if that happens. What do you have to say on this as well as Omar Abdullahs two PMs statement?

We will review both Article 370 and Article 35 A of the Constitution when we return to power. It must be examined whether these instruments have helped the border state or not. We will scrap it if we find that it hasnt helped the state. So far as Omar Abdullahs two PM statement is concerned, I condemn it in strongest possible terms. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had given the slogan of Insaniyat (humanity), Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri values) and Jamhooriyat (democracy) that made him popular in the Valley. When you talk of reviewing and scrapping Article 370 and 35 A, dont you think it is contradictory to Vajpayees mantra? A: No. We remain committed to insaaf (justice) and insaniyat (humanity). Our policy is clear. Justice to all, appeasement of none and thats what we would do.

What has been the change you have witnessed in Kashmir in the last five years?

A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done. The people of Kashmir want peace and development. Under PM Modis stewardship maximum financial help has been given to the state. It needs to be seen who is blocking the states progress. This is a cause for concern. This is the first time that SP-BSP have teamed up against BJP in Lucknow where Congress has fielded a seer against you. How are you facing the challenge? Coolly. I am getting support from all sections. I have never done politics of caste, creed or religion. Our PMs motto is sabka saath, sabka vikas. Our political opponents try and create fear of BJP, marketing it as communal. But, the fact is that they create sense of fear among minorities and now, people are seeing through their game. We have initiated works and projects worth 24,000 crore for Lucknow. This will benefit all.

While poll discourse is plummeting we saw your son Neeraj touching the feet of Congress candidate in Lucknow during campaign. How do you see it?

Its nice as I myself have never engaged in politics of hate.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition at a rally in Rajasthan on Friday over a spate of complaints against him by the Congress and other parties to the Election Commission.

Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word Abhinandan, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.

Then their one man or chela will go to the Supreme Court. The court will ask the EC to decide the matter in one week and then EC will say that Modi did not violate he just greeted people. The Congress would then do a press conference. They are just playing this game, Modi said in Rajasthans Sikar.

Modis comments come at a time the EC is looking at several complaints against him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC)  the poll watchdog has already cleared the PM in five complaints of violating the MCC.

The principal opposition party had also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the poll watchdog of inaction and prompting the top court to set Monday as the deadline for acting against the complaints.

Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman hit headlines in February after he downed a Pakistani jet during a dogfight, that came a day after Indian forces struck terror targets deep within Pakistan in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama attack that killed 40 troopers on February 14. Varthamans jet was shot and he was captured by Pakistani forces, and returned a few days later.

One of the cases in which Modi was cleared by the EC this week pertained to a speech where he referred to the air strikes in Pakistans Balakot. The EC has since issued an advisory against the use of defence personnel as a part of political campaigns and a number of BJP leaders have got into trouble for featuring Varthaman in their election posters.

The Congress was not amused by Modis comment. Modis desperation is written all over his face. Bereft of issues and lost in the web of his own lies, he is mocking the entire nation and its institutions...Such arrogance is always given a befitting reply and that reply would have a resounding impact in his defeat on May 23, said the partys chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

At a rally later in the day in Bikaner, Modi questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism, saying the party could not stop Indias share of river water flowing to Pakistan. Was it right to give our share of river water to Pakistan? he asked the gathering, adding if he came back to power, he would prioritise giving water to the states farmers. Twelve remaining seats in Rajasthan go to polls on Monday.

He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her interaction with some snake charmers in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, The PM has flagrantly violated the model code of conductHe is a repeat offender, calls for multiple gag orders.
Senior Congress leader and the partys candidate from North East Delhi, Sheila Dikshit has no regrets that the party could not stitch an alliance with AAP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress is too big a party and far too historical a party while AAP is too small and just confined to the national capital, she told Hindustan Times. Dikshit had been a sharp and loud critic of the idea of the Congress teaming up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.

Also Watch: AAP too small, BJP main rival in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit on campaign trail

Reacting to colleague and Congress candidate from the New Delhi seat Ajay Makens recent statement that had the Congress-AAP alliance materialised, the grand old party would have won all 7 Delhi seats and with margins of more than 2-3 lakhs each, she said it was his personal perception.

But we contest elections not with perceptions. We contest them because we are contesting, she added. The buzz over a possible tie-up between the Congress and AAP continued for weeks before nominations for the polls. But all speculations were put to rest when the two sides were unable to work out a seat-sharing formula for the alliance.

Sheila Dikshit is also the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi constituency and is banking on her 15-year stint as chief minister to wrest the seat from sitting BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. AAPs Dilip Pandey is the other candidate in the fray in the three-cornered contest.

I am going to compete with both of them, says Dikshit, adding that she considers BJP to be the bigger competitor as the party holds all the 7 seats in Delhi as of now. AAP only makes a lot of noise about itself, she added.

Asked how many seats the Congress would win in Delhi, she refused to speculate saying, People are beginning to evaluate the candidates in the fray. I would not like to comment on the outcome of the elections since there are about ten days left for the electoral process to be over, said Dikshit as she signed off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

The prime minister was speaking at an election rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh. He was accompanied by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. The prime minister has election rallies in UP and Bihar scheduled for today. In Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi has two rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, while in Bihar; he will address a public meeting at Valmiki Nagar.

Now it has become clear that the Samajwadi Party under the guise of a grand alliance has used Mayawati. They have been shrewd with her and kept her in the dark about their intentions. They also went to the extent of promising to make her the PM. Now, Behenji has realized their ploy and hence openly criticizes the Congress, PM Modi said.

Making a reference to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi sharing the stage with SP leaders he said, SP keeps very quiet when asked about the Congress and on the other hand Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies and sharing the dias with SP leaders. They should not have tricked Mayawati in such a cunning manner. She is still not able to understand how they tricked her. Truth always comes to the forefront. It cannot be hidden for too long.

The party which in the first phase of polls was portraying their leader as a PM candidate have now started confessing that they are merely there to cut votes

Cutting votes and tearing bills are the character of the Congress, the prime minister said.

Now even Congress is openly accepting that they cannot win over Modi till they malign Modis honesty and hard work, he added.

This Maha Milawati Panja is very dangerous. Whenever they have come to power, the country has had to bear a heavy price. There are five major dangers of this alliance: corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic politics and bad governance, he said.

These people do not trust outsiders and therefore just keep their family members in power. Anyone who starts to emerge as an alternative is destroyed, the prime minister said signing off.
Two weeks after 257 people were killed in suicide bombings across three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka, the churches in the city are contemplating measures to upgrade their security.

Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay  the apex body for Roman Catholic churches in the city  told HT that they are planning to restrict vehicle parking 40 feet away from the church. There will also be a prohibition on haversacks and large bags being allowed inside the church premises. The decision was taken during a meeting conducted by the archbishop of Mumbai, cardinal Oswald Gracias, with priests from the Roman Catholic churches on Thursday.

Last week, the archbishop held at meeting at his house, which was attended by representatives of various churches and the Mumbai police commissioner. Based on those discussions, we decided to take these measures, Barrett said.

He added that the cardinal has also asked the priests in-charge of various churches to take all necessary security measures after consultation with the local police.

Gracias along with Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind (body of Islamic scholars), also issued a joint statement condemning the terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

Apart from causing loss of innocent lives, terrorist attacks leave an impact on the peace and harmony of society. It is the duty of all religious leaders to stand up and use all our resources to cleanse society of this evil, read the statement.
There is a distinct similarity between the 2004 campaign of Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) first prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modis 2019 campaign - they share what can perhaps be best described as a feel good factor.

But what are the elements that set the two elections, and election campaigns, apart?

For starters, any dissatisfaction with Modis performance as Prime Minister does not appear to be necessarily leading to anger directed at him. This is a big advantage for Modi during this election season. His perceived iron-fist policy on security, his projection of nationalism, and his messaging on welfare programmes, is making supporters feel good about having him at the helm. But since this is accompanied with the subtext of Hindu consolidation, it causes a counter polarity of the Muslim vote, whose imprint will be more visible this time as compared to 2014, when not a single Muslim candidate was elected from Indias largest state Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP appears to be reaping a rich harvest from its schemes to provide toilets and housing in rural areas. The relative spread of public conveniences has brought about a behavioral change, and the roof over head mantra has struck a chord. These factors kept coming up in discussions with the locals during my travels in different parts of the country over last month.

By the end of 2018, Modi faced two distinct challenges  mushrooming farm distress, and disenchanted upper castes. The farmers complained about declining profits and the upper castes resented Modis restoring the provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court. Both played a role in BJPs defeat in the December assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states.

In the last three months, Modi has managed to address both. The second instalment of ~2,000 is going into the bank account of farmers even as India is still voting, and the 10% quota in jobs and education to the poor among the general category has changed the mood among the BJPs upper-caste supporters.

Also, the corruption charges that the Opposition threw at him with its chowkidar chor hai slogan, have managed to get only a limited response in most parts. On the ground, Modis image remains his strongest draw.

Notwithstanding this background, a question needs to be asked: Can Modi lose, like Vajpayee did despite his high personal popularity?

To answer this, a comparison needs to be drawn between the BJP of 2004 and 2019. The partys character has evolved since 2004, and how it has modified its campaign for different states makes the Modi of today different from the Vajpayee of 15 years ago. The BJP, too, has grown in size over the last five years.

The story of 2019 lies in Modis ability to keep Indias most backward communities, particularly in UP and Bihar, invested in him. He is winning new support from Dalit groups as well. Both these are different from Vajpayees support base in 2014.

With some exceptions, my trips indicated that there isnt too much dent in the support that Modi received in 2014  171.6 million votes to be precise. His challenge is to get the same number of seats as last time when Opposition unity is greater.

The upper-castes remain with him, so does the umbrella coalition of smaller caste groups that appears to identify better with Modi than with regional players in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These are the two bellwether states accounting for 120 Lok Sabha seats. Modi has also achieved this by altering his speeches in a way that touches the different set of constituents in different states. The BJP has carefully avoided a one size fits all campaign, a trap in which many other political parties find themselves caught in.

In West Bengal, the BJP tapped the nationalist space and talked about Mamata Banerjees pro-Muslim. The decline of the Congress and the Left helped it emerge as the main opposition. If Modi speaks of development and roads in Jharkhand, a tribal state that suffered on account of political instability for years, he goes out of the way to display soft Hindutva with an aarti on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi.

The Balakot air strike and corruption remain common refrains in his speeches. This has helped him traverse the journey from leading a suit boot ki Sarkar to emerge as a socialist leader whose welfare programmes touch a billion people.

If an India Shining moment sank Vajpayee, Modi chose to be careful in articulating that his ek bharat, shrestha bharat (one India, best India) was a work in progress that may need a second shot in power to be complete.

When the results are out on May 23, Modi could well prove that feel good is not a bad phrase in politics.

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The Bihar State Minorities Commission has requested the government to ensure a better civic amenities like water, electricity supplies and cleanliness in state capital, especially in the areas having high Muslim population during the month of Ramzan.

In a letter written to the urban development department, the Bihar State Minorities Commission has asked the department to make proper water supply facility in these areas especially at the time of Sehri (pre-dawn meal).

Sehari is consumed before the dawn breaks by the people who observe Roza or the day long fast during Ramzan and is considered obligatory for the people on fast. The month long festival is to begin in couple of days.

Often, the Sehri is observed at around 3 AM and during the time there is no water in the tap in many households in our city, as the municipal corporation starts supplying water at 6 AM, Prof Md Yunus Hussain Hakim, chairman of Bihar State Minorities Commission, said.

Faroque Zaman, an official from the Bihar State Minorities Commission, said that a large population in the city is still dependent upon government water supply facility.

Considering their conveniences and requirements, the minorities commission has reminded

the urban development to ensure uninterrupted water supply, especially at the time of Sehri, he said. There are many areas in the city with substantially higher Muslim population which include Aalamganj, Sultanganj, Patna City, Sabzi Bagh colony, areas around Gol Ghar, Samanpura, Raja Bazaar, Deegha, Danapur, Maner, Zaman said.

Masod Iqbal, a local from Sultanganj locality, said water and electricity supplies in areas like Sultanganj, Aalamganj and Patna city often remain disrupted. Instances of demonstrations, demanding to restore and regularise the water and electricity supplies are very common here. People demonstrate to press for the demands, he said.

Irregular water supply is a big problem here and may prove to be very inconvenient for the local Muslims during Ramzan, he said.

The minorities commission official said that Muslims are also concerned about the polling in Patna Sahib and Patliputra Lok Sabha constituencies. Visiting polling booth is not a big problem, but standing in queue for hours to cast votes while being on fast may prove to be difficult for many. Its the peak summer season and even those who are not observing fast, prefer not to go outdoors during the daytime, he said. The best thing is polling is to start at early morning, he added.

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Taking serious cognisance of the Thursday drowning incident that claimed the lives of three MBA students, Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud, on Friday decided to send alert messages on social media platforms to students. The messaging service will contain various measures that the students must keep in mind before planning an excursion.

Vernekar said, The college administration is in constant touch with the family members of the deceased students. We have extended all possible assistance to the bereaved families.

Giving details about the alert messaging service, Vernekar said, Considering the incident that took place on Thursday, we have now decided to send an alert message to all the students starting Friday. The messages will be sent on WhatsApp, phone message and email. The message will contain precautionary measures and dos and donts that the students must take before they plan an excursion. We will also ask the students to avoid going near dams, rivers and unknown water bodies.

Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Besides that, for every new batch that joins the institute, we have organised an induction programme for both students and parents. As many students come from different places, they either stay at the college hostel or private residences. I would personally address the programme and inform them about the safety measures and their responsibilities while pursuing their education here. We will also take regular counselling sessions for students.

Talking about the incident, Vernekar said, The ten students who had gone to Mulshi dam were not residing at the college hostel. They did not have any restrictions and hotel deadlines. No such excursions are planned by the college and the students had gone on their own. The incident is extremely unfortunate.

Vernekar said, When we were informed about the incident on Thursday morning, a team from the college, including senior management officials, rushed to the spot. I was continuously following up with the college administration until all the bodies were recovered and their family members reached Pune.

The dean said that when the institute officials spoke to the other seven students who were in that group, they said that they have been to Mulshi dam several times in the past and were familiar with the nearby areas.

The students said that only Shubham Raj Sinha and Shiv Kumar knew how to swim and they rushed to rescue Sangita Negi. However, it was very unfortunate that all three of them drowned, Vernekar said.

Alert messages will carry precautionary tips

1. Carry safety equipment along with you on picnics/outings.

2. Carry preventive medicine/drugs

3. Keep your parents informed

4. Do not go with unknown persons and to unknown area

5. See that you are back home/PG/hostels by 10 pm

6. Read and follow safety signs

7. Follow traffic rules

8. Wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler

Students say

Though I have not met the victim students personally, I am shocked. We are a group of eight boys and, after this tragic incident, we have decided to not plan any excursion near an unknown water body.

Abhijit Koturwar , 1st year MA student

It was an unfortunate incident. The students should think about their family members before planning an excursion that involves a risk of any kind. They must inform their parents about their whereabouts at all times.

Sarita Anand, first year master in social work student

We must always carry safety equipment when we go for an excursion. If the outing involves trekking, one must carry a rope and a torch. These equipment can help during crisis and also save lives.

Suraj Devkar, second year MA student

We have the right to know the truth about Shivs death

The bodies of the three MBA students who drowned at Mulshi dam were kept at the dead house (morgue) of Sassoon General Hospital, before it were handed over to their family members on Friday.

The body of Shiv Kumar, one of the deceased, was collected by his father Gopal Krishna Kumar and uncle Bantu Sharma.

An inconsolable Sharma said, We would like to know if the incident was an accident or was he pushed into the deep waters. His friends at the college are not divulging any details. We at least have the right to know the truth.

Speaking about Shiv, Sharma said, He was loved by one and all and completed his graduation in commerce. He even won gold medals in academics. He was an ex-student of GLA university, which is considered as a top university in Uttar Pradesh.

We have not informed our family members about the incident. They have been told that Shiv is in the intensive care unit (ICU). I can imagine my sisters condition after knowing that her son is no more. She would be devastated.

Kumar, who is a police officer at Mathura, said, I was posted on election duty in Dholpur, Uttar Pradesh. I was unaware of the incident. As soon as I received information about the incident I rushed to Pune with my brother-in-law. I have three children and Shiv was the eldest. The youngest is disabled and my daughter is 17-years-old. I never thought that such an incident will happen with my son. My family members have not been informed yet. This is a very difficult time for us. Shiv was a brilliant student and has been residing in Pune for only one year.
HIV-suppressing medication can make the AIDS virus untransmittable even among couples who have sex without using condoms, new research showed Friday.

The Europe-wide study monitored nearly 1,000 gay male couples over a period of eight years, where one partner was HIV-positive and receiving antiretroviral (ART) treatment, while the other was HIV negative.

Doctors did not find a single case of in-couple HIV transmission within that time, raising hopes that widespread ART programmes could eventually end new infections.

Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero, said Alison Rodger, from University College London, who co-led the research published in The Lancet.

They support the message... that an undetectable viral load makes HIV untransmittable. This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face.

Researchers estimate that ART prevented around 470 HIV transmissions within couples during the study period.

HIV and the fatal illnesses it provokes remain one of the worlds largest health crises despite much progress in recent years.

More than 21 million people currently receive regular ART medication, which suppresses the virus - only around 59% of global HIV sufferers. The authors of the study noted several limitations, including that the average age of the HIV-negative men was 38. Most HIV transmissions occur in people aged under 25.

Individuals currently on ART must take medication almost every day for the rest of their lives, and treatment is often disrupted for a variety of reasons.

But the fact that couples can have unprotected sex for years without passing on the virus was still worth noting, experts said.

Timely identification of HIV-infected people and provision of effective treatment leads to near normal health and virtual elimination of the risk of HIV transmission, said Myron Cohen, from the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases.

Yet maximising the benefits of ART has proven daunting: fear, stigma, homophobia, and other adverse social forces continue to compromise HIV treatment.

The study shows that we can pass the message there is no risk, said Aurelien Beaucamp, the head of the French lobby group Aides.

The UN goal is for 90% of HIV-positive people to know their status by 2020. Of these, at least 90% must receive ART, and the HIV virus be suppressed in 90% of those. AIDS has killed 35 million people since it emerged in the 1980s and 78 million people have been infected with HIV.

There were 1.8 million new HIV infections, down from 1.9 million in 2016 and 3.4 million at the peak of the epidemic in 1996, according to UNAIDS. The number of deaths dropped by 50,000 year-on-year to 940,000, compared to 1.9 million in 2005 when a mere 2.1 million infected people had access to life-lengthening ART.

But for this, money is needed. And the global effort is short about $7 billion (six billion euros) per year, according to UNAIDS.

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Actor and comedian Kapil Sharma is all set to welcome his mother on The Kapil Sharma Show. The actor has released a teaser of the upcoming Mothers Day special episode in which he can be seen introducing his mother, Janak Rani to the audience. He captioned the teaser on his Instagram account, This weekend. The one n only #superstar my mother #mothersday special #love #blessings #mother.

In the teaser video, Kapil can be seen making the viewers emotional by welcoming his mother on stage, who is seen in a midi dress. He says that whole world asks a man about his salary, a mother asks her child if he has eaten food or not. He also reveals that his mother is usually present on the sets of the show. She says in the clip, It feels nice to watch him.

Badhaai Ho actors Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao will also be seen on the show this weekend. The promo shows comedian Kiku Sharda cracking a joke on the meaning of Gajrajs name. He says, Gajraj Rao ji, mujhe aapka naam bahot pasand aaya. Gaj matlab haathi (elephant). Haathi jo hota hai, woh uttpaatt machaata hai. Film mein, dekhiye, aap ne bhi machaa diya. As Neena Gupta, judge Archana Puran Singh and rest of the audience burst out laughing, an embarrassed Gajraj covered his face.

Kapil tied the knot with Ginni Chatrath in twin ceremonies in December 12 in Jalandhar. This was followed by three wedding receptions in Amritsar, Mumbai and Delhi. All from actors Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar to Rekha had attended the star-studded party in Mumbai.

Also read: Priyanka Chopras brother Siddharths fiance deletes all proof of bridal shower, roka ceremony from Instagram

Kapil was missing from action for several months as recovered from his ill health. He had attended the Drug Free India event in Chandigarh a few months ago and had spoken about his experiences of dealing with alcoholism. A source had told DNA, Kapil spoke about how he was consumed by the bottle. He recalled seeing his mother break down. Thats when he decided to kick the habit.

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My two sons who are involved in this and I have been in business now for nine years and weve been doing a lot of local county fairs and such and decided to branch out, Pomales said. Were in a spot where wed like to expand and people from Illinois have been coming out for so long to get our food, we thought it was time we brought it to them.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each others intentions, arms control advocates say.

Trump cited the expense of keeping up the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a motivating factor behind wanting to limit how many weapons are deployed.

Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he said.

Trump said China during trade talks had felt very strongly about joining the United States and Russia in limiting nuclear weapons.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves maybe to start off, and I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about non-proliferation, well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind, and I think itll be a very comprehensive one, he said.

The New START treaty required the United States and Russia to cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades, and limit delivery systems - land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

It also includes extensive transparency measures requiring each side to allow the other to carry out 10 inspections of strategic nuclear bases each year; give 48 hours notice before new missiles covered by the treaty leave their factories; and provide notifications before ballistic missile launches.

Trump has called the New START treaty concluded by his predecessor, Barack Obama, a bad deal and one-sided.

The Kremlin said the two sides confirmed they intended to activate dialogue in various spheres, including strategic security.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, briefly talked about the report by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Putin seemed amused, said Trump.

He said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain, and it ended up being a mouse. But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. Pretty much thats what it was, he said.

The Kremlin said the call was initiated by Washington. It said the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts on different levels and expressed satisfaction with the businesslike and constructive nature of the conversation.

With the United States concerned about a Russian military presence in Venezuela at a time when Washington wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, Trump told Putin the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin told Trump that any external interference in Venezuelas internal business undermines the prospects of a political end to the crisis, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump cancelled a summit meeting with Putin late last year after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on Nov. 25 and arrested 24 sailors. Putin also told Trump that the new leadership in Ukraine should take steps to solve the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has yet to agree to a disarmament deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. The Kremlin said both leaders highlighted the need to pursue denuclearisation of the region.

During an April summit with Kim in Vladivostok, Putin expressed Russian support for a gradual process of trading disarmament for sanctions relief.
North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Koreas joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analysing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Koreas presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
School teachers have found a unique way to ensure their students behave in class. They are threatening to reveal key plots of the highly anticipated film Avengers: Endgame that had a massive opening this weekend.

With most students yet to watch the film, the threat by teachers is proving to be an effective step to keep students in line according to posts by users on Reddit and Twitter.

In the past week, various Reddit and Twitter users have posted pictures and videos showcasing an innovative strategy employed by their teachers: using the threat of spoilers as a way to ensure students behave well in class and stay focused.

One humorous and devious photo showed a substitute chemistry teacher allegedly writing letter-by-letter of a sentence that allegedly spoils part of the movie, whenever students spoke out of turn in the class

Another post from a Twitter user explained how a fellow classmate chose to answer every question to a recent assignment with a spoiler from the film, leaving the teacher unable to grade it.

According to Business Insider and as cited by People, New York high school teacher Rebecca Shamsian shared that she first began threatening her students with spoilers, after one of them accidentally said that he hadnt seen the film yet.

When that same student spoke up in class later that day, Shamsian said that she told him that if he didnt stop distracting people right now, I would tell him an Endgame spoiler.

She couldnt believe how effective the tactic proved to the students.

I could see his eyes widen, and immediately he closed his mouth and turned towards the assignment. I have literally never seen such an instantaneous result with a student, she shared. Needless to say, the rest of the period was perfectly on task.

Although not everyone may agree with this method, Shamsian said its particularly difficult to keep students engaged in whats going on in the classroom as summer break approaches.

When the weather is warm and the years almost over, the usual method of reminding them that their grade will be affected, or warning that you will call home, doesnt make an impact, she said. But the one thing I know my students care about is Endgame.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few showers early, becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Mary Jo Viero, who also works for BAPA, grew up in the neighborhood, as did her husband. When they moved back as adults, they had a four-level Tudor home. But as her father-in-law became dependent on a wheelchair, it was too difficult for him to maneuver throughout the home. They had a new Tudor home built a few blocks away, which melds with the neighborhood, but has an open floor plan and an accessible bathroom in a first-floor bedroom suite.
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"Just because someone believes differently than another, it is not cause to hate them. Our places of worship are the least places where we expect someone to attack and take innocent lives," Fakhruddin said.
Swiac said one of her first patients was discharged on her rotations last day. The patients gratitude "gave me a picture of what it would be like to be a nurse," she said, figuring working in obstetrics and delivery or the emergency room would be "a good place to use my critical thinking."
Rebranding

3 May 2019

Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Fountains Hotel in Cape Town announce the rebranding of the Fountains Hotel.

With 156 guest rooms and suites, the Best Western Fountains Hotel is located in the heart of Cape Town's central business district. Ideal for both business and leisure travelers, the hotel offers a choice of comfortable bedrooms, the majority with views over the harbour, the bustling Thibault Square or Table Mountain.

The hotel boasts a range of rooms, with air-conditioning, safe, coffee-and-tea making facilities, satellite TV's, mini-bars and complimentary WiFi. The restaurant offers a sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner all in convenient buffet style, whilst 24-hour room service is available as well. Breakfast includes international as well as cooked South-African choices, freshly baked bread, rolls, pastries all from their in-house bakery as well as a range of fruits and yoghurts.

Cape Town, South Africa's Mother City, and the location of the established Best Western Cape Suites, is renowned for its pleasant climate. The city offers many memorable experiences including the famous Table Mountain, a stroll around the city centre or to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, Cape Town's most visited tourist destination, whilst the Cape Town International Convention Centre is a mere 500 meter walk from the hotel.
Now Open

4 May 2019

AC Hotels by Marriott, AC Hotels by Marriott, a design-led European lifestyle hotel brand from Marriott International, recently announced the opening of the AC Hotel Lima Miraflores, located in the Miraflores district with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

AC Hotels by Marriott celebrates the beauty of classic modern design with its European soul and Spanish roots, born from the signature vision of the renowned hotelier Antonio Catalan, who founded the brand in 1998 and grew it into one of the most respected hotel brands in Spain. Following its success in Europe, a joint venture was formed with Marriott International in 2011, which has since launched AC Hotels by Marriott globally in France, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and now Peru. The new AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is the second AC Hotel by Marriott in South America.

On the other hand, Jorge Melero, CEO of Intursa (Tourism National Investments) - partner of Breca and Marriott International in Peru - shared that the investment made for this project in Lima amounted to roughly $28.9 million dollars. This new project is part of a franchise deal with Marriott International.

The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is 18 stories high and has 150 rooms, 11 suites and 2 meeting rooms with a total area of 882 square feet and a capacity of 90 people. The hotel is also surrounded by boutiques, trendy restaurants and other local attractions. AC Kitchen serves European inspired dishes and the hotel's trendy AC Lounge offers guests a chic, open and comfortable ambiance, ideal for socializing. The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores also has a rooftop with beautiful views of the city.

AC Hotels by Marriott is a brand with a new understanding of the hotel industry, a modern design and constant evolution in its services, aiming to offer its guests surprising experiences. It allows travelers to know the quality of Marriott International hotels at affordable prices in some of the most interesting cities in the region and promising destinations.

Based on the idea that purposeful design improves lives, AC Hotels by Marriott carves away what is unnecessary, in order to provide guests with thoughtfully designed moments of beauty; experiences that elevate their stay and help them focus on what is important to them. The result is sophisticated yet unpretentious style, innovative food and beverage programming with locally inspired experiences for both guests and locals.

AC Hotel Lima Miraflores will provide employment to over 98 people and create approximately 120 jobs, said Juan Antonio Sanchez. "I've estimated that the hotel will be 60 percent occupied by the corporate segment and the remaining by conventional tourists, a segment that has been growing steadily," added Juan Antonio Sanchez.

Lima is one of the most important cities in South America, which continues to grow in tourism as a business hub and as the gastronomic capital of America. Thanks to its Convention Centers, international tourism has grown in the city.
The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension.

The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension. The new select-service hotel combines the premium elements guests desire with an affordable travel experience and builds on the company's eight decades of expertise in the midscale segment.T

he 72-room Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs features custom murals showcasing popular Sulphur Springs attractions in each room, a brand hallmark that brings the hotel's location to life for every guest. Located at 411 East Industrial Drive, the new hotel is near Interstate 30 and well-known local attractions, including Hopkins County Veterans Memorial, Coleman Park, Main Street Theatre, and The Hopkins County Museum and Heritage Park.

"Clarion Pointe came to life faster than any brand in the company's history, and the first hotel in Sulphur Springs is proof of this powerful select-service conversion concept," said Anne Smith, vice president, brand management, design and compliance, Choice Hotels. "Choice continues to lead and shape the midscale space to meet the needs of franchisees and guests alike. Since unveiling our Clarion Pointe extension in September of last year, the brand has been in high demand."



Nearly 30 Clarion Pointe hotels are expected to open and 10 are planned for this year, including in Medford, Ore.; North Charleston, S.C.; Oklahoma City; and Rochester, N.Y. Influenced by the Clarion brand promise of creating environments for people to connect and socialize, Clarion Pointe allows guests to maximize their travel experience with "focal pointes," including:

Contemporary design touches, including signature murals in guest rooms and the lobby that reflect local points of interest.

Curated food and beverage, like free premium coffee and tea from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as free breakfast with fresh and nutritious items. Craft beer and select wines, juices and smoothies, and small bites are available for purchase in the hotel's marketplace.

On-demand connectivity that lets guests stream content from their mobile devices onto 49-inch TVs with casting capabilities and free streaming-strength Wi-Fi.

Modern fitness space featuring cardio equipment and a strength-training station.

"The interest in Clarion Pointe gives us a solid foundation for growth in the years ahead," said Tom Nee, vice president, franchise development, Choice Hotels. "Clarion Pointe is ideal for owners who want a hotel concept that resonates with today's travelers, from a company that's proven successful in the midscale segment. Owners gain access to Choice's extensive resources, from in-market support and help with the conversion process, to tools that assist with improving ongoing daily operations."

The new Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs was developed by Helm Hotels Group, a family-owned company with over 35 years of experience in Texas.

"Our years of hospitality experience coupled with Choice's invaluable resources and established brands makes us excited to be at the forefront of the new Clarion Pointe brand," Charles Helm, Owner, Helm Hotels Group. "We know guests will love the brand, which offers a premium local experience, and all of the amenities to make for a great and memorable trip."

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The chaos surrounding the vicious murder of Nipsey Hussle is beginning to subside as mourners continue to grieve and celebrate the life and legacy of the rapper. Brooklyn-born rapper and former gang member China Mac rocked him "prolific" pullover as he sat down with Vlad TV to discuss Nipsey's death and the impact it's had on hip hop and pop culture.

There's no mistaking that Nipsey has gone from an independent rap star to a household name, but unfortunately, it was his death that made millions aware of who he was as a businessman, philanthropist, and community leader. According to China Mac, Nipsey's death is one of the most significant moments in history and it's reverberated globally and brought people into a higher vibration.



Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

"That's crazy," he says of the Staples Center maxing out tickets for Nipsey's funeral. "Because of that, I say his death was more powerful than say, Malcolm X. It was more profound. 'Cause you just look at...when Malcolm X died, it wasn't really much. A lot of people was hurt. A lot of people loved Malcolm but it wasn't...when Nipsey died he's selling out the stadium. You got the ex-President saying something. You have gangs unifying. You got people from all over the world traveling to the place where he got murdered at and showing love."

"I just feel like Nipsey's death...I just feel like it's a powerful...it's powerful and it's great for our generation to see something like that," he said. "Because the last person to have that type of effect was a Malcolm or a Martin [Luther King, Jr.]. And that was a long time ago. So for somebody to stand for something positive and stand for the community and to have this happen..." he expressed as his thoughts trailed off.

"Like I said, I feel like yo, it's a sad thing," he continued. "Nobody wants to see anybody go. It's always sad when it happens like that, but at the same time, I feel like that it was powerful. I feel like...he's the type of person that if he could choose, if he could have made a decision [to] end like this but you make this type of impact and you make this type of movement, or you just don't do nothing and you end like this, you live a longer life and whatever. I don't know him, but I would think he would make the choice like, 'Aight, I'mma go like this.' Like a martyr."

China Mac goes on to say that now Nipsey's message is "loud and clear" and will continue to have a lasting impact on communities, artists, and fans worldwide. Watch his entire message below.
Joe Biden's found himself in some hot water, once again. The Democratic nominee has been on his campaign in an attempt to lead the Dems into the White House during the next election. However, he's been dealing with a few controversies in recent times that might impact his chances in the election. Most recently, his comments about his trek to the "hood" have left many wondering just how out of touch he actually is.

Joe Biden's looking to win over the votes of the African-American community but as a politician, referring to inner-city communities as "the hood" is probably not the best way to go about it. During a stop on his campaign trail in Iowa, the former vice president spoke about the efforts to evolve the economy in cities such as Detroit which is when he brought up how he went to the hood to teach women of color how to code.

"Through a program, we had through community colleges, we said look, put together a program for us where we could teach people how to code, he said. "We went out, literally into the hood, and they found, turns out, 54 [people], they happened to be all women, the vast majority were women of color, no more than a high school degree, aged 25-54, and a third of them only had GEDs.

According to the Washington Examiner, there was an audible yikes from an audience member but his overall point was met with applause.
It's public knowledge that the Kardashian-Jenner crew make bank from social media posts, but the exact number of what they receive for peddling products hasn't been confirmed. However, court documents revealed just how much companies are willing to pay to have Kim Kardashian West pose with their items on Instagram.

Kim has sued Missguided USA clothing company for illegally using her image and likeness to sell their products. Back in February, Business Insider reported that Kim filed a complaint against the company, accusing them of "unlawful misappropriation" by stating, "Like other 'fast fashion' companies, Missguided ... has become notorious for 'knocking off' the clothing worn by celebrities like Kardashian."

"But Missguided does not merely replicate the looks of these celebrities as seen on red carpets, in paparazzi photos, and in social media posts," the complaint goes on to say. "Missguided systematically uses the names and images of Kardashian and other celebrities to advertise and spark interest in its website and clothing."

Also in the documents are details regarding how much Kim charges for her social media posts, and it states that the business mogul receives $300K to $500K per Instagram post. Although there are plenty of companies who are willing to write out a check for Kim to help them promote their products, the documents say that Kim regularly turns down offers because she doesn't want to be associated with the brand.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star claims that her personal brand is being damaged by the association so she's suing for $10 million. According to The Fashion Law, as of April 1, Missguided hasn't responded to the lawsuit.
A video of the violent arrest of a black woman who called the police for help has gone viral. Loving, the victim involved in the brutal arrest, stated to have called the police on March 5th following an altercation with her white neighbor who then allegedly went onto making shooting threats and yelling racial slurs. According to The Daily Beast, the mother of three felt menaced and called the police as she feared for her safety. Upon the police's arrival, Loving states to have been questioned vehemently and then physically assaulted by officer Alejandro Giraldo and three others. The latter is said to have occurred after Loving requested "to make contact with her children."

The viral video depicts the Miami police officer violently arresting Loving by first slamming her against a metal fence. Furthermore, the brutal assault continues with the officer placing the 26-year old in a headlock and forcing her onto the ground. The entire thing was captured on video and resulted in a public outcry. As such, recent reports by the Daily Beast now affirm that Giraldo has since been charged on two counts: third-degree official misconduct and a misdemeanor count of first-degree battery.

In response to Giraldo's arrest, Loving adds: "Im happy that officer Giraldo has been charged, but it does seem like its a slap on the wrist. And what about the other officers who were there? They should be held accountable for what they did to me too."

[Via]
After sweeping Nigeria's NET Honours 2019, with numerous trophy, wins based on national polling results, Tiwa Savage is ready to make her splash on the Global stage. Say what you will about the commercialization of music in the 20th cent. and beyond, but those who love Afrobeats took an interest long before it became a commodity.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1123890671570575362



As of this week, Nigerian phenom has been snapped up by Universal Music Group in what they're calling a "global recording dealing" similar to the contracts signed by WizKid and Davido not too long ago. In addition to the big three garnering the interest of the big multinationals, Warner Music Group recently struck a deal with an entire Nigerian music factory, the "Chocolate City" label based out of Lagos (with offices in Abuja and Nairobi, Kenya). Tiwa Savage expressed her delight in a message issued to the international press.

My biggest goal is to make Africa proud, said Savage in a statement. Im so excited for this moment and Im thankful to [UMG CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge and my new UMG family for their belief in my dreams. Im looking forward to this next chapter in my career and Im more ready than I have ever been."

As for the NET Honours gala that took place late last month, the following is a rundown of who in Nigeria is gaining the most attention on social media. It's no secret Nigerian spend a lot of their downtime on the Internet, so these polling results reflect the popularity dynamics in the more urban sections of the country.

NET Honours 2019 Winners

Most Searched Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Searched Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Popular Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Actor  Jim Iyke

Most Popular Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Searched Actor  Odunlade Adekola

Most Searched Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Popular Couple  Davido and Chioma

Most Popular Media Personality -Tosyn Bucknor (RIP)

Most Searched Media Personality  Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

Most Popular Person  President Muhammadu Buhari

Most Popular Comedian  Alibaba

Most Popular African Celebrity  Juliet Ibrahim

Most Popular Global Celebrity  Kim Kardashian

Most Popular Event  Big Brother Naija 2018

Top Big Brother Naija Star 2018  Tobi Bakre

[Via]
Munster High School has advanced into the top 50 of the Vans Custom Culture Competition to earn a chance to compete for a grand-prize of $75,000 for the school art program. As part of the contest the Vans corporation sent two white pairs of Vans shoes that students drew on and customized along two themes. The first theme is Local Flavor and the second is Off the Wall. The top 50 designs in each category are voted upon by the public with the top five schools receiving monetary prizes ranging from $10,000-$75,000. The public can cast their vote at https://customculture.vans.com. The money would go toward the development of a Digital Design suite within the school specifically geared to the needs of the art department. If Munster were to field a winning entry, specialty shoes would be produced for the design team and a school wide-BBQ would be held with a mystery musical guest flown in to perform for students and staff.
The way to get a company to respond to a complaint is to boycott, and in this social media generation, if you can get something to go viral, you may even get an apology. Earlier this year, Gucci found itself on the wrong side of rapper T.I. after they released an item of clothing that was deemed to be racist. Many people said the balaclava sweater resembled a Golliwog, a black caricature that has black skin, frizzy hair, and large, bright red lips, and they called the company out for allegedly being racist.

Following the backlash, T.I. hopped on social media to not only announce that he would be boycotting the brand, but also to urge others to do the same. "As a 7 figure/yr customer &long time supporter of your brand I must say...Yall GOT US f*cked UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED," he wrote. "Our culture RUNS THIS SH*T!!! We (People of color) spend $1.25 TRILLION/year (but are the least respected and the least included)and if we stop buying ANYTHING they MUST correct any and ALL of our concerns. Thats THE ONLY WAY we can get some RESPECT PUT ON OUR NAME!!!!"

For the last few months, there have been a few celebrities who have followed suit, while others haven't taken the boycott seriously. In a recent interview with Ebony, Waka Flocka Flame and his wife Tammy Rivera shared their thoughts on the Gucci boycott. "A lot of stuff that we claim that's 'for blacks' from schools to books we read to lifestyles...it's not owned by a black person," Waka said. "So how can it be for blacks? I'm just being real. And I know that, so anytime I see cappin' going on, I'm gon' check it."

"And nobody can blame kids for wearing it," he continued. "I snap when I see a guy like me [wearing it]. We know, bro. We grown men. Now, to see a younger kid, like a young thug have it on, that's different. He a thug. He younger. It takes somebody like me to [say], 'Yo, bro you know that's uh...nine times out of ten, when I call them and say it, they be like, 'Whoa, big homie, for real? Man that's crazy. I ain't even know that.' People don't know."

"Like, women don't know why they wear high heels...It was made for men to have an arch, but that's different. But it becomes fashion today," he shared. Waka also says that it's hypocritical for someone to tell others not to wear certain designers because of racism or bigotry if they're wearing high fashion that mirrors exactly what they're against. "I would love for other people to know things," he said. "We just need high fashion black people. That's all I'm saying. [If] you're a black man, you should go to high fashion black men, that's all I'm saying. You wonder why the pants slippin' off your ass. 'Cause they're not made for you."
This weeks Texas Inc. is a salute to the 51st annual Offshore Technology Conference, which is bringing tens of thousands of the energy industrys best and brightest to the worlds energy capital.

Well be keeping an eye on attendance as a pulse on the industry. The conference at NRG Park once drew more than 100,000 visitors, but by last year, it had fallen to 61,300.

Oil prices have risen this year, but we just dont have the $100 a barrel oil that the industry came to expect about five years ago. Drilling offshore is expensive. And theres plenty of juice flowing from land, where its cheaper to drill and more efficient to produce thanks to fracking technology.

Themes at OTC this year center around lowering costs and using more renewable energy sources on offshore rigs.

The industry is looking for exploration and production opportunities that are lower cost, OTC chairman Wafik Beydoun Beydoun told reporter L.M. Sixel. At the same time, you have more societal and environmental awareness both onshore and offshore.  We have more than a dozen including offshore wind.

Energy reporter Jordan Blum details the many ways the offshore oil and gas industry is looking to trim expenses.

The offshore sector globally has been challenged by cheap sources of oil and gas, Vaseem Khan, vice president of global engineering for McDermott International, the Houston engineering and construction firm, told Blum. I dont like the phrase cutting costs. What were doing is removing waste from the industry.

Removing waste. Cutting costs. Its just semantics. If oil sells for less than it costs to produce, drilling for it is not a viable business.

Adding to the costs are increasing regulations as the nations around the world demand solutions to climate change.

Our columnist Chris Tomlinson skillfully argues that the OTC crowd is not paying enough attention to the threats it faces.

The dirty, big secret that only attracts brief mentions and side-long glances at OTC is greenhouse gas regulation, and the worlds need to slash carbon dioxide emissions, Tomlinson writes As the climate changes and people around the world demand action, the oil industry generally--and offshore drilling specifically--face near extinction without adaptation.

It something we must all adapt to eventually. But this week lets learn all we can from OTC. If it werent for the industry, Houston would likely still be a swamp.

Welcome to Texas Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- The National Transportation Safety Board will evaluate a range of factors that could help explain how a Boeing 737-800 plane arriving from Cuba slipped into a river after skidding off a runway in Florida, from human error to the weather to the airports systems.

We are very early in the beginning phase of this investigation, Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman, said during a news conference on Saturday.

The chartered flight operated by Miami Air International Inc. was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew when it left the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday evening, Boeing Co. said in a statement. Authorities said there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

The NTSB quickly dispatched a Go Team of 16 to lead the investigation.

NTSB recovered the flight data recorder, which has been sent to Washington for evaluation, but the cockpit voice recorder remains inaccessible in the plane, which is still partially submerged, said Landsberg. The plane had no prior history of accident or incident, and is one of over 4,000 of such planes worldwide, he said.

The Jacksonville airport runway has pavement that isnt grooved, Landsberg said, adding that it was unclear if the lack of grooves was a factor in the skid. Runway grooving can be an aid to drainage.

More for you SpaceX vehicle was destroyed during last month's 'mishap,' company confirms

The NTSB said they couldnt confirm that pets on board the plane had died, but an investigator didnt spot any pet carriers above the water line, said Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The investigations team has expertise in aircraft operations, structures, power plants, human performance, weather, airports and other areas, the NTSB said earlier. Boeing said its providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the NTSB.

While it isnt clear yet what led to the plane ending up in the river, the incident comes as Boeing remains enmeshed in one of the biggest crises in its century-long history.

The plane maker has been on the defensive since its 737 Max planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people in a span of five months. The 737 Max plane has been grounded as the company tries to convince airlines and regulators it will be safe once a software update is installed.

The chartered flight in Fridays crash arrived from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, according to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in a post on its Facebook page. Images show the plane partially submerged in the St. Johns River.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said soon after the accident on Friday that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water. The St. Johns River is the longest in Florida, flowing some 310 miles, and is a major shipping route around Jacksonville.

(Updates with NTSB comments from first paragraph.)

--With assistance from Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at sadam2@bloomberg.net;Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, James Ludden

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON - Six decades ago, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro ordered federal inspectors to raid Standard Oil offices there, seizing maps and geological records in what was to become the first step in an expropriation that would go on to include a refinery, ports and more than 100 gas stations.

Now Exxon Mobil, Standards successor, is suing Cubas national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Washington Thursday seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest.

The legal action followed an announcement by the White House last month that President Donald Trump would allow companies and individuals to go ahead and sue in U.S. federal court for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution, breaking with more than two decades of diplomatic norms.

Exxon, the first publicly traded company to file a claim, declined to comment on the reason for the litigation Friday. But in the lawsuit, Exxon claimed the assets seized six decades ago, are still in use today even though [Exxon] has never received any compensation for this property.

The Cuban embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Ranging from hotels to ports to communications systems, the assets seized by Cuban forces beginning in the late 1950s have been valued at approximately $8 billion by the Justice Departments Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Congress passed a law allowing companies to sue for compensation in 1996, but European nations, concerned about how such a law might affect their trade relations with the Caribbean nation, threatened to file a claim against the United States at the World Trade Organization if the lawsuits went ahead.

The Maduro factor

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all chose to suspend the provision of the law that allows companies to sue. But unhappy with Cubas decision to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid growing international outrage over the regimes human rights in Venezuela, Trump has decided to allow the litigation to move ahead.

Havana continues to prop up Maduro and help him sustain the brutal suffering of the Venezuelan people, National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a speech in Miami in April. As President Trump has said, Maduro is quite simply a Cuban puppet.

Under Trumps order, companies were allowed to begin filing suit for Cuban claims as of midnight Thursday. So far, Exxon is the only publicly-traded company to do so, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a business organization advocating for greater trade between the two nations.

Exxon has said nothing. This is hugely surprising, he said. Exxon Mobil is going to be the accelerant for others to decide to sue. It gives a lot of companies political cover and commercial justification to move ahead on their claims.

Other companies with claims against Cuba include the hotel group Marriot International, retail giant Office Depot and oil major Chevron, which has a claim on a refinery seized by Cuba valued at $56.2 million. But its unclear whether they and other companies will follow Exxon Mobil.

Cuban companies do not recognize the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, making it difficult to recoup any damages assessed against them by U.S. courts, said Philip Brenner, a professor studying U.S.-Cuba relations at American University in Washington. He added that many U.S. companies have deals in place or plans to develop business in Cuba in the future and might be reluctant to anger politicians there through litigation.

Political decision

The reality is Exxon Mobil has written this off long ago, as have other large companies, Brenner said. It looks wholly like a political decision to support the Trump administration.

So far, only two other lawsuits have been filed seeking compensation for assets seized by Cuba, both by individuals against the Miami-based cruise line Carnival, Kavulich said. They claimed Carnival operates on docks and other port facilities seized from their family by the Cuban government.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
From a tourists perspective, driving through small-town Texas can be a hit-or-miss affair. Main Street is usually the bellwether. In a typical Central Texas town, many of the mom-and-pop food stores and clothing shops have closed and remained boarded up, or have been replaced by tourist-oriented businesses, such as antiques stores and bed-and-breakfast hotels.

The vacuum along these once-bustling main streets can be explained by driving a few miles out of town where a giant Walmart Supercenter acts as a swirling black hole of commercial activity, sucking all the demand for daily necessities to its irresistible pull of low prices and one-stop-shopping convenience.

Lamenting the loss of traditional mom-and-pop shops to the draw of stores such as Target and Walmart is a fools errand. Consumers vote with their wallets, and by that measure, big-box stores are the winner.

I am often asked if the same thing might happen in the barbecue realm. Big-box shops such as Rudys Country Store and Bar-B-Q, Corkys BBQ and H-E-Bs in-store True Texas BBQ are expanding at a rapid pace. Will they replace the beloved mom-and-pop joints for which Texas is known?

I can say with certainty that they will not. Small, family-owned Texas barbecue joints are thriving, even with the additional competition from chain restaurants. Why? The main reason is the nature of the product being sold.

Love the smell of wood smoke in the morning? Join J.C. Reid, Alison Cook and Greg Morago as they discuss barbecue culture with special guests by subscribing to the Chronicle's BBQ State of Mind podcast on Apple's Podcasts, or visit houstonchronicle.com/ bbqpodcast. See More Collapse

A small, family-run food store is essentially selling commodity products. In most cases, theres no difference between the milk and flour you buy at a small store as you do at a big-box store. When it comes to commodities, small stores will never be able to compete on price with big retailers.

But when you move into more specialized products, small businesses have a better chance.

Consider hardware stores. In theory, big-box hardware stores such as Lowes and Home Depot should have killed off small hardware stores long ago. And yet I still find myself shopping at Southland Hardware in Montrose or the local Ace Hardware. Small hardware businesses have stubbornly resisted the draw of big-box retailers by offering an array of specialty items and, more importantly, the one-on-one customer service that consumers need to make educated purchasing decisions.

Small barbecue joints also provide the specialty items and personal customer interaction. If Im in the mood for pastrami, I know to go to Roegels Barbecue Co. on a Thursday. Craving wet-mopped pork ribs? Im heading to Pinkertons Barbecue. For an old-school rib sandwich, Im heading to Burns Original BBQ on a Wednesday. And in most cases, the owner/pitmaster will be taking my order or carving the meat right in front of me, ready to answer any questions or just greet me with a nod and smile.

The bottom line is that there is enough demand and differentiation for big-box barbecue and mom-and-pop joints to co-exist  and even thrive  side by side.

Indeed, if there is any danger of barbecue outlets closing, it will probably be the big-box versions, because of competition among themselves as well as with other casual-dining chains. For chains like Rudys or Corkys, the competition isnt from mom-and-pop barbecue operations but rather from other chains like Chilis and Outback Steakhouse.

In a case of American capitalism coming full circle, mom-and-pop craft-barbecue joints are now expanding to small-town Texas, joining antiques stores and bed-and-breakfasts in a revival of tourist-oriented businesses. Micklethwait Market & Grocery in Smithville, Louies BBQ in Buda and Bretts Backyard Bar-B-Que in Rockdale have all made the commitment to the thriving Texas tradition of family-run barbecue restaurants.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtx
Financial assistance is still available for homeowners who are still rebuilding their homes or seeking reimbursement after Hurricane Harvey.

Representatives from Harris County Commissioner 4 Jack Cagles Office spoke during the Humble Biz Com at Humble High School on Thursday to update the northeast Houston area on one of Harris Countys flood recovery initiatives called Project Recovery.

Homeowners can visit the Project Recovery website or call 832-927-4961 and see what kind of financial assistance program is best for them. Homeowners can also visit one of the countys intake centers to receive in-person assistance selecting a program.

Colin Gary, a public affairs specialist with Outreach Strategists, LLC, who has been collaborating with Harris County on Project Recovery, said over $200 million has been specifically allocated to homeowners outside of the Houston city limits.

RELATED: Harvey housing aid program delayed over vacancy provision

Harris County has just recently received in the last two weeks funding from the federal government for long-term housing assistance for homeowners who were affected by Hurricane Harvey, Gary said. Theres assistance available now for the community.

Financial assistance includes reimbursement up to $50,000 on funds used to remodel homes; up to $80,000 for homes that are still partially damaged and in need of repair; and up to $160,000 for homes that over 50 percent damaged.

More Information Intake Centers are open Monday- Friday from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 13101 Northwest Freeway Ste. 215, Houston, TX 77040 12941 North Freeway Ste. 600, Houston, TX 77060 14700 FM 2100 Ste. 2A&2B, Crosby, TX 77532 3315 Burke Rd. Ste. 204, Pasadena, TX 77504 See More Collapse

Gary said the pre-application process takes about five minutes and Harris County officials should get in touch with the applicant shortly after to help them fill out the full application.

RELATED: More than $1 billion in housing aid headed to Houston

I know its (almost) two years after the storm but (funding) is here now, Gary said. One other clarification is that this assistance is for people who live in Harris County but outside of the Houston city limits.

Gary said due to federal regulations, 70 percent is reserved for people who are on a low to moderate income and the rest is everyone else.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
Beginning on June 1, Bobby Lieb will take the helm of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, the organization announced on Monday, April 29.

Currently the chambers vice president, Lieb will succeed Barbara Thomason, who announced her retirement in March and will step down at the end of May after leading the chamber since November 2005.

In the two years Ive been working economic development here, I have grown to have a deep appreciation of this community. I hope people that live here realize how much theyve got up here and the positive attributes to it, Lieb said.

Before arriving at the chamber in May 2017, Lieb served in Colorado as a county commissioner of La Plata County and executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

Lieb said he found his niche when he began to focus on community work after leaving the private sector.

After two years with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, Lieb said the challenges the community faces are mainly with crime, flooding and generating more jobs.

While violent crime along along FM 1960 is down, the recurring burglary, robberies and other crimes are tarnishing the image of the community, he said.

Its a very long-term problem. There are solutions. They require a lot of community buy-in, he said.

Another major issue facing both businesses and residents is the recurring flooding from the Memorial Day flood in 2015, the Tax Day flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The chamber has previously hosted flood control meetings to advocate for more infrastructure and flood mitigation projects.

You cant tell me that flooding doesnt have an adverse impact on the economy. The solutions clear. Theres lots of hurdles to overcome, but assigning focus and resources to it and then deploying those resources in reducing the level of flooding that does occur is paramount, Lieb said.

Lieb said that while he acknowledges challenges the community faces, the variety of jobs along Beltway 8, Springwoods Village, University Park and the North Houston District have been a benefit to the area.

One of his aims as economic director of the chamber has been to encourage companies and businesses in the community.

Theres lots of good jobs and what I like about it is the variety. Theres a job for every sector of this community. Many communities would kill for what weve got in terms of the diversity of jobs weve got, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
During a luncheon hosted by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 3, business owners and residents voiced support for the high speed train expected to travel between Houston to Dallas. David Hagy, regional vice president of external affairs for Texas Central, provided an project update to luncheon guests.

Robert Maxwell from Tomball, said he became a fan of high speed trains after riding one in France and was impressed by the speed and efficiency.

You could live in Houston and go to (Texas) A&M (University) and back on the train or go to Dallas, he said.

During a transportation meeting hosted by the chamber in April, business owners said they were skeptical of the plan to join the two cities through the high speed train.

Texas Central, the company behind the project, is planning to build 240 miles of tracks so that two trains traveling 205-miles per hour can make the trip between both cities in about 90 minutes.

The project is estimated to cost $12 billion and would seek private investors to fund the construction.

As no high speed rail exists in the U.S., Texas Central would employ a Japanese-style Shinkansen bullet trains, along with Renfe, a Spanish company, to operate the trains.

Hagy said the company acknowledged that the property acquisition process was one of the most controversial aspects of the project, which is currently being disputed in court.

All of our routes are really trying to minimize the impact on private property. Because we are not a government entity, we can pay more for appraised or market value (for properties), he said.

Texas Central is seeking to construct a raised track along the proposed route so that property owners along rural areas can still move their livestock as well as to minimally impact wildlife.

Maxwell said he understood that some property owners were reluctant to sell their property.

Its like someone walking and knocking on your door and saying, I want to buy your house. You get to name your price. To me, thats a benefit, he said.

Maxwell said he is on board with the project as he and his staff have to travel to Dallas to work. He even created a Twitter account called Texans4HighSpeedRail.

As the population in both cities is expected to grow, the train may also get commuters out of cars and provide an alternative to airplanes.

Art Barash, an investment adviser with Baron Financial Advisors in Spring, said he was also excited about the project, but hoped newer technology would be utilized in Houston so that commuters could have an easier time getting around.

The major corridors, such as the Katy Freeway, the North Freeway and U.S. 290 could benefit from rail transport, he said.

Im in favor of the train. Im more in favor of the technology being applied in Houston, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
The Woodlands Townships governing committee for design standards is in the midst of revising several aspects of the townships complicated covenants as challenges have arisen from short-term rentals as well as the recent trend of tearing down older homes and replacing them with new structures.

Walter Lisiewski, the chairman of the seven-member Development Standards Committee, presented an update to township directors on Wednesday, April 24, explaining how the committee and its legal team are coping with the increase in short-term rentals in the township  a development that has irked many residents who feel homes in their neighborhood are becoming hotel-like in nature  as well as tear-downs and rebuilds of older homes.

Weve been working on an update of the standards, Lisiewski said. As The Woodlands grows and gets older, redevelopment is a very vital part of sustainability and keeping property values up.

The committee heard 268 variance applications in the first quarter, which was a more than 35 percent increase from the same time period in 2018.

New changes to the covenants include requiring mandatory drainage engineering plans for swimming pools; a new prohibition on filing for a design variance if a home or business owner has an existing outstanding covenant violations on their record; the official OK to use the controversial Edison lights as well as LED lights  with the caveat the lights do not negatively affect a neighbor. Artificial turf-like will also be allowed now in limited areas, specifically in side yards and in backyards, and must be professionally installed. Some standards governing tree removal were clarified and strengthened to prevent unneccessary cutting down of trees.

Weve updated our standards on new (building) materials. There is a lot of new product out there now, roofing, solar panels  so , we updated that, Lisiewski said. Home fueling stations  after Harvey, everyone has one now. We want to make sure everyone realizes there are state codes governing that and make sure the fire department knows there is a storage tank and where it is.

Short-term rental policy being developed

Lisiewski said the legal staff that works with the DSC as well as the six other members are waiting until the Texas legislative session ends in May or June before making any final decisions on short-term rentals, notably because two possible pieces of legislation have yet to be acted upon and whatever happens with the two proposals, it will likely affect the DSCs policy on the issue.

As you know, short-term rentals have been a big topic of discussion. We have all the (short-term rental) standards updated, but there are two bills in Austin right now, Lisiewski said. Were going to wait until those are resolved. It doesnt make any sense to change the standards and then have to change them again to comply with a new law. We think well be able to control short-term rentals.

Tear-downs & rebuilds a concern

As The Woodlands ages, especially older neighborhoods in original villages like The Village of Grogans Mill, Lisiewski said it is natural for new home buyers to possibly want to merely destroy an old, out-dated home and rebuild a totally new structure. The issue has become controversial in recent years and flared in mid-April when two residents of the Village of Grogans Mill made accusations during public comment on April 18 that a new homeowner was not following covenants and had plans for a building that did not fit the area.

Lisiewski said some of the comments the resident had made to the Board of Directors on April 18 were not accurate, and that the home in question had not had construction started on it. He also said accusations that DSC member Robert Heineman had been disrespectful to homeowners was false.

The Woodlands is getting older, and there is redevelopment taking place  not only residentially but on the commercial side, he said. Were going to see more and more of that. You have to redevelop.

Township board Chairman Gordy Bunch said he is aware of the need to redevelop older, aging homes, especially ones that may not have been maintained or have suffered wear and tear over the decades since they were first built.

Lisiewski said the DSC will ensure all covenants are followed, but in reality there will be new homes with different designs than what was popular in the 1970s or 1980s. Another factor in trying to replicate the style of older homes on a street is that many of the materials, colors and other elements used in construction of homes in the 1970s is simply not available anymore.

It is not going to be exactly the same, Lisiewski said of rebuilt homes. There are some cases that came out recently in Grogans Mill and Panther Creek for redevelopment. We go by the standards on that, we make sure there are some people who are not going to like it. But you have to redevelop.

jeff.forward@chron.com
It was in Christmas 1984, while visiting his wifes family in Louisville, Kentucky, that Kercheval said he first sampled the regional popcorn brand called Old Capital. The already established popcorn company, based in tiny Corydon, Ind., since 1948, had just been purchased that same year for $2 million by married couple Edward and Linda Phillips. The brands name came from the fact that from 1813 to 1816, Corydon had been the state capital of Indiana. Kercheval said he had always dreamed of owning a popcorn farm in his Indiana home state so he contacted the couple and offered to buy the business.
The school was founded in 1896 and its building constucted in 1921. While it was originally created by and to serve German immigrants, demographic changes led to immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries, according to its website.
In announcing that he wont challenge Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn next year, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro explained that he wanted to focus on the important and meaningful work he is doing in Congress.

Many Texas Democrats were saddened by this news because they were hoping Castro would run statewide. Others were disgruntled by it because they would like to flip the Senate seat, and Castro would have been a strong candidate in a year when Democrats hope to recapture control of the U.S. Senate.

I would have been proud to vote for Castro, but have little sympathy for those who denounced his decision as overly cautious. Both he and his twin brother, Julian, have faced this criticism at various points during their respective careers in electoral politics, and its not entirely baseless. The Castro twins are deliberate in their decision-making, and reluctant to take unnecessary risks.

This approach has served them well. Julian Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, at age 26, and went on to become mayor in 2009. He left that office in 2014, to serve as Barack Obamas secretary of housing and urban development, and is currently running for president himself. Joaquin Castro was elected to represent the 20th Congressional District in 2012, after a decade in the Texas House of Representatives; by most accounts, he would have had a real chance of becoming the first Mexican-American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Its hard to put exact odds, though, on Castros chances of winning the Senate seat next year.

Cornyn was re-elected by a 26-point margin in 2014, but he can hardly be considered invincible given the strong showing of Democrats in last years midterm elections. Other Democrats have taken notice. M.J. Hegar, an Air Force veteran and the 2018 Democratic nominee in Texas 31st Congressional District, threw her hat in the ring last month. Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards is also mulling a bid, and other contenders may come forward now that Castro has taken a pass on a 2020 Senate race.

And although there's a sense among Democrats that now is the time to stand up Preisdent Donald Trump, it's worth remembering that Castro is already in a position to do that as a member of Congress. He represents a heavily Democratic district, and is unlikely to face a primary challenge. His stature in Washington has grown with the Democratic takeover of the House last fall, as has his presence in the national media: hes a frequent guest on cable TV news shows to discuss the Russia investigation or Trumps border policies.

Frankly, Castro can probably serve as the congressman from Bexar County until he decides to do something else. The 20th Congressional District is relatively compact, heavily Mexican-American, and historic; its gerrymandered, but not incoherent. And Castro, who grew up on San Antonios Westside as part of a politically active family, has deep roots in the community.

Cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why Castro was looking at taking on Cornyn in the first place, or for that matter challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in last years Senate race. Both would have represented major gambles that entailed giving up his safe House seat.

And that would have been a loss for his constituents  many of whom have been put at risk by Trump in various ways. His successor in the House probably would have been a Democrat, but one with no seniority in Congress, and less relevant experience. As a Democrat who spent 10 years in the Texas Legislature, Castro has dealt with Republicans who are drunk on power. In the aftermath of Trumps election, that has come in handy. In fact, Castro has been the most effective member of our states congressional delegation these past two years.

The Democrats unhappy with his decision aren't thinking about it in those terms; they're prioritizing partisanship over people. For Democrats to win statewide in Texas would be a victory with massive implications for both parties. But Republicans will likely retain control of the Senate, even if Democrats pick up a Senate seat. And Castro, in any case, doesnt work for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He works for the Texans who live in the 20th Congressional District, which was a full-time job even before Trump was elected president.

The leadership Castro has shown since 2016 as the congressman from Bexar County would have distinguished him as a Senate candidate. But hes right to say that he can continue doing important and meaningful work in the House  and Democrats who are unhappy with his decision should remember that theres more than one way to step up to the plate.

erica.grieder@chron.com
A China-donated sculpture has been unveiled in Florence, Italy as part of the activities marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci's death, sources with the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) said.

The work by Chinese sculptor Wu Weishan, director of the NAMOC, features Da Vinci and Chinese painter Qi Baishi having dialog, and is on exhibition in the Accademia Delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing).

It marks the first time for the academy in its over 450 years' history to collect and exhibit the work of a Chinese sculptor.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a famous Chinese painter noted for watercolors featuring a huge variety of subjects.

"Though Leonardo da Vinci and Qi Baishi lived hundreds of years apart, they have both contributed a lot to human civilization, and they could have a conversation that transcends time and space," said Wu.

Wu is an internationally renowned sculptor. His portraits of many great historical figures of Chinese culture, including Confucius and Laozi, have been exhibited in many countries across the world.
When the call came, Ken Hughes had no second thoughts. The state of Texas needed him or, more specifically, its sprawling prison system needed drugs that he could make.

That was in 2014, and for the next 14 months, the lifelong Texan  a gun-carrying conservative and devout Christian  became one of his states lethal injection suppliers, compounding the deadly drug pentobarbital inside his familys West University store.

It ended four years ago, and his wife, whod always been deeply conflicted about it, breathed a sigh of relief. But Hughes decision would come back to haunt him and his family. The source of lethal injection drugs has always been controversial, and  thanks to restrictive shield laws and tight-lipped corrections officials  often cloaked in secrecy. But in November, BuzzFeed News identified Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy and Gifts as one of the suppliers of the states execution drugs, an unexpected stain of notoriety that sparked protests, fear and angry phone calls.

At the time, Hughes would only say that his small business didnt make the drug anymore. But this week he and his family sat down with the Houston Chronicle to talk about the fallout, the turmoil, and the decision that started it all.

This is a death state, Hughes said. Texas is what it is.

Those things conflict me

Ken and Nancy were born and raised in Texas  she in Midland, he in San Marcos. They came to Houston for college and, though hed been raised a Methodist, the pair met at the Second Baptist Church.

Nancy worked as a youth minister and prekindergarten teacher. Ken launched his career at Hospital Pharmacies Incorporated and later worked as head pharmacist at a local hospital.

They were married in 1980. Ken made enough money to be comfortable and start a family, but he saw unfilled need among customers.

There were a lot of people not getting help with their regular medications, he said. Their dosage fell between the commercially available dosages and they were getting too much or not enough.

And some speciality medications  certain variations of prescription eyedrops to fight eye-eating amoebas and fungi  werent widely available elsewhere.

So together, he and Nancy bought the pharmacy and opened their doors in 1992. The business started with three employees, a family-run operation then in an industrial park on Brays Bayou. The couples two children worked in the store as soon as they were big enough to see over the counter.

My older brother taught me how to sneak candy and hide the wrappers behind the register, Amanda, now 30, recalled. Though their primary moneymaker was the niche doses of drugs and prescription eyedrops, the store also featured a kitschy gift shop, a room of baubles and Christmas ornaments meant as a distraction from whatever ailments brought in the clientele.

Greenpark was already compounding the powerful barbiturate pentobarbital for use by veterinarians when prison officials contacted the company to get some made for the states death chamber. Citing current secrecy laws, a state prison spokesman on Friday declined to offer other comment or confirmation.

Ken and Nancy are reluctant to offer details about any exchanges, agreements, or promises made with the state. Aside from short sighs, heavy looks, and the repeated reminder that capital punishment is the law in Texas, Ken is taciturn about explaining his thought process. But Nancy is quick to say that, for her, it was troubling from the moment they made the decision.

I have been struggling with it ever since, she said. It really upsets me to know that there are cold-blooded people among us  but Im still conflicted. I mean, I dont believe in abortion. But Im conflicted; those things conflict me.

For the sake of their marriage, they kept work at work and when they were at home, they didnt talk about their occasional customer.

Looking back, Ken doesnt remember exactly how many transactions there were or how many doses - and the paperwork he might have had to prove it is long gone, shredded and tossed away after the state-mandated retention period ran out.

But in 2015, he said, Greenparks manufacturer stopped selling the raw drug and the pharmacy sold to the state for the last time that April.

I cant prove it to you, that we dont do it anymore, Nancy said.

After a moment of thought, her husband chimed in: I cant even prove that I did it.

Threats and protests

For three years, the Hughes family went on with their business and didnt think much about it. Then in late 2018, an employee came to them with a letter  from then-BuzzFeed reporter Chris McDaniel, who said hed identified Greenpark as one of the states lethal injection suppliers.

It was a blockbuster story, revealing a tightly guarded state secret. As the death drugs have become harder to get, corrections departments across the nation have refused to name their suppliers for fear that drugmakers and compounding pharmacies will cave to pressure from anti-death penalty activists and stop providing the pharmaceuticals.

In Texas, a shield law prevents the state from releasing the name of any lethal injection supplier since late 2015  and the Texas Supreme Court recently decided officials dont have to release the name of the supplier from before then, either. So the public identification of Greenpark was a rare peek behind the curtain of lethal injection secrecy.

Unsure how to handle the media scrutiny, the Hughes family called up the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for advice. Officials sought to reassure them, Nancy said, advising them not to talk to anyone and to wait out the storm  surely this would blow over.

A few days later, they said, a prison official called to warn them about a protest planned outside the store. Since then, its been steady  sometimes a stream, sometimes a trickle  of calls, emails, threats, and protests.

Its always non-violent, but always unnerving.

Some of the claims in the story the family still takes issue with. First and foremost, they say they are no longer the states death drug supplier and havent been since 2015, a claim partially at odds with the BuzzFeed story. Citing federal documents, McDaniel reported that the company had compounded drugs for the state two times  once in 2015 and once in 2016.

But the story also dinged the pharmacy for its track record, including a major mistake the family says was horrible, but taken out of context and something theyve worked hard to correct.

In fall 2015  after they say theyd already stopped providing drugs for the prison system  the pharmacy got in trouble with the State Board of Pharmacy and ended up with two years of probation and a $2,500 fine when one of their workers accidentally switched two drugs. She then hurriedly signed a quality control form herself, forging the signature of the supervising pharmacist.

The mistakes came to light after three children took the improperly mixed medication, accidentally ingesting the antianxiety drug lorazepam instead the antacid drug lansoprazole. One ended up in the hospital, and the childs parents later filed suit.

Greenpark settled the case and fired the worker.

Although they racked up other minor violations over the years, State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Allison Benz confirmed that the medication mix-up was the only matter serious enough to net state disciplinary action any time in the companys 27-year history.

But that wasnt the only problem BuzzFeed reported. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited Greenpark for possible sterility violations. The pharmacy responded by saying that theyd make some corrections and pointing out that everything theyd done had been in compliance with state guidelines. The matter didnt lead to any disciplinary action.

Now, Nancy said, the store has completely revamped its procedures, creating different forms, moving medications so that drugs with similar names are not next to each other, adjusting sterility protocols and changing some processes in the lab.

They completed their probation last year, and expected to return to business as usual  until the BuzzFeed story hit. Then, they worried about protests, hate mail and whether whether they could maintain relationships with their drug suppliers. One has already dropped them.

Confronting the issue

Since November, Amanda has been a constant ball of stress. Artsy and liberal, the tattooed University of Houston graduate is always kinetic and full of worry. She might have worried more four years ago, when her family still made drugs for the state  but she didnt find out until afterward.

I was torn, she said. I didnt even know you could make that. It was a thing I didnt really even think about.

But then she started reading news coverage, and following Twitter on execution days  and she came to a conclusion.

I am against capital punishment, because personally I believe there is only one person who gets to make that decision, she said. And that is Jesus Christ.

Regardless, she would support her parents. So last month, when she heard that another protest was scheduled outside the store, Amanda took matters into her own hands.

Late one Friday night, she phoned Gloria Rubac, a well-known death penalty opponent and perennial protester.

Greenpark doesnt make it anymore, she told her. Rubac was skeptical, demanding to know more.

By the end of the call, Rubac said, she was convinced.

We canceled that protest, Rubac said. If they did that in the past, well, shame on them, but if theyre not doing it now, okay.

She still wants to figure out who the states current supplier is, with the hope of protesting there until they stop. But if its not Greenpark, she understands.

Theyll never see us again, she said. We cant make them do penance for the past.

Every single day

Ken is a man of few words. Whatever second thoughts he has, he rarely shows them, save for a pause that lasts a few beats too long, or a vacant gaze out the stores front window.

For him, the world is black and white: Lethal injection is legal in the state of Texas.

Yet, when asked if he has any regrets, he lets out a sigh and falls to silence.

His wife is quick to answer, though, the tears rising in her voice.

Every day, she says. Every single day.
AUSTIN  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen proclaimed Friday they will muster the votes to pass a bill to cut property taxes and increase sales taxes, despite opposition from fellow Republicans and Democrats who call the swap a bad idea.

The public display of optimism came as a new state analysis shows households earning less than $100,000 a year would pay more in taxes after the swap, while businesses and wealthier households will see a reduction. In a press conference Friday, the leaders did not address that analysis, simply saying their plan would reduce property tax bills for homeowners across the board.

I have confidence that SB 2 is going to make it to my desk and be signed into law, Abbott said as he sat between the two other top Texas Republicans in his Capitol office.

While those three present a united front, there are key lawmakers who are not on board.

For subscribers: Ahead of 2020, Texas Republicans take a risk with sales tax swap plan

More Information How the plan would work A trio of bills in the Legislature aim to boost funding for schools while reducing property taxes and reining in future growth. The tax swap would raise state sales taxes by one percentage point - to the highest rate in the country - while buying down property taxes by an estimated 15 cents for every $100 in value. Renters are one group that may only see a net tax increase from the swap, unless landlords pass the property tax savings on by reducing rents. Another bill would cap what cities and counties can raise in property taxes each year, without first seeking a vote from residents. The measure would lower the cap to 3.5 percent from 8 percent. Local school districts, meanwhile, would be limited in what they could raise each year. Those provisions would slow the future escalation of property taxes, supporters of the bill say. Cities and counties protesting the legislation say funding for police, firefighters and other city services would suffer. A third bill would boost education funding by raising teacher salaries and increasing state spending by pupil. See More Collapse

One notable opponent is State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who has authored other tax relief proposals. He has repeatedly warned that tax swaps have historically failed. On Friday, Bettencourt renewed his objection, saying that homeowners would be left paying increased taxes in the end under the plan before the Legislature now.

Weeks earlier, Bettencourt said there was not a tremendous appetite among members of the Senate for the idea.

Texas has the third-highest property tax rate for single-family homes in the nation, according to a study by ATTOM Data Solutions, trailing behind only New Jersey and Illinois. Texans who own a home valued at $200,000 paid an average of $4,360 in property taxes in 2018, with an average effective property tax rate of 2.18 percent per year, the study found.

Republicans have proposed a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax to raise billions of dollars to deliver promised relief for skyrocketing property tax bills. If successful, the tax swap would raise sales taxes to 9.25 percent for most Texans, making it the highest state sales tax rate in the nation. In 2020, the proposed sales tax increase is projected to raise $5 billion that lawmakers say would be used to buy down school property tax rates across the state. The owner of a $200,000 house would see a reduction of about $260 a year on property taxes.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

But the tax swap would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-class Texans, the analysis found.

You should expect the people struggling to support their families are going to have a harder time, and those who are already doing pretty well will be a little better off, said Dick Lavine, a senior fiscal analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Under that proposal, households that make less $38,000 a year would pay an effective local and state tax rate of 13.8 percent, according to the analysis released Friday by the Legislative Budget Board, which calculates costs of legislation. Households making more than $149,500 a year would pay an effective tax rate of 3.4 percent.

Texas businesses would see a decrease of about $638 million in tax collections, while households would pay nearly $413 million more in taxes, the analysis says.

The analysis does not calculate savings offered in a package of bills that would would restrict property tax increases enacted by cities and counties in the future. One bill would cap property tax collections for cities and counties at 3.5 percent without voter approval. Local school districts would be capped at 2.5 percent. The bills would also provide a further reduction in property taxes collected to fund schools  the decrease of about four cents per $100 of a homes value, would save the owner of a $200,000 house about $80 a year.

Lawmakers are grappling with two possible ways to pass the legislation. The current proposal would make the swap a constitutional amendment that voters would need to approve in the November 2019 election in order for it to take effect in 2020. However, that legislation would require approval by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate, a difficult threshold. Making it a constitutional amendment would ensure that the sales tax money would be dedicated to property tax relief into the future.

Otherwise, the Legislature could increase the sales tax to buy down property tax rates without an election. That route would require a simple majority in both chambers to pass  but lawmakers cannot guarantee that money will continue to be used to reduce property taxes.

Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen have just 24 days left to strike a deal before the legislative session adjourns on Memorial Day.

Allie Morris contributed to this report.
Civil rights groups asked a three-judge panel in San Antonio on Thursday to force Texas to submit its election maps to federal supervision for the next decade to make sure they dont discriminate against minorities.

But lawyers for the state urged the judges to deny the motion, saying the plaintiffs failed to meet requirements for such a request.

After listening to the arguments at a two-hour hearing, the judicial panel gave little indication on when it will rule on whether Texas should again be placed under federal electoral supervision called preclearance.

PURO POLITICS PODCAST : Tensions flare as election night nears

The plaintiffs request is the latest in an 8-year-old redistricting lawsuit that began when Texas redrew its political maps after the 2010 census.

Texas and other states had been required to preclear their political maps under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which mandated supervision for states and local governments with a history of racist voting laws. But in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that part of the law.

The plaintiffs asked the panel to return Texas to preclearance restrictions under a different part of the Voting Rights Act, Section 3, which requires, among other things, a showing of intentional discrimination. Case law on that matter is scant, the panel noted.

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, reminded the panel that it found, after a trial in the redistricting court battle, that Texas intentionally discriminated in several congressional and state House districts when it drew its maps in 2011. The judicial panel came up with interim maps for the 2012 election, which the state adopted in 2013 with no change.

These findings of intentional discrimination in this case  are also bracketed by discrimination in voting before and after the 2011 redistricting, Perales said. Since Texas was covered by Section 5, beginning in 1972, it has never stopped discriminating in its redistricting.

OnExpressNews.com: Pre-k 4 SA's future will rest with 2020 election voters

She argued that after Texas was freed from preclearance in 2013, the state continued to discriminate with laws requiring voter identification and a recent attempt to purge voters the state wrongly claimed were noncitizens.

But state Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick argued that while the Legislature sometimes gets it wrong, Texas has not engaged in pervasive discrimination or constitutional defiance that would drag the state into preclearance again. He also argued that the voter purge efforts and voter ID requirements were necessary for integrity in elections.

They want to strip Texas of its sovereign power to enact laws, Frederick argued. They want to do so despite the states adoption of remedial plans that the Supreme Court has now deemed were not intentionally meant to discriminate.

The Justice Department under the Obama administration had sided with the plaintiffs, which include minority voters and some Democratic lawmakers. But under the Trump administration, the department switched positions, and one of its lawyers, John Gore, backed the states arguments Thursday.

It is now time to bring this case to an end, Gore told the panel, adding that future violations can be addressed through other lawsuits on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Justice can bring those cases where appropriate.

Last June, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld 10 of 11 congressional and state House districts that the maps challengers said intentionally undercut the voting power of Hispanic and black voters, usually to keep white incumbents in office. The court found that the evidence was plainly insufficient to prove that the 2013 Republican-controlled Legislature acted in bad faith when it enacted the districts.

But the court agreed with minority groups that Fort Worth-based House District 90 was an impermissible racial gerrymander because lawmakers illegally used race as the predominant factor in deciding its boundaries.

OnExpressNews.com: San Antonio judge approves settlement ending state's voter purge attempt

The plaintiffs submitted to the three-judge panel a new House District 90 map Thursday that fixed the violations, and the state agreed to it.

The Supreme Court said last year, there is no need ... to prolong this already protracted litigation. ... And you want 10 more (years)? one of the panels jurists, Judge Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court said its over. I dont understand it.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, the chief justice of the San Antonio-based Western District of Texas, wondered if Section 3 requires actual injury or only threatened harm as part of its provisions to kick in preclearance. He got opposing responses.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, the third judge on the panel, asked if the state would stipulate that, after next years census, Texas would have full, fair and transparent hearings ... with (redistricting) maps for the public to see and the opportunity for the public to have meaningful input.

I couldnt even begin to consider it, Frederick answered.

So if the state cant stipulate to it, how can it object to preclearance? Rodriguez queried.

Frederick replied that there had been public hearings the last time around but that nobody is happy when they dont get what they want.

Rodriguez countered that the public hearings were held in unusual locations, with little advance notice or on or near holidays. Rodriguez pressed again on state stipulation.

I cant stipulate because the terms are not defined, Frederick answered. I dont know what I would stipulate to.
In less than 10 seconds, Zhou Bin, a resident in Fuzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province, can access his social security and provident fund accounts on his cell phone.



"In the past, you had to find different official websites for different formalities and also apply for the verification code via your cell phone every time you log in," said Zhou.

But now, he said, the mobile app called "e-Fuzhou" covers almost all aspects of government services and approvals in daily life, saving the city's residents from the red tape.

The leapfrog offers a glimpse of China's digital efforts to improve its governance capacity and efficiency.

Startups can now complete registration procedures and obtain licenses at the self-service registration machines in the city of Pingtan without long queues and onerous paperwork.

The machines, connected to the government database and supported by facial recognition technologies, help streamline the application process and reduce the required time from days to just minutes.

A slew of digital technology applications, including the big data credit inquiry system, the online tax bureau, and the paperless customs clearance system, have also been developed in the province over the years.

Digital technology also has its presence in law enforcement and crime prevention.

Xiao An, a police robot, is now in charge of patrolling the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a famous scenic spot in Fuzhou.

The white robot, which is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 80 kg, moves at a speed of 0.4 meters per second in the designated area, almost the average walking pace of human beings.

Equipped with high-definition cameras on its heads, the robot can take pictures along its routes and send the collected information in real time to the backstage, where the data is further analyzed and nearby police forces can be dispatched accordingly.

The robot also provides tourists with services such as voice navigation and broadcasting lost and found notices.

While the citizens are reaping rewards of e-government data sharing, China has also beefed up laws and regulations to better protect the personal information of its citizens.

Tong Pingping, a government official in the city of Xiamen, said that citizen's sensitive information is encrypted and processed by computers, while officials only have access to information that would prove whether or not a person was involved in a crime.

"Making sensitive data invisible would encourage departments with rich data resources to open data-sharing ports," said Tong, stressing that data security of citizen information is the top priority in e-governance.

China will hold the second summit on digital development from May 6 to 8 in Fuzhou. This year's summit aims to serve as a platform for people at home and abroad to cooperate and contribute to digital China.

Fuzhou, where the first summit was held, has witnessed bourgeoning development of the digital economy in the past year, attracting famous businesses such as Alibaba to invest in the city and nurturing a batch of high-quality digital companies.




Hurricane Harveys 140 mph winds wiped homes completely off the map along one stretch of Copano Cove Road in Rockport, leaving nothing of some of them but a few wooden planks.

But while 11 homes were destroyed and dozens of others badly damaged along the road, one thing didnt change at all: the property tax bills that came later that month.

Just a fraction of over 200,000 structures that were damaged in the 60 counties declared disaster areas were reappraised to ensure that residents recovering from the storm werent hit with unfair tax bills to boot. In Harris County, which has more than 500 taxing districts, only 10 agreed to reappraise properties to reflect their post-storm value, which ultimately helped the owners of 14,000 properties, mostly within the Katy and Humble school districts.

Unconscionable, said Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who is pushing legislation in Austin that he says will give homeowners a chance to fight back against unfair property tax bills after the next monster storm.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Already the Texas Senate has passed a bill that will completely rewrite the rules on reappraising homes after natural disasters to assure that any homeowner can apply for a reappraisal without local taxing jurisdictions standing in the way.

"Nothing makes home and business owners madder than paying full property taxes on a damaged or destroyed property," Bettencourt said.

His legislation, which has cleared the Senate and could be ready for a vote on the House floor next week, would essentially cut cities, counties and other governmental agencies out of disaster reappraisal decision-making.

In 2017, many of those governments said their decision not to rework the tax bills wasnt because they lacked sympathy for homeowners  rather, they worried about losing tax revenue as they faced an epic crisis. Some county officials warned that just the cost of doing reappraisals would cost millions in some cases, and then result in lost revenues to pay for police and fire protection.

But not everyone buys that argument.

All it was, was greed, Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl E. Johnson told Senators in a hearing on the issue last month.

She said local governments were more concerned about the revenues than the owners of 20,000 properties in Galveston County that were badly damaged. While governments can find other revenue sources, she said residents have much more limited options, especially after losing their homes.

But Bettencourts Senate Bill 1772 still has key hurdles to overcome. Even if the bill passes, a change the state constitution would be required to assure the change can be made. That means the Legislature would have to put a ballot item to the public this November.

Its a far different approach than efforts that have failed in the past. In 2017, the state lawmakers twice nearly passed legislation that would have forced all governments to reappraise after a natural disaster. State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, got that idea through the House, but the Senate passed a different bill that never lined up with her proposal, and it died.

Davis and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed similar legislation this year, but their bills have stalled.

While that approach would also assure homeowners get reappraised, local appraisal districts have warned that the time to get those appraisals done in large counties would be daunting and expensive.

In Harris County, where more than 70,000 properties were flooded during Harvey, Harris County Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said it would have cost taxpayers an estimated $2.7 million if all governments were required to redo appraisals. Bettencourts bill would require homeowners to apply for reappraisals of damaged property, which Altinger said would reduce the cost to less than $500,000.

He said after Harvey, when just 10 taxing jurisdictions asked for reappraisals, it cost those entities $543,000 and his appraisers struggled because of the volume of work. But if it has been a more targeted application process, he said the cost would have been less than $100,000, and the reappraisals would have taken a fraction of the time.

Bettencourt was among those who called for making all disaster-struck counties do mass re-appraisals, instead of making it optional. But he said as he talked to appraisal districts, it became clear that the practicality of that was an issue.

It wasnt going to be workable, Bettencourt said.

Bettencourts proposal does more than just create an application process. It also spells out guidelines of how the assessors must do the work. If the assessor declares a property between 15 percent to 29 percent damaged, the assessed value of the home would drop 15 percent. If the damage is between 30 percent and 60 percent, the assessed value drops 30 percent. If the damage is at least 60 percent, the assessed value drops 60 percent. And if a home is a total loss, the value drop would be 100 percent.

In any scenario, the reductions are pro-rated based on when a storm or other disaster hits.

For a home in Houston valued at $200,000 before the hurricane, but worth just $30,000 after, a property owner would have seen a $700 cut just in school taxes, according to a report by Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit tax advocacy group based in Austin.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said it was disappointing to see how few local governments stepped up and were willing to lower tax bills.

We should not be kicking the taxpayer when they are down and they need help, he said.

On Copano Cove Road after Harvey, homeowners instead paid their full tax bill on the first year, and did not see any break until 2018 when the tax bills of many of the homes dropped 30 to 40 percent to reflect the damage.
[Thumbs up] Its Dave Wards birthday Monday, but hes the one who has a gift for Houston. The longtime KTRK news anchor is holding a book launch for his memoir, Good Evening, Friends: A Broadcaster Shares His Life. The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Dave Ward Building at Crime Stoppers of Houston, 3001 Main St. The book covers his life from son of a Baptist preacher to a radio news guy to certified Guinness World Record-holder (no spoilers, but its TV-related). Over his storied career, Ward covered NASA, the opening of the Astrodome, hurricanes, and the energy biz boom and bust, all on the way to becoming, for many Houstonians, the most trusted voice in news. Congratulations on the book and a happy birthday from the Thumbs!

[Thumbs down] A U.S. district judge clearly doesnt understand the power of true crime series on basic cable. How else do you explain his audacity in requiring Kelly Siegler, former Harris County prosecutor and current star of Cold Justice, to appear at a hearing for a death row inmate who claims Siegler improperly used prison informants? When Siegler didnt show on Monday, the judge, who had threatened her with contempt, decided to give her another chance. A spokeswoman for the Oxygen network told the Chronicle that Siegler was on location shooting new episodes. Fortunately for all involved, Siegler agreed to testify via video link later in the week. The Thumbs wonder if her lawyers got through to her. Or maybe it was her agent, offering her a role on MSNBCs Lockup: Harris County that changed her mind?

[Thumbs down] The Thumbs are huge fans of The Simpsons, so when they hear the word paddling they cant help but picture substitute teacher Jasper threatening kids to a paddlin if they talk out of turn or look out the window. But theres nothing funny about hitting children or how H.B. 420  which would prohibit corporal punishment in Texas schools  has languished without a hearing in the Public Education committee. Hitting, spanking or slapping is ineffective and harmful to children, yet Texas ranks No. 2 nationally in the number of paddlings, according to a report from Education Week. Minorities, as usual, get the short end of the stick (or maybe the long end of the paddle?): They are more likely to be punished than non-Hispanic white students. While many school districts in the state already have bans against corporal punishment, why is this still a thing in Texas?

[Thumbs down] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a tweet this week that a recently passed House bill that would lower penalties for pot possession is dead in the Texas Senate. This came on the heels of the Senate approving the use of herbicides to fight Carrizo cane along the border, so maybe Patrick doesnt so much dislike pot as he just hates weed(s). Attitudes over putting people in jail over marijuana use are softening in Texas, and H.B. 63 reflects that. The bill would change possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor  basically like a traffic ticket. Patrick should reconsider his position and stop harshing the mellow on this bipartisan bill.

[Thumbs down] May 4 is Star Wars Day, but you must forgive the Thumbs and other fans of George Lucas space saga if our celebration is muted this year. Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and in 2015s The Force Awakens, died Tuesday in his North Texas home. At 7 feet 2 inches, Mayhew ably brought the ace Wookiee pilot, devoted companion and big walking carpet to life, becoming a beloved character in the series and one of the few to appear throughout (please save your arguments that the prequels dont exist for later). We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him, said Harrison Ford. Hundreds of millions of fans around the world share that love.
Today we welcome author Amra Pajalic to share the inspiration behind her new book Things Nobody Knows But Me.

Amra Pajalic on the inspiration behind Things Nobody Knows But Me

I have been writing this book most of my life in different incarnations. I first began it when I was 20 and studying a writing course. I began a memoir in my non-fiction subject and titled it Sins of the Mother about being the daughter of a Bi Polar sufferer and about the hardship that my mother endured being from a Non-English Speaking Background while suffering from a mental illness. I was very judgemental about the decisions my mother made and the way these had impacted me. I completed enough chapters to submit for the subject, received a mediocre grade, and hid it in my (metaphorical) bottom drawer.

I turned away from non fictionit demanded an honesty and rawness I wasnt ready to bring.

Instead I concentrated on fiction and my debut novel was heavily inspired by my teenage experiences. When I had my daughter my childhood memories resurfaced and now that I was a mother myself I felt more compassion toward my own mum. I had every advantage possibleI was 31-years-old, my baby was from a much wanted and planned pregnancy, and I had an incredibly supportive husband that I had been married to for ten years at that pointand yet I flailed. When my baby was 10-months-old I was felled by post-natal depression.

My mother, on the other hand, had every disadvantage possible. When she was 15-years-old, my mother found herself in an arranged marriage. At 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. Her life was extraordinary because of her ability to survive all the upheavals that she faced.

I found myself compelled to tell her story because there was a need for a story about mental illness from the perspective of those from a Non-English Speaking Background.

Mental illness carries with it stigma and shame in any cultural context, however Bosnia which was once a part of Yugoslavia, was a communist country and people with mental illness were shunned and segregated. This led to a mistrust and misunderstandings about mental illness that affected my mothers access to treatment. For many years she called her illness nervous breakdowns and did not actually know the name of her disorder, Bi Polar, or understand the symptoms and treatment. It was only when she learnt about these things that she was able to take control of her illness and achieve a better quality of life.

While I writing Things Nobody Knows But Me I spent a year interviewing my mother and trying to recreate her perspective. She was very open and honest because she wanted this book to help others who are Bi Polar sufferers and to help readers understand this illness. I found the process of interviewing and writing about her experiences healing. All the judgement that I had carried about the ways my mother failed me as a child: the upheavals, the bad relationships, the changes in school, going into foster homes, being left to live my grandparents for two years in Bosniawere forgiven. In writing this book I came to understand she was a victim of her brain chemistry and she did the best she could with what she had. Thats all a daughter can ask for.

~

Disclosure: If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

Things Nobody Knows But Me Synopsis:

Brave, compassionate, searingly honest and funny, this is a memoir in a voice like no other. Amra Pajalics love letter to her mother is a book that grabs at your heart and doesnt let go until the final page.  Alice Pung

When she is four years old Amra Pajalic realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia.

At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellors office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mothers confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient.

Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiska in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.

(Transit Lounge Publishing, 1 May 2019)

Get your copy of Things Nobody Knows But Me from:

Amazon | Booktopia(Aus/NZ) | Kobobooks | iBooks | Transit Lounge

About the Author, Amra Pajalic

Amra Pajalic is a Melbourne-based author of Bosnian background. Her debut novel The Good Daughter (Text Publishing, 2009) won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literatures Civic Choice Award, and was a finalist in the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award. Prior to publication it was shortlisted in the 2007 Victorian Premiers Awards for Best Unpublished Manuscript. She is also the author of a novel for children, Amir: Friend on Loan (Garratt Publishing, 2014).

Amra is co-editor of the anthology Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2019) that was shortlisted for the 2015 Childrens Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. She also wrote the teaching notes published by Allen & Unwin.

Amra has appeared on panels at conferences and literary festivals including at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Reading Matters Conference Panel, and the VicTESOL Conference. She has delivered workshops and presented at various library and community organisations, and was a judge and convenor of the Premiers Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript.

She was funded by Artists in Schools to be an Artist in Residence in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in high schools, and in 2014 received funding from Creative Victoria to be mentored by Alice Pung to work on her memoir.

She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
China expects to further optimize the investment and operating environment for foreign investors in its financial sector with new measures to open the field wider, according to the country's top banking and insurance regulator.

A total of 12 new rules will be released soon following profound research and evaluation, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said Wednesday.

"These measures will also encourage the stronger presence of foreign investment in the development of China's financial sector," spokesperson for CBIRC Xiao Yuanqi told Xinhua in an interview.

Detailed rules in regulations for foreign banks and foreign insurance companies have been revised in accordance with the new rules and will soon be released, Xiao said.

The playing field for foreign and domestic companies will be further leveled, said the spokesperson, citing the simultaneous removal of upper shareholding limits for a single Chinese-funded bank and a single foreign-funded bank in a Chinese commercial bank, as an example.

At present, the shares of foreign-funded banks and insurance companies' total assets have reached 1.64 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively, in China.

According to the new measures, asset requirement for foreign banks to set up foreign-funded legal person banks or branches will also be removed in a bid to further diversify the structure of banking institutions in China.

"This does not imply a lower standard of supervision, but rather an emphasis on the foreign banks' capability, quality and benefits," said Xiao.

The top regulator also expects to encourage quality firms with latecomer advantages into the Chinese market and increase global conversation and cooperation.

While allowing overseas financial institutions to hold stakes in foreign-funded insurance companies operating in China, the regulator also plans to remove requirements for foreign-funded insurance brokerage firms regarding business and total assets.

"We believe that this round of new measures will significantly enhance the openness and marketization of the banking and insurance sectors," Xiao said.




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 Flash

Egyptian Minister of Transportation Kamel Al-Wazir stressed the importance of implementing a new electric train line around Cairo which is financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) with 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The minister called for immediate start of the civil works of the project while activating investment cooperation with the China EXIM Bank, during a meeting with heads of companies executing the electric train late on Thursday, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Al-Wazir stressed that the companies should start immediately to provide the work sites with equipment in order to start the work on the ground as of next week.

The minister said that during his visit to China recently, he toured the factory that will manufacture the electric train, where he witnessed "the great potential of the factory."

With the new 66-km network line, Egypt hopes that it can redevelop its exhausted railway system that has witnessed deadly accidents in the past few years.
Imperial Valley News Center

President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini

Washington, DC - Joint Statement from the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini:

Thirty years ago, the Velvet Revolution inspired the world. The people of Czechoslovakia took destiny into their own hands and cast off decades of communist oppression. Seventy-five years ago, the Slovak resistance movement against Nazi occupation launched the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, and this movement contributed to the defeat of Nazism and fascism. This year, the United States and the Slovak Republic mark these notable anniversaries together along with 15 years of Slovak membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance.

These milestones reflect Slovakias determination to anchor itself firmly within the Western community of nations. Now, our two nations are bound together by shared and timeless valuesamong them individual liberty, prosperity, the rule of law, democracy, sovereignty, and a commitment to peace and security.

As leaders of the United States and the Slovak Republic, we recognize that safeguarding these values requires strength. We believe the NATO Alliance is the best guarantor of transatlantic and European security. We reaffirm that our collective security demands that each Ally meet the Wales Pledge to devote two percent of gross domestic product to defense and twenty percent of defense spending to investments in new equipment.

The United States recognizes the significant steps the Slovak Republic has taken in the past year to increase its defense spending and modernize its armed forces, including the historic purchase of United States F-16 aircraft. We seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement between our countries.

We praise the courage of American and Slovak troops serving together in Afghanistan and Iraq and as participants in NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups. We remain firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and energy security, including through Slovak reverse gas flow to Ukraine. Continued sanctions against Russia must remain in force until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.

Our countries also affirm that energy security is fundamental to national security. We reiterate our opposition to the use of energy projects as geopolitical weapons, including Nord Stream 2. We commit to deepening our cooperation in cybersecurity and to working to develop and implement telecommunications security principles.

The United States and Slovak Republic believe in fair and reciprocal trade. We support an approach to United States-European Union trade relations that will bring jobs and growth to both sides of the Atlantic. We commit to explore opportunities for increasing investment between our countries and to strengthen our trading relationship further. We will work together to unlock the inherent innovation potential of our two economies.
Imperial Valley News Center

Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Opelousas, Louisiana - Remarks by Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here. I want to thank Reverend Jack and all the pastors from the churches impacted by the fires a little more than a month ago.

What happened here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys was evil. But these communities of faith have overcome evil with good.

And I wanted to be here today just simply to tell all of you, on behalf our President, on behalf of all of the American people, that were with you.

PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Were praying for you. And were standing with you. And we know these churches and this community will rebuild bigger and better than ever before.

PARTICIPANTS: Amen.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your resilience and your faith and your courage in the wake of this unspeakable evil has inspired the nation.

Now, I had to come here to express that to you. But not just me. Im honored to be joined by other public officials whove made time to be with us today and I know who have been standing with you from the very first day and the very first fire. And I want to thank Governor Edwards for being with us today, for the outstanding effort your law enforcement team at the state level did.

I want to thank Attorney General Landry, who is with us today. And I met the law enforcement officer today who brought the suspect to justice just a few short days after these horrific fires. And we commend the law enforcement community at the state and local level for the outstanding work that they did working in this community to bring that person to justice.

And I also want to thank Senator Cassidy and Congressman Scalise and the better part of the entire delegation in the Congress from Louisiana who are joining us today.

It blesses my heart to be with all of you today and to see the way this community has come together with a commitment to rebuild and to rebuild on a foundation of faith.

You know, sadly, we live in a time when attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent. The fires here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys are part of a story that continued last week in California at a synagogue; last fall, in Pittsburgh; at a mosque in New Zealand; and at churches on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

No one should ever fear for their safety in a house of worship anywhere in this country, anywhere in the world. And these attacks on communities of faith must stop.

Let me say to each and every one of you gathered here, though, that your example in the wake of this evil  and not just of the churches of Mount Pleasant and Saint Marys and Greater Union, but also, Reverend Jack, of all of the communities of faith in this area and all across Louisiana has truly been inspiring. To see the way people of faith responded not with anger but with charity.

And to think of churches burning one day after another, and how people might have responded, and to see the way people, here in these churches and this community and across Louisiana, responded is an inspiration to the nation.

After what happened at Saint Marys and here at Mount Pleasant and Greater Union, you overcame evil with good. And, Reverend Toussaint, I particularly was moved when you said, after the suspect was apprehended, that weve got to forgive him. You lived out your faith and had a testimony for Christ that echoed across the country. And I must tell you also: It was very inspirational to us to know that you still had Easter services right here at Mount Pleasant.

Theres a verse that says, If the foundation crumbles, how can the righteous stand? And as I arrived today, the pastors and I spoke about the fact that while these  the structure of these churches burned, what was evident to people all across the America is the foundation was firm  a foundation of faith and heart to charity.

And I know, in my heart of hearts, based on that witness of faith and the generous outpouring of people across this state and across this nation, with great leadership at the state and federal level, and with great leadership in the pulpits of not only these three churches but all the churches across this area, that the best days for these three churches, for faith in Louisiana and faith in America, are yet to come.

So thank you all very much. (Applause.)

Reverend Jack, did you want to say a word?

REVEREND JACKSON: Well, were more than thankful that the President and the Vice President of these United States of America thought well enough to come out and share, through way of expression, their love and concern for the wellbeing of these three families who have lost their places of worship.

And just, Vice President Pence, his presence of being here today lets us know that theres hope not only for today but also hope for tomorrow, and that we have the support of all of Gods children across the globe.

And so were just happy that he thought well enough to come out and share with us, even if just for a short moment. And we are very thankful for that. And we want to thank you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Jack. Were with you. Were with you.

Reverend Toussaint?

REVEREND TOUSSAINT: I just want to say thank you, Vice President Pence, for showing the love of God thats spread abroad in all of us. We have to know that there is something better for this country than hatred, envy, and strife. We are built  this country is built on God. We are one nation under God. And God is love.

If we dont continue to show each other love, why would you wake up in the morning to hate somebody? You should be making yourself a better person to wake up in the morning, to do whats best for your neighbor, do whats best for your fellow man, and then you will fulfill out the Scriptures, which is the  the fullness of Scripture is love. Thats the complete of the Commandments is love, the greatest of them all.

And I thank you for coming and taking your time out to come. Theres nothing better or more important than this visit because it shows me that God is in the White House. His presence is there, and we thank God for you. May God forever keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you peace. (Applause.)

REVEREND SYLVESTER: Vice President Pence, I want to thank you for just coming out and just showing your support. It speaks volumes. And I just want to tell everyone thats here, I want to tell you, I want to tell America, the world: Thank you.

The outpouring, the outreach  mind-blowing. And it just proves that we live in a world where people still care about each other.

And the people that do that  weve got to make sure that we dont lose heart, we dont get all hate  you know, all that hate in our heart. And remember that were here to help one another and be there for one another.

So, once again, I just cant say it enough  and I know I speak on behalf of the other pastors: Thank you, America. Thank you, the world. Thank you, Vice President Pence, for all that youve done to support us and to be there with us. And God is smiling down upon us (inaudible). God bless you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

REVEREND RICHARD: Vice President Pence, I really appreciate the effort that you have taken to come and be with us during our times of trials. You know, the Bible is saying in this world we will have trials and tribulations. Its always good to know that that theres somebody there to help you. And we appreciate you taking out the time, as well as all of the other law enforcement and the governor, and all the help that you guys have given us. I cant express enough how the love of God has shown up in you guys.

You know, oftentimes, when we come to Christ, we say, We come to Christ, but we have to realize that God comes and uses us. Hes in control. And were just instruments. And if youre willing to be used by God, I know weve got great things ahead of us.

God bless you. God bless you, Mr. Vice President. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you again. These three pastors, their faith in the wake of this unspeakable act of evil, is in keeping with the best traditions of our faith. And, frankly, we have the best traditions of our country.

And Im deeply inspired, as people are all across this country, by the courage and the resilience of these communities of faith, these families of faith, but also by the generous support of the people of Louisiana and people all across the country.

I know you have a ways to go. I was told that were going to start hearing hammers pretty soon  (laughter)  at Saint Marys, and Greater Union, and here at Mount Pleasant.

And we have every confidence that with your continued testimony and leadership, with the generous strong support of your governor, your senator, your members of Congress, with an outpouring of support from people all across this state and this nation, I know that the best days for Mount Pleasant, Greater Union, Saint Marys, and Louisiana are yet to come.

So, thank you all very much, and God bless you.
Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

After more than 20 years, you'd think there'd be leaping for joy.

For so many of those years, Flight Attendants had been wondering whether their 8-hour rest periods between duty days were enough.

After all, if you still have to get to a hotel after a long day and then wake at the crack of dawn to get back to the airport and be on your next flight, you're not going to get eight hours' sleep, are you?

Seven fatigue studies ultimately declared in 2015 that the correct and safe amount of resting time should be 10 hours.

Pilots already had that privilege.

Finally, as my colleague Bill Murphy Jr. reported, last September at 2.52 a.m on a Saturday morning, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

Within it was a mandate to the airlines to institute the new, scientifically suggested rest period.

It hasn't yet happened.

First, the Department of Transportation didn't update the regulation, in which there were dozens of other safety initiatives embedded.

Then came the Government Shutdown and the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.

Yet many Flight Attendants are wondering whether one or more airlines are stalling on the hard-fought stipulation.

Because, oh, it can't be money behind this, can it?

Please forgive me, that was my own dry fear.

Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and in her spare time a United Airlines Flight Attendant, told me her members -- Flight Attendants at 20 airlines in all, including United, Alaska and Spirit -- are intensely frustrated.

She also intimates dark forces may be at play. She told me:

We have learned through multiple conversations with industry, regulators, and other sources all over Washington, Delta Air Lines has been pushing the the Department of Transportation and the FAA to slow down implementation.

Nelson told me she's heard Delta is telling the regulators it needs to hire 2,000 more Flight Attendants in order to comply. This could take two years.

Why would Delta want to hold back such an apparently sensible, science-based, safety-orientedf regulation?

A Delta spokesman denied the airline was doing any such thing. He told me:

We're preparing now by hiring flight attendants and making adjustments to our scheduling technology, so that we can support the change once it's implemented.

The airline refutes any suggestion that it would be against the new regulation at all.

Whispers from several thousand feet, however, suggest Delta doesn't necessarily view the new regulations with untrammeled joy.

Nelson is a touch skeptical too. She told me:

If you had a union on the property, you'd know scheduling systems can be a bear to update, but not simply changing a modifier like this.

Delta is alone in its Flight Attendants being non-unionized. Some, though, might find it odd that the airline wouldn't be a touch more gung-ho.

If you're renowned for your customer service, held in high esteem by all your rivals, wouldn't you want to be in the vanguard of such employee-friendly and safety-minded rules?

Safety is, after all, very much in passengers' minds currently, after two awful crashes involving the MAX 8. In one survey, more than half of Americans now say they don't want to fly it.

And when there is a safety issue or even an emergency, it's Flight Attendants who are most often at the forefront.

I asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain what's going on. A spokeswoman told me:

We're in the process of initiating rulemaking on the Flight Attendant duty and rest rules. The change directed by Congress requires that we go through the traditional rulemaking process to revise the rules.

There's a tantalizing kink to all this. As the FAA spokeswoman told me:

Air carriers can adopt the new rest requirements on their own.

So American, Southwest and the rest can simply say Yup, Here We Go and it will be perfectly legal.

Why don't they?

An American Airlines spokesperson told me:

The FAA has not issued its final rule yet detailing the rest requirements. We are in compliance with the current FAA regulations.

But the FAA has said you can go ahead. It told me. It's OK.

Southwest offered a similar line to that of Delta:

Southwest is working to develop technology requirements to support the scheduling requirements of the new rest rule while also working with our Flight Attendants' union to review the implications to our collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, we are coordinating with the FAA to incorporate agency guidance and conform to the specific elements prescribed by the Reauthorization Act of 2018 as we develop and enhance our policies and procedures.

Then again, Nelson told me such procedures should have taken six months at the most.

Are you ready for a touch more irony?

United already has the 10-hour rule, negotiated as part of a 2016 agreement. Yet the airline still doesn't appear to be pushing for the dozens of other associated safety-minded regulations to speed through.

It all seems quite curious.

It could be that some of these airlines are being sincere, given the many trials they've undergone this year.

Oh, but this couldn't be about money, could it?

If you have to give Flight Attendants more rest, you might have to pay more Flight Attendants. That would hurt.

Given the decades-long gestation period, you'd think airlines might have created contingency plans for the day.

Perhaps they never thought it would happen. Or perhaps they always hoped it wouldn't happen.

Nelson told me her union will be organizing protests with a view to speeding up airlines' thinking:

We launched a petition on fightfor10.org to call on DOT and FAA to immediately implement the law, and to encourage members of Congress to hold them accountable. We will ramp up additional actions in the coming weeks and months to hold airlines and regulators responsible for complying with the law.

She explained that May 5 will represent six months since the regulation should have been updated.

Will Flight Attendants have to wait another six months? Or will it be more?

And will passengers be looking at them, wondering if they've had enough rest?

If I'm on a morning flight, I do.
Spreading its arches far and wide? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

McDonald's is very good at doing what it does best.

For so many years, customers knew what to expect and understood that the core of the brand lay in simple, familiar fare.

The Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder were known all over the world.

And no one seemed to mind if they were frozen.

Until the brand seemed frozen in time.

Suddenly, it lagged behind more innovative competitors. It's still catching up with essentials such as fresh beef.

There's more work to do.

Rumor has it, though, that the burger chain is changing its menu, too, in a way that few might expect.

And a certain few may not tolerate.

You see, Business Insider reports that McDonald's has resorted to going, gasp, overseas for new menu items.

It's one thing to feature overseas items in its flagship worldwide headquarters in Chicago.

It's quite another to turn to Spain and import one of that country's dishes in order to put them in U.S. restaurants.

Yet here we seem to be.

The Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger from Spain will join the Stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands in making the trip from Europe.

A shorter journey awaits the Tomato-Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Canada.

Yet it's Australia that might be contributing the most tantalizing item: Cheesy Bacon Fries.

How can America not have invented that?

This glorious quartet will allegedly adorn McDonald's menus from the very point that its Signature Crafted sandwiches shuffle away. Which would be in the first days of June.

It's an extremely curious strategic twist when the chain initially said it was removing the Signature Crafted delights in order to have fewer menu items.

I contacted McDonald's to ask for its thoughts. The deeply cryptic response from a spokeswoman was:

Geen commentaar.

Because Absurdly Driven is reserved for the erudite, you'll know this is Dutch for no comment and PR for Yeah, but we're not admitting it yet.

The chain did confess last year that it was testing one or two of its international favorites in South Florida.

It seems, then, that there were some winners.

I wonder, though, how much or how little the chain will laud the provenance of these fine dishes.

It will be fascinating as to whether the fact they're from foreign lands will be an additional attraction or whether our nation's current, slightly inward-looking penchant will prevail.

You might think that a mere four menu items is nothing so extraordinary.

But in a market as deeply competitive as fast food, it's a sign that the blinkered thinking of promotions and discounts isn't quite enough.

McDonald's, just like Starbucks and many others, has to prove its freshness all the time.
In Berlin, most of the Second World War bullet holes have been filled in, the legendary 1990s rave venues redeveloped. Rents are rising and so are block after block of luxury apartments. Tech startups are flourishing.

Berlin is no longer poor but sexy, as its mayor at the time said in 2003. But with an officially estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including international stars such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and Sean Scully, the city still has the reputation of being the creative capital of the European art world. How is that reputation shaping up to reality in todays troubled times?

Last week, some 45 dealerships participated in the 15th edition of Gallery Weekend Berlin, a slickly organised collaboration that gives collectors and curators a sense of the latest in the citys art scene. Equally important, it gives galleries a chance to make some sales.

Berlin is an uber-cool city. The economics of the city allow dealers to have really great spaces, says Danny Goldberg, a collector based in Sydney, Australia. Goldberg was viewing new canvases by Leipzig-based painter Matthias Weischer and a video and sculptures by French artist Camille Henrot in Konig Galeries converted brutalist church in a less gentrified part of the citys Kreuzberg district.

A regular visitor to Gallery Weekend Berlin for the past five years, Goldberg, like many visiting collectors, says he values the more considered process of viewing and discussing art in galleries, and in artists studios, rather than browsing booths at art fairs.

10 best European art galleries Show all 10 1 /10 10 best European art galleries 10 best European art galleries The Peggy Guggenheim, Venice The only gallery Ive ever visited by water taxi, this little canal-side museum is a tiny gem  and its ideal for ticking off your Venice to do list without having to head back to the hotel for a lie down after. Housed in famed art collector Peggy Guggenheims old gaffe, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, it comes complete with an adorable little sculpture garden and yes, of course theres a cafe. Expect to see lots of paintings you recognise including Picassos and Pollocks, Mondrians and Miros. All the big names in a bite-sized space: bliss. Getty 10 best European art galleries The Picasso Museum, Barcelona There is only one art gallery I have broken down and cried in, and this is it. I think it was just the sheer volume of work, the guy never stopped experimenting and making stuff. He might not have been the nicest person, but youve got to take your hat off to him: he could do anything and everything. And, it's central location makes it perfect for heading out to lunch after working up an appetite learning all about cubism. Getty 10 best European art galleries Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen This gallery is situated about 40km outside of Copenhagen which means you get to go on an exciting train ride through the posh suburbs of Copenhagen  all very Borgen. A 15-minute walk from the station, the gallery itself sits in stunning landscaped gardens slap bang on the Danish coast with a view over the Sound across to Sweden. Expect top class international art, both indoors and outdoors, plus the best open fishy sandwiches on pumpernickel you could hope for. Yum. Rex 10 best European art galleries Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo This is a smart little place on the edge of the freezing fjorde waters of Oslo. I visited in January and basically slid over from the hotel next door  which offered free entry along with our stay. Hugely more enjoyable than the Munch Museum, which I found slightly miserable. This is a light-filled modern gallery with ever-changing exhibitions as well as a permanent collection of names that even the most clueless of us have heard of. Hirst cows are in there for example, alongside Jeff Koons disturbing Michael Jackson with monkey sculpture. It also has a cafe and shop but prepare to choke slightly over the prices. Rex 10 best European art galleries Miro Museum, Palma A must for Miro fans, there are buses from the city centre but we cheated and got a cab. Essentially its a massive Miro fest with some lovely quirky architectural details  Miros studio for example is a primary colour 1960s design classic. Theres also a sculpture garden, coffee bar and obligatory shop where you can buy all things Miro: mugs; fridge magnets; tea towels etc. Rex 10 best European art galleries Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki This was a gallery the old man and I stumbled on whilst strolling around Helsinki, around a decade ago. We were over visiting a production of Grumpy Old Women Live which was being performed in Finnish in the city centre. And after perusing such delicacies as traditional bear pate in the market we needed something a bit more contemporary. Expect cutting-edge modern, colourful and fun, a mix of installation, photography and painting. The exhibitions change seasonally, as does the lunch menu in the cafe, good work Helsinki, though I'd give the bear pate a miss. Rex 10 best European art galleries The Black Horizon Art Pavilion, Lopud Island, Croatia OK this one is a bit off the beaten track, for starters youve got to get a ferry from Durbrovnik to the tiny island of Lopud, from there you either walk, cycle or golf cart it to this wonderful magical box which basically squats in the middle of nowhere. Basically its a wooden shed, designed by our very own David Adjaye, which houses a lighting installation by the artist Olafur Eliasson. It showcases the colour changes on Lopuds horizon over 24 hours on a repeating 15-minute loop. Expect to have your mind blown, but dont expect coffee or cake  there is no cafe. I repeat, there is no cafe. Zoran Marinovic 10 best European art galleries Museum der Dinge, Berlin This isnt strictly an art gallery, its a collection of things, displayed over 500 metres in a former workshop. Its one of my favourite back street hot spots, and features a beautifully curated collection of design and everyday objects from the 20th and 21st century. This might be anything from dolls house furniture to kitchen utensils. Imagine a modern day equivalent of the Victorian collector, where plastic and mass produced household items replace eggs and butterflies. No cafe, but there are lots of cool places to hang out locally. Its so Berlin it hurts. Rex 10 best European art galleries Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery, Croatia A second Croatian gallery, guess where I like to go on my hols? This one is in Dubrovnik and if its getting a bit hot out there on the beach, this is the idea place to take shelter. Fabulously cool and blissfully empty, the exhibitions change regularly, but I remember being mightily impressed when I visited a few years ago. I seem to remember some kind of refreshment facility but I dont think it ran to a decent light lunch menu, so bear that in mind when you visit (or smuggle in a sandwich). AFP/Getty Images 10 best European art galleries Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery, Berlin This is a massive gallery housed in an old train station. Its home to some of the worlds best contemporary art, so you can wander round and tick off all the big names. Its pretty exhausting but dont worry, if you need a pit stop theres a proper restaurant with fancy beers and a comprehensive menu which features the Berlin classic currywurst, chips and homemade ketchup. Oh God, I might just have to catch a plane. Rex

Im art-faired out, says Goldberg, vowing to kick the habit of visiting half a dozen such events a year. Its just more of the same, he adds.

While fair fatigue has become a common complaint among collectors, Berlins leading gallerists value events like Art Basel, FIAC and Frieze as a way of making contact with a global clientele. Unlike New York, London and Paris, Berlin doesnt host any major international art fairs or auctions.

There isnt the social structure or the mentality that supports a collector base here, says Barbara Huttrop, director of the Berlin galerie Kewenig, which exhibits at the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Theres no industry, adds Huttrop, whose gallery in a historic house has yet to attract significant collectors from Berlins tech sector.

Kewenigs The Palace of the Perfect, a presentation of 13 works from the 1980s from the estate of admired American conceptual artist James Lee Byars was, for many, the standout show of the weekend. Byars unique brand of magical minimalism was perhaps most powerfully represented by The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 that consists of an enormous gilded amphora lying in the gallerys red-painted hallway. It was priced at $5m (3.8m).

For us its the most important weekend, says Huttrop, who was hoping to greet at least 20 of the gallerys most important international clients.

Did they turn up? Top collectors such as Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Turin, Anita Zabludowicz from London and Uli Sigg from Switzerland were certainly in Berlin. But some Gallery Weekend regulars noticed a more general shortage of foreign visitors. American accents were rarely heard.

The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 by James Lee Byars (Alamy) (Alamy Stock Photo)

I never saw so few international buyers, says Magnus Resch, the founder of Magnus, an app likened to Shazam for the art world, who is based in New York but has an apartment in Berlin.

The art world calendar is saturated with events, particularly with 2019 being a year of the Venice Biennale, which attracts droves of international collectors hoping to discover the next big names before the market does.

But the shock of the new was in short supply at Gallery Weekend. There was little in the way of performance, installation or digital art. Painting and sculpture by German artists predominated.

By Saturday afternoon, at least half a dozen of Weischers 16 enigmatic and painterly images of interiors had found buyers at Konig Galerie, priced from 24,000 to 175,000.

Similar works were popular with collectors in the late 2000s when Weischer, along with several other contemporary German painters, had been market darlings. Then, large canvases sold for as much as 450,000 at auction; more recently, they have been selling for between 40,000 and 77,000, according to the Artnet database of salesroom results.

Berlin has an estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including Ai Weiwei (AFP/Getty)

Konrad Fischer Galerie formally inaugurated its spectacular new space in an old transformer station with a show of works by Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Long. Granite Crossing, a new and characteristic large-scale floor sculpture made of pale red rocks was priced at 250,000, and was not snapped up by Saturday.

More zeitgeisty works by young Brussels-based German painter Jana Euler were at least in demand at Galerie Neu in Mitte in a show titled Great White Fear.

Euler jokily incorporated her own features in eight 10-foot-high paintings of a breaching white shark that resembled an erect phallus. All subtly different in their expressionistic technique, these sold out, priced at between 40,000 to 75,000.

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For all Berlins reputation as a melting pot of artistic innovation, many visitors were disappointed by the amount of older works on display and the conservatism of the new presentations. I only saw known artists, no new discoveries, no disruption, no innovation. Where are the wild days gone? says Resch, the app founder.

With Hong Kong and Los Angeles both attracting growing attention as must-visit art world hubs, and the calendar getting ever more crowded, Berlins Gallery Weekend needs to embrace change. Just as the city itself has.

 New York Times
Renowned as the Eye of Istanbul, the work of late photojournalist Ara Guler has been on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London before embarking on a worldwide showing.

Guler, who passed away in October last year at the age of 90, was known by many as one of the greatest photojournalists of his time, working for Time Life magazine, Paris Match and Magnum Photos. He was awarded the title Master of Leica in 1962 and, in 1999, was honoured with the Turkish Photographer of the Century award.

Capturing the daily lives of Turkeys working class through the years, Guler also worked as a portrait photographer, intimately depicting the most famous and inuential individuals of the 20th century. I believe that photography is a form of magic by which a moment of experience is seized for transmission to future generations, he once said when asked to explain his art.

The exhibition not only places special emphasis on Gulers striking images of Istanbul, but also gives prominence to fascinating scenes from Anatolia and different parts of the world. It also offers a selection of signicant historical portraits, including Picasso, Dali, Ask Veysel and Nazm Hikmet. The London exhibition features portraits of John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the UKs history and cultural life.

Recommended The winners of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards have been reveal

The exhibition of Gulers works, hailed by the British Journal of Photography as one of the seven greatest photographers in the world, was established by the Turkish presidency. The Europe minister Alan Duncan and Turkish ambassador Umit Yalcn opened the exhibition at the famous art venue, and while underlining that Guler is one of the best photographers in the world, Duncan said Guler never thought of himself as an artist.

He saw himself as a visual historian, as a photojournalist. He put the plight of his fellow men at the heart of his visual histories, particularly in his evocative black and white portraits of Istanbul, hustling and bustling in the age before the nasty motor car.

Following the exhibition in London, Gulers work will move to Paris Polka Gallery in late May. The third exhibition will be beyond Europes borders, at Kyotos Tofukuji Temple. Late June will mark the opening of this exhibition, at the time when the G20 Summit is held in Japan. The fourth iteration is to be held in New York in late September, at the Smithsonian National American Indian Museum, and is expected to attract large crowds from different cultures and nations from across the world, who will visit New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly. The exhibition will then meet art lovers at Romes Trastevere Museum at the end of the year, and nally at the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu by 2020.

The Ara Guler Exhibition runs at the Saatchi until 5 May
 Flash

Thousands of voters in Britain punished the two main political parties on Friday over their failure to resolve the Brexit question by firing hundreds of councilors serving on city and town councils.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives suffered the brunt of public anger, but the main opposition Labour Party also paid the price for the ongoing impasse over Britain's departure from the European Union.

With the counting of votes at the half-way stage by daybreak Friday, results showed the Conservatives had so far lost more than 400 seats in council chambers, and Labour around 90 seats.

The big winners of Thursday's poll have so far been Britain's third political party, the Liberal Democrats, who have won over 300 seats, mainly at the expense of the two big parties.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis admitted it had been a tough night for his party.

"We always knew this would be a tough year for us," Lewis said, adding that he recognized there is huge frustration about Brexit from the British public.

"There's a very clear message to both parties that we have got to get on with getting Brexit done," he said.

The Liberal Democrats spokesman and Westminster Member of Parliament (MP) Ed Davey described the results as fantastic and added, "We are back in business."

His party was punished in 2015 for its part in its coalition with the Conservative Party, when it suffered a near wipe-out at the ballot box.

Davey told Sky News many voters had turned to the Liberal Democrats over their Brexit policy and demanded a second referendum.

The Conservatives MP Crispin Blunt said the Brexit mess in Westminster had hit his party in the local elections.

He warned the outlook for the European Parliament elections, which are planned for later this month, could be even worse as the focus will be on Europe.

"Plainly we are going to need to get a new leader at some point and get a clear strategy to get Brexit across the line," Blunt said in a breakfast radio interview in reference to May's days at 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Gwynne, national campaign coordinator for the Labour Party, said it had been a tough set of elections for his party, and while local factors were at play, Brexit had undoubtedly played a part in the results.

"The point is that for many people, it was their first opportunity to express that sense of frustration and I think the two main parties have borne the brunt of that," Gwynne, Labour Party's shadow communities secretary, told the BBC.

Approaching the half-way stage, the Conservatives had lost control at 16 town halls and Labour three, with leadership in more council chambers certain to change hands as counting resumed Friday morning.

The Green Party was also the beneficiary of public dissent as thousands of traditional Conservatives and Labour voters turned to it.

Elections expert Professor John Curtice from Strathclyde University said the Green Party has had its best ever results while the gains of the Liberal Democrats had restored it to the traditional party of so-called pavement politics, while independent candidates had gained major ground.

"The picture of local government is going to be different after these elections," Curtice said.

"This has been a night under which the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour over politics in Britain has come under substantial challenge. Very unusually both parties have seen their vote fall back and both are suffering loses," he added.

Curtice told the BBC there has been a north-south divide, with Conservatives shedding more seats in the south of England and Labour losing more in its traditional northern heartland.

Both the Conservatives and Labour were bracing themselves for more bad results as the counting continued, with the picture expected to be completed by early afternoon.
Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8

Game of Thrones fans rejoiced during last weeks episode, when Arya Stark killed the Night King and Westeross greatest threat  the White Walkers  was finally annihilated. Yet, the shows creators, David Benioff and DB Weiss, dont want you to get so comfortable.

The pair stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to answer a few questions about the finale season. The host began: A couple of questions  I dont know if youll be able to answer them. Are we for sure done with the White Walkers?

The duo paused and looked at each other, before Benioff replied: Were not gonna answer that. Could Benioff and Weiss be bluffing or is a major twist about to be unleashed on fans?

The next episode appears to move events to Kings Landing, as the survivors of the Night King battle prepare to take on Cersei Lannister, Euron Greyjoy and The Golden Company.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Show all 9 1 /9 Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan

Photos show Jon, Daenerys, Tormund, Grey Worm and Samwell bearing torches in memory of Theon, Beric, Lyanna and Ser Jorah.

The creators also revealed that Mike Pence got a stealthy shout-out during the Battle of Winterfell. According to Weiss, director Miguel Sapochnik asked Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, to say something in Valyrian.

Jacob was so tired and so delirious and so out of it that all he could think to yell was Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Weiss said.

The audio was later dubbed over, so the vice presidents name cannot actually be heard, but that is what Anderson was yelling, the co-creator added.

Game of Thrones is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK, and on HBO in the US.
The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earths plants and animals by people, leading scientists have warned in a dramatic report.

Loss of biodiversity threatens the human race just as much as climate change, the experts believe, with up to a million species facing extinction in the worlds sixth mass die-off.

The UNs global assessment on the state of nature  published on Monday, and the most comprehensive of its kind  says that without urgent action, the wellbeing of current and future generations of people will be at risk as life-support systems providing food, pollination and clean water collapse.

The 1,800-page report lays out a series of future scenarios based on decisions by governments and other policymakers, and recommends a rescue plan.

It highlights how man-made activity has destroyed nature, such as forests, wetlands and other wild landscapes, damaging Earths capacity to renew breathable air, productive soil and drinkable water.

Endangered and threatened species of Britain Show all 10 1 /10 Endangered and threatened species of Britain Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hedgehog In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million hedgehogs in the UK, there are now only one million Getty/iStock Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hazel dormouse The population of the hazel dormouse is thought to have declined by over one third since 2000. It is threatened by loss of habitat Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Red squirrel Famously ravaged by the North American grey squirrel, the red squirrel is nowadays very rare with a population of around 140,000 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Mountain hare The population in Scotland stands at 1% of its 1950 level and only one colony remains in England in the Peak District Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Natterjack toad Threatened by the disappearance of their coastal habitats, the natterjack toad is now only found at a handful of site across the UK Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Water vole Once found across Britain, the water vole is no longer anywhere to be seen in 90% of waterways Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Turtle dove On the Red List of conservation concern, the turtle dove population has declined by 97% since 1970 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Small tortoiseshell butterfly Amid a general decline in butterfly population since records began in the 1970s, the small tortoiseshell saw a 38% drop in population in 2018 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Noble chafer beetle Classed as vulnerable, the noble chafer beetle became increasingly rare throughout the 20th century due to habitat loss. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species gbhone Endangered and threatened species of Britain Stag beetle Their population is not known but due to habitat loss and other threats they are a protected species. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species Getty

The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human wellbeing, said Sir Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in a paper previewing the report.

Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come. Policies, efforts and actions  at every level  will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence. This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides.

The report warns the destruction of nature threatens humanity at least as much as human-induced climate change.

Diplomats from 130 countries met in Paris to launch the report which has been in development for three years and has involved hundreds of experts.

Sir Robert told The Guardian: There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

We are in trouble if we dont act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.

Many species will die out within decades, scientists say, while ocean fish are being plundered to the edge of sustainability.

The loss of pollinating insects, especially bees, will undermine supplies of food crops.

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Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years, WWFs Living Planet Report last year said.

The global assessment report comes at an opportune time when the world is waking up to dual threat of biodiversity loss and climate change, said Guenter Mitlacher, a biodiversity expert at WWF Germany.

This report will play a pivotal role in informing governments and policymakers of the risks of nature loss for future development of societies and economies.
Anna Wintour has revealed her dream guest list for the annual Met Gala would include two members of the British royal family.

During an interview with Todays Jenna Bush Hager, the Vogue editor-in-chief discussed details of the upcoming Met Gala, which takes place on Monday, including everything from the colour of the red carpet to the no selfie rule.

But, according to Wintour, who oversees every detail of the exclusive celebrity-studded event, there are two guests she wishes would attend - the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge.

In response to a question about her dream guest, Wintour said: I would love to have the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge together.

That would be my dream couple, she said, before adding: They could leave their husbands at home. Its the two of them I want.

10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Show all 10 1 /10 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Diana, 1996



Princess Diana attended the 1996 Met Gala alongside friend and former Harper's Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis. The royal wore a navy blue camisole dress from John Gallianos debut couture collection for Dior and a pearl, diamond and sapphire choker around her neck. AFP/Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Lee Radziwill, 2001



Lee Radziwil, the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, attended the Met Gala in 2001 wearing a flowy white gown with intricate embroidery. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Andrea Casiraghi, 2006



Andrea Casiraghi - the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the Met Gala in 2006 with his now wife, Tatiana Santo Domingo. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2007



Queen Rania of Jordan made an appearance at the Met Gala in 2007 wearing a navy silk gown featuring a wide black belt. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Charlotte Casiraghi, 2016



Charlotte Casiraghi - the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the event in 2016 wearing a tiered floor-length dress by Gucci. The colourful gown featured an ombre effect from canary yellow to fuschia pink and purple. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 2016



Socialite Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a cream strapless mini-dress by Balmain with pointed thigh-high boots. 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2016



In 2016, Queen Rania of Jordan was the definition of elegance as she attended the Met Gala in a black and white feathered Valentino gown. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2016



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis - the daughter of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis - attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a gold mini-dress by Mary Katrantzou. The royal accessorised her look with a metallic choker, matching handbag and feather ear piece. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2017



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis also attended the Met Gala the following year wearing a pale pink overcoat designed by Simone Rocha. The garment was covered in 3D floral embellishment and paired with red square toe heels. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Beatrice, 2018



For her first time attending the Met Gala in 2018, Princess Beatrice wore a purple floor-length gown designed by Alberta Ferretti. The dress featured sheer sleeves, a high neck and embellishments across the bodice. Beatrice accessorised the look with a beaded headband and gunmetal silver clutch bag. Getty Images

Although it is unlikely Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton will be in attendance this year, as the royal baby is expected any day, royalty have attended the fashion-focused event before.

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Last year, Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attended the gala in a Grecian-style gown by Alberta Ferretti.

And in 1996, Prince William and Prince Harrys mother Princess Diana was in attendance, dressed in a navy slip dress by John Galliano for Dior.

This years theme is Camp: Notes on Fashion - which Wintour confirmed is nothing about nature and instead about everything completely artificial and fake and not really what you think it means.

As for how she hopes guests will interpret the theme, Wintour said: We want them to take risks, to be fearless, to have fun with fashion.

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We all need to laugh at ourselves too.
The two old boys were having lunch. On the table was a bottle of wine. When they ordered a second, there was an audible ripple of admiration around the room. Fellow diners smiled in their direction.

This scene unfolded recently in a City restaurant. Indeed, the two men looked as if they had met for a bit of a stockbroker reunion, to reminisce about their share trading, and lunching, days.

Hardly anyone has a two bottler any more. Not at lunch on a work day. One bottle is rare, but a couple  that is going some.
Lynne Colston is reading out a postcard from the future.

Her descendants in the village of Aberfan, in Merthyr Vale, south Wales, have written to tell her that climate change has resulted in food shortages. But thanks to Colston, who started localised growing programmes in 2018, her descendants have survived. Her great-great-great-great granddaughter is sitting at a table made from oak grown from an acorn Colston planted, and harvested at a a sawmill established under Colstons watch, which has brought business back to the valley. Thank you for making change happen and thank you for our future, the descendant writes.

Its Wednesday lunchtime in an empty shopping unit in the Capitol Centre, Cardiff, and Colston is one of of a handful of residents presenting their vision for the future of the Welsh valleys. Nearly 100 people are gathered, including Welsh assembly members, local councillors, forestry authorities and community groups. The Skyline Project has spent nine months engaging artists to unlock residents ideas about their natural environment. The resulting maps and quotations are pasted all over the gallery walls, including dreams of swimming pools, walking routes, honeybees and wild birds.

Colstons postcard might be fantasy today, but Skyline sees this artistic reimagining as the first step to a community action plan for the land.

One man is here to show them whats possible. Alastair McIntosh was one of four founders of the Isle of Eigg Trust in 1991, which in the space of six years wrested the island in the Scottish Hebrides from rich owners and put it in the hands of the community. Its not about sloganising politics, its about figuring out things that are going to work, he says. You have to start digging with a teaspoon, then a spade, then a digger, and then political confidence to flow into those channels.

But Scotland has a very different tradition of land ownership. As well as positive examples of community ownership, Scotland has a history of crofting, or long term leases of private land to stewards, and momentum is growing for further reform. An investigation by the Scottish Land Commission found that concentrated land ownership in Scotland, where 1,125 people own 70 per cent of the land, has held back prospects for economic, housing and community development. The commission went so far as to describe the concentration of land ownership in Scotland as socially corrosive.

The situation in Wales is different. Wales has fewer private landowners. It also has much more public land. The question for the groups involved in Skyline is whether they can get public bodies to support their ideas. Being able to get land is a political thing, says Mark Walton, the co-director of Shared Assets. In Scotland it required legislation. Whats exciting is that Skyline is looking at what is already publicly owned land. It is in the gift of authorities to transfer ownership to communities or give them leases to allow the to manage productively. Thats a massive opportunity because it overcomes the main barrier to entry, which is the cost of buying the land.

Walton says that an ambitious programme of land transfer to communities in urban areas has the potential to revitalise areas still reeling from the death of traditional industry, particularly in Wales and the north of England. But he acknowledges that is it sometimes difficult for authorities to cede power: Authorities are afraid because this fundamentally changes the relationship between the state and the people. It changes the way the civil servants behave. It changes the dynamic  and that is scary.

Ian Thomas, runs Welcome to Our Woods, a community partnership in the upper Rhondda Fawr making local natural resources accessible to residents. In May, Welcome to Our Woods was awarded 90,000 in grants and loans from the Co-op Foundation, to put towards its project converting waste wood into furniture and biomass fuel, generating income. The money has been generated by the sale of 5p bags in the Co-ops Welsh supermarkets.

Project Skyline, which is exploring land ownership in the south Wales valleys, visited community forests in Scotland in October (Mike Erskine)

In October, Thomas, Colston and other volunteers from other valleys groups visited the Kilfinan Community Forest in Tighnabruaich, which manages ownership of 434 hectares of Acharossan Forest. Chris Blake, who started the Skyline Project, says that the trip proved the possibilities. To see for yourselves what the forest crofts has achieved in eight years was quite staggering, he says. At the end of the day we sat down and suddenly we realised it can be done.

Geraint Davies, the Plaid Cymru councillor for Treherbert ward, is among those at the event in the shopping centre. As visitors browse the exhibition, he remembers playing in the mountains as a child: We used to be up there making dams, but you dont see children up there now.

Would he support community ownership of the land? I think that would be wonderful, he says. Its very important to get people committed to the area through ownership. In the past people have come in, done things, and gone again.

Lee Waters, the deputy minister for economy and transport at the Welsh assembly, sees Skyline as part of a broader movement for the democratic ownership of land and the economy that is going on in places like Preston in Lancashire and Barcelona in Spain.

Recommended How South Wales is learning from community forests in Scotland

There has been a profound change going on in the valleys in just two generations. Theres been considerable depopulation and some areas are returning to semi-rural, which creates a range of policy challenges but also opens up a new way of doing things, Waters says. Might the Welsh government give Skyline funding for land? Theres absolutely no reason why we wouldnt. Wed have to see some detail but I think its got huge potential.

Thomas says the seeds of change have already been planted. When we looked at our land we found that 85 per cent is public estate, he says. So were not talking about ownership because as far as were concerned we already own the land. Its about what level of stewardship we get. What we are looking at is a micro-hydro scheme, a sawmill, solar farms and forest crofts. This land is opportunity for us.
Over 1,000 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the deadliest outbreaks of the disease in history.

With efforts to bring it under control hampered by civil war and mistrust, health minister Oly Ilunga said 1,008 lives have been claimed by the virus.

While the crisis is a long way off the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africas Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which killed more than 11,000, people experts warn its true extent in DRC is not clear.

There might be double this many cases in reality that were just not aware of, Tariq Riebl, emergency response director for the Ebola response crisis with the International Rescue Committee.

Despite the risk of spread across the highly porous borders with Uganda and Rwanda or further afield, in April the World Health Organisation (WHO) again opted not to declare a global health emergency.

Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Show all 27 1 /27 Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 During Ebola, they quarantined areas. My husband was at Kailahun and couldnt cross the boundary, so we were separated. They taught us how to wash our hands and we were all washing our hands every day; even my children were washing their hands. Haja is the mother of three surviving children, two of her children died from diarrhoea WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 This is the finished toilet that we have built in our compound, I am very happy to have my own toilet and I will be proud to use it WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 All the parents came together and built a school in the village, we have just opened the school. The children are at assembly with no uniforms. I am the teacher at the school so I took this photo to show how we have been working hard for our children to be educated WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Here is my son, Sessay (left), with his friends. I was happy to snap them. I have given birth to six children, but only three are still alive. The first one I lost was three years ago, and the second was two years ago. Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature. He was really, really sick, he wasn't even taking breast milk, and he died. My heart was broken. My baby used to be strong. He was able to sit by himself and was just starting to practise to crawl and reach for things. He laughed a lot when I played with him, Id clap and dance. I have a happy moment when he started sitting by himself and learning to crawl. Those are the happy moments that makes a mother most happy. The moment I remember most about Lahai was when he was breastfeeding and was playing with my neck and chin with his hand. I look to the future and hope that such things won't happen again, and that God will give me children that stay with me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 My step brother Ibrahim is building our toilet with loamy soil because we dont have cement. WaterAid taught us about good sanitation and I want to show that we are now building our own toilets so that we will not go to the bush or use the stream as a toilet that is why I took this photo WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna, 33 Washing in the stream: When we came here the water system was very bad. I know that when I drink dirty water I get sick. We are getting diarrhoea because we are drinking that type of water. If I am sick I am not able to earn money because I am not able to go to work, and I have to stay at home, which is very difficult for me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah These are the contractors that came to build the water well, and they are mixing the stones and the cement to build the cover of the well WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah I started tree climbing when I was living with my grandmother and she was trying to get some palm kernels and process them to make the oil that we use. I didnt like doing the processing part so I decided to climb the trees to do the harvest instead. Tree climbing is very difficult. At times you can be confronted by a snake, as you are going up you just see one and it will hiss at you. If you are not strong you are going to fall out of the tree, and could die! I am just doing it for necessity sake. I dont want to do this job really, but at the moment I have no other means of making money, so I have no choice but to do this to manage my family WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 They killed my uncle during the war. I was not in this village during the war; I was in Guinea. Just after the war, my mother asked me to come back home. There were no houses when I returned; it had all been destroyed WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah This is my son Bockarie. He reminds me of his mother, who is not presently here with me, and he resembles me. Recently my son was very sick and we had to take him to the clinic to get treatment. Even getting to the clinic costs money. I didn't have any money, so I had to borrow money from the community people so I could take him to the hospital. Having very good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yujah Sidique is 21 years old, he is my daughters husband and is drinking from the stream we use to fetch water. Our forefathers created this village, and the water was good. They covered it with a concrete box to keep it safe, but all of that fell down during the war, and afterwards no one could repair it. The water is not good here now and I have worms as a result. It will be very good to have clean water; it would give us a long life. If you have good drinking water, then your life is safe, but if you dont then your life is not secure. Having good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 We the women of this village are experiencing the problems with lack of water and we pray that things will change. The rain washes everything, including faeces into the water. The children get diarrhoea from the water. With clean water, I would be clean and would not suffer from sickness WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 This is my brothers wife, she is holding both her daughter and my granddaughter WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 Matu is the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun. She is a traditional birth attendant and plays an important role within the womens society. Matu suffers from poor health; she has stomach problems caused by the dirty water WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 My name is Amadou Kokoyeh, but I am more familiar with Kokoyeh [Bush Chicken]. The name Kokoyeh was given to me by fathers older brother. Its meant to be a bird that is in the bush and mostly eats other peoples groundnuts when they plant them. WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my father helping to dig the water well, so that we will have clean water to drink. I am happy because we are going to have a well in my village. I dont think the water we currently collect from the muddy spring is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my family  my mother, father and younger brother. When Im not with them this picture will make me feel closer to them WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 Moserie Yajah was lying down in the grass, and asked me to get a shot of him. At the moment, every day people ask me to get a photo of them. I feel very happy when people ask for a picture. What I love most to get a shot of is people that are well dressed, sitting in a chair or in a very comfortable area that I can snap WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 We were going down to Matus place, and my friends and brother decided to cover themselves with that fishing net, and asked me to take a shot of them. The fishing net was taken from Ginnahs mother (Massah) and I think the picture is really good. I like the photo mainly because they are standing close to the wash yard, where people go to heat their water and wash. I love it because they are all my brothers, and we look out for each other WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 I love this picture. I took this photo of Bockarie when he was drinking water. The water was collected from the muddy spring where everyone collects water. I dont think it is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre. If it rains, we harvest rainwater WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my cousin Papay; we are very close  he lives nearby and we spend lots of time together. In this picture he is messing around. On his head is what our fathers make to catch fish in small streams. We then eat some fish and they sell the rest. It is important for our survival WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 The community people helping to build the water well, I was glad about this, that is why I took this photo. Kempah is a youth leader and mechanic from Tombohuaun WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 These children are our next of kin, my children and their friends. They are wonderful children WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Jeneba, 13 Here, my father, brothers and aunt are separating cocoa fruit from pods. By selling cocoa, my family earns enough to pay my school fees WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 We have now built a small school in our village. This is inside the class for my childrens first day in school. I took this picture to show them in the future so they will know that I want them to be educated and also free from diseases WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 This is my Aunt Mamie Ansumana. She is 40 and is a farmer. She loves going to the farm and likes to smile. She looked after me when my children died. The dirty water caused the death of two of my children; I dont want anything to happen to the others. She took me from the room where Senior Lahai died to her own room. I slept in her room for some time. I want to thank to her because she is still taking care of us WaterAid

Ebola treatment centres have come under repeated attack and many international aid agencies have pulled staff out of hotspots, like the towns of Katwa and Butembo, leaving government health workers struggling to cope.

Last month a Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the WHO was killed during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.

Insecurity has become a major impediment to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHOs health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drives community rejection of health personnel.

Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events, Mr Ryan said.

He added they were anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission of the disease.

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WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border.

Many people fear going to Ebola treatment centres, choosing instead to stay at home and risk transmitting the disease from the virus to family and neighbours.

Residents of highly volatile Butembo believe Ebola was brought to the city on purpose, said Vianney Musavuli, 24, adding: I am deeply saddened to learn that the number of Ebola deaths has exceeded 1,000.

The problem is that people here in this area [people] believe Ebola is a political thing, and thats why residents are still attacking the teams in retaliation.

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Insecurity also has prevented vaccination teams from getting to some areas, further limiting the health response.

However, more than 109,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine.

Mr Ryan said authorities are looking at introducing another one. He called for more help from Congo and elsewhere to close an urgent, critical gap of some $54m in containment funding.

Additional reporting by AP
People who spread myths about the harms of vaccines have blood on their hands the health secretary has said as he refused to rule out compulsory immunisations.

While Matt Hancock downplayed suggestions that it would be made illegal not to vaccinate children, he said it could be considered if stalling immunisation rates are not addressed.

Vaccines are good for you, good for your children, and good for your neighbour who may have a medical condition that prevents them having the vaccine, he said.

Those who have promoted the anti-vaccination myth are morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible and have blood on their hands, he added.

His comments came in the wake of an investigation by The Times which found 40,000 UK parents are members of a single online group calling for children to be left unimmunised against life-threatening disease.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was never the same after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

Social media platforms like Facebook have been seen as key conduits for the spread of anti-vaxxer fake news which is having harmful consequences, according to UK health authorities.

However medical experts blamed government health reforms for falling immunisation rates, which have seen MMR uptake drop four years running.

Last month a Unicef report found half a million UK children went unvaccinated over the past seven years.

World Health Organisation figures show global measles cases rose 300 per cent in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The UK also saw its highest number of cases for a decade in 2018.

Mr Hancock said he was completely open to all options on bolstering vaccination rations, something which has previously been interpreted to mean banning unvaccinated children from schools.

Asked about the proposals on BBC Radio 4s Today programme Mr Hancock said: I dont want to reach the point of compulsory vaccination. I said Ill rule nothing out, but I dont want to reach that point, I dont think were near there.

Doctors were divided on the proposals, anaesthetist Dr Dave Jones backed compulsory vaccination.

But Dr Max Davie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said they first needed to undo the damage caused by underfunding and Conservative-led NHS reforms in 2012 which split responsibility for immunisation.

The difficulty is that the recent spike in UK cases does not appear to be due to a drop in public confidence, but in administrative and resource problems resulting from the split of public health to local authorities, he wrote on Twitter.
For Conservatives, there is no more salutary historical lesson of the consequences of leading a divided party than the experience of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850).

Elected with a governing majority of 76 in the general election of June 1841, the party was split for a generation after Peel insisted on pursuing a policy of free trade, through the repeal of the Corn Laws, five years later.

The party, created in the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act, divided, with roughly one-third acting as Peelites until the 1860s and the other two-thirds continuing without them. Many leading Peelites joined the newly formed Liberal Party after 1859 and the Conservative Party did not form another majority government until Benjamin Disraelis triumph at the general election of 1874.
A police force has condemned people for making racist comments about offenders and assumptions about their backgrounds on its Facebook page.

The colour of someones skin or a name thats not traditional is usually a trigger for these assumptions, Gloucestershire Constabulary wrote. Despite commenters not knowing the citizenship of offenders or whether or not they have spent all, most or even just a small part of their lives living in the UK, we often get told to deport them.

It added that a small but vocal number of people were making assumptions.

Youre free to criticise us on our posts and we rarely remove comments, it said. What we wont accept you doing here is writing comments below our posts that encourage xenophobia; the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.

The force it will consider blocking regular commenters who make statements of a xenophobic nature.

Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Show all 10 1 /10 Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland is lead away in handcuffs to a prison van PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A photo of Geoffrey Crossland's property, which contained a secret bunker PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland (right) is lead away after being sentenced PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The pensioned (right) has been jailed for more than 12 years PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the weapons found at the pensioner's property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old had built a bunker complex beneath a outbuilding PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A drawing of the bunker complex at the property of Geoffrey Crossland PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the guns found at the property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA

The negative impact of prejudice and hate meant a number of incidents went unreported, it said.

It also added it would welcome support in challenging the comments from the majority of people who dont post such comments.

 Police take on protesters and neo-Nazis in clash during May Day riots in Sweden

A majority of the comments were positive and supportive of the post.

Thank you for addressing this difficult issue. There will always be a presence from this sector of the public, and my hope is that education and awareness might lead to better understanding and tolerance, one wrote.

Another said: This is the attitude I want to see from my police force, thank you! I do try to challenge racist and xenophobic statements, but Im not always mentally prepared for the inevitable backlash of abuse.

One person was surprised it had taken this long to impose, adding, better late than never!

While some questioned why people making xenophobic comments were not arrested and cautioned, others expressed empathy with people of colour by stating how the response of trolls being challenged gave a taste of being on the receiving end of hate crime.

Others were less positive and the force blocked a comment from a Tommy Robinson supporter who used the word Nazi.

Screen shot of a comment made by a Tommy Robinson supporter on the Facebook page of Gloucestershire Police (Gloucestershire Constabulary/Facebook)

Meanwhile, others said the police post was a threat to freedom of speech, with one person stating: Turning into communist state telling you what to think, say and do, gonna control what we see on the Internet, what is this China?

A spokesperson for the force said it had not prosecuted anyone for xenophobic comments on its page.

They added: We have noticed a number of comments that while not meeting the threshold of a criminal offence are prejudiced or xenophobic and that is why we have taken the decision to post this message.
Julian Assange was given a disproportionate sentence for a bail violation, the United Nations has said as it accused British authorities of breaching his human rights.

The WikiLeaks founder was handed a 50-week sentence earlier this week and is being held at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. He is fighting an extradition request made by the US over an alleged hacking conspiracy.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said it was deeply concerned about the disproportionate sentence and claimed that violating bail was only a minor violation.

The working group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence, it said.

This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.

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 panel added: It is worth recalling that the detention and the subsequent bail of Mr Assange in the UK were connected to preliminary investigations initiated in 2010 by a prosecutor in Sweden. It is equally worth noting that that prosecutor did not press any charges against Mr Assange and that, in 2017, after interviewing him in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, she discontinued investigations and brought an end to the case.

The same panel of legal experts previously stated that Assange was arbitrarily detained in the Ecuadorian embassy and should have had his liberty restored.

Mr Assange lived inside the embassy for almost seven years before being dragged out by police officers last month.

Pro-Assange protesters outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday (AP)

WikiLeaks has said Assange is now living in appalling conditions at the prison, spending 23 hours a day in his cell.

The activist told Westminster Magistrates Court that he does not consent to being extradited to the US.

Speaking via video link from Belmarsh prison at a 10-minute hearing, Assange said: I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.

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US authorities have charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the US at the Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, said there were computer room chats showing real-time discussions between Chelsea Manning and Assange over cracking a password to gain access to classified US documents and the public release of the information.

The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States, Mr Brandon said.
 Flash

Mosquito-borne diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe, and a record number of Europeans contracted West Nile Fever last summer, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Friday.

Climate change and globalization have led to an increase in tropical diseases that have previously been limited to warmer regions.

Cases were recorded in Italy, Greece, France and Croatia. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found as far north as northern Germany and France.

"Italy is now, at times, a tropical country. This benefits the spread of diseases that previously only existed in warmer climates," Jan Semenza of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told SVT.

Globalization is another major contributing factor. The transportation of people and goods facilitates the spread of disease and the mosquitoes that carry it. An Asian tiger mosquito carrying dengue can spread with products like plants and car tires. It can also be spread by travelers and gain a foothold in areas with favorable conditions.

"We travel to or trade with tropical countries where viruses are present, and thus we transport it home. If the climate is favorable at home, the virus can spread," Semenza told SVT.

Those considering travelling to the Mediterranean this summer have been warned to be careful.

"You should avoid mosquito bites. Use mosquito repellent and do not have the windows wide open," Semensa told SVT.

According to Lakartidningen, a Swedish medical journal, the virus that causes West Nile Fever is spread by the Culex mosquito, which in turn contracts it from infected birds. It can then be passed on to animals and people.

In 80 percent of cases, those who are infected may have no or only mild symptoms. In severe cases, coma, seizures, muscle weakness and paralysis can occur. About one in 150 of those infected become seriously ill.

The ECDC, headquartered in the Swedish capital since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases.




North Korea has slashed official food rations to just 300g per person per day after suffering its worst harvest in more than a decade, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The country could face famine within a matter of months, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) warned.

A year of unexpected dry spells, heat waves and flooding, as well as well as ongoing international economic sanctions have all been blamed for the severe shortages.

The dire assessment comes after authorities in the secretive communist state asked the WFP to assess its food security.

It found the country was some 1.36m tonnes short of supplies and estimated 40 per cent of the population  about 10.1 million people  do not have enough to last until the next harvest in the autumn.

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

Mario Zappacosta, a senior economist at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, who worked on the assessment in April, said: It used to be they only reached this low level in July, August, and September. If the international community does not take action somehow, and quickly, there are some social groups who will suffer - the kids, the pregnant women, lactating mothers."

Speaking to the BBC, he added: "This year they have had a real series of weather shocks. They had everything. Low rains, then a heat wave, then floods."

The US blamed the North Korean government, saying its chronic mismanagement was responsible for the potential tragedy.

A spokeswoman for the state department said the "regime continues to exploit, starve, and neglect its own people in order to advance its unlawful nuclear and weapons programme."

North Korea has continually struggled with food production under the decades of its one-party rule.

A famine is estimated to have killed up to three million people in the mid-1990s, while, even at times of high production, most citizens live off just 500g of food a day, mainly consisting of rice and kimchi.
Buildings shook after the latest in a series of earthquakes struck Surrey in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Residents described fearing there had been an explosion after the 2.5 magnitude shaker hit at 1.19am.

It follows at least 20 similar quakes in the county in little more than a year  with many residents saying they fear the new seismic activity may be linked to oil and gas exploration being conducted at Horse Hill near Gatwick airport.

A spokeswoman for the British Geological Survey said: Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience. Typical reports described windows and doors shook, felt like some sort of explosion and a loud bang woke me up.

How fracking works and where it could happen Show all 2 1 /2 How fracking works and where it could happen How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingHowItWorks.jpg How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingMapWeb.jpg

One Crawley resident, Samantha Ferguson, wrote on Twitter: My whole flat just shook underneath me.

Preliminary information indicated the quake centred on the village of Newdigate  also close to the Horse Hill drilling site  and had struck at a depth of 2.3km.

Speaking after the four previous tremors, Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said scientists were keeping an open mind on possible causes.

He said: It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.

But Stuart Haszeldine, a professor with the University of Edinburghs geology department, told the BBC he believed the well  drilled by UK Oil and Gas  was responsible for the unprecedented seismic activity.

Whenever the oil and gas operators start preparing for some intervention, then there is a set of earthquakes, he said. Its pretty straightforward.

Previous quakes in the area  which included four in a single fortnight in February  have reached as high as 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Michael Gove has paved the way for overturning the curbs on shooting birds which triggered death threats against TV naturalist Chris Packham.

Natural England has been stripped of its power over the permits by the environment secretary  who has ordered his own investigation by officials with intensity and urgency.

The move follows calls by angry Tory MPs for Mr Gove to take back control from Natural Englands new chief Tony Juniper, a leading environmentalist and former head of Friends of The Earth.

In a letter to Mr Jupiter, Mr Gove said he was responding to concern that has been generated by the decision to revoke permits allowing farmers to cull pest species of birds, such as crows and wood pigeons.

My judgement is that the present situation needs to be considered with particular intensity and urgency, Mr Gove wrote.

I want to gain a clear understanding of the implications for the protection of wild birds, and the impacts on crops, livestock, wildlife, disease, human health and safety and wider nature conservation efforts.

Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal  effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord  agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe

The restrictions were introduced after legal action by Mr Packham, a BBC presenter  who then revealed death threats and parcels containing human faeces had been sent to his home.

Mr Gove intends to finish the investigation by the end of next weekend and to make a decision just one week later.

Mr Packham revealed the impact of his intervention on Tuesday, saying: Weve had packages sent containing human excrement. Last night, a much more serious thing  death threats of a very serious nature.

Ian Bell, president of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) welcomed Mr Goves decision, stating: BASC hopes this is the first step to resolving the current chaos in the countryside.

This shambles of the last week or so was created by Natural Englands ill-advised decision to withdraw all licences without consultation or notice and, in effect, remove pest control at a critical time of year.

James Cartlidge was among Conservative MPs who had held a private meeting with Mr Gove in the past few days, in an attempt to force his intervention.

People are incredibly angry, a lot of it is going back to how it happened, he told The Daily Telegraph.

He [Mr Gove] said Weve just got to get this sorted and get the new licensing regime up and running so people arent breaking the law when they do the usual things they do to protect livestock and crops.

Natural England had promised to rush out new permits to replace general licences, but Mr Juniper asked for that responsibility to be taken over by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Critics had argued the revocation of the licences means farmers risked prosecution if they shoot wild birds that attack livestock and decimate crops.
Jeremy Hunt has said that a royal yacht or a plane would be attractive options to promote post-Brexit Britain on the world stage.

The foreign secretary, who is regarded as a contender to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, said he is a big believer in flying the flag for Britain overseas but also acknowledged there are other ways of projecting the UKs national self-confidence.

His predecessor Boris Johnson first floated the idea of a Brexit plane during a trip to South America last year, when he complained that the RAF Voyager jet  shared with the prime minister and the royal family  never seems to be available.

Pressed on the idea during a week-long trip to Africa, Mr Hunt said: I think weve got other priorities that we would focus on long ahead of that, but whats important is the foreign secretary is out and about.

Im a big believer in flying the flag for Britain and projecting our national self-confidence. But I think real self-confidence comes from getting the fundamentals right.

And so, attractive though it is to have a royal yacht or a plane for the foreign secretary or whatever else, in the end much more important is that currently, despite all the predictions, the British economy is generating 1,000 jobs every single day.

But the move was criticised by anti-Brexit campaigners, who said Mr Hunt should be focused on solving the Brexit crisis rather than his job perks.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who supports the Best for Britain campaign, said: All this talk about a royal plane shows the foreign secretary has his head in the clouds.

Were in the midst of a national crisis, with thousands of businesses, and consequently, jobs at risk.

The utter shambles that Hunt has been so intimately involved in should be occupying all of his head space, not the chance of more job perks.

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Meanwhile, Mr Hunt also expressed his desire to reset the UKs links with Africa and move away from a relationship where the main motives are aid budgets.

He said: Our TV screens talk about the cyclones, the famines, the terrorism  but actually, what you see is skyscrapers, tech parks, young entrepreneurs, who are all part of a different narrative which, for much of Africa, is Africas future.

Africa has got the capitalist bug in the last 20 years since I started coming here and they look at Britain and they want Britain to be part of Africa.
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve will not face deselection proceedings despite losing a confidence motion at his Beaconsfield Constituency Association in March.

Jackson Ng, chair of the Conservative association, wrote a letter to Mr Grieve which was also sent to all association members.

The Executive Council has decided that this is not the moment to commence such procedures as it serves no constructive purpose, Mr Ng said in the letter.

The chair noted that Mr Grieve had served the constituency loyally for 22 years, but warned the MP that no one can take the loyalty and continued support of our members for granted.

Although Mr Grieve, a pro-Remain Conservative, has escaped deselection, it is clear that the association expects him to support Brexit.

Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage has spent his political career campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson's support for Brexit took many by surprise before the EU referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to agree on a withdrawal deal. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises This was taken from a 2012 speech delivered by Mr Davis. He does not currently support a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson now supports a hard Brexit and resigned from the cabinet in 2018 over Theresa May's strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The US recently issued trade negotiation objectives for future talks with the UK. The country made clear that it expects access to the UK's agriculture industry, reviving the debate about chlorinated chicken. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage does not support the current campaign for a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Despite this quote, in February 2019 Boris Johnson said a no deal Brexit "may yet be the best option for the UK". Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to begin negotiating a deal regarding their future relationship. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May announced that the UK would be leaving the Single Market in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Her withdrawal deal is yet to be passed. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises A classic from the 2015 general election campaign. David Cameron resigned on 24 June 2016, following the EU referendum result. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises David Davis resigned from his post as Brexit secretary in July 2018 after disagreeing with Theresa May's negotiation strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Michael Gove was one of the most influential Leave voices during the EU referendum campaign. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backbencher, does not support a second Brexit referendum. He has called the use of this quote "fundamentally dishonest" as it was taken from a 2011 speech discussing the option of referendum before David Cameron entered negotiations with the EU. Such a vote was never held. Twitter/Led By Donkeys

The overwhelming view of our membership is that the government must deliver Brexit and respect the views of the voters in the referendum, Mr Ng wrote.

The view of our association membership is that they profoundly wish for you to play a more positive role in the coming months on this matter.

We feel it is crucial that you should do so.

Video footage from the March confidence vote appeared to show some constituency members calling Mr Grieve a traitor and a liar.

Mr Grieve lost by 182 to 131 votes and later said he had faced an orchestrated campaign calling for his deselection.

When he tried to explain the political consequences of leaving the EU at the meeting, angry Brexiteers heckled him with calls of lies and rubbish.

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At the time Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support and said the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

Boris Johnson and former chancellor George Osborne also voiced support for the embattled politician.

The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Mr Grieves Beaconsfield constituency, narrowly voted to Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has attacked the investigation that led to his firing, labelling it a shabby and discredited witch hunt.

He has also called for a proper, full and impartial inquiry into the probe.

With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill, the politician said in a statement released on Saturday.

Mr Williamson was dismissed after Theresa May said there was compelling evidence he was behind a leak from the National Security Council (NSC).

He strongly denies the allegation.

Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Show all 5 1 /5 Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by Nigel Farage on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message to the EU on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter

The leaked reports from an NSC meeting last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Chinese company Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Political insiders were taken aback by the leak and an investigation was swiftly launched, led by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamsons fate was sealed after officials uncovered an 11-minute conversation with The Daily Telegraph reporter who revealed the Huawei decision.

A spokesperson for No 10 also criticised his lack of candour about the calls contents.

On Saturday the Metropolitan Police said it was unlikely a crime had been committed when the information was leaked.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that he was satisfied the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Basu said he had made the assessment after speaking to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed at the top-secret meeting.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged, he said.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

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The former defence secretary has previously called for a full criminal investigation into the leak.

Mr Williamson earlier said that such an investigation would absolutely exonerate him.

I did take a difficult decision, Theresa May told ITV News on Friday.

This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from.

It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.
Senior cabinet ministers have rallied around to save Theresa May ahead of a showdown meeting to decide her fate following the local elections massacre.

The prime minister will face fresh demands from Tory grandees on Tuesday to set a fast timetable for quitting, as a shocked Conservative party contemplated the loss of 1,334 local councillors.

The dire performance  the worst for a quarter of a century  has triggered further pressure for her to resign, including from former foreign office minister Hugo Swire, until now a loyalist, who said: We now urgently need a new leader.

Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, is expected to meet Ms May on Tuesday to again urge her to set a date for her departure.

If she refuses, they will consider rewriting the rules to allow a fresh vote of no confidence this summer  a move the 1922 stepped back from last month.

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

But three cabinet ministers, led by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said the party must continue to focus on passing a Brexit deal, not on a change of leader.

Taking on Tory Brexiteers, Mr Gove said: We have to face facts. At the moment, the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal.

He warned that whoever succeeds Theresa would inherit her difficulties, unless the Brexit crisis was resolved first.

David Gauke, the justice secretary, said: I am confident that Theresa May is the right person to lead us through this process.

We have got to deliver phase one of leaving the European Union and the idea we should be changing the leader before we do that is not something that I think would be sensible.

And Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said: I dont think changing the leadership would mean a change to the arithmetic.

The government had to find a majority that will work, either with Labour or by having talks with others and having further votes in the Commons.

But Sir Hugo said the Tories had no time to waste, after suffering their worst local elections day since the dog days of John Major's government in 1995.

These are challenging times for Conservatives and we now urgently need a new leader to reinvigorate the party if we are to prevent an extreme left-wing government that will bring this country to its knees, he tweeted.

Ms May is expected to renew her efforts to strike a cross-party deal with Jeremy Corbyn, hoping to force it through the Commons by the end of June.

It is too late to prevent the European elections taking place on 23 May but Brexit could still be delivered in time to prevent MEPs actually taking their seats in July.

However, there is huge opposition to such a deal  based on a form of customs union  in both main parties.
Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a trip to the US after facing a backlash from protesters and officials in New York City.

The 64-year-old was supposed to be honoured as person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) at a gala dinner on 14 May.

Mr Bolsonaros office sought to blame protesters and city officials for the trips cancellation.

His spokesperson said he would not be attending the event due to the resistance and deliberate attacks by the mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, described Mr Bolsonaro as a very dangerous human being in an interview with WNYC radio last month.

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Show all 20 1 /20 Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro waves as he drives past before his swear-in ceremony Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters wait in front of the Planalto Palace, where he will take office EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress before he is sworn AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters take pictures as Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Flanked by first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro waves to the crowd, as he rides in an open car after his swearing-in ceremony AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro reacts as he drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration The National Congress before Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is sworn in AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty

The choice of President Bolsonaro is a recognition of his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States and his firm commitment to building a strong and durable partnership between the two nations, BACC said on its website.

But the far-right politicians history of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks led to a series of venues refusing to host the event, including the American Museum of Natural History.

The museum had been urged by public figures, including Mr de Blasio, to withdraw from hosting the dinner.

Several companies, including Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co, also withdrew sponsorship funds from the dinner earlier this week.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, a Bain spokesperson said.

Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co all refused to comment on whether they would withdraw their support for the event.

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The dinner is still scheduled to go ahead, despite Mr Bolsonaros withdrawal.

The Chamber hereby affirms that the Gala Dinner will take place as scheduled, a BACC spokesperson said.

The organisation is also honouring US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as its US person of the year.

Additional reporting by agencies
An Afghan assembly to discuss peace with the Taliban has been criticised for making female delegates feel unwelcome, with one woman told she should be in the kitchen.

The assembly, known as a loyal jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organisers said that around 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalised or patronised. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries.

Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

On the second day of the assembly, a female delegate who rose to speak was ordered to be quiet by a male delegate.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! said Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under sharia, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which sharia law, the Taliban sharia law or Isis sharia law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to the Islamic State.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Male delegate Behnoh Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

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For many women, the jirga got off to a bad start when Ms Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights.

When a female delegate complained directly to Mr Sayyaf , she was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Mr Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator.

Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

On Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said delegate Taiyaba Khavari.

Ms Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with comments from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Mr Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off.

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The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Mr Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organisers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organisers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organised the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Mr Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

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Among other recommendations accepted by Mr Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

New York Times
The three-day coronation of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend includes a mixture of Buddhist and Brahmin traditions.

Thai royal practice reflects the traditions of ancient India, with the king transformed through ritual from a member of the royal family to a "Devaraja" or living god.

The king's new title will be revealed on the first day of the main coronation ceremony. It will be unveiled on a golden plaque where it has been inscribed, along with the king's horoscope, which is determined by a royal astrologer.

The king underwent a purification rite, the "Muratha Bhisek" earlier today. Dressed in white, he was showered in water gathered from nine sacred sources of water from around the country.

Scholars says this ceremony is a simplified version of a ritual performed in ancient Indian courts.

Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures REUTERS Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AP Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Getty Images

The king then changed into full royal uniform and sat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne inside the Grand Palace where he received sacred water on his hands.

The water was poured by selected officials from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

It was collected from 108 sources from around the country and blessed in temples by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests.

After the purification and anointment, the king sat under a nine-tiered umbrella which signifies full kingship. He received the monarch's regalia, including five key objects: the great crown of victory, the sword of victory, the royal sceptre, the royal fan and fly whisk, and the royal slippers.

The king will later meet with royal family members, his privy council, and the cabinet, and senior officials at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

Recommended Thai king Vajiralongkorn marries bodyguard making her queen

In the afternoon he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to declare himself the patron of Buddhism, the religion followed by more than 90 per cent of Thais.

After the rituals, the king will attend a "housewarming" private ceremony at the Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace Complex, accompanied by the female members of the royal family.

On Sunday morning the king will grant new royal titles to members of the royal family at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

That afternoon, the king, seated in a palanquin, will be carried in a procession though Bangkok's old quarter, in a traditional display of the new monarch to the public.

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He will visit three temples, Wat Bovoranives, Wat Rajabopidh, and Wat Phra Chetuphon, to pay homage to the main Buddha images and give alms to monks.

On Monday afternoon, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida, who he married on Wednesday, will greet the public from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace before granting an audience with foreign diplomats.

Reuters
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The UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame on Friday said that Libyan journalists face rising threats and violence in the war-torn nation.

"I am reminded today of the risks Libyan journalists face while doing their job every day. We cannot let the truth become a casualty of the fighting. On this day, let us remember the journalists and media workers who sacrificed their lives over the past years while covering the events in Libya," Salame said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

"Journalists, like all civilians, must be protected. I remind all parties that the threats and violence against journalists are prohibited under Libyan law as well as International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws," Salame added.

Salame also called on Libyan officials and the international community to protect journalists and create proper work conditions.

According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), journalists in Libya face "repeated harassment, including refusals to issue or recognize press cards, denials of visas, accusations of spying, discrimination, and threats of death or violence."

"Tragically, journalists have also been beaten, arrested and detained without charge, kidnapped and killed in the line of duty in Libya," the Mission said.




Turkish president Recept Tayyip Erdogan has officially inaugurated the countrys largest ever mosque, an elaborate Ottoman-style house of worship atop a storied Istanbul hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.

The Great Camlica Mosque is the most prominent of numerous Ottoman-style houses of worship built across Turkey under the 17-year rule of President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Its enormous dome and four 107-metre high minarets are visible across much of the city of 16 million people.

During a speech attended by several international leaders and other luminaries, Mr Erdogan described the structure as a monument befitting contemporary Turkey.

The mosque has many symbols that belong to our history, civilisation, and beliefs, he said.

People visit the Camlica mosque the day of its inauguration (AP//Lefteris Pitarakis)

He also spoke out against a recent spate of attacks targeting religious institutions across the world, including attacks on mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka.

Those who attack mosques and those who target churches have the same dark mentality, he said. Massacring the innocent and bombing houses of worship is not jihad. It is terror, atrocity and murder.

Camlica was built at an estimated cost of $100m (76m) over the last six years. Resting atop a storied Istanbul hill, it accommodates up to 63,000 worshippers. It includes an educational complex, museum, gallery, and a conference centre.

It has been criticised for its remote location, at the top of winding road hillside away from any of the citys neighbourhoods.

People attend the official opening ceremony of Camlica mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENCY HANDOUT) (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT)

"Whose idea was it to build a 60,000-person mosque on the top of Camlica Hill? Temel Karamollaoglu, leader of a small Islamist opposition party, quipped last month. If they fill it even once, I'll kiss their hands.

Turkey under Mr Erdogan has modestly expanded the number of mosques, building Ottoman-style houses of worship throughout the country and even abroad. His supporters say the country lacks sufficient numbers of mosques.

But critics point out that polls have shown Turks are becoming increasingly irreligious. The 3,400 or so mosques throughout Istanbul rarely fill up, except for Friday prayers.

The mosques, often using public funds, also are built by powerful and well-connected developers that are close to the AKP.

Turkey recently inaugurated a new airport, dubbed the worlds largest, and plans to build a new canal that cuts through far western Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Developers have also been trying to access publicly owned land to build luxury shopping malls and high rises in deals criticised as giveaways to political allies. But Camlica was reportedly funded by donations.
On paper, 1968 was a great time to be an American.

Young soldiers returning from Vietnam that June saw an economy which had just created 250,000 jobs. Middle class families saw an 8 per cent increase in their household income. GDP growth for the full year hit almost 5 per cent, an incredible number for a modern economy.

1968 was also the year a white supremacist murdered Martin Luther King. It was the year 125 cities across the United States burned in race riots. It was the year that shredded the social fabric of the United States in ways we have yet to fully recover from. And it was the year Senator Robert F Kennedy asked students at the University of Kansas what it really meant to foster a strong economy.

The gross national product .. .measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Even as President Trump celebrates a strong April jobs report, African Americans in Flint, Michigan face their fifth year without drinkable water. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, our core infrastructure  the roads, bridges and waterways that form the lifeblood of our economic vitality  is falling apart.

This is the same America where corporate profits are scraping record highs, and General Motors closing an Ohio manufacturing plant walks hand-in-hand with increases in executive-tier bonuses. The American economy is booming  for some. Dont expect it to trickle down.

Despite the flashy employment numbers and White House spin, only a sliver of Americans stand to gain from nearly a decade of post-Great Recession economic recovery. Here are just a few of the numbers President Trump wont be tweeting about tonight.

Unemployment among African Americans remains at a near-recession level 6.7 per cent, almost twice the unemployment rate of white Americans. Worsening the racial divide, African American families have on average only 10 cents for every dollar of white family net worth.

But what about people who already have jobs, you ask? Lets start with hourly workers  their wages remained flat in April, even as the basic cost of living expenses increased. Thats not so bad, you say? At the same time, employers also reduced the number of hours given to part-time and hourly employees, cutting their take-home pay even further.

 Trump claims that the US economy wasn't the biggest in the world when he became president

Those flat wages and declining hours arent new  wages have been stagnant since President Trump took office. Voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are already feeling the pinch and, despite the economy working out well for Silicon Valley tech founders and the Wall Street banks that fund them, most Americans saw no benefit from this stellar economic readout.

One of President Trumps key 2016 campaign promises boldly promised to bring back coal to states like West Virginia. But todays jobs report shows no evidence the Trump administration takes that pledge seriously: the mining sector lost jobs again in April, as it has nearly every month since President Trump took office.

President Trumps economy offers a look at two different Americas. For the Mar-a-Lago Brunch Buffet crowd that fills President Trumps world, profits are up and the markets are strong. The skies are darker for young workers facing a 13 per cent unemployment rate and a collapse in retail hiring. Or that Trump-supporting family in West Virginia whose water is poisoned by drilling chemicals.

Senator Kennedy was right: instead of celebrating a superficially positive jobs report, we must ask ourselves who the government has decided not to celebrate. An economy disproportionately benefiting wealthy, white business owners is not an economy working for the vast majority of the American people.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

In a circus campaign environment like 2020, its possible we wont even be talking about the April jobs report by the end of the day. But those families left behind by President Trumps lopsided economy will wake up tomorrow to the same poisoned water, the same crumbling bridges, and the same broken promise that President Trump is just about to lift them into the middle class.

On paper, 2019 is a great time to be an American.

Max Burns is a Democratic messaging strategist and Political Contributor for Millennial Politics. He is a past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia Technology Working Group
Scratch the surface of the current plans to decarbonise the economy and replace it with renewable energies and beneath it lays the same logic that has made the UK the 6th richest country in the world. Britain is planning to go green through a new phase of resource and wealth extraction of countries in the global south.

At the heart of our economic system fuelled by the City of London is a belief that the UK and other rich countries are entitled to a greater share of the worlds finite resources irrespective of who we impoverish in doing so, or the destruction we cause.

This green colonialism will be delivered by the very same entrenched economic interests, who have willingly sacrificed both people and the climate in the pursuit of profit. But this time, the mining giants and dirty energy companies will be waving the flag of climate emergency to justify the same deathly business model.

In this new energy revolution, it is cobalt, lithium, silver and copper that will replace oil, gas and coal as the new frontline of our corporate destruction. The metals and minerals needed to build our wind turbines, our solar panels and electric batteries will be ripped out of the earth so that the UK continues to enjoy lifeboat ethics: temporary sustainability to save us, but at the cost of the poor.

Extinction Rebellion supporters Show all 19 1 /19 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent

Reducing fossil fuel dependency by itself certainly doesnt solve the crisis of inequality and poverty faced by the majority of the worlds citizens, two billion of whom dont even have access to electricity or clean cooking.

The scale of new extraction needed will come to dwarf the current relentless drive for resources that capitalism is built upon. The OECDs Global Resources Outlook to 2060, modelled on an annual 2.8 per cent global growth in GDP, estimates that extracted resources would increase from 79 to 167 billion tonnes. This is a 111 per cent increase overall with a 150 per cent increase in metals and a 135 per cent increase in minerals.

Resource extraction is responsible for 50 per cent of global emissions, with minerals and metal mining responsible for 20 per cent of emissions even before the manufacturing stage.

And behind each tonne of extraction is a story of contamination and depletion of water, destruction of habitats, deforestation, poisoning of land, health impacts on workers and hundreds of environmental conflicts  including the murder of two environmental defenders each and every week.

In a final ironic twist the extraction of the very minerals needed for our new green technologies will result in a weakening of the resilience of eco-systems that crucial buffer us from and mitigate the impacts of irreversible climate change.

Much talk in the Labour Party and left sections of the Democrats in the US is of a just transition  transitioning from fossil fuel-intensive jobs to green jobs  and moving to 100 per cent renewable energy. Yet these movements fail to realise that these social democratic fixes would be disastrous for much of the worlds population. A green new deal in the mould of current thinking will lead to a new form of green colonialism that will continue to sacrifice the people of the global south to maintain our broken economic model.

The demand for renewable energy and storage technologies will far exceed the reserves for cobalt, lithium and nickel. In the case of cobalt, of which 58 per cent is currently mined in the DR of Congo, it has helped fuel a conflict that has blighted the lives of millions, led to the contamination of air, water and soil, and left the mining area as one of the top 10 most polluted places in the world.

Some studies estimate that the demand for cobalt by 2050 will be 423 per cent of existing reserves, with lithium at 280 per cent and nickel at 136 per cent of current reserves. Tellurium for solar panels could exceed current production rates by 2020. Rather than face up to the reality that capitalism requires relentless growth and is simply incompatible with tackling climate change, a new scramble for mineral extraction is already being planned with proposals for deep sea mining, that will wreck some of our most fragile ecosystems with more extraction planned across Brazil, China, India and the Philippines.

Last week Chilean community leader Marcela Mella warned that the plans of mining giant Anglo-American to extract 400,000 tonnes of copper per year for the next 40 years from Chiles Andean glaciers, could lead to the destruction of vital ecosystems which also supplies water to the 6 million people living in Chiles capital, Santiago. The mining executives told its AGM our products are essential to the transition to a low carbon economy. The new wave of green extraction promises to be as deadly and dirty as fossil fuel extraction.

Asad Rehman is executive director of global justice charity War on Want
Bank of Ireland reported an increase in customer lending in the three months to March 31, 2019 but its share of new mortgages slipped to 23pc.

The bank, headed by CEO Francesca McDonagh, said customer loans stood at 79.1bn at the end of March, an increase of 2.1bn since the end of December 2018.

The increase was primarily driven by corporate lending at home - including through acquisition - and retail loans in the UK. The overall rise was 600m on a constant currency basis.

Customer deposits were 79.7bn at the end of March - highlighting the extent to which the bank lending is financed from savers rather than the capital markets.

Meanwhile, operating expenses fell 3.5pc compared to the same period last year, according to a trading update from the bank.

Bank of Ireland's net interest margin for the period - a key barometer of a banks profitability - fell to 2.1pc from 2.2pc at the end of 2018. However, in a note analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said the bank's mortgage market share for the three month period was "weak" at 23pc.

"But activity levels on drawdowns and approvals increased as the quarter progressed, indicating that a recovery back to the target share range of 25-30pc should occur over the remainder of the year," analysts said.

Small business lending by the bank picked up despite a perception that nervous managers were waiting to see how Brexit played out before committing to new borrowing.

There was "activity, confidence and credit demand" among small businesses the bank said, with "positive momentum" continuing in the second quarter of 2019.

Since March 31, the bank has acquired KBC Bank Ireland's corporate loan portfolio of roughly 260m.

Bank of Ireland said last month that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming months, was consistent with its plans to grow its lending volumes.
Spanish coffee company Cafento has bought Irish coffee roaster and distributor Java Republic in a deal reckoned to be worth around 30m.

The Irish management team led by Grace O'Shaughnessy and Jeffrey Long will remain in place after the deal, while Cafento intends to oversee Java Republic's domestic and international expansion. Owner David McKernan put the Irish company up for sale last year having founded the business 20 years ago at the start of what has become an explosion in coffee drinking.

Mr McKernan has spoken publicly about the strain on the business during the crash, after borrowing in 2007 to fund a major 7m capital investment in its Ballycoolin, Co Dublin, coffee roastery But the firm is profitable. In 2017, profits came to 409,000, according to the most recently filed accounts. Last year the business invested 500,000 in reinvigorating its brand and has said 2018 was a record year. Java Republic has 80 staff and supplies more than 1,200 offices, hotel groups, cafes and catering services. Customers include Aer Lingus and its IAG sister British Airways. The 'Sunday Independent' first reported in December that Java Republic had been put up for sale. Musgrave Group had been tipped as a potential buyer. It is acquisitive and has its own Frank & Honest coffee brand and owns the La Rousse catering supply firm.
KINGSPAN has "moved on" from its failed attempts to buy some or all of Belgian rival Recticel.

Last week Recticel formally rejected Kingspan's 700m offer - made on April 16 for two of its units - and said the Irish company had also made an approach for the entire business.

A new approach is now unlikely, Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh told shareholders at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

"I wouldn't hold out much hope on [the offers] being revived, it would have been a nice bolt-on, but that's it," he said.

The cost to Kingspan of its acquisition attempts was "not significant", he said.

"At the end of the day [Recticel's] insulation business has about 270m revenue, so ultimately we were going to end up there."

Kingspan has around 500m a year to spend on acquisitions, and has a "very healthy project pipeline when it comes to acquisitions, more than we are capable of executing", Mr Murtagh said.

At the AGM 16pc of Kingspan shareholders voted against the re-appointment of founder Eugene Murtagh as chairman - up from 9.9pc opposition last year.

Eugene Murtagh (76) founded Kingspan in 1965 and was chief executive of the group until 2005, when his son Gene took up that role.

Shareholder advisors ISS and Glass Lewis had recommended shareholders back the re-election of Eugene Murtagh.

Just over 23pc of shareholders voted against the company's remuneration policy.

CEO Gene Murtagh said the board would "absolutely" take shareholder concerns into consideration.

"That's not to say that we'll particularly change," he added.

The group reported a "positive" start to 2019, with sales up 18pc to 1.06bn in the three months to March 31. Sales increased 6pc on an organic basis.

In Ireland Kingspan reported a "strong" start to the year.

UK sales activity was positive, but order intake in insulated panels was relatively subdued, with people "obviously a bit nervous" about Brexit, Mr Murtagh said.

"We don't get absorbed by this [Brexit], it's so unknown, so unquantifiable, it's business as usual until it isn't."

Shares in Recticel fell and were down around 3pc in afternoon trading yesterday.
Question: Over the last couple of years my work set-up has migrated more to my home, so much so that I have agreed that by the end of the year I will be working almost 100pc from my home. I only go to the office intermittently for meetings and presentations. My employer is going to buy some work-related items, such as a new laptop and a phone, and has offered to pay something small towards my overheads. What does this change mean from a tax perspective?

Answer: Becoming an e-worker should not result in any increase in the amount of tax you pay, according to commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics (computer, print, office furniture, etc) you need for work, without you having to pay benefit in kind so long as they are used primarily for work purposes.

And your employer can pay you up to 3.20 tax-free for every working day, to assist with your utility costs. You don't mention how much you employer intends to pay in this regard but even if it does pay the full 3.20 and/or if your working from home costs exceed this, then you will be entitled to a refund of some sort on this money, Ms Devereux said.

Any claims made will need to be supported with evidence in the form of receipts and a letter from your employer stating that you do work from home and that it does not reimburse you for these expenses. You will also need to let Revenue know the number of rooms in your home and whether or not it is a house-share.

The allowance, or rebate, claimed must be reasonable, allowing for the fact that the utilities are for both personal and work and benefit everyone else in the home. This means the refund received will be based on only a portion of the overall expenses.

Question: I want to downsize my work van from my current 2.2 litre Ford Transit. Will buying a smaller van help to bring down my insurance costs? I have been driving for 15 years and have a full no-claims bonus, but I feel I am still paying over the odds.

Answer: In terms of lowering your insurance costs, when it comes to changing your van there are several consideration which will significantly impact your premiums.

These include vehicle specifications, model, and engine size and most importantly the carrying capacity of the van itself, according to Jonathan Hehir, the managing director of InsureMyVan.ie. Each van will have its own specific insurance risk and cost placed against it. Before making a purchase, work out what size van fits your needs best. There is no point getting a large van, which could add to your insurance costs, if you only need a small van to carry out your work.

The basics that apply to reducing car insurance also apply to van insurance so your age, your licence type (ie, full/provisional) and the number of years on your no-claims bonus will be key considerations. Van insurers also place significant emphasis on what the van is being used for, so you must be clear about the purpose of your new van. It is important to ring around and get cost comparisons as the insurer that was best on price for the big van, may be the worst for the smaller van.

Question: My employer has paid my health insurance premiums since I began working with them in 2013 and along with my company car, I pay benefit in kind on these subsidies every year. I recently read that PAYE workers get tax relief on health insurance premiums. So it seems that I am at a disadvantage because my employer pays mine, even though I pay benefit in kind on the premiums?

Answer: You are not at a disadvantage tax-wise, according to the commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux. She said that like thousands of other workers in your position, you have not been made aware that you can claim tax relief on the premiums paid by your employer. If you were to fund your private health insurance yourself, your relief would be deducted at source and you would not need to alert Revenue, but because your employer pays that means you have to take some action.

Contact Revenue directly and notify them of the gross premium paid on your behalf by your employer, on which you have been charged benefit in kind (BIK). Revenue will run the calculations and refund you any mony due.

While you can't claim as far back as when you first started working with your employer, you can go back four years when claiming your tax entitlements.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics you need for working at home without you having to pay benefit-in-kind tax.

Many people are not aware that they can claim tax relief from Revenue on health insurance premiums that are paid for by their employer.
The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles, his representative said (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles on Monday, his representative has said.

Singleton, best known for making 1991 drama Boyz N The Hood, died on April 29 almost two weeks after suffering a stroke.

The 51-year-old will be laid to rest in his home city of Los Angeles in a ceremony for family and close friends, his spokeswoman said.

Expand Close John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The funeral will be a very small, intimate goodbye to the filmmaker, a representative said, and will not be open to the press or public.

However, his family is planning a larger memorial in a few weeks to celebrate his life.

Singleton, a father of seven, died after being taken off life support. He suffered a stroke almost two weeks earlier.

Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute, saying he opened doors for filmmakers of colour to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.

Condolences to the family of John Singleton. His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth. He opened doors for filmmakers of color to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 30, 2019

Boyz N The Hood was based on Singletons upbringing and shot in his old neighbourhood.

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It starred Cuba Gooding Jr as a rebellious teen whose single mother sends him to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles.

Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination, and the youngest to do so, and also received a screenplay nomination.

His other films included Poetic Justice, Rosewood and Shaft.
Imagine if your college English paper was corrected by JRR Tolkien, one of the world's most famous authors. Such was the rare event confronting university students in 1949 and 1950, when the man who would go on to write Lord of the Rings was the external examiner to the English Department at what is now NUI Galway. As the Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford, Tolkien's summer job in Galway led him to becoming captivated by the West of Ireland - a region that would go on to have a direct impact upon his iconic novel, then in progress.

He became particularly fascinated by the Burren - a place whose topography bears a striking resemblance to the 'Misty Mountains' of Middle Earth. Tolkien became particularly taken by Poll na gColm cave - a location that may well have influenced the creation of one of the author's most famous characters, Gollum.

JRR Tolkien first came to Ireland in 1926 on a walking tour with his friend, CS Lewis, who would later author The Chronicles of Narnia - a visit that began a lifelong love of Ireland for Tolkien, and which would eventually have a direct influence on his own literary output.

In 1949, during his tenure as Professor of English at Merton College, Tolkien readily grasped the summer work opportunity as external examiner at what was then known as University College Galway - an annual task that would bring him back to Ireland on a number of occasions over the following decade.

During his time at the university, he lodged with Dr Florence Martyn at Gregans Castle, the Martyn ancestral home at the foot of Corkscrew Hill at Ballyvaughan, in the heart of the Burren. Peter Curtin, founder of the Burren Tolkien Society, has devoted much of his life to investigating the possible links of the area with the characters and places in Lord of the Rings. "From studying Tolkien's works and correspondences, as well as having spoken with people who knew the man, we are certain that his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings, was inspired, at least in part, by his experience of the Burren," he says.

Curtin believes that Tolkien denied the Burren links when his masterwork was published in 1954 as he might have feared that admitting to such Irish influences might have been unpalatable to his largely English audience at the time. "In the few years leading up to his death in 1973, however, Tolkien spoke more openly about how his writings were influenced by the themes and ideas of Irish and Celtic mythology," Curtin said.

Although Tolkien referred to Gaelic as "an unattractive language", he admitted that he had studied it and found it to be of great historical and philological interest. "In one of his letters, he said he was 'suffering from acute Eire-starvation', having not visited his favourite counties of Clare, Galway and Cork for a number of years."

Back in the 1970s, Curtin made the acquaintance of Miss Crowe, who was Dr Martyn's housekeeper when Tolkien was a guest during his university visits. "Miss Crowe believed that the rugged, mysterious landscape of the Burren, which was in sharp contrast to the idyllic English countryside familiar to Tolkien, inspired him in creating the journey from the Shire, which features prominently in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."

Tolkien published The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Rings trilogy, in 1954 - by which time he had visited the Burren on many occasions. The Burren is also home to the largest cave system in Ireland, compromising 15 miles of underground passages. The entrance is called Poll Na gColm, phonetically enunciated as 'Gollum'.

In The Book of the Burren, co-author Anne Korff notes the cave as a natural habitat of the rock dove - a bird that makes a distinctly guttural sound, also very similar to Tolkien's throaty Gollum. "I believe that Tolkien, in writing the way he did, demonstrated the necessity for us to keep the umbilical connection with our natural instincts, and our environment alive and healthy," Curtin believes.

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Yet another indicator that Tolkien might have found his inspiration for the Lord of the Rings there is the topography of the region, which bears some striking resemblances.

Dr Charles Travis, a geography research associate at Trinity College, compared the actual topography of the Burren - particularly around Gortaclare Mountain - with the Misty Mountains from Middle Earth's Rohan region in the foreground.

"Dr Travis confirmed that the curve of the Misty Mountain range in Tolkien's 'imaginary' map seems to fit the actual topography of the Burren, and could arguably support the case of it being one source of inspiration for Tolkien."

Yet, while Tolkien clearly held a great curiosity for the landscape and people of the West of Ireland, his comment to an academic colleague, George Sayer, Professor of English at Malvern College, Worcester, that Ireland was "a place full of evil that could be felt everywhere from the trees to the peat bogs to the cliffs" remained a source of some controversy.

"Rather than referring to any perceived evil in the Irish people, I believe Tolkien meant the evil that permeated the Irish landscape and mythology," says Dr Francis McCormack, lecturer at NUIG in medieval languages and literature.

"It is likely he was talking about those mischievous and malevolent spirits who dominated the Irish imagination, like the banshee, the fairies or the leprechaun."

Dr McCormack, who is also an MA in Old and Middle English Language, believes Tolkien wrote about Ireland and its landscape in a very affectionate way: "It does seem a possibility that those evocative places he visited so many times did influence his writings."

'Tolkien', starring Nicholas Hoult as the author, is in cinemas now

Tolkien: the gentle soul who thought out loud

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Rose MacNamara, daughter of Professor Diarmuid Murphy, with whom JRR Tolkien sometimes stayed during his West of Ireland visits, recalls the author as a kindly, sometimes eccentric, individual with an obvious love of nature, who frequently took afternoon naps in the open air amongst the crags and rocks of the Burren.

Aged just 16 when she met the author for the first time in 1949, she often accompanied Tolkien (above) and her father, who was head of the English Department at University College Galway, on their long drives around Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

"He loved nature, and would never allow us to pick a wild plant. 'It's just not done,' he would always say," she recalls.

"He was a very gentle man, tall with long grey hair, and was often inclined to think out loud and say what was on his mind. Sometimes I didn't know if he was addressing me or thinking things out," she remembers of a person completely at ease in a place that inspired him.

In later life, as a nun based in India, Rose received a letter from Tolkien following the death of her father, informing that his son, Father John, had said a Latin Mass for the repose of his old friend's soul, and at which he was the server. He finished the letter with a request: "Spare me a prayer, I have need of it."
It is the day after the killing in Derry of journalist Lyra McKee, and David Holmes is angry. The proud Belfast man abhors the violence that marred the daily lives for so many during the Troubles and he is desperate for all the bloodshed to be left in the past.

"That was absolutely horrendous," he says of McKee's death. "A human being is a human being but to find out how talented she was and it sounds like she was at the beginning of an incredible career. It's just so f***ing senseless. And for what?

"You look at who's in charge up here and you look at who's in charge in England and you think to yourself, 'Oh my God - are we potentially heading into another nightmare?' The person who killed that girl was probably not even born before the Good Friday Agreement. They've not one f***ing reason to be in a movement like - inverted commas - the Continuity IRA, the Real IRA or whatever the f*** they're called."

Like so many of his generation, the revered DJ and film composer - now 50 - has his own very personal memories of the heartache caused by the Troubles. Growing up in a Catholic family in a largely Protestant part of Belfast, he recalls how two of his brothers were essentially driven out of the province during the height of the conflict.

"I remember a young guy, a friend of my brother's, getting shot on our street in 1972. My family weren't political and a local UVF commander came to my father to warn him to get rid of my brother - who was 17 - because he was going to be shot.

"So he came home from work and when he saw the bags packed he asked, 'Who's home?' He was told then that he'd be going to Chicago. My father had a brother there."

Another sibling wound up in the Windy City, too. "He kept getting stopped and searched and beaten up by the British army. One day, he just went, 'F*** this' and he left."

Despite such tribulations, Holmes says he had an exceptionally happy childhood and, as the youngest of 10, he was given a rich cultural upbringing. His oldest sister, Maggie, was 19 when he was born and went to London to be a fashion designer. "She would come home at Christmas with an extra suitcase and in that case were clothes, records, books, magazines - all the stuff that we weren't exposed to. She had all this culture - it was a like a treasure chest.

"And my brother was a huge Jam and Clash fan. When I was eight, I was listening to the Pistols and the Clash and the Damned. I didn't even know how to spell 'anarchy' [in reference to the Sex Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK'] let alone tell you what it meant but it had an energy and emotion that did something to me."

His mother played her part, too. "She had a very open-minded attitude," he says, "and really loved music. She was a huge Gladys Knight fan. She loved Sinatra. She loved Elvis, The Kinks, Simon and Garfunkel. And when she'd go to see my brothers in Chicago, she'd bring me back all these amazing soul and rhythm 'n' blues records and then during the Acid House period, she would come home with all this really cool stuff - and it was perfect because Chicago is where house music began."

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And it was thanks to this middle-aged Irish mammy walking into Chicago record stores and asking staff for recommendations for her music-mad son back home that Holmes began embarking on what would be a magnificently esoteric career.

First, he blazed a trail in the early 1990s as one of the most in-demand DJs the island of Ireland has ever produced - comfortably playing to sell-out crowds in venues like the Point Depot.

Then, at the end of the decade, he was being lauded for cinematic sounding albums like Let's Get Killed. It wasn't long before Hollywood - in the shape of indie auteur Steven Soderbergh - came calling. The result of their first collaboration was the romantic crime caper, Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.

Twenty years on and Holmes and Soderbergh have a partnership every bit as enduring as that of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock and John Williams and Steven Spielberg. "The man is a f***ing genius," he says of Soderbergh. "He's one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever met. He knows exactly what he wants and he can articulate what he wants amazingly well."

He has recently finished the score for Soderbergh's forthcoming film, The Laundromat, which is based on the Panama Papers scandal and stars Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman.

"He sent me the script and a note saying, 'I want you to embrace your inner unhip white man' and he sent me a playlist of the kind of world that the music should be in." He worked with Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and a jazz quartet, and after four productive days in a London studio, he sent the finished product to Soderbergh.

"He got back to me and said, 'This is perfect' and the next time I heard the music, he had cut it into the finished film and I am thinking, 'This fits like a f***ing glove'. That's his genius - not mine. Some directors will micromanage stuff and they'll almost give you too much information, but he knows exactly what he needs to say to you and what he needs to give you. It's a classic case of less is more and being very articulate with very few words."

It's been a highly productive 12 months for Holmes. He has also scored a new Irish film, Normal People, a two-hander with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. "It's made by friends of mine [directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn who did [the Belfast-set] Good Vibrations and I think it's a gorgeous film." He says the central performances are "outstanding" and he is relieved that Neeson has weathered recent controversies, arguing that his words - deemed by some as racist - were taken out of context. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the kicking Neeson received, Holmes isn't keen to get into the nuts and bolts of the argument.

He's on much steadier ground when the subject of Killing Eve comes up. Holmes, along with his Unloved bandmates Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent, have supplied the music that's helped make the BBC spy series such a global TV hit. They soundtracked the first season and the second season features yet more of the sophisticated retro-inspired music that has become Unloved's stock-in-trade.

"I think it works very well," he says of the collaboration with Killing Eve, adapted for television by the much-lauded and newly named James Bond scriptwriter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. "And it's the fruits of the good fortune of being in LA working on a Steven Soderbergh film and meeting [by chance] Keefus and finding we not only got on, but worked very well in the studio together." Jade Vincent is Ciancia's partner in life and art, and once she was recruited to the Unloved cause, the band took off.

"A lot of the stuff that I was playing like Brigitte Fontaine, The Shangri-Las, people like Broadcast and Cat's Eyes became the foundation for Unloved," he says. "It's got this melange of West Coast girl groups, but it's also got this European psychedelic feeing, too.

"Unloved," he adds, "was a name I had in my mind for a while based on the Samantha Morton film."

The trio's second album, Heartbreak, was released to considerable acclaim earlier this year. And while he will support Ciancia and Vincent with a DJ set in Dublin next week, he is not part of the Unloved live show. Touring, he jokes, is not something that appeals to him. "There's not one part of me," he insists, "that wants to go on tour. I'm 50 years of age!"

For now, though, Holmes is enjoying the business of being at home in Belfast and slowing down a little. "I'm taking two months off," he says. "I just hit a brick wall where I was taking on too much stuff and you reach a point where you need to give your creative juices a chance to flow again."

The time-out is unlikely to stretch any longer, though. Holmes enjoys being creatively restless and working with like-minded people like Steven Soderbergh.

He laughs heartily at how his career has turned out. "I'm the luckiest f***er in the world," he says. "I really am."

Unloved play Whelan's, Dublin on May 9, and David Holmes plays a support DJ set
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Russia condemns Washington's recent decision to apply the full weight of an act to step up blockade on Cuba and urges the international community to pool efforts to terminate the blockade, Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Washington's move to tighten the anti-Cuba blockade in the spirit of "Monroe Doctrine" is "overt encroachment" on the sovereignty of Cuba as well as other states including U.S. allies, which violates the norms of international law.

The White House recently announced it was activating Title III of the Helms-Burton act, paving the way for U.S. lawsuits over properties nationalized or expropriated by Cuba's government, and potentially scaring away investors with the prospect of lengthy litigation.

"We emphasize again that the methods of blackmail and pressure used by Washington are absolutely illegal. We call on all responsible forces to defend the UN Charter and international law in order to jointly put an end to the anti-Cuba blockade," the ministry said.

It added that the Cuban leadership has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resolve existing contradictions with the U.S. side on a bilateral basis, which Moscow believes is the only way.

The Helms-Burton act, named after the legislators that sponsored the bill, contains a precept called Title III that would mire Cuba in the courts by allowing Cubans who fled the island following the 1959 Revolution and settled in the United States to claim rights to properties nationalized or confiscated decades ago.

After the U.S. Congress passed the law during the Bill Clinton administration, the Title III rule has been waived by every president ever since, including Clinton.
Court: Geraldine and Patrick Kriegel, parents of schoolgirl Ana Kriegel, arrive for the case yesterday. Photo: Collins Courts

A dog walker thought one of the boy's accused of murdering Ana Kriegel looked "rough" when he saw him in the park.

The witness told the Central Criminal Court that he first spotted a young lad from a distance, who appeared to be "walking with a funny gait".

When the boy got closer he realised it was Boy A, who he knew.

He said Boy A "looked like he'd been hit or something".

The witness said he was concerned for Boy A, possibly that he'd been attacked. The witness asked Boy A whether he was ok and he said he was.

Boy A "looked in rough shape", he said, and there appeared to be something that could be blood on his T-shirt.

The witness said Boy A told him that he took a fall and hit his knee.

Boy A also seemed "embarrassed" and the witness felt that someone had bullied him, and he just wanted to go home.

Earlier, a girl who saw Ana Kriegel in the park with Boy B said they were "laughing and talking" and "they seemed to be having a good time".

The girl gave evidence to the Central Criminal Court that she was out walking her dog when she saw Ana with Boy B, both of whom she knew.

She said the two were "having a brisk walk", were "laughing and jumping" and seemed to be having a good time.

In cross-examination, the teenager described it as a "sort of skip run".

"Ana seemed happy," she said. "She was laughing along with Boy B.

"They did a sort of a skip run, like the kind you'd do with your friend."

The teenager said she was too far away from Ana and Boy B to talk to them and she didn't think that they noticed her.

Another juvenile witness said he was friends with Boy A and Boy B.

On the day Ana disappeared, he answered the door to Boy A. It was shortly before 6pm, the court heard.

"He was limping and holding his chest. He had his arm up to it," the youth said.

He also gave evidence that he noticed blood on Boy A's T-shirt.

"Boy A looked scared," he said.

He asked Boy A what happened and he said he had been attacked by two older teenagers in the park.

The witness was asked by prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC if he remembered talking to Boy A or Boy B after Ana's body was found.

He said Boy B was "sad" and he didn't remember anything else specifically.

In relation to Boy A, he said he couldn't really remembering talking to him about Ana.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys, Boy A, has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's naked body was found by gardai at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen leaving her home with Boy B at 5pm on the day she disappeared.

It is the prosecution's case that Boy B "lured" Ana to the derelict farmhouse and then watched as the other boy sexually assaulted and murdered her. The trial continues.
'The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.' Stock photo: Depositphotos

The President of the High Court will decide at a later date whether several parties are entitled to a copy of an interim report by inspectors investigating matters at Independent News & Media (INM).

The applications were each objected to by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), whose probe last year led to the appointment of the inspectors, barrister Sean Gillane SC and solicitor and corporate governance expert Richard Fleck.

Their interim report was provided to the court last month.

However, the only party who has an automatic entitlement to the report is the ODCE.

Applications were made yesterday by INM, former INM chief executives Robert Pitt and Vincent Crowley, former INM Ireland chief executive Joe Webb, former INM chairman Leslie Buckley, former INM non-executive director Allan Marshall, the Central Bank, Sunday Independent journalist Maeve Sheehan and public relations practitioner Rory Godson.

Applications were also made by DMZ IT Limited, Specialist Security Services Ltd, Reconnaissance Group Ltd, Resilient Defence Ltd, and four individuals linked to those firms.

The firms have been associated with an alleged interrogation of data taken from INM's premises.

Neil Steen SC, for the ODCE, said the report did not reach any findings or conclusions and its disclosure could adversely affect the progress of the investigation.

The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.

Mr Steen said that if the report was not released to any of the parties there would be no potential for reputational damage.

He said it had been a feature of the matter to date that information tended to percolate into the public sphere once it was outside the control of the ODCE.

The barrister said the investigation was in its early stages and akin to a police investigation. Nobody, he said, would be entitled to material from an ongoing police inquiry.

But Shane Murphy SC, for INM, said the company was in a unique position and its interests would be directly affected by any inspectors' report, whether interim or final.

He said past practice of the High Court was in favour of releasing the document.

Mr Justice Kelly said he would reserve his judgment on the various applications.

The inspectors are investigating a range of issues at the company, which owns flagship titles including the Irish Independent, 'Sunday Independent', the 'Herald', the 'Sunday World' and the 'Belfast Telegraph'.

These issues include the alleged data breach in 2014, when it is feared data tapes were taken off-site and searched for information relating to at least 19 people.

INM has said this exercise was carried out at the behest of its former chairman, Leslie Buckley, and that the rest of its then board did not know about it.

Mr Buckley has pledged to robustly defend himself.

According to the ODCE, the exercise was paid for by a company owned by INM shareholder Denis O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien has yet to comment on the matter.

The inspectors' terms of reference entitle them to investigate most of the issues raised by the ODCE, including the adequacy of the INM board's response to protected disclosures made by former chief executive Mr Pitt and former chief financial officer Ryan Preston.

Also being examined are concerns over the circumstances surrounding a proposed acquisition by INM of Newstalk, a radio station owned by Mr O'Brien.
A NEW mum who was given temporary release from prison to visit her baby went shoplifting within hours of getting out of jail, a court heard.

Sylvia Hickey (23) also hurled abuse at nurses in a maternity hospital on the same day.

She had intended to go to visit her child at home but ended up being arrested and refused bail.

Judge John Hughes said what she did flew in the face of justice and jailed her for six months.

Hickey, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to theft and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard that on the morning of April 10, Hickey was given temporary release from a prison sentence at Mountjoys Dochas Centre, subject to conditions with which she had to comply.

That afternoon, she went to Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and stole cosmetics worth 147.

On the same day she went to Holles Street hospital and began hurling abuse at nurses over a medical diagnosis she was unhappy with.

The court heard Hickey had 27 prior convictions for theft, prescription forgery and other offences.

The birth of her first child in November had been a wake-up call for Hickey, her lawyer said.

She had been doing well in prison and was granted temporary release, intending to travel to her mothers home to visit her child.

However, she had a drug addiction and suffered lapses.

Hickey was remorseful for what had happened and she had missed an opportunity to reconnect with her child.

She was very embarrassed and distressed to be in court, her lawyer said.

Judge Hughes said the accused had been unlawfully at large on the day as she broke the conditions of her release.

I am amazed that somebody who was granted temporary release, with so much to look forward to, would go and commit offences of this nature on the very same day of her release, Judge Hughes said.

He said he was satisfied Hickey was aware of the nature and terms of her release and what she did flies in the face of justice.

Hickey wept as the judge passed sentence.
Patrick Quirke left the body of Bobby Ryan (pictured) in a run-off tank after killing him

Patrick Quirke's wife Imelda outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial. Photo: Colin Keegan

Convicted killer Pat Quirke previously threatened murder victim Bobby Ryan and was charged with assaulting their love interest Mary Lowry.

Mr Ryan's former girlfriend Mary Glasheen has told how Quirke had threatened the part-time DJ. However, she was not able to mention this in court.

More details can be revealed today about the violent nature of the killer, who is beginning his life sentence in Mountjoy.

Ms Glasheen said Quirke "threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about".

Quirke (50) was convicted this week of the murder of Mr Ryan, a part-time DJ known as 'Mr Moonlight'.

The 15-week trial heard Quirke had an affair with Ms Lowry, the sister-in-law of his wife Imelda Quirke, after the death of Ms Lowry's husband.

But Quirke was also previously before the courts on a charge of assaulting Ms Lowry, who was the subject of intense jealousy when she started a relationship with Mr Ryan. The charges were later withdrawn by the DPP.

As Quirke begins life in jail, wife Imelda, who stood by him during the trial, is expected to visit him in Mountjoy today. He is likely to be moved, possibly to the Midlands Prison, in the near future.

Expand Close Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry

Ms Glasheen previously told the murder trial that she had a relationship with Mr Ryan but was delighted when he met Ms Lowry and could be happy, hopefully.

She had a three-month relationship with Mr Ryan starting in January 2008 after she separated from her husband, who subsequently passed away the following year. She described Mr Ryan as bubbly, kind, liked dancing, happy.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, Ms Glasheen said Mr Ryan told her about a threatening phone call he had received from Quirke in the months leading up to his death.

He threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about, she said. However, I wasnt given a chance to use it as evidence in court because it was deemed as hearsay.

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Statements made by someone other than the witness themselves normally are ruled as inadmissable.

She added that the past two nights since Quirkes conviction had been very tough.

I had a rough night yesterday and didnt sleep too well. Its been very tough but thank God its all over.

However, she also expressed her dismay at the prospect of Quirke appealing his conviction. Hopefully, it wont happen. Fingers crossed.

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Further details of Quirkes previous court appearances can also be revealed now that the murder trial is dealt with.

In 2014, Quirke, of Breanshamore, Tipperary, was charged with assault causing harm to Ms Lowry at her home in Fawnagown, Tipperary town between August 1 and 31, 2012. Quirke was also charged with burglary at the same address and handling stolen goods on December 3, 2012. The charges followed a Garda investigation into complaints of burglary at Ms Lowrys home. She became so fearful for her safety at Fawnagown that she had an elaborate CCTV system installed.

At the time, Sergeant Cathal Godfrey told Tipperary District Court that the case file was submitted to the DPP in late March 2014.

The DPP has directed that all three charges now be withdrawn, Sgt Godfrey said.

According to sources, Quirke is showing no signs of stress or anxiety in Mountjoy prison as he begins his life sentence.

It is expected that his wife will visit him over the weekend having stood with him throughout the trial. He is now in a cell on the C1 landing in the main prison with around 25 inmates who are described as quiet and obedient.

Its like theres not a bother on him. He looks like hes taking it in his stride, said one source. Staff are unsure whether Quirke, now known as prisoner 107243, is genuinely unfazed by his new surroundings or if he is good at hiding his real feelings.

He has been assessed by medical and psychological staff after being incarcerated on Wednesday afternoon.

He would have been placed in a quiet environment within the prison deliberately, until he gets used to the prison life and regime.
'Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages' (stock photo)

Ambulance services face disruption during two 24-hour strikes this month and next due to a long-running paramedics' dispute.

Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages.

They are planning a 24-hour strike at the end of this month and another one at the start of June, although the dates have not yet been set.

Previously, the 500 paramedics held shorter stoppages.

Army ambulance crews helped shore up services during six previous 12-hour strikes in the row over union recognition.

The members of Nasra, which is a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, want the HSE to recognise their union.

They claim the HSE is forcing them to be members of unions they do not want to join. The HSE has said it recognises Siptu as the main paramedic union.

Health Minister Simon Harris said it is regrettable that Nasra has decided to escalate the dispute.

"The HSE will continue to ensure patient safety through robust contingency planning," he said.

A HSE spokesperson said the national ambulance service recognises Siptu, Unite and Forsa for staff in the service.

"In particular, Siptu is the recognised trade union for front-line staff," they said.

"Recognition of other associations or unions would undermine the positive engagement that exists and would impair good industrial relations in the national ambulance service."

Meanwhile, psychiatric nurses who are also members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association are due to meet HSE officials next Tuesday in a bid to end a separate row over pay.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to an Irishman who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller, who was originally from an unspecified location in Northern Ireland, was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

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Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Hammersons designs for OConnell St area include a proposed roof over a shopping shopping area by Moore Street

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson

BUSINESS leaders believe plans for a new shopping and cultural quarter for Dublin's OConnell and Moore Street have the potential to mark the start of a bright new era.

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson.

Designed by German architect Friedrich Ludewig, it portrays a vision to restore historic streets, including the creation of a 1916 trail to commemorate the Easter Rising.

And a new 2,000sqm residential area has been proposed, with 23,500sqm of shopping space, 31,500sqm of office space and a 4,700sqm hotel.

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Dublin Chambers head of communications Graeme McQueen said: The north of OConnell Street has been lying idle for far too long.

He said OConnell Street should be the jewel in the crown of Dublin.

The plan from Hammerson to redevelop the entire area is very welcome and has the potential to be the start of a bright new era for both OConnell Street and the wider north city centre area.

This project, in combination with the redevelopment of the Clerys building and other developments, will breathe new life into an area of Dublin that has underwhelmed for too long.

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These moves are hugely exciting for Dublin and for Dubliners, he said.

Architect Ludewig, of the firm Acme, has designed a new pedestrian area running from OConnell to Moore Street, to include a large square at the centre and a smaller square at the junction of Moore Lane and Henry Place.

Mr Ludewig has previously worked on award-winning city schemes, including Victoria Gate in Leeds, Westquay South in Southampton, Highcross in Leicester and Melbournes shopping district Eastland.

It is also understood that the Carlton Cinema, closed in 1994, will have its facade restored.

But the iconic movie theatre will not be returned to its former use the proposals instead see it as a venue for retail outlets.

We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis regarding the future development of the Moore Street area, ahead of wider public consultation, a spokesperson for Hammerson said.

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Hammerson seeks to protect and enhance the Moore Street areas unique heritage, including its market and connections with 1916, while at the same time delivering clear economic benefits and employment opportunities locally, they said.

We have appointed Acme to look at options for the entire site, which stretches from Upper OConnell Street to Parnell Street to Moore Street and Henry Street.

The proposals will reinvigorate this part of Dublins north inner city.

The company also revealed how it had used local knowledge in making its plans.

Acme has been working with the DIT School of Architecture, commissioned by the Moore St Advisory Group,to develop a historically sensitive vision for the area acceptable to stakeholders.
THIS is the face of convicted killer Patrick Quirke photographed just minutes after he was arrested for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan.

The photo shows Quirke in early 2017 as he was processed by gardai who were preparing to question him about the murder of his love rival.

He could receive his first visitor today after being incarcerated in Mountjoy on Wednesday for the murder of Bobby Ryan.

Now known as prisoner number 107243, Quirke (50) has spent his first couple of nights getting used to his new surroundings.

Early indications are that he is keeping his head down and is probably in shock after the jury verdict.

Arriving in the committal unit of Mountjoy late on Wednesday afternoon, he would have had his first look at the prison menu.

He would then have received a standard prison tea, which would have included fruit and bread.

Because he is new to the system, and is older than most other inmates, he will initially be under constant watch.

He was seen by the prison doctor, governor and most likely a psychologist, as is standard

practice.

This is to ensure that his physical, mental and emotional health is assessed and recorded.

Quirke will be allowed to wear his own clothes, but will likely be kept on suicide watch,

when he will be checked every 15 minutes.

This is considered normal procedure and does not mean that Quirke is at any more of a threat of taking his own life

than any other inmate under the circumstances.

Quirke will spend a number of days, and possibly weeks, in the committal unit before he is

designated a cell in the regular prison system.

He may also be moved to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois, or Limerick Prison.

However, there is more space in the Midlands, so it is likely he will serve his sentence there.

Quirke will now also be getting used to the visiting regime, and his first visitor is due today or tomorrow.
'IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.' Stock photo: PA

Prison officers have expressed concern about handling Islamic State (Isil) radicals if they are ever convicted and imprisoned here.

The issue arose as Prison Officers' Association president Tony Power addressed delegates at its annual conference in Sligo this week.

He raised concerns that officers had not been trained in how to handle or treat prisoners involved with Isil.

"We have read recently of the possibility of some Irish citizens returning from involvement with IS and perhaps spending time in our prisons," said Mr Power.

"And if this happens, prison officers could be involved in a deradicalisation process.

"And are we trained to do this? No."

However, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has played down concerns of prison officers that they could be involved in the deradicalisation of Isil fighters.

IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.

She also said the IPS is monitoring the situation in Ireland and is prepared for any changes that may occur.

Mr Power was speaking following speculation that Irish woman Lisa Smith, who went to live in an Isil camp in Syria, wants to come home to Ireland with her two-year-old daughter.

The former member of the Defence Forces has denied fighting for Isil, but her request for assistance to come back to Ireland has sparked debate.
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The UN envoy for Afghanistan met last month with Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, said a spokesman.

"I can confirm to you that Tadamichi Yamamoto, the (UN) secretary-general's special representative, had met in late April with Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

The meeting was part of a regular dialogue between the United Nations and the Taliban on human rights, humanitarian assistance, and the peace process, he explained. "The UN mission conducts frequent meetings with all parties to the conflict as part of its good offices work to support the Afghan people and government to bring an end to the war."

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which is led by Yamamoto, has been engaged in regular meetings with the Taliban in Doha in the past several years, said Dujarric.

The UN mission advises all parties to the conflict of its regular contacts with the Taliban in key areas, he said.
Nineteenth-century Dublin was the whiskey powerhouse of the world. The city's half dozen distilleries produced 10 million gallons every year; one gallon in seven of all those produced in the British Isles. The top distilleries - both in quantity and quality - were the "Dublin Big Four": George Roe (established 1757), William Jameson (1779), John Jameson (1780), and John Power (1791). Pot still whiskey from these four distilleries was considered the finest in the world and the benchmark for all other whiskeys.

"Just as the names of Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini give Italian motor cars a cachet far beyond that of the bulk-selling Fiat saloons, so the great Dublin distillers of the mid-19th century bestowed on the whole Irish whiskey industry a reputation," writes Brian Townsend, author of The Lost Distilleries of Ireland, (1997-1999). "Scotch, at that time, tended to be the poor relation."

Of Dublin's Big Four, George Roe Whiskey was the oldest and eventually became the largest. It began in 1757, when Peter Roe bought a small distillery on Thomas Street. Between 1757 and 1832, the business passed through the hands of many family members, during which time Nicholas Roe founded another distillery on Pimlico Street. Then, in 1832, George Roe took over both distilleries and brought them together to form a larger complex.

By 1887, George Roe & Co Distillers of Thomas Street was the largest distillery in Europe. It covered 17 acres with eight pot stills, producing more than two million gallons of whiskey a year, and employed 200 workers of every skill and trade, including 18 coopers to make and repair barrels. George Roe whiskey was highly regarded, but not quite in the same league as that of the John Jameson or Power distilleries. Now, it's one of the rarest Irish whiskeys in the world.

"Unfortunately, these bottles were just drunk and not saved," says Bryan Mee, auctioneer. A bottle of whiskey made in the 1890s by George Roe whiskey of Thomas Street in Dublin (est 6,000 to 12,000) is coming up for auction at Victor Mee's Irish Connection sale of May 8 and 9. "It's been well cared for and kept out of sunlight so the bottle itself is in excellent condition. There's only a little bit of evaporation. The artwork on the bottle is fabulous - it shows the Thomas Street Distillery and it's a lovely thing to look at."

Mee has only been able to confirm the existence of two other bottles of its kind, one in Belfast and the other in the US. Both are owned by private collectors. This one comes from the Northern Irish collector, Des McCabe, and has been in private ownership for a very long time.

By the end of the 19th century, the Golden Age of Irish Whiskey was drawing to a close.

"The Scots - harnessing their legendary sense of thrift and efficiency - had found a way to make a palatable whiskey more cheaply and eventually elbowed the Irish whiskey distillers out of the market," Townsend writes. In 1889, George Roe & Co Distillers joined William Jameson & Co and the Dublin Whiskey Distillery (DWD) to form a trading unit called the Dublin Distilling Company Ltd. Each distillery continued to market its own whiskey under its own name. They continued to produce whiskey until 1926, leaving large quantities of unsold stock. In the mid-1940s, Geo Roe & Co Distillers dissolved and the site was taken over by Guinness. Now, the most visible reminder of the former Thomas Street distillery is Saint Patrick's Tower, a brick-built windmill that was constructed in 1757 and believed to be one of the oldest surviving smock windmills in Europe.

The sale will also include a 1940s JJ & S Liqueur Dublin Irish Whiskey, a blend of 100pc John Jameson whiskey, distilled and bottled by John Jameson & Son Ltd (est 800 to 1,200). It comes in a hexagonal bottle with a label that states "Not a Drop is Sold till it's Twelve Years Old". This particular bottle was imported into the United States by WA Taylor & Co, New York and was probably brought back to Ireland as a gift by a distant cousin of the vendor. Like the George Roe whiskey, this bottle also shows some evaporation due to age. Over the past two years, Bryan Mee has noticed a surge of interest in Irish whiskey at auction, with enquiries about the George Roe bottle coming in from as far away as China. "Collecting whiskey is a very male hobby," he says, "but there's also a lot of interest among publican and distilleries wanting to assume a collection for display in their visitor centre." Diageo is due to launch a new blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co in June 2019. The whiskey is named in honour of George Roe and made at the new St James's Gate distillery, just a stone's throw from where George Roe & Co Distillers once stood.

The Irish Connections Collectors Sale will take place at Victor Mee Auctions, Cloverhill, Belturbet, Co Cavan. Viewing from tomorrow to Tuesday.

See victormeeauctions.ie.
How do you feel about being on your own - does the thought of a night in alone fill you with dread or joy?

What about being stranded on a desert island - would you be lonely or would you relish the time to yourself? Are you the kind of person who goes to the cinema on their own, enjoys eating dinner alone or even holidays solo?

For many people, time spent alone is essential to their mental well-being, while others regard it as a strange quirk of personality. Some people, typical extroverts, even have a word for people who don't seek out the company of others - loners.

But just how much alone time is healthy and how much is a sign that it might be time to seek help? The answer depends on the person, because one person's ideal quiet night in on their own is another person's depressing night of solitude.

"I recently booked a night away in a hotel on my own, and to be honest it was fantastic," says Thomas Crosse, also known as Crossy. With a demanding job as a DJ and presenter with the Dublin radio station FM104, where he produces the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Crossy says he is more than happy to spend time on his own. In fact, he craves it.

"My ideal night is to be home alone with some takeaway Thai food, some wine and some great TV. I talk all week and deal with people all week, so I need time to just turn off and not feel under pressure to perform for anyone," he says.

So what did he do on his night in a hotel? "I went to the gym and the pool, had a few beers in the bar and spent the evening watching TV. It was great not having to worry about what someone else wanted to do. I could do what I want and I highly recommend it."

He's planning a trip to Rome soon and has deliberately arranged to travel on his own.

"I've always wanted to go and I've said it to loads of people, but they're either going out with someone who doesn't want to go, or they don't have enough holidays left from work to take the time, so I'm going by myself," says Crosse.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and enjoy their company, but I have absolutely no problem booking a restaurant table for one and going out for dinner with myself. It can be difficult to coordinate schedules with friends when everyone is so busy, so if I want to try out a new restaurant, I'll happily go on my own with a newspaper or even just my phone to read."

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Emma Jane Leeson lives outside Prosperous in Co Kildare and works in the human resources department of the multinational Kerry Group. She writes children's fiction in her spare time and her series for kids, The Adventures of Johnny Magory, has been well received. Carving out time to be alone is a crucial part of her mental health routine.

"My job means I see people all day every day and it's extremely tiring. I run the social media accounts of the company I work for so, to be honest, I feel I've had enough of dealing with people quite quickly. I have to get out, be on my own with no humans around. I make an exception for the dog and my favourite thing to do is to walk on my own around Ballynafagh Lake near where I live," she says.

"If I don't do it, I become short-tempered and my mood is massively affected. I am drained by other people and need the release.

"Ironically, I know I'm an extrovert and do like being around people but I have this introverted tendency and once I've had enough, I've had enough."

Leeson says she's always been like this, but in her mid-20s the need for alone time started becoming more pronounced. "For me, it's correlated with being in a corporate and people-focused environment. I recently handed in my notice as I want to give full-time writing a shot and of course, it'll be heaven to be in my own company while I write. We'll see if it lasts though. Perhaps I'll get lonely," she says.

There's a fine line between voluntary solitude and the kind of loneliness that can impact on a person's mental health. Plenty of people experience loneliness and find it far from enjoyable. According to consultant psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy, while some people are naturally introverted and comfortable being alone, there are others who crave interactions with others and can become depressed if they don't have it.

"There are also other individuals who would like to be part of a group but who experience social anxiety and find being around people stressful and difficult. It's important to distinguish between the two. One group chooses solitude for healthy reasons and the other group make choices to be alone because it's the only way they know to cope with their distress," he says.

Loneliness is a big issue for the Irish public. Dr Murphy was part of the National Loneliness Taskforce which published a report that concluded that involuntary loneliness can take three years off a person's life.

"It has the equivalent effect on a person's health of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and affects around one in 10 people in Ireland. On the flipside, there are plenty of people who seek out being on their own and have no negative consequences as a result," he says.

According to Dr Murphy, it's a scientific fact that some people are extroverted and some are introverted - being one or the other has no great bearing on a person's overall level of happiness.

"Some people are happy doing their own thing and being on their own, while another person in the same situation might find themselves experiencing high degrees of loneliness. People have different ways of engaging with the world around them," he says.

Knowing what kind of person you are can be a valuable tool in making good life decisions that work well for you. For example, Dr Murphy suggests that a person's nature can make them more or less likely to be happy in certain jobs.

"One person might find the stress of dealing with the public too much, while an office job might be ideal. Conversely, there are people who might be bored silly at a desk and very happy interacting with people all day long. There's nothing wrong with either of those - it's a case by case thing," he says. "Social connection is important for everyone but it's the degree that differs."

There are some extreme cases of people shutting themselves away from daily life. In Japan, such people are known as hikikomori and an estimated half a million of them live as virtual hermits, rarely, if ever, leaving their homes. These people withdraw from life and the pressures they feel to be successful, hold down jobs and be functional members of a society that can expect a lot from its members.

A controversial theory about the cause of this condition is that it's brought on by the isolating influence of modern technology. Initially psychologists thought that Japanese society was uniquely susceptible to this condition, but a 2015 study by Japanese psychiatrists found cases of the condition in the US, South Korea and India, too.

Few people would argue this is a healthy reaction to stress and pressure, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of pressure on people to present a public face through social media that is often at odds with how they feel about themselves.

Roisin Connaughton is a 29-year-old student in her final year of a medical degree, and to say she leads a busy life would be an understatement. Her time is spent in hospitals dealing with patients, doctors, tutors and the public, in libraries studying, or at work trying to support herself.

"I really like spending time on my own, and I don't mean on my own in a coffee shop or in a shopping centre, I mean at home alone with nobody else around. I find that time almost impossible to get, but it's the one type of time that makes things slow down," she says.

"I need to get away from the expectations of others and the pressure to interact with others. I'm easily distracted and get drawn into thinking about what's going on around me. I'm very much an extrovert - I do like other people and I'm quite outgoing - but I really need time on my own to empty my brain and be myself."

Sleep is a particular challenge for Connaughton because her brain runs so fast that it can take quite a while for her to wind down enough to fall asleep: "My mind races and I need to calm it down with quiet and solitude to be able to really relax. I sleep much better when I've had time by myself to do nothing. I don't even read a book or watch TV - I just do nothing. And that can be hard to explain to people."

Connaughton says that her situation has arisen throughout her 20s and she doesn't put it down to the pressures of her studies.

"The funny thing is that as children, everyone has loads of time to themselves. You spend time being bored and finding things to do with your time, but as an adult your time is so heavily scheduled that you often don't have any free time at all unless you carve it out. Some adults are literally never alone and find it difficult to be on their own. I'm the opposite," she says.

The pressure of dealing with people is something that Colin Harmon well understands.

Harmon is well known on Dublin's coffee scene as the owner of the 3fe coffee shops and Gertrude restaurant, and despite having worked directly with the public for years, he describes himself as an introvert.

"I no longer work directly on the coffee bar but I did it for years, and while you have hundreds of interactions with people every day, they're not typical interactions. It's not like meeting your friends or meeting people on an equal footing - you're in the hospitality industry, so you have to be positive with everyone. That's not normal," he says.

"It's incredibly draining and you have to present a slightly fake gloss to the public. Even when you're talking to your colleagues behind the coffee bar, you're still slightly on display to customers, so you guard what you say and make sure you're being professional."

Harmon's favourite time of day is his hour-long commute home in the evening.

Driving his car, he can be alone and either sits in silence or listens to podcasts - either way, it's time he feels is absolutely crucial to staying centred.

"When I get home, I have kids and a wife who deserve my attention and who have their own worries and concerns that they want to communicate, and I need to be there for them too. And I love being there for them, but I also need time to be on my own and recuperate," he says.

"I go running as much as I can, despite being not very good at it. For me, it's about the silence and time alone... as much as it is about exercise. It's about headspace."

Harmon says he has old friends who find his 'coffee personality' entertaining as they know that he's not naturally an extroverted person. He says when he shops for clothes, he prefers to avoid busy periods and hates it when shop assistants ask if they can help.

"I can go up on a stage in front of thousands of people to speak publicly no problem, but in restaurants I get my wife to order the food to avoid the social interaction. I guess we're all a mix of these contradictions."

Picture: Frank McGrath

Picture: Steve Humphreys
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Billy Keane Opinion Incident of the woman who stayed in bed for 40 years brings pirates and Fine Thick Men to mind

This is some of the story of the woman from Taunton, in England, who stayed in bed for 40 years. The reason she stayed in bed for 40 years was because her doctor told her not to get up until he called back. She had the flu and the doctor never came back, so she stayed put. The woman was 34 at the time.
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Mary Kenny Opinion Aviation opened up the world to us, now it needs our support to get airborne again

My mother came of age in the early years of the Free State, and over the course of her lifetime two aspects of being Irish made her hugely proud. One was the little green passport with Eire embossed on the front cover. The other was the sight of an Aer Lingus aircraft flying the flag to international destinations.
Today the Irish Defence Forces family will once again parade, this time in Cork, to protest and highlight the continuing decline of conditions within our armed forces.

In support of my former comrades, I will attempt to explain to those not directly involved with defence issues why this matters.

Recently I encountered a foreign official with many years of experience in the Middle East and elsewhere. He spoke incisively about the role of the Irish Defence Forces on a variety of UN missions, especially the more recent one on the Golan Heights.

This individual was heavy in his praise about how their professionalism, capability and experience were well recognised in the upper echelons of international political circles as a game-changer in many conflict management spheres.

To show he wasn't just spoofing me with nice sentiments, this individual made references to certain specific skill sets and tradecraft of the Irish professional soldier, demonstrating real awareness of the work done by our troops on various missions.

It is ironic it took a foreigner to demonstrate this. Our own politicians, and indeed population, have rarely ever expressed such an awareness.

Most of us have encountered nurses and gardai in our daily lives, but many of you reading this will ask the perennial question: what does the Army do?

Many times you may have heard references to the work of the Naval Service or Air Corps or, indeed, the specialist work of the bomb disposal personnel or the Army Ranger Wing.

However, the very essence of any military force is embodied by a body of troops called the infantry. They are the combat arm of the army, the ones who must get close with the enemy and destroy them if required, or hold ground against heavy odds as the troops who fought at Jadotville did. This is also the body of troops most likely to be called out in support of civil powers during emergencies at home.

From rescuing Filipino peacekeepers under fire on the Golan Heights to clearing snow off roads in Ireland, that is the infantry. All arms, all adaptable, all weather.

What makes the infantry stand out compared with more hi-tech specialists is that it specialises in teamwork in adversity. Troops are taught at an early stage in their career to embrace hardship and develop physical robustness and mental resilience. These are not the skills acquired in institutes of technology or universities, they are learned in the winds of the Wicklow mountains, the rivers of the Glen of Imaal and the sands of South Lebanon.

Coupled with these old-school disciplines are the skills of physical command and leadership in the field from corporal to colonel. This type of stuff takes years upon years to develop to a high functioning level in any individual.

But to develop this year in, year out in a unit of 500 or 600 soldiers of all ranks to the point of it continuing to work in situations of life-threatening stress can take generations. The infantry is the team of teams of our Defence Forces. Imagine stripping away the club sides of the GAA or regional and town teams of the IRFU and then wondering why the county and national teams fail to perform.

This is why the retired veterans of the Defence Forces and their families and friends are marching today. To warn the country, the people, the politicians, that when you hollow out a force like the infantry, it cannot be rebuilt over a few years with regular recruiting.

The culture of leadership in adversity and the embracing of hardship are not easy skills to inculcate into an organisation. Once lost, they are hard to regain.

If others from beyond our shores, as I mentioned at the start, can see the value in our forces, then maybe it is time our politicians and people should place the same value on them.

Declan Power is a former career soldier and author of 'Siege at Jadotville'
Somehow, somewhere along the way, a click went off in his brain. We will never know when his first murderous thought took hold. In the cascading turmoil of his recent life the memory of that singular moment may be lost forever.

Murder since time immemorial has had many guises. It ranges from random instinctive killing to detailed pre-planning for the ending of human life. But always, always, demons within will have been in ferment. The likely cocktail of emotion, swarming in Pat Quirke's head propelling him to kill, has been well recounted. But it is all too easy to presume it was sexual jealousy that nudged him towards the cliff edge.

He may have had his moments brooding as a jilted lover battling rejection. But greed, a lust for cash, and a desire to become a really rich man are what lured Quirke into a space where human empathy deserted him.

His own holding of 67 acres had become far too modest for his money-making schemes. Over the years he had 'diversified' into various non-farming activities. He had shown himself to be especially well informed when pursuing sundry investments.

But a story as old as time itself is the mixed emotions of a man with limited acreage living near somebody with much more land at their disposal. In such a scenario, human nature - with its proclivity for endless comparison - can sow the seeds of seething jealousies and life-long resentments. Mary Lowry, with a much bigger farm and able to access substantial amounts of cash, made Quirke almost starry-eyed with money-making opportunities on his doorstep. This was the lever which would free him to indulge his more grandiose plans.

Financially speaking, he felt he was on a rollercoaster through his relationship with Ms Lowry. Under his instigation, her money became tied up in various financial schemes.

Even complicated 'contracts for difference', outside the ken of many Irish farmers, were part of his 'financial portfolio'.

The land she owned had become the golden ticket which could make Quirke the kind of wealth he craved. Even better times were on the horizon for a man whose mother claimed he had used sharp practice to seize control of the family home.

But when 'Mr Moonlight' came on the scene, Quirke's dream of a monied future collapsed overnight. His personal relationship with his near neighbour was the key to everything.

We don't fully know why Mary Lowry called time on what she termed their 'seedy' affair. But it is clear she had emotionally moved on. Despite some frantic efforts on his part, Quirke was out of her life. The nightmare, from his viewpoint, was that she planned to take back full control of her farm. It would be a major coming down in the world for her former lover.

What gave this case a special piquancy is that a saga of sex, land, and money was played out against the hinterland of rural Irish life. The key players were middle-aged farming folk.

Deeper psychologies of what prompted Quirke to murder are rooted in his own background and formative years. What made him so lustful for land and cash? He just could not let things lie. Living in the local agricultural bubble, he was reminded all the while of the Lowry acreage and the money he could be earning from it.

And so when he carried out the fateful deed, a deluded sense of injustice had overpowered him. He felt he had been wronged. It seemed something he regarded as rightfully his had been plucked from his grasp. His anger was all-consuming. Disposing of his victim's body so near the Lowry home was macabre; but there is no evidence he was tortured by any kind of haunting presence.

Many mysteries remain when murderers do not confess their guilt.

The pudgy, middle-aged Tipperary farmer strode in and out of court each day with his trademark cap and laptop. His face - despite a hint of menace - remained inscrutable all the while.

We will never know. Maybe he himself does not know. But the evidence suggests Pat Quirke murdered part-time DJ Bobby Ryan not over matters pertaining to sex.

He was motivated by something he considered much more important than affairs of the heart. Money.
Former Rose of Tralee and army crack-shot Maria Walsh has insisted she will not resort to force of arms in her election turf wars with party rival Mairead McGuinness.

In fact, both Fine Gael candidates agreed yesterday that their aim was to each win one of the four Euro seats in the 13-county Midlands North-West constituency, as they made light of the reported spat about campaign ground rules.

Ms Walsh, a political newcomer, downplayed reports that she was at loggerheads with Ms McGuinness, a European Parliament vice-president seeking election for the fourth time.

The Mayo woman, crowned Rose of Tralee in 2014, and also an active member of the Defence Forces Reserve (DFR), took issue with alleged encroachments into her designated territory. "As a 31-year-old woman, I have a crown and sash from the Rose of Tralee in one hand, and in the other hand my marksmanship is 37 out of 40 shots with a Steyr rifle. I'm not here to be pushed over," she had told the 'Sunday Independent'.

But at the Fine Gael campaign launch yesterday, in Moate, Co Westmeath, Ms Walsh said she had been merely answering media questions and was not responsible for headlines. She was proud of both her DFR membership and her Rose crown - but would shun negative campaigning and heartily endorsed Ms McGuinness's assertion that they can win two seats for the party.

A diktat issued by Fine Gael headquarters just three weeks ago stated that Ms McGuinness and her team were to canvass Louth, Meath, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan, while Ms Walsh was to focus on Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.

But Ms Walsh was concerned that Ms McGuinness was active in her territory before the divide was fixed - and more recent local ads in Galway and Mayo for Ms McGuinness neglected to mention her running mate.

Ms McGuinness got a round of applause and provoked much hilarity from party supporters at the campaign launch as she refused to take her rival's reported comments too seriously. "I did frisk her before she crossed the border into Westmeathwe will return the arms when they go back across the Shannon," she said to much laughter from colleagues.

The three-time MEP said she had fought many campaigns but avoided negativity in all of them.

She cited the 2004 Euro campaign battles with Avril Doyle of Wexford, where keen rivalry resulted in a surprise win of two out of three seats, boosting the battered fortunes of Fine Gael at the time.

In the 2004 campaign, Ms McGuinness was banned from canvassing in Ms Doyle's Wexford home base. On the other hand, Ms McGuinness was given sole campaign rights in her home base in Co Meath.

But there were several high-profile reports of boundary incursions on both sides.

One involved Ms Doyle's mobile electronic hoarding appearing at Fairyhouse race course, only to have the display covered with posters for Ms McGuinness.

On May 31, 2004, just as polling day approached, McGuinness posters appeared in Ms Doyle's Wexford base.

Fine Gael backroom operators had to intervene on many occasions to restore campaign order and discipline. Curiously, much of the details of these spats did make it into the public domain.

The friction led to publicity, which in turn led to votes.

Fifteen years on, Fine Gael strategists hope history can repeat itself.
Over 40 years ago, the modern Irish Independent changed hands for the first time since its foundation in 1905. When the young entrepreneur Tony O'Reilly acquired control in 1973 from the Murphy family, it was largely on the basis of his hunch that - as we entered the EEC - the domestic newspaper business was, of all Irish industries, probably one of the best protected from foreign ownership and competition. The wheel has now come full circle with the takeover offer from Belgian-Dutch media group Mediahuis, but in circumstances neither he nor anyone else could have predicted even as recently as five years ago.

One of the defining characteristics of the new owners is that they regard media, and newspapers in particular, as more than just businesses. Newspapers are, warts and all, institutions that have a huge public service remit and a public responsibility. One of the greatest and most permanent of those responsibilities is holding the feet of the powerful to the fire and, as a great US journalist once put it, comforting the afflicted as well as afflicting the comfortable.

The foundational Murphy era in Abbey Street was remarkable for its consolidation of the middle market at a time when social and even technological change was proceeding at a snail's pace. It was hardly coincidental that its 50th anniversary was marked by the publication of a congratulatory message from Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin, or that - on another famous occasion - newspaper vans were despatched at high speed in the middle of the night to successfully retrieve all early copies of the Independent from a town whose deceased and highly regarded parish priest, the type-setter had mistakenly recorded, was survived by two sisters and three brothels.

Newspapering has also, traditionally, been a fellowship as well as a competitive market-place. When the 'Irish Times' was replacing its presses, and enhancing its competitiveness, it was actually printed - at commercial rates, naturally - by its rival in Abbey Street.

When O'Reilly took over in 1973, it was not only at the dawn of an era of seismic social and economic change, but it was also an end to the days when the office managers in the Independent would economise by carefully cutting pencils in half before supplying reporters with these tools of their trade.

The eventual demise of the peculiarly managed 'Irish Press' group consolidated the Independent's position in the market-place, even though this was compromised from time to time by experiments with MMDS (multi-media distribution systems, a failed precursor of the internet), problematic experiments with radio stations in the US, and the high-profile but ultimately sacrificial adventure involving the London 'Independent'. Management, under the late Liam Healy in particular, seemed to have a Midas touch.

This was buttressed by conservative, commercially sensitive editorial policies and by an investment policy based on borrowing to buy assets rather than on weakening board control by broadening and increasing shareholder investment.

The O'Reilly era was marked by extraordinary and profitable expansion into Australia and New Zealand and South Africa, its role in South Africa in particular coinciding significantly with the end of apartheid and the support for Mandela.

Subsequent events, however, demonstrated that even major and apparently invulnerable institutions can sometimes develop weaknesses that few could have predicted. In the case of the Irish newspaper industry, two factors were involved.

One of them is the advent of the internet, and the inability or unwillingness of governments everywhere to realise that the lack of regulation and accountability of this new economic model posed a threat, not just to so-called 'legacy' media, but to public life and standards generally. There are, thankfully, some signs that the EU and national governments are now taking this threat seriously.

When external threats like these suddenly appeared contemporaneously with internal difficulties such as the boardroom battles which hobbled Independent News & Media in recent years, it is close to becoming a perfect storm in which only the fittest will survive. In this context, a major problem facing the Independent group has been its inability successfully to manage simultaneously both the new technological, commercial and editorial challenges, and the internal civil war which inevitably consumed huge swathes of everyone's time.

Many years ago, I was a member of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. So was David Palmer, then managing director of the Independent group. While David and I agreed on little, we achieved harmony on one issue: management always had the right to change an editor, but - if they had any sense - they should not interfere with editorial policy. That sums up the peculiar nexus of the newspaper industry: it is private enterprise, but with a public purpose, and its success depends not only on its management but on the skill, commitment, and values with which its journalists approach their societal role and responsibilities.

The media will always be a locus for contention and controversy - which is as it should be. Variety in ownership and control will enhance the growth of adaptability that will help ensure the success of newspapers into the future. We once thought, after all, that television heralded the end of the cinema! And public measures aimed at supporting the media's role in providing readers with essential information and opinions are what will enhance public debate, inform public and private decision-making, and support the endless disagreements that enliven, vivify and inform civil society.

John Horgan is emeritus Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University, and served as Ireland's first Press Ombudsman
The lesson from the North's local elections is unambiguous. It is that no matter what - if the flood waters are rising or the Last Trumpet is sounding - people there vote along tribal lines. That's just how it is. Depressing but true.

What could have signalled the potential for Armageddon more starkly than Brexit, with its threat to the open Border? But it made no difference - clearly, both Sinn Fein and the DUP read their electorates accurately because their voters haven't blamed them.

During the economic crash, Fianna Fail was punished by the public and its recovery on the national stage has been slow. But there's been no backlash against either Sinn Fein or the DUP. No payback for the former's absence from Westminster, no payback for the latter pushing a hard Brexit agenda.

From this, we can conclude something germane to the Good Friday Agreement. It delivered. But it fell short. Peace came but not reconciliation. Integration - of education and housing - was essential but slipped off the agenda.

In Britain, the local elections have delivered a frustration vote, a protest vote, an anti-stasis vote. The Brexit Backlash, it's called. Not so in Northern Ireland, where inertia has no repercussions.

Northern Ireland did not mirror the British trend, where the two dominant parties were punished for being unable to settle on a Brexit deal. The two largest parties in the North couldn't cut a much less complex agreement, to restore Stormont, but received no reprimand - perhaps because people are resigned to failure in the North.

In Britain, although the election was local, the issues were national. In Northern Ireland, everything stayed local. Consequently tribalism held its ground: for God and Ulster on one side, Our Day Will Come on the other. No Stormont Backlash then. No lending out your vote in hopes of sending a message to politicians.

A resurgent SDLP didn't materialise, despite the link-up with Fianna Fail, which is looking like an increasingly bad idea. As for the UUP, its message simply hasn't connected and unionism is becoming interchangeable with the DUP. Peadar Toibin's Aontu, a conservative religious party in its first electoral outing, hasn't made a significant impact on voters, which tells us people in the North are ahead of parties on social policy, as in the Republic.

Candidates had a better than one-in-two chance of getting elected in the locals because there are so many seats relative to the number of contenders. So if someone is left chosen, quite a strong message is being sent.

News that Bombardier was selling its Belfast operation broke as people went to the polls. The Canadian company is one of the region's largest employers with 3,600 working in plane-making activities; overall, some 12,000 jobs may be impacted because of the supply chain. In 2017, it was estimated the wages of the company's employees put 158m (185m) into the local economy annually.

Bombardier had already indicated the DUP stance on Brexit was a worry. Subtext: why would it continue to invest in a place so dysfunctional a government couldn't even be set up? The company is for sale and we don't yet know if some or all of those jobs are safe. What we do know is there's no functioning Stormont to fight for them.

In the last local government elections in 2014, the DUP and Sinn Fein emerged as the two largest parties. Five years on, there is no alteration to that position. Same old, same old. The upsurge for change in the wake of Lyra McKee's killing has not carried through to the ballot box. How to interpret that? Perhaps it is that people want the parties they have always voted for to shift the dynamic, as opposed to taking a chance on anything new?

Last Sunday at Arbour Hill in Dublin, Micheal Martin said Northern Ireland had normalised the abnormal idea that the existence of a government is negotiable: "What they don't seem to understand is that, for democrats, a parliament is a place you go to solve problems - not a place you refuse to go unless your problems are sorted in advance."

This acts as a rebuke. Chiding others is easy. Understanding their position, helping them to move on from it - that's harder. Mr Martin's criticism overlooks the reality that, for most of Northern Ireland's existence, nationalist people there have not felt adequately represented in either Stormont or Westminster.

The Good Friday Agreement transformed that, but the DUP didn't sign up to it. Perhaps that is why neither of the two largest parties was taken to task by electorates for failing to reach agreement and return to Stormont. Those outside attach more weight to Stormont than those in the North, who question its effectiveness.

Obviously, Sinn Fein and the DUP must compromise if Stormont is to be restored. But this vote does not incentivise concessions. It is bound to hamper the talks process due to start next week. Punishment at the ballot box is language which politicians hear loud and clear but they have not been reprimanded - on the contrary, both are likely to feel they have been delivered stronger negotiating hands.

A spirit of cooperation needs to be fostered in the North. 'Ni neart go cur le cheile' - no strength without combination. That was the motto of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, founded by reforming landlord Horace Plunkett. This pioneer of the co-operative movement, who understood the importance of co-operation, was a unionist MP in the House of Commons and later a senator in Dail Eireann. It is examples such as his which have to be invoked.

Unfortunately, the division between Sinn Fein and the DUP is not just political but social. Sinn Fein has evolved to become more socially liberal while the DUP remains conservative. Furthermore, Sinn Fein remains focused on a Border poll - and this will cause tensions within unionism.

Where are the moderates? They do exist but they aren't winning huge traction. Nevertheless, it was a good day for Alliance and the Greens. That represents some progress. Real progress, however, would be signalled by translating those gains into a European seat. One each is guaranteed for the DUP and Sinn Fein but seat number three is up for grabs. Could Alliance make a breakthrough?

Finally, let's look again at what happened in Britain. The Lib Dem tide is a reaction, not a trend. One Tory voter who switched told me he did it for the locals but wouldn't vote for them at national level. Two lifelong Labour voters who went Lib Dem said they did it to send a message that they want Brexit stopped.

British politicians are coming under pressure thanks to this election but their Northern counterparts aren't experiencing the same heat. Their voters aren't saying take Stormont out of cold storage, or else. Dublin and Westminster take note.
Sisters-in-law, once so close they used to go away on family holidays together.

Both slender, dark and fine-featured, their physical resemblance was close enough for it to be remarked on by several onlookers at the longest-running murder trial in the history of the State.

Mary Lowry outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial

Once secret rivals for the love of Patrick Quirke, now Mary Lowry and Imelda Quirke are privately, and in their own way, dealing with the devastating fall-out of his murder of Bobby Ryan.

The two women have not spoken since Ms Lowry, feeling guilty over her affair with Imelda's husband, sent her a blank card saying 'sorry' - much to Quirke's fury.

Asked during the trial why she had done it, she said she supposed sending the card had made her feel better.

"It took some of the guilt away," she explained.

The defence was more sceptical about her actions, with Bernard Condon SC claiming she had done it to "soothe herself, not Imelda".

"You must agree you sent it to make yourself feel better," he put it to her.

"I was very sorry and regretted the affair and I was ashamed about the affair," Ms Lowry insisted, repeating her answer several times.

Regardless of why she had done it, the gesture marked the end of their friendship.

Moments after her husband was found guilty of murder, Imelda rushed to be by his side, ushered into the holding cell at the side of courtroom 13, along with Quirke's sister.

Imelda's devastation was appallingly evident, her face ashen. She did not re-emerge.

And though the photographers waited hours for her to come out of the CCJ complex, mystifyingly, there was no sign of her.

Her life crashing around her, it was clear she had been compassionately spirited out of the building by the gardai.

Back to the dairy farm at Breanshamore, Co Tipperary.

And yet, the removal of her husband from her day to day existence may be the best thing that could possibly have happened to her.

A controlling individual on every level, Quirke's demeanour as he came and went from the trial every day showed demonstrable signs of unpleasantness.

He was seen snatching an object from his wife one day, while another, he was witnessed carelessly jostling her as they entered a door.

She catered to his every need, preparing a packed lunch for her husband every day and she readily supplied bottles of water to him when he gestured to her in court.

She was by his side faithfully, making the trip up and down on the train from Limerick Junction with him every day in a 14-week-long ordeal that was clearly exhausting - her dramatic weight loss throughout was testament to that.

There was nobody in the court who did not have sympathy for Imelda.

Right throughout the terrible events that transpired around the murder and discovery of Bobby Ryan's remains, Quirke seemed to rely heavily and unfairly on his wife's personal strength of character and ability to 'cope.'

He used her birthday as an excuse to flee the scene after the murder in June 2011, booking a weekend away to the Heritage in Portlaoise, which was unusual for them.

Imelda was the first person he called after "discovering" the remains of Bobby Ryan.

A garda later put it to him that if it had been his wife, he would not have liked her to have seen the body in the tank.

Quirke's reply was that Imelda would know what to do.

It was she who had alerted the authorities - in a panicked 55-second phone call to Garda Tom Neville, known to her through her sons' under-age GAA training.

He calculatedly used his wife's innocence to deflect from his own guilt in a most despicable way.

And even as gardai questioned him about his internet searches for the rate of human decomposition, urging him to own up to being at the computer in order to do the right thing by his wife and children, Quirke would not.

He claimed he loved his wife - but the evidence shows that he had roundly abused her just as much as he had Mary Lowry.

During the trial, Quirke and Imelda had gone for leisurely walks hand in hand through Tipperary town with their dog every day after getting off the train from Dublin.

"It was like he was trying to show people that he had nothing to worry about," said one local businessman.

A senior source claimed locals were "afraid" of Quirke and had feared he would not be convicted. They did not want him back amongst them.

But now, the domineering presence of Patrick Quirke has been removed from Breanshamore.

It will be amid some difficulty that Imelda and her two sons can move on with their lives. It was clear they still love and stand by him.

But the support of their extended family and their community will assist them greatly as they adjust to their new reality.

Read More

As for Mary Lowry, the sense of relief will be palpable and she will shed no tears at his predicament.

She had suffered at the hands of Pat Quirke, she had told the trial.

He had manipulated and used her - for sex and for cash, as well as for the magnificent lands of Fawnagown.

He had attempted to frame her for the causing the death of Bobby Ryan.

On the day that Bobby's remains were found on her farm, Mary Lowry upped sticks and left Fawnagown forever. She and her sons had moved in with her brother and then into a rented house in the locality.

She then built her own two-storey house in Bansha, described by one person as a "country dream house", surrounded by many potted plants and a long gravel driveway.

Mary's future is bright.

The man who had coldly snuffed out the life of Bobby Ryan, who had, chillingly, reported her to the social services claiming she had neglected the emotional well-being of her children, and secretly recorded her chatting with her then boyfriend, Flor Cantillon, is now behind bars for life.

She would not talk to media in the aftermath of the trial - stoically saying only: "I'm not too bad. Sure, we have to try and get on with it."

With her privacy stripped from her so comprehensively during the gruelling trial process, who could blame her for seeking it now?

But Mary Lowry is a survivor - her testimony was proof of that.

She was able to stoutly defend herself against the most vigorous efforts by the defence to discredit her.

Her natural good humour was evident on Quirke's secret recordings, when her peals of laughter rang out in court.

Despite the efforts made by Quirke to tarnish her reputation as a mother, her sons are a credit to her - polite, articulate and well able for the toughest of questioning.

As a family, they will blossom after this, the weight of the investigation and trial lifted from their shoulders.

Read More

And it is all thanks to Mary Lowry, who selflessly put her reputation on the line - willing to put everything on the table and to have her personal life mercilessly dissected.

She had "bared her soul" to get justice for Bobby, she told the trial.

It can not have been an easy thing to do - least of all when living in a small, tight-knit community.

But her sacrifice was not in vain.

And now she and Imelda can get on with their lives without the menacing shadow of Patrick Quirke looming large.
 Flash

The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilot strike has ended after an agreement was reached late on Thursday night. All flights in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will resume as soon as possible, Swedish News SVT reported on Friday.







"It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again and that we will be able to pursue our commitment to travelers to, from and within Scandinavia," Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS, wrote in a press release issued by SAS shortly before midnight on Thursday.





The strike lasted for a week, resulting in 4,015 cancelled flights and affecting approximately 360,000 passengers.





SAS has been hit hard financially by the strike, with SVT reporting that it cost the airline an estimated 60-80 million Swedish krona a day. Gustafson told SVT on Friday that it is too early to calculate the total cost.





"I have to admit there is a great deal of talk about it," Gustafson said. "But I want to wait for an exact amount, because we have not yet been able to calculate everything."





According to Gustafson, SAS has no plans to raise airfares to cover losses incurred during the strike.





"It is clear that I would have preferred to use this money to invest in our future than to burn it up in a conflict," Gustafson told SVT. "But now we have ended up here and I deeply regret that we ended up in a conflict."





After over 30 hours of negotiations between SAS and the Swedish Air Line Pilots Association, a new three-year collective bargaining agreement is in place. The new agreement concerns predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries. In the press release issued on Thursday, SAS said the terms are "on par with the industrial benchmark for the Swedish labor market."





SAS traffic is expected to be fully operational again by Saturday morning. (1 U.S. dollar = 10.22 SEK)




Pat Quirke, Prisoner 107243, has become a member of a select group within the ranks of Ireland's most notorious murderers; people whose shocking crimes will be enshrined in the collective public memory and the annals of the Irish criminal justice system.

The 50-year-old farmer - convicted of murdering his love rival after the longest murder trial on record - joins a small gang of other prisoners who became household names for the worst of reasons. Names such as Joe O'Reilly, Graham Dwyer and Brian Kearney.

Like the others, Quirke is responsible for a particularly callous and cold-blooded murder that captivated the public during long and hard-fought courtroom battles to prove their guilt.

He shares many common traits with O'Reilly, Dwyer and Kearney including the fact none of them had ever been involved in crime before and were seen as respectable middle-class, law-abiding citizens.

All of them displayed narcissistic tendencies - as evidenced by a common belief that each one of them had carefully planned and executed the perfect murder.

In each case, the killer demonstrated the attitude that he was cleverer than the force and could easily outwit it, which in turn led to some of the best examples of detective work in the history of An Garda Siochana.

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One insight gleaned from Quirke's computer, which was not allowed into evidence, was an interest in the notorious case of wife killer O'Reilly.

O'Reilly bludgeoned his wife and mother of his two young children Rachel to death when he made a mid-morning visit to the couple's home in the Naul, north Dublin, in October 2004.

He had devised an elaborate plan to murder his wife and make it look like an intruder had attacked her. He built a false alibi that he was busy working in Dublin at the time of the crime.

O'Reilly even appeared on 'The Late Late Show' to appeal for information on the murder alongside Rachel's mother, who by then suspected he was the killer.

He was eventually convicted after a long and dramatic Garda investigation blew his alibi apart by tracking his movements through his mobile phone.

It is reasonable to assume that by searching the online blog "Why Joe O'Reilly thought he had committed the perfect murder", Quirke was trying to learn from O'Reilly's mistakes.

Another individual Quirke is likely to encounter is Brian Kearney, whose cold-blooded murder of his wife Siobhan in February 2006 earned him his place in the pantheon of notorious killers.

His motive for murder was that she intended leaving him causing him financial problems.

Kearney also put on a false face and attempted to brave it out, but came unstuck after another intensive Garda investigation.

Graham Dwyer is a household name who will always be synonymous with one of the most grotesque and depraved murders ever to come before the courts.

Elaine O'Hara, a vulnerable woman with a history of mental illness, had been groomed by Dwyer over a number of years during which they were involved in a BDSM relationship.

The Foxrock architect hid from the world his perverse fascination for piquerism, which involves inflicting pain on a victim using knives and drawing blood for the purpose of sexual gratification.

Dwyer probably reckoned that he had learned from the mistakes of O'Reilly and Kearney when he decided to finally fulfil his ultimate fantasy and murder Elaine O'Hara in August 2012.

Ireland's latest inductee to this notorious lifers' club will have plenty to discuss as they while away the slow passage of prison time.
The graffiti on some walls in Creggan in Derry shows Saoradh and its henchmen in the New IRA are nothing more than intimidating thugs who like to throw their weight around and sow fear wherever they go.

Their threat to "execute" informers takes us back to the bad old days when we saw bodies dumped along the Border or buried in shallow graves by the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.

Saoradh's attempt at distancing itself from the New IRA after the killing of Lyra McKee is like saying Sinn Fein was never the political mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA or that Gerry Adams was never a member of the Army Council.

Who are they trying to cod? Everyone, including the dogs on the street, knows who these terrorists and their supporters are.

We have seen them on display going to or coming from court in Derry or standing in front of Saoradh's former offices when red-painted hands were daubed on their offices after Lyra's murder.

What we need is the political will in Northern Ireland to deal with these terrorists and that everyone supports their police service in preventing further outrages.

Let us not forget Lyra's sacrifice and her will to have a more open and loving society. Not one filled with hate, but one where we all respected each other and had those difficult but vital conversations.

Christy Galligan

Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Abortion vote means children are still dying

I want to begin with a word of praise for John Lynch of Cork for his balanced, objective letter on April 24 and his positive acknowledgement of the work done by nuns in the mother and baby homes.

These homes were in poor condition and had very limited resources, but they did provide an open door for pregnant women who had no place to go at a very dark time in our history.

These women, of different ages and levels of maturity, would have surely been severely traumatised by the experience of being rejected by their own families before they ever set foot inside those institutions.

I cannot understand why the narrative around all of this continues to target and blame the Catholic Church for all the woes of that era. I acknowledge there was much scandalous abuse among some of its community, including priests, family members et al, and this has only surfaced gradually and in relatively recent times. It was covered up, put away and shrouded in secrecy.

At that time, poverty was widespread, housing was cramped and the family configuration was very different from today. A child born outside wedlock was clearly not wanted or welcomed, was described as illegitimate and ruled out of many life privileges.

The pregnant girl was excluded from the family and was not returning, not because of the fear of the Church's teaching nor the parish priest's Sunday sermon. No, this paled beside the fear of what the neighbours over the road would think of an otherwise respectable family. So the family disowned the girl and child.

But doesn't every child have a mother and father? The fathers got away. Where were they then and where are they now, when Catherine Corless is talking about exhuming the remains of infants buried in a chamber over a septic system in Tuam? Whose responsibility is this now, 50 or 100 years on? She talks about identifying these infants and giving them a dignified burial. How can she suggest this is even remotely possible?

What I find troubling is the inability of our politicians to connect with the past in a constructive manner and move on to a better way, with or without the Catholic Church.

In this context, let us briefly reflect on present reality - as a nation, we voted to legalise abortion, resulting in a two-thirds majority. It was sickening to see Government personnel, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, rejoicing that Ireland was entering a new dawn of modernity, enlightenment, speed of access to information and, above all, freedom to choose.

They just may have forgotten a third of us voted No and we are still around. They somehow expect us to accept the awful circumstances around the killing of human embryonic life in the womb. It has become for some children the most threatening and dangerous place to be, in spite of all the vetting and safeguarding courses for child protection. I hope and pray the medical profession will not contribute to this most violent assault on humankind, causing termination of life.

Of course, this is not to rule out medical intervention and ethical decisions in cases of illness and conditions which threaten the life of mother and/or child. There are two patients to be considered.

In the new Ireland, where everything can be open and accepted, what can we now expect when these little innocents have their lives violently snuffed out before they can see the light of day?

Both parents and possibly extended family can be present at an appropriate interment service, giving them the dignity and respect they deserve, just as much as the infants in the former mother and baby homes, and not discarded as clinical waste.

The children who died in Tuam, Cork, Sean Ross and elsewhere can rest in peace. This is not naive or fanciful thinking. We must all take responsibility for our behaviour. It is where I believe we need to go as a society if we are to pursue goals of truth, goodness, compassion and real freedom, and steer ourselves and others away from the darkness of cosmic proportions and individual and collective destruction.

Whatever God we believe in, we need a seismic shift in attitude, thinking and action. I remain hopeful there is enough goodness in human beings and an objective moral conscience to discover a way of seeing reality differently.

Sister Cristin Guerin

Ashbourne Avenue, Limerick

Is misdirected mail a data protection breach?

I read with interest that An Post had removed all bins from the GPO in case personal data falls into the wrong hands, in breach of GDPR.

I'm sure many of your readers have incorrectly received post which was addressed to one of their neighbours. Such letters may contain personal data which would be a breach of GDPR.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that An Post stops delivering post.

Niall McInerney

Malahide, Co Dublin

Be careful what you wish for in the polling booth

There are a lot of things to think about when someone asks you to vote for them in the upcoming elections.

Have they acted in your favour since the last election or interacted with you on what they are doing about the housing crisis, the patients on trolleys, plus funding for penny dinners, Fr Peter McVerry, Focus Ireland, and the Kinsale rescue service?

Does the candidate portray a sense they can do good for us or are they someone with too much time on their hands or ego seekers?

Always choose wisely when casting your vote.

Noel Harrington

Kinsale, Co Cork

Only stand for Europe if you mean to stick at it

With canvassers calling to your doors looking for votes the most important question, especially for the European candidates, is: "Will you, if elected, serve the full term as an MEP or will you be returning to national politics next spring when a general election is called?"

One of the most annoying and, in my opinion, undemocratic things that has been happening in recent years is the practice of an MEP stepping down after a year and being replaced by a party supporter who we have never heard of.

The best example of this was when Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party won the last European seat in the Dublin constituency and after a year or two he stepped down.

He was replaced by Paul Murphy, who went on to become a TD and cause mayhem during the water charges protests. Now that seat was held by Eoin Ryan, who was an excellent MEP. Now I ask you - is that fair?

If Clare Daly or Billy Kelleher gets elected to the European Parliament will either of them be returning to national politics when a general election is called?

I think candidates should be up front with the electorate and let us know their intentions.

Eamonn Kitt

Tuam, Co Galway
Twenty-two arts and community groups in Louth applied for funding for community projects under the Creative Ireland initiative with 13 groups being successful.

The grants which have been approved are: Ablevision,  5,000; Castlebellingham Environment Committee, 462; Drogheda Classical Music 5,000; Droichead Youth Theatre, 4,842; Drumshallon Forge Heritage Centre, 4,000; Dundalk Youth Centre, 5,000; Gathering Heritage, 2,746; Grow Music, 500 (Development Grant for 2020); MAD Youth Theatre 4,000; Oriel Traditional Orchestra

3,400; RehabCare Carroll Village Resource Centre, 4,050; Upstate Theatre Project/Cathal Thornton 500 (Development Grant for 2020); and Upstate Theatre Project/Declan Mallon (500, Development Grant for 2020).
On Saturday night I headed for the Windsor where a special 40th birthday party was being held for Brendan McArdle from Ard Easmuinn and there to make sure he had a great night was his wife Fiona, sons Oisin and Ciaran, parents Gerry and Elizabeth from Brid-a-crinn, brother Barry and Louise who were down from Belfast and a big collection of well wishers.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Brendan who is an engineer in Dublin and he was having a laugh with his old schoolmates Breffni Lynch from Beacon Court and Oliver Morgan and Brendan Byrne from Meadow Grove who were hot off the campaign trail for Oliver and were taking a rest from going door to door to celebrate with Brendan on his big night.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with cousin-in-law Bronagh Richardson who was with Sean Dillon both from Cooley who told me it was excellent night and wanted to wish Brendan a very happy birthday.

They were sitting with family friends Colman and Leona Burgess from Donaghmore who were delighted to be there (in the Windsor) but weren't sure if they wanted to be linked to the party though!

Seated close by were Claire and Neil Richardson from Kilkerley who were having a right old laugh with Gay and Josephine O'Loughlin from Carlingford and their delightful daughter Clare who wanted to wish Brendan a very happy 40th.

Not too long later I got a word with sister-in-law Louise McArdle who was down from Belfast with Brendan's brother Barry and told me the night was going to be great with everyone there to enjoy the party.

I then headed for the front bar in the Windsor where well known physio from Precision Sports, Paul Cheshire from Medebawn was also celebrating his 40th birthday party with a bit of a party and there to make sure he had an excellent night was wife Rosalynn and friends, kids Evan and Chloe were being babysat so the adults could have a bit of a night together.

I wasn't too long in when I got taking to Bobby and Eilish McCarthy from Old Muirhevna who have been friends for years and wanted to make sure Paul had a totally mad night.

Next, I got talking to neighbours David Hazzard, Marcus West, Michael McGee and Karl Cullen all from Medebawn who told me Paul is a really decent guy and they were going to make sure he had a totally mad night.

Also in their company were Daragh McKeown, Karl Lynch, Fra Martin and Vinny Rogers all from Medebawn who told me the crack was only getting going and it was going to be an epic night for sure.

After this I headed over to the ladies and met up with Lisa Rogers from Medebawn who was chatting to Ellie Biggs from outside Bandon in West Cork who had come up specially with husband Shane Beggs to be there and said they definitely weren't going to miss such a monumental occasion, the fact that they had got away without the kids had also turned it into a major bonus.

At an adjacent table I then caught up with Ciara Hazzard, Geraldine Lynch, Shirley McGee, Becky Cullen, Caroline Martin, Pamela McKeown and Laura West all from Medebawn and Louise Moran who had come from Slane specially for the party and the girls were already in party mode, having a brilliant night together and wanted to wish Paul all the best on his big night.
One party I certainly wasn't going to miss on Friday night was Charlie Fee from Ballybarrack's 80th and a huge crowd had turned out specially for the occasion. There to make sure he had an epic night were wife May, kids Maria, Kenneth, Martin, Anthony and Charlie and a special mention for daughter Carol over in New York along with a huge collection of family and friends.

Charlie, who worked for CRV and Ola Oils, also trained teams for St. Dominics in his day and is a huge Man Utd fan, but now he has become his grandchildren's chauffeur according to all his kids!

I then headed for one of the adjacent tables where I met up with Carmel Muckian from Mountain View Crescent who told me his son Joe is married to Charlie's daughter Maria. She was enjoying the evening along with Ann Carroll from Carol Meade who told me she has been a family friend for years, wanted to wish him a happy 80th, would be coming back in 20 year's time for his 100th and it won't be long coming around.

They were enjoying the company of Brigid and Raymond Grant and Maeve Holland all from Ballybarrack who wanted to make sure Charlie had a wonderful night.

Next, I met lifelong friend of May's, Brigid Quigley who was there with Mary Breen both from Upper Faughart and they said they couldn't have missed the party for anything.

Meanwhile up near the bar I got a quick word with Adrian and Carol Sheelan from Cooley who said they too are family friends and were up for a mad one with Charlie and his family.

Making my way through the crowds I then got talking to John and Susan Knipe from New Rath who were with Charlie and Anne Fee from Ballykelly who had kids Caitlin, Regina, Charlie and Dylan and were just abut ready for a major night of fun with the big man.

Heading for another Table I then caught up with Charlie's daughter-in-law Cathy Fee who was over from Long Island with Charlie's son Kenneth and grandson Conor and she was enjoying a laugh with Charlie's nieces Patricia O'Donoghue and Geraldine Hoey both from Carrickmacross and Mary McCarron from Monaghan and the ladies were already having an excellent night together.

At another table I then caught up with Pauline O'Kane from the Quay who told me she was there with her mum Carmel Muckian whom I'd met earlier and she wanted to wish Charlie a very happy 80th.

Next, I had the pleasure of meeting granddaughters Kellie Fee from Ballybarrack, Regina Fee from Inniskeen, Cara Roddy from Bay Estate and Lucymay Fee from Forkhill who all wanted to wish granda Charlie a very happy 80th and hoped he had a brilliant night.

Not too log later I then got talking to Catherine and Barry McKeown from Earl Place Mounthamilton who are family friends and looking forward to an exciting evening with Charlie and his family.

I then headed over for a chat with my old friend Beany Grant from Ballybarrack who was having a laugh with Clare Fee-Grant and Nicholas Hordnes from Norway who both live in Southampton and had come over specially for her granda's big night.

Meanwhile up near the bar I managed a quick word with sisters Audrey Mackin and Susan Fennell both from Ballybarrack who were with their mum Nuala Mackin who wanted to wish their next door neighbour a very happy 80th.
All roads lead south this week as the Drogheda Arts Festival gets underway today (Tuesday) and continues for seven days in venues across Drogheda with arts events for all ages and interests.

Co-Chair of the 2019 Festival Elaine Cronin explains 'We design the programme to bring something new and thought-provoking to local audiences. Each year, we work with local artists, writers, actors and musicians to develop new pieces of work for the Festival. We want to showcase the best of emerging and established professional local artists.'

The festival programme highlights the wealth of talent in all sectors of the arts that exists not just in Drogheda but the wider north east region.

Among the highlights of the programme is the world premiere of Canadian composer Nicole Lizee's Spielberg Etudes in St Peter's Church of Ireland on Saturday at 8pm.

It will be performed by fellow Canadian, Megumi Masaki, who has worked closely with the composer over the last decade.

The programme will also include two of her earlier compositions, Hitchcock Etudes and Kubrick Etudes. In all these pieces, her musicianship will be meshing with film excerpts shown on screen, the original soundtracks and other recorded material.

This concert is being promoted by Louth Contemporary Musical Society which was founded by Dundalk resident Eamonn Quinn.

Dundalk brothers and All-Ireland winning traditional musicians Saran (concertina) and Tadgh (fiddle and bouzouki) Mulligan will be playing with guest musicians in the wonderful space of Highlanes Gallery on Sunday at 4pm.

The Highlanes Gallery is also the venue for a new exhibition 'Disruptors' which opens on Friday with an artist's talk at 7.30pm.

'Borrowed Ground' at the Droichead Arts Centre is housing eight purpose built studios for eleven different artists from April until July 14.

Artists from Dundalk's Creative Spark and Art as Exchange will be in St Dominic's Park running workshops and demonstrations for the family fun day on the Bank Holiday Monday.

One of the theatrical highlights of the week will be the performance of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece', by the Gate Theatre Company, starring the wonderful Camille O'Sullivan. The Belfast Ensemble, will perform the world premiere of their re-imagining of 'Ten Plagues', a collaborative project with local artists Declan Kelly and Els Boghart,

Check out the full line-up and book your tickets now on www.DroghedaArtsFestival.ie. For those aged 18-25, discover the Youth Pass with entry to 3 events for just 20.
Dundalk is set to get a lot brighter thanks to the SeekDundalk, an exciting new visual arts festival set to take place in mid-June.

The festival will see three internationally acclaimed street artists creating striking murals which will tell the town's story.

Dundalk's own OMIN will be joined by Dublin artists James Early and Aches, for the four day event which runs from June 15 to 19.

Speaking on behalf of the Seek committee, Town Centre Commercial Manager, Martin McElligott, said he is delighted to announce the latest addition to their 2019 festival plan. 'The festival is centred around promoting visual arts in Dundalk over a five year period by commissioning established and emerging artists, locally, and nationally, to help promote the town culturally and artistically, repositioning the area as a vibrant hub for creativity'.

David Callan explained that Dundalk has a wealth of history, with many historical layers throughout the ages which are being forgotten.

'This year's programme highlights the importance influence art can have in the public domain, its role as a catalyst for change, helping reinvigorate and refresh some of our town centre spaces.'

The festival sees Dundalk following in the footsteps of other towns and cities in Ireland and across the world that have used street art to striking effect. Notably, Belfast, Derry, Limerick, and Waterford have paved the way in Ireland for facilitating street artists to create large scale works which have the power to transform the streetscape and provoke conversation.

Martin continued: 'We have been working with stakeholders and sponsors, which include Louth County Council, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Dundalk Museum, Creative Spark, Grandson Design Studio, Imperial Hotel, OHR Marketing, The Hairshop, Glengat House and Thinking Cap, to ensure that not only the people of Dundalk rediscover its heritage, but that visitors to the town will get a better sense of the area and its heritage over the many ages right up to the present day.

Colourtrend paint are the headline sponsor for the 2019 festival. Managing Director of Colourtrend, Kevin O'Connor said they were 'honoured to be sponsoring Seek Dundalk 2019. As an Irish family brand, it is important for us to celebrate and support local culture. We are delighted to be in a position to assist in bringing the colour of this wonderful festival to life, celebrating the culture of Dundalk through creative murals. We look forward to seeing what the incredible team of talented artists come up with this summer.

Sarah Daly from Creative Spark said: 'The Seek committee has been one of the most creative she has had the privilege of working on to date, drawing expertise from Killian Walsh, Grandson design and lead designer on the project, local artist Barry Finnegan(Thinking Cap design), Martin McElligott (Dundalk BIDs), and artistic curator, Dave Callan. Events are never easy and people give up a lot of their free time making them happen, but when you get this much creativity in one room, good things happen.'

The artists taking part are Dubliners Arches James Earley and Dundalk's own Omin. This year's festival is focused on figures associated with the town. Omin will create a piece on pioneering engineer Peter Rice, James Earle will produce a piece based on the mythology of Cuchalainn and Aches will focus on the story of the 'Last King of Ireland Edward Bruce who is buried in Faughart graveyard.
The ever popular annual Car Boot Sale and Coffee Morning will be held on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, from 11am - 3pm in the Presbyterian Church grounds in Jocelyn St., Dundalk. Admission 2, children free. If you wish to participate, vehicles will be admitted from 8.45am. Cars 15, Vans 20 (includes refreshments)

Quiz night

A table quiz in aid of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 611 takes place on Thursday May 9 in The Glyde Inn, Annagassan. Organised by St Finian's NS, Dillonstown, there will be prizes for top three teams and a raffle on the night. Admission 40 per table of four.
Local Fine Gael candidate Roisin Duffy has questioned the cost of the additional Garda support that was required in Carlingford on Easter Sunday to keep law and order on the streets of the village following several public order incidents in the previous 2 years.

Roisin said: 'I spent a good part of Easter Sunday afternoon with my husband and children in Carlingford and while there was no trouble or any sign of trouble there was a surreal atmosphere in the village. I counted 10 members of the Garda Public Order unit walking through the village some of whom had dogs under their control. In addition there was also a large presence of regular uniformed Garda patrolling the village'.

The pubs in Carlingford were full from early afternoon with many patrons queuing outside some premises for anything up to 2 hours despite the pubs charging for entry. A bye law regarding drinking in public places was adopted by Louth County Council on 16th July 2018 effective from 16th August 2018.

Roisin Duffy noted 'I walked around the village twice and did not see any signs on display confirming that it was unlawful to drink in public. This is not to say that such signs were not on display somewhere but they were most definitely not on prominent display in the centre of the village'.

Roisin requested that 'The cost of the Garda Public Order unit together with the cost of uniformed Garda should be disclosed so that a full analysis can be undertaken of alternatives. We need to work on the root cause of what attracts these young people to Carlingford for this particular weekend. They don't come to Carlingford to enjoy the scenery or make any positive contribution to the village. They come for a few hours and basically hold the village to ransom for a few hours before they clear off not to be seen until the same weekend the following year'.

Roisin said 'asking Louth County Council to work with Newry Mourne and Down council to highlight Louth County Council's bye laws on public drinking was pointless. Newry Mourne and Down twitter account had one retweet of a notice requesting that people respect local bye laws regarding the consumption of alcohol. Carlingford was not even mentioned in the twitter post. This would have had no effect on the number of buses and young people travelling from Northern Ireland to Carlingford on Easter Sunday'.

Roisin said that 'perhaps we need to be more innovative in our dealings with major influxes of buses from Northern Ireland on particular weekends'.

While acknowledging that the weekend had passed off without any major incidents Roisin Duffy said that this was only due to the huge cost that had been incurred in maintaining public order.
Dundalk resident Billy Byrne is turning to Argus readers to solve the mystery an old crucifix after museums in Ireland, the UK and Amsterdam were unable to cast light on its origins.

Billy says crucifix belonged to his aunt Elizabeth Duffy who lived in Channonrock. After she passed away 40 years ago, Billy found the crucifix when he was clearing the house where she had lived all her life.

As his aunt had never travelled, he is curious as to how the cross came into her possession and also about its origins. 'If she had gone to Dublin, that would be the height of it.'

'It's very unusual, not like anything I'd seen before,' says Billy. 'The figure of Christ is made from lead which was poured into a mould. The cross is 33cms in height and 18cms wide so it should have been quite inexpensive to make and thus quite common, yet no one can shed any light on it.'

He has looked through various books and has been in touch with the National Museum and the Hunt Museum in Limerick, which holds a large collection of religious objects, as well as museums in the UK, and none of them could give him any information about the cross or where it came from.

He also got in touch with a museum in Amsterdam, thinking that it might have been continental, but they hadn't seen anything like it either.

If any readers have any information or suggestions about the possible background to the cross, Billy would appreciate it if they contacted him by email at billyby7@gmail.com.
The son of an elderly woman who was locked in the bathroom of her Dundalk home for hours by masked burglars has spoken of the trauma she experienced.

The shocking incident which unfolded early on Thursday evening began when the 79 year old had been at home on St Alphonsus Road, after her husband had gone out around 5pm.

Her son told the Argus: 'She heard a noise in one of the rooms, and thought maybe it was my father back. When she went to look suddenly she was confronted by two men, one of them grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her down. She was terrified.'

The men then locked her in the bathroom before ransacking the house, stealing a quantity of jewellery.

'It was two hours before my dad came back. My mother was bruised along her arms, and just in a lot of shock. They couldn't face staying in the house that night.'

The alarm was raised and gardai arrived at the scene, along with forensics teams for a technical examination of the scene.

It is believed the burglars may have gained entry by forcing a door at the rear of the property.

'I just want to appeal to everyone to be vigilant,' added her concerned son.

'This happened in broad daylight, when my mum was at home. Elderly people especially should not open their door to anyone they don't know, and check that windows and doors are locked, even when they're at home during the day.'

The terrifying incident was the second in the last week, where elderly people have been targetted in their own home.

A couple in their 80's were hospitalised for shock after an aggravated burglary in Blackrock on Tuesday evening last. The couple, who live on the Rock Road, were tied up by two men, who wearing ski masks, at their home around 8pm.

It was reported that those involved in the break in were aged in their late teens to early 20s and were armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a knife.

After tying up the couple in an upstairs bedroom, the thieves ransacked the house before escaping with a small amount of cash and the couple's car, which was abandoned later in the Rathmount estate.

Gardai are reported to be investigating if the two incidents are linked as another similar incident was reported in Terenure, Dublin in the same week.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact gardai on 042 93 88400 or on the confidential garda line 1800 666 111.
Fledging Louth businesses have the chance to win 100,000 in the InterTradeIreland's Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition.

The largest business competition of its kind, Seedcorn offers a total cash prize fund of 280,000, with 100,000 earmarked for the overall winner. Since its inception in 2003, the total awarded to innovative companies stands at 4.5 million.

As well as the chance to win a substantial cash prize, entrants will benefit from guidance, advice and feedback from business experts, investors and other entrepreneurs through a series of business planning workshops and mentorship support throughout the competition.

Seedcorn entrants from Leinster have historically performed well at the competition with Nebula Innovations, a software and game development from Louth, through to last year's regional final.

Shane O'Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager, InterTradeIreland: 'Louth is a hub of innovative business talent and we are keen that local start-ups and up-and-coming companies take advantage of the Seedcorn competition, responsible for many of the biggest success stories we have seen at InterTradeIreland.

'The support Seedcorn has given to new start and early stage businesses goes beyond the 4.5 million cash funding. It includes the invaluable advice from industry experts and the wider investment community designed to help these young companies refine their business plans and improve their pitches to potential investors."

InterTradeIreland will host a free workshop in Dundalk on May 8 aimed at helping those who are considering applying for this year's Seedcorn competition to prepare their entries. The closing date for entries is Friday May 31 at 1pm.
Charlie Burke from Coillte, Minister For Mental Health Jim Daly, Joe Healy from the IFA and Hazel Brennan from See Change at the launch of the Green Ribbon Walk at Avondale Forest Park this Sunday

Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum will host a Green Ribbon Walk on Sunday, May 5 as part of a series of walks taking place at Coillte forest parks and trails to raise awareness to improve mental health.

Just like the pink ribbon became a symbol for breast cancer awareness the Green Ribbon has been established as the international symbol for mental health awareness and has been introduced to Ireland by See Change.

The Wicklow event is hosted by Coillte in collaboration with Wicklow IFA at Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum at 3 p.m., located two kilometres south of Rathdrum on the L2149.

The event provides an opportunity for friends, families and communities to connect with one another whilst being mindful of their own and others' mental health and wellbeing.

There are a variety of walks to suit everybody including a buggy friendly walk, mindfulness in the woods and a mental health talk, there is also playground and face painters for young and not so young to enjoy.

There will be refreshments after the walk. Car parking is free of charge and All are welcome to attend.
Wicklow's Climate Adaptation Strategy will go first go out on public display before coming back to the elected members to adopt at a future meeting due to take place after the elections.

A peaceful demonstration outside the county buildings from members of the public preceded the meeting, with many of the protesters also present in the Council chamber for the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy.

A notice of motion in the name of Cllr Tom Fortune and from Greystones Municipal District was also agreed, with Cllr Fortune thanking the action taken by local young people for helping to inspire the notice of motion.

Reading out the notice, Cllr Fortune said: 'That Wicklow County Council acknowledge and support recent Climate Strikes driven by the young people and families in Greystones, Bray, Arklow, Dublin and around the country.

'That Wicklow County Council have listened and understood the deadly urgency felt by the young people and their demand that all stakeholders and representatives act immediately to ensure that young people have a liveable future in Wicklow, in Ireland and on plant Earth.

'That Wicklow County Council agreed that the evidence is overwhelmingly from IPCC on Climate and from WWF LPR on Biodiversity. That Wicklow County Council agreed that, while relatively small in global terms, Wild Wicklow, previously acknowledged as the World's most liveable community, can and must step up and show visible leadership.'

He went on to outline steps which need to be taken by the local authority, such as declaring a climate emergency for Wicklow, publish a climate action plan, declare a biodiversity emergency for Wicklow, update and publish a biodiversity action plan and report regularly on progress on both action plans.

Jim Callery, Environment Awareness Officer for Wicklow County Council, made the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy, outlining actions which the local authority plan to take.

'There is a risk of increased event like Storm Emma which we need to plan for. Temperatures are rising and sea levels are rising. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are changing,' said Mr Callery.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore felt that Wicklow County Council urgently required the appointment of a climate change officer, along with an evaluating committee.

'This has been led by students and the youth. They spoke loudly and clear and we are listening. Now we have to show the leadership you are looking for because this hasn't just popped up. It has been going on for years now and we haven't been listening,' sad Cllr Whitmore.

Cllr Steven Matthews, Green Party, warned that 'unpopular decisions' would have to be made in order to reduce emissions but asked 'that the people stay with us.'

He added: 'This is the very reason I got involved in local politics, so we would have proper planning and environmental protection. We have been talking about it for 20 to 30 years with no action whatsoever. This needs to be followed by actions.'

However, he was disappointed with the contents of the draft document.

'It's 101 pages but only ten pages are about strategy, a lot of which isn't funded and a lot of which is aspirational.'

Cllr Gerry Walsh pointed out that Ireland has consistently lagged behind in reaching its emissions target.

'We haven't been meeting all of our emission targets and are bottom of the league. This provides a road map for a more sustainable future.'

Cllr Mary Kavanagh read out a list actions which she wanted Wicklow County Council to take in order to tackle climate change, such as the non use of pesticides which include glyphosate like Roundup, no cutting back verges, no felling of healthy trees and no hedge cutting during nesting season.

The draft will go out on public display this week and has to be adopted by September 30.
Two walkers out night hiking fell on steep ground in Glenmalure and had to be rescued, with one of the walkers receiving multiple injuries.

The alarm was raised at 1.34 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, as both the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to assist in the rescue operation.

Mountain rescue personnel located to the injured walkers in a wooded area, on very steep ground and below a small crag. It proved an extremely area to access and required the first mountain rescue members on the scene to cut through thick undergrowth so they could reach both patients.

One walker was treated by medics for multiple injuries and lacerations, while the other walker only sustained minor injuries.

Following assessment of the patients and possible evacuation routes, a request for air support was made to Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116.

The nature of the terrain meant an airlift wasn't possible from the incident site. A suitable airlift site was identified in a clearing approximately 70m uphill.

The patient with more serious injuries was packaged into a stretcher and, using a rope system, hauled uphill to the clearing. The other injured walker was assisted to the same clearing, using a rope for assistance and safety.

Rescue 116 arrived overhead at 5.45 a.m. and airlifted the first patient at 6.15 a.m.. The second patient was assisted to a waiting mountain rescue vehicle and transported to a waiting vehicle. The incident was stood down at 8.39 a.m..

Wicklow's mountain rescue teams would like to thank the Glenmalure Lodge for feeding their volunteers after a long, night-time rescue.
San Remo nursing home in Bray is expected to close as the cost of necessary renovations has become too high.

The nursing home wrote to families of residents this week to confirm what they had already been told by telephone.

San Remo has been operated in Bray by Willis Care Group for more than 35 years. The group has another facility, Ferndane, in Blackrock.

A HIQA inspection was completed at the Sidmonton Road facility in September 2018. The inspector found that the design and layout of the centre did not meet the needs of the residents in several areas.

'While we have submitted a plan to HIQA to bring the facilities up to the mark, recent increases in construction costs have made it impossible to implement,' wrote senior manager Patricia O'Reilly in the letter. 'Consequently, we have no choice but to close San Remo in the next six months. 'Obviously, our first concern is to make sure that all of our residents find somewhere new to live, ideally within the Bray area or closer to their own relatives,' wrote Ms O'Reilly.'With regret, we have to examine the viability of San Remo and with that in mind we have notified the residents (and their families) and the staff that its closure is likely,' said owners in a statement.

'We are now involved in the mandatory consultation period with staff to decide whether another course of action is possible. Until the mandatory consultation period is complete, we cannot speculate any further regarding the future of the home. We have been contacting other nursing homes in the area to see what capacity is available and whether groups of friends from San Remo could be accommodated together should San Remo close. Our priority throughout will be to ensure that our clients and our staff are treated well.'

The nursing home has nominated case workers to each resident to support and assist them and to help with any other issues that arise.

In a further report published early this year, the HIQA inspector found that planned building works needed to be completed to ensure that the premises would meet the needs of its residents. According to the report, works to redevelop San Remo were expected to begin in January 2019.

San Remo has a maximum occupancy of 51, and there were 39 in residence on the date of the last HIQA inspection in January.

Election candidate Grace McManus said that this is now a very vulnerable time for the residents and their families. 'It's an immediate need presenting in the community. We need an immediate response from the HSE,' said Ms McManus.

Deputy John Brady said that a number of families affected are troubled by facing finding alternative accommodation for their loved ones, any of whom have dementia.
Village life was the theme of Fermoy Camera Club's April monthly competition, which attracted an impressive 17 entries, giving judges a tough task in choosing the winners.

"Many miles were travelled and home towns revisited during April in order to catch that perfect image. All of the entries were of the highest quality and the judging was great fun and a wonderful learning experience for us all," said PRO Helen Arnold.

Grade one and overall winner Eimear Quigley travelled many miles before heading west to the Beara Peninsula and capturing a beautiful image in the village of Eyries.

Michael Walsh also travelled to Eyries, with his image taken from the other side of the village coming second overall.

Third overall and first in grade two was Deirdre Casolani's image captured during a recent visit to her home village of Birgu in Malta, while grade three winner Norma Brennan did not have to travel quite as far to capture the colourful image of the local butcher in her home village of Golden in Tipperary.

The next club meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14, where, amongst other things, there will be a demonstration on camera cleaning with members welcome to bring along their camera. Entries for this months competition, the theme of which will be 'Shapes & Curves', will be accepted up until May 28.

Other upcoming competitions over the next few months include 'Action', 'All Creatures Great & Small' and a picture inspired by a poem.

"New members are always welcome, so come along to our fortnightly meetings at the Community Centre in Fermoy, meet our members and find out how to become part of this vibrant club," she said.

For more information about the club visit www.fermoycameraclub.ie.
Communities across north and mid-Cork have been urged to 'get their ducks in a row' and prepare applications for the 2019 round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

The initiative is a key element of the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development and is one of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural regions under the Project Ireland 2040 programme.

Launching the 2019 scheme Michael Ring, the Minister for Community and Rural Development, said it will support projects that enhance town and village centres environments.

"It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work," he said.

"Proposals seeking to develop projects the encourage town centre living will be particularly welcome, as will projects that stimulate activity between a town/village and its neighbouring townlands. I would also encourage proposals that have clear positive impact on a town or village in terms of regeneration," he added.

North Cork based Cllr John Paul O'Shea (FG) pointed out that since the introduction of the scheme in 2016 almost 53 million has been allocated to more than 670 projects across the country.

"These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs," said Cllr O'Shea.

He said the scheme is specifically targeted towards town and villages with a population of less than 10,000,

"To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages," said Cllr O'Shea.

"He encouraged communities to work with Cork County Council in preparing "innovative and well-thought-out projects" under the scheme.

"In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Cork County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department by the end of June," he added.

Full details of the scheme, along with the application form, are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website, at www.drcd.gov.ie.
Two north Cork based artisan food producers have been selected to represent the county at the inaugural Local Enterprise Office (LEO) 'Meet the Buyer' expose later on this month.

They are among a trio of Cork producers who will represent the Rebel county at the event, which will take place on 'The Street' at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) on Thursday, May 23.

Glanworth based Clotilde's Fruit Compote produces hand-made compotes without any added sugar, preservatives or additives and Bo Rua Farm Fermoy, is home to the Dineen family who use milk from their herd of Montbeliarde cows to make a range of mouthwatering natural cheddar cheeses.

They will be joined at the event by West Cork-based Schull and Crossbones, the only Irish producer of dairy and lactose free alternatives to yoghurts as well as their vegan-friendly Coconut Treasure range.

One of the largest food producer expositions of its kind in the country, it showcases produce from a carefully selected cohort of up-and-coming Irish food producers to key supermarket groups and retailers from across Ireland and the UK.

Deirdre O'Mahony of the Cork North and West LEO said the event would provide small and medium food enterprises with a wonderful opportunity to avail of new distribution channels for their produce and to get expert advice on how to succeed.

"The event is trade only, so it is open to buyers from across the food industry who will be able to sample a wide range of the finest new Irish produce and meet the passionate and talented artisans behind it," said Deirdre.

She emphasised the role that the LEO was playing in supporting local producers through financial assistance, training and development and providing these kinds of networking opportunities.

"The Meet The Buyer event will assist these producers to develop new markets and outlets for their produce and will enable them to benchmark their products against the best from all over Ireland," said Deirdre.

"I expect this event to grow in the coming years and to become a key annual event for not only producers but also for buyers," she added.

Buyers who are interested in attending this event can register their interest by emailing helen.lyons@emap.com.
According to a Lightstep Microservices Trends report, most IT professionals (86%) expect microservices to be the default by 2022, affirming the notion that we are well into the next significant transformation of digital architectural design.

On the trajectory from client-server to web to mobile and now to a world of extreme digital transformation, were now fully into the age of microservices.

But how will we secure data and protect applications from attacks in this more granular world? Given the agility of microservice applications, the value is undeniable. But if these services are rolled out with security  and the network  as an afterthought, we could be in for serious risk and the usual unanticipated consequences of racing to adopt better, new technologies without considering the dark side.

Microservices are truly disruptive, not only because of the architecture but because they are most likely to be deployed using containers, and concerns about protecting an even more fragmented and growing attack surface are keeping security and network operations professionals awake at night. Why? Because now they are responsible for delivering secure app endpoints.

This takes us to what an endpoint is, which itself is morphing especially as the IoT brings more and diverse things to enterprise, government and organizations connected environments. Microservices are enhancing edge applications, even as the edge of the network is taking on more compute responsibilities for all the right reasons.

And every endpoint needs to be secured against attack and exploitation as the attack surface grows, and this is slowing down, in some cases, adoption of highly valuable solutions given concerns about everything from direct attacks to pivot attacks.

We asked Rick Conklin, CTO of Dispersive Networks, what can be done to address security for microservices in as scalable as way as possible to make implementations viable long term.

Microservices rely on a loosely coupled and independently deployable model, Conklin explained. They can be spun-up anywhere and on-demand. Those services will require connectivity, and that connectivity must support that elastic deployment model, and it must be secure while leveraging the ubiquitous public Internet. Deploying microservices over the public Internet is best done using a virtual network overlay that supports microsegmentation, zero trust, and an elastic, on-demand model while providing the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and performance that the end user demands from those microservices.

Conklin also recommended a strategy for APIs which can be created to establish virtual application endpoints in the same way applications are spun up and scaled on bare metal virtual servers.

The legacy SD-WAN solution is optimized for site-to-site connectivity, not mobility, not IoT, not blockchain, and certainly not microservices, Conklin said. We need a better model for micro-services including software-defined perimeter and zero trust to ensure that every session can rely on the network to ensure integrity, confidentiality, availability, authentication, authorization, access, and performance while operating in a zero-trust environment with zero-touch provisioning. That includes confidentiality for sensitive data that is normally sent in the clear including TLS 1.2 headers, DNS requests, and key negotiation. Were in a completely different game with microservices, which is why weve been building networking software which includes security that can protect every endpoint and service.

Using a virtual endpoint can also be enhanced with software that defends against attacks, including rate limiting and bot detection. Rate limiting prevents microservices from being overwhelmed, and bot detection can prevent automated scanners from finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in microservices.

Microservices allow enterprises and governments to free themselves from expensive, complex, monolithic architectures when building and deploying applications, Conklin said. Microservices offer advantages and disadvantages when it comes to security; given the proliferation of separate APIs and ports per app, there are simply more doors for adversaries to access within an application.

While containers can serve as an excellent security perimeter for microservices, its important to take into consideration the full requirement for a software-defined perimeter.

Containers enable you to apply security to each individual service  making them ideal for microservices. And no matter the application, putting it in a container provides an added layer of security, said David Lawrence, a senior software engineer at Docker. We see a common trend across enterprises is to containerize legacy applications, and as a result, gain the immediate benefit of hardened security  in addition to cost-efficiencies and portability to hybrid cloud environments.

In summary, microservices security brings with it new challenges. The DevOps, network ops and security ops teams in every organization must be on high alert, even more, vigilant against unauthenticated access to data and weak policies and enforcement of policies which can lead to man-in-the-middle attacks, and the loss of sensitive and confidential information.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
The Mallow Integration Forum has issued an open invitation to join them for their fourth annual 'Africa Day' celebration, which will take place at the Mercy Centre on Fair Street from 1pm on Saturday, May 18.

Billed as a 'celebration of the diversity of Africa', the event will showcase the many different cultures and traditions of the vibrant African community now living in the wider Mallow area.

Designated by the African Union as an annual celebration of the continents unity, Africa Day is an opportunity for communities across the globe to celebrate the continents rich and diverse cultures.

Africa Day has been celebrated in Ireland since 2008, with events taking place at various locations across the country including Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny and Cork City.

Following on from the success of the previous three Mallow events, the 2019 Africa Day celebrations will feature slide shows about each of the countries represented and live music with visitors also invited to taste some sumptuous African cuisine.

Formed in 2014 by former local RAPID co-ordinator Margaret Desmond, the Mallow Integration Forum was established in order to bridge the gap in cultural diversity between Ireland and the expanding immigrant community.

The chairman of the forum, Nigerian native Emmanuel Adebesi, said she was able to do that by bringing together people from different cultures under a single unified umbrella group.

"Ireland is constantly changing and we are striving to let people know there is a thriving African community living in Mallow," said Emmanuel.

"Our vision is to strive for a society that respects multiculturalism, diversity, welcomes new arrivals and facilitates integration to Irish culture," he added. The forum meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Le Cheile Centre and has been proven a vitally important tool for helping promote integration through educational workshops and other inclusive events.

Admission to the Africa Day event in Mallow is free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about the Mallow Integration Forum contact Emmanuel on 022 20477.
The proposed design plans for Ballydesmond village will be on display until late May as part of the part eight week planning process.

The village renewal scheme for Ballydesmond includes a range of public realm works to improve pedestrian connectivity for vulnerable users with the urban environs in the village and to enhance the urban centre for leisure activities.

According to Cork County Council, there is a "significant residential population living in the environs of the urban area, with potential for further development. There is potential for walking to and from local amenities such as the park, playground, church and school. It is important that the required infrastrucutre is either in place or planning providing the framework for future development work to facilitate this."

The plans of the proposed development are available for inspection, or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, from now until Friday, May 24 and may be inspected during public opening hours at the Cork County Council office in Millstreet.

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O'Shea has welcomed Cork County Council's plans for a Village Renewal Scheme along the R577 in Ballydesmond.

He said such developments by Cork County Council are subject to the Part 8 planning process, which consists of a public consultation process, and he encouraged community members in Ballydesmond to engage in this process. Any submissions received by the Council are considered in the Part 8 Manager's Report which is prepared and presented to Councillors for adoption.

The proposed development in Ballydesmond includes: public realm works, new pedestrian footbridge, replacement footpaths, new footpaths/buildouts, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and public lighting upgrades.

The proposed project objective of the scheme is to increase the safety of vulnerable users within the speed limits of the village, which is proposed to be accomplished by a mixture of traffic calming within the centre of the village and the provision of uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

Furthermore, it is the objective to control vehicular speeds on approaches to the main street with a combination of wider footpaths and concrete buildouts combined with speed ramps/raised table.

Plans are also available for inspection and to print at www.corkcoco.ie.

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposed developments, dealing with proper planning and sustainable development of the area may be made on or before Friday, June 7.

Submissions and observations can be made in writing to: Senior Engineer, Cork County Council, Regional & Local Roads Design Office, Innishmore, Ballincollig, P31 WT69; or in email to: part8.rlrdo@corkcoco.ie.
A Slovakian man who died after becoming involved in a row with two Polish truck drivers at a filling station in North Cork was found to have a significant injury to the back of his head by paramedics called to treat him, a trial has heard this week.

Father of two Ludovit Pasztor (40) from Glencullen, Duntaheen Road, Fermoy was lying unconscious on his back between two trucks when local HSE paramedics Andrew McCrea and Gillian Kinahan arrived at the Amber Filling Station at Carrrignagroghera, Fermoy at 10.25pm on February 21, 2017. Mr McCrea said that there was blood coming from Mr Pasztor's ears and it was starting to congeal and they noticed "a significant injury to the back of the patient's head" while they also detected asystolic rhythm, suggesting he had suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest and they ceased CPR.

He was certified dead at 11.50pm.

Details of Mr Pasztor's injuries emerged on the second day of the trial of Polish truck drivers, Marcin Skrzypezyk (31) and Tomasz Wasowicz (45), who both denied murdering Mr Pasztor.

Witness, Marta Baranska testified on Tuesday that she was working at the filling station when the deceased came in around 9.45pm with his friend, Mariusz Osail (40) who was buying eight cans of Carlsberg. She said Mr Osail was in confident form having been drinking and he was joking as he bought the drink and left the premises with Mr Pasztor.

Ms Baranska said everything was quiet when she went to lock up the off-licence at 10pm ... but when an ambulance called to the shop shortly after 10.20pm to inquire about the incident she saw Mr Osail by the trucks at the rear of the filling station. She said Mr Pasztor was lying by the rear of one of the lorries.

Witness Niamh Dillon said she had been out walking with her friend, Marie O'Mahony, passing the filling station at around 9.55pm. "There were four men standing at the back of a truck. They were talking quite loudly and animatedly. It was getting rough. They were talking very loudly to each other. There was nothing physical, just hand gestures. I felt it was going to escalate into something more," she said.

Earlier, opening the state's case, prosecution counsel Siobhan Lankford SC told the jury that they would hear how the deceased and his Polish friend, Mariusz Osail, had been drinking on the night. The jury would hear the two men were leaving the filling station at 9.45pm when they heard Polish voices and engaged in conversation with Mr Skrzypezyk and Mr Wasowicz who were both working as drivers for Macroom Haulage, but who had arrived separately.

She said the jury would hear that they had been chatting in Mr Wasowicz's truck but they got out of the cab to go to the toilet when they encountered Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail but that the conversation turned sour and they began to engage in verbals before Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail left.

She said that the jury would hear that Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail returned to Mr Osail's house, nearby, where they picked up two bars from a dismantled trampoline before returning to the truck parking area at the rear of the filling station where they knocked on Mr Wasowicz's truck door.

The jury would hear that both Polish truck drivers got out of the truck and a physical altercation ensued with Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail, who both ended up on the ground, where, the state alleges, they were hit with the iron bars by the accused after they had disarmed them.

Ms Lankford said the jury would hear that Mr Osail rang 999 and gardai were alerted at 10.15pm and officers arrived at the scene at 10.22pm where they found Mr Pasztorz on the ground and an iron bar lying near him under a truck while they found the second iron bar in a field nearby.

The trial continued on Wednesday
At 8pm on the 4th May next, the Lord Mayor's Show, proudly reinstated by Mayor Frank Godfrey into the musical life of Drogheda, will take place in the Barbican Centre.

On stage on the night will be one of Ireland's most accomplished artists, acclaimed international soprano Celine Byrne, who will be joined by St. Peter's Male Voice Choir and its musical director, Edward Holly.

Choir PRO Anthony Moore said "We are really honoured to have been invited by Mayor Godfrey to perform on the night, which will be a superb treat for music lovers. We are particularly delighted to join with Celine Byrne, who has sung with us on a number of occasions in recent times. She is an outstanding talent and we are looking forward immensely to singing with her again. This is a show not to be missed."

Admission is  20 and tickets are available from the Barbican Centre, ph: 041 9807416 and and www.ticketweb.ie. All proceeds go to local charities: Alzheimers Drogheda, SOSAD Drogheda and the Deceased Musicians Memorial.
While on a walk down a country lane on one of the dry, warm, sunny and calm days that marked the Easter weekend, it was nice to see several species of butterflies on the wing in the space of a kilometre or two.

The Peacocks were particularly noticeable and are arguably the most colourful member of the 30 or so insects that comprise Ireland's butterfly fauna. With a global range that extends from Ireland to Japan, these common and widespread butterflies hibernate as adults and emerge of the first warm days of late spring heralding the changing of season. Their striking colours and their large eyespots are indeed spectacular.

Named after their eyespots reminiscent of those on the display feathers on the huge tails of the peacock bird, the purpose of the markings is a subject of debate. One interpretation of the eyespots on butterflies is that the insects may flash their wings when threatened by a predator to alarm or deceive it or to draw its attention away from the more vulnerable body parts.

Obviously, the purpose of eyespots on the display feathers on the extravagant tails of male Indian peafowl are unlikely to play a role in deceiving any potential predator of these turkey-sized birds. It is much more likely and is generally accepted that they are display aids in communication and courtship among other members of the same species.

With so many species under threat and with many wildlife populations in steep decline, it is nice to know that the Peacock butterfly is bucking the trend; its numbers are increasing, and its range is expanding.

The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, organised by Tomas Murray at the Waterford-based National Biodiversity Data Centre, began in 2008 so the details of the scheme are now well established. The recently-published Newsletter No 11 reveals that last year, 110 volunteers walked 115 transects and recorded more than 46,000 butterflies. Peacock and Silver-washed Fritillary showed the strongest growth in populations, whereas the Small Heath experienced the strongest decline.

The overall trend in Irish butterfly populations since 2008 shows a decline of 6% but as a consequence of the dry and warm weather experienced in 2018, overall populations of our commoner and widespread species were up by 29% last year.

Full details, together with species by species fast fact files, are in Newsletter No 11 of the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme that can be accessed at http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/latest-news/.
Are election posters not just an insult to the electorate's intelligence? Like, what is it exactly they are supposed to achieve that a five-year track record in office hasn't? And if the candidate is new to the local hustings, how does knowing what they look like suggest a suitability for public office? Surely a vote based on a nice smile, or a twinkle in the eye, is a precarious one?

This week Ireland's unofficial election historian and archivist, Alan Kinsella, told The Irish Times that he believed the lampposts are an important part of democracy. They 'level the playing field' and inform people that there's an election on, because 'not everyone knows, you know', he is reported to have said.

Oh God.

Election posters are an attempt to subliminally brainwash the voter with face recognition, not so subliminally, plain and simple. They're saying to pen-poised voters in polling booths: remember me, you've seen me before, no matter when or where.

That's a Mad Men-esque way of doing business - establish a brand by saturation and ensure recognition by repetition, just like flashing cue cards to a three-year-old eventually teaches them to read.

Fortunately in Arklow, Aughrim and Avoca the Tidy Towns Committees have managed to clamp down on the practise in picturesque south Wicklow. In poor old Dalkey, the Tidy Towns committee actually had to threaten to remove legally erected posters in the salubrious south Dublin suburb, but after a bit of a kerfuffle they backed down.

It isn't that politicians aren't crucial to our society at both European and local level. They are the lynch-pin of the democratic process and, in the case of the local council's, definitely more requiring of people driven by a vocation rather than intent on a career move.

It's just that posters of airbrushed mugs in public places are not a million miles from the murals of despots in the Middle East; they're ego trips, symbols of who's who and who might be, in terms of standing in our society. Imagine the outcry if, as a result of Google analytics, they started invading a computer screen the way they do our streets (probably not a million miles away).

At a cost 5 each (not factoring the cable ties or the time of the person up the ladder), that's the same price as a McDonald's meal, which would be better spent feeding the people lying in the doorways of the streets they number.

Politicians should leave the lampposts to the canines when it comes to marking their turf.
Mid Louth election candidate Hugh D Conlon from Dunleer has been forced to resign from the Joint Policing Committee because he has declared he's running in the local elections.

'The" PPN Secretariat" rang me earlier this month to tell me that because I was running for the forthcoming local elections there was a requirement that I step down from my position as a member of the Policing Forum, but that I could remain as a member of the PPN,' he stated in a letter of resignation this weekend.

'He very kindly sent me a copy of the relevant guidelines which surprisingly seems to indicate clearly that I would need to step down from both bodies. He told me that he would send the matter to the Policing Forum Secretariat to let them handle the matter. To date, I have heard nothing from the Policing Forum,' he added, stating that he put in his nomination papers for the election on Saturday.

'If the copy of the regulation that I was sent is correct, and I take it that it is; then I have no other option but to tender my resignation from the Mid Louth PPN and also the Ardee & Mid Louth Joint Policing Forum. If I don't take this action I run the risk of possible challenges to the validation or not of my nomination, or fingers crossed my election in the future.'

He says he strongly protests with regard to the way that this requirement was introduced since 2014 and how it is impacting on him and other members of PPNs in the country in general.

'I have no doubt that this sneaky piece of regulation was contrived by councillors and TDs and has strong political considerations in its drafting. All the big parties funded by the tax payer of course have loads of money to spend on their back room boys to come up with their worst when it comes to the protection of their own empires.

' It is clear that during the drafting of this regulation the" Fianna Fail" " Confidence and Supply" arrangement is holding up nicely, and the silence of the so called opposition is unsurprising to.

Sinn Fein remaining silent when it suits their interests to do so because in this case they know that it is their support base that could firstly be eroded by the emergence of the PPN members into the Local Political Arena such as myself.'

He says all six Mid Louth councillors, two Fine Gael/ two Sinn Fein/ one Fianna Fail and one Independent on the Policing Forum are allowed retain their seats and still run for the council elections.

'However I as a Community Representative am being asked to step down under the new Legislation. This is not a level playing pitch scenario going into an election in four weeks time.

'It is very unfair and sends a negative message to the community bodies who participate on the PPN s. Also coming at a time when the people of Mid Louth are going through a very bad spate of drug related crimes which has brought further trauma to the community.'
A 9m high work of art, made by Cisco Engineering in Drogheda, and designed by renowned Rathmullen Road artist and sculptor Ronan Halpin, is now winging its way to Dallas, Texas to sit proudly by the lakeshide at a multi million dollar development.

'Icarus' is the focal point of the project and took some six weeks to put together.

And for Ronan, who is now based on Achill Island, it is certainly his biggest commission to date.

But how did the Drogheda man secure such a large scale project?

Last year, Lucy Billingsly, the head of the Billingsly Corporation, who are developing a major centre in Fort Worth, to include housing, schools and offices, was visiting Co Clare and spotted a piece of Ronan's work.

She was deeply impressed and asked about him.

She got in touch and asked for some ideas and 'Icarus' was born. Ultimately, he got the commission.

He got designing and when it needed to be constructed, he headed back home to Drogheda and Cisco Engineering.

'I have worked with them before and they've been very good to me,' he stated. 'They took on board what I wanted with this.'

For weeks, the team there worked on his idea and last week, the finished project was crated into a 40ft container, sent to Dublin and on to Rotterdam and is presently en route to Houston.

In late May, early June, Ronan and his wife, Amanda, will travel to Dallas to oversee the installation of his artwork.

'At the moment, we don't know if it's going to be placed in a lake or by the lakeside, but either way, given the scale of the development, we knew it had to be big and impressive,' he stated.

Stuart Carolan from Cisco said this was the fourth project they had worked on with Ronan and was pretty special.

'It was very much a bespoke project. We went through the ideas and sorted out the problems as they arose.

'We started on it in early February and spent about 1,000 hours working on it.

'At the end, we had 14 to 16 hour days and when we were finishing off , everything else stopped and we had 12 people involved to make the deadline,' Stuart remarked.

He says they'd certainly welcome doing more projects like this.

'We are 44 years here and this was something great to be involved in.'

Ronan Halpin's rise in the world of art design began in 1979 when he attended the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.

Son of Gavin and Aileen Halpin, he was later offered a scholarship to attend Yale School of Art, in New Haven, USA, where he received a Masters Degree in sculpture.

In 1985, he returned to Dublin where he worked for a number of years before moving back to Drogheda. He opened his studio in Fair Street and worked there for five years before moving outside the town to Fieldstown. In 1998 he moved, with his wife Amanda Mac Mahon and two children, to Achill Island in Co Mayo where he now lives, works and runs a gallery.

'Achill was always special to me,' he admits. 'My parents, Gavin and Aileen, met there in the mid 40s and 20 years later bought a cottage om the island and I spent my summers there.'

Ronan works mainly with steel, brass and bronze. Examples of his large scale works can be seen throughout the country, from the 'King & Queen' in Trim Co Meath, to the six metre high sculpture of 'Amergin' in Co Kerry.

In 2016, Ronan was commissioned by Westport Town Council to create a sculpture to celebrate The Irish Times 'Best place to live in Ireland award'. The bronze sculpture 'Sentinel', which stands at the bottom of Peter Street in Westport, was the result of this commission.

His work is well represented in Drogheda; 'The Shaft of Light' the 'Pinnacle' at Millmount and the 'Source at St Oliver's School on Rathmullen Rd, are among his better known works.

The 'Icarus' commission for Dallas is constructed in Corten steel, Bronze and stainless steel and stands nearly 9 metres high.

Like most artists, resting on laurels is not something Ronan can afford to do and really works from job to job.

'It is one job at a time as you don't know where your next commission will come from.

'We will be opening up the gallery on Achill again for the summer and it's near Keel,' he revealed. No doubt if any locals are heading west on their holidays, a visit is a must.

The past few weeks have allowed Ronan plenty of time to see his brothers and sisters still resident locally, with others having travelled far and wide.
The victim of an alleged IRA man who raped two teenage boys at a "republican safe house" two decades ago said his dream life was in "tatters" from the moment the man entered his house.

Seamus Marley (45) of Belfield Court, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of sexual assaulting and anally raping two boys in Co. Louth on dates in the early 1990's.

After a six day trial the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on a total of six counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape.

A character reference from Marley's pastor described him as "an excellent Christian" with a "charitable spirit".

During the trial Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the two complainants lived in a large home owned by a "dedicated republican" and that it began to be used as a "safe house".

Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Mr Gageby that Marley was one of these guests and that he was welcomed into the family.

The older of the two victims woke up one night to find Marley raping him. After the incident Marley warned him off telling anyone what had happened and said he "could be found dead on a border road".

The younger victim was given alcohol by Marley and was groped or masturbated by him on three or four occasions and raped in a tent nearby his house.

Marley has no previous convictions. The court heard that he is from a large family in Belfast and that his father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the older victim said he has spent the previous 27 years living in despair and looking over his shoulder. He said he had finally reached the end of the tunnel and was taking his life back.

The younger victim, who also read his victim impact statement, said that as the house was beside a graveyard they had "quiet neighbours, dead ones. He said that he had learned that it is "not the dead we should be afraid of, but the living".

He said that Marley "preyed on me, groomed me, abused me and raped me". He said the life he had dreamed of was in "tatters" from the moment Marley entered the house.

"Marley was always lurking in the back of my mind," the man said. He said that the "fabrication of stories" to discredit him made the trial so much harder.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the man in custody and adjourned the matter for sentencing on Thursday, next.
The true spirit of Drogheda was never more evident when a supervisor at Starbucks in the Laurence Shopping Centre saved the life of a customer.

When Marion Walshe from Slane began to show signs of suffering a stroke while in the cafe, Platin Road man Jonathan Fitzpatrick immediately recognised the symptoms .

'I noticed her sitting down and she didn't seem right. She got sick and I was worried for her. 'My own mum suffered a stroke, so I knew a bit about it,' he stated.

He stayed with the woman and asked her to perform various tasks that can indicate a stroke and when she couldn't raise her arm or speak properly, he rushed to manager Niamh Madden and they rang for an ambulance.

'They were here within five minutes which was great,' Jonathan stated.

Speaking to the Drogheda Independent, Marion stated that doctors said that only for the action of the Starbucks workers, she would have died as she had suffered a bleed on the brain.

'I rang Jonathan to thank him and we both cried. He's a great guy,' she said. Marion revealed that she woke up that day with a dizzy head, feeling it was stress as her husband had just gone into hospital.

'I went into Drogheda but didn't feel good. I decided to go for tea in Starbucks but I couldn't order as the words wouldn't come out and I got sick.

'The man behind the counter saw me and he was very decent and came over. They rang an ambulance and the doctors said that saved my life.'

The incident took place some weeks ago and Marion has now recovered very well and now wants to recognise the efforts of the young man who saved her.

'I contacted him and we both broke down. I was in hospital for seven weeks in Drogheda and Dundalk. I was lucky, I was blessed,' she said.

Jonathan was very humble about the incident, just delighted that he could help Marion on the day.

'I asked her to look at me and could see the left side of her face was dropping and she couldn't raise her arms properly. I asked her had she ever had a stroke and she said she didn't, so that alarmed me further.'

As Marion got colder, Jonathan and Niamh decided to act and rang the emergency services who arrived very promptly.

Jonathan got a letter from his head office, commending him for his actions. They said it showed that Starbucks is not just about coffee, it's about looking after customers.

'I went into retail to try and make life good for others, so this was special,' he admits. Starbucks Manager Niamh Madden was proud of the team and their efforts that day.

'We are always told to look out for people and we are trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator, but this was different. It shows what can happen.'
The Return of Lightning Comedy to the Lord Mayor's Pub comes this Sunday on May 5.

Hosted by award winning local playwright, actor and comedian, David Gilna who says that a 'night of lightning and laughter always guaranteed' at these regular Lightning Comedy nights at the Lord Mayor's

There's a variety of top class International comedians and a few locals in the mix as always.

Making her debut to stand up is local Nadia Missaoui and there's the return of Dakota Mick, Christina McMahon (Ireland's Got Talent) John O'Keeffe (Bray Comedy Festival Best New Act) Emily Ashmore (Breakout Cherry Comedy Act of the Year) , Billy DeCourcy, Mustafa Saed and all the way from America, Alan Henderson.

The doors will open at 8pm and the laughing will start at 8.30pm when the show begins.

Tickets are 10 on the night or you can purchase tickets online at eventbrite.

David will be hosting a special night for Lightning Comedy in aid of AWARE this July 18 at Swords Castle to kick off the Swords Summer Festival and more details about that exciting event will be announced soon.

Until then there is another Lightning Comedy night to enjoy on Sunday night and the Lord Mayor's is the place to be if you want a fun night out in the company of a great host and a great-line up of top class comedy acts including some of the best of our own home-grown comedy talents.

It is not to be missed.
A Balbriggan man is encouraging everyone to get behind a special event to raise awareness about organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation.

Colin White from Balbriggan is this year's Race Manager for the Irish Kidney Association's 'Run for Life', a family fun run which takes place at Corkagh Park, Clondalkin on Saturday May 25 at 2pm.

'Run For Life' aims to raise awareness about the plight of people in organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation and transplantation.

Colin, Race Manager and National Projects Manager of the Irish Kidney Association said: 'This will be the 11th annual Run for a Life event, which has developed a loyal following over the years and has become a strong platform for the promotion of organ donor awareness.

'We are looking forward to another successful event on May 25, which offers a great day out for all the family.

'Over 500 participants from throughout Ireland took part in last year's event, and we are optimistic for another great turnout this year.'

Sam Kinahan (5), who is waiting for a kidney transplant, his older sister Ali (age 8), and their parents Chloe and Ivan from Baldoyle were joined by Susan Mulligan from Castlerea at the Phoenix Park for a photo call on April 23 in the run up to the event.

Chloe Kinahan, a native of Mullingar, said: 'In his short lifetime, my son Sam has been receiving dialysis treatment for four years and eight months, and that's almost as long as he has been alive.

'Sam is a patient at Temple Street Hospital and has soldiered through his illness as a happy little boy who seldom complains.

'A donor kidney will be the catalyst for transforming Sam's life, and a new kidney will be his transformer!

'Sam has attended the annual Run for a Life every year since his first as a baby, being pushed along in his buggy by his father.

'We look forward to attending the event again this year and hopefully by then we will have received welcome news that Ivan (Sam's father) can be Sam's donor.'

'Run For Life' is open to people of all ages and levels of fitness, who can choose to walk, jog or run in the chip-timed event, which offers prizes for winners of the 2.5km, 5km and 10km distances.

Broadcaster Ray D'Arcy, the National Ambassador for Organ Donor Awareness 2019 and an enthusiastic runner, will also take part in this year's event.

The 'Run For Life' entry fee is 20 (adult), 10 (child) and 45 per family of up to two adults and four children.

All finishers will receive a medal, and entry fee also includes a light lunch.

For more information on the event visit website www.runforlife.ie

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association at: 01-6205306 or free text 'DONOR' to 50050.

You can also obtain an Organ Donor Card by visiting the Irish Kidney Association's website: www.ika.ie
Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) members from Malahide were among over 1,000 members of the Society who gathered in Dublin's Convention Centre recently to celebrate SVP's 175 years in Ireland.

Some of the members of St. Sylvester's Conference, Malahide who attended included Sean Nugent, Bernadette Martin, Patsy McGuirk (president), Breeda Corrigan and Kathleen Morgan

SVP is the best known and most widely supported organisation of social concern and action in Ireland with over 11,500 volunteers active in every county in Ireland.

Since its foundation in 1844 it has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

For decades the Society has provided help and support to those most in need through the Famine in the 19th century, two World Wars, an Uprising, a Civil War and cycles of economic austerity.

'Sadly today we still see poverty in many different situations and circumstances' said SVP national president Kieran Stafford.

"There are nearly 800,000 living below the poverty line including 100,000 people at work; record numbers of homeless; 50% of lone parent families experiencing deprivation and 61% of families struggling with education costs.

'We know and meet the people behind the figures every week bringing friendship and support.' he said.

The anniversary event under the title 'Serving in Hope - Past, Present and Future' was formally opened by President Michael D. Higgins.

Speakers traced the history of SVP and outlined its role in social justice and education.

Members of Young SVP showed how its Youth Development Programme is shaping the volunteers of the future.

Regina Doherty, TD Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection also addressed the gathering.

Other speakers were Katriona O'Sullivan who shared her story from being a homeless, young mother, parenting on her own to being a university lecturer with a PhD and an advocate for equality and equity.

Brian Cody, Kilkenny Senior Hurling manager spoke about leadership.
A Fingal mum, Maeve McAuley ran her first ever 10 mile road race and organised a 12 hour marathon shopping-centre collection to thank staff at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles St. for saving the lives of her premature babies.

Maeve recently presented a cheque for 2789 to the NMH Foundation, Holles St to repay the hospital for all the care and kindness she received when her triplets Meadow, Madison and Morgan were born at just 25 weeks.

Maeve was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, four years before her triplets were born.

She said: 'By the time I was diagnosed in June 2009, it was stage 3. However, Hodgkin's lymphoma is a curable cancer so I was 'lucky' in that sense.

'I ended up having 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months. Before the treatment, the doctors warned me that I might not be able to conceive because of the chemotherapy.

'So I was delighted when I found out I was pregnant. But when I found out it was triplets I was astounded.'

She explained: 'My miracle babies were born at 25 weeks at the NMH, Holles St. Madison was born first weighing 660grams, Meadow was born next weighing just under a lb at 440grams,.

'Morgan was born last and was the biggest weighing 740 grams. Meadow was very sick and it was touch and go. Sadly after two days she had a massive pulmonary haemorrhage and passed away.

'Madison and Morgan ended up spending three and a half months in the Neonatal unit at the NMH, Holles St. I will be forever grateful to all the staff who worked so hard to save their lives.'
Funding of up to 200,000 is available for rural towns and villages across Fingal through the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has become an integral part of the Government's drive to support rural Ireland. It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work.

The scheme is specifically targeted at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000.

Senator James Reilly welcomed the funding opportunity and said: 'Balrothery and Balrothery Community Council are a great example of what this scheme can do for a village.

'Substantial grants were approved for this village, delivering village improvements in co-operation with the excellent active community council and Fingal County Council.

'Recently a MUGA Multi Use Games Area was opened in the Village substantially funded by this scheme.

He explained: 'Naul Village and other villages in rural Fingal could benefit substantially from this scheme and indeed any town below 10,000 population.'

Senator Reilly said: 'Fine Gael is delivering 'Project Ireland 2040' which will ensure sustainable growth over the next twenty years for all parts of Ireland.

'To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages.

'Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016, almost 53 million has been approved for over 670 projects across the country. These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs.

'I strongly encourage towns and villages in Fingal to work with Fingal County Council in preparing innovative and well thought-out projects under the scheme and I look forward to the announcement of the successful recipients of funding in the coming months.'

He added: 'In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Fingal County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications.'
Calls for the council, in conjunction with other Dublin local authorities, to construct a purpose built dog rescue centre in Fingal were opposed by Fingal County Council's executive recently, despite councillors claiming an existing facility at Ashtown was not being run in a 'satisfactory' manner.

A motion at a recent council meeting heard that the operation of the rescue centre in Ashtown was an 'absolute disgrace.'

Through a number of emotive contributions from councillors, the council heard that conditions at the Fingal pound were 'unsatisfactory', and that either a purpose built rescue centre should be built in the county, or the operation of the existing pound assessed.

Cllr Jimmy Guerin (NP), noting the 'emotive' comments made from other councillors, said that, as a dog owner, he would 'not like to find my dog staying in such a place.'

Cllr Guerin added, however, that he would 'like to go to a place where I find that my dog has been rescued', and that, although conditions at the pound were 'not ideal', it was his understanding that there were regular veterinary inspections which had the approval of the DSPCA.

Stating he was 'willing to listen to experts' on the issue, Cllr Guerin said an 'honest debate' was needed before such a new facility was built.

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF), said that given the concerns raised by councillors, 'current arrangements' needed to be looked at.

The cost of such a facility would need to be determined, he said, and in the context of a three year capital programme.

Raising concerns about the Council's assertion that the current rescue centre was being run satisfactorily, Cllr Joe Newman (NP) said he would like to see the criteria against which the current assessment had been carried out.

A council official, responding to the councillors, noted that 'given the context of the meeting', 'I think people have made their minds up, right or wrong.'

The majority of dogs housed at the rescue centre, he said, were re-homed 'within a very short period', and only 'a very small percentage' were 'euthanised', which he said was 'a big change over the last 20 years.'

A report issued by the council in response to the call, stated: 'The current contracted service is operating satisfactorily and in a cost effective manner.'

The local authority report further stated: 'There are no plans at present by either Fingal or the other Dublin Local Authorities to develop and construct a purpose built centre.'
Building on the success of last summer's community dig at Drumanagh promontory fort, Fingal's Community Archaeologist Christine Baker is undertaking another excavation at Drumanagh promontory fort with a team of professional archaeologists and volunteers from the local community and beyond.

Drumanagh is a nationally important archaeological site and is of international significance in terms of Ireland's relationship with the Roman world. 'Community excavation is an objective of the Drumanagh Conservation Study and Management Plan, so it is fantastic to be undertaking another season of excavation at the site' said Christine.

She explained: 'Last year we concentrated our explorations near the Martello Tower and this year we will be investigating the original road to the tower, to the other end of the site.

'What we uncover will inform the future management of the site.

'It is also hugely exciting for the local community who have such a love for the site'.

At a recent talk to the Loughshinny & Rush Historical Society, Christine presented the results of the 2018 dig. The material uncovered relating to Martello Tower during the nineteenth century has shown just what life was like for the occupants. Animal bones retrieved shows there was eating of beef, pork and mutton as well as fish and seabirds.

Wine was being drunk, tobacco smoked and a number of marbles indicate how they passed the time.

Of even more significance was the uncovering of evidence for the Iron Age at the site, with pottery from Roman Spain that would have held olive oil found at the site.

Two decorated antler combs and a hilt from a small sword can all be dated to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Radiocarbon dating of two human bones and seeds reflect a similar date range.

'The people of the Iron Age were known as the invisible people. Here at Drumanagh we have evidence for settlement, trade, death and burial from two thousand years ago, all uncovered by the community of today' said archaeologist Christine Baker.

Season two of the community excavation Digging Drumanagh will take place between 15 May and 29 May 2019.

If you want like to take part or would like more information please contact Fingal County Council's Community Archaeologist, Christine Baker at christine.baker@fingal.ie
Barbecue for Hospice - North Wexford Hospice Nursing Trust is holding its annual barbecue on Saturday, May 11, in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey.

A delicious steak supper will be served from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. followed by dancing with music from Theresa and the Stars with supporting music from Tina Carter.

Tickets are 25 and are available from James Tomkins, Isuzu garage, Gorey 086 2604097. Dr Michael O'Doherty, 053 9421303 or any of our hospice committee members.

In the barbecues 27 years, there has been generous support coming from the people of north Wexford and beyond. The team are looking forward to seeing you all again this year.

Gorey Active Retirement

All booking, payment and inquiries should be made on Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Loch Garman Arms. Members are reminded that the 2019 membership is now overdue.

If you have forgotten please pay on Friday and ensure you are insured at any Active Retirement event nationwide. Non-members are invited to check out our activities by dropping into Loch Garman Arms, there is some activity on most days of the week.

Gorey Active Retirement is thinking Youghal for September break, please put name down ASAP if interested and the cost price will be advised shortly.

Please note the change of Date for Gowran Park Races to Sunday, June 16, NOT 23. Please book early with committee. Also be aware of the Trade and Tourism Show, taking place on June 5, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Punchestown Events Arena. Admission is free and all ARA members welcome.

Courtown Lifeboat shop

The RNLI Shop on the North Pier in Courtown Harbour will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., all welcome to call in and browse the new stock of souvenirs, clothing etc for all occasions. Shop for gifts that help saves lives at sea.

Colour Run

Registration is now open for this year's Courtown Colour Run which takes place on Saturday, July 13.

There will be 3km and 6km distances. Register now for early bird rates, which can be done online popupraces.ie/race/courtown-colour-run-2019.

Gorey Musical Society

Calamity Jane was a great success and the Gorey Musical Society would like to extend its thanks to the prime sponsors, sponsors, patrons and associate members, without such generous support this production would not have been possible.

Thank you to the director Chris Currid, musical director Conor McCarthy, choreographer Clodagh Leacy and the fabulous cast and costume team. Thanks to the raffle organisers, make up artists, Paul, Frank and all of our back stage crew, front of house, ushers, Gorey Little Theatre and last but not least to the faithful audience.

Darkness into Light

The annual Darkness into Light Walk 5km will take place in Courtown again this year on Saturday, May 11, beginning at 4.15 a.m. from Flanagan's Wharf. Each year the community comes together to walk or run in support of Pieta House.

Last year over 1,000 people attended the Courtown walk and raised over 28,000, which goes to supporting the work of the charity such as one to one counselling services as well as the 24-hour suicide helpline. To register now for the event or find out more about the work of Pieta House, visit darknessintolight.ie/event/courtown.

Bridge club holiday

This year's bridge club holiday is to Spain, and the club members will jet off from September 17 to September 24. This year's' package, which costs 795 per person sharing, includes return flights from Dublin to Malaga with 10kg checked bag, airport transfers, a day trip to Granada with an English speaking guide, seven nights in the four star Plas Granada Club Resort on half board basis including wine with dinner and of course five nights of bridge. Phone Podge for more details at 053 9482740 or book direct with Killester Travel at 01 833693.

Choir Festival

The festival of choirs will take place over four days from Thursday, May 9, to Sunday, May 12, and will consist of 25 choral groups taking part of all ages and range. The largest event being organised will be a special celebration of a gala concert to mark Gorey 400, taking place at the Ashdown Park Hotel at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 10.

Other events will take place in Gorey Library, Ashdown Park hotel, Gorey courtrooms, St Michael's Church as well as Creagh School.

Primary and post primary school children will be taking part, as well as adults of all ages, and listeners can enjoy a lot of variety during the festival, from jazz music to acapella and light popular music.

No tickets will be required for any of the events but donations are welcome, with all funds raised going to Wexford Hospice Homecare Service. For more details visit Gorey Festival of Choirs' Facebook page or call 087 9890470.

Afternoon tea

On Sunday, May 5, Wexford Lavender Farm at Coolnagloose, Inch, is hosting afternoon tea from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to support breast cancer research. The cost is 14 per person, which includes refreshments, cakes and sandwiches.

There will be live music from the Cantabile choir. Booking is available online.

Gorey Youth Needs AGM

On Friday, May 3, at 11 a.m. Gorey Youth Needs will host its AGM in Gorey Youth Needs Centre, which is located on Mary Ward Lane, St Michael's Road beside Gorey Community School.

This open meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to get a snapshot of the services provided by Gorey Youth Needs, including Little Daisies Childcare as well as Gorey and Courtown youth training initiatives, and all are welcome to attend.

Gorey-Malawi presentation

The Gorey-Malawi Health Partnership will hold an information meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, at Gorey Library.

There will be presentations from staff and those involved in the locality, as well as people from Malawi visiting to discuss their work and association with the health partnership.

All are welcome to attend to learn more about the medical work of the organisation.

Druid Theatre

Druid Theatre will be performing at Gorey Little Theatre between April 30 and May 1. The theatre will perform Furniture, a selection of three one-act plays by Sonya Kelly and directed by Cathal Cleary.

Garrett Lombard, one of the stars of the show, hails from Gorey and began his acting life in Gorey Little Theatre.

His mum and dad are still prominent members of the group. The show is touring nationally and is long listed for the Irish Times award getting rave reviews. Tickets are 25 and available to purchase from goreytheatre.ie.

Author Visit

Irish author, Anne Griffin, will talk about her writing and her journey to publication at Gorey Library on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

Anne's critically acclaimed debut novel 'When All is Said' is topping the charts and has gotten her noticed by other authors, such as John Banville, calling her book a 'rare jewel'. Please phone Gorey Library at 053 9421481 to book a place.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill Gorey shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The team are currently accepting donations of clothing, footwear, homewares, CD/DVD and furniture. To volunteer, please call into the shop for a form.

SVP shop

The St Vincent de Paul furniture shop in Gorey welcome donations of good clean furniture, bric-a-brac, etc. They will collect furniture if needs be.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For more information, call 086 3962260 or 089 4439667.

Shedfest

The annual Shed Fest at Buffers Alley will take place on Saturday, June 22.

Details will be announced at a later date.

Work Matters

Work Matters Start-Up business event will take place on the Tuesday, May 7, in Gorey Library, aimed at helping local entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. The library are happy to welcome Dermot Casey, Venture Investment Leader with the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), which aims to build and invest in very young digital companies, or startups. It provides startup teams with supports such as cash investment, accelerator programmes, mentoring with industry experts, workshops, networking events and other opportunities to develop your business. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and for more information on the event call Gorey Library at 053 9421481.

Gorey ICA

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the Loch Garman Arms at 8 p.m., new members welcome. Congratulations to Nola Farrell Gorey ICA Guild on coming third in the Comortas Gael Linn.

400 reasons to love Gorey

The Gorey Polish Cultural Association are getting behind the '400 reasons to love Gorey' campaign. The group is inviting the public contribute and give a reason why they love living here in Gorey, visit the Facebook page or search gorey.pl/gorey400 to take part. On completion of the project, a mural will be created.

Coffee Time

Gorey Methodist Church invite all to Coffee Time a free coffee morning that occurs every Wednesday, from 10.30 a.m. till 12.30 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to come in for a tea or coffee and of course a chat on the day.

Thank you

Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club committee chairperson Monica Fallon would like to thank Cllr Robert Ireton and his wife Mary for their continuous support, and all the other ladies and gents as well as young children, who came along to the Easter bonnet parade which was held on the Easter bank holiday Monday.

Monica also extends her sincere thanks to those who donated prizes for the best in show, and altogether the club collected 257 during the parade.
Visual artist James Kirwan is from Gorey and he has been making a name for himself both around Ireland and on an international basis, and in autumn he brought his artistic talents back home when he completed a mural in spray paint entitled 'Albino baby Alligator' on the wall at Different Strokes art shop on St Michael's street in Gorey.

'When I completed that mural in Gorey, I just back from a trip to Canada, and that photo realism was something I haven't done in years. It was great to put those skills into practise but I surprised myself on how it turned out, it was so realistic,' said James.

He said that his murals 'all come about differently,' as sometimes he is invited to create one, it could be collaborative or else a spur of the moment.

James looks for reaction in his work, and he specialises in experimental work with form, abstraction, colour and subject through painting, drawing and digital work.

Enjoying the natural world, he took inspiration from the rural environment and landscape, growing up on the outskirts of Gorey, between the town and Carnew, and he spent his youth and his teenage years discovering his passion for art.

'Living in Gorey, where my parents still live, you walk in one direction you're in town and the other direction you're in fields, Gorey is small enough to be surrounded by nature, and my art was influenced by that,' he said.

'Art was something I loved doing in school, and I was good at it from an early age. I decided I wanted to go to art college early on and this direction for me really was a no brainer,' he said.

He took great inspiration particularly from his art teacher, Paul McCluskey at Gorey Community School.

James went to Gorey CBS national school and then Gorey Community School, before going on to study fine art at the National College of Art and Design until 2005.

After this, James lived and worked in Westport, County Mayo and from there went to Porto in Portugal to do an artist residency.

He currently lives and works in Dublin, being based from his own studio and is involved with creating work for exhibitions, commissioned pieces as well as his own solo ventures.

He explained that with his art, the wall comes first as the backdrop before an idea comes to him about what to put on the wall and he often does free styling from there.

'Dublin is keeping me busy and has been doing so for the last year or two,' said James, adding that he likes to come back to Gorey every few months.

'There's definitely more potential for art in Gorey, because there's so much creativity there between artists and musicians,' said James.

'As an artist, you're trying to better yourself and I look forward to experimenting new avenues and see where it'll lead me,' James explained.
Some of the attendance at the Easter Commemoration ceremony

Oulart is an area with a proud history and this history was well and truly reflected on Easter Sunday as locals gathered to mark 103 years since the 1916 Rising at the Mise Eire monument.

An ever-present, local historian Brian Cleary was master of ceremonies and spoke wonderfully about the contribution that young men from the area had made to Irish independence, linking the past with the present in typically articulate fashion.

The sun shone beautifully as Breda Jacob read aloud the Proclamation in front of the beautiful monument that was officially unveiled in October 2017.

With great reverence Brigid Mythen, whose father Luke and uncle Jim had been involved in the Rising as young men with the Oulart company of Irish Volunteers, listed off the names listed on the monument of local men who fought bravely for Irish freedom.

This was followed by a resounding performance of 'Amhran na bhFiann' while veteran 1798 pikepeople Maggie Furlong of Kilnamanagh and Jim Dunne of Moneyboe looked on in full costume.

The event saw a great attendance, among them Cllr Willie Kavanagh, Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, and James Browne TD.

'It was a simple and dignified event,' said Breda Jacob afterwards.

'We intend now for this to become an annual event. History is ongoing and it's important. We must remember where we are and where we've come from in order to understand where we are going so we're going to try and keep this tradition up.'
Experience life as a Norman at the Bannow 1169 Norman Festival this May Bank Holiday Weekend.

In May 1169 the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach in County Wexford and this weekend the village of Carrig on Bannow will hark back to life in Norman times for the Bannow 1169 Festival.

The festival will host battle re-enactments, and commemmorative ceremonies.
The sounds of North Connacht are to get the North Kerry toes a-tappin' at St John's shortly as Roscommon-based trad greats Gatehouse perform in Listowel on Thursday, May 9, next.

The concert comes as the group - comprised of well-known trad musicians John Wynne (on flute); John and Jacinta McEvoy (on fiddle and guitar/concertina respectively) and Rachel Garvey on vocals - releases its new album Heather Down the Moor.

St John's is the venue for a group that's been together for just the past few years, with the group posting their delight on social media at their imminent return to the intimate venue.

Gatehouse is steeped in the traditions of North Connaught, as well as the sean-nos traditions of Connemara in a repertoire drawing on the canon right back as far as another big Roscommon figure - Carolan. Former All-Ireland winner in both Irish and English singing Rachel meanwhile brings one of the most celebrated young voices in the trad scene to bear on proceedings.
Forty three people living in Kerry are among those who received Irish Citizenship at ceremonies in Killarney this week.

More people from the UK are seeking Irish citizenship because of the 'uncertainty' of Brexit according to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. 309 UK citizens were granted Irish Citizenship at citizenship ceremonies in Killarney on Monday.

In total 2,400 new Irish citizens were welcomed from 90 different countries.

409 Polish nationals were granted Irish citizenship along with 309 from the UK, 281 from Romania and 189 from India.

The presiding officers at the ceremony were Retired High Court Judge Byran McMahon and Retired District Court Judge Paddy McMahon. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan was also in attendance and he welcomed the new citizens. He said Ireland is a place of "openness and diversity".

"Today, you take an oath of fidelity to our nation and loyalty to our state. You will do so in the knowledge that this is a relatively young state - still less than a century since our independence was gained - is a place of culture where traditions are cherished and history is ever present. And to be sure, too, that this state is a place of diversity and openness," said Minister Flanagan.

Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, Ms Justice Tara Burns, addressed the three ceremonies at the INEC in Killarney and urged the new Irish citizens to vote in the upcoming referendum on divorce on May 24.

Voting rights in referendums and presidential elections are among the rights granted to the new Irish citizens.

In an interview with Radio Kerry, Minister Flanagan, said that people were not asked why they were seeking Irish citizenship but he said that Brexit had played a part in the increase in the number of UK residents seeking Irish citizenship.

"There has been an increase of people living in the UK of Irish descent and of UK citizens living here applying now to become Irish citizens...This is a trend following the uncertain discussion in Britain about their future relationship with Europe."
Campaigners against the encroachment of wind turbines around the village of Ballylongford are poised to fight what is effectively the same wind farm plan for a second time.

NMWT@Ballylongford group is now calling a public meeting in the parish hall for 11am on Sunday next to galvanise support ahead of a second campaign against efforts by firm Ballylongford Windfarm Group to erect 126.5m-high turbines outside the village.

The firm's plans for eight turbines were refused by the Council last year and An Bord Pleanala on appeal in January. But the firm is now submitting a fresh application for six turbines.

"We feel we are becoming locked in a permanent fight now against the plans to erect more and more turbines around our community," chairperson of the NMWT@Ballylongford (No More Wind Turbines) Tony Dowd told The Kerryman.

"There are now 31 turbines around Ballylongford with plans for forty more in train. It's a case now of 'welcome to wind farm alley' for people coming off the ferry."

Mr Dowd says the existing turbines are negatively affecting many, with people losing sleep.

"Decibel levels from a windfarm 700m from my home are equivalent to traffic from a major road. We need to start looking at off-shore wind power as is now happening in the UK, at a time when many of these windfarms here are being bought up by American investment funds."
The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme was officially opened by Minister Brendan Griffin and KCC Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley, pictured with KCC CEO Moira Murrell, CEO TII Michael Nolan, Ray OLeary of the Department of Transport and Director of Services at the Council Charlie OSullivan

More than 7,000 cars will use the new road between Milltown and Killorglin which was officially opened on Friday last.

The new route - already open to traffic for a number of weeks - has improved connectivity between north and south Kerry according to the local authority who were delighted to announce that the road was built in budget and on time.

The 11m project, one of the biggest road projects undertaken in the county in recent years, is a new 3.5km road between Milltown and Killorglin and one which allowed the removal of the dangerous Kilderry bends.

The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme, as the project was known as, was officially opened by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD and the Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley.

Contractors on the project were Sorensen Civil Engineering Limited. Planning approval for the scheme was granted in January 2014 and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the required lands was completed in June 2016.

The scheme was developed by the Kerry National Roads Office based in Castleisland. Friday's opening was attended by the Chief Executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Michael Nolan and the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell as well as local residents and many of the region's sitting councillors who have long campaigned for the necessary infrastructure for the local area and have welcomed the finalisation of the project for the region and all those who live and commute to the neigbouring towns.

Kerry County Council Chief Executive Moira Murrell thanked all 28 local landowners for their co-operation in providing the 42 acres of land required for the project. She added that the new scheme was vital for the mid-Kerry area and provided necessary infrastructure for the businesses located in the area as well as for local residents.

"This new road connects Milltown and Killorglin in the first instance. Milltown is a growing and vibrant town which has seen a huge increase in population over the past number of years and the development of two new schools, a new community centre and other facilities. Killorglin is a strategically important town which is home to a number of established industries including; Fujisawa Ireland Limited Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Temmler Ireland and Fexco Financial Services. It is crucial that those employers have improved access to their offices and factories," said Ms Murrell.

Minister Griffin said that he was thrilled to see this essential piece of infrastructure delivered for the benefit of residents, local businesses, tourists and all road users and he hoped that more such large-scale projects would come about in Kerry.

Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley said the opening of a piece of infrastructure worth 11m represented a very good day for the county. Cllr Foley remarked that the road offers spectacular views of mid-Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.

"I think it is fair to say that it offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the county, if not the country. The view over Callinafercy, Killorglin, Cromane, the mouth of the River Laune and beyond to the Dingle Peninsula is a sight to behold."
A man who racially abused and attacked a taxi driver in a shocking incident that went viral after a video was shared on line is understood to be from Kerry.

Gardai have questioned a man after a shocking video of a racist attack on a taxi driver appeared on social media.

The footage shows the man racially and physically abusing a taxi driver, and has been shared widely on Twitter over recent days.

It is understood the incident was recorded on Easter Sunday night in Dublin.

The man - who is sitting in the front passenger seat - is seen shouting "what's your favourite position?" in the face of the driver, before referring to him using a racial slur numerous times.

The man then proceeds to attack the driver, referring to him as a "f***ing c***" and punching him on several occasions.

The passenger, who is believed to be from Kerry, can then be seen to remove his seatbelt and accost the driver, requesting that he gets out of the car while claiming to be "a police officer".

Gardai have since confirmed that the suspect in the case is not a member of the Garda.

Gardai later confirmed in a statement that they had interviewed a man who had presented himself for questioning.

"Gardai in Clontarf are investigating the alleged assault of a taxi driver that occurred at approximately 10pm on the Malahide Road, Donnycarney on April 21," the statement said.

"A suspect in the case has presented themselves at a north Dublin Garda station and gardai are following a definite line of enquiry.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Clontarf garda station 01 6664800 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111," said a Garda spokesman.

Gardai have said that as the investigation is ongoing, they would not be commenting further at this time.

Derek Devoy, who founded Taxi Watch, a suicide prevention service run by taxi drivers, said he had been in contact with the man who he believes was the passenger involved in the incident.

Vincent Kearns, a former vice president of the National Taxi Drivers Union said incidents like this were not uncommon.

"There are no statistics on how frequently this type of abuse happens, but I can tell you, it's frequent enough. I've certainly heard of many cases of it," he said.
An intergalactic celebration will take place in west Kerry this weekend as Star Wars from across the world will gather for the annual 'May the 4th Be With You' festivals.

The celebration of all things Star Wars will include a host of fun activities for all-ages in Ballyferriter close to where the latest film in the blockbuster movie franchise was filmed.

Celebrating May the 4th, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe, a host of fun activities for all-ages will take place including an epic lightsabre battle, Yoda Yoga and outdoor drive-in movie screenings, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the West Coast.

Similar events will also be taking place in Portmagee and Valentia where scenes from the franchise were also filmed.

At the Ballyferriter festival fun family events for all ages include Jedi Training to help you find your inner Jedi; guided walks to explore film locations; Jedi Training with Ludosport Ireland; a virtual reality experience and children's storytelling by torchlight.

Visitors can also take a cruise aboard the MPV 'North Star' cruiser with a local skipper who will share local knowledge of Smerwick Harbour and Star Wars filming locations. There will also be guided walks to film location sites for all to enjoy.

Also new this year, Dingle native and five time World Champion Dancer David Geaney will bring his hit Broadway show, Velocity, to Ballyferriter alongside a John Williams musical tribute to Princess Leia, performed by the Kerry School of Music Orchestra.

Failte Ireland's Head of Festivals and Events, Ciara Sugrue said the event will not only celebrate the Star Wars Universe but the history and natural landscape of Kerry. For full details visit www.wildatlanticway.com
At the presentation of the 25,000 cheque (from left) front: Sean Furlong, Major Gifts Manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Colm Dolan and Stacey OConnor, New Ross Credit Union; back: Peter Walsh, Nick Cashin and John Dreelan

New Ross Credit Union recently made a donation of 25,000 to Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF), with money contributed from thousands of its members.

This donation was made from the local credit union's Third World Fund.

2 is donated to the fund from each member of New Ross Credit Union, and the chosen charity is decided at the company's yearly AGM. This money was donated to help Medecin Sans Frontiers with their works in Mozambique.

The impact of Cyclone Idai and flooding in parts of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe was devastating. Medecins Sans Frontieres teams were already on the ground when the cyclone hit, and once everyone was safely accounted for, they were able to assess the needs of affected communities, and rapidly deploy additional medical and logistical staff. Over 100 tons of emergency supplies were flown in. One month later, MSF has nearly 1,000 staff on the ground to respond to the disaster and they are supporting a massive cholera vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health in Mozambique to contain the spread of the outbreak.

So far, almost 750,000 people have received the vaccine.

A MSF spokesperson said: 'Many families are still struggling to find food, shelter, and healthcare services and it is critical that people in the areas hardest hit are not forgotten. People remain at risk of illnesses like malaria and malnutrition, which are common after natural disasters, and the local health system will take some time to recover. Thanks to MSF supporters, including the members of New Ross Credit Union, MSF teams will continue to provide medical care and other support to those affected by this disaster.'
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president, New Ross man Patrick Kent has rowed in behind Independent TD Mick Wallace, saying he has the bottle and ability to take on the big guns in the European Union, if elected in late May.

Having headed up the ICSA for almost three terms, Mr Kent stepped down from his position as leader of the body last week, to take up the role with Deputy Wallace, saying he left the organisation in a better shape than when he took on the role as its president in 2004. 'I was in the third quarter of my third term as president. It was an exit strategy.'

Mr Wallace is running for an MEP seat in the South constituency. Mr Kent will be advising him on agricultural policy. He is meeting Deputy Wallace this week to iron out the details of how he can assist him in his bid to get elected in Europe.

Mr Kent said the phone call from Mr Wallace had 'come out of the blue' and he has only met the candidate three times. He said he will take up the paid role and is focussed on getting Mr Wallace elected. He is second on a list of five replacements in the Dail named by Independents 4 Change MEP candidate Mick Wallace on his replacement list. Mr Kent has an in depth knowledge of Brussels, having bought cattle there since 30 years ago and lobbied for farmers in the city many times with the ICSA. 'We, in Ireland, are major food exporters. As lobbyists these are factors you have to take into consideration and Mick is aware of that and he will represent the farming sector in a very positive way.'

Although Mr Kent says he does not agree with Mr Wallace on everything, there are many synergies in how they view the importance of food and health in society. 'I think it's very important we have strong politicians in Europe. We need to fight in the place where the policies are made for Ireland Inc. Brussels can be a cold, austere city but Mick is well travelled and is not afraid to take on the big guns. We have elected people in the past who just don't have the bottle or ability.'

He said his time heading the ICSA has opened doors for him. 'I have no regrets. We have done a lot of lobbying and I will be pursuing different roles. Other options are appearing so we'll see what they offer.'
The quaint village of Carrig on Bannow will roar to life this weekend with an action packed 1169 Norman Festival.

It was exactly 850 years when the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach.

To mark the big anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in Irish history, the village will host battle re-enactments, a living history tented village, historical lectures, a commemorative ceremony and concerts featuring local and French musicians.

Visitors can enjoy an entire Medieval Living History Tented Village with 14 different living history tents which will showcase life some 850 years ago, 15 living heritage craft displays will also be showcased along with a display of Norman cavalry warfare and fully trained warriors will host battle re-enactments twice per day on Saturday and Sunday during the festival weekend.

Warrior training will be on offer for younger visitors with a chance to enjoy archery and a free replica Norman coin will be offered to all children who take part.

A civic ceremony will take place at Bannow Church on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. with officials from New Ross Municipal District in attendance. There will also be historical lectures in the marquee in the village.

On Saturday historian Turtle Bunbury will take to the stage and on Sunday Emmet Stafford will be the guest speaker. Both evenings will conclude with a musical concert marquee at Colfer's pub.

On Saturday the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned piece of music for the occasion by composer Greg French will be performed by local artists and guests and Normandy based band 'Strand Hugg' will headline the concert. Sunday evening's concert will feature Strand Hugg along with well-known local band Green Road.

Further details on all of the events can be found at www.bannow1169.com. Tickets for the Living History Village are 5 per adult, U18s go free; concert tickets are 15 per person.

Speaking of the festival weekend, one of the organisers John Murphy said: 'Bannow is a hugely historical location in Irish history. It is pivotal to the ancient heritage of Ireland's Ancient East and we are looking forward to bringing this history to life over the May bank holiday weekend with professional historical re-enactment groups who will create a fun fully impressive medieval experience for festival-goers.'

The Bannow 1169 Norman Festival takes place as part of a year-long programme of events in Wexford to mark the 850th-anniversary of the arrival of the Normans to Ireland.

Throughout the year historical talks and demonstrations, music concerts, landing re-enactments, workshops, medieval games and a Viking Fire Festival with a Norman twist, are all set to take place in Bannow, New Ross, Wexford town, Ferns and Enniscorthy under the banner 'The Normans Are Here.'
New Ross youths are benefiting from a pilot project aimed at helping 'detached' vulnerable people by alerting them about services they can engage in to help their personal, social and educational growth.

New Ross is one of ten towns nationally to benefit from the Detached Youth Work Programme.

Run locally by youth workers, John Caulfield and Hayley Rochford in New Ross since January, the outreach programme has already yielded some success stories.

Wearing a distinctive black jacket and casual clothes, John and Hayley are clearly identifiable as youth workers on patrol.

John said: 'It's a whole new concept. We don't use a youth centre; we're out walking the streets. The aim is to provide people with information on every service available to them in the New Ross and district area.'

Workers like John and Hayley engage with young people on the street on Thursday and Friday nights. Hayley said some youths act a bit wary when they are first approached. 'They have a joke and a laugh. We explain to them that they might see us around in the evening time. Some thought we were social workers. Our first engagement is to introduce ourselves. Some young people are happy enough to chat with us about CAO forms and jobs interviews and we give them the right route to information.'

This can involve directing them to Wexford Local Development's offices in New Ross, for example. 'They do a range of courses in their offices near Lidl and there is also the adult learning centre in Butlersland.'

Originally developed by Youth Work Ireland to identify "hot spots" in a locality, the Detached Youth Workers routinely visit these areas and gain the trust of targeted young people by talking to them and explaining who they are and what they do. Hayley said: 'The aim is to go out and identify young people who are at risk and who may have fallen through the cracks in society, be it in school, employment or mental health services. It's all based on an individual's needs. We got to young people who are vulnerable and get to know them and refer them to services. They feel like there is no place for them in New Ross to just hang out; there isn't even a McDonald's.'

She said the lack of adequate mental health services is impacting on many young people; some of whom are struggling with substance misuse issues.

'A lot of young people have to go through a referral route as there is nowhere for them to go.'

Both Hayley and John record the information surrounding the needs of vulnerable New Ross youths to stakeholders, without ever identifying the people they have come in contact with.

As John explains, it's all about building up trust with the people they meet.

'The big aim is to speak to the young people and to empower them and ask them what they need in their local area. We go out on the streets on a Thursday or Friday evening. It's early intervention work. We judge the situation and we have information on us from Youthreach, Youth New Ross and about training and courses and the Community Based Drugs Initiative Project.

We are a friendly face they can turn to. Sometimes they mightn't engage the first time we meet them but it's about building a relationship. From my experience as a youth work when you go to them in their environment they respond really well.'

Both Hayley and John are trained in child protection so they operate under child safety guidelines.

Hayley said: 'Parents can approach us about their son or daughter at home who is never off the computer; and it's within our remit to help. They might be always on their XBox or Playstation and the parents might have concerns about the child's social skills. Just from talking to people there is a lot of anxiety out there. You won't meet some of the young people on the streets (so we can go to their homes if requested to do so by their parents).'

John said school attendance and substance misuse are among the problems teenagers and young adults are contending with on a daily basis.

'People need a place where they can be a teenager that is not on the street. They need a safe environment to socialise in.'

Working with children aged ten right through to adults in their early 20s, Hayley and John said they have had a positive response so far.

'They are positive and want to have their voices heard. Looking at the facilities in New Ross for young people; they have nowhere to go unless you are involved in sports.'

The effectiveness of the three year programme is primarily demonstrated by the numbers of young people engaged each night, how many hours are spent engaged with the youths, and how many youth are referred to other agencies that focus on the youth's needs.

The Detached Youth Worker's goal is to improve the outcomes of youth lives in the short term as well as the long term by focusing on their individual well-being and their social interactions in the community in which they reside. This includes working to improve the youth's self-esteem, self-awareness, and empowerment. Building individual confidence in the youth helps the youth in the future because they will then be more independent, less inclined to engage in high risk behaviour, and have better overall health. The social implications for the youth include more stable family life, improved well-being, and increased community cohesion.

In the long term, the individuals are more likely to stay in school, so they are more likely to have better jobs and the community overall will be safer.

The Detached Youth Work model can be applied to both rural and urban settings and John said there are plans to roll it out to Campile and surrounding villages.

Hayley and John also plan to give talks to 5th and 6th class schoolchildren alerting them to the service they provide and are liaising with local principals.

'Hopefully more and more local youths will start using the service. I think the older ones are easier to engage with,' John said. He said there are services youths can join in New Ross, including at The Shambles youth centre at the bottom of Barrack Lane, where a youth drop-in service is provided, along with a Traveller Girls group meeting, among other services.

'By going out on the streets it shows to vulnerable young people that someone is taking an interest in them. Many youths engaged with us on the youth forums, we are trying to create a positive environment in New Ross.'

Hayley said: 'I think young people are tarred with the one brush. The perception that (many) older people have of young people in New Ross is very negative and a lot of them aren't giving young people the benefit of the doubt. The youths are still responding and positive towards us even if they are behaving in an anti-social way.'

John agreed, saying: 'Out of the kids we have met on the streets about only 1 per cent of them have been disrespectful.

'Respect works both ways. If we see someone standing in a shop doorway we tell them "you can't do that; there is someone living upstairs in an apartment". Many are frustrated with the lack of facilities.'

Kieran Donohoe of FDYS said: 'Detached youth work is quite innovative in that it tries to meet young people where they are. Not all young people are engaging with youth services so this is a way of making them aware of what services are available for them in New Ross and we are hoping to try and form some form of link between them and the services that are there.'

Mr Donohoe said the programme has given the FDYS a real insight into the needs of local youths.

'As a result the FDYS are starting to tailoring our services to meet those needs.'

This includes funding being provided to refurbish The Shambles and for the drop-in service to be opened two evenings per week; (it is currently only open on Friday evenings).

New couches and a sound system are being purchased for The Shambles after funding was released following a youth forum meeting in New Ross recently.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to work with a youth worker at the centre can contact John Caulfield.

He can be reached at john.caulfield@fdys.ie or on 086 8152381 and Hayley can be reached at hayley.rochford@fdys.ie.
New Ross Drama Workshop is in the final stages of preparation for its production of 'The Anniversary' by Bill MacIlwraith.

Directed by Rojer Whieldon 'The Anniversary' is a hilarious comedy set in the 1960s, brimful with sharp wit, sarcasm and caustic one liners!

The central character in this play, is 'Mum'- played by Margaret Rossiter. Margaret has great fun with the mischievous character

As we meet this 'unorthodox' family at curtain up, two of three sons have something important to tell Mum. Terry, (Shane McDonald) the pensive middle son, wants to leave the family business to emigrate to Canada with his wife (Brid Moloney) and children.

Tom, the youngest, (Nicky Flynn) wants to marry the latest in a long line of girlfriends, Shirley played by Seona O' Connor. Their problem is how and when to deliver their news - that is, if they can muster the bravery needed to tell her at all - because Mum, evil, malevolent and fanatically domineering, is used to getting her own way and intends to keep her world intact at any cost.

Throw the eldest son Henry (Peter O' Connor) into the mix and the family soon learn that all is not as it should be.

Director Rojer Whieldon is delighted to be directing his first full-length production with New Ross Drama Workshop and is ably assisted in the venture by his right hand woman, Kitty Warren. Carmel Furlong is production assistant for 'The Anniversary' with Nancy Rochford Flynn leading the stage management team of Carmel Furlong, Ann Kissane and Annette Stacey.

Costumes are being looked after by Peggy Hussey and Brid Walsh with Paul Walsh and Brian Geoghegan taking charge of lighting and sound for this production. Fully authentic 1960s hair styles will be created for the cast by Jenny Murphy-O'Neill of Vibe Salon in Rosbercon and Kitty Warren is change of make-up. A host of well-known faces from the group will be looking after the front of house. Terry Brennan and Macdara Murray have been tasked with the job of recreating the beautiful drawing room of the dysfunctional family.

The play takes place on May 9, 10 and 11 in St Michael's Theatre. Tickets are now on sale at St. Michael's Theatre on 051-421255.
A childcare group has taken issue with local and EU election candidates for their failure to mention the issue of childcare as a priority.

Referencing the candidate profiles in The Sligo Champion recently, the Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee expressed their disappointment that no candidate took on the issue of childcare as a priority.

"Childcare costs for parents are one of the most expensive in Europe. Parents are paying from 1,000 to 1,400 a month on childcare fees.

"Early Years Educators are earning just above the minimum wage, and Providers are struggling to keep their doors open," outlined a statement from the group.

A statement from the committee went on to explain that the Government spends 0.2% of GDP on Early Childhood Care and Education.

The committee outlined that the average spend in Europe is 0.7% and cited that the Government's spend has resulted in high childcare fees and low wages for educators.

SIPTU's Big Start Campaign is campaigning for proper Government funding for decent pay for qualified early years practitioners and high-quality early years services for children.

Commenting on the lack of representation for the sector by candidates, SIPTU Big Start Activist Lucy Davey stated, "In last week's Sligo Champion, 26 candidates seeking election in upcoming local and European Elections, set out their priorities.

"Although they all raised important issues such as housing, health, and education from primary school to third level, not one candidate mentioned the Early Years sector, despite it being the most underfunded sector in Irish society."

She added: "It is children and parents who would benefit from a properly funded childcare system. The childcare sector has been ignored and made feel invisible for too long. This is changing because we are now building a strong union in the sector, however, we would like to see more of our local politicians supporting our cause."

A member of Sligo Early Years Managers Network, and Big Start Activist Michelle Maitland said the workforce within the sector have no decent quality of living because of poor wages, resulting in staffing issues.

She cited that 28% of staff are leaving their job every year. "Our children deserve quality childcare, our early years professionals deserve a decent wage," she concluded.

SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Co-ordinator Ann O'Reilly said: "The Early Years Sector has been ignored by successive governments and public representatives for years, however workers in the sector now have a voice through the Big Start Campaign, they are taking a stand and refusing to be ignored any longer."

The statement from the group acknowledged that a number of councillors expressed their support for the Big Start Campaign at a recent Big Start Tree Planting event in Sligo IT on April 5th to celebrate National Tree Week.

Following this, Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee will be advising its members of those candidates at an upcoming Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) Information Event hosted by Sligo Early Years Managers Network which will take place on Monday, May 20th in the Sligo Park Hotel at 7.30pm.

The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2017/2018 covers the first year since all families became entitled to some State subsidy when using full-time, registered care for children aged up to six.

In this report is showed the average cost of full time day care costs 153.48 in Sligo.

Figures from the 2016 census revealed the average cost per week per child for pre-school children was 118.00, while the average weekly cost per primary school child was 73.00.

The average weekly cost for a child aged zero to 12 was 96, while the average weekly cost for one pre-school child was 133, 118 per child for two pre-school children, and 103 per child for three or more pre-school children.

Census figures set out that the average household weekly expenditure on paid non-parental childcare is 155.60. This was an increase from 2007, when the corresponding figure was 123.20. However, it should be noted that the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced in January 2010.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney previously quoted figures that funding for childcare had risen from 265 million to 574 million in the last four budgets and 200,000 children were now in subsidised childcare.
The correct cancer diagnosis of a mother of two could have prevented her months of bleeding and discomfort, her husband has said.

Jonathan Costello's wife Charlotte is currently undergoing a second round of treatement for a rare and aggressive type of cancer called leiomyosarcoma, which Sligo University Hospital failed to look into fully when she was admitted with severe bleeding last October.

The 44-year-old from Cartron Estate but living with her husband and two daughters in Glencar, was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe bleeding.

Jonathan told The Sligo Champion that even though Charlotte was bleeding heavily and was 'very sick' she was discharged from Sligo University Hospital on the same day.

"They said it was just the fibroids that she had a history of, that this causes this type of bleeding, which it does."

Jonathan explained that a radiographer who performed a scan said Charlotte probably needed a more detailed one because one of the fibroids was 'very very big' as opposed to the others.

"When we met with the consultant's registrar they said he felt it was more than likely an enlarged fibroid and that we'd be called in due course."

Charlotte was not called by the hospital for a follow-up consultation until December.

"A couple of weeks later she was getting sicker and sicker and we couldn't be waiting for them [Sligo University Hospital] to come so then we had to go private," explained Jonathan.

With no health insurance, the couple privately paid for a biopsy at the Galway Clinic and soon costs began to mount.

On November 1st she was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb and just one week later they were told it had spread to her lungs.

Jonathan described the period between being discharged from Sligo University Hospital on October 1st, to having surgery on December 9th in Galway, as 'horrific'.

"Because they said it was just fibroids and didn't do anything about it, Charlotte was bleeding all the time, everyday. You think in a modern system this wouldn't happen."

He continued, "A few days we'd have to rush down the road to Galway, she was losing litres of blood."

Jonathan stated that he does not assume his wife's cancer would have been eradicated if diagnosed in October in Sligo, but does believe her treatment was impeded.

In Novemeber Charlotte's tumour was showing on her abdomen.

Jonathan highlighted that Charlotte could not be operated on in Galway for some time as the tumour was too big and had to be shrunk first.

"Whatever about questioining if it would have spread [if a diagnosis was reached quicker], they couldn't operate straight away because they had to shrink the tumour because it was too big."

He recalled that on December 9th last things came to a head.

"She nearly bled to death on a Sunday morning.

"They had to do this operation and she ended up in intensive care."

Charlotte had to have a hysterectomy,

"If she was dealt with earlier all that bleeding and discomfort she went through, for private health service, she could have been dealt with two months before that."

Jonathan believes that if Charlotte's bleeding was looked into enough in Sligo she would have been spared months of discomfort.

"I did say to them up there [Sligo University Hospital] that we have two young kids and we are very concerned, the bleed was so heavy, yet we were discharged."

Father to Julianna, aged six and Alicia aged four, Jonathan explained that Charlotte finally got a letter from the Sligo hospital for a follow-up consultation a week after her surgery in December.

"We finally got a letter after everything was done, diagnosed, tumour removed and into starting chemo. It's ridiculous. I was raging, I couldn't believe it. It's such a joke."

He went on to explain that though the situation is not good, if they had waited for a follow-up consultation in Sligo things could be a lot worse.

"As bad as it is, we could be dealing with a situation where it could have spread further and we could be looking at months to live. That's how bad it is."

After a scan last February doctors told the Costellos that although the cancer hadn't spread, the tumours remained unaffected, and further stronger chemotherapy would be necessary.

"We're waiting on results of her second line chemo that she's on at the moment. When we get that then we'll know more and if it's working to try and hold it at bay or shrink it," he explained.

Looking forward in terms of ongoing treatments, Jonathan admitted that his wife will need 'a miracle' but is positive that further medical avenues are available.

As Charlotte's cancer is one of the rarest of its kind, Jonathan explained that this is why alternatives abroad are being considered depending on the outcome of the current regime of chemotherapy.

"Ultimately Charlotte will need a miracle for it to stop altogether, there's not loads it has happened to, but it has happened to people, so we have to try and hope that she'll react longer."

Referring to other drugs and treatments, Jonathan said in some cases people have got a year or two years on one drug which has stopped the progress of the cancer.

Charlotte is down for clinical trials at St James Hospital if needed and it is hoped there will be more alternatives available to her as time goes on.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of a GoFundMe page raising funds for possible alternative treatments abroad, the family are considering every option.

"We're waiting to see how her chemo's going to go first here in Ireland before we go and get the advice abroad, but we will have to get advice abroad at some point.

"Treatment abroad would be into the hundreds of thousands. It was 90,000 for Charlotte's last treatment here that didn't work," explained Jonathan.
Sligo University Hospital is providing a weekly outreach antenatal and gynaecology service from the Ballymote Primary and Mental Health Care Centre.

Ballymote was chosen as the location to cater for the large catchment area of South Sligo which includes the towns and villages of Ballymote, Tubbercurry, Riverstown and Geevagh. Also in this catchment area are the towns of Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon and Charlestown in Mayo and many other towns and villages in between.

This is the fourth outreach antenatal and gynaecology service provided by Sligo University Hospital in addition to the existing clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon.

Dr Ravi Garrib, Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology at Sligo University Hospital will lead the clinic in Ballymote, supported by Midwife, Leona Mulvey and the medical team. He said: "The aim of the new clinic is to bring high quality care as close to where the women who will use the service live and to avoid unnecessary trips to outpatient appointments in the hospital.

The women availing of the service in Ballymote will be seen by me and my team and this is exactly as it would be if we were running a clinic in the hospital. The outreach clinic is in a comfortable, modern building which is easy to access. Once the clinic is established it will also offer midwifery-led care.

"The outreach clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon have proven to be very successful and we expect the same for Ballymote. Women living in the catchment area will automatically be offered an appointment at this clinic from now on."
'We're being treated like cattle'. That was the opinion of matriarch of the McGinley family on Tuesday last following the seizing of cars and the partitioning of the halting site in the Connaughton Road car park.

Speaking to The Sligo Champion, Tilda McGinley said Sligo County Council were at fault and said they were given no prior warning to Tuesday morning's activities, which saw approximately seven cars removed from the car park where four generations of the family live.

The operation has also resulted in the top part of the car park now being cordoned off with the McGinley families being sectioned off by fencing and concrete kerbing to the lower part.

Mrs McGinley said the saga at the car park has been ongoing now for 35 years with Sligo County Council refusing to meanfully engage with the families in relation to sourcing a suitable site to relocate to.

Currently there are four families living on the site which is owned by Sligo County Council.

"This has been going on 35 years. We just want a site where we can be what we are and live the way we live. They're pushing us further down, the young children can't live like this."

She added, "When I came here 35 years ago I didn't think we'd be here this long, we don't want to be here, but my late husband refused to move out to Finisklin years ago because it wasn't healthy."

Asked if they would leave the site, Mrs McGinley expressed doubt citing that the younger people of the family were in school locally. Referring to previous interactions with the council, Mrs McGinley said the council would not listen to the family.

"We're trying to tell them that there would be no trouble if we moved to a proper site." Mrs McGinley said the council have ample amount of lands on the Old Bundoran Road.

She told The Sligo Champion she had no issue with the gardai but did say she believed Tuesday's events were a result of the council, gardai and business people in Sligo town working together.

"Look around you, there's plenty of places left empty by rich people. And this is what is being done to us. We're being treated like cattle and being pushed"

She added, "We were given no warning, they arrived here at 9.30am and the rest of the town knew."

Another member of the McGinley family described the events as 'scandalous and unfair'. Asked how she felt about the events, Mrs McGinley said she was 'ashamed and embarrassed' by it all.

"I offered cups of tea to the gardai they're just doing their jobs, it's the council who are at fault. We don't cause trouble when they come up here."

When asked about the issue of scrap cars at the site, Mrs McGinley said the cars were brought in to highlight to the council the need for a suitable site for the families.

"They [cars] were put in here so the council would see this isn't right, that we're here living like this."

Barney McGinley said: 'They're trying to break up the family', referencing previous occasions when the families were offered relocation sites miles from each other.

Mrs McGinley went on to explain that other locations were simply not suitable for personal reasons regarding tragedy in the family and health risks to children.

"Where they wanted to put us before there would have been trouble. We tried to explain that to them but they won't listen. If they put us on the Old Bundoran Road there wouldn't be trouble."

The family were offered a place in Finisklin many years ago but refused it as they felt living beside the dump and industrial estate was not suitable for young children.

In a previous interview with The Sligo Champion, Barney McGinley had indicated that the family were not seeking compensation in order to relocate. The family took issue with the level of garda presence at the site during Tuesday's events and outlined a previous incident when gardai had visited the site.

"They would be better off trying to solve murders in the town than be here," said Mrs McGinley, whose own son was murdered in 2005.

"Look at the amount of gardai that are here today. If there was an ATM pulled out of a wall you'd only have one or two gardai there. It's madness," said a younger member of the family.

Mrs McGinley singled out Chief Executive Officer of Sligo County Council, Ciaran Hayes for his role in Tuesday's operations.

"Ciaran Hayes is behind this. Would you want your children living like this?," Mrs McGinley asked.

In a response to media queries in relation to works at the car park, Sligo County Council confirmed it was carrying out the works and set out what was being undertaken.

The response detailed that a 'clean up of the area' was being done, which would involve the removal of 'end of life vehicles, scrap, waste, containers, etc'.

The statement continued, "Numerous complaints have been made to the Council relating to the activity and behaviour of those resident in the car park and the manner in which activities in the car park detracts from the area." It outlined that repairs and improvements to the height control barrier were also being carried out.

"The barrier was the subject of an attack in which it was damaged and rendered ineffective. Today's work will restore height control to the car park."

According to the council, part of the car park that was cleared of waste will be restored and returned to its 'original condition'. Addressing the heavy garda presence, the statement detailed a 'risk assessment for the site'.

"As with all construction operations planning for the work includes a risk assessment. Given the history relating to the site which includes violence to Council staff, the Gardai are in attendance to ensure safety of the construction workers and maintenance of public order."

The Council said it was not in a position to comment in relation to discussions with the residents of the car park concerning 'provision of accommodation or offers of accommodation made to individual families.'
A new Customs Training Workshop to help companies with importing and exporting when the UK leave the European Union is being run by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow.

The course, which is free and is taking place on Monday, May 13 in Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew. It is open to all small businesses and business people in the region who may be directly or indirectly affected by Brexit.

The workshop, which is an initiative of the Government of Ireland being delivered by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, will help businesses understand all elements of dealing with the UK as a 'third country' outside of the EU single market. This includes administration around imports and export, customs formalities at borders, tariffs and the possible knock on effect of these tariffs and import procedures such as Electronic Declaration process and Automated Entry Processing.

Vibeke Delahunt Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Wicklow said; 'The Local Enterprise Offices have been working closely with their 7,000 client companies ever since Brexit was announced in 2016. Each one of our companies has been contacted directly in relation to Brexit supports and in 2018 we had over 4,000 attendees at Local Enterprise Office Brexit information events. These Customs Training Workshops provide practical information to these businesses to ensure when the UK leaves the European Union, there are no shocks for them. We would say that any small business that has yet to plan for Brexit, it is not too late and the door of your Local Enterprise Office is open to help you plan for this year and beyond.'

The Customs Training Workshops are just one strand of the supports that the Local Enterprise Offices have supplied to their clients on behalf of Government across the country since Brexit was announced in 2016. This includes scorecards from Enterprise Ireland to evaluate exposure, financial support to trade online, Brexit loans, grants to support exporting into new markets and LEAN programmes to increase company performance, competitiveness and resilience.

The Customs Training Workshops were officially launched in February by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D., and Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., to aid all small businesses deal with customs procedures ahead of the UK leaving the EU single market.

To secure a place on the Customs Training Workshop head to Local Enterprise Office Wicklow's website www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said of people who protested at his home in Greystones on Sunday that their mask has slipped.

'Their mask slipped, we see now where their allegiances lie and it is not to our republic,' said Minster Harris on RTE Radio's News at One on Monday.

Around eight members of a group calling themselves 'Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group' protested outside the houses of Minister Harris and former banker Sean Fitzpatrick, also in Greystones.

A garda spokesperson said that gardai attended the scene of a protest at a Greystones House. 'Protesters have left the scene peacefully and enquiries will be carried out,' they said.

This was the second time the group targeted the house of Minister Harris, where his wife and baby daughter also reside.

'It's an attempt to intimidate,' said Mr Harris. 'This is the second time they have visited my home. It causes huge disruption to my family and neighbours.

'It's very important to send a message that as a people, as a Republic we don't support their actions. I know the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner are going to continue to monitor the situation. There is an obligation to make sure that these things are managed and that people's dignity is maintained.'

In a statement, the group wrote: 'On Sunday, the 29th of April [sic], we conducted a peaceful assembly at two of this states [sic] most notorious figures.

'To hold them accountable for their actions, which have directly affected the health and financial wellbeing of the nations [sic] people. The first was Simon Harris, who's [sic] actions or in some cases lack of actions have directly resulted in the death of our people. The second was Sean Fitzpatrick who's [sic] criminal actions directly affected the financial depth of our people.

'The state has failed once again to act in the interest of the people and hold their elite friends accountable for their actions.'
Selma Blair cannot imagine feeling okay again following her MS diagnosis.

The Cruel Intentions star - who has seven-year-old son Arthur Saint Bleick with former partner Jason Bleick - revealed in October she had been diagnosed with the illness, which affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

And she has now said her battle against the condition has left her feeling sick as all hell, and shes not sure if shes ever going to feel better.

Posting on Instagram, she wrote: Heres a truth. I feel sick as all hell. I am vomiting and all the things which are not polite to speak of. My son ran away. From me. I have to get him to school. The medical treatments take their toll. I am going to get through this. We do. This will pass. And to moms and dads who watch their kids sick on things we take to get better... I hold you. So glad this is me and not my child. I cannot imagine ever feeling ok again. #roughday. We get through. #realitycheck (sic)

Expand Close 91st Academy Awards  Vanity Fair  Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 24, 2019  Selma Blair. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok / Facebook

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The post comes just one day after she shared an image of herself getting a plasma infusion, as she said she was grateful to the universe for helping her cope with the illness.

She wrote: "This is not a sad post. Nor am I showing any tubing although I find it all curious. This is me grateful. Thank you universe. Thank you donors. Thank you my friends and all who aim to find their way to feeling their strongest. Whatever form that takes."

Selma, 46, revealed her MS diagnoses in another Instagram post thanking her Another Life costume designer Allisa Swanson for helping her to get dressed.

In October, she wrote: "She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understand producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for direction from a broken gps. But we are doing it."
The administrators of the collapsed Orla Kiely fashion empire raised 75,000 from a sale of leftover designer goods.

Administrators organised direct sales of Ms Kiely's signature quirky print items via a pop-up shop in the run-up to Christmas and three auctions.

The details are in the first progress report filed to Companies House in the UK by the administrators of Kiely Rowan, which went out of business last September with debts of 7.25m (8.1m).

Joint administrator Chris Newell previously estimated the sell-off of stock would realise around 45,000 to 60,000 (53,000-70,000).

He also confirmed a further 30,000 (35,000) was raised from the sale of items in the US that was not anticipated in the firm's statement of affairs.

However, any gains made from the higher than expected realisation of stock have been almost wiped out, with Mr Newell writing off the prospect of recovering 26,000 (30,500) owed to the firm by debtors.

A connected entity, Killyon Stem LLP, held licensing agreements with manufacturers on behalf of the brand. Administrators for that firm are expected to receive a minimum of 73,000 (85,800) in royalties.

Mr Newell said he expected there to be a payment from the administration of Killyon Stem LLP into the Kiely Rowan plc administration but that the final amount was uncertain.

The firm's secured creditor, Metro Bank, is owed 2.15m (2.52m) and Mr Newell says "it is not anticipated the secured creditor will be paid in full".

Mr Newell's colleagues had to assist former Orla Kiely staff to obtain payments from the UK Redundancy Payments Office.

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He said 'preferential claims' relating to holiday pay and wage arrears were estimated to be at 97,412 (114,551) and to date preferential claims had received of 41,398 (48,684).

Unsecured creditors will be left empty-handed. The administrators currently estimate a deficiency in assets of 7.3m (8.58m).
Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2019 in London

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

(L-R) Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L), talks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (R) as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand by attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex waves after attending an engagement with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) at City, University Of London on January 31, 2019

They say the baby might be on its way! read my text to my mum the other night.

Hmmm, I think itll be a boy, came the swift reply. James, Arthur or Alexander do you reckon? I write back. No, this isnt me who is about to give birth, its not even a close friend or relative, but my mother and I instinctively know who were referring to: Meghan Markle.

Since the moment the 37-year-old shed her Suits star title and took on the mantle of Duchess of Sussex, speculation has been rife about when wed hear the pitter patter of tiny royal feet.

Since confirming the news last October, the royal pregnancy has been a veritable feeding frenzy: bump speculation, bump shaming, doula and home-birth shocks...and much like many others, Im slightly ashamed to admit that Ive been lapping it all up.

Expand Close Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

Of course there will be plenty of people reading the royal baby headlines and rolling their eyes asking the inevitable question of commenters 'round the world, 'Why is this news?' But there's undeniable public interest in the workings of Meghan Markles womb, bizarre a construct as it is.

This however, begs the question - is her pregnancy one of those occasions where what constitutes public interest isn't actually in the public interest and do we really need to know everything about Baby Sussex's arrival?

I had a baby almost exactly a year ago so its fresh in my memory just how irksome speculation in ones unborn infant can be. People mean well, but particularly if youre a geriatric mother (something Meghan and I have in common) then carrying a baby and delivering one can come with a large dose of anxiety and you really dont need any added stress on your plate.

It was initially reported that the duchesss due date would be the end of April, now making her overdue, something fairly common with a first child. Both my boys went 16 and 12 days over respectively and I was ready to punch people in the face for texting and querying any baby yet?, I can only imagine what its like to have the worlds press doing the same.

Then theres all the judging. Every new parent just wants to do the best for their child and Harry and Meghan will be no different. Ive no doubt the parents-to-be will have done their research and if the home birth, doula route is what theyre hoping for then theyll have come to that decision themselves for the best reasons.

Again, I feel a kinship here having opted for a doula with my second-born, but while I just had the occasional elderly relative raise a confused eyebrow at the word doula, Harry and Meghan have had to deal with reams of press and online coverage dissecting and weighing their decisions.

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While its unlikely the Sussexes are wading through the comments section of every article written about them, but the establishment of their Instagram page (and the very clear voice of Meghan that one hears reading that page) suggests a certain level of media savvy and engagement with the online world. Who knows what shes read and how upsetting that might have been?

The lines of royal private life  and indeed all our lives  are increasingly blurred by the accessibility and intimacy of social media. Everything is content. I personally posted a snap to Twitter soon after I had my baby and the wave of likes only added to my post-birth, oxytocin high. I was in love with my little bundle of joy and had an overwhelming urge to share that. Perhaps Meghan will be the same.

Expand Close Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Should she feel under pressure to share a newborn photo? No.

Should she, like her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, feel compelled to don high heels and blow dry to pose for a post-delivery photo just hours after delivery? Dear Lord no.

Should Meghan and Harry feel any duty to disclose the details of labour, cord-cutting and birth weight? Absolutely not.

As royals, their role is to show up for ribbon cuttings, champion good causes and try not to cause a scandal.

Theres something very uncomfortable about the tone of some of the royal baby watch coverage, that seems to suggest that just because Meghan and Harry are in the public eye and part of a family that receives publicly funded money, then the public is somehow entitled to ownership of them and their offspring.

No matter what your status and finances are, no one has the right to tell you what to do with your body or the little person that might come out of it. Everyone should have the right to personal autonomy, something I feel is especially pertinent when it comes matters around women and their bodies.

By choosing not to follow protocol and keep the public up to date on babys arrival (imminent or already past) Meghan is actually sending a much more powerful message that, regardless of who you are, youre entitled to privacy. No womans womb should be up for public debate.

So even though Im nosey and dying to hear all about the squishy newborn, keen to see who he or she looks like and curious to learn how the delivery went  I hope its only because the royal couple choose to share those details, not because they feel obligated to.

Until then, mum, myself and the rest of the world will just have to keep playing the guessing game and checking that Sussex instagram page.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

May The Fourth Bewitch You  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 4, 2019

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine attend the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, and his wife Anne attend the funeral service for their three children who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark May 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

The billionaire behind online clothing retailer Asos and one of the UKs largest private landowners bid farewell to three of his children at their funeral today.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, is Denmarks wealthiest man and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

They set up the company Wildland in 2007 with the stated aim of restoring and conserving landscapes for future generations.

They lost three of their four children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks on Easter Sunday.

Expand Close People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Today, they bid a final farewell to their three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes at a funeral service. It was attended by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine.

Their daughter Astrid cut a bunch of balloons free from one of the coffins outside Aarhus Cathedral.

Expand Close Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsens wholesale fashion business Bestseller, told the Press Association in the hours after the attacks that the couple had lost three children.

Mr Holch Povlsen has a net worth of 7.9 billion US dollars (6.1 billion), according to Forbes.

Expand Close The Bestseller company owner Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne in a file photo. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Jonas Olufson via REUTERS / Facebook

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The businessman owns the international clothing chain Bestseller and is the biggest single shareholder in fashion retailer Asos.

He and his wife have acquired several Highland estates over the years, including Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms, Strathmore in Sutherland and Braeroy in Fort William.

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On the Wildland website, Mr Holch Povlsen writes: "From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape."

He describes the couples responsibilities as landowners as a "labour of love", adding: "It is a project that we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands."
Well-wishers arrive for the first public appearance of Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's child population has declined for the 38th year in a row and is now at a record low, the government said.

The number of children younger than 15 stood at 15.22 million on April 1, down 180,000, or 1.2%, from last year, the Statistics Bureau said.

It is the lowest number since comparable data became available in 1950.

The figures were released ahead of Children's Day on May 5.

Japan's birthrate has remained low amid a lack of support for working women, who continue to face the burden of homemaking and other traditional roles, as well as excessively long working hours and high education costs.

With children making up just 12.1% of its population, Japan ranks lowest among countries with a population exceeding 40 million, followed by South Korea at 12.9% and Italy and Germany at 13.4%, according to the Statistics Bureau figures.

As of 2017, Japanese women on average gave birth to 1.43 children during their lifetimes. That compares with nearly 1.8 in the US and Britain.

According to the latest government statistics, the number of births in 2018 fell to 921,000, the lowest since Japan began recording such statistics in 1899.

Japan's total population fell by 448,000 people, a record decline, to 126 million.

The population is forecast to fall below 100 million by 2050, barring a huge influx of immigrants.

Japan last month started allowing more foreign workers to ease a labour crunch.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe has said ageing and the low birth rate are a national crisis. He has promised labour and other reforms to help alleviate the burden on families that discourage couples from having more children.

Longer life spans in Japan have added to rising costs for elderly care and social security.

Conservative legislators in Mr Abe's government have at times blamed the elderly or childless for long-term demographic trends.

Gaffe-prone finance minister Taro Aso earlier this year had to apologise for saying childless people are to blame for Japan's rising social security costs and declining population.
Indonesia made a stunning announcement this week that it will relocate its capital from Jakarta. The decision validates decades of warnings about the city's catastrophic flood risk due to sinking land and rising seas. While Jakarta is especially vulnerable to the threat of rising seas, it serves as a wake-up call for hundreds of major cities.

In making his decision, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the city can no longer support its massive population in the face of environmental threats, as well as concerns of traffic congestion and water shortages. Top of his concerns is surely the fact the city is subsiding. In the past 30 years, Jakarta sank more than three metres, a problem made only worse as the world's great ice sheets melt.

Jakarta is an extreme case, but by no means unique. Although Miami is often cited as the city most at risk, there are many highly vulnerable - and highly populous -cities around the world, including Mumbai and Calcutta in India, Shanghai, Lagos in Nigeria, Manila, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Tokyo, London, Houston and Tampa. In fact, thousands of coastal cities and rural communities globally are not only at risk, but already experience increased flooding during extreme high tides.

The swelling oceans demand we start designing for and investing in the future now. The latest projections for average global sea-level rise this century range from about one metre to as much as 2.5. Keeping it to the lower part of that range largely depends on extreme global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases far beyond current efforts. But even a 30cm rise in sea level can dramatically increase coastal flooding. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk.

Indonesia's decision to be proactive is something all coastal cities should do - what I call "intelligent adaptation". Instead of spending hundreds of millions on futile efforts to protect Jakarta from the dozen rivers which run through it - extending fragile walls never engineered to cope with the present threat - it will now start investing in a new capital city with a sustainable future.

Aggressively reducing carbon emissions could avert the worst scenarios, but sea-level rise probably cannot be stopped this century. The planet has already warmed 1C, meaning glaciers will go on melting for centuries.

Engineering for greater "resiliency" - the new buzzword - is a great idea to prepare for short-duration flood events such as from hurricanes. But preparing for rising sea level requires adapting to a new normal.

Coastal communities should be crafting 30-year masterplans to positively address the threat. For example, Washington is on the Potomac, a tidal river, and already experiences occasional flooding during extreme high tides and stormy weather. Rising seas will make that worse, but the city can probably protect itself with various forms of flood barriers.

Most vulnerable cities are not so fortunate. The sea is rising. We must rise with the tide.

 The Washington Post
Cyclone Fani is the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years (stock photo)

Three people died as the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years left a trail of destruction through the north-eastern coastal state of Odisha yesterday.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri with wind speeds exceeding 200kmh before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswar and forcing more than a million people to take refuge.

Arun Bothra, inspector general of Odisha police, described the damage in Bhubaneswar as "massive".

Winds were so severe that they ripped roofs off buildings and toppled industrial cranes, trees and double-decker buses.

At least 160 people in the town were injured. In Puri, a teenager was reportedly killed when a tree collapsed on him, while in Nayagarh district a woman died when she was struck by flying concrete. The third casualty was a woman (65) who died of a suspected heart attack after seeking refuge at a cyclone shelter.
Authorities in Curacao have boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440ft ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth told the Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

We will go on board and do our job, he said, adding that authorities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when were talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance.

Expand Close The Freewinds docked in St Lucia (Bradley Lacan/AP) / Facebook

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Authorities are concerned that people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Dr Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor on April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early on Saturday.

Dr Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it is a small ship.

This is what happens when we dont vaccinate, he said.

Symptoms include a runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in some cases.

Measles has affected more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

According to the Church of Scientology website, the ship is the home of a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling. It says religious conventions and seminars are also held aboard.
Candles are placed next to a photo of Madeleine McCann inside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2017, where a special service was held to mark the 10th anniversary of her disappearance. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Scotland Yard commissioned the last official age progression of Madeleine McCann in 2012.

MISSING: One of the last pictures taken of toddler Madeleine McCann

Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.

Scotland Yard passed information to Portuguese police about the apparent kidnap suspect, who was in Portugal in May 2007, the Lisbon-based Expresso newspaper reported.

The man had been investigated over alleged child sex offences at the time, according to the paper, which quoted a judicial source.

The reports come on the 12th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance as her mother Kate attended an emotional prayer vigil at her home village in Rothley, Leicestershire, marking the occasion.

Madeleine's father Gerry, a heart doctor, was reportedly in Italy on work business as Kate and her twins Sean and Amelie attended the service at a local Baptist church.

The girl was three when she vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz on the Algarve coast on May 3 2007.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Thursday the force was pursuing "active lines of inquiry" and has asked for more funding from the Home Office.

British police launched their own investigation, Operation Grange, in 2013 after a Portuguese inquiry failed to make progress.

Expand Close Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire / Facebook

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Force bosses have been applying for funding from the Home Office every six months to continue the inquiry, which has cost about 11.75 million so far.

Ms Dick said: "We have active lines of inquiry and I think the public would expect us to see those through.

"A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding."

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Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors and devout Catholics, have always pledged never to give up the search for their daughter.

In a statement on Friday, the 12th anniversary of her disappearance, they said: "The months and years roll by too quickly, Madeleine will be 16 this month.

"It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.

"Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief."
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the UK's Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

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The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

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Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The British Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the UK government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blair's humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago after they lost almost 1,200 council seats.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a voter backlash over Brexit.

On a night described as "brutal" by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live television interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents.

Labour, which had expected to profit from the Tories' failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful opposition leader of the past 40 years. Mrs May has been warned by her own ministers she must not now bow to Labour demands for a customs union with the EU ahead of fresh Brexit talks with Mr Corbyn, or she will face further electoral disaster.

In separate interviews, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt said the UK had to be in control of its own trade policy after it leaves the EU, rather than letting Brussels remain in charge.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the Tories faced an "existential threat" from Mr Corbyn, while Tory Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin said the party was "toast" unless it delivered Brexit.

As she addressed the Welsh Conservative Conference, Mrs May was heckled by a party member who shouted: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you!"

The Tory MP Michael Fabricant said "the cancer in the Conservative Party must now be excised" as he launched a vicious attack on Mrs May's leadership, saying "a new leader and a clean break from the EU" were needed.

With fewer than 10 councils still to declare last night, the Tories had lost control of more than 40 councils in a result that far outstripped their worst fears of an 800-seat reversal.

It was the party's poorest showing since 1995 when they lost more than 2,000 seats to a rejuvenated Labour Party that swept them from power in Westminster two years later and kept them out for 13 years.

The Tories were not alone in being punished for their Brexit failings, as Labour - which had predicted widespread gains - ended up with almost 70 fewer seats. Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, said the party had been "speaking with two voices" on Brexit and had been punished as a result.

The big winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained more than 600 seats, while the Greens won more than 160 extra seats on the back of recent climate change protests, and independents gained more than 200 seats.

If the results were replicated in a general election, Mr Corbyn would be prime minister if he could form a Labour-SNP-Lib Dem coalition, with neither of the two main parties coming close to winning a majority. Mr Corbyn hinted that a cross-party Brexit deal was in the offing as he said there was now a "huge impetus" on every MP to "get a deal done".

Downing Street has said it wants its Brexit talks with Labour to be wrapped up by the middle of next week, leading to speculation that Mrs May is about to cave in to Mr Corbyn's insistence on a customs union.

Mr Gove, the environment secretary, said a customs union was not "the best solution for Britain" because it was "critical" the UK maintained an independent trade policy.

Mr Hunt, the foreign secretary, said, "I am not a supporter of the customs union" and also said the UK had to be able to "negotiate our own trade deals".

At the Scottish Conservative Conference, Mr Javid said: "We are seen as a divided team. A divided party cannot unite a divided nation. The only winner from that is Corbyn."

 Daily Telegraph London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
After World War I and World War II, officials decided to dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of munitions into the oceans around Europe, which at the time appeared the most easily accessible disposal ground.

Some of the weapons - including mines containing mustard gas - were simply dropped into the Baltic and North Seas rather than being taken to faraway dump sites near the Arctic Circle.

But the hidden legacy of those world wars may come to haunt the continent for decades to come.

This week, Belgian newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported that officials have grown concerned one of the dump sites, close to the Belgian coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist, has started to leak. At the site, two out of 23 probed locations showed signs of contamination.

The revelation followed months of inquiries into what authorities fear could be a mounting public safety threat.

Used as a potentially deadly chemical agent during World War I, mustard gas can burn victims' skin, respiratory tract and eyes.

While mustard gas leaks from Europe's underwater weapons cemeteries were long considered a worst-case scenario, officials also are expressing alarm over leaks of explosives such as TNT from dumped land or sea mines.

While those substances have been contained inside metal cases for eight decades in the case of World War II, and about a century in the case of World War I, the metal has rusted and become porous.

Activists have blamed the leaks in part for decreasing biodiversity in the Baltic Sea.

More than 80,000 mines are believed to be lurking beneath the surface of the Baltic. Unlike the North Sea's mass dump sites, the locations of single mines are more difficult to track down. There are only vague maps of where the mines might be hidden, and most appear to be spread out across hundreds of miles.

Reminders of their potentially deadly impact have mounted. In 2005, three Dutch fishermen were killed after they accidentally caught an American-made World War II bomb in their fishing net.

Similar discoveries regularly trigger mass evacuations - last August in the Polish resort city of Kolobrzeg, for example, when three bombs were discovered in the nearby bay.

European navies help out with remote-controlled vehicles and clearance divers within their own territorial waters, but in some areas the density of explosives is believed to be so high that fishing is still prohibited there a century later.

Pipeline construction companies often hire private mine-clearance contractors to do the job if there is no way around it and when the explosives are found far out at sea, where European navies do not claim responsibility.

"It's unbelievable how many mines there still are," said Commander Peeter Ivask, the head of Estonia's navy. "Our mission here will last decades."

 The Washington Post
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Expand Close Israeli citizens look at the damage caused by a rocket fired from Gaza into the city of Ashkelon (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) / Facebook

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has said President Nicolas Maduro's generals are willing to defect from his regime imminently, as Spain vowed to protect the politician.

Speaking from the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Mr Lopez said: "It's a crack that will become a bigger crack... that will end up breaking the dam."

Mr Lopez said he had spoken with senior members of the military who supported the end of Mr Maduro's socialist government amid a failing economy and nationwide blackouts.

Spain has refused to hand Mr Lopez, a leading figure in the country's opposition movement, over to Venezuelan authorities, saying: "Spain trusts that the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of the Spanish ambassador's residence."

The politician had been under house arrest for months but escaped to appear alongside his successor in the movement, Juan Guaido, on Tuesday as they called for a military uprising aimed at toppling Mr Maduro.

He later sought refuge in the Spanish embassy after the uprising stalled.

Mr Lopez claimed he had met generals who were committed to ending Mr Maduro's "usurpation" and helped him escape his house arrest.

"I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he said, adding he believed Mr Maduro's government would fall "in weeks".
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
John Ruszczyk, father of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, speaks after the verdict was announced that Mohamed Noor former Minnesota policeman was found guilty for fatally shooting an Australian woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Craig Lassig

Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million for the family and $2 million to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

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Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia's prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defense after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by U.S. police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Boom: A missile is launched from a Chinese submarine during a military exercise in Chinas Shandong peninsula. Photo: Reuters

Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon has said.

The assessment is included in the US military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June.

In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a "Polar Silk Road" - building on President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative.

China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland, starting on Monday, which comes amid concerns over China's increased commercial interests in the Arctic.

The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

The Pentagon report noted that China's military has made modernising its submarine fleet a high priority. China's navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The report said China had built six Jin-class submarines, with four operational and two under construction at Huludao Shipyard.

In a January report, the Pentagon's Defence Intelligence Agency said the Chinese navy would need a minimum of five Jin-class submarines to maintain a continuous nuclear deterrence at sea.

The US and its allies, in turn, are expanding their anti-submarine naval deployments across East Asia.

The expansion of China's submarine forces is just one element of a broad, and costly $175bn (156.5bn), modernisation of its military, which US experts say is designed largely to deter any action by America's armed forces.
There are almost too many Democrats to count in the 2020 primaries - but any of the top five leading candidates would beat Donald Trump in a general election, according to the latest polling.

Despite the majority of those surveyed saying the president is doing a good job with the nation's economy (56pc), each of the five highest-polling Democrats on the campaign trail beat Mr Trump in CNN's head-to-head polling conducted by SSRS.

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Beto O'Rourke bests Mr Trump by the highest margin, with 52pc of voters saying they would vote for him compared to 42pc who said they would vote for the president in a race against the Texas Democrat.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each beat out Mr Trump as well with a 6pc and 7pc advantage respectively, while Kamala Harris leads the president by 4pc.

Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg - who has climbed in the polls in recent weeks and proved effective at national fundraising despite little name recognition - also would beat Mr Trump by 3pc, according to the poll.

Elizabeth Warren appears to be the only candidate polled in the SSRS survey who did not beat out Mr Trump, though the two politicians are effectively neck-and-neck.

While Mr Trump holds 48pc in a race against the liberal Massachusetts senator, Ms Warren maintains 47pc of support if she were to secure the Democratic nomination.

Mr Trump's acting chief of staff suggested voters would effectively return him to the Oval Office in the 2020 elections during a talk this week in California, where he foreshadowed the economy would serve as one of the top factors in his re-election victory.

"You hate to sound like a cliche, but are you better off than you were four years ago?

"It's pretty simple, right? It's the economy, stupid. I think that's easy. People will vote for somebody they don't like if they think it's good for them," Mick Mulvaney said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday passed their first climate change bill since regaining control of the House of Representatives, ordering Mr Trump to renege on his move to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accords at the end of his first term.

It also requires the president to meet US obligations agreed to by the Obama administration under the Paris Agreement of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28pc below 2005 levels by 2025.

The bill passed 231-190, with just three Republicans crossing the divide.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, however, warns it shall not pass, dismissing the gesture as "political theatre".

Even if it were to be allowed to reach the upper chamber for debate and went on to secure an unlikely Republican rebellion, Mr Trump would simply veto it as soon as it landed on his desk - as he did the recent motion of disapproval against his national emergency declaration - rather than row back on a campaign promise.

But that's not the point. The move allows the Democrats to capitalise on the urgency introduced to the subject by progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal, dragging global warming back into the national spotlight in time for 2020 and placing renewed pressure on the Trump White House to revise its view before the last grains of sand tumble through the hourglass.

Attorney General William Barr's snubbing of the House Democrats has ramped up the tensions between the White House and Congress, pushing the House closer to holding the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress and prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to liken Mr Trump to ex-president Richard Nixon.

The almost daily confrontations between the two branches of government increase the pressure on Ms Pelosi to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, a politically fraught move that she has resisted in the absence of strong public sentiment and bipartisan support. Many Democrats argue that the 2020 election is the best means to oust the president. But Democrats are infuriated with Mr Barr, who refused to testify on Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled hearing on his handling of Robert Mueller's report, and Mr Trump's defiance in the face of multiple congressional requests for documents and witnesses. ( Independent News Service)
Authorities work at the scene of a plane in the water in Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Sheriffs Office via AP}

A charter plane carrying 143 people has ended up in a Florida river at the end of a runway, though no critical injuries or deaths were reported.

The Boeing 737 slid off the runway and into the St Johns River after arriving at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged. Everyone on the plane is alive and accounted for, the agency posted, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

While the crash certainly was not ideal, Capt Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

It is not known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Capt Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

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He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Liz Torres told the Florida Times-Union that she heard what sounded like a gunshot on Friday night from her home in Orange Park, about five miles south of NAS Jacksonville. She then drove down to a Target car park where police and firefighters were staging to find out more.

Ive never seen anything like this, she said.

Ironically, our Special Operations team trained for an incident like this today with the marine units.  THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) May 4, 2019

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene and monitoring the situation, with family members who were expecting the arrival of passengers instructed to stand by.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.

Capt Connor said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are already on their way.
A SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying a load of supplies lifts off from Cape Canaveral (Nasa/AP)

SpaceX has launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station following a pair of power delays.

A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500lbs (2,500 kilograms) of goods.

The recycled Dragon  which is making its second space trip  is due to arrive at the orbiting lab on Monday.

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The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceXs rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic.

Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.

Minutes after lift-off, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the launch site.

SpaceX could not resist the Star Wars Day connection  Saturday is May 4  with the phrase May the fourth be with you being a pun on the movie series famous line: May the force be with you.

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station! Capture by the @Space_Station crew set for early Monday morning pic.twitter.com/oGs4IrBW9h  SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 4, 2019

Dragon is now officially on the way to the space station, the SpaceX launch commentator announced once the capsule reached orbit and its solar wings unfurled.

Until next time, may the fourth be with you.

The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the accident on April 20 which destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.

Earlier this week, SpaceX vice president Hans Koenigsmann said the company still does not know what caused the empty capsule to burst apart in flames on a test stand.

The capsules SuperDraco launch-abort thrusters were just a half-second from firing when the blast occurred.

And we have LIFTOFF! @SpaceXs #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station. For updates, visit https://t.co/FRrjhINIvY. pic.twitter.com/GSNtBBEl9i  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This first crew capsule had completed a successful test flight, minus a crew, to the space station in March.

SpaceX intended to re-fly the capsule on a launch-abort test in June, ahead of the first flight with astronauts on a new crew Dragon. The schedule is now up in the air, as SpaceX scrambles to identify and correct whatever went wrong.

SpaceX has been restocking the station since 2012.

LIVE ROCKET LAUNCH! Tune in to see us send more than 5,500 pounds of cargo to the @Space_Station aboard @SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Watch the countdown to liftoff at 2:48am ET: https://t.co/w9kweKx0Tn  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This latest cargo Dragon  the companys 17th shipment  is carrying equipment and experiments for the six space station astronauts, including an instrument to monitor carbon dioxide in Earths atmosphere.

The California-based company is also under contract with Nasa, along with Boeing, to transport astronauts to the space station.

It is unclear whether these commercial crew flights will begin this year, given the Dragon accident and Boeings own delays with its Starliner capsule.

Astronauts have not launched from Cape Canaveral since the last space shuttle mission in 2011, instead riding Russian rockets at a steep cost to Nasa.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
A man in jail after being charged with the murder of a young Davidson woman was found with a weapon this week.

Joshua Wade Kennedy, 35, was charged with felony possession of a dangerous weapon in prison on Wednesday, May 1. WBTV reported that deputies found a filed down toothbrush they said had been fashioned into a weapon.

Kennedy is in jail under no bond after being charged in the murder of Lakyn Jade Bailey in January. He is a registered sex offender in West Virginia and had been living in Iredell and Rowan counties.

Back in January it was determined that Baileys murder was a result of a meth drug deal that turned violent. She was found shot to death inside a car parked at the Country Cupboard Store on Statesville Road in Salisbury.

James Christopher Rife is also charged with murder and attempted robbery in the case.

The toothbrush was discovered inside Kennedys cell and he admitted it belonged to him.

WBTV reported that Kennedy told deputies he was using the toothbrush to pack paper into an abscessed tooth and he wasnt planning to use it as a weapon.
The Catawba Nation settled its land claim against the United States almost three decades ago but the tribe has yet to reclaim the territory promised by Congress.

When the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act became law in 1993, the tribe had a 1,017-acre reservation, Chief Bill Harris said in testimony on Wednesday. Only 317 acres have been acquired since then, far less than the 4,200 acres that were promised by Congress.

To help move closer to the goal, the tribe is hoping to add a mere 17 acres to its land base. S.790 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acquire the land, located in North Carolina, and ensures that gaming can be conducted there.

"We are staying in our heartland," Harris told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the hearing, The Shelby Star reported.

Chief Bill Harris of the Catawba Nation testifies before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 1, 2019. Photo: SCIA

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for the site more than five years ago. But the BIA hasn't publicly issued a decision, which prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham R-South Carolina) to introduce S.790 in hopes of resolving any uncertainties regarding the 1993 settlement act.

"The tribe is locked in poverty and the tribe's understanding that it had negotiated to acquire land within its Congressionally-established service area in North Carolina has been disputed, largely due to poor drafting of the act," Graham said on Wednesday. He is not a member of the committee but was invited to present a statement during the hearing.

The 17-acre site is located in Cleveland County, which is within the service area defined by Congress. It's about 47 miles away from tribal headquarters in neighboring South Carolina.

"It's clear that the benefits that Congress intended for the tribe through the settlement act have not been realized and this has resulted in disparate treatment for this tribe, when compared to other federally recognized tribes," John Tahsuda , the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior , said at the hearing.

Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image: Catawba Nation Project Brief

Despite that favorable comment, Tahsuda did not outright commit the Trump administration's support for S.790. However, he did not present any major obstacles to passage of the bill and his written testimony merely offered technical suggestions that he said would ensure the land could be placed in trust for the tribe.

The committee did not hear from any opponents of the bill at the hearing. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has raised objections.

"The proposed casino off of I-85 in Cleveland County would encroach upon Cherokee aboriginal territory - territory ceded by the Cherokee by treaty, and territory recognized as Cherokee territory by the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. The Catawba have no valid aboriginal or historical claim to Cleveland County," Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement on Wednesday

Generally, land placed in trust after 1988 can't be used for a casino. But Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act contains an exception that applies for tribes with land claim settlements, such as the Catawba Nation.

The exception has only been utilized sparingly. Since 1988, only two tribes -- the Wyandotte Nation and the Tohono O'odham Nation -- have opened casinos in connection with land claim settlements and only after lengthy political, legal and regulatory battles.

S.790 seeks to avoid such uncertainty by outright confirming that the land acquired for the Catawba Nation in North Carolina can be used for a casino.

The tribe otherwise is barred from following IGRA on its lands in South Carolina. The 1993 settlement instead authorized bingo halls for the tribe, subject to a tax paid to the state.

The operation eventually closed in 2017 due to limited viability. In his written statement, Chief Harris said the state got $12 million in taxes.

"As a result, the tribe essentially paid for its own settlement," he said.

The Eastern Cherokees operate the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and the newer Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel . Both are in the far western part of North Carolina, more than 130 miles from the area in which the Catawba Nation is seeking to open its establishment.

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Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif share a sizzling chemistry on the big screen and the success rate of their films are proof. After Bharat, the on-screen pair might reunite again. Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar has confirmed that the story for the third installment of the Tiger franchise has been found and is being developed. He has also discussed the story with the producer Aditya Chopra.

The first installment of the franchise, Ek Tha Tiger was helmed by Kabir Khan while the second, Tiger Zinda Hai, was directed by Ali. Both the films featured superstar Salman Khan alongside Katrina Kaif.

The director says he is yet to put pen to paper and will only start working on the project once his upcoming Bharat is out of his system.

I will wait for Bharat to release first. But Ive discussed the idea with Salman and Aditya Chopra both. I think there is a great film there in the story.

The director, who is currently busy on his upcoming film Bharat, might just cast Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together in the third part of the film series. Just a few days ago, Katrina had the most dignified take on her friendship with him. She had said,

"The best thing about me and Salman coming together to work is that theres no sense of us taking it for granted. We dont go to the sets thinking, dekhte hai. He knows that Im going to come after putting 1000% of my time and effort behind finding the character, doing my prep. He has that confidence in me and I know when he comes, hes going to come up with something unique. However, well, I know him or whatever our equation is, when we come on a set, we both come respecting that this is the producer and directors place and not a playground. Its not about fun and games but a professional territory. We come and we do our scenes and rehearsals. Thats how we work well together. Theres no sense of taking anything easy or for granted."

Bharat, a remake of the 2014 Korean drama Ode to my Father is scheduled to release on 5 June.
Director said, Only Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. Thor in this movie couldnt do it. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresees, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap. People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldnt feel too sad or angry about it.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Producer Boney Kapoor still finds it tough to come to terms with the death of his wife and actress Sridevi, and says it is impossible to forget her. At a recent talk show, Boney is seen opening up about how he is still trying to cope up with the loss.

Seeing the terrible situation in the country, slew of Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Riteish Deshmukh have prayed for the safety of those who have been affected by the cyclonic storm Fani. Here's what Bollywood celebrities have tweeted.

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport.
Years ago, he did a film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra that was a dramatic commentary on the socio political situation of the country. Actor Siddharth played a crucial role in Rang De Basanti that released in 2006, which is 13 years ago!

Screengra

Who would have thought that in 2019, he would be the one moral-policing and taking hilarious jibe at people? From taking a dig at PM Modi for his biopic to targeting Akshay Kumar for his so-called non-political interview with Modi, Siddharth is one actor who is using social media aptly!

People love him for his take on things around him and no wonder he has a large social media following.

After calling him the 'most underrated villain', Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his non-political interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Twitter

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Hey @realDonaldTrump since you're getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality. I have an Indian passport. DM me please.  Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) May 3, 2019

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added, "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots. One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time." Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others." Here are some of the most funniest responses to Siddharth's tweet:

Obviously. One needs to pay tax amounting to trillions, serve in Army for 150 years, Donate billions in natural calamities to ask very crucial questions like whether The President of USA eats mango.   Jack (@RoflJack_) May 4, 2019

Sorry Sid! The #Canadian may beat you to it!

Shorter flying time   Shazia Bakshi  (@Shazia) May 4, 2019

But dont forget to ask him whether he brushes from RtoL or LtoR...  Praky (@Praky18cool) May 3, 2019

Just one day ago, Akshay Kumar had clarified every speculation that raised questions around his citizenship. "I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport,"Akshay had tweeted.
After witnessing continued set of allegations and speculations around his citizenship, actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said his aim is to make India a stronger nation even though he holds a Canadian passport.

The actor, who recently made headlines for his candid and completely non-political chat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the subject of intense speculation about his citizenship after he did not vote in Mumbai on April 29 in the fourth round of the seven-phase polls.

Agencies

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport. His statement reads:

"I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others."

He also assured and added that he will continue contributing in his small way to causes he believes in and to "make India stronger and stronger".

Agencies

On Tuesday, a day after the elections, reporters tried to attack him during the special screening of the film "Blank"

Faced with questions on why he hadn't voted, the actor walked off, saying "Chaliye chaliye (let's go, let's go)."

Akshay is not the only one who has been in the spotlight for citizenship speculations as Deepika Padukone too was under a similar radar. But Padukone had cast her vote in Mumbai and shared a picture of her where she made her point loud and clear.

"Never has there been any doubt in my mind about who I am or where I'm from. So for those of you confused on my behalf... please don't be! Jai Hind! Proud to be an Indian go vote," Deepika wrote in her tweet.

In a video online, Deepika was also seen battling a tricky question on her citizenship at a press event. She said, "I hold an Indian passport... from where do you get this information anyway." Later, when she was cross-questioned about having been born in Denmark, Deepika said,

"But I still have an Indian passport. There's a lot of complication and I am very much an Indian, a proud Indian citizen."
Getting adequate sleep helps us lead a healthy life and now researchers claim to have figured out why lack of sleep increases susceptibility to heart diseases.

According to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Physiology, chronic short sleep is associated with increased risk of clogged arteries, heart disease, and thus increased morbidity and mortality.

Doctors have also identified the patients who might need to change their habits before they develop the disease. Heart diseases causes due to many reasons, but it is said that if you do not take adequate amount of sleep then it might affect your heart.

unsplash/representational image

In adults who regularly slept fewer than 7 hours per night, the levels of certain microRNAs (molecules that influence whether or not a gene is expressed) were lower.

These molecules play a key role in regulating vascular health and thus their levels are now recognised to be sensitive and specific biomarkers of cardiovascular health, inflammation and disease.

In other words, a lowered level of these molecules is associated with heart disease, so they could be used as a biomarker to determine who is more susceptible to disease.

unsplash/representational image

Researchers tested sedentary, middle-aged adults without heart disease then they were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to accurately estimate average nightly sleep and a small amount ofblood was taken from each subject after an overnight fast.You can always try new methods if you have a problem in sleeping like sleeping music.

Jamie Hijmans, one of the authors of the study, said: "The link between insufficient sleep and cardiovascular disease may be due to, in part, changes in microRNAs. These findings suggest there may be a "fingerprint" associated with a person's sleep habits, and that fluctuations in microRNA levels may serve as a warning or guide to disease stage and progression."

(With agency inputs)
Karishma Arora, 18, student of a Muzaffarnagar school, topped the country in the recently declared CBSE results by scoring 499 marks out of 500.

But she is the topper with a difference. Fond of dancing, Karishma travels to Delhi along with her father every week to receive training in Kathak from famous Kathak dancer Gitanjali Lal.

During spare time, she has also been training specially-abled children in the dance form. She aspires to become a psychologist in future.

facebook

Karishma, who topped the exam with humanities stream, has also joined a unique school where she is trying to learn how to communicate with hearing impaired and mentally challenged kids as she teaches them Kathak.

The Arora family lives in an apartment in the citys New Mandi area and her father Manoj Arora runs a business.

Karishma said she would study for 20 hours on a few days but she never expected to be the topper. However, she said if she had scored just one mark in economics, her result would have been cent percent.

facebook

An avid reader, Arora likes reading autobiographies of renowned people and says that her favourites are those of Malala Yousafzai and APJ Abdul Kalam. Reading autobiographies of successful people helps me get an insight into their lives which motivates me, Karishma said.

Her father, Manoj Arora, said, I got the information when I was out for some work. As I rushed back home, I was crying all along. I have got no words to express how much she has done me proud.
A 10-year-old, Mohammed Abrar from Pakistan is the worlds heaviest boy weighing 196 kg, and needs a life-saving surgery before it's too late. He is unable to stand after meals, that can be served to four people, his parents said.

His doctors claim that he is the heaviest boy in the world and weighs even more than Indonesias Arya Permana. Abrars mother, Zareena said that she couldnt change his nappies alone and had to get a specially-made bed to take his weight.

Caters News Agency

According to LadBible, Zareena said, "He weighed eight pounds (3.6 kg) at birth but his weight never stopped growing. He used to drink two litres of milk when he was only two years old. It was like his stomach never filled up. He always cried for more food."

"It was very difficult for me to even carry him. We had to make a special swing and a bed for him to change nappies," she added.

Due to his size, Abrar is unable to play with his siblings and has never been to school. The operation that he will undergo will reduce the size of his stomach and will involve the insertion of a gastric band.

Caters News Agency

Zareena said, "We struggled a lot finding the right treatment for him. We never lost hope of getting medical help. I am happy that finally Abrar will get the operation he needs to help him live a normal life."

Dr Maaz - Abrars doctor - said that he has an 'endless appetite'. Dr Maaz said, "When he came to us he could not even take three steps at a time. He is an obese child although there is no history of obesity in his family. His parents and the two siblings are perfectly normal. He has an endless appetite and his parents said he ate a lot for his age."

Caters News Agency

The doctor added, "We are going to perform a laparoscopic sleeve surgery on him as it is best for people under 25 years of age. Although I usually take 30-40 mins to carry out the surgery on him we are expecting it to last for an hour."

We wish a healthy life to Abrar!
Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha Coast on May 3 and it is being considered extremely severe. Locals along with the Indian Armed forces and police force are helping people who are stuck or need to be rescued.

It made landfall in Puri after Odisha received heavy rain and storm that started around 8 am, said the Indian Meteorological Department. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are on stand-by and more than 11 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in less than 24 hours.

In these hard times, local police forces have shown utmost courage and dedication towards their work. One such lady police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara is making headlines for her commitment towards work. Her picture is going viral on social media, where she can be seen evacuating people to safety.

In action: Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara !!

Braving all odds and adversaries, our officers are making all the possible efforts to evacuate each single person to the safety. #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/jbHRUYauRy  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 2, 2019

After this, people started lauding the lady police officer:

1.

Hats off to this Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara. Helping the Locals just before the Extreme Severe Cyclone, Fani. The women in Odisha are strong enough.

#MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/gTicdvZGjo    (@Th3Snehasish) May 2, 2019

2.

Salaaaam! Thats our officers work and dedication to save every life. We are with you.  #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani https://t.co/Z5DsqKhmiw  Nila Madhab Panda (@nilamadhabpanda) May 2, 2019

3.

Many of time we fight, argue, blame with police personnel but when there is any tragic they stand with us each and every time. They have also families but duty comes first for them. I salute all police personnel. Without you we are nothing. Be with us always. Jai Hind.  Deba Prasad RTI Activist (@DPS_RTI) May 2, 2019

4.

Respect  CA Binod Parida    (@B1nodP) May 4, 2019

5.

Good job odisha police  sanjib subudhi (@sanjibsbdh4) May 3, 2019

6.

Salute Her  Tushar Kranti (@Tushar__Kranti) May 3, 2019

7.

good job sister  Rajesh (@Rajesh_490) May 3, 2019

8.

Inspirational... made my day  Sushree (@spriyadarshin10) May 3, 2019

9.

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming pic  Ratikant Satpathy   (@Ratikant70) May 3, 2019

10.

Salute to your brave Team .#FaniCyclone  Laxmi (@LAXMIPRADHAN3) May 3, 2019

There are more such pictures where local police officers can be seen helping people out, making sure they are able to evacuate safely.

Carrying few injured people in #Cuttack to the nearest medical facility where doctors are attending them with required medical care. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/HrS6N6z04S  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Moving people to safety, sensitizing people in cyclone shelters and clearing out the roads @spkendrapara and his team is putting in all possible efforts to help and calm people in this difficult time. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/247GBdCrfo  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals from Kendrapara where our officers are carrying infants and guiding children, women, and other locals to safety.

Nothing deters our personnel's determination! #DutyAvoveElse #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/Uo2GTIZ0lR  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Relocating people to safe zones, clearing roads and providing drinking water and essential food items to the needy. @DCP_CUTTACK and his team under the guidance of @DGPOdisha carry-on its sincere efforts in helping and assisting people at this crucial hour. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/75yU0gt6ne  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals of our officers in Balasore making all possible efforts to move elderly people and children to safe designated cyclone shelters! pic.twitter.com/Dxfjxknitn  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Odisha on May 6 to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Till now three people have lost their lives in the cyclone. A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district. Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her. In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after a suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter.
Remember the ugly naked guy from FRIENDS? He used to be naked all-day in his apartment where there were windows and people could obviously see him. Dont know if this man was ugly or not but he was definitely, naked.

A bizarre photo from the pre-wedding photoshoot of a couple from San Diego is doing rounds on the Internet. The couple was getting some pictures clicked at a beach for their wedding invite, when an elderly man, butt naked, walked into the frame.

Amy Sefton and her fiance Jake, visited the San Elijo State Beach with their photographer Austin Whitesell on March 14 to get some candid photographs clicked. As the couple started posing on the beach, the photographer suddenly noticed that an elderly naked man with his back facing the camera had photobombed their picture.

While speaking to the People Magazine, Sefton said, I was shocked at first glance. But then I found the moment hilarious and began to laugh.

What is more interesting is that the beach was a family-friendly beach and the couple had not expected the naked old man to be there.

Any other photographer would have waited for the old man to move, but Whitesell found it amusing. Describing it as "comical, random and very California", the photographer said that he asked the couple to lean back to capture the moment.

He captured their photo as it is - the couple holding hands and looking at the old man who is photobombing.

The couple further said that the photo added to the major milestones in their relationship that happened at the beach.

That lifeguard tower in the back of the photo with the naked dude is actually where I asked her to be my girlfriend, says Jake, and then also where I proposed.
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Indian American actor Vinny Chhibber, currently seen as Liam Bhatt, an openly gay Muslim high school teacher in the new CBS show, The Red Line, has also booked a recurring role in the TNT drama, Animal Kingdom. (Sela Shiloni photo)
Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is  well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star...
Abdulrauf Modibbo, the APC member elected to represent Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State at the National Assembly has been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to reports, Justice Inyang Ekwo nullified Modibbos victory, over certificate forgery.

Modibbo was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress primaries that was held back on October 7, 2018, in Yola and went on to represent APC in the 2019 general elections, where he also won the election.

However, Mustapha Usman dragged Modibbo to court after the elections, on grounds that the latter forged his age making him not qualified to contest the APC primaries.

Usman asked that the court disqualifies Modibbo as the APC candidate for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency.

Justice Ekwo in his judgement declared that Modibbo was not qualified to contest the APC primaries, as well as the 2019 National Assembly election while declaring Usman as the lawful winner of the October 7, 2018, APC primaries.

The judge further held that Usman also proved that Modibbo did falsify his age in order to contest the election by submitting forged certificates so he could contest in the partys primaries.

It was also revealed in court that Modibbo was still a Corps member when he contested the primaries, saying this action breached Section 4 of the NYSC Act, 2004.

A person who is a lawbreaker cannot be a lawmaker. This illegality is one that cannot be wished away.

Justice Ekwo then declared that Usman, who polled the second highest number of votes in the October 7, 2018 primaries, be declared the winner of the Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State and ordered that his name be replaced with Modibbos as the lawful candidate of the APC and winner of the election.
Popular social media commentator and media personality, Dr Joe Abah, has joined millions of Nigerians in reacting to the now-viral news that police boss, Abayomi Shogunle, has been transferred to Nkalagu, Ebonyi state.

Dr Joe Abah in his reaction advised Yomi Shogunle to note the following when he gets to Ebonyi state.

Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi in Ebonyi state.

He added that he would not be posted to the state capital.

Also, he would be busy with serious issues and wont have time for controversy on Twitter.

And lastly, younger boys in his new work station would address him as punish and not police.

What he said:

https://twitter.com/DrJoeAbah/status/1124438409005686785
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has come for Prince Ifeanyi Dike, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, after the body threatened her with a sanction following her outburst on social media with her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Tonto Dikeh who spoke through her Instagram page labelled the Chairman of the body a stupid fool who has not sanctioned actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside.

Her post;
Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has fired heavy shots at fellow Nollywood colleague, Anita Joseph, for supporting Tonto Dikehs media outrage on ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Uche who spoke through his Instagram page said it is unimaginable that Anita Joseph would support Tonto Dikeh for coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child.

His words:

If you cant advise your friend to GROW up spiritually, keep quiet @anitajoseph8 is it possible to give something you dont have? Please, which Counsellor or psychologist told you that people can HEAL emotionally or psychologically by coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child? Is that healing process only exclusive to radical for Jesus actresses? Because Ive never seen where someone can RISE or heal by pulling down another. Can you imagine, youre allegedly saying if your FRIEND wants to talk from now till next 2 years, let her talk, wait, is that the kind of advice you two give yourselves? @anitajoseph8 Even a primary school girl has enough wisdom to know that such kind of attitude is only causing more harm to her child in FUTURE, by constantly mocking the father, let us fear God oh @anitajoseph8 Listen, Ive gotten the attention of @chrissyteigen an A-List American celebrity, my dear, before you or your friend gets such international attention, it would take more hard work and years, but my only advice to you is this, King will grow up, and definitely ask you this same question, if you dont advice his mother correctly.

His words:
A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has decried the state of security in Nigeria especially banditry and kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Speaking on Saturday at a conference on migration, themed Action against irregular migration of Nigerians in Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan asked those without any knowledge in education and security not to go into politics.

If you have no idea of how to develop Nigeria through education, security, amongst others then, do not go into politics, he said.

This same kidnapping issue happened along Lokoja-Kabba road some years back; I could not travel then. I could not understand that 30km of the road cannot be policed. It just gives you a very sad impression that we are really at the mercy of the criminals. So you get ready to pay them, this is not the way to live.
The Sharia police (Hisbah) has announced that people who eat outside during the Muslim fasting period (Ramadan) would be arrested and prosecuted according to Islamic law.

This was made known by the commander-general of the security operative, Nabahani Usman, who stated that people would only be released if they can provide proof that they are ill and present a medical report from a government hospital.

He added that these are the only categories of people exempted from participating in fasting.

His words:
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle has earned himself the mockery of Nigerians on Twitter after it was announced that he has been posted to Nkalagu in Ebonyi state.

Nkalagu is in Ishielu Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, Nigeria. It is the town where the defunct Nigerian cement company (NIGERCEM) is located.

Nkalagu is known to have a large deposit of limestone which provided the raw material for the large cement plant of the Nigerian Cement Company (Nigercem).

After making countless insensitive remarks on Twitter, earning the wrath of Nigerians severally  Most recently was his statement on the Abuja women raid  which caused them to sign a petition against the police officer.

The satisfaction from Shogunles redeployment couldnt be missed in several tweets by Nigerians since his transfer to Nkalagu was announced.

See reactions

We might all rejoice at yomi Shogunle's transfer to Nkalagu(and it's a small victory to be celebrated especially if it'll make him shut up) but the truth is public officers need to know that they can loose their jobs when they make statements like that. He should have been fired  Dr. Anita Mudiaga (@fav_eyedoctor) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Omobaadewunmi/status/1124417428564389888?s=19

https://twitter.com/harvardsport/status/1124636962630008832?s=19

I wish the redeployment of @YomiShogunle was to Zamfara state. The Criminals in Nkalagu have human face and understand English but in the other end, only God will help him do interrogation  Mike Jonah (@mikejonah247) May 4, 2019

Ebonyi welcomes @YomiShogunle to Nkalagu. Please note:

1. Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi here.

2. You will not be in the state capital.

3. You will be busy with serious issues and should not have time to mis-yarn on Twitter.

4. Small boys will call you Punish, not Police.  Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Adeola0503/status/1124428753633972224?s=19
An incoming member of the House of Representatives, Akin Akabi says he doesnt know why Nigerians on Twitter are celebrating Yomi Shogunles transfer.

The Nairabet owner in a few tweets on Saturday afternoon said if the Assistant Commissioner of Police, did badly in his position in Abuja  a transfer wouldnt stop him.

Yomi Shogunle had sexually earned the backlash of Nigerians over some insensitive statements he makes on Twitter concerning the plight of Nigerians.

From the #EndSars campaign and recently to the #AbujaWomenRaid, Shogunles statements seem to always up Nigerians in a bad mood.

Therefore his transfer yo Nkalagu in Ebonyi state was a sort of victory for many.

He tweeted: I dont understand the celebration over @YomiShogunles transfer to Nkalagu. Looks like some people think life starts and ends on twitter.

I dont know what his new positions are all about. Maybe its even a promotion, I dont know. My problem is if he is as bad as Twitter says, will he stop being bad now that he is in Nkalagu?

Or are we saying? now he can no longer do anything to us on Twitter. He can go ahead and do nonsense in Nkalagu? Isnt that being a typical Nigerian? As long as my people & I are safe, the rest can go to hell. We are happy because those of us on twitter is no longer affected.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched "#MoreFunForever," a campaign aimed at promoting sustainable tourism for the present and future generations.

What use is growth and progress if it doesnt trickle down to the grassroots? Tourism Assistant Secretary Howard Uyking said during the campaign's launch in Boracay on April 29.

It makes sense to launch the initiative in the birthplace of its framework, seeing as just last year, Boracay was shut down amidst apprehensions of escalating degradation in its water quality, waste management, and general environmental impact. Its annual Labor Day celebration brought in a whopping 1.7 million tourists on an island whose carrying capacity is well below 100,000 people. A decision was made to close off the islands to tourists entirely for six months. The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) was formed, comprised of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DOT among others. The BIATF was designed to create solutions for the current problems within the island, from long-heeded infrastructural improvements from the locals to managing the excessive influx of tourists and their succeeding noise pollution and material waste.

Local business owner Victor Sacdalan recounts his personal experience as both a businessman and a resident during the closure, saying, I could not imagine closing our business for six months because our employees are the soul of our business. Rebuilding Boracay was really a struggle for the stakeholders, residents, workers, and families. A lot of struggles, financially and emotionally. But I think the idea of the rehabilitation was to prepare us to be stronger and better stakeholders. He adds that seeing the island fully cleared of tourists reminded him of what Boracay could be. As a businessman, I forgot what the island has given me. Boracay needed intervention.

Rebuilding Boracay

Boracay reopened in October of 2018 with a slew of new regulations. The Labor Day parties had officially become extinct. A 25+5 easement had been established, where a previously established 25-meter no-build zone had been extended with an additional 5 meters where establishments and roving vendors were not allowed to block with stalls or any sort of materials. Ordinances had been put in place, allowing local enforcers to penalize guests and locals for smoking or drinking within the easement as well. Fines run anywhere from 1,000 pesos to 2,500 pesos per violation. The Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG, formerly BIATF) notes that DPWH has reported a significant progressive decrease in violations over the last few months, which not only determines compliance, but a possible greater understanding among both tourists and residents of what the regulations serve to protect.

The ocean clean up also saw a decrease in algal bloom, and a cleaner shoreline has been aesthetically pleasing to many who come to the island. The movement in waste management has been manifold, educating locals and business owners on the need to decrease the use of single-use plastics and investing in eco-friendly solutions. BIARMG Deputy Commander Al Orolfo says, We are bringing in big suppliers of green technology so that businesses here will have access to the supplies.

In terms of infrastructure, there is still much work to be done, which is part and parcel of the #MoreFunForever campaign. Whereas Rome wasnt built in a day, the task of rehabilitation also takes time, and BIARMG is setting its sights on the islands interior.

Theyre optimistically looking at finishing the road work by the end of the year or early 2020. Parallel to that, the drainage system which the DOT, through its infrastructure arm TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority), is investing in," DOT Undersecretary Art Boncato said, "In addition to completing the roads, theyre laying down the drainage system to accompany that so that the whole island is covered. Thats where we are in this phase of development and we are continuing what we started.

Boncato adds that ensuring the progress isnt just in material improvements, but in the alignment of all concerned. Were ensuring that local communities are integrated in the tourism sector, tourists are following our regulations, and the government agenciesthe task force here, the local government in the province, the national government agenciesare on the same page each time so were able to move the development forward faster and more efficiently.

Forever Fun

With all these changes in mind, the DOT aims to move forward with its #MoreFunForever campaign holding up Boracay as its standard bearer. The agency may have launched the campaign in Boracay, but its scope goes at scale; a nationwide rally that encourages Filipinos, from businesses to tourists down to communities, to put forward and choose sustainability wherever they are.

The department has since established three tenets for sustainable tourism as seen from the islands progress in rehabilitation. First is responsible tourism, which relies on the ordinances put forth by the DOT to secure the natural environment, creating a culture of accountability among residents and guests. Second is environmental compliance, where local businesses are subject to a no accreditation, no operations policy following an assessment of sustainable and environmentally sound business practices.

Last but not least is inclusive growth, which encourages the hiring of locals, especially with the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). DOT hopes to adopt this framework towards the rehabilitation and preservation of other local destinations, starting with El Nido, Panglao, and Manila Bay.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explains the true depth of #MoreFunForever, saying, Were privileged because we have many natural wonders like those here in the Philippines. And as the globe learns more about our other attractions and makes us a top-of-mind destination, its opened up a host of opportunities. As people, weve been recognized as hospitable, friendly, and warm still, its a great and serious responsibility that we share as stewards of these special, wonderful destinations. Its on us to ensure all our natural wonders stay more fun, forever.
Washington's move is expected to face pushback from major importers

The initial 180-day waivers that the United States granted to buyers of Iranian oil expired on Thursday. Experts argued that Washington's intention to cut off Iranian oil exports completely might backfire both at home and abroad, Xinhua News Agency said in an analysis.

The White House announced on April 22 the US sanctions would be reimposed on all countries that import oil from Iran from Thursday on.
Brazil Court - Large

Brazils Federal Revenue Office published normative instruction No. 1862 on December 28 2018, addressing the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax responsibility, the situation where a taxpayer and third party may be jointly and severally liable for a tax obligation.

Among the novelties addressed, those related to the moment and procedure deserve more attention. According to the normative text, the tax authorities may now establish liability of third parties before judgment by the first instance and once the administrative proceeding is concluded, as well as in cases discussing tax compensation claims.

In this scenario, according to the text of the normative instruction, when the establishment of liability occurs during the tax administrative proceeding (before the first instance decision), and in cases of tax offsetting, the third parties may present their defenses according to the procedure established in Decree No. 70.235/72. In these cases, it is also possible to appeal to the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF).

In cases where such an establishment takes place after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, the third party shall file a request for reconsideration to the same tax auditor who made the establishment. In case it is not upheld, the request may also be considered by the officer of the Internal Revenue Service unit and by the Regional Superintendent.

It is important to observe that these new procedures brought by the normative instruction challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, which is express in assigning the tax authority to identify the taxpayer and the parties jointly and severally liable for the tax obligation through tax assessment notice (i.e not along or upon conclusion of the tax administrative procedure).

In cases where the establishment of liability is made after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, and there is a clear violation of the right to contest, they will have to defend themselves through an internal procedure of the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service, and are not granted access to the procedure of Decree No. 70.235/72 (and to the judgment by the CARF, which is a technical and joint body council).

Notwithstanding the considerations, normative instruction No. 1862/2018 also set forth provisions aimed at assigning more transparency to the taxpayers and to the administrative and judging authorities regarding the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax liability.

As noted in Article 1, the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service explains that the tax liability established to a third party, who is not a taxpayer nor a tax substitute, presupposes the existence of a specific rule, and is different from the one that gives rise to the tax.

Furthermore, the normative opinion clarifies the requirements that must be included in the tax assessment notice in order to establish tax liability. These are qualification of the third party, description of the facts that give rise to the establishment of liability, and the legal classification and the delimitation of the tax credit to be ascribed to the responsible party.

In conclusion, the new rules regarding the establishment of joint and several tax liability after the issuance of the tax assessment notice, especially after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, deserve attention since they challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, and the right to contestation and a full defense of the responsible third parties.

On the other hand, it has also brought new rules that should assign more certainty regarding the procedure of establishing tax liability.



Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto

Leonardo Fernandes Rebello

This article was written by Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto and Leonardo Fernandes Rebello of Mattos Filho.

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So thats Friday nearly wrapped up. Heres some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

TO INFORM

Ana Kriegel: A dog walker has told the trial of two teenagers, charged with murdering Anastasia Kriegel, that he saw a schoolboy make a beeline for the abandoned farmhouse where shes alleged to have been murdered half an hour later.

An order restricting the reportage of Ana Kriegels murder trial until its conclusion has been lifted for all but one publisher.

Ruth Morrissey: Terminally ill Ruth Morrissey may have won her landmark High Court action and been awarded a total of 2.1m against the HSE and two US laboratories over the testing of her CervicalCheck smear slides, but there was little to celebrate as she left the Four Courts.

NI elections: The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay election candidate has been elected.

Theresa May: British Prime Minister Theresa May was confronted with anger from her own party after local election results which she admitted were very difficult for the Conservatives.

Sterling: Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Munster fan banned: Munster Rugby have banned the supporter who appeared to confront Saracens player Billy Vunipola after the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at Coventrys Ricoh Arena.

TO ENGAGE

Mary-Lou McDonald: You dont need much self-awareness to realise that if youre making the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, sound reasonable, youre in trouble.

Cork on the Rise: The prioritisation of the car and poor land use have polluted and ghettoised our cities, but a sustainable approach can change all that, says Abhas K Jha.

TO ENTERTAIN

Eco-friendly bathrooms: Just a little thought is all it takes to make a big  and almost effortless  improvement in bathroom eco-friendliness without compromising personal hygiene and housecleaning.

Chewbacca: Star Wars fans have paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew as they gathered in Ireland for the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Most read story today

Madeleine McCann: Scotland Yard apply for more funding as local police reportedly have 'new suspect'.
A man who found sensitive patient data on a city centre street and who highlighted his concerns in the media has been accused by the HSE of a data breach.

Luke Field, who found data containing patient names and details of surgical procedures on the pavement of South Terrace, Cork City on Friday, April 26, attempted to report his find to the appropriate data protection officer in the HSE South the following day. However, the office was closed over the weekend.

He then contacted Cork University Hospital (CUH) as the data related to patients attending its plastic surgery department, and was advised by a staff member to return the data to reception in a sealed envelope, and that it would be processed after the weekend.

Mr Field, a Labour candidate for Cork City South Central in the upcoming local elections, said he held off on returning the data as he wanted to hand it back to someone with direct data protection responsibility. He decided to contact the media to highlight the delay he encountered when trying to report his find to the appropriate official, as there was no out-of-hours contact service.

However, the HSE said because Mr Field voluntarily disclosed the data to a third party  the Irish Examiner  this constituted an unauthorised disclosure of personal data and that Mr Field is now obliged to report his own disclosure as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Irish Examiner contacted the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to inquire if a breach had occurred, as there is an exemption when processing personal data for the purpose of exercising the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes.

The commission said it understands that there are data protection issues in relation to this, however we cannot comment further as we would need to examine the details in full.

Mr Field said that as far as he is concerned, he doesnt believe there is any merit in the suggestion that he has committed a data breach, but he is happy to co-operate with the Data Protection Commission in their investigation of the HSE breach.

He said he is disappointed with the HSE response because the real story is that there have been two major HSE breaches in patient data in the space of a week [the other related to patients attending Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda] and this seems like an unfair attempt to divert attention away from that.

The HSE said CUH is taking the data breach very seriously and is currently investigating the incident.

The breach was reported to the Data Protection Commission and all data subjects will be contacted in line with HSE policy, the statement said.

The statement also said the deputy data protection officer was subsequently made aware that the data was shared with a third party (journalist), either prior to or after returning the data to the HSE.

The person who discovered the data and voluntarily disclosed it to the third party has been advised by the HSE that as this constitutes an unauthorised disclosure of the personal data, there is now an obligation on that person to report this as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commission.
The passenger jet that crashed into a river in the US last night is leased from an Irish company and visited Shannon earlier this year.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 jet ran off the end of the runway at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida while trying to land in a thunderstorm.

There were 143 passengers and crew on board the flight which was arriving from Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station in Cuba, when it slid off the runway into the St. Johns River at 9.42pm local time (2.42am Irish time).

All 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued during a massive operation and while 21 people were transported to hospital, their injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening.

It has emerged that Miami Air International leases some of its 8-strong fleet of aircraft from two Irish leasing companies including the jet at the centre of this incident.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

The aircraft, (registration N732MA) listed as being leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon, also visited Shannon Airport on March 12 this year.

The airline is one of a number of civilian carriers that undertake charter flights for the US Department of Defence and use Shannon Airport for refuelling stops.

On March 12, the same jet landed at Shannon while en route from Athens to the US while other aircraft in the fleet have also visited Shannon in the past and as recently as last month.

According to records, the incident jet is leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon which lists Miami Air International as one of its 150 customers worldwide.

The airline has leased at least two aircraft from Avolon along with two others from another Irish company, AerCap.
Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire at a house in Blanchardstown in Dublin this morning.

The two people in the home managed to escape unharmed.
Victims of the CervicalCheck scandal are pleading for other women to be spared the ordeal that a terminally-ill cancer patient was put through, to win her landmark compensation case.

They called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to honour his promise that no woman would be dragged through the courts, and urged him to reconsider the terms of a planned compensation tribunal which they say will operate just like a court, but behind closed doors.

Their calls came after Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul, of Monaleen, Co Limerick, were awarded 2.1m in damages against the HSE and two laboratories that failed to spot problems with her smear tests in 2009 and 2012.

The 37-year-old mother of a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and has been told she is unlikely to survive beyond two years.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Kevin Cross said her life had been ruined.

The HSE, which runs the CervicalCheck screening programme, and the two companies, MedLab and Quest Diagnostics, which analysed her smear tests, denied responsibility and fought Ms Morrissey for 37 days in the High Court, but Mr Justice Cross held them jointly and equally liable for what happened.

A relieved and emotional Ms Morrissey left court saying: I just want to move on and spend whatever quality time Ive left with my daughter.

Yet just hours later, MedLab issued a statement welcoming the determination that its lab was not negligent in its review and interpretation of Ms Morrisseys 2012 slide, and said it would be reviewing the judgment in full with a view to appeal.

Solicitor for the Morrisseys, Cian OCarroll, said the companys statement was poorly judged.

Its amazing how they can be so delighted when the court said that they are equally responsible with the HSE and Quest Diagnostics for the full value of 2.16m in damages for costing a woman her life, he said.

If an appeal is lodged, it need not necessarily delay the payout of damages.

Mr OCarroll said it would be at the judges discretion to direct full or partial payment or a stay on payment when the court resumes to consider the matter next week.

Ms Morrisseys case is the first to go to full hearing since screening blunders emerged when Vicky Phelan took her case last year, followed by the late Emma Mhic Mhathuna.

Both of their cases were settled, so the significance of Ruth Morrisseys win is that it establishes firmly that the HSE bears responsibility for the failings of the companies it contracts to carry out work, so that in future, women should only have to take on the State instead of preparing cases against multiple defendants.

Ms Morrissey, standing with the aid of a crutch, held back tears as she thanked her extended family, medical and legal team, and especially her husband Paul, my rock.

The couple kissed to mark the end of their long legal battle which began last summer, but Ms Morrisseys thoughts were with the other women whose fight is only beginning.

I did not think I would be in this position because our Taoiseach told us none of us would have to go through this, but unfortunately I am the one who had to do it, she said.

I hope thats a positive thing, so the women who are left, they dont need to do this and fight for their right to have a good life of what theyve left.

She also encouraged all women to continue getting smear tests. Its very important. Even though it failed me, it does save many many lives.

More than 200 women developed cancer after CervicalCheck failings, and dozens have lodged papers with the High Court, though they may opt for the tribunal whenever it begins.

Reminded of his pledge last year that women would be spared court trials, Mr Varadkar said he had genuinely hoped that no woman would have to go to court, but it was clear that not all cases could be resolved without litigation.

He said he was working with Health Minister Simon Harris and the attorney general to finalise the arrangements for the tribunal as soon as possible.

Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died after her tests were misread, urged them to hurry, describing what Ms Morrissey had been put through as inhumane.

The 221 Plus advocacy group also criticised the court process.

Cases like this are a no-win situation for all involved. It highlights our deepest concerns about the raw and needless cruelty of forcing women, who it is accepted have already been wronged by the State, into an adversarial public legal process that makes them feel like they are on trial just to establish the profile or the extent of that wrong and how it happened. This is simply unacceptable, it said.

A better and more compassionate mechanism is required as a priority to enable those involved establish the basis of the wrong done to them in private, without being put through that adversity.

Reservations have also been expressed about the planned tribunal, which will also be an adversarial forum. The tribunal is not to settle cases  it is the High Court behind closed doors, said Mr OCarroll.

Vicky Phelan said she was also concerned that women opting for the tribunal would still be required to take a stand and argue their case, just without publicity.

The State can do something here, she said. The State can go ahead and intervene so that these cases can be settled faster, in a more conciliatory way.

She pointed out that the State did not have to be at a financial loss, as under an indemnity clause, it could pursue the laboratories for losses due to their failings.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed the Taoiseach's apology for his comments about the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford.

Leo Varadkar issued a statement earlier saying 'this is one he got wrong'.

He said there were conflicting accounts about the mortuary last week and he didn't want to jump to conclusions - but he now accepts subsequent statements support the consultants' claims about conditions.

Deputy McDonald said the consultants deserved an apology - but it should now be followed by action.

She said: "The Taoiseach now, having apologised, needs to make absolutely sure, as head of Government, that the full facts surrounding the complaints made by the pathologists are set out in a clear fashion.

"I think it's also necessary for the hospitals to come before the Oireachtas and for elected representatives to have an opportunity to ask questions."

Leo Varadkar issues apology over mortuary claims

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised unreservedly for failing to treat seriously the concerns about mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford.

Mr Varadkar admitted he got it wrong after claiming there was no evidence to back up allegations that dead bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys at the hospital.

Four consultant pathologists wrote to the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year stating the pressing need to have inadequate facilities at the hospital mortuary addressed.

The consultants said bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys and that it had led to closed-coffin funerals in some instances.

It also emerged last week that dead bodies had been stored on the floor of the mortuary at the hospital.

In a letter dated March 26 to the South/South-West Hospital Group, the four consultant pathologists reiterated their concerns about unacceptable mortuary conditions at the hospital.

They described body storage on the floor of the mortuary following a surge in activity.

Earlier this week, the Taoiseach claimed there was no evidence to back up the claims.

However, in a statement issued on Saturday the Fine Gael leader said he made the comments because of conflicting accounts.

He said: On the one hand, a letter from four consultants making deeply disturbing claims about conditions in the mortuary and on the other hand, a statement from hospital management saying there was no evidence or supporting complaints to back up the claims.

I did not want to jump to conclusions or to side with one group of staff against another without knowing facts or before an investigation was carried out.

Thats why I said that I did not know if the claims were true or not.

Over the course of the week, corroborating statements have come to light and complaints have been made that I believe support the views expressed by the four consultants. This is one I got wrong.

I want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels that I did not treat this issue with the seriousness or sensitivity it deserved.

As I have said before, my over-riding concern is for the dignity of patients in life and in death.

It has never been in dispute that the mortuary is sub-standard and needs to be replaced.

He added that planning permission has been granted for a new mortuary at the hospital while temporary measures are being put in place in the interim. - Press Association
Two Irishmen arrested in Melbourne over an Irish roof scam spent the cash on high-end Rolex watches and designer clothing, police allege.

The pair were arrested as part of Operation Gentium, an investigation into travelling conmen who are operating such alleged scams in Melbourne.

It is alleged the two Irish nationals illegally obtained AUD$260,000 (162,000) from one of their victims.

A police statement alleges the funds were used to purchase luxury Rolex watches and expensive designer clothes.

One of the men, 28, was arrested and charged with ten counts of obtaining property by deception.

The second man, 29, was charged with six offences against the Migration Act.

The pair were arrested after a series of raids were carried out by the Eastern Region Crime Squad, with assistance from the Australian Border Force across Melbourne on Thursday.

Both men have appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court and will re-appear at later dates.

Acting Inspector Scott Dwyer said the alleged scam targets the most vulnerable members of society with pensioners often the victims.

He said: This investigation demonstrates the lengths police will go to find the people involved in these types of crimes and the partnerships that we have with other law enforcement agencies.

These strong relationships allow us to apprehend people even when they are outside Victoria.

He urged people to make sure tradesmen are legitimate before engaging them for work.

He said: We know that travelling conmen predominantly doorknock or letter-drop homes and businesses offering to do maintenance and repair work, such as asphalting, roof cleaning/tiling, painting or tree lopping.

If you want work done on your property, we ask that you don't just use a flyer to make a decision, make sure you shop around for more than one written quote.

These types of deception offences can have a significant impact on peoples lives and are often targeted at more vulnerable members of our community. We dont want to see anyone else fall victim to travelling con men.

We strongly encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of travelling conmen or fake tradies to report it to their local police as soon as possible.

Investigators believe a number of people may have been affected by the alleged scams and further enquiries are still being made by police.

In March, police were forced to issue a warning about a group of conmen with Irish accents who said they were from a business called First Choice Home Solutions, which was a fake company.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Conor Kane, and Elaine Loughlin

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must apologise directly to families whose dead relatives were treated appallingly at University Hospital Waterford after it emerged that two families have made formal complaints.

Opposition parties demanded Mr Varadkar meet with anyone affected after he twice rejected calls to apologise for his dismissive approach to four doctors who first raised the concerns.

Despite a week of denials from the Government and the HSE, the hospital confirmed yesterday that two families have made formal complaints  including relatives of one person who, the Irish Examiner understands, was buried in a closed-casket funeral.

While declining to comment on specific cases, a UHW spokesperson said the facility is currently engaging with the families concerned, that it will always take complaints very seriously, and treats deceased patients with respect and dignity.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, Labour health spokesman Alan Kelly said despite the hospitals claim, the fact that two families have made complaints over the treatment of deceased relatives means Mr Varadkar must now apologise to anyone affected.

The Taoiseach has either lost the plot on this or been sold a pup by the HSE. He is being very badly advised on this. I dont care what he has said, he should meet with and apologise to the families involved, said Mr Kelly.

Asked about the issue yesterday, Mr Varadkar twice declined to fully apologise for his response to date.

While accepting he regrets the tone of his comments questioning if the doctors who first raised the concerns are right, he stopped short of a full apology, saying:

I didnt question what they said, I just pointed out that there are different accounts from different members of staff at the hospital and I dont think its for me to adjudicate on that.

I have always encouraged people to raise issues and if people have issues about the services they work in, bringing them to the attention of management is absolutely the appropriate and right thing to do.

It has separately emerged that the four consultants who first raised the mortuary concerns warned management in March they may remove their services after being left to wait for six months for any response to their concerns.

Sinn Feins Waterford TD David Cullinane released a letter outlining the warning yesterday, alongside a separate letter from a senior HSE official warning HSE financial officials of the appalling standards at the morgue last July.

David Cullinane.

The Government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry, saying the hospital and the Health Information Quality Authority could examine the case.

However, Hiqa said last night that the morgue concerns are outside its remit.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people have turned out for a parade in Cork city to show support for the Defence Forces.

The 'Respect and Loyalty Parade' has ended for the day - the aim was to highlight dissatisfaction over pay and conditions.
There are many simple steps to help green tourism without limiting your horizons, says Thomas Breathnach

Green tourism, eco-friendly, carbon-footprints. Theyre the travel buzzwords of our generation.

However, while many cultural campaigns tend to trend and fade, theres a real stand-out factor when it comes to the sustainable travel movement. The truth is: its here to stay. Today, global tourism accounts for almost 10% of all carbon emissions, meaning the planet has never needed its globetrotters to be more green when they travel. And just like with the food and fashion industries, slow-tourism is now starting to emerge as a strong sector  with immersive travel in one area in, country-ticking for Instagram bragging rights out. Thats not to say you need to staycation in Ireland for life  but whether youre holidaying in Bantry or Bora Bora, little choices can make a big impact.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles

As islanders, we need to get places but once you do get to your base, consider train travel. While the industry may have gone off the rails with the advent of low-fare airlines, trains are making a comeback  allowing travellers to engage with a world better than flying at 30,000 feet. Need inspiration? Interrail (interrail.eu) offer myriad packages for over 30 countries across Europe  think a month pass for Italy from 95 or for Turkey from 46.

Once in your destination, shared bike schemes like Citi Bike in New York or Bycyklen in Copenhagen make a fun way to feel the pulse of a city without fumbling for underground fares. And if you are hiring a motor, Hertz (hertz.ie) now offer a green fleet of hybrid and electric cars  perhaps a good way to take a test-drive on your next holiday?

Choose your Airline

Theres no escaping the impact flying has on the environment, and while the airline industry is largely embracing the green-race, electric jets are not predicted to emerge from the hangars for another decade. For Irish consumers, thanks to its modern fleet of Dreamliners and 737s, Norwegian has been voted most fuel-efficient long-haul airline by the International Council of Clean Transport, with Aer Lingus sitting mid-table and BA almost brexiting the standings. There is good news for the majority who fly economy, however  youre actually flying more efficiently than those sipping prosecco in business.

Support a greener Ireland

According to a 2019 survey by travelcounsellors.ie, 57% of Irish consumers dont consider sustainability when booking a trip  but that pendulum swings when it comes to our younger travellers.

The point? Irish tourism needs to tap into emerging green trends as much as the consumer needs to support those who do. Fortunately, many Irish regions and businesses are already going the extra (carbon-reduced) mile to protect the environment.

The Burren (burren.ie) has positioned itself as perhaps the leading sustainable destination in the country with its own eco-network of tourism businesses. And elsewhere, there are scores of pioneering outfits going green: Ard Nahoo (ardnahoo.com) is a yoga retreat in Leitrim created with locally salvaged wood, Cool Planet Experience (coolplanetexperience.org) in Wicklow is a new climate change museum for kids, while in Wexford, the stunning Hook Lighthouse attraction (hookheritage.ie) run a zero-plastic policy.

Theres immense opportunity for Ireland to harness its potential as the leading eco-friendly destination. After all, we already have the green branding down  we just need to own it.

Location, location.

When travelling overseas, you should support countries and destinations with strong sustainability game. Norway, for example, is the first country to ban deforestation, Namibia is the only nation in Africa which protects the environment in its constitution, while Costa Rica has almost built its entire tourism industry on the eco-travel niche.

But amid all the recent cloud bursts of eco-friendliness, do be aware of greenwashing when it comes to businesses marketing as green with token gestures: sometimes it takes more than not washing your bath towels to really make a difference. Take the Bali Diving Academy in Indonesia who add an genuine element of conservation to their tours by leading underwater and beach plastic clean-ups. (scubali.com).

Pack Light

Heres a way to save the planet  and your coffers too. Extra baggage increases fuel consumption massively, which explains why we pay for it so handsomely nowadays. And while only MEPs might be expected to get by with emerging laptop bag allowances, perfecting your carry-on technique for European and even long haul getaways is a smart and surprisingly adaptable move.

Need the gear? Samsonite (samsonite.ie) now offer a new eco-range of carry-ons and backpacks made from 100% recycled water bottles.

For toiletries, soap is your friend. Kilkenny company myskin.ie creates all-natural, durable bars which save you dipping into your hotels micro-bead toiletries when you land. For on the go, invest in the likes of food-containers, bamboo sporks (thats a spoon/fork hybrid) and a re-useable water bottle from thelittlegreenshop.ie. Both Dublin and Cork airports offer hydration stations or water fountains beyond security, so you no longer have to purchase water on the fly.

Fair Food

From finding a farm-to-table restaurant in New York to opting for meat-free Montag in Berlin, making mindful decisions with your food when travelling can make a world of difference. So whats the recipe? Opting for organic produce, supporting artisan traders and yes, reducing meat, are all effective ways to reduce your footprint. As is shopping local  after all, what better way to immerse yourself in a new area than with a visit to a public market (note: dont forget that tote bag).

Vegans need to take stock too. While avocado toast looks great on Instagram, try to opt for fair trade options which are kinder to farmers in what is often a sinister industry. Going dairy-free? Be aware of water-guzzling milk alternatives like almond and soya while at the breakfast buffet  so use oat milk for your granola where possible.

The demand for local is even taking off in the skies. Aer Lingus are currently reviewing their menus to increase sustainability, Singapore Airlines launched a new a farm-to-plane agreement with the Aero-Farms company this month while Virgin Atlantic have removed unsustainable ingredients like beef and palm oil from their inflight menus.

Love Nature

Biodiversity is vital to Mother Natures natural balance, so the planet needs flora and fauna as much as you need a reusable coffee mug. And theres ways to protect that when travelling. Rule of thumb is if youre riding or kissing a creature youre likely to see on National Geographic, youve inched too close. When overseas, avoid buying animal products like sea-shells or exotic feathers, resist the likes of camel-riding and exotic monkey selfies, and dont be that guy on Facebook posing with a tranquillised tiger in India. These practices often have unsavoury back-stories and can fuel an illegal animal trade. They aint cool.

If you really want to get up close with animals in an impactful way, consider activities like walking rescue dogs in the BARC shelter in Brooklyn (barcshelter.org) or volunteering at an ethical elephant orphanage in Thailand (elephantvalleys.com). If the elephant is painting, chances are youve gone to the wrong one.

Go Camping: Leave no trace!

When it comes to going green, theres no more sustainable holiday than a camping trip  particularly when it comes to pitching up in Ireland.

For camping overseas, remember that most airport security wont permit tent poles in your hand- luggage, so youll need to purchase check-in luggage beforehand. But just think what youll save once on terra firma! Camping in Europe opens up a catalogue of otherwise pricey destinations - from sleeping on the foothills of the Swiss Alps (campingjungfrau.ch 18pp) to a cool summer in Scandinavia? Sweden  famous for its right-to-roam freedoms  has such a liberal camping policy, theyve even listed their entire country on Airbnb.

You can drop your price filter for the USA, too. Overnighting in epic locations like Yellowstone National Park (nps.gov) costs as little as $15 per night, while new start-up Hipcamp (hipcamp.com) allows you to book dream tenting spots across America from back yards to vineyards. Sustainable travel might not limit your horizons  it could just broaden them.
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Nama is 10 years old. Brian Lenihans brainchild to fix our collapsed banking system is about to reach its due completion date, but does so under a cloud of controversy which has dogged it since day-one.

It also bears a highly mixed legacy, to say the least, with calls this week that Nama more than anything else is responsible for the countrys housing crisis.

Nama and its defenders will say it will return a profit of 3.5bn back to the State; that it has been a success in cleaning up bad loans and distressed property assets; and it has done it efficiently and well.

Established in April 2009 by Lenihan as a means of stripping all of the bad debts from the bailed-out banks and restoring credit back into the system, Nama has been engulfed in mystery and treated with suspicion from many quarters.

Nama has destroyed the property market. The minister should call the people from Nama into his office and tell them to put 2bn or 3bn of property on the market at fire sale prices.

"These may be sold too cheaply but at least that would establish a floor in the property market and people would start again.

"Currently, everybody is watching prices continually falling and nobody will get into the market. They believe prices will fall further and are waiting for the bottom, is how Michael Noonan viewed Nama in 2010 just months before he would become finance minister.

As leading Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, put it: Namas structure and objectives create negative value, destroying incentives that can hurt... the economy.

Namas plan was to take loans, good and bad, with a book value of more than 72bn off the bailed out banks, paying just 32bn for them. It was given 10 years to work out those loans in order to return as much money as possible to the taxpayer.

We will chase developers to the ends of the earth, was Namas rallying cry in its early days.

Its job was to rid the busted banks of their toxic development loans and recapitalise them so they could lend again. Secondly, to restore a functioning property market.

Nama will ensure that credit flows again to viable businesses and households by cleansing the balance sheets of Irish banks. This is essential for economic recovery and the generation of employment.

"It will ensure that we avoid the Japanese outcome of zombie banks that are just ticking over and not making a vibrant contribution to economic growth, Lenihan said.

Its own mission statement read: Nama will conduct its activities in a way which assists the property market to operate efficiently and in a way which achieves longer-term sustainability.

Certainly, in the first five years of its existence, Namas record on both fronts was extremely dubious, and the availability of credit within the system has only fairly recently returned to a more normalised situation.

Bank lending remained unnaturally low, the property market went from a moribund wasteland to one where chronic shortages of adequate housing exist, particularly in the greater Dublin region.

Having said it would chase the reckless developers to the ends of the earth, Nama became engulfed in controversy when it was revealed that it was, in fact, working with same said developers and allowing them salaries of up to 200,000 a year.

Then along the way, it was decided that rather than chase and seek to recoup as much of the 72bn book value of the assets taken over by Nama, its remit was to merely break even on what it spent on the loans, ie the 32bn.

By doing so, Nama was crystalising a whopping 40bn loss to the taxpayer.

But it was not couched in terms of a loss  we have been told repeatedly by Namas bosses Frank Daly and Brendan McDonagh, the Department of Finance and even the Comptroller and Auditor General that it will make a profit.

Even Michael Noonan, who had demonised Nama in opposition, came to be one of its strongest supporters in Government and fell into line on the profit spin.

This very topic was the subject of pertinent questioning by Fine Gaels Michael Darcy of NUI Galway economics professor Alan Ahearne at the Oireachtas banking inquiry in 2015.

As Mr Lenihans special adviser from March 2009, Mr Ahearne was a key player in Namas development.

Here is how the exchange proceeded.

Mr DArcy: Would it be fair, then, to say, according to the Nama numbers, that therell be a loss of 41bn in the entire figure, on the 74bn?

Mr Ahearne: The banks would have lost 41bn on the loans that they made during the bubble, yes on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Yeah. So the conversation about Nama making a 1bn loss can I ask you your view on that? Is it a 1m  sorry, a 1bn profit, or is it a 41bn loss?

Mr Ahearne: The banks have made losses of 40bn off it  on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Which is the fairest? Is it Nama making a 1bn profit or the banks losing 41bn?

Mr Ahearne: Well, you can say both of them.

Mr DArcy: Well, Im asking you. Mr Ahearne: Because theyll both be true.

Mr DArcy: Im asking you which is yours.

Mr Ahearne: Id say both.

As Nama looks to the end of its original projected lifespan and its legacy will be examined, it must start being honest with itself and the public about the basic facts of its

existence.

I am not saying it lost this money. The idiot greedy bankers, along with their Fianna Fail cheerleaders and their developer clients, did the damage.

Namas job was to clean up the mess and it has managed to make progress.

But given how secretive Nama is about its dealings, it is difficult to make a considered judgement on its work as of now.

Aside from its secretive modus operandi, Nama has been engulfed in various controversies.

In 2016, ex Nama official, Enda Farrell, pleaded guilty to eight charges of leaking potentially commercially sensitive information to third parties between May and July 2012, some months after leaving Nama.

Reports from the time state that Farrell sat stony-faced in the dock as the sorry tale of his misdeeds dating from 2012 was explained to Judge Karen OConnor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

These actions breached two sections of the Nama Act 2009 which underpinned the establishment of the agency, gave it extensive powers, and made Farrells actions a criminal offence.

More serious than that, is the still yet to be concluded Commission of Investigation into the sale of Namas Northern Ireland loan book, given the title Project Eagle, following months of controversy.

The Commission of Investigation into Project Eagle has asked the Government for a six-month extension to the end of June for a final report to be completed.

The Government appointed retired High Court judge John Cooke in June 2017 to investigate Namas 1.24bn (1.38bn) sale in 2014 of the portfolio to US distressed-debt firm Cerberus.

Independent TD, Mick Wallace, had alleged in the Dail that 7m in fees related to the transaction had been lodged in a bank account in the Isle of Man that was reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or party following the transaction.

It is also under investigation by British authorities.

Former Cabinet minister-turned-broadcaster, Ivan Yates, has accused Nama of continuously licking themselves in terms of their public relations machine.

He added bluntly that its holding of so many properties, making it, at one time, the largest property portfolio in the world, has precipitated the housing crisis.

Nama are responsible for the housing crisis because they got all this land and turned development land into a commodity, they sat on the land.

"They were asleep at the wheel and they should have been building houses, said Yates.

So, as we reach this 10-year milestone, it might be noted that it has had some success, but Namas bib is far from clean.
For the journalist Gauri Lankesh, railing against Indias right-wing nationalism was a birthright and a calling. In an increasingly intolerant country, it was also a death sentence, writes Rollo Romig.

Gauri Lankesh usually worked late on Tuesday nights. The exuberantly leftist weekly newspaper she edited, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, went to press on Wednesdays, and she had to finalise the articles.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, she drove home early, around 7:45 pm; she had an evening appointment with a repairmen to fix her TV. The last person she spoke to before leaving the office was Satish, the papers information-technology manager (who goes by a single name).

At its peak, Gauri Lankesh Patrikes circulation numbered only in the high four digits, and Lankesh mostly wrote in Kannada, a regional language understood by only 3.6% of Indians (though in hyper-populous India, that is 48 million people, more than the population of Spain).

However, her political activism and her lively social media presence extended her reach far beyond the papers print run.

At a time of intense vitriol against the press in India, she was a fearless, sometimes reckless critic of the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which has held power in India since 2014.

Her paper was a tabloid in every sense, gleefully sensational and indifferent to decorum.

However, the vehemence and humour of her polemics in defence of pluralism and minority rights had made her a beloved figure to an increasingly embattled opposition.

She was more vulnerable than she sounded on the page. She reminded one friend of a sparrow: her head topped with a feathery whorl of short gray hair, bursting with noisy argument but fundamentally gentle.

At 55, she was 5ft and a half-inch tall  she always insisted on the half-inch, her ex-husband, the journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, said  and skinny, possibly because of her heavy smoking and her tendency to work through mealtimes.

She lived alone in an unusually quiet pocket of Bangalore, the capital city of the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Her lone concession to friends and family concerned about her safety was a few closed-circuit TV cameras she installed half a year earlier  cameras that captured some of what happened on the night of September 5.

Just after 8pm she parked her car, a compact white Toyota, at an indifferent angle, then jumped out to open the gate. From the camera footage, it appeared that she hadnt noticed the motorcycle with two riders that had followed her home.

The moment she got her gate open, the motorcycles passenger rushed up and shot her with a crude pistol. Two bullets hit her in the abdomen, one passing through her liver.

Lankesh turned to run, and the third shot missed her and struck a wall. A fourth bullet hit her in the back, passing through a lung and grazing her heart before exiting through the left cup of her bra.

The whole encounter lasted about five seconds. Within a minute, the repairmen pulled up and found her splayed across the entryway to her house in a pool of blood.

About 20,000 people attended a Bangalore rally in her honour a week later. Her friends marvelled not only at the number of supporters but at their variety: writers, students,

activists, members of the marginalised Dalit and Adivasi communities, transgender women, rickshaw drivers, landless farmers, Muslims, Christians.

Large I Am Gauri demonstrations arose nationwide in outrage at the increasing attacks, rhetorical and physical, on Indian journalists.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, routinely tweets condolences after aeroplane crashes in foreign countries but made no comment about Lankeshs murder.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has been keeping track of 35 cases of Indian journalists murdered specifically for their work since 1992, and only two of these cases have resulted in a successful conviction.

Indias newspaper culture has long been among the most varied and vigorous in the world, which the countrys free-speech laws help enable.

However, India has no explicit constitutional protection of freedom of the press, and the laws that do exist are easily curtailable in the interest of security, public decency or religious sentiment.

The situation has unquestionably deteriorated over the past several years  a fact that owes much to the ascent of the BJP. In the 2014 elections, the party won 282 of the 545 seats in the lower house of Indias Parliament, which determines the prime ministership.

The Congress Party, which has led nearly every Indian government since independence, won only 44. Political pressure on journalists is nothing new in India, but the current government is the first in many years to treat them as an ideological enemy. Since he took office in 2014, Modi has not held a single news conference in India.

Among BJP politicians, a popular term for journalists is presstitutes. A dispatch on Indian journalism last year by the Committee to Protect Journalists described an unprecedented climate of self censorship and fear, reporting, the media is in the worst state India has ever seen.

By the end of May, national elections will determine if Modi and the BJP are elected to another five years. Hostility toward journalists and opposition figures is intensifying as voting day approaches.

The investigative journalist Rana Ayyub, best known for her investigation into BJP complicity in religious riots (which Lankesh had published in a Kannada translation), wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year that she has been the target of an unrelenting online assault by right-wing activists: Her face was grafted on a pornographic video; her home address and phone number were circulated; there were threats of gang rape.

Lankeshs murder seemed to fit what was by then an unmistakable pattern of assassinations of intellectuals who opposed the fundamentalist-Hindu ideology that animates the BJP, all of which remained unsolved.

Between 2013 and 2015, three religiously freethinking Indian writers and activists were shot dead near their homes by assailants who escaped on motorcycles: the doctor Narendra Dabholkar, in Pune; the politician Govind Pansare, in Kolhapur; and the scholar MM Kalburgi, in Dharwad.

After Kalburgis murder, scores of Indian writers returned their awards from the National Academy of Letters to protest both the lack of progress in the murder investigations and the BJPs silence over rising intolerance,

to no effect.

There was much anxious speculation over who might be the next writer to die. However, few thought it would be Lankesh, in part simply because she lived in Bangalore.

Situated on a plateau at the centre of Indias southern triangle, Bangalore has a reputation as an easygoing, tolerant place. It reflects Indias diversity  its melange of cultures, languages, religions and histories  more than most places.

It is a city that attracts migrants from all over the country. Indias science-research efforts have centred on Bangalore for more than a century as has, in recent decades, its information-technology industry, and the city consequently has one of the worlds most educated workforces.

According to the Karnataka Police, a year can pass in Bangalore without a single instance of a gun used in a crime. To many Bangaloreans,

Lankeshs murder felt like the violent announcement of the end of an era  an era that had arguably sprung from the imagination of Lankeshs father, P Lankesh.

A commanding figure with huge eyeglasses and a generous moustache, Lankesh was a compulsively productive, endlessly quarrelsome English professor, fiction writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker, essayist and journalist.

He dominated the cultural and political discourse in Karnataka for the 20 years in which he edited Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid he founded in 1980.

Gauri Lankesh grew up in her fathers shadow. When he died in 2000, it was unthinkable that anyone could fill his shoes  least of all his daughter, who was then barely literate in Kannada. However, her family legacy proved irresistible, and she moved back to Bangalore to serve as the papers editor.

Lankesh found she loved it. She never approached her fathers literary talents in Kannada but was his equal in pluck. Her immersion in Karnatakas problems transformed her into a leftist and an activist, and Lankesh Patrike transformed with her.

Its new direction led to an ideological rift with the papers owner and publisher, her brother Indrajit. In 2005, she left the paper, and the next week she started a new tabloid of her own: Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

There are two main rival ideas of India. One idea is the pluralist, multi- religious, multicultural vision on which the country was founded in 1947. The other is known as Hindutva: a fundamentalist, majoritarian movement that seeks to codify and enforce orthodox Hinduism and to define India as an explicitly Hindu country (despite the fact that India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world).

The most important Hindutva organisation is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a powerful Hindu-nationalist paramilitary group that was founded in 1925 and reportedly has millions of members.

The Hindutva groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are known collectively as the Sangh Parivar. One of them is the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress Party, whose politics are generally secular and social democratic, has undoubtedly been guilty at times of suppressing the press and of condoning the mass slaughter of religious minorities.

However, many Indian liberals fear that the BJPs overwhelming victory in 2014 marks the most profound threat to Indias democracy and pluralism since its founding.

The BJP had controlled the prime ministership before, for six years, after breaking the Congress Partys longtime hold on the office in the 1998 elections, but only as part of a coalition government that required it to tamp down its hardline positions.

A BJP re-election this year would be seen as a mandate to fully implement the partys ideology. In the BJPs rhetoric, being Indian is equated with being Hindu, and religious minorities are spoken of as if they were foreigners. Critics are branded as anti-national.

Advocates of a secular Indian state  which the Indian constitution calls for in its very first sentence  are called sickulars.

Such talk has already emboldened a surge of vigilantism. Since the BJP took power, what is known as cow protection has become increasingly a matter of national politics  the cow holds religious importance to many Hindus  and lynch mobs have murdered scores of people, largely Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or selling cattle.

In July last year, a BJP minister invited to his home eight men who had been convicted in such a lynching and presented them with garlands and sweets.

By the time the BJP won in 2014, Lankesh had, for nearly a decade, been using her own newspaper to thrust herself into the centre of local debates over Hindu nationalism. She sometimes got death threats at the office, either by phone or by mail. She would ignore it, her colleague Satish said.

She would say, who will shoot me? We didnt take it seriously. Like her father, she often treated political argument like sport.

She loved it, Lankeshs sister, Kavitha Lankesh, said.

She loved fighting, she loved voicing her views, she took great pleasure in standing up for people. She would make a joke, saying, I am on the hitlist, and she felt proud to say that.

More than once, her subjects reported her to the police for criminal defamation and libel.

Such charges rarely hold up in Indian courts, but they are effective in harassing journalists because the accused must show up in court wherever the charge is filed. Lankeshs opponents would file cases all over the state.

Her lawyer, Venkatesh Bubberjung, would advise Lankesh to be more careful in her words.

Shed say: I am going to call a scoundrel a scoundrel! Its your job to defend me, he said.

In November 2016 she was finally convicted in a criminal defamation case over a story she published eight years earlier claiming that several BJP leaders had defrauded a jeweller and was sentenced to six months in jail. (The sentence was immediately suspended, and when she was killed, she was awaiting appeal.)

I asked Venkatesh if Lankeshs rhetoric went overboard at times.

Frequently, not at times! he said.

In one example that particularly offended her opponents, in response to a campaign to mail sanitary napkins to Modi to protest a new tax on menstrual hygiene products, she suggested on Twitter that women mail napkins that had already been used.

However, Lankesh had defenders among mainstream Indian liberals too, like the historian Ramachandra Guha.

There is no such thing as overboard, he insisted, pointedly paraphrasing an adage that had been a favourite of the former BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

The answer to a piece of writing is another piece of writing. Its not murdering someone.

For nearly six months after Lankeshs murder, there were no arrests. However, in May, the Karnataka Polices special investigation team filed a charge sheet against a Hindutva activist named KT Naveen Kumar.

Fifteen more suspects have been arrested and charged in the months since then; all are in jail awaiting trial and are expected to plead not guilty. Police are still searching for two more.

The accused include a young utensil salesman named Parashuram Waghmare, who the police say confessed to pulling the trigger. The police also say that Waghmare wasnt familiar with Lankesh when the conspirators asked him to kill her, so they showed him YouTube videos of her speeches to persuade him to commit the murder.

They gave him 10,000 rupees, or around 140. The police suspect that the accused are part of an apparently nameless, multi-state right-wing assassination network with at least 60 members.

Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has kept his silence. He has never publicly mentioned Lankeshs name or referred to her case.

In the months since Lankesh was shot, some of her friends and colleagues have grown more cautious about what they write and say and post to social media, even as this years unusually fraught and uncertain Election Day approaches.

Others have found themselves speaking out where they wouldnt have before. Prakash Raj, a popular film actor and friend of Lankeshs who had previously been quiet on politics, is now running for office on what could be called the Gauri platform.

When we buried Gauri, we were actually sowing her, he said at a literary festival in January.

They thought she could be silenced, but she lives through us. And if I end up in the parliament, it will be Gauris voice that will be heard there.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in The New York Times Magazine 2019 The New York Times
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 (12:01 am) - Score 2,110

Broadband is no longer a luxury good, but flows through households and businesses as freely as running water. Quality broadband allows us to live better and more fulfilling lives, and it is a lifeline for businesses to connect with the rest of the world.

In the thirty years since the launch of the world wide web, the world has gone from sceptically regarding the internet as a niche invention to being totally dependent on it. If you look at how broadband speeds have become faster and faster over the last few years, it is clear that technology is improving at a quicker rate than ever. This makes you think, if broadband already plays such a big part in our lives, then how much more dependent are we going to be on broadband over the next thirty years?

NOTE: This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ). The views of this author are their own and may not represent those of this website.

Encouragingly, the UK Government understands the positive economic value of broadband, and has rightly set out its ambitions to provide full fibre broadband nationwide by 2033. ISPA fully supports this ambition, and our members have been working tirelessly to design, build and fund broadband rollout to make this vision a reality.

However, the simple truth is that unless the Government takes a more active role in facilitating the rollout of broadband, it runs the risk of not achieving its ambition of full fibre availability by 2033. As I will outline, this vision is still achievable, but it will require direct action from the Government to mitigate a series of barriers prohibiting the efficient rollout and delivery of broadband.

Government Funding

The first hurdle the Government ought to look at is whether its commitment to funding this project actually matches the lofty ambitions it has set out for itself? To be clear, broadband investment is primarily funded through private investment with some public support through the various Government initiatives (e.g. Digital Investment Fund and LFFN).

In order to be cost effective, the focus of ISPs is often on prioritising the rollout and delivery of broadband in areas where it is economically viable. This conflicts with the Governments ambition, which is to provide nationwide full fibre access. There are firms willing to address these areas, but they need to have a regulatory framework that is both light touch and supportive.

ISPs are constantly criticised by rural communities and their MPs about insufficient broadband access in these areas. Considering it is the Governments ambition to provide nationwide access to full fibre broadband, surely it is right that they put their hand in their pocket to do more to fund the rollout and delivery of broadband in these rural areas?

Of all the projects that the Government has committed to in recent years, which will deliver the most benefits for greater connectivity and for the UK economy in the long term? It is not hard to come to the conclusion that nationwide broadband rollout tops this list. So, the Government should be far more willing to match its lofty ambitions with the necessary funding to provide broadband access for these hardest to reach areas.

Barriers to broadband rollout

Although insufficient Government funding will impact the long-term vision of broadband availability, there are a set of immediate challenges that are preventing ISPs from rolling out broadband effectively, and urgently need addressing. These barriers divert resources, waste time and ultimately hinder the progress of delivering broadband infrastructure.

Burdensome business rates are a significant barrier because they limit how much ISPs can invest into rollout and takes away the very funding that Government provides elsewhere. ISPA believes that if these rates are relaxed  or at the very least reformed to be equitable, transparent and simpler  then ISPs would be allowed to focus more of their funds and attention on delivering broadband infrastructure.

Additionally, there are several more physical barriers that have proven detrimental to our mission. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, ISPs are often forced to devote time and resources to navigating layers of red tape. Whilst the Government have begun work to ease these pressures with upcoming legislation around granting access to buildings, there is a still a need to engage with and upskill local authorities to ensure that these infrastructure projects are properly prioritised, and implemented consistently, across the country. The administrative burden of complying with these barriers inevitably causes delays, impacts operational efficiency and increases costs. ISPs should be building networks, not jumping through hoops.

There is also an unnecessary obsession from Ofcom and consumer groups such as Which? about the price of broadband. This culture of price obsession has encouraged a race to the bottom for the broadband market, where value for money takes precedence over the quality of service, and the provider who offers the lowest prices is often seen as the most appealing. This is counterproductive to the rollout and delivery of broadband, as it simply means that ISPs have less revenue to invest in our mission.

Online Safety

It is important to highlight that in addition to rolling out and delivering broadband, ISPs also have a responsibility to ensure online safety. This is a responsibility that ISPs take extremely seriously, and our members have continually worked with Government and other stakeholders to help make the internet a safer place. There are also technical changes such as DNS over HTTPS that could bind the hands of ISPs to tackle online safety effectively.

The recently published Online Harms White Paper was significant because the only proposal relevant to our members was for ISPs to block non-compliant websites and apps. The Government has recognised the good work that our members are doing in this area, and it is clear that the onus is now on social media sites and other parts of the internet value chain to step up and take more responsibility for the content on their platforms.

We believe that this is a positive step to combat online harms, but one that should be handled carefully. ISPs already have to divert enough resources and funding to tackle the administrative burden that is created by the regulatory spaghetti of multiple regulators and government departments making demands of our members.

By highlighting that additional measures to tackle online safety must be implemented by online platforms instead of ISPs, it allows ISPs to focus on the rollout and deliver of broadband nationwide.

Conclusion

To conclude, the message here is simple. If the Government wants to achieve its ambition of providing nationwide full fibre coverage by 2033, then ISPs desperately need a more accommodating framework to work under. The challenges that we face are serious, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the barriers that prevent the nationwide rollout of full fibre broadband. It is encouraging that the Government did not target ISPs for extensive further responsibilities in the Online Harms White Paper, but it needs to go much further to create a regulatory and practical framework that will unleash broadband rollout.

We should not underestimate the value of this project. It is perhaps the single most important infrastructure project that the UK will undertake in our lifetime to guarantee the long-term economic health of the UK. Failure to achieve this vision risks the UK falling behind other countries that have prioritised innovation and technology as the foundation of their economies. Our industry is united in our call to the Government to work with us to get on with the job of rolling out full fibre and 5G for all.

 Andrew Glover, Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
May 4, 2019



POCATELLO  Idaho State University graduates were encouraged to continue their Bengal roar as they head out into the world at ISU spring commencement ceremonies May 4 in Holt Arena.

After graduation you will have the right to forever to call yourself a Bengal. The right to tell the world, proudly, that you are a graduate of Idaho State University. That is your right, said Kevin Satterlee, ISU president. Now, here is your responsibility, and I charge and task you with this, right here and right now  go out in the world and make us proud. Live that better life and never forget your roar.

Graduate and Associated Students of ISU President Logan Schmidt, spoke about the challenges he and other students met on the way to earning their degrees and thanked those who supported them.

I want to challenge all of you to continue your roar, and be a mentor, a leader or a hero for someone else now, Schmidt said. Give them the love and support your family did. Show them the possibilities a college degree can provide for them. Show them the path of excellence and bring as many individuals up in this world as you can, because that is what Bengals do.

A total of 2,553 graduates received 2,714 degrees and certificates. One hundred fifty-nine students received multiple certificates and/or degrees.

The breakdown of graduates included 38 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 11 Doctor of Education degrees, four Doctor of Arts degrees, six Doctor of Audiology degrees, 14 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 25 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 78 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, 11 Educational Specialist degrees, 508 masters degrees, 53 academic certificates, 1,259 bachelors degrees, 472 associate degrees, and 235 certificates from the College of Technology.

ISU student Tara Cluff performed the national anthem. The faculty mace was placed by the 2019 Distinguished Teacher, Marco Schoen.

Satterlee greeted the audience and conferred the degrees.

ISU Executive Vice President and Provost for academic affairs Laura Woodworth-Ney recognized the distinguished faculty who are Schoen, Distinguished Service Cindy Seiger and Distinguished Researcher Kathleen Lohse.

Presentation of graduates was by the University deans.

Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2019 are: Doug Butler, Dallas, Texas, College of Arts and Letters - Social and Behavioral Sciences; Stefanie Pemper, Annapolis, Maryland, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Brent J. Stacey, Idaho Falls, College of Science and Engineering; Rick K. Eskelson, Pocatello, College of Technology; Dan and Barbara Fuchs, Twin Falls, College of Pharmacy; Kelly Rae, Reno, Nevada, College of Education; Dan Mills, Salt Lake City, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Heidi Halverson, Missoula, Montana, College of Health Professions; Joan Agee, Nampa, College of Nursing; Larry Bird, Boise, College of Business; and Bruce Kusch, Salt Lake City, Graduate School.

Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2019 are Kirby Kinghorn, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions; Cassandra Smith, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions  Dental Hygiene; Trager Hintze, Purcell, Oklahoma, College of Pharmacy; Jenna Strop, Boise, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Whitney Heuer, Idaho Falls, College of Nursing; Eighdi Aung, Yangon, Burma (Myanmar), College of Science and Engineering  Engineering; McKenzie Mangun, Caldwell, College of Science and Engineering  Natural and Physical Science; Brittany Garrett, Riverton, Utah, College of Education; Logan Schmidt, Pocatello, College of Business; Jessica Hamway, Boston, Massachusetts, College of Technology; Rachel Godin, Eagle, College of Arts and Letters  Social and Behavioral Sciences; William Veloso, Meridian and Gold Beach, Oregon, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Alyssa Millard, Merrill, Wisconsin, Graduate School  Masters Recipient; and Omid Heidari, Ghaenshahr, Iran, Graduate School  Doctoral Recipient.

Graduates are encouraged to share their memories on social media at #isugrads.

Photo information: ISU President Kevin Sattterlee addressing graduates and guests at commencement.
The company is conducting its own review and has taken remedial and improvement measures based upon this review, including replacement of a number of employees in China and enhancements of company policies and procedures in China.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey called the two legal and regulatory issues significant overhangs following Herbalife successfully fending off in 2018 the multiyear attack of billionaire hedge-fund activist Bill Ackman.

It would be super nice to put these matters to rest and would make the next debt deal much easier, Ramey said.

Yet, one has to say that the risk profile of Herbalife is perhaps the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Ramey said Herbalife may be preparing for another Dutch auction of its stocks after Aug. 19, which could allow its largest investor, billionaire hedge-fund activist Carl Icahn, to sell off more shares.

Companies use the Dutch auction method to repurchase a predetermined value of shares within a set price range in a relatively short amount of time, typically one to two months, according to analysts with SeekingAlpha.com.
The next day, he filled out another Healthcare Request where he wrote I have Asthma and I take steroids. They have ran out and its really affecting my breathing.

That same day, he filled out a grievance form: I feel that my life is in jeopardy because I have severe asthma and I cant get my inhaler when needed. I have asked over and over that something be done to no response. My next step is to bring someone of a higher power... He told jail staff to call his doctor to explain his condition and repeats his need for steroids.

Please someone respond, Coley said, according to the lawsuit.

Surratt, a licensed practicing nurse, saw Coley the next day at 2 a.m.

He was audibly wheezing, with crackles in both lungs, grunting, using accessory muscles to breathe, and leaning forward to breathe, commonly referred to by medical providers as tripodding, the lawsuit said.
UNCSA awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 246 students. More than 1,000 people, including their parents, friends, children and spouses, attended Saturdays ceremony.

John Russell of Greensboro was among the students who received a masters degree in filmmaking. Russell pursued his graduate degree while he worked full time as a library specialist at Winston-Salem State University.

This means everything to me, Russell said of his diploma. It took a long time and a lot of energy.

During her speech, Campbell advised the students to keep a realistic outlook on life as she congratulated them.

There is no person, no relationship, no job, no reward, no outfit, no body type, no material possession and no amount of money that will make you happy forever, Campbell said. So stop looking outside yourself for it because it does not exist.

Set goals, dream big, make improvements upon yourself, she said. Work hard, be kind, show up, love yourself and what makes you different and amazing things can happen for you. ... Now get out there and make the world a better place for all of us.
President Trump last week tried to justify his defense of the 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville by invoking the memory of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. The demonstrators, argued the president, doubling down, were indeed very fine people because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.

Lee was indeed a great general. But so what?

For more than 100 years, Lee and other generals of the Confederacy have been invoked to justify the cause of segregation and Jim Crow bigotry. Their statues  including the one of Lee in Charlottesville  were erected in the South when the federal government abandoned Reconstruction and allowed Southern whites to disenfranchise, and then terrorize, the newly freed African Americans living among them. Those statues, and the romanticized memory of the Confederate cause that they are intended to evoke, serve a bad cause. Last week, Trump again identified himself with that bad cause.

We already have a better way to look at Robert E. Lee. Not an angry way, but a just one.
Sasses bill  recently blocked by Senate Democrats  does precisely what its unwieldy name implies. It deals only with the case of an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a child born alive. And it does not mandate medical care even in these cases. Instead, it requires doctors to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Cases in this category are admittedly tiny in number. The only remotely authoritative figures I have seen come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (by way of FactCheck.Org). In the period from 2003 to 2014, the CDC recorded 143 cases in which children were born alive after attempted abortions. (Because it is sometimes difficult for the CDC to distinguish induced from spontaneous terminations, the overall number is probably a bit higher.) In 2017, for example, Minnesota had three reported cases of attempted abortions that produced infants born alive. In one case, according to the state Department of Health, the infant was given comfort care until it died.
Part of our history

Our Dixie fairgrounds are at issue. I think our thinking should be fair! Slavery was horrible, but that was then. We live in the South and we have our traditions and history.

I was not upset with Silent Sam being on the UNC Chapel Hill campus because it was a part of our history. I was not upset with our statue at the old courthouse. This was a part of our history. Should we move the Washington and Jefferson memorials in Washington, D.C. because George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? How can we erase part of our history? We can learn from it, however.

Bob Matthews

Winston-Salem

Negotiations

It doesnt bother me that the U.S. pledged to pay North Korea $2 million to free American hostage Otto Warmbier. Nor does it bother me that we wont pay North Korea (though considering President Trumps habit of lying, its not going to surprise me if we learn that we did pay North Korea).


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Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.

The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the states governor Hashim Khalid.

About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp but it they soon unleashed violence on a unit of armed forces, in Nyala, Khalid said.

Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left critically wounded, he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.

After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the regions military headquarters and organised by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.

The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.

It called to reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala.

Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum since weeks.

Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the countrys army rulers hand over power to civilians.

A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudans western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoums Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.

Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.

In recent years Darfur has seen an overall fall in violence, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
Ankara on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for the bombing of a building housing the Turkish state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

We condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms for targeting a building in Gaza, in which the @anadoluagency office was located, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidencys chief communications director, said on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone, he said.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff had been evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a tyrant after Netanyahu called him a dictator and a joke.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  A mother from Grants Pass accused of eluding police as she absconded with her kids during a custody dispute was later tracked down in Las Vegas, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS).

On April 12, police officers visited 33-year-old Tiffany Gallego in an attempt to serve her with a court order. Her 4-year-old son's father had been granted full custody of the child. Instead, GPDPS said that Gallego fled in her vehicle with three of her children in the car, leading officers on a short car chase.

"Officers terminated the pursuit due to the reckless driving behavior of Gallego and the risk of harm to the children and the public," the agency said.

Detectives came to believe that Gallego was trying to leave the state with the 4-year-old child. It took cooperation from a number of agencies between the Rogue Valley and Nevada, but Gallego was eventually located in Las Vegas on May 2.

According to GPDPS, officers took Gallego into custody without incident, finding the 4-year-old in the motel room "safe and sound." The 4-year-old is being returned to his father, and officers found one other of Gallego's children in the room who is now in the care of the Department of Human Services. GPDPS did not mention the third child that was supposedly with Gallego at the outset.

Gallego has been charged with two counts of Custodial Interference 1, three counts of Reckless Endangering, Felony Elude, Reckless Driving, and Interfering with a Police Officer.

"An AMBER Alert was not utilized in this investigation as it did not meet the requirements, as there were no facts to indicate the child was in any danger of harm," the agency said. "Amber Alerts have specific criteria in place to prevent overuse of the system. Detectives utilized several other resources and partner agencies in order to attempt to locate Gallego and ensure the safety for all involved."

GPDPS was aided by the Pacific Northwest Violent Task Force (Medford), Las Vegas Metro Police, Henderson Police, and the Las Vegas Sex Offender Predator Apprehension Team and Vigilant Solutions.

"Grants Pass Department of Public Safety want to express their appreciation to the agencies that assisted in the safe recovery of the child and the apprehension of Gallego," the agency said.
MEDFORD, Ore.  For decades, the nonprofit Sparrow Clubs has seen burgeoning participation and popularity with their programs in Oregon, making heart-warming pairings between kids in medical need and young students who become their biggest champions. Now the organization is spreading its wings and bringing the same programs to other states.

Sparrow Clubs announced that it had established a new chapter at Boise High School in Idaho on Thursday, sponsored by Black Rock Coffee Bar. A post from Sparrow Clubs showed the students of Boise High welcoming their first Sparrow, Jorge.

"Jorge is 16 and is fighting bone cancer now for the third time. This show of support was just what this courageous teen and his family needed today in the midst of this battle," the organization said.

Meanwhile, Sparrow Clubs has been making inroads in Arizona since 2018. The nonprofit recently received support from Black Rock and the Arizona Diamondbacks to establish more programs in the Phoenix area, and there have been several Arizona Sparrows already.

The Sparrow Clubs programs have become deeply rooted in the Southern Oregon community. Every Sparrow sponsored represents a partnership between a child who might otherwise be considered an outsider, the students of a local school, and community partners looking to make a difference. While the partners commit funds to help pay for a Sparrow's medical bills, the students commit to acts of service as a way of showing their support.

For more stories on Sparrow Clubs from NewsWatch 12 from past and in the future, you can visit our Sparrow Clubs page here.
The prosecution noted that the mens cooperation in the investigation and testifying at Quinns trial was valuable. The prosecution stated that these men did make terrible decisions, but each of the men had minimal criminal history before this case and were at low risk to offend again.
You stride purposefully into the living room and then, your mind goes blank. You cant remember what you planned to do. Or you memorize a short grocery list. But when you arrive at the supermarket all you can recall is yogurt. What else were you supposed to buy?

Then there are those times you bump into whats-his-name at work. Or struggle to dredge up the title of that book you wanted to buy or movie you saw last week.

Such lapses are presumed to be a normal feature of the aging brain. They cant be helped.

Or can they? Researchers at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine and Boston University report tantalizing progress in related experiments to boost short- and longer-term memory. The first type is working memory. Thats whats used to remind yourself of a phone number you just heard, or to take your medication. Then theres longer-term memory that helps you recall something that happened weeks or years ago.
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions, which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out, and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic Cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send all questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Father Tom Hartman.

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All throughout Kenosha County, you may begin to notice a blue, plastic shopping bag delivered to homes soon.

This signifies that the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is almost upon us.

Food will be collected Saturday, May 11, at the time your mail is delivered.

This food drive allows all of us in the county the ability to contribute to our very own community without needing to leave the comfort of our homes ... or rather I should say only having to go as far as the mailbox.

NALC Food Drive

Many years before the official start of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive in the early 1990s, a number of mail carriers at branches throughout the nation collected food for those in need as part of community service efforts.

A coordinated event was initially piloted in 1991, with such success that bringing the food drive nationwide came soon after.

The event was tweaked after consultation with food banks and pantries, ultimately bringing the food drive to its home on the second Saturday in May.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive continues to be present in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam and is the United States largest single-day food drive. Stamp Out Hunger is carrying out its 27th annual event this year.

Kenosha Countys Stamp Out Hunger

This year, the food collected will be distributed by local food pantries: 1Hope, Salvation Army, Shalom Center and Sharing Center.

This four-legged network of pantries has worked together to acquire the donation bags, coordinate advertising, assemble volunteers and ensure distribution.

Kenosha County post offices participating in the event include Bristol, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Salem, Silver Lake, Trevor and Wilmot.

Good news: If you forget to place your donations by your mailbox on May 11, they can be dropped off at the local participating post offices or food pantries by May 13.

Even better news: If you misplace the official bag between now and then, you can place donations in any bag and place it near your mailbox on May 11.

Food donation tips

Barbara Ingham and Jennifer Park-Mroch of UW-Madison Division of Extension offer guidelines in ensuring safety and quality of food donations:

Avoid donating items with high amounts of sugars, salt or that would be difficult to incorporate into a nutritious meal.

Inspect the package to ensure products are not opened, damaged or leaking.

Check the Better if used by/expiration/pull by date on food.

Preferred donations:

Canned vegetables (ideally without added salt).

Canned fruits in juice or unsweetened applesauce.

100 percent fruit juice.

Dried fruit.

Canned meats and fish.

Whole grain pasta, rice, crackers or popcorn.

Canned beans.

Peanut butter.

Whole gran, low sugar cereal or oatmeal.

Soup or broth (reduced sodium).

For more information about the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive visit https://nalc.org/food and for information about Kenosha Countys efforts visit https://www.facebook.com/events/565959597235635/.

Mary Metten is health and well-being educator for Kenosha County University of Wisconsin-Extension.

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Tremper High School will be adding more staff to monitor doors during arrival and dismissal, according to district officials, after a former student entered the school earlier this week and made threats to kill people.

Tanya Ruder, Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman, said the decision was made after a debriefing with school officials and Trempers school resource officer from the Kenosha Police Department.

Student and staff safety is a top priority of the district, and we are confident that things were handled very well by our staff and students in this situation. In addition, we greatly appreciate the support and prompt response of our local law enforcement, Ruder said Thursday.

According to Ruder, protocols and procedures were correctly followed in the incident and that the increased staff presence would bring added security.

On Monday, the former student showed up at the high school and walked into the building, speaking with other students in the commons area, according to a Kenosha Police Department report.

Witnesses said the former student began talking about committing homicide, pulling a Confederate-flag bandana over his face and announcing he was ready.

Students reported the incident around 7:30 a.m. Officials reviewed video surveillance which showed the former student leaving the campus at 7:22 a.m.

The student was expelled in December and was not supposed to be on campus. He was referred to police for trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. He was placed in juvenile detention.

According to police, he had already been on an ankle monitor for other pending charges. No weapons were found in his home.

It is important to note Wisconsin Act 143 requires that any exterior door left unlocked during the school day, from student arrival to dismissal, must be monitored by a dedicated staff member, Ruder said in a statement.

Accessible doors

In fall of 2018, all KUSD schools underwent a safety assessment led by our facilities team and building leadership to determine any gaps in safety protocols. At this time, it was discovered that Tremper had more doors accessible than necessary, and they immediately adjusted their procedures and protocols to allow only two doors near the commons area to be open for arrival and dismissal periods. These doors are monitored by dedicated staff members during this time, she said.

In addition, one or two other doors may be utilized as needed for students with special needs, but they also are monitored by dedicated staff. After the arrival period ends, all visitors are required to enter through the locked and monitored main entrance.

We are extremely proud of our students who immediately reported the incident and concerns to administration and the swiftness in which the administration and the Kenosha Police Department handled the incident, she said.

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Its not typical for us, as elected officials, to make public recommendations for or against the release of a prison inmate.

But given the crime he committed, premediated and without a real motive, we do not believe Eric S. Nelson is a typical prison inmate.

Last month, we joined the family of the late Joseph Vite in calling for the Wisconsin Parole Commission to deny Nelsons release. Now, as the commissions May 14 hearing date is nearing, we would like to reiterate our request that the community join us in signing a petition opposing parole for Nelson.

Nelson is the man who fired the shot to the head that killed Vite, after lying in wait to attack in Vites Bristol home, on Jan. 16, 1985. Nelson was acting alongside Daniel Dower, Vites foster son, who spent months planning the murder.

On the evening of Vites murder, Nelson was in violation of a court-ordered curfew, set just two days before the murder, for a separate case in which he was charged with the armed burglary of another victims private residence.

Its important to note that Nelson had apparently never met Joseph Vite before committing his murder. And thats why we believe it is imperative that he remain in prison.

Most people who commit murder have an ax to grind with the victim, or theyre in it for significant personal gain, monetary or otherwise. Nelson does not fit that profile.

Nelson was willing to adopt someone elses feud, just for a few guns and a small amount of money. He was willing to end someones life for little more than a thrill and a road trip in a stolen car.

We believe in rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Kenosha County demonstrates that principle through our commitment to programs such as the criminal diversion treatment courts, which place an emphasis on turning over a new leaf and starting a new life, rather than spending a life behind bars.

Nelsons actions years ago give us pause. His brutal slaying of Joseph Vite devastated a family, and demonstrated a character that cannot be trusted to be free in our community.

If Nelson and Dower had committed this crime a few years later, Wisconsins Truth in Sentencing Law may likely have precluded their release from prison. But under the law in place when they were convicted in 1985, they are eligible to apply for parole. Nelson has made numerous attempts at release, but only recently came as close as he is today, in a minimum-security, pre-release facility near Green Bay.

The Vite family, which has fought for years to keep Nelson in prison, are not taking this lying down.

Last month, they launched an online petition drive that the public can sign at http://bit.ly/NelsonParolePetition. Theres also a blog with more information about the case at https://keepamurdererbehindbars.home.blog.

We strongly encourage you to read up on the case, and sign the petition in advance of the Parole Commissions hearing on May 14. This is about keeping our community safe.

Jim Kreuser is Kenosha County executive. Michael Graveley is Kenosha County district attorney.

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Attorney General Josh Kaul wants to strengthen Wisconsins efforts to combat human trafficking, calling for six new positions at the Department of Justice to help with investigations.

Theres both sex trafficking and forced labor, Kaul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ... Its in my view an outrage that this is a crime that still exists. Its important we raise awareness of it.

Kauls remarks came just a few days before our stories today about a community effort to open a safe house in Kenosha County. It would be the largest house operated by Selah Freedom, a Florida-based nonprofit with a mission to end sex trafficking.

The house will be staffed 24 hours a day and provide a safe residential program for survivors. Kenosha County was chosen as the location because of its proximity between Chicago and Milwaukee.

When the girls walk through our house, we want them to feel valued, Jennifer Skanron, a Selah Freedom board member and Pleasant Prairie resident, told reporter Jeffrey Zampanti. Their lives were not made to be trafficked. They are a person of value and theyre important. All of this is for them. There are people here who are ready to help them transform their lives.

Sex trafficking is the second-largest organized crime behind drug trafficking. Every year, over 300,000 American children are trafficked.

Its everywhere, said Neal Lofy, a nationally recognized investigator of the Racine Police Department, told Zampanti. These are people that live in our community that were either thrown away by their families or stuck in a lifestyle that theyve been groomed by a trafficker. Theres not a shiny sign on them that says Im a human trafficking victim ...

The state Department of Justice holds training for law enforcement, both in how to conduct human trafficking investigations and teaching about the signs of trafficking. One of the problems with this issue is its been under-reported, Kaul said. We dont think theres as much awareness as there should be, and so making sure that people in law enforcement know what to look for  and know the signs of trafficking  is an important part of combating it.

Kaul said four of the positions hes requesting would join the DOJs digital forensics unit, which focuses on recovering evidence from electronic devices. They would assist law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin.

People involved in all sorts of crimes use electronic devices, just like everybody else, Kaul told the Journal Sentinel Being able to recover evidence from those devices helps with all sorts of investigations, including human trafficking investigations.

The other two positions would join the Internal Crimes Against Children Task Force and help ensure prompt referral and investigation of tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He said they would help with case follow-ups.

Gov. Tony Evers has included the new positions in his budget plan. Heres an area where the Democratic governor and the majority Republicans in the legislature should agree.

Our community, by rallying to help get the Selah Freedom home open, has shown the urgency required. Legislators on both sides should too.

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Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

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The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Childrens Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day.

Its an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your childrens lives with all of us. Speaking for the staff of the childrens hospital, thank you for letting us care for your family.

Im awestruck to be in the company of all of you today. Because its always a little bit intimidating to meet your heroes, and when I think of our patients and their families, the word that fits is just that: heroes.

In medicine, it is always our greatest hope that patients who come to us for treatment leave better  cured of their disease, recovered from their trauma, grown large enough to feed themselves and breathe on their own.

But as you know too well, sometimes our patients dont respond to treatment. Some have injuries that are too severe to survive, some are too young or fragile for medical technology to support. Too often, the medicine we need to help a child get better hasnt been invented yet.

As a doctor, helping children get well means everything to me. When we lose a child, all of us who have supported your child and family along the way  doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers, therapists, environmental services  feel that loss, remember that child, and recommit to making medicine better in their memory.

In those memories and that recommitment, your child has left a profound legacy. Because its the children we cant save who push us to develop new therapies and try new techniques. They are the patients who do the most to make medicine better, who make it more likely that the next child will survive.

It wasnt so long ago that medical care looked pretty barbaric. Your barber was your surgeon, and your internist was prone to cover you in leeches! I like to tell my residents that if we do our jobs right, our grandchildren will think we were barbarians, just the way we look back on the medicine of 100 years ago and wonder, What were they thinking?

But really, I think we know what they were thinking, which is the same thing I think when I see a patient for whom we have no good answers: were going to do our best. Were going to try everything we know, then were going to push the boundaries, and were going to honor our patients and families by learning from their experience to make care better for the next kid.

Ive been interested in medicine and surgery for as long as I can remember. And its remarkable to think about how far weve come in what I still like to think is a pretty short lifetime.

I remember learning as a kid that there was simply no way for babies to survive before a gestational age of 26 or 27 weeks. As I progressed through my training, that number dropped. 25 weeks. 24 weeks. 23. 22. Now, 26 weeks isnt even considered extremely preterm.

In the 1970s, less than one in ten kids with acute myeloid leukemia survived. 80 percent of patients with brain tumors or neuroblastoma died. We have a long way to go, but those numbers keep getting better.

When I was a kid, children born with common congenital anomalies like esophageal or duodenal atresia almost all died. Now surgery on newborns is routine and death is rare.

That happened because of a lot of hard work in labs and hospitals, and because of new technologies and techniques. But fundamentally, it happened because those children that exceeded our abilities at the time  and their families  pushed us to get better.

The reason we go to work every day committed to making medicine better is because we have the faces of your children  the kids we couldnt save  in our heads every day when we walk into work in the morning to try something new, and every night as we go to sleep  or dont go to sleep  thinking of what to try tomorrow.

Im so sorry that your childrens journeys were cut short. Im so sorry that we havent yet found a way to fix all the bad things that can happen to kids. Its the extraordinary honor and privilege of medicine that we get to care for every child and family that comes through our doors. But its a special honor to care for a patient who dies, because they and their families are the ones who do the most get us closer to the day when we can find a cure. They are the heroes who have created the medicine we have today, and who make the world better for children tomorrow.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

Jonathan Kohler is a pediatric surgeon.and founder, RxCreative.com. He can be reached on Twitter @jekohler.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3)  The 2018 Bar topnotcher is not shy about his sexuality.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, 2018 Bar Exams topnotcher Sean Borja said that he is a proud member of the LGBT community.

"I'm a very proud member of the LGBT Community," said the Ateneo Law School graduate.

And while the patriarchal society might provide a lot of challenges, Borja said that the LGBT community can be a source of greatness.

"I want to show through my accomplishments that people like me, people from my community can also be great if given a chance to do so," he said.

Borja currently works in a law firm that handles public-private partnerships in government infrastructure. He also has his sights set on litigation.

Meanwhile, the De La Salle University College of Law finally has a bar topnotcher in Kathrine Ting, who ranked 8th in the 2018 exams.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Ting said that she wants to be a great lawyer.

The law has often been quoted as having the role of the "great equalizer." And perhaps that can be more than just a quoted statement with these two new lawyers.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 51F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
RTHK: Thais await first coronation since 1950

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be crowned Saturday in an elaborate show of pageantry, marbled by Hindu and Buddhist ritual, two years after ascending the throne following his father's death.

At the auspicious time of 10.09 am the public will be given a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation begin.

King Vajiralongkorn is known as Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

Saturday's ceremony will begin with sacred water from across Thailand anointing the white-robed king inside the Grand Palace.

Hindu Brahmins and Buddhist monks will attend the ceremony which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to divine figure.

Then he will take his seat under the nine-tiered umbrella of state where he will be handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3 kilogram headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

For most Thais it will be the first time they have witnessed a coronation  the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Late on Friday, the new king arrived at a hall in the Grand Palace in his favoured cream Rolls-Royce along with his new wife  now Queen Suthida  a former air hostess turned royal bodyguard.

Their marriage was unexpectedly announced on Wednesday.

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible.

Thailand's normally hyperactive social media has been subdued in the days leading up to the coronation.

But enthusiasm bubbled on the streets around the Grand Palace where hundreds bedded down for the night on Friday to get a prime spot for the weekend's royal event. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Canadian government has offered to ship back to its country tons of decaying garbage that have been staying in Philippine ports since 2013.

This was confirmed by the Canada's environment department in a statement sent to CNN Philippines on Saturday.

"The Government of Canada remains committed to working with the Government of the Philippines and has made an offer to repatriate this Canadian waste," Environment and Climate Change Canada said. "Canada hopes to finalize an agreement with the Philippines shortly to return the waste to Canada for appropriate disposal."

There is no official statement from the Philippine government yet, but Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. on Friday said the two countries are in "delicate negotiations."

When asked by a reporter for an interview on the Canadian waste, Locsin tweeted, "Let me ask the Canadian ambassador; we're in delicate negotiations."

Meanwhile, Malacanang has been mum since reports of Canada's offer made headlines on Friday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he has "no info" on it yet.

On Wednesday, Locsin said the garbage "will be on ship in 15 days," but did not elaborate on how this would happen.

The illegally dumped garbage was brought back to the spotlight as President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go to war against Canada if it would not take the trash back. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quick to clarify that the President did not really mean war, but was just expressing his "extreme displeasure." The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines responded that Ottawa is "strongly committed to shipping the trash back. Malacanang was not satisfied with Canada's statement and warned that further delay in the repatriation of trash could result in severed diplomatic ties.

Benny Antiporda, Environment Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns, told CNN Philippines the only thing blocking the return of the garbage to Canada was the expenses. The Manila Regional Trial Court in May 2017 already ordered the return of 50 container vans carrying Canadian garbage, to be paid for by the Canadian private company that had it shipped.

A total of 103 container vans containing trash weighing over 2,000 tons were shipped to the Philippines in several batches from 2013 to 2014. Canadian-based firm Chronic Plastics, Inc., which exported the vans, declared their contents as plastic scrap materials. The Environment department in 2014 found that the shipments contained municipal solid wastes, which should be immediately disposed and cannot be recycled. In 2015, some of the garbage were dumped in a private landfill in Tarlac while the remaining wastes stayed at the country's ports.
The Taste of Lake Geneva festival is coming to an end after 10 years of showcasing Lake Geneva's local eating establishments.

Organizers at the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District have announced that they will not be bringing the outdoor food festival back in 2019.

Bridget Leech, executive director of the downtown business district, said the Taste of Lake Geneva no longer meet her organization's mission.

"The event was always a great day, and we appreciate every restaurant that has taken part in it," Leech said. "This event is not one that brought the greatest value to the organization."

Started about 10 years ago, the food festival was held in September for many years, but organizers last year moved it to June to coincide with the kickoff for Lake Geneva's Restaurant Week. Last year's festival included about a dozen restaurants along with live music in the city's downtown Flat Iron Park.

Leech said she hopes another organization will bring back the food festival in the future.

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The Hilal committees in various countries and across the globe are on the lookout for the crescent moon on the final day of lunar calendar month, which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Namibia and other places have been told to testify if they spot the Crescent moon on Saturday. The month is also known as Ramazan in the Indian subcontinent. Stay tuned above for the live news updates on Ramadan 2019 moon sighting.

The sighting of the crescent moon will mark the beginning of the Holy Ramadan across the globe and in Southern African countries. The Holy Ramadan would begin as and when the Hilal committees testifies or the citizens and individuals confirm that they have spotted the moon. The Holy Ramadan would begin and fasts will be observed from tomorrow, Sunday, May 5. Muslims all over the world are duty bound to abstain from food and water between dawn to dusk throughout the next 29 or 30 days.

In the Western Hemisphere, it is expected that the crescent moon will be cited today on Saturday or tomorrow, Sunday. In the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes the Indian Subcontinent, the crescent moon marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan or Ramazan is expected to be spotted tomorrow, Sunday, or day after on Monday.
Chuck Kinder, the novelist who became known for inspiring the central character in Michael Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys, has died. He was 76.

Kinder, whose death was confirmed by friends and associates, died Friday of heart failure in Miami.

A literary force with a larger-than-life personality, Kinder published his first novel, Snakehunter, in 1973, followed by 1979s The Silver Ghost, 2001s Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale and 2004s Last Mountain Dancer: Hard-Earned Lessons in Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life.

Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, set mainly in the Bay Area in the 1970s, was perhaps his most famous work and became something of a myth to those who knew him, as the author is believed to have struggled with it for more than a decade. It tells the story of two bad-boy American writers and is based on Kinders real-life friendship with short-story author and poet Raymond Carver.

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"[Kinders] work was and remains outstanding and fresh. He was a born storyteller with an instinct for myth, which was not exactly in favor compared to pared-down modernists like John Updike, said novelist and screenwriter April Smith via email.

Smith first met Kinder in 1972 as a graduate student in Stanford Universitys creative writing program and added that his work is important for its bold original voice and synthesis of elegant literary style with genuine feeling and down home observation.

The novelist was known for creating a safe harbor for other writers, and often threw parties for fellow writers and other creatives with his wife of more than 40 years, Diane Cecily, at their home. As a teacher and mentor, Kinder fostered the writing careers of authors including Chuck Rosenthal and Gretchen Moran Laskas.

Kinders most famous writing student is Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whom Kinder taught as an undergraduate in the 1980s. Kinder is thought to have inspired the fictional Grady Tripp, the disheveled, pot-addicted writer and professor at the center of Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys. The novel was adapted into the 2000 film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Michael Douglas as Tripp.

Born in 1942 in West Virginia, Kinder grew up writing poetry and listening to the great storytellers in his family  his grandmother and his aunts. He began honing his craft at West Virginia University, where he earned a masters degree in English and wrote the schools first creative writing thesis. In the 1970s, Kinder lived in San Francisco and was awarded a fellowship followed by lectureship in fiction writing at Stanford University.

Kinder took positions as the writer-in-residence at UC Davis, and the University of Alabama, before settling in Pittsburgh, a city he called the Paris of Appalachia. For more than 30 years he taught at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a reputation as a generous, gregarious professor.

On Saturday, former students paid tribute to Kinder on social media.

When I first came back to Pittsburgh for what I thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical, I met a great teacher/writer/human being named Chuck Kinder who embraced me so warmly, it was one of the reasons I felt like staying, wrote Carl Kurlander in a blog post.

He gathered together people who loved words and storytelling and by his very nature, weeded out the pretentious and those of self-importance, Kurlander continued.

After suffering several health challenges in recent years including two strokes, a heart attack and triple-bypass surgery, Kinder retired as director of the creative writing program in 2014 and settled in Key Largo, Fla., with Cecily.

There he returned to his early love of poetry, publishing several collections including last years Hot Jewels.

He is survived by Cecily.

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster
Stirring photography, music inspired by the Silk Road and everything you needed to know about the Tony Award nominations but were afraid to ask. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks essential culture news, plus some words about the unexpected death of former art and music reporter Mike Boehm.

Poetry in ordinary life

At the Underground Museum, a new exhibition by the late Roy DeCarava, writes Times contributor Leah Ollman, dwells in photography as any everyday act  a ritual not that different from prayer in its assertion of purposeful connect between individual and wider world.

Ollman also reviews Arlene Shechets recent sculptures at Susanne Vielmetters new downtown L.A. space  an absolute jawbreaker of a show, she reports  and the stark photos of Simon Norfolk at Gallery Luisotti, which show the feeble ways humans are attempting to keep Switzerlands Rhone Glacier from melting.

A detail from Simon Norfolks Shroud (8), 2018, at Gallery Luisotti. (Simon Norfolk)

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Tony, Tony, Tony!

The Tony Award nominations have landed! Musicals Hadestown, Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations and Tootsie are in first, second and third place respectively, with 14, 12 and 11 nominations. Times culture reporter Ashley Lee breaks down who got what, who got snubbed (a lot of high-profile names) and what industry peeps have to say about it.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty analyzes what the nominations mean in an eclectic and erratic season. Old formulas proved unreliable and a few long-shot experiments yielded unexpected rewards, he writes. The nominations sent a message of support to artists with fresh and forward-leaning sensibilities, no matter if these endorsements occasionally came at the expense of recognizing worthier work.

Andre De Shields in a memorable, Tony-nominated performance in Hadestown. (Matthew Murphy / DKC O&M Co.)

Contributor Josh Getlin looks at how Tootsie adapted a 1982 movie for the post-#MeToo age. Reporter Ashley Lee talked with featured actress nominee Amber Gray about her Hadestown audition from hell. And contributor Stuart Miller chatted with Laurie Metcalf, who nabbed her sixth nomination for playing Hillary Clinton in Lucas Hnaths Hillary and Clinton. I have no interest, frankly, in doing Shakespeare, she tells him. Im interested in contemporary pieces.

Plus, McNulty sat down with Aaron Sorkin, whose adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird was conspicuously snubbed in the best play category, but nevertheless received nine Tony nominations, including one for star Jeff Daniels. McNulty turned his Sorkin conversation into a screenplay: Zoom out as Critic asks how our divisive political environment has affected the cultural reception of this new Mockingbird. Sorkin, squinting at the hazy question, says he could write a 5,000 word essay on the subject. Paging CAA. I think Charlie is ready to option

Aaron Sorkin, writer of the adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. (Marc J. Franklin)

Because we are handy that way, The Times has the full list of Tony noms.

And if youre looking for some local Tonys action, Jessica Gelt reports that Heidi Schrecks What the Constitution Means to Me  nominated for best play and lead actress for Schreck  will land at the Mark Taper Forum, as part of the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere on the Stage

F. Kathleey Foley reviews Gay Walshs The End of Sex  a nuanced comedy-drama about the battle between the sexes  at the Big Victory Theatre in Burbank.

Contributor Lisa Fung looks at the ways in which the public setting of theater can instigate the private act of crying in connection with Nia Vardaloss Tiny Beautiful Things, currently at the Pasadena Playhouse.

At REDCAT, Margaret Gray checked out performance artist John Kellys autobiographical one-man show Time No Line, rich in biographical detail  a bit too rich, she notes. But as a survivor of the AIDS pandemic, he has taken on the responsibility of representing his lost generation.

John Kelly in Time No Line at REDCAT. (Steve Gunther)

Your support helps us deliver the news on the culture stories that matter most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

Classical notes

Yo-Yo Mas Silkroad Ensemble performed at Santa Barbaras Granada Theatre, the Soraya in Northridge and Costa Mesas Segerstrom. After 20 years, the cross-cultural ensemble is at a thematic and professional crossroads, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Yet there were seductive moments, like the natural way of using instruments and musical techniques from one culture to express something about another one.

Silkroad Ensemble performs Kayhan Kalhor and Hamid Rahmanians The Prince of Sorrows. (David Bazemore / UCSB Arts & Lectures)

Swed also checks in with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, soon to be led by Spanish conductor Jaime Martin. Swed says a rousing program at UCLAs Royce Hall bodes well for the orchestras future.

The Times Makeda Easter reports on the Long Beach Operas adaptation of Philip Glasss 2000 opera, In the Penal Colony, featuring formerly incarcerated Cal State Long Beach students in starring roles. For some of the actors, it was a role so deeply familiar, writes Easter, that things got surreal.

In the Penal Colony director Jeff Janisheski, center, with Irene Sotelo and John Pizzini. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Essential Image

When the late Paul R. Williams designed a botany building for UCLA in the 1950s, it included plans for a 285-square foot mosaic lobby mural echoing the banana leaf print wallpaper the architect had installed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. When L.A.-based firm CO Architects undertook a remodel of the La Kretz Botany Buildings lobby last year, they came across Williams remarkable drawing (see below) for the never-built mural and decided to install it. See the final results on the firms online journal.

A 1957 drawing of a mosaic mural for UCLAs Botany Hall by architect Paul R. Williams. (UCLA)

Egg-cellent

Little Tokyo is home to a gallery in a kiosk: the artist-run 123 Astronaut has been around for five months. I spent some quality time with the current exhibition, which features a hypnotic video about a cultish, corporate egg, courtesy of the mysterious Wong Group.

Spectators check out The Auspicious Egg, by the Wong Group at 123 Astronaut (Collin LaFleche)

Ready for the Weekend

Margaret Gray rounds up whats doing in L.A.s 99-Seat theaters, including Nilo Cruzs Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics.

Ive got all the latest art happenings in my weekly Datebook, including a show by Daniel Gerwin that puts parenting on canvas.

Plus, Matt Cooper has the week ahead in art, dance, theater and classical music, as well as his weekend picks, including the Los Angeles Master Chorales Great Opera & Film Choruses.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Grant Gershon. (Marie Noorbergen / Tao Ruspoli)

In other news

 San Diegos Cassirer family has spent a decade trying to secure the return of a Nazi-looted painting that once belonged to their family. On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ruled against them.

 Venice Beach may lose a landmark sculpture by Mark di Suvero.

 ArtCenter College of Design is taking over the downtown L.A. space once occupied by the Main Museum, which shut down abruptly last year.

 Why cant we have passports as cool as Norways? Or currency as cool as Canadas?

 A trove of historic assessors photos of San Francisco has been made available to the public.

 A new documentary examines how and why, in the 70s, the Bronx burned.

 Union Station is turning 80. There is reason to celebrate, but the buildings history  well, its complicated, writes David Ulin.

 A great long read: Sam Bloch on how Los Angeles isnt providing equitable access to shade.

 The Instagram aesthetic is getting messier.

 As Sarah Whiting becomes the first woman to lead Harvards Graduate School of Design, Mimi Zeiger examines the womens expanding role in architectural academia.

Last but not least...

This week, I got the news that former Times art and music reporter Mike Boehm had died unexpectedly from a cardiac condition.

Mike and I only intersected for two years, but in that short time, he was a tremendously generous and good-natured colleague. He was also a dogged reporter, writing up major stories about MOCAs financial troubles in 2008, and turning the 990 tax forms of various L.A. nonprofits into his bedtime reading. (There probably isnt a culture publicist in SoCal who hasnt been on the receiving end of a late-deadline call from Mike, asking about finances.)

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Boehm in 2013. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Even after he left The Times in 2015, Mike remained engaged, sending me notes about some of my stories and offering tips on others he thought I should be pursuing. He remained engaged with other subjects too. Last month, he took issue with The Times criticism of rock music (which he loved) and fired off a tart letter to the editor on the subject: If your critics think rock is a pox on todays musical landscape, and needs to be ignored and forgotten, it would be far more interesting and useful to see them argue the case in full-length commentaries backed by examples and evidence.

The world will be a less-informed place without Mike. In his honor, I may have to download some 990s  and start making calls.

carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah
Pastry chef Shelly Acuna Barbera has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York and now bakes at Little Bread Pedlar in London, but her sweets are rooted in her Los Angeles upbringing.

Barberas parents came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, and her mom used cooking, baking and eating as ways to share stories of her heritage with her children. As Barbera and her brother grew older, her mom realized that many of the Mexican celebrations in California, most notably Cinco de Mayo, bore little resemblance to what she knew from her own upbringing. Cinco de Mayo is an important date  its when the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862  but its not considered as significant as is the countrys independence day on Sept. 16.

Rather than ignore Cinco de Mayo, Barberas mom used it as an opportunity to teach her kids more about it. Barberas mom remembered traveling to Puebla as a small child and enjoying the tortitas, which originated in that citys Santa Clara convent. Barbera said, My mom knew Cinco de Mayo was more than just tacos and margaritas  even though theres nothing wrong with that!  so she started to make tortitas de Santa Clara so we could experience a traditional food from Puebla to commemorate Mexicos victory in that city. The confections are a cross between cookie and candy with a small buttery shortbread shell and a chewy candy-like pepita filling.

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Barbera remembered, I love this cookie because it reminds me of growing up in L.A. and baking with my mom. Tortitas de Santa Clara are not commonly found in L.A.  or at least they werent while I was growing up  so we came up with our own version. Every time my mom and I made them together, we adjusted the recipe. First, we swapped lard out for salted butter and then we changed the shape. The tart reminded me of a large thumbprint cookie, so we eventually started shaping them as thumbprints.

Barbera carries on her family tradition of tortitas de Santa Clara now that shes on the other side of the Atlantic  a remembrance of her roots in each batch.

Tortitas de Santa Clara

View this recipe and more in our California Cookbook 

1 hour plus chilling and cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

12 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Spread the pepitas on an unlined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool completely on the sheet. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl and turn the speed to low. Gradually add the flour and beat just until incorporated, then beat in 1 tablespoon milk until smooth.

4. Divide the dough into 24 even pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using your thumb or the handle end of a wooden spoon, make a round indentation in the center of each ball. Press the tines of a fork against the edges of each round to imprint decorative lines. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, puree the cooled pepitas in a food processor until they become a soft, smooth paste, about 5 minutes. While the pepitas are processing, combine the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally to evenly cook the sugar, until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees, about 5 minutes. (Tilt the pan if needed for the thermometer to register the temperature.) Remove from the heat and carefully add the pepita paste. Stir until smooth. When the mixture stops steaming, stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons milk. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. Put a tablespoon of the pepita filling in the thumbprint center of each cookie and spread into an even round. Let stand until the tops of the filling are dry to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Make Ahead: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Here we go again, tumbling down the shaft and into a bizarro world in which school libraries lock out students who need them most.

L.A. Unified elementary school libraries are on the chopping block once again, and library aides, many of whom could lose their jobs, are screaming for justice.



For the record: Pacoima was misspelled Pacioma in a previous version of this column.

Some L.A. Unified board members, meanwhile, have made passionate pleas to keep the doors open.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, said board member Scott Schmerelson, who has introduced a resolution calling for the district to come up with the necessary funding.

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But just a few months after the L.A. Unified teachers strike drew strong public support for better pay and more resources for the struggling district, budget woes are forcing miserable choices that will hit students hard.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, said Meredith Kadlec, a second-grade parent who has been writing letters in the campaign to ward off cuts. Imagination is born from books, and what about the kids who dont get that enrichment at home? I feel like were going the wrong way in America when libraries are at risk.

Theyve been at risk for years now in L.A. Unified. Many years ago, every school had a fully funded librarian. But as budget problems became more severe, teacher-librarians gave way to library aides, who then got laid off by the hundreds before being rehired. In the recent past, some libraries have been locked up despite the district having spent millions on new books. Typically, elementary school libraries are open only every other week as it is, and aides split their time between two schools.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, Scott Schmerelson, L.A. school board member

The strike settlement earlier this year resulted in teacher raises and promises of eventual reduced class size, nurses on every campus, and a commitment to have a teacher-librarian on every middle and high school campus.

But elementary schools got no commitment on library aides. In recent years, those positions  which used to be directly funded by the district  became optional expenses made at the discretion of principals. But those principals have to make gut-wrenching decisions with limited discretionary funds at their disposal. And the needs, in a district in which 80% of the roughly 600,000 students live in poverty and 90% are minorities, always exceed the available money.

At Pacoimas Telfair Elementary School, where nearly one-quarter of the students have been categorized as homeless in recent years, Principal Jose Razo said he has decided to fund a library aide on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Tuesday. To do so, he has cut two teacher aide positions from six hours daily to three hours.

Thats typical of the Sophies Choice decisions made by principals who need social workers, janitors, office aides, tech support, assistant principals and other positions, but cant afford to pay for everything.

L.A. Unified officials say there is no less money budgeted for elementary schools in the coming year. But the district recently indicated it would no longer cover the health and welfare benefits of teacher aides, as it had in the past. That was seen as an added expense for principals as they drew up their budgets, and they also had to factor in the cost of small raises given teacher aides in the current contract.

By the time complaints led to the reinstatement of district coverage of benefits for the coming year, some principals had already eliminated those positions. Library aide Franny Parrish, union rep for the California School Employees Assn., said a districtwide survey indicated that 132 elementary schools have not budgeted for a library aide in the coming year, although most elementary schools would still have at least part-time aides.

Im in [the library] every day and I know what the students want, Parrish told me at Dixie Canyon Community Charter in Sherman Oaks.

A first-grade teacher joined the conversation to plug Parrishs contribution.

Miss Franny reads expressively and brings story time to life, he said. She has her own special touch, and the library cant function if its left to other staff. You need someone whos qualified, and trained, and loves the library.

Not long ago, in the endless funding uncertainty, Parrish was laid off four times before building up her seniority. You establish relationships with the students, she said, and learn how to nurture individual curiosities. And then youre gone. She said shes been in touch with library aides sure to lose their jobs because of low seniority.

It just makes me want to cry that 10 years later were still fighting the same stinking battle, Parrish told board members at the April 23 board meeting.

L.A. Unified has a $7-billion budget. Library aides make about $11,500 a year, plus benefits, and cost somewhere in the $15-million range.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, Meredith Kadlec, parent

District Supt. Austin Beutner told me that with limited funds available, he wants local school communities rather than the central bureaucracy to make decisions on what will best serve their students.

All of us believe we should have teacher-librarians and teacher aides in all the schools. All of us. Theres nobody in the community that doesnt want that, he said. But with money in short supply, he said, awful choices have to be made.

Beutner said the parcel tax measure on the June ballot, which would help fill part of the budget gap, is a chance for those who spoke up in favor of public education to weigh in again.

I believe its time we joined the ranks of Oakland, San Francisco, Torrance, Burbank and Santa Monica, where communities have  provided a measure of local funding for schools, Beutner said. Not more money to Sacramento. More money to fund local schools. If we have that funding, we will not be left with a series of poor choices.

Board chair Monica Garcia spoke to that very issue at the April 23 meeting.

I appreciate your frustration and your tears, she told library aides, but she added that compelling arguments could be made by advocates for every job classification thats underfunded.

Adequacy is not available in L.A. Unified, Garcia said, noting that Californias national ranking in per student funding is near the bottom.

For me, said board member Richard Vladovic, a library is a core unit of any educational facility. We need to have libraries. Thats where kids dream.

The choices are tough, for sure, and they may get even tougher.

But the mere possibility of locking up books in a state that ranks as the sixth-largest economy in the world is an obscenity and a gross disservice to students whose potential we cant afford to fritter away.

That is the first and last chapter on school libraries, and keeping them open is not an option, but a moral responsibility.

@LATstevelopez

steve.lopez@latimes.com
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent to John Sanders, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.

This has led to catastrophic and unwarranted results, she wrote.

Feinstein (D-Calif.) cited the fact that Border Patrol chases have resulted in 22 deaths and 250 injuries from 2015 to 2018, figures first revealed as part of an analysis published by ProPublica and The Times on April 4.

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Reporters from both publications mined more than 9,000 federal criminal complaints filed against suspected human smugglers from 2015 to 2018 to build a database about Border Patrol pursuits and tactics. The documents described agents reasons for initiating a pursuit, whether there was a crash and how it happened. The database is almost certainly an undercount, as it does not include cases in which the driver got away or died, because the complaints are filed only after arrests.

In those four years, Border Patrol agents engaged in more than 500 pursuits in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Of those, 1 in 3 ended in a crash. The number of people hurt in Border Patrol chases increased by 42% during President Trumps first two years in office, compared with the final two years of the Obama administration.

The deadly trend has continued into 2019. Two people died and six others were injured in a pair of Border Patrol chases that took place on the same night near San Diego in February. Last week, another Border Patrol chase left one person dead and four others hospitalized near Chula Vista, authorities said.

In her letter, Feinstein cited three chases that left seven people, including a child, dead in San Diego County in 2017 and 2018. She also asked Sanders whether Border Patrols pursuit policies are in line with what the U.S. Department of Justice considers to be best practices regarding car chases.

Many major American policing agencies have tightened restrictions on when their officers can engage in pursuits, while some have invested in technology that is likely to reduce the risk of injury during a chase.

ProPublica and The Times reviewed the pursuit policies of police departments in the five largest cities in the U.S., as well as a dozen jurisdictions in the states that touch the border. All but one policy were more restrictive than the Border Patrols.

The analysis found agents repeatedly deployed spike strips against vehicles fleeing at extremely high speeds, a tactic heavily criticized by experts on high-speed pursuits. Geoff Alpert, a criminal justice professor at the University of South Carolina who has authored national reports on pursuit tactics, previously said he was asked to help reform the agencys pursuit policies during the Obama administration, but his warnings went unheeded. He has questioned the agencys habit of engaging in potentially deadly car chases solely on the basis of a suspected immigration violation.

The Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Times spoke earlier this year with Border Patrol agents in El Centro who said agents feel compelled to chase vehicles suspected of smuggling for fear of what those vehicles might contain.

But in the cases examined as part of the analysis, agents never recovered caches of weapons and only rarely found drugs. In 504 pursuits over four years, agents found drugs in nine cases and personal guns in four.

Surana is a former ProPublica staff writer.
An Orange County infant too young to have been vaccinated and a Long Beach man are the latest confirmed cases of measles in Southern California, officials said Saturday.

The baby, who is younger than 1, is being treated at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a statement. The child has no history of international travel. It was Orange Countys second reported measles case this year.

The Long Beach man, a graduate student at UC Irvine, had been vaccinated and also had no recent history of travel outside the country, said Emily Holman, a spokeswoman with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

The man had been on campus on three days while suffering from the measles, exposing others there to the highly contagious disease, authorities said. Health officials are investigating how he contracted it.

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The two incidents come as cities across the nation grapple with the largest outbreak since 1994 of a disease that was declared eradicated in the U.S. as recently as 2000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 704 cases in 22 states this year, according to the most recent statistics ending April 26.

In Los Angeles County, seven residents have been afflicted with the illness as well as five nonresidents traveling through the region, according to a May 2 statement from the countys public health department.

UC Irvine is not the only Southland college campus affected. The disease has touched students and staffers at UCLA and Cal State L.A. as well.

Orange County officials warned Wednesday that a woman with measles had exposed a Fullerton theater full of moviegoers.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing, but the virus can linger in the air for two hours after the sick person leaves the room. People can spread measles for four days before they develop a rash.

About 90% of people who have never been immunized against measles will become ill seven to 21 days after exposure, according to the Long Beach Department of Health.

Most cases of measles in the U.S. begin with people who have traveled to countries where the disease is prevalent.

A small percentage of vaccinated people can still become affected, as was the case with the UCI student, Holman said. Their symptoms are usually milder, and they tend to experience fewer complications from the measles, she said.

The UCI student attended classes Monday and Tuesday before seeking medical care at the Student Health Center on Thursday. A day later, he was confirmed as Long Beachs first reported case of measles since 2015 and the third known exposure this year in Orange County.

The man visited multiple locations in Orange and L.A. counties, including restaurants, shops and the AMC theater in Long Beach, where he most likely saw Avengers: Endgame, according to showtimes and length of stay. Coincidentally, the audience in the Fullerton theater saw the same film.

Hes now recovering at home, officials said.

On Saturday, in an open letter, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman identified four buildings the student visited: the Humanities Instructional Building 100, Krieger Hall, Humanities Hall 112 and the health center.

Those who were in the affected areas described above are encouraged to determine their measles immunity through their health records or medical provider, Gillman said.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.
A new investigation into how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Californias 11 other Roman Catholic dioceses handled sex abuse cases could uncover more disturbing details of misconduct and institutional failures. But its an open question whether it would lead to more criminal charges.

News of the statewide investigation brought new hope for some victims of abuse, along with caution.

The California attorney generals office this week asked church officials at each of the dioceses to preserve an array of documents related to clergy abuse allegations. Among other things, prosecutors are examining whether church officials adequately reported allegations of sexual misconduct, as required under Californias Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act,

Former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who as the countys top prosecutor charged two dozen priests and used a grand jury to extract records from the archdiocese, said the probe may generate more information, but criminal charges are much harder to lodge against the church hierarchy.

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Cooley said that because the Los Angeles Archdiocese delayed and blocked disclosure, the efforts to hold church officials accountable have been stymied.

Conspiracy charges are based on the last overt act. The statute for conspiracy is based on the underlying crime, Cooley said. Here that could be obstruction of justice, and that is just a few years.

The L.A. Archdiocese has paid a record $740 million in various settlements to victims and pledged to better protect its members. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez succeeded longtime Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the scandal that undercut his moral authority as one of Americas most important Catholic leaders. In the wake of the settlement, the church imposed a series of reforms.

For nearly two decades, the archdiocese has been roiled by allegations that church leaders mishandled abuse cases, sometimes moving clergy suspected of wrongdoing to other parishes rather than punishing them and informing law enforcement. Individual priests have been criminally prosecuted, but investigations of church leaders ended without charges.

Attorney Anthony De Marco, who helped secure the $740 million in settlements, said its encouraging that the attorney general is investigating but too soon to tell what will come of it.

I am a little more measured, as time and time again law enforcement agencies have talked of actions and nothing has come of it in terms of the churchs higher-up figures and their behavior, he said.

The people I represent and survivors in general are just thrilled, added another victims attorney, Joseph George of Sacramento. I love the idea that law enforcement would come in with warrants and subpoena power and really get things done.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in a letter to the dioceses requested records that include all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors received from 1996 to the present, regardless of when the misconduct took place, along with any actions taken against any individual who was accused or who failed to report allegations to law enforcement.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said the Los Angeles Archdiocese had not yet received the letter but planned to respond cooperatively as we have with the past three Grand Jury investigations of the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to transparency and has established reporting and prevention policies and programs to protect minors and support victim-survivors in our parishes, schools and ministries, the statement said. The Archdiocese was one of the first dioceses in the nation to publish a comprehensive report in 2004 listing accused clergy both living and deceased, and released clergy files as part of a 2007 global settlement.
Dr. Eric Scott Sills, a successful Orange County fertility specialist, told investigators he awoke early on a November morning in 2016 to find his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs of their $1-million San Clemente home.

Initially, it appeared that 45-year-old Susann Sills had fallen to her death, but prosecutors say an investigation that has spanned more than two years suggests more sinister circumstances.

Orange County prosecutors on Friday charged Eric Sills, 54, her husband and business partner, with murder in connection with her death. Authorities have not released how the woman died or how they connected her husband to her demise. He has not yet entered a plea.

Sills defense attorney declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

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Orange County sheriffs deputies began investigating Susann Sills death after they were called to the couples home on Via Cancion on Nov. 13, 2016. The Sheriffs Departments homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unknown nature of the death, prosecutors said this week.

Based on the investigation and autopsy, authorities determined in 2017 that she had been killed. Over the next year, homicide detectives and the district attorneys office continued to investigate, and last month, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for the physician.

The warrant, filed in Orange County Superior Court, is sealed, which shields it from public view.

Eric Sills was arrested April 25 on his way to work. He was booked into the Orange County Jail and released four days later after posting $1-million bail, according to jail records.

Sills graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1992 and received a doctorate from the University of Westminster in London in 2013, according to his online resume.

The couple had been married for more than a decade and had two children. They also went into business together, according to public records.

Susann Sills, who earned an MBA from the University of Miami in 2000, was the co-founder of Center for Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic in Carlsbad, according to an obituary published in the Los Angeles Times. Eric Sills serves as medical director at the clinic.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet. Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, however, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families stay in the workforce. So as the economy improved, lawmakers and former Gov. Jerry Brown slowly pieced the states safety net back together again.

But some important benefits have yet to be restored, a full decade after the recession ended. A good example is the subsidy Medi-Cal eliminated for eyeglasses. The program will pay when poor Californians visit an optometrist to find out how bad their vision is, but wont help cover the cost of the glasses or contact lenses they may need to drive a car, operate a machine or read a manual  in other words, things they may need to do in order to hold a job.

Similarly, Medi-Cal no longer covers speech therapy, audiology, podiatry or incontinence supplies  the sort of treatments and supplies that can enable people living at or below the poverty line to be more productive and, potentially, start climbing up the income ladder.

Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families.

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In the big scheme of the state budget, these are not expensive programs. Plus, if they were added back, the federal government would cover roughly two-thirds of the tab. Restoring vision coverage would cost the state about $22 million a year, and restoring all of the lost benefits would be about $34 million.

On the other hand, those are annual expenses, not one-time costs. And the state has other, expensive healthcare needs and wants. Two of the biggest are proposals aimed at achieving universal coverage in California by making health insurance more affordable for moderate-income Californians and extending Medi-Cal to immigrants living in the state illegally.

Make no mistake  universal coverage would be good for all Californians, including those who already have insurance. Beyond the strong moral argument for providing treatment to everyone who needs it, there are good economic and public health reasons for bringing every resident under the insurance umbrella and providing timely, efficient care.

The steps required to make coverage available and affordable to all Californians, however, would cost the state $6 billion or more per year. And while Sacramento has been riding a wave of budget surpluses, the state cant afford to have its obligations grow faster than its economy. Thats a recipe for disaster in the next downturn. As Gov. Gavin Newsom warned on Wednesday about the current extended economic expansion: What were experiencing right now is simply without precedent in modern American history and it is not a new normal. Any time people talk about the new normal, thats when things collapse.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

So it makes sense for the state to continue to advance cautiously on the healthcare front, restoring cuts before offering new benefits and looking for ways to pay for expanded coverage. One good idea on the revenue front is Newsoms proposal to impose new state tax penalties on adult Americans who dont sign up for health coverage, replacing the federal penalties that Congress eliminated in 2017.

Thats a twofer: The penalties would encourage younger, healthier Californians not to go uninsured, and they would raise money to help pay for premium subsidies to moderate-income families who would otherwise have to spend too high a percentage of their monthly income on insurance. Its not clear, however, that Newsoms proposal would generate enough money to cover the full cost of the subsidies.

One possible answer is to renew the tax on managed-care organizations that is set to expire at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1. The tax, which generates money for Medi-Cal that the federal government then matches, raises about $1.5 billion a year. When combined with the state funds Newsom has proposed to spend, that would be more than enough to cover the subsidies cost and help extend Medi-Cal to more Californians. The Trump administration had pushed back on such taxes, and Newsom didnt seek to renew the states version for fear of jeopardizing other healthcare-related assistance the state is seeking from the feds. But with the administration approving Michigans proposal for a tax similar to Californias, the door seems open for the state to continue the levy, as it should.

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If this country is ever going to disentangle from the Trumpism thats choking the life out of it, were going to need escape routes.

Weve heard plenty from self-congratulatory Democrats, cerebral #NeverTrumpers and aloof European historians who warn about the perils of authoritarianism in our naive nation.

What we need is advice from people who have been fully enchanted by President Trumps racism, corruption and assault on the rule of law.

People like Atty. Gen. William Barr, Trumps latest fixer, though Barr seems prepared to go to his grave in Trumps harness.

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But really, we dont have to wait for Barrs white-light conversion. We have three extraordinary examples of figures who broke free of Trumpism and the man himself. Trumpism is such a totalizing belief system that the country is going to require a thorough, even spiritual, metamorphosis.

Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

The first heretic is Michael Cohen, Trumps formerly slavish Guy Friday. The second is James Comey, the self-righteous former director of the FBI, who wrote an op-ed this week that probed Barrs and former Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosensteins appalling submission to Trump  as well as his own.

The third is Katie McHugh, a former avatar of the alt-right and suck-up to the Trump family. According to a riveting profile by Rosie Gray in BuzzFeed News, McHugh has renounced what she now sees, in a rigorous religious framework, as her sins.

Two months ago, Cohens testimony to Congress about his fall into Trumps clutches also had a religious note. Swept up in Trumps nonstop bellowing, Cohen felt complicit, intoxicated; he began to lie for him. Now hes especially ashamed of enabling Trumps florid racism, which he sees as an affront to his father, who escaped the racist genocide in Nazi Germany.

Reaffirming his commitment to the values he shares with his family  and facing prison  Cohen had to hit bottom to clear his mind.

Comey had to just about bottom out too before he caught himself. After he lost Trumps support and was dramatically fired as FBI director two years ago, he discovered that he had bent his carefully cultivated Methodist rectitude to the pressure to back-slap with the president.

According to his op-ed, when Trump raved to him about his fever dreams  largest inauguration crowd in history  Comey stayed silent, too cowed to challenge him.

Trump eats your soul, said Comey, and you end up making various deals with yourself and the devil. You cant say this out loud  maybe not even to your family, he wrote.

Like Cohen, Comey felt that in standing by Trump he was betraying not just his conscience but his family.

The far-right blogger McHugh, a onetime protege of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon, has a more tragic story than either Cohen or Comey, but shes also the one who has done the most to make amends.

Lost and isolated at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, the conservative McHugh, according to Grays profile, moved from supply-side economics and family values to hotter niches, like, say, Holocaust denial. Her undergraduate antics drew the attention of the alt-right godfathers, including Bannon, who gave her a job at Breitbart News.

While boosting Trump, her posts helped pioneer a scrappy, reckless new kind of Twitter-optimized racism. Then she went too far even for Breitbart in a tweet about Muslims and had to ply her wares at seedier and seedier joints, pushing the far-far-far-right boundaries of white supremacy.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Finally, without health insurance and suffering from diabetes, McHugh found that her strategy of moving further right to get attention and jobs failed her. It was the 5th century works of St. Augustine that brought her back. If she renounced her misdeeds and recommitted herself to a dignified life, she, too, could be forgiven.

McHugh did more than that, though. She turned over to Gray emails showing former Department of Homeland Security official Ian Smiths ties to white nationalists, and Grays resulting article helped get Smith fired.

This is how escapees from Trumpism can help break its spell for the more casual devotees: Expose what the high-ranking Trumpers espouse in order to enlighten the members of the fabled base about their mistakes.

At the very least, Trumpites seem to recognize that they will need to atone. Even Trumps mouthpiece lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani may see the writing on the wall. He told a reporter, I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.

To all Trumpites  rank-and-file or highly public  who likewise may be starting to grapple with what will happen to them when they meet their makers, Cohen, Comey and McHugh offer guidance: Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

Twitter:@page88

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To the editor: As a 95-year-old Jew, I would love to accept the upbeat assessment about the support Jews have in America despite the April 27 attack on the synagogue in Poway, Calif. But the vicious attacks on minorities lately, including Jews, bring back memories of the not-too-distant past.

When I read about President Trumps edicts on those fleeing their home countries so they can make a better life for them and their children in the United States, I am reminded of the 1930s, when a boatload of German Jews seeking safety in our country were turned away. All of the passengers were returned to Europe, where many of them were murdered in the Holocaust.

People who are ready to kill others out of hate are empowered by the likes of Trump and the groups that support him. Its not just Jews who are at risk; just about anyone who has a different view of the world, people of different colors or ethnic backgrounds and even journalists also face danger.

We must all speak out against hate. When one minority suffers, all minorities are at risk.

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June Sale, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Although Eshman paints an optimistic portrait of Jewish life in America, he fails to mention two of the greatest threats facing Jews, one internal, the other external.

The internal threat is Jewish secularism. According to a Pew Research Center study, 62% of American Jews say that being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture. With that, 79% of married Jews of no religion have a spouse who is not Jewish, and nearly 40% of intermarried Jews who are raising children say they are not raising those children Jewish at all.

An external danger is the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel permeating our universities. A 2016 study by the AMCHA Initiative found a strong correlation between anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses and the following: the presence of anti-Zionist student groups, the presence of faculty who have expressed public support for an academic boycott of Israel, and BDS activity on campus.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spewing historically anti-Semitic tropes and the New York Times publishing an admittedly anti-Semitic cartoon post greater dangers than a few fringe neo-Nazis.

Jack Saltzberg, Valley Village

The writer is founder and president of the Israel Group.

..

To the editor: My neighborhood is home to a well-known Jewish temple. The complex is on a large property enclosed by a tall iron fence that, although attractive, serves an obvious purpose.

Eshman may be correct that Jews have more allies than enemies in standing up to hate, but the sight in my neighborhood of a security guard carrying a conspicuous firearm is heartrending.

Babette Wilk, Valley Village

..

To the editor: As a professor and student of Jewish history, I can list the many differences between the recent attacks on Jews in this country and the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the Holocaust. The number and ferocity of these attacks do not approach the heinousness of previous, systematic and institutional acts of anti-Semitism  except, of course, to the individual victims.

We have a saying in Judaism that can be paraphrased as this: If you save one life, its as if youve saved the entire world. Similarly, for the family and friends of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who died in Poway, all historical comparisons are irrelevant.

Circumstances change, but Jews continue to be hunted down, even here, even now.

Michael Davidson, Altadena

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To the editor: Nadra Widatalla is right that the term people of color erases black people, but I would retire it for a different but related reason: It privileges whiteness.

Obviously, the terms black and white are metaphorical when applied to human skin, whose actual color range is more like pale peach to dark greyish-brown. (And, of course, black and white are loaded words with deeply ingrained negative and positive connotations, at least in Western languages).

Calling non-Caucasians people of color posits Caucasians as colorless, as a default from which other colors are a variation, like the white canvas that other colors are applied to. It does not locate Caucasian skin colors as equal points along the continuum of humanity.

We need to change our thinking and our language to reflect reality, which is why its time to retire people of color.

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Kay Gilbert, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: I was about to be persuaded by the authors eloquent plea to get rid of the term people of color, but then I noticed on the same days op-ed page a piece by columnist Virginia Heffernan, who uses that exact phrase to end her evaluation of former Vice President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign kickoff: His savior complex, in particular, is in danger from the women and people of color who are his rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Then I saw a photograph, also in Sundays newspaper, of Trump supporters greeting him at an April 27 rally in Green Bay, Wis., none of whom appeared to be, well, people of color.

Apparently, the term people of color still has some value and is not ready to be retired yet.

Dienyih Chen, Redondo Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
During his short career in the California Assembly, Joaquin Arambula has worked to persuade Fresno voters to believe in him. Now the Democrats political fate could hinge on whether his legal team can convince a jury that his 7-year-old daughter didnt tell authorities the truth.

In an unusual case that has dominated news in the Central Valley, the Democratic legislator is standing trial on a misdemeanor count of willful cruelty to a child after his daughter told police in December that Arambula struck her in the face. Photos showing a 1-inch bruise on the childs right temple were shared with jurors this week.

The girl, at times clutching a stuffed animal, told a packed Fresno courtroom on the first day of the trial Friday that the assemblyman pinned her down on her bed and grasped her head, his ring hitting her by accident. She said she remembered telling authorities that he slapped her face, but now believes the appropriate word is grasp.

Fresno County Assistant Dist. Atty. Steven Wright told the jury that Arambulas children have alleged a history of abuse at the hands of their father.

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Youll hear the other instances of him being upset, losing his temper and committing other acts of violence against his children, such as squeezing, such as kicking, such as hitting, such as elbowing, Wright said.

The 7-year-old girl later said on the stand that her father had also squeezed her to the point where she struggled to breathe.

Arambula, who maintains his innocence, has offered no explanation for his daughters bruised face. According to court records, the girl originally told her teacher that she fell when she was playing with her sister but later walked into the campus administrative office, asked for an ice pack for the bruise and said her dad slapped her on the face.

Arambulas defense attorney said in opening statements that evidence would show inconsistencies in the girls statements and an inclination toward fantastical details.

You will see that [Arambulas daughter] has an answer for everything, said Margarita Martinez-Baly, Arambulas defense attorney. Those are the kind of things we ask you to look at. Does it all make sense? Is she credible?

Fresno police arrested the assemblyman Dec. 10 at his daughters elementary school after Child Protective Services reported that the girl said her father struck her on the face. In the four months since, Arambula and his attorneys have publicly sparred with the police chief and the county district attorney as the case unfolded.

Arambula defended himself in a round of interviews with reporters two days after police took him into custody. The politician and his defense attorneys have sought to cast Arambula as a devoted father who acted within his legal right to spank his child and as the victim of a politically motivated attack by local officials.

After Arambulas media interviews, Police Chief Jerry Dyer publicly disputed the legislators account and told local news outlets that the girls injury was not consistent with a spanking.

When Fresno County Dist. Atty. Lisa Smittcamp filed the charge against Arambula in March, the assemblyman responded in a statement that said politics may have motivated the decision and called the allegation false and unthinkable. Arambula didnt elaborate on the alleged political motivation.

Smittcamp, who typically refrains from commenting on open cases, disputed Arambulas assertion in an interview with the Fresno Bee and said she based her decision on facts alone.

Arambula, a 41-year-old physician and member of a prominent Fresno political family, won a special election in 2016 to represent the western part of the city in the 31st Assembly District, a seat held by Democrats for more than a quarter of a century. He has headed a budget subcommittee on health and human services for the last three years. Some political supporters in Fresno have mentioned Arambula as someone who could eventually rise to become Assembly speaker like Cruz Bustamante, a former lieutenant governor who held Arambulas seat in the 1990s, or run for Congress.

Arambulas father, Juan, started his political career on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees in the late 1980s before winning an election for county supervisor and later the same Assembly seat his son now holds. A Democrat often at odds with leadership, the senior Arambula famously renounced his party membership the year before he termed out of the lower house.

But the younger Arambulas decision to blame local officials and evidence of the bruise have led some political observers to question whether the familys time in politics could end with the misdemeanor trial.

Democratic legislators from the region declined interview requests about the case, and none has publicly come to Arambulas defense. The sensitive nature of the case, involving a young child and a family, has made it a delicate subject across the political spectrum.

Youve seen cases of politicians in Fresno with DUIs, maybe even some accusations of spousal abuse, or bar fights, said Thomas Holyoke, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I cant remember anything like this.

Local politicians are already eyeing a run at Arambulas seat, should the lawmaker be unable to return to his post in Sacramento. Arambula took a voluntary leave of absence from the Legislature in March, a move Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said at the time he supported.

If it turns out that [a jury finds] he genuinely hit his child, hes probably politically dead at that point, Holyoke said.

Arambula and his daughter tell two different versions of what took place in the familys home on a Sunday evening when his wife was out of town.

In separate interviews, the girl told a social worker and a police officer that her father hit her on both sides of her face in her bedroom after she made her 6-year-old sister cry. She said his ring caused the bruise, according to court documents.

In a later conversation with a specialist trained to interview child witnesses, Arambulas daughter said her fathers ring finger hit her twice, describing one of the blows as an accident after he slipped on a toy. According to court documents, the child also alleged that her father had kicked, squeezed and struck her in the past, and said her mother sometimes spanked her with a stick.

Two days after his arrest, Arambula told The Times that he spanked his daughter with his hand to discipline her for acting out. He denied that he hit the childs face and said he saw no physical marks on her body.

Ive never hit someone in the face  man, woman or child, Arambula said in December. Im literally struggling to figure out how to reconcile the situation that were in now.

Spanking a child is generally legal under California law unless the act is considered excessive or unjustified. This week, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense grilled potential jurors about their beliefs on corporal punishment.

Arambulas attorneys offered a more detailed version of the events in a motion filed with the court last week. The lawyers assert that he tripped on a toy on the floor that night as he entered a dimly lighted room shared by his daughters. He said his daughter jumped off the bed to get away from him and he caught her, turned her over and spanked her twice on her bottom.

The assemblyman has said his daughter was angry that evening and the next day when she went to school.

Defense attorneys say Arambula does not know how the injury to his daughters head occurred. The lawyers have focused their attention on what they say are inconsistencies in the childs statements, saying the child is embellishing, making up stories and not a reliable witness.

I think shes a really smart kid and she wants her way, Arambula attorney Martinez-Baly said in an interview Thursday. She was angry that she was spanked. She was angry that she felt that her dad wouldnt listen to her side of the story and they always side with her sister.

Regardless of the trials outcome, political experts say the allegation alone has damaged Arambulas political prospects, and future opponents could raise questions about Arambulas decision to allow his attorney to cross-examine his daughter at trial.

I think thats definitely a line of attack in the future, said Jeffrey Cummins, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I think it does permanent damage to his reputation.

Martinez-Baly acknowledged that Arambula is in a no-win situation. She said he feels strongly that hes innocent and wants to clear his name.

Its going to be his word against hers, she said. Im sure some people out there wont like that and think he should have taken a deal to spare his daughter. It was his decision, and I cant say I blame him. I would want to defend myself.

Arambulas three daughters were taken from his home by Child Protective Services the evening after the incident and were placed in the care of his parents for two days. After conducting an investigation, CPS allowed the girls to return home and closed the case in March, citing insufficient evidence of physical abuse, according to the defense.

Smittcamp, who declined an interview request, decided to charge Arambula with a misdemeanor. The prosecution has argued that striking a 7-year-olds head hard enough to leave a mark is excessive and unreasonable.

John Myers, an expert on child abuse cases and a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, said the decision to prosecute in such a case is uncommon.

In a case like this where you dont have very serious physical injuries, it would be more common for CPS to get involved and work with the family to help them, and for the D.A. to decline to press charges, Myers said. But he noted that prosecutors and Child Protective Services have different roles in such cases; district attorneys focus on whether a crime has been committed, while CPS bases its decisions on whether a child would be in danger if allowed to remain in the home.

More stories from Taryn Luna 

taryn.luna@latimes.com

Follow @tarynluna on Twitter.
The 53rd annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition will bring together 135 artists who will display 245 works of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center on 100 Civic Center Drive.

The variety of works, which will be for sale, come from people ages 18 to 85 who responded to the exhibitions call for artists earlier this spring.

We typically have regional artists who participate but also artists from all over Southern California and afar, said Arlene Greer, a Newport Beach City Arts Commissioner. One year, we had an artist from as far away as the south of France.

The free one-day show is organized by an exhibition committee and members of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, which consults with the City Council on artistic and cultural matters within the city.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from art sales will contribute to the citys Arts Commission programming.

Cow sculptures in the Civic Centers Cows4Camp exhibit will also be up for a silent auction during the event, with a majority of those proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House and a small amount going toward Newport Beach arts programming.

The bids for Cows4Camp Saturday will coincide with online bids for the works on biddingforgood.com, which will close July 13.

Curator and art advisor Dana Yarger will lead tours of the sculptures on Saturday.

The event at the Civic Center will also include live music and $9 box lunches from The Bungalow in Newport Beach.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. will honor participating artists with awards presented by Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon.

This years juror David Kiddie, a faculty member from the Wilkinson College of Arts at Chapman University in Orange, will determine the winners for categories in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and the jurors choice.

Visitors will also be able to submit ballots for a peoples choice winner at the exhibition.

[The exhibition] is a great opportunity for artists who have exhibited elsewhere or artists who have never exhibited before, Greer said. The most significant benefit of this is that it brings people from all seven districts and afar to the Civic Center to enjoy a one-day exhibit where they can meet, mingle and make new friends.

For more information on the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, call the Cultural Arts Office at (949) 717-3802.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Pete Truxaw, founder and owner of Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach and Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails in Los Alamitos, has opened his third Mamas eatery in Newport Beach.

Newports Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails is a casual restaurant and bar offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with Thrifty ice cream served by the scoop.

After a three-month renovation of the former Pizza Nova/Josh Slocums restaurant building at 2601 W. Coast Hwy. along Newports Mariners Mile, Truxaw and partner Robert Corrigan opened Mamas doors last weekend. The restaurant has 250 feet of exclusive docks available for guests who visit by boat.

We are thrilled to bring Mamas to such a historic Newport Beach restaurant location, Truxaw said in a statement.

The restaurants interior decor features beach-style colors, exposed brick walls and a photo wall featuring hundreds of pictures of local moms.

Truxaw founded Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach in 2011. Mamas Comfort Food opened in Los Alamitos last year.

Tony Hawk and former Playmate open GuacAmigos in Newport Beach

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk recently opened Mexican restaurant GuacAmigos in Newport Beach with former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

GuacAmigos, a new restaurant by pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly, opened recently in Newport Beach.

The restaurant at 2607 W. Coast Hwy. replaces a Joes Crab Shack.

GuacAmigos features Mexican fare, tequila drinks and local seafood with a spicy twist.

Its April 27 ribbon-cutting featured Hawk and guests doing a skateboarding demonstration that raised money for Hawks foundation.

GuacAmigos also displays several action-sports artifacts: a surfboard from Kelly Slater, a snowboard from Shaun White, a skateboard from Lizzie Armanto and the BMX bike that Mat Hoffman used to break a high-air record, according to a news release.

H.B. businessman named California Small Business Person of the Year

The Orange County/Inland Empire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration will honor Jeff Perry, president of All Industrial Tool Supply in Huntington Beach, as California Small Business Person of the Year in the agencys annual Small Business Week awards program.

Perry and other honorees will receive their awards June 7 during a program at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Were celebrating manufacturers, young entrepreneurs, technology firms, businesses that help build our infrastructure, not to mention critical collaborators such as cities and chambers of commerce, because they all play a role in the success of the region, Christopher Lorenzana, the SBA Orange County/Inland Empire districts deputy director, said in a statement.

Hoag debuts new 7D surgical technology

The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach recently added a 7D surgical system used in spinal procedures, making it the first West Coast hospital to do so.

The system contains the same technology found in self-driving cars, according to a news release, enabling a surgeon to have an unprecedented level of surgical navigation for radiation-free placement of spinal implants.

The technology allows for faster, safer surgery with a reduced recovery time for patients, according to Hoag.

H.B. man recognized with womens advocacy award

A Huntington Beach man recently won the Catalyst for Change Award presented by the Orange County chapter of Connected Women of Influence.

Kevin Walton, a Boeing systems engineer, was recognized for his advocacy, mentorship and recruiting efforts for women at Boeing.

Walton, an Air Force veteran, also is an ambassador for the Foundation for Women Warriors, advocating for women veterans in their transition to corporate America, according to a news release.

Digital marketing to be topic of Costa Mesa event

Small Business Sales Intelligence and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a presentation Thursday covering the details of a digital marketing campaign, including costs, how to determine whether a campaign is working and tips for cutting costs.

The event, featuring guest lecturer Matt Zimmer, creator of StackTek, will run from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at CrashLabs, 234 E. 17th St., Suite 117, Costa Mesa.

Registration is required. To sign up or for more information, visit meetup.com/salesintelligence/events/260945018.

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In the Christian Era, Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not Moses 5/04/2019 Christianity , Jesus Christ 12 Comments





It is quite frustrating that even if we are already in the Christian dispensation lots of people are still affected by the laws of Moses, to the point that if they find the said law to be inconsistent with the state of things, in reality, their tendency is to question the authenticity of the Bible.

For example, under the law of Moses, the hare had been classified as unclean and, therefore, should not be eaten because it ruminates and it is not cloven-footed. In line with that prohibition, somebody asked me if such a pronouncement would not jeopardize the authenticity of the Bible inasmuch as, in reality, hares are cloven-footed and they do not ruminate.

First of all, allow me to give you an insight about the laws given by God, through Moses, to the Israelites  they being the first people who served God.

In the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, one of the important things he wrote concerned the prohibitions on what they should and should not eat or ingest.

HEBREWS 9:10 says,

Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

There were ordinances regarding meats, drinks, and diverse washing, or cleansing of the body that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, implying that there was an appointed time that these laws would be reformed. There was an appointed time set by God that these laws would be superseded by another set of laws. And that appointed time had come, according to the Apostle Paul in HEBREWS 7:12 , which says,

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

So, it was necessary for the law to be changed because there had been a change in the priesthood. HEBREWS 3:1-3 says,

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

The verses clearly tell us that the high priest that had been replaced was Moses, and his replacement was the Lord Jesus Christ. In those verses, the Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews who were converted to Christianity during the first century of our era, and not to the Hebrews who remained in their Jewish religion. He was telling them that our Apostle and High Priest of our profession is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was found to be more glorious than Moses as a priest. So, He was called the High Priest of our profession.

When the priesthood was changed, there was a necessity to also change the law. And the law that was replaced was the law that was administered by Moses. It had been replaced by another law.

ACTS 13:39 says,

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

The law of Moses was found to be insufficient for the justification of believers in the Christian era because, in the Christian era, justification rests on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the faith of Christians must be based on the law of Christ, and not on the law of Moses.

Let us be definite. What is being referred to as the law of Moses?

MALACHI 4:4 says,

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

So, it was the law given by God to Moses in the mountain. Specifically, what was that law?

EXODUS 31:18 says,

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

They were the laws that were contained in the two tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God. And those laws included statutes and judgments.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13 says,

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Therefore, the law of Moses being referred to was the ten commandments. And these laws, together with the statutes and judgments, were meant for the Israelites. For instance, there were statutes regarding what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink which the Israelites had to observe.

But in our dispensation, we do not have problems about what to eat and what not to eat. In the New Testament, there is another law that was explained by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In MARK 7:19, it says,

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the type of food that the Israelites had been forbidden to eat did not go to the heart, but only to the belly. And He had purged, or cleansed, all of those. The Apostle Paul explained in 1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 ,

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

So, even if it is pork, which was regarded as unclean during the time of the Israelites, in the Christian dispensation, when the priesthood had been changed from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, those meats that had been declared as unclean had been purged, or cleansed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sanctified by the word of God, by the decree of God, and by prayer. Through the power of prayer and by the word of God, those things which had been considered abominable then are cleansed. Therefore, there is no longer any problem with eating pork, or any meat from those that do not chew the cud, or from those that have no cloven feet.

Bear in mind that we are in the Christian era. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, and not Moses. If we are truly Christians and we believe that we are living in the Christian dispensation, we have to refer to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not of Moses. Moses is no longer our high priest but the Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation that the Lord Jesus Christ carries with Him is the revelation that we must receive now.

HEBREWS 1:1-2 says,

1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God had spoken to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son. So, if we want to know about Gods words and teachings we will learn them through His Son, not through Moses. But if you keep on observing the laws of Moses, you are at the wrong track. You are out of time; you are out of place.

LEVITICUS 11:1-7 says,

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

If you are a meticulous reader of the Bible, as early as verse 2 , you will realize that, if you are an American or a Filipino, you are not a concerned party because those words were only meant for the Israelites.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

At this point, allow me to give some clarifications concerning verse 6 because this is the part being questioned by one reader of the Bible. According to him, what the verse states is a challenge to the authenticity of the Bible because what it said is contrary to reality. It stated that the hare should not be eaten because it chews the cud and is not cloven-footed when in truth, hares have cloven feet and they do not ruminate or chew the cud.

Let me make it clear that what the Israelites were forbidden to eat were animals, or beasts, that ruminate and are cloven-footed. Those two characteristics must be present in one particular beast. If one characteristic is absent, then, it should not be eaten. In the case of a hare, its hooves are divided but they do not ruminate, so the Israelites were forbidden from eating it.

But, granting that Leviticus 11:6 should have described the hare the other way around, that is, it does not chew the cud and it has cloven feet, still, that would not make the prohibition wrong. It, still, should not be eaten because one of the characteristics of a beast or animal that should be eaten is absent.

Indeed, there are people who challenge the authenticity of the Bible. They are those who do not consider human error. They always blame the Bible for errors which could have been committed by the people who did its translation.

Actually, people who question the authenticity of the Bible would never run out of issues to raise against the Bible. Let me cite an example. The Bible classified bats as birds because birds fly by their wings, and bats fly because they are also winged. So now, people who try to discredit the Bible accuse the Bible as speaking of lies because, according to them, bats are not birds but mammals. Let us accept that a bat is classified as a mammal, the question is, who did the classification and when was the classification made?

Remember that when the Bible was written there were no classifications yet as to whether a creature is a mammal, or a reptile, or a bird. The classification happened only very recently, specifically, thousands of years after the Bible was written. And the classification was made by man only. Who knew about mammals during the time of Moses? The word mammal was coined by Linnaeus only in the 18 th century, whereas the book of Leviticus was written more than 3,000 years ago (1512) by Moses at the wilderness of Sinai. So how would you expect the Bible to classify bat as a mammal when the word mammal was coined only in 1758? So, that time, the Bible was absolutely correct when it classified bat as a bird because it flies.

But whether or not there were pronouncements in the law of Moses which do not jive with the actual characteristics of certain animals in reality, like the case of hare, for me they are immaterial. Still, the hare was rightfully included among the animals that the Israelites should not eat because its characteristics fail to meet the qualities of a beast or animal that they could eat. Although the hare is cloven-footed, yet, it does not chew the cud, so the Israelites should not eat it.

But inasmuch as we are not under the law of Moses but of the law of Christ, there is practically no need for us to be troubled about the kinds of food that the Israelites had been prohibited from eating. First, we are not among the Israelites that Moses led so the prohibition does not concern us; second, Christ had cleansed all that were regarded unclean during the time of the Israelites; and third, through the power of prayer, our food could be sanctified.
The Costa Mesa City Council will consider adopting a new policy Tuesday that would potentially clear the way to fly commemorative flags such as the pride flag at City Hall.

Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds asked city staff last month to draft a resolution for council consideration that would authorize displaying the rainbow banner at the seat of local government.

As proposed, the pride flag would be unfurled at City Hall annually from May 22 to June 30.

May 22 is Harvey Milk Day, which honors the man who became the first openly gay elected official in state history when he took his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated in 1978, less than a year after taking office, and is widely recognized as a pioneering gay-rights activist.

June is LGBT Pride Month  an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and commemoration of the history, contributions and sacrifices of those who comprise them.

While Costa Mesa has traditionally raised city, California and American flags, as well as the POW-MIA flag, at municipal facilities, there is currently no formal policy on the books regarding such displays.

The proposed language up for the councils review outlines the procedures and standards for the display of flags at city facilities, including the display of commemorative flags at City Hall, according to a staff report included in Tuesdays council agenda.

Commemorative flags would only be flown if the council authorizes them as an expression of the citys official sentiments, that report continues. So, should council members adopt the overall flag policy, they would still need to specifically sign off on displaying the pride flag.

The citys flagpoles are to be used exclusively by the city, where the City Council may display a commemorative flag as a form of government expression, the staff report states. The city will not display a commemorative flag based on a request from a third party, nor will the city use its flagpoles to sponsor the expression of a third party.

Additionally, the city could not place a pennant that shows religious preference or encourages a specific vote in a particular election, according to the staff report.

As our community has re-engaged in human relations efforts and honest conversations about inclusion and diversity, Ive been heartbroken to hear the experiences of people who are afraid to express who they are or who feel unwelcome by their peers, Reynolds said Friday. Honoring Pride is an important and valuable expression from our city to let our LGBT community members, especially our young adults, know: we care about you, and we welcome you.

However, Councilman Allan Mansoor expressed some concerns in a public Facebook post Friday, writing that the pride flag may mean different things to different people.

To some, it may mean that we should treat everyone with respect  which, if that were the sole symbolism of the flag, I would support it, he wrote. To some, however, it may mean intolerance or hostility to anyone who morally or due to religious conviction does not support some of the things in the LGBTQ agenda, even though they do not support harassment or violence.

Do we want to play into division on such a controversial issue? he added.

Tuesdays council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St.

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A street dog from Thailand has found her fur-ever home in Huntington Beach.

Dr. Lisa Chong and Tara Austin spotted the year-old Thai Bangkaew dog dragging its body on its two front legs across a busy street while they were there last December to volunteer at Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai.

The tale began to unfold after dinner one night during their stay. During the meal, Austin shared with Chong her admiration for Frida Kahlo, an artist who remained dedicated to her art despite becoming bedridden after a bus accident.

On their way back to their hotel following dinner, the two childhood friends spotted the dog. Without consulting each other, they both walked onto the street to stop traffic and to shepherd the dog to safety. While Chong used dog treats to gauge the dogs friendliness toward humans, Austin flagged down a cab to take them back to their hotel.

Austin also asked people at nearby businesses if they knew the dog, but no one claimed her. Austin and Chong, who gave the dog the name Frida after the famed Mexican artist, believe she might have been dropped off at a nearby temple where other stray dogs congregate.

She had this fighter spirit, Austin said, referring to Fridas attitude on the drive back to their hotel. The dog, she said, calmly sat in the car and looked out the window.

Chong, an OB-GYN, said they didnt realize the extent of Fridas poor condition until they took her back to their hotel room. Ticks covered the dogs body and her paws were covered in dirt as a result of dragging her body, she said.

An X-ray at a 24-hour hospital just outside Chiang Mai later revealed Frida had a lumbar fracture and is missing several bones in her paws. She didnt have any fur on her paws at the time.

23. Lisa Chong poses for a photo with Frida in her kennel cage while boarded at the vet. Tara Austin created a watercolor painting for Frida, which is placed above her kennel. (Photo courtesy of Tara Austin)

She was really infected, Chong said. You could just feel the heat coming out of her legs, thats why she was panting. She didnt even know how to drink water. She had been a street dog for so long she only understood how to drink water off the pavement. She didnt understand the concept of a cup of water.

Chong said hospital staff recommended amputating Fridas hind legs, but Chong wanted that option to be the last resort. She said they had hoped Frida would one day walk again.

The two visited Frida in the hospital for several hours every day during their trip. They noticed a slow shift in the canines behavior. It was apparent to them she was gaining more confidence. Fur started to grow on her two injured paws.

Chong said the decision to formally adopt Frida was gradual. They realized the dog likely wouldnt be the first choice for adoption by a family. They also didnt want to financially burden the animal sanctuary by lodging Frida there, she said.

Before they left Thailand to head home, they purchased a dog collar with a tag embossed with Fridas name as a promise they would soon return for their four-legged friend.

Chong brought Frida home on a first-class flight from Thailand to Los Angeles last week. Frida is currently lodged at the Two Hands Four Paws Foundation, a animal rehabilitation facility in L.A. where shell learn how to walk again before moving into Chongs home in downtown Huntington Beach.

Chong and Austins shared love for animals has led them to spend more than $13,000 to give Frida a second chance at life. Fundraisers are being planned to pay for medical costs as they see if doctors can help Frida use her two hind legs to walk again.

They created an Instagram account to document Fridas journey and a GoFundMe page to gather donations.

Part of me is sad knowing [Frida] is leaving her homeland and shes leaving everything shes ever known but I think she has a bright future ahead of her, Chong said.

To help Frida, visit gofundme.com/meet-frida-our-paralyzed-thai-street-pup.

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Superheroes will be busting out of a telephone booth and geometric shapes will be casting dancing shadows on the City Hall lawn in Laguna Beachs latest round of temporary art installations.

On Monday, the red telephone booth on Forest Avenue will transform into a Super Hero Changing Station under the hand of local artist Robert Holton of Drizzle Art. Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman costumes will drape from clothes hangers inside the booth, above a replica of Captain Americas shield and Thors hammer.

One side of the booth will be lined with superhero quotes, such as Flashs Life doesnt give you purpose, you give life purpose and Batmans Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

Holton said he hopes the installation will inspire small acts of kindness and an overall awareness that you dont need superpowers to be a superhero, as one of the quotes reads.

A giant gloved fist punching through the top of the booth in superhero-like triumph is meant to represent all superheroes, heroes in all of us, the artist said.

What Im trying to say is, normal people can be heroes, said Holton, a six-year resident of Laguna Beach and a presenter at the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival. In a minute way, whether its helping somebody through the door, walking the dog. I think we need more of that in the world.

The city Arts Commission will hold a dedication for the new installation at the phone booth at 5 p.m. May 14. Holton said he plans to invite children and families to show up in their favorite superhero costumes.

Im hoping people will step up and be a superhero, Holton said. You dont have to do something death-defying or something to be a hero.

Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl said the tradition of putting an art display in the red phone booth dates to 2013, a year after the public phone was deactivated.

Poeschl said the city chose Holtons work, which will be on display for two years, from among 25 proposals.

The exhibits are part of the Arts Commissions temporary sculpture program, which is funded by lodging establishments and the city of Laguna Beach.

This past Monday, an exhibition called The Shape of Light appeared on the lawn outside City Hall from Oakland-based artists Yelena Filipchuck and Serge Beaulieu, who make up the married art duo Hybycozo. The couple designed the trio of geometric sculptures from laser-cut metal and LED lights that cast shadows on the lawn at night.

Filipchuck said each piece has a distinct shape, but together they celebrate the universality of math and the beauty of proportion.

The hexagonal sculpture was inspired by physicist Garrett Lisis TED talk about E8, a theoretical mathematical explanation of everything. The way Lisi mapped the mathematical concept onto particle physics made for beautiful visualizations, Filipchuck said.

It was this resonant feeling, like, of course the structure that makes up the universe would feel beautiful to us, she said. Its an innate beauty.

The two quadrilateral sculptures in the exhibit also stem from mathematical concepts, Filipchuck said, such as ancient Islamic geometry and the way math emerged from intricate drawings.

Back then, there was not really a distinction between an artist, an artisan and a mathematician because they were kind of the same thing, she said. The way that they represented like a higher kind of understanding of the universe was through proportion and through what they thought were rules sent from beyond. When you divide a 9 by a 3 and it creates these amazing proportions, they thought that was divine intervention.

To us, that is what is harmonious and beautiful about this type of art  it is almost meant to be created in these rules.

The polyhedrons will be on display in front of City Hall through July 31, Poeschl said.

In March, the city brought Michigan-based artist David Zinn to scatter chalk art in various rocks and crevices around the city. Artist Scott Froschauers The Word on the Street exhibit of five road signs offering affirmative messages will be on display until May 15.

We have really diverse programming and installations in process and reflects the commitment of the Arts Commission and City Council in elevating and evolving the public art experience, Poeschl said.

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The last night of Wendi Millers life was spent doing things she loved.

On April 19, Miller went with a friend and her son to a Dana Point church to celebrate Good Friday. She sat with the friend, Dayna Camarena, who was struggling with a personal crisis, and held her hand throughout the service and prayed for her and Camarenas son.

They went out for a pasta dinner before spending the evening dancing to 80s music.

We did three things Wendi loved all in one night, Camarena said. Usually we only have the energy to do one.

Camarena spoke as an overflow crowd gathered at Mariners Church in Irvine on Friday to remember Miller, 48, who was found slain the night of Easter Sunday in a Newport Beach condominium.

Man and woman found dead in Newport Beach condo are identified; police conduct homicide investigation 

Friends said they last saw the Costa Mesa resident at about 1:45 a.m. April 20 before leaving the Sandpiper bar in Laguna Beach. She was giving Darren Partch, whom she had met that night, a ride home to the Newport condo.

When Miller didnt show for Easter festivities, friends and family members launched a search for her on social media. Just after 9:30 p.m. April 21, the owner of the condominium returned home after being away for the weekend and found Miller and Partch, 38, dead inside. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, the Newport Beach Police Department said. Authorities believe they died April 20.

A Huntington Beach man was arrested April 25 and has been charged with their murders.

H.B. personal trainer charged with special-circumstances murder in Newport Beach slayings 

If Wendi were here, she would have invited all of us on a bike ride to the beach, friend Niki Wetzel said Friday.

Miller was the kind of joyful person who made friends with everyone, friends and family said.

We were strangers for about 90 seconds, Wetzel said, recalling their introduction.

Joy is a gift  remember, its the foundational emotion that leads to contentment, peace, fulfillment and happiness, Wetzel said. And my sincere hope is that whenever we remember Wendi we remember joy.

Eric Boogie Rose, a college classmate of Millers and a leader at Branches Church in Huntington Beach, described her as fearless and too big for one church, noting that she was involved in many churches in the area.

There werent enough people for her to pour into, Rose said. He didnt realize how widespread her involvement in his congregation was until the community was mourning her loss.

She jumped in and impacted everyone, and because of that, everyone is mourning, Rose said. If you knew her, you would know she would want you to have this life, and this life to the full.

Neighbors and friends memorialize Costa Mesa woman found dead in Newport Beach condo 

Millers daughter, Cambria Carpenter, said her mom would have loved the gathering held in her honor because she loved talking to people.

She was the light of my life completely, she said.

Mourners throughout the room wiped tears from their eyes as Carpenter sang Carrie Underwoods See You Again in remembrance of her mom.

The week she learned of her mothers death, Carpenter was set to perform in a school musical, she said. Despite her director and family urging her to consider withdrawing from the show in light of the tragedy, she remembered that her mom had bought tickets, and she decided she had to perform.

Performing was a way to heal, Carpenter said. The director dedicated the show to Miller.

She changed so many peoples lives, her daughter said.

Miller was born in Long Beach and grew up in Cerritos. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She lived in Michigan, Colorado and Texas before returning to California.

Miller was a vibrant, bubbly person who always made you feel like you were her best friend, said her mother, Mary Lu Miller.

Wendi Miller was chief executive of the Newport Beach-based nonprofit Wings of Justice, which advocates for children and parents in the family court system. She also was an advocate for people who have experienced domestic violence.

To you, no one was a stranger, just a new friend in waiting, Millers son, Luke Carpenter, said as he read a letter addressed to his mom, whom he credited for inspiring him with her amazing spirit of light and positivity.

The huge turnout at the afternoon service overwhelmed the venue, which was prepared for 600 guests. Extra seating was arranged around the perimeter of the multipurpose hall, which was filled with banquet tables and flower arrangements prepared by Millers family.

Its a testimony to her, Millers sister Tracy Dawson said of the large crowd.

Relatives organized an online fundraiser titled Wendi Miller Celebration of Life Memorial Fund that has brought in more than $17,000 since it was established April 23.

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In case Crescenta Valley High School student Lyron Co Ting Keh needed validation he was, indeed, young and innovative, the senior will soon receive more than his share of confirmation.

Co Ting Keh, 17, was named one of five Young Innovators to Watch from the United States and Canada by technology and lifestyle event producers Living in Digital Times, and is heading to Las Vegas to be honored at a giant consumer electronics show produced by Living in Digital Times on Thursday.

Im honored, humbled and I didnt expect any recognition for my work, in general, Co Ting Keh said. Its surprising.

Co Ting Keh and his mother, Rowena, father, Edmundo, and older sister, Lace, are all flying to Las Vegas for the honor.

Along with airfare and a hotel stay, theres $500 in prize money, Lenovo computer equipment, a tour of the show, which is closed to minors, and three minutes to pitch his product to industry professionals.

Im looking forward to seeing what other innovators and other peoples opinion of my work is, Co Ting Keh said.

The teen created a machine-learning algorithm model called HICCUP, which stands for Hierarchical Classification of Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Cancer of Unknown Primary, or CUP, is defined by the American Cancer Society when, cancer is found in one or more metastatic sites but the primary site cannot be determined.

The American Cancer Society estimates 31,810 cases were diagnosed in 2018, which accounts for 2% of all cancer cases.

Co Ting Keh has calculated that his model is roughly 18% more accurate than industry standards in diagnosing CUP.

HICCUP requires a blood sample to track DNA released by a cancerous tumor into the bloodstream, a test he contends is considerably cheaper and less invasive than other industry procedures.

Current methods to carry out the diagnosis, like MRI and biopsies, are often costly, inaccurate or harmful, Co Ting Keh said. Thats what drove me to develop HICCUP.

Co Ting Keh created HICCUP while at Stanford Universitys Alizadeh Lab, where hes been working on and off the last two years in between attending Crescenta Valley High.

Every summer, I go up there and work there pretty much full-time, Co Ting Keh said. I go up there for Thanksgiving break and winter break and fly up and work whenever I can.

Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, said the selection of Co Ting Keh was a no-brainer after committee members who eventually chose him did a little research.

What kind of kid works at a lab at Stanford? Raskin said. We thought, Well, maybe hes just regurgitating what theyre teaching or talking about at the lab? We called up the lab, and they said he was the brains behind many of the algorithms they were using. We were amazed.

Co Ting Keh was selected out of a pool of 100 candidates and is one of two winners from California, joining Cupertino Highs Kumaran Akilan.

While Co Ting Keh has already been accepted to Yale University, hes still waiting to make an official collegiate decision until hes received word from all prospective schools.

Until graduation, hell continue his work at the lab during breaks and also via remote access.

The recognition is nice, Co Ting Keh said, but the work continues.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
The Arcadia Unified School District family offers our deepest condolences to the Lin family, their friends and loved ones. We are beyond saddened to learn of the death of the Lin brothers, William and Anthony, who attended Arcadia High School. The loss of William and Anthony will be felt by the thousands of students, staff, friends and family that loved and knew them well in our tight-knit community. We know our community will stand united as we go through this unthinkable tragedy together. We ask everyone to please respect the Lin familys privacy during this extremely difficult time.

While this tragedy did not happen on campus, it will undoubtedly have an enormous impact throughout all our schools. We will provide additional counselors and support services this week when students return to school, and for as long as they are needed. Arcadia Unified prides itself as being a positive leader in this great community, and will continue to make the well-being of our students and staff a priority. We appreciate the many condolences and support for the Lin Family. We know this will continue, and we thank you all.

Ryan Foran

Public Information Officer, Arcadia Unified School District
This years Kentucky Derby, at least on paper, is one of the most competitive in many years.

Youve got Bob Bafferts trio of Game Winner, Roadster and Improbable, all within half-a-tick of each other on the morning line.

Youve got undefeated Florida Derby winner Maximum Security and Wood Memorial winner Tacitus, who jumped to first and second in early betting.

Youve got the always present buzz horse, who this year is By My Standards, winner of the Louisiana Derby.

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And, youve got Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor getting some second looks after Mike Smith replaced Corey Lanerie as the jockey.

But the real deciding factor of who wins the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday could be, to steal a line from the Masters, a tradition unlike any other: lots of rain on Derby Day.

A vicious torrent of rain soaked Churchill Downs on Friday morning, subsided in the afternoon, but is expected to return just in time for the races Saturday.

Last year was the wettest Derby in history with around three inches of rain falling during the day. While it doesnt appear as if Saturdays totals will be record worthy, the past few years have had their share of precipitation.

Justify (2018) won over a sloppy track, Always Dreaming (2017) over a wet fast surface and Orb (2013) also over a sloppy track. Historically 44 Derbies have been run over a surface that was not listed as fast, leaving the other 100 on a fast track. Of course, when determining how to label a surface, most tracks tend to err on the side of making things sound better.

A track is labeled muddy if the water seeps into the dirt to create a mixture, which most people know as mud. A sloppy track is one that has usually been sealed  pressed down hard to keep the water from entering the dirt  keeping the water on top of the surface.

I think Ive got three nice horses, but its still a very wide-open race, Baffert said. There are 10 horses that I think are within a length of each other. Its whoever gets the trip. And especially now that its going to rain, we dont know what is going to happen. Its too bad the weather is not going to work with us. Well just have to deal with it.

Most trainers can figure a way to make it sound as if their horse would be undeterred by a wet track. But the bettors tend not to listen.

Game Winner, who was the 9-2 early morning-line favorite, slipped to the fourth-most bet horse in early wagering, no doubt because he has never run on an off surface.

Tacitus and Maximum Security were one-two in early betting, probably because they have won on a wet track. Maximum Security won by 6  lengths on a muddy track under a hand ride.

He won on an off-track, trainer Jason Servis said of Maximum Security. Hes checked a lot of boxes. He won a major prep  the Florida Derby. He won in the mud. He lay third and came off the pace. Hes undefeated. His mare is a half to Flat Out, who won the Jockey Gold Cup twice at a mile-and-a-quarter.

It doesnt matter what you like or dont like, hes checking a lot of boxes.

Vekoma, whose pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, trains in the rain Friday morning. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

An almost all-the-box-checker is Vekoma, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. If you throw out a third in the Fountain of Youth, losing to Code Of Honor, hes undefeated, winning at three different tracks. But he hasnt run on an off surface.

He is bred to handle it, trainer George Weaver said. I always thought [Churchill Downs] is one of the best when it was wet. He should be forwardly placed and hope he doesnt have to eat too much mud.

Vekomas pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, which along with Game Winner is the highest in the field. Vekomas mother, Mona De Momma, won the Humana Distaff at Churchill in 2010 in the mud.

I told him that his momma liked it, Weaver said.

In a neglected cemetery lie black jockeys who helped create the Kentucky Derby 

During Fridays exercise, Plus Que Parfait, winner of the UAE Derby in Dubai, seemed to have an easier time over the slop than many of the other horses.

I barely asked him to do anything, said Tom Molloy, an assistant to trainer Brendan Walsh. He didnt mind the mud one bit as all.

As difficult as it to predict how a horse will do on off tracks, there seems to be some compelling evidence on how horses do when they ship from Dubai to run in the Kentucky Derby. In 13 tries, the best a Dubai runner has finished was a fifth by Master Of Hounds in 2011.

I would think that running any after Dubai on just 35 days is a little quick, but sometimes they surprise you, Peter Miller said of his colt Gray Magician, who finished second in the UAE Derby. I thought initially he would need 60 days because Ive had some that even needed 90 days off, but with him I think it felt like a trip up the 405.

If that is correct, then you can expect the race to be run in a very, very slow time.
I broke my own cardinal rule by asking Josie out during the holidays. (In college I had determined that any guy who asks a girl out in November comes across as desperate for someone to spend Christmas with.)

But this was different. I was coming out of a crumbling, 10-year relationship, and adjusting to life back in the U.S. after a tour of duty in Iraq and three deployments to South Korea. I had no plans on making a new love connection. My single objective was to get her on the back of my chopper and take her to an annual spring motorcycle rally in La Puente. I had attended the same rally earlier that year with friends. I had decreed right then and there that if I came back the following year, I would have a date on my arm. Josie was perfect.

She wasnt some groupie who worshiped guys with immaculate bikes. She was from the Midwest and had moved into my northeast Los Angeles neighborhood to make it as an actor. Id met her at my American Legion club room. She was a hasher  you know, a member of that drinking club with a running problem. They were having drinks in our bar after a run. I was the post commander and offered a tour. By the end of it, I asked to add her on Facebook, rascal that I am. My date to the rally was nearly secured.

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

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Even though it was the middle of November, I messaged Josie to ask if shed like to go out to dinner. The rally was still months away, but I figured if I didnt act fast, I ran the risk of being forgotten by the time the rally rolled around. She agreed, so long as it was platonic. I assured her that it was. Came to find she lived not far from me in Highland Park.

I picked her up just two days before Thanksgiving on my fully-customized 2005 Harley-Davidson Softail, raked and stretched with a purple metal flake paint job and an all-chrome torqued out S&S engine. We rode to Little Tokyo to a sushi spot I knew. The trees at Tokyo Village were already adorned with holiday lights and we took two empty seats at the bar. After a shared rainbow plate, we were hitting it off quite handily.

I explained my situation. I was just ending one relationship, and faced with starting all over again, not sure of my next step. She was receptive, understanding and gorgeous. Toward the end of dinner I admitted that my only goal that night was to not fall on my face. She assured me I hadnt.

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The next day she invited me to join her as she checked out a new drinking-and-running route for her club. We plotted a trail, visited a few watering holes, and high-fived our success when we were done.

Soon, we were spending nearly every day together, at my place or hers. We would walk to Maximiliano for pastas and red wine. We caught up with GLOW on her iPad. She traveled home for Christmas, but upon her return I made her tacos. She made meatball sandwiches for us a few days later.

I had been daunted at facing reentry back into the dating scene, but she was making the transition easy for me. That is, until she told me she was worried things were getting too serious. For me, it was still too early to say that. So when she said she needed more room to spread her wings, I gave it to her and told her I was OK with just being friends. Truth be told I felt accomplished. Like I had nothing more to prove.

A few weeks later, when her theater troupe needed someone to do tech in L.A. for a play she was in, I volunteered. It meant I got to see her every Thursday for the shows run. For the first show, we drove over together in my car and sang along to the Smiths How Soon Is Now? By the second show, Josie drove herself. She said we could still hang out, but that she still had feelings for her ex. Dutifully, I completed my volunteer tech work but cringed on the nights she departed without me. She was beautiful in her part in an adaptation of Reservoir Dogs. By the fourth show she was applying dramatic pauses at key scenes, capturing my heart.

A few weeks after the last show, I texted Josie and reminded her about the rally, which was then just a few days away. She admitted that she had forgotten about it but was still willing to go. I was proud to have her on my arm. There, she pulled me out to the dance floor and we freaked like high school kids until the music ended. We came back to my place and cuddled, but that was all. Josie said we could only be friends and neighbors. I walked her home.

You already know the end of the story. Despite my own insistence to not let it happen, I had developed feelings for that girl.

The contest of love is the only one where it doesnt matter who comes in first. What matters is who finishes last.

I cant be unhappy over the outcome, however.

I overcame my expectations, and got myself back out there. She reminded me of all that was good about being back in the United States. And she got me through the holidays after a bad breakup.

A couple weeks later, I left good-bye flowers on her doorstep.

All in all, not a bad run.

The author is a writer and Army reservist. His website is la1news.com.

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: 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.

MORE L.A. LOVE STORIES 

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North Korea has apparently fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast, in what could mark its first missile launch in nearly a year and half, according to the South Korean military.

North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017 and has since refrained from launches amid unprecedented diplomatic talks between President Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

There is a possibility North Korea has fired multiple short-range missiles, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency quoted a military source as saying.

The South Korean militarys joint chiefs of staff later adjusted their wording from missiles to projectiles, saying they were still working to determine what exactly was fired. The shift in wording may reflect South Koreas concern over how news of the test is received by Washington.

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The launch, if verified, would probably mark a continued return to low-level provocations from North Korea, expressing its displeasure at the stalled talks with the U.S. since a summit between Trump and Kim over the Norths nuclear program ended without a deal in February.

Saturdays launch comes after Kim last month oversaw a test of a new unspecified tactical guided weapon capable of carrying a powerful warhead.

Kim said in April 2018 that North Korea had completed its missile program and no longer needed to conduct nuclear or ballistic missile tests. Recent military actions by the North stop short of violating that self-imposed ban but nonetheless are a reminder of what a North Korean official has warned would be undesired consequences should nuclear talks collapse.

Trump has touted the missile moratorium as a sign that his engagement with North Korea was working, saying Kim pledged to him in Hanoi that the moratorium would stand.

North Korea test-fires new tactical guided weapon, with Kim Jong Un there to observe 

In a speech before the North Korean legislative body last month, Kim said he was willing to wait until the years end for a breakthrough in talks with the U.S.

As blowing winds create waves, the more explicit the U.S.s hostile policies toward North Korea become, we will act accordingly, he said in the speech.

Trump administration officials have said the ball is in North Koreas court after the talks in Vietnam fell apart because Kim was willing to discuss only a portion of the nations nuclear arsenal while seeking large-scale sanctions relief.

Representatives for Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they were monitoring the situation.
This month ushers in an era of new beginnings for royal families in Japan and Thailand.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, Thailand is crowning a new king. Maha Vajiralongkorn took the throne when his father died 2 years ago. On Saturday he was officially installed as king as part of a three-day ceremony drawing on Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

In Japan, Crown Prince Naruhito became the countrys 126th emperor on Tuesday, after his 85-year-old father, Emperor Akihito, stepped down.

Dozens of countries still have royal families. Some monarchs go by the title of king or queen while others are referred to as emperor, sultan or emir.

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The level of power they exert depends on the country.

In Norway, Spain, Britain and Sweden, the royal positions are purely ceremonial. Several countries in Africa and Asia have similar figurehead monarchs, among them Lesotho, Cambodia and Malaysia.

In Thailand, the king has the power to pardon criminals and is viewed as a force for helping unite a deeply divided nation.

Then there are royals who continue to rule like monarchs of old.

Saudi Arabias King Salman also serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power. (Fethi Belaid / Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, a kingdom ruled by one person. In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud took on that role. In addition to being the king, he serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power.

Key support positions, such as the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, are given to members of the royal family.

King Salmans son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is next in line to the throne.

Since taking power, Salman and others in the royal family have taken measures to tighten their grip over their subjects. Once seen as a reformer, Crown Prince Mohammed has faced international condemnation after Octobers grisly murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

In April, King Salman ratified a royal decree to behead 37 Saudi citizens, most of them Shiite Muslims  a minority in a country ruled by Sunni Muslims. Officials said those condemned had engaged in terrorism-related offenses, allegations questioned by human rights advocates.

The monarchy has also ordered the arrest of womens rights activists, including protesters of the nations since-lifted ban on women driving.

Swazilands King Mswati III rules Africas last absolute monarchy. (Paballo Thekiso / AFP/Getty Images)

Swaziland

Swaziland, home to 1.3 million people, is Africas last absolute monarchy. The small country in southern Africa has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.

A majority of the population in Swaziland live in poverty in rural areas.

In 2006, the ruling family introduced a new constitution that included a bill of rights. But human rights activists say the monarchy has continued to restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association.

In 2018, Mswati announced that he was renaming the country the Kingdom of eSwatini, meaning the land of Swazis, though the name change has not been embraced by most of the rest of the world. The announcement was made on the countrys 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

Monacos leader, Prince Albert II, shares legislative power with the National Council. (Julien Warnand / EPA/Shutterstock)

Monaco

Monaco is a hereditary constitutional monarchy led by Prince Albert II. It was established in 1911.

Tourism drives the economy in the postage stamp-sized nation of 39,000 people.

In 1962, the countrys constitution was reformed to provide independence to portions of its judicial and legislative bodies.

For instance, legislative power is now shared by the prince and the National Council  a group of 24 members elected by popular vote every five years. The prince proposes laws and the National Council votes on them.

The prince also appoints a president to the seven-member Crown Council, which advises the prince on domestic and international issues, such as ratification of treaties and the granting of amnesty and citizenship.

In 2002, Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa changed Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom and gave himself the title of king. (Ludovic Marin / AFP/Getty Images)

Bahrain

The small Persian Gulf island has been ruled by the Khalifa family since 1783. Members of the royal family control the ministries of Defense, Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

The countrys political system has undergone shifts over the last three decades.

Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa, who took power in 1999, turned the emirate into a kingdom three years later and gave himself the title of king.

Human rights groups have criticized the monarchy for its clampdown on dissent. According to a 2018 Amnesty International report, authorities arrested activists and political opponents who criticized the monarchy ahead of parliamentary elections in November 2018.

Bruneis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, right, shown with Malaysian Sultan Syed Sirajuddin in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, has ruled the tiny oil-rich Asian kingdom for more than five decades. (Jimin Lai / AFP/Getty Images)

Brunei

For more than five decades, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has reigned over the tiny, oil-rich Asian kingdom.

The monarchy, which has been around for hundreds of years, has endured turbulent times. In the late 19th century, Britain intervened in the countrys affairs, and Brunei became a British protectorate in 1906 under a treaty that allowed the ruling dynasty and its line of succession to remain intact.

During World War II, between 1941 and 1945, Japan occupied the country.

As head of state, Bolkiah also serves as prime minister, in charge of the countrys armed forces and Finance Ministry.

The monarchy sparked international outrage when it announced in April that it would begin stoning those charged with adultery or homosexuality under a new penal code based on sharia law.

Celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John quickly condemned the crackdown and called for a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and seven other hotels in Europe owned by the sultan.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
Palestinian militias launched more than 250 rockets into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, in the latest escalation of violence in the long-simmering conflict.

An Israeli man in Ashkelon died in the bombardment when his apartment suffered a direct hit. Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that five Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The circumstances under which they died remained unclear.

The Israeli army said its retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire struck more than 120 targets belonging to Hamas, the Islamist paramilitary group that controls Gaza, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ, a rival group that joined Hamas in the cross-border attacks.

The army also said it destroyed a PIJ tunnel connecting southern Gaza and Israel that was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack inside Israel.

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Air raid sirens blared in the city of Beer Sheva, a major Israeli metropolitan hub in northern Negev. The spread of violence to the city represented a significant escalation in the conflict.

The latest round of violence began with gunfire during Fridays Gaza border protests, in which two Israeli troops were wounded by a PIJ sniper, the Israeli army said.

According to the army, several dozen rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israel killed two Hamas operatives in airstrikes Friday, and two Palestinian protesters died in the border clashes.

An army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said that five or six Hamas and PIJ terrorists were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

The renewed fighting threw the south of the country onto war footing, sending Saturday beachgoers into shelters and marring weekend plans for some 2 million people. School was canceled across all of southern Israel Sunday.

Conricus condemned the reckless and coordinated rocket fire effort.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Qanou said the militant group will continue to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow Israel to shed the blood of our people. He said Hamas was committed to defending and protecting the Palestinians in Gaza.

The escalation between Israel and armed factions in Gaza comes at a delicate moment  less than a week ahead of Israels memorial and independence days, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who retained his post after a close race last month, tries to form a coalition for his next government.

In addition, Israel has been gearing up for the Eurovision Song Contest, a marquee event that will be broadcast around the world.

Former army chief Benny Gantz, Netanyahus principal rival in the elections, blasted the prime minister.

When a lack of policy and consistency meets acquiescence to Hamas blackmail over the past year, we are met on a Saturday morning by heavy barrages on Israel and another round of extortion [by Palestinian terror groups], he said, at a public event.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Saturday called on Hamas and PIJ to end the attacks.

The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel, Ortagus said. We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks.

Before the latest intensification of clashes with Gaza, the city of Tel Aviv had heightened security preparations in anticipation of thousands of incoming Eurovision fans.

According to Israeli analysts, Hamas may hope that the pressure of the upcoming public events will improve the chances that the escalation will lead to a compromise and greater concessions for the Palestinian factions.

While the fighting was underway, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and PIJ leader Ziad Nahala were in Cairo, where Egyptian intelligence officials have spent months attempting to negotiate a long-term cease-fire with Israel.

Criticizing Israels tacit participation in the negotiations, Gantz said the Israeli government must reassert deterrence and only then seek a long-term agreement, without security compromises and without extortion.

More than a year after the regular Friday border protests began, with close to 200 Palestinians killed and with few tangible benefits, Hamas is eager to show Palestinians it made some strides against Israel ahead of Sunday night, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of family gatherings, festivities and spending.

Instead, the Israeli army announced the return to a stricter blockade of Gaza, which has been isolated by Egypt and Israel since 2007, when Hamas, which Western countries have listed as a terrorist organization, took power.

In a joint statement, Hamas and PIJ warned Israel that its response would be stronger and more widespread if Israel continued its strikes on Gaza.

Special correspondent Abu Alouf reported from Gaza City and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem.
- Atiku Abubakar has again condemned the claim by APC that he is not a Nigerian

- The PDP presidential candidate for the 2019 general election said the ruling APC is full og hypocrites

- Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the home to hypocrites who speak from both sides of the mouth.

Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians.

Vanguard reports that Atiku's spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, in reaction to the claim that the PDP candidate is a Cameroonian said the APC is chasing shadow instead of substance in an election they massively rigged to profit themselves.

Afegbua said: "At first, they said Atiku Abubakar was not a Nigerian. Again, they said we hacked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC server.

When Atiku Abubakar was donating money to them in the APC, they decorated him with golden ornaments; when he was providing logistics, they were all swarming around him, calling him the great Waziri," Afegbua said.

READ ALSO: Countries with the lowest minimum wage in 2019

He also said that those who preached integrity suddenly joined the hypocritical chorus, sheer double standards and a character profiling that exposes the dubiety of those APC chieftains.

Suddenly they remembered that Atiku is no longer a Nigerian, a former Vice President at that, a business tycoon whose productivity is not in doubt. A man who has impacted positively on thousands of Nigerians by way of employment.

But we will not be distracted by their double speak. Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar won the election and even the APC knows that in the hearts of Nigerians, they didnt win the election, but we will shock them with further proofs at the tribunal.," he noted.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Atiku had commended the appointment of Kaycee Madu as the first Nigerian elected member of the Parliament in Alberta, Canada.

Atiku Abubakar said upward mobility and local and international successes, of the type displayed by Madu who was appointed minister of municipal affairs in Alberta go a long way in changing the international narrative of Nigeria.

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In a statement released on Thursday, May 2, Atiku said seeing Nigerians prosper in Nigeria, and around the world, has always been the cornerstone of his vision.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
- A Nigerian student schooling in Canada has cried out over racist experience

- The student revealed that she has been a victim of racism and discrimination

- Ife also revealed that many of the black students in her school have also been victims

Legit.ng has come across the sad story of a Nigerian graduate schooling in Canada. The lady identified as Ife had taken to popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter, to share her experience of racism and discrimination.

The young lady explained that she is a student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she claimed to be a victim of racism and discrimination.

Ife called on Nigerians and the world to come to her aid. She also explained that many of the black students in the school also experience the same racist attacks.

READ ALSO: Student, 22, overcomes struggles, obtains 21 distinctions at DUT

According to the chemistry student, some people in the school who discriminate against them are working together. She also claimed that they all work on covering their tracks.

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Nigerians had replied to her tweet, sharing options on how she can solve the problem. They also showed support to her, praying that God continue to keep her safe and protect her from any threat.

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READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian man had accused University of Nigeria, Nsukka of bribery. The man claimed that the university normally collects N800k bribery for acceptance to study medicine in the school.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Top 3 World Universities And Their African Students - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We cant leave; this is our home. We cant express an opinion with some family members because wed get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didnt think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; its a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where were coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter dont mind and those who mind dont matter.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
A comprehensive plan is underway concerning 10 municipalities in the Nazareth area.

Members of the Nazareth Area Council of Governments have agreed to update their multi-municipal comprehensive plan.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission will work with the Nazareth Area COG to create the plan, which will focus on strategies to address growth, infrastructure and community needs.

Funding comes from a $40,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant.

Nazareth Area COG members include, Bath Borough, Bushkill Township, Chapman Borough, Hanover Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Moore Township, Nazareth Borough, Stockertown Borough, Tatamy Borough and Upper Nazareth Township.

Among the members, there is a combined population of about 49,900 people living in an area totaling 96 square miles.

The beauty and the benefit of having communities work together is they can coordinate transportation, identify where to share, and govern things like land use, housing and jobs, LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said.

The current Nazareth Area COG multi-municipal plan was completed about 10 years ago. Bradley said the new plan will consider the increased development and other changes that have occurred in the last decade.

In most cases, state law requires every municipality to allow for every type of legal zoning use. However, Lower Nazareth Township Manager Lori Stauffer said, with a multi-municipal plan, those zoning uses can be distributed across all participant municipalities.

Instead of each municipality providing every type of use, we can plan regionally, Stauffer said. A certain type of use can go wherever it is most appropriate.

Stauffer said a Nazareth Area COG committee consisting of elected and other municipal officials will begin meeting on the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Upper Nazareth Township municipal building to draft goals and create the plan.

Meetings are open to the public. The goal is to complete the plan by the spring of 2020, Stauffer said.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com.
The trial of a woman who lives in Laois and is accused of murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him in the chest has heard that a garda found the deceased lying on his back with blood around his left armpit when he arrived at the scene.

The jury was also shown CCTV footage of the accused, who was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, arriving at a garda station at 2.30am on the morning of the incident.

Sergeant Tony Hanrahan was giving evidence on Friday in the Central Criminal Court trial of Inga Ozolina (48), who is charged with murdering her boyfriend Audrius Pukas (43) over two years ago in her Co Tipperary home.

Ms Ozolina, originally from Latvia, but with an address at Old Court Church, Mountrath, Co Laois has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Pukas at The Malthouse, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on November 20, 2016.

The trial has previously heard that the accused and deceased were in a tempestuous and volatile relationship which was violent at times and the prosecution contends there is no question of self-defence in the case.

Giving evidence today, Sgt Hanrahan told prosecution counsel Paul Murray SC that he was on duty in Roscrea Garda Station on the night in question when Ms Ozolina came to the door.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that his colleague spoke to the accused. Following this, Sgt Hanrahan and two other gardai went to Ms Ozolinas home in Roscrea.

The witness said he was brought by the accused to the rear door of her apartment at The Malthouse, where Ms Ozolina gave him her keys. The witness unlocked the door and entered the property while the accused stayed outside.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that he saw Mr Pukas lying on his back on the floor of a downstairs bedroom when he opened the door. He was wearing only underwear and there was no movement, he explained.

The witness said he approached Mr Pukas body and felt for a pulse but could not detect one.

There was blood around his left armpit as well as on the bed sheets, he said, adding that his body was still warm.

Following this, Sgt Hanrahan went outside the apartment and noticed blood on Ms Ozolinas calf muscle on her lower leg. The witness asked his colleague to bring the accused to the patrol car.

Paramedics later arrived and advised Sgt Hanrahan that the injuries sustained by Mr Pukas were incompatible with life, the court heard.

Ms Ozolina was arrested on suspicion of murder at 3.43am that morning and brought to Nenagh Garda Station.

Under cross-examination by Caroline Biggs SC, defending, Sgt Hanrahan agreed that he had previously made a statement that Ms Ozolina was in a very distressed state at the time.

The witness further agreed that a yellow blood-stained t-shirt and dressing robe were located adjacent to Mr Pukas body in the bedroom.

Paramedic Ronan Wall gave evidence that he arrived at the scene at 2.50am and found a male lying in the bedroom of the apartment. No pulse was found and he noted a wound to his left armpit, the court heard.

Mr Wall said he asked Ms Ozolina if she required medical assistance and she replied no.

Earlier, CCTV footage was shown to the jury of Ms Ozolina arriving at Roscrea Garda Station on November 20 at 2.30am.

Sgt Hanrahan agreed with Mr Murray that Ms Ozolina can be seen alighting from her car and making her way in a hurried fashion to the front door of the garda station.

Ms Ozolina is wearing a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, the court heard.

The witness pointed out in the footage that Ms Ozolina speaks with Gda Diarmaid OConnor before she followed him and another garda outside.

Sgt Hanrahan said that Ms Ozolina got into her car and drove in the direction of The Malthouse. She is followed by two gardai in their patrol car, the court heard.

The trial continues on Tuesday before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury of seven men and five women.
A High Court judge has ordered the extradition a man who absconded to Ireland after spending 31 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was a child.

Roy Norman Kenyon came to Ireland in 2003 while serving his sentence for the murder of Margaret Potts, an elderly shopkeeper, whom he beat to death with a poker in 1971. Having lived in Ireland under an alias for 15 years, the 64-year-old will now be returned to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The court has previously heard that Kenyon lived in Tullamore under the alias Alan McPherson, before being arrested in the village of Eyeries, Co. Cork on May 2, 2018. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly today rejected Mr Kenyon's points of objection and made an order to surrender him to the UK authorities within 25 days.

Outlining the facts of the original trial, Ronan Kennedy BL for the State told the court earlier this year that Kenyon was 16 years old and had been drinking alcohol on the night of his crime. He left the pub to purchase more alcohol from Mrs Potts, got into an argument with her and hit her two times in the head with a poker while she sat in an armchair.

Opposing the application for his surrender to the UK last month Sean Guerin SC said his client is not a risk to society. The barrister said his client is now an adult but was sentenced as a child and was considered to be at greater risk to society than the average prisoner because he had spent a longer time in custody. The lawyer said this logic was "fallacious" and unsupported by the evidence placed before the court.

Counsel said Kenyon has been at liberty for a long period of time and did not appear to have exhibited a risk to the public.

Mr Guerin pointed out that his client was eligible for release in the 1980s when he completed the punitive portion of his sentence. However, he will now serve an "indeterminate" sentence if he is surrendered to the UK. There is no evidence in terms of his behaviour to suggest that he poses an "unacceptable risk" to the public, he added.

Mr Guerin also submitted that there is no commitment from the UK authorities that Kenyon's case will be reviewed at anytime before 2021. He said that his client is likely to find himself "back in the twilight zone" of having his life sentence reviewed every two years and further conditions being imposed.

Ms Justice Donnelly said it is not "egregious" for a person sentenced to life as a child for murder to be held in prison and pointed out that his continued detention in the UK was a result of parole hearings which assessed the risk to the public of granting his freedom.

On surrendering him, she said, he will be entitled to seek release and his case will be reviewed within two years. This, she said, complies with his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. She added: "It cannot be egregious as a matter of law to require a person who has absconded while serving a life sentence to return to the issuing state where they will have the full panoply of the European Convention on Human Rights available to them."

Justice Donnelly further noted that this was not Mr Kenyon's first time absconding from custody after being placed in open prisons. On previous occasions, he was caught trying to leave the country and when returned to prison he was put "at the bottom of the penal ladder". This behaviour, she said, shows he does not want to be monitored and raises concern about his risk to the public. Justice Donnelly said it has not been established that he is no longer a risk or danger to the public.

She also noted that there was no "professional evidence" of his rehabilitation and said the Court does not accept his claim that he forgot about a previous time when he absconded from custody for some months. She also rejected his claim that he had not engaged in the use of controlled drugs.

The Court further rejected a claim that Brexit posed a risk that he would no longer be able to rely on the rights and entitlements guaranteed by EU law.
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Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, Irelands premier provider of research-based consultancy services in Ireland, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region. In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Leitrim. Key findings from the report from a Leitrim perspective included:

-27% of overseas visitors who visit Leitrim are holidaymakers-

- Overseas visitors spend an average of 7 nights in Leitrim when visiting the region

- Those who visit and stay in Leitrim spend the most time there and the most money there on their trip to the region

- Natural landscape and the outdoors the most popular reasons for visiting Leitrim

Hiking, Cross Country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Leitrim with over 75% of overseas visitors surveyed partaking in these activities

Visitors to Leitrim through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 45% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a Hotel or B&B during their stay in Leitrim whilst visitors to Leitrim estimated they spent on average 708 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Leitrim and the entire region

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region. The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Leitrim economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism.

Speaking at the airport during last weeks local authority update, Joseph Gilhooly, Deputy Chief Executive, Leitrim County Council, said Leitrim County Council are very happy to be involved in the Local Authority partnership with Ireland West Airport. The Airport provides a key piece of infrastructure for the continued development of the region. Leitrim County Council would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the Airport Board, Directors, Management and Staff in continuing to grow the business of the airport and to secure investment for the continuous programme of development of the airport facility
THE PROBLEM with drink driving is the mourning after say Limerick Macra who have been praised by the CEO of the Road Safety Authority.

On the morning after their Easter Ball, attended by over 300, they took the innovative approach of setting up a breathalyser stand.

Limerick Macra PRO Brian OShaughnessy said they did it so people could ensure that it was safe to begin the journey home.

It was very popular and weve got a lot of positive feedback. We took 140 readings that morning in the Woodlands House Hotel. Everybody wanted to check themselves and see. Even people who werent driving wanted to see out of curiosity, said Brian, who came up with the idea with Limerick Macra chairperson Vanessa Crean.

Brian has his own breathalyser so they purchased two more. They ran the stand from 9.30am to 1pm.

There was a couple of people who thought they should be all right but they were told, No, youve another hour to wait. Everybody gave themselves an extra hour after what the breathalyser said to be on the safe side, said Brian.

One man wasnt allowed to drive until 6pm.

He knew he was going to be well over. He wasnt driving anyway, he had someone coming to pick him up, said Brian.

It is the first Macra event or, indeed, event of any kind that has had a dedicated breathalyser station that he is aware of.

As well as saving lives, the Limerick Macra PRO said it is in response to the drink driving law change. Since the end of October anyone caught with 50-80 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood will be disqualified from driving for three months and receive a 200 fine. Previously, they would have received three penalty points and a fine for a first offence rather than an automatic ban.

It is mainly rural people we are dealing with and if you get put off the road in rural Ireland there are no buses around for you, said Brian, who is from Kilcornan.

The breathalyser stand didnt take from the Easter Ball which he said was a fantastic night. Coincidentally the band was called Traffic.

Brian says they will bring the breathalysers to every future Macra overnight event to promote their message of, Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Caption above: Louise Crowley and Vanessa Crean, Limerick Macra Chairperson, promoting the initiative

Moyagh Murdock, CEO in the RSA, said she welcomes any initiative which aims to promote or further the interests of road safety.

The use of breath alcohol testing devices is of value once alcohol consumption has ceased for several hours, such as in a morning after situation, remembering that even very low levels of alcohol can impair driving, said Ms Murdock.

Investigation files for fatal collisions, by the RSA, shows that 11% of fatal collisions in which a driver had consumed alcohol, occurred between the hours of 7am and 11am.

Read also: County Limerick farmer over the limit on the morning after Munster final

Drink driving at any time of the day or day of the week is drink driving, which is why you must take extra care the following morning if you have been drinking the night before.

While many people accept the dangers associated with drink driving, some people often overlook the potential dangers of driving the morning after drinking the night before. Its important to remember that if youve been drinking the night before, there could still be alcohol in your system the morning after, said Ms Murdock.
A GROUP of women who have devoted countless hours to making clothes and other items for the less fortunate in Limerick and around the world, have been honoured with the Limerick Person of the Month award.

Crafty Angels, a group of 30 ladies, meet every Monday in the Millennium Centre in Caherconlish for two and a half hours. They combine a chat, a cuppa, and an interest in all forms of craft with charity work.

Liz Stanley, from Caherline, set up the Crafty Angels with the late and much missed Maureen Kenny towards the end of 2013.

We had a group there previously and that was coming to an end and we wanted to keep the people together. Its more of a social group than anything else - its like Mens Shed for women, Liz explained.

One of the charities to benefit greatly from their work is KidzCare which provides care, education and love to underprivileged and orphaned children in Tanzania. The group made the connection with the charity through their friend Imelda O'Riordan who lives in Bruff.

The first time we joined up with Imelda we learned of little children who couldnt go to school because they didnt have a uniform, Liz explained. One of our members had died and her husband had given me a bale of black fabric - 25 yards of black fabric. He handed it to me and said, you might be able to do something with that.

About three weeks later Theresa Riordan from Meanus rang me up asking if we still had the black fabric and she told me about Imeldas girls needing skirts.

The Crafty Angels, around 17 of them, gathered together one Monday with their sewing machines. Theresa had made patterns in three sizes for them to follow.

We cut and we sewed and in three hours we made 65 skirts. Imelda then packed them up and took them off with her and she brought back pictures of the little girls. It was lovely.

Imelda, who joined a number of the Crafty Angels, at the Person of the Month presentation in the Clayton hotel this Monday, transports the items to Tanzania in huge suitcases.

 I take a lot of things out each year so Im taking six 23 kilo bags of baby clothes, school supplies and things the group make, Imelda explained.

The group also made around 220 toiletry bags this year for secondary school students in Tanzania who lost everything in a fire and had to go to the river to wash.

Another charity to benefit from their selfless deeds is ACER in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

A friend of ours, Rose Little from Castleconnell, goes out there and she started up, with a friend of hers, a project for women who had no way of making extra money for themselves. She taught them to sew cushion covers and things to sell and now they help to pay for their children to go to school.

Incubator covers, tiny little caps and snuggle blankets were given by the group to the neonatal ward in University Maternity Hospital Limerick and therapy dolls and Freddy bags for the Ark Unit in University Hospital Limerick.

The Crafty Angels hail from Kildimo, Murroe, Doon, Caherconlish and Mitchelstown.

Speaking on behalf of the entire group, some of whom couldn't attend the presentation, Liz said it was a real honour to receive the person of the month award. Its tremendously exciting, she smiled. When I heard the news I couldnt gather my thoughts. I sat down and realised I was shaking. We are absolutely delighted to be recognised.
A CROWD estimated to be around 300 people marched on the local HSE offices in protest at the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The march, organised by Solidarity, drew widespread support, as frustration and anger at the dozens of people waiting on trolleys in the emergency department at UHL boiled over.

The trolley figures, published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reached a 63 in the last week. But last month, a new high of 81 patients on trolleys was recorded.

And the Limerick Leader this week revealed how a 92-year-old woman had been left waiting on a trolley in the emergency department for 105 hours.

Addressing a rally held at City Hall immediately prior to the march, Derek Cromwell, who works as a nurse in the emergency department said: Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures, and it destined to get worse. This isnt just now. Its been consistent over the last five years. Absolutely nothing has been done. The senior management dont seem to care, the government dont care. All they are worried about is their pensions, their next job and making themselves look good.

'University Hospital Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures. These numbers are just going to rise and rise': Staff nurse Derek Cromwell addresses the #EnoughisEnough hospital protest in the city. pic.twitter.com/ZtFIfFQuOb  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

'Healthcare is a human right, give it back or we will fight': A crowd of around 300 people are marching on the @HSELive offices at Catherine Street in protest at the UHL overcrowding crisis. #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/rxRyKDZVHL  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

There was criticism of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over his decision not to visit UHL and see the overcrowding for himself when he was in the city on Thursday, with members of the crowd chanting Leo, Leo, time to go.

Solidarity councillor Mary Cahillane, who organised the demonstration through Facebook, said: Leo Varadkar with his full complement of spin doctors has visited Limerick not once, but twice in the last two months. The first time he came he had the cheek to tell Fintan Walsh of the Limerick Leader that we need a different approach. Nothing happened. Seventeen beds had been closed by then, not once did Leo Varadkar say open them up. On Thursday, he took part in the most cringeworthy street busking event and at the end proclaimed he doesnt do bullshit.

Well Leo, all I can say to you is you are not fooling us and we call bullshit on your spin, your arrogance and your lifes, she added to cheers.

After the rally, the protestors marched around the city streets up to the HSEs offices in Catherine Street.

The Limerick Leader is running a major campaign to highlight the continuing overcrowding crisis in University Hospital Limerick. For more information, click here.
SENATOR Maria Byrne has been appointed as Fine Gaels director of elections ahead of the plebiscite on proposals for a directly elected mayor.

Senator Byrne, who served as Mayor of Limerick in 2010/11 will oversee the partys campaign ahead of the vote on Friday, May 24  the same day as the Local and European Elections.

As a former Mayor of Limerick, I believe cities can benefit from strong, visible leadership and international standing that a mayor, elected with a clear mandate, can bring, she said.

Around the world, including in London, a mayor has become a vital part in ensuring that a great city has a strong voice and can attract investment from home and aboard. We need a strong voice in Limerick to create a strong city to drive the region, she added.

Senator Byrne will be one of a number of speakers who will address a town hall meeting at Thomond Park this Thursday.

The Fine Gael event will be hosted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Rose Hynes, chair of the Shannon Group and John Moran of Liveable Limerick will also speak on the night.

Mr Varadkar will canvass members of the public for a yes vote in Limerick ahead of the town hall event. Senator Byrne, who will contest the next general election in the Limerick city constituency, says shes in favour of the proposals for a directly elected mayor.

This plebiscite is about the people of Limerick giving a mandate to a political leader, enabling them to create a new vibrant Limerick.

All the key ingredients will soon be in place  a deep sea port, an international airport on our doorstep, and a motorway link to Dublin and Cork.

Having previously served as a councillor I know how fundamentally important it is for joined up thinking at local government level, she continued.

The mayor will be paid an annual salary of around 130,000 and will be entitled to hire two advisors.
A Twitter user has shared her first chat with a man on LinkedIn and where it ...




Former Mr Nigeria, Bryan Okwara has made a joke out of an interview that Tonto Dikeh recently granted to address her failed marriage to Churchill.

During the interview, Tonto alleged that her ex-husband suffers premature ejaculation and only lasts "40 seconds".

Web users quickly turned this into a joke and Bryan Okwara has now joined in.

Sharing a photo of himself getting out of a car, he wrote: "She called me and I came in 40 seconds. She was shocked i keep to time."
Later in his career, Leonardo da Vinci's ability to use his right hand appeared to be hampered  a problem long thought to have been caused by a stroke. But a new analysis suggests that it was nerve damage to his hand that instead caused this paralysis.

In the paper, published today (May 3) in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, two Italian doctors argued that Leonardo's hand paralysis may resulted from traumatic nerve damage that occurred after the artist fainted. Their conclusion is based on an analysis of a 16th century portrait of Leonardo.

Leonardo was left-handed, but previous studies, including a new handwriting analysis, have suggested that he was also adept at using his right hand. Though he mostly wrote and drew with his left hand, evidence suggests that he typically painted with his right, according to the paper. [5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Leonardo da Vinci]

The portrait at the center of the new analysis, drawn in red chalk sometime in the 16th century by Italian artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino, depicts an older Leonardo. In the drawing, the famous polymath's right arm is wrapped up in a bandage-like cloth and his right hand is "suspended in a stiff, contracted position," the authors wrote in the paper. In other words, his fingers are slightly bent inward.

But the hand drawn in the portrait doesn't depict the "clenched hand" typical of patients with muscle contractions caused by stroke, they wrote. Rather, "the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand," co-author Dr. Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, said in a statement.

Ulnar palsy is a condition in which fingers become bent like an animal's claw due to damage to the ulnar nerve  a major nerve that runs from the neck down to the fingers and gives the lower arm and hand sensation and the ability to move.

Lazzeri and his co-author Dr. Carlo Rossi, a neurologist at the Hospital of Pontedera in Italy, suggested that his ulnar palsy could have resulted from a trauma, such as fainting and falling down.

What's more, because Leonardo didn't also experience cognitive decline or any other movement issues, a stroke was not likely the cause, Lazzeri said.

Ulnar palsy "may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter, while he continued teaching and drawing," Lazzeri said.

Originally published on Live Science.
In 1980, The New York Times featured a full-page ad from an animal rights group, which lambasted a prominent cosmetics company for testing its products on the eyes of rabbits. The campaign was so effective, it led to several beauty companies pledging hundreds of thousands of dollars toward research to find alternative testing methods that didn't involve animals.

Almost 40 years later, what are some of these alternatives, and how much progress have we made?

Before we delve into the answer, there's one important distinction to make: although "animal testing" usually conjures up the image of defenseless rabbits being prodded and poked in the name of beauty, the use of animals in research  and the search for alternatives  stretches far beyond the cosmetics industry. Animals like mice and rats are widely used in toxicology, the study of chemicals and their effects on us. Animals are also a crucial to drug discovery and testing. In biomedical research, animal models are the foundation of many experiments that help researchers investigate everything from the functioning of circuits in the brain to the progression of disease in cells. [Do Animals Get Seasick?]

Despite their importance in these fields, there are now efforts to reduce the number of animals used in testing. That's due, in part, to ethical concerns that are driving new legislation in different countries. But it also comes down to money and time.

"In theory, non-animal tests could be much cheaper and much faster," said Warren Casey, the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, which analyzes alternatives to animal use for chemical- safety testing.

Another concern is that in some types of research, animals are too different from humans to successfully predict the effects that certain products will have on our bodies. "So we've got ethics, efficiency and human relevance," Casey told Live Science, the three main factors driving the hunt for alternatives.

So, what are the most promising options so far?

Data, data, everywhere

One approach is to replace animals with algorithms. Researchers are developing computational models that crunch huge quantities of research data to predict the effects of certain products on an organism.

"This is a very applicable approach. It's very cheap," said Hao Zhu, an associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Zhu is part of a research team that has developed a high-speed algorithm that extracts reams of information from online chemical databases, to compare thousands of tested chemical compounds with new, untested ones by identifying structural similarities between them. Then, it uses what we know about the toxicity of the tested compounds to make reliable predictions about the toxicity of the untested varieties with a similar structure (assuming that this shared structure means the compound will have similar effects).

Typically, identifying the effects of a new compound would require scores of expensive, time-consuming animal tests. But computational predictions like this could help to lessen the amount of animal research required. "If we can show that the compound we want to put onto the market is safe, then I think these kinds of studies could be a replacement for current animal studies," Zhu said. A similar study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland showed that algorithms could even be better than animal tests at predicting toxicity in various compounds. [How Psychedelic Drugs Create Such Weird Hallucinations]

Miniature organs

In recent years, scientists have started growing cultured human cells on scaffolds embedded on plastic chips, forming tiny structures that mimic the functioning of our heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. Known as organs-on-a-chip, these could provide a novel way to test the effects of new compounds or drugs on human cells.

Testing on these simplified, miniaturized versions of our physiology could deliver more human-relevant results than animal experiments. Crucially, the tests could also replace the use of whole animals in the exploratory stages of early research, when scientists don't necessarily need to test on whole systems. Organs-on-a-chip "for the most part address a single output or endpoint," Casey said  because all that may be required at this early stage is to test the behavior of one cell type in response to a drug or a disease, as a way to guide future research.

This could "help in most cases to reduce the amount of animal tests researchers are planning within ongoing projects," said Florian Schmieder, a researcher who is working on that goal by developing miniature kidney and heart models at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, in Germany. As well as lungs, livers and hearts, some companies are developing artificial 3D structures that replicate human skin. That's particularly important in toxicology, where animal skin tests have long been a baseline for understanding the effects of new, untested compounds.

Replacing this with a harm-free model is now a reality, Casey said: "Skin tissue models have really proven to be pretty effective. They can provide insight on the acute changes  whether something's going to be corrosive and damage skin."

Human studies

One idea that's frequently raised as a counter to animal testing is that if humans want to benefit from new treatments, drugs and research, we should instead offer ourselves as the test subjects. That's quite a simplified and extreme view  and in most countries animal tests are required by law before drugs are given to humans, for instance. So it isn't necessarily practical, either.

But, there are carefully controlled forms of human testing that do have the potential to reduce animal use, without endangering human health. One such method is microdosing, where humans receive a new drug in such tiny quantities that it doesn't have broad physiological impacts, yet there's just enough circulating in the system to measure its impact on individual cells.

The idea is that this cautious approach could help eliminate nonviable drugs at an early stage, instead of using thousands of animals in studies that may only establish that a drug doesn't work. The approach has proved safe and effective enough that many major pharmaceutical companies now use microdosing to streamline drug development. [Why Do Medical Researchers Use Mice?]

"There will of course be ethical concerns, but these could easily be outweighed by the potential gains in bringing safer and more effective medicines to market more efficiently," Casey said.

Where are we now?

So, what do these alternatives mean for the future of animal testing? In some areas of research like cosmetics testing  where so many existing products have already been proved safe through animal studies  there's a growing recognition that testing new products is something we really don't need to advance this industry. That's borne out by regulations like the one put forward by the European Union, which now bans animal testing on any cosmetic products that are produced and sold within the EU.

We're also seeing advances in toxicology research. Toxicologists have long relied on six core animal-based tests that screen new products for acute toxicity  checking whether a product causes skin irritation, eye damage or death if consumed. But in the next two years, these baseline tests will likely be replaced with non-animal alternatives in the United States, Casey said. The reason for this progress is that the "biology underlying these types of toxicity is much simpler than other safety concerns that can arise after [an animal is] exposed to a chemical for an extended period of time, such as cancer or reproductive toxicity," Casey said.

But in other areas of research, where the questions being investigated are more complex, animal models still provide the only way we currently have of fully understanding the varied, widespread, long-term effects of a compound, drug or disease. "Physiology is really, really complex and we still don't have a handle on it"  nor anything that legitimately mimics it aside from animal models, Casey said.

Even despite the most promising advances like the development of organs-on-a-chip, that's still a long way from anything representing a connected human body. "The major problem in developing artificial organ systems is to gain the whole complexity of a living organism in vitro," Schmieder said. "The problem here is to emulate the kinetics and dynamics of the human body in a really predictive way."

While organs-on-a-chip and other inventions might help answer simpler questions, right now whole-animal models are the only way to study more complex effects  such as how circuit functions in the brain are linked to visible behaviors. These are the types of questions that help us understand human disease, and ultimately lead to lifesaving treatments and therapies. So, the animal experiments that underlie those discoveries remain crucial. [Do Animals Have Feelings?]

It's also worth noting that some of the most promising non-animal tests we have today  like algorithms  work only because they can draw on decades of animal research. And to advance in the future, we will need to continue this research, Zhu said.

"We can't use computers to totally replace animal testing. We still need some low-level animal testing to generate the necessary data," Zhu said. "If you asked me to vote for a promising approach, I would vote for a combination of computational and experimental methods."

So, are there alternatives to animal testing? The short answer is yes  and no. While we have several options, for now they're not sophisticated enough to eradicate animal testing. Crucially, however, they can reduce the number of animals we use in research. And with new regulations, and ever-smarter alternatives, we can at least be hopeful that in the future, the number of animals will continue to decline.

Originally published on Live Science.
Ramadan, which lasts a month and requires Muslims to fast all day, begins this year at sundown Sunday. Thousands of observant Muslims in the Capital Region will fast along with millions around the world with the aim of cleansing their bodies and spirits.

Fasting is mentioned in the Quran. "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so you may learn self-restraint." (Chapter 2, verse 183) The Quran was revealed in Ramadan. Muslims consider it the word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad by means of the angel Gabriel.

Charity is encouraged during Ramadan and Muslims donate generously believing their reward will be manifold. They also focus on prayer and self-accountability.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five "pillars" of Islam, the other four being faith in one God, daily prayer, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are physically and financially able.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This is year 1440. Since it is a lunar calendar, Ramadan starts about 11 days earlier each year. Those observing the fast get up early to take a pre-dawn meal called suhoor. Once the sun rises, a complete fast begins, with no food or drink, not even water until after sundown. The evening meal is called iftar.

Shakira Baig and Zarina Chaudhry are both longtime congregants at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. They are involved in volunteer and interfaith activities and are part of the team that organizes the annual ICCD interfaith community iftar.

Shakira Baig was born in Chennai, India, and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in botany from Karachi University.

She emigrated in 1979 to New Orleans with her husband. They moved six months later to Houston where she worked at Eckerd, raised two children and then owned and managed a Pakistani restaurant for five years.

Her husband's employer eventually transferred him to Albany in 2001. He has worked mostly in Hyatt and Hilton hotels.

She worked at Albany Med as a phlebotomist for eight years. She and her husband, Mirza, live in Guilderland. They have two grown daughters, Sadaf and Shazia.

Zarina Chaudhry was born and raised in Hyderabad, Pakistan. She has a master's degree in botany from Hyderabad University. There was no girls school in her area then, but her father was a staunch believer in education for girls, so he sent Zarina and her sisters to a school where she and her sisters were the only girls in their classrooms.

She came to New York City in 1973, where she was married and had three children. The family moved to Albany in 1979. She was a substitute teacher for 14 years in the Cohoes School District, teaching classes from elementary through high school. She retired in 1999 and then worked in the former Caldor's store in Latham for 10 years. She and her husband, Ashraf, live in Niskayuna and have three grown children, Sofia, Saadia and Amir.

You are both active members of the Islamic Center of the Capital District.

Baig: We joined ICCD when we moved here 18 years ago. Our younger daughter attended the weekend school there and I began to do some volunteer work with the children. Then I arranged for Friday fundraiser lunches by getting meals from local restaurants or asked people to cook. Volunteers helped sell the boxed meals after the Friday prayers to benefit the AnNur Islamic School.

For the last two years, I have been involved with the food pantry at the Islamic center  shelving, cleaning, organizing, arranging, distribution.

During Ramadan for four years, I also arranged for daily evening meals for 25 people, mostly students and newcomers to this region. Now we serve about 60. I still help but am not in charge.

Chaudhry: I have also been involved with the food pantry since it began in February 2017. It is held the second Saturday of every month. I go a day earlier to help set up. On that Saturday, I am there most of day.

I am a member of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady and attend meetings and events.

How would you describe the observance of Ramadan?

Chaudhry: The prophet said, "Fasting is a shield against the fire of hell." We fast from dawn to sunset. We give a lot of charity, pray more and try to get close to Allah. It is a month of building patience.

In the evening, we break fast together with friends or family. Our Islamic center hosts Saturday dinners during Ramadan, as do most Islamic centers in North America.

Almost 400 people attend our community iftar on Saturdays. We do it on a smaller scale daily and arrange the evening meal for about 50 people.

During Ramadan, we sleep less and try to eat less too but often we eat more.

Baig: We give generously of charity, including zakat (an annual payment made, compulsory for Muslims, on some property. Zakat is used for charity or and religious needs). We get more reward for charity during Ramadan.

We have special nightly prayers, called taraveeh. They start after the nightly isha prayers, which will start at 9:30 on the first night of Ramadan and will start at about 10:15 on the last night of Ramadan.

So, after attending them, we reach home after midnight.

How different is Ramadan in the Capital Region compared to how you experienced it growing up?

Chaudhry: I enjoy Ramadan here. Growing up, women didn't go in the mosque.

Baig: We used to cook food at home in Pakistan and send it to the mosques. There are lot of poor people there who deserved the homecooked meals.

At most offices in Pakistan and in many Islamic countries, workdays are shortened. During the last week of Ramadan, school and colleges are closed so people can go home and enjoy the holiday with their families.

Here, there are no shorter days, neither for school nor work. Also, we use personal time here for religious holidays.

School calendars, including ones in the Capital Region, have been acknowledging Ramadan and Islamic holidays for many years now.

Muslim kids who are fasting during school can be excused from gym and can go and rest in the library or do some reading.

For several years, the ICCD has been hosting an interfaith community iftar.

Baig: About 50 to 60 people from different faiths attend our annual event, even though it is rather late in the evening. They are Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian. We save a table for our Hindu friends and order vegetarian for them. We start with a program, then break our fast with sweet dates, which is how Prophet Muhammad used to. The Muslims pray maghreb, the sunset prayers, and our guests watch us. Some join us. After that, we all sit down and enjoy dinner. Our guests love the food. It is a popular event and many people like to be invited again.

ahaqqie@timesunion.com  518-454-5651
WHARTON - Wharton resident Alicia Flores couldnt be happier about her daughter Juliet being accepted into the Realizing Our Academic Reward (ROAR) Academy. After all, Juliets older sibling, Jazmine, was in the inaugural program and is now studying at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Coming through ROAR really helped her focus on her studies and helped her stand out when it came to getting scholarships, Flores said. This is a great program.

Through ROAR, Juliet and 24 other Wharton High School freshmen this fall will get the opportunity to begin earning college credit while seeking their high school diploma. A collaborative effort of Wharton Independent School District and Wharton County Junior College, ROAR enables students to earn up to 60 college credit hours during high school. The program begins freshman year and is offered free of charge to participating students. Books, supplies, and an electronic device like a laptop or a tablet are provided at no cost.

On March 28, Wharton ISD officials held a lottery at WCJCs Wharton campus to determine the newest ROAR Academy class, which is the fifth one since the programs inception. Chosen by random selection were 25 students. The ROAR Academys Class of 2023 includes Venicio Aguilar, Christian Avalos, Melanie Callejas, Cherish Evans, Juliet Flores, Lucy Garcia, Jazir Guajardo, Jason Guzman, Zarion Jones, Kateria Knight, Trayvion Levatino, Shaylynn Longoria, Litzy Martinez, Kameron Mitchell, Ali Pabani, Evelyn Pereyra, Bobbie Richards, Angel Riojas, Alaija Sanders, Janaesia Sanders, Ariana Thompson, Isabell Vargas, Leilani Veazey, Seth Velasquez and Miguel Zarate.

Wharton ISD Superintendent Tina Herrington expressed her thanks to WCJC for helping the district offer such a rewarding program. The inaugural class was launched in 2014.

I want to begin by thanking WCJC for beginning this partnership, she said. WCJC is such a valuable resource and its really exciting for the students to have this opportunity.

Herrington noted that last summer seven students from the ROAR class of 2018 graduated with their high school diploma and an associates degree at the same time. Many others such as Jazmine Flores completed enough college hours to transfer to a university as a sophomore or junior.

The point of ROAR is to provide students - some of whom are the first generation in their family to go to college - with the resources and support needed to further their education.

Its going to be hard. Its going to be tough. But with our support and with your parents support, we have no doubt you will succeed, Wharton High School Principal Olatunji Oduwole told the new class.

I congratulate you on taking on this endeavor, added Bryce Kocian, WCJCs vice-president of administrative services.

Wharton students Ariana Thompson, Janaesia Sanders and Kateria Knight admitted after the lottery ceremony that they are nervous about taking college classes. But they each recognize the unique opportunity they - and their families - have been provided.

I feel like this is going to be a great experience, said Knight, who plans to become a pediatrician.

Im looking forward to seeing how it feels to take college classes, added Sanders, who wants to go into business.

Thompson has intentions of being a lawyer and said she was most nervous that her name would not be called and she would miss out on the program.

I am so happy that I feel like Im going to cry when I get home, she said.
Tammy Jackson was ushered into an empty jail cell by sheriffs. Then one morning, she was there with someone else: her newborn baby.

According to a letter dated May 3, written by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein, the full-term, mentally ill 34-year-old began complaining to officers about contractions around 3 a.m., April 10, the Miami Herald first reported.

More than four hours later, members of the sheriff's office spoke to the on-call doctor, who said "he would check when he arrived," according to Finkelstein. And when the physician clocked in, he did.

That was around 10 a.m.

For the seven preceding hours, Jackson was locked in a jail cell, alone. She was bleeding, in labor, and then forced to birth her baby on her own - conduct which Finkelstein called "outrageous" and "inhumane" treatment.

"It is unconscionable that any woman, particularly a mentally ill woman, would be abandoned in her cell to deliver her own baby," he wrote in the scathing letter, excoriating the Sheriff's Office. Although Jackson and the baby are both healthy, he wrote, "Not only was Ms. Jackson's health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk."

Finkelstein says Jackson was obviously pregnant and the child came at-term - something the Sheriff's office would have known, given they placed her in infirmary care specifically so she could receive proper medical attention. After her arrest a month earlier, Jackson was placed on medical monitoring for the pregnancy, precluding the possibility that those charged with her custody - employees of the Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Jail - were unaware.

When Jackson began contractions and called for help, guards did not take her to a hospital, where she could have given birth safely. Instead, they attempted to contact an on-call doctor. It took four hours for guards to reach the doctor, Finkelstein said, and then it took the doctor another hour and a half to get to the jail. In all, it took 6 hours and 45 minutes for Jackson and her newborn to receive care after initially asking for help.

"Medical records indicate her baby was born at term; the birth was not premature or unexpected," Finkelstein wrote. "Yet in her time of extreme need and vulnerability, [Broward Sheriff's Office] neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve."

The North Broward Bureau, where Jackson was held, is a "special needs detention facility" that houses "mentally ill, medically infirm and special needs" inmates among its 1,200 person population, according to its website.

Prison births have been scrutinized in recent months. The First Step Act, the criminal-justice-reform bill that Congress approved in December, addresses the use of restraints on prisoners during birth. Several states have similarly begun revising their policies surrounding the use of solitary confinement and handcuffs during pregnancy and labor.

Finkelstein demanded an "immediate review of the medical and isolation practices in place in all detention facilities."

The Post could not independently reach a spokesperson from the Sheriff's Office or North Broward Bureau for comment, however the Herald reported that the Sheriff's Office's internal affairs unit launched an investigation into Jackson's treatment.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The kaleidoscope of Kentucky Derby weekend escaped year-long closets again Friday and flooded the Kentucky Oaks racing day long adored by Louisvillians. Women wore shoes of daredevil heights. Churchill Downs brimmed with attire of the greenest greens, the yellowest yellows and the pinkest of that official color, pinks. Some dudes wore horse hats.

Soldiers and police patrolled here and there. Dogs sniffed beneath vehicles. An announcement near the gate prohibited bringing in a drone. (OK.) People outside sold flip-flops and ponchos for $10 in case the rain returned - it didn't - while others sold tickets and religion.

Everything seemed as ever.

Yet the 145th Kentucky Derby, the biggest annual event for a niche sport that takes its national attention in fleeting bites, might carry a tad more importance than usual. Saturday's edition will be horse racing's first nationally spotlighted event since the dreadful winter at Santa Anita Park, the California track where 23 horses died between Dec. 26 and March 30 before the track shut down for eight days to investigate and make adjustments to the course's dirt racing surface.

"You bet, yeah," trainer Wayne Lukas, the 83-year-old winner of 14 Triple Crown races, said in the paddock Friday. "Nobody here is worried about that now. That's history. This is the one that picks everybody up every year."

"For the sport, period," said Mike Smith, the jockey who won the Triple Crown last year aboard Justify for trainer Bob Baffert and who on Friday rode McKinzie to victory for Baffert in the Alysheba Stakes. "It's always good for the sport. You know, good Lord willing, we'll have a great, clean and safe day, all the horses will return happy and healthy and sound, and then our sport will thrive after that."

As to whether this weekend constitutes something of a recovery, Smith said, "I think it will, definitely. Without a doubt. I know it will."

It matters a tad more.

"It was so unusual and horrible, what happened at Santa Anita," said Kenny Rice, in his 20th year broadcasting horse racing for NBC. "I don't know anyone who remembers anything like it."

Rice noted the number of contenders at Saturday's Derby who race at California's most famous track. "What's interesting, even with all the problems Santa Anita had, Omaha Beach has scratched now, but coming into this Derby, probably the top four horses were all based in Santa Anita: Baffert's three (Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster), and Omaha Beach," he said. "Probably the best filly, Bellafina, running in the Oaks today, was based at Santa Anita. How strange is it for the catastrophe that they had out there with the fatalities, that they would have five horses of this crop come out of Santa Anita? And that's kind of the interesting part about it all that really isn't mentioned all that much."

Rice considered the various factors that might have contributed to the horse deaths, including a dirt track that some theorized suffered during unusually rainy winter weather, increasing stress on the animals' legs.

"It's important because there's so much confusion about what all went on. And it's easy to say it was just the track," he continued. "I think there's other things involved, not in a cryptic way, but maybe some of it's medication, maybe some of it's breeding. A lot of the horses that broke down were in the morning during training, so it really isn't an issue about using the whip or about race conditions. So there's still that cloud of getting exactly what happened and trying to pinpoint that. Santa Anita and all of racing needs to know, if they can find out exactly."

The ongoing mystery at Santa Anita and scrutiny from lawmakers and animal rights advocates appeared to nudge the sport toward a new, transitional paradigm.

Yet nobody protested Friday at Churchill Downs, if two walks around the edges of the giant premises were any indication.

David Peele, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in an email that the organization held off on protesting this year because its senior vice president, Kathy Guillermo, "spoke at the recent Churchill Downs shareholder meeting and the company agreed to look at all the issues that she raised, so we are giving them a chance to take appropriate action."

As Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported, Churchill Downs has lost 43 thoroughbreds to racing injuries since 2016, or 2.42 per 1,000 starts, 50 percent higher than the national average. Some of the proposed changes at both Santa Anita and Churchill Downs involve a phasing-out of Lasix, the diuretic and anti-bleeding medication long used in horse racing. Others wondered if the sport needed to change anything other than the Santa Anita track surface.

"Well, Santa Anita, they lost the racetrack, and they blamed everything - motherhood, apple pie, whips, Lasix - but the blame was [on] what they were standing on," Lukas said. "You know, they just had to fix it. They got bad weather. To their credit, they tried to Band-Aid it, I think, a little bit, and if they had just taken a stand and said, 'Look, we're going to fix it, and racing will be back to normal, I think it will be all right.' Instead, we got a lot of bad publicity, and we tried to, like with anything like that, throw the blame somewhere else."

In the run-up to the ninth race Friday, a few hours before the feature Kentucky Oaks with its 2-year-old fillies, Baffert, 66, the trainer of the moment, came over to Lukas, who previously had a long turn as trainer of the moment. The friends, titans of the sport, chatted. Each had a horse in the race. Lukas would say he still gets excited about his 2-year-old crop, still gets a little pit in the stomach in pre-race.

Neither titan's horse won that one, but the scene of the two of them here did have its unmistakable normalcy.
CARACAS, Venezuela - In the intoxicating early hours of Tuesday morning, Venezuela's opposition saw a historic goal within reach: President Nicolas Maduro, they were certain, was about to step down. But by noon, a dull panic began to surface. A plan rife with intrigue and betrayal had begun to go south.

Leopoldo Lopez - the country's most famous political prisoner and mentor of opposition leader Juan Guaido - helped broker a deal. While still under house arrest, he'd met in secret with top Maduro loyalists - including the defense minister - inside Lopez's cement compound in eastern Caracas. The agreement: The loyalists would give Maduro up, and retain their positions inside a new interim government headed by Guaido.

"We moved forward out of trust that the top ranks [of the government] would make announcements against Maduro," said Freddy Superlano, a senior opposition lawmaker and the architect of Guaido's Operation Freedom to "liberate" the nation. "Maduro was going to respond by leaving. We agreed, because he depended on them, nothing else but them sustained him."

The plan was rushed into action a day early, opposition officials say, after chatter surfaced of Guaido's possible arrest. Just hours after Guaido's call for an uprising of the military, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.

This account provides previously undisclosed details of the plan to oust Maduro and is based on interviews with seven opposition officials with direct knowledge of the developments. Most spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Promised declarations of support from Maduro's inner circle never came. Instead, Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Maduro's defense minister and one of the key loyalists meeting with the opposition - went on national television to denounce what he called a "coup." Suddenly, the dashing Leopoldo Lopez - who had escaped house arrest with help from Maduro's own intelligence police - was forced to scramble to the Chilean, and then the Spanish embassy, to seek protection. For hours, Guaido disappeared. Maduro's spy chief - a senior conspirator - fled the country.

U.S. officials have claimed that Maduro was en route to the airport to flee to Havana, before being stopped by the Russians. Senior opposition officials say they never received that information.

A plan meant to end two decades of Venezuelan socialism had collapsed, signaling a pivotal twist in the campaign to oust Maduro.

But if the failed plot illustrated the lack of a tipping point in Guaido's military support, it also underscored Maduro's fundamental weakness. While Maduro has called Guaido an outlaw, his forces have yet to attempt to arrest Guaido.

On Saturday, the opposition is poised to push again, calling a large-scale march toward military instillations even as it seeks to pick up the pieces of the most pivotal week in their effort to oust Maduro

"It's not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out," said Superlano. "We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesn't it make sense to take it, especially if you don't have another tangible plan?"

"If that's naive," he said, "then let critics crucify us."

- - -

At 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Superlano, a senior lawmaker at Guaido's National Assembly, arose early and sped in his beige Toyota to the military base where Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez had already arrived.

In a country teetering on economic collapse and suffering from fast-spreading hunger, Guaido, Venezuela's self-declared interim president, has called Maduro an "usurper" for claiming to have won elections last year that were widely discredited. That morning, Guaido stood with members of the armed forces and Lopez.

"Guaido was serene, as always. Leopoldo tends to be more effusive, but he was calm that morning," Superlano said. "The environment was tense. But at that point, I think they both expected the bid to succeed."

Lopez, outside the residence of the Spanish ambassador on Thursday, said that he had met with senior generals to hatch a plan. But, Superlano said, Lopez and other senior opposition operatives had also been negotiating with Defense Minister Padrino Lopez and high court head Maikel Moreno.

At first, the talks were exploratory. But eventually, the opposition began to see "trustworthy" signs that the Maduro loyalists were ready to turn. In fact, they were showing passive support.

Guaido was being permitted to move freely across the country, and no effort was made to arrest him even though he violated a travel ban by going to Colombia in February to help lead an effort to bring in humanitarian aid.

To close the deal with senior Maduro officials, Lopez offered to let them stay on as part of a transitional government, and guaranteed they would not be prosecuted.

One key mystery remains why Padrino Lopez and two others senior loyalists backed out at the last moment. Some have suggested that Leopoldo Lopez's public appearance may have spooked them, describing his arrival in front of the cameras immediately after being freed as an act of grandstanding. Still others suggest they were double agents who remained loyal to Maduro.

Superlano insisted they had not backed out because the plan was launched a day early. "Padrino knew it would happen on the 30th," he said.

Yet in a country where security forces have used violence to put down street protests - leading to four deaths just this week - keeping former Maduro officials in a transition government could be highly unpalatable to a significant segment of the population. But opposition officials say they have to remain focused on a single goal: to get Maduro out.

"We have to offer them a role in the transition, and give them more than just amnesty or guarantees," said Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's designated "ambassador" to the United States. "The discussions are centered on ousting Maduro, and calling for elections to achieve progress."

But within a few hours after their arrival at the La Carlota air base, the expectations of the opposition leaders sank, especially after Padrino Lopez and the other top Maduro officials did not come forward.

At that point, key opposition figures left the La Carlota base and headed to the city's eastern Plaza Altamira. Guaido spoke from the roof of a car before leading a march to the west, in which protesters encountered security forces wielding tear gas and rubber bullets.

"It was around noon that we decided that [Leopoldo] Lopez had to seek protection at the Chilean embassy," Superlano said. Manuel Figuera, Maduro's spy chief who had aided in Lopez's liberation, had fled - Superlano believes to the United States.

Both he and Vecchio pushed back against the narrative of a bungled opportunity. What some hoped would happen in one day, would still be achieved, opposition officials insist. Superlano said negotiations with members of Maduro's inner circle "are still happening," and claimed that the regime is "collapsing" from within.

It may simply take longer than hoped.

"Maduro will not sleep calmly a single night of his life," Vecchio said. "He knows he can trust no one."
SEBEWAING  Strides continue to move forward to revitalize downtown Sebewaing.

The village of Sebewaing will host a community meeting 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sebewaing Township Library, located at 41 N. Center St.

During the meeting, there will be a presentation on the progress that has been made and information on some of the future projects being planned.

Special guest speakers during the event will be Christopher Germain and Charles Donaldson from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Carl Osentoski, director for the Huron Economic Development Corporation.

Since the effort began, several of the empty storefronts in the downtown area have been filled with businesses, and some others are works in progress.

The community has done a variety of things to generate interest in business development.

Village leaders worked with the Michigan State University do to a study. For the study, representatives from Michigan State University visit a community and do an assessment of their first impression of a community as a first-time visitor. Their assessment helps a community learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Sebewaing also gained broadband Internet service.

The village will host a spring clean-up week from May 6-10.

Village residents may haul their own grass clippings and leaves to the compost pit at 145 W. Main St. at the DPW garage. Brush may be hauled to the village brush pile south of town on Liken Road, but building materials are not allowed there.

Brush must be placed in separate piles along the street. Grass and leaves may be placed together on the edge of the street, but no vines or brush can be in the grass and leaf piles. The DPW will pick up those items.
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar police had two Reuters journalists behind bars, but they wanted more.

The reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were lured into a meeting with police in December 2017 and arrested on claims of violating state secrecy laws as they reported on atrocities against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The journalists' detention was quickly condemned by media-freedom groups and rights activists around the world. Myanmar authorities, meanwhile, were not swayed by international pressure. As a next step, they wanted to comb the reporters' cellphones, according to court documents and an attorney for the journalists.

Authorities turned to a cellphone-breaching technology from an Israeli company, Cellebrite, according to the documents and a defense lawyer's account.

Cellebrite - which has since left the Myanmar market - was one of numerous technology companies that rushed into Myanmar as the country opened to greater foreign investment in recent years.

The deals made at the time did not bring any complaints of violations of international laws.

But the case against the journalists laid bare the potential risks of making deals with governments that could use the foreign forensic and surveillance technology in hard-line crackdowns and prosecutions.

In the case of the journalists, the files pulled from the phones later became a core element of Myanmar's accusations.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting last month - were found guilty in September of possessing state secrets and intending to share them and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The two journalists were left out of a mass prisoner amnesty held annually during Myanmar's traditional new-year celebrations in April. Of the thousands of people freed, just a handful were political prisoners, rights groups said.

Later that month, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the two journalists, effectively ending their bids to overturn their sentences through the legal system.

Last year, Cellebrite halted new sales in the country and stopped servicing equipment that was already sold, its Myanmar distributor said in an interview.

Cellebrite does not comment on "specific incidents, customers or territories," the company said in a statement.

"Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements," the statement added. "We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrite's values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements."

Myanmar has received substantial third-party assistance to train and equip its police in recent years.Activists say that companies and donor countries are providing advanced tools to help police further repress perceived dissent. Proponents argue the work is needed to help professionalize the police force.

The police worked alongside the armed forces during its August 2017 crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, according to U.N. investigators who say the minority group was targeted by security forces with "genocidal intent."

The Myanmar military and the civilian government lead by Aung San Suu Kyi have dismissed evidence of abuses as biased and unfounded.

Other than journalists, the police continue to detain peaceful protesters and critics, including a prominent filmmaker, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was recently arrested for criticizing the military on Facebook.

Cellebrite's technology is widely used by law enforcement around the world. The company began selling its products in Myanmar in 2016 through MySpace International, a Yangon-based cybersecurity and digital forensics firm, MySpace officials said. The company has no relation to the U.S. social media website Myspace.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, MySpace's chief executive, said Cellebrite stopped its dealings with the country late last year.

Police in Myanmar, however, still have the technology at their disposal, said the MySpace CEO.

In a July motion to dismiss charges against the two Reuters journalists, attorneys for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo noted the police officer who carried out the search of the reporters' phones had an expired training certification from Cellebrite.

"They said that he was a technical expert, that he is well trained by Cellebrite, but his Cellebrite certificate was out of date," said Than Zaw Aung, an attorney for the journalists.

Thandar Moe, an officer in the commercial and information section of Israel's embassy in Yangon, said the embassy was unaware of Cellebrite's business in the country and declined to comment further.

Cellebrite equipment pulled documents from the reporters' phones including itineraries for Pope Francis' visit to the country and the vice president's travels, as well as details of the military's campaign in Rakhine, according to the court documents and the defense lawyer.

A judge deemed the information to be secret. Defense lawyers argued that the information was already widely available to the public and that the reporters were set up by police.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, who served in the military, said the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military-controlled ministry overseeing the police, is a major customer.

The company had a "very close" relationship with Cellebrite but was informed four or five months ago by the company that it would stop business in Myanmar, he said.

In a statement, Interpol, the international police organization, said it also provided digital forensic equipment manufactured by Cellebrite and three other unnamed companies to the police. The software licenses for the tools provided by Interpol ended in early 2018.

Two PowerPoint presentations by the Myanmar Police Force showing crime data from 2016 and 2017, reviewed by The Washington Post last month, said authorities acquired a range of Cellebrite's Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) equipment used to hack smartphones. This included the UFED Chinex Kit, used to extract data from Chinese mobile phones, and UFED 4PC, a software system that Cellebrite promotes as "flexible and convenient."

A spokesperson for the police did not respond to requests for comment.

Reseda, California-based MediaClone, which produces data collection and cellphone extraction tools, confirmed that it did a deal with MySpace in 2016. Company CEO Ezra Kohavi said that he did not know which ministry received its equipment, but Kyaw Kyaw Htun said it was being used by the police.

Business, however, has slowed considerably in recent months because of "the Rakhine state situation," Kyaw Kyaw Htun said, a reference to the Myanmar military's August 2017 campaign against the Rohingya, which sent some 730, 000 people fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh after militants claiming to represent the minority attacked police posts.

"It's very tough for us, you know," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Aung Naing Soe in Yangon and Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced a program Friday that deploys state-licensed volunteer reserve deputies to protect worshipers in churches, synagogues and mosques in Bexar County.

Salazar recalled the scene of the 2017 shooting at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs that claimed 26 lives in neighboring Wilson County, and said he never wants to see a repeat of that in his career.

Providing extra security will enable clergy and church members to focus on worship, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Sheriffs Office to provide reserve deputies at schools

You want people to feel comfortable concentrating on that, and not have to worry about watching the exits, Salazar said.

Since September, a similar program has put reserves at schools in the East Central and Southwest independent school districts, providing 1,700 hours of additional security, valued at roughly $51,000, at no cost to taxpayers, Salazar said.

Churches, school officials and prospective reserve trainees can call Deputy Fred Feliciano at 210-372-5879 about the programs. To help sponsor reserve training, call San Antonio College, 210-486-1692.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
What a jerk you were to let me dump you.

Thats the message the Trump administration is sending to some of our closest allies and most important economic partners. The most recent target is Japan, whom our U.S. ambassador berated last week for not giving us a favorable deal that Japan actually did give us  before we abruptly ripped it up.

The United States spent eight years negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This 12-country Pacific Rim trade pact was partly designed to build an economic and diplomatic alliance that would keep China, which had been excluded from the deal, in check.

But the United States objective was also to open up new markets for U.S.-made products, especially U.S. agricultural goods. A 2016 analysis from the International Trade Commission found that agriculture and food would be the U.S. sector that saw the greatest percentage gain in output growth as a result of the TPP.

Greater access to the Japanese market was particularly enticing to U.S. farmers and ranchers. Japan is a wealthy, mature economy  where high-income consumers can afford high-end U.S. beef and high-quality U.S. grains  but its also an economy that has had high barriers to agricultural trade.

And so, as part of the TPP talks, the U.S. trade team spent about a year negotiating one-on-one with Japan about agriculture, with the understanding that whatever concessions the United States won would be granted to the other TPP member countries as well.

This allowed us to design the shape of a package that catered to U.S. priorities, explains Darci Vetter, then the chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Of course, some of those priorities overlapped with those of other TPP countries. Both the United States and New Zealand were eager to sell more dairy and wine to Japan, for instance. Both the United States and Canada wanted Japan to lower tariffs on wheat. Which is why other countries were more than happy to let us push for as many concessions as we could.

Japan determined that the overall pact would be so valuable that it made the politically contentious choice of agreeing to our requests. Incidentally, the agricultural terms wed negotiated in the TPP also became the template for a trade deal that Japan would separately negotiate with the European Union.

President Barack Obama signed the TPP in 2016. But Congress dragged its feet in ratifying it. Among President Trumps first actions after his inauguration was to pull us out of the deal, with generally incoherent reasons for doing so.

Disappointed that wed reneged, the remaining 11 TPP countries nonetheless decided to continue without us. Their new deal, sometimes called TPP 2.0, formally went into effect on Dec. 30, 2018. Just over a month later, Japans new trade deal with the European Union became effective.

This means that dozens of other countries now benefit from changes we persuaded Japan to make. And our farmers are about to lose out, big time.

Japans beef imports were already up 25% in the first two months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported. The biggest beneficiaries were Canada and New Zealand. This makes sense: As members of TPP 2.0, they have a huge price advantage. U.S. beef is tariffed at 38.5%, and TPP 2.0 countries beef is now at 26.6%, with further reductions slated for coming years.

Even before then, these other countries advantages will widen. If frozen beef imports surpass a certain threshold, as is expected soon, a safeguard tariff will automatically kick in and raise tariffs on our products  but not TPP 2.0s members  to 50%.

With U.S. farmers quietly freaking out, pressure is mounting to seal a new bilateral trade deal with Japan. But rather than coming to Japan hat in hand, were scolding it for keeping its word when we could not be bothered to do the same.

By implementing these agreements before addressing our bilateral trade relationship, Japan is effectively redistributing market share away from its strongest ally, the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, told Nikkei.

I asked Vetter what she made of Hagertys remarks. She noted that the whole point of the TPP was to deepen member countries economic and diplomatic ties. From that perspective, then, the Trump administration is just angry that its working.

Frankly, she said, you cant leave someone at the altar and then be surprised or upset that theyve moved on.

crampell@washpost.com
Since the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump has insisted on the need for a border wall in the face of a crisis at our southern border. Until recently, the numbers indicated we were nowhere near a crisis; the number of immigrants crossing the border was quite low compared to previous years.

Recently, the numbers have spiked, including the number of families. However, even at the current levels, they do not approach those seen in the early 2000s. In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, changed course from detaining as many families as possible to releasing families at the border to appear in court in the future.

As we recently learned, the president has advocated for busing recently arrived migrants to sanctuary cities, those deemed to be welcoming to immigrants and/or hostile to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It certainly raises the possibility that the release of large numbers of families on the border is intended to provoke backlash from the communities that have fought the crisis narrative.

Those striving daily to help the migrants provide a vital dose of hope during trying times.

It is important to note that numbers dont tell the whole story. The families entering the United States are not trying to evade detection. They are entering in plain sight of CBP and turning themselves in because that is the only alternative to waiting for days, weeks or even months in Mexico to be processed at the port of entry for asylum.

With the recent departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security and Ron Vitiello from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we are braced for another crackdown as both reportedly left because they were not tough enough on immigration and border enforcement.

Being an immigration lawyer in the age of Trump is challenging. It is filled with uncertainty, frustration, injustice and rapid change. While I know that more bad policy awaits, I have managed to find hope because my fellow immigration lawyers and activists are not fighting these policies alone. The reactions of average Americans give me hope because I see that they value the contributions immigrants make in our country. No matter the rhetoric or who is in power, the response to harsh policies and inhumane treatment shows that there is little support for these policies outside the minority of the presidents base.

When the travel ban was enacted and travelers were stuck in airports or prohibited from boarding U.S.-bound flights, protesters and lawyers showed up at airports, courts intervened and the president was forced to revise the ban, greatly diminishing the number of those impacted. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a revised version of the travel ban, Congress introduced legislation seeking to repeal it.

When children were ripped from their parents arms, the outcry was immediate and sustained by lawyers, physicians, mental health professionals and, most important, Americans with no unique knowledge or experience, driven by the sheer inhumanity of the actions. Nearly a year later, grassroots efforts to support reunited families with travel funds, housing and legal representation continue across the country.

When asylum-seekers were illegally made to wait in Mexico, sometimes for months, to apply for asylum, again Americans (and many Mexicans) responded by organizing, gathering donations and providing the humanitarian aid that should be the responsibility of the government or the international aid community, like the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

From San Diego to Brownsville, Americans from all walks of life have responded with open arms and so much more. From the Angry Tias & Abuelas group organizing at bus stations in the Rio Grande Valley to the underground network of volunteers who provide food and shelter to released migrants in Arizona, Americans are demonstrating that we are still a nation of immigrants, a nation that embraces your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free  those who seek safety here.

We are the people who will step up to provide help where it is needed when our government fails to do so. Citizens have donated millions of dollars to support bond funds to help people leave detention and to organizations fighting anti-immigrant policies in court.

Should it be this way? Should it fall on the rest of us to make up for the cruelty of our elected officials? Certainly not, but the fact that at each turn there is resistance, sometimes outspoken and other times peaceful and almost unnoticed, suggests that this cruelty, too, shall pass.

Where immigration officials bring inhumanity, San Antonio shines. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition, San Antonio Sanctuary Network, Catholic Charities, American Gateways, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, San Antonio Mennonite Church, Travis Park Church and, most important, people from all walks of life have shown over and over again that we will not be complacent in the face of injustice.

We will find ways, formal and informal, to help. Students from elementary school to law school have organized blanket and backpack drives to make sure that migrant families have some comforts for their long journeys.

As border cities and even San Antonio have seen large numbers of families released from CBP custody, they have stepped up to provide emergency services. San Antonios resource center is just one example of city officials providing support to local nonprofits whose capacities have been stretched to the limits.

Despite the Trump administrations efforts to find new ways to limit immigration, each initiative has been met with resistance that demonstrates that most Americans want us to be that beacon of hope for those fleeing harm. The restrictionists are vocal, but they are not the majority.

There will be countless challenges ahead as new political appointees seek to implement the presidents anti-immigration agenda, but I believe the actions of the American people will speak louder than the words of those who demonize immigrants.

The recently arrived migrants have long and difficult roads ahead. Navigating the bureaucracy that is stacked against them is daunting. Attaining their American dream will be fraught with hardship. But for a moment, when they were weary, strangers welcomed them. Strangers fed them. Strangers sheltered them.

Most important, these unsung heroes living among us treated them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve. That is what makes American great.

Erica B. Schommer, J.D., is a clinical associate professor of law and immigration law expert at the St. Marys University School of Law. The views presented are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of St. Marys University.
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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After many years of dedication to the Irish League of Credit Unions and to the local Credit Union network, Gerry Thompson of Ballyleague has been elected the new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions.

Gerry was formally elected at the AGM in the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Sunday, April 28, having previously served as chairman of Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union.

Gerry is the son of Pete Thompson, who was a founding member of the Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union in 1965.

Gerry takes on the role from outgoing president, Charles Murphy, and will be helped out by newly elected vice president, Mr Eamonn his late father Pete Thompson and he also acknowledged the support of his wife Martha and his family.



Speaking of his new role, Mr Thompson said: I am proud and humbled to be elected to this position and very much look forward to working with all our affiliated credit unions, and the broader credit union movement, as they continue to engage in the further development and diversification of services.

As a firm believer in the massive potential of credit cooperation to improve peoples lives worldwide, I will work to ensure the unique credit union model of cooperative financial services continues to prosper across Ireland. I am proud of the ILCUs all-island remit, and aspire to see credit union services ultimately become the first financial choice for all our citizens, both North and South.



Mr Thompson will now lead a board of 12 other directors over the course of a two year term.
Cavan Older Peoples Council take a new play entitled The Best Years of Our Lives Are Yet to Come to the Corn Mill Theatre stage on Friday, May 10.

This moving and hilarious play is co-written by the members and theatre practitioner Maura Williamson who also directs the play.

This drama captures the richness of older peoples experiences and allows the audience to understand the issues they face in negotiating a range of everyday situations.

The performance takes us through several scenes, giving us an insight into their perspective on life as an older person in todays society.

The age-friendly social commentary uses humour to point out instances of older peoples unique perspective on the world.

Bob Gilbert, Chair of the Older Peoples Council said, I believe that drama is one of the most effective vehicles for exploring and raising awareness of issues affecting our society.

This drama project explores several issues encountered by older people in their daily lives. The issues raised were suggested by the participants and the scenarios were created by them.

This is proof of the enormous contribution that older people are making to our society.

The end product was all made possible by our marvellous Maura Williamson who encouraged our creativity and collated the various contributions into a cohesive final script.

Catriona O'Reilly, arts officer complimented the group for their commitment to the project and the work over the past months with the guidance of Maura Williamson, which has culminated in a really successful production.



This theatre project is an initiative of Cavan County Council Social Inclusion Office and the Arts Office and is supported by the Arts Council.

This Older Peoples drama project won the 2019 All Ireland Community and Council award for Best Community Initiative and is on tour also to Ramor Theatre Virginia on May 17 the Civic Centre Belturbet on May 24.

Doors at 8pm at Corn Mill and booking at 0872570363 bookings@cornmilltheatre .com.
The saga of what the media has dubbed the fall of the taikun", or the "the fall of the titan", began on November 19, 2018. On that day, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet at Tokyo airport. Since his arrest, a successive series of charges and legal cases have been brought against him. Ghosn was released on a $ 9 million bail on March 6, 2019 after serving 108 days at Kosuge Detention Center (north of Tokyo), only to be re-arrested on April 4. He was later released from jail on April 25 after posting a multimillion-dollar bond for the second time in two months. Already facing three charges for underreporting his pay and on aggravated breach of trust, the former chairman was indicted for allegedly misappropriating Nissan company money.

Carlos Ghosn was presented as guilty from the very first moment said Francois Zimeray, the Ghosn familys French lawyer, in an interview with LOrient- Le Jour.

Zimeray specifically denounced Ghosns April 4 arrest on additional legally dubious charges, saying he was previously detained for more than 100 days under unfair, cruel, and unjust conditions in an effort to coerce a confession before ultimately being released on strict bail conditions, with which he has scrupulously complied.

The conditions under which he was re-arrested, at dawn, with twenty agents rushing in[to] his home, [and] the media informed ahead of the re-arrest, clearly show a desire to humiliate him Zimeray added.





"Wrongly accused"

Upon his re-arrest, 65-year-old Ghosn was questioned about money transfers made by Nissan to an auto dealer in Oman. In total, Ghosn allegedly used $5 million of the transferred funds for personal enrichment, according to the Japanese prosecutors office.

The former Renault-Nissan boss is suspected of having used a Lebanese company, Good Faith Investments, to divert some of the money paid by Nissan to Suhail Bahwan Automobile, the Renault-Nissan dealership in the Sultanate of Oman, between 2012 and 2018. According to excerpts from Nissan's internal investigation as reported by news agencies, a portion of these funds ended up in the accounts of a company called Beauty Yachts headed by Ghosn's wife, Carole Ghosn, and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Based on sources close to the case cited by AFP, the allegedly misappropriated sum was deposited through a company in Lebanon into a fund called Shogun Investments LLC controlled by his son Anthony in the United States.

Asked to comment on these new accusations, Zimeray simply responded Mr. Ghosn has said that he is innocent of all the charges held against him. He is adamant, he is wrongly accused and unfairly detained on unfounded charges. We will therefore concentrate our efforts for Mr. Ghosn to have a fair trial.





"Treason"



In a video recorded before his second arrest and broadcast a few days later, Mr. Ghosn stated that he was innocent of all charges brought against him, claiming to be a victim of "a plot, conspiracy and treason".

Emails reveal the true story (...). Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was working with Nissan executives to block the formal merger of Nissan and Renault favored by Carlos and to preserve Nissans autonomy at all costs, Carole Ghosn claimed in a column published in mid-April in the Washington Post, adding What should have been settled in the Nissan boardroom has been turned into a criminal affair.

Last week, The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan Motor Co. will reject a management integration proposal from their French partner Renault and will call for an equal capital relationship.

Nissan's management feels that the Japanese company has not been treated as Renaults equal under existing capital ties, and that a merger would make this inequality permanent, the Nikkei quoted sources as saying.

In its proposal, Renault has argued that integration would maximize synergies within the French-Japanese alliance, according to the Nikkei.

Asked about a possible plot by high ranking Nissan officials, Zimeray replied that media outlets had reported that Ghosns plan to merge Renault and Nissan before his arrest was a deal that Nissan and the Japanese government were looking for ways to block.

Moreover, the lawyer said it has been reported that Mr. Ghosn reflected on the Nissan dismal performance, recent profit warnings and emissions scandals.

Knowing that they were in danger of losing their jobs because of Nissan's declining performance, he believes that some Nissan executives collaborated to prepare a case against him, under the cover of an internal investigation, Zimeray remarked.

In his video, Ghosn named those who, according to him, were behind the "plot", but his lawyers decided to edit the information out "due to legal repercussions" in case the identities of the people in question were made public.

Mr. Ghosn is committed to revealing the truth. We are confident that if tried fairly, he will be vindicated, Zimeray told lOLJ.





"hostage justice"

Zimeray, who was a Human Rights Ambassador under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2008 to 2013, and then became the Ambassador of France to Denmark, said that, for him, this case is not only a fight for one man, but a fight to defend universal principles: the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right for dignity in all circumstances.

The detention of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, which appears neither necessary nor reasonable and which occurs under harsh conditions, illustrates the Japanese hostage justice system for the purpose of obtaining forced confessions, Zimeray noted. He further revealed that a petition has been initiated by renowned figures of the legal world, academics and practitioners in Japan to end this hostage justice system.

In March, the Ghosn family, represented by Zimeray, decided to appeal to the United Nations, claiming that Ghosns "fundamental rights" were not respected.

According to Zimeray, Mr. Ghosn was interrogated for hours each day without the presence of his attorneys during his detention. The interrogations used to go until 10:00pm, and his access to counsel was limited, according to Zimeray. He was confined to an unheated cell with three meals of mainly rice and given 30 minutes to exercise daily excluding weekends and bank holidays. His visits were limited to 15 minutes of conversation with the presence of a guard and separated from him by a glass window.

He further added that while in detention, Ghosn was denied his medication and did not receive appropriate medical care for his chronic health issues, warning that these health issues were exacerbated by the deliberately harsh conditions of his detention.

Carlos Ghosn suffers from high cholesterol levels and the treatment he is following has caused both chronic kidney failure and rhabdomyolysis, a disease that causes muscle cells to break down, his lawyers said in a document seen by Reuters.





(This article was originally published in frenc in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 25th of April. The interview was done before Ghosn was freed and the article has been consequently slightly modified in its english version?)




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was unfair for an independent poll watcher to claim the upcoming midterm elections was vulnerable to attack.

This, after the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has withdrawn its accreditation as the citizens' arm of the Comelec, after the government poll body declined to provide voters' data.

In a manifestation submitted to the Comelec on April 30, Namfrel said, "Without open access to information and data, Petitioner (Namfrel) is unable to participate in the RMA (random manual audit) because the inaccessibility diminishes the verifiability of data separately provided during the RMA."

Speaking to CNN Philippines Saturday, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said, "Medyo harsh naman yata 'yon. Just because sila hindi nabigyan, vulnerable na 'yung elections? Samatalang, up to the point na humihingi sila niyan, bahagi sila ng proseso sa paghahanda para sa random manual audit  isang proseso na sinalihan nila nung nakaraang halalan at naging bahagi sila ng paghahanda para doon. So ngayon sasabihin nila, just because hindi nila nakuha yung gusto nila, medyo vulnerable na. That's a little unfair, I think."

[Translation: That seems to be a bit harsh. Just because they weren't given what they want, the elections are automatically vulnerable? But up to that point, they were involved in the preparations for the random manual audit  a process they were part of during the last elections. And now they will say, just because they didn't get what they want, they say it's vulnerable. That's a little unfair, I think.]

Jimenez added the Namfrel's claim was "a stretch," and that it was "inappropriate" to say those things at this point in time.

The Comelec spokesperson said the Namfrel submitted two documents: one for accreditation as a poll watcher, and another for access to the data.

Jimenez said he has not seen a denial of Namfrel's request for data access.

"It's simply at this point, all I can say really, is that it hasn't been granted," he told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.

Jimenez said there was no danger of the elections being compromised, as an extensive source code review was conducted "internationally and locally" where political parties participated, as well as representatives from the joint oversight committee.

Namfrel said it would continue to "perform its mandate to endure free and honest elections."
Imagine the dread that took a hold of Cherie Scalf after learning that her husband, Master Sgt. Bill Scalf, had suffered two strokes while serving with the military in Afghanistan and was being airlifted to a hospital somewhere in Germany.

She had no passport, it was late on a Friday, and most of the government offices that could help her get to her husband were already closed for the weekend.

Add to that the fact that dealing with the United States military can involve a lot of red tape and hoop jumping.

Yet, before it all sunk in, she was on a plane headed for Germany to be with her husband.

Obviously this was a situation where we werent going to sit around on our hands for a weekend, said Brig. Gen. John Slocum, who transferred the command and care for the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base this Saturday to Col. Rolf Mammen in a news release from SANG. Fortunately, we knew who to call.

Answering his call for help was U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, whose district includes the Harrison Township base. After Slocum called Mitchell, the Congressman called the White House, and by Sunday, he had an appointment at the U.S. State Department office in Chicago. There, a passport was issued for Cherie so she could travel abroad to be with Bill.

This is one of the most important things we do, Mitchell said, shortly after a visit he had with the Scalfs at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where Bill continues his recovery. Our servicemen and women give their all for this country and it is our highest duty to support them and their families in a time of need.

Slocum said he wasnt surprised by the Congressmans quick response.

Part of what makes the 127th Wing such a special organization is the support we have from our elected leaders at the local state and federal levels, Slocum said.

Also no surprise was the quick action of Bills squadron.

He and several hundred Selfridge Airmen and their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft were deployed to a base in Afghanistan. On Jan. 30, after he and his fellow crew chiefs from the 191st Aircraft Maintenance had been there for about a month, Bill suffered the first of two strokes.

He was out working on the aircraft, said Cherie. I guess he was getting it ready for the next days mission. One of the other guys, Mike Campbell, saw Bills flashlight moving around in a way that wasnt normal and went to check on him.

Bill, who has been a crew chief on Air Force aircraft for about 30 years, is very dedicated and when Campbell suggested he take Bill to the base hospital immediately to get checked, Bill said he wanted to get the aircraft ready to go first.

But the guys insisted that he get checked. If they hadnt, I really dont know if he would be here today, Cherie said. Each of the people in his unit, they were just amazing at making sure he got the help he needed.

Hospital staff immediately administered a drug known as the clot-buster used to treat stroke patients. After that he appeared to be fine and back to his normal self. But the military doctors in Afghanistan decided he needed to be airlifted to a major U.S. military hospital in Germany for further care. Once he arrived, he was able to reassure Cherie, who was still at home in Warren, in a Facetime chat that he was fine.

But he wasnt fine. Shortly after his arrival he had a second, larger stroke. It was then that doctors in Germany decided to quickly transport him to a local civilian hospital staffed with specialists who were better equipped to deal with his condition, and things really got serious.

Thats when Selfridge kicked into high gear in support of Bill, Cherie and their three children Rebecca, Emily and William.

One of his commanders called me, Cherie said. The next thing I know, Im at Selfridge and having a meeting, and I counted and there were 14 people in the room. It was Gen. Slocum and all the top people. I dont even know who everyone was. But they, each one, were there to help.

Historically, the Air National Guard is known for its Citizen-Airman concept. That means that people in the local community are the ones who also serve in uniforms. Bill as with many members of the Guard enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school but after being discharged and home for a few years missed it. So, he joined the Air National Guard, which allowed him to stay in Michigan with his family and still serve his country. Eventually, he was hired on as a civilian technician at Selfridge.

I have to admit that I really didnt know how the military system worked, but thats where everyone has been so helpful, Cherie said.

After Bills second stroke Slocum appointed another 191st crew chief, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Wolford, to serve as the familys advocate including having him travel to Germany to help Cherie navigate her way through the militarys red tape and other processes along the way.

Honestly, without Erik, I think I would still be stranded at the airport in Frankfort (Germany) trying to figure out what to do next, Cherie said.

After spending about a month at the hospital in Germany, Bill was transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital near Washington D.C. In April he was moved to U-M, where his recovery is supported by his medical team along with his military team and family.

It has been a long road, but they are a great family. Everyone who knows Bill, like him, so we are all in his corner, said Wolford, who has remained as the familys chief liaison. The deployed Selfridge Airmen have all since returned home, and are among the many members of the military who check in on Bill regularly.

This kids and I know what kind of guy Bill is. But to witness his co-workers have rallied behind him, it has really been something to see, Cherie said.

So much for red tape and hurdles  according to Slocum taking care of airmen and their family is a foundational element of service in the 127th Wing.

We count on our Airmen to do their part in a very important mission, being a part of the defense of this great country, said Slocum. To be able to do that, we want their families to know they can also count on us. Master Sgt. Scalf is an important part of our family, so we are doing all we can to let his family know we are there for them.-It is believed that after his recovery Bill will retire from the military, although he recently told his commanding officer that hes anxious to get back to Selfridge, check in with his co-workers, and, most importantly, give his aircraft a thorough check-up.

Im still a crew chief. Im not retired yet, Bill said, to his recent visitors who included Slocum and Mitchell.

 Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily
Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming appreciates Southwest Virginia modesty as much as the next guy, but he says that can have drawbacks for a technology scene making a name for itself.

He listed some of the local technology industry wins over the past year ahead of his keynote address at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Councils 20th annual TechNite awards ceremony Friday night. 1901 Group is adding 580 workers. Block.one has planted its flag in Blacksburg. Auto giant Daimler Trucks acquired a majority stake in his own company.

I dont think we do as good of a job as we should do in celebrating and promoting these wins, Fleming said. The downside of being humble is sometimes its a little challenging to promote yourself. Humility is not being passive.

Fleming spent his time on stage at the Hotel Roanoke highlighting his companys story, from the time a group of Virginia Tech students decided to start an autonomous vehicle company in 2005.

Torc Robotics grew over the next decade to around 100 employees as it built an international reputation. And then in April a subsidiary of Daimler, the German company behind brands like Mercedes-Benz, acquired a majority stake in Torc.

The news marked one of the biggest acquisitions for a local technology company in years, and also the entrance of a billion-dollar industry giant to the burgeoning technology hub in Southwest Virginia.

But Fleming said its not a coincidence that this happened in Blacksburg. Torcs story couldnt have happened anywhere, as he said the companys hometown has been a key ingredient all along.

Employees in this region stick with the companies for the long term, he said before the event began. They dont job hop. Great things are just not accomplished in short order.

Flemings remarks kicked off the RBTCs annual award ceremony, an event designed to serve as the kind of celebration he said he would like to see happen more often.

The 2019 TechNite Award Recipients:

The Rising Star award was presented to Block.one, a blockchain software company that launched one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in 2018 and raised over $1 billion. The companys growing Blacksburg office is led by Dan Larimer, a Virginia Tech alum considered a cryptocurrency thought leader.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is Michael Fleming, CEO of Torc Robotics.

The Innovator of the Year is Luna Innovations, a publicly traded company with offices both in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Luna struggled for years, but the companys stock price climbed through 2018 as it returned to consistent profitability and completed several acquisitions.

Two Regional Leadership awards were presented to Carilion Clinic CEO Nany Agee and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. The pair have been instrumental in the growth of a medical school and research institute in Roanoke.

The Company of the Year is 1901 Group, a Reston-based IT services company that is building a new operations center in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. That office will employ 580 new workers, the company has said.

The Ruby Award went to Heywood Fralin, who gave a record $50 million gift to Virginia Tech to expand research at the recently named Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke.

In addition to the awards, the RBTC inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame Kenneth Ferris, President of Brookewood Management Advisors and member of the RBTC advisory board, and Marty Muscatello, President and CEO of FoxGuard Solutions and previous member of the RBTC board of directors.
Authorities have identified the Allston man killed in a quadruple shooting in Dorchester Wednesday evening as 33-year-old Kevin Brewington.

Brewington and three other men were shot in the area of 32 Windermere Road around 6:26 p.m., police said. Three of the men were taken to local hospitals with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening while Brewington was pronounced dead at the scene.

Boston police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
A mans body was found following a three-alarm fire in Chelsea Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes tweeted that the deceased man in his early 30s was found in a small room at the back of 48 Watt St., where a three-alarm fire had broken out earlier in the evening.

The fire, which began in the two-family home around 5 p.m., quickly spread to a neighboring house at 109 Highland St. About 30 people were displaced and damages were estimated at $150,000.

Authorities told The Boston Globe that the mans body, which was found on a rear enclosed porch, was only discovered after the fire was knocked down and crews began opening up ceilings to check for additional hot spots.

Residents of the house told the newspaper that they had not seen the man in several days.

He has not been publicly identified.

The fire remains under investigation by fire investigators and state and local police.
Authorities have identified the 43-year-old woman allegedly stabbed to death by her husband in an attempted murder-suicide in Stoughton Friday night as Telma Bras.

Police forced their way into the couples apartment on Bennett Drive after receiving a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found Bras dead of an apparent stabbing in the living room, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

Her husband, 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues, was laying nearby and suffering from self-inflicted cuts consistent with a suicide attempt, authorities said.

Mr. Rodrigues was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries, Morrissey said.

Authorities said the couples children, a 17-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy, were home at the time of the stabbing.

Morrissey said the teenager called a relative after hearing the commotion, who in turn called 911.

Both this children at this hour are safe, he said. They have a significant bit of trauma to overcome.

Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned from his hospital bed or in Stoughton District Court as soon as possible, the district attorney said. He is expected to face a murder charge.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department has no history of calls from the couples apartment and Rodrigues does not have a criminal record.

She commended the police officers who responded to the call, saying they did not know what they would face on the other side of the door.

They showed both bravery and extreme compassion last night on that scene, she said.
Very likely qualifying as "the greatest restaurant show on earth," the National Restaurant Association Show 2019 will open on May 18 and run through May 21. Held at Chicago's McCormick Place exposition center, the Show offers something for everyone interested the restaurant industry.

The show floor itself at the 2019 Show will be featuring some 2,300 exhibitors. The layout will be so vast that show organizers suggest two days minimum will be required to adequately explore the entire exhibit space.

Supplementing those displays of food, equipment, and supplies is an extensive program of seminars, demonstrations, and themed exhibit pavilions.

This year marks the shows 100th anniversary, a milestone that will be marked by an evening gala on Monday, May 20 as well as by daily celebrations on the show floor itself.

Among the many presentations at the this year's show will be a panel discussion focusing on "The Future of Dining," which will take place on Sunday, May 19. Another high-profile presentation, "The Future of Restaurants" will offer an in-depth focus on how technology and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the dining out experience.

Information on the National Restaurant Association Show 2019, including details about show registration, lodging, and transportation arrangements, can be found at nationalrestaurantshow.com. The Show's customer service number is (800) 439-2968.

Side dishes

Its commencement season in the Pioneer Valley, a happy time when restaurateurs find their reservation books full and their dining rooms populated by newly minted graduates and their proud families.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst will be holding its Undergraduate Commencement on Friday evening, May 10, with the Graduate Commencement to follow on Saturday morning.

Coupled with Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12, restaurants in Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton will most likely be running at capacity all weekend, and the traffic in all three communities will be, to put it charitably, "challenging."

It's thus a good opportunity to expand one's gastronomic horizons by seeking out restaurants in other locales, where a less frenetic dining experience will most likely be on offer.

Smith College in Northampton and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley will be observing their Commencement Weekends on May 18 and 19, making those two days into "reservations a must" occasions in the host communities of those two institutions.

Belle Rita Novak, the manager of the Farmers' Market at Forest Park, sent along a reminder to all those who crave "locally grown."

The Market begins its 2019 summer season on May 7 and will continue weekly through the month of October. She says that many long-time vendors will be returning; several new growers and producers are also joining the line-up.

With the Sumner Avenue access to Forest Park closed for culvert repairs, Novak reminds all that the Farmers' Market can be accessed through the Park's Trafton Road entrance.

May is National Burger Month, and b Restaurants (formerly known as Plan B Burger Bars) in Massachusetts and Connecticut will be celebrating with a number of promotional events.

A "Build-a-Better-Burger" contest is already underway; last month b Restaurant locations solicited burger recipe ideas from guests. Each restaurant subsequently picked their two favorite recipes and posted them on Facebook, where they will be visible starting May 7. Fans of b Restaurants can vote for their favorite recipe until May 13, at which time a "fan favorite" will be chosen.

In order to make the voting more interesting, some b Restaurant locations will be giving away samples of the burger recipes they are sponsoring in the contest.

The winning "better-burger" will be featured on the menus of all b Restaurants for the rest of the month of May, and the customer who originally submitted the winning idea will be awarded a free burger a week for the rest of 2019.

"Free Mini Mondays" will be another part of the National Burger Month celebration, with b locations giving away free mini burgers on specific Mondays throughout the month.

For the b Restaurant location in Springfield, May 27 will be "Free Mini Monday." To register for the event, go to Facebook and download a "free mini" coupon via email. The printed-out coupon can then be used at the b Restaurant at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue.

For more details on these promotions, go to burgersbeerbourbon.com/burgermonth.

Three Franklin County restaurateurs are being honored with Franklin County Community Development Corporation's 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year award. Jim Zaccara, Maggie Zaccara, and Evelyn Wulfkuhle, who operate Hope & Olive in Greenfield, will be honored on May 9. The ceremony, which will be held at Hawks & Reed in downtown Greenfield, will begin at 5 p.m. Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served, and live music will be featured.

To mark the occasion, Jim Zaccara has created a special cocktail he's dubbed the "Franklin No. Nine"; the drink will be served by the occasion's celebrity bartender John Howland, whose "day job" is President of Greenfield Savings Banks.

Suggested donation for the event is $10; those planning to attend can RSVP at bit.ly/May09_5pm.

The Franklin County Community Development Corporation answers at (413) 774-7204.

On Sunday, May 19 Figaro Restaurant in Enfield, CT will be hosting "Wild Heart," a tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Seating for the evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner of Italian-American classics will be offered. The show will begin at 7 p.m.

Charge for the buffet is $21.95 and tickets for the "Wild Heart" performance go for $25. Reservations for this event can be made by calling Figaro Restaurant at (860) 745-2414.

In celebration of the chain's 50th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations have introduced Southern Fried Chicken to their menus. Authentically prepared and served as a dinner-style entree, the portion of chicken includes breast, thigh, leg, and wing, all a double-breaded with a custom blend of spices. Two sides and biscuits or cornbread are included; the suggested menu price is $10.79.

Starting May 20, the fried chicken will additionally be available as a "Picnic Box" 12-piece family meal, a package deal that can be supplemented, for an additional charge, with iced tea, lemonade, banana pudding, or cookies.

There are Cracker Barrel locations on Whiting Farms Road in Holyoke, on Route 20 in Sturbridge, and in East Windsor, CT.

IHOP locations have introduced two new International Pancake offerings as a limited-time only menu additions.

Italian Cannoli pancakes come three to an order; they're made by rolling and filling the chain's signature buttermilk pancakes with ricotta cream and chocolate morsels. Cannoli shell crunch, chocolate morsels, and whipped topping garnish the creation.

IHOP's Mexican Churro pancakes are stacked with cinnamon spread, decorated with crunchy mini-churros, and drizzles with cream cheese icing.

There are IHOP locations at 270 Cooley Street and 640 Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
Two Boston men have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to working with nine other men to transport large quantities of methamphetamine to Greater Boston for distribution, then laundering the cash proceeds from the sales.

Mario Castro, 50, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston to 57 months in federal prison. Jorge Grandon, 49, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months.

The two were part of a group of 11 people indicted following a two-year investigation into trafficking of methamphetamine from California to Massachusetts. Once the drugs were sold on the Eastern Seaboard, the proceeds were shipped back to California, where the cash was laundered.

Prosecutors said agents in December 2015 seized about 75 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine that was hidden in Castros pants. The drugs had been ordered by Grandon, prosecutors said.

Castro and Grandon appeared before Judge George A. OToole Jr. He sentenced each on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The two were also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

All of the group have pleaded guilty to charges. One other defendant has been sentenced. Christopher Halford appeared before OToole on April 29 and was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison.
HOLYOKE  A drug raid resulted in seizures of approximately 5,000 bags of heroin, $7,000 in cash and the arrest of a city man.

Members of the Hampden County Narcotics and the Holyoke Police Department executed search warrants at three separate locations in Holyoke, resulting in seizures and the arrest of Kenneth Torres, 23, of Holyoke, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gullini.

Police raided an apartment at 140 Essex St. at about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and found approximately 500 bags of heroin, a quantity of cocaine and about $7,000 in cash. At simultaneous raids at 125 and 127 Beech St. authorities seized 4,500 bags of heroin, 100 grams of cocaine and an untraceable 9mm firearm with an extended magazine.

It was the second large confiscation on Wednesday, Gullini said. Several addresses in Holyoke were raided late Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after a trafficking arrest had been announced at another Holyoke site.

Torres was arraigned in Holyoke District Court Thursday on charges of possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute and possession of a Class B substance with the intent to distribute. He was released on $300 cash bail pending a July 9 court date.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, authorities announced a raid on an Essex Street location where some 5,000 bags of heroin and about $112,000 in cash was confiscated and another Holyoke man, 25-year-old Tahge Pedrosa was arrested and charged with trafficking in heroin. He was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.
Two verification pharmacists were found guilty in the last trial of employees and owners of New England Compounding Center, the epicenter of a fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 that sickened hundreds of patients and killed over 100.

Kathy Chin, 47, of Canton And Michelle Thomas, 35, of Cumberland R.I., were each found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Boston Thursday of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription with the intent to defraud or mislead government regulators. Chin was found guilty of two counts while Thomas was convicted of four counts.

The two will be sentenced on Aug. 8 and 9 respectively.

At the end of Thursdays trial, 13 former NECC employees, including Chin and Thomas, have been convicted of 178 charges.

New England Compounding Center was shut down after regulators found it was the source of fungal meningitis among patients who used its medications. Reuters reported that hundreds of people were sickened and prosecutors said more than 100 died.

In addition to unsanitary conditions in the prescription compounding areas, regulators found widespread fraud and company-wide steps to prevent the FDA from conducting effective oversight.

Chin and Thomas were accused of issuing bulk prescriptions to accounts in the names of various celebrities as well as fictitious names such as LL Bean, Filet OFish, Rug Doctor, Squeaky Wheel, Coco Puff and Harry Potter among others.

Prosecutors said the fake prescriptions approved by Chin and Thomas allowed the company to operate as an unregulated drug manufacturer.

At the same time Chin and Thomas were convicted, another verification pharmacist was sentenced for her part in the fraud.

Alla Stepanets, 38, of Framingham was sentenced to one year of probation. She was convicted of six counts of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription.
An adult male was found shot and stabbed on High Street early Saturday morning, Springfield police said.

Department spokesman Ryan Walsh said Springfield police officers located a man on High Street at about 1 a.m. who was seriously injured with one gunshot and several stab wounds.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Walsh said the departments Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene of an afternoon shooting that sent a Springfield man to the Baystate Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound.

Authorities were called to 192-194 Dickinson St. at about 3:40 p.m. There they apparently the victim, reportedly a male in his late 20s or early 30s. Neighbors said the man lives on the first floor of the two-family home located at the intersection of Dickinson St. and Crystal Avenue.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center where his exact condition is unknown. However, police at the scene said they believe his injuries are non-life-threatening.

Investigators believe the man was shot inside the home but are dealing with conflicting information from some witnesses.

A Massachusetts State Police ballistics technician arrived at the scene to aid the city investigation, police said.
Jack Nicholsons famous line in A Few Good Men, still echoes at movie trivia contests today. You cant handle the truth! his character bellowed from the witness stand.

The real truth today is that Americans cant handle the misinformation and sort out whats real. The acclaimed Information Highway, which was supposed to put access to unprecedented news and knowledge at our fingertips, is instead littered with lies, half-baked theories and disingenuous campaigns that batter us daily - threatening our outlook on politics, institutions and each other, and now our very health.

At a time our technology is hurtling forward, we seem to be hurtling backward and revisiting demons we thought we had beaten for good. The latest is measles, which are being reported at their highest clip in 25 years - in large part by unfounded fears being peddled by self-appointed authorities, who say the vaccine leads to autism.

This alarmist claim has been disproven and debunked by medical science, over and over. So whats the problem? Its that we dont trust the scientists or medical people, because we no longer trust anybody.

When respected scientists warn about climate change, citizens who wouldnt know a neutron from an electron laugh at them. We dont trust educators, politicians, business executives and certainly not clergy. The only people whose word is treated as fact seem to be entertainers, whose qualification to analyze complicated things is usually limited not to informed insight but to their access to a public platform and well, how much they care.

Much of this mistrust of qualified advice is the result of abuse of that trust. Medical people urging families to take the simple step of getting a shot are not among the guilty. Our ability to control or eradicate frightening diseases is one of our proudest 20th Century accomplishments, and should be among the most unquestioned.

Until just recently, it was. Only a small number on the fringes protested. But today, the fringes control the dialogue on most issues, increasingly including this one.

The measles outbreak is not so much a questioning of expertise but a protest against all expertise. If Jonas Salk were around today, he wouldnt be accepting honors and gratitude, hed have to endure public ridicule.

There were 704 reported measles cases as of May 1, the most since the official removal of its designation as a contagious disease in the United States in 2000. It looks certain the 1994 total of 963 will be passed, possibly before 2019 is half done.

About 75 percent have come in the state of New York, primarily in two Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities and most involving non-vaccinated people. Religion has always been a factor (and often an obstacle) in promoting mass vaccinations, as it was in 2014, when 383 cases were reported in the Amish communities of Ohio.

Center for Disease Control officials say the incidence of non-vaccination is spreading, though. Its not just an Orthodox Jewish issue: most Ultra-Orthodox rabbis do not oppose the vaccine and urge inoculation, but there is pushback from individuals both inside and outside those communities as social media, hotlines and material from outcast sources pepper parents with fear.

Reported cases in Massachusetts have tripled from 21 to more than 60 in the comparable time period.

If you want to believe your kid doesnt need that many shots, theres plenty of places to find people who agree with you. Its not so easy to discern what is real and what is not, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, former head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Its easier to disbelieve, because in modern America, thats what we do. Alternately bombarded by untruths and crestfallen upon learning weve been duped and deceived by people we trusted, we are turning into a culture that not only doesnt know whom to trust, but chooses not to try.

Since the measles vaccine was made available to the general population in the 1960s, there has never been any sound reason to dispute its effect or fear the consequences. If mistrust and misinformation are turning people away from this vaccine, its only a matter of time before chickenpox, rubella and bacterial meningitis make a comeback, too.

That would be a frightening price for misguided mistrust by selfish people who think my own decision has no effect on the health and lives of those around them. We dont have to trust everybody in a world where hallowed institutions have abused that trust. But medical officials urging families to get the vaccine are not among those people. We should trust them, the way we once did.
CHICAGO  Eduardo Nunez will be activated from the injured list Saturday (tomorrow). Tzu-Wei Lin is headed to the IL.

Lin suffered a sprained knee sliding into second base during Fridays game against the White Sox here at Guaranteed Rate Field. Lin will undergo testing back in Boston.

Hopefully its nothing that serious, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. Well see what happens.

Cora said head trainer Brad Pearson said its too soon to tell how serious.

Early it was bothering him on the outside, Cora said. Now its bothering him on the inside. So unplug him, send him to Boston and see what weve got.

The Red Sox initially placed Nunez on the injured list April 19 because of mid-back strain. He has gone 2-for-15 in four rehab games for Pawtucket.
The Red Sox have signed infielder/outfielder Cody Asche to a minor-league contract, according to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Boston purchased Asches contract from Sugar Land and assigned him to Portland.

Another day, another contract purchased.



Congrats to Cody Asche, who is heading to the Red Sox! He becomes our third player in 2019 to have his contract purchased by an @MLB organization!



FULL STORY: https://t.co/xNPwp20hye pic.twitter.com/IQbVfD41H0  Sugar Land Skeeters (@SL_Skeeters) May 3, 2019

Asche was Philadelphias fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft and hit .240/.298/.385 with 31 homers over four seasons with the Phillies from 2013-16. He has bounced around since hitting free agency after the 2016 season, appearing in 19 games for the White Sox in 2017 before short minor-league stints with the Royals, Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.

Asche, who turns 29 next month, hit .220/.304/.399 with 11 homers in 105 games at Triple-A last season and signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early February. He was released in late March and started the regular season with Sugar Land.

Asche has played both corner infield positions and left field in the majors, so hell provide an option in the high minors for the depleted Sox. Tzu-Wei Lin will join Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt on the injured list Saturday with a left knee sprain while Eduardo Nunez is being activated.
SPRINGFIELD  State legislators toured the Springfield Science Museum on Friday and learned of plans to update, refurbish, and add more interactive exhibits to the popular destination.

The museum has adapted in order to meet the interests of contemporary and diverse audiences, said Springfield Museums President and CEO Kay Simpson. We have been incorporating new technologies and experiences that complement the many curiosities and old favorites cared for in the museum.

Plans are currently underway for more positive changes, especially in our outreach to children and youth, she said.

The greatest impact of a revitalized Springfield Science Museum is as a vibrant, adaptable resource which will inspire generations of youth," said Dave Stier, director of the museum.

The hope is that new interactive exhibits and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, programing will help nurture interest at a young age and steer more people toward the helpful and lucrative STEM workforce.

Curator of Astronomy, Michael Kerr, told the legislators about hoped for updates to the planetarium, which houses the oldest starball in the United States.

We will retain the starball for its historic significance, Kerr said, And we will add digital machinery that will greatly increase the planetariums programming capabilities.

Kerr also noted the addition of an International Space Station exhibit with live-feed from the International Space Station and a hands-on STEM maker space where visitors can solve challenges with inventive solutions they dream up and assemble.
The American Antiquarian Society, a national research library for pre-20th Century American history and culture, recently completed a significant renovation to its 109-year-old Antiquarian Hall in Worcester.

On Saturday, the organization held an open house to celebrate the opening of the three-story, 7,000-square-foot addition that includes a new Learning Lab and state-of-the-art conservation studio.

The society boasts an impressive collection of documents, photographs, books and cartoons that includes the first book printed in British North America, the only surviving copy of the first modern novel published in America and the first Bible published in this country.

All but two of Paul Reveres engravings are among 200,000 graphic arts and ephemera items in the organizations collection, which also includes political cartoons, maps, lithographs, portraits, photographs and paintings.

Visitors to the Antiquarian Societys open house Saturday learned about its preservation efforts and enjoyed a number of exhibits, including historic childrens books, the Isaiah Thomas printing press, marbled paper displays and more.
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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 3, 2019

Microsoft Advertising may have purged several businesses in the past few years, only to regroup and rebuild, using the latest technology based on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For the past four years, Microsoft has been increasingly building intelligence into the Microsoft Advertising platform, formerly known as Bing Ads, said Steve Sirich, general manager at Microsoft.

Everything were doing around predictions and matching, we now have the capabilities and sophistication to bring back our ability to monetize a lot of the supply previously transitioned to AOL, he said. Much of that supply manifests in the Microsoft Audience Network.

In 2015, Microsoft sold its display inventory to AOL, allowing it to drive a more programmatic approach. The company transitioned the selling model for display. The move let Microsoft rebuild many of its platform on artificial intelligence.

Now, the Microsoft Audience Network allows the company to use the intelligence behind the Microsoft Advertising platform and the search signal to serve native ads in domains outside of a search-engine results page, such as MSN Outlook and the Edge browser.

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Microsoft now offers search through Bing, as well as native advertising and image ads through the Microsoft Advertising Network, which operates like a programmatic auction.

It is part of the reason were moving past a search-engine results page, he said.

Microsoft Advertising is testing video extensions, with a thumbnail that displays in the corner, but is not generally available.

Sirich said Microsoft continues to keep an eye on ecommerce ad products and the way Amazon monetizes Sponsored Products. Theres a lot of unmet opportunities in retail, he said.

Microsoft is rebuilding its Edge browser on Google Chromium, For advertisers, Sirich said it unhooks the browser innovation from Windows 10 innovation, making it easier to release more frequent browser updates.

It will allow us to innovate more quickly and drive demand for Edge around privacy and secure browsing, he said. We have a strong precedence and history in browsing, and on Chromium can build a very competitive product.
According to a new study, intensive treatment for high blood pressure may reduce the risk of death from any cause, including cardiovascular disease, in people with type 2 diabetes.

Share on Pinterest New research suggests that intensive blood pressure treatment may help those with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the most common and costly chronic conditions in the United States. Over 100 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the 2017 report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body processes glucose. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease, reduces the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When this occurs, blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of [the] arteries as the heart pumps blood. Hypertension happens when this force against the artery walls is too high.

Doctors measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The first number, or the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. The second number measures the diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart rests between beats.

Doctors define prehypertension as 120139 mm Hg for systolic pressure and between 8089 mmHg for diastolic pressure. They consider a pressure of 140/90 mmHg as high.
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The microfluidic device is an automated and small chip with a highly sensitive fluorescence sensing unit embedded into the device. Physicians take patient samples and add them into the device where Ebola RNA can be seen by activating the CRISPR mechanism. Du is also developing a device that could detect multiple virus strains from Ebola to influenza and zika, for example.The article "Rapid and Fully Microfluidic Ebola Virus Detection with CRISPR-Cas13a," features an international and multidisciplinary team assessing the use of CRISPR technology gene editing technology--to improve virus detection. The group members are from University of California, Berkeley; Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (China); Dong-A University (Korea); Texas Biomedical Research Institute; and Boston University."For this work, we are trying to develop a low-cost device that is easy to use especially for medical personnel working in developing countries or areas where there are outbreaks. They'd be able to bring hundreds of these devices with them for testing, not just one virus or bacteria at one time, but many different kinds," he explained.Researchers have tried for the past 40 years to develop an effective Ebola vaccine. Early detection remains an important strategy for controlling outbreaks, the most recent in the Congo, where more than 1,000 individuals have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control."If you look at this like influenza, and people don't look at it as a virus which also can kill people each year. Some strains may not be as deadly as Ebola, but we know that infectious diseases, regardless of the type, are problems that can threaten the public," Du said. "I grew up in China and experienced the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. I have seen many people lose their relatives and friends because of infectious diseases. If we can have early detection systems to help screen for all types of diseases and patterns, this can be very useful because it can provide information to medical doctors and microbiologists to help develop the vaccines, and early detection and identification can control and even prevent outbreaks."Source: Eurekalert
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The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London."This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition." The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments."IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine. The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier."I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."Source: Eurekalert
UPPER THUMB  Mid Michigan College is expanding access to educational opportunities in Huron and Tuscola counties.

Were excited to increase the number of courses, programs and training opportunities available to the residents of Michigans Thumb region, said Scott Mertes, Vice President of Community Outreach & Advancement at Mid. Students are now able to launch their higher educations with dual enrollment or short-term training and complete associate degrees. From start to finish, the ability to begin and complete an affordable education is now possible in the thumb.

For the fall 2019 semester, Huron Intermediate School District (ISD) is offering Mid Michigans medical assistant associate degree program along with Phlebotomy and CDL-A Truck Driving Short-Term Training. Both Huron and Tuscola ISDs will offer online and face-to-face courses, along with dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.

Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses  giving them a jump start on their college careers and equipping them with skills that help them succeed as they continue their educations, said Mertes.

Parents who want to learn more about dual enrollment can attend a free informational meeting from 6 to 7 p.m., Monday, May 6 at the Tuscola ISD. In just one hour, parents and students can learn how dual enrollment works, how students benefit, and how to get started.

Registration for all fall semester offerings is currently open and complete information, including courses and schedules, can be found online.

At Mid, we strongly believe in increasing access to educational opportunities that develop knowledge and ability within individuals and communities, shared Mertes.

Mids main campuses are located in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant, with satellite locations in Alpena, Huron, Mecosta, Osceola and Tuscola counties.

For more information about Mid offerings in the Thumb region, visit midmich.edu/thumb or contact Scott Mertes at smertes@midmich.edu or 989-386-6614.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  A photo of President Rodrigo Duterte watching a show on Netflix at home on Saturday broke what would have been a six-day absence from the public eye that fuelled speculation about his health.

In the photo sent to CNN Philippines by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, the President is seen on his bed, watching a movie from streaming service provider Netflix with a bunch of today's newspapers on his side. The photo was sent to her by someone from Duterte's team.

Puyat is in Fiji for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors. The President has called her to ask about her recent meeting with the Civil Aeronautics Board regarding the carrying capacity of Boracay Island.

She then told the President that some journalists who were with her wanted to know his whereabouts, and was sent the photo in response. The President's prolonged absence, like in the past, revived speculation that he is gravely ill. Duterte has refused to allow the Palace to issue medical bulletins on his health.

In another photo sent to Malacanang reporters, the President is seen reading the April 30 issue of a national broadsheet.

The President was last seen last Sunday at the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa in Davao City. He had come home last April 27 from his trip to China where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the Second Belt and Road Forum. During that trip, the 74-year-old President reportedly skipped a gala dinner due to a migraine.

Before he left for China, Duterte had attended major campaign sorties of the ruling PDP-Laban party. Administration candidates have dominated senatorial surveys weeks ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
HARBOR BEACH  When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health concern, sometimes its a lot to handle.

Its important to remember that mental health is essential to everyones overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.

May is Mental Health Month was started 70 years ago by national organization, Mental Health America (MHA). Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is joining this years national campaign to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone.

A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health.

That is why in 2019 the hospital is expanding upon last years theme of 4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level, as it explores the topics of animal companionship, humor, work-life balance and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

It is important to really look at your overall health, both physically and mentally, to achieve wellness, said Susan Rochefort, RN and program director of Senior Life Solutions. Finding a reason to laugh, going for a walk with a friend, meditating, playing with a pet or working from home once a week can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy  its all about finding the right balance to benefit both the mind and body.

MHA has developed a series of fact sheets  available at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may  to help people understand how their lifestyle affects their health.

We know that living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy, but it can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes, said Rochefort. Finding the balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both 4Mind4Body.

Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is an intensive outpatient group therapy program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression often related to aging.

For more information, call the Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program at 989-479-0200.
ELKTON  Comcast and The Village of Elkton Parks and Recreation recently assembled volunteers made up of employees, their families, friends and other community members, to assist in the beautification of Ackerman Park on Mullen Street.

The project was one of 28 service opportunities across Michigan during the 18th Comcast Cares Day. Projects began on April 18 and culminate on May 11.
PIGEON  Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker seniors Andrew Smith and Clara Tait will soon be figuring out what to take with them to Michigan State University this fall, but they already know they'll be bringing something very special with them that no other incoming student will have  the Gordon W. and Loyse B. Hueschen Science Scholarship.

This scholarship, available only to qualifying Laker seniors who are going into a science program at MSU, covers full tuition and board for four years. Seven seniors interviewed for the scholarship this year, and Smith and Tait feel very fortunate to have been selected for the prestigious award.

It was a big shock to me. I started shaking and crying, Tait said about finding out she was selected. It was a very happy time. I'm excited.

Smith also said he was shocked when he heard the news.

(Im now) able to progress toward the dream Ive had ever since I first stepped foot on the MSU campus in 8th grade for the FFA state convention, he said. As soon as I saw that huge open campus and all the FFA members and the energy I witnessed there, it was engrained into my head that this is where I want to be in my future. It's a huge honor to finally be able to live that dream.

Smith, son of Jeff and Sandy Smith, is the 2019 valedictorian. At MSU, he will major in agriculture, food and natural resource education. He plans to go into a career in agriculture policy, working with an agricultural-based organization in policy advising. He also has aspirations to run for state office someday and represent the agriculture industry.

Smith said multiple experiences have inspired him to go into the agriculture policy field. His family has been in agriculture for generations, and his FFA involvement has opened his eyes to the many facets of agriculture. He said government courses in high school and his involvement with the World Food Prize competition through FFA piqued his interest in the policy-making side of agriculture.

While at Lakers, Smith has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. Hes in FFA and has served in various leadership positions, such as president of the Laker chapter, regional secretary and treasurer for the state FFA association. He is the president of the Laker National Honor Society. Hes been involved in cross-country, track, Science Olympiad, Michigan Youth Leadership Conference and Rotary Interact. Smith also has served in many community service activities.

Smith said his experiences at Lakers have prepared him for college. Through the FFA, hes tried new things and taken on various challenges, such as leadership roles, which have all boosted his confidence.

Teachers have encouraged me along the way, he added. (Lakers has provided) an environment to facilitate my academic growth throughout the years. It's been really influential and very inspiring and it helped me get to where I am today.

Smith named ag teacher/FFA adviser Haley Schulz and former ag teacher/FFA adviser Don Wheeler as two very important inspirational teachers in his life.

They've pushed me to try new things over and over again, he said. They've both facilitated the growth I've had as a leader and an individual.

He also named English teacher Julie Stoyka as a great inspiration.

She's always believed in me so much, and it helps to have someone on the academic side of things to see my potential and stimulate that growth throughout the years, he said.

Tait, daughter of Michael and Mary Tait, will major in biochemistry at MSU. Her plans are to be a pharmacist. She said some of her science classes at Lakers inspired her to go into this field.

I really enjoyed Mrs. Hasselschwert's chemistry class, and before that, I enjoyed Mr. Lebsack's bio class, she said. I wanted to find a good happy medium. I did some soul searching, and that led me to biochemistry.

Tait has been involved in FFA and has served as a region officer and local chapter officer. Shes a co-captain of the Science Olympiad team and Laker Media chief editor. Shes also been in band, Academic Games, Rotary Interact, National Honor Society, VEX Robotics and the MDOT Bridge Challenge. Tait also has served in a variety of community service activities.

All of her extracurricular involvement will help her adjust well to college life, Tait said.

It has taught me very good time management, she said.

Tait said science teacher Deb Hasselschwert has been a big inspiration.

(Mrs. Hasselschwert) is not afraid to show her inner love for science and geek out about things, she said. That inspired me to show my love for science and not be ashamed of it.

Both Smith and Tait have been involved in the Mid-Michigan Community College dual enrollment program, which is offered at the Huron Area Technical Center. Smith was in the program for two years and will graduate high school with 42 college credits. Tait was in the program for one year and will have 20 college credits.

Tait and Smith have advice for underclassmen that aspire to be future Hueschen recipients.

Before you get to your senior year, do community service. Other than that, in the interview, be true and be passionate in your answers, Tait said. Don't make up some silly story about why you love science. Be honest.

Smith said students should try every opportunity they come across and not shy away from new experiences. He said this has truly helped him be successful.

You get so much growth by trying new things and going out of your comfort zone, he said. It also will help you set yourself apart from other (Hueschen) candidates.

The Hueschen Scholarship is awarded each year to one or more Laker seniors. The recipients are chosen based on academic performance, test scores, awards and honors, the number of science classes taken and the difficulty of all classes taken. Recipients need to be accepted into a science program at MSU.

The scholarship has been awarded since the mid-1990s.
MIDDLETOWN  Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry, the duo behind the Boston-based documentary film company The Film Posse, will join Wesleyan Universitys renowned film studies faculty this fall and will launch the Wesleyan Documentary Project, an initiative to teach, support and produce non-fiction film and video.

MacLowry, a 1986 Wesleyan alumnus, and Strain will also relocate their production company to Middletown, where they will continue to produce films for PBS and other outlets. Together, The Film Posse and Wesleyan Documentary Project will support filmmaking on campus, according to a press release.

Strain, a two-time Peabody Award winner, and MacLowry, a Peabody Award winner and two-time WGA Award winner, have produced over 20 documentaries, many through The Film Posse. Strain most recently produced, wrote and directed, and MacLowry produced and edited, Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017), the first feature documentary about African-American author and activist Lorraine Hansberry.

Sighted Eyes received the prestigious John E. Connor Film award from the American Historical Association, an NAACP Image Award for Strains directing, and a 2018 Peabody Award. MacLowrys recent film The Swamp, a riveting history of the Everglades, aired on PBS American Experience in January, the release said.

Through the Wesleyan Documentary Project, we aim to expand opportunities on campus for non-fiction filmmaking and study. Our world needs creative and diverse documentary storytellers more than ever. We are committed to helping them find their voices, Strain said in a prepared statement.

The Film Posse has a long history of selecting Wesleyan students as interns. Were excited to further integrate students into our professional activities, and aim to provide students with real-world professional experience tailored to a liberal arts setting. Our projects are well-suited to students intellectual interests and strengths, MacLowry said in the release.

In addition, the Wesleyan Documentary Project will institute a documentary hotline, a mechanism through which graduates can seek advice about writing grants, and producing and distributing their work. It will also host an annual event centered on fact-based storytelling with new works by leading artists.

We are thrilled to welcome Tracy and Randy to Wesleyan. They bring the professional excellence and teaching strength to reinvigorate the film departments already robust offerings in documentary filmmaking and study, Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image, the Charles W. Fries Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives, said in the statement.

Wesleyan has offered instruction in documentary making and study from the earliest days of its film program. In recent years, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Sadia Shepard has taught a popular documentary course in which students delve into the lives of ordinary local residents, and screen the resulting short films at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown.
"War Chief of the Crow Indians" isn't a title that's just randomly thrown around to any jackass who happens to own a gigantic, awesome-looking headdress and a really awesome traditional-style wooden bow made out of the bark of dead Treants.

You don't become a War Chief just because you're the oldest dude in the tribe, or the most badass hunter, or the only guy in your zip code capable of bench-pressing an automobile. It's an ancient, prestigious honorific bestowed only upon the bravest, the strongest, and the most hardcore asskickers around, and the only way to attain this hallowed title is by proving yourself in combat and unlocking the four achievements the Crow believed to be the most insanely-difficult things a warrior can attempt in battle -- leading a successful war party on a raid, capturing an enemy's weapon, touching an enemy without killing him, and stealing an enemy's horse.

None of this s--- is easy, and pretty much all of it requires you put your life on the line by voluntarily bringing yourself face-to-face with at least one warrior who is presumably in the process of actively trying to rip you limb from limb with a bowie knife and then splatter your corpse across the countryside with a well-placed headbutt. It's like the Crow Indians' way of making sure they don't have any suckass weaklings leading their tribe into combat.

Related:

At 102 years old, Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was the last surviving War Chief of the Crow Indians when he died in 2016. He is a hardcore, fearless, neck-snapping warrior who has accomplished all of these tremendous feats of bravery in combat and has proven himself a step above the majority of humanity on the badassitude scale.

And he did it in World War II.

Joe Medicine Crow was born on a reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana in 1913. Raised in the illustrious warrior tradition of the Crow, this dude had some pretty hardcore badasses to look up to as a young man -- his step-grandfather had been a scout for Custer at the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn (the Crow had a generations-long blood feud with the Lakota Sioux), and his paternal grandfather was a dude named Chief Medicine Crow who was like the Michael Jordan of Crow war heroes.

So, naturally, young Joseph was drilled into a tough warrior capable of handling himself in any situation. The majority of this young warrior's childhood was spent undergoing hardcore Spartan-style feats of strength, piledriving buffalo, riding horses bareback, swimming through mighty rivers, punching things, and running barefoot through snow-covered plains uphill both ways. He was taught to control his fear in the face of imminent peril, learned to hunt dangerous animals by himself, and trained his body to survive prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures.

He was also taught the war history of his tribe, and in addition to honing his body to the ultimate wilderness survival machine he also became the first member of his tribe to graduate with an advanced college degree, receiving his MA in Anthropology from USC in 1939.

Medicine Crow was in the process of working on his PhD when the United States entered World War II. Never one to back down from the opportunity to put his powers of mass destruction to good use, Crow enlisted as a scout in the 103rd Infantry and was sent to the beaches of Normandy to wreak havoc on the forces of European Fascism. Despite serving in a war dominated by automatic weapons, heavy artillery, and gigantic tanks armed with 88mm cannons, Medicine Crow held on to the time-honored practices of his tribe -- he always wore bright red war paint into combat, and he strapped a sacred yellow-painted eagle feather to his helmet for good luck.

He also counted the four coups required to distinguish himself as a Crow war chief, which is no small f------ task when one of those tasks involves stealing a horse from the enemy.

As an infantry scout, you probably don't get too many opportunities to lead a group of men into combat, but Pvt. Medicine Crow got the opportunity to do just that in snow-covered battlefields of Western France while the Allies made their push from Paris towards Berlin.

The border to Germany was a heavily-fortified wall of impenetrable machine gun bunkers, tank traps, trenches, moats and artillery positions known as the Siegfried Line, which was basically like a functional, not-worthless version of France's Maginot Line.

Well, during one particularly nasty portion of the battle for the Rhine, Medicine Crow's commanding officer ordered the Native American warrior to take a team of seven soldiers and lead them across an field of barbed wire, bullets, and artillery fire, grab some dynamite from an American position that had been utterly annihilated, and then assault the German bunkers and blow the ass out of them with TNT. This was basically a suicide mission, but, according to Medicine Crow, when he got the mission his CO's exact words were, "if anyone can do this, it's probably you."

That's not exactly a phrase that inspires tremendous confidence, but Joe Medicine Crow didn't give a s---. He charged out, evaded an endless rain of fireballs, shrapnel, and misery, grabbed the TNT from a supply crate while tracer rounds zipped past his head, and then charged balls-out towards some German machine gun nests while carrying an armload of ultra-high explosives. He somehow reached the wall in one piece and blasted a hole in the Siegfried Line so the infantry could advance. Medicine Crow received a Bronze Star for this action, and his squad did not lose a single man in the battle. I'd call that a win.

Shortly after moving through the Siegfried Line (I read in one source that Joe was photographed leading the charge and leaping through the breach he'd created in the wall, thus making him the first American soldier to set foot on German soil, though I wasn't able to verify this fact or locate the photo), the 103rd was ordered to capture a nearby town that was being staunchly defended by the enemy.

While the main elements of the 103rd moved into the well-defended main street of the village, Joe Medicine Crow's scouts were ordered to flank around through a back alley and get behind the German fortifications. Well, as this s--- was going down, Medicine Crow got separated from his unit, and while he was in the process of sprinting through some German family's backyard a random Nazi jackass stepped out from behind the wall with his rifle at the ready.

Joe didn't see this dude until the last second, and ended up running right into the guy

like the Juggernaut from the X-Men.

The two guys smashed helmet-to-helmet in a maneuver that would probably have netted Medicine Crow a 15-yard penalty in the NFL, and the force of the running mega Indian flying headbutt sent that Nazi jackass (and his rifle) sprawling across the lawn.

Joseph Medicine Crow, however, still had his rifle firmly wedged in his kung fu grip.

Joseph Medicine Crow now found himself standing rifle-to-face with an unarmed German soldier, but gunning down an unarmed man wasn't this guy's style -- he was much more of an "honorable combat" sort of badass, and he wasn't about to let this Nazi douchebag feel the sweet release of death without getting a nice red, white, and blue knuckle sandwich or two beforehand.

So Joe Medicine Crow threw down his rifle and hit him in the face Batman-style.

The two guys started going at it, and at one point the Nazi almost flipped the tables and pinned Joe, but the Native American warrior freaked out, grabbed the German dude by the throat, and started squeezing. Just as he was ready to choke the life out of his enemy, the German, sensing imminent death, started calling out for his Mom.

That kind of put the kibosh on Joseph's kill buzz. So he let the guy live, taking the German (and his rifle) as a prisoner of war and knocking out two War Chief prerequisites with one well-placed face-punch.

Of all the s--- on this borderline-impossible list, this is the one that seems like it would trip up the most people these days. But in early 1945 Joseph Medicine Crow stole 50 horses from a group of German officers.

The story starts with Joe and his men on a scouting mission deep behind enemy lines. While surveying the landscape for enemy troop movements, Medicine Crow's small team of recon experts just happened to come across a small farm where some senior members of the German officer staff were holed up -- along with a group of awesome thoroughbred race horses.

So, naturally, Joe had to steal them.

In the early hours of the morning, Joseph Medicine Crow, dressed in his U.S. Army uniform, snuck past the sleeping guards armed only with a rope and his Colt 1911 .45-caliber service pistol. He found the best horse in the group, tied the rope into a makeshift bridle, mounted the horse bareback, and then gave a super loud Crow war cry as he tried to herd as many goddamned horses out of the corral as possible before the Nazis started firing bullets at him. Hauling ass through though the German countryside in the dead of night, Joseph Medicine Crow sang a Crow war song while German officers ran outside in their underwear taking potshots at him with their Lugers.

This s--- is so crazy you couldn't even make it up.

In the last days of the war, Joseph Medicine Crow helped liberate a concentration camp in Poland (he and his commanding officer drove a jeep through the front gates and the SS guards immediately dropped their s--- and ran away without a fight) before finally heading home to his tribe in Montana. When the Crow elders heard about his through-the-roof Gamerscore they made Joe an official War Chief in the Tribe -- a post he now holds by himself. He was also made a Knight in the French Legion of Honor, received three honorary PhDs, authored nearly a dozen books on military history, stayed married to the same woman for over 60 years, and has been the official historian for his tribe for the last fifty years.

In August of 2009 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor awarded to American civilians -- for his combined military service and all the work he has done to help improve the lives of the people of the Crow people. The 95 year-old Medicine Crow personally led the ceremonial dance after the ceremony.

Links:

Billings Gazette

Joe Medicine Crow

Crow Nominated for Congressional Gold Medal

Wikipedia

Sources:

Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony. Penguin, 1999.

Robinson, Gary and Phil Lucas. From Warriors to Soldiers. iUniverse, 2010.

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Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier...
A second Marine commanding officer has been fired for allegedly driving drunk, just two weeks after another senior leader was also arrested and ousted from his job for the same reason.

Col. Douglas Lemott Jr., commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group, was relieved of his duties on Friday, five days after he was arrested in Virginia for allegedly driving under the influence.

Lemott, who could not be reached for comment, is at least the second commanding officer to be picked up in Virginia on drunk driving charges in the last month.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, carried out the latest relief after losing trust and confidence in Lemott's ability to command, Capt. Amanda Anderson, a Marine spokeswoman told Military.com.

"Underlying allegations are being investigated by the appropriate authorities," she said, referring additional questions to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office, where Lemott was arrested.

Lemott, 49, will head back to Fauquier General District Court on June 21, according to court records. He was released on bail following his arrest.

It's Lemott's first alleged drunk driving offense. If found guilty, he could have his driver's license revoked for a year and face a fine of at least $250.

Col. John Atkinson, commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion based in Quantico, Virginia, was relieved on April 26, two weeks after he was picked up for allegedly driving under the influence in Prince William County.

Atkinson is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Commandant Gen. Robert Neller earlier this week called out Marines' alcohol use as it relates to another crime: sexual assault. Neller has pushed long pushed for Marines to curb their alcohol use, launching a campaign encouraging them to protect the career they've worked hard to build.

"Marines ... know that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to a significant number of these incidents and other aberrant behaviors," Neller wrote on Twitter.

Col. Wendy Goyette, the former commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group has taken over for Lemott.

The unit, based in Fort Meade, Maryland, falls under Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command, whose mission it is to protect the service's critical infrastructure from attacks. The command includes about 800 personnel.

In February, Lemott received the 2019 Stars and Stripes United States Marine Corps Award. He was recognized as a leader shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and math, and for "serving with distinction while supporting the Marine Corps' efforts in mentorship, diversity and value-based service to the nation," according to a Marine Corps news release.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
The creator of "Terminal Lance" is back to writing about the heavier side of military life with a new graphic novel that follows Marines in Afghanistan's frigid mountain ranges.

Max Uriarte is taking an all-new cast of Marine characters to Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province in his upcoming graphic novel "Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli." The full-color, feature-length story follows Sgt. King as he leads his Marines in a fight against the Taliban in the province's cold, snowy mountains.

Uriarte, who served as an infantry Marine in Iraq, wanted to do something different from his last book, "The White Donkey," which follows the main "Terminal Lance" comic strip character to Iraq and back. Sgt. King, a young black infantryman, and the rest of the "Battle Born" characters are all new.

"I had never really seen a military infantry story with a black main character and thought that would be really cool," Uriarte told Military.com. "They would say you should make the story that you want to see, so I had decided to just go for it."

Uriarte also wanted to take Marines out of the desert. When he read about the Taliban illegally mining lapis lazuli, the blindingly blue, sought-after gemstone once popular with Egyptian pharaohs, he got the idea to send Sgt. King and his Marines into the valley where the group had taken hold.

Afghanistan has been one of the main sources for lapis lazuli for thousands of years, and the Taliban saw an opportunity in the gem. The group took over a mine once used for generations by an Afghan family in the import-export business, The New York Times reported. In 2014, the lapis trade was valued at about $125 million a year, according to the Times.

"I thought that was super fascinating stuff and a really cool setting for the story," Uriarte said. "And I found that the whole story, much like how I centered 'The White Donkey' around the donkey that sort of becomes a theme, I've centered it around the lapis lazuli, which is where the title comes from."

With an all-new location and set of characters, Uriarte set out to do his research. He was familiar with how Marines operated in the desert, but not the cold. So he embedded with an infantry battalion at the Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

"It was honestly so much worse than Camp Pendleton or Twentynine Palms. Everybody was miserable," Uriarte said. "... It gave me a good refresher on why I left the Marine Corps because you get really nostalgic, right? Then you get back into it, and you're in the field eating [tray rations] for a few days."

"Battle Born" is a more visual story than "The White Donkey," he said, with about a third more pages but half the dialogue. It's also illustrated in full color, a change from the "Terminal Lance" black-and-white style.

"I wanted it to be a beautiful book," Uriarte said. "One that you'll open, and it will kind of take you in, so I went full color. ... And I just wanted a story that was less dialogue, less talky and more, just sort of beautiful to look at.

"I really just wanted to make a war story that was beautiful because I hadn't really seen one."

"Battle Born" touches on serious topics such as colonialism and racism, which Uriarte describes as a very personal journey for Sgt. King. Its not without some of that salty "Terminal Lance" humor though.

"You'll find all your favorite Marine Corps staples like standing post and other bull---t," Uriarte said.

Overall, however, it's about a well-functioning small unit hard at work downrange. Given the author's longstanding tradition of celebrating junior Marines, it's perhaps only fitting the story doesn't include any pesky gunnys or first sergeants yelling at Sgt. King and his Marines.

"I didn't put a single staff NCO in the story," Uriarte said. "Sgt. King is the highest-ranking enlisted guy, and there's background to why that is in the story. But he basically just talks directly to the lieutenant, the only officer around and it's great. You take all the staff NCOs out, and everything works great."

"Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli" will be published by Little, Brown and Company this winter. It will be available in hardcover and in the Kindle Store.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.

Though the injury isnt said to be serious, its a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the leagues third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the leagues best.
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.

Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so its not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesnt start producing  though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.

Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.

In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
FLINT, MI -- A Genesee Circuit Court judge has given prosecutors a little more time to review what they say could be new information related to the Flint water crisis --- but not as much time as they requested.

Judge Joseph Farah on Friday, May 3, denied a request from prosecutors to wait six months until issuing his decision on whether the case against former state Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon can move closer to a jury trial, but said he would wait until June 14 before ruling on the most serious charges that are pending.

Its time for the midnight pizzas and Coca-Colas, Farah told Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud in making his ruling. It is time ... for everybody to roll up their sleeves (and) redouble their efforts ... Its time for that.

Before Hammoud filed a motion requesting a stay in court proceedings in the Lyon case, Farah had been expecting to rule by May 17 on a separate request from Lyons attorneys that the four criminal charges against him be dismissed because of errors during his preliminary examination in Genesee District Court.

The judge said Friday that his only consideration in deciding the motion to quash -- or dismiss -- the charges against Lyon is determining whether District Court Judge David Goggins abused his discretion in binding Lyon over for trial.

Farah said if prosecutors find information that helps or hurts their case against Lyon, it wont effect his decision on the dismissal question but could result in the case being sent back to district court.

Hammoud asked for a six-month delay after the discovery of what prosecutors described as a trove Flint water documents -- amounting to millions of pages earlier this year in the basement of a state-owned building.

That discovery, the solicitor general told the judge, led to the detection of a deeply flawed system for reviewing records turned over by state agencies in response to investigative subpoenas issued by former special prosecutor Todd Flood, who Hammoud fired just last month.

Flood agreed to a procedure for how those records would be reviewed that was deeply flawed, Hammoud said, resulting in prosecutors reviewing themselves only about 1.5 million of about 20 million discovery documents.

Among the problems, she said, was the involvement of a law firm that has been paid to represent former Gov. Rick Snyder in the record review.

We dont know what we dont know, Hammoud said of the need to do more work the records. We have an obligation to investigate."

Attorneys for Lyon argued against Farah delaying his decision, contending Hammoud was stalling as a new group of prosecutors acclimate themselves to eight criminal cases related to Flint water that are still pending.

They are simply saying, Give us time to figure out what (this) case is about, said Lyon attorney Chip Chamberlain. Thats something they can do on their own time -- not on Mr. Lyons time."

Lyon, 50, was arraigned on Flint water charges nearly two years ago.

As a member of Snyders cabinet, he was the highest-ranking figure in state government to have been charged with crimes related to the water crisis and was bound over to stand trial by 67th District Court Judge David Goggins on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office.

Farah said he will still make a decision whether to dismiss the misdemeanor charge against Lyon -- neglect of duty -- within two weeks.

Prosecutors have claimed Lyon is responsible for the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, two Genesee County men whom prosecution experts say likely died of Legionnaires disease, which spiked throughout Genesee County while the city used the Flint River as its water source in parts of 2014 and 2015.

The former director, who has pleaded not guilty of the charges, was among city, county and state officials who were aware of outbreaks of Legionnaires here and suspicions that Flints water was connected to them a full year before residents were told.

Lyon had a duty under state law to warn citizens of the outbreaks and to protect their health, according to the charges against him.

Water prosecutors claims of a flawed discovery process in the Flint water cases hasnt just caused fallout in the Lyon case.

Hammoud said shes spoken to attorneys for the seven other current and former city and state government employees also facing charges and is requesting delays in those cases as well.

Even though the un-reviewed water documents came from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the records or review process could still be relevant to those cases, Hammoud said Friday.

Court records show Genesee District Court Judge Nathaniel Perry has already agreed to delay preliminary examinations for former emergency manager Darnell Earley and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft until November.
SCIO TOWNSHIP, MI  Special needs education leaders in Washtenaw County are proposing a 0.37-mill tax increase to demolish and rebuild a school just outside Ann Arbor.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District is considering putting the $53.2 million bond proposal before voters to fund the project at High Point School, 1735 S. Wagner Road in Scio Township. The special needs school shares a campus with Honey Creek Community School and serves students across the county.

The school board will consider the proposal in a 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 meeting at 1819 S. Wagner Road.

If OKed by the board, residents would vote on the ballot measure Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Maneuvering through a maze of narrow hallways and tight corners on the campus has been difficult for staff and students, many who use mobility devices that need extra hallway space, Superintendent Scott Menzel said.

The building is almost 50 years old. It opened in 1975. There are significant limitations in terms of the infrastructure, Menzel said. (There are) a lot of exterior doors, which from an exit standpoint  makes sense. From a school safety and security point in the 21st century, thats not a really good model at all.

Here are five things to know about the proposal:

1. Conceptual plan

The proposed school would be 27,000-square-feet larger than the current building.

It would include 30 to 35 classrooms on one side of the building; additional rooms for use by physical therapists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other special needs workers; new equipment and furniture; storage space, technological improvements and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Classrooms would be nearly 1,000 square feet with individual bathrooms.

Supplemental rooms would be added for meetings or future classrooms, and ramps would be built across the campus. The plan is to create a structure that would accommodate the programs growth for the next 30 years, Menzel said.

The schools bus drop-off area is currently uncovered and stretches away from the main entrance, causing difficulties for staff to assist wheelchair users during rain and snow. The district wants to add heated sidewalks with an overhead shield.

The school would accommodate students ages three to 26, with fenced-off playgrounds for different age groups. Every classroom would have windows for daylight.

Update: an earlier version of this story reported the school would accommodate K-8. It was changed to reflect the accurate age group.

A life skills area, cafeteria, media center, music room and art room are also planned.

2. How much it would cost homeowners

The 10-year, 0.37-mill tax increase would cover the demolition and new construction, costing the owner of a $300,000 home about $55.50 annually, or about $4.63 a month.

The district could set aside funds from a special education millage as an alternative, but it would not fully cover the costs needed, Menzel said.

3. How the money would be spent

The proposed $53.2 million in bond funding would pay to demolish the current structure and construct a new building, while keeping the gymnasium and pool in place.

Mechanical, electrical, technological and infrastructure development alone would cost $18 million, Menzel said.

The funds would also purchase new equipment and furniture, new information technology systems, refurbishment of the pool and gym, new playgrounds and landscaping.

4. Who can vote

The proposal would not appear on every Washtenaw County ballot, Menzel said. Rather, its a constituent district vote of (Washtenaw Intermediate School District).

Residents in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti school districts would vote for it on Aug. 6.

5) How long it will take

Moving staff and students out and beginning work by January 2020 is the goal, which would involve relocating programs.

The ideal scenario would be to move back in fall 2021, Menzel said.

Options for relocation include using empty school buildings the district may lease for an 18-month period, possibly in Ypsilanti.

Gretchens House, a private childcare center that uses a few classrooms in the same building, would not move with the High Point and Honey Creek schools during the temporary period. It would operate in an alternate facility, Menzel said.
HILLSDALE, MI -- A part of Hillsdale history is being restored, as renovations to the century-old Dawn Theater are set to begin later this year.

A $1.4 million Michigan Economic Development Corporation Community Development Block Grant is helping to restore the currently vacant building at 97 N. Broad St., according to a news release.

The old theater will become a new venue for movies, special events and private rentals.

Given its history and what it means to the community now -- and 100 years ago -- it was important for us to try restore it, Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie said.

Planned repairs in the $1.7 million project include restoration of the original brick facade and windows, floor replacement, roof work and making the theater handicap accessible, the release said.

Expected to open in fall 2020, the new venue will create 27 new jobs, Mackie said.

The building is owned by the Hillsdale Tax Increment Finance Authority, Mackie said. The project is receiving $400,000 for the rehabilitation and $200,000 in TIFA funds for building acquisition and pre-development project costs, the release said.

The district and city administration are working together to improve the community, which the grant allows us to do, Mackie said. We are reinvesting in the structure, and hopefully secure it for another century.

The Dawn Theater has become a key fixture of downtown Hillsdale since opening as a single-screen theater in 1919, Mackie said.

The theater struggled with the rise of multiplexes and was turned into a nightclub in the 1990s. The nightclub closed in 2004 and the building was vacant until 2010, when it began hosting events until closing again in 2013.

Re-opening the theater will provide the town a much needed community space, Mackie said. State Rep. Eric Leutheuser. R-Hillsdale, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, praised the grant allocation and the restoration of the theater.

This is a tremendous opportunity to honor and preserve our rich local history while starting a whole new chapter in the story of our town, Leutheuser said.
JACKSON, MI  A city workshop held earlier this week to discuss Jacksons 2019-2020 budget proposal fell within a gray area of Michigans Open Meetings Act, according to a legal expert.

During workshops, city council members cannot deliberate toward or make decisions on future agenda items, said Jennifer Dukarski, deputy general counsel for the Michigan Press Association. Its up for debate as to whether Jackson City Councils Thursday, May 2 workshop fell within those perimeters.

The council invited the public to attend the workshop, but did not allow for public comment, angering many of the nine residents in attendance.

Cities arent required to have public comment during workshops, Dukarski said. The question is whether Thursdays get-together can be considered a workshop, rather than a meeting  in which public comment is required by law. The event was initially billed as a special meeting with public comment.

"This gets into a gray area, when the full board is there and they start asking questions," Dukarski said. "There's a very fine line between education and asking questions that will help you deliberate and make a decision on public policy."

Wheres the agenda and whens the citizen comment? resident John King said, interrupting the workshop. By law there has to be.

Officials didnt explain why public comment was being barred.

Mayor Derek Dobies and Councilman Jeromy Alexander agreed Thursdays gathering helped inform their decision on the budget vote, but both said they dont believe the talks could be considered deliberations.

A second budget workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 will include deliberations, Dobies said, and therefore will also include time for public comment. Theres also a public hearing scheduled for May 14 before the council votes on the budget May 28, Dobies said.

Whether public comment was necessary or not, Alexander said they absolutely should have had it during the first workshop.

"Even if public comment wasn't required, there's nothing that can stop us from having additional public comment," Alexander said. "I'd always rather have more input, more feedback from constituents."

Public comment was skipped because the workshop was purely informative, Dobies said Friday. Its the same way the council has done budget workshops in past years, he added.

We wanted to make sure we had time to be able to have that presentation, Dobies said.

The workshop ran about two-and-a-half hours.

Penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act are minimal, Dukarski said. Decisions made during the meeting could be invalidated  although there were no votes during Thursdays workshop. If taken to court, the act says an official intentionally in violation can be charged with a misdemeanor and $1,000 fine.

Jackson City Council typically allows for three minutes of public comment per person near the beginning of all meetings. Council efforts to alter the policy last spring were tabled, after citizens rebuked the new plan during public comment.
MUSKEGON, MI  After 73 years, World War II hero William Naill finally got his medal.

At age 91, Naill had essentially given up on the idea he would ever get a medal recognizing his service. He was just 16 when he signed up to fight, winding up on the island of Guam in the South Pacific struggling to stay alive even though the war was technically over.

He returned to his home in 1946 and carried on with life, working a variety of jobs, settling down and having a family.

On Friday, May 3, Naill finally got the overdue recognition he deserved. The U.S. Navy Occupation Service Medal was presented to Naill during a ceremony at the SKLD nursing facility in Muskegon, where his wife Betty now resides.

Im kind of overwhelmed by it, Naill said. I havent had this much attention since my mother had me.

Humor is second nature to Naill, who peppers his memories of war with quips.

Naill tried three times to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but couldnt because he was under age. Finally, he convinced his parents to vouch for him so he could follow in the footsteps of his older brother who had already joined the war effort.

They said I was born in September, and my brother was born in January, Naill said, a grin spreading across his face. Its possible -- thats nine months  though it would have been tough on my mother.

His reason for joining was simple: I wanted to win the war.

In 1945, he was sent to the Atlantic on a destroyer escort and soon, the European conflict ended following Adolf Hitlers suicide. Naill then was sent to the Pacific, and soon after Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered. That was on Aug. 15, 1945.

But fighting continued on Guam even after the surrender. Naill, who had been a fireman 2nd class and a gunner onboard ship, was one of two crew members dropped off at Guam, according to Naills son, Ed Naill of Muskegon. It was on the island where Naill switched from being a sailor to being a combat solider.

I served on ship and on land, Naill said. I couldve been an amphibian.

For the most part, he glosses over the horrors of war, saying he simply was doing his duty. But he provides glimpses of what he encountered fighting the Japanese when he was just a teenager.

They were killing us, he said. And we were killing them.

When he arrived back in the United States in 1946, Naill first went to work as a sign painter, later driving big rigs and working other jobs.

He was from Maryland, but his son was in Michigan and Naill followed, finding churches to pastor in Eaton Rapids and Ionia, later settling in Muskegon. He continues to preach at the Church of The Brethren in Muskegon.

When his wife fell ill and moved to SKLD, Naill began spending his days at her side. Hes at the nursing facility every day for seven to eight hours.

That was where he met Stephanie Jenkins, who works as a cook for the nursing facility. One day, noticing the veterans hat Naill was wearing, Jenkins thanked him for his service. He expressed surprise that anyone actually remembered the war that was fought so long ago.

That set the wheels in motion, and Jenkins reached out to her pastor, the Rev. Wesley Spyke, for help getting Naill the Occupation Service Medal he never received. Spyke and Jenkins husband are among a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who provide escorts for the remains of soldiers who die overseas. They show up at other veterans events as well, and four rode to the nursing facility on Friday to show their respects to Naill.

Spyke read excerpts from a letter of thanks Naills commander had written him so many years ago.

As family, friends, residents and SKLD staff watched, members of the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs gave him a certificate and pinned the medal Naill waited 75 years to receive onto the lapel of his suit.

I havent the faintest idea, Naill said when asked why it took so long for him to get the recognition.

His son, Ed Naill, said he thinks it was simply an oversight brought about by the chaos of the wars end and the return of thousands of the nations heroes.

Its just the way bureaucracies go, Ed Naill said. There were thousands and thousands of men coming out of service  and this was at the end of the war.
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SAGINAW, MI - Both Heritage High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA) hosted their proms at The Horizon Conference Center on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Around 400 Heritage juniors and seniors attended their prom, which was themed fiesta toda la noche which means party all night long in Spanish. They were set up in a large conference room, and pinatas, Mexican flavored sodas, and several different themed backdrops were some of the highlights. They also played a highlight video for the seniors that displayed photos of the class of 2019 and their four years at school.

SASAs prom was in a more intimate space, and their students dressed up to a Masquerade theme for the evening. Their DJ was a hit, getting almost every student on his or her feet to dance. They also had a miniature studio set up where a photographer took their photos with a themed backdrop.
ESSEXVILLE, MI - Bay City All Saints High School celebrated the school year with their prom at The Grand Banquet and Conference Center in Essexville on Friday, May 3, 2019.

A Masquerade theme had some of the 41 students who attended to bring along their masks and even their Crocs.

Senior Caitlyn McDonell brought her bright yellow Crocs and switched out her heels to show them off. She said that they wear them each day to school and they actually began a trend.

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Family members flooded the backyard of the venue to snap all the photographs possible of the students. Inside offered them dinner, professional photographs, soft drinks, desserts and of course dancing.

All Saints took fifth place in the Bay City, Midland and Saginaw 2019 Prom of the Week poll.
Months of insistence in Washington that the people of Venezuela stood by the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido basically went up in smoke when his Operation Liberty fizzled. The question now is whom to blame.

Senior US officials like National Security Advisor John Bolton and special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams expressed confidence in regime change in Caracas on Tuesday, named top Venezuelan officials ready to defect, and even spoke of signed documents to that effect.

Yet literally none of this happened, and by the early evening on Tuesday, the handful of Guaidos armed supporters were seeking sanctuary in foreign embassies.

Also on rt.com Coup fizzles? Guaidos mentor takes refuge in Chilean embassy as 25 military seek asylum in Brazils

Then came the spin. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on CNN and Fox News to claim that Maduro was getting ready to flee to Cuba, but the Russians talked him out of it. Bolton claimed Maduro was hiding in a bunker even as video evidence from Caracas showed him addressing supporters numbering in the thousands on May Day. The truth was inescapable, though: Guaido had failed.

The opposition took a step backward with the military, Rocio San Miguel, president of the Colombian NGO Control Ciudadano, told Bloomberg on Thursday. Guaido appearing with [his mentor Leopoldo] Lopez at a single point in the city with a few dozen soldiers and no major firepower showed their weakness.

So what happened? Several US media outlets have since sought to explain, citing anonymous sources allegedly privy to US government plots. These sources told Bloomberg they believe Maduro got wind of the coup on April 29, and Guaido rushed it ahead of schedule or it would all collapse.

Lopez was released from house arrest because the head of the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, General Manuel Christopher Figuera, had defected to Guaido, the anonymous and entirely unverifiable sources claimed, adding that it was Lopez resurfacing that might have spooked other senior officials  defense minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno, and military intelligence and presidential guard head General Ivan Hernandez.

According to these sources, Figueras wife left Venezuela on Sunday for the safety of the US, and the general left the country as well after he was sacked on Tuesday night, though his whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, AP published a long speculative piece about missed opportunities to turn senior Venezuelan officials, from Hernandez being denied a visa in 2017 for his 3-year-old sons brain surgery, to Padrino reaching out to the US government in early 2016, after a troubled Venezuelan election.

Padrino in particular has been seen as a potential white knight, being a graduate of the School of the Americas. Apparently, very little US influence in the Venezuelan army had survived what the AP described as thorough scrubbing by Former President Hugo Chavez.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

Theres a theory thats gaining ground, and I think theres some credence to it, that it was all part of a big rope-a-dope operation, whereby the Maduro officials pretended to go along with this coup to smoke out the opposition, Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, told RT.

Thats one possibility, the other is that Pompeos lying about Maduros attempted flight to Cuba, McAdams said, adding that neither reflects well on the US.

Whatever the truth, there is no escaping the fact that Washington has pushing for regime change in Caracas for months with sanctions and other forms of pressure, and openly since recognizing Guaido in January, to absolutely no avail. All the hot air coming from Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams and other high officials pushing the regime change narrative has had far more effect in the US than in Venezuela.

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President Trump took to Twitter to declare his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula, after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea, meanwhile, test-fired short-range missiles.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted on Saturday. But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Trumps tweet came after he spoke with Putin by phone on Friday. The two leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including nuclear arms control and the Korean peace process.

The president touted the success of the call on Saturday, heralding the tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. After the phone call, certain media outlets chided Trump for not pressing Putin on supposed Russian election meddling.

Despite Trumps insistence that a deal will happen with North Korea, results thus far have been lacking. A much-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year ended with a vague promise from Kim to work towards denuclearization, while a follow-up summit in Hanoi, Vietnam this year collapsed with no agreement when Trump found Kims demands untenable.

Kim has since broadened his horizons, meeting with Putin in Vladivostok last month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also reportedly considering a meeting with Kim, according to a Friday report in the Shankei newspaper.

Also on rt.com North Korea fires short-range projectiles eastward  S. Korea

Diplomacy aside, Pyongyang has reportedly reversed its dismantling of missile and rocket test sites in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit, and on Saturday morning fired a salvo of short-range projectiles out to sea from the city of Wonsan, on its east coast.

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Julian Assanges father John Shipton has blasted the US for seeking vindictive revenge on his son for WikiLeaks exposing the US destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria and the millions killed in wars.

Assange is being punished for exposing the grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century, Lipton told protesters at a rally in Sydney, Australia, on Friday.

Also on rt.com UN rights experts lambast Assanges disproportionate prison sentence in UK

The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge, he said.

Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison on Wednesday for breaching bail when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London seven years ago. He faces extradition to the US where he is accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for allegedly trying to help whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The war logs and cables leaked by Manning in 2010 revealed potential US war crimes and shocking details about foreign policy and civilian casualties.

Also on rt.com 'A testimony of evil': How Mannings 'Collateral Murder' revelation changed history

Part of this resentment against Julian revealing these crimes is manifested by the English magistrate judiciary," Lipton said, pointing to bizarre statements being made against Assange in court, like that he is a narcissist.

Lipton also took aim at Ecuador, telling the crowd that in order to get a loan, they sold an Australian citizen for money, referring to the recent $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan Ecuador secured before Assange was removed from the embassy.

He called on the Australian people to give the government the courage to stop assisting this by doing nothing, and help to bring Assange home to his family.

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Palestinian health officials said that at least one person was killed and several injured after Israeli military responded with force to a barrage of rockets coming from Gaza Strip this Saturday.

Four Palestinians have been injured in an Israeli airstrike around the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Palestines health ministry, was quoted by RIA Novosti. Later in the day, AFP reported that the Israeli strikes had killed at least one person in the area.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli armed forces said as many as 90 rockets were fired from inside Gaza Strip into Israel. Dozens of them were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense system. There were no immediate reports on casualties.

Also on rt.com Heavy barrage of rockets: IDF says 90 missiles launched from Gaza, dozens intercepted

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
The only gold ingot Estonias central bank has in storage is not pure enough for financial operations and is more suitable as a museum piece, the bank has revealed.

The piece of gold weights 11 kilograms and is valued at around 500,000, the head of the financial market division of the Bank of Estonia, Fabio Filipozzi, told Terevisioon, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). The gold bar is 97 years old  three years younger than the bank, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday.

Also on rt.com Russia tops global gold buyers list as it turns away from US dollar

The rest of the countrys gold reserves amount to 256 kilograms, but it is stored in foreign banks, and in the US in particular. The tradition stems from the first half of the last century, before World War II began, when the country decided to transfer the precious metal to keep it safe.

Tallinn sold most of its gold reserves in the 1990s and invested money in other liquid assets, such as bonds and equities, according to the bank official.

Estonias gold reserves are the second lowest among European countries, behind Albania by 1.35 tons, according to Trading Economics website data.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Europe would not enjoy the same level of peace and security that it does today if it werent for Turkeys willingness to host waves of refugees pouring in from numerous countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed.

If European countries are living in peace today, it is thanks to Turkey for hosting 4 million refugees, Erdogan said on Friday, as quoted by Anadolu.

In 2015, the EU agreed to pay Turkey 3 billion ($3.3 billion) in exchange for housing refugees and preventing them from entering the bloc. A year later, a formal deal was reached between Ankara and Brussels, stipulating that all migrants arriving illegally on European shores would be returned to transit country Turkey.

In exchange, the EU promised to speed up deliberations over Turkeys bid to join the bloc. As part of the deal, Ankara requested an additional 3bn to help cope with the humanitarian crisis.

Also on rt.com Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE owe their existence to Iran  Rouhani

The two sides have squabbled over exactly how many refugees Turkey hosts  and how much money Ankara needs to care for them. For example, last year the EU claimed that Turkey was holding less than 2 million refugees, while the Turkish government insisted the number was closer to 4 million.

Despite Turkeys best efforts, in the last few years Europe has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks, with some attributed to extremists who entered the bloc posing as asylum seekers.

While Ankara and Brussels have locked horns over issues ranging from visa-free travel to press freedoms, some European states have expressed gratitude to Turkey for its role in containing the influx of refugees trying to enter the bloc.

Also on rt.com Macron suggests shrinking Schengen zone because EU migration policies 'do not work'

Europes security today begins in Turkey, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto acknowledged at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday.

More than 1 million migrants poured into Europe in 2015. Although the influx has slowed considerably, the crisis has strained relations within the bloc and breathed new life into right-wing and anti-establishment parties across Europe, which are poised to make gains in the upcoming EU elections.

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A heavy barrage of rockets has been launched at the territory of southern Israel, the countrys defense forces (IDF) said in a tweet, claiming the projectiles were fired from Gaza.

Warning sirens blared in Israeli border communities on Saturday morning amid reports of multiple projectiles being launched from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack lasted for 10 minutes.

Residents in the towns of Ashkelon and Ashdod reported hearing blasts in the area. Meanwhile, several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome above Ashkelon, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing local authorities. The IDF also posted footage apparently showing the incoming missiles.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Indias space agency wants to touch down its rover on the Moons south pole, an area on the Earths natural satellite where no one has gone before. The launch is scheduled for July.

All the [ISRO] missions, whatever we have had till now [to the moon], have all landed near the moons equator. This is a place where nobody has gone, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, told the Hindu.

Indias second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, seeks to gain access to some new science and information, the chairman said. For example, one of the goals of the probe is to find water on the Moon.

Also on rt.com Greetings, Earthlings! 20,000 Russians snatch up land plots on the Moon

The space agency earlier said all three modules of the mission, Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyan), are set to lift off aboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket between July 9 and 16, with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The launch was initially expected last year, but it was delayed several times to conduct further tests.

India is not the only country attempting to reach the uncharted south pole of the Moon. China has recently announced plans to build a lunar research station in the same area. However, it will not happen in the near future, as Beijings mission is to be launched in about 10 years, according to Xinhua.

What they [China] are going to do, we dont know. The main reason [why India is going there] is nobody has gone [to] that side till now, Sivan said.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for resistance against US restrictions on its energy sector by boosting production and exports, as Washington tightens its sanctions grip on Tehran.

America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves... We have to increase our foreign exchange earnings and cut our currency expenditures, the Iranian leader stated on Saturday as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Rouhani said Iran has managed to reduce some imports and become self-sufficient with products and commodities, like wheat gasoline, and now can export them. Last year, the countrys non-oil exports stood at $43 billion, according to the president.

Also on rt.com OPEC likely to collapse thanks to some members unilateralism  Irans oil minister

We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist Americas plots against the sale of our oil, he added.

The statement came shortly after the US announced sanctions against Irans nuclear power plant at Bushehr and a ban on exports of heavy water and any further uranium enrichment.

In April, the Trump administration said it would not renew exemptions granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil in line with its plan to bring the Islamic Republics crude exports to zero. Tehran said the mission will fail, with its oil minister stating that Washington made a bad mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon in the fragile state of the market.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Hamas has vowed retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, that killed two people and injured two others. The strikes are seen as payback for two Israeli soldiers being wounded by sniper fire during clashes on Friday.

Although each Israeli serviceman suffered non-threatening injuries and was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital, the Israeli Air Force then attacked a Hamas outpost in the Gaza strip.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions remain at an all-time high, amid the ongoing weekly Great March of Return protests that erupted in late March last year. The protests have claimed more than 200 Gazan lives as Israel continues to use live fire to quell the Palestinian discontent.

At least four Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded, including 10 children, during the latest Friday protest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Three paramedics and a journalist are among the wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Source : RT - Daily news
Cuba vowed to protect its property and international business ties just as ExxonMobil began suing two Cuban companies for $280 million over assets seized after the revolution.

Cuba will protect Cubans and foreign entities operating in the country and will render void any claim filed under this law which is a miscarriage of justice, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted after the American oil giant became the first US company to take legal action against Havana.

Cimex Corporation SA, a Cuban state-owned business group, and the Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) are being sued over their use of an oil refinery, gasoline stations, and other properties that once belonged to the American multinational.

Also on rt.com Trump threatens Cuba with 'full embargo and highest-level sanctions' over Venezuela

The lawsuits, which seek $280 million in damages, were filed after Washington started enforcing a provision of a 1996 law known as the Helms-Burton Act that allows so-called victims of the Castro regime to sue companies that have used their previously held property on the island.

The Helms-Burton Act is illegal and in violation of international law, Rodriguez noted, stressing that it is inapplicable and has no juridical value or effect for Cuba.

Also on rt.com Contrary to intl law: Mogherini slams US full activation of Cuba embargo law, vows counter steps

This week, Canada and the EU agreed with Havanas assessment, claiming that the Helms-Burton Act has no jurisdiction over them and vowing to take up the issue with the World Trade Organization.

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America's most trusted talking heads are in meltdown mode, once again accusing Donald Trump of taking orders from Vladimir Putin, after the US leader was seemingly too soft with the Russian president in a recent phone call.

Rachel Maddow, Jake Tapper, and other spirited Russiagate promoters suffered full-on meltdowns upon learning that Trump apparently hadnt properly' discussed the issue of election meddling in his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since the Mueller report's release.

Rather, the two leaders spoke about "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, nuclear arms control" and "the Russian hoax" during the hour-long call, according to Trump's tweet.

Scandalously, the US president failed to press Putin about the most critical, life-and-death issue facing the United States  a massive flub-up that did not go unnoticed by the intrepid Washington press corps.

"Did you tell [Putin] not to meddle in the next election?" an unseen reporter asked the president during a Friday press conference.

"We had a good conversation about many different things," Trump replied. "We didn't discuss that."

As for Venezuela, Trump had the audacity to suggest that the Russian president "is not looking to get involved at all, other than that he'd like to see something positive happen" in the South American nation. Trump then showed his true collusion colors, admitting that he "feels the same away" about the ongoing political crisis in Caracas.

His comments were received with predictable hysteria.

CNN's Erin Burnett expertly deduced that Trump was "kowtowing" to Putin  on both "election meddling" and Venezuela.

"'Not looking to get involved' is just blatantly false  according to Trump's own top team," she sniffed, incredulous that Trump would contradict his more hawkish secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Earlier this week, Pompeo claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee to Cuba and was only persuaded to remain in Caracas because Russia allegedly convinced him to stay.

Also on rt.com We lied, we cheated, we stole: Pompeo offers honest, if disturbing admission about CIA activity

Burnett's colleague, Jake Tapper, was inconsolable as he attempted to wrap his head around the apparently unforgivable contents of a routine telephone conversation.

"He is giving Putin's point of view, almost as if he is the spokesman for the Kremlin!" the CNN anchor fumed, referring to the Russian president as "the man who led and continues to lead cyberattacks on the US." Not missing a beat, Tapper then proceeded to accuse Trump of "continuing to say things about the Mueller investigation that weren't true."

True to form, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow came close to suffering an on-air stroke over the phone call. Still reeling from her post-Russiagate ratings slump, Maddow looked at Bolton and Pompeo as similarly unmoored kindred spirits.

The MSNBC host addressed them directly during her broadcast: "Hey, John Bolton, hey, Mike Pompeo, are you guys enjoying your jobs right now?"

"How do you come to work anymore if you're John Bolton?" she added.

Also on rt.com Fixated on collusion, Dems seeking (again) to subpoena interpreter present at Trump-Putin meeting

Western media outlets have repeatedly expressed indignation over any attempt by the world's two largest nuclear powers to engage in dialogue. A meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, Finland was described as constructive by both parties, but the US president was still hounded for not excoriating Putin to the media's liking.

Likely anticipating similar hysteria over the phone call, Trump stated on Friday morning that "as I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing."

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President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked nuclear arms control in a phone call Friday. But what can be achieved when the US shreds treaties and Washington stays hostile to any communication with Russia?

Discussing disarmament is a step in the right direction, but the US recently pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, an arms-reduction pact signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The pullout stoked fear of a nuclear buildup in Europe, unseen since the Cold War, and is one of several international arms treaties shredded by the Trump administration.

Gorbachev himself penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late last month, lamenting the return of nuclear deterrence between the two great powers, and calling for increased communication between Moscow and Washington.

Also on rt.com Anything is possible: Trump talks North Korea peace after phone call with Putin

Gorbachev is exactly right, journalist Chris Hedges told RTs Rick Sanchez. This inability on behalf of the worlds two largest nuclear powers to speak and negotiate rationally is very, very dangerous.

There are various flashpoints, Syria being one, where this conflict could go wrong really quickly, so you want communication, you want discussion, Hedges continued.

However, detente, which was negotiated so successfully by the Republican administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, seems an alien concept when Trumps cabinet is staffed by war hawks like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and security adviser John Bolton.

Even post-Mueller, the current climate of hostility to Russia in American discourse only hinders disarmament efforts further.

Now the very word detente, as soon as Trump utters it the national security state goes berserk, Hedges said.

Nobody has to love Vladimir Putin or love Russia or anything else, he told Sanchez, but whats kept the world from committing acts of massive self annihilation has been forms of communication, which figures like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have no interest in doing. I think theyre probably incapable of speaking to anyone but themselves.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Trump said on Friday that himself and Putin discussed entering into a new nuclear arms treaty, this time a three-way deal with China. However, with an arms industry making billions of dollars refitting former Eastern Bloc countries with NATO gear, with a cabinet of war hawks, and with a Democratic party choosing to blame Russia instead of tackling the social issues that gave rise to Trump, Hedges concluded that a new age of detente is a long way off.

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Journalists covering the standoff at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC have been harassed by a group of Juan Guaido supporters, who demand that the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective vacate the diplomatic building.

Members of a Telesur crew covering tensions outside the diplomatic compound were verbally assaulted on Friday afternoon by a member of the Venezuelan opposition, who, in a tirade of perfect Spanish, insulted their looks.

Harassment, taunts, banging in their ears, [and] blocking cameras, appears to be an acceptable way to treat the media they do not think is on their side, the anti-war A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition pointed out.

Ive covered lots of protests over the years. Never seen more racism vocalized than what Im seeing from the Venezuelan opposition in DC. Not even in Charlottesville, independent journalist Alex Rubinstein, who has been living in the embassy, tweeted on Friday, in response to a harassment incident.

The US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela in February and told the diplomats representing Maduros government to leave the country. Activists opposing US interventionism in the Latin America have occupied the diplomatic compound for weeks, refusing to surrender the property to Guaido's supporters.

On Tuesday, at the height of Guaidos failed attempted coup in Venezuela, opposition supporters gathered en masse in front of the diplomatic compound. Chanting and waving Venezuelan flags, protesters immediately verbally engaged a group of anti-war activists being led by Code Pink.

Also on rt.com Guaido supporters confront anti-intervention activists at Venezuelan Embassy in DC (VIDEO)

That group is one of the organizations of the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective who have been holed up inside the Venezuelan compound in order to prevent diplomats loyal to Guaido from taking control of the building. The activists say they were invited in by embassy staff.

Amid the tense standoff Secret Service and police officers stood between the Maduro and Guaido protesters.

Unable to force the activists to leave the premises, the pro-Guaido protesters began to stop people, food, and supplies from getting into the building. Three activists, including Code Pink's national co-director Ariel Gold, were briefly detained on Thursday. Gold was charged with throwing missiles, after trying to throw bread, salad boxes, and tampons at those inside the embassy.

On Friday afternoon, Gold streamed a video showing an elderly gentleman getting booked by police for delivering food brushes to the activists. Venezuelan Embassy in DC is more wild, violent, racist, unlawful than my times in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine," she tweeted.

Video of the contraband consisting of basic necessities was shared by Alex Rubinstein online.

While the State Department on Thursday called on the trespassers to leave, claiming that Guaido has legal authority over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC, the anti-war lobby is committed to holding the fortress, even if it means arrests.

On Friday, Republican Congressman from Colorado Scott Tipton wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him to intervene to kick out the Collective from the embassy.



The opposition, meanwhile, continues their efforts to penetrate the compound.

Opposition continuing their aggressive & potentially deadly tactics, Rubinstein tweeted late on Friday evening, after the pro-Guaido crowd began flashing strobe lights, considered extremely dangerous to people with epilepsy and spectrum disorders. A man was arrested in the US for sending a GIF to an epileptic reporter yet cops do nothing to stop this. Its increasingly clear they are on State Dept. orders to let the oppo escalate.

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Rocket attacks on Israel continue into the night, even after the Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes and tank bombardments against Hamas and Islamic Jihad Targets in the Gaza Strip.

Sirens wailed and a rocket barrage rained down on the city of Beer Sheva just after 11pm local time on Saturday. The largest city in southern Israel, Beer Sheva is usually out of range of all but Hamas longest-range projectiles. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Source : RT - Daily news
Russias Federal Agency for Tourism has issued a special warning to tourists traveling to Mongolia after two fatal cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in the country.

Two Russians have died of the highly contagious disease, and reportedly became infected after eating contaminated marmot organs. The married couple from Siberia are believed to have come into contact with at least 158 people before they died. These people have been quarantined.

Also on rt.com BUBONIC PLAGUE scare puts Mongolia on high alert

The tourism agency said the deaths were recorded in the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ulgii, according to the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).

The agency asked tourists to take this information into account when planning trips to the region.

Rospotrebnadzor has taken steps to prevent infection at the border areas, including quarantine control and more than 90 percent of the population has been vaccinated. The agency is also in communication with health institutes in Mongolia.

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The phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was very important as Russia and US must maintain dialogue, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president and one of the signatories of the INF treaty, has said.

The two leaders talked on the phone of Friday, discussing nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine and bilateral trade among other things.

This isnt yet how relations between such powers as Russia and the US must be shaped like. But its important. Its dialogue, Gorbachev told RIA Novosti, as Moscow and Washington are going through the roughest period in their relations since the fall of the USSR.

In 1987, then-Soviet President Gorbachev and his US counterpart, Ronald Reagan, signed the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned the two countries from having ground-based missiles with a range between 500km and 5,500km.

The deal remained one of the cornerstones of international security for decades, until the Trump administration announced the unilateral withdrawal by the US from it in early February. The Kremlin said that one of the things that Putin and Trump discussed on the phone was the possibility of reaching a new version of the INF agreement that would also incorporate China.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Gorbachev markedly pointed out that the phone conversation had been initiated by the US.

Whats also important is the public statement made by Trump that relations between our countries have great potential. This is certainly the case.

Trump was very positive in his comments about the phone call with Putin, which he described as long and very good.

Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media, the US leader tweeted.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Gorbachev has been internationally praised for his liberal reforms and for his efforts to end the Cold War and improve relations with the US. Reagan acknowledged that his Soviet counterpart deserves most of the credit" for the drastic changes that happened in the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Also on rt.com US is going to trade a lot with Russia, Trump says, after long & very good phone call with Putin

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the Israeli military of targeting a building housing the Turkish Andalou news agency in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The agency shared a video on Saturday purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building. Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty, the minister added.

Israel launched air strikes and tank bombardments against the Gaza strip earlier on Saturday, after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants fired 200 rockets into Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces did not admit to targeting the Andalou Agency building, claiming instead to have struck 120 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, including an underground Hamas rocket factory, military intelligence and security offices, and other weapons manufacturing sites. The IDF also said it destroyed a terror tunnel used to smuggle Islamic Jihad fighters into Israel.

Also on rt.com 2 killed, including infant, several injured as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza - officials

Although the IDF claims it struck military targets, the Palestinian health ministry reported a pregnant woman and her one-year-old child among the deaths. A 22-year-old man was also killed, although it is unknown whether he was a Hamas operative or a civilian.

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel for hitting the office of Anadolu Agency during its airstrikes in Gaza, saying that it wont prevent Turkey from reporting on atrocities committed by the Jewish state.

Turkey and the Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, despite such attacks, Erdogan vowed on Twitter.

The Turkish news agency shared a video on Saturday, purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building which had hosted its bureau.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Also on rt.com Turkey FM accuses Israel of targeting Anadolu Agency news bureau building in Gaza (VIDEO)

The ministry called on the international community to to act swiftly in order to reduce the tension in the region with Israel's disproportionate actions.

Also on rt.com 3 killed, including infant & pregnant woman, as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza  officials

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The Washington Posts lengthy examination of Bernie Sanders much reported-on trip to the Soviet Union 31 years ago is being mocked online for repeating old news and attempting a new Red Scare.

The WaPo details a trip Sanders took to the then-Soviet Union in 1988, and starts describing the then-mayor being bare-chested, towel-draped, sitting at a table lined with vodka bottles, as he sang This Land Is Your Land.

The trip was made to establish Yaroslavl as a sister city for his hometown of Burlington soon after Sanders wedding and he joked it was a very strange honeymoon.

Also on rt.com Bernie Sanders stuns establishment with Fox News town hall success

Sanders apparently stood on Soviet soil and criticized the cost of healthcare and housing in the US, then stunned someone at a banquet by criticizing US foreign intervention. I got really upset and walked out, the delicately dispositioned David F. Kelley recalled. He admits later in the article that Sanders was right.

Sanders told a press conference upon his return to the US that he thought his criticism of the US made the Russians more appreciative of our criticisms we made of their own society.

Social media users were quick to mock the Post for its article, with many claiming it was a sign that the socialist smears against Sanders were being employed once again.

Sanders trip to the Soviet Union is old news, and was trotted out during the 2016 primaries to cast an ominous communist shadow on the Vermont senator, with many mediaoutlets, including the Post, reporting on it. Sanders was smeared as a dangerous socialist by a number of Democratic operatives.

He was questioned by CNNs Anderson Cooper about his honeymoon in Russia, and Lindsey Graham mentioned it in the Republican debates.

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Lawmakers had plenty of questions for US Attorney General William Barr about his assessment of Robert Muellers report on the 'Russia collusion' probe, but some seemed at a loss as to how to address him.

Thus, he was often called General Barr during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the special counsels Russiagate investigation and about his release of a redacted version of Muellers report.

Also on rt.com Mind-bendingly bizarre: Barr hearing shows Russiagate still has hold on US politics

Who is general Barr? And what army does the attorney command? One might ask. If he is not a commanding officer, which he is not, then what is the proper way to address an individual of such stature? A simple Google search would tell you that the correct way of calling a person holding the office is simply Mister or just as Attorney General.

RT Americas news host Rick Sanchez offers his take.

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Three days after clashing with police at May Day demonstrations, Yellow Vests protesters marched in Paris and across France, in the 25th straight weekend of anti-government anger.

According to the Interior Ministry, 18,900 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, the lowest turnout since the movement began as a protest against a planned fuel tax hike in November. However, the Yellow Vests have regularly disputed the figures released by the ministry, accusing officials of downplaying the scale of the protests.

In Paris, protesters demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Castaner had accused Yellow Vests protesters of staging an attack on a hospital in the city during Wednesdays May Day protests. Social media footage told a different story, with the protesters seeking refuge in the hospital to avoid police batons and tear gas.

Droves of protesters beat drums and chanted Liar Castaner.

Protesters in Toulouse also jeered at Castaner and demanded his resignation. The march in Toulouse quickly became violent, however, and clashes broke out between the Yellow Vests and police. Tear gas was deployed, and riot police at one point violently charged protesters.

Tear gas was also used by police in La Roche-sur-Yon, while protesters in Lyon joined a more peaceful youth march against global warming.

Although turnout on the streets was lower than on previous weekends, many Yellow Vests have not been pacified by President Macrons promise of tax breaks, with one dismissing the presidents offering as rubbish last week.

In the wake of Castaners hospital attack claim, 1,400 French artists, celebrities and creatives including movie stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart signed an open letter of support for the Yellow Vests, printed in left-wing newspaper Liberation on Saturday. In it, they slammed the French government and media for attempting to discredit the citizens movement.

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the complete review - fiction

Bellini and the Sphinx



by

Tony Bellotto



general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

Portuguese title: Bellini e a esfinge

Translated by Clifford E. Landers

Bellini e a esfinge was made into a film in 2002, directed by Roberto Santucci

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Our Assessment:



B : fine, light PI tale

See our review for fuller assessment.

Review Summaries Source Rating Date Reviewer Publishers Weekly . 26/11/2018 .

From the Reviews :

"(S)tarts off strong but falls flat in its overly familiar execution. (...) (T)he dialogue lacks the sharp grittiness of the hardboiled fiction of Hammett or Chandler -- Bellottos obvious influences -- and the ending feels pulled out of thin air." - Publishers Weekly

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review 's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.



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The complete review 's Review :

Bellini and the Sphinx is the first in a series of novels narrated by Remo Bellini. In his early thirties -- he celebrates his thirty-third birthday over the course of the novel --, he had initially followed in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer but abandoned that field and is now a private eye in Sao Paulo, working for Dora Lobo for the past year. He's also been married, but that, too, didn't work out and he's now been divorced for a couple of years. Among his other baggage is his name, which he detests, and the story behind it, his father having named him and his twin brother after the mythical Rome-founding twins, Romulus and Remus -- only for Romulo to die after just two days.

Each chapter in Bellini and the Sphinx covers one day, from 17 May through 7 June. The case he is presented with by his boss seems fairly straightforward: a pediatric surgeon, Dr.Rafidjian, is desperate to find a young woman, Ana Cintia Lopes, a dancer at a nightclub who apparently disappeared a few weeks earlier. But there's no trace of her -- indeed, no one recalls anyone by that name. Bellini and a colleague follow up with dancers who left the club around the time in question who might be the missing woman, under a different name -- but things take a turn when Dr.Rafidjian is found brutally murdered.

With their client dead there's nothing left to investigate -- for a while. But when his widow hires Dora Lobo they're back on the now expanded case again -- still looking for the mystery woman, and wondering what straight-laced family-man Rafidjian might have been up to.

Dora Lobo is particularly pleased to get a chance to investigate this puzzling case -- it's the sort of thing that is right up her alley:

"You're going to hit the street looking for hidden connections in Rafidjian's life. Start by finding out what the police learned. Boris will be glad to know we're back. He and I have solved some lovely cases. Difficult, intricate, magnificent case --"

"What makes a case magnificent ?" I cut in.

"A case that can't be solved by either logic or science. A case solved almost by accident."

I don't have any problem with sex. Just the opposite, I love sex. My pain is more serious. Deeper.

- M.A.Orthofer, 26 April 2019

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:

See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers

See Index of Latin and South American literature

See Index of Portuguese literature

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About the Author :

Brazilian author Tony Bellotto was born in 1960.

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Within two weeks of the Class 12 board examination results being declared by the board of intermediate education in Telangana, 20 students have taken their lives. The board officials have admitted to a 'technical glitch' that lead to erroneous marks being awarded to students. One student reportedly got 0 in a subject which was later corrected to 99 marks.

Though there has been a huge public outcry in the state over the matter, the board authorities seem lax in the investigation process, blaming the external examination partner instead. Due to the error, thousands of students have been failed as per the score-card. The board has now begun the process of revaluation.

As per government statistics, 9,474 students committed suicide in India in 2016. This was compared to 8,068 in 2014 and 8,934 in 2015. In 2016, a total of 2,413 students committed suicide after failing in an examination.

Board examinations in India are no less than a period of panic for both parents and students. Since future career choices, as well as the choice of the higher education institute, is purely dependent on the marks scored in the board examinations of classes 10 and 12, there is immense pressure on students.

No doubt that parents want the best education for the child. However, this is no excuse to push the child to score above a certain percentage, which depends on multiple factors. In the Telangana case, for instance, students who had topped in the past examinations ended up scoring less than 40 percent in subjects which was a software error.

Higher educational institutions like the Delhi University (DU) end up having unattainable cut-offs for admission. Those scoring below 90 percent don't even stand a chance to make it to the first list at some of the colleges under DU.

Schools are now going to the other extreme by ensuring that students literally slog it out last year. Uma Dhatre, whose son has just been promoted to Class 10 is upset that he does not have any summer vacations this year.

His school will be open all Saturdays and will conduct classes even in the humid summers of May. The reason? Board examinations are important.

Examinations are important, no doubt. They help analyse the knowledge of the student so that he/she is prepared for their future careers. But an often repeated fact needs to be drilled down; marks are not the only criteria. Former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had also tried to make Class 10 board examinations optional, however, that system was scrapped later.

Top corporate houses have stated that students passing out of institutes with the highest marks are not skilled enough for the job. Rote learning and aiming only for the highest marks will not surely get you the corner office role.

While all board examination results are being declared, it is time to sit back and introspect. If you have scored very well, congratulations. If not, do not worry. Life will present many more opportunities.
Here's a peek into the life of a successful trader. His work is over by 10 am, after which he sits and reads a journal or a book or watches the TV series  Billions. At the end of the day, the trader goes to the gym. Fridays are compulsorily meant for friends, and he takes about 2-3 road trips with his family and friends in a year. Not to mention watching most of the movies as soon as they are released.

Meet Kirubakaran Rajendran from Chennai who designed Trading Bots  An automated program which trades using a given set of rules  to do his trading. His current lifestyle was achieved after years of back-breaking work and learning from every possible mistake one can do and probably more.

However, Rajendran is not a conventional trader. He is among the few option traders who trade on an intra-day basis, more so without looking at option Greeks or technical charts. A student of statistics, Rajendran is in his 'zone' when surrounded by numbers. He has not only broken the code of successful trading, but also automated it with bots, which can be used by retail traders.

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Kirubakaran Rajendran talks about his humble beginnings, his years of struggle to become a successful trader and his various trading strategies.

Q: Can you walk us through your journey to the market.

A: It was my inquisitiveness that brought me to the market. It was during the 2007 boom when I just glanced through the news that Mukesh Ambani was among the richest person in the world because of his stake in the Reliance Group of companies. The news somehow stuck with me and got me thinking that if the owner of the company is among the richest persons in the world, surely his shareholders would also be rich. That got me started in looking for ways to participate in the market.

My humble beginnings only helped me in my resolve to chase my dream. I come from a middle-class family from Chennai. My father, a government office clerk and my mother, a tailor, had a tough time in providing for my basic education. After my schooling, I joined Loyola College for a graduation course in Statistics.

It was a good 30 minutes bus ride from my home to college. I utilised this travel time reading. This was in 2007 and all the papers were talking about was the wealth generated in the markets.

In South India, there was not much of an investor awareness in 2007. No one in my family knew anything about the market, there were no workshops back then, no Quora to help with information. The only way I could manage to get some help in my education on the market was through a small Indian community group on Orkut.

After reading a bit about the market, I decided to take the plunge at the beginning of January 2008. But just before this, I had noticed that the stocks that were in news used to go up for a few days. This was my 'strategy' of making money in my earlier days. I started off with a small Rs 5,000 account, money that I managed to save from my scholarship. But then by January 21, 2008, in less than a month, I was back to square one, thanks to the lower circuit in the market.

Q: How did you come back to the market?

A: My next tryst with the market was after I got a campus placement in Infosys with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. I used to work in the night shift in those days. I did not have an IT background and was tasked with doing a routine job.

I decided to automate the work so that I can get more time to read on markets. But in order to automate, I had to learn to compute, as my background was in statistics, and I had very little computing knowledge. I looked up ways to learn to code and automate my office work. As a result, a work which would take two hours was completed in 10 minutes giving me enough time to read.

In the beginning, my boss did not know about it, but when he did, he appreciated the work and got me transferred to mainstream computing.

Nonetheless, I kept on gaining as much knowledge as I could on the market from books, sites, and forums. I also started trading again. In those days I continued to trade in the way I did in early January 2008  on the news.

Buying stock on news and then holding it for a few days and selling it. I was making money in some trades and losing in others. This was when I was lured by options. I heard people say that it was the fastest way of making money. You put in Rs 100 and make Rs 1,000 in a few days.

I read a bit on options and then decided to trade long strangles  buying both Calls and Puts. I had seen and read that stocks generally move sharply after results, so I decided to take such a trade. Ironically, I decided to take a long strangle trade in the company I worked, Infosys.

A day before the result, I had built a position of Rs 1.5 lakh in Infosys strangles. I remember that I couldn't sleep that day with such a huge position. The next day, results were announced before market hours and when Infosys opened that morning, the value of my strangles had come down to Rs 20,000. I had lost more than three months of my salary in a single day.

This was a big lesson. Rather than running away from the market, I dove deeper into reading and researching what makes a successful trader click. This is when I decided to move from news-based trade to rule-based trade.

This was also the time when I read the book 'How I made $2 million in the stock market' written by one Nicolas Darvas, who was a ballet dancer by profession. It acted as a trigger that set me off into the fascinating world of trading. I realised that if a person with no background can make a good amount of money, then even I can. There is no closely guarded secret to trading success.

Q: How did you move after this enlightenment?

A: I put my computing knowledge to use and started building rules-based trading systems and testing them. Over the years, I may have tried and tested hundreds of trading systems. I have automated these strategies which would eliminate emotional decision making. If I found that they were working well in back-testing, I tested them in the market.

This was when I made my next big mistake. I borrowed money to trade in the market.

When my trades were profitable, there was no issue. But, even when there was a single loss, I would relate it to some day-to-day expenditure and weaken myself psychologically. So high was the positional leverage, that a single day fluctuation in my trading account was equivalent to a month's salary. It was taxing to trade in those days. I was trading Nifty futures but the lot size was more than what one would call comfortable.

In such a case, if there were three to four consecutive losses, I would change the strategy. It is said that algo trading takes emotions out of your trading, but with consecutive losses on a leveraged position, you start doubting yourself and your trading system. You will bring back discretion in your trading and move around in circles.

I somehow traded this way with bouts of profits and losses for a few years until I read a story which changed me from a normal trader to a consistent trader.

It was about a Greek wrestler named Milo who lived many years back. He was one of the greatest wrestlers from Greece who had won six consecutive Olympic medals. Everyone wanted to know what his secret was and how he managed to be so strong and successful.

The story takes us to his village where Milo started his training by lifting a newborn calf while his competitors were trying to lift bulls in their practice sessions. Now anyone can lift a calf, even you and I can do that, there is nothing great in it. So how did Milo become great by doing that?

Milo used to carry his calf everywhere he went. Over time, the calf put on weight but Milo was still carrying him around. Milo's body and mind were getting used to lifting the calf even as it slowly grew. By the time the calf became a bull, Milo could lift it effortlessly, while his competitors were still struggling to lift the bull.

This story opened the concept of position sizing for me.

I realised that it was not only the trading system but the trader who, by putting in various checks and balances in his trading system, makes money.

I realised that instead of putting all my capital or more specifically the borrowed capital, I should have started by trading with one lot. This way I would get used to the trading system without letting the daily market fluctuations affect my mental peace.

I followed this and progressively increased my lot size, as a result, I stuck to my system. After that, everything started falling in place.

Q: What are the strategies you trade?

A: I trade multiple strategies, all of which are automated. I trade in the weekly Bank Nifty in the options market and stocks in the cash market.

Many traders approach a strategy as trend following or one that is a reversal to the mean and then try to fit the back-tested data to the strategy. I, because of my statistics background am more comfortable dealing with data and deriving a strategy based on the output.

In Bank Nifty, I trade by selling options. It is known that selling options lead to money making two out of three times. So, I decided to work around options because of this bias.

I downloaded around 14 years of data from the NSE site and got down to designing my strategy. I am basically a day-trader, so I was looking to design a system where I would make money in most days and lose only a small amount in days where I am wrong.

I looked at the daily range but slightly different than how it is conventionally viewed. Rather than looking at the difference between high and low of the day, I looked at the difference between open and low and open and high. I plotted the data to get a normal distribution curve.

What I found out was that in most cases, Bank Nifty does not move beyond 1 percent from their open. The data corroborated with the conventional wisdom that says that the market stays in a range 70 percent of the time. Using this information as the basis I designed my options strategy around it.

I also found out that I will make money by selling call and put options if I select strike prices beyond these one percent range. However, there was a problem. If the Bank Nifty goes in one direction and beyond the range, the strategy would lose 2-3 months of profit in one day.

I looked for other data points to protect myself. I looked at open interest data to see where there is a position build-up and sell my options around them.

In this strategy, which I currently trade, I have three stop losses conditions which take me out of the trade if I lose around 1.5 percent of the capital. Using these stop losses, the strategy is now posting around 30-35 percent annualized return. Drawdown has never extended beyond 15 percent. Irrespective of the volatility level, the strategy has made money.

The period when this strategy is making losses is when there is a volatility shift from a low volatility phase to high volatility.

I start off the week with strangles but as the week progresses I take short straddle trades  selling call and put options at the same strike price. I do not use option Greeks for my entry or exits, nor do I do any adjustments to my original position as that would require me to sit in front of the screen. What I have observed is that when Bank Nifty moves beyond one of my extremes, it can continue to move in the same direction. It is better to accept it and exit rather than firefight it.

In the case of stocks, I trade in stocks which are in the derivative list. This way I do not have to worry about circuit filters preventing my exits.

Here, my data analysis has gone against conventional wisdom. What I have found is that if a stock gaps up at the opening, irrespective of the trend, the price tends to come down. Similarly, if there is a gap down, its price tends to go up, irrespective of the trend.

There is, however, a caveat here. I optimize the gaps  for example, I will weed out stocks where the gap opening is only 0.5 percent or if it is too large  say 4-5 percent.

Another strategy that I trade is by looking at the volatility file that is updated by NSE on its site during trading hours. I look for stocks where the volatility has gained the most but the stock is among the top losers. Such stocks tend to give explosive moves the next day or within a few days. It is better to trade in these stocks than a fixed set of stocks.

In positional trades in the cash market, I trade by buying high and selling higher. Here I look for stocks that are touching new all-time highs or 52-week highs.

I run a query at the end of the month to check out for such stocks. I then rank them based on the distance between the month end close and the 52 high levels. Suppose a stock made a high of 520 but closed at 500, I divide the two to get a ratio of 1.04. I calculate the ratio of all such stocks and buy the five strongest ones and balance them on a quarterly basis giving them enough room to perform.

This strategy is similar to the ones where relative momentum is used but here I enter a stock only when they were making 52-week highs. When the market crashed in 2008, there were no stocks touching 52-week highs from February 2008 to April 2009. Relative momentum would have given some whipsaw trades.

Q: And how are the returns?

A: The Bank Nifty option strategies I trade have generated an average return of 30-35 percent, without including the liquid bees which I use as margin. Including Liquid Bees, the return moves up to 40 percent. In positional stocks also, the return is between 30-35 percent. The trades are generally profitable 55 percent of the time and the average loss to win ratio is between 1:1.5 to 2. The gap based strategy has a slightly higher return.

Q: Can you tell us about your Trading Bots

A: My team and I have automated trading using the mobile app  Telegram. This way it becomes simpler to use for a retail trader. My site www.squareoff.in has multiple trading strategies that a retail trader can use.

When you subscribe, you get a trading bot which essentially does the trading for you. These are Black Box strategies. Rather than following the advisory method, we decided to use the trading bot route. When you buy an advisory service and get trading advice, by the time you enter the trade along with many others, you notice that price has already moved up.

In the case of trading bots, you will get a link at 09:30 am which you have to click, and enter your login and password. Then, one needs to enter his trading capital, risk percent, and profit percent and send the message to the broker. Say if someone has a trading capital of Rs 1 lakh, he can enter that and mention a risk or stop loss level of 1 percent and a profit target of say 1 percent. The trade will be executed and if any of the two levels are hit, the trade is closed. Our trading bot is presently connected to two brokers  Zerodha and Upstox.

The Bots are available at a nominal one-time charge, plus there are many free trading bots available on the site.

We have a team of five members who support the site. Subash Hundi, who heads the technology part of the business, used to be a branch manager with Karnataka Bank, which is just across the road from our office. A BITS-Pilani graduate, he is very strong technically and offered to work for free in order to learn the market. That's the level of passion in our team which works on something new continuously.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: We are working beyond price and volume by using alternate data sets. In a developed market, some large funds are using satellite images of the car parks outside Walmart to get an idea of how the company is doing.

We have started using machine learning in our trading. Presently, we scan the stock exchange announcements. A company in India has to first notify the stock exchange before it is released to the media.

Recently, we saw that the breakup between Amararaja Batteries and Johnson Controls put up on the exchange and was covered by media after a lag. The stock plummeted only after the news was flashed on TV channels. If you are attentive and manage to do it faster than when it is made public there is a good opportunity to trade profitably.

Q: You are among the few traders who use Quora more often than Twitter, why so?

A: I prefer Quora over Twitter because it helps in explaining a concept clearly without having word count restrictions. Further, the Twitter world is too crowded and noisy.

In Quora, I get the benefit of the experience of other traders and experts. There are occasions when famous authors have come and corrected me or helped in clarifying my doubts.

On Quora, I post strategies that I have back-tested. Even the ones that do not work have been posted so no one wastes their time behind it. I have posted over 700 articles on Quora which has seen 5 million views.

Q: Any words of advice to an aspiring trader?

A: For an aspiring trader, I would say always have a clear set of simple rules. Do not trade if you cannot explain in two lines. The more you complicate, the less likely the strategy would work.

People generally go for strategies which give higher returns without looking at the drawdowns. For example, if a strategy gives a return of 40 percent per annum with a drawdown of 15 percent, it is certainly better than a strategy giving 90 percent returns but having drawdowns of 40-45 percent. Chose the ones where risk is lower.
Rushabh Maru

The crude-oil market has turned quite uncertain and vulnerable. On the one hand, OPEC is committed to tightening the crude oil market. US President Donald Trump's unpredictable behaviour and ambivalent attitude, however, have led to sharp volatility in crude-oil prices. With his latest action, crude oil has entered uncharted territory.

The Trump administration recently announced that it would not renew the exemption granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil. Earlier, expectations were that the US would extend the waivers. Trump wants to bring down Iran's crude-oil exports to zero. As a result, crude-oil prices have been rising sharply.

However, Trump has now asked OPEC to raise crude-oil production in order to bring prices down. With the recent Trump googly, the crude-oil market has been plunged into a dicey situation. On the one hand, Trump is eager to cut out Iran's crude-oil production from the global oil market. Simultaneously, since the US presidential election is scheduled next year, Trump wants lower crude-oil prices in order to maintain his popularity.

The latest update shows that OPEC's crude-oil production in March further declined to 30.02 million barrels a day, from 30.56 million b/d the previous month. Steep declines in production in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iraq led to the price drop.

Saudi Arabia has signaled that it is determined to do whatever it takes to rebalance the market. It has cut production by more than it agreed to under the pact. According to the IEA, OPEC's compliance jumped from 94 percent in February to 153 percent in March. Venezuela's crude-oil production continues to fall due to US sanctions and a string of blackouts.

The IEA put Venezuela's crude-oil output as having fallen to 870,000 b/d. The US may impose additional sanctions in the future. The Trump administration has been pressurizing India and China to cut out oil purchases from both Iran and Venezuela. Hence, the situation in Venezuela is becoming even more difficult.

Renewed militant activity in Libya is a matter of concern for the market. Escalating tension might have an impact on crude-oil production. The situation is much worse than it was in 2011 during the civil war. Fears of a global economic slowdown persist.

The European countries' manufacturing PMI is declining sharply. In the US, the Treasury yield curve inverted in March, for the first time since 2007. This indicates an imminent threat of a recession. The US and China have shown tremendous progress in trade talks. However, given the nature of Trump, there are doubts about the sustainability of the deal, if it comes through.

The market expects OPEC to extend its production-cut deal till this year-end. OPEC's bi-annual meeting is scheduled for 25-26th June, at which it may decide to extend the deal or not. Since January, OPEC and its allies have been cutting production (by 1.2 million b/d) for six months to tighten the market.

The EIA has raised its Brent crude-oil price forecast for 2019 to $65 a barrel, up from its earlier projected $63 due to the tighter global oil market. Overall, much uncertainty prevails in the market. Hence crude oil is likely to be volatile in coming sessions.

The Author is Research Analyst, Currency and Commodity at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
E-commerce in India is growing at a rapid pace owing to the convenience it offers. Sellers sitting in a smaller towns are now able to sell their products across India and globally through these platforms.

Amazon India on April 30 said that it saw 56 percent rise in the number of local merchants selling to international markets through its global sellers programme. The export sales from India have hit $1 billion, the company said during a media interaction.

With over 140 million products on its platform and 50,000 sellers, mostly from small and medium sized vendors since the launch of the programme in 2015, the company is confident of reaching the $5 billion by 2023.

Gopal Pillai, Vice President of seller services, said that more than 80 percent of the company's current export vendors were from small towns and cities.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal on April 30 told media persons that the platform gives sellers from across the country, including tier II and III cities, and access to the global market for their products. Agarwal pointed out that small sellers from smaller towns such as Namakkal, Tamil Nadu were able to sell their product in Amazon and increase their reach. He gave an example of the tea brand Vadham that Opera Winfrey has said she loves.

As rosy as its sounds, the story is far from that for sellers, say trader bodies and other media reports. Even in India, which is one of the key markets for the company, sellers have not been a happy lot and have raised issues in the past.

The e-commerce giant was criticised by associations such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an association for small traders and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an RSS affiliate organisation. The backlash is primarily for promoting the fulfillment platform Cloudtail and Appario, which it partially owns through a joint venture and is know for deep discounting. A few have claimed that they do not provide its sellers a level playing field.

As per industry estimates, Cloudtail and Appario make nearly 50 percent of the daily volumes on the site. However the company has made some restructuring by selling its stake in Cloudtail over a revision of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. Some reports said that the company is doing similar restructuring in Appario as well.

Though Flipkart is the market leader with revenues up to $3.8 billion as opposed to Amazon India's $3.2 billion, the latter is catching up faster.

Praveen Khandewal, General Secretary, CAIT, said, the platform lacks transparency. So far the company has not divulged their business model in India like the business figures here. But at the global level they are doing it at a large scale.

While selling products that are made in India globally is good, Khandelwal pointed out that there is no regulation in place to scrutinise what kind of products they are promoting in the global sellers initiative. Responding to this reporters question of sellers claim, Agarwal, Amazon India head, did not respond directly. He said that while there will always be a section of sellers who will complain, there are many others who have been benefitted and that is where the focus should be.

at a recent seller conference held in India, Pillai, Amazon India's VP for seller services further added that the company has not gotten any complaints from sellers so far.

Despite this assurance, there have been concerns from sellers globally . Roomy Khan in her article in Forbes, said, While the growing Amazon Marketplace is attracting new sellers every day, it is also creating an unruly, frenzied out of control e-commerce environment. The bigger the marketplace gets, the harder it is to monitor the sellers and the products they sell.

Khan argues that while the opportunities are huge, Amazon has become a cesspool of unvetted merchants and unqualified products from all over the world, with fake products and paid reviews leading consumers astray.

Though there are guidelines in place, Khan said that it is unclear whether Amazon has any mechanism to enforce, verify or audit compliance with the published guidelines. The company mostly relies on the sellers to comply with the rules and has a laissez-faire approach towards enlisting new sellers, it added.

Another issue is the profitability for sellers. While Amazon provides a platform to sell products, Spencer Soper from Bloomberg said in a media report that Amazon has evolved from being a partner to competitor. That means that sellers have to shell out more to sell their products.

Citing the story of one merchant Jason Boyce, Soper explains how Amazon is making money at this merchants expense. The company now makes products similar to that his but is placed prominently and is less expensive.
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Cyclone 'Fani' has caused extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Puri, Bhubaneswar and some other areas of Odisha, while rail and air connectivity to the state is getting restored Saturday, the Centre said.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, reviewed rescue and relief operations in cyclone-hit areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, a day after the 'extremely severe cyclone' made a landfall in Odisha.

"Odisha informed that extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure had been caused in Puri, Bhubaneswar and other areas. However, due to advance precautionary measures taken and large scale evacuation, the loss of human lives was minimal," an official statement said.

The West Bengal government has reported mild impact of the cyclone, while the Andhra Pradesh government informed about heavy rainfall and some damage to crops and roads in Srikakulam district.

The railways has cleared the mainline and would start part of operations using diesel operated locomotives by Saturday. Flights to Bhubaneswar also resumed operations this afternoon, according to the statement.

The cabinet secretary directed the Ministry of Power and Department of Telecommunications to immediately assist the Odisha government by providing electrical poles, gang workmen and diesel generator sets of varying capacities for quick restoration of power supply. The transmission line supplying power to Bhubaneswar is expected to be restored by Saturday.

The Department of Telecommunications indicated that mobile services would also be restored partially. No damage to ports and refinery installations was reported, the statement said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has moved 16 additional teams, comprising about 45 personnel in each, for rescue and relief work in Odisha and has removed fallen trees and other obstacles on most of the roads.

The Union Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET exam in Odisha scheduled for May 5 based on the advice of Odisha government. It is also moving teams of public health experts to assist the state government in preventing outbreak of any epidemic.

Reviewing the relief efforts, the cabinet secretary directed that officials of central ministries and agencies should remain in close touch with the Odisha government and provide all required assistance expeditiously.

Enough supplies of food, medicines, drinking water and other essential supplies have been kept in readiness to be airlifted as per the requirements projected by the states.

The Railways and Civil Aviation ministries have made arrangements for free transportation of relief material to the cyclone affected areas, the statement said.

The chief secretaries and principal secretaries of the Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal governments participated in the NCMC meeting through video conference.

Senior officials from the PMO, ministries of home, defence, shipping, civil aviation, railways, petroleum, power, telecommunications, steel, drinking water and sanitation, food processing, health, fisheries, IMD, NDMA and the NDRF also attended the meeting.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was reportedly slapped on May 4 during a roadshow in the national capital.

According to multiple media reports, a man dressed in a maroon coloured shirt climbed on top of the AAP chieftain's car and slapped him while he was carrying out a roadshow ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls in the Moti Nagar area of New Delhi.

The man has since been taken into custody by Delhi Police, reported CNN-News18.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

Since entering politics, Kejriwal has been attacked several times.

He was previously attacked on November 20, by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani, who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal after his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Another incident took place in April 2016, when a man identified as Ved Sharma threw a shoe at the Chief Minister while he was addressing a press conference.

A month before the shoe incident, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Ludhiana. The attack broke Kejriwal's car windshield.

While the AAP has already declared its seven candidates in the state, they had not filed their nominations.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Delhi on May 12 , in a single phase.
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The Jharkhand government issued an advisory on May 3, asking all district deputy commissioners to set up control rooms to meet any exigency in the wake of the cyclonic storm 'Fani'.

An official release, quoting the regional meteorological department, said from the afternoon of May 3 to May 4, widespread rains accompanied by strong winds will occur in all the 24 districts of the state.

Several districts are already experiencing rains, officials said.

Meanwhile, a woman died after a wall of her house collapsed, following a sudden storm at Sajwan village in Palamau district, they said.

The woman, identified as Muni Kumari, died on the spot after the mud wall fell on her, the officials said.

The storm was not under the impact of 'Fani', they added.

All educational institutions in Palamau district will remain closed on Saturday, the release said.

Earlier on May 3, cyclone 'Fani' barrelled through Odisha, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people.
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on May 4 said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."

The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on May 3 that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.
Union minister Mahesh Sharma was on May 3 issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission for allegedly referring to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as "pappu" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as "pappu ki pappi". While giving the BJP MP 24 hours to respond, the commission reminded him of a provision in the Model Code of Conduct which states that politicians must refrain from making remarks on private lives of rivals.

A portion of the remark was reproduced in the notice. Sharma had allegedly said on March 19 in Sikandrabad, "Now that Pappu says that he wants to be the prime minister. Now, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Pappu ki pappi have also come...whether that Priyanka was not the daughter of the country ... what new has she brought..."

The Congress had moved the Election Commission with a complaint against Sharma.
Intensifying his attack on the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) will give rise to 'mahabhrashtachar' (grand corruption)'. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party and it will soon witness its "downfall".

"See its (Congress) downfall," he said, as he made a no-holds barred attack against party president Rahul Gandhi, warning him that he will succumb to "ahankaar" (self pride).

Modi said while a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the Samajwadi Party, an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi who was present at an SP meeting in Raebareli this week, the BSP is attacking the grand old party.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the grand old party," he said at an election meeting here, apparently to drive a wedge between the two allies.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said the "Mr Clean" image of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi became "corrupt number one".

He also recalled how the Congress had withdrawn support from governments at the Centre in the past leading to political instability.

"Only the BJP can give a stable government," he said, as he led the gathering chanting "phir ek baar ...Modi sarkar (once again, Modi government)".
Britain's two main parties suffered a drubbing on May 3 in English local elections, with Prime Minister Theresa May's governing Conservatives bearing the brunt of voter frustration over the prolonged Brexit deadlock. May's Conservatives lost control of several local authorities and well over a thousand seats, performing far worse than even the gloomiest predictions.

But the main opposition Labour Party also lost ground, with voters instead turning to smaller parties and independents in Thursday's polls.

"There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit," May said.

Britain's bitterly-divided MPs have been unable to agree on a divorce deal with the EU, with the two main parties in talks on breaking the impasse that have produced little fruit so far.

"This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that," May told the Welsh Conservative Conference, having faced down a heckler calling for her to quit.

The results raise the pressure on May and Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn to strike a deal and avoid having to hold European Parliament elections on May 23, where they face being wiped out by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which did not compete in Thursday's vote.

Corbyn said that he was "very sorry" for the party's losses, adding there was now "a huge impetus" for the talks to succeed.

May later said that her government and Labour were locked in "constructive talks".

After voting in June 2016 to leave the European Union, Britain was meant to depart on March 29 this year. However, its exit date has been postponed until October 31 due to the wrangling.

According to figures reported by the Press Association, the Tories lost over 1,269 seats, while Labour had lost 63.

Labour was expected to pick up seats as voters typically give the sitting government a kicking in such elections.

It will also be concerned about losing seats in its traditional heartlands, which voted heavily to leave the EU and which it would need to win in order to beat the Tories in a general election.

The party's Brexit position is described by some commentators as constructive ambiguity.

It is also losing support over the issue of anti-Semitism, which flared again this week when it emerged leader Corbyn had written the foreword to a book containing what the party called "offensive references".

If results were replicated nationwide, pollster John Curtice calculated that both the Conservatives and Labour would each get only 28 percent of the total vote, saying the days of two-party domination "may be over".

The centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens -- both anti-Brexit -- were the big winners, along with independent candidates.

Voters went to the polls in mainly rural and suburban areas of England, with more than 8,000 seats up for grabs.

All 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland were also contested among the province's own parties.

"The key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is 'a plague on both of your houses'," Curtice told the BBC.

They lost votes most heavily in the wards where they were strongest, he noted.

The council elections decide who sets local tax rates and runs community services but are often swayed by the national picture.

The Greens appear to have been boosted by the recent climate protests in London, which brought environmental issues to the front-pages.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said voters "no longer have confidence in the Conservatives, but they are also refusing to reward Labour while the party prevaricates on the big issue of the day." The problems for the two main parties could worsen at the European elections when they will also face two newly-formed forces: the Brexit Party -- which leads in the opinion polls -- and pro-EU centrists Change UK.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told BBC radio that if the centre-right party "doesn't mend its ways pretty quickly, the Conservative Party is going to be toast".
The Election Commission on May 4 gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Patna speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot. This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the EC's decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said that Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturday's decision, the EC said, "...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted."

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of "consequences" if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said that the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.
Taking umbrage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that the Congress is lying about surgical strikes under the UPA government, the party on May 3 said it has never used the strikes as election fodder and the statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers.

"Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party.

"The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said.

"I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters, "My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?"

He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

"In the Congress, we have always said that such operations were conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added.

The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure.

"The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces. The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told the reporters, "Fifteen commandos died in Gadchiroli. Will the PM and Maharashtra CM answer why they are not giving funds, which forces asked for in 2014, to purchase special equipment that could have stopped the IED blasts?"

Fifteen policemen and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle in Jambhurkheda area of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Talking about the 11 complaints filed by the Congress against the PM and BJP president Amit Shah, Sharma said that the Election Commission is ignoring even the reports filed by the chief electoral officers of the states where the speeches were made.

"These decisions in the EC are not unanimous. There are two opinions even in the EC itself," he said.

According to a media report on Friday, the EC's decision to give a clean chit to PM for his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes in Latur on April 9 and his "minority-majority" speech at Wardha on April 1 was not a unanimous one.

"The prime minister and the ruling party's president are continuously violating the code of conduct. No action is being taken and because of this, it can be said that the EC is not capable of fulfilling its constitutional responsibility," Sharma alleged.
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As the latest, greatest election in the world rolls along, we have now completed 5 out of 7 phases, I think. Were almost at the playoff stage where teams...wait, thats the IPL. Theyve both been on for so long that Ive lost track.

Anyway, the 2019 election. Protracted as it is, this years election allows us the opportunity to examine our political landscape in a bit more detail. In todays podcast, we will examine the role that women are expected to play in this years lok sabha election - as voters, and as the leaders.

Women voters

Okay, Ill admit that the phrase women voters is more than a little ungainly. Because women dont vote en masse. In fact, they average over 65% in voting percentage for parliamentary elections, compared to 67% for men. Almost neck-and-neck there. If the recurring promises by politicians to declare prohibition in their states are any indication, women voters are even addressed directly by leaders across the spectrum. One gentleman by the name Nitish Kumar did so not too long ago. What Im getting at is, women tend to vote differently than men. And in 2019, estimates claim that around 430 million women are eligible to vote in India. Women voters have, over the course of years, taken an increasingly active part in the electoral process.

Women in India were granted voting rights in 1950 by universal suffrage, which is enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian constitution. Remarkably, women in the United States had been allowed to vote for just 30 years at the time, following a landmark ruling that granted women citizens of the US the right to vote in 1920, after a gap of 113 years. Given the literacy levels in India in the 50s and 60s, its probably doesnt come as a surprise that there was a big gap in the voting percentages between the two genders. A Times of India report claimed that the gap in turnout between men and women was 16.7% in 1962, but that gap fell to around 4.4% in 2009, and just 1.79% in the 2014 lok sabha polls. According to the book The Verdict, which is written by Indias veteran news anchor, and head of NDTV, Prannoy Roy along with election researcher Dorab Sopariwala, In 1962, womens turnout was 15% lower than mens turnout; but by 2014 womens turnout had almost reached parity with men, short by only 1.5%. In a rough estimate, if earlier it was three women to every 10 male voters, now the numbers are up to seven women voters for every 10 men.

That progress notwithstanding, Roy and Sopariwala speculate that 21 million women did not get to vote in 2014 because they were not registered. They said Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar ranked the worst in terms of women turnout while West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha were among the best, as were smaller regions like Lakshadweep, Nagaland, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

An analysis in Scroll put forward an interesting conjecture, that is perhaps not unfounded - There are a variety of reasons for women going out and exercising their franchise in bigger numbers than ever before...political fortunes can swing on the basis of just a single percentage point increase in vote share(that) appears to have encouraged parties to focus more specifically on appealing to women voters and ensuring they make their way to the polling stations. That analysis claims that in 2019, Indias female voting-age population is expected to be around 97.2% of the total male population. One would expect the same proportion for voters, except women voters are just 92.7% of the male electorate. That is a 4.5% shortfall, or 21 million people.

Roy and Sopariwalas book claims that the 21 million number is equivalent to every single woman in any one of the states like Jharkhand, Haryana, Telangana, Kerala or Chhattisgarh not being allowed to vote at all. Alright, hyperbole aside, the NDTV analysts claim, 21 million missing women translates to 38,000 missing women voters in every constituency in India, on average. There are a large number of Lok Sabha constituencies  more than one in every five seats  that are won or lost by a margin of less than 38,000 votes.

Kill your stereotypes

According to Business Insider, the proportion of women who stepped out to vote surpassed that of men in the assembly elections held in 2017 and 2018. It was as high as 70% for women in the last two years, compared to 43% among men. That data set addresses the six states that went to polls in the last two years - Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In fact, several districts in Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Sikkim have closed the gender gap and, in some of them, more women are voting than men. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, women voters outnumbered their male counterparts. About 63.26 per cent of women voters in the politically crucial state went to the polling booths as against 59.43 per cent of the men. In Karnataka, the number of women voters increased by 13% following the revision of electoral rolls in 2018. In Kerala, women voters outnumber the men and no political party can afford to ignore their preferences.

All political parties are paying attention to this change on the ground. Theyre tweaking their political messaging campaign strategies to appeal to women voters since there is enough empirical evidence to suggest that women voters can swing elections. India Today claimed that In December 2018, the Congress carried out a survey of approximately 40,000 women in Karauli, Rajasthan, to understand their voting behaviour. The survey asked about their access to information, political choices (were they different from those of their husbands, brothers or fathers). The findings were striking - nearly 75% of the respondents said they get information independently of the men and are independent in their political choices, a near complete reversal of their responses after the 2008 assembly election, when most said they voted for whoever the family voted. Karauli, incidentally, has a lower literacy rate than the national average and is classified as an under-developed district.

Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, whose research focus is the political economy of India, believes this moment belongs to the ladies. He said, "For the first time in history, we are seeing the gender gap close. Women are coming out to exercise their franchise, which makes them swing voters. These are people you can convince to join your side. We have seen it in 2014, in places where women's turnout increased, the BJP benefitted more." Roy and Sopariwala claim the BJP-led NDA had a lead of 9% among women voters, compared to a lead of 19% among men.

An analysis in India Today claimed that women vote on very different issues compared to men. While more men are likely to vote on the lines of caste, religion, nationalism and identity, women are more likely to focus on economic issues which have a direct bearing on the quality of their life. A congress party analysts observed that "For the female voter, it is about the present and future, while for the male voter it's about identity." Women are likely to vote over job opportunities for themselves or their children, as well safety and security.

And politicians are paying close attention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech recently, Our country is moving from women's development to women-led development. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal said, I want to give 10 crore toilets to my sisters and mothers so that they get dignity of life. That programme cannot wait even if it means I have to borrow a little more. Platitudes aside, as per an analysis by India Today, The importance of the Indian woman voter is reflected in the political rhetoric across parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship schemes-whether it be Ujjwala or the sanitation campaign of building toilets or prioritising ASHA (centred around maternal health)-are all focussed on women as key beneficiaries. Politicians are also extolling the virtues of women as better money managers and homemakers.

The opposition isnt far behind. The India Today piece also noted that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made a fervent poll pitch, saying if voted to power his party would ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, which proposes to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Bringing Priyanka Gandhi to a crucial, strategic position in the party is also a move to directly reach out to women voters. Praveen Chakravarty, chairman, data analytics department of the Congress party, explained that the old concept of a 'household vote' is all but gone. He said, "I think in a household now, there could be four different votes...The year 2019 will be an information election. There's been a dramatic change in the way political parties are viewing this election."

Much of this change is owed to the increasing ease of access to information. While we wince over what our mothers and fathers receive and forward on WhatsApp, the fact is that with over a billion mobile connections cutting across social sectors, access to information has become easier than ever before and Indian women are consume it fervently. Shamika Ravi, director of research at Brookings India, cited a study she conducted on Bihar's two assembly elections in 2005. With no clear winner in February, president's rule was declared, with re-elections eight months later in October-November. Her comparative analysis of electoral outcomes for the 243 constituencies showed that the winning party changed in 87 constituencies, meaning 36% of the previous winners were voted out. She explained, That brought an end to the RJD rule of 15 years and led to the emergence of JD(U) as the single largest party. There were no new policies in these eight months. The explanation for the changed result was the voter turnout of women in Bihar. More women came out and voted against the previous winners the second time. The beneficiary of that increased turnout by women voters, current CM Nitish Kumar, paid heed to the winds of change in his state. Ever since, many of his programmes, from the bicycle scheme to liquor prohibition in the state, seem to suggest that he recognises the power of those voters.

Here is another interesting observation by Shamika Ravi that I must include here. She explains that the results of her study indicated that a spurt in female voter turnout reduced the re-election chances of a party, while the rise in the number of male voters improved it. When women exercise their vote independently, they show that their interests are distinct from the other half of society.

Women and political leadership

Women, who vote for different reasons, require representatives who reflect their own ideas and aspirations. But that change has been slow to come about. The current union cabinet has 9 ministers, the most in independent Indias history.

A recent analysis by Narayan Ramachandran of InKlude Labs in Mint explained that India ranks 153 out of 190 nations in the percentage of women in the lower house of world parliaments. India had 65 women out of 545 members of Parliament elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014, for a 12% representation. According to a list compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Rwanda ranks first with 61% of its lower house representatives being women. Nordic countries, as a region, are the leaders in this regard, with an average of about 40%. The UK and the US are relative laggards with 32% and 23%, respectively. Pakistan, with 20% participation from women, is also ahead of India. Prior to the 15th Lok Sabha, that number was stagnant at 9% for decades.

But the tide is turning. Women now account for 46% of elected representatives at the various levels of panchayati raj institutions, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Bidyut Mohanty, who heads the Womens Studies division at Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences, told Scroll, Nearly a million women have gone through the panchayat system as elected leaders and another two million have contested the elections and lost. They are very aware voters, aware of development and other issues of their villages.

This change at the grassroots is heading upwards as well. Two political parties - Naveen Patnaiks Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress in West Bengal - announced they will be fielding a significant number of women for the 2019 elections. That is a welcome change in a country where women comprise 48.1% of the population but hold only 12.1% of Lok Sabha seats. Patnaik famously announced he will earmark 33% (or 7 out of 21) of the BJDs parliamentary election tickets for women. As of now, only 3 out of the 21 MPs representing Odisha are women. In the 147-strong state assembly, women account for just 8% of all legislators, less than the national average of 9%. Another surprise here: Haryana has the highest proportion of women MLAs at 15% of the total Assembly strength. In Kerala, womens representation peaked at 9.3% in the 2001 election but has steadfastly remained below 6% ever since.

In Odishas neighbouring state West bengal, TMCs firebrand chief Mamata Banerjee released a list of party candidates to Parliament for 2019. Of these, 41% are women, which is unprecedented for any election ever in the history of Indian democracy. Womens voter turnout in Bengal exceeded that of men even in the 2011 assembly election - the election that saw Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress end 34 years of uninterrupted Marxist rule in a communist bastion. Scroll noted that In the next assembly election, while womens voter turnout remained higher than that of men, more women also contested the election as candidates. The results were proof Mamatas popularity was unparalleled in Bengal. The Communist Party of India-Marxist was relegated to number three in the state while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition, signalling a new era in the states politics.

However, the two national parties are yet to fully throw their weight behind this change. Of the 184 candidates announced in the first list by the BJP, only 23 were women, making that 12.5%. In the Congresss list, 17 of 143 candidates, or 11.9%, were women. Shaina NC, party spokesperson and treasurer of the Maharashtra BJP, has been vocal about her disappointment with this state of affairs. She said, The BJP has already earmarked 33% to women within the organisation. But that is not sufficient. Fighting elections is most important. She also tweeted, Upset and appalled to know that other than @MamataOfficial...and @Naveen_Odisha...all other parties only pay lip service to our cause...What is worrisome is that we are still having dialogues and discussions on the most basic rights that any human being should be entitled to. That's why a 33 per cent reservation must be a collective, concerted, conscious effort of all women in public life...Here on, I will champion the cause of reservation even if I have to fight the male chauvinistic mindset in my part(y)...(and) in all other parties too.

That said, lets not forget that this is the year Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra enters the fray as a game changer, and Smriti Irani is expected to upset Rahul Gandhi in the constituency of Amethi. The final world on this subject goes to the trenchant analysis by India Today: The 2019 election promises to be one in which the rules of engagement will change further as will the political discourse. As women come out in greater numbers, they will seek more accountability and are more likely to vote for development than caste and identity. If that happens, the country will be (so much) the better for it.
As Congress turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the Congress and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on May 4.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the Congress a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."

Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."

Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if Sonia Gandhi loses."

Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."

Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as cyclonic storm 'Fani' barrelled into Bangladesh on May 4, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, media reports said.

However, Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry officially confirmed four deaths -- two in Barguna and one each in Bhola and Noakhali -- on the basis of "initial reports" from the three coastal districts and said it was yet to compile the details of the casualties and damages caused by the cyclone.

"The detailed information from all the affected districts is yet to reach us," State minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman told reporters here.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the sky in several parts of Bangladesh remained overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds continued to lash the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of electricity and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel 12 flights, the report said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.
In the aftermath of the devastation caused by severe cyclone 'Fani', the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy has launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation effort in Odisha.

Two Maritime Recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy revealing widespread destruction localised around the temple town of Puri, according to an official statement.

The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command personally undertook aerial survey of the cyclone affected area Saturday morning and visited INS Chilka to review the relief efforts, it said.

The 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, officials said.

Based on the aerial surveys, the Eastern Naval Command is undertaking a three-pronged rescue and rehabilitation effort centred around Puri and its suburbs in coordination with the state government and the district administration.

"Relief and rehabilitation 'bricks' and 'pallets' (Naval parlance for containerised relief stores) comprising food material, essential medical supplies, clothing items, disinfectants, repair material, chain saws for removing damaged trees, torches and batteries, etc have been sent to the INS Chilka, a naval establishment at Odisha, closest to Puri," it said.

The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) is centrally coordinating distribution of these relief materials and a community kitchen is being planned to be set up.

Simultaneously, three eastern fleet ships are undertaking rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Indian Navy ships Ranvijay, Kadmatt and Airavat with three helicopters are presently operating off Puri and coordinating aerial survey and immediate response through their integral helicopters.

As the first responders, helicopters from the ships have been able to provide immediate support. In order to coordinate the relief efforts, the Eastern Naval Command has pre-positioned Liaison teams in the cyclone affected areas around Puri, who in turn are directing the rescue and relief efforts being undertaken by the ships, the statement added.

"With the likely opening of the Bhubaneswar airport today, Chetak and UH3H helicopters are being positioned there by the Navy to launch rescue efforts and air-dropping of relief material to the inaccessible and remote areas.

"The deployment of the helicopters at Bhubaneswar would enable aerial rescue of stranded personnel to safer areas as well as access to areas without road connectivity," it said.

The statement said in order to sustain the rescue and relief work over the next few days, the Eastern Naval Command has additional ships with standby relief material.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding that detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command made an urgent Disaster Assesment and On site Review in the wee hours of 04 May 19, post striking of Extremely Severe Cyclone FANI' at Indian Naval Base, INS Chilka, the premier training establishment of the Indian Navy, said Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma

"The Flag Officer took an on ground stock of the situation and damage to the assets, men and material during his approximately one-hour long visit to the location. The Admiral commended the Staff for their proactive preparatory activities to mitigate effects of the cyclone. He was happy to take note of the various Relief Operations and Medical Assistance being rendered by the unit to the neighbouring villages such as Gadadwar, Amritpur, Kharibandh and Athrawati," he said .

Singh also expressed confidence that the Naval Base would make an early come back to normalcy in the next few days.

"He also hoped that the Indian Navy's efforts in providing assistance would augment the efforts of other government agencies to bring solace to the affected people of Odisha. He also shared that Naval Ships were already at sea off Puri to render any Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance, as necessary," Sharma said.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of Indian Navy. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) East, will be the first helicopter pilot of the Indian Navy to become Chief Naval Staff.
Indonesia and Egypt have been making the headlines over their decision to shift their respective capital cities to a new location. However, this is not an unprecedented trend. Read on to know which countries have shifted their capital cities. (Image: Reuters)

Indonesia | The government had announced its decision to relocate its capital outside of the main island of Java as it is one of the fastest sinking cities in the world. It is also Southeast Asia's most polluted city, with snarling traffic jams being the norm on its streets. (Image: Reuters)

The Philippines | The capital city Manilla has seen its fair share of flooding, which prompted the central government to build another city named as New Clark City as a back-up in the event of Manila being destroyed by a natural disaster. (Image: Reuters)

Nigeria | The Nigerian government shifted the capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 due to overcrowding and public safety issues. (Image: Reuters)

South Korea | In 2012, it was announced that the capital of South Korea would be shifted from Seoul to Sejong City. Fertility rates in the country's new administrative capital shot through the roof after the announcement, making it the city with the highest fertility rate among 17 Korean provinces and cities. The country is known for having some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. (Image: Reuters)

Egypt | Congestion and overcrowding have plagued Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is why the foundation stone of the new capital city was laid in 2015. The new administrative capital will cover 700 square kilometers and is modeled to be a smart city in the desert with high-rises, luxury housing, wide roads and lush greenery. (Image: Reuters)

Russia | The former superpower's capital city, for close to 200 years, was St Petersburg. The year World War I ended in 1918, the new Bolshevik government, led by Vladimir Lenin, shifted base to Moscow. (Image: Reuters)

Brazil | Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, was designed by Lucio Costa, who planned it out in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. The city officially took its mantle from Rio de Janeiro in 1960, with Oscar Nimeyer, its head architect, having designed several of its iconic administrative and civic buildings. (Image of Brasilia: Reuters)

Pakistan | After its partition from India, the government of Pakistan decided to change its administrative capital from Karachi to Islamabad in 1959. It was a new planned city, and work began only in 1961, taking many decades to finish. (Image of Islamabad: Reuters)
Facebook is taking stern action against those propagating violence and hatred on its social media platform. The company is also banning pages, groups and events associated with the banned individuals, from its core social media network and photo-sharing app Instagram. Take a look at a few prominent people who have been banned by Mark Zuckerberg's company. (Image: Reuters)

Louis Farrakhan | The leader of US-based Nation of Islam was banned for preaching black separatism and making anti-Semitic remarks. (Image: Reuters)

Milo Yiannopoulos | A far-right British public speaker, political commentator, and writer who is known for talking against Islam, atheism, feminism, social justice, and political correctness was banned by Facebook. (Image: Reuters)

Paul Joseph Watson | Known to promote conspiracy theories on YouTube as a radio host, Watson describes himself as part of the "New Right". He has been accused of spreading fake news and conspiracy theories such as the claim that 9/11 was an inside job. (Image: Paul Joseph Watson Youtube image)

Paul Nehlen | An American politician who is an avowed white supremacist. He ran for Congress in 2018. (Image: The Rebel Media Youtube)

Alex Jones | An American radio show host and far-right conspiracy theorist, Jones runs the website, Infowars.com. He has been accused of circulating fake news and conspiracy theories including accusing the US government of planning September 11 attacks, and falsifying some details regarding the first moon landing. (Image: Reuters)

Laura Loomer | A far-right American political activist who was previously a reporter for Canadian far-right website The Rebel Media, has been banned by the social media platform. (Image: The Rebel Media YouTube)
Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that your phone is eavesdropping on you?

Perhaps you were talking about a holiday you want to take, or a pair of jeans youve been looking at buying, only to receive oddly specific advertisements for the rest of the week.

Sure, sometimes it can be useful. The product youve been considering buying is now right at your fingertips, following you around digitally and teasing you to purchase it. Aside from the fact its mildly psychologically manipulative, it can be very convenient.

However, most of us have had that disconcerting feeling that our privacy was being invaded. And that our phones, instead of sitting idly in our pockets like theyre supposed to, are perhaps the stealthiest spies to ever exist.

In fact, if you actually take the time to read your mobiles user agreements, youll find that your suspicions arent completely unfounded.

Most modern smartphones are equipped with AI assistants that are responsive to voice commands like Hey Siri and OK Google. And unless you disable those functions, the reality is that theyll always be switched on, waiting with bated breath for you to mention a product like a seagull waits for you to drop a hot chip.

If you have the right permissions enabled, third party apps like Instagram and Facebook can then take that information and target you with a level of nuance that was never before possible.

Although Facebook and other applications deny exploiting the microphone feature, cyber security consultant Dr Peter Henway believes otherwise:

Whether its timing or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically.

However when it comes to your privacy, the sneaky marketing techniques used by media conglomerates are the least of your worries.

As weve learned recently, the most powerful spy you need to watch out for is the government.

Aussie government taking notes from the Chinese

According to an article recently published by the ABC, both the Labor and Liberal parties, the Greens, and lobby groups like GetUp and Advance Australia had tracking devices in the campaign emails they sent out to the public.

The tracker is in the form of a tiny pixel image, which upon opening the email is downloaded and has the potential to compile an array of details about the recipient.

According to data law expert David Vaile, in the past emailing was a relatively safe system that wasnt crawling with surveillance and tracking tools. And tracking devices remained confined to the real of online marketers and news organisations. But for this federal election, the government is stepping up its game.

The tracking pixels allow the sender to see if youve opened the email, and what links youve clicked on. And as such, theyre able to discern what marketing techniques are effective on you personally.

As James McDonald, head of digital marketing firm Audience Group explains, the intention behind this technique is to create more nuanced political campaign strategies:

If youve got your base divided by swinging voter, by issue, by seat or by polling booth, all of a sudden, if you analyse that correctly, youve got talking points for the local member when he turns up at the bowls club, which will be different from when you go to the shopping centre.

This extra data could be the difference between an election victory and loss. But thats not the governments only method of gathering data on the public

Lets say, for example, youre an undecided voter who wants to make an informed decision with the federal election coming up later this month.

With all of the propaganda coming from all sides, and innumerable policies to consider, most people find it hard to garner to motivation and time to sort through all the information. As an undecided voter myself, I can attest to that.

Which is why services like the ABCs Vote Compass are so popular. Essentially, through a series of 30 questions which discern your opinion on topics ranging from refugees to economic policy, the compass places you on a political scale and suggests which party would best align with your views.

At time of writing, Vote Compass has 861,392 responses  belying how popular the service is. However as Sam wrote in Money Morning earlier this week, the compass may have a more sinister agenda:

After all this the survey asks about your voting preferences, who you voted for previously, your gender, year of birth, if youve been a student, your occupation, religion, language, whether youre Australian or not, your cultural background, how many people live in your house, your income, if youre politically left or right, and a few more very detailed personal questions.

The compass now has almost one million responses, which all potentially contain information that was completely irrelevant to the original service being offered. And considering the ABC is government-owned, who knows what that information, along with your IP address and your email data, could be used for

Of course, the election process is just one example of an area that is becoming increasingly more data-driven year after year. The sheer mass of data floating around the interwebs (2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every single day to be exact) is only going to keep growing to numbers which exceed human comprehension.

This absolutely has implications for privacy. But a more pressing issue is bandwidth and internet speed. A problem which 5G technology promises to solve.

Already this technology is being rolled out across the globe and our own nation. And the wealth of opportunities for investors are sitting there waiting to be pounced on.

This week in Money Morning

There is a lot of media attention on the water buybacks by the government in the MurrayDarling Basin over the last few years. Which is why on Monday, Murray decided to cover the state of water markets in Australia and whether there was a way to invest in the rising value of water. His findings could be of interest to you.

To read his full article, click here.

If you have ever traded any positions in the past you probably know the mental anguish that can arise as prices fly around. Whether you are in the money or out of the money, there are plenty of things to worry about. Which is why on Tuesday, Murray outlined his strategy for keeping your emotions out of your trades.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Wednesday, Murray covered the latest from the US Fed. After 10 years of pumping the markets higher to escape the GFC, Murray honestly thought that we had finally reached the point where the powers that be would attempt to normalise rates. If only in fear of creating a larger monster down the track if they didnt act. But as weve seen recently, thats not the case. And the repercussions could be sweeping

To learn more, click here.

Are you socially conservative or socially progressive? Are you economically left or economically right? Do you see yourself as left leaning, far right or are you centrist? Well, with the ABCs Vote Compass tool you can find out easily. But as Sam wrote on Thursday, the data being collected to determine your political position could be doing more harm than its worth.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Friday, Phil wrote about the birth of reality television. Or to be more exact, the reality-style show that is currently occurring in the White House. If you pay enough attention, you can see the tactics Trump is using to stay on the air and in favour with his fans.

But for how long will this be effective? Click here to find out.

Until next week,

Katie Johnson,

Editor, Money Weekend
(Bloomberg) -- As oil workers struggle to find affordable housing in the booming Permian Basin of West Texas, thousands of abandoned pets are also in need of new homes.

An animal rescue group in Midland, the fastest-growing U.S. city, is in the process of raising $3 million to build additional shelter facilities as the region struggles with a large number of pets left without owners.
After months of speculation about her political future, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has decided to stay local.

Gaspar put to rest rumors she may mount a second bid for Congress when she announced late Thursday, May 2, that she will seek a second term on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Its never an easy decision, but San Diego is a place Ive grown up and Ive always said from the outset I appreciated the opportunity to serve here, she said, "...and having the opportunity to really dig into the work over the past year made the decision to run for re-election a lot easier.

Her supervisorial district, District 3, includes part of San Diego and the cities of Encinitas, Escondido, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Gaspars announcement positions Republicans to unify behind a single candidate ahead of what is expected to be a competition that will shape the Board Supervisors future with the boards majority at stake.

New Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Jim Desmond, a Democrat and Republican respectively, will have two years left on their first terms after 2020, but San Diegos two longest serving Supervisors, Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, both Republicans, will leave office at the end of 2020 due to term limits.

Coxs seat representing the South Bay is a safe bet to flip for Democrats, given that partys more than 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration in the district. Jacobs East County seat is likely to remain in Republican hands because there is a Republican advantage in her district by about 17,000 voters, although Democratic registrations are trending upward there while Republican registrations are trending down.

That leaves the District 3 seat, which Gaspar currently holds, as the swing seat in 2020 and a battleground for a serious fight.

Gaspar, who lives in Encinitas with her husband and three children, has a few things working to her advantage as she mounts her re-election bid.

Shes an incumbent, and prior to last year it was rare for incumbents to lose any office in San Diego barring a serious scandal. She also can point to her experience on the board and time as chair, advancing such programs as The Other Side Academy, which is planned as a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts.

Gaspar said the program is an example of a proactive community solution.

Im excited about where that work is heading and this new approach to homelessness and incarceration, she said in an interview Friday, May 3.

However, the former mayor of Encinitas also faces several obstacles that didnt exist when she unseated scandal-plagued incumbent Dave Roberts in 2016.

When Gaspar won there were about 2,500 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. Today that Democratic edge has grown to more than 17,000.

Gaspar will also face off against more formidable Democratic opponents this time, including Terra Lawson-Remer, an economist and attorney who was a former senior adviser in the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration; Olga Diaz, an Escondido City Council member and interim Dean of Counseling at Palomar Community College; and Jeff Griffith, a fire captain and member of the Palomar Health Board of Directors.

I always have the philosophy that I always run like Im running from behind and as always Ill give this race everything Ive got, Gaspar said.

Gaspars biggest challenge may lie in her connection to President Donald Trump, who is unpopular with many in the district and lost it to Hillary Clinton by 20 points in 2016.

Some of her opponents already are fundraising and enlisting volunteers based on her Trump connection. The county Democratic party immediately pushed a news release labeling her a Trump Republican in the wake of her announcement.

Gaspar was a big supporter of the county joining the lawsuit the Trump Administration filed against California over so called Sanctuary policies. She also has met with the president at the White House and was the lone supervisor to oppose the countys decision in February to sue the Trump Administration over its handling of asylum seekers.
James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Crude futures dipped Friday but ended the week with a 1.8 percent gain. Concerns about the deepening U.S.-China trade war impacting economic growth outweighed concerns about heightened tensions in the Middle East impacting supplies.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 11 cents to close the week at $62.76 a barrel, up $1.10 from last Friday's close. The posted price ended the week at $59.25 a barrel.
Midland Crime Stoppers

Midland Crime Stoppers needs help identifying two suspects involved in an aggravated robbery.

Two people walked into a business -- Burrito El Aguaje -- located at 700 E. Florida. Ave. at about 3 a.m. April 27. The subjects were armed with guns and made the employee lie on the floor while they searched him for his wallet or anything else of value. The suspects took his wallet, pistol-whipped him in the head and kicked him while he was on the floor. A customer walked into the business, saw the robbery and ran out of the business. The suspects caught up with the customer and also assaulted him.
Muhlenberg Joins Liberal Arts Diversity Officers Consortium

The College is the newest member of the consortium, which promotes best practices and innovative strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro Friday, May 3, 2019 01:48 PM

Muhlenberg is now one of 32 institutional members of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers (LADO) consortium nationwide. LADO provides opportunities for chief diversity officers at liberal arts colleges to collaborate and provide leadership in implementing and publicizing effective diversity strategies at their home institutions.

Founded in 2007, LADO member institutions are private, selective colleges with a focus on undergraduates. They must also have a staff member serving in a diversity leadership role.

This is an opportunity that came with the creation of Muhlenbergs diversity leadership position, says Vick, (pictured left), who joined the College last fall in the new administrative role of associate provost for faculty and diversity initiatives.

I was impressed with LADOs goals, and this will be a great partnership for us as we continue to develop our capacity to recruit, retain and support underrepresented faculty, staff and students, she added.

As a member of LADO, Muhlenberg will also now partner with the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), which is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. C3 develops, disseminates and promotes new strategies for fostering the full participation of diverse students and faculty. In doing so, it serves as an incubator of innovation for institutional diversity and equity.

The C3 Undergraduate Fellowships program, for example, provides underrepresented students from LADO colleges the opportunity to do paid and mentored graduate-level research, plus helps open doors to graduate schools and internships. This includes training about applying to and succeeding in graduate school.

LADO and C3 representatives also make over a dozen visits to top research universities a year to meet with underrepresented graduate students and encourage them to consider faculty positions at liberal arts colleges. This includes providing information about specific teaching opportunities and the faculty job search process at liberal arts institutions.

Citing the benefits of an effective consortium, Vick says, There are things we can do better together than alone, including developing collaborative solutions to shared challenges. LADO will help us do this.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Anti-smoking advocates with the American Cancer Society want Illinois lawmakers to hike the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

It is a proposal backed by Democratic senators who pushed to raise the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, and comes as legislators are seeking sources of revenue in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker initially introduced a 32-cent tax increase in his February budget proposal, which would change the current rate from $1.98 to $2.30 a pack.

The Governors Office of Management and Budget estimated that increase would generate an additional $55 million to be used toward Illinois Medicaid program and schools.

But Shana Crews, government relations director for the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, said bumping up the Democratic governors idea by 68 cents would be a win-win solution for the state.

Not only would a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase prevent 28,700 Illinois youth from becoming adults who smoke and help 48,700 adults who smoke quit, but its also expected to generate more than $159 million in new annual revenue, Crews said. Thats money that could be put toward public health programs and help Illinois pay down its high deficit.

Language for the tax bump has not yet been filed but is expected to appear in the Senate next week.

Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, sponsored legislation in 2007 to ban public smoking and was a proponent of the Tobacco 21 initiative. He said Illinois is a long way from ending its campaign to end smoking.

We know that were saving lives by stopping people from smoking and stopping e-cigarette [use] in the state of Illinois, Link said. If this $1 a pack doesnt start sending [smokers] another message, I dont know whats going to, but weve got to make sure that people do not start smoking.

Crews said lawmakers should consider implementing a tax on all other tobacco products to avoid pushing people toward those goods when the price of cigarettes increases.

The Cancer Society recommended hiking the tax on cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco by 64 percent of the wholesale price.
The governor made a disaster proclamation for dozens of counties Friday as flood fighting efforts continue and more rain is forecast to arrive before the Illinois River is expected to crest next week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation Friday afternoon for 34 counties, including Brown, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler and Scott.

River levels are rapidly rising and with more precipitation in the forecast, many communities will need additional assistance, Pritzker said in a statement. The state of Illinois is ready to help our communities as they work to protect our residents and critical infrastructure.

Flood fighting operations started late this week and will continue through the weekend in Meredosia and in Scott County, while Cass County has been making preparations.

Major flooding is expected along the Illinois River into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

At Meredosia the river is expected to crest by Thursday morning, reaching 27.5 feet, and at Beardstown its expected to crest by Wednesday evening, reaching 28.5 feet. The water was over 21 feet Friday morning at both points on the river.

The National Weather Service is predicting more rain is on its way, with the chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday through Thursday of next week.

More Information VOLUNTEERS Scott County  To help at Big Swan Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 395 Big Swan Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday.  To help at Bloomfield Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 496 Bloomfield Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday. Morgan County  To help in Meredosia, volunteers should go to the sandbagging location on the south side of the Meredosia Boat Dock. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if possible. See More Collapse

The state is already reporting record river crests, residential evacuations and flood-related infrastructure damage are already affecting some areas along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

Among the state agencies and organizations that have been directed to assist in flood fighting efforts, the Illinois Department of Corrections has activated around-the-clock work crews to help with sand bags, according to the governors office.

Corrections crews arrived in Meredosia Friday morning and were hard at work all day.

With the help of the inmates and volunteers with at least a half dozen utility vehicles, layers of sand bags were laid along the north levee in Meredosia.

Village Trustee Ernie Gregory was moving sand bags to where the inmates and volunteers needed them. He said they would work all day and get as far as they could.

Its going really well. These inmates are doing a really good job. Without them, wed be in trouble, he said.  And weve got a pretty good crew of volunteers. Weve all done it before.

William Smith used to live in the area  both before and after the levee was built  and was helping move sand bags Friday.

Well, its a civic duty, man, he said over the sound of his vehicles motor. Its a small town. Youre supposed to help.

Morgan County Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty said the predictions on the rivers crest would put it 1.5 to 2 feet above the top of the levee the crews and volunteers were working on Friday. The river is already above the National Weather Service flood stage in Meredosia, but McCarty said when the river reaches 24 feet, that is when officials become concerned and the water begins to put pressure on the levees.

The sand bags should reinforce the levee and hold back the water to protect about 75% of the town.

The 75% number is not an exact science, but we know that it would critically impact the community if it flooded, he said, adding efforts to protect the town have been successful over the years.

McCarty said they will work through the weekend and hope to be done on Monday  and stay ahead of when the river is expected to crest.

Flood fighting is also ongoing at the Big Swan and Bloomfield drainage and levy districts in Scott County and emergency management staff was evaluating the river in Naples on Friday evening, Scott County Emergency Management Director Justin Daws said.

Cass County sent out a meeting notice Friday for the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District, which is set to meet every day next week.

Scott and Morgan counties were seeking volunteers to help with flood fighting efforts over the weekend and McCarty said donations can be sent to the Praireland United Way and American Red Cross. People and local retailers have also donated water bottles and supplies to support volunteers.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is reminding people in affected areas to be prepared to evacuate if floodwaters reach their homes by packing essentials and planning for all family members, including pets.
It's not every day you see one of the world's biggest rock stars hanging out right near where you're out to eat.

But Daniel Poe was in that position on Wednesday night when he spotted Dave Grohl at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler.

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"It's always a pleasure to meet people you admire, especially someone of Dave's caliber. He was just as warm and friendly as you would hope him to be," Poe, a Tyler resident, told Chron.com.

Grohl was the drummer for the legendary Seattle grunge band Nirvana, later forming his own group, Foo Fighters.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston Barbecue Festival wows smoked meat lovers

"It was surreal to have such casual conversation with someone who has shaped the face of rock and roll the way he has. This man has had his hand in several of my favorite records, from the Foos, to QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age), to McCartney. All the better to visit with him at my favorite BBQ joint."

Grohl is in East Texas to film a documentary about mothers of musicians, Stanley's owner Nick Pencis told KLTV.

Round two: Find out which international music sensation is already returning to Houston on HoustonChronicle.com

The multi-talented artist told the station he is planning to interview the mother of award-winning musician Miranda Lambert. the country music legend grew up in Lindale, a town located just north of Tyler.

Of course, much like her son, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, isn't afraid to let people know what's on her mind.

In 2017, she published "From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars."

So what does a rock legend at at Stanley's? "He had a whole tray of ribs in front of him at one point ha ha," said Poe.

It's unknown how long they lasted.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | 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.
A 10-year-old boy is dead and his 12-year-old sibling has been charged with murder after a shooting Saturday in Conroe, authorities said.

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constable's deputies were the first to respond to an emergency call at about 2:40 p.m. in the 10700 block of Stidham Road near Fenley Road, followed by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, Lt. Scott Spencer said in a statement on Twitter.
Converse police arrested Eduardo Gonzalez, 61, Thursday on suspicion of indecency with a child stemming from an alleged groping incident of two girls at a family Mother's Day celebration in 2017.

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No one enjoys getting impeached, and if it happens to him, Donald Trump will be no exception.

On the other hand, its hard to imagine any potential target of impeachment in Anglo-American history relishing the fight more than Trump. Hed rather be done with the Mueller investigation in all its permutations, but theres no one better suited to being at the center of a harshly partisan, deeply personal political and legal donnybrook that will ultimately be just for show.

Trump famously told top aides at the beginning of his administration that he wanted them to view each day as a TV episode. Impeachment would be a helluva season, matching a momentous process of American government with low political melodrama.

This may feel like a devolution from the buttoned-up Mueller probe, but the House should have been the locus of the Trump investigation in the first place.

Because Justice Department policy says a president cant be indicted, Robert Mueller was never going to reach a legal conclusion about alleged obstruction. The question was whether the presidents conduct constituted an abuse of power that Congress would deem impeachable; in other words, it was a political question.

Congress, then, was always the most appropriate venue for the investigation and disposition of this matter, not the office of the special counsel.

But our habit of transmuting broad political questions into narrow legal ones and Rod Rosensteins panicked appointment of Mueller  after the firing of FBI Director James Comey that he participated in  ensconced the probe within the Department of Justice.

Instead of being out in the open, it was behind closed doors. Instead of being nakedly political, it was clothed in thick legal analysis. Instead of being a struggle between the branches, it was a struggle within the executive branch.

Trump was deeply conflicted. He hated the investigation and came up with schemes to crimp it, all of which came to nothing. At the same time, the White House cooperated with Mueller. It was a twilight struggle between the president and the special counsel, with Trump not able to fully fight what was, in effect, an impeachment inquiry because any wrong move would be interpreted as yet another alleged act of obstruction.

Now, the battle is truly joined. The body that is going to make the ultimate decision of what to do about Trumps conduct, if anything, is on the hook. It has to decide what goes too far and not far enough. Should it subpoena Trumps children? How much time should it devote to investigations as opposed to its policy agenda? And, of course, should it impeach?

For his part, Trump is liberated to fight like a caged animal, asserting executive prerogatives vis-a-vis the legislature and engaging in flat-out partisan combat.

Trump would prefer a world in which hes universally praised, but short of that, this is his element. Despite all the press coverage over the past two years saying hes on the verge of some sort of breakdown, hes handled every controversy or fight  no matter how personal or treacherous  with the same straight-ahead aggression.

Trump is almost certainly better prepared and temperamentally suited for thermonuclear war with a Democratic House than he was to get substantive achievements out of a Republican House. He obviously hadnt thought through an actionable populist-conservative policy synthesis, but he has a lifetimes experience resisting and belittling enemies and extemporizing his way from one crisis to the next.

It may be impossible for him to stop impeachment, certainly not if Nancy Pelosi supports it. But hell be the focus of a historic drama that will rate  or at least be remembered and analyzed  for a very long time. He will have succeeded in making the Democratic House majority all about him, and if not getting convicted by the Senate counts as a victory, he will win in the end.

The post-trial tweetstorm will be something to behold.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The basis for congressional oversight of the executive branch is in the implied powers the Constitution grants Congress. But dont let that word implied throw you. The Supreme Court has upheld House and Senate oversight powers  deeming them guaranteed by the Constitutions necessary and proper clause. This means Congress is empowered to do what is necessary and proper to execute the express powers spelled out in the Constitution.

Congressional oversight of U.S. presidents is part of a broader system of checks and balances.

President Donald Trump, however, says he intends to resist all subpoenas from Congress.

As if on cue, Attorney General William Barr  after appearing before a Senate Committee the day before  refused to testify before a House committee on Thursday, objecting to the format because it will include questioning from a committee lawyer  as Christine Ford was interviewed during the Kavanaugh hearings. He now is subject to being held in contempt.

Consider the sweeping nature of Trumps refusal. Hes not saying  as past presidents have  that he will challenge each request individually on their merits (usually invoking executive privilege) or that he will negotiate whether aides will testify or whether requested documents will be provided. Were fighting all the subpoenas, he said last week. Period. No negotiation. A simple stone wall, though he did relent in one case after a plea from a fellow Republican.

This is dangerous, even with the single partisan accommodation. No matter how you feel about impeachment, this refusal threatens a system of checks and balances necessary for a functioning democracy.

Yes, other presidents have challenged congressional oversight  and have generally been slapped down by the courts.

President Barack Obama resisted congressional oversight of his administrations Operation Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation. The courts said the administration had to comply, and it did.

But presidents  in accordance with the Constitution  have generally complied with requests in other instances. Thats because oversight authority of Congress has been acknowledged as early as George Washingtons administration.

And then theres Trump, who has claimed an exoneration that doesnt exist in the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Congress is fully empowered to investigate any and all allegations contained in that report, which didnt rule out obstruction of justice. And while saying there was no coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, it also laid out many contacts between the two and campaign eagerness to receive and benefit from any information provided by the Russians. And no one in the Trump campaign picked up the phone to report a foreign effort to subvert the election for Trumps benefit.

This is troubling.

We have counseled against immediate impeachment proceedings. And we continue to. But the House still has a responsibility to investigate possible presidential wrongdoing. This is true even if the special counsel didnt recommend criminal prosecution  especially because the Justice Department said he couldnt seek the indictment of a sitting president in any case.

Congress cannot ignore the Mueller report and must exercise its oversight powers if the public is ever to have any confidence in the investigation or in Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

There will certainly be legal challenges to the presidents refusals. And this could run out the clock before Election Day in 2020. The rationale for the presidents refusals go something like this: House Democrats are acting purely out of partisan spite or seeking partisan advantage.

Well, we would not be a bit surprised by partisan motivations from Democrats, though there is, in fact, a split in the party on impeachment  and still there is that Mueller report full of items worth investigating and the congressional responsibility to do so, even if impeachment is ultimately off the table.

But the charge of partisanship is hollow coming from folks who cheered the incessant investigations of Hillary Clinton. The offenses alleged in the Mueller report are at least as bad as what Clinton allegedly did (those investigations substantively coming up empty). And we note that Barr appeared before a GOP led Senate committee but refused to appear before a Democratic controlled House committee. So, whos partisan?

The president should relent. A stone wall has all the signs of merely being a convenient hiding place. The public is ill-served by lack of knowledge. Texas congressional delegation should buck the president on this.
I was recently running in Monte Vista and noticed a police car go by, then circle back around twice. I waved, kind of puzzled, then I rounded the corner to Temple Beth-El and realized that it was Passover, and because of the recent attack in Poway, Calif., there was a heightened police presence.

I still thought it was odd how the officer circled around me three times, then I realized that as a white male of a certain age, I fit the profile of the recent attackers on Jewish Americans.

It was a chilling thought, but unlike other groups who shout to the rooftops about being profiled, I had zero issue with it. As a police officer, why wouldnt you have a heightened awareness of certain groups who are committing certain crimes? Profiling is just intelligent police work.

My deepest condolences to members of the Jewish faith, who have given so much to American culture and deserve our love, not our hate.

Shannon Deason

How much better?

Re: The future of Pre-K 4 SA rests with voters in 2020 election, by columnist Gilbert Garcia, Metro, Sunday:

Mr. Garcia tells us taxpayers spent $47.6 million on 2,000 children. That is $23,800 per child. By how much have the attendeesperformed better than their peers? Guess that metric doesnt matter. How much of the money went to staff salaries versus teacher compensation? Guess it doesnt matter either.

Steve Weakley

No powdered booze

Re: Push Legislature to keep powdered alcohol out of Texas, by Nelson Wolff, Another View, Tuesday:

For once I have to agree with County Judge Nelson Wolff. We already have enough serious traffic accidents caused by overindulgence in alcohol.

While I don't drink now, I used to. I am not anti-alcohol, just against overdoing it and then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The last thing we need in Bexar County or Texas is concentrated powdered booze. While I am not in favor of legislating morality in broad-brush fashion, I believe that this is an instance where our Legislature needs to act appropriately.

William Barone
A powerful cyclone has slammed into Indias eastern coastline, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 200 km/h (125mph).

Cyclone Fani, one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent years, made landfall at 08:00 local time (02:30 GMT) on Friday.

More than one million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha.

A state official said two people had been killed.

Flooding has also been reported in several areas, and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m (5ft) could threaten low-lying homes.

The cyclone made landfall in the tourist town of Puri, which is home to the 858-year-old Jagannath temple.

It is expected to hit 15 districts in Orissa, one of Indias poorest states, before weakening on Saturday.

Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said $140m (106m) was being allocated for emergency relief.

Numerous flights and train services in and out of the state have been cancelled, while schools and government offices are shut. Operations at three ports on Indias eastern coast have also been shut down.

Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The countrys National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.

Indias National Disaster Management Authority has warned people along the east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are phenomenal.

The agency said the total destruction of thatched houses was possible, as well as extensive damage to other structures.

I can confirm two deaths for now, Orissa special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told AFP news agency.

[A] man in one of the shelters died because of a heart attack. Another person went out in the storm despite our warnings and died because a tree fell on him, he said.

The cyclone is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

It coincides with high tides in the country, which may exacerbate potential flooding issues there.

 BBC

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Jacob Ngarivhumes Transform Zimbabwe dumps MDC Alliance.

TRANSFORM Zimbabwe (TZ) has pulled out of the MDC Alliance pact, choosing to go it alone than to dissolve and be part of the grand MDC, whose congress is to be held later this month.

Seven political parties came together on August 5, 2017 to form an electoral pact for the 2018 harmonised elections with an understanding that they would continue with the partnership in forming a government in the event that they won the elections.

An amalgamation process of the political parties is underway and two parties, Peoples Democratic Party formerly led any Tendai Biti and the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, have since dissolved and integrated into the Nelson Chamisa-led mainstream MDC.

We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision. said Ngarivhume.

The party urged its members not to participate in the upcoming MDC congress.

During the alliance tenure, many TZ officials were left disappointed after some of their allocated seats in the agreement were taken up by the mainstream MDC on the basis that the party had no numbers.

Its leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, and another official in Harare South were left competing with their alliance partners in the fight for parliamentary seats.

Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.

Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue.

I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status, he said.

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How vanishing lizards in Madagascar led to a troubling discovery about deforestation and climate change Yale Climate Connection

How a Lone Norwegian Trader Shook the Worlds Financial System NYT. Interesting article systemic issues with central counterparties (see Auerback today), despite the finger-pointing clickbait headline. Also a carbon emissions permits debacle.

If This Is a Tech Bubble in Stocks, Its the Expansionary Phase Bloomberg

Why Tesla is taking a different approach to self-driving cars FT

The smart diaper is coming. Who actually wants it? Vox

Could a popular food ingredient raise the risk for diabetes and obesity? Harvard School of Public Health

Brexit

Devolution at 20 Institute for Government

Venezuela

China

North Korea

RussiaGate

2020

Why Universal Health Care, Higher Wages, and Free Public Education Are Crucial Issues for Black Women Vogue

Health Care

Boeing 737 MAX

Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe USA Today. A ***cough*** civilian charter ***cough***.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

None of Your Business The Nation

Everything Was Done To Make Julian Assanges Life Miserable (interview) Der Spiegel (GlennF).

The Racistand High TechOrigins of Americas Modern Census Yasha Levine, OneZero. A must-read.

Class Warfare

Make Debt Service You Jacob Bacharach, Hmm Daily

Hiring surge pushes US jobless rate to 49-year low FT

With a Simple Twist, a Magic Material Is Now the Big Thing in Physics Quanta. A new type of superconductivity.

Between Worlds Orion Magazine

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here
Lambert here: Dont look back. Something might be gaining on you. Satchel Paige

By Franck Portier, Professor, University College London and CEPR Research Fellow. Originally published at VoxEU.

Business economists argue that the length of an expansion is a good indicator of when a recession will hit. Using both parametric and non-parametric measures, this column finds strong support for the theory from post-WWII data on the US economy. The findings suggest there is good reason to expect a US recession in the next two years.

This summer, the current US expansion, which started in June 2009, is likely to break the historical post-WWII record of 120 months long, which is currently held by the March 1991-March 2001 expansion. It is already longer than the post-WWII average of 58 months. Should we be worried? Is the next recession around the corner?

Yes, according to business economists. For example, according to the semi-annual National Association for Business Economics survey released last February, three-quarters of the panellists expect an economic recession by the end of 2021. While only 10% of panellists expect a recession in 2019, 42% say a recession will happen in 2020, and 25% expect one in 2021.

No, according to the conventional wisdom among more academic-oriented economists, who believe that expansions, like Peter Pan, endure but never seem to grow old, as Rudebusch (2016) recently argued. As he wrote, based only on age, an 80-month-old expansion has effectively the same chance of ending as a 40-month-old expansion. This view was also forcefully expressed last December by the (now ex-) Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen, who said  I think its a myth that expansions die of old age. I do not think they die of old age. So the fact that this has been quite a long expansion doesnt lead me to believe that  its days are numbered.

My research with Paul Beaudry and Dana Galizia tends to favour the former view, that we should be worried about a recession hitting the US economy in the next 18 months.

There are two reasons why we reach this conclusion. The first relies on a statistical analysis that uses only the age of an expansion to predict the probability of a recession. The second digs deeper into the very functioning of market economies.

First, we estimate in Beaudry and Portier (2019) the probability of the US economy entering a recession in the following year (or following two years), conditional on the expansion having lasted q quarters. This can be done in a parametric way based on the Weibull distribution, or non-parametrically using Kaplan and Meiers estimator of the survival function. Regardless of the method, and using post-WW2 US data, there is consistent evidence of age-dependence, as shown in Figure 1. For an expansion that has lasted only five quarters, the probability of entering a recession in the next year is around 10%, while this increases to 30-40% if the expansion has lasted over 35 quarters. Similarly, if looking at a two years window, we find the probability of entering a recession in the next two years raises from 25-30% to around 50-80% as the expansion extends from five quarters to 32 quarters (the exact probability depends on whether we use a parametric or a non-parametric approach).

Figure 1 Probability of an expansion ending in the next year, next year and a half, or next two years (parametric and non-parametric approach)

Notes: the dots are the non-parametric estimates. The thick lines are smoothed version of the dots. The dashed lines are the parametric estimates. Estimation is done using quarterly NBER data for expansions and recessions for the post-war sample (September 1945 to January 2019). The age of the expansion is in quarters.

The non-parametric estimates suggest that duration dependence is minimal for expansions lasting up to 25 quarters. But after 25 quarters, the duration becomes very apparent. For example, when an expansion ages from six years to nine years, the non-parametric estimates suggest that the probability of a recession within a year almost triples. If one looks in more detail at the initial phase of an expansion  up to eight quarters  there is also some evidence of positive duration dependence, reflecting the possible occurrence of double-dip recessions. Then from eight to 25 quarters, there appears instead to be negative duration dependence as the expansion takes hold, that is, during this phase the probability of entering a recession appears to decrease as the expansion ages. Finally, after 25 quarters the probability of entering a recession increases rapidly as the expansion gets old. This suggests that, when they are older than six years, expansions may be favouring the growth of certain vulnerabilities that may make the onset of a recession more likely. In other work (Beaudry et al. 2016), we have shown that US real and financial series tend to follow a cycle of length about ten years. Of course, this does not mean that there are deterministic cycles of ten years, but such a statistical regularity makes a recession all the more probable when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Obviously, we recognise that all our calculations are based on a small sample of data since recessions are rather rare. Our results are the best inference possible given this limited data.

Second, our recent work (Beaudry et al. 2016, 2017) has shown that a market economy, by its very nature, may create recurrent boom and bust independently of outside disturbances. This idea is well captured by the statement that a bust sows the seed of the next boom. Although, such an idea has a long tradition in the economics literature (e.g. Kalecki 1937 or Hicks 1950), it is not present in most modern macro-models. According to this view, the economy builds up sources of vulnerabilities in expansions. Those vulnerabilities could be of a financial nature (for example the accumulation of debt/leverage or the concentration of risk or collateral among small sets of agents) or of a real nature (for example the excessive accumulation of durable goods or investment in housing). Because of such a build-up, one need not expect a bad shock to trigger a recession. Such a mechanism creates the type of duration dependence we have seen in the data, namely that as an expansion grows old, eventually the probability of a recession should increase.

To conclude, let us emphasise that the evidence and theory we are bringing forward do not imply a deterministic view of the business cycle. We shall not expect a recession to happen with probability one when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Analysts might find reasons to be concerned (Chinese slowdown, yield curve inversion, etc.). What we suggest is that, even in the absence of a sudden adverse shock, a recession is most likely to happen in the next one to two years, and that this risk is higher than what it was two years ago.

References available at original.
Yves here. To add to Marshalls tally of ticking time bombs in finance-land: another source of systemic risk is central counterparties for derivatives. They were supposed to reduce risk by shifting clearing and settlement of many types of derivatives out of banks and over to entities that would be well capitalized and at arms length to the banks. Weve written how the central counterparties are new TBTF entities, since charging high enough margin and other loss reserves to provide for enough liquidity to handle a serious shock would make many derivatives uneconomical.

We summarized some of the failings in a 2018 post, which included key points from a recent Bloomberg op-ed by derivative maven Satyajit Das:

First, oversight is fragmented. Second, the system assumes traders can meet margin calls at short noticeIn practice, volatile market conditions require higher margins, which exacerbate systemic cash needs, force mass liquidation of positions and increase the central counterpartys risk. Third, initial margin-setting relies on risk models  based on assumed price behaviors and historical volatility and correlation data  that have repeatedly failed in the real world.the ability of non-defaulting members to bear losses may be lower than expected. Even single counterparty limits, designed to avoid concentrated exposure, are imperfect, as Norways case highlights. Fourth, central counterparties have adverse incentives. To gain market share, they might undercut each other on margins or default fund contributions, thus undermining the stability of the system itself. The default waterfall also entails moral hazard: Strong firms, forced to bear the liabilities of the weak, have little motivation to become clearing members.

By Marshall Auerback, a market analyst and commentator. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute

Judging from the public conversation were having as we head into the early stages of the 2020 presidential election, bankers no longer appear to be public enemy number one. Big tech appears to have that title.

Still, lets not forget that the actions of several large financial institutions in the run-up to 2008 were largely responsible for catastrophic job losses of millions of households, the repossession of their houses, the destruction of their retirement savings, the collapse of a multitude of businesses, an ongoing stranglehold into myriad forms of debt, and a relentless lobbying machine that exonerates it from any kind of oversight with real teeth.

The legislative response to this fiasco, the Dodd-Frank Act, is being undermined every which way, and wasnt all that strong to start with. It was passed in order to promote financial stability, lift our economy, and end too big to fail, argued financial observer Tyler ONeil, and the bill has achieved none of those goals. In fact, it created a host of perverse incentives that have likely made our problems a whole lot worse. Financial reform might be yesterdays news, but we are inching closer to another economic crisis, in which the old news might very well become new and relevant again.

Why is that? For one thing, Dodd-Frank did not structurally alter the banking system (in contrast to the aftermath of the Great Depression via Glass-Steagall). The big too big to fail (TBTF) banks got bigger. And by bigger, were talking about a sizable ownership stake over 60 percent of GDP.

One prominent example is the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPBan Elizabeth Warren proposal that actually initially proved to be one of the few effective reforms introduced by the new banking legislation). The CFPB has been largely gutted by acting head, Mick Mulvaney. Likewise, the oversight provisions for big banks have been watered down by the appropriately named Crapo Bill, and Dodd-Franks detailed rule-making injunctions have largely been left to the discretion of bank-friendly executive agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all of which have historically shown themselves to be prone to regulatory capture.

Even one of Dodds contributing architects, Lawrence Summers, in a piece co-authored with Harvard Ph.D. candidate Natasha Sarin, found no evidence that markets regard banks as substantially safer today than they were in the pre-crisis period. Many of the same practices that led to the collapse of the financial system in 2008 are as prevalent today as they were in 2007. These include the revival of some of the most toxic products that contributed to the last crash, such as the synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and the related collateralized loan obligation (CLO), along with an ongoing regulatory culture that still expresses itself in policy preferences that favor industry interests over those of ordinary citizens.

Given the Democrats renewed enthusiasm for antitrust (at least as it applies to big tech), the question is whether break em up to foster greater competition is the way to go with banks, or whether a more function-centric approach to regulation makes more sense going forward. On big tech, Ive written beforethat size per se may not be the best benchmark to establish optimal regulation. The same might be true for banks.

Simply mandating a breakup in the sector, married to free market competition and other market-based reforms, is unlikely to do the trick (that criticism applies as much to GOPers as it does to Democrats). As professors Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia have observed, greater competition could be a good thing in industries producing, say, widgets, since the lower the price that could potentially ensue as a result of lower profits and greater productivity that would be impacted by the competition would have positive welfare benefits for the community at large. But Lavoie and Seccareccia also recognize that banking is not only about profit for profits sake or competitive free markets; therefore, applying these principles of competition to the banking sector, where there exists tremendous externalities, could be disastrous.

One of those externalities arises from the fact that the banking sector has a unique social dimension that in many respects does not readily lend itself to all of the dictates of a competitive free market system. There is a reason why our government made a conscious policy decision after the Great Depression to guarantee the liabilities of the banking system via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It was to protect the integrity of the payments system, the lifeblood of an economy, as well as the businesses and consumers who relied on the provision of credit provided by the banks.

A controlled oligopoly that disincentivizes banks from embracing risky speculation is one way to go (it works reasonably well in Canada, for example) because it focuses the regulatory thrust on function and outcome, rather than size alone. However, the U.S. banks are much bigger in asset size. Too big to fail (TBTF) is relevant here because Dodd-Frank has done nothing to stop the banks from getting bigger, even though they pursue many of the same reckless policies that caused their banks to blow up in the last cycle. In fact, the implicit TBTF safety net has virtually guaranteed that bankers would continue to take on excessive tail risk (i.e., too high a risk of ruin), argues Professor Edward Kane.

It is in that sense that size matters: much as the costs of a massive environmental cleanup increase in proportion to size, so too are the social and economic externalities much higher when associated with a big bank. But at the core, it is function married to TBTF that creates the root problem; simply using antitrust to foster competition is unhelpful if all such competition does is to drive banks, regardless of size, to embrace increasingly reckless activities that augment their respective bottom lines, and do so in a way that ultimately compromises the integrity of the payments system. There are some things banks should not be allowed to do, period.

So whats the right approach: do high levels of concentration in the banking sector promote greater financial instability, or is it a question of function? In truth, they are interrelated, but function matters more.

Ask any neutral observer today whether Goldman Sachs or the Japan Post Bank (the worlds biggest deposit holder) poses a greater threat to financial stability and virtually all will agree that it is the former. That is because systemic risk is largely engendered via function, and interconnectedness, rather than asset size. In contrast to Goldman Sachs (or virtually any large American commercial or investment bank), the range of activities of the Japan Post Bank is limited to a fairly mundane roster of traditional banking functionsit is primarily a savings institution. As its Wikipedia page notes, its only loan products are overdraft lines secured by time deposits and Japanese government bonds on deposit with the bank. This makes it highly stable, despite its massive size.

Nobody is realistically suggesting that we restrict our banks functionality to the degree of the Japan Post Bank. We cant turn back the clock that far. But the Japan Post Bank example is an important illustration that a simplistic focus on size isnt enough.

The corollary also applies: a group of relatively small institutions that act in a correlated fashion can be just as dangerous to the payments system as one large entity if the underlying activity in which they engage collectively is unsafe. Lehman Brothers activities were being replicated elsewhere (the interconnectedness problem), by others. Had it just been one small bank, the problem could have been better contained. Again, function supersedes size in terms of regulatory priority.

By the same token, its too pat a conclusion to argue that the collapse of a small institution such as Lehman Brothers somehow absolves the big banks. The root cause of Lehmans failure was that it was a relatively small institution struggling to compete with the TBTF banks, whose massive balance sheets gave them a built-in advantage over the smaller competitor. Working to match the returns of the bigger banks, Lehmans smaller balance sheet forced management to undertake further riskier activities (as well deploying dangerous levels of leverage). The resultant toxicity of their balance sheet made Lehman unsalvageable, leading the government to let it go bust.

Let it go bust is harder to do with a bigger bank. The externalities can be catastrophic. At the same time, the public instinctively understands the benefits of the implicit TBTF backstop accorded to big banks and hence continues to vote with its deposits. Which is to say that banking customers have increasingly migrated to these very same behemoth institutions precisely because the government has repeatedly shown that it will not let them go under (in contrast to smaller institutions like Lehman). Americas three largest banks by assetsJPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargohave added more than $2.4 trillion in domestic deposits over the past 10 years, a 180% increase, according to an analysis of the regulatory data conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2018. (In the case of Wells Fargo, this ongoing deposit growth is truly incredible, given that the bank has seen its already low reputation decline further, in light of the scandalsthat have recently been uncovered.)

The same WSJ report goes on to note that this deposit growth represents an increase from 20% of the countrys total deposit base in 2007 to 32%, an amount [that] exceeds what the top eight banks had in such deposits combined in 2007. Add Citi to this group, and you have four banks holding almost half of Americas total deposit base.

The WSJ article also points out that 45% of new checking accounts were opened at the three national banks, even though those lenders had only 24% of U.S. branches [whereas] regional and community banks had 76% of branches but got only 48% of new accounts. That matters because new checking customers, who tend to be younger, are valuable to banks because they often provide more business later on by, for instance, taking out a mortgage or opening a brokerage account. Rapid, unchecked business expansion, combined with regulatory laxity and TBTF bailouts, has therefore given banks an enormous incentive to get as big as possible. Dodd-Frank hasnt changed that. In fact, a working paper commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia by authors Elijah Brewer III and Julapa Jagtiani has furnished multiple examples of banks paying significant premiums to ensure that they would be over the asset sizes commonly viewed as the requisite thresholds to become too big to fail.

But TBTF is even worse than that, because in many cases, it can actually sustain the lifespan of an otherwise insolvent bank, what Professor Ed Kane calls zombie banks: Insolvent Living-Dead firms whose creditors would force them into bankruptcy were it not for various governments implicit TBTF guarantees (Deutsche Bank is one example that immediately springs to mind). That matters because if youre a bank CEO and you know that in reality your bank is already insolvent, whats the disincentive from continuing to speculate with the banks balance sheet? TBTF enhances reckless moral hazard.

Although banks consistently lobby the government when an attack is made on their profit-making activities, the focus of those lobbying efforts obviously shifts to bailouts, the minute they are about to blow up. All of a sudden government-led socialism doesnt seem so pernicious. It is not unreasonable to restrict the banks activities, especially when deposit-taking institutions are in a position unique to virtually any other business. The government underwrites their main liabilitiesi.e., their deposit basevia the FDIC. No other business is afforded this level of protection.

Likewise, regulation has become increasingly complex and cumbersome in direct proportion to the complexity of the activities undertaken by the banks themselves. Thats often used as an excuse to minimize regulation, when in fact it should provoke a different response: namely, restricting the range of systemically dangerous activities/financial innovations, so that the regulation accordingly can be simplified, and easier to enforce. (Parenthetically, a function-centric approach is better here than simply focusing on boosting capital buffers, which many bank reformers have advocated. To be sure, capital buffers do constitute an important insurance policy for a bank in the event of a financial calamity, but regulation optimally should tackle the activities that give rise to the need for the insurance policy in the first place.)

If banks persist in undertaking a proscribed activity via regulatory arbitrage, or some other form of legerdemain, the challenge for policy makers/regulators is to contain the resultant fallout so that it does not endanger the financial system as a whole (as well as jailing the offending bankers so that too big to fail doesnt morph into too big to jail, as clearly occurred in the 2008 crisis aftermath). At a bare minimum, the goal should be, as Keynes argued in Chapter 12 of the General Theory, for finance to act as a handmaiden of industry (or productive enterprise) rather than the other way around, since the latter condition results in an overly financialized system that is dominated by largely unfettered rentier speculative activity.

Unfortunately, Keynes aspirations remain unfulfilled. Banks dominate industry and work in ways that derogate from broader public purpose. The tolerance of TBTF doctrine illustrates that we dont yet have the political will to curb the speculative activities of the large deposit-taking institutions (again, another byproduct of their size, as it gives the banks more lobbying muscle to resist such changes). But if we dont come to grips with this problem, there will inevitably be another crisis. In fact, its almost certainly too late to avoid that eventuality. But at a minimum, lets hope we do better when the next banking crisis hits, as it surely will, much as night follows day.
(Natural News) Without warning, Facebook on Thursday unilaterally banned several people from its platform that the speech Nazi has deemed controversial and, as such, not worthy of being heard.

In an effort to make it seem as though the lifetime bans were bipartisan, Facebook booted conservative pundit Alex Jones along with well-known anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan in what can only be described as the most draconian measure yet taken by a social media behemoth.

In addition to Jones and Farrakhan, former Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson, former Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, conservative Jewish activist Laura Loomer, and others were also shown the virtual door by Facebook after the platform labeled them extremists and dangerous.

Few people were fooled by the appearance that Facebook was banning Left and Right. (Related: President Trump must seize and shut down the techno-fascists, journo-terrorists and domestic enemies who are censoring conservatives and patriots.)

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more, writes senior Breitbart News tech correspondent Allum Bokhari on Twitter  before he, too, gets banned.

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more.  Allum Bokhari (@LibertarianBlue) May 2, 2019

The deplatforming of Jones goes much further, however. Facebook says its censors will remove any Infowars content and could even move to ban/deplatform people who share it.

Journalist Nick Monroe noted: Read my lips. This is WORSE than the usual sorts of bans. Facebook/Instagram: will remove ANY content containing Infowars videos, radio segments, or articles, and Facebook will remove any Groups set up to share Infowars content Thats TOO MUCH power to give Facebook.

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/1124075733859688453

For his part, Watson, who recently launched his own website, Summit News, lamented that Facebook did not give him any reason as to why he was banned nor did he break any of the companys rules.

Can government fix this?

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit Summit.news while it still exists, he tweeted.

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Naturally, authoritarian Leftists are celebrating the deplatforming of Jones and others because they are of like mind and agree that censorship ought to be employed against anyone with whom they disagree. What they cant understand and dont yet see is that when an entity is allowed to wield the kind of power Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been given, they almost always wield it tyrannically. Allies today who somehow fall out of favor with the gods at a later date will eventually be victimized as well.

But conservatives believe the banning of anyone is harmful to our country and a major insult to our Constitution.

Mike Tokes, CEO of YukoSocial, tweeted, Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries [sp] PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.

Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.  Mike Tokes (@MikeTokes) May 3, 2019

As in, Congress and/or the Trump administration will have to step in at some point and impose new regulations on the the social media behemoths to ensure that people cannot be persecuted for their ideas and their speech, even if such speech or such ideas are not mainstream or offend even a majority of Americans.

The solution to this problem isnt going to come from government, however. It will have to come from the free market. The Facebook disaffected and banned will simply have to find a social media platform of their own that they can build into an entity just as large and influential  but without the political persecution.

Read more bout how the tech giants are practicing widespread censorship at TechGiants.news and Censorship.news.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) Blocking payments to individuals or groups by financial service firms impedes freedom of speech in a free society, journalist Ben Swann has told RT, following reports that MasterCard is allegedly on course to censor the far-right.

(Article republished from RT.com)

The New York-based firm is reportedly being forced by left-leaning liberal activists to set up an internal human rights committee that would monitor payments to white supremacist groups and anti-Islam activists.

The problem is that everyone has their own views and, in a free society, the idea of a free society is that you are free to have your belief systems, as long as youre not harming anyone else physically, Swann told RT America. But your belief system belongs to you and you have the right be wrong. White supremacists have the right to be wrong.

MasterCard is not the only holder of purse-strings that is mulling the selective banning of individuals from their services and funds. Patreon and PayPal have previously barred individuals from receiving payments using their platforms, due to their extreme views.

But unlike crowdfunding platforms, being cut off from one of the leading American multinational financial services corporations will, most likely, have a much greater impact on the financial stability of an individual or a group, especially after the US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly blessed MasterCards undertaking. By doing this, Swann believes the government granted big corporations the ability to control what voices are heard.

The issue with such an approach, the investigative journalist argues, would lead to a wider crackdown on financial payments to anyone who the government would see as unfavorable.

The fact that the SEC has given a green light to this essentially says the SEC supports the idea of censoring these groups in order to freeze out essentially anyone you dont agree with, the journalist said.

It is such a dystopian 1984 world view and yet were living through it right now, the journalist observed.

Watch the entire interview.

Read more at: RT.com or Orwellian.news.
(Natural News) When it comes to milk, you generally have two choices: You can get fresh milk and consume it quickly before it goes bad, or you could get UHT milk that can stay on the shelf unopened for months on end and accept the compromise in flavor and potential digestion problems this option brings.

Soon, however, consumers may not have to make this choice as an Australian company has announced a new technique that can extend the shelf life of fresh milk to more than 60 days.

The company, Naturo, doesnt rely on the high heat used in pasteurization, and the resulting milk is said to retain its natural color and taste just like it came right from a cow.

Although the company hasnt released a lot of details, likely due to confidentiality reasons, they have said they based their process on existing technologies and it does not involve the addition of additives or preservatives. The companys CEO told ABC Australia that they dont use the aggressive pasteurization process of heating to 162 degrees Fahrenheit followed by homogenization.

The treatment has already gotten the stamp of approval from Australias Dairy Food Safety Victoria, and it meets the standards for killing any pathogenic microorganisms that could be present in the milk. In fact, they say it kills off even more pathogens than pasteurization does, including Bacillus cereus, which isnt always removed in pasteurization. Best of all, it does this while retaining vitamins and enzymes.

The same company also came up with an air pressure process that can preserve avocados and prevent browning, and it is possible the milk procedure works on a similar principle. Naturo CEO Jeff Hastings said: It is safer, better for you and lasts longer. The primary difference between our milk and pasteurized milk is the fact that we dont cook the milk to make it safe for human consumption. Our milk is much closer to milk in its original state and is independently proven to be nutritionally superior.

New possibilities for more environmentally-friendly milk

The process could help dairy farmers expand their reach dramatically as theyll be able to export milk to more far-flung locations without having to deal with the possibility of it going bad in the meantime. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also means that more environmentally-friendly and slower methods of transportation can be used to distribute the milk.

The Queensland government is fully onboard, committing $250,000 to scale their operation, and sites are being scouted for a production facility. Theyre hoping to be able to produce 10 million liters of milk a year using the new process, which they say can be applied to milk from goats, sheep and camels in addition to that of cows.

The plan is to find export opportunities to places in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, China and Singapore that havent historically had good access to fresh milk.

The new process, which took five years to develop, could be the biggest breakthrough in the dairy industry since pasteurization came about in 1864. Although considered groundbreaking in its time, pasteurization is believed to destroy vital nutrients in milk that protect people from certain sicknesses and allergies. This invention could help people around the world gain access to healthier, longer-lasting milk.

Read FoodScience.news for more daily coverage of breakthroughs in the realm of food science.

Sources for this article include:

ABC.net.au

ScienceAlert.com
A woman is still looking for answers after her 13-pound poodle was lost while she flew American Airlines from the San Francisco International Airport to Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this week.

Amber Dalton said that though the pup is alive and well, it took the airline a while to figure out where they sent her.

"I was pulled out of line at boarding and told that the flight that was going through Chicago, was not safe for pets," she said.

Dalton had checked her poodle Beast into the cargo hold because he was too big to fly with her at her seat. So instead of flying through Chicago, they would have to fly through Dallas.

However, Beast and the rest of her luggage went through Chicago anyway and the pup didnt get to Raleigh that night.

It took gate agents a few hours to track him down.

"They actually did not know where he went," Dalton said. "Then at about 10:30 they let me know that he had been put on a flight to Philadelphia."

American Airlines has since apologized for the mishap, issuing a statement that read, "A conflict in our customers routing and policies caused us to keep their pet overnight in Philadelphia at a local pet hotel."

Dalton had to leave Raleigh and head to Roanoke, Virginia so American Airlines flew the dog to Raleigh then drove him to Roanoke where they were finally reunited a day and a half after they left San Francisco.

Dalton said she appreciates the airline gave her a free flight voucher and waived her luggage fees.

"Thank you, but how did you do this?" she said. "And what are you going to do to make sure this doesnt happen to another dog?"
Teslas security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who will do anything to see us fail are targeting employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists.

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

-Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

-A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

-Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

-Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

-Teslas beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the companys recent accomplishments including:

-Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

-The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

-Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

-CEO Elon Musks promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So its not surprising that Teslas security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

---

Heres the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges.

As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day.

When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish any of Teslas confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted].

If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted].

The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary.

We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization.

Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information.

If youre unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences:

* This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day.

* A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information.

* A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets.

* Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations.

* In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Teslas Communications policy.

Its every employees responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Teslas mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com More from CNBC:

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Chickens, moon cycles, herbal tea and a bulls horn. What might sound like the ingredients in a witchs brew is the newest trend in winemaking as Bay Area vintners embrace biodynamics as a way to ween off pesticides in favor of natural methods for grape growing.

It seems like there can be a lot of hocus pocus, said Griffin Beemiller, winemaker at Nella Terra vineyards in the Livermore Valley, but I think theres a lot of factual evidence behind some of these things.

On a recent day, Beemiller stirred up a batch of horsetail tea on the bed of his pickup truck, even taking a sip to demonstrate it was in fact  regular tea. He dumped the brew into a sprayer and began dusting his vines with the concoction.

That essentially acts as a fungicide, Beemiller said, as well as other things in the vineyard.

Biodynamic winemakers such as Beemiller have also recently turned to teas such as chamomile and nettles to control weeds and pests in their vineyards. Its a trend that is sweeping across the winemaking world as farmers seek natural ways of improving soil quality and wine quality.

Biodynamic winemaking expert Tommy Vanhoutte, who serves as a consultant to a number of Bay Areas wineries, said another tenement of the practice is farming according to cycles of the moon and stars.

According to this configuration of the moon phases, Vanhoutte said in a thick French accent, some days would be preferable to plow, some days would be preferable to work on the trunk or on the vines, or on the fruit itself.

Dane Stark, owner of Livermores Page Mill Winery said it makes sense that moon and sun cycles would impact grapes since their polarity also affects ocean tides and other bodies of water.

They also have an effect on the lifecycles of the plants and the mildew and everything thats growing in the soil, Stark said.

Another implement of biodynamics seemed to tip the scale even further toward science fiction as Vanhoutte picked up a bulls horn to demonstrate how he makes fertilizer. He described filling the horn with manure and burying it in the ground for six months. Once dug up, he said, the horn contains a concentrated fertilizer so potent it can cover multiple acres of vineyards.

Vanhoutte said hes tried replicating the experiment with ceramic vessels but according to scientific analysis on the final product, has yet to to find something that works as well as the horn.

So the horns matter, Vanhoutte said. We dont know why very honestly, theres something that happens in this horn that science cant explain.

Vanhoutte acknowledged skeptics might find his methods a bit of new age theatrics  and once counted himself among their ranks .

And then you start speaking about the horn and then the people like me about 15 years ago, he said, Im just like, ok Ive got to go.

Now approaching his thirty-first vintage, Stark is all-in on biodynamics, enlisting chicken and sheep to live among his vines to eat weeds and bugs while providing their own method of fertilizing. Stark said he covers the ground beneath his vines with plants to infuse more nutrients into the soil.

Rather than treating the vineyard like it provides us with what we need, Stark said, we treat it as an organism.

Stark said the winery, which his parents founded in 1976 originally in the Santa Cruz mountains, recently made the shift from organic farming to biodynamic means. Since making the switch, he said last years crop was the cleanest hed ever seen. While his first batch of biodynamic wine is still a couple years from the shelf, he has tasted other makers products.

So when you taste this biodynamic wine, Stark said, the difference is they bring this longevity, this extra balance, and this ethereal nature.

The techniques of biodynamics are already well entrenched in other parts of the world. Hundreds of wineries, including many prestigious French wineries, are now certified biodynamic.

Beemiller said hes experimenting by growing a biodynamic plot of grapes astride one that uses more conventional methods. The true test, he said, will come in a few years when he can compare the Pinot Noir wines made with each technique.

Were constantly striving to make our wine better, Beemiller said standing among his hillside of vines. So anything that can help us in that well give it a shot.
Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.

Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.

Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.

The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.

The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.
On Wednesday, the High Speed Rail Authority released its latest project update which scales back the original route going from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in favor of building a 171-mile stretch of regular speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. As the estimated price tag to connect the Bay Area and Southern California balloons north of $80-billion, the Authority believes this new "building block" approach will give the state more time to raise funds and expand the system. But critics and even supporters of high speed rail are less convinced, saying this isnt what the public signed up for.

HIGH SPEED RAIL AND PROP 1A

Environmental attorney Stuart Flashman has litigated several cases against the High Speed Rail Authority on behalf of municipalities, preservationists, and rail industry professionals. He believes the Authoritys latest proposal violates both the spirit and the letter of Prop. 1A, the $10-billion high speed rail bond measure approved by voters in 2008.

"[In 2008] voters were very skeptical and the legislature knew they were very skeptical. So [the legislature] said here's what we're going to do, we're going to put in a lot of protections to make sure this isn't a boondoggle," Flashman said.

One such protection in the bill authorizing Prop. 1A states, "The planned passenger service by the authority in the corridor or usable segment thereof will not require a local, state, or federal operating subsidy."

According to the Authoritys report, rail service from Merced to Bakersfield would not have enough riders to cover operating costs, requiring a monthly subsidy to the tune of millions. Flashman believes this is a clear violation of Prop. 1a and potentially illegal if the state goes through with the plan.

"Its certainly not what the voters thought they were voting for," Flashman said. "Theres very strong legal exposure here and I dont think the legislature can get [the High Speed Rail Authority] out of this."

Flashman said he and government watchdog groups will be watching closely to see if the state proceeds as planned.

"We have to talk to the clients. Its worth [filing another lawsuit] but we have a case thats currently pending."

BRINGING HIGH SPEED RAIL TO THE BAY AREA

State Senator Jim Beall [D-San Jose] serves as an Ex-Offio board member at the High Speed Rail Authority. Beall disagrees that the new plan violates Prop. 1A, but he still calls the proposal unacceptable because it leaves out Silicon Valley.

"I'm not too happy with [the update]. They're going to build from Merced to Bakersfield and I think that's what the Governor wants to do. But I want him to do this stuff in Silicon Valley too, Beall said. I think if we do that, we'll make the project closer to reality."

Beall believes he can still salvage the project and bring high speed rail to the Bay Area by 2030. He wants to extend the state cap and trade program through 2050 and apply for additional federal grants to help finish the job.

But getting more money from the feds could be a challenge. In February, the Federal Rail Authority revoked a $900-million grant to help lay rail in the Central Valley due to the Authoritys inability to build on schedule.

 Bullet Train Delays Jeopardize Funding for Other Projects

Longtime critic Assemblyman Jim Patterson [R-Fresno] is calling for Californias Attorney General to investigate how this massive project got derailed.

"The problem I have with the way high speed rail goes about this is that they change definitions. This is a shell game," Patterson said. "The final nail in the coffin here was [NBC Bay Areas] exhaustive investigative reporting."

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-8477, or you can reach us via email at TheUnit@nbcbayarea.com
Former Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes died early Saturday morning at age 80, officials said.

Hynes serves as president of the Illinois Senate and served as county assessor for 19 years starting in 1978.

"Due to his 18 years as Cook County Assessor, his 8 years as Illinois State Senator and 25 years as 19th Ward committeeman, there can be no overestimating the influence of Tom Hynes on city, county, and state politics," read a Cook County Assessor's Office Facebook post. "His impact was felt even decades after he held office."

With his passing, Tom Hynes leaves behind an outsized legacy for the people of Illinois, issued Governor Pritzker in a statement.

On top of his many accomplishments, including his early support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Tom raised a family of committed public servants who are making a difference that will endure for generations. Every parent hopes that will be the mark they leave. Im proud to call two of his sons, Dan and Matt, my dear friends, and the values of service, decency and hard work that they learned from their father live on in them.

Similarly, Mayor Emanuel also released a statement Saturday.

From his earliest days in the Illinois State Senate, including serving as Senate President, through his years as Cook County Assessor, Tom Hynes was a dedicated public servant and a true gentleman who represented his constituents and residents across Illinois with consummate class and dignity. A lifelong Chicagoan, his personal life exhibited a devotion to his cherished friends and family, in whom he instilled the same recognition of the value and promise of public service.

Tom leaves a special mark on our city. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hynes family during this difficult time.
A "ground shaking" explosion that occurred in Waukegan, Illinois, Friday night has resulted in at least two deaths, and two more workers at a cosmetics plant are missing and presumed dead.

On Saturday night, the Lake County coroner confirmed that rescue workers have recovered one body at the scene, and that another person who was transported to a local hospital in the aftermath of the explosion has died.

Two more individuals are missing in the building, and are presumed dead, according to authorities.

Authorities said early Saturday morning at a press conference that they found the structure too unstable and thus unsafe for crews to continue the search, though three missing bodies were unaccounted for at the time.

Nine people were inside the building at the time of the incident, the company's spokesperson Anthony Madonia said.

Authorities held a press conference early Saturday morning to release new details on the Waukegan explosion that took place at an industrial plant on Friday night.

The identities of the individuals affected have yet to be released, police said.

A Twitter user posted video of what appeared to be the massive blast which occurred in the 3700 block of Sunset Avenue in Waukegan shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.

A fire official said the decimated structure was home to a business called AB Specialty Silicones. Waukegan fire Chief Steven Lenzi said four people were sent to the hospital but did not provide their conditions. Two were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center and the other two were taken to Vista Medical Center-East, he said.

Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said a search and rescue operation was underway for other second-shift workers who may have been in the plant. There is no hazardous material concern for the debris scattered across the streets and in the air, officials said.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

"If you have first-hand knowledge of the incident please call your local law-enforcement," the Lake County Sheriffs Department said. "If youre not in danger and dont have info, please dont call 911."

STAY OUT of the area of Sunset Avenue from Green Bay to Delany, Waukegan!! Please allow first-responders to conduct operations!! Area first-responders are on the scene of an explosion/building fire.  Lake County Sheriff (@LakeCoILSheriff) May 4, 2019

Before official information trickled out, Twitter users from all over the Lake County area were vexed by the "sonic boom," as one person described it. Users from as far away as southern Wisconsin reported feeling the shockwave.

Emily Laughlin, who lives in the area, snapped photos of the large emergency response near the Waukgean/Gurnee border. She said authorities near Northwestern and Sunset avenues were telling cars to turn away from the burning husk of the silicone facility.

"Something exploded," she said in a phone interview. "It looked like it was a building but they stopped everyone from getting closer."

Nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were without power and viewers calling NBC 5 said windows in homes were shattered throuhgout the area.

No other information was immediately available.
Power utilities around the world are supersizing their solar farms, with a collection of more than 5 million photovoltaic panels in southern Egypt set to be globe's largest, NBC News reported. The $4 billion Benban solar park near Aswan will cover an area 10 times bigger than New Yorks Central Park when completed next year and generate the equivalent output of two nuclear power plants combined.

There are huge savings for larger projects, said Benjamin Attia, a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Logistics, transport, construction and installation all benefit from scale economies."

A challenge with solar farms is that typically they are located in remote locations. The grid around new solar or wind farms will not be very strong," Daniel Kirschen, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, said. "So youre going to need to reinforce the grid, and that can get quite expensive.

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share, NBC News reported.
A Bridgeport veterinarian is accused of animal abuse and theft after police say he performed an unnecessary procedure on a dog and then left the dog without proper feeding for days.

Dr. Amr Wasfi, who worked at the Black Rock Animal Hospital, faces charges of animal cruelty and third-degree larceny.

The arrest warrant shows that police received at least two complaints about Wasfi.

The arrest warrant details one complaint regarding the treatment of a dog named Monster. According to the warrant, Monsters owner brought his pet to Black Rock Animal Hospital on February 14 with a limp. The owner said he was told that Monster had a sprained knee and was sent home with pain medication. One week later Monster was still limping and so they returned to see Wasfi.

According to the arrest warrant, on March 2 Wasfi told the owner that Monster had a fractured pelvis and needed surgery. The owner was told Monster would need to stay until March 7.

The owner told police that he contacted the vet on March 7 and was told Monster had to stay a few more days for monitoring. The victim began trying to visit his dog and was refused. According to the warrant, he finally contacted Animal Control and got Monster back on March 25.

According to the document, Monster went in originally weighting 63 pounds, and when he was released to his owner, he weighed only 46 pounds.

The owner took Monster to the emergency room at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. The veterinarians there determined Monster never had a fracture and that the surgery, which included putting a screw in his pelvis, had been unnecessary. One of those veterinarians also told police that Monster was being treated for refeeding syndrome and dehydration, which happens when an animal is without proper food or water for at least 10 days.

The owner told police Wasfi charged him $3,330 for the surgery.

In another complaint, a former Black Rock employee reported that she witnessed Wasfi hit a kitten that was under anesthesia so hard that the kittens intestines popped out of an incision. She also said that Wasfi was agitated and threw surgical tools around the room, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, the complainant said she raised her concerns to another employee and said she was going to file a complaint. She told police she planned to resign the next day, but when she showed up for work the employee she confided in met her at the door and handed her a box of her belongings, telling her she had been fired.

Wasfi was arrested Wednesday and released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.

Ernest C. LaFollette, who is representing Wasfi, told NBC Connecticut that Wasfi has been in business since at least the 1980s.

"Many people speak highly of him as having been their veterinarian for many years. All kinds of peoples bring animals with many different problems," LaFollette wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut.
A Connecticut mayor is seeking community input in the search for a new police chief amid controversy over a shooting involving two police officers who opened fire on an unarmed couple.

Hamden Mayor Curt Leng announced late Friday that he has formed a committee to see what residents want in a new chief.

Deputy Chief John Cappiello has served as acting chief since Chief Thomas Wydra left the department last fall to take a state job.

The April 16 shooting in New Haven sparked several protests and remains under investigation.

Authorities say a Hamden officer and Yale University officer fired at a car when the driver got out abruptly during a traffic stop related to a reported attempted robbery in Hamden. A woman in the car was shot but survived.
A Bristol credit union employees harrowing experience was detailed on Dateline.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt.

NBC Connecticuts Caitlin Burchill sat down with him Friday to check in.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt. He sat down with NBC Connecticut's Caitlin Burchill to reflect on the experience and how it's changed his life.

Yussman said things will never be quite the same for him since the events of Feb. 23, 2015, but he chooses to talk about what happened to heal, and the help other people.

They picked the perfect house because you know my neighbors house right there have no windows there, Yussman said.

There was no way anyone was going to see anything and that year was so much snow.

Four years ago February, Yussmans home was a crime scene. Two masked men held him and his mom hostage in her attached in-law apartment.

I literally spent that whole night in her apartment, blindfolded, zip tied, he told NBC Connecticut.

In the morning, police said Yussman was tasked with robbing the bank where he worked in New Britain with what he thought was a bomb strapped to him.

Longest minute of my life is when Im sitting there and Im staring at my phone and its saying 10:59 and you think youve got one minute to live. That was pretty awful, he said.

In a moment that played out like a movie, police intercepted Yussman, and the suspects left the state.

Yussman said while he knows police had a job to do, it was the months following that fateful day that were the worst.

The 12 hours were just awful, being held at gun point, seeing my mom held at gun point going through all the trauma was just intense, but it was over in 12 hours. For the next nine months I was considered a suspect, Yussman said.

Two men were eventually convicted and connected with an extortion and robbery spree spanning several other states.

They had told me kiss my mother goodbye and I refused to do so, he said.

You know four years later and I still dont want to give in to them. Im not giving them the satisfaction of making me scared.

The suspects sought out his daily routine by stalking him on social media. While hes not scared, Yussman says hes more careful now, and tries to stay aware of his surroundings.

While he still works at the same credit union, he now also speaks to folks around the country about safety after his experience.
A Cedar Hill pastor whose body was found inside his burning home last February died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. The pastor's two daughters and wife died in the fire, whose origin remains unclear.



At about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28, a Cedar Hill police officer was the first to arrive outside a burning home at 705 Lovern Street. The officer spotted several people on the second floor trying to escape the flames and drove his squad car onto the lawn to use as a makeshift ladder to help pull them to safety.



Firefighters arrived a short time later and began attacking the fire. Once the fire was out, the bodies of three people were found inside -- Pastor Eugene Keahey, his wife Deanna Keahey and their 15-year-old daughter Camryn Keahey. Keahey's 17-year-old daughter, Darryn Keahey, was hospitalized after the fire and died of her injuries more than a month later, on April 1.



The Keahey's lived in the home with two other family members, both of whom escaped the fire without serious injury.



On Friday, the medical examiner said Eugene Keahey died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while his daughters and wife died of burns and smoke inhalation.

For neighbors here on Lavon street, news of the medical examiner's report is difficult to accept.

I was shocked, I really was, I didn't know what to think I was shocked, said King.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's report paints a clearer picture of what happened inside of the home by revealing that Eugene Keahy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

I think it is going to answer a lot of questions for a lot of our community members who were trying to determine why or what happened. and now we have another piece of the puzzle, said Chief Eli Reyes, Cedar Hill Police.

Neighbors say the Keahy family kept to themselves but news of their death hit the community hard...

I still look at it and think people lost their lives in there, and they could have had a well long life if they had just reached out, said neighbor Chihauna Hunter.

The cause of the fire, considered suspicious, is also still unknown. The Cedar Hill Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office are waiting on laboratory results from samples submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory to determine how the fire started. Meanwhile, the Dallas County Medical Examiner has classified the deaths of the pastor's teenage daughters and wife as homicides.



The pastor's cause of death being ruled a suicide by gun gives credibility to reports from neighbors who said they heard gunfire before seeing smoke and flames coming from the home. Cedar Hill police initially discounted those reports suggesting neighbors may have heard aerosol cans exploding or windows breaking.
A transgender woman said she was assaulted in downtown Denver last week by two men who targeted her because of her identity. The Denver Police Department is investigating the attack, NBC News reports.

Amber Nicole, 23, said she had gone out to enjoy Denver's nightlife and drink and dance with friends last Saturday, when she was assaulted outside her friend's car after leaving a downtown bar.

A Denver Police Department report said that an unidentified male suspect struck "the victim three (3) times in the face with a closed fist causing a suspected broken jaw." "We're still investigating it as a normal assault, but our bias-motivated crime unit is involved in the investigation," Carlos Montoya, public information officer for the Denver Police Department, told NBC News.

Nicole said she woke up the next morning with her jaw resting on her neck because it had been dislocated. It had also been broken in three different places, requiring it to be wired shut, she said. Blood vessels burst in her left eye, she said, adding that doctors told her she may not recover from the nerve damage on the right side of her face.
One convicted killer has been accused of beheading another in what authorities call an exceptionally sadistic torture slaying at a California prison.

Corcoran State Prison inmate Jaime Osuna removed several body parts from his cellmate, Luis Romero, Assistant Kings County District Attorney Phil Esbenshade said Friday. Charges accuse Osuna, 31, of repeatedly cutting Romero last month using what the prosecutor called a sharp metal object wrapped in string and attached to a handle.

It's not clear how much happened while Romero, 44, was still alive or whether anyone heard the overnight assault, but "we do believe that the victim was conscious during at least a portion of the time," Esbenshade said in an email. "This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying."

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is conducting an internal investigation, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Officials wouldn't provide more details on how prisoners are overseen overnight.

Osuna pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at his first court appearance Thursday. They include several special circumstances that could bring the death penalty, including that the slaying "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity."

Defense attorney Melina Benninghoff was appointed to represent him but was home sick Friday and did not respond to telephone and email requests to comment on his behalf.

Osuna also is charged with torture, mayhem and weapons possession. The torture charge alleges that he acted "with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose."

The state corrections department said guards found Romero dead in his cell about 7:30 a.m. March 9 at the prison, which houses more than 3,300 inmates about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of Sacramento.

Romero bled to death from "multiple sharp force trauma injuries," and his body was mutilated, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Osuna was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty in 2017 to killing Yvette Pena, 37, at a Bakersfield motel in 2011, according to media reports at the time.

Romero also was serving a life term for a Los Angeles County slaying, but with the possibility of parole.

Osuna has been transferred to a Stockton prison for inmates needing medical or mental health care, though officials wouldn't say why, citing privacy laws.
An Illinois judge set bail at $5 million each for the parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund one day after the Crystal Lake couple was charged with murder in the death of their 5-year-old son.

Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, appeared separately on Thursday morning at the McHenry County Jail during a hearing in which a prosecutor told Judge Mark Gerhardt that Freund allegedly beat Andrew "AJ" Freund and forced him into a cold shower.

Read the full complaints against them (Warning: disturbing details)

Authorities dug up a body Wednesday later confirmed to be that of AJ, who was reported missing a week ago. The McHenry County Coroner's office on Thursday identified the body as AJ's and said the cause of death was "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries."

Cunningham cried as the judge read the charges against her while Freund Sr. sat silent. Prosecutors initially called for $10 million bonds for each parent.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

The judge's order means the parents would each have to post 10%, or $528,000, to be released from jail and would be subject to electronic monitoring. They were told they cannot contact each other or anyone under the age of 17 and must surrender any firearms and consent to random drug testing, should they post bond.

Prosecutors had originally asked for a bond of $10 million. The two were next expected to appear in court April 29.

Crystal Lake police said Wednesday that investigators located a body wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave in a remote area of Woodstock, just a few miles from the family's Crystal Lake home.

The discovery came a week to the day since AJ's parents said they last saw the child after putting him to bed around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report AJ missing, telling a dispatcher they'd checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere,"in the house to no avail, according to the 911 call released Tuesday. But investigators quickly knocked down the possibility of a kidnapping.

LISTEN TO THE 911 AUDIO HERE

Police said both parents were questioned overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. After investigators confronted them with cell phone data evidence "both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," said Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.

Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's Dolve Avenue home.

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.

"To AJs family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said Wednesday. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heavens playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."

Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was removed from the family home following AJ's disappearance and is in custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Democrats are splintered by calls to impeach President Donald Trump. But they have found another common enemy and an alternate political foil in Attorney General William Barr.

Calls for Barr's resignation erupted across the Democratic Party this week after he testified before the Senate and rebuffed the House twice, first by denying Democrats a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, and then by skipping a hearing to review it. In response, Democrats threatened to hold Barr in criminal contempt of Congress  a lengthy legal process that could go on for months.

The feud with Barr has animated Democrats and temporarily shifted attention away from impeachment  and by extension, the party's divisions over whether to pursue it. But with Trump resisting other congressional investigations, and testimony from Mueller likely on the horizon, the impeachment question seems unlikely to subside for long.

For now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead impeachment proceedings, are putting their emphasis on investigating Trump, his business dealings and his administration. If Democrats do decide to impeach the president, they will have already made part of the case through oversight. Trump's refusal to comply with their requests  with Barr just the latest example  will only strengthen the case.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there? I don't agree with that," Pelosi said Friday at an event in Medford, Massachusetts.

Pelosi hasn't held back in her criticism of Barr, accusing him of committing a crime by lying to Congress about his communications with Mueller. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Pelosi's accusation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Other members of Pelosi's caucus are going after the attorney general in even stronger terms.

"This is serious misconduct, this is a serious effort by the administration to prevent Congress from doing its oversight, and in fact could form the basis by itself of articles of impeachment," said Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, a member of the Judiciary panel, after Barr skipped the hearing Thursday.

Republicans say the Democrats are focusing on Barr as a substitute for impeachment, to avoid the political backlash that would come with official proceedings against Trump.

Nadler "can't try to pacify his liberal base by pretending to do impeachment without actually taking the plunge," said Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called the strategy "impeachment in drag."

The Barr saga appears destined to end up in court. Nadler threatened Friday to hold Barr in contempt if he did not comply with a final request to turn over the Mueller report and the relevant investigative materials. The Justice Department is unlikely to comply, likely prompting a vote of contempt in committee and then the full House.

"The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department," Nadler wrote to Barr. "But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse."

The Justice Department declined to comment on Nadler's latest threat of contempt. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes "at no point will it ever be enough" for Democrats.

While a contempt vote would send a message, it wouldn't force the Justice Department to hand over the report. Nor would it guarantee criminal charges against Barr: House approval of the contempt citation would send a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department official who is likely to defend the attorney general.

But if the U.S. attorney declines to prosecute, Democrats have other methods to force compliance with witnesses, like hefty fines for witnesses who fail to appear.

Even as Democrats struggle with Barr, they are in hot pursuit of Mueller's testimony. Nadler said the panel was "firming up the date" for Mueller's testimony and hoped it would be May 15. Trump signaled he won't try to stop it. During a brief Oval Office session with reporters Friday, Trump deferred to Barr, saying, "I don't know. That's up to the attorney general, who I think has done a fantastic job."

It's possible that Barr could block Mueller from appearing, since the special counsel is still a Justice Department employee. But Barr has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says he doesn't need Mueller to testify to his panel. But he is willing to hear Mueller out on one, narrow matter. On Friday, he offered to let Mueller provide testimony "if you would like" as to whether he felt Barr misrepresented Mueller's views at the Senate hearing.

Barr testified Wednesday that Mueller didn't challenge the accuracy of his memo summarizing the principal conclusions of the special counsel's report, including when they spoke on the phone. Barr made that assertion despite a letter he received in March from Mueller complaining Barr's summary didn't fully capture the "context, nature and substance" of his nearly 400-page report.

Graham invited Mueller to provide testimony "regarding any misrepresentation by the attorney general of the substance of that phone call." He did not specify whether he wanted Mueller to appear in person.
While candidates were focused on campaigning in 2016, Russians were carrying out a devastating cyber-operation that changed the landscape of American politics, with aftershocks continuing well into Donald Trump's presidency.

And it all started with the click of a tempting email and a typed-in password.

Whether presidential campaigns have learned from the cyberattacks is a critical question ahead as the 2020 election approaches. Preventing the attacks won't be easy or cheap.

"If you are the Pentagon or the NSA, you have the most skilled adversaries in the world trying to get in but you also have some of the most skilled people working defense," said Robby Mook, who ran Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. "Campaigns are facing similar adversaries, and they don't have similar resources and virtually no expertise."

Traditionally, cybersecurity has been a lower priority for candidates, especially at the early stages of a campaign. They need to raise money, hire staff, pay office rents, lobby for endorsements and travel repeatedly to early voting states.

Particularly during primary season, campaign managers face difficult spending decisions: Air a TV ad targeting a key voting demographic or invest in a more robust security system for computer networks?

"You shouldn't have to choose between getting your message out to voters and keeping the Chinese from reading your emails," said Mook, now a senior fellow with the Defending Digital Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

Mook has been helping develop a plan for a nonprofit to provide cybersecurity support and resources directly to campaigns.

The Department of Homeland Security's cyber agency is offering help, and there are signs that some Democratic campaigns are willing to take the uncomfortable step of working with an administration they are trying to unseat.

DHS has had about a dozen initial discussions with campaigns so far, officials said.

Its focus has been on establishing trust so DHS can share intelligence about possible threats and receive information from the campaigns in return, said Matt Masterson, a senior DHS cybersecurity adviser. The department also will test a campaign's or party's networks for vulnerabilities to cyberattack.

"The challenge for a campaign is they really are a pop-up," Masterson said. "They have people coming in and coming out, and they have to manage access."

It's unclear how much campaigns are spending on cybersecurity. From January to March, 12 Democratic campaigns and Trump spent at least $960,000 total on technology-related items, but that also includes technology not related to security, such as database or website services.

Former congressman John Delaney, the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for president , said he viewed cybersecurity as a fixed expense.

"It's not supercomputers cracking through your firewalls," he said. "It's really tempting emails that people respond to and give away information."

Candidates can get some advice from the Republican and Democratic national committees, which are in regular contact with Homeland Security and focus on implementing basic security protocols.

Republican National Committee press secretary Blair Ellis said the group also works with state Republican parties and emphasizes training. The organization is also developing an internal platform to share real-time threat information with state parties.

"Data security remains a top priority for the RNC," she said.

The Democratic National Committee last year hired Bob Lord, formerly head of Yahoo's information security. He has created a checklist that focuses on basics: password security, web encryption and social media privacy. This is a bigger priority than talking about the latest network protection gadget.

"What's new and interesting is fine, but it's really just about being incredibly single-minded about the basics," Lord said. "It's not glamorous, but neither is the advice for staying fit."

The 2016 attacks were low-tech, with Russian agents sending hundreds of spearfishing emails to the personal and work emails of Clinton campaign staffers and volunteers, along with people working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

After an employee clicked and gave up password information, the Russians gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's networks and eventually exploited that to gain entry to the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, fell for the same trick on his personal email account, which allowed Russians to steal thousands of messages about the inner workings of the campaign.

But it wasn't as if the Clinton campaign ignored cybersecurity. Mook said training was extensive on cyber threats, two-factor authentication was mandatory, and multiple fake emails were sent to test staffers' ability to detect phishing attempts.

The relative ease with which Russian agents penetrated computers underscores the perilous situation facing campaigns. Clinton has been talking about this with Democratic presidential candidates.

"Unless we know how to protect our election from what happened before and what could happen again ... you could lose," Clinton said in a MSNBC interview. "I don't mean it to scare everybody. But I do want every candidate to understand this remains a threat."

California Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign said it also was preaching the basics of cybersecurity with staff, such as requiring two-factor authentication and using encrypted messaging.

"All staff is being trained on threats and ways to avoid being a target," Harris spokesman Ian Sams said.

Others running in the Democratic primary avoided discussing the topic. Some campaigns, including those for Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, would not comment. The campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trump's re-election campaign wouldn't talk either.

The president has often downplayed Russia's interference in 2016. And his staff told former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen not to bring up election security during her meetings with him  saying she should focus on border security, his signature issue, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Administration officials insist election security is a priority.

"We're all in in protecting 2020," Chris Krebs, head of DHS' cyber efforts, told lawmakers Tuesday at a House committee hearing-. "I'd ask, each of you: Do you know if your campaign is working with us?"

Associated Press writers Chad Day, Zeke Miller, Juana Summers, Will Weissert, Meg Kinnard and Sara Burnett contributed to this report.
A Vista, California, Fire Department captain and lifelong Star Wars fan who famously dresses up as Chewbacca on his days off was hit hard by the death of actor Peter Mayhew, a man he said was everything, for everyone.

"It's hard to put into words what Chewbacca meant to the ['Star Wars'] community, Vista Fire Dept. Capt. Samuel Craig told NBC 7 earlier this week. He was the passion; the teddy bear; the loyalty. He was everything, for everyone."

"When something bad happened on screen, you got the visceral reaction from him, Craig added. You got to see the raw passion and he really reflected what you saw.

Mayhew, 74  best known for his iconic role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars series  died April 30 at his home in Boyd, Texas. The 7-foot-2 actor was the man inside the Wookiees furry suit in five Star Wars films beginning with the original trilogy released from 1977 to 1983.

Mayhew put the Chewbacca suit on again in 2005 for Revenge of the Sith, and in 2018 for The Force Awakens. The actor also voiced the character in cartoons and video games, and attended countless conventions, meeting fans at every turn.

One time, one of those fans was Craig.

Everywhere he goes at Comic-Con, a Vista Fire Department captain turns head with his huge Chewbacca costume and impersonations. NBC 7s Steven Luke has more on the costumes surprising origins.

For the fire captain, it was one of those moments in life that never leaves your heart.

Craig was wearing a life-size Chewbacca costume when he met his hero. Mayhew was impressed by the get-up and humbled to see the impact of his character on Craigs life. They took a few photos together.

He was so gracious, Craig recounted. It was a really great moment.

Craig said he was raised on the magic of Star Wars. In fact, it was the very first movie he ever saw in a theater.

My dad took me when I was young, on opening day, in 1977, he said. I still dont know why he took someone that young to see the movie. Growing up, my entire life was about Star Wars and Chewbacca was just always a favorite. He stands out; he was everything  he was the friend.

Craig passed down his love of Chewbacca and Star Wars to his own son. He was able to take his son to the movies in 2015 to see The Force Awakens.

He also involved his son and wife in the making of his Chewbacca costume, which he has famously worn to San Diego Comic-Con International.

In 2015, the costume was a showstopper among Comic-Con fans who lined up to take pictures with Craig.

Our whole family has a connection to the character, he added.

The costume took the Craig family 18 months to make. His son was only 5 and 6 years old at the time of the crafty undertaking. Each strand of hair was painstakingly placed on the costume and colored to match Chewbaccas appearance.

When Craig donned the costume at Comic-Con, he walked on 15-inch stilts, making him 7-foot-8  pretty close to the height of the real Chewie.

"[My] Chewbacca costume is as close to screen-accurate as my family and I were able to make it," Craig explained.

Today, when hes not wearing his fire captain uniform, Craig continues to suit up in his Chewbacca costume, wearing it to community and charity events around San Diegos North County.

In fact, he was on the phone setting up his next gig as Chewbacca earlier this week  for May the 4th, of course  when he heard news of Mayhews death.

He was crushed.

His son, knowing Craigs love for Chewbacca, was worried about his dads feelings.

[NATL] In Memoriam: Influential People We've Lost in 2019

Although Mayhew is gone, Craig finds solace in the fact that the actors legacy and all that Chewbacca stands for will never fade.

All fans need to do is turn on a Star Wars movie to feel the powers of Chewie.

Peter Mayhew was this wonderful man, and that really comes out in the character of Chewbacca. If you watch the performances carefully, you can occasionally see when its a stunt person in the costume. Peter Mayhews personality really came out, Craig explained. That couldve so easily been a character in a furry costume. So many of the mannerisms  so much of the heart  he really created a character where I dont really even know if it was meant to be.

Thats what made it an endearing character, he added. It wasnt the costume, it was the man inside the costume. For me, he was loyalty. He was this friend who stuck with Han Solo through everything. He really showed the best of what that world could be, which really had a lot to do with the actor that was inside that costume.

Craig is far from alone in his love for Mayhew. The "Star Wars" universe is grieving.

Earlier this week, Star Wars cast members and devoted fans of the franchise mourned the loss of the gentle giant, and the joy his footprint left on their lives forever.
The body found in a car in El Segundo was identified Thursday as that of a 19-year-old woman from Guatemala.

Karla Cristina Morales-Escobar was found dead at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of California and East Elm streets, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An autopsy was pending.

Famiy members in Los Angeles said she had been in the United States for about a month. They are making plans to bring her body back to Guatemala.

Someone had called to report an abandoned car, and when officers arrived, they found her body.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were assisting El Segundo police in the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
The family of a Claremont man who was murdered in Mexico have recently found a new clue in the case.

Almost exactly 6 months to the day since he was murdered in Mexico, Taylor Meyer's father, Kris, says he stumbled upon a lead during a trip to the bank and it took this investigation to Oklahoma City.

For months, Kris Meyer feared the investigation into his son Taylor's murder was going nowhere.

"I don't wish this on anyone, it's absolutely horrific," Kris Meyer said.

Now, nearly six months later, detectives release security photos of a man and a woman at an atm drive through trying to use his son's credit card in Oklahoma City.

Kris Meyer talked to NBC4 describing the moment he saw the footage.

"Seeing the person that could potentially either he could have been involved in the murder or has connections to the people who were involved in the murder, it gave me a very eerie feeling," Kris Meyer said.

Authorities say Taylor was murdered while vacationing with friends in Playa del Carmen in November.

His father believes he was killed shortly after he withdrew money from an atm there. Months later, as Meyer was closing out his son's bank account back home he noticed something suspicious.

"It also showed 2 other transactions on December 7th, from banks in Oklahoma City," Kris said. "The bad guys may have forced him to give up his pin number."

It's unclear how the two seen in the security footage are connected to Taylor's murder, but this break could be what investigators need to solve the case.

"I think it was a cruel thing obviously, I would like justice, but i really don't want anyone else murdered in mexico," Kris said.

Kris says he forgives his son's killer, or killers, but does want them to be brought to justice.
A stretch of road in Los Angeles has been renamed after former President Barack Obama.

A concert and ceremony Saturday unveiled Obama Boulevard. The street replaced Rodeo Road, a 3 -mile street that runs across the city's historic black neighborhood. It also intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and further establishes a "presidential row" that includes Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti noted at Saturday's ceremony that Obama Boulevard is in a section of the city that has a number of other streets named after presidents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"As we drive through this city and we see past presidents on Adams, on Washington, on Jefferson, now we'll have one that was in our lifetime, who was a president for everybody: Barack Hussein Obama," Garcetti said.

A couple who proposed the name change told the Times they wanted to raise the profile of the road, attract more funding for the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood and honor the 44th president.

"With this change, we are publicly documenting what Obama's legacy as our nation's first black President means to our city and our South Los Angeles community," City Council President Herb Wesson said in a statement.

"For every child who will drive down this street and see the President's name, this will serve as a physical reminder that no goal is out of reach and that no dream is too big."

While residents were receptive to having a street named after Obama, some believed organizers should have chosen a more prominent street. Wesson argued Rodeo Road was symbolically important: The road is home to Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president in 2007.

For decades, discriminatory practices, including the use of racially restrictive covenants on deeds to keep people of color from buying homes, kept the area off-limits to non-whites.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed housing discrimination, and segregation was scaled back, black residents moved into the formerly white enclave of Baldwin Hills and established the first of L.A.'s black middle- and upper-class neighborhoods.

Black-owned businesses and cultural activities once thrived on Crenshaw Boulevard. But over the years, they struggled and there are ongoing efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and author who has lived in the area for 50 years, said he hopes the name change will lead to more investments in the neighborhood.

"The area needs not just street name change, but also fresh programs, initiatives and spending on jobs, education, and housing programs for the mostly black and Hispanic low-income residents that live on or near Obama Boulevard," Hutchinson said. "This will truly be the greatest way to pay tribute to Obama."
Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
What to Know After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead.

The estranged husband of the Weston mother of three, who was found murdered inside her home earlier this week, killed himself following a standoff with police in Central Florida, officials confirmed.

Broward Sheriffs Office officials said that 39-year-old Angel Sanchez was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an incident inside his home in Highlands County on Thursday evening.

According to their report, SWAT officials from the county went to the home of Sanchez  who 34-year-old Carolyn Espinosa had begun the process of filing for divorce from  shortly after Espinosa was found dead inside her San Simeon Circle home on Wednesday.

After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead. Officials did not release additional details on that portion of the case.

Neighbors told NBC 6 Espinosa was a mother of two boys and one girl and had moved to Weston from New Jersey. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay several bills, including funeral expenses.

Anyone with additional information in either case is asked to call Broward CrimeStoppers.
Florida's U.S. senators are increasing pressure on the Trump administration to act on the crisis in Venezuela, calling it a national security matter.

After a Friday discussion with Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles, Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio chastised Cuba for aiding socialist president Nicolas Maduro in a standoff with U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Cuban government denies accusations that it has troops in Venezuela.

The U.S. and more than 50 nations view Maduro's re-election last year as illegitimate because of fraud.

Rubio mocked reports that Maduro was defeating Guaido three days after the opposition leader called for a military uprising on Tuesday that failed to push Venezuela's military into rebellion.

"This notion that Maduro is winning is ridiculous," he said. "This is a peaceful movement of civil disobedience."

Rubio said there are no questions there's a real threat to the U.S. Rubio said the U.S. government must be prepared to face Venezuela, and suggested the militant Hezbollah group is present in the South American nation. The leader of Lebanon's militant group has denied the claim.

Scott said the U.S. military must deliver humanitarian aid to stop what he called a "genocide," caused by shortages of food and medicine. He warned Venezuela could become the next Syria.

"You look at all the bad players and see what happened there. You got Russia, you got Iran, you got Hezbollah. They are all there," Scott said. "To think that we are not going to have Syria in this hemisphere if we don't deal with this now. It's going to happen, it's just when it happens."

The lawmakers met with Romy Moreno, the wife of Guaido's chief of staff Roberto Marrero. Marrero was jailed last month by Venezuelan authorities, who accuse him of being involved in a scheme to overthrow Maduro.

Also on Friday, the Trump administration ended a week of pointed but vague threats of a military response to the Venezuelan political crisis with a meeting at the Pentagon to consider its options, though there was still no sign any action was on the horizon.




By Town Hall, May 01, 2019





A number of Democratic lawmakers are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign from office over his handling of the Mueller report's release, and his answers before Congressional committees on the subject. These demands are baseless, partisan nonsense. Barr has comported himself properly and honorably, fulfilling the two core promises he relayed to Senators during his confirmation hearings: First, that the Russia probe would be permitted to play out without interference, and second, that he would make Mueller's findings available to the public in the most transparent way possible. He's betrayed neither of these promises. Mueller completed his work without any limitations, and 92 percent of his final report has been accessible to the American public for weeks. The balance of the document is blacked out with uncontroversial redactions, made in concert with Mueller's team, with certain members of Congress having access to an even less-censored copy.
North Korea insisted the U.S. agree to pay $2 million in medical costs in 2017 before it released detained American college student Otto Warmbier while he was in a coma, a former U.S. official said Thursday.

An envoy sent to North Korea to retrieve the 21-year-old student signed an agreement to pay the $2 million on instructions passed down from President Donald Trump, the former official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter.

The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the situation, first reported the demand and that the envoy signed the agreement.

The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained  unpaid  throughout 2017, the newspaper said. It is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump's two summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump on Friday said on Twitter that "No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else." He went on to criticize the Obama administration for its $1.7 billion payment cash payment of Iranian assets that had been unfrozen. That January 2016 payment came on the day Iran released four American prisoners.

Trump also criticized the Obama administration for the 2014 prisoner trade with the Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had deserted his post in Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said the administration does not comment on hostage negotiations. U.S. policy is to refuse to pay ransom for the release of Americans detained abroad.

While the majority of Americans detained by North Korea have been released in relatively good condition, Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, died in June last year shortly after he was flown home comatose after 17 months in captivity.

Warmbier was seized from a tour group while visiting North Korea in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

North Korea, which has denied accusations by relatives that it tortured Warmbier, has said he was provided "medical treatments and care with all sincerity."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the United States doesn't owe North Korea anything.

"Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused," Portman said. "No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything."

Parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier are from suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robert Lewis, a spokesman for the law firm that filed suit against North Korea on behalf of the Warmbier family, declined comment.

Yun told CNN on Thursday that he could not discuss details of his diplomatic discussions. He said his orders from Trump were to "do whatever" he could to get Warmbier back.

Asked if it would be unusual for the U.S. to pay medical costs of detainees, Yun said: "There was some expectation the North Koreans might raise hospital costs." He said that in past instances not involving Warmbier "some money could have been handed over, yes."

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
It looks like Keira Knightley will soon become a mother for the second time.

On Thursday, the British actress appeared to debut her baby bump while stepping out for a Chanel-hosted cocktail party in Paris, France. Keira, 34, was joined by husband James Righton.

Dressed in a Grecian-inspired, empire waist gown and chunky gold heels, the A-lister lovingly placed her hand on her belly as she made her way past photographers.

In 2015, the notoriously private couple welcomed their first child together, a baby girl Edie Knightley Righton. Two years prior, Keira and James tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the South of France.

Last year, the Pirates of the Caribbean star spoke candidly about the impact motherhood has had on her acting career.

Celebrities Who Managed to Hide Their Pregnancies

"There's that sense of, like, I don't give a f--k," Knightley joked to Harper's Bazaar.

She continued, "Once you've had that whole experience of leaking breasts everywhere and the messiness of it--there's no control, it's animalistic. I feel that in a funny way with acting it sort of helps; there is no embarrassment any more."

Knightley also penned a controversial essay about her childbirth experience, in which she critiqued Kate Middleton's postpartum actions and compared them to her own. The actress would later clarify her remarks.

She's already instilling her feminist beliefs within 3-year-old Edie, recently revealing to Ellen DeGeneres that there are a few Disney films that the toddler is "banned" from watching.

[NATL] Celebrity Baby Boom: Christian Slater u0026 Wife Welcome Daughter

As Keira described, "Cinderalla" is a big no-no "because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don't! Rescue yourself. Obviously! And this is the one that I'm quite annoyed about because I really like the film, but 'Little Mermaid' [is banned, too]. I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello! But the problem with 'The Little Mermaid' is I love 'The Little Mermaid!' That one's a little tricky--but I'm keeping to it."

E! News has reached out to her rep for comment.
A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News.

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
Employees at a New Jersey White Castle are credited with helping to save a man who staggered into the restaurant with stab wounds.

The 34-year-old victim sat down in a booth in the White Castle in Clifton early Saturday and workers saw he was bleeding badly. A pool of blood was forming at his feet.

"It was very bad there was a lot of blood," said Romie Foster, who works at the restaurant.

Employees called 911 and first responders arrived minutes later.

"Most times people turn their heads and walk away but there are good people," customer John Richard told NBC 4 New York.

The victim, who lives in Passaic, was hospitalized in critical condition, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

It's not clear where he was stabbed, Valdes said. No one has been arrested.

Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutors at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Clifton Police Department at 973-470-5900.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchy's power after the October 2016 death at age 88 of Vajiralongkorn's revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued his post-coronation royal command, which is supposed to set the tone for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father's first command.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said, according to an unofficial translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since assuming the throne. On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed the crown atop his head. The "Great Crown of Victory," said to date from 1782, is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high, weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces of royal regalia, including the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, presented in homage to his power.

Absolute rule by kings ended with a 1932 revolution in Thailand that ushered in a constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, Thai kings are regarded as almost divine and have been seen as a unifying presence in a country that has seen regular bouts of political instability as it rotates between elected governments and military rule.

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has tightened control over royal institutions and acted to increase his influence in his country's administration. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Like kings before him, Vajiralongkorn is protected by one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, which makes criticism of him and other top royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison and has dampened open debate about the monarchy's role in society.

Vajiralongkorn began Saturday's coronation proceedings wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony, completed the consecration portion of his coronation, giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king. Vajiralongkorn  having changed into gold-embroidered royal vestments  was seated on an octagonal throne, with the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass, and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy water over the king's hand, along with a ninth representing the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his full consecration.

"This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation," said Naowarat Buakluan, a civil servant. "If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, it's because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king."

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, "doesn't like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper." When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn "insisted that everything had to be done properly."

"Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesn't mind the expense, but it has to be done properly," Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country's queen. His father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just a week before his own coronation, at which he named her his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the 2  hours of ceremonies ended, Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person, civil servants in uniform and members of the public wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside the Grand Palace to pay their respects.

"I feel glad and hopeful that the king ascends the throne after his father, King Rama IX, to be a guardian and the hope of the Thai people," said onlooker Amornrat Wangpan from Uttaradit province, 433 kilometers (269 miles) north of Bangkok. "It will be a civilized era having many things. I feel that Thailand is now opened to the light and now civilized."

Later Saturday, the king held an audience for members of the royal family, the Privy Council and the Cabinet, among other senior officials, where they vowed their allegiance to king and country, and he promised to work with them for the nation's benefit.

Some carefully vetted members of the public admitted to the palace grounds got a thrill later when Vajiralongkorn was carried on an ornately decorated palanquin to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha  usually considered Thai Buddhism's holiest site site  by a specially trained contingent of soldiers dressed in colorful ceremonial uniforms who marched in strict precision. The king, like his predecessors, made the short journey to vow to defend the Buddhist faith, the religion of more than 90% of Thailand's people.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, in which the king will again be carried on his palanquin through nearby city streets to visit four important temples and allow the public to pay homage to him.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.

Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders return to Omaha every year to learn from Warren Buffett and celebrate the company he built through acquisitions and investments.

But with the 88-year-old Buffett and 95-year-old Charlie Munger leading the company, it's hard for shareholders not to wonder how much longer the revered investors will be in place. And the fact that Berkshire is holding more than $114 billion in cash and short-term investments raises questions about what Buffett might buy next.

Shareholder Stephen Teenois, 30, made his first trip to this year's meeting on Saturday after owning the stock for several years because he wanted to experience the event where Buffett and Munger spend hours answering questions.

"I just want to soak in everything I can and learn from him," said Teenois, who is from Houston.

Buffett has said that Berkshire has a succession plan in place for whenever it is needed. Neither Buffett nor Munger has any plans to retire. Two longtime executives, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, have been promoted to vice chairmen to help oversee Berkshire's businesses. One of them will likely eventually be Berkshire's next CEO.

Buffett said Saturday that both Abel and Jain have done a great job since they were promoted into the new roles in early 2018, and both earned about $18 million last year. Jain oversees the conglomerate's insurance businesses while Abel oversees non-insurance business operations.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit," Buffett said.

Jim Weber, CEO of Berkshire company Brooks Running, said the transition from reporting directly to Buffett to reporting to Abel has gone smoothly.

"I've enjoyed working with him. He's incredibly smart," Weber said about Abel.

Berkshire's eclectic collection of more than 90 businesses includes a variety of industries. Previously, Abel oversaw Berkshire utility businesses.

Shareholder Bill Laub, 67, of Moline, Illinois, said he wasn't worried about Buffett's successor or the future of the company because he has faith in the team behind him.

"If something happened to Warren, there would be the shock and the blip, and then it will all be over," Laub said.

Laub said he hopes there is another big acquisition in Buffett and Berkshire's future. Buffett has said that he has had a hard time finding acquisitions selling for reasonable prices in recent years because the market has soared.

"I hope he finds something good to buy," Laub said.

Buffett faced several questions about whether relatively recent deals, including Kraft Heinz, were paying off for Berkshire:

Buffett said he's happy with Berkshire Hathaway's partnership with the Brazilian firm of 3G Capital. The companies worked together to buy Kraft and Heinz, but recently the combined food giant had to write down the value of its brands by $15 billion.

"I'm pleased that we are partners, and it's conceivable that something else could come up," Buffett said.

Buffett said the main problem with the Kraft investment is that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for it. Buffett also said that he and 3G underestimated the challenges branded foods face from retailers and the growth of private label products.
What to Know A bill in Pennsylvania would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary race.

Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years,.

Pennsylvania: Land of Disenfranchisement?

It's not the state slogan, but Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly and sparks a debate in Pennsylvania's Legislature for the first time in memory about opening up party primaries.

It helps that it is led by a high-profile backer, the top Republican in the GOP-controlled state Senate, Joe Scarnati, who has his own story about switching his registration to independent in 2000 to get elected.

"As I look at extremism that takes place in primaries today and lack of participation, I want to increase that participation in the primary process," Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in an interview Wednesday. "And I think it is a start, it's not a solution, but it is a start to start getting some moderation in our primary process."

Scarnati's bill, which would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary, received a hearing this past week in the Senate State Government Committee as part of a broader election reform package.

It has the support of the committee chairman, Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, as well as backing from the Senate's ranking Democrat, Jay Costa, Gov. Tom Wolf and good-government groups Common Cause and the Committee of Seventy.

Costa, of Allegheny County, said he sees the bill as a way to get more voters engaged.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years, reflecting national trends that are fueling activism around the cause of opening up primaries.

Here's the catch: researchers don't find that open primaries have much, if any, effect on increasing turnout or moderating politics.

One paper, published in 2011 by researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California, Princeton University and the universities of Denver and Chicago, found that "we should expect little from open primary reform in the modern political age."

"In fact, most of the effects we have found tend to be the opposite of those that are typically expected: the more open the primary system, the more liberal the Democrat and the more conservative the Republican," it said.

Many independent voters don't pay close attention to politics and are among the least likely to vote, researchers say. Meanwhile, independent voters are not necessarily moderate, and are just as likely to have party-aligned ideologies as party-registered voters, researchers say.

"Most people who call themselves independent or unaffiliated actually vote pretty consistently with one of the major parties," said Seth Masket, who chairs the University of Denver's political science department and helped author the paper. "They just prefer not to call themselves a member of that party or be identified that way."

States have a hodge-podge of primary election laws, and Pennsylvania is among the most closed states, along with heavily populated New York and Florida, analysts say.

There is movement, albeit slow, among states to open up primaries, say researchers from the National Conference on State Legislatures.

Pennsylvania, since at least 1937, has had closed primaries, and researchers say primary elections were originally created as a way to smash the influence of party brass over picking nominees.

Now, a constellation of advocacy groups want to open primaries for a similar reason: to smash the influence of parties over the political process.

Jen Bullock, a Montgomery County psychotherapist and registered independent, said this is the most traction she's seen 15 years after founding the group Independent Pennsylvanians.

An open primary system can erode the outsized influence of political parties over a system of elected government that doesn't address issues of concern to ordinary citizens anymore, Bullock said.

"I don't think the parties should be gatekeepers to our voting rights," Bullock said.

Party officials are keeping a low-profile on the issue. Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills said she would leave the matter to the party's elected officials, while Scarnati said Republican Party officials have told him "they're not happy about it."

But, he said, he has come to the conclusion after 19 years in office that he is right, and that willingness to compromise is badly needed in the state Capitol.

"The upside for political parties," Scarnati said, "is far greater than the downside."
President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed what Trump again dismissed as the "Russian Hoax" in their first known phone call since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election meddling. Putin chuckled about Mueller's findings, Trump said.

During their conversation on Friday, which the White House and Kremlin said lasted more than an hour, they also discussed a possible three-party arms control pact with China, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Ukraine and the crisis in Venezuela, where Moscow is propping up the current government over the U.S.-backed opposition.

"We had a good conversation about many things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said the two leaders were considering a new nuclear agreement "where we make less and they make less. And maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now." He said they had discussed the possibility of including China in the deal and that China would "very much would like to be a part of" it.

But more interesting, perhaps, was what was left unsaid.

Trump said that, at no point, did he warn Putin not to meddle in the next election. And while he and Putin did discuss Mueller's findings, they appeared to gloss over Mueller's description of the extensive efforts Russia took to interfere in the 2016 election, including the 25 Russians indicted for that effort.

"We discussed it," Trump said of the report. "He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that, 'It started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse,'" Trump said of Putin. "But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. So pretty much that's what it was."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said Trump didn't tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election because he's made that clear in the past. "He doesn't need to do that every two seconds," she said.

Mueller's report concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "sweeping and systematic." Ultimately, Mueller's investigators did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, but they found multiple contacts. Indeed, the report concluded that "the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."

Trump tweeted after the call that the two had discussed topics including the "Russian Hoax."

"As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing," he wrote.

Trump said he and Putin had instead focused on other topics, including the possibility of the new nuclear arms deal between the U.S., Russia and China. He said U.S. officials had broached the idea with the Chinese during ongoing trade talks and that China was "excited about that, maybe even more excited than about trade." Discussions on a new nuclear deal, he said, would likely begin shortly between the U.S. and Russia, with China potentially added "down the road."

Trump did not say which arms control agreement he and Putin had discussed, but the Russian state news agency Tass reported that they talked about the New START treaty, the last major arms-control treaty remaining between the U.S. and Russia.

The treaty, which was signed in 2010 and expires in 2021, restricts both the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on a maximum of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

"There was a discussion about having  extending the current nuclear agreement  as well as discussions about potentially starting a new one that could include China as well," Sanders said.

Trump earlier this year announced that he was pulling the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Trump accused Moscow of violating its terms with "impunity" by deploying missiles banned by the pact. Moscow denies violating it and has accused Washington of being in non-compliance.

Trump's decision to exit the INF treaty reflected his administration's view that it was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. China's military has grown mightily since that treaty was signed, and the pact had prevented the U.S. from deploying weapons to counter some of those being developed by Beijing.

"The world has moved on from the Cold War and its bilateral arms control treaties that cover limited types of nuclear weapons or only certain ranges of adversary missiles," national security adviser John Bolton told The Associated Press last week. "Russia and China must be brought to the table."

A Kremlin readout of the call said the two presidents confirmed their mutual desire "to intensify dialogue in various fields, including on issues of strategic stability," but gave no details about a possible arms deal.

Trump said the two also spoke extensively about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last week to meet with Putin. Sanders said Trump said several times that it was important for Russia to continue to help put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

The statement released by the Kremlin after Friday's call said Putin stressed that "Pyongyang's conscientious fulfillment of its obligations should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce sanctions pressure on North Korea."

On Venezuela, Trump insisted that Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela." That's despite the fact that Russia has forged a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

The U.S. and about 50 other nations take the position that Maduro's re-election last year was irrevocably marred by fraud and he is not the legitimate president. In January, the administration took the unusual step of recognizing Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, as interim president.

The Kremlin said that during the call, Putin stressed that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine the future of their country. The statement said that outside interference in internal affairs and attempts at forceful regime change in Caracas undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis.
A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.

John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy after 15 days of jury deliberations. Four ex-employees of the Chandler, Arizona-based company, including the former exotic dancer, were also convicted.

Some of the most sensational evidence in the months-long federal trial included a video of employees dancing and rapping around an executive dressed as a giant bottle of the powerful opioid spray Subsys, and testimony about how the company made a habit of hiring attractive women as sales representatives.

The case threw a spotlight on the federal government's efforts to go after those it views as responsible for fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.

Opioid overdoses claimed nearly 400,000 lives in the U.S. between 1999 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illegal drugs such as heroin.

Kapoor and the others were accused of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys and misleading insurers in order to get payment approved for the costly drug, which is meant for cancer patients in severe pain. The bribes were paid in the form of fees for sham speaking engagements that were billed as educational opportunities for other doctors.

The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.

"We will continue the fight to clear Dr. Kapoor's name," defense attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. She said the long deliberations prove it was "far from an open-and-shut case."

A former sales representative testified that regional sales manager Sunrise Lee once gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to a doctor whom Insys was pushing to write more prescriptions. Lee's lawyer said she will challenge the verdict.

Jurors also watched the rap video meant to motivate sales reps to push doctors to prescribe higher doses of the drug.

The company's former CEO, Michael Babich, pleaded guilty and testified against his colleagues. He said Insys recruited sales reps who were "easy on the eyes" because doctors didn't want an "unattractive person to walk in their door."

Kapoor's attorney sought to shift the blame onto the company's former vice president of sales, Alec Burlakoff, who also pleaded guilty.




By Israel Hayom, May 01, 2019





It turns out that the Islamist terrorists who slaughtered more than 350 people in Sri Lanka came from one of that countrys wealthiest families. This news will surely come as a surprise to those who have become accustomed to hearing political leaders and pundits claim that poverty is what drives young Muslims to become terrorists.





The whole premise behind the more than $10 billion that the United States gave to the Palestinian Authority from 1994 to 2017 was that Palestinian unemployment will lead to Palestinian terrorism  so we better give them money, and lots of it.
A vigil was held for a 13-year-old boy who died Friday night after getting hit by a car in a tragic accident in Lemon Grove.

The boy has since been identified as Trevon Harris, by his mother, Tanya Harris, who spoke to NBC 7.

Dozens of people attended the vigil held Saturday night, including Mayor of Lemon Grove Racquel Vasquez. Many brought balloons, flowers, and even stuffed animals to leave at the scene.

Trevons mother said she wants the community to remember her sons love for life, his love for his little brother, and his dreams of becoming a basketball player.

We ought to celebrate his life today, said Tanya.

Tanya shared that Trevon dreamed of making it to the NBA as he was a big Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry fan. He was on The Lemon Groves recreational team called, The Young Bulls.

Tanya Harris/NBC 7

She shared the last moment she spent with him at the hospital saying that when she held his hand, she felt his spirit saying, Mom, Im ok.

The tragic accident happened in front of San Miguel Elementary School at around 6:19 p.m. Friday night, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department.

Witnesses told NBC 7 Trevon ran from his front yard between two parked cars, slid on loose gravel, and fell forward into the street as a car was coming by.

Tanya was turning the car around to pick him up when the collision happened, witnesses said.

Trevon was then taken to Rady Childrens Hospital with severe head injuries. He was pronounced dead a short time later, said SDSO.

On Saturday, the Lemon Grove School District released a statement saying:

"On Friday evening, a 7th grade Lemon Grove Middle School student was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Lemon Grove. On behalf of the Lemon Grove School District, we want to extend our deepest and most profound sympathy to the family, friends, and community during this most difficult time.

"The mental health and well-being of our staff and students will be at the forefront for the foreseeable future. District staff will have counseling support in place at Lemon Grove Middle School and San Miguel Elementary School Monday morning. Please contact your school principal if your child is in need of additional support. Over the coming days, in particular, we ask staff, students, and the Lemon Grove community alike to seek support if needed."

Trevons family has organized a Go Fund Me page to help pay for funeral expenses.

The accident is under investigation but officials do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors. The driver remained at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators. Witnesses said the driver knelt on the side of the road and prayed for the victim.

Anyone with information on this incident can call the Lemon Grove Station at (619) 337-2000.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the boy was 14 years old. NBC 7 has since spoken with the boy's mother, who told NBC 7 the boy had just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago.
Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wife's ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called "marital rape exemption" or "spousal defense" still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

"No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books," Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. "The concept of a pre-existing relationship defense should have never been part of our criminal statutes."

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as "appalling and archaic."

"Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force," she said. "You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and it's not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and it's not a crime. It was really troubling."

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by women's rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states' marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victim's capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for "smacking the other's behind" during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

"If your religion believes if you're married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption?" he asked.

"No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment," replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But that's no place for the General Assembly."

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hale's premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses can't be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isn't serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the state's marital rape exemption.

"I was beside myself," she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

"I thought if I can't have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it," she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teeson's advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

"She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story," Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. "Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Let's do the right thing. Let's right this wrong."

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said she's not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

"In the past, I know that there's been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth," Tobin said. "But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for."

Boggs' bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohio's criminal code. Her argument in favor of it is straightforward.

"Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldn't give you permission to rape them," she said.

Associated Press writer Brian Witte and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.
Washington, D.C. has a well-known rat problem. Rodent complaints to the citys 311 line have been steadily increasing over the last few years and the citys mayor has now led two rat walks in an effort to track the growing rodent infestation. The District is even trying birth control on rats.

But for the last few years, the Humane Rescue Alliance has been spearheading a creative, though not exactly unheard of, way to fight the rat kings and queens of the District of Columbia: pairing local businesses and communities with feral, unsocialized cats to hunt and kill their natural prey.

First developed in 2017, the HRAs Blue Collar Cats program takes stray, feral cats that end up in its care, spays and neuters them, and then matches them to businesses or homes to catch and deter unwanted rodents, HRA Vice President Lauren Lipsey told News4.

Our original goal was to do a handful in the first year, but we didnt recognize the number of property owners that would be interested, Lipsey said.

The program started off with a bang, with 20 feline placements around the city and a waiting list more than 40 people long, Lipsey said.

We had an initial boost with great publicity, Lipsey said. It became attractive to cat aficionados and people who previously did not have an interest in cats.

Now, Blue Collar Cats are at work in the most populous area of the city, prowling the streets of Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Petworth and Shaw for those squirmy tails and furry shadows that haunt D.C. residents.

Lipsey also said that she and the HRA were surprised to see how many homeowners were interested in sponsoring a Blue Collar Cat in their neighborhood, given that they marketed the program as a way for businesses to deal with pests.

We anticipated mostly businesses, and then homeowners contacted us, which was not necessarily how we marketed the program, Lipsey said. But there was also excitement to see properties accept pairs of cats together.

To assign a pair of cats together is a big accomplishment, Lipsey said, because their feral nature makes them fearful of humans and other animals. By definition, feral cats are unsocialized, usually wandering cities lonelily and scavenging for food.

If we get two cats and we can match them together, they can be social with each other, Lipsey said. It works with cats because unsocial cats can wander alone when they are spayed and neutered.

And 2018 was another year of success for the program, Lipsey said. The HRA was able to place 110 cats around the city, with 17 businesses taking 25 cats and 62 homes taking 85 cats.

One of those businesses is D.C.s own Right Proper Brewing Company in Northeast Washington.

At this Brookland facility, co-owner Thor Cheston said his feline staff member does his fair share in keeping the barley and hops fermenting.

There is a theory that links the domestication of cats to the development of brewing, that the reason why cats were domesticated in the first place was to guard grain, Cheston said. Cats were following the food source, rodents, and the rodents were following their food source, grain.

Cheston said this history drew him to want to recruit a Blue Collar Cat.

Breweries having or employing a cat or multiple cats goes back centuries, Cheston said. So when I learned about the Blue Collar Cat program, I jumped all over it. It just seemed so natural.

Right Proper Brewing has had two rat-hunting cats, Cheston said. Their first employee, named Barley, worked for the brewery for six months before running off in 2017. The brewery now has a younger cat, named Oats, who joined the team in 2018.

Barley was great. He was a little bit older so he didnt grow as attached to us as our current cat is now, so eventually he did run away, Cheston told News4. But he was very effective at his job.

Still, though Oats, is more energetic and relatively more friendly, he still keeps his distance, Cheston said.

He still doesnt let us touch him, we cant pet him, he does not care too much for that interaction but its almost like we have an understanding, Cheston said. We have a professional courtesy I would say.

Lipsey said Right Proper is a perfect example of the kind of relationship between cat and partner that succeeds.

Theyve been huge supporters and they are a good member of the community, Lipsey said. They really serve as an example to other businesses.

And Cheston said the presence of a cat is often enough to scare away rats.

We had an issue with this one rat that was eating through installation and working his way through drywall and barley and he nixed that. I think the word got out very quickly, Cheston said.

And Cheston said he has no intention of letting Oats go.

We havent seen any activity since hes been here, Cheston said. Hes our guy.

Learn more about the Blue Collar Cats program here.
A Maryland man faces a felony charge for attempting to have sex with a horse and has been ordered to stay away from all animals while he awaits his day in court, authorities said on Friday.

Officials say 67-year-old James Von Dundas from North Potomac, Maryland, was charged with attempted carnal knowledge of an animal after soliciting an undercover Loudoun County Animal Services officer on Thursday for the opportunity to have sexual relations with a horse.

Police arrested Von Dundas at Balls Bluff Park in Leesburg, Virginia, where he "indicated his intent to engage in the illegal activity" to the animal services officer, police said.

He has been charged and was released on $2,500 bond.

April is "prevention of cruelty to animals month." News4's Sheena Parveen talked to Chris Schindler from Humane Rescue Alliance to find out how the organization handles animal cruelty.

Loudoun County has zero tolerance for criminal acts that include cruel and heinous behavior towards animals, Animal Control Chief Chris Brosan said in a news release. We routinely conduct investigations to protect all animals in Loudoun.

Von Dundas is also prohibited from being in contact with any animal species before his court appearance on May 6, officials said.

Under Virginia law, crimes against animals are a Class 6 felony, which can lead to a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In January, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld Virginia's ban on bestiality, saying that animals are not able to provide consent.

We recognize that proactive investigations are one of the best ways to ensure the community is safe, said Department of Animal Services Director Nina Stively in a news release. We do not want to wait for crimes against animals to happen, we want to prevent them.
If ever there was a topic that might easily lend itself to bipartisan agreement in Massachusetts it would be lobster, the tasty crustacean that's long been both a staple of New England cuisine and a vital part of the region's economy.

Democratic and Republican leaders on Beacon Hill are moving toward consensus on legislation that seeks to expand lobster processing, in turn growing markets and giving consumers a wider selection of lobster products at restaurants and local supermarkets. The plan received a major boost from the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, which in a recent report concluded it would deliver "economic benefits throughout the state's seafood supply chain," along with "greater access to desirable seafood products."

Pending final approval from the lawmakers, the state's lobster regulations would change to allow for in-state processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell _ claws and tails, for example _ and permit seafood dealers to import shell-on lobster parts for further processing.

Current law is more limited. You can, of course, sell whole lobsters cooked or uncooked, and the meat can be sold canned or at restaurants; think lobster rolls. In 2013, the Legislature amended the statute to allow frozen shell-on tails that weigh at least 3 ounces to be sold, as well.

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has for several years pushed to further expand legal lobster processing in Massachusetts, citing figures that show about 80% of the state's lobster catch now being shipped to Maine or Canada for processing.

"This legislation modernizes those lobster laws to bolster the fishing industry and give consumers, including local restaurants and food stores, more choices while sustainably supporting coastal fishing communities," Tarr said in a statement.

The Republican represents the coastal city of Gloucester, the state's No. 1 lobstering port. Massachusetts as a whole boasts the nation's second-largest lobster harvest, about 11% of the U.S. total. Maine, which liberalized its processing laws about a decade ago, is far and away the largest catcher, with 83% of the domestic haul.

Relaxing the current regulations would create new business opportunities in Massachusetts, Tarr and other supporters contend. One company, Topsfield-based East Coast Seafood, has already told state officials it would look to expand its processing facilities and create new jobs if the bill becomes law.

The measure easily cleared the Senate last year with support from key Democrats in coastal districts, including Sens. Mark Montigny, of New Bedford, and Michael Rodrigues, of Westport. But the House wasn't quite ready to fully embrace the idea.

First, House lawmakers sought assurances from the Division of Marine Fisheries that easing current restrictions wouldn't harm lobster conservation efforts and that regulators would be able to prevent the illegal breaking apart of juvenile lobsters that are below minimum state and federal size limits.

The agency's report, issued in December, foresaw no negative effects on Massachusetts' largest fishery.

"This is because the existing regulations and processing requirements provide multiple opportunities for law enforcement to monitor and enforce against violations of lobster conservation regulations," the report said, citing Maine's experience among other factors.

As for consumers, the availability of shell-on lobster parts such as tails and claws fits a trend toward foods that are quicker and easier to prepare and eat, the study noted. Anyone who has wrestled a live lobster into a pot of boiling water and struggled to crack shells or pry meat out with tiny forks might agree.

Encouraged by the report, House backers including Democratic Rep. Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, successfully attached language similar to Tarr's bill to a state budget that cleared the chamber last month, boosting chances of it eventually becoming law either through the budget process or separate legislation.

Peake pointed to potential benefits in coastal communities, where restaurants and seafood markets do booming business selling live lobsters during the summer tourism months, only to struggle the rest of the year.

"As the fall starts to roll in and the lobsters are still abundant, you have fewer of those clam shacks that are open and you have an overabundance of lobsters that are being landed and not enough consumers still interested in consuming the whole lobster," Peake told House colleagues. "This bill will help stabilize that and provide markets for Massachusetts lobstermen that currently don't exist today," she added.
Saturday is Green Up Day in Vermont  one of the state's longest-running and most iconic annual traditions.

For 49 years now, volunteers have fanned out across the state on the first Saturday in May, picking up litter across some 13,000 miles of roadway.

Friday, some Vermonters got a head-start on the work.

Employees of the Winooski soap manufacturer TwinCraft Skincare picked up litter on streets surrounding their headquarters.

Participant Jason Smith found an old vacuum dumped in the woods and hauled it out.

"I've done these [clean-up efforts] before in other areas, but it's amazing just across the street in the woods there how much trash we pulled out," Smith told necn. "There was probably four bags, just across the street!"

Last year, the effort reached 240 towns statewide, with 23,000 people collecting 225 tons of trash, according to Green Up Day organizers.

"That's a lot," Twincraft's Lisa Ashley said. "I think when the snow melts, everyone's a little surprised at what's hiding underneath."

Gov. Phil Scott did his part Friday, along with members of his administration, by picking up litter along Route 2 in Middlesex.

The governor calls Green Up Day key to Vermont's reputation as a good place to enjoy the outdoors.

"To have our roadsides cleaned up is really a statement about who are, and I think it's inviting to a lot of our tourists that come to the state," Scott said at a press conference Thursday promoting Green Up Day.

This year, Green Up Day is going high-tech, with a new app available to help volunteer groups figure out which parts of their cities and towns need attention.

Lisa Ashley said she hopes the spirit of Green Up Day lasts throughout the year in Vermont.

"I feel like we can all do our part, and if you walk by something, just pick it up so it's not just once a year," she said. "Everyone has to go out and be cleaning this up."
Massachusetts State Police diverted traffic on Route 1 in Chelsea after a tractor-trailer jackknifed Saturday morning. Officials cleared the scene around 10 a.m. and reopened traffic.

Police said the incident occurred on the northbound side and traffic was temporarily diverted onto Route 16 in Chelsea.

Chelsea firefighters responded to the area, assisted by MassDOT, when the fuel tanks ruptured.

Initial reports did not indicate any injuries in the crash, which was reported about 7:20 a.m. Reporter Nia Hamm said the highway reopened at 10:09 a.m.
Results and reaction as they come in

ELECTION results for Newbury and Thatcham town councils, plus some parish councils, will be announced today (Saturday).

Yesterday saw the Conservatives maintain control of West Berkshire Council with 24 councillors, holding on with a majority of five.

It was a historic day for the Green Party, who saw three of their candidates elected to the district council for the first time.

The Liberal Democrats took the 16 remaining seats, including six of Thatcham's seven and seven of Newbury's 12.

There are 23 seats up for election on Newbury Town Council, split between five wards  Clay Hill, East Fields, Speenhamland, Wash Common and West Fields.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 17 councillors to the Lib Dems six.

The Conservatives are fielding 22 candidates, the Lib Dems 21, Labour five, Greens two, UKIP one, while one independent candidate is standing.

In Thatcham, there are 18 seats up for grabs on the town council, split between four wards  Thatcham Central, Thatcham Crookham, Thatcham North East and Thatcham West.

Five candidates each will be elected to represent Central, North East and West, and three to Crookham.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 14 councillors to the Lib Dems four.

The Conservatives are fielding 18 candidates, the Lib Dems 15, Greens two, UKIP two and Labour one.

Elections for a number of other town and parish councils across the district will also be held today. These include Burghfield, Inkpen, Stratfield Mortimer, Theale, and Woolhampton.

4pm

Thank you for following our live blog. Don't forget to pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News next Thursday for all the results, in-depth reaction and photos from a dramatic couple of days.

Theale Parish Council results, elected were Clint Rolfe, Becky Williams, Alan Clark, Zoe Fenwick, Paul Clifford, Stuart Coker, Dan Baker, Lisa Cox, Iain Hopcroft, Jan Richardson, and Katie Leanne Gash

3.50pm

An incredible day for the Lib Dems, who have won 19 out of the 23 seats on Newbury Town Council and 15 of the 18 seats on Thatcham Town Council.

The party also took 16 seats on West Berkshire Council yesterday (a gain of 11).

Lib Dem Jeff Brooks said that a "yellow tide had swept away the blues".

3.05pm

The full results for Newbury East Fields are as follows:

Billy Drummond Liberal Democrats 896 Elected

Olivia Marie Elizabeth Lewis Liberal Democrats 820 Elected

Erik Pattenden Liberal Democrats 819 Elected

Jon Gage Liberal Democrats 809 Elected

Vaughan John Miller Liberal Democrats 794 Elected

John Henry Bennett Conservative Party 362 Not elected

Norma Murray Conservative Party 359 Not elected

George Paterson Conservative Party 337 Not elected

Archie William Denison-Smith Conservative Party 332 Not elected

Dave Joseph Mbawa Conservative Party 300 Not elected

Malik Kamail Pasha Azam UK Independence (UKIP) 179 Not elected

2.59pm

What a day for the Lib Dems. They have taken five more seats on Newbury Town Council after a clean sweep of the Newbury East Fields ward.

2.55pm

A flurry of results as three wards come in quick succession.

The Lib Dems have taken back control of Thatcham Town Council with 15 of the 18 seats. Stark contrast to four years ago when the Lib Dems had three seats to the Conservative's 15.

The Tories have been reduced to two seats, while the Green Party have their first councillor on Thatcham Town Council.

Deputy mayor Richard Crumly loses his seat, while his wife Ellen Crumly retains her seat in Thatcham Central. Steve Ardagh Walter is the other surviving Tory.

Former headteacher Paul Field is elected for the Greens.

Elected to Thatcham Central were: Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, 1050), Jennifer Walker (Lib Dem, 971), Nassar Kessell (Lib Dem, 951), Paul Field (Green, 695), Ellen Crumly (Con, 585).

Not elected: Janet Cover (Con, 577), Richard Crumly (Con, 564), Robert Denton-Powell (Con, 522), Marigold Jaques (Con, 480), David McMahon (UKIP, 321).

Elected to Thatcham West were: Jeff Brooks (990), Keith Woodhams (869), Mark Lillycrop (811), Simon Pike (808), and David Lister (755).

Not elected Helen Picken (Con, 435), Ian Causer (Con, 430), Karen Manley (Con, 427), Gary Clarke (Con, 417), Jane Livermore (Green, 366), William Russell (Con, 325), Gary Johnson (UKIP, 290), George Rattray (90)

2.10pm

Some big name casualties for the Conservatives in Wash Common, with Newbury Town Council leader Adrian Edwards and three former mayors - Howard Bairstow, Anthony Pick and David Fenn - all losing their seats.

The results in full are as follows:

Roger Hunneman Liberal Democrats 1828 Elected

Chris Foster Liberal Democrats 1809 Elected

David Ralph Marsh Green Party 1779 Elected

Sarah Collette Slack Liberal Democrats 1773 Elected

Tony Vickers Liberal Democrats 1749 Elected

Gary Arthur Norman Liberal Democrats 1697 Elected

Adrian Arthur Walter Edwards Conservative Party 1112 Not elected

David Robert Fenn Conservative Party 1061 Not elected

Howard Martin Bairstow Conservative Party 1010 Not elected

Lorna Holmes Conservative Party 918 Not elected

Anthony Corbett Pick Conservative Party 879 Not elected

Mark Anthony Jones Conservative Party 817 Not elected

Andy Wallace Labour Party 306 Not elected

Peter Charles Tullett Labour Party 257 Not elected

2.05pm

The Lib Dems take five of the six available seats on Newbury Wash Common ward, with the Green Party taking the other.

After taking 14 seats, the Lib Dems have now regained control of Newbury Town Council.

Full results to follow.

1.45pm

The results are in for Newbury West Fields ward and the Lib Dems have taken all five seats.

Mary Martha Vickers Liberal Democrats 1268 Elected

Andy Moore Liberal Democrats 1263 Elected

Martin Eric Colston Liberal Democrats 1244 Elected

Elizabeth Rosemary O'Keeffe Liberal Democrats 1219 Elected

Nigel Peter Foot Liberal Democrats 1178 Elected

Richard Gordon Willis Conservative Party 620 Not elected

Edward John McDonald Amies Conservative Party 567 Not elected

Joseph Alvin Clarke Conservative Party 547 Not elected

Philip Charles Gilbart Witheridge Conservative Party 514 Not elected

Mark Andrew Wilson Conservative Party 488 Not elected

1.30pm

Green councillor Steve Masters tells us: "As a student of history Speenhamland was a very attractive area ward to stand in. It's a great privilege to represent it. I'm looking forward to it, we have got some fabulous green spaces in Newbury like Victoria Park and the allotments and part of the tenure of the town council is to maintain this for the public, and I look forward to being involved in that."

The results in full for Newbury Speenhamland are as follows:

Stephen Michael Masters Green Party 513 Elected

Jo Day Liberal Democrats 354 Elected

Jeanette Clifford Conservative Party 309 Not elected

Mauline Lucy Akins Conservative Party 274 Not elected

Bert Clough Labour Party 95 Not elected

Paul Pugh Labour Party 73 Not elected

1.23pm

The results for Newbury Speenhamland are in and its another historic moment as the Green Party gain their first ever seat on Newbury Town Council after Steve Masters is elected.

Lib Dem Jo Day has taken the other seat.

Its been an unbelievable 24 hours for Steve Masters after being elected to West Berkshire Council yesterday.

Conservative Jeanette Clifford has just lost her town council seat having also lost her district council seat yesterday.

1.21pm

The results for Burghfield Parish Council are in. 22 candidates battled it out for the 19 available seats.

Elected

Royce Longton, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Margaret Gallagher, Jane Ansell, Tim Ansell, Nick Morse, Ian Morrin, Ian MacFarlane, Bill Neilson, Alison May, Graham Harris, Tricia Hipwell, Libby Sharp, David Godwin, Daniel Kellaway, Maureen Cresser, Andrea Hales, Paul Lawrence, Christopher Greaves, Duncan Godding





191

Not elected

1.13pm

The Lib Dems take two of the three seats in Thatcham Crookham. Conservatives take the other.

John Boyd (Lib Dem, 471), Richard Foster (Lib Dem, 452) and Steve Ardagh Walter (Con, 489) are elected.

Julie Goode (Con, 389) and Paul Mather (Con, 425) miss out.

12.51pm

The Lib Dems have taken all five seats in Thatcham North East.

Lee Dillon (1046 votes), Mike Cole (1041), Jeremy Cottam (990), Christine Rice (930), and Lourdes Cottam (916) all elected.

Town council leader Jason Collis loses his seat along with former mayor Sheila Ellison.

Jason Collis (673), Simon Carr (Con) (652), Carla Denton-Powell (Con, 603), Sheila Ellison (Con) (594), Iain Murphy (Con) (487), Lou Coulson (Lab) (208)

12.35pm

Here are the results for Newbury Clay Hill in full:

Jeff Beck Conservative Party 594 Elected

Pam Lusby Taylor Liberal Democrats 579 Elected

Phil Barnett Liberal Democrats 574 Elected

Sue Farrant Liberal Democrats 533 Elected

Jeffrey Graham Cant Conservative Party 505 Elected

George Kenneth Charles Davis Liberal Democrats 496 Not elected

Margo Payne Conservative Party 492 Not elected

Sarah Elizabeth Lowes Liberal Democrats 484 Not elected

Anthony Vincent Stretton Conservative Party 459 Not elected

David Goff Conservative Party 423 Not elected

Gemma Elizabeth Lowe Labour Party 272 Not elected

12.32pm

The results are in for Newbury Clay Hill and the big news is Newbury mayor Margo Payne has lost her seat. So has the council's former Conservative leader Tony Stretton.

The Lib Dems took three of the five seats, with the Conservatives taking the other two.

12.09pm

Green councillor David Marsh, who was elected in Wash Common ward yesterday, said: "We have only got two candidates standing in each of the town councils, but I am pretty confident about Newbury if you look at what happened in Wash Common and Speen yesterday we ought to get those two seats."

Mr Marsh and Steve Masters, who won a seat in Speen yesterday, are both standing for Newbury Town Council. The party is fielding Paul Field in Thatcham Central and Jane Livermore in Thatcham West.

11.50am

The results for Inkpen Parish Council are in. A total of 13 candidates battled it out for seven seats.

Claire Jane Jones 212 Elected

Simon David Hanna 181 Elected

Bob May 177 Elected

Mark Christopher Bates 165 Elected

David Hamilton Thomas 163 Elected

Jennifer Lou Edwards 145 Elected

Moira Ghislaine Eileen Marriott 145 Elected

David Peter Lester 142 Not elected

Alex Popplewell 122 Not elected

Andrew Christopher Mario Zollo 118 Not elected

Vanessa Maria Philomena Tomlinson 115 Not elected

Anna Bidwell 107 Not elected

James William Ashley Jones 89 Not elected

11.33am

UKIP candidate for Thatcham West Gary Johnson says he was feeling confident last night of being elected to the town council.

Mr Johnson beat Green candidate Jane Livermore by one vote in yesterday's district council result. Both seats were taken by the Lib Dems.

Mr Johnson, a former Lib Dem mayor for the town, said: "It's a little bit difficult to know whether I will have the opportunity but I'm looking forward to the result anyway, and I hope that I will qualify to be a councillor for Thatcham West."

11.07am

Thatcham's deputy mayor Richard Crumly, who lost his seat on West Berkshire Council yesterday, said he was "disappointed that we weren't able to get our message across. The Brexit blues have served to undermine us on the doorstep along with the green bin, that's still floating around, and we tried to say 'this is not about Brexit or the chaos at Westminster', this is about local services and local people.

"We think we Tories have been doing a good job since 2005, please give us another four years, but in challenging times to rearrange local government finances."

11am

There's optimism in the Liberal Democrat camp. Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) tells us: "We had a very good day yesterday and we expect to take both the town councils today. That will give us the ability to employ some of our policies and show people how we can be ready to run West Berkshire Council in four years' time."

On the Lib Dem surge yesterday he said: "Clearly there's a national issue but we worked very hard locally and there was a sense among the population that it was time for a change."

10.13am

Counting is underway
The Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business Scene May 16 in New Milford and a seminar, How to Grow Your Business, May 21 at the Apple Store in Danbury.

The Business Scene, an informal networking opportunity, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cookhouse at 31 Danbury Road.
Cervical cancer is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of adequate screening such as routine Pap smear testing. These countries have high incidences of cervical cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Due to lack of resources for cancer screenings, these countries account for 85% of all cervical cancer cases.

A group of researchers from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, have introduced an inexpensive DNA-based testing protocol for HPV in Honduras. The team found that of 1,732 women screened, 28% were positive for a high-risk HPV type and of those, 26% had more than one HPV infection. Results also showed that the most common HPV genotypes detected during testing were different than those commonly found in the United States. Their findings, "Screening for Human Papillomavirus in a Low- and Middle-Income Country" are newly published in ASCO's Journal of Global Oncology.

"We have shown that cervical cancer screening can be implemented in low-resource settings using this method, and that women are very interested and engaged in testing and follow-up clinic visits when necessary," says Tsongalis. "This study also identified something we were not expecting and that is a very significant difference in the types of high-risk HPV that we were detecting."

Such findings could mean profound implications for vaccination programs. "The causes of cervical cancer, while viral in nature, are not always the same type of virus and that could impact aggressiveness of disease, vaccinations and therapies," says Tsongalis.

The team would like to use their findings to guide studies of actual cervical cancer tissue and also to formulate therapeutic vaccine trials. "Being able to screen individuals who have never been tested before and studying the impact of the testing on their healthcare as well as our understanding of the biology of the disease is most exciting," says Tsongalis.

Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, as well as Director of Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology and member of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Research Program at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. His research interests include development of advanced diagnostic technologies and disease biomarker discovery.
To model human health and disease, organ-on-a-chip technology mimics the human body's organ structure, functionality and physiology in a controlled environment. These miniature systems, which serve as accurate models of various organs from the heart and lungs to the gut and the kidneys, can use a patient's own cells to test drugs and understand disease processes to help determine the right treatment for the right patient.

For 10 years, Hyun Jung Kim, a biomedical engineering assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and assistant professor in the Department of Oncology in UT's Dell Medical School, has been developing organs-on-chips, specifically examining inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer. In 2018, Kim led the first study to determine how an intestinal disease develops using human organ-on-a-chip technology, confirming with his "gut inflammation-on-a-chip" system that intestinal barrier disruption is the upstream initiator of gut inflammation.

Now, thanks to a new $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Kim will apply his technology to better understand Crohn's disease -- an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe adnominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and malnutrition. He and his research team will develop their Crohn's disease-on-a-chip system to gain greater insight into what can cause and exacerbate the disease, with the goal of developing new treatments.

"I am humbled by the generosity of the Helmsley Charitable Trust," Kim said. "I am also excited by the opportunity to help find answers to the root cause of a disease where much more research is needed."

It is estimated that half of the 3 million Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease have Crohn's disease. While the cause of the disease is currently unknown, doctors and researchers believe that genetic, immune and environmental factors contribute to disease onset and progression.

"Crohn's disease is an extraordinarily complicated disease to figure out," said Declan Fleming, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at the Dell Medical School who will work with Kim on this project. "We believe this research can lead to a new tool to help us address the complexity of this disease. This could lead to improved treatments or possibly even to reverse the progression of Crohn's disease altogether."

Helmsley has made Crohn's disease one of the top priorities in their focus on developing programs that improve life in the U.S. and around the world. With the number of people around the world affected by Crohn's disease steadily rising, the organization sees an urgent need to prevent, diagnose early and reconcile the most effective and appropriate treatments for patients.

"There is a pressing need for more effective treatments for Crohn's disease, and Helmsley is committed to finding more personalized options for patients," said Garabet Yeretssian, director of Helmsley's Crohn's Disease Program. "This innovative 'gut-on-a-chip' technology has the potential to uncover triggers of Crohn's disease, which will lead to improved therapies and ultimately better health outcomes."

Source: https://www.engr.utexas.edu/news/archive/8801-gut-on-a-chip-research-aims-to-find-personalized-treatment-for-crohn-s-disease
American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

The i-HOPE Study, led by Luci Leykum, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., of UT Health San Antonio, sought to give patients, families and other stakeholders a voice in setting priorities for improving hospital care. Eight hospitalist researchers and their patient partners conducted the study, in which 499 patients, caregivers, health care providers and researchers stated their priority unanswered questions to improve hospital care. Respondents included 244 patients and caregivers. Forty-seven organizations partnered with the Society of Hospital Medicine to conduct the study.

Out of nearly 800 submitted questions, 11 were identified as top priorities. Topics included shared decision-making, patient-provider communication, care transitions, telemedicine and confusion about medications. "If answered, these questions could lead to significant improvements in hospitalization," Dr. Leykum said.

Two-way communication

The top-ranked question is, "What interventions ensure that patients share in decision making regarding their goals and plans of care?" Studies before i-HOPE showed that while physicians were skilled at providing health information, they were less skillful at seeking feedback from patients, assessing patients' level of understanding, or meaningfully incorporating patient preferences into treatment plans.

Communication between physician and patient is crucial throughout a patient's hospital stay, from discussing treatment options to making joint decisions to knowing who to call after discharge, the study authors wrote. "Relationships between patients, caregivers and providers are critical for effective solutions and represent an important area for improvement," Dr. Leykum said. "i-HOPE showed this."

Committed team of diverse voices

The study has limitations. For example, although patients, caregivers and patient and family advisory councils were included from across the country, they may not be representative of all patients because the i-HOPE group of investigators is already engaged in improving health care delivery.

The study also has strengths. Questions were identified and prioritized by "a diverse group of voices and perspectives that typically are not included when prioritizing hospital research and improvement efforts," the authors wrote. The innovative partnership between researchers, patients, caregivers and stakeholders ensures the relevance of the results.

Driving the national conversation

"We hope that patients and caregivers will use our results to advocate for research and improvement in areas that matter the most to them," the authors noted. They also hope the results will drive a national conversation about how best to address the priority areas. Details on how the study was conducted are available at i-HOPE Study. The Twitter handle is @iHOPEstudy. The 11 priority questions are listed here.

"We invite patients and caregivers to have their seat at the table," Dr. Leykum said.
Author Meredith Battle revives the layered history and traditions of the Blue Ridges forcibly displaced population in her recently published debut novel, Go Down the Mountain.

The 224-page book is believed to be the first fictionalized version based on the true story of the people whose land was taken by the state and federal governments in the 1930s to make way for Shenandoah National Park, formed from eight counties, including Greene, Madison and Rappahannock.

I thought the most exciting part about writing this novel would be getting to hold the book in my hand, but it was actually hearing from descendants of the displaced, said the 46-year-old writer, who lives in Loudoun County. I have received so many messages thanking me for writing this story and photos of their family members from back in the 1930s before they left the park. It has been very moving.

Though fictional, Go Down the Mountain is very much rooted in documented truth. It is set in mythical Lovingston Hollow, inspired by the real-life Corbin Hollow of Madison County. The books main character is a nervy mountain teen named Bee, whose father suddenly dies in a snake-charming accident, leaving her to live with an abusive mother.

In the books first chapter, A Deal that Would Make the Devil Flinch, they get a visit from a government agent intending to take their land.

A state man called Rowler was the cause of it. He came by our place and said the state had given our land to Uncle Sam for a park. We were to be out in five months or be considered at odds with the law. Mama told him wed sell. Our land was worth fifteen dollars an acre, she said. She made a big speech about how we wouldnt take any less for it.

While she talked, Rowler looked me up and down and licked his lips like I was a slice of scrapple fresh from the frying pan. He was the kind of husky white man who had a layer of pasty fat on him from sitting on his ass in a desk chair, his cheeks flushed pink from sneaking sips of whiskey. His brown mustache twitched even when he wasnt talking, until I thought it might jump off his face and scurry into a hole in the floorboards.

He told Mama we wouldnt get squat since Daddys people never filed papers with the county courthouse. I figured as much. Daddy always said the Livingstons didnt need papers when a handshake and a mans word would do. Seems like we didnt need a deed when the whole goddamned Hollow was named for us, Battle writes.

As a girl growing up in Fairfax, the author regularly visited Shenandoah NP and the mountains, calling it her happy place. Battle said she never once learned in school about the thousands of people who were displaced from its storied hollows or the hard path ahead they faced. As an adult, she came across stone walls and a bit of a chimney in her Shenandoah hikes.

I was just shocked. I had no idea people had lived there. When I started to look into the story, I just couldnt let it go, Battle said.

The more she learned, the more she had to know. The author started digging into the history while living in California two years ago, when her husband was stationed there with the military. The research helped her feel closer to home and it was eye-opening, she said.

The more I researched, the more I found these people could have been my people, Battle said, mentioning her own father grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama. They look like my dads family, they lived like his family, I felt like I knew them and understood their stories.

Digging deeper, the author was shocked at the notion of how the government took their land or purchased it for meager Depression-era prices. Some of the poorest hollow folks, Battle recounted, were taken to an asylum, and in some cases, medically sterilized without their consent, based in part on filmmaker Richard Knox Robinsons first-person interviews.

The Charlottesville area filmmaker said in an email nearly a dozen Corbins were taken after they were moved from the Park (and later forcibly sterilized) to Amherst County, outside of Lynchburg, to a place known as The Colony or Central Virginia Training Center.

More than his interviews, Robinson said, it was court documents unearthed in the Madison County Courthouse that revealed the institutionalization of the Corbins.

"Aside from my interview of Mary Francis Corbin who was born in the Park, this was largely unknown even by former residents of the Park," the filmmaker stated. "The commitments and sterilizations have been confirmed by recently released documents at the Virginia Library and the 1940 US Census."

The sociologists and journalists who arrived to see the mountain people for themselves seemed singularly focused on the dirt-poor residents of Corbin Hollow, writes Battle in her afterword.

In their book, Hollow Folk, sociologist Mandel Sherman and journalist Thomas Henry referred to unlettered folk, living in mud-plastered log cabins. They described them as almost entirely cut off from the current of American life.

A letter from a visiting social worker was equally ill-informed, describing hollow folk as steeped in ignorance and possessed of little or no ambition, little sense of citizenship, little comprehension of law, or respect for law, these people present a problem that demands and challenges the attention of thinking men and women.

The misrepresentations helped the government market the proposed assimilation of these people into modern society as a humanitarian effort, Battle writes.

Rejecting this mischaracterization, the author got to know the real mountain people in her research, including listening to hours and hours of recorded interviews done in the 1970s through James Madison University. They talked about things like hog killing day and picking apples and all their traditions and way of life, Battle said.

These people were intelligent, successful business peoplesome had large orchards earning thousands of dollars. They were tenacious people, beautiful storytellers with such a strong culture and families, she said. With this book, I hope I have been able to reclaim some of that for all of those who lost their homes.

About 500 familiesmore than 2,000 peoplewere removed by the state of Virginia from counties spanning the future national park over a period of 10 years. In 2013, the Blue Ridge Heritage Project formed with a mission of establishing stone chimney monument sites in each of the counties where people were displaced. To date, seven have been established, including the first in Madison County in 2015. A committee is now being formed in Augusta County complete the last monument, according to Project Founder Bill Henry.

At the time the Shenandoah National Park was proposed in the 1920s, more than 3,000 people lived in this part of the Blue Ridge. The mountains were alive with small communitieshouses, farms, churches, schools dotted the landscape. Some of the families had resided in these mountains for over a hundred years, according to Blue Ridge Heritage Project.

In addition to establishing chimney monuments, the Project aims to preserve the history and culture of the people of the Blue Ridge, Henry wrote in an email to the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

"We are beginning to organize and sponsor events that help the public learn the human history of SNP. Our Mountain Homecomings - annual pot luck lunches open to anyone - feature traditional music and displays of storyboards of family histories and photographs,: he stated. "Our monument sites, when completed, will have interpretive displays telling visitors unfamiliar with the formation of the Park how the land was acquired and will help give context to the chimney and the names."

In addition, a Mountain Heritage Book Discussion Group formed in Rockingham County focused on books related to the people who once lived in the Blue Ridge, an idea Henry said he hoped would spread to communities around the park. He punctuated the importance of preserving the stories of the mountain folk.

"If this story does not continue to be told it will very soon die out as those who learned it from their parents and grandparents pass on," Henry said. "The rich culture of the mountain people could quickly be lost as younger generations lose interest in the stories."

Knowing the backstory of Shenandoah National Park, he added, will give visitors from around the world a deeper understanding and appreciation of the park and its past, as well as providing some context for the artifacts, foundations, cemeteries, etc. that hikers find while walking the park trails.

Released Tuesday through publisher Mascot Books, Go Down the Mountain is also available at Amazon.com.
Thumbs up to Bryan Baine, who announced hed be opening a third location of the popular Baines Books and Coffee in the Second Stage building in the town of Amherst. It will be his third shop  the original location is in the town of Appomattox and the second is in Scottsville in southern Albemarle County.

Second Stage is a nonprofit arts and community center that operates out of the old Amherst Baptist Church facility on Second Street. It hosts numerous events throughout the year, rents studio space to artists and small businesses. Theres also a farmers market every Thursday from May through October.

Baine told our sister newspaper, the New Era-Progress in Amherst, that he had been scouting locations in the town for several years. The Second Stage location was just perfect for what he wants to do with the business.

The shop, obviously, will sell coffee along with a wide selection of books, but there will also be bagels, baked goods and sandwiches on the menu, too. It will be a smaller version of what we do in Appomattox, Baine said. The Appomattox location opened 15 years ago, while theyve been in Scottsville for seven years.

Congratulations to one and all.

* * *

Thumbs up to the folks in Nelson County who have successfully launched the countys second craft beverage trail for locals and tourists alike.

Nelson 29 Craft Beverage Trail is modeled on a similar trail on Virginia 151 in the western half of the county in the Rockfish Valley. Known as Nelson 151, it includes six wineries, threw breweries and two cideries. Its been up and running for about 10 years, growing in popularity and recognition throughout the state.

Nelson 29 traverses about 20 miles from Blue Mountain Barrel House in Arrington all the way up U.S. 29 to DelFosse Vineyards and Winery in Faber. In between are Lovingston Winery, Virginia Distillery Co., Brent Manor Vineyards and Wood Ridge Farm Brewery.

Sarah Craun, an employee at the Virginia Distillery Co., broached the idea to Maureen Kelley, the director of the Nelson County Tourism and Economic Development Office, and the two ran with the idea from there.

On Sept. 7, Nelson 29 will hold a festival to officially introduce itself to the community and celebrate the launch of the countys second craft beverage trail. Mark your calendars now!
(Newser)  David Green was out of sick days when he learned just how much his colleagues cared, CNN reports. The Alabama history teacher's daughter, Kinsley, is receiving cancer treatments 100 miles away from their Huntsville homebut he had no more sick days to visit her. So his wife went on Facebook and asked if other teachers would donate one day each. All the Greens needed were 40; little did they know. "I could not imagine having a child and being away from the child," says Wilma DeYampert, an elementary-school assistant principal who has breast cancer. "So, I just thought it was the right thing to do. My mom always said, 'You don't have to be rich to bless someone.'" DeYampert is undergoing chemo herself but still gave two sick days, per WHNT.

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Before the Greens knew it, they had 100 extra days. "We were blown away with the response that we received with the sick days." says Kinsley's mother, Megan Green. "It is a huge blessing and we can't wait until we are in the position to give back and help others." The story highlights American teachers' low pay, which keeps them from dealing with emergencies, and lack of paid leaveusually just one sick day a month. It's also about a 16-month-old daughter's lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis, which entails months of inpatient treatment and two more years of treatment after that. The Greens have started a GoFundMe page to pay for medical costs and other needs, per People. (Another teacher posted her salary. Then came the Amazon boxes.)
(Newser)  An early weekend surprise emerged out of North Korea on Saturday: the launch of a "barrage" of short-range "projectiles," which flew for up to 125 miles before landing in the East Sea, per the Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the "multiple rounds" originated in the eastern coastal town of Wonsan between 9:06am and 9:27am local time. Fox News notes that South Korea initially said the North fired short-range "missiles," but then changed that simply to "projectiles." If confirmed they were missiles, it would be the first such launch out of North Korea since November 2017, though ABC News notes that was a long-range Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. "Korea and the United States are working closely together to maintain their ready preparedness," the JCS said in its statement.

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The White House weighed in as well. "We are aware of North Korea's actions ... [and] will continue to monitor as necessary," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. The AP notes that the launch is "a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington." The fact that the projectiles fired were short-range ones has kept concern somewhat tamped down. "I don't think we should get too excited about a short-range test unless someone can tell us that it was a long-range test that failed," ex-State Department official Stephen Ganyard tells ABC. "A short-range test is Kim demanding attention, not making a statement." (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  A Washington state man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and charged with making interstate threats, including against President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Seattle Times and Washington Post report that 27-year-old Chase Bliss Colasurdo of Kent was detained six weeks after federal agents were first alerted on March 16 to threatening posts he apparently made online. On Feb. 27, a pic on Instagram from Colasurdo's account appeared to show him holding a handgun, along with the caption, "I made a death threat against [J.K] yesterday and have not been arrested yet." That threat he seemed to have been citing was found in a cyberstalking investigation of his Gmail by the Los Angeles Police Department, turning up a Feb. 26 email that read: "I'm going to personally execute [White House Senior Advisor JK] for his countless treasonous crimes."

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That email was sent to five different media outlets. Another online post, on March 4, took aim at Donald Trump Jr., noting, "I would like to let the secret service know that I am going to Execute this [expletive]." His social media also contained anti-Semitic posts. Someone from the public contacted authorities after seeing one or more of the threats, and for six weeks the FBI says it kept tabs on Colasurdo. An affidavit notes that during that time, he started accumulating ammo, bulletproof attire, and a concealable gun holster; he also tried to get his hands on a semiautomatic pistol but was rejected because he'd been flagged in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. "When [federal agents] became aware of his attempts to purchase firearms, they quickly moved to arrest him," a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle said. If convicted, Colasurdo could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  At least four people were sent to the hospital after what police are calling a "catastrophic" explosion at a factory in Waukegan, Ill. CNN reports the blast at AB Specialty Silicones, which authorities say happened around 9:30pm local time, also left others unaccounted for. Waukegan's fire marshal, Steven Lenzi, says at least three people are missing, with rescuers sifting through the rubble at the Lake County factory to see if they can find other victims, per NBC News. It's been reported those who were hurt suffered moderate to serious injuries.

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The Lake County Sheriff, which initially received reports of "a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area," asked locals to stay away from the scene while firefighters, cops, and paramedics tended to it. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all involved in this horrific incident," Lenzi said in a statement. "Our personnel worked tirelessly through the night to control this scene with help from many neighboring agencies. This was a very large-scale team effort." After assessing the scene, authorities say they don't believe locals need to worry about air quality issues. (Read more explosion stories.)
(Newser)  Florida police were surprised to find a couple having sex on the sidewalk outside the station Monday night, the Smoking Gun reports. "I'm horny," alleged copulator Gary Hill told an officer when confronted outside the Key West Police Station, per a police report. "She was giving it up to me right then and there." His pants still down, Hill described it as "a Key West moment." The 46-year-old was charged with indecent exposure and held on $7,500 bond, while companion Crystal Frances was taken to a hospital for over-intoxication. She was also angry and unwilling to comply with police, NBC Miami reports. Seems the pair downed a pint of vodka before following nature's call. (Read more police stories.)
(Newser)  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with a white nationalist rally in Virginia and political rallies in California, the AP reports. Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot. Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques. Two other members of the groupCole White and Thomas Gilleneach previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

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All four men admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. Prosecutors said photos and video footage showed the men attacking counterprotesters in Charlottesville and also participating in violence at political rallies the same year in Huntington Beach and Berkeley, Calif. Each man faces up to five years in prison on the charge, but defendants often get less than the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.

(Read more white supremacist stories.)
(Newser)  Angry pilots have prompted the US Navy to draft new guidelines about UFO sightingsbut it seems that information will be kept from the public, Newsweek reports. "There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air spaces in recent years," says the Navy in a statement, per Politico. "The Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities." Until now, an official says, possible UFO sightings were "treated as anomalies to be ignored." But in the future pilots will have a formal procedure for documenting unexplained encounters, per the Washington Post.

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Intrusions have been spotted several times per month since 2014, with pilots describing spherical or Tic Tac-shaped objects that move quickly and have no exhaust, wind, or air intake. For example, a 2017 New York Times article included Navy video of unknown objects that reportedly appeared at 80,000 feet, plunged to 20,000 feet, hovered, then either vanished from radar range or flew back up. "At a certain point there ended up being multiple objects that we were tracking," said a petty officer stationed on the nearby USS Princeton, per Slate. "That was towards the end of the encounter and they all generally zoomed around at ridiculous speeds, and angles, and trajectories and then eventually they all bugged out faster than our radars." (Pilots spotted UFOs over Ireland.)
(Newser)  They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol. Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation, the AP reports. This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversightand Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do sois testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding an unredacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge. Nancy Pelosi noted this week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Nixon. Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt. They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jailing people on Capitol Hill, but the House and Senate say stories of jail facilities existing on the Hill are innacurate.

(Read more Capitol Hill stories.)
(Newser)  A helicopter plunged into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and triggered a desperate search for survivors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Per eyewitnesses and officials, the two-seater hovered over a nearby farm before turning toward the bay and crashing about 3/4 of a mile out. The Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived at roughly 12:30pm at Bloody Point, known as the "The Hole," the bay's deepest area at 174 feet. The Coast Guard has sent out search boats from its Annapolis station, per CNN, while WBAL-TV notes that fire officials are joining Queen Anne County authorities with a dive team and boats. Two people were said to be on board. (Read more helicopter crash stories.)
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New Delhi:

A 32-year-old man and his 33-year-old childhood sweetheart were arrested for allegedly killing the formers wife and trying to project it as a suicide in southwest Delhis Kishangarh, the police said. The accused, Rahul Kumar Mishra is a mechanical engineer and Padma Tiwari, who works at an MNC in Gurugran, were arrested on Wednesday, they said. On March 16, the Kishangarh police station was informed by Fortis Hospital that one Pooja Rai was brought to the hospital by her husband and she was declared dead there, police said.

Since Pooja died within seven years of marriage, the Mehrauli executive magistrate was informed an enquiry was initiated. Her autopsy was conducted at the Safdurjung Hospital and the reports showed that her death was homicidal. Pooja was found to be strangulated and had injury marks on her occipital bone. Her fathers statement was recorded and a probe initiated to ascertain the cause of death. Her husband, other family members and his friend Padma, who was said to have visited Rai on the day of her death, were kept on technical surveillance, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

On Wednesday, the accused were interrogated and confronted with the discrepancies in their statements. During inquiry, it was revealed that the childhood lovers had hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Pooja in order to re-unite, he added. The accused told the police that they were schoolmates in Padma and Rahul had studied together in Jharkhands Sindri Dhanbad and were in a relationship but eventually lost touch.

They reunited in 2015 and wanted to get married, however, their parents opposed the relationship citing different castes. Rahuls marriage was fixed to Pooja, who also belonged to Sindri, Jharkhand, in January 2017. Rahul told Pooja about their relationship with the hope that she would refuse to get married to him but she didnt and they got married in April that year.

Meanwhile, Rahul and Padma continued their relationship. Eight months ago, Rahul asked Pooja to take Padmas help in securing a job. Pooja allegedly taunted Padma over her relationship with Rahul. They then hatched a plan to kill Pooja, the officer said.

On the day of the killing, Padma went to meet Pooja at her house in Kishangarh as per plan. They had breakfast together, but Padma had to wait to execute the plan as the domestic help was still present there, he said.

Later, Padma overpowered Pooja and hit her head on the ground several times and smothered her. Then, she kept a letter close to the body to mislead the police. In the evening, she told Rahul on phone that she had murdered Pooja, the police said.

In the four-page fake suicide note, Padma mentioned that a man had committed suicide because of Pooja, which is why she was committing suicide. "The fake suicide note written by Padma spoke about how Pooja had 'cheated' a man, which led to him committing suicide. The note mentioned how this has affected her badly and prompted her to take the extreme step, the police said. The accused wanted to make it seem like Pooja had committed suicide out of guilt and wanted to defame her.

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New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted something that most people have been missing so far  the difference in the approach of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its Uttar Pradesh ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Congress. Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh, the prime minister said that while the Samajwadi Party uses soft approach when it comes to the Congress, the BSP takes on the Grand Old Party in a more blistering way.

Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in their rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend, Modi said during the rally.

While both the Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party and Maywatis BSP are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance, their approach against the Congress, who could not be part of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance despite several efforts, has been a little different and it was quite evident.

During their joint rallies, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav centres his attack around the BJP and PM Modi, the BSP chief equally takes on the Congress as well as the BJP. Mayawati has even threatened the Congress of pulling out her partys support from its government in Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks of the prime minister are also significant in view of recent statement from some of the BJP leaders praising Mayawati. BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy had recently said that in case the BJP-led NDA fails to get full majority, Mayawati could become the prime minister and wont support the Congress.

Mayawati has been in alliance with the BJP in 1995, 1997 and 2002. And experts believe that there are chances that the BSP, despite their anti-BJP alliance with the SP and the RLD, could again go with the saffron party.

During his rally, the prime minister also said that the Congress party, which was staking claim to the PM post before the first round of polling has now become a Vote Katua (vote cutter) party.

He was referring to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis remark that the Congress has carefully chosen its candidates to eat up the votes on the BJP where the party thinks its chances of winning are bleak.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during an election roadshow in Moti Nagar area on Saturday. The attacker, identified as Suresh who is a resident of Delhi's Kailash Park, has been arrested. He being interrogated at a police station. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when the man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

The AAP quickly condemned the incident, calling it the aOpposition-sponsored attacka.

aAnother negligence in the security of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi,a AAP tweeted.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi. a AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

Kejriwal has frequently been the target of attacks ever since he entered public life. In February,A the Delhi government claimed that Kejriwalas vehicle was attacked by BJP workers in the presence of police personnel in Narela. Kejriwal had gone to Narela to attend an event when BJP workers gathered in front of his vehicle and held a protest.

In April 2016, a man, who identified himself as a member of a breakaway faction of the Aam Aadmi Party threw a shoe at Kejriwal while he was addressing a press conference inside the Secretariat.A The man shouted something about a sting operation on a CNG scam before he hurled the shoe which fell on the table in front of Kejriwal. The attacker was whisked away by Secretariat officials before being detained by police.A

In November 2013, while the AAP was holding a press conference in Delhi, Nachiketa Vaghrekar, who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, attacked Kejriwal with black ink.



In March 2014, a similar attack took place in March 2014, when Kejriwal was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi, some unidentified people threw ink at him. The agitated people even threw eggs at the open vehicle in which Kejriwal was travelling.

In the same year, Kejriwal was heckled and attacked physically. He was attacked during his roadshow in south Delhias Dakshinpuri area. While Kejriwal was shaking hands with his supporters, a person punched him on his back and even tried to slap him.



In April 2014, four days after Dakshinpuri incident, Kejriwal was slapped by an auto driver, Lali, during his roadshow in Sultanpuri area of Delhi.




New Delhi:

Congress leader Sam Pitroda on party president Rahul Gandhis citizenship issue said how can someone sit in parliament for 15 years if he is not an Indian citizen. He has been member of parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate intelligence of Indian people, news agency ANI quoted Pitroda as saying.



Chief of Indian Overseas Congress Pitroda said the Congress party is winning the elections. Based on our assessment we believe we are winning. We are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi Govt did not deliver, he said.



Reacting to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati speech where they slammed Congress, Pitroda said that there is nothing to worry about. I dont think there anything to worry, they will all come together at the right time, I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal, they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace, he said.



Pitroda had earlier Rahul Gandhi has experienced the trauma of terrorism and those questioning him in the matter should feel ashamed. The remarks come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders had often attacked the Congress president on the issue of terrorism and national security in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.

In an interview to PTI, Pitroda had said Rahul Gandhi lost his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) and father (Rajiv Gandhi) to terrorism and that the leader understands the trauma and suffering associated with it. He said those doubting Rahul Gandhi's nationalism should be ashamed of themselves.

Seven-phase elections, which began on April 11, will end on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.
New Delhi:

Ahead of the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Polls on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh and Basti and at Valmikinagar in Bihar today. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today. Today is the last day for campaigning before the fifth phase of polling.

Here are the latest updates:

21:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our policy is clear, if Pakistan hurls bricks, we will throw mortar: BJP chief Amit Shah at Delhi rally

21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

#WATCH Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Akhilesh Yadav in Gonda says, "Mukhyamantri ji ne (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chillam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chillam wale" pic.twitter.com/4rVeAwAWxU

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul baba says, Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap Sedition Law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail?: Amit Shah

17:38 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

CM Yogi Adityanath: 2017 mein Uttar Pradesh ke iss mahan janata ne pradesh ke do ladko ke jodi ko khariz kiya tha. Kaha tha ki do ladko ki jodi nahi hoti, jodi toh bailo ki hoti hai. pic.twitter.com/sAZvHr84OD

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



17:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person: P Chidambaram

17:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie & only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?: P Chidambaram

16:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work & provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji & his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs: PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar.

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been 5 years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye: PM Modi in Bihar's Ramnagar

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In During Atal Ji's tenure three states were formed. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh&Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. These three states were separated cordially: PM Modi in Ramnagar

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji and BJP is winning here in this elections. Opposition will stop making any claims after the result, BJP will form govt with massive majority: Amit Shah

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In For the first time Amethi is feeling that development is possible here as well. Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came: Amit Shah in Amethi.

14:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda on Congress's claim '6 surgical strikes were carried out during UPA tenure: Call it surgical strikes, call it cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of exact dates & areas that have been brought out.

14:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our work culture is to decide a goal and work towards fulfilling that. The working culture of the "Mahamalivati aacoalition" and NDA is quite different from each other. We want to take the government out of Delhi, while the Mahamalivatis are desperate to come to Delhi in the greed of the power: PM Modi

14:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chandigarh Nodal Officer has issued show-cause notice to BJP's Kirron Kher, stating'you have shared video on Twitter account which shows children being used for campaign through slogans 'Vote for Kirron Kher'&'Abki baar Modi sarkar.' Admin has demanded reply within 24 hrs.

14:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In I want to thank you for supporting us in 2014 and now we want your blessings for the next 5 years, says PM Modi in Basti.

12:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Narendra Modi in Pratapgarh: Na main gira aur na meri ummeedon ke minar gire, par kuch log mujhe girane mein kayi baar gire. (neither i fall, nor the minrates of my hopes but some people fell in their attempt to fall me.)

12:54 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Modi accuses Rahul Gandhi of favouring his former business partner in getting defence offshore contracts.

"Today I read that during UPA one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

12:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

12:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

PM in Pratapgarh: Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter.



12:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

10:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In As per our internal assessment, BJP losing in LS polls: Rahul Gandhi.

10:14 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army.



10:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, says Rahul Gandhi in press meet.

07:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi adityanath will address several rallies in the state.

07:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sunny Deol to hold roadshows in Allahabad, Rae Bareli and Phulpur.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP president expected to participate in a roadshow in Amethi to garner support for Smriti Irani.

07:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today.
New Delhi:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday cornered Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a media report claiming that the latters former business partner got defence offset contracts under the UPA regime.

Addressing a press conference, Jaitley alleged that Rahul and his sister Priyanka were directors in the UK firm Backops Private Limited, which associated with Congress chiefs former business partner Ulrik Mcknight and received defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Jaitley said Ulrik Mcknight, at Backops Ltd in the UK, had got offset defence contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011 during the UPA rule.

"It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge," said Jaitley, referring to Rahul Gandhi.

Jaitley's reference was to a Business Today report on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

Ulrik Mcknight was 35 per cent co-owner of Backops UK, in which Rahul Gandhi owned a majority 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

"On May 28, 2002, a company is formed in India named Backops Private Limited. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka become companys director. In 2003, a company with the same name is formed in Britain. Rahul, along with a US citizen, become companys directors," he said.

"This company, Backops Pvt Ltd, doesnt have any manufacturing unit. This is kind of a liasoning firm. This means we will get your work done and will charge you for it," the Finance Minister added.

Jaitley further alleged that Rahul "became part of a corporate group which had no business except pushing transactions."

"Now Rahul Gandhi is going to be judged by the standards and level of proof he's laid down," he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah too cited the media report to launch a scathing attack on Rahul and Congress.

"With Rahul Gandhis Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," he tweeted.

On the other hand, Rahul, refuting the charges, said that he was ready for any kind of investigation. "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale," he said.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's had allaeged links with the Scorpene deal and stated reports that mentioned how Gandhi's former business partner benefited from the deal. The PM was addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. PM Modi was referring to a report which stated that the co-promoter of UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets during the UPA regime. According to filings made by the Backops UK, Rahul Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. Ulrik McKnight was the 35% owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. McKnight was later director in a company ythat acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

Rahul Gandhi has also been associated with a company with similar name Backops Services Private Limited where his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as a co-director.

On April 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. "Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read. The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, it a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had 65% stake while McKnight had 35%.

In 2004, in his election affidavit, Gandhi had declared moveable assets belonging to Backops UK. The company was subsequently dissolved in February 2009 along with the Indian entity Backops Services Private Limited.
Dehradun:

Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence. In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said. An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man during his roadshow in Delhis Moti Nagar area. Ever since he entered politics, this Aam Aadmi Party chief has been a target of public attacks. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

Kejriwal, who now has a Z-plus security, has been attacked several times since 2013. Here is a look at the previous incidents:

February 2019: Kejriwals car was allegedly attacked by a mob armed with sticks in Delhis Narela. A group of about 100 men tried to stop Kejriwal's car and attacked it with sticks. The incident occurred when Kejriwal had gone to the outer Delhi locality to inaugurate development works in 25 unauthorised colonies.

November 2018: A man flung chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. The accused was targeting the bespectacled chief ministers eyes, according to police. After throwing red chilli powder on the Delhi CM, the accused threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail.

April 2016: An Aam Aadmi Sena member hurled a shoe at Kejriwal while he was announcing details of the second phase of the odd and even road rationing scheme.

Barely a minute after the CM began reading details, man identified as Ved Prakash shouted that an odd even scam was being done by giving away CNG stickers through illegitimate means, following which he hurled a show towards Kejriwal but failed to hit him.

March 2016: A mob pelted Kejriwals vehicle with stones and broke its widnscreen at Punjabs Hassanour village. Kejriwal escaped without injury though the shattered glass fell on him.

January 2016: In first attack on him since he became the chief minister of Delhi, Kejriwal was attacked by a woman who threw ink on him alleging a CNG scam in the national capital.

April 2014: During his roadshow in Delhis Sultanpuri area, Kejriwal was attacked by an auto rickshaw driver who slapped him twice after garlanding him.

Delhi Assembly elections 2014: Holding a roadshow in Delhis Dakshinpuri area, Kejriwal was punched on his back by a man while the former was shaking hands with his supporters.

March 2014: Some people threw ink at Kejriwal and even threw eggs at his open vehicle when he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi.

November 2013: A man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare, threw ink at Kejriwal when he was holding a press conference in Delhi.
New Delhi:

Game of Thrones fans is yet to recover from the shock of the last episode, the one which fans loved for its unexpected turn of events and hated for its gloomy scenes that were hard to decipher.

As the rest of the world prepares to witness some mind-numbing war strategies, plotting and unmasking, end moment revelation of characters in the final game of earning the Iron throne, creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss spilt some beans on the HBO's popular fantasy drama's future episodes.

The duo recently made an appearance on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and answered three most pertinent questions that gives birth to fan theories and unending debates about the state of the final season.

Without digressing, here are the three questions asked and their answers .

Will someone take the Iron Throne? Answer: "Possibly."

Did Bran know that Arya was going to kill the Night King? Answer: "Possibly."

Have we seen the last of the White Walkers? Answer: "Yeah, we're not going to answer that."

Meanwhile, Vladimir Furdik, the man behind the mysterious and terrifying character of Night King, who was killed by Arya, has spoken out for the first time about his death.

"It was a very emotional day and night," Furdik told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was so strong. I spent all my energy playing it, and (Williams) as well. It was not an easy day. It was cold. There was rain. She was on a wire, in a harness, jumping many times. It wasn't just the one time; it was maybe 15 times. When I have to hold her under the jaw and it looks like she dies, we had to spend a lot of energy on that particular scene. It was very, very difficult. We are very good friends. We know each other. It wasn't easy for me to (pretend to) hurt her. When I grabbed her under the jaw, it wasn't easy (on a practical level). If you make a bad move -- if you don't grab her well -- she could have an injury. So I was under pressure and she was under pressure. It was not an easy day."

Jason Momoa aka Khal Drogo also made a brief playful appearance on Kimmel as he announced that he doesnt care that his character was killed off in GoT anymore as he is Aquaman now.

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New Delhi:

After much speculation about who will play the female lead in Irrfan Khan starrer Angrezi Medium, it was confirmed that Kareena Kapoor has been finalised for the project. The actress will reportedly start the shooting from May 15 and then fly to London in June where a major part of the film will be shot.

Mumbai Mirror quoted a source saying, ''Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative.''

On Kareena Kapoor joining the cast of Angrezi Medium, film's producer Dinesh Vijan had said in a statement, "Kareena is a great addition to our franchise. Angrezi Medium is a very special film and I'm excited that she's going to be a part of it. We wanted to introduce this character who would be taken forward in the franchises to come and she's perfect for it," reported news agency IANS.

Kareena and Irrfan are coming together for the first time in Angrezi Medium. However, Kareena will not be romantically paired opposite Irrfan. The film, directed by Homi Adajania, went on floors recently and also stars Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal, among others. Irrfan plays Champak from Udaipur who is in the mithai business for 'Angrezi Medium'. Radhika Madan will play the role of Irrfan's daughter who wants to go to abroad for studying. Kareena will be seen playing the role of a cop in Angrezi Medium.



Soon after Angrezi Medium, Kareena will begin shooting for Karan Johars Takht.

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New Delhi:

Asaram Bapu was much in news after he was convicted for rape in April 2018. A year after his conviction, the author of a book investigating the case announced a movie adaptation of it.

Ushinor Majumdar has penned "God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu" -- which will be cinematically adapted by filmmaker Sunil Bohra for his latest biopic on the disgraced godman and the women who took him down reported IANS.

"We've seen a lot on the godman both in print and television. This is the first book of its kind reporting on every aspect of the criminal empire of a bogus godman.

"I hope that the world now gets to see the story of three courageous women who fought for justice -- the gutsy survivor who was a minor when she took on the larger-than-life godman, and two efficient women police officers who exposed father and son for what they are," Majumdar said in a statement released by the book's publisher Penguin India.

The film will be made by the producer of "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Tanu Weds Manu" will not tell the story of his rise to stradom and becoming a popular 'godman' but and will focus on people who played significant roles in the fight for justice against the self-styled godman and facts as relayed in the book.

The book introduces Asaram Bapu as someone who presided over a politically influential empire built on blind faith for decades.

"Along with his son and heir, Narayan Sai, he has now become an example of everything that is wrong with self-styled godmen and the cults they spawn.

"The two stand accused of sexual assaults on vulnerable devotees, land grabbing, money laundering, intimidation, exploitative black magic rituals and the horrific murder of witnesses who testified against them," it says.

The publisher, while maintaining that the book is a stellar example of investigative journalism, looked forward to its movie adaptation.





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New Delhi:

Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark of Game of Thrones fame surprised all her fans with her private wedding at a Las Vegas Chapel without any lavish ceremony, elaborate wedding list and official announcement. Heads turned not because the 23-year-old actress married secretly but how low profile it was considering the extravagance of her sister and brother-in-laws, Priyanka and Nick Jonas wedding in December last year.

Well, with every passing minute, more and more information about the close-knit ceremony is coming to light. According to a report in E Online, the newly married couple like any other regular couple opted for $675 package deal. The wedding package includes 36 digital photos, a bouquet, boutonniere, complete footage of the ceremony and a limo service before 10 p.m.

What looks like a last minute decision, was actually planned much ahead, as a source close to the couple spilt beans To People magazine that they had planned for a Europe wedding but had to be officiated in the States first.

Sophie ditched the traditional white wedding gown for a silk white Bevza jumpsuit for the ceremony. Now with deets pouring in, its being said that the jumpsuit along with the Loeffler Randall mules cost $650 and $395 respectively. So if you tally it all then her outfit costed more than the entire wedding combine. Groom Joe Jonas, on the other hand, stuck to a sober light grey suit.

According to People, the two after the wedding returned to Los Angeles in a private jet and spent a honeymoon night at the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood.

As their fans wait for an official announcement, photos and wedding footage, it would take some time to sink in that at the times of lavish wedding a high profile couple whose love story was always on the limelight choose to be a part of such an intimate, pocket-friendly affair.

However, according to sources, the newly married couple that got engaged back in 2017 with a whopping $30,000 engagement ring will host a lavish ceremony in Paris later this summer.

On work front, the Jonas Brothers  Happiness Begins has been set for a June 7 release while Sophie is gearing for the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on the same date after from the finaal episode of Game of Thrones that airs on May 19.

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New Delhi:

A BJP worker, identified as Gul Mohammed Mir, was on Saturday shot dead by terrorists in Verinag area of South Kashmir's Nowgam village. The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and a search operations is underway to locate the terrorists.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

This comes two days after a former BJP worker was shot at and injured by unidentified gunmen in Tral area of south kashmirs Pulwama district. The injured was identified as 40-year-old Abdul Rashid Bhat alias Madan Lal, son of Ghulam Ahmad of Kuchmulla village in Tral.

On April 9, two days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected militants killed a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader and his personal security officer (PSO) inside a hospital in the Chenab Valleys Kishtwar district.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version.

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New Delhi:

After killing at least 16 people in Odisha on Friday and leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, the "rarest of rare" summer cyclone Fani on Saturday claimed another 14 lives while leaving 63 others injured in Bangladesh.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing on Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas.

The storm unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal.

Around 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and one lakh officials, were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, spoke to Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of Fani's landfall, is likely to visit the affected areas either on Sunday or Monday, CMO sources said.

The prime minister has assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.

The districts of Puri and Khurda were the worst-affected, the chief minister said, adding that Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh were also hit by the cyclone.

West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as Fani weakened on Saturday morning before moving towards Bangladesh. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed.

With the cyclonic storm moving away, flight operations resumed at Kolkata and Bhubaneswar Airport on Saturday. On Friday, the equipment and infrastructure at the Bhubaneswar airport was considerably damaged due to the cyclone 'Fani'.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. According to the Meteorological department, the extremely severe cyclonic storm relatively weakened after entering coastal Odisha and transformed into avery severea as it approached Bengal.A The cyclone has weakened and is heading towards Bangladesh.

aThe severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishaas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph,a Regional Meteorological Centreas Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

aIt is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains,a Bandyopadhyay said. The storm is now lying close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

SCS aFANI over Coastal Odisha at 2330 hrs IST of 03rd May, 2019 about 45 km north-northeast of Balasore (Odisha), 60 km southwest of Midnapore (West Bengal) and 140 km west-southwest of Kolkata . It is very likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/cIxcNpKaNH a India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019

Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai. Parts of Kolkata and the suburbs also received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The effects of the storm could also be felt in cities like Kharagpur and Burdwan as trees were uprooted and metal hoardings collapsed.A The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad where the cyclone passed through has experienced rainfall since Friday night with light winds.A

The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph. A aThe rains will continue till early morning on Saturday, and the weather will start improving by evening,a he said.

The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts.A Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani entered Bangladesh at noon on Saturday after hitting West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon. The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. The Indian Railways will run special trains for helping stranded passengers.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, Regional Meteorological Centres Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

Catch all the LATEST updates here:

17:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India (AAI), North Eastern Regional Headquarters, today announced that 81 flights have been cancelled across parts of Northeast India because of Cyclone Fani.

17:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

IMD: MeT analysis&numerical model guidance suggests widespread rainfall activity across NE states on 4 May, fairly widespread rainfall activity over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, widespread rainfall activity over Arunachal on 5 May & reduction thereafter pic.twitter.com/aqELQr57vH

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



16:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In NDRF: 65 rescue and relief teams of the NDRF are pre-positioned in various parts of the vulnerable states. Odisha (44 teams), West Bengal (nine teams), Andhra Pradesh (three teams), one team each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and two teams each in Jharkhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

16:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India, North Eastern Regional Headquarters: 59 flights cancelled in Guwahati, 8 in Agartala, 2 in Dimapur, 2 in Lilabari, 4 in Dibrugarh, 6 in Imphal.

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik: A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers. According to our latest reports, deaths are in single digit.



A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers: #Odisha CM @Naveen_Odisha

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



12:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded due to Fani in Odisha. A flight for Delhi from Bhuwaneswar will be operated at 3 pm and another one at 5.45 pm. Passengers who have valid Air India tickets may reach the airport, the airlines said.

12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Pradeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations,NDRF: Cyclone Fani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal.



#CycloneFani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of @NDRFHQ are present in Bengal: Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations



(ANI) pic.twitter.com/Mpn5DZeQyz

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," PM Modi said in a tweet.

10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.



Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.

 Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

10:15 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governor of the state, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centres readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani, Modi said in a tweet.

10:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India: To re commence operations at Kolkata airport at 09.45 am.

08:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In IMD: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 5.30 am of May 4. It will weaken into a deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.



IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



08:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear.



08:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Metro trains in Kolkata still running at half capacity as mentioned on Friday.

08:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Trains are still being tied to railway tracks. Other train services like local trains have resumed (some trains only).

08:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am. Airport authorities will have to bear the backlog of cancelled and rescheduled flights for the next 24 hours of flights.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts. (Photo: PTI)



08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph.

08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. (Photo: PTI)



08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha.

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New Delhi:

Earthquake in Assam: A moderate intensity earthquake tremors measuring 5.4 magnitude jolted Guwahati, other parts of Assam and Northeastern states on Saturday evening. The epicentre of the quake was Sagaing region in Myanmar. There has been no reports of any casualty or damage to property so far. Many users took to social media to express their concern over the tremors.

According to reports, the tremors were felt around 4.32 pm in Assam and several parts of the Northeast.

On April 24, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Assam region, the US Geological Survey said. The quake's epicentre was located 114 kilometres northwest of the town of Dibrugarh, at a very shallow depth of 9 kilometres, the USGS said. The quake struck at 1.45 am on and could also be felt across the border in Tibet, the USGS said. The Assam tea-growing area near the Brahmaputra river is close to the border with China and is sparsely populated.

Aarthquake 'forecasting' website Ditrianum had recently reported that a huge earthquake with potentially a high 7 to 8+ magnitude could strike the Earth on Friday and if it does then the massive destruction was inevitable. Described as critical geometry in the solar system could cause widespread destruction on Earth, a conspiracy theorist has warned. According to Ditrianum, Neptune, Venus, Mercury and the Sun were all positions in specific places in the solar system which could effect Earth.

This was because a gravitational tug of war could build tension in the tectonic plates of Earth, which could be unleashed in a devastating fashion. In last week, Frank Hoogerbeets, who runs Ditrianum, had predicted that a potentially civilisation ending tremor can strike Earth between April 30 to May 3.

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New Delhi:

In the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take stock of the situation that claimed at least 10 lives across the state.A The PM spoke to the Odisha Chief Minister and assured all necessary assistance from the Centre in restoring normalcy across the cyclone-hit state.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani. a Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

He also spoke to the governor of Odisha Professor Ganeshi Lal on the situation in the state. The PM assured all possible help from the Centre to the people of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.

Puri, where the cyclone made landfall, was the most hit by the severe cyclonic storm, which enteredA West Bengal post-midnight and unleashed heavy rainfall in the state.

The Prime Minister also spoke to the governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centreas readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm.

aAlso conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani,a Modi said in a tweet.

Fani barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, officials said.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans are likely to be hit by the storm that would then move towards Bangladesh and taper off.

CM Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state on Friday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Patnaik said that in the past 24 hours, over 12 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts to safer locations.

"Just now, I reviewed the cyclone situation with the state's Chief Secretary and other senior officers. Our first priority is to evacuate people living in vulnerable areas, including kutcha houses. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters. As we speak, Fani is still passing through Odisha, and an assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state," he said.A

"Restoration of electricity is a challenge. Electricity supply will be restored in Ganjam by Saturday. Restoration of communication has been completed in Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Patnaik added.A

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New Delhi:

Consumer Electronics maker Sony India expects audio segment to be one of its growth driver, which will contribute around 20 per cent of revenue in next 3-4 years, said a top company official. Sony India is encouraged with the growth in segments such as headphones, sound bars and party speakers.

The audio market is growing very fast. We can expect around 18-20 per contribution coming from the audio segment, Sony India Managing Director Sunil Nayyar told PTI Friday.

When asked about the time frame, he said: It could happen in next 3-4 years.

Presently, Sony India gets its 65 per cent revenue from TV segment, 15 per cent from audio, 10 per cent from camera and rest 10 per cent from other verticals.

According to Nayyar, Sony India had registered around 50 per cent growth in the fast-emerging headphone categories.

Besides, it also has plans to introduce some more products in the segment to maintain its lead.

Strengthening its portfolio in the segment, Sony India Friday introduced new outdoor party speaker GTK-PG10.

Priced at Rs 19,990 the company is targeting the young and millenial segment with features like wireless connectivity and a long battery life.
New Delhi :

The attackers involved in the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka had travelled to Kashmir, Kerala and Bangalore in India possibly to receive training, the Island nations Army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said. In an interview with the BBC published on Friday, Senanayake said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us. It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country."

As many as 257 people, including foreign tourists, were killed and over 500 others sustained injuries in the April 21 serial blasts in three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. The ISIS took the responsibility for the worst attack in the history of Sri Lanka.

India had warned the Sri Lankan authorities through diplomatic channels about the attacks well in advance but due to the lack of coordination between the countrys security agencies, the attacks could not be stopped.

So far, there was no immediate response from India on the Sri Lankan Army chiefs claims but a Union Home Ministry source, on the condition of anonymity told the The Hindustan Times: "Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation."

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New Delhi:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has now been engaged to her long-time partner Clarke Gayford, her spokesman said on Friday. Ardern was seen at a ceremony on Friday wearing a diamond ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Her spokesman then confirmed that the pair got engaged over Easter. Last year, Ardern and Clarke gave birth to a daughter named Neve Te Aroha. "I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility because he's a parent too, he's not a babysitter," Jacinda Ardern had told this to told Radio NZ.



Jacinda Ardern is the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.





Ardern and Gayford became a couple after he approached her about a constituency issue in her Auckland electorate of Mount Albert about five years ago. Gayford's television show, "Fish of the Day," has been sold to 20 countries.



The 38-year-old Ardern was widely praised for the compassion and leadership she showed after a gunman killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.

Time magazine last month included Ardern on its list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.

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Washington:

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistans unwavering support to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate as team per the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for hard decisions by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas, he said.

We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added. Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood, said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Washington :

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence on Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not break his promise, following what if confirmed would be North Koreas first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it, he added.

He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last months test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making foolish and dangerous comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the Norths demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the USs insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But a statement from South Koreas presidential Blue House said it was greatly concerned, calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearization action if it wants sanctions reliefthe issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles, according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-inwho brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leadershas tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyangs state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase, criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturdays launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seouls nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyangs latest launch, the Souths foreign ministry said.

Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day, said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday called for moves to strengthen the national front by deepening the international partnership and enhancing cooperation among media, educational, cultural, religious and human rights institutions.

This is necessary amid the ongoing regional and global upheavals, increasing attempts to fuel sedition, sow division and incite hatred, enmity and terrorism, said HM the King adding: Especially in light of the current digital era and rapidly growing social media networks.

HM the King was speaking on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and 80 years since the issuance of the first newspaper in Bahrain. HM the King stressed that the Bahraini national media has throughout its long history, promoted noble principles, raised awareness and played its cultural and cognitive enlightenment role.

It is a source of pride that our celebrations of this international event, this year themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation coincide with the success of the Kingdoms democratic march to a new phase of progress, HM the King said. HM King Hamad affirmed that the national media has proved its outstanding ability in supporting the reform and modernisation process and pushing the nation-building and sustainable development march forward.

We extend our thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Information Affairs and all its affiliates for the efforts they are exerting to develop the sector. HM the King further expressed his pride in womens participation in the media work. We strongly believe that journalists and media personnel are the cornerstone for building and promoting a democratic society in which security, peace and justice prevail, HM the King said.
A Bangladeshi man agreed to smuggle around 2,400 narcotic pills in return for a free trip to Bahrain, the court heard. This was unveiled during the trial of the man before the First High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to five years of imprisonment, to pay BD3,000 and permanent deportation.

According to court files, the defendant was arrested on December 22, 2018, upon his arrival at the Bahrain International Airport, coming from Dhaka. At the airport and while at the airport security check queue, an officer of the Customs Department turned suspicious about the defendants luggage, as the officer reportedly noticed unusual objects in the pull handle and bars of the mans suitcase.

Further inspection of the handlebar of the suitcase showed that the defendant had concealed 2,379 narcotic pills. Laboratory examination of the pills proved that the pills consisted of Methamphetamine. He was immediately referred to interrogation and later to the Public Prosecution.

He told the interrogators that he smuggled the pills for a fellow Bangladeshi man, who allegedly paid for the mans flight tickets and gave him an amount in cash (not specified).
The Kingdom yesterday hailed its press strides in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as it marked the World Press Day in great fervor.

Media experts and journalists highlighted the successful role of the media in taking the Kingdom forward. Article 23 of Bahrains constitution guarantees the right of opinion and expression. Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused, the article says.

The National Institution of Human Rights (NIHR) yesterday acknowledged the prosperous media strides as the Kingdom joined other nations, in celebrating the freedom of the press. This year, the day was marked under the theme Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

The World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCOs General Conference to endorse the Declaration of Windhoek. Speaking to Tribune, Ahdeya Ahmed, President of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), said: On May 17, the BJA will host an event to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Our role as journalists is to see what is wrong and criticize. Its also our responsibility to maintain the security and stability of our nation.

Moreover, our leaders have always encouraged us to have a free press, which means that we are strongly supported by the leadership of the country and it also means our leadership is entrusting the journalist with a very important tool.
Batelco yesterday announced several executive appointments in line with the separation requirements and the companys strategic vision. The 4th National Telecoms Plan requires turning Batelco into two main entities, one for the Retail and Enterprise operation and the other for the New National Broadband Infrastructure. Batelco named Mikkel Vinter as the CEO for Batelco Bahrain, which will be responsible for the retail and enterprise operation.

Among his previous roles, Vinter founded Virgin Mobile, Middle East & Africa in 2006 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. Before setting up Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, he held senior roles with Nawras in Oman, TDC in Denmark and Singtel in Singapore. The newly formed National Broadband Network entity will be responsible for the Kingdoms broadband network and providing telecom services to all licensed operators.

Mohamed Bubashait takes on the role as CEO of the National Broadband Network. He lead the separation programme since he joined Batelco as CEO of the Bahrain operation in October 2017, to implement plans for the legal separation of the Company. Ihab Hinnawi was named as the CEO of the Companys International investments and will assume new responsibilities. He will oversee the restructuring of Batelcos international operations. Hinnawi held the role of Group CEO since December 2015.
The United Nations is celebrating World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 under the theme Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. World Press Day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The UN position is that media freedom and access to information feed into the wider developmental objective of empowering people.

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain control over their own lives. This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby participating in the active life of the community. The United Nations also believes that the media plays a critical role in supporting public dialogue and enhancing knowledge on ways to support sustainable development and achieve the SDGs.

Taking this into consideration, the UN launched the SDG Media Compact to raise awareness of the Goals, to help galvanize further action, and to help support governments to achieve the Agenda 2030. The United Nations considers media as one of the effective tools to disseminate and raise awareness about development concepts, particularly regarding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their main pillars: People, planet, prosperity, peace, partnership. The focus of peace is what the media can support and strengthen; Media can mobilize the international community to end conflicts and wars. Development cannot be achieved without peace, and vice versa.

This is underlined by SDG 16, which aims to promote universal access to justice; and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and to ensure that the public has access to the right information which is instrumental in protecting their fundamental freedoms. The press corps - with all its institutions and journalists - has a major role to play in delivering information or news to all of us. It is required to provide the community, local and national government, the private sector and civil society and parliaments with sound and accurate information and analysis.

Any misinformation will have a negative impact. As we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, the world is still facing two main persisting challenges exists: first, the freedom of speech to reveal the facts and the right to access information, and second, journalists safety and protection. According to UNESCO, almost one hundred journalists were killed in 2018, while hundreds more are imprisoned. When media workers are targeted, societies pay a price. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed his deep concerns at the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity.

The role of the press cannot be carried out without the support of governments, in line with national legislations and international conventions. In this context, we in Bahrain witnessed the great role of the media during the 2018 elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the governmental facilities provided to the workers in this field; the wide coverage of the events locally, regionally and internationally, especially as it recorded a historic achievement for Bahrain where 6 women secured seats in the Parliament. Social Media also played a great role because of the popular interest in the event, and the candidates social media platforms were used very effectively to provide all needed information to all.

Sharing of information in Bahrain during the election period has been characterized by equal and balanced media coverage for female and male candidates, as well as sharing of information and analysis which helped the electorate to identify their candidates in a transparent and fair manner and to give the electoral the ability to choose. Here we quote the UN Secretary-Generals when he said: No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information.

It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power. On this day I would like thanks the journalist and media personal in Bahrain for their work and dedication and wish them and their families a blessed Ramadan.
Hillsborough couple Bruce and Davina Isackson are the first parents to plead guilty in taking part in a college admissions bribery scheme  and their plea could signal more indictments are on the way.

The Isacksons pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson also pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States for deducting those bribes from their taxes as charitable donations.

The couple left the courthouse without commenting. They are the only parents who have agreed to cooperate with investigators, and it was recently revealed they will testify against others if asked.

Former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon says their cooperation also likely means there will be a new wave of indictments, as the pair may name other people who participated in the scheme.

12 other parents have made agreements with prosecutors to plead guilty, including Felicity Huffman, however, they are awaiting court dates.

ALSO: Lori Loughlin reportedly wants to stand trial, sees it as a path to 'redemption'

The Isacksons are accused of paying $600,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. Authorities say the Isacksons paid to rig the entrance exam score for one of their daughters and get both girls admitted to school as fake athletic recruits.

Among their falsified accolades, one daughter's athletic profile touted her as a "Varsity 8 stroke" for the Redwood Scullers. Another daughter, Lauren, was identified by the Los Angeles Times as a former UCLA women's soccer player, despite never playing competitive soccer before. The Times reported she did play on the practice squad in 2016, but a school spokesperson said she was no longer on the team.

Bruce Isackson, who works as a real estate developer, transferred over 2,100 Facebook shares to pay for his daughters' guaranteed college admission, according to the Department of Justice. In a conversation with scam coordinator Rick Singer transcribed in the affidavit, Isackson allegedly said, "I think we'll definitely pay cash this time, and not, not  not run it through the other way."

"No words can express how profoundly sorry we are for what we have done," the Isacksons wrote in a statement earlier in the month. "Our duty as parents was to set a good example for our children and instead we have harmed and embarrassed them by our misguided decisions. We have also let down our family, friends, colleagues and our entire community. We have worked cooperatively with the prosecutors and will continue to do so as we take full responsibility for our bad judgment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday acknowledged errors made in attempting to stir a military uprising, and he did not discard a U.S. military option in Venezuela alongside domestic forces - saying he would take any such offer from Washington to a vote in the country's National Assembly.

After a dramatic week that saw a clandestine plan to oust President Nicolas Maduro fall apart on Tuesday, Guaido conceded that the opposition had miscalculated its support within the military.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Guaido suggested that he expected Maduro to step down amid a groundswell of defectors within the military. Instead, Guaido's call for the rank and file and senior brass to abandon Maduro did not produce mass defections. Maduro's security forces then quelled street protests and left Guaido's U.S.-backed opposition on its heels.

"Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution," Guaido said. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."

Guaido - the head of the National Assembly who in January declared Maduro a usurper and claimed the legitimate mantle of national leadership - did not back unilateral U.S. military intervention. He made clear that any American military support must be alongside Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro, but gave no further specifics on what would be acceptable.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table, and its hawks have pressed the Pentagon for possible military involvement. But the administration has not clearly signaled whether it would favor intervention against Maduro.

Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: "Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If it's necessary, maybe we will approve it."

The remarks were among the strongest Guaido has issued yet on the delicate subject of U.S. military assistance - an option that remains largely unpopular even among Venezuelans opposed to Maduro.

Guaido said he welcomed recent deliberations on military options in Washington, calling them "great news."

"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the U.S. are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it."

He added: "I think today there are many Venezuelan soldiers that want to put an end to [leftist guerrillas], and help humanitarian aid get in, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end usurpation. And if that includes the cooperation of honorable countries like the United States, I think that would be an option."

Yet after Tuesday's failed uprising, Guaido may now be fighting a two-front battle: both to oust Maduro and keep the opposition united.

Guaido, a 35-year-old industrial engineer and former student leader from Venezuela's Caribbean coast, has ignited new hope in the opposition's ranks since he emerged as the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly - a body stripped of its powers by Maduro in 2017 but widely recognized internationally as the country's only democratic institution.

Guaido's claim to be Venezuela's rightful interim president has been recognized by more than 50 nations and strongly backed by the Trump administration. Guaido said he had been in contact with U.S. officials during the week.

Yet the unraveling of a carefully laid plan to oust Maduro, including negotiations with his senior loyalists, has generated rifts within the opposition. Some of its senior leaders have issued recriminations over what went wrong. The sniping risks robbing the opposition of what became its single strongest asset in recent months: unity.

Some frustrated opposition members are blaming Leopoldo Lopez, Guaido's mentor, who escaped house arrest and appeared with Guaido on Tuesday morning, for upending the plan.

Lopez was one of the key architects of secret negotiations with government loyalists who were supposed to turn against Maduro on Tuesday. But his triumphant public appearance after escaping a military base, insiders say, was not expected. Some argue that it may have disrupted a carefully laid plan in which some of Maduro's senior loyalists were poised to force him out.

What actually persuaded Maduro's inner circle to close ranks instead remains a mystery. And Guaido would not discuss the negotiations nor the specifics of the opposition's plan. But the internal sniping poses a new challenge for an opposition that before Guaido's rise in January was largely seen as ineffectual and divided.

"The event shook Venezuelan politics," said Carlos Romero, a Venezuelan political analyst. "People are confused, wounded, unmotivated."

"I have heard some politicians call it a "Leopoldada," he continued, using a word that in Spanish suggests a maverick act by one person. "And the most affected one is Guaido, who has been selling himself as a unitary leader. To appear with Leopoldo in a position like that one may have reduced some leaders' trust in him."

Guaido offered a brief and lukewarm defense of the actions of Lopez, his political mentor.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I don't have information of that."

Guaido sought to downplay internal divisions in the opposition, however, saying "there's absolute unity. As always there are some differences in specific things. But I think a single cause unites us, not only as opposition but civil society too."

Asked if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had damaged opposition negotiations by mentioning the names of the alleged conspirators who were willing to turn against Maduro - including his defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Guaido said Pompeo had not. Rather, he called Pompeo's move a demonstration of "important support."

The plan moving forward, he said, remains a combination of international pressure, attempts to woo Maduro loyalists, and street action. But Guaido is confronting the additional challenge of exhaustion and frustration in the Venezuelan street.

Corruption, mismanagement and failed policies have brought Venezuela to its knees, sparking hunger, a mass exodus of migrants and the collapse of the public health system as well as the electricity and water grids In addition, anti-government protesters have confronted violent repression from Maduro's security forces - including four deaths during the past week.

A march on Wednesday - immediately after the failed uprising - drew many thousands. But by Saturday, a march called by Guaido to military installations largely fizzled, drawing nowhere near the crowds of previous protests.

"We have been doing this for 20 years," Guaido said, referring to the rise of the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 after naming Maduro as his anointed successor. "Getting frustrated and tired is part of it, but Venezuelans have demonstrated that they always take the fight again when they have to."

He tacitly acknowledged that the plan put in place by the opposition did not work, and said that his camp was seeking to do outreach with Maduro's military and senior civilian backers. But he did not suggest that the opposition was close to another breakthrough.

"Because the fact that we did what we did and it didn't succeed on the first time, doesn't mean it's not valid," he said. "We are confronting a wall that is an absolute dictatorship. . . . We have recognized our mistakes - what we didn't do, and [what] we did too much of."

International calls are rising for the opposition to sit down in official talks with Maduro's camp. But Guaido reiterated his opposition to talks without the precondition of negotiating Maduro's departure.

"Sitting down with Maduro is not an option," he said. "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017. . . . The end of usurpation is a precondition to any possible dialogue."

Yet if the week's events underscored that the opposition's hand is not yet quite as strong as it hoped, he said it also showed that Maduro is weaker than many had anticipated. He suggested that Maduro's spy chief - who disappeared on Tuesday - had defected, though he would not elaborate. And despite Tuesday's call for a peaceful uprising, Maduro has not ordered Guaido's arrest.

Why?

Because Maduro, he insisted, "is scared."
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.
WALLINGFORD  Two town residents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on I-691 West in Meriden Saturday morning, according to state police.

The two residents, one a 42-year-old man, the other a 41-year-old woman, were traveling down the highway on a motorcycle at approximately 6:48 a.m. when the man lost control of the vehicle, state police said in a release.
NEW HAVEN  Cooperative Arts and Humanities sophomore Lihame Arouna, 15, was elected Friday to a two-year term as a nonvoting student member of the Board of Education.

Lihame won 64 percent of the vote in a race against New Haven Academy sophomore Sofia Morales. In total, 2,389 votes were cast.

Id like to thank the student body for advocating for me, and Id like to advocate for them, Lihame said after the votes were counted.

Lihame said one of her key issues will be improving communication between the Board of Education and students. Throughout the year, she said, many students have been unclear about whether their teachers will stay in their classrooms and whether their schools will stay open, as the district continues to battle a budget deficit, considering several cost-saving options.

This weeks election nearly did not happen, as one of the two candidates initially came one signature short of making the ballot, before the Student Elections Committee decided that an initially discounted signature from a local charter school could be counted, as there is a petitioning process for charter school students to run for the position.

Lihame will join Nico Rivera, a rising senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, on the board.

Fridays election marks the fourth student election for a seat on the Board of Education since the citys charter was revised.

The student elections committee has spent months trying to drum up student interest in the race after Rivera was the lone declared candidate in 2018. After a majority of school board members voted to hire current Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks in late 2017 against the wishes of many in the community including student board members Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, students in the Citywide Student Council began to express their concerns that the adults on the school board use student board members as window dressing.

In the last competitive race in 2017, Dawkins  who graduates from James Hillhouse High School this year won 48 percent of the 3,287 cast ballots for four candidates.
NEW HAVEN  The administrator of the Democracy Fund has decided to follow earlier protocols and match all qualifying funds 2-to-1 for Justin Elickers mayoral campaign.

Elicker is challenging Mayor Toni Harp for the Democratic nomination for mayor as she seeks a fourth term in office.

Alyson Heimer, who runs the Democracy Fund, had excluded the first 200 donations of at least $10 from New Haven residents from the match.

But she said she researched the actions of her two predecessors in the administrative post and said she would follow their lead. I didnt want to break with their protocol, she said.

The overall purpose of the fund is to help candidates who show broad support be competitive against opponents who take donations up to $1,000 from individuals, as well as money from PACs and lobbyists.

The goal is to limit the influence of bigger donors.

Aaron Goode, one of the members of the board of the Democracy Fund, said both Robert Wechsler and Kenneth Krayeske agreed that all the qualifying donations to candidates participating in the fund should be matched.

Wechsler was in charge from 2008 to 2009, while Krayeske administered the funds for years afterward.

Elicker is participating in the publicly financed fund that provides for a 2-to-1 match for donations between $10 and $30, with top contributions capped at $370 per individual. He submitted 609 donations from New Haven residents to Heimer to review.

He already has received $16,180 from the fund and qualifies for a $19,000 grant, which he can collect once he has obtained ballot access. Heimer said Elicker will pick up just about $11,000 now that all his qualified donations can be matched.

Whoever loses the Democratic Town Committee nomination in July will have two weeks to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot.

Before the 2020 election, Heimer would like to see the Democracy Fund ordinance amended so campaign finance filings could be done electronically, as well as clarify some provisions. She said the section on matching the first 200 donors  needed to get the basic $19,000 grant  is really vague. It is gray.

Goode said the board gave Heimer the ability to check future donations to Elicker as he turns in the paperwork and then submit it to the citys finance office for the matching money. She will present a report to the board monthly.

At its May meeting, Goode said there will be a discussion on the decision to match all qualifying donations as it was not clear at the April meeting that it would become an issue.

Elicker had raised $117,692 in the first quarter through March 30, to $26,392 taken in by the Harp campaign in the same period.

The mayors campaign still has to update its 2017 election filings to show who made between $80,000 and $100,000 in contributions to that race. The State Elections Enforcement Commission voted to investigate a complaint made by Elicker about the missing information.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
Mary Anne Hardy is carrying on what she calls a family legacy by hiking, researching and writing to compile the new, sixth edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut.

The cover of this 320-page paperback guide (The Countryman Press, $21.95) lists only Mary Anne Hardy as the writer. But when you turn to the main title page within, the credit goes to: Mary Anne, David, Gerry and Sue Hardy.

Mary Anne is the daughter of Gerry and Sue Hardy, and is Davids sister. The dedication page makes it wistfully clear two of them have died: In memory of Gerry and David Hardy, who so loved the woods and contributed richly to its preservation and enjoyment.

Her parents wrote the first edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut in the mid-1970s. Four subsequent editions were published through the efforts of Gerry and Sue Hardy and their son.

Now the mantle has been passed on to me, Mary Anne wrote on the acknowledgments page of the new edition. She said its a privilege to celebrate my family and love of the outdoors.

When I came upon Hardys book at the Barnes & Noble in North Haven (where she will give a talk May 18 at 1 p.m.), I looked through the (revised) 50 choices, especially those in the New Haven area. I was surprised to see a write-up on Peters Rock in North Haven.

Peters Rock? I recalled only hearing the name once in a passing reference from somebody. I had never been there.

Well, as Hardys book showed me, Peters Rock is only about a mile from the New Haven Register office: directly north up Route 17 (Middletown Avenue), shortly after you cross from New Haven into North Haven. Yet, virtually none of my work colleagues I consulted nor, I would bet, the general public know about this pleasurable public expanse of nature.

This is a real hidden gem, Hardy said when we met at the gazebo marking the entrance to the park last Wednesday afternoon. Its an odd little tucked-away place. But were only minutes from downtown New Haven.

In her book, Hardy provides directions to each of the 50 sites. But if youre seeking an address for Peters Rock, you could use the one for First Fuel Oil, 133 Middletown Ave., which has an adjacent driveway to this park.

Hardy begins each of her 50 chapters with a brief history of the site. She wrote that Peters Rock has had many names over the centuries. During colonial times it was called Indian Rock, as it was reported to be a Native American look-out post. She noted it has also been called Rabbit Rock because there were so many hopping around the property.

Hardys history includes much of what you can read in an account by the Peters Rock Association posted near the gazebo. It tells us: Peters Rock was named for Peter Brockett, a crippled Revolutionary War veteran who lived on the north slope of the summit.

The associations history continues: In the late 1800s a group of young businessmen leased the land from North Haven and used it for outings and recreation. They built a one-room building called the Hermitage, with an observation deck.

Those lucky businessmen enjoyed a panoramic view from the summit, where they had erected their lodge. But the association account adds: The Hermitage was destroyed in the early 1900s by a fire caused by a cooking accident.

Informational write-ups near the gazebo state the park is owned and maintained by a small land trust in North Haven, which is the association. There is also this heads up for hikers: Peters Rock offers several trails of varying difficulties. All are under one mile in length but can be walked in different combinations to create longer hikes. The red trail to the summit is steep and difficult but rewards the hiker with serene views.

This summit is 373 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in North Haven, Hardys book tells us. Peters Rock contains 22 acres, the largest parcel of open space in the town.

Hardy lives in North Haven and teaches math at North Haven High School. This park is only five minutes from my house, she said as we began our hike up to the summit.

During our outing up there and back, which took about 90 minutes, we encountered only two people, each of them walking a dog. Jordan Brandon of New Haven, who was walking his dog Loki, said: I love it. I can take my dog for a walk and we can be in nature.

A few minutes into our hike, we heard a woodpecker; Hardy perked up at the sound of it drumming into a tree. Shortly afterward, she pointed out the lush leaves in a collection of skunk cabbage. When I was a kid, wed stomp on it and release the skunky smell. I love the green of that cabbage because its the first green you see coming up in the spring.

As we followed the red blazes (painted markers) on the trees, we came upon a footbridge spanning the Little River, a bubbling treat. Eagle Scouts built the bridge in 2008.

While we walked, I asked Hardy why East Rock and West Rock parks didnt make it into her book. She said East Rock is not well-marked as to where to go. She said West Rock was included in an earlier edition but my understanding from my parents was it became not all that safe. There was a lot of vandalism.

Because Hardy will bump a site out of her book if the trails arent maintained, she is able to replace them with new places. The new edition includes Peters Rock for the first time as well as Osbornedale State Park in Derby. Another one in our area is Westwoods in Guilford.

Sleeping Giant State Park is among the books 50 hikes but Hardy told me in advance we could not meet there for our hike. The devastation caused by last Mays tornado was so severe that the park remains closed. Hardy quoted a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official who said Sleeping Giant will open sometime before the summer. Until then, Hardy said, you could be arrested if you try to hike there.

Hardy said she likes Peters Rock because, unlike Sleeping Giant before the tornado, You dont see a lot of people here, which is refreshing.

On our way upward, Hardy paused to take a photo of mushrooms growing out of a tree. At another point, she called out: Oh look! Violets!

Soon afterward, following a tough patch where we scrambled up a rocky trail, we reached our destination, an area of flat rocks overlooking miles and miles. This is the summit! Hardy announced. We beheld Sleeping Giant, East Rock, the Quinnipiac River, wetlands and the traffic on State Street.

As we headed back down on the same trail, Hardy said, Its great to be out in the woods. Its healthy and its beautiful nature. It settles your mind. Its stress-reducing.

She said re-doing the book took her about seven months because she re-hiked every site. Its not a money-maker; its a family legacy.

Hardy said her brother became too ill to help with the latest edition. She added, My dad died last year but I was able to talk with him about this new one. He was very excited it was coming out and staying in the family. And my mom went to my first book talk.

When I asked Hardy if shell be willing to do a seventh edition, she replied: Oh yeah! Probably every four years. I think my (three) kids would be interested in doing it. They all love to hike.

When we made it back to the gazebo, she showed me the first edition of the book. It had an inscription from her parents, saying they were glad she had rejoined their hikes. In the early years, you were always out in front.

Contact Randall Beach at 203-680-9345 or randall.beach@hearstmediact.com.
It was a night to remember for Buena Regional High School students as they celebrated their prom at Massos Crystal Manor in Glassboro on Friday night.

Prom-goers arrived dressed to the nines as they socialized, posed for photos and danced the night away.

Check back at nj.com/south for other local high school prom coverage. And be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

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Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Lori on Instagram at @photog_lori and Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Once he understood what a doctor does, Timothy Malone knew thats what he wanted to do with his life.

The kid from Mahwah was only 5, maybe 6-years-old when he made that decision.

Malones thinking wasnt challenged -- until his health tilted out of control in 2010.

Constant headaches came out of nowhere in high school. He lost 30 pounds, thinking that was normal for a 16-year-old teen getting in shape. He had a pale complexion and itchy skin that bled from his scratching. Doctors thought he had allergies. A chest x-ray saw something else.

Thats when they found the tumors," Malone said.

He had Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymph system, turning his life upside down.

I wanted nothing to do with hospitals," Malone said. It made me want to run in the opposite direction."

But Malone, now 25, is sprinting back toward his childhood dream. Hes a first-year medical student in Grenada at St. Georges University, which has a teaching partnership with the Bergen County hospital that helped him beat cancer.

Meridian Healths Hackensack University Medical Center has been in Malones life ever since. After nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2010, Malone stayed in touch with the medical center through the Tomorrow Childrens Fund, a program started by parents to help their children and others like them with cancer and serious blood disorders.

Timothy Malone, left, a cancer survivor is with staff at Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center. To his right are Jill Brooks, Judy Solomon, Hope Castoria and Dr. Michael Harris. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media

Malone volunteered in fundraisers, participating with tricky trays and 5K runs. His involvement, however, didnt lead him back to the profession, not even on follow-up visits.

Malone was tired of the hospital and treatment regimens, even though he had a positive attitude about ridding cancer from his body. He willingly signed up for clinical trials and new drug combinations, anything that was available to treat his disease.

Whatever God has in store for me, it must be some reason why he gave it to me to overcome," he said.

With a new outlook, Malone returned to high school after he was cancer free. He focused on perfecting his percussion skills as the drum line captain in the high school band. Instead of becoming a physician, Malone figured hed be a music teacher, or so he thought when he majored in music education at William Paterson University.

But Malone missed the sciences and math classes, and traditional academia. Music was great, just not satisfying. The bug to be a doctor was surfacing, and the desire was sealed when Malone became an emergency medical technician in Mahwah.

That steered me into medicine again," he said. I loved it." His family did, too. Theyve been in the emergency services field for 50 years either as firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

Malone shadowed a physician, then sat in meeting rooms with other doctors who treated him at HackensackUMC. On his checkup visits, he talked about his goals with Dr. Michael Harris, who is chief of the Cure and Beyond Program, for childhood cancers survivors.

Harris said Malone is an intelligent young man with compassion and empathy, character traits that that will help him treat patients.

I think the experience of going through Hodgkins gives him a unique perspective on what patients go through," Harris said. He wants to learn what it is to be a doctor, and (will) continue to go into that direction, but will always be a physician I believe, who will do good by his patients."

In January, Malone started medical school on a full-tuition City Doctors scholarship that he received from St. Georges University on behalf of Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center.

Malone will spend two years in Grenada, then return to HackensackUMC, where hell train to see what area of medicine he would like to pursue. Hell do rotations in different specialties from internal medicine and surgery, pediatrics and psychiatry, obstetrics and family practice. Malone would love to practice pediatric oncology, considering his personal experience with cancer.

After the rotational tour, his residency follows for another two years. That assignment, ironically, could be at HackensackUMC if he gets accepted.

There are no guarantees. Malone has to apply, but he is excited about the unique possibility. The hospital in which he was treated for cancer will teach him how to be a physician, and it could be the place where he works one day.

Its one thing to have a dream as a child that you want to be a doctor, but how many of them actually make that happen?" said Dr. Fred Jacobs, who is also executive vice president of St. Georges University. When you actually see someone doing it and getting it done, its an inspirational story."

The disease that made him turn away from medicine has brought him back to where he wants to be in life.

If had to do it again, Ill accept and beat it (cancer) again."

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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A 26-year-old man was found stabbed to death Friday morning in Camden, authorities said.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office said Gloucester City resident Ryan Harter was found by police unconscious with multiple stab wounds shortly before 11 a.m. near the 1000 block of South 5th Street in Camden.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made at this time, authorities said, and no additional information about the incident was immediately available.

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Michael Cohen, former fixer for President Donald Trump, will report to prison on Monday. When he arrives, two New Jersey celebrities will already be there.

The Associated Press confirms that Cohen, 52, will start his sentence on May 6 at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, where both Mike The Situation Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame and Billy McFarland, a co-founder of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, are incarcerated.

In December, Trumps former lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to not paying $1.4 million in taxes and admitted to lying to Congress about Trumps business ties in Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen also admitted to breaking campaign finance laws when he set up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Sorrentino, 37, graduated from high school in Manalapan and lived in Long Branch before he reported to prison in January. In October, the reality TV star, who shot to fame in 2009 on MTVs Jersey Shore, was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. His sentencing and the fallout will be a part of the upcoming third season of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

McFarland, 27, is from Short Hills. In 2017, his canceled music festival left concertgoers stranded in FEMA tents in the Bahamas. In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for Fyre Festival fraud and selling fake tickets to other events. According to a recent report from New York Magazine, McFarland, who is writing (and plans to self-publish) a memoir about the music festival and his other ventures, plans to organize a second Fyre Festival, despite his fraud convictions.

The reality TV personality and the Fyre guy have gotten friendly during their time living in the low-security area of the prison, located in Orange County, New York, about 20 minutes from the New Jersey border.

They play Scrabble together, Sorrentinos Jersey Shore Family Vacation" castmate, Paul DJ Pauly D DelVecchio, told Jenny McCarthy in April.

In the same interview, another of Sorrentinos Jersey Shore friends, Vinny Guadagnino, pointed out that the two New Jersey-connected celebrities also share space in the prison with George Garofano. He was one of four hackers implicated in a 2014 phishing scheme that leaked nude photos from various celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and McCarthy herself.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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Some New Jersey school officials are kicking out students who commute into their town to attend their public schools.

Woodbridge Township announced last month that it caught dozens of students illegally attending its 25 schools. The township has sought to expel the students and fine their parents  and so far, they have recouped $100,540 in unpaid tuition, township officials announced.

A joint task force of the Office of School Security team and the Woodbridge Police Department reviewed over 1,800 cases, finding that 89 students were illegally enrolled in its schools, which educate nearly 13,600 kids, officials said.

After school, some students would walk straight to the train station or catch a cab, Mayor John E. McCormac said.

That is pretty much a dead giveaway, he said.

While many of the students were older, they seemed to live in several surrounding towns, officials said. One parent lived an hour away but worked in Woodbridge and would drop the child off on the way to work, he added.

Tuition costs about $1,300 per student a year, said John Hagerty a township spokesperson. In some cases, the township has taken their parents to court in an effort to get tuition dollars back.

Hagerty said no extra employees were hired by the school district or the town for the investigation, officers were just re-routed from other tasks. An estimated cost of those employees hours, or court costs associated with recuperating the money from parents, was not immediately available.

The township, officials said, started the crackdown to protect Woodbridge taxpayers money, and they are continuing to investigate cases.

It is unclear how often districts crack down on out-of-town students, Janet Bamford, director of communications and publications for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said. But, she added, most districts have discretionary policies that allow them to kick non-resident students out.

Some districts allow non-resident students to attend their schools if their parents work for the district, or if they choose to foot the tuition bill, she said.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom . Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips .

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Dear Annie: I just turned 39 and am freaking out about my next birthday, when I will go from being a young person to a middle-aged person. I remember when I was a child everyone making such a fuss over my parents turning 40. And now here I am turning 40. Do you have any suggestions for coping with this monumental change of life? -- Scared of Aging

Dear Scared: Its as monumental as you make it, and try not to make a molehill into a mountain. Your actual age is nothing but a number, and, as they say, 60 is the new 40. And if you keep a good mental attitude and take care of yourself physically, you could feel even better at 60 than you do at 40.

Dear Readers: Many of you wrote in about Deeply Hurt in Florida, who was offended by the way she was addressed on the invitation to her grandsons wedding. Here is a sampling of comments and advice:

Dear Annie: My husband and I enlisted the help of friends to address our wedding invitations nearly 17 years ago. I remember that day making last-minute changes to names, and Im sure we made some mistakes. I also remember feeling stress because it was the first big project my fiance and I had ever tried to manage together.

I hope Deeply Hurt in Florida will offer grace, much grace, to her grandson and his fiancee. Many weddings are needlessly stressful times for the bride- and groom-to-be. -- Offering Perspective to Deeply Hurt

Dear Offering Perspective: Thank you for sharing your story. The fact that your fiance is still your husband is what really counts when it comes to wedding planning, and I agree that much of the stress involved is needless. Brides and grooms frequently will have other people write the invitations. Whatever the cause, it is nothing to be alarmed about, as the next letter, from a grandmother and great-grandmother, points out.

Dear Annie: I could not believe the grandma in Florida was so upset by her correct name being on the invitation. It could be that others were helping write the invitations and did not know her preferred name.

As a grandmother of 21 and great-grandmother of seven, I would not let anything so minor affect my going to a family wedding. You were right. Ask that the placecard be corrected and enjoy the occasion.

I have not written to a columnist before but could not believe the grandmother could be making such a mountain out of a molehill. Isnt she fortunate to see a grandson married? -- Grandmother and Great Grandmother

Dear Grandmother and Great Grandmother: Youre the best! I love your attitude, which, as you can see, is shared by a reader from New Hampshire who wants nothing more than to have grandchildren.

Dear Annie: Regarding Deeply Hurt in Florida, I find it sad that she may not attend her grandsons wedding over such a minor detail as being addressed as Judy instead of Chris.

Does she know how fortunate she is to have her grandson in her life? Many of us dont have the pleasure of having grandchildren or great-grandchildren in our lives, and how heartbreaking that is. We have so much love that we cannot share with them. --Heartbroken in New Hampshire.

Dear Heartbroken: You address the real issue, which is love.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

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A New Jersey native admitted in court Friday he duped the U.S. government out of millions of dollars by taking federal rebates for solar panels he never installed.

Charles E. Kartsaklis, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden to one count of wire fraud.

Kartsaklis, who previously lived in Erial but now resides in Davenport, Florida, was the president of now-defunct Code Green Solar LLC. He falsely claimed Code Green installed solar panels at five different New Jersey businesses and obtained more than $3 million in federally funded rebates, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Kartsaklis submitted proposals to the five businesses in 2011 and 2012, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Those businesses rejected the proposals, but Kartsaklis applied for the rebates anyway, authorities said.

Authorities allege he created phony documents and sent them to the U.S. Treasury Department, including applications for the money, Solar Power Purchase Agreements" emails verifying the installation of the panels and five annual reports, which claimed the panels were still generating electricity.

Kartsaklis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kartsaklis agreed to make full restitution by paying $3,081,938.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, 2019.
A former YMCA employee was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping girl and filming a boy who was using the bathroom.

Jermaine Ward, who worked in after school programs for the YMCA of Burlington and Camden counties, was arrested in June 2018 and pleaded guilty in December to aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a release.

Wards crimes occurred between the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018.

The girl was asleep during the assault, which happened in Maple Shade, and the boy was not aware that he was being recorded when the crime occurred in Pennsauken, Coffina said.

Ward knew the girl he assaulted and her family, as well as the boy he filmed, officials said.

The names of the young victims and other details about the incidents were withheld by the prosecutors office to protect their identities.

Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time, but this defendants heinous actions threatened to destroy that oasis for these young kids, Coffina said. Our Office will continue to do everything within its power to make sure that anyone who harms a child is brought to justice.

Ward will serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, a facility which houses sex offenders.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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By Tom Malinowski

When I visit a synagogue or Jewish community center in my congressional district, I usually pass by armed security. Inside, people sometimes share heartfelt concerns about boycotts of Israel or the controversy over remarks about Israel by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. But those aren't the reasons for the guard at the gate.

From time to time, I also attend Friday prayers at local mosques. Recently, there have been state police officers standing watch outside.

Political debates in the United States can be untethered from facts, but threats to life focus minds on reality. The reality today is that when it comes to organized violence, Jewish and Muslim Americans, as well as members of other minority groups, face the same threat: white-supremacist terrorism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the overwhelming majority of terrorist killings in the United States since 2009 have been committed by white people motivated by a specific ideology: the belief that America belongs to them, and must be protected from "globalist" (read: Jewish) elites and immigrants of all kinds.

Over the past two years, white supremacists have plainly been emboldened. The evidence can be seen in the crackpot conspiracy theories spreading virally on social media, the Unite the Right marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and swastikas suddenly appearing in schools. (Summit, New Jersey, a city inside my district, has had six such incidents in the past five months). Anti-Semitic incidents, including bomb threats, assaults and cemetery desecrations, rose by 60 percent from 2016 to 2017.

If the threat came from outside the United States, these facts would be enough to galvanize Americans around a plan of action. But this threat comes from within. And because it originates on the political right, describing it accurately can be difficult to do without sounding partisan, without making one side feel uncomfortable. So we blame the violence on vague boogeymen of intolerance and hate - which we acknowledge exist on the left as well as the right.

Anti-Semitism does, indeed, come from both sides. But this new wave of terrorism does not. The accused killers have clearly announced who they are, and we have to understand their inspirations and motivations to know how to stop them. The alleged shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last October was obsessed with migrant caravans from Central America, and blamed a Jewish aid organization for bringing "invaders that kill our people." The alleged shooter who gunned down Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March also said he acted to stop immigrant "invaders." The suspected gunman in San Diego last month said in a manifesto that he was inspired by the terrorists in both Pittsburgh and Christchurch, and that he had tried to torch a mosque before attacking a synagogue.

In the past, every authoritative voice in the country would be communicating to these people that they are isolated in their crazy beliefs. Now, they find validation in the president of the United States, who, on the day of the New Zealand attacks, referred to an immigrant "invasion" of the United States, and who seems incapable of calling white-supremacist attacks terrorism. These bigots hear politicians and cable-news hosts attacking the FBI, alleging "deep state" coups and calling fact-based journalism "fake news," reinforcing their mistrust of authority and conspiratorial thinking.

What would we do if we could forget politics and just focus on keeping people safe?

Congress would be considering a domestic-terrorism statute, which would make it easier to arrest suspects before they can carry out murderous plots. Democrats and Republicans would be working urgently together to elevate the offices at the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security that combat domestic terrorism, and to give them more resources. Given white supremacists' transnational links, we'd be encouraging U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share information about them with allies around the world, as they do with information about backers of the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Wed be telling social media companies not just to put out fires by banning extremists from their sites, but to make their product less flammable by changing the algorithms that suck users into extremist bubbles.

We in Congress would also react with bipartisan revulsion when an American leader employs words and ideas that mirror those used by terrorists.

That doesn't mean Americans can't respectfully debate immigration policy, or support Trump's border wall. But talk of immigrant "invasions" or of immigrants as killers and rapists - reinforcing the delusions of the people responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks against Americans today - should be intolerable. I recently introduced a resolution in the House that condemns this language, while embracing President Ronald Reagan's belief that "if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." Surely, we can still agree on that.

Tom Malinowski, a Democrat, represents New Jerseys 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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By Salaam Ismial

Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgroves resignation doesnt come close to addressing the departments racist history and current approach to policing the community..

Cosgrove came into the city with a hard line approach and refused to institute community policing, which would have required officers to use more understanding and to work with the community and not against it.

Black people were brutalized and more than twice as likely to be shot in Elizabeth, according to NJ Advance Medias police use of force data. Of the more than 4,600 cases where force was used against people under 18, slightly more than half the subjects were black, though they represent only 14.5 percent of the child population in New Jersey.

Ive lived here for decades and know that Elizabeth has a racist past. In 1967, then-Mayor Tom Dunn ordered police officers to shoot anyone who attempted to riot the summer that Newark and other cities rebelled. In the 1980s, Dunn once ordered that all city businesses must Speak English Only, and angered many in the Hispanic community.

Cosgrove had to go after he used the n-word to refer to black officers and the c-word to refer to women. He resigned only after constant community protest, 1,000 signers on a petition and calls by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for him to resign.

Other blatant forms of racism exist in the staffing of the Elizabeth Police Department. Currently, there are approximately 340 officers, of which only 28 are black. Of the only supervisors, there are only five black sergeants, and three of them came by way of a discrimination lawsuit.

The departments Juvenile Division is comprised of six detectives who concentrate on the gang problem, and yet not one of those officers is black. The departments swat team/emergency services division has about 30 officers, yet not one is black. There are zero blacks in the departments special narcotics division.

The DARE Division, which comprises of three officers who focus on elementary school children regarding drug awareness, has no black officers. In the Community Policing Division, which purposes to build ties and work closely with members of the communities, only two of about 25 officers are black. But mostly the department fails when it targets and arrests mostly black people.

The city of Elizabeth paid out hundreds of thousand of dollars in police brutality cases including a 2018 payout of $250,000 to Jerome Wright, who was beaten by a number of cops after a traffic stop. Wright was sprayed with Mace, kicked and punched by as many as four police officers. The city of Elizabeth paid Sharif Tankard $750,000 in 2017 after he was shot and critically injured by a police officer at Oakwood plaza apartment complex. Police say they were there to investigate an incident at the location but the grand jury rejected charges against Tankard and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

While Cosgroves offenses are clear and blatant he wasnt the only person to let racism fester in the department, which is why the Union County Prosecutor has taken over the departments internal affairs division and is reviewing the departments policies and practices.

While Chief John Brennan, the top cop responsible for the day-to-day operations, was quick to file a complaint about Cosgrove's racism, he did nothing to stop constant abuse by his rank and file officers. The Internal Affairs Department is widely known in the black community for its lack of investigation into police abuse. In addition, patrol officers with the Union County Sheriff Department carried out their abusive "Stop and frisk" policy on innocent young black men and had confrontations that ended in unwarranted arrests.

The initial investigation by former Union County Prosecutor Michael Monahan was seen by many in the black community as not trustworthy and lacked transparency. Some believe Monahan was too close to the local and county Democratic Party. Also, the Union County Prosecutors Office has its own problem with diversity, where out 70 prosecutors none are black men. Yet, they arrest and prosecute a large number of black males in the county.

The only way to resolve this racist system is to completely overhaul the department. We must identify all the problems and ills and move fast to move racist staff and policies out and move reform in. All the divisions, departments and special units should be reviewed by the State Attorney General and Union County Prosecutor offices.

The community must be a major part in advising Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and law enforcement officials about what the community needs. There must be transparency and trust, and we must move fast, because the citizens are fed up.

Salaam Ismial lives in Elizabeth and is the founder of the National United Youth Inc.

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It has been established that William Barr has a snitty relationship with the truth, and that his misrepresentation of the Mueller Report was an insult to the author himself.

We know this because Robert Mueller said so, though this was already plain to anyone who had read the Special Counsels magnum opus. Where the country sought elucidation on potential criminal behavior by the president, the Attorney General offered mostly obfuscation, legal mush and sophistry washed down with weak tea.

So hours before Barr played dodgeball with the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Mueller released a letter from March 27 that disclosed how he felt about Barrs whitewashed interpretation of the report last month: The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Offices work and conclusions, Mueller wrote to his boss.

He was especially concerned that Barrs mischaracterization threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

After that, anything out of Barrs mouth required a laugh track.

Garrett Graff, who authored a book about the FBI under Muellers magisterial leadership, said his jaw became unhinged when he read the rebuke.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published, Graff said. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison.

In other words, Mueller expresses contempt only for the jailers of the Lockerbie bomber and the Attorney General of the United States.

So it hardly mattered what Barr said during his duplicitous performance Wednesday. It only matters that the country hears Mueller speak for himself before Congress, which thankfully is under negotiation, because he didnt dedicate 22 months on an investigation just so an operative like Barr can repackage it as a political cudgel for Donald Trump.

In earlier testimony, Barr also misrepresented Muellers assessment about the AGs four-page summary. He told Congress he had no knowledge of how Mueller felt about it, even though Muellers snitty missive had landed on his desk weeks earlier. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasnt wrong when she called Barr a liar for that.

We can agree that hes a master of the Q-and-non-A format, a champion at parsing words such as suggest and summary.

Time would be better spent reviewing the substantial evidence in the report that detailed the presidents habitual obstructive behavior. The problem is that Barr is ill-equipped to discuss it: Sen. Kamala Harris got Barr to admit he never looked at the underlying evidence before exonerating Trump of obstruction. He did that despite Mueller affirming it does not exonerate the president.

An objective reading of the report shows obstruction is prima facie. Mueller needs to testify and speak plainly about whether charges are warranted. At least we know he read the report.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison. https://t.co/DorCXEgzIG  Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) May 1, 2019

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A LaPlace woman is accused of forging insurance documents for her driving school and creating a fake email address to support the fraud, Louisiana State Police say.

Detectives discovered that the policy listed by Gemyra Williams, 37, for her Safe Driving Academy LLC was cancelled, police said. When asked for an updated policy, Williams created a fake email address purporting to be a legitimate insurance company and emailed ... a fraudulent certificate of insurance in an attempt to show coverage. Detectives determined that Williams created the fake information on a computer belonging to her, police said.

Williams was booked Wednesday (May 1) at the St. John the Baptist Parish jail with forgery of a certificate of insurance and computer fraud
Police are searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting the father of his girlfriends children as he waited for the children to return from school Friday afternoon (May 3) in Kenner.

Lyndell Alford, 34, of Kenner is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing, reported about 4:30 p.m. on Phoenix Street, according to the Kenner Police Department.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the victim, identified as 30-year-old Remus Lambert of New Orleans, seated in his vehicle in the 2600 block. He had been shot more than once and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Michael Cunningham said in a news release.

Alford and Lambert have had an ongoing dispute involving Alfords girlfriend, with whom Lambert has children, Cunningham said.

Man shot dead in Kenner Friday afternoon

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Lambert was parked near the home of Alford and his girlfriend when the shooting occurred. Investigators believe he was waiting for his children to return home from school, officials said.

According to Kenner police, Alford and the girlfriend drove past Lambert and parked in front of their home. Alford got out of the vehicle and walked into the home  but then, minutes later, came back outside and confronted Lambert. Investigators believe Alford then took out a handgun and shot Lambert before fleeing the scene in a green Infiniti G35 with Louisiana license 290BZI.

Alford has a criminal history and is currently on parole for illegal use of a weapon, distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Anyone with information about the homicide or the whereabouts of Lyndell Alford is asked to call the Kenner Police at 504-712-2222 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The Vermilion Parish public school system, ranked fourth of 71 in Louisiana, is the latest to consider going to a four-day academic week. The School Board plans to debate the idea Wednesday (May 8), according to public records.

Vermilion would hold classes Tuesdays through Fridays under the proposal. Proponents say it might help save money.

The school system received a 90.2 performance score on the states 150-point scale in 2018. That gave it an A grade, one of only four in the state. By Louisiana standards, its an average-sized system with 9,676 students across 20 schools.

Four-day school week? Avoyelles Parish is trying it

More than 500 U.S. school systems have switched to four-day weeks, with some in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico and South Dakota making up the vanguard, according to a June report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education. They drop one day and lengthen the instructional time on the others. Research into the effect on academic performance has been mixed.

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In March, the Avoyelles Parish School Board voted 7-2 to switch its C-graded system to a four-day week, eliminating Monday classes for students beginning in August. The Caldwell Parish school system, graded B in 2018, already operates on a four-day week.

4-day school week? Denver area system goes there in cost-cutting move

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1.
As a scientist at LSU, Dr. Catherine O'Neal knew the COVID-19 vaccines had undergone rigorous safety testing before they were made available for children. But when the time came to sign her own kids up for the jab, the mother of three experienced 
OMAHA  Online retailer Hayneedle is laying off 239 workers in Omaha as part of a restructuring, company officials said Thursday.

The jobs being eliminated are in the Omaha-based companys corporate office as well as its call center, and they represent a sizable portion of Hayneedles workforce in the city. The company has recently employed nearly 700 workers in Omaha at three sites, including its corporate office near 90th Street and West Dodge Road.

According to the Nebraska Department of Labors layoff notification web site, 180 workers were in the firms call center in Sarpy County and 59 in its headquarters building.

This is a difficult decision in a business, and were focused on taking care of the people who are affected, said Tiffany Wilson, a spokesperson for Hayneedles parent company, Walmart. And we remain committed to our hometown of Omaha and our vision to be the best specialty online home retailer.

Hayneedle was founded in Omaha in 2002 merely selling hammocks online. But it expanded into a wide range of home furnishings and housewares, posting sales in 2016 of more than $500 million.

The company is now an affiliate of Walmart, having been bought by another online retailer in 2016 that was subsequently purchased by Walmart. But Hayneedle has continued to operate as an independent business unit with its own president.

Wilson, the director of communications for Walmart, said that the layoffs in Omaha on Thursday were due to changes specific to the Hayneedle brand and that the decisions were made at the Hayneedle level.

This was not a Walmart decision; it was a decision made by Hayneedle, she said.

Wilson said both companies do share the same approach of evaluating strategy, structure and operating costs to find ways to grow. Hayneedle, she said, decided to invest in some new areas, create new roles and restructure in ways that help the company move faster.

Hayneedles parent company has been known for paying close attention to costs. Walmart uses a zero-based budgeting strategy, asking managers to justify costs regardless of previous spending levels.

Workers said they began being notified of the layoffs with 9 a.m. phone calls and group meetings. Some workers were terminated immediately, while others will still have jobs until May 17.

Hayneedle is offering assistance to the workers who lost their jobs, Wilson said.

Each worker will get a 60-day paid period to search for new work. If they do not find work in that time, they may be eligible for severance based on years of service. Employees are also being offered help in finding new work inside or outside the company.
After a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant lost out on a new Audi due to a technicality -- even though she answered the puzzle correctly -- the car company said it would gift her the vehicle instead.
Jesse Shea, project manager of Titan Roofing and Exteriors in western Iowa, has an opportunity to for the public to support a local veteran as he introduces his company to the area.

Sponsored by Titan Roofing and GAF, which is a roofing materials company, a local veteran will be chosen to receive a new roof with their choice of GAF Timberline HD shingles.

Based in Des Moines and operated by veterans, Titan Roofing and Exteriors mission is to provide superior customer service and honesty through the restoration process  which includes philanthropic contributions to veterans in need through the Titan Project, a nonprofit organization that provides support to veterans and their families.

The partnership is giving away a free roof to a Pottawattamie County veteran in need. The winner will be announced around Memorial Day and the roof installed in June.

Nominations can be submitted by a veteran or someone else and should include a paragraph on why the award is deserved. Titan Roofing will inspect all the houses submitted and a nonpartisan group will grade each applicant on the condition of the house and story submitted. Being a veteran who lives in Pottawattamie County is the only requirement to be eligible for the award.

Having a new roof provides the veteran with a piece of mind and protects all that is important to them, just like how their service protected all of us, Shea said.

The free roof work will be done by soldiers from the 168th Infantry Regiment.

Applications are due by May 22. Shea said they are willing to extend the deadline if needed. Applications can be submitted online at https://bit.ly/2DMiWx6.

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Hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges is a tradition that dates back to the early 1900s. Today, more than 370 refuges are open to the public for hunting and more than 310 are open to sportfishing.

Here in the Midwest, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas are a huge part of this tradition. Both Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges are proposing to update their hunting programs. Refuge staff are seeking public comment on the changes.

Area residents are invited to review draft documents related to these changes, including the draft hunting plans, draft environmental assessments and draft compatibility determinations for each refuge.

The documents are available through May 31.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, near Missouri Valley is proposing to expand turkey hunting to include the fall archery season.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 14 at the refuge headquarters, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide your comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, is proposing to open up portions of the refuge to archery spring and fall turkey hunting and archery deer hunting opportunities.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 15 at the Fort Calhoun Library. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Draft documents are available from the refuge office. You can contact the refuge at 712-388-4803 or peter_rea@fws.gov to request either printed or electronic copies. Alternative formats are also available.

For more information, contact 712/388-4800 or email the refuge at desoto@fws.gov. Go online to fws.gov/refuge/desoto or fws.gov/refuge/boyer_chute for refuge updates.
The new ThinkBook S models may replace the 13 and 14-inch Ideapad S-series models, at least in China. They appear to have updated designs with improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table, while the specs include Intel Core i7-8565U CPUs, up to 16 HB RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs. The more expensive variants may integrate discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPUs.

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The EEC just issued certificates for ThinkBook 13S-IWL and 14S-IWL models, so the new brand is essentially confirmed to be official in Europe.

Lenovo may be preparing to launch a new brand of laptops, as Notebook Italia spotted a pair of 13 and 14-inch models going by the ThinkBook S moniker at a recent trade show in China. These models are also mentioned in a few European online retailer listings, and it looks like they could be shipping by late May for around 1,000 Euros.



According to a video posted by Notebook Italia, the new ThinkBook S-series might replace the 13 / 14-inch models from the Ideapad series, but it is unclear if regions outside of China will be getting these models under the new moniker. The new models also come with updated designs, including improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table. The only difference between the two models is the screen size, as both come with a 1080p IPS displays, shuttered 720p webcams, and backlit keyboards featuring a fingerprint sensor on the power button.



Spec-wise, both models feature the Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake CPUs coupled with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSD storage. The more expensive variants will also include a discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPU. The battery should last for around 11 hours and the connector suite includes 3 x USB-A + 1 x USB-C, and HDMI out and an audio jack.
The wet, snowy weather over late winter and early spring kept LCCDC from holding a formal groundbreaking for its latest duplexes, Bodeen said while contractor John Lee pushed dirt with a small bulldozer behind two recently prepared foundations.

They sit behind the first pair of North Sheridan Estates duplexes finished and rented out in 2017. Site preparation has begun on the third pair of duplexes, which will be built just north of the second pair now being built.

The third pair has not yet been funded, and a timetable for building that pair is not known, Bodeen said.

Regarding the second pair, we have people calling (and) wanting to know when these are going to be done, she told onlookers including LCCDC board members, Nebraska Department of Economic Development staff members and leaders of the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corp.

Bodeen said grants of $177,160 from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and $159,750 from the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund helped make possible the North Sheridan redevelopments four-duplex second phase. LCCDC, Great Western Bank and First National Bank of North Platte also have provided funds.
The United States Steel Corporation announced on May 2 that it will invest more than $1 billion in constructing cutting edge facilities in western Pennsylvania, drawing praise from President Donald Trump.

The company said the new investment will improve its environmental performance and energy conservation with a new sustainable endless casting and rolling facility at its Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock and a cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant. Both facilities will be part of the companys Mon Valley Works.

Trumps tariffs on imported steel and other efforts to boost American manufacturing have helped to revitalize a steel industry that has been in decline for decades. The billion dollar investment comes as the White House on May 3 touted a number of positive economic indicators, including a strong jobs report for April with the addition of 263,000 new hires and a declining 3.6% unemployment rate.

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working, Trump wrote in a May 2 Twitter post. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING!

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING! https://t.co/XPXjxli6uc  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

The new technology will make Mon Valley Works the first facility of this type in the United States, and one of only a handful in the world, the company said.

This is a truly transformational investment for U. S. Steel, said David B. Burritt, president and CEO of U. S. Steel. We are combining our integrated steelmaking process with industry-leading endless casting and rolling to reinvest in steelmaking and secure the future for a new generation of steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania and the Mon Valley.

The steelmakers cogeneration facility will feature an emissions control system that can convert some of the coke oven gas generated there into electricity to power other parts of the plant.

Tens of thousands of American workers have faced layoffs and dozens of factories have been shut since 2000 due to imports, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a nonprofit organization formed by manufacturers and United Steelworkers. With the recent tariffs on imports, the steel industry is starting to seeing some positive signs.

Over the past few decade, steel imports have steadily increased, comprising nearly 33 percent of the U.S. steel market in 2017. The majority of U.S. steel producers have been taking losses since 2009, losing their ability to invest in new technologies and labor.

The Pittsburgh-based company expects the first coil production facility to be operational in 2022. Its the second major operational upgrade U.S. Steel has announced this year.

In February, the company announced it was restarting construction on an idled manufacturing facility in Alabama, crediting Trumps trade policies. U.S. Steel said Trumps strong trade actions were partly responsible for the resumption of work at a plant near Birmingham.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports last year. The company reported adjusted earnings of $957 million in 2018.

The United Steelworkers trade union said in a statement that they welcomed the new investment. The unions international vice president Tom Conway said the proposed improvements will not negatively impact employment, but will instead bolster the long-term job security of the employees at the companys new facilities.

Together, these projects will reduce U.S. Steels carbon footprint significantly and improve regional air quality by reducing emissions of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, Conway said. Just as importantly, these investments will provide much-needed job security for current employees and future generations of Steelworkers at this historic and soon-to-be much more modern integrated steelmaking complex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

From The Epoch Times
The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), a San Fraancisco, CA-based sustainability-focused early growth stage investment firm, closed its third fund, at $100m.

EIF III has made six investments towards Series-A and B rounds for high-growth, early-stage cleantech, electric vehicle and other sustainability-focused companies and has a signed term sheet for a seventh.

Investments include:

 EV Connect (EV charging);

 eMotorWerks (EV charging demand management, acquired by Enel);

 Pegasus Solar (solar mounting);

 Opti (water management);

 Flying Embers (probiotic adult beverages) and

 Bluon Energy (efficient HVAC).

Fund III will make up to eight investments targeting companies with proven technology and commercial traction.

Led by Managing Partners James Everett and Devin Whatley, and Partners Geoff Eisenberg and Sasha Brown, EIF is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. The firm has raised over $175 M for sustainability-focused investment.

The firm is responsible for five of the most successful venture exits in sustainability-related companies, led by ZepSolar in 2013. EIF Fund I launched in early 2011, manages $19.6M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies. It has had two exits to date. As of September 30th, 2018, Fund I had a net to LP IRR of 34.4% and a DPI of 1.84x, placing Fund I as the #1 ranked 2011 venture fund Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Benchmark Index, Q3 2018).

EIF Fund II launched in 2014, manages $57M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies.

FinSMEs

04/05/2019
"U.S Steel is special and you know this," Burritt said during the conference call. "U.S. Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the U.S and the only U.S.-headquartered steel company that can mine, melt and make steel in USA. Thats the fact. We have world-class safety performance, you all know that. Thats the fact. And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry. We understand cash is king. Thats the fact."
The board unanimously approved a motion to send a cease and desist letter to Sips & Stones and look into whether the restaurants promotion violated campaign law.

Were happy to be rightfully exonerated, Panczuk said of the outcome. We look forward to getting on with the campaign.

Blazak said the Barenie groups complaint was a late attempt by the St. John Republican Party to undermine the campaigns of disfavored candidates.

We did nothing wrong, Blazak said of the Facebook posts. This is them just trying to give us a hard time.

Lake County Councilman Christian Jorgensen, who doubles as the chair of the St. John Republican organization, had a different take on the outcome. He noted that the boards decision to probe the origins of the Sips & Stones promotion could reveal the restaurant did not come up with the idea for the promotion on its own.

The owner of Sips & Stones is going to get an order to appear before the elections board, and they are going to ask if these candidates had anything to do with it, Jorgensen, who is backing Barenie and the other petitioners for re-election, told The Times.
WOODSTOCK, Ill.  Video that police recovered from an Illinois woman's cellphone showing her bruised 5-year-old son prompted the boy's father to lead investigators to the child's body, according to newly released court records.

JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. of Crystal Lake are charged with murder in Andrew "AJ" Freund's death. Investigators found his body April 24. The court records offer details about the investigation into the boy's disappearance and death.

The video, dated March 4, shows AJ lying naked on a mattress, covered in bruises and bandages, according to an affidavit from McHenry County Sheriff's Detective Edwin Maldonado. Freund told investigators his role in AJ's death when they confronted him with the video, which police recovered after it had been deleted from Cunningham's phone. Maldonado wrote that a female voice "consistent with Joann's is holding the phone and videotaping. She is berating AJ for urinating his bed."

Freund led police to the boy's body near Woodstock, wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave covered with straw, records show. Cunningham and Freund had reported AJ missing April 18, three days after he died.
INDIANAPOLIS  Part of a nearly $1.3 million state grant will go toward converting an old railroad bridge into pedestrian use along a northern Indiana city's recreational trail where two teenage girls were hiking when they were killed two years ago.

The project will include the addition of decking and safety rails for Delphi's Monon High Bridge, which rises more than 60 feet over Deer Creek.

It was among $25 million in grants for 17 trail projects across the state announced Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Most go toward new paved trails, with the largest grant of $4.9 million going to the Marion County town of Speedway.

The grant money comes from a $1 billion payment from the Indiana Toll Road operator in a deal allowing fee increases for large trucks.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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INDIANAPOLIS  Indianapolis police say they have two suspects they're searching for in connection with the shootings of two southern Indiana judges attending a judicial conference in Indiana's capital.

Police on Friday released surveillance video showing the two suspects getting out of an SUV outside a downtown restaurant where the shootings of Clark Circuit Judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams occurred early Wednesday. Police asked for the public's help in identifying the two suspects.

Police say an argument between the suspects and the judges escalated to the shootings. They say they've found no evidence to suggest the judges were targeted because they're judges.

Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael says both Jacobs and Adams remain hospitalized in stable condition.
Rafael Hernandez Colon, a three-term governor of Puerto Rico who argued for the preservation of the islands commonwealth status while others were calling for either statehood or independence, died on Thursday at his home there. He was 82.

Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Ricos current governor, announced the death and declared a 30-day mourning period. Mr. Hernandez Colon had been undergoing treatment for leukemia.

Mr. Hernandez Colon had led the Popular Democratic Party, assuming the mantle from its founder, Luis Munoz Marin, in the early 1970s. He was governor from 1973 to 1977 and, in two consecutive terms, from 1985 to 1993.

He made some bold decisions in his first term, seeking to increase the islands autonomy in its complex relationship with the United States.
In the 1930s, when students, supported by underground operatives of the C.C.P. (which was illegal then), took to the streets to demand that Chiang Kai-sheks ruling Nationalist Party do more to protect China from Japan, they invoked the May Fourth spirit. The Nationalist Party also claimed that it best exemplified that spirit. The contest to appropriate the legacy of Wusi was on.

Come 1989, it was the leaders of the C.C.P. themselves  by then long in power  who were targeted by a fresh generation of students calling for a New May Fourth Movement.

Once again, the most important site of protests was Tiananmen. In the 1950s, the area in front of the gate had been turned into a square filled with monuments, including one at the center honoring Chinas revolutionary heroes. A frieze at the foot of that central structure depicts young men and women taking to the streets in 1919. It was in front of it that the students of 1989 set up their main base of operations.

On May 4 of that year, as the C.C.P. commemorated the 70th anniversary of Wusi inside The Great Hall of the People, to one side of Tiananmen Square, the protesters held a competing event on the plaza. Once again, two opposing political camps were both claiming the mantle of the 1919 movement. Exactly one month later, the Peoples Liberation Army rolled in, killing hundreds, probably several thousands, of demonstrators and residents.

What are widely known in the West as the Tiananmen Square protests are called Liusi Yundong, or the June Fourth Movement, in Chinese  a reference to the day of the massacre in 1989, of course, but also an echo of the uprising of 1919.

And yet today, while Wusi appears in many online and print publications across the Chinese mainland, Liusi is taboo.

Under President Xi Jinping, the C.C.P.s efforts to control the meaning of the Wusi protests have continued unabated. The movement holds a revered place in official chronologies, as a turning point and the start of modern times in China. The party, playing on the kind of national pride extolled back in 1919, boasts today that China no longer appeases, but leads, on the international scene.
In other words, its a cynical exercise in abdication dressed as an act of responsibility. Knock a few high-profile bigots down. Throw a thick carpet over much of the rest. Then figure out how to extract a profit from your new model.

Assuming thats Facebooks deeper calculation  its hard to think of another  then it may wind up solving the companys short-term problems. But it might also produce two equally dismal results.

On the one hand, Facebook will be hosting the worst kinds of online behavior. In a public note in March, Zuckerberg admitted that encryption will help facilitate truly terrible things like child exploitation, terrorism, and extortion. (For that, he promised to work with law enforcement. Great.)

On the other hand, Facebook is completing its transition from being a simple platform, broadly indifferent to the content it hosts, to being a publisher that curates and is responsible for content. Getting rid of Farrakhan, Jones and the others are the easy calls for now, because they are such manifestly odious figures and they have no real political power.

But what happens with the harder calls, the ones who want to be seen publicly and cant be swept under: alleged Islamophobes, militant anti-immigration types, the people who call for the elimination of Israel? Facebook has training documents governing hate speech, and is now set to deploy the latest generation of artificial intelligence to detect it.

But the decision to absolutely ban certain individuals will always be a human one. It will inevitably be subjective. And as these things generally go, it will wind up leading to bans on people whose views are hateful mainly in the eyes of those doing the banning. Recall how the Southern Poverty Law Center, until recently an arbiter of moral hygiene in matters of hate speech, wound up smearing Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz, both champions of political moderation, as anti-Muslim extremists.

Facebook probably cant imagine that its elaborate systems and processes would lead to perverse results. And not everything needs to be a slippery slope.
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Is Donald Trump an aberration? If he is, Joe Biden is the perfect Democratic candidate to defeat him next year, the steady hand that can restore decency, steer a middle course between Wall Street and Main Street, and reinvigorate the shaken liberal democratic order.

I dont think Trump is an aberration. On the contrary, hes the face, however duplicitous, of a revolution against the Party of Davos, the network of elites whose economic and cultural prescriptions came to be seen by myriad voters across the United States and Europe as camouflage for a self-serving heist. Biden has been a regular attendee at Davos.

Trumps brilliance lay in seeing that he could become the perfect impostor, the wealthy and highly visible figurehead of a 21st-century movement of the dispossessed and the invisible. He could be their voice. He could say the unsayable. He could disrupt. He could restore violence to a wan political stage of PowerPoint slides. He could take on the China that had put millions of people to work on the cheap in its factories and so, from the Midwest to the British Midlands, de-industrialized much of the West.

If people felt like nobodies, felt abandoned, felt there was not only growing inequality in wealth but inequality of recognition, felt their very language had been anesthetized by all-knowing elites more at home in global capitals than in the provinces of their own countries, then somebody could speak for liberalisms disappeared  and maybe even win. Steve Bannon saw this. Trump grasped this and did win, not as the creator of a movement but as the media-savvy messenger of a groundswell.
MAGAZINE

An article on Page 64 about the acquisition of Remington by Cerberus misstates the birthplace of Stephen Feinberg, a founder of Cerberus. He was born in the Bronx, not Spring Valley, N.Y., which is where he grew up.



An article on Page 54 about Meow Wolf, an art collective that creates immersive and interactive experiences, refers imprecisely to Creative Startups. It is a start-up accelerator, not a business incubator.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Monday about the former United States senator Richard G. Lugar referred incorrectly in part to his service in the Navy. He enlisted in 1956, not 1957, and he was commissioned an ensign, not a second lieutenant. It also misstated when he married Charlene Smeltzer. It was after he studied at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, not before. In addition, the obituary referred incorrectly to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, a program to help destroy surplus stocks of nuclear weapons. Congress passed it shortly after it was proposed by Mr. Lugar and Senator Sam Nunn in 1991; it did not take almost a decade to persuade Congress of the need for the program. The obituary also mistakenly included one item on a list of issues addressed by the Lugar Center, which Mr. Lugar established after leaving office. The center has not sponsored studies of education.



A picture caption with an obituary on Friday about the fashion designer Corinne Cobson misstated where she was in the photograph. She was in the center, not second from the right.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.


How did your family react to the news that you would be out in the bush without any guns or weapons?

My husband was very positive about this. He said, You are going to make a change in our communities and in our kids and in our future generations.

My mother was scared. She said, These people are going to kill you! I explained that its not only for me but for future generations. They need to see wildlife in real life, not in postcards.

She is not scared anymore because she realized how great a job we are doing. My life is not in danger. These poachers are not in the reserve for the human beings, they are there for the animals. If they see us they dont come after us. They just run away.

I know how to interact in the bush. So, I dont feel in danger when Im in the bush. I dont go alone. We work in a group.

What was your scariest moment?

In 2014, I was with two of my colleagues patrolling the fence. There was a car parked next to the fence. They were outside the reserve and we were inside. If we see cars we greet them with smiles, but these people did not want to speak to us. They were poachers. I was scared. But we were not going to leave them there. We needed to show them that we are here with pride and we know what we are doing. They saw us try to take their number plate. We managed to scare them. They drove away.
Even Mr. Schumer conceded that Ms. Abramss decision came as a blow, though he tried to put a positive spin on it.

Stacey Abrams would have been a great candidate, and shed be a great senator, he said. But the good news is twofold: We have other good candidates, the polling data shows that Georgia is very winnable and Stacey is going to go all out in terms of registering voters, so that we can win in 2020.

Just who those other candidates are, however, is unclear. After Ms. Abrams bowed out, Teresa Tomlinson, a former mayor of Columbus, jumped in. Chuck Clay, a former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, called Ms. Tomlinson a strong and viable candidate. But the national party has not embraced her, and Mr. Schumer is said to be looking for other contenders.

Still, many strategists say the outlook for the party is not all bad. Democrats have had strong success in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is challenging the Republican incumbent, Senator Martha McSally. Ms. McSallys hold is tenuous; she lost to Senator Kyrsten Sinema last year but was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator John McCain. And Mr. Kelly already has an advantage of $1 million cash on hand.

Democrats are extremely enthusiastic about the candidacy of M. J. Hegar, a motorcycle-riding, Purple Heart-winning woman who is a former Air Force helicopter pilot and who is challenging Senator John Cornyn in Texas. Ms. Hegar narrowly lost a House race in November, and some party strategists say Democrats can coalesce around Ms. Hegar now that Mr. Castro has decided not to run.

This is a really great environment for Democrats, and in key races we have really strong candidates, said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster whose firm advises Senate candidates. How can you argue with Mark Kelly and Ben Ray and Hegar? he added, referring to Representative Ben Ray Lujan, who is seeking to succeed Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, who is retiring.

And while the map, as Ms. Duffy said, may not be as friendly to Democrats as the numbers suggest, it does look better for them in 2020 than it did in 2018, when the party was defending 10 seats in states won by Mr. Trump. This election cycle, Democrats are defending only two seats in those states: Alabama and Michigan, where Senator Gary Peters so far has no credible Republican challenger.
More than a year has passed since the resignation of Jorge Dominguez, a Harvard government professor who was accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen female students and junior faculty members over decades.

But his case has continued to prompt soul-searching and angry questions from students about a university culture that allowed him to stay employed and even get promoted, despite repeated complaints about his behavior.

Now a committee formed by the government department has joined a growing number of students and faculty members calling for an external review of Harvards response to complaints against Dr. Dominguez. The committee issued a 52-page report detailing recommended changes  including hiring more female professors and creating an anonymous reporting system for harassment  to ensure that such a case does not happen again.

Generations of students warned one another about Dominguezs behavior and developed coping strategies for interactions with him, the committee wrote in a letter delivered on Wednesday to the university president, Lawrence Bacow. Some students changed the focus of their research  at great cost  in order to avoid such interactions. This deplorable situation went on for more than 20 years.
Experts thought the settlement was necessary for the city. A jury could give $100 million, so they wanted to avoid that, said Walter Signorelli, a lawyer who represents clients suing the police, who is also a former deputy inspector of the New York City Police Department.

But social justice advocates, who have already noted what they see as troubling racial dimensions of the case, said the unusually large settlement further illuminates the difference between white and black victims of police violence.

[Read more about reactions to the Noor verdict and its racial components.]

The fact that this is the largest known case of a police abuse settlement in the history of Minneapolis, and that its on behalf of an affluent white woman, reinforces that there are two systems, said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and activist in Minneapolis. There are many people of color who have not received a dime from the city in the aftermath of their loved one being shot by the police.

Ms. Levy Armstrong said that government leaders were sending a signal that a white life is more valuable than a black life. She pointed to the $3 million settlement for the family of Philando Castile, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in a suburb of St. Paul during a traffic stop in 2016, as a prime example of the inequity. (The officer in that case was Latino; he was acquitted of manslaughter charges but left the police department.)

Chicago has paid two of the largest previous settlements in police shooting cases: $16 million to the family of Bettie R. Jones in 2018, and an $18 million settlement with the family of LaTanya Haggerty in 1999. The latter was believed to be the highest settlement in a fatal police shooting until Friday. Both of those victims were African-Americans.

But nationwide, the vast majority of families who lose someone in a questionable police shooting get nothing, experts said, and many cases are dismissed before trial. Last year, a Florida jury awarded $4 to the family of a man who was killed when the police fired through his closed garage door after a dispute in which they said he was holding a gun.

Another expert said the attention on the Noor case and on the large settlement reflected how significant police shootings have become in the public eye.
Cynthia Warmbier, the mother of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died in 2017 after being imprisoned for months in North Korea, said on Friday that diplomacy with its leader, Kim Jong-un, was a charade and likened Mr. Kims regime to absolute evil.

Its obvious to the world that were on to him, she said of Mr. Kim. But unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change, and Im very afraid that we are going to let up on this pressure.

She added: Theres a charade going on right now. Its called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? Thats what I want to know. Im all for it, but Im very skeptical.

She made the comments at the Hudson Institute in Washington, where she sat on a panel during a seminar on the abduction of Japanese, South Korean, American and nationals of other countries by North Korea, according to the institute.
RIO DE JANEIRO  President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil decided on Friday to cancel a trip to New York this month following weeks of controversy over the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerces decision to honor the far-right leader at its gala this year.

The chamber has been scrambling to keep the event on track since it announced last month that Mr. Bolsonaro had been selected to receive its person of the year award.

The honor set off outrage among environmental groups, gay activists and New York politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called Mr. Bolsonaro a dangerous man whose overt racism, homophobia and destructive decisions will have a devastating impact on the future of our planet.

The pushback began when the American Museum of Natural History, which had agreed to host the event before the honoree had been announced, reacted with dismay to Mr. Bolsonaros selection.
His work with these exceptionally talented musicians, who receive coveted fellowships lasting up to three years, has already had a lasting impact on classical music: Many alumni now play with major professional orchestras and ensembles.

That the current roster is inspired by Mr. Thomas was evident on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall, when he led the first of two New World programs to conclude his Perspectives series this season. The concert opened with the New York premiere of Julia Wolfes Fountain of Youth, all rumbling percussion, spiraling riffs and eerily cresting sustained sonorities, swirling in a musical melange with hints of indie rock and Minimalism.

Then the pianist Yuja Wang, also concluding her Perspectives series at Carnegie, was a fearless soloist in Prokofievs seldom-heard Piano Concerto No. 5. Completed in 1932, this compact, five-movement piece shows Prokofiev in his neo-Classical vein, though doing everything possible to disrupt the musics neo-Classical niceties. A stretch will start out sounding like some jovial toccata, then break into fractured phrases, brutal rhythms and gnashing harmonies.

The program ended with a freshly imaginative performance of Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. Mr. Thomas and his players conveyed the voluptuous colors and wildness of the music, but also, and more unusually, its refinement and delicacy, as in this excerpt from the waltzing second movement. (The video begins with the smoldering conclusion of the Prokofiev concerto, and the entire concert is available for viewing on medici.tv for three months.) ANTHONY TOMMASINI
BAKHITA

A Novel of the Saint of Sudan

By Veronique Olmi

Translated by Adriana Hunter

Veronique Olmis novel retells the story of a strong young woman who was exploited and dehumanized before finding herself in more merciful and hopeful circumstances. In Bakhita, fraught personal experiences intersect with historical and political events and time-honored religious practices, all encompassed within the span of the protagonists own life  which moves from a village in late-19th-century Sudan to a convent in post-World-War-II Italy, and from slavery to sainthood.

Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter into clear and affecting prose, Bakhita unfolds a distinctive array of timely concerns  the subjugation of women of color, human trafficking, female solidarity, personal and institutional conflicts that knot together issues of race, class, gender and religion  and explores them through the suffering, willpower and undiminished dignity of a small frightened girl turned resolute young woman turned gentle old nun. The novel also joins a much larger tradition of accounts of holy women and men that have been compiled over the centuries, including the Storia Meravigliosa (marvelous or wonderful story), a 1931 chronicle of Sister Josephine Bakhitas life that was disseminated by the Italian religious order she had joined.

To be sure, there is nothing wonderful in the first half of the novel, never mind the evidence for the meaning of Bakhitas name, lucky one in Arabic, which she is caustically assigned by one of the slave traders who sell and resell her and subject her to unspeakable barbarity. She never replaces it because she cant remember her real name or that of her village and family, all destroyed when she was first captured at about the age of 7, in the mid-1870s.

Image

Olmi traces out the childs successive captivities and introduces us to the fellow slaves she befriends and loses while being marched in chains from Darfur to Khartoum. In excruciating detail, Olmi describes whats done to Bakhita and what she sees done to others  women, children and babies  along a vulture-shadowed slave route and as an urban house slave. This could come across as gratuitously lurid, not least because the narrative is focused on and through Bakhita, whose psychological scarring is outpaced only by her physical scarring. On occasion, however, Olmi shifts into a cooler, more documentarian perspective that emphasizes the factual basis of both the individual story and its larger historical events. This prevents us from becoming either desensitized or cheaply fascinated by the otherwise relentless chronicling of Bakhitas misery-filled Sudan days.
Flowing next to and around these security and economic crises, Kershaw traces several positive, long-term trends in European history from 1950 to 2017 that are downright miraculous. Most important, most of the Continent lived in peace during the Global Age, a sharp contrast to the horrific atrocities chronicled in Kershaws previous volume in this series, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949. Second, partly as a consequence of this first achievement, Europeans on average became richer than at any time before. In Kershaws estimation, the period between 1950 and 1973 was especially prosperous  a golden age or an economic miracle for the western part of the Continent, and even a silver age for the Communist bloc. Eventually, as Kershaw celebrates, almost every European country embraced democracy, starting with transitions from authoritarian rule in Greece, Portugal and Spain, and following with an explosion of new democracies in Eastern Europe after the collapse of Communism in 1989. As Kershaw sums up, Europe is more peaceful, more prosperous and more free than at any time in its long history. Alongside these three positive trends of peace, prosperity and democracy, cooperation among European countries expanded dramatically, culminating in the creation of the European Union and the euro.

To be sure, all of these amazing trends have slowed or stalled. Europe has yet to fully recover from the 2008 financial crisis; autocratic restoration looms threateningly on the E.U.s borders in Turkey and Russia, and even inside the union in Hungary, while liberal democracy has yet to consolidate in several countries in the post-Communist world. With the departure of Britain, the European Union is, for the first time, retracting in size. And war returned to Europe in 2014 in Ukraine, where Russian annexation and intervention have sparked a military conflict that has already led to 10,000 lives lost and millions displaced. It would be premature, however, to predict a new negative trajectory. Peace, prosperity and democracy in Europe still have serious momentum.

Europes future is especially hard to predict, as Kershaw emphasizes, because it is easy to underestimate the role of contingency in historical change. Refreshingly, and against the grain of some current intellectual fads, Kershaw allows for the possibility that individuals  not just innate structural forces  can shape history. For instance, Kershaw assigns a pivotal role to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in transforming Germany from a Continental menace to an anchor of stability and prosperity. Khrushchev gets a big role in Kershaws narrative, too, for reducing repression in the Communist world. And Kershaw reminds us that Prime Minister David Camerons decision to hold a referendum on Brexit underscores how the tactical decisions of individual leaders can have strategic consequences. Kershaw ascribes the greatest agency of all to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The magnitude of Gorbachevs personal contributions to the dramatic change, not just in the Soviet Union itself but throughout Eastern Europe, can scarcely be exaggerated. This is not to say that Kershaw highlights only the role of political leaders  for good and for ill  in his narrative. He also brings in the masses, recounting how mobilized citizens destroyed Communism; an entire chapter is devoted to Power of the People.

Kershaws theory of agency in the making of history allows for a range of possibilities about the Continents future. European leaders should read The Global Age to be reminded of the incredible progress of the last 70 years  and told that such progress is something they have the power to sustain through their individual actions. American leaders should also read this book to learn how much better off we have been and could continue to be in concert with a continent of free, secure and prosperous allies.
Dr. Bridget Catherine Dowd and Dr. Samuel Joseph Kiernan were married May 4 at the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, N.J. The Rev. James J. Grogan, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony.

The couple met at Georgetown, from which each graduated cum laude.

The bride, 31, who is taking her husbands name, is a fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. In July, she is to begin an advanced clinical and research fellowship in nutrition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She received a medical degree from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

She is the daughter of Susan Clark Dowd and Charles J. Dowd of Fair Haven, N.J.

The groom, 32, is a resident in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He completed his premedical post-baccalaureate program at Columbia, and received a medical degree from Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

He is a son of Lisa Edmondson Kiernan and John S. Kiernan of Pelham, N.Y.

The groom is a paternal great-great-great-grandson of Thomas F. Gilroy, the mayor of New York City from 1893 to 1894.
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If the questions that were asked of prospective jurors are any indication, the racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Keith Raniere, founder of the cultlike group Nxivm, may require not only stamina from the jury, but also the ability to listen to potentially uncomfortable testimony.

Before choosing a jury on Monday morning, a judge in federal court in Brooklyn winnowed the pool of possible jurors with a questionnaire appeared to ask, among other things, whether they can be fair to someone with multiple sexual partners and how they feel about sexually explicit images and possibly skin modifications (such as tattoos and branding).

They also may have been asked if they had ever taken Scientology courses or participated in self-help groups like the Landmark Forum or EST, according to a draft of the juror questionnaire.

Mr. Raniere stands accused of running Nxivm, which billed itself as a self-help group, like a cult, subjugating and abusing women who joined, and former members said, punishing those whose disobeyed his orders to have sex only with him.
Richard A. Brown, the Queens County district attorney who in almost three decades in that office prosecuted police officers accused of committing unjustified killings, robbery defendants who executed potential witnesses and a doctor convicted of murder for fatally botching an abortion, died on Saturday in a hospice care facility in Redding, Conn. He was 86.

The cause was complications of Parkinsons disease, his son, Todd Brown, said.

In January, after seven terms in office, Mr. Brown announced that he would not seek re-election. In March, with his seventh term in office scheduled to end on Dec. 31, Mr. Brown announced that he would step down on June 1, the 28th anniversary of my first assuming this office.

He said he had hoped to finish out the term, but given his health issues, it had become increasingly difficult to fully perform the powers and duties of my office in the manner in which I have done since 1991.

Mr. Brown, a former judge who left the calm of an appellate court for the pressures of a big-city prosecutors office, was known in his early years on the job for showing up at crime scenes, an unusual practice for the citys district attorneys.
But his efforts had caught the attention of San Diegos city attorney at the time, John Witt. Mr. Witt called Mr. Gwinn to his office and told him it was going to be difficult, but he understood what Mr. Gwinn had tried to do. He told me to go out and figure out how to win these cases, Mr. Gwinn said.

Mr. Gwinn began ordering 911 tapes in all domestic violence cases. He asked the police to take pictures of everything: the crime scene, the victims, even the perpetrators raging in the backs of police vehicles. Any possible shred of evidence that existed, Mr. Gwinn wanted. He began to go out to local police departments to enlist them in his mission. When one sergeant told Mr. Gwinn that he was never going to prosecute these cases successfully, Mr. Gwinn created a messaging system to let the police know how their cases were resolved. It gave the officers a sense of agency, learning their efforts could actually make a difference.

Mr. Gwinn tried 21 cases in a row, all domestic violence misdemeanors. All without the victim testifying.

He won 17 of them.

By the mid-1990s, Mr. Gwinn had become a national leader in evidence-based prosecution; he and a colleague trained thousands of lawyers around the country. He believed fervently that if we could prosecute murderers without a victims cooperation, we could prosecute batterers.

The movement gained momentum across the country, particularly in left-leaning states and states with stricter domestic violence laws. Still, there were many rural and conservative areas where it hadnt gained much traction  places like Montana.

Could evidence-based prosecution have saved Michelle Monson Mosure and her children? In addition to her affidavit, had anyone investigated further after she recanted, they might have learned how Rocky had threatened his family once with Michelles grandfathers gun, or how hed sometimes take the children as leverage to coerce Michelle into obeying him. They might have learned he was stalking his wife when she left the house, isolating her from friends and family  all of which could have come together to paint a picture of a family in serious danger.

In the end, its impossible to say whether Michelle could have been saved. But three years after her death came Crawford v. Washington, the case that nearly crushed two decades of progress.
After searing investigations by journalists and patient advocates, the F.D.A. has promised to make transformative changes to medical device regulation. But so far, the agencys suggestions have been meager at best. And in the meantime, regulators have accelerated the device approval process, not slowed it down.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of the agency office in charge of device regulation, has suggested that the benefits of bringing innovative products to market quickly are worth the increased risks.

Its true that devices have restored hearing, vision and the ability to walk and have provided many other benefits to millions of people. But the drive to innovate does not justify the growing catalog of medical device disasters. Patients should not have to wonder whether devices will save their lives or destroy them. Reasonable changes could greatly improve the current system.

Image Credit... Sofia Pashaei

Tighten approval standards. Regulatory loopholes  some of which date to the dawn of device regulation and were not meant to be permanent  enable companies to bring new or updated medical devices to market without testing them in human trials first. Companies need only to convince regulators that their products are similar to ones that are already approved, even if the other products are decades old or were subsequently pulled from the market. Eight years ago the Institute of Medicine advised the F.D.A. to abolish at least one of these loopholes, whats known as the 510(k) pathway. Its past time for the agency to heed that advice, and to ensure that no medical device intended for permanent residence inside a human body is used on patients without first being rigorously tested.

Fix post-market surveillance: Industry proponents say that medical devices can be brought to market quickly and safely by having companies conduct rigorous testing after products go to market instead of beforehand. But companies often fail to complete such studies, even when theyre ordered by regulators. Whats more, device makers frequently skirt rules requiring them to report publicly all incidents of malfunction, injury or illness  often through mechanisms that the F.D.A. itself created. And after years of wrangling, the industry and its regulators have still not fully put a system in place to better notify patients of product recalls and other safety issues.

The F.D.A. has vowed to fix some of these lapses. Theyve promised to abolish reporting exemptions  as detailed by Kaiser Health News  that keep safety issues hidden from the public and to promote breast implant registries that monitor patient outcomes.
The second explanation involved forgetting or obliviousness. A mother in Illinois said: My husband is a participatory and willing partner. Hes not traditional in terms of I dont change diapers. But his attention is limited. She added, I cant trust him to do anything, to actually remember.

A dad in San Francisco said that many of the tasks of parenting werent important enough to remember: I just dont think these things are worth attending to. A certain percentage of parental involvement that my wife does, I would see as valuable but unnecessary. A lot of disparity in our participation is that.

Finally, some men blamed their wives personalities. A San Diego dad said his wife did more because she was so uptight. She wakes up on a Saturday morning and has a list. I dont keep lists. I think theres a belief that if shes not going to do it, then it wont get done. (His wife agreed that this was true, but emphasized that her belief was based on experience: We fell into this easy pattern where he learned to be oblivious and I learned to resent him.)

A father in Portland , Ore., confirmed that his wife takes on more but said: It has to do with her personality. She always has to stay busy. No matter what day of the week it is, she has a need to be engaged, to be doing something.

Many mothers told me they had tried to change this and had aired their grievances with their partners, only to watch as nothing changed. A mother in Queens said she spent three years trying to get her husband to do more before coming to terms with the fact that maybe it was never going to happen. He notices the unfairness, but he just accepts it as something we have a disagreement about, she said. How much convincing of the other person can you do?

All this comes at a cost to womens well-being, as mothers forgo leisure time, professional ambitions and sleep. Wives who view their household responsibilities as unjust are more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not, one study says. When their children are young, employed women (but not men) take a hit to their health as well as to their earnings  and the latter never recovers. Child-care imbalances also tank relationship happiness, especially in the early years of parenthood.

Division of labor in the home is one of the most important gender-equity issues of our time. Yet at the current rate of change, MenCare, a group that promotes equal involvement in caregiving, estimates that it will be about 75 more years before men worldwide assume half of the unpaid work that domesticity requires.
They calumniated the dignified professor in front of her parents, calling her a liar, a fantasist, an erotomaniac and a vengeful scorned woman. I remember chasing Arlen Specter, the usually moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, down the hall of the Russell Senate Office Building after he slandered Hill as a perjurer.

Priding himself on his comity with his Republican colleagues, Biden set up the rules to favor Thomas.

First, Hill says, he reneged on a promise to let her testify first. Then he agreed to go along with Republicans contention that the judges behavior outside work was not relevant, which prevented testimony about Thomass taste for porn.

Yet Biden let Orrin Hatch, the Republican Savonarola from Utah, imply that Thomas could not possibly know the vocabulary of porn and suggest that Hill had gotten the pubic hair line from The Exorcist, which she had never read. (This, even though reporters had Thomass list of porn rentals from a local video store.)

Biden was striving to be fair to his vicious, duplicitous Republican colleagues who were jamming an arch-conservative liar onto the Supreme Court.

Comey also got tangled up on the issue of fairness, with disastrous results. Afraid that he would be blamed if it was discovered that the F.B.I. had been secretly investigating the woman expected to be the next president, the then-F. B.I. chief violated his own agencys norms to announce that he was reopening the inquiry into Hillary Clintons emails on the cusp of the election.

But he did not tell the public that the F.B.I. was also looking into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. As The Times has now revealed, the F.B.I. was worried enough to set up a honey trap, sending a comely government investigator posing as a research assistant to draw out George Papadopoulos , a Trump campaign adviser, in a London bar.
Over the last week, weve been focused on Attorney General William Barrs distortions of the Mueller Report, but many years ago he did something even more damaging. In his first stint as attorney general, Barr in 1992 issued a report called The Case for More Incarceration. He was one of many politicians and officeholders, Democrats as well as Republicans, who led the United States, with 5 percent of the worlds population, to hold almost 25 percent of the worlds prisoners.

Finally, America is beginning to unravel this historic mistake.

The best thing the Trump administration has done so far is its backing of the bipartisan First Step Act on criminal justice reform. The act, signed into law by Trump in December, marked a turning point away from mass incarceration, and small numbers of federal offenders have been released early since then.

I saw the new mood on criminal justice while moderating a panel the other day at the Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles. Beside me was Republican Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi, a conservative with whom I agree on nothing else, but he has worked heroically since 2014 to reduce Mississippis prison population by 11 percent. This has saved the state $46 million, he said.

Bryant also argued in the panel discussion for ending Americas system of de facto debtor prisons, in which poor people end up jailed because of an inability to pay fines. This is a problem in many states: One day when I visited the Tulsa county jail, 23 people were locked up simply for failure to pay government fines and fees.

Another conservative on the panel, Mark Holden of Koch Industries, spoke eloquently about how our criminal justice system traps people in poverty when they need second chances. He said that the system is so flawed that it needs to be blown up, quite frankly  in a nonviolent way.
When Dr. Courtwright met with the patients wife to recommend another procedure, she surprised him with her response: You need to look me in the eye and tell me youre recommending that because you think he is going to get better, not just because you want to keep him alive for another three months. Dr. Courtwright did believe that his patient could ultimately improve, but he could understand her worry. Thats where the one-year mortality metrics really create some paradoxical incentives, and the impression of paradoxical incentives, he said.

In response to these concerns, the Department of Health and Human Services called for comments on a proposal to do away with the one-year metric for transplant program C.M.S. reaccreditation, though the metric will remain in the initial accreditation process. And we continue to know relatively little about how patients are doing beyond whether they are alive or dead. I could get anyone to a year, said Dr. Formica.  But do you get back to work? Do you get back to being with your family? We dont know.

Indeed, despite all the clinical data that transplant programs are required to report to regulatory bodies, there is no similarly rigorous tracking of health-related quality of life. One reason is that mortality is easier to measure; the level of functioning that is important to an individual varies from person to person and changes over time.

Perhaps there is no single metric that defines success, said Dr. Hilary Goldberg, who heads the lung transplant program at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Sitting with patients in the transplant clinic, trying to help them imagine life after this momentous surgery, she hopes for a more fluid system of reporting that is able to weigh factors based on what different people need.

The question for me becomes, Who is the audience we are trying to satisfy with these metrics? she said. Patients, regulators and doctors might all value slightly different measures, which is challenging. But if we wanted to define the perfect system, it has to be more malleable.

Its been almost a year and a half since Ms. Favazzas transplant. She said it seemed as though she spent all her time returning to the hospital for a clinic visit, a new scan or a procedure. But she can run her daily errands without carting around her oxygen. She no longer needs to worry when she cant find a parking spot near a store entrance. After years without travel, she is planning a trip to Florida.

Her surgery is a success story by any metric, not just by the one-year mortality measure.

Its about being able to breathe and to do what you need to do, she told me. Then she paused. No  not just what you need to do, but what you want to do. Being able to do the little things, kids birthday parties, Easter. For me, its being able to do all of that again.

Daniela J. Lamas is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

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Q: I rent a market-rate apartment on the Upper West Side. About two months ago, moths started appearing in my closet, destroying my sweaters. The building has sent an exterminator twice, but the problem persists. Do I have grounds to break my lease?

A: Your landlord must provide you with a habitable apartment, one that does not endanger your health, safety or well-being. However, it is unlikely that a judge would let you out of your lease because of moths, even if they are decimating your wardrobe.

While certainly an annoyance, Im not seeing how this particular situation adversely impacts the units habitability, said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate attorney and adjunct professor at New York Law School.

If you simply break the lease and move out, you could be on the hook for the balance of the lease and any legal fees the landlord assumes  a sum that could be quite substantial, Mr. Ferrara said.
James: When he talks about the past, he looks at me.

Charles: Im just so relieved. I thought that I was the oldest one here, but then I saw you and, thought, Oh, thank God.

Jack: I was rereading the Sontag essay in preparation for this, and I do think that camp is a sensibility, an aesthetic sensibility. I would imagine it really derived from gay culture, gay male culture initially, and then has widened through every different group. Sontag starts with Oscar Wilde, which is a reasonable place to start because he was such a funny commentator on the unnatural.

At the time, people wouldnt have necessarily expressed their antipathy to same-sex sexuality through what we call homophobia, but they would have said, This is unnatural. And so, you could say that one of the foundational gestures of camp is to say, Its unnatural? Absolutely.

Zaldy: The term was in black and white in the dictionary in the last century, but camp and its queer roots have been there as far back as it goes. Its just  camp. I mean, imagine Roman orgies  thats camp! That is full-on camp.

Charles: If we were back at the Roman orgy, itd be our perception of it as opposed to somebody elses. Maybe a heterosexual person at the Roman orgy might just be going at it from purely the sex angle, but if we were there, wed be amused at the look of it, or the person whos posing and looks foolish because they want to be something that they actually are not. I think an element of camp is what the truth is and what the perception is, when theyre two different things. Thats where often the humor comes in.

Carmelita: I also think that its really important to put women in. I came from the 80s, but women were also dressing up and were also acting out in cabaret around that time. Maybe they were not as visible.
Any settlement will also be looked at as a measure of the Trump administrations willingness to penalize one of the countrys most valuable and influential companies. The administration has whittled away regulations in many industries, but President Trump has repeatedly said tech giants like Facebook and Amazon have too much power.

Many Democrats have led efforts to rein in Silicon Valleys power.

This is a hugely important decision because it will be watched by all these big companies to see if there is actually going to be a new day on the enforcement front, said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed for Mr. Zuckerberg to be held personally liable in any settlement.

Rohit Chopra, one of the two Democrats on the commission, has publicly urged stronger punishment of repeated offenders of F.T.C. rules.

But Mr. Simons has appeared unwilling to force the issue and drag the case to court, which could be a risky move. He has recently intensified his efforts to get at least one of the two Democrats on his side, according to one of the people with knowledge of the talks. But the internal disagreements have held up a final agreement.

In addition to the fine, Facebook has agreed, as part of a proposed settlement, to create new positions that would be focused on privacy policies and compliance, two of the people said. The agency, in coordination with the company, would set up an independent committee to oversee Facebooks privacy efforts. That committee and the F.T.C. would appoint an outside assessor to monitor the companys handling of data.

The company has also agreed to assign an executive as a privacy compliance officer, making privacy oversight a job within the top ranks, the people said. Mr. Zuckerberg could be given the job, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, although another person expressed doubts.
MIAMI  For Darwing Silva, the first sign that something was amiss when his flight landed in Jacksonville, Fla., during a thunderstorm late on Friday was that it seemed the jet did not brake after hitting the runway.

Lights zoomed by the window. He traded worried glances with other passengers.

Then came the jolt.

It was just the biggest impact Ive ever felt in my life, Mr. Silva said on Saturday. Like an explosion, almost.

He lurched forward in his seat  14B, the middle seat in an exit row  and hit his head on the seatback in front of him.

Seconds later, Mr. Silva felt water. Up to my ankles, he said. And there was water coming in from above the roof of the plane.
It seemed no accident that Mr. Biden quickly took his deal-making case from the swing state of Pennsylvania to Dubuque County, which flipped from the Democratic column to Mr. Trump in 2016, and sits in the middle of the densest stretch of counties in the nation that made the same shift to Mr. Trump.

Yet many on the left believe that Mr. Bidens nostalgia for a bygone era of comity, compromise and civility  while appealing  is misplaced, or even naive. They question whether historic pragmatism can even be considered pragmatic anymore in an era of norm-busting hyperpartisanship.

Joe Biden knows better, said Brian Fallon, a former top spokesman for Hillary Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer, because Joe Biden was the wingman for Barack Obama, who in his first year in his presidency had Mitch McConnell say his No. 1 objective was that Barack Obama wasnt re-elected.

Mr. Fallon acknowledged the political temptation to be less partisan sounding, by condemning only Mr. Trump in an attempt to appeal to disaffected Republicans. Im not saying a candidate needs to go around preaching doom and gloom, he said. But for the good of the country  beyond the short-term political calculus  we need someone who is cleareyed about the situation they will be inheriting if they win the White House.

Some Democratic strategists point to Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a candidate who grasps the challenges to bipartisan deal-making. While he has offered rhetorical gestures to Republicans  casting himself as a consensus-seeking executive in a red state, Indiana  he has embraced more radical ideas that would help Democrats bypass the opposition party, such as eliminating the filibuster and stacking the Supreme Court with additional justices.

It took Ms. Warren only two days after the 2016 election to cast Mr. Trump as an outgrowth of an electorate demanding change. The final results may have divided us  but the entire electorate embraced deep, fundamental reform of our economic system and our political system, she said then.
WASHINGTON  Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said on Saturday that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term, the third Republican senator to do so ahead of the 2020 campaign.



Mr. Enzi, 75, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, has held his seat since 1997, making him the longest-serving Wyoming senator in modern times. Speaking at a news conference in his home state, he said he planned to spend the rest of his tenure focusing on budget overhaul.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, Mr. Enzi said. I want to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt.

I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign, he added.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, praised Mr. Enzis time in the Senate, calling him a respected moral leader.
Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling author who challenged conservative Christianity and gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville. She was 37.

Her husband, Daniel Evans, said in a statement on her website that the cause was extensive brain swelling. During treatment for an infection last month, Ms. Evans began experiencing brain seizures and had been placed in a medically induced coma.

I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake, Mr. Evans said in a statement. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all, and her work will long survive her.

An Episcopalian, Ms. Evans left the evangelical church in 2014 because, she said, she was done trying to end the churchs culture wars and wanted to focus instead on building a new community among the churchs refugees: women who wanted to become ministers, gay Christians and those who refuse to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith.
KINSHASA, Congo  More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the countrys health minister said on Friday, the second-worst outbreak of the disease in history behind the West African one in 2014-16 that killed more than 11,300.

The toll came as hostility toward health workers continued to hamper efforts to contain the virus.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that four deaths in the outbreaks center, Katwa, had helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo. The outbreak was declared almost nine months ago.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the spread of the disease in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have been repeatedly attacked, leaving government health officials to run clinics in the hot spots like Butembo and Katwa.

International aid organizations stopped working in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the World Health Organization was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
JOHANNESBURG  The war room for the African National Congress candidates running in local elections three years ago was an elaborate operation with new computers, wall monitors, lodging for volunteers and catered food three times a day.

But the A.N.C., the party in power for the 25 years since the end of apartheid, did not fund its own war room. A South African company named Bosasa paid for everything, including the wages of the so-called volunteers, according to recent testimony at a government inquiry on corruption.

Now as South Africans prepare to vote in a pivotal general election on May 8, the public does not know where the A.N.C. and the opposition parties raised the tens of millions of dollars needed to run rallies, print posters, buy television ads and perform myriad other tasks as part of their campaigns across a vast land of 57 million people.

Though South Africa has long been held up as a model of democratization, revelations at the inquiry indicate that the financing of its elections appears to be riddled with the same kind of corrupt practices that have consumed the nation in recent years.
Campaign for European elections : Demonstrations at AfD event in Bonn

Bonn On Friday, a hundred police officers secured an AfD event at the Haus der Bildung in Bonn and counter-demonstrations. Employees of the Volkshochschule protested against the use of their rooms by the political party.

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According to the German Constitution, everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely. All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully without permission. Two opposing camps made use of those two fundamental rights on Friday. The police showed a strong presence and reported in the evening: No violence, no special incidents.

The municipal House of Education used the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for an election campaign event for the European elections on May 26, almost 80 listeners accepted the invitation of the opponents of the Euro and immigration. Outside, on two sides of the completely closed Mulheimer Platz, several hundred people gathered for a counter-demonstration called by various left-wing groups, church organisations and trade unions.

It was necessary to "oppose the racist party at every point", but also to talk to those who, out of pure dissatisfaction, were looking for a political alternative, said Diakonie chief Ulrich Hamacher, one of the speakers on the stage of the group "Bonn crosses the line". In the passage between Karstadt and Cassiusbastei, mainly young counter-demonstrators chanted slogans against the AfD. Their visitors were led by the police via Munsterstrae to the Haus der Bildung.

Compared to the outside scenes, the atmosphere was quite calm and concentrated inside the hall. Hans Neuhoff, deputy AfD district chairman, spoke about the "construction errors of the EU" before the external guests, Christian Loose and Sven Tritschler, members of the state parliament, also had the opportunity to speak. In the beginning, Neuhoff thanked the Haus der Bildung and the city for making the event possible.

As reported, there had already been discussions in the run-up to the event about the young right-wing party, which represents the largest opposition faction in the German Bundestag and hopes for a two-digit election result in the European elections. At first, the AfD criticised the city administration because of alleged unequal treatment with the letting of urban areas. Mayor Ashok Sridharan (CDU) rejected the accusations: "Of course the city of Bonn treats the AfD like all other admitted parties", the Mayor told the General-Anzeiger.

While the case seemed solved for the time being for the administration due to the neutrality obligation, the controversy went on. Still, on Friday a group of lecturers of the adult education center expressed their protest against the AfD meeting in the rooms in which they teach regularly German and which they use themselves with much commitment for tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and integration. Values which the AfD stands programmatically against. They expressed their concern in a letter to the VHS management. But there were also other voices in the debate about the event. CDU Council member Nikolaus Kircher, for example, clearly rejected the call for the closure of municipal buildings to selected parties: "The dispute should be conducted politically and not by denying rights", said the Christian Democrat.
SHANCHONG, China  China has made your iPhone, your Nikes and, chances are, the lights on your Christmas tree. Now, it wants to grow your cannabis.

Two of Chinas 34 regions are quietly leading a boom in cultivating cannabis to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating compound that has become a consumer health and beauty craze in the United States and beyond.

They are doing so even though cannabidiol has not been authorized for consumption in China, a country with some of the strictest drug-enforcement policies in the world.

It has huge potential, said Tan Xin, the chairman of Hanma Investment Group, which in 2017 became the first company to receive permission to extract cannabidiol here in southern China. The chemical is marketed abroad  in oils, sprays and balms as treatment for insomnia, acne and even diseases like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. (The science, so far, is not conclusive.)
They agreed that the partys attempt to rout out black money by invalidating most of Indias currency, known as demonetization, had not really worked.

But the question of whether Mr. Modi was responsible for his governments more polarizing moments divided them.

Ms. Khichi, a senior who plans to work for the consulting company Deloitte after graduating, said bad people in Mr. Modis party were taking advantage of his popularity to insert religion into politics.

It is not Modi who is promoting Hinduism, she said. It is the people behind him.

Mr. Parmar raised the case of Gauri Lankesh, an Indian journalist and critic of the government, who was murdered in 2017 by members of a militant Hindu group.

After her death, a man who described himself on Twitter as a Hindu nationalist wrote: One bitch dies a dogs death all the puppies cry in the same tune. Mr. Parmar pointed out that Mr. Modi was following that person.

It means Modi is supporting him, he said.

The third person in the classroom, Mr. Kirar, 23, said he was still undecided. Choosing between the B.J.P. and the Indian National Congress, he said, was like picking one of two snakes.

Regardless of which gets chosen, he said, they are both going to bite you anyway.
JEJU, South Korea  When North Korea launched a volley of projectiles off its east coast on Saturday, it sought to escalate the pressure on President Trump to return to the negotiating table with a compromise on easing sanctions, analysts said, by signaling that it could scuttle his biggest diplomatic achievement with the North.

Saturdays weapons tests were the most serious by the North since the country launched its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017. Although North Korea has not gone so far as to renege on its moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests, which its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced last year, the Saturday launch indicated that Mr. Kim was toying with the idea of lifting the moratorium, analysts said.

[Update: North Korea fired a projectile on Thursday. The launch was its second weapons test in less than a week.]

Mr. Trump has repeatedly described the moratorium as his biggest achievement on North Korea, citing it as proof that his diplomacy with Mr. Kim has been working. The leaders have met twice: first in Singapore in June and again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February.
After Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China talked over a steak dinner in December at a Group of 20 meeting in Argentina, the administration decided to shelve the proposed sanctions, according to the American officials. The two leaders had set a deadline of March 1 to reach a broad trade agreement, and American officials decided the sanctions could wait until after that deadline. But trade negotiators failed to reach a deal by that date, and talks are still continuing.

China has cracked down on ethnic minorities like the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking group of mostly Sunni Muslims, who form the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang. For decades, many Uighurs have resented Communist Party rule, saying Chinese officials suppress their culture and religion and practice widespread discrimination.

Officials in Beijing say they fear terrorist ideas have taken root among the Uighurs and point to outbursts of violence in recent years, particularly a deadly riot in the capital of Xinjiang in 2009. A vast internment program began soon after, largely under the orders of Chen Quanguo, who became party chief of Xinjiang in August 2016, after a stint in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Of the majority-Muslim nations, only Turkey has strongly denounced the recent mass detentions and surveillance in Xinjiang, though Ankara maintains strong economic ties to Beijing.

Beijing hasnt significantly changed its policies in Xinjiang, said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch. So its still appropriate the United States go ahead with the sanctions.

As a last-ditch effort, activists are now pushing American officials to insert the humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang into the trade talks, which may wrap up next week in Washington, or to impose sanctions to pressure China to end persecution in the region.

On Friday, a group of about a dozen demonstrators, many of whom are Uighurs living in the United States, gathered in Washington outside of a conference focused on sanctions policy to pressure Treasury Department officials to take action against Chinese officials involved in the Xinjiang abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act.
In the weeks before North Korea fired rockets and guided weapons on Saturday, President Trump countermanded the Treasury Department, reversing an announcement that it was tightening economic sanctions against the country.

The reason, his press secretary declared, was that President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

Now, nearly a year after beginning a bold experiment in the power of personal diplomacy, Mr. Trump has run headlong into its limits. He has discovered that friendship between leaders of bitter nuclear rivals may produce good television, but that it is not a counterproliferation strategy.

After gaining few tangible economic benefits from two summit meetings, the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, is now turning to a well-worn playbook written by his father and grandfather. On Saturday, the North fired a volley of projectiles off its eastern coast in a move that analysts said was intended to escalate the pressure on Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table. And as Mr. Trump heads into the 2020 election, that strategy may threaten what the president has trumpeted as a signature diplomatic initiative, depriving him of the stump-speech moments to declare he brought peace where his predecessors failed.
Empty beer cans found : Police stop drunken bus driver in Bonn

Bonn A bus driver apparently drove under the influence of alcohol on a scheduled route from Rheinbach to Bonn on Thursday evening. A passenger had reported the 51-year-old. Police found three empty beer cans in his pocket.

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A passenger called the police late on Thursday evening at 11 pm on his way from Rheinbach to Bonn because of the unsafe driving style of a bus driver. The officers then stopped the bus on Rochusstrae in Duisdorf, according to the report. A breathalyser alcohol test showed that the 51-year-old driver was behind the wheel with a 0.5 alcohol level per mille in his breath.

Three empty beer cans were also found in the man's pocket. Because of the special responsibility for passenger transport, bus drivers are subject to an absolute ban on alcohol. The driver had to leave the bus and accompany the officers to the station. There, a blood sample was taken from him because of the suspicion of the endangerment of the road traffic by driving under the influence of alcohol. His driving licence was seized.
Jain suggests researching where you are going by checking for travel warnings and outbreaks in the area. Other factors to take into consideration are whether your baby was born full-term and is healthy.

"I think you have to think very, very hard about it," Jain said. "Common sense would be critical." Jain has a 6-week-old and has decided to not travel outside the United States this summer.

If a child has not been vaccinated, is older than 12 months and international travel is planned, the initial MMR shot and a booster can be given within 28 days of each other. Traces of immunity are detectable within a few days, according to the CDC, and a person can be fully protected within two to three weeks.

If a child cannot be vaccinated due to an immunosuppression, the CDC says, travel should be delayed because the child is more likely to experience severe complications if they get the measles.

Protecting your child when travel is necessary

Vaccination is the easiest way to protect your child before traveling, but if the baby is too young to receive the vaccination or wasn't able to as an infant, there are a few things you can do to help minimize the risk of infection.
Its almost summer, and that means one special thing in my house  traveling!

I think the best education comes from travel. As a kid, I learned the importance of seeing and experiencing the world around me. I swam in the ocean, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate giant hamburgers in Pittsburgh, drove through the Midwest pretending I was in a covered wagon, spent the 4th of July on the levy in Louisiana, road a ferry in Seattle, saw the beauty of Oregon's Crater Lake and the history of South Dakota's Mount Rushmore. As an adult, I have been fortunate to add many others to that list.

My travels throughout the years created a lot of enjoyment and memories, but they also taught me extraordinarily important lessons I couldnt have gotten anywhere else. That's something I think is imperative for my kids, as well. I am passionate about the role travel can play in the educational development of children. Here are 7 reasons why its important for kids to travel.

1. Youll learn about other cultures. Whether here in the U.S. or abroad, traveling is the best way to get to know what other cultures are all about. What people wear, how they speak, their customs and cultural norms, hobbies, manners and etiquette.
A shareholder asserted that Berkshire would have expanded its cash pile to $155 billion from $118 billion if it had kept the cash in a stock index fund versus U.S. Treasury bills.

Its a perfectly rational observation, Buffett said.

Buffett expressed a willingness for Berkshire to change its investment strategy around its excess cash in the future. He said the change would be something his successor might wish to employ.

Buffett said he and Munger have liked having a lot of money to be able to make big moves fast. Opportunities tend to come in clumps when other people dont want to deploy cash, Buffett said. The two believe the capital on hand will be well-deployed and be better than an index fund.

Munger said its not a sin for such a large company to be strong on cash. Were not going to change.

Online competition for Berkshire retailers

Buffett said the jury is still out on how rapidly growing online retailers will do over time. Investors so far, he said, seem willing to look at losses as OK as long as sales are increasing, hoping better days are ahead.
The Bookworm bookstore in Omaha has a booth at the annual meeting displaying books approved by Warren Buffett for sale at the meeting.

More than 45 books are on the approved list, including many about Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway and investing as well as more general-interest books.

The two new books Buffett requested to be sold this year are:

Letters to Doris  One Womans Quest to Help Those with Nowhere Else to Turn. Doris Buffetts vision sounds simple: Provide people and families who have fallen on hard times with a place to be heard and match them with resources to help address whatever challenge they face. This effort is difficult, sometimes messy, and a constant reminder of the limitations to truly changing someone elses circumstances. At the same time, the stories contained in this book present a slice of the community that Doris created with the Letters Foundation.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

For the last 20 years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. Melindas unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention. She writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world  and ourselves.
A Douglas County jury on Friday ordered the Elkhorn Public Schools to pay a developer $4.6 million for land it acquired for a new high school near 180th Street and West Maple Road.

Jurors found that a board of appraisers $2.6 million award to the developer was not a fair market value for the 43.6 acres along the heavily traveled road.

The school district seized the land through a condemnation proceeding.

The extra $2 million takes into account the value of the land and the decrease in value of the adjacent 30 acres that the developer is left to work with, according to the jurys verdict.

The school district chose the land as the location of Elkhorn North High School. The school is slated to open in August 2020.

According to court documents, the land was owned by Tribedo, a Nebraska limited liability company. Arun Agarwal, a real estate developer with White Lotus Group, is listed as Tribedos registered agent in state government documents.

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Members of a Hamburg, Iowa, family returned to their flood-damaged home on Easter morning to discover that it had been looted.

After almost two weeks of investigating, police have arrested two suspects from Omaha.

A joint investigation by the Omaha Police Department and the Fremont (Iowa) County Sheriffs Office led to a man and woman in Omaha.

The pair were arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief.

When the family returned to the home to gather belongings on April 21, they discovered that it had been forcibly entered and that thousands of dollars worth of property was missing, police said. The driveway and yard were also damaged.

Both suspects were arrested in Omaha and are being held at the Douglas County Jail.
The writer is the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants and author of The Capitalist Comeback. This appeared in the Washington Post.

Some may question the economic acumen of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination is clearly no slouch when it comes to the art of politics. So, when Sanders says, as he did during an April 15 Fox News town hall, that illegal immigration has become a serious problem that merits government action, Democratic legislators should listen. Or pay attention to a Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday indicating that Democratic voters concern about a crisis at the southern border has jumped 17 points since January.

Maybe Democrats in Congress should work with Republicans to resolve the crisis before the 2020 election.

The recent surge of Central American migrants  more than 100,000 were apprehended or denied entry in March, the most in one month in a dozen years, according to the Washington Post  is beginning to play right into President Donald Trumps hands, and experienced politicians such as Sanders know it. Thats why he called for sensible immigration reform to accommodate an overflowing immigration system.
Personal finance decisions can have a far-ranging impact on ones life. Able management can provide long-term security or, at a minimum, help one cope with short-term financial stresses.

Draft standards for Nebraskas social studies curriculum call for helping young people develop financial literacy. Its a worthy goal the State Board of Education should include.

Nationally, most of the U.S. students participating in an annual financial literacy test by the National Financial Educators Council dont fare well. The average score was 66% last year for the 5,647 students nationwide, ages 15-18, who participated. The figure for Nebraskas 213 participating students was 66%; for Iowas 372 participants, it was 61%.

About 210 of Nebraskas 244 school districts offer a personal finance class. Of these, 95 districts, representing about 60% of the states students, require completion of a personal finance class for graduation.
Winning chances of crorepatis and candidates with criminal background in Delhi elections

SC tells political parties to upload on website, why tickets were given to criminal candidates

West Bengal elections: 35 constituencies to go to polls in final phase, fate of 283 candidates to be sealed

189 with pending criminal cases, 311 crorepatis contesting 6th phase of Lok Sabha polls

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: 189 candidates with pending criminal cases and 311 crorepatis will battle it out in the 6th phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms states that 189(20%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.

146(15%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

4 candidates have declared convicted cases against themselves. 6 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section -302) against themselves.

25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves.

5 candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping (IPC Section-363) and Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364), against themselves.

21 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354), husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A) etc and Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509) against themselves. Among these 21 candidates, 2 have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376) against themselves.

11 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

Among the major parties, 26(48%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 20 (44%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 19(39%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 34(11%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 18(33%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 12 (26%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 17(35%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 27(9%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Just 12 per cent of candidates are women in 5th phase of LS polls

34 out of 59 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those constituencies where 3 or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Financial:

There are 311(32%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more.

Among the major parties 46(85%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 37(80%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 31(63%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 6(50%) out of 12 candidates from AAP and 71(23%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 election is Rs. 3.41 crores.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 54 BJP candidates is Rs. 12.70 crores, 46 INC candidates is Rs 22.37 crores, 49 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 6.93 crores, and 12 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 3.01 crores.

Other details:

340(35%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 465(48%) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 153(16%) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. 7 candidates have not given their age. 2 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years.

83(9%) female candidates are contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:32 [IST]
AgustaWestland: Court pulls up ED for chargesheet leak

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: A Delhi Court pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged leak of a supplementary chargesheet in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case to the media, saying the denial given by the agency did not inspire any confidence and was not worthy of reliance.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar further directed ED's Director to ensure that no such incident like the leak of the documents is repeated in future in any matter.

The court was hearing a plea by Christian Michel, alleged middleman arrested in the case, seeking an enquiry into the leak in the money laundering case.

Michel had accused ED of politicising the case by passing the documents to the media.

AgustaWestland case: Advocate Gautam Khaitan granted bail by court

The ED had refuted the allegations of handing over the documents to the journalists and had filed a status report claiming there was no leakage of the chargesheet on its part and "most likely" the leak to the media was caused from an extra copy that was left with the court staff.

The court staff had denied receiving any extra copy from the ED.

In the order, the judge said the status report was "not worthy of reliance" as he noted that there was no direction from the court to the ED to file any additional copy, neither did the agency mention earlier that it had submitted an extra copy.

"Even if the version of ED is believed, it was totally uncalled for and negligent on the ED official to leave a copy with the Ahlmad (court staff)."

"The allegations made by the ED, on face of it, appears incorrect. The version of the ED is not inspiring any confidence and is not worthy of reliance," the court said.

The court refused to go into the issue regarding the media getting the access of the supplementary of the chargesheet and whether giving it to the scribes was a deliberate act or a result of negligence or carelessness.

"However, I deem it fit to direct the Director, ED, to take necessary steps to ensure that no such incident is repeated in future in any matter whatsoever. Further, this court does not find any contempt of court being committed (on part of ED)," the court said.

Earlier during the arguments, the ED had told the court that there was nothing wrong if the media published or broadcast its contents as the court has already taken cognisance of the case and only the fresh accused had to be summoned.

The agency had told the court that the charge sheet was a public document and there was nothing wrong if someone accessed it.

Michel's lawyer had told the court that there was a media trial due to the leakage of the chargesheet.

Michel, currently in judicial custody, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year after his extradition from Dubai.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the chopper scam by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

Production warrant issues in AgustaWestland chopper case

The agency had earlier told the court that Michel received 24.25 million euros and 1,60,96,245 pounds from the AgustaWestland deal.

The ED told the court that it had identified Michel's properties purchased with the proceeds of the crime.

The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:04 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

BJP leader shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir: Report

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 05: Gul Muhammad Mir, a BJP worker, was on Saturday shot dead by suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The party has alleged that his security was recently withdrawn by the state administration, currently run by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Mir, who was BJP's vice district president of Anantnag district, was hit by bullets on chest and abdomen. He had unsuccessfully contested Assembly Elections for Dooru assembly segment in 2008 and 2014.

Unidentified terrorists fired at the BJP leader at Nowgam Verinag, a police official told PTI.

Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

He was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he died of his injuries.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the attack.

"Ghulam Mohd office bearer of the BJP in South Kashmir has been shot & killed in Nowgam, Verinag. I condemn this dastardly act of violence & pray for the soul of the departed. May his soul rest in peace," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has also condemned the killing.

"I strongly condemn the killing of BJP leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

The area has been cordoned off.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:59 [IST]
Can you party on New Years in Karnataka? Here is what you should know

BJP will try to 'destabilise' Karnataka govt if it replicates 2014 LS feat: Minister

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, May 04: Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."

"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 19:14 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet

Congress, Samajwadi Party betrayed Mayawati: PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

"Congress leaders happily share stage with the Samajwadi Party in the rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati is attacking the Congress, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP, Modi said.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at a Samajwadi Party meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," he said.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party for cutting the votes of other parties and it will soon witness its downfall.

Attempting to draw a wedge in the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Modi claimed that BSP chief Mayawati has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a "big game" with her.

"Now, this is clear that the SP has derived mileage from Mayawati through the gathbandhan. She was kept in dark. There were talks about respect. It was said that you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now Behenji has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said there are dangers of corruption, opportunism, casteism, dynastic politics and non-governance from this alliance.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

"The panja (hand) of mahamilaawat is very dangerous," he added.
EC clears Shah of Wayanad-Pak remark but the decision was not unanimous

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president, Amit Shah were cleared in four complaints of alleged poll code violation by the Election Commission of India.

Of the four decisions, one was not unanimous and there was disagreement within the poll panel. The complaint related to Amit Shah's speech in Nagpur on April 9 where he likened Wayanad to Pakistan. This is the second seat on which Congress president, Rahul Gandhi is contesting the elections.

The final decision on this complaint was taken by a 2:1 majority. Shah had said Rahul baba for the sake of an alliance had gone to such a seat in Kerala, where when a procession is taken you cannot make out if it is India or a Pakistan procession. He made the comment in an apparent reference to the Indian Union Muslim League flags that were seen during the procession.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

In its reply to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, the EC said that the matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and after examination of complete transcript of speech of six pages sent by DEO, Nagpur, Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of MCC or ECI's instructions is made out.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:06 [IST]
Mamata to join hands with BJP again in case of hung assembly in Bengal: Sitaram Yechury

Yechury says India now an electoral autocracy

Yechury raises suspicion over EC decision to put on hold poll to RS seats in Kerala

Sitaram Yechury's son Ashish dies of Covid-19 at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram

Decision to bring in new faces in LDF cabinet taken in CPI(M)'s long term interest: Sitaram Yechury

This is daylight highway robbery of national assets, Sitaram Yechury on Air India returning to Tatas

FIR against Sitaram Yechury for hurting hindu sentiments

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 04: Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechury's statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating "Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata."

It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

Sitaram Yechury lashes out at EC over clean chit to PM Modi

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

"What is the logic behind saying there is a religion which engages in violence and we Hindus don't," Yechury said.

Yechury also attacked the BJP for fragmenting the society for votes through its divisive policies.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 23:14 [IST]
Foni, Mala, Nargis: How are cyclones named

Feature

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, May 04: Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer are some of the biggest names in Bollywood. However these are also names of cyclones, most of which have been lethal.

As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as 'Foni', means a snake's hood. But how are cyclones named? The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its twenty-seventh session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.

Cyclone Fani that killed 8 hits West Bengal with wind speed of 90 kmph

The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically -- Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested 'Onil' the first in the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named 'Vayu', suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised. Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

"A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly.

"If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria," a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

Baby born amid fury of the storm named after Cyclone Fani

"The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning," it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD. According to the IMD, in the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily.

Laxman Singh Rathore, a former director general of the IMD, said the practice of naming the storm first started in the United States. This helped identify it and also aided the researchers. Earlier, the storm was named after the coast it hit, Rathore added.

"Then the mid-1900s saw the start of practice of using feminine names for storms. In the pursuit of a more organised and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alphabetically," the IMD said explaining the genesis of the naming process. "Before the end of 1900s, forecasters started using male names for those forming in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Centre. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation," the IMD added. Storms over South Pacific and Indian Ocean are known as cyclones. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used.

The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon, according to the National Ocean Service of the US' National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Has the Islamic State tied up with PFI? NIA probe on

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The raids conducted at 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu in a PFI related case could paint a larger picture.

The National Investigation Agency is now examining the possible links to the Islamic State. The NIA is questioning several persons in connection with the case and is trying to ascertain if there were links between some members of the PFI and the ISIS.

NIA officials say probing this link is necessary as the ISIS is known to tie up with regional outfits. This was seen during the Sri Lanka blasts, where the ISIS had aligned with the National Towheed Jamath.

On Thursday the National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became India's most radical outfit

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:49 [IST]
It slipped out says Jiten Manjhi after Masood Azhar saheb remark

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Patna, May 04: Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi courted controversy by addressing Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar as Saheb, drawing sharp criticism from BJP.

Later, Manjhi retracted and termed the remark as "slip of tongue."

Manjhi, an important leader of mahagathbandhan in Bihar which comprises Congress and the RJD, made the comment Thursday while replying to mediapersons query on United Nations declaring the Pakistan based terror mastermind Masood Azhar as global terrorist.

PM does branding of everything which is wrong the efforts were on to get Masood Azhar Saheb designated as global terrorist since Manmohan Singh's time but it was just a coincidence that the decision has been taken now. I think that this is not correct for BJP or Narendra Modi to take credit of the issue", Manjhi said.

Video of the Manjhi's comment that has gone viral showed him saying that "Had Vajpayee government not taken Masood Azhar Saheb to Kandhar in plane his game was over then only."

The HAM chief is the second grand alliance leader to address Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief as Masood 'saheb'.

Earlier, in the first week of April, RJD Baisi (Purnia) MLA Abdus Subhan, while addressing an election rally at Kishanganj had addressed Masood Azhar as Saheb.

Not returning to NDA says Manjhi

Manjhi, a BJP ally in 2014 general election as well 2015 Bihar polls, had switched sides to mahagathbandhan on the eve of the ongoing Parliamentary election.

While, BJP pounced on Manjhi's use of honour for the Pakistani terrorist, leaders of his party as well some from alliance partner RJD came in his defence.

By addressing Masood Azhar as Saheb, Jitan Ram Manjhi has proved that Congress and its allies have soft corners and special honour for terrorists. Is it in their political agenda to glorify those who bleed our innocent people of the country. Please reply Manjhi Saheb," Bihar BJP leader and states health minister Mangal Pandey said in a tweet in hindi.

HAM spokesman Danish Rizwan,however, made a defence of Manjhi in a release issued on behalf of the party.

Jitan Ram Manjhi ji always addresses people with respect but he has clarified his position before the media with regard to his comment on Masood Azhar. Jitan Ram Manjhi ji has clearly said that it was a 'slip of tongue'. He also said that probity and dignity in politics also does not warrant anyone to abuse anyone which the BJP has been doing, Rizwan said in the release.

Rizwan said that NDA leaders were trying to flare up the issue witnessing their imminent defeat in the four phases of polls held in the state so far.

RJD leader and MLA Vijay Prakash said that the issue has nothing to do with Bihar.

This is an international issue. It has nothing to do with Bihar, rather it has to be dealt on international level. The issues which are related to Bihar are corruption, jumlebazi, unemployment, price rise etc. Why BJP does not offer any reply on these issues, Prakash said.
JNU situation is "disaster" by VC: Former faculty member

Parliament panel 'anguished' at shortage of faculty in IITs, IIMs

Faculty cannot pursue full time course while teaching says HC

Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President gets death threat for banning veils

India

oi-Vikas SV

Thiruvananthapuram, May 04: Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President Dr PA Fazal Gafoor has reportedly filed a police complaint stating that received a death threat for a circular issued him which banned female students and faculty on its campuses from wearing niqab, the face veil.

The decision to ban the face veil had invited condemnation from some Muslim groups. Some fundamentalists accused the MES of interfering in the religious practices of students and faculty.

Even within the MES, Gafoor faced a backlash for circular disallowing veils. The Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoor's father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

Muslim education body in Kerala bars female students from wearing face veil

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses.

From 2019-20 academic year, heads of institutions and local managements must ensure that female students do not come to classes with their faces covered, the circular said.

We must discourage all undesirable tendencies in campuses the circular signed by Dr P A Fazal Gafoor said.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 13:39 [IST]
Maha govt challenges HC order saying no to EBC, Maratha quotas in PG courses

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: The Maharashtra Government on Saturday challenged the order by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay Court which had ruled out reservation for the Educationally Backward Classes and Marathas in some Post Graduate courses.

The Maharashtra Government reportedly filed a Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court today.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court had held that the decision of implementing 16 percent Maratha quota to PG medical admission process this year as "arbitrary". The HC noted that the PG medical admission process had already commenced at the time when the quota came into force.

Maharashtra approves 16% Maratha quota in jobs and education

The division bench of honourable Justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had ruled in their order that the March 8 notification about the implementation of the new 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community, under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) quota; shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier, reported PTI.

On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra Legislature had passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs. In November last year, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed bill giving 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in jobs and education. This was separate reservation from existing OBC and SC ST reservations already in place.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 14:04 [IST]
Going slow on Hafiz Saeed, looking up to Azhar, Pak is only worsening its case at FATF

Did Pakistan ever act against Azhar? Intel reports show, he remained protected always

Masood Azhars life in danger, ISI shifts him to a safe house in Rawalpindi

After hearing an October 2018 Azhar speech, Dar offered himself as Pulwama bomber

From plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much

Masood Azhar: How additional evidence led China to cave in

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: China was given a set of additional evidence about Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's involvement in terrorist activities, days after it blocked a fresh proposal at the UN on March 13 to designate him as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council declared him as a global terrorist after China removed its technical hold on a proposal moved by the UK, France and the US. Following the UN announcement of Azhar's listing, China said it took the decision after carefully studying the "revised materials".

Sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on Azhar's involvement in terror strikes in India including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack in the UN notification banning Azhar.

With Azhar banned, Pak will use Mohammad Rauf, Athar Ibrahim to run JeM

France, the UK and the US had moved the fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, China put a technical hold on the proposal on March 13, blocking it for a fourth time to designate Azhar.

Initially, China felt it was not provided with sufficient evidence about Azhar's involvement in terror activities, sources said, adding additional evidence was given to Beijing after it put a technical hold on the proposal to list him as global terrorist.

Asked about the impact of India's strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, sources said there was no reason to doubt it.

The diplomatic sources also said that the European Union is likely to conclude the process soon to designate Azhar as a terrorist although the UN ban on him will cover member countries of the grouping.

Germany initiated the move at the European Union, days after China blocked the proposal at the UN to ban him in March.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.

An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

Behind the scenes: How India's relentless push ensured Masood Azhar was banned

In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a global terrorist.

In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 -- the US, the UK and France -- in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again.

However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 04: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Centre to declare a ceasefire in the state like last year in view of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Sunday.

"Request GoI to cease crackdowns, & search operations during Ramzan this year so that people aren't subjected to harassment & can observe the holy month in peace. Last year's ceasefire helped in providing a huge sense of relief. Hope electoral compulsions are put aside," Mufti wrote on Twitter.

The PDP chief also asked militants to stop attacks on security forces. "I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attack in this month," PTI quoted her as saying.

Last year, the Centre had directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". At that time, Mehbooba was heading a PDP-BJPcoalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 21:04 [IST]
#MeToo: Court likely to pronounce verdict today in MJ Akbar's defamation case against Ramani

#Metoo: Feel vindicated on behalf women who spoke against sexual harassment, says Priya Ramani

Me Too: Timeline of events in Priya Ramani-MJ Akbar case

MJ Akbar cross examined in Priya Ramani case

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Former Union Minister MJ Akbar who appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in connection with his defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, was on Saturday cross examined by Ramani's lawyer.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John appeared for Priya Ramani while Akbar was represented by senior Advocate Geeta Luthra. MJ Akbar's cross examination will continue on May 20.

Court had in April framed defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

MJ Akbar's statement disappointing, ready to fight defamation complaint: Journalist Priya Ramani

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 12:20 [IST]
Modi has abused bravery of soldiers: Congress comeback on Modis surgical strike jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Congress party hit back after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the party was lying about the surgical strikes carried out under the UPA government.

In a statement, the Congress said that Modi's statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers and it has never used the strikes as election fodder.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers."Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party."The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! The Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said. "I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters,"My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?" He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

EC gives clean chit to Modi for Nanded, Varanasi speeches

"In Congress, we have always said that such operations have been conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added. The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure. "The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces.

The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:22 [IST]
Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media

Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh

'Do you work for govt?' Rahul Gandhi asks reporter; BJP calls him entitled brat

Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi

Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi

Nurse who witnessed Rahul Gandhis birth questions Swamys nationality jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Kochi, May 04: Rajamma Vavathil, a retired nurse and a voter in Wayanad, says forcefully that no one should contest Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's citizenship status -- after all she was one of those on duty at Delhi's Holy Family Hospital on June 19, 1970 when he was born.

The 72-year-old, who was still in training to be a nurse at the time, said she was among the first to take the infant Rahul in her hands.

I was lucky as I was first among the few who took the newborn baby in my hands. He was so cute. I was witness to his birth. I was thrilled... we all were thrilled to see the grandson of prime minister Indira Gandhi, Vavathil told PTI over phone from Wayanad.

Rahul takes offence to 'videogame jibe', hits back saying Modi insulted Army

Forty-nine years later, the "cute baby" is Congress president and a contestant from Wayanad. And Vavathil, who now describes herself as "nearly a housewife", said she couldn't be happier.

She remembers the day well.

Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi and uncle Sanjay Gandhi were waiting outside the labour room of the hospital when Sonia Gandhi was taken for delivery, Vavathil recounted.

It's a story she has often told her family.

The retired nurse said she is saddened by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's complaint questioning the Congress president's citizenship status.

According to Vavathil, no one can question Rahul Gandhi's identity as an Indian citizen and Swamy's complaint about his citizenship is baseless .

All records about Rahul Gandhi's birth would be there at the hospital, she said.

Vavathil, who completed her nursing course from Delhi's Holy Family Hospital, later joined the Indian military as a nurse.

A Wayanad voter is a retired nurse who witnessed Rahul's birth; says he was "cute baby"

After taking VRS from service, she returned to Kerala in 1987 and is now settled in Kalloor near Sulthan Bathery.

Vavathil expressed the hope that she would be able to meet Rahul Gandhi when he visits Wayanad next time.

Wayanad, which came into national prominence after Congress chief's Rahul Gandhi's candidature, registered record polling of 80.31 per cent in the polls held on April 23.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 11:56 [IST]
Govt schools in Punjab are in bad shape, seek people's support for improving them: Arvind Kejriwal

Uttarakhand polls 2022: Kejriwal promises Rs 1k to women, Rs 5k to jobless youths monthly if voted to power

Kejriwal to launch AAP's UP poll campaign from Lucknow on Jan 2

Opposition leaders condemn attack on Arvind Kejriwal

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 05: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Several opposition party leaders also tweeted to condemn the "attack".

Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu denounced it as a dastardly act.

Taking to twitter Naidu wrote: "After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a Twitter post wrote, "Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point".

Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point. https://t.co/9oFmcpcq3j  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien also came out with a scathing remark directed at the BJP in which he said that the act only goes to prove the saffron party's defeat in Delhi.

"They are desperately creating incidents to try and find 'game-changer'....Modi is OUT," he said while referring to a separate controversy around a "doctored" video of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Former BJP leader and a vocal critic of the Modi government, Yashwant Sinha, also condemned the "cowardly attack" on the Delhi CM.

Condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack on CM Delhi.  Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) May 4, 2019

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:46 [IST]
Shatrughan Sinha likely to join TMC, may be sent to Rajya Sabha

Stood by wife Poonam, done my 'pati dharma': Shatrughan Sinha

India

pti-PTI

Patna, May 04: Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' (duty as a wife) and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma (duty as a husband), she will also play her patni dharma once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."

When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Lok Sabha 5th phase election 2019: Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha richest candidate

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the "one-man show" and the "two-man army" will not return.

PTI
Top naxal with Rs 16 lakh reward behind Gadchiroli attack

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, May 04: The police have named a top naxal leaders among others in its FIR that was filed in the aftermath of the Gadchiroli attack which claimed 16 lives on Wednesday.

The police said that it has named Bhaskar, the North Commander of the CPI (Maoist) and 40 others in its FIR. They have been booked for murder and conspiracy, the police also said. The police have also invoked the provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the naxalites.

Bhaskar is a top naxal and is on the most wanted list. He has been active now for 15 years and also carries a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head. He was behind both the planning and the logistics relating to the attack.

Lack of intel led to Gadchiroli naxal attack

Investigations show that after a lull of three years, the naxalites were aiming to make a comeback in Gadchiroli. The police say that the explosive material recovered from the site has been sent for forensic examination.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:28 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Why is Ladakh seat important for BJP?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 04: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in strategically important Ladakh parliamentary seat in 2014 general elections by winning it for the first time.

In 2014, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang had defeated an Independent Ghulam Raza by a margin of only 36 votes. Chhewang had also won the seat in 2004 as an Independent. However, Chhewang had resigned from both the BJP and the Parliament last year.

The BJP is also worried because it performed very poorly in the Kargil and Leh civic body elections in October 2018 when it failed to win even a single seat.

Phase 5 elections: The seven seats that the BJP would be worried about

The BJP had promised in 2014 to grant Ladakh the status of Union Territory, but didn't fulfil it. It's notable that the demand of UT status to Ladakh predates the Telangana movement.

After sensing the discontent in Ladakh and its repercussions on the electoral politics, the Narendra Modi government made Ladakh a separate Division in February with Leh as its headquarters.

The leaders from Kargil district opposed the decision of Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik tooth and nail.

Muslim-majority Kargil fears that the decision to make Buddhist-majority Leh the seat of governance for the new division would give the Buddhists the upper hand in administration.

Kargil continues to oppose the Buddhist demand for Union territory status for Ladakh.

According to 2011 census, Ladakh's population is 2.73 lakh, including 1.26 lakh Muslims, 1.07 lakh Buddhists and 0.36 lakh Hindus, mostly soldiers and their families from other states.

According to the sources, Ladakh is more than a parliamentary seat for the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"The saffron leadership wants to have political control over Ladakh because of its strategic importance as well as to counter alleged Love Jihad, " says a source.

It is notable that Ladakh Buddhist Association's president PT Kunzang in an interview to a news portal had claimed that a systematic Love Jihad is being carried out in Ladakh to change the religious data of the area.

He had said in 2017 that around 97 Buddhist girls have been converted to Islam in the last four decades.

Reports suggest that as many as 45 Buddhist girls married Muslim men in Ladakh since 2003.

The BJP hopes that making of Leh as headquarters of Ladakh division will help its candidate in the upcoming polls.

BJP has fielded 33-year-old Jamying Tsering Namgayal, who is the current Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

Congress candidate Rigzin Spalbar is the former Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC, Leh.

The two main regional political parties, National Conference and People's Democratic Party, did not field their candidates and decided to extend support to Independent Sajad Kargili, who also enjoys the support of the influential Islamic School, Kargil.

Another Independent Asghar Ali Karbali, a former Congress party lawmaker, has also served twice as the CEC of LAHDC, Kargil.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 18:44 [IST]
In Rohtak, PM warns voters, asks them to take note of Sam Pitroda's 'Hua So Hua' remark

Why talk about Rahul's citizenship now, he has been MP for 15 years: Sam Pitroda

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Exuding confidence that the Congress is going to win the elections, Sam Pitroda asked why the BJP is raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi's citizenship now when he has been ' member of parliament for 15 years'.

"Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he added, and further said that the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Pitroda said there has been a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years.

"Based on our assessment we believe we are winning , we are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi government did not deliver," he said.

Pitroda, Gandhi family confidante and Indian Overseas Congress Chief, made headlines last month when he questioned death toll in Balakot air strike

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Sam Pitroda questions death toll in Balakot air strike

When asked about BJP's Subramanian Swamy approaching the court over Rahul Gandhi's citizen ship, Pitroda questioned its timing.

He has been member of parliament for 15 years ,you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament.Why did you wake up today with lies?You think people are stupid? Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he told ANI.

Swamy had reportedly alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

On asked if the opposition which seems scattered would come together after polls, Pitroda said all are clear on the common goal.

"No, do not think there anything to worry ,they will all come together at the right time , I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal ,they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace," he added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:12 [IST]
'Will thrash them like dogs': BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh threatens TMC workers

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, May 05: BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh, who used to call Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "mother" on Saturday courted controversy after threatening TMC workers saying that she would pull them out of their houses and "thrash them like dogs".

Ghosh said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Cyclone Fani: Mamata Banerjee cancels rallies, asks people to stay indoors

Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nominated for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less

important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:29 [IST]
With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became Indias most radical outfit

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places has seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI. Let us take a look at the journey of the PFI from when it was set up and how it turned out to be one India's most radical outfits.

PFI as an organisation came into existence in 2006. However, it dates back to 1993 when an organisation called the National Development Front was formed to protect the interests of Muslims in Kerala following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.

Sword, knife, documents among incriminating material seized by NIA in PFI related raid

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu. By 2009 more organisations merged with the PFI.

They were Goa Citizen's Forum, Rajasthan's Community Social and Educational Society, West Bengal's Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samithi, Manipur's Lilong Social Forum and Association of Social Justice, Andhra Pradesh.

The PFI has often been accused of associating with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. Most of the office bearers of the PFI have been associated with the SIMI in the past. They have held positions in the SIMI before it had been banned.

The Intelligence Bureau has said that the PFI is violent in nature. They one point agenda is to attack the Right Wing. They preach to their cadres that attacking those who oppose Islam would earn them religious rewards. the PFI has been accused of chopping off a professor's hand who had allegedly hurt religious sentiments in Kerala. 37 PFI cadres were arrested. In an affidavit before the Kerala High Court, it was submitted that the PFI was involved in 27 murders. In another report, the Kerala government said that there was 87 attempt to murder cases against PFI cadres.

The NIA speaks about the killing of RSS worker Rudresh in Bengaluru. Further, it details the professor's hand chopping case at Idukki. While giving details about a Kannur training camp from where country-made bombs and swords were seized, the NIA report to the Home Ministry also speaks about an Islamic State module case.

The NIA says that the approach of the PFI is radical in nature. It speaks about recruiting only committed Muslims into its fold. It also states that the cadres train with clips of the Babri Masjid demolition and this is clearly a sign that it is trying to radicalise its cadres. It is trying to run a parallel administration the NIA states.

It speaks about the Darul Khada an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. This was set up in 2009, by SDPI national chief E Aboobacker.

The NIA says that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a host of issues. The NIA dossier also states that in July 2009, a Kerala level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Malappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but get all issues sorted out by it.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:44 [IST]
Romance fraudster of Indian origin jailed for 6 years

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

London, May 04: A 32-year-old Indian-origin man, dubbed as a "romance fraudster" by UK police, has been jailed for six years and one month after he was found guilty of conning six women he met online and luring them to invest huge amounts in non-existent companies.

Keyur Vyas, from east London, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of a four-year-long investigation by Scotland Yard into his fraudulent activities.

The recruitment agent would befriend women online with the pretense of building a relationship with them by wining and dining them. The Metropolitan Police investigation found he had committed fraud against six different women, with his overall fraud estimated at over 800,000 pounds.

Indian origin habitual prank caller sentenced to 3 years prison in Singapore

"Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies," said Detective Constable Andy Chapman, from the Met Police's Central Specialist Command.

"He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money. Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them," he said.

The Met Police began an investigation into Keyur Vyas' activities in October 2014. They found that between 2014 and 2017, he was employed as a recruitment agent who would befriend women online under false pretenses.

The court was told that he would romance them and trick them into believing he was an affluent man working in finance. He would use commonalities with the victims, such as religion and his wish to start a family, to build trust with them.

Once he had gained their trust, Vyas would encourage them to invest in various business ventures for a large return. However, these ventures did not actually exist and he would use the money to gamble.

Vyas would also put pressure and be abusive to the victims to continue to invest more money in order to get the promised returns. He also used fear tactics and warned his victims that if they went to the police, they would lose all their money.

Man sentenced for 10 years for attempting to murder a teenage girl

"Unfortunately, we see cases like this fairly often and my advice to anyone in an online relationship whatever the nature is never to send personal details or money to someone who you have never met in person," said Detective Chapman.

It was only when they did not receive their money back that the women began to report their concerns to the police.

Vyas pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation in March this year, while the remaining two charges will lie on his file. The total loss for all the charges is approximately logged at 808,942 pounds.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:17 [IST]
Sri Lanka won't be allowed to be used for 'any activity' against India: President Rajapaksa

Sri Lankas Easter bombers travelled to Bangalore, Kerala and Kashmir

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Sri Lankan bombers had travelled to various parts of India, the chief of Sri Lanka's army said. The comments were made by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke in an interview to the BBC.

They had gone travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala according to the information available, he said. When asked about the purpose of the visit, he said it was for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

Indian agencies are hot on the trail of several Islamic State linked operatives since the past few weeks. The agencies are trying to ascertain the Indian connection to the Easter bombings. Indian officials have learnt that at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

Colombo bombings: Photographs of suspects released

An Indian intelligence official tells OneIndia that there is not much information on the travels by the Sri Lanka bombers. The information shared with us by Sri Lanka is not much as of now. We are conducting our independent investigations and will have more information soon, he also added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:52 [IST]
BMC decides to reopen schools in Mumbai from this date

Mumbai schools to reopen for Classes 1 to 7 from December 15

Maharashtra: Fire at a Thane building

Mumbai

oi-Vikas SV

Mumbai, May 04: A massive fire broke out at a building in Maharashtra's Thane this morning. The flames engulfed a building in Patlipada area, said reports.

No injuries or casualties have been reported as yet. The fire fighting operations are underway.

On April 22, a massive fire broke out at a factory in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtras Thane district and the firefighters managed to control the blaze after five and a half hours. The fire had broken out at a paintbrush and colour manufacturing factory-godown in Jai Mata Di compound in Kalher. At least 40 workers were asleep on the terrace of a nearby under construction building when the building caught fire.

[Massive fire at chemical factory in Delhi's Naraina]

On April 30, a fire broke out in housing in Big Bazaar outlet in the Mumbais Matunga West area. Five fire engines, a Quick Response Vehicle, one ambulance, and several Fire Brigade personnel were rushed to the site for operations.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:01 [IST]
+17% CAGR will Achived By Closed System Transfer Device Industry by 2025 | Major Market Players: Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc

Closed System Transfer Device Industry

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The Closed System Transfer Device Market is expected to reach USD 2,432.4 Million by 2025 from USD 921.2 Million in 2018, at a CAGR of 17.57% from 2019 to 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of 17.57% amid the gauge time of 2019-2025. The market development is predominantly determined by the rising number of patients requiring medicinal treatment and particularly developing therapeutic research exercises. Expanding medications production, better accessibility of cytotoxic medications at the work environment or at the clinic, along with progressions in the field of restorative devices are additionally responsible for the exponential development in the market. Further, as of late rising instances of malignant growth, to endorsement for the oncology drugs is additionally anticipated to drive the demand for such Closed System Transfer Device.Ask for Sample of Closed System Transfer Device Industry:The market is examined crosswise over four geographical regions, in particular, North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and RoW (Latin America, Middle East and Africa). North America region holds the most elevated market about 85% of absolute market share in 2018. Further, Asia Pacific market is considered as one of the quickest developing regions with the CAGR of 28.8%. Increment in the frequency rate of disease, implementation of better administrative rules is the key elements energizing the development of the Closed System Transfer Devices (CSTD) market amid the anticipated period crosswise over the globe. It is normal that at a national level, the U.S represents the biggest offer of income by 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is segmented on the basis of Component, End Users, By Types and by Region. The two Component types in this Market are, Vial Access Devices, Syringe Safety Devices, Bag/Line Access Devices, and Accessories. In which Vial Access Devices holds the %% of market share. And is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of %% in the anticipated period.Key companies profiled in the report are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc, Caragen Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Corvida Medical, ICU Medical, Inc. The continuous research & development activities to address changing demand of the industry companies spend heavy on the R&D expenses.Directly Purchase this Report USD 2990 atClosed System Transfer Device Market Segmentation:Closed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By ComponentVial Access DevicesSyringe Safety DevicesBag/Line Access DevicesAccessoriesClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By TypesMembrane-To-Membrane SystemsNeedleless SystemsClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By End UsersHospitalsOncology Centers & ClinicsOthersClosed System Transfer Device Industry Overview, By RegionNorth America USA CanadaEurope Germany U.K. France Italy Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW Latin America Middle East & AfricaAsk for Customized Report As per Your Business Requirement:Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction1.1 Industry Vision1.2 Limitations1.3 StakeholdersChapter 2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Process2.1.1. Secondary Research2.1.1.1. Key Data from Secondary Research2.1.2. Primary Research2.1.2.1. Key Data from Primary Research2.1.2.2. Breakdowns of Primary Interviews2.2. Industry Size Estimation2.2.1. Bottoms-Up Approach2.2.2. Top-Down Approach2.2.3. Annual Revenue Process2.3. Data Triangulation2.4. Research Assumptions2.4.1. Assumption3. Executive Summary4. Industry Overview4.1. Introduction4.2. Strength4.3. Weakness4.4. Opportunities4.5. Threats4.6. Regulations4.7. Supply Chain/Value Chain Analysis4.8. Patent & Standards5. Industry Trends5.1. Introduction5.2. Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2.1. Threat of New Entrants5.2.2. Threat of Substitutes5.2.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers5.2.4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers5.2.5. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry6. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Component6.1. Vial Access Devices6.2. Syringe Safety Devices6.3. Bag/Line Access Devices6.4. Accessories7. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By End Users7.1. Hospitals7.2. Oncology Centers & Clinics7.3. Others8. Global Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Type8.1. Membrane-To-Membrane Systems8.2. Needleless Systems9. Geographical Analysis9.1. Introduction9.2. North America9.2.1. U.S.9.2.2. Canada9.2.3. Mexico9.3. Europe9.3.1. Germany9.3.2. France9.3.3. U.K.9.3.4. RoE9.4. Asia Pacific9.4.1. China9.4.2. Japan9.4.3. India9.4.4. RoAPAC9.5. RoW9.5.1. Latin America9.5.1.1. Brazil9.5.1.2. Argentina9.5.1.3. Rest of Latin America9.5.2. Middle East and Africa10. Company Profiles10.1. Becton10.1.1 Company Overview10.1.2 Financial Overview10.1.3 Product Overview10.1.4 Current Development10.2. Dickinson and Company10.3. Equashield, LLC10.4. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd10.5. Corvida Medical10.6. ICU Medical Inc.10.7. B. Braun Melsungen AG10.8. JMS Co. Ltd.10.9. Yukon Medical10.10. Victus Inc10.11 Caragen Ltd.11. Competitive Analysis11.1. Introduction11.2. Industry Positioning of Key Players11.3 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading Players11.3.1. Investments & Expansions11.3.2. New Product Launches11.3.3. Mergers & Acquisitions11.3.4. Agreements, Joint Ventures, and Partnerships12. Appendix12.1. Questionnaire12.2. Available Customizations12.3. Upcoming Events (Trade Fair, Exhibitions, Conferences)About Global Reports StoreGlobal Reports Store firm produces its customers equation for growth, whether you need to determine potential opportunities, understand the market dynamics or proliferate your profitability. We give the most recent altered and syndicated explore alongside counseling administrations. Our immense extent of administrations helps you in arranging your development in the predefined showcase industry, as well as the system and innovation required for the predictable achievement.Contact Us:JonManager [Business Development]Global Reports Storesales@globalreportsstore.comMob: +91-739-102-4425
Ureteroscopes Market Development Industry 2019 Featuring with Major Players Medical Industry & Trade, AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM , Prosurg, SOPRO-COMEG

Ureteroscopes

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Ureteroscope is a device, which is used for examining upper urinary tract and the technique is called ureteroscopy. Ureteroscope works similar to a cytoscope, however, it is longer and thinner than cytoscope, and is passed through the urethra to the bladder and then into the ureter (the tubes, which carry urine from kidneys to bladder). Ureteroscope has illuminating light and lens for capturing images of urinary tract organs for presence of tumors and calculi. This device helps to find the position of stone in ureter and is also used for the removal of kidney stone. Ureteroscopy is less harmful and less time consuming procedure to remove kidney stone and shows high accuracy and less complications than conventional methods such as percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).Ureteroscopes Market DriversIncreasing approvals and launches of new ureteroscopes devices is expected to be a major factor for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. For instance, in 2016, Boston Scientific Corporation launched its new LithoVue single-use digital flexible ureteroscope in the U.S. and Europe market. LithoVue is used in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of kidney stones and other conditions of the kidney, ureter, and bladder.Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel the market growth. For instance, according to the data published by National Kidney Foundation in 2016, globally, over half a billion people suffer from kidney stone annually. According to data published by National Institute of Health, in 2016, globally, total prevalence of chronic kidney disease is around 14.0% of the general population.Request For Sample Copy:Moreover, prevalence of kidney stones also increases with increasing age. According to the data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2017, in Mainland China the prevalence of kidney stone was 5.96% in the people aged between 30-39 years, while the prevalence was around 9.68% in people above 60 years of age. Hence, rise in geriatric population is also expected to increase incidence of kidney stone, which in turn is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel market growth in the near future. For instance, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2016, around 547 million people were aged above 60 years in Asia Pacific and the number is projected to reach around 1.3 billion by 2050.Ureteroscopes Market Regional AnalysisNorth America is expected to hold the dominant position in global ureteroscopes market, due to presence of key players in the region and high success rates of ureteroscopy. For instance, according to data published by Department of Urology, New York Medical College, in 2016, after a single procedure, around 37% of patients who had undergone flexible ureteroscopy were stone free as compare to only 21% of the patients who were treated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Moreover, Boston Scientific Corporation and Stryker Corporation are the two U.S.-based major players in this market. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone in the U.S. is also expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes, which is turn is driving the market growth in North America. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2014, according to survey done by National Health and Nutrition Examination in 2012, around 10.6% of men and 7.1% of women in the U.S. are affected from renal stone disease and there is a rapid increase in prevalence of urinary tract stone disease. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit significant growth in the global ureteroscopes market, owing to increasing incidence of kidney stone disease in population in India and China. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2017, the prevalence of kidney stone in Mainland China was estimated to be around 10.34% in males and 6.62% in females.Ureteroscopes Market RestraintHigh cost of ureteroscopy procedure is expected to be a major restrain for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. The average cost of ureteroscopy in the U.S. can go up to around US$ 3,000. Such high cost procedures are not easily affordable by everyone and hence it restrain the market growth.Ureteroscopes Market Key PlayersKey players operating in ureteroscopes market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Stryker Corporation, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, Richard Wolf GmbH, PENTAX Medical, Elmed Electronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM Inc., Prosurg, Inc., SOPRO-COMEG GmbH, and others.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didnt see the lurking snake  until it bit a toe on her right foot.

I was really scared, Oakley said. I thought that I could either get paralyzed or could actually die.

Her camp counselors suspected it was a copperhead and knew they needed to get her medical attention as soon as they could. They had to keep her as calm and motionless as possible  the venom could circulate more quickly if her heart raced from activity or fear.

One counselor gave her a piggyback ride to a van. Others distracted her with Taylor Swift songs and candy as the van sped from their location in a beautiful but remote part of the Shawnee National Forest toward help.

First responders met them and recommended Oakley be taken by air ambulance to a hospital.

The helicopter flight transported Oakley 80 miles from a school parking lot just outside the forest to St. Vincent Evansville hospital in Indiana, where she received four vials of antivenin and was then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for observation.

Her parents, Josh Perry and Shelli Yoder, were already in bed that night when they got the call about what had happened to Oakley. They jumped in the car and arrived at Riley about two hours before their daughter. Once she made it, doctors closely observed her condition, her toe still oozing and bruised. By lunchtime, Perry said, physicians reassured the parents that Oakley would be OK.

It was a major comfort for me to realize, OK, were getting the best care possible, said Perry, who is a health care ethics professor at the business school at Indiana University Bloomington. Less than 24 hours after the bite, Oakley left the hospital with her grateful parents.

Then the bills came.

Patient: Oakley Yoder, now 10, of Bloomington, Ind. Insured through Indiana University Bloomington, where her father and mother work as faculty.

Total Bill: $142,938, including $67,957 for four vials of antivenin. ($55,577.64 was charged for air ambulance transport.) The balance included a ground ambulance charge and additional hospital and physician charges, according to the familys insurer, IU Health Plans.

Service Providers: St. Vincent Evansville hospital, part of Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic health system. Riley Hospital for Children, part of Indiana University Health, a nonprofit health system. Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance provider.

Medical Service: The essential part of Oakleys treatment involved giving her four vials of snake antivenin called CroFab.

What Gives: When someone is bitten by a venomous snake, there is no time to waste. If left untreated, a venomous bite can cause tissue damage, hemorrhaging and respiratory arrest. Children tend to experience more severe effects because of their relatively small size.

CroFab has dominated the U.S. market for snake antivenin since its approval in 2000. When Oakley was bitten, it was the only drug available to treat venomous bites from pit vipers. (Oakley probably was bitten by a copperhead snake, a type of pit viper, the camp directors told her parents.)

In short, the drugmaker, London-based BTG Plc, essentially had a monopoly.

The average list price for CroFab is $3,198 per vial, according to the health care information tech company Connecture. Manufacturing costs, product improvements and research all factor into the drugs price, said Chris Sampson, spokesman for BTG.

A Mexican version of snake antivenin can cost roughly $200. But it couldnt be sold in the U.S. (More about that in a moment.)

Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute, a venom research center at the University of Arizona, acknowledges that some of the price in the U.S. can be attributed to strict Food and Drug Administration requirements for testing and monitoring.

But more than that, she added: Its a profitable drug, and everyone wants a piece of it.

She should know: Funded by government grants and at times working with colleagues over the border in Mexico, her group was instrumental in developing CroFab.

Antivenins were first developed more than a century ago. Although CroFab is safer and purer than antivenins of the past, the process  while labor-intensive  remains fundamentally the same. Snakes, spiders and other creatures are milked for their venom, then a small amount of the toxin is injected into animals like horses or sheep. They then make antibodies without falling ill, and the protective molecules are extracted from their blood and processed to make antivenin.

Despite the longtime use of antivenins, CroFab and other such products remain a lucrative prospect for manufacturers. Who wouldnt pay top dollar for an antivenin when their child has been bitten by a venomous snake?

What patients pay for CroFab can widely vary. Treatment may require a few vials or dozens of them  it depends on factors like the size of the patient, the potency of venom in the bite and how quickly the patient is treated. The more antivenin needed, the higher the cost.

But hospitals also jack up the price, even though some of these facilities purchase the drug at a discount, said Dr. Merrit Quarum, chief executive officer of WellRithms, a health care cost containment company.

In Oakleys case, St. Vincent Evansville hospital charged $16,989.25 for each unit of CroFab, according to the facilitys bill. Thats more than five times as high as the average list price.

WellRithms analyzed Oakleys bill from St. Vincent Evansville at Kaiser Health News request and found providers generally accept $16,159.70 for all four vials of the drug.

In a statement, St. Vincent Evansville noted that the family was not responsible for that full tab and instead was expected to pay less than $3,500. But the facility appears to have since lowered its price for CroFab. According to its price list  posted online to satisfy a recent federal requirement  the drug now costs $5,096.76 per vial.

And the snake antivenin market now has another drug competing for patients: Anavip. The Mexican product  launched in October  has a list price of $1,220 a vial in the U.S, a fraction of what Latin Americans pay for it, according to Rare Disease Therapeutics, which distributes the drug in the U.S.

Anavips arrival was stalled by a lawsuit filed by BTG in 2013 that claimed the drug infringed on its patent.

The drugs true effect on the market remains unclear. CroFab and Anavip are not entirely interchangeable. (The FDA hasnt approved Anavip for copperhead bites, for instance.) And, as part of the legal settlement, Anavip makers must pay royalties to BTG until the CroFab patent expires in 2028.

Resolution: The insurer, IU Health Plans, negotiated down the antivenin and air ambulance charges and ended up paying $44,092.87 and $55,543.20, respectively. After adjustments to additional bills, IU Health Plans paid a total of $107,863.33. Oakleys family did not pay a dime out of pocket for her emergency care, but such high outlays contribute to rising premiums.

Secondary insurance offered through the summer camp covered $7,286.34 in additional costs that otherwise would have come out of Perry and Yoders pockets for their deductible and coinsurance. The policy covers up to $25,000 in damages.

Oakleys foot is healed, but her toe bends slightly downward and is sensitive to pressure. She intends to return to the same camp this summer.

Perry teaches a course on the ethics of the health care industry, and yet he said the cost of Oakleys care shocked him. But he is aware of how rarely a patient ends up paying nothing for health care. I know that in this country, in this system, he said, that is a miracle.

Takeaway: Hospitals and insurers can negotiate; snakes dont. If youve been bitten by a snake, take care of your injury, said Boyer. Dont wait while you worry about the cost.

When you get a bill, compare what the facility charged against other health care providers prices using their public charge lists online. Cost estimation tools like Fair Health Consumer or Healthcare Bluebook allow you to see how your bill compares with the average.

Momentum is growing for government action on drug prices. In states and in Congress, various proposals have been floated, which include: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, tying the U.S. price of expensive drugs to the average price in other developed countries and allowing the government to inject competition into the market when there is none  such as by speeding generic drug approvals or allowing imports.

Consumers should keep an eye on these proposals as they move through the political process.

NPR produced and edited the interview with Kaiser Health News Elisabeth Rosenthal for broadcast. Jake Harper of WFYI in Indianapolis provided audio reporting.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPRthat dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!
The owner of Portland bar Cider Riot is suing Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson for $1 million, claiming Gibson and several other right-wing protesters showed up at the business on Wednesday and fought with customers, causing mayhem and physical injury to at least one person.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong, who owns Cider Riot, is suing the Patriot Prayer organization as well as Gibson, Ian Kramer and 25 others who he says were involved in the incident. The claims include negligence, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On Wednesday, Cider Riot hosted a May Day celebration, at which people who had participated in demonstrations earlier in the day gathered to listen to live music. About 20 right-wing protesters, including Gibson, arrived at the business, and a clash between them and patrons of Cider Riot ensued. Video of the incident shows people deploying pepper spray, and several people fighting. According to the lawsuit, Kramer, a frequent Patriot Prayer rally participant, hit a female patron of Cider Riot on the head with a baton and knocked her unconscious.

On Friday, Goldman-Armstrong said he couldnt comment further on the lawsuit. The organization representing him, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, issued a statement saying that Goldman-Armstrong had the right to operate his business in peace, and that Portland residents had been terrorized by Gibson and his associates for too long.

Our community is suffering and we must respond to the seriousness of the threat posed by the actions and words of white nationalists, white supremacists and the alt-right, the group said. We need to send a message that their brand of hate is not welcome in Portland.

In response to the suit, Gibson said he was the one who was assaulted while standing on a public sidewalk.

I walk into dangerous situations, I never fight back, he told the Oregonian/OregonLive. He said his intention in going to Cider Riot that day was to take video and show the event that Cider Riot was hosting. He said the event was co-hosted by Rose City antifa.

To me its very odd that a place serving alcohol has 80 people masked up, he said.

He said when he got there, people were drinking on the patio and wearing masks, and several had cans of bear spray. He says neither he nor the people he came with had spray or any sort of weapons, although video footage shows people from both groups deploying bear spray, and members of the group that came with Gibson throwing projectiles at the bar patrons.

Warning: Video contains graphic language.

breaking: far-right protesters and Proud Boys have arrived at Cider Riot. Cider Riot has done benefits for antifa and has also been vandalized in the past. RIOOOT. huge fight! pic.twitter.com/PKeRdYCF6d  Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) May 2, 2019

Goldman-Armstrong said this is not the first time Gibson and Patriot Prayer have targeted his business. He said they have sprayed graffiti on his building and stolen a flag that hung in front of the business.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Portland police are looking into reports of a shooting near Northeast Portlands Gateway shopping center on Friday afternoon, but so far have not found any victims.

Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 10000 block of Northeast Halsey Street around 4:15 p.m. Friday. They found shell casings at the scene but have not found any victims.

According to a Portland Police Bureau news release, several parked cars had bullet strikes, and witnesses reported seeing multiple males, including at least one with a gun, running after another group of males.

The area is also near the Gateway Transit Center. Officers are investigating the incident, and asked anyone with information or video of the shooting to call 503-823-3333.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Oregon softball rallied to tie but Utah took the series opener in walk-off fashion and put the Ducks in must-win mode for their remaining five games.

BreOnna Castaneda went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including the walk-off RBI single to give Utah a 4-3 win over Oregon in Salt Lake City Friday night.

In desperate need of wins and run support for ace Jordan Dail, Oregon couldnt score with the bases loaded and no outs in the first.

In the bottom of the inning, Utah (16-32, 5-14 Pac-12) loaded the bases and scored on a hit by pitch and Castaneda singled to make it 2-0.

A passed ball made it 3-0 after three innings.

The Ducks (21-26, 4-15 Pac-12) rallied with four straight one-out hits in the fifth.

Allee Bunker and Shaye Bowden hit back-to-back singled and after a pitching change Rachel Cid singled to put Oregon on the board and April Utecht tied at with a two-run home run. Bunker, Bowden, Cid and Utecht each had two hits for Oregon, which must win its last five games to finish .500 and be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Dail got the Utes to strand the bases loaded in the fifth and two more in the sixth but couldnt get out of the seventh as Castaneda hit a two-out single up the middle to score Alyssa Barrera.

Dail (17-14) allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and five walks and struck out seven over 6.2 innings.

Sydney Sandez (9-8) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings while earning the win for Utah.

The teams will play game 2 of their series at 11 a.m. PT Saturday.
When Oregon voters approved a 2016 measure to bolster funding for programs that prepare students for life after high school, the millions of dollars doled out by the state Department of Education were meant to come with strings attached.

School districts would apply for Measure 98 grants and outline how theyd use the money to accomplish the laws three mandates. The Oregon Secretary of States office would then perform audits to ensure the cash was properly used.

Toya Fick, one of the measures authors and executive director of education nonprofit Stand for Children, said those steps were meant to hold districts accountable for funding they received.

What we really wanted to see was a new way of doing education funding in Oregon, she said. We wanted to make sure the programs that schools are adding and the resources theyre adding are moving the needle on student success.

Her determination to make sure the money delivered the biggest possible payoff for students sounds similar to speeches lawmakers have made during debate over a much bigger cash infusion from a $2 billion corporate tax package making its way through Salem.

It would put more than $500 million a year in the hands of school boards who would have wide latitude to choose how its spent.

Measure 98 and the $2 billion tax package both include accountability provisions. Rather than give school districts carte blanche to spend state money, there are guidelines for how the money is to be used. Both include an auditing component meant to determine whether districts are using the cash to produce the desired outcomes.

But in the case of the measure passed by voters in 2016, state oversight has so far been so light that district spending has been almost entirely self-policed.

Districts identify their own goals, explained Laura Foley, director of the states high school success team. They are also left to decide whether to raise their own red flags if their schools are struggling to comply.

The Education Department disbursed the first batch of the Measure 98 money  $83 million split across 193 districts  just before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Portland Public Schools, the states largest district, received $6 million.

The state handed out $86 million more for this school year.

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, center, chats with Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, during a House floor session in 2016. Smith Warner is one of the architects of the $2 billion corporate tax package for K-12 funding making its way through the legislature.Oregonian file photo by Denis Theriault

But state auditors are unlikely to release their findings on how those funds were spent until late 2020, nearly 3  years after districts first received Measure 98 money. In fact, officials in the Secretary of States audit division told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they havent even begun drafting plans to comprehensively check how the money was used.

Thats the way the law was written.

The measure as passed by voters requires the Secretary of States office to audit initial spending by Dec. 31, 2020. The Measure 98 audit is one of 13 performance audits the agency aims to launch by June 2020.

That means financial reports on money intended to raise graduation rates by expanding career-tech offerings, college-level courses and anti-dropout efforts may not be published until after districts receive the much bigger cash infusion from the $2 billion corporate tax deal.

If its approved, districts that apply for the first round of that cash will likely get the money in July 2020.

That huge bump-up in funding for Oregons 1,300 schools is not just school advocates pipe dream. Oregon lawmakers struck a surprise deal with the states largest business group Monday to pass the tax plan to do just that, House Bill 3427, out of committee. The House approved it on a party-line vote Wednesday, and the Senate could vote on it as soon as Tuesday.

The legislation would impose a so-called gross receipts tax equal to 0.57 percent of sales for Oregon businesses with at least $1 million in sales.

It would raise more than $1 billion a year, and more than half of it would go to school districts to double Measure 98 spending, reduce class sizes, add instructional time, broaden course offerings and improve student safety and well-being.

The way House Bill 3427 is written, the state Department of Education would be responsible for assessing whether districts used their share of corporate tax money properly, the step the Secretary of States audits division is charged with for Measure 98 funds.

The Education Departments oversight of Measure 98 suggests it is a soft-touch money monitor. It mostly relies on district officials to contact their regional point person if they struggle to implement their plans. And site visits have yet to occur.

There are reasons to think some school districts dont always make smart choices about how to deploy their money. In 2018, the audits division dispatched four officials to Portland Public Schools for one year to audit the districts spending and render an opinion on its equity work.

The resulting report, released in January, described inefficiencies in the way educators used spending cards and concluded Portland students of color were routinely short-changed by a district that did not take sensible steps to place excellent principals in high-need schools or work to retain them.

But auditors with that agency wont know how long it will take them to audit Measure 98 spending until they begin an evaluation of the projects scope, always their first step when performing an audit.

Then, auditors will request information from the states many school districts.

At that point, were giant sponges trying to gather as much information as we can in a quick manner, Jamie Ralls, an audit manager in the Secretary of States office, said.

The simplest type of audit the agency performs are financial checks that require little else than an auditor cross-checking contracts and spending reports. Did a district or contractor spend money on the things they claimed they would?

Even those relatively simple audits take three weeks, possibly more, Ralls said. A staffer works under the direction of a lead auditor, who then reports to a manager in the Secretary of States office.

Thats because the math needs to be checked and double checked nearly constantly as auditors compile their reports.

We want to be right. We want to be accurate. Thats our bread and butter, Ralls said.

Oregon high schools are currently spending the second dose of Measure 98 funding they received in summer 2018 and can expect a third dose later this year. The money has strict spending requirements.

All but the smallest districts must spend it on three separate initiatives: career-tech offerings, anti-dropout efforts and college-credit-level courses. And each school must have added those offerings, not merely maintained classes or programs it offered prior to 2017.

There are signs around the state that districts are using those cash infusions to great effect. In Lincoln County, district officials used a portion of $750,000 received in grant funding to open a daycare center in one high school and raise the percentage of freshmen who are on track to graduate from 55 percent to 75 percent. In John Day, the local school district applied for and received grant money to set up an automotive shop at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School that has students revved up to learn more.

A fraction of the money can be spent to bolster services to eighth-graders, but that cant exceed 15 percent of a districts windfall. Another 4 percent can be spent on what Education Department officials call indirect costs, like equipment or software necessary to implement the new programs.

But no one in state government has checked schools spending yet.

Fick said the audit timeline for Measure 98 was constructed with the idea that districts would have time to implement the plans laid out in their applications for funding.

It would allow the Secretary of States office to publish a report on the first three years worth of program funding in time for the Legislature to consider those findings as lawmakers discuss funding and program rules for the 2021-23 biennium, she said.

We wanted to make sure there was a cycle of full funding, Fick said. We wanted to make sure there was a little bit of time for the measure to be fully implemented.

Meanwhile, Education Department officials intermittently check in with school districts as they build out those programs, Foley said. Most of those check-ins have so far been initiated by the districts themselves.

She oversees six people who review Measure 98 grant applications and also act as regional ambassadors to the districts awarded that funding. Every request is reviewed by at least three employees in the Education Department, she said.

The state hasnt rejected a single application outright, Foley said. Instead, if team members arent certain a proposal meets requirements, they work with districts to refine their plans and ensure they meet the spending requirements set forth by state law, she said.

Districts decide which outcomes they want to chase and report back to the Education Department if they need help reaching their goals, she said. The agencys regional ambassadors will begin doing site visits in the coming school year.

The timelines are meant to ensure districts have time to evaluate their own programs and check in with the Education Department as they tinker with them in response to students needs. And the more data the state has to work with, department officials say, the better.

We want to make sure every student has the opportunities to succeed as they look forward to their next phase of life, whether thats going into the workforce or a post-secondary education, Foley said.
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We can't leave; this is our home. We can't express an opinion with some family members because we'd get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didn't think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; it's a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where we're coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."

"Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie" is out now! Annie Lane's debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
The family of a 32-year-old climber who died in 2017 after falling hundreds of feet down Mount Hood and then waiting hours for a helicopter rescue has settled a lawsuit against Clackamas County for $25,000.

The family of John Thornton Jenkins had originally sought $10 million -- faulting the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and Clackamas County 911 for a series of missteps that the familys lawsuit says contributed to a more than four-hour wait before Jenkins was rescued off the mountain.

The suit had been scheduled to start trial Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court, but a settlement was reached in recent weeks.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a written statement this week that he hadnt wanted the county to settle even if it was for a nominal sum to avoid the costs of litigation.

Death is an inherent risk any climber takes, especially in an environment as dangerous as Mt. Hood, Roberts wrote. I was surprised and deeply disappointed to be sued by the deceaseds family after our search and rescue teams made every effort to save Mr. Jenkins' life. Tragedy can happen without fault.

Roberts said the settlement sets a troubling precedent for all Sheriffs Offices required by law to conduct search-and-rescue operations in their counties.

Roberts offered his condolences to Jenkins family.

The county, through its spokesman, also offered condolences.

This was a tragic accident and a reminder of the dangers of climbing Mount Hood or any of our iconic Cascade peaks, said county spokesman Tim Heider.

Jenkins, an experienced climber, tumbled about 600 feet from the area near the mountains summit at about 10:40 a.m. on May 7, 2017, according to the lawsuit and news reports at the time.

The lawsuit states that eight minutes later, another climber reached Jenkins and called 911 for help, but an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter didnt arrive until 3:11 p.m. As rescuers tried to secure Jenkins in a basket to lift him off the mountain, he stopped breathing, lost his pulse and ultimately was pronounced dead at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, according to the suit and news reports.

The lawsuit described an alleged bungled response to repeat calls for help -- stating that the first 911 caller was transferred by a dispatcher to the Sheriffs Office, which told the caller to contact Timberlines ski patrol. Thats even after being told Jenkins wasnt a skier and had fallen outside the ski area, according to the lawsuit.

The ski patrol called the countys 911 center, which again transferred the call to the sheriffs office, the suit states.

The helicopter was requested about 1 hour and 40 minutes after the initial 911 call, and arrived 2 hours and 40 minutes later, according to a timeline laid out in the lawsuit.

At approximately 11,239 feet, Mount Hood is Oregons most attempted climbing peak.

The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote extensively about the fall and rescue attempt.

Under the terms of the settlement, the county will make a $5,000 donation to Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer nonprofit search-and-rescue organization that responded to Jenkins fall. A team leader from the organization was by Jenkins side as he was loaded into the helicopter.

The settlement agreement also calls for more training and refined communication procedures for the countys emergency responders. Among those changes:

-- Sometime in the next year, the sheriffs office will hold a mountain search-and-rescue training conference dedicated to the memory of Jenkins. The conference will train the countys team members, along with other groups that respond to calls for rescue on Mount Hood.

-- Search and rescue coordinators with the sheriffs office shall be promptly notified of all search and rescue calls for help in their service area.

-- County officials will meet with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Portland Mountain Rescue, Timberline ski patrol and other groups to make sure everyone is familiar with best practices for requesting helicopter rescues on the mountain.

-- The county will create a plaque in memory of Jenkins and place it somewhere on county property.

Jenkins lived in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. He is survived by his two parents, who live in Kansas.

Jane Paulson, the Portland attorney representing Jenkins estate, said Jenkins family sued to determine what caused the delays and to prompt changes in the system.

This case has never been about money for the family, Paulson said in an email. Now that the county has agreed to make the necessary changes regarding how search and rescue operations are conducted, the familys goal of making Mt. Hood safer for others is complete and is the best method for the family to honor the memory of their son.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Menlo Park, CA, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young women in high school, community leaders and Silicon Valley executives had a lively discussion today about gender inequity in tech and how to inspire the next generation of women to lead the industry. The third annual Girls @ The Tech Luncheon by The Tech Museum of Innovation featured a lively discussion with Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo and Autodesk, and PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young, recently named one of Americas Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.



"Intelligence and hard work and talent are widely distributed, but (the tech industry) only looks like one type of person, Young said, encouraging young women to persist in their path to leadership. We are literally missing out on some of the smartest people in the world solving these problems. It is our responsibility to make sure more people pursue these careers.



"You have to get them started early and not be afraid of failure, Bartz told the parents in the room. What's a failure? A failure in one person's mind is success in another. Get rid of that criticism and fear.



Students from high schools across Silicon Valley attended the luncheon, a key event supporting The Techs initiatives to build a pipeline of young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Many were grateful to hear about some of the challenges and opportunities women encounter in these professional fields. Leonela Villalobos, a sophomore at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, said she felt inspired by the event to pursue a career in more male-dominated fields.



The best piece of advice was not to take criticism from people you wouldnt take advice from, Villalobos said. I think thats so important and hadnt thought about that before.



Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil also spoke about how young girls are leading the way in creating technology that will help humanity solve some its biggest challenges.



"The people who are going to solve these problems are the next generation, Patil told the young women in the room. We can set the framework. But you're going to be the ones developing genomic therapies, using data in dynamic ways and figuring out creative ways to make AI work for everyone."



The event also featured remarks from Jessica Garrison, technical marketing engineer at Juniper Networks; Gretchen Walker, vice president of learning at The Tech; and Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech.



I hope The Tech can be a place where young women can be inspired to look for problems to solve, be irreverent, be courageous, risk failure and be OK with asking for help, Ritchie said.



The Girls @ The Tech initiative launched in 2015 to build a pipeline of opportunities for girls that nurture their interest, boost their skills and solidify their confidence in STEM. The initiative supports a series of Girls Days @ The Tech that engage girls and their families in STEM activities and mentor them to pursue STEM careers; girls participation in the annual youth engineering program The Tech Challenge, which has a high percentage of female participants; and professional development for educators focused on inclusion and engineering design.



Girls @ The Tech is made possible by the generous support of The Junior League of Palo Alto - Mid Peninsula, Gilead, eBay, KLA Foundation, Milligan Family Foundation, NetApp, Arm, EY, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Hitachi Vantara, Intel, Trine Sorensen & Mike Jacobson, PayPal, United Airlines, Cisco Systems, Cooley, Dr. Myriam Curet, Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, Gregory P. Luth & Associates, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Marvell Semiconductor, Mayfield, Qualcomm, Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Silicon Valley Bank, Zoom, and additional assistance from Cushman Family Foundation, Mauria Finley and Greg Yap, Fossil Group, Bev Huss, Janie and Wayne Lambert and Cindy and Randy Pond.





About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum  located in the Capital of Silicon Valley  is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech for Global Good, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

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Controversial Judge Charles Bailey sent a blistering email lambasting a colleague that touched off what sources described as a courthouse investigation before he stepped down as Washington County Circuit Courts presiding judge.

Bailey criticized the character of Judge Eric Butterfield and copied the email to all 13 other Washington County judges.

A day earlier, Butterfield had put his name in the running to become the next presiding judge  an administrative leader whose duties include assigning cases to other judges.

In his email, Bailey implied that Butterfield was vindictive, lazy and shirked his workload in favor of riding his motorcycle. Bailey said he planned to tell the chief justice why you would be an absolute disaster as a presiding judge.

The Oregon Judicial Department released the email Friday after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The email illustrates what players in the justice system say is yearslong infighting and disagreement among members of the Washington County bench.

The email also depicts what many lawyers who have practiced in Baileys courtroom say is his abrasive style.

Two sources with knowledge of the inquiry told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Baileys email led at least one judge and possibly others to contact Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Lee Walters with concerns about Bailey. They said Walters in turn launched an investigation into Bailey. One source said every judge in the courthouse was questioned.

Bailey announced a week ago that he would resign as presiding judge, even though his term wasnt supposed to end for another eight months. His resignation from the leadership position becomes effective May 10. Bailey will remain a judge for the court and continue to hear cases.

In the email, sent in December, Bailey wrote he doubted Butterfield would be selected as his successor.

Even if you got it you wouldnt last more than a month before you would quit or make life difficult for everyone around you like you have done many times in the past, Bailey wrote.

Butterfield declined to comment on the email.

The history of what led Bailey to write the email isnt clear but he appeared to reference history with Butterfield.

You cant start something and quit it after a short period because it is too hard or too much work, Bailey wrote. ...You cant tell another judge to F off. ...You cant get to work just before your docket begins.

Bailey wouldnt comment publicly about why hes resigning from his presiding judge position, but the Judicial Department released his resignation letter Friday in response to the public records request. Bailey wrote in that letter that he believed the chief justice and other judges were discontent with him.

Although my time as the Presiding Judge in Washington County has been, for the most part, satisfying and productive during the last four plus years, over the last few months I have become unsatisfied with the work situation, Bailey wrote.

More importantly, I believe you and a few judges in Washington County are also not satisfied and have lost confidence in my ability to run the Washington County Court, he continued.

Bailey also implied that he felt closely watched by Walters, who appoints presiding judges in her role as chief justice.

(Y)ou deserve to have a Presiding judge that you have faith in and will not feel the need to micro-manage, Bailey wrote to her.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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UPDATED Nov. 8, 2019: Gerald Bruce Newman was convicted Thursday of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records. KPTV reports he was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

***

Clackamas County Sheriffs deputies have arrested a 59-year-old man on accusations that he tried to kill another man by shooting him in the chest in the parking lot of a bar in Boring on Friday night.

Deputies booked Gerald Bruce Newman into jail under accusations of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon at the Not So Boring Bar & Grill at 28014 S.E. Wally Road.

The victim was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for treatment, and his current condition isnt known, said a sheriffs spokesman in a news release Saturday morning. He is expected to survive his injuries. Authorities identified him as Dustin Schaffer.

Gerald Bruce Newman, 59, is accused of attempted murder stemming from a shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019, at a bar in Boring. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office).

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019. (CCSO)

Deputies were called to respond to a possible fight at the bar at about 11 p.m. Deputies then received more information that a man had been shot.

Upon arrival, deputies detained Newman without incident, according to the news release. They also confiscated a pistol as evidence.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Police on Friday said they no longer consider the death of a man found collapsed in the doorway of his Northwest Portland home to be suspicious.

They received the results of an autopsy and would release nothing further, they said in a statement. They didnt disclose what the autopsy revealed and a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiners Office referred questions to police.

Police responded Saturday morning to reports of a person stabbed with a weapon in the 9900 block of Northwest Hoge Avenue in the Linnton neighborhood, dispatch records show.

A pair of mail carriers found the man unconscious and covered in blood in the doorway of his home just before 10 a.m., neighbor Catherine Magasich told KATU News.

Homicide detectives completed an on-scene investigation that day. Police provided no additional information afterward, leaving those living in the area rattled and wondering how their neighbor died and whether there was an ongoing public safety threat.

Neighbors and the deceased mans employer identified him as 53-year-old Jon Kennith Ford. He had worked at Bridge City Steel on Northwest St. Helens Road since 2006, owner Chris Gaylord said.

He was our best employee ever, Gaylord said. He never missed a day of work. Never once.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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The Oregonian/OregonLives examination of medical decisions for Derrick Dahl led the newsroom to compile basic background material on Alternative Services-Oregon, the nonprofit operating the group home where Dahl receives care.

The search revealed an interweaving of family and financial interests within a nonprofit that gets $17 million a year from the state to care for adults with developmental disabilities.

Five relatives of Alternative Services executive director have worked for or contracted with the nonprofit, publicly available records show. Two board members personally own properties that they lease to the nonprofit.

The arrangements are not illegal, according to an expert in nonprofit tax law. But they do sound like potential conflicts of interest to me, said Sen. Sara Gelser, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Human Services.

Alternative Services officials said the nonprofits board ensured all individuals who benefited from hiring or rental decisions were walled off from participating in them. Company officials said all family members were highly qualified for their jobs.

Gelser predicated her comments by saying she doesnt know full details about Alternative Services. Gelser also said its common for family members to become passionate about developmental disability causes.

But Gelser said the amount of money flowing from Alternative Services to the same family raises a number of questions. Gelser added that board members ethically should not financially benefit from their own nonprofits by decisions that were made when they were on the board, even if they recused themselves from a vote.

Gelser said she believes the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section should review the matter.

The information is very concerning, said Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat. I think somebody should be looking into it.

After this story published online Saturday, state officials announced that the Department of Justice had recently taken an informal look into the nonprofits arrangements and did not indicate any specific concerns.

Alternative Services operates 37 adult group homes statewide under its contract with Oregons Department of Human Services. Their capacity is about 150 residents. The state pays Alternative Services for the cost of providing care to individuals. But it does not not cover room and board, which is typically paid to a group home through an individuals supplemental security income.

Tax filings for 2012 through 2016 cumulatively show Alternative Services paid a total of $2.4 million to family members of Pat Allen-Sleeman, the nonprofits longtime executive director. Her husband Scott, the clinical director, received compensation averaging $200,000 annually. Two daughters and a son worked in roles with compensation ranging from about $45,000 to $90,000 a year. A company run by Allen-Sleemans son-in-law was awarded $825,000 in construction contracts over the five years.

Thomas DLuge, Alternative Services board secretary since 1989, said the construction work was board-approved and covered major renovations. DLuge said Scott Sleeman worked at the nonprofit before the couple married and his salary is set by the board. Neither played roles hiring their children, reviewing their performance or setting their compensation, DLuge said.

All have college degrees, and a relative has a developmental disability, DLuge said. Family is held to a higher standard than other employees, he said, adding: It is unlikely that any candidate for any position held by one of Pat or Scotts family is more qualified.

DLuge and his wife, meanwhile, purchased a Portland home that the nonprofit leases for its clients who are developmentally disabled.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services approached the nonprofit two decades ago to see if it could buy homes to expand services, DLuge said.

But Alternative Services had trouble finding landlords willing to lease suitable properties for use as group homes, DLuge said. The nonprofit also found itself unable to secure financing in those years, DLuge said.

In 1998, the people who owned one of the homes Alternative Services leased wanted to sell. DLuge said he and his wife bought it to keep residents from having to move.

Alternative Services board approved the new lease with DLuge without his involvement, Allen-Sleeman said. DLuge said hes never increased Alternative Services rent.

Records show DLuge received $25,005 from Alternative Services in lease payments for the 2012 tax year. DLuge said he didnt know why subsequent tax filings dont disclose the payments.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services, also bought property in Portland between 1997 and 1999 that the nonprofit leases.

DLuge said that like him, Mack has never raised the rent on the three homes and Alternative Services board approved the leases without Macks involvement.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services-Oregon, personally owns three homes that he leases to the nonprofit. This is one in east Portland. Mack reported receiving $76,800 from the nonprofit for the leases in the 2012 tax year.

Records show Mack received $76,800 from Alternative Services in lease payments for three homes for the 2012 tax year. Payments are not disclosed in subsequent tax years.

DLuge said his mortgage is paid off, and property records say Macks were scheduled to be paid off last year.

DLuges property is now worth $438,000, or about $228,000 more than its purchase price, property records show. Macks three properties are valued at nearly $1.4 million combined, or about $805,000 above their purchase prices, according to records.

DLuge said he has spoken with a board member about offering the home he and his wife own to Alternative Services at a significantly reduced price when they decide to sell. Mack declined to respond to written questions.

The nonprofits board has a conflict of interest policy, according to tax filings. The policy says that when board members do business with people affiliated with the nonprofit, they should exercise due diligence and see if a better deal is available. If its not, the policy says, members should vote on whether the arrangement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Alternative Services.

As long as Alternative Services followed its conflict of interest policy at the time and paid fair market rent, Mack, DLuge and the rest of the board have likely satisfied their legal fiduciary duties and met relevant tax law requirements, said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at Notre Dame and an expert in nonprofit tax requirements.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services say they are not concerned by Alternative Services hiring practices or lease arrangements. In fact, property records show the state long ago gave Mack forgivable loans to make safety improvements at some properties.

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt
A Portland State University Board of Trustees committee voted Friday to consider increasing student tuition by 11 percent and cut about $10 million from its academic and student support budgets.

The full university board is scheduled to vote May 13 on the proposal.

The university outlined the proposal Friday in a news release, which stated the moves would be necessary unless state lawmakers set aside more funding for higher education. The proposals would be necessary to address cost increases totaling $18.6 million, according to Kevin Reynolds the universitys vice president of finance and administration

We need a commitment of additional revenue support from the state to cover significant cost increases, particularly those that arise as a result of the underfunded Public Employee Retirement System, Reynolds said. Otherwise, we will need to make another painful round of reductions and require that PSU students  58 percent of whom are on financial aid  will have to face a double-digit tuition increase.

Even if the PSU board approves the proposal, it would need the nod from Oregons Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The commission must approve any public university tuition increase of more than 5 percent.

Oregon lawmakers proposed to fund universities at roughly 5 percent above the governors flat-line budget as part of a broad spending outline released in early March. But university leaders from across the state have said that $777 million proposal wont be enough.

Oregon State Universitys board of trustees voted in early April to increase tuition by 4.29 percent for full-time Oregon resident undergraduates. The tuition hike also could be paired with a decrease in spending.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill said in early March that he plans $11 million in budget cuts to address a $12.9 million budget shortfall next year. He said he would also consider layoffs and a tuition increase if state lawmakers dont come through with more funding.
A Salem man was sentenced to more than six years in prison and a permanent revocation of his drivers license Thursday after driving drunk last July in Beaverton and causing a crash that killed his passenger.

Jonathan Guzman, 22, pleaded guilty April 19 in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants related to a July 2018 crash that killed 36-year-old Ariana Salgado-Guadarrama.

A judge sentenced Guzman on Thursday to six years and three months in prison, ordered his license be revoked for life and that he pay nearly $16,000 in restitution and fines. Guzman had no prior criminal history, according to Oregon court records.

A 2018 photo shows the aftermath of a crash in Beaverton which led to the death of a car passenger and the arrest of the driver. (Beaverton Police Department)

Prosecutors said Guzman was driving about 100 mph around 2:50 a.m. when he crashed into a light pole and tree along Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Several beer cans were found near the crash, and Guzmans blood alcohol level was found to be 0.16 percent, twice the state legal limit.

Beaverton police said at the time of the crash that the impact caused the engine of Guzmans Mazda M3 to be separated from the rest of the car and slide across several traffic lanes.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

TORONTO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MTC Growth Fund-I Inc. (MTC or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding letter agreements (collectively, the Letter Agreements) with: (i) shareholders of Medic Plast S.A. (Medic Plast or MP), a Uruguayan entity engaged in the pharmaceutical and medical device business, and Yurelan S.A. (Y), a Uruguayan entity engaged in an agricultural related business, to acquire MP and Y in exchange for common shares of MTC (the Resulting Issuer Shares) as it exists after the completion of the RTO (as hereinafter defined) (the Resulting Issuer); and (ii) Ramm Pharma Corp. (Ramm), a private Ontario company, and creditor to MP and Y, pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTC (Subco) will amalgamate with Ramm (the Amalgamation) on the terms and conditions of an amalgamation agreement to be entered into among MTC, Subco and Ramm.

Medic Plast is a leader in the field of cannabinoid pharmacology and product formulation for cannabis-based pharmaceuticals and other cannabis-based products. Founded in 1988 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Medic Plast is a well established pharmaceutical and medical product business and amongst the first and only companies in the world to have developed medically registered and approved plant derived cannabinoid pharmaceutical products. Medic Plast currently has multiple approved and registered products that have been authorized for sale in several Latin American countries, as well as a robust pipeline of new products in various stages of approval and development. Medic Plast is also in the process of finalizing a state of the art GMP certified cannabis extraction and formulation facility. With Yurelans large scale cultivation facility, the combined operations are expected to provide for complete vertical integration. Further to its industry leading activities in the cannabis sector, Medic Plast operates a successful pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical product development and medical services business which has been servicing the local market for 30 years.

We are very pleased to announce our plans to go public which marks an important milestone for our company. Years of global research, drug development, and physician education have positioned Medic Plast as a leader in the field of cannabis-derived prescription drugs and products, stated Armando Blankleider, President of Medic Plast. The company is comprised of industry leading experts and is backed by some of the most successful pioneers in the cannabis sector. The public listing and capital raised will help to accelerate our growth strategy as we continue to expand our distribution to meet the extensive and growing demand for cannabinoid-based prescription drugs and products globally.

The Letter Agreements outline the general terms and conditions pursuant to which the Corporation, MP, Y, and Ramm have agreed to complete a series of transactions (collectively, the RTO) that will result in a reverse take-over of the Corporation by the shareholders of MP and Y, and the shareholders Ramm, and holders of convertible debentures of Ramm (the Convertible Debentures). On completion of the RTO, each of MP, Y, and the entity resulting from the Amalgamation will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Resulting Issuer, and the Resulting Issuer will focus on the current business and affairs of MP and Y. The Letter Agreements were negotiated at arms length.

Completion of the RTO is conditional on the Corporation reorganizing from an investment fund issuer to a corporate issuer, effecting a subdivision (the Stock Split) of its issued and outstanding shares on the basis of 4.76648 new Resulting Issuer Shares for each one (1) MTC Share (as hereinafter defined), and the filing of articles of amendment to: (a) change the Corporations authorized capital to an unlimited number of common shares; and (b) change and reclassify all of its issued and outstanding redeemable shares into common shares (collectively, the Corporate Reorganization). The Corporate Reorganization must be approved by not less than 66% of the votes cast by holders of redeemable shares of MTC at a meeting of shareholders. It is expected that the Corporation will call and convene an annual and special meeting of the holders of its redeemable shares to approve, among other items, the Corporate Reorganization.

Concurrent Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that Ramm will complete a non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$1.35 per Subscription Receipt (the Issue Price). Each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration, one (1) common share of Ramm (an Underlying Share) upon satisfaction or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions (as hereinafter defined), with each Underlying Share to be exchanged, without further consideration, for one Resulting Issuer Share upon the completion of the RTO. MTC may sell subscription receipts having similar economic terms to the Subscription Receipts except that on conversion a holder will receive Resulting Issuer Shares (the MTC Subscription Receipts) in connection with the RTO. The sale of Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts are anticipated to raise aggregate gross proceeds of at least C$24,000,000 (collectively, the Offering).

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts and the MTC Subscription Receipts will be held in escrow (the Escrowed Proceeds) by an escrow agent acceptable to Ramm and MTC (the Escrow Agent) (the Escrowed Proceeds, together with any interest and other income earned pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, are referred to as the Escrowed Funds). The Escrowed Funds will be released from escrow to Ramm or MTC, respectively, upon the satisfaction of conditions which include the following (the Escrow Release Conditions) on or prior to September 30, 2019 (subject to extension to no later than October 31, 2019) (the Escrow Deadline): (a) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the completion of the RTO, including, without limitation, the conditional approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the Exchange) for the RTO; (b) shareholder approval of the Corporate Reorganization; and (c) Ramm or MTC, as applicable, having delivered a direction to the Escrow Agent confirming that the conditions set forth above have been met or waived.

If (i) the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before the Escrow Deadline, or (ii) prior to the Escrow Deadline Ramm or MTC, as applicable, announces to the public that it does not intend to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, the Escrowed Funds shall be returned to the holders of the Subscription Receipts or MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, on a pro rata basis and the Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, will be cancelled without any further action on the part of the holders.

In connection with the Offering, a cash finders fee of 6.0% of the gross proceeds sold by each finder may be paid, and common share purchase warrants (the Finder Warrants) representing 6.0% of the number of Underlying Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Subscription Receipts (or Resulting Issuer Shares issuable upon conversion of the MTC Subscription Receipts) sold by each finder may be issued, to qualified finders. Each Finder Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Underlying Share or one (1) Resulting Issuer Share, as applicable, at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months after the completion of the RTO.

Terms of the RTO

In connection with the RTO, MTC will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of MP and Y in exchange for an aggregate of 59,820,000 common shares of MTC (the MTC Shares) on a post-Stock Split basis, and then complete the Amalgamation. Under the Amalgamation, the name of MTC will be changed to Ramm Pharma Corp..

Following the RTO, an aggregate of 750,000 Resulting Issuer Shares will be held by the former holders of MTC Shares. After conversion of Convertible Debentures, Ramm will have an aggregate of 14,000,000 common shares outstanding which will be exchanged for Resulting Issuer Shares in connection with completion of the Amalgamation on a one-for-one basis.

Upon completion of the RTO, and assuming that the Offering results in the issuance of C$24,000,000 of Subscription Receipts, it is expected that, on a non-diluted basis, the current shareholders of MTC will hold approximately 0.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, purchasers in the Offering and holders of common shares of Ramm and Convertible Debentures will hold, in the aggregate, approximately 34.4% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, and the former shareholders of MP and Y will hold, collectively, approximately 64.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares.

Insiders, Officers and Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer

Upon completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of five directors. It is expected that Jack Burnett will serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Resulting Issuer.

Set out below are the names and backgrounds of all persons who are currently expected to be considered insiders of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the RTO.

Jack Burnett  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a Director

Mr. Burnett is a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years experience in capital markets and international corporate leadership roles. Mr. Burnett has led companies from inception to acquisition in multiple industries including real estate, insurance and telecom. His deep global business relationships span both private and public markets where he has been a director, officer and majority shareholder of successful multinational companies.

Dr. Armando Blankleider  Director

Dr. Blankleider is a Medical Doctor and the founder and President of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider has directly led Medic Plasts initiatives for the design and introduction of new products, as well as the design and monitoring of teams for the development of production processes and the general management of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider also has a depth of experience in Quality Management ISO Standards, has acted as a delegate to develop the Rules of Good Manufacturing Practices for medical products for the private sector within the MERCOSUR and is an active participant in international conferences for the medical and pharmaceutical products industry globally.

Daniel Augereau  Director

Mr. Augereau is a seasoned executive who has held senior leadership and board-level positions at companies spanning a diverse mix of industries over a 50+ year career. Since 2005, Mr. Augereau has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Synergie SA (Euronext: SDG), the French leader of temporary work and human resources management services for the industrial, tertiary, logistics, medical, building and public works sectors.

Conditions to RTO

The RTO is subject to receipt of the required regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, the approval of the Exchange, the execution of definitive documents giving effect to the RTO, and standard closing conditions. In addition, the RTO is subject to customary conditions including, without limitation, the following:

Each of MTC, MP, Y, Ramm and Subco will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the RTO.



MTC will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving, among other matters: (i) the Corporate Reorganization; and (ii) the approval of the RTO, if required by the Exchange.



Minimum gross proceeds of C$24,000,000 are raised pursuant to the Offering.

The ultimate legal structure for the RTO will be determined after the parties have considered all applicable tax, securities law, and accounting efficiencies and may change from what is described in this news release.

About MTC

The Corporation is an un-listed Canadian mutual fund corporation that was established under the laws of the Province of Ontario by a declaration of trust dated October 1988, with its registered and head office in Toronto, Ontario. MTC and is a reporting issuer within the meaning of the Securities Act (Alberta), Securities Act (Ontario) and Securities Act (Quebec).

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the proposed RTO; the terms and conditions of the proposed Offering; the ability of MTC to complete the RTO and the ability of Ramm to complete the Offering, respectively, on the terms described herein or at all; use of funds; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed RTO. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, neither MTC, MP, Y nor Ramm assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

For further information please contact:

MTC Growth Fund-I Inc.

Joseph Chiummiento

Tel: 905.851.8180
The Kirtland's warbler -- one of the rarest nesting migratory songbirds in the United States and Canada -- now has additional support, thanks to the establishment of an avian ecologist position geared to executing conservation activities on the bird's wintering grounds in The Bahamas. Scientist Bradley Watson has been hired by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) as part of the plan to keep the Kirtland's warbler population growing after its expected removal from the U.S. endangered species list this spring.

Watson, who is Bahamian, holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, along with a bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston. Prior to accepting the new position, Watson worked with the Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation. He has contributed to multiple studies on terrestrial ecology, while his graduate research focused on carbon sequestration in prairie systems.
McLaren Bay Region on Thursday recognized several nurses for exemplifying excellence in nursing during the 14th Annual McLaren Bay Region Nursing Excellence Awards.

"The Nursing Excellence recipients are nominated by their peers based on professionalism, excellence in nursing practice, education, leadership and community involvement," said Sandy Garzell, McLaren Bay Region director of Quality Improvement and Organizational Excellence. "They advocate for patients and families to provide a holistic plan of care."

Awards are given to individuals who regularly assist with process changes, education and teamwork within their departments to continually improve the care provided to patients.

The 2019 award recipients are:

 Brooke Getty, RN - Nursing Excellence. Getty has been a registered nurse for 12 years, and has earned her Clinical Ladder IV achievement. She works in the emergency department and is a member of the Nursing Practice Council and serves as a member of the stroke workgroup at McLaren Bay Region. Getty is known as a team leader within her department as she works to provide evidence-based care to her patients.

 Lisa Kukla, RN - Nursing Excellence. Kukla has worked at McLaren Bay Region for over 27 years after obtaining her BSN degree in 1993, and has achieved Clinical Ladder IV status. She works in the OB/women's health department, and her commitment to quality care is evident by her active participation in Michigan Hospital Association/Keystone Obstetrics. Kukla is known for her passion for nursing care changes that lead to improved patient care outcomes.

 Charlene Mayotte, RN - Nursing Excellence. Mayotte has been with McLaren Bay Region for over 40 years, where she has worked in neurology/urology, inpatient rehab and as a case manager. She is the first person nurses go to for the latest evidence-based information and is well respected by the medical staff. Mayotte is known as a caring, compassionate nurse who regularly advocates on behalf of her patients.

 Adam Kusz, Certified Surgical Tech - Nursing Support Excellence. Kusz has been on the McLaren Bay Region team since 2007 and works in the operating room. As a member of a unit-based team, he gives regular input on work flows to improve efficiency. Kusz is known for being a knowledgeable team player with a solid work ethic who is well respected by physicians and staff.

"We have a team of exceptional nurses and nursing support staff, and we celebrate their dedication all year long," said McLaren Bay Region Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Talbott. "We are proud to host this special event during Nurses' Week to highlight a few individuals who were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond."
Just as ripples may start small, but continue to expand, the Midland 100 Club has positively affected the community for the past decade. The group's generosity has helped students, the arts community, those with disabilities, foster kids, shelter animals and countless other lives. The club celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday night at Midland Center for the Arts.

"It's not a social club. It's a get-it-done club," stated member Julie Nunn, also the executive director of Cancer Services.

Midlander Bobbie Arnold developed the idea in 2009 after attending a party in Albion. At that time, societies were still dealing with the effects of the Great Recession in 2008.

"All the women were talking about the ability to get together as a community and put together 100 women, each willing to give $100 four times a year. The impact on the community would be amazing if we could do that," Arnold said.

The first meeting of the Midland 100 Club was held at Emerson Park. Since then, membership has expanded from 10 to 476 ladies. The group moved its location to Midland Center for the Arts, initially meeting in the Lecture Room, then moving to the Founder's Room and now to the Auditorium lobby due to the ever-increasing membership. Its next meeting will take place in the Little Theater.

"Here's the challenge: let's outgrow that. And then we have the 1,500 seat auditorium," Volunteer Chair Tina Van Dam addressed the club.

Membership is open to any woman who is able to give $300 annually. The club meets three times a year, in January, May and September. Each meeting is run like clockwork due to the efforts of Van Dam, and lasts only an hour.

"The very best thing that happened to the club was Tina Van Dam. She is truly the heart and soul of the Midland 100 Club," Arnold said.

Six local organizations get a chance to speak at the meetings, each for no more than five minutes. The first four are nominated by members to present while the other two are those who received funds from the last meeting. Over the past 10 years, the Midland 100 Club has given $835,420 in cash contributions, including matching grants, to 47 organizations, according to Van Dam.

"One of the things that's hard is there are so many great organizations in this community that you can't go wrong pulling any name," observed member Jennifer Heronema, president and CEO of the Legacy Center for Community Success.

To be eligible to receive funding, an organization is required to have a current and valid 501(c)3 designation, be located in the Great Lakes Bay Region and benefit Midland County. No political or religious groups are eligible. A group may be qualified to receive additional funding after three years; there have been a handful of local groups who have received support more than once.

One of those groups is Cancer Services. Started in 1948, its goal is to provide support to cancer patients and caregivers in terms of their physical, financial, emotional and spiritual needs.

"Most of our clients are with us for about a year. Some stay and just do monthly support groups," Nunn said. "We don't take a penny for anything that we do."

The Midland 100 Club first helped Cancer Services in May 2014 by giving $12,250, which helped provide over 41,000 miles of transportation for cancer patients. Cancer Services then received $18,500 in September 2017. This time, the finances purchased wood, propane and covered Consumers Energy heating bills for 63 families.

"We were fortunate. It felt like we were just eligible and then we were picked again," Nunn said.

The following May, the Midland 100 Club gave $19,700 to Fostering Hope in Michigan, formerly known as Royal Family Kids and Teen Reach of Mid-Michigan. Founded in 1995, the organization serves foster children through camps and mentoring services. Fostering Hope used the donation to fund a year of monthly Teen Mentoring Club meetings as well as two Teen Reach Adventure Camps where teenagers learn how to respond to life's challenges in a positive way.

"All of our campers and mentees attend our programs free of charge to the child/teen, their families, and the Department of Health and Human Services," explained Fostering Hope Board Chair Bill Clarkson. "The funds provided 'camperships' (scholarships for room, board and supplies), and funded activities such as our challenge course, zip line, and climbing wall experiences."

Clarkson has seen the camps' attendance double as well as the individual growth in campers; one camper with unique needs transformed into a positive role model for the rest of the participants.

At the following Midland 100 Club meeting in September 2018, one of the recipient organizations was the Legacy Center, which received $23,000 to support the Barton Reading and Spelling System. With Barton, pupils with dyslexia who are at least one grade level below where they should be receive one-on-one tutoring.

"Just being honored by that group with that much money at one time, you're just in awe for two or three days," stated Director of Student Reading Programs Kristi Kline.

"It was like we won the lottery," Heronema added.

Unlike most of the Legacy Center's programs, the Barton System doesn't have a steady funding source and must raise its own money. Due to the financial contribution, Barton served 140 to 150 people -- a record breaker for the Legacy Center -- and the staff was able to concentrate on other matters that needed attention.

"It just takes a lot of the pressure off," Kline said.

On Wednesday night, the Midland 100 Club met for its May meeting, but time was allowed to celebrate the group's accomplishments and acknowledge Midland's continuous support.

"If it's a good project, they find a way to get it done. It's an incredible community," Arnold said.

Both Arnold and Van Dam hope to see more growth in the club's future -- including younger members -- and are eager to increase their impact in Midland. Van Dam gave a virtual toast to the members at the end of the meeting before they withdrew to the reception.

"May your generous and kind heart reflect the better community we continue to build together," she said.

Those interested in joining Midland 100 Club can email midland100club@hotmail.com.
HUDSON, N.H., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GT Advanced Technologies Inc., the parent of GTAT Corporation (collectively, Company), has entered into a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to an investigation into events leading up to the Companys bankruptcy filing in 2014. The Company welcomes the conclusion of this matter which allows it to focus its efforts on its ongoing business.



Michele Rayos, who became the Companys Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in November of 2017, said that the Company is committed to operating its business with the upmost integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those relating to record keeping and financial reporting. We have implemented and continue to review our internal controls to ensure best practices in this area. Greg Knight, who became the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer in September of 2016 after its emergence from bankruptcy earlier that year, stated that we are pleased to have the investigation behind us, allowing us to focus all our efforts into expanding the availability and use of silicon carbide and sapphire into current and future markets. Our technical expertise in crystal growth technologies enables us to be a game changer in advanced materials and we are dedicated to continually improving our products while exploring new opportunities. We believe that we will make a difference in the markets that we serve.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is a privately held company. Its current shareholders are private equity firms and financial institutions, most of which were former creditors in the bankruptcy.



About GTAT Corporation
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sunday, May 5, the Fraser Institute will release the Report Card on Ontarios Secondary Schools 2019, the go-to source for measuring school improvement.



It offers parents information they cant easily get anywhere else by showing which Ontario secondary schools have improved or fallen behind, based on indicators derived from provincewide test results.

A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on May 5 at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

The complete results for all 738 secondary schools will also be available at www.compareschoolrankings.org .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela MacLeod

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duncan Park Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (TSXV: DPH) announced today that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") has approved its previously announced application to voluntarily delist (the "Delisting") its common shares from the TSXV. Delisting will be effective at the close of business on May 10, 2019 with trading on the TSXV to end as of the close of trading on that day.



Shareholders should refer to the Company's press release dated April 29, 2019 for an explanation of certain consequences of the Delisting and other related matters.

For further information, please contact:

David Shaddrick

Acting President and CEO

Duncan Park Holdings Corporation

Tel: (775) 746-2071

david@duncanpark.com

www.duncanpark.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 release.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Thursday, May 2

10:37 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 7000 block of Eastman Avenue.

9:53 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to Lee Township for a cow in the roadway. Deputies made contact with a man who said he was the owner of the cow. He transported the cow back onto his property, and refused to give any further information.

9:23 p.m. -- A 43-year-old Colorado man was arrested for a child support warrant following a traffic stop conducted in Jerome Township.

3:15 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Wackerly Street.

2:31 p.m. -- Officers responded to a retail fraud in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

1:41 p.m. -- A Larkin Township homeowner discovered an injured deer on their property and called 9-1-1. A deputy arrived and determined the injury was related to a car crash. The deer was put down, and Central Dispatch located an individual who would come pick up the deer.

12:12 p.m. -- A 38-year-old Shepherd man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Geneva Township. The man was stopped for a driving violation. He was cited for no insurance. The man's vehicle was towed by Coles Towing. The passenger was released to a friend who arrived on scene.

11:21 a.m. -- A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Mount Haley Township.

10:05 p.m. -- Officers responded to a crash resulting in property damage in the area of East Park Street and Sayre Street.

9:36 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a possible drug overdose at a location in Warren Township. Deputies made contact with a 48-year-old man and his 41-year-old wife at MidMichigan Medical Center in reference to their 18-year-old son who had overdosed. Deputies made contact with the son and completed a mental health petition. His parents planned on staying with him at MidMichigan Medical Center.

8:37 a.m. -- Deputies responded to a failure to pay for $53 in gas from a Warren Township service station. No license plate information was obtained. The vehicle was identified as dark SUV last seen heading west.

2:36 a.m. -- Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and Oakhaven Court.

12:40 a.m. -- A deputy struck a deer with his vehicle in Larkin Township.

12:09 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to an Ingersoll Township home for a possible breaking and entering in progress. The 22- and 27-year-old female residents said they heard some odd noises outside, and thought someone was attempting to gain entry. The deputies checked the area and the home, but did not find any evidence of an intruder or trespasser.
To the editor:

Noah Webster said in 1832, "The principles of all genuine liberty and wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man or woman who weakens or destroys the divine authority may be accessory to all public disorder which society is doomed to suffer."

George Washington said, " It is impossible to rightly govern the world without the Bible and God."

Our nation is reaping the consequences of ignoring their wise counsel and principles. Today religion, especially Christianity, is viewed as anathema by government, most of the media and the courts. Legislation seeks to isolate and cripple Christian influence. The result is moral chaos.

For example, about 50-60 years ago, when the Bible and prayer were still welcome in our education system, the major problems in school were: talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of line, wearing improper clothing.

But our government took a stance against the Word of God, and took the Bible and prayer out of schools. As a result, today's problems in our schools, and society in general, are: profanity, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, assault, murder, rape, suicide.

At Colorado Mesa University, Karissa Langner planned to tell classmates a humorous story about her nursing school experience, then briefly talk about overcoming adversity and acknowledge the role faith plays in her life. One school official said that speeches should be free of any one religious slant, and another threatened her with "repercussions" if she refused to change her speech. Karissa contacted Alliance Defending Freedom, and they took swift action, making sure that the school knew that censoring her speech was unconstitutional. As a result, the university changed its stance.

This issue was recently highlighted by President Trump, when he signed an executive order stating that public colleges and universities will lose federal research funds if they violate students' rights to free speech.

Taxpayer-funded colleges and universities will, without consequences, continue to trample on Christian students' rights, unless we all join together to fight the censorship and persecution.

LARRY ADAMCIK

Midland
To the editor:

The Midland Daily News website published an article called Social media: How good is this really for us? on March 17. It is wonderful to see mental health and the impact technology can have on us being talked about.

Tatiana Flowers brought up multiple important points, such as how there is a correlation between anxiety and social media, how people arent gaining valuable social skills, and also how technology may be becoming an addiction. There has even been talk about adding a form of technology/internet addiction to an updated Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM).

It is important to raise awareness about mental health and work to erase the stigmas associated with mental illness. Our community can create a positive change by talking about mental health and illnesses. People can also take steps to improve their own mental health by exercising, eating right, getting enough sleep, having a positive cognitive mindset, and promoting a good self-care routine.

Many people do not realize how seriously we should take our mental health, as it can have an even stronger impact on our lives than some physical ailments. We need to be more aware of who is vulnerable to the negative impacts of technology. Teachers, parents, and guidance counselors can help children by discussing how to use social media positively. By teaching humankind to care about their mental health, we give it value and can help break down some of the stigmas associated with mental illnesses.

MEGAN HERRON

Midland
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy. High 66F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA)  The terrorist organisation, Daesh, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a barrack that accommodates the Battalion 160 under the general commandment of the Libyan National Army in the city of Sebha (800 kilometers south of Tripoli), which left 9 dead
Paris, France (PANA) - The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored the violence that engulfed Benin's political circle after the parliamentary elections and regretted that the vote, which took place last Sunday, was not "inclusive and competitive "
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Deadlock seems to prevail in this deadly war that broke out since 4 April to conquer Tripoli, getting stuck as significant progress has not been made on the ground while the differences between countries involved in the Libyan issue have increased this blockade, whose double military and political effect reveals the tragedy suffered by civilians, the first victims of these clashes
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal's Minister of Culture and Communication Abdoulaye Diop on Friday highlighted the harm caused by social networks, and urged journalists to be vigilant and rigorous to safeguard the image of their profession
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - A three-day workshop to Validate Report on the Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming and Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the ECOWAS region, ended in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, with the validation of the Report and wide ranging recommendations, including a call on all EMBs to set up Gender Units
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington cellphone store was robbed at gunpoint Friday night, police said. No one was injured.

Officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to Boost Mobile, 603 S. Center St., just south of downtown Bloomington.

An employee described the robbers as three men wearing masks and said two of them displayed guns.

An undisclosed number of phones were taken from the store and the suspects fled in an unknown vehicle, police said Saturday.

No injuries were reported. Further details, including descriptions of the suspects, were not available Saturday.

This was the third armed robbery reported in Bloomington in the last month and the eighth in the Twin Cities this year.

In the two most recent business robberies, which involved Six Points Food and Liquor and Subway, two suspects were reported. Fridays was the first to involve three people.

Bloomington police have not indicated the robberies were connected, but after Six Points was robbed Monday, Public Affairs Officer John Fermon said the department is considering all possibilities in the investigations.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BLOOMINGTON  A newly-formed jury in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial went home without reaching a verdict Friday four hours after they were forced to restart deliberations because a juror was dismissed for violating a court rule.

Zimmerman is accused of killing his ex-wife, Pam Zimmerman, who was found dead with four gunshot wounds in her east-side Bloomington office on Nov. 4, 2014.

A woman was removed from the panel before lunch after she admitted she read a story in The Pantagraph two days ago. Jurors are barred from reading or viewing media accounts of the proceedings.

A male juror reported unspecified misconduct in a note to Judge Scott Drazewski. When called into the courtroom, the juror said the woman had disclosed reading the paper during a discussion of the spelling of a witness name.

Every day since the trial opened April 1, Drazewski has required jurors to sign a statement confirming their compliance with the order. All jurors have signed the form.

In her meeting with the judge and lawyers, the woman said she reads The Pantagraph daily for obituaries and the Dear Abby column. The woman acknowledged she read a story two days ago in The Pantagraph to determine the spelling of the name of witness Merrie Seip, who testified she heard what she thought was gunfire on Nov. 3 as she sat with a client in her counseling office near Pam Zimmerman's office at 2103 E. Washington St., Bloomington.

The article, she said, was the only time she strayed from the judges order.

The jurors admission spurred a request for a mistrial from defense lawyer John Rogers who argued the juror may have shared with other jurors additional information from Pantagraph coverage of the trial. The stories, he said, have included material from pre-trial hearings.

The judge denied the motion.

The first alternate juror, also a woman, became part of the jury before talks started over at 2 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, jurors requested video and documents to review during their second day of deliberations.

Drazewski granted their requests to see three video clips of Zimmermans visit to the Four Seasons health club on Nov. 3, 2014.

The judge also allowed jurors to see cell tower mapping from an expert who traced Zimmermans travel around Bloomington, and a trip he allegedly made to Indiana. A digital timeline of the defendants use of electronic devices also was provided. The exhibits were removed from the jury room when the deliberations started over but returned after the jury made a second request after all 12 jurors were involved in deliberations.

The new jury also asked to see the phone records of Scott Baldwin, the victim's fiance, and several satellite images of the parking lots area outside the victim's office and the location of several items from the victim's office located by police near Robinson Street.

The jury will not see a sample kit police use to collect gunshot residue from the potential evidence.

The jury deliberated about two hours late Thursday afternoon before going home and returning Friday morning to the Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington. The panel will resume talks Monday morning.

Photos: Closing arguments in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial
BLOOMINGTON  Several Central Illinois residents approved to use medical marijuana favor legalization of adult recreational cannabis, arguing it would give people another way to deal with diagnosed or un-diagnosed health problems.

But the medical community urges caution.

"It's about giving people another option in addition to pharmaceuticals," said Tyler Jon Hargis, 27, of Bloomington, a marijuana advocate and member of the Central Illinois Cannabis Community (CICC). "If cannabis can provide people with a helping hand, it's worth it."

Legalization of recreational marijuana is being considered by state legislators and has support from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It would allow legal access for people with un-diagnosed issues  such as sleepless nights or anxiety  who could benefit from marijuana, said Eric Chance of East Peoria, also a CICC member.

"We don't view cannabis as a cure-all," said Chance, 36. "But it definitely helps alleviate some symptoms. People need to find out what works for them."

But Dr. Paul Pedersen, vice president and chief medical officer of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center and an internal medicine physician in Bloomington, is concerned about reports of increases in traffic crashes in Colorado related to marijuanas use and reports of people with psychosis (disconnection from reality) coming to emergency departments after ingesting the drug.

He also is concerned about legalization of recreational marijuana exposing more children and teens to cannabis. "Certainly, nobody in our state is interested in having our children exposed," Pedersen said.

Illinois allows patients diagnosed with 40 debilitating conditions to be eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card. Conditions include HIV/AIDS, cancer, Crohn's disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), rheumatoid arthritis and seizures.

From Sept. 2, 2014, when the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications for the registry, through April 9, IDPH had approved 61,231 patients.

Hargis  who has suffered from anxiety, depression and migraines since age 13  began having seizures at age 22; fear of seizures resulted in PTSD.

He was approved for a medical marijuana card and takes different forms of cannabis along with pharmaceutical medicine. He believes the combination, along with exercise, have helped to reduce the intensity of his seizures, anxiety and PTSD.

Health systems' statements The Pantagraph asked several health systems for their position on potential marijuana legalization in Illinois. Here are their statements:

Chance injured his neck in a fall with a knife when he was 10 years old, resulting in 30 stitches, neck numbness and in night terrors and anxiety. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2017 and approved for medical cannabis. He uses a variety of ingestion methods.

"It has helped me to reduce anxiety and it has dulled my dreams and reduced my night terrors so I can sleep through the night," Chance said.

Kelley Theisen, 31, of Bloomington, was diagnosed in 2016 with autoimmune hepatitis, meaning her body started attacking her healthy liver cells.

She was placed on an immune-suppressing drug that caused her anxiety and stomach issues. She lost 70 pounds.

She was approved for medical marijuana that has helped to reduce anxiety and nausea, meaning her appetite has returned.

"We Americans like to talk about freedom," Hargis said. "Well, decriminalizing would help some people to find a better future. It would help to build community."

"Cannabis increases empathy," Chance said. "I think the world needs that right now."

"You would be getting it from a trusted dispensary who would get it from a trusted growth facility," Theisen said. "You would know what you're getting."

But Pedersen, in his role as president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said "This is a delicate issue within our state, to balance the potential financial gain from taxation with the potential substance abuse issues."

Dr. R. Scott Hamilton, a psychiatrist with OSF HealthCare Medical Group Behavioral Health in Normal, said he has certified 10 to 20 patients with PTSD for a cannabis card after they tried conventional treatments.

"Several have reported their overall levels of anxiety are better," Hamilton said. "A few did not have a good experience so they quit using it."

"I do think it helps in some of the conditions." he said. "It's not a panacea. Some patients do feel better using it. It is something useful to have. It's safer than opioids."

But Hamilton also opposes legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use because that would make it more accessible for children and teens.

Brains are developing to age 25 and regular marijuana use by adolescents could impair their memory and result in learning problems and psychosis, he said.

"Their brain will look for artificial rewards, which can result in bad things happening," Hamilton said.

"I hope there will be more research," he added. "There are hundreds of chemicals in marijuana. Some may be of benefit. Some may not. If we can isolate the ones that help, that could be good."

Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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Educators at Bloomington-Normals three nursing programs had to improvise and get creative when a worldwide pandemic shut down not only classrooms but the clinical sites. But they see some silver linings.
CHICAGO  The Crystal Lake father accused of murder and concealment in the death of his 5-year-old son, Andrew "AJ" Freund, was assigned a public defender Friday morning, hours before AJ's wake.

Andrew Freund, 60, a former local attorney, entered the McHenry County courtroom in jail-issued clothing and handcuffs attached to a leather waist belt. He told Judge Robert Wilbrandt he had $50,000 in credit card debt and owes $2,200 on a Chrysler. He also said his home on Dole Avenue is in foreclosure.

Wilbrandt assigned Henry Sugden as special public defender to represent him. He set Tuesday for the attorney to file motions.

A special public defender is often assigned to a case when there is a possible conflict within the county public defender's office.

Freund and the boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, who also is charged with murder and other crimes related to her son's death, are due in court May 10. Both are being held in the county jail with bail set at $5 million each.

Cunningham, 36, is being represented by Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof.

On the morning of April 18 Freund reported his son missing. After nearly a week of searching and questioning, the boy's parents were charged with murder and the boy's body was found in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic in a field near Woodstock.

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CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday he's reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce.

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldn't be issued until May and July 2020, the governor's office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal "starts righting some historic wrongs" against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

"This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for "social equity applicants." Those applicants would include people who have lived in a "disproportionately impacted area"  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

"The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth," said Kevin Samet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state."

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He's said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governor's office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the state's general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that "have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies."

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

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Theres a passage in a new book about Holocaust scholar and survivor Elie Wiesel that is at once frustrating and satisfying in its ambiguity and anger. It happens when the author, Howard Reich, amid many conversations with Wiesel, asks Wiesel the inevitable suite of questions: Why? Why is human history in part a story of anti-Semitism? Why did the Holocaust happen? Why are Jewish houses of worship targeted for violence today?

Why do they hate us? Why? Wiesel replies. So I know all the answers. In the beginning it was religious reasons. Other times, it was social reasons. They hate us either because we are too rich or too poor, either because we are too ignorant or too learned, too successful or too failing. All the contradictions merge in the anti-Semite. And yet, one thing he knows: He hates Jews. He doesnt even know who Jews are. In general, I say, the anti-Semite  let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Wiesels answer glides quickly past the obvious historical and cultural antecedents, and avoids the pat, poetic explanations a lay reader craves, to make a point the lay reader must confront: There is no rational reason for hating the Jewish people, or any people, because they exist. And no justification for the Holocaust or countless other acts of violence and bigotry against Jews, stretching from enslavement in ancient Egypt to last Saturdays mass shooting at a synagogue in Poway, Calif. In short, Wiesel provides both no answer and the right answer: Let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Reich, a Tribune critic whose parents survived the Holocaust, wrote The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel, as part of his own exploration of a dark past he didnt experience personally. Reichs parents were deeply scarred by their suffering under Nazi persecution yet sought to shield him from the details. They couldnt, of course. Reichs paranoid mother would spend nights in their Skokie home peering out the living room window, scouting for enemies who werent there. His father would his share happy, violent nightmares of revenge. I was killing Nazis good, he told young Howard. I was shooting them down.

Reich interviewed Wiesel for a 2012 Tribune event, which led to hours and hours of taped conversations over four years. As Reich says, the book is about two generations of Holocaust survivors speaking to each other from opposite perspectives of this cataclysmic event. One experienced the horror, the second was raised amid the active memory of its terror. The significance is that, even if there are no easy explanations to genocide, or solutions, the topic of the Holocaust must be broached, studied and passed down or it risks being forgotten, or refuted.

Wiesel, who died in 2016, wrote more than 60 books, including the acclaimed memoir, Night. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Reich tells us that Wiesels interest in cooperating with Reich  Wiesel was an eager interviewee  reflected his commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Wiesel said the Holocaust was about the Nazi desire to kill the past and future. What they really wanted to kill was the children because they carry the Jewish identity forward, Reich tells us.

Wiesels life is a testament to his defiance of the Nazi aim. He wrote about the Holocaust so future generations will understand what happened. In Wiesels words, To hear a witness is to become a witness.

Anyone who reads Reichs book will become a witness too.

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In 2008, when Sarah Palin entered the stage to debate her fellow vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, she asked him first thing: "Hey, can I call you Joe?"

It was a charming moment. In Palin's aw-shucks manner, she not only neutralized Biden as a formidable foe but reminded folks watching at home that she was just a gal from Wasilla, Alaska, who liked to keep things simple and personal. It may have been the only brilliant line to come from the then-governor of Alaska that night.

In reality, the reason she asked to call him Joe was because during debate preparations, according to her memoirs, she had called him "O'Biden." Obama, O'Biden, get it? Finally, her team advised her to just call him Joe.

A couple of years later, I asked Biden how much he had held back during the debate, figuring he had been instructed to treat her gingerly, to avoid appearing the bully or a show off.

He laughed and said, "A lot!"

But the truth is, Biden wouldn't have had to try very hard to be generous with Palin. Notwithstanding his handling of the 1991 interrogation of Anita Hill while chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Hill testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, Biden is naturally kind. And, as we've recently been reminded, affectionate.

Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Biden's well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasn't that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

I'd never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Biden's explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.

That Biden isn't a cauldron of raging hormones, or shouting slogans of radical change, is likely more comforting than not to many Americans, including baby boomers who aren't dead yet and who tend to vote. Moreover, he's a longtime populist and activist for America's working class, thus perfectly positioned to woo back some of the almost 40 million white working-class Americans who voted for Trump.

Unlike Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders  72 and 77, respectively  Biden isn't a grumpy old man. He's got a mega-watt smile and doesn't hide it behind a pout. He's imperfect, yes. But his malaprops and his too-affectionate ways are endearing compared with the boasts and bloody bombast of The Current Occupant.

Finally, age confers some privileges: Joe won't have to chop wood, shoot a gun or perform any of the other "manly" stunts male candidates often do, presumably to convey strength, stamina, virility or whatever. Really, hasn't this gimmick run its course? The presidency hardly requires that one mount a rough steed and spear an antelope for din-din. Besides, we've all witnessed Biden's suffering and profound grief. He doesn't have to prove a thing.

Come primary season, Biden may well be the only Democrat for whom Republicans could vote and, later, the only one who could graciously show Trump out. But all factors considered, he's not otherwise the obvious candidate. That person is a male veteran, a former Navy intelligence officer, who studied at Harvard and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Well-rounded, in other words. At 37, he's very young, but he speaks engagingly in ways that wouldn't strike fear in the elder heart.

Pete Buttigieg, who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, is the Barack Obama of his generation  a composite of opposites generated by an anti-Trump algorithm  and today's quintessential candidate. The country may not yet be ready for a gay man and his husband in the White House, but Buttigieg is in my view the most significant voice in the presidential race.

And, hey, you can call him Mayor Pete.

Contact Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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A new report by Law360, that came to light late last month by the Sophos news site called Naked Security, reveals that Massachusetts federal district judge Judith Dein gave agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the right to press a suspects fingers on any iPhone found in his apartment in Cambridge that law enforcement believes that hes used, in order to unlock the devices with iPhone Touch ID.

The ATF agent wrote in the requested warrant that "The suspect, Robert Brito-Pina, is suspected of gun trafficking. Hes a convict, which makes gun possession illegal. The phone is likely to contain a lot of evidence. In fact, the investigation that led agents to Brito-Pina was in large part enabled by information gleaned from other peoples phones, including text messages, drop-off locations stored in the Waze navigation app, and photos of illegal guns taken by people on their own phones  often featuring them posing with the guns.

In addition, ATF special agent Robert Jacobsen added that a web of illegal, interstate gun trafficking led to Brito-Pina. ATF agents have to get into any phones that he may have used, he said, given that theres a window of time to use to unlock iPhones with Touch ID before they require the passcode.

Attempting to unlock the relevant Apple device[s] is necessary because the government may not otherwise be able to access the data contained on those devices for the purpose of executing the requested search warrants. For more on this, read the full report here.

Last October Patently Apple posted a report titled "With a legally obtained Warrant, the FBI Forced a Suspected Child Pornographer to Open his iPhone X using his Face," based on a Forbes report.

The report noted that "The case marks another significant moment in the ongoing battle between law enforcement and tech providers, with the former trying to break the myriad security protections put in place by the latter. Since the fight between the world's most valuable company and the FBI in San Bernardino over access to an iPhone in 2016, Forbes has been tracking the various ways cops have been trying to break Apple's protections." The report goes into some depth about the ongoing battle between law enforcement and Apple. You could review that report here.

On the flip side, many liberal judges have denied warrants requesting the search of an iPhone using Face or Touch ID. The legal battle of law enforcement being able to override security features on smartphones via warrants will continue to be an issue for many years to come.





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 driver of a van involved in a reported child luring attempt at a Mechanicsburg school bus stop has been identified, according to local police.

On Saturday afternoon, a Mechanicsburg officer said he could not confirm whether an arrest had been made.

The reported attempted child luring took place about 7:40 a.m. Thursday at a school bus stop near the area of West Simpson and South Frederick streets, police said.

There, a gray or silver full-sized van approached the stop, where a group of middle-school aged children was waiting, police said.

Police said the vans driver  a gray-haired white man with a larger build  told a group of middle school students that he was working with the Mechanicsburg Area School District, and he was there to pick them up.

The man eventually drove away from the stop, police said, adding that none of the students got into his vehicle.

On Saturday, police announced in a news release that the driver had been identified, adding that an investigation is ongoing.

In the release, police also thanked members of the public for providing information that led to the identification.

A message left Friday afternoon with school district officials was not returned.
Our pattern of above-average rainfall shows no sign of slackening.

For the sixth straight month and the 14th month in the last 16, precipitation for Harrisburg finished above normal. Judging by the forecast for the next couple days, it doesnt appear that the trend since 2017 is close to ending.

Precipitation for April 2019 was 3.24 inches, only slightly above the norm of 3.10 inches. Still, it topped the average, maintaining a series of months that began with the rainiest November ever in 2018 and a stretch that goes back almost a year before that.

While AccuWeather is predicting hot temperatures and below-normal rain for the next three months, the National Weather Service (NWS) isnt fully ready to commit to the overhead spigot turning off. Meteorologist John Banghoff, talking from the State College office of the NWS, said Thursday that a look at the Climate Prediction Centers short-term forecast calls for a higher probability of above-average precipitation at least for the next couple weeks. Certainly, Friday nights cluster of storms that moved through much of central Pennsylvania with torrential rains gave some support to that prediction. More rain fell throughout the region Sunday.

He said that longer-range forecasts that stretch through July hint at average to above-average rainfall. At the same time, he said that summer rains can be so much more unpredictable because they bubble up as compared to the more organized systems that are commonplace fall through spring.

Banghoff noted that the amount of precipitation recorded through much of the first half of last year was not significantly above average until really mid- to late July. Thats really when the rains started and didnt stop, he said. So, you know, we were above average for the early part of last year, but not by a significant margin, as we were in the second half. . . . So far, 2019 is a very similar pattern to what the first half of 2018 was. Certainly were hoping it doesnt end up the way 2018 did, but right now its pretty comparable.

Pa. Governor Tom Wolf tours the heavily damaged section of River Road in York that was hit hard by flash flooding last September. Ten inches of rain fell in a little over 2 hours causing 1/4 mile of the road to be washed away. Above-average rainfall has continued into 2019. September 05, 2018 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

Heres a look at the monthly totals vs. average since the start of 2017, along with the day the most rain fell each of those months.

April 2019

Rainfall: 3.24 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 0.71 inches, 4/14

March 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

February 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

January 2019

Rainfall: 3.56 inches

Normal amount: 2.88 inches

Most on single day: 1.13 inches, 1/24

December 2018

Rainfall: 5.70 inches

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.16 inches, 12/28

November 2018

Rainfall: 8.56 inches, record

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.96 inches, 11/02

October 2018

Rainfall: 2.39 inches

Normal amount: 3.27 inches

Most on single day: 0.95 inches, 10/27

The flooding Yellow Breeches Creek causes the closure of Zion Road in South Middleton Township in September 2018. A stretch of above-average rainfall that began in 2018 has continued into the new year. September 10, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

September 2018

Rainfall: 6.91 inches

Normal amount: 4.07 inches

Most on single day: 2.54 inches, 09/09

August 2018

Rainfall: 5.28 inches

Normal amount: 3.20 inches

Most on single day: 0.96 inches, 08/01

July 2018

Rainfall: 12.09 inches, record

Normal amount: 4.61 inches

Most on single day: 3.26 inches, 07/23

June 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 3.60 inches

Most on single day: 0.88 inches, 06/10

May 2018

Rainfall: 5.71 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

April 2018

Rainfall: 3.98 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 1.59 inches, 04/16

March 2018

Rainfall: 2.97 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

February 2018

Rainfall: 5.44 inches

Normal amount: 2.39 inches

Most on single day: 0.87 inches, 02/07

January 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 2,88 inches

Most on single day: 2.06 inches, 12/23

Heavy rains flood Route 772 near Colebrook Road in Manheim. Above-average rainfall began in 2018 and has stretched four months into 2019.

Over the long haul

Average precipitation for the Harrisburg area has been 40.74 inches. Heres a year-by-year look at precipitation since 1990, to give you an idea of just how plentiful last years total was.

2019: 14.90 inches (11.86 is normal through April)

2018: 67.03 inches

2017: 44.52 inches

2016: 40.97 inches

2015: 42.05 inches

2014: 43.65 inches

2013: 42.63 inches

2012: 45.22 inches

2011: 73.73 inches

2010: 39.32 inches

2009: 45.33 inches

Swatara Creek covers part of Rt. 743 at the intersection with Lingle Avenue in Derry Township. Rainfall this year is about the same through April as it was last year. That all changed last July. July 25, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

2008: 46.26 inches

2007: 42.63 inches

2006: 46.08 inches

2005: 38.78 inches

2004: 53.34 inches

2003: 54.63 inches

2002: 40.84 inches

2001: 25.76 inches

2000: 42.23 inches

1999: 38.32 inches

1998: 45.96 inches

1997: 32.32 inches

1996: 52.43 inches

1995: 35.51 inches

1994: 46.16 inches

1993: 48.40 inches

1992: 35.52 inches

1991: 31.12 inches

1990: 44.12 inches
FRACKVILLE, Pa.  Ask Steven Blazer what kind of employee hes looking for, and the staffing agency manager rattles off a list:

Someone who will show up on time with a positive attitude. Someone who's physically fit. Someone who can work full time.

In today's tight job market, fueled by Pennsylvania's lowest unemployment rate in almost two decades, Blazer, of Surge Staffing in Schuylkill County, is having a difficult time finding workers who fit his list. With hundreds of warehouse positions to fill, he's looking in an unusual place for new hires: behind bars.

"We understand that people deserve a second chance," said Blazer, one of more than a dozen vendors at the Frackville state prison's recent career and reentry fair. "If a person wants to work, we want to talk to them."

The fair, held last week at the maximum security facility in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, about 60 miles northwest of Allentown, is part of a state Department of Corrections push to get inmates ready to return to their communities. More than 90 percent of the estimated 46,000 people in state correctional facilities return home after serving their sentences.

The job fairs, which began last year and are held annually at each of Pennsylvania's 24 state prisons, give inmates nearing their release date a chance to talk face-to-face with potential employers, as well as representatives from community colleges, religious organizations and self-help groups.

Gathering handfuls of flyers from companies such as Walmart, FedEx, Hershey and Lowe's, prisoners walked from table to table, chatting with sales reps and each other.

"I'm looking for something different," said Pete, a 49-year-old Philadelphia resident who worked in construction before coming to prison in 2004. Citing protocols, prison officials declined to release the last names of inmates interviewed for this story.

"I've looked at quite a few brochures today, and when I get out, I'm going to call quite a few people and see where it leads," Pete said.

A job fair inside a prison would have been unheard of just five years ago, said Jeff Cutler, a teacher at the prison. But a combination of criminal justice reforms and a shrinking labor pool has made employers more willing to consider former inmates.

"It used to be very hard for an ex-offender to get a job," Cutler said. "Everything has changed now."

Nationwide, nearly 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Pennsylvania's state prisons release about 19,000 people annually.

FBI statistics show that about 73.5 million people ? nearly 30% of the adult U.S. population ? have some kind of criminal record.

People who've been in prison are about five times more likely to face unemployment than the general public, according to the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative. But a raft of new laws in the past two years, mostly aimed at sealing old criminal records or requiring employers to interview potential hires before asking about criminal records, is chipping away at that statistic.

As they give more former felons a chance, employers are learning that many have learned things in prison that make them an asset to companies, Cutler said.

"A lot of the people on the streets don't want to work hard, and don't have any skills, while these guys are eager to work and have had training. They know they're on their second chance and they have something to prove," he said.

Like more than 80 percent of the people who enter Pennsylvania's prisons, Andre, 28, of Wilkes-Barre, did not have a high school diploma when he was sentenced nearly five years ago. He'd also never held a job.

During his prison stay, Andre earned his GED and OSHA certification, and completed training to work as a flagger, directing traffic around road construction crews. He came to the job fair hoping to talk to companies hiring near his hometown.

"It makes me feel better about myself, knowing that I did something to get ready for the future," Andre said.

Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons can earn certifications for a range of vocations, including barbering and cosmetology, truck driving, welding, Microsoft computer applications and eyeglass manufacturing.

They can also earn a high school diploma and some college credits. Leslie Bartholomew, director of returning adult and veteran services at Lehigh Carbon Community College, was at the fair to talk to inmates about enrolling in classes before and after their release.

"If they have a desire to learn, we can help them become a valuable member of society," she said.

One of the most popular tables at the job fair was a demonstration of new virtual reality goggles that allow inmates to "visit" places on the outside to prepare for release. Through the devices, prisoners headed to halfway houses can take a virtual visit to those facilities. Soon, the views will be expanded to include neighborhoods and places inmates who have been behind bars for decades may soon have to navigate for the first time.

"Walking into a place like a Walmart (Supercenter) can be very disorienting for someone who has been incarcerated for most of their life," said Lacosta Mussoline, a re-entry administrator.

A majority of the companies represented at the fair were from Schuylkill County. That's something organizers hope to change, Cutler said, because more than half of the inmates at Frackville come from urban areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Businesses from those areas sent flyers and brochures to the prison job fair, but few managers were willing to drive into coal country to attend.

Kathy Brittain, the prison's superintendent, said she was pleased that businesses near the prison were getting involved.

"It's excellent that, with the community's help, we're able to provide more resources," she said.

If the economy stays strong, Pennsylvania employers will likely continue to struggle to fill positions. The state's unemployment rate dropped in March to the lowest rate on record, as payrolls hit a record high and the number of people unemployed shrank to its lowest level since 2000, the state Department of Labor and Industry said.

Blazer, the staffing agency manager, thinks former inmates could help a lot of businesses keep up with production.

"So far, I have been really pleased with the people who've come up to talk to me today," he said. "They seem like they have a real desire to work."

___

Laurie Mason Schroeder, of The (Allentown) Morning Call, wrote this story.

Online:

https://bit.ly/2WbWZyz

___

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
It took more than half a century, but one Steelton veteran finally received the honor his family has been seeking after he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Reuben Garnett Jr. was killed on March 4, 1966, when trying to help his platoon leader who was shot in combat, WITF reported.

Now, 53 years after his death, a bridge was dedicated to Garnett on Friday, in front of his family and fellow veterans.

Pennsylvania Rep. Patty Kim helped with the dedication, saying in a Facebook post that Garnett was never properly honored for his sacrifice.

This was long overdue, and a wonderful moment for his family to finally see him recognized, Kim wrote to the page.

I was grateful to be able to help dedicate a bridge in honor of Reuben Louis Garnett Jr., a Steelton native who was... Posted by Rep. Patty Kim on Thursday, May 2, 2019

Garnetts family spoke to how it has been minority veterans who are often overlooked by dedications and appreciation ceremonies, WITF reported. Army representatives at the ceremony spoke to how hard Garnetts family worked to have the dedication happen.

Reuben Garnett Jr., 23, was killed in action while trying to help a fellow soldier during the Vietnam War.

The sign stays Specialist 4 Reuben Garnett, Jr. Memorial Bridge and will be placed on a bridge at the northern tip of Wildwood Lake, WITF reports.
Akeem Davis (left) and Anthony Lawton in "The Christians," through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Read more

Bristol Riverside Theatre closes its season with Lucas Hnaths The Christians, on stage through May 19. Area theatergoers will be familiar with the young playwrights oeuvre, which includes productions at the Arden (A Dolls House, Part 2), Theatre Exile (Red Speedo), and Philadelphia Theatre Company (Hillary and Clinton, now on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow). The Wilma staged The Christians in 2016.

Throughout his still-young but prolific career, Hnath has shown a keen interest in disrupting theatrical expectations. The Christians is no exception. Set in an unnamed megachurch (rendered authentically by set designer Paige Hathaway), it features a full choir that punctuates the action with spiritual songs and shouts. Hnath also has his characters speak nearly all of their dialogue, including private asides, into handheld microphones, resulting in a disquieting dissonance.

The play addresses how people handle challenges to their deeply held beliefs. Hnath depicts a church where congregants adore their leader, Pastor Paul (Anthony Lawton), and uphold his principles without question. So when Paul announces his newfound conviction that Hell doesnt exist, he effectively renders it doctrine  a move that forces his flock uncomfortably to abandon its core theology.

Paul holds a direct line to God, and, as Hnath presents it, he comes to hear a new note of mercy in the Lords voice. The bounty of His love envelops all; even Hitler could be saved by it. Paul no longer conceives Hell as a literal place, but rather as a metaphor for a soul in torment.

If the question of faith rests on a schism between the sinners and the saved, this radical view of Gods clemency surely unsettles many believers. Under Matt Pfeiffers precise direction, it even seems to subsume the man who professes it.

Lawton communicates the inner turmoil that causes Pastor Paul to cleave his congregation  his sunken, searching eyes burn with the assurance of his righteousness, but they also brim with vulnerability. He presents a person who understands the risk he takes in speaking his truth, and who maybe regrets putting himself on the line, but he acts in the only way he feels can align with Gods plan.

A sense of absolute clarity comes in the form of associate pastor Joshua, played with rock-ribbed rectitude by Akeem Davis. He belongs to the fire-and-brimstone tradition, the kind of faith that cannot abide wishy-washy concessions to doubt. He believes, with total conviction, that his backsliding mother suffers eternal damnation due to her rigid refusal to accept Christ.

Hnath allows enough backstory to suggest that unyielding faith is a life raft for Joshua, and it is a testament to Davis talent that this character never feels like a cartoonish caricature of dogmatic pomposity.

Paul faces challenges from all sides, including his wife (an affecting Susan McKey) and a well-meaning parishioner (K. ORourke) who clings to the church for a sense of purpose in her troubled life. Ultimately, The Christians introduces more questions than it answers, leaving its audience many avenues for extended dialogue about spiritual sustenance. Bristols fine production starts a conversation that should continue long after everyone leaves the theater.

THEATER REVIEW

The Christians

Through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol. Tickets: $10-50. Information: 215-785-0100, brtstage.org.
Stock image showing how tiny needles are used in acupuncture, an alternative medicine prevalent in China. Read more

Back pain. Headaches. Allergies. Arthritis. Anxiety. Morning sickness. Acupuncture practitioners claim their centuries-old school of alternative medicine can treat dozens of medical problems  with few side effects or risk of complications.

Some health-care providers see acupuncture as a possible tool to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic, which largely was brought about by legal prescriptions of painkillers. Recently, the American College of Physicians released a recommendation to use acupuncture as one of the first treatments for low-back pain. The Pain Management Standards from the Joint Commission  a nationwide nonprofit that accredits health-care organizations  now includes acupuncture as a non-pharmacological strategy for managing pain.

Western medicine proposes several theories on how acupuncture works. One premise: It releases the bodys own painkillers, or endorphins. Research finds that needle insertion prompts the flow of adenosine, a chemical that reduces inflammation. Another hypothesis, the Gate Control Theory of Pain, argues that the body shuts down pain receptors in response to acupunctures needling.

In Eastern medical lingo, ailments are described in terms of an excess of or deficiency in yin or yang, forces that are connected and interdependent. Energy, or qi (pronounced chee in Chinese), flows through the meridians or pathways of the body. These pathways connect via acupuncture points that relate to internal organs; acupunctures specialized needle placements restore the balance of yin and yang by reducing disruptions along the meridians, improving the flow of qi and promoting healing.

Although theres much evidence that acupuncture often alleviates pain and successfully treats a range of symptoms and diseases, theres no clear answer as to acupunctures true value. Clinical studies aimed at measuring its effectiveness are limited. Many skeptics argue that any benefits of getting stuck probably derive from a placebo effect.

Thats because its difficult to test the efficacy of acupuncture. In double-blind studies, the gold standard for testing effectiveness of drugs or treatments, neither participants nor experimenters know which group is getting which treatment. Typically, one group receives the conventional drug or treatment while another group receives a placebo. The problem is, there are no good placebo substitutes for acupuncture  even when testers use sham needles, patients typically know they arent really being poked.

Another problem in assessing acupuncture (and other treatments) is that ailments often simply resolve themselves. Back pain, Bells palsy, or insomnia may go away during a course of acupuncture treatment, but these problems might also have healed or disappeared on their own.

But because it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks, and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldnt overthink it.

After all, thousands of drugs and procedures are prescribed to treat conditions at enormous cost every day, often without a precise understanding of why they work, or whether they are effective compared with other approaches or doing nothing. Unlike acupuncture, these approved treatments often pose serious risks to patients.

And its clear that patients who try acupuncture love it. A recent study by American Specialty Health Inc. surveyed 89,000 patients who received treatment for chronic pain. It found a vast majority (87 percent) of patients rated their acupuncturists favorably (9 or 10 on a 0-to-10 scale), somewhat more favorably than patients rated conventional health-care providers (76 percent to 80 percent). Nearly all (99 percent) of the surveyed acupuncture patients rated their providers good or excellent, and almost none reported minor or serious adverse effects.

If youre looking for an acupuncturist, talk with your friends and physician for recommendations. The nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook regularly surveys local patients on their experiences with health-care providers, including acupuncturists. Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of acupuncturists to Inquirer readers through this link: Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Acupuncture. Ratings are available free of charge until June 8.

If the acupuncturist is a physician, look for certification by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (www.dabma.org). Alternatively, consider a physician who is a member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (www.medicalacupuncture.org).

If the acupuncturist is not a physician, check for certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (www.nccaom.org). NCCAOM-certified acupuncturists can add Dipl. Ac. after their names.

Here are some questions to ask:

How long has the acupuncturist been in practice?

What training, licensing, and certifications does the acupuncturist have?

Does the acupuncturist have experience treating your type of condition or problem?

What techniques does the acupuncturist use? Some acupuncturists use a wide range of complementary techniques such as tu nai massage, moxibustion, and cupping; Others use just one approach.

Is the treatment covered by your health insurance plan? Do you need a referral from your physician?

As there are many qualified acupuncturists, and other consumers tend to be satisfied with them, pay attention to prices. Checkbooks undercover shoppers called a sample of area acupuncturists for private treatment of arthritic knee pain and were quoted prices ranging from $60 to $260 for an initial session.

Checkbooks shoppers also asked about prices for community acupuncture, which is a growing trend  acupuncturists treating multiple patients in the same room. Prices quoted to its undercover shoppers for community acupuncture were far lower than those for private sessions, ranging from $15 to about $60 per session.

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Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates.
A 26-year-old Gloucester City man was found stabbed to death in Camden, Camden County police said Saturday.

Officers responding to reports of an unconscious male near the 1000 block of South Fifth Street in Camden shortly before 11 a.m. Friday found Ryan Harter lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests had been made, police said Saturday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042, or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
When it launched in New York three years ago, the smartphone app called Vigilante quickly sparked controversy. Its creators lauded it as a way for users to get and receive real-time notifications about crimes in their neighborhood.

Critics were wary, not just about the aggressive-sounding name but aspects like its report incident" feature that encouraged users to alert authorities to crimes in progress and a record button enabling them to upload photos or videos. The New York Police Department panned it, issuing a statement pointing out that crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cellphone.

Apple removed it from its app store.

So its creators rebranded it in 2017  as Citizen  and tried again. And now its come to Philadelphia.

Citizen sends users real-time alerts intended to keep everyday people informed with real-time notifications about nearby crime, emergencies, and ongoing incidents," according to J. Peter Donald, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who now serves as Citizens director of policy and communications.

He acknowledged the early struggles but said: Now we have a new name and a new mission.

Philadelphia is the companys fifth market, joining New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. It claims to have more than 600,000 users.

Heres how it works: A group of 50 employees  including former journalists, former first responders, and an ex-English professor  monitors 911 calls and dispatcher responses, mainly public-safety issues, and translates them in real time for its users. They send out about two million notifications per day across the five cities. Each alert is marked with a corresponding dot tacked onto a localized map.

The company says it instructs its app users to avoid these marked areas, but the app also includes a Record button, which would enable users to upload a live video or photos of an active crime scene. It says users have uploaded more than 100,000 videos, which the company wont sell but has shared with news organizations.

Donald said the company has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department, as well as local anti-crime groups and neighborhood watchers, but has not heard back from Commissioner Richard Ross. (The Inquirer also reached out to the Police Department for comment but messages were not returned.)

Despite the rebranding, its not clear that Citizen will receive a warm reception in the City of Brotherly Love. John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the officers union, wasnt convinced of the apps usefulness.

We have one already, its called the 911 app, he said. We got a police department that is very good at what they do, and for people to get into taking matters into their own hands, that could be a disaster. Somebody is trying to make money off people getting hurt and people being victimized, and its crazy."

Hans Menos, executive director of the Police Advisory Commission, cited issues that have cropped up with other apps such as Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused gossip forum, which encountered blowback when messages were labeled as racist.

One of the things that concerns me about these citizen-involved apps or platforms is they have a high potential for misuse, he said. But, in general, I like the idea that people can be more aware of whats going on in their neighborhood.

In San Francisco, where the app debuted in fall 2017, the reviews have been mixed.

Users have reported issues with its sources of information. The app developers do not have access to the 911 radio channel, but rather monitor scanner chatter. And the chatter is based on civilians who call 911 and their initial reactions to incidents, which are subject to interpretation.

But there have not been any reports of overeager app enthusiasts intervening in crimes in progress.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said police officials met with representatives of the app in 2017, but the department is not directly involved with the App or its developers. Officers dont need the video; they already have their own body cams, he noted.

We are still evaluating the pros and cons of the product, Andraychak said, but it doesnt factor into our day-to-day operations.
A teacher at a Burlington County middle school can keep his job despite having fathered a child with a teen when he was a Catholic priest decades ago in Connecticut, according to a labor arbitrator appointed by New Jersey.

Joseph M. DeShan, 59, faced the same controversy early in his career with the Cinnaminson Township School District, when it was revealed in 2002 that he made a 16-year-old girl pregnant while he served as a priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

DeShan was suspended for three weeks, but reinstated after the district concluded that he had violated no rules or laws as a teacher.

His past resurfaced last year when parents complained to the board of education.

A parent told the board, This man should not be here. Please protect our children, the Cinnaminson Sun reported in November.

In December, the district filed charges against DeShan with the New Jersey commissioner of education seeking his removal as a sixth-grade reading teacher at Cinnaminson Middle School for conduct unbecoming a staff member.

The district cited DeShans record as a priest and a recent incident in which he allegedly told a female student, Look at me. Let me see your pretty green eyes. You dont see them too much anymore.

The student said the comment made her uncomfortable and that he said it in a weird voice, according to the district.

In his April 2 decision, Walt De Treux, the arbitrator, ruled that the alleged comment was unsupported hearsay. He also ruled that the district, barring any new evidence of inappropriate conduct, must live with its 2002 decision.

The fact that some parents now demand his removal from the classroom does not give the [board of education] a second opportunity to revisit pre-employment conduct of which it has been long aware, De Treux wrote.

De Treux ordered the district to reinstate DeShan to his position with full back pay and benefits.

DeShan could not be reached for comment Friday.

Stephen Cappello, Cinnaminsons superintendent of schools, said Friday night in an emailed statement: Our district policy limits my capacity to comment about ongoing personnel and legal matters. We are certainly disappointed by the ruling, and we are currently working with counsel to determine our next steps. We will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and educational community.

The revelation that DeShan had gotten a teen pregnant while he served as a priest was first reported by the Hartford Courant in 2002, and gained national attention because it involved Edward M. Egan, who had been the bishop of Bridgeport and later became the archbishop of New York. Egan died in March 2015.

The newspaper reported that Egan failed to notify police when he learned about DeShans sexual relationship with the girl.

Egan allowed him to leave the priesthood and begin a new life as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey  with no record of sexual misconduct, according to the article.

The teen became pregnant in September 1989, two months after her 16th birthday, the newspaper reported. That same month, DeShan revealed his relationship to church officials and requested a leave of absence.

It was a consensual relationship that didnt work out, DeShan told the newspaper in a brief interview outside the school where he was then teaching fifth grade. He had since married a doctor, and they had two children.

The teen went on to raise their daughter as a struggling single mother, the Courant reported.

DeShan started his new career as a teacher in 1997.

The 2002 article led to DeShans suspension, but he enjoyed popularity in Cinnaminson and that made his return easier, the New York Times reported.

He did come back today," then-superintendent Salvatore J. Illuzi told the Times, and he was very positively received by his students and colleagues.
A screenshot of the video uploaded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Read more

A national Muslim group says it will conduct an investigation into an event at a Philadelphia Islamic center last month during which a group of youngsters sang songs it said were not properly vetted, calling that an unintended mistake and an oversight.

Youngsters at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in North Philadelphia are shown in video footage speaking in Arabic during a celebration of Ummah Day, said the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Middle East monitoring organization. One girl says "we will chop off their heads to liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to the MEMRI.

An English translation of the Arabic is included on the video. The Inquirer has not independently verified the translation.

Ummah is an Arabic word that can mean community or nation.

While we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and languages, not all songs were properly vetted, the Muslim American Society, based in Washington, said in a statement issued Friday. This was an unintended mistake and an oversight in which the center and the students are remorseful. MAS will conduct an internal investigation to ensure this does not occur again.

The statement was also posted on the Facebook page of MAS-Philadelphia Center late Friday night.

MAS has more than 50 chapters throughout the United States, according to its website.

As a faith-based organization dedicated to moving people to strive for God-consciousness and a just and virtuous society, we affirm our long-standing position on our shared values of humanity. We stand resolutely in our condemnation of hate, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and all the illnesses of hate that plague our society, MAS said in its statement.

In a subsequent statement late Saturday night, MAS said it has been informed that the person in charge of the April 17 event has been dismissed and that the organization in charge of it will form a local commission to aid in sensitivity training and proper oversight for future programs. MAS said it owns the property where the program was held and leases it to the schools operator.

According to MEMRI, one girl reads: We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture."

In other videos, students sing songs about the blood of martyrs and Rebels, rebels, rebels. The videos were posted on the centers Facebook page, the media monitoring group said, but the videos included in the MEMRI report appear to have been taken down from the centers page.

The Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia called the incident extremely disturbing.

Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace, the statement read.

The ADL called another report about the event misleading. An Arutz Sheva/Israel National News story includes a photo of children in front of what the ADL describes as a bazooka-wielding extremist, an image that does not appear to have been taken at the Philadelphia event, the ADL statement read. The article also implies that the event occurred at a Philadelphia school when it occurred at a private religious institution.

Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article.
Medics and protestors move a serious wounded girl, who was shot in her head by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, into the treatment room of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. Read more

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt.

The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.

Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.

The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.

The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator aged 31 had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.

Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.

Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Smoke rises from buildings after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants launched about 200 rockets and mortars into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian coastal territory. Read more

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired more than 250 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, and Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, ending weeks of relative calm and threatening efforts to forge a long-term truce.

Palestinians said at least four people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, were killed by Israeli strikes.

In Israel, rocket sirens blared, and thousands of Israeli civilians - as far as 30 miles from Gaza - spent the day in or close to bomb shelters. Rocket fire and airstrikes continued into the night.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its Iron Dome air-defense batteries intercepted dozens of the rockets. Israeli emergency services said an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel during the rocket barrage and a 50-year-old man was treated for moderate wounds.

In Gaza, health authorities said two men, aged 22 and 25, a 37-year-old pregnant woman and her 14-month-old daughter were killed as Israeli jets carried out airstrikes. An additional 18 people were injured. Israeli officials said they hit dozens of "terror targets" inside the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Saturday's violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.

However, the Israeli military said Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second-largest militant group, which is also involved in the negotiations, was responsible for the rocket fire.

It also said tanks and military jets targeted sites in the northern and eastern sections of Gaza, including an Islamic Jihad tunnel and Hamas military intelligence and general security buildings. The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, met with senior security officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to be briefed.

The Turkish news agency Anadolu said its Gaza office had been hit in an Israeli strike.

U.N. peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov called for calm.

"Continuing down the current path of escalation will quickly undo what has been achieved and destroy the chances for long time solutions to the crisis," he said in a statement. "This endless cycle of violence must end, and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Israel would "respond forcefully and swiftly to any attack on the security of our people."

Israeli authorities said schools in the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod would be closed Sunday.

In a joint statement, Gaza's militant factions said the rocket fire was in response to the "targeting and assassination" of their militants a day earlier. "Our response will be tougher and larger and broader in the face of aggression," they said in a statement.

The Israeli military reported on Friday that two soldiers were lightly wounded in a shooting incident along its border with Gaza. In response, Israel struck sites belonging to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, killing two fighters.

Also on Friday, two Palestinian protesters were killed taking part in ongoing weekly demonstrations at the border fence with Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"It's a reply to the Israeli targeting of peaceful civilians yesterday by Israeli snipers during the 58th Friday of Great March of Return," said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's bureau for international relations, referring to the weekly protests staged in Gaza since last year. "Also, to the procrastination policies of the occupation toward lifting the siege on Gaza."

Gazans have been holding weekly demonstrations along the border, protesting the dire humanitarian situation in the strip that worsens daily and the ongoing land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas forcibly took power in 2007. Egypt opens its border with Gaza only sporadically.

Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Qanoua said the group would continue to "respond to the crimes of the occupation" and "not allow the blood of our people to be shed."

Musab al-Buraim, spokesman of Islamic Jihad, said in a short statement that it too was committed to "resistance."

Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad visited Egypt this past week to discuss the understandings reached with Israel to reduce tensions. The Egyptians have spent months trying to forge a long-term truce between the sides in an effort to bring calm and ease the dire humanitarian situation for 2 million Gazans.

But Saturday's unrest, disrupting the lives of so many Israeli citizens, could impact attempts by Netanyahu to form a coalition after being reelected for a fifth term. His last government began to unravel after a similar flare-up with Gaza, when then-Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned after calling for a tougher approach to the rocket fire.

Standing down from his post in November, Liberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that agreeing to the cease-fire with Hamas was "surrendering to terror." He proposed firmer military action against Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza, even if that risked a wider conflict.

In March, Netanyahu's trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and speak at the annual AIPAC policy conference was cut short after a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a house in central Israel.

Rocket fire and airstrikes similar to Saturday's happens periodically.

In 2014, a 50-day deadly war between Israel and Hamas saw hundreds of rockets being fired into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv, and massive Israeli aerial bombardments, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians. More than 70 Israelis and one foreign national were also killed.

There were worries in Israel that unrest could disrupt preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, an international singing event taking place in Tel Aviv this month. Contestants from across Europe are already in Israel to prepare for the event.

- - -

Balousha reported from Gaza. Morris reported from Tel Aviv.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." Read more

(Bloomberg)  President Donald Trump brushed off news of a possible weapons test by North Korea  confirmed Sunday by state media in Pyongyang  and vowed that his long-sought denuclearization deal with leader Kim Jong Un will happen.

KCNA said in a statement early Sunday local time that Kim had supervised a strike drill  essentially, a test of combat readiness  of defense units in direction of the the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. The tests were done to assess the accuracy of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, the state media agency said.

South Korean authorities on Saturday flagged numerous short-range projectiles fired off North Koreas eastern coast. The move was seen as Kims most provocative signal of frustration over talks with Trump following the pairs failed summit in Vietnam in February.

The significance of the test was difficult to assess as South Korea revised its account of the nature and scale of the weapons discharged from the eastern port of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. Saturday local time. After first calling them missiles, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff later changed its description to projectiles, saying greater clarity would require more analysis.

The details are key since Trump has cited Kims self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue negotiations with the North Korean leader. South Koreas descriptions of the incident suggested shorter-range rockets or artillery that would be less likely for the U.S. to interpret as a violation of Kims pledge to refrain from testing.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. National Security Adviser John Bolton briefed the president about the launch, according to a senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter.

The weapons were fired from the Hodo Peninsula, which has been the site of past live-fire artillery exercises, and traveled 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles), the joint chiefs said earlier Saturday. The Yonhap News Agency later reported that the weapons fired were not missiles, citing unidentified lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials.

Missiles are projectiles, but South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff might be using projectile to imply an unguided rocket, like one of North Koreas older rocket artillery systems, said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. This could also be a politicized attempt to make the word missile not so prominent, in case that creates the kind of news cycle that Trump doesnt want.

The weapons test was nonetheless Kims most significant provocation since he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, declared his nuclear weapons program complete and opened talks. South Korea President Moon Jae-ins spokeswoman condemned the incident, saying in a statement that they go against a military agreement the two Koreas reached in September to halt hostile activities.

Kim has expressed increasing frustration since Trump refused his demands for sanctions relief and walked out of their second summit in Hanoi in February. After a year of talks, Kim has made only a pledge to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without defining the phrase.

The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of bad faith during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok last week. He had earlier told North Koreas Supreme Peoples Assembly that he would wait with patience till the end of this year for the U.S. to make a better offer.

A shorter-range test could also signal displeasure with South Koreas participation in joint military drills with the U.S., despite Trumps decision to scale down those exercises. North Korean state media has repeatedly complained about the drills in recent weeks and Kim pledged corresponding acts during his speech last month to the rubber-stamp parliament.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed Saturdays incident with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone, the ministry said in a statement. Nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon made a separate call to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Japans defense ministry said Saturday that the country had not detected any missiles entering its exclusive economic zone and as such there was no immediate impact to its national security.

Although Saturdays launch was the most significant since Kims detente with Trump, North Korea has announced more limited weapons tests in recent months. Kim personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon last month, which South Korea later said appeared to be a system intended for ground combat and not a ballistic missile.

Descriptions of the current incident suggested weapons ranging from rocket-propelled artillery to multiple rockets fired from launchers, analysts said. Firing such a weapon could serve a range of goals from pushing back against South Korea, to reassuring Kims domestic audience of his leadership.

The range they have would only be really good for hitting targets across the border in South Korea, said Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher. It could be seen that this was a signal to the ROK that the DPRK is losing patience, referring to South Koreas and North Koreas formal names.

With assistance from John Harney, Justin Sink and Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE - In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. Read more

(Bloomberg)  North Korea fired at least one short-range missile toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea said, the countrys first major weapons test since November 2017.

The test occurred around 9:06 a.m. local time from North Koreas eastern port of Wonsan, according to South Koreas defense ministry. The weapon was fired toward the East Sea, the ministry said, describing the water body also known as the Sea of Japan.

The test involved numerous missiles traveling 70-200 kilometers (45-125 miles), the Yonhap News Agency said, citing South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It was the first major weapons test since November 2017, when Kim Jong Un successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the entire U.S. Kims subsequent pledge to halt tests of nuclear-capable weapons has underpinned his negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

While a short-range missile wouldnt necessarily violate that pledge, it signals Kims frustration with talks since Trumps decision to walk away from the last summit in Hanoi in February. Top U.S. nuclear enjoy Stephen Biegun is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Last month, Kim also personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon. That test was the first announced by North Korea since Kims February summit with Trump ended abruptly ended without a deal.

Last week, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, and accused the U.S. of bad faith in nuclear talks.

Saturdays launch took place on Wonsans Hodo Peninsula, home to a live-fire training site for artillery exercises, according to a description by 38 North.

With assistance from Justin Sink and John Harney.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net;Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net
Black Horse Pike Regional Board of Education School Board President Bill Murray (2nd from right) speaks during a board meeting at Triton High School in Runnemede, NJ on May 3, 2019. Kevin Bucceroni, vice-president is to his left. South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned whether the two men had recruited a "phantom freeholder candidate" to clutter the ballot and confuse voters in the Camden County Democratic primary on June 4. Read more

Progressive Democrats who are trying to beat the entrenched Camden County Democratic Committee in the June primaries  under the hashtag of unplug the machine  are not just running against the endorsed candidates who have been in office as long as a decade.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats say they must also compete against phantom candidates who dont campaign but were recruited by the party establishment to clutter the ballot and confuse voters.

I dont know who they are, said William Tambussi, an attorney who represents the Democratic Committee and its unofficial leader, George E. Norcross III, when asked about the six so-called phantoms who filed petitions to run for two open seats on the freeholder board.

He apparently isnt alone, though the progressives say these candidates have ties to several elected members of the Democratic Committee. Democratic Committee Chairman Jim Beach did not respond to numerous calls for comment.

None of these freeholder candidates has a website or a Facebook page to tout accomplishments and make campaign pledges. None replied to numerous phone messages, texts, and emails when The Inquirer reached out to each of them to find out about their platforms and why they are running.

Two of the six candidates were Republicans until days before their petition to run for office was due last month, and two had never voted before in New Jersey.

Randall McGinnis Jr., the only candidate The Inquirer could reach for comment, said during a brief phone call: OK, no problem, but Im driving right now and can I give you a ring back? I dont want to get pulled over, so please call me back. He then hung up and didnt respond to further calls.

McGinnis, 50, of Clementon, was a Republican who switched parties a few days before he submitted his petition to the clerks office. His running mate, Steven Panarello, 28, of Gloucester Township, had never voted before and hastily registered around the same time, in late March.

Dori Larm, 58, of Gloucester Township, took an extra measure to stay in the background. She scrawled Do not publish phone # or email" on her petition. A few weeks later, her phone was disconnected.

Larm and her running mate, William Etymow, 26, of Mount Ephraim, were later disqualified because their petition fell short of the 100 signatures of registered voters a candidate must gather to run. Larm last voted in 2004, in a school board election. Etymow was a registered Republican until late March.

The partys picks for local, county, and state office  including incumbent Freeholders Ed McDonnell and Carmen Rodriguez  appear on Column One of the ballot. They are running together in a solid line.

Column Two and Three each contain the names of a pair of so-called phantom freeholder candidates. They are not aligned with any other candidates. McGinnis and Panarello are in Column Two, while Jason Witte, 60, of Bellmawr, and Amanda Semple, 26, of Glendora are in Column Three.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats, who are fielding an unprecedented 100 challengers for seats in all levels of government and in the party, all appear in Column Four, on the far right edge of the ballot.

The group could not participate in a drawing for a favorable spot on the ballot because only slates with freeholder candidates are eligible. The progressives two freeholder candidates were knocked off the ballot in April after Tambussi challenged their petitions, saying about 11 signatures that one of the candidates gathered were forged. He also argued that both candidates should be disqualified along with a proposed replacement candidate after one resigned.

Judy Amorosa, a lawyer and founder of the progressive group, which was organized in Cherry Hill two years ago, also challenged some petitions  those filed by the little-known freeholders in Column Two and Three. One petition didnt have the candidates names filled in, and just had signatures of voters who support them. Another contained signatures that also appeared to be forged.

But the County Clerks Office, run by Democrat Joseph Ripa, who is running for reelection as an endorsed candidate, dismissed the complaint as having no merit. Ripas office asked the county prosecutor to investigate Tambussis claim of forgery, but not Amorosas claim.

Ripa did not respond to calls for comment. Amorosa declined to comment.

Matt Friedman, a reporter with Politico New Jersey, reached Witte a couple of weeks ago, and asked what he would do if he was elected. Just stuff like parks and stuff like that, how kids dont really have anywhere to go or anything like that. ... I dont know, I didnt really think it was going to be taken as seriously as its being taken," he said. Witte also did not know his running mates name.

Then, Witte explained that Bill Murray, president of the Black Horse Pike Board of Education, recruited him and said he would put him in touch with his buddy, Kevin.

Murray and Kevin Bucceroni, the boards vice president, have both signed petitions of the so-called phantom freeholder candidates. And Bucceroni is an elected member of the Camden County Democratic Committee.

On Thursday, several members of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned Bucceroni and Murray during the public portion of a school board meeting in Runnemede.

Does this have anything to do with the school district? Bucceroni asked after Chris Emrich questioned his role with the phantom candidates. When pressed by Emrich, a Collingswood lawyer who is working with the progressives, Bucceroni said: Im allowed to have personal business.

Bucceroni, whos been on the Democratic Committee for years, has signed the petitions of several so-called phantom candidates, including the one filed by Larm and Etymow, though they were challenging the partys endorsed candidates. He also has received thousands of dollars for election work" and BBQ expenses" from the party organization in recent years, according to state election records.

After the meeting, he told The Inquirer: Obviously if you see my name on a petition and it matches my signature, I must have signed it. ... Someone asked me to sign a petition and I signed it.

Murray, the board president, told Emrich that Witte was bending my ear and I said, Then run for office and make the changes. I didnt recruit him, because he was complaining to me about these things and I said, Well run for office.  Afterward, he declined further comment.

Kate Delany, who accompanied Emrich and who is running as a progressive for the Democratic Committee in Collingswood, said she attended the meeting to follow up on the phantom candidates and find out why this was occurring. ... We were shut down and got no answers.

One reason phantom candidates are used by parties is to create clutter and mislead voters, said Yael Niv, a Princeton University professor who heads the nonpartisan Good Government Coalition of New Jersey. The solid party line of endorsed candidates on a ballot gives the appearance that these are serious candidates, Niv said. The rest of the candidates are strewn around the ballot and they look like kooks, not a person running a serious campaign.

The phantom candidates are often "family members or cronies of the political machine. ... They dont intend on winning, theyre just there to pad the ballot with names, so the contestors are just one out of 10 or more people running against the party, Niv said.

Rena Margulis, a founder of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats and a candidate running for county clerk, said another problem is the phantoms use the word progressive in their slogans and voters cant distinguish them from the candidates affiliated with the progressive group. So, this year the progressives are running together under the banner of Democrats of Camden County.

The Camden County Democratic Committee has been using phantom freeholders in order to prevent local candidates who are running against the machine from having a chance and a fair ballot position, she said.

(The story was updated to correct the spelling of the last name of Yael Niv.)
A MAJOR NEWS STORY in the international press this week concerned Thursdays announcement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be heading to Finland to participate in the 22nd annual meeting of the Arctic Council on May 7.

Some fear that the Council, which is largely planning to discuss issues relating to global warming, will have these concerns dismissed by the US delegation, who would rather discuss military strategy in the region in the light of a looming threat from Russia.

In other news, Finland is about to become one of the first countries in the world to have an official governing body regulating cryptocurrency transactions. The Act on Virtual Currency Providers comes into force next week and will force coin exchanges to submit to strict regulatory standards.

Meanwhile, the BBC has released a short documentary on a group of schoolchildren from the town of Ii in northern Finland, who they have dubbed the next generation of climate heroes.

Pompeo headed to Finland, Greenland to discuss Arctic policy

Axios

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit two places in the Arctic in the coming days, where it could be extremely difficult to ignore or downplay the reality and consequences of human-caused global warming.

Why it matters: The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the globe, setting in motion a transformation of a once-frozen region into a new state. Melting sea ice is quickly making the Far North more accessible, and marine traffic from container ships and cruise vessels is becoming more common, particularly in Russian and Canadian waters. As one of 8 Arctic nations, the U.S. plays a key role in setting policy for the region.

The big picture: On May 7, Pompeo will be in Rovaniemi, Finland where he will join foreign ministers from other Arctic nations to discuss issues of concern in the region within a forum known as the Arctic Council. Finland, which is hosting the meeting, has set an agenda that puts climate change high on the list of priorities.

But, but, but: Pompeo is likely to be more interested in regional security issues, given a recent Russian military buildup and growing interest in Arctic oil and gas resources. China, too, has been increasingly eyeing the Arctic.

"There has been a sustained effort by US military and Coast Guard officials to re-frame the issue of climate change in the Arctic as a security challenge," says Malte Humpert, the founder and senior scholar at The Arctic Institute.

"This avoids the political pitfalls of having to talk about climate change and jumps straight to talking about security implications."

The U.S., Humpert says, wants to demonstrate that it will "not surrender control over the region to Russia and China," as sea ice melts and the world heads toward a newly accessible Arctic Ocean each summer, and much thinner ice cover at other times.

The context: The U.S. under President Trump has vowed to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and has been pursuing policies aimed at boosting its production of fossil fuels that lead to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. has also deemphasized Arctic diplomacy by eliminating the position of a special envoy for the region, while also seeking to boost its military presence in the region.

Original article appeared in Axios on 02/05/19 and can be found here.

Finland begins regulating crypto service providers

Bitcoin News

Finlands president has approved a law to regulate cryptocurrency service providers including exchanges, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of cryptocurrencies. The law will enter into force next week. Crypto service providers will need to register with the countrys Financial Supervisory Authority and meet statutory requirements.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA), responsible for regulating Finlands financial markets, independently announced Friday:

The Act on Virtual Currency Providers enters into force on 1 May. In accordance with the act, the Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) will act as the registration authority and supervisory authority for virtual currency providers.

The Fin-FSA explained that registration is required for virtual currency exchange services, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of virtual currencies. These providers must comply with statutory requirements. For example, they must be reliable and able to hold and protect client money. They must also segregate client money from their own funds and comply with AML and CFT regulations

The Fin-FSA noted that these new requirements are based on the May 2018 amendments to the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the Fifth Money Laundering Directive), adding:

All EU member states must include services related to virtual currencies within the scope of AML/CFT legislation by 10 January 2020.

Further, registration with the Fin-FSA does not allow the service provider to operate in another EU country as each member state has its own law that must be followed.

Prior to the president approving the law, Helsinki-based crypto marketplace Localbitcoins announced that it had been working on improvement measures to conform to the new regulation and had launched a new account registration process where users can verify basic information already during sign-up.

Original article appeared in Bitcoin News on 28/04/19 and can be found here.

Finlands new generation of climate heroes

BBC

The town of Ii in northern Finland wants to be the world's first zero-waste community.

They stopped using fossil fuels - and the municipality is reducing CO2 emissions faster than any other community in Finland.

Their target is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2020, which is 30 years ahead of the EU's target.

Since 2012 they've invested heavily in geothermal, solar and wind energy projects that have paid off: they now generate a profit of half a million euros a year.

They believe the key to successful climate action is education from a very young age. So how is Ii raising an environmentally conscious generation?

Original article appeared on BBC on 28/04/19. You can watch the full documentary video here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@HelsinkiTimes)

Image Credit: Lehtikuva
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts for children in struggling families,...
Curtis

"Yo dawg, I heard you like brazing."

It's no secret the Brits have a penchant for anodized bits and the blue co-ordination on this bike is super satisfying.

Mawis Bikes

Starling

400 [Failed to load instagram embed]https://instagr.am/p/BuqJpSUlsv2&maxwidth=1000&hidecaption=1

Prova Hardtail

The purple to raw fade is gorgeous

Vywokrs Sequence Downhill Bike

I forgot to get a picture of the full bike so here's one from Crankworx last year.

That link will soon be matching the rest of the frame in carbon too.

Moulds ready to go for round 2.

Push Suspension

Butcombe

Craft beers are no strangers to events like Bespoked. Cheers!

The Curtis Thumpercross seemed to go down so well we thought we'd include the XR-650 in here too. It's fairly similar in design but the execution is what makes these bikes so special.Germany's Mawis Bikes turned up with this wild titanium hardtail. Up front is an old Cannondale Fatty fork that has been tinkered with to provide 80mm of travel and fit 29 inch wheels.Starling showed up with more than just the Spur prototype that found a spot on the homepage earlier. Not wanting to be left out in a show largely filled with road bikes, Joe has built himself up a commuter klunker.Ben Boxer, a student at Bristol University, has been working with Starling on his dissertation project and this is the result. His aim was to refine the yoke and upright region of the swingarm using generative design software from Autodesk. It's a pretty funky final result and you can see what it would look like on a bike in the Instagram post below:The Prova hardtail was flown around the world from the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia to the UK just for Bespoked and it's going to be flown right back around the world again afterwards. Now that's commitment.Vlad Yordanov was at the show with his Sequence Downhill bike. This is still the first generation model but apparently some updates are on the way including a carbon linkage and a new layup to reduce the weight. He was battling to get it ready for the show but unfortunately just missed out, so expect to see an update soon - probably Fort William.Push suspension are now distributed by Saddleback in the UK and had brought some cutaways along to show off.
Six Remain in 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event; Riess, Loeser Still in Contention

May 03, 2019 Yori Epskamp

The penultimate day of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour 5,300 Main Event saw a field of 30 hopefuls being reduced to the final six. Each of these six will look fondly back after all is said and done, with 152,800 already locked up for their efforts, but the grand prize of 827,700 and the title of EPT Champion awaits the eventual winner to be crowned on Saturday, May 4.

Starting from pole position is Nicola Grieco from Italy. Grieco is looking to become the first Italian EPT winner since Antonio Buonnamo in 2014 and with 7,160,000 in chips, he's the odds-on favorite to do so. The passionate Italian will certainly be hugging the spotlights tomorrow and isn't afraid of a personal vendetta at the tables. Conor Beresford was one of the players to fall to Grieco after some personal back and forths, and the Italian also pulled off a bold three-barrel bluff on German pro Manig Loeser to help him secure the overnight chip lead.

Big Names Chasing EPT Main Event Title

Loeser and Ryan Riess are the two biggest names that will return at noon to the Salle des Etoiles in the Monte-Carlo Sporting. Loeser jumped into the chip lead in the middle levels of the day, courtesy of a big cooler against Nicolas Chouity. Loeser turned a straight while Chouity turned a set, and the former EPT Monte Carlo champ wasn't able to get away from it. From there on out, it was smooth sailing for the German high staker, who will return fourth in chips with 4,005,000.

2013 WSOP Main Event champion Riess could become the first-ever player to win both the WSOP Main Event and an EPT Main Event, and he has a shot to accomplish the improbable coming into the final day with 3,585,000 in chips. While that places him fifth out of six, it's still sixty big blinds, plenty to work with.

Rounding out the final table are Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000), a 27-year old Maltese transplant from Hungary whose bread and butter are normally cash games, recreational player Wei Huang (5,690,000) who spun it up from the shortest stack at the start of the day, and Luis Medina (1,105,000), the only real short stack at the final table. One of them will walk away with the coveted prize and will be nearly a million USD richer.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 4 Action

While the aforementioned six made it to the final table, 24 others fell along the wayside and missed out on the opportunity for EPT glory on Day 4. One of the most notable to drop was Iranian beauty queen Melika Razavi, who had been tearing it up in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for two days straight.

After a strong start to the day, Razavi's bid came to a screeching halt when she flopped flush-under-flush against Huang, one of the few players in the field that had her covered. With no time banks left, there was no escape and Razavi bowed out before the final two tables.

Iranian star Melika Razavi had to settle for 17th place in the EPT Main Event.

Several of poker's greatest tournament stars, such as Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford (11th - 50,930), Sam Greenwood (12th - 45,570), Christoph Vogelsang (18th - 32,150), James Romero (21st - 27,680), and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (22nd - 27,680) all busted on the penultimate day, as did former EPT champs Nicolas Chouity (16th - 36,620), Paul Michaelis (25th - 23,210) and Remi Castaignon (26th - 23,210).

Another high stakes phenom, Timothy Adams, did make the final table but ended up busting in eight place (78,030) after running his pocket queens into a turned flush of Katzenberger. Last to bust out on the day was Rustam Hajiyev (7th - 109,510), who shoved ace-ten into Loeser's pocket queens and didn't improve.

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Payouts

Place Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 827,700 $925,949 2 503,960 $563,780 3 353,880 $395,886 4 265,620 $297,149 5 206,590 $231,112 6 152,800 $170,937

The animated Nicola Grieco leads the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo final table.

Be sure to check back regularly to PokerNews on Saturday, May 5, the final day of the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo as the Main Event plays down to a winner. Action will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and coverage will follow along with the live stream.
After ten quick levels of 30 minutes each, Day 1 of the 25,000 No-Limit Holdem has come to an end with 17 players bagging up chips out of 39 entries. The tournament clock showed 41 entries in total with 11 reentries even though two of those entries didnt take their seats during the day. So at least 19 players will return for Day 2 tomorrow, Saturday, May 4 as the registration period is open until the start. Claiming the Day 1 chip lead is Spains Adrian Mateos with 186,500.

Mateos hasnt had much luck in the events here during the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino EPT as he hasnt cashed yet and this might be the last chance for the Spaniard to save the week. Trailing Mateos is Seth Davies with 176,000. Davies has cashed three times already over the past days, two of them were earned while reaching a final table, the biggest for finishing in eighth place in the 50,000 Single-Day High Roller. Third on the podium is Jean-Noel Thorel with 165,000. The Frenchman has already reached two final tables this week and will be looking to add a third to his results here in the Monte Carlo Bay Resort & Hotel.

Ivan Leow, Isaac Haxton, Steve ODywer, and Joao Simao all used three bullets with the latter the only one to not survive in the end. Foxen, Kazuhiko Yotsushika and PokerStars Ambassador Andre Akkari were responsible for the other reentries in the tournament. Both Foxen and Akkari have made it through to the final day of the event and the festival.

Sam Greenwood was eliminated from both the Main Event and this tournament

Sam Greenwood joined the field after beingeliminated from the Main Event in 12th place for 45,570 and spent some of his prize money buying into this tournament. Unfortunately for him, he was eliminated during the night but might be back before the start of Day 2. Kristen Bicknell and Hideki Izutsu both min-cashed the 25,000 EPT High Roller earlier on the night and decided to jump into the tournament too. They both made it through but with a below average stack, there is some work left for them to do to make the money stages in this event.

Some of the players who were eliminated during the evening who might return to the felt included Andras Nemeth, Chin Wei Lim, and Mikita Badziakouski. If they return, Day 2 will resume at 12:30 PM local time in the Salle des Etoiles with Level 11 which features a small blind of 1,000, big blind of 2,500, and a big blind ante of 2,500. Play will continue until a winner has been crowned so make sure to return for the final day of the live coverage by the PokerNews live reporting team.

Day 2 Seat Draw
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Rep. Gregory Meeks who serves on the Financial Services Committee said that Democrats could subpoena Deutsche Bank employees who have seen Trumps tax returns.

Rep. Meeks responded to Bloomberg report that Deutsche Bank had seen Trumps tax returns on MSNBCs The Beat with Ari Melber,  My reaction has been the Congress along with the ways and means committee, as we know, that our chair there has subpoenaed the IRS for those records. And what we have done on the committee, subpoenaed the banks for those records. If it comes to it, we could subpoena individuals with the bank who have seen the records to come testify.

Video:

Congress will follow the money and get Trumps tax returns

There is too much information in too many places for Donald Trump to be able to keep it all hidden. The power of the presidency is immense, but Trump cant stop witnesses from testifying about what they saw in his tax returns. The president is scared because Deutsche Bank is complying with subpoenas. Congress will eventually get Trumps tax returns. The efforts to get the tax returns are too vast to be stopped. Someone is going to get Trumps tax returns to Congress, and when they do, those Deutsche Bank witnesses will be able to testify to the potential fraud and crimes of Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Donald Trump continued to praise brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Saturday, saying, I am with him hours after it was reported that the country fired more test missiles.

In a bizarre tweet, the president said, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea & will do nothing to interfere or end it.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

As CNN noted on Saturday, If confirmed, the test is understood to be the first missile launch from North Korea since late 2017  and the first since US President Donald Trump began meeting the countrys leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump had previously bragged that North Korea was no longer firing test missiles because of him, even going as far as saying he prevented a nuclear war.

Trump is being played by dictators

Trumps praise of Kim Jong Un on Saturday, even after the North Korean dictator is starting to show more aggression, is just the latest example in recent days of the president bowing down to an authoritarian.

The president has also returned to his habit of publicly conspiring with Vladimir Putin, speaking by telephone with the Russian leader on Friday and agreeing with each other that Robert Muellers investigation was a hoax.

As PoliticusUSAs Sarah Jones also pointed out, President Trump failed to bring up Russian President Vladimir Putins meddling in our elections when they spoke for an hour. He also failed to tell Putin not to meddle in the upcoming election.

Throughout his two years in office, Trump has repeatedly elevated Kim Jong Un on the world stage while simultaneously checking off Russias wishlist and bowing down to Vladimir Putin  all while straining relationships with American allies.

Americas adversaries have the United States exactly where they want it.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
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Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance blasted Donald Trump on Saturday for licking Vladimir Putins boots during a phone call this week.

Nance compared Trumps behavior on the phone call  from attacking the special counsel investigation to letting Putin off the hook for Russian election meddling  to a famous movie villain.

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor, he said. What we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump.

Video:

Nance said:

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor and you know Darth Vader is evil, but so the emperor is a higher evil power. And what we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump. It was a disgraceful display that he would go on there and literally talk to the person who attacked the United States and the fundamentals of our democracy and praise him and work with him to call this a hoax. Worse than that, he dropped a hint that very soon Russian sanctions will be lifted.

Trump is completely owned by Russia

As Robert Muellers Russia investigation has concluded and Trump and attorney general William Barr push the false narrative that there was no collusion, the president is once again returning to his usual habit of heaping praise on Vladimir Putin.

But as Malcolm Nance pointed out last week, the special counsel probe investigated criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice, but it largely overlooked the question of whether Trump is compromised by Russia.

Through his behavior, and his refusal to release documents that show his financial conflicts, Trump is answering that question for us. He appears to be completely owned by Russia and he feels as emboldened than ever to show that publicly.

And as Nance has said, each day Trump remains in the White House bowing down to foreign adversaries, America will be in a national security nightmare.

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Trump called for MSNBC and other outlets to be banned from social media after some of his biggest alt-right supporters were banned for hate speech.

Trump called for MSNBC to be banned

Trump responded to some of his biggest alt-right supporters being banned by tweeting:

When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen! Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Trump wants some of the most prominent free press outlets banned from Twitter and Facebook, but pro-Trump propagandists, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech peddlers should have an amplified platform. The presidents demand is in line with an authoritarian view of the press. Trump does not believe in press freedom. He wants a media does not challenge or investigate him.

The media is supposed to push his propaganda, brainwash the citizens, and glorify him.

Trump wants the United States to become North Korea.

The free press is democracys weapon against Trump

Trump conflated hate speech, conspiracy theories, and propaganda getting peddled by the banned alt-right Trump supporters, with the role of the free press in investigating his administration. The press did not get the collusion story wrong. The president lied in his tweet.

The notion that Trump was cleared of collusion which isnt a crime that exists in the criminal code is a falsehood that has been pushed by Trumps attorney general, the president and his defenders.

The Mueller report found lots of conspiracy between Trump and the Russians, but as the report noted, key witnesses suddenly developed memory problems when it was time to provide essential details to Mueller.

Trump is trying to destroy the free press because this nation needs the Fourth Estate to save the country from his endless pit of lies.

Donald Trump is losing. His hate speech spewing supporters are being banned, and the institutions that safeguard freedoms are prevailing over this president.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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[Editors note: Correction and clarification. This version of the story corrects the reference to B92, the fact that in functions today mostly as a web portal. We also clarify that the publication Nedeljnik carries a Russian state media advertising insert that runs in many media outlets].

Sputnik Srbija leads the ratings for political disinformation among Serbian-language foreign media operating in the Balkans, according to an upcoming report by the fact-checking organization Raskrinkavanje.ba, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The report, which will be released on May 13, found that the Belgrade-based Russian government-owned international broadcaster is part of a disinformation hub that targets Serbian language audiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje.ba (Disclosures). In contrast, the Serbian language services of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and the BBC did not even show up in the disinformation algorithm.

According to President Vladimir Putin, when the Russian government designed its foreign broadcast media project back in 2005, it intended to try to break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.

In the Serbian-speaking part of the Balkans, Putins strategy seems to have succeeded.

Few people in the Balkans appear to know that Sputnik and Russia Today are Russian government-owned broadcasters, as their information is widely republished by local news outlets. Sputnik Srbija presents itself as a local media outlet that claims to cover topics others do not. In addition to producing original stories, it transmits content from RT, which does not broadcast in the Serbian language.

As Polygraph.info has frequently noted, Russia Today and Sputnik are far from being regular media outlets. According to media watchdog organizations, they were created to serve as the Kremlins information arm abroad.

Polygraph.info video by Nik Yarst.

More problematic, however, are the means these two organizations use to serve Moscows goalsnot through independent journalistic reporting, but mainly through disinformation. By mixing fact and fiction, playing on popular sentiments among foreign audiences and trying to sway public opinion in a particular direction that serves Moscows interests, these two organizations systematically pursue the Kremlins geopolitical goals, while discrediting journalistic principles in the process, according to Precious Chatterje-doody of Manchester University in the U.K.

Sputnik in Serbia

Sputnik set up a sizeable operation in Serbia in 2015, which continues to expand. It just moved to bigger premises in Belgrade, hiring more journalists  allegedly, even reporters who used to work for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Its editor-in-chief, Ljubinka Milincic, served as Serbias cultural attache in Moscow in the early 2000s, where she developed a fascination with President Vladimir Putin and subsequently dedicated several books to him. One of them, titled Vladimir Putin - Moja Bitka za Kosovo (Vladimir Putin  My Fight for Kosovo) was published in Serbian in 2007, while another, titled Fenomen Putin - Covek Koji Je Stvorio Sam Sebe (The Phenomenon of Putin - the Man Who Created Himself), was published in 2011.

Under the slogan Sputnik Tells the Untold, the Moscow-launched news portal and radio program reaches large Serbian-speaking audiences as well as people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo, who understand Serbian.

The well-funded Kremlin media effort benefits from the predicament of Serbias cash-strapped news outlets, which are ready to republish free content to save money. And Sputniks stories, though widely seen as biased and misleading, are readily available for free distribution through numerous radio and TV stations throughout the Balkans, according to Jelena Milic, director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS) in Belgrade.

Serbia has too many media outlets that are not financially viable, Milic told Polygraph.info. Some of them serve as fronts for political influence and it suits them to have free-of-charge media production that favors Russia. Others simply dont pay attention to the accuracy of Sputniks stories. This allows the content of Sputnik and RT to proliferate in all Serbian media, turning it into a disinformation hub.

Disinformation Proliferation

Milic said that the most underestimated problem with Russian influence and disinformation in the region is the high-level of penetration of Sputnik Srbija in the local media environment, especially through popular radio stations. Sputniks news production has replaced all news broadcasts at the top of the hour as well as the main daily news and analysis broadcast of Radio Novosti and other stations in Serbia. In reality, there is no original news reporting by these stationsit is outsourced to Sputnik Srbija.

One of Sputniks main platforms is the B92 web portal, the successor of once-legendary Serbian radio station that earned awards for independent broadcasting during the final years of the Milosevic regime. RTV B92 today functions mostly as a web portal and operates Play Radio and O2.TV.

Another one is Studio B, which found itself in a difficult financial position after Western media assistance dried up. The radio station re-broadcasts Sputnik programs, along with those of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Germanys Deutsche Welle. This creates confusion among Studio Bs listeners: they can receive two completely different versions of the same event depending on the hour of the day they listen to the radio.

You have two diametrically opposed points of view, said Ivana Vucicevic, editor-in-chief of Studio B, in a May 2017 Reuters article. That way we can satisfy the broad spectrum of people who listen to us.

For example, on the 20th anniversary of NATOs military operation in Yugoslavia to prevent Slobodan Milosevics regime from killing and ethnically cleansing the Kosovo Albanians, Sputnik portrayed NATOS intervention as an act of aggression against the Serbian people. Sputnik is currently running a 79-days campaign to commemorate each day of NATOs intervention, under the slogan Serbia Remembers. The production uses a multimedia platform, combining online writing and graphics with audio and visual materials for a stronger effect.

This content has been widely broadcast by many local news outlets, amplifying Sputniks influence on the Serbian public. As a result, even if the countrys leadership wanted to move on from the painful spring of 1999, improve relations with Kosovo and join the European Union, the popular opinion shaped by the local outlets transmitting Sputniks content could become an obstacle, according to Milic.

Ready to Rectify

The media in Serbia and Republika Srpska have been compromised by political and economic pressure and they have become susceptible to Sputniks influence, said Ivana Cvetkovic Bajrovic, Associate Director for Europe at the National Endowment for Democracy. The political environment created by the leaders is not conducive to critical thinking about what that influence might mean.

Bajrovic told Polygraph.info that on the other side is the economic pressure -- the need to drive traffic to media websites. It is all about attracting visitors to the websites, often by packaging fake news to increase traffic and revenues. But when confronted about publishing disinformation, many news outlets seem ready to rectify the situation and take down the post. This has been the experience of the Bosnian fact check website Raskrinkavanje.ba https://raskrinkavanje.ba/, Bajrovic said.

The study by Raskrinkavanje.ba has identified a disinformation hub that targets the Serbian-speaking populations in the Balkans and covers Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje (Disclosures). The group has identified 30 outlets, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as sources and carriers of disinformation. One of them  Sputnik Srbija  is foreign, but two of the key local sources of disinformation are funded by the government of the BiH entity Republika Srpskathe Radio Television of Republika Srpska and the News Agency of Republika Srpska (SRNA). Moscow has long supported the government in Banja Luka, with the cooperation intensifying lately in the defense sector as well.

Apart from direct disinformation practices, Sputnik has had a clearly biased reporting of BiH politics, our analysis showed,Brkan told Polygraph.info. It is mostly demonstrated through a positive attitude toward the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), the ruling party in Republika Srpska, and its president, Milorad Dodik. Sputnik was also one of the media outlets advocating for the SNSD party during the election campaign in 2018.

Sputnik Narratives

According to Jelena Milic, the Russian broadcasters key mission in Serbia is to deconstruct the established narratives concerning Serbias responsibility for war crimes committed during the Yugoslav conflicts, and thus negate the rulings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It also aims to deepen the sense of victimhood that is deeply rooted in the Serbian society with the purpose of alienating it from the West.

The narratives offered by Sputnik and multiplied in the local media include:

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians.

Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians. Depleted Uranium Pollution. Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002.

Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002. Kosovo is Serbian Land. This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction.

This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction. Denying the Rulings of The Hague . Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague.

. Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague. Anti-EU Rhetoric. Sputniks anti-EU rhetoric is more careful, as Belgrade has repeatedly stated that it intends to join the EU while remaining Russias partner.

Moscows Influence - an Advertising Insert

The Russian government also spreads its influence in the print media in Serbia, as it does elsewhere in the world, by placing paid supplements or inserts in local media. One of them is R Magazin, is an 8-page paid insert, included in the widely-read weekly Nedeljnik ten times a year.

The supplement is funded by the Russian government and prepared by Russia Beyond the Headlines, a multilingual resource on Russian politics and culture sponsored by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia's state newspaper.

The insert, or similar ones, appear in other newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post as RT noted, at time in 2006. More recently, Western publications, including the New York Times, have faced criticism for publishing the broadsheet inserts published by the same entite

The operation ultimately failed. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport.

New York-based journalist Marija Sajkas reported for the Committee to Protect Journalists that all material appearing in R Magazin, including Serbian language articles and photographs, are delivered from Moscow and that the management of Nedeljnik has no influence over the supplements content.

Nedeljnik Managing Editor Marko Prelevic stated that, in the print edition, the supplement is clearly identified as sponsored content and so his editors do not verify the R Magazine content, but that most of the issues of R Magazine have almost no political content.

However, an insert featured a March 29 interview with Russian paratrooper Alexei Dogadin from the 2nd Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Kosovo crisis in 1999, who participated in the famous march on Pristina in June 1999 when his battalion made its way from Tuzla to Kosovo in an attempt to seize the Pristina airport.

The attempt ultimately failed, because Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria closed their airspace for Russian airplanes heading to Pristina to complete the takeover. This critical fact is omitted in the article. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport in Pristina.

The article was visible in the online version of the newspaper, initially, but appeared later to have been taken offline. Prevelic said R Magazine articles "are seldom published on our website."

Prevelic said he believes the insert was actually promoting the popular Russian movie that featured some Serbian actors. He said that (Russia Beyond) offers the most interesting reading materials on Russia and its rich history, the science breakthroughs and technology, the culture and the reportage from the largest country in the world.

However, Sajkas said the March 2016 issue included analysis about why Russia is the winner in the Syrian war and a memoir by a Russian war correspondent on the 1999 NATO bombing campaign that hit civilian targets in Serbia.

The Responsibility

Russian disinformation is burgeoning in the Serbian-language media space because of the lack of critical thinking among many politicians and some of the Serbian-language audiences about the sources of news and the implications of false narratives, according to Bajrovic.

Adnan Huskic, president of the Center for Election Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says that the absence of a strong media makes it easier for political elites to use disinformation in order to maintain control. When you dont have properly developed media systems in your country that are supposed to provide an unbiased and professionally ethical journalism then we have a huge problem, he said at a recent Atlantic Council event.

Milic argues that Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are particularly vulnerable to fake online information as their democratic systems are still fragile, including the rule of law and independent media.
The Carroll Building at the corner of North Market and East Bay street downtown is up for sale. Before Hooked Seafood opened in the building's corner storefront earlier this year, the Noisy Oyster had its downtown restaurant there. File/Wade Spees.
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The bones were to return to the ground. But not before they made one last journey.

They were the skeletal remains of six people. Two women, two men and two children. Held in white boxes, wrapped in indigo-colored blankets and riding in a horse-drawn hearse.

The bones were headed to what is now the site of Charleston's performing arts building, the Gaillard Center. It was near that same dirt, six years ago, that workers found them, more than 250 years after they were first buried. Saturday's solemn ceremony wasn't just for them: It also served as a civic act of remembrance for many, many like them.

The 36 whose remains were uncovered mostly had roots in west and central Africa. Others were from the Caribbean and South Carolina.

Coins found in graves Long-held traditions apparently followed at Gaillard burial site Copper pennies meant to cover the eyes of the dead were discovered with two individuals at the Gaillard grave site, an indication that one of 

Led by the hearse, dozens of followers crossed George and King streets in downtown Charleston. Many wore flowing robes, shirts and pants of golds and purples. Whites and yellows. Browns, oranges and greens. Onlookers gathered as the swell of people, some children and others up in years, passed by.

For a city still grappling with its dark and unequal racial history, the celebration of the remains presented a moment. The walkers' clothing, the metronomic drumming that guided them and the chanting that lifted them was purposefully rooted in Africa, in honor of the enslaved ancestors forced to toil its land.

In death, those same people were often forgotten in grave sites that were later covered up, forgotten or destroyed. The 36 people were found in what was another of those unmarked burying places.

As the walkers crossed Anson Street to join the 30 other remains already inside an open burial vault, a hundred or so people packed in close under towering oak trees. Crowding around the vault, they took pictures of the remains inside and the top that was about to seal them.

The rectangular top featured the names given, at an earlier ceremony a week ago, to each of the people found in the burial ground.

Each name was a nod to their African heritage. Written above them, on the top, were the words: "Into heaven your spirits we now release, we bless you and we thank you and pray your souls may know peace."

One by one, pallbearers clutching white wooden carriers moved the remaining boxes from the hearse toward the vault, near a freshly opened grave.

Dr. Ade Ajani Ofunniyin, founder and director of the Gullah Society, helped bring them through an opening in the crowd, placing each of the boxes inside the vault with the others. Ofunniyin followed by placing cards on top of the indigo blankets that covered the boxes, with messages written for the dead.

"To my beloved ancestors, thank you for life and making your journey to Charleston, SC," offered one person. "You are honored and may God bless your souls." It was signed "with love."

The drumming paused as the Rev. Willie Hill, from the nearby St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, gave a brief sermon. The bones of the people in the boxes in front of them were free, he said. Nothing could set them in bondage again.

Ofunniyin, followed by reading each of their names listed on the vault, which people repeated in response.

Coosaw. Risu. Kwabena. Kuto. Talata. Nina. Lisa. Pele. Ganda. Kidzera. Ajana. Nana. Rere. Juba. Kiana. Jode. Anika. Daba. Babatunde. Zimbu. Welela. Fumu. Amina. Leke. Lima. Tima. Pita. Banza. Ola. Omo. Mbangi. Isi. Wuta. Ulume. Yawo. Ori.

The drumbeat, singing voices in unison and swaying bodies continued as the final clods of dirt later thumped on the sealed vault, after it was lowered into the earth.

With names anew, they were returning to the Charleston soil once again.
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.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
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.
Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune.
St. Marks resumes community suppers

St. Marks Episcopal Church in Lake City, will resume its community suppers on May 8. The suppers run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Beginning this season, everyone is invited to join St. Marks for a special program, an organ presentation by Coleen Fowler, beginning at 4:15 p.m. in the church sanctuary. Enjoy a John Phillip Sousa march and, with audience participation, several patriotic anthems or American folk songs with improvisations in the accompaniment.

At the end of the performance the audience will write a song! The program is free; however, donations are accepted to start a music fund for future events. Please enter at the historic red door or handicap side entrance into the sanctuary. Everyone is welcome to join the community supper in McNairy Hall following the organ program.

The supper will include Tri Hotdish  tater tot, Italian or chicken rice  salad, dinner rolls, desserts and beverages. Coleen will provide piano selections during the supper. Audience participation is welcome. The Lake City Girl Scouts will be there to help prepare, serve and clean up to earn their community service badges. Please enter McNairy Hall at the parking lot side entrance for the supper.

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St. Marks is located across from Patton Park at 110 S. Oak St., Lake City.

Sunday-morning church services are at 10 a.m. The first four Sundays of the month, the service is held at St. Marks. The fifth Sunday of the month, service is held at the Mayo Clinic Health Care Center and everyone is welcome to join us there, as well. The Episcopal church invites everyone to receive Holy Communion.

Womens Connection hosts May luncheon

A May Flowers luncheon will be put on by Rochester Christian Womens Connection, 11:45 a.m. May 14 at the Rochester Eagles Club, 917 15th Ave. SE.

Dress Barn of Rochester will present the special feature, a spring fashion show. Nancy Bridges, of White Bear Lake, will speak on "The Challenges of New Beginnings," how to cope with lifes changes.

Cost to attend is $15 per person. Reservations are required by May 11. Call Jan, 507-288-1144, or email mploetz@hbcsc.net.

Cowboy Church is May 5 at Cherry Grove

Cherry Grove Cowboy Church will be held at Cherry Grove United Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. May 5. Singing starts at 5:45 p.m. Jim Pries will be providing special music.

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Cowboy Church is nondenominational and another way of spreading Gods message through music. The service includes a mix of country, Christian country, cowboy and Southern gospel, and bluegrass music.

Musicians are welcome, and should contact Cindy Seabright at seabright.cindy@gmail.com or 507-272-1682 one week prior to the service. Cowboy Church services are held the first Sunday each month.

Cherry Grove United Methodist Church is at 18183 160th St. in the small community of Cherry Grove, rural Spring Valley. The church is handicap accessible.

You dont have to be a cowboy to visit!

Artists will share lives, work

Artist Ann Riggott will be speaking at Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester, for A Time for Women, 6:30 p.m. May 9.

Her devotion is titled "Life as an Artist." Also on the program is a demo by Ardis Souhrada called "Stitches in Time." Souhrada is well known for her beautifully embroidered and quilted creations, which she will be talking about and showing.

Refreshments will be served. All women are welcome to attend.

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For questions or more information call or text 507-269-7653. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/a.time.for.women .

Calvary hosts six-week yoga event

Join a yoga and meditation event for six weeks this spring at Calvary Episcopal Church.

The series, "Sacred Circle Yoga and Meditation Spring Series: The Yamas of Yoga," begins May 21 and continues each Tuesday through June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the churchs Crawford Hall.

The yamas are the ethical principles that guide the physical practice of yoga and encourage a "right way of living." Patricia Barrier, a Rochester registered yoga teacher, will begin each class with instruction on a yama that will inform our gentle yoga practice and end with a short meditation helping us to apply that principle to our daily life. In this way, we move from the physical practice to a living yoga that informs our actions and helps us live compassionately and in harmony with all other people, creatures and our environment.

The class is suitable for beginners as well as those experienced in yoga who wish to deepen their practice. All aspects of the practice are adaptable to a chair or can be done with assistive devices. Yoga equipment is provided or bring your own mat.

The cost of the entire series is $90, payable upon registration. Please register by calling Linda in the church office, 507-282-9429. Payment accepted by cash/check, credit card or PayPal.

Calvary Episcopal Church is at 111 Third Ave. SW.

Program compares Luther, St. Francis

A program at Assisi Heights in Rochester, "Francis of Assisi and Luther of Wittenberg," has been rescheduled to 6:30 p.m. May 13.

The program compares the lives of two Christian historical figures.

Francis of Assisi preceded Martin Luther by 300 years. Both were shaped by the monastic life and both were concerned with bringing the "Good News" to the people in ways they could understand. This presentation will explore some of the things that Francis and Luther shared, as each left an indelible mark on the life of the Church.

Our presenters participated in the pilgrimage programs to Assisi, Italy. Dr. Phil Quanbeck II, Professor of Religion at Augsburg University in Minneapolis Minnesota, gives this presentation with Dr. Ruth Johnson, Consultant in Internal Medicine, who also serves in the Executive Health Program and in Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine.

Admission is $10 preregistered/prepaid, or $15 at the door.

Register online, tinyurl.com/y6eqrrfe , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.
DENVER

Jerry Burton has lived in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood here for the past few months, in an orange tent pitched on a sidewalk. He and the other homeless campers on the block  Burton proudly calls the encampment "Jerr-E-Ville," and has declared himself the unofficial mayor  are defying the citys urban camping ban, which means they are always bracing for a visit from the police.

A caseworker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to find permanent housing for the 57-year-old Marine Corps veteran whose tent is surrounded by his belongings neatly arranged in small plastic bags. In the meantime, Burton is hoping that Denver voters next week will overturn the citys camping ban, thanks to an initiative he and others petitioned to get on the ballot.

The ballot question, dubbed the "Right to Survive," would declare that everyone has the right to rest, eat and shelter in public places without being harassed. Supporters say it would shield people experiencing homelessness from unfair citations and arrests.

But business, environmental and social service organizations fear it would proliferate dangerous encampments in parks and on sidewalks without helping to house people.

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"I find Initiative 300 to be one of the most frightening and heinous initiatives that Ive witnessed in my career," said Jeff Shoemaker, a former Republican state representative and executive director of the Greenway Foundation, a nonprofit that works to revitalize the South Platte River and its tributaries.

First of its kind

The Denver initiative is the latest front in a campaign advocates for homeless people have been waging at the state level for years. Lawmakers in California, Oregon and Colorado have repeatedly introduced bills that, by articulating a "right to rest," would override local ordinances that penalize people for living in public spaces. Lawmakers in Washington state proposed similar legislation this year. None of the bills passed.

So Denver Homeless Out Loud, an advocacy group that backed the Colorado legislation, decided to take the issue to voters. If the first-of-its-kind "Right to Survive" ballot initiative is successful  a late January/early February poll taken by the opposition campaign suggested it could be approved  its supporters are likely to try to pass similar initiatives elsewhere in Colorado and across the West.

"If it passes, we hopefully may not have to run another statewide initiative," said Democratic Rep. Jovan Melton, sponsor of the Colorado Right to Rest bill. "We may be able to go just city by city to deal with this."

About 552,000 people in the United States are living on the street, in emergency shelters or in transitional housing, according to the latest count from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most people experiencing homelessness are clustered in expensive cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.

In Rochester, attention has come recently to an emerging issue of homeless people living and sleeping in public skyways. First-year Mayor Kim Norton convened a group of advocates, public officials and other citizens to find permanent housing for those homeless people.

Laws against lying down

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Cities nationwide have laws on the books intended to keep destitute people moving and out of sight. One-third of 187 cities surveyed by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, prohibit camping in public. About a quarter of cities surveyed prohibit sleeping in certain public places, and almost half prohibit sitting or lying down in public.

Even if a person is just sitting outside or sleeping in a clean tent, they can be told to either move on or be issued a fine, said Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney at the law center. "Even those activities are treated as public health and safety threats, when they are not."

The Denver City Council in 2012 passed an urban camping ordinance that prohibits people from pitching tarps and tents or even covering themselves with a blanket in public places. Other city ordinances ban aggressive panhandling, public urination, and sitting or lying down in a public right of way, among other activities.

Other Colorado cities have passed similar laws, said Nantiya Ruan, a law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. "In our largest cities, we disproportionately cite and jail those who are homeless for these types of ordinances, and it costs the city a lot of money to do so," she said.

A lot of sleep deprivation

But enforcement is spotty. Denver police officers typically tell people violating the camping ban to move rather than throwing them in jail. Under the ordinance, police officers are required to give offenders a warning and try to connect them to assistance, such as addiction treatment, before making an arrest.

The camping ban still has an effect, said Terese Howard, an organizer for Denver Homeless Out Loud.

"The impact is a lot of sleep deprivation, its a lot of stress and mental health struggle, for constantly not knowing where you can go; its physical health problems," she said. "Its safety risks, people being raped and assaulted after being forced to move into unsafe areas."

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Many people have no choice but to sleep outside, Howard said, because the city of Denver doesnt have enough shelter beds for the estimated 3,445 people who need them.

Even when beds are available, theyre not open to everyone. People cant enter shelters when they have alcohol or drugs with them. And some people dont want to stay in a noisy, crowded shelter, separated from their partner and their pets.

Julie Smith, director of marketing and community services for the Denver Human Services Department, said theres sufficient space in city shelters to handle demand. The Denver Animal Shelter can temporarily shelter pets and at least one city shelter will take people regardless of substance abuse, she said.

Some prefer it

Sitting in the sunshine outside Impact Humanity, a Denver store that gives away clothes, a young man with sandy hair who declined to share his name said hes been homeless for two years and prefers to sleep outside in good weather.

On winter nights, he said, homeless people may have to trespass to curl up in a sheltered place, such as an abandoned stairwell. "I notice a lot of people who freeze to death  you cant just throw up a tent and all the gear it takes to stay warm," he said.

Debbie Hyatt, 67, was also waiting for her turn to enter the store. She sat under an awning that cast a cool shadow on the pavement, shaping her nails with a pink nail file. She said she sleeps in a shelter now but slept on the sidewalk for a while after getting bedbugs from a shelter mattress.

Sleeping outside isnt ideal for anybody, she said. And it could be safer. "There needs to be a designated ground area," she said, protected from dangers such as cars skidding off the curb.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and other legal aid groups have successfully sued various cities to change policies that disproportionately affect people experiencing homelessness.

For instance, Denver recently pledged to give homeless people more notice prior to cleaning up camps and to offer more storage lockers, toilets and trash cans as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the citys homeless population.

Fierce fights

But when advocates take their civil rights arguments to state lawmakers, they face serious opposition. The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a San Francisco-based organization, has tried and failed for almost a decade to get "right to rest" legislation passed.

City leaders, law enforcement and business groups have pushed back every time, said Paul Boden, WRAPs executive director. In Colorado, Rep. Melton said, his Right to Rest bill was opposed by city leaders who didnt want the state to interfere with their ordinances.

The political fight in Denver, if anything, has been fiercer than the state battles that preceded it. The campaign against Initiative 300 has raised over $1.5 million, about 19 times the amount raised by the campaign backing the initiative.

The opposing campaign, funded primarily by business groups such as the National Association of Realtors and the Downtown Denver Partnership, says the initiative would stop the city from enforcing laws that protect public safety without helping people access housing.

"We do not believe this policy helps support those experiencing homelessness  or the broader community," said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, in an emailed statement. "We know that we can do better and believe we must work to expand upon services that support the dignity of people who are experiencing homelessness in our community."

The measure would supersede a host of local ordinances, including park curfews, according to city officials interpretation of the broadly worded measure. The city says it could make police officers, park rangers and outreach workers reluctant to help people living on the street, as doing so could be considered harassment.

The ordinance also could make it more difficult for city staff to address health threats such as hepatitis A, rodents, feces, urine and discarded needles, the city said.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has said he doesnt support either the Right to Survive initiative, or the state Right to Rest bill.

Trash, sanitation problems

Trash discarded by homeless people is already a problem along the South Platte River, said Shoemaker of the Greenway Foundation. Before taking kids on outdoor excursions, he said, members of his education team scour the area for drug paraphernalia and human waste. An explosion of encampments in the city would further threaten the rivers health, he said.

Denvers Right to Survive initiative has even been criticized by groups that supported the Colorado Right to Rest bill.

"I wouldnt necessarily say that were opposed to the measure, because we understand the need for this conversation," said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a housing, health care and supportive services provider.

But her organization worries that the initiatives language is vague, and that it doesnt allocate resources to address homelessness. "If it does pass  theres still no additional resources put into the system to make sure we dont have the need for something like Right to Survive," she said.

Ruan, the law professor, said courts would decide how to interpret the statute and noted that after six months the city council could step in to modify it. "It can be corrected by the city council, but it will force them to do something about this issue," Ruan said of the councilmembers.

Howard, of Denver Homeless Out Loud, said concerns about human waste and trash are distinct from the camping ban. "Absolutely, theres a desperate need for porta-potties, for trash services, and so on," she said. "But thats true regardless of whether we have the right to sleep or not."

People who live on the streets dont want the city to be overwhelmed with trash, either. "I dont know how comfortable I feel about the parks turning into wastelands and dumps and stuff," said the sandy-haired young man outside Impact Humanity. Maybe the city could do more to clean things up, he suggested.

They also want permanent solutions. "Hopefully, they will build housing that people can afford," Burton said.

Regardless of the May 7 election result, the people behind the initiative and the state bills like it say theyll keep fighting. "We understand that were going to hear no. And were really good at getting our asses kicked," WRAPs Boden said. "But were going to keep coming back."

Voters in Denver will cast ballots on Ordinance 300, the so-called "Right to Survive" initiative.

This is the text of the ballot question:

"Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt a measure that secures and enforces basic rights for all people within the jurisdiction of the City and County of Denver, including the right to rest and shelter oneself from the elements in a non-obstructive manner in outdoor public spaces, to eat, share accept or give free food in any public space where food is not prohibited, to occupy one's own legally parked motor vehicle, or occupy a legally parked motor vehicle belonging to another, with the owner's permission, and to have a right and expectation of privacy and safety of or in one's person and property?"
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 1, 2019 - Back in 2013, Timothy Koeth, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland, received a rather extraordinary birthday gift: a little cloth lunch pouch containing a small object wrapped in brown paper towels. As Koeth peeled back the layers, his eyes grew wide with astonishment. He immediately asked, "Where did you get that?"

Inside he found a heavy metal cube and a crumpled message, a provocative note wrapped around a stone that came crashing through the window of history. It read, "Taken from Germany, from the nuclear reactor Hitler tried to build. Gift of Ninninger."

Koeth's friend grinned, picked up the 5-pound block of uranium metal and handed it to him. Though modest in size, the cube was heavy, dense and steeped in lost history. Koeth accepted the cube and its note as an invitation to the adventure of a lifetime.

In the May 2019 issue of Physics Today, Koeth and Miriam Hiebert, a doctoral candidate working with him on this project at UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, describe what they've discovered while exploring the German quest and failure to build a working nuclear reactor during World War II.

Uranium is weakly radioactive, and this particular cube measures about 2 inches on each side. "It's surprisingly heavy, given its size, and it's always a lot of fun to watch people's reaction when they pick it up for the first time," said Hiebert.

A Chandelier of Nuclear Elements

This cube represents one of 664 uranium metal components that were strung together in a form reminiscent of a chandelier to comprise the core of a nuclear reactor experiment that a team of German scientists attempted to build toward the end of the World War II, including Werner Heisenberg -- a theoretical physicist and one of the key visionaries of quantum mechanics. The chandelier was submerged in heavy water to regulate the rate of fission.

The Germans' experimental lab was small and located underground in the town of Haigerloch -- it's now the Atomkeller Museum, which the public can visit. "This experiment was their final and closest attempt to create a self-sustaining nuclear reactor, but there wasn't enough uranium present in the core to achieve this goal," said Koeth.

One of the most surprising things Koeth and Hiebert have discovered so far is that while the 664 uranium cubes at Haigerloch weren't enough to build a self-sustaining reactor, an additional 400 cubes were located within Germany at the time.

"If the Germans had pooled their resources, rather than keeping them divided among separate, rival experiments, they may have been able to build a working nuclear reactor," said Hiebert. "This highlights perhaps the biggest difference between the German and American nuclear research programs. The German program was divided and competitive; whereas, under the leadership of General Leslie Groves, the American Manhattan Project was centralized and collaborative."

How Close Did the Germans Get?

How close did the Germans get to a working nuclear reactor? This is difficult to answer, but "it's been calculated that the reactor experiment in Haigerloch would have needed about 50% more uranium to run," said Koeth. "Even if the 400 additional cubes had been brought to Haigerloch to use within that reactor experiment, the German scientists would have still needed more heavy water to make the reactor work. Despite being the birthplace of nuclear physics and having nearly a two-year head start on American efforts, there was no imminent threat of a nuclear Germany by the end of the war."

Another important aspect of Koeth and Hiebert's work is an effort to track down the cubes recovered from Haigerloch that ended up being shipped to the U.S. "Cubes were distributed to various individuals around the country," Hiebert explained. "We don't know how many were handed out or what happened to the rest, but there are likely more cubes hiding in basements and offices around the country, and we'd like to find them!"

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

"We hope to speak to as many people as possible who've had contact with these cubes," said Hiebert. "As much as we've learned about our cube and others like it, we still don't have an answer about how exactly it ended up in Maryland 70 years after being captured by Allied forces in southern Germany."

Koeth and Hiebert are also trying to learn more about the fate of the other 400 cubes that ended up on the black market in Europe after the war.

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MIAMI  Why let the rising sea sink your Miami lifestyle when you can go with the flow aboard the Arkup houseboat?

Arkup features the ingenious engineering feature of four hydraulic pilings that stabilize the vessel on the sea bottom or allow it to lift like a house on stilts above floodwaters, king tides and hurricane-whipped storm surges.

South Florida sea levels are projected to rise 6 to 12 inches by 2030, 14 inches to nearly three feet by 2060, and 31 inches to nearly seven feet by 2100, according to the Southeast Florida Climate Change Regional Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group. Miami Beach and the Keys may be inundated first, but the entire region is recognized as one of the most vulnerable on the planet.

In this brave new waterworld, Arkup wants to keep you high and dry on your floating home.

Noah, who constructed his ark to withstand 40 days and 40 nights of apocalyptic rain and Biblical flooding, would approve. He probably could not afford the modern version, which has a sticker price of $5.5 million, but he would like the comfort, spacious bathrooms and retractable swimming platform.

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Arkup, solar-powered and equipped with a rainwater-collecting-and-purifying system, is a self-sustaining home, a green adaptation for our blue future.

"Its more like a house than a boat, but you never lose the unmistakable feeling that youre on the water," said Nicolas Derouin, managing director of Arkup.

Arkup was designed and built in Miami by Derouin and Arnaud Luguet, two French engineers who live here and have a passion for the oceans and environmental preservation.

They have witnessed the impact of climate change and sea level rise in their adopted hometown and around the world. On Monday, Indonesia announced it will move its capital out of Jakarta, a swampy, flood-prone and drowning metropolis of 30 million people.

"It is happening before our eyes," Derouin said. "Coastal areas are the most desirable but also the most at risk. Miami is implementing resiliency measures. We hope Arkup can be a small part of the solution."

Derouin and Luguet were inspired by the Dutch floating communities of IJburg and Schoonschip.

"In the Netherlands, one third of the country is below sea level," Derouin said. "They want to develop housing alternatives. Instead of fighting the water, live on it."

Lake Union in Seattle has 500 permanently docked houseboats. Paris has restaurants, a hotel and is building a 2024 Olympic venue on the River Seine. Dubai has floating vacation homes. In San Francisco, where Sausalito has a houseboat community, the Danish firm BIG has proposed building an archipelago of floating villages connected by ferries on the bay. The Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club in Weehawken, N.J., which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, may reinvent its marina as a houseboat haven.

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"We decided to design a boat that looks and feels like Miami, is compatible with a subtropical climate and gives the owner the freedom and flexibility to move," Derouin said.

Their ultimate goal is to create an affordable model, develop floating neighborhoods and partner with island hotels to build eco-bungalows on surrounding waters.

"We want to design small apartments on the water for students, townhouses for families," Derouin said. "We want to create housing solutions for a broader audience. Thats the vision behind Arkup."

Derouin and Luguet collaborated with Dutch firm Waterstudio and pioneering aqua-tect Koen Olthuis, who has designed a floating mosque, floating prison, floating spa and floating resort and helped conceptualize a proposed development of 29 private islands with lavish sustainable homes  a villa flotilla  on Maule Lake in North Miami Beach.

"He is an advocate of urban planning on the water," Derouin said.

Fom the outside, Arkup looks like a glass box. On board, it doesnt look or feel like a boat. No rocking, for one thing. It has two air-conditioned levels, with 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and 8-foot ceilings on the second. There are three bedrooms upstairs with three full and roomy bathrooms  no cramped and tilting heads on this boat  and two balconies.

Downstairs, theres an inviting living room, kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and a small room with a Murphy bed that could be an office or guest quarters. Interior design is by Brazilian company Artefacto. A sliding outdoor deck adds 500 square feet of floor space when fully extended.

At the stern, the swim platform can be lowered into the water to create a mini pool. Theres a boat lift for your kayak or amphibious vehicle.

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The bow deck has an outdoor kitchen and console controls for navigation and operating the 136-hp rotating electric thrusters, which emit no noise and require no diesel fuel, and the anchoring system, which allows adjustments of each piling to level the boat.

Arkup has a maximum speed of 7 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles that can be increased with additional battery banks or a backup generator.

"We cant match the navigational capacity and speed of a yacht," Derouin said. "You couldnt cruise around the world, but you could use Arkup in the Bahamas or British Virgin Islands, for example.

"Our vessel is 75 feet long and 32 feet wide and we have the same livable space as a yacht that is 110 feet long. Arkup is for people who prioritize space and comfort over speed and range."

Arkups steel hull and superstructure is built to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds (up to 156 mph). The 40-foot long pilings, or spuds, enable the boat to anchor in up to 25 feet of water and elevate above the waves. The draft is five feet. Its got a 4,000-gallon freshwater tank and an equal-sized tank for waste water. The 2,400-square-foot roof is covered with 36-kilowatt capacity solar panels that recharge the battery.

"A motor yacht is the opposite of sustainable," Derouin said, pointing to a gigantic yacht parked behind Arkup and to passing motorboats that pause while curious passengers take a look at Arkup. "Large engines. Massive fuel consumption. Pollution. On Arkup you can live completely off the grid with no bills for energy or water. It is zero emission, carbon neutral. In this house, you dont need to rebuild your seawalls or move your air conditioner to higher ground. Compared to the costs of a waterfront home, Arkup is competitive."

Plus its got panoramic views of the downtown skyline and dolphins swimming by the side deck.

So far, the partners have one buyer and a waiting list of potential buyers who want to take the boat for a test drive.

"Weve had an amazing response," Derouin said. "Our clientele includes owners of private Caribbean islands who think Arkup is better than building a beach house. Or people who live full or part time in Miami and want a toy for the weekends, to take friends out on the bay. We have people who live elsewhere and Arkup would be their second or vacation home. And people who see it as their primary home, docked at a marina. Its a luxury product for a niche market but our dream is to develop affordable versions with the same principles."

Miamians who dont want to flee could take to the sea. As oceans swell and coastlines shrink, trade house for houseboat.

"We need more entrepreneurs and scientists developing innovative ideas because climate change is not slowing down," Derouin said. "Heres one new way to live in harmony with the water."
The newest addition to the Med City restaurant scene started serving dinner this week.

Le Petit Cafestarted serving dinner on Thursday in the under-renovation historic Avalon building at 301 N. Broadway.

The European-style restaurant is the creation of Chef Deirdre Conroy, known locally for her food cart of the same name at the Rochester Farmers Market.

When asked to describe Le Petit, Conroy said, "We call it elegant dining. No TVs. Open and simple. Never rushed. I want people to feel as they would as guests in my house sitting by the fireplace."

Dinner, which includes two courses, costs $31. Diners have five entree choices as well as five starters and five desserts from which to choose.

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After selling food and drinks at the Farmers Market for the past two years, Conroy has a lot of contacts with local farmers to source pork, vegetables and milk. Eggs and other ingredients will come from her own farm.

"Everything will be as regional as possible," she said.

In addition to serving dinner, Le Petit also has a coffee and pastry counter thats open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Le Petit is ramping up to its full vision due to the ongoing construction as part of owner Angela Martins renovation of the 100-year-old building. The partially complete dining area now seats 50. That will grow to 73 once the sunroom addition to the southwest corner is complete.

On May 11, Conroy will add lunch from noon to 2 p.m. to Le Petits offerings. On Mothers Day, she will introduce a three-course Sunday afternoon tea.

"I hear some people are already buying hats for it," said Conroy with a grin.

Eventually, Le Petit will add an 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily breakfast into the mix.

Conroy feels the old brick building, arguably the most historic Rochester building without a direct Mayo connection, is the perfect setting for her restaurant.

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It was built in 1919 by a Jewish man named Sam Sternbergas the Northwestern Hotel, a place where Jews could stay at a time when most Minnesota hotels refused them.

Verne Manningbought the building in 1944 and changed the name to the Avalon.

It was the first hotel in Rochester to accept black guests, as well as white. Well-known people, such as Duke Ellington, stayed at the Avalon Hotel.

By the 1980s, the building was unused and run down. Myrna Hamiltonpurchased it in 1987 and renovated it to house her Hamilton Musicstore.

When Hamilton retired in 2008, Stephen Lalamabought it and moved in his Rochester Pro Music.He changed the name to Avalon Music, to honor the buildings history.

"Shes a dear of a building, bless her," said Conroy of it.
Three years ago, Craig Nelson was so close to graduating from Crossroads College that he had already lined up a pastors position at a Black River Falls, Wis., church.

But then the Rochester Christian college closed, and Nelsons employment situation looked as bleak as Crossroads future. When Nelson explained his predicament to the leaders of the church, they asked him to stay on as pastor anyway.

"Please, stay on as our pastor," Nelson recalled the leaders saying. "We dont want you to leave just because you dont have a degree on the wall."

Now, a happier ending may be beginning to unfold for Crossroads College as well.

Three years after suspending its operations, the college is being resurrected as a satellite of Hope International University, a private Christian university based in Fullerton, Calif.

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It is a modest beginning for the new entity, now called Hope International UniversityMinnesota, compared to what it once was. Unlike the plush, pastoral, 37-acre campus the college once occupied in southwest Rochester, its new home will be rented space at Rochester Community and Technical College.

And its first class, which started earlier this year, is made up of a mere three students. It has one faculty member.

Still, the opening of the Hope satellite is seen as the restoration of Christian, nondenominational education in the region, an official said.

Hope plans to grow enrollment to 20 students when the school officially launches this August  and then to between 50 and 100 students in the years ahead, says Todd Looney, the schools director of admissions and marketing. The school is also opening a satellite in Las Vegas.

Crossroads and Hope had earlier tried to work out a deal that would put Hope in charge of the campus, but Crossroads debt proved to be a stumbling block too big to overcome. Last year, Crossroads agreed to sell the campus to Bear Creek Christian Church for $3.95 million to clear its debt.

Yet hope for a rebirth of Crossroads never died, Looney said. Even after Crossroads closed its doors, the board of trustees never disbanded, ever hopeful of the possibility of a partnership with Hope, Looney said.

"This relationship goes back 20 some years. We were probably talking to Hope about partnering in 1998-99, but it never came to fruition," he said.

There is no reference to Crossroads in either the new schools name or logo. And new students may not be aware of the back story. But Hope is seen as carrying on the work and legacy of Crossroads and will benefit from the relationships and network of churches that has supported Crossroads over the years, Looney said.

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Crossroads started as Minnesota Bible College in 1913, and its first campus was in the Twin Cities. It moved to Rochester in 1971, where it later changed its name to Crossroads.

Hope offers a two-year Associate of Arts degree, which includes a certificate of Christian ministry. The program is a mix of online learning and traditional classroom work. Once completed, students can pursue Christian-based bachelor degree programs online via Hope or transfer to a secular four-year institution, Looney said.

Nelson, the pastor whose plans were almost upended when Crossroads closed, has a unique perspective on the schools history. He was one of its students when the school closed. He is now one of Hopes first three students.

Nelson said he was heartbroken when Crossroads closed. Family members had been attending the school back when it was a Bible college in the Twin Cities. So when he was offered a chance to complete his degree at the new school, he seized the opportunity.

"When I was approached, I said, Oh, absolutely. Sign me up," Nelson said.
Want to know whats being done to protect water in Rochester?

Troy Erickson, the citys water resources manager, will discuss the latest efforts in stormwater management at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Marys University of Minnesota  Cascade Meadow, 2900 19th St. NW

The 90-minute presentation is part of the citys Stormwater Presents Speaker Series, which presents free quarterly programs on topics related to stormwater management.

On Tuesday, Erickson will discuss the basics of the citys stormwater management program, as well as action taken in 2018 to meet Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements. He will also discussion plans for future efforts aimed at improving stormwater quality throughout the city.
BYRON  A pungent odor coming from a barrel on a rural Byron property resulted in an investigation Thursday by public safety officials.

A property owner called the Olmsted County Sheriffs Office Thursday afternoon to say a strong odor was coming from a barrel that had been on his property for several years. He noticed the odor after moving the barrel, which had caused a small amount of liquid to leak out.

The Rochester Fire Department Chemical Assessment Team assisted the Byron Fire Department in analyzing the liquid. It was determined that the substance is baling acid, which is used by farmers to reduce the potential for spontaneous combustion in hay. It is not a hazardous substance in its current state.

Also assisting at the scene were Byron First Responders and the Minnesota State Duty Officer. There were no injuries.
A Rochester man was arrested and will likely be charged with assault following an altercation Thursday afternoon.

The case began when an 18-year-old Rochester man went to the apartment of 49-year-old Gene Johnson in the 1900 block of 8-1/2 Street Southeast to collect a debt of $30, according to Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

The suspect had allegedly been "too high" on the first visit, Moilanen said, so the victim returned later. At that point, Johnson allegedly confronted the victim with a knife and chased him around the parking lot threatening to kill him.

When police arrived, Johnson was inside his apartment, where he was arrested. A knife was found in the residence, Moilanen said.

Johnson is expected to face charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats.

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The victim was not injured.
Without a new pretrial services program offered through Olmsted County Community Corrections, Douglas Ray Howard says he would have likely sat in jail, unable to make bail, awaiting trial on drug charges.

"It would have been majorly different outcome because I wouldnt have had a chance to take care of anything," he said. "A man who has nothing takes care of things differently than a man who has something, and this is a result of this program."

In the four months that the program has been an option, judges have referred more than 200 people to it. The program is for people who have been charged with a crime, but are assessed as not posing any public safety threat. Program participants are assigned a pretrial services agent who, at a minimum, reminds them of upcoming court dates but can also do required check-ins and help a person connect with the services they need. It gives judges a non-monetary option to better ensure a defendant will return to court.

Howard, with another program participant, Anne Marie Jessen-Ford, both spoke highly of it in a recent interview. On that day, Jessen-Ford officially finished her time with the program after being convicted and sentenced on the charge for which she was arrested.

Jessen-Ford said that without pretrial services agent Niles and one of her colleagues, she doesnt know where the couple would have been.

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Howard said: "It gives people a chance to show they are not all about what they have been charged with."

Knock on wood

While it is still too early to tell how successful the program is, many stakeholders have had positive things to say about it.

Cautious not to jinx the program, Travis W. Gransee, director of Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted Community Corrections, knocked on wood before saying that, overall, the program is going well.

"There are certainly people that have been returned to the community that have then struggled with some of their release conditions and that have been returned to custody, so I dont want to give the impression that things have gone super, super," Gransee said.

For those low- and moderate-risk clients and even high-risk clients who would have previously sat in jail, unable to make bail, Gransee said the program has been able to manage them in the community.

"The percentage of those that have been returned to custody is still pretty small," Gransee said.

There has been some anecdotal feedback from clients who have been through the criminal justice system before but this time recognize the program as something different, Gransee said.

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The pretrial program was created to address multiple issues  including a jail nearing capacity and a push nationally for pretrial reform.

"There should be another alternative for folks who cant afford to make bail," Gransee said. "We had a problem, we had a solution and, oh, by the way, the solution is also a solution for about three or four other things."

How it works

On Monday morning, Nikki Niles and her colleague Jamie Gascho went through the days arraignment list in advance of heading down to the Adult Detention Centers gym to meet with individuals who had been arrested over the weekend.

A few red lines crossed out the names and charges of those would be ineligible for the pretrial services program. If the person is in custody on a probation or family matter, they would be ineligible. The same is true if its a child support issue or a criminal charge that is low enough to not warrant any sort of monetary bail/bond amount.

As Niles and Gascho arrive to the gym at the ADC, a stack of completed pretrial assessment forms await them. One by one, the men and women waiting in the gym are called to sit with Niles or Gascho and go over the questionnaire. If one hasnt been done, they fill it in for the person as they ask each question. If the person has filled out the form, they still get asked each question again and are given a chance to expand on their yes or no answers. Notes are written on the sheet that will help Niles or Gascho once they go back to their offices to input the assessments.

Sitting with a client, Niles introduces herself and explains briefly what will happen in the coming hours.

"You will go to court," she said. "Recommendations will be made about your release."

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That could mean monetary bail/bond is set or the person could be released to the pretrial services program without monetary bond.

The Pretrial Services Program, Niles continued, is not probation and has two goals  making sure a person appears in court and ensuring public safety.

The questionnaire is used to create a report that is then given to the defendants attorney, prosecutors and the court, and it can be used to make arguments over the persons release.

Heading back up to her office, Niles will use the assessment in addition to information on the persons criminal history, conversations with someones probation officer if they are currently on probation and details from the brief conversation with the person that dont fit in a yes or no checked box.

The end of bail?

Lawsuits have been filed across the country alleging that setting cash bail unattainably high is unconstitutional. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union would prefer to entirely do away with a cash bail system.

"We abolished debtors prisons in this country decades ago, and the notion that somebody would sit in jail because they do not have financial resources is just anathema to our sense of justice in this country," said Teresa Nelson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

Historically, the only tool prosecutors have had to ensure a defendant returns to court is bail, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. But bail, he said, can sometimes be onerous.

"The idea behind this whole pretrial services program is really to try and remove that monetary condition and still give the court and all the participants some satisfaction that the defendant will be back and we can monitor their public safety," Ostrem said. "We are not trying to supervise these people but we are trying to, lets say, use some gentle reminders that they are supposed to be back in court. There are other tools we can use to ensure their public safety but we dont need to force some sort of a monetary condition on them to ensure that they come back."

Steps have been taken to make Minnesotas court system more uniform. The Minnesota Pretrial Assessment, which is modeled on an assessment created in Hennepin County and has been "statistically validated," is now required to be completed in all jurisdictions. The assessments goal is to look at an individuals risk factors through a series of questions. But some find the questionnaire problematic.

"The idea of having a tool that is statistically validated is a good instinct, but unless you are cognitive about the limits of data and the limits of algorithms in eliminating racial biases, you are going to be replicating systems of oppression for people of color," Nelson said.

Individual circumstances

She said it was important to look at the individual circumstances of a person.

Olmsted County commissioners approved approximately $290,000 to fund three employees to run the pretrial services program. All three pretrial services agents have been with Olmsted County Community Corrections for a number of years.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said the hard costs to house one detainee is $200 per day. If a detainee is being housed in Olmsted County for another county or for the Department of Corrections, they are invoiced for $55 per day, Torgerson said. The vast majority of those at the Olmsted County Jail are there pre-trial, meaning they have not been convicted of a crime and are therefore, not serving a sentence.

The daily average number of people has gone down since it spiked in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to 155 people per day, Torgerson said it was too soon to say how big of an impact the program has had on jail population numbers.

The conversation about alternatives to incarcerating people who cant afford bail began more than five years ago when the jail noticed a spike in numbers, according to Torgerson.

Getting some people out during pretrial might allow them to keep their jobs, Torgerson said.

"The charge doesnt go away but at least being able to get them out, maintain some sort of lifestyle, hopefully it would be a positive one," he said. "Get them out, get them home and yet still keep track of them and make sure they arent causing more trouble out there, we are all better for it."

The program doesnt just benefit those charged with crimes but also benefits the wider community.

"Any time people are in the community, working on their sobriety, working on gainful employment," said Lauri Traub, managing attorney for the Rochester office of the Public Defender Third Judicial District, "those are good things for the community."
Thumbs up to Soldiers Field track plan

Initial plans to pave the running track at Soldiers Field with asphalt met with resistance from local runners. Rather than push ahead anyway, Rochester city officials wisely held off on their plans and waited for the Save the Track citizens group to offer an alternative.

As a result, the track will be paved with a more comfortable running surface, and in turn, the Save the Track group will help fund upkeep of the track.

That qualifies as a win-win for everyone involved. Credit goes to city officials who took into consideration input from the community. It preserves a valuable resource in the hart of the city.

Now, the hope is we'll see more people make use of the track when all work is completed next summer.

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Thumbs down to winter driving

It's getting closer, whether we like it or not. This week's dusting of snow is a reminder that with November comes the need to refresh ourselves on safe winter driving practices.

First and foremost, of course, is to reduce your speed on icy and snowy roads. Along with that, increase the distance between your vehicle and the one you're following. Accelerate and decelerate gradually. Make sure your windshield wipers are in good working order, and that your windshield washer reservoir is full.

All of this is second-nature to most Minnesotans, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that winter driving is as much an art as it is a science.

By the way, don't forget to familiarize yourself with Rochester's new even-odd street parking plan for winter.

Thumbs up to Minnesota's ACT scores

Minnesota students have maintained their best-in-nation average score on the ACT college entrance exam -- at least among those states where the majority of graduating seniors take the test.

Minnesota's graduating seniors achieved an average score of 21.4, a slight improvement from last year's average score of 21.3, according to results released this week. By comparison, the national average is 20.7.

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In most states, a majority of students take the SAT college entrance test. In the Upper Midwest, though, the ACT is more popular. Wisconsin's average score was 20.3 and North Dakota's was 19.9

While improvement should always be a goal, Minnesota's schools are obviously doing a good job of preparing graduates for college success.
Every now and then we get the itch to travel. We want to leave Guam and see the world. Read more
With only 51 known reef manta rays off Guams shores, the death of a male ray named Streaker in Tumon is impactful, said Julie Hartup, executive director of the Micronesian Conservation Coalition.

He is one of our main males, Hartup said. So to have him gone is definitely going to be felt within the population.

Streaker was found dead in April after it appeared he had been hit by a Jet Ski or boat, according to Hartup, who was able to identify him from video taken by divers in the area. Hartup said that unfortunately, Streaker's remains could not be located.

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Hartup said while the reef manta ray is not on the endangered species list, MCC is working to change that because of their micropopulation.

The value of Streaker could be priceless, according to Hartup, who said studies have shown a single ray is worth about $5 million in ecotourism or potential tourism.

Rays such as Streaker, who Hartup estimates was at least 10 years old, can live for up to 30 or even 40 years and reach a length of up to 3 meters long. Female reef manta rays give birth to an offspring every three to five years, she said.

The rays are targeted in Asia and Indonesia for their gills, which are used for medicinal purposes in some cultures.

Hartup said the community can help keep the rays safe by not chasing them. Let them come to you, she said.

The reef manta rays are found primarily on the leeward side of the island, she said.

For those looking to do more to help the plight of the manta ray locally, the Micronesian Conservation Coalition offers an Adopt a Manta program where individuals or businesses can pledge money to help support and fund the study of the animal. More information on the program can be found on the MCC website at micronesianconservation.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
POTTSTOWN  Pottstown Police held a community meeting Thursday night to address the recent wave of violent crime in the borough.

Concerned residents were spilling out of the meeting room at borough hall looking for seats at the forum. A table outside offered handouts on this years crime statistics as well as pamphlets on making the community a safer place.

Im not trying to make Pottstown sound like its a crime-ridden town but I want you to know what the statistics are, said Pottstown Police Chief Michael Markovich holding a graph illustrating calls for service and crimes for Pottstown Police Department. The sky is not falling in Pottstown. This has been occurring in Pottstown my entire career.

To say violent crime has gone down over the past five years is just not true. Violent crime has gradually been going up in Pottstown over the past five years, specifically firearms, said Markovich.

Markovich noted that a majority of the crimes listed on the handout were thefts and that over the last five years, thefts have gone down, explaining the decrease.

He added that those numbers are likely related to incidents about five years ago in which he said the borough experienced a rash of thefts by young teenagers.

Markovich linked those incidents to current gun violence, stating:

About five years ago we had a bunch of young kids breaking into cars, breaking into houses and garages and sheds. We would come in in the morning and find out that 20 vehicles were broken into  what we had was a gang of 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds breaking into cars and houses for thefts. Fast forward five more years, now we have a problem with 17-year-old, 18-year-old and 19-year-old kids shooting people.

The discussion sparked a lot of responses from the community.

While some stated that there needs to be some accountability for the parents of these children, others noted that the problems are multifaceted.

While few younger people were present at the meeting, one 14-year-old addressed the group, reminding attendees that many children struggle at home with parents who are dealing with their own issues and, as a result, may resort to crime as a means of survival or for other reasons.

A lot of us are talking a bout helping the kids and everything but once they go back home, theyre in situations with parents who are addicts or cant read, they cant write. Im not saying they get an excuse for everything but some of them dont know how to come to a meeting or get support for their kid or get their kid the help that they need, said one attendee.

Everyone has said very similar things. We know that there are problems but unfortunately, you cant pinpoint all of the issues and name it as this is the reason, said Katina Bearden, Pottstown School Board vice president. Its a summation of several factors, including mental health, including family issues, including peer pressure. You can have five kids from the same family and not all five are going to turn out the same way.

A few in attendance had suggestions for how police could improve their relationship with residents in the community. While one resident suggested more contact with patrolling officers, such as a knock on the door to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, another posed questions about how to make citizens more aware of positive events happening in the borough.

Markovich added that they will be adding more officers to patrols over the next few months.

One of the common ideas shared among many of the attendees at Thursdays meeting was the need for developing a community relationship with youth.

We as a community have an opportunity right now to engage with the young people in the middle school. Young people need to know that you care about them, look in their eyes and talk to them, said David Charles. Theres students in the middle school that need you to connect with them. They are the now, theyre not the future.

To help kickstart community efforts, several attendees mentioned meetings planned to help improve Pottstown.

For all of you here this evening who are feeling encouraged to become more involved in the community, I want to invite you to our PCA meeting. It stands for Pottstown Community Action. It is being held this upcoming Monday the 6th at 6 p.m. at the Victory Christian Life Center on Washington Avenue. We are working really hard at getting involved at making this community our community, said resident Wendy Cangialosi.

Mayor Stephanie Hendricks also added that they are currently working on implementing a block captain program. The program would designate a person on a neighborhood block who will field issues, questions and help with communication in the borough. The hope is to help the community unite and to provide a person on each block that neighbors can trust.
NEWLIN  To environmentalists, preserving open space from development makes good sense. To economists, doing so makes good dollars and cents.

That is the message that a study commissioned by Chester County officials and completed, with input from a myriad of sources, concluded. That finding was highlighted during Thursdays event here marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the countys open space preservation program.

As part of the summit held at the Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Land Preserve, the county commissioners unveiled the results of the study, Return on Environment: The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Chester County.

The detailed report closely followed a similar survey conducted in 2011 by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Both studies argue that saving land from development has economic, environmental, and public health benefits. Its all not just maintaining pretty views for the tourists, the message is.

A video shown to those attending the event Thursday highlighted those benefits, illustrating that open space preservation has provided the county not only environmental but also financial benefits for the past three decades.

Chester County was the first in the region to formally set aside funds for a rigorous open space preservation program, and has now determined the economic value of the existing open space, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline while speaking to the crowd. Green fields, preserved farms and community parks are more than just pretty places that contribute to our quality of life  they are true assets that generate significant economic value for the county.

According to a county press release about the report, homes in the county are valued at over $11,000 more when they are located within a half-mile of preserved open space, according to the study. In total, its a gain of more than $1.65 billion for the countys homeowners and economy.

Protected open space is a major factor in planned growth of a community and contributes to the positive health of those who live there, Kichline said in the release. In fact, recreational activities on open space account for over $170 million in avoided medical costs every year.

There are also environmental benefits associated with open space preservation. If protected lands were lost to development, the county would need to spend about $97 million a year to replicate vital services such as flood control and air and water pollution mitigation through costly alternative methods, according to the report.

Open space is a big part of the cultural character of Chester County, stated commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone. Chester County conservancies are respected and strong  historically and in numbers. We appreciate all the work that the 11 land trusts in Chester County do to maintain the high quality of life here.

The study also notes that it is less expensive to preserve land than to develop it. Residential development often costs more through community services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance, sewer systems, and new schools. In contrast, farms and protected open space provide more tax revenue for local governments and school districts than they require back in service expenditures.

Open space creates jobs and attracts people who spend in the community. Each year open space accounts for $238 million in spending and $69 million in salaries. Protected farmland puts about $135 million back into the economy each year, and preserved open space accounts for roughly 1,800 jobs in the county, according to the report.

Steps taken by Chester County 30 years ago have more than paid off, noted Commissioner Terence Farrell. The investment is providing a great return and one that is unique to Southeastern Pennsylvania. Its impressive that nearly half  or 45 percent  of all conserved land in this region is in Chester County.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Alex Acosta, still somehow the Secretary of Labor, apparently wants us to believe that, if anything, he pushed too hard in prosecuting sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney generals office, and not because we werent doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive, Acosta told the House Education and Labor Committee in response to questions from Rep. Frederica Wilson.

Really? A federal investigation of Epstein revealed that he had engaged in sex-trafficking and the abuse of dozens of women, many underage. Yet, Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, allowed Epstein to plead to only two state prostitution charges, one involving a minor.

Consequently, Epstein served just 13 months in state prison. He was housed in a private wing at the Palm Beach County jail and allowed work release privileges. Epsteins year of incarceration reportedly included trips to New York and the Virgin Islands.

In addition, a federal judge found that the Epstein plea deal violated the Crime Victims Rights Act because of the decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility. The Department of Justice is currently investigating whether Acostas actions as U.S. attorney amounted to professional misconduct.

If the Epstein prosecution was too aggressive, what would an appropriate prosecution have yielded? An apology from the government and payment of Epsteins attorneys fees?
Advocates of abolishing the death penalty claim that innocent defendants have often been executed. Im not sure whether these advocates have been able to show that this has ever happened in modern times, but a New York Times piece by Nicholas Kristof makes a pretty good case that Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate, is innocent of the murders he was convicted of committing.

Cooper, an African-American, was convicted of murdering four people in 1983. The victims, all White, were a couple, their daughter, and a boy who was sleeping over at the couples house.

The couples son, who survived the attack, told police that the assailants were White. Hairs found in the victims hands seemed to confirm this account. In addition, a woman told police that her White boyfriend, a convicted murderer, was probably involved in the attack. To support this statement, she gave deputies his bloody overalls.

The deputies, says Kristof, threw away the overalls and arrested Cooper. He awaits execution.

Kristofs lengthy article is worth reading in full. I want to focus on the role of Sen. Kamala Harris, a candidate for her Partys presidential nomination, in the long legal battle that followed Coopers conviction.

Readers will recall that Harris was Californias Attorney General before she became a Senator. By the time of her involvement in the Cooper saga, DNA testing had become available for use in cases like this one. The availability of such testing is part of what gives supporters of the death penalty a high degree of confidence that the innocent wont be executed

Harris, though, refused to allow the use of DNA testing in Coopers case. Indeed, according to Kristof, she showed no interest in the case.

Its almost as if Black lives dont matter to Kamala Harris.

Harris did become interested in the case after the online version of Kristofs article appeared. She emailed him to say I feel awful about this.

Harris also put out a statement saying:

My career as a prosecutor was marked by fierce opposition to the death penalty while still upholding the law and a commitment to fixing a broken criminal justice system. Ive long been an advocate for measures to improve and make our system more fair and just. As a firm believer in DNA testing, I hope the governor and the state will allow for such testing in the case of Kevin Cooper.

Harris did not explain why, as a firm believer in DNA testing, she refused to allow it in Coopers case. Nor did she explain why, if shes a fierce opponent of the death penalty, she couldnt be bothered to look into whether a man who faced that penalty was innocent.

As for fixing a broken criminal justice system, a good start would be not electing grandstanding opportunists like Harris to positions as prosecutors.

Harris should feel awful. She is a hypocrite and a disgrace.
Justines family filed a civil lawsuit against former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis Police Officer Matthew Harrity, the Minneapolis Police Chief and the City of Minneapolis in federal court here this past July. On Thursday evening the city settled the case for $20 million, $2 million of which the family will donate to a Minneapolis Foundation fund to fight gun violence in the city, as the Star Tribune puts it in its article on the settlement. The MPR story is here.

The family retained Robert Bennett to bring the civil lawsuit. Bob is Minnesotas go-to attorney in police misconduct and excessive force cases. When I spoke with Bob after he filed the lawsuit this past July for Notes on the Damond Complaint, he told me the use of deadly force in this case was the worst [hes] seen since he took his first such a case in 1980. He paused to do the arithmetic for me: Thats 38 years. That remains true now that its 39 years.

As one might have anticipated from Bobs evaluation of the case, the settlement sets a new city record for the settlement of such cases. It is over four times as large as the citys previous record ($4.5 million). Bob also represented the plaintiff in that case.

Minneapoliss race hustlers are having another field day with the settlement. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could not bring himself to contradict them or say that the size of the settlement reflected the egregious facts of the case. He could not bring himself to deny that race and institutionalized racism in the police department had anything to do with it. At his press conference after the guilty verdict Frey yammered on about historical and ongoing racialized trauma.

Mayor Frey would only allow that the circumstances of this case were unique. He asserted that he could not say whether this was the worst [case] or not. If that is true, however, it is true only in a political sense. See Bob Bennetts July 2018 evaluation of the case quoted above.

The civil case had been stayed on the motion of the city while the criminal case against Noor was pending. It was settled at a previously scheduled mediation. Now that the case has been settled when the stay might have been lifted  I dont know whether it would have continued pending appeal  I think one can reasonably infer the city did not want Bob to conduct discovery in this case. At his own press conference following the settlement, Bob alluded to the policies that had allowed Noor to make it onto the force in the first place.

It occurred to me during the Noors trial that the price the city would pay in the civil case regardless of the outcome in the criminal case represented an especially appropriate form of justice. The citys taxpayers should rightly pay the piper for putting former Mayor Betsy Hodges and her handpicked police chief in positions of authority. That is one way of looking at the resolution of the civil case.
Frances Yellow Vest movement began as a grassroots protest movement with legitimate grievances, especially one over a government tax on fuel. For quite some time, though, the movement has been dominated by assorted thugs, including political extremists and anarchists, who get high on smashing windows and damaging property.

On Wednesday, May Day, the thugs once again took to the street, and not peaceably. In one incident, demonstrators entered the Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital. About 50 of them forced open a locked metal gate at the rear of the hospital and entered the grounds. Some ran up a stairway and tried to enter the intensive care department. Medical staff blocked the door.

Demonstrators claimed they were just trying to escape from the tear gas the police force had used to disperse them. Maybe. But I doubt that anyone needed to burst into the intensive care unit to avoid tear gas. Moreover, if the protesters hadnt thrown chunks of pavement at the police, they wouldnt have had to worry about tear gas and the hospital wouldnt have had to worry about an invasion.

When it was all over, Christophe Castaner, the French Interior Minister, said that protesters had attacked the hospital. The protesters called this fake news, saying that there was no attack, just an attempt to escape from tear gas. They demanded that Castaner resign.

Castaner is a crony of President Macron. Before the Yellow Vest street protests began, I wrote that he is not qualified to be in charge of French internal security. His failure to come to grips with the violent protests has confirmed my view.

However, the controversy over Castaners characterization of events at the hospital seems overblown. Attack or not, the protesters had no business disrupting a hospital. And they have been attacking shops and setting fires for months. If Castaner hurt their feelings, thats tough. They deserve no sympathy.

Castaner, while insisting that the demonstrators are generating fake controversy, has backed off from the word attack. He now describes what happened at the hospital as an intrusion, which it certainly was.

Can everybody go home now?
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Bone Marrow Processing System Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy are usually performed on the back of the hipbone, or posterior iliac crest. An aspirate can also be obtained from the sternum (breastbone). For the sternal aspirate, the patient lies on their back, with a pillow under the shoulder to raise the chest. A trephine biopsy should never be performed on the sternum, due to the risk of injury to blood vessels, lungs or the heart.The need to selectively isolate and concentrate selective cells, such as mononuclear cells, allogeneic cancer cells, T cells and others, is driving the market. Over 30,000 bone marrow transplants occur every year. The explosive growth of stem cells therapies represents the largest growth opportunity for bone marrow processing systems.Europe and North America spearheaded the market as of 2016, by contributing over 74.0% to the overall revenue. Majority of stem cell transplants are conducted in Europe, and it is one of the major factors contributing to the lucrative share in the cell harvesting system market.Get More Information About Bone Marrow Processing System Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3184 In 2016, North America dominated the research landscape as more than 54.0% of stem cell clinical trials were conducted in this region. The region also accounts for the second largest number of stem cell transplantation, which is further driving the demand for harvesting in the region.Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period, owing to rising incidence of chronic diseases and increasing demand for stem cell transplantation along with stem cell-based therapy.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3184 Japan and China are the biggest markets for harvesting systems in Asia Pacific. Emerging countries such as Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa are also expected to report lucrative growth over the forecast period. Growing investment by government bodies on stem cell-based research and increase in aging population can be attributed to the increasing demand for these therapies in these countries.Major players operating in the global bone marrow processing systems market are ThermoGenesis (Cesca Therapeutics inc.), RegenMed Systems Inc., MK Alliance Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG, Harvest Technologies (Terumo BCT), Arthrex, Inc. and othersReport Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/bone-marrow-processing-system-market View More: HEALTHCARE, PHARMACEUTICALS & MEDICAL DEVICESAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
Trends Market Research (TMR) has launched the report titled, Forage Seed Market : Research Analysis, Trends, Competitive Share and Forecasts 2018 - 2025: Trends Market Research.

Forage Seed Market

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The global forage seed market is expected to witness a stable growth during the forecast period. Owing to, increasing demand for forage feed from various agricultural farms and livestock farms the demand for forage seed is expected to increase throughout the forecast period. In addition, increasing number of poultry birds and cattle is also expected to boost the demand for forage feed. Increasing global meat consumption and demand for dairy products are also fueling the demand for forage seed. Livestock farmers in order to improve productivity are focusing on good quality of forage goods in order to meet changing customer requirements. The scope of the global forage seed market also provides an insight into value (USD Million) and volume (Kilo Tons) of forage seeds across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world.Forage feed manufacturers use legumes and grass seeds to plant pastures and hayfields. Based on product types, the forage seed market is categorized into alfalfa, clover, chicory, ryegrass, lablab, and fescue among others. Increasing meat consumption is one of the major factors driving the demand for forage seeds globally. Nowadays, consumers are very health conscious, and they prefer to consume organic food and meat products. To meet consumer requirements, producers are focusing on using high-yielding forage crops for feeding livestock instead of using additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Forage feed producers prefer to avoid additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Owing to these factors, the demand for forage seeds is expected to boost the demand for forage seed in the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3589 In addition, high yielding, forage seeds also help agricultural producers in crop rotation and risk diversification by enhancing the soil quality. These forage seeds are used for feeding livestock including poultry, cattle, swine, and aquaculture animals. Farmers prefer to use forage seeds for feeding purpose, as these are available at lower prices and cultivation of these seeds generates some economic benefits such as crop rotation, risk diversification, and improve soil structure and prevention of soil erosion.The global forage seed market, by livestock type is segmented into  poultry farms, cattle farms, pork or swine farms among others. Due to increasing demand for poultry meat and eggs, poultry farms are focusing on providing good forages to the poultry birds that increases the demand for forage seeds. In addition, the growing dairy industry is further contributing to the growth of forage crops that helps to increase the demand for forage seeds. Increasing livestock size helps to increase the demand for forage seed that are used for animal feeding.Request For Report Table of Contents@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3589 In this report, the market has been segmented into by product type, by livestock type and by geography. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), and supply chain of the forage seed market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2018 - 2025. We have also covered the current market scenario for forage seeds and highlighted its future trends that will affect the demand for forage seed.By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. The present market size and forecast till 2025 have been provided in the report.Geographically, the U.S. in North America is expected to experience robust growth in the coming years followed by France and China in Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. Currently, the market for forage seed in India and China are comparatively smaller as compared to other countries, but the forage seed market is expected to witness a decent growth in forecast period with a high CAGR growth rate.The report also analyzes different factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the forage seed market. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help the agricultural and livestock farmers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their business strategies accordingly.Report Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/forage-seed-market
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Liquid Applied Membranes Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Liquid Applied Membrane (LAM) is a lowly thickness waterproofing film that is employed in the form of a liquid covering to vertical along with horizontal surfaces. The LAM is, in addition, believed as a cutting-edge waterproofing chemical as well as its solid, consistent property, in addition to the ability to comply with each setup is making its need increase in the worldwide construction industry. Utilization of terrible value construction material before, trailed by poor support of the building construction is making a solid market for restoration as well as the repair that may possibly be settled by liquid applied membranes. Around 40-45% of the requirement for LAM originates from restoration and repair ventures. LAMs are additionally effective in lessening splits in the concrete, as a result driving its requirement all over the world.Governments of several emerging and emerged nations have covered the dual requirement for infrastructure evolution together with sustainability and durability. This is boosting the need for green buildings, subsequently bringing forth a strong market prospect for liquid applied membranes. The requirement for enlargement of the infrastructure industry in the emerging economies together with the high center on investment is likely to enhance the expansion of the market all through the years to come. The government is likely to take various activities relating to the sector that is likely to emphatically influence the market. All-inclusive research is being led by the makers with the end goal to create innovative products.The market players have been concentrating on item separation that is probably going to fuel the development over the approaching years.Get More Information About Liquid Applied Membranes Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3186 Expanding usage of bio-based and eco-friendly products is considered to boost the demand all over the years to come.Its properties, for example, environment-friendly nature, low viscosity, as well as low odor are probably going to encourage an expansion in the use of the product in the infrastructure industry. In addition, these have simple application over complex surfaces and are financially savvy when contrasted with waterproofing sheets. The product has a long time span of usability and is anything but difficult to re-apply which is foreseen to fuel the development throughout the following years. Also, LAMs are being favored for enhancing the general structure of industrial, residential as well as commercial buildings. They could be utilized related to high-performance polymers and materials with the end goal to improve their waterproofing properties.In terms of region, Europe and North America were the foremost markets for the product during 2016 on account of encouraging government policies in addition to recovery of the construction sector. Enhancing infrastructure in addition to expanding infrastructural expending combined with increasing disposable income of normal buyers is likely to fuel the market for the liquid applied membrane in North America.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3186 The Asia Pacific regional market is considered to be a standalone of the most attractive markets for liquid applied membrane because of higher economic expansion in China & India. Because of developing urbanization as well as industrialization in emerging nations, for example, China and India, development in the Asia Pacific are likely to be the most noteworthy in the following couple of years.The foremost worldwide market players active in this market comprise Pidilite Industries, Sika AG, BASF SE, Chembond Chemicals, The Dow Chemical Company and Fosroc International. During February 2013, Paul Bauder brought in BauderTEC SPRINT DUO, a novel bitumen waterproofing product with a self-adhesive coating. Likewise, several market players are incorporated all over the value chain that alleviates uninterrupted raw material supply in addition to less production expenditure.Report Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/liquid-applied-membranes-market View More:CHEMICALS & MATERIALSAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
The MTN Group has announced that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, will resume as a member of its board on July 1.

A statement released by the group also said another Nigerian, Aisha Abdulahi, was also appointed as a member of the International Advisory Board whose operations will commence in July.

While Mr Sanusi served as the governor of Nigerias Central Bank, Ms Abdullahi was the former African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs.

According to the statement, the IAB would be chaired by a former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, while a Kenyan national, Vincent Rague, will also join the board.

The Board has resolved to establish an international advisory board of prominent persons of considerable and wide-ranging experience, the group said in the statement.

The primary purpose of the IAB will be to counsel, guide and support the MTN Group from time to time in fulfilling its vision and objective of being one of the premier African corporations with a global footprint in telecommunications, contributing to increased digital inclusion in Africa and the Middle East, a pivotal aspect of the fourth industrial revolution, the statement added.

The group said the restructuring had become necessary in view of recent challenging regulatory environments and competitive trading conditions.

Meanwhile, over the next 12 months, the company said a significant change will see to the stepping down of the Chairman of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, from his position on December 15, 2019. He is expected to facilitate a smooth operation of the board and the establishment of the IAB.

In the meantime, the group said Mcebisi Jonas has been appointed Chairman-designate and would assume the position of Chairman of MTN Group effective December 15.

Similarly, the group said Khotso Mokhele would assume the responsibilities of Lead Independent Director while Alan Harper, Jeff Van Rooyen and Koosum Kaylan would step down from the Board after an orderly transition and handover to incoming directors.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday gave reasons why a civil society group has called for the immediate removal from office of its deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy Directorate, Joseph Nnanna.

The CBN said the call was part of a thicker plot by the immediate past management of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) to get even with Mr Nnanna over his order for a probe of allegations of fraud.

The immediate past management of the bank led by Robert Orya was in office till February 2016.

Since Mr Oryas exit, there have been reports of fraud linked to his management.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently confirm the allegations, as it has not been able to reach the former NEXIM Boss since he left office.

On Thursday, media reports credited to the Awareness for Good Governance Group (AGGG) called for the removal of the CBN deputy governor over allegations of fraud at NEXIM.

The group did not give details of the allegation.

Corruption fighting back

But the CBN, which described the group as faceless, said its call for the removal of Mr Nnanna was nothing, but corruption fighting back.

Mr Nnanna is the Chairman of the Board of NEXIM.

The CBN said in a statement that the call for Mr Nnannas removal might not be unconnected with the forensic audit commissioned by the new Board under his Chairman.

According to the CBN, the audit exposed different levels of procedural abuses by the former management of NEXIM fraught with high level of fraud in the disbursement of the loans.

Findings from sources within the Bank and those close to the audit firm, Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PwC), which conducted the audit, indicated there were several violations of laid down procedures the CBN said.

The CBN said such abuse of procedures increased the risk burden of NEXIM to the extent that its non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to about 91 per cent of loans it granted.

Prior to Mr Nnannas assumption of office as chairman of NEXIM Board in March 2018, the CBN said NPLs of the bank stood at about N48.9 billion out of a total loan portfolio of N53 billion.

This, the CBN noted, negated the corporate governance pursuit of the bank to have NPLs at a maximum level of 10 per cent.

The CBN said following alleged wrong doings by the former company secretary of NEXIM, the audit revealed that about 181 of the 191 loans granted before the assumption of the Nnanna-led Board were non-performing.

The CBN said as many as a third of the documents tendered in respect of the loans did not have supporting or verifiable evidence to justify the loan applications and subsequent disbursements.

That level of fraud within the NEXIM system is perhaps why the CBN is yet to activate the N500 billion Export Stimulation Fund set up to promote non-oil exports in Nigeria, the CBN said.

On its part, the management of NEXIM, in a statement, said allegations of corruption and fraudulent against the Chairman of its Board by protesters last Monday were not only false and misleading, but a mischievous attempt at tarnishing his good reputation.

The allegations are designed to divert attention from an on-going efforts by the Board to address a case of gross mismanagement and poor state of affairs of the Bank under the old management which had since been sacked by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, NEXIM said.

According to NEXIM, prior to the appointment of a new management for NEXIM in April, 2017, it had become almost insolvent with huge non-performing loans.

It said the situation was exacerbated by gross abuse of process, insider related loans and lack of professionalism in loan administration, amongst other issues.

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This led the Bank to commission a forensic audit to establish the true state of affairs before the new management came on board.

With two years of the new management, NEXIM said its fortunes under Mr Nnanna-led Board has changed remarkably for the better, with significant improvement in key prudential ratios.

The Bank is honouring its obligations and is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage two intervention funds, amounting to N550 billion, towards increased support to the non-oil export sector, it said.
Popular Kannywood film actress, Binta Kofar Soro, is dead.

Kofar Soro usually played motherly roles in Kannywood movies. She died on Saturday and has since been buried in Kano.

Kannywood actor and a close ally to the deceased, Nuhu Abdullahi, confirmed the death of the actress to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Abdullah said the Kannywood movie industry is shocked over the demise of the actress.

Hajiya Binta Soron Dinki is one actress that we all like to work with. Her role has always been motherly. Apart from just acting, she is always there to correct you as a mother. The whole Kannywood is mourning, Mr Abdullahi said.

Nigerian actors have changed their social media profile pictures, replacing them with the late actress picture, especially on their Instagram pages.

Rahama Sadau, Ali Nuhu, Fati Mohammed and others wrote short tributes praying for the repose of her soul.
Tonto Dikeh has reacted after the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threatened to sanction her over her continuous outbursts on social media.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga. If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA, Tonto said in response to the threats.

Ifeanyi Dike, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria threatened to sanction the controversial actress if she continues to exhibit bad behaviour, portraying the motion picture industry in a bad light.

This comes as the actress vowed to continue to fight dirty with her ex-husband and father of her son, Olakunle Churchill, because she has no shame.

Speaking to Newstimes Africa on Saturday, Mr Dike was quoted as saying, Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.

Issues like that is private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in a bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions do not speak well of the industry.

We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.

Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.

Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.

Meanwhile Tonto on Friday also revealed the only reason why she might consider getting back with her husband.

She said, Am I hurt? F*ck yes! (dont use me then come out to the world and lie on me. Use me and keep walking. Do I want him back? Even he knows the answer, Only maybe to KILL him( which I will never DO cause my baby gonno Holdup on me + Im better than Murder).
Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has formally declared his intention to vie for the presidency of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Mr Muhammad-Bande made the declaration at a cocktail party attended by world diplomats and delegates in New York on Friday evening.

This came barely eight days after the current UNGA president, Maria Espinosa, announced him as the first candidate for the position.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that election of the president of the 74th UNGA will hold at the UN headquarters on June 4.

In a statement on its website, UNGA said the presidency of the 74th session was zoned to Africa in full respect of the established principle of geographical rotation, among other reasons.

The current president, who is the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, was elected on June 5 and assumed duty on September 18, 2018.

Thus she will step aside on September 17 as the UNGA presidency runs on a one-year tenure

According to the statement, an informal interactive dialogue with Mr Muhammad-Bande is scheduled for May 13, in line with UNGAs resolution 71/323 titled Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly.

At the session, the Nigerian permanent representative will have the opportunity to respond to questions from other stakeholders.

Addressing guests at Fridays event, the candidate pledged to make the organisation stronger and work better for its member states and their citizens.

He said as president of the 74th Session, he would focus on the effective implementation of existing mandates, and make a contribution in all defined follow-up areas.

The candidate promised to promote international peace and security, prevent conflict, strengthen global action to tackle climate change, ensure inclusion, human rights, and the empowerment of youth and women.

He also pledged to ensure that the decisions reached and resolutions passed at the general assembly were implemented for the benefits of citizens.

Mr Muhammad-Bande, who hails from Zagga in present-day Kebbi State, has had an outstanding career as a scholar and diplomat.

He holds M.A in Political Science from Boston University, USA, in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987.

Between January 2000 and February 2004, he was the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco.

CAFRAD is Africas premier institution with responsibility for training and research in public administration and management.

Besides other positions both locally and internationally, he was the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) between 2010 and 2016.

He served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during the 71st session and remains active in several fora, including as Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34); Member, Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, and Chair of the ECOWAS Group (2018-2019).

Mr Muhammad-Bande has also been an assessor for the National Merit Award (Nigeria) and for professorial positions in universities.

He has won merit awards and honours from institutions and governments, including the United States and China.

Most notably, he is a recipient of Nigerias Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of the countrys highest national awards.

(NAN)

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Three separate queries bordering on allegations of travelling without permission, financial impropriety, among others, have been issued to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by the institutions Registrar, Oladejo Azeez.

The registrar acted on the instruction of the chairman of the universitys governing council, Wale Babalakin.

The universitys former Registrar, Taiwo Ipaye, also received three letters of query bordering on similar allegations, while the immediate past vice-chancellor, Rahamon Bello, was also issued one. The immediate past bursar of the university, Lateef Odekunle, and his successor, Lekan Lawal, was also queried.

Others affected in what some stakeholders in the university have tagged; harvest of queries, also include two incumbent deputy vice-chancellors- Folasade Ogunsola and Oluwole Familoni; a former deputy vice-chancellor, Duro Oni; former directors of works, Niyi Ayeye and Adelere Adeniran; head of the universitys procurement unit, James Akanmu; dean of students affairs, Ademola Adeleke; director of academic planning, L.O Chukwu and the director of the institutions foundation programme, Timothy Nubi.

The quartet of Ogundipe, Ogunsola, Familoni and Chukwu are also members of the governing council like the registrar and Mr Babalakin.

But the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has kicked against what it described as the dictatorial action of the council chairman, accusing him of flouting laid down procedures.

ASUU, in its letter to the affected union members, signed by its chairman, Dele Ashiru, said a purported report the council chairman is acting upon is yet to be submitted to the council for deliberation.

This arbitrariness and one man show is repulsive and unacceptable to our union as it smacks of vindictiveness, ASUU said.

Registrar Accuses ASUU Of Double Standard

In his reaction, the registrar, Oladejo Azeez, condemned ASUUs position, saying it shows dishonesty and inconsistency on the part of the union.

Titled; The Need to Tell the Truth, Mr Azeez, in his statement, challenged ASUU to cite specific sections of the institutions law that is flouted by the councils action. It accused the union of telling lies about various issues in the past, saying the union had always been defeated with logical argument and facts of history.

The statement is reproduced below:

The attention of the Registry has been drawn to the circular issued by Dr Dele Ashiru, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Branch, on 2nd May 2019. In the said release, the Union accused the Council of the University of tyranny because Council sought explanation of certain activities and expenditure in the university.

The notice did not identify any specific laws or regulation of the university that was violated by the Council. The office of the Registrar would be glad to receive the specific law or rule of the university that was breached to enable us pass it to Council.

It is noteworthy that on previous occasions within the tenure of this Council, ASUU has issued notices criticizing the Council for taking certain steps, and all these occasions ASUU was not right. For example, when ASUU issued a statement that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. It turned out to be wrong because previous Councils under Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Deacon Gamaliel Onosode had also had similar meetings with the Senate.

Similarly, ASUU issued a statement condemning the non-confirmation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a Distinguished Professor as an unprecedented violation of the academic autonomy of the university. Again, the statement turned out to be very wrong as it is clearly provided in the University of Lagos Act 1967 that the Council is the approving authority for all honours to be conferred by the university.

Wale Babalakin

It is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached/and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council had taken a decision to step down his appointment in plenary is now making a case that the Chairman of Council cannot act for Council outside plenary. A paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency.

We urge ASUU to remember that the University of Lagos is a centre of learning where the pursuit of knowledge is very paramount. There is nothing worse than the tyranny of ignorance.

Vice-Chancellor Queries Registrar

In a swift response and what looks like supremacy battle, the university Vice-Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has queried the authority of the registrar, to issue such a statement without his consent.

Mr Ogundipe, in his internal memo titled; Re: The Need to Tell the Truth: Request for Explanation, accused the registrar of usurping his power, and asked him to provide reasons behind his action.

According to the vice-chancellor, the communication unit of the institutions corporate affairs directorate, through which the information was disseminated, is under the office of the vice-chancellor.

The statement reads in part; In light of the foregoing, you are expected to explain the reason for the publication, bearing in mind Section 3 (1), 6 (1) of the University of Lagos Act (1961), as amended, which states inter alia- There shall be a registrar, who shall be the administrative officer of the university and shall be responsible to the vice-chancellor for the day-to-day administrative work of the university

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The VC also requested the registrar to provide approval for his released memo alongside his response to the query within the next 24 hours.

ASUU Fires Back At Council Chair, Registrar

In a scathing reply to the registrars statement, ASUU attacked both the council chairman and the registrar, describing them as liars.

ASUU said it had never attacked or condemned the council but that it would not allow an individual to usurp the power of the council.

The unions statement is also reproduced below:

The attention of our Union has been drawn to a most disparaging circular titled The Need to Tell the Truth signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq. the University Registrar. Ordinarily, our Union would not have dignified the voice of the Pro-Chancellor in the handwriting of Oladejo Azeez Esq but for the barefaced lies and falsehood characteristic of the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin. For the avoidance of doubt, the said circular indicated that our Union did not identify any specific laws or regulations of the University that was violated by Council. The correct position is that our Union has no problem with the University Council and has never accused it of any wrongdoing. Our grouse is the crude usurpation of Councils powers by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin.

The Registrar also claimed that at previous occasions, ASUU claimed that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. The Registrar should be reminded that Council is not the same as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. Our contention has always been that the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin cannot approximate the Council of the University of Lagos. Furthermore, the mere fact that an illegality has occurred in the past does not mean that it cannot be corrected when such is pointed out. All the fears expressed by this same Dr Ashiru as the said Senate meeting which the Pro-Chancellor shamelessly denied are now manifesting.

For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU is not bothered about whether the stepping down of Professor Olowokudejos appointment was unprecedented. Our unequivocal position is that Councils decision to step down Senate recommendation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a distinguished Professor is obnoxious, draconian and vindictive. It is shocking that the Pro-Chancellor and his puppet Oladejo Azeez Esq can assert that it is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council has taken a decision.. a paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency. This assertion of Oladejo Azeez begs for some questions; was Oladejo Azeez at the meeting where ASUU made this request? What were the circumstances surrounding ASUUs appeal to the Leviathan and tyrannical Pro-Chancellor? What eventually happened to Professor Olowokudejos appointment? At which plenary meeting of Council was Prof, Olowokudejos appointment ratified? Our Union wishes to state categorically that we shall continue to stand against the Pro-Chancellors tyranny and recklessness.

For the incompetent and willing inconsequential tool called Oladejo Azeez, who was smuggled into the office as lame duck Registrar and Secretary to the Pro-Chancellor, he should be reminded that there is a limit to sycophancy and flunkey bootlicking. Oladejo Azeez should get familiar with the function(s) of a seasoned University Registrar and stop deploying the paraphernalia of his esteemed office in the service of a brutish leviathan.

Other Governing Council Members Keep Mum

PREMIUM TIMES Efforts to get the reaction of other members of the universitys governing council have been unsuccessful.

When our reporter called on phone the representative of the Federal Ministry of Education in the council, Anne Haruna, she declined to comment.

She said as a civil servant, she is not expected to speak to journalists.

You know I report to the permanent secretary. So the permanent secretary is in the best position to talk to you, she said.

In a similar development, another council member, Alli Hussein from Katsina State neither picked calls to his mobile line nor replied a text message sent to him as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, on the part of another council member, who was identified simply as Soyombo, a professor, the matter is too sensitive to be discussed on phone.

He said; You know I dont know the identity of who am talking to. So I cannot speak to you on this matter except I see you physically. Thank you.

When PREMIUM TIMES spoke to those who have received copies of their queries too, including the former registrar, former vice-chancellor, among others, they also declined comment. They said they would talk at a time they consider appropriate.
The Nigeria Police have sacked the head of its public complaints unit, a senior official told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Yomi Shogunle, a controversial officer who at times rattled social media users with his posts, was removed from the Police Complaints Response Unit and posted to Ebonyi State.

The assistant commissioner of police was transferred on Friday morning to head the police area command in Nkalagu, Ebonyi State.

He was transferred on Friday morning after the Force Headquarters received too much complaints about his conduct, a police chief told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday afternoon.

Messages about the transfer first spread on social media Saturday morning, eliciting reactions. Many of his critics, however, suggested that only an outright dismissal would be sufficient for Mr Shogunles alleged misconduct.

Mr Shogunle was named as the pioneer head of PCRU after it was created to receive complaints against police officers in late 2015.

The department achieved initial credits by following up on allegations of misconduct against officers.

Social media also played a heavy role in amplifying the units activities and response time. But Mr Shogunle soon found himself consumed by social media distraction. He began to exchange regular insults with citizens online, especially on Twitter.

Some commentators said Mr Shogunles conduct undermined his units successes, and demanded his removal. Several petitions were filed online for his removal, but it seemed the latest one was what eventually did him in.

Amidst outrage over police clampdown on women in Abuja, Mr Shogunle justified the discriminatory arrests in a manner many considered too objectionable.

Since 2017, Mr Shogunle had also faced online scorn for his frequent ridiculing of #ENDSARS, a nationwide campaign to end police brutality. He described the movement, which has helped many citizens obtain justice against errant police officers, as a scam.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Saturday that the Force Headquarters had been observing the controversies being courted by Mr Shogunle, who has been based in Lagos.

We decided it was time to take him out of that important office because he had become an embarrassment, a police chief said. We wish him good luck in Ebonyi.

The senior official, who spoke under anonymity because he was not the polices spokesperson, said Mr Shogunles transfer signal was dispatched on Friday morning.

Police spokesperson Frank Mba could not be reached for comments Saturday afternoon.

Ebonyi police commissioner, Awosola Awotunde, told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday he had not received the signal. Depending on its urgency, a police signal usually take three to four days to reach recipients.

Mr Shogunle, too, did not respond to calls.
The Nigerian Army has said some unpatriotic elements, in collusion with their foreign collaborators, are planning to derail the swearing in of newly elected government on May 29 in order to scuttle the nations democratic process.

Some of these mischievous elements thought that we would not have a safe and successful general elections but were proved wrong, hence they want to derail the scheduled handing over later this month and to scuttle the democratic process in the country, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Musa alleged that the unpatriotic elements plan to do that by causing mischief and exacerbating the security situation in the country in particular and West African sub-region.

He further alleged that the group is making concerted efforts to further induce ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists and bandits with funds and other logistic supports.

Their body language and unguarded utterances seem to be in tandem with above and imply tacit support for the criminals.

For example, credible source has shown that some individuals are hobnobbing with Boko Haram terrorists, while others are deliberately churning falsehood against the security agencies with a view to set the military against the people and the government.

They are also demoralising troops and security agencies through false accusations and fake news, Mr Musa said.

He warned them to desist as the consequences of their intended actions would be calamitous to themselves.

We also noted that foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group, to resurrect, he said.

He, however, expressed confidence in the Federal Governments efforts at sustaining and reinvigorating the MNJTF to continue its good work.

Mr Musa also restated that the Nigerian army would not relent in clearing the visages and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers.

The Nigerian army is a stakeholder in our national security and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

Additionally, we are making this statement because the military, particularly the Nigerian army has always been called upon to intervene in conflict situations in order to resolve crises in most cases when they get worse, while the public expect miracles.

We will like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we are determined more than ever before, to continue to uphold the constitution and defend the territorial integrity of this nation from both external and internal aggression.

Nigeria is a sovereign country with clearly established judicial system, therefore all aggrieved persons and groups should take advantage of that and resolve their differences amicably, he said.

(NAN)
The need for protection of freedom of the press and opinion dominated speeches at an event to mark the 2019 World Press Freedom Day at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Various speakers took turns to decry the growing dangers to press freedom around the world, calling for action against those responsible.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply troubled by the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity targeted at media workers around the world.

Almost 100 journalists were killed in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned, says the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),

This brings to a total of 1,307 the number of journalists killed between 1994 and 2018, according to the organisation.

The UN chief noted that when journalists and other media workers are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price.

Mr Guterres emphasised that a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights.

On the theme of this years commemoration, Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation, he stated that democracy was incomplete without access to transparent and reliable information.

At a time when disinformation and mistrust of the news media is growing, a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights, he said.

In her statement, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), Maria Espinosa, said she was marking the day with a heavy heart, citing the UNESCOs statistics.

Ms Espinosa noted that the media space was shrinking across the world, as restrictive laws and policies are enacted, and media workers and their families are subjected to threats and reprisals.

Women are disproportionately affected, contending with sexist abuse and sexual harassment online, as well as physical sexual violence, including rape. Too often, these attacks go unpunished, she said.

The PGA said that high-quality journalism and diverse media was needed more than ever at a time when extremism, hate speech and lies spread like wildfire.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, said it was important that freedom of opinion was guaranteed through free exchange of ideas and information based on factual truths.

Ms Azoulay said societies that valued a free press needed to be constantly vigilant, adding that nations must act together to protect the freedom of expression and safety of journalists.

The Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists also noted that freedom of expression was indispensable for good governance, informed decision-making, democracy, free and fair electoral processes and accountability of governments.

The event, which featured a panel discussion on the theme of the day, was organised by the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO. (NAN)
An assistant professor at Howard University, Jennifer Thomas, has said the need for focused fact-checking and balanced story-telling with great accuracy has become very important for journalists around the world.

Ms Thomas spoke Friday at a World Press Freedom Day event organised by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Lagos.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Day was themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

My basic advice: be sceptical, consider the source, check the URL, look at the byline and quotes, review the photo. Be a curious journalist  question everything, said Ms Thomas, who teaches at the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film.

Today, there are websites dedicated to separating fact from fiction and even quizzing readers to see how savvy they are at detecting such information.

Even with these measures in place, we know that a tweet can become world headlines before a spellcheck is even conducted and a rant on a blog post may be repeated as a lead story on a newscast, without the news outlet doing its due diligence.

Ms Thomas said disinformation or fake news and the subsequent demonising of the media have created a climate for the news industry synonymous to a thunderstorm.

Add the unpredictability of social media and it becomes the perfect storm. In order to quell this tempest, journalists must ride out the storm and steady the ship through adhering to the fundamental principles of the profession.

In turn, journalism professors must be vigilant at teaching media history, literacy, and ethics while underscoring excitement for the profession. It is a daunting, yet surmountable task.

Ms Thomas noted that while the relationship between the U.S president and the American media had traditionally been a frosty one, the recent verbal attacks had led to increased incidents of intimidation and, sometimes, even violence against journalists by citizens.

Let me be clear  journalists are not the enemy of the people; we are the advocates for the people. Yet, the constant barrage of the term fake news is apparently having an impact on the publics perception of the industry, she said.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Russell Brooks, the U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, said the goal of the U.S. Mission is to promote democracy, to strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria and all over the world.

We believe, as it has been said many times, that the media represents the fourth estate of any democracy. It is crucial that the media play a significant role in holding the other three branches accountable, Mr Brooks said.

Its also been said that the most important element of any democracy is the citizens themselves and their right to vote. And while that is true, for citizens to exercise their votes in a responsible way, in an informed way they need the media to provide them with accurate information that will allow them to do so, to vote in a responsible fashion and ensure that their representatives are serving their needs in the fashion that they wish.

Mr Brooks said the media in Nigeria, the United States, and around the world is under enormous pressure around the world.

Whether its a matter of economic pressure, physical intimidation, violence  some cases have resulted in the media paying the ultimate price, for that reason we deserve to honour them at least once every year.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has begun a 28-million-euro project, sponsored by the Netherlands, to accelerate the fight against child labour in Nigeria and four other African countries.

This was announced by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, on the sideline of a two-day workshop on the project in Abuja on Friday.

The project, Acceleration of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL), was also being carried out in Mali, Malawi, Cote dIvoire, Egypt and Uganda.

The ambassador said the project was a long term one which focuses on the causes of child labour.

Netherlands is financing this project; it is actually a project that is going to be undertaken in five different countries in Africa; Nigeria is one of them.

The total funding for this project from the Netherlands for these five countries is 28 million euros.

It is a long-term project and is expected to take at least five years to reach the results that are expected.

We think that a child should have the opportunity to go to school, to be a child but we also understand, we had the same situation in Europe two centuries ago, that it is not just child labour.

It has to do with the whole of the economy, with the social situation, the economic situation of the parents and so forth, she said.

She said that ILO was trusted by the government of Netherlands to facilitate the project in African countries.

It is a complicated project; that is why we are happy that the ILO is taking this up. They have a good track record on joining employers, employees and state authorities to work together, she said.

Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, said the organisation had been working with the federal government to develop a policy on child labour.

Mr Zulu explained that the project would focus on the supply chains in cocoa and mining in the country and work with local authorities to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Now this project which is kindly being supported with funding from the Netherlands government will be looking at the supply chain in cocoa and artisanal mining.

This is because those are some of the supply chains where there is quite a high level of child labour.

So basically, the project will work with the local communities and support the provision of alternative livelihoods.

It will also withdraw children from child labour and support them by placement in schools.

So we will be working with local authorities and local governments to see how the children who are withdrawn from child labour can be placed in schools, providing some means of support to the families.

It is really working in a number of areas to ensure that Nigeria works towards the achievement of the SDG goals by 2030, he said.

The director added that the ILO was working with stakeholders to ensure opportunities of child labour in the cocoa and mining production processes were reduced or possibly eliminated.

We are trying to work with the communities to educate them but also to ensure that those who depend on child labour families are given alternative livelihoods so that they do not rely on children.

We are working with different stakeholders from the local communities we are working in and we will build the capacities of these stakeholders including law enforcement agencies and the communities where the children come from.

Addressing journalists, ILO Chief Technical Adviser, ACCEL Africa, Minoru Agasawara, said the project would work with stakeholders according to the priorities identified in the different countries.

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We are looking at legal framework, policy framework, capacity building, awareness raising, community mobilisation and also working with employers.

In addition to the employers and workers organisation, we also have the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ministry of Mines because they are working in the artisanal mine area in Niger State and Ministry of Agriculture because they are working in the supply chain of the cocoa in Ondo, she said.

The project is a four-year one, starting from November 2018 and would end in October 2022.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has released the statement below, detailing modalities for the sighting of the new moon to signal the commencement of this years Ramadan fast.

The statement also detailed the contact telephone and email addresses of 30 personalities across the country that should be contacted by anyone who sights the new crescent.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General (Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad) enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH.

If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

See full statement and contact details of the personalities below

FELICITATION AND MOONSIGHTING FOR RAMADAN 1440 A.H.

The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. present at his home), he must observe fasting that month (Q. Al-Baqarah 2:185)

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, felicitates with the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming Ramadan, 1440 A.H. The Council prays that Allah spare our lives to this and many more Ramadan on the surface of the earth and give us the ability to carry out good deeds as much as possible in the Month because of the multiple abilities of its virtues and the blessings of Allah.

In the same vein the Council hereby beseeches all Muslims to be prayerful unto Allah, especially in the Month (Ramadan), to help our Nation in general and our leaders in particular to be able to overcome, once and for all, the seemingly intractable security challenges as epitomized in the Boko Haram insurgency and the upsurge of armed banditry, kidnapping and related crimes.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

In addition to the established and traditional Islamic leaders in each locality, members of the (NMSC) who can be contacted for information and clarification are as follows:

S/N NAME PHONE NO. E-MAIL 1 Sheikh Dahir Bauchi 08036121311 Sayyadibashir26@yahoo.com 2 Sheikh Karibullah Kabara 08035537382 malamkabara@yahoo.com 3 Mal. Simwal Usman Jibrin 08033140010 simwaljibril@yahoo.com 4 Sheikh Salihu Yaaqub 07032558231 Salihumy11@hotmail.com.com 5 Mal. Jafar Abubakar 08020878075 Jaafaraa1434@gmail.com 6 Alh. Abdullahi Umar 08037020607 waziringwandu@yahoo.com 7 Prof. J.M. Kaura 08067050641 Jmkaura56@yahoo.com 8 Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar 08036509363 Baumar277@gmail.com 9 Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory 08023126335 habibelilory@ymail.com 10 Malam Nurudeen Ibrahim 08027091623 Nurudeen.a.o.ibrahim@gmail.com 11 Muhammad Rabiu Salahudeen 08035740333 muhammadrabiusalahudeen@gmail.com 12 Sheikh Abdur-Razzaq Ishola 08023864448 08051111063 hustaz@yahoo.com sheikh@al@abrartravels.com 13 Sheikh Abdur Rasheed Mayaleke 08035050804 jentleasad@yahoo.com 14 Dr. Ganiy I. Agbaje 08028327463 08057752980 Ganiy.agbaje@nasrda.gov.ng gagbaje@yahoo.co.uk 15 Gafar M. Kuforiji 08033545208 kuforijiabdulwasiu@gmail.com 16 Prof. Usman El-Nafaty 08062870892 elnafaty@gmail.com 17 Mal. Ibrahim Zubairu Salisu 08038522693 zubairusalisu@yahoo.com 18 Dr. Usman Hayatu Dukku 0805 7041968 udukku@yahoo.com 19 Imam Manu Muhammad 08036999841 limaminmisau@gmail.com 20 Qadee Ahamad Bobboy 08035914285 adamawaemiratecouncil@yahoo.com 21 Prof. Z. I. Oboh Oseni 08033574431 oseni@unilorin.edu.ng wazzioseni@gmail.com 22 Nurudeen Asunogie D. 08033533012 hamdallah1999@yahoo.com 23 Sheikh Bala Lau 08037008805 08052426880 balalaujibwisnigeria@gmail.com 24 Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir 08065687545 ustaznasirabdulmuhyi@yahoo.com 25 Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad 08023141752 aahmadimam@yahoo.co.uk 26 Muhammad Yaseen Qamarud-Deen 08055322087 crescentgroup2000@gmail.com 27 Sheikh Lukman Abdallah 08052242252 abuyatamaa@gmail.com 28 Sheikh Sulaiman Gumi 08033139153 ssgummi@gmail.com 29 Sheikh Adam Idoko 08036759892 imamidoko@gmail.com 30 Alh. Yusuf Nwoha 08030966956 08026032997 yusufnwoha@gmail.com

We wish all Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts all over the world happy Ramadan in advance.

Allahuma Baligna Ramadan! Amin

Signed

Prof. Salisu Shehu

Deputy Secretary-General

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
Days after his return from vacation, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has not been seen in public, sparking a heated debate over his health status.

The governor has avoided public appearances, and people were reportedly barred from taking his pictures at the airport when he arrived on Tuesday after many weeks of holiday. Up till now, no picture of the governor returning to the state has been made public.

The governor has also cancelled many public engagements since he arrived.

Rumours

There are rumours that the governor is ill. This could not be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES.

The governor has been avoiding public appearances and engagements since his controversial return to the state. We wanted to receive him at the airport but we were barred, but nevertheless, we wish him quick recovery, said a senior public servant, who requested not to be named.

Hundreds of workers who converged on the Jolly Nyame stadium for the workers day celebration were disappointed as the governor did not show up.

The governor is also yet to meet with the striking lecturers of the state university, though his aides had earlier assured that the governor would ensure university students return to the classroom, 24 hours after his return from vacation.

Our hope is dashed, because we were assured by the governors aides sometime last week, that as soon he arrived, His Excellency Governor Darius will meet with our leaders but we are yet to hear anything, said a lecturer who does not want to be named as well.

Sources said a traditional chief, who sought an audience with the governor, was not allowed after waiting for hours at the government house, Wednesday evening.

An online newspaper in the state, Taraba Truth and Facts had earlier reported that even the deputy governor, Haruna Manu, is yet to meet his boss since his arrival.

Manu has been making several calls to some of the governors aides and top members of his kitchen cabinet who told him the governor needs some rest after a long flight back to the country.

Another close watcher of event in the government house Jalingo told our reporter that the governors return from vacation was shrouded in secrecy, only few politicians were carried along, in fact his deputy was informed of his coming, but was not at the airport to receive him, the medium quoted a source.

The deputy governor did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone seeking comments.

But, an aide of the deputy governor, who did not want to be quoted as he did not have the permission of his principal to speak, said his boss met the governor yesterday. He did not disclose further details.

Governor full of life

The governors aide on political matters, Abubakar Bawa, dismissed rumours of his principals ill-health.

There is no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds in the state and beyond that Gov. Ishaku is either sick or dead, Mr Bawa said.

His Excellency is healthy, energetic and full of life, going about his official duties for the betterment of the state. I wonder why political detractors and enemies of progress would want him dead.

It is obvious that the Almighty God will give the Governor long life and good health to continue to serve as a pillar of support to his people, he said.

But when pressed further on the governors absence from public functions, he said: Must he be at all events? He is being represented by his deputy. During the workers day, he was represented by the deputy, so why must you people ask for his public appearance? I think some are out for mischief, he said.

Abigel Tor, a resident in the statem said it is unfortunate that politicians forget that holding public office means you are the peoples servant.

We are all human and can be sick, there is nothing to hide about it. If he is not feeling fine, we wish quick recovery but the people should be carried along so that they can all join in praying for him, he is our governor, she said.

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A public commentator, Musa Maraneyo, recalled how former Governor Suntais associates held Taraba to ransom for three years while he was sick.

On August 25, 2013, 10 months after his medical trip abroad, Suntai returned amidst reports that he could not talk, he said.

He was carried out of the plane by his aides because he clearly could not walk at the time. Umar, his deputy, was blocked from receiving him in Jalingo. Still, the people around him all claimed he was fit to return to his duty post. In fact, one even said at the airport that Suntai was mentally alert and lucid.

While we pray for his speedy recovery, we should also avoid a repeat of Suntais saga, he said.
The management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report which detailed the complaints of students on a shortage of toilets.

This newspaper reported how students decried the absence of clean and adequate toilets on their campus.

Many of them said they now resort to open defecation and in places where there are toilets, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that these are not well managed.

Some female students also narrated the difficulties they face during their menstrual circles.

Last week, the universitys Dean of Students Affairs, Wole Adebayo told PREMIUM TIMES he could not confirm whether there are toilets or not on campus for students use except he reaches out to the work department of the institution.

University Officially Reacts

Following the report, the Head of Information & Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, in a statement on Friday said there are seven blocks of toilets constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use.

For the information of the general public, seven blocks of toilets had been constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use. One block of toilet contains ten toilets each, with five allocated to male students, while the other five were allocated to female students.

These toilets are strategically located for easy access by the students and measures put in place for their regular maintenance. For the avoidance of doubt, these toilets are located in the Faculty of Engineering, Directorate of GST (beside the main library), Directorate of Continuing Education Programme and the University Health Centre.

Mr Olofinmuagun also said that the University, under the present leadership of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Olubunmi Ajayi, takes the welfare of both staff and students as priority and would ensure that nothing erodes its enviable track records that it has over the years.

Students Kick

Reacting to the university defence, a student of the university, Israel Paul told our correspondent the toilets are locked down and not in use.

Another student in the Faculty of Engineering, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that dysfunctional toilets cannot be count(Ed) as toilets.

Seven dysfunctional toilets! I could recall, as a fresher, that every fresh student who went for Urinalysis was given a test-tube for urine and asked to go to the back of the building (bush) and do their thing. A toilet is a decent and reasonable place to carry out such an act.

Also, Durotimi Aribisala, the President of Association of Campus Journalists, in EKSU said: The one opposite the security operations unit is not working. They just built it and abandoned. I pass through that side every day but I have never seen anyone making use of it. As far as I could remember, those toilets had been built during the time of the former VC, Prof Oye Bamidele and since then we havent seen or heard anything about again.
MAYS LANDING  An Egg Harbor Township man linked to the April Kauffman murder trial may face a year less one day in prison after pleading guilty to witness tampering, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced Friday.

John Kachbalian, 55, exchanged his plea for a recommended sentence of probation conditioned upon a 364-day sentence in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, a statement said.

Kachbalian, a retired Pagans motorcycle club member known as Egyptian, was arrested Aug. 30, 2018, following an investigation by the Prosecutors Office Major Crime Unit and a search warrant executed at his Spray Avenue home. He was charged with witness tampering, invasion of privacy and cyberharassment after posting on social media a seminude photo of one of the witnesses, purported to be Beverly Augello, and calling her a lying rat, as previously reported by The Press.

Kachbalian was held in the jail but granted release in October due to health issues. He was ordered by Judge Bernard DeLury to return to his home in Egg Harbor Township with a 24-hour curfew.
As the primaries approached, one Democrat after another announced campaigns for president. Most were senators. Some were governors. One came from a university town in Indiana. They spoke of a need to clean up an executive branch they said was riddled with corruption.

No, this isn't a description of the 2020 campaign. It was 1976 - the most crowded Democratic presidential field in modern American history, until the current election cycle, which boasts 21.

And, despite worries about a bruising intraparty battle, the little-known peanut farmer who won the primaries also won the White House. His name was Jimmy Carter.

How many Democratic candidates were there in 1976? One historian put the number at 17, though it depends on how you count them. Let's just say the race was remarkably fluid right up until to the last primary.

The first to announce was Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona in late November of 1974, almost a full two years before the election. The longtime congressman came from a famous political dynasty. (Four generations of Udalls have served in various elected offices across the American West.)
ATLANTIC CITY  Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White grew up here, rented his first apartment and bought his first home here.

But in 1998, he moved his family to Galloway Township, he said.

It was nothing to do with the city. Thats a part of me, said White, who still has many family members here, thinks highly of Atlantic City High School and spends virtually every day of the week here. We wanted a bigger home and yard, when the kids were little.

You can get more house and property for your money on the mainland, he said.

Two of his three grown sons have purchased homes in the city and live there. One is a teacher, the other a police officer, White said.

He would like to see more home ownership in the city because of the stability it brings.

Any time you can bring more middle class families back to the city, it helps, said White.

Low home ownership rates are associated with poverty, social problems and a lack of engagement with the community. In Atlantic City, where only one out of four homes are owner-occupied, increasing the level of home ownership is vital to the success of both the city and the county.

One of the fatal flaws is Atlantic Citys atrociously low percentage of people living in a unit they own, said 6th Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, a Republican who grew up and still lives in Chelsea.

A healthy neighborhood should have a mean of about 65 percent owner- occupied housing, Kurtz said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2013 to 2017, only 26 percent of homes in Atlantic City were owner-occupied, compared with 67 percent countywide and 64 percent statewide and nationwide.

Kurtz, a member of the citys Housing Authority board, would like to see the city increase its home ownership program and set a goal to get the city up to 40 percent owner-occupied housing in the next 10 years and 50 percent longer term.

Such an effort could go hand-in-hand with raising the number of residents here from the current 39,000 to about 50,000 over the next decade, as suggested by Mayor Frank Gilliam and others.

When people dont own where they live, there is a lack of investment in the city, Kurtz said.

That has played out in Atlantic City, where residents have not cared over the years about how public money has been spent.

Fiscal responsibility is the new hobby in town, whereas it should just be a part of the life of the town, said Kurtz.

The simple fact that some people prefer a more suburban lifestyle, like Chief White, has meant many successful people have left the city.

That has left a disproportionate number of poor living here, leaving the prospects of owning a home remote.

More than 40 percent of the citys population is poor, compared to 14.4 percent in Atlantic County and 10 percent statewide, according to 2018 U.S. Census figures.

A rate of 40 percent or above puts it into the category of extreme poverty, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Communities where poverty is so highly concentrated are associated with disadvantages for households living there over and above those disadvantages that might be expected because of the households limited resources, according to a 2009 Federal Reserve study on Atlantic City.

Those disadvantages include growing up with few positive role models, a poor quality of public services, and more.

The federal government defines poverty as an income of $25,465 for a family of four; or $17,242 for a single person under age 65.

A lot of (poor or modest income) people have problems it will take time to work out, said Mosheh Math of Home Initiatives Inc., a nonprofit that runs home ownership classes in Atlantic City. They need to get their credit score up, and do all the things to qualify for home ownership.

James Sonny McCullough recently moved back to the Chelsea section of the city from the Seaview Harbor section of Egg Harbor Township. He had a large home on the bay overlooking Longport, along with a $34,000 property tax bill.

Now, he has a bedroom condo high up at the Ocean Club, pays $7,000 a year in property taxes, plus a condo fee of $850 a month.

His southeast-facing balcony looks out at the ocean, the shuttered Atlantic Club and over to Bader Field. His unit is so high, he can read the faint outline of the name of Atlantic Clubs earlier incarnation as the Hilton casino at its very top.

But McCullough, a longtime mayor of Egg Harbor Township before stepping down last year, has no illusions about the difficulties ahead for the city and how that may discourage people from choosing to live here.

His reasons were varied. His wife Georgene (McCabe) grew up in Chelsea, he said, and wanted to be close to the beach and Boardwalk. His roots are deep here. His grandfather Anthony Ruffu was mayor when Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall opened in 1929.

I moved back because I care for city, said McCullough.

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Press Meteorologist Joe Martucci will be the featured guest at the New Jersey Coastal Coalitions weekly Tidal Flooding Talk broadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.

The Facebook Live event will take place at the Irish Pub on St. James Place in Atlantic City. Previous Press Meteorologist and current meteorologist for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dan Skeldon will host the talk alongside Palma Accardi, technical assistant construction official in Margate.

As Fall weather settles into South Jersey, Joe will answer any weather questions on your mind and talk with Dan and Palma about the upcoming winter.

The New Jersey Coastal Coalition is a nonprofit that seeks to build more resilient communities at the Jersey Shore by developing policies and practices that will anticipate future concerns and to create solutions to be shared by all participants. The group includes county offices of emergency management and local governments.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




PHNOM PENH, April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - "The rule of law and human rights are two sides of the same principle: the freedom to live in dignity" (United Nations). It is with dignity and with respect for the rule of law that the Asian Vision Institute invites you to take note of how Cambodia continues to evolve in the area of human rights.

In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords brought an end to decades of strife and ushered in what is referred to as a "negative peace" - the absence of armed struggle. In 1998, a full and lasting positive peace came to pass under the "win-win" policy of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia has since sought to focus on the future, to build state institutions and social cohesion and to adopt alternatives to violence based on the culture of dialogue and national reconciliation. Landmine and weapons reduction campaigns and conflict resolution programs are prime examples of these efforts. In addition to being one of the founders of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre, Cambodia has actively participated in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and demining operations. Some 6,000 Cambodian peacekeepers have been deployed in many parts of the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cambodia's liberation from the brutal genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge. This came in the wake of several years of brinkmanship by foreign powers. Forces once hailed as heroes became enemies overnight and a battered nation sought peace and stability. In 1979, it was with an unshakable resolve that the government of this nation committed to protecting its citizens from armed struggles and crimes against humanity.

Respect for this most basic of human rights and all others, remains a priority for Cambodia. Our nation is a party to eight core UN human rights treaties and is the only country in Asia to host a field office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nearly 80 percent of recommendations from the "Universal Periodic Review" of human rights records were accepted by Cambodia, following its most recent review cycle. The Cambodian Human Rights Committee disseminated these recommendations among relevant ministries and institutions and prepared an implementation report for the next review cycle.

With respect to labour and trade union rights and freedom of assembly and association, Cambodian garment workers, for example, are very well represented via some 2,500 unions present in about 1,000 factories. A national committee for review of international labour conventions and the Ministry of Labour have consulted with stakeholders to improve trade union laws. More than 80 percent of Cambodian exports originate with the textile, garment and footwear industries, where wages have more than doubled since 2013. These wages are untaxed, as are non-salary allowances and benefits. Employers contribute to the National Social Security Fund which provides for maternity leave benefits, workplace insurance and health care. A pension for workers in the garment sector will come into effect later this year and a similar program will be expanded to other sectors.

With respect to freedom of the press, Cambodians have access to 439 newspapers, 194 magazines, 20 bulletins, 171 news websites, 48 online TV channels, 40 press associations, 21 foreign news agencies, 83 radio stations, 137 provincial radio stations, 19 analogue TV stations, 8 digital TV stations and 210 provincial cable TV stations. Cambodians also enjoy freedom of expression via a variety of social media.

With respect to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Cambodia hosts one of the higher numbers of aid organizations per capita in the world. More than 5,000 NGOs operate in the country and provide social and economic development and environmental protection aid in accordance with applicable rules and norms. These NGOs operate freely and exercise their rights to play a complementary role in national socio-economic development, climate change adaptation and environmental governance.

Cambodia is home to the largest youth and adolescent population in Southeast Asia; "bamboo shoots" as they are called. "Youth for Peace" and the "Alliance for Conflict Transformation" are examples of initiatives that are designed to help a new generation to move forward.

The national election in July of 2018 was conducted in a free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner. Twenty political parties were in the running. Despite a call for boycott, a significant majority of registered voters expressed their will to see this nation remain on a staunch path of peace, stability and progress. As in any democracy, those who would violate the rule of law are subject to prosecution and they may defend themselves in keeping with their rights as guaranteed under the constitution.

Private land governance in Cambodia is in gradual recovery. Policy and legal frameworks are being refined in accordance with individual rights and land use guidelines. Efforts are being made to curb illegal occupation of land by those who would seek to pervert regulations for their gain. Pending disputes are being reviewed and addressed. Nationwide land registration procedures are to be completed by 2021. Concession procedures are in place to allocate acreage to the land poor for residential settlement and / or family farming. Communal land registration programs for indigenous communities and affordable housing projects are underway.

This is but a sampling of the measures that the Royal Government of Cambodia has put in place to promote and to improve human rights on its soil. These achievements derive from mutual respect for authority, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We firmly believe that concerted constructive engagement among stakeholders and government is the most viable option for strengthening and sustaining a foundation for peace, harmony, democracy and prosperity.

The Asian Vision Institute (AVI) https://www.asianvision.org/ is an independent think tank based in Cambodia.

SOURCE The Asian Vision Institute (AVI)

Related Links

https://www.asianvision.org/


HOUSTON, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), today announced that KIPIC has awarded McDermott a technology contract for the basic engineering, technology license and catalyst for an integrated Low Pressure Recovery (LPR) and Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) unit at KIPIC's Petrochemical Refinery Integration Project (PRIZe) in Al Zour, Kuwait. Once complete, this unit will produce 330,000 metric tons per annum of polymer grade propylene using refinery by-product streams.

"This award marks the 50th OCT unit that Lummus Technology has licensed, and we are honored to celebrate this milestone with KIPIC," said Leon de Bruyn, Senior Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "This is a significant achievement that highlights the trust that our customers have in our industry-leading technologies."

The Petrochemical Refinery Integration project (PRIZe) will add a gasoline block, an aromatics block, OCT unit, polypropylene units, associated utility and offsite facilities to the existing refinery site. The new units will be closely integrated with the ZOR Refinery and LNGI projects which will be operated as an integrated facility once complete.

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

About KIPIC

Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) is responsible for operating and managing the integrated complex for refining, petrochemicals manufacture businesses and liquefied natural gas import facilities at Al-Zour complex which is located about 70km south of Kuwait City. KIPIC planning to implement a world scale petrochemicals and gasoline manufacturing facility adjacent to the Al Zour refinery and LNG import facilities which are currently under construction.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 32,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about backlog, to the extent backlog may be viewed as an indicator of future revenues or profitability, and the expected value and scope of the award discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit markets, our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog, changes in project design or schedules, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties, changes in industry norms and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Scott Lamb

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 832 513 1068

[email protected]

Global Media Relations

Gentry Brann

Global Vice President, Communications

+1 281 870 5269

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mcdermott.com/


Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent. Funds raised through the event support PanCAN's critical pancreatic cancer research as well as its services and resources for patients and caregivers.

Trebek, who announced his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis in early March, inspired the crowd of survivors, caregivers and advocates when he took the stage during the event's opening ceremonies. "What we have heard from today's speakers is that there is always hope. I have now been a cancer survivor for sixty days and my hope is that I get to match their accomplishments."

Trebek was joined by a contingency of close to 200 family, friends and staff from his TV game show "Jeopardy!" as well as "Wheel of Fortune." Editorial Supervisor Michele Loud of "Jeopardy!", along with Supervising Producer Rocky Schmidt and Executive Producer Harry Friedman, created "Team Alex" for PurpleStride Los Angeles to raise money for PanCAN and to support their friend Trebek. "Team Alex" quickly became the No. 1 friends & family fundraising team for PurpleStride Los Angeles. To date, "Team Alex" has raised nearly $60,000.

"Alex is family to us," Friedman said. "Our goal was to raise $35,000 to symbolize the 35 years that Alex has been the greatest host of the greatest quiz show on television. And to quote him again, 'We will get it done!' Please help us continue to raise money to fight this disease."

Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN, praised Trebek's positive attitude and his decision to be on hand to personally address the crowd. "Pancreatic cancer does not discriminate. Having Alex here today gives survivors so much strength and positivity and will undoubtedly greatly amplify our urgent call to raise money for critical research on early detection and for better treatment options."

Since 2003, PanCAN has invested more than $56 million in research, led the effort to pass the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, created a grassroots army with 60 affiliates across the country, and is on track to launch its own clinical trial that will more quickly and more efficiently improve treatment options for patients.

"We have made tremendous progress since my own father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 20 years ago," Fleshman added. "There is hope for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

PurpleStride Los Angeles participants enjoyed the 2.2-mile walk throughout the Los Angeles Zoo. CBS2 This Morning co-anchor Suzanne Marques and Los Angeles Kings Radio Commentator Daryl Evans served as co-emcees for the event.

PurpleStride Los Angeles was supported by national presenting sponsor Celgene , presenting sponsor Kathryn Naficy Pancreatic Foundation, national gold sponsors AbbVie and Ipsen , gold sponsors Cedars-Sinai, Halozyme, Harry's Berries and Pom & Associates, gold media sponsor CBS2/KCAL9, and silver sponsors Crescent Capital Group and Cancer Care Institute.

To make a donation, visit pancan.org/teamalex.

To learn more about PanCAN and its signature walk PurpleStride, watch the PurpleStride PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfqCmz_4uY&feature=youtu.beand the History of PanCAN. Follow PanCAN on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is dedicated to fighting the world's toughest cancer. In our urgent mission to save lives, we attack pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy. Our effort is amplified by a nationwide network of grassroots support. We are determined to improve patient outcomes today and to double pancreatic cancer survival.

Media Contact:

Julie Vasquez

Public Relations Manager

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Direct: 310-706-3311

Cell: 310-697-9129

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Related Links

http://www.pancan.org


SAO PAULO, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, a corporation (sociedade anonima) duly organized under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), today announced the expiration and results of its offer to purchase for cash (the " Tender Offer ") any and all of its outstanding 4.750% Notes due 2024 (the " Notes "), guaranteed by Votorantim S.A. (f/k/a Votorantim Industrial S.A.).

As set forth in the Company's Offer to Purchase, dated April 26, 2019 (the " Offer to Purchase ") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (together, the " Offer Documents "), the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2019 (the " Expiration Deadline ").

According to information received by D.F. King, the information and tender agent for the Tender Offer, as of the Expiration Deadline, holders of the Notes had validly tendered and not validly withdrawn $263,021,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes (representing approximately 65.8% of the outstanding Notes).

Holders who (i) validly tendered their Notes and did not validly withdraw on or before the Expiration Deadline or (ii) delivered a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and all of the other required documents on or before the Expiration Deadline and tender their Notes prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 7, 2019, will receive for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted by the Company, a cash payment of U.S.$1,040.00 (the " Tender Offer Consideration "). The Tender Offer Consideration and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes accepted for purchase (including those tendered through the guaranteed delivery procedures) from the last interest payment date of the Notes up to but excluding the settlement date will be paid in cash on the settlement date, which is currently anticipated to be May 10, 2019.

The Company retained Banco Bradesco BBI S.A. (" Bradesco BBI "), HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (" HSBC ") and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (" J.P. Morgan ") to act as dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") in connection with the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to Bradesco BBI at +1 (646) 432-6643 (collect); HSBC at +1 (212) 525-5552 (collect) and +1 (888) 478-8456 (toll free); and J.P. Morgan at +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect) and +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll free).

Neither the Offer Documents nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer Documents or any related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase. The Tender Offer was made solely pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Company made the Tender Offer only in those jurisdictions where it was legal to do so. The Tender Offer was not made to, nor did the Company accept tenders of Notes from holders in any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdiction.

NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company and its affiliates that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to the Company's management, the Company cannot guarantee future results or events. The Company expressly disclaims a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
"Chris has a lot of talent, and he looks great the past two competitions that I've seen him at. I saw him at the Governor's Cup and again at the LA Grand Prix, and I could see how much a competitor he was, and that he had what it takes to make it big in this field," said Whitaker following a recent photoshoot outside Boston. "I am definitely looking forward to his next competition in San Antonio this summer."
Washington, May 4 : US President Donald Trump has said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an hour-long call, covering issues including the "Russian Hoax".

"Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin," the US President tweeted, the BBC reported on Friday.

Trump rebuked a reporter who asked whether he had warned Putin against meddling in the 2020 elections.

It was their first conversation since the Mueller report cleared Trump of colluding with Russia on the 2016 vote.

The Kremlin confirmed in a statement the two had spoken, saying the call had been initiated by the White House.

Trump and Putin last spoke informally at last December's G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, after Trump cancelled the two leaders' official meeting.

Trump tweeted on Friday about their latest conversation: "As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing not a bad thing."

When asked in the White House on Friday whether he had warned Putin that Moscow should not interfere in the next US presidential election, Trump told the reporter she was "very rude".

"We didn't discuss that," he said.

"Getting along with countries is a good thing and we want to have good relations with everybody."

But the White House said the matter of alleged Russian meddling had been broached in the call.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Very, very briefly it was discussed, essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place."

Sanders also said Trump and Putin had briefly discussed the investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The White House press secretary described the call as an "overall positive conversation".

A redacted version of the special counsel's report was made public last month. It did not determine that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, but it detailed repeated efforts by Trump to thwart an investigation he feared would end his presidency.

Mueller concluded his inquiry could not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice, noting Department of Justice guidance that a sitting president cannot be criminally charged.
Seoul, May 4 : North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.
Bangkok, May 4 : Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Watch Cyclone Fani hits West Bengal to continue further north east:

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone is about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people affected by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said.

"What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

-- With inputs from IANS
Mohali, May 4 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chasing 184, KKR rode on the unbeaten half century from Shubhman Gill as they easily crossed the line with 12 balls to spare at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night.

Gill, who opened the batting with Chris Lynn, remained unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls, his innings laced with five fours and two sixes.

After the match, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik praised the 19-year-old, saying the Punjab batsman, who has been promoted to open in the innings in place of Sunil Narine in recent matches, has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.
History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)
Brasilia, May 4 : Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.
Mohali, May 4 : Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.
Mumbai, May 4 : "Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.
Miami, May 4 : At least 21 people were injured after a Boeing 737 charter jet arriving at a naval air station in Florida from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off the runway into a river, authorities said.

All of the 136 passengers and seven crew members had been rescued by early Saturday morning, a Navy spokeswoman said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the plane had never been submerged. Photos showed it floating on the St. Johns River, The New York Times reported.

The accident occurred at about 9.40 p.m. on Friday as the pilot attempted to land the jet at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville amid thunder and heavy rains.

"I think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael P. Connor, the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at a news conference early Saturday. "We could be talking about a different story."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the White House had called to offer its assistance.

The flight was operated by Miami Air International, a charter company that shuttles military service members from the base in Guantanamo Bay to naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia.

The flights run every Friday and every other Tuesday, said Susan Brink, a Navy spokeswoman.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to start an inquiry. Boeing said it also was investigating, but did not provide any other details.

Friday night's accident comes as Boeing has been under intense scrutiny following two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX jet within months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March of this year.

The two accidents killed a total of 346 people and led to a global grounding of the aircraft.
Washington, May 4 : After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.
San Francisco, May 4 : Hackers have hit open source software development platform GitHub, removing code repositories and asking ransom from developers in order to restore their source codes.

According to a report in ZDnet late on Friday, hundreds of developers have had their source code repositories wiped and replaced with a ransom demand on Microsoft-owned GitHub.

"What is known is that the hacker removes all source code and recent commits from victims' Git repositories, and leaves a ransom note behind that asks for a payment in Bitcoins," the report added.

The hackers claim all source code has been downloaded and stored on one of their servers.

"To recover your lost code and avoid leaking it: Send us 0.1 Bitcoin (BTC) to our Bitcoin address and contact us by email at admin@gitsbackup.com with your Git login and a proof of payment," read the ransom message.

"If you are unsure if we have your data, contact us and we will send you a proof. Your code is downloaded and backed up on our servers.

"If we don't receive your payment in the next 10 days, we will make your code public or use them otherwise," the hackers' message read.

A GitHub search revealed that at least 392 GitHub repositories have been compromised.

Kathy Wang, Director of Security for GitLab, was quoted as saying that they immediately began investigation into the issue.

"We have identified affected user accounts and all of those users have been notified. As a result of our investigation, we have strong evidence that the compromised accounts have account passwords being stored in plaintext on a deployment of a related repository," Wang told ZDnet.

Jeremy Galloway, a security researcher at Atlassian, which owns BitBucket, told Motherboard that the company has seen a lot of users' repositories getting hit by these hackers.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and thpportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
Mumbai, May 4 : A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The "Khiladi" star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement. It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?"

His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as "Kesari", "Baby", "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" and "Airlift", with patriotism as the theme.
San Francisco, May 4 : Suggesting that the soon-to-open Apple Store at Washington DC's Carnegie Library will do much more than just selling iPhones and other products, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the outlet will focus on community and creativity, the media reported.

Due to open on May 11, Apple has spent an estimated $30 million in renovating the 116-year-old Carnegie Library into an Apple Store, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Carnegie Library store will utilise Apple's "town square" concept, making it one of the company's 13 high-profile locations across the world where each local staff offers a bevy of classes to help users to maximise their Apple products for photography, video editing or producing music.

"Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something," Cook told the Post in an interview.

People come to explore new products, but also get training and services for iPhones or iPads they already own, he said.

"We should probably come up with a name other than 'store,'" he said, "because it's more of a place for the community to use in a much broader way."

Reconstituting the Carnegie Library according to its original design standards was Apple's "most historic, ambitious restoration by far in the world", Cook claimed in the interview.
New Delhi, May 4 : The Centre on Saturday filed a fresh affidavit in Rafale deal in the Supreme Court seeking the application of review of the deal "ought to be dismissed with exemplary costs" as it signifies "complete misuse and abuse of the legal process".

The Centre expressed its commitment to provide the top court any document, which is required to read in detail.

The Centre informed the apex court that it had submitted access to all files, notings, letters etc., related to procurement "including the full pricing details" to the Comptroller an Auditor General (CAG).

The affidavit cited the CAG report on the deal, "...the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits, which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

The Centre also told the court that monitoring of the progress by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of this -- government to government process -- "cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations".

The Centre expressed its commitment on the transparency regarding the deal.

"The government remains committed to provide to this court any document or file, which it desires to peruse," said the Centre in the affidavit.

It also slammed the review petitioners' attempt "to call for production of the documents and in the process try and attempt to get a roving or fishing enquiry ordered" as gross abuse of the legal process.

The Centre also informed the court that "the Government of India has no role in selection of Indian Offset partner, which is a commercial decision of OEM."

The Centre said that the top court judgment passed on December 14, 2018, was well-reasoned, wherein the court gave a clean chit to the government on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and it could not be re-examined merely on the ground of stolen documents, revealing incomplete file notings.

This affidavit was filed, after court issued a formal notice to the Centre on the review petitions filed on its December 2018 judgement.

The Centre said the information submitted before the top court in terms of various orders passed from time to time while hearing the main writ petition "was based on contents of official documents and produced before this court with the approval of competent authority".

The Centre said the submissions of the applicants -- Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie, and Yashwant Sinha -- were bereft of any "particulars much less particulars; they are scandalous and false and baseless to say the least".

Earlier, the top court had said that it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the pricing of the fighter jets.

The Centre contended in the affidavit that "statements by the applicants (review petitioners) that the judgement being a fruit of poisonous tree must be recalled, brings this court to disrepute and lowers its image and majesty of law".

The Centre buttressed it is decision on the deal, and stated the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) -- the highest decision making body in defence matters -- and also Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) -- the highest decision making body in Ministry of Defence --, have made the decision "keeping in view all the facts of the case and the critical operational necessity of Indian Air Force".
Amethi, May 4 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of giving Rs 20,000 bribes to people in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

While addressing a gathering here, Gandhi said: "This is wrong... While the Congress is distributing its election manifesto, the BJP is sending Rs 20,000 each to the village heads."

She said that the BJP is under the misconception that it can buy the people's love and the practice of truthful politics in Amethi.

She said: "The BJP's intentions are bad and their policies are limited to benefitting some industrialists. They don't waive off farmers' debt, but in five years the party has waived off the Rs 5.50 lakh crore debt of these industrialists."
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against a Saudi Arabia-based businessman in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed the Enforcement Directorate's (EC) plea seeking issuing of the open-ended non-bailable warrant against Omar Al Balsharaf.

The ED told the court that it issued Balsharaf multiple summons to join the probe, but neither did he appear before it, nor provide it the information sought of him.

According to the agency, Balsharaf's questioning was required to unearth the conspiracy related to some suspected transactions.

The ED said its investigation revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius transferred $5,303,471 to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai, but the amount was maintained under the ledger head Balsharaf.

This transaction raised many questions and it needs clarification, the agency told the court.

The ED said that Balsharaf was evading the process of law and therefore a non-bailable warrant should be issued against him to secure his presence immediately.
Washington, May 4 : Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while PakAisAtan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to lawyer Gautam Khaitan's wife Ritu Khaitan in a money laundering and black money case.

Ritu Khaitan appeared before Special Judge Arvind Kumar in pursuance of summons issued against her.

The court asked her to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

Meanwhile, the court issued fresh summons to two companies -- Ismax and Windfor -- to appear before it as accused in the case through authorised representives on August 7.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed the money laundering case against Gautam Khaitan and others based on a case lodged by the Income Tax Department.

He was arrested on January 25, a week after the I-T Department searched his offices and other properties in Delhi and the National Capital Region. He was later granted bail on April 16.

Gautam Khaitan was earlier arrested in September 2014 for his alleged involvement in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

He received bail in January 2015 and was re-arrested along with Sanjeev Tyagi, another accused in the case, on December 9, 2016, by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He later secured bail.

The CBI chargesheet had described Khaitan as the brain behind the AgustaWestland deal.
Kolkata, May 4 : Shantanu Thakur, the BJP candidate from West Bengal's Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency, sustained head injury after his car collided head on with a vehicle bearing a police sticker on Saturday, party officials said.

The saffron party termed it a "staged accident" and claimed that there might be a conspiracy to kill Thakur ahead of the elections.

"Shantanu Thakur suffered serious head injury while on his way from Jagulia to Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district after his car was hit by a police vehicle coming from the opposite direction. He has been hospitalised," state BJP Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

"We suspect there is a conspiracy behind this accident. The way a government vehicle with just the driver collided with Thakur's car, it seems that the car was waiting for Thakur's arrival. It is possible that the accident was staged to kill him," Majumdar added.

The police said the car which collided with the BJP candidate's vehicle was hired by the state administration for ferrying central force personnel within the constituency. They also said the injury sustained by Thakur was "not severe".

"The vehicle was hired for ferrying central force personnel. However, only the driver was present in the car during the accident. The BJP candidate suffered head injury as he was on the front seat. The drivers of both the cars also sustained minor injuries," an officer from Gaighata police station told IANS.

He also alleged that Thakur's supporters agitated and vandalised a police vehicle when it reached the spot.

"His (Thakur's) injury was apparently a minor one. No stitches were required. However, when our officers reached the spot, the BJP supporters attacked us and vandalised a police car. We have lodge a case against them," he said.

The Bongaon parliamentary constituency will go to the polls on May 6. Thakur, the grandson of the late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakur, is locking horns with his aunt and sitting Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur.
Srinagar, May 4 : Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants here on Saturday implored External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help them obtain travel documents.

Dozens of Pakistani spouses of Kashmiri militants who came to Kashmir encouraged by the Jammu and Kashmir government's rehabilitation policy addressed a press conference.

Scores of these women who came with their surrendered militant husbands told the media their demand to get travel documents to see their parents (in Pakistan) were genuine and this should not be treated as part of politics.

They requested Swaraj and Governor Satya Pal Malik to help them get the necessary travel documents.

They claimed to have been running from pillar to post during the last decade to get travel documents for visiting Pakistan.
Chandigarh, May 4 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former state unit Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into the party.

The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, Amarinder Singh said.

Natt, who joined the Congress along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards Amarinder Singh for this opportunity.

A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga assembly constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and from Maur in 2017.
Gurdaspur : , May 4 (IANS) Amid blistering heat, a sea of people thronged actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol's roadshows vying for a selfie with their favourite candidate. True to star gesture, the Gadar star is also not missing an opportunity to get off from his vehicle to meet children.

It's star power in Punjab Lok Sabha elections again, literally.

The BJP-Akali Dal has fielded the 62-year-old from Gurdaspur, the seat represented four times by yesteryear actor Vinod Khanna, who died in April 2017 due to cancer.

Khanna, a native of Punjab, was a sitting MP at that time of his death.

Son of veteran actor Dharmendra, Deol, who does not have any direct connection with Gurdaspur city -- though his father hails from Sahnewal town near Punjab's industrial town Ludhiana, has a strong Punjabi appeal. He is a Jat Sikh.

Deol, whose main priority is creating employment for the youth, entered the Hindi film industry with "Betaab" in 1983 and his best hits include "Border", "Damini" and "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha".

Deol's unforgettable dialogue from 1990's Hindi film "Ghayal": "Jab yeh dhai kilo ka haath kisi pe padta hai na, toh aadmi uthta nahi... utth jata hai" (When this hand weighing 2.5 kg is kept on some person, they don't get up, they go up (they will die) echoes through out his meandering campaign trail here.

One of his fans handed him a hand-pump at a roadshow, a scene in his 2001 blockbuster movie "Gadar..." in which Deol uproots a similar pump to fight off a crowd, who were trying to attack a woman.

Deol is unfazed by the criticism and despite being dubbed an "outsider" by the Congress, the actor says: "I'm Punjab da puttar (son of Punjab) and farming is in my blood."

Landing here on Wednesday straight from Mumbai, Deol met families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation at a border village in Dinanagar area.

"I am not a hero as I only acted as a soldier. The real heroes are those who sacrificed their lives for the country," he told a family.

Gurdaspur lies in the north of Punjab, sharing an international border with Pakistan and the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is not as developed as other areas in Punjab.

Deol, who is not missing an opportunity to pay obeisance to Sikh shrines and Hindu temples during his campaigning, is pitted against Congress state unit President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election with a margin of 1.92 lakh votes.

The bypoll was necessitated with sitting MP Vinod Khanna's death.

The BJP did not give the ticket for the bye-election to Khanna's widow, Kavita Khanna, a strong claimant for the seat.

With the fielding of Deol, Kavita Khanna expressed her disappointment, saying she felt "betrayed" by the party.

The Gurdaspur constituency, which has 14,68,972 voters, including 72,6363 women, has nine assembly constituencies. It has a high number of serving and retired defence personnel and the BJP is trying to woo them by using the 'fauzi' image of Deol.

The former members of Parliament from Gurdaspur are Sukhbuns Kaur Binder of the Congress, who won the seat five times in a row till 1996 when she faced her defeat from BJP's Jagdish Sawhney; from BJP's Khanna (1998 to 2009) and Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa from 2009 to 2014.

Khanna got elected for the first time in 1998, followed by wins in 1999, 2004 and 2014.

He lost the poll in the 2009 general election to Congress leader Bajwa with a slender margin.

In 2014, Khanna had again won by a thumping margin of over 1.38 lakh votes. A local BJP leader told IANS: "Khanna won his last election not due to his stardom but because of Modi wave. This time too his magic will work here. Moreover, Deol is known for playing nationalist."

Locals believe the Modi wave might work for Deol, too. "Deol, who is a Jat Sikh, will help winning the state as the constituency is dominated by the Jat Sikhs," a senior BJP leader said.

A confident Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, though, said: "I have been a Dharmendra fan. I like Sunny Deol as an actor. The people will prefer a local than an outsider (Deol). I wish him all the best."

"He is unaware of the issues of Punjab and Gurdaspur. He should share his vision for Gurdaspur. What is his agenda for the people here?" asked Jakhar.

The Gurdaspur constituency has seen two major militant attacks by Pakistan-backed militant outfits in the recent past.

It is believed by the BJP that terror attacks and Deol's stardom will trigger the BJP magic.

"As Modi has sent the air force to destroy terror camps in Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, so is Deol who has thrashed militants with iron hands in movies. So people in Gurdaspur like both Modi and Deol. His stardom will catch votes for BJP," a local BJP leader said.

Tough road for Congress Hindu candidate Jakhar to retain the seat.

Jakhar, who started his campaigning well ahead of Deol, won the seat when the Congress government in the state just came at the helm. Now after two years, the government has anti-incumbency. This factor will make Jakhar's victory tough, admitted a senior Congress leader.

In 2017, most of the state ministers had campaigned for him. Now, even Jakhar doesn't enjoy a good relation with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The BJP in the state has an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. It is contesting three Lok Sabha seats (Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur), while the Akali Dal is contesting the remaining 10 seats.

Punjab will vote on May 19.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Mumbai, May 4 : Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Watch Akshay Kumar breaks silence over Canadian citizenship, issues statement:

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

-- With inputs from IANS
Pune, May 4 : An Indian family, including a set of 10-year old twin boys, have set a new record for family skydiving, as they jumped out of a plane over Amsterdam.

They are Shital Mahajan-Rane, her husband Vaibhav Rane, both professional skydivers, and their twins Vrushabh and Vaibhav.

"We have set two new records - first time ever an Indian civilian family has skydived together, and our two sons becoming the youngest twins doing their first tandem jump," Shital, a recipient of the Padma Shri, told IANS from Amsterdam on Saturday.

They accomplished the feat on Friday from a Super Caravan 206 aircraft flying at a height of around 13,000 feet above The Netherlands, she added.

"Our sons celebrated their 10th birthday on April 26 and it was their desire to make their first skydiving jump. So we came to Amsterdam last week and fulfilled their birthday wish," Shital said.

Shital has notched some 750 jumps all over the world while Vaibhav has 57 skydives till date.

To mark the 389th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shital performed skydiving jumps over the Great Pyramids of Giza on February 19.

First she jumped in a traditional Maharashtrian ;nau-vari' sari and then went for a repeat jump sporting the royal costume of the legendary ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, who ruled around 3,700 years ago, earning accolades from the Egyptian authorities.

She shot to global fame on April 18, 2004 when she became the first woman in the world to make her maiden jump - without practice dives - on the North Pole from a Russian MI-8 helicopter from 2,700 feet in minus 37 degrees.

On December 15, 2006, she made the world's first Accelerated Free Fall Parachute Jump on the South Pole in Antarctica, jumping out of a Twin Otter aircraft from a height of 11,600 feet on the icy continent.

That made her the first - and youngest (at 23) - woman in the world to accomplish successful skydives on both the poles.

She has now set her sight on two targets - skydiving over Mount Everest and above Agra skies, home to the monument of love, the Taj Mahal.
Gaza, May 4 : Israeli Army warplanes, drones and artillery continued striking militants' facilities in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to the firing of barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, the media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were wounded in the Israeli airstrikes on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said the Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli Army spokesman said in a statement that their warplanes struck with missiles over 10 targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations -- comprising the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the Israeli Army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and injured 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the "Great March of Return" and "Breaking the Israeli Siege".

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday was a response to an attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen in which two Israeli soldiers were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians has been taking place as two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
New Delhi, May 4 : Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.
New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) As curtains came down for the fifth phase of voting for 51 parliamentary constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in a TV interview slammed the principal Opposition party Congress and said that the people who commit irregularities must fear.

'Yeh dar achhe ke liye hai. Yeh dar achhon ke liye hai ((This fear is for the good. This fear is good for those who are innocent), Mr Modi said on being asked why he was creating fear in the minds of the likes of Robert Vadra, P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi.

In his interaction with senior television anchor Rajat Sharma, who is also Editor in Chief of India TV, the Prime Minister said: "You may remember, I had said in 2014 in Aap Ki Adalat show that people who commit irregularities must fear. 'Darna chahiye' . Yeh dar achha hai (When wrong doers fear, it is good).'

Mr Modi ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his tweets on government of India's China policy.

"Kya aap Kapil Sharma ke show ke script likhtey haen (Do you write for script for Kapil Sharma show)," , Mr Modi suggested that it was for the Congress party to see why such statements or tweets come from their leader.

Asked what he 'thought' on such missives on the micro blogging sites wherein Rahul Gandhi had taken potshot on Mr Modi for being over friendly to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister shot back in his irreplaceable style : "oos party ko sochne chahiye (This is an issue best left for the Congress party)".

Asked how India persuaded China to agree to the UNSC resolution declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist', the Prime Minister replied: "I think experts should slightly correct their analysis. What is the reality today? What was the situation earlier? Whenever Pakistan's terrorism issue cropped up, Kashmir used to become a stumbling block. Russia used to be the only country that used to support us, and the rest of the world used to side with Pakistan.'

This is the record of last 40 years, he said and pointed out - 'In the last five years, you might have noticed, only China supports Pakistan, and the entire world is with us. This is a very big change".

Mr Modi further said: "On terrorism, we had a consistent policy and there was no world forum where India did not raise the issue of humanity and terrorism".

'Experts will say that the force of this victory is greater than that of the surgical strike or air strike. The UNSC resolution will have a lasting impact."

Asked why the Opposition is seeking evidence of damages caused by IAF air strike on Balakot, the Prime Minister replied: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence, political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself".

Had there been no elections in India and bickering among leaders, Balakot air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world, Mr Modi said.

Asked about former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh claiming that Indian army had carried out several surgical strikes in the past, Mr Modi replied: "The Congress has only one ex-PM left. Earlier, they used to run the government through remote control, and now they are using remote control in order to make them such statements."

The Prime Minister said that he had made friendly gestures to both the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan and one former PM Nawaz Sharif but the biggest problem in dealing with Islamabad is that nobody knows who is running that country.

"The biggest problem with Pakistan is that nobody knows who is running that country and whom we should talk to," said the Prime Minister in the freewheeling interview in a packed audience of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come on the backdrop of the Pakistan Prime Minister's letter to Mr Modi, in which he had written that "resumption of bilateral dialogue is important to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir."

Mr Modi said he has struck a good personal rapport with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada. The latter had served him tea in special teaware when they visited India.

Similarly, he said, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife took him to an Indian restaurant in the city where they had South Indian dishes.

During the interaction, he said described at length how US President Donald Trump spent nine hours with him in the White House.


New Delhi, May 4 : India has raised its concerns with Pakistan over harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month and asked it to conduct an inquiry and prevent recurrence of such incidents, sources said here on Saturday.

It also conveyed its concerns regarding security of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Sources said that the concerns about the security of the mission were conveyed to Islamabad in a demarche.

India also sent a note verbale last month protesting about the harassment of two of its diplomats and their being locked up in a room for over 20 minutes at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The two Indian diplomats, who were at the gurdwara to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were also threatened and asked never come to the area again.

They were locked up in a room by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, their bags were searched and they were questioned.

India had earlier this year also raised concern over harassment of its diplomats with Pakistan.
New Delhi, May 4 : Yet another speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got clearance from the Election Commision, which said on Saturday that it did not violate the model code of conduct.

Modi in his speech in Gujarat's Patan on April 21 had said that his government kept Pakistan on its toes to secure safe release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

This is the sixth speech of the Prime minister, which has been cleared by the poll body. The EC has found nothing wrong in Modi's speech in Nanded, Maharashtra, in which he reportedly referred to the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

In his Nanded speech, Modi reportedly likened the current status of the Congress to the sinking Titanic ship. He reportedly said that people on the ship are either sinking or jumping off to escape.

Referring to Modi's Varanasi speech on April 25, where he had gone to file his nomination for Lok Sabha elections, the poll body said a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, has been obtained.

Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi and reportedly said that he had a selected a seat using a microscope to take on the BJP. Modi was apparently referring to the Wayanad seat in Kerala which Gandhi is contesting, besides Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi had reportedly said that the seat in Wayanad is a constituency where the country's majority is in a minority.

Earlier, the poll body had not found anything wrong in the Modi's speech at Wardha on April 1. He attacked Gandhi for selectively contesting from minority-dominated seat in Kerala.

The EC also cleared him for the appeal to first-time voters where he raised the Balakot air strikes; and Pulwama martyrs in Latur on April 9.
Gurugram, May 4 : In an attempt to dent the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote bank, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, here on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises, like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people and creating over 2 crore jobs.

"In last Lok Sabha elections, Modi had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people and bring 'ache din'. What happened to them," he asked.

Ridiculing Modi's claim on development, he said was the BJP responsible for growth of cities like Gurugram? "It's the people of the country who are responsible for this development," he said.

He also raised the issue of Rafeal jet purchase deal, demonetisation and the goods and services tax GST fiasco. Gandhi was addressing an election rally in support of Congress candidate Ajay Singh Yadav.

In his 30-minute speech, Gandhi said, "He is 'chowkidar' but not for the poor. He is the 'chowkidar' of his corporate friends, like Anil Ambani, Mehul Chowksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya."

The Congress President also criticised the Modi government for helping Anil Ambani's company secure a deal with the France-based Dassault Aviation and the French government in the purchase of Rafale jets, ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. "The entire exercise was done to benefit Anil Ambani," he said.

The Congress President said the NYAY scheme would definitely do justice to the people.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress has filed 10 complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the party says it is the highest number of complaints faced by any Prime Minister in a Lok Sabha election.

The Election Commission has given a decision on six of these complaints so far, giving a clean chit to the Prime Minister in all the cases. Sources said in two of these cases the decision was not unanimous with one of the two election commissioners registering his verbal dissent with the matter having been decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The complaints, which cover a period from March 20 to April 30, relate to several speeches of Modi including those in Maharshtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There is also a complaint about "illegal" roadshow in Gujarat on April 23.

On Saturday the poll panel gave Modi clean chit on compliant concerning his election speech at Patan in Gujarat on April 21.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said Modi has made history in terms of complaints filed against him with the Election commission and no other prime minister from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru has "violated" the election norms in this manner.

"No other prime minister has shown this disregard to constitutional authorities whether it is CBI, RBI or Election Commission. That shows his mindset. A Prime Minister should lead by example, should be a role model. But here we have a person who is acting worse than a commoner. If he had fulfilled one of his promises, he would not have needed to do this," she said.

Varun K, Chopra, an advocate representing the party before the commission, said the poll panel has taken decision in some cases. "For the remaining indecision is also a decision. Being watchdog of free and fair elections in the country, ECI should prudently exercise parity and level-playing field," he said.

He said only about 180 of 543 Lok Sabha seats are left to vote.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi had on Saturday morning accused the poll panel of being "biased" against the opposition and said that "capturing" of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," he said.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday directed the Election Commission to decide on the remaining complaints made by the Congress against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah for allegedly making hate speeches or violating the Model Code of Conduct.
Kolkata, May 5 : Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.
Washington, May 5 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.
Lee Spirits Company, a leading distiller of gin, fine liqueurs and blended North American whiskey, is pleased to announce its Co-Founder Ian Lee traveled to Hong Kong this week as part of a collective with the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association who is led by the US Department of Agriculture.

The envoy traveling to Hong Kong will spend five days meeting with regional distributors and manufacturers during Asias leading food and hospitality tradeshow HOFEX. Each attendee will work in conjunction with the United States Embassy in Hong Kong. Lee Spirits mission during the five-day event is to meet with importers to help increase dialogue around importing and exporting between the two nations.

This is a great honor for Lee Spirits Company to join the US Department of Agriculture, the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association, the US Embassy in Hong Kong and several US-based manufacturers on this trip, said Ian Lee. We are proud to join this effort for the second year in a row as a representative of the United States spirit marketplace. We are hopeful this effort will lead to increased trade between our two nations while opening advanced dialogue for Lee Spirits products to be distributed internationally. I am proud to say that we uncovered many distribution options in Singapore from last years envoy trip and look to make a significant announcement by the end of 2019 on this front. I am very confident the same results will develop from this years visit to China.

Lee Spirits Companys products are available throughout five states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

About Lee Spirits Company:

Lee Spirits Company is an award-winning Colorado-based distillery whose mission is to create the finest gin, liqueurs and blended North American whiskey to empower spirit-lovers to make authentic pre-prohibition classic cocktails.

In 2013, Lee Spirits Company founders and cousins Ian and Nick Lee had an idea to develop and manufacture the finest Gin in Colorado and the United States along with accompanying liqueurs that would fit into classic cocktail recipes exactly as originally written. To connect with Lee Spirits, visit their website or social media page.
This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members." said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. "I look forward to our continued partnership."

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has announced the promotion of Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan to the role of President. Daniel A. Nissenbaum will retain the CEO role, working with LIIFs board of directors to develop the vision, industry leadership and strategic direction that will achieve LIIFs mission. This change will enable LIIF, which has invested more than $2.5 billion to serve more than two million people, to achieve further growth and continued success.

Kims vision and drive over the past 11 years have spurred much of LIIFs programmatic and geographic growth, including launching our fresh foods, health, and housing initiatives, as well as the opening of our offices in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members. Our recent investment grade rating from S&P was driven in large part by the strong performance by Kims teams. I look forward to our continued partnership.

Kim has been a strong leader at LIIF, with a remarkably entrepreneurial spirit, which will position LIIF for success in its next phase of growth, said Derek R. B. Douglas, LIIFs board chair and vice president for civic engagement and external affairs at the University of Chicago. The Board is thrilled to have Kim in this role to build on her track record of success and commitment to LIIFs mission.

As CEO, Mr. Nissenbaum will continue to lead LIIFs strategy, sustainability and people. As President, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan will implement LIIFs strategy and grow its business, including continuing to oversee LIIFs lending activities and programmatic growth and developing new lines of business.

Ms. Latimer-Nelligan joined LIIF in 2008 and previously served as its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Community Investment Programs. Ms. Latimer-Nelligans background in community development is extensive. Prior to LIIF, she worked with Citibank for more than 20 years, most recently as the Managing Director of National Lending and Investments, overseeing a $3 billion business within Citibank Community Development. During Ms. Latimer-Nelligans tenure at Citibank, Citis national lending, structured finance and equity investments for community development were consolidated under her leadership.

While at LIIF, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan has overseen lending activities that reached a high watermark of $300 million deployed in underserved communities last year. She has also led the expansion of lending programs in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., and has worked to expand LIIFs national early care and education work, which has created 271,000 spaces in childcare facilities. Ms. Latimer-Nelligan received her B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her M.B.A. from Columbia University. She serves as the board chair of the Community Reinvestment Fund and on the boards of Raza Development Fund and the National Affordable Housing Trust.

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) invests capital to support healthy families and communities. Since 1984, LIIF has served more than two million people by providing $2.5 billion in financing and technical assistance. Over its history, LIIF has supported efforts to create and preserve 78,000 units of affordable housing; 271,000 child care spaces; 98,000 spaces in schools; and 36 million square feet of community facilities and commercial space. LIIFs work has generated $65.1 billion in family income and societal benefits. LIIF has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. http://www.liifund.org
We are thrilled to celebrate nurses week by recognizing health care professionals and educators. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care.

In celebration of the proclamation of Utah Nurses Week, Nightingale College invites the public to join them in thanking nurses on Monday, May 6 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the west side of the Salt Lake City and County Building's Washington Square. Thank you cards and notes will be provided for anyone wishing to express gratitude for nurses in the community or a specific nurse who has made a positive difference in their life.

We are excited to celebrate Nurses Week by recognizing health care professionals and educators," said Blake Halladay, Senior Manager of Partnerships. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care."

National Nurses Week was established by the American Nurses Association and proclaimed a national celebration by President Regan in 1982. Nurses Week remains a permanent celebration of the dedicated professionals who have become nurses or are pursuing a career in nursing.

The theme of this years National Nurses Week is 4 million Reasons to Celebrate, commemorating more than 4 million nursing professionals nationwide. The College has partnered with Compass Outdoor, Saunders Outdoor and Lamar to post billboards raising awareness for Utah Nurses Week. Nightingale College will also provide Thank You cards at Hub locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, for patients and family members to express gratitude for nurses who have made a positive difference in their life through compassionate care.

Each year, Nurses Week begins with Student Nurses Day on May 6 and concludes on May 12 to honor the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. As the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale is commemorated by those who carry her flame through to the next generation of nurses.

For more information about Nurses Week, please visit nightingale.edu/nurses-week/.

Nightingale College improves access to professional nursing education with its fully accredited distance education associate and bachelors degree nursing programs. Supporting the growing need for nurses and providing strategies to combat the nursing shortage, the Colleges programs work to not only grow but maintain homegrown nurses with the help of local health care systems. Nightingale College emphasizes graduating future nurses who are confident, competent and compassionate. Since its establishment in 2010 in Ogden, Utah, the College has graduated learners and contributed to strengthening the registered nurse workforce in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about the College, its mission and programs, please visit nightingale.edu.
Oral Surgeons Near Me in San Francisco Oral Surgery San Francisco has announced a post for residents entering oral surgeons near me' on search sites. The post cautions that proximity should not be the only factor in selecting the best oral surgeon.

Oral Surgery San Francisco, led by oral surgeon Dr. Alex Rabinovich, is proud to announce a blog post concerning how to choose the best oral surgeon near me' during an online search. Bay Area residents might desire to find a top-notch oral surgeon, yet be concerned about proximity. Oral surgery can require beyond-average skills to fix a broken mouth. Meeting with an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon could be worth traveling a few more miles.

"When planning any surgery in the Bay Area, people normally consider how long it will take to drive to, and park near, a facility. It can add extra time and money to a person's day, and we understand that," commented Dr. Rabinovich. "Our new post talks about weighing the benefits of driving a little further for a first-class oral surgeon vs. settling for just an average oral surgeon."

Bay Area residents can review the new post at the following URL: https://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/2019/03/some-of-the-best-oral-surgeons-in-the-world-are-in-san-francisco/. Surgical procedures for the mouth including maxillofacial, jaw repair or dental implants can require a first-rate surgeon to manage it successfully. A Bay Area local might find driving a few extra miles to meet an A-1 oral surgeon worth the extra effort. To learn more about oral procedures including dental implant surgery, please go to https://www.sfdentalimplants.com/. Dr. Rabinovich and staff are committed to a no-obligation consultation for patients.

LOCALS FIND ABOVE AVERAGE RESULTS FOR ORAL SURGEONS NEAR ME' IN SAN FRANCISCO

Here is the background for this release. San Francisco is a densely populated area, and people can consider travel time if deciding on a service. Choosing a great pizza place based on proximity to home might be the right decision for a local. If a Bay Area commuter needs to drop off dry cleaning, choosing a business close to the office can be significant. Proximity to home and work can play a part in selecting common services. If a San Francisco resident searches online for oral surgeons near me' the best choice might require driving a few extra miles.

For these reasons, San Francisco Oral Surgery has announced a new blog post. A few miles can make the difference between mediocre' and first-class' if a person searches online for oral surgeons near me.' A person suffering from a broken jaw or missing, unhealthy teeth might consider picking the best vs. the closest oral surgeon. Choosing a skilled, highly-trained surgeon to fix painful mouth problems can be key to a successful surgery. Planning to drive a few extra miles for first-rate oral surgery could result in a lifetime of oral health.

Bay Area locals searching for oral surgeons near me' are urged to read the new post and reach out to Dr. Rabinovich for a consultation.

ABOUT ORAL SURGERY SAN FRANCISCO

Oral Surgery San Francisco (http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/) is located in the Financial District of the City. Under the direction of Dr. Alex Rabinovich, a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon specializing in the field of oral surgery. This additional training, along with his years of experience, sets Alex Rabinovich MD DDS apart from the growing number of general dentists offering oral surgery and other dental procedures. Procedures include wisdom teeth extraction, Orthognathic or jaw surgery, sleep apnea mouth appliances, and dental implants. Dr. Rabinovich can be available as an emergency oral surgeon in San Francisco also. Oral Surgery San Francisco serves all neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco including Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Noe Valley.

Contact: Media Relations

Tel. (415) 817-9991
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller IIIs two-volume Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is not an easy readnot unlike those manuals that come boxed with easy to assemble multipart childrens toys on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, considering the exceedingly damaging effects Russiagate has had on America at home and abroad for nearly three years, the report will long be studied for what it reveals and does not reveal, what it includes and does not include.

Because of my own special interest in Russia, I read carefully the first volume, which focuses on that countrys purported role in the scandal. I came away with as many questions about the report as about the role of Moscow and that of candidate and then President Donald Trump. To note a few:

 Mueller begins, on Page 1, with this assertion: The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Maybe so, but Mueller, who is not averse to editorializing and contextualizing elsewhere in the report, gives readers no historical background or context for this large generalization. In particular, was the interferenceor meddling, as media accounts characterize itmore or less sweeping and systematic than was Washingtons military intervention in the Russian civil war in 1918 or its very intrusive campaign to reelect Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996or, on the other side of the ledger, the role of the Soviet-backed American Communist Party in US politics in the 20th century? That is, what warranted a special investigation of this episode in a century of mutual American-Russian interference in the others politics? Put somewhat differently: Readers might wonder if, had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election, there even would have been a Russiagate and Mueller investigation.

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 It has occasionally been suggested that Russiagate was originated by high-level US officials who disliked candidate Trumps pledge to cooperate with Russia. This suspicion remains unproven, but throughout, Mueller repeatedly attributes to Trump campaign members and Russians who interacted in 2016, potentially in sinister or even criminal ways, a desire for improved U.S.-Russian relations, for bringing the end of the new Cold War, for a new beginning with Russia. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have wanted reconciliation between the United States and Russia. (See, for example, pp. 5, 98, 105, 124, 157.) The result is, of course, to discredit Americas once-mainstream advocacy of detente. Mueller even brands American pro-detente viewsas Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan held in the 20th centuryas pro-Russia foreign policy positions (p. 102). Does this mean that Americans who hold pro-detente views today, as I and quite a few others do, are to be investigated for their contacts with Russians in pursuit of better relations? Mueller seems to say nothing to offset this implication, which has already adversely affected a few Americans mentioned and not mentioned in his report.

 As reflected in the text and footnotes, Mueller relies heavily on reports by US intelligence agencies, but without treating the recorded misdeeds of those agencies, particularly the CIA under John Brennan, in promoting the Russiagate saga. He also relies heavily on contemporary media accounts of Russiagate as it unfolded, but without taking into account their journalistic malpractices, as abundantly documented by Matt Taibbi, who equates the malpractice with news reports leading up to the US invasion of Iraq.

 Nor does Mueller consider alternative scenarios and explanations, as any good historical or judicial investigation must do. For example, he accepts uncritically the Clinton/Democratic National Committee allegation that Russian agents hacked and disseminated their emails in 2016. Again, maybe so, but why did he not do his own forensic examination or even mention the alternative finding by VIPS that they were stolen and leaked by an insider? Why did he not question Julian Assange, who claimed to know how and through whom the emails reached WikiLeaks? And how to explain Muellers minimal interest in the shadowy professor Joseph Mifsud, who helped entrap George Papadopoulos in London? Mueller reports that Mifsud had connections to Russia (p. 5), although a simple Google search suggests that Mifsud was indeed an agent but not a Russian one, as widely alleged in media accounts.

 Though he may do so in the second volume of the report, Mueller oddly does not focus in the first volume on the Steele dossier, where it surely belongs as a foundational Russiagate document and whose anti-Trump information is now widely acknowledged to have been salacious and unverified. At one point, however, Mueller delivers a telling report: Trump would not pay for opposition research (p. 61). Can this be anything other than a damning, if oblique, judgment on the Clinton campaign, which is known to have paid for the Steele dossier?

 Toward the end of the first volume (pp. 144, 146), Mueller produces a truly stunning revelation, though he seems unaware of it. After the 2016 US presidential election, the Kremlin appeared not to have preexisting contactswith senior officials around the President-Elect. Even more, Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.

So much for all the shameful Russiagate allegations of Trump-Putin collusion, conspiracy, even treason. Surely it means the United States needs another, different investigation, one into the actual origins and meaning of this fraudulent, corrosive, exceedingly dangerous, and still unending American political scandal.

Stephen Frand Cohen is an American scholar and professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University. His academic work concentrates on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and the country's relationship with the United States.

This commentary is based on Stephen F. Cohens most recent weekly discussion with the host of

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Vasily Grossmans novel Stalingrad, newly translated from the Russian by husband and wife Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and publishing in June from New York Review Books, is a book of three parts and 959 pages. It has an introduction, an afterword, and a pleasant forest-green spine. These markers of being are all the more remarkable given the fact that an original Russian edition of this translation of Stalingrad doesnt exist.

In truth, the Chandlers translation of Stalingrad draws on three published Russian editions of Grossmans novel, which are all different from one another, plus several typed drafts and handwritten notes. The new translation is the result of the Chandlers detailed comparison of the three versions, and of their determination to prove that the novel can stand up to its better-known sequel, Life and Fate, which has long been recognized as Grossmans masterpiece.

The idea that Stalingrad must be Grossmans lesser book is a legacy of Soviet censorship, Robert says. Grossman wrote the novel in the late 1940s and early 50s, when all literature in the Soviet Union had to follow the tenets of socialist realism. Official doctrine demanded a historically specific depiction of reality, in which characters would undergo ideological rework... in the spirit of socialism.

Writing that was judged insufficiently socialist realist by censors would remain unpublished, and its author might be sent to a labor camp or killed. Given these possibilities, Robert explains, no writer in the Soviet Union ever wrote without an awareness of how the authorities would react, and every editor was, in effect, a censor.

For Grossman, a sense of danger seems not to have been intuitive. Born in Ukraine in 1905, he studied chemistry in Moscow and then worked in a Donbass mine as an engineer. But writing drew him, and he returned to Moscow and published two novels and a short story praised by Maxim Gorky, then the Communist partys favored writer. During Stalins purges, Grossmans second wife was arrested by the NKVD, a forerunner of the KGB. Daringly, Grossman wrote a letter arguing for her innocence, and she was released. And when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Grossmana 35-year-old Jewish intellectual who couldnt shootvolunteered for the Red Army. He was sent to the front as a journalist for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

Elizabeth speaks of the emotional balance and steadiness of imagination characteristic to Grossmans prose. It was perhaps this equanimity, and his knack for getting a good interview, that made Grossmans articles the newspapers most popular pieces. In August 1942, he went to Stalingrad.

Grossmans evocation of the inner life of young men who know they are certain to die within the next 24 hours is remarkably convincing, Robert notes in his introduction to the novel. For much of the five-month Battle of Stalingrad, in which two million people died, Grossman lived alongside the Soviet soldiers fighting to take back Stalingrad from Axis forces. He spent hours talking with snipers, nurses, and divisional commanders; he saw them crossing the Volga under fire to enter the bombed-out city. Sometimes he traveled with them.

Writing of this wartime crossing in his novel, Grossman describes a sublime steppe landscape that becomes riddled with the corporealwith corpses: Millions of stars gazed down at the city and the river, listening to the murmur of water against the shore.... Some dark object slid down the river, painfully slowly, and there was no way of knowing whether it was a boat without oars, the swollen corpse of a horse or part of a barge destroyed by a bomb. Grossmans characters also embody this strange wartime synthesis: some are terrified while others sit calmly in their fired-upon barges and boats, making plans to read the days paper.

Like Grossman, the Chandlers also became interviewers as they worked on Stalingrad. Specialists and scholars, including Yury Bit-Yunan, Brandon Schechter, and Pietro Tosco, were particularly helpful, and there are dozens of other peopletranslators, writers, friends, military historians, historians of the coal mining industrywho have read drafts, Robert says. These readers helped the Chandlers accurately render details of life in the Soviet Union in the 1940s.

Under the title For a Just Cause, Grossmans novel was finally published in 1952 in a heavily censored version, Robert says. Two somewhat less censored editions followed in 1954 and 1956. The English translation of Stalingrad restores Grossmans preferred title and follows the third edition for the general plot and the ordering of the chapters.

It also includes, as the Chandlers often emphasize, several hundred of the vivid, comic, and surprising passages that were published in only some of the Russian editions, and passages that were never published, such as those describing a Red Army commander reminiscing about making his wife a dress, a doctor complaining about overcrowding at a hospital, a roach scuttling across a map of military operations, mentions of a postwar future, and a woman with a tomato.

The censors struck out anything that wasnt politically on-message, as well as any details that werent elevated enough, Robert says, to be mentioned in connection with the venerated Red Army. Men sewing, crowded hospitals, bugs, the future, and errant vegetables were, inconveniently, just realnot socialist realism.

In Grossmans reality, people were struck out too. He was one of the first journalists to write about the Holocaust, in which his mother was killed. But after the war, he signed a document giving credence to Stalins anti-Semitic purges. Its possible that Grossmans momentary lapse came because he feared that his next novel, Life and Fate, would be censored. He was right: Life and Fate, the sequel to Stalingrad, was clearly no longer bound by the strictures of socialist realism. The KGB confiscated the manuscript in 1961. Grossman died in 1964, and the book remained unknown until it was published in Switzerland in 1980.

It was through this Swiss, Russian-language edition, 40 years ago, that Robert Chandler first encountered Grossman. The art historian Igor Golomstock suggested that Robert take it on as a translation project. At the time, Robert was just starting out as a translator, and his immediate reply was that he did not read books as long as Life and Fate in Russian, let alone translate them.

The chapter that Robert eventually translated interested the British publisher Collins Harvill, who bought the book and published it in 1985. And the Chandlers collaboration began when Elizabeth retyped several chapters of Roberts full translation of Life and Fate and then offered to type his translation of Andrey Platonovs novel Happy Moscow. We gradually got into discussing, and improving, more and more passages, she says. Theyve continued this way of working through subsequent translations of Grossman, Platonov, and Pushkin.

Robert, who is the fluent Russian speaker, prepares drafts he reads aloud to Elizabeth. Whenever either of us feels that something is unclear or that the tone is wrong, we discuss that sentence, batting different versions between us, until we feel we have got it right, he says.

If translations fail, this is very often not because they are inaccurate but because they fail to convey an authors voice, Elizabeth says. With time, one gets a sense of what words a particular writer would or wouldnt use. Grossman, for example, is often extremely funny, but he is seldom mocking.

Life and Fate is the achievement of the broad, lucid view of Soviet life toward which Grossman had been working, and in which both humor and deep pathos have a place. But this view was already apparent in Stalingrad. In the novel, even Grossmans worst-tempered characters are afforded moments of insight and clarityand, Elizabeth says, unlike nearly all his Soviet contemporaries, he treats even his German characters with respect.
Deal of the Week: Montlake Pays Seven Figures for Sylvia Day Anh Schluep, editorial director of Amazon Publishings Montlake imprint, gave a big welcome to Sylvia Day with a seven-figure deal for Butterfly in Frost, Days first new book since 2016. It will be released this August. The deal for world rights was brokered by Kimberly Whalen of the Whalen Agency. Sister imprint Amazon Crossing will publish the book in translation in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to the publisher, the 203-page novella follows Dr. Teagan Ransom and artist Garrett Frost on their passionate journey to find redemption, hope, and, ultimately, each other. We are so pleased to welcome Sylvia Day into the Montlake Romance family, Schluep said. Sylvia is a powerhouse author with legions of worldwide fans, and were excited to bring Butterfly in Frost to them.

FROM THE U.S.

Atria Dons Another Pair of Jewells

Atria couldnt wait for more from Lisa Jewell. Ahead of the August paperback publication of Watching You and the October publication of The Family Upstairs,editorial director Lindsay Sagnette bought Jewells next two novels, which are not yet titled. In what the publisher described as a major deal, Sagnette picked up U.S., Canada, and open market rights, along with audio and first serial from Deborah Schneider of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners.

Public Affairs Buys Impact

Colleen Lawrie, executive editor at Public Affairs, preempted Impact: What to Do When You Want to Change the World but Dont Know Where to Start by Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts, founders of the nonprofit Shes the First, which provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries. It is one of the organizations with which Michelle Obamas Global Girls Alliance collaborates. Kathy Schneider of the Jane Rotrosen Agency sold world rights to the book, which will pub in fall 2020.

Abi Dares Debut Goes to Dutton

In her second deal since she joined Dutton earlier this year, executive editor Lindsey Rose preempted Abi Dares debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, inspired by the authors childhood in Lagos. Set for a spring 2020 release, the book follows a Nigerian girl who fights to get an education in the face of many obstacles, according to the publisher. The North American rights were brokered by Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown.

Post Hill Takes Bill Boggss Humor Novel

Anthony Ziccardi, publisher of Post Hill, picked up comic novel The Adventures of Spike the Wonder Dog from Bill Boggs, a four-time Emmy Awardwinning TV host of shows including Midday Live, NBCs Weekend Today in New York, and the Food Networks Bill Boggss Corner Table. The story, the publisher said, follows the exploits of Spike, an English bull terrier and TV and social media sensation with a heart of gold and a wickedly politically incorrect sense of humor. The deal was unagented. Publication is planned for May 2020.

Atria Battles Fatigue with Amy Shah

In an exclusive submission from Heather Jackson of her eponymous agency, Sarah Peltz at Atria bought world rights to Amy Shahs Why Am I So F*cking Tired? Shah is a medical doctor who received her training from three of the top schools in the country: Cornell for nutrition,

Harvard for internal medicine, and Columbia for allergy immunology. The publisher said that in Tired, she offers a solution to unexplained fatigue and explores other issues related to womens health. The book is scheduled for spring 2021.

Citadel Picks Up Fertility Nutrition Title

Denise Silvestro, executive editor at Citadel, won an auction for What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant by Nicole Avena, assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton. According to Linda Konner, who has an eponymous agency and brokered the deal, Silvestro paid high five figures for U.S., Canada, open market, and audio rights to the book, which offers a four-week science-based program to boost fertilityin women and menthrough nutrition.

GCP Signs Feminist Debut

Millicent Bennett at Grand Central preempted North American rights to A.E. Osworths 80085, a debut about a self-taught female video game coder who reports a workplace sexual harassment incident only to find herself fighting for her life in a game of cat and mouse against a violent stalker, according to the publisher. Christopher Hermelin of the Fischer-Harbage Agency, who negotiated the deal, described it as a feminist page-turnerThe Virgin Suicides meets Ready Player One.

Behind the Deal

Penguin editor Sam Raim won at auction world English rights to Rollo Romigs Two or Three Murders in South India, a true crime narrative that Raim said is centered on the 2017 murder of activist/journalist Gauri Lankesh in the South Indian city of Bangalore. Romig also touches upon other murders that share what Raim described as the irresistible elements of the criminal underworld, corrupt police, political controversy, shadowy religious groups.

But what is even more compelling, he added, is Romigs complex, empathetic portraits of Gauri Lankesh and the way he uses this story to illuminate a larger, urgent question: will India remain a country for all Indians, or will it come to be dominated by Hindu nationalism? Raim noted that through Lankeshs story, Romig explores many pressing global issues, including the decline of democracy and the attendant threats journalists face.

Romig is a journalist, critic, and essayist whose works have appeared in New York magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, and Travel + Leisure, among other publications. Im so excited we could land this brilliant journalist, who has been drawing wide accolades for his reporting on South India, Raim said. Sarah Burnes of the Gernert Company brokered the deal.

MOVIE DEALS

 Netflix has optioned feature rights to Jason Rekulaks YA novel The Impossible Fortress, according to Deadline. The author will adapt the novel, which was published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Aggregate Films and GoldDay will produce.

 TaleFlick, an online service that provides authors with a direct way to showcase their works to movie and television studios, announced two new deals via the platform: Robert Gatelys South of Main Street and Michael Bowkers French Affair: A Paris Love Story. The former was optioned by the Traveling Picture Show Company, the latter by Passage Pictures.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS

 According to the Bookseller, Democratic mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigiegs memoir, Shortest Way Home, found a home across the pond at John Murray, where it will be published in June. Joe Zigmond, who acquired the U.K. and

Commonweath rights, told the Bookseller, At a time when global politics have become so chaotic and negative, this book genuinely appeals to our shared wisdom and humanity.

 In another deal reported by the Bookseller, Hodder & Stoughton picked up U.K. and Commonwealth rights to Amy Engels second adult novel, The Familiar Dark, from Dutton. The book will be published by both houses in March 2020.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.

Correction: This article initially identified Sylvia Day's new book as a novel. It is a novella.
Report from the Field

The #2 book in the country is Scribners edition of The Mueller Report, which includes an introduction by Washington Post reporters Rosalind S. Helerman and Matt Zapotosky; other editions include Melville Houses mass market paperback and Skyhorses trade paperback, introduced by Alan Dershowitz. Though the report was an East Coast favorite, other titles fared better elsewhere. Jeff Kinney continued his reign across much of the country; E.L. James was on top in the East South Central U.S., and pastor Mark Driscoll did well in the region that includes his native North Dakota.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Sleeper Hit

Economist Emily Oster lands at #5 in hardcover nonfiction with her second book, Cribsheet, a data-driven take on parenting. Our review said, Parents new and old will find reassurance in this commonsense approach; in an interview with PW, Oster reinforced that sentiment by explaining her books big takeaway: Not everyone is going to make the same decisionsand thats okay. The book sold almost twice the number of print units in its first week as her debut, Expecting Better, sold in its entire hardcover run. The trade paper edition of that title has sold 62K copies.

New & Notable

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

#2 Hardcover Nonfiction

Gates delivers a thoughtful and empathetic treatise that demonstrates how empowering women can change the world and lift families from poverty, according to our review. Among those whose work she cites: Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, Dutch human rights activist Mabel van Oranje, and Gatess husband, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Machines Like Me

Ian McEwan

#14 Hardcover Fiction

Set in an alternate 1982 London, McEwans thought-provoking novel, our review said, is about the increasingly fraught relationship between a man, a woman, and a synthetic human. For a look at the real-world influence of AI on business and finance, see  Alexa, Balance My Portfolio. 

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid Jeff Kinney Amulet 46,928 2 The Mueller Report  Scribner 41,987 3 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 37,852 4 Neon Prey John Sandford Putnam 35,878 5 The Mister E.L. James Vintage 32,035 6 Redemption David Baldacci Grand Central 26,329 7 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 21,641 8 Oh, the Places Youll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 19,204 9 Educated Tara Westover Random House 16,751 10 The Moment of Lift Melinda Gates Flatiron 15,882

All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.
This years BISG annual meeting, held April 26 at the Harvard Club in New York City, surveyed a range of trends across the publishing supply chain. A daylong series of panels examined printing and paper capacity, the rights market, workflow and workforce issues, and book sales, and it featured an entertaining and thoughtful keynote address by Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn.

Tamblyns address, titled Leaving Money on the Table, combined wit and wisdom for a lively presentation focused on increasing book sales. Rakuten Kobo, he said, has focused on a global strategy, and the company has more than 35 million customers outside the U.S. He challenged the conventional wisdom that e-book sales are declining, saying that 25% of e-book sales are outside of traditional publishing. Publishers are in competition with platforms such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube for consumer attention, he stressed, adding, It is a war of books vs. everything else.

Tamblyn advised publishers to localize the timing of book releases overseas (Use a sensible local time); localize prices (Straight currency conversion doesnt work); test price elasticity (Pricing matters; indie authors tweak prices constantly); offer e-book rights aggressively (English sells everywhere); and use consistent and accurate book series data (Series are 52% of our sales).

Janet McCarthy Grimm, a v-p at Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, and Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturing Institute, kicked off the meeting with an update on challenges related to paper and printing capacity. McCarthy said 2018 was a perfect storm, combining a resurgence in demand for print books with a dramatic decline in paper capacity that caught the industry by surprise.

Grimm described a domestic paper market in transition, as mills shift production away from paper for books to growing demand for paper for packaging. And the business is facing a general shortage of labor that prevents expansion.

Baehr identified similar challenges in printing capacity, pointing to a lack of investment in new facilities and a labor shortfall.

Grimm and Baehr called on the publishing industry to begin a group dialoguewith participation from BISG and the Book Industry Guild of New Yorkon ways to address ongoing challenges facing printing and paper supply.

In a discussion on the rights market, panelist Debbie Engel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt v-p, director of sub rights, said that the biggest changes in the field relate to audio rights. At one time, she noted, audio rights were no big deal, but interest in audio has spiked.

Ginger Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown, cited the popularity of podcasts and the rise of podcast deals as evidence that consumers are moving from reading books to listening to books. Theres growth in demand for audio rights from foreign markets as well, she added, pointing to China and Poland as examples.

Technology hasnt necessarily created new kinds of rights, but it has changed how rights work is done, according to panelist Lance Fitzgerald, v-p and director of sub rights at Penguin Random House. We can get materials out quickly, and its easy to access every book ever published.

Clark emphasized the continuing need for face-to-face relationships among rights market players, despite the impact of technology. We need to go to book fairs and connectnot everyone has docuSign, she said.

The rights panelists all expressed a general wariness about the subscription access model. We dont understand the financial model, Fitzgerald said. The panel also called for a better way to share rights data, suggesting a UN or BISG for data sharing and alluding to the need to develop an industrywide rights platform.

On the panel examining workflow efficiencies, Michelle Yu, HMH director of business operations, gave a presentation on the houses use of robotics process automation, AI-driven technology, such as Automation Anywhere, aimed at automating repeatable mundane tasks. Yu emphasized that HMHs use of RPA is not trying to get rid of jobs; its purpose is to save employees time and allow them to do more with less, freeing people up to do more interesting tasks. HMH began using the software last year to scrape online data about production shipment schedules and to automatically generate emails about scheduling and delivery.

Dennis Abboud Jr., senior director of sales at Readerlink, was part of a panel focused on sales that featured Margaret Harrison, director of digital services at Ingram Content Group, and Bradley Metrock, executive director of Digital Book World. Abboud pointed to a reemphasis on books by the distributor and cited data showing that the demand for physical books is strong.

The panel emphasized the continuing importance of good metadata and the growing popularity of audio and voice technology, such as Alexa. Voice technology, Metrock said, is not a fad, though he acknowledged consumer concerns over privacy issues and data breaches.
At the beginning of the decade, American law enforcement received repeated warnings of how the improvised explosive devices (IED) employed by al Qaeda affiliates might soon make their way to the United States. The IED warnings proved correct. On January 17, 2011, police officers in Spokane, Washington, narrowly averted a disaster by re-directing a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march away from a remote detonated, shape charge loaded with shrapnel coated with a substance meant to keep blood from clotting in wounds. It wasnt al Qaeda or even an al Qaeda supporter that planted the most sophisticated IED to then appear in the United States. Instead of finding an international terrorism connection, the FBI, on March 9, 2011, arrested Kevin Harpham, a former member of the U.S. Army who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.

Not long after the election of President Barack Obama, all indicators pointed to a dramatic rise in domestic terrorism in the U.S. White supremacist threats mounted after America elected its first African-American president. Online conspiracy theories regarding the presidents citizenship and religion helped fuel a rise in racism intertwined with domestic politics. Alongside race-based groups, anti-government groups rose as well, powered by erroneous beliefs about abortion, repealing of the Second Amendment, or declaration of martial law.

Still, the U.S. focused its counter-terrorism efforts on al Qaeda and its spawn, the Islamic State. Homegrown extremists inspired by the groups were a more vexing problem at that moment. The Obama administration crafted policy and programs to develop community-oriented approaches to counter hateful extremist ideologies . . . including domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists in the United States. Years of conferences and outreach sessions commenced, but the focus remained on preventing jihadist terrorism and not domestic terrorism. Muslim communities saw law enforcement-led interventions, and Id spoil these discussions by asking, Where is the outreach to domestic extremists? Id point out that Kevin Harpham arose from Eastern Washington, not far from where FBI Agents in 1992 became embroiled in a disastrous standoff at Ruby Ridge with an alleged, anti-government group. Why dont we send some teams out to northern Idaho and eastern Washington to counter domestic terrorism? Id ask. No one responded, and the conversation would die because we all knew the answers. Domestic extremists have guns; al Qaeda wannabes generally dont. Domestic terrorists vote; international terrorists dont.

A decade of neglect and turning a blind eye to the rising current of white supremacist movements, combined with the rise of political divisiveness built on racial, religious, and ethnic divides, has brought an unprecedented modern wave of domestic terrorism. An African-American church became the scene of a horrible atrocity in South Carolina, and others recently burned in Louisiana. Mosques are attacked abroad and desecrated in the States. American synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego have become the site of mass shootings. White nationalist terrorism has long been on the rise. Why doesnt America do something about it?

A Big White Nationalist Terrorism Problem

The summer of 2016 brought an unprecedented global wave of Islamic State terrorist attacks. My commentary consisted of several articles and interviews describing how the Islamic State directed foreign terrorist attacks, relied on its network of affiliates and former foreign fighters to conduct others, and spawned as a result a contagion of inspired attacks as their successes rippled through global media. Cascading terrorism, as I referred to it, resulted in one attack begetting another attack, where the frequency and scale of each incident reflected the power of a global jihadi extremist movement.

While the Islamic State stole the headlines, behind the scenes though, my colleagues and I watched Russias disinformation storm build heading into the 2016 presidential election. Advancing anti-government conspiracies and amplifying racially charged divides in America represented one of the Kremlins principal avenues for infiltrating the electorate. Having stumbled onto the Russian trolls in early 2014, I only became convinced of Russias effectiveness in undermining American democracy after watching them elevate the Jade Helm military exercise conspiracy alleging the U.S. military would take over Texas.

After publishing our assessment of Russian influence headed into the election, I did not worry much about the outcome of the vote, but instead worried about domestic extremist groups turning to violence at polling places based on conspiracy theories of election rigging and voter fraud. Shortly after the election, such a scenario occurred when an armed man fired shots at a pizza place in the nations capital. The PizzaGate incident showed the power of online conspiracies to propel violence in right-wing circles.

For the last decade, Ive concluded counter-terrorism courses with a forecast comparing and contrasting the threat of international and domestic terrorism in the U.S. Four variables offer perspective as to where each category of extremist group might be headed. (Figure 1)

Similarities and Differences between International Terrorists and White Nationalist Terrorists

From 2001 to the summer of 2016, the threat of international jihadists far outpaced domestic extremists. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their legions of inspired supporters knew who they wanted to attack and why. They were highly motivated to commit violence to advance their agendas. The challenge for jihadists came down to whether they could gain access to high-profile targets and whether they had the weapons, bombs, skills, and experience to pull off an attack. For domestic extremists in America, nearly all had or could acquire weapons; some even had training, but few were focused on who and where to attackand almost none were willing to commit violence.

Today, domestic extremist violence outpaces Islamist extremism, and the character of the threat has changed dramatically in the last three years. Right-wing extremists and international jihadists from the last decade have many parallels and some differences. Al Qaeda networked its supporters on websites, YouTube, and in web forums. The Islamic State followed suit on Facebook and Twitter before being kicked off those platforms, and then descended on the lesser-policed app Telegram. Today, white supremacistshaving been largely pushed off mainstream social media platformsuse obscure sites like Gab and 8Chan to network, radicalize, share philosophies, and celebrate attacks. At the groups height, the Islamic States social media posts traveled widely and were empowered by global legions of supporters who further distributed the groups message. Today, white supremacists have grown so highly networked online that the Facebook Live video posted by New Zealand mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant was removed 1.2 million times at upload, and then another 300,000 copies were removed after posting. The Islamic State never achieved such an intense and capable network of online support.

Al Qaeda and Islamic State supporters looked to group leaders such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for targeting guidance, and to jihadi clerics such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Anwar al-Awlaki for religious justifications of violence. The global white nationalist terrorist movement today has its own heroes in Anders Behring Breivik, Dylann Roof, and now Brenton Tarrant, who inspire others to commit violence and establish their ideological direction through terrorist manifestos.

Both extremist movements have advanced through the inspirational contagion of successful attacks, which raise the respective ideologys profile, garner media attention, attract recruits, and inspire further plots. The difference between the inspired attacks of international jihadists and white nationalist extremists comes in the direction by which they coalesce.

Al Qaeda and the Islamic State formed as named groups that directed terrorist attacks on specified targets. Each group then used violence to recruit, train, and indoctrinate international foreign fighterscreating a global web of supporters and affiliates and launching networked attacks in coordination and under their banners. Directed attacks and networked attacks then cascaded into waves of inspired attacks by those believing in jihadi ideology, but often having no direct connection to the international group. The strength of al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the global movement that the two groups inspired could be felt by the breadth and frequency of this full spectrum of directed, networked, and inspired attacks under the banner of jihadreaching its violent zenith in the summer of 2016. (For reference, see, Inspired, Networked & Directed  The Muddled Jihad of ISIS & al Qaeda post Hebdo and Figure 2.)

White supremacist terrorism appears to be following the inverse model of international jihadists by forming from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. White supremacists live and operate largely in Western countries hosting substantial law enforcement. Adequate policing prevents the formation of named groups and squelches the organizing, training, planning, and preparation jihadist groups enjoyed in failing states like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or the Sahel.

Lacking a central core leadership, white supremacists emerge from grass roots, online organizing. Each attack inspires another one leading to a global network of online supporters spreading the ideology and offering technical and tactical assistance when possible to further additional attacks. Whereas jihadists needed money, training, weapons, and access to targets, white supremacists have easy access to African-American, Jewish, Muslim, LGBT, and other minority group targets; enough money to self-finance attacks; and plenty of weapons at their disposal. Continued successful attacks and online networking, if not addressed holistically by Western law enforcement, will likely lead to further in-person networking at rallies, movement to compounds domestically, or even regional or international white supremacist enclaves that could lead to the formation of named, global white supremacist groups. If left unabated, the pattern of jihadists (Top-down, Directed-Networked-Inspired) will reverse itself for white nationalist terrorists as they grow in strength (Bottom-up, Inspired-Networked-Directed). A good current example of this right-wing terrorist formation is Atomwaffena Neo-Nazi group linked to multiple murders in the U.S.

The West should now worry equally about the global networking, state sponsorship, and facilitation of right-wing extremists. Russias state-sponsored disinformation system amplifies racial divides in America, boosts anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment globally, and helps act as connective tissue linking like-minded white nationalist movements across the West. In Sweden, two of three bombers from the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement received military training in Russia before returning home to attack left-wing activists and a refugee home in Gothenburg. The Balkans and in particular Serbia, home to a long history of ethnic strife, surface regularly in white nationalist terrorism discussions, appear routinely in extremist circles, and may become an attractive hub for like-minded extremists seeking a new home abroad over time. A reminder, the Christchurch mosque attacker, Brenton Tarrant, was not from New Zealand, but Australia.

Signs already suggest the spike in white nationalist violence will likely lead to reprisal terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists and left-wing movements. Sri Lankas defence minister said that a preliminary investigation into the Islamic State-linked Easter bombings found the attacks to be in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch. New Zealands foreign minister later disagreed with this assessment and noted the Islamic States claim of responsibility didnt mention the Christchurch attack. But even the suggestion of such a reprisal attack points to the growing risk of reciprocal Islamic extremist attacks and left-wing inspired attacks in response to right-wing aggression. Literally, the name Antifa comes from anti-fascists, as a countermovement to right-wing extremists. This past week, the FBI disrupted a plot by a U.S. Army combat veteran to bomb a white nationalist rally. In sum, unchecked violence begets more violence.

Why the U.S. is hamstrung in the Fight against White Nationalist Terrorism

Americanswhether its the government or the mediatreat domestic terrorism different than international terrorism. Inside the FBI, international and domestic terrorism investigations employ different rulebooks. Cases against international jihadists generally follow the National Security Guidelines and if a nexus to a foreign power, foreign terrorist organization, or designated foreign terrorist surfaces, investigators can request searches via the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to preempt impending violence.

Domestic terrorism investigators use the U.S. Criminal Code to guide their investigations, and have a higher bar to hurdle for investigative approvals, far fewer resources at their disposal, and no formal domestic terrorist organization designation to power preemptive looks into extremist networks. There is a definition of domestic terrorism in U.S. code, but there is no specific criminal statute for domestic terrorism tied to that code. Domestic terrorism investigations thus often result in what appear to be one-off, reactive pursuits after violent attacks, as no legal avenue for upending domestic terrorism exists. As former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Gomez has explained over the years and in discussions with me, Absent a fully approved investigation into a designated domestic terrorism group, FBI agents are left with investigating dozens or even hundreds of individuals for conspiracy to commit a specific crime.

Short of violence or a full FBI-designated domestic terrorism investigation, preventing white nationalist attacks becomes nearly impossible for investigators. The First Amendment protects their speech, and the Second Amendment protects their access to weapons. The FBI, however, despite these challenges, should be applauded for successfully thwarting several domestic extremist plots in recent months suggesting those inside the federal law enforcement agency recognize the threat and currently pursue them to the best of their ability despite so many constraints.

The White House and Capitol Hill stymie aggressive policing of domestic extremists. Whether it is Richard Spencers rallies in Charlottesville, Congressman Steve Kings comments and actions, or even this past weekends white nationalist demonstration at a Washington, D.C. book talk, white supremacists and their law-abiding supporters represent a constituency, and Congress doesnt like to talk about them. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried in 2009 to warn of military veterans becoming right-wing extremists, Congressional Republicans admonished the agency, and the assessment was withdrawn. (Reminder, Kevin Harpham in 2011 was a military veteran). A decade later, DHS disbanded its domestic terrorism intelligence unit as part of a reorganization to eliminate federal redundancy.

What Can Policymakers Do to Fight White Nationalist Terrorism?

Elected leaders could do something more than offer their thoughts and prayers to challenge the growing threat of white nationalist terrorism. Our nations legislators could and should enact a federal crime for domestic terrorism (explained best by Mary B. McCord here at Lawfare). Another option for Congress would be to create a law for designating domestic terrorism organizations and domestic terrorists equivalent to the process conducted by the U.S. State Department for international terrorism. However, I have no confidence in our Congress during this time to enact such legislation and then fairly conduct oversight of such a designation process. Current legislative debates place equal emphasis on Black Identity Extremism and anarchists. There have been remarkably few violent incidents by Black Identity Extremists; according to the FBIs estimate, Violence has been rare over the past 20 years and there is sparse evidence of any convergence. The FBI and DHS assess that anarchists and Antifa principally target property, not people. FBI Director Wray has publicly called white nationalist terrorism a persistent, pervasive threat, and America has watched white supremacists kill and wound hundreds of its citizens. To place Black Identity Extremism and Antifa/anarchists on equal footing is simply silly, and shows gross negligence by our elected leaders and great weakness by our institutions.

Since our lawmakers cant pass laws designed to deal with the most pressing threats to American security, their committees could start by informing themselves and the public through a series of public hearings on domestic terrorism requesting the following information from the FBI and DHS:

Homeland Security & Judiciary Committees: The deaths, crimes, incidents, and estimated number of adherents for each category of domestic terrorism Summary of each incident resulting in casualties at the hands of a domestic terrorist Assessment of each domestic extremist ideologys threat to people and property A breakdown of resources dedicated to international and domestic terrorism by category An outline of how investigators will handle fringe social media platforms (8Chan, Gab) acting as hubs for domestic terrorists

Foreign Affairs & Intelligence Committees: Threat of foreign countries working to coordinate, infiltrate, and influence domestic extremist movements Summary of foreign intelligence collection related to: U.S. persons traveling abroad for ideological indoctrination and training in support of all extremist ideologies Suspected foreign agents inside the U.S. connecting with extremist groups

Armed Services Committees: The prevalence of domestic extremism, by type, in the ranks of the Armed Forces Foreign influence operations targeting current and former U.S. military personnel



White nationalist terrorism arises from individuals in a loose network, and the FBI can do something about it. The U.S. just went through a similar period with al Qaeda and Islamic States homegrown violent extremists. The FBI Director, ideally with the public support of the Attorney General and the president, should open a nationwide domestic terrorism case for White Nationalist Inspired Terrorism. Designating this case would allow for investigators and analysts to conduct assessments for detecting violent plots before they occur. In recent years, a similar case designation for al Qaeda and Islamic State-inspired, homegrown violent extremists helped the FBI catch up to the international jihadist threat.[1] In short, the designation will help the FBI dedicate more resources and personnel to white nationalist terrorism, may help them detect violent plots earlier, and increase the amount of information for sharing with state and local partners who may be better informed and positioned for thwarting extremist violence.

These small, simple steps can help stem the rising tide of white nationalist terrorism, but one thing above all could dramatically reduce domestic extremism: leadership. Offering thoughts and prayers via tweets accomplishes nothing. Elected leaders must acknowledge white nationalist terrorism now, publicly refute the divisive ideology, and affirm their commitment to protect all Americans against threats foreign and domestic. Until this happens, these elected leaders fail in their duty to lead our country, and all Americans will remain vulnerable to the violence of a growing strain of white nationalist terrorism.

Clint Watts is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. @selectedwisdom

Notes:

[1] See, the FBIs Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) for the difference between Assessments, Preliminary Inquiries, and Full Field Investigations.

This article appeared originally at Foreign Policy Research Insitutute (FPRI).
The trade negotiations with China provide an opportunity to advance human rights in China. A key strategy to do so is to free the Chinese internet market. Unfortunately, the current trade negotiations with China are missing this critical component. We argue that this must change. U.S. internet companies must have equal access to China that they are now denied. This is only fair based on the principle of reciprocity. Additionally, it will provide the United States with invaluable political and economic opportunities. There are three reasons why this is so.

First, the internet has changed not only how people buy things and entertain themselves, but also how they obtain information and communicate with each other. The free flow of information can promote Chinas democratic transition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is well aware of this threat to its power, as Xi Jinping's expressed in his January 2019 speech to the Politburo's 12th Study Group meeting. Xi argued, "Without cybersecurity, there is no national security. If we cannot overcome the internet barrier, we won't be able to hold power for a long period of time. The internet is a double-edged sword: a photograph and a video can become viral and spread explosively through all media outlets in a few hours." Moreover, he recognized that "It has a great impact on public opinion. If correctly used, this power of influence can benefit the country and the people; otherwise, it will bring unimaginable harm." Xi wants the CCP to have absolute control over the internet to win this invisible war on "the battlefield without guns." The U.S. should not let him get away with it.

The Chinese regime fully comprehends the double-edged sword of the internet. China wants the internet to promote economic growth. China's digital economy has experienced massive growth over the last decade under the regime's protectionist policy. According to a McKinsey report, ten years ago China accounted for less than one percent of the global e-commerce market; today its share is 42%. In comparison, the United States' share of the market is 24%, down from 35% in 2005. Furthermore, the Party leadership views suppression of internet freedom as the key to its perpetual totalitarian rule over China and its people, so it uses its vast state apparatus to censor, block, and restrict the ability of Chinese citizens to get or share information and opinions. According to internet NGO GreatFire, China currently has blocked over 10,000 domain names and 80,000 URLs under the country's internet censorship policy, which prevents users from accessing proscribed websites from within the country. China's vast censorship apparatus is also using a new technique for rooting out banned contents, phrases and words. At the same time, its immense and potent propaganda machine uses fake news and spreads lies to incite ultra-nationalism and hatred towards the U.S.

China is not content with controlling information within its own borders. Under Chinas policy of cyber sovereignty, China has used technology to censor content on non-Chinese websites, including many attacks on American websites for content it dislikes. China also exports its digital totalitarianism, destroying democracy and the free world as we know it.

Second, while asserting tight control over the internets ideological and political sphere, the Chinese regime has used the pretense of national security to protect its internet market and block companies such as American competitors. It sets insurmountable barriers for the American internet companies to enter the Chinese market as equals, thus creating a de facto ban on American companies such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Chinese Wikipedia, Mobile Wikipedia, Pinterest, Dropbox, Reddit, Bloomberg, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Twitter, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Blogspot, Flickr, Tumblr, and many others. Some American internet companies have gained limited access to the Chinese market, but only after they submit to demands such as back doors on their technology to permit access by the Chinese government. As a result, China's denial of its internet market costs trillions of dollars to the American advertisers, bankers, manufacturers, farmers and service providers. For example, the Chinese mobile payment market has grown many folds to today's $30 trillion in the past decade and is projected to grow to $97 trillion in 2023 according to Frost & Sullivan, but none of the American companies benefit from this growth, and Tencent and Alibaba have monopolized the market.

Third, while China hinders access by U.S. firms to their market, Chinese internet companies have been taking extraordinary advantage of the free U.S. market. The Chinese internet company giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, all came to the U.S. and were given full and unrestricted access to the American markets, including capital markets. In 2018, thirty-three Chinese companies went public in the U.S. and in 2018 raised over $9 billion, most of the companies are internet tech companies. China refuses to grant the U.S. any true reciprocity in the internet arena. This unfair and detrimental trade practice should be a priority in the current trade negotiations with China.

Ensuring internet freedom and the free flow of information must be a core component of U.S. foreign policy and trade policy concerning China. Washington must use the leverage it possesses to foster a genuine opening of the Chinese internet market. If there is a free internet market in China, it will become an open political space that inevitably will undermine Xi's rule. The Communist Party leadership understands this, and it is time the U.S. did as well.

Bradley A. Thayer is the coauthor of How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics.



Lianchao Han is a human rights activist, Vice President of Initiatives for China, and Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute.




Ray McGovern calls out the void of evidence at the heart of the Senate hearing with Attorney General Barr on Wednesday.



By Ray McGovern

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - G

eorge Orwell would have been in stitches Wednesday watching Attorney General William Barr and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spar on Russia-gate. The hearing had the hallmarks of the intentionally or naively blind leading the blind with political shamelessness.

From time to time the discussion turned to the absence of a legal predicate to investigate President Donald Trump for colluding with Russia. That is, of course, important; and we can expect to hear a lot more about that in coming months.

More important: what remains unacknowledged is the absence of an evidence-based major premise that should have been in place to anchor the rhetoric and accusations about Russia-gate over the past three years. With a lack of evidence sufficient to support a major premise, any syllogism falls of its own weight.

The major premise that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee and gave WikiLeaks highly embarrassing emails cannot bear close scrutiny. Yes, former CIA Director John Brennan has told Congress he does not do evidence. In the same odd vein, Brennans former FBI counterpart James Comey chose not to do evidence when he failed to seize and inspect the DNC computers that a contractor-of-ill-repute working for the DNC claimed were hacked by Russia.

Call us old fashioned, but we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) still do evidence  and, in the case at hand, forensic investigation. For those who can handle the truth, the two former NSA technical directors in VIPS can readily explain how the DNC emails were not hacked  by Russia or anyone else  but rather were copied and leaked by someone with physical access to the DNC computers.

We first reported hard forensic evidence to support that judgment in a July 2017 memorandum for the president. Substantial evidence that has accumulated since then strengthens our confidence in that and in related conclusions. Our conclusions are not based on squishy assessments, but rather on empirical, forensic investigations  evidence based on fundamental principles of science and the scientific method.

Bizarre, Medieval

All serious members of the establishment, including Barr, his Senate interrogators, and the mainstream media feel required to accept as dogma the evidence-free conventional wisdom that Russia hacked into the DNC. If you question it, you are, ipso facto, a heretic  and a conspiracy theorist, to boot.

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Again, shades of Orwell and his famous two plus two equals five. Orwells protagonist in 1984, Winston Smith, imagines that the State might proclaim that two plus two equals five is fact. Smith wonders whether, if everybody believes it, does that make it true?

Actually, the end goal is not to get you to parrot that two plus two equals five. The end goal is to make it so youd never even consider that two plus two could equal anything other than five.

During the entire Barr testimony Wednesday, no one departed from the safe, conventional wisdom about Russian hacking. We in VIPS, at least, resist the notion that this makes it true. We shall continue to insist that two and two is four, and point out the flaws in any squishy Intelligence Community Assessment that concludes, even with high confidence, that the required answer is five.

Doubtful Dogma

Wednesdays Senate hearing brought a painful flashback to a similarly widely-held, but evidence-free dogma  that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. attacked that country. It gets worse: Many of the same people who promoted the spurious claims about WMD are responsible for developing and proclaiming the dogma about Russian hacking into the DNC. The Oscar for his performance in the role of misleader goes, once again, to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whose credits go back to the WMD fiasco in which he played a central role.

Before the war on Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put Clapper in charge of analysis of satellite imagery, the most definitive collection system for information on WMD. In his memoir, Clapper admits, with stomach-churning nonchalance, that intelligence officers, including me, were so eager to help [spread the Cheney/Bush claim that Iraq had a rogue WMD program] that we found what wasnt really there. [Emphasis added]

Last November as Clapper was hawking his memoir at the Carnegie Endowment I had a chance during the Q and A to

on that and on Russia-gate. I began:

You confess [in Clappers book] to having been shocked that no weapons of mass destruction were found. And then, to your credit, you admit, as you say here [quoting from the book], the blame is due to intelligence officers, including me, who were so eager to help [the administration make war on Iraq] that we found what wasnt really there.

Now fast forward to two years ago. Your superiors were hell bent on finding ways to blame Trumps victory on the Russians. Do you think that your efforts were guilty of the same sin here? Do you think that you found a lot of things that werent really there? Because thats what our conclusion is, especially from the technical end. There was no hacking of the DNC; it was leaked, and you know that because you talked to NSA.

Evidence

Back to the Senate hearing on Wednesday: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), during a line of questioning about evidence of obstruction of justice, asked the attorney general if he personally reviewed the underlying evidence in the Mueller report.

No, said Barr, We accepted the statements in the report as factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate.

Harris: You accepted the report as evidence? You did not question or look at the underlying evidence?

Barr: We accepted the statements in the report and the characterization of the evidence as true.

Harris: You have made it clear that you did not look at the evidence.

It was crystal clear on Wednesday that Barr had bigger fish to fry, as well as protective nets to deflect incoming shells. He is likely to be preoccupied for weeks answering endless questions about his handling of the Mueller report. It is altogether possible, though, that in due course he plans to look into the origins of Russia-gate and the role of Clapper, Brennan and Comey in creating and promoting the evidence-free dogma that Russia hacked into the DNC  and, more broadly, that, absent Russias support, Trump would not be president.

For the moment, however, we shall have to live with The Russians Still Did It, Whether Trump Colluded or Not. There remains an outside chance, however, that the truth will emerge, perhaps even before November 2020, and that, this time, the Democrats will be shown to have shot themselves in both feet.

For further background, please see:

VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal to Interview Assange

VIPS: Muellers Forensics-Free Findings

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years, with special expertise on Russia, and prepared The Presidents Daily Brieffor Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

This article was originally published by " Consortium News " -

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It is hardly an auspicious time for geostrategic adventures for Turkey. The governance mess after the country's transition to an executive presidency system, a worsening economic downturn and mounting political tensions since the March 31 local polls require Turkey to focus on its domestic woes. Yet, on top of its Syrian stalemate and soon after landing in the losers' club in Sudan, Ankara is cruising into another regional crisis  the one in Libya.

Turkey came back into the spotlight in Libya's conflict after Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive on Tripoli April 4, having taken control of two-thirds of the country, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, has pinned high hopes on Turkey. Sarraj, who has mounted a counter-operation to defend Tripoli, asked Ankara for support in an April 28 phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/turkey-russia-ankara-double-down-in-libya-game.html#ixzz5mxe7vAjO
(FPRI)  After three days of talks in Turkey, representatives from Washington and Ankara failed to reach agreement on the terms of a proposed safe zone in northeastern Syria. The two sides, treaty allies since 1952, share such widely divergent interests in Syria that compromise appears exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The reasons for these divergent interests are often described as an outcome of a half-hearted American intervention in Syria, where a small and limited military operation to oust the Islamic State resulted in a military partnership with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliate in Syria, the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is the core component of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia that Washington depends on to hold the territory taken from Islamic State. This is only half the story and does not capture the nuance of the slow and painful deterioration of Turkish-American relations.
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By Brett Wilkins

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - As is all too often the case when the United States sets its sights on its next target for war or regime change, the corporate mainstream media  which supposedly exists to speak truth to power  is once again marching in lockstep with the government as it beats the drums of war, this time against Venezuela.

The media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has just released a survey of US opinion journalism on the Venezuela crisis which found that in the three-month period between January 15 and April 15, not a single voice in what it called the "elite corporate media" opposed regime change or supported Venezuelas democratically elected government. FAIR analyzed coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour and the Sunday morning talk shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. Of the 76 articles, opinion pieces and TV commentator segments focusing on Venezuela, 54, or 72 percent, explicitly supported removing President Nicolas Maduro from power. Only 11 pieces took no position on the matter.

The Times published 22 pro-regime change commentaries, three ambiguous ones and only five that took no position. The nations paper of record published a January 30, 2019 opinion piece by coup leader Juan Guaido calling on the entire world to stand behind his effort to usurp the Venezuelan presidency. The Post also ran 22 pieces supporting Maduros ouster and only four that were neutral. Not to be outdone by its main competitor, the Jeff Bezos-owned paper also ran an opinion article by Guaido in which he had the temerity to call Maduro "a usurper." Even the normally measured PBS NewsHour got in on the act, featuring a lengthy interview with Guaido in which he called the possibility of violent confrontation "worth it" and dismissed the possibility of negotiating with Maduro.

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FAIR called corporate news coverage of Venezuela nothing short of "a full-scale marketing campaign for regime change." Indeed, it noted that the Times produced an April 1, 2019 opinion video featuring Joanna Hausmann, a Venezuelan-American writer and comedian, which praises Guaido without disclosing that her father, Ricardo Hausmann, is his envoy to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a Washington, DC-based international financial institution dominated by the interests of banks and corporations in the US and other wealthy nations. Hausmann is a neoliberal economist who played a key role in devising policies that enabled the exploitation of Venezuelas economy in the late 20th century. These policies, while friendly to multinational corporations and international capital, devastated and impoverished millions of Venezuelans, sowing the seeds for the backlash manifested in the Bolivarian Revolution.

Despite the glaring breach of the papers own editorial standards, Times video producer Adam Ellick shrugged off criticism of his failure to disclose Hausmanns ties to the coup regime. We were aware of her fathers biography before publication, Ellick said, but Ms. Hausmann is an independent adult woman who has built a popular following on her own, by producing a portfolio of argued videos about Venezuela via her own YouTube channel.

FAIR has previously noted what it called the "corporate medias willful erasure of vast improvements to Venezuelan life" since the Bolivarian Revolution began with the election of former president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The watchdog also took the media to task for ignoring US-imposed sanctions, which according to economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have caused tens of thousands of premature deaths in 2017 and 2018.

"Its obvious that the corporate media has been following US policy," Venezuelan sociologist Edgardo Lander told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! during a Thursday morning interview. Lander, who is a member of the Citizens Platform in Defense of the Constitution, a leftist group opposing US intervention and calling for a popular referendum to decide Venezuelas future, added that "this isnt new."

"I mean, it happened during the Iraq War. Its happened in Libya. Its happened in all over the place," he said. "Papers like the New York Times turn to be critical after the facts. Maybe 10 years from now, theyll be critical of their position in relation to whats happening in Venezuela."

Indeed, while the Times did reflect critically upon its reporting during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion  which too often consisted of little more than parroting Bush administration talking points and even outright lies  and also in 2017 lamented "Americas forever wars," the paper has never acknowledged the role it has played in building and maintaining support for those wars.

In one 2017 opinion article, the Times editorial board repeated that most commonly-heard myth, deeply rooted in the notion of American exceptionalism, that "at least in recent decades, American presidents who took military action have been driven by the desire to promote freedom and democracy." Even the most cursory examination of events unfolding in Venezuela instantly belies this claim, which comes from a country whose government has supported nearly every right-wing dictatorship in the world over the past 75 years, and which has waged or backed wars costing millions of lives in order to crush popular liberation movements around the globe.

Brett Wilkins

This article was originally published by " AntiWar " -

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==See Also==

Venezuelan Coup Fails & So Does CNN - Jimmy Dore Show

Rick Sanchez & Chris Hedges explain media decay

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Glen Greenwald reams media for Collusion coverage Watch



May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Tucker Carlson, Its been a bewildering couple of months for Bill Barr. Barr first served as attorney general in the George HW Bush administration. That was 1991. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just turned two years old at the time. Thats how long ago it was. Then, this February, by process of elimination, Barr became attorney general again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job.



Barr probably didnt expect to become a major figure in the Russia story. He had nothing to do with it. As far as we know, Barr never met with secret agents in Prague. He never texted Vladimir Putin on his blackberry. He never managed a Macedonian content farm. If Barr betrayed his country for a sack or rubles and a case of vodka, nobody has ever proved it. But it doesnt matter. The Russia story cannot die. CNN, The Washington Post, and the Democratic Party have too much invested in it.



The fact its been proved a hoax is irrelevant to them. Bill Barr is a handy way to keep the Russia in the news. Watch todays talking point in action. Somewhere in the basement of the DNC, some a messaging consultant has decided that credibility is the most effective line of attack: Greenwald Reacts to "Rage" against AG Barr after Senate Hearing Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter ==See Also== What Are The Stakes Of Russia Sensationalism? Glenn Greenwald and Sam Seder discuss Russiagate. Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Every week, we select the best police reports from Athens and the University of Georgia for our website and newspaper. Today, were selecting the best of this year so far. From alien abductions to a nude dude, here are our favorite blotters from January to now.
The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market.

Demand for pre-owned cars remained strong in the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), crossing the 4-million unit mark, even as sales of new cars were in slow lane, according to a report.

The used cars segment is expected reach 6.7 to 7.2 million cars per year and be valued at Rs 50,000 crore by FY22, according to IndianBlue Book, the pricing and valuation arm of Mahindra FirstChoice Wheels (MFCW), the pre-owned unit of Mahindra and Mahindra.

The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market, according to the third edition of the report on IndianBlue Book.

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India advanced by a mere 2.7 per cent to 3.3 million units in FY19 - the slowest in five years as buyers deferred purchase amid high finance costs and uncertainty.

Encouraged by the growth prospect in the used car space, MFCW envisages selling 350,000 PVs in FY20, against 250,000 units in FY19.

It is also hoping to become a profitable company by the end of FY20 on the back of volume growth, Ashutosh Pandey, managing director and chief executive officer officer at MFCW, told Business Standard.

To tap into the growth opportunity, the company plans to step up the number of dealerships from the current 1,100 to 1,700 by FY20-end.

What drives the used car market is the migration up from the two-wheelers, said Pandey.

The pool of people willing to migrate from a two-wheeler is significantly large, he said, pointing out that the trend is being fuelled by the second-hand market getting increasingly organised, which in turn gives greater confidence to the buyers to opt for used cars.

The report said the number of consumers paying for an expert evaluation has jumped three times from 10 per cent to 29 per cent between FY09 and FY19, indicating the opportunities for the organised certified pre-owned market.

Some of the other trends, which the report highlights, include a strong preference for entry-level hatchbacks and sedans.

Seven of every ten cars bought comprise hatchbacks and sedans, similar to the new car market.

Typically, the cars bought are pre-dominantly from first owners, with 72 per cent of them being less than five years old.

The report also highlights the buying behaviour unique to pre-owned car buyers.

A pre-owned car buyer tends to be steadfast, with over 40 buyers sticking to a preferred model from research to purchase.

Hence, availability of the preferred model becomes the key enabler to choose the purchase channel.

A similar unwavering persistence is seen in the budget-to-purchase segment, with over 55 per cent buyers tending to stick to and limit the options within the budget.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

Calling for an "unconditional" withdrawal of its legal case, sued potato growers in Gujarat on Friday said that they have sought compensation from PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd (PIH) for harassment caused to them due to the lawsuit.

In a press briefing on Friday, three of the potato farmers sued by PepsiCo along with farmer union leaders and farmers rights activists asserted that Indian farmers' seed freedoms were non-negotiable.

With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

"PepsiCo should withdraw the cases unconditionally. The also company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through even though the law is clear on the subject," said Bipin Patel in a media briefing on Friday. Patel is one of the four potato growers against whom PepsiCo had filed a suit.

"We would like the state government to reveal the full details of the ongoing discussions with the company since we are demanding an unconditional withdrawal based on a reiteration of Sec. 39 (1) (iv) of PPV&FR Act 2001, and anything else is not acceptable," the sued potato growers said.

PepsiCo had earlier on Thursday said that it has agreed to withdraw cases against potato growers in Gujarat after discussions with the government.

The company had sued nine potato farmers in Gujarat, including five last year and four this year, for allegedly buying seeds and selling potato of the FL 2027 variety registered by PepsiCo.

The said variety is used by PepsiCo for making 'Lays' chips.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers.

"We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection.

"The company remains deeply committed to the thousands of farmers we work with across the country and towards ensuring adoption of best farming practices," the PepsiCo India spokesperson had stated.

The sued potato farmers also called for increased awareness of the legislation around plant varieties among farmers across the country.

"The court proceedings came as a shock to us, including the amount of damages that the company was claiming.

"It was clearly trying to intimidate and harass us. Its real intention might have been to wipe out competitors from the market, but it chose to harass farmers.

"The company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through," they said.

On the other hand, Maganbhai Patel of BKS said that it was possible to get a large multinational company to back out very quickly, given that the PPV&FR Act 2001 was clearly on the farmers' side.

The potato growers and farmer activists also sought support from the government for pressuring PepsiCo to agree to their demands for compensation.

"We are not going to approach courts for compensation but shall take a call as and when PepsiCo files for withdrawal of cases in the courts," the farmers said.

On Friday, farmers and activists also announced forming of a new outfit called Bij Adhikar Manch (Rights for Seeds Forum). A meeting of 30 members under the new entity, comprising farmers, farm leaders, civil right representatives, lawyers and scientists, was also held on Friday in Ahmedabad where the forum decided to call for a nation-wide boycott of PepsiCo products.

The forum will now continue to fight for farmers' sovereign rights seeds, said its co-ordinator Kapil Shah.

Friday also saw PepsiCo India officials hold a meeting with Gujarat government officials including chief secretary of the state and additional chief secretary for agriculture, Government of Gujarat in the state capital Gandhinagar.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting in Gandhinagar, Jagrut Kotecha, vice president snacks, PepsiCo India said, "We had come to update the state government about the statement we had issued earlier on Thursday and are looking forward to an amicable solution for everyone."

When asked about withdrawal of cases against the potato growers, Kotecha told mediapersons that PepsiCo India would withdraw the cases as and when the matter came up for hearing before the court.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for June 12 at a commercial court in Ahmedabad.

Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Narendra Damodardas Modi has upset the comfort zone of the secular cartel that represented a precipitated hate for the assertive Indian.

Still, the highly politicised and opinionated 'secular' media is able to speak falsehoods and hit hard at newly emerging assertive Indians and their spokespersons.

Their last battle to shield the 'bachaa-khucha' -- whatever is left -- of their empire is climaxing in mocking missiles on right-wing followers.

Their practice of ideological apartheid was so strong and overpowering that a journalist in her arrogance tweeted from her pedestal, 'We donated land to Yogi Adityanath's ancestors to build the Gorkahdham temple'!

Some cheek they have. They donated to us. Who are they? They align with the invaders. Who are we? They say we are the beggars, the vanquished people who received donations from the conquistadors. And then the same discredited Aryan invasion theory is projected.

Like the political Opposition, they believe if a blatant lie is spoken a thousand times, it gets registered as the truth in public perception.

The Yeti episode and the loud laugh by the chatterati 'secular class' at the Indian Army and my reply underline a mindset that is resisting the change. I saluted the Indian Army, felt proud about its achievement.

The Yeti has been an area of my study since my college days and I undertook two journeys to Tibet, that included visiting Yogi Milarepa's cave in the Ngari prefecture in my pursuit to gain more knowledge about the Abominable Snowman. But that's another story.

The falsification of my tweet is not a new thing -- the seculars are past masters in the Stalinised transformation of the truth into their convenient versions.

A clear divide is to be seen in the media, like in pre-Partition days. The secular class, against Ayodhya, Article 370 removal, common civil code, cow protection and Ram Setu is a consolidated, organised, sector in the media.

They must write against the armed forces, assertive Indians, celebrate Kashmir insurgents, befriend jihadis, publish columns by pronounced beef-eaters, and fulfill secular obligations by hitting us, whatever the occasion, whatever the time or matter.

They must raise their voice against assertive Indians, seeing absolutely nothing positive in us even if a larger part of the nation supports us and votes us.

They think all those supporters are wrong till they convert to the secular class's faith.

Proselytisers of another hue, these seculars have become more venomous and harsher than the Portuguese Jesuit harvesters of faith who used excruciatingly painful inquisition methods to convert Hindus in Goa.

They are the secular extra space leg people, whose daily life depends on doles from foreign agencies and NGOs, and have been spoilt by the likes of Nurul Hassan to Arjun Singh.

They have convinced themselves that they are the lone torch-bearers of Indian voices, whom the India desk on Capitol Hill and the European parliament, Amnesty, Unesco, and public diplomacy department of the MEA and Alliance Francaise de Delhi gave shelter, fat fees for new books and video films -- which none read or saw -- and invites.

With Modi's rise, their space has shrunk, their Siberias and Gulags on news desks are questioned, fellowships gone. Hence the hurt.

The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing. Nothing new.

The abuses and use of choicest bad words, against us, our leaders, was a creation of this left-Congress gang. They are now getting it back with interest added and that's shocking them -- oh, they know some English also?

Their eyes would squirm, their lips stiffen and eyes show an unmistakable charge of intense hate whenever they saw us in the holy precincts of their monopolised domination like the India International Centre or the Editors Guild.

Once I had lunch at the IIC and saw a known left journalist. I went to his table to greet him. He was shocked, and for a second looked frozen in disbelief. And the first sentence he uttered was, 'Arre, you are a member here? Who gave you membership?'

I returned to my table with sadness. We were supposed to eat in a dhaba, speak against reforms, against Muslims and Christians, against social amity and wear a shikhaa -- which they called head-tail.

To get their approval and acceptance we must support the invaders -- or at least show them as economic reformers who came from Ghazni to Somnath in pursuit to increase employment opportunities for poor, enterprising Afghans and free Hindus from the shackles of the priests.

For secular baptism, we must read Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, attend Sahmat meetings, buy Audrey Truschke's books and show them off to friends too, and write columns on how as god's special messenger in academics Wendy Doniger is once again civilising the Hindus through her masterpiece.

This was considered to be the first signature of a civilised, cultured, secular Indian.

The armed forces too have received their contempt and an unusual dose of verbal missiles. Never would we see a rally, a Jantar Mantar candlelight vigil, a jhola chhaap silent march in support of the Gadchiroli or Pulwama martyrs, or against the terrorist gangs of Naxals, and Kashmir jihadis.

These well-fed and well-paid mediapersons find it easy to hit us, but would not find the time to report on polling in Tawang and the fear enveloping Changlang. Or a report from Hebron, for obvious reasons.

They will never even try their investigative skills to report how the Church is openly funding and supporting the NSCN-IM and K and their idea of a greater Nagaland for religious expansionism.

For the Indian media, specially the secular class, anything that corrodes the boundaries of Hindu faith, and hurts the people who profess an assertive Indian dharma -- through the tricolour and the Constitution -- must be welcomed and if Islamists, the PFI, Jesuits or any section of the proselytisers hit at us collectively, that is secular tehzeeb and well within their rights.

Modi has punctured their fraud, their tirade of lies and falsification.

One must never forget that just before the 2014 election came to an end, an influential magazine published a cover story with the title, 'God of Hate', with a Modi picture.

Modi must not stop, and decimate this gang.

The only fear is that assertive Indians often fall prey to the same old Prithviraj Chauhan syndrome.

Not this time, please.

Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP, was the chief editor of the RSS weekly, Panchjanya, for 20 years.
Retired Lieutenant General D S Hooda said on Saturday that cross-border operations had happened in the past too but disapproved of politicising the matter.

Responding to a question on the Congress party's claim that six surgical strikes had been carried out during its rule too, Hooda told reporters in Jaipur, "Certainly cross-border operations have been carried out by the Indian Army in the past too. I am not aware of exact dates and areas."

The Congress on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during the United Progressive Alliance rule, asserting that it never tried to take political advantage from military operations as was being done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress released the list at a press conference after BJP leader Arun Jaitley took a jibe at the opposition party, saying its surgical strikes were "invisible and unknown".

The former chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command said it was not good to politicise the army.

"It is not a good thing to bring the Army in poll campaign by political parties. The Election Commission too has said this. Ultimately, it's the institution which suffers damage in long term," he said.

Hooda was in Jaipur to attend a dialogue on India's national security.

"Protecting our people is one of the most important aspects in the national security strategy we prepare," he said in the function.

Hooda, who recently headed a Congress panel on national security and submitted a report, also said that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is an important challenge being faced today.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.

Ajai Shukla reports.

The Indian Air Force has been told to keep on hold the findings of a court of inquiry that has conclusively determined that an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter was shot down by an Indian missile battery that was guarding the Srinagar air base.

A senior helicopter pilot, of the rank of air commodore, heads the CoI.

Six IAF personnel and a civilian on the ground died in that 'friendly fire' incident on February 27.

Top IAF sources say the incident occurred after officers from the ground missile battery misidentified the IAF chopper as a Pakistani aircraft on a mission to attack Srinagar.

The disaster took place the day after IAF fighters had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Pakistan to retaliate against a JeM suicide bomb attack 12 days earlier, which killed over 40 Indian troopers in Pulwama, near Srinagar.

The CoI has found that, with IAF and army units across Jammu and Kashmir in a state of hair-trigger alert against expected Pakistani retaliation, two crucial omissions led to the missile battery opening fire and downing their own helicopter.

First, to guard against misidentification of aircraft in the prevailing state of alert, all IAF aircraft coming in to land in Srinagar were required to approach the air base only through a designated air corridor.

Ground missile units would know that the aircraft approaching through the narrow 'funnel' was a friendly aircraft.

For reasons that remain unclear, the Mi-17V5 helicopter was not in the safe corridor as it approached from the direction of Budgam, to the south of Srinagar.

The ground missile units assumed the radar track they picked was that of a hostile aircraft.

Second, IAF aircraft are equipped with an electronic device called an Identification Friend or Foe system, which beams out a coded signal that identifies the aircraft as a friendly one to all IAF radars and IFF receivers.

The IFF system is required to be switched on, especially in a situation where ground missile units are on high alert.

For unclear reasons, the CoI has found that the ill-fated helicopter's IFF system was not switched on that day.

IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses. However, they are held back by a 'go-slow' order.

On February 27, the downing of the helicopter was obscured by the media attention on the downing of an IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's capture.

The IAF has declined to comment, stating: 'The CoI is still in progress.'

Asked specifically about the delay in finalising the findings of the CoI, the IAF said: 'The time line of any CoI cannot be predicted.'

It is learnt that the missile that was fired was an Israeli short-range surface to air missile (SR-SAM), which can engage incoming targets at ranges out to 20 kilometres.

While engaging targets at those ranges, there is no scope for visual identification. Aircraft are merely a blip on a radar.

The incoming helicopter was engaged with the permission of the base air defence officer at Srinagar, who was required to satisfy himself that a target being engaged is indeed hostile.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.

IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate an election victory. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

For the first time in the history of Indian elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting more seats than the Congress.

The BJP is contesting elections in 437 constituencies this election while the Congress is contesting 14 seats -- 423 -- fewer.

1984 was the first Lok Sabha election the BJP contested after it was born in 1980.

The BJP fielded 224 candidates in 1984 and won just 2 seats! The party won only 7.74% of the votes polled.

The Congress won 404 seats -- its highest ever -- and 49.10% of the vote in an election held weeks after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The two BJP MPs elected were Dr A K Patel, who won from Mehsana in Gujarat, and Chandupatla Janga Reddy, who won from Hanamkonda in Andhra Pradesh.

IMAGE: Lal Kishenchand Advani who rebuilt the Bharatiya Janata Party as a formidable election winning machine. Photograph: PTI Photo

In 1986, Lal Kishenchand Advani took over as BJP president from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a lot changed for the party when Advani was at the helm from 1986 to 1996.

The BJP won 85 of the 225 seats it contested in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.

Its vote share rose to 11.36%. The Congress won 39.53% of the vote, a nearly 10% drop from the election five years earlier.

The Congress won only 197 of the 510 seats it contested and lost power at the Centre.

In the 1991 Lok Sabha election, the BJP contested 468 seats -- the second highest it has fought since its founding -- and won 120 seats.

It also increased its vote share to 20.11%.

The Congress won 232 of the 487 seats it contested -- recovering ground after its leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the election campaign.

But its vote share dipped further -- the Congress won 36.26% of the votes.

1991 was the last election the Congress won a vote share of 30% and above.

The election to the 11th Lok Sabha were held in 1996. The BJP contested 471 seats -- its highest ever till date -- and won 161 of them.

The party vote share was intact at 20.29%.

The Congress won 140 of the 529 seats it contested, getting 28.80% of the vote share.

The mid-term 1998 election again produced a fractured mandate with the BJP winning 182 of the 388 seats it contested.

The Congress saw its seats decline to 141 seats.

The BJP equalled the Congress vote share for the first time.

While the BJP won 25.59% of the vote, the Congress vote share declined to 25.82% per cent.

Another mid-term election was called after Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government lost a vote of confidence -- when the AIADMK withdrew support -- by just 1 vote.

The 1999 general election saw the BJP making further inroads in the Congress support base.

The BJP won 182 of the 339 seats it contested though its vote share saw a marginal drop to 23.75%.

The Congress won just 114 of the 453 seats it contested, but its vote share saw a marginal rise to 28.30%.

The BJP cobbled up a coalition with regional parties and the National Democratic Alliance was born with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister.

The 2004 general election was a contest between the NDA and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

Despite its India Shining campaign, the BJP won only 138 of the 364 seats it contested.

The Congress won 145 of the 400 seats it contested.

The BJP vote share declined to 22.16%; the Congress vote share declined to 26.53%.

The Left -- which supported the UPA from outside -- made substantial gains, winning 60 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress formed the government for the first time since May 1991 with Dr Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 116 of the 433 seats it contested.

The Congress managed its best showing in the new century, winning 206 of the 440 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

The Congress increased its vote share to 28.55% while the BJP's vote share declined to 18.80%.

IMAGE: Narendra Damodardas Modi, who has restored and enhanced the BJP's electoral glory. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

For the first time since the 1984 Lok Sabha election, a party won an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha with the BJP winning 282 of the 428 seats it contested.

The BJP's vote share crossed the 30% mark for the first time -- under Narendra Damodardas Modi's leadership, it won 31.34% of the vote.

The Congress suffered its worst election defeat, winning a mere 44 of the 464 seats it contested.

The Congress vote share shrunk to 19.52%, its worst till date.

How many of the 437 constituencies will the BJP win this Lok Sabha election?

Can the Congress improve its dismal 2014 tally in the 423 seats it is contesting this time?

Text: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com. Graphics: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com. Data Source: Election Commission of India.
Some 1,100 years ago, Uthiramerur had an election system similar to what India has today.

T E Narasimhan reports.

IMAGE: The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Tucked away in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, 90 km from Chennai, is the small temple town of Uthiramerur.

It is located along national highway 45, running south-west of Chennai. A tight right straightens out on to the road that leads to this busy small-town market.

The 25-km road runs in the middle of the dry agriculture land on both sides slightly dotted by industrial establishments and education institutions

There are three famous temples in Uthiramerur -- The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple, dedicated to Vishnu; the Subramanya temple, for Muruga, and the Kailasanatha temple, for Shiva.

Besides, Uthiramerur has another rich institution it prays to, and that is 'democracy'.

Some 1,100 years ago, this town had an election system similar to what India has today -- including references to how elected members must be subjected to the right of recall.

Around the Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple there are about ten traditional houses. 82-year old Srinivasan lives here, as does Sridhar.

Their families have lived in Uthiramerur for many decades now, and they have many stories to tell.

Image: Tamil inscriptions, dating back to the 10th century AD, on qualifications required of candidates standing for election, at Uttaramerur.

The Paranthaka Cholas ruled this area and introduced systems of governance that were the precursors of today's governance.

There is also evidence of a perfect electoral system and a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections in the forms of inscriptions on the walls of the village assembly hall (grama sabha mandapa), which is a rectangular structure made of granite slabs.

"This inscription, dated to 920 AD during the reign of Parantaka Chola is an outstanding document in the history of India," says a representative from the Archaeological Survey of India at the site.

The inscription gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates contesting elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of elections, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of the committees and the power to remove the wrong-doers.

"On the walls of the mandapa are inscribed a variety of secular transactions of the village, dealing with administrative, judicial, commercial, agricultural, transportation and irrigation regulations, as administered by the then village assembly, giving a vivid picture of the efficient administration of the village society in the bygone era," the ASI official says.

As per the inscriptions, a huge mud pot (kudam) was placed at a central location of the town or village, which served as the ballot box.

The voters wrote the name of their desired candidate on the palm leaf (panai olai) and dropped it in the pot.

The leaves were taken out from the pot and counted. Whoever got the highest number of votes was selected the member of the village assembly, notes Ganesan, a former MLA.

The entire village, including the infants, had to be present at the village assembly mandapa at Uthiramerur when the elections were held. Only the sick and those who had gone on a pilgrimage were exempt.

According to the inscriptions, the village was divided into 30 families, and one representative was elected for each family.

Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest. The essential criteria were age limit, possession of immovable property and minimum educational qualification.

Only those who owned land, that attracted tax, could contest. Another interesting stipulation was that such owners should have a house built on a legally-owned site.

A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the three terms, each term lasting a year.

Elected members, who suffered disqualification, were those who accepted bribes, misappropriated others' property, committed incest or acted against public interest.

If one was proved corrupt during his tenure, he, his family members and even his blood relatives could not contest elections for the next seven generations.

A 10th century record, which was in the form of inscriptions at this site also reveals how the fines imposed on the wrong-doers of the village were administered.

Those who were fined for wrong deeds were called 'dhushtargal' (criminal).

The fines were imposed on them by the village assembly and the sitting elected members.

The fines imposed were to be collected from the 'dhushtargal' and settled by the village administrators through the assembly within the same financial year, failing which the assembly would intervene and get the matter settled.

Delayed payment of penalties had late fee attached to them.

Measures in place ensured that elected members of the village assembly do not escape fine or punishment using their influence. They were dealt with severely, if found guilty.

T Venkatesan from this panchayat town says even today candidates from the political parties visit this temple during election time to seek blessings.

The deity in the Vaikunta Perumal temple is referred to as 'Election Perumal' or the god for elections.

A DMK follower Kamala Kannan, a resident, points out another interesting factor -- whichever political party wins this constituency comes to power in the state.

Today, the temple town remains largely decrepit, dependent on sugar cane and rice farming, with just a few industries producing steel, cement and sugar.

When then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was touring Tamil Nadu, along with his wife Sonia Gandhi, he visited the temple and enquired about the history and how democracy was practised here.

Seshadri, who knew some English, was to do the explanation. However, before he could do so, Sonia Gandhi interrupted and explained, for about 10 minutes to Rajiv Gandhi, the significance of the place, recalls Seshadri.
Hong Kong: James Lau attends ADB meeting

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau today continued attending the Asian Development Banks 52nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji.

At the Business Session which closed this years annual meeting, he said uncertainties over international trade and economic prospects over the past year had rendered reliable partnerships all the more important at this juncture.

Mr Lau called on the banks members to work together to get the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time, adding it would be the key to sustainable growth in Asia.

As an international financial centre with deep and liquid financial markets in the region, Hong Kong would continue to play an active role in supporting and promoting infrastructure investment in Asia, he said.

Mr Lau also met Director General of the Department of International Financial & Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance Zhang Wencai, and Executive Director for China to the Asian Development Bank Cheng Zhijun to discuss Hong Kongs contribution to the banks long-term development.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - A new report provides information on which corporations are profiting from the private prison industry.

The report (pdf), which was released by criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, is based on a database run by the organization that lists a total 3,900 companies in 12 sectors that make money off of the prison industrial complex.

The scope of the income taken in by these companies, the report says, is in the tens of billions.

Today, more than half of the $80 billion spent annually on incarceration by government agencies is used to pay the thousands of vendors that serve the criminal legal system. They are healthcare providers, food suppliers, and commissary merchants, among others. And many have devised strategies to extract billions more from the directly impacted communities supporting their incarcerated loved ones.

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The database was first published last year, with 3,100 companies. Tuesday's update adds another 800 corporations to the list.

Bianca Tylek, the executive director for Worth Rises, said in a statement that the report will make it harder for prison profiteers to operate without scrutiny.

"Before this report, many of the companies involved in the prison industrial complex flew below the radar, often intentionally to avoid the headline risk that comes with profiting off mass incarceration today," said Tylek. "This data brings these companies to light and equips advocates with the information needed to challenge them."

The report presents the data mostly in raw form as a research service. The download link is in the report.

Adding more corporations to the list is part of a push to expose the predatory practices of the for-profit prison industry, Tylek said.

"This year's edition expands on our original report with the addition of more than 800 companies," said Tylek. "In publishing this report, we continue to expose the multi-billion-dollar industry built off the vulnerable communitiesdisproportionately black, brown, and cash poortargeted by the criminal legal system."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

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China and Russia: Whoopin' Uncle Sam at His Own Game

By Mike Whitney

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Your Geopolitical Quiz for the Day:

Two countries are embroiled in a ferocious rivalry. One countrys meteoric growth has put it on a path to become the worlds biggest economic superpower while the other country appears to be slipping into irreversible decline. Which country will lead the world into the future?

Country A builds factories and plants, it employees zillions of people who manufacture things, it launches massive infrastructure programs, paves millions of miles of highways and roads, opens new sea lanes, vastly expands its high-speed rail network, and pumps profits back into productive operations that turbo-charge its economy and bolster its stature among the nations of the world.

Country B has the finest military in the world, it has more than 800 bases scattered across the planet, and spends more on weapons systems and war-making than all the other nations combined. Country B has gutted its industrial core, hollowed out its factory base, allowed its vital infrastructure to crumble, outsourced millions of jobs, off-shored thousands of businesses, plunged the center of the country into permanent recession, delivered control of its economy to the Central Bank, and recycled 96 percent of its corporate and financial profits into a stock buyback scam that sucks critical capital out of the economy and into the pockets of corrupt Wall Street plutocrats whose voracious greed is pushing the world towards another catastrophic meltdown.

Which of these two countries is going to lead the world into the future? Which of these two countries offers a path to security and prosperity that doesnt involve black sites, extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial assassinations, color-coded revolutions, waterboarding, strategic disinformation, false-flag provocations, regime change and perennial war?

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Chinas Belt and Road Initiative: A Tectonic Shift in the Geopolitical Balance of Power

Over the weekend, more than 5,000 delegates from across the world met in Beijing for The Second Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation. The conference provided an opportunity for public and private investors to learn more about Xi Jinpings signature infrastructure project that is reshaping trade relations across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. According to journalist Pepe Escobar, The BRI is now supported by no less than 126 states and territories, plus a host of international organizations and will involve six major connectivity corridors spanning Eurasia. The massive development project is one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, .including 65% of the worlds population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. (Wikipedia) The improvements to road, rail and sea routes will vastly increase connectivity, lower shipping costs, boost productivity, and enhance widespread prosperity. The BRI is Chinas attempt to replace the crumbling post-WW2 liberal order with a system that respects the rights of sovereign nations, rejects unilateralism, and relies on market-based principles to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth. The Belt and Road Initiative is Chinas blueprint for a New World Order. It is the face of 21st century capitalism.

The prestigious event in Beijing was barely covered by the western media which sees the project as a looming threat to US plans to pivot to Asia and become the dominant player in the most prosperous and populous region in the world. Growing international support for the Chinese roadmap suggests that Washingtons hegemonic ambitions are likely to be short-circuited by an aggressive development agenda that eclipses anything the US is currently doing or plans to do in the foreseeable future.

The Chinese plan will funnel trillions of dollars into state of the art transportation projects that draw the continents closer together in a webbing of high-speed rail and energy pipelines (Russia). Far-flung locations in Central Asia will be modernized while standards of living will steadily rise. By creating an integrated economic space, in which low tariffs and the free flow of capital help to promote investment, the BRI initiative will produce the worlds biggest free trade zone, a common market in which business is transacted in Chinese or EU currency. There will be no need to trade in USDs despite the dollars historic role as the worlds reserve currency. The shift in currencies will inevitably increase the flow of dollars back to the United States increasing the already-ginormous $22 trillion dollar National Debt while precipitating an excruciating period of adjustment.

Chinese and Russian leaders are taking steps to harmonize their two economic initiatives, the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This will be a challenging task as the expansion of infrastructure implies compatibility between leaders, mutual security guarantees, new rules and regulations for the common economic space, and supranational political structures to oversee trade, tariffs, foreign investment and immigration. Despite the hurtles, both Putin and Xi appear to be fully committed to their vision of economic integration which they see as based on the unconditional adherence to the primacy of national sovereignty and the central role of the United Nations.

It comes at no surprise that US powerbrokers see Putins plan as a significant threat to their regional ambitions, in fact, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted as much in 2012 when she said, Its going to be called a customs union, it will be called the Eurasian Union and all of that, but lets make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it. Washington opposes any free trade project in which it is excluded or cannot control. Both the EEU and the BRI fall into that category.

The United States continues to demonize countries that simply want to use the market to improve the lives of their people and increase their prospects for prosperity. Washingtons hostile approach is both misguided and counterproductive. Competition should be seen as a way to improve productivity and lower costs, not as a threat to over-bloated, inefficient industries that have outlived their usefulness. Heres an excerpt from an article that Putin wrote in 2011. It helps to show that Putin is not the scheming tyrant he is made out to be in the western media, but a free market capitalist who enthusiastically supports globalization:

For the first time in the history of humanity, the world is becoming truly global, in both politics and economics. A central part of this globalization is the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region as compared to the EuroAtlantic world in the global economy. Asias rise is lifting with it the economies of countries outside Asia that have managed to latch onto the Asian economic engine.The US has also effectively hitched itself to this engine, creating an economic and financial network with China and other countries in the region The supercontinent of Eurasia is home to two-thirds of the worlds population and produces over 60 percent of its economic output. Because of the dramatic opening of China and the former Soviet Union to the world, almost all the countries in Eurasia are becoming more economically, politically, and culturally interdependent.  There is huge potential for development in infrastructure, in spite of some formidable bottlenecks. A unified and homogeneous common power market stretching from Lisbon to Hanoi via Vladivostok is not necessary, because electric power markets do not function in that way. But the creation of infrastructure that could support a number of regional and sub-regional common markets would do much for the economic development of Greater Eurasia. (Russian newspaper, Izvestia, 2011)

Keep in mind, the article was written back in 2011 long before Xi had even conjured up his grand pan-Asia infrastructure scheme. Putin was already a committed capitalist looking for ways to put the Soviet era behind him and skillfully use the markets to build his nations power and prosperity. Regrettably, he has been blocked at every turn. Washington does not want others to effectively use the markets. Washington wants to threaten, bully, sanction and harass its competitors so that outcomes can be controlled and more of the worlds wealth can be skimmed off the top by the noncompetitive, monopolistic corporate behemoths that diktat foreign policy to their political underlings (in congress and the White House) and who see rivals as blood enemies that must be ground into dust.

Is it any wonder why Russia and China have emerged as Washingtons biggest enemies? It has nothing to do with the fictitious claims of election meddling or so-called hostile behavior in the South China Sea. Thats nonsense. Washington is terrified that the Russo-Chinese economic integration plan will replace the US-dominated liberal world order, that cutting edge infrastructure will create an Asia-Europe super-continent that no longer trades in dollars or recirculates profits into US debt instruments. They are afraid that an expansive free trade zone that extends from Lisbon to Vladivostok will inevitably lead to new institutions for lending, oversight and governance. They are afraid that a revamped 21st century capitalism will result in more ferocious competition for their clunker corporations, less opportunity for unilateralism and meddling, and a rules-based system where the playing field is painstakingly kept level. Thats what scares Washington.

The Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union represent the changing of the guard. The US-backed neoliberal model of globalisation is being rejected everywhere, from the streets of Paris, to Brexit, to the rise of right wings groups across Europe, to the unexpected election of Donald Trump in 2016. The Russo-Chinese model is built on a more solid, and less extractive, foundation. This new vision anticipates an interconnected multipolar world where the rules governing commerce are decided by the participants, where the rights of every state are respected equally, and where the new guarantors for regional security scrupulously keep the peace. It is this vision of revitalized capitalism that Washington sees as its mortal enemy.
United Nations Special Rapporteur David Kaye speaks to the media about the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.

Governments and state media in Southeast Asia touted improving media liberty on World Press Freedom Day Friday, but critics were swift to point out limits on expression and the jailing of many journalists across the region.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye said in a statement that celebration alone to mark the day would be an insufficient way to observe a day created by the UN General Assembly in 1993 to assess the state of press freedom worldwide, defend the media from attacks on independence and pay tribute to journalists who have died in the line of duty.

Autocrats and demagogues too often denigrate the press, with dire consequences for safety, for democracy, and for the publics right to know, Kaye said in the statement.

Today more than ever, we need not just generic celebrations, but concrete steps to improve press freedom worldwide, he said.

The UN statement highlighted the case of two Reuters reporters in Myanmar, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who last month were denied their final appeals and must serve the remainder of their seven-year-sentences.

They were arrested in December 2017 while pursuing a story about the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during a brutal military-led crackdown in western Myanmars Rakhine state. Authorities detained them shortly after two policemen with whom they had dinner in Yangon handed them state documents related to the atrocities, in what was widely viewed as a police setup.

The statement indicated that press freedom in many parts of Asia is severely lacking, including in China where basic rights to seek, receive and impart information hardly exist.

The theme for this years World Press Freedom Day is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

Cambodia

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, currently in the midst of an 11-day visit to the country, posted her thoughts about the state of press freedom under Hun Sens regime.

I am concerned that Cambodia has slipped further one point to 143 over the last year, after falling 10 points from 132 the previous year in the Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedoms Index, she wrote.

She also gave advice to Cambodias government on ways to improve.

I encourage the Government to provide the space for a free media, both offline and online, including through the adoption and implementation of the draft Law on Access to Information, she wrote.

I also repeat my encouragement to lift the charges against the two former RFA journalists, she added, referring to Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta, who were arrested in November 2017 on suspicion of continuing to provide news about Cambodia to RFA after the U.S.-funded media outlet closed its office in Cambodia that September.

Cambodias fall one spot in the RSF index to 143, was matched by those of neighbor Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, which each fell one step. In a year-on-year comparison for 2018, Laos fell one spot from 170 to 171, Vietnam fell one spot from 175 to 176, and Myanmar fell one spot from 137 to 138.

Meas Sophorn, a spokesman for the countrys Ministry of Information told RFAs Khmer Service that Information Minister Khieu Kanharith held a press conference to mark the day where he said that press freedom is getting better each day within the kingdom.

The spokesman added that broadcast and print media are on the rise, and the country is showing how it respects human rights and press freedom, offering the press conference itself as an indication that press freedom is important to the regime.

But Long Kimmaryta, a journalist for a bilingual newspaper in Phnom Penh disagreed, saying that reporters and the press must now self-censor, after the government arrested reporters.

She said writing criticism about the government is risky in the current climate.

If we were to write positive stories about the government, then sources within the government are happier to talk to us, she said, adding that journalists in Cambodia can only write stories if they feel their safety isnt threatened.

Laos

Meanwhile in neighboring Laos, the deputy editor of the government-published Vientiane Times told RFAs Lao Service, I think we have all kinds of freedoms because we have media laws guaranteeing those freedoms, including the freedom to write news and freedom of expression.

We want to improve and upgrade our reporters knowledge and skills and we also need to diversify the way we [source] content for our news stories, said Deputy Editor Phonekeo Vorlakoun.

Of course, as reporters, we want to respond to the needs of our people, he said.

The deputy editors comments were contradicted by a local reporter stationed in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province who is covering the lasting damage caused by last years disaster at a nearby dam which claimed the lives of hundreds and has been described as Laos worst flooding in decades.

All news stories, even those on technical matters, must be approved by the leadership of the district and the province before we can publish anything, said the reporter.

An official of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism agreed with the reporter saying, The government will never force us to do anything, or order us how to do this or that, but if they say we cant publish the story, we cant publish it.

A citizen of Vientiane gave insight on how the people gain access to reliable news in the country.

If we need to speak out or want to know whats going on, we use Facebook. We cant rely on state TV, radio or newspapers because its too slow, inaccurate and restricted, said the citizen.

Facebook in Vietnam

But Facebook has also been the target of criticism, particularly for bowing to the whims of governments looking to restrict the publics access to information, such as in Vietnam.

According to an open letter to Facebook from 10 free expression and human rights organizations in Vietnam, the social networking behemoth has been blocking access to content on the request of the Vietnamese government.

The letter said that Vietnams 64 million Facebook users use Facebook as their primary news source, citing the absence of independent media within the country.

On January 1, a restrictive cybersecurity law went into effect in Vietnam but the desire of Vietnamese to stay connected and build community has not changed, said the rights groups in the letter, signed by Reporters Without Borders, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Viet Tan and other groups.

The Vietnamese government may want foreign companies to set up local data servers, censor content, and turn over private user data  but its up to Facebook to ultimately decide whether it will uphold human rights or not, they said.

The letter cited Facebook as saying that blocked content was based on local legal restrictions, but urged the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg to not become complicit in the human rights violations of authoritarian governments such as Vietnams.

Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur, States must move beyond words, beyond resolutions and take immediate and sustainable action to ensure safety of journalists, the independence of the media, the plurality of voices.

That is the challenge of the coming year: translating celebration into action, stigmatizing and penalizing those that attack journalism, and devoting resources to the great project of media freedom.

Additional reporting and translation by RFAs Lao and Khmer Services.
Myanmar military medics attend to a civilian wounded in an shooting this week in Rakhine state, May 3, 2019.

Injured survivors from a shooting this week in western Myanmars turbulent Rakhine state on Friday rejected the Myanmar armys account of the incident that killed six detained civilians and wounded eight others.

Four witnesses from Kyauktan village interviewed Friday by RFAs Myanmar Service rejected the account presented a day earlier by Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, who said villagers attacked security forces who were interrogating them and tried to take their weapons and the troops fired as a last resort.

Government forces had been holding 275 civilians in a school compound Rathedaung townships Kyauktan village since Tuesday to interrogate them about possible links to an alleged training camp of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine group that is battling Myanmar forces for greater autonomy.

A 48-year-old man who was injured in the shooting told RFA that the incident was sparked when a mentally disabled detainee started yelling loudly at 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

There was a mentally disabled man among the detainees. We asked the security forces to take care of him separately, he told RFA. They said, He is not mentally disabled. He is fine. He is just pretending.

The man started yelling run, run, run in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. The security forces didnt shoot at him. Instead, they shot at the crowd of other people. So, many people sleeping at the time died, the witness said.

A second witness who was present near the school supported the statement.

Some people tried to run at that time. But most people were lying on their chest. People who run away were not shot. But those who were sleeping got shot, the witness said.

No food or bathing

Another injured patient said the shooting lasted around 20 minutes.

A fourth injured witness said the military did not feed the 275 detainees or allow them to bathe.

We were not allowed take a bath. They didnt give any food the first two days. They only gave us a meal for dinner Tuesday. They said they would shoot and kill us if we tried to leave the school.

RFA has confirmed the identities of the witnesses but has withheld their names to protect them from possible reprisals by the military.

RFA asked Colonel Win Zaw Oo, commander of the Myanmar military's Western Command, about inconsistencies between the militarys announcements and the witnesses accounts.

What we have announced so far is the truth. We said it yesterday. The crowd was aroused to a dangerous situation. We responded with necessary measures to control the situation, he said.

They have their own accounts. But we have plenty of evidence to back up our accounts, Win Zaw Oo said.

At a military news conference at the Military History Museum in the capital Naypyidaw, army spokesman Zaw Min Tun denied the allegation that the security forces withheld food and drinking water from detainees at the school.

We have been interrogating 275 villagers in Kyauktan village. This morning, we have released 126 villagers who were found to have no connection with AA, he told the news conference. He said the others deemed to be associated with the AA would be charged under the law, but did not elaborate.

Some villagers were killed in the 2 a.m. incident, added Zaw Min Tun.

We have returned the bodies of the deceased villagers to the families at 9 a.m. this morning, he said, adding that family members of the dead villagers were given 300,000 kyats (about $200).

Campaign to 'instill fear' in Rakhines

AA spokesman Khine Thukha repeated his rejection of the militarys account of the shooting.

We can give a very clear answer: All the villagers they detained in Kyauktan village are just local civilians. They have no connection with AA, he told RFA.

We think it is the militarys strategy to instill fear among the Rakhine population by terrorizing a previously peaceful Rakhine village with violent detention and interrogations. Besides, their detention of the civilians is unlawful, said Khine Thukha.

They give an excuse that the detained villagers tried to attack them, cheering and taking the guns. This is unacceptable excuse, added the AA spokesman.

Political analyst Maung Maung Soe said the government should form an independent commission to probe the case.

In order to reveal the truth, the government should form an independent commission to investigate the case, he said. If such a committee is assigned to do investigations to find out the truth, I think we will have an account acceptable to all of us.

Win Zaw Oo, however, said the military would investigate its own.

Whenever there is an incident, we, the military, always have investigations as regular procedure. If it is necessary, we are going to conduct our own investigations, he told RFA.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said allowing media access to Rakhine would shed light on the dispute.

If the Burmese military genuinely believes that they are doing the right thing for Rakhine people, they should be giving full media access to Rakhine state. We welcome the media and guarantee the security of the reporters in AAs controlled areas, he said.

If the government is confident in their actions, give open access to media. Then, people will know what they have done and what we have done.

The eight injured villagers were receiving medical treatments at Sittwe General Hospital in the Rakhine state capital, while the six slain detainees were buried at Kyauktan cemetery on Friday.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Human rights activist Bach Hong Quyen arrived in Canada from Thailand On May 3, after narrow escape in Bangkok from being extradited to Vietnam for his role in helping a dissident blogger apply for asylum in Bangkok before he was abducted by Vietnamese agents. Truong Duy Nhat, an RFA contributor, disappeared in Bangkok in late January, and two months later was revealed to be in a Hanoi jail, a secret rendition that legal experts said was a violation by Vietnam's police of the country's criminal procedure laws. Quyen had fled to Thailand in May 2017 after Vietnamese police issued a warrant for his arrest for organizing a protest march on the anniversary of a 2016 waste spill that that polluted the coast of central Vietnam. Quyen, his wife Bui Huong Giang and the couples two daughters are in Canada under a refugee program funded by the Canadian government. He spoke to RFAs Vietnamese Service about avoiding the fate of blogger Nhat, who is in Prison T16 in Hanoi and as of late April had not been allowed visits from his wife. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: During your two weeks in the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, who came to see you?

Quyen: On the third day, the Vietnamese embassy asked IDC for my information: When I went there as well as my IDC number. A week later, last Tuesday, a Vietnamese embassy representative met me in the IDC for about one minute, then a U.N. High Commission for Refugees at the IDC took me to the UNHCR office. A UNHCR staffer asked me why the Vietnamese Embassy representative came and what questions he asked. He asked me how I lived in that cell and when I would go to the West.

RFA: When you were in the IDC, the Vietnamese government asked Thailand to extradite you to Vietnam. What do you think about this?

Quyen: It was not only when I entered the IDC that the Vietnamese side wanted to cooperate with the Thai side to take me back to Vietnam. Friends, staff at human rights organizations had already told me that before. When I came to the IDC, I was really worried about being extradited to Vietnam. I knew in advance that when you enter the IDC, the chance of immigration to a third country versus extradition to Vietnam is 50/50. By the time I got there, I learned that the Vietnamese embassy had asked the police at IDC about my information and after the meeting, I felt like I was even in more danger of being extradited to Vietnam. I was really worried. The UN gave me a notice from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on May 2 that I was scheduled to leave Thailand announced on May 29. Fortunately, due to the concern about my being extradited to Vietnam, IOM as well as the UN pushed hard my case for emigrating to a third countryCanada--and I am now in Canada.

RFA: Before going to the IDC, did you have to hide, especially after publicizing the urgent call for helping Nhat in that letter?

Quyen: I had to escape on March 1, after Thai police came to my house to ask for my information, not when the letter for help was issued on March 8. I had to constantly change the condos I rented to avoid Vietnamese security searches as well as some corrupt police in Thailand. When youre in hiding like that, the situation is really difficult. I had to find ways to disguise myself. Luckily I am now in Canada and I have been able to come to this country freely, and I don't have to worry like that anymore.

RFA: At the time of blogger Nhat's detention at T16 camp was confirmed by his family and friends in Vietnam, what did you think about how he was taken back to Vietnam?

Quyen: There has been a history of Vietnamese secret agents doing things like kidnapping (former head of PetroVietnam Construction) Trinh Xuan Thanh in the center of Berlin. So it is no surprise that secret Vietnamese agents would come to an ASEAN nation to abduct Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who revealed social injustices and internal information on the Vietnamese government. Such abductions will affect the reputation as well as the face of a police state, a dictatorial country. I see the Vietnamese government is willing to defy everything to achieve its goals. I found my escaping abduction and being safe today is a matter of me being luckier than Truong Duy Nhat. Truong Duy Nhat was unlucky. He ran to Thailand to seek asylum and while waiting for resettlement in a third country, he was abducted by the Vietnamese government.

Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen.
At least seven Afghan policemen were killed when suspected Taliban militants stormed checkpoints overnight in western Badghis Province, officials said.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said on May 4 that three other security personnel were wounded during the attack in the Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

Elsewhere, the Afghan Defense Ministry said two separate coalition air strikes on May 3 killed at least 43 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern Kunar Province.

In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted suspected IS militants in Chapara district. It said an unspecified number of Uzbek and Pakistani nationals were among those killed.

Analysts say both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan.

The reports of fresh violence come a day after an Afghan grand council convened by President Ashraf Ghani ended with a demand for an immediate cease-fire.

The council -- known as the Loya Jirga -- brought together more than 3,200 politicians, tribal elders, prominent figures and others to hammer out a shared strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban.

"I want to say to the Taliban that the choice is now in your hands," Ghani said at the closing ceremony in Kabul. "Now it is your turn to show what you want to do."

Ghani said the message of the five-day gathering was clear: "Afghans want peace" and offered a cease-fire, though he stressed it would not be unilateral.

Ghani also vowed to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which starts next week.

In a statement on May 3, the Taliban rejected a cease-fire, saying attacks will continue during Ramadan but said "fighters are very careful of civilians during any operation."

The group has rejected cease-fire proposals saying U.S. and NATO troops must withdraw from the country first.

The grand council produced a 23-point list for peace-talks with the Taliban, including a truce for Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn till dusk.

The Loya Jirga also urged the government to form a strong negotiating team and said at least 50 of its members should represent victims of wars.

The council also backed women's rights, in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters
An Iranian newspaper says one of its reporters was arrested by police earlier this week while covering a May Day protest, during which dozens of activists were detained.

The pro-reform Shargh newspaper said on May 4 that Marzieh Amiri was detained at a demonstration outside the Iranian parliament in Tehran.

The paper said authorities detained some 30 protesting workers, including two workers' leaders, Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reports that the detainees will be released soon, citing the general prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

Iran has witnessed protests over the past two years sparked by the country's worsening economic situation.

In 2018, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran after pulling out a 2015 nuclear deal that provided Tehran with sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Nationwide protests in 2017 led to 25 deaths.

Based on reporting by AP and Mehr
Stevo Pendarovski, backed by North Macedonia's ruling party, appears headed for victory in a presidential runoff vote that will be ruled valid after the minimum participation threshold was reached.

With just over 95 percent of the votes counted in the May 5 election, Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, had 52 percent to 44.4 percent for his challenger, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Just as important, the Central Election Commission said that turnout was 46.2 percent, erasing fears that the 40 percent participation threshold needed to make the balloting official would not be met.

Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova battled to a virtual draw -- 42.8 percent to 42.2 percent respectively -- in the first round on April 21.

That close outcome has put a spotlight on the Balkan nations ethnic Albanian minority, who strongly supported Blerim Reka in the first round, giving him 10.6 percent of the vote.

WATCH: Presidential Candidates Vote In North Macedonia's Runoff

With Reka out of the runoff race, many feared his supporters would boycott the runoff, which could have kept turnout below 40 percent. About one-quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, and overall turnout in the first round was just 41.8 percent.

The campaign itself was rather low key by Macedonian standards, with virtually none of the violence, dirty tricks, and sharp nationalist rhetoric that has marked previous votes.

While the president has a largely ceremonial role, the position does have some powers to veto legislation and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had warned the outcome of the runoff could trigger early parliamentary elections.

The race between the two academics was dominated by debate on issues such as integration into Western structures and a struggling economy, plagued by stubbornly high unemployment at more than 20 percent.

Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, has strongly supported the so-called Prespa deal signed with Greece last year to change the country's name, while Siljanovska-Davkova, the country's first female candidate and a university professor, has been critical of it, though the opposition has said it will not cancel the accord.

"I expect a massive victory in the run-off," Pendarovski told reporters after casting his ballot. "I expect the election day to be calm and that we -- the country which is expecting to get the date to start the EU membership talks -- are capable of organizing free and fair elections," he said.

Siljanovska-Davkova, who unlike her opponent opposes the name change, instead has tried to focus on the government's failure to implement much-needed economic reforms.

"I expect big turnout and I expect to win," she said after voting, adding that she will respect the fact that the country has a new name, "but I will never use it."

The signing of the historic agreement with Greece changed the country's name to North Macedonia and ended a decades-long dispute that had blocked the Balkan state's path to NATO and the European Union.



Pro-Western Pendarovski is supported by the ruling Social Democrats. Siljanovska-Davkova, 63, ran as an independent but is now backed by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Voter apathy has been fueled by a lack of jobs, which has forced many Macedonians to move abroad to find work.

One of the poorest countries in Europe with an average monthly salary of about $470, many voters say they're fed up with politicians on both sides of the legislature and voting for a president won't change their situation.

"I'm not going to vote because my ID is in my wallet and my wallet is empty. So when I look at it, it reminds me that I shouldn't vote," one voter said wryly.

If turnout fails to reach the minimum requirement, constitutional experts say a completely new vote must be called within 40 days.

During the interim period, the head of the National Assembly, Talat Xhaferi, would assume the function of president.



Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive five-year term.

Once a part of Yugoslavia, North Macedonia left Belgrade's umbrella when it seceded peacefully in 1991.



But it veered close to civil war in 2001 when ethnic Albanians launched an armed insurgency seeking greater autonomy, and subsequent elections have been stormy.

The election commission said that voting on May 5 went without any major incidents.

With reporting by AP and AFP
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg.

Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice Department.

"To the extent there was overreach, what we have to be concerned about is a few people at the top getting it into their heads that they know better than the American people," said Barr.

Barr will also review whether the infamous Steele dossier - a collection of salacious and unverified claims against Donald Trump, assembled by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign - was fabricated by the Russian government to trick the FBI and other US agencies. (Will Barr investigate whether Steele made the whole thing up for his client, Fusion GPS?)

"We now know that he was being falsely accused," Barr said of Trump. "We have to stop using the criminal justice process as a political weapon."

Muellers report didnt say there were false accusations against Trump. It said the evidence of cooperation between the campaign and Russia was not sufficient to support criminal charges. Investigators were unable to get a complete picture of the activities of some relevant people, the special counsel found. Although Barrs review has only begun, its helping to fuel a narrative long embraced by Trump and some of his Republican supporters: that the Russia investigation was politically motivated and concocted from false allegations in order to spy on Trumps campaign and ultimately undermine his presidency. -Bloomberg

As Bloomberg notes, Barr's review could receive a boost by a Thursday New York Times article acknowledging that the FBI sent a 'honeypot' spy to London in 2016 to pose as a research assistant and gather intelligence from Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos over possible Trump campaign links to Russia.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

The Trump re-election campaign immediately seized on the Times report as evidence that improper spying did occur. "As President Trump has said, it is high time to investigate the investigators," said Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale in a statement.

During Barr's Wednesday testimony, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told Barr "It appears to me that the Obama administration, Justice Department and FBI decided to place their bets on Hillary Clinton and focus their efforts" when it came to investigating the Trump campaign.

Depending on what Barr finds, his review of the Russia probe could give Trump ammunition to defend himself in continuing congressional inquiries -- and in a potential impeachment for obstructing justice. Barr told senators that Trumps actions cant be seen as obstruction if he was exercising his constitutional authority as president to put an end to an illegitimate investigation. Barrs efforts follow two years of work by a group of House Republicans who have been conducting dozens of interviews regarding the FBIs and Justice Departments conduct in the early stages of investigation of Trump and his campaign. -Bloomberg

On Thursday, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) issued a criminal referral for Nellie Ohr - a former Fusion GPS contractor who passed anti-Trump research to her husband, then the #4 official at the DOJ.

On Thursday, Meadows said that Barr's "willingness to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation is the first step in putting the questionable practices of the past behind us," and that the AG's "tenacity is sure to be rewarded."

The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign after a self-professed member of the Clinton Foundation, Joseph Mifsud, fed Papadopoulos the rumor that Russia had "dirt" on Clinton. That rumor would be coaxed out of the former Trump aide by another Clinton-connected individual - Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, who would notify authorities of Papadopoulos' admission, officially launching the investigation.

Barr says he wants to get to the bottom of it.

His review will examine the above chain of events that set the investigation into motion, and whether any US agencies were engaged in spying on or investigating the Trump campaign before the probe was officially launched.

Barr said hes working with FBI Director Christopher Wray to reconstruct exactly what went down. He said he has people in the department helping me review the activities over the summer of 2016. Notably, Barr said his aides will be working very closely with the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael Horowitz. Horowitz is conducting his own investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation and whether there were abuses when the FBI obtained a secret warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October 2016 to spy on another foreign policy adviser to the campaign, Carter Page. -Bloomberg

Barr will also investigate when the DOJ and FBI knew that the Democratic Party and Clinton was Steele.

More subterfuge, or is this really happening?

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Wildlife officials are investigating poisonings from a toxic pesticide that has killed seven bald eagles and a great horned owl along Marylands Eastern Shore  incidents similar to an unsolved case three years ago that left 13 bald eagles dead.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Natural Resources Police announced Wednesday a $10,000 reward for information about the latest incidents in Kent and Talbot counties.

Investigators said last week that on March 1, they found several dead or sick bald eagles and a dead great horned owl in Chestertown, Md. Officials initially had found three dead bald eagles at the location, then returned to find three more dead eagles.

About a month later, authorities said they found three more bald eagles that showed signs of being poisoned at a Talbot County farm. One died at the scene, and two were taken to a rehabilitation center and eventually released.

The birds all showed signs of having ingested carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide used on farms to get rid of insects until its granular form was banned in the 1990s.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and political rallies in California.

Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot.

Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques.

Two other members  Cole White and Thomas Gillen  each had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

All four admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 704 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. between Jan.1 and April 26. Thats the largest measles outbreak in this country since 1984. Most cases  88%  originated in small, close-knit communities with low vaccination rates. This is unacceptable. The CDC declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. On top of ensuring that every child who can be vaccinated is, doctors now are recommending that adults who were vaccinated between 1958 and 1986 speak to their doctors about receiving a booster shot. The protections of one of the measles vaccines administered during that period might have waned over time. Only a blood test can confirm your immunity. While youre at it, please make sure all of your vaccinations are up to date.

Human-borne illnesses arent the only diseases threatening Americans this summer. According to a news story by Cathy Dyson in The Free Lance-Star, health and pest-control officials are predicting that this summer is going to be doozy for ticks. Not only are the regular homegrown varieties, such as deer ticks and American dog ticks, going to be out in force, there is a new menace in town. According to Dyson, Last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started warning about a new invasive species called an Asian longhorned tick. It first surfaced on a New Jersey sheep in 2017. In just two years since that discovery, it has been found eight other states. Yes, Virginia, we are one of those. Here are some creepy statistics about the ugly little bugger: It can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time and is capable of reproducing without a mate. Imagine stepping on a nest full of newly hatched, hungry young ticks.
McDonald, who is African American, said voters here worry about health care and education. That is what is important to me as well, he said. That is why I am supporting Biden already.

The same goes for 22-year-old Hannah OToole, who sang the national anthem at the Workers Memorial Day celebration in Pittsburgh ahead of Bidens visit along with her father, 60-year-old Marty OToole, who is the business manager for Plumbers Local 27. Joe Bidens been a big part of the way we think and want to go and he has always been a front-runner for us here in Pennsylvania, said Marty OToole, who is personally supporting the former vice president.

Hannah OToole also is leaning toward Biden. Ive liked him since Obama, she said.

Darrin Kelly, president of the powerful local labor council here in western Pennsylvania and a city firefighter, said the party has drifted too far left. And this is the state where, not just in the general but mostly in the primary, that will be decided.

Today is an important reminder of what is important to voters in Pennsylvania in a Democratic primary and we expect the Democratic Party to truly start listening to what our message is, stop polarizing us and start welcoming us back, we want FDR-style politics, Kelly said. If our strength is truly our diversity, then the party has to start listening to the working class, they have to welcome us back and our voice will be heard in the primary in this state and that the message we want about job creation, health care and pension security is what will bring us out in a general.
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Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue.

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Column Policy

Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Cancun airport set to land one of its largest planes

Cancun, Q.R.  Air control personnel at the Cancun International Airport are set to land one of its largest clients, an A350.

The large evelop! plane is set to land at the Cancun airport May 6 from its origin city of Madrid. The plane, which has a seating capacity of 432, is covering the new Madrid-Cancun route. Although the route has been in operation already, this is the first time an A350 from that city will be landing at Cancun.

The Spanish charter Evelop Airlines took possession of their first A350 plane March 28 of this year and anticipate an A350-900 wide-body aircraft next year. The company, which is based in Madrid, uses the planes for routes to various Caribbean destinations.

Dario Flota Ocampo, director of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo, explained that the aircraft will cover the Madrid-Cancun route, and although this route is already operating, the significance of the occasion is the size of the plane, adding that a reception is being prepared at the Cancun airport.

Evelop belongs to the Barcelo group which allows us a greater number of seats arriving at the destination from Europe, he said. The Spanish market into Cancun has grown by 4 percent year-over-year for the last three, with nearly 184,000 Spanish tourists landing in Cancun last year.

Evelop Airlines are a subsidiary of Barcelo Group and operates short and long-haul flights on behalf of tour operators, mainly out of Spain and Portugal. They make two flights per week into Cancun.
New Colombian Consulate opens in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  A new consular headquarters has been opened in the city of Cancun where immigrants of Colombian nationality can go for assistance.

The new Colombian Consular office was inaugurated in Cancun, adding another facility to those already existing in the the region.

Margarita Manjarrez, Director of Migratorios Consulares y Servicio said that this new headquarters is added to the consular offices in Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as the honorary consulates in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

In these five states we have a very high rate of transient populations that need analysis. Cancun was identified as a gap that needed to be filled and fortunately was achieved with of the ministry of foreign relations who opened the consulate in Cancun, she explained.

Manjarrez said that the Colombian population figures throughout these five states are quite modest, totaling around 6,000 Colombians who reside legally or regularly, although they have evidence that there are many more, approaching the 25,000 mark.

However, the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Patricia Cardenas Santa Maria, says that Colombians are not illegally entering Cancun because since 2012, Colombians do not need a visa to enter Mexico.

Colombians cannot enter undocumented because we do not need a visa to enter Mexico since in 2012, the visa was abolished. We are working with the authorities and with the governments of Mexico to try and see how we can reduce the presence of that community that stay in Mexico illegally, she said.
The rom-com has officially been revived, and with new releases hitting theaters and flooding Netflix, the best ones always seem to turn out to be a twist on the genre. Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, puts the rom into the com of Machiavellian, Washington, D.C., political machinations. Its Veep, but less absurdly acid-tongued, and a lot more swoony. Still, the incisive cultural and political commentary cuts deep, and Theron and Rogen turn out to be a winning pair.

Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, the film follows a journalist for a Brooklyn alt weekly, Fred Flarsky (Rogen), who reconnects with his middle school babysitter, Charlotte Field (Theron), who has become the youngest secretary of state ever  and an eligible, workaholic bachelorette. She taps the newly unemployed Fred to punch up her speeches as she embarks on a worldwide tour touting a new environmental initiative and embellishing her public image for a future presidential run. The unlikeliest  or perhaps likeliest, considering the context  of flings blossoms along the way.

There is of course, pop nostalgia, and a whole lot of drug humor, because, well, Seth Rogen, but its a treat to see him back as the unlikely romantic lead, and to see the softer side of Theron, even as she remains in a powerful role. Sterling and Hannah put this particular gender dynamic  with a powerful female politician and a male Marilyn (as Fred dubs himself)  to work, upending regressive beliefs about politicians and sex. Why should sex be shameful? Politicians are people, too. The film also carefully threads the needle on the ways in which Charlottes gender informs her work (and her compromises), and unpacks the sexist beliefs that permeate society and systems of power.

What makes Long Shot work is the writing, which takes place in a heightened, almost fantastical reality, but always feels character-driven and grounded. This on-screen relationship is #goals, not because of grand gestures (though there are those) or steamy sex scenes (those are more funny than anything else), but because its clear the two characters know and like each other so well just as people. Astonishingly, one of the most romantic scenes of the year could be the two pogoing in a Parisian club, high out of their minds, yelling, I really like you!

Its just fun to spend time with these characters, and there a few incredible supporting turns by Ravi Patel as Charlottes bag man Tom, OShea Jackson Jr. as Freds bestie Lance and a deliciously witchy turn from June Diane Raphael as Charlottes aide Maggie, delivering lines and reactions so icily it makes one lament that she didnt have a meatier role on Veep.

But, speaking of TV, director Jonathan Levine for some reason has chosen an aesthetic for the film that can only be described as a very beige episode of some forgettable prestige drama. Long Shot is dim, dark and visually bland. Would it have killed cinematographer Yves Belanger to switch on a light or two? It just seems a shame, because this delightful comedy deserves a brighter style to match its undeniable romantic fireworks.
Virginia Tech is dedicating $400,000 to improving accessibility on campus, the university announced last week.

The university will make a number of improvements around campus, including around the April 16 Memorial on the Drillfield.

Its important to make all of Virginia Tech accessible, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said. This is a commitment we have in terms of accessibility. We cant be an open campus if we dont remove these barriers.

Tech will add points of entry around the memorial, widening them. The university will also add a new accessible bench, relocate handicap parking spaces and install curb cuts for people approaching the memorial.

The memorial improvements will be made in the next two to four weeks, Owczarski said.

Techs master plan calls for the accessibility improvements at the memorial as well enlarging the plaza in the coming years. However, there are no immediate plans to enlarge the plaza, Owczarski said.

Over the course of the summer of 2019, the university will also improve the entrance to Patton Hall by adding handrails and ramps, add a fully accessible path from the veterinary school and animal hospital to its nearby parking lot, and provide an accessible pathway to a Goodwin Hall courtyard, which offers picnic tables.

Improved signage pointing toward accessible routes around campus will also be added to the projects and across Tech, Owczarski said.

This is our effort to be mindful of accessibility issues that people are bringing to our attention, he said.

Ashley Shew, a Tech professor of science and technology in society and co-founder of Techs Disability and Alliance Caucus, said shes pleased with the moves. Theyre a lot of the changes that she and the rest of the caucus have called for in the past.

Im happy about this, Shew said. A lot of these things are things weve pushed for.

Shew said theres more work to do, though. She said she hopes that Techs leaders will listen to the needs of disabled people as the university continues its planned expansion. She and the rest of the alliance have pushed Tech to add more signs for three years, she said.

Signage is incredibly important for disabled visitors to campus who dont know how to get around hilly Blacksburg, Shew said.

Better planning in the past wouldve made these changes unnecessary and less expensive now. So better planning in the future for disabled people will be important, she said.

Shew, her colleagues and allies will continue to be vocal in pushing for awareness of the difficulties disabled people face around campus, both in the present and in the future.

Im happy that theyre listening to disabled people, she said. But theres more work to do.
CULPEPER  The Virginia Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multiyear battle over the 2013 condemnation his land for a new road.

In its decision, the court said Richard Dwyers legal appeal of this ongoing fight with the town of Culpeper was not filed in a timely fashion.

The local circuit court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in just compensation for the property in 2017 through eminent domain to build a new commuter route, called Col. Jameson Boulevard, in an area Dwyer envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, his estimate for its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.1 to $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, and in September the states high court issued notice it would hear the appeal.

After considering arguments, the court issued a notice of dismissal in the case in March, agreeing with the towns position that Dwyer filed his appeal after a legal deadline to do so.

Lawyers for Dwyer, meanwhile, argued the 2017 order was not final for purposes of appeal because it contained the language, the court shall retain jurisdiction.

We find Dwyers argument unpersuasive, the states high court found, according to the three-page dismissal order, citing legalese and state code related to condemnation actions being two-stage proceedings.

The court continued, The first stage addresses the confirmation, alteration, or modification of the report of just compensation  The second stage deals with the distribution of the funds paid into the circuit court, and any controversy pertaining thereto 

In addition, The Sept. 11, 2017 order confirming  the report of just compensation was the final order for purposes of appeal. Dywer did not make a timely appeal from that order. Accordingly, the Court dismisses the appeal in the case.

Dwyer said Wednesday he would rather hold my comments. Generally speaking, he added, I think it is a bunch of incompetent people in this world making a lot of decisions.

Asked why the appeal was not filed in time, the landowner said, Thats a good question, referring it to his attorney Steve Clarke with the Norfolk eminent domain firm of Waldo & Lyle.

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Clarke said the Virginia Supreme Court order in the matter was the final say, concluding many years of conflict in the land grab.

I dont think there is anything more we can really do, the lawyer said. The high court of Virginia has ruled on the issue. There is nowhere we could go from here.

Clarke said he disagreed with the court that the appeal was not filed in a timely fashion, referencing a new rule for eminent domain cases related to the final order, which sets the clock ticking for appeal. Inclusion of the phrase the court shall retain jurisdiction in the 2017 order was not enough to stop that clock, he said.

That phrase formerly meant it was not the final order, Clarke said, and therefore did not start the time-frame.

In dismissing the case for not meeting the appeal deadline, the Virginia Supreme Court did not reach any substance of the issue related to eminent domain and property values, the lawyer said.

Instead, Clarke added, the court punted on the procedural issue. Mentioning that the court did hear legal arguments in the matter, he said, it seemed like there was initial interest to hear the legal issues.

Eminent domain is a really difficult piece of law, Clarke said, noting the town of Culpeper spent considerably more than it wanted to defending itself in the suit.

Richard Dwyer feels like he was not made whole and he wasnt, he said.

Culpeper Public Services Director Jim Hoy was lead executive for the town throughout the long proceedings.

An important part of the story for people to understand is we dont go into right-of-way acquisition with the intention of having conflict with landowners, Hoy said. We do our best to reach a reasonable agreement and a lot of times we will go to extraordinary efforts to do that. But in spite of all of our efforts, we were not able to reach an agreement with Mr. Dwyer  thats why we went to court.

Hoy, acknowledging high legal fees to the town in the case, said it could have been worse, mentioning Dwyer wanted a jury award of $4.5 million for the land, far less than the more than the towns legal expenses.

The towns litigation expenses will be covered as part of the $10.1 million budget for Col. Jameson Boulevard  a joint project between the town and VDOT  and the rest from the general fund, Hoy said.

Because it was a jointly funded project, he added, the town was bound by state standards in offering compensation for Dwyers land based on an appraisal of fair market value.

At one point early on as the apartment project was progressing, Hoy said, Dwyer felt the land was worth $8 million. There are limits as to what we can offer a landowner, he said.

Did the town and VDOT get a fair deal? I think we did, Hoy said .

He added town motorists got a good deal with Col. Jameson Boulevard as well in that it has effectively alleviated traffic at the junction of East Evans and Main streets. It also provides an easier route for the many commuters living on the towns west side.

Dwyer said Wednesday he had no immediate development plans for the rest of his land in the area.

He previously stated the town took the prime part with development potential when they built the road through it.

Bottom line is I just got to deal with whats left, he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Yes, yes, we realize thats like saying President Trump said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Whats new, right? Peas. Pod. Two. Peggy Noonan, the former Republican speechwriter who is now a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote recently that Ocasio-Cortez is simply modeling behavior shes learned from another New Yorker  Donald Trump. Both are contributing to the coarsening of our civil discourse.

Usually, we try to tune all that out. If we wanted to hear white noise, wed buy an ocean machine to help us sleep at night. But Ocasio-Cortez has some local connection, at least indirectly, so lets parse it.

Heres what she said. It came in the form of a Twitter exchange over various policies. At one point she tweeted: True. Its been GOP vs. the people of the United States for almost my entire life.

Really? Really?? We flag this because this is a curious  but often popular use, misuse actually, of the phrase the people.

If its really been Republicans vs. the people for the past 29 years, how have Republicans been able to win any elections during that time?

Who have been voting for Republicans all that time? Aliens? Animals? Potted plants? Or is she saying that Republicans arent really people? OK, were being intentionally obtuse, of course, to make a point. The Ocasio-Cortez use of the people reflects a very specific mindset of just who the people are and what they want.

In some ways, this is just harmless rhetoric. What politician hasnt claimed to be for the people? Just about all of them at some point, both left and right. A quick run through websites of the 2020 presidential contenders (thats the year, by the way, not a count of how many candidates there are) shows Kamala Harris: For The People and Tulsi Gabbard  Fighting For The People. Theres a Facebook page called The People For Bernie Sanders. The people seem to be a very sought-after constituency.

John Lennon sang Power To The People. In some states, criminal cases are styled The People vs. . . . on the theory that the people, embodied as the state, were the victim of whatever crime is alleged. Our own Constitution begins with the grand words: We the People . . . In legal terms, thats been defined to mean all citizens of the United States. The candidates who claim to speak for the people may claim that all-encompassing rhetoric but are really referring to their preferred subset of the people.

Ocasio-Cortez won election in her New York City district with 78 percent of the vote, so perhaps it can be fairly said she represents the people there  although that raises the question of what the other 22 percent are, if not people. But what about Bland County, Virginia, which in 2016 gave Trump 82 percent of its vote, the highest percentage of any locality in the state? Who are the people there, in Ocasio-Cortez view of the world? If its really the GOP vs. the people, how can we explain the overwhelming numbers that the same GOP wins throughout most of rural America?

The Marxist answer is that those voters have been deluded by false class consciousness and dont realize they really should be on the side of their fellow proletariat and not the side of their capitalist oppressors. Communist regimes have often styled themselves The Peoples Republic, which made it awfully inconvenient for those rulers to explain why the people were rising up against their Peoples Republic  in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and all of eastern Europe in 1989. Simply saying you are for the people does not make it so.

This is one of many reasons we wish Ocasio-Cortez would accept the proffered invitation to speak at Liberty University, and use that as a springboard to visit rural Virginia. Shes unlikely to win many converts at Liberty but she might find a side trip to Bland County, or anywhere else in Southwest Virginia, educational. The world is more complex  dare we say, more diverse  than she realizes. Of course, shes not the only one who wrongly claims to speak for the people. Trump darkly refers to the news media as the enemy of the people, an ominous phrase because it was also a favorite of Nazis and Soviets alike. Ocasio-Cortez hasnt used that frightening formulation but may as well have if shes going to claim that its the GOP vs. the people  sort of the same thing. She and Trump surely cant be talking about the same people because theyre so politically different, but in some ways they are: Both portray the people as some virtuous, aggrieved underclass fighting against some malign and powerful other. And thats where harmless words become something more dangerous. When politicians claim to be for the people, they are effectively dehumanizing and delegitimizing the other side. We know what happened when the Nazis and the Soviets started branding people as enemies of the people.

So did Shakespeare, even long before the gas chambers and the gulags. Coriolanus tells the story of the Roman general-turned-politician Caius Marcius Coriolanus. The opening scene sets the dark tone:

First Citizen: First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people.

All: We knowt, we knowt.

First Citizen: Let us kill him, and well have corn at our own price. Ist a verdict?

Spoiler alert: That story does not end well for anyone.

In 2008, Sarah Palin  John McCains worst political mistake  went to Greensboro, North Carolina, and extolled small towns as the real America. On the one hand, a nice shout-out to rural voters. On the other hand, that was also effectively a declaration that everyone else may not be a real American. Umm, thats not the way it works. Were partial to small towns and rural areas because of where we live. But were all real Americans, no matter who we are or where we live. Were all the people, and sometimes we disagree. Even in Bland County, nearly 1 in 5 voters did not vote for Trump; in Ocasio-Cortezs district, more than 1 in 5 voters didnt cast a ballot for her. The people dont all speak with one voice, so perhaps politicians should refrain from trying to speak of them in the singular, when really the people are plural.
The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said. Only minor injuries were reported. Fire and rescue crews were at the scene. Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation, NAS Jacksonville said in the statement. 21 people were transported from the scene and taken to local hospitals in good condition. There were military personnel and civilians connected to the military in some way on board and there were families with young children on the plane.



Boeing in the St. Johns River

The plane is owned by Miami Air International, which operates charter flights from Guantanamo to Naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said authorities were working to control jet fuel that had leaked into the water and that his office received a call from the White House. The plane landed during a rainstorm with low visibility. An investigation is underway.
Captain Amarinder Singh welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt

Chandigarh, May 4: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into Indian National Congress (INC) family here. The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, said Captain Amarinder while urging him to put in his best towards completion of Mission 13.

Natt, who joined Congress alongwith his supporters expressed his gratitude towards Captain Amarinder Singh and thanked the Chief Minister for this opportunity. A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga MLA Constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and 2017.
Exxon Mobils first-quarter profit fell by half to $2.35 billion, its worst quarter since late 2016, as the company spent more on oil production and was hit by lower margins in its refinery business.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell in afternoon trading Friday.

The refinery side of the business posted a loss of $256 million after earning $940 million a year earlier. The company blamed lower margins due to high gasoline inventories, and an increase in refinery maintenance.

It was a tough market environment for us this quarter, Senior Vice President Jack Williams said on a call with analysts. Refining margins were the lowest Exxon has seen in a decade  historically low levels, and our results were in line with that margin environment, he said.

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Citi analysts said Exxons complex refining network was a disadvantage, as was the pace of maintenance activity. The refining and chemicals businesses are lagging the 2019 potential that Exxon laid out just a year ago, they wrote in a note to clients.

Earnings also fell by half in the chemicals business on weaker prices due to an increase in industry capacity.

Exxons exploration and production business was less profitable than a year ago both in the U.S. and overseas.

During the quarter, Exxon continued to build its operation in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico. That helped drive a 42% spike in spending on exploration and production, to $6.89 billion.

Production rose 2% to the equivalent of 4 million barrels of oil a day, with a contribution from higher output in the Permian.

Oil prices increased during the first quarter following an agreement by OPEC and allies including Russia to limit production. More recently, prices also rose after the U.S. announced it will end waivers from sanctions for countries that import oil from Iran, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Prices for natural gas, however, were hurt by warmer winter weather.

Exxons profit for the first three months of the year worked out to 55 cents per share, well below the 70 cents per share average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Exxon Mobil Corp. does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales, and in last years first quarter the company posted a gain from the $744 million sale of its 50% stake in a gas field off the coast of Australia.

Revenue fell to $63.63 billion from $68.21 billion a year, compared with the FactSet estimate of $63 billion.

Shares of the Irving-based oil and natural gas giant were down $2.48, or 3%, to $79.74 in afternoon trading.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A onetime Palmdale resident who had been couch-surfing in Sunland before camping in Griffith Park the past few weeks has been arrested and charged in the Jan. 16 fatal shooting of three men and the wounding of another on a remote, unlit road in Palmdale.

Jonathan Paul Misirli, 35, was arrested on the afternoon of April 30 as he walked out of Griffith Park on North Vermont Avenue near Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz, said Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Misirli was arrested without incident, Alfred said.

Investigators found the gun they believe was involved in the shooting inside Misirlis abandoned car in the Sunland area about two months ago, he said. Detectives believe Misirli had contacts in the Sunland area and had been hiding out, couch-surfing in their homes, until he left for Griffith Park sometime in April, Alfred said.

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Misirli had been camping in Griffith Park for at least the last two weeks, but he often walked into town to charge his phone or buy food, Alfred said.

Alfred said he couldnt reveal the suspected motive for the shooting that killed three Los Angeles-area men that cold, rainy night of Jan. 16 on Ranch Center Drive and 40th Street West in Palmdale.

The dead men were identified as Olukayode A. Owolabi, 27, of the South Bay community of Westchester; Sean B. Cowen, 24, of Van Nuys; and David Adalberto Hernandez-Licona, 24, of Boyle Heights. Investigators wont say why the men were together or whether they knew one another.

A fourth man was shot in the face but survived his injuries and was able to call 911 for help. That man has provided information that was helpful in identifying the suspect, Alfred said.

Misirli was charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery May 2. He is being held in lieu of $3,040,000 bail.

The shooting wasnt random, Alfred said, but he wouldnt say whether the five men drove to the location together that night, or what was taken in the suspected robbery.

Misirli is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Lancaster.

The case is still under investigation, but Misirli remains the only suspect in the shooting, Alfred said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

jeanette.marantos@latimes.com

@jmarantos
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said Friday that it is investigating a series of overtly racist messages shared in a private Instagram group chat that included students from Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.

In a statement sent to parents and the Newport Harbor community, the district stated that though these online interactions are not school-related, we address them as they come to our attention and when they impact the school. We are in the process of gathering information.

In a screenshot of one exchange that a student shared with the Daily Pilot, a participant in the conversation asked others if they wanted anything from alabama/mississippi? Ill get you a real confederate flag.

One person wrote back, Omfg yes plz, while another wrote, What do you want? Do they still sell black people down there?

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The first participant replied, If they do, Ill get everyone a new plantation worker.

One person who saw the exchange wrote on social media that Newport Harbor is really the home of some sketchy ... people. [T]hese are Newport students.

Another responded to criticism of the posts by writing, First of all, we are not racist people at all; the people who posted this literally dont like us and are trying to make us look bad for everything. Im tired of people always attacking us.

The incident comes two months after a highly publicized incident in which students from Newport Harbor, Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools were pictured on social media at an off-campus party gathered around a swastika made from plastic cups with their their arms outstretched in a Nazi salute.
The last of 24 bodies was pulled from the wreckage in the early hours of Easter morning.

Firefighters and soldiers had searched for more than 200 hours through what was left of the two Muzema neighborhood apartment buildings that collapsed on April 12, the end of a work week that saw Rio de Janeiro pummeled by torrential storms and severe flooding.

As the number of bodies continued to mount, so did the questions. Why did the buildings, home to blue-collar families thrilled to finally own their own apartments, come down? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy? And did the faceless paramilitary groups which have largely taken armed control of Rios working-class west end communities, known as favelas, bear responsibility?

Since first cropping up in the late 1990s as an antidote to drug gang violence and government corruption, the shadowy militias, said to be run mainly by current and former police officers, soldiers and prison guards, have charged residents and businesses on the periphery of the city for pirated TV and Internet connections, as well as water, gas and electricity  all under the guise of providing security services.

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Some are also believed to have a hold on housing in the communities where they operate, clearing land through evictions for construction companies they control, experts say. They also are thought to collect payments through agents who sell or rent out units in newly erected buildings, many of which have not been properly inspected because of threats made to authorities.

Arrest warrants have been issued for three men suspected of taking part in the construction and sale of the apartments in the buildings that collapsed last month. The organized crime unit of Rios civil police is investigating their possible involvement with the militia operating in Muzema, according to the municipal government.

Rios municipal government knew the buildings were unsafe long before they crumbled. The lot where they were located, part of a condominium complex called Figueiras do Itanhanga, is on a designated Environmentally Protected Area and was first embargoed by the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism (SMU) in October 2005. At the time, it was noted that the complex did not have proper drainage, sewage and water systems, and that the area was unpaved and without curbs.

Before the collapse, the SMU had issued 17 infraction notices for irregular construction and the Municipal Civil Defense condemned the buildings on Feb. 8 because of a risk of landslides and falling rocks caused by improper excavation. According to the citys Geotechnical Institute Foundation Slip Susceptibility Map, the area is classified as mid-high risk for landslides and mudslides.

Since the tragedy, Rios mayor Marcelo Crivella has announced that another 16 buildings in Muzema will be demolished because of the risk theyll collapse. The action, he said, follows an edict to identify buildings with structural problems.

Since 2017, when I signed this decree, we have run the entire city of Rio de Janeiro, handing out notifications to several construction sites, he said. There are embargoes, there are notifications of demolitions. Many of them were suspended by court decisions. Now, after this tragic accident that we had with the victims of Muzema, the justice system has ordered the demolition of several buildings.

The first of the 16 buildings came down on April 24, and work has begun on another that neighbored the two that collapsed.

The demolition process is slow. Because the buildings are close to others that still house tenants, explosives cant be used. Instead, technicians from the Municipal Secretariat of Conservation are manually disassembling the imperiled building.

In an unusual show of authority, police are providing security as the crews work, with military officers stationed at the communitys access roads and civil police surrounding the work site. Because of their presence, city workers have been also able to enter Muzema and do proper clean up and repairs that were needed after the storms.

Little remains clear, however, about the identity or size of the militia that has controlled Muzema or other favelas in recent years. Any data authorities do have on militias is kept tightly under wraps, which some view as a means for city officials to save face for having lost control of Rio neighborhoods.

Rare arrests and prosecutions of militia members became front-page news in May 2008 when a team of local journalists was kidnapped and tortured by the militia running Batan, another favela in the west end of Rio. That event led the states legislative assembly to create a parliamentary inquiry commission, which resulted in the indictment of 226 militia members, as well as affiliated politicians and businesspeople.

The commissions recommendations to dismantle Rios militias, however, were largely ignored. The focus on the paramilitary groups faded, only to reemerge last year after the assassination of City Councilwoman Marielle Franco, a vocal opponent of violence carried out by the militias in her community.

In March, two suspected militia members arrested for Francos murder were linked to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. One of the men lived in the same gated community as the president, and police also confirmed that Bolsonaros son had dated the suspects daughter.

Bolsonaro has played down the connection, saying he didnt remember either of the men, and tried to justify previous statements he made in support of the vigilante groups.

Back then, people applauded [militias], he told reporters.

Some did. In the beginning, the paramilitary groups sold themselves as a positive alternative, promising safety to the families who lived in favelas.

But according to Ignacio Cano, a sociologist and coordinator of Rio de Janeiro State Universitys Violence Analysis Laboratory, militias ended up being more similar to drug trafficking gangs than not. And because of the positions of power that members have often held in politics and on police forces, dismantling the organizations has proven even more difficult.

As members of the state, as police officers, they know how the state operates, can protect themselves, and sometimes they know when a police operation is going to happen, Cano said. The state has to  not return, because it was never there  but become the main actor in those areas for those groups to disappear.

Langlois is a special correspondent.

In Brazils slums, residents band together to protest police shootings 
Installed on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The long awaited coronation  the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades  melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a scepter, gold-embroidered slippers, a sword that belonged to his 18th century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

The daylong spectacle  the start of three days of ceremonies  was aimed at reasserting the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life.

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Far from a figurehead, the Thai king has veto power over key government decisions, such as executive appointments and constitutional changes, and is legally protected from criticism. Since taking over for his late father 2 years ago, Vajiralongkorn has sought to exert greater royal authority during a period of deep political and social divisions.

Five days from now, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of the gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

1 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn is transported on the royal palanquin by royal bearers Saturday in Bangkok. (AP) 2 / 13 Royal Guards attend the coronation in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 3 / 13 King Maha Vajiralongkorn, front right, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during the annointment ceremony Saturday in Bangkok. (Thai Royal Household Bureau / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida at the Grand Palace for his coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 13 People hold portraits of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn as they wait near the Grand Palace during the royal coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn sits on the throne and performs rituals as Queen Suthida pays homage at the Grand Palace. (AP) 7 / 13 People pray near the Grand Palace during the coronation. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 8 / 13 People watch a large screen outside the Grand Palace showing the coronation ceremony of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in Bangkok. (DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX / DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX) 9 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (HANDOUT / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, center, performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Thai people watch the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a large screen outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 12 / 13 Thai royal guards march outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 13 / 13 Royal Guards march during the coronation of King Rama X in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images)

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile to the royal establishment. On the eve of the election, Vajiralongkorn issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people  which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist Buddhists [who] revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signaled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide sat together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

Ubolratana, meanwhile, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony with another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Ubolratana pose for a photo in the Grand Palace on Friday. #coronation



nichax Instagram account pic.twitter.com/IxNVAUfPB9  Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) May 4, 2019

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity  it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The death of Vajiralongkorns father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seven decades, drew masses of tearful Thais into the streets of Bangkok and prompted weeks of official mourning. Vajiralongkorn, who lives much of the year in Germany, is a much more private and mysterious figure and far less well known to Thais despite efforts by the palace to portray him as a benevolent, youthful ruler keen on education and bicycling.

Crowds were sparse in the streets surrounding the palace, with few Thais braving security checkpoints to show their support for the new monarch. Police sources said only a few thousand people had come out, though they declined to be named lest they be seen as criticizing the king, a criminal offense.

Kittipawan Noenyai, 54, waited four hours to catch a glimpse of the kings vehicle arriving at the Grand Palace, carrying a portrait of him in military uniform as she stood along the route his car would take.

Finally, the car appeared shortly before 10 a.m., a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number 1. As Vajiralongkorn rode past, Kittipawan saw him waving from the back seat.

I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long live the king, hoping he would hear me, she said.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida for his coronation. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

Arriving at the cream-colored palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. Uniformed men knelt as he strode past along a red carpet, his new wife, Queen Suthida, following close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn performs a ritual with sacred water during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP/Getty Images)

Back inside the palace, the king changed into his royal vestments  an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches  and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, the king was handed the crown, created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him  just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son and presumed heir, Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

As the king walked out of the room, the royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet, an announcer said on Thai television.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The scale and pageantry reflected not only time-honored rituals but also the growing wealth of the monarchy, which controls tens of billions of dollars in banking and real estate assets that the king brought under his personal control after his father died. The government said the coronation would cost about $30 million.

The lavishness of the coronation indicates the association of the monarchy with material wealth that has become so pronounced during the past 30 or 40 years, said Michael Montesano, coordinator of the Thailand Studies Program at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Modern Thailand is a wealthy country, and in that sense there is little contradiction between Thai visions of modernity and the extremely lavish re-creation of putatively ancient rites.

The three-day coronation ceremonies of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn are estimated to cost $30 million, according to the government. (Associated Press)

Much of Bangkok, however, ignored the proceedings. A 28-year-old sales representative, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

On Sunday, in temperatures forecast to approach 100 degrees, soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin along a nearly four-mile route to a series of Buddhist temples. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

Special correspondent Wilawan Watcharasakwet contributed to this report.
I cant anymore, its too heavy.

Those were the chilling last words of a beautiful Canadian bride who drowned in a river during a photo shoot last week after her wedding dress became soaked and dragged her under, a friend told a Canadian news agency.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, was having a photographer take shots for a trash the dress photo series when she waded into a river near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Quebec, at around 2 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Maria Pantazopoulos via Facebook

Meant to evoke high-glamor fashion shoots, trash the dress photos feature brides posing in gritty or natural settings like beaches, forests or city streets.

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Pantazopoulos was married on June 9, but wanted to immortalize the moment with a collection of playful snapshots, a friend said.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, who was swept away in the current near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon. (Maria Pantazopoulos Via Facebook)

Her husband, Billy, wasnt there for the shoot.

Shes a really fun girl, and she just didnt want her wedding dress sitting in a box in the closet, family friend Leeza Pousoulidis told the Montreal Gazette.

She said I want to have fun with my wedding dress. I want to have great pictures and memories of me in my wedding dress.

Louis Pagakis, her photographer, was taking some shots near the edge of the river when Pantazopoulos said she wanted to go in.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her wedding dress got soaked and she was dragged into the river near a rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

At one point, she told him, I want you to take some photos of me floating in the water, Anouk Benzacar, the photographers wife and a friend of the bride, told Canadas QMI Agency.

CTV

The garment quickly became soaked, and the deceptively quick tides swept the young bride downstream.

Pagakis jumped in to try to save her, but the water-logged garments pull was like an anvil and pulled them both under, local police told QMI.

She was screaming and scratching and trying to stay above water, Benzacar told the agency. "[Louis] tried to swim with her, but she was pulling him down.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her dress got wet and she was dragged into the river near a violently rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

She was too heavy. He couldnt breathe anymore, she said.

Pantazopoulos body was found four hours later by a local scuba diver, who joined rescuers after hearing about the incident, CBC News reported.

Pagakis and his assistant were treated at a local hospital for shock.

Family members didnt speak to the media after the accident, but Pousoulidis, the friend, told the Montreal Gazette they were destroyed.

Trash the dress photo shoots are intended to look like high-fashion magazine spreads. (Robert Vos/Afp/Getty Images)

Pantazopoulos was a real estate agent and had recently bought a house with her husband in Laval, near Montreal, The Gazette reported.

The two were looking forward to starting a family.

Local authorities told QMI that swimming was forbidden at the spot where Pantazopoulos drowned because the tides were too strong.

Mario Michaud, a wedding photographer in Montreal, told CTV that a bride he photographed at the river in May nearly suffered the same fate.

Brides think they are going to get a beautiful picture, but they dont realize how heavy a wet wedding dress can be, he said.

ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images

pcaulfield@nydailynews.com
In a story May 4 about Illinois marijuana legalization efforts, The Associated Press erroneously reported the last name of the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Illinois governor announces plan to legalize marijuana

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year

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By

Associated Press

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce (30 grams) of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce (15 grams).

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldnt be issued until May and July 2020, the governors office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal starts righting some historic wrongs against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed war on drugs, said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for social equity applicants. Those applicants would include people who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth, said Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state.

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Hes said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governors office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the states general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies.

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

___

Follow APs complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana

___

This story has corrected the last name of the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Physicist Tracy Northup is currently researching the development of quantum internet at the University of Innsbruck. The American citizen builds interfaces with which quantum information can be transferred from matter to light and vice versa.

Over such interfaces, it is anticipated that quantum computers all over the world will be able to communicate with each other via fiber optic lines in the future. In their research, Northup and her team at the Department of Experimental Physics have now demonstrated a method with which visible light can be measured non-destructively. The development follows the work of Serge Haroche, who characterized the quantum properties of microwave fields with the help of neutral atoms in the 1990s and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012.

In work led by postdoc Moonjoo Lee and PhD student Konstantin Friebe, the researchers place an ionized calcium atom between two hollow mirrors through which visible laser light is guided. "The ion has only a weak influence on the light," explains Tracy Northup. "Quantum measurements of the ion allow us to make statistical predictions about the number of light particles in the chamber." The physicists were supported in their interpretation of the measurement results by the research group led by Helmut Ritsch, a Innsbruck quantum optician from the Department of Theoretical Physics. "One can speak in this context of a quantum sensor for light particles", sums up Northup, who has held an Ingeborg Hochmair professorship at the University of Innsbruck since 2017. One application of the new method would be to generate special tailored light fields by feeding the measurement results back into the system via a feedback loop, thus establishing the desired states.

In the current work in Physical Review Letters, the researchers have limited themselves to classical states. In the future, this method could also be used to measure quantum states of light. The work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and the European Union, among others.
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Those who have visited the Sahara Desert is struck by how vast, sunny and hot it is and just how clear everything can be. There is little vegetation and it is said that the Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide significant solar energy on Earth.

Statistically speaking, if Sahara Desert is a country it would be the fifth biggest in the whole world. It is larger than Brazil and it is a bit smaller than the United States and China. Each square meter gets between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy every year, according to NASA. Sahara covers 9m km2, that is the total energy available, but that is only if every inch of the desert uses every single sun energy, then it will be more than 22 billion gigawatt hours every year.

This estimation means that a hypothetical solar farm that will cover the entire Sahara Desert would produce at least 2,000 times more energy than the largest power stations could in the world, as they only generate 100,000 GWh a year. The output of this hypothetical solar system is equivalent to 36 billion barrels of oil per day, that is five barrels a day per person. In this situation, the Sahara Desert could produce more than 7,000 times the electricity that is required in Europe with little to no carbon emissions.

Over the past few years, scientists have looked at how a solar system in a desert could help meet the increasing local energy demand and power Europe as well, and how this might work in the long run. There have been academic insights made to provide plans for this project. The closest attempt was Desertec, a project that was announced in 2009 that needed a lot of funding from numerous banks and energy firms before collapsing after investors pulled out after five years. Projects like these are held back by different commercial, political and social factors, including the lack of fast development in the region.

There were recent proposals for this project, the TuNur project in Tunisia which aims to give power to more than 2m European homes, and the Noor Complex Solar Power Plant located in Morocco which also aims to provide energy to Europe.

Just a small part of the whole Sahara Desert is enough to produce energy that could support an entire continent. As the solar technology improves through time, it will get cheaper and it will be more efficient. The Sahara Desert may be inhospitable for animals and most plants, but it could provide sustainable energy to people across North Africa.
Coxe said as things stand, he just about runs out of product before the next year's crop come in, and he likes it that way.

"We don't store years' and years worth of rice and sell rice that's years old," Campbell told those in attendance at the tour. "It's all news, fresh  it's all that year's crop. When it runs out, the next year's crop comes in within a month of the old."

"I like to say we sell smell," Coxe said. "It's the tasty aroma that makes this rice so special, and it starts to wane after about a year. Just like Cinderella, it turns back into white rice, and you can't have anything special about white rice."

Coxe grows five varieties of rice on the farm with most of the heirloom varieties that were bred to grow in this area. A new variety, Charleston Gold, was bred through the heirlooms, he said.

Rice is a water-intensive crop, and Coxe said he has no lack of water for his field.

"We're very fortunate to be on a huge water source, the Great Pee Dee River. It's the same water they used in Georgetown," Coxe said. "We've had it tested. We're very fortunate to have an abundant, good supply of water."
FLORENCE, S.C.  In its first year competing, the city of Florence has been named one of South Carolinas top workplaces.

On Thursday evening, the leadership of the city of Florence traveled to Greenville to receive an award for being the fourth-best large company to work for in the Palmetto State. The city also received a direction award.

Among those traveling were Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, City Manager Drew Griffin, General Services department director Scotty Davis, utilities director Michael Hemingway, Fire Chief Randy Osterman, public works director Chuck Pope, planning director Jerry Dudley, development director Clint Moore, and office administration manager Amanda Pope.

It doesnt stop here, an email to city employees said. City staff is appreciative of each of you who took the time to complete the survey and provide comments. The information you provided will help staff focus on areas of refinement as we strive to continually improve and be a model workplace. Thank you for demonstrating collaboration, professionalism and ownership as you serve the Florence community and advance it Full Life. Full Forward.  FLORENCE!
Designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps  which Middle East expert James Phillips describes as the sword and shield of Irans Islamic revolution  as a terrorist organization is entirely appropriate. The Guard not only crushes political opposition to the revolution at home, it supports Irans wide network of foreign terrorist proxies.

More than 600 American servicemen in Iraq have died at the hands of proxy forces enabled by the Revolutionary Guard, which also controls Irans ballistic missile program.

In short, the Guard is a dangerous and destabilizing organization that specializes in murder and mayhem. Designating it a terrorist group is more than just a fitting moniker, though: It gives the U.S. government additional tools for applying sanctions against the Guard and all foreign entities that do business with it, its subsidiaries and its front companies.

These added sanctions will drain away resources that could be used to export terrorism, thus helping bolster the security of the U.S. and its allies, Phillips writes. This will also benefit the Iranian people, who are the chief victims of the Revolutionary Guard.
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Northwestern Universitys successful free college access program for underserved, high-achieving students at Evanston Township High School has been renamed Northwestern Academy  Evanston.

Formerly the Project Excite high-school initiative, Northwestern Academy  Evanston is a four-year high school program that helps academically-motivated students from low- to modest middle-income backgrounds at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) successfully enroll in  and graduate from  a college or university that best meets their needs and interests.

A sister college access program, Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools, began in 2013 and was built around the same mission. The Chicago program serves students from homes with limited financial means who dont attend one of CPSs selective enrollment schools.

Both programs are offered at no cost to participating families and are "aligned around the same objectives, design, and the students we are trying to support, said School of Education and Social Policy Dean David Figlio.

Using a comprehensive approach, the program offers personal academic advising, college test preparation, college visits, summer classes and enrichment programs, one-on-one tutoring with Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students, and opportunities for personal development. Northwestern Academy  Evanston also supports families during transitions from middle to high school and high school to college.

To be eligible for Northwestern Academy  Evanston, students must be willing to participate in formal and informal learning experiences, take advantage of academic supports, and meet program criteria.

The first group of students that received four years of support from Northwestern Academy  Evanston graduated in 2018. The eight students all went to four-year private or public colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the University of Redlands (two students), Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Holy Cross, the University of Arizona, and the University of Iowa.

For more information, visit the Northwestern Academy - Evanston website.
The heated competition between two Bay Area school lunch companies allegedly took a criminal turn after authorities say a top executive at one company hacked into the others website in an attempt to expose flaws in online security.

Keith Wesley Cosbey, the chief financial officer of Choicelunch in Danville, was arrested in April on two felony counts related to illegal acquisition of student data on the website of The LunchMaster, a San Carlos company.

If convicted of the charges  identity theft and unauthorized computer access  Cosbey, 40, would face more than three years in prison. He is accused of accessing information about hundreds of students from his competitors online site, including names, meal preferences, allergy information, academic grades and more, said Vishal Jangla, San Mateo Coun ty deputy district attorney.

Jangla said Cosbey anonymously sent the data to the California Department of Education and claimed LunchMaster wasnt doing enough to protect student privacy in an apparent attempt to discredit or disparage the company.

Someone whos an executive, thats surprising, Jangla said. Its a first for me.

Cosbey did not respond to a request for comment, but a company representative responded to the allegations in an emailed statement.

Choicelunch is aware of the allegations and is awaiting more information before we can make a substantive comment, the statement said. In its 15-year history serving California schools, Choicelunch has always endeavored to provide excellent service to its school lunch customers and will continue to do so while we await resolution of this matter.

The case highlights the cutthroat world of feeding students, a nearly $14 billion-a-year industry across the country, with 30 million children served daily.

Competition can be fierce, with businesses bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts to provide the school meals.

The two Bay Area companies have tangled in the past, with Choicelunch suing LunchMasters parent company, Nob Hill Catering, in 2014 over alleged copyright infringement in its online ordering system.

Then Choicelunch got Amazon Web Services to take down LunchMasters website, and tried to get its replacement site pulled, as well.

A federal judge intervened and chastised Choicelunch for broad interpretation of copyright laws. The judge ordered that LunchMasters second website remain active.

We try to serve school lunches, but its so complicated sometimes, said Ted Giouzelis, founder of LunchMaster.

But with the alleged hacking, Giouzelis said, the competition went too far.

He learned of the problem after the Department of Education confronted the company about the security concerns.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Giouzelis said his staff investigated and traced the breach back to an IP address in Danville, among other locations.

Giouzelis son Michael, who works with the company, said he believed the breach occurred after the hacker ran an automated program that bombarded the site and revealed the student information at one Peninsula school.

LunchMaster contacted the FBI and county sheriff in April 2018. A yearlong investigation resulted in the arrest of Cosbey, who is out on $125,000 bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in court on May 22.

This week, investigators allowed LunchMaster to notify families affected by the breach, which the company has been doing, Giouzelis said.

He went to the extreme this time, Giouzelis said of the competition. Its ruthless.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
A rally to denounce the perceived censorship of politically conservative views and speech by social media drew dozens of right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters to San Francisco City Hall on Friday.

Dubbed the Demand Free Speech rally, the event was intended to underscore the belief among many conservatives that companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter discriminate against right-wing viewpoints. Big tech companies have shown a clear bias against conservatives, they argue, as evidenced by the suspension or outright banning of right-wing users accounts.

The rally marked the end of a 48-hour social media blackout protest, that began on April 30, during which conservatives were encouraged to stay away from their social media apps for everyone who has been silenced and censored by big tech companies, according to the organizers website.

In recent months, right-wing media personalities and provocateurs have been banned from numerous social media sites for using their sometimes massive followings to encourage violence, for exhibiting bullying behavior or for using hate speech.

Now Playing: Inside the Demand Free Speech rally in San Francisco Video: San Francisco Chronicle

On Thursday, Facebook removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, among others, from its platform for violating its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

Companies are wielding those policies, conservatives argue, to tamp down right-wing voices and amplify those of liberals.

You cannot shut me up. Youre so weak, you cant even have civil discourse, Bernadine Barber screamed to a crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall, eliciting waves of supportive cheers. Barber posts a range of conservative political and lifestyle videos on YouTube and other social media channels.

Hate speech is still free speech! Barber said. Hate speech could mean a million different things to a million different people. Ban it all, why dont you?

Marco Gutierrez, a right-wing activist and a co-founder of the group Latinos for Trump, said tech companies behavior has gotten to the tyrannical side. This is about freedom of speech. Theyre telling me what I can say and what people can hear. Theyre burning books, basically.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The conservative rally brought about an equally vocal backlash.

Across Polk Street in Civic Center Plaza, a scrum of bitterly opposed demonstrators sneered at one another, called each other fascists and racists, waved signs and jammed smartphones and cameras in one anothers faces.

Chants of Build the wall! and Its OK to be white! were met with No border, no wall, this regime has got to fall!

Reiko Redmonde led a group of counterprotesters, urging them to stand against this fascist regime led by Donald Trump, which she said was unleashing these street thugs.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
California Sen. Kamala Harris got to be a prosecutor again during her grilling of Attorney General William Barr, winning the day in Congress and acquiring a nasty label that no amount of presidential campaign money could buy.

Theres no debate that Barr misrepresented the contents of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether Donald Trumps campaign conspired to help and whether the president himself obstructed the investigation. The question for Democrats was how to get that message across to the public.

When Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, none of the Democrats could lay a glove on him  until it was Harris turn.

Harris opened by asking how Barr had concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the president had obstructed justice. Rather than debate the merits of his decision, Harris zeroed in on whether the attorney general or his staff had actually read the underlying evidence in the report before making his decision.

Barr said no, and that we accepted (Muellers report) as accurate.

Harris then ended the line of questioning by saying, I think youve made it clear, sir, that youve not looked at the evidence and we can move on.

While Barr has every reason to accept Muellers report without reading every interview transcript and underlying email, Harris direct up-or-down question was a great theatrical gotcha moment.

And it was a moment that Harris presidential campaign needed. Since her highly orchestrated rollout in January, shes made missteps on everything from universal health care to voting rights for people in prison.

She needed to re-establish her serious credentials as a prosecutor for the people, and Barr gave her the opportunity to do just that. Her campaign wasted no time using the confrontation as a fundraising ad.

But the real reward came when Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Harris had been probably very nasty to Barr  and thus gave us Nasty Kamala.

That could well be a huge boost for Harris among the Democratic base. Of course, you need more than the base to get elected  just ask Hillary Such a Nasty Woman Clinton.

When Irish eyes: Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke came to town and packed the United Irish Cultural Center out in the Sunset. They came from all over California to see the progressive phenom from Texas.

But if you can find a single member of the Irish cultural community who attended the rally, have them give me a call.

Flintstone fun: Coming back from George and Judy Marcus annual Greek Easter party in Los Altos Hills, I decided to hop off Interstate 280 at Hillsborough and swing by the Flintstone house.

The hilltop house is owned by my longtime friend Florence Fang, who is about as prim and proper a person as you will find. But her creation is a riot of color and nonsense, complete with dinosaur statues.

I loved it.

Yes, its right out of a comic book, but its not offensive at all.

There were no crowds or long lines of cars, a la Lombard Street. In fact, nothing that I saw rose to the level of the public nuisance Hillsborough officials claimed the place to be. Its just a bit of fun for people to look at.

And these days, we need all the fun we can get.

Movie time: Avengers: Endgame. It took in $1.8 gazillion in its first five minutes of release, including my $12.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Actually, I waited till the 7:30 a.m. Sunday show, at a theater in the Westfield mall. The place was packed. I did not know people could munch on a bucket of popcorn for breakfast.

This movie was so intense that in the three hours of running time, I saw only two people head out to the bathroom.

They say this is the end of the Avengers franchise. If you believe that, you probably believe William Barr is telling the truth.

Muni madness: A letter to the editor published in The Chronicle touted me as a candidate to run Muni.

For all of you who have gone on social media to lament such a possibility  forget it.

Mayor London Breed is looking for competence, and I have already proved, with my ill-fated vow as a mayoral candidate to fix Muni in 100 days, that I am grossly unqualified to run anything that involves wheels.

Wedding bells: Overheard at the Vault restaurant in the Financial District:

Man: Will you marry me?

Woman: Yes. You name the date, and Ill name the year.

Thats one way to say no and still enjoy the meal.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Blame it on Rosie.

The Jetsons robot housekeeper was witty, adroit, useful and very human-like. As she rolled around the sci-fi familys home in Orbit City, she effortlessly tidied up, dispensed bons mots, helped the kids with homework and cooked dinners.

Rosie set too high a bar for real-life robots. Many startups have tried to create a robot that Americans would welcome into their homes, but so far the only success has come for Roomba and similar robotic vacuum cleaners.

The biggest challenge is unrealistic expectations driven by movies and television, said Ken Goldberg, a robotics expert and professor of engineering at UC Berkeley. A lot of jobs around the house are actually very, very subtle and require a dexterity level far beyond what robots can achieve. Its important to let people know that Rosie is not just around the corner.

The latest failure was San Franciscos Anki, which abruptly shut down last week, sounding the death knell for its home robots Cozmo and Vector. Thats despite having raised more than $200 million in funding and generating about $100 million in revenue in both 2017 and 2018.

Ankis gerbil-size, cloud-connected roaming robots offer similar features to countertop devices such as Amazons Alexa and smartphone assistants like Apples Siri, but with an extra serving of personality. (Alexa and Siri are considered bots, not robots, because they dont move.) Vector exhibited more than 1,500 animations to express emotions, programmed by former film animators from Pixar and DreamWorks.

Ankis demise follows those of several other consumer robotics companies: Jibo, which made a social robot; Frances Keecker, whose multimedia robot facilitated watching moves and listening to music; Tokyos Seven Dreamers, whose cabinet-size Laundroid folded laundry; Boschs Mayfield Robotics, whose Kuri was part smart pet (it could sing and dance), part robot butler.

All not only fell short of the lofty expectations set by Rosie, but also failed to prove their usefulness.

Americans have lots of ways to entertain themselves, said technology forecaster Paul Saffo. A robot has to be blazingly essential or to do one thing really, really well.

While home robots have yet to take off, industrial robots are flourishing, accounting for more than $2 billion in North American sales last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation.

At auto assembly plants, electronics factories, Amazon warehouses and elsewhere, robots designed to handle defined tasks over and over offer a quick return on investment, said Bob Doyle, a spokesman for the trade group. Industrial robotics sales continue to break new records. Robots are also making new inroads in retail  restocking Walmart shelves, for instance  and as security guards.

But homes remain the last frontier.

Were still a long way away from one robot that can do everything for you from clean your house to cook to help an elderly person, Doyle said. Before we get there, we may have many robots in the home each geared to do one specific thing like Roomba.

While early adopters will always pounce on fun new ideas, thats a far cry from mass acceptance. Our goal is working toward a robot in every home, Anki co-founder Mark Palatucci told The Chronicle last year.

And although various pet-like robots have found acceptance at some times Hasbros Furby, Sonys Aibo, the handheld Tamagotchi, the Paro therapeutic seal  they were more novelty items than indispensable helpmates.

Unlike U.S. consumers, Japanese audiences are more willing to open their homes to robots, which some experts ascribe to cultural differences.

Japan is fascinated by robots, Saffo said. Japanese live in much smaller homes and its harder to have pets, so theyre more used to the idea of a virtual pet. Conferring a lifelike personality onto objects is deep in Japanese culture, back to Shinto and the idea that the whole world is enchanted and there is spirit chi in everything.

So what will it take to get robots into U.S. homes?

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

One first step might be acclimatizing Americans to robots that come to their doorsteps  via the new generation of cooler-size delivery robots that bring restaurant meals and e-commerce orders.

For instance, Kiwi Campus, a startup based at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, has dozens of robots delivering food from local restaurants on the Berkeley campus. Weve seen that people have adopted the Kiwibot as part of their community, said Sasha Iatsenia, head of product. The robots have expressive faces that can wink and smile, plus were fulfilling a basic human need: to eat, he said.

(Still, at least one local resident resented the robots so much that he kidnapped one. Berkeley police rescued it when Kiwi gave them its GPS coordinates and then turned it on remotely so it could be heard banging against the thiefs car trunk, he said.)

Another possible use for home robots is helping elderly people.

Seattles Hoaloha Robotics is building a robotic companion for seniors. The embodied personal assistant, which is at least a year off, will go far beyond the likes of Alexa in carrying on conversations  not just reporting the weather but commenting on it, for instance, said CEO Tandy Trower. It will be able to carry items and help people manage and plan daily activities. To reduce up-front costs, Hoaloha will offer it on a subscription basis.

Despite its closure, robotics experts said that Anki still helped blaze trails.

Anki helped demonstrate how appealing imbuing an embodied agent with the right level of social characteristics can be, bringing us one step closer to personal robots, Trower said. Where it failed was in delivering a sufficient value proposition, which is also essential for success. However, like the Commodore PET and Apple II, it clearly points the way for what is to come.

Anki had passion and commitment to bring robotics out of research labs and into living rooms, said Peter Nguyen, an Anki spokesman, in an email after its closure: We tried our best to move the consumer robotics industry forward and give people a glimpse into a life where we can peacefully coexist with robots.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Pacific Gas & Electrics accounting for its losses related to three years of wildfires in Northern California, the utility reported to shareholders Thursday.

PG&E told investors that it learned in March that investigators from the SECs San Francisco regional office had begun the review of public disclosures and accounting by the utility and its parent corporation for the 2015 Butte Fire as well as wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The fires killed scores of people, and the Camp Fire, which ravaged the town of Paradise last year, was the most destructive wildfire in California history.
The band U2 might want to live Where the Streets Have No Name, but for some residents of an unnamed street smack in the middle of San Francisco, its been hell getting an Uber, a pizza delivery or an ambulance. And its especially hard trying to sell a home that potential buyers can barely find.

Thats why some residents  and one enterprising real estate agent  have been trying to get Google, Apple and the city to get their street, informally named Johns Way, on the map. Theyve had some luck with Google and Apple, but you know what they say about fighting City Hall.

The street is really a private dead-end alley in between Market Street and Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. The alley has garages and parking spots for residents.

The six residents on the Market side of the alley have Market Street addresses and front doors facing Market. But finding and getting to them is extremely difficult because of a unique set of circumstances. Theres no parking or sidewalks beneath them, and they sit atop a giant retaining wall accessed by a steep zigzag ramp.

Tam Duong Jr./The Chronicle

Its much easier to access the homes from the alley, so they use their back doors as front doors. Visitors, delivery people and house hunters would have an easier time finding them if they had a Johns Way address, but they cant get one because its not on city maps.

The homes on the other side of the alley have Corbett Avenue addresses and most of their homes face Corbett, which is easy to find and relatively accessible. But there are two apartment complexes and one home on the alley that have Corbett Avenue addresses but no direct access to either Corbett or Market. Their only access is Johns Way.

Greg Tarbox lives in that home. It was awkward at first, Tarbox said. He has found ways to direct delivery people to his home, although some still get lost. Whenever he needed an Uber, hed give an address on nearby Clayton Street and wait there.

Its a unique setting, Tarbox said. Its a little like Barbary Lane, the fictional street in Armistead Maupins Tales of the City, he said. Its that spirit. People cooperate.

The alley is jointly owned and maintained by 17 property owners whose land touches it. Each year the city sends one property tax bill for the alley and the owners divvy it up. Unlike the owners of the infamous Presidio Terrace, an upscale private street that was auctioned off by the city for nonpayment of property taxes but later returned to owners, the owners have never been seriously delinquent.

In 1985, John Pletz, an owner who has since died, asked a deputy in the tax collectors office what would happen if the taxes werent paid. In a letter to neighbors he wrote, As unbelievable as this sounds, he replied, The property will be sold at auction and probably a developer will buy the property and build an apartment or condominium units.

In 2015, his wife, Barbara Pletz, called the San Francisco Fire Department to discuss getting emergency services to homes on the alley. On two occasions, ambulances called for Pletz and her husband had trouble finding their Market Street address. Before retiring, she was director of San Mateo Countys emergency medical services.

The Fire Department had no idea the alley was there. They were happy to find out about it, Pletz said. They had each shift come down the alley, see how it was laid out, howd they get a hose to it. They thought it was a really good idea to give it a name.

On behalf of residents, Pletz asked the city how they could get the alley named and put on the map. She was told it would cost $2,500 to apply for a name and the Board of Supervisors would have to approve it. Installing a street sign would cost extra.

However, even if you go through the trouble of naming this alley it will not appear on our maps since it is a private lot, and only the fronting property owners have easement access rights, Javier Rivera of the Department of Public Works wrote in a 2015 letter to Pletz. He added, How these two landlocked parcels (the apartment complexes) were allowed to be developed is beyond me.

Taking matters into their own hands, the residents named the alley Johns Way in memory of John Baumann, San Francisco architect who developed the two apartment complexes and lived there for more than 50 years. They had two signs made that say Johns Way and posted them on a house and a retaining wall at the top of the alley, but the entrance is still easy to miss.

In November, Greg and Wendy Antipa put their home on the Market Street side up for sale. But their open houses attracted a sparse crowd. People would get there and say, I couldnt find it, or I almost got hit by a car walking up Market Street, said their agent, Jennifer Rosdail of Keller Williams.

You can drive right to the house from Johns Way, where the Antipas own a one-car garage and parking pad. But she couldnt put it into the Multiple Listing Service with an address on Johns Way because its not on city maps. Rosdail decided it would help if she could get the street on the map.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

We put it in as a trouble ticket through Google Maps a whole bunch of times, she said. We did it with Apple Maps too. Rosdails assistant had a friend whose boyfriend works at Google on the Maps product, and they talked to him. Rosdail checked the maps every day and, one day in March, found Johns Way labeled on Google Maps with a single red marker in the middle of the alley. A little later, Apple had one too.

Asked what led to that appearance, a Google spokeswoman said the company used a number of different sources to accurately model the constantly changing real world, including contributions from users.

Although residents still dont have addresses on Johns Way, they can now tell visitors to put that name into Google or Apple maps and then look for their house numbers, which some have displayed on their back entrances. Having it identified on Google Maps was wonderful, Pletz said. I had a Lyft come. That was the first time.

Rosdail also contacted San Francisco Public Works about getting the street on the city map.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the department said it cant put the alley on the map because the city has not declared it a private street, which requires a minimum of 20 feet. Our initial review shows that the width is 14 feet. There also is a tight turn on the stretch, which we believe would be difficult at best for emergency vehicle access.

She said the residents could hire a private surveyor to provide detailed information about the site, prove there is no problem with flooding and install a new fire hydrant. Then theyd have to submit an application for review, pay $2,500 and we would circulate the proposal to other city agencies, with police and fire paramount. If there are no concerns and it meets the minimum requirements, it could become a designated private street and put on the official map.

Meanwhile the Antipas, who have moved to a retirement community in Oakland, are still waiting for a buyer for their home at 3352 Market. Now listed at $2.1 million, the home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and spectacular city views. The websites Redfin and Zillow estimate its worth about $2.7 million. But they dont know the unique story of Johns Way.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The investigative arm of Oaklands Police Commission has exonerated four officers accused of using improper lethal force in the 2018 shooting of an armed homeless man who was killed just after waking up.

The Community Police Review Agencys findings, released Friday afternoon, contradict those of Oakland Police Compliance Director Robert Warshaw, who found that the four officers had violated lethal use-of-force policy. Warshaws report additionally blasted the departments use-of-force board and Chief Anne Kirkpatricks review after both cleared the officers of wrongdoing.

In short, the CPRA sided with the Oakland Police Department over Warshaw.

But because Warshaws findings override Kirkpatricks, the CPRAs report sets up a scenario never seen before in Oakland. Per City Charter, when the CPRAs disciplinary decision differs from that of the department, a three-member committee of Oaklands Police Commission is tasked with making the final call on whether to clear the officers.

Officers William Berger, Brandon Hraiz, Craig Tanaka and Sgt. Francisco Negrete, who all fired their weapons, were placed on leave after Warshaws report was released in March.

The CPRA also cleared Officer Josef Phillips of wrongdoing, after accusations that he used improper nonlethal force by deploying a beanbag gun. Warshaw had sustained the violation against Phillips.

The CPRA report did find fault in the supervisors overseeing the incident, saying that Negrete failed to properly supervise and that Lt. Alan Yu failed in his command role.

On March 11, 2018, 32-year-old Joshua Pawlik, a homeless man with mental health issues, was found unconscious with a gun between two houses in West Oakland. Pawlik woke up after officers were on the scene for roughly 45 minutes, but failed to respond to officers repeated commands that he take his hand off the gun. Police said he raised the gun and pointed it at them just before they opened fire.

Warshaw said video evidence contradicted these claims.

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The Oakland Police Commission was created in 2017 to help restore trust between the community and the Police Department. The civilian commission is tasked with shaping policy, and has the authority to discipline officers. Its companion, the Community Police Review Agency  also comprised of civilians  probes incidents involving use of force, in-custody deaths, racial profiling and demonstrations.

The Oakland Police Department declined to comment.

Mayor Libby Schaafs spokesman Justin Berton said it is critical for the community to have a voice in this process.

Were grateful the civilian police commission will play an important role in this issue, he said.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A man was fatally shot by San Jose police Saturday after he drove into an officer while trying to flee in a stolen car, police said.

Officers were responding to reports of a stolen vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. near Kollmar Drive and Story Road. When they arrived, they found a man inside a car in the rear carport area of an apartment complex, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department, in a statement.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
I first chatted with Ellen Tauscher over lunch at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was impressive: thoughtful, substantive, determined. She was taking on a two-term Republican congressman, Bill Baker, in her first race for elective office. She was a decided underdog, but her center-left politics proved in sync with the changing dynamics of a suburban district that covered central Contra Costa County and stretched south into the Livermore Valley.

We endorsed her, she won, and thus began a succession of interviews with her over the years. They were always enlightening, always civil and always laced with good humor  even when the subject was uncomfortable, such as her support of Steny Hoyer over Nancy Pelosi for the No. 2 position in the House Democratic leadership in 2001. At the end of that interview  which led to an editorial critical of her position  she thanked me again for the 1996 endorsement. I keep it framed on my office wall, she said. We both laughed at her obvious attempt at a tension breaker to close the conversation. That interview was classic Tauscher: impassioned in her viewpoint, eager to defend it against challenge and ever aware that there will always be another day when combatants of the moment will be allies.

She visited our editorial board in 2010 to talk about her new job as an arms-control negotiator for the Obama administration. My last exchange with her was two years ago at the City Club of San Francisco, when I moderated a discussion with Tauscher and Democratic strategist Katie Merrill on how their party could take back the House of Representatives in the midterms. Her analysis was detailed, upbeat and spot-on. Sadly, Tauscher died Tuesday at 67, the nations loss.

American politics and policy would be so much better off if more folks of Tauschers uncommon intellect and determination to find common ground were willing to apply their skills and values to public service.

She will be missed.

 John Diaz, editorial page editor
Toronado is known to attract many beer fans the world over, but there's one very famous patron who returns regularly: Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell.

Rockwell, who was born in the Bay Area and grew up in San Francisco, is a serious craft beer fan, as the New York Times noted in 2015. At the time, he was living in New York, and in an interview with the newspaper, he said that on his trips to California, "I run to the nearest place where there's a Pliny the Elder (double IPA)."
Investing in companies or organizations that make a positive change on society can be a bit like indulging in a vice: A lot of people might enjoy it privately, but theyre not comfortable talking about it publicly.

When asked about this strategy, known as impact investing, investors typically give a lukewarm response or sidestep the topic altogether, researchers have found. A common refrain is to raise concerns about an investments influence and how any trade-offs with returns are measured.

But recent research geared toward individual investors, financial advisers and fund managers has found that impact investing is more broadly popular than advisers believed and that this may be a golden age for measuring the financial and social returns on such investments.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans have moderate to high interest in sustainable investing, according to new research by the financial services firm Morningstar. That interest, the study found, is broad and deep. It also runs contrary to a common belief among advisers that interest in this type of investing is confined to Millennials and women.

The study used a technique from experimental economics called revealed preferences, said Ray Sin, a senior behavioral scientist at Morningstar who conducted the study with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at the firm. Most surveys that study impact investing rely on stated preferences: You answer the question youre asked. The Morningstar survey gave people either/or choices between two stocks with varying differences of the financial returns and sustainability ratings of each stock.

Youre inferring their preferences through trade-offs, Sin said. In doing that, were able to tell how much theyre willing to trade off, and then we tied it back to the question: Do people care about sustainable investing?

The answer, overwhelmingly, was yes. That opened up a second line of inquiry: Are the investments having an impact and still generating a solid return?

That is a difficult question to answer in a meaningful way. Many organizations offer metrics for measuring an investments impact, but they are generally not all measuring the same thing. The best ones, though, are at least evaluating all the investments using the same criteria.

Theres been a pretty significant proliferation of metrics and data in the last 20 years, said Lily Trager, director of investing with impact at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She said that what had started as a way of avoiding risk caused by the actions of companies had evolved into a more complicated assessment of positive performance.

Yet putting that information together in a meaningful way has proved to be complicated. Youre seeking to define the most useful of material factors, Trager said. That is nuanced and challenging for clients to understand.

Here is a look at four metrics that either are being introduced or have been overhauled in an effort to simplify the process for investors.

The Global Impact Investment Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, has operated the IRIS rating system for the past decade. It has contributed to metrics that evaluate impact investments, with the intention of creating a commonly used method, similar to the generally accepted accounting principles used by the Securities and Exchange Commission. IRIS is set to be reintroduced this month.

The new version, IRIS Plus, is meant to translate impact investing goals like gender equity, climate change and affordable housing into results, said Amit Bouri, the chief executive of GIIN. He said the new system would help investors know exactly which metrics to track if they hoped, for example, to bring clean energy to rural areas.

The revised IRIS system is also an acknowledgment that impact investors want more ratings they can act on, he said.

Before, the people doing impact investing were do-gooder organizations by design, Bouri said. When I fast-forward to today, and I have a conversation with the chief investment officer of an investment fund or the chief executive of an asset manager, they all want to talk about impact investing. But they want to know how they can best understand their performance.

Bouri hopes that IRIS Plus can serve as a one-stop shop for investors seeking to understand how a particular goal can, or cannot, be accomplished through a particular investment.

The Global Impact Investment Rating System was created a decade ago to apply sustainability criteria to private investments made through venture capital and private equity funds. It was the brainchild of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that strives to redefine business success and administers the B Corp certification.

GIIRS (pronounced gears) was meant to evaluate both the investments themselves and the overall quality of the funds. It focused on the impact of a business model, the impact of a companys policies and the intent of the fund to make an impact.

The system is now being retooled to bring it more in line with the B Corp system of rating companies themselves. That system measures a company on social and environmental metrics as they relate to its business and employees, and then assigns a score from 0 to 200 points. A company needs a score of at least 80 to receive the B Corp designation.

As GIIRS has evolved, the organizations leaders realized that investors were interested in analytical data, said Andrew Kassoy, managing partner of GIIRS and a co-founder of B Lab. So impact investments will now be put through an analytical screening process and assigned a series of scores in areas like the affect on the environment or treatment of workers as well as a total score, the way companies seeking B Corp certification are scored.

Kassoy said that applying this methodology to impact investments would help them strive for constant improvement.

The whole idea of the 200-point scale is aspirational, he said. Its easy to identify things that can be done quickly and easily as well as things that would take more time with a plan for improvement. That leads to really important conversations with investors.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board was modeled on the Financial Accounting Standards Board with the goal of doing for sustainable investing what FASB has done for accounting.

Last fall, after seven years of work, the organization released its framework for analyzing 77 industries along a consistent range of environmental, social and governance metrics.

The groups overarching goal is to focus on sustainabilitys financial impact on a company and what that means to investors.

General financial information for most companies is available online, but the same cannot be said for a companys approach to using environmental, social and governance measurements, said Bryan Esterly, the sustainability boards director of standards research. Even companies that provide their own sustainability reports do not do so in a standardized way as they do with accounting measures.

What we produce are standards, Esterly said. We dont produce ratings. Our view is, the ratings could be more accurate and robust if there was a market standard out there.

One drawback: So far, only about 60 companies have used the boards standards.

Erika Karp, the chief executive of Cornerstone Capital, which manages money for wealthy people, came to impact investing through equity research at top global investment banks. She said she saw environmental, social and governance analysis as a critical investment discipline, akin to quantitative or fundamental research.

But assessing an investments impact has been difficult to do in a way that is meaningful and understandable to the high-net-worth clients she serves. Using the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals, Cornerstone created the Access Impact Framework to apply those goals to companies in different sectors.

The end result for investors is a heat map that shows in colors from pale to deep blue how their money measures up to their goals, whether it is invested in individual companies, funds or the portfolio overall.

Were sorting through a lot of data and noise and getting to a signal for regular human beings  not quants, not financial experts, Karp said.

With the heat map, clients who want to improve access to education in the world can see if their investments are actually doing that. They can also screen managers to see, for example, which ones are invested in opportunities that provide access to clean water.

Karp said the company purposely avoided using a numerical scale because she hoped the heat map would reach people on a more human level.

Its so easy to be bummed out when you think of the damage thats been baked into the climate, she said. We really have to get going now, and if youre going to get going now it has to be visceral. Numbers dont let things be visceral.

Paul Sullivan is a New York Times writer.
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick.

That, of course, was nothing new. When Khosrowshahi took over as Uber CEO in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in the Bay Area, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the San Francisco companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future.

Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would become wealthy and the public could buy a piece of an indisputably world-changing company. The problem for Khosrowshahi, according to two people briefed on the matter, was that Kalanick wanted to be there.

As a former CEO and current board member, Kalanick had asked to take part in the hallowed New York Stock Exchange tradition of ringing the opening bell on May 10, the day Uber shares are due to begin trading. He also wanted to bring his father, Donald Kalanick. It would be close to the second anniversary of the accidental death of Travis Kalanicks mother and of the dramatic boardroom coup that ousted him as boss. His presence on the exchanges balcony could make both Kalanick and the corporation appear resilient.

Khosrowshahi wasnt having it. The original plan was to fill the rafters with Ubers earliest employees and longest tenured drivers. Moreover, some people at the top of the company felt that Kalanick was still a toxic liability and that Uber should keep him at maximum distance as it tried to convince constituents that employees truly abided by a new motto: Do the right thing. Period. Kalanicks appearance would unavoidably rekindle public memories of just how much of a disaster his final year was.

Besides, Khosrowshahi had bigger things to worry about than IPO pageantry. Uber is losing billions of dollars annually, and he needs to convince investors that it is a promising, long-term company  even if it wont be turning a profit anytime soon. He didnt need the distraction at Ubers financial coming-out party. For now, according to the two sources, Khosrowshahi has asked Kalanick to stick to the floor of the exchange.

Khosrowshahi is still mulling the matter, the people say. The CEO wants to prove that the startup has evolved past Kalanicks raucous, tech-bro culture  and his strategy of setting barrels of money aflame in the pursuit of growth above all else. But Ubers past, to state the obvious about a company that is only a decade old, is simply not that far gone. Almost every instance of Kalanicks bare-knuckled approach to capitalism illuminates something about Ubers viability as a business today. (Citing the quiet period before an IPO, representatives for Uber, Khosrowshahi and Kalanick all declined to comment.)

The company has little good will with consumers or regulators in multiple jurisdictions. And Uber still loses money on nearly every fare, using venture capital to subsidize rides, invest in new areas and beat back a set of global competitors that offer an essentially identical service.

Kalanicks heavy reliance on venture funding could be problematic for a public Uber in at least two ways. Arguably, it instilled habits of indiscipline, because executives could simply ask for more money whenever they wanted it, like rich kids with no cap on their allowance.

Second, and more troubling for retail investors, the bulk of investment returns might have already been realized. Uber acknowledged in a recent filing that its growth is slowing, fueling concern that venture firms, private equity shops, sovereign-wealth funds and other elite insiders have not left much upside for mom-and-pop investors.

The last big beneficiary of Ubers private-market gains might have been SoftBank. The Japanese mega-conglomerate bought existing shares from Uber investors at a nadir, when the company was valued at roughly $42 billion. Just months later, as Uber recovered from its string of scandals, those shares had nearly doubled in value.

All IPOs are by nature unpredictable, but with Uber the possible outcomes seem especially extreme. Is it a juggernaut that, like Amazon before it, will someday flip the switch to profitability? Or is it something more like eBay, a well-known but puttering giant with its best growth long since behind it?

For now, Khosrowshahis job is to execute a drama-free public offering. He was able to use the chaotic events of Kalanicks departure and his own hiring to secure a lucrative incentive. If he is able to attain a valuation of more than $120 billion for Uber over a period of 90 consecutive days, according to two people familiar with the matter and language included in Ubers IPO prospectus, Khosrowshahi will personally net stock bonuses of more than $100 million.

After parachuting into a profoundly fractured board, the CEO has managed to make a kind of peace among the companys directors, a group that includes Kalanick. Leaks about internal issues have largely stopped flowing to the press. Backbiting among executives has subsided. And Khosrowshahi has refrained from the kinds of extravagances Kalanick was known for.

Khosrowshahis admirers say the calm is a result of his long experience with corporate distress. After years of running InterActive Corp.s mergers, acquisitions and finance divisions, Khosrowshahi was tapped to lead Expedia as chief executive in 2012  a time of intense political drama inside the online travel company. Khosrowshahi stabilized some of the internal tumult, according to Neha Parikh, the president of Hotwire, who worked alongside Khosrowshahi at the time. No matter who you are, she said, Dara makes you feel heard.

At Uber, Khosrowshahi hired a slew of lawyers to plumb and correct years of the companys legal deficiencies. He also edited Kalanicks list of 14 cultural values. Ranging from Always Be Hustlin to Super Pumped, they read like Amazons leadership principles run through a bro-speak translation engine; now they have been made into a blander set of eight platitudes. (Among them: We persevere.) Investors who had billions riding on Ubers success have been happy to see a constant stream of negative headlines shrink to a trickle.

While Khosrowshahi has seemed to successfully reform many of Ubers cultural issues, skeptics note that the companys business fundamentals remain much the same. Uber lost nearly $2 billion in 2018, the first full year under his leadership. That comes even after a retreat from a number of costly battles with ride-hailing competitors in China, Russia and Southeast Asia.

On Ubers roadshow to pitch itself to institutional investors (theres no homeshow this time around), Khosrowshahi has broken with Kalanicks worldview that Uber is competing in a winner-take-all market. Ride-sharing will be a winner-take-most game, as Khosrowshahi puts it, according to people familiar with his presentation.

He has also embraced the idea that his company is like Amazon  a logistics giant in the making. His pitch casts Ubers sustained losses as both an attempt to defend its existing market share from competitors and an investment in Ubers growth.

That story seeks to frame Uber as a technology platform. Ride-hailing, the thinking goes, is a mere jumping-off point for other markets, like bikes and scooters, food delivery, long-haul trucking  even flying cars. Just like Amazon sells third-party goods, we are going to also offer third-party transportation services, Khosrowshahi said in an interview last year.

Still, Uber has no clear path to turning a profit in the next few years, and the risks section of its registration statement runs to 48 pages, out of 285 total. Shares of Lyft, its nearest competitor, have fallen about 13 percent from their offering price.

Ubers bankers seem to have internalized the doubts. After initially targeting an IPO opening range of roughly $48 to $55 per share, Uber reduced expectations to roughly $44 to $50 per share at a valuation of $80 billion to $91 billion  significantly lower than the $90 billion to $100 billion range it originally sought.

Despite all Khosrowshahi has done to distance Uber from its founder, Kalanick remains intimately connected to the company he built. He remains on Ubers board, and Khosrowshahi has shown no signs of agitating for a shake-up of the group in the months following an IPO, as some had expected he would.

Friends of Kalanick say that he feels unfairly targeted by Ubers IPO paperwork and its implicit criticisms of his leadership. According to people briefed on his thinking, Kalanick hopes that his successor will use the IPO to bury the hatchet between the two men and mark a new chapter in Ubers history. Even former enemies on the board, like Matt Cohler of Benchmark, have spoken in favor of Kalanicks involvement, according to a report from Axios.

No matter where he stands when Uber shares begin to trade, Kalanick will have the consolation of making on paper several billion dollars. That is 600 times what Khosrowshahis stake will be worth. Not that hes one to let that bother him.

Hes like Teflon. You cant scratch him, said Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Khosrowshahis cousin and the chief operating officer of Kobalt, a music startup. But its a positive way, not robotic. Thats why hes such a good choice for this role, because you have to be  especially from where he started.

Mike Isaac is a New York Times writer.
HARTFORD  Connecticut schools have one of the highest immunization rates in the country, but according to the state Department of Public Health, 116 public schools reported immunization rates for measles, mumps, and rubella that were below 95 percent last year.

That included six schools in which less than 80 percent of the kindergartners were vaccinated.

The vaccination data, which was for the 2017-18 school year, was released following a series of requests by CTNewsJunkie as well as members of the General Assembly. The state DPH updated its data over the course of the afternoon Friday, including removing from the lists that they originally uploaded all the schools with enrollments of less than 30 students. The DPHs original data also reported vaccination rates for kindergartners and seventh-graders separately for the same schools in some cases.

Measles outbreaks, like the nine in New York, California, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia and New Jersey, are less likely to occur at schools in which a large number of students are immunized to achieve herd immunity.

Herd immunity is described as a vaccination rate high enough to protect unvaccinated children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number is 95 percent.

Dr. Jody L. Terranova, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a vaccine advocate for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the data will help the academy reach out to schools with low numbers to see what education they can provide to improve vaccination rates in order to protect students who cannot be vaccinated based on medical conditions. Terranova said the data may be eye-opening for parents whose children have compromised immune systems, because if their school falls below 95 percent then there is no herd immunity and they face an increased risk of an outbreak.

We clearly have a false sense of security when using the overall state vaccination rate and can now see areas throughout the state where our residents are vulnerable to preventable diseases, Terranova said.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Connecticut State Medical Society said they were alarmed by the startling Department of Public Health School Immunization Report released Friday.

The facts dont lie, Connecticut State Medical Society President Claudia Gruss said. We know that immunizations are proven to be safe and effective, they are one of our best lines of defense to protect the publics health.

The lowest percentages of Connecticut kindergartners immunized with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were at schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford and East Hartford last year. At least six schools in those towns had kindergarten immunization rates below 80 percent.

There were at least 36 schools where the MMR vaccine rate for kindergarteners was under 90 percent. Those schools were in Groton, Norwich, New Haven, Bloomfield, Hartford, Bridgeport, South Windsor, New Canaan, Waterbury, Redding, Mansfield, Milford, Westport, Canterbury, Stafford, and Stamford.

The DPH also provided vaccination data for seventh-graders across the state. Five schools had MMR vaccine rates under 90 percent, including schools in Norwich, Newtown, New Haven, Hartford, and Killingly.

Seventh-grade immunization rates between 90 percent and 92 percent were recorded at schools in Greenwich, Guilford, Stamford, and Bridgeport.

The overall number of schools with MMR vaccine rates under 95 percent was 116 when kindergarteners and seventh-graders were included, but there are still many unanswered questions about the data released Friday morning.

Why did some schools with low immunization rates report zero exemptions?

Kathy Kudish, head of the Connecticut Department of Healths Immunization Program, said that children without the required number of doses of vaccines do not necessarily have an exemption on file.

She said all data was reported by the schools, and a handful of schools had reached out Friday following the publication of the data to let the DPH know there may have been errors.

Kudish said the DPH is addressing those issues and will correct the database as the updates come in, with plans to release the updated information in about a week.

She admitted its possible that updated information could change the immunization rates at a handful of schools.

The information released included the percentages of children in kindergarten and seventh grade who are vaccinated against measles and other diseases as recommended. The DPH also includes the percentage of children in any grade who have an immunization exemption, which is based on what the schools report to the state.

Democratic legislative leadership in the House and the Senate said the data proves what they feared.

The immunization level is dangerously low in a significant number of schools and communities, putting the publics health at risk. This is a matter of grave public health concern, Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, who has not been shy about his desire to end the religious exemption for vaccines, said the numbers were shocking.

The release of the data provided ammunition for lawmakers who are advocating to end the religious exemption for vaccinations for students who want to attend public schools in the face of a vocal group of parents who have been lobbying hard to keep it.

Public health is always top priority, and when there are signs it is being compromised, it cant be ignored, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said.

LeeAnn Ducat, founder of Informed Choice USA, said she believes some of the information DPH released is inaccurate.

Recently, Matt Ritter clearly said that releasing this data will identify hot spots likely for infection and that hopefully releasing this data will increase immunization rates. The only way I can see for that to happen is by harassment, peer pressure and pressure on those towns/districts to create an unfavorable environment to exemption users, Ducat said.

She said the state violated its own law by releasing the data.

Sec. 10-204a-4(c) states that all immunization information collected by the department shall be confidential. So we believe that DPH is violating the law and we are looking into possible legal action, Ducat said.

This is the first time the department has released the information about the immunization rates for various vaccines on a school by school basis. Schools with low immunization rates also have higher rates of religious and medical exemptions. The corrected data provided by the DPH does not include schools with fewer than 30 students and it does not include childcare centers or preschools.

DPH Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who moved back to Connecticut from the state of Washington  which had with a measles outbreak  wrote to to school superintendents earlier this week to let them know she was releasing the information.

While Connecticuts immunization rate for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination of kindergarteners remained high last year at 96.5 percent the number of fully immunized students, upon kindergarten and seventh-grade entry, is trending lower, Coleman-Mitchell wrote. A disease outbreak is less likely to occur at schools where high numbers of students are immunized.

Coleman-Mitchell said Friday that the goal in releasing immunization data for each school is to increase public awareness of vaccination rates in local communities. Hopefully, this will lead to more engagement and focus on increasing immunization rates to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

At a Capitol news conference Friday, Ritter said they had expected a handful of schools to be at risk for an outbreak, but they didnt expect as many schools to report immunization rates under 95 percent.

The magnitude of this problem is why youve seen the comments youve seen, Ritter said. Nobody saw this coming.

Ritter said he expects the public to start asking lawmakers what they plan to do about it.

But Ritter said they want to wait until Attorney General William Tong releases his opinion on the constitutionality of the religious exemption and then decide where to go from there.

We have literally dozens of schools that are not one point below but double digits below the CDC recommended level, Ritter said.

Tom McMorran, superintendent for Easton, Redding and Region 9, said the states exemption rate data was inaccurate for Redding Elementary School. The states data showed the school had an exemption rate of more than 41 percent.

However, McMorran said the school has a 4.7 percent exemption rate with 22 of the 469 students claiming an exemption.
LOS ANGELES  Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent Friday to John Sanders, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein, D-Calif., said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.
John Starks / Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald

WAUKEGAN, Ill.  An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory claimed a second victim Saturday when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed, and the official death toll is expected to rise to four as authorities suspended the search for two other bodies believed to be in the rubble.

Crews suspended their search amid concerns about the stability of the structure, and Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said they would not resume searching until what remains of the plant is torn down.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 59F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 28F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
SAN JOSE (BCN)



San Jose city officials will host a memorial on Saturday evening for Ly Tong, a South Vietnamese Air Force veteran who escaped Communist labor camps and participated in local activism.



Tong died on April 5 at 74 years old and is known for his work battling communism during and after the Vietnam War. He famously hijacked a plane and dropped leaflets over Vietnam calling for democracy in 1992.



"For millions of Vietnamese around the world, Ly Tong is always the 'Eagle Hero' in their hearts," former councilmember Tam Nguyen said in a news release.



Tong also participated in a 28-day hunger strike in 2008 when San Jose city officials attempted to rename "Little Saigon" as the "Saigon Business District."



A banner will be flown over Little Saigon on Story Road for 10 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. and City Hall at 4:41 p.m., weather permitting. The memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the San Jose City Hall rotunda at 200 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose.





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SAN CARLOS (BCN)



State officials on Friday partially catalogued and removed radioactive material found in a shed behind a vacant San Carlos home, fire officials said.



The California Department of Public Health and other agencies were at the home in the 1000 block of Cedar Street, where the material was discovered Thursday afternoon in the backyard shed, said Redwood City Fire Chief Stan Maupin, whose department serves the city of San Carlos.



The home was formerly occupied by Ronald Seefred, a retired scientist who had worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Menlo Park.



Seefred died in January at age 82. The radioactive materials were discovered while the home was being prepared for sale, Maupin said.



Fire officials said the materials discovered include Cobalt 57 and Radium 226, and were in several small vials in very small quantities. But Ephrime Mekuria, a physicist with the state public health department, said they found Radium but not Cobalt.



Friday afternoon the materials were being taken to a lab in Richmond where Mekuria said they'll determine exactly what was found. Then the materials will be stored in a radioactive storage facility in the city.



The material is not considered to be a threat to the community, and the challenge is sorting through the material and cataloguing it, in order to remove it to the proper locations for disposal, Maupin said.



It's not known how it came to be at the property, or why it was brought there.



Mekuria said, "A lot of scientists like to tinker" and added that this is not the first time radioactive material has been found in someone's home.



Cedar Street from Brittan to Arroyo avenues has reopened, San Mateo County sheriff's officials said. No evacuations were ordered.



City officials said on Friday that no radiation has been detected outside the shed and there is no threat to residents in the immediate vicinity.



Mekuria said the material "was stored appropriately."



"The containment was good," he said.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



An attorney for Ghost Ship warehouse creative director Max Harris filed a motion on Friday asking a judge not to allow the prosecution's first witness to testify in the trial for the deadly fire at the warehouse in Oakland in 2016.



Harris, 29, and Ghost Ship warehouse master tenant Derick Almena, 49, are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the warehouse at 1309 31st Ave. on the night of Dec. 2, 2016, that killed 36 people.



Alameda County prosecutors and lawyers for Harris and Almena presented their opening statements in the high-profile case on Tuesday and Wednesday and testimony is scheduled to begin on Monday.



Prosecutor Casey Bates told Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson at the end of Wednesday's session that the first witness he plans to call to the stand is Carol Cidlik, the mother of fire victim Nicole Siegrist, 29, of Oakland.



Bates said in his opening statement that at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, Siegrist sent a text message to her mother saying, "I'm going to die."



Tyler Smith, one of two lawyers for Harris, wrote in his motion, "The testimony of Ms. Cidlik is inadmissible because it does not tend to prove or disprove any fact that is in question" in the trial.



Smith said, "The danger of undue prejudice (against Harris and Almena in jurors' minds) is extremely high and vastly outweighs any probative value that Ms. Cidlik's testimony might provide."



The defense attorney wrote, "The fact that they (the prosecution) want to call Ms. Cidlik as their very first witness betrays their true motive of having her testify: they wish to use a grieving mother's testimony to tug at the jurors' heartstrings in the hopes that jurors will look at Mr. Harris and Mr. Almena to seek retribution for Ms. Cidlik's heartbreak."



Smith also asked Judge Thompson not to allow fire survivor Samuel Maxwell to testify.



Smith said Maxwell was in a coma for five weeks after the fire, spent four more months in the hospital, is now confined to a wheelchair, requires care around the clock and relies on his mother to interpret what he is saying. Maxwell is scheduled to testify later this month.



Smith wrote, "The prosecution clearly wants to use Mr. Maxwell as a demonstrative exhibit to the jury, to appeal to their emotions with the hopes they will misdirect those feelings with a guilty verdict" against Harris and Almena.



Smith said, "To have Mr. Maxwell's mother act as an interpreter would be highly inappropriate and prejudicial. On top of not being a certified interpreter, she is undoubtedly prejudiced against both defendants because she will want retribution for her son's condition and will see the trial as her opportunity to help her son."



Bates said in his opening statement that Almena and Harris are criminally liable for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at the party to escape since the warehouse didn't have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs.



Bates also said Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse's lease by turning it into a living space and hosting underground music parties there.



But Harris's lead attorney Curtis Briggs and Almena's lawyer Tony Serra alleged in their opening statements that the fire was an act of arson that Harris and Almena couldn't have prevented.



They also alleged that the warehouse's owners and Oakland firefighters and police officers are responsible for the fire because they say they knew about the safety issues at the warehouse and didn't take action to remedy them.





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SAN RAFAEL (BCN)



More than 200 residents and a dozen agencies in Marin County will gather Saturday at the Marin County Wildfire Forum.



The free public education event on fire prevention in the county's neighborhoods is from 10 a.m. to noon at the ballroom of Embassy Suites at 101 McInnis Parkway in San Rafael.



Paradise resident Shannamar Dewey will share her first-hand account of the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County in November.



Fire chiefs and other experts will address the importance of vegetation management projects on open space lands and emergency preparedness in communities.



Fire chiefs and other officials in Marin County developed a "Lessons Learned" report in late 2017 after the North Bay wildfires, and county residents cited emergency preparedness as their most important priority in a recent survey.



The Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, the Marin County Fire Chief's Association, County of Marin and Firewise USA are hosting the forum.



This is the first coordinated event that takes a countywide approach and includes stakeholder agencies from all over Marin County.



"A wildfire knows no boundaries," Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber said.





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A high-speed chase on Interstate Highway 680 in Contra Costa County on Friday morning ended with the arrest of four suspects, Danville police said.



The incident began around 10:24 a.m. when the California Highway Patrol reported that it was pursuing a red 2019 Dodge Challenger, according to Danville police Lt. Doug Muse.



A witness reported to police that, after the CHP lost contact with the Challenger, the vehicle had exited the freeway at El Cerro Boulevard in Danville and parked on the side of the road. Four individuals abandoned the vehicle and fled into the neighborhood at Adobe Drive, according to a police news release.



Officers from the Danville and San Ramon police departments and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office located and arrested the suspects following a search of the area.



Tyreon Lang, 20, of Oakland and Jamont Baldwin, 19, of Oakland, were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, probation violation and resisting arrest. Tyetiana Radford-Chandler, 18, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and probation violation, and Saree Lindhurst, 18, of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.



The four were booked at the Martinez Detention Facility. They may face further charges once the Berkeley and San Leandro police departments complete their investigations, police said.





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SAN JOSE (BCN)



Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.



Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.



Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.



Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.



The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.



The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.





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BERKELEY (BCN)



A person was robbed of his laptop Thursday night in a University of California at Berkeley parking garage, university police said Friday.



The victim told police that at about 9:45 p.m. he was walking in the Ellsworth Parking Structure when he touched the hood of a Toyota sedan.



Police said three men got out of the car and confronted him. One man pushed him against the vehicle and took his laptop from his backpack. All three men were in their early 20s and drove away in the Toyota, which was mint green in color, police said.



Several more robberies or attempted robberies have occurred in the UC Berkeley area in the last two weeks. Last week three robberies occurred over about four hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Two involved a gun.



Then two more armed robberies occurred Thursday morning near campus. City of Berkeley police said Thursday that it's too early to say whether the robberies last week and Thursday are related.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



A man who was fatally shot in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon was identified by police on Friday as 21-year-old Anthony Nhep of Oakland.



Nhep was shot multiple times in the 1900 block of 17th Avenue, near San Antonio Park, at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and was pronounced dead at the scene.



No one has been arrested for the fatal shooting and police haven't disclosed a motive.



A GoFundMe site seeking to raise $10,000 to pay for Nhep's funeral and burial expenses had raised $1,740 as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday.



The site says Nhep is survived by his mother, sister and 3-year-old son.



The website says Nhep's mother fled from Cambodia to the U.S. in the 1980s "to escape the devastation, tortures and torments of the Khmer Rouge" regime.



The site is at www.gofundme.com/f/AnthonyNhep.





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Google Maps

A police cadet accidentally shot two other cadets when his loaded handgun went off in the middle of their law enforcement class Thursday night in Texas City, according to authorities.

The cadets were attending a class at the College of the Mainland Law Enforcement Training Academy when the weapon fired around 7:40 p.m., Texas City police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said in a written statement.
There is major movement at the top of the betting markets for who will win the 2020 presidential election, with Joe Biden emerging as the betting favorite to win the Democratic Party primaries.

OddsShark, a betting resource that tracks odds across a number of online betting sites, still gives Trump the best odds at +115 to win the election (meaning a $100 bet would win $115), since it is all-but-assured he will be leading the Republican ticket in 2020, and it is still unclear who will lead the Democratic ticket.

Trump's odds are noticeably better than the +175 odds he received last month, likely due to special counsel Robert Mueller finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government during the 2016 election.

MORE 2020: Biden to test appeal among black voters in South Carolina

Last month, California Senator Kamala Harris, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden were tied at +650 apiece to be the next president of the United States, and were followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke at +900.

Biden is now the frontrunner among Democrats at +450, and is followed closely by Sanders at +500. The former vice president officially announced his candidacy in late April, and has seen a substantial polling bounce as a result.

In third place among Democrats and fourth place overall is South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at +900. This is a massive surge, since Buttigieg was sitting at +2800 at this time last month.

ALSO: Biden's rise tests Trump plan of casting foes as socialists

Harris has tumbled down to +1300 behind Buttigieg, and O'Rourke is now tied with entrepreneur Andrew Yang at +2000 behind Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence previously had odds of +4500 to win the 2020 election, but following the release and fallout out the Mueller report, he's dipped all the way down to +6600.

Click through the slideshow above to see updated betting odds for the 2020 election.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eric.ting@sfgate.com and follow him on Twitter

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In route news, El Al paints a plane in honor of its new SFO flights; Southwest Airlines kicks off a new Hawaii route from San Jose this weekend; Thomas Cook adds seasonal SFO-Manchester service; Delta will join United in offering non-stop service to India; American, Lufthansa, Alitalia and Norwegian begin new Europe routes; and American starts a new California Corridor flight along with several other domestic routes.

May 5 is the launch date for Southwest Airlines' newest Hawaii route, from Mineta San Jose to Honolulu. The SJC-HNL service will be followed on May 26 by new Southwest service from San Jose to Kahului, Maui. Southwest's new San Jose-Honolulu flight departs SJC at 8:20 a.m.; the return leaves Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at SJC at 8:40 p.m. (San Jose also has Hawaii service from Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu and Maui, and Alaska Airlines to Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Kona.)

The airline is also going inter-island in Hawaii for easy connections from Honolulu; it recently started Honolulu-Maui flights and on May 12 will begin flights from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. In March and April, Southwest started Oakland-Honolulu and OAK-Maui service.

On Monday, May 13, El Al launches new nonstops between San Francisco SFO and Tel Aviv using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In honor of its inaugural flight the carrier had artists Shay Vadal and Amir Assayag create a special livery that includes images of the Golden Gate Bridge. (See more photos in the slide show.) Las Vegas, another new El Al destination, is featured on the other side. Stay tuned for more about this historic flight in coming weeks.

Fiji Airways announced this week that it would be getting two new Airbus A350 jets to serve its long haul routes. It currently flies from SFO and LAX using an Airbus A330. The new jets are expected to enter service in November and December, each with with 33 fully lie-flat business class seats, all with direct aisle access and 301 economy seats.

The Bay to the U.K.: On May 4, Thomas Cook Airlines resumes seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester in the U.K., with A330-200 departures on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays.

Last winter, United announced plans to start seasonal service from San Francisco to New Delhi, India, on December 5, 2019, and now Delta will launch a new route to India as well. The carrier plans a December 22 start for year-round, non-stop daily flights from New York JFK to Mumbai with a 777-200LR. "Demand for flights between the U.S. and India has increased significantly in the last decade, and New York is the largest U.S. market to India with the largest base of corporate customers," Delta said. Another likely factor in the route choice: India's Jet Airways, which recently stopped flying, had code-sharing agreements with Delta and its partners Air France and KLM. The grounding of Jet ended the option for customers to book a Delta-coded flight from the U.S. to India via connections in Europe.

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Several airlines are kicking off new transatlantic service this week and next as the peak summer travel season approaches. On May 2, Alitalia started flying from Washington Dulles to Rome five days a week, and Norwegian Air introduced Boston-Madrid service three days a week. May 3 was the launch date for Lufthansa's new Frankfurt-Austin route, which will use an A330-300 to operate five days a week. Also on May 3, American Airlines began seasonal Chicago-Athens service with a 787-8, continuing through September 28.

American Airlines also introduced intra-California seasonal service on May 3, with daily E175 flights between Santa Rosa's Charles Schulz Airport in Sonoma County and Los Angeles. Other AA routes that started May 3 include daily Miami-Santiago, Cuba service; daily seasonal flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; year-round daily E145 service from New York LaGuardia to Columbia, South Carolina; and daily year-round service from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to Phoenix. And on May 4, American begins twice-weekly seasonal E175 flights from Washington Reagan National to Melbourne, Florida, and from LaGuardia to Asheville, North Carolina and Daytona Beach, Florida.

We're not sure why it's only for a month, but Routesonline.com reports that Southwest Airlines plans to operate six flights a week from Sacramento to Nashville from May 5 through June 7. We suspect that this might have to do with 737 MAX issues.





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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.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants fired more than 200 rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israels existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flareups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. The ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was also killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was lightly hurt as he ran for cover.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territorys ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel.

Fares Akram is an Associated Press writer.
CARACAS, Venezuela  The critical role of the Venezuelan military in the countrys crisis was on display Saturday as President Nicolas Maduro sought to keep its support and opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to woo the armed forces to his side.

Days after Guaido called in vain for a military uprising, national television showed Maduro as he shook hands and exchanged fist bumps with security forces during a visit to a military base. Loyal forever, Maduro bellowed to a crowd of cadets in green uniforms.
BEIRUT  Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the countrys northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the rebels.
ISLAMABAD  The Taliban said Saturday that the gap is narrowing in talks with Washingtons special peace envoy over a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The two sides are continuing to meet in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.

The Taliban spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, said both sides have offered new proposals for drawing down U.S. and NATO forces. This would be a significant initial step toward a deal to end nearly 18 years of war and Americas longest military engagement.
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In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. AP-Yonhap



North Korea fired several short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.



The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.



Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.



The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017,before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.






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The Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) individual mandate is unconstitutional now that there is no penalty against those who don't get health insurance, the Justice Department argued in a brief submitted to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 in support of a lower court's finding. The department said the rest of the law should be struck down.

The case will be heard this summer.

The Justice Department noted that when the Supreme Court upheld the ACA's individual mandate in 2012, the high court ruled that the requirement was a valid exercise of Congress' taxing power. In reaching this determination, the high court relied on the law's penalty on those who do not buy health insurance, characterizing the penalty as a tax. But Congress reduced the penalty to zero in the 2017 tax reform legislation.

Last December, a federal district court in Texas decided that the individual mandate is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' authority now that the mandate no longer raises any revenue. The district court also struck down the entire law, reasoning that the individual mandate is essential to the rest of the ACA. Democratic state attorneys general, led by California, appealed the ruling to the 5th Circuit. We've rounded up articles from SHRM Online and other trusted news sources on the litigation.

Hearings Expected This Summer

The 5th Circuit is expected to hear arguments in the case in July. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has defended the individual mandate as constitutional and said that even if it isn't, the rest of the law should be upheld. He has called the district court ruling an "assault on 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions." The U.S. House of Representatives also is now defending the law in court.

(CNN)

Texas Files Its Own Brief

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, led the Republican state attorneys general challenge against the ACA. The Justice Department had said some portions of the law should be upheld prior to changing its mind in March. Paxton filed a brief on May 1, saying, "Congress meant for the individual mandate to be the centerpiece of Obamacare. Without the constitutional justification for the centerpiece, the law must go down."

(The New York Times)

Millions Could Be Affected

Approximately 20 million Americans get health insurance through the ACA. The law's protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions covers millions more. If the 5th Circuit issues a decision before January, the Supreme Court might choose to review the case and publish a decision in the middle of the 2020 presidential election.

(USA Today)

Who Else Does the Law Benefit?

A ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional would affect more than those who get insurance through exchanges and individuals with pre-existing conditions. The law lowers the costs of Medicare coverage and prescription drugs for the elderly, lets children remain on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26 years old, and allows many Americans to get birth control, mammograms and cholesterol tests for free. President Donald Trump has asked Republican senators to develop a new Republican health care bill but has said that congressional Republicans will wait until after the 2020 election to vote on an ACA replacement.

(Fortune)

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with and Leveraging the Affordable Care Act]

ACA Still Applies

In the meantime, all ACA coverage and reporting obligations for employers remain in place. Employers still have to offer health care coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and properly report offers of coverage, so they are not penalized.

(SHRM Online)


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When is overtime pay owed to part-time employees in Europe? In some countries, such as Germany, overtime is now due as soon as part-timers work any extra hours beyond those set out in their contracts. This is true, regardless of whether they have worked as much as full-time employees, because of a so-called principle of equal treatment between full- and part-time workers. Elsewhere, such as in the United Kingdom (U.K.), part-time employees don't earn overtime just because the employer extended their schedule.



A recent German Federal Labor Court decision clarified how employers should pay overtime compensation to part-time workers to avoid treatment that would be unequal to treatment shown to full-time employees. Austria and Hungary prohibit unequal treatment as well, but the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland give employers more leeway.

What's Unequal Treatment?

What is meant by unequal treatment in the payment of overtime?

Assume there is a collective bargaining agreement that provides for the mandatory payment of a 20 percent bonus for overtime hours exceeding the work-time limit for full-time workers. So a full-time employee who works 40 hours a week and 10 hours of overtime receives, in addition to normal pay for the 10 hours of overtime worked, an overtime premium of 20 percent for those hours. In contrast, a part-time employee who works 25 hours per week according to his or her employment contract and 10 hours of overtime per week is paid for the additional hours worked but does not receive overtime pay at an enhanced rate.

Until recently, the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court had always denied that this constitutes unequal treatment because the same total compensation was paid for the same number of work hours.

But on Dec. 19, 2018, the 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court issued a decision abandoning its long-standing case law: There will be equal treatment only if an employer pays the enhanced overtime rate for work time that exceeds the worker's contractually agreed work hours. This means that in the example above, the employer must pay the part-time employee for all 10 hours of overtime worked at the enhanced rate.

Austria

Under Austrian law, part-time workers must not be placed in a worse position than full-time employees because of their part-time employment. Part-time workers who work more than their contractual hours must be paid a 25 percent premium.

Hungary

In Hungary, part-time employees cannot be excluded from their employer's pay and benefits system and cannot be denied benefits that would otherwise be due to a full-time worker performing equal work. This means that employers must pay overtime pay rates to part-time employees in compliance with the principle of equal treatment. But employers can reduce the amount in proportion to part-time work hours.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

United Kingdom

U.K. employment law has taken the position opposite to the German Federal Labor Court's. The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations [of] 2000 provide that part-time workers are not considered to be treated less favorably with respect to overtime pay if they are entitled to overtime only after they have worked the same number of hours a full-time worker would have to work to receive such pay.

This means that, for example, if a full-time worker normally works 35 hours per week and gets premium rates for hours in excess of this, and a part-time worker normally works 21 hours per week, the part-time worker would have to work at least 14 hours of overtime before he or she is entitled to the same premium rates as the full-timer.

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the position on overtime pay for part-time workers is similar to that in the U.K. So overtime compensation is not immediately payable to part-time employees for additional hours that exceed the individual's work hours.

Finland

Finnish law requires that less-favorable employment conditions must not be applied to part-time employment relationships without a proper and justified reason. But the former case law of the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court reflects current Finnish practice.

Ius Laboris is the world's largest global HR and employment law firm alliance. Contributing members to this article include Dr. Elke Platzhoff from German firm Kliemt in Dusseldorf, Germany; Natalie Hahn and Lisa Hittinger from Austrian firm Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtanswalte GmbH in Vienna; Dr. Nora Ovary-Papp from Hungarian firm CLV Partners in Budapest, Hungary; Colin Leckey from U.K. firm Lewis Silkin in London; Erik Deur from the Dutch firm Bronsgeest Deur in Amsterdam; and Laura Parkkisenniemi from Finnish firm Dittmar & Indrenius in Helsinki.
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A former employee who was not rehired when a position became available following her layoff could not pursue her family and medical leave discrimination lawsuit because the company hired a better-qualified candidate, a California appellate court ruled.

The plaintiff, who claimed that she was not rehired because of her prior use of family and medical leave, failed to show that her qualifications were "substantially superior" to those of the person hired, the court found.

The plaintiff worked for Abbott Laboratories from 2004 until 2013 as a specialist in diabetic supplies. In September 2013, she was let go, and in March 2014, the same specialist position became available.

The plaintiff applied for the role, but it was offered to another candidate. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit claiming that Abbott refused her the job because of medically related leaves of absence she had taken while employed.

[SHRM members-only resource: Managing Medical Leave in California]

The trial court granted Abbott's motion to dismiss the lawsuit before trial, and the plaintiff appealed.

No Evidence of Pretext

To establish a discrimination lawsuit, a job candidate must first show that he or she is a member of a protected class, is qualified for the position, and was not hired or promoted into the position. The plaintiff must also show "some other circumstance suggesting discriminatory motive," according to the court. The employer then has the opportunity to show that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for choosing another candidate. Then, the plaintiff may demonstrate that the employer's asserted reason was actually a pretext for discrimination.

In this case, even if the plaintiff met her initial burden of proof, the court said, Abbott had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not hiring her, because it chose to hire a better-qualified candidate.

And, the court said, to show pretext in this case, the plaintiff needed to show that her qualifications were at least substantially superior to those of the applicant who was hired.

Evidence of the plaintiff's competing qualifications "does not constitute evidence of pretext unless those differences are so favorable to the plaintiff that there can be no dispute among reasonable persons of impartial judgment that the plaintiff was clearly better qualified for the position at issue," the court said.

In this case, the plaintiff had several things going for her, the court noted: She was a registered nurse, she had a master's degree, and she was certified as a diabetes educator. However, the applicant who was hired had worked for another big pharmaceutical firm for the same length of time as the plaintiff worked for Abbott, and during that time, she won an international sales champion award and five regional champion awards.

In a job involving sales, the hired applicant "brought a proven track record of what any objective observer would have to conclude was a series of stellar sales performances," the court said.

This sank the plaintiff's pretext claim, the court ruled, affirming the trial court's dismissal of the complaint.

Villacreses v. Abbott Laboratories, Calif. Ct. App., No. G054983 (April 18, 2019).

Professional Pointer: Courts generally defer to the legitimate business decisions of employers in deciding which applicant is best qualified for a job. However, employers should carefully evaluate the qualifications of the candidates for a position and document the reasons for the successful applicant's selection.

Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island leaders lauded Richard A. Brown, 86, who died on Friday after a long and distinguished career as a Queens district attorney, justice of the Appellate and Supreme courts and advisor to a governor.

The native New Yorker served as district attorney of Queens for nearly 28 years after he was appointed to that post by then Gov. Mario Cuomo on June 1, 1991.

During several decades of public service, Brown had the ear of governors and legislators from New York City to Albany and this judicial influence was felt throughout the state.

In January, Brown announced that he would not seek re-election and planned to step down in June due to increasing health problems associated with Parkinsons Disease, according to a statement from Chief Queens Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan.

Together with his law enforcement colleagues throughout New York City, Judge Brown contributed greatly to making this city the safest big city in the nation, Ryan said in the statement. His district attorneys office created one of the states first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court - all very successful over the years and their models duplicated across the country."

"Many programs followed - a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and most recently the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP) created to address the scourge of opioid addiction by providing a second chance for addicts to avoid criminal prosecution and to literally save lives, he added.

Judge Brown was one of the most brilliant, ethical and dynamic public servants I ever met," said Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. "But he was also approachable, humble and sincere. He was my role model, a prosecutors prosecutor, a visionary and problem solving justice innovator, and a wonderful family man. They dont make them like him anymore. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Brown earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hobart College before graduating from New York University School of Law in June 1956 and being admitted to the bar by the Appellate Division in October of that same year, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Brown spent much of the 1960s and early 1970s in various administrative positions for leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly. He served four years as New York Citys legislative representative in Albany where he managed the citys Albany office and supervised its legislative program, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Becoming a member of the judiciary in September 1973, he served as a judge of the Criminal Court for less than two years before being appointed supervising judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court and then acting justice of the Supreme Court.

In November 1977, Brown was elected a justice of the Supreme Court in Queens County. At the end of the following year, he returned to Albany as counsel to then Gov. Hugh L. Carey.

On March 3, 1981, Judge Brown returned to the Supreme Court and the following year was appointed by Gov. Carey as an associate justice to the Appellate Division. Carey designated Brown to the court two more times before he assumed the top post at the Queens District Attorneys Office.

His many professional affiliations included: past president of the New York State District Attorneys Association; member of the New York State Bar Association; member of the New York City Bar Association; member of the Queens County Bar Association; chairman of the Albany-based New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

He is survived by his wife, Rhoda, their three children Karen, Todd and his wife Monica, and Lynn and her husband Bruce. Funeral arrangements are pending.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island charter school is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond, including a church built in 1853, from the Archdiocese of New York for $3.75 million, according to school officials and court documents.

New World Preparatory Charter School -- which has been leasing two school buildings from the Archdiocese since the school opened in 2010 -- is in contract to buy the property, according to Eugene Foley, the schools president.

It will enable us to have personal responsibility for the property rather than having to go through a landlord, said New World Prep President Eugene Foley. This way, we can make the improvements that we want to make and do it directly through our board of trustees making the decisions.

New World Prep has been leasing its school building located on 26 Sharpe Ave. and a separate gym/cafeteria building.

Along with those two buildings, New World Prep would acquire the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church, a former convent and a former rectory that is being used as an administrative building.

Below is a photo that shows the five buildings that New World Prep is in contract to purchase.

New World Preparatory Charter School is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond from the Archdiocese of New York, including the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church. (Courtesy of Google Maps)

The St. Mary of the Assumption Church -- located at 2230 Richmond Terrace -- was established in 1853 and closed in 2015, as part of the Archdioceses initiative to merge Staten Island parishes.

The parish was merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta -- now known as St. Mary of the Assumption-Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta R.C. Church.

The Archdiocese for New York declined to comment on the purchase.

While the school has not finalized any plans with what it will do with the property, Foley said it was looking to upgrade some of the aged buildings.

We havent finalized any plans, Foley said. We want to upgrade some of the buildings since theyre elderly in terms of electricity and plumbing.

The school -- which currently serves fifth- through eighth-graders -- announced in February that it would expand to become a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

Kindergarten and first grade will be added in September, located off-campus at Moore Catholic High School, Graniteville. By 2021, the transition to include kindergarten through eighth grade will be complete.

Students are chosen by lottery, with special allowances for siblings of current students, and students who come from homes where English isnt the primary language.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio was in the backseat of his official SUV when the vehicle was involved in a collision back in 2015, according to reports.

The perfect teaching moment for the architect of New York Citys Vision Zero program, right?

Wrong.

According to the Daily News, the mayors NYPD security detail hushed up the accident. They hustled the mayor from the scene. There is no record of the accident with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The NYPD has yet to release the police accident report about the incident.

The police apparently thought that publicizing the accident would be bad optics given the mayors Vision Zero policies. The NYPD has denied that there was any coverup of the collision.

Well cut de Blasio some slack here. He wasnt involved in the actual hushing up of the accident, according to reports.

But de Blasio loses that credit because he punted when asked about the collision, telling reporters that he wasnt familiar with how the crash had been handled. He said he didnt know enough about his security details protocols to speak to any of it.

This from a mayor who has demonstrated such a deep interest in the minutiae of crashes all over the city. Hes got nothing to say about a collision involving his own vehicle?

And since when is a public figure of de Blasios stature unfamiliar with how his personal security detail operates? He wont have that excuse if he actually does become president of the United States.

When the story broke, de Blasio should have just come clean. Mistakes were made in how this was handled, he should have said, well make sure those mistakes are never made again. Heres that police report youve been asking for.

Dont hold your breath.

But were familiar with the mayor saying one thing and doing another.

This is the same mayor who takes an 11-mile drive to the gym just about every day, security detail in tow, while at the same time admonishing the rest of us to cut carbon emissions.

Do as I say, not as I do.

The citys approach to the homeless shelter proposed for Tompkinsville is another example of the administration talking out of both sides of its mouth.

The city decided that the shelter would go at 44 Victory Blvd. without consulting anybody here.

When the predictable blowback came, City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services said that they were willing to work with elected officials and community members to discuss alternate sites. A piece of land in Clifton that was once part of the Bayley Seton Hospital campus was in play.

On second thought, the city said, forget about it. Were going with Victory Boulevard.

So much for consultation. The whole thing has been top-down from the beginning.

And the city so much wants the community to be involved that the administration wont put the project through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Not needed, according to de Blasio. This is an emergency facility. That means the shelter project can do an end-run around ULURP.

De Blasio knows best. Weve seen this all before.

He shrugs off fundraising controversies and accusations of pay-to-play. De Blasio has never been charged with any wrongdoing, but theres been plenty of smoke. Were just supposed to ignore it when people whove donated to de Blasios campaigns or PACs appear to get a leg up in their dealings with the city. Nothing to see here. City & State recently had a good roundup if youve forgotten the highlights.

I cant decide if this makes him more qualified to be president of less. But its going to stick to him if he really does take the expected plunge and run for the White House.

De Blasio says he never talks with lobbyists, then he acknowledges that he does. Just not about whatever the lobbyists are lobbying for. Then again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo the other day said he doesnt know whos a lobbyist and who isnt when he sits down with people. So maybe this is a common thing for elected officials.

Maybe its our fault for expecting too much of them.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers a reporter's question during a meeting with members of foreign media in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2019. AP-Yonhap





In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies during a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC. AFP-Yonhap



The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed Saturday to "prudently" handle North Korea's launch of short-range projectiles during their telephone talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone hours after the North fired the projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of growing impatience over stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington.



"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.




A major network of bars on the high-profile Chapel Street strip has been significantly underpaying staff, leaked documents and pay records show.

La La Bar Group - which runs popular bars on the inner south-east Melbourne strip including Wonderland, Electric Ladyland, Lucky Liquor, Blue Bar and Holy Grail - has been paying workers in envelopes stuffed with cash.

Payslips, documents and interviews with workers show that staff and supervisors have been regularly paid a flat rate below the minimum rates of the award, the wages safety net.

Current and former staff said the practice has been going on since at least the start of the decade. They were regularly not paid penalty rates or even superannuation, they allege.
Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The mother of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained in North Korea, made a plea Friday for continued pressure on the regime.



Cindy Warmbier spoke at a seminar alongside family members of South Korean, Japanese and U.S. citizens who are believed to have been abducted by North Korea in past decades.



"Unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change," she said at the event co-hosted by the Hudson Institute, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, and the Japanese government.



"I am very afraid that we're going to let up on this pressure. So I need everyone here to keep the pressure on everybody you can. There are still a lot of families here that deserve to see their family members," she said.





Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The Warmbier case has received renewed attention since The Washington Post reported last week that the North Koreans had demanded US$2 million from the U.S. government to cover his hospital fees.



The University of Virginia student fell into a coma shortly after he was detained in Pyongyang in early 2016 for allegedly trying to take down a political poster.



He spent the next year and a half hospitalized there before he was released and returned to the U.S. in June 2017, only to die several days later.



"North Korea to me is a cancer on the earth," Cindy Warmbier said. "And if we ignore this cancer, it's not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us. We don't even know we have this cancer, so that's why I talk. There is a cancer, I can tell you."



U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that any money was paid to North Korea for Warmbier's release.





Otto Frederick Warmbier, center, a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Reuters-Yonhap
This year, Dan Wilson added roasted chickpeas and fava beans to the snack menu at his network of North Shore primary school canteens. These healthy options have not proved popular with his pint-sized customers, who prefer to buy sweets at the petrol station after school.

Since Mr Wilson complied with the new healthy canteen guidelines, which require "everyday foods" to make up 75 per cent of the menu, his revenue has dropped by 20 per cent. "If it doesn't turn out to be viable, I am probably not going to continue doing it," he said.

Karin Von Specht, right, and Nina Wilson serve healthy food at the St Mary's Primary School Canteen in North Sydney. Credit:James Brickwood

He would not be alone. The industry expects higher costs and lower sales will cause many small operators to leave the business after the new guidelines become compulsory next year, forcing some schools to close their canteens.

Since the 2017 launch, only a quarter of the state's 1800 canteens have been accredited. The deadline for mandatory compliance across the public system is December, but insiders privately believe many of canteens will not meet it.
Daniel Taylor with his father John Ibrahim. Credit:Instagram According to friends the 28-year-old is trying to distance himself from his headline-making family and travelled to Peru, seeking out ayahuasca as a tool for personal growth. Traditional healers have been using ayahuasca for centuries as a medicine and the tea is also used in religious ceremonies in South America where the drug is legal. The drug has become more popular with Westerners who are seeking to expand their consciousness. Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Emerald City. In December Taylor was cleared of charges that he illegally handled $2.25 million. The cash was connected to an illegal tobacco smuggling ring. His father was back in the news again last week when a heavily-tattooed man stood outside the Ibrahim Dover Heights mansion filming himself yelling abuse. Daniel Taylor, son of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim. Credit:AAP Harrolds' celebrity loan crackdown

Loading High-end fashion retailer Harrolds has set tongues wagging amongst Sydney celebrities and influencers after cracking down on the loan of designer garments for media events. Emerald City was told by a television personality that the store accused them of returning a faulty garment days after the personality sent the item back. "They called me five days later and accused me of wrecking the dress and requested it be paid for, the personality confided at a recent race day. It was dry cleaned and returned in the same condition I received it. If there was an issue, it should have been addressed upon return. However, a publicity manager for Harrolds said that while they do limit their loans to influential party-goers there is no ban in place. As it's coming to the end of the SS19 season, we always limit the amount of PR loans we facilitate due to our communications strategy," the PR said. Radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson and her former husband Lee and daughter Catalina. Credit:Instagram

Jackie O's man-ban It's been six months since KIIS breakfast co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson announced she was separating from her photographer husband Lee Henderson and next Sunday will be her first Mothers Day as a single mum. Speaking to Emerald City at Westfield Parramatta's Mother's Day high tea on Friday Henderson said that while she and Kitty, 7, have no plans as yet, they will do something special together. Henderson is currently renting in South Bondi while her ex-husband remains in the family home in Vaucluse. However, she insists dating is not on her agenda at the moment. "No, I'm not dating, definitely not," she said, adding that her KIIS co-host Kyle Sandilands has been a constant support since her marriage broke down. "He's incredibly protective of me and sometimes when listeners phone to ask if I'm dating he tells them to get lost," she said. Roll call of heavyweights at STC's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Any Sydney Theatre Company opening night begins with a traditional welcome to Gretel Packer and Cat on Hot Tin Roof was no exception. Artistic director Kip Williams was on hand at pre-show drinks to pay his respects to the donors present, including Packer, and investment bank UBS, which was represented by marketing boss Caroline Gurney. Theatre lover Gretel Packer is one of the STC's biggest donors. Credit:Paul Jeffers Packer is one of the companys biggest donors at a time when the cost of putting on large productions is rising steeply. Its not called the Roslyn Packer Theatre for nothing. The Sydney Theatre Company's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof stars Pamela Rabe, Zahra Newman and Hugo Weaving. Credit:Rene Vaile Fellow board member and former Liberal premier Mike Baird was there along with ANZ chairman David Gonski and recently-demoted state member Gabrielle Upton to see Hugo Big Daddy Weaving, Pamela Big Mamma Rabe and the cast knock it out of the park.
There was no pouty duck-face, Instagram, hair extensions world when I was at school, says radio host Jane Kennnedy.

We werent stereotypically feminine; we wore v-neck jumpers and cords and we loved comedy movies. There was a natural bent towards humour and itd be great to see more of that with girls now.

Telling jokes might have gotten Kennedy in strife at as a teenager but today, this skill attracts more than 1 million listeners across Australia.

Were in the Triple M studio she shares with on-air partner Mick Molloy; the decor a suitably rock n roll mix of black walls and exposed brick.
But the mood in Australia was quite different - it turns out we were relatively relaxed about political disagreement. Only 20 per cent said political divisions were dangerous for society, one of the lowest shares among the nations surveyed. Double that proportion - 40 per cent - said political differences were actually healthy for society. Another 19 per cent said that, while political differences were present, they were not having a significant impact. When international public opinion surveys are conducted Australia's results are often quite similar to those in the US and Britain. But that's not the case when in comes to attitudes to political divisions. Loading

In the US, where the political success of Donald Trump has roiled politics and stoked partisan rivalry, more than half of respondents said political divisions were a danger to society. In Brexit-riven Britain the share was almost a third. Ipsos pollster Jessica Elgood said voters in Australia were much less ruffled by political disagreements than in those two English-speaking nations we are so often compared with. "We're not feeling nearly as torn," she said. "There's an element of political calm in Australia." In another sign that Australians are relatively comfortable with a diversity of opinions only a third said the majority of their friends had similar views to them on climate change (31 per cent), immigration (32 per cent) and feminism (33 per cent). A quarter said their friends had similar views on religion.

Australia also had an above average share who considered it important to listen to people who have different views from themselves. "The data suggests we are comfortable with a breadth of opinions in our society," Elgood said. "There's a real tolerance for those differences." Four in 10 Australians (43 per cent) said they had a conversation at least once a month with someone with opposing views to their own on issues such as politics, climate change, immigration or feminism. One in five said they had a weekly conversation with someone holding different political views. But overall, politics remains a thorny subject for Australians. We seem less inclined to discuss it than people in many other parts of the world.

The share of Australian respondents who said they feel comfortable sharing their political opinions with those who might disagree was well below the international average. "There are various points in the data that suggest there's an element in Australian society where it's not quite polite to ask people about their politics in a way that's not the case in Europe, for example, or North America," Elgood said. "We don't necessarily know our friends' political views or how they vote  you may never have asked because it's not a socially acceptable thing to ask about and also because we don't use it to define each other." This trait was underscored by a survey question about attitudes to immigration, which is a controversial issue in many nations. In Australia, 36 per cent said they did not know their friends' views on immigration, the highest proportion among the 27 nations in the survey. (Australia also stands out for its positive attitude towards immigration - 46 per cent said it had a "generally positive" impact on the country, which was nearly double the international average and the third highest share among the nations surveyed.) Will Australia's tolerance for political differences last?
Malcolm Turnbulls son Alex, who went rogue on twitter shortly after the political coup that took down his father, and has continued since  mostly criticising hard-right Liberal politics  was particularly engaged last week.

The issue has been whether, as reported, he has or has not donated money to independents Zali Steggall and Kerryn Phelps. Alex Turnbull denied that he had donated a cent to either, but makes no bones about where his political sympathies lie  and they are not with the right wing of the Libs.

Malcolm and Alex Turnbull. Credit:AAP

When I asked him what his hope was for this election, he said: My hope is for a Labor minority government with moderate independents holding the balance. And Id like [Gosford rector] Father Rod Bower and [ACT independent candidate] Anthony Pesec to get seats in the Senate.

How much have you donated in this election? Six figures.
It was Peter*, a 41-year-old married dad of three, who works in construction and admires Clive Palmer, who really encapsulated the election campaign in a sentence. Education, health and all that, the big picture stuff... he said of the politicians election pledges thereof. Its white noise.

Peter (not his real name), who was one of the participants in a Parramatta focus group I observed this week, said what I have been subversively suspecting for much of the campaign. That is, that the giant funding figures the parties are throwing around like confetti, not to mention the economic modelling on those figures, and the brain-boggle of the various tax thresholds the parties are going to fiddle with, are not absorbed by many voters.

This is always the case, and experienced politicians know it, but it is particularly so in this election, where so many voters are disengaged, bored or too jacked off with politics to tune in with any conscientiousness.

There is much speculation about whether the large numbers of voters who have turned out to pre-polling booths is a good sign for Labor, or a good sign for the Coalition. Thats asking the wrong question: the only solid conclusion to be drawn from the avid pre-polling is that many Australians see voting as a nuisance task they would rather dispose of quickly so they can get on with their real lives, out of the shadow of politicking.
Activist group GetUp will spend up to $4 million intensifying its election advertising over the next two weeks as it officially endorses key independents on 800,000 how-to-vote cards.

Escalating a clash with the Coalition in the final fortnight of the campaign, GetUp will this weekend confirm it will throw its support behind independents, Labor and the Greens in the closest races at the May 18 election.

The group will mobilise 1750 members at 335 polling booths in 29 electorates to urge Australians to vote for candidates who will act on climate change, relegating the Liberals and Nationals to lower positions on ballot papers.

GetUp chief Paul Oosting defended the strategy in the face of Coalition accusations that the group is only an arm of Labor and the Greens and should be treated like a political party rather than an independent movement.

In terms of our advertising the big spend will be coming in the next few weeks, which is the key period when well be handing out these how-to-vote cards, Mr Oosting said.
Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words "right wing facist (sic)" have appeared on posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong.

Textas were used to deface a number of posters of the Jewish MP in Hawthorn overnight.

Prime minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Saturday the vandalism was "appalling", and called for anyone with information about the matter to cooperate with authorities.

"This is about crimes and hate ... this should have no place in our elections, absolutely no place," Mr Morrison said.
Bill Shorten will offer workers a $1500 wage gain from a tax plan designed to help employers grow, as he intensifies his pitch to voters on the economy in the final fortnight of the election campaign.

The Opposition Leader will outline an economic plan that could also create thousands of jobs from a $3.4 billion policy to give companies stronger incentives to invest in expansion and hire new staff.

Jobs: Bill Shorten with a worker at Direct Edge Manufacturing in Burnie. Credit:AAP

As the election race tightens, Mr Shorten will also pledge $500 million to fix waiting times at hospital emergency departments while accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of starving the health sector of federal funds.

Global companies such as Facebook will also face a crackdown by tax authorities in a Labor policy to curb the use of licensing agreements to shift profits offshore.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has nominated Japanese leader Shinzo Abe as a guiding light who he would continue to turn to for counsel on foreign policy should he remain in government after May 18.

And he has promised to "manage carefully" the relationship with China, given its economic significance for Australia, and the fact that more than a million people living in Australia have Chinese heritage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:AAP

Speaking exclusively to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on a flight from Darwin, Mr Morrison recalled having dinner with Mr Abe and his wife the last time he was in the Northern Territory capital.

"It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had ...and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period, because I became Prime Minister and went pretty much into the summit season" he said.
This combination of file photos created on January 16, 2017, shows US President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida and Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2016 in Berlin. AFP-Yonhap



U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to help keep pressure on North Korea until it dismantles its nuclear weapons program, Trump's spokeswoman said.



The two leaders spoke by phone and discussed nuclear agreements, trade, and the political situations in North Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.



"They spoke about North Korea for a good bit of time on the call and reiterated both the commitment and the need for denuclearization," Sanders told reporters at the White House.



"And the president said several times on this front as well the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," she said. "And that was again the focus of the president's comment on that front."



Putin held his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Russia's Vladivostok last month.









The meeting was widely regarded as part of North Korea's push to secure sanctions relief from other major powers following the breakdown of the second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in February.





Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, greet North Korea's delegation prior to their talks in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. AP-Yonhap
Samantha Flores was having a tough time getting through the airport. The signs were hard to see, the announcements were hard to hear, and the people rushing by made her feel unsteady on her stiffened knees. Finally, with relief, she made her way to a bench to sit down, catch her breath and take off her "age simulation suit."

Flores is director for experiential design for architecture firm Corgan, and the nearly 14-kilogram suit was meant to help her, a 32-year-old, experience the physical challenges of navigating the world as an older person. Goggles and headphones "impaired" her sight and hearing. Gloves reduced feeling and simulated hand tremors. Weighted shoes, along with neck, elbow and knee movement restrictors, approximated mobility limitations.

The percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050. Credit:Peter Braig

Using the suits is one way designers who work with airports and the travel industry in general are starting to look at creating spaces for different groups of people. And older people are one group whose numbers are growing.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050, rising to 22 per cent from 12 per cent.
After enthusiastically walking to work each morning, Tommy impatiently waits for the office door to open as smiles break out on the faces of his co-workers.

Tommy is the director of first impressions at Kidney Health Australia and part of a growing group: office dogs.

Tommy, the English springer spaniel, is the office dog at Kidney Health Australia. Credit:Eddie Jim

Dogs have always played a significant role in human life, from hunting in fields to service dogs. Therapy dogs are found in nursing homes, hospitals, universities and courts. Now dogs are entering the office with increasing frequency.

This growing trend is based on the belief that dogs improve human wellbeing and productivity. And it is not hard to find evidence to verify the claim that dogs reduce stress. A Harvard Medical School special health report found that just petting a dog can reduce the petter's blood pressure and heart rate.
There's no menu. Regulars  and that's most people here  know to come in, choose a soft roll or crusty ciabatta from one of the baskets on the floor and use tongs to put the roll on the counter. There it will be taken in hand by Louise McQueen or one of her trusty sandwich sidekicks to turn from mere roll into a Rocco Roll, a legendary western suburbs lunch.

There is an art to making a sandwich. Anyone who thinks it's just slapping stuff between bits of bread should come to Rocco's, an Italian deli in the backblocks of Yarraville. Rolls are made to order with care and flair, every element added with judicious attention, like a painter lovingly daubing a canvas.

Let the ladies decide for you (recommended, they nail it) or create your own combination of antipasto, cheese and meat. Most of the deli goods are made here: roasted capsicum, pickled olives, chunky basil pesto and tomato tapenade, grilled eggplants, maybe some artichokes. The cheese is usually Dutch maasdam and the meats celebrate the pig in prosciutto, capocollo, hot salami, ham and pancetta, a quality selection from Australia, Italy and Spain.

Rocco's cannoli. Credit:Jason South

You won't be surprised to learn that the quality of all these ingredients is key to the rolls' success. A less obvious factor is the way the cheese and meat are sliced: they're cut to order and shaved very thin. Paper-thin slices allow the cheese and meat to be furled over the vegetable elements, giving each roll such height and lightness that the bread lid fairly floats on the fillings. It's a beautiful thing, a terrific example of the simple turned into the sublime. And this magnificence costs $6.50. Six dollars fifty!

Rocco's has been serving the community since 1977. Founder Rocco Ida still comes into the deli every day but the business is now owned by Christopher McQueen, who bought the deli for his mother, Louise, born Louisa Torresin in San Marco di Treviso in the Veneto. Needless to say, this Italian woman has strong views on good food. In the two years they've owned Rocco's, they've been building the business  grazing boxes (order ahead) are going great guns, Louise's cannoli fly out the door, and there's a new lunchtime offshoot in Seddon  while maintaining a charmingly old-school operation for customers, many of whom are greeted like friends.

Most people take their rolls away but you can sit down at one of a few little tables with a copy of the local paper and a chinotto. This is no cafe: they'll stretch to an espresso but you'll need to take your caffe latte desires elsewhere.
In my last column, I looked at how low-means aged care residents can pay more for their accommodation than those who are market-price payers, which led one reader to ask but what if you were Australias richest person?" What a great question!

The cost of aged care is split into the amount you pay for accommodation and the amount you pay for your care.

Paying the market price for retirement accommodation can be expensive. The highest Refundable Accommodation Deposit at the exclusive Mark Moran Vaucluse is $2.2 million.

The majority of residents are not eligible for government funding towards their accommodation and pay the advertised price  or an amount up to this.

All residents, regardless of means, pay a basic fee of $51 a day towards their cost of care and, beyond that, a means-tested care fee, based on their assets and income.
The state government has ditched plans to retire Sydney's nine First Fleet ferries, instead deciding to upgrade them and extend their working life for at least another decade.

While the city's renowned Freshwater-class Manly ferries face retirement, the First Fleet vessels  perhaps best known for their Australia Day race on Sydney Harbour  will each undergo a $1.3 million refit, including work to improve passenger accessibility.

The First Fleet ferries race on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day. Credit:Rick Rycroft

The decision to upgrade the First Fleet ferries is a U-turn on the strategy detailed in internal government documents obtained by the Herald under freedom-of-information laws.

They reveal a four-stage "ferry fleet replacement" plan 18 months ago was to retire the First Fleet ferries as part of "tranche three", as well as seven RiverCat and two HarbourCat vessels.
After months of uncertainty, the Wangchuk family of Queanbeyan in the state's south-east has been told they will not be deported and can stay in Australia.

Immigration Minister David Coleman intervened on Friday and the family was granted permanent residency.

The family's visa had expired in mid-April after an application for permanent residency was rejected because their son Kinley, who is deaf, did not meet the health requirements set out by immigration laws.

Jangchu Pelden, Tenzin Jungney, Kinley Wangchuk and Tshering can now remain in Australia. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

A petition urging Mr Coleman to allow the family to stay was signed by more than 51,000 people.
Sydney's first driverless metro train line is expected to be opened to passengers on May 26, a week after the federal election.

Starting passenger services almost five years after construction started, the $7 billion Metro Northwest line from Rouse Hill to Chatswood will be the city's first privately operated suburban line, along which single-deck trains will run every four minutes.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Andrew Constance on a driverless metro train undergoing testing in March. Credit:Nick Moir

May 26 is understood to be the most likely date for the start of regular passenger services  to be operated by Hong Kong's MTR  partly because of time needed to inform commuters ahead of the resulting changes to rail and bus services in the city's north west.

The 36-kilometre line is the first stage of the Berejiklian government's plans for multiple metro train lines in Sydney. The second stage under construction comprises a line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and onto Sydenham and Bankstown, which is scheduled to be opened by 2024.
World-renowned conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall passed the baton onto the next generation of conservationists at Taronga Zoo on Saturday.

Speaking to Taronga Zoo Sydneys Youth at the Zoo (YATZ) and the Jane Goodall Institute Australias Roots and Shoots youth volunteers, she told them that "every single one of you can make a difference".

Dr Jane Goodall has passed the baton over to the next generation of conservationists. Credit:Steven Siewert

"Every day you get to make a decision on how the world can be better."

She said it was important to involve young people in conservation because otherwise "its a pretty grim outlook for the future".
A One Nation candidate in a key marginal seat used a member of the anti-immigrant extremist group True Blue Crew as a volunteer organiser while praising the nationalistic ideology at one of the groups events.

The right-wing group True Blue Crew marching on the streets of Melbourne during an Australia Pride March in 2017. Credit:Chris Hopkins

One Nation has now forbidden candidates from associating with True Blue Crew, which was banned from Facebook after posting Islamophobic messages in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

But a former state secretary of the party is acting as a spokesman for the group, orchestrating events with a range of right-wing politicians.

The Brisbane seat of Petrie, one of the federal elections tighter contests, is held by a 1.6 per cent margin by the Liberal National Partys Luke Howarth, who has admitted he needs One Nation preferences.
Queenslands corruption watchdog has urged public sector organisations to make sure their officers know there are serious consequences for inappropriately accessing restricted information.

Following a number of incidents of public officers, including police and corrective services officers, accessing information inappropriately, the Crime and Corruption Commission has highlighted one case which it says illustrates the scope of the problem.

The CCC has urged all public sector departments to lift their game when it comes to information security.

Lan Phuong Le was a case manager with Queensland Corrective Services, in charge of supervising people subject to court orders.

She had access to two restricted databases - the QCS Integrated Offender Management System and the Queensland-Wide Interlinked Court System.
President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, April 15. Moon's right is National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong. Yonhap



South Korea's presidential office said Saturday that North Korea's firing of short-range projectiles is contrary to the purpose of inter-Korean military accords last year.



It urged Pyongyang to stop acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, briefing media on the results of an emergency meeting of top security officials held hours after North Korea fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea.



Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, presided over the session, according to presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung.



Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon joined the meeting, along with some other officials in charge of national security.




The coffee and lunch was good too. And then I learnt that for $10 ($8 concessions) there is a bus tour to hear the full story  and its fascinating. It's worth getting the full story. Credit:Brismania. As Peter, the guide, who has worked there for so long he has an excited sense of ownership, recommends, come and look at your own backyard. The facts and figures are staggering.

Firstly, there are new cars, lot and lots of them  250,000 a year in fact  fresh from the production lines of China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe. Toyota is No.1 followed by Hyundai and Mazda and the average stay here is one month. They are picked up by trucks and delivered all over Queensland as well as to northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory. The port hosts 250,000 cars a year. Credit:Brismania. The ships, which Peter describes as ugly but functional, discharges 500 vehicles in eight hours, and two arrive each day. This big floating car park will be gone by tonight, Peter says.

There are 30,000 brand new cars in the port as he speaks. Brisbane also has Australias smallest export coal terminal - Newcastle is the biggest. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Ten coal trains a day, each with two locomotives hauling 41 graffiti-covered carriages, come in from Ipswich and Oakey. The black thermal steaming coal is export-only and used for electricity generation, mainly in Japan. Each carriage opens up to drop 3000 tonnes of coal an hour on to conveyor belts that take it straight to the ships hold.

Nearby is the woodchip terminal. Pine plantation timber from south-east Queensland and northern NSW is cut into 12-metre poles to fit into containers bound for China. The offcuts go into a woodchipper and the bulk loaded into ships to make cardboard in Japan. There are round containers for oil, gas and fuel. An oil tanker that arrived full yesterday will leave tonight empty, its crude deposited at the Caltex Refinery at nearby Lytton. The grain terminal at the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. The grain wharf is a temporary cruise passenger facility until the new terminal opens. It is used by only about 40-50 cruise ships a year. These are the ships that cant get under the Gateway Bridge, are longer than 270m so they cant turn in the river, or if two arrive the same day and theres no room upstream at Hamilton.

For the second time since its opening in 1987, the grain terminal is importing grain. Loading Rather than wheat and barley going out, 100,000 tonnes of grain a month is coming in from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria to rescue drought-stricken farmers. Sitting in various allotments around the port are components for 123 wind turbines from Malaysia, China and Europe as AGL builds Australias biggest wind farm at Coopers Gap north of Dalby. Each turbine has three 65-metre carbon fibre blades and it takes one cargo truck to carry each. They have to be hauled up the Toowoomba Range in the early hours of the morning, so it will be a while before they are all gone.

Containers are used for things that wont fit on a conveyor belt or pipeline. In one yard, three huge tyres for mining equipment stick out the top of a container. Giant cranes in the white, red or black livery of their owners line the wharves. Cranes dot the skyline. Credit:Brismania. The mind boggles at the logistics that so many containers can be so carefully monitored to see them move around the world and a small shipment will still arrive at the right place to find its owner. Brisbane is leading the way here too. When Patricks opened its Brisbane AutoStrad Terminal in 2007 it was the first automated container terminal in Australia.

It uses microwave radar from Finland to move its containers. They are like robots running around almost one kilometre of quayline. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Nearby DP World has 16 automated container stackers, two in each of eight working bays with 500 metres of rail line. They glide up and down rails, lifting containers between the coming and going trucks and ships. Among all this industry, the Port of Brisbane has left 12 hectares for a roosting lake where there are viewing points for birdwatchers to observe the pelicans, ducks and migratory birds. With 3000 employees, this is a busy world of its own.
Curtin researcher Adam Cross dropped down to his hands and knees, yelling in excitement, as he realised he had just discovered a population of thousands of extremely rare carnivorous plants in the Kimberley.

The finding was the largest Australian population of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, an aquatic venus flytrap, ever discovered and the first one found in the Kimberley in 20 years.

Dr Cross said he was still pinching himself.

Curtin researcher Adam Cross holding a sample of the rare carnivorous plant at the site of the discovery.

An eager botanist from the age of six, he had spent the last decade unsuccessfully searching for the plant in swamps and billabongs across northern Australia.
The states first Public Spaces Minister plans to create half a billion dollars of public value from his $150 million budget to increase open space in Sydney.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes told The Sun-Herald he would buy up forgotten land across Sydney to create new parks and playgrounds, linkages between green space, and cycleways to meet the needs of the growing population.

Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said planning for open space had been "ad hoc" in the past. Credit:Wolter Peeters

I effectively have $150 million dollars in capital that I've been given as part of this portfolio, Dr Stokes said. I'm keen to turn that into more than half a billion dollars worth of value to the community by working with councils and collaborating with landowners to make sure I eke every last little bit of value out of that money in the interests of current and future generations. Its a lot of money, but I know that if we're smart about it, we can make it go a lot further.

He plans to reclaim bits of land choked with morning glory and lantana such as gaps between development sites and riparian corridors set aside for drainage and find an interim use for public land set aside for utilities like water pipelines or future motorways. Most of that land was already owned publicly and the priority for acquisition would be sites that connect areas of green space.
College Park, Maryland: A Florida man is facing up to 20 years in jail on charges of defrauding Australians and other clients who hoped to become parents, via a company that offered to locate and financially support pregnancy surrogates.

Gregory Ray Blosser, 37, was arrested on Monday in Florida on a wire fraud charge, according to federal prosecutors.

Blosser has operated The Surrogacy Group since 2012, with offices in Annapolis, Maryland, and Tampa, Florida. Clients paid Blosser tens of thousands of dollars to find surrogates and support them during pregnancies.

A British couple's baby born to a surrogate mother in Anan, India. Credit:AP

Blosser failed to either locate suitable surrogates or pay for their fees or medical expenses after clients deposited money into escrow accounts, a criminal complaint says.
Minneapolis: The City of Minneapolis will pay $US20 million ($28.5 million) to the family of Australian Justine Damond Ruszczyk , who was unarmed when she was shot and killed by a police officer after calling to report a possible crime, city leaders have announced.

The civil settlement comes comes just three days after the former officer was convicted of Damond's murder.

Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis in 2017. Credit:Start Tribune/AP

The settlement reached with the family is believed to be the largest stemming from police violence in the state of Minnesota. It's believed that Mohamed Noor is the first Minnesota officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Asked about the amount and speed of the settlement, Mayor Jacob Frey cited Noor's unprecedented conviction, as well as the officer's failure to identify a threat before he used deadly force.
POND ISLAND:---Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day. Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.



The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation. With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the cornerstone of democracy for any functioning society.



Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.



Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.



I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.



In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.



According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
A week ago a report on the lack of governance and integrity of the Prosecutors Office in the Netherlands which was requested by Het College van Procureurs Generaal has been completed and published by Commission J.W. Fokkens. This rapport was sent on 25th April 2019 ref: 2579192 by Minister of Justice and Safety Ferd Grapperhaus to the Chair of the Second Chamber in the Netherlands for further debate and handling, expect serious consequences. Not surprising Chapter 4 from the report was excluded due to confidentiality and sensitivity findings of the Prosecutors leadership.

Based on the rapport of ANP (Algemeen Nederlands Pers Bureau) on the 25th April 2019 Minister of Justice Fred Grapperhuis mentioned that the findings of the Commission revealed a conclusion which was very critical not only breaches of integrity behavior of two senior officials of the OM but also the way in which the top of the organization has dealt with the issues  was stated.

As a follow up however more alarming reports are now surfacing on Prosecutors work methods and ethics surrounding high profile and complex cases. Both the magistrates and judges in the Netherlands have already warned Prosecutors arm of Justice to tackle the breaches of integrity and clean up its mess internally which was published by Marcel Haenen on 24th April 2019 in the NRC.

In Curacao and St.Maarten certain prosecutors have been identified in cases and much has been published in the past

Mink Case (source: report Volkskrant 20 July 2007 ANP)

Prosecutor Saskia de Vries carried witnesses whose reliability and hardly found to be ascertained. The court discussed all of the witness statements as having no relevance. The dossier was 120 ring binders with possible new evidence provided by De Vries however the court declined all.

The witness statements, which were deliberated in the courtroom for many hours, did not prove to be useful as evidence. The suspect was acquitted after 10 years investigating work. She was also the prosecutor on the Saffier case of the former president of the CBCS (Central Bank) Tromp who was also acquitted.

Report VU (source : Klaagschrift Vrij Nederland published 22 September 2009 ; report included)

A complaint was launched by 5 prosecutors to the Board of Journalism in Netherlands against VU for publishing their wrongdoings which wrote about the behavior of several prosecutors including Mevr.mr Saskia.Devries. The klaagschrift strongly disagreed again with the two journalists who wrote the articles, and not applying hoor weder hoor (listening to both sides) principle. The findings from Commission Fokkens however challenges that VU findings become relevant and more credible. In the article on page 10 it explains the dispute of the accusation was about changing and converting information ,pre- lying to judges, manipulation of information and withholding vital evidence. In 2009 de Board of Journalism concluded that accusations were not accurately publicised and that the integrity could not be questioned, however Independent Commission Fokkens report now concludes differently about the integrity of the OM-organization .

Holleerder Case and Yugoslav murder Case (source page 5 of 11 : Sjoemelen Loont ; fiddling rewarded Harry Lensink en Marian Husken, August 2009)

As published Prosecutor Saskia de Vries withheld important evidence from the defense. She lied in an appeal, the court judged. De Vries is still a prosecutor on behalf of the National Parquet. In 2006, she made the case against drug trader Mink Kok and lost due to manipulation with witness files. They also withheld information from them. In Two Recent cases  Holleeder and a Yugoslav murder case  again the lawyers complained about the manipulation of the evidence.

The fact is that lawyers should take these breaches seriously and once these are exposed during a trial it will lead them to the Inadmissibility of the case by the court. Consequence the waarheidsvinding (truth finding) principle of a case is lost and a costly police investigation is wasted. The state/country sometimes ends up in millions-damage claims because of this behavior especially withholding of valuable (ontlastend; unburden)information.

The process which is currently taking place in the Netherlands with independent Commission Fokkens deserves some credit which is just the beginning to expose noncompliance by the prosecutor's organization not only in the Netherlands but in Kingdom. Any further feedback for any relevant information the independent Commission can be reached This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact BIOM (Bureau Integrity OM) online or call +31-(0)6-11 03 11 32) if closed call +31-(0)88-3713033 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Having an example function and upholding democratic law with integrity is vital for any country. End of the day no one is above the law, not even the prosecutors. Even though the findings from the Commission Fokkens report (identifying a lack of proper governance and integrity by the OM-organisation) is worrisome it eventually will force Prosecutors to be more transparent or face consequences. The question now is should critical OM-functions be mandatory screened by an independent body?

Click here to view original articles used as sources.




South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has met with Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and agreed to work together to expedite their economic exchanges and cooperation, Lee's office said Saturday.







During the meeting held in Lisbon on Friday (local time), the two officials discussed ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields including the economy, energy and science, according to the prime minister's secretariat in Seoul.







Pointing to Portugal's stable economic situation and marked growth, Lee called for "the continued expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries by boosting corporate investment in each other."







Expressing high interest in South Korea's auto industry, Costa asked for Korean firms' active investment in its auto parts technologies.







Moving on to geopolitical issues, Lee expressed gratitude for Portugal's "constant support for peace of the Korean Peninsula," and Costa reaffirmed his country's constant backing for such peace initiatives, according to Lee's office.







The Portuguese prime minister also expressed his president's willingness to invite President Moon Jae-in to his country, the officials said, while noting that Costa is scheduled to visit South Korea in July.







Lee was in the European country on his way to Colombia from Kuwait. He embarked on the overseas trip on Tuesday, which will also take him to Ecuador before he returns home on May 10. (Yonhap)


The black fragment of Almahata Sitta meteorite number 15 shows up black against the lighter colored rocks of the Nubian desert in northern Sudan.

How do I spot thee, asteroid? Let me count the ways.

in a series of presentations Monday (April 29), the first day of the 6th International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference, scientists from different Near-Earth Object (NEO) monitoring systems discussed their successes and what the future might bring.

First up, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Davide Farnocchia talked about a system that holds information about potential space-rock candidates. During his presentation, Farnocchia said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Scout Hazard Assessment system had worked well when the boulder-size, near-Earth asteroid called 2018 LA entered Earth's atmosphere as a bright fireball over the Botswana-South Africa border in June 2018.

Related: Diamonds in Meteorite May Hail from Our Ancient Solar System

Space rocks are designated with the year they are first spotted. This asteroid was spotted not only the same year it descended toward Earth, but also just 8.5 hours before it hit Earth's atmosphere.

Scout's goal is to continually monitor the objects listed on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCRP). This webpage lists unconfirmed objects, keeps tabs on details like an object's trajectory (called the ephemeris) and gathers information related to the object's hazard potential. Instead of providing a rigorous probability assessment, Farnocchia said, Scout's automated system produces impact ratings and scores to identify interesting objects to stay ahead of an object's sometimes short observation arc, or the time between an object's first observation and its most recent one.

An object gets removed from the system when the Minor Planet Center gives it an alphanumeric classification after more observations pour in. Eventually, if time passes and an object remains unclassified, it, too, is removed from NEOCRP and Scout.

3122 Florence is a triple-asteroid system. The radar capabilities of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico were able to detect the small satellites around the larger object. (Image credit: IAA/Patrick Taylor/Arecibo Observatory/NSF)

In space and on the ground, there are other projects dedicated to watching for big rocks in the sky.

Next came a presentation on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently in progress. From the Cerro Pachon ridge in north-central Chile, the LSST mission plans to spend 10 years surveying the sky to achieve ''achieve astronomical catalogs thousands of times larger than have ever previously been compiled,'' according to the LSST website . Las Cumbres Observatory in California also has something in the works: presenter Tim Lister brought up a software tool kit called Target and Observation Manager (TOM) , which is designed to facilitate astronomical observing projects. As of January, this software toolkit now contains a module for importing targets from the Scout NEOCP Hazard Assessment system.

Astronomer Joseph Masiero shared recent results from the NEOWISE mission, the asteroid-hunting portion of the polar bear-sized Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. NEOWISE has spotted over 190,000 small bodies in space by collecting infrared information as it orbits Earth, and the mission's most recent release of data went public on April 11, 2019.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico offers a powerful method for scientists to narrow down how an asteroid moves in space, and what size and shape it is. Researcher Patrick Taylor said during the conference that by making radar observations, the observatory can determine properties about small bodies. For instance, Arecibo's radar revealed that there are in fact two small moons orbiting the asteroid 3122 Florence , the last object observed before Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017, said Taylor, adding that optical instruments would not have been able to make that detection.

Hurricane Maria damaged Arecibo and the island at large, but the facility is back up and running. In addition to facility repairs, staff at the observatory worked with the local community to support their recovery process, too.
The many faces of Lego Luke Skywalker. (Image credit: Lego)

20 Years of Lego Star Wars Minifigures

The annual "Star Wars Day" holiday, May the Fourth, is a wonderful time to look back at the 40-plus years of franchise history that has inspired fans throughout the world. We now have three sets of Hollywood movies, several television shows, and countless comic books, costumes and other merchandise to inspire us.

And of course, there are the Lego Star Wars building sets and minifigures  dozens upon dozens of them. Just like the Lego Millennium Falcon has changed with time, so have the minifigures that represent Luke Skywalker and his fellow characters from a galaxy far, far away.

Click through this gallery to see how some of the most iconic Lego Star Wars minifigures have evolved over the last 20 years.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline
It may not be the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but a SpaceX "Falcon" launched into space today just in time for Star Wars Day.

The Falcon 9 rocket (which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk named in honor of the fictional Millennium Falcon from "Star Wars") launched a Dragon resupply ship filled with NASA cargo from Florida's Cape Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning. By coincidence, the mission launched on May 4, or May the Fourth, as fans of the "Star Wars" film franchise call it.

"May the Fourth be with you," SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said while signing off the company's live launch commentary, a callback to the "May the Force be with you" phrase of the Jedi in the "Star Wars" films. NASA spokesperson Jennifer Wolfinger also echoed those words in the space agency's own broadcast.

Related: The Best 'Star Wars Day' Deals for May the Fourth!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA lifts off from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

SpaceX has developed three types of Falcon rockets over the years: the small Falcon 1, the workhorse Falcon 9 and the heavy-lift Falcon Heavy. And while they don't look anything like the iconic Millennium Falcon flown by Han Solo and his Wookie pal Chewbacca in "Star Wars," there are some striking similarities between the two space vehicles.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA streaks into the predawn sky after launching from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

A Reusable Cargo Freighter

Just as the Millennium Falcon is a Corellian freighter haul payloads (and sometimes passengers) across the galaxy, SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters are built haul payloads into orbit. (SpaceX no longer flies Falcon 1 rockets. The last one flew in 2009.)

The first stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are also reusable, just like the Millennium Falcon. In the "Star Wars" universe, Han Solo and other characters regularly refuel and fly their Falcon over and over again.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline

During today's Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX returned the booster's first stage to Earth with a pinpoint landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast of Florida. The booster will eventually fly again, launching more NASA cargo to the station on at least one more mission, and possibly a third, said Kenny Todd, NASA's manager for international Space Station operations and integration, after the successful launch.

Elon Musk has said that eventually, SpaceX hopes to fly a Falcon 9 rocket twice within 24 hours. That would put SpaceX's rockets on par with the Millennium Falcon, which appears to have made the trip from Tatooine to the Death Star (near the former site of Alderaan), only to escape the Empire and reach the Rebel base on Yavin 4 all in the same day in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope."

Related: Our Favorite 'Star Wars' Ships from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Millennium Falcon isn't the only fictional object SpaceX has named its vehicles after. The Dragon spacecraft, for example, are named after Puff the Magic Dragon, Elon Musk has said. The company's drone ship landing pads, "Of Course I Still Love You" and "Just Read The Instructions," are named after the giant sentient starships of "The Culture" series by science fiction author Iain M. Banks.

It's only sheer coincidence that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the Dragon cargo mission for NASA on "Star Wars Day."

The mission was originally scheduled to launch April 26, but was delayed several times to allow time for extra vehicle checks, await optimal orbital mechanics conditions for flight, as well as fix a minor helium leak at the launchpad and electrical issue on the drone ship.

Dragon is carrying more than 5,500 lbs. (2,495 kilograms) of experiments and supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station. It will arrive at the orbiting lab early Monday (May 6).

You can watch Dragon's arrival live here, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Monday.




Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il called for thorough protection of the basic rights of the people on Saturday, reaffirming his clear opposition to government-led judiciary reform bills.







He made the remarks upon arriving at Incheon International Airport after cutting short his four-country trip, as he caused controversy earlier this week by openly criticizing the bills that call for the expansion of the independent investigative authority of police.







"I also agree with voices for changes in the prosecution's way of carrying out its duties ... But the fundamental rights of the people cannot be compromised at any cost, and there should not be any confusion in executing the investigative rights," Moon said.







Speaking of simmering discontent from the prosecution over the bills and its growing confrontation with police, Moon said he will "assess (the situation) and respond accordingly" after full consideration.







The bills, which were among President Moon Jae-in's key election promises, are designed to curb prosecutors' authority by establishing a special agency to be tasked with looking into allegations of corruption by senior public officials and redistributing investigative powers between the prosecution and police.







Prosecutors have said the envisioned arrangement, where the police would be empowered to initiate and close cases without approval from the prosecution, may end up giving the police excessive power without any measures to keep them in check.







A package of the bills has been fast-tracked in the National Assembly after a brawl among rival parties.







The top prosecutor had been on a tour through Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Ecuador since Sunday for talks on extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance treaties. (Yonhap)


NEW HAVEN  If the city police union had accepted the most recent contract offer by the city, its officers would have been the lowest paid among a group of 12 departments in lower-income municipalities, union President Florencio Cotto Jr. said Friday at anews conference, standing in front of dozens of plainclothes officers outside police headquarters.

According to information distributed at the event at 1 Union Ave., the citys April 18 offer of 2 percent increases this year and next, with no retroactive pay, would mean the top salary would be $71,056 in 2020. The officers have worked without a contract since 2015. The starting salary now is $44,400. The cost of health insurance also has been a point of contention in negotiations.

Well be the lowest of the lowest of the lowest in the state of Connecticut, Cotto said. He said the union had asked Mayor Toni Harp for the citys last, best offer before it would trigger arbitration. Before we go to arbitration, give us the best you can do, Cotto said the mayor was told. The union then overwhelmingly rejected the 4 percent increase through 2020.

We took her at her word, when our membership rejected that offer ... we were in arbitration, Cotto said. The union voted to go into arbitration in July 2018.

Contrary to the mayors suggestion, the union is again willing to sit down and settle this contract as it always has been, Cotto said.

Mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Friday, As far as the city is concerned, the Elm City Local can pursue one of two strategies. Either they can continue with the arbitration process, which has been going on now for over a year, will take several more months, and seems to be frustrating union leadership, or they can return to the table with a counteroffer that is more than a year overdue.

At a news conference Thursday, Harp said the union had not made a counteroffer to the citys April 18 offer and asked for a reasonable proposal. She said the union, Elm City Local Inc., would have done better negotiating with the city directly rather than going before an arbitration panel.

This years top base salary is $68,297 in New Haven. Of the 12 lower-income towns and cities with populations above 45,000, top pay ranges from $71,480 in Hartford to $87,316 in Hamden.

All of the offers made to settle this case were off the record because the two sides are in arbitration, said Stephen McEleney of Manchester, attorney for Elm City Local. There is a hard and fast rule in negotiations that you do not discuss  what are termed off-the-record proposals.

McEleney did not provide the unions last pre-arbitration offer but said it included retroactive pay.

Cotto also disputed the mayors contention that the department is not losing minority officers for better-paying departments at a rate that reduces the diversity of New Haven police. Harp, responding to a union statement that black and Hispanic officers were leaving the city in higher numbers than white police officers, said those who have left in the last five years mirror the percentage of those that have been recruited, hired and trained during that time. She said 60 percent of those who have retired since 2014 have been white.

McEleney provided a list of officers who this year have retired or resigned to take jobs with other departments, including the FBI, Torrington, Hamden, Meriden, Clinton, Stamford and Danbury. He said seven of the 10 were black and Hispanic. However, according to the printout provided, it appears that five were white, three were black and two were Hispanic. One is a woman.

Three of the resignations take effect Saturday and one on Tuesday.

Cotto said he called the news conference in response to Harps, which he called a personal attack on myself [and] union leadership.

He said the union was preparing a new offer Thursday and that negotiators would attend the next session with Harp.

Cotto said the mayor invited us back to the table on Thursday.

Both sides in previous statements asked the other to follow the example of Bridgeport, where police and the city agreed last month to a five-year settlement, with retroactive increases of 1 percent for 2016, 2.5 percent for 2017 and 2 percent in each year through 2020. That will bring the top base salary in Bridgeport to $75,163 in the last year.

According to policeapp.com, starting salaries in other Connecticut towns range higher than in New Haven, Hartford or Bridgeport, including $63,375 in Torrington, $68,944 in Norwalk and $67,184 in West Hartford.

As of early February, there were 377 officers on New Havens force, which is budgeted for 495 sworn positions.

According to information provided by the union Friday, 28 officers have left the force this year or will next week through resignation or retirement. Seventeen of them are white, six black and four Hispanic. All but one is a male.

Justin Elicker, who is challenging Harp in this years Democratic primary for mayor, attended the news conference and said that when he talks to police, Universally, officers say to me that they love their job but they havent had a contract in three years and that creates uncertainty thats led to the loss of so many officers to the suburbs. Morale in the police force is at a low.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
NORWALK  A tractor trailer car carrier fire Saturday afternoon on Interstate 95 caused a traffic nightmare when the highways northbound lanes were shut down for an hour and a half while crews battled the blaze.

Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to Interstate 95 north for a reported car carrier fire just before 2:30 p.m.

The first fire unit on scene reported a tractor trailer car carrier with a cab on fire, as well as three vehicles on the carrier fully involved with fire and a fire in the passenger compartment of a fourth vehicle, officials said.

Once firefighters realized the extent of the fire, Norwalk firefighters called on Darien Fire Department to help. Then police and fire units shut down I-95 north between Exit 13 and Exit 14.

The highway was shut down while crews battled the heavy blaze, allowing firefighters to have unobstructed access to the fire and to allow units ease with shuttle water to the tankers from the nearest available hydrants.

The I-95 north on-ramp from Scribner Avenue in Norwalk had been closed while crews worked to put out the fire. Police officials said the ramp reopened at 3:43 p.m.

As drivers realized the traffic build up, scores of vehicles exited the highway, crowing local roads  mainly Route 1 in Norwalk.

Just before 4 p.m., the left lane of travel on the highway was reopened while the center and right lanes remained closed. At that point, the DOT reported that traffic was congested for about 7 miles leading up to the area of the fire.

Fire units cleared from the site of the fire at 4 p.m. and all highway lanes were reopened soon after.

There were no injuries reported, fire officials said.

The Norwalk Fire Marshal Division is investigating the cause of the fire.
President Donald Trump has shown a disturbing willingness to adopt measures pushed on him by his favorite Arab dictators, even when they contradict standing U.S. policies and the judgment of seasoned national security professionals. At the urging of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, he tweeted his backing in 2017 for a boycott of Qatar, a key U.S. ally that hosts a huge U.S. air base. More recently, he signaled support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli - and was opposed by the United States until Trump was lobbied by Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Now the White House has disclosed that it is seeking to implement another one of Sissi's asks: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sissi, who in 2013 led a coup against a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government, has been seeking such a U.S. action for years. He has been rebuffed until now for good reason: Such a designation, especially if broadly cast, probably would be found illegal by U.S. courts and would greatly complicate relations with half a dozen countries where Brotherhood groups participate in parliaments or government.
Is the Met Gala 2019 the most extravagant yet? At Monday night's Met Gala, guests embraced the ball's camp theme - based on the Met Costume Institutes Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition.

While the event always brings in donations worth millions for the Costume Institute, the amount of hours, money and people it takes to pull it off is eye-watering.

It's a process Sylvana Durrett, the planner of numerous Met Galas, has finessed over the years. Speaking in 2017 to Fast Company on how the event has changed, she said, We do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests, so in the past few years, weve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people. We also wanted to be mindful of budgets. We are constantly evolving and learning from all sort of things.

Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

You cant please everybody. We always like to think theres not a bad [seat] in the house, which really there isnt. You have to come away confident in the notion that you are doing your best, and that inevitably not everyone will be happy. But we have a pretty good track record, she continued.

Weve broken down all the key numbers, from how much a ticket costs through to how many people will be on the Met Gala's guest list this year.

Beyonce and Jay-Z at the 2014 Met Gala / Getty Images

$35,000

The price of a single ticket to this year's Met Gala.

$200,000 - $300,000

The price of a table at this year's Met Gala.

$0

How much it costs to attend the Met Gala if youre a celebrity being dressed by a fashion brand with its own table.

$3 million

How much Yahoo reportedly paid for two Met Gala tables in 2015.

$3.5 million

How much it costs to put on the Met Gala.

$13 million

The amount raised at last years Met Gala for the Institute.

500,000

The number of real roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase

250,000

The number of silk roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase.

71

The number of times the Met Gala has been held.

Zendaya at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

1946

The year the first Met Gala took place, held by publicist Eleanor Lambert - though it wasn't called the Met Gala, back then it was a fundraiser for the Costume Institute that was held each year in a smart New York location outside of the museum.

Gucci's Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto at 2018's Met Gala / Getty Images

May 6, 2019

The date the 2019 Met Gala will take place. It is always held on the first Monday in May.

7pm

The time that red carpet arrivals to the Met Gala begin.

George and Amal Clooney at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

1.6 million

The number of people that attended the last years Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit at the Met Costume Institute.

24

The number of years Anna Wintour has been chairwoman of the Met Gala.

1995

The first year Anna Wintour hosted the Met Gala as chairwoman.

Anna Wintour at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

18

The minimum age you have to be to attend the Met Gala, which is deemed not an appropriate event for people under 18.

600 - 700

The number of guests who typically attend the Met Gala.

5

The number of co-chairs for this year's event, including Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Harry Styles and Gucci's Alessandro Michele (whose brand is also sponsoring the accompanying exhibit).

Lena Waithe at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

183

The number of A-listers on the hosting committee.

48%

The percentage of actors on the benefit committee, including Blake Lively, Lupita Nyongo, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe and Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at the Met Gala in 2017 / Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

32%

The percentage of fashion designers on the benefit committee, including Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, Valentinos Pierpaolo Piccioli, Givenchys Claire Waight Keller and Tom Ford.

20%

The percentage of guests from miscellaneous backgrounds on the benefit committee, including philanthropists Wendi Murdoch, Annette De la Renta and athletes Venus Williams and Cam Newton.

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala / Getty Images

$820 - $910

The price of a hotel room at the Carlyle, where stars frequently get ready for the Met Gala.

Tracee Ellis Ross leaving The Mark for the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

3

The number of courses served at the Met Gala.

P. Diddy at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

70,000 square yards

The length of the Met Galas carpet in 2016.

200

The number of photographers and media people approved to cover the event.

Getty Images

325

The number of bottles of champagne that 2016s guests drank (there were 610 attending that year).

50,000

The total number of hours that go into preparing for the Met Gala.

Cara Delevingne at the 2013 Met Gala (Splash News)

200

The number of items in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit.

1964

The year that Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag - the essay that inspired this years exhibit - was published.
W hen Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett met at primary school, something instantly clicked.

Rachel taught me about Manet, Picasso, and Kruger, while I taught her an appreciation for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Mobb Deep. The first time I saw her she was wearing a Winnie the Pooh tee shirt and bike shorts - so weve been through a lot together, Burnett recently told the Standard.

Burnett went on to study art while Rachel studied fashion, and the pair launched their fashion label Twenty-Seven Names soon after.

Those early days were all hustle - Rach and I did everything, Burnett said. Over the years weve built a small but dedicated team to help us, but our vision is still the same. We make beautiful clothing, and we put our heart and soul into it. Whats important to us now and for the future is that were contributing in a positive way to the lives of the people who make, sell and wear our clothes.

The result for the New Zealand-based brand is a luxury label made both ethically and sustainably  on each garments page you can find where the item was cut and made along with the provenance of the fabric, lining and trims.

Twenty-Seven Name designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett / Twenty-Seven Names

We recently spoke to Burnett about her travels below.

All-time favourite holiday

The first time I went overseas I was 25, and Rachel and I went together. We went to London, Paris and Japan. It was before the internet was a thing - definitely pre-Instagram. My mind was completely blown. I had a spiritual experience at Musee Dorsay in front of Manets Olympia. I dont think anything will ever compare to the first time I left New Zealand.

Favourite country to visit

Japan. It is such an easy place to travel. Everyone is so kind, and the food is amazing.

Anjali and Rachel in Japan in 2012 / Supplied

Favourite city

Ive only been to Rome once, but I would love to go back there, I think its such a cool city. Its so trippy - you walk around the corner and theres the Pantheon! Theres such a wealth of history there. And well, pasta.

Favourite beach

I live at the beach - Lyall Bay in Wellington. The water is a bit brisk but youll find me there most weekends.

Favourite restaurant

Rita, a small but perfectly formed restaurant in Aro Valley, Wellington. The food is perfect. Its a set menu, so theres no faffing around with what to order, and it feels like youre in someones home. Its my favourite place to eat in the world.

Packing essentials

Jeans, sneakers and stripy tees. Silk yoryu is a great fabric to pack for a trip - you never need to iron it and it always delivers.

Carry-on beauty essentials

I run a pretty simple ship on that front - but lip balm and moisturiser are essentials.

Anjalis top picks from the Twenty-Seven Names collection:

Twenty-Seven Names

Cannonball jacket, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Balloon skirt, 315. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Mana dress, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Ngahuia dress, 240. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Tidal dress, 240. Shop here.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in a north London hair salon.

In February, 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was chased into the salon, in Wood Green, where he was cornered and stabbed to death.

Sheareem Cookhorn, of Park Lane, Tottenham, has now been charged with murdering Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man.

He appeared in custody at Highbury Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Police in Wood Green after the stabbing / PA

It comes after Tyrell Graham, 18, of St Helens Place, Leyton, was charged on Monday with the murder of Mr Gabbidon-Lynck as well as attempted murder and robbery.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on July 11.

Police were first called to reports of a group of people fighting in Vincent Road on the evening of February 22.

Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the 20-year-old were found suffering from stab wounds. Mr Gabbidon-Lynck died in the hospital in the early hours of the next day.

The 20-year-olds condition is no longer life-threatening.
Two Australians carry an ROK soldier to safety. Tolkien wrote: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness  nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



By Amanda Price



On April 25 every year, silence surrounds almost every Australian city and town. It is profound silence that articulates a collective grief words cannot express. In the silence, we remember and are thankful for the men and women who defended us and those who defend us today.



In some strange way, the wars that tear us apart evolve into recollections that unite us. This is not an Australian phenomenon. Around the world, nations scorched by the fierce injustices of war find solace in collective grief and gratitude.



Despite these moments of solidarity, the ugliness, cruelty and depravity of war remain unchanged.



There is no glory in war. There are no moments that outshine the carnage, the brutality and the deaths of innocents; no redemptive events that make the killing less horrific, or the destruction less devastating.



Those who have lived through wars, who fought in wars, or lost loved ones during wars, are consoled only by fleeting moments of humanity; occasions in which individuals were not conquered by the evil that surrounded them.



When the North Korean Army poured over the 38th Parallel into South Korea, no one was prepared for the sheer scope and force of the evil that would engulf the Korean Peninsula. No one anticipated that cities and villages on both sides would be razed, or that millions would lose everything they had, including their lives.



The war demonstrated that ideologies can be excuses for wanton bloodshed, that political agendas could justify all manner of horrors, and that innocent men, women and children could be executed on nothing more than a suspicion.



More than a territorial struggle, the Korean War grew to resemble an utterly chaotic genocide where no one knew who to kill or who to save.



To find even a faint silhouette of goodness during the Korean War was, understandably, beyond the grasp of many. Yet, amid the sulfurous clouds and charcoal smoke, such moments did exist.



None of these moments, even collectively, have the power to expunge atrocities and erase fears, but that does not mean they should be forgotten.



Remembrance, after all, is not our attempt to justify or make sense of war, but our attempt to uphold the value of life, and remember those who did the same.





"Many children have forgotten how to smile," wrote a young nurse during the Korean War. Two officers from the RAAF's 77th squadron visit the Children's Hospital in Seoul (1951). Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



A British war correspondent in Incheon wrote about Chung Ha-joon, a young man he had shared a shelter with during a storm. Chung was an elementary school teacher who resisted the Japanese occupation. As Kim Il-sung's troops sought to occupy South Korea, Chung decided to resist by gathering children and continuing classes, albeit in bombed-out buildings. As enemy forces pressed southward, Chung abandoned his classes but not his pupils. Chung saved over 60 children from ransacked villages, before being caught himself.



Song Ji-won volunteered to become a nurse when she was 12 years old. At the time, she was an orphan living in a church-run orphanage. When children her age were outside, she was shadowing Korean doctors watching how they treated the sick and wounded. She had an aunt somewhere, and sent letters with soldiers in the unlikely case they found her. She wrote with wisdom beyond her years: "Many of the younger children have forgotten how to smile, they don't remember anything before the war. I help feed them, clean them, play with them but to make them smile again, that is what brings the greatest joy."



Near the end of the war, Ji-won was informally adopted by a German medical unit in Seoul, where she trained as a nurse. According to the clinic's records, Ji-won later became a pediatric nurse and continued to work in orphanages.



George Drake, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, arrived at Incheon and, within weeks, had volunteered with a dozen other U.S. soldiers to work in the few orphanages that could be found. Many were run by courageous Korean doctors, nurses and ministers, many of whom had lost family themselves.



When Drake and others saw the desperate situation of the children and their carers, they realized they had to do more than give up their time and rations. Almost immediately, Drake and other soldiers began writing home to their families, to churches and Rotary clubs, asking them to send clothes, food, books and as many supplies as possible.





U.N. war correspondent Douglas Bushby and the director of the Hope Orphanage.? Bushby worked side by side with Korean aid workers and leaders to help orphans, refugees and POWs. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



As donations for the children began to pour in from individuals and organizations, the U.S. Army was compelled to hire a freighter to ship all the supplies to Incheon. In just over s year, 12 tons of supplies had been shipped in and handed out to Korean orphans.



Assisting with the work of war orphans and protecting children became a secondary role for many Korean, U.S. and Allied soldiers. Nationality was irrelevant and soldiers took on a new sense of duty to those whose lives were inextricably changed because soldiers were there.



At a battle in Chongju, Ian Robertson, an Australian sniper, recalled that he and a mate spotted five terrified children. "I called to them in Japanese, 'Come here!' and they ran over to where our mortarmen were. The mortarmen got them to hop into our gun pits and gave them their own helmets to protect them. There wasn't enough room for all of them so two of the mortarmen jumped out and took their chance in the open without protection."



William Chrysler, from the Canadian light infantry, tearfully explained: "We'd get our rations but nearly everybody would go over and give it to the kids. You wouldn't eat and watch those little wee kids there without any food  they had nothing, we had to do something."





Sergeant Suleyman and Ayla (Turkish for Halo). The Turkish soldiers found 20 orphans on the battlefield and built a makeshift orphanage out of tents until the Ankara Turkish orphanage was built for them. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



Sergeant Suleyman, a 25-year-old Turkish soldier, was in a fire battle when he found a five-year-old girl huddled in the bushes. Her family had been killed and her whole village destroyed. Unable to get her to an orphanage, Suleyman became her surrogate father and cared for her for a year and a half. Though he was forced to leave her with a Turkish-sponsored orphanage when the war was over, they found each other years later.



Chaplain Terence Finnigan reported that many soldiers, seeing orphans near starvation point, simply picked them up wherever they were found and brought them to barracks, orphanages, churches or army chaplains.



It became quickly apparent that the need for more orphanages was critical, so military headquarters in Korea issued a request for funds. "The response was extraordinary," Finnigan wrote. Korean and Allied soldiers from almost every unit and force sent in donations. Because of the soldier's actions, literally thousands of orphaned children were saved from death.



William Asbury, director of field operations during the war for the Christian Children's Fund, described the soldiers as "an army of compassion" and calculated that of the 400 orphanages in Korea, over 90 percent operated with the financial and practical support of soldiers and military officials.?



In an interview with British media, light infantryman Reginald Bentley explained: "The faces of those Korean kiddies were like a healing balm after we'd returned from a bloody battle. Spending time with them, giving them what we could was the least we could when homes were bombed by our side  it didn't soothe our conscience, but it helped our souls."



Though caring for children is a basic human responsibility, never in previous history have thousands of soldiers united with such resolve and open-handedness to save and protect the lives of thousands of children. Never have soldiers worked so cohesively alongside Korean doctors and nurses to build, support and sustain orphanages and medical clinics specifically for children.



With the support of Korean nationals, many military units bought rice paddies and established small businesses that would help fund orphanages after soldiers withdrew.



William Asbury explained: "The soldiers involved in this support were not exceptions, they were examples."



Compassion, however, could be found even among the enemy lines.



Col. Hess worked with Korean pilots and air force officers to evacuate 1,000 war orphans from Seoul using 15 transport aircraft. He also worked with Korean doctors to build an orphanage in Seoul. Yonhap
T raders at the historic Smithfield Market believe there will be a profound impact on their businesses if plans to move the site to east London go ahead.

The centuries-old meat market is expected to leave its Farringdon site after plans were put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporations main decision-making body.

Under the new proposal Billingsgate Market and New Spitalfields Market would also move to the Barking Reach site.

There has been a livestock market at the Farringdon site for over 800 years but the redeveloped Victorian buildings where Smithfield now resides were officially opened in 1868.

The redeveloped market, which celebrated its 150th birthday almost a year ago, is the only one of the three to remain at its original site in the heart of the City.

The City of London Corporation said the move will allow for more modern facilities and space for traders to grow.

The market is 800 years old. / Associated Newspapers

One independent trader, who did not want to be named, said tenants have been told there are no concrete plans but if there eventually is a move, it will have a big impact.

I think it will have profound impact on all the businesses once Smithfield is moved to a site like that, he said.

I don't think we're going to have the room to do what we do as wholesalers now.

Oliver Absalom of Absalom & Tribe said the company has been trading at Smithfield since 1976 and new regulations brought in by Transport for London is making things complicated for customers.

Smithfield still works very well, he said.

But he conceded there will be some benefits to the move.

If and when we move we would benefit from being with the fish and the fruit and veg companies in one big market - that we're interested in.

But as it stands right now it still works right now what we're doing.

Cathy Calkine, who trades with Abbijoe, said she is likely to retire if the move goes ahead.

Ive been here for 32 years so I wont go when it goes, (the location) is a long way away for me now, she said.

It is sad because it is taking a little bit of London away really isnt it.

Smithfield Market is currently located in a Grade II listed building in Farringdon by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones who also designed Tower Bridge.

It opens at 2am every weekday morning, with most of the trading completed by 7am.

After the announcement of the new plans to move the site, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, said the City is committed to keeping the historic markets in London.

She said: The City's three world-leading wholesale food markets at Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield have been serving our citizens for hundreds of years, and we are committed to their future for London.

In order to secure their continued success, and after careful consideration of a number of options, Barking Reach has been agreed as the preferred site for consolidating the City Corporations wholesale markets. We intend to use this new site to offer more modern facilities and space for traders to grow so that they can continue to support the capitals food economy.

We will soon be launching a public consultation on our preferred option. As part of this process, we will continue to engage with market tenants, traders and their customers, and other key stakeholders across London.
T heresa May has told MPs that the disastrous local elections give a "fresh urgency" to breaking the Brexit deadlock.

The PM made the rallying call for breaching the impasse as the Tories reeled from losing more than 1,300 council seats.

"We have to find a way to break the deadlock - and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this," she wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

It comes as both main parties attributed their struggles in the elections to Brexit.

TODO: define component type apester

Labour also lost more than 80 seats and party figureheads said a resolution needed to be found for Britain's departure from the European Union.

Cross-party talks on the matter so far appear to have delivered little results, though the PM vowed these will continue.

"We will keep negotiating, and keep trying to find a way through. Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about," she wrote.

"The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line."

Theresa May is negotiating with her Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn / Getty Images

She had previously said the elections as a whole carried a "simple message" for both the Conservative and Labour parties: "Just get on and deliver Brexit."

Commenting on the discussions with Labour she said: "I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either."

Mrs May also took the opportunity to promote the deal she had already agreed with the EU, though admitted she sees no sign of it being passed by the Commons.

TODO: define component type apester

"I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK - a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws," Mrs May wrote.

"The free movement of people will end - giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades.

"However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing."

Prime Minister Theresa May said the local elections showed a need to move on with Brexit / Getty Images

However, earlier in the day environment secretary Michael Gove issued a renewed plea for MPs to back Mrs May's deal.

In a speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference, Mr Gove said: "(Mrs May's deal) enables us to leave the EU while safeguarding essential interests and liberating us to enjoy new opportunities."

The call from the PM comes after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer claimed Cabinet ministers place more importance on the next Tory leadership contest than Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer the shadow Brexit secretary / EPA

He made the comments in a swipe at foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt's warning that a customs union would not be a "long-term solution".

The Labour frontbencher tweeted: "This is yet more evidence that for many in the Cabinet the most important thing right now is the next Tory leadership contest."

Despite there appearing to be disagreements, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said a deal between Labour and the Tories could be done in the new few days.

She told reporters at her party's conference in Aberdeen: "We are getting closer and closer.

"There's not that much between the two parties as I understand it from people in the room."

While Mr Hunt also spoke of his desire to get a Brexit resolution, warning that if politicians do not resolve the issue then they will have "failed as a political class" in doing what Labour and the Tories promised at the last general election.

Following the poor local election showing, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith earlier said Mrs May must set an "immediate date for departure" following the party's disastrous performance at the local elections.

Mr Smith said she appears to be a "caretaker" Prime Minister, urging her to either set a date for her exit or for senior Tories to do so.

With talks between Labour and the Tories expected to resume early next week, the Sunday Times reported Mrs May was prepared to give ground in three areas.

These were customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.

The paper said the Prime Minister would put forward plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU.
H ardline Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois today predicted Theresa Mays time as Prime Minister will be up if the Conservatives suffer a dreadful night in the upcoming European elections.

Mr Francois, Jacob Rees-Moggs deputy for the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs, said the patience of the partys 1922 Committee could finally snap if  as has been forecast in polls  it is humiliated in the May 23 elections.

It comes after the Conservatives suffered significant losses in Thursdays local elections.

Labour also lost seats, while the Lib Dems, Greens and independents make gains.

In an interview with the Standard in his Westminster office, the former minister, who has so far been part of two attempts to oust Mrs May, also refused to sympathise with her on a personal level: Her heart has never been in leaving the EU no, I dont feel sorry for her.

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And asked about his partys European prospects later this month, Mr Francois was just as forthright: Let me be very clear: I am going to vote Conservative in the European elections. Let there be no confusion about that. But if we believe the bookies, they say we are going to have a pretty dreadful night.

Self and Francois in TV stare-off

"The door knocking I did for the local elections seems to confirm that. We are going to have a very tough night on May 23.

If the Conservatives do have a very bad night, that will increase the pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.

Mark Francois in conversation with anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray in Westminster last month / Yui Mok/PA

Last month, Mr Francis wrote a letter entitled enough is enough to 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady, calling for an indicative vote of confidence in Mrs Mays leadership. It ultimately failed after the committee voted by nine votes to seven against this.

But he insisted: It was extremely close, and I believe the committee might well review that decision after the European elections.

Mr Francois, though, didnt raise the Prime Ministers Brexit woes when he last spoke to her in the lobbies a few weeks ago: We just had some pleasant chit-chat. I dont think we spoke about Europe.

There has even been chatter about the Rayleigh and Wickford MP taking over Mrs Mays job after he bet 10 on himself taking over as Tory leader.

Mr Francois at the 'March to Leave' protest in Parliament Square on March 29: the original scheduled Brexit date / Kirsty O'Connor/PA

I did it as a joke with a friend," he said. "I got 200/1. But another friend of mine put a bet on this week, where my odds had been slashed to 100/1.

I think there might well be an ERG candidate in the leadership election, but realistically its unlikely to be me.

Pressed on whether he would like to stand, he would only say: Well, I did it [the bet] for a laugh.

Lets see who emerges. But I suspect somebody might. You may not have long to wait to find out.

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Francois Brexiteer standing is such that a new brewery in his constituency named a beer after him. It is called Special Place in Hell, mocking European Council president Donald Tusks inflammatory tirade against Brexiteers in February.

Proudly producing a bottle of the four per cent ale in his office, he beamed that its going absolute gangbusters in the brewerys taproom.

But he said he was deeply unhappy at how the ERG has been portrayed in the Brexit debate: We have had all sorts of name-calling. David Lammy said we were Nazis. The Chancellor called us extremists, Chris Patten [former Tory chair] called us vermin and Donald Tusk sent us all to hell.

Davids comments were utterly ridiculous and he demeaned himself by making them. At the end of the day, we want Britain to leave the EU, and thats what 17.4 million UK citizens voted for. Does that make me a Nazi? No, of course it doesnt.

I think there are many people in the establishment  and I would count David Lammy as part of that  who cant stand the ERG because they desperately want to remain in the EU and we want to leave. Because we are so determined to fight for that, they dont like us."
G avin Williamson branded the enquiry into a leak that led to his firing "shabby" and a "witch hunt" as he criticised the PM's handling of the situation.

His comments come after Scotland Yard deemed the disclosure of information from the National Security Council meeting was not sufficiently serious to warrant a criminal investigation.

In a new statement, former defence secretary Mr Williamson said: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill."

Mr Williamson was fired earlier this week after being linked to the leak of information regarding Huawei's potential involvement in building the UK's 5G infrastructure.

Signage at the Huawei offices in Britain / REUTERS

Reports last month suggested Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the PM overruled five ministers who expressed concern the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying.

They also said it could undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Prime Minister Theresa May previously insisted sacking Gavin Williamson was the right decision / Getty Images

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary and the PM said there was "compelling evidence" he was behind the leak.

He strenuously denies any involvement in the information being shared.

Earlier on Saturday, the Met Police's assistant commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting.

However, he was "satisfied" that the details disclosed to the media did not "contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He said: "I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police."

Mr Williamson previously said he would welcome a police probe, believing it would "absolutely exonerate" him.

Theresa May previously said firing Mr Williamson had been the right decision.

Mrs May told ITV News: "I did take a difficult decision.

"This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table."
A Cabinet minister has branded crushing local election losses a "punishment" for the Tory's response to Brexit as senior ministers called for unity within the party.

Calling the outcome disappointing, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the result would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the party needed to listen to the results and "be in a mood for compromise"

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said "purists" in the party were putting the Brexit "in peril".

AFP/Getty Images

Mr Gauke said it was time to address the "big issue" of Brexit.

He told BBC Breakfast: "What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit. We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Minister's meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

"I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation."

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said that the message from voters was to get on, deliver Brexit and then move on as he said MPs need to be in a mood for compromise.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The electorate... right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration."

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock / AFP/Getty Images

He indicated that he was prepared to back compromise with Labour's call for a post-Brexit customs union arrangement with the EU.

"I think the Prime Minister's deal is a better arrangement than a permanent customs union, but I think we need to be in a mood for compromise," said Mr Hancock.

TODO: define component type apester

"We need to be listening to these results from these local elections which are about 'deliver Brexit', not 'deliver this particular form of Brexit'."

He suggested both sides in cross-party talks would have to shift on their Brexit stance: "I think we do need a mood for compromise, but compromise often involves looking at the different positions of different groups and coming up with something in-between."

The Foreign Secretary pointed the finger at "purist" Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories' drubbing.

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Asked who was responsible for the losses, Mr Hunt told reporters in Africa: "You can look at lots of different groups of people - you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

"You can for sure look at Government - I'm sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently."

Conservatives dropped more than 1,300 seats

In a speech to Scottish Conservatives, Mr Javid emphasised his "one nation" credentials and warned delegates a divided Tory party would usher Mr Corbyn into Downing Street with the support of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

He added: "It's clear our union, our country and our party are all at a crossroads. And we know that it's in times of uncertainty that the seeds of radicalism are sown.

"There are three different revolutions seeking to exploit this situation: Corbyn's socialism. SNP-style separatism and far-right populism."

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you."

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as Prime Minister and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was "the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters".

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was "always going to be difficult" at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

She said: "Because we haven't delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties."

Labour lost 82 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.
M uslims across the world are welcoming the holy month of Ramadan.

Observed as the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan sees Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset in order to devote themselves further to their faith and ultimately bring them closer to Allah.

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the presence of a new moon signals the start of a new month.

Ramadan began on the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that Monday May 6 is the first official day of fasting.

Heres everything you need to know:

When is Ramadan 2019 in the UK?

Why does a moon sighting committee signal the start of Ramadan?

Muslims observe the start of the new moon / Getty

The moon sighting committee is responsible for watching the moon and announcing the start of Ramadan.

The committee will be searching for the moon after Maghrib prayers on the 29th day of Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

If adverse weather conditions make it difficult to see the moon on this day, sightings can also be considered on the 30th day.

But if the moon is spotted, then the process is repeated at the end of the holy month and the start of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan.

When will Ramadan start in the UK?

The UK follows guidelines set by the UAE committee to determine the start of Ramadan.

This year, the moon was spotted the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that fasting has been confirmed to start on Monday May 6. It will continue for 30 days until June 4.

Does Ramadan start on the same day in all Muslim countries?

All adult Muslims are expected to fast over the month of Ramadan / Getty Images

No. Some Muslim countries such as Oman opts to call Ramadan independently of the rest of the Gulf, with the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia celebrating the holy month on the same dates.
A n earthquake hit Surrey overnight with residents reporting how an "explosion" shook local homes.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) received dozens of reports from people disturbed by the quake, which hit the region at 1.19am on Saturday.

It is the latest in a series of tremors in the area.

Preliminary information indicated a 2.5-magnitude quake, centred on Newdigate near Gatwick, had struck at a depth of 2.3km (1.4 miles), the BGS said.

"Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience," a BGS spokeswoman said.

"Typical reports described 'windows and doors shook', 'felt like some sort of explosion' and 'a loud bang woke me up'."

The BGS is asking residents to fill in a questionnaire on its website to record what they experienced.

Several people commented on social media that they had felt the tremor in the Crawley area.

One Twitter user said: "Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!", while another added: "Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up..."

The quake hit after a sequence of seismic events in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were "keeping an open mind", there was "still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities".

He said: "It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural - due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean."

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
B rits are braced for a wintry Bank Holiday weekend with temperatures set to plummet to -4C.

Parts of the country will see temperatures almost ten degrees lower than average for this time of year as forecasters warned of widespread frosts and hail during the weekend.

It will also be much colder than the same time last year, when the mercury hit 28.7C in Northolt, west London, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday weekend since records began.

Forecasters warned some parts of the UK will only reach highs of 2C on Saturday.

The UK will experience widespread frost over the Bank Holiday weekend / Jeremy Selwyn

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said there will be "plenty of sunny spells for the majority of the country on Saturday but the further east you go the more likely you are to see showers, with hail quite likely."

He told the Standard: "Temperatures to start the weekend could reach 13C maximum, most likely in south and south-west of the UK but if youre exposed it will feel like 2C, with a very cold feel down the east coast.

"Overnight it will be cold with clear skies, showers in the east gradually easing off. Widespread frost is likely, we could see as low as -4C in western parts of the UK."

Temperatures will be slightly warmer on Sunday, with dry spells and temperatures of up to 14C after a frosty evening.

"For Sunday it's a fairly similar picture, much of the UK will be dry with sunny spells. Late showers are possible but very few and far between," Mr Partridge said.

"Overnight into Monday the forecast remains largely the same, light winds with clear skies, showers continuing in the far northeast but plenty of clear skies mean it will be another frosty night to come."

Forecaster Richard Miles added: "Saturday will be the worst day of the Bank Holiday weekend in terms of chilly showers and possible hail on the east coast, though Sunday and Monday will be a lot more settled.

Frosts are expected across the UK next week / PA

"Sheltered, hilly areas in the north and Scotland could see colder and wintry weather in the evening from a northerly direction.

"The west should escape most of the colder weather, in Wales it could actually be quite nice, normal weather and the same in parts of Northern Ireland, as most places go to double figures during the day."
I slamic State bride Shamima Begum would face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she went to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

Ms Begum's family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out "what is obvious to all".

"Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladesh's problem," he said.

"What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping - taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

"The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamima's citizenship.

"This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be."

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
N orth Korea has fired several short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, according to reports from South Korea.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analysing the details.

If it is confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from US president Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported on Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 125 miles before splashing into the sea toward the north-east.

An intermediate range Hwasong-12 launched by North Korea in 2017 / AP

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter-range nuclear-armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Korea's actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

In a sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticised national security adviser John Bolton.

North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified "tactical guided weapon".

During the diplomacy that followed the North's weapons tests of 2017, Mr Kim said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

These short-range projectiles do not appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Mr Kim's displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

The South's presidential Blue House had no immediate comment on the launches.

The country's liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.

Japan's Defence Ministry said the projectiles were not a security threat and did not reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Mr Kim.
Seonkyoung Longest



This is the first in a series of interviews telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned into social media success stories. -- ED.



By Jane Han



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When Seonkyoung Longest began cooking Korean food out of her small Mississippi kitchen with little to no fresh Korean ingredients, she didn't dare to dream that, in just a few years, she would become a YouTube celebrity chef.



''I still remember the first day I stood in front of the camera,'' Longest said in an interview with The Korea Times. ''It was a very cheap digital camera that my husband owned and I had it awkwardly propped on top of a salt container."



That was 2010 and the beginning of her wild journey on social media that now brings her more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million followers on Facebook as well as 250,000 followers on Instagram.





Bulgogi



Since debuting her first video on YouTube, Longest has cooked up everything from traditional Korean bibimbap and bulgogi to the staple American Chinese dish chicken chow mein and popular Vietnamese pho noodles.



Her humorous and upbeat YouTube show ''Asian at Home'' began with a focus on Korean cuisine, but quickly expanded to cover a full range of Asian dishes.



''I think that was the turning point for me,'' Longest said, as she recalled her expansion four years ago. ''It was leaving my comfort zone and experimenting with and embracing other cuisines, and that alone enabled me to reach a much bigger audience.''



For the 35-year-old, this wasn't the first time to leave her comfort zone.



Fresh from Korea in 2009, starting a new life in Mississippi after marrying her husband who was, and still is, in the U.S. military was already a life-changing event.



''I was lonely and depressed. I didn't have a job, friends or family and all I did was wait for my husband all day,'' Longest shared of her past. ''I thought I spoke decent English, but the southern accent was a whole new level for me. All in all, I was struggling.''









She remembers watching the Food Network most of the day, getting inspired by famous chefs and TV personalities like Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray and trying to replicate some of their dishes in her own way.



''Believe it or not, I only started cooking after I moved to the U.S.,'' said Longest. ''Because if I didn't cook, I didn't get to eat any Korean food. We didn't have much money to eat out so cooking at home was a necessity.''



And being creative with her ingredients was also a necessity.







''There was only one other Korean person in the entire town I lived in and the closest Korean grocery store was a five-hour drive away. You get the picture,'' she said. ''So I was able to shop for fresh Korean ingredients maybe only once or twice a year.''



That was for more than five years, which gave her plenty of time to get acquainted to and learn to use everyday ingredients in American grocery stores.



The self-taught chef's experience and flexibility show in her 10- to 20-minute videos as she is generous in allowing ingredient substitutes.



But before taking any of her recipes public, Longest makes sure she experiments it in her own kitchen a countless number of times.



''There's a reason why people trust my recipes,'' she said. ''I don't share a recipe just to fill up posts on social media. If I don't have one ready to share, I just don't because I'd rather not share than share a bad recipe. I have very high expectations.''





Wasabi Shrimp Spaghetti
F our Palestinians including a pregnant woman and her baby daughter have been killed while three Israelis have been wounded amid rocket fire.

Palestinian militants have fired more than 200 rockets into Israel and this has drawn dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip.

The round of intense fighting has broken a month-long lull and the Israeli military said it struck 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit her home.

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike / EPA

Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded in east Gaza City and died later in hospital, while another child was injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door.

Another Palestinian was killed in the northern Gaza Strip and officials identified the victim Saturday as Khaled Abu Qlaiq, 25.

Southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara / AFP/Getty Images

Local media reports said he was travelling on a motorbike when a drone missile hit him.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire and a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel.

A teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Previously, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip / AFP/Getty Images

Air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence.

It said this was done by the shooting and wounding of two Israeli soldiers on Friday.

Meanwhile, leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators.

These were aimed at preventing a fraying ceasefire from collapsing.

It is a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week.

It will also be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in the middle of the month.
A funeral has been held for three children of Denmark's wealthiest man, after they were killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, was seen comforting his wife and their surviving daughter at the service.

The coffins of his three children, named Alfred, Alma and Agnes, were seen covered in flowers outside Aarhus Cathedral on Sunday.

It has previously been suggested Mr Povlsen was hurt in the blast, at the Shangri La Hotel in Colmbo, himself but it is not clear to what extent.

A funeral service for the three children of Anders Holch Povlsen (R) and his wife Anne (C) is held at Aarhus Catherdral in Aarhus / EPA

Denmark's prime minister and members of the Danish royal family were in attendance at Saturday's service.

Povlsen, 46, is behind the fashion brand Asos and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

eDanish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (r) arrives for the funeral service / AP

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsen's wholesale fashion business Bestseller, previously confirmed the couple lost three children in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Nine bombers co-ordinated blasts targeting churches and hotels frequented by foreign tourists.

One suicide bomber reportedly educated in the UK was radicalised after leaving Britain, his sister said.

It is believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals and the group has claimed responsibility.

In an update on investigations into the attack, Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena said: "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers."

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks, which shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.
T housands of yellow vest protesters took to the streets of France for the 25th weekend in a row.

The activists, who began by speaking out against a fuel tax and have since taken wider issue with President Emmanuel Macron's policies, demonstrated in Paris and elsewhere across the country.

Some 18,900 protesters took part in the latest marches nationally, the Interior Ministry said.

This figure, compared with 23,600 a week earlier, was the lowest turnout since the action began.

Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures 1 /28 Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures A Yellow Vest protester gestures behind flames rising from a barricade AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester wearing a mask depicting the French President on which is written 'psycho' AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protester walk past flames rising from a barricade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on March 16 AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester destroys a shop window during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters gather near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images A news stand burns during a yellow vests demonstration on the Champs Elysees AP Protesters next to a burning barricade during a demonstration REUTERS A Yellow Vest protester writes a graffiti on the wooden fence outside of the restaurant "Le Fouquet's" AFP/Getty Images A yellow vest protester walks past a fire on the Champs Elysees avenue AP Yellow Vest protesters look at the destroyed window of a Hugo Boss shop AFP/Getty Images Flames rise from a newsagent set alight by protesters during clashes with riot police AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces stand behind a burning barricade AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces walk past a scooter seen in a broken store window AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest holds a flag during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS protester wearing a yellow vest attends a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest shouts at police as he attends a demonstration REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest holds up a flare during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS There were chaotic scenes in the French capital REUTERS A man blasted by water from a water cannon in Paris AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest throws a stone AFP/Getty Images

In Paris three protests had a turnout of 1,460 against 2,600 last week.

The weekend protests came days after a wider May Day rally was marked by violent clashes in Paris.

"Many of them were shocked by the behaviour and repression of last Wednesday," Herve, a protester in Paris, told Reuters.

"So it's not surprising to see that it's lagging behind a bit regarding the turnout."

The decrease in numbers will be a relief to President Macron, who last week made a series of policy proposals to address the issues raised.

In addition some yellow vests joined a rally against climate change in the northern city of Metz.

They gathered in the city as G7 environment ministers were meeting and the demonstration gathered 3,000 participants, the ministry said.

In contrast, tens of thousands of labour union and yellow vest protesters had taken to the streets across the country on Wednesday.

Those demonstrations that saw clashes between anarchists and police, especially in Paris.

The protests, named after motorists' high-visibility jackets, have been marred by violence, in what is seen as a revolt against politicians and a government they feel are out of touch.
H ollywood star Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving.

This comes after after his arrest for failing a drunken driving test last year.

On Friday an attorney for the 49-year-old "Wedding Crashers" star entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor count in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Vaughn was arrested June 10 at a sobriety checkpoint, in the upscale community of Manhattan Beach.

Police say the Dodgeball actor repeatedly refused to get out of his car.

He then failed a field sobriety test and a blood alcohol test.

Vaughn was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation while also being ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program.

He has been told that if he drives drunk and kills someone he could be charged with murder.
The faculty at Yonhee University, circa 1956.



By Robert Neff





Fred Dustin and some of his students, circa 1957.

In 1955, Fred Dustin, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, returned to Korea after completing his degree in the United States. He had been recruited by The Asia Foundation and was the first English teacher to arrive.



Dustin was assigned a teaching position at Yonhee (now Yonsei) University but, in the beginning, there was no housing available on campus, so he was forced to stay the first couple of weeks at the Bando Hotel.



Seoul at this time was a shattered city and ruined buildings were the norm. The Bando Hotel was the tallest building and, as Dustin recalled, was the center of sophistication. It was a popular place for the foreign community to live and was equally popular with Koreans wanting to learn or practice their English.



"It was almost impossible to sit down for a cup of coffee or a meal, especially without an elderly Korean gentleman suddenly materializing seemingly from out of nowhere and introduce himself."



Dustin was later given quarters on campus at a building commonly known as the White Russian House. One of his roommates, for a short time, was Edward Wagoner  the founder of the Korea Institute at Harvard University. They both joined a group of expats who formed the Koryo Club where they shared ideas and experiences over beers. Very little scholastic work was accomplished but a lot of beer was consumed.





Fred Dustin and his class at Yonhee University in July 1957.



Like the rest of Seoul, the university had suffered during the war. Dustin recalled:



"The school had returned from Busan a year or so before and there was so much damage. The first fall of 1955 was difficult. Many of the classrooms still had no windows and some were missing doors so it was terribly drafty."



Dustin, however, soon found the lack of windows to be a blessing as they provided "enough ventilation to keep the smell of kimchi in continuous agitation." He later complained of the smell to Horace Underwood who, with the wisdom of a sage, suggested the only solution was to eat kimchi. Dustin followed his advice and soon found himself to be a fan of the spicy Korean dish.





Looking out from the campus, circa 1957.



Dustin was impressed with his students. They studied diligently, despite the cold and the hardships. Supplies and teaching materials were scarce and the teachers often had to make do with whatever was on hand or they could create. The students had a "real fervor for education" and would "sit bundled up in those frozen classrooms" all day with nary a complaint.



Perhaps the most difficult obstacle was love.



Two students in his class  a male and female  soon found themselves in trouble. "They were the famous 'campus couple' and earlier in the spring had almost been kicked out of school for openly smooching on campus [and] holding hands  even in class."





Fred Dustin and two of his students.





Edward Wagner and Fred Dustin in front of the White Russian House, circa 1957.

Most of the students from his classes graduated and rose to high positions in the government. "I remember reading The Korea Times and seeing names I knew," recalled Dustin. "[They] would rise up and then tumble down." Some were victims of politics while others suffered from their own greed.



Dustin went on to teach at several universities. He was an entrepreneur who dabbled in many different businesses  many failed but a few were successful and prospered. The most successful is, undoubtedly, the Kimnyoung Maze on Jeju Island.



He was a caring man with a weakness for cats  the maze is filled with them. He believed in helping those around him and actively supported the Jeju community both financially and in spirit.

Dustin died on May 5, 2018. Jeju and Korea lost a great supporter and I lost a great friend. I like to think that his spirit lives on within the maze  nourished by the sound of children's laughter, the lazy purrs of cats and the recollections of those who knew him, as they munch popcorn and drink grape juice in his memory.



Rest in peace my old friend.





The guard's hut near the White Russian House. It was there to guard the Underwoods' berry patch.





Looking west toward the Han River, circa 1955.





Dustin's teaching assistant, circa 1957.
It is a supportive learning environment, Cherry said.

She, too, was not to fond of the exams. She thought they were tough and the overall atmosphere in class was high pressure.

It is high pressure, but it should be because peoples lives are in your hands, Cherry said.

The sisters never set out to have 4.0s. Their goal was to be as good as possible. Once they neared graduation, they couldnt believe they had done it.

It was something that just happened, Paula said. It was nice to have Cherry with me because it made us a little more competitive, but we were also there to encourage each other.

Helping one another

Paula said she couldnt have done it all without Cherry. She was up for the adventure, but she began right after she was divorced. There were days she thought she could not do it.

Cherry was there to carry me through those times and boosted my morale, Paula said. She was there saying, You got this and Its going to be amazing.
On Friday morning, as the students enjoyed 15 minutes of recess, they waived at Benzel and Wright while asking them how they got up on the roof and how they were going to get down.

Several students thought they were not going to sleep on the roof all night.

I was thinking they were telling us lies and werent going to stay up there, DeSantos said.

Student Owen Lathan echoed DeSantos comment.

At first, I didnt think they were going to sleep on the roof because nobody actually thought they were going to go up on the roof, he said. When I did see them on the roof and saw their flashlights when I was driving around the school just to see where they were, I was surprised.

During a morning assembly Friday, Wright and Benzel entered wearing their robes and slippers. While Benzel shared that he did not feel well-rested, it was worth it to celebrate the students achievements.
SCOTTSBLUFF  The Scottsbluff City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 6, at 6 p.m., at the Scottsbluff City Hall Council Chambers, 2525 Circle Dr.

Items on the agenda include an acknowledgment of a contract offer from Riverside Discovery Center and an update from the City Manager on collective bargaining negotiations with fire, police and public works employees with a brief explanation of the negotiation process.
What changed? Asking that question -- especially in an era of scandal and pain -- leads to doctrinal questions that are just as troubling as the hellish puzzles linked to decades of reports about sexual abuse among Catholic clergy.

Here is one reality that must be discussed, according to Lawler. Many parishes began shrinking when Catholic families began shrinking. At the same time, many Catholic schools began to decline. Smaller families produced fewer priests and nuns.

The general appreciation of our Catholic heritage began to lag at roughly the same time that the American birth rate went into a steep decline, he wrote. Is it surprising that we, as a people, stopped thinking so much about what we would pass along to our children, during the same years that we stopped having so many children?

While many Catholic leaders focus on Mass attendance, Lawler said he thinks that its just as important to note how many Catholics are going to confession -- ever. Courageous bishops may even want to ask how often their priests go to confession.
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By Hwang Jae-ho





Nishino Junya
It just seemed like for the most part, they didnt want to have a conversation with us, they wanted to inform us more of things that were already pretty informed about, so they were just telling us things that we already know, and lecturing at us, to an extent, instead of having a conversation with us, Megan Skouby, South Iredell High School teacher and ISAE building representative said. We were hoping to go in with an ideal of being able to sit down and have a conversation. We brought a good base of representatives from the school district to try and cover all the bases, and not everyone was able to speak due to some of the time constraints, but also because they (representatives) sort of took over that conversation.
A new coffee shop in Statesville is making sure it strictly sticks to the idea of being local.

See more photos at the bottom of this article

The Coffee Lodge, which had a soft opening April 27, is working to be a place for locals to embrace their community. It embraces its customers with a rustic, log-cabin feel by using wood throughout the interior and exterior designs of the building, an electronic fireplace and deer heads mounted on the wall.

This homey shop is catering to the country at heart with a modern twist thanks to the unique style of the owners. Chris London and Heidi Goodheart, a couple whose love brought them to Statesville, came up with the idea of a coffee shop after being at Cedar Stump Pub in Troutman during a snowstorm. The couple didnt want to leave, not because of the snow but because of the community.

Later, they stumbled upon the location of what is now the coffee shop and they thought it would be a great spot to make their mark on the town.

I always fancied having a coffee shop, Goodheart said.

The rest is history.
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Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, accompanied by Health Minister Sorina Pintea, Labour Minister Marius Budai and Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici went to the city of Hunedoara on Saturday, where they visited the Municipal Hospital, the Corvin Castle and the pedestrian area of the city, investment objectives on governmental and European funds.

At the Municipal Hospital in Hunedoara, the government delegation visited the Intensive Care ward. The hospital's management requested support for the rehabilitation of the Emergency war, a context in which Health Minister Sorina Pintea said that this ward can benefit from a 5-million-lei funding for modernization, agerpres.ro informs.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the accompanying ministers visited several departments of Deva County Hospital on Saturday, the new building benefiting from government financing worth 8 million lei.

The official delegation continues its visit to Hunedoara County in the Brad area, on the Mintia-Brad gas pipeline construction site, an objective also financed from government funds.
The international conference "Future of Europe. Perspectives of Contemporary Developments" will be held in Sibiu from Wednesday to Friday, organized in the context of the EU Summit of 9 May.

The event is organized by "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, in collaboration with the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Bucharest, agerpres.ro informs.

According to the program posted on the conference's website, President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Ambassador of Lithuania to Romania, Arvydas Pocius and the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering were invited to participate in the event.

Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba, Minister of National Defense Gabriel Les, Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca, as well as political leaders such as Victor Ponta, Dacian Ciolos, Dan Barna and Eugen Tomac are also expected to attend the conference.

According to a release of the organizers, the panel that prepares the opening of this event is dedicated to education and research and is titled "Education and Research Where to?" This panel will be attended by representatives of Romanian academic education, researchers and students.

The event will take place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union.
President Klaus Iohannis, currently in Florence, on Saturday morning laid a wreath at the commemorative plaque dedicated to Alexandru Ioan Cuza, located next to the residence where the ruler spent the last years of his life.

The event was attended, among others, by the Romanian Ambassador to Italy George Bologan, Vicar Bishop Atanasie de Bogdania of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy and members of the Romanian community in the Tuscany region, agerpres.ro informs.

The head of state was accompanied by his wife, Carmen Iohannis.

On this occasion, the Romanian priests officiated a prayer of thanks in the memory of Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Representatives of the local government in Florence were present at the event, telling the head of state that there are about 8,000 Romanians in this city - the largest community of foreigners in the area.

''I think that this meeting is an emotional one, even if my visit here in Florence is a short one. Maybe you know that I was yesterday at the European University where we had a very beautiful event. We wanted to give a sign to our Romanian community in Florence (...), and in this respect I am very glad that you have come with me to this wreath laying," Iohannis told those present at the event.
PMP senator Traian Basescu, the former president of Romania, said on Saturday that Premier Viorica Dancila would not be invited to attend the European Council Summit in Sibiu, taking into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, but she can be invited to the reception and presented by President Klaus Iohannis, with a brief laudatio, to the other members of the European Council, agerpres.ro informs.

"There is lack of knowledge about the European Union in the public space. Journalists and politicians are lamenting that Ms. Dancila has not yet been invited to Sibiu. Folks, she will not be invited either to the works of the European Council for the following reasons:

1. During each rotating presidency, an informal European Council is organized in the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This time it is Romania - Sibiu (I participated in 19 such informal Councils during the 10 years of activity in the European Council).

2. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, each member state has one seat in the European Council, a place reserved for the one that, under the national Constitution, has the mandate of representing the country, in this case President Iohannis. The European Council also includes the President of the European Commission and the Permanent President of the European Council," Traian Basescu wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He points out that in this case, Premier Dancila and President Iohannis preside over two European institutions with completely different attributions, and the prime minister cannot be invited to the European Council works at the informal Summit in Sibiu, but she can be invited to the reception organized on its sidelines and presented to the other members of the European Council.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the summit of 9 May, dedicated to the future of the European Union and the future strategic agenda of the leaders for the period 2019-2024, will bring together the heads of state and Government of the EU member states in Sibiu, 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking guests, about 900 journalists and 100 translators.
He asked me one blunt question  I forget what it was  but I know I could only give a terse and unnuanced response, Marty said by email. I recall that he regularly quoted that unmemorable sentence or two.

From my distance, he added, I observed him enjoying too much the polemics of church fighting. He went out of his way to pick fights, always battling toward what seemed to me to be destructive ends.

The all-by-itself-condemning feature of Ottenism, Marty said, was its anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Christian News, the current name of Ottens newspaper, has been on the radar of the Anti-Defamation League for decades.

I feel confident in saying that Herman Otten was an unrepentant anti-Semite and Holocaust denier until the end of his life, and his beliefs are prevalent in Christian News, both in his own writings and in the works of other authors he reprinted, Aryeh Tuchman, associate director of the leagues Center on Extremism, said Friday by email.

He said recent content supported his comment, including a March 25 reprint in Christian News of Charles E. Carlson, which claimed that Israeli Zionists were among those responsible for the terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
ST. LOUIS  Last year, the citys top prosecutor hand-picked a former FBI agent to investigate the loftiest of targets: a Missouri governor.

That investigator, William Don Tisaby, interviewed the woman whose accusations of sexual misconduct and blackmail led to Gov. Eric Greitens downfall.

But the transcript of a six-hour deposition recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch reveals deep questions about Tisabys work. Under examination by Greitens defense team, Tisaby changed his testimony numerous times, stumbled over basic questions and seemed confused about major pieces of evidence.

Tisabys conduct now leaves Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office under investigation by a special prosecutor and a grand jury. It puts her law license and her political future at risk.

What happened during the Tisaby deposition is absolutely critical for the grand jury to see, the special prosecutor, Gerard Jerry Carmody, told a judge on Monday.

Greitens lawyers have long claimed that Tisaby lied in that March 2018 deposition, covering up inconsistencies in witness statements and crippling Greitens defense. Two months later, charges were dropped and Greitens resigned.

Greitens lawyers have said that Tisaby committed perjury and that Gardner allowed him to do it. Worse, they said, she encouraged it by asking Tisaby questions that elicited answers she knew were false.

The governors lawyers filed an ethical complaint against Gardner with the agency that investigates and disciplines lawyers. They also filed a complaint with police that led to the special prosecutors investigation.

Tisaby did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer said his client would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called by the special prosecutor to testify.

Gardner has called the investigation a fishing expedition and shameful overreach. She and her staff have repeatedly denied the perjury claims in court and in court filings. A spokeswoman did not make Gardner available to discuss the Tisaby deposition, citing a judges gag order that prevents lawyers on both sides from discussing the investigation.

Gardners supporters have called for the removal of the judge and special prosecutor in the grand jury probe, calling it a racist and sexist witch hunt meant to destroy the citys first elected black circuit attorney.

Its the intent of the special prosecutor to produce something similar to the (Robert) Mueller report that will do as much damage as possible to the credibility of the Circuit Attorneys Office and the circuit attorney herself, said Adolphus Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP. I firmly believe that all of this is retribution for the circuit attorneys unwillingness to turn her back on the Greitens investigation.

This spring, black religious leaders held several rallies to support Gardner. At one in March, Gardner said, No matter how much disdain they have for me, I refuse to kneel down and kiss the ring of the good ol boy system.

No questions, no notes

In January 2018, the same day Greitens gave his second State of the State address, news broke that he had an affair with his hairdresser as he was preparing to run for office. The womans ex-husband claimed Greitens threatened to release a nude or semi-nude photo of her if she exposed their affair. Greitens denied that.

Gardner began an investigation that month. On Jan. 18, Gardner hired Tisaby. On Jan. 24, Gardner interviewed Greitens accuser without Tisaby. Five days later, Tisaby interviewed the woman, with Gardner present. In February, a grand jury indicted Greitens.

One month later, Greitens defense team deposed Tisaby, seeking to attack his investigation. Gardner, who was present at the deposition, frequently interrupted to head off questions about Tisabys investigation of matters unrelated to the invasion of privacy charge. The defense team deposed Tisaby again in April, but he refused to answer questions.

During jury selection for Greitens trial, defense lawyers sought to question Gardner. That same day, Gardner dismissed the invasion of privacy charge against Greitens.

Greitens lawyers then went to police to ask for a perjury investigation, and St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Mullen granted the police departments request for a special prosecutor. Mullen picked Carmody to lead the investigation in June. A grand jury was convened six months ago.

At the heart of the investigation is whether Tisaby deliberately lied during his deposition. Defense lawyer Jim Martin repeatedly asked Tisaby whether hed taken notes during the two interviews at issue. Tisaby said he didnt and also claimed he asked no questions  he wanted her to tell the story  and had no advance knowledge of Greitens accusers claims, because he wanted to conduct an independent review.

Tisaby told Martin in the deposition that during his FBI career, he never took notes and committed the details, including direct quotes in the Greitens case, to memory. He said he was able to recall nearly every detail of the interview weeks or months later.

I have no handwritten notes for the interview itself, he told Martin.

Changing answers and confusion

Martin repeatedly challenged Tisabys answers. He asked Tisaby if he was embarrassed with the number of omissions defense lawyers had identified in his report.

As best  as best as I can recall Im not embarrassed, Tisaby responded. Thats as best as I can recall  .

Tisabys deposition also reveals inconsistencies in the writing of his report: Tisaby first said he started typing the report on his laptop. Then he said he didnt have the laptop with him when he wrote the report.

I might have at the time as I think back, Tisaby replied to Martins inquiries.

Do  do you see that youre changing your story again, Mr. Tisaby? Martin asked.

Tisaby told defense attorneys he went back to his hotel room at a lunch break during the deposition to check his laptop for notes. Later, he later admitted that he didnt bring it with him to St. Louis and had his wife check their home computer instead.

Tisaby stumbled repeatedly when asked if Gardner had told him that defense lawyers filed a motion seeking all his notes and reports from the case, saying late in the deposition that he missed telling defense lawyers that he and Gardner had discussed it.

You missed a lot of things during this deposition, didnt you? Martin asked.

Yeah, Tisaby replied. And we can come back and talk about them again now  now that I recall and I can gather my facts again.

A video surfaces

Gardner and Tisaby recorded their interview with Greitens accuser. But Tisaby told the defense in the deposition that the video camera hadnt worked.

Gardners office later turned over a copy of that video. Not only did it show Tisaby taking notes, but it also revealed an outline Gardner had prepared for Tisaby, defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum said. The outline hadnt been mentioned by Tisaby or Gardner previously and hadnt been turned over to defense attorneys.

A transcript of the interview shows Tisaby repeatedly asking the woman questions.

Moreover, Rosenblum said, Tisaby left out details from the interview that would have helped Greitens defense, including the womans belief that Greitens had feelings for her; their continued relationship after she said Greitens took the explicit photo; and her ex-husbands attempt to out Greitens alleged actions.

During Tisabys deposition, Gardner for whatever reason, chooses not to say anything, Rosenblum said. She could have stopped the deposition and counseled Tisaby or revealed the errors, Rosenblum said.

Martin told St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison during one pre-trial hearing, We have a multitude of lies, straight-out perjury, lies under oath by Mr. Tisaby. After the lawyers allegations, Burlison cautioned Gardner that he considered her answers to the defense allegations to be under oath and told her that she had a right to an attorney.

Gardner later admitted that Tisaby was wrong when he testified that he took no notes but said his error, along with defense claims of perjury and withholding evidence, failed to undermine the case. She also said she hadnt seen Tisaby taking notes.

Gardners chief trial assistant at the time, Robert Dierker, said in a court filing that Tisaby testified untruthfully, but agreed with Gardner that it didnt matter.

Perjury prosecutions rare

Gardners office now faces an aggressive grand jury investigation into Tisabys actions.

Still, prosecution of perjury during a deposition is rare, legal experts say. Several lawyers and judges contacted by the Post-Dispatch could not recall any similar cases.

For the most part, that never gets reported to anyone, Peter Joy, a professor at the Washington University School of Law, said of lies told during depositions. A lie in a civil case more likely would be used to impeach that lying witness at trial.

In criminal cases, its often a defense lawyer deposing a witness for the prosecution team, Joy said. Even if a lawyer thinks they caught a witness lying, there is typically little interest by the government to pursue perjury charges.

Moreover, false testimony is not perjury without someone having the intent to deceive, Joy said. And when it comes to someones faulty memory? Thats an absolute defense, he said.

The lie also has to be material, he said, meaning that it could influence the outcome of a case.

Lying about your age would not necessarily be important to a case, for example, unless it was a sex case that turned on the age of the victim, Joy said.

Gardner remains locked in a bitter fight with the special prosecutor, her political future on the line.

On Monday, a judge ordered Gardner to comply with a search warrant, and police seized a computer server from her office. The special prosecutor believes the truth of his investigation may be found there.

But he may only have this week to make his case. The grand jurys term ends on Thursday.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Robert Patrick Robert Patrick is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Robert Patrick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
May 10, 2016  The St. Louis County Port Authority awards Rallo a sham $100,000 marketing contract to promote the region in the wake of the Ferguson unrest. A month later, Sweeney tacks on $30,000 without board approval in order to pay off political operative John Cross, a close associate of Rep. William Lacy Clay, for his work on Stengers 2014 election. The Post-Dispatch reports on the contract in February 2018.

June 21, 2016  St. Louis County Council introduces legislation to move several county offices to Northwest Plaza, which the Stenger administration says will save $10 million over the term of the 20-year lease. It is one of the first deals to raise eyebrows about Stengers relationship with his donors and one of the biggest in his tenure. The owners of Northwest Plaza, Robert and David Glarner, have given at least $365,000 to Stengers campaign account. A Post-Dispatch investigation in February 2018 shows that the lease deal could end up costing money, and council members say they were misled about the deal.
(A police department spokeswoman later clarified that the year-to-date homicide rate is down 22 percent in 2019, not overall crime.)

Hayden said the city would have ended 2018 with nearly 30 fewer homicides than the previous year except for a two-day burst of violence that saw 11 people killed.

Last year, we went 363 days with 29 fewer homicides but for two days; one in which there were six homicides within a 24-hour period and another when there were five, Hayden noted.At the same time, he said, crime incidents of one day can affect peoples perception, so we cant let our guard down for the rest of the year.

Hayden noted that Chicago, a city with a land area thats about 3 times the size of St. Louis, has 30,000 cameras monitoring its streets that police can use. By comparison, St. Louis has fewer than 1,000.

Nobody knowingly buys or sells drugs on camera, he said. It would be great if we could have a high visibility camera and an LPR (license plate reader) at every major intersection. But people dont want the police to have cameras. Everyone has a camera on their doorbells, but dont want the police to have them.
DR. SAM PAGE

Age: 53

Family: Married to Dr. Jennifer Page; three children

Medical degree: University of Missouri-Kansas City

Medical experience: Past President of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists and the Missouri Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

Political career: City councilman, Creve Coeur, 1999-2002; Missouri House of Representatives 2003-08; Elected to St. Louis County Council in August 2014 after death of Kathleen Kelly Burkett. Served as chairman, 2017-2019.

Of interest: Served as the Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 499, and currently is a Merit Badge Counselor for Citizenship in the Community for the Greater St. Louis Areas Boy Scouts.
Mayor Rick Eberlin of Grafton, Ill., said he was surprised by the speed of the flooding.

Were seeing some things weve not seen before. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we witnessed a three-foot raise. I had a gentleman come into City Hall  85 years old  hes been through it all. He shook his head, he said, Mayor, Ive never seen anything like whats going to happen today.

And it happened. Kind of caught us off guard. As a matter of fact, the prediction graph was a couple days out. We thought we had more time to vacate the businesses along the river side of Main Street.

Eberlin said most of the roads to Grafton are now closed, with the only accessibility from the north, from Route 3.

Mayor Phil Stang of Kimmswick, which is on the Mississippi near the confluence with the Meramec River, said the town is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water.

On Friday morning, trucks carrying clay, rock and sand were rumbling past his home.

We've closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub, Stang said.
In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993 (Source: VNA)

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3rd./.
(CNN) -- Mount Everest is covered in trash.

Decades of climbing on the world's highest mountain have turned it into a very tall garbage dump, strewn with rubbish, human waste and even bodies.

But a dedicated -- and impressively fit -- team of volunteers are tackling the problem by carrying out one of the world's most ambitious clean-ups, and it's seeing immediate results.

Three metric tons (6,613 pounds) of garbage have been collected from the mountain in just the first two weeks of the scheme, according to AFP. That's about the weight of two SUVs, or a large male hippo.

The task is being carried out by a 14-member team, which has been set the task of recovering 10 metric tons within 45 days, the agency reported.

Waste recovered on the Everest Cleaning Campaign includes empty cans, bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear. An army helicopter has assisted in removing the garbage, and the team is set to ascend to higher camps to collect more.

Four bodies have also been located on the 8,848-meter (29,028 feet) mountain, officials said.
Innovation holds the promise of improving our lives in many respects and has been a defining feature of St. Louis for generations. This characteristic remains just as strong today as the city stands as a model for transforming from an older, industrial city into one driven by a new tech economy and a demonstrated openness to innovation.

It is this history of innovation that has led a national organization that advocates for autonomous vehicles as a way of reducing U.S. oil dependence to select St. Louis to launch an important national discussion on how this new technology might impact communities in the Midwest.

For generations, American prosperity relied on the industrial foundations of our nations heartland. Embracing cutting-edge technology, the Midwest powered growth on the domestic front and exported products worldwide. Yet, in the absence of competition, some of the very companies that led St. Louis growth in the last century ceased to innovate or increase productivity  and are no longer growth engines for our region.
Missouri Senate Bill 293 is an unnecessary proposal to further criminalize nonviolent civil disobedience at facilities deemed critical infrastructure. Under the proposal, a person could be charged with a Class C felony for applying graffiti to a telephone pole, egging an above-ground pipeline, or putting a sticker on a water intake facility  offenses that could carry up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The increased penalties apply to critical infrastructure that is operational or under construction.

The bill also establishes conspiracy charges for organizations that assist individuals in nonviolent civil disobedience. If enacted, an organization could be fined 10 times the amount charged to someone found guilty under this law. An organization like Missouri Coalition for the Environment could organize a legal protest where a person engages in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Even if the coalition did not know this act would occur, that may not stop a business or prosecutor from filing conspiracy charges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dave Brady

Title: VP of Sales

Phone: 937.415.1715

Date: May 1, 2019

ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS HONORS DAYTON FREIGHT AS A PLATINUM AWARD WINNER

DAYTON, Ohio  Dayton Freight Lines, Inc., a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, was recently honored with the Regional LTL Carrier Platinum Award from Echo Global Logistics, Inc.

This is the second consecutive year Dayton Freight has received this award which honors superior performance in on-time service, claims ratio, and customer service metrics such as communication and technology. Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Echo offers freight brokerage and managed transportation solutions for all major modes.
Sam Meech's ambition at the start of each regatta is to put himself in contention to finish on the podium going into the medal race and invariably he achieves that which is why he's the world's top-ranked Laser sailor.

The 28-year-old will once again race for a medal tonight (NZ time) and goes into the top 10 medal race at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres in second.

He can't win gold, with Australia's Matthew Wearn having established an unassailable 23-point lead over Meech, but the New Zealander has a handy five-point buffer over another Australian, Luke Elliott, in third. Olympic champion Tom Burton (yes, he's Australian, too) is another five points back in fourth.

Two other Kiwis will be in the medal race, with George Gautrey presently in ninth and Tom Saunders 10th to round out a good week for the New Zealand Laser squad.

The fifth day of racing saw plenty of action as winds in excess of 20 knots hit the coast off Hyeres which tested the sailors, especially as the Laser fleet got in three races. Meech banked scores of second, second and third to move up from fourth overall at the start of the day.

"It was good, fun racing," Meech said. "It was pretty exciting [in the strong winds] and there were definitely times when we were holding on downwind with a very short chop.

"I was in the top three in all of the races, so that was quite nice. Unfortunately, Matt Wearn was going really fast and it kind of sucks so he ended up winning the last two races fairly convincingly. By the last race I was really just hanging off the side of the boat trying to get around the course. The body is pretty tired now."

Medal races are much shorter and sharper than regular racing and feature only the top 10 sailors in a double points format.

No New Zealanders will feature in the Laser Radial medal race but Olivia Christie and Annabelle Rennie-Younger are showing good progress early in the new Radial programme.

The pair competed in both Palma and Genoa before Hyeres and will round out this block by competing at the Laser European championships in Portugal.

Laser Radial coach Rosie Chapman has been encouraged by the development of the youngsters.

"It has been great to see their progression," Chapman said. "There is a really good team ethic between them and they are working really hard.

"They are focusing on process goals and really going into every day with a goal they are trying to achieve on the water and this is really showing with some promising results. Both of them are regularly placing inside the top 10, top 15 in races, so not only are the results improving but, most importantly, they are improving all round."

Christie was 12th in two of her three races overnight to finish the regatta in 16th overall and Rennie-Younger achieved her third top-10 result of the event to finish 23rd.

Results and standings after the fifth day of the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres:

Laser (69 boats)

1st: Matthew Wearn (AUS) (7) 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 - 14 points

2nd: Sam Meech (NZL) 1 1 9 3 2 1 (13) 13 2 2 3 - 37 pts

3rd: Luke Elliott (AUS) 3 8 3 1 1 2 1 6 4 13 (17) - 42 pts

9th: George Gautrey (NZL) (22) 3 10 2 4 3 9 9 9 18 12 - 79 pts

10th: Tom Saunders (NZL) 21 2 11 6 12 5 3 11 (36 UFD) 6 5 - 82 pts

24th: Josh Armit (NZL) 19 18 4 16 9 7 24 27 10 (29) 25 - 159 pts

Silver fleet

60th: Luke Deegan (NZL) 26 30 28 25 30 24 21 16 (35 UFD) 12 - 212 pts

Laser Radial (50 boats)

1st: Maria Erdi (HUN) 1 4 (11) 5 5 1 8 (15) 2 1 4 - 42 pts

2nd: Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) 17 6 1 1 1 3 (19) 7 5 5 5 - 51 pts

3rd: Emma Plasschaert (BEL) 5 22 (26) 2 4 4 22 6 1 2 2 - 70 pts

16th: Olivia Christie (NZL) 31 11 21 9 12 37 (45) 28 12 12 17 - 190 pts
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Waihi Gold Mine operator, OceanaGold, has expressed extreme disappointment at the decision by the Minister of Land Information to not allow the company to purchase two farms on the outskirts of Waihi.

Waihis Senior Community Advisor, Kit Wilson, said the company had only just received notification at the same time the media release went out.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Eugenie Sage, Minister of Land Information, announced on May 3 that Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Ltds application under the Overseas Investment Act to purchase 178 ha of rural land for a new tailings reservoir near Waihi in Coromandel has been declined.

The minister and Associate Finance Minister David Clark considered the application and formed different views as to whether the substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand test in the Act was met.

The Overseas Investment Act determines that when Ministers form different views on an application it is declined.

Minister Sage does not believe using productive rural farmland to establish a long term tailings reservoir of mining waste creates substantial and identifiable benefits.

Associate Minister Clark believes that the proposed investment is likely to create substantial and identifiable benefits.

We are disappointed by what we have heard but have not had the opportunity to read the decision in full. We will review the decision and consider our next steps, says Kit.

The purchase of these properties would allow us to plan for the future and extend our investment in Waihi beyond the current life of the mine and our significant economic contribution locally, in the Hauraki region and nationally.

We operate in New Zealand in a responsible way and in line with community expectations and believe we have done that for thirty years at the Waihi, Reefton, and Macraes gold mines.

Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki welcomes the decision by Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage to decline an application by Oceana Gold to purchase an area of rural land for a new tailings dam.

"We agree with Minister Sage that there are far better uses for our productive land than to be used as a dump for toxic waste," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "The existing dam was built on productive farmland, that's more than enough area dedicated to storing this toxic sludge."

Coromandel Watchdog has always argued that one of the most negative elements of industrial gold mining is the toxic legacy left, including the vast stores of toxic waste from the extraction process.

"Many of the most toxic sites in Aotearoa have been mining tailings dams that have been abandoned or failed, says Augusta. This is not the sort of legacy that we should be leaving future generations, and it is not the sort of this we should be allowing multinational companies to create and then leave in our country.

The Waihi area also sits on a significant fault and the ongoing storage of toxic tailings in the area is of real concern from that perspective also.

"Another reason not to allow such a purchase for this purpose, the risks far outweigh the benefit."

OceanaGold Corporation is a multinational gold producer with operations in New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. OceanaGold has been operating in New Zealand for 29 years with mining operations at Waihi in the North Island and New Zealands largest gold-producing operation, Macraes, in the South Island. The company is also rehabilitating the former Globe Progress Mine at Reefton. The company say they account for around 1 per cent of the countrys exports, with gold in the top three exports to Australia.

OceanaGolds assets also include the Didipio Operation on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, the Haile Gold Mine, in South Carolina in the United States and a significant pipeline of organic growth and exploration opportunities in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2019, the Company expects to produce between 500,000 to 550,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper at All-In Sustaining Costs ranging between US$850 and US$900 per ounce sold.

On Friday the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved a separate application from Oceana Golds application to buy four residential properties in central Waihi. The residential land is being acquired for purposes incidental to mining activities.

Oceana Gold is considered to be a significant employer in the Waihi region and has undertaken a number of previous investments that are of benefit to New Zealand.

The OIO is satisfied that the investment is likely to benefit NZ.

Further information about this will be published next week. The OIO has proactively released information about the decision on the LINZ website.
Doreen McNeill opened her latest exhibition called XCbition on the same day as her 90th birthday.

Artists, friends and family turned out to wish Doreen a big happy birthday, with her cake decorated in a truly abstract style. The exhibition launch and party, held at The Incubator Gallery, was abuzz with music and conversation as people enjoyed the atmosphere.

After speeches and the cake cutting, the curtains were pulled back to reveal Doreens works hanging on walls. An excited rush of people quickly moved to apply red dots, signifying a sold painting.

The Roman numerals XC are for 90, so XCbition is a play on exhibition and highlights her 90th year  a rather clever combination of letters and numbers.

Im having a lovely day, says Doreen. Its lovely having so many friends here, all the artist friends from the art community of Tauranga.

With the collection of new works, she hasnt painted to any particular theme.

I was just painting, says Dorren. I love painting. Ive just been enjoying myself. I dont feel like doing any housework, I just paint and let them accumulate. I dont paint to any theme or end result, I just wait until I have a collection then put them together.

At the opening of the exhibition Doreen had about ten original works hanging, and about 20 unframed works on paper for people to cash and carry.

Doreen has been painting seriously for about 30 years.

She started her artist career draughting navigational charts for aircraft in the 1950s, which included time spent in Venezuela, the USA, Canada and Australia.

She lived in Bermuda from 1961-64 working as a surveyors assistant, and then from 1965-84 in the Bahamas doing architectural draughting. This is where she began to take painting seriously.

Her paintings have been exhibited in Hong Kong, where five works were selected to hang in the VIP Lounge of Cathay Pacfic; Taiwan, and in many exhibitions and collections in NZ.

Her friend and artist Jimi Colzato has filmed a documentary about her work titled Beyond Boundaries  a meeting with Doreen McNeill. This can be viewed on her website https://www.doreenmcneill.co.nz/documentry

The XCbition exhibition runs at The Incubator Gallery at the Tauranga Historic Village until May 15.
Fish & Game says theres been a healthy start to the new game bird hunting season, with the rosiest reports so far from the South Island.

Thousands of the more than 40,000 people licensed to hunt birds like mallards and paradise shelduck turned out early this morning for the start of the season.

On the West Coast, hunting conditions were ideal with low cloud, a moderate breeze and rain holding off, says Fish & Game Officer Baylee Kersten.

"Hunters had good success with the experienced getting close to their bag limits and novice hunters managing to bag a few."

Mr Kersten says hunters bag were very diversified with plenty of paradise shelduck harvested alongside greylards (hybrids from mallards and grey ducks), and the occasional shoveler and swan.

No compliance issues were detected by rangers on duty, he says.

Fish & Game officers in mid Canterbury say there were lots of birds around along with plenty of hunters in the fine clear conditions.

Up north, in Taranaki hunters spoken to had been happy with their morning although the number of mallards harvested had not been large.

However in the north of the region hunters on maize paddocks had done quite well with paradise shelduck, says Fish & Game Officer Allen Stancliff.

A Fish & Game spokesman says SAFE claims about the number of birds left injured are completely false, "fake news in the extreme."

"Most hunters use dogs to recover birds and wounding rates are low in New Zealand," he says.

"It is pleasing that so far there have been no reports of any firearm incidents and "we hope that things stay this way - it appears at this stage at least, that hunters have taken safety messages to heart."
Any move to rationalise port ownership in the Upper North Island is not likely to be welcomed by business says the EMA.

EMA Chief Executive Brett ORiley says suggestions coming out of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy that perhaps the three main ports Auckland, Tauranga and Northland could be rationalise their ownership to create a monopoly in the region are misguided.

Our members like the competitive tension between the ports and benefit from it, says Brett.

For some reason we seem to like creating monopolies in New Zealand when the best result for customers usually results from at least three competitive players in a market  look at the telcos.

The EMA is the largest business membership organisation in New Zealand and its base covers the region from Taupo to the Far North. Both major ports are members of the EMA.

Brett acknowledged that the issues around moving large volumes of empty containers created by the imbalance between imports and exports at the two main ports were a concern.

"But the ports and the freight distribution sector in general are already working on ways to minimise this issue. Collaboration between the ports and the freight sector, including coastal shipping, is the likely answer here, not forced amalgamation of ownership, says Brett.

Those distribution issues are exacerbated by the lack of investment in road and rail infrastructure, particularly around access to the Auckland and Tauranga ports."

As the report notes lack of infrastructure investment also hampers the case for greater volumes of freight or a dedicated car import hub at Northport.

"There is a strong political push to invest massively in rail from Northport to South Auckland to address this lack of infrastructure but we have to be very careful to ensure there is a strong business case to support this massive investment - especially when there is already a four-lane highway that goes almost half-way to Northport.

"Perhaps that is something the about to be formed National Infrastructure Commission could investigate before committing to massive investment in either or both the road and rail options."

Port of Tauranga has responded to the interim progress report on the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy released.

The Chief Executive of New Zealands largest port (handling 43 per cent of New Zealands total export volumes), Mark Cairns, says the progress report raised a number of themes and issues in the port industry and New Zealand freight network.

The progress report identifies well-known issues such as the need for increased investment in road and rail networks and the historic financial under-performance and inconsistent reporting by some ports, he says.

We challenge some of the facts, assumptions and implications in the interim report, and were hopeful these will be addressed before the next report due in June. For example, the report states that the Bay of Plenty and Waikato have benefitted from rail infrastructure and investment provided by the Government at no capital cost to the end user. This ignores the $267 million in rail costs paid by Port of Tauranga since 2010.

We look forward to hosting the working group on their first visit to Port of Tauranga in the coming months, says Mark.
ONONDAGA NATION -- Two people were taken into custody Saturday after a car linked to an armed robbery at the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop was stopped on Interstate 81.

The robbery at the 3951 Route 11 store was reported at 7:44 a.m.

Two masked men dressed in dark clothing walked into the smoke shop and threatened an employee, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman. The robbers -- one of whom was armed with a handgun -- demanded money from the stores safe, he said.

After stealing cash, the men climbed into a white Volkswagen and fled south on Route 11, Seeber said.

The amount of money stolen was not disclosed. No one was hurt.

Deputies and New York State Police troopers found the Volkswagen on Interstate 81 south near the LaFayette weigh station, Seeber said.

Two people were taken into custody. Their names have not been released.

This is still an active investigation, Seeber said.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Veteran Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury he suffered in spring training, will cap off his recovery with a short stay in Syracuse.

Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco confirmed that Lowrie, 35, will be in the lineup at least Saturday and Sunday when the Mets host Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at NBT Bank Stadium. Lowrie has played 1,109 with Boston, Houston and Oakland. New York signed Lowrie as a free agent in the off-season.

DeFrancesco managed Lowrie with the Astros in 2012.

"(Hes a) professional hitter. (Can) play all over the infield, a switch-hitter. Had some great numbers over the last couple of years. A great addition to the Mets. Once he gets healthy I think hell definitely lengthen out their lineup,'' DeFrancesco said.
Students of John C. Birdlebough High School in Phoenix celebrated at their junior-senior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Embassy Suites by Hilton on Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

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Students of Nottingham High School in Syracuse celebrated at their junior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

More prom photos

See all photo galleries from proms, senior balls, and other formals around Central New York.

Want to buy a photo?

As youre browsing the gallery, look for the BUY IMAGE link to order high-quality reprints and other products.
This week, the news broke that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been identified as the source of a leak from the National Security Council, and had been fired from the government.

The BBC reported on Theresa Mays decision to axe her Defense Secretary of 18 months having found compelling evidence suggesting [his] responsibility for the unauthorized disclosure. Subsequent to his sacking, and facing calls for a full inquiry into what happened, the Prime Ministers de facto deputy, David Lidington, has said the PM considered the matter closed.

But this matter is far from closed.

Mr Williamson denies that he leaked anything, and said in his response letter to the PM, I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position. He continued, I have always trusted my civil servants, military advisers and staff. I believe the assurances they have given me.

This is a situation that needs some close examination. The first thing to note is the difference between the accusation and the defense. May says there is compelling evidence suggesting Williamson did it. Williamson says hes confident neither he nor his staff did it. Why is Williamson mentioning his staff, when May does not?

Then theres also Mays use of the word suggesting Williamson was responsible. She was not so bold as to say she had definitive proof, and so this is not a move based on facts beyond reasonable doubt. Now, it would be incorrect to say that removing someone from Government should require the same standard of proof that a court would need, but its interesting nonetheless.

But this situation is far bigger than a single leaked sentence from a National Security Council (NSC) meeting. This situation is part of an extraordinary series of events that show a deeply concerning pattern of behavior from the British government, as they seek to court favor from the totalitarian and authoritarian Chinese regime.

Gavin Williamson

Mr Williamson has been an MP since 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Defense since November 2017. His voting record is largely in line with the Tory party as a whole. Heres an outline of his voting record to give you a sense of who Gavin Williamson is:

He has almost always voted against equality, human rights, and particularly gay rights. Hes against the right-to-die movement. He voted against investigations into the Iraq War. He voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in the UK. He voted consistently for more bombing of ISIS. Hes voted for the bedroom tax, for reduced welfare and disability benefits. Hes voted for increasing taxes on alcohol, not taxing bankers bonuses, restricting trade union activity and increasing university tuition fees.

This piece is not really about Williamson or an attempt to exonerate him. I have no idea whether or not Williamson was the source of the leak. This is about the UK Government cosying up to a despotic regime, ignoring security services across the Western world and prioritising its relationship with China above national security. Its a grim irony that its a leak from the NSC that confirms all this.

Alarm bells ringing

What should tell you that something fishy has happened is the fact that Williamson was just dismissed. If he shared information from the NSC, he has breached the Official Secrets Act, which is a criminal offense. If he didnt do it, he should keep his job.

Put another way, either hes committed a very serious crime and losing his job isnt enough, or hes innocent and should have the chance to clear his name. Firing him and saying thats the end of it isnt enough in either case.

What seems instead to be the case is that the Prime Minister doesnt like Gavin Williamson. In her letter she states that the other NSC attendees have all answered questions, engaged properly, provided as much information as possible to assist with the investigation, and encouraged their staff to do the same. Your conduct has not been of the same standard as others. (emphasis my own).

If this sounds vaguely sinister its because it is. Im reminded of the enforced clapping culture of North Korea, and the news that shortly after ascending to power, Kim Jong-Un had his uncle assassinated in order to shore up his own position. Strong and stable May has certainly looked in recent months like shes in need of some shoring up, and a move to rid herself of a half-hearted cheerleader may well simply be theatrics to show shes a tough leader.

We had a Defense Secretary who had never really broken ranks, who was well liked by the armed forces, who vehemently denied being the source of the leak and backed his whole team (unprompted), but didnt throw his heart into the investigation with the fervor required  and so has gotten the chop.

The leaked information and why it matters

The thing is, this whole Williamson sham is distracting the country from the much more important point. Lets remember what was actually leaked. The leak all-but confirmed that Huawei will play an integral role in providing telecommunications infrastructure for the U.K., most notably in delivering new 5G networks. According to the BBC, a decision on this matter was due at the end of spring.

Our 5G network will be a big deal. Smartphones have become ubiquitous. For the vast majority of people, their smartphone is hardly ever out of arms reach and is always connected, whether by Wi-Fi or 4G. These networks are powerful. Your 4G connection sends and receives data at incredible speed  every call, text, web visit, app download, everything is handled by encoded data being sent back and forth between your phone and your network provider. But more than that, using methods like triangulation from phone masts, your wireless carrier can track your location even when your GPS is turned off. 5G will be even more capable than current 4G infrastructure, and is therefore an even greater risk.

This leak and the confirmation of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G infrastructure are therefore big news, and for two main reasons. First, the decision flies in the face of advise from allied governments across the Western world, including the US which is lobbying the world to ditch the Chinese phone-maker from any upcoming infrastructure projects. Given President Trumps current schlong-off with China and the trade war/vanity project hes implemented, you may take that with a grain of salt. But its not just the US that is against Huaweis involvement. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Australia and more  the list of countries banning the companys involvement in projects is ever growing.

But secondly, and more importantly, its the latest confirmatory piece of evidence that shows just how far the UK is willing to go to cosy up to China.

China has been a major investor in the UK for the last decade. Did you know, for instance, that Heathrow, Thames Water, Harvey Nichols, Pizza Express, Hamleys, House of Fraser and even the National Grid  all ostensibly British operations  are owned or part-owned by Chinese investors?

China between 2005 and 2015 invested 30 billion into the UK. In 2017 it invested another 30 billion in a single year.

Former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne famously sought Chinese investment for just about everything going, and that trend has only continued under the present Conservative government.

Enough context, whats the problem

This all matters because the issue at hand is an actual issue of national security. Many of Britains allies have raised concerns that Huawei is, behind the scenes, putting countries at risk of spying and sabotage. The allegation is that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government. Huawei denies this, but realistically in China everything is controlled by the government.

Lets not lose focus on what China is. China is the nation of the ill-fated Tiananmen Square protests. It has strict censorship on information with the Great Firewall of China. It has the largest network of facial recognition technology on the planet, and is using it to implement a social scoring system to automatically punish citizens for non-criminal offenses. Most egregiously, China currently has tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims held in internment  sorry, re-education  camps. People in China can go missing for referring to President Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh.

This is not normal. This is not the behavior of the kind of regime we want to be inviting to build crucial infrastructure in the UK, especially against the advice of allies like the US and Canada.

Cyber warfare, whether its direct hacking or more indirect tactics like election meddling, is commonplace in the modern world. Its the main form of antagonism between super powers in the modern era. So allowing a foreign power with a history of egregious human rights violations to build vital infrastructure is like handing over the keys to businesses and citizens data.

This is all information that the National Security Council of all entities will be very aware of. The public should be demanding answers over and above the veracity of the allegations against Gavin Williamson. We should be demanding a full and independent inquiry into the depths of the UK governments relationship with China. Are we allowing Huawei unfettered access to the UKs personal and commercially sensitive information so as to appease their government and continue to generate investment? Is this a reactionary panic move to try and keep foreign investment in the UK buoyant in the face of Brexits already damaging effects?

The public need answers. Sadly, this government seems less than willing to give them.
After decades of extensive research, scientists have finally discovered a way to observe neural electricity in an actual living creature.

Adam Cohen, professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics at Harvard, first author Dr. Yoav Adam, and their cross-disciplinary research team have managed to transform neural electrical signals into sparks visible through a microscope by shedding light on the brain.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday, May 1.

Busy Brain

According to scientists, observing a real live session of neural electricity is just like watching a live broadcast of the brain. Since neurons are responsible for every thought and sensation living creatures feel, they send and receive massive amounts of information, which is still mostly incomprehensible to scientists until recently.

Electrical signals can travel from cell to cell at up to 270 miles per hour. At that kind of speed, trying to see neural electricity inside a busy brain is just like trying to see the electricity inside a telephone wire, which no naked eye can achieve.

So for scientists to observe firsthand how neurons turn information into behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, they created a particular procedure for them to see.

Talented Protein

Cohen got the inspiration from another study made by the researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. In the study, the MIT researchers introduced the protein Archaerhodopsin 3 to a brain and caused it to light up using a special tool. The tool then converted the light into electricity.

Archaerhodopsin 3 and its host organism was discovered by an Israeli ecologist in an ecological survey in 1980s. The organism is able to convert sunlight into electrical energy in a primitive form of photosynthesis because of the protein.

After years of studying, Cohen and his team found a way to reverse the organism's trick and use the protein to convert the electrical activity of neurons into observable flashes of light.

Red And Blue Light

Cohen and his team were able to manipulate Archaerhodopsin 3 to turn voltage into light when illuminated by a red light. According to the study, in that way, the protein will act as an ultra-sensitive voltmeter that changes with an electric jolt.

The team then paired Archaerhodopsin 3 with a similar protein that sparks electrical impulses in the neurons when illuminated with blue light. According to Adam, that particular process is vital for recording and controlling the cells' activities.

The red light is responsible for recording, and the blue light is responsible for controlling. Although the paired proteins work well in a dish, it was a real challenge for Cohen and his team to make the process work inside a living brain.

Making A Little Movie

It was five years of intensive research and interdisciplinary collaboration between statisticians, physicists, biochemists, computer scientists, molecular biologists, and 24 neuroscientists before the whole team managed to perform the experiment successfully in the brain of a living mouse.

By tweaking the proteins to work in a mouse brain, positioning the proteins carefully with genetic manipulation, and making a new microscope with a video projector specific for the whole process, they were able to glean positive results.

"You basically make a little movie," says Cohen.

The study is just the first step of many, according to Cohen and his team.

"A mouse brain has 75 million cells in it. So depending on your perspective, we've either done a lot or we still have quite a long way to go," added Cohen. The rest of the team is working on improving their software and tools to record the process clearer and on a broader scope.

According to Adam, he's positive that further study could help them reach maximum results.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a landmark move, FDA announces their first approval of a dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, which is produced by French pharmaceutical Sanofi Pasteur.

Dengvaxia is the first dengue vaccine approved to prevent all the virus serotypes of the mosquito-borne virus.

While FDA has given the go signal for the use of Dengvaxia, the agency stressed in a news release that the vaccine should only be used on individuals aged 9 to 16 years who have previously had dengue infections and live in endemic areas.

The virus is endemic in the following United States territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dengvaxia Provides Protection Against Severe Dengue

The first infection of the dengue virus is typically harmless with no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. Subsequent infections could be much more serious, possibly leading to severe dengue, such as the potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Ninety-five percent of all severe or hospitalized cases of dengue are already a second infection.

According to Peter Marks, M.D., the director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, getting infected by one serotype of the dengue virus will give an individual immunity against that specific serotype. However, if an individual gets a subsequent infection by any of the remaining three virus serotypes, he or she is at increased risk of developing severe dengue disease.

"As the second infection with dengue is often much more severe than the first, the FDA's approval of this vaccine will help protect people previously infected with dengue virus from subsequent development of dengue disease," Marks continued.

Dengvaxia Effectivity, Controversy

Sanofi's vaccine has already been approved for use in 19 countries and the European Union.

Previous studies have determined the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, with researchers finding Dengvaxia is approximately 76 percent effective in preventing dengue disease in people 9 to 16 years old who have already previously contracted a first dengue disease.

However, the vaccine is not without controversy. In the Philippines, which is the first country to approve the vaccine back in 2016, Dengvaxia has also been banned over safety concerns.

FDA says that Dengvaxia acts like a first infection in people who have not been previously infected by any senotype of the virus. Thus, if people who have never been infected by any type of dengue are given the vaccine, a subsequent infection can lead to severe dengue disease.

About Dengue

CDC reveals that over one-third of the global population lives in areas vulnerable to the dengue virus with 400 million cases annually. The virus causes dengue fever, which is a leading cause of illness in populations living in the tropics and subtropics.

"Dengue disease is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world and global incidence has increased in recent decades," said Anna Abram, FDA deputy commissioner for policy, legislation, and international affairs. "While there is no cure for dengue disease, today's approval is an important step toward helping to reduce the impact of this virus in endemic regions of the United States."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung no doubt championed the curved display tend, and although there have been complaints about these screens being more prone to damage than their flat-screened siblings, the company might go all out and unveil an even more aggressively curved variant.

According to noted tech insider Ice Universe, Samsung will be using a curved display on its next phone that's far more curved than past Galaxy handsets.

"[E]specially in the second half of the year, you'll see a very superb curved design, a more aggressive curved display than Note7 will appear," Ice Universe tweeted. Apparently, other manufacturers might also release a handset with this type of screen, not just Samsung.

Curved Displays

The Galaxy Note 9, S9, and S9+ all have curved displays, but they're subtle and serve more to accentuate their extremely thin side bezels. Years ago, curved screens wowed many consumers, but nowadays that initial luster is gone, replaced with frustration over these displays not lending particularly well to screen protectors or cases.

Given that, it's interesting to see what Samsung will do with the Galaxy Note 10. Perhaps that device's curved factor will have more going for it instead of just aesthetic value. If it's going to make the display more curved, hopefully Samsung has a clearer idea of how to enrich the user experience. When it first launched the Galaxy Note Edge, the phone was entirely different from anything else on the market, but excitement over curved screens has largely waned in favor of more straightforward bezel-less designs.

Centered Selfie Camera

Apart from a more aggressively curved display, the Galaxy Note 10 will apparently rock a centered selfie shooter. That's also courtesy of Ice Universe, who tweeted somewhat cryptically last month that "Da Vinci is symmetrical." The Galaxy Note 10 is codenamed Da Vinci. His tweet could be hinting that the phone will get a symmetrical design, which would mean the selfie camera being at the center, unlike the Galaxy S10 lineup's design.

Consider everything mentioned above as still rumors, though, so take them with a grain of salt. One thing is confirmed, at least  Verizon said Samsung will launch a 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 this year. The carrier failed to share any more details beyond that. Samsung is expected to launch two different Galaxy Note 10 models, including a smaller variant. Recent rumors also suggest that each version will be 5G-capable.

As always, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more. If you have any thoughts, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cocaine and other illegal drugs and even banned pesticides were found in shrimps in British waterways, according to a study.

Cocaine-laced Shrimps

Freshwater shrimps across 15 sites in the Suffolk River were found contaminated with various micropollutants such as cocaine, recreational drug ketamine, banned pesticide fenuron, and other chemicals. This is a cause for concern as these pollutants may pose risks to wildlife in rivers.

Even the researchers from King's College London and the University of Suffolk were astonished at the occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife in a rural county.

"We might expect to see these in urban areas such as London, but not in smaller and more rural catchments," said Leon Barron, a forensic science lecturer at King's College London and the study's coauthor.

A hundred percent of the Gammarus pulex shrimp samples tested positive for the presence of cocaine. The samples came from the Alde, Box, Deben, Gipping, and Waveney rivers.

Impacts Of Invisible Pollution

A total of 107 compounds of contaminant classes were found in the shrimps. Out of this, 67 compounds belong to pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs, and drugs of abuse while 56 compounds were detected with traces of cocaine and lidocaine. In addition, some banned pesticides also were present in the samples.

The concentration of the said substances are low and the potential effects on creatures were also likely minimal.

"Environmental health has attracted much attention from the public due to challenges associated with climate change and microplastic pollution," said Professor Nic Bury from the University of Suffolk.

The researchers said that the impact of "invisible" chemical pollution, such as drugs, on wildlife health needs further probing in the UK because studies such as these can often inform and influence the crafting of policies.

Water contamination is a rising problem as residue from insecticides, and recreational drugs are finding their way into rivers and water system. As to how the pollutants reached the bodies of water, still, remain unclear.

Water Pollution Affecting River Health

River health is said to be one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises. In 2017, at least 55 percent of the rivers in the UK are polluted by sewage or wastewater. There are more than 18,000 sewer overflows across England and Wales. Out of these, an estimated 90 percent discharge raw sewage or wastewater mixed with rainwater directly into the rivers.

Other river pollutants include wastes from agricultural pollution, oil pollution, loss from storage facilities, and spillage during delivery and deliberate disposal of waste oil to drainage systems. Radioactive substance is also polluting rivers. River dumping and marine dumping are also significant causes of water pollution.

The study is published in the journal Environment International.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google will hold its I/O Conference next week, May 7, where it is expected to make a few announcements, one of which are the two Pixel 3a smartphones: the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL.

While avid fans are excited about the alleged midrange price tags, nothing has been made official just yet.

However, a tipster may have just spotted the first units of the Pixel 3a XL in a Best Buy store. According to reports, the man was passing by a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio when he came across the packaged smartphone.

Just Waiting For It To Be Official

While the Pixel 3a XL was enclosed in a glass, it was left out there in the open for everyone to see. The two rumored color variations were both confirmed: one comes with a purplish tint while the other is the standard black.

Looking at close-up pictures of the merchandise, some of the earlier leaked specifications have been somewhat proven to be true. The Pixel 3a XL has a 6-inch screen and 64GB of internal memory. Other leaks say it will pack a 2,220 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 710 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and the famed Pixel Visual Core cameras.

On the other hand, the smaller Pixel 3a boasts a 5.6-inch display with 2,160 x 1080 resolution, and a Snapdragon 670.

Further leaks have gone as far as giving the two Pixel 3a smartphones their price tags at $399 for the regular Pixel 3a, and $479 for the XL.

Google Goes Midrange

Google's path to the midrange market is mainly attributed to the current models subpar performance against other top-tier mobile devices. Nevertheless, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he is confident that the company will regain its composure in the hardware department of smartphones. He also said Google is committed for the long term in its hardware efforts.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The second man to walk on the surface of the Moon is urging the human race to journey to Mars and stay there.

In an op-ed published on The Washington Post, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin commended the current administration for committing to send a manned mission to the Moon 50 years after he and colleague Neil Armstrong made that historic first time.

Buzz Aldrin Talks Mars

He is also urging the United States to make launching humans to the Red Planet a priority to ensure the ultimate survival of the species.

"Americans are good at writing fantasy, and incomparable at making the fantastic a reality," he said. "We did it with Mercury, Gemini, Apollo  and in thousands of other ways. It is time we get down to blueprints, architecture and implementation, and to take the next step  a sustainable international return to the moon, directly charting a pathway to Mars."

Moreover, the 89-year-old added that the goal should be to open the door for the "great migration of humankind" to Earth's neighboring planet and, eventually, farther into the universe.

"All of this is within reach for humans alive now, but it stars with a unified next step in space," he stated. "The nation best poised to make it happen is the United States."

This is not the first time that Aldrin has spoken about setting up a permanent human settlement on the surface of Mars. In an interview with Fox News last year, he discussed ideas to make the barren Red Planet more hospitable to human. He said that there is feasibility to the plans put forward by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson.

NASA's Mars Plans

NASA is already on its way to Mars, but it would take a bit more time before the first human makes the first step on a different planet. The U.S. space agency's current plans have a focus on getting American astronauts back to the moon and then setting up a base on Earth's natural satellite.

However, farther into the future, NASA also wants to send a manned mission to the Red Planet by 2030s.

In the meantime, a new rover that will study the Martian environment and identify the challenges that future human expeditions might face will be launched in July 2020. It is expected to arrive in Mars by February 2021.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is renewable energy on track to dethrone coal energy as the main source of energy for Americans? This Aprils energy production shows that it might be, but the battle for cleaner energy is still ongoing.

April 2019 Energy Production

Last April, for the first time ever, the production of renewable energy in the United States surpassed the production of energy from coal. This is bad news for the coal industry, but good news for the planet as energy production moves toward cleaner sources of energy.

According to the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the trend will likely continue in May, sporadically throughout the year, and in 2020 as well. This is despite the many setbacks experienced by the renewable energy sector, with politicians calling for more investments in coal and Federal subsidies for renewable energy being cut in half.

However, it is also important to consider that coal plants do tend to shut down during springtime for repairs, at the same time when hydrogeneration is at its peak. That said, this is still a momentous achievement in the cause to move toward renewable energy.

Road To Cleaner Energy

Does this mean that the United States is on the way to transitioning from coal to renewable energy? The road is still long on the journey toward renewable energy, but the movement is constant. In fact, in Texas, renewable energy sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar are steadily pushing coal out, with wind and solar energy topping coal energy production in the first quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, states such as Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and many others have also pledged to make aggressive clean energy plans, which will likely push the clean energy movement even faster.

Evidently, the coal sector does not find these movements to be important, but it does indicate the steady movement toward cleaner energy and away from coal. Whats more, the changes are said to be happening even faster than forecast. In fact, according to IEEFA research analyst Dennis Wamstead, this transition was not close to occurring five years ago.

Carbon Emissions

That said, the battle toward reducing carbon emissions is still under way. Last year, the United States carbon emissions rose instead of declined, primarily due to the carbon emissions of the transport sector rather than power plants.

This shows perhaps that apart from making the transition to clean energy, there are also many other aspects that need to be dealt with if we are to truly cut down on carbon emissions.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Meat

Short Story

Sagar ki lehare utthee hein, girti hein; Baat beeti raat beeti, Kehat lokvaasi, abhi raat baaki.

It was a job and I was lucky to have one. My father had been a peasant and toiled for rupees five a day. Most days the zamindar gave him wheat with the chaff and chafed if my father pleaded with his hands folded,Hazoor! Some cash...

What for? he would scoff, the scorn curling his upper lip and invading the look in his eyes as he puffed at his hookah.

Gaihu is enough, he spat.

Then my father would beg with hands folded, Hazoor, I have a wife, four children and need to cook with some oil and spices on firewood.

Firewood? spluttered the zamindar between his hookah, Bewakoof! and spitting on the ground he ordered: Use uppalas.

That is why my mother always called the cow our mother; as she gathered the cow pats and shaped them with her hands into oblong sheaves, drying them on the roof of our hut and then using them on the fire to cook, all the while coughing and spluttering over the fumes, she would exclaim, Our cow gives us everything! Milk for all of you and my teaor else I would have to drink it blackand look at her she is so benign and giving, that is why she is called gaumata. And I swear, they both had a look of understanding in their eyes, which can be called love.

Watching my father sweat by his brow, his shirt soaked in perspiration and then meted out daily humiliation for his wages between smoke and spit while my mother cooked over a fire on uppalas, I figured I would be free if I had a joba real jobwith the Sarkar which would give me wages without pleading and an uniform that would clothe me and my family with respect, removing the shroud of uncertainty and indignity.

I wanted to be unlike my father; no one feared my father, they just pitied himI have seen the look in my mothers eyesbut everyone feared the zamindar when he was around they lowered their eyes to the ground and called him Mi Baap and Hazoor.

If I wore the police uniform the people would respect me and wipe out the centuries of degradation that my family had lived under: toil, spit, dung and smell, all the while paying obeisance to the tehsildars under the British and then the zamindars. I hated the way he eyed my adolescent sisterwhose blouse was bursting at the seamswith impunity. I wanted to smash his hookah and have him hand over my father his wages with due respect.

When my father was born, India had just got her freedom, the people were learning that if someone folded their hands you did the same, in return. The condescending nod of the burra sahib, his colonial mansion overlooking a flight of steps, their memsahibs twirling their fine gowns over polished wooden dancing floors resting on the upholstered arms of a sahibwho complained of ruling the bloody natives in the heathad gone at the stroke of the midnight hour. Gone was the barking of their dogs accompanying them for a shikar with servants carrying them in palkis, as they assumed valour in shooting a tiger that had been set up for them.We had to carry the white man andhis burden! They left only after tearing us asunder into two countriesthey called it a double dealbut we were free at last.

I dont know how free my parents were, though my father still toiled under the zamindar and borrowed money at rates that made Shylock look generous. While my mother always looked patient and long sufferinga milked cowserving her in-laws and family, supplying and catering to our needs, never her own.

One day she told me, Sukhdev. I was lying on the charpoy half asleep and mumbled Haan.

I am getting old. How long will I go on milking the cow, making uppalas, cooking for all of you? she coughed, Trying to make do with the little your father earns? I listened feeling ashamed and helpless.

I want you to get a pucci naukria permanent jobnot something on the whims and fancies of anyone. I agreed with her fervently but didnt say anything. Nothing, they say in our part of the world, is in our hands, its all with the upparwala. So I studied, passed my school and college and then sat for the entrance exams to be a policeman and got shortlisted for the interview.

My mother prayed, my sister went to the temple, how fervently everyone wanted me to get the job. They asked me at the interview why I wanted to be a policeman and I replied, I want to serve my country. This amused the board member who raised his eyebrows at the chairman, who smiled, Lets see, he said, noting something down.

When the results were announced my mother was so proud she made besan ke ladoos and despatched them to the entire village with a declaration: Voh vardi pahenega and as I donned my uniform and left for the training she engaged me in absentia to a girl from another village. When I protested, I dont even know her, what to speak of love, she responded, Oh, but you will grow to love her. Just look at her photograph, she is so fair, like our cow. Revathi was indeed fair and beauteous and after the whirlwind of our marriage, we lived as we have always livedlike millions of couples before us.

I was conscientious in my job and rose to be an investigating officer. One day I got a call from my boss. A man has been killed. Go and check, he ordered.

I drove down in the police vehicle with the red light flashing. AsI reached the village, I saw a group of people that dispersed as soon as they saw the police vehicle approaching, but I put that down to the standard apprehension people have of the police, they now see us as oppressorsthe new Raj.

The man as I entered his kitchen was bleeding profusely. He had been hit on several places and as I felt his pulse, I realised he was already dead. He had obviously been eating as I saw the half-eaten food on his thalilentils, chapattis and some meat andan overturned glass of waterthen I noticed a strange light shining on his face. I looked around for the source and saw the refrigerator door open. I walked towards it and looked in. It had the usual stuff: eggs, vegetables, butter and in the freezer some thanda gosht.

I took photographs of the dead man from different angles, but I still could not figure out the angle behind the murder, for this was not a murder but a lynching. A mob had entered as I could see from the commotion inside, many people had attacked the man and several things in his kitchen had been smashed: the matka that kept the water, utensilswhich one by one had been thrown at him and the refrigerator door had been wrenched open with such force that its handle had come off. Village enmity I had reasonedhad his son run off with someones daughterbut even then this was too extreme, it didnt warrant so much violence.

I asked my colleagues to take his body for a post-mortem. The post-mortem revealed death by injuries which were several: on his head, arms, legsbut most were mainly on his stomach. It was there that he had been dealt severe blows. In his stomach they had found some food, not unusual as he had been eating when the crowd entered.

Then my boss called me, Go to the refrigerator and get the gosht he ordered. I thought he had gone off his rocker, with the stress of this job it is quite normal. Then he asked me to get the gosht sent for forensic examination. I did. After a few days I got a yellow envelope from the lab, with the words:

Meat. Putrified. Foul smelling.

Meanwhile the press was rocked with the lynching. They reported that a cow had gone missing in the neighbourhood and the priest of the local temple had announced over a loudspeaker that the missing cow was being eaten in the mans kitchen. The villagers were incensed and as they invaded the mans kitchen he had leapt up in alarm - which explained the half-eaten food in the thali and the overturned glass of water - and had been beaten.

The forensic report did not state what meat it was. So I asked.

They sent me a terse reply:

Mutton

I told the intrepid reporter doing her beat that it was just that and she quoted me in the daily. I got a whiplash from my boss, Bewakoof! he yelled, you mutton-headed fool! I was used to the zamindar mouthing abuses at my father, but didnt expect this in my line of duty.

Who told you, it was mutton?

The lab, Sir, I replied dutifully.

Its beef.

But...

Dont but me, he said, from now on you say, its beef.

I noted down that my superior said it was beef and I did not tamper with the lab report; I was not going tobe part of a rebuttal controversyI took my job seriouslyafter all I was the investigating officer.

Then a strange thing happened, the murdered mans daughter made a statement to the press, If the meat in our fridge is proved not to be beef, will you get my father back? I felt as if a cow had butted my stomach as I realised with a wrench,I knew what that beef really was. The case soon turned from a beefy story to the nations headlines and the village became a stop where politicians of every hue came and exhorted the youth to stand for unity with the cow or otherwise, depending on their political affiliation.

Meanwhile I arrested the main accused, Nathuram along with a few other known offenders. They were largely unemployed vagabonds who made it a point to stop any vehicle carrying goods and search it. If it contained cattle - whether it was a milch cow or not - thetravellers were dealt blowsall in the name of gaurakhsha. Then Nathuram died in the lock-up. I admit the police do get a trifle feisty but when they draped his body in the tricolour and asked the people to pay homage to a hero, I was stunned; if they had taken his urine sample they would have known he was a confirmed alcoholic who had a bout of jaundice.No one bothers about erstwhile deaths in police custody but mine is not to question why, but to go on with my duty.

Then they asked Zabardast Zohra to step down from a movieshe was PakistaniI was desultorily watching her desi substitute, who just didnt have the breast- shaking, hip-swiggling oomph of Zabardast. The film ended with the national anthem which was now mandatory and I saw an old man who remained seated. A bunch of young men yanked him up, you got no respect for the flag they yelled. He kept protesting he had a problem with his knees and they kicked him on his knee caps! I kept pretending I was not there; it was dark and easy to exit but I was wondering if the law was to be maintained by the derelict and the unemployed was my uniform even worth its laundry?

Outside a woman threw her shoe at a man who was selling biryani. He kept pleading Buffallo only, maam, but we were all moving in a herd, so no one quite heard his piteous cries. The poor fellow did not realise thatnamaz could not be offered in a public park and if a cow strayed before a bullet train, it was the driver who would be mowed down. You had to now cow down before a blinkered, manoeuvred people; someone was driving the cattleus.

Once upon a time we used to argue till the cows came home, but now we spoke in one voice. One day I dared to ask for leave for my silver anniversary, but my boss responded with a terse No; I always knew he was thick-skinned but he had now developed a hide. My bushy moustache quivered with rage, but I was silent. Then he explained, There is a build-up of tension over the temple issue, just in case reinforcements are needed... Had they seen the delivery of Ram to call thatspot his precise birthplace thousands of years later? Oh! How I wish someone would deliver me from the banalities I was condemned to serve under.

Revathi had said she wanted a washing machine and a dryer, the last was what dried my juices. Whats wrong with the clothes line? I had asked rather dryly.

Why should everyone in the village know the colour of my underwear and bras? Am I not entitled to my privacy? she had interrogated me. Privacy! Had she forgotten that when we had got married she and I had shared the one room we had and my old parents had slept out in the cold with an extra quilt for cover? Then she said if I bought her one set of cultured pearls she could get two for the price of one and when I raised my eyebrows, she explained with a flourish ofhands around her neck, it was the Deck Her Sale.

I was numb with the cold consumerism and the ease to do business that had swept my land while most were still doing their morning business by the roadside, as the trees had been felled for the malls and public toilets if any,were kept locked. I felt my country had become a roadside rodeo show with the cows having mounted; but I kept my feelings close to my heart, its the way of us men in uniform, we maintain a starched silence.

Tension bahut rakhte homy colleague had said, when I confided in him that on an honest policemans salary, this was not possible.

You should learn to compromise and everything will flow.

Compromise?

Han bhai, become a word-changer.

Whats that? I asked curiously.

His voice dipped, Take out mutton and insert b...

His words chilled me to the marrow. I did not become a police officer to be a word-changer. I was the son of a peasant and loved my job because it gave me respect, I was not going to trade that for anything.

Then my wireless buzzed.

I.O, I answered.

Car, spluttered the other side remotely and trailed off. Ever since the wireless tender went to the company that paved the middle ground for jets, both our planes and words take flight and get grounded in mid-air.

Car crashes, I deciphered helpfully.

Where?

Burrashahr district.

Village?

Durbudhi. And then he went off.

Burrashahr was located near the place they wanted to build the temple and had got every child in the surrounding area to send a brick, with the slogan:

Bacha Bacha Ram ka Janmboomi ke kaam ka -- every child is of Ram of use to his birthplace.

But why should there be car crashes in Durbudhi village, I wondered. I got into my vehicle and drove. Driving by the desolate countryside at night I did not feel forlorn; I had the stars overhead for company and felt I was on a chariot going to do my righteous duty; I felt like the God Ram himself.

When I reached the police station a mob surrounded my vehiclethey were displaying cow carcasses and stoning my jeep as if I had done it. I stayed calm; there were a hundred mouths screaming and they were hurling bricks, notstones. I steadied myself as one hurledthrough the windshield. I took out my revolver, I knew one shot in the air and this crowd of carcass waving derelicts would scatter  I summoned the courage of my uniform and its long line of duty.

Then in the melee something whizzed past and lodged itself in my chest. I was frozen; just then my phone rang. I knew it was my boss calling. Bewakoof! he would say. I tried my best to take the call but my hand would not obey my command. I wanted to say, Sir, situation under control. There will be no riot but no word came out of my mouth.

Then the door was wrenched open and I heard a quiet, dangerous snarl, Is he thanda gosht?

The other shoved a slab under my nose, roughly. I recognised thesmell; I swear it was putrified beef. I passed out; then he placed very carefully, the beef on the nape of my neck and said, Double-decker.

Sagari Chhabra is an award-winning author and film-director.
Sprint may start selling the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, and Pixel 3 XL in the foreseeable future.

Pixel phones have been an exclusive to Verizon ever since they were released back in 2016, though the unlocked version has always been available at the Google Store too. Now it seems things are changing up a bit as more carriers seem to be getting the green light to carry the devices.

Pixel Phones On Sprint

Android Police obtained an image that's alleged to be Sprint's plans to put at least three Pixel phones on display in one of its stores. If this turns out to be the real deal, then the Pixel 3 XL is guaranteed to be available from the carrier soon. At that, it's not a stretch to think that the smaller Pixel 3 is going to be included in the mix.

As for the other two, they're listed down as "Google S4" and "Google B4." These could be referring to the Pixel 3a's and Pixel 3a XL's code names "sargo" and "bonito," respectively. There's a good chance that these are just a coincidence, though.

Google is scheduled to officially unveil the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL on May 7 at its 2019 I/O developer conference. The event is just a few days away, and that makes the timing of the image outlining Sprint's Pixel display plans turning up all the more believable.

Expanding Availability Of Pixel Phones

Back in April, a report said that T-Mobile will be carrying Pixel phones soon. According to the source who divulged the info, the carrier is adding not only the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL to its lineup but also the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. It's even said to have plans to support Google's next-generation smartphone, which will presumably be called Pixel 4.

Assuming the reports are all accurate, then the only major carrier in the United States that's left is AT&T. On that note, it won't be surprising to see a report pop up out of nowhere, saying that the carrier will sell Pixel phones too.

Recently, Google admitted that sales of its Pixel hardware were slow, saying it was because of "year over year headwinds." The introduction of a more affordable midrange phone and wider availability could turn the tide. The word in town is the Pixel 3a will start at $399, while the Pixel 3a XL at $479, though those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Eddie and Ann Palmer, owners of Antiques on the Avenue in Rayne, were named Business Person of the Year by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce. The Mississippi natives have been married for 52 years.

Ann and I met when we were both in grammar school in Tremont, Mississippi. We were childhood friends then (beginning in 1951), dated in high school (classes of 62 and 63) and were married in 1967, just after I finished a bachelors degree at Mississippi State and just before entering a masters program there. Ann and I began picking during that time in order to supplement meager wages and also began going to nighttime and weekend auctions where we would buy furniture and collectibles, take those items to another auction and sell them through that auction on consignment.

After finishing a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, we moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1975 where I began teaching sociology at Texas Tech. Ann enrolled in and finished a bachelors program in housing and interiors and then opened a draperies and interiors business in Lubbock. We appreciate the smooth surfaces, curves, lines and moderne features of streamlined art deco furniture and continue to collect these pieces for ourselves and for our shop in Rayne. We joke about bonding with the inventory when we locate pieces we fall in love with and occasionally ask for visiting rights to a clients home to see the piece when it is moved from our shop.

We moved to Lafayette in 1985 when I was offered a job at (then) USL. Ann closed her business in Lubbock, and we moved many of our favorite pieces to Lafayette, having to store many pieces because we had too much to fit into our town house. Even after moving into a larger house, we were still cramped and eventually decided to sell off excess pieces. Ann outlined a plan to downsize by taking pieces to antique stores and outdoor markets and quickly found buyers for some of our pieces. Deciding to go back in business, the move to Lafayette allowed us to continue our passion for collecting, refinishing, stocking and selling on a part-time basis. It is hard to get treasure hunting out of ones blood.

Periodically making good finds is what motivates much of our treasure hunting behavior. One of our finds happened a few years ago, after I had retired from UL and after we bought and opened our antique business in Rayne, when we bought a warehouse filled with hundreds of old foundry mold patterns, some about 100 years old. These patterns are often rough, dirty and scarred but are beautiful and attractive after sanding several times, hand waxing and being staged in attractive settings (many are used for center pieces on tables or for wall hangings). Many customers are seeking unique decorative pieces, and these are perfect for their tables, rooms and offices.

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We found a vacant building in Rayne in 2007 that met our needs. We bought the old Peoples Drug Store building, which dates back to 1884. It is on a corner lot across the street from the famous Mervine Kahn building and is adjacent to The Warehouse, another building of historical significance. The Peoples Drug Store was a gathering place for many of Raynes citizens for years, and we love being regaled with things that happened in and around the store in the past. We encourage people to visit with us, sit around the table for coffee and reminisce.

I chair and serve along with Ann and 12 others on the Rayne Old Spanish Trail Committee, a group sponsored by the City of Rayne and The Rayne Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway (U.S. 90) is considered by many to be the Route 66 of the South. The roadway runs from Saint Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California. Under the auspices of the OST100 organization located in San Antonio, Texas, Rayne became the first Official OST City in the nation in 2016. Crowleys annual car show contains an OST component with an OST motorcade.

When we were informed by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce that we had been selected as Business of the Year and Business Persons of the Year for 2019, we were totally surprised and completely humbled. We are so appreciative of this honor, especially because we are much smaller than many other businesses in Acadia Parish. The award validates some of our activities and provides an incentive for us to continue to work through our business to make more friends, satisfy more customers and network through the parish to increase commercial activity where possible.
Before the first shovel of dirt has been dug, the future $29.6 million Ascension Parish courthouse proposed for Gonzales is already $4.6 million over budget.

The cost estimate for design, engineering and construction of the three-story courthouse is at least 18 percent higher than what parish officials had hoped two years ago. The judges, Clerk of Court's Office and Sheriff's Office have agreed to cover the difference out of their own funds.

Clerk of Court Bridget Hanna, who relies on self-generated fees, is covering the bulk of the cost overrun at $3.2 million.

The parish originally incurred $25 million in bonded debt for the project, to be repaid from a $150 increase in fees for lawsuits and $30 increase for other civil court filings.

The Legislature approved the fee increases in 2017, but court officials said this week that as they got into the design of the building, the cost was much higher than the $20 million to $25 million an initial feasibility study estimated. That study was the basis of the project's financing.

Safety, space prompt plan for $25 million courthouse in Gonzales; civil filings fees would go up GONZALES  The judges of the 23rd Judicial District and other court officials are eyeing a new Ascension Parish Courthouse, saying overcrowdin

The more than 90,000-square foot building will have eight courtrooms and cost an estimated $27.4 million to build. As a cost-saving measure, only seven courtrooms will be fully finished and trimmed out, Hanna said.

Parish government won't pay for the building's construction, court officials said, but will take ownership responsibility after it is built on East Worthey Street next to the parish Governmental Complex.

At the urging of the judges, the clerk of court and the sheriff, parish government agreed to pursue $25 million in new debt in 2017 to finance the building. Court officials said then that demands from an increasing docket and troubling security concerns at the 16-year-old Courthouse Annex in Gonzales required a new building.

One of the major worries has been that the Courthouse Annex on South Irma Boulevard doesn't have a way to sequester prisoners easily and separate them from the judges and other court personnel, all of whom must use the same back hallways to enter the courtrooms.

+2 Ascension courthouse project inching forward GONZALES  After Ascension Parish and judicial officials spent last year gathering support and lining up funding for a new parish courthouse, 

Judge Jason Verdigets said court officials tried to model the Ascension courthouse on Livingston's and it is actually smaller than the courthouse in the town of Livingston.

"It was just total building prices as things go up," Verdigets said.

The latest construction estimate of $27.4 million came after trimming about $1 million in costs off the bid from builder The Lemoine Co., but another $2.1 million in engineering, architectural, testing and management fees bring the total cost to $29.6 million.

Long-term financing for new Ascension courthouse annex in Gonzales inches forward; court fees may increase GONZALES  Jason Verdigets, senior judge of the 23rd Judicial District Court, said Tuesday the court's judges and other local officials are se

Gasper Chifici, the courthouse project manager, suggested the early estimate was too low, noting that architect GraceHebert, which has experience designing courthouses, told parish officials from the start that the building couldn't be built for $25 million.

"I think had the original price been reasonably correct, I think it would be about where we are," said Chifici, who became project manager after the feasibility study and finance deal were completed.

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Mike Rice, vice-president of The Lemoine Co., said he could not speak to the past feasibility study but noted all owners start with a number.

"I would think through the final design of everything, they found some things that they need to have and found ways to pay for it and the final budget was ($27.4 million)," Rice said.

+6 Ten-plus years in the works, new $20M Livingston Parish courthouse almost ready to open After more than a decade of planning and nearly two years of construction, the new Livingston Parish courthouse soon will open its doors for b

Earlier this decade, parish officials in Livingston ran into similar problems with the total cost of their 110,000-square foot courthouse north of Interstate 12. The building came in about $3.2 million more than the $17.2 million debt that parish had taken out for the new courthouse. The local government agencies involved in that project also had to split the overage but also made up some of the extra cost with sales tax savings on materials purchases.

Judge recuses himself from Matassa's bribery case, cites work with him on new courthouse GONZALES  Judge Jason Verdigets recused himself Thursday from presiding over the election bribery case against Ascension Parish President Ken

The significantly higher cost for the Ascension courthouse only emerged in public Thursday as court officials were before the Parish Council seeking approval for a maximum construction price of $27.9 million.

The courthouse project has been designed and will be built through a process known as "construction management at risk," in which the architect and contractor work together from the start. The builder agrees to a maximum price upfront.

The $27.9 million maximum price has a built-in contingency that could be returned to the government agencies if it isn't needed.

Parish Council members had few questions about the increased costs but were in a more congratulatory mood as their vote to back the maximum construction price and for a related agreement with the court officials set the stage for construction to start.

Later, after the necessary votes, the court officials and council members posed for a photograph in front of the new courthouse renderings, which rested on an easel in the council chambers at the historic red brick Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville, Ascension's west bank courthouse.

One area of focus from the council Thursday were the future east bank courthouse's drainage impacts in Gonzales. The building will go up near East Ascension High School, an existing Clerk of Court building, the parish Governmental Complex and medical offices.

Chifici, the project manager, explained to Councilmen Bill Dawson and Daniel "Doc" Satterlee that a drainage study found that the fill used to raise the bottom floor of the courthouse will be offset by a large, existing pond that is part of the future courthouse property.

Chifici said the pond will be excavated to hold more water. The pond and other drainage works have been shown to improve drainage in the area up through a 100-year rainstorm, he said.

Drainage around the courthouse has been a point of concern since last summer. East Ascension Drainage Chairman Dempsey Lambert, who is also a parish councilman, had linked the future courthouse with a delay in new rules that would limit how much dirt can be used to raise homes and businesses, even when the flooding-effects of added dirt is counteracted with detention ponds.

Lambert said then that the courthouse, which will be near a small ditch, may have to be raised up on dirt more than 3 feet high.

But Chifici said Thursday the studies now show the courthouse will need dirt piled, on average, no more than 1.8 feet high, though some lower areas could require more.

At that height, he said, the courthouse will be level with East Worthey and the adjacent parish Governmental Complex. Chifici said that after agreements are signed and some initial planning happens, demolition and dirt work could begin soon.
An attorney for one of the teachers seen restraining a student in a video that went viral from Ponchatoula Junior High School in March said the school superintendent capitulated to pressure from public opinion when she fired him earlier this week.

My client got fired because he happened to be a white teacher breaking up a fight between two black kids. Period, attorney Tony Clayton said in an interview Friday.

Clayton is representing English teacher and school disciplinarian Rusty Barrilleaux.

Both teachers seen in the video were dismissed, Mona Icamina, a representative from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, confirmed Friday.

Report: Video of teachers restraining student is 'disturbing,' Tangipahoa schools leader says The Tangipahoa Parish schools superintendent said the video that circulated on social media last week showing two teachers physically restrain

Superintendent Melissa Stilley declined to speak on the issue, saying in an email, "We cant comment on any specific personnel actions for our employees at this time. She previously called the video disturbing but said a full investigation needed to be done.

"Anyone that watched that video, if they're honest, would say it was very disturbing and upsetting to see that and the things that were said to the student," Stilley told Action News 17, a local television station in the Florida Parishes in a video posted April 2.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The school system had been conducting an investigation since March 28 when the students mother posted the video to Facebook. It shows two teachers trying to pin down the girl on the concrete, with one of the teachers cursing the student as the other teacher drags her by the leg.

The video sparked outrage across social media.

Authorities said the video shows the aftermath of a fight between two students that the teachers were trying to break up.

In defense of his client, Clayton pointed to a video he says captures the moments before the two teachers intervened. That video shows two girls grabbing at the others shirts and punching each other in the head as more students stand by in the courtyard. At the end of the 11-second clip, a teacher Clayton identified as Brett Chatelain can be seen pulling one of the girls away from the fight.

The other kid let her go, and she and Mr. Chatelain went down to the ground, which put Mr. Chatelain on top of her torso, Clayton said.

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Barrilleaux can be seen in the widely shared video pulling the girl by the leg on the concrete. Clayton said he grabbed the girls leg to keep her from kicking Chatelain.

Rusty Barrilleaux merely came in to help control the situation, Clayton said, adding later, Any man worth his salt wouldve stopped those kids from hurting one another.

Efforts to reach Chatelain, a physical education teacher, were unsuccessful Friday.

Clayton said Barrilleaux was vindicated by an evaluation of the incident from Bruce Chapman, president of Handle With Care, a company hired by the school system to train school staff on appropriate discipline.

In an email shared by Clayton, Chapman says his opinion based on the two videos is that the two teachers used a minimal degree of force to control this student; in a manner consistent with a reasonable person standard.

Be also advised that training in effective physical intervention strategies and methods prior to this incident would have allowed them to use even less force, Chapman wrote.

Clayton is also claiming that Barrilleaux was tenured and thus should have had a due process hearing before he could have been terminated. In an April interview with ActionNews17, Stilley said both teachers were tenured, although Clayton said Stilley later denied that Barrilleaux had tenure.

In the weeks since the incident, Barrilleaux has received threats and had to move his family to an undisclosed area for safety, Clayton said. But Barrilleaux stands by his actions, Clayton said.

Ponchatoula Police investigated the fight and submitted their findings to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who has not yet said whether he'll seek charges against the teachers or the students. Clayton said police wanted to arrest the student who had been restrained but Barrilleaux told officers "he didn't want her to endure this."

John Williams, an attorney for the family of the girl seen in the viral video, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Three weeks after the incident, the girl seen restrained on the ground and her mother, Althea Abron, were both arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office on an unrelated investigation. Authorities searched the house regarding burglaries allegedly committed by the girls older brother. The girl was arrested for interfering in a police investigation and held for six days at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. Abron was arrested on an outstanding warrant for identity theft, as well as new counts of child endangerment and drug possession after deputies found some marijuana in a Pringles chip can.

Williams previously said he believed the arrests were retaliatory.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Tagore and Gandhi

by Jayanta Kumar Ghosal

The following article is being published before Rabindranath Tagores 158th birth anniversary which falls on May 9, 2019.

This year being the sesquicentenary of Mohadas Karamchand Gandhi, it is important to have a focus on the two great personalities like Tagore and Gandhi. It is now very much pertinent to have an account of their relation-ship in a nutshell. Because it is really amazing to observe that India with her many back-wardness produced two such mighty men in the period of one generation.

Gandhi was younger to Tagore by eight years and when he first met Tagore, he was yet to attain a national stature in the country, though he was widely known to Indians for his great work in South Africa. And actually for this work Tagore came to know Gandhi. C.F. Andrews and W.W. Pearson acted as the catalytic agents here. And the relationship between the two deepened.

As early as on February 1915, we observe Tagore referring to Gandhi as Mahatma and Gandhi immediately adopted the form of addressing Tagore as Gurudev. But theirs was not a friendship based on just mutual admiration. They differed on fundamental philosophical questions which led to differences about many political, social and economic matters. Both were unsparing in their debate and it must be remembered that neither of them succeeded to convince fully the other. Each accepted cordially the others right to differ.

There were many striking contrasts between the two personalities and, as Romain Rolland wrote his observations in a letter to Tagore in 1923 on the noble debate between the two, that it embraces the whole earth, and the whole humanity joins in this august dispute. Yet the two found some common chord and there began a friendship which lasted till Tagores death in 1941.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was close to both of them, with great astonishment commented on the relationship of the twoThe surprising thing is that both of these men with so much in common and drawing inspiration from the same wells of wisdom and thought and culture, could differ so greatly. No two persons could probably differ so much as Gandhi and Tagore in their make up or temperament. Tagore even raising a question on the honesty of the works of Gandhi saidI wonder whether you are being quite fair to our people, Gandhiji or quite honest with them?(Quoted in Poet and Plowman by Leonad Elmhirst)

To compare and contrast them is very interesting. Tagore, basically an artist, was of strong democratic temperament with great sympathies to proletariats, represented the cultural tradition of India in the truest sense, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness and going through it with songs and dance.

Gandhi was more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant. In Gandhi we see the other side of the ancient Indian tradition which was of renunciation and asceticism. Tagore was primarily an intellectual, a man of thought while Gandhi put great emphasis on concentrated and ceaseless activity.

Both Tagore and Gandhi took much from the West and also from the East. This was more so in the case of Tagore. The two at the same time refuted narrow nationalism. Their thoughts and messages were for the whole world towards achieving the emancipation of global mankind. At the same time both were cent per cent Indias sons. They have inherited and represented the age-old culture of Indiatheir motherland.

Tagore looked upon Gandhi as a liberated soul who according to him .... is a great man, a great soul and ... wields tremendous power over the teeming million of India. And the secret of Gandhis success, as Tagore observed, lies in his dynamic spiritual strength and incessant self-sacrifice. He also said that Not because of his political prudence, but for his spiritual influence the people believe in him and they are ready to die for their faith and always ready to suffer. And to Tagore, It is a miracle that these people, downtrodden for centuries, are coming out; and without doing any injury to others they suffer and through suffering, conquer. And Gandhi, as Tagore observed, also greatly influenced Indian women folk who only the other day ....were secluded in their own inner apartments. They, too, have come out to follow this man, this leader.

Analysing Gandhi, Tagore wrote on February 28, 1939when Mahatma Gandhi came and opened up the path of freedom for India, he had no obvious medium of power in his hand, no overwhelming authority of coercion. The influence which emanated from his personality was ineffable, like music, like beauty. Its claim upon others was great because of its revelation of a spontaneous self-giving.

Prior to this Tagore, on December 1, 1930, wrote: We have been waiting for the Person, such a personality as we see in Mahatma Gandhi.

And Gandhi after Tagores demise wrote in the obituary on August 7, 1941In the death of Rabindranath Tagore, we have not only lost the greatest poet of the age, but an ardent nationalist who was also a humanitarian. There was hardly any public activity on which he has not left the impress of his powerful personality.

Refrences

1. Mahatma Gandhi : Rabindranath Tagore.

2. The Mahatma And the Poetedited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya.

3. Gandhi number : The Visvabharati Querterly, Vol-35, No. 1-3.

The author is a social activist associated with literacy movement.
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In 1979, 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. was in manufacturing, the backbone of the American economy. But as technology advanced, manufacturing evol
The year was 1991, and the only way to enter Louisiana's Old State Capitol was by climbing a tower of scaffolding and going through a second f
After a pipe burst today caused heavy flooding and a boil water advisory in parts of Uptown New Orleans, City Councilwoman At-Large Helena Moreno made a renewed call for New Orleans to review all of its tax dedications.

A water main break in the Freret neighborhood resulted in flooding that led at least a dozen Uptown schools to close. The pipe was more than a century old, according to the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB).

A cautionary boil water advisory was then announced for parts of Uptown from Carrollton to Napoleon and Claiborne to the Mississippi River and is still in effect.

This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

The break came at the end of a week of tangled negotiations between Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Gov. John Bel Edwards and hospitality industry leaders over increased funding to the S&WB from new hotel and short-term rental taxes.

Cantrell and Edwards were scheduled to give a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the deal but the Cantrell administration abruptly cancelled it Tuesday night.

The deal  which is contingent on a package of bills in the state legislature  would give New Orleans $27 million a year for infrastructure and $48 million upfront to the S&WB. Those totals are down from the initial $40 million a year and one-time payment of $75 million Cantrell sought.

New Orleans tourism and infrastructure deal back in negotiations after tumultuous 24 hours A deal to raise hotel taxes to help fund infrastructure repairs in New Orleans saw a tumultuous 24 hours, with Mayor LaToya Cantrell agreeing 

Moreno said that the agreement alone would not be enough to fix the citys pressing infrastructure problems.

I am hopeful that negotiations in Baton Rouge will lead to a boost in funds, but unfortunately, much more is needed and we must act quickly, Moreno said.

Moreno said she plans to bring a motion before City Council May 9 to create a committee to review all dedicated taxes in New Orleans, in hopes that funds can potentially be freed from other areas and used to improve the citys infrastructure. The goal is to complete a full report by early 2020, she said.

"We can not live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure," Moreno said.
As if to re-emphasize Mayor LaToya Cantrell's continuing call for more money to upgrade the city's aging infrastructure, torrents of water from a broken main on South Claiborne Avenue gushed into the area near Soniat Street for hours Friday, leaving much of Uptown New Orleans with weak or no water pressure before Sewerage & Water Board crews were able to plug the leak.

The broken pipe, which was installed in 1905, placed a wide swath of Uptown under a boil-water advisory until at least Saturday, swamped cars and threatened homes.

It cut off the water supply needed for necessary medical procedures at Childrens Hospital and caused problems at other medical facilities in the area.

+2 New Orleans boil water advisory might be lifted Saturday as repairs to broken water main begin The broken water main that was gushed water onto Claiborne Avenue and neighborhoods near Soniat Street for more than 12 hours is being repaire

Broken pipes and boil-water advisories are nothing new in New Orleans. But the length and severity of Fridays leak  which left many places with such little water pressure that their taps were dry  and its impact on medical treatments highlighted the potentially dangerous effects of the citys long-standing problems with its ancient infrastructure.

The pipe burst sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Friday, spewing water into the streets nearby. By 4:30 a.m., pressure in the pipes had dropped below the threshold that triggers a boil-water advisory, which is called when there is too little pressure to ensure the water delivered to homes and businesses is not contaminated.

Emergency repair crews from across the city were dispatched immediately, S&WB spokesman Rich Rainey said. But they struggled throughout the day to get the leak under control.

The water from the pipe flooded into the streets for several blocks around the break, deep enough in some areas to flood cars that had been parked or whose drivers tried to drive through the water.

One driver, T.J. Bush, found himself stuck after driving to Isidore Newman School, only to find that, like many others in the area, the low pressure had forced it to close for the day.

+2 While trying to get to school, New Orleans student gets stranded in floodwaters from busted water main T.J. Bush thought he was taking just a quick detour, cutting through a neighborhood to get around the Sewerage & Water Board roadblocks su

Verna Ellzey, who was driving through the neighborhood, said she had seen water everyplace and cars just floating on the water.

The city needs to do better by their residents, she said.

One reason the leak could not be closed quickly was the difficulty crews encountered in determining which of two pipes that run alongside each other was leaking, Rainey said. In addition, many of their shut-off valves were so old that they didnt work properly, keeping the workers from fully cutting off the water supply and forcing them to move onto the next valve in hopes that it would work, Rainey said.

Because of those issues, the water pressure could not be restored and the actual repairs could not begin until late afternoon. At that point, the S&WB collected samples to be sent to Baton Rouge for testing  a process that normally takes 24 hours.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The boil-water advisory remained in effect overnight for the area from South Carrollton Avenue to Napoleon Avenue and from South Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River. Residents and others in that area were advised not to ingest unboiled water  from drinking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing food  until they receive an all-clear. Water should be boiled for a full minute to ensure its safety.

Residents in the affected area whose immune systems are compromised were advised not to wash hands, shower or bathe with tap water.

Beyond the normal annoyances brought by boil-water advisories, this one affected hospitals including Childrens and Ochsner Baptist.

The problems at Childrens were particularly serious: Water pressure that is normally at 40 pounds per square inch dropped to 3 psi, too low to feed pediatric hemodialysis equipment that for some children is their only option for treatment in the state.

Going too long without treatment, which must be done on specialized machines that are different from those used for adults, can have life-threatening consequences, said Dr. Diego Aviles, chief of pediatric nephrology at Childrens.

Children who were supposed to come in for dialysis on Friday had to be rescheduled for Saturday, and officials began making contingent plans for more serious steps, such as moving the large machines to another hospital where they could be hooked into its water supply, said Evie Freiberg, senior director for patient care services at Childrens.

Fortunately, pressure was restored to the hospital at mid-morning and such steps were not necessary.

Its so important to try to make the community and the city aware that when theres a loss in our water pressure, it has a tremendous impact on our patients and can put them in a really bad place, Aviles said.

The problems on Friday led to renewed calls for more infrastructure funding in New Orleans, something Cantrell has made a priority of her first year in office.

The bottom line is we have pipes that are over 100 years old, City Councilman Joe Giarrusso said. Those pipes continue to function, but we have to be mindful that at a certain point even the best of infrastructure thats over 100 years old is going to have issues. We need to have a constant eye on fixing that and replacing that, and the way we do that is through having adequate funding sources.

The S&WB wont know what caused the rupture until repairs are complete and engineers get a chance to examine the broken pipe.

+6 As New Orleans streets flood, a second pipe, ancient valves could be to blame, S&WB says The Sewerage & Water Board is still trying to fix a water main that broke on Claiborne Avenue early Friday morning, leaving streets floode

A major factor, however, likely was the age of the water main; such pipes are supposed to last only 30 to 50 years before they need to be replaced.

Its a 114-year-old pipe. Its amazing it lasted that long, Rainey said. It should have been replaced two or three times over by now.

The utility repaired other sections of the main in the same area last week.

Asked whether Fridays break could have been related to the previous work, Rainey said that was possible. When a pipe is repaired and leaks are plugged or compromised sections are reinforced, it can put more pressure on other weak points, causing new leaks to spring up.

Its not clear yet whether that contributed to Fridays problems, however.

Cantrells administration is currently negotiating with the hospitality industry for more infrastructure money, largely from increased hotel and short-term rental taxes. Bills that are part of that effort, which could raise an additional $27 million a year for infrastructure repairs, are expected to move forward in the Legislature next week.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno responded to Fridays flooding and pressure drop by commending Cantrell for the effort but saying the city needs to go further.

In a statement, Moreno called for the creation of a special committee to review what entities in the city are now getting tax money and make recommendations about possibly changing how the money is distributed.

Moreno calls for review of New Orleans' dedicated taxes after pipe burst causes floods This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

We cannot live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure, Moreno said. Let's have a serious conversation about where our money should go."
Sydney's popular northern beaches pub, Hotel Steyne at Manly, has been sold by John Singleton and his business partners for a price understood to be in the mid-$60 millions to private hotel group Iris Capital.

Along with ad man Mr Singleton, the imposing three-level hotel, on almost 2000 square metres at 75 The Corso, was owned by investment banker Mark Carnegie, well-known investor Robert Whyte and hotelier Arthur Laundy.

Manly's Hotel Steyne.

The high-powered consortium paid a reported $27 million for the 160-year-old hospitality venue when they bought it from Sydney bookmaker Bruce McHugh and his family in 2010. At the time, the group included retail billionaire Gerry Harvey.

Iris Capital founder Sam Arnaout said he was "delighted" to have bought the pub.
The first gig Little May ever played was in 2012 at a pizza restaurant in Bathurst called Church Bar.

Guitarist-vocalist Liz Drummond recalls using a percussion instrument called a stomp box and thinks that former guitarist Annie Hamilton may have been playing a banjo.

Little May's Liz Drummond and Hannah Field have adopted a more full-bodied, indie-rock sound.

"It was in the phase of Mumford and Sons. That was the vibe."

Fast forward to 2015 and Little May were onstage in New Jersey supporting  wait for it  Mumford and Sons, having been invited on their Gentlemen of the Road touring festival.
If the craft beer drinkers of Sydneys Inner West had their way, Australia would be a few short weeks away from replacing prime minister ScoMo with Albo.

Anthony Albanese, Labors spokesman for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, was given a rousing cheer by the large crowd as he cut the ribbon on the renovated premises of Willie the Boatman Brewery on Saturday.

Anthony Albanese received a warm welcome from drinkers at Willie the Boatman Brewery in his electorate of Grayndler in Sydney's Inner West. Credit:Steven Siewert

Many drinkers including Ben Suggate, who was celebrating his bucks party, were drinking the Albo Corn Ale, named after Mr Albanese, who has been the member for Grayndler in Sydneys Inner West since 1996.

Its not too heavy. Its easy to drink. Its quite pleasant, Mr Suggate said. Its actually a pretty good beer. Id drink it again.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Nato 70 Years and Expanding  Differences with Russia Aggravating

by R.G. Gidadhubli

On April 4, 2019 the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) celebrated the historic occasion of the 70th anniversary of its existence in Washington, when Foreign Ministers of 29 member-states attended the function. US President Donald Trump and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg addressed the delegates highlighting the achievements, issues and challenges facing the organisation. The NATO was formed on April 4, 1949 in Washington with 12 members of the USA and European states in the aftermath of the Second World War to counter the military power of the former Soviet Union and other communist states which had formed a military bloc known as the Warsaw Pact. Hence the major objective of NATO countries was to come to each others defence if any of them was attacked. Subsequent to that prevailing scenario, most unexpected major changes have taken place in that region during the last few decades that were not visualised when the NATO was formed.

Hence several questions arise. What is the relevance of the NATO considering the fact that the USSR disintegrated in 1991 and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1989? Why has the NATO expanded from the original 12 to 29 members? What is the NATOs approach towards Russia? What are the major tasks and objectives of the NATO? An effort has been made to analyse some of the issues.

Firstly, looking back into history there was a short period in the early 1990s when there were formal cordial contacts and cooperation between Russia and the NATO in the prevailing context of the end of superpower rivalry, no ideological conflict and evolution of the concept of Partnership for Peace. Hence in June 1994 both Russia and the NATO signed a Founding Act on Mutual Relations. It was significant that a roadmap was also laid on lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Fall of Berlin Wall further added to the end of the threat perception of the Cold War era. But this era of cordiality, cooperation and hope between Russia and the NATO did not last long.

Secondly, much to the disenchantment of Russian leaders who expected that the NATO might also cease to exist as there was no threat from Moscow and the Warsaw Pact bloc was dissolved, the NATO leaders pursued the policy of Eastward Expansion with the admission of several East European countries after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Apart from that it is a matter of reality that primarily due to the strained relations between Russia and some former Soviet Republics, namely, Georgia and the Baltic States and the impact of Coloured Revolutions which made them to seek support of the West the relations between Russia and the NATO were affected and the latter took advantage of increasing its membership, relevance and strength.

Thirdly, the United States has been a dominant player and is by far the largest contributor of funding to the NATO, followed by Germany, Britain, and France. Being the largest contributor of defence expenses of the NATO for decades and hence to reduce its own burden, US President Donald Trump has urged all members to contribute their share of military spending. In fact during the previous NATO meeting held in 2018 Donald Trump chided the NATO leaders for failing to meet their commitments of spending two per cent of the GDP on defence. He was candid in stating We are protecting countries that have taken advantage of the United States, since the United States pays for a disproportionate share of NATO, and we just want fairness. In fact the issue of defence expenses has become quite serious and hence this has also been reiterated by the NATO chief, Stoltenberg, when he was addressing delegates during the occasion. At the same time he was fair in stating that there is some progress in members stepping up their spending but added there is more work to be done.

Fourthly, during the last over a decade apart from defence issues, it is appreciable that the NATO has been involved in other global social and economic issues concerning the interest of member-countries. For instance, as opined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the world has entered a new era of great power competition. He was specific in stating: We must adapt our alliance to confront emerging threats whether thats Russian aggression, uncontrolled migration, cyber attacks, threats to energy security, Chinese strategic competition, including technology and 5G, and many other issues. But these are complex and complicated global issues which are challenges the NATO will face in the years to come.

Fifthly, as opined by some Western analysts, Trump has openly questioned the most important aspect of Article 5 of the NATO alliance as to whether an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. This is a crucial issue and might assume significance in the context of, say, growing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. But notwithstanding these issues it is appreciable that the NATO chief has stated that the organisation has made progress in its objectives and vision to ensure Freedom and Peace in the world.

Nato-Russia Differences Persisting

Notwithstanding several positive developments, differences between the NATO and Russia persist. These are evident from the contentions made at the Washington meeting. Firstly, there is an allegation made by the NATO that Russia had violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as a part of a pattern of destabilising behaviour. The INF Treaty was signed by the United States and Soviet Union in the last years of the Cold War. Russia has denied this allegation. Moreover, Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman was highly critical and hence reiterated in stating that the two-day gathering in Washington on April 4 showed that the NATO had no intention of abandoning its plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Secondly, issues concerning Russias ongoing conflict with Ukraine and allegation of annexation of Crimea in 2014 assumed significance at the NATO meeting. The NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned the Black Sea situation and urged Russia to release Ukrainian vessels and their crews. But Russia is bent on contending that due process of law was being followed. Russias response was candid and Russias Foreign Ministry said on April 4 that the two-day gathering in Washington shows that the NATO has no intention of abandoning plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Thirdly, at the NATO meeting, some members insisted that Germany should not import oil and natural gas from Russia and not enter into a deal of Russias pipeline project from the Adriatic Sea to Germany. But this does not seem to be rational and not in compliance with the basic principles of international trade; and it is against WTO rules which promote global trade. Hence it will not be fair on the part of the NATO to restrict economic relations between Russia and Germany which are close and cordial for several years. Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to Germany and to many European countries and for Russia this has been a major source of earning petrodollars. Hence the argument and contention that Germany should not enter into a deal with Russia on the energy pipeline issue amount to hitting Russia below the belt. In fact this Nord Stream 2 project is scheduled to be completed in 2019, and this pipeline would run directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing several European transit countries including Ukraine. While this will help Russia to avoid transit-fee payment and other disputes, there is contention that it will also increase Western Europes dependence on Russian natural gas and give Moscow more negotiating leverage over unrelated political issues.

Fourthly, Turkey is a member of the NATO and it has also cordial political and economic relations with Russia which is also helping the country to face problems of terrorism and security issues in the region. Hence Turkeys President has entered into an agreement with Moscow to purchase surface-to- air missile S-400 which is cheap and effective. But the USA is critical of Turkey. Now the USA and other NATO countries have demanded that Turkey should cancel its deal with Russia, which is not compatible with the NATO systems and is considered a threat to the US F-35 aircraft. In fact the US Vice President, Mike Pence, was candid in stating: Turkey must choose. Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?. In fact the Pentagon spokesperson has stated that it has suspended dialogue with Turkey for selling F-35 even as the United States and other NATO countries have demanded that Ankara should call off its deal with Russia to purchase the S-400. The issue persists since Ankara is keen on going ahead with the deal.

Thus in lieu of conclusion it may be stated that the NATO has emerged as a successful global organisation and has diversified its activities apart from security issues even as problems of funding need to be considered. The USA has been a dominant player in funding. The NATO chief,Jens Stoltenberg, has every reason to be content in stating: We have experienced an unprecedented period of peace. So the NATO alliance is not only the longest-lasting alliance in history, it is the most successful alliance in history. But as stated above, problems persist and hence there is need for the NATO to have a fair deal with Russia rather than aggravating differences.

Dr Gidadhubli is a Profesor and former Director, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai.
Childcare workers with university degrees could be paid more than school teachers under Bill Shorten's plan to use a taxpayer funds to boost wages, with Labor refusing to rule out applying its subsidy on top of any Fair Work Commission increase.

Such a two-stepped increase would push some childcare workers' salaries as high as $122,120 if the Independent Education Union, which represents those with teaching qualifications, wins its long-running pay equity case in the commission in June.

The union demands pay increases of up to 49 per cent to set salaries for its most experienced members at $101,767, arguing they should be paid similarly to primary school teachers.

Bill Shorten has refused to rule out giving child care workers seeking $122,120 salaries a taxpayer wage subsidy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A Shorten campaign spokeswoman would not say whether Labor's promised 20 per cent increase would come on top of any wage hike won by childcare workers in the case, saying only: "We will not pre-empt the Fair Work Commission".
To have one child with an eating disorder would be hard enough, but Kim Coffey has spent nine "heartbreaking" years caring for three daughters with anorexia nervosa.

"I was always a pretty laid-back sort of person and now Im more stressed now than I used to be. I get more anxious, some of these days I feel like I'm not coping, sometimes I cry a lot, it's just been a whole gamut of emotions," said Ms Coffey, from East Killara on Sydneys upper north shore.

Kim Coffey with her daughters Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Ms Coffey is one of an estimated two million carers in Australia of people with eating disorders, who are described by Butterfly Foundation chief executive Kevin Barrow as "unsung heroes". Her eldest two daughters, Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21, are now in recovery while the youngest, Nicola, 20, is still sick.

"I remember being in the psychiatrist's office in tears because we had just realised our third daughter was unwell and the psychiatrist explained that she thought we had just been terribly unlucky that we obviously had a strong genetic predisposition for eating disorders. I, however, was asking myself 'how did we let this happen?' We were initially so focused on one daughter and it just snuck under our radar and hit the other daughters."
A nurse and elderly woman were stabbed when a female patient allegedly attacked staff with a pair of scissors at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Saturday night.

Police say the nurse called for help after the patient, 29, grew agitated and began hitting the walls of her room on the Camperdown hospital's renal ward shortly before 8.30pm.

The patient allegedly grabbed hold of the nurse and ripped the scissors from her pocket. She stabbed the nurse twice in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.

Two other nurses rushed to help their colleague before the woman slashed at their arms with the scissors.

She then went into another room where she stabbed a female patient, 77, in the face, police say.
A rider has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a two-vehicle crash in Brisbane's north-west.

Emergency services were called just after 1pm on Saturday after a motorbike and vehicle crashed near the corner of Inverness Street and Canvey Road in Upper Kedron.

The patient was taken to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital after being treated by a high acuity response unit and critical care paramedics.

A police spokesman said the forensic crash unit was on scene investigating whether speed could have been a factor.
Residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night as suspicious fire engulfed a community hall in Melbourne's south-east.

The blaze began around 3.15am in Whatley Street, Carrum. While police do not believe anyone was inside the building at the time, surrounding houses have been evacuated due to flying embers coming from the fire.

The smoke billowing from the hall caused the CFA to issue a community warning during the night.
An off-road motorbike rider is fighting for life after a crash in Lancelin on Saturday morning.

The rider, a man in his 20s, was riding in the sand dunes when he came off, receiving life-threatening injuries, according to a St John Ambulance spokesman.

The man was found unconscious at the scene.

An RAC rescue helicopter was dispatched to Lancelin oval just before 11.30am to take the man to Royal Perth Hospital.

More to come
One participant, Kenneth, a director of a milk company, said he felt Shorten had a few strong policies - "I don't really like him, but I appreciate his policies" - and added that he'd brought leadership stability to the Labor Party. Jennifer, an architect from Albert Park, thought Shorten seemed "quite approachable", and from what she'd seen and heard on TV and radio, he seemed to have a sense of humour. "He's not necessarily charismatic, but I think he's quite strong," said Richard, an archivist of Elsternwick, who had remained quiet for most of the evening. But then a man we'll call Stewart, a pharmaceutical manager, chimed in. "He's someone you'd like to punch in the head, really," he said.

The comment was greeted with knowing laughter and nodding. "I think he fits the bill as a union leader better," said Kenneth. Clive Palmer scored worse. "He'd send the country broke and take all the money," said Carol, who owns a hairdressing business. Geoffrey, who works in apprenticeship training, had some sympathy for Pauline Hanson, because "she sticks to her guns and stays true to her word". Ursula, a designer, was less forgiving. "She wants to print money," she declared of Hanson.

The group was gentler on The Greens. Ursula and Kenneth felt they would be happy to listen to Greens candidates, and Susan felt Greens were more approachable than representatives of the big parties. Loading All but one of the participants were from inner Melbourne suburbs: East St Kilda, Fitzroy, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Pascoe Vale: the sort of places that aren't particularly happy territory for conservative parties. Only Bentleigh East, where Kenneth the milk company man lives, could be described as anything further out than "inner". All but Geoffrey will vote in the new electorate of Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports). It will be a tight battleground between Labor, the Greens and Liberals. Geoffrey is from Wills, a traditional Labor seat once held by Bob Hawke and now by Peter Kahlil, who is under pressure from the Greens.

All participants of our focus group had voted Labor at the last election. All now described themselves as undecided about the coming election. Only Geoffrey, however, declared outright that he was considering voting Liberal. Carol was grappling with Shorten's policy to cap negative gearing, though this - along with franking credits for retirees, which attracted little criticism - turned out to be among the few policies raised by any of the participants. The big promises of the campaign had not yet made an impression. Annoying campaign advertising got an airing, with Jennifer furious that candidates would interrupt her "catch-up" television viewing to try to tell her how to vote. And where did most of the group encounter campaign advertising? Facebook and billboards, they agreed.

Apart from their views about the current leaders' attributes - or lack of them - the group displayed a distinct nostalgia for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. "I'm very angry what they did to Malcolm Turnbull," said Ursula. Stewart also condemned the "far right influence in the Liberal Party" declaring "the religious right is starting to scare me". Most of the eight made clear they liked and missed Turnbull. He was described variously as "well-credentialled (Geoffrey)", "progressive" (Stewart) and "better-looking" (Susan) than the current leaders, though two of the women, Jennifer and Carol, weren't so impressed with Turnbull criticising those in his old party, "even when he's been overseas". Most of the focus group participants were nostalgic for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Geoffrey and Carol agreed former Julie Bishop was "very smart" and would be missed, leading to nods around the table.

This yearning for former Liberal luminaries seemed odd among those who had voted Labor when Turnbull led the Liberal-National Coalition and Bishop was his deputy. Puzzling, too, was the initial response when the group was asked whether they felt there was a mood for change. No, they agreed: they couldn't detect real need for change. Loading This, at first blush, appeared to be good news for the Morrison government and poor bodings for Shorten's Labor. It was not clear, however, what these voters perceived to be the "change" under discussion : they had earlier agreed the regular change of prime ministers seen in Australia over the past decade had to stop. Carol described both parties' willingness to ditch leaders as "disgraceful", and the word "shambles" was used.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's handpicked cybersecurity tsar Alastair MacGibbon is quitting his role and has declared cyber attacks "the greatest existential threat we face".

Mr MacGibbon has been the face of cybersecurity for federal authorities for the past three years, handling the public response to the cyberattack on the national census in 2016 and the hacking earlier this year of the Parliament and the major political parties.

Outgoing head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alastair MacGibbon, speaks to the media at Parliament House in February. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The announcement of Mr MacGibbon's resignation from the role of national cyber security adviser comes just two weeks before the federal election, but he stressed he was not stepping down because of any possible change of government.

While saying he didn't downplay the seriousness of threats such as terrorism or long-term challenges such as climate change, Mr MacGibbon said the sheer scale and rising likelihood of major cyber attacks made them the most pressing threat a country like Australia faces.
London: A paedophile wanted by police in Australia for almost 10 years was free to commit a series of crimes against teenage boys in the UK, it has emerged.

Barry Radford, 53, a spray painter based in Northumberland, north-east England, was jailed for 12 years on Friday for a series of grooming offences, taking indecent images of one of his victims, and possessing more than 1000 images of other children.

Paedophile Barry Radford has been jailed for 12 years in the UK.

His offending came to light last year when one of the boys came forward to police.

It later emerged Radford had been wanted by NSW Police in Australia for sexual offences said to have been committed in 1999.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Chowkidar allowed Hate Crimes under his Watch

by Neha Dabhade

In the build-up to the general elections, the BJP has intensified its campaign to seek support for the elections. One such step is the campaign, main bhi chowkidar. This campaign has seen the Prime Minister prefixing the word chowkidar to his name in his Twitter profile. The trend caught on with many of his Cabinet and party colleagues following suit. This is a PR manoeuvre to promote the narrative/impression amongst the general public that the BJP Government is fighting against social evils and corruption.

Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying#MainBhiChowkidar, he wrote on Twitter. (Sharma, 2019) The claim of this campaign translates into the impression that the PM is a shining example of someone who is meticulously and diligently guarding the countryprotecting the law and order and rule of law in the country as expected of the highest authority in the country. This campaign is critiqued from many quarters due to the poor state of Indian economy, rising unemployment, the easy escape of defaulting businessmen like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi who were allowed to leave the country after defaulting on loans worth hundreds of crores. The picture on the social front is not encouraging either. Though the campaign has soared in the public imagination and boosted the popularity of PM Modi, this exalted self- proclaimed righteous chowkidar was silent when the law of the land was violated. He failed to check the hatred spewed by his own colleagues and party members through the rising instances of hate speeches.

The focus on hate speeches is urgent given the rise in the number of hate speeches. NDTV reported that as compared to the UPA II period (2009-2014), the NDA Government (2014 to April 2018) witnessed a rise of hate speeches by 490 times. During the NDA period, a total of 45 political leaders made hateful comments. Of them, 35 politicians, or 78 per cent, are from the BJP. 10 leaders, or 22 per cent of the offenders, are from other political parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal. (Jaiswal, Jain, and Singh, 2018)

While this jump in the quantum of the hate speeches is alarming, what makes it more menacing is that most of these hate speeches are made by high-ranking officials who have sworn by the Constitution to protect all citizens equally. Thus its a matter of deep concern that under the leadership which swears by vigilance to rid the country of social evils, its own party members who are high-ranking officials like Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers at State level etc. are violating the law and the chowkidar is found napping! No action or little action was taken against them when they blatantly violated the law by indulging in hate speeches to demonise the Muslims and incite enmity and hatred along religious lines. Under the Indian Penal Code, there are definitions and punishments mentioned for those who promote enmity based on religion.

153 A of the IPC states, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities is a punishable offence.

Initially, at the beginning of the NDA rule, hate speeches were trivialised by dismissing them as banter made by fringe elements non-state actors who didnt enjoy political authority. But the hate speeches made by the elected representatives and persons enjoying political power and equal measure of responsi-bility mark a new low in the political discourse of the country and also significantly in the law and order situation where they enjoy immunity to openly indulge into hatemongering. These hate speeches now dont come from the so-called fringe elements but the mainstream setting a new normal in the socio-political landscape of the country. These speeches have spelled out further polarisation and strengthening of prejudices against the Muslims. This has culminated in fuelling the process of their othering and marginalisation. Below are some such statements though these are only a few examples. There are many such statements reported but for the limitation of space only the very glaring speeches, which clearly violate the law, are stated below.

Starting with Union Ministers, there were speeches made by Ministers which sought to entrench the prejudice that Muslims are terrorists in the social imagination. Referring to Deoband, which is a Muslim-majority city, Giriraj Singh, who is the Union Minister of State for Small and Medium Enterprises, said, Earlier Deobands name was Deovrant. I dont know what is it about this place that it produces people similar to (Islamic State founder) Baghdadi and (Pakistan terror ideologue) Hafiz Saeed. This place is not a temple of knowledge. It is a hub of terrorism. (Rai, 2018) Extending this argument, in another speech he also encouraged the myth and almost a hysteria that the Muslim population is increasing at a faster pace than that of Hindus in India thereby aiming at fanning the fear of the minority overtaking the majority and deepening this binary. In the same breath he associated Muslims in India with Pakistan, insinuating that their loyalty and affection lies with Pakistan. He said: Hindu ka do beta ho aur Musalmaan ko bhi do hi beta hona chahiye. Hamaari aabadi ghat rahi hai. Bihar mein saat zila aisa hai jahan hamaari jansankhya ghat rahi hai. Jansankhya niyantran ke niyam ko badalna hoga, tabhi hamaari betiyaan surakshit rahengi. Nahi toh hamein bhi Pakistan ki tarah apni betiyon ko parde mein band karna hoga.(Singh, 2016)

Similarly, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also strengthened this misplaced connection which implies Muslims are not natural citizens of India by saying, "Those who are dying without eating beef, can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available. (Hindustan Times, 2015) Cow, as suggested by Naqvi, is enforced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Meneka Gandhi as a sacred symbol of nationalism. The people indulging in cattle trade are thus targets of hate and violence. She went on to say: Money earned is going into terrorism, it is going into bomb making. (India Today, 2014)

These narratives about Muslims being terrorists, beef-eaters, anti-nationalists, growing at a fast pace are on the one hand demonising the Muslim community and on the other hand used as a justification for the agenda of establishment of a Hindu Rashtra which in essence is steeped in exclusion and hierarchies. The officials, who are sworn to protect a secular India as enshrined in the Constitution, are openly and stridently espousing for a Hindu Rashtra. Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Paras Jain said: Whoever was living in India, irrespective of their religion, should consider it a Hindu Rashtra because a majority of people follow Hinduism here. (The Indian Express, 2015) On being asked about saffronisation of education, the MP from Agra and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ram Shankar Katheria said: Yes, there will be saffronisation of education and of the country. Jo acha hoga, woh hoga (Whatever is good for the country will certainly happen) be it saffronisation or sanghwaad (propagation of the RSS ideology.) (Rashid, 2016).

The most alarming implication of Hindu Rashtra is also the secondary citizenship of non-Hindus. The message is always that other religious communities will be inferior to Hindus and Hindu symbols, and as Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister for State for Food Processing Industries, suggested even illegitimate. During campaigning for BJP before Delhi polls she said, Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (You must decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately). (The Indian Express, 2014) Such speeches have altered the whole discourse of citizenship in India that is now linked to religion. Shiv Sena leader (ally of BJP) and MP while advocating for disenfrancement of Muslims said: Balasaheb had said 15 years ago that if the voting rights of Muslims is taken away for a few years, then the lobbying for their votes will stop. (Gupta and Mehta, 2015)

The Constitution vests immense power in the post of the Governor who is expected to be non-partisan and protect equality enshrined in the Constitution. The Governor of Assam, P.B. Acharya, violated this norm utterly when he said: They (Indian Muslims) are free to go anywhere. They can stay here (in India). If they want to go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, they are free to go. Many of them have gone to Pakistan. But if they are persecuted there.. Taslima Nasreen was persecuted there, she came here. If they come, we will give them shelter. (Kashyap, 2015)

The Chief Ministers of States were not to be left behind in their hatemongering. Some people raise slogans about breaking the country into pieces. Political parties should refrain from making heroes of them. If people are unwilling to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, they have no right to stay in India, said Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. (Sonawane, 2016) Mr Fadnavis knows fully well that chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai is not demanded in the Constitution and not legally enforceable. But there is insistence on chanting it since Muslims consider the slogan offending the essence of monotheistic Islam that forbids the deification of anything, including God or Muhammad, the Prophet. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, in response to the Dadri lynching said: Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau. (Subramanian and Bhatia, 2015) He justified the gory lynching by upholding cow as a scared national symbol.

The BJP, which is the ruling party, as a political party, is indulging in hate-mongering by deepening the idea that Muslims naturally belong to Pakistan and India is the country for Hindus. The BJP chief leads by example here. He said: Agar BJP galti se bhi Bihar me haarti hai to jay-parajay to Bihar me hogi, pataake Pakistan me chhutenge (If BJP loses in Bihar by mistake, then victory-defeat will be in Bihar but crackers will be burst in Pakistan) (The Indian Express, 2015) Another BJP member, Aseervatham Acharya, said: I will tell you this, Indian Muslims have their bodies in Tamil Nadu, but their hearts are in Pakistan. (The News Minute, 2015) This is a new low in the trend of jingoistic under-standing of nationalism.

Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act makes canvassing for votes in the name of religion a punishable offence. During the Assembly election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, local BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg said: You will have to fire bullets, you will have to take up rifles, you will have to wield knives. Elections are approaching in 2017, begin showing your strength from now onwards. The crowds chanted, Jis Hindu ka khoon na khaule, khoon nahin wo pani hai (The Hindu who doesnt get angry isnt Hindu enough). (Bharadwaj, 2016) The party candidate, former RSS Pracharak Rampal Singh Pundhir, asserts his agenda: restoration of Hindu pride vis-a-vis Muslims. This election has become a fight between Hindus and Muslims because Hindus are unsafe. The honour of mothers and daughters is threatened. Hindu traders face theft, dacoity. They are murdered. Deoband mein kisi Hindu ki himmat nahi hai ki kuch bol jaye (No Hindu has guts in Deoband to speak out), says Pundhir (Bhardwaj, 2016). Local BJP leader Kundanika Sharma called other parties jackals for seeking votes of traitors. But we want the heads of these traitors. This is not the time to sit quiet. Chhapa maaro, burqa pehno, lekin inhen gher-gher kar le aao. Ek sar ke badle dus sar kaat lo (Raid them, wear burqas, but corner them. Behead ten heads for one head). (Bhardwaj, The Indian Express, 2016)

It cant be a mere coincidence or a weakness of the PM who is otherwise toxically masculine in his rhetoric about national issues cant check his own party members violating law and setting his house in order. The Prime Minister was deliberate in his silence and lack of action though he is portraying himself as a chowkidar. In his silence, the hate spewed and impunity with which laws were broken got normalised. The Constitution and constitutional values, which he should have protected, were delibe-rately trampled upon while the PM chose to turn a blind eye. This silence amply demons-trates that main bhi chowkidar is a mere election campaign gimmick devoid of any sincerity and in fact the chowdikar has allowed social evils and lawlessness to perpetrate.

(Courtesy: Secular Perspective)

The author is the Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip to the Netherlands next week, as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex.

Harry will stay in England in the coming days, amid "logistical challenges" surrounding the trip.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watch children playing football at a school in the town of Asni, in the Atlas mountains, Morocco, in February. Credit:EPA

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours beforehand, Buckingham Palace has cancelled the first day of the two-day trip scheduled for May 8 and 9, leaving observers wondering.

The decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife Meghan a little longer while she is either significantly overdue or enjoying her first few days with their newborn baby.
Prague: Security officials from 30 countries have hammered out a common approach to wireless network safety, responding to concerns over equipment made by Chinese company Huawei Technologies.

The non-binding proposal warns governments against relying on suppliers of fifth-generation networks that could be susceptible to state influence or based in countries that haven't signed international agreements on cyber security and data protection.

An employee walks past a logo in the reception area of the Huawei Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels, Belgium. Credit:Bloomberg

"The customer - whether the government, operator, or manufacturer - must be able to be informed about the origin and pedigree of components and software that affect the security level of the product or service," read the Prague Proposal document handed out at the end of the conference in the Czech capital.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.
A Boeing 737 commercial charter jet with 136 people on board slid into the St Johns River near Jacksonville in Florida after landing on Friday, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville says.

There were no reports of fatalities but local television station WOKV-TV said that at least two people suffered minor injuries and that the plane was attempting to land during a heavy thunderstorm.

The office of the sheriff said 21 adults were transported to local hospitals and all were listed "in good condition, no critical injuries". Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officers attended.

The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9.40 pm local time (11.40am AEST), the air station said.
Three people missing after an overnight explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone plant are believed dead, authorities said on Saturday.

Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said crews suspended their search for three employees due to concerns about the stability of the structure.

Lenzi said it's "not likely" that the three survived the Friday night explosion at AB Specialty Silicones in the Waukegan, about 80 kilometres north of Chicago. The coroner was on scene and crews are classifying the search as a recovery, he said.

"The conditions are really rough in there," Lenzi said. "There's a lot of damage. There was a lot of fire throughout."

Nine employees were inside the plant when the explosion occurred. Four were taken to hospitals and two declined treatment. Authorities have not identified the employees.
2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid Limited Review by David COLMAN - It's E15 Approved +VIDEO

A Green-vehicle review for car shoppers concerned with fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and gasoline and diesel exhaust emissions

A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

By David Colman

Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

Hyundai offers three distinct versions of their Prius beater, the Ioniq. At the lower end of the price range, the Hybrid retails for $21,400. Moving up to a Plug-In Hybrid Ioniq will cost you $25,350. The Limited version of the Plug-In that we spent a week driving carries a base price of $29,350. Here's the equipment the Limited adds over and above the base model Plug-In: auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, smart cruise control and driver attention warning - which has been added for 2019. If you desire a completely electric Ioniq, Hyundai offers one with a base price of $30,315. All versions of the Ioniq qualify for a federal tax credit of $4,453 plus additional state tax breaks. It's worth noting that the lithium ion polymer battery pack of the Ioniq carries a lifetime warranty. The powertrain comes with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, and the rest of this vehicle carries a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. It's encouraging to note that Hyundai also provides free roadside assistance for 5 years as well.

The two Hybrid versions of the Ionic carry identical horsepower (139hp) and torque ratings (125lb.-ft.). The all electric model offers less horsepower (118hp) but much greater torque (218lb.-ft.). The bottom line here is whether you can live with the all electric's limited range of just 124 miles on a full charge. The Ioniq Limited we drove offered a stupendous full tank range of 630 miles. After driving the Limited on many missions during our week, we still managed to return the car to Hyundai with 230 miles showing on the range estimate. For green buffs, the downside of the Plug-In we drove is its limited pure electric range: a full charge yields just 29 miles of travel. Replenishing the battery of the Plug-In requires 9 hours at 120 volts (Level 1) or 2 hours and 15 minutes at Level 2 (240 volts).

Our test vehicle rated 52 MPG overall rating from the EPA. With its 10 out of 10 EPA rating on fuel economy and greenhouse gas, the Ioniq will save you $3,750 in fuel costs over 5 years when compared to the average new vehicle. Best of all, this exceptional frugality does not require you to make concessions to outlandish green lifestyle design cues. About the only idiosyncratic styling feature of the Ioniq is the horizontally split rear window of the hatchback. In every other respect, the Ioniq is delightfully free of the bizarre flourishes other manufacturers use to distinguish their green cars. In fact, the classically proportioned Ioniq is one of the best looking small sedans on the market today in any price range. Ditto for its interior treatment, which utilizes recycled material to create a waffle-weave dash that is clean, different, and visually appealing.

the Ioniq is something of a surprise in the operation department. Instead of the usual unpredictable Hybrid brake feedback, the regenerative 4 wheel discs of the Ioniq offer firm pedal feel. There's a baby deer in my neighborhood who will testify to the stopping power of this Hyundai. When the deer jumped in front of the Ioniq, which was travelling 40mph, the disc brakes helped me do a great job of keeping avoiding a collision. Very impressive stopping power, indeed. Credit should also go to the Ioniq's Michelin Green X Energy saver radials (205/55R16). Mounted on Oh-So-80's looking white "Eco-Spoke" alloys, the Michelins provided decent cornering power and very good braking traction. You'll also appreciate their TW 480 tread life longevity.

I wish I could lavish the same high praise on the performance of the 1.6 liter inline 4 cylinder engine. Even with the 125lb.-ft. torque boost from the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, acceleration from a stop is less than scintillating. It takes a little longer than you would like to get this 3,070 pound sedan motivated. To help in the cause, Hyundai provides the Ioniq with a very useful 6 speed sequential gearbox which can be manipulated manually via the provided paddles behind the steering wheel. At low cruising speeds, snatching 2nd or 3rd gear with these paddles will provide the kind of immediate propulsion you crave in heavy traffic.

The Ioniq, with 119 cubic feet of cabin space, and 23 cubic feet of cargo volume, is decidedly larger inside than the Toyota Prius Prime, Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf. In addition to this abundance of interior space, Hyundai has chosen to equip the control panel with easy to use buttons and switches that will see to your every need without forcing you to remove your eyes from the road. Thankfully, Hyundai engineers have eliminated all traces of Buck Rogers from the interior as well as the exterior.

2019 HYUNDA IONIQ PLUG-IN HYBRID LIMITED



ENGINE: 1.6 liter Gas Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Inline plus 44.5kH Electric Motor

HORSEPOWER: 139hp

TORQUE: 125lb.-ft.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 119MPGe/52MPG Gas Only

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,335

HYPES: A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

GRIPES: Needs More Power

STAR RATING: 8.5 Stars out of 10
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Winding up the End-game in Afghanistan

by Apratim Mukarji

The Great Game in Afghanistan, in which the United States has acted as the leader of the team and involves mutually adversarial players like Pakistan and Iran as well as consensually competitive Russia and China, is now converted into an end-game under President Donald Trump. The President has repeatedly declared his firm resolve to get out of the country as quickly as he can manage, and the course of events over the last two years or so confirms this reading of his words.

The reason why the US is in such a hurry is clear to all.To quote an American analysis, by any reasonable estimate, the monetary and human costs of the US-led war on terror has been considerable. As found out by political scientists at Brown University, the numbers have been astronomical. The universitys Cost of War Project calculates that Washington will be spending approximately $ 5.9 trillion between 2001 (when the Al-Qaeda-Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan) and 2019, the current year.A break-up of the expenditure includes over $ 2 tn. in overseas contingency operations, $ 924 billion in homeland security spending, and $ 353 bn. in medical and disability care for American troops serving overseas conflict zones. The conclusion is that when the interest to be paid on the borrowed funds is taken into account, the American people will be shouldering the cumulative debt for decades to come.(Daniel R. DePetris, The War on Terrors Total Cost : $ 5,900,000,000,000, The National Interest, January 12, 2019)

The world knows only too well that this massive expenditure is being borne by the US Administration not because the worlds most powerful nation has lost sleep over the Afghans continuing tale of horror at the hands of the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) plus a plethora of splinter terrorist groups but because the Americans were living in terror in their home country. Thus, the test of the enormous and frightfully expensive exercise lies in making the United States homeland security fool-proof.

And what is the score on that account? Taking a hard look at the terrorism problem over many decades, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Transnational Threats Project discovered that the number of Salafi-jihadist fighters has increased by 270 per cent since 2001 (the year the Al-Qaeda-Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan). In 2018, there were sixty-seven jihadist groups operating around the world, a 180 per cent hike since 2001. The number of fighters could be as high as 280,000, the highest in forty years. Moreover, quashing the claim of many authorities in the US claiming success for the anti-terror operations, many of these jihadists reside in countries, such as, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, which have been invaded by the US and/or bombed over the last seventeen years.

Are the Americans feeling safer than before? Not by a long shot. An October 2017-dated Charles Koch Institute/ Real Clear Defence survey found that a plurality of American (43 per cent) and war veterans (41 per cent) believe that the US foreign policy over the last twenty years has actually made the counry less safea result not really conducive to what US policy-makers are looking for.

There is no other way to describe the American decision (followed by haste) to vacate Afghanistan than by reemphasising a virtual and unacknolwedged defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But the United States internal assess-ments have been quite candid. For example, the US Defense Departments own metrics suggest that Afghanistans insurgents are nowhere near losing. The percentage of the countrys 407 districts under government control has declined from 66 per cent in May, 2016, to 53.8 per cent by by the end of March, 2019. (Al Jazeera, Explosion, Taliban attack kill dozens across Afghanistan, March 30, 2019)

It is important to note that control of territory in the prevailing Afghan military environment does not connote a complete and unshakable authority, for control switches quickly, some-times as swiftly as the following day or week. There have been scores of instances when Afghan soldiers, trained and armed and, sometimes led by, American and (earlier NATO officers) have displayed exemplary courage and strength and won back lost territories. It should also be acknowledhed that a major boost for the Afghan Army and police is the massive air support the Americans provide to government operations.

Nevertheless, it is now beyond debate that the Taliban have achieved an overall military dominance,a position of strength from which it cannot be easily dislodged. When one reads this conclusion in conjunction with the other, that the cost of waging the war has become prohibitive, one can begin to appreciate the logic behind the American decision. This has been put succinctly in the following comment, Districts have been retaken (by both the sides) only to be lost shortly thereafter,largely resulting in the conflicts current relative stalemate. However,since the US drawdown of peak forces in 2011, the Taliban (have) unquestionably been resurgent. (FDDs Long War Journal, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, created by Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowsky, www.longwar-journal.org/) Another way of understanding the methodology of this assessment is the term coined for the purpose, contested. A contested district is one the centre of which is controlled by government forces and the fringes by the Taliban or it may be one which is taken by one side and then re-taken by the rival and the process continues, putting the lives of the civilians to extreme peril in the process. But this also helps us realise the cardinal truth of the present-day Afghanistan, that there is a stalemate in the military situation with the Taliban on the ascendance, and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Reading the situation correctly nearly a year ago, Gen. Joseph Votel, leading the US Central Command, said that the Taliban cannot win militarily despite an uptick in attacks. The message I would send to the Taliban is that they cannot win militarily. The international coalition, led by the United States, is focussed on providing the military pressure,in conjunction with social pressure and diplomatic pressure, that will force them to come to the table. He also urged the militants to accept the very generous offer made by the Afghan President Ashraff Ghani who offered unconditional peace talks accom-panied by a cease-fire, recognition of the Taliban as a political party and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. However, when the preliminary negotiations bagan later in the year, the Taliban did not care for the ceasefire offer (implying their confidence) and attacks on government forces and civilians, including foreigners, have continued well into the current year. In the midst of all these disruptions and negativity by the insurgents, the talks between the Taliban and the Americans have continued,with the telling absence of the Afghan Government on the insistence of the winning side.

Perhaps the most significant statement issued since the talks began came from the Taliban, who said on March 8, 2019, that Everyone is aware that detailed discussions are taking place in the Qutari capital of Doha between the negotiation team of (the) Islamic Emirate (Taliban) and the United States regarding the complete indepen-dence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland Afghanistan. Since the issue of Afghanistan has two aspects with one being foreign and the other internal, the current negotiations concern the foreign aspect which is related to the United States. This phase is about fleshing out the details of the two issues which were agreed upon in the last round of talks in January, the withdrawal of all occupying forces from Afghanistan and not allowing Afghanistan to harm others. Comprehensive discussions are taking place about these two subjects. Other issues that have an internal aspect and are not tied to the United States have not been held under discussions. As some individuals and circles are trying to connect other topics to these discussions, they are either unaware or are pursuing an agenda. No one should pay any heed to the rumours of these self-interested circles.

As we have already noted, the present negotiations have the backing of a number of countries that hold high stakes in the future of Afghanistan, such as, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, and the Central Asian republics, apart from other global investors in the country like Australia and Japan. The situation is so much conditioned by the Talibans undisputed ascendancy in the last few years that nobody is questioning the legitimacy of the talks despite the forced absence of the Afghan Government, which is recognised by the international community and elected democratically. Even though unspoken, there are deep concerns over the future of the massive, far-reaching political, economic, social reforms and development already functional and also in the pipeline if and when the Taliban join in the governance. But the consensus is that peace has become imperative before other necessities and once peace is achieved, these can be addressed in a conducive atmosphere.

In these developments, the Taliban are the clear winner irrespective of what transpires eventually. But there is another winner as well, Pakistan, which is playing its hand expertly. Current reports say that after ensuring that the United States is forced to enter talks with the Taliban on an equal footing, Islamabad is now so subtly guiding the rebels in negotiating with American diplomats that its imprint is not visible to the outsider. A Reuters report said that while Pakistan is keen to avoid any overt display of influence on them, the Taliban are also careful to avoid any sign of such a connection. But, perhaps the truth was spoken by a US diplomat who commented that the talks would not have been possible without Pakistans help.

Apratim Mukarji is an analyst of South and Central Asian affairs.
College Station police are searching for a woman who is wanted on three felony burglary charges.

According to police, Lisa Kathryn Salazar, 23, was arrested with a man on March 31 on charges the two broke into Hobby Lobby on Texas Avenue. She has made bail and is now wanted on additional charges of burglary of a building. CSPD posted notices to social media on Friday afternoon, urging the public to provide information on her whereabouts.

Anyone who harbors or conceals Salazar, provides Salazar any means of avoiding arrest, or warns Salazar of an impending arrest commits the offense of hindering apprehension, the official statement reads.

Burglary of a building is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and $10,000 in fines. Those with information are asked to call CSPD at 764-3600.
The Brazos Valley received a significant amount of rain throughout the day Friday, causing some roads to flood.

According to KBTX-TV meteorologist Shel Winkley, between Monday and Friday evening, Bryan-College Station had received more than 3.3 inches of rainfall, while some areas of the Brazos Valley received up to 6 inches. Late Friday, more rain continued to drench the area, adding to the numbers. Rains today will probably be measured at 1 to 3 inches, though in spots some residents of the Brazos Valley could see as much as

5 inches of rain, Winkley said.

Though rain is not unusual for this area during May, Winkley noted that rain does not usually fall in such a high quantity at once this time of year. The storms seen over the weekend likely will affect Austin and San Antonio more than the B-CS area, he said.

According to the National Weather Service, while there is a 40% chance of heavy rain today, tonight is expected to be mostly clear. Sundays forecast is a high of 85 and mostly sunny skies. Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Washington counties were placed under a flash flood watch through 1 p.m. today.
Air Force Col. Bea M. Marin, a Bryan native, is remembered for her valor while serving in the Vietnam War and for her molding of minds as a faculty member with Tarleton State Universitys School of Nursing.

Her image has now been immortalized in bronze with a near life-sized statue unveiled recently at the nursing building on the Tarleton campus in Stephenville.

Born in Bryan in 1939, she attended Ibarra Elementary School, Lamar Junior High School and was a 1957 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School. She was raised in a time when women were not allowed to attend Texas A&M, despite her dreams to become an Aggie. According to her cousin, Dora Moncivais-Garcia, who spoke at the statues unveiling on April 26, Marins father told her not to give up on an education.

She elected to attend Texas Womans University in Denton and earned a nursing degree and registered nursing license before eventually receiving a masters degree. She eventually was inspired by her male relatives World War II service to join the military, and she was accepted into the Air Force as a lieutenant.
Surely everyone is familiar with the saga of George Bailey, who think he doesnt matter to the residents of Bedford Falls, New York. An angel  Clarence  takes Bailey on a look at the difference he has made in the town and finally convinces him that life is good and that Bailey should embrace it. A small cast will re-create the story on stage, as it would be during a live radio broadcast.

 Little Women adapted by Thomas Hischak, directed by Micaela Eagle, Feb. 6-22.

Louisa May Alcott wrote the novel of the four Marsh sisters: Meg, Jo  based on Alcott herself  Beth and Amy. The lives of the sisters has captured the heart of generations of women since it first was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Although there are many stage versions of Little Women available, Hischaks take on the classic story is considered by many to be the best.

 Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrew Roblyer, April 2-18.
April 29, 2019 - April 29, 2019

Beautiful Hannah Victoria Palasota was born in love on April 29, 2019 at 3:25 am. She was baptized into the Church at 4:00 pm and entered Heaven's gates at 6:00 pm. Never leaving her side, Hannah's parents, Corey Anthony Palasota and Ashley Deatherage Palasota, held her little tiny hand and encouraged her to be strong as she underwent the most critical care treatments.

While her parents had many plans for Hannah, God's plans were different. Hannah's spirit lives in the warm hearts of her parents, grandparents, James and Bec Deatherage of Bryan, TX and Joe and Diane Palasota, of San Antonio, TX, aunts, uncles, cousins and large extended family. Hannah reminds us of the fragility of life, the immediate loving bond of parent and child, and the enigma of God's divine providence.
The raw gender gap by itself doesnt tell us much about the amount or type of discrimination against women in our economy.

Rather, it simply tells us that women, on the whole, earn less money than men. It doesnt tell us why.

Its just a comparison of averages, not a comparison of women and men in the same jobs with the same experience, education, hours and labor-market conditions.

Often, these factors  education, hours worked, etc.  are the result of personal choices that workers have made and they often break down along gender lines.

Men simply are more likely to value higher pay, while women  particularly mothers  are more willing to trade high pay for other benefits, such as flexibility.

A recent Harvard Business School survey shows that 64 percent of highly qualified women value flexibility as extremely or very important compared to 42 percent who value its role in earning a lot of money.

If lawmakers really want to combat pay discrimination further, they should look for ways to do so that dont unnecessarily burden employers  many of whom are women  by removing disincentives to the flexible careers that women workers want.
Many employers require applicants to provide current salary information and then can use that information to lowball lower-paid applicants  typically women and people of color. Or even more insidiously, they may justify paying a male employee more, if his previous salary was higher. Banning salary history questions forces employers to determine what the job is worth, not the person.

 It prevents employers from banning salary conversations with coworkers.

Pay discrimination can flourish in workplaces where salaries are a highly confidential secret and known only to a handful of people.

Without transparent salary information, you may have no idea about salary differences among people doing the same job. Some companies even threaten to punish employees who discuss this information. While having an explicit policy can violate federal labor laws, employers now count on workers being too intimidated to risk discipline or termination. Its hard to fight unequal pay without knowing what others are making, so the he Paycheck Fairness Act clarifies that companies cant ban these conversations or punish employees who have them.

 It fixes current problems with how the Equal Pay Act has been interpreted in court.
New Delhi : In a shocking report, the Sri Lanka Army chief has revealed that some of the suicide bombers who carried out a series of blasts in Sri Lanka had traveled to Indian cities o train in terrorism activities.

"They had gone to India, Kashmir, Bangalore, Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said in an interview to BBC World.

At least nine suicide bombers were responsible for the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka in a decase on April 21. The National Investigation Agency ( NIA) had carried out several raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to unearth Indian links with the Sri Lanka blast.
11 Million Pounds of Chicken Strips Recalled Over Possible Contamination

Tyson Foods issued a nationwide recall of over 11 million pounds of chicken strips.

The Arkansas-based company produced chicken strips that could be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The chicken strips were shipped to retail and Department of Defense locations nationwide. They were also being used in institutions across the country.

Two consumers found pieces of metal in their Tyson chicken strips and alerted the service, which said that its now aware of six complaints and three injuries from the issue. The health risk for the alert is listed as high.

The products were produced from Oct. 1, 2018, to March 8, 2019, and have Use By Dates on the packages of Oct. 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020. All of the products bear the establishment number P-7221 on the back of the package.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Tyson Foods Consumer Relations at 1-866-886-8456. In a statement, the company said it was issuing the recall in the interest of public health even though the vast majority of the products have already been consumed without any reported incidents. It wasnt clear whether the company had been informed of the three illnesses.

We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plants existing metal-detection system. We will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification, said Barbara Masters vice president of regulatory food policy, food, and agriculture for Tyson Foods, in a statement.

The products recalled include the following:

Tyson Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Strips, Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat, frozen in 40-ounce plastic bags.

Tyson Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Flavored Chicken Strips Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat and Honey BBQ Style Sauce Smoke Flavor Added, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Food Lion crispy chicken strips fully cooked chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken fully cooked microwaveable, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Giant Eagle Crispy Fully Cooked chicken strips chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Other brand names include Meijer, Publix, and Kirkwood. For a full list, (pdf).
Picacho Peak Park in Arizona, where a boy scout died on April 27, 2019. (CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

16-Year-Old Boy Scout Dies After Troop Runs out of Water in Arizona Desert

A 16-year-old boy scout died when his troop ran out of the water while hiking in the Arizona desert on April 27.

According to Pinal County sheriffs officials, a Scouts BSA group was hiking at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday when the boy had no water and fell unconscious, reported KGUN-TV.

The troop had water but by the time they reached the top of the peak they ran out and on their way back, the boy started showing signs of dehydration.

A member of the hiking group called 911 for help but by the time the responders reached them he had fallen unconscious.

PCSO: 16-year-old dies during hike at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday.https://t.co/GiiPEhlblh pic.twitter.com/7aTYyLSETM  KGUN9 On Your Side (@kgun9) May 2, 2019

A team from Avra Fire Department and a park ranger tried to revive him but he was declared dead on the scene.

Its not yet clear if his death was caused by dehydration and officials are now investigating the possible causes.

In another hiking-related death at a coastal park near Big Sur, an 18-year-old teen who fell into a blowhole was presumed dead after a four-day rescue ended in January this year.

The victim was identified as Braxton Cooper Stuntz of Carmel, Calif. Stuntz and his friends had been hiking at Garrapata State Park Beach on Jan. 12 when they found a blowhole near the cliffs along the Pacific Coast, according to the Monterey County Sheriffs Office.

View this post on Instagram the 1 A post shared by @ braxtnn on Jan 10, 2019 at 9:55pm PST

Stuntz slipped and fell through the hole down to the rocky beach inside while exploring the marine geyser and trying to have a closer look.

The blowhole is flooded with waves measuring 14 feet high every nine seconds.

Sgt. Dave Murray told KSBW Stuntzs friends saw the teen making a thumbs up signal right after the fall. However, after a few waves, his friends were not able to see Stuntz anymore.

Authorities said the waves filled the blowhole, dragged Stuntz out, and pushed him underwater into the sea.

Stuntzs friend immediately sought help from a passerby, who called the police. First responders were not able to find Stuntz. As a result, members of the MCSO Search and Rescue, Mid-Coast Fire, Cal-Fire, California State Park Rangers/Lifeguards, and CHP Helicopter all joined the search effort for Stuntz.

California Teen Presumed Dead After Falling Through Monterey Beach Blowholehttps://t.co/b64Ohg8JOy pic.twitter.com/ZE2CnVMNXG  Pam Wright (@pamwrightmedia) January 16, 2019

The United States Coast Guard boat from Monterey sector and helicopter from San Francisco sector arrived and conducted search patterns well into the night, Monterey County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

MCSO drone operators returned the next day to continue the search for Stuntz and attempted an underwater search. No sign of Stuntz was detected in the following days.

At this time the young adult is classified as a missing person. However, operations have shifted into a recovery mode, sheriff officials said.

Although warning signs can be seen across the area, concerned citizens say signage is far from adequate.

Its shocking how dangerous it can be out here. For people who dont know the risks, it can be really alarming. You can slip and fall and be in big trouble, local resident Jared Sandman told KION.

The Garrapata State Beach Park is 15 miles north of Big Sur, which is one of the most popular destinations in California, connected by the iconic Highway 1.

Epoch Times reporter Zach Li contributed to this article.
JT Borofka, 7 months old, of Salinas, Calif., was diagnosed with triosephosphate isomerase deficiency just 2 months after birth. (Help JT Beat TPI Deficiency/GoFundMe)

7-Month-Old Baby Diagnosed With Rare Disease With No Known Cure

A California baby has been diagnosed with a rare disease that only 59 others around the world are known to have.

Doctors havent been able to find a cure or treatment for the disease, triosephosphate isomerase deficiency (TPI).

According to the Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center at the National Institutes of Health, the deficiency is a severe disorder characterized by a shortage of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), neurological problems, infections, and muscle weakness that can affect breathing and heart function.

TPI deficiency is the most severe form of a group of diseases known as glycolytic enzymopathies, which are rare genetic diseases that lead to the degeneration of the red blood cells. Signs and symptoms include anemia, fatigue, pallor, yellowing of the skin and the white of the eyes (jaundice), and shortness of breath, it stated.

Other symptoms are muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy), movement problems (such as involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), tremors and weak muscle tone), seizures, cardiomyopathy, and diaphragm weakness which may cause breathing problems and lead to respiratory failure, it added.

JT Borofka of Salinas, 7 months old, was diagnosed with the rare disease shortly after birth, his parents told KSBW.

We believe, and the doctors believe, that hes the first person to be detected with this very rare disease before the neurological and major symptoms start, Jason Borofka, JTs father, told the broadcaster.

The boy is Jason and Tara Borofkas only child. When he was 2 months old, he was sent to Stanford Childrens Hospital after his pediatrician detected low iron and oxygen levels. It was the first TPI case ever documented in California.

Our doctors at Stanford and their team are scrambling to come up with a cure or some type of treatment for our son, Jason Borofka said. The doctors gave him 2 to 5 years to live, and he said its going to be very tough on us and that it was going to be horrible. We cried for a solid week, for sure, but now were holding on tight and were going to try and beat this.

The couple wanted to share the babys story in the hopes of raising awareness about the rare disease. They hope that doctors will be able to find a cure.

In addition to TPI, the parents said on a GoFundMe fundraising page that the infant also has the hemolytic anemia disorder.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, hemolytic anemia is a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made. The destruction of red blood cells is called hemolysis.

Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. If you have a lower than normal amount of red blood cells, you have anemia. When you have anemia, your blood cant bring enough oxygen to all your tissues and organs. Without enough oxygen, your body cant work as well as it should, it added.

Hemolytic anemia can be inherited or acquired: Inherited hemolytic anemia happens when parents pass the gene for the condition on to their children. Acquired hemolytic anemia is not something you are born with. You develop the condition later.
Amazon employee Heather Redman works to pack products for shipment at an Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky on June 10, 2009. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Amazon Dismisses Idea Automation Will Eliminate All Its Warehouse Jobs Soon

BALTIMOREAmazon.com Inc. dismissed the idea of running a fully automated warehouse in the near future, citing the superior cognitive ability of humans and the limitations of current technology.

Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, said technology is at least 10 years away from fully automating the processing of a single order picked by a worker inside a warehouse.

There is a misperception that Amazon will run fully automated warehouses soon, Anderson said during a tour of Amazons Baltimore warehouse for reporters on April 30.

The technology for a robot to pick a single product from a bin without damaging other products or picking multiple products at the same time in a way that could benefit the e-commerce retailer is years away.

Amazon is exploring a variety of technologies to automate the various steps needed to get a package to shoppers, Anderson said.

In the current form, the technology is very limited. The technology is very far from the fully automated workstation that we would need, Anderson said.

The tour came at a time when the company has come under fire from labor groups and other Amazon critics for allegedly poor working conditions in its warehouses and for increasingly automating jobs and reducing its dependence on human labor.

The largest online retailer is also not employing robots in its warehouses that handle fresh food, said Derek Jones, global director of environment, health and safety, who oversees Amazons fresh food offerings like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.

Just imagine if you want bananas. I want my bananas to be firm, others like their bananas to be ripe. How do you get a robot to choose that? he said.

Amazon runs 110 warehouses in the United States, 45 sorting centers and about 50 delivery stations. It employs 125,000 full-time warehouse workers in the country.

The warehouses that employ robots mostly handle general merchandise, which includes everything from lamps and clothing to kayaks and bikes.

The company said it is not changing the level of productivity at its warehouses to catch up with its recent one-day shipping announcement. It is instead making changes to the transportation and delivery process.

Last month, Amazon said it plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club, Prime, in just one day instead of two.

Anderson said Amazons current target is four hours from the time a product is ordered to the time it leaves the warehouse, and the company is sticking with that.

The e-commerce company did not share details on how the decision to raise its minimum wage to $15 had impacted workforce turnover.

However, it said applications for seasonal jobs doubled to 850,000 at the end of October last year from the record number of applications the company received in August 2017, when it held a national job fair.

Amazon raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour for U.S. employees in November, giving in to critics of what they said was poor pay and working conditions.

By Nandita Bose
Bear Spotted in Tennessee Cabins Hot Tub

A bear was captured on camera taking a bath in a Tennessee rental cabins hot tub.

Elizabeth Strickland posted photos of the bear on the back porch of their cabin in Gatlinburg, WBIR reported.

I just had to share with yall. I was in that same seat 14 hours ago! she said of the bear in the hot tub.

There were also three bear cubs, she told the station.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency warns that bears might be cute or friendly, but people should be cautious.

They have been called a charismatic mega-fauna and for good reasoneveryone from non-hunters, to hunters, to wildlife watcherswe all love bears in our own special ways, the website says. For these reasons, it is everyones responsibility to keep them wild and keep them alive.

PHOTOS: Couple vacationing in Gatlinburg spots bear relaxing in their hot tub https://t.co/NIGlbdqqYo pic.twitter.com/q0Jm7QiOBQ  WKRN (@WKRN) May 3, 2019

According to the agency, there are several ways to deal with bears, which applies to black bears in any state:

-Never feed or approach bears!

-If a bear approaches you in the wild, it is probably trying to assess your presence.

-If you see a black bear from a distance, alter your route of travel, return the way you came, or wait until it leaves the area.

-Make your presence known by yelling and shouting at the bear in an attempt to scare it away.

-If approached by a bear, stand your ground, raise your arms to appear larger, yell and throw rocks or sticks until it leaves the area.

-When camping in bear country, keep all food stored in a vehicle and away from tents.

-Never run from a black bear! This will often trigger its natural instinct to chase.

-If a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively and do not play dead! Use pepper spray, sticks, rocks, or anything you can find to defend yourself. If cornered or threatened, bears may slap the ground, pop their jaws, or huff as a warning. If you see these behaviors, you are too close! Slowly back away while facing the bear at all times.

Bears Rescued

In another part of the country, in Arizona, three bear cubs were rescued after their mother died.

Arizona Highway Patrol troopers were responding to the crash near Dudleyville on April 29 when they stumbled on the cubs, and managed to load two into the back of their patrol car.

Pictures released by the Department of Public Safety show the 4-month-old cubs clambering on the seats in the back of the vehicle, while an officer from Arizona Game and Fish Department tracked down and caught the third cub.

AZGFD Tucson & Mesa responded today to three bear cubs orphaned and recovered by the AZ Hwy Patrol after a rare auto-on-bear accident on State Road 77 south of Winkleman. Their mother was likely killed instantly. The cubs are en route to the SW Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale. One first responder rescuing the cubs was scratched on the forearm by one, is seeking treatment at Oro Valley Hospital and likely will be released. Posted by Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson on Monday, April 29, 2019

Sergeants Tarango and Marquez, with assistance from DPS and a concerned citizen, arrested these three bandits, charged with raiding picnic baskets! wrote the Hayden Police department in a statement on Facebook.

Bears are incredibly smart animals, he said. They need to be challenged. Our bears here are given games to play and puzzles to do.

Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
Beluga Whale Allegedly From a Russian Military Facility Appears in Norway and Refuses to Leave

A beluga whale allegedly from a Russian military facility has mysteriously appeared on the coast of Norway. While the marine experts hope that it will swim away to where it has come from, it has till the last reportsrefused to leave.

The last days the whale has still been observed in the same area. Hopefully, it will swim away further north in the Arctic where it belongs and join a pod of white whales, Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine expert and an inspector for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement.

A few fishermen saw the beluga whale and sent pictures to Norways Institute of Marine Research. These photos were shared with three inspectors sailing in a Sea Surveillance Service patrol vessel.

To our surprise, we saw that the whale had a harness around his body clearly put there on purpose, said Wiig.

The team arrived with its disentangling gear and lured the whale with a cod filet. The whale was totally habituated to humans and we could touch it, he said.

The team had to work together to free the whale from the harness. First we thought that the rope had been ripped apart, but then we saw the most enjoyable thing in the water: The whale was free from the harness. It was a cheerful moment to see the whale going his own way free from the harness as we turned back to our regular assignment, said Wiig.

He told ABC News that it is very unlikely for the whale to have been trained by the Russian military.

Maybe [he] was trained to recover things people lose in the sea, as he is always looking for a boat to come close to, Wiig said.

We are in discussions with the Norwegian government about options for the beluga. He could just stay here, he could wait for other belugas when they make their summer migration through Norwegian waters and continue on with them [or] he could get transported to a whale sanctuary in Iceland.

Since being freed from its harness, the whale has moved only 30 nautical miles and Wiig said that they are looking for whatever best suits the young adults survival.

Its appearance, however, continues to be a mystery and Martin Biuw, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, told ABC News that the whale looks trained.

One of the videos shows the whale bobbing its head out of the water and opening its mouth. This is a clear sign that the animal is trained, as this behavior is usually associated with begging for food from the trainer, Biuw said.

There are speculations that the beluga is from a Russian Military facility. Biuw said that both Russian and American militaries had active marine mammal programs earlier but he had no detailed knowledge about it.

I would assume that harnesses are generally only used for short-term deployments, as they may cause chafing and other discomfort over longer time periods. What I can say for almost certain is that no researchers in Norway, and almost certainly not in Denmark/Greenland, use this method of attachment for any research-related work. Whether scientists in Russia do, I have no idea, he said.

The Russian military has denied running a sea mammal special operations program, reported the Guardian.

The investigations are done by Norways special police security agency (PST) and it has yet not given any conclusions.

The beluga whale is an Arctic and a sub-Arctic species.
Can Media Be Prosecuted for Being Unregistered Foreign Agents?

Jesse Liu, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and John Demers, head of the Department of Justices (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), unsealed a grand jury indictment of Gregory Craig, who served as White House counsel to Barack Obama, on April 11.

Its the NSD that is tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law passed by Congress that requires all persons working on behalf of a foreign government or entity to disclose that by registering and affirming they are representing foreign and not U.S. interests in their influencing activities.

Written by Brian Cates @drawandstrike

Hosted by Gina Shakespeare

Produced by @EpochTimes
Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canadian Lawmaker Condemns Pro-Communism Rally

Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper has a personal connection to the horrors of communism: His maternal grandparents escaped Soviet-occupied Lithuania, and his great grandparents died in the gulags of Siberia.

Thats why the St. AlbertEdmonton member of Parliament says he felt compelled to speak out in the House of Commons against a communist rally held on May 1 on the grounds of the Alberta legislature.

Disturbing to see people protesting with the Communist hammer and sickle in front of the Legislature. This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is the home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology. https://t.co/YciQn8F764  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 2, 2019

One might say well, this is just a small fringe group, but the fact is that this is an incredibly dangerous ideology that has resulted in more bloodshed around the world than any other ideology, Cooper said in a phone interview. Its a movement, an ideology that has led to the deaths of more than 100 million people.

On May 2, Cooper said in a statement in the House of Commons that the disturbing pro-communist rally should shock the conscience of all Canadians of goodwill, and that the promotion of this evil and murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly.

The legacy of communism includes mass violence, oppression, the dislocation of hundreds of millions, and the deaths of more than 100 million people. Its legacy is an ocean of blood, he said.

My statement on the disturbing pro-Communist rally at AB Legislature. The promotion of this evil & murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly #cdnpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/fqE6wK2jdS  Michael Cooper, MP (@Cooper4SAE) May 3, 2019

Cooper wasnt the only politician speaking out against the protest. Albertas new premier, Jason Kenney, also tweeted about the rally, saying he found it disturbing to see people protesting with the communist hammer and sickle in front of the Alberta legislature.

This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology, Kenney said.

According to Stephane Courtoiss The Black Book of Communism, communist regimes are responsible for close to 100 million deaths: 65 million in China, 20 million in the Soviet Union, 2 million in North Korea, 2 million in Cambodia, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, 1.5 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Vietnam, 1 million in Eastern Europe, 0.15 million in Latin America (mainly Cuba), and 10,000 due to the international communist movement and communist parties not in power.

The Epoch Times special series How the Spectre of Communism Is Ruling Our World states that communist regimes force the general population into obedience by killing their victims openly and deliberately.

In just one century, since the rise of the first communist regime in Russia, the evil spectre of communism has murdered more people in the nations under its rule than the combined death toll of both world wars, the series states.

The remaining officially communist countries in the world today are China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos.

According to another special series by The Epoch Times, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which focuses more specifically on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the primary belief of the communist party is struggle, which is used as a tool to gain and maintain political control.

For instance, a famous quote from MaoWith 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?reveals the logic of survival of the fittest, the series says. Repetitive use of force is an important means for the CCP to maintain its rule in China.

The series adds that the goal of using force is to create terror, so that people become afraid and submit to the terror, and gradually become enslaved under the CCPs control.

Cooper says the fact that there are still communist countries in the world suppressing human rights, and the fact that such pro-communist rallies are being held in Canada and other parts of the world, demonstrate that while in Canada communism is a fringe movement, it hasnt been completely stomped out, and it must not be allowed to gain any momentum.

He says Canada is a free country and people are free to hold rallies, but if they do, they need to be called out, and they should be made a little bit uncomfortable.

Its important to unequivocally condemn [communisms] promotion, Cooper says.
HOLLYWOODEric Le Van enjoys transmitting and learning about traditions. Being a classical concert pianist who has performed internationally and is currently teaching students, he understands the importance and beauty of preserving traditions.

Theres something about a tradition that is timeless, Le Van said. So it can be very relevant to our culture.

Le Van was invited to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on May 3 by one of his music students. New York-based Shen Yun tours the world with the aim to bring back Chinas 5,000 years of semi-divine culture through performing arts, something the pianist was able to appreciate.

I got, overall, from the show this desire to reach back to the spiritual roots of Chinese culture, going back thousands of years, Le Van said. And I was actually very happy and since delighted to see that theres that effort by others in exile to revive what was unique to the culture, because I know a lot of it had been suppressedthat was an interesting message.

Le Van, who is based in Los Angeles, is known for his performances of the music of Brahms and Scriabin. He has performed as a guest soloist and recitalist in many major venues and festivals in the United States and Europe like the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany and Fetes Romantiques de Nohant Festival in France. He has also released several recordings of his performances, which have been well-received.

He said he was particularly touched by the last piece, The Final Moment, which is a story-based dance depicting modern Chinese society and real-life human rights abuses under the communist regime.

The final dance I think was touching on that theme of how modern culture can clash with these traditional ones. I think we [need to] become better people and we become in touch with that culture. So in that respect, I thought it was a very compelling moment, he said.

Shen Yun performances are comprised of about 20 vignettes of dance, solo music performance, and stories. Many of these stories are based on historical events, inspired by myths and legends passed down generation after generation, and reflect modern-day China under the communist regime.

Some of these stories that portray traditional themes and values that encourage self-reflection and inspire audience members to observe the world around them.

Interesting Combination

Le Van said he was surprised to see a Western orchestra playing Chinese music. He said, That was an interesting combination, adding that they blended quite well.

I was not that familiar with the traditional Chinese instrument.  The [erhu] is quite intriguing. I think Ive heard it before, but it is the first time I had actually heard it in person in concert, he said, referring to the Chinese two-string violin.

Along with dance, Shen Yun performances are accompanied by a live orchestra that combines Eastern and Western classical instruments that create a distinct yet harmonious sound. A Western orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies, according to Shen Yun.

The erhu, also known as the Chinese violin, is just one of the many Chinese instruments that play in the orchestra. This year, audience members were fortunate to experience it in its own solo piece.

Le Van said he commends the effort of [Shen Yun] to really bring back traditions, which is so vital.

Especially in a time when I think pop music and Western pop music has become so widespread everywhere in the world and its almost drowning out diversity and its like a generalized youth culture and I think it can become basically a business. So I think that its so important to preserve these things that had lived with us for so many thousands of years, Le Van said.

We dont want to get lost in the wave of pop culture, and especially for young people, if they can somehow experience and see [the traditional culture] that is part of a heritage, and its beautiful, he added.

With reporting by Michael Ye.

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.
A Congolese health worker prepares to administer Ebola vaccine, outside the house of a victim who died from Ebola in the village of Mangina in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 18, 2018. (Olivia Acland/Reuters)

Congo Ebola Deaths Surpass 1,000

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo/GENEVAThe death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, April 3.

The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Congos Health Ministry said on Friday that 14 new Ebola deaths had been recorded, taking the toll to 1,008 deaths from confirmed and probable cases.

Only the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa has been deadlier. More than 11,000 people died then out of 28,000 who were infected.

Despite significant medical advances since then, health officials have struggled to control the current outbreak because of the violence and community mistrust in eastern Congo, where dozens of militias are active.

Militiamen attacked a hospital treating Ebola patients two weeks ago, killing a senior WHO epidemiologist and wounding two others.

The numbers are nothing short of terrifying, said Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease specialist and director of the global health charity the Wellcome Trust.

This epidemic will not be brought under control without a really significant shift in the response, he said. Community trust and safety, as well as community engagement and ownership of the response is critical.

There was an attempted assault on an Ebola treatment facility in the city of Butembo on Thursday, but nobody was injured and the assailants were captured, the WHOs Ryan said.

By Fiston Mahamba and Stephanie Nebehay
At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh (Photo: VNA)



Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th./.
Trump Trade War Is Widening, Not Ending

Almost every day brings comforting news on the trade front. Theyre talking! Someone went to Beijing! Someone else is optimistic!



The problem is, thats just talk. The longer it goes on, the more tariffs damage the economy.



Lets call tariffs what they are: import taxes. Maybe then the people who oppose all other taxes will stop thinking tariffs are somehow helpful.



There are better and less harmful ways to achieve our goals. But what you or I think doesnt really matter.



President Trump likes tariffs, and current law lets him use a national security pretext to impose them.



So they will continue until he changes his mind, and theres no sign he will.

Caught in the Middle

One thing even President Trump cant stop is the calendar. The days keep ticking by, each one bringing the end of his term closer.



That matters because Trump cant make any permanent trade agreements unless Congress agrees. Thats a long process he hasnt even started.



Instead, Trump is using executive authority, which lasts only as long as he is president. Any promise he makes to China will expire on January 20, 2021, just 21 months from now, unless he is reelected.



The Chinese know this.



Thats why they are in no hurry to make the kind of deals Trump wants. He might encourage them with threats and maybe even higher tariffs. But then he risks crashing the markets.



So, Chinas best negotiating strategy is to wait, which they do very well.



They may think Trump will get more flexible if the economy weakens next year, which is likely. Or possibly, theyre betting his successor will be friendlier to them.



In either case, Beijing has little incentive to give Trump what he wants unless he wins reelection, and maybe not even then.



The US agriculture and technology sectors are caught in the middle. Farmers are losing real money. Time isnt on their side.



But politically, Trump needs Midwest support. So if China keeps rejecting him, look for the rhetoric to turn ugly again.

We Will Reciprocate!

One problem with trade disputes is they escalate so easily. Country A raises tariffs on Country B, which then fires back.



If it stops there, everybody adapts and moves on. Trade wars happen when one side ups the ante, forcing a greater response from the other one. Then it spirals and gets much worse.



With that in mind, consider this April 23 presidential tweet.







Note that closing threat: We will Reciprocate! Thats funny because the tariff that so upsets the president is reciprocation for the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed on the EU last year.



Did Trump really think they would let him put European workers out of their jobs and do nothing at all? That was never a possibility. Yet hes surprised the EU is not surrendering.

Everyone Loses

Now, we dont know if Trump will actually do anything.



He often makes threats without following through. But if he does add more tariffs, the EU will respond again. Thats how trade wars pick up.



This one shouldnt happening in the first place. It springs from the Trump administrations contrived conclusion that EU-made steel somehow threatens US national security.



Thats obviously false, but World Trade Organization (WTO) rules give countries a lot of latitude in defense matters or used to.



Last week, a WTO tribunal ruled that the security clause applies only to actual armed conflicts. The particular case involved Russia and Ukraine, but its logic would seem to cover the Trump tariffs too.



Trump will likely ignore this decision and even try to withdraw the US from WTO membership. But it may give other countries a legal justification to raise tariffs on US goodsand get worse from there.



The president is right on one thing: the US has legitimate trade grievances with China and others. We need to resolve them. He would have a much better chance if he involved Congress instead of relying on contrived national security threats.



For whatever reason, he chose to go it alone, even when his party controlled both sides of Capitol Hill. And with the WTO possibly letting other countries retaliate more aggressively than they have thus far, the odds favor more tariffs.



That wont be good for US companies that depend on imported supplies, or US consumers who buy them, or US workers who produce goods for export including those Midwest farmers.



In other words, pretty much everyone will lose.



So dont believe the spin. The trade war isnt ending. It may only be beginning. Beware if your investment strategy presumes otherwise.

The Great Reset: The Collapse of the Biggest Bubble in History

New York Times best-seller and renowned financial expert John Mauldin predicts an unprecedented financial crisis that could trigger in the next five years. Most investors seem completely unaware of the relentless pressure thats building right now. Learn more here.

By Patrick_Watson

 2019 Copyright Patrick_Watson - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico, on Aug. 28, 2018. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

Elderly Couple Were Stunned to Receive $7,000,000 Worth of Meth in the Mail

An elderly Australian couple Wednesday signed for a package containing 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million) worth of methamphetamine, which had accidentally been shipped to their house, police said.

The couple, who live outside Melbourne, called police after opening the parcel and discovering it contained bags of white substance.

They asked each other if they had ordered anything, and it was quite clear that they hadnt, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Matthew Kershaw told reporters on Thursday.

The authorities determined the substance to be 20 kilograms of the illegal drug.

(Its) quite incredible to comprehend that someone could be that sloppy, Kershaw added.

Hours after the couples alarming discovery, a 21-year-old man was arrested in the nearby town of Bundoora.

A further 20 kilograms of methamphetamine were found at the address where he was arrested.

Zhiling Ma, who appeared Thursday in Melbourne court, was charged with trafficking and importing a marketable quantity of a border patrol drug, CNN affiliate Nine News reports.

Its quite a large find to take off the streets, really, Kershaw said of the drug haul. Thats 800,000 hits off the street that weve intercepted yesterday which is quite significant.

Breaking Bad for Real for Self-Taught Chianese Meth Maker

A real-life version of Breaking Bad that was playing out in China has witnessed its own series finale. A self-taught man, with only a middle-school education, was described by police as surpassing the skills of some organized gangs in manufacturing methamphetamine.

A man surnamed Lei was arrested Jan. 5 after establishing a methamphetamine laboratory under the stairs of his first-floor apartment in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, according to the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Leis method was perfected through trial and error, including by sampling his own drug. Just as his production hit high levels of purity, the police found him.

Lei told a court hearing that, after being laid off from his leather factory job, he found that he could make easy money cooking meth; he taught himself chemistry over a four- to five-year period.

The operation was discovered when the anti-drug division of the districts public security bureau noticed chemicals being delivered to Leis residential districtchemicals that could be specifically used for drug production.

The police described a pungent odor emanating from the room as they prepared for an arrest. Meth labs have a variety of odors, including that of cat urine or rotten eggs.

What they discovered inside Leis apartment was a fully functional lab, over 180 grams (6.3 oz.) of methamphetamine, and more than five liters (1.4 gallons) of liquid that was reported to contain drugs. Police also found 20 notebooks filled with notes from his self-taught education process, and 10 chemistry-related books.

The police described the earliest notes as relatively rudimentary, but his later methods were advanced, with knowledge of five different ways to produce the drug.

In China, drug-related charges often carry heavy sentences. A Canadian citizen was sentenced to death on Jan. 14 for charges of smuggling 222 kilograms (490 pounds) of methamphetamine to Australia from China.

While illegal drugs from China, including precursor chemicals used in Mexican meth, have been finding their way into the United States, the drug thats currently devastating U.S. communities is the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Chinas export of fentanyl to the United States a form of undeclared warfare, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to crack down on fentanyl production, a drug similar to, but much more potent than, heroin.

In August last year, two Chinese citizens from Shanghai were charged in the United States with operating a fentanyl production ring. The drug was responsible for the deaths of two people in Ohio, according to prosecutors. On Jan. 13, one individual died from an overdose of fentanyl, with more than 10 others hospitalized in Chico, California.

Chinese companies have also made minor modifications to fentanyl recipes, likely to dodge legal implications within China.
A helicopter crashed near Kent Island, Md., on May 4, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Helicopter Crashes in Maryland, 2 People Reported Missing

A helicopter crashed into Chesapeake Bay off Kent Island, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, May 4.

The authorities responded to a report at around 12:30 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed, Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert told the Baltimore Sun.

The brother of an onboard passenger was boating in the area and saw the incident happening, and notified authorities CNN reported.

The Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that volunteers were currently responding to a helicopter down in Chesapeake Bay and asked drivers to move over for responding units.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department sent a dive team to the scene to locate the missing passengers.

BREAKING: There are reports of a helicopter down in the Chesapeake Bay off of Kent Island, Md., more specifically Bloody Point. Private boats report seeing wreckage floating in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders are currently scrambling to the scene. pic.twitter.com/QPTMHznDeu  Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) May 4, 2019

Brandi Colbert, a witness who works in the Kent Point Marina, told the Baltimore Sun that the helicopter went over the marina and disappeared.

Volunteers are currently responding to a helicopter down in the Chesapeake bay. (9-62 Box). Please move over for responding units. Posted by Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, May 4, 2019

Its not clear by the time of the publication if anyone was hurt in the crash.

This is a developing story, please check back for more information.
The moment of an explosion in the the suburb of Chicago is captured on camera. (Lake County Sheriff)

Industrial Plant Explosion Rocks Chicago Suburbs, 4 Injured

A massive explosion leveled an industrial plant, shook houses over 15 miles away, and left a fire raging in a Chicago suburb.

Four people have been hospitalized, according to the Chicago Tribune, after an explosion at a silicone factory in Gurnee, a suburb to the north of Chicago.

We have fire and structural damage indicative of an explosion, Steve Lenzi, spokesman for the Waukegan Fire Department, told the Tribune. There is very heavy damage.

The blast went off on May 3 at AB Specialty Silicones, a silicone plant in an industrial facility, according to Waukegan fire and police officials, reported WGNTV.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

The explosion was felt and heard in many neighboring towns and suburbs, according to reports and videos on social media which captured the moment of the explosion at around 9:30 p.m.

Around 10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriffs Office issued an alert via Twitter: We are aware of a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area. We are working to determine the cause.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

Even many miles from the scene, the explosion was loud enough for residents to believe there had been a crash or explosion in their neighborhood.

I live in Antioch, 17.1 miles away and it shook my entire house, wrote one person on social media. I called police

Eyewitness Megan Hener told the Tribune she went down to the scene of the explosion and posted pictures on social media of the plant was now flattened.

It was leveled. Its right across from the emission testing station, she said, in reference to a state of Illinois facility.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

According to NBC, nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were left without power.

Many pictures on social media show the fire burning, and the moment of the explosion was caught on various cameras, such as porch cams, and posted to social media.

What was that massive explosion? Ive never heard anything so loud, wrote Lori Taylor on Twitter. Our house shook in Wadsworth.

One on-the-spot witness told Chicagos WLS-TV that she saw debris and sparks flying everywhere after hearing a large boom.

She saw a building engulfed in flames and heard another large boom.

The fire department said that they do not believe there is cause for concern about air quality or need for a shelter-in-place order, according to Local State Representative Joyce Mason.

According to WGNTV, police said late on May 3 that an active search and rescue operation was still underway at the site.
MS-13 Believed to Be Behind Body Found in Washington

The infamous MS-13 gang is believed to be behind the murder of a male who was found in Washington with one hand severed and the other barely attached.

Detectives believe the body found on April 27 is Eberson Guerra Sanchez, a ninth-grader who attended Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland, law enforcement sources told WUSA on May 3.

The body, found beneath the Chain Bridge near the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, was badly beaten and hacked with what detectives believe was a machete.

One hand was completely severed while the other was barely attached.

MS-13 suspected in body found with severed hand, believed to be Frederick teen https://t.co/4BBjPM72e5 pic.twitter.com/iGZ29Eu7VI  WUSA9 (@wusa9) May 4, 2019

Tuscarora High School Principal Christopher Berry said in a letter (pdf) to students and parents on May 2 that Sanchez had died. The Metro Police Department, though, said that the identification of the body hasnt been completed yet.

I know what theyre saying, but its too early to make a positive identification, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham told NBC 4. The victims face was so badly beaten, a positive identification will take more time.

Blue and white bags were tied to trees marking a trail to an enclave in the woods where the body was found. The colors are used by the transnational gang, which is known to favor beheadings and other brutal execution methods to send messages to the families of victims and others. Investigators removed the bags as forensic evidence.

A student who chose to stay anonymous told NBC 4 that Sanchez had only attended the school for a few months and believed the teen was from El Salvador.

Eberson Guerra Sanchez, un alumno de Tuscarora High School, fue reportado desaparecido la semana pasada y hallado muerto durante el fin de semana https://t.co/l8PYBZwcks  Telemundo 44 DC (@Telemundo44) May 2, 2019

Berry said in the letter that officials didnt think there was a threat to other students. We have no reason at this time to believe the circumstances are connected to Tuscarora High School or other students who attend here, he wrote.

The suspected MS-13 murder of Sanchez came just three days before three men believed to be members of the MS-13 gang were indicted for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a rival gang member in Nevada. The three men, all illegal aliens, allegedly restrained the victim and stabbed him while holding a gun to his head. When he tried to run, they shot him. The men then chopped up his body.

The gang, also known as Mara Salva 13, originated in Los Angeles but spread to El Salvador as members were deported from the United States. The transnational criminal organization is believed to have more than 10,000 members and regularly conducts gang activities in at least 10 states, including Maryland, and across Central America and Mexico.

In late March, six MS-13 members in New York, including two from Maryland, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to murder a fellow gang member who they thought was cooperating with law enforcement.

Our intelligence shows that their plan was to kill him by shooting him with a firearm they planned on purchasing, butchering him with a machete, or by burning him to death, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a press release.

This goes to show how ruthless this gang is and is part of their [modus operandi]: They conspire to kill rival gang members but they also conspire to kill their own when they allegedly violate the rules of the gang.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea Fires Short-Range Projectiles: South Korea

South Koreas military said that North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on May 4 local time. It initially described it as a missile launch but later gave a more vague description.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Koreas presidential Blue House is analyzing the situation, a Blue House official said without elaborating.

The South Korean military said it will, together with the United States, analyze the latest launches.

Japans Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the countrys coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

A Missile?

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

If North Korea really did fire banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first launch since it fired a test of ICBM back in November 2017.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas action would send a message to the United States.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure, said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the Norths nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts, Sanders said in a statement back on Feb. 28. No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.

Trump said at a press conference later that North Koreas insistence on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return proved to be the sticking point.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee. Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly. With reporting by AP, and The Epoch Times staff.
An injured demonstrator is helped during a May Day rally in Paris, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (Francois Mori/AP)

Paris Officials Question 30 Over May Day Ruckus at Hospital

PARIS (AP)  Authorities in Paris questioned 32 people May 2 about May Day marchers who scaled a fence and tried to enter a hospital, while questions remained over whether the group intended trouble or was trying to flee police tear gas.

By the end of the day, there was still no answer. The suspects detained for questioning were let go, an official with the Paris prosecutors office said.

The director of the Paris public hospital system had said he planned to file a complaint with police about the intrusion at Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital during an annual International Workers Day march organized by labor unions.

Dozens of people scaled the fence leading to a courtyard and tried to storm an emergency exit in a post-surgery ward on the afternoon of May 1, Martin Hirsch, the Paris public hospital system director, said. Doctors and nurses kept the door closed before police arrived, Hirsch said.

Computer equipment in another part of the hospital was damaged, and the consequences could have been very serious, Hirsch said.

Confusion surrounds the alleged actions of the May Day marchers.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called the incident an attack. But activists with the yellow vest movement, a left-wing politician and some news outlets suggested march participants were trying to escape tear gas fired by riot police.

The questioning of the 32 suspects brought no clarity, and they were released.

The investigation is continuing to shed light on the circumstances of the intrusion within the health facility, the official in the prosecutors office said. The official wasnt authorized to speak publicly about ongoing investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Paris May Day rally was disrupted several times by clusters of anarchists, supporters of the anti-government yellow vest movement and troublemakers who threw rocks at officers and set vehicles and trash cans on fire.

French officials deployed 7,400 officers to police the event.

French broadcaster BFMTV aired a video that showed dozens of people clamoring up steps that led to a glass door leading to the post-surgery unit and nurses and other staff members blocking the door from the inside.

BFMTV said the video was recorded by a nurses aide.

During a 2016 demonstration against labor reforms, another Paris hospital sustained damage after troublemakers hurled paving stones and other objects at the building.

By Elaine Ganley
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, May 2, 2019, in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Pelosi Calling Barr a Liar Is Beneath Her Office, White House Says

The White House on May 3 issued a rebuke against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for accusing Attorney General William Barr of lying during a hearing over special counsel Robert Muellers report earlier this week.

The fact that the speaker would take it upon herself to call him a liar is really, really inappropriate and beneath her office, deputy press secretary Steven Groves said on MSNBC.

Mueller wrote a letter to Barr complaining about his summary of the Russia investigation dated March 27. During testimony in April, Barr was asked whether he knew about the frustrations from Muellers team over his summary. Barr said No I dont and suspected they wanted more put out from the full report.

Although Mueller wrote that Barrs interpretation of his report did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions a Department of Justice representative told The Washington Post Mueller did not believe Barrs conclusions were inaccurate. Instead, Mueller was worried about the medias coverage of Barrs summary.

The special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading, the spokeswoman told The Washington Post. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsels obstruction analysis.

The Washington Post also reported that Mueller told Barr in a phone call that the concern of his summary was not about the accuracy of his letter.

Barr later confirmed the existence of the letter and phone call and clarified that Mueller didnt think his letter to Congress was inaccurate in testimony on May 1. Barr also said he believed Muellers letter was not written by him, stating that it was a bit snitty, and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people.

On Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob, the letter thats just put into the record, and I called Bob and said, Whats the issue here? and I asked him if he was suggesting the March 24 letter was inaccurate? And he said no, but that the press reporting had been inaccurate, and that the press was reading too much into it, he testified.

A number of top Democrats have since called for Barr to resign, claiming he was not truthful during testimony before House and Senate panels recently.

What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. Thats a crime, Pelosi told reporters previously at a press conference. He lied to Congress.

After Pelosi made the accusations the Department of Justice (DOJ) slammed Pelosis comments as baseless.

Speaker Pelosis baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible and false, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told Fox News.

Groves on May 3 defended Barrs comments, arguing the attorney general may have not wanted to reveal the private exchange he had with Mueller.

In that moment, that was private correspondence between Attorney General Barr and special counsel Mueller, Groves said. I mean, I dont know what was going through his head, but one of the things might have been, Hey that was a private exchange, maybe Im not going to reveal that on national television. 

He continued, The idea that he would be called a liar or accused of perjury is just so outrageous that I dont even know how to react to it.

Others have also defended the attorney general, pointing out that Mueller had admitted Barrs summary was accurate.

Rep. Mark Meadows said, 1) Mueller criticized Barrs letterexcept Mueller admitted letter was accurate. Pathetic spin. 2) Barr made the full report public 2 weeks agowhy in the world is his letter even relevant? Its like complaining about a movie trailer 2 weeks after the full movie comes out.

Liz Wheeler, the host of Tipping Point, made similar comments.

The article literally says Mueller CONFIRMED that Barr told the truth in his letter, she wrote.

Janita Kan contributed to this report
A woman during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 23, 2019. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

Persecution of Christians Worldwide Near Genocide Levels, Says Report for British Government

The persecution of Christians around the world is a near genocide levels, according to a report for the British government.

Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world, according to the report for the British Foreign Office, with acts of violence and intimidation becoming more widespread.

The British foreign secretary said he was shocked by the findings, and that a culture of political correctness in Western nations had left them asleep on the watch.

Christianity faces extinction in parts of the Middle East where it first blossomed, according to the report findings.

Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution but also its increasing severity, said the report, which was commissioned before the suicide bombings targeting Christians in Sri Lanka that left more than 250 dead last month.

The report author, Bishop Philip Mounstephen, said in a statement, Through my previous experience of the global church in Asia and Africa I was aware of the terrible reality of persecution, but to be honest in preparing this report Ive been truly shocked by the severity, scale, and scope of the problem. It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?

It is also ironic that many Western secularists, Islamic extremists, and authoritarian regimes share a common erroneous assumptionthat the Christian faith is primarily an expression of white Western privilege. In fact, Christianity is primarily a phenomenon of the global south and the global poor.

The report notes that in some regions, the level and nature of the persecution is close to meeting the United Nations definition of genocide.

The main impact of those genocidal acts is an exodus, according to the report.

Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria, the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today. Christianity is at risk of disappearing, representing a massive setback for plurality in the region.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt noted that the persecution of Christians happens for different reasons in various parts of the world, but said that they had gone unchallenged due to a broader culture of political correctness.

I think weve all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians, he told reporters in Addis Ababa, reported ITV. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into to as colonizers.

That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issuethe role of missionaries was always a controversial one and that has, I think, also led some people to shy away from this topic, continued Hunt. What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.

The report states that Christian women are more likely to suffer persecution.

The full findings of the report will be published in the summer.
Invited guests for the world premiere of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are reflected in the fuselage of the aircraft at the 787 assembly plant in Everett, Washington, on July 8, 2007. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)

Pilot Forced to Call Police on Disruptive Passenger, Drags Him Out of Bathroom

Seventy-five minutes into its 11-hour flight from New Zealand to Chile, a LATAM Airlines plane had to turn back because of a disruptive passenger.

The flight was 466 miles in the air on the night of May 3 when the decision to turn around was made in an effort to protect the people on board, Stuff reported.

The troublesome passenger was detained by using the Immigration Act, according to the news outlet. Police stated that there was an incident during the flight involving only the passenger in question.

A LATAM spokesperson said that no one on the plane was harmed.

He did not want to say what it was that the disruptive passenger did to make the pilots call the police and make the decision to go back.

The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it left Auckland about 6:30 p.m. and returned three hours later.

Flight LA800 from Auckland to Santiagohttps://t.co/yRxdpfcswl Inbound from Auckland to Santiago delayed ETA2242Z pic.twitter.com/veXQEy87Z2  Kenneth Brown (@spotter_scl) March 7, 2019

Airways spokeswoman Emma Lee said that the pilot had requested police approach the plane upon arrival. She said it would not be appropriate to comment further on the occurrence.

Some passengers were complaining of the delay and lack of communication So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? said one Twitter user who seemed to have been on the 787 Dreamliner.

So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? @AKL_Airport Coming up to four hours since landing on flight LA800. #aucklandairport needs to learn communucation skills. pic.twitter.com/unAdTJb7GN  Anthony (@workingnomad) December 8, 2018

Andrea Bastos was also on the flight. Her son, Fabrizio Farra, spoke to The Herald on behalf of his mother.

He said that the passenger was out of his mind. He didnt want to go, then he said he did. Flight attendants had to break into the bathroom, then they dragged him to the kitchen area and tried to calm him down.

Farra said his mother felt they could have been informed better. She felt the airline could have been more honest., he said. The flight was already late two hours so she was really tired of the whole situation by the time she got to Auckland.

Media have published updates as they have become apparent or more information has come to light.
This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows a policeman gesturing as Muslims arrive at the Id Kah Mosque for the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

Police Surveillance App in Xinjiang Targets 36 Types of Problematic People, Report Says

A surveillance app used by Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang designates 36 types of people who may be tagged for investigation and sent to internment camps as part of the regimes suppression of Turkic Muslims in the region, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

In a report published May 1, Human Rights Watch analyzed a mobile app used by Xinjiang authorities to collect personal information from Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities, file reports on activities they find suspicious, and carry out investigations on people the system flags as problematic.

The app is linked to the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), one of the main systems the regime uses for mass surveillance in the region. According to the report, the IJOP system surveils and collects data on the millions of Xinjiang residents through CCTV cameras, some of which have facial recognition or night-vision capabilities, a vast network of checkpoints, and through Wi-Fi sniffers, which collect unique identifying addresses of computers, and smartphones.

With data mined in this system, the IJOP can then identify problematic people for investigation and detention in the regions sprawling network of internment camps, the report said.

The U.S. State Department and rights groups estimate that more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being detained in such camps, where they are forced to undergo political indoctrination and renounce their faith. Former detainees have recounted torture, abuse, and rape in the facilities.

The Chinese regime has justified the detention and mass surveillance using the pretext of combating terrorism.

IJOP App

The rights organization said it was able to reverse-engineer the IJOP app to allow it to examine the type of personal information it collects, and identify the kinds of behavior and people the authorities target.

The app collects a wide range of personal information, including a persons blood type, height down to the precise centimeter, and the color and make of their car, the report said. The information then is fed into the IJOP system and linked to the persons national identification card number.

The report also found that the app identifies 36 types of people considered suspicious. These include seemingly innocuous behavior such as returned from abroad, does not socialize with neighbors, seldom uses front door, collected money or materials for mosques with enthusiasm, or household uses an abnormal amount of electricity.

The app also alerts authorities to carry out investigative missions into people flagged as problematic, which involves gathering even more personal information.

During one such mission, an official may be required, for example, to check the persons phone and log whether they use any of the 51 suspicious internet tools, including Virtual Private Networks, and foreign messaging apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

In Xinjiang, authorities have created a system that considers individuals suspicious based on broad and dubious criteria, and then generates lists of people to be evaluated by officials for detention, the report said.

Cases

Human Rights Watch interviewed several Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities who shared their experience being monitored by the IJOP platform.

A former detainee identified only as Ehmet was released in 2017, but soon found out that he was banned from leaving his local area. When I tried going out of the region, my ID would [make a sound] at police checkpoints.I was blacklisted.

Alim was released from a police detention center after spending several weeks there on charges of disturbing social order. Alim told Human Rights Watch that while visiting a mall, a nearby alarm went off. The police escorted him to the local police station right away. The police told me: Just dont go to any public places.

For Nur, his status as a foreign national upon fleeing Xinjiang means his family members back home are also implicated: [My family] said their ID cards have been making noise when going through the checkpoints ever since I was taken away [by police].

The IJOP platform is itself against the Chinese constitution and laws. The constitution guarantees peoples privacy of correspondence, while laws stipulate that only criminal investigators can collect suspects DNA samples and phone numbers upon obtaining a search warrant.
Public Prosecutor Takes Aim at SNC-Lavalins Court Bid for Remediation Deal

OTTAWACanadas director of public prosecutions is firing a new volley at SNC-Lavalin that could hobble the companys ongoing legal fight for a special settlement agreement over alleged corruption in Libya.

The prosecutor wants the Federal Court of Appeal to strike out a key element of the construction and engineering firms challenge of a ruling that went against the company.

Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin faces corruption and fraud charges related to business deals in Libya from 2001 to 2011. A conviction could bar the company from receiving federal contracts for 10 years.

SNC-Lavalin unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement, an alternative means of holding an organization accountable for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

In a March ruling, a judge tossed out the firms plea for judicial review of the 2018 decision.

SNC-Lavalin is appealing the judges ruling, pointing to recent revelations from parliamentary committee testimony from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and others to bolster its arguments.

The company says new and deeply troubling facts that came to light in the political saga show that checks and balances intended to ensure accountability was critically circumvented, amounting to a clear abuse of process.

However, the director of prosecutions is asking the appeal court to prevent SNC-Lavalin from ever supplementing its original arguments with the new information. If the directors motion succeeds, it would represent another legal setback to the companys bid for a remediation agreement.

SNC-Lavalin has been embroiled in a high-profile political storm since February when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that prime ministerial aides leaned on Wilson-Raybould to ensure a remediation agreement for the company. She resigned from cabinet days later.

Wilson-Raybould told the House of Commons justice committee in late February she faced a campaign of relentless pressure to secure an agreement for SNC-Lavalin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies officials acted inappropriately.

The director of prosecutions formally told SNC-Lavalin on Oct. 9, 2018, that negotiating an agreement would be inappropriate in this particular case, prompting the company to ask the Federal Court for an order requiring talks.

In its March ruling, the Federal Court said prosecutorial discretion is not subject to judicial review, except for cases where there is an abuse of process.

In its filing with the Court of Appeal, SNC-Lavalin contends the process of determining whether to pursue a remediation agreement was completely flawed.

The company says testimony before the justice committee made it clear that on Sept. 4, 2018, director of prosecutions Kathleen Roussel provided Wilson-Raybould with a memo that apparently outlined the prosecutors case against a remediation agreement.

By Sept. 16, Wilson-Raybould told the committee, she had formed the view it was unnecessary to intervene in the prosecutors decision.

However, SNC-Lavalin stresses in its filing that a dialogue with the prosecutors office was still unfolding.

In early September 2018, the public prosecutor agreed to receive additional SNC-Lavalin information addressing concerns, the company says. Its subsequent submissions came in letters to the prosecutor Sept. 7 and Sept. 17.

SNC-Lavalin notes Wilson-Raybould made no mention of these developments and was likely not aware of them. As a result, her conclusion not to intervene was based on incomplete information, the company says.

SNC-Lavalin argues Roussel failed to advise Wilson-Raybould that she had agreed to receive additional information from the company and neglected to update her Sept. 4 memo to the then-attorney general.
Rolls-Royce May Power Boeing `797 If Max Crisis Delays Jet

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. could re-enter the competition to power a medium-sized jetliner under development at Boeing Co. if the U.S. planemaker pushes the project back to help cope with the 737 Max crisis.

Rolls, which exited the New Midsize Aircraft program earlier this year saying a new engine wont be ready for the plane to enter service in 2025, may return to the contest if the timetable slips, Chief Executive Officer Warren East said May 2 at the companys annual shareholder meeting in Bristol, England.

We said to Boeing, we cant produce something that we are confident will be sufficiently mature, East said. If Boeing change their timescales then obviously we can reassess. We think technically we have a good solution.

Rolls had initially regarded the NMA, also dubbed the 797, as a potential launch platform for the new Ultrafan engine that will form the basis of its turbine offerings for the foreseeable future. That was before East said in February that it would be wiser to withdraw than screw up the launch of the plane and create service issues for customers.

Boeing put back a decision to select an engine for the NMA even before the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airways Max on March 10. The subsequent worldwide grounding of the 737 has led some analysts to suggest that the company may need to suspend work on the new plane to focus its full attention to getting the narrow-body workhorse flying again.

Milestone

Whatever the decision on the NMA, East said Rolls intends to bid to power the next generation of single-aisle planes expected to succeed both the Max and Airbus SEs A320neo jets from 2030. That would represent a milestone for the company after it quit the narrow-body market in 2011 to focus solely on bigger planes, leaving the sector to General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney.

The cautious approach on the mid-size Boeing has been motivated by a desire to avoid any glitches with the Ultrafan that could color the view of airlines and planemakers on the engine. Thats especially so given the issues Rolls has had with its Trent 1000 turbines that power the American firms 787 Dreamliner.

The NMA aside, the first available application for the Ultrafan could be a re-engined version of the Airbus A350 that the European company is studying for introduction toward the end of the 2020s.

A330, 787 Engines

East said that the company had caught up delays on Airbuss newest widebody, the A330neo, after falling behind last year, adding that the low number of deliveries of that aircraft in the first quarter was unrelated to engines.

The company has also managed to draw a box around the Trent 1000 issues that have affected some 787 operators, which has helped it secure new orders this year after a sales drought in 2018. Rolls has finalized claims with effectively all operators of the engine, with more than half of the 1.5 billion pounds ($1.95 billion) in costs associated with fixing the program earmarked for compensation payments.

By Benjamin Katz
A Scandanavian Airlines, known as SAS, Airbus A320-200 aeroplane takes off from the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, July 29, 2018. (Paul Hanna/Reuters)

SAS, Unions Close to Deal to End Pilot Strike: Reports

OSLOScandinavian airline SAS and unions are close to reaching a deal to end a pilot strike that has grounded 380,000 passengers over the past week, Norwegian media reported on May 2.

The airline, the Norwegian and Danish pilot unions, and the Norwegian employer organization were not immediately available for comment. The Danish and Swedish employer organizations and the Swedish union declined to comment.

Since pilots went on strike on April 26 over wages and conditions, SAS has canceled more than 4,000 flights.

Parties involved in the dispute have been negotiating in Oslo since May 1 to try to resolve it.

The will is there to solve the situation, Norwegian Pilots Union President Yngve Carlsen told reporters earlier in the day on his way into the Norwegian state mediators office, where the parties talked overnight.

I am more optimistic now than I was yesterday, Carlsen added but declined to offer a timeline as to when the strike could end.

Close to bankruptcy in 2012, SAS sold assets and cut wages and thousands of jobs in return for a life-saving credit facility. It has been profitable in the last four years but fuel costs are rising and overcapacity is still squeezing the sector.

The Swedish union has said pilots were seeking around a 13 percent pay hike, to make up for the 2012 wage cuts.

SAS, which is part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said that would entail significant cost increases that would seriously damage competitiveness.

The aviation industrys employer body in Sweden says pilots already have high wages, averaging 93,000 crowns last year. The Swedish pilots union disputes the figure, saying salaries start at 34,000 crowns, rising over 25 years to 98,000.

Analysts estimate the stand-off over wages and other demands by pilots in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark could cost SAS as much as $10.5 million a day, threatening to wipe out the airlines annual profit in short order.

By Gwladys Fouche
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to media about the Mueller report at the Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Lindsey Graham Invites Robert Mueller to Testify About Phone Call With Barr

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) invited special counsel Robert Mueller to testify about any potential discrepancies between responses Attorney General William Barr provided during a recent Senate hearing and the contents of a phone call between the two men.

In a letter (pdf) dated May 3, Graham offered Mueller the opportunity to provide testimony regarding any misrepresentation by the Attorney general of the substance of that phone call if the special counsel disagreed with Barrs account of the exchange.

Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC writes to Special Counsel Mueller regarding Attorney General Barrs testimony:https://t.co/B8eaSaOhTC pic.twitter.com/bHhQMUIoOj  Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) May 3, 2019

The phone call in question came days after Barr sent a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 containing the bottom-line conclusions of Muellers report.

The special counsel initially complained to Barr in a private letter sent on March 27 about the characterization of the reports findings in Barrs memo, saying it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of the probe. Barr subsequently called the special counsel to ask him about the March 27 letter.

During the call, Mueller told Barr that he did not think the attorney generals summary was inaccurate, but that the media coverage surrounding the investigation was misleading.

At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 1, Barr told lawmakers that he thought Muellers letter was a bit snitty, adding that he thought it was written by one of Muellers staff members.

He also refused a request by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to turn over the notes of the phone conversation with Mueller about the letter, reported the Washington Examiner.

Graham wrote in his letter to Mueller that, In response to questions by Senator Blumenthal, the Attorney General testified in essence that you told him in a phone call that you did not challenge the accuracy of the Attorney Generals summary of your reports principal conclusions, but rather you wanted more of the report, particularly the executive summaries concerning obstruction of justice, to be released promptly. In particular, Attorney General Barr testified that you believed media coverage of your investigation was unfair without the public release of those summaries.

During a press conference on May 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said he was going write to Mueller and give him a chance to correct the record if he thought Attorney General Barr in any way misrepresented the findings of his report but has no plans to bring in Mueller to testify about his investigation, telling reporters, Enough already. Its over.

Muellers Letter to Barr

The existence of the March 27 letter was leaked to the Washington Post and reported on a day before Barr was scheduled to appear at the Senate hearing.

The letter outlined Muellers concerns about the content of Barrs memo:

The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.  There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

BREAKING: Letter from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Attorney General Barr. pic.twitter.com/oDJm6coP8G  House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) May 1, 2019

Mueller also requested Barr to release the introductions and executive summaries of each volume of the report, according to the letter.

Sources familiar with the discussions told the Post that Muellers letter had shocked senior Justice Department officials because the officials believed the special counsel was in agreement about the process of reviewing the report and the need for redactions.

After the Attorney General received Special Counsel Muellers letter, he called him to discuss it, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. In a cordial and professional conversation, the Special Counsel emphasized that nothing in the Attorney Generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the Special Counsels obstruction analysis. They then discussed whether additional context from the report would be helpful and could be quickly released.

House Committee in Negotiation with Muellers Team

According to multiple reports, members of the House Judiciary Committee are currently negotiating with Muellers team about whether he would appear before the committee to provide testimony about his Russia probe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony, according to NBC News Alex Moe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony  Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) May 2, 2019

An ABC News reporter and producer also reported similar details about the talks.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized, ABC reporter Ben Siegel wrote.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized.  Ben Siegel (@benyc) May 2, 2019

Barr was scheduled to testify at a House hearing on the Mueller report on May 2 but canceled as he did not accept the questioning format proposed by the committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). In particular, Barr was strongly opposed to allowing staff lawyers to participate in the questioning.

Barr said questioning witnesses before congressional committees is the responsibility of elected senators and representatives.
The top of a replica Crew Dragon spacecraft is show at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2018. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test Accident

CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaNearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap.

Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an anomalyscience jargon for when something goes wrong.

The April 20 accident occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as SpaceX was about to test eight emergency thrusters designed to propel the capsule, dubbed Crew Dragon, to safety from atop the rocket in the event of a launch failure.

Just prior, before we wanted to fire the (thrusters), there was an anomaly and the vehicle was destroyed, Koenigsmann told reporters on Thursday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. There were no injuries. SpaceX had taken all safety measures prior to this test, as we always do.

The news conference was called ahead of Fridays scheduled launch of an unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station using a cargo-only capsule built by SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Leaked Video

When pressed about the accident, Koenigsmann declined to say whether an explosion or fire was involved. NASA has likewise declined to describe the mishap.

A leaked video of the accident, which a NASA contractor has acknowledged as authentic in an internal memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, showed the capsule blasting into smithereens. A pall of smoke was also widely observed from a distance at the time of the ill-fated test.

SpaceXs reluctance to describe in plain terms what happened to the capsule was at odds with NASAs long history of transparency surrounding accidents involving its human spaceflight program.

The Crew Dragon had been scheduled to carry U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station in a test mission in July, although Aprils accident, as well as some vehicle design hitches, are likely to push that launch to later in the year or into 2020.

Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover, Koenigsmann said.

The destroyed vehicle was one of six such capsules built or in late production by SpaceX, and the first flown into space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched it without a crew to the space station in March for a six-day visit before returning to Earth, splashing down safely in the Atlantic for retrieval.

Koenigsmann said initial data from the accident showed the mishap occurred during activation of the emergency thrusters, which SpaceX calls the SuperDraco system.

We have no reason to believe there is an issue with the SuperDracos themselves, Koenigsmann said, adding that the engines have been tested nearly 600 times in the past.

NASA has been awarded $6.8 billion to SpaceX and rival Boeing Co to develop separate capsule systems to fly astronauts to space, but both companies have faced technical challenges and delays.

By Joey Roulette
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is hoisted onto a ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast after it returned from a mission to the International Space Station on March 8, 2019. (NASA via AP, File)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in Ground Test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX finally confirmed on May 2 its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago and conceded that the accident is not great news for the companys effort to launch astronauts this year.

Hans Koenigsmann, a company vice president, told reporters its too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the crew Dragon capsules test flight in Marchminus astronautscontributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the testing area at Cape Canaveral for safety reasons, according to Koenigsmann. The company does not want to disturb any evidence that could provide clues to the failure, he noted.

The company has concluded, meanwhile, that the smaller, simpler cargo version of the Dragon capsule is safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX was on track to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early April 26, although approaching storms threatened yet another delay. Earlier in the week, the flight was postponed by a major power shortage at the space station.

Because the April 20 accident occurred so close to SpaceXs landing site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the booster for the cargo launch cannot return there following liftoff. Instead, the first-stage booster was aiming for a barge stationed about 12 miles offshore, much closer than usual.

The cargo and crew versions of the Dragon capsule are considerably different. The cargo Dragon does not have the SuperDraco thrusters that are embedded into the side of the crew Dragon. Those thrusters would be used to push a capsule off a just-launched rocket in an emergency. They werent used during the test flight to the space station in March.

Koenigsmann said he does not believe the thrusters themselves caused the accident. The system had been activatedwhich involves opening and closing valves, and pressurizing systemswhen flames erupted.

SpaceX was going to launch the newly returned crew Dragon in another test this summer, to see how the SuperDraco thrusters work in an aborted flight. More crew Dragons are being built and can be used for this test, according to Koenigsmann.

Koenigsmann remains hopeful SpaceX can launch two NASA astronauts to the space station this year. The impact to the schedule will depend on the results of the accident investigation, he said.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX and also Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, instead of having them hitch expensive rides on Russian rockets.

Before the accident, SpaceX had been shooting for a summertime crew launch.

I dont want to completely preclude the current schedule, he said. Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover.

Koenigsmann said the company has been in touch with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnkenwho will be on board for the crew Dragons next test flight to the space stationand that the two have offered encouragement and motivation.

Boeing also has encountered recent delays with its Starliner crew capsules. The company is striving to launch a Starliner without astronauts to the space station in August.

By Marcia Dunn
An empty Tesla showroom stands in Brooklyn on April 25, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tesla Expects Global Shortage of Electric Vehicle Battery Minerals: Sources

WASHINGTONTesla Inc. expects global shortages of nickel, copper and other electric-vehicle battery minerals in the near future due to underinvestment in the mining sector, the companys head of minerals procurement told an industry conference on May 2, according to two sources.

The company, a major minerals consumer, has rarely talked publicly about its views on the metals industry. Copper, nickel, lithium, and related minerals are key components used to make electric-vehicle batteries and other parts.

Sarah Maryssael, Teslas global supply manager for battery metals, told a closed-door Washington conference of miners, regulators, and lawmakers that the automaker sees a shortage of key EV minerals coming in the near future, according to the sources.

Tesla did not immediately comment.

The copper industry has suffered from years of underinvestment, and it is now working feverishly to develop new mines and bring fresh supply online as the electrification trend envelops the global economy. Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the worlds largest publicly traded copper producer, is expanding in the United States and Indonesia.

Electric cars use twice as much copper as internal combustion engines. So-called smart-home systemssuch as Alphabet Incs Nest thermostat and Amazon.com Inc.s Alexa personal assistantwill consume about 1.5 million tonnes of copper by 2030, up from 38,000 tonnes today, according to data from consultancy BSRIA.

All that will make the red metaland other mineralsscarcer commodities, which worries Tesla.

Maryssael added, according to the sources, that Tesla will continue to focus more on nickel, part of a plan by Chief Executive Elon Musk to use less cobalt in battery cathodes. Cobalt is primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and some extraction techniquesespecially those using child laborhave made its use deeply unpopular across the battery industry, especially with Musk.

Maryssael told the conference, hosted by commodity pricing tracker Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, that there is huge potential for Tesla to partner with mines in Australia or the United States, according to the sources.

The conference, attended by more than 100 people, featured speakers from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy, as well as Standard Lithium Ltd., ioneer Ltd. and other companies working to develop U.S. lithium mines.

By Ernest Scheyder
Trucker in Deadly Colorado Crash Charged With 40 Criminal Counts

DENVERA Texas truck driver who police say caused a fiery multi-vehicle crash near Denver last week that killed four people and injured four was charged on Friday with 40 criminal counts including vehicular homicide, prosecutors said.

Police in Lakewood, Colorado said they arrested 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos after he lost control of his tractor-trailer truck during the evening rush hour on April 25 and caused a crash on Interstate 70 that involved at least 28 vehicles.

The district attorney for Jefferson County, where the crash took place, charged Aguilera-Mederos with 40 counts on Friday, including four counts of vehicular homicide, six of first-degree assault and 24 of attempted first-degree assault.

A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 11. Aguilera-Mederos is being held on a $400,000 bond.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying lumber, rammed into several cars, causing a pile-up that became a raging inferno, authorities said. The four men who died were all single occupants in their vehicles, according to a local TV station.

The carnage was significant, police spokesman Ty Countryman said at the time. Just unbelievable.

Lakewood police spokesman John Romero described it as a chain reaction of crashes and explosions from ruptured gas tanks. It was crash, crash, crash and explosion, explosion, explosion, he said.

There was no initial indication that Aguilera-Mederos intentionally caused the crash, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Countryman said.

Aguilera-Mederos told police his brakes had failed, but cell phone video from a witness showed his truck veering across several lanes of traffic and forcing another vehicle off the road before the crash, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

I-70 is Colorados vital east-west highway that connects the mountains with the plains and traffic has grown worse as the states population has boomed. The crash happened just after the highway descends from the mountains, where signs warn drivers to check to make sure their brakes are cool and working after traveling down the steep grades.

Rob Corry, a lawyer for Aguilera-Mederos, said last week that the crash was an accident caused by an equipment malfunction.

This is a massive unprecedented overreach by the prosecution  on a vehicle accident, Corry told reporters on Friday.

Footage from the Crash

Video footage from a news helicopter showed flames whipping off the vehicles and what appeared to be lumber spilled across the interstate.

Local YouTuber Joshua McCutchen, who goes by the name Burger Planet, captured the moment the semi sped by him moments before crashing into stationary traffic ahead.

He also captured footage from the scene of the crash and interviewed an eyewitness.

Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. greets supporters of US President Donald Trump before he speaks at a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Trump Jr. Takes to Twitter to Criticize Social Media Censorship

Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. criticized big techs censorship and is asking people to realize its seriousness and take a stand against it.

On May 3, he wrote on Twitter, The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone, he stated, It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level, he wrote, adding, Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.

The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level. Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 3, 2019

A conservative African-American woman with a MAGA hat on her avatar picture responded, Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.

Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.  Melissa A. (@TheRightMelissa) May 3, 2019

Both President Trump and his son on Friday sent Maria Bartiromos post again that had a screenshot of Breitbart article titled Facebook Blacklists Prominent Conservatives Including Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, she said she thinks that the topic of silencing conservatives will be bigger and bigger as the 2020 election approaches.

President Donald Trump also sent Paul Joseph Watsons tweet and video again where he talks about the censorship he and other commenters that had been crucial for Trumps campaign have been subjected to.

Dangerous. My opinions? Or giving a handful of giant partisan corporations the power to decide who has free speech? You decide.https://t.co/cTCoLs0Op2  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Paul Watson mentions in the video that the Big Tech also banned Louis Farrakhan along with people with conservative leanings obviously to give the excuse that this wasnt political, Watson said It was totally political, he said, This is nothing less than election meddling.

Platform access should be a civil right! Retweet if you agree.https://t.co/RYblEBfUyj@realDonaldTrump  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 4, 2019

Donald Jr.s tweet on Saturday afternoon seems to indicate that Google is kowtowing to leftwingers and blacklisting hunters from advertising on their platform.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump Still Confident Deal Will Happen After North Korea Launches Short-Range Projectiles

President Trump expressed confidence that North Koreas leadership will not jeopardize the economic prosperity of their nation and that a denuclearization deal will be struck, after several short-range projectiles were launched from its east coast.

North Korea is currently under strict economic sanctions imposed by the international communitylead by the United Statesafter Kim Jong Un ramped up a nuclear weapons program in 2017.

Those sanctions brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table for a historic meeting with President Trump last year, when the North Korean leader promised to pause the nuclear weapons development program and stop testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

On May 4, South Korean officials said that missiles had been fired 40-125 miles out to sea from the coast of North Korea. It later downgraded the description to projectiles.

President Trump responded on May 4, writing on Twitter, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it.

He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

The projectiles fired on May 4 do not appear in violation of North Koreas promises and are a far cry from the long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea was test-firing before sanctions were tightened.

However, according to some analysts they are something of a warning shot.

Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough, Harry J. Kazianis, the director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said in a statement Friday night, reported The Hill.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure.

In February, President Trump walked away from the second talks without a deal, after North Korea insisted on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. local time before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the U.S., the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump walk out of the Oval Office during a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 2, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump: The Power of Prayer. Its the Most Powerful Thing There Is

Speaking to about 100 religious leaders and Trump administration officials, President Donald Trump said prayer is the most powerful thing there is in which many Americans still believe.

America will be a nation that believes forever, and we certainly believe, more than anyone, the power of prayerits the most powerful thing there is, Trump said at a White House dinner on May 1, the eve of the National Day of Prayer.

In attendance at the dinner were representatives from various faithsChristians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus. There, Trump stressed the importance of protecting religious freedoms.

Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God, and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religionall of us, he said, according to Life Site News.

In a proclamation on National Day of Prayer 2019, the president stated that The United States steadfast commitment to upholding religious freedom has ensured that people of different faiths can pray together and live in peace as fellow American citizens. We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace, and we condemn all hate and violence, particularly in our places of worship.

Trump also condemned the recent anti-religious hate crimes that occurred in America and abroad, including the recent shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego.

All of us in this room send our love and prayers to the Jewish Americans wounded at the Chabad of Poway shooting in California. And our hearts break for the life of Laurie Gilbert-Kaye who was so wickedly taken from us, Trump said at the dinner, according to CBN.

We mourn for the Christians murdered in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and grieve for the Muslims murdered at their mosques in New Zealand, he added. Here at home, we also remember the three historically black churches burned recently in Louisiana and the horrific shooting last year at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Trump then reiterated the importance of prayer in his speech at the National Day of Prayer Service on May 2.

He began his speech by sending a prayer to the people of Venezuela. The socialist South American country has spiraled into humanitarian, economic, and political chaos after illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro refused to step down despite mounting international pressure.

In mid-January, Venezuelas duly elected National Assembly declared Maduros presidency illegitimate due to a fraudulent election, and swore in Juan Guaido as interim president. But Maduro has refused to give up control.

Id like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom. The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end and it must end soon. People are starving. They have no food. They have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So we wish them well. Well be there to help, and we are there to help, Trump said.

Later in his speech, Trump said he will be doing everything he can to make it better than ever before for the American peopleand especially for people of faith.

On this Day of Prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. And we give thanks for those wondrous lands of liberty. And this is truly the greatest of all lands of libertyour country. Our country is special. It will always be special. It will be greater than ever before, he said.

On this day of prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. We give thanks for this wondrous land of liberty, & we pray that THIS nation  OUR home  these United States  will forever be strengthened by the Goodness and the Grace & the eternal GLORY OF GOD! pic.twitter.com/RtSI3j1GWH  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

Were doing things that will make it better than ever before, and especially for churches and synagogues and mosques and everyone elsepeople of faith. We pray that this nationour home, these United Stateswill forever be strengthened by the goodness and the grace and the eternal glory of God, he added.

Protecting Conscience Rights for Health Care Groups and Individuals

During his May 2 speech, Trump also announced his new rule that would protect health care groups and individuals from mandatory provision or participation in services they object to for religious or moral reasons.

And just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities. Theyve been wanting to do that for a long time, he said. Together, we are building a culture that cherishes the dignity and worth of human life. Every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule promises to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty. It specifically protects providers, individuals, and other health care entities from having to provide, participate in, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for, services such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide, according to the statement.
Volkswagen Earnings Upbeat Despite Diesel Scandal Charges

FRANKFURT, GermanyGerman automaker Volkswagen saw its profit slip in the first quarter as the company set aside 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for legal risks related to its 2015 diesel scandal.

The company nevertheless showed that it was holding its own against the headwinds buffeting the global auto industry, reporting improved earnings at its main Volkswagen unit and stronger profit margins across the groups 12 brands. A strong sales mix, with more-profitable vehicles taking a bigger slice, boosted earnings.

After-tax profit fell to 3.05 billion euros ($3.41 billion) from 3.30 billion euros in the same quarter a year ago. Group sales revenue rose 3.1% to 60 billion euros even though the total number of vehicles sold declined.

A key measure of profitabilitythe profit margin on salesrose to 8.1% from 7.2% in the year-earlier period. The figure exceeds the companys targeted margin range of 6.5% to 7.5%.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said it was a very strong first quarter and to an extent better actually better than we expected.

I think the key drivers were obviously the operational performance even though volume declined, but we were able to offset that with price and mix effects, Witter told The Associated Press.

Shares in Volkswagen rose almost 4% in Frankfurt as investors seemed to welcome the figures.

Auto companies are facing multiple challenges, including slowing sales in China, the worlds largest auto market, tougher emissions requirements and trade disputes. They are also under pressure to invest in new technologies to compete against tech companies pushing into auto-related areas such as ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles.

Witter said that earnings were under pressure from high outlays for the companys future lineup of battery vehicles, but said that was without alternatives. The company is pivoting to vehicles that produce no emissions locally to meet lower EU limits on greenhouse gases. Volkswagen expects to begin production this year of the battery-powered ID hatchback at its plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany.

The Volkswagen brand saw operating profit rise 5% to 921 million euros as cost control and a more profitable model mix compensated for lower volumes.

Earnings fell at two of the companys chief moneymakers, its luxury Audi and Porsche divisions. Audi saw profits fall to 1.1 billion euros from 1.3 billion euros because of model changes and higher spending on new products and technologies. Porsches operating profit fell 12% to 829 million euros.

Volkswagen faces legal risks from its 2015 scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions test, including pending suits from investors who say the company didnt inform them of the emissions issue in time. The company says it met its disclosure requirements. It didnt specify May 2 which diesel legal matter led to the new set-asides. The deduction brings total costs for the diesel scandal to 30 billion euros.

Last year Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, was the worlds largest carmaker by volume, selling 10.8 billion vehicles.

It said May 2 it was sticking to its forecasts for sales and profits this year, predicting that sales revenue could increase by as much as 5% over the prior year and that returns on sales would be between 6.5% and 7.5%.

By David McHugh & Pietro DeCristofaro
We Will Chop Off Their Heads for Allah, Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society Say: Reports

Disturbing footage has emerged from an Islamic Center in Philadelphia, showing children reportedly lip-syncing to songs and reading poems saying they would sacrifice themselves and kill for Allah.

The Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) uploaded videos on April 22 to its Facebook page. The videos show children singing lyrics that appear to call on the next generation of Palestinian youth to embrace terrorism and glorify suicide bombers, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The boys were shown to be lip-syncing a song, during which several of them held up a copy of the Quran.

The blood of the martyrs is calling us. Paradise, men desire it, they mouthed to the song, according to IPT. Revolutionaries, Revolutionaries  Sword and Text, oh free men.

The song continues: Until we liberate our lands, until we reach our anchorages, and we crush the traitor  Oh, the winds of Paradise. Oh rivers of the martyrs, lads. My Islam calls whoever responds. Stand up, O righteous ones.

IPT Exclusive Video: Children at a Muslim school run by @mas_national in #Philadelphia sing about the "Blood of Martyrs" and fighting #Israel pic.twitter.com/Rw9dTEfaqm  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The videos were shot on April 17, when MAS Philly held an annual Ummah Day. The theme of the event was advertised as focusing on the Golden age of Islamic science.

But IPT commented that instead of focusing on the scientific achievements of the Islamic world, part of the day was instead showcasing children forced to embrace radical Islamist culture.

Imam Mohammad Tawhidi shared a video of the incident online and wrote on Twitter: We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation.

We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation: https://t.co/3zeU2PFSfa  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 3, 2019

Tawhidi is a Muslim who lives between Washington D.C. and Australia. He uses social platforms like Twitter and Facebook to warn about the dangers that radical Islam can bring to the world.

We Will Chop Off Their Heads

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a watchdog group, translated a poem a young girl was reading that praised martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Palestine.

Our martyrs sacrificed their lives without hesitation. They attained Paradise, and the scent of musk emanates from their bodies. They compete with one another to reach Paradise. Will Jerusalem be their capital city, or will it be a hotbed for cowards? she said, according to MEMRIs translation.

Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society: We Will Sacrifice Ourselves for Al-Aqsa; Will Chop off Their Heads, Subject Them to Eternal Torture pic.twitter.com/6ySfz0Ylel  MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 3, 2019

Another girl read a violence-filled poem that appeared to encourage violence to remove Israels presence around Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque.

We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation, she said, according to MEMRI. We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling His promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture.

Earlier, the kids reportedly sang: The land of the Prophet Muhammads Night Journey is calling us. Our Palestine must return to us.

MEMRI told Fox News in a statement that such occurrences are not isolated incidents; they are happening in major centers of the countryincluding in Pennsylvania.

Fox News reported that MAS had not responded to a request for comment about the video.

MAS Philly belongs to the Muslim American Society (MAS), which has 42 chapters in the United States and one chapter in the United Kingdom.

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated MAS as a terrorist organization mainly because of their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. According to IPT, several MAS leaders have been linked to the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in northern Virginia, which serves as [an] incubator of hate and [has a] long track-record of radical and terrorist associations.

Read More The Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization With Socialist Roots

The MAS website says that its mission is to move people to strive for God-consciousness, liberty and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity, and that its vision is a virtuous and just American society. MAS did condemn the recent anti-Semitic white nationalist terror attack against the synagogue in San Diego, California, and the organization also condemned the Islamic terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Christian churches on Easter day.

Anti-Israel Songs

The Israel National News called the songs anti-Israel, and noted how one song had promised to liberate the Temple Mount from Zionists and to crush the traitor.

Israel controls security on the Temple Mount, but while Muslims have full and constant access to the mount, Jews are rarely allowed to ascend and banned from praying at the site. The Jordanian Waqf manages the site, the Israel National News reported.

IPT Exclusive Video: Philadelphia #Muslim school students sing song with violent anti-Semitic pro-terrorist lyrics pic.twitter.com/5tPSqypd2V  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based international Jewish NGO that is against anti-Semitism, released a statement condemning the apparent indoctrination.

If the translation is accurate, this incident is extremely disturbing. Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel, the statement read.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace. In a time of elevated anti-Jewish hate, all people must forcefully reject anti-Semitism wherever and whenever they see it.

From NTD.com
Terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi is seated in an FBI vehicle after being arrested by the FBI in Aurora, Colo. on Sept. 19, 2009. (Chris Schneider/The Denver Post via AP, File)

Would-Be NYC Bomber Gets 10 Years in Foiled Al-Qaida Plot

NEW YORKA man who plotted to bomb New York Citys subways, then switched sides after his arrest and spent nearly a decade helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists, was rewarded for his help May 2 with a sentence of 10 years in prison, effectively time he has already served.

Najibullah Zazi, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who became radicalized and received explosives training from al-Qaeda after traveling to Pakistan in 2008, faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges.

The subway plot sent shockwaves through New York and the federal law enforcement community, underscoring the continuing threat of terrorism years after 9/11. But federal prosecutors said Zazi, after his 2009 arrest, provided extraordinary assistance to U.S. counterterrorism authorities, implicating his closest friends and offering a window into the inner-workings of al-Qaeda.

U.S. District Raymond J. Dearie described Zazis cooperation as unprecedented, referring in part to federal investigations that remain ongoing. Details of those cases were blacked out of a court filing that prosecutors made public this week in light of concerns for national security.

I have no doubt you saved a life, Dearie said, adding he believed Zazi had undergone a compelling transformation during his years in custody. Your obvious intelligence served you well.

Zazi apologized and asked for forgiveness. He said he is not the same person he was more than a decade ago, when he became radicalized in part by listening to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda propagandist.

Im sorry for all the harm I have caused, Zazi said, referring to the subway plot as a horrific mistake.

Zazi will remain on supervised releasefederal probationfor the rest of his life. The sentence also requires he continue to cooperate with federal authorities.

The 10-year sentence means Zazi could be released from prison within days, said his defense attorney, William J. Stampur. Zazi has been in custody for nearly a decade.

Justice was definitely served, Stampur said. He has unequivocally disavowed radical Islam in no uncertain terms.

Stampur declined to comment on where Zazi plans to live after his release.

Zazi spent his teenage years and young adulthood living in Queens. Al-Qaeda recruited him and two of his best friends to carry out a martyrdom operation on U.S. soil after the three traveled to Pakistan in 2008.

The mission called for rush-hour suicide bombings on packed subway lines, timed to occur during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The plot, foiled by federal authorities, represented one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since 9/11, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Zazi to spend the rest of his life behind bars after his 2010 guilty plea. But prosecutors credited Zazi for cooperation that included implicating his co-conspirators in the subway plot and providing critical intelligence and unique insight regarding al-Qaeda and its members.

Zazis cooperation included meeting with the government more than 100 times, viewing hundreds of photographs and providing information that assisted law enforcement officials in a number of different investigations, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Zazi testified at the 2015 trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani national convicted of leading an al-Qaeda plot to bomb a shopping mall in Manchester, England, and against one of his co-conspirators in the thwarted subway plot, Adis Medunjanin, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Zazis assistance came in the face of substantial potential danger to himself and his family, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Pravda wrote in the court filing. By aligning himself with the government against al-Qaeda, Zazi assumed such a risk.

The third man charged in the subway plot, Zarein Ahmedzay, offered similar assistance to federal authorities and was sentenced in December to 10 yearsessentially time served.

By Jim Mustian
Millennials can be a fickle group to market to. While many companies manage admirably to market to this age cohort, others try to pry open millennial wallets -- and fail catastrophically.

Related: 4 Strategies to Use When Marketing to Millennials

Include McDonalds in the latter group. The fast food giant's Create Your Taste campaign failed when the company decided that young people would jump at the opportunity to create their own sandwiches online. That assumption was oh, so wrong, and the result was that many millennials lambasted the very notion of sharing their failed creations with their friends.

Some of those deliberately bad creations included The Nihilist, containing no food at all, and The Bag of Lettuce, containing only ... lettuce.

With that failure in mind, lets take a look at the marketing channels that are available, and examples of some (mostly) bootstrapped successes.

Social media

Social media channels arent going anywhere. The average U.S. resident spends about 142 minutes per day on social media. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities for you to promote your products/services. However, being too direct can often be counter-productive.

Take a look at the Lokai brand's campaign for its bracelets. The company heavily targeted millennials, encouraging them to send in content from around the world, and posting their pictures of Lokai bracelets in far-flung locations. Combined with a socially responsible message, this campaign caught the imaginations of young people, and they flooded social media with hash-tagged pictures.

If youre on a tight budget, you may find it worthwhile to join appropriate groups and pages before launching a campaign. Get involved with conversations as they occur, by regularly checking your feeds. By having a primed group of friends, not followers, you will be better positioned to launch a campaign like Lokai's.

Related: 3 Essential Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an area where companies are less vulnerable to the millennial ridicule other channels sometimes inspire. Simply put, if people actually like the person who is promoting a certain product or service, they are unlikely to make fun of the promotion.

While influencer marketing is not something you're likely to wade into if you are a bootstrapped startup, assigning any budget you do have to this strategy will be a sensible first move for the right kind of product. For example, look at Daniel Willington. This Swedish watch company has been around only since 2011 (often, longevity is a good sign for watchmakers); but with help from influencer Kendall Jenner, the company offered discount codes for a limited period, providing a big spike in both its sales and brand awareness.

Another good example: Samsung's launch of its new Note 7 product, with the help of CyreneQ. That artist used her Snapchat account to document the launch event, and using its 10-second video format, showcased some of the new device's features.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a great way to reach niche audiences. A company that has successfully targeted millennials via podcasting is MeUndies. It targeted a multitude of smaller podcasts like My Favorite Murder and Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast and paid the presenters to actively pitch the "world's most comfortable underwear" at the start of their shows.

Having a podcast host actively promote your product is one thing, but offering your services as a guest is another. As an entrepreneur, you likely have unique business insights that could be worth sharing with a wider audience. So, look out for podcasts that you could potentially be featured on, and make yourself the selling point. Not only is this cost-effective, but it can also provide great exposure to your business, as podcasts often turn up in Google search results and can help improve trust in your business.

If you dont have time to devote to outreach to podcasts, companies like Task Drive can do the outreach for you, building up lists of potential targets. You can also use sites like Fiverr to find part-time outreach specialists.

Native advertising

If you're determined to avoid the potential ire of millennials in the first place, you might wish to try native advertising. This is a form of paid ads, where your ads are designed to match the style of the host content. Native ads are common in social media and blog feeds or as recommended content on certain webpages. In contrast to other types of web advertisements, native ads are designed to look more natural and not be overly sales-y.

A good example is the native advertisement that Altran engineering did by producing a video on the Financial Times. The video told the story of university students competing in a competition run by Elon Musks company SpaceX. The students are helped by Altran staff, which is how the company gets to advertise itself. What is ingenious about this effort is the way the video is presented. It's more of a news story with a compelling narrative than a direct advertisement. The viewer might actually mistake who is being promoted: Altran or SpaceX?

Sponsoring YouTube videos

Video is some of the most heavily consumed content online, and in this context YouTube has become an advertising behemoth. Running a YouTube channel isnt easy, however; and recently, YouTube has made it harder for content creators to earn a substantial income from their advertisements on the site.

Therefore, creators are looking toward corporate sponsorship to generate revenues. LootBox is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous YouTube video sponsors (although not without controversy).

YouTube video sponsorship is a one-off commitment and you can find willing partners on sites like Collabspace. By finding a video creator that suits your niche, you can grow awareness of your brand and target people who fall into a very specific age band.

Conclusion

Selling your products or services to millennials comes with a unique set of hazards. By being sincere with your message, and experimenting with different channels, until you can dig into one that works, you just may find yourself growing your business without the need for vast marketing budgets.

Related: Hitting the Marketing Email Sweet Spot With Millennials (Infographic)

And those millennials? They'll be more than happy to help promote your product if they think its worth their time.

Related:

5 Ways to Market to That Fickle Group Called Millennials

Indian Hospitality Woos Destination Wedding Industry

Managing a Team of Millennials? The Top 5 Things You Must Know



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
He makes Donald Trump's stance on immigration seem moderate and has been dubbed a "professional troublemaker" by Marine Le Pen. In Denmark, he's just passed the threshold to become an official candidate for elections due to be held by mid-June.

Rasmus Paludan is a convicted racist who has spent months provoking local adherents of Islam by marching into their neighborhoods and burning the Quran. He says he's exercising his freedom of expression.

He had been largely ignored by the Danish media until Easter, when his antics sparked riots in the streets of Copenhagen. Since then, local newspapers, celebrities and political commentators have all weighed in to figure out how the development has altered the political landscape in Denmark.

Paludan, who's appealed his conviction, says it's not about race.

"I reject the whole concept of putting people into race categories. There's nothing in our politics based on race or the color of your skin. Most of our politics is based on the behavior of people," Paludan said in a phone interview in Copenhagen. "If they behave in ways that are not compliant with Danish values, we detest that."

Almost 15 years after grappling with the Muhammad cartoon crisis (in which Denmark's biggest newspaper became the target of Muslim anger across the globe for publishing caricatures of the Prophet), the home of Lego and Lurpak again finds itself caught in a tense debate about how to weigh religious dignity against freedom of speech. This time, the international context has grown far more populist, with anti-immigration agendas dominating elections across much of the world.

Paludan, a well-spoken lawyer, is now exploiting his newfound notoriety to gain a foothold in national elections. He got the requisite 20,000 signatures after taking advantage of a legal loophole to get his group, Hard Line (Stram Kurs), onto the official list of parties up for election. He declines to reveal his age beyond saying he's in his "mid-to-late-30s." His goal is a government that supports "a mass exodus where we send hundreds of thousands of people back to their home countries."

Support for Hard Line was estimated at 2.7 percent in a poll published on Thursday. That's above the 2 percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. The newspaper that published the survey, Politiken, emphasized that the Megafon poll carries a margin of error of 1.1 percentage point and noted there was greater uncertainty than usual because it was the first poll to include the party. But history offers a cautionary tale against underestimating such anti-establishment outsiders. From the Brexit movement in the U.K., to Matteo Salvini's League in Italy and Trump in the U.S., the list of affronts to conventional wisdom in political forecasting is long.

There's much to embolden Paludan in the current climate. And with the aid of social media, his message is making its way to a broader group. Salvini and Le Pen have been reaching out to like-minded politicians ahead of the European Union's May 23-26 elections, which could see the far right challenge make significant gains in Brussels and Strasbourg.

In Denmark, the fact that Paludan will be guaranteed a podium during the country's televised election debates is forcing voters to confront some uncomfortable truths about their society. His Hard Line group is now one of two that have overtaken the anti-immigration Danish People's Party from the right. Many policies of the DPP, on which the current center-right government has relied to stay in power, have been adopted by the biggest opposition party, the Social Democrats.

"What's happened over the last 20 years is that anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant views have become almost mainstream," says Carina Bischoff, an associate professor of politics at Roskilde University. "We now see plenty of public figures who agree more and more with these points of view, and that opens the ground for extremists."

Denmark's shift in attitudes toward foreigners can be traced back to the start of the millennium, when then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who later became NATO secretary general) put an end to the pariah status of the nationalist DPP by accepting its support in parliament. Since then, the DPP has played a crucial role in toughening Denmark's immigration policy, rising to become the second-biggest political presence in the process.

The DPP has capitalized on the refugee crisis of 2015, when more than one million asylum seekers and illegal migrants, mostly from the Middle East, made their way into Europe. Professor Kasper Moller Hansen of Copenhagen University says the turning point came with televised images of Syrians walking along the country's western motorway, which shocked many Danes.

The center-right government of Lars Lokke Rasmussen has since made international headlines because of its treatment of foreigners, including confiscating their jewelry and imposing draconian family re-unification laws that drew criticism from the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Denmark is suffering from a shortage of labor that many business leaders have argued could be addressed by allowing more skilled immigrants into the country.

Paludan has been disavowed by his family and has exasperated the police, who have imposed restrictions on his provocations to avoid exposing the public to the risk of riots. His Youtube channel is up again after being temporarily banned, and Paludan continues to have thousands of followers on Facebook.

Back in 2005, most Danes rushed to the defense of Jyllands-Posten after the paper published its controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, politicians and media operators are less sure.

"Paludan is an extreme phenomenon that successfully exploits today's digital media," said Michael Dyrby, the editor in chief of B.T., Denmark's best-selling tabloid. But "Danish democracy is strong and will probably survive Hard Line and its crazy leader."

- - -

Bloomberg's Christian Wienberg contributed.7
NORWALK  School administrators say a new schedule for Kendall Elementary School could improve test scores and help to close the achievement gap. But many parents and teachers are wondering at what costs those developments might come.

The year-round school model, the concept for which was first discussed by the Board of Education in August 2018, was presented to Kendall parents Thursday night in the schools cafeteria by Superintendent of Schools Steven J. Adamowski, Chief of Digital Learning and Development Ralph Valenzisi and Kendall Principal Zakiyyah Baker.

Over the course of two sessions  the first in Spanish  the administrators sought to explain the rationale behind the schedule change, which would add five days of schooling, shift the timing of school breaks and limit their duration to no more than three weeks and extend the school day. The result would be an additional 300 hours of educational time per year.

We have a couple pieces of research that we made this decision off of. One is specifically if students are in school for an additional 300 hours a year, just in school, actually aligned to their academics, with those additional 300 hours, we actually see an increase in their academic achievement, Valensizi told the crowd, which seemed to oscillate between genuine intrigue, confusion and anger during the course of the roughly 45-minute presentation.

Aside from concerns about how their elementary-aged students would handle an extra hour of school, or how the new configuration of time off might impact child care, family vacations and summer camp attendance, several parents alleged that the process of implementation was opaque.

We shouldve been told about this and parents shouldve had a little more input before its implemented and (then) thats just the way its going to be, said Dana Ross, whose daughter is in third grade.

If approved, the schedule change would go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year. But Ross and other parents were expressing a sense that they were being invited to join the conversation too far along in the process.

Adamowski first informed the Board of Education last summer that investors were interested in funding the year-round model. In December, Adamowski named Kendall, Jefferson and Brookside as three finalists for the model, based on their large number of high-needs and free- and reduced-lunch students. He named the Grossman Foundation of Greenwich and the Heidenreich Family Foundation of Stamford as interested donors willing to fit the bill, which Adamowski said would cost roughly $5 million over a three-year rollout. After the three-year period, the cost would shift back to the city.

On Thursday, parents were told that Kendall was now the sole finalist for the year-round model, though many didnt realize they had been competing for the distinction.

This is an unusual situation for our school system, because normally when we do something, we involve everybody, we ask their opinion, and people come up with something thats very close to their comfort zone, because they know what they know and theyre used to doing what theyre doing, Adamowski said. This is a more significant change and it is not about adult involvement or adult convenience, its really about raising student achievement to a much higher level that would ever occur if we dont do these things.

I would expect, like any change issue, that there are going to be adults who are not going to like this, or are going to see themselves in a more traditional setting which they would have the option to pursue, Adamowski added, referring to teachers who feel the year-round mode would not work with their schedules. Hes said they will have an option to transfer elsewhere in the district.

In fact, a vast majority of teachers have weighed in on the issue and have confirmed Adamowskis expectation. According to Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, more than 80 percent of teachers responded that they had reservations about the shift on a survey administered by the union. Yordon said the survey was presented to Adamowski in March.

This has not been a collaborative process, Yordon said. There are many teachers who have arranged their personal lives and their careers around this schedule that currently exists and it appears about ready to be changed. So it is upsetting to have to find a new job if your circumstances dont allow you to work year round.

Some in the crowd Thursday felt Adamowski was evasive when pressed about teachers opinions.

The question was asked, what do the teachers think of it, and you didnt give us an answer. The teachers are the ones who teach our children. Whats their input? said Scott Mccoy, whose grandson is in fourth grade, prompting a response from Baker.

Right now, as a team were mixed in our thoughts, not just with certified staff, with our non certified staff. Change is hard. I think thats why our superintendent went to, What do the kids need first, Baker began, before Mccoy interjected.

But the students you talk about are our children. We should have a say from the start, not when its just about implemented. And that didnt happen. We got informed yesterday, Mccoy said.

Several parents expressed having only found out about the meeting by chance. Ross said she happened to run into a Kendall parent at the grocery store earlier this week, who informed her of the meeting and proposed change. Tory Ferrara, who has a son in kindergarten and two younger children who she expects will attend Kendall and whose husband, Tony, is a member of the School Governance Council, complained that the meeting was hidden in a Kendall newsletter under the heading Above the Bar Grant  the name given to the pledged investment  and that many missed it.

Tony Ferrera said the School Governance Council was never given an opportunity to vote on the plan and expressed similarly that the school and district has been slow to provide information. Valenzisi said a parent survey would be distributed by the end of May.

The whole tone is, Yes, were doing this, no matter what the input is, Ferrara said, following the meeting. It almost feels like theyre doing an experiment with the school. Weve already shown improvement. If its not broke, dont fix it.

We love this school. We live a quarter mile away. Our son loves it, Ferrara said. We would be very sad to transfer.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
This year's Homefront Day campaign made life-changing repairs to the homes of 60 older adults on fixed incomes, single-parent households, persons with disabilities and families in transitional crisis due to illness or job loss. More than 2,000 volunteers from 50 faith groups, civic organizations and corporations joined in this hands on celebration of true community.

Area statistics underscore the increasing importance of this effort with more than 40% of older adults today still burdened with a mortgage balance. Hundreds of thousands of local residents live paycheck to paycheck, a demographic described by the United Way as A.L.I.C.E.: Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed.
Herzberg said that when Botts and Cornelius first approached him about the idea of an outdoor classroom, he did not hesitate to say yes.

I said, Lets do this. The next step was figuring out a good place for it, he said. I think we have a good location for it on the west side of our building. It is easy access in and out and protected by the tree line and the school building itself. We found a spot for it, went for it and it was the boys who made it all happen.

Botts and Cornelius said they had to draw up a plan, turn it in and get it approved. Once it was approved, they began working to construct the outdoor classroom.

The two began building the outdoor classroom last school year. They said it took them until last month to complete it. Botts said the long winter caused some delays in completing the project. His part of the project was setting up poles, painting them and setting up the sails around it. Cornelius said he helped pour the cement foundation and worked on the landscaping.

Cindy Johnson, president of the chamber, said she was impressed with the Boy Scouts efforts.
A hearty Saturday Salute goes this week to all those who helped make this years Go Big Give successful.

Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties came together to raise $1,065,354 by the end of the 24-hour Go Big Give event Thursday.

The proceeds of this online fund drive benefit 131 nonprofit organizations in the four-county area served by the Heartland United Way. This was the sixth annual Go Big Give organized by United Way and the Grand Island Community Foundation.

Each year, the amount raised and the number of organizations benefiting have increased. But this year the organizers went big in setting a goal of raising $1 million. And the people of Central Nebraska came through, surpassing that goal.

In addition to raising money, the event also helps its participating organizations get their names and their missions out in front of the public. Many of them have been quietly providing services without much publicity, but Go Big Give provides a means to increase community awareness.

In addition, Go Big Give organizers have been working with the nonprofits on their techniques, such as social media skills and donor engagement.
ALTON  Despite a brutal winter and soggy spring, construction is moving along on the Moeller Cancer Center on the OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys Health Center campus in Alton.

OSF Project Manager Charles Miller says construction is 75 percent toward completion and despite the weather, the new state-of-the-art cancer center will open in early October. The building will allow patients to receive comprehensive cancer care from the regions only full-time oncology team in the Riverbend/Alton area.

New, cutting edge equipment will provide individualized treatment for an expanded variety of cancers and new cancer specialists will enhance services and targeted treatment options. Among the new providers is Dr. Raman Kumar, a surgeon with specialized training in colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States for both men and women combined. Colon and rectal surgeons are experts in the surgical and non-surgical treatment and Dr. Kumar can offer community screening for early detection, treatment, and follow-up care.

Impact of Weather

Winter came early in November and rain has been an issue according to Miller. But, he says the building will be substantially complete in July, allowing for installation of high-tech equipment, artwork, furniture, and supplies. However, Miller adds River City Construction has been working overtime, including adding weekend crews to meet deadlines.

Youre starting to see what the building is going to look like, Miller offered. He points out brick work is complete on the 2,000-foot long walkway connecting the free-standing center to the hospital. The connection will make for easy access to therapy, treatment and support services. Structural steel is in place for the front entry facing Central Avenue. Inside, there are areas with completed drywall and painting where fixtures have already been installed.

OSF Saint Anthonys Health Center CEO and President Ajay Pathak is excited the community is so close to having expanded capacity for the highest quality care and outcomes. The new center will offer convenient access clinical expertise and support services all under one roof.

Its a blessing to have dedicated physicians and Mission Partners embedded here in the care and journey of our patients from detection and diagnosis through survivorship. We look forward to advance this as we approach our opening this fall, said Pathak.

New Space for Collaboration and Education

The 15,500-square-foot building will have new spaces, including conference rooms for collaboration between medical staff along with opportunities for prevention screenings and education. Patient consultation rooms will offer a place for in-depth, confidential communication involving personalized care teams, patients and their families.

Medical Oncologist and Chief of Staff for OSF Saint Anthonys Dr. Manpreet Sandhu, believes a lot of oncology work is communication. We focus on how we communicate with the patient  how were able to give hope to a person who may not have hope. Her approach emphasizes making a connection with the patient and instilling confidence about the care they are receiving.

If the patient needs radiation and medical oncology, we are going to be able keep them in the same area for direct communication between doctors in front of the patient.

Community Support is Strong

The Riverbend has already responded in a way that convinces OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys leaders the community is eager to help re-imagine how to defeat the most relentless enemy of this generation. With its connection to OSF Innovation and one of the Top 10 Simulation and Education Centers in the U.S., the new Moeller Cancer Center will be able to utilize new tools, techniques, and devices for oncologists and others on the care team for treatment that improves outcomes.

OSF HealthCare has committed $11.5 million toward the $14 million cancer center. As evidence of the strong community support, the $2.5 million capital campaign is already at 80 percent of its goal.

I believe the communitys dedication and commitment to the Moeller Cancer Center campaign demonstrates the Riverbends belief in the need for a unique, patient-centered facility to provide the highest level of care, said Mark Kratschmer, former OSF Saint Anthonys Foundation Board member and is current Chair of the Community Board.

Healing Art Flows In

The local artist community responded overwhelmingly to a request for submissions of photography, paintings and three-dimensional art to add to the healing environment. The pieces will reflect the beauty of the Riverbend and will feature themes of hope, renewal and re-birth. The review committee received an astounding 522 submissions.

Most were in the form of photographs but artists put forward 81 paintings and 17 works in the 3D category.

We are very excited about the engagement, talent, and heart shown by members of the Riverbend community in all of the submissions, said Sister M. Anselma, chief operating officer for OSF Saint Anthonys.

It gives me great joy and peace to know that we will create an environment that is not just generic in form, and is created by the community, for the community, and reflects the community. This is home, and the OSF Healthcare Moeller Cancer Center will have the comfort and familiarity of home and family!

There is an online donation option to take cancer care to the next level in the Riverbend or donations by phone are available at (618) 463-5168.
Godfrey  A select group of women dedicated to their community and improving the lives of others was honored Thursday at the Alton YWCAs Women of Distinction Award event, now in its 29th year.

Selected by a volunteer panel of judges from who the names of each years nominees are withheld, the 10 honorees represent a diversity of achievements and include business owners, mentors, teachers, school administrators, caregivers and community leaders, among others.
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Linkedin Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019 09:56 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360d44a 1 Lifestyle #fashion,#fashion-designers,#FashionShow,#Muslim,#Jakarta,#Malang,#Muffest Free

Eight designers from Malang, East Java, have joined the countrys top Muslim fashion designers to present their collections at the fourth Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST) in Jakarta.

The eight designers, who are members of the Malang chapter of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, presented four pieces each in a showcase event ahead of their main presentations at the fashion festival, which runs until Saturday.

Agus Sunandar said their collections used the theme nerdypan". "Nerdy is said to represent the freedom and simplicity of their designs, while pan is taken from Jodipan, a kampung in Malang where the roofs of houses and walls are painted with a myriad of colors.

In designing his collection, Agus, one of the eight designers, was inspired by fashion trends among punk youngsters who hang out in and around the streets of Malang.

He created red-and-black tops with checkered motifs mixed with black leather accessories. The hats are designed to resemble the Mohawk hair style to complete the overall look, he said.

Designer Alfatir Muhammad, who was the first designer to showcase his designs in the catwalk during the showcase in Malang, took inspiration from the vibrant colors found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with models strutting the catwalk in stylish sunglasses. He also accentuated his designs with embroidery.

Designer Noor Umer came up with burka-like pieces, with edgy cutting dominated by white and stripped skirts or pants, while Ajeng Cahya took inspiration from Jodipans colorful and geometric-shaped murals.

Agus said it had taken the eight designers around two months to prepare their new collections for MUFFEST, with each scheduled to present eight pieces at the festival.

We require [the designers] to work together with batik and tenun makers in Malang to create their designs, in the hopes that Malang can become an important player in Indonesias fashion industry," he said.
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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019

Visiting outlying islands in this sprawling archipelago reveals an unease felt about Java, the denominator of Indonesia. From Aceh to West Papua live citizens who see the nations largest ethnic group as oppressive colonialists.

First President Sukarno used a common language, universal education and the non-denominational Pancasila philosophy to create the unitary state.

When these did not work, persuasion turned to force.
A recent field survey conducted by environmental organization Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, in collaboration with the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) and supported by Chevron, has spotted 10 endangered Javan leopards in Guntur Papandayan conservation forest, West Java.

The leopard sightings were caught on 60 camera traps previously set up by CI Indonesia for a two-year field survey, from 2016 to 2018.

Eighty-three images captured by the cameras show that the leopards roam the conservation forest in the morning from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and at night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Read also: How you can help conserve Indonesia's endangered species

CI Indonesias terrestrial program division senior manager, Anton Ario, said his organization and the BBKSDA had spent a considerable amount of time monitoring the Javan leopards to accurately record the number of the animals left in Guntur Papandayan.

Each individual leopard can be identified based on its distinctive body size, sex and pattern, Anton said in a statement, adding that the field survey had identified three male adults and seven female adults around Guntur Papandayan.

He went on to say that images from the field survey had shown Guntur Papandayan as a passable habitat for Javan leopards, despite recent reports of illegal logging.

In addition to Javan leopards, Guntur Papandayan is also home to other endangered species such as the Javan gibbon, the Javan surili (grizzled leaf monkey), the Javan hawk-eagle and the Javan slow loris. (rfa/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sat, May 4, 2019 12:04 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873610488 2 Art & Culture Arc-de-Triomphe,Paris,monument,restoration Free

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was ransacked during a "yellow vest" protest last year, will be entirely restored for next week's VE Day celebrations, the French government said Friday.

The monument, which contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier, was vandalized during an anti-government demonstration in December that ended in rioting and looting.

Culture Minister Franck Riester said 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) was spent restoring damaged statues and equipment inside the landmark at the top of the Champs-Elysees.

As well as spraying its walls with graffiti and breaking equipment, rioters smashed artworks, including a 1930s copy of a famous sculpture of "The Marseillaise" by Francois Rude representing Victory, which was molded from the 19th-century original.

The mould of the 'Genie de la patrie', which was damaged by protestors on the sidelines of the 'yellow vest' (gilets jaunes) demonstrations on December 1, 2018, is seen in a gallery of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on May 3, 2019, following renovation works. The Arc de Triomphe, ransacked and vandalised in December during a demonstration of the 'Yellow Vests', has been completely restored just in time for the May 8 ceremonies that mark the end of the Second World War in France, the French government announced on May 3. Martin BUREAU / AFP (AFP/Martin Bureau)

"The restoration has been done in only a few months, which is very fast," said Riester, while praising the work.

He said everything would be ready Wednesday when VE Day celebrations mark the 74th anniversary of Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies on May 8, 1945.

Read also: Arc de Triomphe to reopen after Paris protest damage

The monument, which was built by Napoleon to commemorate his many military victories, reopened less than a fortnight after rioters broke into it on December 1, though some areas remained cordoned off.

Each year, more than 1.5 tourists visit the Arc de Triomphe, mostly to take in the view down the Champs-Elysees.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo last month announced that he had received permission to wrap the world-famous landmark next April in the signature style he developed with his late French wife Jeanne-Claude.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873613e69 4 Entertainment Chrissy-Teigen,David-Chang,Hulu Free

Model-cookbook author Chrissy Teigen is to team up with American restaurateur David Chang, who is famous for establishing Momofuku restaurant group, to host a cooking show that marks the birth of streaming platform Hulus first food-focused program.

Independent reports that the content of the show will be co-created by Vox Media Studios, Changs Majordomo Media and Teigens Suit and Thai Productions.

Chang was quoted by Independent as saying that he hoped to keep integrating new perspectives into the content, sharing stories about culture and bringing change to the current idea of a food television shows capability.

Since opening his first Momofuku Noodle Bar in a no-frills East Village storefront in 2004, David Chang has become renowned as a chef who shakes things up. (Bloomberg/-)

I think theres an audience out there that understands and celebrates the world through food, and theyre hungry for shows that feed their sense of curiosity in new ways, said Chang.

Hulu is reportedly confident about securing a multi-year deal with the model and the restaurateur.

Read also: Anthony Bourdain wins posthumous Emmy for 'Parts Unknown'

The first show to be produced will be named Family Style, which will revolve around the ways in which people express their love for friends and family by cooking and eating together, Glamour reported from a media release.

Besides the cooking show, Teigen curates and produces original programming from scripted drama series to talk shows, Hollywood Reporter wrote. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, May 5, 2019 03:34 964 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873619e29 4 Parents lying,children,children-development Free

Almost all children invent lies for some inexplicable reasons. According to a study, this behavior is absolutely normal and is even an important and healthy step in their development, Parents reported. The research revealed why and how lying becomes a social skill.

The study, led by Kang Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, examined the "lying skills" of young children.

Read also: Being born poor affects a childs brain activity

According to the study, the tendency to lie starts quite early and increases over the years. In the study, 30 percent of 2-year-old toddlers started inventing lies. Later at age 3, half of all analyzed children lied, while even more children at the age of 4, about 80 percent of them, told lies. Moreover, almost all of those between the age of 5 and 7 lied.

However, Lee said that this behavior was normal and an important milestone in a childs development.

He conducted a study in which a group of pre-school children in China were divided into two groups. The first group of children were given theory-of-mind training, while the remaining half were taught skills for number and spatial problem-solving.

In theory-of-mind training, children are taught to understand what goes on in somebody elses head, to know what they know and what they dont know. The better a child is at theory-of-mind, the more sophisticated their lies. Subsequently, the child will develop executive function abilities, which is the power to plan ahead and curb unwanted actions.

Lee told Parents that the 30 percent of toddlers who could lie had higher executive function abilities. This was a sign of cognitive sophistication he said, adding that the young liars would utilize it to gain more success in school and in their interactions with other children during playtime. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Chicago, United States  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:05 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873617dfd 2 People YouTube,child-porn,child-pornography,YouTubers,sexual-harassment Free

A YouTube musical celebrity was sentenced Friday in a Chicago courtroom to 10 years in prison for enticing girls as young as 14 to produce sexually explicit videos of themselves.

Austin Jones, who posted online videos of himself performing songs for a fan base of primarily teenage girls, was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of child pornography.

As part of his plea, Jones admitted to a total of six identified victims and approximately 30 attempts to persuade other girls to send him child pornography, according to prosecutors.

A federal judge on Friday imposed a 10-year prison sentence on the 26-year-old, who could have gotten as little as five years or as many as 20, according to sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors, pointing to text messages, alleged in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court that Jones targeted young girls under the pretense of "auditions" for modeling and other opportunities.

Read also: Indonesia a haven for child pornography

"I'm just trying to help you! I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else," Jones told one 14-year-old victim via Facebook messenger, according to the court filing.

Prosecutors said Facebook tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Jones's conversations with 14- and 15-year-old girls using the social media service's private messaging feature.

Jones's defense lawyers had asked that he be sentenced to five years on the basis of mitigating circumstances having to do with the man's childhood.

"Austin was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse by his father from age six until age 10. He was young, helpless and scared," his attorney's wrote in a court filing.

They claimed Jones suffered from severe depression and other mental health problems.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019

Amid heightened competition, news media companies must find new business models if they want to thrive without neglecting their responsibilities as the press, a Press Council member has said.

The idea was conveyed by Press Council member Imam Wahyudi during a panel discussion held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day -- which falls on May 3 -- in Jakarta on Friday.

"This is not only a challenge for news media companies themselves, but also for the academics to help find new business models so the press can survive," Imam said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361372d 1 Business Angkasa-Pura-II,Airport,soekarno-hatta-airport,Terminal-3,Indonesia,Hotel Free

Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (APII) signed on Thursday an agreement with construction company PT Wijaya Karya Tbk and Wika Gedung to build a second hotel at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

The new hotel will be constructed in the domestic area of Terminal 3, right next to the parking lot. The three-star hotel will consist of 150 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2020.

AP II director Muhammad Awaluddin said the operator had allocated Rp 300 billion (US$21 million) to construct the hotel, which is part of a wider strategy to boost income.

The world-class airport operator should be able to take advantage of its business potential. We target to generate Rp 500 billion in income from our [non-traditional] business area, Muhammad said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Aside from a planned hotel at Soekarno-Hattas domestic terminal, construction for a four-star hotel at the international area of Terminal 3 is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in November. (dpk/swd)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali  Sat, May 4, 2019 11:27 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360fca6 1 National NgurahRaiAirport,shuttle-buses Free

Travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali can now ride on a public shuttle bus connecting the airport and other parts of the resort island, after the service was previously suspended for months.

The Trans Sarbagita public bus service was relaunched on Thursday, after a one-week trial.

"This is a good thing. [Affordable] public transportation is extremely needed nowadays," airport general manager Haruman Sulaksono said during the relaunch.

The bus will serve two routes, the airport to Nusa Dua via Jimbaran and the airport to Batubulan in Gianyar via Kuta and Denpasar. The bus stops are located in the pick-up zones of both the domestic and international terminals.

As there are currently only six buses serving the two routes, the shuttle service will run three times a day. The route to Nusa Dua departs at 9.15 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. local time, while buses to Batubulan will depart at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. Buses depart according to the same schedule from Batubulan and Nusa Dua to the airport.

The cost of a trip is just Rp 3,500 (25 US Cents), while students with a valid student ID can use the service for free.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster welcomed the relaunch of the service, promising more transportation innovation.

"In the future, we should build and expand transportation [infrastructure] in innovative ways," he said.

The Sarbagita public bus service was first launched in 2011 by then-governor Made Mangku Pastika. Then, Sarbagita connected Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan. However, the service was suspended due to the low number of passengers. (swd)
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Sat, May 4, 2019 20:24 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361696d 1 National KPK,judge,corruption,bribery Free

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested on Friday five people in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, as part of a bribery case related to a trial that involved businessmen Sudarman as the defendant and Balikpapan District Court judge Kayat.

In addition to Sudarman and Kayat, the three others arrested were Balikpapan District Court clerk Facrul Azami, lawyer Jhonson Siburian and Jhonsons staff member Rosa Isabela.

"The operation was conducted at the Balikpapan court on Jl. Sudirman at around 5 p.m.," said East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ade Yaya Suryana on Friday night.

The antigraft body said it had caught Jhonson and Rosa red-handed giving Kayat bribe money inside the Balikpapan District Court compound in exchange for clearing Sudarman in a case Kayat presided in 2018.

KPK investigators confiscated a total of Rp 227.5 million (US$16,018) from different places, including Kayats car and Jhonsons office.

"The judge was bribed to release the defendant, said KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif.

According to the KPK, Kayat offered to release Sudarman, a defendant in a document forgery case, in exchange for Rp 500 million. Sudarman, through his lawyer, agreed but delayed the payment until after he was declared not guilty and released.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah suggested that investigators had been watching Kayat for some time.

"[The arrest] was not based on one case only," Febri said without elaborating.

Kayat was also a judge in the trial of an oil spill in Balikpapan Bay last year.

He sentenced MV Ever Judger captain Zhang Deyi to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 15 billion in February for causing an oil pipe leak that triggered a massive fire and led to the death of five people.

Meanwhile, Jhonson is also known as an activist and chairman of the National Corruption Watch (NCW), which also advocates land issues in Balikpapan. (ggq/swd)

Topics : KPK judge corruption bribery
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, May 4, 2019 19:32 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8736160c4 1 National electric-pushbike,Medan,North-Sumatra,HKBP-Nommensen-University Free

State-owned electricity firm PLN in cooperation with HKBP Nommensen University (UHN) in Medan, North Sumatra, launched on Thursday its first becak motor or betor (electric tricycle) during a National Education Day celebration.

The electric tricycles can travel at high speeds with 2,000 watts of electricity, said Parulian Siagian, head of the UHN School of Technologys electric pushbike innovation team.

He added that they can reach up to 40 kilometers per hour with a passenger, and 50 km to 60 km per hour without a passenger.

The becak motor has been thoroughly tested, so it is ready to be operated, Parulian said.

Development on the vehicles began in December 2018 and was inspired by the need for green transportation.

UHN rector Haposan Siallagan said the tricycles were designed to be energy efficient and promote the unique cultural characteristics of North Sumatra.

According to North Sumatra PLN finance manager Jhon Horas Tobing, electric charging stations have been established across the province, so that users would not have to worry about running out of power.

PLN has built 15 public electric charging stations [SPLU] in North Sumatra, so [users] shouldnt worry, he said. (swd)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4 2019

Political bigwigs supporting incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo may be getting ready to welcome the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) into the ruling coalition.

That does not mean, however, that the two will find it easy to get strategic positions in the upcoming Cabinet.

The possibility of the Democrats and PAN joining the incumbents camp became the talk of the town after the President met with Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at Merdeka Palace on Thursday.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:08 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873618365 1 National correctional-facility,Nusakambangan-prison,NusakambanganPrisonIsland,Indonesia,prisoners,prison-officers Free

Human rights activists have slammed the correctional officers of Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java after a video of them mistreating inmates went viral on social media.

The footage was posted on Instagram account @lambe_turah and showed prison guards dragging bound and handcuffed inmates across the dirt, some of whom could be seen with wounds across their back.

According to Kerobokan Prison warden Tony Nainggolan, some of the inmates in the video had been transferred from Kerobokan in Bali to Nusakambangan on March 28.

They were healthy when we handed them over to the [Bali] police, who then took charge of their transfer to the Nusakambangan Police, Tony said as quoted by tribunnews.com. I can make no further comments on this matter.

In response to the video, the Law and Human Rights Ministrys corrections directorate general has removed the Nusakambangan Narcotics Prison warden.

We are condemning the violent act [and] inhumane treatment of inmates, as per the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [UNCAT], which has been ratified by Indonesia, Anggara, executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The institute encouraged the Law and Human Rights Ministry, as well as its corrections directorate general, to launch an investigation to address the issue.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 10:45 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360e861 1 City suicide,suicidal,death,North-Jakarta,police,depression Free

A woman, identified as CV, died after allegedly jumping from the fourth floor of a mall in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.

"The woman allegedly committed suicide. Her body was rushed to the RSCM Hospital [Central Jakarta]," head of Penjaringan Police Reskrim, Comr. Mustakim said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mustakim revealed that CV was eating with her family at a fast food restaurant in the mall before she reportedly excused herself to go to the toilet.

"But after 30 minutes, she still had not come back, Mustakim said.

A witness reportedly saw her step on the railing on the fourth floor and then jump.

[Her family] became aware after seeing the crowd," Mustakim said.

Mustakim said that CV allegedly committed suicide because of private matters.

The police are currently questioning witnesses and the parents, although CCTV footage shows the victim jumping from the mall's fourth floor. (das)
HIV and Aids was first discovered in 1981 when an unusual outbreak of pneumonia in gay men was announced in the US.

101,600 people living with HIV in the UK' There are now an estimated '(2017). However, science is fighting back and the second person in the world has recently been reported as cured from the disease.

Image Credit: CDC and PHIL on Wikimedia Commons



This breakthrough came in 1996 when ART was first introduced to HIV patients. Now science is taking an even bigger step, with the second person in 12 years recently being cured. The man known only as the London patient was, like Timothy Ray Brown (the first man to be cured from HIV), suffering from cancer at the time of treatment. The New York Times spoke to the London Patient, who said that it was surreal" and "overwhelming" learning that he could be cured of both HIV and cancer.

Image Credit: Greta Hughson on Flickr

Unfortunately this cure is still very much a trial. Predictably, it causes a huge strain on its patients, with Mr Brown nearly dying in the process.

mutation in a protein called CCR5 which rests on the surface of certain immune cells. HIV uses the protein to enter those cells but cannot latch on to the mutated version, The process involves undergoing a bone marrow transfer to cure the cancer. The transfer has to be from a donor with athe New York Times said. This is then followed by harsh immunosuppressive drugs which can cause some long-term effects. The transfer, in both these cases, cures the cancer and the transplanted immune cells now resist HIV and have replaced the old cells. Thankfully the drugs that are currently being used are less intense than when the 'Berlin Patient' was undergoing his transplant.

virus-free After having his transfer in May 2016, the London Patient stopped taking his anti-HIV drugs in September 2017 and is the first person since the Berlin Patient to remain '' over a year down the line.

Image Credit: Rick on Wikimedia Commons

Princess Diana made the real change Not only has the science changed but the stigma surrounding the disease is also rapidly shifting. HIV is very much present in the media now.when she was seen touching a patient, something that people once believed could give you the disease. She abolished a lot of fear and stigma surrounding AIDS and HIV through the endless amount of charity work she took part in, and her sons continued this after her.

History is currently being made through these changes. The fact that there have been two people to be cured from a disease that has been around for 38 years and was once fatal to most is quite frankly ground-breaking. This research is giving people hope that not only can they live with HIV but they can now be free from it completely. There is still a long way to go before this is a common occurrence and the process is still very difficult and comes with complications. However the fact that it has now been done twice stands people in good stead. Hopefully there will be many more people who can join the Berlin and London patient in being cured in the near future.
His Majesty the King grants royal pardon to categories of convicts ahead of coronation

THAILAND: To mark the coronation and allow convicts the chance to be good citizens for the national interest, His Majesty the King has granted pardons and commuted sentences for many categories of prisoners, including some on death row and offenders on probation.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:50AM

Convicts attending a religious ceremony before their release in 2015. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

The Royal Gazette published a royal decree on the royal pardons on Friday (May 3), effective today (May 4). Those who receive pardons include convicts in confinement, offenders performing public service instead of fines, those on probation, inmates with a year or less remaining on their sentence, or with serious disabilities and illnesses, such as terminal cancer and Aids.

The royal amnesty also applies to women jailed for the first time who have served at least half their sentence, those aged 60 years and over with remaining terms up to three years and prisoners aged 70 and above.

Other beneficiaries include first-time prisoners younger than 20 years who have served at least half their sentence and model prisoners with up to two years of their sentence remaining.

Those on death row face life imprisonment instead.

Jail terms were commuted for those sentenced to life imprisonment and drug offenders sentenced to eight years or longer, or life imprisonment, or who are aged 70 years or more.

Recidivists and inmates who are not model prisoners or have been badly behaved are not entitled to the pardon.
His Majesty the King performs first royal function, promises prosperity

THAILAND: His Majesty performed his first royal function this afternoon (May 4) after being crowned by granting an audience for royal family members and other dignitaries.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 05:59PM

His Majesty the King grants an audience to royal family members and other distinguished guests at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. Photo: TV Pool/Public Relations Department

The King hosted the audience in what was his first function at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace hours after he was formally crowned. (Read more here).

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn represented the royal family members in delivering a speech on their behalf. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public. Privy councillors also attended the function.

Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative branch and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon spoke for the judicial branch. All paid homage to the King on the occasion of his coronation.

Diplomats and other foreign dignitaries were invited to the audience.

HRH Princess Sirindhorn commended the King for his kingship and promised loyalty to His Majesty: On behalf of the royal family members, we are determined to show loyalty and perform our best for the Chakri Dynasty, she said.

The King, in his return message, invited all people to perform to the best of their ability to help the country and pledged further prosperity for Thailand.

His Majesty formally designated Queen Suthida as Her Majesty the Queen after he completed the coronation rites on Saturday morning.
History preserved: Rare footage gives glimpse into the royal coronation of King Rama VII

Before the reign of King Rama VII of the Chakri Dynasty, royal coronation ceremonies had never been filmed. As of now, the footage from the ceremonies of King Rama VII and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are the only two existing coronation motion pictures available in Thailand.

HistoryCulture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:00AM

In light of the coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on May 4, the rare historical footage of King Rama VIIs coronation was recently screened by the Thai Film Archive whose experts did a marvellous job preserving the film shot almost 100 years ago. The oldest surviving motion picture of the age-old royal ceremony, the footage is of great historical significance not just among historians but also all Thai citizens.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation is an extremely valuable historical asset especially when it comes to the study of the history of the Rattanakosin period as it is the unprecedented detailed filming of coronation rites and rituals. The ceremonies of King Rama I up to King Rama V were recorded but only in written chronicles and archives and only in summary, said historian Asst Prof Dinar Boontharm from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. Dinar specialises in royal coronation ceremonies and sacred rituals in the royal court.

According to Dinar, filming coronation rites was first done during the reign of King Rama VII or around 1925. Prior to that, the ceremony was first photographed during the reign of King Rama V. Even so, only the post-ceremony coronation portrait was captured  rather than the entire process  with the new king dressed in full. Such a coronation portrait was to be distributed to newspapers as well as heads of state in foreign countries.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation recently screened at the Thai Film Archive was shot by the Film Department of the State Railway of Thailand on 35mm nitrate film, an antique format that still preserves the detail and quality of the images even after nearly a century. After being digitalised by the Film Archive, it was made accessible to the public so that they could see those rare historical moments ahead of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkuns coronation, which will be held, according to Dinar, based on the ceremony of the late King Bhumibol.

Former director of the Thai Film Archive and film historian Dome Sukhawong recalled his discovery of the coronation footage in an old building in Bangkoks Rong Muang Road in 1981. Back then, Dome was in search of footage of Nang Sao Suwan (Miss Suwanna Of Siam), thought to be the first Thai feature film, made with support from the State Railway of Thailand.

During his quest, he ended up at a residence previously owned by a railway staffer. There he found over 500 rolls of old films, most in decayed condition. All the films were later found to be events during King Rama VIIs period, along with deleted and edited scenes from the full version of the coronation footage.

That [King Rama VII period] was the first time all detailed processes of the coronation ceremony were allowed to be filmed from inside the palace, explained Dome. Although filming could be practised too during the time of King Rama VI, the King did not give royal permission for the coronation to be shot from inside the palace. Private filming crew or locals who then owned 16mm cameras could film the coronation events but only from outside.

King Rama VII, on the contrary, allowed the Film Department under the State Railway to shoot the entire coronation.

The then Film Department functioned just like the Government Public Relations Department of today, Dome added. In the past, movies were the only means mostly accessible by the general public regardless of gender, age and social status. Newspapers were available only in big cities and were read only by the upper- and middle-class. Broadcast radio wasnt available. So when there were important events, people saw them through public cinemas, which served as a television for the neighbourhood.

As with other momentous events, King Rama VIIs coronation was filmed and screened before the public. This outdoor theatre screened the 35mm full-version of the coronation footage, which was over an hour long. The audience had to pay a fee to see the film.

An abridged version was later created by the Film Department to sell to any Thais who wished to purchase the footage as a meaningful memorabilia. The 500 film rolls Dome discovered were neither of these two versions, but outtakes out of the full, final version. The official hour-long footage was lost to time. Even though they are just segments edited out of the final version, the footage provides significant, in-depth knowledge of the royal ancient rite.

The footage was also an inspiration for the late British archaeologist Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, a state officer in the reign of King Rama VII, to complete his thesis  with much of the material obtained while serving his post in Siam. In 1931, Wales  a professor in archaeology and Southeast Asia history at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  published a book titled Siamese State Ceremonies, which was later translated into Thai and is now available for purchase at leading bookstores.

At the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama I ordered that all details and knowledge about the coronation be revised and recorded in a coronation reference book, which compiled all the coronation rites and processes as practised during the Ayutthaya period. Information in the book was obtained from conversations with royal family members and state officers that lived during the Ayutthaya period.

Several elements and practices adopted from the West were added to the coronation of King Rama IV. The United Kingdom was the country that most influenced the coronation given that the coronation of Queen Victoria was held only 13 years before King Rama IV.

Thailand and Western countries have different coronation concepts. As influenced by Indian civilisation together with Brahmin and Buddhist beliefs, coronation in Thailand puts more emphasis on a water-related process such as purification and anointment. In the West, the crowning ceremony is the highlight.

Before the reign of King Rama IV, the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut or the Great Crown of Victory  one of the royal regalia  wasnt worn by the King at the coronation. Adopting coronation concepts from the West, King Rama IV was the first to change this and had the King actually wear the crown at the coronation. He also sent a court officer to purchase the diamond from Calcutta, India, and put the crown jewel at the top of the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, just like Queen Victorias crown.

The coronation of the late King Bhumibol in 1950 followed the practice of King Rama VII after the country survived World War II and the Siamese revolution of 1932. However, certain steps of the ceremony were removed.

To see the footage of King Rama VIIs coronation, visit https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/1662792/king-rama-7-coronation-ceremony

 Arusa Pisuthipan
Merit-making ceremony held at Wat Phra Thong to pay respect to His Majesty the King

PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung led a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phra Thong in Thalang today (May 4) to pay respect to His Majesty the King ahead of the Royal Coronation.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 04:09PM

Government officials, civil servants and local residents gathered at 7am to pay respect to the Kings image and take part in alms-giving ceremonies  donating food and other goods to the 99 monks who also attended, and receiving blessings from them in return.

Attendees were dressed in yellow, the Kings heraldic colour. The government has urged the public to wear yellow until the Kings birthday in July.

From 9am, attendees watched a live broadcast of the coronation ceremony as the King took part in a purification bathing rite with consecrated water, was presented with the royal regalia and was crowned the King of Thailand. (Read more here).

A live stream of the ceremony is available to watch here.
Royal Coronation: Ancient ceremony steeped in tradition

The Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will be conducted today, witnessed by millions of people either present in person attending the historic event or through the live broadcasts to 170 countries worldwide. The ceremonies to be witnessed today are steeped in Thai tradition and history, as explained in this article provided by the Thai Ministry of Culture.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 09:00AM

The Primary Royal Ceremonies

Preliminary ceremonies to the Primary Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of the chanting of prayers by monks, the arrangement of sacred water within the circle of holy thread, and the lighting of auspicious candles.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I), the Preliminary Ceremony started on the eve of the previous day when His Majesty lit the candle to pay homage to the Threefold Refuge as monks chanted prayers. On the next morning, His Majesty offered morning food alms to monks, the first of three days of offerings.

The custom has been practiced to the present. Although the Brahman ceremonies may have been practiced since the early period of Rattanakosin, there is little evidence to confirm it.

In the reign of King Rama V, there was a mention of the ceremony of raising the royal seven-tiered umbrella onto the Atha Disa and the Bhadrapitha Royal Thrones inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

Also, ablation offerings to deities were generally conducted at the Brahman shrines in Bangkok. Furthermore, there was an additional ceremony of offering a sacred ceremonial object to His Majesty the King, such as, the conch shell used for pouring water of blessing, the bael leaf to be worn behind his ear, the bundle of auspicious of leaves called Samit, composed of three kinds of leaves: mango, Bai thong and Indian plum. These leaves are believed to prevent harmful things from approaching the King. His Majesty ritually brushed himself with Samit, on the head and hair, to symbolize purification.

When finished, he gave them back to the Chief Brahmin, who then ceremonially burned each of the leaves in a Brahman ceremony of purification by fire. After that, the King went to his residential bed to listen to the chanting of Paritra prayers that continued for three days.

The preliminary ceremonies from King Rama V continued to be practiced in the reigns of King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), there were some practical changes in the ceremony. It limited the religious ceremony in the Preliminary session to only one evening of the previous day of the Royal Coronation Ceremony, held on Thursday, May 4, 1950.

The process included the chanting of prayers by monks seated on a pedestal. For the Brahman ceremony, three dais are placed in descending order. Each is enshrined with wooden icons of deities for use in the royal Augurs prayers. The ceremony is completed on that day and the pedestals are removed on the next day.

An offering is given to pay homage to the great royal tiered umbrella of the five Halls: the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall, the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall, the Chakri Maha Prasad Throne Hall, the Ananta Samagom Throne Hall and the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall. Offerings were given to another 13 monuments and important places in Bangkok also.*

On Thursday, May 4, 1950, at 10:00 am, the scribe moved the ceremonial tray of the Royal Golden Plaque, the Royal Horoscope and the Royal Seal of State from the ubosot of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram. These were placed on a royal palanquin that was waiting on the pavilion platform behind the temple. Then the royal palanquin moved slowly in a procession to the ceremonial stage at Baisal Daksin Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is composed of:

the Ablution or Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek,

the Anointment Ceremony or the Offering of the Abhisek Water from the eight representatives of the eight cardinal directions of the compass, at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, and

the Presentation of the Royal Throne and the Royal Regalia in the Crowning and Investiture Ceremonies, at the Bhadrapitha Throne inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

The Royal Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek

Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the king, called Ablution. This holy water is called the Muratha Bhisek Water. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person.

According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution. The water used for ablution in the Purification Ceremony will flow out from under a canopied shower head.

The sacred water is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand. In Thailand, they were collected from the five important rivers, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, and from the four Sacred Ponds. They were combined with purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom. Also added was the prepared holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session from the day before.

For the Purification or the Song Muratha Bhisek Ceremony in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty sat in the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne at the pavilion constructed for the Purification Ceremony. Then the presiding official turned on the shower sending water of purification over His Majesty for the Ablution.

After that, the Supreme Patriarch came forth to bestow benediction by sprinkling water onto His Majesty the Kings back. He then presented the Nophakhun Yantra into the hands of His Majesty. This was followed by Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Rangsit Prayurasakdi Krom Khun Jainad Narendra, offering His Majesty holy water from Phra Tao Bencha Khap, or the water vessel, into His Majestys hands.

Then, the royal Augur presented the holy water from the nine deities to His Majesty, who upon receiving them, poured them onto his left and right shoulders.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni (Sawat Rangsibrahmanakul), presented His Majesty with holy water from the great conch shell, the deity-blessed holy water from the Phra Tao Bencha Khap or water vessel, and the bronze water container.

Later, His Majesty was presented with the bael leaf, which he put behind his ear and the Kathin leaf, which he held in his hand. Then, Phraya Anurak Ratcha Mondhien (Kat Wacharothai) presented His Majesty with the sacred conch or chank shell (Turbinella pyrum.)

During the ceremonial procedure, while monks chanted prayers of benediction, officials played music from conch shells with music from a bugle, bronze drums and a Thai musical ensemble.

The guards of honor stood in salutation and the brass band played the royal anthem of Thailand. The artillerymen shot cannons for an auspicious victory to honor His Majesty the King.

The Royal Anointment Ceremony or Abhisek

After His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) performed the Purification ceremony, he changed into the Regal Vestments. He left the Ablution ceremonial pavilion to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

There, he sat on the Atha Disa Throne, with the seven-tiered umbrella or Saweta Chatra placed above it. A representative of the Parliament presented His Majesty with the Anointment Water.

The chief Brahmin presented him with eight vessels of the Brahmin holy water from each of the eight cardinal directions of the compass. As he was presented with each vessel, the King turned to its corresponding direction, and ended sitting in the direction facing east once again.

The ceremony proceeded with Chao Phraya Si Dhamadhibes (Chit Na Songkhla), the Chairman of the Senate, presenting the honorarium address to His Majesty in the Bihari language, and then, he also presented the Water of Anointment to him.

Formerly, the King was presented with the Water for Anointment from the Royal Pandit and the Chief Brahmin. However, for the Anointment Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty was the first King to receive the Anointment Water from members of Congress who were representing the eight cardinal directions of the compass. This was to signify that he was the first King in the democratic system.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, gave his address of benediction to His Majesty in the Bihari and Thai languages. Then he presented His Majesty with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State, Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra. During this procedure, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, officials shook small drums used in Brahmin rites, gongs were struck, bugles blown, and Thai musical ensembles were playing throughout the ceremonial area.

After His Majesty the King received the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State from the Chief Brahmin and gave officials, he left the Atha Disa Throne for the Bhadrapitha Throne in a royal procession, led ceremonially by the Buddha image, Phra Chai Nava Loha, and the Lord Ganesh Image, followed by the officials bringing the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra (Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State.)

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) donned the official Regal Costume for the Royal Coronation Ceremony and left the Sulalai Biman Chapel to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This ceremony took place on May 5, 1950.

The Crowning and Investiture Ceremony

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra proceeded to another throne, called the Bhadrapitha Throne, which is on the opposite side of the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This throne is under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella, or the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra. There, the chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, chanted the prayer to pay homage to the Kailasa Heaven.

He then presented the King with the Royal Golden Plaque or Phra Suphannabat, upon which is inscribed the Royal Official Title of His Majesty the King. He also presented the Royal Regalia, the Ancient and Auspicious Orders, the Royal Utensils, and the Weapons of Sovereignty.

After this moment, His Majesty the King crowned himself with the Great Crown of Victory. It is the most important procedure in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. However, what is considered the most important part of the ceremony may vary from one reign to another, depending on differing conditions.

In the ancient times, the most important part of the whole ceremony was considered to be the Anointment Ceremony. It denoted accession to power throughout the eight cardinal directions of the compass and by extension, to reign over all regions of the land.

At present, the Crowning is accepted as the highest ceremony, according to the example set in the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV). Throughout the process of the Crowning, all monks are chanting prayers of benediction, the official ensemble are blowing conch shells, beating drums, gongs and other instruments and every temple bell in the area is ringing loudly.

After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony at the Bhadrapitha Throne, the Brahmins offered blessings to His Majesty the King, and the newly crowned King presented the First Royal Command in the Thai language.

In 1873, at the time of the Second Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), His Majesty gave an instruction that the First Royal Command be spoken in the Bihari language too. From then on, it was a tradition that the First Royal Command be issued in both the Thai and Bihari languages, and continued during the reigns of King Rama V, King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) the practice was adjusted. After the Brahmins recited the prayer of benediction to His Majesty the King, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, recited his prayer of benediction in the Bihari language, after which he addressed His Majesty in Thai.

His Majesty responded by issuing his First Royal Command in Thai vowing to provide righteous protection to the people of Thailand. The Chief Brahmin accepted the First Royal Command in the Bihari language, followed by the Thai language. Next, His Majesty the King performed the gesture of pouring water as an offering to the Goddess of the Earth to ratify his responsibility of ruling righteously over the Royal Kingdom.

The Final Royal Ceremonies

The final procedures of the Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of these ceremonies: the Granting of an Audience, the Installation of the Queen, the Formal Declaration of Faith, demonstrating his willingness to become the Royal Patron of Buddhism, and by Paying Homage to the Royal Relics of previous Kings and Queens.

In addition, there is the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, and the Procession of Circumambulation around the city, Phra Nakhon, which symbolically represents the entire realm of the Kingdom.

The details of the final session of the Royal Coronation Ceremony have been adjusted to be appropriate for circumstances in each reign. The previous procedure of Granting an Audience was to allow the royal families and high officials, both military and civilian, to pay homage to the new King.

After that, the King would proceed to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall to have another audience with the royal ladies of the court, whereupon he would have been presented with twelve maidens, but this detail was revoked by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV).

Therefore, there remained only the procedure to grant an audience to civilian and military high officials and royal courtiers to pay homage to His Majesty. King Rama VI added a ceremony, the Declaration of the Royal Patronage of Buddhism into the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its addition continued in the reigns of King Rama VII and King Rama IX. Under these kings, the ceremony of the Installation of the Queen was included into the complete Royal Coronation Ceremony too.

The Assumption of the Royal Residence is another important part of the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its explanation was given by Somdetch Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab (Prince Damrong). The full Royal Coronation Ceremony is divided into two main sections: first, the Coronation Ceremony, for the glorification of the royal official title, and secondly, the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, for the King to reside in the palace. These two ceremonies do not need to be conducted together, as it was reported in some chronicles they were sometimes conducted on two separate occasions.

The royal accessories taken for the Assumption of the Royal Residence at Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence are the Royal Auspicious Items and the Royal Utensils.

The Royal Auspicious Items are the cat or Wila, the mortar stone, auspicious seeds, green gourd, golden key and a gold blossom of the betel palm. More objects were later added such as the whisk, which is made of the tail of a male white elephant and white rooster. It is carried into the ceremony by the person who bears the sacred royal staff, and is one item of the royal regalia.

Traditionally, only persons belonging to the royal family could be responsible for the bearing of the Royal Auspicious Items. In the old days, the bearers of these auspicious articles for the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony are only the women of royal families. In the Rattanakosin period, only women from royal families who held the rank of Mom Chao participated.

After the Ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, the next ritual to be held was for monks to preach to the new King at the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall.

This ceremony is not the ordinary religious service of listening to a recitation of a discourse by monks. Instead, the Supreme Patriarch and a group of Phra Racha Khana monks are invited to preach the sermon while they are seated on a special pedestal with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella overhead, and not on an ordinary pulpit.

The content of the sermon has varied from one reign to another, and first took place in the reign of King Rama V. The ceremony where the King listens to a discourse of monks is the finale of the procedures for the Royal Coronation Ceremony that take place inside the Grand Palace.

The final ceremony is outside the Grand Palace in the form of a Royal Procession to encircle the city, both by land and by water, affording people the opportunity to attend and pay homage to their new King.

During the reigns of King Rama I to King Rama III, the Royal Procession only took place by land, but in the reign of King Rama IV, the Royal Procession was conducted both by royal palanquin and by royal barge. In the reign of King Rama V, the Royal Procession was conducted only by land.

The Royal Procession was conducted again both by land and by water in the reign of King Rama VI and King Rama VII. However, the royal procession did not take place in the reign of King Rama IX. The Royal Procession on the royal palanquin or royal barge marks the conclusion of the Royal Coronation Ceremony as it was traditionally practiced in the Rattanakosin period.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is an immensely important event in countries where the monarchy remains as the core institution, and this is especially true in the Royal Kingdom of Thailand.

In Thailand, the institution of the monarchy holds all the hearts and souls of the people together. The Royal Coronation Ceremony is the formality that reveals the glory of the ascending King to the throne, assures that he holds love for all his people and accords recognition from international countries.

Most importantly, it is the ceremony that shows the stability and unity of the people as the nation.

All materials for this article are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by Ministry of Culture.
Royal Coronation: Sacred waters

The historic ceremonies of the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun that will unfold today began months ago. The earliest process in the preparation for the Royal Coronation Ceremony was to collect waters from different important sources and then consecrate and combine them for use in the Royal Purification and Anointment Ceremonies during the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 10:00AM

Governor Phakaphong carries the Kan Tor royal ceramic urn containing the sacred water, which was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong on April 6.

On April 6, 2019, across the nation was the gathering of waters to be blessed and used for the sacred water in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. This process took place in all 76 provinces, with consecration rites for the collected waters held at major temples in respective provinces for the following two days.

In Phuket, sacred water was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong, officially called Wat Chaiyathararam, because the temple well was dug during the time when the deeply revered Phra Visutthiwongsajarn Yanmunee (better known as the historical figure Luang Por Chaem) was abbot.

Many local people believe that the well is sacred and that its water is able to heal people. This same well was also used for the Royal Coronation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

At 11:52am that day, Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana led the ceremony by drawing water from the well and pouring it into a five-litre golden bowl called a Kan Sakon.

The Kan Sakon lid was then closed and covered with a blessed white cloth tied with a white ribbon. The water was then carried by procession to Wat Prathong in Thalang.

The water remained at Wat Prathong for two days of blessing ceremonies, until 1pm on April 9. During the ceremonies, the Governor decanted water from the Kan Sakon into a Kan Tor  a royal ceramic urn handmade especially for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

At 5pm that day, the Governor and his entourage and police escort departed the temple by motorcade, accompanying the water all the way to Royal Palace in Bangkok. Governors in other provinces performed the same rituals and departed their respective revered temples at the same time, though arriving in the capital over the next two days (April 10-11).

On April 12, from 1pm to 2:09pm, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration performed a water consecration rite at Ho Sattrakhom in the Grand Palace and transferred the consecrated water to the Ministry of Interior to combine it with waters from the provinces.

On April 18 at 5:30pm, the waters from 76 provinces and Bangkok were combined and taken from the Ministry of Interior to be blessed through another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkoks oldest and most important temples.

On April 19, at 7:30am, the sacred water was taken by procession from Wat Suthat to be kept at the ubosot of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, awaiting its use in the performing of Royal Ablutions

The Royal Purification Ceremony is called the Song Phra Muratha Bhisek. Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the King, called Ablution. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person. According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution.

The water used for Ablution is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, as well as water drawn from four Sacred Ponds, or Sa in Thai: Sa Ket, Sa Kaeo, Sa Khongkha and Sa Yamuna from Suphanburi.

The Bencha Suttha Khongkha river waters, or the Five Pure Streams of Ganga, are used so as to follow the belief in the use of the sacred water from the five main streams from South Asia or Chomphu Thawip in Thai.

The five rivers in Thailand from which water is drawn are the Bang Pakong River in Nakhon Nayok, the Pasak River in Saraburi, the Chao Phraya River, Ratchaburi River in Samut Songkram and the Phetchaburi River.

They are combined purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom, including Phuket, for use in the ceremony.

Also now used in the Ablution Ceremony is the holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session prepared yesterday (May 3).
Royal Coronation: The Royal Regalia

The offering of the Royal Regalia to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony today carries with it deep significance unto itself as part of the Royal Coronation ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 12:00PM

The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The offering of the Royal Regalia to the King as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony is a traditional practice from Brahmanism. The chief Brahmin, or Phra Maha Ratcha Khru, gives the address offering the Royal Regalia to the King. The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

According to the book of protocol concerning the Royal Coronation Ceremony of the King, it states the ceremonial articles to be used consist of: the Great Crown, the Royal Clothes made of red wool, the Sword, the Tiered Umbrella and the Golden Slippers.

Each item holds a symbolic meaning. The Great Crown refers to the high heavenly abode of Indra; the Red-wool Cloth represents the Khanthamat Mountain of the Sumerumat Range; the Sword represents the wisdom to cut through misunderstanding; the Six-tiered Umbrella refers to the sixth level of heaven; and the Golden Slippers are a reference of royal support to all subjects living in the royal kingdom, just as the earth is a support to the Sumerumat Mountain.

The Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State

or the Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra

The nine layers of the tiered umbrella are made of white cloth; each tier hangs into three layers trimmed with gold bands. The umbrella is topped with a finial. King Rama IV ordered the Great Tiered Umbrella to be covered with white cloth, instead of tash cloth (silk woven with threads wrapped in gold or silver thread.) It is the most important article of the whole set of Royal Regalia. His Majesty King Rama IX ordered it to be presented while he was at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, after the Anointment Ceremony.

The Royal Scepter

or Than Phra Kon

The original scepter was made during the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I). Its staff was made of Javanese Cassia wood. The finial was in the form of a trident and was gilded with gold, as was its iron hilt inlaid with gold. The scepter itself was named Than Phra Kon, but originally was named Than Phra Kon Ratchaphruek, or Royal Staff made of Javanese Cassia wood.

In the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV), His Majesty ordered a new scepter to be made of pure gold. The staff was designed to hide a sword within and it had the figure of a deity on its finial. The scepter was called Phra Saeng Sanao, and also called Than Phra Kon Thewarup or The Royal Staff with a Deity. This scepter is more a sword than royal staff, and His Majesty preferred using this new scepter than the old one.

However, His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), due to his royal admiration of heritage objects, brought back the original scepter for use again in the Royal Coronation Ceremony, and the Than Phra Kon Thewarup was not included in the ceremony of that period.

The Great Crown of Victory

or Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut

The crown was made by the royal command of King Rama I and ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. The whole crown is 66 centimetres high and weighs 7.3 kilograms. King Rama IV later ordered the Phum Khao Bin tip of the crown replaced with a large diamond, bought from Kolkata, India. The diamond was named Phra Maha Wichian Mani.

In previous days, the crown was considered the next most important item in the whole set of Royal Regalia, following the Nine-tiered Umbrella in importance.

Upon receiving the crown, the King only placed the crown next to himself. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries and reviewed their royal procedures, Siam changed the status of the crown.

In Europe, the status of Kingship is bestowed when the King puts on the crown. Therefore, when King Rama IV was coronated and presented with the crown, His Majesty placed the crown upon his head and gave an audience to the foreign diplomatic corps while wearing it.

From then on, the Great Crown of Victory was reconsidered as the most important article of all the Royal Regalia and every King will wear this crown in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The Royal Fan and Fly Whisk

or Walawichani

The Walawichani made in the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) was the form of a fan made of a palm leaf, and was so-called a palm-leaf fan. The rim of the fan was trimmed with gold and the rod was made of enamelled gold.

Originally it was called Phatchani Fak Makham or the Fan in the shape of a tamarind-pod.

The meaning of its name was reconsidered by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) who recognised that for the name Walawichani, taken from the Pali language, use of a palm leaf fan may not be the correct interpretation. It referred more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, as the word Wala meant the hair of one type of a cow, an animal that Thais called Chammari.

Hence, His Majesty King Rama IV ordered a fly whisk to be made with the hair of a yak and to be included in the Royal Regalia. In a later period, yak hair was replaced with the hair from the white elephants tail, and the name was changed to the White Elephant Fly Whisk. But as it would be deemed inappropriate not to use the original royal Palm-Leaf Fan, His Majesty ordered the use of both the Palm-Leaf Fan and the Chammari Fly Whisk, and together had them called the Walawichani.

The Sword of Victory

or Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri

This sword was presented to His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) from Chao Phraya Abhai Bhubes (Ban) brought by an official sent from Battambang, then a vassal state to the Kingdom of Thailand, in 1784.

His Majesty King Rama I ordered a cover to be made for it. The hilt and sheath were ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems. It became part of the Royal Regalia in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 1785.

The length of the blade itself is 64.5 centimetres, and 89.8 centimetres when it includes the hilt. It weighs 1.3 kilograms. When enclosed with the sheath, it is 101 centimetres in length and weighs 1.9 kilograms.

The Royal Slippers

or Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon

King Rama I ordered the making of a pair of gold slippers as a part of the Royal Regalia, following an ancient Indian belief. They were made of colourful enamelled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony, they are offered by the Chief Brahmin who puts them directly onto the feet of the King.

* All materials for this publication are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by the Ministry of Culture.
In a little more than two weeks, Pennsylvanians will once again go to the polls.

Or at least some of us will.

Actually, the majority of us will not.

There are several reasons for that. None of them good enough to throw away our most basic and prized constitutional right, the right to vote.

May 21 is the statewide Primary Election, when residents exercise their franchise to nominate candidates for a variety of local elected positions. In this region, seats are u[ for grabs on county commissioner councils, township boards of supervisors, school boards and borough councils.

Voters in suburban counties also will select candidates for district attorney, as well as seats on Courts of Common Pleas.

Locally, a slew of jobs are up for grabs among local borough and township ruling bodies, as well as your local school board. You know, those folks who set the hated property tax.

And yet with all this on the line, the public will stay away in droves. Just as they routinely do in nearly every primary election. They conjecture that no one is actually elected on Primary Day (except in Philadelphia where winning the Democratic Primary is akin to winning in November in a city where Dems hold a massive, unchallenged edge in voter registration). They say they will cast their vote in November, when it really counts.

They could not be more wrong. In fact, the decision on who will appear on the ballot  in effect who you will vote for  is made in the Primary, when nominations are secured.

If you forfeit your vote in May, you are in effect surrendering the ability to decide who you will vote for in November.

But there is another reason why some people stay away in droves come the Primary Election.

Some voters dont have a choice.

That would be the states Independent voters. They dont get a say on Primary Day.

Pennsylvania has what is referred to as a closed primary. That is, its closed to anyone who is not registered as either a Republican or Democrat. Democrats nominate Democrats; Republicans nominiate Republicans. Voters are limited to voting for those in the same party.

And if youre registered Independent? You dont get to vote for either partys candidates. In fact, you are for the most part limited to casting a vote in any special election that may be on the ballot, as well as referendums.

How many people does this affect? By the last count from the Pennsylvania Department of State just a few weeks ago there were 785,579 registered voters on the rolls in Pennsylvania who were not aligned with either party. Thats out of a total of 8.4 million registered voters.

More than 785,000 voters with no voice.

But that may be about to change.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, has proposed legislation that would throw open the doors on Primary Day. Scarnatis measure would allow registered voters not aligned with either party to simply make the choice of what ballot they would like when they report to their polling place. The legislation has bipartisan support from a group of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa.

The winds of change of starting to rattle the dark, musty halls of the Capitol in Harrisburg.

Maybe, just maybe, our elected representatives are getting the message that Pennsylvanians want change. And changing the archaic way we vote sits fairly high on the list of the to-do list.

Scarnatis bill was part of a major flurry of bills pushing election reform that blew through the Capitol Tuesday. Just the day before, a group backing election reform, appropriately named Open Primaries PA, put down roots in Harrisburg. The coalition is made up of some familiar names. Micah Sims is executive director of Common Cause PA. The Committee of Seventy also is represented. Its a veritable whos who of good government groups.

Sims pointed out one of the basic ironies of state election law when it comes to independent voters. They pay taxes to support primary elections, but they cant vote for most of the candidates.

Scarnati is taking a bit more pragmatic view. He knows numbers, and when it comes to Primary Elections, the numbers dont lie. They dont exactly paint a picture of an engaged electorate, either.

People are staying away in droves.

In our most recent primary election, only 18 percent of Pennsylvanias registered voters went to the ballot box to cast a vote, Scarnati said in a statement. The low turnout can be in part attributed to voters feeling disenfranchised by both major parties, who have taken control of our primary process. Allowing more people the opportunity to have a voice in their representation is an important step toward ensuring democracy.

We have become accustomed to waiting in long lines during Presidential races in November.

And then taking a rain check until four years later and then next run for the White House.

But the truth is the people on the ballot in a few weeks seeking to hold local offices very likely have more direct effect on the everyday lives of residents. They are the people who set your taxes, make sure your trash gets picked up, your street gets plowed in the winter, and your kids educational needs are met.

The state cant make people vote. Those who stay away from the polls have to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are fulfilling the basic responsibilities of citizenship and forfeiting the right to complain about the results.

Any move to increase voter participation is a good one.

Open Primaries? Bring em on. Its not like there isnt room at our local polling places.
Environmental groups were cheering a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling on carbon pricing that legal experts say strongly affirms the federal governments essential role in the fight against climate change.

I cannot hide my joy, Isabelle Turcotte of the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank. This is such great news for climate action in Canada.

Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation, which intervened in the case, said the 3-2 decision is a step toward a consistent national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its a historic day. This decision helps pave the way for a really strong, fair and unified approach to tackling climate change across the country.

Legal scholars says that despite the two dissenting opinions, the majority ruling is a powerful endorsement of the notion that the provinces and the federal government share jurisdiction over environmental issues. Ottawa has the right to set national standards, while giving the provinces leeway to decide how to meet them.

The federal government can assert jurisdiction over a consistent federal price for carbon and then the provinces can still do a ton of work within their own jurisdictions if they want, said Martin Olszynski of the University of Calgary.

He said the court sidestepped the issue of federal intrusion into provincial spheres by limiting the federal role to setting a minimum national standard.

That approach is consistent with how other aspects of Canadian federalism operate, said Stewart Elgie of the University of Ottawa.

This is essentially the approach Canada has taken to health care and social programs. Provinces are free to flesh out and apply their own legislation to meet their own needs provided they meet the minimum standards.

It recognizes that greenhouse gases, while theyre an international problem, also have significant provincial and local impacts, as were seeing with the (Ottawa) flooding right now.

Joshua Ginsburg, an Ecojustice lawyer who argued in the case, pointed out the rulings strong language indicates the court took the urgency of the issue seriously.

They agreed with us that climate change is an emergency, he said. They said Climate change is doubtless an emergency in the sense that it presents a genuine threat to Canada.

Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University, said that whatever the legal arguments, climate change is an issue that has to be addressed at levels above the municipal or provincial.

Its a global problem. You want the most senior level of government to solve it, he said.

You need national governments around the planet to be able to contribute to a global governance effort.

All agreed that the Saskatchewan ruling isnt the end of the game. Ontario has argued a challenge before its Court of Appeal and Manitoba has done the same in Federal Court.

But Olszynski said the arguments in Ontario were similar to those used in Saskatchewan.

The issue is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court.

Until it does  months if not years down the road  environmental groups hope Fridays ruling will quicken Canadas response to climate change.

There is no time to be wasted in fights to fight climate action, Turcotte said. This is a call to unity and working together because we cant delay action.

 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to Cuba to help resolve the crisis in Venezuela, calling for free elections as President Nicolas Maduro holds tight against a U.S. campaign to replace him.

With U.S. President Donald Trumps administration leaving the option of military force on the table, Trudeau joined a group of 14 Latin American countries in turning to Venezuelas closest ally to try to move forward from a standoff thats also drawing in Russia.

Trudeau underscored the desire to see free and fair elections and the constitution upheld in Venezuela in a call with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel late Friday, according to a Canadian statement. They discussed ways they could work together to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Tension is running high after a failed attempt this week to overthrow Maduro. The so-called Lima Group, meeting Friday in Perus capital, decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to turmoil that has pitted Maduro against Juan Guaido, whom more than 50 countries recognize as Venezuelas interim president.

Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, is signalling deepening concern. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to meet his Venezuelan counterpart in Moscow on Sunday, a day before planned talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Europe. Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton were briefed on Friday on a wide range of military options for Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.

Cubas Many Roles

The U.S. blames Cuba for propping up Maduro, whose re-election in a rigged presidential ballot last year prompted a backlash in and outside Venezuela. Cuban agents are alleged to run Maduros security apparatus.

While Cuba has previously rejected the Lima Groups support for Guaido and its allegations of Cuban interference in Venezuela, a senior diplomat recently cited Cubas mediation in past regional conflicts.

Dialogue is what will help, Josefina Vidal, Cubas ambassador to Canada, said in an interview. If there is willingness, solutions can be found.

Vidal was the key liaison to the U.S. for the normalization of relations under the Obama administration. Canada hosted some of the secret talks that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana.

Read more about:
EDMONTONPolice Chief Dale McFee apologized to Edmontons LGBTQ community Friday for a history marked with discrimination and marginalization by police.

Addressing a crowd gathered at police headquarters, McFee said the apology was part of a reconciliation process with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Edmontonians.

Many people in this room will immediately recall the raids, the mistreatment during arrests, and even public shaming  these are just a few known and visceral examples, he said.

We know there is much more in the history of our service that is unnamed, unheard and underground. That we dont fully understand the full extent of our impact on this community is a statement in itself.

McFee said instances where police were indifferent or ignorant to harassment, discrimination, bullying or violence were also greatly damaging, and acknowledged the Edmonton Police Services own members have been affected.

He said discriminatory actions have caused pain, eroded trust and created fear, leading members of the public and the police service to feel unsafe on the streets, in their workplaces, and in their homes.

Read more:

Former Edmonton police commissioner calls on police to apologize to LGBTQ community

Calgary police chief apologizes for services history of LGBTQ discrimination

Edmonton Queer History App aims to fill gap left by textbooks

This is not just a history. It is a legacy, McFee said.

We know this is still happening today. Perhaps not as actively or intentionally as in the past, but it is a systemic part of our structure and practices that demands our vigilance to address.

As we try to understand our biases toward sexual and gender minorities, we need to be mindful of the compounding impact of factors such as race, economic status, mental health or ability in this communitys experiences with the police.

In July, Calgarys police chief at the time, Roger Chaffin, formally apologized for the Calgary Police Services role in the marginalization of and discrimination against LGBTQ Calgarians.

Edmonton police have had a similarly complicated history with the LGBTQ community, but former chief Rod Knecht had declined to follow Calgarys lead on an apology before McFee was sworn in as chief in February.

Former police commissioner Murray Billett, who co-founded the EPS Sexual and Gender Minorities Community Liaison Committee in 1992 after police arrested gay men in a river valley park and released their names to the media in what he characterized as a sting operation, has called on EPS in the past to make an apology.

On Friday, he said he was brought to tears.

Im disappointed it took this long, but it was worth waiting for, Billett said.

He said the apology was clear and inclusive and will set an important tone, not only for LGBTQ Edmontonians, but for the city and province at large.

The most infamous example of police discrimination against Edmontons LGBTQ community was the Pisces bathhouse raid in 1981, when officers arrested dozens of gay men who were outed when their names were published in newspapers, sparking the citys early Pride movement.

Shelley Miller represented most of the men in court as a young lawyer, and said the way they were treated shook her faith in her profession.

It was heartbreaking. Their lives were completely upended, their privacy was completely eradicated, their names were ran on television, which is something Id never seen or heard of before anywhere, Miller said Friday.

Some of them lost their jobs, some of their families were very upset because they hadnt known that they had this quality in their lives. And Im not sure if any of them have ever recovered from the pain of being treated like a serious criminal.

Miller said McFees speech was comprehensive, heartfelt and meaningful.

I was completely gratified and consoled, she said.

McFee said EPS has already selected consultants to organize meetings with LGBTQ community members and intends to start the work immediately.

He wants to hear from community members to better understand the impact of past discrimination and get advice on moving forward. McFee said the success metrics of that work will be developed by community members  not by police.

He said the apology is not an accomplishment in itself, but the beginning of a continuous journey.

We will listen intently, he said. We cannot just rely on institutional knowledge.

But the citys LGBTQ community is divided in the wake of recent controversies, and some are skeptical police can repair eroded trust.

At the Pride parade in June, a group billing itself as a coalition of queer and trans people of colour blocked the floats on Whyte Ave. to make a series of demands, including halting all police and military from marching in future parades.

Festival organizers agreed to comply and launched a series of community consultations that grew heated, and ultimately ended up cancelling the 2019 festival.

Shay Lewis, who identifies as non-binary, was one of the 2018 protesters. They said the apology seems like a positive step, but whether it means anything will depend on what programs come out of it and how consistent those programs are.

While Lewis is tentatively hopeful about the promise to reach out to the community, they pointed out that its not necessarily that simple.

The folks who run queer organizations in this city are traditionally the folks who support the police force, just because those individuals tend to be part of institutions that have positive relationships  or are part of groups and communities that have better relationships  with the police force. So they can find those organizations to pair with, Lewis said.

The issue is the communities that directly feel affected, and more often than not dont trust the police force, have no real incentive to engage with them, because theyre being welcomed into a bureaucratic system that doesnt seem to offer much change.

Activist groups RaricaNow and Shades of Colour brought a list of seven demands to the Pride Festival Society in March, including $20,000 for each of their organizations to create well-funded QTIBPOC specific spaces at Pride.

The festival society invited representatives from the two groups to its April 4 board meeting, but the groups brought at least 20 more people with them for support, and when they refused to leave, police were called.

Days later, festival organizers announced the cancellation.

Adebayo Katiiti with RaricaNow, a group representing LGBTQ refugees, said his group accepts the chiefs apology but needs urgent action to address social justice issues.

He said RaricaNow is eager to work with EPS to discuss advocating for changes to federal policies that are hurting community members, some of whom are facing deportation.

Katiiti, a transgender man from Uganda, said he does not personally trust police, but other RaricaNow members are optimistic that change is coming.

We are looking for actions, Katiiti said. Because weve seen people apologizing and nothing happened.

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HALIFAXHome can be a place of comfort and refuge, but it can also be used as a tool for exploitation.

Perpetrators of human trafficking often control their victims by controlling their access to shelter and other basic survival needs.

Thats why, according Charlene Gagnon, offering victims and survivors a safe place to live is an essential part of supporting their exit from the exploitive cycle, and its why the YWCA Halifaxs latest program will be a milestone in the fight against human trafficking in Nova Scotia.

Gagnon manages anti-trafficking initiatives at the YWCA Halifax and says human trafficking is not a new issue to Nova Scotia, but the attention afforded to it has been gradually changing, both locally and across Canada.

In 2005, a trio of amendments to the Criminal Code prohibited human trafficking, specifically, for the first time. Further legislative changes have continued to trickle in since then, and Gagnon says that as laws have emerged to address human trafficking, public awareness has grown.

By shedding more light on the issue, front line workers  like social workers, police, school guidance counsellors  are better able to identify victims. A few years ago, YWCA staff started identifying more and more human trafficking victims, but Gagnon said there was no real system in place to fully respond.

Particularly when it came to safe housing.

We kind of knew it right from the very beginning, there has been a lack of housing that is specific to this kind of victimization.

In 2016, the non-profit applied for and was granted federal funding to take a closer look at the issue in Nova Scotia and develop a plan for filling the service gaps. That research wrapped in March 2019 with a plan for a pilot program called Safe Spaces.

The YWCA is aiming for a fall 2019 launch of the program, which will offer emergency housing to youth between 13 and 24 who are fleeing trafficking. As with other trafficking services at the YWCA, police, community agencies and child welfare services anywhere in the province will be able to refer to Safe Spaces.

Its pretty critical in those first three to six months of making that transition out for their housing to be really safe and secure, Gagnon said.

The program will be non-gender-specific, although most trafficking victims are girls and women.

Safe Spaces has funding for four years, part of which was secured earlier this month when Ottawa committed $4.7 million to the Nova Scotia government through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund.

Despite the name, more than half of the funds for the first two years of the investment are going to human trafficking initiatives. Of more than $820,000, YWCA is receiving more than $183,000 and Nova Scotia RCMP are receiving $243,000 for seconding officers to human trafficking work.

When making the funding announcement in Halifax, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey acknowledged that gun violence has been declining in Nova Scotia, and federal Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said gangs are less common in Nova Scotia than elsewhere in Canada.

Human trafficking, on the other hand, has been on the rise, according to Furey, and in 2016, Nova Scotia recorded the highest number of trafficking incidents of any Canadian province or territory.

Simultaneous to the research and preparation for the safe housing program, Gagnon and her YWCA colleagues have been leading the Nova Scotia Trafficking Elimination Partnership (NSTEP) with more than a dozen other non-profits, police and the local and provincial governments.

NSTEP started in 2016 and is slated to continue until 2021. Gagnon said that at the end of the partnership, the collaborators intend to table a strategy for addressing human trafficking for the province. In the meantime, support programs have already stemmed from of NSTEPs work.

Since 2018, the YWCA has added front line workers to directly support youth who are either at risk of being exploited or who are exiting trafficking situations, and a family outreach worker.

Gagnon said collaboration  like the kind seen in NSTEP  is an important part of addressing human trafficking, as theres a wide variety of perspectives and experiences. When in conflict, they can stymy progress.

Human trafficking and sex work are often conflated, and some members of NSTEP support complete abolition of sex work while others support it as a means of independence and survival.

Consensus on a definition for human trafficking poses a problem for fighting it. A 2018 federal justice committee report on human trafficking recognized the absence of a common and consistent definition among stakeholders, and said it can contribute to under-reporting and challenges in collecting evidence for court.

The members of NSTEP, however, did arrive at an eight-point common definition of sexualized human trafficking and exploitation. It acknowledges a spectrum of opinion when it comes to the concept of choice, but unequivocally calls trafficking a form of slavery and a human rights violation.

Gagnon said isolation and control are the hallmarks of trafficking that everyone in the partnership agrees on.

She said the definition is important because perpetrators have their playbook, and members of the partnership have to know what theyre targeting.

Correction - May 5, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the name of the YWCA program was Safe Landings. In fact, it is called Safe Spaces.

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MONTREALQuebecs order of social workers says its members need more time and less pressure to properly do their jobs.

Order president Guylaine Ouimette held a press conference Friday in reaction to the death of a seven-year-old girl who had a long history with the provinces youth protection system.

Local police found the girl shortly before noon Monday at a home in Granby, Que., about 80 kilometres east of Montreal. She died a day later in hospital.

Two adults  identified by people close to the family as the girls father, 30, and his partner, 35  were arrested in connection with the death.

Ouimette did not want to comment directly on the girls case because it involved members of the order.

But she says social workers are often in conflict between fulfilling their job descriptions and properly caring for young people and families.

She says her members work in an industrial-like atmosphere where sometimes half their time is spent on bureaucratic tasks.

News of the girls death prompted swift reaction from the public and Quebecs political class, who immediately demanded to know how the girl was seemingly failed by a system designed to protect her.

Ouimette is calling for a public commission that will look into systemic problems in the social services system.

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Torstar took home three prizes at the 70th National Newspaper Awards, one of the highest honours in Canadian journalism. The Toronto Star received one award and sister papers the St. Catharines Standard and Waterloo Region Record won one each.

Daniel Dale, the Stars Washington bureau chief, won the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting for his exhaustive coverage and fact-checking of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Grant LaFleche, a reporter and columnist with the St. Catharines Standard, won the George Brown Award for Investigations for his yearlong probe that uncovered a political conspiracy to manipulate the hiring of Niagara Regions top bureaucrat and a secret contract worth more than a million dollars.

Greg Mercer of the Waterloo Region Record won the award for Local Reporting for his coverage of the health problems that afflicted workers from the regions once-booming rubber industry, and the apparent reluctance of safety officials to accept compensation claims.

Celebrating the importance of journalism is something we rarely pause to do, said Irene Gentle, Editor of the Toronto Star. The work of the winners and nominees across Torstar is deep, meaningful and made a difference. It is a privilege to work in newsrooms with such talented and committed journalists. Congratulations to them and all the journalists honoured tonight.

In total, Torstar received 12 National Newspaper Award nominations, including six for the Toronto Star.

The other nominees included Rachel Mendleson, Diana Zlomislic, Robert Cribb, Marco Chown Oved, Andrew Bailey and Emma Jarratt in the Project of the Year category for the Medical Disorder series, an 18-month investigation on the discipline records of doctors permitted to practise on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

A team of 42 journalists were nominated in Breaking News for the Stars coverage of last years Yonge St. van attack, which left 10 dead and 16 injured.

Cameron Tulk, David Schnitman, Tania Pereira and Fadi Yaacoub were nominated in the Presentation category for a project in which the Star fact-checked every question and answer over five days of question period in Parliament.

Feature writer Mary Ormsby was nominated in the Sports category for her reporting on new information about Ben Johnsons positive drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and for another story about boxing legend George Chuvalo.

Photojournalist Carlos Osorio was nominated for his photo essay accompanying a story about a senior forced to move out of her longtime home in a public housing building when it was deemed unsafe.

The Globe and Mail won 10 awards, the most of any publication. Other winners on Friday included the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and The Canadian Press for their coverage of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and its aftermath.

It was also announced Friday that Karyn Pugliese, executive director of news and current affairs at APTN, was awarded the 25th Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

The fellowship is funded by an endowment in memory of Martin Wise Goodman, the late president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

Pugliese will join 26 other journalists in the 82nd class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard. The fellowship covers a stipend for living expenses and payment of fees to Harvard.
MONTREALWater levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

Read more:

Health and safety inspection teams head to flood-affected zones in New Brunswick

Health Canada warns victims of spring flooding about mould dangers

Water to stay high in Ottawa but second round of floods not expected, says Goodale

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners, they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels havent dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.

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Sylvia Consuelo, a slight 34-year-old woman with long, dark hair, was found dead on the floor of her Etobicoke apartment in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2016. A bunch of unopened condoms had been scattered over her body and she had been sexually assaulted with an object.

Three years later, a jury is set to decide whether Najib Amin, 31, murdered Consuelo because he believed  wrongly  that she was HIV-positive and had given HIV to three people through unprotected sex.

There is no DNA evidence in the case, no fingerprints or an eyewitness to the murder.

In closing arguments on Thursday, the case against Amin was described as entirely circumstantial and based mainly on two pieces of evidence: security footage from Consuelos building that shows Amin and the alleged murderer on different days wearing apparently identical clothing and secretly recorded conversations between Amin and undercover police officers during a months-long operation to see whether Amin would confess to killing Consuelo.

Amin was captured on surveillance cameras entering the Kendleton Dr. apartment complex  three Toronto Community Housing buildings joined together by basement tunnels  on Jan. 24, 2016.

On Jan. 30, 2016, three hours before Consuelo was found dead, a man enters the complex wearing what appear to be the same grey shoes, jeans, black leather jacket, black hat with white writing on it, and same striped shirt as Amin days before. Before entering the building the man pulls a scarf up over his face that the Crown argues is remarkably similar to one worn by a woman who was with Amin on Jan. 24. The man left the building just over an hour later, his face still covered.

Did someone break into Mr. Amins residence and raid his closet that day and just happen to steal and choose to wear these five, specific, distinctive pieces of clothing and then that person just happened to walk over to Sylvia Consuelos apartment, said prosecutor Scott Arnold in his closing address. It defies any coincidence.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Penman argued the clothing Amin was wearing  including the blue jeans with a white seagull-like pattern on the back pockets  are extremely common and that, as Amin told the undercover officers, his friends often borrowed his clothes.

Penman also argued there is no way to know the masked man is the same person who murdered Consuelo. There are no cameras in the building hallways or elevator and therefore no video showing whether the man went up to Consuelos floor or entered Consuelos unit. The jury heard about plenty of illegal activity occurring at the Kendleton Dr. complex, she said, suggesting the masked man could have been concealing his identity for another reason other than murder.

Once police identified Amin as a suspect, an undercover police operation was launched in April 2016. The plan was to have an officer befriend Amin and for them to become business partners with another officer posing as a wealthy businessman with the ability to make legal problems  even murder  go away.

The identities of the two undercover officers are covered by a publication ban.

The operation began when police arranged for Amin to win a $100 shopping spree at Square One mall after filling out a marketing survey about a shisha bar. An officer known to Amin as Ryan was made a fellow winner and the two men struck up a friendship after spending the day together. After the shopping spree, Amin, his girlfriend and Ryan were treated to a free meal by the marketing company at a nearby shisha bar where Amin was introduced to an undercover officer posing as Raz, a big-shot businessman hoping to open a shisha bar in London.

On one occasion Amin, his girlfriend and some other undercover officers went to Ripleys Aquarium to look at the sharks because Raz wanted to install a shark tank at his cottage, court heard.

Ryan and Amin continued to spend time together including at various strip clubs and Ryan began complaining about an ex-girlfriend called Jessie who had taken a gun he was keeping for his cousin.

While sitting in the parking lot of Albion Mall, Ryan asked Amin how he would kill a woman, hypothetically.

Amin said he would do it by jumping on top of her and using his hands to smother her mouth.

Like how long you leave it there for? Ryan asked about the hands.

Until she stops moving and after she stops moving keep holding it forfor another two minutes just to like confirm it, Amin responded.

The Crown argues this description is consistent with Consuelos cause of death  manual asphyxiation  and the internal injuries she suffered. The defence said the scenario described by Amin was generic and pointed out that he suggested other murder methods as well.

At one point the officer and Amin discuss Consuelos murder. Amin said Consuelo was a sex worker and that she had been strangled to death, beat up and brutally raped because she was f-king guys and shes not telling them to wear a condom, so she was spreading the disease.

Consuelo did not have HIV, the jury heard, and the close friend Amin named as having been diagnosed HIV-positive testified that hed been tested twice and did not have HIV.

As the police operation progressed Amin was told that Ryan killed his ex-girlfriend Jessie and that Raz was going to get rid of a witness by sending him to Florida.

By June, Ryan and Amin were planning to become business partners with Raz and they set up a meeting.

During the meeting Raz presented Amin with faked police documents that made it appear Amin was a suspect in Consuelos murder and that police were offering a $50,000 reward for information.

Raz offered to help Amin using his connections in the police force but said he needed to know what really happened first.

This is the circle of trust. OK, honesty, trust, loyalty, we move forward, he said.

Amin responded that he could not remember what happened that night.

I dont know everything was a blur like I wasI was s-t-faced that day, he said. I cant really recall nothing to be honest.

He said his friends had found out they had HIV.

I was just wrong place, wrong time, Amin said. He said again that he was blacked out I dont know what happened but I know they had to do something you know.

He said he needed to talk to the four other men with him that night, two of whom were now in jail, and that he doesnt know the true story.

Amin never did confess and eventually denied killing Consuelo.

He was arrested in November 2016 and charged with first-degree murder.

In her closing argument, defence lawyer Jennifer Penman, said that he fell completely for the police plan and would have confessed if hed done it. Amin did not testify during the trial.

Prosecutor Scott Arnold argued Amins answers revealed his motive to murder Consuelo. He said the jury should consider that Amin did not immediately deny he killed Consuelo when the officers presented him with the faked police information  instead replying that he didnt know what happened that night.

Penman said another man who lived in the same building as Consuelo was seen threatening her in the days prior to the murder over money that she owed him  a fact she said should give the jury enough basis for reasonable doubt about Amins guilt. One witness said she saw the man yell at Consuelo: Wheres my f-king moneyIf you dont give me that money now I will kill you.

The man, Lawrence Hibbard, was investigated by police as a potential suspect but was never charged. He testified Consuelo had owed him $250 but said she paid him back $150 the day before she was killed. He said he was friends with Consuelo and often fed her when she couldnt afford food.

Hi, this is Sylvia, said a handwritten note dated Jan. 29 that Hibbard said Consuelo left for him. This is what I can just afford for what you know that I owe you OK!!! So so next month will be a hundred dollars okiely.

In the note she offered to buy some stew meat the following Friday that Hibbard could cook for them.

Hibbard admitted that he could not recall where he was the night Consuelo died, exactly who he was with or if he had gone to her apartment that night. Everything was a blur, he said noting his addiction to crack cocaine at the time. But Hibbard said he was absolutely certain he did not kill Consuelo and repeatedly expressed shock at the brutality of her murder.

Likewhat kind of monster, he exclaimed during cross-examination before being interrupted by the judge.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Monday.
Toronto police have arrested a 41-year-old man for allegedly accessing, possessing and making available child pornography.

On Wednesday, April 24, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Bloor St. W. and Bathurst St., police said in a news release on Friday.

Jose Lopez Reyna, 41, of Toronto, has charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of access child pornography, one count of making child pornography available.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Thursday, April 25.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers in anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
Toronto police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly possessing and accessing child pornography.

On Tuesday, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Richmond St. and Spadina Ave., police said in a news release on Friday.

Mehdy Chaillou, 29, of Toronto was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of access to child pornography.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
BANGKOKInstalled on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The coronation the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a sceptre, gold-embroidered slippers, a legendary sword that belonged to his 18th-century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The daylong spectacle the start of three days of ceremonies that have closed streets, snarled traffic and festooned one of Asias most frenetic capitals with yellow bunting, the colour of the king was marked by an extravagance rarely seen in the modern age.

Its purpose was clear: To reassert the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life at a time of deep political and social divisions.

Read more:

Thai king is officially crowned, boosting his regal power

As coronation begins, Thai kings future plans still unclear

Thai king appoints consort as queen ahead of coronation

In five days, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

Although the king has ruled since shortly after the death of his long-serving and much loved father 21/2 years ago, the coronation was seen as an attempt to end the political crisis and help move the country forward under a democratically elected government.

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile. On the eve of the election, the king issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist, Buddhists (who) revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signalled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide were together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

The kings sister and ex-candidate, Ubolratana Mahidol, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony showing her alongside another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity, it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The rites broadcast nationwide began shortly before 10 a.m. when Vajiralongkorn, riding in the back of a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number one, arrived at the Grand Palace, perched on a bend of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.

Some Thais had gathered along the route wearing yellow, a few holding portraits of the king, others displaying bank notes with his face on them.

The king an intensely private monarch who rarely appears in public and lives much of the year in Germany waved as he drove past.

Im so delighted and impressed, said Kittipawan Noenyai, a 54-year-old woman who had been waiting four hours. I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long Live the King, hoping he would hear me.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Arriving at the cream-coloured palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. He walked along a red carpet, shielded from the piercing sun by an umbrella carried by a burly uniformed attendant in silk pants.

Men in military uniforms knelt as the king passed. His new wife, Queen Suthida, followed close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests at temples across the country, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist. The water dripped from the kings eyes and chin, the ablutions lasting several minutes as horns played in the background.

The king was then handed a white bathrobe and walked back into the palace trailed by the white-robed priests, many of whom were visibly sweating in the 97-degree heat. Inside the long hall, statuettes of Buddha and Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god who symbolizes auspicious beginnings, were placed side by side on a gilded stand.

Nearly half an hour passed before the king re-entered the ornate hall, now dressed in his royal vestments an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, it was time for the key moment of the ceremony.

Sitting under the nine-tiered umbrella, his polished black shoes resting on a golden footstool, Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned by a priest kneeling before him. The priest handed the king the crown created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty and the other royal paraphernalia.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

The royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet as the king left the room, an announcer said on Thai television.

Criticizing the royal family is a criminal offense in Thailand some international news channels have been partially blocked in recent days to prevent the airing of potentially critical stories but not everyone was interested in the proceedings.

A 28-year-old sales representative in Bangkok, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

The ceremonies would continue Sunday with a procession to a series of Buddhist temples, in which soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin in temperatures that could approach 100 degrees. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

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BENGHAZI, Libya - Islamic State militants on Saturday killed at least nine soldiers in an attack on a training camp for the self-styled Libyan National Army in the countrys southwestern desert, officials said.

The militants drove their vehicles into the recently established training camp and clashed with guards near an air base seized earlier this year by the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, in the town of Sabha, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The medical centre in Sabha confirmed the death toll.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying at least 16 soldiers were killed or wounded.

Sabha is 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli, where Hifters forces are currently fighting to take control of the city from militias affiliated with a weak U.N.-supported government.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Friday that the month-long assault on Tripoli has displaced nearly 55,000 people.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said that at least 23 civilians have been killed since the LNA launched the offensive to take Tripoli on April 5.

The World Health Organization said the toll as of Thursday was 392 dead, including combatants and civilians. It said at least 1,936 were wounded.

The battle for Tripoli could ignite a civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Since Gahdafis ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

Hifter, who in recent years has been battling Islamic extremists and other militias across eastern Libya, says he is determined to restore stability to the North African country. His opponents view him as an aspiring autocrat and fear a return to one-man rule.
JOHANNESBURG - At 24, Abetse Mashigo was born a year after South Africas brutal apartheid system was dismantled. Yet she still feels frustrated by what she sees as continued economic inequality for its people.

And that will be on her mind as she and others vote May 8 to elect a president and parliament.

South Africa is a great country, but it has many shortfalls, Mashigo said, flicking her dreadlocks back with a flourish . Seeing the spectrum of both wealthy and poor, its a constant everyday struggle.

Many of the countrys young voters never directly experienced apartheids racial oppression and segregation that was ended in 1994 under South Africas first black president, Nelson Mandela, and his African National Congress. But they and others say they want to see more drastic change, and leaders of opposition parties are hoping to win their support.

Mashigo said she is angered by apartheids legacy, which keeps many blacks in poverty. She said shes impatient for change, and thats why she backs the Economic Freedom Fighters, known as the EFF, one of the three main parties among dozens vying for power in the election.

Im part of the Red Sea, she said, jokingly referring to the bright red clothing worn by supporters of the opposition party. I like the EFF because it is radical and different. Its rebellious, and I like that.

The party has pledged to seize white-owned land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks.

Mashigos 59-year-old father, Thamsanqa, watches with pride as his daughter voices her outspoken opinions. He shares many of her beliefs but has a more cautious approach, saying he is still undecided which party will get his vote.

Many older South Africans among the 26 million eligible voters still support for the ANC, which has governed for a quarter-century. But they also say they are disgusted by widespread corruption blamed on the party. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to root out corruption in the country. A former trade union representative, he came to power in February 2018 after Jacob Zuma resigned amid mounting scandals.

The elections are taking place amid growing pessimism. About 64% of South Africans are dissatisfied with the countrys democracy, an increase from 34% who described themselves as unhappy in 2013, according to a Pew Research poll released Friday.

I have voted in every election (since blacks could vote) and Im not going to miss this one, Thamsanqa Mashigo said. Ive never had doubts in my mind about who to vote for, but this time ... Im still deciding. ... There is doubt in my mind.

He described a frightening life under apartheid, when people disappeared. I think some families even today dont know what happened to their loved ones.

When apartheid ended, we were really excited about that. ... We had a black government and Mandela was president. That was progress! ... We said freedom at last was arriving in our lifetime!

Mashigo, who works in information technology, said he is now disappointed with the ANC.

The gap between black and white has just grown bigger and bigger. And by 25 years, I expect it to be much better. The gap should have closed, not totally, but at least be on the right track, he said, adding that the ANC should have focused on education and health care.

Like his daughter, he complained about rampant corruption and the high unemployment rate of 27%.

Unemployment is an even more pressing among the young, with nearly 40% of those under 34 without jobs, according to the governments Stats SA.

Although disillusioned with the ANC, Mashigo is suspicious of the Economic Freedom Fighters that his daughter supports.

He said he doesnt trust the EFFs firebrand leader Julius Malema because he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Malema was kicked out of the ANC after allegations of corruption surfaced.

These guys are disgruntled, thats all, Mashigo added.

Nor is he convinced by the other major opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It was started by white liberals but has attracted considerable black support, winning control of city councils in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It now has a black leader, Mmusi Maimane.

I dont think he controls the party the way a leader should control his party, Mashigo said, leaving him still undecided about how to vote.

There are 5.6 million registered voters between the ages of 18 to 29, nearly one-fifth of those eligible to cast ballots.

They could boost support for the Economic Freedom Fighters, which got about 6% of the vote in the 2014 election and is widely expected to improve on that number.

These elections are exciting for young voters, said Lwazi Khoza, a 22-year-old university student and project manager for YouthLab, a youth advocacy group.

The EFF are appealing to many young voters. The EFF leaders present themselves as rebellious and non-conformist, she said.

Khoza, who will be finishing her degree this year, said many young voters want change.

As a young black woman living in post-apartheid South Africa, I am frustrated by the slow pace of change. Yes, things have improved since the apartheid days, but not enough. Things have become stagnant, she said.

Are we free? Really? Or are we still being held down because of the past? she said. We cannot say we are on an equal playing field, educationally or economically. Thats why many young voters want to see change.

Makhumo Kwathi, an unemployed 25-year-old who lives with her parents in Soweto, Johannesburgs largest black township, said she is looking forward to voting.

I want my voice to be heard, Kwathi said. To be quite honest, Im not going to vote for the ANC, because the ANC has been giving us all these false hopes till now. ... All these scandals ... Now we can see where our money is going. The ANC is promising us the opposite of what they have been doing.

Kwathi, a high school graduate who is looking for work as a bank teller, would not say which party she will vote for but said she wants a new government that will create more jobs.

I want to see change. More youth need to be employed, she said. How can we, the youth, be the future of the country when we are unemployed? How can we go forward as a country?

___

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A slow-simmering political crisis that has gripped Venezuela for months appeared to be coming to a head this week as opposition politicians issued a direct challenge to the authority of President Nicolas Maduro.

The leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido, called for a military and popular uprising to oust Maduro from office, triggering a day of protest that turned violent but later fizzled. Maduro characterized the action as unconstitutional, while Guaido maintained it was a necessary move to restore legitimacy to the presidency.

Both sides now seem to be scrambling for control, with Maduro appearing alongside troops Thursday to reaffirm his status and Guaido admitting he does not have the necessary support.

This weeks attempted uprising failed to change the status quo. But the confrontation has been years in the making, driven by an economic downturn and political discontent. Heres what you need to know to understand how Venezuela came to this moment.

Venezuela is a country made rich by oil, and has seen that wealth evaporate.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and the countrys economy is largely tied to its oil wealth. This oil wealth once made the nation one of the richest in Latin America and helped stabilize its democracy, although the riches were not equally shared. But the past few years have seen the economy spiral toward collapse.

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The International Monetary Fund predicts that Venezuelas inflation rate will reach 10 million per cent in 2019, becoming one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in modern history. Experts say government mismanagement and corruption is the source of the countrys economic woes; Maduro blames damaging U.S. sanctions.

The legacy of Hugo Chavez looms large in Venezuela.

The legacy of President Hugo Chavez  Venezuelas former leader and founder of the countrys modern socialist system  still hangs over the nation more than six years after his death.

Chavez came to power in 1998, elected after a failed coup. He quickly rose from political outsider to popular figurehead, bringing in a socialist ideology that redistributed the countrys oil wealth and created a robust social welfare program.

His government seized private factories, mines and fields, and founded state companies and co-operatives. High oil prices contributed to a short-term reduction in inequality and poverty as social programs made food, housing and health care more widely available.

Within the country, the notoriously charismatic leader proved popular, but not universally so. During his years in office  he was re-elected in 2006  his leftist ideology and bombastic approach to foreign relations proved polarizing.

While his programs drew broad support from poor Venezuelans, they also alienated some of the countrys wealthy elites.

Maduro is Chavezs chosen heir.

Before his death from cancer in 2013, Chavez hand-selected his heir  Maduro, the current president. Adherents of his left-wing political ideology are known as Chavistas, and the group makes up the majority of Maduros current support base.

Like his predecessor, Maduro increased the executive branchs control of the country.

He has made strides to dismantle the countrys opposition-led legislature. And he oversaw a redrafting of the constitution that consolidated power under the presidency, steering the country toward autocracy, and moved to quash all dissenting voices through violence and intimidation.

The move drew reprimands from opposition politicians at home and from leaders internationally.

Two men  Maduro and Guaido  are now vying for control.

In January, Maduro was sworn in for a second term in office after an election that was widely denounced as fraudulent.

Two weeks after the inauguration, Guaido, then a little-known 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president, pointing to the constitution to declare Maduros presidency illegitimate. He vowed to hold new national elections.

The announcement brought tens of thousands of supporters to the streets, catapulted him to the international stage and saw the United States, Canada, and many Latin American and European countries recognize him as the legitimate head of state.

As a result, Maduro cut off the few remaining diplomatic ties with the United States.

The months since have been a tug of war between the two sides for popular support and control of the military.

Maduro still has the backing of the countrys top generals, a loyalty that Guaido may have underestimated as he called for the military to throw their support behind him. Maduro believes Guaidos effort to oust him is part of a coup engineered by the Trump administration.

The power struggle has played out in competing street demonstrations and with dual messaging to the population.

Last month, Guaido and his foreign allies tried to bring large amounts of aid into Venezuela from neighbouring countries, but Maduros forces sealed off the borders with Colombia and Brazil, saying the country didnt need the support.

His government later agreed to allow Red Cross aid into the country, which is suffering from a widespread humanitarian crisis triggered by the economic downturn.

The countrys humanitarian situation is dire.

While the political confrontation continues to play out, Venezuelans are struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis unseen in the countrys modern history.

In the once prosperous nation, people now find themselves unable to provide for their most basic needs. Hunger is widespread, and children are dying of malnutrition. The countrys public health care system has collapsed, and prolonged electricity outages are common.

The crisis has also triggered a vast regional migration as Venezuelans flee the countrys dire conditions, straining the resources of neighbouring nations.

Some 3.4 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations immigration authority, the majority settling in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. And as the political stalemate continues, little has been done to rectify the situation for everyday Venezuelans.

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BHUBANESWAR, INDIAFlights were cancelled.

Train service was out.

And one of the biggest storms in years was bearing down on Odisha, one of Indias poorest states, where millions of people live cheek by jowl in a low-lying coastal area in mud-and-stick shacks.

But government authorities in Odisha, along Indias eastern flank, hardly stood still. To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop, in local language, in very clear terms: A cyclone is coming. Get to the shelters.

It seems to have largely worked. Cyclone Fani slammed into Odisha on Friday morning with the force of a major hurricane, packing 120 mph (193 kph) winds. Trees were ripped from the ground and many coastal shacks smashed. It could have been catastrophic.

But as of early Saturday, mass casualties seemed to have been averted. While the full extent of the destruction remained unclear, only a few deaths had been reported, in what appeared to be an early-warning success story.

The most vulnerable people, it seemed, had gotten out of the way.

Experts say this is a remarkable achievement, especially in a poor state in a developing country, the product of a meticulous evacuation plan in which the authorities, sobered by past tragedies, moved 1 million people to safety, really fast.

Few would have expected this kind of organizational efficiency, said Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer and head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, a research organization. It is a major success.

The storm also hit neighbouring Bangladesh, but there, too, large numbers of casualties were avoided by evacuating more than 1 million people to shelters.

This is so different from 20 years ago, when a fearsome cyclone blasted into this same area and obliterated villages, killing thousands. Many people were caught flat-footed in their homes. Some of the dead were found miles from where they had lived, dragged away by raging cascades.

After that, the Odisha authorities vowed to ensure a disaster like that never felled them again.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, said Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

One of the first steps taken after the 1999 disaster was the construction of hundreds of cyclone shelters up and down the coast. The shelters were built up to a few miles from the shore.

They arent picturesque  picture a bare, two-story, peeling paint cement block rectangular building on stilts, almost resembling a crab. But the structures, designed by the faculty at one of Indias elite universities, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, have proved storm-worthy.

Over the past week, even when Fani was hundreds of miles away, Indian authorities had been closely watching. They had first picked up a large swirl on meteorological radar screens barrelling up from the equator, deep in the ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It was not yet a cyclone, but rather what meteorologists call a deep depression  a spiralling low-pressure storm that sucks in warm air. As it moves across warm waters, like those in the Bay of Bengal, the storm strengthens.

By mid-week, Fani had become a cyclone. Meteorologists accurately predicted its path. For days, they had been saying it would head straight up the Bay of Bengal and make landfall in Odisha.

The state of Odisha has around 46 million people, about the population of Spain, but many times poorer. The average income is less than $5 a day. The majority of people are farmers.

Along the coast, many men work on wooden fishing boats. As Fani approached, the boats were ordered ashore.

On Thursday morning, Odisha government officials released a five-page plan. They seemed to have left nothing uncovered. The most important part was to get people to the shelters. Since Odisha has been hit by many killer storms, state emergency officers said, they had drilled on their evacuation plans many times.

All emergency personnel were ordered to district operation centres. Government workers drafted lists of people in vulnerable houses, particularly the elderly and children.

Tourists at coastal hotels were advised to leave, and an enormous amount of equipment was readied to deal with the storms aftermath, including 300 power boats, two helicopters and many chain saws, to cut downed trees.

At the same time, truckloads of food and bottled water were delivered to the shelters.

As the sea turned frothy Thursday afternoon and the rain began to fall, the loudspeakers blared messages telling people to go to the nearest shelter as soon as possible.

In some areas, there was no choice. Police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, exhorting people to leave. Packed buses chugged up and down the roads around Puri, a coastal town that was predicted to get walloped. Each shelter could hold several hundred people. They quickly filled.

We moved here because it is safe, said Sabakali Mason, a man in his 50s who waited inside a shelter with his wife. Our house may collapse.

By Thursday night, most shelters were bustling concentrations of humanity, full of men, women and slightly dazed children. Some people had walked there; others had been scooped up by the free government buses. Families sat on the floors, eating together, listening to Fanis winds pick up speed.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, Fani screamed ashore, the eye passing near Puri, as predicted. In Bhubaneswar, Odishas state capital, about 40 miles north, huge tree limbs snapped in the lashing rain. No one ventured outside.

In Puri, the winds wrecked just about all the roadside kiosks. Officials said the gusts reached at least 100 mph (161 kph). They will never know, they said, because the gusts knocked down the machine that measures the wind.

The Odisha authorities said more than 100 people were injured. Indian news media reported several people had died, including some killed by flying debris.

But as the storm weakened and the worst seemed over, there was little doubt that the high level of preparedness had saved lives.

The government is usually dysfunctional in cases like this but the whole mobilization was quite impressive, said Singh, the former naval officer. Evacuating a million people in three or four days and providing them with not just shelter but also food is a big achievement in such a short time.

Krishan Kumar, an officer in the Khordha district of the Odisha government, said the governments success reflected an accumulated wisdom.

Every small cyclone or tsunami teaches you how to deal with the bigger ones, he said. If you dont learn from the past experiences, you will drown.

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KABULTaliban insurgents killed seven Afghan policemen after storming security checkpoints overnight in western Badghis province, a provincial official said Saturday.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said three other security forces were wounded late Friday during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry also said Saturday that 43 militants from the Daesh group, including foreign fighters, were killed in two separate coalition airstrikes during the night in co-ordination with Afghan forces. The statement said the airstrikes targeted Daesh in eastern Kunar provinces Chapadara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Among those killed was a prominent Uzbek militant leader identified in the statement as Ismail, who had previously co-operated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network but had recently joined Daesh.

Both the Taliban and Daesh are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

In eastern Ghani province, dozens of people carried eight bodies to the governors office in a protest Saturday, saying the dead were civilians killed during military operations.

The governors spokesperson, Arif Noori, confirmed that at least five civilians had been killed Friday night by Afghan and international forces, which were conducting operations against the Taliban in three areas in the province. Noori said 22 Taliban fighters were killed, including their group leader.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports the groups fighters were killed. He said several civilians were killed and wounded during the operations by Afghan and coalition forces in Ghazni.

The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, and despite ongoing peace talks with the U.S., the insurgent group refuses to stop fighting until U.S. and NATO troops withdraw.

In August last year the insurgents overran parts of Ghazni, leading to days of intense fighting before they were driven out.

Ghazni was the only one of Afghanistans 34 provinces where parliamentary elections did not take place in October. Voting there has been postponed for a year, according to the Election commission plan both presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on September 28 in the province.
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of Frances National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliaments Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian partys rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us.

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity.
LONDON - Britains Metropolitan Police force says a leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei does not amount to a crime.

Counterterrorism head Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Saturday he was satisfied the disclosure did not breach the Official Secrets Act. He said no crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

The government launched an investigation after media reports that a National Security Council meeting had agreed, against the advice of the United States, to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, saying there was compelling evidence he was to blame. He strongly denies responsibility.

Opposition politicians have called for police to investigate the leak.
KABUL, AFGHANISTANOn the second day of a traditional Afghan assembly this week, a delegate rose to speak on the topic at hand, peace in Afghanistan.

A bearded man from Kandahar ordered her to shut up.

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! recalled Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

The assembly, known as a loya jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organizers proudly pointed out that 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalized or patronized. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries. Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under Shariah, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which Shariah law, the Taliban Shariah law or ISIS Shariah law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to Daesh.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

For many women, the jirga got off to a dismaying start when Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights. Things quickly went downhill when a female delegate complained directly to Sayyaf and was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television, RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator. Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the all-encompassing garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

And on Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said a delegate, Taiyaba Khavari.

Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with arch commentary from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off while other Afghans fumed over blocked roads and security sweeps. Taxi drivers complained that they were cut off from fares. Shopkeepers moaned that customers could not reach them.

The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organizers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organizers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organized the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus-building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

Among other recommendations accepted by Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

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The MOU was signed by ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites. Under the agreement, Indonesia and Timor-Leste will take actions to reduce barriers to cross-border land and air transportation and harmonize procedures at border crossing points. It also seeks to reduce animal health barriers to livestock trade and bolster tourism promotion in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Timor-Leste through joint marketing and itineraries. ADB will provide USD1 million in grant resources to support implementation of the MOU.

ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left), and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites (right) at the signing in Nadi, Fiji, on May 4th 2019. (Source: ADB)

Regional cooperation and integration is critical for sustained and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific, said Mr. Nakao. This MOU represents a small but important step in our support for cross-border cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Supporting livelihoods in lagging border areas is critical to tackling inequality and ensuring our regions growing prosperity is shared by all.

The MOU builds on a Scoping Study on Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which ADB conducted at the request of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments. The study identified a variety of challenges and opportunities for cross-border cooperation and identified tourism and livestock as key sectors for short-term benefits through cooperation.

The Indonesian government is committed to reducing regional disparities in Indonesia, and Nusa Tenggara Timur is among the countrys lesser developed regions. This is being done through improvements in connectivity, accessibility, and capacity as well as cross-border economic collaboration. Ms. Indrawati signed the MOU as a complement to their existing national strategies and welcomed it as the next step in their relationship with ADB for support to border areas, and an additional collaboration with friends and colleagues in Timor-Leste.

Ms. Brites said, Timor-Leste has made significant strides since independence but if this is to continue, we must integrate more closely into ASEAN and the world economy as well as diversify our economy. Reducing barriers to trade and cooperation with our closest neighbors is an essential step in achieving this goal. We welcome the MOU with ADB and Indonesia as the start of an enduring and mutually beneficial partnership for growth./.
CAIRO - The Sudanese protesters who succeeded in driving President Omar al-Bashir from power say their revolution wont be complete until they have dismantled what many describe as an Islamist-dominated deep state that underpinned his 30-year rule.

That has already escalated tensions with the transitional military council, leading to the resignation of three Islamist members last month after the protesters refused to meet with them. An Islamist political party said protesters attacked one of its meetings , wounding more than 60 members in clashes, and a hard-line preacher cancelled a march in support of Islamic law over fears of violence.

The conflict between the pro-democracy protesters and Islamists could further stall the transition to civilian rule, already the subject of tense negotiations between the protesters and the military. It could also draw in regional powers as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look to counter Islamist factions across the region and Qatar and Turkey lend them support.

The 1989 military coup that brought al-Bashir to power was orchestrated by Hassan al-Turabi, a charismatic intellectual who founded the countrys modern Islamist movement. Fearing a Western backlash, al-Turabi disguised his Islamic revolution as a military coup, even having himself briefly detained in an effort to conceal his role.

Under al-Turabis guidance, the government imposed a harsh version of Islamic law in the 1990s that included amputations and stoning as punishment for some crimes, and which heavily restricted womens rights. It conscripted self-styled mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to battle rebels in Christian and animist south Sudan, and created an array of Islamist militias to impose its edicts. The government also welcomed Islamic militants from around the world, including Osama bin Laden, before expelling him in 1996 under international pressure.

Al-Bashir and al-Turabi later had a falling out, but even as al-Bashir adopted a more pragmatic stance in the 2000s, he remained committed to political Islam.

Al-Bashir and the Islamic movement went to great lengths to create an Islamist deep state, by establishing multiple security forces and shadow party militias, said Rosalind Marsden, an expert on Sudan at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank .

They politicized the army and other state institutions and enabled regime insiders to take control of key sectors and companies within the economy, she said. This Islamist deep state constitutes a formidable barrier to real change.

Its unclear how much support Islamists have outside the government. The last time Sudan held free elections, in 1986, al-Turabis National Islamic Front came in a distant third behind two long-established mainstream parties. The poor showing may have been behind al-Turabis decision to embark on a top-down Islamic revolution three years later.

The Popular Congress Party, established by al-Turabi after his falling out with al-Bashir in 1999, was part of the opposition for years before joining al-Bashirs government in 2017, a year after al-Turabis death. It did not officially support the protests against al-Bashir but criticized the crackdown against the protesters, which killed nearly 100 people. Abu Bakr Abdel Razek, a senior member of the PCP, said the group had martyrs among the protesters killed in the crackdown, and had threatened to withdraw from the government if al-Bashir forcibly dispersed the main sit-in.

The party held a meeting last week that it said was attacked by protesters. Both the military council and the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir, condemned the violence. But the protesters often chant slogans against Islamists at their rallies, referring to them by the slang word keizan.

The PCP and other Islamists have gravitated toward the military council in the weeks since al-Bashirs April 11 ouster.

Most of the Islamist groups have been supporting a strong role for the military in the transitional period, probably because they see them as a potential shield against secularists in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change, said Willow Berridge, a professor at Newcastle University who has written a book about al-Turabi and Sudans Islamists.

In a Friday sermon in late April, Abdel-Hay Youssef, an ultraconservative preacher in Khartoum with a wide following, accused the protest movement of seeking to dictate their own will on the people.

Did you take to the streets to impose laws that contradict peoples identity and to divorce Gods Shariah (Islamic law) from the government? he asked. Youssef rejected the blueprint for transition to civilian rule suggested by protesters and called upon the military to protect the role of Islam in the government. He later called for a mass rally in support of Shariah, but cancelled it after saying he had received assurances from the military council that Islamic laws would not be abolished.

The military council is led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, a rare non-Islamist among the top military brass. Three Islamist members of the council resigned last month after the protesters complained that they were too close to al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum along with several other top officials.

The two sides have yet to agree on a blueprint for the transition, and the protesters have vowed to stay in the streets until the military hands power to civilians. At a mass rally on Thursday, protesters chanted: Dirty Burhan, who brought him? It is the Islamists.

Any clean break (with the former regime) would require dismantling the shadow Islamist militias and comprehensive security sector reform under civilian oversight, said Marsden, the Sudan expert. This process is likely to take some time as the deep state has been created over a period of 30 years.

___

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lovers wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victims husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victims home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favour of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-calibre handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, We are indeed pleased that release has been granted. He said Warmus legal team would be busy putting the particulars of her future in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
HUGO, Okla. - Authorities in Oklahoma on Friday identified two police officers present when at least one of them shot into a pickup truck last week and wounded three children and a man suspected in a robbery.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman confirmed that Hugo police detectives Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were placed on paid leave after the April 26 shooting that hurt 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith and the children, ages 5, 4 and 1. All have been released from the hospital.

Smith is suspected in an April 11 armed robbery of a Pizza Hut in Hugo, about 180 miles (290 kilometres) southeast of Oklahoma City and near the Texas state line. He is being held in the Choctaw County Jail on a pending robbery charge.

OSBI says Smith and the children were in a truck outside a Hugo community centre that serves food when police fired. Its unclear whether Smith had a gun.

Local police have not said how they connected Smith to the restaurant robbery. Calls to the Hugo Police Department went unanswered Friday, and the department Facebook page was no longer available.

Residents and others have demonstrated in Hugo as they await more information. State Rep. Justin Humphrey, whose district includes Hugo, said he has met with community leaders is pushing authorities to be open about the investigation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defence attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9-11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to ... contain any type of fuel.

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Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES - The Latest on California reviewing how Catholic dioceses handled sex-abuse allegations (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how all 12 Roman Catholic dioceses in the state handled allegations of child sex abuse.

A spokesman for the Sacramento diocese tells the Sacramento Bee that Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent letters out Thursday asking the dioceses to preserve documents relating to clergy sex abuse. One letter indicated the disclosure would be voluntary.

The Sacramento diocese and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles indicated that they will co-operate.

Dioceses around the country have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.

The LA archdiocese alone has paid out about $740 million in settlements to victims. Several dioceses around the state have released lists naming dozens of priests that over the years and decades had been credibly accused of sex abuse.

Last November, Becerra urged victims to submit complaints of clerical sex abuse to his office.

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4:34 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled allegations of child sex abuse.

The Los Angeles Times says Attorney General Xavier Becerra notified Archbishop Jose Gomez of the review in a letter Thursday asking the archdiocese to preserve documents relating to clergy abuse allegations.

In a statement, the archdiocese says it continues to fully co-operate with all civil authorities.

The archdiocese has paid $740 million in settlements to victims. Last year, it raised its tally of accused priests to 323.

Its one of many around the country that have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pences visits to Louisiana and Kentucky:

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8:20 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence has made a stop in Kentucky, speaking to employees at an equine feed company where Gov. Matt Bevin also appeared.

WKYT-TV reports Pence stopped at Hallway Feeds in Lexington on Friday on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Pence campaigned earlier this year for Bevin in Lexington, supporting Bevins re-election race. The primary in May 21.

Pence was also expected to attend a gala in Frankfort.

The White House said earlier that Pence would meet with employees at the small business to talk about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. Trade policies are a big issue for Kentuckys business sector. The states renowned bourbon industry has been hit with retaliatory tariffs in some key markets as part of broader trade disputes.

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2:50 p.m.

Speaking in front of the remains of an African American church in Louisiana torched by an arsonist, Vice-President Mike Pence says attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent.

Pence was meeting with parishioners and pastors of the three churches that were burned in March and April. He spoke Friday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

He praised the church members for their response to the blazes  particularly the forgiveness offered to the man accused of setting the blazes  and said their faith and courage has inspired the nation.

A local sheriffs deputys 21-year-old son, Holden Matthews, has been charged with offences including arson in burnings. He has pleaded not guilty.

A crowdfunding campaign for the churches restoration has raised more than $2.1 million.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, received an honorary doctorate degree Friday from the university where her presence brought mobs of protesters in 1956.

The Tuscaloosa News reported that Foster, 89 received the degree during graduation ceremonies. She enrolled at the all-white university in 1956. However, she was expelled three days later after her presence brought protests and threats against her life.

Foster received a standing ovation Friday, news outlets report.

Before receiving the honour, she remarked on the difference in seeing smiling faces instead of frowning and displeased at my being here.

I sat down last night, and when I thought about it, I was crying. The tears were just rolling down my eyes because it is so different and so unique for me to be able to come to such a university as this. That is a wonderful campus out there, Foster told the newspaper.

Her brief enrolment came after a lengthy court battle. She had first applied to the university in 1952 after earning a degree in English from Miles College, but her acceptance was rescinded because she was not white.

African American students did not return to the campus until 1963 when Gov. George Wallace made his infamous stand in the school house door.

Foster earned a masters degree in education from the university in 1991, more than 35 years after attending her first class. She waited until 1992 to graduate to share the moment with her daughter, who is also a UA alumna.

The university recognized Foster in 2017 with a historic marker in front of Graves Hall which houses the college of education. The university also named the clock tower at Malone Hood Plaza after Foster.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - When Jean Tsigonis leaves Tanana Valley Clinic after nearly 38 years of working as a family physician, she doesnt think of it as retiring. She is just repurposing.

This has been my ideal job, said the lifelong Fairbanks resident. I want to leave it while Im still loving it.

A family practice physician, Tsigonis grew up in Fairbanks, and attended schools here, including Lathrop High School. She thought maybe shed like to be a veterinarian, then changed that goal to physical therapy. She wound up graduating from Stanford with a degree in micro-biology and applied to med school, enrolling as a students in the first year-round WWAMI program at the University of Washington.

WWAMI is a medical school program that allows students to train in their home states, through collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine and University of Alaska.

All those years ago, she and her classmates pondered what medical specialties they might pursue.

I dont know, she recalled thinking, but Im sure I dont want to be a psychiatrist.

Of course 30% of our practice is psychiatry. She laughed. I love every aspect of medicine. Every rotation I loved. But the only one where you can do everything in is family practice.

As her schooling continued, she accepted a residency at Dartmouth in Maine but was able to come home to Fairbanks to complete some of her medical electives. During one of those visits, she accepted an unexpected job offer and sealed the deal with a handshake.

She loaded up her old Datsun and headed back to Alaska, from Maine. She has been here ever since, providing medical services for friends and family and many new friends.

I just cant describe it, Tsigonis said. I am leaving at a high point. I was Doctor of the Year last year. Im chairman of the Physician Wellness Program and that is my new passion.

After turning 60, Tsigonis went back to school and earned a masters degree in public health.

At some point, I thought individual practice would lose its pizazz, and at some point, I want to take care of the greater good, she said.

Plus, new positions were added to the hospital called hospitalists. These are people whose sole job is to take care of patients who are hospitalized. Physicians still can visit patients, but their care is the prime responsibility of hospitalists.

Tsigonis needed a new passion to get through that change. So it made sense to go back to college. She chose the University of Alaska Anchorage.

My thesis was Physician Burnout: Did We Have It? I proved we had it, Tsigonis said.

College today is totally different from the last time she attended college.

I hadnt written a paper in 40 years, she said. It was extremely difficult for me, as far as anxiety.

Online classes were challenging because they were so depersonalized.

I would turn stuff in, and I didnt know if they could feel my passion for the subject, Tsigonis said.

As for the math? Tsigonis was used to using a slide rule, not a calculator.

Now, with her new degree in hand, Tsigonis wants to put what she has learned into action and has already produced a power point of solutions for physician burnout, which she considers a public health problem.

Other than that, she has no specific plans for the next stage of her life. She figures it will just become obvious as the days go by.

My son, my daughter and my daughter-in-law are all in medicine, so I feel like Ive passed a baton, Tsigonis said. I have five kids, theyre all gainfully employed. Its a good time to retire.

Her family is more excited than she is, she said. She plans to spend lots of time with her four grandchildren.

Instead of fitting them into my schedule, theyll be my schedule, Tsigonis said.

Her future repurposing will likely include community service work to foreign lands and maybe filling in for local physicians. Her license remains current, she said. She hopes to help mentor new physicians.

One thing is for sure, she wont be binge watching any television shows. She got rid of the family television set about 10 years ago.

She has already signed up to teach a class at OLLI and to take a photography class.

For her retirement party, she has invited all of her patients to the event from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Birch Hill Ski Area.

She wanted a chance to tell them what they mean to her.

I have several four-generation families, and theyre going to hear what I have to say, Tsigonis said.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
ATLANTA - The University of Georgia has barred a longtime math professor from campus as investigators review several sexual misconduct complaints against him.

The university confirmed in a statement Friday that its Equal Opportunity Office is investigating the professor, William Kazez, whos been a faculty member at UGA for about three decades, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At least seven women  students and faculty  have come forward recently with complaints of unwanted touching, groping and sex acts by Kazez, said Decatur attorney Lisa Anderson, who represents two of the women who filed the complaints.

Anderson said the accusations from the women go back at least to 2014.

The university statement says Kazez has been banned from campus and isnt teaching while the investigation is underway.

The university said it would not discuss the specifics of its probe, but stressed it will vigorously investigate and impose sanctions on faculty and employees found to have engaged in sexual misconduct.

An attorney representing Kazez told the newspaper Kazez denies acting unlawfully toward the students. He also said Kazez had not had any prior Equal Opportunity Office complaints against him in his UGA career.

Dr. Kazez has empathy for the accusers, however, some of their assertions have changed over time, and others could not have happened as alleged, said his attorney, Janet E. Hill. At this point, no violations have been proven. The University of Georgia has a process to investigate allegations such as these which is designed to protect the rights of the accusers and the accused. Dr. Kazez looks forward to resolving this matter through the established legal processes rather than in the court of public opinion.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wifes ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called marital rape exemption or spousal defence still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. The concept of a pre-existing relationship defence should have never been part of our criminal statutes.

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as appalling and archaic.

Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force, she said. You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and its not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and its not a crime. It was really troubling.

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by womens rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victims capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

If your religion believes if youre married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? he asked.

No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment, replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But thats no place for the General Assembly.

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hales premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses cant be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isnt serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the states marital rape exemption.

I was beside myself, she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanour charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

I thought if I cant have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it, she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teesons advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story, Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Lets do the right thing. Lets right this wrong.

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said shes not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

In the past, I know that theres been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth, Tobin said. But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for.

Boggs bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohios criminal code. Her argument in favour of it is straightforward.

Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldnt give you permission to rape them, she said.

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Karnowski reported from St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth and Steve Karnowski at https://twitter.com/skarnowski
STOUGHTON, Mass. - Police in Massachusetts say a man stabbed his wife to death and tried to kill himself while their two children were in the familys home.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara identified the woman Saturday as 43-year-old Telma Bras and the man as 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues.

Authorities responded to their home in Stoughton late Friday after their high school-age daughter called a relative, who contacted police. Officers say they found Bras dead with apparent stab wounds and Rodrigues with life-threatening injuries consistent with a suicide attempt.

Police say Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned on a murder charge when doctors clear him for the proceeding.

Officials say arrangements have been made for the care of the daughter and an elementary school-age son.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. You see it, he said Saturday. You got Jim Crow sneaking back in.

The former vice-president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be aggressive in making sure it doesnt happen. Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target mostly ... people of colour.

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice-president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the Souths first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Bidens son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. Joe and I love South Carolina, she said.

The former vice-president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Bidens first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesnt endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Bidens event, but Biden noted one of Clyburns daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains at risk for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump puts us squarely in trouble with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Muellers report demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump.

She says Trump then turns around two weeks later and says were all good on this? Were not all good on this.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia.

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, then I need to buy more ammunition.

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesnt just save ammunition. It saves American lives.

Under his presidency, Moulton said, we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department.

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsels report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didnt warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. What I would say when Im president to Vladimir Putin is that weve got your number, Ive got the FBI after you, Ive got the CIA looking at all of this, Ive figured out what you guys are up to and were going to protect our elections and were going to put increasing sanctions on against you.

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators havent been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as the witness we need to go after Russia so that they dont attack our elections again.

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke says the legacies of slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression are alive and well today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. Hes spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says the work is far from over.

Hes previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

ORourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto ORourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
STERLING, Va. - President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

Trump, who tweeted and re-tweeted complaints Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.  He has previously asserted that social media companies exhibit bias against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

The presidents comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals. The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply both to Facebooks main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

Facebooks move signalled renewed effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism. The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said Woods will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Rosborough said.

Trump, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.

The president had more than social media on his mind Saturday. Trump also tweeted that he was holding out hopes for a deal with North Korea on its nuclear program, as well as improved relations with Russia, now that he feels the special counsel investigation is behind him.
Its a little hard to remember now, but there was a time when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple of school lunch bags, not cause to dial 911.

That was back when the student with asthma that everyone worried about in gym class might well have been the only kid in school with asthma. Playground equipment was designed for fun, not just safety, kids played in the dirt with their grubby siblings and even grubbier dog, and office buildings and malls werent littered with vats of antibacterial hand-sanitizing gel.

Now, by and large, kids are kept clean and safe, our houses are sparking with special products for every room, and hygiene-related marketing urges us to sanitize anything and everything we can. Along with all that, though, its now estimated that one Canadian in 13 is allergic to at least one type of food.

Thats about two children in every classroom. Other types of allergies are also rising, along with autoimmune conditions such as asthma and eczema.

It seems our obsession with cleanliness and health is actually making us less healthy.

How ironic is that?

Now we seem to be having second thoughts. Scientists are conducting research that (sort of) revives that old five-second rule for how long food can be dropped and still acceptably consumed. Others are contemplating the possibility of developing a barnyard dust vaccine to give urban kids some of the stuff that results in their farming counterparts lower allergy rates. And Canadian microbiologists are published authors under the catchy title, Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Our Children from an Oversanitized World.

As with anything, all this comes with the usual caveats: its complicated, there are multiple factors for everything, and research is still ongoing.

But its increasingly clear that being exposed to microbes, especially in childhood, makes for a healthier immune system.

Humans evolved to survive our environment. Now were sanitizing it. And our bodies just dont seem to be handling that well.

When the immune system isnt properly trained it can overreact to normally harmless things. Cue the rise in allergies.

This phenomenon is getting an increasing amount of attention  nut bans and EpiPen shortages have a way of doing that. But its not new. A British physician studying the rise of hay fever as long ago as the 1880s wryly noted: Summer sneezing goes hand-in-hand with culture, we may, perhaps, infer that the higher we rise in the intellectual scale, the more is the tendency developed.

Certainly the medical and scientific community is not suggesting we abandon modern progress. Water treatment is great; so too are vaccines for once deadly and debilitating diseases. In lots of ways, were far better off than we used to be.

But our push for health and cleanliness and perfection in all things is giving rise to a different, more modern kind of unhealthiness.

Antibiotics kill bacteria, both the good and the bad, leaving us with less of the beneficial stuff in our gastrointestinal tracts and increasing our susceptibility to allergies and illness.

And the dangerous bacteria thats not killed with the inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics is rebounding with a vengeance.

The United Nations has declared antibiotic-resistant superbugs to be one of the biggest threats to global health. Britain's chief medical officer, Sally Davies, has called these superbugs a threat as serious as terrorism and natural disasters.

Thats awfully scary and drives people to pump the hand sanitizer like their life depended on it. Which, of course, is the opposite of what were now learning is good for us and the environment.

We became so scared of germs that we raced to embrace products full of chemical compounds we cant even pronounce. How does that make any sense?

But amid all this doom and gloom there was a spot of good news this past month.

A new Canadian study, by the University of British Columbia and B.C. Childrens Hospital, suggests most preschoolers who are allergic to peanuts can be safely treated with small amounts of peanut protein.

While oral immunotheraphy  where patients are directed to eat small amounts of an allergenic food to gradually build up tolerance to it  isnt new, this study led by pediatric allergist Dr. Edmond Chan is the first to show it can safely be offered as a practical, routine treatment.

That, along with a recent recommendation by pediatricians urging parents to introduce common allergy-causing foods to high-risk babies as soon as they are ready to eat solids, may help roll back the dramatic increase in food allergies.

So theres new hope for kids who already have food allergies, and hope for reducing the number who develop them. And possibly, someday, even hope that well get back to a place where a PB&J sandwich can again be a lunchtime favourite.

Economist and journalist Tim Harford argues for the power of messiness. Disorder, he says, is good for our brains. When conditions arent perfect it forces us to be more resilient and creative in problem-solving.

But messiness isnt just good for the soul; its good for the body, too.

We cant all grow up on family farms surrounded by elder siblings, livestock and big hairy dogs. But we can pet them when we see them, go easier on the hand sanitizer, and generally embrace a little dirt.
Canada has a new disruptor  with a difference.

Move over, Doug Ford!

Jason Kenney is back. First stop, Ontario.

Days after being sworn in as Albertas new premier Tuesday, sweeping to power with a 55-per-cent majority unrivalled by any politician in Canada today, Kenney wants to win over Ontarians.

Direct and in person.

Best known as a savvy Harper-era federal minister, officially responsible for immigration and multiculturalism, but unofficially assigned to wooing and winning the 905 vote, Kenney has reinvented himself as a fiery prairie populist.

Read more:

Premier Doug Ford hosts Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in love-in for carbon crusaders

Albertas Jason Kenney warns of separatist angst in first visit to Ottawa

Ottawa can impose carbon pricing on provinces, Saskatchewan court rules

All these years later, the Oakville-born Alberta premier still has an eye, and an ear, for the GTA.

Now he wants to be heard.

Not just by the Bay Street crowd who rewarded him with standing ovations during a lunchtime speech on Albertas energy woes, or from the smiling Ontario premier who pledged his support Friday (after bearing a private grudge against him for years  more on that later).

The new premier is getting his message out any way he can, not least in the pages of the Toronto Star. Which is why he sat down for a wide-ranging interview about Albertas plight, his political fight, and his plan to disrupt Canada even if it means talking up disunity in a country that still frets about national unity.

Ontarians, he says, should hear him out.

Obviously, Ontario is sort of the elder brother of the federation, and I think it can play a role, he tells me. The response at Fridays business lunch showed they get what Alberta is going through.

Many politicians lay claim to a 100-day plan of action. Kenney, however, has unveiled a 100-hour agenda of disruption that he has spent years mapping out.

And he is just getting started  threatening B.C. with a fuel blockade and confronting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a constitutional challenge over control of energy resources.

Never mind that the first provincial legal challenge against a federal carbon tax, led by Saskatchewan, but emulated by Ontario and promised by Alberta, fizzled on Friday with a court decision backing Ottawas authority.

Like Ford, Kenney isnt giving up: We want to coordinate our legal strategy on this.

While the premiers of Alberta and Ontario can both be described as disruptors, there is a difference.

Kenney is a populist with a plan.

Unlike Fords follies, there is method to Kenneys madness. He knows how to pick fights, but he also has the political smarts to win an audience, whether in the press or the public service.

He wants all Ontarians to know how bad it is: Albertans are so frustrated that they are flirting with separatism as Quebecers once did.

A country that once worried about Two Solitudes is now facing several solitudes squabbling on multiple fronts, with Kenney at the locus of loquaciousness  confronting British Columbia, countering Quebec, and condemning Ottawa for either standing in the way of Albertas interests, or not standing up for them.

Alberta feels politically landlocked, and will do what it must to break out.

My message today is, Lets be partners in prosperity in responsible resource development, which means pipelines and market access. 

How can he get Ontario onside?

By working with your government, which does want to help us, he says.

Yet Ford is today less popular than Kenneys predecessor as premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, and hardly has the hammerlock on public opinion that Kenney has at home. Ford Nation cannot deliver the province.

Which is why Kenney wants to speak directly to Ontarians by being here and communicating the message  its not a coincidence, here I am, in downtown Toronto, three days into being premier of Alberta, he says. And youll be seeing a lot more of me . I look forward to my first editorial board meeting (as premier) with the Toronto Star. Im not kidding.

Kenney is at home in Ontario, as if he never left. He worked the banquet circuit hard as minister of multiculturalism, turning up at public events across the 905, and at party fundraisers in most ridings.

Ive been away, but I do understand the 905, I think, and the GTA and Ontario pretty well, he muses.

Now he wants to be sure Ford understands what Alberta is up against: I wasnt sure the degree to which he was aware of that.

They emerged earlier Friday with Ford beaming about their bond in the fight against a carbon tax. Even if their populist play may soon peter out, they cast themselves as comrades in a shared battle.

I cant even wipe the smile off my face, Ford said in his Queens Park office as he posed with his Alberta visitor. What a great ally!

But as Kenney acknowledged in our interview, it wasnt always smiles between the two politicians.

Yes, you recall, Kenney mused, when asked about his public denunciation of Fords late brother Rob in 2013, in which he called on the younger Ford to step aside as then-mayor of Toronto as he became increasingly erratic in his public antics: I think there is a dignity in public service and elected office and he is doing, regrettably, dishonour to that high office, Kenney told reporters at the time. I personally think he should step aside and stop dragging the city of Toronto through this terrible embarrassment.

He was the first Harper minister to speak out, clearly disturbed and offended by the then-mayors behaviour.

It left the mayors defenders furious, not least Ontarios present-day premier.

We had a tense . He had some choice words for me six years ago, Kenney said Friday, choosing his words carefully. But I think both of us implicitly just allowed bygones to be bygones, and there was no discussion Friday of that unfortunate incident.

Kenneys decision to speak out at the time was a reflection of how seriously he takes Canadas governing institutions, notwithstanding his populist rhetoric and partisan cloak. Perhaps its because he has seen politics from different perspectives and provinces; he was born in Ontario, raised in Manitoba, settled in Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta, all the while shifting from the Liberal Party to Reform, the Canadian Alliance, the federal Conservatives, and now Albertas United Conservative Party.

It underscores how he cultivates the bureaucracy, rather than bulldozing it, as Fords Progressive Conservatives do in Ontario.

In Ottawa, Kenney tapped into the civil service expertise to undertake major immigration reforms, a point he stressed after his new cabinet was sworn in by inviting his former federal deputy to an orientation session in Alberta: I expect our ministers to work collaboratively with the public servants, and I walked them through my very productive, symbiotic relationship  to do good policy.

While some populist premiers tout the unrivalled power of social media in bypassing mass media, Kenney prefers to reach the biggest audience.

Its still important to communicate through the mainstream media; most people still get most of their information, I think, from it, he says.

I try to be accessible, probably more than most in my walk of life.

Read more about:
ORESTE P. DARCONTE is a former publisher of The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.
GODFREY  A womans house just off Great River Road was saved from rising floodwaters Saturday morning when a Facebook post seeking help attracted a brigade of volunteers.

It took them just 90 minutes to pack and stack 1,000 sandbags around the home of 86-year-old Stevie Salas, a woman most of the volunteers had never met.

It all started Saturday morning when Salas Clifton Terrace home appeared to be in peril. The river had covered Great River Road and was lapping up mere feet from her back porch.

Mark Ellebracht, News Director at WBGZ radio in Alton, heard of her situation and sent out a Facebook post early in the morning that read:

Foot of Clifton Terrace Road in Godfrey. Home of a soon to be 86-year-old lady. Trying to keep water out of her lower level. Just had her house painted by Bucket Brigade last week. Bring a shovel, gloves, bottle of water and old shoes, boots and clothes. Parking limited so carpool if possible. Whoever can help, were starting at 10:30 am today till 1,000 bags are filled. DONT DRIVE INTO THE WATER! Thanks in advancesee you there! Please share!

By 9:30 a.m., 40 or so people showed up at her door  many of them youngsters from Alton and Marquette High Schools, Alton Middle School, St. Marys Youth Group, the St. Ambrose Youth Group and the Encounter Youth Choir.

Tyler Atkins said he was helping out at the Methodist Village flea market with a friend when they heard the news, and decided to answer the call.

Olivia Ellebracht, 14, also showed up to help.

I needed to do it, she said. Something tugged at me.

A large showing of area church representatives also heeded the call. There were Tim Anderson, Elder Wright and Elder Seeley from the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ in Godfrey, the Oblate Fathers, who Salas cook for, and Father Paul from St. Marys, wearing his collar and dressed in black shirt, pants and rubber boots.

Alton Memorial physical therapist Sue Heinz came to support her former patient. As did firefighter Lieutenant Ben Hamburg and Selina Hamburg,

Stevie had a host of family members come to help, as well, including grandsons Tim Carbol of St. Charles and Dan Preston, a first responder from St. Louis.

Its the power of social media, Sharon Godfrey, of Godfrey, said.

She had seen the Facebook post just as she was starting laundry and cleaning house. Flood fighting, so she reasoned, trumped household chores.

Christopher Sichra. Godfrey Public Safety and Emergency employee, said that when the State of Illinois declared a state of emergency, he ordered the sand and 1,000 bags to be delivered to Salas house, knowing there was potential for trouble.

In less than two hours, the sand pile went from five feet high to a mere inch of leftover.

Salas addressed the crowd afterward, calling the volunteers a godsend. There was applause and hugs all around then the volunteers were gone, a tearful Salas waved as they drove off.
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man who was arrested wearing a clown suit Sept. 11 on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to time served in custody.

Ron Singleton, 55, was pleaded guilty after spending 216 days in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Singleton had been declared unfit to stand trial after an examination by a court psychologist, but Circuit Judge Kyle Napp declared him fit Friday after a report from IDHS and after speaking with him briefly.

Authorities said Singleton appeared intoxicated Sept. 8 when he dressed in his clown suit and went to the rear of a home in the 1800 block of Central Avenue and took a bat to the property of the resident.

The day before that, he entered a vacant house Friday in the 2500 block of Washington Avenue, a witness told The Telegraph.

Once inside, Singleton put on a colorful red, white, blue and yellow clown costume he found inside, came outside and began kicking the door of a second empty building that formerly housed a law office, the witness said. He also carried a complementing, multi-colored umbrella.

The witness, an employee of a nearby business, called police and they arrested Singleton about a half block south on Washington Avenue, still dressed in the costume. Singleton had left the umbrella behind on the steps of the second building, which is just north of James H. Killion Park at Salu.

He has convictions for 98 previous misdemeanors, including several disorderly conduct charges.
In his first days as an official candidate, former vice president Joe Biden has opened a significant lead in national polls, posted the top one-day fundraising total and showcased his ability to rattle President Donald Trump.

His surprisingly strong debut has set off alarms in opposing camps, prompting his rivals to recalibrate their strategies for the next phase of the primary fight.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has taken the most dramatic action, making a personal decision to contrast his policy record with Biden's. Sanders' advisers said he plans to continue that thrust, and his campaign manager is calling out candidates standing on the sidelines.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised money off Biden's entrance by whacking him for soliciting checks from wealthy benefactors and separately noted under questioning that he sided with credit card companies in a key legislative battle.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., seized on Trump calling her "nasty" by turning it into a rallying cry in social media ads that sought to demonstrate that Biden is not the only candidate who can provoke the president.

"He's had a gravitational effect on the other candidates," said James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.

Biden has benefited from the dynamic of the 2020 primary season: Democrats have put forth the most diverse slate of candidates in history, generating excitement across the party, as measured by crowds massing at their events and donations flowing to their campaigns. But no standout has emerged with staying power, creating the vacuum into which Biden, who is well known and attached to the last Democrat to win the White House, has slipped.

Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William Barr. Warren's suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.

It is not yet clear whether Biden himself will be able to maintain his tentative hold on the race; statewide polls in early states show him in a weaker position than national surveys, and his first events demonstrated his limitations as a candidate. His speeches were often meandering and his aides sharply limited access to him - he took no questions from voters - a style of campaigning that can backfire in states where people are accustomed to taking the measure of their options up close.

"People know him and there's a comfort level with him," said Rob Hogg, an Iowa state senator. "But I don't think it's a done deal for Joe Biden." He added, "There's a lot of interest in somebody new, in the next generation."

The candidates fresh to the national stage have been blunted to some extent by the presence of Sanders, the second-place finisher to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic contest and, like Biden, a septuagenarian. For reasons both strategic and ideological, he has become Biden's sharpest critic.

Sanders jumped at the chance in recent days to compare himself with Biden on far-reaching free trade agreements and the Iraq War - which he opposed and Biden supported. The strategy is similar to the approach he took against Clinton in 2016, when he mercilessly pounded the establishment front-runner on their policy differences and exposed the leftward turn of many Democratic voters.

Sanders' advisers say he is just getting started.

"Senator Sanders has had a lifetime of consistency around the issues that he's raising," said Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir. "And quite frankly, on many of those issues . . . Biden has been wrong on the first instance."

When it comes to the rest of the field, Shakir said, "I'm not sure many of them are all that different" from Biden. He added, "If you're not interested in drawing the contrast, right, it certainly makes it less clear to us that there is any distinction."

The Biden-Sanders split embodies a broader Democratic divide. While some believe the path back to power lies in the political revolution Sanders is urging, others feel a better bet for defeating Trump is Biden's pitch for a restoration of more conventional Obama-era politics.

Biden and Sanders represent the same side of another Democratic divide - both are running against a crop of younger candidates who are newer to elective office and whose racial and gender diversity better reflects the changing country. Yet despite coming from different ideological tracks, the two are competing for some of the same voters - white, working-class people in upper Midwestern states Trump won.

After an impressive start of his own, Sanders has dipped a bit in public polls. His crowds have diminished in recent weeks. He's had some trouble attracting nonwhite voters. And a sizable chunk of the Democratic Party does not like him or doubts he would beat Trump.

"He's an old, angry guy running against Donald Trump, who's an old, angry guy," said Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina. "That's not a contrast."

The added pressure of having Biden in the race was apparent at a rally Sanders held at Iowa State University on Saturday. Ron Craig, 62, an undecided voter there, said he was leaning toward Biden.

"He might be able to get more of the swing voters, you know, that might be leery of voting for somebody who's really far left," he said. Craig's main goal? "To beat Trump."

All of the candidates besides Sanders are taking a lower profile in the post-Biden period, wagering that if he falters they will be well-positioned to inherit voters up for grabs.

Sanders's allies are watching Warren, whose similar platform makes her a competitor for the mantle of a more liberal alternative to Biden.

Pressed by a reporter after Biden's entrance whether he was "too cozy" with Wall Street to regulate it as president, Warren said she had defended struggling families in past battles over bankruptcy matters, whereas "Joe Biden was on the side of credit card companies."

Since then, however, she has been judicious about taking him on.

Asked about Biden in a brief interview, Warren declined to speak about him or his record. "I can't speak to anyone else's campaign," she said.

Warren is focused on outlining policy proposals; her mantra is "I have a plan" and T-shirts with the phrase have become her campaign's fastest-selling new item.

Part of what appears to be propelling Biden in his campaign's early days is his strength among different sets of voters, including not only white, blue-collar voters but also African-Americans. Multiple candidates are also competing for that support.

Harris, who is making a vigorous push to win black voters, will address the Detroit chapter of the NAACP on Sunday.

"I adore Joe Biden," Harris said when he joined the race.

Buttigieg began the past week by lunching with the Rev. Al Sharpton and ended it on the cover of Time magazine with his husband, Chasten.

Buttigieg's campaign believes it needs to establish deeper relationships - and policy credentials - with voters who know little about the South Bend mayor. His team is also working to scale up its presence in early states including South Carolina, where he is campaigning Sunday and Monday, immediately after Biden's own visit there.

While the other candidates for the Democratic nomination have taken on Biden in differing measures, the former vice president has focused solely on a contrast with Trump. He announced his run in a video highlighting the president's remarks about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, prompting Trump to rehash his comments.

"I understand the president's been tweeting a lot about me this morning. I wonder why the hell he's doing that!" Biden said on recent swing through Iowa, practically giddy. "I'm going to be the object of his attention for a while, folks."

He has also worked to appear in step with the current electorate. On Wednesday night, during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, a half dozen protesters in penguin masks raised signs that read, "Climate is a crisis."

"Don't worry, I'll get to climate change, I promise," he said. "And by the way, I got there before any of the other candidates did, I might add." Perhaps unintentionally dating himself, he noted, "I'm one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in '87, OK?"

Biden is also seeking to expand his financial advantage over many in the field. While some of his opponents have sworn off wooing big donors amid rising Democratic concerns about the influence of the wealthy, Biden is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Wednesday where donations range from $2,800 to $10,000, according to the invitation.

He also is delivering constant reminders of perhaps his biggest selling point: his connection to the 44th president, who remains popular among many Democratic voters.

"I think there is a lot of excitement about him simply because he has served under President Obama," said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who represents a swing distinct in the suburbs of Atlanta and has not made an endorsement. "People kind of believe, you know, he's probably one of the more experienced presidential candidates."

That sentiment so far is echoed by many voters. While they acknowledge he is not a perfect candidate, voters say he seems authentic and represents what they crave: a return to normalcy.

"As soon as he announced, I thought: Yes. Someone is coming to our rescue," said Hope Phillips, a 52-year-old financial industry worker from Des Moines.

Andrew Lietzow, a 67-year-old from Des Moines who is executive director of the Iowa Landlord Association, is the kind of voter Biden's rivals need to worry about. If Biden weren't in the race, Lietzow might be supporting one of them.

"Cory Booker is strong. Elizabeth Warren is strong. So is Kamala Harris. But compared to Joe? Not even in the hunt," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Annie Linskey, Chelsea Janes, Amy B Wang and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
EDWARDSVILLE  With the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing coming up on July 20, a new student organization at SIUE is doing its part to honor the spirit of Apollo 11.

Cougar Rockets, which was formed last fall, is dedicated to designing, building and flying rockets.

On Nov. 8, the group successfully launched its first high-powered rocket on SIUEs campus near Korte Stadium.

Another SIUE organization, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), collaborated with Cougar Rockets on the launch.

Last summer, a few of the students got together because they felt a rocket club at SIUE was something that was really lacking, said Dr. Michael Denn, an instructor of mechanical engineering at SIUE and the faculty advisor for Cougar Rockets. They approached me because I have had experience in the aerospace industry prior to being an instructor here.

The long-term goal for Cougar Rockets is to participate in the 2020 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), which is held every year in New Mexico. It is also known as the Spaceport America Cup.

Rockets are interesting, but there the students were a little uncertain as to what they wanted to do, said Denn, who worked for Boeing for 18 years. You are usually most successful if you have a goal and we found out about the intercollegiate rocket competition. For at least the next couple of years, thats our primary goal for our organization. The rocket launch that we had last semester was the first step.

The November launch for Cougar Rockets was a 63-inch rocket that reached 5,000 feet before its parachute deployed and it landed safely.

The IREC competition consists of launching a rocket with an 8.8-pound payload and target altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet above ground level.

That is considered high-powered rocketry (HPR), which is defined by the size and the thrust of the rockets. Some of the Cougar Rocket team members will earn National Association of Rocketry certifications in order to purchase HPR motors and ensure they are complying with safety codes.

Our objective is to make our own rocket and engineer our own rocket, Denn said. The first rocket was a large kit, but it was still a kit, Denn said. The objective is to pick up more and more of our own technology to take to the competition.

Charter members of Cougar Rockets included 33 students studying mechanical engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering and physics. The organization is open to all SIUE students.

This year we also have somebody from chemistry as well, and when we start doing things with fuels, were going to want people like that to be part of the club, Denn said. It really has a broad appeal and thats the objective.

Egemen Erten, the founding president of Cougar Rockets, obtained a bachelors degree in industrial engineering last year and is now working on a masters degree in mechanical engineering.

Aviation and the aerospace industry have always been my passion and I felt there was something missing regarding that field at SIUE, Erten said. We made our first high-powered launch last semester in November, which was a really short time period. All of our members have great passion and theyre really dedicated.

The practical experience gained by the members of Cougar Rockets goes beyond designing and launching rockets.

Ive always said that Cougar Rockets is kind of like a start-up, but the only difference is I dont invest any money into it, Erten said. Its more than an engineering organization because were learning management organization skills, finance, marketing and other things.

Denn currently has some students in his senior design class who are working on a modular rocket concept with solid-fuel or liquid-fuel engines that can be swapped in and out of the same rocket.

A diagram on the board in Denns office depicts the path that Cougar Rockets will take to prepare for the IREC event in 2020.

What we did in November was a demonstration launch, so the next step for this semester is to take the same rocket and put a little oomph to it with bigger engine charges, and get certification so we can go to the competition.

Meanwhile, the group wants to test some of the smaller rockets with altimetry (measurement of altitude), GoPro (action cameras) and high-altitude parachute deployment, telemetry (measurement transmission of data) and other technologies.

Instead of risking a big rocket, well use a little rocket, and then when you demonstrate on that, we want to roll it the technologies into a rocket with what we call a modular engine for the senior design project, Denn said. Well test that with a couple levels of technology and take those lessons to the next step, which is the competitive rocket.

Andrew Patterson, who will graduate this spring with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, is the lead designer for Cougar Rockets.

The large red rocket was our first step and we needed to test the waters in terms of our design philosophies, Patterson said. We took a high-powered rocket thats capable of flying up to two miles with the appropriate hardware, but we scaled that down a little bit because were not going to launch that high yet.

We have to get certified to launch that high by the FAA and a couple other external organizations. They dont like people launching that high that dont know what theyre doing. Theres a different safety protocol for large rockets like this compared to the smaller rockets you can get at a hobby store.

Pattersons senior design group likes the versatility that is offered by a modular rocket.

The way rockets are usually built is that the engineers develop a motor and then they build the rocket around it, Patterson said. By having a modular rocket engine bay, it adds a constraint to the design process, but you dont have to build a new rocket every time and that saves money.

The scale of the Cougars Rockets first high-powered launch, or even the IREC rockets, is tiny compared to a NASA mission, but the dedication of its participants is much the same.

Since Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 and the final lunar landing, Apollo 17 on Dec. 11, 1972, there has been an ebb and flow of interest in the U.S. space program.

Denn hopes that some students involved in Cougar Rockets could help provide the spark that leads to a resurgence of interest in space.

Were seeing a transition from an exclusively government-run space program where everybody is subcontracted (to NASA) to having companies like SpaceX who are doing a lot more on their own, Denn said. I think that can only help the space industry because it broadens the base and its not quite so tied to government policy or NASAs budget allocations.

For the second straight semester, Denn is teaching an engineering course with a recurring theme  the Apollo project.

The reason is that Apollo is an exemplary example of systems engineering, Denn said. Its big, its bold and its complex and it was done on a schedule.

Back in 1961, President Kennedy said were going to the moon by the end of the decade and we did it. I was young then, but I was alive and remember it generated so much excitement. The Apollo program still resonates and its still an outstanding example of engineering that can be perpetuated for generations to come.

For Denn and his students, it doesnt take too big a leap of imagination to picture a rocket launch on the SIUE campus as a small step toward a future mission to Mars or a return to the moon.

If you look back over the past several presidential administrations, almost all of them at some point have tried to reignite the space program to go to Mars, but and it really hasnt gone anywhere, Denn said. As soon as we as a society decide we want to go to Mars, 10 years later, we will be there.

We clearly had the will to do that back in the 1960s and the consensus with Apollo to go to the Moon. We can do that again, but we have to get to that point.

Reach reporter Scott Marion at smarion@edwpub.net
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected Friday to announce a sweeping plan to cut down on carbon pollution coming from America's cars, buildings and utilities - a major policy rollout for the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has made combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign.

Inslee, 68, one of the lesser-known candidates in a crowded Democratic field, will sketch out a vision for using the federal government's regulatory power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, according to a version of the plan reviewed by The Washington Post.

The plan calls for zero-emission futures in three sectors of the economy - transportation, electricity, and residential and commercial buildings - that in 2017 accounted for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

By 2030, Inslee wants all new cars, trucks and buses to be "zero-emissions," relying instead on battery power or renewable fuels. He also wants utilities to be weaned off coal - which produced 28 percent of American energy last year - and for new buildings to be built in a more energy-efficient way.

"Those goals are scientifically necessary and are absolutely required if we're going to protect our families and country from the ravages of climate change," Inslee said in an interview. "These are concrete actions. They're not ephemeral. These are not unicorns and rainbows."

During Inslee's campaign, he has toured flood damage in the Midwest and visited wildfire survivors in California, as well as made stops to highlight solar power and electric cars. He's expected to announce the climate policy in Los Angeles.

The eight-page plan is aimed at raising Inslee's profile and setting him apart from his rivals with a point-by-point plan that draws on his success passing climate legislation in his home state.

In the past presidential election, climate change received little attention. This time, amid worsening wildfires and floods, the issue has gained more traction, energizing Democrats and young voters, such as those who call for the Green New Deal.

Inslee's team hopes that enthusiasm, as well as momentum from the climate bills, could help lift his polling numbers early in the campaign. So far, he has lagged behind at about 1 percent in national polls in a crowded Democratic field.

But in a sign of the difficulty he faces, Inslee was preempted by former congressman Beto O'Rourke, another Democratic presidential hopeful. On Monday, O'Rourke declared climate change "the greatest threat we face" and put out his own climate plan as he toured Yosemite National Park.

O'Rourke proposed spending $5 trillion over the next decade and set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero over the next 30 years.

Inslee has described O'Rourke as a newcomer to the issue and someone who once allied with oil companies in his native Texas.

"I welcome anybody following my leadership," Inslee said. "Even if you discover climate change late, it's better late than never."

His plan, he said, has "much more specificity. It is much more robust. It is much more comprehensive. And I'll get it done."

O'Rourke said Wednesday he will not accept campaign donations of more than $200 from executives of fossil fuel companies, joining a pledge signed by Inslee and other Democratic candidates.

Inslee has spent much of his long political career - 15 years in Congress, starting in the early 1990s, before becoming governor six years ago - talking about the dangers of climate change and urging a transition of the U.S. economy to cleaner sources of energy. He co-wrote a book on the topic, "Apollo's Fire," more than a decade ago.

Washington state relies heavily on hydroelectric power; coal accounts for about 15 percent of the state's energy, much of it imported. The state's lone coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close in coming years.

Many note that meeting these clean-energy goals will be more difficult in other parts of the country. Although coal-powered electricity has declined steadily over the past decade, it still produces the second-most electricity of any source, behind natural gas.

Inslee's political opponents in Washington state who have opposed his pro-climate push warn of rising gas prices and lost jobs.

"A lot of these policies they push will simply drive the means of manufacturing out of state or offshore," said state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R), a Trump supporter. "We're still going to use gasoline. We're still going to use many of these products, but if you make it too expensive to manufacture them, you create a tax structure that forces them out, that just means you're going to import them from China, India, Taiwan."

Supporters, however, say the goals and timelines Inslee set are ambitious but not unrealistic. The movement to more energy-efficient buildings, electric cars and utility companies is taking place in many states across the country.

"These are in some ways the things we have the highest confidence we're able to do because we're already doing them," said KC Golden, a longtime climate and energy advocate in the Pacific Northwest who has known Inslee for many years.

"The governor obviously has made a very strong commitment to responding to what climate scientists say we have to do to avert catastrophic climate change," Golden added. "Those timelines are not negotiable. If we think that it's unrealistic to live on a planet that is in constant cascading climate chaos, then we have to accelerate our timelines for making this green energy transition."

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, said the economic transition that Inslee is calling for is "both realistic and necessary, and it will save money and create jobs."
Jacksonvilles El Rancherito restaurant recently closed its doors without warning.

The restaurant, in the Lincoln Square shopping center on West Morton Avenue, did not have a sign on the door but has been closed and no longer can be reached by its listed phone number.

Linda Day, food coordinator at Morgan County Health Department, said the restaurant did not close because of a health inspection.

The restaurant had received poor inspection scores in the past, but more recently had received high scores from the health department. The restaurant failed under-age alcohol checks in 2017 and 2015.

The restaurant underwent a major renovation in 2015 to give the space a facelift.

An owner of the restaurant could not be reached for comment.

According to Illinois Secretary of State records, the business was incorporated in 1997 and is not in good standing with the state for 2019.
HARTFORD  Captain Meriwether Lewis wrote on May 14, 1804 that The Mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered the Point of Departure. The 215th anniversary of the Departure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Illinois Country, thus beginning their historic 2 1/2-year journey to the Pacific Ocean and back.

The Riviere a Dubois, or Wood River Creek, located today near Wood River and East Alton, marks the approximate location of where Lewis and Clark built their first winter encampment, Camp River Dubois. It is here where Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark selected the 40-plus men that would comprise the Corps of Discovery. Here they gathered the remaining supplies and information necessary for their voyage to the Western Ocean.

Illinois was the westernmost territory in the United States in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson changed that with the purchase of the Mississippi River and Louisiana Territory from Napoleons France for $15 million dollars. The western border pushed across the continent and the United States more than doubled in size. The Louisiana Purchase stretched the U.S. boundaries north into Canada, south into the future states of Louisiana and Arkansas, and west all the way to the Rockies.

Yet much of it remained completely unexplored by American or European travelers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition received a mission to explore and map this vast expanse of land. They were charged with meeting and establishing trade with the numerous American Indian nations that occupied the region. Finally, the captains were ordered to describe and catalog the hundreds of species of yet unknown flora and fauna that lived within the bounds of the western lands.

The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on Dec 12, 1803. Upon being denied permission by the Spanish lieutenant governor in St. Louis to move any farther west, the expedition established their winter camp across from the mouth of the Missouri River, along the Wood River Creek.

While Meriwether Lewis spent much of the winter in Cahokia and St. Louis, it was up to William Clark to assemble a team that was capable of making the arduous journey ahead. Despite early issues of discipline and conflict, the captains and soldiers came together, and they soon grew anxious to begin in the early spring. The Day of Departure finally arrived on May 14, 1804, when Captain Clark wrote Set out from Camp River a Dubois at 4 oClock P.M. and proceded up the Misouris under sail  men in high Spirits. [sic]. The expedition would not return to Illinois until September 23, 1806, having covered over 6,000 miles and losing only one soldier, Sergeant Charles Floyd.

Though often associated with St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark expedition in fact began their journey from the eastern banks of the Mississippi in the Illinois Country. It is in Illinois where they recruited many of the members of the expedition at Fort Massac on the Ohio River and Fort Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River.

Illinois is where the men came together for the first time as the Corps of Discovery. It is in Illinois where they gathered the final supplies that would carry them through their journey.

Most importantly, Illinois is where the men came to learn trust for each other and the leadership of their captains that ultimately led to their incredibly successful expedition. Illinois is the Point of the Departure for the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford celebrates the Lewis and Clark Expeditions monumental expedition each year with the Point of Departure Weekend. Dozens of re-enactors and artisans in period dress demonstrate the various craftsmanship and lifeways of the Corps of Discovery and early Illinois settlers.

This free event includes artisans exhibiting historic basket making, fiber spinning, leatherwork, woodworking, and candle making. Military life is shown through artillery demonstrations, musket displays, and encampments of soldiers. The event is put on by the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Lewis and Clark Society of America.

Anyone interested in the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and early Illinois can enjoy the Point of Departure Weekend on May 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information, call 618-251-5811.
EDWARDSVILLE  A license plate reader camera system installed on the Clark Bridge in 2018 has been quietly expanded throughout Madison County.

The system alerts police when specific vehicles pass by and was set up because of concerns about criminals coming over from Missouri, and stolen vehicles being taken across the river.

Since then additional cameras have been quietly installed at several locations around the county and more are planned, according to Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons.

Gibbons mentioned the expansion of the system at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday.

We are participating with local police agencies and in coordination with the DEA to expand the network of license plate readers around Madison County, he said after the meeting. Weve targeted and identified major corridors for drug trafficking and other crimi9nal activity, and are strategically working to place those cameras on bridges and on major thoroughfares where we think those things are happening.

He said the States Attorneys Office is budgeting $50,000 from drug forfeiture funds this year for the expansion.

Were using that money to support construction efforts, he said. The DEA is donating the cameras and IT infrastructure.

The goal is to eventually have all the bridges and major highways covered.

It allows to track flow of drug traffickers across state lines, through our county and on our interstates, he said. It gives us a better tool to push back on the tide of drugs that are flowing through Madison County. We have a heroin highway, but now it carries methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

The St. Louis region has long been known as a major intersection in drug trafficking, and over the years local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have routinely found drugs and cash being transported through the area.

Gibbons noted that the cameras on the Clark Bridge have been very successful.

We found in several of our murder cases the ability to pinpoint a specific vehicle and a person in a specific vehicle at a specific time on the bridge has allowed us to create a timeline and weve used that in trials, he said. Its been extremely helpful.

Part of the expanded system is in place.

We have two of the bridges covered, we have multiple truck stops covered already, he said. There are a whole bunch of projects in different stages of planning.

He declined to go into specifics about locations.

We want the public to know this is something were doing to help protect them, but we dont want to be too specific because we dont want to tell the criminals everything, Gibbons said. When our goal is reached it will be virtually impossible to mule drugs and drug cash through Madison county without being spotted.

He also noted that the same restrictions in place for use of the Clark Bridge cameras will apply to the others.

It doesnt tie in to registrations, it doesnt observe traffic violations, he said. These are for your high-end, serious crimes. But it does trigger on stolen vehicle alerts.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
ST. LOUIS (AP)  The latest round of Midwestern flooding claimed at least four lives, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of river towns to shore up threatened levees with sandbags as waters rose to and near record levels in some communities.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Friday along a large swath of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood watches for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after recent rounds of heavy rain.

Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said in a conference call that included the leaders of other river towns that roads are closing around the town and that its working to get businesses to move out as waters rise. The town, which is 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of St. Louis, has no flood walls or levees. He said water is beginning to encroach upon city hall.

We are at our wits end, Eberlin said. We are totally unprotected.

In Alton, the Argosy Casino Alton was forced to close on Friday as floodwaters crept higher into downtown. Altons mayor, Brant Walker, complained that the city is doing flood control every eight months and that the frequent business closures are hurting the citys finances.

We are barely keeping our head above water, he said.

In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch remains open, even as floodwaters pour over the road beneath it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday closed the Mississippi for a 5-mile stretch at St. Louis, citing both the high water and the swift current.

The Mississippi isnt the only river bulging out of its banks. Moderate flooding at Missouri River towns like Washington and St. Charles in Missouri was causing headaches like road closures, but few homes were impacted.

The Meramec River in suburban St. Louis is rising fast and will crest Sunday and Monday around 15 feet (4.5 meters) above flood stage in towns like Arnold and Valley Park, threatening several homes and businesses.

Historic flooding was happening elsewhere along the river, too. The National Weather Service is now projecting flood levels to reach the second- or third-highest ever at several Mississippi River towns in northeast Missouri  Hannibal, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield.

Kimmswick, Missouri, Mayor Phil Stang said the community is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water. Weve closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub.

Sandbagging efforts began Friday in Winfield, where the Pin Oak Levee was threatened. Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, was among many towns where volunteers were racing the clock to add sandbags to the tops of levees and around homes and businesses.

The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday afternoon in a swollen southwest Missouri creek. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff identified the man as 35-year-old Scott M. Puckett of Forsyth, Missouri. The body of his friend, Alex Ekern, 23, was found Thursday.

Puckett and Ekern were among three men who began paddling Wednesday afternoon in Bull Creek near the small town of Walnut Shade. The patrol said they were swept over a low-water bridge and caught in what is called a hydraulic, which creates a washing-machine effect that is hard to escape. One of the men survived.

Flooding also claimed the life of a camper found Wednesday after he was caught in waters from an overflowed creek near the town of Ava, also in southwest Missouri. And in northern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother drove onto a flooded road.

In Davenport, Iowa, concerns were that even after the Mississippi River reached a record height, the worst was far from over.

The crest inched above the 1993 record on Thursday, and forecasters are calling for up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of additional rain next week, meaning the high water will likely stick around and potentially get even higher.

Several blocks of downtown Davenport were flooded this week when a flood barrier succumbed to the onslaught of water. The river at the Quad Cities has been at major flood stage or higher for 41 consecutive days.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds visited Davenport Friday.
The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to tax and regulate adult use of recreational cannabis is answering some of the concerns raised by critics.

Some observers speculated that an amendment to Senate Bill 7 would be filed this week, finally revealing how exactly the state might go about making recreational cannabis legal for adult use. With the end of the session set for May 31, such an amendment has yet to be filed.

State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said she has concerns for her community.

I dont see where the community is going to benefit and quite frankly I dont see where the state is going to benefit, Flowers said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzkers budget proposal relies on $170 million from recreational cannabis licensing fees.

Flowers said shes worried about the possible social costs.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said Flowers concerns are legitimate. However, she said legalization isnt an endorsement.

What it does do is say, We know that people are getting a safe product and you know that theyre now going to card people or to make sure that theyre not under 21 [years old], so youre really limiting it, Steans said.

Pritzker said he wants to ensure that the industry is open to communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs.

One of my No. 1 focus areas for this has been equity and making sure that were addressing the fact that the war on drugs most ill-affected communities of color, we want to make sure that this bill addresses the historical discrimination thats existed and also give people a new opportunity to create new businesses, Pritzker said Monday.

Flowers said she doubted minorities would be able to secure a spot in the industry. She also said she doubted the black community would benefit at all.

Their lives have not been made better, nor have their families lives been made better, Flowers said. We havent even had that discussion.

Steans said there will be new license categories with cheaper licenses and certain funding mechanisms to help social equity applicants get both reduced application fees, but also to help get grants and loans to help to start up  and then we want to do expungement to help people expunge records that relate to cannabis.

Lawmakers are finding common ground on all of these issues and others with stakeholders, Steans said. However, the issue of whether to allow recreational marijuana to be grown in homes remains a point of contention.

Generally speaking, home grow is important, Steans said. Its going to be very expensive. We want people to have access at lower amounts, so were going to see if we can make home grow work at a very limited fashion.

Pritzker has said he supports limited home cultivation.

The law enforcement community has been opposed to any home-grow provision. Some ideas proposed include only allowing home grow for medical cannabis patients.

Lawmakers are back to session Tuesday.
MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho, Girls Track, Senior; Weeden won two events for the Chargers in the first meet of the season. Weeden was first in the high jump (5-0) and the long jump 15-1.

ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago scored 39 points in three games as Stonington started the season 1-2. Drago had 16 in a loss to Fitch, 12 in a win against Griswold and 11 in a defeat to Ledyard.

SYDNEY HAIK, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Haik scored 14 points as the Bulldogs opened the season with a victory over Cumberland. Haik had three 3-pointers, five assists and five steals.

ZANE BREWER, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Freshman; Brewer scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Lions season-opening win over Grasso Tech. Brewer followed that with 18 points and five rebounds in a loss to Hale-Ray.

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'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years but while some providers, such as Bulb and Ecotricity do provide renewable energy, others are accused of buying the right to slap a label on their deals at a cut price - and then charging customers more.

Nothing is quite straightforward when it comes to finding the right supplier and deal for your household energy.

Although switching is easier than ever before  helped in big part by the advent of companies happy to do all the hard work for you  and competition remains fierce (despite the demise of some small suppliers), the cards are still stacked heavily in favour of the energy companies. Profits uber alles.

Pay by direct debit for your energy  and invariably the best deals demand that you do  and it is highly likely you will end up handing over too much to your supplier.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas

Experts claim energy companies are currently holding on to some 1billion of our money as a result of direct debit payments being set too high.

A scandal. Plain and simple.

It is our money  and cash the suppliers should return without prompting or households having to go a proverbial six rounds with customer services in order to get it put back into their bank account.

Even measures seemingly designed to help customers fight rising bills end up enabling already profit-fattened suppliers to milk more out of the consumer.

This is the case with the energy price cap introduced early this year to protect some ten million customers from expensive standard variable tariffs  the default payment rate households end up on if they are not savvy and do not continually chase down competitively fixed priced deals.

According to website comparethemarket, last month's increase in the price cap  sanctioned by regulator Ofgem  has already allowed energy companies to generate an extra 148million of revenue at the expense of customers.

'The energy price cap has had the curious impact of providing an official licence to energy companies to hike their prices,' comparethemarket explained two days ago. 'It has potentially boosted energy companies' profits by millions.'

Bizarre. So much for pro-consumer intervention in the energy supply market by the Government whose idea the price cap was. Mad. Bad.

There is more  ineffective regulation that allows many energy suppliers to continually get away with unacceptable levels of customer service without fear of reproach or sanction. Third world.

Yet there is one area of the energy market where the current levels of confusion, deception and customer exploitation are stratospheric. It is in the supply of 'green' energy.

'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years as householders seek to do their bit for the planet.

In theory, such eco-friendly deals dovetail perfectly with Government ambitions spelt out last week to make Britain the first major world economy to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

The Government was responding to a report from the influential Committee on Climate Change, an organisation set up to advise it on how to respond to ever rising global temperatures. The committee said the country would have to stop using fossil fuels  oil, gas and coal  and quadruple the current number of offshore wind turbines.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas  an astonishing increase of 150 per cent in just one year  with most energy companies providing at least one green option. Customers have also seized on green electricity deals.

Yet the more you dig under the skin of many of these green tariffs, the less green (climate-friendly) they become. Indeed, the energy you are supplied with under such an eco-friendly deal is often anything but green. It's called smoke and mirrors  classic energy company deception.

As if that was not enough, many consumers are paying a heavy price for going green through higher energy bills. Surprise, surprise. Yet more unchecked profiteering from suppliers, often owned by overseas conglomerates.

Some of the gas sold by small supplier Bulb is biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure

THERE ARE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN

Anyone taking out a green energy deal would assume that the gas or electricity piped into their home would be derived from renewable sources  essentially energy generated by wind, water or the sun.

In some instances this is the case. Suppliers such as Bulb, Ecotricity (which bills itself as 'Britain's greenest energy company') and Green Energy ('100 per cent green gas, 100 per cent renewable electricity') have set themselves up to do exactly this.

Small supplier Bulb buys energy from independent renewable generators across the UK. It says 100 per cent of its gas is carbon neutral as a result of supporting carbon-neutral projects around the world.

Some 10 per cent of its gas is also biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure.

Green Energy chief executive Doug Stewart says: 'Our energy is green because it is gas derived fully from biomethane that comes from organic waste. So not only is the gas green but it uses waste that would otherwise rot and release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more toxic than CO2, into the atmosphere.'

But it means their tariffs are expensive. The annual average energy bill for a household using a truly green tariff from either Green Energy or Ecotricity is as least 50 per cent higher than the cheapest 'green' deal available in the market.

Yet these companies, in terms of green purity, are the exception, not the norm. Most other providers of 'green' tariffs  everyone from Centrica-owned British Gas through to German-owned Npower and eco-friendly brands such as Pure Planet  derive little or no energy directly from renewable sources.

Is your tariff really better for planet? All electricity customers contribute to Government subsidies for renewable energy through their energy bills. So to some degree all tariffs have a green element. But some suppliers go further than others in trying to change the composition of energy production in the UK. Thomas Rogers, of energy firm Switchd, says: Every supplier must state what percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. If youre really keen on going green, go for a supplier whose fuel mix is 100 per cent renewable, not just one using the word green in its tariff name. Fuel mix disclosures can be found on a suppliers website and will help customers find environmentally friendly energy tariffs. Rogers adds: This ensures the money youre spending on your energy goes to a company that at least believes in renewables, not one thats chucked in a green tariff at a premium. The Energy Savings Trust emphasises that signing up for a green tariff is no substitute for reducing individual energy use.

They simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a complex 'certificated' system. It's head-scratchingly complicated so clear your head and concentrate.

In very simple terms, companies that generate renewable energy  not supply it  are awarded so called 'Regos', certificates from regulator Ofgem.

Rego stands for Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin. These certificates can then be purchased by electricity suppliers, allowing them in turn to badge tariffs as 'green'.

One certificate represents one megawatt hour of renewable energy generated and costs a supplier anything between 10p and 30p (peanuts).

To put this into context, an average home uses about three megawatts hours worth of energy a year.

So the purchase of three certificates per household is enough for an electricity company to claim the tariff it is offering customers is green.

Just sit back and think about the maths. For the cost of less than 1, a supplier can stick a green label on a tariff and charge annual prices at least 100 more than the most competitive energy deal available in the market.

There are similar certificated systems in place for gas.

A single certificate costs from 7.50 and offsets one ton of carbon dioxide. For the average household, which emits about four tons of carbon dioxide a year, this would cost a supplier wanting to bolster their 'greenness' about 30.

For example, the Energy Plus Protection Green May 2020 tariff from British Gas matches electricity through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Gas is carbon-offset through the purchase of certificates relating to projects in developing countries.

Npower's Go Green Energy Fix April 2021 matches 100 per cent of electricity consumption and 15 per cent of gas consumption through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Small supplier Yorkshire Energy, which provides a 'Green Bunny' deal, offers 100 per cent renewable electricity also through the purchase of certificates.

How to save money and help the planet The way we spend our money can be a powerful driver in helping the environment. From buying products that create less plastic waste, to supporting companies that aim to improve working practices, or choosing those that try to reduce their environmental impact, consumer pressure works. So what are the big and small changes you can make - and can they save you money as well. Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look on the This is Money podcast. Press play above or listen (and please subscribe if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify and Audioboom or visit our This is Money Podcast page.

WHY THE EXPERTS ARE DEEPLY UNIMPRESSED

Not surprisingly, some energy experts are singularly unimpressed with the abuse of the green label.

Dustin Benton, of environmental think-tank Green Alliance, says: 'There is no environmental definition of what green actually means. Energy companies exploit this by using the label as a sales tool without having to do any real environmental good.' Damning.

Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy

Johnny Gowdy, of energy expert Regen, says: 'Some of the marketing that accompanies green energy tariffs is misleading.'

He adds: 'Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy.'

He concludes: 'There ought to be a clear distinction made to consumers between the energy that is directly sourced from renewable generation and energy labelled green through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.' Absolutely.

Many companies simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a 'certificated' system

A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS ON TARIFFS

The greener the supplier or tariff, the more expensive it will be. But there are signs that things are changing for the better.

Until recently the difference between the cheapest tariff and the lowest green tariff from British Gas was 230 a year. That has now been eliminated with all British Gas tariffs for new customers having a green component.

Rival suppliers npower and EDF Energy charge an annual green 'premium' of 70 and 35 respectively. E.On charges 2 a month for a 'Clean Energy' upgrade while ScottishPower's 'Go Green' bolt-on is 36 a year. Big Six supplier SSE does not offer a green tariff.

Research by energy regulator Ofgem suggests consumers can pay up to 300 a year more for a deal with a supplier that invests in renewable technology innovation, compared to one where the supplier simply buys certificates.

Do you think green energy deals are a rip-off? Email laura.shannon@mailonsunday.co.uk
Greening the economy is one of those transformations that we have to make. So lets try to do it well.

Over the next 30 years, every country will be moving to a lower carbon economy. The driving force, of course, is concern about the impact of carbon emissions on the climate, as last weeks report from the Committee on Climate Change highlighted.

But quite apart from political pressure, we will move in that direction because that is the way technology is developing.

By 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS

Part of this will be using less energy; part will be getting our energy from sources that do not emit carbon. The first part is obvious. All of us who have switched to LED light bulbs or turned down the central heating have cut our energy consumption.

Getting energy from non-carbon sources is trickier, because at a personal level we have very little control as to how power is generated. We can put solar panels on our roofs, but electricity drawn from the grid is drawn from whatever the power stations are feeding into it at that moment. So if this country wants to go truly green, we have to figure out ways of generating more power from renewable sources. That is not easy.

A cautionary tale. Those of us with long memories will recall our politicians heralding Britains nuclear power programme as the global leader.

When the worlds first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was switched on by the Queen in 1956, the overseeing Minister, Rab Butler, said: It may be that after 1965 every new power station being built will be an atomic power station.

Wrong. Calder Hall closed in 2003. By then the fire at nearby Sellafield, plus the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl had destroyed public faith. The UK is struggling to build new nuclear stations now, and can only do so with foreign help. As for our own supposedly world-beating programme, we abandoned it after a huge cost to taxpayers.

Being measured means taking lots of steps that together make a difference

Whenever you hear a politician boasting that the UK will lead the world to a carbon-free future, think of Calder Hall.

Two thoughts. We have to be honest, and we have to be measured. Being honest means being open about the reality of going green. Just focusing on what we do in the UK isnt enough.

Manufacturing uses a lot of raw materials and a lot of energy. So if we import a car from abroad instead of assembling it here, that cuts our carbon emissions. But it does not cut global emissions, and we achieve nothing overall.

Being measured means taking lots of modest steps that cumulatively make a difference. At a personal level, a cooler home seems to have health benefits  better sleep, clearer thinking  which is much more convincing than some expert urging us to set the thermostat at 19 degrees. Ditto, driving a bit less and walking a bit more.

At a national level? Well, a report last autumn by the Swiss bank UBS suggested that by 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free. If that is right, and we have found a cheap way to store electricity, then economic reality will reinforce political will.

Meanwhile, a lot can be achieved by applying existing good practice more widely, rather than having expensive ambitions. What about the environmental cost of cutting half an hour off the time it takes to get a train from London to Birmingham, huh?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaways famed annual shareholders meeting was taking place yesterday in Omaha, Nebraska, with the usual folk-wisdom. But I am more intrigued by what chairman Warren Buffett does than what he says.

So as we report here, the UK grid companies are clearly a smart investment  arguably too smart a one for those of us who pay the bills. The whole ethos of Berkshire Hathaway is that you invest for the long term in solid, well-managed businesses.

Over the past 40 years this value-investing approach has been very successful. But more recently performance has slipped. This year the S&P 500 index is up 17 per cent, but Berkshire Hathaway stock up only 6 per cent. For the moment fashion beats value. But fashion is fickle, so will it flip this year? I think it may.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

J.B. writes: I bought two car parking spaces at Gatwick Airport in 2016, as an investment offered by Park First Limited, and I am wishing I had not done so. In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority decided Park First was operating a Collective Investment Scheme which should have been regulated. The regulator instructed Park First to offer investors a different arrangement or their money back. I decided I wanted my money back, but getting it is a nightmare and the watchdog is of little help.

Return: Investors in spaces at airports make money through the charges

Park First sold car park spaces as an investment, with more than 6,500 investors promised a return on their money based on charges paid by people parking their car.

The only snag was that the scheme was illegal. In effect, this was like a unit trust. That meant the company and its bosses should have been vetted and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, but instead they were breaking the law and it took the watchdog three or four years to spot this.

The regulator's eventual response was not to shut down Park First, but to open negotiations with the offenders instead. At the end of 2017, the watchdog announced: 'Park First has agreed to stop operating and promoting the original schemes.

'They are now offering investors in the Gatwick and Glasgow car parks the choice of getting their initial investment back, or moving into a new lifetime leaseback scheme.'

The watchdog did not regard the leaseback scheme as a regulated investment, which meant it could wash its hands of the whole affair.

Mystery calls were to your voicemail Ms G.G. writes: Noticing that my mobile phone bill was higher than normal, I checked and saw that 07782 090091 appeared frequently and at odd times, so I rang it and a message said the number was unrecognised. However, Three Mobile insists that I made the calls and must pay. My first thought was that this was just another mobile phone scam. However, the answer is more technical. Your calls were actually to voicemail, which would normally show up as number 123, but a glitch meant the number on your bill was an internal one that is only used by Three to route voicemails and which cannot be called back. Officials at Three say the glitch lasted several months, which is why the number kept reappearing, but it has now been corrected and you have agreed the calls were yours.

You decided to reclaim the 50,000 you had invested in two parking spaces at Gatwick. But Park First was not keen to hand it over.

It seems the regulator had allowed the company to delay refunds, while the alternative leaseback scheme meant investors could lose parking space rental income yet have to pay ground rent. Why did the watchdog not simply shut the company down and prosecute its bosses? The regulator told me: 'Had we brought proceedings, there would have been a greater risk of loss to investors as substantial resources would have been expended on litigation.'

In other words, the watchdog did not try to close down Park First, because Park First would then have spent investors' money defending itself.

Park First offered you various options and I have the impression that you were under growing pressure to accept. After I contacted both the regulator and Park First, you were offered 10,000 now and a further 5,000 after 12 months.

You would keep the parking spaces and the company would guarantee you an annual yield of 10 per cent for three years. You have accepted this and received the initial 10,000. I can only say that I hope things work out well in the long term.

Park First itself has always argued that the watchdog is wrong and that it was never running an illegal investment scheme. I have been dealing with two of its bosses, Toby Whittaker and Ruth Almond, who were involved in negotiating the deal with the regulator. It would be nice to know exactly what that deal says, but Ms Almond told me: 'I will be very clear  the watchdog has required us to keep our agreement with them confidential. We are under a legal obligation to do so.'

But I do wonder how closely the regulator has investigated Park First, which is part of a much larger group. If the watchdog's representatives visit the group's headquarters at Padiham in Lancashire, they may come across Carl Baker.

Baker's role is vague. Ruth Almond told me: 'He has just provided ad hoc services to the group from time to time.'

She explained that he does not have a fixed job title, adding: 'Mr Baker will have used different titles, depending on the work he was doing for us at the time.'

But one title he is unlikely to have used is his real name, which is Carl Anthony Ballard. Under this name he was a major player in the land banking scandals of almost a decade ago.

The Mail on Sunday warned against his companies in 2011 and in 2014 he was banned from acting as a company director for the next 14 years after investigators found he was selling house-size plots of agricultural land as an investment, with false claims about development prospects.

The Financial Conduct Authority took years to decide that land banking came under its umbrella and that it should be regulated. By then it was too late and thousands of investors lost millions. Let's hope history is not repeating itself.

Sister firm Store First is wound up...but lives on

Court proceedings brought by the Government to wind up Store First Limited  a sister company to Park First  have ended prematurely in a messy deal which effectively allows the business to continue. Store First operates self-storage warehouses and sells units in them as an investment.

Warning: Motoring writer Quentin Willson fronted a video for the firm

I warned in 2013 that sales agents were making false claims, including in a promotional video fronted by motoring writer Quentin Willson.

Many of Store First's salesmen had previously been involved in mis-selling land, wine and carbon credits as investments. They raked in more than 200million for Store First, much of it from investors' pension savings. But complaints flooded in, with claims that promises of rental income and a guaranteed buy-back scheme were hollow.

In 2017, Business Secretary Greg Clark petitioned the High Court to wind up Store First. But last Tuesday, the court hearing in Manchester ended unexpectedly, with an out-of-court agreement. It means the company will be wound up, but its existing storage business will continue, with operations managed by a separate company, Pay Store Limited.

Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Office is investigating pension companies that poured cash into Store First, allegedly with false claims and with a huge slice of investors' cash disappearing as sales commission. Store First itself is not under investigation.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
UK water companies have long been tasked with fixing leaky pipes but more than 650million gallons of water is still lost through leaks every single day  enough to supply a quarter of households in England and Wales.

The problem is even worse in America, where trillions of gallons are lost through leaks in underground pipes, homes and commercial buildings. Leakages are not just wasteful, they are also incredibly expensive. In the US, for example, water-damage claims amount to $13billion a year (10billion).

Water Intelligence was set up to tackle this issue, using state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks with maximum efficiency and minimum fuss.

Water Intelligence uses state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks

The shares are 3.76 and should increase in value, as the business is growing fast and chairman Patrick de Souza is committed to delivering results for investors.

De Souza, 60, has an impressive pedigree. A graduate of Yale Law School, he completed a PhD at Stanford University and worked at the White House as a director on the National Security Council.

Today Water Intelligence is based across the road from Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, and de Souza uses his relationship with the Ivy League college to develop cutting-edge acoustic and infrared techniques for detecting and repairing leaks.

The collaboration has enabled Water Intelligence to earn a reputation for speed and success.

Most of the companys sales are generated in America, where it works with up to 250,000 households a year, finding and fixing leaks in and around the home. Swimming pool leaks are a strong source of income too, particularly in the southern States.

Originally, Water Intelligence derived most of its business from worried homeowners contacting the firm directly.

Recently though, de Souza has signed agreements with large insurance firms, who use his company whenever their customers make a water leak claim. Two such contracts were signed in the past two years and, last week, the company announced a third.

These deals have a meaningful impact on Water Intelligences business, generating 50,000 pieces of new leak detection work in 2018 alone. Insurers also help Water Intelligence to spread its wings to the corporate market, finding leaks in offices, factories and other large buildings.

Over time, de Souza is expected to gain more insurance-related business, as Water Intelligence establishes a name for itself among the top firms in the sector.

De Souza founded Water Intelligence when he bought the franchise operation American Leak Detection. Franchisees still generate around most of the companys sales but de Souza has been acquiring non-performing franchises from their owners and expanding into other areas of the water leakage sector.

The company works with utilities, for example, including Thames, Southern and Northumbrian in the UK.

Over the years, de Souza and his colleagues have developed clever kit that allows these water firms to pinpoint underground leaks faster and more accurately than rivals, a system that can save serious amounts of time and money.

The business is also working on techniques to fix spillage from sewerage pipes, a sanitation problem both here and in America.

Water Intelligence publishes 2018 results this week and brokers expect a 44 per cent increase in sales to $25.3million, with profits up 47 per cent to $2.5million.

Further strong growth is predicted this year and next, as the company adds new customers, boosts sales from former franchise operations and gradually expands internationally.

Midas verdict: Water shortages are a growing problem and leakages do nothing to help. Water Intelligence is at the forefront of its field and the opportunities for growth are substantial. At 3.76, the shares should gain ground. De Souza is a significant shareholder too, so he is highly motivated to deliver the goods.
Every week we give the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust in your attic.

A new Caledonian Sleeper train service made its inaugural trip between London and Scotland last week as part of a 150million carriage revamp.

Although it suffered teething problems  from a broken coffee machine to blocked toilets  it aims to capture the imagination of a bygone era of hotel on wheels travel as advertised on collectable posters.

This poster, illustrated by Robert Bartlett, sold for 12,000 last month

Last month, a 1932 London North Eastern Railway Scotland poster  The Night Scotsman, illustrated by Robert Bartlett  sold for 12,000.

Popular British holiday destination posters advertised by railway companies are always in demand.

Those illustrated with colourful art deco styles are most sought after.

A 1930s Come To Old World Cornwall poster by Great Western Railway  illustrated by SI Veale  can go for as much as 1,750.

And a 1950s Weston-super-Mare, The Smile In Smiling Somerset British Railways Western Region poster by the popular artist Harry Riley can sell for as much as 1,000.
The British whistleblower behind a legal action that could leave Standard Chartered facing a 1.5billion fine claims that he was ousted from the bank after he warned senior staff of a major loophole in its money laundering checks.

The former Standard Chartered executive filed a report in 2011, seen by The Mail on Sunday, which alleges that the way foreign exchange transactions were processed meant the bank could not tell who its clients were.

In the document, he alleges that the way the banks systems operated meant that there is no line of sight on the client.

Money laundering checks: The whistleblower claims he warned two managing directors

The whistleblower, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims he warned two managing directors in the Singapore arm of Standard Chartered, where he was working at the time, that it was possible to mis-spell the name of a client and still process a transaction.

He alleges that this meant there was no way of carrying out money laundering checks or working out whether a client was on an official blacklist of people or countries with whom the bank was forbidden from doing business.

Banking regulations typically state that firms must carry out strict identity checks to ensure that they are not offering services to criminals or fraudsters who wish to launder money.

In 2012, Standard Chartered was hit with a 415million fine for breaking US sanctions by working with clients linked to Iran. Then in April this year, the bank received a $1.1billion (835million) fine for continuing to conduct business with people linked to Iran and other nations, including Sudan and Cuba.

When the April fine was announced, chief executive Bill Winters said it marked the end of the saga and pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions. But The Mail on Sunday revealed last weekend that Standard Chartered could face a new 1.5billion fine after whistleblowers  including the Briton who raised the alarm in 2011  filed a civil case in America.

The British whistleblower alleges that after he alerted senior management, he was summoned to a meeting with an executive at Standard Chartered, where it became clear that he had to leave the bank.

[The executive] said, I heard you wanted to leave the bank. I said that was news to me and he said, I think its in the best interests of all that we part company, the whistleblower said.

He subsequently left the firm and alerted the US authorities. Under the US False Claims Act, which is designed to encourage people to expose corporate wrongdoing, whistleblowers in the US can receive up to 25 per cent of any penalties awarded against a company.

Chief executive Bill Winters pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions

The Standard Chartered whistleblowers have not received any money from the previous fines, but would benefit if they are successful with the civil lawsuit.

The Mail on Sunday understands that documents outlining the new case  which is being revived after the whistleblowers withdrew it in 2017  will be publicly available within days.

A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: We still have not been served with the lawsuit described, therefore we cannot comment on the specifics provided but they sound similar to claims made in a case that was filed against us by a private company and then dismissed in 2017.

If this case is the same or similar to the one previously dismissed, we believe it lacks merit.

The US authorities have been aware of the claims for several years and did not see fit to join the previous suit or include the claims as part of our resolution of historical sanctions compliance issues on April 9, 2019. Should we be served with the lawsuit described we will defend ourselves vigorously.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner could pocket 55m

Ocado boss Tim Steiner might feel slightly aggrieved by the shareholder revolt last week at his bonuses worth up to 100million over five years.

The Goldman Sachs banker-turned-tech-tycoon has made his investors several times their money in less than two years after striking partnerships with supermarkets abroad and signing a breakthrough deal with Marks & Spencer.

The grocery delivery firm has hurtled into the FTSE 100 and is on the verge of a 10billion valuation.

Ocado's chief executive probably won't be feeling too down about the broadside from shareholders at the annual meeting.

That's because from Wednesday he can cash in on a bonus scheme put in place in 2014 when the shares were worth a fraction of their current value. So he could pocket 55million.

Other executive directors will also be in the money. Finance chief Duncan Tatton-Brown and chief operations officer Mark Richardson are in line for 13.7million each.

Luke Jensen  in charge of its tech platform Ocado Solutions  will make 6.4million.

BT's new boss faces grilling

New boss Philip Jansen is likely to face a grilling this week over BT's Italian accounting scandal after it emerged that London-based managers may have been more closely involved than previously suggested.

That aside, Thursday's annual results are expected to show little improvement on last year. An anticipated 1.3 per cent fall in turnover to 23.4billion and adjusted profit down 2.1 per cent to 7.4billion underline the task facing Jansen to return BT to growth.

Intriguingly, Deutsche Telekom, BT's largest shareholder, reports results the same day.

No word yet about its intentions for BT, now that it is free to launch a takeover of the British telecoms firm.

Sainsbury's not in the money after all

Embattled Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe is probably best known for his vocal talents  namely singing We're In The Money after unveiling plans for the supermarket mega-merger with Asda last year.

Last week, he stumped up 230,000 to buy Sainsbury's shares as a show of faith after the Asda deal was officially blocked.

The shares have tumbled around 35 per cent since last August as the deal unravelled. Not including share options, it means the value of his stake in the company has fallen by about 1.8million in that time. So not in the money after all.

Imperial Brands to benefit from vaping

Wednesday could see relatively weak first-half results from Imperial Brands. Thats according to number-crunchers at Swiss bank UBS, who say the tobacco giant could take a 140million hit on operating profits, largely down to a 100million investment in so-called next-generation products  or vaping.

The tobacco giants are ploughing billions into these new products to counter slowing cigar and cigarette sales. That investment for Imperial could lead to a 4 per cent fall in first-half profit, UBS predicts.

A difficult first six months could put pressure on the FTSE 100 company to pick up steam in the second half.
The corporate raider targeting Barclays faces a fresh humiliation as his own shareholders prepare to grill him over a 27 per cent fall in the value of their investments.

Edward Bramson, who owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through his Sherborne Investors fund, suffered a hefty defeat last week in his bid to win a seat on the banks board.

He won support from just 3.9 per cent of Barclays shareholders, leaving him a long way short of the 50 per cent he needed, so he was unable to force Barclays to curtail its investment banking arm.

Corporate raider: Edward Bramson owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through Sherborne Investors

Now the New York financier is braced for a backlash from his own shareholders  many of whom did not back his bid for a board seat  at Sherbornes annual meeting on June 4.

The value of Bramsons fund, Sherborne Investors Guernsey C, has plunged 27 per cent since 2017, from 695.9million to 502.3million. In that time, the FTSE 100 has fallen 3.3 per cent.

The funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays.

The fall in the funds value has affected major institutions including Aviva, Schroders, Fidelity and Columbia Threadneedle  all of which own shares in Sherborne.

City commentator David Buik, of trading firm Core Spreads, said: Its all very well having a good track record, but when you slip up people are not loyal and they tend to leave these funds.

I suspect Bramsons going to plead with his shareholders to give him time.

At the meeting of Barclays investors, Bramson vowed to fight on in his bid to boost the banks ailing share price, which has fallen 20 per cent over the year, compared to a 2 per cent fall for the FTSE 100.

He said investors wanted to give the banks incoming chairman Nigel Higgins a chance to fix problems before putting an activist on the board.

If Higgins wants to take a shot at it himself, thats fine with us, Bramson said. The only thing wed say is having been given a chance to do that, were expecting to see results.

Bramson was not the only item on the agenda for Barclays shareholders. Many had expressed dismay at the high level of pay for its bankers and ongoing litigation issues.

Bramson's funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays

One shareholder said at the meeting: The reports of misbehaviour or excess are many and diverse.

And by excess, I mean wild overpayments of the staff and the board. Your annual report shows executive directors were paid about 7million. Theres another 3.5million for non-executive directors.

I put it to you that shareholders are not getting value for money, and the bank is repeatedly promising improvements in the future which are, to say the least, very slow in coming.

Responding to shareholder concerns at last weeks meeting, outgoing chairman John McFarlane said: Many of these go back a long time. PPI goes back a long time. Some of the larger litigation and conduct issues started in 2010 and its taken some time for these to come through the system.

I can assure you were not trying to deliberately create these any more. These are mistakes that do get made, and hopefully that we can draw a line under.

Sherborne declined to comment.
A company that counts Tory MP Priti Patel as a director is plotting a float on Londons stock exchange.

Accounting software firm Accloud, which targets firms in India, last week received a pledge for $30million (23million).

The finance from Australia-based fund manager Mayfair 101 in exchange for a larger stake paves the way for a listing on AIM, Londons junior stock market, which could value Accloud at tens of millions of pounds.

Deal: Software firm Accloud is paying Priti Patel 45,000 a year to work for 20 hours per month

Patel, a pro-Brexit former Minister whose parents are from India, was appointed a director of Accloud this year. She receives 45,000 a year for about 20 hours of work a month.

The MP for Witham in Essex is not listed by Companies House as a shareholder. But she could receive shares before the float, as is often the case. Patel was forced to quit as International Development Secretary in 2017 after revelations of unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers.

Mayfair 101 said Patels deep connections throughout India and other developing nations align with Acclouds go-to-market strategy.

The firm made an $18.8 million loss after tax for the year ending March 2018. However, its auditors BDO quit in December saying it could not conduct a proper audit. It said Accloud PLC, a shell company set up in 2015 to buy an operating company, Accloud Ltd, had not included financial statements for the firm it bought. BDO said in its resignation letter the issue had not been addressed.

Accloud did not respond to a request for a comment. Patel said: All declarations are with the Commons register.
It's been a landmark week for John Holland-Kaye  in more ways than one. On Thursday, the chief executive of Heathrow celebrated his tenth anniversary at the airport.

As is customary for long-serving employees, the company prepared a letter to congratulate him on his tenure. Usually, the chief executive signs them off  but not on this occasion, for obvious reasons.

There was a letter I was supposed to sign saying: Dear John. Congratulations. Signed, John. I havent signed it. I thought it was a bit weird.

Threat: John Holland-Kaye says expansion is urgent

But that came after a far more significant milestone for the boss of Britains biggest airport. On Wednesday, Heathrows ambitious expansion plans cleared another major hurdle as the High Court quashed a challenge from campaigners to halt the move. I think it will now go ahead, says Holland-Kaye. And I also think it needs to go ahead.

Under the plans, a third runway will be built at Heathrow that would boost passenger numbers from 78 million a year to 130 million.

Holland-Kaye, who took up the top job in 2014 after joining as commercial director in 2009, believes Brexit has added several degrees of importance to the expansion drive.

We cannot take for granted that the UK will be able to enjoy the same economic success we have done for the last decade, he says. Weve got to fight for our place in the world. It is incompatible to have Brexit and no expanded Heathrow.

This is now urgent, he adds, explaining that with Heathrow at full capacity, Paris and Amsterdam are sucking up new passengers as well as company headquarters ahead of the UKs departure from the European Union.

This is real competition happening, and the longer we delay expanding Heathrow, the more were handing competitive advantage to our rivals in Europe.

If the Heathrow expansion debate was about economic prosperity alone, it may have been won decades ago.

It is incompatible to have Brexit  and then not expand Heathrow

Unfortunately for Holland-Kaye, he has many other issues to contend with  not least growing concern about carbon emissions from air travel. Last week, former Labour leader and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband said Heathrow should not go ahead, while Justin Francis  the chief executive of holiday firm Responsible Travel  warned that a larger airport would be bad for the environment and called on the Government to divert expansion funds instead towards decarbonisation investment.

But Holland-Kaye insists that Heathrows growth  which will increase its capacity from 473,000 to 740,000 flights per year  can benefit the environment as well as the economy.

According to his theory, a bigger Heathrow means a better economy  and a better economy means more resources to invest in environmentally friendly technology.

The 54-year-old admits he does not currently possess all of the answers, but says he has already started decarbonising the airport, including by incentivising low-carbon planes and investing in the restoration of peatlands, which help offset emissions.

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to Heathrow expansion plans

The next step, which will require co-operation from the airlines, is to reduce carbon emissions from flights using new technologies  like electric planes  and biofuels.

I see this as being just a transitional phase until we get to net zero carbon, which is the next goal, says Holland-Kaye. Thats what we are now campaigning for. The solution will be a combination of electric flight, particularly for short-haul.

Electric planes will be able to serve distances of up to 500km, so large parts of Europe will be accessible by electric plane. And for long-haul, its probably some sort of hybrid solution  it will certainly involve some kind of biofuel or synthetic fuel. Those solutions are being tested at the moment. Its technology that exists, although it is not at scale and its not cheap enough yet to be economic.

Heathrow will play a big role, he says, by creating infrastructure for electric planes. We need to come up with a solution because I dont think its conceivable to any economy to not have flights, he says. [Without flights] wed have a much smaller economy, and we wouldnt be able to fund the kind of decarbonisation we want to have.

Despite Holland-Kayes optimism after the court victory, there remain several other obstacles ahead and naysayers believe the decades-long battle to expand Heathrow is far from won.

Were seven years from the runway but weve started training people

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to the plans  and is tipped by some as a future Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion.

Theyre going to need a healthy economy [if Labour wins power], Holland-Kaye hits back, claiming that Heathrow expansion will create up to 180,000 jobs. Some of these, he says as an example, will be for apprentices fitting insulated windows around Heathrow to block out flight noise.

Heathrow Airport Holdings office is already insulated, with barely any take-off and landing sound seeping through. And Holland-Kaye says the company is planning to spend 700million to offer the same treatment to its neighbours.

He says: Even though we are still seven years from opening the runway, weve started training people up and started installing double-glazing. So what that helps to do is not just show just what a prize there is to expanding Heathrow, but also what the price is.

Turning around to the apprentices whove started training up to do a job and saying, Actually, weve changed our mind, youre going to be out of work  that is the real price you pay for trying to turn things back.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion

Other groups less likely to be supportive of expansion include residents of boroughs in South-West London  Holland-Kaye himself lived in Fulham but moved to Oxfordshire a year before joining Heathrow  and those even closer to Heathrow, some of whom will be forced to sell their houses to the airport so it can build the runway.

In his decade at Heathrow, Holland-Kaye has helped his company overcome challenges from local politicians, a rival expansion bid from Gatwick and many other opponents.

But, even if nothing can now stop a third runway, Heathrow Airport Holdings still faces a stern challenge from a noisy neighbour.

Surinder Arora, a property investor who owns a large amount of land in the Heathrow area, is putting the finishing touches to a rival plan to expand the airport, which he claims will be far cheaper.

Aroras plan has drawn support from British Airways owner IAG, which is based in Heathrow and is unhappy about costs racked up by the airport and its foreign owners who have been paid dividends totalling 3.5billion since 2012.

Im not paying very close attention [to Aroras plans], says Holland-Kaye dismissively.

Weve got our plan, weve got a lot of work to do to make sure we deliver it successfully  so Im just focused on getting the expanded Heathrow open as quickly as possible. Because this country needs it  and we cant be distracted by anything else.
Polina Montano launched Job Today with co founder Eugene Mizin after needing to make a quick hire for one of the garages she managed in Luxembourg.

Polina Montano doesn't have any specific recruitment industry experience.

But, despite this, around six million people now make use of her employment app, Job Today.

It specialises in bringing together job seekers and employers in the retail and hospitality sector.

Polina is an unlikely candidate to have backed such a venture - she describes herself as a technophobe and says launching a technology company 'just happened'.

Before starting up Job Today with co-founder Eugene Mizin, she was managing six petrol stations in Luxembourg.

The successful entrepreneur says the Job Today app idea was borne at a time when she was in the midst of having dinner with friends and cooking.

She told This is Money: 'And just then my mobile phone rang that needed a replacement urgently for one of the petrol stations.

'And I said I wish there was mobile tech to connect employees with would-be employers.'

The app was initially launched in Barcelona, Spain, in 2015. Since then, the Luxembourg-based company has managed to gain respectable amounts in financial backing.

It raised $20million (15.39million) in November 2016 and topped it up with $16million (12.31million) extension in September 2018.

There are no plans to raise any further money for the business with Polina explaining that they're now focusing on executing on strategy, effectively doing the job and building the business.

Job Today launched in Britain three years ago and now has over six million registered users across both Spain and the UK.

Around 600,000 businesses make use of the app to advertise positions.

What makes the app different is that instead of making companies post an advert on a website, or asking prospective candidates for CVs, it connects employers with future staff, allowing them to message back and forth to discuss roles and speed up the hiring process.

This way of conducting a straightforward, instantaneous connection with a future employer has made it become a particularly attractive proposition for millennials.

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app, which can be downloaded, printed or shared easily

Polina says: 'Young people are early adopters of this technology. Around 70 per cent of our users are aged between 16 and 35.

'It's all about connecting millennials who want everything online and mobile and businesses who traditionally don't use online solutions that are either to slow, cumbersome or expensive.

'It also reduces time for those who don't have time to sit in front of the laptop.

'You can have instant communication and interaction rather than the traditional model of sending a CV. We decided to make it as fast and as easy as we can.'

Job Today is gaining in momentum. It says it is overtaking industry stalwarts like Gumtree in certain categories.

Instead of emailing your CV, you can contact prospective employers through the Job Today app and they, in turn, can view your profile

Polina says: 'We've been in the UK for three years and before we came to the market, people used Gumtree.'

She claims: 'We are now 170 per cent bigger than Gumtree's hospitality classified section.

'Another competitor is obviously Indeed and in London our hospitality section is also bigger than Indeed.'

The business uses a classified model and Polina reveals that it's only recently that the business has begun to monetise its offering.

British firms can trial the app for free for seven days but thereafter a 24.99 monthly fee applies.

Polina says: 'It's the business that pays to post the job and promote it and make listing more visible.

'For users it's a freemium model  charges only apply once you've exhausted your free options.'

Unemployment figures in Spain and the UK are about 14.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively according to reports -but Polina insists that unemployment rates have nothing to do with the company's success.

She explains: 'This proves the problem is universal. In the service industry there is a high churn of staff so just the rotation of staff itself fuels the need for hiring solutions for jobseeker and business owner.'

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app.

Polina explains: 'You can download your profile and use it on other platforms if you need to.

'Job Today takes the whole agony [out of creating a CV] out entirely and you can create a beautiful curriculum vitae.

'You simply answer questions and the app puts it all together.

'It's called a digital professional identity and it's bespoke for the world of casual workers out there.'

For entrepreneurs trying to burst onto the tech scene, she advises: 'Whatever solution you are developing you have to have a clear understanding of who you are doing it for.

'Your idea has to provide value and that's what it amounts to at the end of the day.'

She adds that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to try different things  even if they don't have experience in their chosen industry pointing out that her journey has taken her from fashion, to retail and then technology.

'If you are passionate about something and curious about it, don't let other people stop you. Or if you feel you don't have the experience or knowledge of a particular industry don't let it stop you.

'I know it sounds crazy but fear makes us stop great ideas and projects  it's a shame.'
By Giulio Piovaccari and Nick Carey

MILAN/DETROIT, May 3 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) said on Friday that new U.S. pickup truck models would help the automaker achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter.

That renewed forecast sent FCA's shares up 4 percent.

Nearly all - 98 percent - of the Italo-American automaker's first-quarter profit was powered by its Ram pickup truck. FCA's U.S. sales were down 3.1 percent in the quarter, but Ram sales were up more than 20 percent and outsold rival General Motor Co's Chevrolet Silverado.

"The whole quarter was powered by Ram (pickup trucks) while the rest of the company was lagging," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive, adding that FCA spent heavily on consumer discounts to outsell the Silverado.

"The question is whether the strong performance by Ram is going to be enough to give FCA a push moving forward," Krebs said.

Analysts and investors have worried about FCA's over-reliance on the U.S. market, given its loss-making operations in both Asia and Europe.

FCA expects new models such as the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck and all-new Ram heavy-duty trucks to help it meet full-year targets.

Chief Executive Mike Manley told analysts on a conference call most of the profit improvement would come in the second half of 2019.

The automaker posted a higher profit for the quarter in Latin America and Manley said the region's strong performance should continue. He said FCA's European region, which lost money in the quarter, would return to a profit with margins of around 3 percent by the end of 2019.

The carmaker has pledged to spend 5 billion euros ($5.58 billion) on new models and engines in Italy over the next three years to better use factories, plus boost jobs and margins in Europe.

Asked about potential partnerships, Manley said he expected the next two to three years to yield "significant opportunities" and FCA to play an "active role" in that environment.

FCA has been at the center of renewed merger speculation in recent months.

Chairman John Elkann - a scion of Italy's Agnelli family that is FCA's biggest shareholder - reiterated last month the family was prepared to take "bold and creative decisions" to help build a solid and attractive future for the carmaker.

FCA's North American margin fell to 6.5 percent from 7.4 percent a year earlier, below the first-quarter margins posted by Detroit rivals GM and Ford Motor Co.

The company's first-quarter operating profit fell 29 percent to 1.07 billion euros, below analyst expectations of 1.31 billion euros.

The operating profit at Maserati fell 87 percent, hurt by weakness in the Chinese market. CEO Manley said the performance of the luxury brand should improve in the second half of 2019.

FCA stuck to its full-year 2019 adjusted operating profit forecast of more than 6.7 billion euros.

"The numbers are pretty weak, but what's good is that they confirmed their guidance, and this is giving support to FCA shares," a Milan based analyst told Reuters.

In late trade in Milan, FCA shares were 4.2 percent at 14.11 euros.

($1 = 0.8965 euros)

(Additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for C5ISR systems and enterprise IT networks; and solutions and services to enhance the collection, analysis, and processing of data across the US civilian and military intelligence communities. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Farnborough, the United Kingdom.

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Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC is an investment company. The Company aims to maximize total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio of smaller quoted companies in the economies of Asia and Australasia, excluding Japan. The Company's assets are invested in a diversified portfolio of securities (including equity shares, preference shares, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities) in quoted smaller companies spread across a range of industries and economies in the investment region, including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand, together with such other countries in Asia (the investment region). It may also invest in collective investment schemes and in companies traded on stock markets outside the investment region. The Company's investment manager is Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited.

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China Green Agriculture, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, Yuxing, and Sales Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment comprises of compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly-concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The Sales VIEs segment comprises of subsidiary companies sales. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi'an, China.

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WASHINGTON  In its planning stages, the Erie Canal was derided as Clintons Big Ditch  a hopeless vision of a hapless governor, DeWitt Clinton, to build what was then about the boldest, most ambitious infrastructure project of its time.

But after it opened in 1825, the Erie Canal spawned a wave of commercial and business opportunity that helped put Albany and Buffalo  and the 363 miles of points in between  on the map.

In much the same way, the rebirth of the canal as a federal National Heritage Corridor has generated $1.5 billion in economic impact in a line of upstate towns  including places like Waterford, Schenectady and Cohoes  that had been in decline for decades. New apartments, kayak rentals, restaurants, trail markers, historic preservation, bike paths  all these are positive signs in the longed-for resurrection of upstate New Yorks once-thriving economy.

In addition to the economic impact, the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor supports 3,240 jobs and generates $34.9 million in tax revenue.

It's bringing a sense of pride back to these communities, said Paul Comstock, a kayaker and native of a canal town, Newark in Wayne County.

His grandfather was a Hoggee guiding horses along the towpath in the 1890s. When I paddle down the canal, people are jogging, riding bikes, walking," he said. "Its been a transforming experience, spiritually.

The Erie Canal heritage corridor is one of 55 such sites nationwide overseen by the National Park Service. It encompasses not one but four canals, connecting Albany by water to such far-flung locations as Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Oswego and Whitehall (in addition to Buffalo).

Generations grew up on the folk song 15 Miles on the Erie Canal, which recalls life on the waterway: We know every inch of the way, from Albany to Buffalo, and You'll always know your neighbor, and you'll always know your pal, if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Now the canal is less about hard work and more about having fun. The Erie corridor is sponsoring a Canalway Challenge that lets walkers, runners, cyclists and paddlers set mileage goals, including the 360-mile End-to-Ender.

Last year, more than 6,000 children from 85 schools went on class trips to learn about the canal and its history.

Federal money for the corridor stems from Congressional legislation that envisioned the U.S. planting seed money that would allow the corridors to grow and attract further investment from state, local and private sources. The Erie Canal is under a federal cap of $12 million  with $757,414 spent in fiscal 2018 and the balance of its $1.3 billion budget for the year made up by state and local funding, plus grants, contributions and sponsorships.

Federal support for the Erie Canal was set at $10 million, but raised to $12 million in 2017.

The Senate recently raised the caps for every site except the Erie Canal, in what Rep. Paul Tonko and 19 other House members called an oversight.

In a March 12 letter, the New York delegation  including Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck  asked that the cap be lifted to $14 million.

Tonko, who spoke out at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, said continuing a federal presence on the corridor is more than a matter of funding.

The federal designation is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, said Tonko.

The National Park Service signs along the trail lets visitors know the U.S. government stands behind the nations important history, he said.

Heritage areas around the country have proven that, with limited federal investments, we can do great things, said Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund inc., who testified at the hearing. It attracts visitors, gives to the community, and makes residents proud to be in (the) corridor.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Radliff added that it also gives him and other canal advocates the ability to leverage money from state, local and private sources.

Republicans at the hearing said the caps were put in there for a reason, and that the original legislation did not anticipate federal funding in perpetuity.

Tonko responded that federal funding for these corridors is an example of worthy stimulus for economic growth and revitalization.

If the president says 'Im for job creation,' well  this is job creation, Tonko said. This is a shot in the arm.

Tonko is sponsoring two bills: One would lift the cap for the Erie Canal to $14 million. The other would end caps altogether and essentially make federal participation a permanent feature of all the sites.

Those who live and work along the waterway say that without the rehabilitation, the historically shaky upstate economy would be in much worse shape than it is.

It would be a sad, sad circumstance, said Erin Tobin of the Preservation League of New York State. What theyve done is thread together historic and economic development, tourism, and boosting the main streets of the canal communities.

State Assemblyman John McDonald, who calls himself the river guy because his district winds through Cohoes  where he was mayor  as well as Albany, Troy and Watervliet, argued that funding historic heritage sites transcends political ideology.

You cant be far left or far right in running a business or government, said McDonald, a Democrat. You need use government assistance where it is appropriate. If government can prime the pump, it can inspire developer to take a chance.

Donna Larkin, who left a career as a paralegal to start Upstate Kayak Rentals, said the canal attracts visitors from Europe, Chicago, Florida  all over the place.

Without the resources and funding, people wouldnt be having this experience, she said.
ALBANY  A Rensselaer County man was arrested Friday on a charge of possessing unregistered firearms.

Thomas E. Ozga, 30, of East Nassau, is accused of possessing multiple, unregistered firearm silencers, according to a news release from United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Buffalo Field Office.

Ozga appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered Ozga released with conditions, the U.S. attorney's office stated.

If convicted, Ozga faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Jaquith's office.

This case is being investigated by HSI Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Albany, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily C. Powers.
Miami

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Trump cabinet member Friday in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described "prison-like" conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida.

"With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Van Dusen.

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space. It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Kelly first revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.
FINANCIAL

ALLIANT INSURANCE SERVICES INC.

Justin Riccio joined as senior vice president. Riccio, who previously served as senior vice president at a multinational insurance and consulting firm, has nearly 20 years of experience in claims, underwriting, brokerage, risk management and consulting.

HEALTH CARE

MVP HEALTH CARE

Bruce Himelstein was appointed chief medical officer. Himelstein has more than 25 years of leadership experience in clinical medicine, education, research and strategic program design, most recently serving as the senior executive medical director for government solutions at the Health Care Service Corp., a privately-held nonprofit Blue Cross plan in Chicago.

HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK

Ephraim Back joined the medical staff at Ticonderoga Health Center. Back is an experienced family physician and family physician educator whose clinical interests include full-spectrum primary care, maternity care and women's health, public health and opioid use disorder treatment.

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Kevin Kerwin joined as vice president for public policy. Kerwin previously served as the New York State Bar Association's associate director of government relations and as its deputy general counsel.

NONPROFITS

THE FRIENDS OF RECOVERY  NEW YORK

Angelia Smith-Wilson joined as executive director, effective May 20. Smith-Wilson, who serves as assistant director of local program operations at the New York State Office for the Aging, has more than 20 years of human service and addiction experience.

PROFESSIONS

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

CIOFFI, SLEZAK WILDGRUBE PC (CSW)

Cristine Cioffi has become of counsel. Cioffi, a founder of the law firm who has practiced for 40 years, will continue to maintain an active practice of trust and estate law and elder law, serving multiple generations of clients.

SERVICES

MVP RESULTS

Lissa D'Aquanni founded the community development consulting company. D'Aquanni previously served as director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region.

BOATS BY GEORGE

Tyler Moseman joined as marketing manager. Moseman is responsible for all company marketing initiatives.

 Jennifer Patterson
SARAH SILBIGER

Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that is just the start of it.

Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released Thursday.
Albany

The third and final person to be sentenced for contributing to the March 2018 overdose death of 24-year-old Keisha Richards was sentenced Friday, according to Albany District Attorney P. David Soares' office.

Jodi Noisseau was sentenced to one to four years for her part in the case before Judge Roger D. McDonough in Albany County Supreme Court. She had pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to manslaughter in the second degree.

On April 26, Tamale Harris, 44, who was convicted of manslaughter and concealing a corpse, was sentenced to nine and a half to 19 years in state prison for his role in Richards' death. A third defendant, Christopher Kondracki, 53, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor drug possession charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

On March 14, 2018, the lifeless body of Keisha Richards, 24, was found on a Kent Street sidewalk. Police determined she had overdosed and that she hadn't been alone.

Instead, those she was with neglected to call emergency services, leaving her without medical attention, before bleaching and dumping her body in a snowbank, officials said.

The trial involved one of the most high-profile deaths to occur since the Capital Region began to confront an ongoing opioid epidemic where deaths often go unnoticed to anyone beyond the families and friends of the victims. according to Soares' office, which noted that such deaths rarely lead to criminal charges.

During Harris' March trial, prosecutors said the Albany man had brought Richards, a Vermont resident, and Noisseau to the Capital Inn and Suites in Rensselaer for a party on March 13, 2018.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

According to prosecutors, the group drank, did drugs and had sex. Prosecutors said they believe believe Richards took heroin and laid down in the room while Harris and Noisseau continued their night.

Surveillance video from the next morning showed Harris carrying Richards' limp body to a car. The group drove to Noisseau's apartment and Harris left.

Prosecutors said that rather than drop Richards off at a hospital or call 911, the group left her alone for hours. Later, Noisseau noticed that Richards' pulse was slowing and that she was barely breathing so Noisseau called Harris, telling him they should call an ambulance, but he said no, prosecutors said.

Noisseau, who testified at the trial, said Harris directed her to clean Richards' body with bleach in an attempt to hide any evidence. Harris then borrowed a truck and dumped Richards' body.

"With the resolution of this case, it is our hope that community members understand the tragic consequences that can occur if we do not call for help," Soares said in a statement. "If you witness a friend, a loved one, or anyone in the community overdosing, do not hesitate to call 911. The New York State 911 Good Samaritan Law protects you. Make the call and save a life."
[May 03, 2019] FUSION CONNECT SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Fusion Connect, Inc. - FSNN

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 17, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fusion Connect, Inc. (Other OTC: FSNN), if they purchased the Company's shares between August 14, 2018 and April 2, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Fusion and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/otc-fsnn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 17, 2019.



About the Lawsuit Fusion and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On April 2, 2019, the Company disclosed that it had identified accounting errors that caused a material understatement of expenses, and as a result, its Q2 and Q3 2018 financial statements could no longer be relied upon and would have to be restated, and that it would not be able to file its 2018 annual report timely. On this news, the price of Fusion's shares plummeted. The case is Satarzadeh v. Fusion Connect (News - Alert), Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-3391. 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/20190503005540/en/

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[May 03, 2019] AT&T SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against AT&T, Inc. - T

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 (News - Alert), Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Company's 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 (News - Alert). 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. awyers 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&T's 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 (News - Alert) and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential. On this news, the price of AT&T's 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. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005545/en/

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[May 03, 2019] CONDUENT 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Approximately 96 Hours Remain; Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with large financial interests that they have only until May 7, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. (NYSE: CNDT). Investor losses must relate to purchases of the Company's shares between February 21, 2018 and November 6, 2018. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Conduent and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cndt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 7, 2019.



About the Lawsuit On November 7, 2018, the Company disclosed negative Q3 and Q4 projected operating results due to "continued suboptimal performance from an inherited legacy technology vendorstem[ming] from the vendor's inability to deliver on service level agreements, lack of responsiveness to Conduent's needs, and poorly structured contract which we inherited" Further, an "outdated and historically under-invested legacy IT infrastructure has caused major disruptions to our operations and impacted clients and delivery performance."

On this news, the price of Conduent's shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include 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/20190503005546/en/

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Six consecutive quarters. Thats how long the smartphone market has been in decline so far. And market leaders like Apple and Samsung are really feeling the pain. But not Huawei.

(Image credit: Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group at the P30 Pro launch event. Credit: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

On a tear in China but also coming on strong in Europe, Huawei saw 50 percent growth in smartphone sales in Q1 year over year, while Apple plummeted 30 percent, according to IDC. Samsung didnt struggle as much, but shipments were still down 8 percent, and that was before the Galaxy Fold debacle.

The scary part? Huawei phones arent even sold officially in the U.S. This is largely due to security concerns and reported links between Huawei and the Chinese government. Huawei has denied those claims and is suing the U.S. government. And yet Huawei is thriving anyway.

Huawei doesnt necessarily need to have a position in the U.S., said Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research. Working with the U.S. carriers can be expensive due to the need for extensive testing and then marketing support.

Huawei on a roll

Despite the political controversy, Huawei has been one of the most innovative smartphone makers over the past few years. For example, in 2016, the Huawei P9 was the first phone co-engineered with Leica with a dual-lens shooter. The Huawei Mate 10 in 2017 was the first phone with an embedded AI chip. And last years Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the worlds first phone to offer reverse wireless charging (way before the Galaxy S10).



(Image credit: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the first phone to offer wireless reverse charging. Credit: Tom's Guide)

For its most recent Huawei P30 Pro, the company literally reinvented the smartphone camera, delivering not only a 5x periscope zoom but a super spectrum sensor that delivers incredible low light performance with a crazy-high ISO of 409,600. As a result, the P30 Pro edged out Googles mighty Pixel 3 in a photo face-off, which has been our best camera phone.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried, said Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst for Techsponential. The perception that a flagship phone has market-leading advances is crucial to the value proposition.

Of course, it helps that Huawei is strongest in the Chinese market, which is not nearly as saturated as the U.S. or Europe, where more and more consumers are holding onto their phones longer. In Q1 2019, the company shipped 30 million of its 59.1 million smartphones in its home country, or about 50 percent, according to IHS Markit. The research firm said in its report that Huawei is competing on even footing with Samsung and Apple in the high-end, while expanding into other price segments.

Huawei vs. Samsung vs. Apple

If Huawei keeps this pace up, it wont be long before it surpasses Samsung, which has been the No. 1 smartphone maker for years. IHS Markit says that Huaweis market share worldwide was 18 percent in Q2, compared to 22 percent for Samsung. So if Huaweis growth rate continues, it could knock Samsung from its pedestal as soon as this year.



(Image credit: The Huawei P30 Pro's camera offers a 5x periscope zoom and 50x digital zoom. Credit: Tom's Guide)

In April, Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis consumer business group, said the company expects to be the worlds largest smartphone brand by 2020. And right now, its phones look quite favorable compared to Samsungs. For instance, the Huawei P30 Pro has a superior camera to the Galaxy S10, and the foldable Huawei Mate X has garnered more positive early reaction from critics than the troubled Galaxy Fold.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried. - Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst, Techsponential

Huawei also has its Honor brand, which offers more aggressively priced devices targeted toward younger audiences. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro will be introduced at a press event in London May 21. In addition to sporting a Galaxy S10-like, hole-punch display up front, the Honor 20 is rumored to offer Alexa integration and periscope camera thats very similar to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Add it all up and Samsung could be in trouble.

Huawei has invested a lot of money into its brand to help them grow presence on a global basis, said Tuong H. Nguyen, senior principal analyst at Gartner. Its also improved its quality on smartphones to be able to compete with tier 1 vendors like Samsung.

Where Apple and Samsung still win

While Huawei may have overtaken Apple as the worlds second biggest smartphone maker, it still trails Apple when it comes to ecosystems. Yes, Huawei phones offer Huaweis own EMUI interface, and the company offers a Mobile Cloud storage service. Huawei also has a music service in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as a video service in China, Italy and Spain. But it doesnt provide the breadth of services that Apple does  and thats unlikely to change given Apples push to beef up the services side of its business.



(Image credit: The foldable Mate X demonstrates Huawei's innovative design, but the company is behind on services. Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Samsung is ahead of Huawei in services, too, but also when it comes to offering a wide range of devices that work together, such as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds, smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch Active and also the way Samsungs phones can work with its TVs and other appliances.

If you think about Samsung, theyre traditionally very good at tech and hardware, but theyre also looking to deliver a holistic experience in terms of providing features and functionality to drive these experiences as well, said Nguyen. Think about Samsung Pay, Bixby, and the spectrum of consumer electronics devices offered by the company.

Of course, Samsung is not standing still on the phone front. The Galaxy Note 10 will launch this summer, and the company will be bringing its lower cost Galaxy A Series hitting the U.S. this year. Plus, Samsung is launching one of the first 5G phones on multiple carriers in the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung is building 5G launch phones at multiple carriers in multiple geographies - an astonishing feat of engineering and logistical innovation, said Greengart.

Nevertheless, it looks as though Samsungs reign as the king of smartphones could be coming to an end.
Warning: This story contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame isn't just the grand finale to the past 11 years of Marvel Studios films  it's also a celebration of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The time-travel heist that comprises most of the film quite literally goes back to previous MCU movies, allowing you to see iconic moments from new perspectives as Cap and crew try to acquire the Infinity Stones.

Plus, there are tons of callbacks and cameos that even the most die-hard MCU fans may have missed. If you're suffering from Endgame withdrawal or just want to dive deeper into the film's biggest references, here are the key Marvel movies you need to rewatch. Trying to figure out the best sequences to watch them? Check out our guide for how to watch the Marvel movies in order, which covers both release dates and storyline chronology.

Iron Man

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

After the heartbreaking ending to Endgame, the only way to pay your respects to Tony Stark is by rewatching the original Iron Man. The 2008 origin story got the Marvel movie franchise on the right footing and remains one of the best superhero movies to date. Iron Man shows how Tony Stark evolved from a cocky business magnate to a complex leader of superheroes and even introduces us to Pepper, who plays a larger role in Endgame than in previous Avengers movies. Not to mention, Stark's final words in Endgame are a callback to a key scene in the first film, and the first memorable moment in the franchise.

Iron Man kicked off the Marvel franchise with an exhilarating plot, wherein Stark is captured by prisoners in the Middle East. That's right, the first enemies in this franchise weren't supervillains, but terrorists. Stark, a genius engineer, crafts an arc reactor that would later become the heart of his superhero suit and the savior of many beloved characters over the last decade. If you can stomach it, Iron Man serves as a beautiful ode to our fallen hero. - Phillip Tracy

Captain America: The First Avenger

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

Captain America's arc comes to a pretty definitive ending in Avengers: Endgame. The team leader finally gets his hard-won happy ending, thanks to a judicious application of time travel. Yes, Cap decides to settle down in the past along with his S.H.I.E.L.D.-pioneering sweetheart, Peggy Carter, which means that it's worth revisiting Captain America: The First Avenger to see how their relationship began. (You can also rewatch the Agent Carter TV series, but it's a lot of investment for not much return.)

MORE: Upcoming Marvel Movies: Watch the new Spider-Man Trailer



Refreshing your memory of Cap and Peggy's relationship is the primary reason to rewatch The First Avenger, but not the only one. The Red Skull makes a cameo in Endgame as the guardian of the Soul Stone, and while it's not quite as memorable (or as shocking) as his appearance in Infinity War, it's still worth knowing where the villain-turned-guardian is coming from. There's also a small appearance from Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), who shows up again in Endgame, albeit in John Slattery form. - Marshall Honorof

The Avengers

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

There are so many reasons to rewatch The Avengers. For one thing, it's a really good film, chock-full of action and story. Joss Whedon, for all his faults, understands team dynamics and witty banter in a way that no other Marvel director has even approached. But if you've finished watching Endgame, The Avengers is especially worth rewatching, since a big chunk of the plot hearkens back to the MCU's very first team-up film.

If you've seen Endgame, you know the drill: The Avengers split into three different teams and revisit important events from the past. The most pivotal of these locations is 2012 NYC, mere minutes after the Chitauri attack. If you need a refresher on Loki's scepter, the Tesseract and a much, much angrier take on the Hulk, the first Avengers film is worth two and a half hours of your time. (Remember, too, that the post-credits scene is where we got our first-ever peek at the MCU's take on Thanos.) - Marshall Honorof



Iron Man 3

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

While Endgame is too big to focus on any one character's arc in particular, Iron Man is probably the closest thing the movie has to a single protagonist. In particular, Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) takes center stage. From Pepper's daughter, Morgan, to her surprise excursion in the Rescue armor, this is easily the most important role in a Marvel film since Iron Man 3.

But if you don't remember, Iron Man 3 is when Pepper started coming into her own as a character. In addition to fleshing out her romantic relationship with Tony, Iron Man 3 also saw Pepper taking superpowers for a test run  and she didn't do too badly, considering that she ultimately used them to defeat the film's main villain.

MORE: Avengers Endgame Spoiler-Free Review Roundup



Oh, and Iron Man 3 also introduces Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins): a tween who helps Iron Man rebuild his armor  and his life. He's the mystery teenager who shows up at the funeral in Endgame. You're welcome. - Marshall Honorof

Thor: The Dark World

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

I'm not sure why Marvel wanted to highlight Thor: The Dark World  generally considered one of the weakest entries in the MCU  but it plays a pretty key role in Endgame, so you may as well strap in for a rewatch. In Thor's second outing, the Dark Elves lay siege to Asgard, which ultimately results in the death of Thor's mother. This winds up being an important plot point in Endgame, as does the reality gem embedding itself inside of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

If you're already dreading another run through Thor: The Dark World, it's not all bad. This is the last film with eminently enjoyable sidekicks Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), both of whom are as funny here as ever. You may also have forgotten, but Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd) has a welcome cameo role, and the Ninth Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston, plays the villainous Malekith. - Marshall Honorof

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

One of Endgame's most hilarious gags is its tribute to the iconic elevator scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While revisiting the events of The Avengers, Cap once again finds himself in an elevator surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D." (aka Hydra) agents. But armed with his knowledge of the future, Steve Rogers simply whispers a quick "Hail Hydra" to secure Loki's staff and avoid another elevator brawl. Endgame also serves up a major character moment for Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, so it's worth rewatching The Winter Soldier to see why he's worthy of taking up Cap's shield. - Mike Andronico

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Guardians of the Galaxy still holds up as one of the funniest and most heart-filled MCU movies, and it's one of three films directly revisited in Endgame. In this film, Star-Lord, Gamora and crew defeat Ronan the Accuser and secure the Power Stone in Xandar, which is exactly why Endgame's Avengers need to travel back to 2014 to grab it. It's also the first film in which we see Josh Brolin's Thanos up close.

MORE: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Avengers: Endgame



Endgame delivers some great twists on classic Guardians of the Galaxy scenes, such as War Machine knocking out Peter Quill during his iconic opening dance bit. And given the circumstances of Infinity War and Endgame, we have a feeling 2014 Gamora is the one that'll be sticking around for future Marvel films. So you might want to refresh yourself on what the deadly daughter of Thanos was like before she developed a soft spot for Quill, classic rock and Kevin Bacon. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Endgame is packed with references to the second Avengers movie. As soon as he returns to Earth at the beginning of the film, a distraught Tony Stark insists to Steve Rogers that Thanos' wrath could have been avoided if Stark had gotten to build his "suit of armor around the world"  a direct reference to a conversation the two had in Age of Ultron. Also in Age of Ultron, Stark says, "We can bust arms dealers all the live-long day, but  that up there? That's the endgame, referring to his desire to protect Earth from interstellar threats while also unintentionally teasing the name of the fourth Avengers film.

But perhaps more important is that Cap's big moment during Endgame's finale  when he calls upon and wields Mjolnir  can be traced all the way back to this movie. When all of the Avengers try unsuccessfully to lift Thor's hammer during Ultron's party scene, Cap manages to nudge the weapon just a bit (much to Thor's unease). Was Cap intentionally not lifting the hammer on purpose to not make his buddy look bad, or was the nudge a tease of his growing worthiness? Either way, Cap does indeed eventually lift Mjolnir, and the results are glorious. - Mike Andronico

Ant-Man and the Wasp

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Scott Lang is the unwitting hero of Endgame, devising the time-travel plan that saved the universe, thanks to his time spent wandering the quantum realm. This microuniverse is first introduced in the Ant-Man films, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is the movie that really dives deep into how it all works within the MCU. Plus, the post credits to Ant-Man and the Wasp explain why Scott emerges from a strange quantum-tunnel van at the beginning of Endgame. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Endgame

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Yes, that's right, now that I finally saw Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel movie I want to see the most is  Avengers: Endgame. This is, primarily, to notice and enjoy all of the things and tidbits that I missed when I was too busy tearing up or ugly-crying through it the first time, as well as all of the lines in that epic final battle that I couldn't hear over the applause in the theater. Lastly, I need to see Endgame to prepare for all of the emotions that Tom Holland will be putting us through in the coming years (including in Spider-Man: Far From Home), as he comes to grips with the death of his mentor, Tony Stark. Oh, and Disney's announced that Endgame will be a streaming exclusive on Disney Plus.  Henry T. Casey
Never heard of RHA? Then it's time to get acquainted. This independent, Glasgow, Scotland-based company has released a string of highly regarded IEMs (in-ear monitors) in the past few years. Now, with the truly wireless TrueConnect ($169), RHA enters a space dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. Fortunately, in the TrueConnect, you get a compelling pair of earbuds that offer great audio quality and long battery life, all in a premium housing that you won't mind wearing in public.

While the TrueConnect buds lack certain features and struggle with treble-focused music, they still give the best wireless earbuds  the Jabra Elite 65t ($169) and Apple AirPods ($159)  a run for their money.

Design

The TrueConnect buds are some of the most stylish truly wireless earbuds on the market, even with the stems that hang below their lollipop-shaped housings. You've seen this design before, but it looks far less offensive on the TrueConnect than on the AirPods.

The TrueConnect's stealthy matte-black finish gives the earbuds a sleek, understated appearance, and their warm, soft-touch rubberized material feels comfortable in the ear.

Unfortunately, the matte coating on these buds collects fingerprints, and their dark-gray right and left indicators and RHA logo are practically invisible. I had to hold the TrueConnect up to the light to see these hidden markings on the earbud's stem and large, circular side buttons. A red dot on the right earbud is the only helpful marker to differentiate the two buds.

The TrueConnect's charging case is sleek, sophisticated and functional. The U-shaped case doesn't have a lid; it instead opens by rotating around a center hinge. A gray aluminum frame borders the top and sides of the soft-touch black case. The same plush finish on the outside coats the interior of the case, where the earbuds dock. On the exterior are a USB-C port and three small LED battery-life indicators.

At 2.9 x 1.7 x 1 inches, the TrueConnect's charging case is longer than the cases for the Elite 65t (2.8 x 2 x 1 inches) and the AirPods (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.8 inches).

Comfort

I didn't need to readjust the TrueConnect earbuds once I got a snug fit, at least, while I was stationary. I wore them at work from fully charged until they powered down, about 5 hours, and never felt any discomfort.

I couldn't maintain the same fit when I used the TrueConnect at the gym; the medium-sized rubber tips slid out once I worked up a sweat on the elliptical. One of the earbuds even popped out at one point, but I luckily plucked it from midair before it tumbled to the ground. Constantly readjusting the earbuds during my run was so frustrating that I removed them entirely and endured the pop music blasting in my gym. On the bright side, the TrueConnect earbuds are IPX5 sweat- and splash-resistant, so they can withstand a lengthy gym session at least.

I had fewer problems jamming and working out with the Jabra Elite 65t. Not only did these earbuds stay in my ears, but they were also so secure that I needed to readjust them only twice during a 30-minute cardio session.

MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music

In case the TrueConnect earbuds don't fit out of the box, RHA includes nine additional eartips at various shapes and sizes, including three pairs of Comply foam tips. If those don't work, then try inserting the TrueConnect earbuds at an angle and twist them so the stems go from a rear position to facing downward. I also suggest using the foam tips, but just remember to roll them between your fingers before you insert them into your ear canal.

At 0.5 ounces, the TrueConnect felt weightless in my ears, although competing earbuds, like the Apple AirPods (0.1 ounces) and Elite 65t (0.2 ounces), are even lighter. RHA ships the TrueConnect with an industry-leading three-year warranty.

Setup and Controls

Pairing the RHA TrueConnect to my OnePlus 6 smartphone was straightforward. To turn the earbuds on and initiate pairing, just press and hold the large circular button on either earbud for 5 seconds. A gong sound will indicate when they're discoverable. Then, open up your device's Bluetooth settings, select the RHA TrueConnect and follow on-screen prompts.

Once connected, I pressed both left and right buttons down for 1.5 seconds to wake up Google Assistant. After a brief pause, I was able to use voice commands to shuffle through one of my favorite albums: Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism." I then tapped the right earbud button once to pause "Tiny Vessels" when I saw my co-worker turn to speak to me. After our conversation, I pressed the right earbud again to continue with the music.

Once the album closed out, with the tender track "Lack of Color," I switched over to Thrice's "Beggars" album. I wasn't in the mood for the first few heavier songs, so I pressed on the left earbud twice to skip to the next track. When I needed to go back to the previous song, I pressed on the left earbud three times. The right earbud controls volume in the same manner, with two presses increasing volume and three lowering it.

The controls work well overall, but there's room for improvement. Since there aren't any voice guides, I had to remember each of these button controls, which took a couple of days and lots of frustrating trial and error. And while I appreciate tactile feedback, tapping and pressing the round buttons into my ears caused discomfort. For this reason, I prefer touch-capacitive controls, like those on the Samsung Gear IconX.

MORE: Buying Headphones in: Pros and Cons of Every Type

There's no accompanying app for the TrueConnect, which is something we've come to expect from premium, truly wireless earbuds. While not mandatory, it's nice to have a hub for monitoring battery life, customizing controls and fine-tuning audio via a digital equalizer.

Audio Performance

The TrueConnect buds have a fairly neutral sound signature, though an emphasis in the lower frequencies gives these earbuds a fun, dynamic sound. Conversely, the treble ranges could use some smoothing out, as cymbal-heavy songs sound raspy. Also, the TrueConnect earbuds don't support LDAC or aptX codecs, the latest audio-compression technology found on some of the very best Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

It's crucial that you get a tight seal in your ear; otherwise, music will sound hollow and thin. Once you get that tight fit, the TrueConnect will block most ambient sounds. In fact, I could barely hear the screeching of a New York subway car during my morning commute to work.

When I listened to Frightened Rabbit's "State Hospital," the TrueConnect started out strong, punching my ears with a thick, rich bass. The late Scott Hutchison's gentle vocals pierced through the drums with plenty of detail and clarity. But things took a downward turn once the hi-hats surfaced and I heard a graininess with each cymbal clash.

High frequencies weren't as harsh on the AirPods, but Apple's wireless earbuds didn't sound as forward and engaging as the TrueConnect. Bass hits were weaker and felt more artificial on Apple's earbuds. The Elite 65t has the best sound of the three. The Elite 65t generally pump out rich, crisp sound, like that on the TrueConnect, but without the metallic treble.

I recorded similar results when I listened to Hozier's song "Movement." On the TrueConnect, the thumping bass line at the top of the song sounded like a heart was beating in my head. Hozier's smooth vocals were so rich that I when I closed my eyes, it felt like I was at a concern. But again, high notes sounded sharp, so you might want to avoid these buds if you're sensitive to sibilance. I, unfortunately, fall into that group and was forced to turn down the volume when Hozier belted, "It's not the song, it is the singin'" on "Nina Cried Power," the opening track of the new "Wasteland, Baby!" album.

MORE: Best Music Apps for Rocking Out

While the TrueConnect brought me to a Hozier concert, the Elite 65t gave me VIP seats. Vocals sounded punchy and alive on the Jabras, while the pulsing drum rhythm gave new energy to the track. The AirPods didn't offer that same intimate, upfront listening experience, but they still sounded airy and clean.

All three headphones did a good job with Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower," but the TrueConnect and Elite 65t were the most fun to listen to, thanks to their slight bass bump.

Overall, the TrueConnect earbuds sound very good for most music, but songs with lots of cymbals or high-pitched vocals can be hard to listen to.

Battery Life and Bluetooth

RHA rates the TrueConnect's battery life at 5 hours, which is about what I got in everyday use.

I played a Frightened Rabbit radio station on Google Play Music at 11:15 a.m. When I checked back in at 1:15 pm, the earbuds were at 50%, according to the Bluetooth settings on my Android phone. The earbuds finally powered down at around 4:32 p.m., which adds up to a runtime of 5 hours and 17 minutes. It didn't take long to power these buds back up. The USB-C charging case uses fast charging to provide a 50% charge in just 15 minutes.

Speaking of which, the charging case carries an extra 20 hours of battery life, bringing the TrueConnect's total runtime up to 25 hours. Leading competitors offer around the same endurance. For example, the AirPods also last for 5 hours on a charge and gain another 24 hours from their floss-box-shaped charging case. The Elite 65t matches its rivals, with 5 hours of runtime, but its case can recharge the buds only twice, for a total of 15 hours of endurance.

The TrueConnect support Bluetooth 5.0, the latest connectivity standard, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy to improve battery life. While the wireless range is rated at a standard 33 feet, the TrueConnect held a stable connection when my smartphone was on the other side of my apartment, around 50 feet away. The TrueConnect stuttered slightly when there were multiple walls impeding the signal between the buds and my phone.

Microphone/Call Quality

The stems on the bottom of these earbuds may look goofy, but they do a great job improving call quality. When I called my fiancee, she told me my voice sounded just as good, if not better through the TrueConnect compared to my smartphone's microphone. She could make out everything I said, even as she waited for her flight in a crowded LaGuardia Airport.

MORE: I Spent More Than $200 on Headphones: You Should Too

The earbuds also effectively isolated my voice. My fiancee said she couldn't hear any wind noise even though I sat inches away from a space heater in fan mode. There was a brief breeze as I positioned myself in front of the fan, but that sound was quickly swallowed as I settled in. Without an app, I had no way of monitoring my voice. Fortunately, my fiancee said I came in loud and clear.

Bottom Line

The RHA TrueConnect earbuds make up for their underwhelming feature set with a premium design and reliable Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Battery life is also very good, at 5 hours plus an additional 20 hours provided by the earbud's sleek case. I was also impressed by the TrueConnect's audio quality, although a biting treble keeps them from rising above competitors.

If you want the best-sounding truly wireless earbuds on the market, then check out the Jabra Elite 65t. These earbuds get you comparable clarity and bass without the sharp high notes of the TrueConnect. Not only do the Elite 65t offer strong battery life, but they also come with a useful smartphone companion app.

Then there are the Apple AirPods, the most popular truly wireless earbuds on the market. While they don't sound quite as good as the TrueConnect, Apple's lightweight earbuds are extremely comfortable and offer a reliable connection.

Overall, if you're looking for premium, truly wireless earbuds with good sound quality and long battery life in a stylish package, then the TrueConnect buds are an excellent option.



Credit: Tom's Guide


KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) - The family of a veteran who died after an altercation with Veterans Affairs police at the Kansas City VA Medical Center has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The three children of Dale Farhner sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
KCMO Foodie Jobs Coming Sooon???

Kansas City named finalist for pair of new USDA facilities KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After months of lobbying by legislative leaders, Kansas City made the short list Friday to become the home for two United States Department of Agriculture agencies. The two agencies are the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service. USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue made the announcement Friday.

Downtown Swagger Jacking Crossroads

P&L District launches new First Friday street fest KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Power and Light District is now joining the Kansas City, Missouri, neighborhoods hosting events on the first Friday of the month. P & L will host a street fest called "Urbana" from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. near 14th and Walnut streets.

Nice Nod Across State Line

KCK school ranked one of the best in the country KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- U.S. News & World Report has listed Sumner Academy of Arts and Science as one of the best high schools in the nation and the best in Kansas. The organization released the list on Friday. It ranks Sumner as the 55th best high school in the country and 17th among magnet high schools.

Naughty Time Fear In Kansas

Kansas health dept. warns of prankster using number for fake STD notifications A health department in southwest Kansas says a prankster spoofed its number to falsely notify people that they may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease.The Finney County Health Department said in a Facebook post that the calls are "NOT FROM US!"

Kansas City Weather Flashback

KMBC Remembers: F-4 tornado took 2 lives, did millions worth of damage 16 years ago Saturday marks the 16th anniversary of one of the most violent tornado outbreaks in Kansas City history.It was May 4, 2003.KMBC 9 First Alert chief meteorologist Bryan Busby, First Alert meteorologist Pete Grigsby and NewChopper 9 pilot Johnny Rowlands look back at the day 77 tornadoes touched down in nine states, with four of those tornadoes leaving massive destruction in the metro.Rowlands and NewsChopper 9 started tracking the storm as it formed by the Legends in Kansas City, Kansas.

Nearby City College Winning

Soon, Students At Donnelly College In Kansas City, Kansas, Will Have Up To Date Classrooms A $30 million investment at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, will mean more classroom space and state-of-the-art technology for students. "What we're doing now is creating the first-rate education that our students are getting because we've always been in hand me downs," Donnelly College President Monsignor Stuart Swetland said.

Weekend Science Reveals Forecast

Leftover rain showers tonight; weekend looks mostly dry We'll see leftover rain showers Friday night. The low will drop down to 45 degrees. After a foggy start, sunshine will rule the day. Look for a high near 70. Te...

McTavish List Offers Weekend Good Times

8 Cool Things To Help You Enjoy The May Weather In Kansas City It's time to lose that jacket and explore some of the cool outdoor activities that May has to offer. The alfresco action ranges from art browsing to Maypole fun to a "Star Wars" lightsaber battle royal - and that's only this weekend. If May were any cooler, you might have to find that jacket!

In more glamorous news, here's just a bit of pop culture info as we work our way to the weekend, take a peek:Closer to home, here are the news items that have our attention:And this is thefor right now . . .
Overview On New Jackson County Policy

Jackson County sheriff adopts 'restrictive' pursuit policy KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte announced changes to the department's pursuit policy Thursday, one day after a for injuring an innocent bystander . Forte posted on Facebook that he began reviewing the policy shortly after taking office, which also happened in May 2018.

Kansas City Code Of Silence Upheld

Victims of double shooting in Kansas City tell police they didn't know who shot them Victims of a double shooting late Wednesday told police that they didn't know the people who shot them. The victims were injured in the shooting about 11 p.m. in the 3500 block of Independence Avenue in Kansas City. Police are investigating.

Local Dude Gives Back

Blue Springs electrician builds beds for children in need BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - After seeing children's rooms without beds during visits to customers' homes, a longtime electrician decided to take action and began building handmade beds for kids in need. Scott Foster has made his living as an electrician for over 20 years, but he spends his free time during carpentry after seeing children in tough living conditions touched his heart.

Kansas City Survivor Story

Ahead of pancreatic cancer walk, local man celebrates 4 years cancer-free KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- As the Purple Stride Kansas City Walk gets ready to kick off Saturday morning, a local survivor who wasn't given much of a chance to survive his own pancreatic cancer wants people to take notice of the deadly disease. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers.

Kansas City Booze News Serving

Tom's Town adds new whiskey to fuel its growth plans - Kansas City Business Journal Tom's Town Distilling Co. has been expanding into new states. But to really get in the mix in these new markets, the Kansas City-based company added a high-quality, but less-expensive, whiskey that bars and restaurants can use for cocktails. Tom's Town already offers Pendergast Royal Gold Bourbon, a premium sipping whiskey.

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Independence store continues to deal with recurrent flooding INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- With more rain on the way, an Independence business owner fears it's a matter of time before water rushes into her store once again. The owner believes the problem is man-made and needs to be fixed.

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Chiefs cut three, sign one, plus other roster notes ahead of rookie minicamp The Kansas City Chiefs released three players and signed one ahead of rookie minicamp, which begins on Saturday, May 4. The Chiefs released wide receiver Josh Crockett, defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux and fullback Aaron Ripkowski and signed Old Dominion defensive end Tim Ward.

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River Town Mayors Nervously Watch Rising Water, Want More Funding For Flood Prevention Civic leaders along the Mississippi River are bracing for near-record flood levels in the coming days and weeks. Mayors in Missouri and Illinois say federal programs that aim to prevent flood damage need more funding to adequately support river towns that face evacuation and income loss.

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Kansas Democrats join other states in scrapping presidential caucuses The Kansas Democratic Party is eliminating the caucus process and will switch to a presidential primary election method in May of 2020. Primaries are much simpler and more convenient for voters, said Ethan Corson, Kansas Democratic Party executive director.

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Hope Faith Ministries to host benefit ball Saturday to help homeless Hope Faith Ministries, which helps the homeless get back on their feet, will host a benefit ball on Saturday.

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After 75 years, KCK World War II hero's remains returned Hide Transcript Show Transcript SAVING A FELLOW MARINE. NOW HE IS FINALLY HOME. AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS, THEY NEVER KNEW, IN FACT NOBODY KNEW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. WHERE WAS UNCLE NICK? IN THIS DAY AND AGE WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A HERO. HE WAS A HERO.

Kansas City Sasquatch Celebration

With respect to Jenny McCarthy's most iconic media moment, we share this smattering of local news that's worth a peek but maybe not debate. Take a look . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Source: Reuters



In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned USD167.9 million from banana exports. The figure dipped to USD112 million in 2018, but is expected to rise to USD168 million in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.





The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand.

The commercialisation policy on banana production benefits rural people. The most notable outcome of this policy has been the influx of investors to assist Lao banana growers in the country's northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Oudomxay which led to an increase in banana exports from USD46.6 million in 2015 to over USD197.8 million in 2016.

Other major agricultural exports of the country are expected to include cassava with sales reaching USD129 million, raw coffee at USD143 million, rubber at USD105 million, maize at USD34 million, and rice at USD25 million./.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 3

A fun trip turned tragic for 12 natives of Nepal when two of them drowned in the Ghaggar near Thapli village in Morni this afternoon.

The victims have been identified as Raj Kumar (28) and Chander (27), both residents of Daria opposite the Chandigarh railway station. Raj Kumar is survived by his wife and two daughters  one aged seven and the other three months old. Chander is survived by his wife and two sons, aged 12 and eight.

Inder Kumar, a survivor and elder brother of one of the victims, Raj Kumar, said he, along with 11 other persons, had gone to the banks of the Ghaggar near Thapli village this morning. He said all of them were related to each other and were natives of Nepal. They were working as cooks at eateries in Panchkula and Chandigarh.

He said they were carrying lunch with them as they had planned to hold a picnic at the spot. Around 2.30, six of them jumped into river to have a bath, but within minutes, they started drowning despite being good swimmers.

Raj Kumars elder brother was also among those who had jumped into the river. When he saw others drowning, he raised the alarm and managed to save the lives of four of them. However, by the time he pulled out Raj Kumar and Chander, they had fallen unconscious, but were breathing.

Inder Kumar said he called up the ambulance number, but it got connected to Himachal Pradesh as the village falls on the border with the neighbouring state. He again tried the number and finally an ambulance arrived at the site and they took the two to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 where they were declared brought dead.

Chandimandir SHO Naveen Kumar said inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC had been initiated into the matter.
Shiv Visvanathan

Shiv Visvanathan

Academic associated with Compost Heap

THE media reports were stark, bare and skeletal, claiming that PepsiCo had sued farmers in Gujarat for growing a variety of potato without its permission. The multinational sought damages up to Rs 1 crore from each of them and later decided to withdraw the cases. The narrative gets immediately caught in a stereotype which loses its deeper layers.

It is presented as a typical David vs Goliath story. One has to challenge the very makings of the story. The language is all wrong, the morality is worse as the very idea of law turns ownership and exclusive ownership into an obscenity. The fact that law schools speak this language emphasises its acceptability while banalising evil. Hannah Arendt used it as a concept to explain Adolf Eichmanns behaviour.

In a moral world, seed and food are part of the sacred. They embody life and define life. The modern market turns seed into a commodity. Science destroys the sacred to create idolatry around innovation. One sees it in a standard book of economics where Joseph Schumpeter praises innovation as a creative act of destruction. In cultural terms, the Schumpeterian innovator, especially in the world of food, was a cultural idiot, illiterate about traditional innovation. Before one considers the innovation of modern corporations, one has to be clear that even today all food we consume, from maize to rice and wheat, is a result of traditional innovation. Modern agriculture has not added any major staple to this collection.

The first bias we have to counter is the bias of modernity and science about agriculture, which sees traditional agriculture as static and modern agriculture as innovative. The second bias is that of law which fails to realise that in most societies, food and nature were part of the commons. Food was a gift sustained by myth and ritual, by traditional diversity. Food was also a form of trusteeship. One of the most brilliant examples of such a trusteeship is the Potato Park in the Andes. The park, as a micro centre for diversity, protects over 40 varieties of potato based on traditional philosophies of agriculture. One needs such a background to understand that the very language and format of media narratives forestall the possibility of justice.

Our law and media pay little attention to history, law, ethics or philosophy. It is not just the asymmetry of the battle that makes it amoral. It is the nature of law which allows for a certain form of intellectual property and patenting regarding food. The multinational realises it is right in law but wrong in publicity. It decides to withdraw the civil suit and settle the matter out of court, provided the farmers become exclusive sellers to the company. It this is corporate humanitarianism, the very idea of CSR (corporate social responsibility), which is an ethical oxymoron, needs to be reassessed.

The language is precise. The farmers are illegal dealers of a registered variety of plant which belongs exclusively to the multinational. The obscenity of language and ethics mars the entire case and the law in its technicalities deodorises it. The obscenity extends to the politicians who, without challenging the validity of the law, threaten the company amid the elections. There is no evidence that they have any understanding of the political economy and epistemology of food. Cheap populism meets bad political economy throughout this narrative. We have a mangled text which hides a deeper history and a complex context. One has to resume the real narrative by going back to Peru, to the Andean mountains, a great gene pool of diversity on the potato. One goes back to an organisation like PRATEC, a project on peasant technologies in the Andes. Anthropologist Fredique Marglin is one of its finest storytellers, a scholar and an activist as knowledgeable about the Chau dance as of Andean potatoes.

Marglin shows that the leaders of PRATEC realised that development as ontology, economy and epistemology had failed. They sensed that native agriculture was more adequate for the environment. The Andes had grown 3,500 varieties of potato, a part of the intellectual commons of the area. It would be obscene to patent such a living heritage. PRATEC leaders realised that to keep the potato with its stunning diversity alive one had to become trustees  in the Gandhian sense  of the world of the potato. One cannot imagine a multinational like PepsiCo or Monsanto engage in such an act of trusteeship as an act of cultural celebration. One has to realise what PRATEC is doing is not preservationist, museumising the potato, but the best of innovation within a cultural commons.

The Potato Park is another variant of this dream of diversity. Central to all these experiments is the way memory and wisdom about the potato is passed on to the next generation. From storytelling to dialogue, orality expands to create a different kind of expertise. While dealing with the PepsiCo case, we forget this broader cultural background of debate. The limits of our radicalism are seen in the illiteracy of our protests. We talk of politics stripped of cognitive justice, of epistemology and ethics. One has to go back to a Gandhian model of Satyagraha and boycott the multinational food company. One is not arguing this from a mere Left ideology but as an academic anthropologist, a citizen who wishes to create a dialogue between knowledge and democracy and feels food needs its sense of the sacred to stay food. One should be grateful that at least one of the lawyers of the farmers, Anand Yagnik, is conversant with such as tradition.

One needs to capture this narrative within a wider culture of storytelling. In doing so, we have to locate the bare-boned idea of law within a political economy which, in turn, has to be located within a wider history of science and ethics. The impoverishment of storytelling is part of the current impoverishment of democracy. By reaching into the unconscious of culture, into the folklore of diversity, India might create a more effective answer to the obscenity of intellectual property. Merely boycotting the multinational will not do. We need the scholarship to challenge it ethically and civilisationally and create new links between modern science and traditional agriculture.
harinder@tribunemail.com

The Class XII results declared by the CBSE on Thursday saw the highest percentages shooting through the roof, with two toppers scoring nearly full marks in the humanities stream  an astonishing 499 on 500; and an all-India joint second ranking with 498! All girls. For years now, girls have consistently defended their place in the sun. This year, too, they performed better than boys by 9 per cent. The pass percentage of girls is 88.70 per cent as against 79.4 per cent of boys. Of 13 lakh students who appeared in the board examination, 18 have scored 497 to claim the third pride of place.

Nowadays, 98-99 per cent marks are common in all streams. With these marks, the toppers will cut the queue to pursue a course of their choice. Some wish to study an honours course, while others have set their sights on civil services or higher studies abroad. But numbers are not always markers of success. This is just one battle won. The still bigger ones are entrance examinations for various colleges, or for professional courses like law, medicine and engineering. The constant pressure to keep up, either from parents or students themselves, does carry a real threat of a burnout.

There is another concern. While the incredible scores are inspiring and, indubitably, a consequence of immense hard work, they establish an unrealistic bar. Cut-offs across colleges will shoot up disproportionately. Full marks in languages and subjects like history were unheard of until not so long ago. A topper regretted losing one mark in English! The above-average student doesnt stand a fair chance in this high-stakes ruthless competition. Those out of the race should not be dejected, for success is the sum total of life, with all its facets. Albeit crucial, academics is only one part. A large number of global achievers were not toppers. Since the super-bright are a fraction of the total number, the education system, on its part, needs to figure out if the inflated marks are a real indicator of its own score.
shalender@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 3

The Haryana State Commission for Women today sought police action against a middle-aged woman allegedly instigating men to rape women in short dresses after a video of the incident went viral on the social media.

In a letter to the Haryana DGP, the commission sought details of the case and asked the police to book the woman under relevant sections as soon as possible.

The woman is apparently thrashing and using demeaning language against regular customers of a restaurant and commenting on their (group of girls) attire. She is seen inciting a sense of hatred towards those girls and specifically referring to men present there that these women who wear short clothes deserved to be raped, the letter read.

This is against the human spirit. The indecent remarks in public spaces outrage the modesty of not only the girls present at the restaurant but the entire community, it further read.

Meanwhile, after being trolled, the woman has uploaded an unconditional apology on Instagram after the video got 1.8 million views.

On April 30, she had asked seven men at a restaurant to rape the six girls as they were wearing short dresses. The group accosted the woman at a nearby store and demanded an apology. However, the woman refused to apologise and told the girl filming the video to go to hell.
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 3

Norms for meeting the Dalai Lama at his residence in McLeodganj would be changed. A decision to this affect was taken at a high level meeting held today keeping in view the age and health of the Dalai Lama. The meeting was attended, among others, by former PM of Tibetan government in exile and close aide of the Dalai Lama Samdhong Rinpoche and various secretaries of the office of the Tibetan spiritual head.

Sources here said that, henceforth, there would not be any receiving lines for meeting the Dalai Lama. Instead, the Dalai Lama would be giving group audience. In this new practice those seeking audience would gather in group and made to sit in hall. The Dalai Lama would come, sit on chair and give a small talk to the group.

The personal touch with the Dalai Lama and the photos clicked with him would be curtailed. However, limited personal one to one audiences as deemed fit by the mission of the Dalai Lama would be allowed.

Earlier, the Dalai Lama used to meet people seeking audience with in open terrace of his residence at McLeodganj. The people, who were cleared for getting audience by the personal security of the Dalai Lama as well as the Himachal police which provides security to the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj, were made to stand in lines. The Dalai Lama used to come and stand in porch of his guest room and meet the people. Generally, he used to hold hands of the people coming to meet him and deliver them a spiritual message. Everyone seeking audience used to get a chance to get a photo click with the Dalai Lama. The photos were clicked by the office of the Dalai Lama and were later soft copies were given to the people.

Sources here said that the decision has been taken keeping in view the health and age of the Dalai Lama.

In the recent past reports went around media regarding ill health of the Dalai Lama. Reports claimed that the Dalai Lama had been suffering from prostate cancer causing concerns among the Tibetans across the world.

The personal physician of the Dalai Lama Dr Tseten Dorjee had trashed the reports that the Tibetan spiritual icon was suffering from prostate cancer in last stage was terminally ill.
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 3

Even as Tashigang at 15,256 feet has the distinction of being the highest polling station in the world with 49 voters, truant weather and fresh spells of snow in May are giving anxious moments to the election officialsto ensure glitch-free poling on May 19.

The worries of the Election Department are not without reason. The higher reaches of the tribal districts in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur received fresh spell of snow on May 1, two days earlier. Though the weather has cleared but a backup plan to ensure that all voters can cast their votes has to be in place.

We have been assured that the Rohtang Pass will be thrown open by May 10 and much to our relief the 22 polling booths, located along the peripheral roads on the Pangi-Killar road, have all become accessible, said a relieved Chief Electoral Officer, Devesh Kumar.

All the Deputy Commissioners have been asked to be in regular contact with the Border Roads Organization and the Public Works Department to ensure that all roads are connected, he said. We have been assured that road linking Miar Valley in Spiti will be cleared within the next two to three days, he stated.

The Election Department has back up plans and the state government helicopter will remain at its disposal but the officials are hoping and praying that there will be no more snow. Seven auxiliary polling stations will be set up, especially for the old and invalid. This includes the one at Bara Bhagal in Baijnath area of Kangra where a majority of the population moves to Bir but the elderly stay back.

The other auxiliary stations are at the old age homes at Dari in Dharamsala, Kee in Lahaul Spiti, Sundernagar, Bhangrotu in Balh (Mandi) and Basantpur (Shimla) and leprosy hospital at Dharampur in Solan.

It is on account of most tribal and high-altitude areas in the state being inaccessible due to heavy snow and snow clearance operation still being underway that Election Commission of India (ECI) has fixed the polling date in Himachal on May 19, the last phase of polls in the country. Earlier, the polling in the three tribal districts of Kinnaur, Bharmour in Chamba and Lahaul Spiti used to take place separately after the assembly or parliamentary polls in case polling took place in the winters.

DCs to remain in touch with BRO, PWD
editorial@tribune.com

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

China had given a curt message to Pakistan that the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar had become more of a liability than asset for Pakistan as early as March before acquiescing in with other members of the UNSC to declare him as a global terrorist on Wednesday.

Highly placed sources, well informed about the Chinese leaderships working due to their frequent visits to Beijing for diplomatic assignments, told The Tribune that China was quite uneasy after the Pulwama attack in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.

China convinced Pakistan that Azhar is now more of a liability than asset, the sources said.

There were a series of telephone calls and meetings at quite a high level between the two sides. The issue was discussed threadbare many a time, but the diplomatic wrinkles were ironed out during Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshis visit to Beijing to attend the first Pakistan-China strategic dialogue on March 18  four days after China had blocked the blacklisting of Azhar as global terrorist and had advocated wider consultations and consensus before taking a call on the sensitive issue.

With Pakistan facing international heat over its soil being used for the terror activities against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, China was also drawing flak from the Western powers, USA, UK and France, for siding with Pakistan in defending the terrorist who was the brain behind so many acts of terror in India. Azhar had a tailor-made profile of the global terrorist that the UNSC Sanctions Committee 1267 had prescribed for the terrorists who spread hate and terror in the world.

Qureshi and other Pakistani delegates accompanying him were told that China could not risk its international credibility for the sake of a terrorist whose position, the sources said, China believed had become indefensible.

Sources also revealed that Delhi was in touch with Beijing all through and did not get provoked when Beijing did not allow the resolution moved jointly by the US, the UK and France to blacklist Masood Azhar to be passed on March 14. Its back- channel diplomacy and Chinas growing impatience with Pakistans terror activities yielded result in May. Things were made clear to Qureshi during his March 18-20 visit of China.

And, the message was finally delivered to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited China on April 25 apparently to renew the strategic relationship with Beijing. Imran Khan could not say no to Beijing.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

Even as only two days are left for polling, top leaders of all major political parties, barring the BJP, gave a miss to poll campaign in the countrys geographically largest parliamentary seat, Ladakh.

On the penultimate day of campaigning too, no top leader of the Congress, National Conference (NC) and PDP canvassed for their respective candidates. There are four candidates in fray from Ladakh seat, which will go to the polls on May 6.

The BJP, on the other hand, launched a spirited campaign in Ladakh with all senior leaders of the state unit and some top central leaders canvassing for candidate and incumbent Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Leh Council Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, a senior Buddhist leader, will address the Progressive Ladakh rally at Polo Ground in Leh on Saturday while winding up the campaign.

The factionalism-ridden Congress did not invite any central or state leader for campaigning as insiders said it would create more trouble for the party, given the religious differences between Kargil and Leh districts.

Like the 2014 parliamentary polls, no senior Congress leader visited Ladakh because he or she would have to hold rallies in both districts. The party posed trust in local leadership, a senior leader from Ladakh said.

Congress has given its mandate to senior Buddhist leader Rigzin Spalbar from Leh, which led to resentment in Kargil, where the partys former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai, who has been supported by powerful religious group Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Kargil, announced that he would contest as an Independent.

The NC, PDP and the influential Islamia School Kargil have jointly backed a consensus candidate, Sajjad Hussain Kargili, who organised an impressive rally in Kargil on Friday as a show of strength. NC leader Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have also skipped the election campaign, though they visited Ladakh several times before the polls. PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too avoided campaigning in favour of the consensus candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress unit organised a 20-km cycle rally from Leh to Thiksay and a 40-km bike rally from Leh to Kharu in support of the party candidate.

BJP still uses Chhewangs photos on posters

Jammu: Even as prominent Buddhist leader and former MP Thupstan Chhewang resigned from the BJP to protest the partys failure in granting the UT status to Ladakh, the BJP has been using his photographs on posters and hoardings to woo voters in the region. Chhewang recently refused to meet any leader of the party, but his photographs on the BJPs hoardings and posters remained visible during the poll campaign. He (Chhewang) has dissociated himself from all political activities, but the BJP is still exploiting his name for political gains, a senior Buddhist leader said. On April 16, Avinash Rai Khanna, BJP in charge J&K affairs, had claimed that the BJP had not accepted Chhewangs resignation.
editorial@tribune.com

ina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Jammu and Kashmir has topped the Panchkula region once again with the highest pass percentage of 95.16 in the Class XII results released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday.

The Panchkula region of the CBSE comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UTChandigarh.

However, there has been a slight dip of 0.31 per cent in the pass percentage of the state in contrast to the last years result, as the state recorded a pass percentage of 95.47 in the 2017-18 session.

In Jammu and Kashmir, 6,593 students appeared in Class XII examination exams and 6,274 students fared in the exam. In Jammu and Kashmir, girls outshone boys by recording a higher pass percentage.

As many as 2,901 girls appeared in the exam in the J&K region, out of which 2,812 passed. The pass percentage is 96.93, which is lower than the last years 97.09.

A total of 3,692 boys appeared in the Class XII exam in this region, of which 3,462 got through. Their pass percentage is 93.77, slightly less than last years 94.22.
shalender@tribune.com

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, May 3

Lateef Ahmad Dar, alias Lateef Tiger, the last of the militants still unaccounted for from the Burhan Wani group photo taken a few years ago, was among three militants killed in an early morning gunfight in Shopian district of south Kashmir today.

Several civilians were injured in clashes that erupted near the site in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district.

Dar belonged to Dogripora in Awantipora police district, while the other two slain militants were identified as Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, alias Tariq Molvi, of Moolu Chitragam in Shopian and Shariq Ahmad Nengroo, alias Shaheen Bhai, a resident of Chotigam village also in Shopian.

Dar, a carpenter by profession before he joined militant ranks, had been active since 2014. He was part of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanis 11-member group seen in the picture that went viral in 2015. The picture was described by many as the poster of the new-age militancy in the Valley.

While 10 of them, including Dar, have now been eliminated, the 11th, Tariq Pandith, is currently lodged at Srinagars Central Jail.

While Dar was one of the longest surviving militants in the area, Sheikh was instrumental in recruiting new militants, said IGP IG Pani.

He said there was no collateral damage during the operation. A senior police official said the operation was launched in Aadkhara village around 6 am. The exchange of fire continued for several hours before all three militants were killed, he said.

Clashes broke out near the site as protesters pelted security forces with stones. At least two dozen protesters were injured after security forces fired pellets, bullets and tear smoke shells. The bodies of the militants were handed over to the families.
editorial@tribune.com

Srinagar May 3

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the financing of secessionist activities in Kashmir, on Friday issued a fresh summons to the grandson of Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani.

Anees-ul-Islam has been asked to appear before the probe agency in New Delhi on May 6. He was earlier summoned on April 29.

Anees is the son of Altaf Ahmad Shah, who along with nearly a dozen separatists, is currently undergoing detention at Tihar jail in New Delhi in an alleged funding case.

The NIA is investigating the separatist funding case in Kashmir since May 30, 2017. It had carried out raids in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi in June 2017 to probe the chain of players behind the financing of secessionist activities.  TNS

Has to appear before probe agency on May 6
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, May 4

Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, on Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us, one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families, another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Pulwama, May 3

No banners, no buntings, not a trace of political activity just three days ahead of the election  Pulwama is living up to its image of a militancy stronghold. Activities related to the May 6 third-phase polling for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat are restricted to offices and residences of politicians, where security guards outnumber political activists.

The February 14 bombing, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war, still plays on the minds of people here.

Though the Pulwama attack has taken centrestage in the countrys politics, at ground zero, the focus is on peace, not the poll turnout.

Political workers feel the voting percentage may dip further as compared to Anantnag and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.

People are indifferent. Politicians know this and dont expect even a double-digit turnout We have seen the worst violence here. There is no question of voting. Pulwama may be a national issue, but for us, Kashmir is an issue that needs a solution, said Tariq Ahmed, a local resident.

Anantnag is the only seat where polling is being conducted in three phases owing to security concerns. The authorities have already made a string of arrests ahead of Mondays polling.

The twin south Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama are the epicentre of Kashmirs new-age militancy where 100 native militants are reportedly active. Two active operational commanders  Riyaz Naikoo and Zakir Musa  belong to Pulwama district. It was home to Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 triggered unrest. Pulwama district comprises four Assembly segments of Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora, while Shopian district has two Assembly segments of Shopian and Wachi. These two districts have been a stronghold of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the party is facing immense anger. The little political activity visible in Pulwama is inside offices of PDP and National Conference in Pulwama town in a high-security zone. At PDP office, over a dozen party workers were seen busy with preparing a list of polling agents. There is a lot of fear, but as a party worker, I am ready to take any risk, said an elderly worker at the office.

PDP youth president Waheed Parra, who hails from Pulwama, too does not expect any impressive turnout.

We dont expect much turnout. It may be less than 20,000 votes (less than 5%) in both Shopian and Pulwama, Parra said, adding that majority here felt that vote is against the sentiment.

Though PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is the Anantnag candidate, launched her campaign from Pulwama by leading a protest against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, she never returned to canvass.

A senior government official said holding polls was challenging due to the volatile situation. Militant threat is looming large and we are ready for this challenge. Our concern is not the turnout, but peaceful polls, he said, adding that law and order was also a concern.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka on the day of Easter left the entire world shocked. Recently, Jacqueline Fernandez, who is a Sri Lankan by birth, took to her social media and expressed her shock regarding the entire incident.

In a recent video which she shared on her Instagram, Jacqueline asked her fans to come together for Sri Lanka and help the victims.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, May 4

A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The Khiladi star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement.

"Toronto is my home, after I retire from this industry I will settle in Canada" pic.twitter.com/Ypet1U0oBJ  Tarique Anwer (@tanwer_m) May 3, 2019

It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?" His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as Kesari, Baby, Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and Airlift, with patriotism as the theme.  IANS
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

CONGRESS veteran, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and member of the Congress alliances committee Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to The Tribune reporter Aditi Tandon about issues confronting the nation ahead of the conclusion of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Congress prospects in Haryana, where he is AICC general secretary incharge. Excerpts:

Four phases of Lok Sabha polls are over, your assessment?

I am 100 per cent sure that the BJP or NDA is not forming the government because not a single section of society is happy with them. This government is run by few TV channels and not with peoples support.

Do you anticipate a Congress PM later this month?

I wont say that. Our target is a non-BJP, non-NDA government.

Are you concerned about BJPs focus on nationalism?

No. It is rather strange that a party with no role in the freedom struggle is talking of nationalism. Naye naye mullah bane hain zyada pyaaz khaate hain. We dont talk about nationalism because we are nationalists and we dont need to prove this. Post-independence, Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh sacrificed their lives for national unity. BJP people are neo-nationalists. This is a party without any history or geography of nationalism. Naturally, they have to create new history and geography with their utterances.

Masood Azhar has been designated a global terrorist after years. Will this help the BJP in elections?

Well, if the advantage on Azhar goes to the BJP, the disadvantage should also go to them. At the outset I am the happiest person about Azhar being listed a global terrorist because my state Jammu and Kashmir has suffered the most due to terror acts he perpetrated since the NDA released him in 1999. If people are now giving the BJP the credit for Azhars listing, they should also give the BJP the discredit for releasing him. He was captured during the Narasimha Rao-led Congress regime and released during the Vajpayee-led NDA rule.

Why is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not contesting from Varanasi?

Why should she contest at all? After all, who is going to campaign? She is doing more service to the party by not contesting herself. She can come to Parliament any time she wants. I am a very strong votary that top leaders who are the most sought after during elections should never contest Lok Sabha polls and should come to Parliament through Rajya Sabha. They should be kept free for canvassing during elections.

You are in the alliance committee of the Congress. Would a grand anti-BJP alliance not have been better?

Yes it would have been better, but it could not happen. We are blamed for being insensitive. But we have been more than sensitive in alliances. Over three-and-a-half decades since I became general secretary, I have been instrumental in striking many alliances. But with each passing year, new regional parties are emerging and they want to become national parties overnight. Look at UP with 80 Lok Sabha seats. The BSP had zero MPs in 2014 and got 40 seats to contest this time; SP with five MPs in 2014 got 38 seats and Congress with two MPs got just two seats. Can any mathematician in the world tell me how this distribution can work? In Tamil Nadu, Congress has nine seats and DMK 30; In Bihar, the Congress has nine seats and regional players have 31. See the proportion of seats with the national party and the regional parties. If we keep distributing seats, regional parties will become national parties and we will become a regional party.

Isnt your strategy of fielding candidates in UP damaging the anti-BJP BSP-SP front?

Again, why should the BSP and SP want us to contest only two seats? Do they want us to win only two seats? Why did they not accommodate us? Why did they form an alliance unilaterally without talking to us? No discussions were held. We were taken by total surprise.

AAP says Congress will be responsible if the BJP wins. Your take.

We also want to defeat the BJP but we have to be pragmatic. Others have to be pragmatic too. If AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was so responsible, why should he have ventured outside Delhi? Why should he have bothered about Parliament if he was so concerned about defeating the BJP? He should have supported the bigger party. But AAP wanted three seats in Punjab where it later gave up. It kept on insisting on four seats in Haryana where it has no presence. AAP is not a national party and Kejriwal is not a PM candidate. AAP should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing the Congress. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?

Haryana poll is on May 12, your expectations?

We are doing extremely well. In the beginning there was a perception that the Congress is a divided house in Haryana. But ever since we had a bus yatra with all the leaders over six days covering 10 Lok Sabha segments and 68 assembly segments out of 90, things changed. Also, our candidates are much more powerful than those of the other parties. They are all far ahead in experience and standing.

Why did you feel the need to field top guns BS Hooda and Kumari Selja in Haryana?

When I assumed the Haryana charge, I met over 500 leaders who were not ordinary leaders but those that had contested Assembly or LS poll since 1972. Since there were no block and district Congress committees in the state, I had to engage top leaders to understand who the most suitable candidates will be.

In Haryana, theres palpable Jat and non-Jat division. Is it harming you?

There was a division, but no longer. In my tour of Haryana I did not sense such a feeling. Among the 500 leaders I met, non-Jats gave names of Jat candidates and vice versa. This division is BJPs creation because the BJP, with nothing else to sell, continues to bank on social, religious and caste divisions.

What are the poll issues in Haryana?

Main issues in Haryana elections are the national issues. The first is agrarian distress and the second is unemployment.

AAP is 4, we are 134 years old

AAP is not a national party. It is a four-year-old party. It should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing us. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The CBI on Friday told the Supreme Court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case prime accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a bundle of bones has been recovered from a burial ground in the north Bihar town.

In an affidavit, the CBI also denied allegations of shielding the rich and mighty and asserted that it has carried out a thorough, fair, impartial probe into the case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday asked the agency to respond in four weeks to allegations of being soft on the accused and not invoking stringent provisions.

On behalf of the petitioner, advocate Shoeb Alam alleged that the CBI had not done proper investigation into the larger conspiracy and had not chargesheeted the accused under stringent provisions of law.

On behalf of the probe agency, Attorney General KK Venugopal denied the allegations and submitted that the CBI had already filed a reply to the petitioners application. The Bench said it will take up the matter on May 6.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur. The horrific incidents came to light after a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was made public. The top court last year transferred the probe of the cases from the Bihar Police to the CBI and decided to monitor it as well. The probe agency has chargesheeted 21 persons, including Thakur.

In an affidavit filed in response to allegations leveled by the petitioners, the CBI said statements of victims recorded during the probe threw up names of 11 girls who were allegedly murdered by Thakur and other accused. At the instance of one of the accused, a particular spot in a burial ground was excavated from where a bundle of bones was recovered, it said.

During investigation, from the statement of victims recorded by investigating officers and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences team, names of 11 girls emerged who were said to be allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices, the agency said.

Based on the facts revealed by one accused, namely Guddu Patel, during his interrogation, a particular spot in burial ground as identified by him was excavated and a bundle of bones were recovered from the spot, CBI said. Its expected to file a supplementary chargesheet after the probe.

Says probe fair, not protecting anyone

It is specifically denied that the investigating agency failed to conduct a thorough investigation or has left out any crucial leads... it is denied that the CBI is trying to shield the real perpetrators.  CBI in SC
gspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 4

Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said on Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near Sarai Kale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Indore, May 3

It is close to midnight, but Indores famous Sarafa Bazaar (jewellery market) is bustling. However, at this time of the night, people are not here to buy gold or silver, but tickle their taste buds with the culinary flavours of the financial city of Madhya Pradesh, also the cleanest city of India.

Though a couple of jewellery shops are still open. Who knows when someone, after relishing the food delights, may feel like spending a couple of lakhs on jewellery. The food street comes to life around 9 pm, when the jewellery market behind the Rajwada Palace of the Holkar dynasty, which is also now being restored, closes down.

No one is clear about the exact origin of this unique Sarafa Bazaar. But frequent visitors say it was encouraged by jewellery shop owners so that the hustle and bustle around food joints in the night would keep their shops secure even after they close down. Therefore, they willingly offered space in front of their shops to food vendors to set up their business in the night.

The late-night food street, a visit to which is a must if one is here in Indore, is the example of far-sightedness of smart business community who has made the city its home, turning it into an active hub of different trades, be it precious metals, cloth or grain.

Over the time new businesses have come up and the traditional city is as modern as any of the cosmopolitan cities like Pune, Hyderabad or Chandigarh with multi-brand top-end showrooms.

Largely the habitat of traders and business community, the city is known for its affluence. The mini-Mumbai as it is also called, Indore is home to traditional business Gujarati, Sindhi and Marwari communities and they are not happy with the Narendra Modi governments double whammy of demonitisation and GST.

Nitin Jain, a young professional in the field, calls the GST an excellent move but because it was not implemented properly, together with notebandi, it proved ghatak (deadly) for business here. While businesses are suffering, ruling the roost are tax consultants and chartered accountants.

This and the fact that these are the first elections in 30 years being fought without the favourite tai, Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan. Indore is seeing for the first time in many years a fight among equals. In the words of Arvind Tiwari, president of Indore Press Club: It is the first time in several years that the Congress is giving the BJP a good fight in the Malwa-Nimar region, and which makes the elections in Indore, if not as electrifying as Bhopal, but equally important.

The two main contestants, BJPs Shankar Lalwani and Congress Pankaj Sanghvi, are both local and belong to business community. Whether Singhvi gets the advantage of the prevailing anger among traders remains to be seen, but local BJP leaders here classify him as a habitual loser. He has fought many elections unsuccessfully, the only time he ever won was when he was in the BJP, says DN Tiwari, a local BJP leader

But then with Mahajan being benched, the saffron party is also struggling with a handicap. Over the years she has built her own group of supporters, who are feeling let-down over the way she has been treated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief Amit Shah, say Congress supporters. Singhvi, they say, is in a position to give Lalwani a scare.

In spite of many losses, Sanghvi cannot be taken lightly. He also contested against Sumitra Mahajan but lost with around 45,000 votes. She too acknowledged that Singhvi had given her a good fight, says Tiwari.

In 2014, Sumitra Mahajan got a whooping 8,54,972 votes against Satyanarayan Patel of the Congress, who polled 3,88, 071. There was also a BSP candidate then like there is one now. He, however, could manage just 7,422 votes.

Clearly the fight was and is between the BJP and the Congress. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won four of the eight Assembly constituencies here making it a more equal fight than any other elections in past three decade. Lalwani is also the only one from the Sindhi community contesting these elections

Indore will poll in the last phase. So there are still 15 days to go and many things can happen that can change the mood of the city that sleeps late, enjoys good food and believes in making money.

Its Shankar Lalwani vs Pankaj Sanghvi in mini-Mumbai
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4



Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP would not return to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha election and taunted the PM saying the Army is not his personal property.

The Army is not the personal property of PM Modi. The Army, Navy, Air Force are of the country and not of one person. The Congress never politicised the armed forces. Surgical strikes happened before and the Army did those, Gandhi said addressing a press conference.

He said more than half the election is over and there is now a clear sense that PM Modi is not returning to power.

We also want to ask the PM what his delivery on the 2014 poll promises is. Where are the two crore jobs? Where is Rs 15 lakh? Its is all well to talk of nationalism but he should also answer development questions, Gandhi said.

He said the Congress and other parties were one in fighting against terrorism, but he wanted to ask the PM as to who sent terrorist Masood Azhar to Pakistan. The Congress government did not release Azhar. Who released him from the Indian jail? The BJP government released him. The Congress will do a much better job with national security because we have a history, the Congress chief said, adding that the Army had won every war it had fought and it is unfortunate for the PM to politicise it.

Our Army has won all the wars. Its terrific. So the BJP should stop politicising the Army, Gandhi said, adding that the Congress had delivered on its poll promises in the states where it is in power and would also deliver on its Lok Sabha manifesto promises.

Nyay will be implemented and we will show how to implement it. It has percolated down. We will give 22 lakh jobs. I wont promise two crore jobs a year but we will give 22 lakh youth government jobs and ten lakh people jobs in the gram panchayats, he said targeting Modi on the Rafale deal and daring him to hold a debate with him.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 4

The Maharashtra police on Saturday said they have identified the brain behind the IED blast at Gadchiroli which claimed the lives of 15 security personnel and one civilian driver on May 1.

According to the police, the attack was masterminded by one Girdhar, 44, who is allegedly the chief commander of the North Gadchiroli unit of the Peoples Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). He already has a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head and has been underground for the last 15 years.

Girdhar is known to use a number of aliases including Nagsu, Mansu and Tumreti.

Police said Girdhar is a native of Gadchiroli and hails from the Javeli village under the Kasansur police station area. Girdhar is known to have risen fast in the Maoist hierarchy is part of the State Military Commission of the Maoists. He is also part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Maoist which administers the liberated zone which falls across Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, according to police here.

Citing intelligence reports, police said Wednesdays attack was carried out by one of the two companies under Girdhar. In all, some 60 men from six dalams may have participated in setting several vehicles belonging to a private road building company in order to lure the State Reserve Police personnel to the blasts site, officials said.

State government officials here admitted that the Maoists may have infiltrated the local units of the police in Gadchiroli and the attack may have been carried out using inside information.

Girdhar and his close associates may have already moved out of Maharashtra and may be even holed deep in the jungles, a state government official said.

Meanwhile, the police said they have named top naxal leaders in the FIR in connection with the Gadchiroli attack.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

A day after cyclone Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 16 persons, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing today across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas.

The Eastern Naval Command of the Navy launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation process. Two maritime recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy, revealing widespread destruction localised around Puri.

Nearly 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 1 lakh officials were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik said, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The NDRF deployed 44 teams in the worst-affected parts of Odisha and nine teams in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two each in Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The teams are working in collaboration with other state agencies to restore power supply, communication set up and clear roads by removing the uprooted trees, poles and debris. They are also assisting the local authorities in distributing relief material. The toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16. (With PTI inputs)

Barring Patkura, polls in state over

Barring the Patkura Assembly constituency under the Kendrapara LS seat, which is scheduled to go to the polls on May 19 following the death of the BJD candidate, polling in all 21 LS and 146 Assembly constituencies has been completed

NEET postponed in state: HRD ministry

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled for May 5 has been postponed in Odisha due to Fani, the HRD Ministry announced on Saturday. The decision was taken following a request from the Odisha administration
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 4

The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Gujarat speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot.

This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the ECs decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturdays decision, the EC said, ...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted.

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show-cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler today said more trouble was in store for the globally blacklisted Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as his blacklisting by the European Union was in the works.

Azhars blacklisting by the EU will mount more pressure on Pakistan to undertake visible and verifiable action of freezing his funds flow as well as limiting his public appearances. The EU blacklisting is a much more arduous process after a European court nullified the implementation of the sanctions regime against a similarly UNSC-blacklisted terrorist for violation of constitutionally protected rights.

To the UNSC blacklisting of Azhar, Zeigler said: Its very good news for the world community and India as well that the world reached a consensus.

France has been in the forefront of a push by three global powers, including the US and the UK, to arraign Azhar in the face of a determined pushback by China, a close Pakistani ally. France had adopted national sanctions much before the UNSC consensus to blacklist Azhar.

For many years, French diplomacy has been pleading for sanctioning Azhar, head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack, Zeigler had said after news broke on May 1 about China relinquishing its hold on Azhars blacklisting. France would be hoping to build on political proximity with India to advance strategic ties.
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The Supreme Court on Friday appointed retired Justice AK Sikri to look into the evaluation process of the main examination for 107 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Haryana, in which only nine candidates were shortlisted out of more than 1,100.

A total of 14,301 students took the preliminary examination on December 22 last year for 107 vacancies and 1,282 were declared successful to take part in the main examination held on March 15 and 17 this year. More than 1,100 candidates appeared, but only nine qualified.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to submit answersheets to Justice Sikri, who will examine if the evaluation was acceptable.

On Monday, the Bench had directed the HC Registry not to appoint any civil judge without its nod and summoned the Registrar General with the selection records.

The order came on a petition by 92 aspirants, seeking quashing of result of the main examination which was declared on April 11. They have challenged the selection process and evaluation method adopted, terming the entire exercise unreasonable, arbitrary and mala fide.

They alleged that RTI applications seeking disclosure of marks, copies of answer scripts, model answers and marking criteria were not answered and interviews were scheduled.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Jaipur, May 4

Not farmers income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram alleged on Saturday.

The Congress leader also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

Farmers income will be doubled (if the Congress comes to power). In the last five years, farmers income has not doubled but their debt has doubled, Chidambaram told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 4 lakh vacant posts in the government will be filled when the Congress comes to power, he said.

Chidambaram said another issue is farmers distress.

I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014, the Congress leader said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJPs alliances, he said.

The BJP won all the seats in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in Madhya Pradesh in the last elections, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of every citizen and two crore jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congresss election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people.

Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room, Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJPs manifesto, they are discussing the Congresss, he said.

On his partys proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise Indias economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, May 3

Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer may sound like the names of yesteryear Bollywood actors, but they are, in fact, lethal cyclones that have brought violent winds, heavy rains and wreaked destruction. As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as Foni, means a snakes hood. But how are cyclones named?

The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its

27th session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of

Bengal and Arabian Sea.

The naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004. The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically  Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list.

So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested Onil the first on the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named Vayu, suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised.

Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly. If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria, a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning, it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Lucknow, May 4

Actor-turned-politician and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha has said that he has done no wrong in campaigning for his wife Poonam Sinha, who is the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

Sinha, who has been facing flak for not campaigning for the Congress in Lucknow, told IANS in an exclusive interview here on Saturday, clarifying for the first time, I do not understand why this controversy is being unnecessarily stoked.

When I joined the Congress last month, I had told the party leadership that I would support and campaign for my wife and they had agreed.

He said he had been hearing about protests from Lucknow Congress candidate Acharya Pramod Krishnam but no one from the senior rank in the party has spoken to me on this issue because they all know the facts.

Even the Samajwadi Party has been informed that once the Lucknow polling is over on May 6, my wife Poonam will be campaigning for me in Patna and they have no objection. For me, it has always been family first, he added.

Moreover, he said: I have completed the pati-dharam; by campaigning in Lucknow and Poonam will undertake her patni-dharam by campaigning for me in Patna.

Sinha said he had been offered the Lucknow seat several months ago by the Samajwadi Party. But I had already made a commitment to the people that I would not change the location of my election which is Patna, he explained.

In Patna, Sinha is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the competition is said to be tough.

I will now be stationed in Patna which is my home. Even when I joined films in Mumbai five decades ago, I maintained my relations with Patna. I would visit the place regularly and people there treat me as family. For them I am the Bihari Babu, he said.

Asked whether he would campaign for the Congress too, the actor-turned-politician said: I have been campaigning across the length and breadth of the country for the Congress and will be available whenever and wherever required.

Talking about the tone and tenor of his campaign, Sinha said: Of course, I will place my side of the story about why I left the BJP after almost three decades because a lot of rubbish is on the propaganda machine.

I will also underline the need for change and the importance of my party Congress. I have never indulged in negative campaigning but if others throw mud at me, I have the right to wipe it off. IANS
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Khunti (Jharkhand), May 4

A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a Pathalgadi area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering dont strike a chord in Jharkhands Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or Pathalgadi, declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where gram sabhas, or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes dont recognise any authority and dont owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6  BJPs former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes, proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through Pathalgadi leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference, Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, It is no subject.

There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here, he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, No one has reached us. The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhands high-profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub-plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land).

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us.

Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat, added an elderly man. We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright.

To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Mundas home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Theni, May 4

A priest was killed and another injured allegedly by a masked robber gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said on Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying to break the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Failure to pick their passports before fleeing landed the two Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the police net after remaining fugitives for 33 days in the Rs 6.65 crore missing cash scandal that rocked Punjab Police and a Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

A team headed by IG PK Sinha tracked them down with the help of Kerala Police.

Sinha said the duo took away the money thinking it was part of a larger illegal amount and if they siphoned off some, there would not be any complaint. When the money was recovered during a raid, senior officers told the two to deposit it at the Khanna police headquarters, but the duo hatched a plan midway. They initially thought of taking a few lakhs from Rs 6.65 crore, but later thought of pocketing the whole amount, the IG said.

He said the duo thought it was ill-gotten money. But, the priests complained the next day, forcing the ASIs to flee. They later thought of leaving the country and tried to get their passports picked from their houses. It was then that our intelligence network caught them.

The ASIs stayed in Uttarakhand, New Delhi, Jaipur, Meerut and Mumbai.

Sent to five-day police remand
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Ropar/Chandigarh, May 4

Ending speculation over his desertion of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa finally joined the Congress in Chandigarh on Saturday. Sandoa was welcomed to the party by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the latters residence in Chandigarh.

Though CM Amarinder Singh has denied poaching AAP MLAs, this is the second legislator who had joined the Congress in the last 10 days. AAP MLA from Mansa Nazar Singh Mashahia had left the party for the Congress on April 25.

Welcoming Sandoa into the party fold, Captain Amarinder said the Congress had got a major boost as a result of the wave of exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state.

Sandoa who was a taxi driver in Delhi was fielded by AAP from his native place Ropar. After defeating SAD stalwart Daljit Singh Cheema and Congress candidate Brinder Singh Dhillon, he entered the state assembly after 2017 elections.

Sandoa, however, courted controversies when a woman in Ropar levelled allegations of molestation against him and later some locals roughed him up when he went to stop illegal mining near Nurpur Bedi in June last year.

Later, the alleged attacker had charged the MLA with pressuring them to give money in lieu of continuing the mining in area.

Though it was already in the air that the Congress was in talks with Sandoa to get him in party fold, he kept denying it and even continued to attend AAPs meetings at Chandigarh as well as in Delhi regarding the Lok Sabha election strategy.

Today, he left for Chandigarh in the morning along with Anandpur Sahib MLA and Punjab Speaker Rana KP Singh and with few of his confidants making it clear for the locals that he was set to join the Punjabs ruling party.

Sandoas joining would further bolster the Congress prospects in Ropar, where Manish Tewari was already making waves as the partys candidate, Capt Amarinder said. Exhorting Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state, Amarinder asked him to help Tewari at the grassroots level in the constituency.

Sandoa, who joined along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister and assured him that of his best efforts. He said he was feeling disenchanted in the AAP due to the top leaderships high-handed approach towards Punjab and had decided to join Congress as he felt aligned with the democratic and inclusive philosophy of the party.
editorial@tribune.com

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 3

In a jolt to two Mansa widows who took political plunge to highlight the deepening agrarian crisis in the state, one of them, Manjeet Kaur, who intended to withdraw her nomination in support of Veerpal Kaur, failed to do so apparently due to communication gap. Both had filed their nomination on April 29.

Talking to The Tribune outside the Deputy Commissioners office here today, Manjeet said, It has come as a setback to us as we had thought we would get back the security deposit (Rs 25,000) of one of us. We planned to use it in our campaign, but all our hopes have been dashed.

The Committee for Farmers and Families of Agrarian Suicide Victims convener, Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir, who is leading these widows in their battle, attributed their failure to withdraw Manjeets nomination to a phone call from the DC office in Bathinda. She claimed they were asked to reach Bathinda at 3.30 pm on May 2 for withdrawal as well as a meeting with poll officials. She said as they reached the office around 3.15 pm, they were told the withdrawal time was over.

She said they resorted to a dharna, which they lifted following an assurance from the staff to resolve their issue the next day. But when they reached the office today, no official was ready to meet them, she alleged. They again sat on a dharna after which Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan met them and told nothing could be done now as their hands were tied, claimed Kiranjit.

Not ready to give up, she said they would focus all their energies on Veerpals campaign. About managing the expenses, she said they would again bank on crowd-funding.

Came post deadline

They came after the 3 pm deadline. We had called them for a meeting of candidates with poll officials at 3.30 pm, but they mistook it as the time for withdrawal of nominations. Candidates were clearly told they could withdraw only by 3 pm on May 2. B Srinivasan, Bathinda DC
editorial@tribune.com

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi (Muktsar), May 3

Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today formally started canvassing in favour of his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Lambi Assembly segment in the Bathinda constituency.

His first public meeting was held at Burj Sidhwan village. Badal was earlier almost daily touring one or two villages to express grief with families in Lambi who have lost someone in the recent past. Even today he visited two villages for the same purpose, but held a public meeting that was organised by partys former district chief Dyal Singh Kolianwali.

In his first public address this election, Badal criticised the Congress terming it an anti-Punjab party.

I have seen a number of PMs in the last 90 years and those belonging to the Congress snatched the rights over our river waters and state capital. First Jawaharlal Nehru discriminated with Punjab, his daughter Indira Gandhi attacked Harmandar Sahib and later her son (Rajiv Gandhi) was responsible for the anti-Sikh riots. This Gandhi family is against Punjab, he said.

Praising NDAs Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, he said, Vajpayee gave us multi-crore petroleum refinery. Modi formed a SIT and sent former Union minister Sajjan Kumar behind bars in the anti-Sikh riots case. He also sanctioned the Kartarpur corridor.

Again striking a personal chord with the public, Badal said, I have visited your villages hundreds of times, even during my tenure as the CM. My effort has always remained to solve your problems. My bonding with you is not political, but we have familiar ties. However, Congress people always think that Badal family is a barrier for them to rule in Punjab and how to sideline us. Now, the Parliament elections are approaching and you have to decide whom to give the reigns of your fortune. However, he did not make direct comment on any of Harsimrats rival candidates.

Went to jail for opposing Emergency: Chandumajra

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from the Anandpur Sahib constituency Prem Singh Chandumajra on Friday said he had been fighting against anti-democratic and fascist policies of the Congress. He said he went to jail also for opposing Emergency which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

In all, 278 candidates are left in the fray for 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab as 12 nominees took back their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, S Karuna Raju said 385 candidates had filed their nomination papers for 13 parliamentary constituencies of the state. During scrutiny, 297 nominations were found valid.

He said after the withdrawal of papers, 15 candidates are left in the fray for the Gurdaspur seat. A total of 30 candidates are in the fray for Amritsar while 19 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Khadoor Sahib. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray for the Jalandhar (SC) seat as none of the candidates withdrew their nomination.

He said eight candidates were left in the fray for Hoshiarpur (SC) seat. After withdrawal of one candidate, 26 candidates are left in the fray for Anandpur Sahib. After withdrawal of one candidate, 22 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ludhiana while 20 are left in the fray for the Fatehgarh Sahib seat after withdrawal of one candidate. Further, after withdrawal of two candidates, 20 are left in the fray for the Faridkot (SC) seat and 22 candidates were in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ferozepur.

After the withdrawal of three candidates, 27 are left in the fray for Bathinda and after withdrawal of one candidate, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Sangrur. After withdrawal of three candidates, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Patiala, Raju added. The voting will be held on May 19 from 7 am to 6 pm.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 4

The SIT of Punjab Police on Saturday recovered more than Rs 2 crore in Patiala from two Assistant Sub-Inspectors who had fled with Rs 6.65 crore cash that belonged to Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

With this recovery, the total amount recovered from the duo has reached Rs 4.38 crore.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh had hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

SIT head PK Sinha, who camped in Patiala for the whole day, headed the operation to recover the cash. What is interesting is that the recoveries came after disclosures from the already arrested accused in the case.

Sources confirm that the police grilled the accused and followed their entire trail from the day the cash went missing to their arrests. The two ASIs have confirmed that they transferred some part of the cash out of country but are tight lipped on the channel they used for that.

Their questioning is still on, said an officer.

Interestingly Rajpreet had paid Rs 2 lakh cash to an immigration firm in Patiala to ensure IELTS and foreign visa for his wife. The immigration firm owner, Gurmant Singh, later approached police and told them about the payment made by Rajpreet.

The SIT also suspects that part of the missing cash was given as a reward to the informer, Surinder Singhwho is already under arrest in the case.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Sangrur, May 4

AAPs Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

In less than a week, the AAP in Punjab suffered another major jolt today as its sitting MLA from Ropar, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia had joined the Congress on April 29.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

Every day, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return, said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of jhadoo to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the unparalleled work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for ruining Punjab.

In Punjab, you have seen divisive politics in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues, he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state governments Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsidersHardeep Puri and Sunny Deolfrom Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections, he said.  PTI
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

WASHINGTON

A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.  PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

THE following press communique dated Ist May has been issued by the Punjab Government:In the Kasur case in which 11 accused were sentenced to death, the Commission made a recommendation to mercy as regards two of the accused, Chuni Lal and Kamal Din. These two men were among the leaders and the Commission in their judgment observed that so far as the actual offence of waging war is concerned nothing less than the capital sentence would be justified in the case of each of these accused. They were, however, they add, prevailed upon to spare Mr. and Mrs. Sherbourne and their children and eventually even assisted them to escape to a place of safety. For this reason and also on the ground of their youth (Chuni Lal is a contractor of 21 and Kamal Din is a student of 18) they recommend that the extreme sentence of this law should not be carried out. In view of the recommendation the Lieutenant Governor has commuted the sentence of the death case of Chuni Lal to one of ten years rigorous imprisonment and in the cause of Kamal Din to one of 7 years.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Dr Chiranjit Parmar

A few days ago, I happened to read an article about the plight of Jogindernagar-Barot tramway. I also travelled in the trolleys plying on this route about 7-8 years ago. This tramway is really in a much neglected state.

The trolleys running there were procured in 1930 during the construction of Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project. These are still in operation. But sitting and travelling in these is no different from travelling in a bullock cart. There is a small cabin in front with a wooden bench which can accommodate four persons. In the back, there is an open space for carrying material and passengers if required.

The trolleys are hooked to a metallic rope. Two trolleys are hooked on each end. This rope is moved by an electric motor and trolleys start going up and down on the railway line. This line gets bifurcated for a small distance in the middle to enable trolleys to cross. It is very interesting to watch the two trolleys cross each other, one going upwards and other going downwards.

There is no engine, no steering wheel, no gears or brakes. But of course, a driver is there. This driver has a long copper stick. Two wires fixed on poles like old time telephone lines, run all along the way. When the driver touches these lines with his copper rod one time, a bell rings once at the control room and the operator switches the motor off to stop the tram. To start it again, the driver touches the wires two times and the bell at the control tower rings twice, meaning the trolley should now move. The entire system, though working on 90-year-old technology, is very interesting and perfect.

Trolley starts from Jogindar Nagar. There are four stations up to Barot. One has to shift to another trolley at the second station, after which you reach Winch Camp, which is at the top of a hill at 9,000 ft. From there, one has to walk about 2 km to reach the third station called Head Gear. There is also a railway line connecting both stations, but is defunct at present. From Head Gear, you start going down and again change trolley at Kaphyadu to reach Barot. Between Head Gear and Kaphyadu, the slope at one point is 75 degrees. This stretch is called Khoonee Ghatee.

This entire journey is very exciting, enjoyable and I would say an unforgettable experience. There are steep climbs on the way. One passes through jungles, too! If this tramway is opened for tourists and promoted well, it will surely be a big hit. Tourists wont hesitate to pay even Rs 1,000 for a round-trip ride to Barot from Jogindernagar.

During my travels, I have seen such trolleys only at three places and everywhere these were very popular among tourists. The first was at Hong Kong, second at San Francisco, and third at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In Hong Kong, it runs on a straight climb to the hill called Victoria Hill. One gets a beautiful view of Hong Kong city and the harbour from there. People spend time, have something in restaurants and come back. But this experience is nothing in comparison to Jogindernagar Tramway.

The San Francisco trolley is called cable car. These go over the small hill from the Market Street and descend to the other side at Fishermans Wharf, which they have developed as an amusement area for tourists. There are many shops there that sell seafood and other eatables. These cable cars are a major attraction of San Francisco and are also promoted as a logo for that city.

The trolley that takes people to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer at one of the hill tops around Rio de Janeiro is also called cable car. Its route is a bit longer. It also passes through a jungle. From the top, one can get a breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro city and its beaches. As this statue is now included among the seven wonders of the world (modern), so thousands of people visit it every day. Though this drive is little longer than those at Hong Kong and San Francisco, yet travel on this route is still not as exciting as that on Jogindernagar-Barot route.

Our government must exploit the Jogindernagar-Barot tramway for tourism purposes. It will not require much effort. Infrastructure already exists. Only new cable cars are required. If done, it will be a great tourist attraction. A beginning can be made even with existing trolleys by sprucing these a bit.

(The writer is a senior fruit scientist based in Mandi)
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Kabul, May 3

A five-day summit on peace in Afghanistan ended on Friday with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

The Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, set out its recommendations and urged the government and the Taliban to announce an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the arrival of Ramadan, reports Efe news.

Asking the Taliban to shun violence, the council called on the warring groups to begin intra-Afghan talks.

President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the meeting on Monday. It saw about 3,200 ethnic, religious and tribal representatives and politicians from across the country gather in the capital city under heavy security cover.

At the end of the five-day consultations, the participants issued a 23-article resolution to Ghani and called on the government, the Taliban, the international community and regional countries to respect the recommendations of the peace jirga.

They said the constitution and the current political structure of the government should be maintained and protected and, if necessary, amendments be brought in only through legal ways.  IANS

Goodwill gesture: To set free 175 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture as a five-day summit on peace ended here with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country

30 militants, seven security personnel killed in clash

At least 30 militants were killed as the Taliban offensive to overrun Afghanistans Burka district in Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, officials said. A provincial government spokesman said a group of Taliban insurgents launched an offensive to overrun Burka district but the security forces killed 30 insurgents
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps, in some of the strongest US condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the US Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centres aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps, Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be closer to 3 million citizens. Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million. So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was reminiscent of the 1930s.

The US government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate in proportion against any US sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were the same as boarding schools.

US officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there. Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.



Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly alsowe discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal, the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

And China, Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that, Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

Were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about nonproliferation. Well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, May 4

A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups--the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups--the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to--and stayed with--JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, travelled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

Between 2013 and 2014 I travelled...around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahideen two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack, Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, in 1999 at the age of 15. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Colombo, May 4

Four foreign nationals, including one from Pakistan who violated immigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested are two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, News 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath for the attacks. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

President Donald Trump said he held very positive talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

It was a very positive conversation, Trump said. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduros days are numberedbut experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trumps positionthat all options are on the tableShanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

Im trying to avoid walking into We could do this or we could do that, he said.

What people should feel confident about is we have... theres depth to these plans.

We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and Im just going to leave it at that.

Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered outwith 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracassparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopezwho made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arresthas since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuelas military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesdays failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing a very confusion situation, a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united, he said.

There are cracks, but not in the military leadership, said the source. International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime. AFP
The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) says it intends to take action if Government fails to have proper consultation and come to an agreement regarding the jab or no job Covid policy for public sector workers.

The union has not disclosed what form of action it intends to take, but said it would come in early January.
Leaders make a difference to a vaccination drive. When they take a public vaccination, they send a message to their followers or employees that the vaccine is safe and the compassionate thing to do.

When leaders act responsibly in this way, others will follow. This behaviour modelling fits into a broader study that demonstrated that leading by example is effective (Tai Yaffe, et al, 2011).
Nothing is as entertaining as online beefs, especially between celebrities. These past few weeks have been filled with lots of tea and drama from the boss lady Zari and Mange Kimambi, a socialite from Tanzania. The two took to their Instagram pages to attack each other. This is not the first time the two ladies are at each others throats.

Image: Instagram.com, @mangekimambi, @zarithebosslady

Source: UGC

Zari and Mange Kimambi tore each other after Mange made it public that the boss lady was turning forty years old and not thirty-eight as she claimed. Kimambi went ahead to accuse Zari of having photoshopped her flat stomach, calling her an attention seeker who was only thirsty for celebrity status. The boss lady did not take this lying down as she retorted back at Kimambi, labelling her a gorilla tracker.

READ ALSO: Tanzania activist Mange Kimambi sensationally suggests Diamond's son Nillan was sired by the late Ivan Ssemwanga

Who is Mange Kimambi?

Kimambi is a Tanzanian socialite based in the US. Before her fame as an activist, she was a famous blogger, known for sharing little known gossips and details about celebrities. She would mostly write gossip about Tanzanian and diaspora celebrities.

Zari and Mange beef

The beef started last year when the boss lady shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram page dedicated to her late ex-husband Ivan Semwanga. In the message, she thanked him for supporting and providing for the family while he was alive. The boss lady completely snubbed Diamond Platnumz, an act that elicited mixed reactions from the online followers including Mange Kimambi. Kimambi inquired why Zari was ignoring Diamond, yet she was living in his house back in South Africa. She went on to challenge her to leave the house if she could not recognise the father of her two kids.

Kimambi's accusation irked Zari so much that she responded by saying that she lives in Diamond's house by choice. She also added that she owns four homes in South Africa and she could live wherever she felt like.

Kimambi has also been going in on the boss lady over her age and now her new flame. She recently accused her of sending flowers to herself and indicating that they were from a man.

How can a flower seller know your name, unless you are the one buying and sending the flowers to yourself?

She advised Zari instead of wasting the money on flowers, to save and buy herself a home.

Previously, Kimambi also had an ugly beef with Hassan and even claimed that Zari's children with Diamond were sired by her ex-husband Ivan. She even took to social media to tear apart Mobettos mum claiming that shes the one misleading her daughter.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan struggles to clear name again after raunchy bedroom video resurfaces

The leaked tape

The vicious online war did not end there; Mange decided to feed the netizens with an old tape of the boss lady pleasuring herself. This was after Diamond went on air, revealing that his ex-wife had been having extramarital affairs with a famous musician from Nigeria. Kimambi took advantage of this and rekindled her beef with Zari Hassan. Through several Instagram accounts, Kimambi managed to distribute the old tape to as many online fans as possible before pulling it down.

In her response to the leaked tape, Hassan shared beautiful scenery taken from the balcony of her beautiful home with a caption saying,

Where to watch a beautiful sunset, sio ghetto za Trump na usaidizi wa food stamps.

In an interview, the boss lady disclosed that the tape made its way online after her ex-lover recorded their intimate session. He then decided to leak it after Zari refused his blackmail. She accepts that the tape is real and she is not ashamed of her past. Zari and Mange Kimambi fight over the past few days came about when Kimambi accused Hassan of living a fake life and hiring cars to stunt for the gram. Zari Hassan, on the other hand, accused Mange of being a prostitute in the United States of America while still living in a slum. Mange decided to pull a fast one by leaking the video online before being forced to pull it down by Vanessa Mdee.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan in online shouting match Tanzania activist who claimed she was arrested for faking her age

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Margret Kamande was operating a chain of burglary operations within and without the country

- Detectives said she was wanted by Interpol and Zimbabwean authorities for similar charges

- Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was responding to an insecurity call at Blue Hut hotel

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have arrested a notorious female house breaker after she was captured on several CCTV cameras illegally gaining access into apartments and offices within Nairobi.

Margret Waithira Kamande was nabbed on Thursday, May 2, while trying to board a flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

READ ALSO: Kitale: Abducted 70-year-old woman rescued from pit latrine after 6 days of searching

READ ALSO: Uhuru's housing project receives KSh 25 billion boost from World Bank

According to DCI, the suspect was operating a network of burglary activities within and without the county, and was on the list of Interpol's most wanted persons.

She was reported to have jumped bail in Zimbabwe after being arrested and arraigned for charges relating to house breaking, burglary and stealing.

Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was shot at Blue Hut hotel while responding to an insecurity call.

READ ALSO: Betting board bans celebrities from advertising gambling

On Friday, Mach 22, sleuths arrested another notorious burglar identified as Michael Joseph Otieno whose burglary skills were compared to Spiderman, a popular movie character.

The suspect was reported to have carried his operations in Nairobi's posh estates of Kileleshwa and Kilimani.

He was arrested after being captured on CCTV cameras.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Untold Story of Wamama. The King of Kilimani Mums I Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Legendary Congolese musician Mose Fan Fan is dead.

The rhumba star died on the night of Friday, May 3, at the age of 75 of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment on Thika Superhighway, Nairobi.

READ ALSO: Man complains of girlfriend's demand for marriage after dating for 7 years

The rhumba star died of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment along Thika Superhighway in Nairobi. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan family re-unites on Ellen Degeneres' show, wins KSh 5 million

He is reported to have been on a recording tour in Nairobi when he collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Kasarani.

Mose's death was confirmed by his producer Tabu Osusa who noted he was to record a new song with vocalists based in Nairobi including Paddy Makani and Disco Longwa.

READ ALSO: Actress Omotola Jalade warns couples against sharing in-house issues on social media

"I regard him as one of Africa's finest guitarist and music writers," said award-winning Cartoonist Paul Kelemba porpularly known as Maddo

"He has been a frequent visitor to Nairobi from 2015 collaborating with Ketebul Music and Tabu Osusa," he added.

READ ALSO: Explosive investigative documentary Jicho Pevu to make comeback on TV

Mose played guitar on Dje Melasie with Franco's OK Jazz in 1972.

"We are still in shock and we are making arrangements to have him taken to a decent morgue as we reach out to relations," said Osusa.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Young Girl Surviving on an Oxygen Tank

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- The two had attended the funeral of Mombasa deputy governor's father in Malindi

- Area MP Aisha Jumwa was the MC who invited Edwin Sifuna to address mourners

- Hell broke loose when Sifuna started talking about ODM matters including ejection of Jumwa from the party

- The Irate Malindi MP snatched the microphone from him as mourners booed

- Those who talked later condemned the incident and Sifuna was given a chance to talk

Embattled Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa caused drama in a funeral at Jilore village in Malindi sub-county after she snatched a microphone from Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna who was addressing mourners.

Sifuna was conveying a condolence message to hundreds of mourners on behalf of his party leader Raila Odinga at the burial of Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingis father when the incident happened.

READ ALSO: Boeing 737 slides into river with 136 people on board

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi (right and in black cap) and Mombasa County Deputy Governor William Kingi (left) having a chat at the funeral. Photo: Onesmus Baraka

Source: Original

READ ALSO: The lavish lifestyle of Kisumu US-based woman who claimed she learned English by watching Ellen's show

While addressing the mourners, Sifuna begun to speak matters concerning ODM party and before he finished, Jumwa who was given the official duty of being an MC moved in and snatched the microphone from him.

The angry lawmaker started yelling at Sifuna while looking for the support from other leaders but she could not get it.

Stop bringing politics SG, we have come here for one reason, to mourn and condole with the family of the late, yelled Jumwa.

This is a funeral and we do not want politics around. If you want politics look for an ODM platform to talk on behalf of that party, she added.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna was left stranded and wordless as Aisha Jumwa snatched the microphone from him. Photo: K 24

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Vihiga: Gavana Ottichilo aanza kazi ya ujenzi wa viwanja 5 katika kila kaunti ndogo

Mourners immediately booed Jumwa after the incident and shouted her down but she could hear none of it.

Things seemed to turn against her when Mombasa Deputy Governor Kingi after making his final remarks invited Sifuna to speak.

William said the former prime minister had called him and informed him that he would wish to attend his fathers burial but unfortunately, he went to another burial in Siaya county but he sent the secretary general to represent him.

Sifuna stated ODM was still strong and would only reward those loyal to it, warning Jumwa that her days were numbered in the party.

READ ALSO: Papa Lolo composer Mose Fan Fan dies in Nairobi

Walk around but your days are very few, we need leaders who will respect their political parties despite their political views, he said

Sifuna said Raila had sent him to grieve with the family of the late Edward Kingi adding that the party leader was together with them.

You are among the people who have stood with the party and obeyed its principles and we shall reward you when that time comes, he said in reference to Kingis loyalty to ODM.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi wrapped up the whole drama with the native Mijikenda language expressing his anger.

The county chief said it was a big shame for visitors to be embarrassed and urged coastal leaders to respect mourners.

This is shameful, we have displayed our dirty linen in public and what should we expect our people to say about us out there? he posed.

He said lack of unity among local leaders had made people disrespect them saying that it was sad that such an incident occurred before his eyes.

Some of us have joined groupings and travel in upcountry areas shouting politics but when others come here, we are the very first to block them from talking. We should first of all work for our people and politic later, said Kingi in reference to Jumwa who has been doing rounds with team Tanga Tanga supporting Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential ambitions.

Among those present were Likon MP Mishi Mboko, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire, Lands CAS Gideon Mung'aro among other top leaders.

Story by Onesmus Baraka, TUKO correspondent - Kilifi county

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Source: TUKO.co.ke
Alta Ben Pollard had a simple response to a reporters question: What is the secret to living to 100 years old?

I didnt die, Pollard said clearly and without hesitation.

Anyone who knows the newest centenarian would not be surprised.

I can tell you why, said Pollards daughter, Tomi Parisotto. Orneriness.

Whatever the reason, Pollard has seen a lot in her 100 years. From the birth of the auto to cell phones and air travel, Pollard has witnessed it.

Pollard was born April 30, 1919 in Utica, Okla., near Durant to Oscar and Ona Nancy Bush. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a homemaker. Pollard had two siblings who are both deceased.

She met Granville Pollard, Sr., and they married on Aug. 19, 1938 in Denison, Texas. They had 58 years together before Granville died in 1997.

Pollard has two children, Terry and Tomi; six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
On the video, Lee is shown confronting Ring and wrestling her for control of her handgun.

After taking the gun from Ring, Lee is depicted on the video as pointing it at Rings daughter and pulling the trigger as she crouched behind the stores counter. Ring and her daughter then managed to flee to safety.

Ring described to Frizzell how she purposely emptied the six-shot revolver at Lee while trying to keep him from wrestling the gun away from her.

The whole time he was taking my gun, I was pulling and pulling (the trigger) because I knew he was going to kill my daughter, Ring said. All I could think of was, He is going to kill Ashley. He is going to kill my daughter.

Ring said the ordeal has affected her and her entire family. He took a part of us, she said.

Frizzell denied the governments request for a longer sentencing range, instead opting for a range between that recommended by the U.S. Probation Office and prosecutors, or 121 months to 151 months in prison.
The message is to know your surroundings and what kinds of snakes might live nearby and to realize almost every area in Oklahoma is home to some kind of snake. In April and May snakes are more active not only because of the weather but also because its mating season, he said. Snakes are out looking for each other and that also can explain why people might see several in one area.

Just watch where youre walking, Goodwin said. Wear shoes that cover your toes, not flip-flops. Watch where you put your hands if youre doing things like moving debris or other things around your yard.

Of all the snake species in our state, most should be welcomed visitors as controllers of mouse and rat and insect populations. They will steal eggs, however, and some can take up residence in attics or under porches.

Only 5% of the snake species in Oklahoma are venomous, Goodwin said.

Venomous snakes in Tulsa County include the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and western pygmy rattlesnake. Western massasauga rattlesnakes have been found as near as Washington County and southern Osage County to the north; western diamondback rattlers are in rocky areas of southern Muskogee and Okmulgee counties.
The sewage samples in Tulsa were collected Friday. The Oklahoma State Department of Health didnt identify an omicron case until the agency announced it Tuesday afternoon, among the last states to detect the latest variant through genomic sequencing.
The Attorney General says he does not understand the position of the leader of the Joint Trade Union Movement who says he supports being vaccinated against Covid 19 but is not supporting the Government's plan for all public sector workers to be vaccinated or face being furloughed from mid- January.
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Hundreds of thousands of refugee youth in Kenya do not attend school because of lack of funding, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) cautioned today. UNHCR and SUPKEM are working together for the first time ever to launch a campaign during Ramadan calling on members of the public, including individuals, companies, and foundations to contribute funds to increase access to education for refugees in Kenya.

Kenya is host to more than 450,000 refugees, 77 percent of whom are women and children. The majority of refugee children living in Kenyas Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps only have access to primary education. Less than one third of refugee school-age children are able to attend secondary school and only 13 per cent of refugee youth have access to tertiary education.

These are distressing statistics revealing the disparagingly low number of refugees accessing education in Kenya. Behind these statistics are children and youth, boys and girls, aspiring to be teachers, doctors, business owners  but instead, they are sitting in limbo, waiting for a chance to fulfil their dreams, said Fathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR Representative in Kenya.

A funding shortfall for UNHCRs education programmes has resulted in the lack of basic infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teaching personnel essential to provide quality education to refugee children and youth in Kenya.

By joining efforts with SUPKEM in this holy month of Ramadan, our hope is that we can draw attention and support to this growing crisis. Members of the public, community and business leaders have an opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of refugees and the host communities in Kakuma and Dadaab camp by improving their access to education, said Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

UNHCR and SUPKEM will be hosting an Iftar fundraising dinner for leaders from the Muslim community, business community, government representatives and members of the diplomatic corps.

The holy month of Ramadan is a time where Muslims embark on a path of spiritual self-reflection and intensify our response to alleviate the suffering of others. Many refugees in Kenya have lived in forced displacement for over 20 years. With this campaign, we can help alleviate some of their suffering, said Yusuf A. Nzibo, SUPKEM Chairman.

The campaign will run during the entire month of Ramadan. To support this campaign, please visit: donate.unhcr.org/education

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Ukraine reduces trade in goods with Russia to US$2.3 bln in Q1

01:59, 04.05.19 1343

Meanwhile, trade with the EU grew to US$9.5 billion.
Kurz had a phone conversation with Zelensky.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged support to Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky in the reform process and the fight against corruption.

Kurz said on Twitter on Friday, May 3, that he had held a friendly telephone conversation with Zelensky.

Read alsoZelensky's adviser Danyliuk, U.S. Energy Secretary Perry discuss Ukraine's energy independence

"Ukraine remains an important partner for Austria and the EU. We will continue to actively support reforms and the fight against corruption," Kurz said.

"It is important to finally get progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements with respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," he added.
Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting.

Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Ukraine's parliamentary factions and President-elect Volodmyr Zelensky have discussed his inauguration, foreign and domestic policy, including the possibility of disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and the adoption of new election laws.

The meeting took place in the parliament's building on Saturday, May 4, leader of the Samopomich parliamentary faction Oleh Berezyuk told journalists after the event, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's President-elect: Date for presidential inauguration to be known on May 14

He outlined the issues discussed at the meeting with Zelensky, namely the newly elected president's vision of foreign and domestic policy, relations with parliament, in particular, "the possibility of disbanding parliament," as well as the adoption of new election legislation and the abolition of [parliamentary] immunity."

The lawmaker recalled that Zelensky had proposed his inauguration date for May 19.

"I personally do not see any problems in this. The sooner the president starts working, the sooner he takes responsibility for what he has promised," Berezyuk said, adding that the parliament "will formalize this proposal next plenary week."

"The faction will also formally take a decision," he added.

He expressed the hope that during the next plenary week lawmakers would decide on the date of inauguration.

"The fact that the newly elected president personally came to parliament and met with the leaders of the factions, discussing issues, is new in the history of the Ukrainian parliament and the leadership of the Ukrainian state," Berezyuk said.

Berezyuk said that outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting, while the parliamentary factions were represented in part by the chairmen of the factions, and in part by their representatives.
Horbatiuk says the Prosecutor General's Office needs to be reformed.

Chief of the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine Serhiy Horbatiuk says he is ready to head the PGO under Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency.

When asked on Espreso TV whether he is ready to become chief prosecutor, as he previously announced, he confirmed he is ready "if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide so."

Read alsoProsecutor snaps back at Poroshenko following criticism, says president "created problems" in Maidan probe

"The beginning of the answer will be the following: the Prosecutor General's Office needs changes. Because there are many instances of the violation of the law committed by the prosecutor general himself," he said. "This, in particular, is interference in criminal proceedings carried out by our department. And in view of ensuring law in the cases that our department has been investigating, I answered I would like these principles to be observed both by the PGO and all prosecutor's offices across Ukraine. And if there is trust, if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide, I'm ready to take on this."

When asked if any job offers came from President-elect Zelensky's headquarters, Horbatiuk answered in the negative. "There have been no offers from any political force during my work," he said.
The full list is available on the group's website.

Some 86 Ukrainians were behind bars in Russia-occupied Crimea for political or religious reasons as of May 2, 2019.

Sixty of them are Crimean Tatars, the Crimean Human Rights Group said.

The full list is available on the group's website.

Human rights activists profile them according to 13 criminal cases.

There are seven groups in the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case: the Yalta group (six people), the first Bakhchisaray group (four people), the first Simferopol group (five people), the second Bakhchisaray group (nine people), the second Simferopol group (24 people), the Krasnohvardiiske group (three people), and the Sevastopol group (four people).

Read alsoRFE/RL: HRW blasts Russia over 'escalating pressure' on Crimean Tatars

Thirteen people are in custody in the case of the so-called "Ukrainian saboteurs," three prisoners belong to the Sentsov group, three are on trial for involvement in the Noman Celebicihan Battalion, two persons have been brought to trial for involvement in Maidan [the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine], one for involvement in Tablighi Jamaat, a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement. Another nine people have been convicted in single criminal cases listed as one group.

The number of political prisoners in Russia has reached above 230 as President Vladimir Putin's government implements an "ever-increasing array of laws specifically designed to criminalize acts of everyday life," according to a new report created with input from the Moscow-based rights group Memorial, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

According to Ukrainian parliamentary commissioner for human rights Liudmyla Denisova, more than 80 citizens of Ukraine are held in Russian prisons for their political views. Among them are film director Oleh Sentsov, Stanislav Klykh, Pavlo Hryb, Roman Sushchenko, Kiazim Ametov, Mykola Karpyuk, and others.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded on May 3, there were no casualties on May 4.

There has been escalation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, as the number of Russia-led forces' attacks on Ukrainian positions grew to 21 instances on May 3; proscribed weapons  120mm and 82mm mortars  were used in nine attacks.

The enemy also opened fire from weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook in a morning update on May 4.

Read alsoUkraine's Defense Minister: Russian passportization could be used as pretext for large-scale war

Hot spots were the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, the villages of Novotroyitske, Berezove, Pavlopil, Pyshchevyk, Lebedynske, Mykolaivka, Zolote-4, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, and Shumy.

"Two members of the Joint Forces have been wounded in shelling," the press center said.

Ukrainian troops fired back in every attack. "According to Joint Forces' intelligence, one invader was killed and another four were wounded on May 3," it said.

Since Saturday midnight, the enemy has already attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka in the Skhid (Easter) sector twice, using various types of grenade launchers, larger-caliber machine guns, and small arms. They also shelled Ukrainian troops deployed near the village of Lebedynske, using large-caliber machine guns and small arms.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties on May 4.
The meeting is scheduled for the beginning of July.

The Holy See's Press Office said that the Pope has called the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in July, as a sign of his closeness to the community and his efforts to build peace in the troubled nation.

"Pope Francis is once more reaching out to the troubled spots of the world in his effort to bring about peace and harmony. This time, on the eve of his visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the Holy Father turned his attention to Ukraine," Vatican News said.

In his New Year address to the Diplomatic Corps in January, Pope Francis mentioned the "humanitarian initiative in Ukraine on behalf of those suffering, particularly in the eastern areas of the country."

Read alsoHoly See recognizes Orthodox Church of Ukraine  Kyiv Patriarchate

The Holy See Press Office released a statement on Saturday, May 4, saying the Pope has invited the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in Rome, July 5-6. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

"In the delicate and complex situation in which Ukraine finds itself, the Holy Father Francis has decided to invite to Rome, July 5 to 6, 2019, the Major Archbishop, the members of the permanent Synod and the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The meeting will also be attended by the Superiors of the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia responsible for the country," the statement said.

"With this meeting, the Holy Father wishes to give a sign of his closeness to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that carries out pastoral service both at home and in various places in the world," it said.

According to the statement, this meeting will also offer a further opportunity to deepen the analysis of the life and needs of Ukraine, with the aim of identifying the ways in which the Catholic Church, and in particular the Greek-Catholic Church, can dedicate itself ever more effectively to preaching the Gospel, contributing to the support of those who suffer and promoting peace, in agreement, as far as possible, with the Catholic Church of the Latin rite and with other Churches and Christian communities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a gathering marking the centenary of the May Fourth Movement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2019. Xi Jinping called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering held at the Great Hall of the People to mark the centenary of the May Fourth Movement.

The May Fourth Movement started with mass student protests on May 4, 1919 against the government's response to the Treaty of Versailles that imposed unfair treaties on China and undermined the country's sovereignty after the World War I. It then triggered a national campaign to overthrow the old society and promote new ideas, including science, democracy and Marxism.

Wang Huning presided over the gathering. Other Chinese leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, and Wang Qishan were also present.

Xi said the May Fourth Movement was a great patriotic and revolutionary campaign pioneered by advanced young intellectuals and joined by the people from all walks of life to resolutely fight imperialism and feudalism.

With its mighty force, the movement inspired the ambition and confidence of the Chinese people and nation to realize national rejuvenation, Xi added.

PATRIOTISM

Xi said the May Fourth Movement gave birth to the great spirit centered on patriotism, progress, democracy and science, with patriotism at the core.

"As long as the banner of patriotism is being held high, the Chinese people can unleash great powers in the endeavors to transform China and the world," Xi said.

The essence of patriotism is having unified love for the country, the Party and socialism, Xi added, urging young Chinese to follow the instructions and guidance of the Party, and remain dedicated to the country and the people.

Young people are also urged to establish belief in Marxism, faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as confidence in the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

NATIONAL REJUVENATION

Xi said young people always play a vanguard role in realizing national rejuvenation.

In the new era, the theme and direction of Chinese youth movement and the mission of Chinese young people, Xi said, are to uphold the leadership of the CPC, and work along with the people to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Xi said Chinese youth of the new era should bear their responsibilities of the times and carry on the spirit of arduous struggle.

He urged them to hone abilities and nurture fine morality.

Xi also encouraged young people to not only care about their family and country, but also have concerns for humanity.

YOUTH WORK

Xi said nurturing the young generation is the whole Party's political responsibility.

"We should listen to young people's views on social issues and phenomena, as well as their opinions and advices on the work of the Party and the government," Xi said.

"Even if they express harsh or partial criticism, we should correct our mistakes when we have made any and guard against them when we have not," he added.

Xi called on the Party to address young people's concerns and asked the Communist Youth League of China to unite and lead the young people to strive for the national rejuvenation.

"Young friends," Xi said near the end of his speech. "Let your youth shine even more in the sacrifice for the country, the people, the Chinese nation and humanity."

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[ Editor: WPY ]
New Statistical Technique Finds La Nina Years More Favorable for Mountain Snowpack Than El Nino Years

When there are multiple factors at play in a situation that is itself changing, such as an El Nino winter in a changing climate, how can scientists figure out what is causing what? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an advanced statistical method for quantifying and visualizing changes in environmental systems and easily picking out the driving factor.

In a new study published in the journal Climate Dynamics, they used their new technique to look at California winters. "A lot of people will describe a winter by how rainy or how cold it was," said lead author John P. O'Brien, a graduate student research assistant at Berkeley Lab. "Instead of asking each question individually, what we're doing is interrogating both at the same time as a function of some large-scale climate forcing, such as El Nino."

The new method allows researchers to account for variables whose statistics change over time - in this case, changes caused by El Nino/La Nina. They found that in northern California, La Nina and El Nino conditions result in nearly equivalent amounts of winter precipitation. However, La Nina winters tend to be much colder, resulting in conditions more favorable for increased mountain snowpack. So from a summer water supply perspective, contrary to common belief, La Nina winters may in fact be preferable to El Nino winters. The same, however, did not hold true for southern California.

Unique Synthetic Antibodies Show Promise for Improved Disease and Toxin Detection

Scientists have invented a new "synthetic antibody" that could make screening for diseases easier and less expensive than current go-to methods. Writing in the journal Nano Letters, a team led by Markita Landry of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley describes how peptoids - synthetically produced molecules, first created by Ron Zuckermann at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, that are similar to protein-building peptides - and tiny cylinders of carbon atoms known as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be combined to selectively bind a target protein.

The resulting nanoparticle assembly fluoresces under near-infrared fluorescence microscopy, thus allowing for target protein quantification just like a biologically derived antibody.

The researchers demonstrated that their peptoid-SWNT assemblies remain stably bound to their target when tested in samples with a wide range of pH, salt concentrations, and temperatures; and when exposed to various protein-digesting enzymes - conditions no conventional antibodies could be expected to function in.

"This new platform encourages us to look to synthetic chemistry and nanomaterials science to create molecules that bind biological markers for diseases like cancer or viral infections," said Landry. "The stability of purely synthetic recognition elements could facilitate easier disease diagnosis. They could also have safety applications by detecting hazardous chemicals in water or food."

Exploring New Ways to Control Thermal Radiation

Planck's Law, which describes electromagnetic radiation from heated bodies, forms the basis of quantum theory. However, with the advent of micro- and nanotechnology, it is easy to fabricate materials where Planck's Law will not hold.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Berkeley Lab set out to explore how deviations from Planck's Law could impact energy-related technologies based on nano- and micro-structured geometries.

"Nobody has explored the relative behavior of nano-geometries, particularly anisotropic nano-geometries--nanostructures that are rectangular in cross-section--in this way," said Ravi Prasher, one of the authors.

Imagine a thermal storage material that converts electricity to heat and then radiates it to a photovoltaic cell to get the electricity back when desired. The radiative emitter from the thermal storage could be made from nanostructures to maximize the performance.

The team of researchers from Berkeley Lab and UC San Diego used the radiation models available at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry to model the thermal radiation from rectangular nanoribbons of silica glass, a polar dielectric material. Practical applications for this early-stage energy conversion are important for many renewable energy applications, such as concentrated solar electricity production, water desalination, thermochemical reactions, water heating, and thermal storage.
A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men in the United States and the second most common cancer in Turkey. The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in industrialized countries.

The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge about prostate cancer, its diagnosis, and treatment among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

This study was performed from January to April 2015 with the patients applied to our clinic. A questionnaire that includes 10 questions was administered to the participants.

One hundred fifty-nine participants were included in this study. The participants' ages were between 40 and 82 with a mean age of 61.5  7.9 years. Patient awareness of prostate biopsy and prostate cancer were 21.37 and 71.06%. The main origin awareness of PSA testing is family and friends. On the other hand, if the doctor advises acout prostate biopsy, 47.16% of the patients would accept and 11.31% of them would refuse this invasive procedure.

Prostate cancer is one of the important health-related problem among men in the world. Additional researches are needed to investigate the knowledge of prostate cancer among men and the Ministry of Health may take preventive methods to increase the cancer knowledge level of people.

The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male. 2019 Apr 22 [Epub ahead of print]

Mustafa Sungur, Selahattin Caliskan

a Department of Urology , Hitit University Erol Olcok Education and Research Hospital , Corum , Turkey., b Department of Urology , Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul , Turkey.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31007118
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts []
A commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka was held at the United Nations in New York on May 3. Among several speakers who addressed the gathering was the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza.

By Robin Gomes

While reiterating its sincerest condolences to Sri Lankans for horrific terrorist attacks out against the innocent on April 21, the Holy See called for actions to eliminate terrorism, saying words of mere condemnation are not enough.

Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza, denounced Easter Sundays suicide bomb attacks on 3 churches and 4 hotels in the island nation and assured prayers for the victims and their families.

More than 250 people were killed, including foreigners, and over 500 were injured.

Listen to our report

Actions, not words

Words of condemnation, however sincere, are not enough, the Holy Sees diplomat told a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks held at the United Nations in New York on Friday. Actions, he stressed, are required to eliminate this scourge at its roots.

The Filipino archbishop reiterated Pope Francis words of profound human and spiritual closeness to the people of Sri Lanka as well as the assurance of his continued prayers for those who perished, those who survived the trauma, and all those who are grieving.

Christianophobia

Archbishop Auza pointed out that what happened in Sri Lanka is a deliberate attack against Christians.

To overlook the explicitly anti-Christian aspect of these attacks, he said, would do an injustice to the victims, the survivors and their families. He said that the international community is very forthright, and rightly so, in decrying rising anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. The same standard must be applied to attacks against Christians, he demanded.

He said that the recent General Assembly Resolution of April 2 was right when it condemned all terrorist attacks against places of worship that are motivated by religious hatred, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia.

Terrorist attacks are always and everywhere deplorable, but attacks on religious believers at worship, he stressed, are the most shameful and cowardly attack against peace imaginable. Thats what happened in Sri Lanka. And the whole world justly mourns, Archbishop Auza added.



Fear continues



Nearly 2 weeks after the terror attacks, Sri Lanka is still living in fear. Police Sri Lanka have requested members of the public hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police stations after hundreds of such blades were discovered in Mosques and homes during searches in the aftermath of suicide bomb attacks.

Police have asked people to hand over camouflaged materials similar to those worn by the military after large amounts of such material were uncovered in raids.

Sunday Masses and services in Catholic churches are being cancelled for a second weekend in Sri Lanka's capital after the government warned of more possible attacks by the same Islamic State-linked group that carried out the Easter suicide bombings.

The Associated Press reported Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, as saying he has received "foreign information" that attempts would be made this week to attack a church and another church institution.

Fr. Edmund Tillakaratne, spokesman for Colombo Archdiocese, said on Thursday that the cardinal had cancelled all Sunday services in the archdiocese.

Last week, all of Sri Lanka's Catholic churches were closed. The faithful followed a Mass and homily on television, celebrated by Card. Ranjith. Present at the televised service at his residence were the clergy and national leaders.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka has criticized the government for failing to act after security forces are said to have received warnings ahead of Easter Sundays attacks.
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State looks ahead to Pope Francis 29th Apostolic Journey abroad, which takes him to Bulgaria and to North Macedonia from 5 to 7 May.

By Linda Bordoni

During Pope Francis Apostolic Visit to the Balkan nations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says the Pope will be highlighting that which unites.

Speaking to Vatican News on the eve of the Popes departure, Cardinal Parolin pointed to the logo and motto of the trip to Bulgaria, which is Pacem in Terris - Peace on Earth - the title of an encyclical by Pope St. John XXIII, the first visitor and Apostolic Delegate to the country.

The Pope will be a bearer of peace, a witness to the Risen Christ, the Cardinal explained, and since we are in Easter time, we remember the apparitions of the Risen Jesus to his disciples when his first greeting was Peace be with you. Peace I leave you; my peace give you.

Parolin added that the theme of peace, which was central to John XXIIIs pontificate, will be built upon by Pope Francis with those attitudes of which John XXIII was a witness: the search for friendship, gentleness, amiability, encounter with the other, and the capacity to highlight what unites more than what divides.

These great features of the figure and the Pontificate of John XXIII had already emerged at the time when he was Papal Nuncio in Bulgaria; I believe that it is along these lines that the contribution of Pope Francis during this journey will be placed," he said.

Ecumenism

With an eye to the Popes schedule in Bulgaria that lists a moment of prayer before the Throne of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a meeting with representatives of different religious denominations, and a visit to Patriarch Neophyte - the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - the Cardinal noted that the visit shines the spotlight on some particularly significant figures of the present and past, such as those of the two Saints: the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

They were saints of the Church of the first millennium, the Cardinal said, a Church that was still undivided but where tensions were already being experienced and which would ultimately lead to fracture and division.

The witness they provide in their search for unity, in their desire to evangelize new peoples using new methods and new languages, Parolin said, adds meaning to the Popes encounter with the people of Bulgaria that is to take place in a dimension of ecumenical fraternity, recognizing each other as brothers in the one Lord, and at the same time striving to overcome the divisions and the tensions that still exist.

It speaks, he said, of the desire to pursue the Christian mission to bring the Gospel to the world, certain that the effect of this evangelization will be all the more profound and incisive the more united we are, proclaiming together the Word of salvation that the Lord has entrusted to us.

Migrants and refugees

Pope Francis is also scheduled to visit a refugee camp during his journey. Cardinal Parolin recalled the four verbs chosen by the Pope in calling for solidarity and action regarding migrants and refugees: Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate.

He pointed out that Pope Francis carries forward this teaching with concrete gestures and never tires of bearing witness to this important issue during almost all of his journeys and in many other situations and occasions as well.

Here, too, he wants to underline this aspect, taking into account that protecting also means defending and protecting the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a situation of vulnerability and often of marginalization, he said.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

In North Macedonia, the Pope will visit the city of Skopje, birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, focusing attention on the poor.

Together with John XXIII and Saints Cyril and Methodius, Cardinal Parolin said Mother Teresa is clearly a dominant figure of this journey.

When I was in Macedonia a few years ago, I was able to see how much affection and devotion there is towards Mother Teresa. Naturally, this attention towards the poor, the marginalized, towards those who find themselves in need, translates into something very concrete, he said.

Mother Teresa, he recalled, compared herself to just a drop in the ocean, noting however, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Cardinal Parolin said the Pope is bound to make that teaching his own and insist on asking the faithful to put charity into action.

Challenges and opportunities

I believe, Cardinal Parolin said, there are no challenges, but opportunities in this journey, especially taking into account the geographical and historical reality of Bulgaria, which, he said, is a crossroads of meetings and peoples, and the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in North Macedonia.

Once again, he concluded, it is an occasion to launch the theme of the culture of encounter and of the mutual richness provided by diversity.


Delmonico Steakhouse will commemorate the 20th anniversary of its opening at The Venetian with menu specials from May 3-12 and other surprises throughout the year.

The anniversary specials will highlight some of the restaurants most beloved dishes throughout the years, including house cured tasso and smoked mushroom cream over angel hair pasta with fresh chives; crab mirliton stuffed Gulf oysters with bearnaise sauce; BBQ salmon with andouille potato hash homemade Worcestershire sauce and fried onion crust; bananas foster ice cream pie; and lemon icebox pie with strawberry coulis.

Delmonico Steakhouse has also designed a special commemorative logo which will appear on menus throughout the rest of the year, as well as on the lapels of all service staff.

I opened Delmonico Steakhouse 20 years ago with the hopes of sharing the flavors of New Orleans with Las Vegas and to celebrate the art of dining, said Chef Emeril Lagasse. Im grateful for the ongoing support of our customers, the Las Vegas community and The Venetian, who share and support these intentions. We look forward to continuing to share our traditions, cuisine and service with all our guests for many years to come.

Delmonico Steakhouse is Chef Emeril Lagasses take on the classic American steakhouse with Creole influences. The restaurant brings back a time when cocktail hour was not to be missed and dinner with friends was a celebration. Located in Restaurant Row at The Venetian, Delmonico Steakhouse takes its name from the legendary, century-old New Orleans institution, Delmonico Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant has been a Grand Award recipient of Wine Spectator magazine since 2004, and named a four-star restaurant by Forbes Travel and a Top 5 Steakhouse in the Nation by National CitySearch. Chef de Cuisine Ronnie Rainwater has also been with the restaurant since shortly after its debut in 1999.

The anniversary celebrations will augment Delmonico Steakhouses current popular offerings, including Creekstone Farms steak selections, a rotating weekly chefs menu with original inspirations from the kitchen, the one-of-a-kind Kitchen Table experience, an award-winning wine list and the unparalleled whiskey library featuring over 700 whiskey bottlings from countries, including Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and India.
Most people are only familiar with the inconceivable, sinful nature of Las Vegas from the movies, and there are a lot of them. From Connerys Diamonds are Forever, Depps Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the now infamous The Hangover and countless others.

(Pictured: The Hangover Suite at Caesars Palace)

The irony is that while there is a wild element to many of these movies, the truth of Sin City is actually much more interesting and holds many more tales  most of which have been lost to the sands of the Mojave Desert.

More than Just a City

Anyway, it goes without saying that although Las Vegas is a gambling Mecca, its a lot more than that. There are a myriad of attractions both in and outside the city to cater to people of all levels of crazy. After all, the modern area as we know it has seen the likes mobsters like Bugsy Siegel (who died in a flail of bullets), the eccentric Howard Hughes (who reportedly spent more than $300 million buying up real estate), and many more. Here youll be able to do almost anything (including smoking the now state legal cannabis) your heart desires  unless it croaks of course. Here are a few fun facts for you:

Nuclear Sightseeing

In the decade spanning 1952-1962 there were more than 100 nuclear bombs detonated north of Las Vegas. This prompted a rise in atomic-themed tourism which even featured restaurants and other establishments adopting the theme. While the show was no doubt stupendous with always reliable sunny weather all year, the fallout is estimated to be responsible for around 11,000 deaths.

Lucky Travelers to Las Vegas

Those who have been fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas know exactly what we are talking about and have no doubt been somewhat dumbstruck by the sheer architectural audacity and magnificence of certain casinos. These include and are certainly not limited to the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, Delano Las Vegas, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, Wynn Las Vegas, or even the brilliantly designed Venice themed Venetian.

If youve yet to have the luxury or simply want to hold on to your bank balance a little longer before you visit, try out the prominent Canadian online casino Jackpot City with all new for 2019 exclusive bonuses and offers to play Vegas-style games but without leaving the comfort of your home.

Prostitution Actual Isnt Legal

Many people believe that prostitution is a given in the city of Las Vegas, but its actually illegal. However, any county in the state of Nevada with a population of less than 700,000 is allowed to license a brothel. Even so, illegal prostitution still thrives and what happens in Vegas

The Highest Jackpot Winner

Following on from the last veterans run of good luck, the highest ever jackpot won by someone in Las Vegas was $39.7 million by a 25 year old software engineer from Los Angeles. Its said he chose to be paid $1.5 million yearly instead of taking the lump sum.

No Income Tax

This might be reason enough to move there, let alone visit. Residents in the state of Nevada dont have to pay a single cent of personal income tax. There also isnt any corporation tax, although at present there is a 6.85% sales tax. By avoiding income tax on huge casino jackpots combined with so many competitive offers for legal NV online casinos and Las Vegas casinos, this factor is yet another solid justification.

Taking Betting Too Far

As if there was such a thing, back in 1980 betting went a little over the top when nurses from a Las Vegas hospital had to fire workers who were gambling on when patients would die. Its said one even tried to up the ante  if you catch our drift.

WW2 Veteran Elmer Sherwin Won the Jackpot Twice

Back in 1986 (at the age of 76), Sherwin won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot shortly after the Mirage opened. Even though he used his new found fortune to travel, he was determined to be the first man to win it twice and continued playing the slot often. When he was 92 he hit the same jackpot and won around $21 million  this time giving most of it away to charity. The odds of hitting that particular jackpot are reportedly in the region of 10 million to one.

The Rescue of FedEx

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO of FedEx, was on the verge of losing his company after initially inheriting $4 million and taking out a further $80 million in loans and investments to start the venture. Due to rising fuel costs, he was heavily in debt and almost sunk the company just two years later. After taking $5,000 to Las Vegas in a last ditch effort, he turned it into $27,000 playing blackjack. While this wasnt enough to get the company back up in the air, it was the spark that got the flame burning again.

Las Vegas was Originally a Trade Route

The name Las Vegas was given to the area by a Mexican merchant by the name of Antonio Armijo who was establishing a trade route to Los Angeles in 1829. The name is actually Spanish for The Meadows which might not seem appropriate, but his caravan was following a tributary of the Colorado river at the time. You might be more than surprised to find out what there is to see.

If Las Vegas wasnt on your bucket list before and youre still not 100%  the facts above are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In the meantime, enjoy the best online slots, of which we have put together the most lucrative bonuses for you to take advantage of, which often include free spins on top games. Who knows? Maybe youll be the next person to win a jackpot with your bonus and be on the next first class flight out to Nevada.


California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) will celebrate moms all Mothers Day weekend long, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas May 9-12* and a nationwide fundraiser Thursday, May 9** to benefit March of Dimes, the nonprofit organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies (Photo credit: California Pizza Kitchen).

To support the fundraiser on May 9, CPK guests can present the fundraiser flyer or mention to their server that theyre dining to support March of Dimes, and CPK will donate 20 percent of food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases from dine-in, takeout, curbside, catering and delivery orders placed directly with CPK.

Making a positive impact in our communities is an important part of what we do at California Pizza Kitchen. This Mothers Day weekend, we look forward to honoring moms, from our guests to our employees, and are grateful to partner with March of Dimes to support the care of moms and babies everywhere, said Adam Tabachnikoff, senior vice president of marketing at CPK.

Were grateful to California Pizza Kitchen for supporting the work of March of Dimes in communities across the country this Mothers Day, said Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Hampton. This campaign will go a long way to help us improve health outcomes and pave a healthier future for moms and babies.

In addition to the national fundraiser, CPK invites guests to share a delicious meal and a loving slice of pizza with mom, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas. Available Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12, guests can order any of their favorite CPK pizza varieties, like the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza or Spinach + Artichoke Pizza, on special heart-shaped crispy thin crust at no additional charge.
The press conference on Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Vietnam Advertisement & Fair Exhibition JSC (Vietfair) and related units held a press conference on May 2 to introduce Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019.

Vietnam Medi-Pharm is an important annual event where advanced technologies and products in the industry are showcased. With continuous success over the past 25 years, I hope that the 26th edition continues to provide good opportunities for participants to share experience, seek partners, and boost business and technology co-operation, thus contributing to the development of the healthcare market, said Nguyen Dinh Anh, head of the Ministry of Healths Communications and Reward Department.

During the four-day event, a number of activities such as seminars and conferences on the latest regulations on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as businesses networking and advisory events will be organised.

Vietnams healthcare market is now a magnet to multinational corporations. Looking forwards, the market is expected to become even more attractive when the landmark Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

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Fresh policies take effect since May 2019, illustration photo

False denunciations

Under Decree 31/2019/ND-CP, dated April 10, 2019, providing detailed regulations and measures for implementing the Law on Denunciations, civil servants shall be subjected to criminal charges if they make false denunciations.

The Decree shall take effect since May 28.

Support for human resources development of SMEs

Decree 05/2019/BKHDT of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on support for the human resources development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shall take effect since May 12.

Accordingly, the State budget will sponsor 100% of expenditures for students of the SMEs located at disadvantaged areas and owned by women.

Laborers and managers of the SMEs will be provided with accounts to join the online training courses on websites or smart phones.

New emission standards for second-hand vehicle imports

Decision No. 16/2019/QD-TTg prescribes the schedule of application of emission standards for vehicles used on roads and second-hand vehicle imports and shall take effect since May 15.

Secondhand vehicle imports with forced induction engines or compression ignition engines will be subject to the Tier-4 emission standard from the entry into force of this Decision.

If the date of registration of second-hand vehicle import declaration is the same as specified in the Law on Customs or second-hand vehicle imports have arrived at Viet Nam's ports or border gates before May 15, 2019, the schedule specified in the Decision No. 249/2005/QD-TTg dated October 10, 2005 will continue to be applied.

In particular, second-hand vehicle imports with forced induction engines and those with compression ignition engines will apply the Tier-3 and Tier-2 emission standards, respectively.

New regulations on border gates of import of passenger cars with less than 16 seats

Circular 06/2019/TT-BCT dated March 25, 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on border gates of importation of passenger cars with less than 16 seats.

Accordingly, passenger cars with less than 16 seats, including new-brand and second-hand ones, shall be imported into Vietnam only through the seaport border gates of Cai Lan -Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

This Circular shall take effect from May 8, 2019.

Expanding labor outsourcing activities

Decree 29/2019/ND-CP, dated March 20, 2019 detailing and guiding the implementation of Article 58 of the Labor Code on licensing labor outsourcing activities, payment of escrow deposits and the list of jobs in which labor outsourcing is allowed.

Accordingly, since May 5, enterprises shall be able to sublease labor if they meet the following requirements: (1) Being the manager of the enterprise; (2) Having no criminal records; (3) Having working experience in the field of outsourcing or labor supply of at least full 36 months during the last 05 years preceding the date of submission of the license application dossier.
"The Cell Door, Robben Island"  completed in 2002 by Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela  sold for $112,575.-AFP Photo

The Cell Door, Robben Island  completed in 2002 by the Nobel peace laureate  exceeded the top end of the estimated range provided by Bonhams, which put its value at $60,000 to $90,000.

The wax pastel crayon drawing shows a few bars of the cell door and a key in the lock, sketched in purple.

The work is one of the few that Mandela  who was jailed for 27 years in total and inspired the struggle against apartheid  kept until his death in 2013.

Mandela's daughter Pumla Makaziwe Mandela previously had the work in her possession.

South Africa's first black president did a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Giles Peppiatt, the auction house's director of modern African art. Some were reproduced as lithographs to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was jailed from 1962 to 1990. He was held at Robben Island off Cape Town from 1964 to 1982. Mandela served as South African president from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela's drawing was one of six works that surpassed $100,000 at the sale of African art on Thursday.

Another South African artist, Irma Stern (1894-1966), earned the highest price of the auction  $312,575  for Malay Girl, a portrait from 1946.
POR14 result causes difficult to Hung Vuong Corporation

According to the latest news from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), the US DOC has announced the final anti-dumping duties of POR14 for HVG at $3.87 per kilogramme.

Previously, under the DOCs preliminary results published on September 10, 2018, HVG was to be applied 0 per cent anti-dumping tariff.

The bad news pushed HVGs stock down to only VND5,570 ($0.24), and liquidity on the stock market was about 830,000 units. HVG fell for four consecutive sessions, decreasing 31 per cent compared to the peak in the last three months (VND8,150  $0.35 per share).

Beside HVG, Nha Trang Seafood will still have to pay $1.37 per kilogramme in antidumping tax. The other four tra fish exporters are C.P Vietnam, Cuu Long Fish, Green Farms Seafood, and Vinh Quang Corp., with a tax rate of $1.37 per kilogramme, an increase of 0.96 cents compared to the preliminary tax rate.

The national export tax of $2.39 per kilogramme still applies.

According to VASEP, in February and March 2019, the value of Vietnam's tra fish exports to the US decreased by 22.8 and 44.4 per cent, respectively. Vietnam has dropped to the third position (after the EU) as the US' tra fish import markets with $71.16 million of export turnover, down 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2018, accounting for 15.1 per cent of the total tra fish export value in the first quarter of 2019.

Tra fish exports to the US may continue to decrease in the second quarter.

Speaking at the 2019 annual general shareholders meeting (AGM), chairman Duong Ngoc Minhwas confident when talking about the company preparing for a long journey to take the crown back.

Minh plans to retire from HVG in 2021, giving way for the new generation. HVGs chairman also predicted that the corporation would reach the revenue of VND20 trillion ($869.57 million) in 2020.

The unexpected blow from POR14 may be a throwback to HVG's ambitions and could cause further difficulties in repaying the looming debts that VIR previously reported HVG has accumulated.
Russia has backed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (centre) against the US as analysts say Moscow aims to turn the crisis to its advantage in its global tug-of-war with Washington. (Photo: AFP/HO)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay".

Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Moscow has its reasons for standing behind Maduro - he's a rare ally in Latin America and Russia has poured billions into the Venezuelan economy.

But analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is also playing the long game, hoping to use Venezuela as leverage in his global tug-of-war with Washington.

"Russia is seeking to translate its influence over Maduro - which is in fact not absolute - into an opportunity to have dialogue with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a Paris-based analysis firm, told AFP.

"Maduro is a bargaining chip."

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido declared himself acting president in January, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

More than 50 countries led by the United States lined up behind the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, but Russia and China have backed Maduro.

Reeling from Western sanctions, Moscow has quickly sensed an opportunity, even if it meant locking horns with the United States in Latin America, Washington's traditional sphere of influence.

In a highly publicised move in March, Moscow sent two planes with around 100 soldiers and equipment to Caracas, where Russian mercenaries are also believed to be operating.

'CUTTING A DEAL WITH TRUMP'

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, its backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine and military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

But the audacity with which the Kremlin inserted itself into the Venezuela crisis has drawn gasps in Washington.

"Russia is making the next play in our hemisphere," Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, wrote last month.

"Vladimir Putin may be laying the ground for making Venezuela the defining foreign policy debacle for President Trump in the same way Syria became that for the Obama administration."

Russia and Venezuela enjoy a long history of ties and Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, known for his passionate tirades against the United States, was a welcome guest at the Kremlin.

After Chavez's death in 2013 the relationship with a country that boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves has continued to thrive.

Russia is the second largest lender to Caracas after China, with Moscow heavily investing in Venezuela's oil resources and Caracas acquiring Russian arms worth billions of dollars.

However that also means, analysts say, that Russia has a lot to lose from a change in leadership. But what it stands to gain from a possible deal with Washington may be more important for the Kremlin.

"Putin would cut a deal, if in agreeing to let Maduro leave he got something really big from Trump in exchange," said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.

He suggested that Moscow wanted Washington to lift the damaging sanctions, to allow Russian oil companies to freely operate in Venezuela and agree on "spheres of influence".

"I think they (the Trump administration) would be happy to cut a deal with Putin, where he gets his troops out of Venezuela, in return for the US turning a blind eye to developments in Ukraine," Ash said.

HIGH-STAKES MEETING

Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to discuss the Venezuela crisis on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting starting Monday in Finland.

In duelling statements this week, Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilising" Venezuela while Lavrov said Washington was a "destructive influence" in the country.

Analysts say both sides appear reluctant to consider military options and are likely looking to make backroom deals.

Events on the ground may matter more. After the military uprising in support of his bid fizzled out this week, Guaido has called for demonstrations at army bases.

Other experts doubt Russia's real ability to influence the crisis.

The Trump administration is "greatly exaggerating the role of Russia and China. I don't think that's a decisive factor at all," said Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington

"Maduro's base of power remains reasonably intact. The military will be the key power."
The Hanoi Peoples Court yesterday re-opened a trial involving 15 people who were charged with the falsification of stock trading documents, stock price manipulation and fraudulent asset transfers.-VNA/VNS Photo

The trial was suspended last March due to the absence of lawyers for defendant Vu Thi Hoa and a number of witnesses.

It was the first time the Peoples Court had opened a trial on stock price manipulation.

The accused include 35-year-old Tran Huu Tiep  former management board chairman of the Central Mining and Mineral Import Export JSC (MTM), 53-year-old Nguyen Van Dinh  former director of the mining firm Nari Hamico, and former officials of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Tien Phong Bank (TPBank).

Tiep, Vu Thi Hoa and Nguyen Le Truong were accused of fraudulent asset transfers.

Defendants Bui Thien Ly and Do Huu Tai were accused of manipulating stock prices.

Dinh and four other defendants were accused of falsification of stock trading documents.

Five other defendants were accused of forgery in the course of employment.

According to the courts indictment, Dinh bought the legal documents for MTM in 2010. The company had no charter capital and no business operation.

Dinh and Tiep collaborated with bank officials to falsify the companys portfolio, which showed MTM had 103 shareholders with 31 million shares  equal to VND310 billion (US$13.8 million)  in 2014 to meet listing requirements.

Bank officials in 2013-15 helped the two defendants counterfeit financial invoices worth VND485 billion to validate shareholders capital contributions and the firms business results.

While completing requirements to list MTM shares on the stock market, Dinh was put into custody and accused of counterfeiting business stamps and documents to avoid taxes and violating lending rules in another case.

Tiep and his partners continued to put MTM shares on the stock market in mid-April 2016 and he owned half of the companys total post-listing shares, worth VND155 billion of charter capital.

In June 2016, when the false trading of MTM shares was discovered, the company had had more than 1,150 investors, 71 per cent of whom had reported the case to the police for investigation.

MTM shares were immediately de-listed from the stock market.

According to the court, the accused caused a VND56 billion loss to the stock market, including VND53 billion worth of revenue from selling MTM shares to other investors.

The court summoned 1.065 victims, 107 people with rights and obligations related to the case and 10 witnesses. However, few showed up.

Some 20 lawyers participated in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the 15 defendants at the trial.

The trial will last until May 7.
Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday coalition airstrikes in an eastern province have killed up to 50 Islamic State militants, while Taliban insurgents have killed at least seven government forces in a western district.

The Defense Ministry said the overnight airstrikes were carried out in coordination with Afghan ground forces and they struck IS training centers in the troubled Chapa Darah district of Kunar province. It asserted foreigners, including Uzbeks and Pakistanis were among the slain militants.

The deputy provincial governor, Gul Mohammad Baidar, told VOA that a key IS commander of Uzbek ethnicity also was among the dead. He confirmed there was no letup in clashes in the district involving Taliban insurgents and IS militants.

U.N. humanitarian agencies have reported the fighting in Chapa Darah has forced thousands of Afghan families in recent weeks to flee to safety.

The Taliban and IS routinely attack each others positions in Kunar and parts of neighboring Nangarhar province in their bid to expand their influence. Both of the Afghan provinces border Pakistan.

Separately, officials in the western Afghan province of Badghis confirmed Saturday the Taliban late night stormed security check points in the Qadis district, killing seven police officers and injuring several others.

Authorities in the eastern Ghanzi province said airstrikes by Afghan forces and their international partners Friday night killed eight civilians, and the incident is being investigated.

US-Taliban talks

Meanwhile, American and Taliban negotiators resumed peace talks Saturday in the Qatari capital of Doha after a one-day break, although neither side has reported whether the discussions are making any headway.

Officials said the talks remain focused on when U.S.-led foreign troops will withdraw in return for Taliban assurances that Afghanistan will not be used by transnational militant groups, including al-Qaida and IS.

U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, emphasized the need for all parties involved in the Afghan conflict to reduce violence in order to support efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement.

All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process. All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready, Khalilzad tweeted Saturday.

In a statement Friday, though, the Taliban again refused to cease hostilities or engage in intra-Afghan peace talks until their ongoing dialogue with Washington produces an agreement on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

Khalilzad repeatedly has stated that a final deal with the Taliban on troop withdrawal and counterterrorism assurances would require the insurgent group to engage in intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire.
Azerbaijan is a small country, yet it makes a large footprint on the world stage in two areas: oil, of which it has much, and media freedom, of which it has little.



Azerbaijan's oil wealth gives the nation's president, Ilham Aliyev, an unusual amount of power on the world stage. World leaders such as Germany and the United States have protested the state of media freedom in Azerbaijan, but they also strive to keep good relations with the Caucasus nation on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Germany, in particular, has been discussing importing oil from Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian resources.



Khadija Ismayilova can tell you about media freedom in Azerbaijan from firsthand experience.



The 42-year-old journalist rose to international fame when she was jailed in 2015 for tax evasion and abuse of power. Since being freed after the Supreme Court amended her sentence, she remains on probation, which means she can't leave the country.



That has prevented her from accepting a job in Lithuania and an award in Sweden, and visiting her mother before she died in a hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Her assets have been frozen by the government to pay the taxes it says she owes.

Ismayilova says she has been subjected to government harassment because of the subject matter she covers: Her corruption investigations have exposed far-reaching illegal financial dealings in the Aliyev family.



Yet Ismayilova continues to investigate corruption through an international organization known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It is an investigative reporting platform that involves a number of nonprofit entities and major news organizations worldwide.



She also compiles records on political arrests and jailings in Azerbaijan  a practice that involves not just journalists but also political activists and human rights advocates. Lawyers, too, are in danger of retaliation from the government. Ismayilova says many lawyers have been disbarred because they defended people against the accusations of the government.



Convictions



Ismayilova has worked for Voice of America, and for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which closed its Baku bureau in 2014. That's where the tax evasion charges began.



"Right now my legal problem is that the government announced I have to pay the tax on behalf of Radio Free Europe. It's absurd," she says. "Radio Free Europe is nonprofit and should not pay any taxes. But the government demands it."



RFE has participated in her defense, but she says its response has been too slow and bureaucratic to do her any good. And tax evasion is not the only roadblock to her work.



"Another conviction that I have is illegal entrepreneurship. The government says that because I don't have international accreditation in Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, all the money I earn from foreign media is illegal." She says she even has been fighting to obtain the honorarium from a UNESCO award she won in 2016.



Her work today involves teaching young journalists to do investigative work. But she does not teach in a traditional setting.



"I'm not allowed in classrooms," she says, because universities must be licensed by the government. She works with nongovernmental organizations to find young journalists interested in investigative work, and then trains them in small groups in private settings.

Restrictive situation



Human Rights Watch says "the space for independent activism, critical journalism and opposition political activity in Azerbaijan has been virtually extinguished." RSF ranks Azerbaijan 166th out of 183 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.



Today, she says, the country has more than a dozen journalists who are banned from leaving the country. There also are five journalists in prison.



When asked what would be a marker of change in her country of 10 million, Ismayilova's answer is instant.



"Independent judiciary. When the judge will be able to say no to the political regime when he's being ordered to rule against [a defendant] for political reasons. That will be a solution for many things."



Still, Ismayilova says she wouldn't want to move elsewhere.



"I don't want to leave the country for good," she says. "I love my country. But ... when you know that you are trapped here, they make you feel that the country is not just motherland, it's also a prison."
Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

The right moment

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

A nation in political turmoil

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers _ though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said.

High point of coronation

A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
This story originated in VOA's Amharic service, with Salem Solomon contributing.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA  Ethiopias historic strides toward democracy and openness have given journalists in the country hope for greater freedom to report the news.

In a speech Thursday at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged journalists to seize the moment.

But he also cautioned restraint.

We need to ensure that the opening up of the media space does not facilitate misinformation, the spread of hate speech and fake news, Abiy said. The pivotal moment that Ethiopia is in right now to help into its true potential can only be realized when those who are tasked with a duty to inform are aware of the responsibilities that come with such freedoms.

Abiy spoke in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Events organized by UNESCO also unfolded at the United Nations Conference Center and the headquarters of the African Union, both in Addis Ababa, the capital.

A delicate balance

Last year, Abiy made worldwide news when he released all journalists held in Ethiopian jails. It marked the first time in 14 years that no journalists were behind bars in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.

Ethiopia also opened up internet access and unblocked about 260 websites.

Ethiopian journalists attending the event, organized by UNESCO, said working for more press freedom while dealing with the threat posed by irresponsible media is a difficult balancing act.

Tsedale Lemma, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent magazine Addis Standard, said the press must meet high standards and report with integrity in the wake of newfound freedoms.

For far too long, weve been asking the government to liberalize the media, to lift its pressure on the media, its suppression on the media. A lot of sacrifices have been paid by many, many journalists throughout the past many years, and now that that time arrived, it sort of caught us unprepared, she said.

Tsedale worries about the rise of what she calls populist media that sensationalize news and stir up ethnic hatred in the country. She said it is the job of the press to police itself, with government assistance.

It is a delicate balance that we need to diligently thread through, and the government needs to pay attention not in a way of bringing back its suppression but in a way of supporting genuine journalists who are trying hard to do professional journalism, she said.

Ethiopia offers hope

Worldwide, about 100 journalists were killed in the past year, and more than 300 remain in prison.

But some international attendees at the conference found hope in Ethiopias achievements.

Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist, told VOAs Amharic service that he did not expect to find Ethiopia hosting an event to commemorate press freedom.

It was a great surprise for me that, in just one year, in 2018, Ethiopia was a country where lots of journalists were behind the bars, he said. When the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power, he liberalized the media. He released all political prisoners, and many journalists they were also released.
Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.



The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the state's governor, Hashim Khalid.



About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp, but they soon unleashed "violence on a unit of armed forces" in Nyala, Khalid said.



Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left "critically wounded," he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.



After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to the armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the region's military headquarters and organized by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.



The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.



It called on supporters to "reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia, and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala."



Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks.



Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the country's army rulers hand over power to civilians.



A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudan's western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.



The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.



Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.



In recent years violence has dropped in Darfur, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see whether he is still fit to rule.



The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible," according to the ruling seen Saturday by AFP.



Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.



But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.



"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads one of the groups behind the bid, said.



Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered Oct. 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.



During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum. A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.



But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial inquiry into his state of health.



Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.



Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967.
Militants fired a barrage of rockets Saturday from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into southern Israel, the Israeli military said.

Israel retaliated with air strikes from Israeli aircraft and tanks. The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians died, including a pregnant woman and an infant.

One airstrike Saturday struck a building housing the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Turkey strongly condemned the strike.

Israel said at least 250 rockets were lobbed into Israeli territory and that dozens were intercepted by Israels air defense systems.

Four Israelis were wounded by the rockets.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, while two Israelis soldiers were wounded in weekly protests near the border.

The flare-up comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders are in Cairo trying to finalize a fragile agreement that was hoped to lead to a long-term cease-fire in Gaza.

The latest violent outbreak, the most intense along the Gaza in weeks, also comes days before Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

The Eurovision song contest is also to be held in Israel at the middle of the month.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
Nearly three months into his second tenure at the helm of the U.S Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr finds himself in a hornet's nest he once sought to avoid.

In June 2017, just as special counsel Robert Mueller was widening his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Barr, then a lawyer in private practice in Washington, was ushered into the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump was beefing up his legal defense team amid allegations that his campaign had colluded with Russia. Trump wanted to know whether the semiretired Barr was "envisioning some role here," but Barr said he wasn't.

"I didn't want to stick my head into that meat grinder," Barr recalled during his confirmation hearing in January.

The Republican attorney general faces a barrage of criticism and a possible contempt vote by House Democrats over his characterizations of Mueller's final report, including charges that he's acted more like Trump's personal lawyer than an independent broker.

Trump had a famously fraught relationship with his first attorney general, former Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom he publicly belittled for allowing the Justice Department to investigate him.

Critics say that in Barr, who first served as attorney general in the administration of former President George H. W. Bush, Trump has finally found a partisan willing to stick up for him.

"We have a chief law enforcement officer who is definitely the defense lawyer for the president," Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, one of Trump's staunchest critics in Congress, said during an acrimonious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report on Wednesday.

Hirono and some other Democrats have been calling on the attorney general to resign for failing to divulge, in earlier congressional appearances, that Mueller had complained that Barr had not fully conveyed the findings of his report critical of Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr had lied to Congress and called it a "crime."

Justice Department officials have called the allegations scurrilous and say the attorney general has no intention of stepping down.

The controversy gripping Washington started after Mueller submitted a 448-page report on his investigation to Barr on March 22. The report concluded that there was insufficient evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to support charges, but it left unanswered the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice despite citing 11 instances of potential obstruction.

Barr said he was puzzled by Mueller's indecision, so he and his No. 2, Rod Rosenstein, examined the evidence and concluded there weren't sufficient grounds to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.

Barr's legal determination, first outlined in a March 24 summary letter to Congress, outraged Democrats. Many worried that it enabled Trump to claim "total vindication" before the full report was released.

The attacks on the attorney general's actions reached a crescendo this week after it emerged that Mueller had complained in a letter to Barr that his summary to Congress "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance" of his conclusions.

Barr's defenders say the attorney general followed Justice Department regulations and had no choice but to make a legal determination about a question Mueller had left unanswered.

"He and he alone as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States was left with the burden and the responsibility to do something after he got that report," said Charles Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "I don't think Attorney General Barr was necessarily saying, 'I approve of the president's conduct here.' "

The attorney general, Stimson said, had made good on a pledge he made at his January confirmation that he would not interfere with the Mueller investigation and that he'd release as much information as possible to Congress and the public.

"I think what's really undergirding all of the angst and anger on the side of the Democrats is that the Mueller report did not find collusion," Stimson said.

Tim Flanigan, a former assistant attorney general under Barr in the early 1990s, rejected the Democrats' depiction of Barr as Trump's defense lawyer.

"I can understand why they're making that characterization for political purposes, but it has no basis in fact," said Flanigan, who is now the chief legal officer for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. "I'm very familiar with the way the independent counsel regulations function, and it seems to me that Bill has, in every step of the way, performed exactly the duties that he was required to do."
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he thought more troops would turn against President Nicolas Maduro during Tuesday's attempt to oust the embattled leader.



In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido said he expected Maduro to step down following major defections of members of the military. But, as Maduro and Guaido were vying for military support, there were no mass breakaways in the ranks.



Tension continues to run high in Venezuela since the failed effort to oust Maduro. The Lima Group, a 12-nation body formed in 2017 to help establish a peaceful end to the Venezuelan crisis, met Friday in Peru's capital and decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to the turmoil.



On Saturday, Maduro appealed to the military on state television.



"We're not a weak country but one with strong armed forces that has to show itself as united and cohesive as ever. Say no to traitors! Out, traitors! Unity and supreme loyalty to the constitution, the fatherland, the revolution and to its legitimate commander-in-chief!" he said, asking soldiers to raise their weapons in the air.

Later, Maduro visited a military base for a third straight day, hoping to garner support from troops. State television showed him walking with hundreds of uniformed soldiers after commanders briefed him on military issues. There were 3,500 soldiers at the site, according to state television.



Maduro wrote on Twitter Friday night that he'd met with generals and admirals who vowed to defend "national sovereignty with loyalty and patriotism."



Guaido is considered Venezuela's legitimate leader by the U.S. and 50 other countries. On Friday, he said supporters would hand out a letter to members of the military at a nationwide protest on Saturday, calling on them to support Maduro's ouster. But that did not appear to be a successful effort. One soldier took the memo handed to him and burned it.



A plot for some of Maduro's top aides to defect this week to the opposition appeared to have come apart at the last minute, according to several news reports.



Weeks of secret talks between the top aides and opposition leaders  including recently freed Leopoldo Lopez  culminated in a document that guaranteed Maduro loyalists like Gen. Ivan Hernandez, chief of military counterintelligence; Defense Minister Vladamir Padrino Lopez; and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno places in a post-Maduro interim government and a promise that they wouldn't be prosecuted, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

All three officials have remained publicly loyal to Maduro. A fourth top aide, who heads Venezuela's intelligence agency, Gen. Manuel Figuera, did break ranks and has since disappeared, according to the AP.



Lopez, a Guaido mentor who had been detained since 2014 and under house arrest since 2017 for organizing marches against Maduro, told the AP that he had been secretly speaking with top Maduro loyalists about their possible defection to the opposition for weeks.



One former U.S. official who spoke to the AP on background suggested that distrust between Trump administration officials and Maduro's inner circle contributed to top Maduro aides' reluctance to abandon the embattled Venezuelan leader.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that Egypt had mediated.



The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.



Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.



The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.



The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

50-plus injured



The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator, 31, had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.



Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.



More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.



Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.



Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Brazils far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled a trip to the United States, his office announced Friday, after sharp protests against his being honored as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaros past racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues in New York refuse to host the gala dinner, including the American Museum of Natural History.

Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week yanked their support for the event.

Bolsonaro spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros said in a statement the president would not be attending the dinner because of the resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups on its organizers and sponsors.

Delta said it would no longer be sponsoring the event, but declined to give further details.

The Financial Times also said it would no longer be a sponsor of the event while declining to give further details.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, Bain said. Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

The cancellation is seen as a blow for Bolsonaro, who has actively courted closer ties with the United States and particularly President Donald Trump, whom he has praised.

Bolsonaros rejection by corporate heavyweights also hurts his vow to grow foreign investment in Brazil.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all declined to comment on whether they would abandon the event.

On its website, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce said it had chosen Bolsonaro as its person of the year because of his intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro is loved by his supporters for his outspoken views on guns, family values and the military. But his critics accuse him of racism, homophobia and misogyny. He once said a female lawmaker was too ugly to rape, and said he would not be able to love a gay son.
Russia appears to be shifting its stance on Chinas Belt and Road development initiative in Eurasia, envisioning a bigger role for itself in the process, in what could be a sign that Moscow is worried about waning influence among its neighbors.

When Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing last month for Chinas Belt and Road Forum, he described Russia-China relations now as the best they have been in their entire history. He also said the Belt and Road initiative is intended to strengthen the creative cooperation of the states of Eurasia.

But Putins enthusiasm for participating came with a polite demand, asking China to accommodate Russias Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was originally meant to be a Russia-led alliance on political, trade and infrastructure construction issues in Eurasian countries. But the plan has suffered because of Moscows paucity of funds.

From Russia with love

In his speech, Putin indicated that Russian cooperation is essential to overcome challenges to BRI in the Eurasian region.

(Furthermore,) it is necessary to eliminate infrastructure restrictions for integration mainly by creating a system of modern and well-connected transport corridors. Russia with its unique geographic location is willing to engage in this joint activity, Putin said in his speech.

Putin proposed an integration between different programs and institutions like EAEU, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and One Belt, One Road (old name of Belt and Road Initiative).

Mohan Malik, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at Honolulu, said Putin insists on calling the Chinese plan by the old name to expose Chinas attempt to show that all roads lead to Beijing.

By drawing attention to Moscows own EAEU initiative and stressing the need for OBOR to partner with the EAEU, the SCO and the ASEAN, Putin is indirectly criticizing Beijings go it alone approach which is already facing global backlash, he said.

It is also a reminder from Putin that Russia still has a significant presence in Central Asia, especially on security issues but also in trade and investment, said Zach Witlin, senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

Analysts said Putin is engaged in political posturing and some amount of bargaining for Chinese investments, but he does not have the deep pockets to match Beijings clout and implement Moscows Eurasian initiative.

Bargaining game

It is a sign of just how little bargaining leverage he has that he has to make such a plea in public and lump Russia together with all the rest as supplicants, said Stephen Blank, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Implicitly he is also trying to induce China to invest in the Arctic and other major infrastructure and transportation projects in Asia, he said.

China included a road link passing through Russia when Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced the Belt and Road plan in 2013. It took six years of wrangling before Russia recently agreed to implement the project, which is the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway. The road is meant to link Chinas western neighbor Kazakhstan with Belarus.

But Putin did not mention the project in public discussions during his Beijing visit last month.

In Russia, the project has been given least importance with just one line being mentioned in the 110-page blueprint on National Projects published last February: By the end of 2024, the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway will be built.

The Chinese have been patient with Moscow for their own reasons.

Russia is very important for the Belt and Road, you need its cooperation to achieve success with Eurasian countries, Bloomberg quoted Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat and now professor at Renmin University in Beijing. You cannot bypass Russia.

But bargaining with Beijing for collaboration in other parts of Eurasia and South East Asia would not yield much result.

China will not cede primacy to Russia anywhere in the BRI, Blank said.

US role

The U.S. sent a relatively low-ranking delegation to the Belt and Road Forum meeting and issued a press release criticizing the BRI on several counts. Some analyst believe Washington is making a tactical mistake by allowing high-powered growth of the Chinese program in crucial areas like Eurasia.

Malik said the Obama administration had outlined its New Silk Road vision for joint investment projects and regional trade in the region.

However, Washington dropped the New Silk Road plan under pressure from Beijing, he said adding that the Obama administration largely ignored Chinas growing outreach in Central Asia.

In contrast, the Trump administration has reassessed the challenge that OBOR poses and turned extremely critical and hostile to it, Malik said.

U.S. officials routinely warn countries that Chinas infrastructure deals can carry long-term financial costs that countries can struggle to repay.

When Italy signed on to Beijings development plan in March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told U.S. lawmakers that such deals with China ultimately hurt the country signing onto them.

It may feel good in the moment: You think you got a cheap product or a low-cost bridge or road built. And in the end there will be a political cost attached to that which will greatly exceed the economic value of what you were provided, he said.
North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Koreas east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Japans Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Testing the moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang says. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was fully briefed by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Reports from Iran say a correspondent for a state-approved newspaper has been detained in a Tehran prison ward run by intelligence agents after she attended a rally by labor activists outside parliament.

In a series of tweets posted Thursday and Friday, colleagues of Marzieh Amiri at Irans Shargh Daily newspaper, which labels itself reformist, said she had been detained at Evin Prisons Ward 209. The ward is run by Irans intelligence ministry.

Shargh Daily correspondent Sudabeh Rakhsh posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri, whom she described as a friend, was arrested Wednesday at a rally held by thousands of labor activists outside Irans parliament to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day.

In a Wednesday report, VOA sister network RFE/RLs Radio Farda cited eyewitnesses as saying Iranian security forces arrested at least 35 people as they broke up the rally, beating some of those detained. Radio Farda said most of those detained were labor rights activists who had gathered peacefully to demand better working and living conditions.

In a report published Thursday, Irans Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) named Amiri as one of those who had been detained at the rally and transferred to Evin Prisons Ward 209.

The Shargh Dailys official Twitter account confirmed Amiris detention at the May Day rally in a Friday tweet, but said the newspaper still was trying to determine her location.

A reporter with another Iranian state-approved news outlet, Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Shahrvand newspaper, posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri had been arrested for doing her job as a journalist.

There did not appear to be any comments from Iranian officials about Amiris case in state media by late Friday.

In its annual report published last month, media rights group Reporters Without Borders said Iran slipped further toward the bottom of its World Press Freedom index because of an increase in arrests of Iranian journalists and citizen-journalists.

This article originated in VOAs Persian service.
South Korea called on North Korea to stop raising military tensions, after the North fired a barrage of projectiles into the sea off the east coast of Korea.



In a statement, a South Korean presidential spokesperson said the tests go against a September military agreement it signed with North Korea. Seoul said it expects Pyongyang to resume dialogue as soon as possible.



North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9:00 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.



It is North Korea's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the United States.



President Donald Trump said Saturday he still believes a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will happen. Taking to Twitter, Trump said Kim "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it." Trump added about Kim, "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen."



Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program.



North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirting his moratorium

Since November 2017, Kim has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.



Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



"Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."



After the launch, President Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.



"We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.



Measured escalation



North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.



Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.



Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.


Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.

The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday the results of elections for seats on local councils in England, the biggest of the UK's four nations, provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined the two biggest parties, Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

Meanwhile, support for Scottish independence has risen to its highest point in the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to remain in the European Union, according to a YouGov poll published in the Times last week.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We've had enough to last a lifetime," Davidson will tell delegates at the Scottish Conservative conference, according to advance comments.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years and part of the United Kingdom, rejected independence by 10 percentage points in a 2014 referendum. But differences over Brexit have strained relations with the government in London.

Davidson's straight-talking politics has made her a favorite of moderate Conservatives and given her high public approval ratings, while infighting has whittled away the authority of the prime minister and the standing of some of her rivals.

May addressed the conference in Aberdeen on Friday.

On returning to work this week after giving birth to baby Finn, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister but speculation continues to swirl  despite her currently not having a seat in the Westminster parliament but sitting as a member of Scotland's devolved assembly.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, she was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood and the kind of changes it has meant to her life, describing the effects of "bone-crushing" sleep-deprivation.

She said she had put her job before family and friends in the past, but being a mother had changed her priorities. "I don't think for one second (my job) will come before Finn."
Yulia Savchenko of VOA's Russian Service contributed reporting.



WASHINGTON  U.S. President Donald Trump applauded Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's announcement that his country plans to increase its military spending to 2% of its GDP in the next three years, as well as purchase U.S.-made F-16 war planes.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders after their White House meeting Friday said the U.S. and Slovakia "seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement."

Earlier, speculation about terms of a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, had stirred controversy in the Central European country. The Slovak foreign ministry described as lacking in knowledge and short on facts allegations that a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. would lead to encroachment upon Slovakias sovereignty.

In contrast to protests heard in certain quarters in Slovakia, a number of nations in Central Europe have shown an eagerness to enter into defense cooperation agreements with the U.S.

Last month, a bilateral agreement was signed between the U.S. and Hungary on the sidelines of events marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO, after more than a year and a half of negotiations.

In an interview with VOA, Laszlo Szabo, Hungarys ambassador to the U.S., described the agreement as both strategic and tactical in nature and as one that sets the terms under which American forces and other foreign troops can operate in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is negotiating an agreement that is quite similar, according to Hynek Kmonicek, the countrys chief diplomat in the U.S. Czechs regard the U.S. as the backbone of NATO, he told VOA, adding if you ask people how they feel about [the] 2% of GDP spent [on military expenditures], it usually has 80% [popular] support, which is quite extraordinary.

Among Central European countries, Poland is seen as the most enthusiastic when it comes to building ever-closer ties with the United States in military and security affairs.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in an interview with VOAs Russian Service that Poland realizes relying on its own defense forces will not be sufficient when it comes to a security guarantee, even as the Polish government is working to strengthen its military forces, including increasing the number of soldiers. The minister said the military presence of our allies on our soil is crucially important.

Not that Poland feels a direct military threat from Russia at the moment, said Czaputowicz, but from what Poland can see, Russia is prone to taking advantage of situations when it senses a weakness; like in Donbas, like in Crimea, referring to Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine. Poland, he said, plans to increase its defense spending to up to 2.5% of its GDP. The relative absence of an imminent military threat that Poland currently feels, as Czaputowicz sees it, is precisely due to Russias calculation of both how the country itself and its allies will react.

As negotiations between the U.S. and Slovakia on a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement unfold, Rachel Ellehuus, a former Pentagon official and current deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), cautions that the U.S. Congress has signaled that it will not allow funds from the European Deterrence Initiative to be spent in countries that have not signed a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. She also points out that the guarantee of assured access by U.S. military to signatory countries facilities could be a sticking point with certain allies.

That said, Ellehuus describes bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreements as pragmatic measures to enhance NATO deterrence and defense, while also ensuring needed protections for U.S. troops.

Think of them as legal agreements that strengthen the provisions in the NATO SOFA, she said, referring to Status of Forces Agreements among NATO member states.

From an operational angle, mitigating Russias time-distance advantages over the U.S. and allies, should conflict break out, is crucial to deterrence and defense, according to Billy Fabian, a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA).
Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.



Gen. Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years, and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.



The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.



There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.



Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.



The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.



He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.



Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Plot allegation



Algeria's army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.



In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief, whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.



Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state."

Tartag  described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother  was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.



Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."



According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.



Mediene said, "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudomeeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.



Algeria's former defense minister, Khaled Nezzar, meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.



Demonstrations continue in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
It's going to be a colorful election in the Rainbow Nation.

Whether you're a Leninite, a free-market capitalist, a right-winger, an outspoken lefty, a Shariah-law fundamentalist or just a dedicated pot smoker, South Africa's May 8 ballot spans the entire political spectrum, offering something for nearly every type of voter.

Forty-eight political parties are contesting this years national election, leaving voters spoiled for choice beyond the top three: the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters parties.

The smaller, newer parties have wildly different aims -- some, like the African Transformation Movement, are church-based and say their platform revolves around human rights. Others are aligned with more traditional political views, or have niche issues to push in national government.

But they all seem to share one thing: dissatisfaction with the political status quo. The head the ATM party, Vuyo Zungula, says they couldnt get the change they wanted through partnership with the ruling ANC. So they started their own party, through the South African Council of Messianic Churches in Christ.

The party, Zungula says, is pro-gay-rights and doesn't want to change existing laws that allow abortion. Instead, he says, the party wants to show South Africans the meaning of service.

We believe that what the people of South Africa truly need now, they need people who will genuinely serve them," the 31-year-old presidential candidate told VOA as about 100 of his followers packed into a hall in Soweto for the party's final rally.

While its likely the large, powerful ANC will dominate this election, analysts say the small parties play a valuable role in government. South Africas system of proportional representation means small parties dont need a large number of votes - as few as 50,000 are all it takes - to get one of 400 parliamentary seats.

That may include the scrappy Dagga Party - dagga is local slang for marijuana. The pro-legalization party was behind a widely celebrated, headline-grabbing Supreme Court ruling last year that saw the decriminalization of cannabis in South Africa. But the party missed the election registration deadline this year, so it instead joined forces with the brand-new African Democratic Change party, which is on the ballot.

Professor and analyst Ivor Sarakinsky says its this diversity that makes South Africas parliament great.

Those parties might be springboards to ask tough questions to the new parliament and the new administration after the election," he told VOA. "If they get support, they wont necessarily get big numbers, but their presence will add some real spice to the parliament thats going to be formed shortly.

Thats exactly what the tiny, six-week-old Capitalist Party hopes to do. The party is only fielding 10 candidates -- not enough to dictate terms on their own, but enough, their leader, Kanthan Pillay, believes, to play a valuable role in government because of their candidates' wealth of business experience.

All of the political parties out there are offering variations on the same recipe," he said. "Theyre all promising that government is going to create more jobs, theyre all promising that theyre going to cut back on government spending, and theyre all promising better levels of education. We dont believe that they have the capability to deliver on any of those things, simply because they lack the expertise to do so.

On the opposite side of that spectrum is another new entrant, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, which is part of the nation's largest single trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. Unions have traditionally backed the ANC, but spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says this party was born of frustration with the ruling party.

We are the only political party in South Africa that is fighting for the destruction of the capitalist system," she told VOA. "We believe that we represent the aspirations of the 23 million members of the working class of South Africa whose aspirations have, frankly, been ignored by the capitalist ANC government for the last 25 years.



At the end of the day, says analyst Angelo Fick, the ANC will win more seats than any other party. But the varied opposition, he says, is a reflection of a healthy democracy.

The plethora of choices in front of the South African electorate is not, for me, a sign of too much, too soon," he said. "It is, in fact, a sign of the vibrancy of the contestation around ideas."
Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the country's northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

On Saturday, government forces were sending new reinforcements toward Idlib, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of troops.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaida-linked militants attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week.

The command's orders were given to bring these big reinforcements to respond to violations, a Syrian officer who asked that his name not be made public told The Associated Press. We are waiting for orders to begin a military operation, God willing, soon.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said 22 civilians have been killed and more than 60 wounded in airstrikes and shelling since Friday morning.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported more than 115 strikes against rebel-held areas on Saturday alone. It said six civilians were killed on Saturday raising to 67 the number of civilians and insurgents killed since Tuesday when the government began its new campaign.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that government forces targeted positions of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the most powerful group in Idlib.

In violence in other parts of northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry announced one Turkish soldier was killed and one lightly wounded in northwestern village of Tel Rifaat when Syrian Kurdish fighters shot at Turkish troops. The ministry said Turkish troops launched a counter-attack.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization with links to Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

The attack came days after YPG militants carried out an attack in a Turkish-controlled region in northern Syria killing a soldier and wounding three others.
Top U.S. and Pentagon officials are considering options for Venezuela after calls for an uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaido apparently failed. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate interim president, called for members of the military to defect and for massive street protests. But Nicolas Maduro continues to cling to power, and some analysts say America's options are narrowing. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
Members of an Arlington, Virginia, mosque are being trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Worshippers are learning how to take security measures to protect themselves and save the lives of others. The training follows mass shooting at houses of worship around the world, including one in New Zealand that killed 51 people at a mosque, and another one at a Pittsburgh Synagogue that claimed 11 lives. VOA's Nilofar Mughal has more from Arlington.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa is promising a new dawn for Zimbabwe's media landscape. To mark World Press Freedom Day Friday, Mutsvangwa told VOA's Blessing Zulu that the govt is "working hard on the reforms, we certainly mean what we are talking about," referring to AIPPA and other laws.
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VOA Africa Division's Linord Moudou spoke to Melinda Gates about women's empowerment, work in Africa, the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and how men can benefit from women's empowerment.
SOUTHINGTON  A committee of town department leaders and residents tasked with reviewing town policies for inclusivity plans to meet for the first time next week.

The town policy diversity committee was formed by Town Council chairman Chris Palmieri following concerns from residents about minority inclusion and hiring.

Race issues came to prominence after a social media video last year in which a Southington High School student threatened black classmates. That led to residents and the NAACP urging the Board of Education to address a lack of teachers and administrators, as well as higher discipline rates for minority students.

Superintendent Tim Connellan formed a social justice coalition to propose solutions to those issues. Palmieri said he wanted a group that would look at what the town could do to improve inclusion.

Town Manager Mark Sciota will lead the committee. In addition to department heads, including Police Chief Jack Daly and Recreation Director David Lapreay, town employees were also encouraged to apply for a spot on the committee.

Town Council member Victoria Triano had originally suggested the idea for the committee and some of her picks for the group included First Congregational Church Rev. Ronald Brown and Southington Women for Progress member Dorie Conlon Perugini. Palmieri appointed them both to the committee.

Sciota said hell distribute policies for three departments: police, human resources and recreation. Members will then discuss them and any proposed changes then or at the following meeting.

The committee will also set goals and complete other organizational tasks.

Were going to introduce ourselves, get to know each other, Sciota said.

Conlon Perugini said she hopes that committee members can listen to and value diverse voices in town. Theres a collective responsibility to improve the town, she said.

Working towards equity isnt easy and is often times uncomfortable, but my hope for this group is that we commit to working together through the uncomfortable feelings so that we can achieve our goals, Conlon Perugini said. There are systems and processes that have been perpetuated for generations that continue to marginalize individuals and groups in our town.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m, Town Hall, 75 Main St.

Southington Town Policy Diversity Committee members

Mark Sciota, town manager and committee chairman

Ronald Brown, reverend of First Congregational Church

Elizabeth Chubet, Southington Public Library

Jack Daly, Police Chief

David Lapreay, Recreation Director

Jason Marquez, police dispatcher

Michelle Passamano, town and Board of Education human resources manager

Dorie Conlon Perugini, Southington Women for Progress

Jacqueline Santos-Villegas, town accountant

O.J. Shaw, Bristol NAACP

Christina Simms, Youth Services director
International

N Korea fires short-range missiles into Sea

Seoul, May 4 (IANS) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 12:04:59 PM IST

North Korea fired a barrage of unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9.06 a.m. and 9.27 a.m. on Saturday, Yonhap News Agency quoted the JCS as saying in a statement.

The missiles flew for a range of about 70 to 200 km, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details. Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, it added.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, reports CNN.

Japans Defence Ministry said there was no evidence the projectiles had landed in its territorial waters. Saturdays launch comes a few weeks after North Korea said it conducted a tactical guided weapons firing test, according to state media. In a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong-un praised that test as a great historic event in strengthening the combat capability of the Peoples Army. North Koreas missile programme made major strides in 2017, when Pyongyang claimed it had successfully test fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles. Rising international tension over Pyongyangs weapons programme eased in 2018 when Kim indicated his willingness to negotiate, and later met South Koreas President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.

After making some progress in 2018, talks appeared to stall this year when Kim and Trumps second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, abruptly ended with no agreement as Pyongyang pushed for more sanctions relief in exchange for denuclearization, while the US demanded greater evidence that the country is prepared to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
Central Texas radio talk show host Lynn Woolley will bring his The Lynn Woolley Show back to the air beginning Monday, with the show being carried by M&M Broadcasting stations from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

The conservative talk show hosts afternoon show will appear locally on sports-talk KLRK-AM (1590) and -FM (99.3). In the Killeen-Temple-Belton listening area, The Lynn Woolley Show will be carried on KTON-AM (1330) and -FM (93.9). A livestream can be heard at www.listencentraltexassports.com.

The talk show, which ran 23 years from Temple until last October, will feature news from Central Texas and across the nation with commentary and an audience call-in line.

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Waco attorney David Schleicher, Behrghundis attorney, said he will address the motion to dismiss.

This is the sort of response we expected and to which we will fully respond with citations to the pleadings and the law, Schleicher said.

The motion states the individuals named in the lawsuit, all current city council members, do not have standing to be sued under the claims. The motion claims the SOC group is a name of a Facebook page and is not an actual entity.

As shown on the site itself, the Save Our City Facebook page is used to promote community, city, school and church events, the motion states in part. The remainder of plaintiffs complaint amounts to political arguments between one citizen, other citizens and some elected and former elected leaders.

Witt, who now lives in Robinson but serves as chief planning officer and a consultant for Mart on a major overhaul of its water system, said Save Our City is meant to encourage a promising future for Mart. He said the group does endorse candidates in local elections but has chosen not to endorse Behrghundi.
MCAD officials are required to have 95 percent of the tax roll completed before they can certify the roll and give the numbers to taxing entities for budget preparations.

According to MCAD figures, the average homeowner saw a median increase in appraised market value of 4.8 percent this year, down from about 12 percent last year.

But its the accumulative effect over the last few years that have taxpayers flocking to MCADs office and galvanizing on social media in constant debate of MCADs methods.

MCAD has a $300,000 budget for legal matters this year, down from $450,000 the year before when MCAD officials thought they would be battling Sandy Creek in court again. MCAD also has a reserve fund of $400,000 to $600,000 set aside for litigation, Bobbitt said.

In 2018, MCAD spent $220,000 for legal costs, he said.

Most of the lawsuits are filed by businesses. If they sue MCAD, they are required to pay taxes on the undisputed amount. If they want to pay the entire amount, they get a refund if they prevail. If they just pay the undisputed amount and lose, they have to pay the remainder of the taxes, possibly with interest, Bobbitt said.
Police were told that the mother and a man had been in the home when the mother had fallen asleep around 1 p.m. She woke at 11 p.m., and the man and her children were gone, prompting her to call in the kidnapping report.

Law enforcement stated the day care reported that attempts were made to contact (the mother), but (were) unsuccessful and that an employee took the children home to be cared for, the CPS report states. Law enforcement stated the day care reported that this was the third time the day care had not been able to locate (the mother) at the end of the day.

The mother told police that she had been falling in and out of sleep and believed the children arrived home, the report states. She said she thought the man who was at the home at the time with her had her children, but she did not know him well.

(The mother) could not recall what happened on May 1, 2019 in regards to her children and could only remember the children being dropped off at day care that morning, the report states. (The mother) reported she informed the day care that she would not be able to pick the children up at the end of the day. However, the day care staff stated (she) did not notify them or provide alternative arrangements to have the children picked up.
Work crews with Webber LLC will begin removing the southbound exit ramp from Interstate 35 onto Fourth-Fifth streets Saturday, prompting the closure of University Parks Drive in both directions.

The work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. and University Parks will remain closed at I-35 all day.

Traffic on University Parks traveling west from Baylor toward downtown Waco will be redirected to Martin Luther King Boulevard. Eastbound traffic will be directed to 18th Street, according to a Texas Department of Transportation release.

The start of this work was postponed from Wednesday due to rain.

Only one lane on the southbound access road will be open Saturday, to provide a buffer zone between the demolition and the traffic in that area. The left and center lanes will be closed.

Demolition of the ramp will continue nightly through May 11.
One of the many hazards to look out for was sappers, who would often float down the river and attempt to attach lipid mines to a ship. As the Tutuila was permanently anchored, it made an easy target. Sentries were posted 24 hours a day, firing about 48 percussion grenades per watch, totaling more than 4,000 grenades a month, he said. A motor whale boat provided additional security, also firing grenades.

After two years, the Tutuila left Vietnam on New Years Eve in 1971. The ship would be turned over to the Chinese Navy at Keelung, Taiwan, later in the month. Fell was bound for another station in Japan, which would be his last ship: the USS Ajax.

Fell spent the next four years on her, coming aboard in Japan, and soon to be underway for San Diego. Fell, who was promoted to lieutenant commander during this time, went on the familiar WESTPAC tour. In January 1976, Fell married his sweetheart, Carol Evans, and she and her two sons joined him in July of 1976 at the Naval Magazine in the Philippines, where he was an ordnance officer.

They visited Korea several times and even went briefly to Hong Kong.
Following is the full Cambodian Government leaders message of homage to former President Le Duc Anh.

Since the first meeting at the Thong Nhat (United) Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in early 1978, he and the Vietnamese army and people have paid great help to the Cambodian people. Cambodia's United Armed Forces for National Salvation was formed with the direct support from him, the Commander of Military Zone 7 under the Vietnam People's Army at that time.

The Cambodian peoples liberation from the genocidal Pol Pot regime, the prevention of the return of the regime, and the national construction of Cambodia witnessed his contributions.

During the course of his mission in Cambodia, on behalf of the Vietnamese Party, Government and the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, he fully implemented the policy of respecting the independence and sovereignty of Cambodia as well as respecting Cambodian peoples choice on the political, economic and social system of the country.

In his capacity as President of Vietnam, he were one of the people, together with the Party, Government, the Army and people of Vietnam, enhancing the rapid development of the relations between the two countries in all fields.

From the first meeting until separation, he always paid attention to me and my wife and children, like father and son and like grandfather and grandchildren. I remember that when I faced the greatest difficulties in building the first army, he gave great support in any way possible so that the Cambodian army could grow up quickly.

He did not smoke, but never forget to send me cigarettes because he knew I smoked a lot. He always told me to take care of my health.

As a politician and Army Commander, I always regarded he as a genius military and political strategist, the likes of which I have never met in other countries.

Bidding farewell to General Le Duc Anh with great compassion.
State

Nagas are blessed with talents: Acharya

P.B. Acharya (DIPR)

DIMAPUR, MAY (NPN) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 11:34:09 AM IST

Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya said Naga people were blessed in every discipline, with talents and the ability to excel in whatever field they choose to embark on, a DIPR report stated.

Addressing the inter government college concert Constellation Music with the Stars organized by Higher Education department in collaboration with Music Task Force as part of the 1st Inter Government College Olympics 2019 at Kohima as principal guest, Acharya however expressed concern about the educational system in the state, and emphasized the need to change the system in order to encourage youths to pursue their academics in the state instead of pursuing outside the state.

He lamented that large number of educated Naga youths were serving outside the state due to lack of avenues and employment opportunities. For this, he urged the educated youths to be a job givers rather than job seekers in order to develop a strong and stable economy.

On resources, Acharya said Nagaland has enough natural resources both biotic and non-abiotic, besides rich in mineral deposits. Therefore, he urged the educated youths to give more importance on such untapped natural resources in order to develop a strong and vibrant society.

Higher & Technical Education minister, TemjenImna Along in his address welcomed and acknowledged the guests and invitees who had come from different parts of the country. He said Nagas are Indians and Nagas are proud to be part of this great country. Along expressed joy to introduce the reunion of the young youths in such a single platform, who one day will strive for the people of Nagaland and this great country with a vision to build a united India.

Special invitee, advisor for Skill Development, Labour & Employment, CAWD, Kazheto Kinimi in his address said though the state had high literacy rate, employment opportunity has become a major concern. Therefore, Kinimi encouraged the youths to avail various Central flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana for skill development. He also informed that the state was focused on skilling the youths to find gainful employment either as entrepreneurs or employees in the organized private and public sector.

Higher Education director, Dr. I. Anungla delivered the welcome note while director, Music Task Force, Dr. Hovithal Sothu proposed vote of thanks.

Artists likeMengu Suokhrie, Ayim Longchar, Alobo Naga & the band, Eastory and Kohima College choir also enthralled audience. Altogether, 13 government colleges took part in the event.
In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified.

Every year April 25th is Anzac Day which commemorates Australian and New Zealand troops that were lost in wars during the 20th century. The date commemorates the April 25, 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at what is known as Anzac Cove in modern day Turkey.

The name for the holiday is an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day was originally created in 1916 to recognize the casualties suffered by the Anzac troops during the Gallipoli campaign.

The day has since evolved into a holiday remembering the sacrifices of servicemen and women in all wars and conflicts that the two countries have been involved in.

Many New Zealanders gather in Central Otago on Anzac Day. This year, thousands of people attended services across the Otago Region, despite the close proximity to Easter and the school holiday which meant that attendance was lower than usual.

Most of the annual ceremonies in Otago take place at the many war memorials in the area to honor the dead whose names are inscribed onto them.

The memorials often contain the names of the soldiers that died in the war or the battle that the monument commemorates. But many of the names on the First World War memorials are incorrect, and no one has taken responsibility for making the necessary changes.

Gerald Cunningham worked as a volunteer for the Imperial War Museum in London. In 2018 Cunningham visited the Central Otago memorials with the task of cross-referencing the names on the monuments with locals who were known to have lost their lives during the First World War.

Once confirmed, the names were then added to the Lives of the First World War, the museums online database.

Cunningham discovered several name errors during his research. For example, he says that there is the name of a person who did not exist on the Clyde War Memorial, while incorrect names have also been found on a number of other monuments.

The authorities, including the mayor of Central Otago, the Central Otago District Council, and the local RSA were all notified of these inaccuracies over a year ago, yet no action has yet been taken.

With todays technology, the entire war records of Kiwi soldiers are now available online. The two major websites with this information are the Online Cenotaph (managed by the Auckland War Memorial Museum) and the New Zealand Army Service Records, which also includes copies of the original enlistment forms signed by the soldiers.

Cunningham says that the period of the First World War was a different time. Thousands of young men were conscripted in New Zealand and sent to Europe to fight in the war. The majority of those young men were single, poor, and had limited educated.

In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers were lost during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified. A further 41,317 young men were wounded during the war, and many more still suffered from mental health issues and were sent back home to try and survive as damaged civilians.

Read another story from us: ANZACS: The Australians & New Zealanders at Gallipoli, 1915

Erika Biddle, a representative of the Australian High Commission, spoke at the Memorial Gates during one of this years ceremonies. She said that recent events in New Zealand only further underlined the need for people to pause and spend a few moments reflecting on the sacrifices made by others so that the country could live in peace.

Central Otago was home to hundreds of those soldiers, with Cunningham continuing to state that they should be honored properly by accurately inscribing their names on the memorials.
Mexican security forces oversee the destruction of an illegal establishment used by drug dealers on the outskirts of Cancun. (Kevin Sieff/The Post)

The government, sensitive to several recent high-profile incidents, has deployed a Tourist Security Battalion to patrol Cancun, Tulum and the Mexican Riviera.
The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell (Oxygen at 7) This investigation into the case offers new insights and details.
The U.S. Secret Service arrested an individual at the Cameroon Embassy on Saturday. The agency did not release the persons name but said they were arrested around 4 p.m. for unlawful entry, simple assault and destruction of property.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington has set a May 30 hearing to decide the question, but in a 44-page brief, prosecutors said that Muellers appointment was valid and noted that the Justice Department has repeatedly paid other special counsels under the statute. The text, history, and long-standing practice, as approved by Congress, confirms that view, prosecutors for Justice argued in the brief.
By Express News Service

The quest to acquire the broadest possible user data is driving e-commerce and technology firms into strange waters. Early last month, one of the worlds largest technology companies -- Apple -- announced that it was launching a credit card in association with Goldman Sachs. A few months earlier, e-commerce giant Amazon had entered into a similar partnership with ICICI Bank in India to launch a co-branded credit. Now, reports say that Indian e-commerce players like Flipkart and Ola are likely to follow suit.

The diversification of consumer-focused internet platforms into financial services might seem strange, but experts and analysts like Ankur Pahwa of Ernst & Young say it is fairly intuitive and logical. Such associations give these companies access to one of the most valuable resources in modern milieu: data on customer spending behaviour.

E-commerce firms and technology platforms already have some of the largest repositories of such information, which they use to offer personalised offers to their users. What venturing into hard financial products like credit cards does, however, is open the door to acquire and use a wider range of information that is not limited to just their own respective ecosystems. If I have a credit card, Im not going to restrict myself to spending on just one platform. This gives the company insight they did not previously have: customer spending behaviour outside their ecosystems, adds Pahwa.

This insight is an invaluable resource because it enables them to maximise spending inside their own ecosystems. For instance, if someone purchases a holiday package on some other platform but uses this credit card, then the company can push associated products like travel insurance, car rentals etc from within its own, or its partners, portfolios.

Such products offer a platform for understanding user behaviour, which becomes a way to more effectively push your products to customers, Anand Ramanathan, partner, Deloitte says. Pahwa adds that this increases customer retention by increasing spending inside platforms.

Ramanathan also notes that financial services have become an important part of the product proposition and branching out into the segment offers natural synergies companies can exploit. You are reducing the total cost of ownership of your products with solutions like this, and therefore the number of people who can afford your product also goes up, he points out. Offering finance solutions is also one of the ways in which you are able stave off a potential customer being diverted to some other channel, thereby increasing the e-commerce pie itself, he concludes.
Brandi Colbert, assistant manager of the nearby Kent Point Marina, said she heard the helicopter fly over about noon. It did circle the farm behind us twice, she said. Then shortly thereafter it was gone.
The state filed the document with many of the passages and the chart blacked out. But in a subsequent response, Teva accidentally reproduced it without those redactions. The documents have since been put back under seal in the court file, along with tens of millions of other pages produced by the companies in the case.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has urged countries to "get real" on meeting the commitment of Paris Agreement on climate change, highlighting the need for effective carbon pricing.

At a panel discussion held by the Centre for Global Development, Lagarde on Friday said that global warming is an "existential threat", and called on countries not to waste the "small window of opportunity" to take the measures needed to combat the problem.

The IMF chief said that carbon pricing, charging for the carbon content of fossil fuels or their emissions, is "the most effective mitigation instrument" for climate change and it provides incentives to reduce energy consumption, use cleaner fuels, mobilize private finance and provide revenues to support sustainable and inclusive growth, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ | Book brings harsh reality of climate change closer

In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed on the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a way to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2017, prompting a strong backlash domestically and abroad.

The goal of the Paris Agreement would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around 70 dollars per tonne, whereas the current global average carbon price is only 2 dollars per tonne, according to a newly-released IMF paper.

ALSO READ | Climate change: Emperor penguins breeding ground destroyed, thousands of chicks die

Noting that carbon pricing can be politically difficult, the IMF chief encouraged countries to gradually phase in carbon pricing and smartly communicate policies.

Another panelist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Finance Minister, also stressed the importance of communicating with the people.

Okonjo-Iweala said that governments should explain policies clearly so that people at the bottom end of the ladder understand that they are not going to get hurt and resources will be used for their benefit.

"It is difficult to understate the urgency of this task as the window for containing global warming to manageable levels is closing rapidly," Lagarde said in a blog that she co-authored.

"Action is required by everyone, every institution, every country. Everyone can make a difference!"
Fiercely protected by the members of Congress through whose districts they run, the long-distance routes should have been trimmed long ago; unfortunately, Amtrak will once again face a difficult fight to trim them now. Perhaps even more significant, though, may be objections from the nations freight rail carriers, which own most of the tracks (outside the Northeast Corridor) over which Amtrak would have to run the passenger trains in its proposed more efficient, consumer-friendly system. Though legally bound to provide Amtrak preferential access to their track, freight companies have historically interpreted that mandate very narrowly, arguing that the passenger trains dont pay the true full cost of their track usage and interfere with the equally pressing needs of shipping and commerce. They have a point; even if its ridership were to double, Amtrak would barely dent congestion and carbon output, whereas freight rail takes the place of countless trucks that would otherwise spew diesel fumes into the atmosphere.
It is important to understand that transit agencies maintain complete and final control over all material aspects and operations of their rail cars. Regardless of the manufacturer, rail cars are designed and built to meet specific technical requirements. Once rail cars are delivered to a transit agency, the agency has exclusive operational control and rights over the rail cars.
The results are chilling. The system is tracking the movement of people by monitoring the trajectory and location data of their phones, ID cards and vehicles; it is also monitoring the use of electricity and gas stations by everybody in the region, the report says, adding: When the IJOP system detects irregularities or deviations from what it considers normal, such as when people are using a phone that is not registered to them, when they use more electricity than normal, or when they leave the area where they are registered to live without police permission, the system flags these micro-clues to the authorities as suspicious and prompts an investigation.
The juxtaposition of two Metro articles on April 28 was brilliant. William & Mary to memorialize enslaved people described the colleges honest effort to confront its past sins of slavery by remembering those enslaved people, many by name, and to honor them in a meaningful, heartbreaking and powerful memorial on campus. This is what we should be doing throughout the country, on all ground built on the shame of the enslaved labor of human beings. It left me feeling hopeful and moved me to tears. Just above this article appeared White nationalists interrupt authors book talk  a gut punch of the reality of how white supremacy flourishes still, poisoning the landscape of our nation. The two articles together presented the stark conflict that has arisen from the politics of today. We have the encouragement of white supremacy from the highest office in the country at the same time that many are making honest efforts to reconcile with the shame of enslavement on which this country was built.
Thats some reward for Mueller: Republican, former platoon commander in Vietnam, President George W. Bushs choice to run the FBI and one of our most honorable public servants. He was scrupulous and fair (the administration is now attacking him for failing to decide on whether Trump should be charged, even though Justice Department rules say a sitting president cant be charged), and his report was easier on Trump than many expected.
Attorney General William P. Barrs characterization of the Mueller letter criticizing his summary of the special counsels conclusions as snitty (meaning disagreeable, ill-tempered) was indeed curious [Barr denies accusations of deception, front page, May 2]. Even curiouser was the comment that it was likely drafted by a member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs staff, the implication being that it didnt reflect Mr. Muellers view. Someone, perhaps a member of Mr. Barrs staff, should inform the attorney general that when the person in charge signs a letter, regardless of who drafted it, it becomes that persons letter. If my letter to The Post is deemed snitty, that was my intent.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday informed Supreme Court that it will abide by the norms of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before fully launching its payments service in the country. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, appearing for WhatsApp, told the bench that they are only having a trial run, which is likely to be completed by July and that it wont launch payments services without complying with norms.

The companys statement came before the court when the bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, was hearing a petition seeking directions for the messaging platform to follow RBI norms for its payments service. In 2018, WhatsApp began piloting its payments service in India; it claims that almost one million people in the country are currently testing the feature.

But the formal launch, which was expected to happen at the start of June, has been repeatedly pushed back, pending regulatory approvals and over confusion on data protection laws. India is the largest market for WhatsApp, accounting for over 200 million user base. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that WhatsApp was not complying with data localisation norms, which is evident from the affidavit filed by the RBI.

To this, the bench said that if norms laid down by the RBI are not followed by WhatsApp, then it can be prosecuted. Dont worry our arms are long enough. They cannot escape the law, it said, adding that the issue requires detailed hearing. The matter was listed for July.RBI already had issued a circular directing the global payments service to store transaction data of Indian customers in the country itself. The idea was to have unfettered access to all payments data for supervisory purposes.

RBI slaps fine on Vodafone m-pesa, PhonePe

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India Friday said it has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, including Vodafone m-pesa and PhonePe, for violation of regulatory norms. Also, penalties have been imposed on Western Union Financial Services Inc and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, both US firms, for non-compliance of guidelines.
Electability is an elusive concept. It is not one of those that fits into the category of, I know it when I see it. It is born of individual biases and the conventions of history, often the search for something that seems to replicate something that was successful before. But a look back at presidential campaigns of the past suggests something else has been more powerful in determining who wins the White House.
After two years of [investigations] and being vindicated, and now in fact the tables are turning in that the investigators will be investigated, theres a certain amount of righteous indignation thats warranted, said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trumps reelection bid. The president has already shown that he wants to talk about it. Hes been tweeting about it. Im sure hell talk about it at rallies. Its something that the campaign will continue to point to.
Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William P. Barr. Warrens suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto ORourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.
Kelly, a retired four-star general, joined the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the first half of 2017. In that role, Kelly said he considered family separations as a way to deter mass migration to the United States. The policy was implemented once Kelly joined the White House team. A federal judge has ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 separated children with their families.
The Friday request, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that the injunction is needed to stave off the deadlines the committees set for the two banks to produce the requested documents.
Voters tend to see big funding proposals, or large tax cuts, as a giveaway to powerful interests, things that benefit others. It would take years for the new highway exchanges, bridges and refurbished dams to get approved by federal agencies, and by then constituents wont connect the dots to understand those projects came about because of congressional action a few years back.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: It was a step towards achieving her dreams for 23-year-old Jyothi, after a reputed degree college in the city accepted her application to pursue graduation recently.

It was after five years of giving up studies and working as a domestic help that this young woman completed her pre-university college education with 90.5 per cent marks and secured a seat in a degree college.

Aided by a BTM Layout resident and her employer Reetu Singh, Jyothi has been admitted to Jyoti Nivas College to pursue B Com, a first first step towards achieving her dream of becoming a banker.

It was in 2012 that Jyothi was forced to discontinue her education to cover the wedding expenses of her older sibling. She told The New Indian Express: I approached the owner of the house where I worked and she offered to put me through pre-university. Now, I am waiting to join college in a month.

For two years, she pursued her PUC in the Government PU College in Agrahara and will, for the first time, study in an English medium college, which was a challenge she took up.
Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements, the statement added. We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrites values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements.
Saturdays violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.
Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If its necessary, maybe we will approve it.
Its not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out, said Superlano. We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesnt it make sense to take it, especially if you dont have another tangible plan?
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Tripti Das (35), a public relations officer, had been planning her Sri Lanka trip along with her family of three for over a year. Post the attack, she immediately re-scheduled her tickets to Bhutan. Sri Lanka and Bhutan had been on our list since it was within our budget. So when the Lankan trip got cancelled, there was no question about our alternative plan. We checked the tickets, and with agencies giving us some concession, we made a quick turn, she said.

Das isnt the only one making last-minute changes to her trip. Bhutan, Thailand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam and Darjeeling are destinations that have emerged as new hotspots for those who have deferred or cancelled their travel to Sri Lanka. As mercury soars throughout central, western and southern India, the eastern destinations come as a respite owing to their pleasant climate. In addition, Indian tourists are attracted to the vibrant wildlife, intrinsic culture and delectable cuisine. Paro, Punakha, Thimpu, Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Kalimpong are the most preferred tourist sites at these destinations this season.

The postponement/cancellation also comes in the wake of special advisory released by the Government of India asking citizens to only undertake essential travels.

Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings, a travel agency, said, Travellers are shifting their choice of destination due to the situation in Sri Lanka. The travel advisory by the Indian government adds to the anxiety of the travellers.

Similar cost bracket is one of the significant factors influencing tourists in the city to choose Bhutan and North-East India destinations. Tourists can avail a five-night package to Bhutan for about `42,000 per person inclusive of airfare, and Sikkim along with Darjeeling for `38,000 per person for a six-night package that includes airfare. Cost to Sri Lanka is almost the same, said Anand.

We have received 10 per cent cancellations on pre-bookings from travellers who were planning to visit Sri Lanka. On the other hand, we also received around 15 new inquiries from the people who were already in Lanka when the attack happened, in order to look for secure ground transportation in Colombo, said Aditya Loomba, Jt Managing Director, Eco Rent A Car-EuropCar.

Increased accessibility via air and improved infrastructure are other factors encouraging tourists to opt for eastern destinations. While the land cost remains unchanged, many tourists seeking a last-minute change may have to shell out more due to the increase in airfare.

Several Indian tourists travel to island nations for its pristine beaches, a portion of whom can be seen flying to Maldives at a higher cost to ensure no compromise on the experience.
The president's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the United States had entered "a very strong and durable prosperity cycle". He gave all the credit to his boss: "He is president of the whole economy." By most measures, the US economy is in solid shape. It is expanding at a roughly 3 per cent pace, businesses are posting more jobs than there are unemployed workers and wage growth, long the economy's weak spot, has picked up. All these trends are helping lift a broader swath of the population than in the first five years or so after the Great Recession. Low-income workers are actually seeing healthy wage gains - larger than everyone else's. In March, the poorest one-quarter of workers were earning 4.4 per cent more than a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The richest one-quarter were up 3 per cent.

Lower-income workers had started to outpace their higher-paid counterparts in 2015, so it's not a Trump phenomenon. And part of the increase has occurred because of minimum wage hikes by more than two-dozen states. Loading The news isn't good for everyone. Workers in metro areas are still getting larger pay increases than those in smaller towns or rural areas, according to the Atlanta Fed's data. In fact, that gap that has widened since Mr Trump was elected. And overall income inequality hasn't narrowed. The richest 5 per cent of Americans earned 3.4 times a median worker's pay in 2018, according to the left- leaning Economic Policy Institute. That's up from 3.3 times as much in 2016.

Amid the largely positive news for Mr Trump, friends and foes alike question whether he can stay focused on the economy as the 2020 contest plays out. Blessed with similarly positive news in the past, he has veered into more controversial topics like immigration, the Russia investigation and personal attacks against his rivals. Democrats, in fact, are counting on him to change the subject. At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest. "The economic indicators would normally be incredibly positive for an incumbent president," said Jefrey Pollock, the pollster for Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand's presidential campaign. However, the pollster said hopefully and somewhat rudely, "He can't shut his mouth." At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest.

The latest CNN poll finds 43 per cent of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job as president. That's even as 56 per cent say they approve of his handling of the economy, marking a high for the President since he took office. He receives lower marks for other issues, including health care, immigration and foreign policy. Specific candidates aside, the General Social Survey, a respected nationwide survey, has found that the share of Americans feeling satisfied with their finances has returned to pre-recession levels. In 2018, about a third expressed satisfaction with their financial situation, up from 23 per cent in 2010. About 4 in 10 said their finances had been improving over the previous few years, while just 15 per cent felt them worsening. In 2010, more than twice as many said their financial situations were getting worse.

Last month, the government report said, the African American unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, up from a record-low 5.9 per cent last May. That's more than double the rate for whites. And in 2017, according to the latest data available, the black-white income gap widened, with the typical African American household earning $US40,258, while the equivalent white figure was $US68,145. Still, the Asian and Latino unemployment rates hit or matched record lows in April. By some measures, the job market has been better in the past. A much smaller proportion of Americans are working than in the late 1990s, the last time unemployment was nearly this low. Part of that is because the United States is aging and baby boomers are retiring. But even among workers aged 25 through 54, which filters out the impact of retirement and increased college attendance, a smaller percentage of people are working: in April 79.7 per cent had jobs. That figure peaked at 81.9 per cent back in 2000.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Gold smugglers have a new modus operandi  exploit unsuspecting domestic airlines operating on international routes to smuggle the yellow metal in and out of India. They also use the aircraft as a conduit or a channel to transfer gold and illegally hoarded US dollar transactions to bypass the customs.

A Mumbai-based syndicate, running an international network, has been found to be involved in this new modus operandi. Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have confirmed that the syndicate operates from all international airports in India, including Kempegowda International Airport.

On April 13, DRI officials intercepted two passengers, K Motwani and D Bhambani, arriving at KIA from Ahmedabad by Indigo airline, and recovered 2.5 kg of gold from them.

Their interrogation revealed a shocker: They told us that the flight - 6E58 - had originally come from Singapore to Ahmedabad before it came to Bengaluru, from where it was scheduled to return to Singapore. Their counterpart in Singapore had handed over the parcel of contraband gold to a passenger who had secreted it in the toilet cavity of the aircraft before he got off at Ahmedabad.

Motwani, Bhambani and their associate Pankaj got into the same aircraft at Ahmedabad, which was to return to Singapore via Bengaluru with $ 2 lakh (equivalent to `1.4 cr), which was meant to be paid to the handler at Singapore for the gold he had supplied.

At KIA, while Motwani and Bhambani got off the aircraft with the smuggled gold, Pankaj was supposed to continue with the same flight to Singapore on Indigo 6E73 with $2 lakh, which he would have retrieved from the aircraft before getting off at Singapore, said an official source.

The officer said the new modus operandi is used on other airlines operating international routes as well. The case also exposes the lacuna in foreign exchange rules, strictly governed by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI). In the last one year DRI Bengaluru has detected 15 such cases and seized 36.569 kgs of gold worth over Rs.11.30 crore.

Over 4 kg gold seized at KIA from Gulf returnees

In one of the largest seizures of gold at Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials on Thursday seized over 4 kg of gold worth T1.31 crore from two passengers coming from Muscat and Dubai. Both hail from Karnataka. In the first seizure, 3.678 kg of gold was recovered from a passenger hailing from Chamrajanagar, who was coming to the city by Emirates flight No EK-358 from Dubai. The gold was recovered from his check-in luggage after customs officials found his body language and response to queries suspicious, and decided to closely examine his baggage.

He was carrying a bench vice (a device used to hold a workpiece which is used in many woodwork and metalwork) inside which the gold was concealed. Two gold bars weighing 1 kg each and four cut pieces of gold bars were covered with black insulation tape and were packed inside a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice. In the second incident, a passenger travelling to Bengaluru from Muscat via AI-978 was found carrying 358.44 gm of gold valued at T11.75 lakh in his hand baggage. Gold was concealed in the handle of the trolley bag.
In McCredden's mind, Murray is irreplaceable. However, that doesn't mean his legacy won't live on. She points to young poets like Lachlan Brown, as well as more established ones such as Judith Beveridge, as Australians writing about sacredness. "In Beveridge's case [it's] Buddhism. Which was not Les' forte, of course, but I think they compare in the context of, 'What do we hold as sacred? What is beyond the material, capitalist present?' "Samuel Wagan Watson has also got a wonderful poem called Kangaroo Crossing which is about ... modernity but also Indigenous ancientness coming together in one, flashing moment." Beveridge, who was born in London, cemented herself as one of Australia's leading poets after winning a NSW Premier's Literary Award in the late 1980s for her collection The Domesticity of Giraffes. She has been a poetry editor for the prestigious literary journal Meanjin and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Sydney. Wagan Watson  a Bundjalung and Birri Gubba man based in Queensland  has several collections of poetry under his belt and last year won the prestigious Patrick White Award. His latest collection, Love Poems and Death Threats, explores songlines as well as ideas of injustice and resilience.

Neither Beveridge nor Wagan Watson disputed the idea that their work shares themes with Murray's. However, both were hesitant to compare themselves directly. "My spirituality is part of the fabric behind my lines," says Wagan Watson. "Whether something is perceived as sacred or not ... that's something else." Beveridge, meanwhile, describes Murray as an "intimidating" master of language. "What he gave me was a benchmark for really trying to get some intensity ... in one's own poetic language," she says. "I write about nature and the environment and human interactions with the environment. I think they're essentially sacred activities. If we don't open ourselves up to the beauty and wonder of the world, then we're not going to want to save it." One of the up-and-coming writers Murray helped inspire was Omar Sakr. Like Murray, the Sydney-based poet's work explores the downtrodden  but with a particular focus on Western Sydney.

Poet Omar Sakr at the Sydney Writers Festival. Credit:James Alcock Sakr says Murray had a "huge impact" on his writing, especially in the pieces exploring the gulfs and hollows of mental ill health. And just as Murray did several decades ago, Sakr is seeing the first glimmers of international success: his publisher, University of Queensland Press, recently sold the international rights to his second book, The Lost Arabs, to US-based publisher Andrews McMeel. So what other voices should people turn to now that Murray is gone? Beveridge's answer is simple: whatever catches your eye or ear. "Go to the anthologies, pick out the poets you find interesting," she said. "Anthologies are always a good place to start if you're not familiar with poetry. It's all done for you, more or less. Go out and explore." A fitting piece of advice given Murray's well-documented love of pluralism. "I have a very wide taste and I don't figure that any particular period should be dominated by any particular period of poetry," he told The Age in 2002. "'Let a thousand flowers bloom.' Mao didn't mean that when he said it."

Loading Indeed, award-winning poet David McCooey says it's possible to name "any number of poets" interested in the Australian landscape or what it means to be Australian. "There's a great diversity of voices in contemporary Australian poetry," he says. "They are working against national and transnational boundaries in interesting ways." The Age's former poetry editor, Gig Ryan, agrees. She says the proliferation of online publishing, the rise of creative writing programs and identity politics have all played a part in shaping the current Australian poetry landscape. "Poetry is now far more pluralist and inclusive, and has moved from that war between a conservative or internationalist stance."

Five of Les Murray's most beloved poems The Cows on Killing Day A chilling account of animals being slaughtered from the perspective of a cow. "Standing on wet rock, being milked, assuages the calf-sorrow in me." Corniche

A poem about the intersection between masculinity and mental health. "Back when God made me, I had no script. It was better. / For all the death, we also die unrehearsed." The Meaning of Existence As the title suggests, a meditation on life and the natural world. "Everything except language / knows the meaning of existence. Trees, planets, rivers, time/ know nothing else. They express it / moment by moment as the universe."

The Widower in the Country A piece about how grief stays with you. Nick Cave has said this is one of his favourite Murray poems. "I'll drive my axe in the log and come back in / With my armful of wood, and pause to look across / The Christmas paddocks aching in the heat." Equanimity One of Murray's finest, sprawling nature poems.
PS also hears Hadley's media chums have been valiantly trying - but without much success - to drum up some positive press lately. Indeed, the "good news" campaign appears to have been sparked by this column's on-going coverage of the Hadley sagas, not in the least last week's revelations that Andrew Moore was "filthy" over News Corp columnist and staunch Hadley supporter Phil "Buzz" Rothfield's glowing account of Hadley shaking Moore's hand during the first game at Parramatta's new stadium. Broadcast blue: ABC sport's Andrew Moore (right) believes Ray Hadley (centre), who he accused of bullying at 2GB, exchanged pleasantries for the benefit of Phil Rothfield's column. As Moore told PS, he felt "sick" by the report, and did not portray his true feelings about his former colleague. "Rothfield has been, as far as Im aware, the only one trying to find a positive story about the bloke," Moore told PS.

Fever pitch in Wentworth There's enough finger pointing going on between supporters of Liberal aspirant David Sharma and Independent Federal member Kerryn Phelps around the seat of Wentworth to rival The Saturday Night Fever show currently on at The Star. Things are getting personal on the campaign trail for Federal Member for Wentworth, Independent Kerryn Phelps,(centre), and her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps (left). Credit:AAP Campaign posters being ripped down, a candidate's wife taking on a political opponent at a public event, hateful and defamatory emails going viral, claims of anti-semitism and homophobia, unflattering social media posts mysteriously vanishing and embarrassing "blind" items about smelly artworks appearing - somewhat miraculously - in gossip columns. PS can hardly keep up, but on these pages we prefer to name names.

Phelps' wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps confirmed to PS she had approached Dave Sharma after a Holocaust memorial at the University of NSW last Sunday but denied Sharma's claims she was "angry and aggressive" when she spoke to him. She had joined around 500 others at the event and was there "honouring my own murdered Jewish family members". Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma hopes to win as a "modern Liberal". Credit:James Alcock Stricker-Phelps, a same-sex marriage campaigner and former school teacher, describes herself as a "public figure". She has been in the news ever since her calamitous departure from the exclusive Ascham girls school 20 years ago, when she quit after complaints were received when she revealed she was in a relationship with Phelps, a celebrity GP on national television at the time. Stricker-Phelps told PS she was upset with Sharma and "after the ceremony had ended, I went over to him and let him know we knew what he had done". Stricker-Phelps was referring to Phelps being approached last week by a reporter from The Australian to seek a response after Sharma had commented on a post in Phelps' Twitter feed.

Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, told The Australian: I was very concerned to see that my opponent has been retweeting endorsements from a prominent supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, one who has called on Australians to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Israel this month." However Phelps, who converted to Judaism in 1998 before she married Stricker at New York City Hall in 2011, had already deleted her retweet after being alerted to the author @Saints_Dragons' anti-Israel history. There was no mention of BDS or Israel in the Tweet, an endorsement of her re-election campaign by @Saints_Dragons, which Phelps had initially retweeted. Phelps pointed this out to The Australian, confirmed she was a supporter of Israel and made it clear she did not condone the BDS movement. The story, and Sharma's comments, were then binned. When asked about the story that never was, Phelps told PS: "It was a shameful attempt by Dave Sharma to discredit me and destroy my reputation within the Jewish community." Further fanning the flames was a ''Guess who don't sue'' item in The Australian's Rupert Murdoch-owned stablemate, The Sunday Telegraph, asking readers: "Which famously precious partner of one of our best-known politicians caused a scene at Potts Point restaurant Bar Rex on Tuesday night. First the airconditioning was too cool, then she complained that someone had brought a painting into the venue and the smell was making her feel sick."

The item was gleefully reproduced on the Potts Pointer's Facebook page, leading to a barrage of unflattering comments naming Stricker-Phelps, much of it from Sharma's staunchest supporters, before it was mysteriously taken down. Stricker-Phelps has labelled the story "fake news". For starter's the venue is called Bistro Rex. Bistro Rex owner Peter Curcuruto supported Stricker-Phelp's account, adding he had asked the artist if he could move the freshly painted work because of the fumes. "There was no issue, it was completely fine as far as I'm concerned ... I was just as shocked to see the item published. Absolute nonsense," he said. Stricker-Phelps told PS: "This is clearly an attempt to discredit me as Kerryn's wife," adding this was just the latest in an increasingly personal and toxic campaign, something with which Sharma is in agreement.

"I would be mortified if my wife approached another candidate. It was neither the place nor the time, though I actually did not hear what Jackie was saying to me," Sharma said, who also confirmed his comments to The Australian about Phelps' Tweet. Caped crusader to the rescue Chris Hemsworth's canteen duty days would appear to be numbered following the alarming events at Byron Bay Public School when a teacher was stabbed on Tuesday. Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky during the 2018 Australian Open. Credit:AAP While it has been widely reported that God Of Thunder Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky "came to the rescue" following the drama, PS has been informed that Hemsworth and his wife were actually on the grounds during the lock-down as police searched for the attacker.

Neither the school principal nor the NSW Department of Education would comment on Hemsworth's whereabouts on Tuesday, however within the school community talk has focussed on the big name Hollywood star being caught up in the ugly events that led to the school going into lock-down for four hours. Pataky later uploaded video footage of her hubby helping with the sushi rolls for that day's lunch on Instagram. The mood among the parents within the school canteen appeared pretty upbeat given the events which had occurred just hours earlier. Chris Hemsworth reports for canteen duty with wife Elsa Pataky. Credit:Nine The video is no longer on Pataky's social media feed. No doubt Hemsworth's Hollywood agents would be rather nervous about their big star being so close to danger, however the actor, his wife and their three children, have become deeply ingrained in the local community. Hemsworth is big property in Tinsel Town. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week Hemsworth was being paid between $21 to $28 million for playing Thor in each of the final two Avengers movies. That means movie studios fork out serious dough for "artist liability" insurance to help protect a production's bankrollers from financial damage in the event that the star, ie Hemsworth, is not able to complete his role. Meanwhile, Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is on the mend after receiving cuts to his face and arms after a female parent allegedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Birthday bash like no other Skye Leckie had her name up in lights for her two-day 60th birthday party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye in full flight as she serenaded husband David Leckie last Saturday night. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova She had been rehearsing her rendition of Gladys Knight and the Pips' You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me for months, but it was the dastardly smoke machine that Skye Leckie had not counted on last Saturday night during her grand soiree for her 60th birthday. As Leckie took to the microphone to sing:"I've had my share of life's ups and downs", the huge marquee began to fill with thick smoke.

Indeed it was a real "pea souper", and some of the 400-plus guests found themselves fumbling in the fog trying to work out where Leckie was. Who wore it best? Portia Turbo turned up in the same dress as Skye Leckie. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye Leckie in a rare quiet moment with her sons Harry and Ben. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova But once the ventilation kicked in, the tireless charity queen and doyenne of Sydney society was seen serenading her husband David, who appeared to grimace at the attention he was attracting, as "Skyzie" carried on, supported by her cheering sons Harry and Ben. However, former Channel Seven and Nine boss David Leckie could have been simply reeling from the size of the crowd that had descended on his Mulberry Farm for the evening, where a Versailles-sized marquee had been erected to create their own private country club.

Julie Bishop and David Panton at the Town & Country themed party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova PS hears Leckie had been told to expect around 150, but his wife has a lot of pals, and nearly three times that number managed to get into the joint. No wonder she had four outfit changes. Samantha Armytage and style blogger Melissa Penfold giving their own interpretation on the party theme. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Pol Roger poured all night and party pies fuelled the crowd, who mostly hit the dance floor. A New Year's Eve-sized fireworks display went off, and so did Skye. The likes of Graham Richardson (under a blanket and firmly seated), artist Tim Storrier, former model Deborah Hutton, Dial-A-Dump millionaire Ian Malouf, lovebirds Julie Bishop and David Panton, human headlines Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic, PR queens Deeta Colvin, Judi Hausmann, Naomi Parry and Sally Burleigh, newsmen Mark Ferguson and Michael Usher, a very single Anthony Bell, a very loved-up Samantha Armytage with her new man Paul O'Brien, billionaire Gretel Packer, fashion designer Jonathan Ward, Joh "Stretch and Burn" Bailey, Gai Waterhouse and comic Vince Sorrenti led the Southern Highlands charge.
We've heard barely a whisper about arts policy during the federal election campaign but that hasnt stopped one group of writers raising their voices in a novel way.

Inspired by Suzan-Lori Parks 100 Plays for the First Hundred Days, which was written during Donald Trumps first months as US president, seven Melbourne playwrights are collectively posting a play a day online as the Australian election unfolds.

"I thought it would be great  to offer a different take from the usual froth of politics  to try and get into the humanity of it and the drama of it," says Ben Ellis, who launched the project The Campaign & After Plays at voteplays.home.blog.

The parameters were simple: write a minimum of six lines, and ensure that some kind of change takes place.
Scott Morrison has secured a major statement of support from one-time rival Peter Dutton to ensure the Prime Minister keeps his position as Liberal Party leader whether he wins or loses the federal election.

The senior conservative MP, who is locked in a battle to keep his marginal Brisbane seat, also denied lying to voters about the arrival of sex offenders from Manus Island and Nauru and said the $180 million cost of reopening Christmas Island was worth it.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has represented the Brisbane seat of Dickson since 2001. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In a significant move to end years of leadership strife within the government, the Home Affairs Minister praised Mr Morrison for running a great campaign and dismissed the idea of another leadership contest after the May 18 election.

Scott Morrison should stay leader, win or lose, but my only focus is on him winning because weve got to save our country from Bill Shorten, Mr Dutton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Dark clouds threatened rain as schoolkids gathered outside the Sydney electorate offices of both Labor and Liberal politicians on Friday, but it didn't dampen their message on climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former prime minister Tony Abbott and Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese were among those targeted as part of the nationwide protest against climate change inaction by federal MPs.

School children at a climate change protest near the office of Tony Abbott in Manly. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The protest held extra potency in Manly, where Mr Abbott's 25-year grip on the seat of Warringah is under threat from independent candidate Zali Steggall in a campaign centred on climate change.

Armed with homemade signs, about a hundred students, parents and grandparents marched on Mr Abbott's Manly office, chanting the slogan favoured by Steggall supporters: "Time's up Tony".
(We do know of one amorous boyfriend who sent the object of his affection a picture of his object of affection. Sadly his fingers were as clumsy as his thought process as he sent it to her mother, whose number was next on his contact list. With Mother's Day just around the corner, this could be awkward.) When did private parts become public property? Under Section 19 of the Summary Offences Act, it states: A person must not wilfully and obscenely expose the genital area of his or her body in, or within the view of, a public place. Penalty: Two years' imprisonment. Another woman we know has been hit on by strangers through a professional online networking group - an activity she simply finds tiring rather than flattering. These sorts of events are annoying rather than threatening, but the dark underbelly of social media requires its own vocabulary. There is "swatting" - convincing emergency services to storm a persons home by faking a critical incident; "doxing" - publishing personal details of a target to place them in danger; and "revenge porn" - posting explicit images without consent to embarrass and humiliate. Tortoises know when to stick their necks out and when to withdraw to safety. Credit:AP

This reporter has been treated quite kindly as a rule by social media but as an old and slightly rancid-looking male I am probably not worth the effort to troll. It is rather like challenging a 100-year-old tortoise to a fist fight - the ancient combatant simply goes into the shell until the idiot loses interest. Female colleagues tell a different story, with one wisely refusing to have an online presence for she sees there is no benefit in reading bile. On May 17, as part of Law Week, the Victorian Law Foundation is to run a fascinating panel called "Stalking, Trolling and Bullying" with three expert authors: Rachel Cassidy, Ginger Gorman and Dr Emma Jane. They have discovered that the internet, designed to free us by providing instant communication and endless knowledge at the touch of a button, is being used to imprison by those who choose to live in a sewer of their own making. Those who justify their hate with the cloak of free speech do not address the problem that their end game is to intimidate and silence those who disagree.

Ginger Gorman, author of Troll Hunting. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos In her book Troll Hunting, Gorman reports on stalker/trolls who appear to encourage their perceived enemies to self-harm and use relentless harassment, including stealing people's identities, to destroy them personally and professionally. Women have disappeared from the internet, moved homes, changed jobs, altered lifestyles, lost friends or ultimately taken their own lives due to being stalked day and night by ex-partners, former workmates and total strangers. In her book Stalked: The Human Target, Cassidy talks to stalker James, who targeted a woman he met at a barbecue. She made it clear at the start that she had a partner, but I just didnt want to hear that, says James. He tracked her online and in person, learnt her movements and sent emails to her work colleagues: I thought if they sacked her she would come running to me.

His aim was to make her feel unbalanced so he could be the hero who rescued her. At one point he tricked a friend of his victim's into giving him his target's phone number and then rang her up to 60 times a day. It only stopped when he fronted and threatened her, leading to his arrest and incarceration, but even then the woman was forced to move to reclaim her life. Journalist and academic Jane is an expert in gender-based cyber hate and has been able to track how the online world has sent some off their rockers. Dr Emma Jane, cyberhate expert. She observes that her published opinions have always excited a response, often negative, but when she received feedback via posted letters the writers would criticise her views while sticking to the issue. Some threatened to cancel their subscription but none threatened her physical welfare. Since 1998 she has monitored how internet responses have become filled with hate and violence, with female commentators routinely told they are ugly, fat and/or sluts.

As she puts it in her book Misogyny Online: A Short (and Brutish) History, the tipping point in civility was the internet: The takeaway point here is that while many readers dislike me and my work very much, not once did any of them propose corrective gang rape as an intervention. She publishes a series of online posts sent to women that shakes your confidence in people and makes you wonder if humanity is heading at breakneck speed to some form of cliff. How could anyone not in need of immediate electro-shock therapy post something like "all feminists should be gang raped to set them right"? And that is tame compared to some of the posts she has received. She says British activist Caroline Criado-Perez received 50 rape threats an hour after having the audacity to campaign for more female representation on banknotes. The question with no answer is: how does an online dispute degenerate into an online sexual threat? Under Section 43 of the Crimes Act, a threat to rape is punishable by five years' imprisonment, and yet hundreds of these online attacks go unreported and uninvestigated. If you want to align the online world with the so-called real world, then we need to start locking up these offenders. Jane quotes the 2015 UN Broadband Commission's statement that 73 per cent of women have been exposed to some form of online violence and that women are 27 times more likely to be abused online than men.

One cancelled a speaking engagement when a harasser threatened "the deadliest school shooting in American history" and that she would "die screaming like the craven little whore she is". Jane is a perfectly reasonable person who spoke to us while trying to juggle parenting and professional obligations, which makes her matter-of-fact comments harder to comprehend. I had my first rape threat in 1998 and virtually nothing has been done since. I left journalism when the rape threats spread to my kid. Penalties for threatening people online need to be brought into line with stalking on the streets. Credit:Dominic O'Brien As part of her research she interviewed 52 women who have an online presence. Every one I spoke to said they had cut back on what they had said because of the backlash. There are topics that are just off-limits because of the reaction. She found a group online that was crowd-sourcing to look for plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She points out that increasingly employees are expected to engage online to promote their business and that if women are forced to withdraw, it impacts on their earning capacity: Organisations who want their workers to have an online presence have a duty to protect them from what is workplace harassment.
New polling commissioned by GetUp suggests former prime minister Tony Abbott is on track for a defeat by independent candidate Zali Steggall in his blue ribbon Sydney seat of Warringah.

A Lonergan poll of 805 Warringah voters shows Mr Abbott trailing Ms Steggall 56-44 on a two party-preferred basis. GetUp is campaigning against Mr Abbott in Warringah.

The poll also showed climate change and the environment is a top-order issue for Warringah voters.

Ms Steggall, an Olympic skier-turned-barrister, has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign and says the Morrison government has failed to act on emissions reduction or encouraging the renewable energy transition.
Bangkok: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn completed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn adjusts his crown at his coronation on Saturday. Credit:Thai TV

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married again.

His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.
London: It's chaos out there in Brexitland, formerly known as England, which has just finished counting the casualties of a local election bloodbath.

Well over a thousand local councillors lost their jobs as voters punished the Tories for their hapless, rudderless state.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after casting her vote at a polling station near her home in the Thames Valley. Credit:AP

And instead of reaping the spoils Labour was ruing its own losses: significantly fewer, but unexpected and humiliating.

Take it from plain-spoken Labour MP Jess Phillips, who complained on Friday: "Let the Tories play with the Brexit ball and let it wreck them. Why on earth are we allowing it to do the same thing to us that it's done to the Tories for 40 years?"
Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.
Jayanthi Pawar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two persons, including a woman, died after they were hit by a car at Villivakkam here on Friday morning. Police suspect the car driver, a realtor who also rents his car to travel agencies, was under influence of alcohol.Police identified the deceased as Mohanagopal and Sarasa. Eyewitnesses said a victim was dragged to nearly 100 metres. The driver got off the vehicle when he reached a street that had been blocked for Metrowater pipeline laying work.

daughter of victim Sarasa breaks down at the

accident site | DEBADATTA MALLICK

Police said the accident occurred around 7.30am. Deivendran was headed to his house at Villivakkam. Since, the service lane at Padi flyover was blocked, he took another route through Annai Sathya Nagar. As he entered the street, he lost control of the vehicle and first rammed a junction box. When he tried to reverse the vehicle, he knocked down a woman- Adhilakshmi, 55 and ran over her legs, said a police officer.

She was rushed to a government hospital.

Muthu, an autoricksaw driver, said Deivendran immediately took left and entered a narrow street, in which he first knocked down Mohanagopal and Sarasa who was caught under the car and was dragged for about 100 metres and fell off near her house on the same street, he said.The officer said that since Metrowater work was on, the stretch had been closed which was when Deivendran got off the car and tried to escape, but he was nabbed by the residents.

We handed him over to police and he was drunk, said Muthu.The accident was recorded on CCTV cameras installed on the street.A relative of Sarasa said the latter was heading to the shop when the car knocked her down and her body was found in front of her house. She is survived by three children who are all married and stay close by.Thirumangalam traffic investigation wing registered a case and arrested Deivendran.
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers.

Trump and Putin also discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on December 1, briefly talked about the report by special counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The report detailed widespread, persistant efforts by the Russian government to meddle in the US election by posting fake politicial advertisements on social media and organising political rallies.
Hilma Aysha By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The shock waves of the blasts that rocked Sri Lanka are being felt by the hospitality industry at Fort Kochi too. Due to the alerts and checks carried out by the Police, a lot of hotels and homestays in the region are seeing a drop in customer arrivals. According to Vineetha Willie, manager, Old Harbor Hotel, the reason might be the confusion among the public. She said, I live close by. The level of fear can be gauged by the instructions given by the priest of the nearby church. Because the attacks took place in the churches in Sri Lanka, we, as Christians, are especially scared. Last week marked the beginning of the Edappally church feast, but I was too scared to send my mother.

She added, "Though it is not the peak season, there has been definitely a drop in the tourist, both domestic and foreigners, arrivals. The hotels would have been fully booked by now for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram but the bookings are minimal this year. Many of the tourists, she says, arent aware of the situation. Some people keep themselves updated via media and other means. They regularly check with us about the current status.

The manager of the Park Avenue Hotel, Mohammed Jishad, claims the alerts have hit the hospitality sector drastically. He said, "both local and foreign crowds are afraid and dont want to take the risk. He goes on to say that the police should have carried out their searches in mufti and the media should have been kept out of it. On the whole, it is a divided house. However, the general consensus remains that the police in the region are efficient. The close proximity of the station and the goodwill of the police officers has been praised by most hotels and resorts.

Fleur Bernard, a citizen of France, vacationing in Fort Kochi said, The police of the region are very helpful. We didnt know about the alert and theyve been helping us with security and such throughout our trip. Their mere presence makes us feel safe, in spite of the apparent threat.

However, some of the hoteliers said they have not been particularly affected. According to Jerin Joseph, front desk manager, Hotel Forte Kochi, they havent been particularly affected by the alert, because the month of April is usually the off-season. "Also, the protocols enforced are not something new to our hotel. We used to carry these out even before the police notice them. There is not much change. However, he said, Of course, some people are scared. Theyd rather not risk their lives by coming to threatened zones.
Hong Kong: Michael Wong to visit Beijing

Secretary for Development Michael Wong will depart for Beijing tomorrow to meet officials of Mainland ministries.

On May 6, Mr Wong will call on the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources.

He will visit the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the following day.

He will return to Hong Kong on the evening of May 7.

Under Secretary for Development Liu Chun-san will be Acting Secretary during Mr Wongs absence.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
>>> State funeral held for former President, General Le Duc Anh



>>> Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hunsen pays respects to General Le Duc Anh

Freshnews - one of the websites with the largest readership in Cambodia - in its Khmer version, reported that former President of Vietnam Le Duc Anh died at the age of 99, stating that the former president was the commander of the Vietnamese army which helped Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot regime. The website also mentioned the contributions of former President General Le Duc Anh in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam and unify the country.

The daily English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post published an article about the passing away of former President, General Le Duc Anh, emphasising that the former Vietnamese leader was a prominent figure with a legacy in Cambodia. He was recognised for his role as the commander of the Vietnamese volunteer army in Cambodia, helping the Cambodian people to escape the 1979 Khmer Rouge genocidal regime.

According to the newspaper, during the 1980s, he played a major role in formulating the five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration and assisted in the development of the K5 Plan that attempted to seal guerrilla infiltration routes along the Thailand-Cambodia border between 1985 and 1989.

Meanwhile, Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia's largest daily newspaper, also published a biography on the life and revolutionary activities of former President, General Le Duc Anh.

In the US, the Washington Post also published an article about former President Le Duc Anh as a commander of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as a witness of the US and Vietnam establishing diplomatic relations.

According to the article, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam as a deputy commander and chief of staff of the Peoples Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam. In 1974, he became deputy commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, contributing to the launch of the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring 1975, completely liberating the South and unifying the country.

The article reiterated that General Le Duc Anh is best known for his role in supporting Cambodia to overthrow the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, the "architect" of the offensive that ended nearly four years of Pol Pots administration, and preventing the genocide from returning to Cambodia.

The Washington Post recalled that, during the period of General Le Duc Anh serving as President of Vietnam from 1992-1997, Vietnam and the US officially established diplomatic relations in 1995. In the same year, he became the first head of state from Vietnam to visit the US when he travelled to New York to attend the United Nations 50th anniversary.

The article affirmed that, as President, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in normalising the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US.
Steena Das By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever since the break of dawn, 76-year-old Martin has been on a tireless search along the coast; occasionally brightening up when sees a coin. Under the blazing sun, he doesn't stop unless he comes across something worth. With incessant cyclone warnings making life miserable for them, some fishermen at Shankumugham have become treasure hunters.

The rough seas pose an obstacle for fishing. The women fish vendors remain idle waiting for fishing rafts to bring fish to Vizhinjam. Despite the withdrawal of Cyclone Fani warning, the rough sea prevents fishermen to go fishing. "Therefore we collect valuables lost by tourists in the sea. If we are lucky enough we might get any valuables," says Martin.

Few fishermen, however, continue to fish despite warnings, to supplement their life.

In the absence of fishing, our families remain in poverty. The schools will reopen in a month. Funds are required for our children, said Joseph Jhonson, a fisherman at Shankumugham."Fishing is all I know. I'm unable to find another job but Im ready to struggle to let my children study as I do not want them to take up fishing, he said.

The Vizhinjam coast is usually crowded with fish vendors. But with less fishermen going fishing the coast remains deserted. With lesser fish available, fish vendors hope to receive at least a basket of fish. "Ill have to give C1,000 per day to the finance people from whom I took a loan of C1, 00,000. Im unable to pay the same as there is no fish available," said Victoria, a fish vendor at Vizhinjam.

After cyclone Ockhi the regulations on fishing have strengthened. Moreover, the memories of the same do not let us venture into the deep sea. We have no profit during most days. I have already borrowed a lot of money which I'm unable to pay back," said fisherman Bellarmin Kurishayya from Poonthura. He has two registered boats among which he uses one for fishing.

The boat I used during cyclone Ockhi to find fishermen was severely destructed. But Im yet to receive compensation from the government, he added.Fish prices have increased tremendously within two weeks. Mackerel that cost C 4,000 to 5,000 per basket two weeks ago has risen to C6,500 to 7,000 on Friday. Anchovy that cost C15,000 to 2,000 became C 3,800, said Lalamma, a fish vendor at Valiyathura.

However, fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said, Currently, we are providing ration to the fishermen family." Besides, she spoke on the sea erosion issue at Valiyathura. We have submitted a detailed project report to Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) regarding the of shore breakwater project. The works of the same will began as soon as we get approval from KIIFB," she added.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Some 1,200 tonne of garbage was removed from canals in Vijayawada and its outlying villages in the two-day cleaning drive Nenu Saitham Krishnamma Suddhi Sevalo, that concluded on Friday. Some 800 tonne of garbage was disposed on the second day of the drive. The drive, which saw the participation of officials of various departments, NGOs and students, ended with the formation of a human chain at Eluru Locks. They pledged to keep river Krishna free from plastic and garbage.

District officials commenced the second day of the programme with an awareness rally from Alankar Centre in the morning. District Collector Md Imtiaz, Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao, Joint Collector Kritika Shukla and Joint Collector-2 P Babu Rao took part in the rally along with other officials, citizens and students.

The second day cleaning drive took place at Eluru Lakulu on the banks of Eluru canal and areas such as Ramalingeswaranagar. The irrigation department cleared up 400 tonne of waste, whereas Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) disposed 350 tonne of waste. As much as 50 tonne of waste was removed in the gram panchayat areas.

Some 25,000 people took part in the drive in which 22 heavy load vehicles, 65 tractors, 11 earthmovers were used to clean the canals and dispose the waste in the dump yard. Addressing the public, Imtiaz said that such drives would be conducted every month in the future keeping in view public health and to restore the environmental balance.This is not just a two-day affair. We will organise such drives every month and involve people, officials, students, NGOs in this campaign. The goal of the campaign is not only cleanliness but also create awareness among the public about the need to keep the canals clean, he said.

Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao requested the people to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, in the canals and also completely stop the use of plastic. The garbage we removed today accumulated not only due to the negligence of the officials but also due to callousness of the public which resulted in transformation of Eluru, Bandar and Ryves Canals into dumping grounds. VMC has installed separate dry and wet garbage dustbins and people should segregate and dump the waste accordingly, he said.
By IANS

GUWAHATI: The authorities in Assam on Saturday deported 20 illegal immigrants to Bangladesh through Karimganj in Barak Valley.



They had illegally trespassed into Assam over a period of time from 2014. Nineteen of them were lodged in a detention centre in Barak Valleys Silchar Central Jail while another was lodged in a similar cell for the immigrants in Lower Assams Kokrajhar Central Jail.



The immigrants, including 14 Muslims and six Hindus, are from Sylhet and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh. The police said the pushback took place at 1:30 pm via Sutarkandi border checkpoint in Karimganj.



There was a woman among the 20 immigrants who were received by Bangladeshi authorities on the border. They had no complaints whatsoever, Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Manabendra Dev Roy who was at the site, told this newspaper over the phone. He said the Bangladeshi nationals had illegally entered Assam since 2014.

ALSO READ | Assam deportations: SC junks plea seeking recusal of Chief Justice

Some had entered in 2014. The others had entered from 2015 to 2018. Usually, after six months since the arrest of Illegal immigrants, they are sent to detention centres, the SP added.



Prior to their deportation, some of the immigrants told journalists that they had illegally entered Assam as they were too poor to spend money on travel documents including passport and visa. They said they had come to meet their relatives who live in India.



One of the immigrants, Ikbal Hussain Talukdar who spent five years in the Silchar detention centre, said he was delighted that he would go back to his motherland. I am very happy. I had come to meet my relatives who live in Barak Valley. As I am poor, I could not afford to arrange proper travel documents, he said.



Similarly, Alorani Das, who spent two and half years in captivity, said she had come to meet her sister. The next time I come to meet her, I will ensure that I am armed with proper travel documents, she asserted. In January this year, 17 other immigrants were deported to Bangladesh.
WESTPORT  A Bridgeport teen was charged Wednesday for his role in two overnight burglaries in town late last year, police said Friday.

Xavier Medel, 19, of Bridgeport, was charged on two different warrants Wednesday, stemming from two separate burglaries.

Police said on Dec. 18, 2018, officers responded to Oak Ridge Park for a reported overnight burglary. The victim woke up to several text messages from the fraud division of her credit card company, which told her her card was possibly used fraudulently at three places in Norwalk. The charges totaled up to about $170.

When the victim checked her house, she found that her laptop and purse  with multiple credit cards in it  had been taken from the family room of her home.

For that incident, Medel was charged him with first-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and two counts of credit card theft.

Two days later, officers were sent to a Brooklawn Drive home for another reported overnight burglary. The victim and his family had been asleep when two suspects went into their home and stole a key fob and a home surveillance camera from the kitchen.

The homeowner was able to remotely access the video and provide it to police.

The suspects used the key fob to steal an Audi from the driveway. They also went into and rummaged through two other unlocked vehicles in the driveway, taking two credit cards and other miscellaneous items, police said.

For this burglary, police charged Medel with first-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary from a motor vehicle, first-degree motor vehicle theft and third-degree larceny. Police said two juveniles were also identified. Their charges were not provided.

On Dec. 28, police responded to the home of one of the juvenile suspects and Medel was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for previous burglaries. At the home, investigators found the stolen Audi key fob and later recovered the vehicle.

While in custody for these crimes, a family member of Medel returned the other victims stolen laptop to police headquarters, police said.

Through the investigation, including a forensic check of Medels cellphone and the recovery of the victims items, detectives were able to secure an additional arrest warrant for Medel.

On Wednesday, he was arrested in Norwalk Superior Court by Westport detectives. Hes being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

Including the Westport case, court records show Medel has five criminal cases currently pending in the Connecticut court system. The other four cases also include burglary and larceny charges from Stamford in Novemeber and December of last year.

Medel is expected to appear in Norwalk Superior Court to answer to these recent charges from Westport police on May 13 at 10 a.m.
WESTPORT  A piece of leather, apparently from the back seat of the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, has been pulled from an auction in Dallas because of the sensitivity of the item, but remains for sale on a Westport companys website.

John Reznikoff, of Westports University Archives, is auctioning a piece of the limo seat from when Kennedy was killed in 1963.

Reznikoff has sold parts of the seat before, according to News 12 Connecticut, but this specific piece was set to be an item up for auction at a site in Dallas  where Kennedy was killed.

The piece can be viewed on the companys website. The description says its a small swatch of blood-stained blue leather upholstery removed from JFKs presidential limo after he was killed.

The piece was supposed to be auctioned through Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Out of concern for the sensitivity of the subject matter, Heritage Auctions decided to withdraw the lot from this weekend's Americana and Political Auction, Eric Bradley, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions, told News 12.

At Dealey Plaza earlier this week, some visitors told one local news station that the call to remove it from the Dallas auction was the right one.

It's kind of sad that someone's still trying to make a buck off of that, Dealey Plaza visitor Keith Fowler told KXAS-TV.

Still, the item remains up for purchase on Reznikoffs site.

There are rosy things that occur in history, and there are more macabre things that occur in history, but they're both part of history, Reznikoff told News 12. And history needs to be preserved.
News

Wherever you throw me, I will stand  an inspiring motto for those who feel tossed about by the uncertainties, fears and pain associated with two years of Covid
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

RAJASTHAN: The BSPs presence in the electoral contest could spoil the Congress prospects in many seats in Rajasthan, particularly in the eastern belt where Scheduled Castes, BSPs core vote base, have a significant presence. Political experts say candidature of the BSP in Dausa, Bharatpur, Alwar and Karauli-Dholpur will lead to a division of votes of Congresss traditional votebank.

Of the four seats in the region, three are reserved  Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur and Bharatpur (both SC) . The only unreserved seat is the communally senstive Alwar where the BSP has fielded Imran Khan. Muslims, a traditional vote bank of the Congress in the state, are in sizeable numbers in Alwar.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth says, Even if the BSP gets a single vote in these areas, it will be from Congresss vote share. Rajasthan is the only state in north India where SCs are considered closer to the Congress in comparision to the BJP. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also enjoys huge popularity among SCs.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The Dalits are upset with the BJP government over the alleged diluteion of the SC/ST Act. In Alwar, one Dalit was allegedly killed by police during a protest over the issue. Experts say another factor that makes BSPs presence felt in eastern Rajasthan is proximity of these areas with Uttar Pradesh which is the base of Mayawati. Sunil Mathur, a political expert based in Rajathan says, The BSP fielding candidates in Rajasthan is mere tokenism, except in the eastern belt. It has been campaigning dedicatedly in the region and its efforts reflected in the Assembly polls. Its vote share in the region increased and also translated into seats.

Of the six seats BSP won in the 2018 Assembly polls, five were from this region. It won two seats each from Bharatpur and Alwar districts, and one each from Karauli and Jhunjhunu. The only places in Rajasthan where Mayawati has been campaigning are in the eastern region.

In Bharatpur and Dholpur, Jatavs, the core vote bank of Mayawati, are a sizeable community. Both Bareth and Mathur say that because of polarisation by the BJP in Rajasthan, Muslims will largely stick with the Congress but Dalit votes may get split between the BSP and the Congress. Roughly, there are 4.13 lakh, 3.8 lakh and 3.27 lakh Dalits in Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Alwar constituencies, respectively.
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

DAUSA/BHARATPUR/ALWAR/KARAULI-DHOLPUR : It is 3:24 pm and a group of old men are playing choupad pasa (ancient chess), unmindful of the blazing 41 degrees outside in Ganeshpura village of Rajasthans Dausa constituency. Its a largely upper caste gathering, but there are three SC/ST men, too. The reference to politics suddenly changes the mood and an animated argument on the Modi governments promises and performance ensues. The upper caste men swear by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commendable work and cite Ujjwala and Swacch Bharat schemes. They also point to the cemented roads and electricity poles outside as examples of the development work done in Rajasthan.

But 70-year-old Bhagirath Mal, a Dalit, strongly protests. He believes the BJP has pushed the country back by decades and that caste hatred towards Dalits and minorities have increased. Mal, who holds a BSc. degree and was once a public servant, is not allowed to finish his argument. He is labelled a Pakistani and junglee by his fellow players. He finds no support but claims that had a farmer been around, he would have exposed the BJPs lies.

Mal lives in a Dalit colony, 10 minutes walk away, where broken roads and open drainage are telltale signs that the Swachh scheme hasnt reached.In the eastern belt of Rajasthan which comprises the reserved seats of Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur (SC), Bharatpur (SC) and the communally sensitive constituency of Alwar, Mals sentiments are shared by many from the SC, ST and Muslim communities.

Caste dynamics is crucial in the eastern belt. With SC/ST people angry with the BJP government and farmers dissatisfied over crop insurance and demonetisation, the Congress seems to have an edge. Not all from these communities are disgruntled, though. Some, especially youths, are in awe of the PM for teaching Pakistan a lesson with the Balakot airstrikes. However, most are upset that the government did not react in time when the Supreme Court diluted The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The caste equation seems to be working in favour of the Congress. In Dausa, people still recall the work done by Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, which he and his family represented for years in Parliament. In Khuri Kalan, Ram Krishan Gujjar, a farmer says, I voted for BJP in 2014, but Modi is a jumlebaaz. Rajesh Pilot and his family built roads, schools and colleges here. The BJP did nothing; Modi ruined our lives with demonetisation.

Both BJP and Congress candidates are women and from the ST Meena community. Infighting in the BJP, with Kirodi Lal Meena opposing the party candidate, could also benefit the rival candidate. Meena is upset that his wife was denied a BJP ticket. Many say he is working to defeat the party not only in Dausa, but also in adjacent Karauli-Dholpur.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

In Bari town of Dholpur, a gathering at a tea stall discusses GST, demonetization and price rise, but at the same time wonders if there is any better candidate for PMs post than Modi. Unemployment has increased in five years. We should vote on the basis of our candidate. Our MP Manoj Rajoria never did anything for the constituency. Modi destroyed the economy and is now seeking votes by dividing the nation, says government school teacher Hari Singh Meena. How can you forget that it is Modi who taught Pakistan a lesson? counters 27-year-old bank employee Sanjay Sahdawa.

The constituency where the BJP seems to have an edge is Bharatpur, where the Modi factor has played out well and BJPs nationalism plank has impressed people, irrespective of their backgrounds. There appears to be no mobilisation of SC-ST either, unlike the other seats. In Deeg village, Bhima Devi, a Dalit, says, Modi ji built toilets and gave gas connections in the village. Unemployment has increased but there is no better option.

In Alwar, there is a triangular contest between, with the BSP, which has fielded a Muslim candidate, also in the race. Polarisation seems to be the main factor here which has seen a lot of cow-related violence targeting Muslims, who are in sizeable numbers.
Associate Secretariat Officer, Manila

Organization: ADB - Asian Development Bank

Country: Philippines

City: Manila, Philippines

Office: ADB Manila

Closing date: Friday, 10 May 2019

Reference Number: 190279

Position Level: NS 1

Department: Office of the Secretary

Division: The Secretarys Office

Location: Asian Development Bank Headquarters

Date Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2019

Closing Date: Friday, May 10, 2019 11:59 p.m. (2359 Manila Time, 0800 GMT)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Close relatives (spouse, children, mother, father, brother and sister, niece, nephew, aunt and uncle) of ADB staff, except spouses of international staff, are not eligible for recruitment and appointment to staff positions. Applicants are expected to disclose if they have any relative/s by consanguinity/blood, by adoption and/or affinity/marriage presently employed in ADB.

Overview

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Manila, Philippines and is composed of 68 members, 49 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. ADB combines finance, knowledge, and partnerships to fulfill its expanded vision under its Strategy 2030.

ADB only hires nationals of its 68 members.

The position is assigned in the Office of the Secretary (SEC). SEC is responsible for providing strategic and operational support to the ADB, the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors.

Job Purpose

The Associate Secretariat Officer manages the administrative arrangements and procedural matters on management services, membership, and voting of governors resolutions. The incumbent reports to the Assistant Secretary and designated International Staff.

Responsibilities

Oversee the preparation for the Remuneration Committee meetings, including reports, statistical analysis, logistical arrangements.

Review reports, records and other documents relating to the election process and remuneration of the Management to ensure accuracy, clarity, and completeness of information; and conformance to the ADB established rules.

Work closely with the technical team handling the voting to make sure that Board resolutions are carried out.

Review requirements and other pertinent documents in relation to processing of ADB membership applications.

Evaluate procedures for Board committees and working groups, formulate recommendations and measures for administrative and procedural improvements; and monitor the implementation and conduct periodic reminders.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: Displacement is the word that polarizes voters in Hazaribagh, which is one-and-half -hour drive from Jharkhand capital Ranchi. The rich forests with natural hilly formations and lakes make it one of the most beautiful terrain. But there is turmoil within. Represented by Union Minister Jayant Sinha, Hazaribagh and its environs have witnessed several protests against the alleged forceful land acquisition for mining purposes and power projects. Four people died and 40 others were injured in police firing at Chirudih during a protest against land acquisition in October 2016.

While the issue dominates, the seat is shaping up for a triangular contest as besides BJPs Jayant Sinha and Congress Gopal Sahu, former MP of CPI Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehta, who represented Hazaribagh in 1991 and 2004, is also in the fray. The Left party had been demanding Hazaribagh as its share from the Mahagathbandhan, but failed.

Jayant, son of three-time MP Yashwant Sinha, does face criticism for his lack of political connect with the people of his constituency. But, he is largely banking on the government achievements and the projects worth Rs 25,000 crore which were brought on his initiative.Jayant is also seeking votes for being number 1 in implementing the centrally funded schemes properly in Hazaribagh and also promises to provide employment opportunities, better health facilities, double farmers income and preserve rights of locals.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is banking on elder brother Shiv Prasad Sahus reputation over two terms as MP of Ranchi in 1980 and 1984. Sahu is dwarfed by the BJP candidate. The contest could have come alive if it was a direct fight between Jayant and Mehta, said a local. Even Opposition leaders claim, that fielding Sahu is like to give a walkover to Jayant on a platter. We are still not able to understand why the Congress did this, said a JMM leader. Jayant, who won by 1.5 lakh votes in 2014, enjoys the support of AJSU party this time.
STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Presented Friday night at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the awards featured a cross-section of new and established authors exploring themes involving life in the city as well as decaying landscapes throughout the province.

The evenings top prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year award, went to Gordon Goldsboroughs More Abandoned Manitoba: Rivers, Rails and Ruins, published by Great Plains Publications.

The illustrated volume is a followup to Goldsboroughs 2016 book Abandoned Manitoba: From Residential Schools to Bank Vaults to Grain Elevators.

The slim graphic novel Surviving the City  written by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and published by Highwater Press  took home the most awards, nabbing three.

Spillett won Manitoba Indigenous author of the year, and the book won the Ellen Mactavish Sykes award for best first book by a Manitoba author as well as the best graphic novel award.

This years Margaret Laurence award for best fiction went to Jennifer Ilse Blacks Small Predators, published by Winnipeg publisher ARP Books. Blacks book also took home the award for best book design.

On the non-fiction side, Mary Jane Logan McCallum and Adele Perrys Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City (published by University of Manitoba Press) took top honours.

Owen Toews Stolen City: Racial Capital and the Making of Winnipeg, also published by ARP Books, nabbed two prizes  the Carol Shields Winnipeg book award as well as the Mary Scorer Award for best book by a Manitoba publisher.

Toews is the son of Governor Generals Award-winning novelist Miriam Toews.

Other winners on Friday night included David A. Robertson, who nabbed the McNally Robinson Book for Young People award for Monsters; Jackie Traverses IKWE: Honouring Women, Life Givers, and Water Protectors in the book design/illustration award category; Ginny Collins The Flats for best play by a Manitoba playwright; and Bertrand Nayets Lenfant rouge, which picked up the prix litteraire Rue-Deschambault.

books@freepress.mb.ca
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA:Josh is high perhaps still in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his high level and never-exhausting of energy. He has set a record of attending 200 programmes including rallies in last

four and a half months across 27 states and union territories included Bihar. On May 4, the Prime Minister would be addressing his fifth poll rally in Bihar's Valmikinagar besides attending other schedule poll rallies in UP and other states.

According to the website of Narendra Modi, PM Narendra Modi joined 30 programmes in Delhi itself, 14 in cabinet meetings since the start of the year.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

These numbers speak for themselves. They also offer a unique glimpse into the working style and multi-tasking abilities if PM Mdi, the website elucidates.

The website has brilliantly stated how PM Narendra Modi had toured in states and union territories and held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Valley in J&K also.

Through these programmes, PM Modi would have touched base with almost every Indian in 125 days, Modis website claimed. Meanwhile, BJP sources said PM Narendra Modi and the leaders of his party BJP would be doing at least 1000 rallies across the country for 2019 election rallies with the fifth rally scheduled to be held in Bihar on May 4 at Valmikinagar.

The PM has so far addressed rallies in Jamui, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Araria, and Valmikinagar on May 4.The BJP sources said that at least 8 to 10 rallies in total would be held by PM

Narendra Modi in Bihar throughout all the seven phases of elections.
For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

From Appalachia in the U.S. to Queensland in Australia and Chornobyl in Ukraine, solar and wind farms are being developed or built in places not normally associated with clean energy, and in some regions long resistant to it.

Slapping solar panels atop so-called brownfield sites, land that housed mines, emissions-belching power plants or were tarnished by nuclear disaster, can be cheaper than decontaminating the ground and turning it into parkland. At the same time, theres the prospect of turning environmental foes into friends.

"Were essentially turning these drains on a community into an asset," said Chad Farrell, chief executive officer of Encore Renewable Energy, a Vermont-based developer thats contemplating installing solar arrays at coal-ash ponds across Appalachia. "Youre not going to get a large revenue-generating asset on a former landfill."

Solar is already established within the nuclear zone of Chornobyl, at a massive former coal-fired power plant in Canada, and at landfills and other brownfield sites throughout New England, where renewables are popular but land is at a premium. Meanwhile, BHP Group, the worlds biggest mining company, is working on permits and engineering plans to turn legacy sites in Arizona and New Mexico into solar and storage facilities.

"Its emblematic of the transition from old forms of energy to new," said Jacob Susman, a vice-president at developer EDF.

Regions long dependent on traditional energy sources for jobs and tax revenue are increasingly turning to solar and wind power, cementing their push into the mainstream at a time when the coal industry is ailing. U.S. power produced from burning coal shrank by 6.3 per cent in 2018, as almost 13 gigawatts of coal plants were closed, according to BloombergNEF. Thats second only to 2015, when 15 gigawatts of coal-fired plants were shuttered.

"Its land no one else wants." said Jenny Chase, a Zurich-based analyst at BloombergNEF.

In Queensland, Genex Power is already producing enough energy for almost 26,500 homes from a 50-megawatt solar farm at the disused Kidston gold mine, where metal was discovered in the early 1900s and operations finally shuttered in 2001. Genex, which acquired the site from Barrick Gold Corp., plans to add a second, 270-megawatt solar array, a 250-megawatt pumped-hydro facility and a 150-megawatt wind operation.

The pumped-hydro plant will utilize two existing mine pits, using off-peak solar or grid power to move water from a lower reservoir to a second, higher-storage pool, and then release it during periods of peak demand to cascade over two turbines to produce power. During periods of generation, the site will provide enough power for about 280,000 homes, Genex executive director Simon Kidston said.

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In eastern Kentucky, active mining at the Bent Mountain site is slated to conclude in late summer, said Ian Krygowski, a development director at EDF Renewables, which is developing a 100-megawatt solar farm there. The site, tucked among wooded mountains, will undergo reclamation work to make it a series of plateaus hospitable for solar.

Next year, a modest 3.5-megawatt solar farm in southwest Virginia is slated to replace a mine that closed in 1957. Developer Sun Tribe Solar is collaborating with several groups, including regional environmental group Appalachian Voices, on the project in Wise County.

"The land is so scarred from the extractive industries that have been the primary economic driver," said Chelsea Barnes, a new economy program manager at Appalachian Voices. "Its an important visual to show the region that it can still be energy-producing, but in a way that doesnt degrade the land and pollute the air."

For the solar industry, building at sites of former power plants and some legacy mines is an opportunity to tap into existing grid infrastructure. But its also an acknowledgment of land limitations. Some places have limits on how much solar can be built in agricultural areas, said Chase of BNEF.

"The narrative has been that those green jobs are going someplace else," Krygowski said. "It doesnt have to be that way. We can bring good renewable-energy jobs across the country."

 Bloomberg
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In January, people were talking about Ariana Grandes tattoo.

The pop star got a pair of Japanese characters inked on her palm. They were supposed to read "7 Rings," after her hit single, but they actually read: "small charcoal grill."

TWITTER / ARIANA_JAPAN Ariana Grande's tattoo was meant to read 7 Rings, after her hit single, but actually reads: small charcoal grill.

Look, it happens.

We all know someone who knows someone who has a mistranslation, or a vague "tribal" symbol, or an unfortunate typo, or the name of someone they are no longer married to inked, forever, on their body. Tattoo regret is real.

Mary Wilson, 38, is an extremely good sport who was willing to talk to the newspaper about a decision she made on her 21st birthday.

"I decided I would get this, um, lower-back tattoo," she says, pausing. Ah yes, the lower-back tattoo, which has a very unfortunate nickname.

"I had honestly never heard it called a tramp stamp before," Wilson says. "I would like to think that even my 21-year-old self, had I heard that, would have known much, much better. Anyway, I was dating a guy at the time who had nicknamed me Foxy.

"So thats what I got tattooed," she says, pausing for emphasis. "On my back."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The coolness factor of Mary Wilsons lower-back tattoo hasnt been as permanent as the ink.

But wait, it used to be worse! "It used to be really orange and yellow Starburst colours, but theyve faded. Its pretty big. Its not a tiny little word. I remember going home and showing my mom, and she looked at it and laughed and went, Youre going to regret that one day. And of course, when youre 21 youre like, No I wont! This is who I am!

"Now that I am not the wife of the guy who gave me the nickname, and a mother, and Im 38 years old, yeah, I regret it."

My college friend Robyn Brown also has a regret story involving a lower-back tattoo (Im sensing a theme, here). Ill allow her to set the scene.

"Picture this: its 2002. To celebrate your 18th birthday, your boyfriend buys you a gift certificate for that tattoo youve been talking about. Your mother doesnt like it but you invite her along hoping shell come around and she begrudgingly picks a star on the wall that looks kinda nice. Knowing itll look supa-fly on your lower back, you book it in."

Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo. Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of.

And Brown was feeling supa-fly until two years later, when she showed up to work at her server job one day and the kitchen staff had trouble meeting her gaze.

Turns out the very same tattoo, in the very same location, was on the bikini-clad backside of that days Sunshine girl. As she points out, it was the era of painfully low-rise jeans. "So, yep, they knew it was the same one," she says.

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The sheer permanence of a tattoo increases the probability of regret. But there are ways to mitigate ink remorse.

"Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo," says Tesia Rhind, a Winnipeg tattoo artist who specializes in illustrative, fine-line, realism and florals. "Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind

Doing your research, she says, is key. Instagram is a useful tool that allows you to see an artists work (Rhind is @tesiacoil, by the way). If you find an artist you like but theyre booked for months, Rhind advises waiting it out or finding another artist who can execute what you want.

"Dont just walk into a shop that has availability and ask, Who can do this? without looking at their work," she says. "Thats what people often regret."

The consultation process can involve managing a clients expectations and providing design solutions.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rhind won't give teenagers tattoos of band logos.

"A lot of people have this vision that you can fit a lot of things into one small space," Rhind says. "But you have to tell them about how tattoos age, what its going to look like later, doing finer line tattoos  which is some of the stuff I do  some of it may fade faster in a few years than thick lines, but thick lines may blur out," Rhind says.

"People need to know that. People also need to know what looks good on certain parts of the body."

With that in mind, there are a few tattoos Rhind simply will not do.

"I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos," she says. "I have some 18 year olds come in and they want a rose on their hand and they have nothing else  I wont do that and dont think a lot of tattoo artists will do that. I dont like to do fingers because they dont age well and theyre basically a waste of money, but I will do them."

"Obviously, I wont tattoo any hate symbols," she says. "And I wont tattoo band logos on 18 year olds."

I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos."

This is probably a good time to bring up the skin I have in this game. I have a Pearl Jam tramp stamp. Its the stickman logo from the cover of the Alive single. I got it when I was 19. What Im saying is, we all have our Foxy.

While I definitely wouldnt get that tattoo now, I dont necessarily regret it. In fact, I usually forget I even have it, until I am reminded about it by a particularly chatty massage therapist. Regret and dislike are different.

We all have our Foxy.

"I have tattoos I dont like, but I dont regret them," Rhind says. "Cover-ups are usually always possible unless its super, super dark, then your only option is to cover it up very dark, or get it removed slightly so it can be gone over. If you regret your tattoo, theres ways around it. You just have to be more covered, basically, or pay for removal, which hurts and costs a lot of money."

Wilson has considered removal. "And Ive considered getting it covered up with something else thats more reflective of who I am," she says.

After all, it is possible to get a tattoo you love  whether the image is deeply symbolic, or only skin-deep. And even if you fall out of love, a tattoo can become something as immutable as your hands, or your knees, or your feet. Its part of you.

"Once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body."

"Its hard, because you say, Sit on something for a while  but Ive tattooed people who are in their 40s and theyll say, Ive wanted a tattoo for 20 years and I keep changing my mind," Rhind says.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind works at Red Ronin on McPhillips Street.

"But I find once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body. Its another extension of yourself."

Wilson has two other tattoos she doesnt regret. One is of her initials on the back of her neck, and wants to add those of her children.

The other is a tiny ladybug on her hip. Theres a story about that one: when she was 18, Wilson asked her mother what shed get if she ever got a tattoo, and her mother decided that a little ladybug might be OK. So thats what Wilson got.

"I wanted to get something she wouldnt be too mad about," she says, laughing. "I never regretted that one."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For IGM Financial Inc., 2018 was a year of transformation.

The Winnipeg financial services company made its commitment to change obvious to the market by rebranding its largest operating entity, Investors Group, to IG Wealth Management last fall.

The fact that global equity markets were rocked by widespread trade tensions, political uncertainty and concerns about a market slowdown proved to be challenging conditions for the company to embark on such change.

At its annual meeting in Winnipeg on Friday, company CEO Jeff Carney said, "Those conditions tested investor confidence. Yet during those challenging times, the strength of IGM was most evident. While the industry experienced net redemptions in long-term mutual funds of $7.4 billion, in 2018, IGM had net sales of $1.4 billion, the second-best in a decade, and the $20 billion in gross sales was the highest in the history of the company."

Its first-quarter results were released on Friday and Carney noted that the growth that took place in 2018 has carried into the first quarter of 2019, with record-high quarter-end assets under management of $160.5 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent in the quarter and 3.2 per cent from the prior year.

That also took place under tough market conditions. The companys IG Wealth Management division  it also owns Mackenzie Financial  posted its own all-time high for assets under management of $89.4 billion. But its investment fund net sales came out far below last years first quarter, posting net redemptions of $14 million, compared to net sales of $784 million a year ago. But Carney said more than $100 million has been parked in savings accounts.

The company transformation has a number of elements to it. Among other things, IG Wealth Management is looking to pick up market share in the high-net-worth segment of the market.

The company currently has two per cent of the of the Canadian mass-savings market (homes with less than $100,000 invested), five per cent of the mass-affluent market (between $100,000 and $1 million) and less than one per cent of the high-net-worth market (more than $1 million).

Carney said three per cent of Canadian households have more than $1 million to invest, and they represent two-thirds of all the savings in the country.

"Its the single most important market segment," he said. "We do a good job serving that segment."

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Assets under management for that segment have grown by more than $4 billion per year over the past two years.

Whereas in the past the company took great pride in continually growing its adviser network, those numbers are now coming down and the quality of the advisers is coming up (all IGM advisers must now obtain the certified financial planner, or CFP, designation).

The company has also been making significant investments in robo-advisers  companies that can address the needs of the mass-savings market more efficiently  like WealthSimple in Canada and Personal Capital in the U.S. Earlier this year, IGM Financial made another $67-million investment in Personal Capital and is its largest shareholder with a 25 per cent equity stake.

Carney said that despite the volatile markets in 2018, the volume of savings being accumulated in Canada  a total of $4.5 trillion in 2017, expected to grow to $7.4 trillion by 2026  clearly shows it is in a growth industry.

"That increase of $2.9 trillion has to go somewhere," he said. "The question is, which firm is best positioned to receive those funds? We think its IGM Financial."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

A patrol officer was travelling on Talbot when he heard a series of loud noises at about 9 p.m. and shortly after came across a vehicle that had collided with two houses.

At the same time, Gordon Buell was in the back yard of his mother's place having a smoke when he heard the same loud bangs. Buell ran into the front yard and saw the lone occupant, a woman, getting out of the car.

"She got out of the vehicle and in a panic just started running," he said.

One of the houses was unoccupied and there were no injuries to residents of the other.

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Buell and a few guys on the street gave chase but lost her. They gave a description to police who, led by A police dog, tracked the woman down within 20 minutes, Buell said.

"I think she was under the influence of something. I deal with kids all day. It was something," he said.

The K9 unit found the female in the 500 block of nearby Herbert Ave. where she was arrested. She was later transported to hospital for treatment of injuries.

The vehicle was determined to have been stolen from the Fort Frances, Ont., area on or about April 30, 2019.

The female faces charges for possession of stolen property under $5,000, operation of a vehicle while prohibited, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. She remains in hospital.
At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

There is a lot on his mind. In a few days, he will catch a flight to Central America, where he will stand on a stage and be honoured by some of the top global minds in his profession. So he has been thinking about what he wants to say, and as he settles into a chair at a coffee shop near the clinic, he seems a man on a mission.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson works at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, but has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations in Winnipeg.

Or maybe, to put it simply, hes just a veterinarian with a vision.

"My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care," Watson says. "Thats what we should all be trying to work towards. Its easy for cynics to say, Well, if you cant afford a pet, you shouldnt have one. Easy to say, but its not at all reflective of how things work in the world in which we live."

Thats a lofty goal, he agrees, with a knowing chuckle. As president of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, he understands the barriers. It costs a lot to operate a veterinary clinic. It costs a lot to get medical care of any kind to the people and places that most need it. But oh, imagine if you could find a way to reach everyone?

'My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care'

"Im not expecting to achieve it by the end of my career," he says. "But its certainly gratifying to work towards it."

Now, the global veterinary profession has taken notice. On April 29, at the World Veterinary Association Congress in Costa Rica, Watson was honoured with the WVAs Animal Welfare Award, one of six vets and one student to be so honoured; in the three-year history of the award, he is the second Canadian to win.

The prize, for which his name was put forth by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, recognizes, in part, Watsons larger vision. For years, he has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations right here in the city.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson  seen with rescue dog Karma, a five-year-old he saved from the meat trade in Thailand  recently received the Animal Welfare Award from the World Veterinary Association.

In collaboration with non-profit animal rescues, such as Save a Dog Network Canada, he has travelled to fly-in First Nations such as York Factory and Red Sucker Lake. He has set up temporary shop in Churchill, where the crew jokingly dubbed the mobile clinic "Tuxedo at the Treeline."

In the early days, he made the trips north as the lone veterinarian, hauling saline and gauze and surgical tools on cigar-box planes. The travelling clinics can be exhausting, a non-stop grind of snips and incisions, injections and treatments; Watsons all-time record was 60 dogs spayed and neutered in one deliriously long day.

"There may have been a couple 5-Hour Energy drinks consumed in the course of that day," he says with his customary dry humour. "Im not sure I even have it in me to try and beat that record."

'It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources. You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking'

Sometimes, this mission takes him even farther afield. In 2015, Watson joined a group of vets and technicians that flew to Madagascar, where wildlife biologists were worried about how domesticated animals were affecting highly endangered wildlife; on that trip, they neutered dogs and cats under tents and in rickety wooden shacks.

Come back home to your high-tech, "Mayo Clinic-style" urban animal hospital after that, he jokes, and you realize how spoiled you are. But it was eye-opening to see how you can adapt, with the right know-how and basic tools.

"It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources," he says. "You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking."

That includes right here at home, where Watson has also helped grow the innovative One Health Clinic series. The concept, which originated in Ontario, aims to connect vulnerable people to medicine for both themselves and their pets; a way of getting past barriers to health care, whether patients arrive on two legs or four.

"The human-animal bond is very strong, and is as alive and well as its ever been," he says. "Theres not as much educating we have to do around why its important to get veterinary care. Its more the case that there are large populations that just dont have access to it, but wish they did."

In May 2017, a team hosted the first One Health Clinic at Resource Assistance for Youth in West Broadway; 17 vulnerable youths came out, along with 23 pets. For the furry or scaly patients, there were medical exams and vaccinations; the humans received dental checkups and help connecting to other health services.

'Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the wellbeing of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them'

The formula was a hit. Organizers have since held several more, including at the Indigenous Family Centre on Selkirk Avenue. What Watson sees in those clinics is humbling: to many housing-insecure people, he says, pets are a "lifeline, their entire reason for existence." They often put their pets well-being before their own.

But they struggle to access veterinary care, and thats where Watsons broader vision  that dream of universal access  grew clearer. Because its not only about pets and their well-being; its also about understanding our fundamental relationship with animals as one of shared fates, and deeply woven interdependence.

"Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the well-being of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them," he says. "So this notion of one welfare really resonates with me, and really supports the elevation of veterinary medicine as a vital social service.

"We need animals just as much, and probably more, than they need us."

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With that in mind, Watson says, he sees animal welfare as being one of the biggest emerging social justice issues of the 21st century. Theres no doubt that awareness has been evolving; people are far more sensitive now to how animals live and thrive than they were even in very recent decades, he notes.

Still, there is a long way to go. And maybe it starts with just finding ways to honour and tend to the human-animal bond, in every place that it flourishes. Wherever humans are, they are, too. What happens to them affects us, too.

"In the same way we are stewards of the planet, we are stewards of the animals that live at our mercy, regardless of species," he says.

"And weve made some mistakes in the past, in terms of how we treat them, and there are still corrections yet to be made. But veterinarians are at the forefront of helping to make those changes.

"Hopefully an award like this one can serve as a way to highlight that important work. If we can raise awareness about this, thats as useful a thing as the World Veterinary Association can do."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

"Gratitude is profoundly counter-cultural," said Diana Butler Bass, author of the book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks.

For her, its when things are so tough that gratitude makes sense and is badly needed.

"Anyone can be grateful when things seem all right," she said. "Gratitudes real power is when you are up against a wall."

A self-described liberal Democrat, Butler Bass said she wrote her book on gratitude in the first hundred days of U.S. President Donald Trumps presidency.

"I was literally miserable when I started the project," she said. But by "living with a heart inclined toward generosity, abundance and gratitude," she was able to change the way she sees and experiences the world.

"I converted myself!" she exclaimed.

Butler Bass, an author, speaker and scholar specializing in American religion and culture, will be giving a free public lecture on the power and importance of gratitude on May 7, 7 p.m. at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall, University of Winnipeg.

Her presentation is part of Emerging Perspectives in Ministry II, a May 7-8 ecumenical event sponsored by Charleswood United Church, St. Johns College, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.

Butler Bass acknowledged being grateful isnt easy due to being "brainwashed by the myth of scarcity."

"We continually act as if there isnt enough, and that we have to get ours before someone else takes it from us," she stated.

The result of this lack of gratitude is an "unjust economic system, broken politics, social and religious divides, fear and a wounded earth. We gave in to the myth and betrayed the fundamental generosity of creation. It is a really sad."

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Gratitude, however, "literally undoes the myth of scarcity," she said. And the path to be grateful is by understanding and accepting the grace of God.

"Gods world is completely pro bono, gifts for free for the good for everybody," she said. "Thats grace... all are called to the table. All are seated. All are fed. Our only job is to pull up more chairs and pass the overflowing plates."

Emerging Perspectives II runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 7 and will feature TED Talk-style presentations by 12 ministry practitioners sharing what is exciting about their work. It concludes on May 8 with a followup workshop with Butler Bass from 9 a.m. to noon.

Cost for the event is $40.

For more information, or to register, visit cmu.ca/emergingperspectives.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

But dont expect Canadian politicians to quit the social media platform any time soon. Because, like Facebook relationship statuses, its complicated.

The platform is one of the strongest tools MPs have for keeping in touch with their ridings, and Ottawa now spends more on social-media advertisements than those placed in television, radio and newspapers.

The company itself says Canadians are "among the most engaged Facebook populations in the world," with 24 million residents using the site monthly  some 98 per cent of smartphone users in the country.

Facebook will undoubtedly play a role in the looming federal election, even as political parties call for beefed-up rules around privacy and propaganda.

"We are reliant on them," said Natasha Tusikov, a York University professor who studies technology regulation. "We're a big country. It's great to reach out to people, but it's come with a very high price."

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien wants to take Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files)

A changing tone

Last week, Canada's privacy watchdog announced hed be taking Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In March 2018, a whistleblower revealed the firm harvested personal data from millions of Facebook accounts without their consent, including more than 600,000 Canadians, and used it for political purposes.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty," privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said.

A Facebook spokeswoman wrote "there's no evidence that Canadians' data was shared with Cambridge Analytica," and argued the U.S.-based firm has taken strides to secure personal information. Yet, Therrien insists the company broke the law.

The Trudeau government has pledged some sort of action, and is slowly changing its tone.

Existing rules not enforced, advocate says OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. click to read more OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. This is about enforcement and applying the law where it exists, said Bernhard, head of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. The government seems terrified of governing when it comes to Facebook, Google, Netflix, Amazon (and) YouTube. To Bernhard, Facebook carries content like news outlets do, but avoids fines and sanctions a newspaper would face for allowing hate speech. Facebook claims absurdly not to be a publisher, and we seem to be letting them set the definition, he said. Meanwhile, Bernhard argues the privacy watchdogs probe into data leaks shows the federal Liberals arent interested in cracking down on violations of Canadian law. If they were really serious about dealing with this stuff, theyd find a way. The fact that the privacy commissioner seems to be going it alone suggest to me that the government has decided it's not interested in any form of confrontation, he said. People are pointing fingers at Facebook (but) the government is condoning this bad behaviour by allowing it to continue unpunished. Bernhard, who advocates for greater CBC funding, is critical of the Liberals getting Netflix to voluntarily fund Canadian content, instead of applying a tax and mandatory contributions to Canadian programming, both of which apply to television channels. "Netflix is Canadas largest private broadcaster and it has no such responsibility, he said. He noted Quebec managed to implement a provincial sales tax on Spotify accounts, Facebook advertisements and Netflix subscriptions, with none of those companies suing the government. This week, that province revealed the tax has brought in double the amount projected since coming into force in January. Quebec now expects to bring in $62 million this year. If the little government of Quebec  a subnational, minority-language government  can get Facebook and Netflix and Amazon, to follow its laws, then come on; surely the government of Canada would not have a problem, Bernhard said.  Dylan Robertson Close

Just two years ago, Ottawa worked with Facebook to craft its cultural policy, and an election-integrity initiative. But a month ago, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould suggested that had gone off the rails, with Facebook and other platforms not being upfront about how they plan to weed out disinformation during this falls vote.

"We're continuing to have conversations. They're not going as well as we would have hoped," Gould told the Free Press on Thursday. "That being said, we continue to look at the full range of options on the table. In order to ensure Canadians that we're taking a holistic approach to this."

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the Liberals have waited far too long to respond, but he admits Facebook is a lifeline for his job.

"We have a company telling a Canadian regulator, 'Yeah, well, too bad so sad, it will cost us a lot of money if we actually listen to the law of Canada.' So how is it possible we can have a government not say this unacceptable?"

Hes been part of a team of Canadian MPs meeting with counterparts from five other countries in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

"Theres been a real turnaround in how the world sees these companies since 2015," said Angus.

He notes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau built his brand on social media, and Facebooks top Canadian lobbyist, Kevin Chan, was a senior Liberal staffer. (Chan was not available Friday for an interview.)

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms have similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago. (David Vincent / The Canadian Press files)

"I don't think the government has recognized the need to change this comfy, cozy lobbying relationship," Angus said. "Its unhealthy for our economy, or for democracy."

Still, in Angus Northern Ontario riding, Facebook connects disparate towns and reserves, and he uses it to keep abreast of their concerns.

"Facebook has become the essential tool for communication, and Facebook can do extraordinarily good things," he said. "It shouldn't be take it or leave it."

Tusikov compares Facebook to a public utility, with small businesses depending on the platform for visibility. A sudden, unexplained change to what content Facebook or Instagram allows can make artists revenue source disappear overnight, she said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."  Conservative MP Bob Zimmer

Regulation elsewhere

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms had "eerie" similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago, when oil barons and communication firms held vast sways over society.

Without promising any specific policy, Freeland noted moves in the United States toward anti-trust legislation that would break up social-media giants.

Tusikov says its hard for politicians to exert that kind of change.

"Political parties are deeply embedded with social media, especially Facebook. They rely on Facebook to reach these targeted, key demographics to figure out how people might vote; to even float policy proposals by these key groups," she said.

"It makes it very difficult for politicians to then say 'we'll vote to restrict Facebook.' This is something where there's going to have to be a great deal of public pressure put on them."

Tusikov said the problem seems particularly bad in Canada.

"We're behind the ball," she said in an interview from Germany, where shes looking at how companies form their own rules.

In February, the country blocked Facebook from pooling data collected on numerous websites, saying the firm coerced users to give up too much data. Germany's hate-speech laws have also compelled Facebook to delete hundreds of posts, or face fines of up to $75 million.

Louis Farrakhan (left), the leader of the Nation of Islam, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were banned by Facebook this week for violating its ban against hate and violence. (The Associated Press files)

This week, Facebook platform banned American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but Tusikov said the platforms "incredibly opaque" process means its unclear what rules the platform used to justify that decision, how it interpreted them and whether Jones will be back on the website.

"The fine-grained nature of that makes people in North America very nervous, because they see it as a slippery slope. But at least this is put in legislation  it went through a process, it's public, it's transparent. We know exactly what's being blocked," she said.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty."  Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien

A month ago, the British government issued its Online Harms White Paper, which asking the public how the United Kingdom should regulate everything from targeted advertisements to taxes to hate speech and harassment. Britons have until July to weigh in on large themes that will shape the governments regulations.

Tusikov argues its time Canada had a similar thought-out debate.

She fears Canada will instead follow Australia, where a hastily drafted bill to regulate Facebook was passed ahead of this months election, in the wake of the New Zealand mosque shooting.

The bill  tabled and made law in just three days  threatens companies with jail time and fines if they dont remove violent content promptly, but experts say the criteria are so strict companies will likely rely on algorithms to indiscriminately remove content because they dont have enough time to vet between legitimate expression and threats.

'The new public square'

Gould, the minister in charge of ensuring the integrity of Canada's elections, admitted the thought of leaving the platform is daunting.

"When it first came out I was in my first year of university, and it was a very different platform than it is today," the 31-year-old said. "But we want to assure that whatever is happening today  or in the future  respects the values, the norms and the traditions that we've established for really important reasons here in Canada."

Facebook has become an essential communication tool, says NDP MP Charlie Angus. (Johannes Berg / Bloomberg files)

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer believes the Liberals arent taking social-media regulation seriously, but he admits its not easy to balance regulating against "a massive scale of surveillance" while keeping enough openness for digital innovation.

"Were all trying to get a handle on this," said Zimmer, who chairs the House committee investigating Facebook. "Every time we seems to catch up a little bit, (tech firms) are another five miles down the road."

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On May 28, Canada will host the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and "Fake News," which Angus said represents the best hope for some sort of co-ordinated, multi-national solution for Facebook. "In lieu of that, there may be a whole series of one-off decisions."

Like Angus, Zimmer said the platform is often the main way many of his northern British Columbia constituents reach him, but hes concerned about the platform breaching their privacy rights, and selling their data to advertisers.

Zimmers Facebook page is one of the first Google results. A single click allows users to send his office a message. He posts videos of visit to far-flung communities, and the comments have helped him shape how he votes in Parliament.

"Its the new public square; thats the reality for a lot of us. Do we want it to go away? No," he said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kaylie Tran demonstrates the work she and other research technicians do at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Halth.

Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

No such luck. Six-year-old Kaleb was bouncing off the walls raring to go to the open house of the national virology lab.

"I want to be a scientist," explained Kaleb, in his element among the microscopes, glove boxes and simulated disease cultures at the open house Saturday morning.

"He's always watching the Discovery Channel," said mom, Melody.

The open house marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg  the National Microbiology Laboratory is the better known human disease component.

It was a massive hit. The last open house five years ago attracted 1,700 people. This one had 500 people in the first hour.

Almost 3,200 passed through the doors Saturday. The Caluag family had to wait in line 20 minutes to get in, although the line dissipated later in the day.

It's a large undertaking by the laboratory. About 120 staff volunteered to oversee the event that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A committee of about 20 staff spent many months making preparations.

About 560 employees work in the lab.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ethan Olson, 8, peers into a petri dish during an open house Saturday marking the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health.

Inside, people got to see what bio-security looks like, including the equipment and uniforms of the people inside. In the kid zone, the little ones looked adorable in goggles and miniature lab coats.

"We've always known the lab holds a special place here in Winnipeg," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, senior medical advisor at the National Microbiology Laboratory.

"It has a bit of a mystique and to be able to open our doors and to see this many people here this early in the morning is great."

A Health Canada exhibit with information sign boards was on display to further people's understanding.

Poliquin said one of the highlights for the lab's first 20 years includes developing the Ebola vaccine that is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa. In newer work, teams of staff are going to Nunavut to combat tuberculosis.

Another highlight was its response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010. New technology allows the lab to find the entire genetic blueprint of a bacteria within hours, versus months previously. The lab was able to figure out how cholera started, where it was heading and how to control it.

Poliquin said that new technology will rapidly transform the lab's work in the years ahead.

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The centre has four levels of microbiologic security, with Level 4 the highest security level. Level 4 is the House of Horrors of pathogens, storing diseases dating back a century ago to the Spanish flu virus and more recent terrors like Ebola and H1N1. Others include Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever.

"Certainly some of the world's most dangerous pathogens are here," said Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director of the National Microbiology Lab.

"We try to understand how these organisms are causing disease. It gives us a lot of information on how things like influenza evolve."

A demonstrator glovebox from Level 4 was on hand for kids to pluck the pathogens off a Minion cartoon character. Staff were also on hand to demonstrate donning and removing the big and bulky Level 4 suits. It takes about five minutes to put on the yellow neoprene suit with a full body zipper and double gloves.

There are lots of showers afterwards, it was explained, including a chemical shower of the suit on the person. Then the clothes worn beneath the suit are heat sterilized and finally, the person takes a regular shower that is required to be at least three minutes in duration.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

Such thorny questions will be on the table for discussion today in downtown Winnipeg at Flora & Mama, a free event put on by female-oriented cannabis-lifestyle brand Van der Pop. (The discussion will be capped off by a flower-arranging workshop with local florists Oak & Lily.)

Event host Ashleigh Brown  founder and chief executive officer of SheCann, an online community for Canadian women who use medical cannabis  is a Winnipeg mother of two who uses cannabis to help manage a seizure disorder. She says she is no stranger to exploring parental perspectives on cannabis in the era of legalization.

"One of the biggest things that we hear people talk about is, from a medical patients perspective: how do I talk to my kids about this and explain to them how I use (cannabis) as medicine?" Brown said in an interview.

Saturdays dialogue will be about more than medical cannabis  she expects parents will want to trade notes on how to have the dreaded "drug talk" with teens and adolescents.

Brown favours an approach known as harm reduction, and endorses a youth education toolkit designed by the non-profit group Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

"Instead of taking a, Dont use it at all, dont touch it until youre of age in your province (approach), it takes a little bit more of a respectful approach to where the youth is coming from," she said.

"It encourages it to be a dialogue, instead of the talk  so, its an ongoing conversation that isnt just going to be sitting your kid down, slapping some information in front of them, and saying, Dont ever use this or touch it."

Even though the event  2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kinship Studio (70 Albert St.)  is aimed at mothers, Brown said fathers are also welcome. (No cannabis will be provided, but the event is for adults only.)

Brown anticipates participants will also discuss the image of cannabis users often presented in popular culture and the media, which she sums up as the "lazy stoner stereotype."

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"Because of the years, decades-long narrative around prohibition, this is something that were still working to overcome," Brown said.

"And I think that for women especially, that lazy stoner stereotype is right in striking contradiction to the idea of the super-mom, superhuman, ultra-productive, buttoned-up version of motherhood that we tend to present as being the ideal."

Talking openly about parental cannabis use "is something that really is fraught with a lot of emotion for people," Brown said.

"I think because anything that calls into question the integrity or intent of a parent is always going to be an emotional conversation. And when were talking about choice and personal freedom, those are things that sometimes women, especially as mothers, feel theyre not being afforded."

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel
Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

The northern Manitoba community  located 744 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the banks of Gods River  has a population of roughly 1,400 people.

Jason Small, Red Cross communications manager for Manitoba and Nunavut, said the non-profit agency hired a pilot to fly the bottled water into the community from Thompson on Friday.

The bottled water is believed to be enough for drinking and cooking for three days.

It remains unclear what led to the issues with the communitys water treatment plant or what exactly has gone wrong with it.

Small directed all questions related to the water treatment plant  including how long it has been out of service  to the First Nations tribal council.

Chief Eric Redhead, as well as the band office, did not answer or respond to multiple requests for comments on Friday.

It remains unclear if the water treatment plant is expected to be up and running again within three days.

When asked if there were plans to send a second shipment of bottled water to the northern community if need be, Small said no such plans were in place.

"At this time, the 14,000 litres is what weve sent," Small said.

Shamattawa First Nation is a remote, isolated community. Its only connections to the rest of Manitoba are by winter and ice roads, as well as its local airport.

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The community has faced significant, publicized hardships in recent years, including a teacher shortage in 2018 that resulted in hundreds of children going to school without proper instructors.

In addition, the community declared a state of emergency in 2016 after a fire burned down the local band office and store.

The community is also facing a serious housing shortage. It has a population of 1,400 people, but there are only 180 privately owned homes in the community, according to Indigenous Services of Canada statistics. Of the 180 privately owned homes, 40 of them are multi-family dwellings.

The assistance provided to the community from Red Cross Manitoba is part of an ongoing agreement between the federal government and the non-profit to provide disaster assistance to First Nations in Manitoba. The costs of the effort are covered by the federal government.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

AYODHYA/FAIZABAD: The eyes of Sripriya, 50, suddenly glitter with excitement when she is told by Ved Prakash, a vendor at the bookstall near Mandir Nirman Karyashala, that she can get Ram Mandir ka Sampoorna Itihas, the booklet she was flipping through, in Telugu also.

Sripriya, part of a group of pilgrims from Vijayawada, buys the book and turns towards the workshop housing stones, some raw and some chiselled with exquisite patterns, for the construction of the much-awaited Ram temple. The workshop, which is a prominent part of the visitors Ayodhya itinerary, evokes curiosity among them as it also has a model of the proposed grand Ram temple.

Even as the sculptors from Gujarat and Rajasthan are busy carving out motifs on huge shilas, undeterred by the soaring summer heat, the temple issue seems to have been drowned out in the poll cacophony in the land of Lord Ram.

Overpowered by the narrative of nationalism and caste arithmetic, the issue that catapulted the BJP to the pole position in Indian politics in the 90s is now discussed only when it's raked up by a scribe from outside in the town, which is going to the polls on May 6.

Have the VHP and RSS, who have been demanding an ordinance on the temple issue after the Supreme Court refused to take up the case on priority, been swayed by Modis discourse on nationalism? No, its not so. Temple can never be on the back burner for us. Since the Supreme Court has set up a panel for mediation and the process is on, its better to have a little patience. Moreover, Modiji is busy securing and building the nation. It is equally important. If the nation is secured, only then other issues will be addressed. Temple can wait for a while, says Sharad Sharma, regional spokesman of the VHP.

On the other hand, pained by Modi giving the makeshift temple a miss during his visit to Ayodhya for a rally on May 1, former BJP MP and Babri demolition accused Ram Vilas Vedanti feels that if at all any government could build a temple, it will be the BJP. Modi is going to be the PM again. Among all other political players, it is only the BJP and Modi who will facilitate temple construction in Ayodhya. People of Ayodhya will bat for a second term for him, he says.

Not only Vedanti, but also other saints and seers, including Nritya Gopal Das of Ramjanma Bhoomi Nyas, Dharam Das of Nirmohi Akhada and Satyendra Das, the head priest of the makeshift temple, all believe that PM should have had darshan at the makeshift temple.

He goes to every temple. Then why did he miss Ram Lalas janmabhoomi, wonders a seemingly miffed Vedanti but swears to be with the BJP all his life.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the litigants from the Muslim side in the Ayodhya title suit, feels the Modi government has followed the motto of sabka saath sabka vikas for the last five years. The Congress has betrayed Muslims for 60-70 years. Even the shrine was unlocked during the Congress regime and the mosque was also demolished when the Congress was at the Centre, says Ansari.

Modi might not have visited the temple because it would have sent a wrong message among Muslims, says Ansari.

His claim, however, is rejected by another litigant Haji Mehboob who feels that it was Kalyan Singhs government which facilitated the demolition. Kalyan Singh did not honour the affidavit he had submitted before the Supreme Court to safeguard the structure, says Mehboob.

Meanwhile, locals feel that only PM Modi can take effective measures to facilitate a temple in Ayodhya. He is the only leader who has the grit to build a temple. If he can allow the defence forces to finish terror camps deep inside Pakistan, he can bring a temple on the ground in Ayodhya as well. He will be voted back for a second term, says Ajay Arya, a grocery shop owner in Amaniganj area of the temple town.

However, other issues like development and unemployment have equal traction, besides the caste factor on which the SP-BSP alliance is relying heavily. Anurag Vaishya, a member of Spic Macay, feels that the coming government should focus on the development of Ayodhya, which is being projected as a major destination for religious tourism.

Though the proposed airport in Ayodhya will increase its connectivity with the world, industry, especially hospitality, institutions of higher education and other avenues should also be developed in Faizabad parliamentary constituency to improve the employment scenario for youth here, says Anurag, associated with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi who works against child labour.

Trader Giridhar Agarwal denies that demonetisation or GST had any adverse impact on businessmen. Even a new pair of shoes pinches initially. With time, it gets fixed on its own. Initially, there were some glitches as people were learning the nuances of GST, but now everything is streamlined and for honest traders, its a better option, says Agarwal, sitting in his footwear showroom in Chowk area of the temple town.

Refusing to divulge his choice, Ramesh Kumar, who supplies flowers to temples  over 4000 of them in the city -- believes that whoever is elected should pay attention to the restoration of dilapidated temples, the heritage of Ayodhya. He is backed by many others who are standing at his shop.

The temple town is part of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The district of Faizabad has ceased to exist, after being renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath government. With five assembly constituencies of Rudauli, Milkipur, Dariyabad, Bikapur and Ayodhya, the seat has not been a BJP bastion, though in the 90s, it elected firebrand saffron leader Vinay Katiyar thrice in the wake of the Ram Temple movement.

The present MP is BJPs Lallu Singh, kar sewak during the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, who has won the Ayodhya Vidhan Sabha seat five times in the past. He has been fielded against SPs Anand Sen  son of Mitra Sen Yadav, former Faizabad MP, and Congresss Nirmal Khatri, who has also won the seat twice, the first time as early as 1984.

Although Anand Sen has the support of the Yadavs and Muslims of Faizabad, and also the goodwill of his father, who became an MP on a CPI ticket for the first time in 1989, an old rape and murder case in which Sen was an accused keeps haunting him.

As one moves towards the famous Guptar Ghat along the banks of Saryu, around 50 labourers are busy restoring the place where Lord Ram is believed to have met his end by taking Jal Samadhi (watery grave).

People know Ayodhya only for being the birthplace of Lord Rama. Very few are aware that Ayodhya is also the place where he met his end. Guptar Ghat is that place. No earlier government paid attention to its maintenance and beautification. Only the Yogi government is working on it, says Anshul Tiwari, 28, a Faizabad university graduate, who runs a dhaba at Guptar Ghat.

Yahan log Modiji ko hi vote karenge sivay unke jo jaati adhar par vote karte hain. Modi rashtra ka nirman kar rahe hain. Jo rashtra premi hai woh kahin aur vote nahi karega. (Here people will vote for Modi as he is busy in nation building except those who vote on caste lines. Those who love the country will vote for him), says Ravindra Singh, who also owns a food joint at Guptar Ghat.

Ravindra is contradicted by Arshad, who has come to visit Guptar Ghat with his family. Those who dont vote for the BJP are also desh bhakts. During the Modi regime, the communal divide has increased, feels Arshad, saying the gathbandhan has brighter prospects.

As one moves towards Faizabad city, other voices start emanating from the ground. Where are the jobs? After completing our education from Faizabad university, if we have to look for a job, we are bound to leave our city owing to dearth of avenues. Nothing has been done in this direction during the last five years, says Santosh Yadav, who works in Noida and has come to vote for the gathbandhan, although he and many more gathbandhan supporters sounded unhappy with the criminal credentials of the candidate.

If the Modi factor seems to have a little edge on the ground in Ayodhya and Faizabad, the gathbandhan appears to be supported by the caste calculus. Yadavs constitute around 13% of the total voters - almost half of the total OBC voters in the constituency.

Muslims constitute around 15% and dalit voters are around 4%. Upper caste Hindu voters are around 29%. To counter the gathbandhan equation, BJP will eye the upper caste votes and also a chunk of the remaining around 13 per cent of other castes  non-Yadav OBCs and around 10% of the most backward caste voters.

The Congress, however, hopes that caste calculations will fail in front of its candidates image and the partys commitment to the NYAY scheme. We dont seek votes along caste lines. In 2009, people voted for Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri for the good work of the UPA government. This time again they will vote for the Congress to end the Modi governments misrule, says Ved Singh Kamal, general secretary, district Congress committee.

However, when asked how much traction NYAY has on the ground, Pratyush Pandey rejects it as another gimmick in the poll season. Where was the Congress for the last seven decades? Why are they worried about the poor now, he asks while opening his cloth shop in Faizabad. Modis welfare schemes can be seen on the ground. Congress candidate is always elusive. He is inaccessible. Why will anyone vote for him, asks Pandey.

While leaving Faizabad as the sun sets, one can find farmers in fields along NH 28 cutting and collecting wheat crop. They claim that politicians remember them only when elections are around. BJP walon ne vikas kiya. Gas, awas, shauchalaya diya. Pradhan mantri ne 2000 khate mein dale hain (BJP has done development. We have got gas connection, house, toilet. PM has transferred Rs 2000 into account) , says Ramadin, 50, of Baraspur village.

Asked if stray animals are destroying crops, the villagers of Baraspur say the problem is not as big in

Faizabad-Ayodhya as it is in other eastern districts because there are a number of cow shelters in the twin cities.
Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

For several months now, Pallister has unleashed a series of half-cooked half-measures that are strategically, if not a little awkwardly, aimed at plugging the chinks in his political armour.

To ensure no one could accuse him of ignoring the plight of impoverished Manitobans, Pallister released in March a hastily prepared, threadbare anti-poverty strategy. Entitled Pathways to a Better Future, the document was 15 months overdue and clearly out of date. Anti-poverty activists and social service providers were unimpressed.

"It's a strategy without its essential bones," said Sid Frankel, a University of Manitoba social work professor.

Then, in early April came the vaunted launch of the province's new Economic Development Office. The EDO is supposed to breathe life into the premier's Economic Growth Action Plan which, like the anti-poverty strategy, has been lauded repeatedly by the premier but has no concrete elements.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives have reduced the deficit and cut the provincial sales tax to seven per cent, fulfilling promises from the 2016 campaign. (David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press files)

This past week, we saw efforts made to check off two more boxes on the premier's list of things he must do before launching an election that almost nobody wants.

First, it was the release of a report by Winnipeg lawyer Michael Green, who was retained to study changes to laws on government advertising. In a surprise turn of events, we discovered Green was allowed to review a new and previously unseen bill that would completely change the rules for how and when a government can advertise, including in the sensitive pre-writ period.

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Right now, one of the biggest hurdles standing in Pallister's way of an early election is the 90-day blackout on government advertising before an election. The current law does include a loophole that allows a government to ignore the blackout period if an early election is called; however, that provision has never been tested and Pallister is vulnerable to attack for ignoring a law meant to ensure fairness in provincial general elections.

The proposed bill tucked into the appendix of the Green report on government advertising has no blackout period prior to an election. Given that the original 90-day blackout was a Tory creation  adopted by the NDP in 2006 as a concession to the opposition to ensure timely passage of legislation  this is a backhanded way of going about a major change in the laws governing fair elections in this province.

The next box to be checked on Pallister's list  perhaps the final box?  was the surprising announcement late this week that his government is re-thinking the closure of the Concordia Hospital emergency department.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen's sudden decision to reconsider  at least temporarily  the timing of the closure of Concordia Hospital's ER is yet another sign the Pallister government is in election-prep mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced on Thursday he will take a step back and re-assess the closure of Concordia ER. Dr. David Peachy, the consultant who first proposed the plan to cut the number of ERs in Winnipeg from six to three, will conduct a "quality assurance assessment" before any action is taken.

Friesen wouldn't commit to keeping the ER open, but neither would he fully commit to closing it as scheduled. He also suggested that at the very least, the closure could be delayed.

In the context of an early election, Friesen's strategy is transparent. One need only look at the dozens of Keep Concordia Open signs that line Henderson Highway to understand that it's a top-of-mind issue for voters there.

How surprising was this announcement? Earlier in the same week, the WRHA confirmed to the Free Press that the plan to close Concordia ER was on track for late June, and work at the St. Boniface Hospital to expand its ER, in large part to handle increased patient volumes created by the closure of ERs at Concordia and (in September) Seven Oaks hospitals, was "on time and under budget."

Given that the WRHA made no mention of a possible delay, Friesen's announcement has the appearance of a last-minute, last-ditch effort to defuse Concordia as an election issue. The decision to delay or reverse the closure may not make re-election any more difficult, but this announcement is certainly not going to make it easier, either.

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote half-measures as solutions to complex problems.

The possible closure of the Concordia Hospial ER is top of mind for people in the area. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote halfmeasures as solutions to complex problems.

The government does have significant accomplishments to celebrate, the kinds of things that can theoretically form the foundation of a solid re-election campaign. The deficit has gone down significantly under their watch, the result of a rigorous oversight on expenditures, and the provincial sales tax has been reduced to seven per cent, fulfilling Pallister's principal pledge from the 2016 campaign.

Beyond that, the results are mixed. Provincial civil servants are angry about a wage freeze imposed on them by sheer force of will. The construction industry is fuming about a dramatic reduction in government investment in infrastructure. Social services, health and education have all had to tighten their belts to deal with Pallister's austerity, and frontline services are suffering.

If he calls an early election, Pallister will be telling both his own party and voters in general that he sees no immediate threat to a second mandate; however, a comparison of the political landscape in 2016, when Pallister won a thunderous majority, with the one that faces him now should be cause for concern.

In the 2016 election, voters were more motivated to reject and punish the NDP than to embrace the Tories. The PC platform featured few signature pledges outside of Pallister's long-standing promise to cut the PST. He promised to slow the growth in government spending with no impact on front-line services.

Pallister knew he didn't have to promise much because the NDP had suffered a fatal, self-inflicted wound from the 2015 civil war that saw five cabinet ministers resign over then-premier Greg Selinger's refusal to step down.

The 2016 election was one Brian Pallister could not lose, and it's hard to see his party losing the next one with both the NDP and Liberals in rebuilding mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

As for the Liberals, their leader at the time, Rana Bokhari, had started strong but ultimately succumbed to her party's tradition of underperformance.

In other words, it was an election Pallister could not lose.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to reelection  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

In 2019, it remains hard to see the Tories losing. Still in rebuilding mode and poorly resourced, neither the NDP or the Liberals are poised to form government; however, both parties are starting to believe they can inflict some meaningful damage to the Tory juggernaut.

Their growing confidence can be attributed to problems Pallister cannot shed with hasty, empty promises or a hollow studies: the hospital reorganization, growing waiting lists for elective surgeries, the imposed wage freeze on civil servants, the gutting of infrastructure spending and the willingness to ignore legal provisions designed to ensure fair elections.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to re-election  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

If Pallister follows the precedent set by successful political leaders facing the same decision, the final box on his pre-election list should be a no-brainer: "Whatever you do, don't screw this up."

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Mourners gather over the body of Hamas militant of Alla Boubali, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike at Hamas militants post central Gaza Strip, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Israeli soldiers walk by a house hit by a rocket fired from Gaza in a moshav in Israel near the border with Gaza, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was travelling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

Relatives mourn Palestinian Raid Abu Tair, who was killed by Israeli troops during Friday's protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during his funeral in town of Khan Younis, Saturday, May. 4, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometres north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not co-ordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

Israeli air defense system Iron Dome takes out rockets fired from Gaza near the town of Ashkelon, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defence against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

Owners of stores at the building inspect the damage of their destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

Residents inspect the damage of the destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

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The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of Seba Abu Arar, 14-month-old, lies at the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli airstrike hit near their house. Abu Arar died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Trina Justman Reichert

Engagement Lead

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Extensive data from research proves that incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your daily eating habits can result in the above positive results. Eating with a plant slant is one of the Blue Zones Power 9 Principles, based on the habits of people who live the longest.

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Americans are bombarded by unhealthy food choices at almost every turn. Think about the last time you were inside a pharmacy, a place that could be viewed as a resource for wellness. Chances are, you walked by options of quick grab candy bars, sodas, and bags of chips before leaving.
JUNEAU  A local strip club will bring something a touch more G-rated to the stage Sunday.

Solomon, an exotic dance club at 112 E. Oak St. in Juneau, will host a Christian music concert sponsored by the Christian Leaders Coalition of Dodge County. The Siegmann Family, a band that originated in the Dodge County town of Rubicon, will perform.

The band describes its sound as a mix of bluegrass, Southern gospel, a capella and acoustic. Gene and Anne Schmidt will also perform at the concert.

Gene Schmidt, of the Christian Leaders Coalition, has lobbied for Dodge County or the city of Juneau to buy the Solomon building and convert it into a performing arts center. The building has been on the market for months and Schmidt said his goal is to prevent another strip club owner from buying it.

He said the purpose of the concert is to make the public aware of an alternative use for the space if another organization took it over.

We had the idea that it would be good to do something on a large scale with performing arts and music because thats the idea behind bringing people in, he said.
One man was taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation following a house fire in Fox Lake Thursday night.

Fox Lake Fire Chief Aaron Paul said in an email that the Fox Lake Fire Department was paged to the house fire at 208 E. Cherry St. at 8:48 p.m. Upon firefighters arrival, flames were coming out of two downstairs windows.

The two downstairs rooms are a complete loss and there is severe smoke damage in the rest of the house, Paul said. The cause is under investigation.

The man transported to the hospital was the only person inside.

The fire department was able to retrieve two containers of ashes belonging two recently deceased family members of the current occupant.

The Fox Lake Fire Department was assisted by Beaver Dam Fire Department, Horicon Fire Department, Randolph Fire Department and Waupun Fire Department. The Fox Lake Fire Department was on scene for about three hours.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.
Columbus chamber of commerce is hoping fun, new events will help breathe life into an annual celebration.

Redbud Days will return with a few new twists Friday, May 10 through Saturday, May 11. While the event features staples such as the city-wide garage sales and Redbud Prince and Princess Contest, this years celebration will have live music and Beer on the Boulevard. The band Funky Chunky, playing lively R&B hits, will perform from 11 a.m.  2 p.m. Funky Chunky has been hailed as Madisons finest R&B group.

Attendees will be able to sip craft beer from 11 a.m.  3 p.m. while listening to the band and exploring other events downtown. Cercis Brewing Company is working on a redbud beer, a hazy pale ale with pinkish coloring, an ode to the tree that provided Columbus moniker, The Redbud City.

There will also be a chalk walk art contest from 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Badger Antique Auto Show, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Kiwanis Brat Stand, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., and the Redbud Prince and Princess coronation beginning at 10 a.m. In addition, May 1-12, local businesses will be giving away red bud trees. Residents in Columbus and Fall River will have a chance to win one of 10 trees and five trees will be sold for spring planting.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries. The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir

in Verinag, South Kashmir.

My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul.  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 4, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

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"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven). Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."

Gul Mohd Mir was the District Vice President of the BJP state unit. May his family & loved ones find strength at this difficult time.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act".

He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.
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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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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: New factual evidence of Masood Azhars activities was provided by some countries which made China relent on the Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefs designation as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on the JeM chiefs involvement in terror strikes in India, including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack or Jammu and Kashmir in the UN notification banning Azhar, though the original resolution mentioned them. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler described the listing of Azhar by the UN Security Council as a very important political decision and said France has been an unconditional partner of India in dealing with the challenge of terrorism. For the first time the world has reached a consensus and it will have concrete consequences, Ziegler said.

France was a prime mover in pushing the last resolution on Azhar in March and escalating it with the US and the UK to the UN Sanctions Committee and bringing China to the table to lift its technical hold against declaring Azhar a global terrorist. Terming it very good news for India and the world community, Ziegler said, It was a bit absurd that the JeM was banned by the UN but not its chief.

The heightened Indo-French cooperation also reflected in the unprecedented scope of this years joint naval exercise Varuna that started last Wednesday. The exercises, which will extend to Djibouti at the Horn of Africa, close to a Chinese base, is significant in scale and size, involving the best ships in both navies.

Ban on travel

Pakistan on Friday issued orders to freeze assets of Azhar and impose a travel ban. An official of Interior Ministry said Azhar was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act and could not travel without police permission.
Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft engages in the manufacture and distribution of consumer goods in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Consumer Business and Tesa Business. The Consumer Business Segment offers skin and body care products. The Tesa Business segment provides self-adhesive system and product solutions for industries, craft businesses, and consumers. This segment offers its system solutions to the automotive, electronics, printing and paper, and building and construction industries. The company offers its products under the NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie, Elastoplast, Labello, Hansaplast, 8x4, FLORENA, Coppertone, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, SKIN STORIES, FLORENA FERMENTED SKINCARE, STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME, CHAUL, and TESA brands. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of maxingvest ag.

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Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.



Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.



The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.



In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.



President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.



Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.



Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.



Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.



Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.



On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.



A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.



Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.
By PTI

PULWAMA: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."

Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans.

In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.
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. Since then, FXI stock has decreased by 5.6% and is now trading at $36.63.

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Agilent Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that enable to identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment consists of activity providing active pharmaceutical ingredients for oligo-based therapeutics, as well as solutions that include reagents, instruments, software and consumables. The Agilent CrossLab segment includes startup, operational, training and compliance support, software as a service, and asset management and consultative services. The company was founded in May 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Ohio. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis, with bottom-up stock picking approach, to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor's Ohio Municipal Bond Index and Standard & Poor's National Municipal Bond Index. The fund was formerly known as Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund. Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund was formed on October 17, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address at least one press conference before the elections conclude saying it was looking terrible on the international level.

"Please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences also. Its really looking very bad," Gandhi told reporters at the party headquarters here.

"It is looking shameful out there. He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media leave the international media," he said.

"Its looking bad, so please tell him to do at least one before the elections are over," he said.

The Congress chief has been demanding a presser from Modi and keeps repeating it every time he meets the press.

'EC biased against opposition'

Rahul accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

READ | 'Chowkidar chor hai' remark stands, apologised to SC, not to Modi: Rahul Gandhi

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and everywhere else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

'Who let Masood Azhar out?'

Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Rahul Gandhi asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

READ | Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of disrespecting armed forces

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him. Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly", he said while asserting that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.


CSS Industries, Inc., a consumer products company, designs, manufactures, procures, distributes, and sells seasonal, gift, and craft products principally to mass market retailers in the United States and Canada. Its craft and gift consumer products include craft ribbons and bows, trims, buttons, sewing patterns, knitting needles, needle arts, kids' crafts, infant products, journals, gift card holders, all occasion boxed greeting cards, memory books, scrapbooks, stationery, stickers, and other gift and craft items, as well as floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags, and other paper and film products. The company's seasonal consumer products comprise Christmas products, such as packaging ribbon and bows, boxed greeting cards, gift wraps, gift bags, gift boxes, gift tags, gift card holders, tissue papers, and decorations; Valentine products consisting of classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valentine products; Easter products, including Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products; and back-to-school products, such as teachers' aids and other learning oriented products. CSS Industries, Inc. offers its products principally under the Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, McCall's, Butterick, Kwik Sew, Vogue Patterns, Markings, Stepping Stones, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley's, Eureka, Stickerfitti, Favorite Findings, La Mode, Simplicity, Wrights, Boye, Dimensions, and Perler brand names. The company sells its products to mass market retailers, discount department stores, specialty chains, warehouse clubs, drug and food chains, dollar stores, office supply stores, and retail teachers' stores, as well as to independent card, gift, and floral shops through account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists, and a network of independent manufacturers' representatives. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

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Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and accused the saffron party of compromising in dealing with terrorism, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the previous NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, he said the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi and alleged that the BJP was using the armed forces for political mileage.

Gandhi, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said Modi insulted the Army by saying UPA's surgical strikes were video games.

ALSO READ | PM Modi has insulted armed forces by comparing surgical strikes with video game: Congress

His attack on Modi came a day after the prime minister said the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games. It was a BJP government that had released Azhar and sent him to Pakistan, Gandhi said.

"Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

On the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

Gandhi also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress. "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property," he said.

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle. "It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added. Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
A Boeing 737 plane arriving from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went off the runway into the St. Johns River in Florida on Friday night, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said.

"I've been briefed that all lives have been accounted for," the mayor tweeted.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

The plane slid off a runway into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m. ET, a spokesman from the Naval Air Station Jacksonville said. It appears to have skidded off the airport runway while trying to land and ended up in the river, CNN affiliate WJXT reported.

The plane was arriving "from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville " and crashed into the river at the end of the runway, Naval Air Station Jacksonville

"Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation," it said.

David Soucie, a former inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, described it as a private jet charter. Curry had initially called it a commercial flight.

"The fact that they were all brought out of the aircraft safely and no one was hurt says a lot about how the crew reacted to this situation," he said.

Curry said fire and rescue crews were on the scene. "While they work please pray," he wrote.

President Donald Trump's White House called to offer help as the situation was developing, the mayor said.

Developing story -- more to come.
Utica, N.Y. - What a Friday night in Utica for a few hundred local residents who turned out to sample some of the finest foods our area has to offer.

From Utica Greens to Chicken Riggies, to Tomato Pie, all were on the menu at the annual Taste of The Mohawk Valley held at the Saranac Brewery.

Many local restaurants took part in the annual event put on by The Genesis Group.

Tickets were $25 and all of the proceeds will go to help the Genesis Group put on one its other big events of the year, the annual 4th of July Parade and Festival in Utica.

At the Taste of the Mohawk Valley, this year's 4th of July Grand Marshal was unveiled. Barry Sinnott, Assistant Vice President at Bank of Utica will lead the way.

Sinnott says he is proud to represent the city he and his family love so much, "It means a lot. Anyone who knows me, knows I focus on the positives. There's still a lot of challenges that every community has everywhere, especially in Utica, So we would really like to focus on the positives, and that's one of the things that has driven us business-wise and so it's really a great honor and I feel this is a great privilege to do this."

News Channel 2's Kristen Copeland was last year's Grand Marshal, so she passed the torch to Sinnott.
The same Herkimer County students who petitioned NASA for artifacts for a local memorial for 1962 Mohawk High School graduate, Gregory B. Jarvis, unveiled the flight suit NASA sent to be part of the memorial. Hundreds came to Herkimer College Friday for a moving ceremony, honoring Jarvis. NASA Astronaut, Dr. Stanley Love, Ph.D., spoke about Jarvis, and, exploration.

"Humans have an innate drive to explore. It's in our blood. We want to know what's over that next hill," said Love, hinting, too, at the inherent dangers of exploration. "There are unexpected events and conditions. By definition, explorers are far from help and unforunately, some explorers don't make it back."

Such was the fate met by Jarvis, a payload specialist, and six others, when the Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, on January 28, 1986. Love wanted local students to know that, no matter how small or rural their launch pad, they could still use it to reach for the stars.

"Even a kid who grows up out here in central New York and thinks that the rest of the world has never heard of him or doesn't care about him can grow up to fly in space," said Love.

Also honoring Jarvis during Friday's unveiling-1984 Frankfort High School graduate, Scott Wilson, who is currently building the Orion Spacecraft for NASA, Kennedy Space Center.

"When I was a little kid, I would write letters to NASA. I was kind of a geeky little kid. I would write letters, and to my amazement, they sent back patches or sent back pictures and I remember how excited I got and I never dreamed I'd be able to work there," said Wilson, adding that it's thrilling and rewarding to come home and inspire young students to reach great heights.

The flight suit revealed on Friday, along with other artifacts, including some from Jarvis' widow, will form a memorial that will be displayed in the Herkimer County Office Building.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  You can expect more construction in West Lafayette as Purdue prepares to begin work on the next phase of its $1 billion west campus project.

Purdue Research Foundation recently unveiled plans for a mixed use neighborhood Provenance. It's just one of many developments happening in the heart of Discovery Park.

"We're working to build a live-able, build-able, walk-able kind of community," said Director Jeremy Slater.

Provenance is the district's fifth major project announced in the past two years.

"We're looking at roughly 500 units of town homes, multi-family homes, single-family, condos," said Slater. The community will also have a fitness center, restaurants, retail, a day care and a preschool all in the heart of discovery park.

"It's about 400 acres -- it's about a 1.2 billion dollar development over the next 20 to 30 years."

Slater said as existing industries grow and new ones move in, the project becomes more important.

"A number of different corporate tenants who want to be apart of the community with them moving into the community to work now they have a place to live."

Living in Provenance won't be their only option though, Slater said 250 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of street-level commercial space along State Street is also in the works.

That's along with Aspire at Discovery Park, an $86 million, 835-bed apartment complex set to open in August.

"The moment that you turn onto State Street from 231 the entire frontage along state street is going to be under construction," said Slater adding those roadblocks will eventually lead to a more accessible community.

"Walk to work and drop your kids off at a daycare or pre-school and then for dinner walk and grab food or a coffee and just spend time with a community."

Work on the Luxury Apartments is set to begin this fall and will take roughly two years to complete. Provenance has a slightly different time line, developers are meeting with Tippecanoe County area planners to get through zoning regulations.

Following that, the plan is to begin infrastructure work including roads and landscape in the fall. Once that is in place, houses can start going up.

More information on Discovery Park as well as the master plan for the area can be found here.

Provenance is being developed by Old Town Design Group of Carmel. The group has developed a number of award-winning neighborhoods like this throughout central Indiana.
By PTI

The UN agency for disaster reduction has commended the Indian Meteorological Department's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri.

The powerful cyclone, strongest to hit India in 20 years, made landfall at around 8 AM in India's eastern state of Odisha, killing at least eight people.

Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state affecting about 11 lakh people.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified Fani as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm".

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The Cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm.

"India's zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the #SendaiFramework and the reduction of loss of life from such events," Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the Geneva-based UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said.

Mizutori was referring to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.

It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including the local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Highlighting the zero-casualty cyclone preparedness policy of the Indian government, a spokesperson for UNISDR, Denis McClean said: "the almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters".

UNISDR also tweeted about the advisory distributed by India's National Disaster Management Authority and local authorities days before Fani made landfall in an effort to minimise loss of life and injury.

Local authorities are accommodating evacuees in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed to withstand cyclones.

"Schools were shut, airports closed and transport suspended, and although damage to infrastructure was expected to be severe, there were no reports of any deaths," McClean said.

According to preliminary reports, eight people have been killed due to the cyclone, which has the potential to cause widespread loss of life.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN humanitarian agencies in India have met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures.

With Fani threatening devastation in India and Mozambique still reeling from Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones, UNICEF raised alarm about impact of climate change on children.

The UN children's agency said the cyclone currently hammering India and the back-to-back cyclones that tore through Mozambique in March and April have caused serious damage to the lives of thousands of children.

They should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders on the serious risks that extreme weather events pose to the lives of children.

In Odisha, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani, UNICEF said.

"Children will bear the brunt of these disasters," said Gautam Narasimhan, UNICEF Senior Adviser on Climate Change.

He said climate change is linked to rising sea levels and the increase in rainfall associated with cyclones, causing more devastation in coastal but also inland areas.

"In the short term, the most vulnerable children are at the risk of drowning and landslides, deadly diseases including cholera and malaria, malnutrition from reduced agricultural production, and psychological trauma  all of which are compounded when health centers and schools are impacted," he said.

Narasimhan warned that in the long term, cycles of poverty can linger for years and limit the capacity of families and communities to adapt to climate change and to reduce the risk of disasters.

According to the World Metereological Organization (WMO), the forecast on Friday was that Cyclone Fani "would move north-northeast towards Bangladesh where there were concerns about the effects of potential coastal flooding".

World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said the impact the cyclone is expected to be less severe in areas such as Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar which is home to the world's largest refugee camp, populated mainly by Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, said its India arm Americares India is preparing to deliver medicine and relief supplies to assist survivors, including tarps, water cans and water purification tablets for up to 3,000 families.

Americares India Managing Director Shripad Desai said: "We anticipate thousands of families will need shelter and medical care in the coming days".
Political and legal conflicts between the Trump White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are escalating in the wake of the decision by Attorney General William Barr not to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Barrs refusal to testify, as well as his declaration that he will not turn over an unredacted copy of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, led to numerous calls by congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential candidates for Barr to resign or be impeached.

In a formal letter to Barr on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a 9:00 am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to comply with a committee subpoena for the unredacted report as well as the underlying documents supporting Muellers 448-page narrative.

After that, the letter warns, the committee will cite Barr for contempt of Congress for failing to meet the committees May 1 deadline for delivery of the various documents.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to Nadler earlier in the week declaring that Congress was not entitled to the information because the committees request was not legitimate oversight.

The Trump administration has rejected a range of congressional subpoenas and document requests over the past two weeks, complaining that they were not related to a genuine legislative purpose or to congressional oversight of the executive branch, but were rather intended to expose Trumps private business dealings or the operations of his election campaignboth nongovernmental activitiesto public scrutiny.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was uncharacteristically blunt in a press statement Thursday, in which she said that Barr lied to Congress last month in appearances before the House and Senate to discuss the release of the Mueller report. In both hearings he made no mention of a March 27 letter from Mueller objecting to Barrs own letter notifying Congress of the completion of the report.

He lied to Congress, Pelosi said during her weekly news conference Thursday. Thats a crime.

Pelosi also appeared to soften in her opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Trump, telling a private meeting of House members, in remarks noted down and then leaked to the press, as she clearly intended, Ignoring subpoenas of Congress, not honoring subpoenas of Congressthat was Article III of the Nixon impeachment. Referring to Trump, she continued, This person has not only ignored subpoenas, he has said hes not going to honor any subpoenas. What more do we want?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler said the stonewalling by the Trump administration threatened democracy. The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a coequal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever to his most reckless decisions, he said. The very system of government of the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator, is very much at stake.

Another top House Democrat spoke in the same vein. What we are witnessing is the slow loss of our democratic republic and we can either allow it to happen or we can stand up against it, said Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. We are not going to allow the notion of a presidential dictatorship to take hold.

Trump has fired back against the Democrats, both in his Twitter rants and in legal motions filed in federal court. The House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Democrat Elijah Cummings, has subpoenaed business records of two lenders to the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Group, and Trumps accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trumps personal lawyers filed lawsuits this week opposing all three subpoenas.

Attorneys for the committee responded with a court filing Wednesday declaring that Trumps lawsuit would directly impede ongoing congressional investigations of national importance and threaten the constitutional system that separates and divides power between the branches of government The result would be to block probes into numerous and serious constitutional, conflict of interest, and ethical questions raised by the personal financial holdings of the president.

The first court proceeding in these cases will come May 14 on the subpoena of Mazars, which prepared unaudited financial reports for the Trump Organization that were used in obtaining bank loans.

In a partial climbdown, the White House permitted former security director Carl Kline to testify before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Kline discussed the general procedures for reviewing and approving security clearances for White House staff, but refused to discuss particular cases, such as Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, when asked by Democrats. Kline awarded a top-level clearance to Kushner over the objections of lower-ranking officials, but he denied that any White House official had asked him to award a security clearance to any individual.

Trump also declared Thursday that he would not allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify, claiming executive privilege, although he previously waived privilege in allowing McGahn to testify before the Mueller investigation for nearly 30 hours. White House attorney Emmett Flood wrote, in a letter made public Thursday, that Trumps decision to waive privilege for the Mueller investigation did not prevent him from invoking privilege in relation to a congressional investigation.

Flood sent a separate letter, dated April 19, to the Justice Department objecting in broad strokes to much of the Mueller report, claiming that it had provided far too much detail about the Trump 2016 campaign and about Trumps various responses to the launching of the Russia investigation. Ten separate episodes are examined in the report as possible instances of obstruction of justice.

The most confrontational response to the battery of Democratic investigations came from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Appearing at a Washington Post live event on Thursday morning, McCarthy declared that the FBIs launching of an investigation into the Trump campaign during the 2016 campaign was motivated by political hostility to Trump, citing email exchanges between FBI investigation leader Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, FBI attorney Lisa Page. Their actions are a coup, McCarthy said. I do not believe they were abiding by the rule of law.

Despite the rival claims of fighting against a would-be dictator and opposing a coup by the security agencies against an elected president, neither side in the conflict in Washington is defending democratic rights or constitutional principles. Both sides, the congressional Democrats, who are allied with the intelligence agencies, and the White House, supported by sections of the military, the police and fascist elements, are profoundly antidemocratic and politically reactionary.

The Democrats have not sought to remove Trump over his racist attacks on immigrants, his lavishing of favors on the corporate elite through deregulation and tax cuts, or his open consorting with fascistic elements, making him a political sponsor of such atrocities as the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego and on mosques in New Zealand.

The political axis of the Democratic campaign against Trump is opposition to any relaxation of the ferociously anti-Russian foreign policy adopted during the second term of the Obama administration, inaugurated with the 2014 US-backed ultra-right political coup in Ukraine.

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A Chinese negotiating team led by Vice Premier Liu He will return to Washington next week for what could be make-or-break talks on a trade agreement.

The upcoming talks follow a brief trip to Beijing this week by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that failed to come up with any significant advances towards a deal.

One of the main sticking points is agreement on the procedure by which US tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted if a trade agreement is reached. The Chinese position is that if a deal is done the tariffs should then be removed.

However, the US has insisted that at least some tariffs should remain. They would only start to be removed once it considers that China is complying with any agreement. From the outset, the US has made clear that there will be no agreement without an enforcement mechanism. It has also claimed the right to reimpose tariffs, without retaliation by China, if it deems the agreement is being abrogated.

Chinese negotiators have made it clear that any deal in which the US has the unilateral right to impose tariff sanctions is not acceptable. It would be akin to the unequal treaties imposed in the 19th and 20th centuries by the imperialist powers. Any enforcement mechanism must operate in both directions.

It appears at this stage that the Trump administration may be prepared to remove the 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but retain the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods that were its first shot in the trade war. China responded to these tariffs by imposts on $50 billion worth of goods, mainly agricultural products, that the US is demanding be removed.

This is a key question for the Trump presidency which depends on political support from agricultural regions that have been hit by the Chinese tariffs.

One option that has been explored, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, is a proportional reduction in tariffs. The argument is that the $50 billion represents about 10 percent of Chinese goods to the US. As China imports less from the US, it should leave in place tariffs covering 10 percent of its imports. This means China would reduce its tariffs so that they covered $13 billion worth of goods, rather than $50 billion.

Another point of contention is the issue of allegations of Chinese cyber theft and intrusion into commercial networks which the US insists must cease. A report in the Financial Times suggested the US has softened its initial position and that the Trump administration, anxious to secure a deal, is likely to accept a watered-down commitment from Beijing as an alternative.

Beijing maintains the accusations of state-sponsored cyber theft are baseless. It says that it has complied with an agreement reached with the Obama administration that neither government would engage in or knowingly support the theft of online intellectual property.

If the Trump administration does accept a verbal commitment from Beijing, this is likely to be opposed by key sections of the military-intelligence establishment, as well as anti-China hawks in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a speech delivered on April 26, reported by the Financial Times, FBI director Christopher Wray said: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation.  We have economic espionage investigations that almost invariably lead back to China in all 56 [FBI] field offices, spanning almost every industry.

The issue of intellectual property forms part of US demands for sweeping structural reforms in the Chinese economy, including an end to the state subsidies to key industries under the Made in China 2025 program.

Reporting on the discussions, the Wall Street Journal said the likelihood of China giving much ground on the contentious issue of subsidies to its state-owned enterprises is diminishing. This is because it sees government support as vital to helping Chinese firms move up the value chain and become leaders in next-generation manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other fields.

The article cited people close to the talks as saying Beijing would likely pledge to ensure that companies compete fairly, but not commit to provide the details of state subsidies being demanded by the US.

It is now five months since Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to negotiations on a trade deal, initiating a process that has involved countless hours of discussions and the production of thousands of pages of documents. However, this process will not continue indefinitely.

Speaking at a financial conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps acting chief-of-staff, indicated that the outcome would soon be determined.

It wont go on forever, he said. At some point in any negotiation you go were getting close to getting something done so were going to keep going. On the other hand, at some point you throw up your hands and say this is never going anywhere. Youll know one way or the other in the next couple of weeks.

Even if a deal is reached it will not bring about an end to trade conflicts. The Financial Times columnist Edward Luce published a comment this week entitled China, the US and trade in a dog-eat-dog world. He noted that any deal would trigger a rally in the markets with the spectre of a nosedive in China-US relations averted, but it would come at the expense of future stability.

This is because any agreement will be outside the framework of the World Trade Organisation, which has been the key mechanism for settling disputes carried out in a process at arms-length from the countries involved. That would no longer apply.

The coming deals enforcement mechanism will offer Democratic and Republican presidents an irresistible set of punitive tools to use against China. There will be no WTO to keep them honest. Nor will there be any natural breaks between trade policy and diplomacy. Mr Trump has cited US national security as grounds for tariffs on European and Canadian metal imports. Pretty much any Chinese activity can also be blocked on those grounds.

He also pointed to the weaponisation of the rule of law as exemplified in Canadas arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant last year, and the continued detention by China of two Canadian nationals.

At face value, Luce concluded, the looming trade deal will probably look like a victory for Mr Trump. Further reflection reveals how much damage the deal would do to the rules-based order that America created.
On Tuesday, several dozen students and workers gathered at Humboldt University in Berlin to protest the persecution of Julian Assange and discuss the political and historical background to the attack on the courageous journalist. The meeting was convened by the University Group of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).

The audience at Humboldt university

Christoph Vandreier, deputy chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP), introduced the event with an in-depth contribution, which was eagerly followed by the audience. He began by detailing the crimes WikiLeaks had revealed since its founding in 2006.

They range from evidence of torture in Guantanamo, to the uncovering of massive tax evasion by the super-rich and illegal surveillance measures, to comprehensive leaks of the war crimes of the NATO states in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Iraq war alone, WikiLeaks had evidenced 15,000 civilian killings previously hushed up by the US military. There were also countless details exposed about the armys brutal actions against men, women and children.

These revelations not only revealed the brutal nature of these colonial wars, Vandreier said, but also exposed the so-called journalists who first spread the lie about alleged weapons of mass destruction to justify the war, and then glorified it as a liberation with their embedded journalism. He added that the same hacks were now attacking Assange.

Christoph Vandreier

As a result of these revelations, the US Department of Defense had already stated in 2008 that WikiLeaks had to be discredited and its protagonists jailed. Consequently, the Wikileaks servers were attacked and blocked, the web address withdrawn and numerous ways to make donations cut off, Vandreier said.

The ruling elites had been particularly aggressive in their pursuit of Assange. Vandreier detailed how long-completed investigations were resumed because of alleged sexual offences in Sweden in order to create a pretext for his onward extradition to the United States. Even the United Nations Human Rights Council has stated that Assange was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom for a disproportionately long time.

Now he has been arrested under new pretexts and is threatened with extradition to the US, where, in secret, further charges under the espionage act are being prepared against him, which are punishable by death.

If Assange were delivered up to the US, that would not be a legal transfer, but an illegal rendition. He would not face a fair trial in the US, but a show trial, whose verdict is already fixed, Vandreier said, summing up the threat to Assange. If that comes about, it means the end of press freedom and basic democratic rights. It would be directed against all those who oppose illegal wars, mass surveillance and the enrichment of the super-rich.

Even more striking was the smear campaign now being conducted in the media against Assange, ranging from resurrecting the rape allegations, accusations of being a Russian agent, to ridiculing his physical condition after his ordeal at the Ecuadorian embassy. Vandreier also named many German media outlets which had either expressed their pleasure at Assanges arrest or legitimized it.

This showed there was no basis for the defence of democratic rights in the ruling elite, but the encouragement of authoritarian and fascist tendencies. This development should be taken very seriously, Vandreier explained, underlining this with the historical example of Carl von Ossietzky. The journalist had been imprisoned in the Weimar Republic for betrayal of secrets because he had uncovered the illegal rearmament of the Reichswehr [Imperial Army]. Two months after his release in December 1932, he was again imprisoned by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp, where he was tortured and mistreated.

Today, the actions against Assange show that those in power are heading back in the same direction, Vandreier said, adding that this was also happening at Humboldt University, where militarists like Herfried Munkler and right-wing professor Jorg Baberowski were teaching and were protected by the university management against any criticism.

The shift to the right this expressed, and the campaign against Assange, was a fundamental international development, Vandreier said. In the US, Trumps administration was increasingly taking on openly fascistic forms, and in Europe, far-right parties were already involved in government in 10 countries. The reason for this lies in the deep crisis of capitalism, which, as in the 20th century, leads to fascism and war, Vandreier explained.

He concluded saying, The only way to defend Assange and democratic rights is to mobilize the international working class on the basis of a socialist programme. That is the only social force that can oppose the campaign of the ruling elites.

Following Vandreiers contribution, a lively discussion developed, focusing primarily on this perspective and the significance of a Marxist understanding and socialist programme. At the conclusion of the meeting, the following resolution was unanimously approved by those present:

This meeting at Humboldt University Berlin condemns the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Assange, the whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and all the brave journalists who have revealed the extent of the brutal wars and crimes of those in power. We agree to support the international struggle for the freedom of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning with all our strength!
Japans Emperor Akihito abdicated his throne on Tuesday and his son Naruhito was installed as emperor the following day. Akihitos abdication has been interpreted as a rebuke to the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his far-right supporters. The imperial transition, however, will not alter the extreme right-wing trajectory of the Japanese government or the attacks taking place on the working class.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Naruhito gave his first address as emperor. As his father had previously, Naruhito referred to his position as the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan and pledged to act according to the constitution. He added, I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.

The media seizes on such remarks to portray Akihito and Naruhito as liberal and pacifist opponents of the Abe governments push for constitutional revision and remilitarization. By referring to the emperor as the symbol of the state and unity of the people, Naruhito adheres to the present constitution, which bans the emperor from intervening in politics.

Abe intends to revise Article 9 of the constitution, known as the pacifist clause, to specifically recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the formal name of Japans armed forces. This is not the only change the far-right has its eyes on.

In 2012, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a draft constitution that returns political power to the emperor by making him head of state, while also exempting him or a regent from obeying the constitution. This would pave the way for the emperor to assume the dictatorial role that he held prior to the end of World War II as the linchpin of the state apparatus that waged imperialist war abroad and suppressed the working class at home.

Abe paid lip service to Naruhito at Wednesdays ceremony, saying, Emperor, we are looking up to you as a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people, and we are filled with hope for peace and prosperity, a bright future of Japan. He then added, Everybody is uniting together in heart and building up our new culture in the future.

By a new culture, Abe means a thorough going revision of history to cover-up the crimes of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s and a rejection of the nominal pacifism of post-war Japan.

Japans ultra-nationalists, including Abe, desire a break with the current 1947 constitution, which was written by United States occupation forces following the war. These layers complain that the constitution is filled with too many Western concepts, including democracy and individual rights. They also complain that the constitution handcuffs their ability to pursue Japans imperialist interests by military force if necessary.

In writing the post-war constitution, the US hoped to eliminate competition in Asia. It was meant to gut the militarist components of the 1889 Meiji constitution. The maintenance of the emperor system, however, was a key part of the preservation of the capitalist state in Japan, as even before the war ended the US saw Japan as an ally against the Soviet Union.

Abe made similar statements about a new culture after the government announced April 1 the name of Naruhitos reign, Reiwa, saying the name meant a culture born and nurtured as peoples hearts are beautifully drawn together. While meaning beautiful harmony, Reiwa has drawn criticism. The character rei can mean cold or austere, as well as being found in words like meirei, meaning order or command. Wa, while meaning peace, is also part of Showa, the name of the wartime Emperor Hirohitos reign.

Reiwa is also the first name to be drawn from Japanese sources, rather than Chinese classics. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan, commented in the South China Morning Post, In explaining the choice and meaning of the  gengo (reign), Abe engaged in some dog-whistling to his conservative constituency, extolling Japans glorious cultural heritage, natural beauty and proud history.

The transition took place over nearly three years. In 2016, Akihito, then 82, first hinted at his desire to abdicate. His decision was not simply due to old age. Every move and word the emperor makes is carefully weighed. Because Japans legal system does not allow the emperor to step down, a special, one-off law had to be passed in 2017. Akihito exercised caution, lest he be accused of demanding such a law and thereby interfering in politics.

However, the emperor is not a neutral arbiter standing above classes or the state. He is a key component of the capitalist state apparatus, maintaining its unity even as contending factions of the ruling class disagree on tactical issues. Whatever Akihitos immediate desire, his intrusion into politics, both in requesting a new law be passed and over constitutional revision, objectively lays the precedent for an emperor taking on more of a political role in the future.

While more liberal elements of the political establishment look towards the emperor for support in their disputes with Abe, all factions agree on two points: First, Japan should, in one way or another, be able to send its military overseas to fight for its imperialist interests. Second, that the capitalist state must have the power to suppress the struggles of the working class for its social and democratic rights.

The disputes in ruling circles have centered on secondary issues such as whether or not women should be allowed to become emperor. Far-right organizations like Nippon Kaigi, which count Abe, most of his cabinet, and numerous lawmakers as members, demand adherence to traditional positions. These include eliminating equal rights for women and dragooning men into military service.

The so-called liberals and left in Japan have postured as progressive on the status of women and royalty, and opposed any substantive revision of Article 9the so-called pacifist clause of the constitutionin a bid to contain growing anger in Japan over widening social inequality and the dangers of war. None of this, however, has halted the growing gulf between rich and poor, nor the build-up of the Japanese armed forces and their dispatch to US-led wars.
One hundred years ago on May 4, 1919, thousands of students from 13 colleges and universities gathered in what is today Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to protest the outcome of the peace talks in Versailles following the end of World War I. They were outraged at the horse-trading between the major powers that handed Shandong Province to Japan and kept in place the unequal treaties forced on China. These had created British, French and International concessions, or enclaves, in cities like Shanghai.

The demonstration was the outcome of intense discussions and meetings throughout the previous day and night. These brought forward an already planned protest, following news about the complicity of the warlord government in Beijing in the outcome of the talks. Students handed out copies of a passionate Manifesto of All Students of Peking that called on the nation to rise up to secure our sovereignty in foreign affairs and to get rid of the traitors at home:

This is the last chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen: (1) Chinas territory may be conquered but it cannot be given away; (2) the Chinese people may be massacred but they will not surrender. Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren! [1]

The students marched through the streets chanting anti-imperialist slogans such as China has been sentenced to death [at the Paris Conference], Refuse to sign the Peace Treaty, Boycott Japanese goods and China belongs to the Chinese. They denounced pro-Japanese traitors who were government ministers.

Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles on May 4

One account described the public reaction:

The people of Beijing were deeply impressed by the demonstrators. Many spectators were so touched that they wept as they stood silently on the streets and listened carefully to the students shout their slogans. Many Western spectators greeted them with ovations and by taking off or waving their hats Boy scouts and students from elementary schools joined in and distributed leaflets. [2]

Prevented by police from entering the Legation Quarter to appeal to foreign representatives for justice for China, the students proceeded to the residence of one of the three pro-Japanese traitors. Students broke into the house and beat up several occupants. Clashes broke out with police. A number of students were injured, one later dying in hospital, and 32 were arrested and imprisoned in police headquarters.

The protest triggered a broad anti-imperialist movement, initially of students, which also drew in the working class and layers of intellectuals, merchants and the urban poor, triggering strikes, protests and a boycott of Japanese goods. Police repression and arrests only provoked greater resistance.

In early June, the government launched a massive crackdown on groups of students campaigning in the streets, handing out leaflets and urging people to buy Chinese rather than Japanese goods. After the first arrests on June 2, thousands of students took to the streets on the following days, some with bedding strapped to their back in preparation for jail. By the end of June 4, over a thousand were being held in makeshift prisons in the buildings of Peking University, surrounded by troops.

Protesters on May 4

The mass arrests in early June provoked indignation throughout China. On June 5, a commercial strike paralysed Chinas main industrial centreShanghaiin support of some 13,000 striking students. Strikes by workers spread throughout the city over the next days, with estimates of up to 90,000 workers involved. From Shanghai, the protests and strikes extended to other major cities.

Brought to its knees by the strike movement, the Beijing government first tried to conciliate with the students. The police and troops were withdrawn from the campuses, but the students refused to leave their campus prisons until their demands were met. The government and the police were compelled to apologise. Finally, students marched out of their prisons on June 8 amid firecrackers and cheers to a fervent mass meeting and parade of welcome given by their fellow students and the citizenry. [3]

On June 10, as the strikes and protests continued, the government announced the resignation of the three pro-Japanese ministers. However, the key demandthat China not sign the Versailles Treatyremained unmet. On June 24, the government instructed the Chinese delegation, even if its protestations to the major powers failed, to sign the document regardless. Faced with an outpouring of angry protest, the president was compelled to reverse the decision the following day. On June 28, Chinas representatives refused to join the major powers in signing the peace treaty with Germany.

May 4 demonstrators after their release from prison

The demonstrations and strikes were part of a broader intellectual and political ferment. The students who came onto the streets on May 4 had been influenced by the ideas of the New Culture movement, which asserted that ending Chinas subjugation required the modernisation of all aspects of society on the basis of democratic ideals and the scientific advances in Europe and the United States.

What was involved was a revolt against traditional Chinese ethics, customs, literary forms, philosophy and social and political institutions. The chief target was ossified Confucianism, which had the status of a quasi-state religion. It provided the ideological underpinning for Chinas elites by insisting on the unquestioning obedience of the ruled to the rulers, women to their husbands and sons to their fathers.

The New Culture movement had many diverse strands. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, a layer of intellectuals and youth turned decisively toward socialism, and, under the impact of the October Revolution in Russia, to Marxism and Bolshevism.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in July 1921, little more than two years after the first Beijing protest. Many of the founding members were youth who had been radicalised by the May 4 movement. The CCPs first chairman, Chen Duxiu, was a man in his early 40s who commanded respect inside and outside the party as a revolutionary and the chief intellectual leader of the New Culture movement.

One hundred years on, the CCP has long abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles on which it was founded and is resurrecting the stifling Chinese traditions against which the intellectuals and students had rebelled in the early 20th century. Today the CCP bureaucracy uses its police state apparatus to suppress any criticism or independent thought in schools and on university campuses, and is locking up students from Peking University and other campuses for the crime of supporting workers struggles.

Whatever ceremonies are organised by the CCP to mark May 4 will, above all, be designed to cover up and deny the crucial political lessons the anniversary holds for youth and workers today.

The roots of the May 4 movement

The roots of the May 4 movement lay in the failure of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, led by Sun Yat-sen. The movement overthrew the decrepit Manchu dynasty but could not implement its own aimsnational unity and independence, a democratic republic and social welfare for the people, including land for the peasants.

Sun Yat-sen

The outcome demonstrated the organic inability of the class that Sun representedthe emerging Chinese bourgeoisieto fulfil its historic tasks, tied as it was to the landlords in the countryside and subordinated to the imperialist powers on the world arena.

Chinese society had been wracked by crisis for well over a century, compounded by the corrosive influence of foreign invasions. Britain and France fought two Opium Wars, in 1842 and 1858, against the waning Manchu dynasty, which had attempted to block their huge sales of opium into China that were designed to ensure a permanent trade surplus in their favour. The European powers also established the treaty ports and the concessions, where extraterritoriality applied and foreigners were exempt from Chinese law and the payment of Chinese taxes.

The response of the Manchu court to these defeats and foreign exactions was to impose new burdens, chiefly on the peasantry that formed the vast bulk of the population and underpinned Chinas economy. The ruination of the countryside was compounded by a flood of cheap foreign goods, which all but destroyed the local handicraft industries. Oppressive conditions sparked rural revolts, including the Taiping Rebellion, which grew out of an obscure neo-Christian cult in 1850 into a storm that swept the country and was only finally crushed in 1865 with the assistance of foreign troops.

The defeat of China at the hands of Japanese imperialism in 1895 came as a shock. It intensified the debate over how to resist the foreign carve-up and subjugation of the country. However, attempts to reform the decrepit Manchu dynasty and transform the archaic machinery of government came to nothing. The so-called Hundred Days of reform in 1898, under the young Emperor Guangxu, was abruptly ended by the Dowager Empress Cixi. She imprisoned her nephew and executed or jailed his reformist advisers.

Boxer rebels in 1900

The days of the Manchu dynasty were numbered. At the turn of the century, the dowager empress attempted to manipulate a new revolt by a Chinese secret organisation, known as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, that erupted in northern China, and direct it against the foreign powers. The Boxer Rebellion was suppressed by foreign troops and new impositions were made on China by the victors.

Sun Yat-sen came to prominence in the wake of the failure of all attempts to reform the Manchu dynasty. While advocating revolution, however, he made no attempt to build a mass political movement, and engaged in conspiratorial activities involving small armed putsches or terrorist actions against individual Manchu officials.

In 1911, the Manchu dynasty virtually imploded. The imperial government was on the brink of bankruptcy after decades of plundering by the major powers. Politically, it was thoroughly discredited, as a result of the foreign annexation of Chinese territory in the form of colonies, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the extra-territorial concessions.

When the Manchu dynasty finally promised constitutional reform, it was too late. Significant sections of the Chinese bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and military had turned to Sun Yat-sen. On October 10, 1911, thousands of troops in Wuchang in Hubei province staged a rebellion and proclaimed a republic. The revolt rapidly spread across many Chinese provinces, but the lack of any genuine mass movement left vested interests untouched.

Sun was proclaimed the provisional president of a loosely federated Republic of China but, lacking any significant social base of his own, compromised with the old military-bureaucratic apparatus. Under pressure from the imperialist powers, he handed the presidency to the last prime minister of the Manchu dynasty, Yuan Shikai, who scrapped the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

The New Culture movement

In May 1915, Yuan provoked a wave of protests and opposition when his government accepted Japans humiliating 21 demands that gave it effective control of large swathes of China, including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Public hostility only intensified when, in December 1915, he had himself elected as emperor of China by his puppet National Peoples Assembly.

Most of Chinas southern provinces under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen declared their independence from the Beijing government and, as his supporters deserted, Yuan expressed his intention of abandoning monarchism. He died in June 1916, leaving a fractured China ruled by rival warlords, each backed by competing foreign powers.

Chen Duxiu (left)

In 1915, amid the political turmoil, Chen Duxiu, who had been active in the 1911 revolution and in a revolt in 1913 against Yuans regime, returned to Shanghai from exile in Japan. He established the New Youth magazine, which proved to be a powerful magnet for the new generation of students. It was one of the pioneer publications in vernacular Chinese, rather than in the scholarly classical Chinese that was largely inaccessible to the population.

New Youth sounded a clarion call. Chen proclaimed that the task of the new generation was to fight Confucianism, the old tradition of virtue and rituals, the old ethics and the old politics the old learning and the old literature. Mr Confucius, Chen declared, had to be replaced by Mr Democracy and Mr Science.

The extensive rural revolts in Chinaincluding the Taiping and Boxer rebellionshad been based largely on superstition, religious cults and secret societies. Sun Yat-sen espoused the ideals of a democratic republic, but exploited Han Chinese racialism against the Manchu, or Manchurian rulers.

However, Chen drew his intellectual inspiration from the European Enlightenment and the democratic traditions embodied in the 18th century revolutions in France and the United States. He wrote in New Youth in 1915:

We must break down the old prejudices, the old way of believing in things as they are, before we can begin to hope for social progress. We must discard our old ways. We must merge the ideas of the great thinkers of history, old and new, with our own experience, build up new ideas in politics, morality, and economic life. [4]

In his seminal work, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Harold Isaacs described Chens appeal to youth as the opening manifesto of the era of the second Chinese revolutionthe political upheavals and ferment that began with the protest and strike movement of 1919 and led to the nation-wide revolutionary upsurge in 1925, only to be tragically betrayed in 1927. Isaacs explained the impact of New Youth:

Chens magazine was eagerly snatched up by students in every school and college in the country. When it was published, wrote one student, it came to us like a clap of thunder which awakened us in the midst of a restless dream I dont know how many times this first issue was reprinted, but I am sure that more than 200,000 copies were sold. It nourished the impulsive iconoclasm of the young people. It gave direction to the mood of unease and unsettlement that pervaded all classes in the population. It was a call to action that awakened an immediate response. [5]

Li Dazhao

In late 1916, facing growing popular opposition, the government appointed the noted liberal educator, Cai Yuanpei, as chancellor of Peking University. Cai transformed the university from a bastion of conservative tradition into a hotbed of progressive intellectual thought and debate. Early the following year, he brought Chen to the university as dean of the School of Letters. Other intellectual leaders joined him, including Li Dazhao, who was appointed chief librarian in February 1918 and became a close collaborator of Chen. Mao Zedong, 25, was one of Lis assistants.

Chen and Li helped to foster a group of students who produced their own monthly magazine, New Tide, which first appeared in January 1919. Many were to become prominent student leaders in the protests that erupted on May 4. New Tide groups were influenced by many intellectual currents, but the Russian Revolution was already making its presence felt. One contributor to the first issue, Lo Chia-lun, declared that the October 1917 Revolution was the new world tide of the 20th century.

With the end of World War I in November 1918, all eyes were on the Versailles Peace Conference, which would decide the terms of the peace with Germany. In the first year of the war, Japan had seized Shandong Province from Germany, which had held the area since 1898 on a 99-year lease. Japans representatives in Paris made clear that Tokyo not only wanted to retain Shandong indefinitely but to extend its presence, as outlined in the 21 Demands that had been accepted by the Beijing government in May 1915.

China had a seat at the table as one of the victorious allies. At least 140,000 Chinese labourers had supported the British and French war efforts, as part of the Chinese Labour Corps, with estimates of the number of deaths as high as 20,000.

On November 17, 1918, a huge demonstration in Beijing of some 60,000 people had celebrated the end of the war. The speeches reflected the widespread optimism that the Allies represented democracy over despotism and would restore Shandong to China. When the Versailles Peace conference opened in January 1919, however, those illusions were shattered. Japan announced that Britain, France and Italy had signed secret treaties with Japan that supported its claims to Shandong.

Woodrow Wilson

Great hopes remained, however, that the United States would prevail. In his speech to the US Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson had outlined, in 14 points, the aims of the US in entering the war against Germany. The speech was, above all, aimed at countering the appeals of the Bolshevik leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, to the international working class to put an end to the war through socialist revolution.

Wilson called for the abolition of secret treaties, an adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of the native peoples, as well as of the colonial powers, and, most significantly from the standpoint of China, a League of Nations that would guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike.

The outcome of the Peace Conference in May 1919 came as a huge blow to Chinese intellectuals, students and the broader population. Their anger was not only directed against Japan and its immediate alliesBritain, France and Italyand pro-Japanese ministers in the Beijing government, but also against the US and its president. A graduate at Peking University later recalled:

When the news of the Paris Peace Conference finally reached us, we were greatly shocked. We at once awoke to the fact that foreign nations were still selfish and militaristic and they were all great liars We had nothing to do with our government, that we knew very well, and at the same time we could no longer depend on the principles of any so-called great leader like Woodrow Wilson, for example. Looking at our people and at the pitiful ignorant masses, we couldnt help but feel we must struggle.[6]

The protests and strikes that began on May 4, 1919 were accompanied by a feverish intellectual and political debate over the way forward. It included a multitude of contendersliberals and anarchists, democrats, syndicalists and socialists of different types. The American philosopher John Dewey arrived in China, literally on the eve of the May 4 protest, and developed a following, through his lectures and articles, over the next two years. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell also won followers after he was invited to lecture in China and remained for nearly a year from October 1920.

John Dewey (front right) in Shanghai, 1919

Marxism, however, had no strong established presence in China. It was identified with the Second International, which had been divided over the preoccupation of Chinese intellectualshow to end colonial domination. At the Internationals 1907 Stuttgart congress, which discussed the issue at length, some delegates openly expressed chauvinist attitudes, including toward the yellow race. The outbreak of World War I, an imperialist war for the division and revision of the world, precipitated the collapse of the Second International, as most parties and leaders sided with their own bourgeois governments and their predatory war aims.

Lenin and Trotsky, who had both opposed the betrayal of the Second International, expressed unambiguous opposition to colonialism and support for the struggles of the oppressed peoples of the colonies. In the wake of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, that message reverberated around the world. The manifesto of the founding congress of the Third International in March 1919 declared: Colonial slaves of Africa and Asia: the hour of proletarian dictatorship will also be the hour of your liberation.

In one of his first actions as Peoples Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky seized and published the secret treaties and papers of the Tsarist and Provisional governments, in order to expose the intrigues of the major powers. In July 1919, Leo Karakhan, acting for the Peoples Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, issued a declaration abrogating all previous secret and unequal treaties between the Tsarist regime and China, and relinquishing Russian claims in China, without seeking compensation.

When news of that declaration finally reached China in March 1920, it had a profound impact. It stood in stark contrast to the determination of the imperialist powers to maintain their colonial possessions and enclaves in China. Some 30 major organisations publicly expressed their gratitude to the Soviet government. Most newspapers demanded that the Beijing government, which had continued to recognise the Tsarist officials of the Russian legation, establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet government.

One of the first Chinese intellectuals to recognise the significance of the Russian Revolution was Chen Duxius close collaborator, Li Dazhao. In an essay published in New Youth in 1918, entitled The Victory of Bolshevism, he hailed the October Revolution as the beginning of a new era:

Although the word Bolshevism was created by the Russians, its spirit expresses the common sentiments of 20th century mankind. Thus, the victory of Bolshevism is the victory of the spirit of all mankind. [7]

Inspired by Trotskys work, War and the International, Li declared that World War I marked the beginning of the class war between the world proletarian masses and the world capitalists. The Bolshevik revolution was only the first step toward the destruction of the presently existing national boundaries which are barriers to socialism and the destruction of the capitalist monopoly-profit system of production. [8]

Societies for the Study of Socialism had proliferated following the protest movement of MayJune 1919. However, in March 1919, inspired by Li, students from Peking University established a Society for the Study of Marxist Theory. Early in 1920, the Third International or Comintern, which had closely followed the events of 1919 in China, sent Gregori Voitinsky from the Far Eastern Secretariat to Beijing to make contacts. He met with Li, who sent him to meet Chen in Shanghai.

Representatives of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Paris in 1924

Chen, who had been influenced by the philosophical pragmatism and democratic idealism of Dewey, was slower to embrace Marxism than Li. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, his political attitudes shifted rapidly. He had been arrested for his activities during the protests, and following his release, later in 1919, left for Shanghai, where he found layers of workers and youth who had been radicalised. By one account:

When Chen returned there, he immediately attracted a group of active intellectuals who joined him in Marxist study and activities Chen himself became active in promoting the labour movement, often making fiery speeches to the workers that reflected his Marxist thinking. [9]

When Voitinsky met with Chen in Shanghai the result was a decision to amalgamate a number of groups, which would form the basis for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, initially created in secret in May 1920. A draft party constitution was passed and a provisional central organisation based in Shanghai. Chen was elected as its first secretary. The party was formally established in July 1921, which is usually taken as the official date. [10]

The Chinese Communist Party today

A hundred years on, the Chinese Communist Party completely distorts the significance of the May 4, 1919 events. It has long repudiated the democratic principles of the New Culture movement and the socialist internationalism upon which the party was founded. The last thing that the CCP bureaucrats in Beijing want is for young workers and students today to draw inspiration from the youthful rebellion of 1919 by mounting their own revolt against the CCPs police-state apparatus and the stultifying intellectual climate it engenders.

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his speech this week to mark the May 4 movement to hail the virtues of nationalism and patriotism. Xi, who rests on a vast repressive apparatus, insisted that young people must avoid mistaken thoughts and obey the party.

Significantly, students from Peking University and other elite institutions have been detained since last year for the crime of assisting workers from Jasic Technology, in Shenzhen, in their struggle to form an independent trade union. The Marxist Society on the campus was threatened with closure, then taken over by CCP stooges. And this took place at the university that was at the very centre of the intellectual ferment of the New Culture movement, and whose students initiated the protest of May 4, 1919.

The CCP cannot tolerate the study of genuine Marxism because it raises far too many questions about its own history and practices. Its socialism with Chinese characteristics is an absurd formula, used to justify the processes of capitalist restoration, over which it has presided since 1978. The result has led to staggering disparities between the wealth and privileges of the CCP leaders and the super-rich oligarchs they represent, and the vast majority of working people. Incapable of making any appeal based on socialist principles, the regime has relied on whipping up Chinese nationalism and resurrecting backward Chinese traditions and superstitions.

This is epitomised by the CCPs revival of Confucianismthe chief target of the New Culture movement. It is promoted in schools, universities and through the fostering of Confucius Institutes in countries around the world. In a speech to an international conference in 2014, marking the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, President Xi declared that the Chinese Communist Party is the successor to and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. Undoubtedly, the rigid hierarchical view of society to be found in Confucianism dovetails with the bureaucratic outlook of the CCP apparatus.

The CCP long ago abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles embodied in Marxism and in the October 1917 Russian Revolution. The CCP bureaucrats today are not heirs of that tradition, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Moscow that usurped power from the working class under the reactionary nationalist banner of Socialism in One Country. Shortly after the CCPs formation, Stalin shackled it to the bourgeois Kuomintang (KMT), leading to a disastrous series of defeats of the Chinese working class in the revolutionary upheavals of 192527.

Mao with Stalin

Once again, the figure of Chen Duxiu looms large. He opposed the betrayal of the Chinese revolution in the 1920s, and sided with Leon Trotsky, who had warned that Stalins policies in China would lead to a catastrophe for the working class. Chen became the first chairman of the unified Chinese Left Opposition. Formed in 1931, it waged a courageous struggle for the founding principles of the CCP, despite being hounded and persecuted on all sides, including by the Stalinists.

In China, as internationally, the first stirrings of the working class are emerging in opposition to the oppressive conditions of work and life, and to the CCPs police-state apparatus, which seeks to suppress any form of opposition and independent thought. As in 1919, the main question that confronts Chinese workers and youth is on what basis a political fight can be waged against the CCP and the oligarchs that it represents.

The chief lesson from the May 4 movement is that the answers to these questions are not to be found in Chinain particular, in reviving the Chinese variant of Stalinism represented by Mao Zedong. In 1969, on the 50th anniversary of the May 4 events, Mao exploited and perverted the memories of that movement to justify the unleashing of gangs of Red Guards against the so-called capitalist roaders in the misnamed Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

In fact, Mao proved to be the capitalist roader in chief. No sooner had he set the Red Guards against his factional opponents, than the working class appeared on the scene, with the establishment of the Shanghai Peoples Commune in 1967. Maos response was to call out the army to bring the situation under control. By 1969, the disoriented youth in the Red Guards had become simply pawns in the factional struggles in Beijing.

Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon, 1972

The Cultural Revolution, however, could not and did not resolve the underlying economic and strategic crisis produced by the reactionary nationalist perspective of socialism in one country. There was no national solution: the only choices were world socialist revolution or reintegration in world capitalism. Having abandoned the former decades before, Mao reached a rapprochement with US imperialism in 1972 that opened the door for wholesale capitalist restoration.

Today, workers and youth in China confront the social catastrophe created by capitalist restoration, and the danger of war with the US, for which the CCP has no answer, other than an arms race that will inevitably end in catastrophe. As in 1919, the way out, again, is to be found on the international political and theoretical plane.

What is necessary is a return to the strategy of world socialist revolution and to build a Chinese section of the international party that fights for itthe world Trotskyist movement, today represented by the International Committee of the Fourth International. It alone embodies the necessary political lessons of the strategic experiences of the 20th century in the fight against Stalinism, including the courageous struggles of Chen Duxiu and the Chinese Trotskyists.

Footnotes

1. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China, Stanford University Press, 1967, pp 1067.

2. ibid, pp 109.

3. ibid, p 160.

4. Harold R. Isaacs, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Stanford University Press, second revised edition, 1961, p 53.

5. ibid, p 54.

6. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement (Intellectual Revolution in Modern China), Stanford University Press, 1967, p 93.

7. Benjamin I. Schwartz, Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao, Harper & Row, 1967, p 14.

8. Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism , Harvard University Press, 1967, p 68.

9. Thomas C. Kuo, Chen Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Com munist Movement, Seton Hall University Press, 1975, p 79.

10. Chow, op cit, p 248.
There is growing sentiment among Mississippi teachers for strike action against poverty wages, according to the results of a Survey on Teacher Action released by the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE).

The statewide poll of teachers reflects escalating anger among educators across the state. Of the 1,765 respondents to the survey, almost 80 percent identified themselves as classroom teachers. Sixty-three percent stated they would participate in a one-day statewide sickout; 61 percent stated they would rally at the state capitol on a Saturday before the end of this school year; and nearly 40 percent stated they would walk out on a specific day and refuse to return for an indefinite amount of time.

The results are significant and mark an increasing desire by Mississippi educators to oppose low wages and terrible working conditions, leading to low retention rates. There has been no strike in the southern state of Mississippi since 1985, after which state lawmakers passed punitive regulations against striking teacher groups, including massive fines and jail time. Mississippi teachers make the second-lowest salaries in the country, ahead of South Dakota.

The growing militancy, even in the face of draconian anti-strike laws, is developing within the context of teachers struggles across the globe which are increasing in quantity and scope. From Poland to Brazil, from India to North and South Carolina, teachers are waging a historic battle against decades-long reactionary measures imposed by all factions of the ruling elite to deprive the working class of the basic social right to a high-quality education.

On April 16, Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill purporting to provide teachers and assistant teachers a $1,500 pay raise, to go into effect at the beginning of the next school year. Both Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves praised the derisory raise as an achievement. According to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the current average salary for teachers in Mississippi is $44,459, more than $10,000 less than the national average, and $7,000 less than the regional average in the southeast. The minimum salary for assistant teachers is currently $12,500.

Adding insult to injury, it has since been learned that certain categories of teachers are excluded from the deal, including special education teachers, teachers for gifted learners, and some assistant teachers, although Bryant claims he will rectify this error.

Some school districts, such as Lee County and Clarksdale Municipal, have, in fact, confirmed that some teachers and assistant teachers in their schools have been excluded from the raise. Dennis Dupree, superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District, in the river delta county of Coahoma, stated that the raises allotted to some teachers are less than $1,500, with some being as low as $300.

In a state with the highest paid superintendent of education in the countryCarey Wright, whose salary is $300,000the legislature is dismissing the dire economic conditions of teachers.

The Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), the state chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), sponsored the Survey on Teacher Action. However, this was not in order to lead a struggle in response the growing mandate from its members, but is part of its effort to lobby the state legislature. In its statement released with the survey results, the MAE says: Actions such as informational picketing or having a rally are not the endgame.

An April 5 survey by WJTV News in Jackson reported an even higher proportion of teachers supporting strike action that in the MAE survey, with 79 percent of 981 teachers polled answering in the affirmative. Yet the union is opposed to even mild protests such as informational pickets and rallies.

The organizers behind the Facebook group Pay Raise for Mississippi pointed to the reasoning behind the MAEs strategy, stating in a post: Folks, if nothing else we have shaped the conversation. The media is questioning the candidates on our issues. We have made them hear us... The candidates know that going into this election the needs of educators cannot be ignored. We need to take this energy through the summer and into the fall and get the votes we need to elect the leaders we need. (Emphasis added).

While the legislature was running down the legislative clock, the union was stalling, working to exhaust the opposition of teachers and their supporters.

This was the intent all along. The MAE underscored the fact that it never advocate[d] or encourage[d] survey respondents to select any specific action, and said the options were listed only because they were being strongly considered by educators.

In other words, teachers are demanding a strike, but are being blocked by the MAE, which seeks to the use the anger of teachers as a bargaining chip in its relations with Democratic and Republican politicians. The union admitted as much, stating that the surveys findings will guide the drafting of an organizing plan that will be implemented now through the 2020 legislative session.

But teachers have different thoughts on the matter. As part of the WJTV poll, the media stated: [B]y state law, if teachers strike they will be breaking the law, which prompted one commenter to reply: Whats worse? Breaking a tyrannical law to hopefully improve our situation or sitting back and doing nothing while politicians continue to make our jobs more and more impossible?

Another educator, responding to the MAE survey results, stated: They cant get rid of or fire EVERY educator in the state. If EVERYONE joins, locks arms, protests, and marches we can be heard. We can make a change. Everyone can. Another said: Dont expect to see a change if you dont make one. For any positive outcome, it requires the MAJORITY of educators to stand united and unwavering. We cant expect positive change while cowering in the corner. To which another responded, Just look at SOUTH CAROLINA.

The record of the state legislature is more than clear. Mississippis education budget has declined over the course of the entire past decade, with a recurring shortfall of $2.3 billion. This has produced a drastic shortage in certified teachers, especially in more rural areas. In a paper published in the 2017 Mississippi Economic Review, Understanding the Nature of the Teacher Shortage in Mississippi, the authors state that among the economic hindrances to recruiting teachers in rural areas are low salary and benefits, state and national requirements for highly qualified educators, entrance requirements into teacher education, geographic isolation, and poor or limited housing options.

Some counties have been forced to lay off teachers to avoid budget shortfalls in their school districts. These cuts to the states school system have exacerbated the states overall population decline since the last census.

Expressing the general frustration, one commenter on the Pay Raise Facebook page stated, This is why the Legislature continues to do as they wish, because educators will not unite. This lack of unity, however, has nothing to do with teacherswho are demanding action from coast to coastand everything to do with the policy of the unions.

The Mississippi union, like the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers nationally, are doing everything they can to block strikes and prevent the unity of educators and all sections of the working class seeking to defend public education. In the service of their unholy alliance with the big business politicians responsible for the de-funding of public education and their defense of the capitalist profit system, there is no line the unions will not cross.
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Over the past two months investigations published by Unicorn Riot and the Huffington Post have exposed eleven members of Identity Evropa, an American neo-Nazi organization, operating freely within the US military. The latest exposure reveals the extent to which reactionary forces are allowed to cultivate, fester and recruit within the United States armed forces across all branches and ranks.

US snipers pose in front of Nazi SS flag in 2012 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

In March 2019, independent media outlet Unicorn Riot published more than 770,000 Discord chat messages from chat servers associated with Identity Evropa. Discord is a messaging service popular with computer video game players. Combing through the chat logs, Huffington Post reporters have so far been able to identify 11 members from the white supremacist organization who are currently serving in the US military.

The chat logs reveal that all of the participants are well versed in fascist ideology and are actively recruiting throughout the United States. Members of the group frequently shared anti-Semitic memes and glorified Adolf Hitler. Photos posted in the chat logs and on Twitter show members postering on college campuses with racist slogans, proclaiming to potential recruits, Its OK to be white.

One fascist exposed in the logs is currently a master sergeant in the Air Force named Cory Allen Reeve. Reeve lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was outed by anti-fascist activists in a flyer that was distributed throughout the community. Reeve frequently posted in the chat, encouraging members to pay more than the $10 monthly membership dues. He also shared photographs of himself at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center & Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, where he posted signs thanking the Gestapo-like border police for all that you do for our country.

Two Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) college students were also exposed in the chat. Jay C. Harrison, 20, is currently enrolled at Montana State University at Bozeman and is a member of the Army National Guard. In the logs, he espoused anti-Semitic lies, discrediting the veracity of the Holocaust, and commenting, I wish the Holocaust was real. Another ROTC recruit, 23-year-old University of Rochester student and Army reservist Christopher Hodgman, was identified as a member of the group. In the fall of 2018, Hodgman was responsible for posting Identity Evropa flyers and stickers throughout Brighton, New York, including on the Brighton Memorial Library and Town Hall.

Identity Evropa was founded in 2016 by Nathan Damigo, a former Marine who participated in two tours in Iraq. The Marines are the least racially diverse branch of the military, with over 80 percent of its recruits identifying themselves as white.

During Damigos two tours in Iraq, he became radicalized and suffered from PTSD following the loss of three close friends. In October 2007, one month after completing his second tour, Damigo, severely inebriated after celebrating the anniversary of the death of one of his fellow soldiers, robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint of $43 for looking Iraqi. Damigo was discharged from the military and convicted of armed robbery. He was then sentenced to five years in prison, where he was introduced to white supremacist literature, including Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes My Awakening.

Upon his release from prison in 2014, Damigo began attending classes at California State University at Stanislaus. While in college, he affiliated with various white supremacist groups before forming his own organization, dubbed Identity Evropa, in 2016.

Borrowing the reactionary language and methods of identity politics promoted on campuses by post-modernist professors and the pseudo-left, Damigo was able to cultivate a following with a small membership. He also began to affiliate with prominent racists, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer.

This relationship bore its terrible fruits in the culmination of the fascist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which 32-year-old Heather Heyer was murdered by a 20-year-old Hitler admirer who rammed his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators.

Following the fascist rampage in Virginia, Damigo stepped down from his leadership position within the group, which has since passed on to current leader Patrick Casey. In a rebranding attempt following the disclosure of the chat logs, the group is calling itself the American Identity Movement.

The exposure of this latest group of fascists within the military exemplifies a wider trend.

In November 2018, Pro Publica, in conjunction with PBS, exposed another neo-Nazi network, with members who are either active in the military or who previously served. This militant fascist organization calls itself the Atomwaffen Division and has focused its recruitment on college campuses and online message boards. The group gained prominence in 2016 by distributing flyers urging students to Join Your Local Nazis!

The Atomwaffen Division has been implicated in five murders dating back to 2017. Its members have also been tied to plots to bomb synagogues and nuclear power plants.

This week saw the Marines open another investigationthe second this yearregarding Marines posting Nazi iconography and slogans. Private First Class Anthony D. Schroader posted a picture on Instagram of himself and at least four other soldiers forming a swastika with their combat boots. Earlier this year, Lance Corporal Mason Mead was put under investigation by the corps after he posted images of himself in blackface along with a swastika he had formed with C-4 plastic explosives.

It is unknown exactly how many of the 2.1 million soldiers currently in the US military and reserves have fascist sympathies or are active members of a far-right organization. However, a 2017 poll conducted by the Military Times found that nearly 25 percent of service members surveyed stated they had encountered white supremacists within their ranks. That same poll found that 30 percent of those surveyed viewed white nationalism as a bigger threat to the United States than the wars in Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq.

The abundance of fascists within the US military verifies what white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, alleged earlier this year in his now censored manifesto. Tarrant travelled throughout Europe and Asia, openly meeting with neo-Nazis. Tarrant estimates that there are hundreds of thousands who hold similar views as he throughout the police and armed forces.

The cultivation and promotion of far-right forces within American society by President Trump, who hailed the rampaging white supremacists in Charlottesville as good people, marks a conscious and violent shift of the ruling elite to the right. Similar to disaffected German soldiers following World War I, American veterans and active duty soldiers returning from war who are physically and psychologically broken are being cultivated from the top to serve fascistic interests in the name of preserving bourgeois class rule.

The multi-billion-dollar US spy apparatus is more than capable of identifying and rooting out public and private communications. The fact that so many of these fascists have been outed by independent reporters speaks to the complicity of the US government in shielding these forces from exposure.

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By ANI

NEW DELHI: A Special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of lawyer-cum-businessman Gautam Khaitan in connection with a money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar while granting regular bail to Ritu directed her to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs. 25 lakhs and two sureties of like amount and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

Enforcement Directorate through its counsel opposed the Ritu's bail plea. Advocate Naveen Kumar Matta was representing the agency and advocate Pramod Dubey was appearing for Ritu Khaitan.

Special Judge Kumar also issued fresh summons to two firms - Windsor and Ismax Fresh Service after Gautam Khaitan who refused to accept the summons for it.

Last month, the court granted the bail to Khaitan in the case. The court also directed him not to influence the witness or hamper the evidence.

The ED on March 25 filed a 1500-page charge sheet (prosecution complaint) against Khaitan. The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Kumar under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In the charge sheet, the ED alleged that Khaitan deposited a huge amount of money in offshore accounts. He has also been accused of holding bank accounts abroad and having Rs 6000 crore which he didn't disclose in his income tax return.

The document was filed in connection with a fresh case lodged against Khaitan on the complaint of the Income Tax (I-T) Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
It took less than 24 hours for the Macron governments fabricated story about yellow vest protesters attacking the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital on May Day in Paris to collapse like a house of cards. It has been exposed as yet another lie to cast the protests against social inequality as criminal riots and promote Macrons build-up of a French police state against the working class.

The events in question occurred slightly after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, on the Boulevard de lHopital in Paris 13th arrondissement. The street was filled with thousands of protesters, a portion of the more than 40,000 people demonstrating in the city that day, when riot police fired tear gas into the densely-packed crowd and triggered a wave of panic.

A reporter for the right-wing daily Le Figaro, Wladimir Garcin-Berson, who was present at the scene, tweeted that there was a wave of tear gas, the air became unbreathable. Videos posted subsequently on social media show that protesters who were fleeing the choking gas forced open the metal gate of the hospital compound. Several dozen people attempted to take refuge inside one of the hospital buildings, but were turned away by staff, and then arrested.

Within a few hours, the incident had been transformed, in the words of French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, into an attack on the hospital by rioters. In a press conference on Wednesday evening, in which he sought to conflate the mass protests with small groups of black bloc anarchists, Castaner declared that people have attacked a hospital. The nurses were forced to defend the urgent care area. Our police forces immediately intervened to save the urgent care area.

An hour later, Castaner tweeted, Here at Pitie-Salpetriere, a hospital has been attacked. The health care staff have been assaulted. And a police officer sent to protect them has been injured. The tweet was accompanied by wide-angle and close-up pictures of a resolute Castaner shaking hands with riot police and walking through the hospital ward with health staff.

Photos Tweeted by Interior Minister Castaner on Wednesday night (Credit Christopher Castaner)

Macrons Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn called the event unspeakable and undignified.

Maybe there were people who wanted to take refuge, and others who wanted to steal, she said, without providing any evidence for the latter claim. As if to emphasize the alleged blood lust of the protesters, news reports emerged that a police officer was being treated at the same time in the same hospital for an injuryimplying that he or she could have been the target of a coordinated revenge attack.

Media in France and internationally immediately repeated and amplified the Macron governments lies.

The French edition of The Local published a report headlined: Unspeakable: Why did dozens of protesters burst into a Paris hospital during May 1st demonstrations? The Murdoch-owned Sun in Britain reported DANGER TO LIFE: Fury as Yellow Vest protesters storm Paris hospital where Princess Diana died. Le Figaro declared that dozens of black blocs had broken into the hospital.

The medias role as a mouthpiece for state propaganda was best exemplified by the public news channel France Info. Its report, headlined Intrusion at Pitie-Salpetriere: Discussion was not possible, hospital director says, featured a banner photo of a hooded man attacking a gate with a metal pole.

Banner photo published by France Info

Within hours of the articles publication, the photographer who took the picture, Geoffrey VdH, tweeted that the photo was taken the same day in a completely different location, outside a Paris police headquarters.

France Info subsequently removed the picture and replaced it with an image of a man threateningly brandishing a hammer outside a hospitalat a different building from where the incident occurred.

The updated picture published by France Info

As documented by Liberations CheckNews segment, the picture had been cropped at the bottom to remove dozens of yellow vest protesters who were angrily confronting the individual with the hammer and telling him they would not allow such a provocation. The original picture had been published by Le Parisien the same day.

The original image published in Le Parisien

The Macron governments lies had well and truly collapsed by Thursday, with the publication of numerous videos of the incident on social media. A video shot by one of the hospital workers shows a group of protesters running away from a column of riot police down a thoroughfare of the hospital compound, climbing the stairway to a building entrance, and standing on the upper platform, visibly terrified of being attacked by the police.

The staff inform the group that it is an urgent care area and contains ill patients, and refuse to let them in. The hospital workers can be heard speaking with one another inside the building. Theyre scared, theyre just afraid, one says, to which another responds: Yes, they [the police] have chased them. Another states: They didnt know [that it was the urgent care unit], they were just looking for a way out. Hospital workers have also given interviews adamantly insisting that they were never threatened.

The entire incident on the video is over within a few minutes. Police arrive and arrest the protesters without any clashes. With the collapse of the governments story, all 32 were released yesterday, the majority of them reportedly young university students. Castaner has angrily denounced all those who accused him of lying, absurdly declaring he may have misspoken and not used the word attack. Multiple parties have called for his resignation.

The affair underscores an essential political reality. The Macron government, like its counterparts and bourgeois parties internationally, led by the Democratic Party in the United States, utilizes the banner of fighting fake news to censor the internet and social media and prevent workers from accessing alternative news sources which the government and corporations do not control. The real purveyors of fake news, however, are the government and its mouthpieces in the corporate media.

The Macron governments lies about a non-existent hospital attack serve a definite purpose: to slander all left-wing opposition to the government as criminal and morally reprehensible and justify the ongoing unleashing of police state violence against the working class.

In February, a murky verbal confrontation between a yellow vest and right-wing Jewish commentator and Zionist Alain Finkielkraut was similarly used to slander the entire yellow vest movement as anti-Semitic.

Police were filmed looting stores during violent clashes on the Champs-Elysees in March, to which Macron reacted by blaming all the looting on the yellow vests and banning protests on the avenue. The government then ordered soldiers of the Operation Sentinel anti-terrorism mission deployed against the yellow vests, with authorization to shoot.

The collapse of this brazenly fabricated story about an attack on the Pitie-Salpetriere discredits not only the corporate media that peddled this story, but all the unproven allegations the Macron government has used to justify intensifying repression against the yellow vests.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, sponsored annually by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UNESCO holds the event, it avows, to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

Those claims are hollow and duplicitous, as the facts demonstrate.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains locked up in a high-security prison in London and faces the threat of rendition to the US. Why? Because he and his organization took seriously the fundamental principles of press freedom and actively shed light on both the daily corruption and criminality of governments and corporations internationally and the murderous activities of the American military in particular. As one of Assanges lawyers has observed, Washington is seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information.

Meanwhile, another UN body, its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, registered its disapproval Friday of the disproportionate sentence of 50 weeks imprisonment meted out to Assange for violating bail, which it noted was a minor violation. In 2015, the Working Group, part of the UN Human Rights system, expressed its opinion that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK and that he was entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation. That opinion was ignored by the British government, as Fridays will be.

In any event, no one associated with UNESCO or World Press Freedom Day made mention of Assange during this weeks events. Indeed, remarkably, one of the keynote speakers at the main celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia hosted by the African Union was the British foreign secretary, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt.

The right honourable Mr. Hunt was one of the British government officials responsible for the brutal seizure and incarceration of Assange on April 11. Following the WikiLeaks publishers arrest, Hunt said in a statement, What weve shown today is that no one is above the law. Julian Assange is no hero. He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.

In his address in Addis Ababa, Hunt, according to a press release, set out his vision to improve media freedom. We might be forgiven for suggesting that the foreign secretary, in presiding over the vindictive persecution of the globes most prominent investigative journalist, had already set out his vision, not with prepared remarks but with the rude violence of the Metropolitan Police Service.

In the course of his speech, a tissue of outright falsehoods and empty platitudes, Hunt told his audience in Ethiopia that the progress of humanity clearly shows that wisdom arises from the open competition between ideas when different viewpoints are given the oxygen to contend freely and fairly. Hunt might have added, As long as those different viewpoints sustain the official one. Otherwise, the supply of oxygen will be cut off.

The presentations in Addis Ababa were dominated by the fears of all the participants, imperialist and African bourgeois politicians alike, of growing popular discontent and the perceived need to suppress oppositional voices.

This gave the speeches by Hunt and othersand the general approach at present of authorities all over the world to the question of press freedomtheir contorted and dishonest doublespeak character. What governments actually want is freedom from press freedom. The ruling elites themselves want to be able to operate freely, that is, without the interference of dissenting and disruptive voices.

These concerns lie behind the systematic effort to censor and neuter the internet, justified by pious references to the dangers of hate speech, xenophobia, online harassment, concocted statistics, misleading media reports, the alleged manipulation of elections and populist" rhetoric. Of course, misinformation, deceit and the fomenting of every form of backwardness and prejudice have been the bourgeois medias stock-in-trade everywhere since time immemorial, about which no one in a position of authority has ever thought to complain. It is precisely the breakdown of the hitherto effective mechanisms of misinformation and deceit that has the powers-that-be up in arms and fuels the ferocity of Assanges persecution.

Along these lines, UNESCOs Journalism, Fake News & Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (2018) argues that authoritative sources and credible journalism have been damaged by what it terms, in an imperishable phrase, the current information disorder.

The authors argue that social media are undermining democracy by creating echo chambers, polarisation and hyper-partisanship, by converting popularity into legitimacy, and by allowing manipulation by populist leaders, governments and fringe actors.

The Handbook points anxiously to the phenomenon of news publishers struggling to hold onto audiences as barriers to publication are removed, empowering any person or entity to produce content, bypass traditional gatekeepers, and compete for attention. And it furthermore warns that in the high-speed information free-for-all on social media platforms and the internet, everyone can be a publisher. As a result, citizens struggle to discern what is true and what is false. Cynicism and distrust rule. Extreme views, conspiracy theories and populism flourish and once-accepted truths and institutions are questioned.

The vehemence of their conservative, antidemocratic and pro-establishment views and the depth of their desire to protect once-accepted truths and institutions help explain why the very respectable, well-spoken organizers of World Press Freedom Day hope that Assange and everyone like him rot in jail until the end of time.

If UNESCO and the rest of this crowd were serious about disinformation and misinformation, in any case, they would present as Exhibit No. 1 the American medias mendacious and calamitous campaign over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the greatest fake news operation of modern times by far, which has led to the death of more than one million people and the devastation of an entire region.

Leon Trotsky once observed that Every historical epoch has not only its own technique and its own political form, but also a hypocrisy peculiar to itself.

How is it possible for Hunt, on the one hand, to announce that he and other officials are launching a global campaign to protect journalists doing their job and promote the benefits of a free media, and, on the other, to do his utmost to muzzle and, if possible, silence Assange forever?

In fact, this goes beyond mere hypocrisy. English economist and social scientist John A. Hobson, in his valuable Imperialism: A Study (1902), argued that such official compartmentalizing, this genius of inconsistency, of holding conflicting ideas or feelings in the mind simultaneously, was no case of hypocrisy, or of deliberate conscious simulation of false motives. He contended rather that this was the condition which Plato terms the lie in the soula lie which does not know itself to be a lie. This, Hobson maintained, was the ethics and sociology of the imperialist stage of development, with its elaborate weaving of intellectual and moral defences.

The controlling and directing agent of the whole process, he wrote, is the pressure of financial and industrial motives, operated for the direct, short-range, material interests of small, able, and well-organised groups in a nation.

Assange is a class-war prisoner, being held on behalf of the wealthy and powerful, that small, able, and well-organised group, because he exposed some of their crimes against the oppressed.

Jeremy Hunt was right about one thing in Addis Ababa. If problems and tensions are bottled up then they are far more likely to boil over, he cautioned. Stopping journalists from reporting a problem does not make it go away The truth is that when governments start closing newspapers and suppressing the media, they are more likely to be storing up trouble for the future than preserving harmony.

He simply has no idea.

All over the world, workers are engaged in a growing strike movement in defense of their jobs, wages and social rights. It is this social force, not the corrupt representatives of the capitalist oligarchy, that form the real social basis for the defense of democratic rights.

On Saturday, the International Committee of the Fourth International will hold its sixth annual online May Day celebration. A central focus of the event will be the organization of the working class in defense of Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. We urge all readers of the WSWS and all those seeking to defend freedom of expression to register and participate.
Portuguese fuel tanker drivers have threatened further action, less than two weeks after a three-day strike over low wages and poor working conditions brought the country to a virtual standstill. Half of the countrys petrol stations ran dry, factories halted production, public transport routes were suspended and flights cancelled.

On Monday, following a meeting with the National Association of Freight Carriers (ANTRAM), Pedro Pardal Henriques, the vice president of the Union of Dangerous Goods Drivers (SNMMP)formed just over a year agodeclared that a new strike is most likely. ANTRAM had been given a deadline of one week to concretely pronounce on two main issues ... official recognition of the category of driver of dangerous substances and that the basic salary of these people should be equal to twice the national minimum wage. Miniumum wage is 700 ($780) a month.

At the end of this week we will see what forms of fighting we will use, Henriques added.

ANTRAM President Pedro Polonio, retorted, ANTRAM does not work with threats of strike and that it would stick to the calendar of negotiations [that] had been established until the end this year.

The calendar was one of the Socialist Party (PS) governments civil requisition measures, which also allowed it to impose minimum service operations, call in scab trucking companies and mobilise military personnel and security forces to secure supplies.

PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa, seeking to justify the emergency power, declared, The great lesson we have to draw is that, in the face of social conflicts, any kind of political exploitation is absolutely intolerable.

I also give a strong thanks to the security forces who were absolutely extraordinary, both in ensuring peace and tranquillity in all of this conflict, in the performance of the missions entrusted to them, and also in the replacement of civilians.

The fuel tankers dispute is the latest manifestation in Portugal of the eruption of the class struggle internationally. This year has seen an intensification of the strike wave that erupted last year, protesting the PSs failure to reverse 12 years of austerity that saw wages and pensions cut, careers frozen and a huge increase in precarious working. The number of pre-strike warnings issued in 2018 totalled 733, up 120 on 2017 and 245 on 2016.

Virtually all areas of the public sector have been involved, including nurses, teachers, firefighters, postal workers, court officials, judges, prison guards, oil refinery workers and dockers.

Half of all strikes have taken place in private sector companies including the Efacec Group, the Navigator paper mill in Setubal, Beralt Tin and Wolfram mines and Cerealto Sintra Foods, Petrogal Ferreira da Silva, Volvos Auto-Sueco subsidiary, Cinca, Hanon, Schmitt + Sohn, Randstad, Bosch, Delphi, Visteon, Meo and Carl Zeiss.

On May 1, workers from Portugals largest supermarket chain Pingo Doce went on strike.

Many of the strikes have been called by newly created unions such as the SNMMP, formed in response to the betrayals of the PS aligned General Workers Union (UGT) federation and the PCP-led General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP). Since the beginning of 2017, 24 new unions have appeared, with only two joining the UGT and none the CGTP.

Last year dockworkers organised in the Stevedoring and Logistics Activity Union (SEAL) at Setubal went on strike for a month in protest at the large number of casual workers. They paralyzed the port and prevented export of cars from the huge Volkswagen Autoeuropa plant. The Portuguese Association of Nurses (ASPE) has organised a series of militant strikes over the last two years over poor pay and job recognition.

The UGT attacked the new aggressive and uncontrolled unions. On May 1, UGT Secretary General Carlos Silva warned, It is necessary that the emergence of these more aggressive and uncontrolled processes make employers aware of the need to value traditional unions, which seek negotiation and dialogue. Lets hope that these new developments do not overwhelm parliament to restrict the rights of workers.

He warned the government, If in the last years the economic climate was of growth and recovery of confidence, and there was no condescension on the part of the government, what can we expect in the future in the face of a tendency for the economy to cool down?

In its commentary on the continuing strike wave, Portugals leading financial paper O Jornal Economico noted the duplicitous role of the Left Bloc (BE) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), which support the Socialist government [but] now have to distance themselves from it in order to capitalise on all the discontent at the ballot box.

Following the 2015 general election, the BE and PCP channelled mass disaffectionexpressed in a record low 57 percent turnout and the ousting of the pro-austerity right-wing coalitionbehind the PS and its claims that it would reverse austerity. Four years later, few of the promises have come to fruition.

Last month, the Financial Times questioned the claims, parroted by sections of the pseudo-left, that the PS government has created an alternative progressive economic model. In Portugal: a European path out of austerity? former Italian trade minister Ivan Scalfarotto, told the FT , Public spending has stayed under control, unit labour costs have been reduced, hence they have been able to attract more foreign direct investment and increase their exports. He added, Costa, also, is a good communicator: he stressed the idea that sacrifice was over and has been effective at keeping his left-wing coalition together.

Antonio Barroso, a director at risk analysts Teneo Intelligence, said, While Costas political acumen cannot be denied, it should not be forgotten that his government has faced very favourable macroeconomic conditions over the past three years, referring to the tide of a global recovery, falling oil prices, a tourism boom and a sharp fall in the cost of servicing one of Europes heaviest debt burdens through the Central Banks government bond-buying scheme.

The FT quotes PS Finance Minister Mario Centeno, rewarded for his efforts in Portugal with the posts of president of the Eurogroup and chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, who himself admits that the degree to which the PS has overturned austerity is not dramatic.

Economic growth in late 2015 was very poor and decelerating, Centeno continued. A change had to be implemented, [but] not a big change, before attributing the cut in the deficit to a sharp fall in the interest Portugal pays on its debt.

Elsewhere, Lisbon journalist Ricardo Cabral Fernandes explained that the alliance of the PS with the PCP and BE, dubbed the geringonca (odd contraption) was basically an exclusively tactical turn of the Socialist Party.

What happened was that the, so to speak, the socialist/left wing of PS very quickly learnt the lessons of PASOK [the social democrats] in Greece. So it turned its compass. And Antonio Costa was that compass. Yes, he broke the governance arc, made a parliamentary alliance with the Bloco and the PCP, but for all else, in policy terms, it keeps the same politics, Fernandes concluded.

Portugals economy has slowed down more than expected in 2019. The deficit has reached 1.4 billion, three times Centenos estimate of 409 million. The country has the third highest government debt in the European Union, hitting 245 billion or 121.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Public investment is the lowest of all advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Portugals monthly median wage is less than 900 per month, compared to more than 2,000 for the whole EU. Some 40 percent of workers are paid no more than 25 percent above the 700 minimum wage. A recent European Commission study revealed that Portugal and Ireland had the largest gaps between wage growth and productivity growth over recent years.

The proliferation of new unions expresses the initial recognition by workers that, under conditions of the globalisation of capitalist production, organisations created in a different era that are wedded to a pro-capitalist nationalist perspective are incapable of defending their basic interests. They have been transformed into direct agencies of the corporate-financial elite and the state, with both the PCP and CGTP calling for a patriotic left aimed at the sovereign development of our country, directly articulating the interests of the Portuguese ruling elite.

But the experience of the militant Matomoros strike in Mexico demonstrates the bankruptcy of union forms of organisations and the danger of accepting the political bona fides of organisations claiming to be independent without examining their programme and origins.

It is necessary for workers to build new, genuinely popular and democratic rank-and-file organisations of struggle. But these must be an essential component of a conscious turn to the building of an international socialist movement of the working class to fight for workers power and the reorganisation of economic life along democratic and egalitarian lines.
Vermont Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for remarks on China and trade. In language that would not be out of place coming from President Donald Trump, Sanders accused Biden of downplaying the economic threat represented by China and criticized him for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the normalization of trade relations with Beijing.

Biden, considered the early frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, said at a campaign event Wednesday in Iowa, China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. He added, Theyre not bad folks. But guess what, theyre not competition for us.

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates later stated that Biden had meant its never a good bet to bet against America and the fundamental strength, resilience, and ingenuity of its people.

In a response the same day, Sanders criticized Biden from the right, saying in a tweet, Since the China trade deal (in 2000) I voted against, America has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs. Its wrong to pretend that China isnt one of our major economic competitors. When we are in the White House we will win that competition by fixing our trade policies.

Sanders crude economic nationalism is not new. He has long linked his populist rhetoric to policies of trade war and anti-immigrant chauvinism. He fully supports the efforts of the trade union bureaucracy to pit US workers against their class brothers and sisters around the world and infect American workers with nationalismthe better to subordinate them to their corporate exploiters within the US.

Just four weeks ago, Sanders denounced open borders at a campaign event in Iowa, warning that decriminalizing undocumented immigrants would lead to impoverished people around the world flooding into the US.

Trump also criticized Biden for his comments on China. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, he hailed the tariffs that his administration has imposed on Chinese goods, while saying of Biden, But for somebody to be so naive and say China is not a problem, if Biden actually said that, thats a very dumb statement.

Like Trump, Sanders has hailed his anti-free trade record. This week he boasted of his votes against NAFTA and normalization of trade with China. On Monday, he released his trade platform, calling for renegotiation of all US trade agreements and demanding that China be labeled a currency manipulator, something Trump has threatened but pulled back from carrying out up to now. Officially naming a country a currency manipulator is tantamount to full-scale trade war. Such a declaration triggers a whole series of punitive trade measures against the targeted country.

Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has sought to outflank Trump from the right on trade issues. At an April 13 rally, he denounced Trump for being insufficiently aggressive in his trade war drive against China and other countries. For once in your life, he said, keep your campaign promisesgo back to the drawing board.

On Monday, after releasing his trade plan, he said: We need a president who will actually fight for American workers, keep their promises, and stand up to the giant corporations who close down plants to send jobs overseas.

By equating the defense of American jobs with economic attacks on countries such as China and blaming plant closures, layoffs and wage-cutting on trade policies rather than capitalism, Sanders aids the effort of the ruling class to create a war fever and prepare the way for military conflict with nuclear-armed powers such as China.

While he has tried to tap into anti-war sentiment by saying, I voted against the war in Iraq. [Biden] voted for it, Sanders has no qualms about using the military in pursuit of US imperialisms interests. During the 2016 campaign, he stated that he would use drones, all that and more.

Notwithstanding his rhetorical criticisms of big business, Sanders goal is to prevent the independent movement of the working class by diverting its struggles behind the Democratic Party. In this, he is aided by pseudo-left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The DSA functions as a faction of the Democratic Party, attempting to provide a phony left veneer to this party of Wall Street and the CIA. That is why it is dedicating its efforts to promoting the campaign of Sanders in the 2020 elections.
The Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) began bargaining this week with the San Diego Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) for a new three-year contract. The current contract is set to expire June 30.

SUHSD is the largest secondary school district in California. It is comprised of more than 1,500 teachers, 42,000 students, and 32,000 adult learners in southwestern San Diego County, near the US-Mexico border.

The initial bargaining began on May 2. The SEA is continuing discussions despite recent revelations that the district has yet again reported incorrect information about its finances and substantially underreported its debt, amidst allegations of fraud and mismanagement of funds.

According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) sent a letter to the Sweetwater district April 26 stating that the district will end the current fiscal year with $20 million to $23 million in interfund borrowing debt, an amount far above the $8 million reported last month by SUHSD.

Interfund debt refers to loan balances when money collected for one use, such as for facilities, is temporarily used for another use, such as operations. The letter from the SDCOE claims that Sweetwater is in violation of the states Education Code, which requires that it pay off all its interfund debt by the end of the fiscal year.

The updated totals are the result of an investigation initiated in December 2018 and a review of Sweetwater finances by an outside auditing firm appointed by the SDCOE.

The SDCOE outlined in the letter that Sweetwater under-reported its projected ending cash balance as $3.2 million. It will be closer to $609,000. Sweetwater also under-reported its payroll expenditures by $5.2 million, the result of poor and untimely accounting, according to the letter.

A spokesman for SUHSD, Manny Rubio, said the district disagrees with the updated estimate of $20 million to $23 million of debt. It has blamed financial incongruities on the districts supposedly outdated financial data system, TrueCourse.

SEA President Gene Chavaria expressed the unions loyalty to the district in a letter sent out to all members in April. He stated, I am pleased to report that the $42 million-dollar shortfall that we began the 2018-2019 school year has been reduced to $8 million dollars as a result of our collective efforts.

Chavaria and the SEA have used the threat of a state takeover to justify its collaboration with the district in imposing concessions on teachers. In the same letter released in April, he writes, Collaboration with the district and its bargaining units has prevented the State from directing the San Diego County Office of Education from taking over our district and has allowed us to maintain control over the decision making. This was one of our goals and we have been able to achieve it.

This collaboration between the SEA and SUHSD resulted in the immediate layoffs and cuts for the current academic year, which will continue.

Thursdays initial bargaining surrounded Article 6 of the SEA contract: calendars and work year. This portion of the contract includes the number of duty days for 7-12 grade school unit members.

The school year is comprised of 184 days total: 180 instructional days and 4 non-instructional days, previously allocated for professional development. The union and district are discussing a pay cut or the furloughs of between 1 and 4 non-instructional days.

Cuts to Special Education (SPED) and Article 7, class sizes, are of primary concern among educators. Educators are concerned that the district may force SPED students into standard classrooms, resulting in the layoff of SPED teachers, worse teaching environments for teachers and students, and the placement of moderate/severe special needs students with teachers who are already overwhelmed with their current workload.

An email sent to teachers by the SEA Friday morning had no information on the future of approximately 90 pink-slipped assistant principals, cuts to SPED programs, or the expansion of class sizes. It stated that the district proposed that SEA members take two furlough days, which will result in a savings of $4.5 million (half of the proposed shortfall for the 2019-2020 year).

The District Chief Financial Officer estimates that the 2019-2020 deficit is approximately $22.5 million, with a $10 million shortfall that the state requires to be paid off. The next bargaining session is set to occur on May 15.

Last October the district announced a $68 million shortfall. Investigations have pointed to millions of dollars missing under the former Director of Finance Doug Martens and Chief Financial Officer Karen Michel. Martens and Michel both retired from the district last summer.

Millions in cuts have already been pushed through by the SUHSD and the SEA, which accepts the fraud and/or mismanagement and has assisted in establishing the framework for carrying through the millions in cuts.

Layoffs and closures at the adult schools within the district have already taken place, as well as an end to credit recovery for students and cuts to after-school programs such as tutoring. Additionally, career technical education and extra support teachers, known as curriculum intervention specialists, have been terminated.

The SEA and the school board worked together to develop and pass a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) for older teachers just before the winter break. Arguing that the SERP would significantly offset the deficit, the SUHSD and SEA created the plan for teachers to retire early, and in the middle of the current school year.

Approximately 300 opted for the SERP, with 94 retiring in December, the remainder to depart June 2019. Also included in the SERP agreement were two unpaid furlough days for all teachers. The early retirement and furlough deal were sold to teachers by the SEA as a means of protecting everyones jobs.

While the SERP agreement contained wording that protects new teachers from getting pink slips for the 2019-2020 academic year, a clause in the contract states that this can be overruled in the case of a Reduction in Force (RIF) or renegotiation with the SEA, which is currently underway.

Sweetwater teachers should build rank-and-file committees independent of both the unions and the politicians to fight any budget cuts or layoffs and conduct an independent public inquiry into the fraud allegations with full transparency. As one educator pointedly remarked at a March SEA meeting, This board will likely be brought up on fraud chargeswhy should we bargain with them, why should we accept their numbers when theyre the ones who got us into this mess?

Sweetwater teachers should link up with their counterparts in the Carolinas, who engaged in mass protests this week, and study together the lessons of the Arizona, West Virginia, Colorado, Oakland and Los Angeles teachers strikes. These struggles resulted in austerity contracts, sold to the membership by the unions and district administrators tied to the budget-cutting Democratic and Republican politicians.

Just within the past few months, Oakland and Los Angeles austerity contracts were hailed by the unions as historic victories, though nearly one third of the public schools in Oakland are slated for closure, with $22 million in cuts agreed to by the Oakland Education Association.
The sacking of Gavin Williamson as defence secretary has only intensified the disintegration of Theresa Mays Conservative government, already mired in crisis over the UKs scheduled exit from the European Union.

Williamson was sacked after Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill announced an inquiry into who leaked to the Daily Telegraph the deliberations of the April 23 National Security Council (NSC) meeting at which it was decided to approve Chinese telecom giant Huaweis participation in the UKs next generation 5G data network.

The policy, which is yet to be formally announced, is strongly at odds with the demands of the United States and was only passed with the casting vote of May. This was the first occasion that the deliberations of an NSC meeting had been leaked. Williamson is the first minister to be sacked over a leak in 70 years.

NSC members are bound by the Official Secrets Act, which covers cabinet ministers and senior officials involved in foreign and defence policy, as well as representatives from the intelligence agencies and the armed forces.

Among the ministers known to oppose the deal with Huawei were Williamson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

On Wednesday afternoon, Williamson was sacked, with May informing him there was compelling evidence that he leaked details of the NSCs discussions. May confronted Williamson with the fact that an eleven-minute phone call between him and the journalist at the Daily Telegraph, Deputy Political Editor Steven Swinford, had been uncovered. Williamson has stated that he had briefed the Telegraph on the anticipated Tory leadership contest, Brexit and other minor issues. He refused to resign, saying May would have to sack him.

The Labour Party, having already called for an official investigation into the leak, followed up with a call by its Blairite deputy leader, Tom Watson, for a police investigation. Watson said of Williamson, The prime minister doesnt believe him... Now, if he didnt do it, that means that somebody else did it, which is why I think a criminal inquiry will get to the facts of this case. Thats why I think the logical extension of what the prime minister has alleged in her letter isa criminal act has taken place and the police need to examine the facts.

Mays attempt to stem an escalating crisis is in tatters, with Williamson fired the day before local elections in which the Tories suffered a massive collapse, losing over 1,300 council seats and over 40 councils.

Rejecting calls for a police investigation, Cabinet Secretary David Lidington said Thursday that May considered the matter closed and the cabinet secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police. This was after former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said there was certainly an argument for the matter being referred to the police.

Williamson, a leading representative of the partys hard-Brexit wing, is wreaking havoc. Replying to Mays letter, he wrote that a thorough and formal inquiry would clear his name. He added, I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case. Speaking to Sky News Thursday, he said he had been utterly screwed and was massively comfortable with the prospect of a police investigation into the Huawei leak.

He was backed by Tory MPs, including former minister Sir Desmond Swayne, who said, Natural justice requires that the evidence is produced so that his reputation can be salvaged or utterly destroyed. Hard-Brexit figurehead Peter Bone declared, This seems to have been a kangaroo court reaching a decision in secret which we have no evidence to base any decision on.

As a former chief Tory whip, the chair of Mays successful 2015 party leadership campaign and defence secretary, Williamson is described as someone who knows where the bodies are buried. Speaking on the BCCs Newsnight, political editor Nicholas Watt said, Make no mistake, Gavin Williamson is on the warpath... I spoke to a friend tonight who said he is thinking of delivering a speech on the level of Geoffrey Howes [1990] resignation speech, which famously precipitated the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.

Whether Williamson leaked the information or not, and whatever role he may play in Mays downfall, this row is only a symptom of the intractable crisis rending the British bourgeoisie.

Williamson held the Defence portfolio for less than 18 months, having replaced Sir Michael Fallon following his resignation. But he has staked out a claim to be the most bellicose advocate of the closest possible alliance with US imperialism, post Brexit, as it confronts Russia and China.

Just weeks after taking office, he provocatively declared that Russia was planning to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of Britons by seeking to control vital infrastructure.

As the crisis escalated over the March 2018 poisoning in Salisbury of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Williamson responded to Moscows demand for information linking them to what May said was an attempted assassination by declaring that Russia should go away and shut up.

In a speech this February, he insisted that the UK should be prepared to confront Russia and China on all fronts. He denounced Russia for rebuilding its military arsenal, and warned that China is developing its modern military capability and its commercial power.

Williamsons attacks on Russia, and more particularly on China, became increasingly unhingedplacing him in direct conflict with those sections of the ruling elite who view the development of commercial links with Beijing, including Chinas financing of imperative infrastructure projects in the UK, as critical.

In February, Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced to cancel a trade visit to China and attempt to repair the damage after Williamson threatened to send the UKs new aircraft carrier into the South China Sea to monitor Chinese naval activity.

Among those lined up against Williamsons intervention was former Chancellor George Osborne, who, under Mays predecessor David Cameron, forged close economic ties with China. Osborne warned, Youve got the defence secretary engaging in gunboat diplomacy of a quite old-fashioned kind, at the same time as the chancellor of the exchequer and the foreign secretary are going around saying they want a close economic partnership with China.

Tensions around the post-Brexit strategy of the ruling elite will remain centre stage with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Britain next Wednesday. Pompeo will meet May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, with the Daily Mail reporting that he will deliver a speech on the state of the UK-US special relationship. According to the Daily Telegraph, Pompeo will reiterate US threats that allowing Huawei access to networks could endanger US-UK relations. It cited a State Department source who said, What we want to do with friends, allies, partners on this issue is share with them the things we know about the risks that the presence of Huawei and their networks present.

The crisis over Huawei confirms that Mays dysfunctional government can only stagger on in office because it is being propped up by Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

Labour is continuing talks with the Tories in an attempt to reach an agreement that would see her EU withdrawal deal passed in Parliament, at the fourth attempt. How conscious this anti-working class agenda is was aired on the BBC Thursday, with Barry Gardiner, shadow trade minister, telling Tory Brexit Minister James Cleverly that Labour was in there [the talks] trying to bail you guys out.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

Rajasthans Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot is confident that the Congress will be judged positively on the basis of its performance in the state in the last six months and do far better in the Lok Sabha elections than in the Assembly polls. He also feels that Prime Minister Narendra Modis nationalism narrative will have no impact before the economic hardships people face. Excerpts from his interview with Rajesh Asnani:

There has been record voting in the first phase in Rajasthan and the BJP believes its to their advantage.

Thats a misconception. Three months ago, the Congress was voted in and our governments performance since then will be judged. I am quite confident that we will win a majority of the seats which voted in the first phase.

Do you think the Congress will fare better in the parliamentary elections than in the Assembly polls and what is the basis for it?

Sachin Pilot Deputy Chief Minister

of Rajasthan /EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

Traditionally, whichever party gets to form the government in the state does well in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2008, the Congress had formed the government in Rajasthan and swept the general elections in 2009. In 2014, the BJP won all the seats as they were in government in the state. Now we are in government and people have seen our work and read our manifesto. I am confident that not just in Rajasthan, in all the three states where we won the Vidhan Sabha elections, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we will do very well.

Modi and the BJP have created a narrative of nationalism. Do you feel it will make a difference?

This is an election to secure the future of young people who need jobs. This is an election for bread and butter throughout India. The agrarian crisis and the slowdown of the economy are major issues. The BJP can sidestep these important issues and go on appealing on emotional issues, but I do not think young people will fall into that trap.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has said the Congress can do no Nyay after anyaya over 60 years

Nyay (minimum wage guarantee scheme) will be a gamechanger for the rural economy. Anyaya has done been on Dalits, farmers and poor people who have suffered because of demonetisation and mob lynchings instigated by the BJP. Nyay will give the poorest families in India financial help of `72,000 annually and it will boost our economy.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

You had a say in chief ministers son Vaibhav Gehlot getting Congress ticket from Jodhpur. How do you see his prospects?

The entire party has been working hard to win all the seats. As party president, I and our Chief Minister, Ashok Ghelot ji campaigned hard for Vaibhav and we are confident t we will do well in Jodhpur and all the other seats too.

There is a feeling that there was wrong distribution of tickets by the Congress on some seats, which may not help its cause.

The BJP had to drop some of their sitting MPs despite winning all 25 seats since last time. They dropped a Central minister and four other MPs. It is they who feel threatened by our candidates. Gehlot ji and I sat together and made sure that good, winnable candidates get tickets on all seats.

Within the Congress, some people also say that if prominent leaders who are ministers in state government had been given tickets, it would have been better. What are the reasons they were not chosen?

Its the party that decides who contests and there was a consensus on all the seats. We have given tickets to who we thought were winnable candidates. Chief Minister, I and all the party leaders had unanimity when we gave ticket to the candidates on all 25 seats.

Some betting markets and media reports say the Congress will not win more than 8-10 seats. Do you feel this assessment is correct?

Its all BJPs propaganda and the betting markets are no indicators. The mood of the people is with us. We will be judged by our six-month performance and we will win the bulk of the seats in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress had promised to waive off farmers loans in just 10 days but it did not happen. Now the farmers are angry. Why do you think that is so?

e have done it. We waived off farmer loans worth Rs 18,000 crore of the Cooperative Banks. Before we could address loans from commercial banks, the Model Code of Conduct was imposed and we had to negotiate with the controller of the Finance Ministry. We are now in the process of negotiating with the commercial banks, too. As soon as MCC period is off, we will waive off rest of the farmers loans as well.

Rahul Gandhi has high expectations from Rajasthan and CM Gehlot had made a statement saying it was his, PCC chief thats you and party general secretary Avinash Pandeys responsibility to make sure the Congress wins big. How do you react to this?

That is true. Rahul Gandhiji expects all three state governments to deliver. Whether it is Kamal Nathji or Bhupesh Bhagel or Ashok Gehlot  they are all heads of government, but we are all working together to deliver the best possible results.

Why has Priyanka Gandhi not campaigned in Rajasthan? Political analysts believe if she had come, the Congress prospects would have improved.

We wanted her to campaign but she had to campaign in UP, Assam and other places. Timing was a big problem. So she couldnt make it to Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi, though, has made several trips to the state.

A slogan was coined in the Assembly elections, Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhara teri khair nahi. Because of this, many believe that people now would want to vote for Modi.

Vasundhara and Modi are two sides of the same coin. You cant detach the responsibilities that previous State Government did not discharge and think of the Government of India as separate. The BJP governments at the Centre and the state both are under scrutiny. They have been rejected in Rajasthan. I want to ask, how much infrastructure have they created that they seek votes? Modiji comes once in five years to seek votes. The BJP creates propaganda of development but the people of Rajasthan have felt let down by the Government of India.

Your final assessment about Congress: how many seats can the party win this time, given the fact that in 2014 it was wiped off completely with a 25-0 loss?

It will be a complete reversal and we are working towards Mission 25. We are hoping to achieve our mission.

If a Congress or opposition alliance government is formed at the Centre, what will be your preference between Rajasthan and Delhi?

I have been party president for the last five-and-a-half years. I have also been made Deputy CM. I am very content and honoured to be able to discharge my responsibilities. I am going to be in Jaipur and happy with the job that am doing.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: There is no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army chief of the island nation, officials of central security agencies said here Saturday.

One of the officials said immigration records were re-visited after the terrorist attacks and none of the bombers had visited Kashmir.

About a dozen Sri Lankan nationals had come to Kashmir Valley this year and their credentials have been re-checked after the April 21 bombings in three churches and three luxury hotels killed 253 people and injured over 500 others, he said.

However, there could be a possibility of the bombers visiting the state using pseudonym, the official said, adding if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence, it can be verified from the ground.

READ HERE | Sri Lankan police directs public to hand over swords, sharp weapons, police and military uniforms

Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers, who carried out the country's worst terror attack, visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, said, "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state.Those are the information available with us."

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out the series of blasts.

ALSO READ | Islamic State sympathisers in Kerala under lens after calls to Sri Lanka: NIA
By Online Desk

BASTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi at BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said. By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

PM Modi also accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a 'big game' against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP. The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh. He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about 'respect' towards her.

"It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now `Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

READ HERE | EC gives PM Modi 6th clean chit for Patan speech invoking IAF pilot Abhinandan

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
Gwen Adams sees a lot of the worlds darkness  and hears a lot of its darkest stories  and there is one story, if you ask, that she will always tell you.

The founder and executive director of Priceless Alaska, Adams has spent years combatting human trafficking: helping survivors heal, helping them adjust to lives of freedom and helping them bring their traffickers to justice.

But the success of her work, by its nature, is shadowed by tragedy.

Adams remembers one girl she was helping prepare for trial. She was sold into a life of tracking by her husband who beat her up, Adams says. At one point she became pregnant, but she was not free: Her trafficker kicked and kicked her until she delivered the months-old fetus, a boy, on the bathroom floor. His body was concealed in a landfill not far from Adams home.

The girl eventually got free but found she did not have the strength to face her abuser in court.

She told me, I wish I would have, but would you mind telling my story?  Adams recalls.

The girl worked with Priceless Alaska, Adams group, which provides a mentor team for each trafficking survivor. Together with her mentors, the girl was able to name her son: Bryan.

RELATED: Set on Fire by a Co-Worker, Army Nurse and Mom-of-3 Has a New Cause  Making the Military Pay

She said, I just dont want my little boy to never have been known,  Adams says.  In order for his life and her life to have purpose, she just wants me to tell her story.

For her work and the work of her staff, Priceless Alaska was among the dozens of local groups around the country who were awarded the FBIs annual Directors Community Leadership Award.

The ceremony, held Friday at the bureaus headquarters in Washington, D.C., honored a range of groups.

Among them were Adams Priceless Alaska, fighting sex trafficking; Dolly Partons Dollywood Foundation, for its support of survivors of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, wildfires in 2016; Sandy Hook Promise, started by the relatives of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting; and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Program, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, helping native women out of abusive environments.

Story continues

Other honorees included Boston activist Deeqo Jibril, whose mission is to integrate the Somali community into American life while maintaining its culture, faith, and values, according to the FBI; Dallas Pastor Harry Lee Sewell, who is significantly involved in local community development and works with a mens shelter; and Soha Saiyed, of Louisville, Kentucky, who focuses on anti-human trafficking and civil rights efforts.

Your mission is a commitment to serving your communities. Youre showing people kindness when they need it most. Youre defending those who need a voice, FBI Director Christopher Wray told attendees at the Friday ceremony. Youre making sure no one gets left behind. Youre helping keep your neighborhoods safe. And youre putting in the work.

We need the support, understanding, and trust of the public, Wray said. And you are our bridges to them. Youre out in our neighborhoods. You see whats happening in our communities every day. And youre taking action to make things better.

For Lola M. Ahidley, director of the Mescalero Apache Tribes domestic violence program, the FBI recognition was just the boost her small group needed.

There are times that were so tired at the end of the day, and we have done so much, and were just exited to know that someone was actually watching what we were doing, she tells PEOPLE.

Ahidleys program in New Mexico is based in a small, native community, where it focuses on outreach, awareness and providing support to abuse survivors. Ahidley says she hears from grateful women whom she and her colleagues have helped: We have survivors texting me  my number is an on-call number, so they will text me and tell me, Thank you so much for your help. My son and I have been able to rest after being in a shelter. 

RELATED: The Amazing Way Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martins Mom, Is Supporting Her Fellow Grieving Mothers

But there is always more to do.

Were slowly expanding, and Im looking forward to getting a crew together so we can look at all the areas we need to work with: the elderly, the kids, [the] LGBTQ [community]. Theres just so much that falls under our umbrella, she says.

One focus will be providing counselors, on call and on site. As the programs profile has increased, Ahidley says, survivors have referred other people to them. Word of their work is spreading.

Our No. 1 goal [is] to make sure that our women are safe and not to judge, she says.

The domestic violence they face is a problem with all communities, not just here.

Adams, of Priceless Alaska, says her team of mentors helps trafficking survivors think about the future: what their freedom can look like going forward, with a support system to walk beside them and navigate life.

We pay a lot of attention to dreams and plan for the future, she says.

Seeing that future realized is its own reward.

Living in my world is so dark and so hard, she says, and so we cling to those stories when we hear them and theyre so beautiful.
Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark in Endgame

Robert Downey Jr deserves an Academy Award for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thats according to Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, who has heaped praise on the actor for both his work as Iron Man and for his impact on the cinematic landscape.

His cumulative body of work from these movies is staggering, Russo recently told The Washington Post. If you look at the work over just even the last four [Marvel] films hes done, its phenomenal. . . . He deserves an Oscar perhaps more than anyone in the last 40 years because of the way that he has motivated popular culture.

Read More: Philippines TV airs bootleg version of Avengers: Endgame

Despite the huge popularly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has still been mostly ignored by the Academy Awards.

Black Panthers Best Picture nomination last year did change that, though, and Fandangos Erik Davis recently revealed that there was a big screening of Avengers: Endgame for Academy members this week, which suggests that Marvel believe it could follow in Black Panthers footsteps.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in Endgame

There has also already been early chatter about Robert Downey Jrs performance as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, with viewers eager to see the actor rewarded for his portrayal in the blockbuster with acting gongs come awards season.

However, Joe Russos comments could actually be interpreted to mean that Downey doesnt just deserve either a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film, but is actually more deserving of an Honorary Academy Award.

Read More: The Avengers: Endgame spoiler ban is being lifted after this weekend, say the Russo Brothers

Theres no denying the fact that Robert Downey Jrs casting for 2008s Iron Man laid the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has gone on to consist of 22 films that have grossed over $20 billion combined.

Of course, Downey Jr has been handsomely remunerated for his work in the MCU. In fact, it has been alleged that the actor has actually has been paid around 265 million ($350 million) in total for playing the character in 10 different movies.

So even if he doesnt land that Oscar, hes still done pretty well from it all.
Barclays Bank in London. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire

Barclays (BARC.L) made a 2.6bn (2.2bn) capital injection into its Irish bank over the past year, as it sought to prepare the newly expanded unit for its post-Brexit role.

New accounts filed with Irish authorities also show that Barclays Bank Ireland, which is now the banking groups main European Union base, received around 1bn in equity contributions in the 10 weeks between 1 January and 13 March of this year.

The Irish unit has also taken steps to strengthen its balance sheet. In 2018, it sold 200m in subordinated debt to its parent bank, and it again received some 500m in further subordinated debt investment in the first 10 weeks of 2019.

In terms of actual assets, the bank had indicated that the Irish unit would absorb around 224bn (260bn) of its total 1.17tn in assets by 30 March, making it the largest bank in Ireland.

Barclays also said it would move around 6,800 clients, mainly from the European Economic Area, to the Dublin unit.

This decision was based on the assumption that its London divisions would lose their passporting rights after Brexit. The passporting mechanism currently allows them to do business in other EU countries.

Barclays moved into its new Dublin offices close to Irelands houses of parliament in November 2018, and said it would expand its Irish workforce by around 200 people.

In February, the chairman of its UK bank, Sir Gerry Grimstone, said that Barclays had spent between 100m and 200m ($257m) preparing for Brexit.

Grimstone said that being regulated by the Irish Central Bank  and, because of the banks size, the European Central Bank  was a new adventure for Barclays.

Were impressed with the nature and scale of regulation, he said.

Grimstone also criticised the effects of Brexit on London, saying that the UK had gone from being one of the most predictable environments in which to operate to one of the least predictable.
The Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen (PA)

Christians are experiencing persecution so severe in some parts of the world that it amounts to genocide, according to a new report commissioned by the Foreign Office.

It states that Christians in the Middle East have been forced out of their homes en masse over the last 20 years, with many being killed, kidnapped and discriminated against.

Christians in south east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa had also been victims of discrimination, the report by the Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen, found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (PA)

The report says: The rise of hate speech against Christians in state media and by religious leaders, especially in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, has compromised the safety of Christians and created social intolerance.

It states that the inconvenient truth is that the overwhelming majority (80%) of persecuted religious believers are Christians.

It adds: The level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.

Read more:

Russian 'spy whale' is making itself at home in Norway, posing for photos and playing 'fetch'

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - himself a Christian - described this oppression as the "forgotten persecution", and said that political correctness was to blame for a widespread failure to confront it.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on his week-long visit to Africa, he said: "I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

"I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.

"I think it is partly because of political correctness we have avoided confronting this issue. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers."

Dr Mounstephen said he had been "truly shocked by the severity, scale and scope of the problem.

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"It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?"

A final report based on this review will be published in the summer.

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Minhaz Merchant By

With Americas sanction waivers on Iranian crude oil ending on May 2, the battlelines in the Middle East are sharply drawn. On one side is Sunni Saudi Arabia along with its allies the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. On the other is Shia Iran, boxed into a corner by US oil sanctions that could cripple its economy.

But while the Sunni Arab powers have a powerful ally in Washington, Iran isnt friendless. It is backed by Russia and Turkey as well as Iraq and Syria, both with large Shia majorities. In this cauldron, a new entrant has quietly established its presence: China. Most notable is the Saudi-China axis based on a marriage of geopolitical and economic interests.

As The Economist reported recently: For decades the Middle Kingdom saw the Middle-East as a petrol station. About half of Chinas oil came from Arab states and Iran. Little went in the other direction. In 2008 the region got less than one per cent of Chinas net outbound foreign direct investment (FDI). Skip ahead a decade and Chinese money is everywhere: ports in Oman, factories in Algeria, skyscrapers in Egypts new capital. Last year it pledged $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states and signed another $28 billion in investment and construction deals.

Trade between China and the Arab world is lopsided. In 2017, Tunisia imported $1.9 billion worth of goods from China, nine per cent of its total imports. It exported just $30 million to China. The trinkets hawked to tourists in souqs are usually made in Chinese factories, not Arab workshops. In the occupied West Bank even the makers of keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian identity, cannot keep up with their Chinese competitors. A few Arab states hope that Chinas growing taste for olive oil will lower their trade deficits a bit. But China will not put millions of unemployed Arabs to work.

The business model the Chinese are following in the Arab worldfrom north African nations like Tunisia and Algeria to the sheikhdoms of the Middle Eastis eerily similar to its investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia. The common feature is high-cost, unsustainable debt and ghost infrastructure with empty buildings and deserted airports.

The Saudis dont seem to mind. They see the US as an unreliable long-term ally. US Congressmen are still deeply upset with Riyadh for complicity in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and former Saudi insider who had turned a bitter critic of the Saudi royals. The personal rapport between US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has kept the US on Riyadhs side. But for how long? The next US president, in 2020 or 2024, is unlikely to be as strong an ally of Saudi Arabia as Trump.

Enter China. The Saudis see China as a counter to an inevitable estrangement with Washington once Trump demits office. For now Trump and Kushner need Saudi Arabia in their bid to isolate Iran, Saudis sworn enemy. With the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Iraq, Russia will play an increasingly pivotal role in the Middle East. Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US are the worlds three largest crude oil producers with a combined output of over 30 million barrels a day.

A complication in the region is Qatar with whom a Saudi-led group broke all ties in 2016. Qatar is not only the worlds largest natural gas producer but closely involved in the fraught negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Afghan government. Qatar has, to Saudi anger, grown closer to Iran and Turkey. It also hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.

As the geopolitics of the region plays out, Russia will increasingly assume a dominant military role while China focuses on enlarging its economic footprint across the Middle East. As The Economist reported: Arab officials who once ignored China talk of it as a rising regional powera softer sort than America or Russia. An influx of Chinese tourists has led to hotels in Cairo teaching staff to speak Mandarin and cook Chinese dishes.

Diplomats from Beijing often have a command of Arabic that puts their Western counterparts to shame. When Lebanons PM formed a government in February after nine months of deadlock, his first visit came from the Chinese ambassador. But China seems to have little interest in sorting out the civil war just over the border in Syria. Mercantilism is its priority, not fixing the regions many problems.

Indias own role in the region is growing. Millions of Indians have long lived in the Gulfover three-and-a-half-million in the UAE alone. Indian entrepreneurs have a strong presence across the Middle East and Africa. The Indian diaspora has centuries-old links with the region, unlike China which has only arrived on the scene with money and men in the past decade. Airtel was an early investor in Africas mobile telecom market and runs a profitable business in dozens of African countries.

Geopolitically, Indias expanding security relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across the region could make it the fourth major player along with the US, Russia and China. A combination of soft power (Bollywood) and hard power (space technology) are formidable weapons. They now need to be deployed with care and precision.
Editors Note: On Friday, Netflix began streaming a biopic on serial killer Ted Bundy, titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The film, which stars Zac Efron as Bundy, captures the terror wrought by the man who kidnapped, raped and killed dozens of young women and girls in the 1970s across seven states.

Utah teenager Carol DaRonch was attacked by 1974  and managed to escape with her life. The following article about DaRonchs ordeal was originally published on Jan. 23, 2018.

It must have seemed, at first, just safe enough for Utah teenager Carol DaRonch to go off in a strange car with a strange man named Ted Bundy.

To start, hed told her he was a police officer  and he had the badge to prove it. Her car had been broken into while she was shopping at the mall, he said, and then he asked if she could come down to the station with him to make a complaint against the suspect?

The situation seemed a little off somehow to DaRonch, 18, and her instincts were right: Bundy was trying to abduct and murder her  a harrowing encounter she survived and then some, later going on to testify against him at trial, leading to his first conviction in his years-long spree of kidnappings, sexual assaults and murders.

DaRonchs story and others are recounted in Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a four-part docuseries on Netflix.

In an exclusive clip above, she recalls the moment it all went wrong in Bundys car, after she agreed to join him for a ride to the police station:

He headed down a side street and then he suddenly pulled over up on the side of a curb up by an elementary school and thats when I just started freaking out: What are we doing? And he grabbed my arm and he got one handcuff on one wrist and he didnt get the other one on and the one was just dangling. I had never been so frightened in my entire life.

DaRonch, without knowing who had targeted her, realized what fate could await her.

RELATED: Sheriff Who Caught Ted Bundy Recalls Chilling Details of the Investigation

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She says in the clip: I thought, My god my parents are never going to know what happened to me.

But she fought Bundy off  one of his few survivors and the first to be able to identify him afterward. Later, she told PEOPLE how she had tried to move on with her life.

Ive decided to try and block it from my memory, she said in 1989. You cant live in fear forever. (Perversely, Bundy went on from his encounter with DaRonch to kill that same day  17-year-old Debra Jean Kent.)

Ted Bundy | Getty

Conversations with a Killer includes interviews with DaRonch, the people who investigated, prosecuted and defended Bundy and Bundy himself, in the form of about 100 hours of never-heard audio recorded during death row interviews he gave in Florida while awaiting execution.

It was the fall of 1974 when Bundy tried to take DaRonch. Hed already killed over and over again, the women often vanishing from public spaces at night: a girl near her sorority house, another leaving a bar. Two others during the day in a crowded park.

His arrest in DaRonchs abduction was not the end of his story. He twice escaped from police custody, then went on to represent himself at the two murder trials for which he was prosecuted with rapt TV cameras recording.

He insisted until right before he was executed that he was innocent. He was articulate, he was handsome, he was a law school student. How could he be a serial killer?

RELATED: Haunting Serial Killers and What Ended Their Bloody Reigns

Docuseries director Joe Berlinger, who is also releasing a fictionalized account of Bundys crimes starring Zac Efron, tells PEOPLE its that incongruity about Bundys character that he wanted to explore.

Why is Bundy considered the serial killer that everybody seems to know something about and why he is a source of endless fascination? Berlinger says. Listening to tapes of Bundys prison interviews changed his perspective.

I wasnt sure until I started listening to the [tapes] and listening to the stuff, it burned and deepened some of the troubling aspects of Bundys story that I felt were worth putting on screen which I hadnt yet seen before, which is this deep dive into the mind of a killer and the personality of a killer, he says. Because I think the thing thats most chilling, interesting, fascinating to me about Bundy is that he defied many of the stereotypes of the serial killer.

The thing that I really wanted to drill into is: Why was he so believable?

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is available on Netflix.
Providing enough food to feed the nation is always a struggle for North Korea, which suffered a near cataclysmic famine in the 1990s (AP)

North Koreas daily food rations have been cut to a record low this year after experiencing the worst harvest in a decade.

The Hermit State has rations to 300 grams a day  or 11 ounces - with further cuts likely the United Nations said on Friday.

According to US organisation The Nutrition Centre, a good mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and dairy products weighs 2 kilos per day per person.

The UN conducted a food assessment between March 29 to April 12, at the request of North Korea.

Photo taken in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The organisation was given wide access to the country, including cooperative farms, nurseries, households and food distribution centres.

According to the survey, North Korean families were only consuming protein a few times a year.

The report also detailed how the countrys agricultural output of 4.9 million tonnes, the lowest since 2008-2009, had led to a food deficit of 1.36 million tonnes in the 2018/2019 marketing year.

Read more:

North Korea executed four officials after failed US summit, report claims

North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket launch site it had dismantled last year

North Koreas Kim in Russia for first talks with Putin

World Food Program spokesman Herve Verhoosel said. This new food security assessment ... has found that following the worst harvests in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest.

10.1 million people needed food aid, including 7.5 million of the 17.5 million North Koreans who depend on government rations plus 2.6 million collective farmers.

Mr Verhoosel said: Prospects for the 2019 early season crops of wheat and barley are worrisome, with communities at risk as the lean season gets underway in June.

North Korea is facing worrying food shortages (KCNA)

The effects of repeated climate shocks are compounded by shortages of fuel, fertiliser and spare parts crucial for farming.

The World Food Program is to hold another assessment between July and August in order to gain a better understanding of the crisis.

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The news is reminiscent of the famine that gripped North Korea in the mid 1990s that killed as many as 3 million people.

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The doctor shared the images to warn people of the dangers of sleeping with contacts still in. (Getty)

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: An eye doctor who was sick of encountering patients that sleep with their contacts in has taken stomach-churning measures to warn people about the dangers.

Dr Patrick Vollmer of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina, shared graphic photos of a bright-green eye that was being rapidly consumed by bacteria.

He explained that an ulcer had formed in the cornea as a direct result of sleeping [with] contact lenses still in.

While the fluorescent green colour in the eye was a result of dye, Dr Vollmer said the places where it had pooled showed the extent to which the cornea had been taken over by an ulcer.

This case did not take years to form. In fact, it took about 36 hours, as is characteristic of this strain of bacteria, he said.

I dont ever recommend sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses. The risks outweigh the benefits every time.

The patient's cornea has been almost consumed by an ulcer, highlighted by dye. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse...

Don't sleep in soft contact lenses.

The condition, called cultured pseudomonas ulcer can quickly lead to blindness, and despite the antibiotics and steroids he had treated the cornea with, the patient was still likely to have permanent scarring and vision loss, he said.

The patient will 'likely' have permanent scarring and vision loss. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

The graphic photos quickly went viral on social media, and within three days of the post it had been seen by more than 30 million people.

Some comments which accused the post of trying to scare people were met with the response from the clinic: Yes, this post is a scare tactic to get you to stop sleeping in soft contacts.

According Optometry Australia, soft contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed type of contact lenses, but the thin, lightweight plastic were making people complacent.

The infected eye before the green dye is added. The dye is used to pool in areas of corneal compromise  in this case, the ulcer bed. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

Contact lenses should not be worn at night because they prevent oxygen getting to the front of the eyeball and can cause damage if worn for too long, as was the case with Dr Vollmers patient.

"A very common thing we see in private practice is someone gets home late ... they're meant to throw their lenses out but they just fall asleep instead," Optometry Australia president Andrew Hogan told ABC Radio Hobart.

"They get up in the morning and without thinking too much they put a fresh pair of lenses on top of the ones they're already wearing."
More than 20 people were injured on Friday night after a Boeing 737 plane that had landed in Florida terrifyingly slid off the runway and into a nearby river.

The passenger plane from Guantanamo Bay had just arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station when it skidded off the runway and into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m., the air station confirmed.

Despite the scary circumstances, the plane was not submerged due to the shallow water, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office tweeted.

Miraculously all 143 people on board survived after the planes rough landing.

The Mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, initially asked for prayers on Twitter, writing, We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.

Curry then confirmed that all passengers were alive and accounted for, and that no fatalities were reported.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

RELATED: Boeing Denies Claims of Shoddy Production at Plane Factory 6 Weeks After Another Model Crashed

While everyone made it out alive, 21 people were taken to hospitals, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

We responded to NAS Jax to a plane incident tonight with a second alarm assignment of approximately 90 personnel, the department tweeted. 21 people were transported to local hospitals.

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In addition to writing that an investigation was underway into how the incident happened, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville detailed a full account of the event.

RELATED VIDEO: Weather Complicating Recovery Efforts In Alaska Plane Crash

At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville slid off the runway into the St. Johns River, the air station confirmed. There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for. Minor injuries have been reported, treated at the scene, and those requiring additional treatment were transported to a local hospital. There were no fatalities.

The air station also added that, just after midnight on Saturday morning, that Navy security and emergency response personnel were still on the scene and monitoring the situation.

Families members who were expecting the arrival of passengers should stand by until they are released, the air station advised.

The plane while a Boeing 737, is not believed to be a Boeing 737 Max. The 737 Max planes have been grounded in the wake of two fatal accidents in just five months.
The white beluga whale spotted off the coast of northern Norway wearing a harness appears to want to stay there (Picture: Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/Handout/NTB Scanpix via REUTERS)

A whale suspected of being a spy for Russia appears to have defected - seeming happy to stay in Norway.

The beluga whale, which was spotted in northern Norway with a harness appeared to be used for carrying a camera, seems reticent to return to Russia, sticking close to the harbour where it was found.

The whale has become so popular that Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has launched a poll to find a name for it.

Linn Sther, a resident of Tufjord on the Arctic island of Rolvsya, told the broadcaster: Hes so comfortable with people that when you call him he comes right up to you.

Linn Saether said the whale is so tame it allows people to pet it and performs tricks (Picture: Linn Saether via AP)

Sther said locals had been able to pet the whale and it also performs tricks, retrieving rings then swimming up to the dockside for praise.

It reacts when you call it or splash your hands in the water. You can see its been trained to fetch and bring back whatever is thrown for it.

READ MORE

Police hunt thug who threw dog from Cornish cliff

The beluga whale was found on Sunday wearing a harness fitted with a mount that was reportedly stamped with the words: Equipment St Petersburg, sparking speculation that it could be a Russian spy or may have escaped from a Russian military facility.

Russia has reportedly denied running a sea mammal special operations programme and Norways special police security agency (PST) has not yet reached a conclusion on where the whale came from.

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Shamima Begum is not our problem, said Bangladesh's foreign minister. (AP)

Bangladeshs government has said that Shamima Begum, the teenage Londoner who fled to Syria, is not their problem.

The countrys Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said the teenager is British, not Bangladeshi, and if she travelled to Dhaka she could be hanged for terrorism.

We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen, he told ITN.

She never applied for Bangladesh citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

Begum fled to Syria with London school friends (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule, there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She will be put in prison and immediately, the rule is, she should be hanged.

Begum, 19, was stripped of her British nationality by the current Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February.

She was one of three Bethnal Green schoolgirls who fled to Syria and joined Islamic State in 2015.

In her time with IS she was married and had three children, though all three have died.

There were allegations that she worked for IS morality police and she was discovered at a Syrian refugee camp in March.

The UK government's official reason for depriving Ms Begum of her British passport has never been made public, although it is against the law to make someone stateless.

Regardless, Mr Momen said she was not welcome in Bangladesh.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters fire on Islamic State militants (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

He said he would be "sad" if she was left stateless, but said it "nothing to do with us".

He compared the British government's decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship to the treatment of the Rohingya by the Burmese authorities, many of who have fled to Bangladesh.

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Torontos Mayor John Tory didnt mince words this morning when he spoke with the CBC, to discuss the continued encroachment of the Ontario government on the citys municipal affairs.

They are doing these things out of the blue that are going to effect peoples lives, said Tory, speaking on a recent decision by Doug Fords government to cut funding to Torontos child care, a move that will cost the city $84.8 million this year.

It will also jeopardize more than 6,000 daycare spots in Toronto.

Tory said hed call his relationship with Doug Fords government as uneven, unpredictable and volatile, as sometimes they have open communication, but other times decisions just come down the pipeline with no warning.

He said the child care decision came via a memo and was a surprise to his office.

It is about deep cuts to actual provision of child care to families in the City of Toronto, he said.

Why does this government insist on taking programs like this that are necessary for a healthy prosperous city....and just one after another, do these things?, said Tory, adding that the provinces cuts seem to disproportionately target Toronto.

Premier Doug Ford meets with Toronto Mayor John Tory at his Queen's Park office in July 2018. (Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Cuts to child care is one decision on a list of provincial policies that are set to impact Canadas largest city. Discussions about how to use the Ontario Place space and whether to include a casino ruffled feathers with Torontonians who want a public space, meant for those of all ages.

In April, the Ontario government announced $1 billion would be cut from Toronto public health over the next ten years. City councillor Joe Cressy said those cuts to funding would impact disease prevention, water quality testing, immunization monitoring and surveillance, prenatal support, overdose prevention, food safety regulation... and more.

At the time, Tory called the decision a targeted attack on Toronto.

Ontario is also currently in the process of uploading the Toronto subway expansion to the province, a negotiation that Tory says is going fairly well and where communication lines are open.

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At least were sitting at a table and were having discussions, he said.

In the case of these other cut backs....its out of the blue, said Tory.

In terms of child care and health care, Tory told Galloway that his government is currently trying to convince the province otherwise.

Its time to take a hard second-look at these things, he said. They are certainly trying to have their way on a number of issues.

Were not going to stand by and put up with this thing going on without any discussion.

As the battle continues for funding for city programs, do you think the Ontario government is correct in making these kinds of cuts? Share your opinion in the comments below!
Jim Cummings Winnie The Pooh

Legendary Disney voice actor Jim Cummings  known for characters like Tigger, Mickey Mouse villain, Pete, and Winnie the Pooh  is currently locked in a bitter war with his ex-wife and she is claiming years of abuse by the star, including sexual assault, drug addiction and animal abuse.

Jim and Stephanie Cummings were married in 2001 and divorced a decade later, in 2011. They have two minor daughters, Johanna and Lulu, and have been arguing in an L.A. County courtroom over alleged incidents of abuse that occurred between 2011 and 2018, after the couples marriage fell apart.

Allegations of Rape/Sexual Assault

According to documents obtained by The Blast, Stephanie claims that since her divorce from Jim, he has engaged in physical, sexual and emotional abuse including but not limited to death threats, rape, and various sexual deviant behavior forced upon me without my consent.

Stephanie also notes that Jim is a very successful voice over actor. He has provided voices for such films as Winnie the Pooh, Lion King,' and adds that he has done over 250 voices.

Disney

She claims to have obtained two separate domestic violence restraining orders against the 66-year-old star, including after an incident on August 31, 2011, when she says Jim came over to her home and slapped her on the buttocks and forced himself on her in front of their 4-year-old daughter.

He later came up behind me, she claims, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and forcefully put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me while holding me in place against the wall.

She says after the kiss, Jim asked if she could see him leaking, because thats what I make him do when he touches me. Stephanie says she felt humiliated and degraded in front of their child, and allegedly reported the incident to the L.A. County Sheriff, who advised her to get a domestic violence restraining order.

According to documents, Jim did not dispute the incident but remembers it differently than his ex. The Disney star said he was joking and laughing with Stephanie, and then I touched her slightly on the butt. He says Stephanie gave him a consensual hug and says the whole incident was happy. He added that his ex-wife, who is much taller than I am, and a large woman, made no objection to anything.

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Getty

Stephanie also claims that she was raped by Jim in 2013, and allegedly filed a police report over the incident but did not give more detail. In open court testimony, Stephanie describes how she entered rehab after the rape for co-dependency and Jim showed up to the facility unannounced and was asked to leave.

She claims that Jim would frequently without consent, would touch my buttocks, my groin, and my breasts. He would hold me in place attempting to kiss and fondle me. He would spank me in front of our daughters. He would then follow up by making sexual comments to me that I found repugnant.

Of all the inappropriate comments he allegedly made to the former couples daughters, Stephanie claims Jim commented that he was allowed to touch Mommys breasts since he had paid for them. Stephanie broke down in tears on the stand while recalling some of the comments made to her by Cummings.

In documents, Jim addressed the situation, writing in an email to Stephanie, Shame on you, youre [sic] distortions are obscene. forcing? Please, everyone, Gracie myself and especially YOU were all giggling and laughing, it was pleasant to have one moment of light-heartedness. We both erupted into laughterIm hardly the first person in the world to point out one catches more flys [sic] with honey than vinegar for you to overlay a reference to being a whore is little too telling, Lets get this over with for the love of God.

The ex-couple has also been fighting for custody and support payments and, in legal documents, Stephanie claims Jim would withhold payments of support and demand sex from me in exchange for meeting his support obligations.

In 2015, she claims Jim showed up to her home and confronted her while on a date with an off-duty police officer, and the man was forced to pull his gun to make Jim leave the scene.

Getty

Stephanie says the constant harassment from Jim resulted in a decline in her health, so in 2017, she moved to Utah with their two daughters.

During a visit to see the children, she claims Jim asked to stay at the house and she allowed it. However, during the middle of the night, she claims Jim was standing over me with his erect penis in my hand. He was using my hand to stroke his penis while my youngest daughter was asleep on the other side of me. She was 10 years old at the time.

Stephanie explained, I told him to stop and get out of the house. He refused. He then came back and did the same thing, insisting I masturbate him or he would wake Lulu up. I did as he asked given his threat to wake up my daughter and my worry that I could not control what he would do in front of her.

After that incident, Stephanie says she obtained the second restraining order against Jim, which was filed in Utah. In 2018, both Stephanie and Jim testified in court and the restraining order was issued against Jim for two years.

Allegations of Drug Use

In the court documents, Stephanie says, The primary reason James and I separated was his abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and Adderall.

Stephanie says Jim has had a longstanding history of substance abuse, including a stint in rehab in 2005 and on June 10, 2010, he checked in again and stayed for four days before checking out. Stephanie says he ended up relapsing and returned to the facility for five days before getting kicked out because he was using Adderall.

She claims after the couple split, between 2012 and 2018, Jim has shown up at her home uninvited while intoxicated or high on Adderall.

Jim denied the allegations were as stated saying, I entered that rehab facility voluntarily. However, Petitioners claim that it was a binge on alcohol, marijuana and Adderall is another exaggeration as I have never taken Adderall Petitioner, however, has had a long standing [sic] history of drug abuse. On the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Petitioner and I mutually agreed to check into a rehabilitation facility. He claims the substance abuse consisted of primarily Vicodin as well as alcohol.

Getty

Allegations of Animal Abuse

In her argument to get full custody of the two children, Stephanie claims Jim once abused the family puppy to the point where it almost died.

Stephanie says she and Jim had purchased a dog and the animal urinated in the house. As a result, Stephanie says Jim took the dog and placed it inside a metal bucket outside of the house on a day which it was over 100 degrees, then left it there for a long time, adding, The dog came close to dying.

In response to the animal abuse allegations, Jim admitted to the incident, but says, There was an incident where I put a tub (not a metal bucket) over a dog to isolate it briefly as a form of discipline to its behavior at our vets suggestion, and unfortunately I forgot the dog was there for a while, but then of course I released it.

Jim says he took the dog to the vet to get checked out and claims it was in fine health.

She also claims in another incident, Jim had taken a broom and hit the puppy so hard that he shattered the puppys hip necessitating surgery.

Ongoing Court Battle and Current Situation

Stephanie and Jim are currently giving dueling testimony in a Los Angeles courtroom about the years of allegations and ongoing incidents. Jim was actually on the stand for two days being questioned by powerhouse attorney Larry Bakman and giving his side of the story.

The Disney star says he has tried to work out things amicably with his ex-wife but says, She will have outbursts of hostility directed at me, and often change in her behavior and attitude comes without warning.

He has also alleged she may have a mental health disorder and says she has been taking medication.

Jim is also very worried about his future with Disney, claiming Stephanie has threatened to ruin his longstanding career. He claims she threatened, I will go and I will ruin your reputation  I am going to tell people Winnie the Pooh is a woman beating, drug addicted freak!

He says the recent alleged outburst by Stephanie came after he had refused to take her to the premiere of the Disney movie Christopher Robin in 2018.

Getty

Stephanie has also given testimony and is accusing Jim of currently living with a woman who was once a sex worker. The woman, Peggy Schinke, rose to fame as one of the prostitutes who worked with Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. During a 1990s sting operation, Peggy was one of four women who met with undercover vice officers for Beverly Hills PD. It was a pivotal moment in the Fleiss criminal case.

Winnie the Pooh lives with a whore, pays a whore to pretend to be his girlfriend, rapes and abuses the mother of his kids, Stephanie said. She also claims Jim has tried to get her to kill herself and has referred to his two daughters as n-word babies.

She says Jim is a much smaller version of Harvey Weinstein, who needs help for his alleged addictions. She is making it clear she believes her daughters lives are in danger around Jim and she wants full custody of the kids.

According to records, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has investigated the case and have been in contact with the couple.

The Blast reached out to Disney several times before publishing this story  so far they have not commented.

The post Winnie the Pooh Disney Voice Star Jim Cummings Accused of Rape, Animal Abuse appeared first on The Blast.
Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 21 taken to hospital originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue said 21 passengers were transported to the hospital, all in good condition. There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members.

(MORE: Small plane crashes in Long Island, all passengers survive)

There was no water inside the cabin of the plane when rescue personnel arrived, but passengers had come out onto the wing and were then escorted through the shallow water to land.

The flight is what is called "the rotator" flight that flies out of Guantanamo on Tuesdays and Fridays. Its a regularly scheduled charter flight that flies from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Jacksonville and then continues on to Norfolk, Virginia, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for Navy Region Southeast.

Passengers who use this aircraft pay a standard fare for the transportation to and from Guantanamo. The passengers can be military personnel, their families, civilian employees or contractors who work or live at Guantanamo.

PHOTO: A 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."

The NTSB is investigating the runway overrun of a Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 that overran the runway at NAS Jacksonville and came to rest in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. NTSB photo. pic.twitter.com/ueBeCa2OAt  NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) May 4, 2019

There were thunderstorms in the area during the accident, but an official said it was unclear if that was a contributing factor.

Story continues

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."

(MORE: VIDEO: Survivor: Hawaii Plane Crash 'Like Instant Brakes')

"It think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at an overnight press conference. "It could have ended very differently."

Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.

The plane skidded off one of two runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The base specializes in anti-submarine warfare and training pilots. It is also home to Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

PHOTO: A Boeing 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"To say that I was wiping sweat off my brow would be an understatement," Tom Francis, spokesperson for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, said in response to the lack of serious injuries.

Curry said he was contacted by President Donald Trump to offer help in the wake of the accident.

(MORE: VIDEO: WWII plane crash kills 20 on board)

Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene, including members of the hazmat unit.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the accident.

ABC News' Luis Martinez, Matt Foster and Chris Donato contributed to this report.
Minnesota's repeal of marital rape exemptions highlights existing legal loopholes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The governor of Minnesota closed a legal loophole this week in the states marital rape law -- just one of what advocates describe as scores of legal loopholes still permeating state criminal justice laws from coast to coast.

Marital rape laws have been in place in all 50 states for more than a quarter century, but a number of those states -- like Minnesota -- have had exemptions in place which specified certain circumstances in which what would typically be considered rape if it happened between strangers, is not considered a crime between a married or existing couple.

Aequitas, a national non-profit that studies prosecution practices as they relate to gender-based violence and human trafficking, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of exemption to laws against marital rape of spouses who are drugged or otherwise incapacitated, according to an Associated Press report.

The change in Minnesota law was spearheaded by Jenny Teeson, who discovered video that showed that her now-ex-husband drugged and sexually assaulted her while they were married. During the case against her husband, she learned that Minnesotas marital rape law has an exemption that applied in their case.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson, center in white, of Andover, Minn., looks on as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs a bill at the Capitol in St. Paul, on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Steve Karnowski/AP)

The Minnesota penal code previously contained a statute that allowed people who were accused of sexual assault to justify the act if they had an existing relationship with the victim. That was used in Teeson's ex-husband's case, but will no longer be available to offenders in Minnesota.

In 2017, Teeson and her now ex-husband were going through a divorce when she found a flash drive containing videos of her husband allegedly sexually assaulting her with an object while she was drugged and unconscious  and turned them over to police, who initially charged the man with third-degree criminal sexual assault, the AP reported.

Story continues

Later the same day, Minnesota state prosecutors dropped that charge against Teesons ex-husband due to the loophole, and he ultimately pled guilty to invasion of privacy and served 30 days behind bars, according to numerous reports about the case

(MORE: Domestic violence plays a role in many mass shootings, but receives less attention: Experts)

"This exception should never have been part of our criminal statutes," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said after signing the bill repealing the pre-existing relationship defense on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. "It is reprehensible. And because of Jenny and other survivors, it is now repealed."

(MORE: Bus driver who raped 14-year-old girl gets no prison time, just probation and fees)

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Walz said.

The legal concept that a rape cannot happen within a marriage dates back to the 17th century English common law, when Sir Matthew Hale posited that marital rape is legally impossible because a marriage implies a womans ongoing consent to sex, according to the Associated Press.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson receives applause while speaking after Gov. Tim Walz signed into law a repeal of the state's pre-existing relationship defense at the Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Leila Navidi/Minneapolis Star Tribune via ZUMA)

Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men report having been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the AP reported  noting that national surveys place the percentage of women who say they were raped within a marriage at between 10% and 14%.

Yet despite the persistence of the #MeToo movement and ongoing efforts to update and reframe womens rightful roles in all aspects of American society, campaigns to close marital rape loopholes havent proven successful everywhere.

A recent bill in Marylands legislature to erase marital rape exemptions for all sex crimes died in committee, the AP reported. One skeptical lawmaker wondered whether one spouse could conceivably be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind. Another wanted to know if your religion believes if you are married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? The bill died in committee, the AP reported.

Other common arguments against erasing such exemptions from state statutes include notions of marital privacy as a constitutional right  as when spouses cant be forced to testify against each other in court, Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of Law told the wire service.

Aequitass data reports that a number of states have multiple forms of exemptions, but they describe the exemptions as generally falling into one of three categories. The first  and most common, occurring in 41 jurisdictions  is based on the age of the victim and the offender. The specific exceptions vary by state but tend to relate to the victim being under a certain age or the perpetrator being a certain number of years older than the victim.

Because of this exemption, actions that would generally be considered statutory rape if it occurred between strangers, may not deemed a crime if the individuals are married or have a pre-existing relationship.

The second type of exemption relates to the capacity of the victim to consent, either due to their mental impairment, physical or cognitive disabilities, or intoxication. In the context of this exemption, a sexual assault that may normally be criminalized as rape because the victim could not consent due to intoxication, for example, may not be considered a crime in states like Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut or Idaho, which are four of the 20 jurisdictions that have that exemption, according to Aequitas.

(MORE: John Bobbitt speaks out 25 years after wife infamously cut off his penis: 'I want people to understand the whole story')

The third exemption relates to rare instances when one spouse has legal authority over another, including instances in which one spouse is granted custodial or guardianship power over the other.

Holly Fuhrman, an associate attorney and adviser at Aequitas, gave the hypothetical examples of a prison guard and an inmate, or a caregiver and someone in their care as situations that could fall into this exemption.

The exemptions themselves are very complicated, Fuhrman noted to ABC News.

Beyond the legal loopholes, Fuhrman said that a number of other aspects of the relationship between the couple could prevent the victim from seeking legal justice.

She said that marital rape often happens in the context of a broader domestic violence relationship where there are dynamics of power and control at play.
The private sector is seen as a mainstay of Hanois economic development as the nearly 250,000 firms make up 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and generate jobs for over 50 percent of the labourers in the city.

Accounting for 97.2 percent of the capital citys total enterprises, the private businesses are affirming their leading role in the nation and citys development and construction. Favourable mechanisms and policies outlined by local authorities have helped the firms stabilise and branch out their business operation.

However, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association Mac Quoc Anh said that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance is still constrained by many factors, comprising both internal capacity and unfriendly external factors like shortage of capital and high-quality human resources, and narrow access to technology besides poor management and marketing capacity.

Therefore, SMEs would lose their competitive edge, especially when Vietnam is integrating deeply into the global economy, with various bilateral and multilateral free trade deals having been inked with the ASEAN, the US, Japan and the EU, he said.

In a bid to make SMEs become more conducive to local economy, Hanoi will create a sound business environment, ensuring that it serves as a launching pad for the firms to further develop, while supporting them in innovation, modernising technologies, and improving labour productivity.

It is necessary for the local authority to channel efforts to narrow gap with the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand) in terms of technology, human resources and competitive capacity.

The city is completing and implementing effective mechanisms and policies, contributing to finalising the socialist-oriented market economy in the country by 2030. Accordingly, economic growth will be promoted in tandem with sustainable development, environment protection, and climate change response.

Besides, it will continue shake-up in State-owned enterprises, targeting that most of the companies have international-standard quality management systems, and modern technologies and techniques equivalent to those of regional countries by 2030.-VNA
By Express News Service

SRIKAKULAM/VIJAYAWADA: People in Srikakulam and other two north coastal districts  Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram  heaved a sigh of relief, with extreme severe cyclonic storm Fani sparing them and moving towards southern Odisha coast.

However, under the influence of the cyclone, moderate to heavy rains lashed northern mandals of Srikakulam district. Some areas in Sompeta, Srikakulam and Kanchili mandals received around 19 cm of rains with high-velocity winds on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. But, since Friday morning, there were no rains in all the three coastal districts.

In Ichchapuram, which borders Odisha, winds at 140 kmph were registered and in some parts of Uddanam region, several coconut and palm trees were uprooted. Branches of the trees fell on the interior roads and NDRF and fire service personnel, deployed in the district as a precautionary measure, cleared them.

District collector J Niwas said that there were no casualties and damage was minimal. He said several electric poles in Kanchili, Kaviti, Sompeta, Ichchapuram and Palasa mandals were uprooted due to gales.

As many as 2,000 staff of Electricity department are engaged in restoration works and we expect to restore power to 70-80 per cent of the affected areas by Friday night. Superintending engineer-level officials in each mandal are supervising the restoration works. Power connectivity to rest of the district has been restored. As a precautionary measure, power connectivity was disconnected on Thursday night, he explained.

In the report submitted to the State government, district collector put the losses at Rs 38.43 crore in the district. As many as 162 houses were damaged, 12 sheep and nine cows were killed. Horticulture crop loss in 406 hectares was pegged at Rs 4.09 crore. Infrastructure damage in Palasa and Srikakulam municipalities was pegged at Rs 2.12 crore.

Energy department sustained losses to the tune of Rs 9.75 crore.

Around 20,000 people, who were evacuated from vulnerable locations and housed in 252 relief centres set up in the district, started returning home since Friday morning itself.

On the other hand, the Irrigation officials are in touch with their Odisha counterparts to monitor flood-levels in Nagavali, Vamsadhara, Mahendra Tanaya and Bahuda rivers. On Thursday, as a precautionary measure, all the 24 gates of Gotta Barrage on Vamsadhara river in Hiramandalam was opened, but on Friday morning, with no inflows or rains in the upper catchment areas, 18 gates were closed and water is being released from the remaining six gates.

According to officials, only when the flood levels cross one lakh cusecs mark, will the first warning of floods be issued. However, to be on the safe side, all the officials in the riverside mandals were put on alert.

In Vizianagaram district, not much damage to infrastructure and houses were reported. The horticulture crop (banana) losses in 326 hectares of land was pegged at Rs 5.08 crore.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who took stock of the situation later in the day, told newsmen that 2,129 electric poles and 218 cell towers in 12 mandals were damaged.
Photo credit: KOCO via YouTube

From Delish

A 28-year-old Oklahoma man suffered a stroke after popping his neck, reported ABC affiliate KOCO News. According to the outlet, Josh Hader's vertebral artery, which leads from the base of the neck to the brain, tore as a result of the common practice.

Hader explained to the outlet he immediately knew something was wrong.

The moment I heard the pop, everything on my left side started to go numb, said Hader. I got up and tried to get an ice pack from the fridge, and I remember I couldnt walk straight.



Hader was taken to the hospital by his father-in-law. X-rays revealed Hader's torn artery, and medical staff says the man's injury could have been life-threatening.

He could have formed more clot on that tear and had a life-ending stroke. He could have died, Dr. Vance McCollom of Mercy Hospital told KOCO.

Strokes in this region can leave patients incapacitated, according to McCollom.

They completely understand what's going on, but they can't communicate. They can't move anything. They can't speak. They can't breathe.

Hader's case was less severe, but the Oklahoma man experienced double vision and had to wear an eyepatch for several days. He also relied on a walker to move around and suffered from painful hiccups.

According to KOCO, Hader's wife frequently asked him to stop the dangerous habit.

His wife had been telling him, Don't pop your neck. You're going to cause a stroke, said McCollom.

Although strokes related to neck popping are rare, medical professionals say there are other risks.

New York-based chiropractor Patrick Kerr, D.C., tells SELF that popping your neck can make the area feel more stiff. This only makes you perform the habit more often.

"You know, on some level, that movement brings relief, so that leads to cracking," said Kerr. "But then you begin to discover that it takes more and more effort to get relief. It becomes a habit."

Story continues

For those of you who just can't stop, follow McCollom's advice:

If you want to pop your neck, just kind of pop it side to side. Don't twist it, he said.

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Photo credit: Withunmind Photography

From Woman's Day

Late fall can be a bittersweet time of year, especially in rural Texas. Live oak trees, once ablaze with orange and red leaves, begin to look bare. The sun descends from its summertime perch, putting an end to days that stretch luxuriously into night.



Still, theres plenty of magic to be had in autumn  a campfire crackling on a chilly evening, an apple pie spiced just right with cinnamon, or, say, a wedding.





Photo credit: Judy Tran

Tabatha Cash and Marlee Castillo tied the knot last fall at a park in Spearman, TX, on an overcast day that was warm enough for Tabatha, dressed in a long white sleeveless lace dress, not to catch a chill, yet cool enough so that Marlee felt comfortable in a three-piece suit.

Nearly 50 people  aunts and uncles, long-time friends  looked on as the women said their I dos. But Tabathas mother wasnt among them.

My mom doesnt accept that Im gay, says Tabatha. It was understood that she loves me and she loves Marlee, but she doesn't love us together.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Luckily, nestled in the beaming crowd, was Sara Cunningham, the founder of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that supports the queer community. As she had for several other couples, Sara had offered to act as a stand-in mother for Tabatha on her wedding day. Sara had helped Tabatha arrange a bouquet and get dressed. She dried her tears, blotted her makeup, and fussed over details of the reception.



To not be accepted by your own family is devastating, says Sara. Hopefully I made the day a little better for Tabatha.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

The Start of a Movement

Saras journey from religious Midwest mom to queer ally began with her son, Parker, who told her he was gay in 2011 when he was 21.



Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

I didnt take the news very well, says Sara, whose resistance was based on her churchs beliefs about gay people and its interpretation of certain Bible verses.

I was really wrestling with my faith, says Sara. I couldnt understand how to love my son, but not accept every part of him.

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After a lot of soul-searching, Sara parted ways with the church. She found solace in a private Facebook group for moms of gay children, all of whom felt alienated from their religious communities. The women shared advice for building new relationships with their children and supported each other during difficult times. More than one mother came to the group after her child died by suicide. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual youth.

By 2015, Sara was ready to embrace the queer community  literally. She pinned a homemade button that read Free Mom Hugs onto her sundress and went with Parker to the Oklahoma City Gay Pride parade. Anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, Can I offer you a free mom hug or high five? Sara says. The first woman who accepted a hug told her she hadnt been hugged by her mom for four years.



After the parade, as Sara got involved with local LGBTQ groups, she began to see the needs of community first-hand. She met a queer couple living in their car and a young man who had been kicked out of his house after telling his youth pastor he was gay. Sara and a few other moms began collecting donations for them and other struggling queer people  she bought bus tickets and tanks of gas and gave out Target gift cards. The next year Sara founded the nonprofit organization Free Mom Hugs, and extended her outreach even more. She began to officiate gay weddings.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

In talking with the couples before the ceremony, many told me that their parents wouldnt acknowledge their relationships and refused to come to the wedding, she says. It broke my heart.

Frustrated, Sara took to Facebook in July 2018 with a post that quickly went viral. It said, If you need a mom to attend your same sex wedding because your biological mom won't. Call me. I'm there. I'll be your biggest fan. I'll even bring the bubbles.



The response was overwhelming  dozens of couples reached out to ask Sara to attend their weddings as a stand-in. Even more people responded with their own offer to act as a proxy.

If you need a Mom, an Aunt, a Granny, or just a friend in Florida, Ill be there, one woman posted. Love is love. Period.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Tabatha and Marlees Texas wedding was one of the first ceremonies that Sara attended as a stand-in, and in 2019, she plans to go to at least three more, including the June wedding of Haley Myers-Brannon and Sam Hedrick. Sam grew up in Oklahoma City, in a conservative Christian family who refused to accept his identity.

Photo credit: Kate Donaldson Photography

When I came out to my parents as transgender, it was a big blow to them, he says. After Sam met Haley and he decided to propose, he reached out to his parents with the news. My mom texted and said, we do not believe this is Gods plan for you, Sam says.

Then Sara stepped in. Sam had met her through a friend and eventually asked her to attend his and Haleys wedding in place of his mom. Sara will help him get dressed and be there to talk before the ceremony.

Shes probably going to let me cry a lot and then help me pull it together, says Sam. Shell be in the front row where my family would normally sit.

Despite the expansion of Free Mom Hugs, which now has more than 40 chapters in the U.S. and beyond, as well as more than 50,000 Facebook followers, Sara still holds down a full-time job as a secretary for an architectural firm.

And yet, she plans to keep growing, helping transgender community members get their birth certificates changed to reflect their identity, filling prescriptions, providing housing for LGBTQ people who feel unsafe in homeless shelters, and more.

Says Sara, What we do is way beyond hugs.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

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Buying sunscreen used to involve choosing an SPF level and deciding if you wanted to smell like a coconut. Today, the descriptors on each bottle have multiplied, and there are far more decisions to make. Were here to help.

Sunscreen ingredients can already be a bit of a brain teaser for the average shopper  do you choose a formula with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, a combo of both, or something else entirely, like a non-mineral filter?  but when you add in other words from elsewhere on the label, the challenge of choosing the right protection multiplies exponentially. How much of the language is just marketing mumbo-jumbo, and which terms should be taken into serious consideration? And more importantly, what do they all mean?

Here, you'll find explanations of the most common words and phrases found on sunscreens so you can approach the shelves (or the websites) with the confidence that you're getting what you want and need, whether thats a formula that won't irritate your skin, one that won't harm the environment, one that won't budge when you sweat, or all of the above  and then some.

broad-spectrum

adj. brd-spek-trm

A sunscreen that offers protection from both UVB rays, which burn skin, and UVA rays, which cause damage like collagen breakdown, says Elizabeth Hale, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. For the best sun protection, use only sunscreens labeled "broad-spectrum."

chemical

adj. ke-mi-kl

A term used to describe a sunscreen that protects from UV rays by absorbing them with chemical ingredients, such as octocrylene or avobenzone (though its worth noting even "mineral" sunscreens are made in labs).

clinically tested

adj. kli-ni-kl te-std

Some brands test for distinctions like being good for sensitive skin, but seeing this term doesn't indicate which benefit they tested for, nor on how many people, says Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a board-certified dermatologist in Miami. So it shouldn't sway your choice.

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gluten-free

adj. glu-tn-fr

The Gluten Intolerance Group will place its GFCO seal on beauty products with 10 parts per million or less of gluten. (But gluten-containing ingredients, like wheat protein, are more common in hair care than sunscreen.)

hypoallergenic

adj. h-p-a-lr-je-nik

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate this term (see "Caveat Emptor," below, for more on that), and companies can use it whether or not they've formulated a product with a low likelihood of triggering allergic reactions. If you tend to react to sunscreens, look for a fragrance-free mineral formula, says Woolery-Lloyd.

mineral

adj. min-rl

These sunscreens achieve their SPF factor with physical blockers, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, says Steven Wang, a dermatologist in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. (They form a physical barrier between UV rays and skin.)

noncomedogenic

adj. nan-kam-d--jen-ik

There's no standard way to validate whether a beauty product is likely to cause comedones (pimples). But if you're acne-prone, choose sunscreens with drying salicylic acid and zinc oxide, and avoid ones rich in lipids, like coconut oil and cocoa butter.

oil-free

adj. i(-)l-fr

This means a product doesn't contain oil, but it doesn't indicate whether it has other occlusives, like silicone, that can cause breakouts and even heat rash, says Rachel Nazarian, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

If you're concerned, look for a sunscreen that skips both oils and silicones. You can find silicone by looking for names that end in "-siloxane" or "-thicone," says cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski.

organic

adj. r-ga-nik

While this can mean that a sunscreen's botanical ingredients were farmed organically (look for the USDA seal), no sunscreen can be 100-percent organic. Chemical sunscreens rely on lab-concocted compounds to protect from UV rays, and physical ingredients "are synthetically created  it is illegal to use mined versions of zinc and titanium dioxide since they are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals," says Romanowski.

reef-friendly, reef-safe

adj. rf-fren(d)-l, rf-sf

Either term should mean that a sunscreen doesn't contain any of these five ingredients: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, 4-methylbenzylidene, and butyl-paraben, says Woolery-Lloyd. Small studies suggest that these ingredients can affect coral's ability to reproduce by harming or killing coral larvae and even reduce its life span and immunity.

Still, these are unregulated terms, so double-check the label for any of the above ingredients if reef safety is a priority. (Reef-safe sunscreens may also be labeled "biodegradable," says Sonya Lunder, senior toxics adviser for the Sierra Clubs gender, equity, and environment program.)

sand-resistant

adj. sand-ri-zi-stnt

There's no standard for just how sand-repellent a sunscreen is, but some independent labs offer tests for sunscreen makers who want to make this claim. "It means that when the sunscreen was exposed to several different sands  fine, medium, and all-purpose  the SPF level didn't change. This is usually due to smoother, silkier textures that dont allow sand to 'cling,' " says Nazarian.

sensitive

adj. sen-s-tiv

You're better off looking at the back of the label than the front to determine whether or not a sunscreen is good for sensitive skin. Opt for physical sunscreens instead of chemical ones, since they're less likely to irritate skin, and look for options without "fragrance," another top offender, listed on the ingredient label.

spf

n. s-p-f

Stands for sun protection factor, specifically for UVB rays. The number next to it is a measure of how much solar energy is required to produce a sunburn on protected skin  as the SPF value increases, so does sunburn protection. (It's not a measure of UVA protection  another reason to choose broad-spectrum sunscreens.)

The FDA's standard for testing is to apply two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. Or, in medical terms: "A really thick layer," Nazarian says. "So the higher that number, the better."

She recommends a minimum broad-spectrum SPF of 30 year-round, and an SPF of at least 50 for beach days or outdoor activities in the summer. Reapply every two hours to stay protected.

sport

adj. sprt

Since there's no actual test to verify that a sunscreen is better for activities, any sunscreen that's qualified as water-resistant for 80 minutes will do the trick.

water-resistant

adj. w-tr-ri-zi-stnt

In the U.S., the FDA regulates this term via one standard test: A subject alternates between getting wet and drying off multiple times and is then tested to be sure the sunscreen is still on and in effect. All sunscreens that use the term "water-resistant" are required to undergo the test, so look for the stamp if you know youre going to be swimming or sweating.

The Australian government's Therapeutic Goods Association requires that sunscreens remain fully present on skin after four hours of water exposure. You can seek out sunscreens, like ones from TropicSport, that are sold in both countries and have passed both tests.

Caveat Emptor: At the end of the day, most of these terms are used at the discretion of the manufacturers, except select terms regulated by the FDA, like the SPF number, active ingredients, and "broad-spectrum" and "water-resistant" claims.

Now read more about sunscreen::

__Done reading? Take a tour of Chris Appleton's lavish bathroom: __

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Originally Appeared on Allure
Photo credit: Getty/Netflix

From Esquire

Ted Bundy brutally murdered dozens of women across the country in the late 1970s. Around the time he began his killing spree, he started dating a young secretary named Elizabeth. But it wasn't until years later that Elizabeth first realized her boyfriend might be connected to a string of unsolved kidnappings and murders. In 1974, she saw in a local newspaper a composite drawing of the primary suspect, a man who shared the name Ted with her boyfriend.



She wrote about her haunting experience with Bundy under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kendall in a little-known memoir called The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, which was published in 1981, years before Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 for his crimes. That book is the inspiration for the new Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile in which Zac Efron plays Bundy and Lily Collins plays Elizabeth.



Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

So, while we've known bits and pieces of Elizabeth's story, she and her daughter are now stepping forward to break their silence about their lives with the serial killer. The women are the subject of the new Amazon series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer, which premieres January 31 and takes the focus of the Bundy story off of the man and onto the victims and survivors he abused. Elizabeth and her daughter Molly are also sitting for an accompanying interview with Amy Robach on 20/20 which airs on the 31st, as well.

Heres what we know about the Elizabeth:



Elizabeth and her daughter broke their silence in January 2020.

After being out of print for decades, Elizabeth's memoir was rereleased on January 7 by Abrams Press with a new introduction, a chapter written by her daughter, Molly, and personal photos of the women with Bundy. "I still cared deeply for Ted when I wrote the original book," Elizabeth writes in the new introduction. "It took years of work for me to accept who he was and what he had done. I still felt lingering shame that I had loved Ted Bundy. It was healing for me when women started telling their stories of sexual violence and assault as part of the Me Too movement. I could related to keeping experiences secret for fear of being judged."

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It was for that reason, and because of the swirl of renewed interest in Bundy with the Efron film, that Elizabeth decided to participate in the Amazon series, as well.

She wrote under a pseudonym.

Elizabeth originally published her book under the name Elizabeth Kendall. But when Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile premiered at Sundance, the press materials said the story is told from the point of view of Bundys girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, though now, the credits Netflix is promoting read: Based on the book: The Phantom Prince; My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall, and the characters name is listed as Liz Kendall. In the 2020 re-release of her memoir, Elizabeth writes, "I hadn't gone by old married name of Kloepfer for years, not since Molly was a child. Unfortunately, some still link the name to Ted Bundy ... For these [new] projects, I have used my original pseudonym, Elizabeth Kendall, to spare Molly's father's family name further association with Ted's crimes."

She was the mother of a young daughter when she met Bundy.

Photo credit: Netflix

When they met, Elizabeth was recently divorced, working as a secretary at the University of Washington medical department, and raising her 2-year-old daughter Molly, who she calls Tina in her book. The 24-year-old had graduated from Utah State with a degree in Business and Family Life and had recently moved to Washington.

She met Bundy at a bar.

Photo credit: Netflix

Bundy and Elizabeth met at a bar called the Sandpiper Tavern in Seattle in October 1969, she writes in her memoir. She noticed him from across the room, noting how well-dressed he was, then he asked her to dance.

The chemistry between us was incredible. I was already planning the wedding and naming the kids, she writes. He was telling me that he missed having a kitchen because he loved to cook. Perfect. My Prince.

She brought him home that night, and he made her breakfast the next morning. The next weekend, they went on a weekend trip to Vancouver.

The relationship became serious quickly.

In her book, Elizabeth describes meeting Bundys parents after a few months of dating. She had dinner at Bundys childhood home with his father Johnnie Bundy, a cook at an army hospital, and his mother Louise, a secretary at their Methodist church.

I loved her so much it was destabilizing, Bundy told journalist Stephen G. Michaud about Elizabeth. Michauds interviews were recently released in the Netflix docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. I felt such a strong love for her but we didnt have a lot of interests in common like politics or something, I dont think we had in common. She liked to read a lot. I wasnt into reading.

They applied for a marriage license.

Photo credit: Getty Images

I had never been so happy, but it bothered me to be practically married to a man I wasnt married to, Elizabeth writes about their relationship. When I talked to him, he agreed now was the time to do it. They went to the courthouse for a marriage license in February 1970, but after a fight a few days later, Bundy ripped up the document. Kendalls book editor, Sara Levant, tells me she went to the Seattle courthouse to confirm the couple applied for the license.

In spite of that fight, Elizabeth and Bundy continued dating. And in early 1972, Elizabeth became pregnant, she writes in her memoir.

Both of us knew it would be impossible to have a baby now. He was going to start law school in the fall, and I needed to be able to work to put him through, she writes. I was distraught. I knew I was going to terminate the pregnancy as soon as I could. Ted, on the other hand, was pleased with himself. He had fathered a baby.

Bundy was abusive.

Throughout the book, Elizabeth describes Bundy being emotionally and verbally abusive. Once, after confronting him about his habit of stealing, he threatened her, If you ever tell anyone about this, Ill break your fucking neck.

Elizabeth suspected Bundy was involved in unsolved kidnappings in Seattle while they were dating.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Elizabeth began suspecting Bundy was involved in a string of disappearances when she read news reports that said the suspects name was Ted, drove a Volkswagon similar to Bundys and issued a police sketch which resembled him. Reports also said the suspects arm was in a castthough Bundy didnt have a broken arm, Elizabeth recalled shed once seen plaster of Paris in his desk drawer that he said hed taken when he worked at a medical supply house. "He said that a person never could tell when he was going to break a leg, and we both laughed. Now I keep thinking about the cast the guy at Lake Sammamish was wearingwhat a perfect weapon it would make for clubbing someone on the head, she writes.



Soon after, she found a hatchet in Bundys car. He said it was there because hed chopped down a tree at his parents cabin the week before.

She tried to alert the police.

On August 8, 1974, Elizabethcalled the Seattle Police Department to tell them her boyfriend matched the description of the suspect, who had used crutches to attack a victim. Shed noticed crutches in her boyfriends room, as well, she explained. But after she was told, You need to come in and fill in a report. Were too busy to talk to girlfriends over the phone, Elizabeth hung up. Two months later, after Bundy moved to Utah and the kidnappings began happening there, she called the King County Police, but she was told theyd already looked into Bundy and cleared him.

After Bundy was arrested, they communicated through phone calls and letters.

Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

Though Elizabeth had initially suspected Bundys involvement in the crimes, she believed Bundy when he told her he was innocent. He sent her passionate letters and she visited him in prison. She even sat with Bundys parents in the courthouse when he was on trial for the attempted kidnapping for Carol DeRonch in March 1976.

Bundy admitted he tried to kill her.

After Bundy was tied to more kidnappings and murdersand after Elizabeth became sober after joining Alcoholics Anonymousshe began distancing herself from Bundy. But while in a Florida prison, he called her to admit, There is something the matter with me  I just couldnt contain it. I fought it for a long, long time  it was just too strong.

Elizabeth writes in her memoir that when she responded by asking if he ever tried to kill her, Bundy told her that the urge took over one night when he was at her house, and he closed the damper so the smoke couldnt go up the chimney, then he left after putting a towel under a door so the smoke wouldnt escape. Kendall writes that she remembers waking up coughing after a night of drinking.

Elizabeth signed off the Netflix film.

Joe Berlinger, the director of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, says he sought Elizabeths permission before agreeing to make the film, and she hesitantly agreed. Berlinger and Lily Collins, who plays Elizabeth in the film, met with the real Elizabeth before filming.



She was willing and passionate about meeting meher and her daughter, too," Collins told E! News.

But Berlinger says that in spite of signing off on the film, Elizabeth still wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

She was very ambivalent, Berlinger told me. I think that's why the book continues to be out of print. She does not want the spotlight. For example, she didn't want to come to Sundance. She doesn't want to participate in the press. She wants to remain anonymous. She trusted us with her story. She agreed to do the movie, obviously, so it's not being done without her cooperation. I think she's very ambivalent because she doesn't want attention to herself today.

Elizabeth writes in the new introduction to her memoir that Efron and Collins "got it right," but in the dramatization, a lot was left out of the story, which is why they decided to speak out.

Bundy reached out to Elizabeth and Molly right before his execution.

After he was executed in 1989, Bundy's attorney reached out to Elizabeth to pass along a message.

"Ted had asked her to call us and make sure he knew that he loved us," Elizabeth says in the Amazon documentary series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer. "She also wondered why I never responded to his last letter." Molly explains she had intercepted Bundy's last letter from death rowand burned it. Molly says, "I could tell it hurt her heart that I had robbed her of this closure, of this last interaction. I'm not sorry at all. And I'm especially not sorry that he went to his death wondering why she never wrote back. Good."

Elizabeth talks about her life today in the documentary.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime

Elizabeth has been sober for 42 years, she explains in the Amazon series, crediting sobriety with saving her life. She talks about what it's like to be one of Bundy's few survivors, and says, "As much as I can, I've forgiven myself. I hope this is the end of my participation with anything related to Ted."

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If theres one thing that lawyers know about reading documents, its to pay attention to the footnotes. In fact, oftentimes the most important information is buried there. Americas entire 14th Amendment jurisprudence, for instance, came out of a single footnote in a 1932 case now know as the famous footnote. The Mueller Report is no different. Buried in the footnotes of the Special Counsels two-volume tome are some of its most important nuggets, many of which address and refute popular talking points emanating from the Trump White House. Even if you dont read the entire document, here are a few footnotes worth paying attention to  including one that seems to explain the possible results of Muellers findings. The devil is truly in the details.

Volume I

Footnote 465

This footnote addresses a question that has been raised time and again, and which was echoed by Attorney General William Barr in his testimony to Congress on April 10: What was the basis, or predicate, for the Russia investigation?

The White House has claimed that the investigation was based on the Steele Dossier, an intelligence report compiled by a former British spy and financed by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which alleged that there were ties between Trump and the Kremlin. But in this footnote, Mueller explains the sequence and timing of events that gave rise to a credible threat to national security, warranting an investigation. First, Mueller notes earlier in the report that in July 2016, Wikileaks began disseminating emails stolen from the DNC. A few days later, the U.S. intelligence community assessed with high confidence that the Russian government had orchestrated the hack of these emails. Within a week of that release, a foreign government informed the FBI that George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, told a representative of their government that Russia had offered to assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. Mueller states that this information is contained in the case-opening document and related materials. This means that it was these facts, not the Steele Dossier, which raised an open question on whether Russia had attempted or was trying to attempt to coordinate with members of the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and led to the official opening of an investigation.

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Footnote 1278

Here, Mueller explains that his team investigated whether the emails taken from the DNC would qualify as stolen property, as defined by the National Stolen Property Act. This has important implications for Muellers conclusions. Defining the hacked emails as stolen property could have increased the criminal liability of Wikileaks, which would have effectively acted as a fence  a legal term referring to a middleman who illegally receives and sells stolen goods. Further, if the hacked emails had qualified as stolen property, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, who sought dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, may have had to meet a lower standard of intent and even potentially face a violation of a federal statute which prohibits knowingly receiving stolen property. But based on his legal analysis, Mueller concluded that current law defined stolen property only as tangible goods, which would not include intangible information stolen by an unauthorized use of a computer. (Though Mueller also notes that Congress has considered amending the relevant act to include such information in the definition.) Thus Manafort, Trump Jr. and Kushner had to meet the higher intent standard required for campaign finance violations  and Mueller found the evidence insufficient to meet that mark.

Footnote 1282

This is a critical footnote that addresses the question, Why wasnt former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page charged with a crime, if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court felt there was enough probable cause that he was acting as an agent for Russia to warrant monitoring his communications via a FISA order? In short, the report states that while there was enough evidence against Page to warrant a FISA order, Muellers office did not have sufficient evidence to meet the higher and more exacting standard to bring criminal charges that would likely result in a conviction for the same. This is because of the difference between counterintelligence investigations and criminal investigations. Specifically, because FISA orders are based on gathering foreign intelligence, not on gathering evidence of a crime, the probable cause standard is lower: it requires only a fair probability, rather than certainty, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or [even] proof beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the target is knowingly acting as an agent of a foreign power. That said, Mueller does note that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found that the evidence against Page met the lower probable cause requirement on four occasions.

Volume II

Footnote 7

Critics of the Mueller report have noted that much of the narrative, particularly on obstruction charges, cites news articles or publicly available information. Critics have concluded this means that Mueller was unable to unearth evidence on his own, and is therefore relying on the media to support his claims. This footnote makes clear the real reason why Mueller cited these reports so often. The report states that he summarizes and cites news stories not for the truth of the information contained in the stories, but rather to place candidate Trumps response to those stories in context. In other words, the news stories in circulation at the time of Trumps actions show what Trump knew had been publicly reported  which offers additional evidence for his frame of mind when he attempted to refute or conceal the evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election underlying those stories. This helps to establish if there was corrupt intent behind Trumps actions, a fundamental element in establishing whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

Footnote 112

On June 8, 2017, then FBI Director James Comey stated in his testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that information contained in the Steele Dossier was salacious and unverified. Comeys words have since been interpreted as referring to the entirety of the raw intelligence provided in the Steele Dossier  and thereby tainting any portion of the investigation in which it might have been used. As noted above, there is no evidence that the Steele Dossier was used to open the investigation, and its not clear how much of the report, if any, was used to obtain things like FISA orders. But to whatever extent it was used, Mueller takes pains to note here that Comeys testimony referred to a specific piece of the Steele Dossier, namely the reportings unverified allegation that the Russians had compromising tapes of the President involving conduct when he was a private citizen during a 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant. This footnote makes clear that in his testimony, Comey was not characterizing any other portion of the dossier, other than those that refer to potentially compromising tapes on President Trump, as being unverified. This means that there may well have been portions of the Dossier that were verified early on in the Russia investigation (and much of it has been corroborated in public reporting since), and could have been a legitimate source of raw intelligence for the FBI in its investigation.

Footnote 1008

This footnote offers the nexus between Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the investigation in the Southern District of New York into campaign finance violations by Michael Cohen and, potentially, Trump himself. In particular, Mueller states that he was authorized to investigate Essential Consultants, LLC, the shell company used to make a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, because he had evidence that the entity received funds from Russian-backed entities. This suggests that the Daniels payment was discovered in the course of following the money from Russia, and that the payment became evidence of a separate crime beyond Muellers jurisdiction that was then referred to an outside U.S. Attorneys Office. This particular investigative thread opens the possibility that Mueller may have also followed Russian financial leads connected to Trump, including information contained in his tax returns (which the White House has said it assumes Mueller has seen).

Footnote 1091

This is perhaps the most consequential footnote in Muellers report. In this section, Mueller dismantles Trumps lawyers argument that the president cannot, legally speaking, obstruct justice. It is here, while forcefully making the claim that Congress indeed can hold the president accountable for obstruction of justice, that Mueller adds a telling a footnote emphasizing that [a] possibility remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office. What Mueller is saying here is that impeachment and criminal prosecution are independent processes which vindicate different interests. Therefore, even Congress removing Trump from office would not preclude the same evidence from being used in a criminal prosecution  which could result in a jail sentence for a former President of the United States.
Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images

ARLINGTON, Va.  Four years ago today, Donald Trump was poised to descend his golden escalator and begin a ride that would take him all the way to the Oval Office. As he prepared his campaign, Trump didnt have much of a team. Even weeks before the launch, Trumps braintrust was largely limited to four close associates who planned his White House bid from his Manhattan office. This time around, though, things are going to be very different.

In an office tower in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from the White House, there are already about three dozen people working in the headquarters of Trumps reelection campaign  and theyre ramping up. Trumps is also backed by a super-PAC that is planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into key states.

Trumps team is vowing to put together a more-than-$1 billion machine that will dwarf the guerilla operation he had early in the 2016 cycle. The president is also coming into the race with key structural advantages and experience running a powerfully influential Facebook advertising blitz.

Yet as the Trump reelection bid moves into high gear over the next few months, its staffers must balance trying to build a traditional campaign organization centered around an unconventional candidate. During a series of conversations with Yahoo News earlier this week, senior figures working on Trumps reelection effort discussed their strategy, which included leaning into some of the most controversial aspects of his record, such as immigration, and yet also pursuing unexpected targets, such as Latinos.

The blueprint also involves making no attempts to constrain Trump, even when his Twitter tirades or off-the-cuff comments upend the campaigns carefully made plans. In 2016, Trump won the White House as an outsider scoring a stunning upset. Now, he is the establishment and his team hopes they can combine a huge, professional infrastructure with a candidate they acknowledge is the ultimate disruptor. Its a volatile mix thats unprecedented in the political arena.

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Trumps team has already been growing for months. On Monday, five new senior staffers joined, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is also dating one of the presidents sons. And in an early indication of the plan to fight for votes from Latinos and other minority groups, the announcement included the news that Hannah Castillo, who previously worked on Hispanic outreach efforts for the RNC and Virginia GOP, will serve as the campaigns director of coalitions.

Donald Trump arrives at the press event to announce his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, in New York City. (Photo: Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Along with a much larger operation than his last campaign, Trump is set to enjoy major structural advantages in this election. As president, Trump has the unrivaled megaphone and majestic trappings of the White House, as well as the ability to promote legislation and executive orders to underpin his agenda. And there are more than 20 Democrats vying to challenge Trump, setting the stage for a divisive primary that could leave his eventual opponent badly bruised.

While Trump and his team are clearly watching the Democrats who are running for president, they dont seem too concerned with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who launched a campaign as a Republican last month. A senior Trump campaign staffer dismissed the idea that Welds primary challenge poses a threat, pointing to Trumps nearly ninety percent approval rating among Republicans. A Republican National Committee spokeswoman also cited Trumps support among members of the party to shoot down the notion he could face a serious primary rival.

The RNC and the Republican Party are firmly behind the president. Any effort to challenge the presidents nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere, the RNC spokeswoman said.

The lack of a major GOP opponent has helped Trump amass a sizable war chest. Last month, the Trump campaign announced it raised nearly $30 million during the first quarter of 2019, far outpacing any of the Democrats who hope to challenge the president next year.

Time is on Trumps side too. With Weld showing little sign of momentum, Trumps team can plot a national campaign while all his potential Democratic rivals have to focus on each other and key early primary states. Trumps head start was boosted by his unusual decision to officially launch his reelection bid on the day he took office in 2017.

The lights never went off.  The campaign never fully shut down, Trump 2020 deputy communications director Erin Perrine told Yahoo News.

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld speaks to the media in Bedford, N.H., in February. (Photo: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Of course, being president also comes with pitfalls. Trumps time in office has proved divisive and, while Democrats may not be united behind a single 2020 candidate yet, the congressional opposition has been aggressively investigating and attacking Trumps White House. But Trumps campaign is confident he can run on his record. In fact, theyre not planning to shy away from the most controversial moments of his presidency  the investigation into Trumps ties to Russia and his aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign, brushed off the continued legal wrangling between investigators and Trumps legal team over records related to the presidents real estate business as a distraction. The efforts by prosecutors and congressional Democrats to look into Trumps company is part of the fallout from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race.

The Mueller report, released last month, outlined a Kremlin operation that aimed to help Trump and hurt the 2016 Democratic contender Hillary Clinton. Mueller also detailed extensive contacts between Trumps inner circle and Russia, including business ties the president denied while he was campaigning. While Muellers investigation resulted in charges against several close Trump associates, he was unable to find sufficient evidence to prove Trumps campaign participated in a conspiracy to aid the Russian meddling.

Mueller also described several instances in which Trump could have been viewed as having obstructed the probe. Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, declined to charge the president with obstruction of justice based on Muellers findings. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about Barrs handling of the investigation and are attempting to gather further evidence.

William Barr, U.S. attorney general, left, speaks as Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, listens during a news conference. (Photo: Erik Lesser/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Trump and his allies have described Muellers report as a complete exoneration of the president and have focused on the fact there was no evidence of cooperation between his campaign and Russia. Murtaugh echoed that line and added that he would not be at all surprised to see Trump bring up the report regularly on the 2020 campaign trail.

You might hear a lot about the Russia hoax, the collusion hoax. The guy spent two years  two whole years  being called a Russian agent by the media and by  virtually every Democrat, whoever could find a television camera, Murtaugh said of Trump.

Murtaugh suggested it would be natural for Trump to push back against an attack.

He was being accused of being essentially a Russian spy as the president of the United States. Its about the most outrageous thing that you could say about the president of the United States, said Murtaugh, adding, All of it was untrue, so a little righteous indignation is to be expected.

The other major controversy of Trumps political career has been his focus on illegal immigration. Critics have said Trumps rhetoric is racist and argued his policies, particularly the separation of migrant children from their families at the border, are inhumane. But Murtaugh predicted immigration will be a positive point for the president even among Latinos, nearly two thirds of whom voted against Trump in 2016.

Democrats think erroneously that they can win the argument with Hispanic voters in particular simply by saying Trump and immigration, and they think that works. It has been our experience that it does not, Murtaugh said. If youre talking to Hispanic voters as we do, if they are themselves a legal immigrant who came through the process in the right way or have legal immigrants in their family in generations close to themselves they know they followed the rules and they think other people should follow the rules too.

Expanding his Latino support would provide a boost to Trumps hopes for a second term, and there is evidence the community isnt a monolithic bloc of opposition to the president. Trump received nearly 30 percent of the Latino vote in 2016 and more recent data has indicated he has retained the support of about 20 percent of the community. There is also data to suggest some Latinos are staunchly opposed to illegal immigration while a wide swath of the community doesnt see the issue as a priority.

But Trumps potential problems on immigration might go beyond opposition to his policies. There are questions about whether Trump has delivered on his signature campaign promise from 2016  a massive wall on the southern border. At times, Trump suggested this physical manifestation of his opposition to illegal immigration could be over 1,000 miles long, thirty feet high, made from concrete, and paid for by Mexico. As president, Trump has modified his position and suggested a fence would be adequate. And with Mexico refusing to pay for the project and Democrats opposing the effort, Trump has only been able to build a fraction of the wall he promised. Even more troublesome for Trumps record is data showing that illegal border crossings have surged under his presidency, reaching an eleven-year high.

President Trump speaks at a rally in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Murtaugh argued Trumps supporters will be satisfied with his work on the border. "By the time the election rolls around, about 450 miles of border wall will have been completed and this is despite Democrats refusal to give the president a dime for it, Murtaugh said. Thanks to his declaration of a national emergency the wall is being built, and its in progress.

Other issues the campaign plans to focus on include banking reform, Trumps efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, and most critically, a strong economy. In April unemployment fell to the lowest level in nearly half a century.

Trumps official campaign isnt the only part of his 2020 machinery. He is also being supported by the America First Action super-PAC. While presidential candidates sometimes have multiple political committees vying for supremacy among their supporters, America First Action has a quasi-official status, and multiple key members of Trumps inner circle are working with the PAC.

Last month, America First Action announced its chairman would be Linda McMahon, who had previously served in Trumps cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is a senior adviser to the PAC, and ex-West Wing aide Kelly Sadler is the groups communications director. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host who is dating the presidents son and recently joined his campaign, previously worked at the PAC. A statement from the Trump campaign that announced Guilfoyle had joined the team described America First Action as the preeminent Super-PAC supporting the President.

Like the Trump campaign, America First Action believes immigration can be a winning issue for Trump with Latinos. A source familiar with the committees operations said the PAC plans to raise more than the $200 million the various outside groups supporting Hillary Clinton hauled in as she faced Trump in 2016. America First Action will focus its activities in six target states that are costly to compete in and viewed by the PAC as crucial to a Trump victory: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In particular, the source said Florida is seen by the PAC as a must-win state for Trump.

All of the states being targeted by the PAC are ones where Trump won in 2016. According to the source, the PAC is concentrated on identifying additional voters who could swing to Trump in those states. Specifically, the PACs efforts are aimed at winning over new Trump voters by homing in on African-Americans, Hispanics, and suburban mothers and improving the presidents margins among these groups.

Under President Trumps administration, hes had the lowest unemployment in history for African-Americans and Hispanics. For women, its the lowest in 65 years. So, we feel we have a great story to tell here. Were the hottest economy in the world, Sadler, the PACs communications director, told Yahoo News.

President Trump (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

To make this strategy work, America First Action plans to buy attack ads on social media and in targeted local television programs, newspapers and ethnic dailies. Sadler said the PAC largely plans to stay out of the Democratic primary and will ramp up its activities when the opposition has thinned out. Like the campaign, America First Action hopes Trump will benefit from Democratic infighting.

Were going to keep our powder dry and let the Democrats do the hatchet jobs for us, Sadler said.

Its abundantly clear Trumps reelection effort is a completely different animal than the upstart crew that propelled his shocking victory in 2016. This more formalized, professionalized, and, frankly, massive iteration of the Trump campaign will still include some of the hallmarks of the presidents last run, including a hyper-focused Facebook advertising offensive and raucous rallies. The campaign also hopes that leaving the president free to tweet and speak his mind will help them hold on to the outsider appeal that was so crucial to Trumps rise.

Microtargeted Facebook ads were widely seen as one of the key factors behind the presidents surprising 2016 victory. Trumps presence on the social network dwarfed that of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Data from Facebook revealed Trump had about 5.9 million ads on the platform compared to approximately 66,000 for Clinton.

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, speaks during a campaign rally in Houston. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Early last year, Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps digital operation during the first race, was tapped to lead the entire 2020 campaign. Parscale and Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner, led the social media push that was an instrumental part of the presidents election. Parscales promotion is a sign of just how important the Facebook microtargeting remains for Trumps campaign. Its a point of pride for the team that some political insiders have verbed the campaign manager and referred to the maneuver of installing your digital chief at the top of your organization as pulling a Parscale.

Trumps 2016 campaign featured Facebook staffers embedded in an office near where Parscale was set up. A senior Trump campaign staffer who spoke to Yahoo News said they werent sure whether anyone from Facebook is working at the headquarters. However, the campaign is clearly open to the idea and plans to have a large team crafting Facebook ads.

If theres a Facebook guy around here somewhere, I havent met them yet. ... That would be interesting, the senior staffer said, adding, Were going to have a whole army of designers.

The campaign was willing to discuss its emphasis on Facebook microtargeting, something of a known trademark for team Trump, but reticent to divulge plans for other social networks and more traditional advertising venues such as television.

Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser, will also remain close to the campaign. Multiple sources said Kushner is the campaigns key liaison in the West Wing and has multiple daily conversations with Parscale. A Trump administration official said the pair have a great working relationship from 2016 and added, Jared was the person who suggested to the president that Brad be in charge of the campaign.

However, as he outlined the campaign managers role, Murtaugh, the communications director, made clear Parscale isnt the ultimate authority on the team. He gives direction, a vision. He gives goals, Murtaugh said, adding, Sometimes he says, This is what the president wants. And thats kind of non-negotiable.

Indeed, the other major piece that is still clearly part of the presidents team is the Let Trump Be Trump ethos that was established by former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. That meant not trying to curtail Trump as he veered off script at his marathon rallies or fired off blunt jabs on Twitter. Perrine, the campaigns deputy communications director, said this philosophy will absolutely remain in place for 2020.

The president has had an insurgent mentality, an outsider mentality the entire time hes been in DC, said Perrine, adding, We fully anticipate that will be the same mentality in this campaign, even in a larger structure.

Letting Trump Be Trump may lend the incumbent some rebellious sheen as he tries to recapture the magic behind his initial upset. However, giving the president free rein on the campaign trail can easily overshadow or topple more carefully laid plans. This risk was evident in the wake of former Vice President Joe Bidens entry to the crowded Democratic primary.

On Tuesday, the morning after Bidens kickoff rally, Perrine stressed that the campaign planned to avoid focusing on any individual Democrat in the race and instead would treat them as one homogenous group. As she explained it, this would allow the campaign to take advantage of Democratic infighting.

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally in Iowa. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Theyre all going to have to pass a purity of thought and a purity of policy test, Perrine explained, adding, That means things like Medicare for All, that means things like Green New Deal, voting for felons, basic income, impeaching the president. I mean, you name it.

In other words, as Perrine put it, tying the Democrats together means the larger field can be forced to answer for egregious liberal positions adopted by some of their colleagues. Along with providing a path to exploit infighting, framing the Democrats as a group allows the Trump campaign to avoid elevating any potential challenger.

But that effort to keep the Democrats as a pack was dealt a blow by Trump himself almost immediately after his team outlined the strategy. On Wednesday, the morning after his campaign talked with Yahoo News, Trump went on a Twitter tear and retweeted over 50 messages criticizing the firefighters union endorsement of Biden.

Even before Trump launched the offensive against the former vice president, his staffers seemed fully aware he would likely blast a tweet-sized hole in the plan to consolidate the opposition. Prior to the presidential tweetstorm, Perrine specifically acknowledged the need to let Trump be Trump when asked if the campaign might focus on Biden in response to his rising poll numbers.

You know, hes his best campaign manager, best surrogate, best communications director. So, we absolutely follow his lead, Perrine said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Hamas' leader in Gaza left for talks with Egyptian officials Thursday after a new outbreak of violence, as the militant group accused Israel of slowing down the implementation of Egyptian-mediated understandings aimed at easing the situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The visit by Yehiyeh Sinwar to Cairo came hours after the Israeli military struck several Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip late Wednesday. After the airstrikes, Palestinian militants fired rockets at southern Israel. No injuries were reported on either side.

The brief flare-up marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month of relative calm that followed the unofficial deal. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.

In a short statement, the Islamic militant group said that Sinwar will meet the director of Egypt's general intelligence to discuss "ways of alleviating the suffering" of Gaza's 2 million residents.

Hamas says Israel is not abiding by the deal. Under the agreement, Israel had expanded the permitted fishing zone off Gaza's coast to 15 nautical miles, but scaled back the area to its previous limit of 9 miles this week after a Gaza rocket was fired.

Officials from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza by force since a 2007 coup, say Israel did not honor other commitments, such as allowing the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza's cash-strapped public institutions and taking measures to further ease the territory's grinding power shortages.

During the lull, Hamas kept weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence mostly restrained and suspended the more violent forms of protest, including arson balloons and nighttime skirmishes. Witnesses say balloons were launched again Wednesday.

Hamas started the demonstrations a year ago to highlight Gaza's hardships more than a decade since Israel and Egypt blockaded the territory.

Over 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed during the marches, which sometimes grew into brief cross-border exchanges of rockets and airstrikes.

Over the past decade, Hamas and Israel fought three deadly and destructive wars.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Henceforth, school bags cannot weigh more than 10% of the average body weight of students, the state government stated on Friday.

The circular, issued by the department of primary and secondary education, issued clear guidelines on the upper limits that school bags can weigh. As per the circular, bags of students of Class I and II can only weigh around 1.5kg to 2kg while those of Class III, IV and V can weigh 2kg to 3kg.

Students from Class VI-VIII can have their bags weighing only up to 3kg-4kg and those of Class IX and X can weigh up to 5kg.

This direction is binding on schools across the state from this academic year, the circular read.

The move comes in the backdrop of a 2016-17 study conducted by the department of state education research and training in association with the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India

University, Bengaluru, on reducing weights of school bags in government, aided and unaided schools in the state. Opinions were also collected from students in this regard.

Bagless day

The order announced that students of Classes I and II should not be given homework. Also, their notebooks cannot exceed 100 pages. Also, schools are directed to observe every third Saturday of the month as Bagless Day. On this day, teachers are expected to engage students in educational extracurricular and cultural activities.

The order mandates teachers to keep their students abreast about the books required for the succeeding day so students could get only those books and avoid extra baggage. Schools have also been asked to

maintain adequate stocks of essential books such as Atlas and science dictionaries among others.

The order also directs schools to make provisions where students could drop their textbooks instead of carrying them home on a daily basis.




Multiple people were injured in Kiryat Gat when rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on May 4, Israel Police said. This video shows police officers responding to one of the scenes.

Approximately 150 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday, with the Iron Dome intercepting dozens, Haaretz reported.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on Gaza in retaliation for the rocket fire, according to their official Twitter account.

One Palestinian was killed, and seven others injured, in the attacks, a spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said. Credit: @IL_police via Storyful
CHICAGO (AP)  A judge is to rule next week on whether he will recuse himself from a request to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how Chicago's top prosecutor handled actor Jussie Smollett's criminal case.

Retired Illinois appellate judge Sheila O'Brien is pushing for the review of Cook County State's Attorney's Kim Foxx's office, which dropped charges against Smollett that accused him of making a false police report.

On Thursday, O'Brien asked Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. to recuse himself because his son works for Foxx as an assistant state's attorney. Cathy McNeil Stein, who represented Foxx's office, says there is no need for another judge. Martin says he will consider O'Brien's request and announce his decision May 10.

Foxx and Smollett did not attend Thursday's hearing.
The nauseating smell of death that infested the streets around Colombo's morgue after Sri Lanka's devastating Easter attacks has finally dispersed.

But forensic pathologists are still attempting to identify the remains of bodies blown apart by suicide bombers, the final pieces of a macabre puzzle.

While staff have so far returned 115 victims to their relatives, there are still some 50 bags filled with unidentified remains in the morgue's refrigerated rooms.

The fragments are a somber reflection of the brutal force of the bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State.

It also helps explain why the death toll from the blasts has fluctuated considerably. At first Sri Lankan authorities said 359 had died before slashing it to 253, and then raising it again to 257 this week.

In one bag "there are two parts of a cheek - one cheek with an ear, one with some scalp and an ear. That could be two people," said Ajith Tennakoon, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

"The proper management of dead bodies is to identify them and to give them respect and dignity."

He said the staff's "prime duty" is to hand back the bodies to relatives so they can say goodbye to their loved ones in accordance with different religious beliefs.

During the meticulous reconstruction, even the smallest clue is helpful: a piece of jewellery worn by the victim, a patterned piece of clothing or a distinctive scar.

Where possible, forensic pathologists examined teeth and fingerprints but DNA tests are the most reliable method of identification.

Among the last body bags could be the remains of six people still missing since the bombings, as well as the suicide bombers.

They could also include victims whose remains have been returned incomplete.

- Solving a crime 

The forensic doctors are also investigators. They may be able to find clues that identify the attackers or the types of explosives used.

From a drawer, Tennakoon pulls out a see-through plastic bag which holds a lead ball -- one of those used by jihadists as shrapnel to maximise the damage.

Story continues

"We also have to help to solve the crime, it is a crime, a man-made disaster," he added.

The work of piecing together bodies is more painstaking in Colombo than the other affected cities of Negombo and Batticaloa because of the nature of the bomb attacks.

"If the bomb takes place in a concrete-built structure, the damage is much worse," said Anil Jasinghe, Sri Lanka's director general of health services.

"That is what happened in the hotels, they were concrete buildings."

Although 102 people died in one church in Negombo, almost all the bodies were returned the same evening.

The blast blew the roof off the building, allowing the air pressure to escape through the top.

But in a confined space, a sudden rush of air causes considerable devastation.

"What counts more than anything are the shock waves, they move faster than sound and at very high velocity, which actually could tear bodies apart," said Jasinghe.

As forensic pathologists continue to puzzle over the fragments still lying in body bags, victims' relatives who had gathered outside the building in temporary marquees -- where they had the distressing task of identifying their loved ones through photographs -- have long since left and the tents taken down.
What Happened This Week:

Self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido gambled this week to try to force the ouster of de facto Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, calling on the Venezuelan people to join him in mass protests and military officials to defect to his side. People showed up to protestboth for and against Madurobut the military defections Guaido hoped for never quite materialized.

Why It Matters:

When it comes to politics, timing is everything. Guaido had real momentum in January when he announced that Maduros electoral win was rigged and illegitimate (correct on both counts), and that Venezuelas constitution empowered the head of the countrys parliament (read: him) to serve as president until free and fair elections could be held. The US backed Guaido immediately, a diplomatic victory which opened the door for other countries to follow suitmore than 50 countries now recognize Guaido as the countrys rightful leader. But none of those countries were willing to do much beyond sanctions and humanitarian aid. In fact, the one country that seemed committed to sending in military assistance of any kind was Russia, which had invested heavily in the Maduro regime. That effectively meant that while Guaido was an international cause celebre, Maduro was the one who controlled the countrys military and security forces on the ground. And without control of those forces, Guaido was just another Venezuelan opposition leader.

Guaido has thus spent the last three months trying to peel military supporters away from Maduro. At the beginning of this week, it seemed like he may have actually pulled it offin a video featuring Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader and Guaidos political mentor who had been under house arrest for the last two yearsGuaido announced that the final phase of Operation Liberty had commenced, and called for the Venezuelan people to join him in protests to force the ouster of Maduro once and for all. Lopez was released by dissident military officials that had switched loyalties to Guaido, a sign that Guaido was gaining traction among the countrys security apparatus. Combined with the strong rhetoric from US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, there was genuine hope that this was the beginning of the end for Maduro. But three key officials that the opposition hoped would switch to their sidethe countrys defense minister, the chief judge of the Supreme Court and the head of Maduros presidential guardremained loyal to Maduro. Maduro thus ends the week in a much stronger position than when he started it, and Guaido and Venezuelas opposition are now on the backfoot.

Story continues

What Happens Next:

Guaido just suffered his most significant defeat since storming onto the world stage a few months ago, and its not clear where he goes from here. Guaido needs to keep both the Venezuelan public as well as the international community engaged and on his side as developments in the country unfold, but the failed attempt to force matters to a head significantly hampers his ability to do both. Guaido managed to cobble together support from certain members of the National Guard and Venezuelas Secret Service, but was unable to show that he flipped any members of the armed forces with any operational relevance or with significant troops under their command. Its still unclear whether Guaido had bad intelligence, supposed-defectors got cold feet, or if Guaido just hoped that a daring gambit would swing things in his favor.

But now Maduro is emboldened. What he does with that remains to be seenhe could go after Guaido and try to get him arrested or exiled, but that runs the risk of drawing the ire of the international community and reviving support for Guaido. His smartest move might be to just let Guaido spin his wheels and wait for fractures in the countrys opposition to emerge as they argue over next steps.

Guaidos tough week also shows the limitations of US support, and makes US military intervention even more unlikely that it was before. Despite the strong rhetoric from Bolton and Pompeo, President Donald Trump has never been a fan of foreign interventions, and the prospect of taking on a Maduro who just showed that he still commands the loyalty of Venezuelas security forces is unlikely to change that.

The Key Quote That Sums It All Up:

I worry that this kind of semi-regular raising of expectations to very high levels wears  and makes the kind of internal pressure that needs to build harder to happen, Daniel Resrepo, NSC Latin America Advisor in the Obama administration.

The One Thing to Read About It:

Pompeo claims that Maduro was about to leave Venezuela this week until the Russians told him to stay put, which the Russians denied. To understand why Russians hold so much sway from half a world away, read this piece I put together a few weeks ago for Time.

The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:

and the winner of this political drama gets to preside over a sinking Venezuela. Not much of a prize if were being honest.
(Reuters) - Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday. St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement. "The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable but remain under surveillance by the ship's doctor," Frederick-James said, noting the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear. The St. Lucia Ministry of Health ordered the ship to be quarantined on Tuesday. The restriction comes as the number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2GJgoBt) Frederick-James said the doses of measles vaccines were being supplied to the ship free of charge. She gave no information about the ship or its origins. NBC News, citing a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, reported the ship is named Freewinds, which is the name of a 440-foot vessel owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. According to Reuters Eikon shipping data, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified as SMV Freewinds was docked in port near Castries on Thursday. The ship was headed next to the island of Dominica, the data showed. On its website, the Church of Scientology describes the Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion." It says the vessel's home port is Curacao. Church officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News reported that nearly 300 passengers and crew were aboard the vessel, with one female crew member diagnosed with measles. Public health officials blame declining vaccination rates in some communities driven by misinformation about inoculation that has left those populations vulnerable to rapid spread of infection among those with no immunity to the virus. The vast majority of U.S. cases have occurred in children who have not received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), officials said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's ruling and opposition parties agreed on Friday to give themselves six more months to form a unity government as part of a peace deal they signed in September, the regional group IGAD said in a statement. Also on Friday, President Salva Kiir lifted a state of emergency imposed in 2017 in five northern states of the country, South Sudan Radio reported, in a bid to help foster peace. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into a civil war two years later. After a string of failed agreements, a peace deal was signed last September between the two sides, represented by Kiir and his former deputy turned rival, Riek Machar. As part of the peace deal, the two sides aimed to form a national unity government by May 12. The parties met in neighboring Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Friday to seek a way forward on the unity government. "The Parties identified lack of political will, financing and time constraints as the major challenges that have delayed implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks and underscored the need to ensure that specific pending tasks are adequately funded within a clearly set out and reasonable timeframe," IGAD said in a statement. "In light of the above, the Parties unanimously agreed to extend the Pre-Transitional period by an additional six (6) months effective from 12th May 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks," the intergovernmental group added. While the peace deal has helped to reduce fighting and partly alleviated the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country, a U.N. panel of experts on South Sudan said in a report on Tuesday that the country still faces significant challenges. IGAD, which has been helping to mediate between the two sides, said the new agreement will be presented for consideration at its council of ministers meeting to be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba in South Sudan. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Hugh Lawson)
By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation. The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months. The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory. Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally. Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria. But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people. Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia. The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now. Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement. But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months. Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters. HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping. After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area. "Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added. The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed. Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said. Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly." UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed. Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented. The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn conducted final rituals on Friday in preparation for three days of ceremonies for his elaborate coronation, which will also be marked by the pardoning and release from jail of some prisoners. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. King Vajiralongkorn, 66, is also known by the title of King Rama X. He became a constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father in October 2016, after 70 years on the throne. On Friday, the king visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to pay respects to one of Thailand's most sacred Buddhist relics. "Long live the king," chanted a group of people dressed in yellow, an auspicious color in Thailand, as the king and his new queen walked on a red carpet to the Grand Palace, shielded from the hot afternoon sun by a big yellow umbrella. The king lit auspicious candles at 4:19 p.m. (9:19 GMT), a time that court astrologers determined was propitious, as 80 Buddhist monks chanted. Yellow is particularly significant as it is the color of Monday In Thai culture, which is steeped in astrology, the day the king was born, and also the color of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos. Thais have been urged to wear yellow until the end of July, the king's birth month. Earlier on Friday, a senior palace official transferred a golden plaque inscribed with the king's official name and title, his horoscope and the royal seal from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the Grand Palace in preparation for Saturday's events. The three items, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week, will be presented to the king by the chief Brahmin, along with five royal regalia, the symbols of kingship in Thailand. ROYAL PARDON Ahead of the grand ceremonies, the king said he would grant royal pardons to some prisoners to "give them a chance to become good citizens", according to the Royal Gazette. The order, which will take effect on Saturday, listed many criteria of prisoners eligible for the pardon, including those with disabilities, chronic or terminal diseases, or those within a year of completing their sentence. The king will also reduce sentences for some prisoners, including those imprisoned for life, and commute some death sentences to life. It is not clear how many people will qualify for pardons, and the Department of Corrections said it would finalize a list of eligible prisoners, and release them or commute their sentences, within 120 days. The order did not exclude foreigners, nor did it exclude prisoners convicted of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese-majeste, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a prominent student activist who was sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in jail for sharing a Thai-language BBC profile of the king is expected to be released next week, his lawyer told Reuters. Jatupat was the first person to be charged with royal insult after the king formally ascended the throne following the death of King Bhumibol. His full jail term will be completed on June 19. (Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
President Donald Trump said Friday after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin that Putin has no desire to involve Russia in the spiraling political crisis in Venezuela.

We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. And he is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way, Trump told reporters at the White House.

The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas rightful leader, while Russia supports President Nicolas Maduros socialist regime. The call between Trump and Putin was apparently their first conversation since Guaido launched an effort to overthrow Maduro earlier this week. A month ago, when Putin sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Venezuelas capital, Trump said that Russia has to get out. And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of convincing Maduro to stay in the country just as he was about to flee amid escalating tensions.

He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay, Pompeo said.

Guaido, the National Assembly president, this week called on the opposition to take to the streets to oust Maduro, but most of the military has remained loyal to Maduro thus far. Trump said Friday that the main U.S. concern was for the well-being of ordinary Venezuelans.

We want to get some humanitarian aid; right now people are starving, they have no water, they have no food, he said. [Venezuela was] one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago and now they dont have food and they dont have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis.

More from National Review
By Express News Service

HUBBALLI: Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah has stated the Kundgol by-election is not about Kusumavati Shivalli, but about the pride of Congress party workers.

Addressing a mammoth rally held at Sanshi village near Kungdol on Friday, Siddaramaiah said in order to keep the legacy of Shivalli alive, party workers should reach doorstep and seek votes. He said he would camp at the constituency for four days from May 14.

Shivalli always cared for the poor people despite his poor health. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Siddaramaiah said, Modi has always claimed he has a 56-inch chest, but within that, he has no space for the poor. The BJP leaders are least bothered about the poor, he added.

Water Resources minister D K Shivakumar asserted the by-election is being fought not on the personality of Shivalli, but on the services he rendered to the poor. Further, he said he has taken the elections would be fought under the combined leadership of both Congress and JDS. Voters of Kungold and Chincholi would give a befitting reply to BJP leaders who are trying to destabilise the coalition government, he said.

KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao cautioned party workers not be complacent on the victory of the Congress candidate, and not to rely only on the sympathy factor.

KPCC Campaigning Committee chairman H K Patil, party leaders Satish Jarkiholi, Vinay Kulkarni and Anil Patil, JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti and others were present.

for first time, two ballot units in chincholi constituency

Kalaburagi: For the first time in Chincholi, voters have to check the names of candidates of their choice in two ballot units of their respective polling booths. The capacity of the ballot unit would be 16 candidates. In the by-elections to Chincholi constituency, scheduled on May 19, 17 candidates will contest, and it is mandatory to provide the NOTA option. This means election officials should arrange 2 ballot units, the first unit comprising 16 candidates and second unit comprising the last candidate and the NOTA button. Though there are 17 candidates in the fray, it seems like it will be a contest between Congress candidate Subhash Rathod and BJPs Avinash Jadhav.

Avinash jadhav has no political know-how: naik

Kalaburagi: A convention of different social organisations was held in Chincholi, under the leadership of minister Parameshwara Naik on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Parameshwara criticised previous MLA Umesh Jadhav, saying, Congress gave everything to Umesh Jadhav, but he left the party to join the BJP. Naik further alleged that BJP has only given a ticket to Avinash Jadhav because he is the son of Umesh. Avinash Jadhav does not have any political experience, while Congress candidate Subhash Rathod has been working for the development of the Banjara community for two decades, Naik said.
New York (AFP) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled plans to attend a New York gala in his honor after several companies withdrew their sponsorship and thousands of people demanded it be scrapped.

The gala, organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce for May 14, had attracted widespread criticism over the far-right president's record, with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio describing Bolsonaro as "a dangerous man".

Bolsonaro decided to cancel the trip due to "resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups" on organisers, a spokesman said in a statement.

The event had been due to be held at the New York Museum of Natural History, before it pulled out of hosting.

It was moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, where protesters have been gathering every night outside seeking the complete cancellation of the event.

On Friday, US airline Delta, British daily Financial Times and consulting firm Bain & Company all confirmed to AFP that they would not sponsor the dinner as planned.

Bolsonaro was to receive a Person of the Year award at the event.

Every year, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce awards the prize to a Brazilian and an American at a gala dinner, with famous guests on hand. The event -- which costs $30,000 a plate -- was sold out.

Elected late October with an ultraconservative agenda, Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his environmental policy.

Since taking office in January, he has reduced or eliminated funding for indigenous protection organizations.

He also placed them under the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina Dias, who is close to the massive agribusiness industry, which is accused of aggravating deforestation.
By Express News Service

KASARGOD: The Muslim Educational Society (MES), which issued a circular disallowing veils in its schools and colleges, is facing backlash from its own unit.

In a statement, the Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

We do not agree with Dr Gafoors views on women wearing veils. He should correct them, and the circular should be withdrawn, MES district president Dr Khader Mangad, general secretary C Muhammed Kunhi, and treasurer A Hameed said in the statement.

The circular - issued on April 17 and to be implemented from next academic year - was the personal opinion of Dr Gafoor and did not represent the official stance of MES, they said. The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoors father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

READ | Muslim Education Society bans face veils in colleges run by it in Kerala, sparks row

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses. Institution heads and office-bearers of the local management of the institutions should be vigilant... This should be implemented without giving way to controversy, it said.

The Kasargod district committee of MES said the circular could not be the policy of the organisation because it was not discussed by any committee. The matter was not discussed at the state general council meeting held at MES Engineering College, Kuttippuram, on March 30, or at the executive council meeting held at Perinthalmanna medical college on April 8, it said.

Gafoor was trying to impose his personal views on institutions and he should be cautious in expressing views on religious matters, it said. When contacted, Dr Mangad, the former vice chancellor of Calicut University, said the circular was a direct denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. My differences with Gafoors circular are more about denial of individual freedom than religious freedom. It is not about being progressive or regressive, he said. I am not a religious fundamentalist, he said.

READ | Burqa, ghoonghat are the same, ban both, says Javed Akhtar

Embattled MES gets support from various quarters

Meanwhile, The MES which came under attack from hardline Muslim groups following its decision to ban face veil in all its institutions, has got the firm backing of Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel. Jaleel said it was not the mafta (head scarf) that the MES intended to ban from campuses, but the niqab (full veil). The Minister said Islam has never insisted that women should cover their face and hands. It is for the Muslim organisations themselves to introspect if they need to continue with a dress code which has not been prescribed in Islam, Jaleel said.

However, the Minister also clarified the government did not want to enforce any decision regarding dress code on women. It is for Muslim organisations to reach a consensus on the matter, Jaleel said. Meanwhile, the MES decision has also got the backing of a prominent Mujahid group. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president T P Abdullakoya Madani said Islam does not insist on women covering their faces. Terming the ongoing controversy as needless, Madani said women do not cover their faces while performing Hajj.
What does the measles outbreak have in common with the cult that encourages drinking bleach? And what does it have in common with Netanyahu's immunity law initiative? The answer is the wisdom of the masses, one of maladies of our social media day and age.

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The idea of the wisdom of the masses is that no single individuals holds greater knowledge than a million ordinary people. Not even if that individual is a doctor who studied medicine for seven years and did an internship and residency for six to nine more. If one million people like or share a post about how measles vaccines are dangerous and should be avoided, their opinion counts more that that of 100 doctors who think otherwise. The masses know.





Netanyahu and Deri in a govenment meeting; both face an indictment subject to a hearing (File Photo) (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

The results for this kind of behavior are evident around the world nowadays with the measles outbreak. Not to mention the "trend" a hideous word in itself  of parents who give their children a mix of bleach and water to drink, only god knows why.

But how does this relate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's immunity law initiative, aimed to deny any option of charging him with crimes while he serves as prime minister?

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

It's simple. An army of lawyers, headed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, went through mountains of papers, discussions and testimonies, and concluded that there is supporting evidence to indict Netanyahu for serious offences of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing.

But now, after some 1,140,000 people voted for Netanyahu's Likud Party, and an equal number voted for his "natural partners", rightist leaders come forth and say that "the people have decided Netanyahu is innocent." "There is nothing, because there was nothing, and there will be nothing. Simply nothing", stated the prime ministers famous quote about the accusation against him.

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

And so, if people have determined that Netanyahu is innocent, there's no problem for his future coalition members to approve legislation granting him immunity from indictment. This would also be of use for other Knesset members who are facing prosecution, subject to a hearing. These are Interior Minister Arye Deri, Welfare Minister Haim Katz, and perhaps MK David Bitan, who stated that if Deri, who was already a convicted felon, can be minister, so can he, and he has a point.

Many Likud supporters believe Netanyahu is innocent, according to their vote at the polls. Others believe he is corrupt, but simply don't give a damn. If he knows how to take care of himself, he'll know how to take care of us, they say. That has nothing to do with the wisdom of the masses, but rather with the lack of moral values.

Most Israelis didn't go to law school and have never read white collar offences, judicial verdicts or transcripts of investigations. Nor did they read the papers describing the suspicions against Netanyahu. The materials are anyway undisclosed to us, despite Mandelblit's declaration to reveal them after the April 9 elections. But what does it even matter? The masses have decided, as they did with measles vaccines. This is the wisdom of the masses for you.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday he hopes Israel will take a hard look at President Donald Trump's upcoming Middle East peace proposal before proceeding with any plan to annex West Bank settlements.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed in the waning days of a re-election campaign he won on April 9 to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in a move that would be bound to trigger condemnation from the Palestinians and the Arab world and complicate the U.S. peace effort.

Jared Kushner (Photo: Reuters)

Kushner, speaking at a dinner of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Middle East peace proposal he has been putting together was close to release and that Israel and the Palestinians should wait to see it before making any unilateral moves.

He said the issue would be discussed with the Israeli government when Netanyahu forms a governing coalition.

"I hope both sides will take a real look at it, the Israeli side and the Palestinian side, before any unilateral steps are made," Kushner said, adding he had not discussed the issue of settlement annexation with Netanyahu.

Greenblatt and Kushner at UN with Israeli Amb. Danny Dannon

Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt have spent the past two years developing the peace proposal in the hopes it will provide a framework for a renewed dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinians have refused to talk to the U.S. side since Trump decided to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, all territory Israel captured in 1967.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is expected to unveil his proposals in June after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Kushner and Ivanka at embassy opening (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)

"What we will be able to put together is a solution that we believe is a good starting point for the political issues and then an outline for what can be done to help these people start living a better life," Kushner said.

"I was given the assignment of trying to find a solution between the two sides and I think what we'll put forward is a framework that I think is realistic ... it's executable and it's something that I do think will lead to both sides being much better off," Kushner said.

Political, economic components

Kushner has begun to take a more public role in the Trump administration since he emerged unscathed from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into whether the Trump presidential campaign in 2016 colluded with Russia.

Trump and Kushner in Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

Trump has relied heavily on the 38-year-old Kushner, who helped develop prison reform legislation and a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and is also working on a U.S. immigration proposal.

The Middle East proposal, which has been delayed for a variety of reasons over the past 18 months, has two major components. It has a political piece that addresses core issues such as the status of Jerusalem, and an economic part that aims to help the Palestinians strengthen their economy.

Kushner and Netanyahu (:  ")

Kushner has said the proposal is not an effort to impose U.S. will on the region. He has not said whether it calls for a two-state solution, a goal of past peace efforts.

On Thursday night, he called on critics to hold their fire until they are able to see the plan in its entirety.

Palestinians have voiced skepticism about the effort led by Trump's son-in-law, who was a real estate developer before joining his father-in-law as a senior White House adviser.

Arab officials and analysts believe the plan is likely to be decidedly pro-Israel since the Trump administration has taken a tough line toward Palestinians, cutting off aid and ordering the PLO's office in Washington shut.

Greenblatt has said U.S. negotiators expect Israelis and Palestinians will both be critical of some parts of the plan.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Unleashing its fury on coastal and adjoining districts of Odisha, extremely severe cyclone Fani made landfall at Puri coast close to Chilika on Friday morning.

The cyclonic storm hit Odisha land with a wind speed of 180 to 190kmph. India Meteorological Department said the process of landfall started at around 8am and part of the eye was on Puri land at around 8.30. Landfall process will continue till 11 am, the IMD said.

READ: Cyclone Fani Updates | Eye of storm crosses into land at Odisha coast, relief efforts begin

The life-threatening storm surge, strong wind and extremely heavy rainfall accompanied induced by the category 4 cyclone wreaked havoc in the Puri district causing widespread damage and destruction In around the district.

Hundreds of trees uprooted while asbestos and tin roof were blown away by the gusty wind blowing at a speed of around 140 to 150 kmph in many parts of the districts. Apart from Puri, heavy rains lashed many other parts of coastal belt such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Jaipur, Jagatsighpur, Cuttack and Kendrapara. The strong wind also caused partial damage to infrastructure in these districts.

Capital Bhubaneswar, located around 70km from the place of the landfall, also experienced heavy rainfall and wrong wind under the impact of the storm. Uprooted trees blocked roads in various parts of the city. The wind gusting up to over 100 kms posed serious threat to vehicles. Cars got damaged as a portion of boundary wall caved in residential area on Janpath road.

Billboards and dangling wires also increased the risk for the citizens in Bomikhal, Rasulgarh, Jaydev Vihar and other places. Many parts of the city also faced water-logging. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation with the help of fire service units pitched into action removing uprooted trees and clearing roads and drains.

As the landfall process continued Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said the situation is being monitored closely. As of now, Puri has remained the worst affected district. We are collecting information from other districts too, Sethi said.

Anticipating destruction, the state government had evacuated over a million people to safety in 13 districts since Thursday night. Besides, it had prepositioned 28 NDRF and 20 ODRAF units along with 550 fire service units in vulnerable areas of 18 districts to carry out relief and rescue operation. The SRC said keeping the situation in view 10 additional NDRF teams have deployed in the affected districts.

After landfall process is over the system is expected to enter into khurda and then move to Cuttack, Jaipur, Bhadrak, Jagatsingpur, Balasore before entering into west Bengal on May 4. Arrangements have been made to start free kitchens at the cyclone shelters.

Around 4,000 such shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres, are housing the evacuees. Over one lakh dry food packets have been kept ready for air dropping for which two choppers requisitioned, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) BP Sethi said.

No casualty has so far been reported from any part of the state, Sethi said adding the government is fully prepared to deal with the situation. A cyclone making a landfall implies that the first arm of the cyclone has reached the land.

The Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at different spots at Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata. It has also deployed four ships to handle any exigency. The Indian Navy has also deployed three ships with relief material and medical teams so that it can launch rescue operation after the cyclone hits the coastline of Odisha.

Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said several aircraft have also been kept on standby for immediate deployment to carry out aerial survey. "Helicopters are also kept standby for joining in rescue operation and for air dropping of relief material when required," Capt Sharma said.

Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to people to remain indoors during the period of the cyclone, and said all arrangements have been made for the safety and security of the people.

All shops, business establishments, private and government offices except those associated with relief and rescue operations will remain closed in 11 coastal districts as a precautionary measure. More than 220 trains on the Kolkata-Chennai route have been cancelled until Saturday. Aviation regulator DGCA announced that flights in and out of Bhubaneswar airport stand cancelled on Friday.

Consequently, the operations of various domestic airlines have been affected. The Central government has also made preparations. The Power Ministry has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with the least downtime.

The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry plans to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said it is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food. The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance.

It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs. The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS for cyclone-related messages and inter-operability of mobile networks by other operators. The Petroleum Ministry has ensured availability of sufficient petroleum and oil in the affected areas.

(With PTI inputs)
Some 50 sirens were heard in the southern city of Ashkelon Saturday morning, and the Iron Dome intercepted several rocket launches from the Gaza Strip.

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The cities of Rehovot, Sderot, Ashdod, and communities in the Gaza border region in the Sha'ar HaNegev and Eshkol Regional Councils were also targeted. In Ashkelon, public shelters were opened.

Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (Photo: Roee Idan)

No injuries or damages were reported so far.

The IDF retaliated with tank fire on a Hamas lookout post and an IAF attack on Hamas positions in the Strip.

The IDF closed Israeli civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip earlier Saturday, after clashes on Friday's weekly March of Return injured two IDF soldiers and killed two Palestinians, and an overnight IAF strike killed two more.

The events come after a relatively calm few months with no Palestinian casualties.

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to his thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

The overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

Hamas' deputy commander Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement that the organization was acting to push Israel to do its part in the arrangement negotiated between the sides.

"Israel is delaying in acting on some of the conditions that were agreed on. We wont let that happen, we have a schedule, and have many options. We know how to make Israel do what it said it will," said the official.

The Islamic Jihad terror group said in a statement that Israel is behind the recent "dangerous escalation".

"The Palestinian people is using its right to defend itself. The resistance is committed to this right as long as the aggression and the siege are ongoing," said the statement.

IDF forces evacuate wounded soldiers Friday

A joint headquarters for all militant groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement saying, "Israeli cruel aggression against our people leads us to call all militant groups to be ready to react to the enemy's crimes."

The Friday and Saturday events follow several firebombs launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli border communities that caused fires on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Islamic Jihad launched a long-range rocket into Israel Monday, which fell at sea, and signaled the beginning of this weeks' flare-up.
Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday as Israel was pounded by a massive rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday evening that some 200 rockets had been fired at the country during the day, and that it had responded with aerial bombardments across Gaza.

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The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.

Rocker hits the city of Kiryat Gat, 80 year-old women seriously wounded (Photo: Avi Rokah)

In Kiryat Gat, an 80-year-old woman was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket. In Ashkelon, a 49-year-old man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to the hands and legs.





Eyewitness footage of a rocket strike in Ashkelon

Also in Ashkelon, a 35-year-old man was moderately hurt when a rocket hit a home in the southern city. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that the man was wounded in the upper body and taken to Barzilai Hospital.

It was the not the first time Saturday that an Israeli home was hit by rocket fire. Other residences were damaged by rocket fire on Kibbutz Nahal Oz and in Hof Ashkelon regional council. The home's dwellers in the latter ran for their shelter and none were hurt.





A rocket launch from Gaza (Photo: AFP)

Several buildings were damaged in the city of Sderot and in several other Gaza border communities. One rocket landed near a kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev, close to the border with Gaza.

Rockets were continually launched from the Gaza Strip throughout Saturday, with long-range missiles targeting communities in the central region. Sirens blared through communuties in the south and center, as far as Rehovot, some 30km from Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, approximately 20km from Jerusalem.

House suffers direct hit in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza border

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets on Saturday, the arny said.

The military closed civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday.

Multiple Israeli local authorities opened public bomb shelters amid the ongoing rocket fire, including Mateh Yehuda, Yavne, Be'er Sheva and Ashdod.

Restrictions on the size of public gatherings has also been imposed in some areas, and the airspace up to 10 kilometers from the Gaza border was closed until Sunday. Activity at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport continued as scheduled.

A rocket strike on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (Photo: AFP)

Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri said Saturday that the southern city was on full emergency footing in the wake of the barrage of rockets.

"We are very experienced (in dealing with Gaza fire)," Lasri told Ynet, "our residents know how to act."

Truce efforts

UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, meanwhile, was working on reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid the escalating violence, foreign diplomatic sources said.

The ceasfire efforts also involve Egyptian mediators credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March triggered a burst of intense fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security assessment Saturday afternoon, arriving at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv to meet with senior defense and cabinet officials.

IDF hits Gaza

IDF jets and combat helicopters continued a wave of air strikes on what it said were terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon. The army said Saturday that it was preparing to expand its raids in the Strip.

The IDF strikes Gaza (Photo: AFP)

The IDF said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, including facilities used for the manufacturing of arms and a joint facility for both organizations.

A building used by Hamas' naval forces was also attacked. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army is "ready to go on as long as needed."

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike on Saturday.





Blue and White MK Alon Schuster (center) sits in a bomb shelter at Kibbutz Nahal Oz (Photo: Roei Idan)

The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. The Palestinian Education Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Hamas announced it is prepared to respond to "Israel's crimes" and "will not allow Palestinian blood to be shed." The announcement also said Hamas is committed to the protection of their people and the continuation of the March of Return.

A home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz is hit by rocket fire

Israel closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez Gaza border crossings Saturday as the violence spiraled. The army also halted fishing off the Gaza coast, which had been expanded as a gesture following the previous round of fighting in March.

Eurovision threatened

The flare-up comes days before Israelis celebrate Independence Day and Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

A fragment from an Iron Dome anti-missile battery falls on warehouse near Ashkelon

The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad released a statement directly threating the contest, vowing to "prevent the enemy from holding a festival whose purpose is to undermine the Palestinian narrative."

A home in a Gaza border community sustains a direct hit from a rocket (Photo: Reuters)

"The civilians (of Israel) are destined to hell for the continual expansion of the Israeli aggression towards our people and our resistance," said the statement.

"We say to the decision-makers in Israel: do not dream of having quiet while the Palestinian people pay the price. The resistance is committed to respond to the enemys aggression and to surprise him."

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to the thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

An overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.
The headquarters for all militarist groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement Saturday saying that "the next few hours will difficult and painful for Israel."

"The resistance will not stand by, it will react to the direct hits on Palestinian citizens," said the stamen.

"The Israeli communities near the Gaza Border are on our reach," they added.

Gaza officials said that talks with Egypt in an effort to contain the flare-up were held but that nothing was achieved.
The IDF says it is widening its air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip in response to massive rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave.

The army also says it has destroyed a tunnel dug by Islamic Jihad in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. According to the IDF, the tunnel was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack in Israel.
An unnamed source in the Gaza Strip told Ynet Saturday evening that negotiations between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza terror groups are ongoing.

The source added that talks between the sides are "moving in the right direction."
Gaza's health ministry says a Palestinian infant has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Seba Abu Arar, 14 months, died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry said. Another child was moderately injured.

There were no additional details immediately available.

The airstrike happened in east Gaza City, the ministry said, as Israel continued its aerial offensive in response to rockets that Gaza militants have fired throughout the day toward southern Israel.
At least four rockets were fired at the southern city of Ashdod on Saturday night, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad made good on an earlier threat to strike further distances from the Gaza Strip if Israel did not halt its air strikes on the coastal enclave. The Iron Dome missile defense system brought down the rockets.

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A short time later, rockets were fired at the southern city of Be'er Sheva. Iron Dome was also deployed in the area. A Ynetnews editor who lives in Be'er Sheva said rockets both fell in open areas and were brought down by Iron Dome. Two people were hurt by shrapnel in the Bedouin town of Laqiya, in the Be'er Sheva area.

Iron Dome in operation over Be'er Sheva (Photo: Avi Rokah)

According to the IDF, more than 250 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday. In Gaza, a mother and her baby were reported to have been killed in an IDF air strike.

Rocket fire from Gaza at Ashdod on Saturday night (Photo: Reuters)

Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday by rocket fire, and dozens more were treated for shock.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.





Iron Dome brings down rockets fied from Gaza at Sderot on Saturday (Photo: AP)

Egypt reportedly stepped up its efforts to halt the escalating violence between Israel and Gaza on Saturday evening, even as sirens and rocket barrages from Gaza continued unabated, and as the IDF continued to strike targets in the Strip.

A source in Gaza said that Egyptian efforts to end the violence, which also reportedly include UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov, were making progress.

"Even as the exchange of fire is worsening, the contacts in Cairo between the Hamas and Islamic Jihad delegations and Egyptian intelligence are becoming more intense," the source said. "There is progress in the talks and they are being conducted in a positive manner."

An Israeli security source said, however, that no such discussions on the issue were taking place.

As the violence continued Saturday, the Israel Air Force attacked more than 120 targets in the Gaza Strip and even escalated its operations Saturday evening by bombing a six-story building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City that housed the Hamas Prisoner Affairs Ministry, as well as the Hamas military intelligence building.

The IDF strikes the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs building in gaza (Photo: AFP)

The baby girl was killed during one of the Israeli attacks, and a few hours later, it was reported that her mother had also died.

Following the destruction of the Rimal building, the military wings of the Palestinian terror groups said that rocket fire at Ashkelon, Ofakim and Kiryat Gat was a response to the bombing. The groups also said that further air strikes would lead to greater rocket fire.

"If Israel continues bombing, we will increase the range to Ashdod and Be'er Sheva," the groups said.

A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip also said that the Islamic Jihad delegation to Cairo included the commander of the northern brigade of the organization's military wing, Baha Abu al-Ata.

He was invited to Cairo after the launch of a rocket from Gaza that exploded at sea earlier this week, and his identity was revealed by the IDF. He left the Gaza Strip with the delegation on Wednesday.

Earlier, a joint statement by the Gaza organizations' military wings said that they would step up the rocket fire should the IDF continue the air strikes.

"We are tracking Israel's movements and its commitment to end its aggression against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and we will respond accordingly to such aggression," groups said.

"We warn Israel that our response will be more extreme and broader if it continues its attacks. We will continue to serve as the defender and guardian of our people and our land."
The Iron Dome missile defense system is put into operation in the Be'er Sheva area following the start of rocket fire from Gaza.
One person is lightly hurt by rocket fire from Gaza in the Be'er Sheva area.

The rocket apparently fell in a Bedouin community close to the city.
YORK  York Middle School Principal Kenny Loosvelt has received a prestigious award, honoring his positive role at YMS.

Loosvelt was recently named Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) Middle School Principal of the Year for Region 1.

Its a nice honor, Loosvelt said. I totally share it with the staff and the kids.

A middle school principal in each of the five regions of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA)  the umbrella organization of NSASSP  receives the regional award. This honor then makes him or her eligible for the statewide award.

Nebraska educators who feel their administrator is deserving of the honor may nominate him or her. According to the NSASSP award rules: The NSASSP National Principal of the Year award program annually recognizes outstanding school leaders who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students. Each nominee is evaluated based on core elements. According to the NCSA The program honors school principals who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of: personal excellence, collaborative leadership, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization.
By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The death toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

READ HERE | Over a crore hit by Fani as battered Odisha looks at gigantic restoration

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit.

Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

READ HERE | UN agency praises India on minimising loss of life from Cyclone Fani

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone-affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure." An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected.

Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations.

The state has so far been able to reopen all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration.

READ HERE | Cyclone Fani: Air India waives charges for carrying relief materials for victims

Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work.

The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday.

Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

Barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express, all other trains would run as per schedule, the official added. There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, he added.
LANSING  State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, is advocating Houghton County acquire a closed prison facility in Painesdale and convert it into a regional jail for the Western Upper Peninsula.

Markkanen said he recently set up a meeting between county and state officials regarding the acquisition of Camp Kitwen, a low-security facility that closed in 2009.

It is my hope that Houghton County commissioners will consider purchasing Camp Kitwen from the state to use as a jail facility and provide for a long-term inmate facility for the Western U.P., Markkanen said in a statement.

He ar...
Today

Showers early, then clearing with ample sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 47F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.

Tomorrow

Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: If Fire Department officials are to be believed, the film set of megastar Chiranjeevis Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was meant to be burnt down. Sooner or later. Though Fridays mishap has come as a shock for many in the industry as well as the fans, it is learnt that film sets are often burnt down after the completion of shooting, a trend that is very much prevalent in Tollywood.

In Sye Raas case, lack of fire extinguishers or water tankers could have contributed to the mishap or rather advanced damage to the set.

According to Fire Department officials, film sets are torched by the production houses themselves, after completion of the shooting, to avoid costs of labour in dismantling the elaborate sets.

ALSO READ: Fire at Chiranjeevi's farmhouse as film sets of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy damaged

It would be recorded in official books as rubbish fire, the one that was caused to abandoned property due to unknown reasons, they said.

Like the massive Rs 3 crore movie set of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, several film sets are temporarily constructed by hundreds of labourers, under the guidance of an art director. From intricate details of how the set should be shaped to its sheer size, every aspect of a set requires artistry of several skilled persons.

But to take them down, a sizable workforce is required which is not usually employed by film production houses.

There are many film sets that are burnt by one of the persons involved in the production as they do not want to incur costs of deploying labour and dismantle or take them down in a safe manner, informed an official involved in the investigation.

A lot of film sets are erected in secluded places of the city or on large open areas as it is easy to burn the sets down without getting the attention of the public. In most cases, police complaints are not filed, said a fire services personnel.
Mumbai: A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".
Dantewada: Three Naxals were on Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

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Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.
Imphal: In what is being linked to severe cyclonic storm Fani, which unlashed mayhem in Odisha claiming at least 10 lives, the divers from Indian Navy have recovered bodies of two missing person from Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal.

According to news agency ANI, at least three members of a family went missing in the Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal following which the Navy divers were called in to locate their bodies.

As per new agency AN, the Navy divers had recovered the bodies of 21-year-old S Romen and 19-year-old N Rani on Friday, while the body of his elder sibling, 35-year-old S Rajiv was found on Thursday.

Manipur: Indian Navy Diving Team recovered bodies of 2 persons from Imphal River on May 3. 3 members of a family were reported missing at Mapithel Dam Reservoir; one body was recovered on May 2. Team will now be deployed in rescue&relief ops in West Bengal in wake of #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/cvQsEVwXg3  ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

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The three bodies will now be handed over to the Imphal district officials.

The team of Navy divers will be airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and it would be redeployed in the ongoing rescue operations in West Bengal.

It may be noted that Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummelled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday.

Though the cyclonic storm killed at least 10 people in separate incidents, it failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.

Ahead of Fani making a landfall in Odisha, millions of people from the coastal areas wee evacuated and moved to safer higher grounds.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight and is now moving towards North-East.
New Delhi: In a demarche sent to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India has asked Pakistan to beef up the security of its High Commission and its diplomats in Islamabad.

The move comes after a recent incident in which two Indian diplomats were harassed in Pakistan and also because of the attacks in Sri Lanka, in which Indian High Commission was said to be a target.

Two Indian diplomats were locked in a room in Gurudwara Sacha Sauda Sahib in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura in April. They were asked not to visit the gurudwara and were dealt aggressively by the Pakistani security agencies.

Last year in November, Indian diplomats were stopped in the same gurudwara by Gopal Chawla, a close aide of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

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During both the instances, the Indian diplomats were present to do consular duties for the Indian pilgrims visiting the gurudwara.

Since December, the Indian diplomats have been facing a number of problems at the place and have also been stopped and questioned or chased by Pakistan security agencies.

It may be recalled here that several incidents of Indian diplomats being harassed in Pakistan have been reported in the recent past, with India asking Pakistan to investigate the matter.

In March, India wrote twice to Pakistan saying that its agencies are continuing to harass and tail Indian diplomats in Islamabad. In the notes, India also mentioned that incidents of harassment of family members are against the Vienna Convention.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka nine suicide carried out a series of dastardly attacks that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.
Kharagpur: Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, reached Bangladesh on Saturday several hours after it unleashed a trail of massive destruction claiming at least 10 lives in Odisha from where it entered West Bengal late on Friday.

The severe cyclonic storm, which battered Odisha claiming at least 10 lives and unleashed a trail of destruction on its way, made landfall in West Bengal late on Friday. The cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm as it crossed Kharagpur and moved towards the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

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Here are the live updates about Cyclone Fani:-

-Navy launches massive rescue and rehabilitation effort after Cyclone Fani batters Odisha. Tap to read

-CycloneFani has damaged 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar affecting 30 lakh consumers; electricity supply will be restored in 25% area of the Capital city today, says State Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma.

-Indian Railways to run special trains to help passengers. Tap to read

-Four more persons dead in Jajpur due to Cyclone Fani, death toll reaches 15

-No more threat to West Bengal from Cyclone Fani as it has now reached Bangladesh.

-One more dead in Odisha's Bhadrak and one in Jajpur. The total count now stands at 12.

-IMD update: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.

IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- PM Narendra Modi speaks to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, assures full support from Centre. Tap to read.

PM Modi: Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to #CycloneFani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by cyclone in different parts (file pic) pic.twitter.com/8jnAs6XJe3  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-One more dead in Jaleswar. The death toll due to Cyclone Fani rises to 10.

-Death toll due to Cyclone Fani in Odisha: Kendrapara (Rajnagar) - 2, Puri (Sakhigopal) - 2, Nayagarh (Dashapalla) - 1, Mayurbhanj - 2, Jajpur- 2.

-The road network in several districts suffered extensive damage. The power distribution network and the telecom network has also been severely affected.

-Heavy to very heavy rains lashing the coastal districts since Thursday night.

-Thousands of trees and electricity poles have been uprooted under the impact of the cyclonic storm that made landfall in Puri, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur.

-Several trees have been uprooted in parts of West Bengal after Cyclone Fani entered the state late on Friday.

West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/xMg1mdpNdn  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopter deployed off Odisha Coast continue to look for marooned fishing boats at sea if any, Haldia dock operational as of now

-Post-Cyclone Fani, flight operations resume at Bhubaneswar airport

-Navy divers recover bodies of two missing persons from Mapithel Dam Reservoir. Tap to read

-Cyclone Fani triggers heavy rains in Kolkata.

Rain lashes Kolkata as #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/sP8ktKn2rR  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- Here are some visuals of the destruction unleashed by Cyclone Fani in Digha, West Bengal.

Digha, West Bengal: #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/5T90cjVvTu  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

-The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday.

-"It is likely to continue further in the north, northeast direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

--"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 AM through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told IANS.

-On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.

-A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

-Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

-The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

-In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

-It claimed at least 10 lives and left over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

-Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon.

-Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.
Bhubaneswar: The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) Under Graduate (UG) 2019 exam has been postponed in Odisha following the havoc unleashed by Cyclone Fani. The exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5. New dates will be announced soon.

The state government had requested to postpone the medical entrance test to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of the Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years.

"NEET exam scheduled for 5th May in Odisha postponed as per the request of State Govt working on relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of Fani Cyclone. Revised dates for the exam in Odisha will be announced soon," R. Subrahmanyam, Higher Education Secretary told news agency ANI.

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The National Students` Union of India (NSUI) had also written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, requesting to postpone the exam in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone `Fani` in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," wrote NSUI Goa president Ahraz Mulla in the letter, reports ANI.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry announced the cancellation of Bhubaneswar as a centre for the AIIMS PG 2019 examination, which was also scheduled for May 5, Sunday. "It is hereby notified that in view of the effects of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the AIIMS PG Entrance Examination for July 2019 session scheduled at iON Digital Zone, iDZ2 Patia, Koustuv Technical Campus, KISD/CEB, Plot No. 2, Sector-B, Near, Chandrasekharpur Police Station Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, PIN CODE: 751024 (Centre No.-OD0301) on Sunday, the 5th May, 2019 from 09:00 am to 12:00 Noon has been rescheduled till further orders," said a notice on the AIIMS website.

The death toll in Cyclone Fani reached 15 by Saturday afternoon. After leaving a trail of destruction in Odisha and West Bengal, the weakened cyclonic storm reached Bangladesh on Saturday.

"A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to pause crackdowns and search operations in the state during the ensuing Ramadan, as reported by news agency ANI. During Ramadan, the Muslims fast and pray for the entire month.

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Speaking to reporters, Mufti said that people in Jammu and Kashmir should be able to spend the one month in relief.

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the govt of India that just like there was a ceasefire during Ramadan last year, crackdowns, search operations should be stopped, so that people of J&K spend at least this one month in relief," said Mufti.

She also appealed to the terrorists to refrain from making any attacks during the period. "I would also like to appeal to the terrorists that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," said the PDP chief.
Out of the 51 constituencies across 7 states going to vote in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election on May 6, Amethi is perhaps the most talked about and high-profile seat. Amethi and Raebareli are the only two seats in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are locked in a direct fight.

Both the seats have been Congress strongholds for several Lok Sabha elections. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will contest for the fourth time from Amethi against BJP leader Smriti Irani while UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will be contesting from the Raebareli seat.

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However, the wind in Amethi this election is not blowing all the way towards the Congress chief and even he seems to have guessed it now.

Despite losing to Rahul in 2014 by a huge margin in Amethi, Irani has been very active for the last five years in the constituency thus making this election a tough battle for the Congress chief.

While Rahul toured the entire nation ignoring his constituency, Irani snatched the opportunity and introduced several welfare schemes for the people in the area. In several Amethi villages, Irani claims to have constructed toilets, homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) and made solar lights available to the people.

Irani has also tried to make a dent in the traditional Congress vote bank. Generally, the votes of the Brahmins are cast for the Gandhi family but this election the mood of the community is not so clear.

The electoral mood in Amethi speaks volumes about Rahul's decision to contest from Kerala's Wayanad seat. In the last 15 days, Zee News travelled to the interiors of villages in Amethi and the people have questions on their mind asking if Rahul is indeed losing from Amethi. The decision of Rahul to contest from Wayanad seems to have put the Congress on the back foot in Amethi.

The people ask if they had not given enough love to him or if his trust no longer lies in the people and so he is running to Wayanad. On the other hand, 'Modi magic' seems to be gripping Amethi thus helping Irani mount a stronger challenge in the seat.

However, one also has to consider the strongest point of Rahul which is that he is a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family. The ambience in Amethi also has love and respect for the Gandhi family.

After speaking to the people the important aspect that they highlighted is "if our ancestors voted for them, then why should we not go with Rahul Gandhi?" They opine that Amethi is known only because of the Gandhi family. This indicates that the traditional vote bank of the Congress still stands strong with Rahul Gandhi.

In addition to this, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also held rallies in Amethi. From the booth workers to the voters, she has campaigned for her family highlighting the development works. There is still a wave of sympathy for the Gandhi family.

The strategy of both the BJP and Congress in Amethi focusses on the Gram Pradhan and Block Development Committee (BDC) members. Both the parties are trying to get the village heads on their sides.

The BJP has set up an army of its workers in Amethi, including Sanjeev Baliyan and several other ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday held a rally in Amethi campaigning for Smriti Irani.

From the Congress, Priyanka is holding the rein in Amethi. The chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states have also visited Amethi.

Only May 23 will reveal if Amethi stays with Rahul Gandhi or Smriti Irani will have the last laugh.
New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde" slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"

"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition," Shah said.

He said for 70 years, the people of the country had been waiting for a prime minister who could deal with issue of terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"Forty of our soldiers were killed in Pulwama. The entire county was angry. Pakistan also rushed troops, tanks and cannons to the border anticipating another surgical strike, but Modi asked the air force to scramble its jets this time," he said.

Our fighter aircraft entered Pakistan, dropped bombs (on terror camp) in Balakot, blew terrorists to smithereens and came back.

"A wave of rapturous delight swept the entire country but a pall of gloom descended on Pakistan and the offices of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi," he said.

"Kejriwal and Gandhi were worried about their vote bank but the Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they fire a bullet at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Gandhi and Kejriwal to make their stand clear on National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for a separate prime minister for Kashmir.

"I have been asking them for 22 days if there should be a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir. They're mum because they think their voters will desert them," he said.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one takes it away from India till the BJP is there," the party chief said.

He appealed to the electors to vote for Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, and Hans Raj Hans, its Northwest Delhi nominee, so that the party can "return to power and remove Article 370".

Delhi, which has seven Lok Sabha seats, goes to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
By IANS

TOKYO: Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.
New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his alleged link to a defence firm that got offset contract when the UPA was in power and asked the opposition party to respond to what it said is a very serious charge.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cited a media report and gave more information that he said he had found out to take a swipe at Gandhi, saying it is story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and is now aspiring to be prime minister.

Rejecting the charge, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it is an allegation that needs to be proved.

Jaitley told a press conference that Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd. Registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an "influence for cash" company, Jaitley alleged, adding that Mcknight was married to a Congress leader's daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhi's "social gang".

Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan.

In 2009 Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, he said.

Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an Indian Navy deal to build submarines, he said.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Jaitley asked, "The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract."

In an apparent reference to Gandhi's constant attack on the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said he himself is a "beneficiary" of an offset contract.

"What was his (Rahul) own role? Did he want to start off as a defence dealer. It is a very serious subject and we will want top Congress leadership to respond at the earliest," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress president, he wondered if it would have been better had he remain in the defence business and not joined politics.

Seeking a response from Gandhi, Jaitley said the right to silence belongs to accused in criminal cases not to political leaders, especially those aspiring to be prime minister.
JAIPUR: Hitting out at Congress and its leadership, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi claimed that the grand old party just wants a Prime Minister on contract.

Congress wants a contract Prime Minister while we and the country want a perfect Prime Minister, said the senior BJP leader at a public meeting at Jaipur BJP office on Saturday.

Rahul Gandhi has become very desperate. He can see his defeat very clearly, he added.

Taking shots at the Opposition alliance, the Minister of Minority Affairs said, Even before Congress' Mahagathbandhan has expired even before it could be formed.

Naqvi was campaigning for Ramcharan Bohra, the BJP candidate from Jaipur.

Today addressed public meeting in favour of Shri Ramcharan Bohra, @BJP4India candidate from Jaipur. Large number of people from Jaipur and nearby areas were present. #ModiJahanVikasWahan @BJP4Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ZM7p6QcxFx  Chowkidar Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) May 4, 2019

Speaking on the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi said, PM Modi has put 'Corruption on Ventilator' and 'Development on Accelerator' in the last five years, which has made Champions of Corruption feeling suffocated in this atmosphere of honesty and transparency.

Providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice, has been a major achievement of PM Modi's government in the last five years.

No section of society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on basis of caste, religion, region or state. All sections have been provided equal opportunities of socio-economic-educational development by Narendra Modi Government, he said.

PM Modi has restored dignity and stability of the Government in last 5 years. Modi Government has proved to be a Government of Iqbal (authority), Insaaf (justice) and Imaan (integrity).
LUCKNOW: Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav said that anyone getting injured because of a bull in the state should file a case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

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If stray bulls injure anyone, then a case should be registered against Yogi Adityanath," said the former UP chief minister while speaking at a rally in Barabanki.

What FIR will the police register if the bull attacks people. Under which section will it be filed, he further questioned.

Akhilesh's comment comes days after a bull entered the SP-BSP 'gathbandhan' rally held in Kannauj on April 25.

At the time, Adityanath had said that even the bull is now unwilling to forgive the criminals



I was recently there in Kannauj where the people told me that a bull had entered the venue of `gathbandhan` rally, probably to find out which of the slaughterhouse operators were there and to treat them accordingly," he said."I prayed to the bull to keep doing his job while we take care of the ones who mistreat the poor, put roadblocks in the state`s development and have forced the youth to leave the state," he said at an election rally, reported ANI.
Lucknow: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive politics and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."\

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Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."

"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...For development to take place in real sense."

Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then."
THANE: A massive fire broke out in a high-rise building at Patlipada in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday morning.

Fire fighting operations are underway. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, said news agency ANI.

Billows of grey smoke were seen in the area.

The blaze broke out at around 5:45 AM on the third floor of a building at Rutu State, said the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

"MSEDC official, RDMC and fire brigade are sent on site with one fire engine, two rescue vehicle and one water tanker. There has been no injury or casualty and the situation is under control," a civic official told ANI.

A total of 22 residences were evacuated safely by RDMC and fire brigade official.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, who was last seen in Veere Di Wedding, will now be seen as a cop in Irrfan Khan's comeback venture 'Angrezi Medium'.

A few days ago, Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to confirm that Kareena will be a part of the film. He wrote, IT'S OFFICIAL... Kareena Kapoor Khan in #AngreziMedium... She plays a cop in the film... Stars Irrfan Khan... Directed by Homi Adajania... Produced by Dinesh Vijan... #AngreziMedium will be filmed in London this June.

However, now we hear that the actress will start shooting for the film in May. "Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative, " Mumbai Mirror quoted a report as saying. The report also stated that although Kareena has a short role in the film, she is very excited to share screen space with Irrfan for the very first time.

'Angrezi Medium', which is the sequel to 2017 hit film 'Hindi Medium', is special in many ways. The film marks Irrfan's comeback into Bollywood as the actor was on a break from the filmy scene after being diagnosed with NeuroEndocrine Tumour  a rare form of cancer.

It was in 2018 that Irrfan shared the news of his illness, leaving everybody in shock.

The actor returned to Mumbai earlier this year and the film went on floors on April 5.
London: The UK`s Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex`s scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby`s arrival.
Actress Keerthy Suresh and the team of her 20th film are going to fly to Europe very soon for the next schedule of their film.

The film is being directed by Narendra Nath, a debutant director and produced by Mahesh S Koneru of 118 fame under East Coast Productions.

The film went on floors in February and the first schedule happened in February 10, then Kerala, and now they will be flying to Europe to shoot for an extensive schedule of 45 days. Producer Mahesh took to Twitter to share the news update and wrote, #Keerthy20 Update- Major 45 day schedule will begin in Europe in a few weeks of time, (sic)

Adding to it, he revealed that a few more names from the cast list will be unveiled soon. Will reveal some big name additions to the film soon#Keerthy20 is being directed by Narendranath and produced on @EastCoastPrdns banner. (sic)

For now, the films cast comprises names like Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Bhanushree Mehra, Kamal Kamaraju and Nadhiya.

Apart from this film, the beautiful actress is also part of Nagesh Kukunoors upcoming film which is yet to go on floors and hasnt got a title till now. The pre-production work of the film is going on at a brisk mode. The cast is yet to be finalised.

It is also said that the actress is making her Bollywood debut in which she might pair up with Akshay Kumar. Her recent hit Mahanati has taken the actor to heights and very soon, the film is going to be screened at Shanghai International Film Festival. Mahanati is the biopic of late actress Savithri.
Last week, a soft-spoken and uncharacteristically serious Felix 'PewDiePie' Kjellberg  a far cry from his usual loud and brash ways  broke his silence on the Christchurch shootings and called for an end to the Subscribe to PewDiePie campaign.

In a short video, he distances himself from the horrific New Zealand attacks, the negative rhetoric and racism associated with his name.

The immensely popular and controversial YouTuber, whose channel was locked in a bitter battle with T-Series for the most subscribed channel on the video platform, seemed remorseful, hurt.

Something I learned and something and hopefully something people can understand is that when you have 90 million people riled up about something, youre bound to get a few degenerates, he explains. But then something happened that I dont think anyone would have predicted.

He goes on to explain his silence, saying, I didnt want to give the terrorist any more attention. I didnt want to make it about me.

On March 15, 2019, terrorist Brenton Tarrant opened fire and killed 51 people inside two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch. The 28-year-old Australian mercilessly shot dead people gathered for prayers inside a mosque in an otherwise peaceful locality. Before carrying out the attacks, he said on FB live stream, "Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie."

At the time, Kjellberg shared a single tweet, distancing himself from the entire episode. Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy, he tweeted.

Speaking about the incident, more than 45 days after the attacks, PewDiePie says in the video, To have my name associated with something so unspeakably vile, has affected me in more ways than Ive let show.

He also talks on the war with T-Series, says the two diss tracks against the brand was just for fun, adding that he will continue to block those videos as per Indian high court orders.
After wreaking havoc in Odisha, claiming 10 lives and unleashing massive destruction on its way, Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday. The weakened cylonic storm, downgraded to 'severe cyclonic storm', has crossed Kharagpur and is currently moving in the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour. The storm now lies close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

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"It is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards during next 12 hours and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 105 kmph by the early morning of May 4," said the India Meteorological Department in a statement.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday. No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told news agency IANS. "It is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

The most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, Cyclone Fani pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies. The death toll touched 10, with over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said. A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.
By AFP

GAZA CITY: Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

- Visit to Cairo -

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

- Eurovision looms -

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly.

Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.
New Delhi: The Afghanistan foreign ministry on Saturday summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires in Kabul, in the aftermath of April 30 and May 1 incidents, in which Pakistan forces launched an attack in Afghan territory killing four civilians.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a release, tweeted by the spokesperson Sibghatullah Ahmadi condemned Pakistani forces violating the "Afghan airspace and launching rockets".

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The Afghan government again asked Pakistan to act on terror. Afghanistan and India have repeatedly asked Pakistan to take steps against terrorism.

The statement said, "Afghanistan once again encouraged Pakistan to honestly fight these groups without distinction."

The Pakistani government has also confirmed that a summoning took place. The Pakistani forces started shelling at 9 pm local time on April 30 and according to Afghanistan media reports, targetted Sarkot, Pakha Mela and Afghan Dubai villages in Spera district in Khost Province that borders Pakistan's restive North Waziristan.

Pakistan had summoned Afghan's Charge d'Affaires on May 1 to protest about the incident. While Islamabad maintains, "terrorist" from the Afghan territory launched an attack on its forces killing three Pakistani soldiers in the incident, Kabul urged Pakistan to take immediate action against the elements on its territory and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

This is not for the first time a Pakistani diplomat has been summed this year. Afghanistan summoned Pakistan diplomats many times in the last few months after Pakistani prime minister made comments about the Afghan peace process which Kabul saw as interference.

In March, speaking at a public gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "A good government will soon be established in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has also complained to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Islamabad due to its engagement with the Taliban and attempts to subvert the Afghan peace process.
Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million (Rs 138 crore) settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million (Rs 124 crore) for the family and $2 million (Rs 13 crore) to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia`s prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defence after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by US police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Colombo: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

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Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links. "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kashmir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the national security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security". He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the Army chief added.
BANGKOK: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

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The king sat on a golden throne under a nine-tiered umbrella to receive royal regalia including a gold-enameled, diamond-tipped crown in ceremonies that mixed glittering pomp with solemn religious rites.

The monarch was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time. His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said in his first royal command.

Traditionally uttered after a king is crowned, the king`s first command serves to capture the essence of his reign. The king`s command was similar to that of his father`s. Late in the afternoon, the king was carried in a royal palanquin in a procession from the Grand Palace to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where yellow-clad Thais awaited his arrival, repeatedly chanting, "Long live the king."

After 80 Buddhist monks chanted, the king proclaimed himself the Royal Patron of Buddhism: "I will rightfully protect Buddhism forever." Later, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence in the Grand Palace where they will stay the night, as previous kings have done, ending the first of the three-day coronation ceremonies.

In his first speech earlier on Saturday to members of the royal family, the Privy Council, and top government officials, among others, the king called for national unity. "I invite everyone here and all Thai people to share my determination and work together, each according to his status and duty, with the nation`s prosperity and the people`s happiness as the ultimate goals," he said.

Military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, the speaker of the army-appointed parliament and the chairman of the Supreme Court - representing the three branches of government - also spoke to express "gratitude" to the king. Prayuth is seeking to stay on as an elected prime minister after the first elections since the military seized power five years ago. Final results of the March 24 vote will be announced after the coronation.

DIVINE MONARCH

Thai coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782. Saturday`s rituals were about transforming him into a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods.

The king received the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week. He also received and put on five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

The high-reaching crown, which weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb) symbolises the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra`s heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch`s royal burden.

King Vajiralongkorn put the crown on his head himself with the help of court officials, and adjusted it several times during the ceremony. Before the crowning ritual, he appeared dressed in white robes as he underwent a purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The country`s Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the king, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members. During the ceremonies, the king gave alms to saffron-robed, barefoot monks.

The monarch also granted Queen Suthida, a former Thai Airways flight attendant and head of his personal bodyguard regiment, her full royal title. Outside the palace walls, people in yellow polo shirts sat on roadsides, holding up portraits of the king and the national flag as 19th-century cannons fired to announce the new reign.

Yellow is the colour of Monday, the day the king was born, and the colour of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos, according to Thai culture. One onlooker, Kanjana Malaithong, told local media she had traveled since 1 a.m. from northern Thailand to witness the ceremony, shown live on big screens outside the palace. "I`m so overjoyed ... There`ll never be another chance like this, it`s a once-in-a-lifetime event," she said.

During 18 months of his reign so far, King Vajiralongkorn has moved to consolidate the authority of the monarchy, including taking more direct control of the crown`s vast wealth with the help of Thailand`s military government. Thailand ended absolute rule by its kings in 1932, but the monarchy remains highly revered as the divine symbol and protector of the country and Buddhist religion.
By AFP

LONDON: The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

ALSO READ | US lobbying against Huawei in India: CEO Jay Chen

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police. The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

READ HERE | China's Huawei sues US over federal ban on its products

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself." He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The US is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
Imagine yourself as Abraham-Louis Breguet in his workshop on Paris Quai de lHorloge at the turn of the nineteenth century. In the relentless pursuit of timekeeping precision, you are drilling microscopic holes in each tooth of the escape wheel. Tooth by tooth. Why? To trap miniscule quantities of oil for lubrication at the point of contact between the escape wheel and the lever. Next to you on the bench is the balance wheel and its spring. You have done your best to form the spring and you have bestowed upon it your groundbreaking invention of the overcoil (which you cannot possibly know at the time, will two hundred years hence still bear your name, universally called by future watchmakers a Breguet hairspring). Although this timepiece will be sold as a Garde Temps, your highest grade movement, these solutions, the drilled escape wheel and the formed spring, are not perfect. Your technological tools, the best for your era, cannot carry you to the pinnacle of perfection.

Conjuring the future, Jules Verne in 1865 may have penned the tale of a journey to the moon a century before Neil Armstrong, yet not even the wildest flights of fancy in the Quai de lHorloge atelier could have envisaged some of the solutions which technology has conferred upon todays watchmakers in Breguets Vallee de Joux manufacture. A word of caution, or better said, an important perspective on technologys role at Breguet: todays material advances are never adopted simply because they are there or for flash and advertising talking points. For Breguet there must be both a tangible benefit to the performance of the timepiece delivering value to the owner and, in addition, compatibility with the traditional practices and skills of watchmaking hand craft. Guided by these principles, Breguets movement developers, working in tandem with research scientists, have brought cutting edge materials to todays movements to achieve levels of precision and performance unimaginable in even the recent past. Bestowed upon todays movements are components utilizing silicium, titanium, liquid metal, diamond-like carbon and special alloys for the mainspring.

Breguet introduced its first timepieces incorporating silicium components in 2006 with the reference 5197. After five years of experience during which all of the performance expectations were met, Breguets CEO, Marc A. Hayek, true to the philosophy of his grandfather, Nicolas G. Hayek, reached the decision to incorporate silicium broadly throughout the collections. As of this writing, ten years after the initial introduction, there are less than a handful of legacy references which do not feature silicium springs and there are many references utilizing the material in areas in addition to the spring. It is a propitious moment to step back in order to summarize and highlight what has proven to be a revolutionary advance going to the very heart of a mechanical watch. In future issues of Le Quai de lHorloge we will spotlight other modern materials and how they, too, have enriched the art of watchmaking.

Balance wheel with silicon spring and tourbillon cage with silicon escape wheel and lever from the Marine Chronograph, Ref. 5837.  Breguet

The three key timekeeping elements of a watch are its balance wheel, including its spring, the escape wheel and the lever. It is in these fundamental components that the properties of silicium have opened up new frontiers.

Ever since Dutch mathematician Huygens developed the spring balance spring in 1675, this has been one element invariably common to all mechanical watches. Its contraction and expansion, which many describe as breathing, is central to the timing of the back and forth oscillations of the balance wheel and, thus, the running rate of the watch. In the more than three centuries following its invention, watchmakers have struggled to perfect the performance of the spring. Indeed, one of Abraham-Louis Breguets key inventions, the overcoil, was aimed at just that. By bending the outside portion of the spring upwards and over the remaining portion of the spring, Breguet was able to improve the centering of the spring around its axis and to make the spring breathe more evenly, that is to say, maintain a shape closer to the ideal of perfectly round, than was being achieved with the then existing spring shapes.

Balance wheel with its two silicon springs from the Chronometrie, Ref. 7727.  Breguet

Springs in this era of watchmaking were formed by hand, which meant there were inevitable imperfections and, even with the improvements enabled by the Breguet overcoil, performance could not be idealized. Today, however, modern spring production machines have enabled great advances over the vintage hand formed springs. Shapes can be more perfectly formed. Thickness can be more precisely controlled. However impressive those innovations, the use of silicium for the spring leapfrogs even the finest predecessors in the pursuit of precision.

Springs fashioned in silicium can be produced with essentially perfect shapes, on the order of below one micron. But that is just the beginning of what silicium makes possible. Pre-existing methods for fabricating metallic springs progressively roll the alloy until it is in the form of a fine wire, flatten it into a thin rectangular profile, and, finally, wind it into a coiled shape. With this kind of process, introducing variations along the length of the springs is not feasible. Silicium springs, on the other hand, are fabricated from wafers where material can be removed as desired. Thus, it becomes possible to engineer precise variations in thickness or coil spacing into the fabrication process. Movement designers using computer simulations can determine the exact characteristics of thickness and shape along portions of the spring that will optimize its performance in the movement. An easily visible example is found in Breguets Chronometrie. Its balance wheel is fitted with two silicium springs that not only are thicker at their outer attachment points, they have been fabricated to be essentially rigid for a portion of their lengths, thereby moving the flexible location to a predetermined ideal location.

Balance wheel, spring and balance bridge from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

One of the important considerations in the design of a watch movement is how the running rate will be affected as the watch barrel unwinds over time. The torque delivered by the barrel is, of course, at its maximum when fully wound and drops as it unwinds, as for example after 24 hours, 48 hours or more, depending on the movement. This drop can change the running rate. The term isochronism is used by watchmakers to express this aspect of performance. Silicium helps to optimize isochronism performance in two ways. First, the shape can be idealized when it is fabricated to address isochronism. Second, and a bit of a simplification to state it this way, a spring made of silicium is less affected by the dropping of torque than pre-existing metallic alloys.

Lightness is another prized property of silicium. To understand how this improves the performance of the spring, a brief tutorial on one of watchmakings challenges. In an idealized world, a mechanical watchs spring would be perfectly centered on its central axis and remain so as it breathes inward and outward. This would place its center of gravity upon the axis. Unfortunately, that idealized vision cant be attained, so that the center of gravity of the spring will inevitably be displaced somewhat from the center since, after all, it must be attached to the balance staff. This causes what watchmakers term the Grossmann effect, which is used to describe errors which result from changes in vertical position. Because the center of gravity of the spring is displaced from the center, depending upon the position of the watch, the force of gravity creates a torque which, acting upon the spring, will have an effect on the frequency of the balance wheels swing; in some positions adding to it, in others subtracting. Naturally, this changes the running rate of the watch. Because silicium is lighter than pre-existing metallic springs, this Grossmann effect is diminished.

One of the enemies of traditional metallic springs is magnetism. When exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field, there is a risk that sections of metallic springs can become magnetized. When this happens, these miniature magnets in the coils can either attract or repel each other. This changes the characteristics of the spring which, in turn, changes the running rate of the timepiece. Indeed, responding to this risk, it became common throughout the industry to equip watches, principally in the diving arena, with a soft iron inner case to shield the spring from magnetism. The drawbacks of this approach were many as it made the watches both thicker and heavier and essentially prevented incorporation of a clear case back. As it is naturally amagnetic, silicium is not subject to this risk of being magnetized and renders unnecessary older shielding methods while at the same time protecting from magnetism to an equivalent degree. As well, for Breguet there is a further benefit from the amagnetic properties of silicium, as it has enabled beneficial uses of magnets within the heart of its movements without risk to the running rate. Two examples: the Chronometrie that features magnetic pivots for the balance wheels staff and the magnetic regulator for the Musicale. Both of these inventions have been patented.

Silicon lever from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

Not to be overlooked are the effects of age on the characteristics of springs. Over time, with traditional spring ma- terials one may witness changes in stiffness which may negatively manifest itself in both the running rate and isochronism. In contrast, silicium remains stable and is not subject to metal fatigue as the watch ages.

The list of positive attributes is long and thermal compensation also merits a prominent place. It was discovered that silicium oxide coated onto the hairspring not only minimizes the effects of temperature changes to a degree, for example, well below the Swiss chronometer COSC standards, but as well allowed Breguets movement designers to tailor the compensation to match the particular characteristics of the material used for the movements balance wheel. This is important as, according to the movement, Breguet uses both Glucydur and titanium for its balance wheels which have different thermal properties.

All of these attributes represent major advances in watchmaking which has led Breguet to adopt silicium for the springs in nearly all of its movements. In certain movements, Breguet has used silicium for other components central to timekeeping. In the Type XXII, in addition to the spring, both the lever and the escape wheel are in silicium. The Type XXII was Breguets first timepiece built to run at a frequency of 10 Hz or 72,000 beats per hour. With the watchmaking norm falling between 2.5 and 4 Hz, the movement in the Type XXII broke new ground both for mechanical movements in general and chronographs in particular. Two properties of silicium recommended themselves for the lever and escape wheel: lightness and improved frictional properties (recall the painstaking drilling of holes two hundred years ago to battle friction). Lightness not only reduces the energy consumption of the movement, vital if one wants to achieve high frequencies, but, related, it also contributes to lower inertia of the components, important when they are oscillating so rapidly.

The silicon lever from the Type XXII, Ref. 3880.  Breguet

The Type XXII is not the only Breguet timepiece with silicium components beyond the balance spring. The Chronometrie has been outfitted with a silicium escape wheel whose lightened form allowed the movement to achieve its 10 Hz frequency. References 5177 and 5837 all have silicium escape wheels and levers.

It is not an overstatement to say that for movement designers, watchmakers, watch connoisseurs and, of course, every owner of a timepiece fitted with silicium components, silicium represents no less than a major advance in the art. The full range of its desirable physical properties justifies placing it amongst the ranks of the most important watchmaking innovations in history.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 59F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 51F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed Cairos support for efforts to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis in a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday.

In an official statement, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from Conte.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypts support for a political settlement in Libya under the countrys position on the unity of Libyan territory, support for its national institutions, and respect for the will of its people.

This will contribute to the return of stability and security in the Middle East, the statement added.

They also exchanged viewpoints on a number of regional issues of common interest, as well as on bilateral ties.

Conte affirmed his keenness to boost bilateral cooperation with Egypt in various fields as part of fruitful cooperation witnessed by the two countries in the past years.

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Government says all schools will open this week, including those in areas affected by Cyclone Idai.





indications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all. There are alsoindications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all.





Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education secretary Dr Tumisang Thabela told The Sunday Mail that schools had indicated readiness to open this Tuesday.





She added that some schools, especially in Chimanimani and Chipinge, affected by Cyclone Idai, were still being refurbished, but that would not prejudice learners from taking lessons as makeshift structures were being put in place.





We have not received any complaints, so far, and we are able to say that schools are ready for opening, she said.





On the issue of schools seeking an increase in fees Dr Thabela said her office had not received any applications to that effect adding that the process does not entail schools dealing direct with her office.





She, however, said she was aware that some schools had made such applications which were now being reviewed by provincial offices, as per procedure.





What I am aware of is that issues of school fees increase are still at provincial levels and we have not yet received any application, but we are aware that some schools, especially boarding, have made applications, she said.





But generally schools will open and we are working on ensuring that also those in Chimanimani and Chipinge open this week.





Indications from Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Manicaland Province, are that all schools will conduct normal lessons this week.





Repairs for damaged schools that started early last month are currently underway with a number of alternative learning spaces being created.





The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also chipped in with tents and learning materials.





To date treasury has availed $4 million towards the rehabilitation of at least 61 schools whose infrastructure was destroyed by the heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds.





Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba said efforts were being made to ensure that all schools in Manicaland open this week to avoid losing more time, particularly for examination classes.





Most of the schools that were affected are in Chimanimani and these will be opening. Chipinge and Buhera also have schools that were affected, but the damage was minimal, he said.





Repairs are in progress at various schools and in other areas where repairs have not started, tents have been provided by United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund.





We are also making sure that we have enough learning materials and teachers.





School fees review, unform prices





The Sunday Mail also understands that most school development committees had submitted applications for an upward review of school fees to the Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees (ZSDA/C).





ZSDA/C President Claudio Mutasa said there were opposed to schools charging fees in foreign currency.





We understand that most Government schools do not have foreign accounts, therefore, parents should only pay fees in the local currency or RTGS through the banks,





Meanwhile, a snap survey by The Sunday Mail in major shops selling school-wear showed that most prices were pegged in United States Dollar or the obtaining parallel market rate in bond notes or RTGS.





Latest RTGS prices in shops such Nargaji and Bays pegged a pair of trousers between $40 and $60 while a blazer was between $100 and $200, shirt ($26), jersey ($50), a pair of stocks ($10) and a tie ($25).





Informal traders were selling a blazer at $110, jersey $40, trousers $25, shirt, $25, tie $25 and a winter set of gloves, scarf and a woollen hat was pegged at $30.





Before the price increase last year second term, a pair of school shoes was priced at $16 while a satchel was pegged at $11, with a shirt and short selling for $14, dress ($15), trousers ($20) blazer ($30), hat ($6), pair of socks ($3) and a tie $5. Sunday Mail








Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High -9F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low -9F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday that a renewed state of emergency comes under the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism, nearly a week after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi extended the measure, in place since 2017, for a further three months.

In an address on Saturday to the House of Representatives to justify the renewed state of emergency, Madbouly said that implementing the state of emergency is part of supporting state institutions in completing developmental plans nationwide.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

He said that, due to such efforts, the country has achieved major steps in accomplishing the stability required for development.

According to Madbouly, the country has achieved the aspired balance between protection of freedoms and the demands of national security, to complete the armed forces' efforts in combating terrorism.

Following the premier's address, the speaker Ali Abdel-Aal has referred the government's address to the House for review, with a vote expected on the state of emergency in its evening session.

The state of emergency was implemented in April 2017 following deadly twin attacks on two churches which killed dozens. It has been renewed ever since.

Last week, El-Sisi issued a further three-month renewal, starting on 25 April.

The decision allows security forces to take [measures] necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country, read a presidential decree published in the official state gazette last week.

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Footprint From left, Ben Potter (dissertation chair), Charles Holmes (field adviser) and Gerad Smith (instructor).

A team of archaeologists with the University of Alaska has discovered a footprint at a site in the Interior, providing evidence of prehistoric family life in the area.

This is the only human footprint that has been found in the North American subarctic anywhere, said Gerad Smith, a doctoral candidate working at the site, and that includes Canada also.

Smith and the other researchers recently published the finding in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

He is the instructor of record at Swan Point, an archaeological site near Big Delta. Reaching the area requires passing through a bog, but once there, he said, its a wide space from which the Alaska Range is visible to the south.

Smith has been working at Swan Point for a few years in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Anchorage.

Swan Point was discovered by Charles Holmes, an affiliate research professor with UAF, in the early 1990s. Initially, he and the students who discovered it found lithic artifacts, or stone tools, indicating human activity.

The site has a very long record of human activity there starting 14,000 years ago, Holmes said. So we can see a lot of the environmental changes that took place over that time. And we can see how the people changed their toolkit in adapting to the changes.

Smith has noticed that finding the footprint seems to get a different response than when they discover tools or bone scraps.

Theres something kind of cool about footprints that strikes us in a very personal way, he said.

In 2005, according to Smith, three surface features in the area were tested to see if it had a cultural origin, and it looked like it might have been an ancient house.

Smith first came to Swan Point in 2012, when Holmes was looking for graduate students to help with work in the area.

We planned out and organized a return in 2017 and 2018 to excavate that site, he said.

Discovery

The footprint was discovered in 2017 by a UAA student, Steve Schoenhair, by carefully plotting out the area with the house and digging through the layers of sediment.

When they initially saw it, Smith said he knew we were really going to have to work hard to prove it was a human footprint.

Holmes, who was at the site upon the discovery, agreed.

I think its very interesting, he said. At the time I was a bit skeptical on how we were going to really show that it was a real human footprint.

However, given the measurements Smith took, Holmes said people believe the footprint is that of a human.

Using carbon dating, Smith and the team concluded the footprint was left around 1,840 years ago. By measuring the ball of the foot, then comparing it to the length, they were able to create a biological profile of the walker, who they believe would have been a pre-teen child.

Statistically speaking, when footprints are this small, they tend to match children that are about 8 to 11 years old, Smith said.

Smith said he also conducted a comprehensive literature review to confirm this is the only print that has been found thus far in the North American subarctic. The metrics of the print, according to Smith, match tracks left in Jaguar Caves, Tennessee, where prehistoric adolescents are also believed to have visited.

The data gathered on the print has allowed the team to date it and determine the approximate age of the person who left it, although some things remain a mystery.

I always wonder why theres just one of something, Holmes said, laughing. One single footprint, OK. Theres a story behind that, I suppose.

The team was able to create a model of the footprint using a process known as photogrammetry. Using multiple pictures taken around the entirety of the print, Ted Parsons, a graduate student with UAA, was able to make a digital model. Smith also plastered the print to create a cast of it.

The big picture

The whole excavation is part of a large project in the Shaw Creek area, looking at how humans in prehistoric times adapted to the environment and, vice versa, how human presence impacted the environment.

What were doing now is weve been working on a long-term project looking at a particular region around the Shaw Creek area, and this is where Swan Point is located, Holmes said.

Joshua Reuther, curator of archaeology at the UAF Museum of the North, has been working with Holmes and the other archaeologists on the project. Reuther initially worked in the area under Holmes as a geology student. Now he is a co-principal investigator.

My role has always been trying to establish what the environment was like and the landscape was like over that 14,000 years that humans have been out there using plant and animal resources, Reuther said.

He explained some of the research in Swan Point has involved taking lake cores, examining the sediment in the area and some other geological work determining what the landscape looked like at different times.

One interesting aspect of the changing environment Reuther notes is the change in staple foods. Moose and salmon, for example, are considered staple Interior foods, he said, but going back a few thousand years bison and elk would have been abundant in the area.

The presence of these animals, Reuther noted, can explain the human presence.

So if you think about an archaeology site you can have several periods where people occupy the same landform, he said. And they can be doing the same thing like just hunting, or they could be hunting and camping or they could set up a home there.

The prehistoric home with the footprint inside of it is just one part of the whole area, which continues to be explored and excavated.

Smith was able to remove the footprint from the site and preserve it. It is in Anchorage but will be brought back to the Interior.

Eventually, when we are done with this project, it will be curated at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, he said.

Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7572.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is considering an initial public offering of its $100 billion Vision Fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The fund was set up in 2017 and has become the world's largest technology investment fund. Its investments include ride-hailing pioneer Uber, chip designer ARM and shared workspace firm WeWork.

The company has publicly stated it plans to set up a second investment fund. The senior banking source said SoftBank was now talking to banks about helping it raise money, confirming an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

SoftBank has spoken to half a dozen banks over the last month about a potential listing of the Vision Fund but has yet to start a formal process, the source said, adding he was not expecting such a process in the near term.

SoftBank is also in talks with Oman for an investment in the fund, which has raised nearly all of its funding so far from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, according to the WSJ report.
The government is considering granting amnesty to criminals in honor of new Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October, sources close to the matter said Friday.

If realized, it will be the country's first pardon since 1993, when then Crown Prince Naruhito married Crown Princess Masako. But only a certain number of petty offenders may be given the pardon, as the government is concerned that a large-scale amnesty can trigger criticism from the public, including crime victims.

Amnesty has usually been granted upon national events as well as celebrations and funerals regarding the imperial family. After Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died in 1989, more than 10 million people were given amnesty. The enthronement of former Emperor Akihito in 1990 led to pardons of some 2.5 million.

The government did not issue pardons in the wake of Emperor Akihito's abdication on Tuesday, the first by a Japanese monarch in 202 years.
Related Egyptian court sentences Salafist figure Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to 5 years in prison

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a five-year prison sentence former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is serving for organising a violent rally at a Cairo court in 2012.

The court also upheld the five-year terms of five other defendants convicted in the case, rejecting the appeal presented by them and the Salafist leader.

In 2017, a Cairo court sentenced Abu Ismail and others to prison terms following convictions for inciting the besieging of a Nasr City court in December 2012, the use of violence against prosecutors, and preventing state employees from carrying out their duties.

The events took place when Abu Ismail, a popular figure among Salafists, marshalled his supporters to surround a court where some of his followers were being tried.

He is currently serving a seven-year term, which was upheld in 2014, for forging the documents he submitted to run as a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

The once-popular TV preacher and prominent supporter of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was convicted of forging documents to conceal his late mother's US citizenship, an action that led to him being disqualified from the race.

He has also been given two separate one-year jail terms for insulting the judiciary and contempt of court, offences which occurred during his trials.

Authorities arrested Abu Ismail days after the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

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The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning...

The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning state funds in his last days in office through an alleged contract spree to his friends and family members.





Akeem Olatunji, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, made the accusation in an interview with the New Telegraph.





He also corroborated the allegation of Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor-elect, that Ajimobi has awarded a N30billion contract to create hiccups for the incoming administration





He said: We dont make allegations when there are no evidence. In actual fact, we know that government is a continuum and we are not trying to stampede the incumbent government. Nevertheless, due process has to be followed in whatever is done. For the governor to just wake up one day and start to dash out contracts to cronies, is more or less a way of syphoning the funds of the state. About 33 excavators were recently bought with almost N10bn for local governments.





Aside from this, a situation whereby within two months, more than N50billion projects were awarded by the government calls for worry. Has the government completed the projects on ground? When workers and retirees are being owed, where did they get the funds to execute those projects? If it were an ongoing project that funds were released for, no one will suspect any foul play.




Egypts parliament on Saturday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency, in place for two years, for a further three months.

The House of Representatives held an extraordinary session on Saturday to discuss President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decree (208/2019) last week to extend the state of emergency, beginning on 25 April and concluding on 24 July.

The parliament vote was preceded by an address made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who said that the renewal was part of the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism.

The vote on the decree was passed by a comfortable majority.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.

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The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his fai...





The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his failing health.





There were reports that President Buhari is undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom and may not return to the country today as was originally planned.

Reacting to the report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a chat with Punch, said the claim was totally rubbish, absolutely shameful and disgraceful.




The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within t...

The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within the ruling All Progressives Congress and governors elected on its platform.









Recall that the president will be officially sworn-in for a second term on May 29.









It was gathered that President Buhari deliberately kept members of his kitchen cabinet, close associates and outgoing ministers in suspense with regard to those who will be in his new team.









The President has opted to go solo in choosing the new set of ministers. Some members of his inner power circle, popularly called The Cabal, who went to London during the week to see him, were denied access on the basis of Buharis strict instructions. Only a minister (name withheld) was allowed to meet with the President in London. It was, however, not clear whether the minister took some documents to him.

At press time, the President had not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party. Many of the outgoing ministers have been running to the governors of their states, asking that some words be put in for their return to the cabinet. The President himself was said to have expressed surprise at the high number of names dropped in some states for ministerial slots.





According to findings, the President has adopted a tough approach to the formation of his cabinet unlike in 2015 when some members of his kitchen cabinet hijacked the privilege of assisting him to source for good hands to impose their friends/allies on him. It was learnt that all those who wanted to influence appointments into the cabinet were shut out in London. A top source said: It seems Buhari has realised that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.









Even those who should know have been fenced off. His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London. Those who went to London came back empty handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).









We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.









Investigation also revealed that the President has not demanded any ministerial nomination list either from the APC or the governors in the ruling party. A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015? He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.









Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us. Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.









I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President. We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended. The section reads: There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.









Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.









Meanwhile, the presidency last night dismissed the rumour of possible extension of the Presidents 10-day vacation on health grounds. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, simply said: This story on the Presidents return is absolutely shameful and disgraceful. Disgusting.
Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x w...





Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x workers by some policemen.





In April, a joint task force raided Caramelo, a popular strip club, in the nations capital, and arrested some strippers.





The task force also arrested suspected sex workers in different parts of Abuja. Some of those arrested were allegedly raped by police officers.





In response to the allegation, the FCT police command said it had set up a high power team to probe the allegations.





But the protesters stormed the command on Saturday, demanding that the culprits be punished publicly.





They also held placards which read Sex for bail is rape, To be a woman is not a crime, You should protect us not harm us, among others.





The protesters

Addressing reporters in front of the command, Rebecca Umar, leader of the protest, said police are supposed to defend women and not rape them.





We are here to tell the police that you. The police is supposed to be our friend. We are women, we should be free to wear whatever we want to wear without being arrested, Umar said.





It is not a crime to be a woman. We will not be silent, we are here because of the recent happenings at Utako (Caramelo) and other places.





The police is supposed to defend us, not rape us.





Also speaking, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, said it is the right of a woman to dress the way she wants.





I have the right to wear a hijab and another has the right for mini and not wear anything. It is our fundamental human rights, you do not a right to label a woman a prostitute because of the way she is dressed, Yesufu said.





The Nigerian police, you are all out here with your guns, why are you not on Abuja-Kaduna road?





S. Umar, deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations, FCT command, assured the protesters that the officers found wanting will be punished.




The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constitu...

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constituting his next cabinet.





Afeniferes spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, in a chat on Saturday, said Buharis next ministers should be picked on the basis of what they can deliver.





He stated that Buharis next set of ministers should be those who understand the situation of Nigeria.





According to Odumakin: Really, I cant tell the type of men or women Buhari should pick on his next cabinet but those to be picked should be about what contributions and agenda they want to implement as ministers.





If we are still down with this Miyetti Allah and cattle route thing and you pick the best of Havard and Oxford, we are going nowhere.





Unless we are ready to start afresh to put Nigeria on the path of development and productivity and if the country is still about Miyetti Allah and cattle routes, no matter who you pick, the country will go under.





Odumakin also pointed out how to resolve the issue of insecurity across the country.





He said: We cant dissolve this issue of insecurity by this fire fighting brigade approach we are doing now. Where the president is in London on a private visit the IGP is running up and down, in Birnin Kebbi today and before he gets to Kaduna he has forgotten what happened in Birnin Kebbi. With all these, we are going nowhere.





There is no way you can police Nigeria from Abuja and still get results. First of all, you must delegate power, allow every part of the country to police their land, crime is cultural.





You cant pick a policeman in Oyo State now to go and fight bandits in Zamfara even if he sits among bandits he may not understand what they are saying, he does not know the route around in the area as such effect police should be at the state units.





Secondly, we must go back to productivity, who ever knew there was a large deposit of gold in Zamfara State that they are fighting over now. We must make every part of Nigeria a reproductive centre, move away from oil and gas. When this is done millions of young people will go back to work.




Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, ...

Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, Alph Lukau and Prophet Bushiri were his children in the spiritual realm.





Obinim said the acclaimed men of God were not his equals when it comes to spiritual affairs.





I respect Pastor Chris, TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, and the other prophets but in terms of the Spiritual aspect, they are my children.





They are my children. Go and ask them, they know me spiritually. Talking about spiritual ways, they know me.





Benny Hinn is a healer, he can heal you; Benny Hinn is a preacher, he can preach, and deliver you but in terms of spiritual ways, hes nowhere close to me.





He went on to explain that when he places a curse on someone, no one can lift it.





He said TB Joshua or Benny Hinn cannot reverse a curse he has placed because they are nothing compared to him.





He said he can attest to TB Joshuas teaching, prophetic and healing prowess, however, when it comes to spiritual affairs, the Nigerian prophet is a toddler.





Obinim disclosed that he is capable of doing anything including orchestrating a car accident that can terminate the life of his enemy.




Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-hu...





Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat. Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat.





In her reaction, Tonto Dikeh took to her Instagram page to condemn the Chairmans threat, calling him a stupid fool.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA #THANKS

According to her: I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga .If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA



Tontos Dikehs utterances. Chairman of the AGN BoT, Prince Ifeanyi Dikeh in an interview condemnedTontos Dikehs utterances.





According to him: Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.





Issues like that are private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions does not speak well of the industry.









We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.









Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.





Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.




The speaker of Egypts parliament Ali Abdel-Aal held a meeting with the head of the World Bank Group David Malpass in Cairo on Saturday.

"The speaker praised the current distinguished relationship between Egypt and the World Bank, and the efforts of Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr for its role in pushing cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank to a very prestigious level," said a statement from Abdel-Aals office.

The statement said the speaker had gave Malpass an overview of the performance of Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  in terms of its make-up and roles.

"The House comprises 596 MPs representing different political forces, not to mention that it includes the biggest number of female deputies (90 women) and Copts (39 MPs) and nine representing the physically challenged and expatriates," said the speaker, adding that "parliament began its first legislative season on 10 January 2016, and following the two revolutions of 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013."

"This parliament came at a very critical stage of Egypt's history, shouldering the burden of issuing new laws translating economic and fiscal reforms into facts on the ground, a fact which led to a marked improvement in economic growth rates," said Abdel-Aal.

Abdel-Aal also spoke about the economic reform laws that have been passed since 2016.

"We cooperated with the government to issue laws on investment, bankruptcy procedures, bidding and tender procedures, the stock market, and legislation on companies and the one-person company," he said, arguing that "all of these laws send a very positive message to foreign investors, encouraging them to inject more investments into the local market."

"These laws help secure high levels of transparency, abolish all forms of discrimination in the labour market, give priority to micro and small-scale enterprises, and help young people tap the market and set up their own projects."

Abdel-Aal indicated that parliament is currently working on laws that aim to achieve "financial inclusion" and is keen that all of these laws observe social dimensions.

Malpass, who took over as president of the World Bank Group on 5 April and is on a two-day visit to Egypt, said that the two laws issued in Egypt on investment and regulating industrial licences are the most important investment-friendly laws passed in recent years.

"Egypt decided to meet the challenge of modernising its economy, and as a result the World Bank will be always keen to support projects in Egypt," said Malpass according to the statement, adding that "Egypt has a lot of good opportunities in the coming period to achieve success in the area of digital economy."

"In addition to promising opportunities here in the two areas of industry and agriculture, we are also working to upgrade education in Egypt," said Malpass, praising the policy of encouraging a number of high-profile international universities to set up branches in Egypt.

He also praised the Investor Service Center at the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation which he visited earlier on Saturday, which aims to facilitate the setting up of companies and projects in the country.

Malpass also stressed the importance of transparency and good governance in attracting investment to Egypt.

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Egypt is following with deep concern Turkeys announced intention to start drilling operations in Cyprus exclusive economic zone, off its western coast, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement warned that any unilateral action would have implications for security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. It also stressed that any action by countries in the region must abide by international law and its provisions.

The 2013 maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Cyprus, their coordination and closeness have raised concerns in Turkey in recent years, in light of Ankaras tense relations with both Cairo and Nicosia.

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Hong Kong: HK economy at a crossroads

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said Hong Kongs economy is at a crossroads and the Government will spare no effort to reinforce the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme today, Mr Yau said the first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.5% year-on-year suggested there are a lot of uncertainties ahead.

I think the first quarter figures revealed that we are at the crossroad, i.e. while sentiment towards the general economic situation has slightly improved with easing of tension between the US and China over the trade dispute, export figures remain negative, we are still in the negative trend.

He said economic performance depends on whether the Mainland and the US will come to an agreement on the trade dispute.

Even if there is an agreement, whether that would bring a sharp return of economic performance would depend on (handling of) tariffs and on whether more fundamental issues between China and the US are being resolved by further trade negotiations or agreements.

Hong Kong is currently suffering from the impact of the trade dispute, but it is also carefully looking at the way forward, Mr Yau said.

For Hong Kong in particular, I think there should be no sparing of efforts in reaching out and going out and reinforcing the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

On tourism, Mr Yau said visitor arrivals might impact the livelihood of the community.

There is room for Hong Kong to improve its capacity for receiving tourists, he added.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, without identifying the assailants.

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A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Imad Naseer, 22, was killed by a strike in northern Gaza, the ministry said, without saying if he was affiliated to any militant group.

Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Saturday, with the army retaliating with air strikes and tank fire.

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Islamic State militants and Chadian opposition fighters were responsible for an attack on the forces of eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in the southern Libyan city of Sebha, a military source said on Saturday.

Eight soldiers were killed earlier on Saturday in the attack on a training camp in Sebha, the head of the local municipality said.

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Ashton Kutcher is expected to testify against Michael Gargiulo  the alleged "Hollywood Ripper" serial killer who is currently on trial for the 2001 murder of Kutcher's then-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Kutcher is one of nearly 250 potential witnesses for a case against Gargiulo, which is related to an alleged, 15-year-long killing spree that left two California women and an Illinois teenager dead. According to CNN, Gargiulo was finally apprehended in 2008 after he accidentally cut himself during an alleged attack against a fourth victim, Michelle Murphy.

However, Kutcher's testimony will reportedly be related to the death of 22-year-old fashion student and stripper Ashley Ellerin, whose body was found by a friend the day after Kutcher stopped by her Hollywood Hills home to pick her up a Grammys afterparty. LA Weekly notes that Kutcher's testimony will help establish the time of Ellerin's murder, as she apparently never answered the door when he came by. Kutcher also allegedly spotted what he assumed was spilled red wine on her carpet when he peeked through her back window.

Gargiulo reportedly worked as an air-conditioning repairman who lived next door to each of his purported victims. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder in California court, though he faces a separate charge in Illinois for the third alleged murder.

Read all the details, here.
Famed British designer Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with the cult shoe brand, Buffalo London, to create two new shoes with platforms standing miles above cool. Combining iconic aspects of both labels in the hybridized styles, the shoes reimagine brand history like the first Classics platform sneaker released in 1995, and its subsequent Hightower Platform, that's now merged with Westwood's Pirate boot to create the Pirate Boot Platform. The boot comes over the knee in soft leather printed in red and black, then fastens to the top with tan buckled straps.

Debuting in the Fall 1981 Vivienne Westwood show, the Pirate Boot was part of an entirely unisex collection with the alternative, layered ragamuffin look of pirates dressed in swashbuckling clothes. The look has endured throughout the years and is now back for a remix with Buffalo London's timely collaboration.

The other style in the latest drop is The Connected Sandal Platform, which is pale tan leather and with ankles straps on a black platform inspired by Westwood's original Everything is Connected Sandal from the spring 2014 collection.

Get into the shoes that are stacking up on style in the new campaign, shot by Jurgen Teller.
The NPP Communication Director, the Honourable Yaw Buaben Asamoah, is absolutely right for calling on the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu to keep Ghanaians updated on the progress of the corruption fight.



The appointment of Mr Martin Amidu to the position of the Special Prosecutor with a mandate of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from greedy and corrupt public officials, is, arguably, the most important appointment by President Akufo-Addo so far.



Ghana, so to speak, has been losing billions of dollars since the adoption of the Fourth Republican Constitution to the remorseless nation wreckers who take delight in swindling the state to the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians, and yet the methods employed by the successive governments in fighting the apparent canker have been extremely disappointing.



Despite the pernicious effects of corruption, the successive governments and their Attorney Generals have woefully failed to cooperate with other interested stakeholders to investigate, prosecute and retrieve the stolen monies from the stubbornly impenitent nation wreckers.



It is for this reason that some of us are most grateful to President Akufo-Addo for showing seriousness and commitment towards the fight against corruption by establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor with the responsibility of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from the corrupt public officials.



Notwithstanding the seeming inaction for well over a year now, some of us are of the firm conviction that the introduction of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is a pragmatic way of tackling the rampant bribery and corruption cases head-on.



Indeed, it would be somewhat refreshing if the justice system descends heavily not only on the goat, cassava and plantain thieves but as well as the hardened criminals who hide behind narrow political colourations.



It was against such backdrop that some of us were extremely livid over the vineyard news which spiralled through the airwaves some time ago that Mr Amidu had not been resourced adequately by the government and therefore planning to quit the job.



But lo and behold, the Finance Minister announced in his 2019 budget presentation that President Akufo-Addo has decided to give a staggering GH180 million to Martin Amidu to fight the canker of corruption.



I have always insisted that despite the widely held notion that Ghanaian politics is full of inveterate propagandists and manipulating geezers, we have many selfless, morally upright and forward-thinking politicians like Mr Martin Amidu in our midst.



In fact, I hold a firm conviction that a fantastically corrupt public official is no less a human rights abuser than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.



This is because while the enigmatic Adolf Hitler went into a conniption-fit and barbarically exterminated innocent people with mephitic chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on suffocating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.



Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up facing untold economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early graves.



In Ghana, it would appear that political criminals have the licence to steal.



Dearest reader, if that was not the case, how come the offending politicians and their accomplices often go scot free?



Elsewhere, though, the laws and regulations are strictly enforced, and as such, the vast majority of the citizens and denizens prefer the observance to the stringent fines and the harsh punishments.



Corruption, as a matter of fact, impedes economic development by distorting markets and collapsing private sector integrity.



Corruption also strikes at the heart of democracy by corroding rule of law, democratic institutions and public trust in leaders. For the poor, women and minorities, corruption means even less access to jobs, justice or any fair and equal opportunity (UNDP 2016).



There is no denying the fact that the revoltingly cyclical corrupt practices amongst the political elites have resulted in underdevelopment, excessive public spending, less efficient tax system, needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities.



The fact though, remains that Ghanas transgressed and incompliant politicians and other public officials often get away with murder.



If the wanton bribery and corruption, dubious judgment debt payments, stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation?



The all-important question discerning Ghanaians should be asking is: will the day come when Ghanas political criminals find they have nowhere to hide?



We should, therefore, not expect Mr Martin Amidu to dampen our excitement by leniently asking the suspects to return their loots without the essential prosecutions.



Obviously, the benign and somewhat lenient approach would not circumscribe the widespread sleazes and corruption which have been retrogressing Ghanas advancement thus far.



How on earth would individuals turn away from their crimes if the only available punishment for stealing the public funds is a mere plea to return the loot?



Let us be honest, much as the paradox of exposure is somewhat relevant in the fight against the canker of corruption, it is not an isolated tool, it goes hand in hand with prevention and deterrence.



Well, if we are ever prepared to beseech the fantastically corrupt public officials to only return their loots without any further punishment, we might as well treat the goat, plantain and cassava thieves same. For after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.



It is absolutely true that reported cases of political offenders misdeeds often leave concerned Ghanaians with a glint of bewilderment.



However, when it comes to the prosecutions of the political criminals, we are often made to believe: the wheels of justice turn slowly, but it will grind exceedingly fine.



Yet we can disappointingly recall a lot of unresolved alleged criminal cases involving political personalities and other public servants.



Where is the fairness when the political thieves could dip their hands into the national purse as if tomorrow will never come and go scot free, while the goat, cassava and plantain thieves are incarcerated?



I will dare state that there is no deterrence for political criminals. For, if that was not the case, how come political criminals more often than not, go through the justice net, despite unobjectionable evidence of wrong doing?



I bet, the democratic country called Ghana, may not see any meaningful development, so long as we have public officials who are extremely greedy, corrupt, and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians, and would often go scot free.



Going forward, we must not and cannot use the justice net to catch only the mobile phone, plantain, goat and cassava thieves, but we must rather spread the justice net wide to cover the hard criminals who are often disguised in political attire.



Let us humbly remind the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu that the right antidote to curbing the unbridled sleazes and corruption is through stiff punishments, including the retrieval of all stolen monies, sale of properties and harsh prison sentences.









Source: K. Badu/ [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The United Nations on Thursday asked for restraint in Benin after controversial elections led to violence.



"We are closely following the unfolding developments in the Republic of Benin in the aftermath of the April 28 legislative elections, in which opposition parties were barred from participating," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.



"We note with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, resulting in the destruction of property and high-handed response from the security forces," he said.



The United Nations called on all Beninese stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and to seek solutions to their differences through dialogue, he told a regular press briefing.



The secretary-general's special representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas is in contact with colleagues in the Economic Community of West African States, as well as with Beninese stakeholders, with a view to encouraging a consensual and peaceful solution to the situation and preserving peace and stability for the country, he said.

Source: GNA









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Four Nigerian rescue workers kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country were released unhurt after several days in captivity, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday.



An official of NEMA told Xinhua in Abuja that the four victims, who work for the agency, were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment after they were freed on Thursday.



The rescue workers were kidnapped on April 23 by gunmen in Ahoada area of the southern state of Rivers. They were working on the National Food Security Intervention program in the state when the gunmen struck.



"Though it's a security issue, the NEMA, as a responsive agency of government, did all it could to make sure that they were released unhurt," said Vincent Owan, a director of risk management at the agency.



After an initial medical examination, doctors said that the workers were physically weak but basically in good health condition.



Rivers state is located in the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta where there have been many incidents of kidnapping.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court has granted an application by lawyers for De Eye Group, the company at the centre of a recent documentary by Multimedia Group journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure to serve him by substitution.



After a ten-day period, it is deemed he has seen the summons and therefore duly served.



The Administrative Director for the group, Nana Kegya through a press briefing encouraged his members to never be disheartened or discouraged from creating employment for the youth of Ghana, neither should they be worried of the court proceedings because they are not at fault".



He added that the core aim of the De-eye group is to coordinate the youth of Ghana into various working institutions that will help them generate income at the end of work for proper conditions of life as expected.



Nana Kegya urged every unemployed youth to visit their various centers to fill registration forms to be a member of the De-eye group who will at every time link them up to employment opportunities of their specification when the need arises.



Background



De-Eye group Limited, the company at the centre of the recent documentary by journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure has sued Multimedia group of companies and Manasseh Azure Awuni over claims made in the documentary.



In the documentary, Manasseh Azure alleged that the company was training a pro-government militia group operating from the Osu Castle, a former seat of government.



Both the government and the De-Eye group have denied the allegations, insisting that the company is a recruitment agency which is not a threat to Ghanas security.



De-Eye group in its writ indicated that the company is not a militia group as suggested in the documentary.

















Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Education Service (GES) has made minor adjustments to the 2018/2019 academic calendar, particularly for double-track schools.



This is to ensure that the SHS 1 students in Double-Track schools will complete the end of second semester together and allow schools that wish to have their SHS 1 students write the same end of semester exams flexibility to do so, a release to all regional directors of education indicated.



According to the release on Thursday, May 2, Green Track students will begin their mid-semester break on Friday, May 10 as scheduled.



This means Gold Track students will also begin their second semester on Saturday, May 11 as scheduled.



SHS 2 students will also complete their second semester on Friday, July 5 as scheduled.



The adjustment involves the reopening for Green Track students.



Instead of returning on Saturday, June 15, they are now scheduled to return on Saturday, July 6.



This is to allow them to complete the semester together with the Gold Track students on 6th September 2019.



The multiple-track system under the Free SHS Policy was introduced ahead of the 2018/2019 academic year.



It goes into its second year this September, which will mark three years into the governments flagship education policy.







Source: 3news.com









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North Korea has tested several short-range missiles, according to reports from South Korea, its neighbour.



They were reportedly fired from the Hodo peninsula in the east of the country, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. This will be the first missile launch since Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.



Last month Pyongyang said it had tested what it described as a new "tactical guided weapon". That was the first test since the Vietnam summit between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and US President Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.



Firing a short range missile would not violate North Korea's promise not to test long range or nuclear missiles, but Pyongyang appears to be growing impatient with Washington's insistence that full economic sanctions remain until Kim takes serious steps to dismantle his nuclear weapons programme, says the BBC's Laura Bicker.



"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary" said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Methodist Church Ghana (MCG), has entreated the government to stay focused and work diligently towards achieving its vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.



Economic emancipation is a reality if we begin to set our development priorities right, the Right Reverend Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, noted.



Having chalked 62 years as an independent country, he said, the leadership and people ought to demonstrate the zeal of taking their destiny into their own hands, to ensure economic liberation.



Rt. Rev. Andam, who was addressing the 58th annual synod of the Kumasi Diocese of the MCG at Old Tafo, lauded the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration for the implementation of many policies, initiatives and interventions for the wellbeing of the people.



He explained that programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One District, One Factory and One District, One Warehouse, as well as efforts to enhance infrastructure growth and related development projects, would help to open up the economy for job and wealth creation.



Intensifying our Teaching Ministry towards Disciple Making - the Wesleyan Mission, was the theme for the synod.



Rt. Rev. Andam said it was appropriate that the leadership of the nation did something more proactive to tackle youth unemployment to reap its resultant benefit of increased economic growth.



He hinted of an on-going girls empowerment programme, being pursued by the Methodist Womens Fellowship, to equip school drop-outs with relevant employable skills.



The Methodist Bishop advised the various societies within the MCG to throw their weight behind the programme, since women played a critical role in the nations development processes.



Speaking on the theme, he urged the various societies in the Diocese to live godly and exemplary lives, as that could be a form of evangelism to bring more people to the Church.

Source: GNA









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Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.

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Mr Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a human rights activist, has urged the Government to set national targets to reduce the number of people in jail.



He noted that the Nsawam Prison, for instance, was built to house about 800 inmates, but currently had more than 2,000.



There was, therefore, the need to roll out measures to address the issue of the high prison population.



Mr Foley said the move, however, needed to go hand-in-hand with very concrete crime prevention measures, particularly within crime-prone areas.



He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra during a media workshop on decriminalising petty offences in Ghana.



The workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), was to expose media personnel to the ACHPR Principles to enhance reportage and give visibility to regional instruments that promote criminal justice reforms.



The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), under its Principles on Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa, defines petty offences as minor crimes for which the punishment is prescribed in law to carry a warning, community service, low-value fine or short term of imprisonment, often for failure to pay the fine.



Mr Foley said security agencies, particularly the Police, knew crime flashpoints in the country and, as such, Ghana should start using social intervention measures to get people in those communities moving away from a life of crime.



So, it is not just speedy justice to get people out but also a concerted programme alongside to prevent re-offending or offending, he added.



He said Ghanas high prison population was way above global standards and promoted significant human right violations because of a penal system that was essentially punitive.



He noted that research had shown that there were a number of petty offences for which people need not go to jail.







Source: GNA









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Former Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Enin has alleged that Politicians and chiefs are thwarting governments effort to fighting galamsey.



According to him, with the level of corruption going on in the galamsey business, it will be difficult for government to win the fight against illegal mining.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that those involved in the fight against galamsey have become corrupt such that they are being bribed with huge sums of money by the galamsey operators.



You see, you will need people with honesty and integrity who are willing to help fight galamsey.



Until these things are done, Politicians, MMDCEs security officers will make the fight against galamsey difficult, he said.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his decision to wage war on illegal mining, known as galamsey, is one he does not regret and is prepared to see through till the end.



He said he is fortified by the positive response from the many Ghanaians who believe that the move is right and until the desired results are achieved, there is no giving up.



The President noted that Ghanas mineral wealth is an important attribute of the nation and mining has been ongoing since the 15th Century, but until our time, that wealth has been exploited, but it did not prejudice the safety of our environment."



In our time, it has come to prejudice the safety of our environment. Our water bodies have been polluted, forests have been decimated because of this mad rush for gold.



And I was told that doing something about it will cost me my political career, but well, that is a choice that we have to make always in life. Whether you are going to pander to the whims of the moment or do the things that you think right.







Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Former Ghanaian leader, John Dramani Mahama, has, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, commended Ghanaian journalists for the role they play in deepening democracy in the country.



The theme for the 2019 World Press Freedom Day marked on Friday, 3 May 2019 is: Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.



Commemorating the day on Facebook, Mr Mahama, who is seeking to lead Ghana again, said: This years global theme for the World Press Freedom Day couldnt have been more appropriate. The reaction of governments to the work of journalists and the impact of inaccurate news reports by journalists are issues that have dominated journalism over the last few years.



I am in Addis Ababa today where UNESCO, the AU and the Ethiopian government have been hosting three days of activities discussing the relationship between the media and democracy.



As has been asked by UNESCO, 'How can journalism rise above emotional content and fake news during an election? What should be done to counter speeches demeaning journalists? To what extent should electoral regulations be applied to the internet?'



On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, I say ayekoo to all journalists and urge governments and security agencies to guarantee their safety in the discharge of their work.



I also wish to encourage the Ghana Journalists Association, media men and women and bloggers to consider deeply and discuss how to remain relevant to society within the framework of the 2019 theme, Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.















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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

Talks stalled after a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

Security Guarantee

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Cautiously Respond"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If local elections down south tell us anything, they remind us that referendum verdicts must be honoured," the environment minister, Michael Gove, told a conference of Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen.

Health minister Matt Hancock gave a similar message in a BBC radio interview. "I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Labour has demanded guarantees on workers' rights and a permanent customs union with the EU as a condition for supporting an EU withdrawal deal.

May's government has opposed a customs union, preferring a looser arrangement that would allow Britain to strike its own trade deals with countries outside the EU.

Hancock suggested there could be greater willingness to compromise following the election losses.

"(Thursday's vote) wasn't about 'deliver this particular form of Brexit!' There was no door that I knocked on and the person said: 'I would like a slight change to paragraph 5 of this agreement in this particular way'."

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that a compromise was possible, but said Labour's customs plans could not be a long-term solution for Britain.

Customs Union

May said on Friday that the message for both the Conservatives and Labour from Thursday's elections was that voters wanted parliament to deliver Brexit.

In a rare agreement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there was now a "huge impetus" on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

Complicating the picture, however, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

Buzzfeed News reported on Saturday that May was optimistic she could reach a deal with Labour soon, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said one source had told it "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement preferred by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

Buzzfeed's sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European elections due on May 23 to maximise damage to the Conservatives.

And even if May and Corbyn agree, there is no certainty they could convince enough lawmakers in their parties to ensure a majority for the deal.

Many Conservative eurosceptics fear the newly launched Brexit Party of veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage will cost them support in the European elections.

That has encouraged some to call for the government to take a tougher stance on Brexit and demand a clean split with the EU.

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British police said they will not probe a leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei that cost Gavin Williamson his job as defence minister this week, as no criminal offence was committed.

Williamson strenuously denied being responsible for the leak, but May said she had lost confidence in him, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported discussions from within Britain's National Security Council.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said on Saturday.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

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Al-Sabaeen, Al-Sitteen Road is out of service as aggression raid: Traffic Department SANA'A, Dec. 23 (Saba) - The General Directorate of Traffic announced on Thursday that traffic on Al-Sabaeen Square and Al-Sitteen Streets in the capital Sana'a was suspended due to an air raid by the US-Saudi aggression.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would eradicate terrorism following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism, Sirisena told Reuters.

The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election.

We have already identified all active members of the group and its a case of now arresting them, Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 active members linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: Its crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

ATTACKERS ON LOOSE

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done.

There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

Sri Lankas security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

This is not a Sri Lanka issue, its a global terrorist movement, Sirisena said. Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together havent been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.

Sri Lankas leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas, he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lankas economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a big blow by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

Its a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry, Sirisena said. For the economy to develop its important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.

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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/03/2019 -- The global sodium sulfate market is fragmented in nature on account of the presence of numerous global and local players. The market is being primarily driven by the soap and detergent industry. Apart from that, an ever-growing automotive and construction industry is also serving to catalyze growth in the market by driving demand for glass, which requires sodium sulfate as a fluxing agent in glass refining.



Hampering demand in the sodium sulfate market, on the flipside, is the emergence of substitute compounds such as zeolites, sodium silicates, emulsified sulphur and caustic soda, and sodium carbonate (soda ash) in various end-use industries.



A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global sodium sulfate market to attain a value of US$2.62 bn by 2025 from US$1.89 bn in 2016 by rising at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2017 to 2025.



Read Report Overview @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sodium-sulfate-market.html



Natural Sodium Sulfate Dominates Market



Sources of sodium sulfate can be broadly divided into synthetic and natural. At present, about half the sodium sulfate in the world is produced from natural mines and the remaining half is recovered from industrial processes. Current reserves of natural sodium sulfate are sufficient to satisfy the required demand for several centuries because of the current rate of production. Between the two, sodium sulfate derived from natural sources dominates the market with a leading share both in terms of volume and value. In the years ahead too, the segment is expected to hold on to its leading share by expanding at a CAGR of 4% during period from 2017 to 2025.



Sodium sulfate finds application in making soaps and detergents, kraft pulping, textiles, glass, carpet cleaners, and others such as food preservatives, oil recovery, etc. Of them, the detergent and soaps, in which sodium sulfate is used as a diluting agent and fillers, generate maximum demand. However, the demand has begun to decline due to the trend towards concentrated liquid detergents instead of bulkier powder formulations.



Powered by Record Consumption in China, Asia Pacific Leads Market



From a geographical standpoint, Asia Pacific runs the show on both counts of size and growth rate. In 2016, it held about half the share in the market and in the years ahead too is predicted to retain its dominant share. The market in the region is being driven primarily by China, which surpasses all other countries in terms of sodium sulfate consumption. This is also because of the cheaper cost of sodium sulfur in the nation on account of lower manufacturing costs resulting from abundance of labor and expanding end-use industries. By registering the maximum CAGR of 4.0% in the forecast period, the region is projected to grow its revenue to US$1.55 bn.



Request Report Brochure @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16742



In terms of growth rate, Latin America is another key region that is expected to outshine North America and Europe in the next couple of years, on the back of Mexico, which has enormous reserves of sodium sulfate. The market in Europe and North America is expected to rise a slower pace  a CAGR of 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively  due to liquid detergents supplanting powder detergents at a rapid pace.
Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soldiers took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim.

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Press Release

May 5, 2019 PRIB: Binay pushes for education of homeless children, youth Homeless children may soon be given an opportunity to go to school regardless of their previous school records if a bill Senator Nancy Binay is working on will be enacted into law. Binay said Senate Bill No. 2028, otherwise known as an Act to Improve Access to Preschool, Primary, and Secondary Education of Homeless Children, seeks to authorize the Department of Education to provide funds to the local government units for the education of homeless children and youth. "Education is a fundamental human right of every Filipino, especially for the helpless and homeless children and youth. It is imperative that the government improve the accessibility of preschool, primary and secondary education for homeless children and youth," Binay said. Binay said the education of homeless children and youth are often neglected because they either lack a fixed or adequate residence, live in emergency or transitional shelters, share house with other persons due to loss of housing and economic hardships, abandoned in hospitals or await foster care placement. She said children and youth who live in cars, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, train stations or similar settings should be given access to education so they can uplift their lives. Under the proposed measure, the secretary of education shall grant funds to eligible local government units for the improvement of the identification of homeless children and youth and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school, including early care and education programs, particularly in prekindergarten and preschool programs. It also calls for the establishment or designation of an Office of the Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. The funds shall also be used to improve the provision of comprehensive education and related support services to homeless children and youth and their families and to minimize education disruption as well as coordinate activities and collaborate with educators, special education personnel, child development and preschool program personnel. The bill also proposes that all public elementary and secondary schools shall immediately enroll the homeless child or youth, even if he or she is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, including previous academic records, records of immunization and health screenings and other health records, proof of residency or guardianship or other documentation, has unpaid fines or fees from prior schools or is unable to pay fees in the school selected. The enrolling school shall also immediately contact the school last attended by the child or youth to obtain relevant academic and other records. Information about the homeless child's or youth's living situation shall be treated as a student education record, and shall not be released to employers, law enforcement personnel or other persons or agencies not authorized to have such information under laws and administrative issuances. "Local governments shall identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment and increase their enrollment and attendance in early care and educational programs, including reserving spaces in preschool programs for homeless children, conducting targeted outreach to homeless children and their families, waiving application deadlines, providing ongoing professional development for staff regarding the need of homeless children and their families and formulating strategies to serve the children and their families," Binay said.
Cyprus expects initial natural gas production from the Aphrodite field will begin between 2024 and 2025, Cyprus Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday, after negotiations with operators and an ownership squabble delayed output.

Cyprus Aphrodite was first discovered in 2011, but production has been delayed since as stakeholders Noble Energy , Israels Delek Drilling and Royal Dutch Shell renegotiate a production-sharing agreement with the government.

There have been a flurry of successful exploration efforts in recent years that identified natural gas plays in the eastern Mediterranean, where gas output has begun to soar.

Eastern Mediterranean countries including Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy have formed a partnership to deliver more natural gas to Europe and transform the region into a major energy hub.

Lakkotrypis said he will meet with Aphrodites stakeholders next week to discuss the revenue sharing mechanisms between the government and the companies, infrastructure plans and the price at which companies will sell the gas.

We are now in discussions with the Aphrodite partners about what the optimal way to develop the Aphrodite field is, and it involves commercial terms as well, Lakkotrypis said in an interview in New York. He said he was confident those discussions will conclude in a few weeks.

He said they will likely transport the gas from the Aphrodite field via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and exported.

The field is estimated to produce about 800 million cubic feet per day in the first production phase, according to Delek.

Tensions have risen in the region in recent months as Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, and Greek Cypriots are in a dispute over natural gas drilling revenues.

Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinians recently formed the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in an effort to create a regional gas market, cut infrastructure costs and offer competitive prices.

Cyprus is positioning itself to become a hub ... and the natural market is the European Union (EU) Lakkotrypis said.

In February, ExxonMobil Corp discovered a gas reservoir off the Cyprus coast with an estimated 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet in gas resources (tcf), similar in size to the Aphrodite and Calypso gas finds also in Cypriot waters.

Exxons discovery is unlikely to come online until the late 2030s due to inadequate liquefaction capacity, Rystad Energy said in March.

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According to sources, the deal is worth $800 million and as per the deal, Vodafone Idea has given IBM a five-year technology outsourcing contract, which will supplement its targeted Rs 8,400 crore annual operational cost savings by 2021. Vodafone Idea and IBM, however, did not mention the deal amount.

New Delhi: Information Technology major IBM on Friday announced a multi-million dollar deal with Vodafone Idea for engagement in the telecom, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) segments.

"IBM announced signing a multi-million-dollar five-year agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India. In addition, this engagement will also contribute to Vodafone Idea's merger synergy objectives by reducing its IT related costs," a statement by IBM said.

The collaboration will provide Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable more intimate engagement with its subscribers, enhancing business efficiency, agility and the scale along with simplification of its business processes, it said.

The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.
Cooperation among fishers can improve fish stock in coral reefs

Cooperation within a group of people is key to many successful endeavors, including scientific ones. According to a study published in Nature Communications, cooperation among competing fishers can boost fish stocks on coral reefs.

The study analyzed the social relationships among competing fisheries, the species they collect, and the local reefs from which these species are extracted.

The results suggest that even though they are considered business rivals, fishers communicate and cooperate in addressing local environmental issues, which can lead to improvements in both the quality and quantity of fish in their local reefs. In the end, this cooperation could translate into further economic gain and more sustainable business, explains Orou Gaoue, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and coauthor of the study.

The research team was led by Michele Barnes, senior research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia.

For the study, Barnes and her team--which in addition to Gaoue included researchers from Conservation International, Lancaster University in the UK, and Stockholm University in Sweden--interviewed 648 fishers and gathered data on reef conditions across five coral reef fishing communities in Kenya.

They found that in places where fishers communicated with their competitors about the fishing gear they use, locations for hunting, and fishing rules, there were more fish in the sea--and of higher quality.

"Relationships between people have important consequences for the long-term availability of the natural resources we depend on," Barnes says.

"Although this study is on coral reefs," says Gaoue, "the results are also relevant for terrestrial ecosystems where, in the absence of cooperation, competition for non-timber forest products can quickly lead to depletion even when locals have detailed ecological knowledge of their environment."

###

CONTACT:

Andrea Schneibel (865-974-3993, andrea.schneibel@utk.edu)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
World Bank Group President David Malpass toured the Investor Service Center at Egypts Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Saturday, accompanied by the minister, Sahar Nasr, and praised the diversity of investment opportunities available in the country.

"I am very impressed by the centre and emerging companies," he said during the tour, adding that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has made major legislative reforms to facilitate investors work.

The Investor Service Center includes representatives from more than 65 Egyptian entities and is responsible for issuing all licences relating to investing, and responding to investor inquiries.

Malpass thanked Nasr for establishing the body, which he said "eliminates bureaucracy and simplifies the procedures for establishing new companies."

He also applauded the diversity of investment opportunities in Egypt.

"Egypt has great investment opportunities in small and medium enterprises alike. It has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen its economy by expanding the private sector  including energy, tourism and agri-business  to create more jobs and higher living standards, he said.

"Egypt's success is critical for the stability of the region," Malpass added.

Malpass arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first to the country since becoming president of the international organisation last month.

He is scheduled to meet with government officials and MPs to discuss the progress of the Egyptian governments reform programme and the contribution of the World Bank.

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It said the petitioners, in the garb of seeking review of the verdict and placing reliance on some press reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, cannot seek to re-open the whole matter since the scope of review petition is "extremely limited".

New Delhi : The Centre has told the Supreme Court that "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded by the top court in its December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale deal case has no apparent error warranting its review.

The Centre's reply came on pleas filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking review of the December 14 verdict by which their plea seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the multi-crore Rafale fighter jet deal was dismissed.

Two other review petitions have been filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and advocate Vineet Dhandha.

All the review petitions are scheduled to be taken up for hearing next week by a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

"The review petition...is an attempt to get a fishing and roving inquiry ordered, which this court has specifically declined to go into based on perception of individuals. A non-existent distinction is sought to be created between an inquiry by the CBI and the court by playing on words," the Centre's affidavit said.

It said the apex court had come to the conclusion that on all the three aspects -- the decision making process, pricing and choosing Indian offset partner -- there is no reason for intervention by the court on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

The Centre said media reports cannot form the basis for seeking review of the judgement since it is well settled law that courts do not take decision on the basis of media reports.

It said that internal file notings and views contained therein are mere expression of opinion or views for consideration of the competent authority for taking final decision in the matter.

"It cannot form the basis for a litigant to question the final decision. Therefore, there is no ground made out either for entertaining the review petition on this ground either," the Centre said.

It added that the review petitioners were relying on information which are based on unsubstantial media reports or part of internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner which cannot form the basis for a review of the verdict.

Referring to the April 10 order of the apex court, by which the Centre's preliminary objection to placing reliance on leaked documents was rejected by the top court, the Centre's reply said the order "would imply that any document marked secret obtained by whatever means and placed in public domain can be used without attracting any penal action".

It said, "This has happened in the case of Combat Aircraft which the Court has upheld by its Judgment dated 10th April, 2019. This could lead to the revelation of all closely guarded State Secrets relating to space, nuclear installations, strategic defence capabilities, operational deployment of forces, intelligence resources in the country and outside, counter-terrorism and counter insurgency measures etc."

"This could have implications in the financial sector also if say budget proposals are published before they are presented in Parliament. Such disclosures of Secret Government information will have grave repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State," it said.

It said that the April 10 order "opens the window for any person making the request not only to seek papers from Ministry of Defence but from other Ministries and Departments dealing with subjects mentioned above if they are stolen and placed in public domain by the Press or a Website."

The Centre pointed out that all papers and files have been made available to the CAG who has given his report "concluding that the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

It said that waiver of sovereign or bank guarantee in government-to-government agreements or contracts is not unusual.

"Furthermore, assuming that Dassault Aviation or MBDA France meet difficulties in the execution of their respective supply protocols and would have to reimburse all or part of the intermediary payments to the Government of the Republic of India, the Government of the French Republic will take appropriate measures so as to make sure that said payments or reimbursements will be made at the earliest," it said while seeking dismissal of the review plea.

In an another reply to an application filed by review petitioners, the Centre said that "monitoring of the progress by PMO of this government-to-government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations."

"It is submitted that in the garb of seeking review of the judgement, and placing reliance on some media reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, the petitioners cannot seek to re-open the whole matter by asking for production of documents in review petition since the scope of review petition itself is extremely limited," the reply said.
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POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten  Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day.

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.

The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the corner stone of democracy for any functioning society.

Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.

Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.

I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.

In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





by Eric S. Margolis





Sure. Lets invade Venezuela. Another jolly little war. Its full of commies and has a sea of oil. The only thing those Cuban-loving Venezuelans lack are weapons of mass destruction.





This week, leading US neocons openly threatened that if the CIAs latest attempts to stage a coup to overthrow Venezuelas Maduro government failed, Washington might send in the Marines.





Well, the coup was a big fiasco and the Venezuelan army didnt overthrow President Maduro. The CIA also failed to overthrow governments in Moscow, Tehran and Damascus. Its only success to date has been in overthrowing Ukraines pro-Moscow government and putting a bunch of corrupt clowns in its place at a cost near $10 billion.





The US has not waged a major successful war since World War II - unless you count invading Grenada, Panama and Haiti, or bombing the hell out of Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya. Thats a sobering thought given the Pentagons recent announcement that it is cutting back on little colonial wars (aka the war on terror) to get ready for real big wars against Russia and China, or even North Korea.





Venezuela is in a huge economic mess thanks to the crackpot economic policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments - and US economic sabotage. But my first law of international affairs is: Every nation has the absolute god-given right to mismanage its own affairs and elect its own crooks or idiots.





Now, however, the administrations frenzied neocons want to start a war against Venezuela, a large, developed nation of 32.7 million, at the same time we are threatening war against Iran, interfering all around Africa, and confronting Russia, China and perhaps North Korea. Large parts of the Mideast and Afghanistan lie in ruins thanks to our liberation campaigns.





Invading Venezuela would not be much of a problem for the US military: half the population hates the current government and might welcome the Americans. Venezuelas military has only limited combat value. Right-wing regimes in neighboring Colombia and Brazil might join the invasion.





But what then? Recall Iraq. The US punched through the feeble Iraqi Army whose strength had been wildly exaggerated by the media. Once US and British forces settled in to occupation duties, guerilla forces made their life difficult and bloody. Iraqi resistance continues today, sixteen years later. The same would likely happen in Venezuela.





There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





Yankees Go Home is a rallying cry for much of Latin America. Blundering into Venezuela, another nation about which the Trump administration knows or understands little, would stir up a hornets next. Their ham-handed efforts to punish Cuba and whip up the far right Cuban-American vote in Florida would galvanize anti-American anger across Latin America. Beware the ghost of Fidel.





Talks over Venezuela are underway between Washington and Moscow. Neither country has any major interest in Venezuela. Moscow is stirring the pot there to retaliate for growing US involvement in Russias backyard and Syria. Both the US and Russia should get the hell out of Venezuela and mind their own business.





Instead, we hear crazy proposals to send 5,000 mercenaries to overthrow the Maduro regime. How well did the wide-scale use of US-financed mercenaries work in Iraq and Afghanistan? A complete flop. The only thing they did competently was wash dishes at our bases, murder civilians, and play junior Rambos.





For those who dont like the American Raj, a US invasion of Venezuela would mark a step forward in the crumbling of the empire. More aimless imperial over-reach, more lack of strategy, more enemies generated.





The big winner would, of course, be the Pentagon and military industrial complex. More billions spent on a nation most Americans could not find on a map if their lives depended on it, more orders for counter-insurgency weapons, more military promotions, and cheers from Fox News and wrestling fans.





Worst of all, the US could end up feeding and caring for wrecked Venezuela. How did we do with storm-ravaged Puerto Rico? Its still in semi-ruin. Few want Venezuelas thick, heavy oil these days.





Venezuela could turn out to be a big, fat Tar Baby.




Despite the current heat wave in Egypt, local and international journalists and photographers flocked to the Giza Plateau on Saturday to witness the announcement by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany of the discovery of an Old Kingdom cemetery.

El-Enany said that the announcement of the most recent discoveries and archaeological projects by the ministry not only have a scientific and archaeological value but are also good promotion of Egypt, showing the world the countrys true image, its culture, or soft power.

Zahi Hawass, a former antiquities minster, was also in attendance, and expressed his happiness that he was invited to attend the announcement, as the area where the cemetery was found is very close to his heart because it neighbours the pyramid-builders cemetery, which he considers a very important site.

The discovery of the pyramid-builders cemetery shows to the whole world that the pyramids were not built by slaves, but that their builders built their own tombs beside their kings, he said.

He told Ahram Online that the discoveries that the ministry have been announcing are the best way to promote Egypt abroad, because the news enters homes worldwide through the international media.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Egyptian Archaeological Mission team that made the discovery of the Old Kingdom cemetery, told Ahram Online that the team discovered several tombs and burial shafts, with the oldest a limestone family tomb from the fifth dynasty (circa 2500 BC) which retains some inscriptions and artwork.

The tomb belongs to two people. The first is Behnui-Ka, whose name has not previously been found in the Giza Plateau. He has seven titles, among them the priest, the judge, the purifier of the kings Khafre, Userkaf and Niuserre; the priest of goddess Maat, and the elder judicial official in the court.

The second tomb owner, Nwi Who, had five titles, among them the chief of the great state, the overseer of the new settlements, and the purifier of Khafre.

Many artefacts were discovered in the tomb; among the most significant is a fine limestone statue of one of the tombs owners, his wife and son.

Ashraf Mohi, director general of Giza Plateau, said that the cemetery was reused extensively during the Late Period (from the 8th century BC). Many Late Period wooden painted and decorated anthropoid coffins were discovered on site. Some of them have hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Many wooden and clay funerary masks were also found, some with colour.

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North Korea fires short-range missile : Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched an "unidentified short-range missile" towards the East Sea -- also known as Sea of Japan -- on Saturday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Pyongyang "fired a missile from its east coast town of Wonsan to the eastern direction at 9:06 am (0006 GMT) today," the JCS said in a statement.

South Korea and the United States "are analysing details related to the missile", it added.
North Korea fires short-range 'projectiles' into sea: Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today", the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."

The White House said it was "aware of North Korea's actions tonight".

"We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was "no confirmation of ballistic missiles" entering its territory.

"At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security," the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.



- Hodo peninsula -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used as a training area for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles" since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that a "formal training area" was established in the region, and Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing" during the last 10 years, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and Trump in February, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Kim slammed the South in a speech to his country's rubber-stamp legislature last month, saying it should not "pose as a meddlesome 'mediator'" between the US and Pyongyang.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
Three Turkish soldiers killed in Kurd mortar attack from Iraq: ministry



Istanbul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.
Boko Haram seizes military base in NE Nigeria: sources



Kano, Nigeria, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Boko Haram jihadists have seized a military base in northeast Nigeria, days after an attack left five troops dead and 30 missing, security sources and residents said Saturday.

A column of fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks and on motorcycles stormed into the base in the town of Magumeri, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri late Friday.

The militants overran the base, hauling away weapons before they were forced out.

"The terrorists dislodged troops from the base after an intense fight," a military officer told AFP.

"We lost weapons and equipment to the terrorists but it is not clear if there was any human loss," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

The jihadists arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight before they "gained the upper hand and chased the troops away," militia leader Gremah Kaka told AFP.

"The insurgents overpowered the soldiers and forced them to flee into the bush," he said.

Kaka said the jihadists stayed in the base for "more than four hours" before they were dislodged by reinforcements from another base in Gubio, 46 kilometres away.

Last week, the jihadists raided a military base in Mararrabar Kimba, 135 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are listed as missing.

ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that saw the jihadists kill scores of soldiers.

The military authorities have always denied any casualties.

Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria.

The conflict has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group.

However, the Nigerian army on Saturday said some "foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)."

Army spokesman Musa Sagir said in a statement the plot was "to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group to resurrect".

He said the military would continue to fight the remnants of "Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers".
Envoy says US ready for 'all sides' to lay down arms in Afghan war



Doha, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.



- 'Failed strategies' -



The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Trump says still confident in Kim after N.Korea test launch



Washington, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
EU concerned about added US sanctions on Iran



Brussels, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.
Maduro rallies military as Venezuela opposition marches on bases



Caracas, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."

"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest."

National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation."

This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.



- 'Something bigger' will happen -



"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go."
Nine killed by regime, Russian strikes in Syria's Idblib: war monitor



Beirut, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.

lar/on/dwo/del
N.Korea says tests rocket launchers after firing projectiles



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea said Sunday it had tested long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, a day after Pyongyang appeared to have launched its first short-range missile in more than a year.

The announcement on the "strike drill", which the Korean Central News Agency said took place Saturday and was overseen by Kim Jong Un, came after US President Donald Trump voiced confidence that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise" even as nuclear talks have been deadlocked.

KCNA said the tests in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, aimed to "estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance" of the weapons.

Kim was also evaluating "the combat performance of arms and equipment," according to KCNA.

Kim urged his troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength," it added.

On Saturday, the North also fired "a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) toward the East Sea.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.



- Broken promises? -



"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted in reaction to the launches announced by the South Koreans.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The launches followed last month's test-firing of very short range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

"North Korea's recent missile launches are a provocation at a time when the international community is awaiting concrete steps from North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile program," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said.

"We welcome President Trump's declaration that he is ready to continue to support the negotiations process despite this provocation."

On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where the projectile firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

The launches come just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke with Biegun to discuss the launches, the South's foreign ministry said.
Hemas Travels bags two awards at ATM View(s):

Hemas Travels, the outbound arm of Hemas Leisure Travel and Aviation Group was recognised for two prestigious awards at Asian Travel Mart (ATM) this year, a media release by the company stated.

Ottila Worldwide, Indias largest travel wholesaler recognised Hemas Travels as Sri Lankas Top Agent at ATM and the award was accepted by Hussain Habeeb  Chief Operating Officer for Hemas Travels along side Ms. Chamila Wijethunghe  Senior Manager  Service Excellence.

Meanwhile, Travel Boutique Online (TBO) Group; one of worlds largest Bed Banks also awarded them for Exceptional Sales Contribution for 2018 at TBO Annual Awards, held alongside ATM in Dubai on 29th April 2019, the release said.
Hotels in Sri Lanka go empty By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas hotels are still reeling from the shock of the attack by Islamic extremists on Easter Sunday with occupancies crashing to a mere four per cent in Colombo and 10 per cent islandwide.

Even as the tourism industry remained concerned about the security situation in the country some hotels like the Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and the Kingsbury have already adopted new measures like the installation of scanners at points of entry to carry out security checks on persons visiting the hotels.

Security in hotels is also provided by armed personnel posted in front where the numbers manning these posts could increase from eight to 20.

Colombo City hotels occupancies have come crashing down to about 4 per cent while the number of persons staying in hotels was down at about 10 per cent for hotels islandwide, City Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times.

There has been over 80 per cent of cancellations, he also said and this has been confirmed by a number of reports that similarly stated how hotels both in the city and the resorts were found to lose bookings although a handful of travellers were positive about touring the destination.

Even Sri Lankans are not patronizing the hotels and this has caused a further downfall in revenues for the hotel industry as most hotels have gone empty. While some hotels in the city remain open for business others provide limited services.

Staff today outnumbers tourists as travellers are unlikely to visit the destination unless their countries assure them of their stay in Sri Lanka. Numerous travel advisories from the UK, US to Israel, Spain, and even China have caused a direct hit on the number of bookings for the next few months.

In fact, some in the industry complain that winter bookings were also getting cancelled already in addition to all other bookings.

Authorities were asked to be in touch with the respective embassies in the country to ensure a relaxation of the travel ban to Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, the tourism industry and in particular the hoteliers were assured of a moratorium on their loan repayments. Most hotels were said to have obtained dollar loans and this had even prior to the attacks caused concern resulting in a request to tour operators to carry out transactions in dollars. This came in the form of a budget proposal.

However, this seemed to be taking a back seat for now and in the wake of the suicide attacks on three luxury hotels in Colombo the industry has been assured by both the President and Prime Minister of a moratorium on their loans and a further capital infusion. Another plan of action that has taken a back seat is the much-awaited global promotion campaign without which the industry and authorities are now planning on short term immediate publicity campaign promoting the destination. This campaign that should have ideally been given a cabinet nod last week is still pending approval.

Mr. Shanthikumar noted that they were yet to arrive at a decision on banning the burqa in hotels but observed that if there was a law to ban it then all should adhere to it.

Staff in hotels is also feeling the pinch. He said that although there was no staff leaving hotels, those keenly dependent on the service charge may look for other opportunities.

An industry that is always positive inspite of the crises they face has repeatedly told authorities to ensure they talk in one voice so as to send out the correct message to the international community.

Tour Operators Association President Harith Perera told the Business Times that they informed authorities of the need to regularise the shuttle bus service at the airport to ensure convenience of passage to travellers; and also to make necessary arrangements to assist visitors at the airport could stay without hassle.

Tourism authorities and industry at the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai facing the world for the first time in a public gathering were able to act positive and communicate a clear message to partners and tour operators. Most tour operators and agents have insisted that they need to wait and see as travel advisories issued by a number of countries was a deterrent to marketing Sri Lanka.

However, tour operators were said to have been very encouraging as they had pointed out that they were fond of the destination and were keen to sell it to bring the tourist back to this friendly nation.
InterContinental brand goes ahead with Sri Lanka plans By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which has announced its comeback to the island in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening at the site at Bambalapitiya junction in Colombo.

This super luxury, 42-storeyed hotel will consist of 346 rooms of different categories.  Presidential Suite, Deluxe Suites, Executive suites, Junior Suites, King Club Rooms, King Rooms, Twin Rooms etc and it will be the second InterContinental branded hotel in the island after the Ceylon Intercontinental established in 1973, and later pulled out.

In a letter of confirmation, David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, recently noted that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible to do their part in supporting affected communities by bringing the beauty of Sri Lanka to international audiences.

In partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, IHG said it looks forward to offering world-class amenities, excellent service and consistent, luxurious experiences to the guests visiting the beautiful city of Colombo and exploring other cultural hubs in proximity to the hotel, he pointed out.

He is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly to discuss the overall strategy and plan for the opening of Intercontinental, Colombo towards the latter part of the year/1st quarter of 2020.

The development of Intercontinental, Colombo is being carried out under the Pearl Group of Hotels family owned business conglomerate headed by the Chairman of the group, A.L.M. Faris.

Sri Lanka needs globally renowned brands in hospitality industry to project the destination image and to position it on the global map as a destination of quality, he told the Business Times.

He pointed out that his efforts to join hands with the IHG group and bring back a world renowned brand such as Intercontinental to Sri Lanka was with the industry interest as well.

The hotel development work is done in conformity with Intercontinental Brand Standards, acclaimed to be the highest in the industry including guest comfort, safety, security, adaptation of high tech superseding all local authority and other agency standards, he said.

We will muster greater strength from the setback to forge ahead. Tourism was about the only sector that was indicating year on growth over the last nine to 10 years in Sri Lanka, he said.

It can make a greater contribution towards the economy in the years ahead, he said adding that his other properties which were maintaining around 80 per cent occupancy and had good bookings for the next few months is currently down to under 10 per cent occupancy.

He noted that this was a temporary setback and the government needs to step in to assist the industry with a proper understanding.
O Sri Lanka By Tissa Jayaweera View(s): View(s):

Ceylon was known as the Pearl of Indian Ocean. We failed to take it as a Tourism Promotion Tagline and lost it to another country. After many years of being in limbo a professional who developed tourism for Singapore as the Lion City was hired as Chairman Tourism. Many debates took place and a Tagline Sri Lanka the Small Miracle was incorporated and publicity given. Then as usual in this country after some time a Minister of Tourism did not like the tag line Sri Lanka the Small Miracle. By this time other countries had come up with attractive taglines such as Incredible, Truly Asia, Wonder of Asia etc in their tourism promotion

Recently the Ministry of Tourism hired an international advertising agency to come up with Promoting Sri Lanka Tourism at great cost. They came up with a tagline So Sri Lanka. At the launch I stated that this is not a good tagline as attractive as Incredible or Truly Asia or Wonder of Asia. The word O is as in Despair. O God or O my heavens, etc. I was laughed at by most present and the theme So Sri Lanka was launched.

The Islamic extremist attack on April 21 made 90 per cent of the population of Sri Lanka and the world say So Sri Lanka I cry for you.

I had many calls from friends, relatives and business associates from around the world. One of them, a Chairman/MD of a company that manages 5,000, 3  5 Star Hotel Rooms in India and Africa told me: Sri Lanka has got the best publicity after 10 years. It was the LTTE that gave publicity but it was local. Now it is Muslim Extremism International.

Sri Lanka being a small island nation, if all security systems are de-politicised and independent, Muslim extremism can be completely wiped out in a few days. This is the time to give visa free entry. Unfortunately our politicians thought otherwise.

Discount inbound travel on SriLankan Airlines by 40 per cent: Anyway Sri Lankan is operating at a loss. This may increase in a load factor to 95 per cent from the current 65 per cent and result in SriLankan breaking even. Discount hotel rates by 40 per cent: This will increase hotel bookings to 90 per cent during the next season. Give international publicity and visitors who take the challenge to come. Travel agencies around the world will give adequate publicity as Sri Lanka being a great destination to be in at attractive prices. International websites have already given publicity to the attractions in Sri Lanka and what a great holiday destination Sri Lanka is. This will encourage new visitors who are looking for an affordable holiday. Their Facebook, Twitter sites will do the needful after a great holiday in paradise.

All those involved in tourism, big or small should be given a grace period to settle loans to banks and other financial institutions. All lenders act as leaches in the recovery of their loans not taking in to consideration the plight of their borrowers other than showing an impressive bottom line to shareholders and a big bonus to staff.

I trust the authorities will start to give our tourism a boost without having sad faces and crying tourism has been hit by $1.5 billion. We may make $2 billion if this is done.

Make use of this opportunity. Nothing is lost. We are known globally now even better than what LTTE did for us.

(The writer is a veteran business leader, Managing Partner at TJ Associates and can be reached at tissaj2009@yahoo.com).
Political leadership should set aside differences in this crisis:CCC View(s):

Sri Lankans need to be assured that the government machinery to safeguard its people from acts of terrorism is effective, that national security will be accorded the highest priority and that the political leadership of this country has the capacity to work together setting aside political differences to accord the highest priority to national issues, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has said.

It is unfortunate but true that the recent events and the mishandling of security have contributed to the erosion of confidence in the political leadership to keep this country safe and to ensure that its economy which is challenged also due to external factors is further embattled due to domestic issues which are avoidable, the CCC said in a letter to President and the Prime Minister on the countrys security situation following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The chamber said it sought meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss matters relating to security concerns and national revival efforts. In response, the Prime Minister met with the leadership of the Chamber on Monday during which several action points were discussed.

Here are excerpts of the letter sent by CCC Chairperson Rajendra Theagarajah:

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned that the events that resulted in the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of so many people were able to be carried out due to the negligence of the Government machinery.

While terrorist activities aimed at achieving ideological objectives can never find justification, what is deeply saddening is that there was a failure on the part of law enforcement to prevent this attack despite being in possession of intelligence that warned of impending threats. The available information points to a serious lack of coordination, incompetence and ineffectiveness in handling national security. It is also abundantly clear that petty divisive political differences among the political leadership have contributed to a situation where interests of the country are subordinated to political agendas.

The events of October 2018 were also an indication of this sorry situation, which was fortunately corrected by an independent judiciary. On that occasion too, it was the people that suffered.

While the immediate victims of the Easter attacks were those that lost their lives and their families, the consequences will impact millions more whose dependence on sectors that are seriously adversely affected will impair their livelihood prospects for a considerable period. This is unfortunate.

We also condemn the utterances of elected representatives of the people and other political personalities of all parties who are continuing to engage in the blame game in an attempt to make political capital of the current situation. This is indeed a pathetic display of a lack of sensitivity to current national issues which should be addressed by all political parties collectively and in a spirit that accepts that theres a national crisis. To engage in such narrow political pursuits is to demonstrate an inability to appreciate the true role of leaders of the people.

The need of the moment is for statesmen not mere politicians. In these circumstances, we urge that the following be actioned:

1) National security.

While we appreciate steps taken after the Easter attacks, adequate measures should be sustained to handle national security. The National Security Council mechanism should be activated and used with seriousness.

For this purpose, the portfolios of Defence and of Law and Order should be placed in the hands of those who have the capacity to provide leadership to handle current and future challenges with foresight and wisdom and devoid of political aspirations.

The President, the Prime Minister and Government should speak with a unified voice on the current and future actions after considered decisions are taken together.

A 24 hour Media response centre should be established to respond to false reports that create fears and concerns among the general public.

The current legal provisions available (ICCPR Act) should be used to deal with hate speech.

2) Revival of the economy.

Its vital to fast track a revival of the economy.

Formulate a national policy for the revival of the major sectors (such as tourism) that are currently affected. For this purpose, adopt an inclusive process that secures inputs from all stakeholders.

3) Decision-making in Government.

To ensure speedy and sensible decision-making in important areas, persons of competence should be appointed to key positions.

Identify key positions in Government relevant to implement the development agenda and re-examine the capabilities of current holders of those positions. Its important that government functionaries should have the capacity to take decisions speedily and without fear. If necessary, invite private sector leaders to handle those key positions.

4) Overall revival

Take appropriate action to inspire persons of all political parties to unite in the revival processes.

This is a time to unite for the good of the country. We will condemn the actions of those who seek to stifle a resurgence for narrow political gains.

Ethnic unity should be consistently called for and extremism of all kinds should be abhorred and acted against, by the political leadership.

The elected representatives of the people should be required to comply with a code of behavior when making public comments. Theyre opinion makers and must act with responsibility.

The media should be required to comply with the need for responsible reporting.

5) Effective communication and management of perceptions.

In our efforts to recover from this situation, it is vital to inspire confidence in the people of this country as well as internationally. Such an effort if effectively carried out will result in our ability to reinforce the pursuit of vital targets such as attracting investment, attracting tourists and being held out as a country that has systems and processes in place to deal with vulnerability to terrorism and the resilience to overcome such threats.
Sad times-Part 2 View(s):

Kussi Amma Sera was angry. I hadnt seen her like this before.

Seated under the Margosa tree with friends-for-life Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu, she said: Balanna  apey manthrivarun hasirena vidiya. Ee-gollanta meka loku vihiluwak waa-ge (See how our parliamentarians are behaving. Its like a big joke for them).

She was referring to the special session in Parliament discussing the Easter Sunday bombings, particularly scenes of a few MPs amused and laughing when former army commander Sarath Fonseka spoke.

Owunge aarakshawa gena vitharie vadime unandu-wenne (They are more interested in their own security), said Serapina.

Their conversation occurred in the backdrop of a sombre neighbourhood, for the second week, after the Easter Sunday incidents. Except for the loud choon-paan karaya driving down the lane in his three-wheeler, there was silence and even the usual blaring of music from the radios was missing.

The trio then discussed everything under the sun including the cost of living, the difficulty in some of their sons getting jobs and other issues.

As I sat down in the sitting room, sipping a hot cup of Kussi Amma Seras tea, the morning silence was broken by the ringing of the landline. It was Pedris Appo, short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert who does farming. I hadnt spoken to him for a while and thus was glad he was calling.

Hi  the Easter Sunday attacks were very demoralising to all of us, he said, to which I replied, Absolutely.

The impact will be devastating, Appo, who also likes to discuss economic issues, said, adding: Tourism will be the worst hit.

Would we be able to recover from this crisis? he asked. We have to. We have had similar crises like this before and recovered though the recovery will be slow, I said.

We then discussed the cancellations by tourists as reported by several hotels, the postponement or cancellations of tourists coming for conferences and incentive trips, the losses that would be incurred by SriLankan Airlines due to the drop in traffic, among other matters.

As our stories last week and today reflect, tourism is the first casualty from the current scenario, more so because of travel warnings by several countries including India, China, the UK, the US and Canada, urging their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka. There is no way Sri Lanka can achieve the ambitious target of three million tourists this year (compared to 2.3 million in 2018) with conservative estimates showing that there would be a 30 per cent drop in arrivals. Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector and the third largest earner of foreign currency after worker remittances and garments exports, and the authorities were banking on a good year in 2019. Not anymore.

While the macro-economic fundamentals are strong, according to the Central Bank, lower earnings from tourism and more subdued FDI (foreign direct investment) would be the biggest hits to the economy. Until potential investors are convinced that the security situation is under control along with consistent policies, they wouldnt choose to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas debt is also likely to rise with an increase in government spending on the military particularly in the procurement of equipment necessary to meet the new threat from terrorism and rebellious religious fundamentalists.

The cost to purchase metal detectors and other security equipment by hotels to ensure the safety of guests would also hit the bottom line of hotel companies.

Slower-than-expected tourist arrivals and foreign investment would affect economic growth which was set to grow by four per cent in 2019 from 3.2 per cent in 2018.

Tea prices are likely to fall, the import bill would rise owing to increased spending for the security forces, which is needed of course, and urgent structural reforms are likely to be put on hold. These are some of the issues that the economy would face in the coming months. Whether elections  provincial, presidential and parliamentary  would be held in the next six to 12 months remains to be seen given the current security crisis though any postponement would depend on an interpretation of the Constitution.

(PS: As I write this the choon-paan karayas tune can be heard blaring down the lane)

The latest Central Bank 2018 annual report released last week also focuses on many challenges facing the economy. Primarily it speaks of the impact on the economy owing to delayed structural reforms.

It said for Sri Lanka to succeed as a higher income economy and improve the well-being of its people, it is essential that the root causes for the continued low economic growth are addressed.

While the postponement of much needed structural reforms has moved the Sri Lankan economy to a modest growth path, delays in addressing barriers to growth and introducing growth enhancing reforms in the areas of export promotion, attracting FDI, reducing budget deficits and debt levels, reforming factor markets, strengthening public administration and ensuring the rule of law have largely contributed to Sri Lankas economic stagnation, the report said.

A key point that it makes is that Sri Lanka is unable to succeed despite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and the potential to support a high economic growth path.

The lack of coherent policies is clearly seen during the reign of the Maithripala-Ranil administration, with both ruling parties working at cross-purposes, often one party proposing a policy only to find the other party dismantling it. The government also falls short in resolute and firm decision-making with the recent example of the Presidents call to the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police to resign, initially being ignored by the parties concerned.

Sri Lanka has so much more to offer more than economies like Vietnam. FDI in 2018 was a record US$2 billion with expectations of raising $3 billion in 2019, though that is most unlikely owing to the current security situation.

In contrast, FDI in Vietnam, which has much less attractions than Sri Lanka particularly in the case of a skilled labour force with a good knowledge of the English language, rose to $19.1 billion in 2018, up by nine per cent from 2017.

Vietnams success is also owing to increased foreign investment in high-tech industries, rather than labour-intensive sectors and much needed structural reforms in the economy.

As I prepare to wind up todays column with the usual parting shot, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with another cup of tea (which I had requested), saying (with a sad face): Mokak-da wunay apey rata-ta (What has happened to our country?).

Dukai  hari dukai (Sadvery sad), I reply, reflecting on a nation that was touted as the most peaceful nation on earth for tourists to visit, after the end of the 1980-2009 civil conflict.
SLT, Asiainfo Intl. sign MoU to facilitate provision of innovative digital solutions to Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national ICT solutions provider, recently entered into a partnership with Asiainfo International Pte Ltd, a leading IT solution and service integrator in the global communication industry, to introduce digital products and solutions to the Sri Lankan market.

The agreement will facilitate SLT to develop viable digital solutions to consumer, SME and enterprise segments in the country, and will make a significant contribution towards Sri Lankas journey of digital transformation. The agreement was signed by CEO/SLT, Kiththi Perera and Vice President and Regional Head / Asiainfo, Michael Chan at SLT office in Colombo.

Commenting on the new partnership, SLT CEO Mr. Perera said: The SLT Group remains passionate and committed to driving the digital revolution of Sri Lanka, and to transforming lives into digital lifestyles. This partnership with Asia Info International is one key step that we are taking towards realizing this vision.

Vice President and Regional Head of Asiainfo International, Mr. Chan, said: The digital revolution is totally changing life as we know it, even as we speak. It calls for a total transformation of business models. We are excited to partner with SLT in Sri Lanka with its long and impressive history that spans over 160 years.
Spicy trade between India and Sri Lanka View(s):

In December 2017, the Indian government introduced a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on imported black pepper as Indian Rs. 500 per kg. The target was the increase in Sri Lankas exports of low-quality and cheap pepper to India, which have pushed down the domestic pepper prices there.

It was reported that within that year alone the domestic pepper price has fallen by 35 per cent. Consequently, there was a growing discontent among Indias pepper growers and traders, which had become a political issue.

The MIP, however, did not crack down on the issue; Sri Lanka continued to dump low-quality and cheap pepper to the Indian market. This time the exporters used to split their large pepper consignments into smaller quantities and, transported many times to India through many different ports.

I take this issue today, to discuss not necessarily the pepper trade, but the difference between free trade and free trade agreements. The two essentially differ from each other, while there is no way to replace free trade with a free trade agreement.

I was also inspired by the fact that the issue has paved the way for bribery and corruption at high levels. And there are alleged links as revealed last week, even to finance terrorism through corrupted spice trade.

Distorted trade

Under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sri Lanka can export 2,500 Metric tons (Mt) of black pepper to India without import duty, and any amount above that at 8 per cent import duty. India also imports pepper from Vietnam and other countries which is subject to 54 per cent import duty.

Sri Lanka is known to produce high-quality pepper and other spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. India paid US$6,000 per Mt of Sri Lankan pepper, while Vietnam pepper is about half of that price. When Vietnam pepper was re-exported to India after mixing with Sri Lankan pepper at high price and low duty, India was said to have lost $2,700 per Mt.

FTAs can promote corrupted trade practices. Pepper from Vietnam can enter the Indian market via Sri Lanka and make unwarranted profits through corrupted business practices; with such business practices, traders can avoid higher import duty through the Indo-Lanka FTA on the one hand, and claim higher market value applied to high-quality pepper under the Sri Lankan label on the other hand.

Sri Lankas infamous trade

Apparently the above practice seems impossible without bribery and corruption entering Sri Lankas trade under the FTA: First, pepper should enter Sri Lanka through the customs, and then for exporting to India it should receive the certificate of origin as stipulated in the FTA.

The Hindu newspaper in India in its business section  Businessline  on January 8, 2018, reported that the bribe in Sri Lanka to re-label Vietnam pepper with a fake certificate of origin is $1,000 per Mt; it makes Vietnam pepper eligible to be exported under the Indo-Lanka FTA.

Thats how Sri Lanka became infamous for exporting low-quality cheap pepper to India.

By the way, the government also needs to employ people to deal with all above malpractices, carried out by the people of the government itself  a source of job creation and job multiplication!

A world full of criss-cross FTAs looks like a spaghetti bowl resulting in costly complications, according to economist Jagdish Bhagwati. And to manage that complicated trade as well as to combat bribery and corruption associated with that trade, the government should create and multiply jobs which the nation has to pay for.

Sri Lankas pepper miracle

Until 2016 for most of the years, Sri Lankas exports of pepper to India were around 5,000 Mt, according to International Trade Centre (ITC) data. In 2017 and 2018, it more than doubled, exceeding 10,000 Mt.

India has always been the main export market for Sri Lanka to export pepper, while more than 80 per cent Sri Lankan pepper was sold to India. But for India, Sri Lanka wasnt the main source of pepper supply until 2017; it was Vietnam.

In 2016 India imported over 40 per cent of its pepper from Vietnam, while Sri Lanka supplied 20 per cent only. By 2017 Sri Lankan pepper exports surpassed the Vietnam exports; but dont think that Sri Lanka did a miracle by doubling pepper production within one year! It was simply the Vietnam pepper that was re-exported via Sri Lanka.

Hot products

Since the time of implementing the Indo-Lanka FTA in 2000, free trade in some products between the two countries became hot at both ends, and continues to be so to-date.

In the early days it was about items like copper products that Sri Lanka started exporting to India. I dont think Sri Lanka had copper mines at all. But at that time Sri Lankas fastest-growing export item to India under the FTA was the copper products, until it was cracked down! Then, we heard similar stories regarding many other products such as marble, granite, florescent bulbs and plywoods.

Among minor export commodities, it was about mixing cheaper cloves and cardamom imported from Indonesia with Sri Lankan products, and re-exporting to India under the FTA. After that it was about Vanaspati  palm oil which Sri Lanka didnt have a known history of producing here on a large scale.

Another export racket was the re-export of Indonesian areca nut to India through Sri Lanka; if it was directly from Indonesia, areca nut was subject to 100 per cent import duty at the Indian port.

Question that confuses us

Finally, there is an important and confusing question that we have to answer: Do all these things mean that we should impose import barriers? I am sure, at least some might take it to bring about an argument against open economy and to justify protective trade regime.

The whole issue is due to bogus business practices which were made possible by bribery and corruption at high level. It is the regulatory regimes more than the open economy that open up opportunities for bogus business practices, bribery and corruption.

Secondly, it is the lapses in law enforcement that enable bogus businesses. For example, there is free trade among the member countries within the European Union. But it does not mean that someone can engage in bogus business practices; there is law enforcement on the one hand, and there are technical and quality standards applicable on the other hand. If goods and services that enter into trade do not meet the required technical and quality standards, that business is highly unlikely to succeed.

Overall policy environment

Finally, the underlying economic factor is the difference between micro matters and the overall trade environment. Even if Sri Lanka adopts import controls on a couple of commodities as the government actually did in some cases, what matters most is the overall trade policy; does it create an open economy that supports trade expansion or protect the environment that impede it?

Exports of all of the spices account for only 3 per cent of the total $12 billion exports in 2018.

Sri Lankas overall economic progress through trade expansion would never depend on a couple of minor export crops or individual export products under FTA. It might be important for a couple of individuals, but not for the nation.

The overall economic progress would depend on the successful integration of the country with the global economy through trade in manufactures and services.

Countries, however, enter into FTAs for different reasons, while some of these reasons are not even economic. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), there are 291 spaghetti bowl trade agreements in force in the world by January 2019. Nevertheless, it is not these trade agreements, but the overall trade policy reforms which have contributed to the economic success of the nations. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk).
SriLankan Airlines faces flood of cancellations View(s):

While Sri Lankas national carrier has seen a flood of cancellations and expects to lose at least US$100 million in revenue, MICE experts say confirmed bookings of events including weddings have been cancelled after the Easter Sunday carnage.

With tourists arrivals likely to see a 30-50 per cent drop this year, SriLankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka told the Business Times that as at Tuesday, cancellations in May was 17 per cent compared to May last year, 12 per cent in June and about 18 per cent in July. We expect the figures to go up, he said, adding that a new 5-year business plan for 2019-2024, which was announced to the media earlier this month, would be re-visited.

Noting that the worst affected routes are London and Tokyo, he said that they were awaiting a message from the authorities as to when the situation would return to normal.

The moment we have some clarity from the Government we can work (with the authorities) on relaxing the travel advisories. Without this clarity and assurances there is no use in targetted marketing and special promotions, he said, adding that they would then examine how traffic could be increased (or restored) from India and China (Sri Lankas main tourist source markets).

According to officials at the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, at least 90 per cent of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) bookings in Sri Lanka have been postponed, cancelled or put on hold in the next two months (May/June).

We have been informed of several postponements, cancellations or events placed on hold, said a worried senior official, who added that three Indian weddings, each bringing around 500 guests from India and the rest of the world, had been cancelled for this month. A 1000-pax event by a local operator due to be held in July has been put on hold.

Meanwhile tourism industry companies are seeking a moratorium on loans, a specialised PR to handle promotions and for the government to speak with one voice to the international community on the measures taken to strengthen security.

Amidst the gloom at least two under-construction hotels were going ahead with plans to open in late 2019 and early 2020.

The 164-room Next Hotel Colombo is slated to open in November 2019 within the Colombo City Centre, the Singapore-based Next Hotels & Resorts said, responding to a query by the Business Times. We are still working towards the scheduled opening date and will continue to monitor the situation, it added in an email comment.

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which in returning to country in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening. David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, has said that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible.
33 language blunders in emergency notification View(s):

With questions being raised on how the state agencies handled prior warnings about the Easter Sunday bombings, there are also concerns over more blunders and blunders. One such case is the ongoing Emergency Regulations, introduced just a day after the dastardly incidents.

This was followed a day later by another gazette notification to correct as many as 33 mistakes in the original gazette.

Some of the mistakes were clearly seen as ones which could have been avoided only if the officials were more attentive on a document which deals with national security.

Here are some of the mistakes that were corrected. The corrected version with the erroneous words within brackets follows:

The Commander of the Army (Commissioner of the Army ), Use (sue), Offence (office), Police station of his area (police of his are), Not exceeding (after exceeding) to incite (to incine), not less than five thousand rupees and not exceeding ten thousand rupees (not less than five hundred rupees and hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees), shall be guilty of an offence (shall be of an offence) acts or omission (acts or commission). In addition, several regulation numbers too were corrected.

Only few weeks ago, a textual mistake occurred in a gazette notification was corrected. A gazette notification issued by the Secretary to the President was rectified with a mistake being about the name of an officer appointed to a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Rajitha says he and seven ministers on terrorists hit list

When religious leaders were rejecting bullet-proof vehicles and requesting more security for the people, politicians were concerned more about their own security. One of them was Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who said that eight ministers, including himself, were on the hit list of the extremist terrorist groups.

My security told me to stay put at home as we are targets of the terrorists. Therefore, on April 28 and 29 I stayed at home. We cant endanger our lives so we take our own measures to create our own security. He explained that he survived both the JVP uprisings and LTTE terrorism because he took the security advice given to him seriously.

He divulged one of the security steps taken by him. He said he used to get himself dropped at his Ministry by the visitors who came to his residence.

If the visitors were going past my ministry, I hitch a ride in their vehicles, he said. Having now revealed this secret, he will have to change his strategy.

Last week, more than hundred Government and Opposition MPs sought more security from the government.

JVP wants national security plan

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will not hold any political rallies until the security situation returns to normal, spokesperson Vijitha Herath MP said yesterday.

He said the party would extend its full support if the government formulated a national security plan to bring about normalcy.

Clarification on burqa ban

President Maithripala Sirisena has agreed to make amendments to the Gazette notification banning the niqab and the burqa.

The move follows representations made to him by a Muslim group. The change relates to covering the ears.

Army seeks help from ex-LTTE cadres

The services of one-time LTTE cadres were sought this week in the North  that was to help in keeping an eye on suspicious movements in the area after the Easter Sunday bombings.

On Tuesday, some former cadres were asked to be present for a meeting at a Jaffna Army camp where senior Army officers explained how the ex-cadres could play a role in ensuring national security and requested their assistance.

In return, the ex-cadres who have been marginalised socially and politically by their own community  for whom they said they took up arms in the past  assured they would extend their support to the Forces in their efforts to maintain security.

Only one passenger on Swissair flight

The number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka has dwindled in the past two weeks.

A Swissair flight that landed in Colombo on Friday had only one passenger getting off.

Cardinal raises questions about security measures

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which security operations were being conducted against ISIS terrorists.

He said that only one layer was being probed whilst other aspects were not being focused upon.

His remarks came when a delegation from opposition parties led by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met him on Friday night.

The Cardinal, who is also the Archbishop of Colombo, said some politicians had been given ministerial positions which they had abused. Such persons have not been probed for the multitude of allegations for fear that they would lose votes.

The Cardinal said opposition parties, if they were to form a government, should not take such persons into the Cabinet. Instead it would be better for them to form a government with a stable major party than opt for such unscrupulous persons from smaller minority parties.

The Catholic Church has been co-operating with many state agencies and passing on information it receives about matters relating to the Easter Sunday carnage. In one instance, it gave the name of a foreigner who had come to Sri Lanka with US$ 100,000. He was arrested and investigators had revealed that his account balance had since increased. Further questioning is under way.

Archbishops House sources said Cardinal Ranjith was alluding to the role of a Muslim minister who is alleged to have extended support to the IS terrorists and their local counterparts. He is alleged to have been responsible for obtaining empty copper artillery shells and passing them down to a factory owner who is in the thick of terrorist activity.

At the meeting with the Cardinal, among others who took part were Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, G.L. Peiris and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.

Another case of warning being ignored

Its unbelievable but true. A hotelier on a visit to a European capital met a Sri Lankan diplomat, a former bureaucrat.

He claimed that he had taken a report when he was in Colombo to a political leader. That was about the activities of an extremist Muslim group which was bent on violence.

The politician, he complained, snubbed him and declared Just be. Dont do anything to offend the Muslim community.

Army chief blames politicians

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is indeed outspoken and appears to be disturbed about the Easter Sunday massacre.

He told the BBC during an interview that politicians should take the responsibility for the bombings.
Rajapaksas Joint Opposition ready to support him in security measures to tackle IS terror, but no political support

Evidence emerges that IS chose Sri Lanka because of its close military ties with US;latest agreement runs into 80 pages

UNP leadership crisis grows; Wickremesinghe faces party revolt to oust him ahead of presidential election Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was in a multi-color handloom shirt and sarong, not his white national dress with the maroon satakaya (shawl) around his neck, when he greeted President Maithripala Sirisena at the latters residence on Thursday night.

He said he did not have time to change clothes for Sirisenas meeting with leaders of Opposition political parties. He had been at the wedding of onetime Minister, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenes son. Looking dapper, the President replied that he too was at a wedding of the son of former Minister Vijith Vijithamuni de Soysa MP. It was to be held at the Shangri La Hotel. Due to its closure after damage caused by the Easter Sunday carnage by pro-IS terror groups, the reception had been shifted to Temple Trees, now the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As a result of the IS-inspired attacks by local terror groups, there were hundreds of cancellations of wedding receptions at hotels. This was so for hotels that were damaged and those not affected. Many families shifted the venue to their homes and chose to invite only an immediate circle of relatives and friends. Others postponed the weddings. This is what prompted Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) architect Basil Rajapaksa to ask President Sirisena how Temple Trees became the venue after there was a public declaration by the United National Front government that Temple Trees would not be available for weddings any more. This was after Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne gave his son Chatura, an MP, in marriage at a Temple Trees ceremony with the catering being done by a five star hotel.

Politicians make the laws, give pledges and break them. In this case, it is with disregard to the reality that a nation is mourning the brutal massacre of more than 250 men, women and children. There are over 480 injured, some of them seriously. Schools are closed and children cannot attend for fear of attacks. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, wants to assign at least one police constable for each school to protect children. For the same reason, Sunday mass cannot be held in churches, Friday Jumma prayers in mosques and even poojas at Buddhist or Hindu temples. But a hallowed public institution, heavily secured by armed Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos becomes a wedding hall for the privileged. Replying to Basil Rajapaksa, President Sirisena explained that giving Temple Trees was inevitable. Former minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa would be unable to find an auspicious hour for the next one year or more. For the vast majority in Sri Lanka it was inauspicious not due to their own fault. Their political leaders, a Defence Secretary, a Police Chief and intelligence officials, who lacked common sense, had failed in their duty. Yet, not for ministers and MPs are those inconveniences. Not when state resources are so easily available. Some even sought enhanced security.

Significant enough, Sirisena sat down alone for the 50-minute meeting with the Opposition delegation. There was no one from his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The delegation comprised Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, G.L. Peiris, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Dullas Alahapperuma from the SLPP. Others were: Dinesh Gunawardena (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya) and Tissa Vitharana (Lanka Sama Samaja Party)

Ahead of the meeting with President Sirisena, the Opposition party leaders met at the Wijerama Mawatha residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Munching sandwiches, they discussed strategy over what should be discussed with the President. It was Weerawansa who remarked jocularly, Puluwang tharam kanna. Ehey (meaning the Presidents residence) mokuth denney nehe or eat as much as you can  you will not get anything to eat there. What he said came true. Weerawansa was heard telling a colleague that they were not even given a cup of tea or a glass of water as he forecast.

Presidential committee report

President Sirisena was to reveal at the meeting that he had already received an interim report from a three-member Committee that is probing the Easter Sunday carnage. It is headed by serving Supreme Court Judge Justice Vijith Malalgoda and comprised N.K. Illangakoon, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), and Pathmasiri Jayamanne, a onetime Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order. The committees broad mandate is to investigate causes and background for the national catastrophe that occurred on April 21 in Sri Lanka, according to the Presidential Secretariat. Sirisena, however, did not tell the meeting the findings contained in the interim report. Other sources revealed that the interim report has made damning strictures against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera.

The two of them together with retired DIG Sisira Mendis (a retired crime investigator), now Chief of National Intelligence (CNI)  the top most official in the intelligence hierarcy  were subject to intense questioning by members of the Committee. Their interim report has now been forwarded to Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera. President Sirisena is now awaiting his recommendations including opinion on laws they may have violated as a prelude to court action. Ahead of that, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives will record their statements.

In high security circles, serious concerns have been raised over a turf war that is going on particularly within the State Intelligence Service (SIS). It is the premier national intelligence agency. As reported earlier, a plethora of so-called intelligence reports warning against actions by Sri Lankan pro-ISIS terror groups were released to the social media. Then came reports saying that the SIS Director DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had a meeting with President Sirisena to personally brief him on the threats  a claim strongly denied by Sirisena. Now, tape-recorded mobile phone conversations have been selectively leaked, raising the all-important question whether elements within were endangering national security interests, whilst engaged in a game of pointing the finger at the highest levels of the government. In the process, they are also baring the fact that mobile phones are also being snooped on with new equipment. One need hardly say this is an extremely dangerous situation. The question is whether this would also be ignored much the same way intelligence warnings were.

The matter transpired at the discussion President Sirisena had with leaders of the Opposition parties. He named the person behind one English website operating from London and declared they had reported that he received a personal warning from SIS Chief DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. This so-called exclusive account, the President claimed, was a fabrication. A loquacious UNF minister also made reference to the claim at a news conference on Tuesday saying it was true, but added the remarks were off-the-record. Yet, what he said has been tape recorded by many who attended the event. President Sirisena then referred to another Sinhala website, also operating from London and named the person behind it. He said he was being maligned in obscene language by the website. This website is banned in Sri Lanka. No action was possible since they were operating with impunity from Britain often violating Britains own laws.

That such leaks are occurring in the countrys premier intelligence agency is not at all conducive to public safety. It is in President Sirisenas own interest to clean up the institution and ensure there is professionalism. Of course, the criteria of having people who offer personal loyalty in return for remaining in the post would have to be re-examined. At present there is no one to mind the minder and nowhere else could it be disastrous than in the national intelligence service.

Sirisena said the website about the SIS boss DIG Jayawardena personally warning him has been translated into Sinhala. With added vituperative and malicious remarks against him, more than 1000 copies were detected at the Central Mail Exchange. It has been brought there for posting by two staffers (with identity cards) who had worked for a leading UNF minister. The letters were addressed to Buddhist temples countrywide. He charged that the move was intended to cause communal strife.

This prompted SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera to allege at a news conference on Friday that Minister and Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella was behind the move. The objective, he said, was to destroy the Presidents image which had improved in recent months. He claimed that it was three officials from the ministers media division who have been arrested. Police said they were Sampath Kumara, Danusha Priyadarshana and Thaksala Weerasena.

Minister Kiriellas spokesperson Sameela Wanigasekera said the Minister would not comment to the media. However, the Kiriella issued a statement saying he had made inquiries about the website account. There is no intention to sling mud, incite racial tension or spread anti-government feelings. It only raises the question whether intelligence officials had alerted those responsible, the statement added.

G. L. Peiris, the nominal SLPP leader, told the meeting with President Sirisena that the Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka had told him that he had warned the government about possible attacks. Turkey has been the victim of a number of attacks and was the first country to proscribe IS. The envoy had said that a group of 50 had come to Sri Lanka and were operating under cover. President Sirisena undertook to go into the matter. Throughout the session, he was seen writing notes over matters raised by Opposition leaders.

Wimal Weerawansa said that one of the biggest shortcomings had been the appointment of unqualified and inexperienced persons to the Intelligence community. For the past four years, they have remained complacent. He said a large number of persons from different countries were in Sri Lanka without valid visas. They should be deported immediately, he noted.

Basil Rajapaksa declared that the Opposition delegation had come to extend their unqualified support to President Sirisena to combat IS terrorism. This was what the Opposition was willing to do without in any way joining President Sirisenas or his party. The first step he should take, he pointed out, was to withdraw the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill. On May 7 it will go before the Parliament Oversight Committee headed by Mayantha Dissanayake, UNF MP.

President Sirisena replied that the Cabinet had approved the draft bill on the strict understanding that changes would be incorporated during different stages. He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was pushing hard for the passage of the Bill on the grounds that the UN Human Rights Council was pressing for it, President Sirisena revealed. Mahinda Rajapaksa urged that a Parliamentary Select Committee be appointed to go into the matter and review the controversial provisions in the draft. Sirisena agreed that it would not be passed in Parliament in the present format. We are in the Opposition. We will not change that position but this is a national crisis. We will support on account of this. That does not mean we support you per se, said Basil Rajapaksa. G.L. Peiris added that the draft Counter Terrorism Bill badly affected individual freedom, media freedom and even violated the rights of trade unions. He said purely to appease UN body, we should not compromise on our national interest. He said that was not a good move for Sri Lanka and urged President Sirisena to be vigilant over this.

President Sirisena told Opposition party leaders that he blamed Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera for failing to bring the intelligence warnings to his attention. Mahinda Rajapaksa referred to the comedy of errors after the Easter Sunday carnage. Casualty figures were being changed at will. An unrelated Muslim lady living in the United States had been made an accused. We offer our unconditional support. Yet, it is our supporters who are being harassed and victimised, he declared. He was alluding to the arrest of an Opposition MP over public remarks he had made. Wimal Weerawansa echoed the same sentiments.

US agreement with Sri Lanka

Rajapaksa said that he had commissioned a group of retired military officers to formulate a report identifying the causes that led to the carnage. He asked Sirisena whether he could come with them or by himself and hand over that report. The President replied that he would give him a time.

Weerawansa also raised the issue of a purported request by the United States Embassy in Colombo to provide diplomatic status to US officials and personnel who have come here following the Easter Sunday massacre. At this point, Sirisena reached out to his telephone and spoke to Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha. He asked him whether such a thing had happened. Obviously, there was a miscommunication. Sirisena had to re-iterate, I am asking you; did you agree to this? Aryasinha said he would have to check and report to him. Besides US intelligence personnel, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team is among those in Sri Lanka.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised issue over the presence of Britains Mi-5 (intelligence) personnel on Sri Lankan soil and asked how many had come. President Sirisena replied there were ten or twelve. Weerawansa noted that there were more than 40 such foreign personnel in Sri Lanka. We did not invite them. They came on their own. My people are complaining that they cannot go ahead with their work since each group is asking them for briefings. We cannot listen to all of them. We will only listen to India at this moment, the president added. That appears to be an acknowledgement of the intelligence warnings India gave including one this week. Those remarks would also mean that President Sirisena is not too happy with the foreign intelligence presence and their advice to local counterparts. This was manifest in some of the concerns expressed by senior personnel.

Not surprisingly. The elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was featured in a video released on Monday April 24  only his second ever -

to show he is alive, by speaking about the recent fall of his groups stronghold in Baghouz, Syria, while praising terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.

In an 18-minute video featuring both audio and video, Baghdadi, seated on a floor with masked IS lieutenants, said the April 21 Sri Lanka attacks, which killed at least 253 people, were revenge for the siege and fall of their last redoubt in Baghouz, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi propaganda. It added:

As for your brothers in Sri Lanka, they have put joy in the hearts of the monotheists with their immersing operations that struck the homes of the Crusaders in their Easter, in vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz, Baghdadi said, chuckling over the high number of casualties. This is part of the vengeance that awaits the Crusaders and their henchmen, Allah permitting. Praise be to Allah, among the dead were Americans and Europeans, he said. The statement about Sri Lanka appeared in an audio portion of the video that did not show Baghdadi. This may have been tacked on after he was filmed following the fall of Baghouz, according to SITEs director Rita Katz. Baghdadi appeared healthy in a black headscarf, khaki fishing vest and with a bushy grey beard. By his side was a Russian AK-74U assault rifle.

President Sirisena confirmed links between the Islamic State and terror groups in Sri Lanka. He told CNNs Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley on Tuesday in his first interview since the massacre that there is a connection between the Sri Lankan suicide bombers and the ISIS. It is clear they obtained training from the ISIS, according to international and domestic intelligence agencies, he said. He insisted that I was not informed of information pertaining to the attacks.

At the conclusion of the CNN interview at the Presidential Secretariat, I spoke with President Sirisena. I asked him why he had made accusations against me at a cabinet meeting. I said last week, After the Easter Sunday massacre, the first special cabinet meeting saw some heated exchanges between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. The President named some newspapers of supporting Wickremesinghe. In the process, he named the Political Editor of the Sunday Times and said he (the Political Editor) was angry with him for the President did not leak secret information. Very strange indeed. One would have to be insane to ask the President of any country, leave alone Sri Lanka, to leak secret information President Sirisena replied Mama ehema deyak kivvey nehe. Meka UNP karayenge pracharayak. Prevesam wenna or I did not say such a thing. It is UNP propaganda and I should be careful he exhorted. However, I did ask three different ministers and they confirmed that the remarks were indeed made. It was during a heated argument Sirisena had with Wickremesinghe.

IS leader al-Baghdadis remarks confirms what was revealed in these columns last week  that the increasing military role of the United States in Sri Lanka, the result of successive bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry unhesitatingly heeding one concession after another to the United States. This was the cause for IS building a military machine with Muslim extremists and carrying out bombing attacks in Sri Lanka. One example is the seemingly innocuous Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) renewed with the present government by then Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. He is now Sri Lankas Ambassador to Germany. Signing for the US was then Ambassador Atul Keshap. If the previous agreement was only a handful of pages, the new one by this government runs into over 80 pages.

The Sunday Times has seen the agreement between by the US Defence Department and the Ministry of Defence. The applicability of the agreement begins with a preamble which says This Agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the parties (US and Sri Lanka) to be used during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other co-operative efforts, or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need for Logistic Support, Supplies and Services.

This Agreement applies to the provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services from the military forces of one party to the military forces of the other Party in return either for cash payment or reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services to the military forces of the Supplying Party. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard is considered part of the military forces of the Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Significantly, it allows every single security or military apparatus in the United States access to Sri Lanka. All those security commands are listed one by one and the Point of Contact (POC) defined. If as made out, this is routine and the US has such arrangements with many other countries, this agreement has never been tabled in Parliament. At least one UNF minister, known for his heavy American leanings, has helped in this and a number of such other arrangements. So much so, in security circles the name referred to this aspect is M..a doctrine. At least to re-assure the people of Sri Lanka, it is not still too late to table it in Parliament so a debate could follow. Sri Lankans would then know whether the country has been compromised or not. Some of the contents would very clearly highlight the dangers that portend and ensure a healthy debate whether all the military deals with US have been in the best interests of Sri Lanka or heavily weighted in favour of the US.

Like most other countries, that the US has etched a strong security footprint in Sri Lanka was all too well known. And that expedited IS terror preparations although recruitment and training have been going on for years. Like in the intelligence community, lack of professionalism together with high levels of bureaucracy having a lack of knowledge (even on the basics of foreign policy) had led to this catastrophe. How long one of the key sectors of the economy the tourism ministry would take to recover also remains a critical issue. Many hoteliers complained to President Sirisena during a conference last week that they were heavily indebted to banks and would find it impossible to pay their dues. Sirisena said he would appoint a Cabinet Sub Committee to decide on relief measures.

The move came as Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote to Speaker Karu Jayasuruya seeking a full day debate on the Easter Sunday carnage. The matter is expected to be taken up when the Speaker chairs a party leaders meeting tomorrow, just a day before Parliament sittings commence. Speaker Jayasuriya has put in place new security measures where MPs and their vehicles will be subject to checks outside the Parliament complex.

Sirisenas political future

This weeks developments once again bring to the fore the question whether Sirisena has become a loner both in his fight against terror and has much publicised campaign against drug abuse. The latter move was his ambitious effort to make a comeback at the presidential election. He has remarked at discussions overheard by senior security officials that he would contest the presidential election this year. Some opine it was only a message to demonstrate to those concerned that he would remain in power lest they pay less attention if he spoke of retirement.

On the one hand, Sirisenas relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has grown into a point of no return. Both are trading accusations at each other and firing one salvo after another over the Easter Sunday carnage. The finger pointing has reached deplorable levels. UNF Ministers are holding news conferences and launching their own campaigns against Sirisena. That is to place the blame for the attacks entirely on his shoulders. This is whilst the silence of Muslim ministers has been deafening. They formed parties and parroted for years that they were the sole guardians of Muslim interests. If the community did not benefit, these ministers have immensely reaped the harvest from their official positions. Some have travelled often to West Asian countries for aid for the community and returned with sacks so to say. On Friday, Rishad Bathiuddin, Minister of Industry and Commerce left for Oman thought the reasons are yet unknown.

On the other hand, the Joint Opposition parties which met Sirisena on Thursday night have made clear they will support him unequivocally in his drive against terror. Other than that, they have made clear there was no political support for him. Nor would they join a government which Sirisena may wish to form or extend other support. Significantly, it was all by himself that he met the leaders of the Opposition parties.

This clearly means that President Sirisena has to clear the gigantic mess he has created by appointing mediocre, inefficient and unqualified persons to top positions. Recent events have shown that his writ as President did not extend even to the Police Chief. It took him days to send him on compulsory leave. His priority will have to be to replace those yes men if he is to make a start and make up his mind that those men being good to him is not enough. If he does not, he will continue to face mounting issues. If he does, that will still not draw him wider support to become even the lonely Sri Lanka Freedom Partys candidate at the presidential election. The party is dissolving slowly but surely with most MPs distancing themselves from current issues.

The lone warrior Sirisenas fights may end up with the President becoming a political orphan or be overtaken by fast developing events. That does not mean manna from heaven for the UNP. It is in an equally poor state, if not worse, with signs of a leadership crisis erupting once more against Ranil Wickremesinghe. There were clear signs this week with ouster moves gaining momentum. He has survived them in the past. It has to be seen whether he could now. This is why Sri Lanka is at the crossroads.
Nation demands answer: Who are the guilty men? View(s):

Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away. Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away.

Who are the guilty men?

And the whole nation calls, in the midst of their grief and shock, to exhume from the grave of Lankas gross negligence and complacency upon which Muslim fanatics were allowed to dance in wild abandon to find their passage to heavens door, the moribund carcass of responsibility; and to find as to who were really responsible, singularly or collectively, for the catastrophe that was waiting to happen; and which could have been averted if not for the negligence and even the collusion of its political masters.

The question nags and tests a nations credulity. How come that, with such a wealth of intelligence as to the formation, funding, and the rise of NTJ from obscurity to national prominence  from smashing Buddha statutes in Mawanella to bombing Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and blasting seven-star hotels in the city  no one in the know of the flood of information available, was moved to act to avert Easter Sundays holocaust?

Its not merely that the three warnings delivered by the Indian intelligence service to their Colombo counterparts went largely ignored. The litany of lapses go far beyond in time and smacks not merely of criminal negligence as it surely is but, worse, of active collusion considering how the authorities, both in this Government and in the previous regime, naively allowed the NTJ to be born, boom and flourish and bring the nation to its knees swathed in tears and stricken with fear.

Who are the guilty men that brought Lanka to this sad, calamitous pass? Perhaps we will never know. But lets ask the men at the helm, what they have to say in their defence. And lets start at the very beginning. And a very good place to start is right at the top.

THE PRESIDENT

Like a duck takes to water President Sirisena swiftly moved to renounce all knowledge of the impending threat. He passed the buck to his defence secretary, whom he had employed just five months before. He, the President of the country, in charge of defence and law and order, had been kept in the dark, estranged from even a tit bit of intelligence the Indian intelligence service had communicated to their counterpart in Colombo. Not only did he deny prior knowledge but even stated he was ignorant that the attack had taken place until someone showed him on a cell phone the carnage that had occurred.

He said in his May Day address to the nation: I got to know of the carnage when I was in Singapore on the 21st around 10 am. The moment I got to know it, the first thought that came to mind is the question that many in Lanka ask now. How did it happen? At noon that day I phoned the defence secretary and told him to immediately appoint a presidential commission to probe how it happened. I even gave him the names of who should be appointed to the commission. On the 23rd the commission became active and all of you have the right to make your suggestions to it now.

Wow! A presidential commission to probe the affair appointed within forty-eight hours of the carnage? And the orders given from Singapore where the president was holidaying. Hows that for immediate action? Impressive, isnt it?

Then the Minister of Defence and Law and Order, President Sirisena, went onto say: The IGP and the defence secretary could have easily averted this great carnage. They had all the means to do so. But they did not discharge their responsibility.

Now for the tear jerker: He said: I do not love my life. I am a person who has died and been resurrected five times. The LTTE came with their suicide bombers to kill me. They got killed. I have seen on Facebook extremists stating that soon I will be destroyed. I am not afraid of death. I will discharge my responsibility to protect the nation.

Good. And hopefully the public can have a peaceful night of sleep, and rest assured that their lives are in safe hands. For the common people on the streets do not have the security he is fortunate enough to have. And look up to him from the carnage for protection. Those who died two Sundays ago, unlike cats who have nine lives to waste, had only but one. One may live nine times but die only once.

And for the record, the President said: I must specially state that the intelligence received by the responsible intelligence chiefs have not been communicated even to me.

As the President told at the meeting of the editors last week, he was simply clueless. Before and after.

He said: After the attack, the persons with me informed me that they had got messages to the effect that an attack had been carried out in Sri Lanka. An hour later they showed me reports on social media that there has been an advance warning about the possible attacks. The warning was reportedly received on April 4, but I left the country only on April 16, but I was not alerted.

Tells a sad tale of good governance, does it not?

THE PRIME MINISTER

If the President passed the buck to his defence secretary and to the Inspectors General of Police, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the blame to the entire Parliament, specifically to those in the Opposition for blocking enactment of his Counter Terrorism Bill, set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Monday, Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if the new Counter Terrorism Bill had been passed in Parliament.

He said: No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision.

We have included this provision in the new Counter Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if this legislation was passed, he said.

If Maithripala Sirisena expressed that view he could have, perhaps, been forgiven. He is, after all only a diploma holder in Agriculture and all at sea with the law. But coming from the lips of the Prime Minister who is a law graduate from the University of Colombo and an attorney-at-law, to boot, it leaves much to be desired.

Consider this for example: According to the prime ministers statement that a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could not be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found, then Lanka for these last five years would have been the ideal safe haven for international terrorists to have found refuge in. Had he been alive, Al Qaedas Osama Bin Laden would not have had to sweat it out in some Pakistan dinghy flat when he could have enjoyed paradise on Lankas beaches sipping a mocktail of his choice and giving orders on his cell for others of his kin to enter heaven by blasting infidels.

The Prime Minister also stated that it is not even in the Penal Code. Perhaps he read the wrong law book.

According to him a foreign terrorists could have lived and operated freely in Lanka, and the forces and the police could have done nothing about it merely because the Counter Terrorism Bill was blocked by Parliament.

Funny isnt it that while laws are there to deport a young British girl who is found to have a Buddha image tattooed on her arm is arrested at the airport, produced before the magistrate and then remanded and deported as happened three years ago, a known foreign terrorist could come to Lanka and live unmolested without fear of arrest and deportation? No one is saying that a foreign terrorist should be tried here and imprisoned here? That is not this countrys business. Deportation from Lankan soil of such manifested evil would have sufficed.

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi who had gone missing for the last three years and had suddenly surfaced to comment on the Easter Sunday carnage and praise his cadres, must be ruing his ignorance of not being aware that Lanka was a safe house for him and his demons of death to take safe refuge in.

But the law was and is there. And has always been there for the last so many years. It was just that it was not enforced. Perhaps the Prime Minister should revisit his law books and find in the Extradition Act, the right to deport undesirable aliens, the same Act he used this week to order the deportation of 600 Muslim teachers who had been teaching at Madrasa schools in Lanka. If he could have used that general law of the land to do so, what on earth made him say that there was no law to arrest, question, detain and deport a foreign terrorist?

The Prime Minister also said, informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks.

Then why on earth must this nation have to spend billions every year on politicians, if the whole security and defence of the realm could be delegated to the military and allow them do as they please under permanent martial law? And condemn the nations security to be permanently under the jackboot of a dictator? Life may be more secure but, sans ones fundamental freedom, where is lifes quality?

Ranil Wickremesinghe further added: There has been no breakdown in the intelligence services but the issue has been that the Defence authorities had not acted upon the warnings.

Exactly. That is why a political leadership is vital in a democracy. To supervise, to direct, to give leadership and be held accountable to the people. The whole concept of ministerial responsibility is based on that. That the Minister takes the responsibility for the commissions and omissions of the civil service under him. Not for him to wash his hands of and blame it on them. If any minister does so, he makes himself redundant. Its the minister who was voted to public office by the people. Its the Minister who is responsible to the people. Not the public servant. He is only responsible to his minister. And the political master responsible to the people. Thats what the system is all about. Its whats called Democracy. Something thats closely akin to the Lichivy system he knows so much about.

EX DEFENCE SEC

If the President made his lame duck excuses and, like a duck taking to water, blamed his underlings for the carnage, his Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was akin to a fish out of water.

He had been the original recipient of the information provided by the National Intelligence Chief that according to information received from Indias intelligence sources that churches were targeted for attack by identified Muslim terrorists on Easter Sunday.

But what did he do with it? Like pearls thrown before swine, he did not realise, it seems, its intrinsic value and merely passed it on to the Inspector General of Police. He did not bother to follow it up. He failed to inquire what action had been taken. And he, in what must tantamount to a criminal dereliction of duty, failed to inform his boss of all bosses, namely his defence minister, the president, in whose palms the security of the nation ultimately rests.

And worse, he flapped his mouth off to the international media. And with his seeming nonchalance and boorish swagger, sealed his own fate.

He said, without realising the gravity of what he was saying that he knew of the threat but that he never expected an attack of this magnitude to take place. I though it will be an isolated instance in certain places, he squeaked.

Speaking to the media, Fernando said, Intelligence never indicated that its going to be an attack of this magnitude. They were talking about isolated incidents. Besides, there is no emergency in this country. We cannot request the armed forces to come and assist us, we can only depend on the police.

Worse was to follow. And it was his callous approach, even after two hundred people had died due to his failure to take the matter seriously and gauge, without experience of any kind, what the magnitude of the attack would be when he casually observed that Sri Lanka had experienced similar tragic situations, despite security checks in place. Its not the first time a bomb went off in this country. Why are you trying to isolate this unfortunate incident?

But even worse was to follow. To add insult to injury, this mediocre administrator, elevated from his bureaucratic desk to be the civil servant in charge of the nations defence, overlording the nations triple military guarding deities, by President Sirisena for no apparent reason based on any qualification or experience, he had the insensitivity to state: Many countries have faced similar security issues in the past. It happened in New Zealand, unexpectedly. We need to make sure that similar things will not take place in the future.

And then he went onto say, I cant say with confidence anything about with terrorism. No country in the world can assure that its not going to happen. But were trying our best.

But even before he had finished his interview with the media, it became clear that his number was up. And the question was asked by all: Why did he not tell the President?

The President duly asked for his resignation. And Hemasiri Gernando, having no choice, duly handed it over.

But does resignation alone absolve one from all responsibility?

Especially when the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) President Sheik M.I.M. Rizwi Mufti said: I am the first to reveal the presence of IS terrorists in Sri Lanka way back in 2014. I informed the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa about it but nothing was done.

Can one be responsible for such a terrible tragedy which has killed so many, brought the nation to a halt, destroyed its economy and nullified all the efforts taken to promote tourism, led to the introduction of emergency law and tolled back the tide of democracy and placed civil life in peril  can one be responsible for all this and more merely resign and simply walk away free into the sunset without facing charges of criminal negligence? Unless, of course, he was the scapegoat  this five month presidential mascot  led before the public to slaughter and reprieved by presidential fiat at the eleventh hour.

THE IGP

The presidential axe also fell on the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera last week when Maithripala Sirisena asked for his resignation as well. He had been one of the first recipients to have received notice of the threat as sent by the national Intelligence Chief who had received it from Indian intelligence sources. He read it and merely passed it down to his DIGs. His offence: No follow-up action. He has still not resigned and has placed his fate in the hands of the Constitutional Council which will no doubt deliver the chop in the coming week.

Odd, isnt it, when one thinks about it, how so many in the services knew, including the civilian Hemasiri Fernando the Presidents own defence secretary but none thought it fit to inform the political leadership of the threat?:

The then defence secretary says he thought the attacks would be no big deal, the President says no one informed him of the threat before the event and even after the event, the Prime Minister says that informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks, the IGP passes the letter to his DIGs and thinks of it no longer, out of the DIGs only one takes the trouble to write to the Director of VIPs Security Detail tasked to protect VIPs  not churches, mind you  and none of them informs those they are charged to protect, Mahinda Rajapaksa states that though his security detail knew, he did not  it would have been so funny had it not been so tragic.

Perhaps senior UNP Minister John Amaratunga summed it up best to reflect the prevailing political mood and insouciance when he declared at a news conference last week: What has happened has happened, we have suffered loss, the damage has been done.

Hopefully, in deference to the memory of those who lost their lives and the families they left behind to grieve their irreplaceable loss, he was not implying that the nation should not be crying over spilled blood?

One question for Maithri and Ranil Did Indian High Commissioner alert them? As the SUNDAY PUNCH stated last week, the Indian intelligence warned their counterparts in Colombo not once, not twice but thrice. The first warning, it is said, was given on April 4 the second the day before the attacks, the third hours before the attack. And it was thrice ignored. Indian intelligence was not a general warning. It was what is called actionable intelligence. It did not merely state that there would be attacks but specifically stated that churches and the Indian High Commission would come under attack on Easter Sunday. Is it unreasonable to assume that the top most concern and priority of the Indian intelligence service would have been the safety of its own High Commission in Colombo and its consulate in Kandy? They would, no doubt, have informed the Indian High Commission of the potential threat, they had extracted from an ISIS suspect in Indian custody. In such a situation, wouldnt the Indian High Commissioner have called on the President and or the prime Minister and requested protection for the premises? True, there is an Indian contingent within the premises to guard it from terror attacks even as the US Embassy has a contingent of US marines. But they cannot step out of the premises but has to remain within the sovereign territory of their own country, namely the diplomatic premises. The question posed to both the President and the Prime Minister is: Did the Indian High Commission approach either and apprise them of the terror threat to the Indian High Commission and to the churches on Easter Sunday? The Indian High Commissioner would not have talked to the defence secretary directly since its against diplomatic protocol to talk to a public servant. Perhaps, its best, to clear the foul air, that both the President and the Prime Minister issue an unambiguous statement whether or not the Indian High Commissioner made such a request for Lankan police or troops to guard its entrance and act as a bulwark against the threat its own intelligence service had provided. A simple yes or a simple no will do. Or did the Indian High Commissioner, too, even with his own High Commission under threat, keep the President and Prime Minister of Lanka in the dark? Cardinal Ranjith: Man of the hour Pope phones Cardinal to bestow blessings His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has risen immeasurably in the eyes of his fellow men to be the true shepherd of Lankas Catholic flock to lead them from despairs darkness to Gods own comforting heavenly light. And as things would have it, it has taken the worst of times to bring out the best in him. And, no doubt, he is seen in the Holy See as a rising star in the papal firmament. On April 24, three days after the Easter carnage, His Holy Father Pope Francis sends him a letter. He writes: Conscious of the wound inflicted on the entire nation, I likewise pray that all Sri Lankans will be affirmed in their resolve to foster social harmony, justice and peace. With these sentiments, I affectionately commend you and your Brother Bishops. And the cardinal on May 2 writes to his His Holy Father. He says: Your presence with us on this sad occasion strengthens me and our community. At 11 am that same day, Cardinal Ranjiths phone rings at the Bishops House in Colombo.. It is from Pope Francis. He gives him benediction, praising him for the tremendous work done by his to uplift the spirit and souls of those who had suffered greatly in the tragedy. And, like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, who knows  for the church works in mysterious ways  whether at the appropriate hour at a future conclave of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope, white smoke will emit as the signal to herald the advent of the worlds first Asian Pope? Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Ad Multos Annos!
Political egotism helps spawn new terrorism View(s):

Ever since the LTTE was militarily crushed finally in May 2009, Sri Lanka has been wallowing in triumphalism. This is not to belittle the achievement of the countrys security forces which were dismissively discarded particularly by so-called western experts and analysts as incapable of militarily defeating the LTTE.

Western media were not remiss in propagating these views and adding their own condescending expertise and denigrating the armed forces for violating international humanitarian law.

One cannot believe there has ever been a war where no violations of law ever occurred. In October 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon jointly announced that in any conflict henceforth UK will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect its frontline troops from spurious legal claims.

It was the same British Government that in 2015, sponsored along with other western nations an anti-Sri Lanka resolution before the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the Sri Lankan armed forces of war crimes and of violating international humanitarian law.

If I remember correctly President Mahinda Rajapaksa defending the Sri Lankan armed forces once said that our soldiers fought with a weapon in one hand and the human rights law in the other.

That might sound rather hyperbolic but it was a signal that the then government was determined to defend the armed forces against those who wanted to criminalise the soldiers and label them as instruments of viciousness that should earn the derision of the civilised world.

In standing up for the military, the government was not only paying the soldiers a tribute, the administration was also making a political point that would earn it the gratitude of the people as the government that saved the nation from division and collapse.

After he became president in 2015, President Sirisena did not take the same stance. His political promises were tuned to another station. He was determined, he said, to end corruption and punish those who had robbed the nation of its assets. He was also committed to abolish the executive presidency.

Valuable goals indeed! But, as the days turned into months and years, his interests veered in a different direction. The pursuit of power became an end in itself. His stated commitment to spend only one term in office was increasingly jettisoned and staying on longer turned into an obsession with the judiciary also being asked for advice on whether he could continue for six years.

One important objective, if he intended to stay on, was to strengthen his hold on power which led him to clash with the Rajapaksas and SLFPers who were committing their support to the former president.

At the same time, President Sirisena was increasingly at loggerheads with his prime minister and the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP, his main coalition partner whom he began to contest in cabinet and thrash in public.

The Presidents strategy was to short-circuit UNP-initiated legislation and blame it for all the woes, to which the UNP graciously contributed. He was also intent on holding on to his diminishing power in the original SLFP and containing the growing influence of the Rajapaksas, one of whom was a likely challenger at the presidential election.

So he was fighting on two fronts  inside the government and the Rajapaksa-led opposition on the outside, a task beyond his capabilities as has been shown. Instead of governing the country based on the promises he made to the people, fighting for survival turned into an obsession.

But blaming others was not enough to win over the people. He had to project himself as a patriot and a leader who cleansed the country of evil. So he, too, pledged to protect the armed forces and ensure that its officers were never dragged before foreign tribunals for alleged war crimes.

Not only was he competing with the Rajapaksas to win the affection and loyalty of the tri-forces, he went further. He committed himself to rid the country of the drug menace and hang a few drug- dealing convicts to show the country his determination.

To vigorously pursue this goal, he needed the full backing of the forces of law and order. This made Sirisena and the top layers of the law enforcement agencies take their eyes off the ball. They turned their attention away from national security to fulfill the Sirisena aim and earn his gratitude.

Whether the Rajapaksa boast that terrorism had been eliminated and would not rise again was a political ploy to keep him forever in the national conscience or whether he truly believed that he had ended terrorism will remain a matter of debate.

The fact is that such thinking permeated the upper echelons of the forces and further down. They seemed to believe their task was done and they could now relax as there was no perceivable enemy in sight.

Generals with multiple chips on their shoulders were telling tales of derring-do as though they, like David, single-handedly slew the mighty Goliath. Such self glorified popinjays threw themselves into political movements doubtless expecting future rewards.

So with current political leaders praising the men in uniform or those who have hung up their boots, there has been for some years an aura of complacency in the political arena and in the defence/military establishment.

This cock-a-hoop attitude seems to have penetrated the thinking of those who should keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut. But Sirisenas choice of staff at the highest levels seems to be as curious and absurd as Donald Trumps appointments to the White House and elsewhere. This rapid turnaround does not allow appointees time to settle and look beyond their allocated tasks making them appear like subject clerks.

Those whose primary task is security/defence intelligence gathering and analysis appear to have turned their attention to other matters like tracking the work of political foes and even government allies.

Indian media reported the other day that intelligence passed on by India about an impending attack by Islamic extremists was pushed aside as probable attempts by New Delhi to assign the blame to Pakistan to create a rift between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The media were citing high officials in Colombo.

Did those officials, whose thinking this was, even consult the Foreign Ministry on this interpretation of events or seek the advice of foreign policy analysts who work in government posts?

What expertise did those officials who came to this conclusion have with regard to foreign affairs and current bilateral/multilateral regional developments? Surely these were extremely important pieces of intelligence that should have been passed on to high political authorities but so cavalierly discarded as seems to have happened.

If those who are mandated to follow developments around the world should study modern-day terrorism, especially changes in the modus operandi of modern terrorist organisations, they would know that increasingly terrorist cadres or those attracted by todays extremist ideologies associate with such organisations and even fight for them in wars and conflicts as has been repeatedly mentioned in reports and media despatches.

Were our intelligence services aware that one of the Easter suicide bombers studied in the UK and had links with the British national popularly known as Jihadi John who was a fighter for the IS and executed several hostages including a journalist? If so, did they keep an eye on him after he returned to Sri Lanka or just forget about him?

Some Muslim organisations have claimed that 11 dockets of information relating to the activities of extremist Islamic preacher Zahran considered to be a leader, if not the leader of the Suicide bombers, had been passed on to officials starting in 2017. Officials included the then Defence Secretary, IGP and the Attorney General. Apparently Zahran had begun to preach against the government, the courts and other religions. Did they track his activities or just throw the documents away. Or maybe they are gathering dust on some shelf like those annual assets declarations nobody ever glances through.

A mosque trustee of who was involved in preparing the documents was quoted as saying that all the efforts fell on deaf years.

It is the political complacency bred by a political class more interested in safeguarding their own interests and the route to wealth that appears to have created the same lackadaisical attitude among officials some of whom are inclined to follow the same route as politicians with bloated egos.
The fiendish terrorism of a few over the many View(s):

As Sri Lankans are besieged by daily if not hourly reports regarding the rounding up of suspected islamist jihadists in the wake of last months Easter Sunday atrocities, it is crucial to recognise that the terrorism of a barbaric few cannot and should not be allowed to taint an entire Muslim community. Sadly but inevitably, Muslim Sri Lankans who were as appalled at the attacks as their Sinhalese and Tamil neighbours may face random and increased hostilities from the ignorant or the racially motivated. This is a trend that must be unequivocally and roundly rejected.

Misleading arguments on the insufficiency of law

This time around and as differentiated from conflicts over land and power which had gripped Sri Lanka in its savage toils for decades, the fight concerns an ideology that is perverse and violative of the very fundamentals of Islamic teachings. In other words, the fight is over the territories of the Sri Lankan mind or to put it more correctly, what remains of that as twisted and beaten down by ceaseless political propaganda of the most sordid kind. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the counter-narrative to a jihadist doctrine of pure hate must not be trapped in a self-defeating terror mentality. In that context, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes claim this week that the Easter Sunday barbarities may been prevented if the Counter Terror Bill was passed in Parliament is as disengenous as it is dangerous.

There is a wholly misleading rationale to this reasoning. As appears to be this Governments wont, the blame is passed from an unpardonable failure of political and bureaucratic leadership to a specious argument that existing law is not enough to deal with jihadists having links to international terror groups. As Sri Lankans wriggled in acute embarassment, this was the same excuse trotted out to international news journalists who interviewed the Prime Minister in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But the second part of that argument is where it gets interesting. As a result of this seeming lacunae, the Counter Terror Bill now before a parliamentary oversight commitee needs to be, (apparently in the Prime Ministers mind), passed post haste as he urges parliamentarians in uncharacteristically pithy Sinhalese to stop grating coconuts (pol ganne nethuwa) and pass the Bill.

First, this claim that the law is not enough could not be further than the truth. Several Sri Lankan laws, from the Prevention of Terrorism Act (1979, ( PTA) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (2007, ICCPR Act) to the more mundane Penal Code may have been utilised. Secondly, the Governments very actions since the attack give the best and most persuasive lie to this claim. Investigations have uncovered the connection between the islamist jihadists that carried out the Easter Sunday attacks and the damaging of the Buddha statutes at Mawanella along with the killing of two policemen in Vavunitivu. Why was this link not pursued earlier? Or was it not taken seriously due to political expediency of the Eastern vote bank and the Governments courting of Muslim politicians? This is, by far, the more credible explanation, apart from hair raisingly amusing conspiracy theories being regurgitated in every corner.

Rejecting hostility towards the Muslim community

The same question applies to never-ending discoveries of explosives, swords, guns and knives with a few being discovered in mosques. And if assets of the identified terrorists and their families are being frozen under prevalent law as the public has been informed, why could not this have been done earlier? But as we are getting to know in excruciating detail, the fault does not lie in the law. Even though intelligence officers on the ground knew the situation, political leaders and bureaucrats were running in opposite directions like headless chickens.

The few in the know vacillated and chewed their fingers, hoping that even if some incident occurs, it will be a little one as the former Defence Secretary so incautiously spluttered when questioned. If the Government had not been grating coconuts during the time that it should have been vigilant, Sri Lankas Catholics might not be now labouring under a horrific sense of revulsion as flesh and blood of victims still stick to the walls of their churches and Muslims would not be cowering in fear.

Meanwhile, the culpability of Muslim politicians in instigating the radicalisation of their voter bases is clear. The silence of the Easts Muslim Ministers in particular as jihadism grew under their feet as it were and the active support of others to that destructive growth is striking. This mirrors the manner in which Tamil and Sinhala politicians benefitted off the extremism of segments in their own societies to the eventual detriment of those very communities. Indeed, the responsibility goes deeper than political culpability

Pursuing a dishonest narrative

Post 2015, a deliberately dishonest narrative in force framed Muslim radicalisation in Sri Lanka purely as a reaction to Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism aggravated by post-war Rajapaksa triumphalism. Moderate Muslims hesitated to reflect on worrying changes in their societies due to cries that this will bar Sri Lankas reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Now as our expectations of reconciliation, let alone normalcy in daily life fade, certain truths must be realised. We must acknowledge that anti-Muslim rhetoric by radical Buddhist monks was not the trigger for the Easter Sunday attacks by Islamic State fighters, though this may well have been part of the backdrop to the alienation of communities. Irrefutably, attacks on churches could not have been the chosen plan of offense if that was the case. At least now, young Muslim writers have started speaking out candidly about dilemmas of community, religion, violence and radicalisation.

Nonetheless, this leaves the larger question of political accountability in issue. Why is it that only pawns are captured in this game while politicians are left untouched? While the arrest of one Municipal Councillor here and another one there and the arrest of drivers, secretaries and so on of prominent politicians is well and good, those higher in the political ladder need to be held to account. This is where the deficit of trust persists. So while a new counter-terror law may be this Governments pet project, the Prime Minister and Ministers need to explain themselves to a suspicious public rather than airly waving their hands and uttering vapid nonsense.

Indeed, time limited emergency regulations subject to Parliamentary control and constitutional review by the Supreme Court is a far better tool to deal with what we have in hand rather than a permanent counter-terror law which, once the Speakers seal is put, passes out of the scrutiny of court. Swift, surgical strikes are needed rather than an embedded state of counter-terrorputting legitimate criticism at risk.

Despite the UNPs clever games amidst ludicrous confidence that it will win the electoral day, a Counter-Terror Bill which undermines civil liberties in its present formulation will pave the way for a security state run by smiling Rajapaksa strongmen. We will be projected into an entirely hazardous reality of international and regional counter-terror chess games having the potential to undermine hitherto strategically won gains of the Rule of Law. What calamity next awaits us? Fundamentalist Christians bursting into mosques or temples with guns akin to what New Zealand and the United States has experienced?

If care is not taken even at this definitively late stage, unmitigated and unchecked terror stalking the land will be the sole and dismal legacy of the yahapalanaya victory of 2015.
In the tangled web of terrorism View(s):

The chilling video released this week by the leader of the purported Islamic State (ISIS) congratulating the inhumane suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka raised eyebrows in world capitals. Believed to have been killed during battles in his make-believe Caliphate in West Asia, the video has been confirmed to be that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, not seen since 2014.

That Sri Lanka has been flagged as part of the global nexus of ISIS activities is a pity, to say the least. The negative publicity generated around the world by the actions of a fringe group against the minorities in Sri Lanka has crucified the nation as one where Buddhist majoritarianism prevails, not as a peaceful Buddhist country. Western news agencies and NGOs did Sri Lanka no favours in conveying that message around and helped attract the evil eyes of ISIS, even though their global enemy was the crusaders (Christians) and the non-believers.

ISIS was a creation of the Wests illegal and immoral intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria in the post 9/11 era. Baghdadis utopian Caliphate has been crumbling on the battlefield in recent months. But his movement is not dead  yet. Its weapon of mass destruction is not nuclear bombs, but the internet; not conventional warfare but social media.

ISIS exploited the worldwide web to recruit cadres around the world. It shows gruesome videos and photographs of dying children and atrocities committed in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen  everywhere the West has upturned the status quo and waged war in the name of world peace. They mix these pictorials with the deadly cocktail of emotive scripture interpreted to suit their cause. The influential US-based Foreign Policy publication went to the extent of comparing that modus operandi to how certain Western charitable organisations use graphic videos of starving children in Africa to get donations for their work.

It was the Governments of the US, Britain and their Western allies which upset the hornets nest in West Asia. Their indiscriminate bombings and collateral damage on civilians have not gone unchallenged. The crazed bees are stinging people in Europe, and now Asia in tit-for-tat campaigns also targeting the European (Christian) way of life. These countries viz., Iraq, Libya, Syria etc., had excellent relations with Sri Lanka in the years gone by. Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was wowed and greatly respected by the Arab people. Today, some of these very people have turned against Sri Lanka, even to the extent of harming this country.

Whether one likes it or not, this unholy holy war between the West and the Islamic nations of West Asia has come to Sri Lanka. The knee-jerk reaction in banning the burqa and other attire identified with one faith has become a debatable issue, and it might have been wiser to implement such a step through a voluntary exercise rather than by law. In West Asia, Islamic dress has now been turned into a multi-billion dollar (US$ 60 billion in 2017) fashion industry for Western designers.

Those who however dismiss the security aspect of the ban ignore the fact that flushing out the terrorists in our midst will necessitate the checking of identities, including those of persons in such attire. This in turn could bring accusations of scandalising the modesty of women and lead to a breach of the peace.

Whether the ban is a temporary one or not is a decision for later, one might think, but hopefully the authorities who are coming out with figures of more and more arrests, are not doing so to cover up for their colossal lapse in preventing the Easter Sunday massacres. One can only hope that these arrests are being clinically executed to sweep the terrorists from their hideouts.

While monks and priests are advising the Security Forces whom to arrest and of the need to search empty houses, a Colombo-based foreign ambassador, probably with the ghost of Benghazi hanging over, issued warnings of further attacks, adding to the fear-psychosis. Despite Sri Lankans being almost anaesthetised to terrorism not so long ago, the decade-long period of peace has not only propelled people back to that era, but thrown them off their usual tranquil complacency into a state of extreme anxiety.

Many remain on edge, partly due to the publicity around the possibility of further strikes coupled with a lack of confidence that the Government is on top of things. The only redeeming feature is that the Security Forces can handle the situation. In the circumstances, it is crucial for the Government to realise that there are numerous case studies that show that persons in police or judicial custody, or even at rehabilitation centres can get radicalised within these confines if they are not involved in terrorist activity in the first place.

It is hoped that Intel reports will, on the one hand, be made available only on a need-to-know basis, but equally shared with the relevant authorities. Sharing tip-offs should not be stymied because agencies do not want to share the credit. One-upmanship is a trait in the Intelligence community. On the other hand, writing down a mere minute on a piece of information, and passing the buck as it were, caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people on Easter Sunday.

This is the month of Vesak to be followed by Poson next month. The people need to have the confidence that the Government and its Security Forces have got a grip on the situation. The Christian community is still reeling from the Easter Sunday attacks. The UNP-SLFP coalition Government is still haggling over who should run the Law and Order Ministry. There still is no apex persona handling national security. The Muslim community is caught between the terrorist and the deep blue sea. The move to ask foreign religious teachers overstaying their visas to leave the country is a step in the right direction. The statistics revealed this week of the number of madrasas and Arabic schools in the country are alarming. The competition among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran for influence has rent the Muslim world asunder. And that sectarian division has been exploited by the West.

A few years ago, this newspaper highlighted the audacity of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen asking the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan directly for monies, ostensibly for the resettlement of displaced Muslims following the northern insurgency. This was a flagrant violation of the countrys laws that require these funds to be channelled through the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry. The then President ignored the matter; the Minister dumped him and joined the new Government.

So, it all comes back to the political leadership that salivates for votes at the expense of national security. The silence of Muslim political leaders since Easter Sunday is deafening. World powers mouthing platitudes on fighting terrorism are backing terrorists if they are on their side of the fight against other terrorists. Oh what a tangled web they weave
Kids World * View(s):

Myself

My name is Umar Rushdie.

I am six years old. I study at

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo. I live in Dehiwala. I like to eat chocolates and ice-cream. I have a big sister. I like to play with cars and construction vehicles.

Umar Rushdie (Grade 2)

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo

Our Prefect Day 2019

Our Prefect Day was held on March 15, 2019 in our school premises.

It started at 8.30 a. m. Our Chief guests were the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara and the Branch Director Mr. Nalaka Bandara.

All the parents of the prefects came to this occasion.

First we started by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Before the awarding of badges, we worshipped our parents and teachers. Then our school CEO

Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara gave badges to all the prefects. I was also a prefect who was awarded a prefect badge.

Then after that Mr. Jayasekara made a presentation. He explained to us the meaning and responsibilities of a prefect, who is a leader, how can we recognise a leader and showed us examples for good leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai, We all liked that presentation and

we learnt many things.

I thank our Madame Principal, Deputy Principal, Teacher in charge of Prefects, all our teachers and our parents for organising this programme in a successful manner.

Dimuthu Mihiranga (Grade

JMC Int. College, Maharagama

My best day

My family planned to visit another country for a week. We had packed our bags and my father booked a PickMe to take us to the airport. We said goodbye to our grandparents and left home.

It took us about an hour to reach the airport because there was a lot of traffic. I was really impatient until we went to the airport.

It was a Friday and there were so many people at the airport. After my father handed over our bags we checked in and we went to the lounge to wait for our flight. We were going to Singapore and it was a Singapore Airlines flight. My sister and I watched the planes landing and taking off. I was extremely excited because this was my first trip overseas.

After almost one hour, our flight was announced. Then the four of us boarded the plane. My sister and I got two window seats. We were asked to fasten our seatbelts. I was so scared when our flight was taking off, but I soon settled down and fell asleep.

We had a tasty meal and I watched a nice movie. It was a five hour flight and was very exciting to fly through the clouds. It was such a comfortable journey and I felt sorry to get off the plane.

That was my first trip to another country and the best day in my whole life.

Rovinu Deshapriya (11 years)

S. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia
Bollywood political thriller amidst Indian election View(s):

While the Indian election is on the run, The Tashkent Files political Bollywood thriller about the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, which creates box-office records, is now being screened in Sri Lanka.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film stars two Indias ever-popular stars Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty in the lead.

The Tashkent Files revolves around the mysterious death of Indias 2nd Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and attempts to uncover if he had actually died a natural death, or, as alleged, was assassinated.

On June 9, 1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of India. According to the Media reports Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.

He tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage, Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous Green Revolution. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastris stint as Prime Minister.

After the Chinese aggression of 1962, India faced another aggression from Pakistan in 1965 during Shastris tenure. Shastri showing his mettle, made it very clear that India would not sit and watch. While granting liberty to the Security Forces to retaliate, he said, Force will be met with force.

The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 after the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The Russian Prime Minister, Kosygin, offered to mediate and on 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.

But on the following day Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966.

Shastris sudden death immediately after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan raised many suspicions. His wife, Lalita Devi, alleged that Shastri was poisoned and the Russian butler serving the Prime Minister was arrested. But he was released later as doctors certified that Shastri died of cardiac arrest. The media circulated a possible conspiracy theory hinting at the involvement of CIA in the death of Shastri.

The RTI query posted by author Anuj Dhar was declined by the Prime Minister Office citing a possible souring of diplomatic relations with the US.
Documentary film on the division of Germany Train to Freedom View(s): View(s):

German documentary film Train to Freedom set against the backdrop of the fall of Berlin Wall will be screened at 7 pm on May 10 at Goethe Hall, Colombo.

Directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias Schmidt, this documentary talks about an incident where hundreds of East German refugees fled to the West German Embassy in Prague. In the film, some of these refugees share their experiences; other witnesses report the difficult negotiations that ultimately lead to the departure of the refugees.

The wall, created after the Second World War, was a symbol of the political and economic division of Europe throughout the Cold War. Following numerous peaceful revolutions, the wall came down and Germany became unified.

Prague 1989, September 30th. The West-German Embassy in Prague finds itself the center of the worlds political stage. For weeks refugees from East-Germany have been streamed on the premises of the Palais Lobkowitz and the surrounding streets. Within days the fenced embassy compound transformed itself into a vast refugee camp.

This film is part of the film series Film Macht Geschichte, organized by the German Changes and Upheavals  Crises and Conflicts  this film focuses on the film series Film Macht Geschichte. The selected films focus on the topic of failed states. The term originated in the early 90s and referred directly to the changes and upheavals in the former Eastern Bloc. Within the film series, the breakdown of the GDR is described in particular.
LANKA CHALLENGE 2019: THE TUK TUK ADVENTURE ROUND 14 View(s):

On Saturday 27 April, despite the devastating events in Sri Lanka, the Tuk Tuk Warriors successfully finished their 1000 km adventure around Sri Lanka at Suriya Resort in Waikkal.

The group was camping in the middle of a forest in Mannar when the unfortunate incidents of Easter Sunday first occurred and even though the group was shocked and saddened all the participants came together with the intention of completing the challenge as planned.

This year, Large Minority (www.largeminority.travel) in partnership with Connaissance de Ceylan, SriLankan Airlines and Ministry of Tourism, organized the 14th edition of Lanka Challenge; this edition explored the wild and less travelled territory from Tamerind Tree in Minuwangoda, Kalpitiya, Wilpattu, Mannar, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Sigiriy, Riverstone, Kandy and Waikkal. Participants rode approximately 150km per day over nine days and covered more than 1000km in total.

The self-drive Tuk-Tuk Challenge gave 53 participants in 20 tuk-tuks, from 10 countries, an up close and personal experience of some of the most fascinating historical sites and views of this island, all the while raising money for local charities, environmental organisations and above all not giving in to terror.

In this edition, the participants faced some unusual challenges from tasting the hottest chilies to selling fish at the local market to (probably the most comical for us locals) taking groceries to a random home in a village and getting the home dwellers to cook for them. Other challenges included, the elephant dung put shot challenge, memorising Buddhist chants and offering flowers at a village temple. While still being fun, the tuk-tuk challenge offered participants a way of interacting with daily life in Sri Lanka.

It was important that The Lanka Challenge event was seen through to the end especially given the existing climate here in Sri Lanka, as the event supported local partners such as the Red Cross Society of Sri Lanka and Land Owners Restore Rainforest in Sri Lanka (LORRIS). A total of 10 percent of each teams entry fee was given directly to charity partners.

Julian Carnall of Lanka Challenge added Last year we collected over US$ 8,000 which was used for different charitable projects including donating textbooks, musical instruments and planting more than 200 indigenous trees to offset our carbon emissions. In 2019 we raised even more funds in Sri Lanka and were able to touch many more lives.

We are grateful to this years brave participants and Large Minority who decided to stay and see their 1000km challenge through to its completion. A special mention must be given to the Police, Army and Ministry of Defence along with Connaissance de Ceylan and Sri Lanka Ministry of Tourism, who went the extra mile to provide the additional infrastructure and security needed for our visitors complete their mission post-Easter Sunday attacks he added.
600 visa violators deported; among them Islamic preachers View(s):

More than 600 foreigners, including Islamic preachers who have come on tourist visas, have been deported during the past week for violating visa regulations.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena, under whose purview the Immigration Department comes, told the Sunday Times that at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a directive was issued to the Immigration Department higher-ups to deport all persons violating visas.

Accordingly all those people arrested for violating visa regulations have been deported.

An Immigration Department official said that at present, at least 200 foreigners were in involved in Islamic preaching in Sri Lanka. They were issued visas on the recommendations of the Muslim Affairs Ministry.

He said that at the prime ministers meeting, senior Immigration Department officials submitted a list of foreign Islamic preachers in Sri Lanka.

He said that his Department issued them visas after obtaining security clearance from the Defence Ministry, in keeping with the usual procedure.
Country raises its guard in face of violent extremism By Kasun Warakapitya View(s): View(s):

Nearly a decade after Tamil terrorism was ended, checkpoints and increased protection of people, schools, hospitals, and public and private premises have returned to Sri Lanka after the mass murder by Islamic suicide killers in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.

Long queues form outside buildings because of security checks. Parking is restricted in public places, government departments, and religious places. Eateries are employing their own private security, while the military is guarding some tourist hotels.

Private hospitals have bolstered security, while the military is looking after perimeter protection. The police and the army have put up roadside checkpoints, at junctions and bridges as well as entry points to Colombo. Vehicles are throughly checked. The military is guarding government offices, the Fort Railway Station and the Petttah bus stand.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has strengthened security. There are Civil Defence Force (CDF) and Army Commandos patrolling the pavement around the building preventing illegal parking. The police are checking identity cards and taking notes. People are not allowed to carry bags, helmets, and jackets inside. The CDF officials ask people to place their bags, hats, caps and jackets on the two racks at the sides of the main entrance.

Mohomad Nilam, 44, who works in a private company, said he feels safe after seeing the increased security at the IRD. Checkpoints are needed to counter terrorists. We must not allow terrorists to attack more people, he said.

Sujith Kumara Weerasinghe, 45, a messenger, who was at the IRD, said he is subjected to checks at other government offices. There are a lot of military officials in the building, we feel secure, he said. He feels obliged to co-operate with security checks.

Security at the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been increased. Military officials check bags and pat down everyone at the entrance.

Colombos port and its environs are being heavily guarded by the navy. There are more than 15 navy officers at the vehicle checkpoint at the port entrance. Other navy officers continue to check parked vehicles near the port wall. More security has been introduced in schools and hospitals.

But not everyone is pleased. The ban on parking near government offices is a major hindrance to those operating three-wheelers for hires.

P Krishna, a trishaw driver who parks near the IRD, said he cannot stay for long at the location. He had not been able to run hires in the past week. It is a struggle to make a living.

Most shops still remain closed at the Pettah market. Shops that are open attract below average crowds. The red mosque, which attracted tourists, is only open for worship.

Mohomad Shafrath, 24, who sells electronic items, phone chargers, power banks as well as pen drives, said business dropped. We started our business a few months back. Now, no one comes. We are victims of terrorism too. How could we do business like this, he said.

Anusha Willarachachi, 42, a government employee, said she was at the market with a friend to buy essentials. She fears violence more than the bombings. She added that people have continued to live their lives despite the fear.

Gothatuwa resident, Shanai Ranasinghe, said that she still comes to Pettah to buy supplies for her online cosmetics business. She said she is indifferent to who the vendors are.

The merchants are affected as they were forced to close shops for a week and since opening, few people have come, he said.

Chandrajeewa Liyanagamage, the treasurer of the three-wheeler association, said hires have dried up, even by foreign visitors. Even the railway authorities wont allow us to park outside the station despite paying Rs1,150 for a three-wheeler. All our 80 three-wheelers are registered and pay taxes to the municipality, he said.

He said they are unable to pick up hires as the three-wheelers block the vehicle park entrance.
Ministers Oman bound for talks on Hambantota refinery project View(s):

Petroleum Resources Minister Kabir Hashim and Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama have left for Oman for discussions on the Hambantota oil refinery project. They are to be joined by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who was a key participant at earlier talks on the controversial venture.

Minister Samarawickrama said yesterday that he and Minister Hashim were invited by the Government of Oman but said he had no knowledge of Minister Bathiudeen (who was already abroad yesterday afternoon) also being there. I dont know if hes also coming there because its about petroleum and other industries, he said.

It was announced in March that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in a US$ 3.8bn (Rs 685.5bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota. It later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International.

Three of Silver Parks four directors are Jegathrakshagan Sundeep Anand, Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya. They are the son, daughter and wife of S. Jagathrakshakan, a DMK stalwart.

In Hambantota, hundreds of acres of land have been allocated to the project. There has been no EIA and there are still no investors. It is feared now that Sri Lanka will give a long-term purchase guarantee to Omani oil interests in order to secure their participation.
Over 1000 asylum seekers ejected; UNHCR helpless View(s):

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relocate more than 1000 asylum seekers, who were ejected from their places of residence after the Easter Sunday bombings.

Many refugees, including Pakistani Christians and Ahmadis, were taken out or sent out from their rented houses by mobs or by house owners. They are now housed at two Ahmedi mosques and in the Negombo police station.

The UNHCR has had little or no success in finding them alternative rented accommodation as no house owners Muslim, Christian or Buddhist Sri Lankanswant to give them space, said a source familiar with the process. Therefore, they are still in their areas of displacement in cramped conditions with limited toilet facilities. Food is provided to them.

The UN agency is now relying on the Government to assist in relocation with security guarantees. The Government is willing to consider it, the sources said. The police and military have provided security to the refugees thus far. The Negombo police say that it is at great inconvenience that they are giving shelter to about 150 displaced people.

There has been a positive effort by the State to help. This is not a long-term solution or should not be a long-term thing. All efforts are being made on two fronts. One is to make them as comfortable as possible where they are and the second is to look for an option for relocation, the source said.
President rejects Ravis power purchase proposal View(s):

A five-member subcommittee headed by President Maithripala Sirsena to re-evaluate Cabinet papers submitted by Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the electricity crisis has decided not to approve the purchase of an additional 200 megawatts of emergency power outside tender process as recommended by the Ministry and some Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials.

A quantity of 170mw has already been bought from existing private power producers such as Asia Power in Sapugaskanda, ACE Power in Matara, ACE Power Embilipitiya and Northern Power. Minister Karunanayake and the Ministry along with the CEB maintained that a further quantity of emergency power was needed. And one of the ways they wanted to meet that requirement was through a 200mw barge-mounted plant contracted without tender.

But the subcommittee at a meeting on May 1 decided after heated arguments that there would be no procurement without tender. The subcommittee also includes Mr Karunanayake, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne and Non-Cabinet Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva.

It also wanted the Power and Energy Ministry to submit a report on the feasibility of the first 200mw barge that was approved by Cabinet on the basis that electricity would be bought at the lowest price and for six months. Minister Karunanayake had wanted a contract of two years.

The report was due on Friday and is expected to demonstrate whether Minister Karunanayakes claim that the cost of unit of emergency power was going to be Rs 28 (which was the maximum approved by Cabinet) or higher.

This is the second subcommittee to be set up on the matter. Earlier, a three-member ministerial committee which was also tasked with making urgent recommendations to end the power crisis was disbanded after Minister de Silvawho was also a member of that teamwrote to the President threatening to resign after minutes of their meeting were altered by a high-ranking Power and Energy Ministry official.

That committee had specifically recommended the purchase of 200MW of power for six months from a private supplier operating a barge-mounted plant. But the Ministry official had slipped in other barge-mounted power projects after applying tippex. He had also included two different contracts to separate companies for LNG projects, a subject that had not come before the Committee. It was not clear whether the official was acting on his own or at the behest of political masters.

The first subcommittee was headed by Mr Karunanayake and included Highways Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister de Silva. The second one was appointed by President Sirisena after Minister de Silva threatened to resign and brought matters to the notice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. When it met on May 1, President Sirisena left after maintaining that Mahaweli, Moragahakanda or Rantembe water will not be released for power generation.

The committee looked into a CEB letter that says around 470mw of emergency power is required. Minister Ranawaka reportedly maintained that a further 200mw is sufficient because 170mw has already been secured from existing private power producers. He, too, insisted that there must be a tender to buy this.
SriLankan requests SLAF to deploy sky marshals on flights View(s):

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is planning to deploy sky marshals on SriLankan Airlines flights to enhance air transportation safety and security .

The Air Force has responded to a request by the Airlines authorities and are evaluating the existing regulatory framework and international legal obligations on the matter, Air Force spokesman Gp. Capt Gihan Senevirathne said.

The SLAF has also beefed up security measures in and around BIA.
UN expresses collective grief over victims of terrorist killings View(s):

The United Nations expressed its collective grief over victims of the terrorist killings in Sri Lanka when the 193-member General Assembly extended its condolences to the families and renewed its commitment to combat violent extremism and terrorism.

Maria Fernanda Espinoza Garces, President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly, expressed her solidarity with Sri Lanka during these trying times. She said she was moved by Sri Lankans coming together following the attacks, opening the doors of mosques and temples for Christian services, and providing assistance to victims and their families.

I hope that we can use todays commemorative event to express our solidarity with Sri Lanka, strengthen our resolve to combat violent extremism, increase multilateral cooperation on security and tackle the financing of terrorism. We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote and do not harm human security, she said.

The meeting, described as a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, was co-organised by the office of the President of the General Assembly, along with the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

The meeting was chaired by the President of the General Assembly with Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General in attendance.

Ms. Mohammed expressed sorrow that places of worship have become the playground of terrorists. The world is seeing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, she said, highlighting the work of the UN to combat terrorism and extremism, including through addressing hate speech and ensuring safety of religious sites.

Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, in his statement noted that these inhuman and cruel acts on the holiest of days for Christians were debased in their cruelty and in their locations  carried out when devotees had closed their eyes in prayer and as tourists were enjoying a celebratory breakfast. Yet, against this carnage, as a nation, we became one, and the sorrow that the Christians underwent became the collective sorrow of an entire nation.

He pointed out that it is vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are utilised as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism. It is time for us to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework, Dr. Perera said.

I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now, that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining steps to conclude the Convention on Terrorism and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism. Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue, the Ambassador said.

A large number of member states, UN officials and special invitees attended the event with states taking the floor to express condolences and extend their support to the government of Sri Lanka.

Among the states delivering statements were Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada China, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Guyana (on behalf of CARICOM), Holy See, India, Ireland, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mauritania (on behalf of the Arab Group), Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA, and Kazakhstan.

Apart from national statements, the five main regional groups at the United Nations, namely, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western Europe and other states made statements on behalf of each group.

An elegy, specially composed by eminent Sri Lankan composer and conductor Dr. Lalanath de Silva, was played during the event. The United Nations Chamber Music Society performed a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace sung by David Yardley of Australia and Mahalya Gogerly-Moragoda from Sri Lanka/USA, in honor of the victims.
Unions pay silent tribute to labour in shattered capital View(s):

Every year, thousands from the provinces board buses provided by political parties and leave for Colombo for May Day rallies.

But there were no labour chants this year in the capital and elsewhere, except for symbolic gatherings.

There is no normalcy yet following the bloodbath in churches, for which the political leadership is being called to account. The Catholic church hierarchy and Buddhist religious leaders have bemoaned the weak, unsatisfactory response, so far.

Islamic extremists blew them up in teams and slaughtered scores of worshippers, including dozens of children, in Catholic churches, and locals and foreigners in hotels on Easter Sunday.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held its May Day meeting at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, where President Maithripala Sirisena joined, while Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) gathered at Kotte Municipal Council with Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. The United National Party (UNP) did not organise any public meetings.

UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a meeting with tourism stakeholders to discuss industry concerns and respond.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) gathered at the party office in with Jaffna lawmaker, Mavai Senathirajah.

Trade unions also held symbolic meetings, while adopting some regulations with regard to labour rights.

The Ceylon Mercantile Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU), one of the largest comprising 23 unions, also marked May Day.

CMU, general secretary, Sylvester Jayakody told the Sunday Times that even though there were difficulties in getting government approval for even a small meeting, at least 500 members gathered to adopt resolutions such as a demand to withdraw the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), and ensuring labour rights through proper checks and balances at the Employee Provident Fund (EPF).

This is not the first time we were asked by the government not hold any march or rally in view of May Day. Successive governments since 1971 time to time have called for such bans due to political reasons. However, we are aware of the current situation and took the decision to hold a small scale meeting considering public safety, Mr Jayakody said.

Joseph Stalin, the general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union echoed public concerns over government failures to ensure public safety following the mass murders and merely halting labour day rallies.

In the north, trade unions such as the Non Academic Employees Union of University of Jaffna had low key labour day meetings.
Upcoming Vesak: Buddha Sasana Ministry to consult Mahanayakes on pandals and dansal By Kasun Warakapitiya Minister urges people to mark the event with religious activities in temples View(s): View(s):

The upcoming Vesak celebrations, a security nightmare after the Easter Sunday terrorist massacre, have set a poser for the Government.

The decision has been placed in the hands of the Buddha Sasana Ministry. It will consult the Mahanayake Theras on how to evolve arrangements, Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said yesterday.

He told the Sunday Times that the ministrys Advisory Council will on Tuesday discuss matters relating to the checking of clergy and lay people, deploying security personnel and restricting the celebrations to religious observances.

He said they had already advised the chief priests of temples and viharas to appoint Dayaka Sabha members to form a civil defence committee at village levels.

We have plans to use military personnel and Dayaka Sabha members to check people who enter temples while Buddhist monks would be requested to check the clergy, the minister said.

The ministry would also submit an advisory, requesting devotees to avoid bringing bags to temple premises, he said. The minister said meals and drinking water must be provided at temple premises for those observing sil. The ministry would issue a circular, announcing the decisions taken at Tuesdays Advisory Council meeting.

The minister said that President Maithripala Sirisena, at a National Security Council meeting, had directed police and armed forces chiefs intensify security measures at Buddhist temples.

Mr. Jayawickrema Perera also advised the people to avoid erecting pandals, setting up vesak zones and dansal, as the extremist groups might target such places. He said even the mahanayakes and other monks had requested that Vesak be marked with religious observances in temple premises. If people wished to erect pandals and dansal, they should discuss the matter with the area police.

I cannot take the responsibility if the terror group strikes a gathering near a pandal, danasala or in a Vesak zones. Even the Mahanayakes advice is not to have such activities. They wanted people to participate in religious activities in temples, he said.
Experts talk on Sri Lankas wildlife conservation View(s):

Where is wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka today?  A series of presentations by renowned research scientists / conservationists followed by a panel discussion will be held on Thursday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH.

Held in celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) this special interactive edition of its monthly lecture series will have short presentations (15 minutes each) by four experts in their field covering four major issues affecting conservation in Sri Lanka today.

The WNPS hopes that all those interested in the future protection of the wild animals and wild places of Sri Lanka will attend, and actively contribute to this most important discussion.

The panel of experts will comprise:

Moderator  Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya

Dr. Pilapitiya, a former Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), in the short time he was in office introduced a practice of good governance that was greatly appreciated by all of the stakeholders in conservation apart, of course, by Government. He is currently a Consultant to the World Bank for its conservation projects in the South Asian region, including its ESCAMP project in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of leopards  Rukshan Jayewardene

Immediate Past President of the WNPS, Rukshan Jayewardenes name has become synonymous with that of the study of wild leopards. He has co-authored a book on these fascinating creatures, particularly those in the Yala National Park.

Human  elephant conflict  Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando

For the last quarter of a century, Dr. Fernando has extensively studied the Asian Elephant, especially the Sri Lankan elephant, and is currently Chairperson of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) that conducts research for mitigating the human-elephant conflict and conserving elephants.

Marine conservationDr Nishan Perera

Dr. Perera is a Marine Biologist and underwater photographer with an interest in coral reef ecology, fisheries and marine protected area management.

Conservation of birds  Dr. Sampath Seneviratne

The current President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), Dr. Seneviratne has made the conservation of Sri Lankas birds a mission of his life.
Facing the many challenges of burqa ban By Smriti Daniel View(s): View(s):

Nadeesha* has worn a burqa for 15 years, and the abaya for twice as long. Last week, when she heard that a ban on face-covering was in place, she knew there was a difficult time ahead. This is a lovely country, it is my country. It has been a paradise on earth, and we have practised our religion freely, she said, her voice catching. We are so sad about what happened, I feel like crying. It is uncomfortable but we will adjust to the countrys law.

Nadeesha is talking about a gazette notification which was issued on April 29 under Emergency regulations which banned all full face coverings in public spaces including roads, public transport and buildings. Authorities said it was implemented in order to enable easy identification as they attempt to disband a network of terrorists who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. The law should enable security forces to better monitor terrorist movements, identify suspects and track risks in public spaces.

However, in the wake of the gazette fierce debates rage. Though it did not specifically name the niqab or burqa, it is clear the ban will adversely affect some Muslim women. Arkam Nooramit, an Executive Council member of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said that even though it brought clear challenges, Muslims were embracing non-violence and non-provocation and would accept it as the need of the hour.

As the minority we must not disturb the majoritys culture and thinking, while preserving our own culture and preserving our rights. That balance has to be struck, and that can only happen by engaging both sides, he added, explaining that the ACJU was encouraging all Muslims to be as open and cooperative as possible and not isolate themselves.

However, while few would quibble with the need for greater watchfulness, critics are worried that the burqa ban conflates conservatism with extremism in way that risks the safety of women and could feed tensions between communities. Simultaneously, there are heated debates ongoing within the Muslim community itself on whether the garment represents their Sri Lankan identity, with some even calling for the ban to be made permanent. Subsuming all these concerns is the pressing one of ensuring national security.

For clarification, a hijab is a veil which usually covers the head and chest while a niqab is a veil that covers the face. A burqa is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

For those critical of the ban, a key part of the problem has been how it served to reinforce issues already existing in the community, such as the side-lining of womens voices. In particular, activists such as Shreen Saroor who founded the Mannar Womens Development Federation (MWDF) are questioning why the authorities opted to consult with only the ACJU which has no women in its leadership and has previously issued fatwas declaring that Muslim women should conceal their faces in public. The ACJU is part of the problem, Shreen contends, arguing that the conservative group does not represent all Muslims in this country.

I see the ban as such a deflection of what really needs to happen, Ermiza Tegal, an attorney-at-law, told the Sunday Times. Noting that Muslim women have been fighting within their community for change on issues including reforming the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, Ermiza said: We have confronted violence, discrimination and oppression, and in the midst of this terrible tragedy, to see the opportunity being taken to reinforce all that again without taking women into considerationThis is an extremely short-sighted and knee-jerk response by the State.

Speaking on behalf of the ACJU, Arkam acknowledged these concerns. We have met many womens organizations, he explained, adding that they were aware of the issues raised by the latter. We know we have to work on it and get their consensus in this matter. We have to engage with women on this, he said.

Meanwhile, online many Muslim women have come forward to dismiss the garment as a foreign import alongside Wahabism. Some like Shreen will admit readily that they are not big fans of the burqa.

Our grandmothers did not wear this and we lived amicably with other communities, Shreen points out. She says that the community can no longer evade a self-reckoning. We have come to this stage not because terrorism came from the outside, but because we let it grow, she says holding leaders and politicians accountable for ignoring the warning signs. However while urgent action is called for, she strongly believes meaningful change cannot be legislated and should instead come as a result of dialogue. To ignore this is to marginalize Muslim women, already among the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, even further, Shreen warns.

You have to understand that some of these women have been wearing the burqa since they were 13 years old. For them to show their face is now like being asked to show their private parts. Shreen describes a conversation in which one woman told her that being asked to leave off the burqa was like being asked to walk down the street without a blouse. It is a profound humiliation, she says.

Reports of covered women being bullied on the street and turned away from places like supermarkets have fuelled concern that the ban makes targets of conservative Muslim women by cementing a connection to terrorism in the minds of the public, increasing the likelihood of women facing harassment and adding to the atmosphere of fear in the country even after the ban is lifted.

Emergency laws have a tendency to outstay their welcome, Ermiza notes, emphasising that these should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still essential and are not being misused. Her deep worry is that this will be the excuse to deprive women in already conservative homes of their rights and that the ban allows those with pre-existing agendas to further curtail the freedoms of women.

The ban is serving to reinforce the sense of alienation at a moment in time when we are trying to send out a message of unity, when we are trying to reach out to each other and say we are of one country, we have to find some way to respond to this catastrophe together, says Ermiza. Sadly, the message just seems to have gone the other way on this one.

In the end, for those working on these issues, there is an acknowledgement that this is a complex challenge that requires nuance and sensitivity, both of which can be extraordinarily hard to muster in the face of the violence and terror Sri Lanka has had to contend with in the recent weeks. However, they feel that at a time when the public is justifiably scared and on edge, the State has an even greater responsibility to ensure that all citizens feel safe.

*name changed to protect the interviewees privacy.
Katuwapitiya: Alone in their grief, after the shock By Kumudini Hettiarachchi View(s): View(s):

We went back to Katuwapitiya on Wednesday.

Except the heavily barricaded St. Sebastians Church, where armed security forces personnel as well as priests are refusing to allow anyone to enter, the beleaguered village is sans much security.and the people are upset about it, as also the way the monies promised by the government are being disbursed.

Unlike the previous time (that too on a Wednesday), just three days after the Easter Sunday bombings, the weather too has turned nasty. Where earlier, the full force of the sun was beating down on the hapless people, now heavy showers are drenching the village, leaving some areas under water.

Vociferous are those who are mourning the dead about the disbursement of funds for the funerals and as compensation and how politicians are walking around handing over cheques and also capturing all in photographs.

The authorities said they would give Rs. 100,000 for the funeral rites of each victim and Rs. 1 million as compensation for each victim, but now they are deducting the Rs. 100,000 from that Rs 1 million and giving only Rs. 900,000 as compensation, said some of the bereaved. They feel this is adding insult to injury as it was the authorities themselves who had not provided security to the people even though they had prior warning of such an attack.

Both my parents died, laments Roshica Wimanna, saying she told those who came with the money what she felt. First they gave us Rs. 200,000 and now they are telling us that three of us will get Rs. 1.8 million. Roshicas father and mother, Rohan and Shanthi Wimanna, were killed instantaneously as the suicide-bomber had blown himself up after standing next to them in church.

As we walk around the village, there is also serious concern about security with the feeling uppermost being that they have been abandoned by the authorities. In each home, where family members have been buried the week before, a few kith and kin gather before a priest and sometimes a few nuns, in front of the photographs of the dead, to say mass and continue to shed tears.

There is a family where both parents, Dr. Sanath Fernando and Wales Indira, have left their three beloved children, while the grandmother had been found in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the previous Thursday.

Explaining that the eldest girl is studying medicine in China, wishing to follow in her fathers footsteps and the two younger boys are still in school, with the middle one in the Ordinary Level class, a relative says that they have got a lot of support from the boys school. Teachers, parents and children have streamed into this house and been with us, she says, as the daughter is being helped by a relative to fill numerous forms and the pet dog lies at her feet silently as if realizing the trauma that the family is undergoing.

The daughter came back home only on Monday, the day after the blast, after hearing the tragic news, says the relative, adding that they had to break open the door to the family home as the grandmother had the key.

In another half-built home, it is husband, Dinesh Suranga, who has rushed back from his kamkaru rakshava in Italy to be there for his wife and two daughters. His mother and little son of eight months perished in the blast.

On this rainy May Day when the whole country is on holiday and even boutiques have put up their shutters, we meet a group clad in white from the Negombo Law Society headed by Attorney-at-Law Nishendra Ekanayake who too is going from door-to-door to help the families fill the detailed forms and offer legal advice all for free on how to obtain death certificates and go about testamentary cases.

We hear that even when tragedy strikes, there are the vulture-like humans who are ready to make a quick buck and have been moving around Katuwapitiya charging Rs. 1,000 for an affidavit.

When we step into Dineshs home, a Buddhist monk is talking to the family, consoling them.

Dinesh and his whole family, wife, two daughters and son had been in Italy but the latter had come back because they wanted to put the elder girl to school here. That fateful day, Easter Sunday, his wife Disna had taken the three children along with her mother-in-law to church. Eight-month-old Dinuj, like any little one, with face wrinkled up was showing in no uncertain terms that he was tired and unhappy. Giving him a feed, Disna handed over her podi putha to her mother-in-law and went for communion. When she came back, Dinuj was fast asleep and she did not want to disturb him.

The mass was over but a politician wanted to give a kathawa. Otherwise, the people would have left the church, says Dinesh.

He cannot deal with the aftermath, as he looks at us mutely and murmurs like so many others.this is like a mala gama (dead village).

The shock is wearing off now that they have buried their dead. The reality is sinking in slowly as they face a bleak future without their loved ones.
Minding Sri Lankas Parliament for 35 years On the eve of launching his memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces in Sinhala, Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

In a Havelock Town house packed with memories and mementos- a veritable gallery where tasteful East blends with gracious West- an octogenarian is enjoying a well earned rest. For 35 long years he was minding the Sri Lankan Parliament- for 13 of which he acted as the Secretary General of that august house, having stepped up from being Second Clerk Assistant and Clerk Assistant.

His memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces, modestly concise and fitted into a 100 page but engrossing demi-autobiography, dwells most fondly and lingeringly on the days spent in the grand British neo-Baroque pile at Galle Face, the first Parliament, overlooking a dreamily cerulean Indian Ocean, and then in the landmark building that Bawa raised forth from the marshes of Diyawanna, probably the most dignified of tropical- (or regional-) modern edifices. Published in 2017, this cache of unique experiences and memories will be joined by a Sinhala translation, which will be launched tomorrow, May 6 at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo.

Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants, says he wanted to share the most interesting episodes of his life and times with a wider Sri Lankan readership, and the Sinhala translation appears in the same format as the original book, titled Galumuwadorin Diyawannawata (From Galle Face to Diyawanna).

Having joined Parliament as Second Clerk Assistant, after turning his back on a freshly-offered American scholarship to study international law (which would have culminated in a diplomatic career), it was a steady climb and one peppered (as well as bullet-holed) with remarkable events- a rich melange of the tragic, the comic, the flabbergasting, the profoundly moving and downright horrifying.

The most remarkable amongst them would be the case of The Hand Grenade Within the Parliament. Now forgotten under the folds and debris of later drama, this attack in the Parliament followed the controversial Indo-Lanka pact that President J. R. Jayewardene signed with the Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi.

Early that August in 1987, the President had called a meeting for the Government Parliamentary Group (i.e. the UNP) to expound the reasons for signing the pact. Scarcely half an hour after the meeting had begun, Seneviratnes peon had come rushing in to his office, to say with faltering breath that the President wanted him.

Downstairs where the meeting was, Seneviratne found Prime Minister R. Premadasa, his sarong slightly raised. A bomb had exploded within the committee room and (luckily) a piece of shrapnel only had hit the Premiers foot. Rushing in, Seneviratne found the President being escorted out hurriedly. However Akmeemana MP Kirthi Abeywickrema succumbed to his injuries while Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was pulled through only by the surgical skills of Dr. K. Yoheswaran.

How was the bomb thrown into a room, now splattered with blood and with a crater of one foot in the floor, which was carefully inspected by presidential security only moments ago? Before the calamitous blast, members remembered seeing a hand with a white sleeve throwing an object in. Luckily the bomb, intended for the President, had ricocheted off the main table to explode in the middle of the room.

It was a day later, when a housekeeping assistant was reported to have evacuated his home overnight with his family, that the mystery began to unravel. Ajith Kumara, the sweeper, was later caught, but Mr. Seneviratne came under a cloud, momentarily, and was summoned before Cabinet.

I walked in nervously like the Christian being thrown to the wolves, he records, but it was revealed, after a haranguing interrogation, that he was in no way to be blamed.

It later transpired that a few weeks after getting clearance from police screening (imperative for all Parliament employees) and having joined the staff of the Parliament, the JVP had secretly recruited (Ajith Kumara). The JVP was then very vociferous against the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact signed by the President, and they had found Ajith Kumara working in Parliament the best possible person to assassinate the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs of Government.

Also happening during JRJs time was the shifting of the Parliament from Galle Face to Kotte. Mr. Seneviratne had to oversee the shift of all that lined the interior of the colonnaded temple to democracy to their new offices, thoroughly modern but also harking back to Kandy and previous kingdoms- without as well as within. A convoy of lorries, buses, vans and cars were used to transfer a treasure accumulated over 53 years: records, files, photographs, paintings, furniture and the entire library.

The book, beguilingly slim, is really a rich ore of the Parliaments history of over 35 years, ranging from events of major global importance to the most pithy of witticisms in the House- in an age when MPs knew to use humour with debonair eclat.

One thing the former Secretary General bemoans in the last pages of these memoirs are the abysses into which Parliamentary standards are continuously falling. Never for a moment being a snob about it, he digs out patiently and with professional industriousness the causes- which- if paid enough attention- can be used to make things much better. The book does not stop at being anecdotal- it is a magisterial record and also an antidote.

Wearing his 84 years with a boyish but gentle suavity, Mr. Seneviratne has much to busy himself with in retirement. As a vice president of the Royal College Union, he was instrumental in founding the Loyalty Pledge- offering scholarships to the less privileged boys from rural areas at Royal.

You will find him a regular at the Lionel Wendt and other Colombo auditoriums, as a lover of music from classical to jazz or swing. Having grown up in the flamboyant lined roads of Colombo that Geoffrey Beling painted, the delightfully mordant Aubrey Collette having been his very first form master at Royal College, he has great fondness for the 43 Group. But just as prized on his walls are the bright, buoyant tinsel artwork of his three granddaughters who loom large in his life: Sehanya, Aleyha and Taheli.
Moved by what she saw, a returnee from Dubai reaches out with Auxilia By Ranjan Abayasekera View(s): View(s):

The Auxilia story begins with a Sri Lankan working in Dubai. While on holiday in December 2004, she saw lives and livelihoods destroyed by the tsunami.

In 2009 she heard about a new housing estate developed in Digana, a place unknown to her and purchased a house online, without seeing it! In 2010, she decided to come back home, and joined an organisation which was involved in ensuring the rights of children.

This involvement took her to rural areas of the Central Provinces plantations. The scale of poverty shocked her. She worked in an orphanage with 65 children, and saw the trauma children, parents and staff faced. She was unsuccessful with a proposal she submitted for quality education, which she thought was key to breaking the poverty cycle.

The voice within did not leave her  posing the question What can I do to combat this tragic situation and help marginalised people. She was a single woman, with only a small amount of savings, and the task seemed too big. She was however determined to start a pre-school for the poorest folk.

With the blessing of the Buddhist priest, the Grama Sevaka, community leaders and Welfare Officer she drove around in the Ambakotte village, meeting people. The newly elected Provincial Councillor assisted by finding an old community hall. It was donated by the Ambakotte Village Society rent-free!

With renovations, installing two bathrooms, water tank and colour washing, the old hall was transformed. Her Dubai contacts, friends and relatives assisted her. The funds to commence building work came from her own savings, and within two months a well equipped pre-school stood there!

The achievement is quite remarkable, considering that Digana captured headlines when violence targeting the Muslim population broke out in February 2018. The new free pre-school, named Auxilia opened its doors on May 15, 2018. It has no religious affiliation, no biases  political, ethnic, caste or gender.

Twelve children  aged 3-5 years  first gained admission. Their parents too had been children in July 1983 when anti-Tamil violence forced their families to flee their homes. Now their children were being admitted to a new school located close by!

Providing quality education the school aims to increase self-esteem. Each child is given three uniforms, a pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, five underpants, a lunch box and drink bottle. The pack costs Rs 5000. A morning snack inclusive of Milo/Nestomalt is also provided three days of the week.

The medium of education is English. Teacher, Rebecca Perera was discovered by the founder. Having an AMI Diploma, English teaching experience and a love for children, Rebecca was the last piece of the jigsaw.

In early 2019 since the number of children in the school had doubled to 24, Manori Nanayakkara was added to the staff.

Aylanee Ameresekere, the schools founder, is assisted by Joe Rayen and Nelum Weerasinghe. They are supported by donors who provide school materials, cash donations, meals, toys, clothes, gift packs etc and others who donate time. Currently the operating cost per child is Rs 3000 per month.

The vision for the project is to break the poverty cycle. With expert help from Suki Heringe, in August 2018, the Auxilia Womens Society was formed comprising unemployed mothers and community women. Volunteers teach the women their responsibilities as mothers and wives.

Two projects were launched through sponsorship to enhance the income of families  making compost and hand-made slippers. More than commercial value is the increased sense of well being gained by participants. A third project tapping into sewing skills is planned.

The long-term goal is to run income -projects employing parents, so they could pay a subsidised school fee. The profits from the ventures will be ploughed back into the school to reduce donor dependency.

The organisation is non-profit earning, and has received a temporary licence from the Early Childhood Development Unit of the Provincial Council. An appeal has been made to the Mahaveli Authority for land since a play area for the children is needed.

This little community and their children now have hope for a brighter future thanks to Auxilia, which means Helping Hand.
Two weeks on, the world hasnt forgotten us By Sashini Rodrigo and Joshua Surendraraj View(s): View(s):

Two weeks on from the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka gradually strives to get back on its feet. In a show of unity the world continues to send its love and support to the country through many vigils that were organised this week.

Melbourne

The atmosphere at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia was a calming and supportive one last Sunday (28), as people gathered together in a silent rally for Sri Lanka. It was beautiful. The whole purpose was to show the victims and their families that we support them 10,000km away, chief organiser Sharan Velauthan tells us.

Throughout the day, passers-by stopped to write messages for Sri Lanka. It doesnt matter, your race or religion, where youre from, who you believe in. Were all united as one, Lauren Sandeman shares. We will all rise together and were all with you. We hope and pray that everything will be okay again, Vidushi Rambukwella adds.

Amongst the crowd was also Mohammed Ahamed Yaseer, who stood holding a single candle. Im a Muslim, a Sri Lankan Muslim and Im from Kandy, he said. Mohammed strongly condemned the Easter Sunday attack and urged people to respect humanity and love.

United Kingdom

Individuals of different faiths, gathered at the St Bernadette Catholic Church in Withington, South Manchester on Sunday (28) to pray for Sri Lanka. Emotions were high as people shared their sentiments with the crowd, amongst a sea of lit candles.

Children and adults alike from the British Muslim communities also stood in silence carrying slogans such as Not in the name of Islam and Muslims and We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Christian faith.

Midland, Michigan, USA

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. The famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr was the underlying theme at an interfaith vigil organized by the Interfaith Friends Group (IFG) on Sunday (April 28) at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland Michigan.

The evening full of love, compassion and togetherness, Umbareen Jamil, a member of the Islam Center of Midland and the IFG said.

Bishop Monte Searle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was quick to emphasise on the need to show compassion towards ones neighbours, friends, and colleagues. We should show them Christ-like love through service, he said.

Our place of worship should be a safe place, no matter what you believe, Debbie Ballard, a member of the IFG shared. Debbie was also one of the key organizers of the event, along with Umbareen, and Barb McGregor.

Cornell University Ithaca New York, USA

Nearly 100 students of Cornell University prayed together for Sri Lanka at Ho Plaza, Ithaca, New York on Wednesday (May 1).

The vigil was organised by students Nilanthi Nagasinghe, Ishini Gammanpila and Amanda Pathmanathan.

At the centre stood a poster with the outline of the tear-shaped island, lit up by lights placed on it by all those present and adorned with their hand prints.

Ishini shared an eulogy written for 11-year-old Keiran, who was killed while having brunch with his family at Cinnamon Grand.

The eulogy, which was written by Jekhan Aruliah, describes Keiran as a boy with a quizzical confidence and sparkling smile that instantly marked him out as a special guy.

Fiji

A letter writing vigil to spread messages of hope was hosted in Lautoka, Fiji by Sabrina Iqbal Khan, a Human Rights lawyer. The vigil was attended by several members from different faiths, and expatriates from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, USA and Bahrain also sent in their letters. All of the letters were sent directly to the churches affected by the blasts, where they will be read out to the respective congregations.

The writers gathered at a cafe in Tappoo City, Lautoka and those who could not attend wrote letters from their homes. Amongst those who turned up were many who were still processing the Christchurch Mosque shooting, we are told.

It was amazing to see so many people reaching out this way, Sabrina says.
Sri Lanka attacks: By Sanjay Perera Did the political deadlock, attempt to carry political favor with Muslim and Tamil political leaders, the West and the UNHRC and lack of responsibility of the Government lead to this carnage? View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka is still in a state of shock and confusion, trying to understand how a little-known Islamist group may have unleashed the wave of coordinated suicide bombings that resulted in the Easter Sunday carnage  the worst since the end of the separatists war a decade ago.

The island nation has experience of such attacks  suicide bombers were used by Tamil Tiger terrorists during the 30 year old war. But the ruthlessness of the new atrocities and the refusal to accept responsibility by its Government leaders has stunned the nation anew.

Eventually, the government came out and blamed the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), a home-grown Islamist group, for the suicide bombings. There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded ,senior Ministers have mentioned in various addresses to the nation and media. It may be in order to remind these Ministers that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) was in fact a terrorist group with a massive international network and named as one of the most ruthless and largest terrorist networks in 2004 by the FBI and mentioned in their report that the LTTE may have inspired other terrorists networks including Al Queda.

The excuse of NTJ being linked to IS or another extremists terrorist organization does not explain or does not provide provision for the government and top officials to shun away or refuse to accept responsibility, how a group that has been blamed for promoting hate speeches over a number of years, destroyed Buddhist statues on a number of occasions and accused by the Buddhist clergy and Opposition party politicians as Islamic groups responsible for fueling civil commotions in the past 3 years on many occasions  may have been able to scale up its capacity so monumentally.

Reliable information confirms that two weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage over 40 sleeping Islamic terrorists cadres are still at large in the country. With IS claiming that their men carried out these deadly attacks, it is yet to be known how many home grown terrorists were trained and equipped by IS with probably thousands following the ideologies of IS in Sri Lanka. At this point we should also keep in mind that IS was given birth to, by the West.

In no way can the Government and its leaders and top officials cannot in anyway refuse taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday Carnage giving the IS connection as an excuse as strong accusations of an extremist Islamic group or groups blossoming in the country with Sri Lankans engaged in IS activities overseas was made by a senior cabinet Minister of the Wikramasinghe government Prof. Wijedasa Rajapaksha Presidents Council.

This claim was immediately shunned and ridiculed by the Wikramasinghe allies as way back as 2016. Senior Minister Rajitha Senarathna was among them who ridiculed this accusation stating that this was a claim to fuel disharmony in the country.

Buddhist clergy and members of the joint opposition and certain Islamic sectors in the country have time and again indicated the need for the Wikramasinghe government to investigate the possible incidents and actions of suspected extremist Islamic groups including known Schools and Mosques preaching fundamental ideologies. Loyal allies to Wikramasinghe including former President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga did not waste time in calling these accusations baseless to create racial tension and hatred among Sri Lankans, instigated by the Rajapaksas.

It is now revealed that over 400 fundamentalist mosques are in existence in Sri Lanka and are or Caliphate cults. Ironically following the Easter Sunday suicide attacks Former President Kumaranatunga accused the Wikramasinghe Government of permitting extremist schools and Mosques to be established in the country following the bombings on Easter Sunday.

Another emerging factor is that the LTTE did not purposely target foreigners and tourist fearing the sympathy they received from the west and the financial support flowing from the Tamil diasporas living in the West would come to a complete halt. The Easter Sunday attacks however specifically targeted hotels and catholic churches drawing western interests into the equation.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks the Archbishop of the Sri Lankan Catholic church Cardinal Malcom Ranjith was joined by the Buddhist Maha Sanga and Hindu and main stream Islamic religious leaders politely accusing the Government and its top officials for failing to protect citizens of the country having been given prior intimation by the local intelligence agencies and 2 other international intelligence agencies of the possible Easter Sunday attacks and fingers were pointed at the Ranil Wikramasinghe government for commencing a witch hunt post 2015 of capable intelligence officials and security forces personnel including senior armed forces officers and relaxing of security measures in the North, East and the South put in place post LTTE era by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government. This matter was reiterated by President Maithreepala Sirisena and former Army Commander / Government MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka following the attacks on Sunday.

A point to note was the very casual speech made by Ranil Wikramasinghe the PM of Sri Lanka in parliament at a special gathering of parliamentarians following the Easter Sunday carnage. Instead of speaking from his heart to the people of Sri Lanka who depend on its government for security, prosperity and peace his speech robotically constituted of passing the buck and was based around an international involvement by the NTJ and the need to obtain assistance from the West. His continued insistence of obtaining international intervention to solve this terrorist issue has been a controversial topic with a majority of politicians, religious leaders of all religions and the nation believing that Sri Lanka has sufficient knowledge and a dedicated force to deal with this terror.

Contrarily the speeches made by the Deputy Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and Opposition Leader former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was touching and emotional with both accepting responsibility as politicians of the country for the terror attacks, which they both categorically stated - could have been prevented. One could feel the sincerity and pain they shared with the families killed and wounded in the terror attacks, which was clearly the need of the hour and not an analysis to sneak away from accepting responsibility, which in fact was a failed attempt to prove these attacks were not avoidable because of its suspected international connections and need for international intervention by the Prime Minister.

At this point it is paramount that we understand who or what IS is who are suspected of having hand or is directing these terror attacks or is involved in any other form with the home grown NTJ as claimed by the Wikramasinghe Government. IS or Islamic state is also known as ISIS (Islamic State Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State Iraq and Levant) is accused of been formed and being controlled by the USA and MOSAAD. Coincidentally ISIS also stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service.

IS is suspected to have been funded and created by the US and Israel. When US wishes to move to a country for economic or political gain, we have seen IS commencing terror operations in those countries to pave a path for US intervention. We have seen this happen in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and now probably Turkey as well. With failed attempts to establish an extremists government in Syria due to Russia backing the Syrian Government it could be possible that IS under the possible direction of vested interests targeted Sri Lanka, which has been militarily weakened by the Wikramasinghe Government since 2015.

Sri Lanka is a strategic location for the Road and Belt initiative. The West specially the US sees the growing Economic co-operation between China and Sri Lanka as a huge advantage to the Road and Belt Initiative and a threat to the master plan of the US. Further the possibility of Petroleum in the Mannar basin and the possible deposits of natural minerals in the sea basins of Sri Lanka coupled with the strategic positions of the main ports around the Island makes it vital for the US that China is halted in any further investments or partnerships in the economic and infrastructure development of Sri Lanka,

The high level of corruptions and state frauds which have been prominent since 2015, the lowest ever GDP in the country resulting in severe economic hardships, a divided government, betrayal and weakening of the Military machine and mistrust among communities is thought to bring a change in Government and leadership in the next election and when this change happens China and Russia along with India is geared to gain most.

In this context, the Wikramasinghe Government should be aware that as claimed by them if any IS connections are proven it could backfire on the ruling United National Party as this will justify the claims by the opposition and intellectuals that Wikramasinghe who is known to be West savvy, is a party to a possible coup plotted by the US, which includes

Pressuring its western allies to show the need to penetrate Sri Lanka to stop an international terror network. Convince American tax payers of the need to have US boots on ground level in Sri Lanka Silence any UN debates and bypass any UN approvals. Fulfill the strategic need to have a US base in SL.

We have already seen international agencies arriving within a few hours on the grouse of helping the Island Nation. As indicated before, Sri Lankas security was weakened by the Wikramasinghe government including visa on arrival for over 40 countries making Sri Lanka easily accessible to all and sundry including terrorists. It is learnt that among those who have entered under the Visa on arrival status are trainers from Arabic countries, Syria, Turkey and Pakistan as teachers.

Any possible US and Western help would ultimately result in the control of elections and appointment of leaders who would support the US led new world order masters. For the Western savvy Wikramasinghe who is now being pressured to step down as party leader by his own party members, outside support to change the inevitable at this stage could be seen as a blessing in disguise. It is also strange that USA has granted USD 480M to the Wikramasinghe Government within 48 hours of the tragedy.

As investigations continue, it is now clear that the Easter Sunday debacle was totally avoidable had the government and its leaders paid more attention to the country needs than bickering among themselves to retain power in the parliament and continue governing the country with the help of Tamil, Muslim and certain Sinhalese political parties (JVP)., which by 2017 was already battered with economic woes and massive financial frauds.

The witch hunt of intelligence officials and forces personnel and top officers including the Brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa  Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the defense secretary up to 2014 and relaxing of strategic security measures by the Wikramasignhe Government inspired by a hand full of his political allies is widely thought to be for the purpose of pleasing the minority Tamil and Muslim politicians in anticipation of the Tamil and Muslim votes in Sri Lanka and to carry favor with the western countries and UNHRC under the guise of up holding democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. In order to justify this statement lets journey back to post 2005  the start of the end of the 30 year old war against the LTTE terrorists and separatism in the country.

Between the years of 2001 and 2004, Sri Lanka had a joint party government with Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga as its Executive President and Ranil Wikramasingha led United National Party holding cabinet positions. We see similarities in the actions of the Wikramasinghe government in which a peace accord was signed between the LTTE and the Wikramasainghe government under the mediation of the West and weakening of the military machine in Sri Lanka. This led to a collapse in moral and betrayal of the security forces and a majority of citizens showing displeasure. This peace accord led to not just weakening of the security machine in the country but provided a window for the LTTE to strengthen themselves and expand their network locally and Internationally.

Chandrika Kumaranatunga subsequently realizing the precarious situation the country had been dragged into with Wikramasinghe as its PM, dissolved the Government which led to Rajapaksa becoming the fifth Executive President of the country. This same course of action was followed by current President, Maithreepala Sirisena in October 2018 wherein he took the bold but failed decision of sacking Wikramasinghe as the PM in the volatile joint government and has been openly critical of Wikramasinghes management of the economy and security of the country. Ironically Kumaranatunga played a major role in bringing Wikramasinghe back into power in 2015.

High ranking officers of the armed forces (now retired) I spoke to, said that the moral of the forces and police by 2005 was at its lowest. The LTTE given 3 years of battle free breathing pace had strengthened themselves and the LTTE leader even stated that the LTTE is so strong that they could take Colombo the capital city in a battle if needed.

When Rajapaksa took over in 2005 the moral of the armed forces and police was at its lowest point with forces personnel willing to sacrifice their lives during a LTTE attack instead of fighting or firing back, knowing well that they would be strongly reprimanded by if they retaliated with the peace accord in effect. One wonders if the witch hunt of the armed forces commenced by the Wikramasinghe government in 2015 led to the lethargy and doubt among the defense mechanism in the country to take the required counter measures that could have prevented the Easter Sunday carnage.

One of the first and crucial steps taken by President Rakapaksa and his brother Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was to change the security culture in existence prior to making any battle plans against the LTTE. A nationwide national culture was created where the Soldier and policeman became a proud guardian of the nation and the entire nation started to support and stood behind the armed forces. The sentiments were so strong that the armed forces and police became the Nations Pride.

The nation which felt the genuine determination of the Rajapaksa government to eradicate the LTTE, understood that National Security is the responsibility of the entire nation and the entire nation went to war against the LTTE following the Mavilaru incident. The ruthless and Internationally spread LTTE was defeated in 2009, because the Government and the entire nation took over the wellbeing of the forces and their families. This national culture was kept alive by the Rajapaksa government until 2015.

The defeating of the LTTE terrorists which had led havoc and chaos in Sri Lanka for over 25 years was no cake walk. It took the toll of over 30,000 Sri Lankan lives and the capability, unbreakable spirit and will of the 3 forces and the police wholeheartedly supported by the entire Nation under the defiant and unshakable leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the commanders and senior officers of the 3 forces and police backed by a number of intelligence unit second to none who gave their lives and limbs to completely rid the country from the LTTE and bring secured peace to the Island nation.

While the country rejoiced and was given a new lease of life of  hope and prosperity in 2009, I was among the many along with the then Rajapaksa Government and security forces that understood  we only defeated a ruthless terrorist organization, the threat of terrorism remains unless precautions and steps are taken to curtail such possible terrorist activity from commencing or gaining momentum once again.

Following the complete eradication of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government and security forces put in place an unseen security blanket covering the entire Island and its citizens. Islamic fundamentalists were monitored and as a result there was no room for extreme fundamentalism to escalate. Cyber security systems were put in place and were carefully monitored by Intelligence units. Ethnic Muslim enclaves in the coastal belt was monitored. The Rajapaksa government and the security forces, police and intelligence units were aware of the extent fundamentalists are brain washed in giving up their lives for heavenly pleasures.

Unfortunately many, including the present government did not care or were not capable to understand or realize that the war we won, was against a terrorist organization known as the LTTE and not against terrorism. Had the Wikramasinghe government taken a cue from Singapore who have the regions largest defense budget despite known as the most secured and lawful country for the past 30 years in S/E Asia, they would have understood the imperative need to have an unseen and un-noticed, strategic security blanket in place in all parts of the country during peaceful times in order to ensure secured peace to its people and visitors. it is no secret that terrorists strike when one is at its weakest and when least expected.

It is very unfortunate and sad that these officers who monitored these extremists which enabled the Rajapksa government to keep these fundamentalists in check have been taken in to custody by the Wikramasinghe government under the guise of upholding democracy and more importantly to please the Tamil and Muslim politicians allied with the Wikramasinghe government, the West and the UNHRC. It is now obvious that the result of these actions and the bickering and the split government which has weakened the government machinery and the intentional weakening of the Military caused the death and suffering of the helpless and innocent on Easter Sunday.

The country can breathe a sigh of relief that President Maithreepala Sirisena has now declared emergency rule giving powers to the armed forces and police. The appointment of a proven and battle hardened General Shantha Kottegoda as the Defense Secretary a relief to a nation that is still in shock and yet unsure about their safety. President Sirisena, the new Defense Secretary have to now take direct and take action to eradicate these Islamic fundamentalists speedily if the shocked nation is to get back to normalcy.

Regardless of position or power all known persons who have in any form supported extremists and fundamentalists need to be taken to task. As long as persons holding position and power in the Government known to have supported or had affiliations with these extremists are at large due to political gain, the Nation will remain skeptical. This has been reiterated by religious leaders and politicians over and over.

There is no doubt the newly appointed and capable defense secretary General Shantha Kottegoda along with the experienced and battle hardened armed forces and police can eradicate these fundamentalists and extremists speedily provided there is no political intervention and interference in them discharging their duties. It is also to be seen how President Sirisena will curtail and limit the developing involvement and meddling in this matter by the West, specially the USA in the coming weeks.

It will be also interesting to see if the Wikramasinghe government will democratically join other political parties to uphold the democratic right of the nation by facilitating pending and forthcoming elections. The Election Commissioner has categorically stated the terror attack on Easter Sunday or terrorism in Sri Lanka is no excuse to delay any elections being conducted.

The Nation hopes and prays that President Sirisena will call upon all political parties to unite under one intention of eradicating the Islamic extremists and fundamentalists and fundamental ideologies with limited intervention and with NO interference by the US and the West.

The writer is former Director at Maharajas and former Director/CEO at EAP networks)
The need to identify the enemy within View(s):

April 21, Easter Sunday 2019: Some Christians dressed in their Sundays best and yet some others trying to enjoy their late breakfast in hotels didnt live to tell the tale of what they saw and experienced. The video footage of the mass murderers only showed how cruel and inhuman they could be. No amount of reasoning can convince any human being what could motivate a man to resort to terror of that nature.

The trail of terror

Much is being said about how the threat developed and who is responsible. However, to understand the threat, it is important to track the trail of terror and the pattern. This is how the story unfolds.

May 26, 1996: Wahhabis attack a meditation centre of the Tarikatul Mufliheen (TM) in Kattankudy.

October 31, 2004: About 500 Wahhabis, organised as Jihadis, set ablaze the meditation centre again. One Sufi follower is killed and business premises are attacked. Police arrest eight suspects, but release them later. No charges are framed.

Dec 01, 2006: Wahhabis forcibly exhume the body of Sufi leader Rah.

Dec 06, 2006: Wahhabi Thowheed network clerics and supporters incite Jihadis armed with weapons to go on the rampage in Kattankudy.

Dec 13, 2006: Kattankudy Urban Council (UC), with the persuasion and backing of Wahhabis, tries to dismantle the meditation centre. Three rioters are killed, a police post and vehicle were damaged. Note the involvement of UC is clearly seen. Possibly, the UC was Wahhabi dominated.

Dec 17, 2006: More than 100 houses of Sufism followers destroyed by fire; Wahhabis are the suspects.

2007: A stream of overseas Muslim preachers and activists visit Kattankudy.

2008  A Sufi festival is prevented by Kattankudy Wahhabis.

2009: Unconfirmed reports state that Muslim homeguards desert with their weapons and join the Thowheed movement.

Feb 2009: The threat spreads with the Wahhabis destroying a mosque at Ukuwela in the Central Province.

May 2009: A mosque is attacked in Thihariya.

July 2009: Two people are killed and 40 injured in Kattankudy, when clashes erupt between Sufis and Wahhabis.

July 2009: A Sufi cleric is killed at Valachchenai in the Eastern Province.

The trail of terror actually, is too long to document, as such, the more recent ones are not being documented.

The phenomenon of fundamentalism and Islamic terror has been there for some time now. With what is known to an ordinary civilian, the politics of religion and the pattern of terror distinctly bring out four important factors:

Division within the Muslim community; polarisation into Orthodox/Sufi and Wahhabis

Evolution and growth of terror

A threat not confined to any particular area in the country

A new leaf and stage in the cycle of terror has just been unleashed

Religion, Ideology and Fundamentalism

The initial reaction to the terror attacks was that they were perpetrated by the ISIS. This was the belief of many, including those at the highest level, as the ISIS was the easiest to think of. So the ISIS is here. Partially true. Although some say the ISIS claimed responsibility and Zaharan the alleged lead suicide bomber was an ISIS member.

My questions are, whether he was actually a trained ISIS member who engaged in combat? Why did he not live to carry on with the legacy? If he was a suicide bomber, whether he actually fits the profile of an ISIS leader? Because, this is normally not their style. I have read in places that he is an ISIS member. At this point, I tend to think that he is a strong supporter, but not actually a hero with combat training and experience. More than the immediate ISIS threat, I further the argument that the larger issue seems to be the threat of Wahhabi ideology or Salafism. This is what has motivated men and women in Sri Lanka to resort to such extremism; of course, with links and support from ISIS, and other terror groups. I will not discuss the origin of Islamic terror. This is history and long gone.

Any religion or belief is extremely difficult to define or explain easily, be it Buddhism, Islam or Christianity.

In the early seventies, many Sri Lankan Muslims, mainly Sufi followers, left for Saudi Arabia for employment or studies. Mostly, they were youths from modest and simple backgrounds. Thus, with their stay, exposure, education and return, the concept of Wahhabism which originated in Saudi Arabia started to gain recognition. The Wahhabis main movement in Sri Lanka, thus, originated as Thowheed or Monotheism and took root in the East. Gradually, the Wahhabis began to consider the Sufis as Kafirs or disbelievers. Some of the aggressive Wahhabi or Salafism sentiments could be summarised as:

Revive Islam worldwide

Reestablish the past Muslim glory

Restore authentic Islam

Advocate a strategy of violent jihad for Islam

Defeat of Western powers that prevent the establishment of an Islamic State

Expand dar-al-Islam (house of Islam)

Living within a just political social order

Sanction fatwa against infidels

Attack the land of infidels

Therefore, the new order of terror based on the former will evolve throughout the world without being confined to the Middle East or West

Give a new explanation and definition to terrorism

Have wide use of social media providing remote but easy accessibility

Include physically alienated youth (by religion)

Comprise fanatics looking to be martyrs

Kill without distinction

Rely on group dynamics like kinship, friendship, worship and discipleship

Want to succeed and be flexible

Baring the octopus

The octopus is a soft bodied species. It has eight limbs and is so venomous that it can kill many human beings. So the threat of Wahhabism, Salafism, Jihadism or whatever you name it, is identical to the features of the octopus. So many measures to control the threat have been brought out by the military, the police, politicians, civilians and journalists. Perhaps, in depth analysis and the situation being addressed rationally is lacking.

The active and passive measures being adopted at present, both by the ground forces and intelligence will not be discussed. However, some counter terrorism features currently being practised in the world are being highlighted.

Eliminate hubs: As we experience now, we are aware that there are little hubs spread all over the country. Although few areas were identified, the hubs are sure to have spread though silent at present. Monitoring telecommunications with modern equipment, analysing tower records, cyber security with flagging ability and surveillance become important in breaking down networks. Since it is not practical for this activity in all areas, vulnerable areas need to be prioritised. These measures breakdown hubs, restrict travel and activity, prevent storage of contraband. Once hubs are neutralised, satellites die a natural death.

Delegitimisation and regulation: This is applicable to organisations, banking systems (already there are about 26 Islamic banks) charities and cultural organisations, dress codes, teaching methods and practices. This prevents recruitment, denies sanctuary and training, while restricting indoctrination.

Intensive penetration: Focusing on friends and relatives of identified Jihadis. This will also identify those who are sympathisers, who normally do funding and propaganda. This could be done with the help of Sufis who have suffered at the hands of the Salafis.

Systematic approach: A scientific, coordinated and centrally controlled mechanism has to be well documented as is done in more advanced countries. Unlike the LTTE threat, the current threat is common to most countries and some are well experienced and competent in managing the threat. Ad hoc, piecemeal, disjointed political measures may be disastrous. Muslims: The first line of defence

We see that it was the most affected Sufis who provided information about the growing threat from the late nineties. Although they were not taken seriously for obvious reasons, they knew what they were talking about. There will not be anyone better than a Muslim who would be able to explain the dynamics of religion and terror, as the religious interpretation is so complex and diverse. So obviously, the first line of defence would be the Muslims themselves. Alienating them or branding them as terrorists will be a monumental mistake by the Sinhalese community. This would be a case of not learning from history. 1983 and beyond is the standing example. We will create the time and space for a hot breeding ground to a fast growing threat.

International support: The need of the hour

During the last conflict, some of us know the support in general and intelligence in particular, both technical and human, that was shared by our international friends. On the front of global knowledge and information technology which is flooded online, is mostly shared by the international community, be they scholars, writers, analysts, journalists or any other.

Few Sri Lankans have shared any research material on these developments. I personally have only read what Dr Rohan Gunaratne has written in depth. Even today, world leaders are pledging their support to share whatever they have about the threat. On the economic front, it is on record that we will be losing 1.5 billion US dollars on tourism alone. However, those who know and love Sri Lanka are promoting the country even at this moment. So the sad lacuna, of international isolation with wrath and anger will only hurt us. So its time to reach out and win them over when they are with us. True, every country will have its own agenda, vis-a-vis others  that is reality, which we need to come to terms with.

Art and culture: Mightier than the gun

Art appeals to the emotions and senses of human beings. Thus, it is not only a strong weapon but a medium to effect change. Art is a variety and range of human activity that can spur the desired change. Although we do not use this medium in our day-to-day professional activity, we definitely use it to relax and reinvigorate. So there is room to see how this weapon can be used for positive engagement.

I saw on TV, Brother Charles talking about this aspect by mentioning the names of Mohideen Baig and Tony Hassan. This is very true, but the reverse has not been visible at all. Many are of the opinion that Sri Lankan Muslims are dull uninteresting people who are anti-social or less social. This is a myth.

Thus, there is the need to reverse this situation through proper use of art and culture. It is difficult but possible. The Muslims need to play a role in directing art and culture targeting the religiously and culturally alienated youth, who might be the suicide bomber of tomorrow. Post 9/11 United States has been able to do it with young men and women. Men and women who were inspired to work across cultures. Challenge the stereotype and broaden the knowledge of the other. Ali Abbasi, Ilhan Omar, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh are just a few to name. This is the clarion call for the youth to change the tide.

Conclusion

As much as the attitude and response of the Cardinal and the flock was commendable, the same was seen from the Muslim and the majority Buddhist community. The All Ceylon Jamaiyythul Ulama has taken a step in the right direction. The lesson to all religious leaders will be to, have the courage of conviction, to do what is right, be apolitical in approach and attitude. As the ISIS is losing its foothold in places such as Syria, more easy targets emerge in places such as Sri Lanka. Possibly the next level of terrorism could be cyber terror which we have no clue about but the terrorists are very savvy. The struggle continues.

(If I have hurt the feelings of any Muslim by erroneous facts or half-truths, it is much regretted. The purpose was not that.)

(The writer could be contacted on para.stormsat@gmail.com)
Hong Kong: HK embraces art and culture

Chief Executive Carrie Lam

It gives me great pleasure to join you tonight for the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival, one of Hong Kong's largest and most anticipated annual events, and certainly the most ambitious international showcase of arts and culture in our creative calendar.

Nothing underlines that more than the exhibition featuring the works of the late Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the highlights of this year's festival. As the first female Chief Executive of Hong Kong, I naturally admire Niki, one of the most significant female and feminist artists of the 20th Century. Opening here at the Exhibition Gallery alongside the festival itself, I am happy that the exhibition features nearly 100 works of art, including some of the artist's monumental Nanas sculptures - as famously flamboyant, original and utterly unforgettable as the artist herself.

The same might be said of the festival as a whole, which turns 27 this year. Despite its "May" title, it actually runs through the month of June, showcasing everything French from film and animation to theatre and music, including a spotlight on Hector Berlioz by the Paris Mozart Orchestra in honour of the 150th anniversary of the great French composer's death. There's the usual avant-garde French music, fashion and food in this edition, even an exhibition of French-inspired cheongsams. And speaking of fashionable food, Le French GourMay returns this year with an appetite and a thirst for the blessed bounty of the Loire Valley.

In all, more than 120 events will be staged by the talent and artistry of some 350 performers and artists under the theme of "Voyage". It will, I have no doubt, prove a remarkable, and remarkably creative journey, once again enabling the people of Hong Kong and our many tourists and visitors to experience and indulge in authentic French culture.

I'm equally grateful for Le French May's commitment to education and outreach. With the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Outreach & Arts Education Programme, the festival offers internships and apprenticeships, while presenting guided tours, workshops, master classes, public rehearsals and post-performance events. It will provide participants with an invaluable opportunity to see, hear and learn from world-class artists.

I should just add that my Government places a high priority on arts and culture as well, on creating here in Hong Kong an international cultural hub, a city that embraces art and culture, East and West, at every level, for every sector of our community. I would say we are getting there thanks to exciting recent developments, including the opening last May of Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage & Arts and the Xiqu Centre in January this year, as well as the continuing progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the face-lifting of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Thanks, too, to such major events as Le French May, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the International Film Festival, the World Cultures Festival and a great deal more.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival 2019 on May 4.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

Princess Mikasa wears a diamond kokoshnik-style tiara for a state banquet at the Imperial Palace in honor of President Lubke of the Federal Republic of Germany, November 1963; Princess Mikasa, who recently turned 95, wore the tiara this week at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
As the 2018-19 school year draws to a close, teachers and school administrators have begun the process of making sure the 2019-20 school year and beyond is focused on the goal of our children getting the best school experience possible through bargaining negotiations. These negotiations are commonly narrowly and inaccurately painted as budget discussions, and yes much of this is about money, but for our educators the prime focus is making sure we continue to have a valued voice in how our schools operate and how they perform.

While a number of administrative budget initiatives in past years have focused on increased technology, we strongly believe its the people in our schools and their impact on our students, who provide the most long-lasting benefit for our community. There is no technology, whether it be new software, computers or iPads which can replace the invaluable relationship our educators have with our children.

Utica Community Schools (UCS) teachers have personally given back to the administration more than should ever be expected of the professionals who have such a direct relationship to a childs education. We have sacrificed $39 million in earned pay ($45 million when furlough days are counted), lending itself to a district reputation discouraging young talented teachers from working here and leading to a situation where veteran teachers are retiring early and moving to neighboring schools or starting second careers. As the President of Michigans second largest teachers union, representing over 1,400 professionals, I can tell you first-hand that this environment is not good for our schools and community.

We are working hard on proposing measures which are student-focused such as smaller classes, making sure state mandated professional development hours are relevant to all educators from music and gym to calculus, an action plan which supports students who teachers identify as severely dysregulated and language assuring we have enough educators for our children with physical and special needs. UCS is drastically understaffed with only 13.5 social workers and six school psychologists available to meet the needs of 27,000 students. We are also adamant that our children are able to read by the third grade, as mandated by the state, and have proposed a detailed plan which supports parents and families in meeting this important goal.

We are ever optimistic and sincerely hope that the UCS administration and the community we serve, agrees with our student-focused bargaining agenda.

Liza Parkinson is President of the Utica Education Association.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High -7C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early followed by periods of snow showers late. Low -13C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%.
Sir,



This letter serves as a notification to all who call themselves Christians yet they are self-seeking of the things of this world. They have befriended the world. The Word of God says; Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy them; for the temple of God is holy. Which temple are you?



Let me assure my brothers and sisters in Christ that this is not an attack to any of you nor do I judge you. However, walk in holiness, keeping the temple pure. May the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord.



Distance



A true Christian would at all cost distance himself/herself from body embellishments and beautification, for whosoever does these things is building another image of himself/herself. The worldly attachments in the form of gold, make-up, artificial hair and nail polish create a door for the demons to have a legal right to your life. Jesus does not recognise them. People, especially women, dress in fashion clothes, while adorned with all vanity; jewellery, artificial hair and nail polish.



Difference



What is the difference between the people who frequent clubs and bars and those who beautify their bodies? This is the state of people in Gods Church today. You cannot tell the difference from those who are in the world (clubs and fashion shows) and the ones saved by the Blood of Jesus.

They call themselves Christians but they have sealed themselves with heathens and pagan accessories, doing the will of the devil which was done by Jezebel.

Women should wear natural hair, not any artificial long hair.

Embellishment of the body corrupts the heart and exalts the flesh. You become lifted up because of thy beauty. Every hairstyle takes away the symbol of God. The Lord says from a bad source fresh water does not flow. Friendship with the world is an enmity with God. The Lord wants us to be different from the world.



Lastly, the devil has so far succeeded in using these types of attachment, embellishment and adornment in order to outsmart and win the souls of the believer to hell. Leaders of churches have ignored these attachments and defilements in churches. They have peddled the Word of God for money. They have destroyed households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. It is time we please God and Him alone, not flesh and not the people we live with.



Take heed that you do not pave a way that leads to death. The Lord God spoke about the consequences of disobedient children who wear make-up, who paint their hair, who put on jewellery, their dress-code, the way they walk once these adornments have been attached to them and so forth.

He pointed out their rewards in the next life. The Holy Bible says the lost will be like the sands of the sea. Brothers and sisters please work out your salvation while there is still time and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.



Ndoda Nkambule
MANZINI  Once again, Manzini was painted red as organisations fighting for democracy held another peaceful march to table seven demands to Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini.



The march was organised by Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), which is an umbrella organisation for associations fighting for democracy in the country and it was attended by about 1 000 people.



Among their demands, the organisations demanded multi-party elections in 2023, arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today and creation of at least 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years.



They also demanded land legislation and policy reform to give full ownership over land to emaSwati so as to stop the rampant evictions of people in communities and in farms. Again, they called upon the PM to ensure that there was free secondary and high school education by 2020 and that all deserving students in tertiary institutions of learning were given study loans.



Furthermore, they said even though they applauded the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act of 2018, gender inequalities remained a matter of concern in society. On that note, they demanded increased protection and support for women and the girl child guaranteed by relevant legal tools.



They also called upon government to ensure that textile workers and security guards were accorded safe and conducive working conditions and competitive salaries so that they could lead dignified lives.

Regarding the demand for multi-party elections, the organisations said they wanted a government that would be elected by them, responsive to their needs and accountable to only the people.



Tinkhundla



They argued that they had observed that the Tinkhundla system of governance was not a government for the people of Eswatini.

Their argument was that as it were, it would be striving to take into consideration the needs of the general people of Eswatini above anything and everything else.



What we have witnessed on a daily basis even now during your tenure always confirms that the government is only for a special type of emaSwati, the organisations said in the petition directed to the PM.



On another note, they said almost every election year, the nation lived in fear of being killed for ritual purposes by people who believed in such to be successful.

To begin with, they said this was a traditional belief that had been perpetuated to this far by the insufficiency of the countrys electoral system and the criteria by which people were appointed to positions of power.

It is saddening that while so many people have been killed over the years, the statistics are not matched by arrests. Some of these people are now supposedly in Parliament and live in our society. We therefore demand the arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today, reads part of the petition.



unemployment



Furthermore, they argued that the rate of unemployment in the country was shocking; at a staggering 42 per cent and at 55 per cent for the youth. They said this was because the government was allegedly failing to invest in job creation and to provide an enabling environment for investment. We therefore demand 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years, they said.



Again, the organisations said the poverty statistics of the country were to the effect that over 63 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. They said this was because the country had a high number of young people who derived support and guardianship and they formed the majority of the poor.
LOBAMBA  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants lifestyle audits for managers of the Public Works and Transport Ministry because they are filthy rich.



The Members of Parliament (MPs) said the officials had amassed wealth while government projects suffered due to underfunding.

Deputy Chairperson Musa Kunene was particularly not pleased with the rate of unfinished projects by companies that later filed for liquidation.



One such company, Khula Construction, was awarded a tender to construct the eBuhleni Police Station when it later filed for liquidation. This was after the contractor had already been given an advance payment of over E6.2 million.



The PAC said this could be a result of officials colluding with the contractor to cash in on the irregular payments.

I ask the Accountant General (AG) to do lifestyle audits of the managers at Public Works, because there is no way the country could lose such amounts of money without hope for recovery, he said.



Corruption



Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe said the matter had also been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission, which had since collected information from the ministry in their quest to get to the bottom of the matter.



He said Khula Construction was awarded a tender after all due processes were followed; including that it was approved by the Construction Industry experts.

He said when the company filed for provisional liquidation, government had taken steps to seize some assets on site, but then the exercise was futile when the liquidation became a legal exercise whereby all other creditors had to be taken into account.



When the PAC said the ministry was reckless when issuing advance payments to Khula, the PS said there had been bond payments made by the company to cushion government from the advance payment.

MP Stewart asked for previous references for Khula to show that it qualified for the tender.



It was easy for them to submit cars, equipment and get a bank loan just to qualify for the tender. We want to see projects that they built before being awarded tenders for the Lubombo, Big Bend and eBuhleni projects, MP Stewart said.

MP Roy Fanourakis said the Ministry had turned into a puppet show, especially after reports that over E20 million had been lost in fuel discrepancies.



taxpayers



You must get people who are seriously looking for work, not people who sleep on the job, while taxpayers money is lost.

MP Oneboy Zikalala said the Public Works Ministry was over-staffed will negligent people, who should be reduced because they were too many.

Kuyagangwa kulelitiko he sa- id meaning corruption was rife in the ministry.



Buthelezi said: Government has lost millions in the fuel scandal at CTA and there are officials who are millionaires in this ministry. They have double stories in their homes, which are built in just six months. Millions have become mere cents at the Works Ministry.



The PAC instructed the ministry to recover monies paid to the contractor, which has since filed for liquidation.
MANZINI  All eyes are on government, the Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini to be precise.



This comes after Education International (EI), through its Secretary General David Edwards, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, demanded that the authorities of Eswatini take all necessary measures to ensure that union leaders could fully exercise their trade union rights.



On that note, it demanded that the charges against the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Ernest Dlamini, be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



In the letter which was written by Edwards last Tuesday on behalf of EI, he said he did so to condemn the harassment of Mbongwa, who was the President of SNAT. The letter was directed to the PM and it was copied to the offices of Secretary to Cabinet, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Standards Department.



On that note, Edwards reminded the countrys authorities that SNAT was affiliated to EI.



Representing



He then explained that EI was a global union federation representing over 32 million teachers and education workers in more than 170 countries.

He said they had noted that the SNAT leader had been charged with professional misconduct for unauthorised absenteeism from his school on January 31, 2019. On that note, the global union federation said it had learnt that Dlamini was attending union activities in which SNAT on that date in question was preparing for a strike action over the cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA) for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.



The fact of the matter is that the head teacher of Mhubhe High School, who is Dlaminis direct supervisor, had authorised his absence so that he attends union duties that day, reads part of the EI letter to the PM.



Furthermore, Edwards said other alleged breaches by the SNAT president, of the Teaching Service Regulation concerned, referred to events from 2016 and 2017 that were processed and put to rest at that time.



On that note, he said EI deplores the victimisation of the SNAT president as yet another example of trade union persecution by the Government of Eswatini. He said the right to organise trade union activities, including meetings, was recognised under Eswatini and international laws.



Lawful



Section 14 (b) of the Constitution (2005) guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and Section 99(b) is of the Industrial Relations Act stipulates that trade unions have the right to plan and organise lawful activities, Edwards said in the letter.



Again, he said as the authorities of the country knows, Article 3 of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association states that trade unions should have the right to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes and that public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right.



On that regard, he said tactics to intimidate unionists from holding a legitimate trade union meeting constitute a serious violation of both national and international laws.

Therefore, he emphasised that as EI they invite the authorities of Eswatini to take all necessary measures to ensure that union officials could fully exercise their trade union rights. He added that as EI they request that the charges against the SNAT president be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



I thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, the EI secretary general said in the letter.

It is worth noting that the SNAT president is facing a total of 15 charges. This is because initially, he was asked to show cause why he should not be slapped with four charges but after responding in writing, 11 more counts were preferred against him. The charges are for absenteeism, failure or neglect or refusal to submit official school records for inspection and misconduct.

On another note, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said they had already reported the matter to ILO.

He added that there were other issues of union bashing which they would be taking to ILO soon. Some of the issues he mentioned include that of SNAT members Maxwell Zondiyinkhundla Myeni, Mcolisi Ngcamphalala and Njabulo Njefire Dlamini.

Chucked

Another one is that of Sibusiso Lushaba, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), who was chucked out by government when he was representing workers in salary talks.

Meanwhile, Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane said he wants to believe that if Mbongwa had been charged already, he would have his day in court and would present his case freely and a ruling would be made.

He said Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach were misplaced. However, he said the government of Eswatini was open to advice and not orders.

I want to believe that if Mbongwa Dlamini has been charged already he will have his day in court and will present his case freely and a ruling will be made. Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach are misplaced. The Government of Eswatini is open to advice and not orders.
MBASHENI  When a womans anger reaches boiling point... An allegedly abused mother let rip and scalded her abusive son with boiling water at Mbasheni, in the Nothern Hhohho Region.



Isabel Nxumalo had just boiled water to take a bath when she was suddenly compelled to instead, splash the water on her son, a 24-year-old pupil of Ntfonjeni High School on Saturday, April 27.



Nxumalo said her son, Simiso, commonly known as Mahlosana, had returned home from a local family gathering, and disturbed peace at the home, while making demands for food.



Recounting the events that led to the incident, Nxumalo said Mahlosana had initially left home for the Kings Birthday celebration at Buhleni on April 26 and had returned home inebriated.



He was carrying his favourite traditional brew, umcombotsi, stored in a two-litre container.



Inebriated



Due to the inebriated state, Mahlosana had retired to his room, which is outside the main house where the rest of his family  mother, sister, grandchildren sleep.

Then in the morning he went to a Ndwandwe homestead where there was a family event and spent the whole day, only to return home allegedly drunk at about 8pm, raising hell for his family.



He is said to have first insisted on sitting on the couch yet he was too dirty, to the extent that he was greased with meat fat on his clothes. However, his elder brother is said to have taken him out of the house.

He demanded food, as usual and we gave it to him, but he fed it to the dogs and demanded food again.



He then came back, banging the windows, demanding another plate of food, but we had none at the time, so I asked my daughter to make two eggs and porridge for him just to calm him down. I do not know what he did with that meal because he came back demanding more food, she alleged.

Insults

She said while demanding food again, her son had gone on his usual rant and hurled insults at her, calling her a harlot and witch.

He started banging the windows and caused a lot of commotion at the home, until his elder brother tried to contain him and pushed him away. However, he was relentless as he continued insulting me and wanted to force entry into the house. Since on previous occasions, he had carried a knife and threatened to stab me, I feared the worst.

Dangerous

She said she had tried to ascertain what her son was carrying that would be dangerous to the family but it was too dark for her to see anything.

When he tried to push his way into the house, I lost control and grabbed a jug with the water I was about to bath with and poured it on him. From that time he ran into his house and stopped abusing us, she said.

Paramedics

Nxumalo said the following day she called paramedics and asked them to take her son to hospital.

The paramedics asked to speak to him over the phone, but he told them not to come because he did not want to go to hospital. The paramedics said they would not spend money on fuel for an uncertain emergency because it was clear that he did not want to go to hospital. My son then left the home for a popular drinking spot known as Kadandane, still in pain from the scald wounds.

She said she then called a member of the community police, Bheki Gwebu, and reported that she had scalded her son with water and he did not want to go to hospital.

She said it was Gwebu who called the Royal Eswatini Police Service, who responded promptly, picked him from the drinking spot and took him to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital.

Nxumalo said doctors had intended to admit him for the scald wounds but after he was bandaged, he sneaked out.

Nxumalo spots a cast on her left foot, and said she had sustained injuries during one of her sons abusive moments.

She said he had arrived home, demanding food and had started vandalising her cupboard, breaking its doors.

Breaking

I gave him his food, but he had insisted on taking meat from the plates of all the other childrens food, something that I objected to because his plate had meat too. He was breaking the cupboard until I tried to push him away. In the scuffle, I then kicked an iron bar and fractured two of my toes, she alleged.

Her daughter, Lomawa, confirmed that her brothers behaviour was unruly, though she said this did not warrant the discipline he eventually suffered.

I cannot say he deserved this, but I can attest to the abuse my mother and the rest of the family suffered in the hands of my brother. When he is not drunk, he is fine, but after taking alcohol he becomes unbearable and embarks on his insultive rants, while abusing us.

He is responsible for my mothers injuries, she said pointing at her mothers leg. He calls her with terrible insults and this pains us as a family.

She showed Swazi News several windows of her mothers house, which she alleged had been broken by Mahlosana, while demanding food.

This is not to say we starve him. He is just fond of breaking windows and abusing the family when he is drunk, she said.

Nxumalo said at one time she had taken her son to the Piggs Peak police and asked that they give him counselling to stop his abusive behaviour. Despite these efforts, she said he had not stopped his habit.

Chaotic

Meanwhile, Gwebu, the community police member, confirmed that Mahlosana had a chaotic behaviour in the community.

At one time he stole umcombotsi belonging to a drinking spot and had also stolen chickens from a certain homestead. His family has called me to assist on numerous occasions when he starts abusing them, he said.

Abused

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the mother had not been arrested by yesterday because police were still reviewing the merits of the case after learning that she was abused by the child.

We are, however, pursuing the matter and will advise accordingly as investigations are ongoing, she said.
By Trend

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.
More than two-thirds of high-net-worth individuals are keen on investing in cryptocurrencies over the next three years, according to a new global poll conducted among 700-plus respondents who are clients currently residing in the US, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany and South Africa.

Carried out by deVere Group, one of the worlds largest independent financial advisory organisations, the survey shows that 68 per cent of poll participants are now already invested in or will make investments in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, before the end of 2022.

High net worth is classified in this context as having more than 1 million ($1.3 million or equivalent) in investable assets.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, said: "The research shows that wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies."

"There is growing, universal acceptance that cryptocurrencies are the future of money  and the future is now. High net worth individuals are not prepared to miss out on this and are rebalancing their investment portfolios towards these digital assets," he stated.

Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail. Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat, added Green.

Besides Fomo  the Fear Of Missing Out - Green believes there are five main drivers for high-net-worth individuals surging interest in cryptocurrencies.

"First, cryptocurrencies are borderless, making them perfectly suited to an ever globalised world of commerce, trade, and people. Second, they are digital, making them perfectly suited for the increasing digitalization of our world, which is often called the fourth industrial revolution," he explained.

"Also they provide solutions for real-life issues, including making international remittances more efficient, and help bank the worlds estimated two billion unbanked' population," stated Green.

Another reason is demographics are on the side of cryptocurrencies as younger people are more likely to embrace them than older generations.

"And finally, institutional investors are coming off the sidelines and moving into cryptocurrencies, bringing their institutional capital and institutional expertise to the crypto market," he added.

The deVere CEOs optimism comes as Bitcoin, the worlds dominant cryptocurrency, has registered a five-month high on Friday, reinforcing the view put forward by its recent upswing towards bullish territory.

Green recently told the media that he believes that Bitcoin will imminently test the crucial $6,000 price support, building confidence on the wider cryptocurrency market.

Once this confidence is in place, the sky is the limit for cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly accepted by both retail and institutional investors as the future of money, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai-based specialist international private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare has joined hands with Ukraine's Kozyavkin Medical Group to set up a new venture that will offer specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

The new company, Vivus Medical Rehabilitation Company, will bring The Kozyavkin Method - a specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) - to international markets across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

The investor syndicate led by TVM Capital Healthcare will be holding a majority share in the business for the start-up investment. The Kozyavkin Medical Group includes Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic in Truskavets (Ukraine).

The Kozyavkin Method was created by Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin more than 30 years ago in Ukraine and has received inclusion in the encyclopedic edition of child orthopaedics as one of the four most effective approaches to the rehabilitation of patients suffering from CP and other CNS disorders.

The treatment method is recognized by the European Medical Association (EMA); more than 70,000 patients have been treated at medical institutions in Ukraine, the UAE and Cyprus, including around 17,000 from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the US, remarked Prof Dr Volodymyr Kozyavkin, the general director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and Dr Helmut Schuehsler, CEO and Chairman of TVM Capital Healthcare in Truskavets, Ukraine.

Dr Schuehsler said: "As a healthcare private equity investor we are dedicated to making high-quality healthcare services more accessible to patients worldwide. Our portfolio company, Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center, has been cooperating with the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and is already successfully offering the method to patients in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

"With this joint venture, we plan to grow this method globally. We are very much looking forward to working with Professor Kozyavkin and his team to help more patients benefit from their immense medical and clinical expertise," he stated.

Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin, General Director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic (part of Kozyavkin Medical Group) said: "We are proud to have won an internationally renowned and experienced healthcare investor who is supporting our innovative method of treating patients with Cerebral Palsy."

"We are very much looking forward to cooperating with the team of TVM Capital Healthcare to make this method available for patients worldwide," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The U.S. has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China's government could force the company to give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei, the world's biggest maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, has denied the allegations.

The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the security of new 5G networks.

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China's Huawei.

The proposals reflected security concerns, with some wording that also appeared to be aimed at raising the bar for Chinese suppliers. The document said "security and risk assessment of vendors and network technologies" should be taken into account, as well as "the overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country," especially its "model of governance."

"Security and risk assessments of vendors and network technologies should take into account rule of law," it said.

U.S. officials have urged their allies to take into account the laws and legal system of a country where a 5G supplier is based, saying that China's lack of independent judiciary means companies have no legal options if they don't want to comply with Beijing's orders.

The European Commission has also recommended that EU countries factor in the legal systems of the countries where 5G suppliers are headquartered.

At the meeting in Prague, the cybersecurity officials came mainly from countries that are strategic allies, including European Union member states, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies including Australia, Japan and Korea and Singapore. NATO and European Union officials also participated but China and Russia were not present.

Europe has become a key battleground in the war over whether to ban Huawei, with countries gearing up to deploy the new networks, starting with the auction of radio frequencies this year.


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New Year's Eve still on in Times Square, but with smaller crowd
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 04, 2019 | 08:52 AM | CAPE GIRARDEAU

Persistent flood conditions on the Mississippi River show no signs of abating, as the river is expected to approach record levels at Cape Girardeau this week.The upper Mississippi is already at near-record levels, anywhere from seven feet above flood stage at St. Louis to 12 feet above flood stage in Iowa. On Thursday, a historic record high water mark was set at the Quad Cities.All of that water will make its way through southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and western Kentucky by midweek and push the river gauge at Cape Girardeau to more than 45 feet. Flood stage at Cape is 32 feet.Cape's record high flood level is 48.86 feet, set in January of 2016. This week's crest is anticipated to be the 8th-highest ever for the city.Downstream at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Cairo is experiencing moderate flooding with slowly falling levels on the Ohio at 48.1 feet. The surge on the Mississippi is expected to hold back Ohio waters enough to raise Cairo's gauge to 51.5 feet by Thursday. This is not close to Cairo's record level of 61.7 feet in May of 2011.The rest of the lower Ohio could see minor flooding resume this week. At Paducah's riverfront, levels will rise from 36.8 feet as of Saturday, to 40 feet this Wednesday through next weekend. Flood stage at Paducah is 39 feet.Smithland will see a similar rise from 35 to 39 feet.

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By Rep. Chris Freeland

May. 03, 2019 | BENTON, KY

By Rep. Chris Freeland May. 03, 2019 | 06:13 PM | BENTON, KY

Education Bills Approved During 2019 Session - By Representative Chris Freeland



With the school year coming to an end in just a few short weeks, I know many of you are looking forward to graduation celebrations, field days, spring recitals and the promise of summer vacation. This is a fun and hectic time of the year for those of us with school-age children. For many of our educators, the end of this school year means planning for the next. I would like to take a moment and discuss some of the important education initiatives that we passed this session.



Without a doubt the most important bill we passed this session is the School Safety and Resiliency Act, SB 1. This measure came out of the work done by the School Safety Working Group. This group traveled across the Commonwealth and met with stakeholders in law enforcement, education, and the mental health field to come up with a comprehensive school safety policy. We took what we learned from these meetings and took action to combat increasing school violence, an effort driven by the tragic shooting at Marshall County High School last year. The measure is aimed at strengthening both our schools and our children. Not only does it call for steps to harden the target and make our facilities harder to breach, but the bill also focuses on building stronger school communities in an effort to reach troubled children with services. This measure establishes a state goal of providing more School Resource Officers and school counselors.



The School Safety Act is the first step in our commitment to protecting our children and we will look at funding the measure in the budget we pass next session. We have many partners in this work, and I am pleased to see that the Kentucky School Boards Association has wasted no time. The KSBA reached out to its members just last week with a survey asking them to detail their facility needs and anticipated costs associated with SB 1 standards. The survey responses are expected back by September 1, giving us time to include them in the budget process next session.



Another important education initiative we tackled was expanding resources available to Family Resource and Youth Service Centers (FRYSCs). These centers, in schools across the state, offer important programs and services to meet the needs of the population being served, available resources, location and other local characteristics. FRYSCs have established a record of success based on improved student performance in class work, homework and peer relations as reported by teachers. HB 21 allows them to accept private donations to provide resources for children in need. This measure comes on the heels of an increase in FRYSC funding that the legislature prioritized in last years budget. This will mean more students are able to benefit from the educational resources that FRYSCs offer.



Kentucky high school graduates may choose to pursue a post-secondary degree, job training, or a military career. No matter the path that students chose to go down, the General Assembly is working to ensure that they have all the resources necessary to be successful. A bill we passed that would help those interested in a military career. The bill, HB 250, requires schools to provide students in grades 10-12 the opportunity to take the ASVAB test annually, offer counseling based on the ASVAB test results, and excuse meetings with a military recruiter. Many students are excused from school to visit and register for college, and this bill simply gives the same allowances to students pursuing a military career after graduation.



We also prioritized opportunities to aid in a students pursuit of workforce training upon graduation. One of those bills, HB 61, was aimed at improving access to educational opportunities that lead straight into the workforce. HB 61 would allow Kentucky students to apply earned KEES scholarship money toward a qualifying apprenticeship or qualified workforce training program that are in a high demand work sector. This bill will ensure high school students have the opportunity to use earned scholarship money to pay for workforce training. This will ensure a greater accessibility to these programs, and will aid in our statewide effort to recruit more workers to these in demand fields.



Another bill geared toward access to work force training and education was SB 98. SB 98 establishes the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. The program ensures that Kentuckians have affordable access to an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or associate of applied science degree. The scholarship is available to eligible dual credit high school students or eligible workforce students who have not earned an associate's degree. This bill again prioritizes the varying needs of students, and the needs of a growing workforce in Kentucky.



We also approved HB 46, which makes Kentucky the 20th state to require public elementary and secondary schools to display the national motto In God We Trust in a prominent location. The motto can be displayed in the form of student artwork or through other affordable means. I supported this measure because I agree with the positive message and patriotic display of our nations national motto.



Before finishing, I want to share that we expect the Governor will call the legislature into special session in the next few days. You may remember that he rejected an agreement that provided financial relief for quasigovernmental agencies  including local health departments, mental health agencies, and rape crisis centers  and our regional universities participating in the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Last week he provided members with a copy of his proposal to replace this agreement. I am reviewing it, as well as reaching out to both the organizations and the employees impacted by this issue and will give it careful consideration. Timing is extremely important to this issue, as all of the regional universities and some of the quasigovernmental agencies have June 1 budget deadlines. However, we must make sure we provide the very best solution.



I will be including the pension and other issues we are working on in my next columns. In the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime, or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. If you would like more information, or to e-mail me, please visit the legislature's website www.legislature.ky.gov.



Chris Freeland is from Benton in Marshall County. He was elected in November to his first term in the Kentucky Legislature. Freeland serves on the following committees: Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation, Small Business & Information Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology.




MP urges residents to visit unmissable Penley Polish Hospital exhibition

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A local MP is urging local residents to visit the Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales exhibition at Wrexham Museum.

International events and local history come together to tell the story of Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales, which opened back in March.

Eighty years ago the Wehrmacht and the Red Army swept across the borders of Poland setting in motion a train of events that would lead to the establishment of three Polish hospitals in the Welsh countryside near Wrexham, in the village of Penley and the grounds of two country houses, Iscoyd Park and Llannerch Panna.

The hospitals were staffed by Polish medics and nurses whose job was to care for the thousands of Polish servicemen and service women displaced from their homes, battle worn and weary, and now living in post-war Britain.

The hospitals became the focal point of a Polish community whose story is told in this new exhibition.

Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said: This tells an important part of our Wrexham County Borough history. The exhibition is unmissable, and the artefacts and recordings are superb. Huge tributes should go to Wrexham Museum, Wrexham Council and all the volunteers who made this wonderful exhibition possible.

The story begins in World War Two when Polish Camps were established in our country by British and American service personnel.

Polish medics then ran hospitals that would care for our Polish allies and their families. Subsequent Soviet annexation of Poland meant that few could return home.

By 1956, the three North East Wales Polish hospitals combined in Penley and over the next half a century, more than 25,000 people were cared for at this excellent community hospital.

Today, this amazing legacy lives on in work of the Penley Rainbow Centre and the lives of many local residents. The links between our area and Poland are really deep.

The exhibition runs at Wrexham Museum until June 22nd 2019. Admission is free. Wrexham Museum is open Monday  Friday 10am. to 5pm. and Saturday 11am to 4pm. Courtyard Cafe is open 10am. to 4:30pm.
Publisher gives students tips on finding creative freedom in the magazine industry

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A publisher who creates a celebrated design, photography and culture magazine has spoken to students at the Regent Street campus about his work.

Les Jones, the creator of Elsie magazine, delivered a two-hour lecture in the morning and then facilitated an afternoon workshop with the students at the universitys Regent Street campus.

The vision behind Les individual magazine is creative freedom  the ability to explore creative themes without any outside influence or interference. This approach, which takes in design, photography, illustration and typography gives the magazine its unique, eclectic feel.

Elsie has been praised by actor Tom Hanks who wrote a letter about the magazine after a friend of Les sent him a copy which name-checked him.

Mr Hanks subscribed and said: Elsie is a gorgeous magazine. I am now all in favour of one-man (or one-woman) magazines, as they will make the world a little more lovely of a place.

In his lecture, Les explained how, while traditional magazine publishing may seem stuck in a series of conventions, the world of niche magazine publishing can open up all kinds of possibilities  and that having a big idea which inspires them and fires their creativity was key to developing students work if they wanted to publish their own magazines.

Speaking afterwards, he added: It was a pleasure to talk to and work with the students at Wrexham Glyndwr University  hopefully they took away some ideas and inspiration from the day. I wish them all the best as they come to the end of their final year.

His visit followed an invite to the university by lecturer Lisa Evans, who said: Im delighted Les was able to come along to inspire our students, particularly as we were only one of five UK universities he has chosen to visit.

The independent magazine sector is growing year on year, with dedicated shops beginning to pop up to cater for the growing appetite for these publications.

Independent publishing is a great way for our students to apply and develop their creativity and Id like to thank Les for his time, his inspiration  and his visit.

You can find out more about Elsie magazine here and Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology here.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 14:05:52|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on March 28, 2019 shows Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia , in his office in Canberra where he accepted interview with Xinhua before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA). "You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. (Xinhua/Pan Xiangyue)

by Bai Xu, Pan Xiangyue, Zhou Zihan

CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA).

"You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month.

"The opportunity to share ideas is always one in which you learn, and you'll say your ideas get better," he said.

GETTING CLOSER BY SHARING STORIES

NMA had its permanent home by Lake Burley Griffin in the center of the Australian capital Canberra in 2001. Trinca joined NMA as a senior curator in 2003, and became director of the museum in 2014.

He noted that NMA had strong connection with China. "Since the National Museum opened its doors here in 2001, we've been three times with major exhibitions to China: to Guangzhou with our first exhibition ever overseas in 2002, again in 2010 the National Art Museum of China, and now first to the National Museum of China and then other museums throughout China."

"There is no doubt that our relationship to China and to the Chinese people is one of the most important for the Australian people, indeed for the Australian nation," said Trinca. "So it's no surprise to me that the first place we went with an exhibition overseas was to China, and I think it signified something deep and enduring about our relationships."

NMA signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of China in 2011, where a 150-piece "Old Masters" art exhibition with Australian indigenous artists was launched last July.

As an exchange, an exhibition namely The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China opened in NMA on April 5. Consisting of more than 100 objects from China, including a rare 20-meter-long replica of the first scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour, it explores the grand historical sweep of Chinese art and calligraphy traditions.

"I think there's a deep truth in all human life that when we share our stories with others, we learn about ourselves in the act of sharing with others," said Trinca, adding that by exchanging exhibitions with the Chinese museums, he hoped that Australian people and the Chinese can learn about stories of each other.

"When two nations come together and their peoples come together, and they're prepared to exchange stories, they learn about each other," he said. "They develop relationships in ways that otherwise, I think would be impossible. And that's really what's going to hold us together as two nations whose history has been intertwined. And I think our future is going to be similarly linked."

DIFFERENT CULTURE, STRONG CONNECTION

Due to his tight schedule, Trinca is not able to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, but he attended an international forum of museum directors in China.

"You know, in Asia Pacific, the value of creative industries here in this region is greater than anywhere else," he said.

Talking about the cultural features in Australia, Trinca believed that the aboriginal culture was definitely an important part.

"This is a land of long human history reaching back 65,000 years," he said. "So many First Nations have lived on this continent for centuries, for millennia. That story is a big story, not just for Australians, but for the world."

At the same time, Australia is also known as a multicultural country with immigrants from across the world. "Over the course of the last 100 years or so, we've welcomed people from all around the world to these shores. Now we have more than two hundred languages spoken here in homes across the nation."

"It connects us to the global history in a way that the movement of people around the world have changed our lives over time, and from them the Australian gained very strong foundations of the modern society," he said.

China is the biggest single source of immigrants. "Chinese is the most spoken language in this country, apart from English," Trinca said. "More than 1.2 million Chinese people live in Australia at this point of time."

In spite of the difference of culture behind China and Australia, Trinca said that cultural connection between the two countries is close.

"(We now have) the third exchange in the space of 20 years," he said. "I can't think of that having been replicated with any other nation around the world. It's a sign of how strong the connections are between our two countries."

He is now thinking of something new "for where our relationship might go next". "Working together, to make a show together," he said. "It would be wonderful if we move into a new phase where we actually make an exhibition together that then travels the world."

Looking into the future, Trinca is optimistic. "Our future is going to be even brighter than our past."
"I was so nervous because it was my first film, but the script was so interesting and it was so much fun," said the TV heartthrob who was a member of defunct boy group ZE:A.

Park Hyung-sik shared his thoughts on finishing his first feature film at the media preview of "Juror 8" in Seoul on Thursday afternoon.

"The character is a very curious person who is determined to see things through until the end. He resembles me a lot, so I really wanted to do it."

Park is due to start his mandatory military service in military police on June 10.

"I don't have any special wish that somehow this should leave a lasting impression on viewers just because it will be my last project before the draft," he said. "But I hope people enjoy watching it and the warm message the film conveys makes them happy."

"Juror 8" is about eight ordinary people who are randomly selected for jury service in Korea's very first jury trial in 2008.

It will be released on May 15.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:22:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The 34th edition of the Singapore Book Fair (SBF) will return to the heart of Singapore's historic Civic District for the second consecutive year, according to a press conference held here Friday.

The annual fair, which is organized by Singapore Press Holdings'(SPH) Chinese Media Group, will run from May 31 to June 9 at Capitol Singapore with the theme "Encounters @ Reading City". It will be officially opened by Chan Chun Sing, minister for Trade and Industry, on June 1.

More than 30 publishers will be offering a selection of English and Chinese books, including established publishers, which have participated in SBF for many years, such as Union Book, Maha Yu Yi, Fables and the Linking Publishing Company.

Apart from books, the 10-day fair will offer a variety of programmes, including seminars, literary and heritage tours, workshops, movies and music performances.

One of the highlights of SBF 2019 is the writers' sharing sessions and forums, featuring a line-up of prominent authors and personalities who will be sharing about their writing and creative process.

A book exchange area has been set up for the public to bring their pre-loved books to exchange with others. Book donors can pen their reasons for recommending their pre-loved book so that there will be an exchange of thoughts and feelings with other book lovers.

On the basement level of Capitol Singapore will be a Kids Zone, which will feature storytelling sessions by National Library Board volunteers, children's art and craft workshops, coloring competitions and photo opportunities with beloved children's book character Geronimo Stilton.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:43:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MINSK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A second runway was opened on Friday at Minsk National Airport in the capital city of Belarus following three years of construction.

The construction was carried out by Belarusian construction companies without foreign funds, the Belarusian transport and communications ministry said.

The new runway is 3.7-km long and 60-meter wide, costing more than 188 million U.S. dollars.

The runway has been assigned the operational category 4F, which allows the airport to handle all types of aircraft without restrictions in adverse weather conditions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko and General Director of Minsk National Airport Dmitry Melikyan attended the official opening ceremony.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:08:39|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has granted amnesty to an unspecified number of inmates on occasion of coronation ceremonies, scheduled over the weekend.

A royal decree for the amnesty of inmates, issued on April 21 and declared in the Royal Gazette on Friday, was for the freed prisoners to behave themselves and return as good members of society.

Corrections Department Director General Narat Sawettanan announced on Friday that a number of inmates will be freed under the royal decree from 143 prisons nationwide.

The Department of Corrections will organize a ceremony for the freed inmates to express their allegiances to His Majesty the King upon their release from prisons, Narat said.

However, committees consisting of judges, public prosecutors and provincial governors are yet to take a 120-day time to decide which inmates will be pardoned and freed under the royal decree, Narat said.

Those who have been convicted on charges of perpetrating critical crimes such as human trafficking, drug dealing, murders and corruption will have less opportunity for freedom than others, according to the department chief.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:18:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WUHAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Police in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, dressed as delivery men, seized a parcel containing drugs, according to local authorities.

The police with the anti-drug team of the public security bureau of the Jiang'an District received a tip late April that someone had mailed a box of suspicious objects from south China's Yunnan Province to a residential community in the district.

The police combed through the piles of parcels and found one of them giving off an odd smell. The police, disguised as delivery men, then waited for the suspect to fetch the parcel.

The police caught the man who came to take the parcel and seized 3 kg of magu, a stimulant composed of methamphetamine and caffeine, from the boxes in the parcel.

An initial investigation showed that the suspect, surnamed Xia, is a local of Wuhan. He bought drugs from Yunnan and attempted to sell them to earn money. Further investigation is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:49:00|Editor: ZX

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Aerial view of unloading operation of the first crude oil shipment to Hengyi Industries'oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, May 3, 2019. After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries said on Friday. (Xinhua/Hengyi Industries)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, a senior Hengyi official said on Friday.

Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries that built the plant told Xinhua that with a total investment of some 3.45 billion U.S. dollars and a crude oil refining capacity of eight million tonnes per year, Hengyi's PMB project is expected to run into full operation in the third quarter of this year.

"Part of the crude oil needed for PMB project comes from Brunei's own oil production, while the rest will be imported from neighbouring oil producing countries," Chen said.

Haji Mat Suny, the country's minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry said in February that after full operation, the PMB project is expected to increase Brunei's GDP by 1.33 billion dollars in the first year and create more than 1,600 jobs.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings -- a wholly owned subsidiary under Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund -- owning 70 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Hengyi's investment into PMB is the largest foreign direct investment into Brunei from China so far, which is due to help the southeast Asian country to upgrade its industries, alleviate its dependency on oil export and also to boost economic and trade cooperation between Brunei and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 01:49:29|Editor: Li Xia

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A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 3, 2019. At least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua)

GAZA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic Hamas movement militants were killed on Friday evening in an Israeli army airstrike on a military training facility that belongs to the movement in central Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that Abdulla Abu Mallouh, 33 years old and Alla Boubali, 29 years old from al-Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that Israeli aircrafts struck a military training facility that belongs to Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades in central Gaza Strip, not far from the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said that the Israeli airstrike on the military training facility of Hamas was a response to an earlier gunfire attack on an Israeli army force, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The spokesman said that one Israeli soldier was moderately injured and was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment, adding that another female soldier was slightly injured in the shooting attack.

Meanwhile, at least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

At least 50 Palestinian demonstrators were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza Strip, including 10 children, two women, one journalist and three paramedics.

Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans and threw stones at the soldiers in several areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Field paramedics said that the soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators, adding that many of them were injuries and suffered suffocation after inhaling the Israeli tear gas.

Local media sources said that activists of the Great March of Return released several arson balloons from eastern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli media reports said that several demonstrators climbed on the fence of the border.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that an Israeli army tank fired at least three tank shells on eastern Gaza Strip targeting military facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement and no injuries reported.

The Israeli media reported that the tanks shelling on eastern Gaza Strip was an immediate response to opening fire by Palestinian gunmen at an Israeli army force stationed on the border, adding that one soldier was moderately injured.

The Highest Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege had earlier called on the populations of the Gaza Strip to join the weekly rallies and protests, which started in March 30 last year in eastern Gaza.

The commission said in a statement that the protests on Friday are against the United States' decision to consider the Syrian Golan Heights under Israel's sovereignty.

Gaza Health Ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests, the Israeli army shot dead 273 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others who were officially referred to the hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, two delegations representing Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad headed to Egypt for talks in Cairo with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on a possible calm with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Khader Habib, a senior Islamic Jihad leader had earlier told Xinhua that the visit of the two delegations to Cairo aimed at discussing the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the calm understandings with Israel.

The group's official accused Israel of not being committed to the understandings, mainly lifting an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Egypt and the United Nations have been mediating for several months a calm understanding between the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel trying to ease the hard living situation in the coastal enclave.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:04:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally, the Italian-American automaker reported on Friday.

FCA's Q1 net profit was 508 million euros, or 568 million U.S. dollars, with its worldwide combined shipments down 14 percent to 1,037,000 vehicles.

The slowdown in delivery was primarily due to "non-repeat of overlapping all-new and prior generation Jeep Wrangler production and planned realignment of commercial strategies in Europe," said the automaker.

The combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, including the successful negotiation of a labor agreement in Italy, continued implementation of cost-containment actions in all regions, and progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

They hope that the streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," said FCA.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:19:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Friday that more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced despite the military defeat of Islamic State (IS) militants since late 2017.

The remarks came in a statement by UNAMI after the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Hennis-Plasschaert visited Hassan Sham IDPs Camp and met with the camp's management and residents, who "explained the problems they face in their daily lives as well as the obstacles that prevent them from returning to their hometowns," the statement said.

She also met with Governor of Dohuk Farhad Atrushi to discuss the challenges that the provincial government is facing to continuously host large numbers of IDPs, many of whom are Yazidis, who fled their homes in Sinjar area, some 100 km west of Mosul, according to the statement.

It said that Yazidis are facing "a range of serious obstacles to their return to home such as an unstable security situation including clashes between armed groups and checkpoint harassment, damaged and contaminated houses, inadequate basic services, as well as discrimination."

"Obstacles are varied and often complex, painfully resulting in stalled returns on the ground," the statement quoted Hennis-Plasschaert as saying.

"The Yazidis have suffered immensely during the reign of Daesh, who committed untold atrocities in their attempt to annihilate the community," she said.

"I was shocked to see that now, nearly five years after the capture of Sinjar by Daesh and the area's subsequent liberation, many people are still living in tents, on the very mountain top they fled to at the onset of the terror campaign," she said.

She warned that continuing failure in removing obstacles of returning the IDPs to their homes creates the perfect breeding ground for a new wave of violence and instability, according to the statement.

To avoid the return of violence and instability, she called on the Iraqi federal government and the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to "consult with the local leadership in Sinjar and to establish stable governance and security structures without delay," it added.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:20:19|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows the United Nations General Assembly holding an event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said.

The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. And today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet, she warned.

The United Nations continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, said Mohammed.

She noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set in motion two initiatives. He has asked his special representative on genocide prevention to devise a plan of action to mobilize the UN system's response to tackling hate speech, and his high representative for the alliance of civilizations to explore how the world body can contribute in ensuring the safety of religious sites.

Mohammed expressed the United Nations' solidarity with the people and government of Sri Lanka and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:35:22|Editor: Li Xia

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by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States' decision to end waivers that allowed a handful of countries to buy oil from Iran is more likely to have geopolitical implications than to affect Italy's energy supply, analysts said.

The White House said on April 22 that special waivers given to Italy and seven other countries to continue to import oil from Iran without endangering their trade status with the United States would not be renewed after they expire this month.

The waivers were granted in the wake of the United States' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal last year.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said that the decision not to renew the waivers was "intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero".

According to information from the United States Department of State, Iran had earned around 50 billion U.S. dollars per year from oil sales before sanctions were put in place.

The energy impact on Italy will be limited, however, because Italy never used its waiver once the sanctions were put in place.

"Italy didn't want to take a risk, knowing the waivers would likely be removed at some point," Andrea Dessi, a researcher focusing on Middle Eastern issues with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), told Xinhua.

"Italy produces very little of its own energy and so it has to be careful what countries it buys from in order to maintain a reliable stream of energy."

Dessi said Italy imports oil from around two dozen countries, and that if the ending of the Iran waivers does not push worldwide petroleum prices higher the impact on Italy would be small.

But according to Alessandro Lanza, an economist at Rome's LUISS University, former chief economist with Italian energy giant Eni and principal administrator at the International Energy Agency, there are larger geopolitical issues at stake.

"I think a question here is the extent to which a major power like the United States should be able to tell another country, a fellow member of the Group of Seven like Italy, which countries it can and cannot buy energy from," Lanza said in an interview.

Dessi said that Iranian officials were likely disappointed that Italy did not use its waiver when it could, and that the country didn't stand up for Iran in the face of sanctions from the United States.

"Italy is well positioned in Iran and well thought of in the country," Dessi said. "Iranian officials have made official visits to Rome and the countries have made statements of support. But when it came to the sanctions, Italy didn't want to stick its neck out."

Lanza said one potential benefit from the developments could be the creation of new incentives for the domestic production of renewable energy like solar or wind power.

"Italy has the target of producing 20 percent or more of its energy from renewable sources by the end of next year," Lanza said. "Surpassing that should be a priority."
Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program. North Korea has not commented on the test.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyang's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

 Testing the Moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests. Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Kim has stated [the moratorium] only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official. "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

 Measured Escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down. Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:06:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday raised alarm over the impact of extreme weather events on the lives of children.

Such disasters should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders, UNICEF said in a press release.

"We are witnessing a worrisome trend," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF's executive director. "Cyclones, droughts and other extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity. As we have seen in Mozambique and elsewhere, poorer countries and communities are disproportionately affected. For children who are already vulnerable, the impact can be devastating."

More than 120,000 children were affected by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest storm Mozambique has ever recorded. At least 400 schools were damaged or destroyed, affecting over 40,000 schoolchildren. A cholera outbreak has been declared in the affected area of Cabo Delgado, said UNICEF.

The April 25 cyclone came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai pummeled the country, affecting 1 million children. Nearly two months on, close to 25,000 people continue to live in shelters, said the fund.

In Odisha, India, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani. Some 1 million people have already been evacuated in preparation for what has been described as India's strongest cyclone in more than 20 years, it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:16:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting in southern Tripoli, including airstrikes and rocket barrages, has taken a toll on civilians and structures alike, forcing more than 50,000 people to leave their homes, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"We continue to be concerned about the heavy fighting in southern Tripoli," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "There are reports of extensive use of airstrikes and rocket shelling causing more civilian casualties and destruction, and forcing thousands more civilians from their homes."

As fighting continues, the International Organization for Migration said more than 50,000 people have now been displaced, Dujarric said. Most are finding shelter with families or in other private arrangements, while 29 collective shelters are now in operation, housing an estimated 2,750 people.

Humanitarians are providing assistance at these collective shelters, and other areas of displacement as access is allowed, the spokesman said.

More than 3,400 refugees and migrants are estimated to be trapped in detention centers already exposed to, or in close proximity to, the fighting, he told a regular briefing.

The availability of food, water and healthcare has been severely restricted in the facilities for refugees and migrants, Dujarric said. Some 32,000 people impacted by the crisis have been able to receive some form of humanitarian assistance to date.

The secretary-general's special representative in Libya, Ghassan Salame, continues his outreach to representatives of different Libyan factions in an effort to de-escalate the situation, said the spokesman.

On Wednesday, Salame met with the president of the Government of National Accord's Presidency Council, Fayez Serraj, and with a group of elders, officials and tribal leaders from the western region of Libya, Dujarric said. Salame offered the United Nations' full support to help civilians affected by the fighting, including internally displaced people and host communities.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:21:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUDAPEST, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Hungary sees Turkey as a strategic ally and a friend, and appreciates the role Turkey plays in guaranteeing European security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told here Friday at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"Without adhering to the EU-Turkey agreement on halting migration, sizable migratory pressures should be expected from the South, this is why security in Europe today begins in Turkey," Szijjarto stressed.

The minister explained that 4.5 million migrants were being cared for in Turkey and were not allowed to move towards the EU.

"Hungary also appreciates Turkey's role in the international fight against terrorism," Szijjarto underlined, adding cooperation in the area needs to be strengthened.

The Hungarian chief of diplomacy concluded by saying that relations between the EU and Turkey needed to be built on mutual respect and honesty.

"Hungary is an important ally, a good friend and partner, and although political relations are great, economic cooperation is good, there is much place for improvement," Cavusoglu said, adding that bilateral trade volume between the two countries needed to be increased.

He also thanked Hungary for standing by Turkey on many international forums, and for supporting Turkey's EU accession.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:51:36|Editor: ZX

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A visitor tries traditional Chinese costume at a Huangshan tourism promotion event at World Trade Center in New York, the United States, on May 3, 2019. A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination. The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination.

Featuring photo displays, local opera performances and a Chinese tea ceremony show inside the Oculus, a transportation hub and shopping mall of the new WTC, the event made a comprehensive presentation of the scenery and cultural connotations of Mount Huangshan.

Located in east China's Anhui Province, the mountain range is famous for its magnificent scenery of granite peaks, rocks, pine trees, sunrise and sunset amid clouds.

Travel brochures and local style cookies were handed out to passers-by, who were also encouraged to try on traditional Han Chinese costumes and have a taste of this year's fresh tea from Anhui.

Mayor of Huangshan City Kong Xiaohong told the media that more than 2.62 million foreign tourists visited Mount Huangshan in 2018, and the number of U.S. tourists is growing steadily year by year.

As a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site, Mount Huangshan aims to attract more tourists worldwide, said the mayor, who came to New York to promote his hometown.

The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:01:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Side II, a sculpture made by British sculptor Antony Gormley in 2017, is seen on display on Delos island, Greece, May 3, 2019. An exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, kicked off on the Delos island recently. (Xinhua/Li Xiaopeng)

by Yu Shuaishuai, Li Xiaopeng

MYKONOS, Greece, May 3 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a modern art exhibition is being held on Greece's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, the Delos island, once a flourishing trading center in the middle of the Aegean Sea near Mykonos.

The site-specific exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, is presented by the Greek nonprofit organization NEON in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, a regional service under the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

This project, entitled SIGHT, exhibits 29 life-size iron body sculptures made by the artist during the last twenty years, including 5 specially commissioned new works, both at the periphery and integrated amongst Delos' archaeological sites.

The sculptures are being placed in various parts of the island, with the visitors being invited to discover them with the help of printed material. Two sculptures stand in the sea close to the shore, while some are on the Kynthos hill, in the Agora of the Competaliasts, at the entrance of the Stadium, on the Stage of the Theater and in other monument.

The exhibition, which will last until Oct. 31, also marks the first time a contemporary art installation has been unanimously approved by the Greek Archaeological Council to take place in Delos, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The tiny island of Delos is revered in Greek mythology as the sacred birthplace of twins Apollo, god of light, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Nowadays, it is usually inhabited by just a handful of archaeologists and scientific researchers, with its ruins stand devoid of human presence.

Gormley, an award-winning sculptor who is acclaimed for creating sculptures and installations that explore the relationship between the human body and space, told Xinhua it's an honor for him to exhibit his art works on the island.

"It's a huge honor, a huge responsibility and a huge challenge, to be the first artist to touch the island in 2,000 years," Gormley told Xinhua Friday at the site of his exhibition.

"I am hoping this exhibition will reanimate in a way that make people look differently with great alertness, think about the nature of the island, about its relations to the other islands, and maybe more generally about the human presence," he said.

Gormley admitted Buddhism has an important influence on his art creations, which he studied in India in early 1970s, "it taught me the body itself is an extraordinary teacher."

"We use the body as a machine, but in fact the body is a very sensitive receiver of not just information but feelings," he explained.

Gormley's works have been on show in many countries worldwide and his recent show in China was in 2017, when his works "Critical Mass II" were exhibited in Shanghai and Changsha.

He had been to China for many times since 1995 and told Xinhua that in his view, China is becoming more and more open-up.

"China is changing, is doing a lot to promote the cultural exchanges between China and the West," he said.

He recalled his exhibition in Changsha of China's Hunan Province as a show dealt with modern history as the city is a very important place for China's recent history, and for this current exhibition on Delos island, "it deals with ancient history."

For Demetrios Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, the extensive ruins within the unspoilt natural beauty of uninhabited Delos offer the visitor an unique experience.

"Antony Gormley's sculptures give the visitor the pleasure of wandering amid this Delian anasynthesis which is ideally suited to reflecting on our identity and exploring our cognitive and aesthetic ties with the past," he said in a press release.

"This exhibition is an exceptional opportunity for a wide audience to engage with Gormley's work and be reminded how central art is to the human story. I hope visitors will leave Delos feeling that his contemporary sculpture and this site belong to us all," Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON, said in the press release.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- European heads of government, ministers, commissioners and political experts gathered in Florence, Italy, for the 9th annual State of the Union conference on Friday.

Titled "21st-century Democracy in Europe", the conference explored democracy and European Parliament elections to be held at the end of the month, the rule of law and the legal powers of the EU, disinformation and fake news, immigration, the next generation of EU citizens, and the single market.

THE FUTURE IS FEDERALISM

Among the high-level speakers on Friday was Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi. He reviewed the achievements of the EU in creating prosperity and stability and keeping the peace in Europe for its over 500,000 citizens, and painted a picture of what he sees for its future, namely, a European federation.

European integration generated "a feeling of European affiliation" that is not "that false feeling of supremacy which for centuries accompanied Europeans" but rather "the birth of a spontaneous European identity: everyone who lives within the European space naturally and simply assimilates that feeling", he said.

"Everyone who has come to Europe or been born in Europe after the 1970s has a radically different vision compared to those from preceding generations," he added. "They don't see citizens of other European countries as real or potential enemies."

"Even those who criticize and are skeptical of the Union develop European ways of thinking," Moavero Milanesi said.

According to GlobalStat data released by conference organizers, 70 percent of European respondents in 2018 said they see themselves as European citizens, compared to 62 percent in 2010.

The minister also cited Eurobarometer data showing that "seven in 10 Europeans declare they are enthusiastically in favor of the free circulation of people, and believe we should preserve the free circulation of goods and services."

However, the EU needs to make some changes if it is to survive, the minister said.

The current system doesn't allow Europe to fully and successfully enter into the globalization process, he said. The continent is slipping in terms of the ability to develop new technologies.

Europe has been slow to tackle issues such as migration, and Moavero Milanesi cited more Eurobarometer data showing that 50 percent of respondents identify migration as a big issue, another 50 percent focus on economic growth and youth unemployment, and a good 40 percent is concerned with the threat of international terrorism and security, and the possible consequences of climate change.

The minister made several proposals for a stronger, more inclusive Europe: endowing the European Parliament with lawmaking powers, giving the Union powers to issue eurobonds and to levy European taxes on big economic players such as multinationals, giving Europe a common stance on migration, asylum, and border control, and changing the current rule that foreign and defense policy decisions must be unanimous.

"I think we could ask governments to agree among themselves on a pact that foreign policy decisions should be taken on a majority basis," he said. "It's revolutionary but it's feasible."

"Clarity of objectives is essential to maintaining citizen consensus," Moavero Milanesi said. "The architecture of the EU must be simplified and completed, and brought closer to citizens" with the ultimate goal of achieving true federalism, he said.

A NEW EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Also on hand was French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who delivered a high-level address on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron and the French government in which he called for "a new European Renaissance"

"Europe is at a crossroads," said Le Drian. "The real dividing lines between those who wish to stop Europe and those who wish to make it advance will come out into the open (at the upcoming European Parliament elections)."

The French minister went on to list potentially fatal threats to the EU: that of division and what he described as "the ill winds" that fan the flames of populism and are "calling into question the values of the rule of law."

"As we learn our lesson from Brexit, we should consider the increase of populisms in Europe for what it is -- a symptom of a deep malaise over the distance between institutions and citizens, over globalization, which affects our people in full force, over inequalities within and between our societies and yes, the threats of terrorism, the spectre of trade war and the prospect of a climate catastrophe," Le Drian said.

"It is not too late to act, as long as we are aware of these dangers," he said. "The lessons of the British withdrawal should not be a signal of alarm condemning us to repeat past errors and allowing the bonds between us to be broken."

Like his Italian counterpart, Le Drian called for a consolidated border policy, a European asylum bureau, and a return to "the fundamentals of the European project" based on social progress and "a real social shield -- a minimum threshold for protection to the benefit of workers and all European citizens".

EUROPE MUST RETHINK ITSELF

In his conference closing address, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that "Europe must rethink itself."

"In recent years, Europe has abdicated its fundamental role of representation and failed to intercept the needs, hopes and fears of its citizens," said Conte, who leads a populist-rightwing coalition government.

"It has been perceived as oligarchic and out of touch with the real lives of citizens, while social and economic in-qualities have excluded parts of the population, exacerbating feelings of abandonment and loss, especially in the younger generations," Conte said.

"Europe must urgently take courageous steps to change course from the current path, which has proven to be a failure."

Like Moavero Milanesi, Conte called for giving more powers to the European Parliament as a way to "finally overcome the idea that European policies are being decided by remote bureaucrats in inaccessible places".

Conte went on to call for European salaries and unemployment protections, investments in the circular economy to fight climate change, and a change in EU competition rules in order to allow state aid to ailing national companies.

Taking place ahead of the May 23-26 elections in which European citizens will choose their representatives in the European Parliament, this edition of the State of the Union also featured a debate amongst the lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission, which was broadcast across the continent.

The event, which kicked off on Thursday, will conclude on Saturday, with an Open Day of cultural, leisure and art activities open to the public.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 07:45:35|Editor: Li Xia

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Members of the police motorcycle unit participate in the motorcycle season opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on May 3, 2019. More than 2,000 motorcyclists and 7,000 guests attended the ceremony, opening the suitable season for riding motorcycles in Moscow. (Xinhua/Maxim Chernavsky)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 08:09:27|Editor: ZX

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Visitors pick roses at the Xianglian rose valley in Anning City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 3, 2019. Large scale of edible roses in Xianglian rose valley has attracted thousands of visitors during the Labor Day holiday. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:12:44|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unidentified short-range missile off its east coast Saturday morning, multiple local media reported citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missile was launched eastward from the east coast city of Wonsan at about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT).

Details on the missile were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States, the JCS was quoted as saying.

It was the first missile launch by the DPRK in about 17 months since the country test-fired Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:27:47|Editor: Li Xia

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SYDNEY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Tooth decay levels are three times higher among indigenous children, with consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and irregular brushing of teeth forming major factors behind the global dental condition, according to latest Australian research.

The findings, which also showed that low household income and living in an area with non-fluoridated water offered significant dental risks to non-indigenous youngsters, suggested that cutting the intake of sugary drinks could help everyone but indigenous children required "additional focus on oral hygiene", the University of Adelaide said in a statement on Saturday.

The researchers analyzed data from Australia's national child oral health study and included nationally representative samples of both indigenous and non-indigenous children aged 5 to 14 years.

Indigenous children in Australia "experience profoundly greater inequalities on almost every indicator of health and well-being" compared with their non-indigenous peers, including "higher prevalence of nutrition-associated stunting" and "nonoptimal blood pressure growth outcomes", with the inequalities extending to oral health, according to the researchers. Their findings were published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal.

Dental caries is a global public health problem and the condition forms the most widespread non-communicable disease, according to the World Health Organization.

"The association of modifiable risk factors with area-based inequalities in untreated dental caries among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian children differed substantially. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with dental caries for both groups, and irregular tooth brushing was also significantly associated with dental caries for indigenous children," according to the latest study.

"Efforts by the dental profession - as well as policymakers and health professionals more generally - are required at both national and international levels to reduce barriers to access to and the availability of preventive and rehabilitative oral health services for indigenous groups  reducing oral health inequalities among and between indigenous groups needs to be a public health priority at a global level," the researchers said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:28:09|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRKs east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT), the JCS said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

It was originally reported that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into several short-range projectiles.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRKs possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as ballistic missile.

It came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The last ballistic missile test was conducted by the DPRK in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:48:16|Editor: Li Xia

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WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday night that it has known the latest action of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will monitor the situation.

In a statement, the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that "we are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier on the same day that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on the situation, according to U.S. media.

There is no comment so far from the DPRK on the issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:43:51|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday had telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch of short-range projectiles, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions over phone about the DPRK's short-range projectile launches. They agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications.

The phone talks came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea from the DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonsan Saturday morning.

The projectiles traveled between 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each side at every level about the issue.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered to monitor current situations and closely share information on it with the U.S. side, according to the presidential Blue House.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:58:56|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Students practice the console for China's high-speed train CRH380B driving simulation system at the Luban Workshop in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Technical College in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Feb. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou)

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- "Now the train moves forward," said 20-year-old Arthitaya Sapkum who was attentively looking at a screen that simulates the window in the locomotive of a high speed train, while her classmates were operating the control system on a panel.

The China-sponsored training platform for simulated driving, an eye-catcher to students and visitors, sits on the second floor of the Luban Workshop in Thailand.

The project, which is named after Lu Ban, a legendary Chinese carpenter from the 4th century BC and launched by China's Tianjin Municipality, provides state-of-the-art technical and vocational training to serve various aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

FOSTER TALENT

"Studying here is good. We can easily understand how a train system is formed and how trains work," said Arthitaya, who was on a short-term training program with her classmates from Thailand's Ko Kha Industrial and Community Education College.

She is one of the over 2,000 students who received training at the workshop after it was established in March 2016 in Thailand. On the second floor of the workshop lies Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College Center, China's first overseas technical center for high-speed railway training. It is equipped with modern teaching equipment and remote education facilities for long-distance learning.

Since there is no high-speed rail in Thailand, all teaching materials and equipment in the center are provided by the Chinese side.

In the past three years, the workshop helped Thai students learn subjects from new energy car development and the internet of things to high speed trains. The Tianjin Municipality also offers scholarships through the workshop for study in China.

"In order to promote the Belt and Road construction, the Lu Ban Workshop provides academic education and skills training for partners in other countries. This is a bridge connecting China's vocational education with that of the world," said Lv Jingquan, deputy director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.

Jarun Youbrum, director of the Thai vocational school, is proud of the workshop, saying that the courses provided here can nurture talent for the future development of Thailand's high-speed rail system.

"We are the only one in Thailand and I think we should be a good example of Thailand-China cooperation on education and the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Thailand," Jarun said.

Arthitaya and Jarun are among those who have been building support for China-Thailand cooperation within the BRI framework, which has achieved tangible results through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Thai government is committed to the progress of the Thai-Chinese high speed rail project and hopes the project will be finalized as soon as possible, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told Xinhua last week before attending the second Belt and Road Forum of International Cooperation held in Beijing.

"As the Chinese proverb says, 'Unity Makes Everything a Success', we are pleased that the project has made good progress, and have taken the opportunity to learn more about high-speed railways and related technology," the prime minister noted.

CLOSER TIES

Since 2016, eight Luban Workshops have been set up in Asia, Africa and Europe, and have trained more than 4,000 people in 17 majors covering mechanics, new energy, automobile, communications, catering, and others.

The program is not just a unilateral education provider, but involves two-way exchanges that help enhance ties and cultural links between China and other countries.

Two years ago, the Tianjin School of Commerce, sponsored by the Tianjin Food Group Co., Ltd., set up a workshop in Britain's Chichester College and succeeded in incorporating its professional training standards into Britain's national vocational qualification framework.

Earlier this year, students from the workshop put their culinary skills to the test when doing catering for the British prime minister and her guests.

It was the last day of January. At Number 10 Downing Street, London, Prime Minister Theresa May was hosting a Chinese New Year reception.

Steamed vegetable dumplings, crispy duck, eight types of canapes and dishes of exquisite quality impressed some 150 guests with a taste of Chinese delicacies.

Chances are rare for students taking a course on Chinese culinary arts at Crawley College of Chichester College Group (CCG) to put their learning into practice at the highest level, and they handled the challenge with flying colors with the help of Chinese master chefs from Tianjin.

"Many Chinese guests at the (10 Downing Street) event said they haven't had such authentic dishes for years," said Wu Zhengxi, who teaches culinary skills at the school in Tianjin and represented Chinese chefs at the reception. "I proudly told them we're with the Luban Workshop."

CCG, the largest further education provider in South East England, was identified as a course partner for the British Luban Workshop. The success attracted more intention to cooperate from British business and vocational education sectors.

"The future for Chinese cuisine in the U.K. just got a whole lot brighter," said celebrity chef Ching He Huang.

The workshop program, stressing the pillars of the BRI, promotes connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education, business and culture.

Chinese authorities have pledged to enhance cooperation within the BRI framework by setting up more Luban Workshops, including 10 programs to offer vocational training for young Africans. The first one in Africa was launched in Djibouti in March, aiming to boost the country's overall development through the training of its youth.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

In less than six years, 127 countries and 29 international organizations have joined the initiative, through which China has made investments of more than 90 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) gathered around 6,000 participants from 150 countries and 92 international organizations, including heads of state and government, for three days in Beijing.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said at the BRF that the BRF can be "a building block and a role model of" an advanced pattern of global cooperation that should be more sustainable, more inclusive and more collaborative.

The BRI "is now growing up into a mature initiative that can have even more impact," Schwab added.

(Video reporters: Xu Jian, Ma Chen, Zhang Hao, Guo Xinhui, Yang Zhou; Video editor: Lin Lin)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:04:17|Editor: Li Xia

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CARACAS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- This year, political unrest has been haunting Venezuela as opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro vie for power.

The international community, including the United Nations, calls on restraint and dialogue to solve the problem.

Some major countries have different positions on Venezuela, with the United States and its allies such as Israel backing Guaido, while Russia, Cuba and other countries in support of Maduro.

The following are a string of major events related to the political crisis in Venezuela:

-- On Jan. 23, Guaido, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of the country.

-- On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president." Thereafter, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States

-- On Jan. 28, The United States slapped sanctions on a Venezuelan oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or known as PDVSA, to pile up pressure on Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

-- In March, Venezuela suffered two rounds of widespread blackouts after the country's main Guri hydroelectric plant was sabotaged, followed by schools and offices shutdown.

Guaido was under investigation for his alleged involvement in the sabotage against the national electricity system.

-- On April 6, supporters of Maduro and Guaido respectively held rallies nationwide, as rifts in Venezuela stayed wide open.

In the northwestern city of Maracaibo, two opposition politicians were temporarily arrested and some demonstrators were injured in clashes with the police, local media reported.

-- On April 30, Guaido called on civilians and military to act against the government and urged Maduro to step down.

He also tweeted that "the end of the usurpation began, and at this moment I am meeting with the main military units of our armed forces, beginning the final phase of Operation Freedom."

Maduro said via twitter that military commanders from all regions and defense areas of the country have "expressed their loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the country."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:19:21|Editor: ZX

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LANZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras in a nature reserve located in northwest China's Gansu Province captured nearly 30 images of leopards from January to the end of April.

Researchers from Longdong University recently collected videos and photos caught by 30 infrared cameras they set up at the Ziwuling nature reserve.

"Based on the size, hair color and patterns of leopards in these images, we conclude that there are about 10 leopards roaming in an area of 120 kilometers in the reserve," said Zhou Tianlin, head of the college of life science and technology of Longdong University.

Two adult leopards were caught walking together, which is quite rare as the big cat usually walks alone, he added.

Leopards are under China's highest national-level protection and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

"The images show that there might be a leopard population in the reserve that is on the rise thanks to an improving ecological environment after years of efforts," Zhou said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 16:25:01|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian military factions on Saturday fired a number of rockets at Israel, Palestinian security sources said.

The security sources told Xinhua that successive explosions were heard in Gaza. The Israeli air defense system intercepted the fired rockets.

The Israeli army announced that its war planes raided two platforms used to launch the rockets.

"At least three Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli attack," Palestinian sources said.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and 51 others injured during clashes with the Israeli army forces in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Israeli army said two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire from Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:20:36|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of causing death of a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) man, has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.

"We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam. This outcome was contributed by the continuous efforts of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong," said spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

"We also acknowledge the positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time," the spokeswoman added.

After being set free on Friday, Huong took a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on the same day.

On April 1, a Malaysian court sentenced Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of the DPRK man at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder.

The prison term was calculated starting from the time Huong was detained in February 2017. Her lawyer said Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behavior.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:25:40|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces thwarted a major plan for the Islamic State (IS) militants to regroup in the country, while killing a prominent IS leader in northern Iraq, an Iraqi official newspaper reported on Saturday.

An Iraqi intelligence team, named al-Suqoor Cell, thwarted IS plot which tried to form new terrorist groups in Iraq and managed to kill a number of IS militants who infiltrated from neighboring Syria, the state-run al-Sabah newspaper said.

"The operation came after several months of tracking Daesh (IS group) militants by the intelligence team and their sources as part of their efforts to eliminate the infiltrated Daesh militants from Syria," the newspaper quoted the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Chief of Intelligence Abu Ali al-Basri as saying.

The intelligence team also killed Abdul Ghafour Abdullah Karmoush, also known as Wahid Amniyah, who is a leader of the terrorist group in northern Iraq, and is responsible for killing dozens of innocent people in Mosul and Tal Afar areas in the northern province of Nineveh, al-Basri said.

He said that Karmoush was killed in an ambush by security forces in north of the town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, and one of his aids blew himself up during the battle.

The Iraqi intelligence will reveal more details about the operation of dismantling the IS regrouping later, according to al-Basri.

The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants late in 2017, and the Iraqi forces tried to seize the whole border areas with Syria and nearby desert in western Iraq.

However, small groups or individuals of Islamic State (IS) militants repeatedly tried to infiltrate into Iraq from neighboring Syria through the roughly 600 km long border with Iraq with vast rugged areas and desert land in an attempt to regroup in Iraq again.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:30:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House expressed deep worry Saturday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launches of short-range projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a statement that the South Korean government was deeply worried about the DPRK launches, which went against the purpose of the inter-Korean comprehensive military agreement.

The spokesperson urged Pyongyang to stop such launches that escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

The statement came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning.

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRK's east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT) Saturday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered at the national crisis management center to closely monitor situations and assess why the DPRK fired the projectiles.

The military authorities of South Korea and the United States currently shared detailed information on the launches, precisely analyzing what type of projectiles were fired, according to the Blue House.

The Blue House spokesperson said South Korea paid attention to the launches that came at a time when dialogue on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula came to a lull, calling for the DPRK to actively join efforts to rapidly resume the denuclearization negotiations.

She added that if necessary, South Korea will closely communicate with neighboring countries.

The projectile firings came as the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as a ballistic missile.

It was originally alleged that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into short-range projectiles. The last ballistic missile test by the DPRK occurred in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRK's possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha exchanged opinions over phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the DPRK's projectile launches, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications. Kang also held phone talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each other at every level about the issue. Lee also had telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:10:58|Editor: Xiang Bo

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NADI, Fiji, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should uphold multilateralism and foster a development environment in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said here on Saturday.

Speaking at the business session of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors which is being held in Nadi, the third largest city of Fiji, Liu said that ADB should uphold multilateralism and foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific.

"At present, one of the major risks that threatens the endeavor of international development is the skepticism about multilateralism and departure from the spirit of cooperation. We would like ADB to act as a multilateral platform to coordinate and spur all parties to strengthen international development cooperation and jointly foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of the Asia and the Pacific region," Liu said.

Liu encouraged ADB to formulate differentiated assistance strategies according to the specific development situation of its developing members, saying that ADB should seek for the common interests of all parties, expedite the reform of global and regional economic governance, as well as promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and help accelerate the process of regional integration.

The development practice and historical experience in Asia and the Pacific region have shown that the development and prosperity of regional economy depend on cooperation and mutual support of all parties, Liu said, adding that the theme of this year's meeting "Prosperity through Unity" which reflects the world's development trend, responds to the call for building a community with a shared future for mankind and aligns with the global governance view of "consultation and contribution for shared benefits".

Over the past 50 years, ADB has made great contribution to poverty reduction and development in Asia and the Pacific. Last year, ADB formulated Strategy 2030, which sets out its medium and long-term development roadmap and operational priorities and enables ADB to better fulfill its mission and serve for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

The Chinese minister hoped that ADB should implement Strategy 2030 to lay a solid development foundation and promote innovative development to help sustain the driver of prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

China welcomes ADB to support regional cooperation as it has always been doing, and strengthen the synergy between regional cooperation programs and initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to promote the benefits of connectivity, he said.

Describing ADB as a significant platform for all parties to cooperate, build consensus, mobilize resources and tackle challenges, Liu said that China stands ready to work with all parties to support the development cause of Asia and the Pacific region as what China has been doing.

"We will continuously deepen the all-round cooperation with ADB and make contribution to the inclusive and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world," he added.

The five-day ADB's 52nd annual meeting has attracted finance ministers, central bank governors, government officials, private sector representatives, development partners and media from the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:16:04|Editor: ZX

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Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts speaks at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance, in Omaha, the United States on May 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts on Friday hailed the state's healthy relationship with China, adding that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal soon.

China is Nebraska's second largest trading partner, and while Nebraska exports such agricultural products as beef, corn and soybeans to China, China also invests in the state, Ricketts said at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance.

"It's a pretty healthy, robust relationship," said the 54-year-old governor.

State governor since 2015, Ricketts has made fostering business ties between Nebraska and China a priority.

During his tenure so far, Nebraska and China's Shaanxi Province established a sister states relationship, an agricultural demonstration park was set up near Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, and Tongji University in Shanghai and the University of Nebraska Medical Center fostered a partnership.

"We've been over to China to help introduce our folks to folks over there, develop those relationships," Ricketts said. "So we really look to see how we can foster that relationship in many ways," he said.

The governor mentioned in particular Nebraska's beef exports to China, which went up 86 percent in a year.

Nebraska is one of the major beef-producing states in the United States, making up about half of all U.S. beef exports, he said.

"So we are very pleased with where things are going, and we want to continue to see that go that way," he said.

With respect to the ongoing trade talks and a potential trade deal between China and the United States, Ricketts, who was appointed in December 2018 as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, said he hopes to see the U.S.-China trade deal get "wrapped up."

The governor said he and other officials from agricultural states gave feedback to President Donald Trump about "how important that relationship with China is."

"China, for example, is a large destination for our soybeans. That's a big deal here in Nebraska," Ricketts said.

"And so when we see the trade relationship be disrupted, it has an impact on our farmers," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:21:13|Editor: Li Xia

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GABORONE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Officials and experts from southern Africa gathered to address the escalating challenge of protecting the region's elephant population.

Southern Africa is home to 250,000 elephants with the majority in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA).

It is estimated that 60 percent of elephants exist outside the protected areas in the KAZA-TFCA, according to officials.

Heads of state in the region will gather for a summit on May 7 themed Towards A Common Vision for the Management of Our Elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:31:19|Editor: ZX

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LIMA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strengthened ties between Peru and China, an expert told Xinhua.

The MoU, signed during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last week, will boost bilateral relations through "greater investment," said Carlos Aquino, head of the Asian Studies Center at the National University of San Marcos in Lima.

After the signing, the two countries are poised to step up cooperation on several key fronts, including infrastructure, investment and trade, Aquino told Xinhua.

With an increase in infrastructure investment, "economic activities will improve," because it will cut down on "the cost of transporting products to the ships heading overseas," said Aquino.

The cost of importing goods may also drop as given their quicker arrival in Peru faster, he said.

According to Aquino, China and Peru have already begun modernizing Peruvian ports.

In January, Peruvian mining firm Volcan and China's COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd reached an investment agreement for the design, construction and operation of the Chancay Port Complex megaproject in northern Lima.

The project "should alleviate the existing trade congestion at the port of Callao," said Aquino.

In terms of investment and trade, the MoU will also help expand the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect in March 2010, said Aquino.

"The FTA covers not just trade but also investment -- facilitating investment by eliminating the obstacles to Chinese companies coming to Peru and, of course, Peruvian companies going to China," Aquino pointed out.

"Many factors indicate that the good ties we have with China are going to get much better with the signing of the memorandum ... and with the renovation of the free trade agreement," Aquino said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:41:24|Editor: Li Xia

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YANGON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department Saturday warned people in the hilly areas and near small rivers to be aware of flash floods and landslides accompanied by the strong wind and heavy rain due to the influence of the severe cyclonic storm "FANI".

"FANI" weakened into deep depression and it was forecast to move North-Northeasternwards, according to the department's measurement at 13:30 local time (0700 GMT).

Rain or thundershowers were forecast to be widespread in Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady regions and Kachin, Chin, Kayin, Mon, Shan and Kayah states.

Occasional squalls with rough seas were forecast to be experienced off and along Myanmar coasts with 40 mph surface wind, the department's release said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:41:05|Editor: ZX

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Zhou Xin (R, front) picks up his son at a primary school near Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 16, 2019. Professor Zhou Xin is the deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan. He is interested in ultrasensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments, techniques and methodology as well as biosensors for medical imaging. In 2019, his group, which consists of about fifty members, independently designed and developed the hyperpolarized lung gas MRI instrument, providing an effective method of lighting up the lungs. Core indicators of the system have reached world leading level in the industry. This quantitative, accurate and visualized lung disease detecting method, without the side effects of invasion and radioactivity, has offered a new imaging technique for the diagnosis of early lung diseases. Back in 2009, Zhou was selected by the "Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Instead of accepting the opportunity of high-paying jobs in the United States, Zhou returned to China to carry out research alone on human lung MRI instrument in cramped conditions. Zhou, who was born in the same year when the reform and opening up was launched in 1978, said he made the right decision to return to China after reviewing his life and work in the past decade. Born in the right time and striving for one's aspiration can achieve a great life, said Zhou. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:51:28|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a white safety helmet, 26-year-old Egyptian engineer Ahmed Mansour works outdoors eight hours a day, braving temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in Egypt's southern province of Aswan.

Checking the running state of all holders and recording data from solar inverters, Mansour has been dedicated to maintaining solar panels in Aswan since 2017 when the photovoltaic power (PV) generation project he works on started its trial run.

"It is meaningful that we are using environmentally friendly ways to produce precious electricity," Mansour said.

The project is part of the overseas solar development of China's green energy company TBEA Sunoasis Co., Ltd., which officially started building four solar power stations last year at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan.

The stations, with an output of 186 megawatts, are part of the giant Benban Solar Plant which aims to generate up to two gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity through a total of 40 projects.

So far, three of the four stations have been completed.

Mansour said he was impressed by TBEA's measures to protect the environment. "During construction, waste such as garbage and sewage were disposed of by adhering to strict standards," he said.

The project is estimated to help cut the emission of more than 23,000 tonnes of dust, over 86,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than 2,600 tonnes of sulfur dioxide annually.

As the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advances, the country has been committed to making BRI a green cause of sustainable development.

China and the United Nations Environment Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016, focusing on enhanced collaboration to build a green Belt and Road.

It has also signed cooperation agreements concerning ecological and environmental protection with more than 30 countries participating the BRI.

"The building of a green Belt and Road can help countries achieve the environmental goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Zhai Kun, a professor with Peking University.

Last Thursday, China officially launched the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road, which could serve as an international platform for Chinese and foreign leading agencies to work closely together to conduct research and make policy recommendations on key issues as well as facilitate international dialogue.

"In the near future, the establishment of this coalition could raise the visibility and importance of green infrastructure and facilitate deeper cooperation between BRI partners," said Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute.

The country has also made clear its commitment to incorporate green strategies into the BRI by releasing the Guidelines on Promoting Green Belt and Road and the Belt and Road Ecological Cooperation Plan. These documents outline a vision for sustainability.

China is willing to launch cooperation on ecological and environmental protection with countries along the Belt and Road, expand the International Coalition for Green Development and promote a coalition of sustainable cities under the BRI, according to a report released last Monday.

"The building of a green Belt and Road needs joint efforts, which could also bring win-win results to all parties involved," said Xue Li, researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:56:30|Editor: Li Xia

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KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia began on Saturday a five-day live-fire military exercise at a training ground here in southwestern Kampot province.

Lieutenant General Hun Manet, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAFs) and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said the annual drill was crucial to strengthen the capacity and expertise of troops in defending territorial integrity.

"I'm strongly confident that after this drill, the participants will get new knowledge and experience, and will share them with other soldiers at their units," he said at the opening ceremony of the Golden Hanuman Exercise 2019.

Lieutenant General Mao Sophan, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said a total of 1,326 soldiers from various divisions, headquarters and units took part in the exercise.

He said many types of heavy weapons including artilleries, BM-21 rocket launchers, RM-70 rocket launchers, tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters were used in the exercise.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:11:37|Editor: Li Xia

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan navy on Saturday said it rescued 161 illegal migrants on two rubber boats off the western city of Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"A Coast Guards patrol spotted two rubber boats with 161 illegal migrants on board, including 141 men, 15 women and 5 children," the Libyan navy's spokesman Ayob Qassem said in a statement.

The migrants were rescued 82 km west of Khoms, the statement added.

The migrants have been provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and taken to a reception center in the city, the spokesman said.

Western Libya, particularly in and around Tripoli, is witnessing violent clashes since early April between the east-based army and the UN-backed government over control of the city.

The fighting has killed 392 people, injured 1,936 others, and forced more than 50,000 others to flee their homes away from the conflict areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Thousands of illegal migrants choose to cross the Mediterranean toward European shores from Libya because of the chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:21:44|Editor: Li Xia

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RABAT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's net foreign exchange reserves amounted to over 24 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, down 1.2 percent year on year, the central bank said Saturday.

According to the bank's statistics, the reserves dropped by 0.7 percent from the end of 2018 and 2.1 percent month on month.

In mid-January 2018, Morocco started the gradual floating of its currency, raising the official band of dirham's fluctuation to 2.5 percent above or below the official rate from the previous 0.3 percent.

The dirham is pegged to a two-currency basket weighted 60 percent to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Moroccan authorities to take the next step, but the Moroccan authorities remain cautious about the next phase of floating dirham.

In a joint letter to the IMF director in January, the Moroccan monetary authorities said they will move to the next step "for preventative purposes as soon as economic conditions allow them to do so."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:46:52|Editor: Li Xia

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TEHRAN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that Iran will "defeat" the United States through unity of the nation, official IRNA news agency reported.

"We should solidify our unity and strengthen hope in (the Iranian) society," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The United States aims to "disappoint the Iranians and sow discord between the people and the government by exerting the sanction pressures," he said.

The president stressed that the United States seeks to lower Iran's oil income, and has targeted Iran's independence and sovereignty through economic pressures.

"We have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," he added. "We have no other way but to unite and resist."

The 180-day U.S. waivers for major importers of Iran's oil formally expired on Thursday, announced by the White House, which aggravates the impacts of tough pressures on Iran.

Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, an Iran international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

Following the withdrawal, Trump's administration returned the sanctions on Iran's oil exports in November, which had been lifted under the JCPOA.

Iran has vowed to bypass the U.S. sanctions and continue to export its oil.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:12:01|Editor: Li Xia

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By Zhang Jianhua, Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua

VIENTIANE, May 4 (Xinhua) --"The Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Tian'anmen Square ... everywhere we have been to are beautiful!"

Six students from China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School gathered in their classroom in the Lao capital Vientiane on April 28 and shared their impressions of China during a recent trip. They were part of a sub-forum on people-to-people exchanges during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held on April 25-27 in Beijing.

On the eve of the forum, the teachers and students of the village school in the north of Vientiane, wrote in a letter to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Chinese Dream and the Laotian Dream are connected together through the Belt and Road Initiative, and that they hope to take the Laos-China Railway to Beijing as soon as possible.

"You may not know that Grandpa Xi has received and read our letter and the album of your paintings," Lin Jieyu, a Chinese volunteer teacher at the school, told the kids. "In his reply, he also wishes our China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School will grow better and better, and welcomes you an early trip to Beijing by taking the train on the China-Laos railway!"

"China's train is the most beautiful. I saw it on the way to Badaling!" the 9-year-old Khamphet said loudly. "We will have the same train soon in our country."

Khamphet is correct. In last December, the first China-Laos Railway T-shaped concrete beam was successfully erected at the site of China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2), just dozen kilometers north of the Nongping Village, marking a milestone in the history of the construction of China-Laos railway.

"I love China," echoed the 9-year-old girl Phonephivanh. "I also hope that I can take the train to Beijing in the future."

Different from the excitement of the children, responsibilities are added to the 56-year-old Bounmy, the Nongping Primary School principal.

Principal Bounmy has witnessed the tremendous changes of the school with the aid from the China Foundation for Peace and Development.She also represented the school to express sincere gratitude to President Xi at the sub-forum in Beijing.

"On receiving the reply letter from President Xi Jinping, I feel grateful and thankful for his kindness. In the letter, President Xi encouraged students to pay attention to their studies and catch a chance to get a scholarship to study in China," Bounmy told Xinhua. "I see that President Xi is generous and very kind to us. He wants us to improve in a better way."

"We benefit a lot from joining the Belt and Road construction. We must bring our children up well and strive to help them realize their dream of studying in China soon," she added.

Amphouvone, a resident of the Nongping Village, felt surprised and glad after hearing that the Chinese president wrote back to her village school.

"This reflects the importance that Chinese leaders and people attach to the Lao government and people, and also shows that the relationship between the two countries is becoming more and more intimate," she said to Xinhua.

The Nongping Primary School is a demonstration project of China-Laos friendship in recent years, which is funded by the China Foundation for Peace and Development in 2012. Since then the foundation has been sending volunteer Chinese teachers and offering teaching materials to the school.

"We are encouraged by President Xi's reply letter, feeling warmness and kindness," said Yao Changhua, a volunteer teacher at the school. "I will try my best to do my job well, hoping to teach children more knowledge, introduce Chinese culture, and promote the continuous development of China-Laos friendship."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:28:41|Editor: Li Xia

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People dressed as Star Wars characters participate in the Star Wars Day in a mall in Taguig, the Philippines, May 4, 2019. The Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 every year by the fans of the sci-fi movie series in different parts of the world. (Xinhua/ROUELLE UMALI)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:07|Editor: ZX

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SHENYANG, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Railway authorities in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, said Saturday that they have launched 94 additional trains to tackle the rush of travelers heading back to school and work on the last day of the May Day holiday.

Train stations under the jurisdiction of China Railway Shenyang Group Co. Ltd., such as those in Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian, all reported peak traffic Saturday.

The group said it would have about 1.12 million passengers on Saturday.

China's extended May Day holiday this year is expected to see a "tourism craze" with an estimated total of 160 million trips, according to the country's biggest online travel agency Ctrip.

The State Council, China's cabinet, announced in March that this year's May Day holiday would be extended to four days, from May 1 to 4.

To meet the demand of growing travelers, the China Railway Corporation has prepared more trains. The railway operator expects some 68.2 million railway passenger trips from April 30 to May 4, a growth of 10.9 percent year on year.

Chinese tourists made 147 million domestic trips during the three-day long May Day holiday last year, up 9.3 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:08|Editor: ZX

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OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

by Wang Zichen

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology company Huawei is again making headlines in the UK, which is in a heated debate over the development of the UK's 5G network and whether the company represents a security threat.

The UK has "arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei," according to Ciaran Martin, a top British intelligence official. It is home to a dedicated Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) for eight years, and has published five detailed reports scrutinizing Huawei, notably its source code -- the crown jewel of any technology company.

One key question underplayed in the media storm over Huawei, however, experts told Xinhua, is that while Huawei came under the microscope in the UK, its non-Chinese competitors -- Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung -- are not equally tested, leaving the public in the blank as to how they would fare under the same set of rules.

Absent that knowledge, the push to shun Huawei in networks rings hollow on a central premise: its competitors' gears would be more secure than the Chinese company's.

DEFECTS IDENTIFIED WITH HUAWEI TECHNICAL

The latest UK report, formally known as the HCSEC Oversight Board Annual Report 2019 and published on March 28, detailed concerns about Huawei's software engineering capabilities, but stated that the "NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) does not believe that the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference."

It is a conclusion that's been repeated by the UK intelligence agency in charge of cyber security that the security defects identified with Huawei are technical.

"As we said then, and repeat today, these problems are about standard of cyber security; they are not indicators of hostile activity by China," said Martin, the CEO of the NCSC, in a public speech in Brussels on Feb. 20.

"The NCSC report provides an insight into the Huawei products under review and has highlighted that Huawei's software practices need to improve to meet the NCSC review recommendations. The NCSC report indicates that it does not believe the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference but are due to basic engineering competence and cyber security hygiene," Mark Gregory, Associate Professor focusing on network engineering at Australia's RMIT University, told Xinhua.

HUAWEI PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE TESTED

Nevertheless, the report's findings of problems in technicality made damaging publicity for Huawei, which has said it is "the most scrutinized company in the world."

What the reports didn't cover was if Huawei's products and softwares were less secure than those of its competitors, and that's because these vendors were not subject to the same scrutiny as Huawei, at least in the case of the UK oversight regime, experts said.

"I don't think any of the other vendors have been on such level of scrutiny to find out whether or not security risks exist in their software. Unless I missed something, I'm not aware of anyone else going through this process," Stephane Teral, technology fellow and advisor for Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at the consultancy IHS Markit Technology, told Xinhua.

As part of a thorough due diligence analysis in the vendor selection process, all products, software and hardware are evaluated by telecommunication services providers who are clients of vendors like Huawei, said Teral, who has three decades experience in the Western telecommunications industry.

"What's unique in the Huawei case is that the software was evaluated by a third party, as I say above, no other vendor has gone through this process and had they gone, I believe some bugs would have been found too," Teral added.

"As Huawei is the only company that has agreed to submit its products for review it would be wrong to assume that other vendor products don't have similar issues, especially when the number of patches being issued by other vendors to fix security problems are taken into account," said Gregory, who also serves as managing editors of academic journals in telecommunication technology.

A VOLUNTARY, TOUGH PROCESS

Huawei recognized the need of foreign governments for more insight into the Chinese company and entered into the British rigorous oversight regime on a voluntary basis, a Brussels-based spokesperson told Xinhua.

"Although painful and somewhat humiliating, I consider this exercise very valuable for Huawei because they have now a new list of issues to address to make their product even stronger. In the end, Huawei will emerge even stronger from this tough process," said Teral.

Neither Ericsson nor Nokia, when contacted by Xinhua, commented on the British oversight regime or if they were subjected to similar oversight arrangements. Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ericsson said in a statement: "In all our manufacturing and software development facilities globally, Ericsson ensures that strict security controls are in place. In addition, we undertake close quality controls, tests and verifications to ensure compliance to our security standards and overall specification of our network solutions. Security audits of all our factories are done on a regular basis, where the sites are assessed, and risks reviewed."

Nokia provided a statement that read: "Nokia follows a strict 'design for security' process. Regardless of geographical location where Nokia's products and services are manufactured or made, the same criteria are applied to ensure security and integrity. We carry out extensive independent internal and external verification on security status and compliance."

CALLS FOR A COMMON APPROACH

The lack of a common approach that covers all vendors have led to calls for a security assurance scheme by the industry and experts.

GSMA and 3GPP, two industry bodies, have proposed a voluntary scheme. If applied, it would involve an external auditor of vendors' security related development and product lifecycle processes, and a competent test laboratory's security evaluation of the vendors' equipment.

"There is a global need for a telecommunications security assurance capability, something that the telecommunications industry has not embraced, yet there is mounting evidence that this capability is desperately needed," Gregory said.

"A telecommunications security assurance program should be embraced that encompasses telecommunications equipment in networks irrespective of which vendor supplied the equipment," he said.

Teral said he supports "a fair process to treat everyone equally."

"In the end, we are all on the same page: the world wants a robustly secured 5G network," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:37:16|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday afternoon granted an audience with royal family members and officials in the Grand Palace, and asked all Thais to work together with him for the kingdom's prosperity and people's well-being.

King Vajiralongkorn has received holy water during the "Muratha Bhisek" and "Abhiseka" rituals according to Thai tradition and he was then offered the Royal Regalia and formally crowned.

On Saturday afternoon, he with the crown on his head granted an audience with royal family members and officials, who congratulated him on this occasion at the Amarindra Vinijaya Mahaisuraya Biman Throne Hall of the Grand Palace.

His sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, represented the royal family to offer their congratulations.

The royal family will be devoted, honest and royal, and they will work hard according to each's responsibility, Princess Sirindhorn said to the king.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public while Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative institute and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon the judicial branch.

They all paid homage to the king on the occasion of his coronation.

The king thanked all the participants and asked all Thais to work hard together with him according to each's job and responsibility for the national prosperity and the well-being of the people.

After the audience, the king walked to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha inside the grounds of the Grand Palace, where he was named Upholder of Buddhism, which is another ritual of the coronation ceremonies on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn ascended the Thai throne in 2016, becoming King Rama X.

His coronation ceremony lasts for three days from Saturday, and all importance ceremonies would be televised throughout Thailand.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:07:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Tourists visit the Shanghai Garden of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing in Yanqing District of Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2019. Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday. Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday. With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday.

Lei Lei, an official with the organizing committee, said the Chinese Pavilion, the International Pavilion, the Life Experience Pavilion, the Botany Pavilion and the Guirui Theater were among the most popular destinations, which have received a total of over 734,000 visitors during the holiday.

Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday.

With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:17:41|Editor: Li Xia

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VIENNA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for a renegotiation of the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon, citing new challenges that have emerged since the foundational treaty entered into effect in 2009.

Speaking to the Austrian media on Friday, the centre-right Austrian People's Party leader said "many things have changed in Europe" compared to 10 years ago, such as the "debt crisis, euro crisis, migrant crisis, climate crisis and Brexit chaos."

He argued that the EU has never managed to transit out of "crisis mode," and is left with an outdated treaty that must be made current.

"A new treaty is needed with clearer sanctions for members who run up debt, penalties for countries who do not register illegal migrants and wave them off, as well as tough consequences for breaches of rule of law and liberal democracy," the chancellor said.

He also called for the bloc's institutions to be streamlined, including a reduction in the size of the European Commission, such as through ending the practice of automatically giving each member state a commissioner post.

In addition, he would like to see a greater emphasis on foreign and security policy.

The chancellor also called for the EU to be based solely in Brussels, rather than having MEPs shuttled back and forth to Strasbourg.

This is unlikely to please French President Emmanuel Macron, with France having always opposed giving up the parliament location in Strasbourg.

Kurz also stressed that far-right populist parties are no allies, saying he wished to "make Europe better, not to disrupt it or entertain exit fantasies."

In addition he called for a "generational change" in the leadership in Brussels, that would involve both a change in personnel as well as a new policy orientation.

This should happen "as soon as possible" following the European parliamentary elections later this month, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:27:44|Editor: Li Xia

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by Surasak Tumcharoen

BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally ascended the throne on Saturday in magnificent ceremonies in the Grand Palace.

People across the country watched the rituals broadcast live by Television Pool of Thailand, while a large number people in yellow shirts showed up at Sanam Luang ground across the Grand Palace and elsewhere near the palace to witness the historic event.

As part of the royal rituals, the king took a purification bath and anointment with sacred water, which had been brought from sacred ponds and other water resources in all provinces across the country, and was presented Royal Regalia and a golden pad inscribed with his name and seal to mark his ascension to the throne.

Following the rituals, the 66-year-old king ceremonially named 40-year-old Queen Suthida, whom he earlier married in legal and traditional fashion in Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

On Saturday afternoon, the king granted an audience with members of the royal family, privy councilors and high-level government officials, at Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.

The monarch then proceeded on board a royal palanquin carried by soldiers in traditional costume from the throne hall to Emerald Buddha temple in the compound of the Grand Palace to pay homage to the Buddha image in the presence of 80 blessing monks.

He then proceeded to Phra Thep Bidorn Throne Hall and Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to pay homage to the statues and relics of former kings and queens of Siam (the former name of Thailand).

In his first speech to the public upon the ceremonial ascension to the throne, the monarch pledged to preserve, develop and hold the reign with righteousness and for benefits and happiness of the Thai people.

He practically assumed the throne in late 2016 after his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passed away.

On Sunday, the new monarch is scheduled to bestow royal titles to members of the royal family and lead a royal procession from the Grand Palace to three royal temples, namely Bovorn Nivet temple, Rajabopit temple and Phra Chetupon temple, passing several roads in Rattanakosin Island area. Many yellow-shirted people are expected to view the procession along the route.

On Monday, the king is scheduled to show up on the balcony of Sutthai Sawan Prasat Throne Hall to greet palace and government personnel and other people and receive best wishes from them.

King Vajiralongkorn is also scheduled to grant an audience with diplomats at Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace on Monday.

Thailand's last coronation rituals were conducted for the late King Bhumibol in 1950.
Army pushes for higher speeds in future tiltrotor aircraft

HAMPTON, Va. -- The U.S. Army is developing a new wind-tunnel testbed that will help future tiltrotor aircraft attain higher speeds, improved stability and enhanced safety.

At a massive wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center, Army researchers are readying a unique tiltrotor model to support analysis and design of advanced tiltrotor aircraft, a possible key to achieving Army modernization goals for Future Vertical Lift.

"Tiltrotors are like the V-22 Osprey aircraft that the Marines currently use," said Matt Wilbur, a senior aerospace researcher with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory. "Their benefit is they have very high flight speeds. They can transition from a helicopter configuration to a forward flight configuration that looks more like a turboprop aircraft and can go at much higher flight speeds than typical helicopters."

Current state-of-the art tiltrotors provide Army researchers with a baseline of what is possible. In the future, aircraft designers will leverage new materials, advanced propulsion and supercomputer modeling -- validated by physical experiments -- to deliver new combat capabilities to the Army.

"The data we're going after is completely new; it doesn't currently exist," said Dr. Jaret Riddick, director of the lab's Vehicle Technology Directorate. "We want to be able to model whirl-flutter stability, which will help us to overcome a critical limitation for tiltrotor aircraft."

Tiltrotor designs require a compromise between a spinning helicopter rotor for efficient hovering flight and a fixed wing for forward flight in airplane mode, he said. Interactions between this unique combination of rotor and wing can lead to instability at higher speeds.

"ARL researchers are bridging a scientific gap by providing underpinning research that will validate modeling for tiltrotor aircraft of the future," Riddick said.

Using foundational aerodynamics research and computational models, Army engineers will shape Future Vertical Lift with analysis of new tiltrotor designs. Their goal: to increase reach, enhance protection and lethality, and deliver agility and mission flexibility. With an advanced tiltrotor design, the Army can get there, stay there and dominate what officials call "Multi-Domain Battle."

Army researchers are working with an industry partner to fabricate the Tiltrotor Aeroelastic Stability Testbed, or TRAST. The apparatus is a scaled-down tiltrotor engine assembly and partial wing loaded with sensors and designed to be attached to wall of the wind tunnel. The Army hopes to take delivery in September.

"TRAST is focused on accelerating knowledge products that will provide critical information for the Army Modernization Priorities within the Future Vertical Lift program regarding tiltrotor technology for whirl-flutter suppression to enable higher speed forward flight," said Elias Rigas, the lab's Vehicle Applied Research Division chief.

The project has the potential to provide researchers with terabytes of data, which will enable the underpinning research the laboratory can share with the aviation community responsible for the design and fielding of Future Vertical Lift.

"When it comes to a flight vehicle, it all comes down to lift," said Army researcher Dr. Robert Thornburgh. "You still have to produce lift and whether it's through a wing or through a rotor, basically lift is produced by moving air and so those fundamental physics haven't changed since the Wright brothers and so there are some limitations on what you can do with rotorcraft technology as far as performance goes."

Army researchers are working on complex flight problems. They partner with NASA because of shared interest in basic research into future tiltrotor technology.

"We may be looking at different missions for different vehicles, but as we drill down into the technology needs, they become common and so we can work very closely with the Army on some very fundamental basic research areas," said Susan Gorton, NASA's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology lead. "What we're always looking for is how to improve things and how to make things faster, make them quieter and how to make them more economical to operate."

The relationship between the Army and NASA is very special, Gorton said.

"We've had this relationship for over 50 years where we've had co-located laboratories where Army people are assigned and working at NASA centers and they work hand-in-glove with us and day-to-day our research tasks are very intertwined and is a very strong relationship and I think it will remain strong in the future," she said.

As a part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Program, private companies like Bell, created a tiltrotor concept demonstrator aircraft, the V-280 Valor, which successfully achieved first flight in 2017. ARL researchers visited the company in January to see the demonstrator up close and talk with Bell engineers.

Riddick said the JMR-TD Program Office informs the requirements for the Future Vertical Lift program-of-record and has provided significant funding for the fabrication of TRAST.

"They're depending on the laboratory to deliver the foundational research to enable future tiltrotor aircraft to attain higher speeds and greater stability," Riddick said. "This is a truly joint effort between the laboratory's research scientists and its partners to produce knowledge and understanding for future decision making. It also highlights the level of collaboration across the Army science and technology community to deliver on the Army's modernization priorities."

NASA has unique facilities that the Army does not have, but with a cooperative, collaborative relationship they use the facilities and work with NASA researchers to attain Army goals, Wilbur said. The wind tunnel lets researchers push the envelope in dynamic testing by producing winds of Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.

"Obviously a rotorcraft does not fly that fast; however we do have unlimited flight velocity range for a rotorcraft, and the rotorcraft of the future will be flying faster and faster and this is one of the only facilities in the world in which rotorcraft are consistently tested that already meets and exceeds the flight range that rotorcraft are expected to fly," Wilbur said.

In addition to higher speeds, Army researchers said they are confident that advances in tiltrotor design will save lives.

"The faster you can fly, the faster you can get somebody off the battlefield and into a hospital and that could potentially save their life," said Army researcher Andrew Kreshock. "One of the biggest impacts may be on how the Army operates because a lot of bases are staged around the range of aircraft and how fast they can get to the front line and save Soldiers' lives."

The TRAST program will provide critical experimental data to enable the validation of existing engineering analysis tools and the development of new and improved analysis tools. Together, the experimental data and the improved analyses will be used to identify a tiltrotor aircraft's strengths and weaknesses.

"Where that benefits the future warfighter is that allows us to push the technology faster, farther so that they will have a tiltrotor aircraft that is significantly improved," he said. "We're always looking 20 years out into the future in terms of the technologies that we're trying to develop, but it's very rewarding when we can make good things happen and we know we've developed a viable technology for the Army."

###

The CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL discovers, innovates and transitions science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our Nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Courtesy St. Lucia Times(NEW YORK) -- The Church of Scientology cruise ship Freewinds that was quarantined on the island nation of St. Lucia for three days because of a measles case is on its way to its home port, where authorities plan to quarantine it again.

The ship is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curacao, around daybreak Saturday, according to officials on the island and Albert Elens, managing director of Maduro Shipping, the Freewinds' agent in Curacao.

When it arrives, a team of local health officials will assess those on board before consulting with international health agencies on a disembarkation plan, the head of the Epidemiology and Research Unit at Curacaos Ministry of Health, Izzy Gerstenbluth, told ABC News. The vast majority of those aboard the ship were crew members, including the woman who had tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth, said.

The ship is expected to arrive around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the Curacao Ports Authority. There are about 300 crew members and passengers on board, according to Elens.

On Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, chief medical officer in St. Lucia, announced that a cruise ship had docked on the island and was being quarantined as health officials investigated a possible case of measles aboard the vessel. By Wednesday, St. Lucia police had confirmed the ship was the Freewinds and belonged to the Church of Scientology.

The Freewinds website describes the ship as "a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom."

St. Lucia's Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement Thursday that its investigation aboard the ship had confirmed that one person had measles.

Gerstenbluth, who is a public health physician and epidemiologist, said he had been in touch daily with the ship's doctor, who originally thought the woman with measles had a cold. The woman had been in Europe "for a while" before boarding the ship on April 17, he said. The ship's doctor said she exhibited cold symptoms on April 22, developed a fever the next day, and three days later developed a rash, according to Gerstenbluth, who said the ship's doctor isolated the woman from the start.

When the ship stopped in Aruba on Monday, the ship's doctor took a blood sample that, two days later, tested positive for measles, Gerstenbluth said. At that point, Gerstenbluth consulted with the ship's doctor about isolating the woman and taking an inventory of those on the ship, as authorities in St. Lucia -- the ship's next destination -- were notified.

"On the ship, you have to be a bit more broad-minded and consider the entire ship to have had contact," Gerstenbluth said.

In St. Lucia, both police and the health ministry said that no one had been allowed on or off the ship until it departed Thursday night over fears that others on the ship may be infected.

"Measles, we know, is a highly infectious disease. So because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark," Fredericks-James said. "The Ministry of Health continues to work with all authorities."

St. Lucian authorities did not disclose any information about the woman and Gerstenbluth said he did not know her nationality.

The woman, as well as other crew and passengers, were "stable" and under surveillance by the ship's doctor, the St. Lucian health ministry said Thursday.

"Continued surveillance is necessary as the incubation period for measles ranges from 10 to 12 days, before symptoms in exposed persons occur," the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it had also provided 100 doses of the measles vaccine, free of charge, at the request of the ship's doctor.

When Curacao authorities investigate Saturday, they will also seek out information about people who had been in contact with the infected woman in the days before she tested positive for measles and who had already left the ship, Gerstenbluth said.

"Thats another group that were trying to make an inventory of," he said. "Who are these people, where do they live, and where do they come from?"

Gerstenbluth said those still aboard who had been previously vaccinated or who had previously had the measles would likely be allowed to disembark after authorities investigate Saturday.

Before the ship's departure from St. Lucia Thursday night, authorities there were in contact with their counterparts in Curacao and shared information with them, St. Lucia's health ministry said. It also said local officers who boarded the ship while it was in St. Lucia would continue to be monitored. St. Lucia confirmed Friday that the ship had departed Thursday night "for its home port in the Dutch Caribbean."

An adviser to Dominica's prime minister told ABC News Thursday that the ship had intended to come to Dominica for an event but that the event had since been canceled and the ship was not coming.

The ship was scheduled to depart to Aruba on Sunday night but Elens said the health-inspection team and Aruban officials would determine whether the ship would stay in Curacao or continue onward as planned.

"[We] will have to wait and see," he said.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.

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Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:37:50|Editor: ZX

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ZHENGZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Police in the city of Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, have detained 75 suspects in an alleged telecom and online fraud case concerning a fake stock trading platform.

A total of 88 computers, 110 mobile phones, nine cars and hundreds of bank cards were confiscated, according to the city's public security bureau on Saturday.

According to the police, the suspects, disguised as online stock brokers, added victims on social media platforms, dragged them into group chats entitled "stock investment" and recommended promising stocks regularly in the group.

They would provide a fake stock trading platform through which money of the victims would go to their accounts instead of the stock market.

After manipulating stock prices on the fake platform, the suspects would tell the victims that they have suffered huge losses or just blacklist the victims.

Further investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:01|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:03:05|Editor: ZX

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SHANGHAI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found that a lack of circular RNAs may spin the immune system out of control and lead to lupus, suggesting new thoughts in lupus treatment.

A research team of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and doctors from Renji hospital of the school of medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University found that people with lupus have lower-than-normal levels of circular RNAs, triggering an immune reaction meant to fight viruses.

Lupus is a condition whereby the immune system becomes too active. The pathogenesis of lupus and its radical treatment have so far remained unknown.

Raising levels of circular RNAs in cells taken from lupus patients restored the normal activity of a protein involved in rousing one arm of the immune system, according to Chen Lingling, researcher of the team.

"The findings provide new thoughts in possible therapeutic strategies for lupus treatment," said Shen Nan, researcher of the team.

The results have been published in the world's top journal Cell.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:07|Editor: Li Xia

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MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- One soldier was killed and four other servicemen were injured on Friday after ammunition went off at a shooting range in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region, TASS news agency reported Saturday.

The soldiers, acting in violation of safety rules, lighted a campfire that caused the explosion, TASS said, quoting the press service of Russia's Central Military District.

The wounded servicemen were promptly taken to the garrison's hospital.

A criminal case has been initiated for breaching the rules of handling ammunition.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:08:11|Editor: Li Xia

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CANBERRA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) revealed a billion-dollar plan on Saturday to protect the environment if it wins the general election on May 18.

The ALP released its full plan for the environment, pledging to spend 50 million Australian dollars (35.1 million U.S. dollars) to establish the National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) in what would be a first for Australia.

The party will also spend 100 million Australian dollars (70.2 million U.S. dollars) in protecting native species.

The ALP said in a statement that the suite of new measures would cost 1 billion Australian dollars (702 million U.S. dollars) and would "reshape Australia's approach to caring for our unique natural assets."

"Labor will call on all states and territories, business and civil society to join in a national effort to protect our iconic animal and plant species."

The native species fund will be tasked with prioritizing the restoration of plants and animals facing "the most pressing" extinction issues.

A Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis in April warned that Australia's current approach to conservation is "incapable" of stopping the current rate of extinction, calling for a "complete overhaul" of legislation.

"We're the extinction capital of the world," Tony Burke, Labor's environment spokesperson, told Fairfax Media on Saturday.

"This plan would see us start to turn the corner rather than accelerate towards a cliff. When a species is gone, it's lost forever."

Many of the initiatives will be funded by the ALP's pledge to recover a controversial 443.3-million-Australian dollar (311.3-million-U.S. dollar) grant given to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation by the LNP.

The grant has come under scrutiny since it was revealed that the foundation, which had only six full-time staff and annual revenues of 10 million Australian dollars at the time it was awarded, did not ask for the funding and that it was not subject to the usual open tender process for government grants.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, May 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were moderately wounded in the Israeli airstrikes that were waged on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that Israeli Army air forces warplanes struck with missiles more than ten targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians and wounded 51 others on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said on Friday that the Israeli army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and wounded 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli siege.

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday evening was a response to a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen, where two Israeli soldiers, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip, were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians have been taking place while two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:17|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China saw a total of 195 million domestic tourist trips made during the four-day May Day holiday, up 13.7 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Tourism revenue reached 117.67 billion yuan (about 17.48 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday which lasts from Wednesday to Saturday, up 16.1 percent, according to the ministry.

Statistics show that family trips have become the highlights of the tourism sector, boosting cultural, recreation and catering consumption.

Tourists stay an average of 2.25 days at their destinations, according to the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:18:19|Editor: Li Xia

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TALLINN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A citywide beach action day Clean Beach was held on Saturday in the Estonian capital as part of the program of the Urban Maintenance Month from April 14 to May 15 to raise environmental awareness of citizens.

The event of the communal work day includes cleaning the beach area and the seaside park, various recreational games, prize drawings and environmental discussions.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev told Xinhua that "the event started 11 years ago in 2008. It was a big campaign, not only in Estonia".

Similar beach cleaning events are held in Helsinki and Turku in Finland on the same day, according to the Tallinn city government.

Belobrovtsev expected Tallinn to become the European Green Capital city in the future through such environmental campaign efforts.

The deputy mayor also talked about the importance of China's role in environment protection.

"It's very important for China as well to become one of the environment protective countries. China, as such a big country with the huge number of population, is ready to take care of the green environment, the impact to the whole world will be huge," he said.

Dmitry Krutoy, Head of the Sector for Environmental Projects of the St. Petersburg city government, was present at the Tallinn Clean Beach campaign. He told Xinhua that the traditional international environmental campaign devoted to well-being of the Baltic Sea environment is scheduled to be held on May 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"We cooperate together the Russian Federation, Estonia and Finland. This action takes place in different cities of St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Turku. Since 2014, it is already the sixth such action to join our forces in an environmental way to fight against the problems of waste in the water areas in the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea. Only together can we solve it," said Krutoy.

Krutoy also praised China's efforts in environment protection, saying "I understand that China pays more and more attention to environment these days compared to several, 10, 20 or 30 years ago. There are more and more transports environmentally friendly, more and more environmental technologies are also implemented in China".

Under the slogan "Let's burnish our city!", the 28th Maintenance Month campaign in Tallinn includes cleaning days, communal work and hazardous waste collection campaigns, focusing on raising public environmental awareness. The campaign first started in 1991, said the Tallinn city government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:23:25|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued an alert Saturday for mountain torrents in a vast part of the country.

From Saturday night to Sunday night, areas in the southern provinces of Hunan and Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are likely to receive mountain torrents.

Southwestern China's Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region and the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai were also warned of such a natural disaster occurring.

Northwestern Guangdong and eastern Guangxi have a high possibility of mountain torrents.

To guard against disasters, the agencies told local authorities to step up real-time monitoring and flood warnings and stand ready for evacuation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:29|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement al-Quds Brigades threatened on Saturday that it would expand the range of rickets fired into Israel and will target strategic posts and locations.

The group published a 45-second video, showing its masked militants and members of the group's rockets unit fixing long-range rockets that would reach central and northern Israel.

The video also showed pictures of strategic places and their names in both Arabic and Hebrew, including Dimona nuclear reactor, Ashdod Seaport, Ben-Gurion Airport, and Haifa oil refineries.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamic Hamas movement.

Israeli Radio reported that the Israeli army air forces warplanes struck by missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip was a response to firing more than 150 rockets and projectiles from the coastal enclave into Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:28:30|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Nighttime consumption in Beijing during the four-day May Day holiday has been on the rise, as the capital continues to drive economic growth with what it calls "nighttime economy."

The nighttime economy refers to business activities between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the service sector. It appeared in Beijing's latest government work report, which urges malls, supermarkets and convenience stores to stay open later at night.

Revenue in 60 key retailers and restaurants monitored by the municipal commerce bureau reached 3.22 billion yuan (478 million U.S. dollars) during the holiday, up by 6.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the bureau.

Restaurant consumption in mall-clustered Wangfujing, Sanlitun and Qingnianlu surged 51.3 percent during the nighttime hours compared with the same period last year.

A total of 24 shopping centers have registered nearly 40 percent more visitors during the holiday, the statistics showed.

Beijing sees a big market for late-night spending. Data released by Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing in 2018 showed Beijing had the largest number of travelers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:33:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SARAJEVO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The 17th international meeting of old-timer cars that have marked the past century opened on Saturday in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo.

The event brought together owners of old cars from Hungary, Germany, Austria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, organizer of the event and president of "Oldtimer" club Nedim Husic told Xinhua.

There are a total of 50 cars presented, and the oldest car is Ford produced back in 1917.

The special attention of visitors was taken by a replica of the car which was used by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty in 1896, who was killed on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo and whose death triggered the First World War.

Edo Kapetanovic, maker of the replica told Xinhua that the replica was finished in 2014, on the 100th anniversary of Ferdinand's assassination. It took exactly 100 days to make the car.

He explained that he traveled worldwide to find parts for the car, and the majority of them he made by himself, and that car is made for driving on any kind of terrain.

Small blue car of "Fico" brand used by police in former Yugoslavia also attracted the attention of visitors and brought memories of nostalgia and of 1970s.

Owner of the car, Radovan Sibanic, said that Fico has a special soul and that there are more and more people who are emotionally connected to Yugoslavia.

"When I was around 20 years old, I drove to Sarajevo with my Fico car, and several decades later, here I am again," Sibanic concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 22:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Israel decided to close borders and sea coast of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the flaring tension with the Palestinian militants, Palestinian officials said Saturday.

Raed Fattouh, head of the committee to coordinate the entrance of goods into Gaza, told reporters that the Israeli side informed his office that the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom will be closed on Sunday until a further notice.

The Palestinian Authority liaison office also announced in a press statement that Israel informed that Erez crossing on the border between northern Gaza Strip and Israel will also be closed on Sunday.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Fishermen Association in Gaza Nizar Ayyash said in a statement that the Israeli authorities decided to close the sea coast of the Gaza Strip and prevent fishermen from fishing starting from Saturday night.

"The Israeli decision of closing the land and the sea of the Gaza Strip is unfair," said Ayyash.

On Saturday, one Palestinian was killed and seven others wounded in a new wave of tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement.

Israel Radio reported that the Israeli army Air Forces warplanes struck with missiles more than 25 posts and military facilities in the Gaza Strip that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The Israeli airstrikes were a response to over 150 rockets and projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli airstrikes and called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:19:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed "confidence" in an ultimate "deal" with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), despite reports that Pyongyang fired projectiles.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that "anything in this very interesting world is possible...Deal will happen!"

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

In a short statement, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "We will continue to monitor as necessary."

For its part, South Korea's presidential Blue House has expressed great concern over the DPRK's firing of projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. State Department said on Friday that U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun "will travel to Tokyo May 7-8 and Seoul May 9-10 to meet with Japanese and R.O.K. officials to discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The second summit between Trump and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in late February failed to reach a deal on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Choe Son Hui, vice minister of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, has said recently that Pyongyang's determination to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged if Washington takes a new stand in future negotiations.

"When the time comes, we will put it into practice. But this is possible only under the condition that the U.S. changes their current method of calculation and formulates a new stand," Choe said.

"We could wait until the end of this year to see whether the U.S. makes a courageous decision," Choe said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 23:44:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday morning praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for U.S.-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump added.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax.'"

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un last week, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on the DPRK.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:34:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Proficiency Competition "Chinese Bridge" for school and college students was held here in Vilnius on Saturday.

Eleven contestants of five high schools and two universities from Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, second largest city Kaunas and port city Klaipeda participated in the competition staged at the Aula Parva Hall of Vilnius University.

Titled "Learning Chinese, Creating Brighter Future", the first part of the contest for school students gathered eight students, who were required to demonstrate their Chinese language skills by making a free speech in Chinese, going through a quiz on the knowledge about China and Chinese culture and talents show.

Austeja Oboleviciute, a 17-year-old student from Vilnius Jesuits Gymnasium won the competition, and the second place was secured by Auguste Daugelaite from Klaipeda Azuolyno Gymnasium. They will later represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign secondary school students in China.

Under the theme of "One World and One Family," five contestants from two leading Lithuanian universities competed in the second part of the contest for college students featuring also "free speeches," "Q&As" and "Chinese talent show".

The winner was Vaidotas Bacianskas, a fourth year student at Vilnius University. He will represent Lithuania at the finals for foreign college students to be held in China with Kristina Burdryte from the same university, who secured the second place.

Burdryte, who started self learning of Chinese at the age of 15, told Xinhua, that he's satisfied with his performance during the competition. "I am quite satisfied with my performances today. To me winning does not matter so much, I value this event as a platform to improve my knowledge, make friends and express myself," said the second place winner.

The Chinese Bridge competition series includes those for foreign secondary school students and foreign college students. Launched by China's Confucius Institute Headquarters in 2002 aiming to encourage foreign students to learn Chinese, the competition has drawn more than 300,000 contestants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 00:54:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) plans to hold a major regional economic conference for eastern African countries to foster peace and promote sustainable development in the region, an EU diplomat said Saturday.

Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, the EU charge d'affaires to Somalia, said the conference, organized jointly with the World Bank and the Ethiopian government, will be held in July in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"The focus will be to address regional infrastructure in the energy and transport sectors; trade, including the development of the financing sector, value chains and the regulatory environment; and human capital development through the improvement of education and skills," Ruiz said in Mogadishu during celebrations marking Europe Day.

Ruiz said the planned conference comes amid good progress in relations between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, paving way for even greater cooperation.

The thawing of relations among Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea has seen restoration of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea re-opening embassies in each other's capitals.

Ruiz said the historic agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the tripartite bringing both countries together with Somalia offer unprecedented opportunities and open a pathway to a new era of cooperation.

"Transforming the region will not only require political commitment and leadership, but also sound economic strategies to keep pace with the expectations of the people of the region," he said.
File Photo: U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, visits an exhibition on his invested companies before the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States, on May 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:40:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NICOSIA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Saturday strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades branded Turkey's move as unlawful and added that actions are being taken to counter it. He did not go into details, though, saying that the foreign minister who coordinates this action will make a briefing on the issue.

Anastasiades noted that Turkey's actions came as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

"Turkey's actions can't help this dialogue and it is time for everyone to understand that unfortunately there are obstacles that reasonably can't lead to the resumption of dialogue despite our political will," Anastasiades said.

Shortly after Anastasiades's statement, Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a strongly worded statement deploring Turkish actions as illegal.

In the statement, she called on Turkey to refrain from "illegal actions" and added that there would be EU response "in full solidarity with Cyprus."

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini's statement read.

According to the statement, in March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the statement noted.

Turkey said on Friday it has issued a notice to mariners blocking entry into a sea zone about 60 kilometers off the western city of Paphos, saying it has sent there its drilling ship to carry out offshore exploratory drilling, according to media reports.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 02:45:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ALGIERS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Security services in Algeria on Saturday arrested a number of former senior intelligence officials, local media reported.

The arrested officials include Mohamed Medien (alias Toufik) and Bachir Tartag, two former intelligence chiefs, and Said Bouteflika, brother of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, quoting security sources, TSA news website reported.

The three officials were accused publicly by Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah of plotting schemes against the army and the nation to thwart the popular protest movement that erupted across Algeria to demand political change.

Toufik served as Algeria's intelligence boss from 1990 to 2015.

Tartag is considered as close member of the presidential clan. He resigned as chief of intelligence on April 2, the same day of former President Bouteflika's resignation.

Said Bouteflika took advantage of the illness of President Bouteflika to take key decisions that harmed the nation's interests, Salah said.

Algerians have been protesting since Feb 22 across the country to demand the departure of the regime.

The military institution pledged to work for meeting the people's aspirations, as a series of arrests were launched against several prominent state and military officials as well as businessmen, who are prosecuted over corruption charges.
Supporter of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido clash with forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro on April 30, 2019. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza will hold talks here on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.

Lavrov and Arreaza will discuss the pressure exerted by a group of countries on Caracas and Washington's threats to use force against the incumbent government, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

According to the Russian media Sputnik, Ryabkov said it is necessary to curb street chaos that the opposition incited for provocations, and Russia advocates inclusive dialogue, which the Venezuelan government is ready for.

He underlined that Russia and Venezuela are "reliable partners."

The meeting with Arreaza will take place just one day ahead of Lavrov's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Venezuela among other issues in Finland on Monday.

In a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country."

External interference does nothing but undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the current crisis, Putin told Trump.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

The attempted coup was later frustrated by security forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:10:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The intricately-carved orb of a magical pumpkin glows a vibrant green as if suffused with life, a crystalline baby sleeps curled in sweet repose, and a forest of ruby-red flower petals yearn skyward from illuminated stems. Riots of colors swirl and dance - from the pristinely transparent, to luminous white, to electric blues and sunny yellows - all captured in stunning Liuli (colored glaze) sculptures that draw admiring crowds and the whir of press cameras.

It's all happening at an ongoing art exhibition in the U.S. city of Costa Mesa in southern California on Thursday, entitled "Goodbye Movies, Hello Liuli -- The Liuli Art of Loretta H. Yang and Chang Yi."

The show that kicked off on Thursday and will last until May 12 at South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center on the U.S. West Coast, coincided with the plaza's Asian heritage month festivities.

Three blonde ladies who had gone through the exhibit together were enthralled. "It's beautiful!" said one. "So natural and spiritual," said the second. "It's one of the most amazing exhibits South Coast Plaza has ever had. Very Zen. Very special," said the third.

Loretta H. Yang, an award-winning film actress from China's Taiwan, co-founded with her husband Chang Yi, a renowned film director, the first contemporary Liuli art studio in Asia in 1987. Yang is a two-time winner of the Best Leading Actress award at the Golden Horse Awards and winner of the Best Actress prize at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. They were at the height of their film careers in the late 1980s when they gave it all up to answer the siren call of a very different artform: Liuli.

The couple told media at the opening ceremony that they have been committed to the research and revival of the Liuli pate-de-verre technique that dates back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

"It was important to us both to convey the profound essence of the Chinese culture and celebrate their artistic expression through the rich medium of Liuli," Yang told Xinhua.

"Our focus is not just pure artistic creation as modern artists. We want to connect more with the people by integrating traditional elements as well," added Chang.

Chang told Xinhua, "We are happy to have this exhibit in California. We would like to share the love and the wisdom behind Liuli with American audiences too."

The Shanghai and Taipei-based collaborators have exhibited their work in such prestigious institutions as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Bowers Museum in California, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

The entire display, including the curved wall enclosures and intricate pedestals and lighting effects were carefully designed by the artists themselves to an environment that does not just showcase the work, but becomes a holistic and integrated part of it.

Carmela Spinelli, a fashion historian visiting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, was astounded by the intricate beauty of the exhibition.

"I got chills walking through it," she told Xinhua. "The sense of tranquility, the exquisite glass sculptures, the videos, the matching Haiku poetry, the lighting, and even the bases the sculptures rest on are all finely conceived and integrated into an astoundingly complex, multi-faceted cohesive whole without a single jarring note. That makes your spirits soar."

One of the centerpieces of the exhibit, "Delivered to Great Love," is a red, 70-inch glass flower resting on a base that weighs over a ton with a Buddha's eye closed in meditation. In a nod to China's deep belief in the power of the collective, they crafted the flower not as one large sculpture, but as 17 distinct, sculpted petals and stems, which, when clustered together, create a single flawless bloom.

"This is a harmonious and mutually-beneficial relationship that does not focus on the self but on the greater good of everyone involved," explained the artists.

The exhibit gives art-lovers a much-needed sense of tranquility and peace. Thomas, an American man whose wife had owned an art gallery near San Francisco for years, said of the work, "We gravitated to Liuli as an artform. It has a strong spiritual element."

Marilyn, an acupuncturist and U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization, said of the work, "It has revived a type of artwork in China that has been lost for many centuries. In Western glass, only Lalique and Baccarat still survive. Liuli is a magnificent style of art that is based on the Chinese culture, which has so many layers to it - philosophically, spiritually, Feng Shui...It's all there."

Peter Keller, President of the Bowers Museum, told Xinhua, "We were the first museum to exhibit Loretta Yang in the United States. Now, you can see how far she's come and how well this work resonates with American audiences."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:20:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Greece condemned on Saturday Turkey's decision to proceed to drilling for oil and gas in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We call on Turkey to immediately stop its illegal activities, to respect the inalienable rights of the sovereign Republic of Cyprus that it exercises for the benefit of all the Cypriot people and to avoid further actions that undermine stability in the region as well as the resumption of talks for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem," said an e-mailed press statement issued from the Greek Foreign Ministry.

Athens is in constant communication and coordination with the Republic of Cyprus and European Union (EU) partners regarding the next steps, said the statement.

Ankara announced lately its intention to conduct exploratory drilling operations in the area in the coming months.

Federica Mogherini, high representative of the the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement on Saturday, expressing "grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus."

In March 2018, Mogherini's statement read, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone and refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," it noted.

Turkey rejected Mogherini's statement later on Saturday, saying "Turkey's hydrocarbon related activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region are based on its legitimate rights stemming from international law."

"Having the longest coastal line in the region, we will protect our own rights and interests within our continental shelf, as well as those of the Turkish Cypriots around the Cyprus Island," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It blamed the Greek Cypriot Administration for not having abstained from "irresponsibly jeopardizing the security and stability" of the region, "by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots, who are co-owners of the Cyprus Island, on the natural resources, refusing every proposal of cooperation and insisting on its unilateral activities in the region despite all our warnings."

Turkey asked all other actors outside the region to "acknowledge the fact that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot be excluded from the energy equation in the Eastern Mediterranean and they should stop providing unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot Administration."

Earlier on Saturday, Cyprus strongly deplored moves by Turkey to start natural gas drilling within the Cypriot EEZ, saying it is bound to raise tensions as UN efforts are under way to resume peace negotiations.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily following a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots. Numerous reunification talks between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have failed.

Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state. And the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.

UN-led negotiations since 1976 have failed to produce a solution to the problem. The UN is currently engaged in consultations with the parties involved to obtain their consent for the resumption of negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:31:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian capital is hosting the International Puppet Theatre Festival, with theatre troupes from 12 countries and regions around the world participating.

Puppet theatre troupes from Russia, Brazil, Belgium, UK, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Albania and Kosovo will showcase for one week their original works.

The Albanian troupe started the festival with the show Three Pigs on Friday evening.

"Our first aim is cultural exchange, to take the world's experiences on how a puppet theater is developed, and to introduce other troupes to Albania," said Erion Isai, director of the Puppet Theater.

Shegushe Bebeti, an actress from the Albanian Puppet Theater, said the program of the festival will include a variety of different puppet shows for kids, families, adults, which will help all the troupes not only to gain experiences, but also to learn from each other.

From May 3 to 9, children and adults alike will have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of puppet shows at the Puppet Theatre of the capital.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkey killed 28 Kurdish militants on Saturday in retaliation to an attack which left three Turkish soldiers dead, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, three Turkish soldiers were killed and one was injured in a mortar attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey southeastern Hakkari province.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat.

Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire both in Turkey's Hakkari and Syria's Tel Rifaat, the ministry said.

The PKK, regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 04:51:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday that Lebanon has around 136 illegal borders on its territories which should be shut down to protect the Lebanese market from the smuggling of foreign products.

"These illegal borders are killing our economy and industry and we need a political and security decision to shut them down and to stop protecting those who smuggle products from nearby countries," Bassil was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

The minister's remarks came during his meeting with industrialists in Jbeil, Mount of Lebanon.

Bassil assured that there is a need to protect certain kinds of industries which will generate revenues for the government.

"But this subject was never tackled in the council of ministers because there is a political decision not to protect local industries. We should stop these policies and commit to protecting our industries," he said.

Over a month ago, Lebanese industrialists announced a state of industrial emergency in Lebanon, calling upon officials to take quick measures to save the sector from further deterioration.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:26:18|Editor: ZX

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Smokes and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, May 4, 2019. Israeli army warplanes, drones and artillery continued on Saturday afternoon striking on militants facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to firing barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, Israeli and Palestinian media reported. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)

GAZA/RAMALLAH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll on Saturday increased to four and more than 20 others were wounded during the ongoing Israeli army airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the attacks targeted military posts and facilities that belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He said that a 25-year-old Palestinian young man was killed by the shrapnel of an Israeli airstrike as he was driving a three-wheel motorcycle in northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

A pregnant mother and her 14-month-old female toddler were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military post which is close to their house in eastern Gaza city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the escalating Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).

According to the report, President Abbas called on the international community "to ensure an international protection of the Palestinian people."

"The current silence toward the crimes of Israel and toward its violations of the international law is encouraging Israel to carry on committing more crimes against the children of the Palestinian people," said Abbas.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, called on Egypt and the United Nations to stop the assaults on the Gaza Strip and restore calm.

He called on the international community to intervene immediately and halt the Israeli attacks, adding "the authority of the occupation should be accountable for committing crimes against our people."

Gaza militant groups fired more rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday night, while Israeli warplanes continued striking on military facilities and posts that belong to militant groups.

The Gaza Joint Chamber of Military Operations, which comprises various Palestinian factions, including Hamas movement, warned Israel on Saturday of escalating its aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The chamber of military operations said in a press statement that "the response of the factions will be bigger, larger and tougher in case the occupation (Israel) expands its assaults and aggression."

"The armed wings of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip will be the defensive shield for our people and our lands," said the statement, adding "the joint chamber of operations will keep an eye on the Zionist enemy's behavior on the ground."

It claimed responsibility for launching dozens of projectiles and rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, adding "launching rockets was made in the frame of responding to the Zionist enemy's violations and shedding our people's blood."

Tension between Israel and the Palestinian factions' militant groups has been flaring since Friday.

More rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli warplanes and Israeli army artillery continued launching strikes on militants' facilities and posts all over the coastal enclave.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli army spokesman announced that its warplanes destroyed an underground tunnel that belongs to the Islamic Jihad and goes from the town of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip into Israel.

More than 30 military posts and training facilities that belong to various factions' armed wing were hit by Israeli warplanes missiles all over the Gaza Strip, while militants fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The Israeli cabinet decided on Saturday night to expand its strikes on militant groups in the Gaza Strip, while Gaza militants fired more rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel.

Leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad are currently in Cairo holding talks with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on defusing the growing tension in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday held the east-based army responsible for the return of Islamic State (IS) to southern Libya, following a deadly attack carried out by the terrorists in the southern city of Sabha against an army training center.

"The (government's) Presidential Council holds Haftar (army commander) directly responsible for the return of IS to its activity, after the services of government of national accord managed to eliminate the organization and pursue its remnants and sleeper cells," the government said in a statement.

"Haftar left his forces in chaos in the south, after he claimed that his war there aimed to eliminate terrorism," the statement added.

The government also condemned the attack, offering condolences to the families of the victims.

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, since January.

The army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 05:41:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ATHENS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thanassis Theocharopoulos, leader of the Democratic Left (DIMAR) party in Greece, was sworn in on Saturday as the country's new tourism minister in a ceremony here at the Presidential Mansion, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Theocharopoulos was appointed to the post after his predecessor Elena Kountoura resigned earlier this week in order to focus on her campaign for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Several MPs and mayors have resigned in recent weeks from their posts to concentrate on the campaign for the European ballot slated for May 26 in Greece.

Theocharopoulos, 40, holds a MSc in Agricultural Engineering and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics.

Tourism, a traditionally strong pillar of the Greek economy, has been a key driver in Greece's efforts to deal with the debt crisis in the past decade.

Greece welcomed more than 30 million visitors last year, setting a new all-time record, and the trend is positive also this year, according to experts from the tourism industry.

"We are working together to promote realistic Left solutions for society's problems. We are moving forward with decisiveness and boldness," Theocharopoulos told Greek national broadcaster ERT outside the Presidential Mansion, commenting on his party's decision to cooperate with the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA ahead of the European elections.

Currently DIMAR, a small social democratic party, holds one seat in the 300-member strong Greek parliament. Theocharopoulos is the party's only MP. The next general elections in Greece will be held in October 2019, as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:01:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Amid a global slowdown in auto sales, General Motors (GM), Ford, and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) have accelerated model changeover and restructured their joint ventures in China, the world's biggest auto market.

In their recently released first quarter results, all the "Big Three" from U.S. auto industry hub Detroit reported decreased worldwide deliveries. Their volumes in China slid as well at a time when China's auto sales in the first quarter of 2019 were down 11.3 percent year over year.

As the three leading U.S. automakers strive hard in their home market, they are wasting no time in rolling out new models in China, in a bid to revitalize their performance there.

GM and its joint ventures in China delivered nearly 814,000 vehicles in China in Q1, down 17.45 percent from the same period of 2018.

Under increasing pressure from fierce competition, GM has planned a major model changeover in China this year, with a pledge to continuously improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles and broadly apply its global technologies on models built and sold locally.

In the first quarter, GM's Chevrolet brand launched new Monza and Onix sedans in China.

In April, 15 new or refreshed Chevrolet vehicles were shown at Auto Shanghai 2019, this year's leading automotive event in China.

During the auto show, GM unveiled the all-new Chevrolet Trailblazer compact SUV and Tracker small SUV, as part of its effort to further strengthen the brand's presence in China.

"Chevrolet is bringing to China world-class vehicles that leverage GM's global resources and target our customers' specific needs," said Scott Lawson, general director of Chevrolet for SAIC-GM, a joint venture between the U.S. automaker and its Shanghai-based partner.

Cadillac, the luxury brand of GM, brought its six-seat SUV XT6 to the Shanghai auto show, the first time in Asia. It will also be the first localized global large luxury SUV in the market, said GM, and will be available later this year.

Buick, another GM brand, debuted its all-new Encore and Encore GX, two small/compact SUVs at the Shanghai auto show.

Buick also unveiled Velite 6, the brand's first all-electric vehicle, joining other global competitors in China's rapidly expanding new-energy vehicle market. Buick plans to introduce eight new and refreshed products this year and more than 20 new and refreshed models between 2019 and 2023 in China.

Another leading U.S. automaker Ford has also announced that it will launch more than 30 new vehicles tailored to Chinese consumers in the next three years, in order to make a quick turnaround in China.

During an April event in Shanghai, Ford said that among the new Ford and Lincoln vehicles to be introduced in China, at least 10 will be electric cars.

More importantly, as part of "Ford China 2.0" strategy, Ford will set up four centers in China, focused on innovation, design, products and new energy vehicles respectively.

"China is leading the world with smart vehicles, and is a key part of Ford's global vision for the future. We are excited about seeing more products developed in China, for China and from China," Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett was quoted as saying.

"Ford is deeply committed to China, and with our new China leadership team and vision, we're investing in the future -- a future that starts today," he added.

At the "Ford China 2.0" conference recently held in Shanghai, Ford launched SYNC+, a new in-vehicle infotainment system co-developed with China's IT giant Baidu for Chinese consumers.

Since July, Ford has taken urgent measures to address underperformance in China after it suffered a sharp decline in overall profits in the second quarter of 2018.

The sale of Ford-branded -- import and domestic -- vehicles totaled 74,651 in Q1 2019, down 48.4 percent year over year, a harsher reality Ford has to face in China than its Detroit peer GM.

The blue oval now tries to improve cost competitiveness with aggressive fitness actions, localize more products in China, as well as recruit more local talent to key management positions.

Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American automaker, suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally. Its combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said on Friday that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, and underlined the progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

The streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," FCA said in a statement.

Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said that with such a deeper integration of the business between FCA and GAC, and the next steps in improving competitiveness in China, they will be able to "better react to the demands of the Chinese market."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-05 06:06:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday condemned the deadly attack carried out by Islamic State (IS) militants on an army training center in the south Libya's Sabha city.

"The UNSMIL strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sabha, which was claimed by the IS in the Levant and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties. Perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," the mission said in a statement.

"This attack serves as a strong reminder to all Libyans, as well as to the international community, that terrorist groups will exploit every opportunity, including the ongoing fighting in Tripoli, to expand their presence in Libya," the statement added.

The mission called on Libyan parties to "to refrain from further military escalation and focus their efforts instead on combating this common enemy."

IS claimed responsibility for an attack on an army training center in the southern city of Sabha, killing nine soldiers.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the eastern-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar.

The army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the government.

The fighting has so far killed nearly 400 people, injured almost 2,000 others, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
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- The Government adopted, on Friday, the emergency ordinance that provides for granting a single time, in January, a financial aid to pensioners with a pension less than or equal to 1,600 lei per month, Labour Minister Marius Budai announced. "We inform you that the social package assumed by

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- Nava umanitara germana Sea-Watch 3 avand la bord peste 400 de migranti salvati din ambarcatiuni in dificultate pe Marea Mediterana continua joi sa astepte autorizarea de a acosta intr-un port european, transmite dpa. Anterior, trei femei care suferisera arsuri puternice au fost preluate de

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- Trupa rock Red Hot Chili Peppers a anuntat o serie de concerte pe stadioane din Europa si America pentru 2022, informeaza News.ro. Turneul va incepe in luna iunie, in Spania, iar dupa 13 concerte in Europa, va continua in America de Nord cu 19 show-uri. Va fi pentru prima data cand RHCP va

- Former national leader of the National Liberal Party (PN), major at rule, Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday that settling the ongoing political and governmental crisis is a national emergency that has to happen immediately, with the option of rebuilding the coalition around PNL ointly with the Save

- Prime Minister Florin Citu considers that, during this period, political leaders should "totally dissociate" themselves from those who conduct anti-vaccination campaigns and considers that the protest that took place on Saturday was a "cynical one" ". "We also looked at yesterday's protest,

- Prime Minister Florin Citu stated that the allotted budget for this year for Healthcare, up to this time, was by 5.7 billion RON bigger than last year and mentioned that the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Constanta benefited from European funds worth 22.6 million RON, allotted for the management
From the beginning of the day, May 4th, the pro-Russian militants violated the ceasefire nine times and used weapons of prohibited calibers in Donbas conflict zone. This is reported by the JFO headquarters.



In the Luhansk sector, the militants fired at Ukrainian positions six times.



Mariinka, Novomykhailivka, Pisky, Talakivka and Lebedynske got under fire from grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms.



In the Donetsk sector, the occupants fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine three times.

Zaitseve came under fire from 120 caliber mortars, Luhanske - from 82 caliber, and Zolote-4 was shelled from automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms.



No casualties among the Joint Forces were reported.



Losses of the enemy are being specified.

Earlier Ihor Kolomoysky, the Ukrainian businessman and oligarch said there's a civilian conflict going on in Donbas, and Russia has been supporting one of the sides in it.

When asked about the belligerents in this war, Kolomoysky replied that 'Ukrainians fight against Ukrainians'.

The Ukrainian oligarch believes if it was not for Russia's support, the conflict would have been settled a long time ago. The businessman is convinced that Russia provoked and organized these hostilities in Ukraine.

Kolomoysky is known for his close business ties with Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.
A portable ground control complex Kredo-M1, which is arms of the Russian Army, was spotted on the occupied territories of Donbas near Pervomaisk village. The Special Monitoring Mission OSCE in Ukraine reported this on May 3.

On May 2, 2019, the drone of small radius of action recorded the portable ground control observation station PSNR-8 Kredo-M1 - in the western outskirts of Pervomaysk settlement (58 km west of Lugansk), the report said.

This week, the sappers examined the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and destroyed 18 explosive devices in the Donbas conflict zone.



State Emergency Service specialists examined 73.6 hectares. In this area, 18 explosive devices were discovered, which were subsequently destroyed. The survey was conducted at the Donetsk filtering station, in the area of the underground high-pressure gas pipeline in Mariupol, on the territory near the water supply network in the settlement of Nyzhnya Olkhova, in Toretsk and Novhorodske. Rescuers also worked at the cemeteries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
PrivatBank has increased the net commission income almost twice, up to 571 billion 257 million dollars, which made the highest record. The annual report of the company E&Y outlined this, as the press service of PrivatBank reported.

The increase of active users of the bank up to 10% and the number of transactions both in offices and online allowed net commission income to increase up to 49% in comparison to 2017, the report said.

According to the report, the increase of the net commission income in 2018 made 14.7 percent in comparison with 2017.

Commissions form a great part of the income of the bank is the important factor of the stability of the business model: the net commission income covers the administrative expenses over 109%, the report said.

Thus, PrivatBank appeared to be one of the best banks in Ukraine, the revenues of which exceeded over expenses in 2018.

In addition, according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, PrivatBank is the leader at the market of retail cashless transactions and it provides 42% of the commission income of the entire banking sector.

Earlier, on April 18, Kyiv-based court ruled that the nationalization of Privatbank in late 2017 was 'conducted with multiple law breaches.' The court, thus, granted the motion by Ihor Kolomoysky, the oligarch who appealed against the nationalization of the bank he had owned. District Administrative Court of Kyiv granted the claim of Kolomoysky, as he appealed against the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukraines Government on nationalization of PrivatBank.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, Zelenskys Advisor, former Finance Minister of Ukraine Dzerkalo Tyzhnia

Advisor to the president-elect of Ukraine, former Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk discussed the diversification of energy supplies to Ukraine on a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in Brussels. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky's team on Facebook.



During the meeting, we talked about attracting investments to increase natural gas production in Ukraine, possible ways of supplying American liquefied natural gas, as well as reforming the gas market in Ukraine, including Naftogaz Company, the message said.



Danyliuk noted that the role of the United States in diversifying energy supplies is important for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.



According to him, this reduces political risks and the cost of energy for consumers.

As we reported, uring a visit to Brussels, advisers to the president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of meetings with European officials and agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. Zelensky's press service reported this.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Oleksandr Danyliuk, Zelensky's adviser. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.
Open source

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has resumed sanctions threats against German companies that are participating in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline across the bottom of the Baltic Sea. FOCUS reported that.



From the American point of view, the gas pipeline will provide not only gas, but also an increased risk of sanctions, Grenell said.



He warned that European countries would become dependent on Russia because of the pipeline.



Among the German companies participating in the Nord Stream-2 project are the Uniper energy group and the oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea.



It is not the first time that Grenell has publicly demonstrated the position of the United States regarding the Nord Stream-2. In January, he even sent a letter to a number of German companies, in which he declared "a significant risk of sanctions" in connection with the implementation of the gas pipeline project.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the final defeat of the Islamic State militants in Syria, reports Reuters. "Trump has said Islamic State no longer holds territory several times over the past few weeks. But U.S. officials told Reuters that fighting still continued late into Thursday between U.S.-backed forces and Islamic State militants in the last remaining territory it holds," the report said.As reported, Acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said to President Donald Trump that the territory of Syria was freed from the control of the Islamic State militants.Earlier it was reported about the storming of the settlement of Baguz on the border with Iraq, which was the last point, control of which was maintained by ISIS in Syria. The success of the assault should be a signal for the withdrawal of American troops from this country, as announced by Donald Trump. Now there are about 2,000 U.S. servicemen there, about 400 will remain to secure the local security forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president elect Open source

Advisors to president-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky came to Brussels and held a series of meetings with European officials. The latter agreed to support the priority steps of the politician. This is reported by the press service of Zelensky.



"We saw the support of our policy from Western partners and interest in stepping up cooperation with Ukraine during the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky," said Olexander Danyliuk, Zelensky's advisor. He and Ruslan Ryaboshapka, during their visit to Brussels, held a number of meetings with European officials. In particular, on May 3, they met with members of the offices of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.



At the Canadian Embassy in Belgium members of Zelensky team also met with representatives of the countries participating in the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer. The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament registered the bill on holding the solemn session of the parliament devoted to the making an oath to the Ukrainian people by President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk, Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBK, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Five trucks deliver products and hygiene kits to citizens of Donbas

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sent 95 tons of humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas, as Ukraines State Border Guard Service reported.

According to the report, five trucks from ICRC were sent through Novotroitske entry-exit checkpoint to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

Their baggage is 95 tons of products and hygiene kits. The humanitarian aid is sent for the residents of Donetsk occupied territories.

As we reported earlier, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has sent humanitarian aid to the uncontrolled territory of Donbas.

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 representatives of the illegal armed formations did not let three trucks carrying humanitarian aid onto the occupied territory of Donbas.
The press service of the Presidential Administration published the order of the President

Yuriy Fedorov, Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine State Security Service

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, as is written in the order  179/2019.

Yuriy Fedorov is Major General, born in Boyarka, Kyiv region on March 12, 1975. He has been serving in the State Guard of Ukraine since 1995. He was appointed as the Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine in 2014, replacing dismissed acting head Konstantin Kobzar by the order of Olexandr Turchynov.

Earlier, Oleg Gladkovsky was dismissed from his post of First Deputy Chairman of the National Security and Defence Council.

He added that his goal is to create conditions which could make people believe in the impartiality of the investigation.
uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations

In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the controller cannot provide any meaningful ADS-B performance information.

The best way to verify the correct functioning of ADS-B equipment is by requesting a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR)  which Larry also mentioned. This is what the FAA and ATC prefer.

I really enjoyed the article, by the way.

Paul Von Hoene

Folks, really not happy with your article yesterday regarding the uAvionix ADS-B wing-tip beacon. Your articles are usually very accurate and un-biased, but this one was the worst-case scenario!

I have helped or done 20+ installations using this device and the comments about it taking 4 hours are simply not normal or accurate. The vast majority that I have done or assisted with are installed in 15-20 minutes, and the setup or configuration using a phone or iPad rarely takes more than 20-30 minutes.

Then the comments about the 337 paperwork and such extending the time needed to 4 hours is sad to see as well. uAvionix have a long list of air-frames that are on their STC list and one of those requires a simple logbook entry then the validation flight.

I have no association with uAvionix other than I am one of their Qualified Installers and an A&P/IA. Hope that in the future you can re-address this and tell aircraft owners the truth and not the worst-case scenario as was done in this case.

Joe Abrahamson

The (Im)possible Turn

Finally, this argument is getting addressed with logic. For example, sailplane training includes tow rope break response. At 200 AGL in most trainers, options were 30 degrees or so left or right. Above 200 a return to the airport was not only possible, but sometimes required full air brakes and slips. To cement the idea, students call out 200 during the tow, they practice returns from this elevation, and the turn-around callout and a surprise release is part of the practical exam. Why not make it a part of normal takeoff chatter along with airspeed alive? Of course sailplanes have glide ratios that can approach 60:1 and your mileage in a C152 may vary, but the point is that a decision should be based on plane/pilot combinations that have been practiced and proven (at altitude) so that at some callout altitude a return to the runway becomes not just possible, but the best option.

As my CFI said, the best response to a lot of flying questions is: It depends.

John Lerchen

Undoing An Upset

All that talk about upsets with definite emphasis on spins, but NOTHING on spiral departures, which evolve rapidly into big descent rates and nose down one hole crashes too.

Bill Simpson

I must take issue with your use of the term deep stall in reference to doing a falling leaf. In a deep stall you lose effectiveness of all or a portion of your rudder and/or elevator. In a falling leaf both remain effective (except at the moment of stall break), otherwise you would not be able to perform the maneuver.

Bill Post

Reporting Fires In The Air

Here in Southern California we have two seasonswet and dry. Our dry season is also called Fire Season. Last year in late fire season I noticed smoke coming from one of our local hills. This is where a fire had developed and extinguished. However, I could see the fire had reignited.

I didnt know how to report the fire so I tried calling Riverside tower (KRAL) and gave them the position of the fire. I was flying from my home airport KAJO to KHMT for a breakfast flight. KHMT is also the base for firefighting tankers. Within ten minutes of my report I could see a flight of three fast moving aircraft at my twelve on my ADSB screen and same altitude. I descended and I could see three fire bombers flying toward the fire.

A week later while flying to Riverside Airport the controller heard my aircraft ID and asked if I was the one who reported the fire. He said the fire fighter wanted to thank me for the early warning. My report was the first they knew of the re-burn.

It is my belief that many pilots may see smoke and either think someone already knows about it or they dont know how to report it. Pilots could help during fire season if we were trained on how to spot fires and how to properly report them. It made me feel that my flying that day was a benefit to our firefighting efforts and not just another breakfast flight.

John Miller
This order was published on the website of the Presidential Administration

Open source

President of Petro Poroshenko dismissed Yuriy Artemenko from the post of the member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. The order was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.

According to the paragraph 13 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I resolve: to dismiss Artemenko Yuriy Anatoliyovych from the post of a member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, the report said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine Yuriy Fedorov. The order was published on the website of the Administration of the President on May 3.

To dismiss Fedorov Yuriy Vitaliyovych from the post of the Deputy Chief of the State Guard of Ukraine and Head of the Security Service of the President of Ukraine, reads the order  179/2019.
Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25

U.S. leader Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federatiom Vladimir Putin had a long-lasting phone call. They discussed the current crisis in Venezuela, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nuclear treaty with the possible participation of China and settling down the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The White House published this, as Deutsche Welle reported.

The call, which aides said lasted more than an hour, also included topics like a possible three-party arms control pact with China and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It should be noted that the heads of states discussed the current crisis in Venezuela and the nuclear weapons treaty.

The Kremlin said that the U.S. party initiated the call.

The presidents discussed the economic cooperation, in particular, the development of mutually beneficial trade and investment ties, the press service of the Kremlin said.

Putin informed Trump on the main results of the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place in Vladivostok on April 25.

Also, they discussed the report of the Special Prosecutor Robert Muller, who directed the investigation into Russia's possible interference into the US elections in 2016.

In addition, the issue of a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine was raised as well.
Leonid Zalyubovskiy, Oksana Zolotaryova and Andriy Tarasov will join the delegation to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea concerning the capture of Ukrainian sailors

Open source

The head of the delegation from Ukraine in International Tribunal will be Olena Zerkal, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration. The court will hold the hearing in the case against Russia on captured Ukrainian sailors. This is mentioned in the order 182/2019 of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenk, published on May 3.

To form the delegation of Ukraine for participation in the hearings of the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation concerning the immunity of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 members of the crew, the document said.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Olena Zerkal is appointed the head of the delegation.

The delegation also included Leonid Zalyubovskiy, the Assistant Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Legal Affairs, Oksana Zolotaryova, the Deputy Director of the Department and the Head of the Department of Temporary Occupied Territories of the Department of International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andriy Tarasov, the Chief of Staff and the First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy.

Earlier, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held public hearings on Russia capturing Ukrainian sailors.

'President of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea defined dates of hearings in the case of temporary measures against the Russian Federation, as it violated the immunity of three Ukrainian Navy vessels and 24 crew members. The public hearings will take place on May 10 and May 11, 2019,' reads the message.
Open source

The Verkhovna Rada, the Parliament of Ukraine registered the bill on holding the solemn session devoted to the President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky making an oath on May 19, 2019. The document is passed to the review of the parliaments authorities, as the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

The initiators of the decree were Serhiy Mishchenko, the MP without spinster party, Pavlo Pynzenyk, from the Committee on the Regulations and Organization of the Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Kniazevych, from the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice, Andriy Pavelko, from the Budget Committee and Yuriy Savchuk from the Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption.

According to RBC-Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to dissolve the parliament, where the current President and his Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained the majority, in case his inauguration will be held until May 27.

According to Ukrainian law, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament not later than six months before the new elections. Thus, newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is the leader of the party the Servant of the People, can dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, if his official entering to the office will happen till May 27.
Reading, Screening and Performance. Smith reading from his latest book, Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera (Eyewear Press, UK), based on his award-winning column in the Tucson Weekly; a screening of the festival-winning documentary short, TUCSON SALVAGE, based upon it; and live performance.

The book Tucson Salvage introduces readers/viewers to people and places on the margins of US society with great empathy and lyric, understated prose. While based in the Southwest, these are universal stories of everyday people struggling below the poverty line in Trumps America.

The documentary Tucson Salvage is a meditation on several humans living on the margins and below the poverty line, in Tucson, Arizona. All these individualsman, woman and transhave suffered at the hands of traditional society and have had to escape the mental or physical imprisonment of their bodies, their attitudes and their spirits. Many are literal ex-cons, recovered junkies, but none are passive victims. First-time director Maggie Smith has created an intimate, unflinching look at stories rarely seen on the big screenas much about fighting as suffering, transcending as falling prey to their own pain. Gritty, raw and emotionally challenging, TUCSON SALVAGE brings you close to people not usually seen or valued in society, and in doing so, holds a mirror to us all.
A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS. After the EAEU Intergovernmental Councils meeting in Yerevan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan held a joint press conference. Nikol Pashinyan and Tigran Sargsyan made statements for the press and answered journalists questions, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Below is the full text of the press conference.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan:

Dear mass media representatives,

Dear Tigran Surenovich,

I want to express our satisfaction with the todays session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Commission. We hope that this session, as well as other initiatives held under Armenias presidency within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, will help us further the integration process and record practical results first of all for the citizens of our countries. Armenia is interested in increasing the effectiveness of integration processes within the Union and is ready to make the necessary efforts to reach that goal.

13 issues were on the agenda of todays meeting. Many of them are important in terms of achieving deeper integration. In particular, I mean the implementation of one of the priorities of the Digital Agenda. We have discussed ways of shaping a digital eco-trading system within the EAEU, which is crucial for developing online trading.

The use of electronic digital signatures in contacts between the executive authorities and business entities in Armenia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan was discussed during the meeting. This issue was raised the Armenian side, and we are glad that our partners expressed readiness to support the motion.

We also discussed the Industrial Cooperation and Technology Transfer Eurasia Network project. Its main purpose is to create an ecosystem of partnership formation, involve small and medium-sized enterprises in major chains of manufacturers, as well as stimulate innovative processes through technology transfer.

Our agenda also comprised the elimination of the conditions impeding the activities of the Eurasian Economic Unions internal market. I would also like to highlight the decision concerning the one-stop-shop mechanism in streamlining foreign economic activities.



EAEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan will probably give more detail on the decisions passed in the Union, and I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of todays session for efficacious proceedings.

I would like to state our readiness to host other EAEU events in Yerevan.

We will be pleased to welcome the Heads of State at the forthcoming regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council to be held in Armenia this October.

Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan:

Thank you, Nikol Vovayevich. Dear mass media representatives,

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we usually discuss issues where a consensus and the prime ministers approval are required in order to adopt political decisions. And we can state today that we have agreed on all 13 items. Now, I would like to refer to some of the problematic issues that we had on the agenda.

The first problematic issue consists in the barriers and restrictions on the way to forming common markets. We submit quarterly reports to the prime ministers on the situation that is developing in our common markets in order to create more favorable conditions for business, so that they do not encounter obstacles in cross-border areas. Unfortunately, we reported that this problem has not been solved so far, and political will is needed on the part of the prime ministers in order to remove the barriers, about 65 altogether. We have developed roadmaps to overcome these barriers, but it is necessary that all governments take control of these issues so that we can remove them.

The second aspect, which is important for our business, is the anti-dumping investigation function, which is carried out by the Board. In particular, we conducted such an anti-dumping investigation in order to protect the interests of herbicide producers in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. Several European companies used to apply dumping policies n an effort to take control of our home market. An anti-dumping investigation was carried out, but there was a veto that prevented us from exercising this right. We are pleased to note with satisfaction that today we managed to come to a consensus on the matter at hand, and the Boards relevant decision will soon come into force.

The next problematic issue concerned sugar, which is imported into free economic zones, and then the goods that are produced in these zones enter our common market in breach of competitive regulations. Here, too, we managed to come to a consensus today, and there is an agreement that, starting from January 1, 2020, sugar will be in the list of goods that should not go into free economic zones. That is, we create equal competitive conditions.

Another veto was exercised by our Russian partners on the Boards decision on whether we should close the domestic markets for individual producers if we encounter any problems. The Board made a decision that the Russian milk market could not be closed if there were any entities in breach of our common technical standards. After discussions, a consensus decision was reached, stating that Boards approach was correct: we have no right to close the domestic markets unilaterally, and any decision to ban imports should target specific companies. These examples suggest that the format of the intergovernmental council is effective, because it allows us to handle sensitive issues like that and come to a consensus.

As Nikol Vovayevich mentioned, the second group of questions seek to develop the Union, In particular, the initiative of the Republic of Armenia on electronic documents was supported by the Board and by the Commission of the Eurasian Union, and is being processed by our digital office. That is, Armenias experience is scaled to the entire Eurasian Union.

Today we approved a reference scheme for one-stop-shop services. This is crucial for business. If the five member nations form this single window in accordance with this model, our countries will provide services in a more comfortable and business-friendly manner, and there is also an agreement on this issue. Including, of course, the launch of the first digital project, which solves the problem of cooperation.

First of all, the digital platform being formed will protect the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, because a huge amount of operating expenses for small businesses are removed, and through this digital platform they can sell their services and goods and at the same time find clients for themselves. So this is quite a serious breakthrough.

And concluding my speech, I would like to note that todays decisions on the digital agenda of the intergovernmental council allow us to state that within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union a digital ecosystem is being established for the first time that will allow our countries to exercise their digital sovereignty. We will not only be users of transnational digital platforms, we will have our own digital Eurasian platform.

Thank you.

Armenia TV channel - Mr Prime Minister, what are our priorities within the framework of the EAEU, since we are presiding over the Union? And a question for Tigran Sargsyan: with which countries will the EAEU sign an agreement on establishing free trade zones, and does the sanctions position of Iran affect the implementation of said agreement with this country?

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Thank you for the question. As I said in my speech, one of the Eurasian Economic Union-related priorities is the formation of a common market for natural gas, oil and oil products, as well as a common electricity market  in the near future. Discussions are underway both in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and in the bilateral format, and I hope that this process will achieve its goal because, as I have repeatedly said, this is a very important moment for the Eurasian Economic Union as you may know that gas and energy prices have a very specific impact on the cost of goods, and this is a nuance that is very important for a common economic territory.

Another priority is the digital agenda, and I think that digitization will really bring our economies together and will create real opportunities for direct cooperation between the economic entities of our countries.

There are, of course, many more important issues, but these ones seem to be the most important from the perspective of the Eurasian Economic Unions development and further expansion, and in terms of increasing the Unions attractiveness for its members and third countries. Thank you.

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan: The situation in the free trade zones is as follows: we have a valid agreement with Vietnam, which has been effective for two years because trade with Vietnam is increasing every year in double digits, and this indicates that free trade zone is a real stimulator of increased trade. Thus, this means that there is at the same time a potential for economic growth as the Vietnamese market is too large and dynamically developing, that is, it is also exciting for Armenian producers.

The second agreement is a temporary arrangement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran. This agreement has already been ratified in almost all member countries. In Kazakhstan for instance, it is pending the Presidents signature. After that, our Iranian partners will ratify it, and the agreement will come into force.

The following agreement is on the creation of a free trade zone with Serbia. This agreement is relevant for Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, because three countries - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan - have free trade zone agreements already signed with Serbia, and now we need to make one for the entire Eurasian Union. We are close to completing this agreement.

The following agreements that we are currently working on are the agreement with Singapore, the formation of a free trade zone with India and Egypt. Negotiations are underway with them and with Israel as well.



I listed seven areas regarding which the Supreme Council has instructed us to work through, negotiate and prepare appropriate documents. So we will gradually submit these agreements for approval.

As for Iran, of course, the situation here is complicated by the fact that when we were negotiating, there was no new sanctions package against Iran. This, of course, will make certain adjustments for economic entities, because we see that this seriously affects the technology of trade and transactions, financial transactions with our Iranian counterparts, but at the same time it is clear that the sanctions that are applied to Iran create additional opportunities, especially for Armenia, because Armenia can use its geographical position and offer a certain set of tools that could contribute to trade turnover with Iran. Thereby, Armenia may exercise its function of a bridge between Iran and the Eurasian Union. I think it should be tapped. Thank you.

Interfax N/A - I have a question for Mr. Sargsyan. There is a lot of talk about a technical dialogue initiated between the European and Eurasian Economic Commissions, which was not there before, but the essence has not been revealed. Please reveal what this dialogue is about and what it is like?

Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan - Thank you, this is an important question, because the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Commission, and the Union, in general, is pursuing this policy.

Integration policy means that we have to establish contacts not only with the ASEAN, but with other associations as well, including the European Union, because the European Union was until recently the main partner of the Eurasian Union, but due to some political decisions that are beyond our authority there is a serious advance in the Asian direction. For the first time last year, trade with Asian countries exceeded the volume of trade with the European Union. Nevertheless, the European Union remains our main trading partner, and we are interested in creating normal interaction mechanisms, primarily aimed at creating a comfortable environment for economic entities. And from this point of view, first of all the standards, technical regulations, regulatory documents, anti-dumping investigations are concerned.

We managed to be recognized as a standalone entity, and there was such a political statement by the European Union about the beginning of a technical dialogue with us, which suggests that we have the first step in this direction. This will allow us to work with the European Commission on the aforementioned issues at a technical level, at the level of our ministers and at the level of heads of department.

This is due to the fact that the interests of those European business entities exercising activities on the territory of the Eurasian Union are often ignored for lack of a dialogue. Our European partners have stated their interest in such a dialogue, but as of yet there are no full-scale contacts due to political considerations. Nevertheless, I can say that the dialogue with the European Union will be promoted as far as the Eurasian Economic Union becomes stronger. Thank you.
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. My Step For Ararat Province investment-business forum has kicked off on May 4 in Ararat Group water company of Artashat town.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Governor of Ararat province Garik Sargsyan deliver welcoming remarks.

During the event a film showing the opportunities and attractiveness of the province will be screened. The successful enterprises operating in the province will be presented.

The forum aims at attracting businessmen operating in Armenia and abroad to the development processes of the economy and communities of the province. Investment programs aimed at developing tourism, agriculture, industry and a number of other fields in the province will be introduced.

The event is attended by ministers and other high-ranking officials.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. During the period from April 28 to May 4 the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 250 times by firing more than 3000 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The Defense Army forces of Artsakh continue fully controlling the situation in the frontline and confidently fulfill their military duties.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk assesses the Armenian-Belarussian relations as positive with receiving a new impetus.

I would assess the Armenian-Belarussian relations as receiving a new impetus as every year we record growth of volumes of import of Belarussian products to Armenia and export of Armenian goods to Belarus. An active process is underway, and we will also carry out major works in the future, the Ambassador told ARMENPRESS.

According to him, the next meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will take place in Kazakhstan as the two countries are preparing for the meeting at the moment.

I think that meeting will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming event in Kazakhstan. In any case both the Armenian and Belarussian sides are preparing for this meeting. I think that meeting will take place in a very positive environment, he said.

The session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will take place in Kazakhstan on May 29 which will also be attended by the Armenian PM and the Belarussian President.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. The relations of Armenia and Kazakhstan continue developing steadily like in the previous years, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told ARMENPRESS.

Our relations remain stable as they were for many years. There are no great changes, even after the events that have taken place in Armenia last year. That is the domestic issue of Armenia, which neither affects the trade turnover nor the diplomatic ties between the two states because Armenia and Kazakhstan have very stable political and national interests which are not afraid of the changes taking place in the internal life, the Kazakh Ambassador said.

Speaking about the upcoming presidential election in Kazakhstan scheduled on June 9, the Ambassador said the citizens of Kazakhstan living in Armenia will also have an opportunity to vote in the election.

Presidential election will be held in Kazakhstan on June 9. Our citizens living in Armenia will be able to vote at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yerevan, he said.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on March 19.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Israel have great potential to develop the bilateral relations, Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview to the Jerusalem Post, adding that the two countries have a great history and civilization.

We have an enormous sense of national identity and pride, so we can work together in so many fields of economy, agriculture, hi-tech, tourism, direct flights, health culture, education and so on and so forth, FM Mnatsakanyan said.

The Armenian FM also touched upon Israels selling weapons to Azerbaijan and noted: It has been and remains an issue of great concern for us on several counts. Israels arms trade is a weapon of death for our people. We have been witnessing the use of such weapons against our people. We are a security conscious nation and are highly confident in our capacity to defend ourselves, and you will understand very well what that means. At the same time, we are dedicated to developing peace and security in our region. The arms race in our region does not contribute to building peace and security.

In response to the journalists view that Armenia has good relations with Iran, which is an enemy of Israel, the foreign minister said Armenia is very insistent that building relations with one partner will not be at the expense of another partner. But we also expect that all our partners will do the same. We are also very sensitive to the sensitivities of our partners, he added.

Asked whether he is surprised and disappointed about Israels position refusing to recognize what happened to the Armenian people in 1915 as genocide, the Armenian FM responded: Its not a matter for me to be surprised. I represent a nation that still faces the pressure of justice denied over 105 years. My people are victories because we were supposed to be wiped off the face of the earth. The question of denied justice is about humanity. It is for Israel to decide whether to recognize [the Armenian Genocide] or not. It is not about Armenia, it is about Israel. It is our collective duty nowadays to reduce the risk of genocide and atrocities.
The court rejected legal action brought by the PNG government to try to wrest control of the Singapore-based PNG Sustainable Development Program.

A court ruling in Singapore on 5 April means one of Sir Mekeres more intriguing legacy items has survived the latest attempt on its existence.

Some parts of that legacy have fared well, like the privatisation of the countrys state bank. Others, like political party reform, have fallen over in the face of legal and political challenges.

SYDNEY - In the three years Sir Mekere Morauta was prime minister of Papua New Guinea, from 1999 to 2002, he pursued an ambitious reform agenda.

The company holds an estimated US$1.4 billion that it is charged with distributing to benefit the people of PNG. Its a substantial amount of money: equivalent to around one-fifth of PNGs government debt at current exchange rates.

This latest legal round will not be the end of the battle, but as Sir Mekere described it after the court ruling: This win means PNGSDP is free...to carry out its objectives.

The PNG Sustainable Development Program emerged as the endgame of BHPs ill-starred involvement in the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in PNGs Western Province.

Environmental disaster caused by the mines tailings had BHP wanting to close it down by the early 2000s. But the cash-strapped (and shareholding) PNG government was keen to keep it operating. The SDP was the compromise.

It took on BHPs stake and the big Australian was released from environmental liabilities. The plan was for future earnings of the SDPs shareholding in Ok Tedi to fund community development in PNG for nearly half a century after the mines eventual closure.

And, with an eye to the realities of corruption and political mismanagement in PNG, the new entity was designed to withstand whatever local politics could throw at it  as Sir Mekere says, to protect it from sticky fingers.

The SDP was established as a company domiciled in Singapore. PNGs government couldnt have full control of the new entity, and neither could BHP.

It was designed to keep delivering, using the dividends from Ok Tedi to be invested in short- and long-term funds. But by the early 2010s, the SDP was in political trouble.

First as treasurer and then as prime minister, Peter ONeill fixed the SDP in his sights. After elections in 2012, ONeill stepped up his criticism.

The SDP was accused of poor transparency, failing to meet its goals and letting BHP off the hook for its environmental damage. In short, ONeill wanted the government to have more control over how the SDPs billions would be spent.

SDP chair Ross Garnaut, who also chaired Ok Tedi, refused O'Neill's entreaties; after a standoff he was barred from entering the country, and eventually quit as chair of the mine and head of the SDP.

Then in 2013 PNG controversially expropriated SDPs majority shareholding in Ok Tedi and launched legal action in Singapore to get control of the company.

That action is what Singapores High Court has now ruled on.

It is a humiliating defeat for Mr ONeill, Sir Mekere said after the ruling. And an expensive exercise in futility by him.

It is time he stopped lamenting his defeat and turned his attention to save our struggling country. He should focus on solving the problems he has inflicted on Papua New Guinea.

Sir Mekere took pains to point out he was commenting as an opposition MP and not as the former chair of the SDP, a role he took on after deciding not to contest the 2012 election.

Despite the court defeat, ONeill isnt backing off. In advertisements taken out in the countrys newspapers he vowed to continue the legal fight in Singapore.

The State remains very concerned that the current directors of PNGSDP have ran, and are continuing to run, PNGSDP in a highly unsatisfactory manner, ONeill said.

He said the government would argue for a stay on the fund spending any money until the court action is resolved.

They have clearly failed to provide any level of improvement to the lives of people in Western Province. This is despite purported expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on development projects.

But ONeill isnt winning support from MPs from the province most affected by Ok Tedi.

All four local politicians including governor Taboi Awi Yoto have called on the government to let the company get on with delivering its programs.

The government should accept the decision and stop wasting money on further legal action which will not only be fruitless but will also continue to costmillions of kina in legal fees, they said.

Sir Mekere says more court action  or a Commission of Inquiry that ONeill has also threatened  would be futile. I know the company has nothing to hide and will take whatever Peter ONeill throws at it in its stride.

SDP hasnt been without controversy. From its foundation in 2001 through to 2012 it became the second-largest aid donor in PNG.

Some of its business dealings left it open to criticism, and its corporate structure led to complaints of over-spending on its board and operations.

It did leave some lasting investments, including the establishment of communications towers throughout Western Province, and stakes in microfinance and property concerns.

In 2013, after the expropriation and legal challenge, SDP was mothballed. Staff were retrenched and its development programs ended.

In 2018 it relaunched. Its now positioning itself as an impact investor, looking to partner with others in projects that must be of lasting value to the people of Western Province and must be delivered efficiently.

SDP no longer has an income stream from Ok Tedi dividends. It can use only the income from its long-term fund to spend on development, and says its focus is on education, health, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Sir Mekere, who returned to parliament at the 2017 election, says he hopes the court ruling means SDP can consider its legal options as regards the state taking over its Ok Tedi shareholding.

With ONeills appeal also looming, the courts will be part of the SDPs future for a long time yet.
It became clear yesterday that prime minister Peter ONeill was in serious trouble holding on to his job. The key moment was when health minister Sir Puka Temu told a press conference that he, defence minister Solan Mirisim and forests minister Douglas Tomuries had decided to quit ONeills Peoples National Congress (PNC).

And as for who will be the Alternative Government's contender for prime minister, well, according to camp follower former Manus MP Ron Knight (@pontuna2run) writing on Twitter, that will be determined by secret ballot, and "the door is still open".

This is likely to be tested in a vote of no confidence originally set down for Wednesday 15 May but which may be brought on earlier, as parliament is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

It was a climactic moment, as the combined group numbered a claimed 57 parliamentarians, exceeding the critical number of 56 required to command a majority in PNGs Haus Tambaran.

NOOSA  Yesterday morning Papua New Guineas opposition (which had rebadged itself as the Alternative Government) left camp at Port Moresbys Sanctuary Hotel and arrived at the Laguna Hotel to be greeted by former finance minister James Marape and his supporters.

Sir Puka Temu (left) at the media conference where he Mirisim and Tomuries quit - "We have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles"

Mirisim said Temu had asked ONeill to resign because he had lost the confidence of cabinet. O'Neill's negative response to this statement, said Mirisim, led to further defections and resignations from PNC. Temu told the media conference that there were disagreements in cabinet about how PNG was being managed.

I have made the decision [to resign] as a senior leader and I am very proud that seven other young leaders have also made the decision, he said. We know that PNC still has the numbers, but we have made the bold decision to leave because of our principles.

Gabriel (@GomisRanger) riposted on Twitter, Did someone hit him in the face to make him realise his principles? Did he even have principles? This was a reference to Temus health portfolio being identified as a hotbed of corruption and inefficiency in PNG. Gabriel's comment was reinforced by social media that Temu's move was opportunistic rather than principled.

As this situation was unfolding, Canberra-based political reporter for The Australian newspaper, Ben Packham, reported that Australian officials were closely watching developments in Port Moresby where public movement had been restricted and an extra 1,000 police deployed ahead of the resumption of parliament.

The instability has placed a $16 billion gas deal at risk and could force a reframing of one of Australias most important bilateral relationships, Packham wrote.

Meanwhile, ONeills backers were saying the opposition probably had only 40 votes, not a majority, and that the prime minister will fight hard to hold onto his job. Which I'm sure is true. Despite O'Neill being significantly weakened, he will use his considerable political skills and astute use of the courts to try to weave his way through a strengthened and motivated opposition.

Last night both camps (and the media) had given up waiting for a statement from deputy prime minister Charles Abel, who had been expected to call on ONeill to resign but had not done so.

However, O'Neill's official website was delivering a puzzling error message. Hawk-eyed J Smith (@equanimity500) wrote on Twitter: When I go to the PNG prime minister's website, I get a message saying, Failed to exec. See http://www.pm.gov.pg."

As more government politicians flocked to his 'camp', opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch told journalists that all agreements signed by the ONeill-Abel government will be reviewed if it loses office.

We will put PNGs interest first, Pruaitch said. For any major agreements concluded recently, we want to assure our country that they will be reviewed. In so far as benefits are concerned, I think its time the government took a bold stand.

But Port Moresby based academic, Dr David Ayres (@davidayres71) offered a reality check on what any new government may bring, tweeting, Unfortunately it will be same snouts, just a different trough. Its hardly a recipe for positive transformation.

Back in Canberra, head of the Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings told Ben Packham that ONeill was a mixed blessing for Australia. He has certainly been a tough PM to deal with at times, and there has been a sense of worry that he has allowed himself to get too close to China which clearly is a concern to us, Jennings said.

But dealing with PNG is always going to be complicated for Australia - there is historical baggage there, and they are a country that will make decisions according to their interests, which dont necessarily align with ours.

Lowy Institute research fellow Shane McLeod told Packham that Australia had invested heavily in its relationship with ONeill. There would be uncertainty over what comes next, but Australian officials are "familiar with a lot of the players in this situation, he said.

McLeod said momentum appeared to be with the opposition but ONeill wont be giving up... [He] is in the fight for his political future right now, he said.

On Twitter, Ali Kasokason (@ConfigGuyPom) quipped, Next ground breaking ceremony by ONeill and crew will be at Bomana! Which is the notorious prison just outside Port Moresby.
Martyn Namorong - "This is my small shot for the people I've met and the country I love"

MARTYN NAMORONG | Linked In

PORT MORESBY - On Thursday at 9 am, I got a call to go into camp at the Sanctuary Hotel with Papua New Guineas alternate government.

Its been an eye-opener and a great learning experience about the machinations of PNG politics.

Its an experience I will always treasure.

Beyond the politics, for our members of parliament is the hard work of running a country.

I have been privileged to have been invited into the opposition engine room to help set the agenda and work plan for a new government to save PNG and rescue our great nation from corruption and debt.

I hope my little contribution to public policy leads to the improvement of lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Paddy Power has suspended bets on the royal baby after believing he/she is already here. Photo: Getty Images

Have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex already welcomed the royal baby?

Thats certainly the belief of a bookmaker who has suspended all bets on Meghan Markle already having given birth.

UK bookmaker Paddy Power claimed the flurry of bets placed on the couple already having welcomed a baby girl suggested someone knows something.

The surge of Brits having a flutter has now forced the firm to close the books.

Weve suspended betting on which day Harry and Meghans baby will arrive following a huge increase in wagers this evening which indicate to us that someone knows something  and perhaps the child is already born, a Paddy Power spokesman said.

That, combined with the rumours and speculation has us convinced that the royal arrival has already happened and if the betting is anything to go by, its almost certainly a baby girl.

The betting suspension follows further speculation earlier this week that Prince Harrys diary reveal could have hinted that the royal baby is already here.

The Duke of Sussex has just cancelled a trip to the Netherlands originally set for the 8th  9th of May, sparking rumours that he may already be a father.

And royal fans on Twitter have even suggested that Baby Sussex might have already made an appearance and snuggled up with his parents at Frogmore cottage.

However, Buckingham Palace revealed to Yahoo UK that the Duke is planning on going to the Netherlands, but a decision will be made closer to the time because they dont know when the baby will arrive.

Bump watchers also believe the Queens visit to Forgmore House over the Easter weekend could have been another hint that the baby is here, and was meeting his or her great grandmother for the first time.

Story continues

Meghans make-up artist Daniel Martin also fuelled speculation about the imminent arrival of Baby Sussex with a recent Instagram post.

People think Meghan Markle may already have given birth [Photo: Getty]

He announced that he will be appearing at The Makeup Show in New York on May 5, 2019.

Though it is believed that US-based Daniel paid a visit to the UK, after posting photos of scenes around Windsor on his Instagram Stories.

If he is set to head back to New York before May 5, it could suggest that the baby is either already here or could be any day.

Fans also pointed to Meghans mum Doria Raglands arrival in the UK as a sign the couple may have already welcomed their baby boy or girl.

While Kensington Palace have never revealed a due date, Meghan told well-wishers in Birkenhead in January that the baby was expected to arrive at the end of April or beginning of May.

So news of the birth could be announced any minute now.

Buckingham Palace announced last month that Meghan and Harry have taken the personal decision to keep details around the birth private and would like to spend time with their little one before sharing images with the world.

Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private, the memo read.

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.

Royal reporters have been assured that they will be kept informed of any news and since no confirmation has been given by Harry and Meghans reps that theyre already parents, royal baby watch continues.

Watch this space

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A funeral was held for the three children of Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday. Photo: Mega

Denmark is mourning the loss of three of its citizens, the children of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings last month.

A funeral service was held at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark at the weekend, and was attended by Crown Princess Mary, as well as the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Australian-born Mary and her children were moved by the service, and stood with their heads bowed as Anders, his wife Anne, and their only surviving child Astrid, farewelled the three siblings.

At one point, Mary put her hand to her eldest daughter Princess Isabellas face to comfort and console her.

Alfred, Alma and Agnes Povlsen were killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks while their family was holidaying in Sri Lanka. Supported by her parents, Astrid released a bunch of balloons in their honour.

The Danish royals attended the service, with Princess Mary seen comforting her children. Photo: Getty

Anders, Denmarks richest man, CEO of fashion company Bestseller and the largest shareholder of fashion website ASOS, described losing three of their four children as completely incomprehensible in a separate memorial service held last week.

His words were read out by a priest at the memorial held in the town of Brande.

The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred is completely incomprehensible, he said.

With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.
Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women who would have once gotten pap smears. Photo: Getty Images

Women may soon be able to provide urine samples instead of undergoing for a smear test to be screened for cervical cancer.

A trial has found that a urine test is just as accurate at detecting the HPV virus - with the virus presence often seen as one of the main factors associated with cervical cancer.

Experts have said that self-testing could be a game-changer for women, with the number of people attending their cervical screenings lower than ever.

Bigger trials are still needed, but this is a big step forward.

Recent figures from the UK have shown attendance is now at just 71 per cent across the country.

Reasons for the lack of uptake vary, with some women feeling embarrassed and nervous and others finding the experience painful and uncomfortable.

Whilst many women may find it uncomfortable, a smear test's early detection of abnormal cells prevents 75 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Women between the ages of 25 and 64 are advised to attend a screening at least once every three years.

Lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described a new test as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening." Photo: Getty Images

The urine test trial was led by researchers at the University of Manchester.

They asked 104 women, who were attending a colonoscopy clinic, to take the urine test as well as a smear test.

The urine test performed equally as well as the smear test in detecting HPV, BMJ Open has reported.

The lead researcher, Dr Emma Crosbie, described it as having the "potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening."

She continued: "Campaigns to encourage women to attend cervical screening have helped. The brilliant campaign by the late Jade Goody increased numbers attendance by around 400,000 women."

"But sadly, the effects aren't long lasting and participation rates tend to fall back after a while. We clearly need a more sustainable solution."

As larger trials of the urine test will still be needed before it can be recommended to the public and Dr Emma Crosbie recommends: "In the meantime, women must continue to book their screening appointment when they're called. It's a life-saving test."

Story continues

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On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making. Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe. It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises. - Dating back to Napoleon - Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages. A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes. In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation. Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons". The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later. In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build. Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side. But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons. - Bridge or tunnel? - After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus. A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel. Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option. It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986. - Breaking through - Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain. AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres. Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up. An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk. Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British. - Queen and president - "Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel. "We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said. After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent. Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh. During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported. Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey. Philippe Cozette (L) and Graham Fagg dug the last metres of the Channel tunnel 25 years ago French workers greeted their British colleagues in May 1991 at the link-up of the north end of the tunnel Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand made an inaugural crossing in the royal Rolls-Royce
Israel's military carried out waves of retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Palestinian rockets hit Israeli cities as a deadly escalation showed no signs of slowing, raising fears of war. Gazan authorities reported nine Palestinians killed, including at least three militants, by Israeli strikes in the fighting that began Saturday with massive rocket fire from the strip. Israel however disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant woman and a baby, blaming errant Hamas fire. Three people were killed in Gaza rocket strikes on southern Israel on Sunday. One was confirmed as Israeli, but police had not released the nationalities for the other two. The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas's armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military "to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip." He said he had also ordered "tanks, artillery and infantry forces" to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza. The flare-up came as Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire. Israel said its strikes were in response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing more than 450 rockets or mortars across the border since Saturday, with Israeli air defences intercepting more than 150. - 'Immediately de-escalate' - In addition to those killed and injured, the rockets repeatedly set off air raid alarms in southern Israel and sent residents running to shelters while also damaging houses. The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 260 militant targets in Gaza in response. It targeted mainly militant sites and in some cases militants themselves. Targets included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were also destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices. The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby's mother, but the family clarified on Sunday that she was the aunt. Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that based on intelligence "we are now confident" that the deaths of the woman and baby were not due to an Israeli strike. "Their unfortunate death was not a result of (Israeli) weaponry but a Hamas rocket that was fired and exploded not where it was supposed to," he said. Islamic Jihad's armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. On Sunday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their armed wings had targeted an Israeli army vehicle with a Kornet missile. It was unclear if it was hit. Israel closed its crossings with Gaza for people and goods, as well the fishing zone off the enclave's shore, until further notice. Egyptian and UN officials held talks to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza. The UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on "all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months." The United States said it fully supported Israel's "right to self-defence against these abhorrent attacks." Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel, urged it to "end its aggression against the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law." - Visit to Cairo - The escalation follows Friday clashes along the Gaza border that were the most violent in weeks. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the frontier. Israel and Gazan militants have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election. But recent days saw a gradual uptick in violence, placing the ceasefire at risk. A Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar visited Cairo Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials. The truce has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, paying salaries and financing fuel purchases to ease severe electricity shortages. Israel has several reasons to seek calm. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following April's election and the country celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday. Israel is also due to host the high-profile Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18, expected to attract thousands of spectators. On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead. A Palestinian girl climbs on the remains of a building destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 5, 2019 An Israeli surveys the damage to a house near the port city of Ashkelon from one of the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza Smoke billows over Gaza City after Israel carries out an air strike in response to a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants Gaza militants fire a barrage of rockets at Israel, drawing retaliatory air strikes and tank fire, as the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas seek more concessions from Israel as part of a fragile ceasefire Friday's protests along the Gaza-Israel border were the most violent in weeks Sawsan Abu Tair mourns her brother Raed who was killed by Israeli fire during one of Friday's protests at the Gaza-Israel border
The Jaguares survived a tense finish to defeat the Western Stormers 30-25 in Buenos Aires Saturday and chalk up a fourth consecutive Super Rugby victory. Success lifted the Argentine outfit two places to sixth in the combined standings, keeping them in contention for a top-eight finish and a play-offs slot. Despite losing, the South Africans also moved up the table, replacing the ACT Brumbies from Australia in eighth position on points difference. It was a close call in the end for the home side after they looked set for a comfortable victory when a penalty try seven minutes from time gave them a 30-18 advantage. The Stormers, who had not looked like scoring a try at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, suddenly clicked and a Justin Phillips break led to a try by fellow substitute Seabelo Senatla. Damian Willemse, who inherited the goal-kicking duties when Jean-Luc du Plessis was substituted, converted to leave only five points between the teams. A couple of penalties after the full-time hooter sounded brought the Stormers within a few metres of the Jaguares tryline and a converted try would have given them victory. But the Cape Town outfit conceded possession at the lineout and the relieved Jaguares booted the ball into the grandstand to end the round 12 match. It was a scrappy, penalty-riddled affair that included two late yellow cards with JJ Engelbrecht of the Stormers and Pablo Matera of the Jaguares watching the climax from the touchline. The Jaguares led from the fourth minute when Matera scored and the hosts were 13-9 ahead by half-time with the rest of the points coming from the boots of Domingo Miotti and Du Plessis. Ramiro Moyano scored a second Argentine try on 51 minutes, but the goal-kicking accuracy of Willemse kept the Stormers in touch. Recent Super Rugby debutant Miotti contributed 13 points from two conversions and three penalties off five shots at the posts. Apart from the Senatla try, Du Plessis slotted four penalties and Willemse a conversion and two penalties for the Stormers. The Jaguares start a four-match Australasia tour next Saturday against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin while the Stormers have a bye. South Africa's Stormers fly half Jean-Luc du Plessis (C) vies for the ball with Jaguares hooker Agustin Creevy (L) and prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro during their Super Rugby match at Jose Amalfitani stadium in Buenos Aires, on May 4, 2019.
Julian Assange's father has addressed a rally in Sydney, calling for the Australian government to be courageous and fight to bring the WikiLeaks founder home.

John Shipton, Assange's biological father, addressed a small group of protesters at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday, two days after his son was sentenced to almost a year in prison for skipping bail in London.

Mr Shipton said his son was being punished for exposing the "grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century".

Julian Assange's biological father John Shipton spoke at a rally at Sydney's Martin Place on Friday. Source: AAP

"The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge," Mr Shipton told the sodden crowd of less than 50.

Mr Assange was sentenced on Wednesday to 50 weeks prison for breaching bail seven years ago, when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He was carried out of that embassy in April after Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno withdrew his country's asylum offer, describing Assange as a "spoiled brat".

Protesters rally in Sydney on World Press Freedom Day to protest for Julian Assange. Source: AAP

The 47-year-old is formally contesting an American extradition request over a charge of conspiring to commit computer intrusion with former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange told Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday he did not wish to surrender himself to extradition for doing journalism that had "won many, many awards and protected many people".

He also appealed for Australian diplomatic protection.

Mr Shipton described his son's jailing as "an outrage" and said more needed to be done to bring him home.

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A Kiwi man has been shot dead and his family attacked after their yacht was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Panama.

Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed at close range in the dark on Thursday night while his wife, Derryn, and 11-year-old twin daughter were attacked with a machete, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Ms Culverwell received a wound to her shoulder from a machete blow before the hooded pirates fled the vessel.

Alan Culverwell was shot dead in the attack. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The mother and daughter have since left hospital and it is understood the girls twin brother was uninjured in the attack.

The family had sold their home in New Zealand and had purchased a 65-foot yacht in the US and had just embarked on a trip to sail the vessel back to their home nation.

Local authorities say those responsible, who stole an outboard engine in the attack, remain on the run.

The altercation occurred when the family heard footsteps on the roof of the yacht and Mr Culverwell, a former paua diver, went to check outside, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The man's horrified family watched the attack unfold. Source: Facebook/ Alan Culverwell

The attack took place off the coast of the Guna Yala region in the Central American nation.

Mr Culverwells sister, Derryn Hughes, released a statement on behalf of the family, confirming Mr Culverwells death.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this family statement on behalf of the Culverwell and Fisher families regarding the death of Alan Culverwell, she wrote.

Alan was a dedicated, loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend to all. His family were his everything!

The family pictured in 2016. Source: Facebook/ Derryn Culverwell

She said Mr Culverwells death had come as a huge shock and that his children were understandably traumatised.

I speak for the whole family when I say that we are devastated with what has happened.

She confirmed a handful of friends and family members are en route to Panama to be with the family.

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Cyclone Fani weakened to a depression as it barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India, although a major human disaster looked to have been averted. Press reports said 12 people had died in India and police in Bangladesh put the death toll there at the same number -- a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones, earning authorities praise from the United Nations. With 1.2 million evacuated in India's Odisha state, more than 1.6 million people were taken to shelters in Bangladesh, officials told AFP, with at least 36 villages flooded by a storm surge and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. "Six people died after they were hit by falling trees or collapsed walls, and six have died from lightning," Bangladeshi disaster official Benazir Ahmed told AFP. In the coastal town of Banishanta, where embankments burst and some 250 families were marooned overnight, most houses were semi-submerged under water while a few straw huts had been washed away. "We are now trying to fix the dam otherwise we will have to pass the night outside," villager Sanjay Mondol told AFP. Ferries on large rivers remained out of action but those on smaller waterways resumed operations, and many people were beginning to return home with the wind still strong and skies overcast. India's Meteorological Department posted to Twitter Saturday that Fani had weakened to a depression over Bangladesh. But the storm was still packing a punch, with winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battering the Indian state of West Bengal, its capital Kolkata and the Sundarbans mangrove forest area overnight and on Saturday morning. "It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister. "Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled." In Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people, 5,000 residents were removed from low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings. "Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place." Kolkata's airport was meanwhile reopened, as was that of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, the Indian state whose 46 million people are among India's poorest and who bore the brunt of Fani. - Flying trees - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to secure a second term in India's ongoing election, tweeted that he would visit the state on Monday. Fani made landfall in Odisha on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications. Twelve people were killed there, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris. "It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident. "The wind is deafening." As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities on Saturday battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services. Aerial pictures showed extensive flooding. Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his family collapsed. "I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP. Eastern India is regularly buffeted by cyclones off the Bay of Bengal, with 10,000 people killed in Odisha alone in 1999, mostly from a storm surge bringing flooding and debris many miles inland. This time better forecasting and mass evacuations helped to prepare Odisha, while no major storm surges were reported. "Almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. "Now the technology has improved vastly," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, a private weather forecaster, told AFP. "The administration got enough time of around eight days to prepare and allocate disaster response teams." The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised India, saying the accuracy of early warnings and "effective evacuation" of people in Odisha "saved many lives". burs-str-stu/rma Aerial photographs showed the extent of the storm damage in Puri in India's eastern Odisha state, after Cyclone Fani hit the region Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall Indian and Bangladeshi officials said at least 36 villages had been flooded by a storm surge Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Odisha were working to remove fallen trees and to restore phone and internet services
North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of the second Trump-Kim summit US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to agree on sanctions relief for Pyongyang during their Hanoi summit
Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand. The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio. Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him. Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions. "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha." For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor. - 'Unbureaucratic' - Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads. But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm? "One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger. "But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said. Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm. Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies. - Investing in tech - On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon. Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today. Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google. "We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up." But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple. On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars. Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp). The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists." Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money. Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater. Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip. He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing. "It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal. Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958. Warren Buffett arriving at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2019 Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world, at the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire The annual shareholder meeting of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire draws tens of thousands to Omaha, a small city in the American heartland Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed a 'Woodstock for Capitalists' Shareholders seen queueing to enter the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 4, 2019
A group of passengers flying to a music festival were arrested as soon as the plane landed after downing bottles of alcohol.

The group of Ryanair passengers flying from Dublin to a music festival in Malta on April 30 were inebriated before the flight even took off, according to journalist Kieran Dineen who was on the same flight.

It wasn't until I was on the plane that I realised that of the 180 passengers, I guess around 150 were all going to this dance festival," he told RTE's News at One.

The intoxicated passengers delayed the flight from taking off for half an hour and, as someone blasted music through their phone speaker, the scene allegedly deteriorated.

"We were late taking off because people kept jumping out of their seats, some would even shout back at the air stewards or give them a hand signal to let them know they didnt care what they had to say," Dineen said.

"Huge groups congregated at both bathrooms mainly because the drinks carts were there and they bought many, many drinks and there was huge bottles from duty-free opened."

The passengers were allegedly downing bottles of alcohol during the flight. Source: Getty/file

One generous man on his way to the Lost and Found music festival even walked the aisle with a bottle of vodka and gave people sips.

"It was terrifying, I have never been more scared in my life. It was like a rave, they had a boom box going full pelt," a female passenger told The Irish Sun.

"There was mayhem up there. One passenger asked for the flight to be diverted. He was as terrified as was the rest of the tiny minority who weren't drunk out of their minds.

The passenger claimed a fight even broke out at the toilets.

"Cops arrived when we landed and around half a dozen of the worst offenders were taken away after being pointed out by airline staff, the passenger said.

"The staff were very slow in dealing with the problem, they seemed to think there was little they could do except tell people to turn down their music.

The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Malta. Source: Getty/file

The passenger also claimed the flight stopped selling alcohol halfway through but the damage was already done.

Story continues

Ryanair said in a statement to Yahoo the crew requested police assistance upon arrival after several passengers became disruptive.

The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals, the statement said.

We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as a limited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces' support. The small turnout for the Saturday marches -- with participants in the hundreds, not the thousands -- is another setback for opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed military uprising earlier in the week. Maduro on Saturday instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth." Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in the presence of more than 5,000 troops. The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although it so far has limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions. Guaido's cause gained renewed support on Saturday from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now." "You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes. But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces. "I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech from the military base. Maduro also mourned the loss of "seven worthy officers of the country" who were killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to the base for military exercises seen as a show of strength against Guaido. - 'No confrontation or provocation' - On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government. In Barquisimeto in the northeast, the National Guard pushed back marchers with tear gas. "The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation," added Guaido. This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. The effort triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured. In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido appeared to admit that he had overplayed his hand with the failed military uprising, saying that "we still need more soldiers to support it, to back the constitution." - 'Something bigger' will happen - "I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising. Small groups of protesters marched on four military bases in Caracas. In Barquisimeto, a group of women unsuccessfully attempted to pass on to National Guard troops a document containing Guaido's proclamation to the military to abandon Maduro. "We're asking the armed forces to help us end the usurpation and join the people," unemployed 53-year-old Dina Alonso told AFP. Jose Aparicio, a 67-year-old lawyer who said he had been to several events organized by Guaido, said that he would "continue to protest in the street until the end." Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president. As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela's, said on Twitter he had spoken to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and "stressed the need for dialogue with President Maduro and respect for Venezuela's sovereignty and international rights without threats or outside intervention." While the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino (C-R) and military commanders at a training center in El Pao, Cojedes state on May 4, 2019 A woman demonstrates in front of a line of riot police outside the Venezuelan Navy command headquarters in Caracas on May 4, 2019 A man with his body painted in the Venezuelan national flag's colors demonstrates in front of riot police near La Carlota Air Base in Caracas on May 4, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a direct appeal to the Venezuelan people, urging them to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power and telling them "the time for transition is now"
Diplomats and scientists from 132 nations wrapped up six days of negotiations in Paris Saturday over the wording of a landmark report on the dire state of Nature and its impact on humanity, a UN official told AFP. The bombshell executive summary of a 1,800-page tome crafted by more than 400 experts -- the first UN global assessment of the natural world in 15 years -- will be unveiled Monday. Drafts of both documents obtained by AFP leave no doubt that the final Summary for Policymakers will paint a picture of widespread destruction wrought by man, some of it irreparable. The report is likely to reveal that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million species face extinction, many within decades. Many scientists have concluded that the planet has already entered a period of so-called "mass extinction," the first since the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and only the sixth in half-a-billion years. The draft reports also details the ways in which humanity's growing footprint and appetites have deeply compromised Earth's capacity to renew resources upon which civilisation depends, beginning with fresh water, breathable air, productive soil and the natural pollination of food crops. "The evidence is incontestable," Robert Watson, chair of the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told delegates as the meeting got underway. "Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change." The heavily negotiated text does not make explicit policy recommendations, but will serve "as a basis for redefining our objectives" ahead of a key meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in China next Fall, said co-author Yunne Jai Shin, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles. (FILES) In this file illustration made in Paris on November 8, 2015 shows a figurine with a globe next to a miniature shopping cart.Scientists and diplomats from 130 countries are meeting from April 29, 2019 in Paris to adopt the first global assessment of ecosystems for nearly 15 years, a dark inventory of nature vital to humanity
U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi and John Katko want to know what the International Joint Commission is doing to prevent flooding along Lake Ontario.

Brindisi, D-Utica, and Katko, R-Camillus, co-authored a letter to Lana Pollack, U.S. section chair of the commission, requesting information about the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board's plan to address high water levels.

Federal, state and local officials are concerned that rising water levels will cause flooding in communities along Lake Ontario. The congressmen represent Oswego County, which was one of the counties that dealt with flooding in 2017.

Two years ago, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration due to Lake Ontario flooding.

As of Tuesday, Lake Ontario was at 247.38 feet  slightly below the 2017 level of 247.74 feet. The lake is more than a foot above its historical average for this time of year.

In their letter to Pollack, Brindisi and Katko ask the IJC chief to "outline the expected course of action for outflows through the Moses-Saunders Dam, as well as efforts that will be taken to ensure the interests of our coastal communities are reflected in actions taken by the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board."

It's the second letter Brindisi and Katko have sent to the IJC. They wrote a letter in March to urge the commission to prevent flooding.

"As constituents in our districts take necessary steps to prepare for severe flooding, the IJC and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board must take substantive action to address the serious threat that currently faces coastal communities," the congressmen said Wednesday.

Katko has criticized the IJC in the past because of the commission's adoption of Plan 2014, a water level management strategy. Some officials, including Katko, have blamed Plan 2014 for the flooding two years ago and the rising water levels this year.

Record rainfall was the main factor that led to flooding in 2017. The other Great Lakes drain into Lake Ontario, which makes rising water levels more likely when there is heavy precipitation.

Katko and other officials have urged the IJC to maximize outflows. The commission maintained high outflows for two months, but lowered them due to major flooding along portions of the St. Lawrence River.

The commission said Tuesday that outflows are now 215,400 cubic feet per second, down from 307,600 cubic feet per second in mid-April.

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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The Skaneateles Lake Association has hired a new executive director to replace its first director, the group announced in a press release Friday.

Frank Moses, who previously served as director of community engagement and organizational advancement for FOCUS Greater Syracuse, will start in the position on May 15.

Current director Rachael DeWitt, who was hired last year as the association's first executive director, is leaving to study at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California-San Diego.

Moses received an undergraduate degree from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry with an emphasis on environmental policy and management. When Moses went on to Paul Smith's College to study water and lake ecology, his researched focused on the impact of aquatic invasive species on lakes in the Adirondacks.

Moses also previously served as the director of the Montezuma Audubon Center in Wayne and Seneca counties, and helped establish the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

Members of the public will be able to meet Moses on May 26 at the lake association's Legacy Fund kickoff event Memorial Day weekend celebration at the Skaneateles Country Club.

Staff writer Ryan Franklin can be reached at (315) 282-2252 or ryan.franklin@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @RyanNYFranklin

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The supposed anti sex trafficking law FOSTA/SESTA passed by Congress last year staged a direct attack on Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, but this week in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Section 230the law that establishes the basis for free online communicationreceived a solid vote of Constitutional confidence, in the courts opinion issued in a lawsuit over guns.

Section 230 established that the operator of an interactive computer service such as an internet provider, social media platform or blogging site, among others, cannot be held legally responsible for content published online by third parties on the service.

Thanks to Section 230, service providers and platforms are not forced into the impossible task of strictly policing all content on their services, allowing users to post whatever they wantand take responsibility for it. Because of Section 230, the internet has no gatekeepers, and information can be shared freely online.

But FOSTA blew a hole in Section 230, creating an exception that makes service providers responsible for any activity deemed to promote sex trafficking, even if posted by third-part users without the site-operators knowledge or input.

The Wisconsin case also appeared poised to blast another hole in the internet freedom law, and in fact, that is exactly what happened when the case of Daniel v. Armslist went to a state court of appeals last year.

In the case, Yasmeen Daniel, the daughter of a woman slain by her estranged husband, sued the site Armslist, a service that connected gun buyers with sellers. Daniel said that because the homicidal ex-husband purchased his gun via Armslist, the site should be held responsible for her mothers death. Because Armslist allows sales by private gun-sellers, who are not required to run federal background checks on purchasers, the ex-husband was able to purchase a firearm even though, due to a domestic violence restraining order, he was legally prohibited from buying a gun.

A Wisconsin appeals court agreed with Daniel in April of 2018, ruling that she could get around Section 230 by suing Armslist not as a publisher, but over the design and operation of its site. Daniel argued that flaws in the sites design allowed what should have been a banned gun purchase.

Lawsuits have frequently attempted to use the design and operation tactic as a way around Section 230, most recently in a case involving the gay dating app Grindr, a case on which AVN.com reported. But in the Grindr case, as in previous cases, a court rejected the attempt to sue a site as a defective product, rather than as a publisher.

The Wisconsin appellate court, however, failed to follow that precedent, and on Tuesday of this week, the states Supreme Court reversed the appellate decision, reaffirming the power of Section 230, as the site TechDirt reported.

There is always more at stake than just the case at hand, wrote TechDirt journalist Cathy Gellis. Whittling away at Section 230's important protection because one plaintiff may be worthy leaves all the other worthy online speech we value vulnerable.

Though FOSTA may have created a Section 2309 exception for sex trafficking, it did not create one for gun trafficking, according to the court, which wrote in its opinion, Because all of Daniel's claims for relief require Armslist to be treated as the publisher or speaker of information posted by third parties on armslist.com, her claims are barred by Section 230.

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Senate Republicans are again pushing State Treasurer Dale Folwell's request to limit risk in the underfunded state pension plan by narrowing the number of retirement options.The Repeal Risky Retirement Payments Act, as Senate Bill 374 is titled, divides Republicans against Democrats, and pits the N.C. Association of Educators against the State Employees Association of North Carolina.The Senate Pensions, Retirement, and Aging Committee S.B. 374 Thursday, April 11. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take it up Tuesday.The bill would repeal two unpredictable retirement payment methods after July 1, 2020. Bill sponsors say those complicated alternatives make it difficult for the Treasurer's Office and General Assembly to determine how much money to set aside each year to cover the retirement system's future costs. Opponents say courts consider the benefits a property right and the benefits offer an incentive for people to work for the government.North Carolina's $94.2 billion public employees retirement system is one of the best funded in the nation. But it lost $4.1 billion in 2018, and has $17 billion in unfunded liabilities. National bond rating agencies increasingly frown on state pension deficits. Left unresolved, they could lower a state's bond rating, causing higher interests rates when borrowing money for projects.said Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba. He and Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, are primary sponsors of the bill.Wells said.Under the bill, Social Security leveling would be dropped. It provides higher initial pension payouts to those choosing early retirement. Pension payments are reduced when the retiree collects Social Security benefits. The object is to keep the early retiree's income stable before and after receiving Social Security.Sam Watson, Treasurer's Office general counsel, said Social Security leveling has complex administrative challenges. He cited recent audited accounts of 41 retirees who received $6.1 million in collective overpayments due to administrative errors.State Treasurer Dale Folwell said the pension's assumed rate of return is unrealistically high. The rate has failed to hit its target over the past two decades, and won't achieve it in the next 20 years. Repealing two "pop-up" retirement options would help stabilize the pension.Pop-ups allow pensioners to designate a spouse or child to receive some or all of their retirement benefits. If the designee dies before the retiree, the retiree reclaims full benefits. Folwell supported a similar reform last session in Senate Bill 117 , but the measure didn't pass.Folwell said.Committee Democrats said the changes would be unconstitutional. They would lead to court challenges similar to earlier ones which said defined pension benefits were a property right. Democrats also noted Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 1055 last year over concerns about constitutionality and costs. That omnibus bill contained a provision similar to S.B. 374.Sen. Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg, said it would be a mistake to take away the early retirement option from teachers. They aren't paid well, and that option is an incentive for them to enter the profession, she said.Teachers lobbyist Marge Foreman said it is unfair to penalize educators for lawmakers' failure to fund the retirement system, and for treasurers making bad investment decisions.But SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley said the employees association leadership diligently studied S.B. 374, and supports it. Making compromises to keep the pension plan sustainable may be necessary, Beasley said.
Early Friday evening a a two-vehicle crash backed up traffic on a busy Billings West End street and sent three people to a hospital, said Billings Police Department Sgt. Clyde Reid.

The wreck at 24th Street West and King Avenue West occurred after 6 p.m. One vehicle remained on its roof after the crash. Extent of injuries is unknown at this time, Reid said.

Police advised the public traffic near the wreck would be slow while they investigate. Portions of King Avenue were blocked to traffic as of 7 p.m. The public was encouraged to use alternate routes to avoid the intersection.

The Billings Police Department is investigating.

BPD officers also responded to a second rollover accident in the Heights Friday night.

Just before 9:30 p.m. a vehicle crashed with a U-haul truck on the 2200 block of Main Street. The car was left resting on its hood. It's unknown if there were injuries at this time.

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RED LODGE  The Red Lodge Carnegie Library recently announced the third program in its weekly Lunch and Learn public-speaker series, which takes place at the library on the third Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, May 21, Caroline Patterson, author and teacher at the University of Montana, will present Montana Women Writers, according to an email from the library.

The community is invited to join Patterson as she provides a survey of Montana women writers, from early Native American writers through homesteaders and settlers such as Mary Ronan and Nannie Alderson. Patterson will also discuss Mary MacLane of Butte, a writer in the mining days, and writers of the progressive era of Montana, Frieda Fliegelman and Grace Stone Coates. Patterson will conclude with contemporary women poets, memoirists and fiction writers who have helped to reinterpret and re-envision the American West, such as Judy Blunt, Sandra Alcosser, Melissa Kwansy, Maile Meloy, Deirdre McNamer and Tami Haaland.

The Lunch and Learn events begin at noon with a homemade lunch of soup, bread and dessert for $5 (payable by cash or check at the door). The free programs start at 12:30 p.m.
Along with the Moss Mansion grant, the foundation last month also awarded grants to two projects in Lavina.

It gave a $5,000 grant to the Golden Valley Community Foundation that will help restore the exterior of the Lavina State Bank Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also awarded a $3,500 grant to the Friends of the Historic Adams Hotel to repaint the exterior siding of the building. The 22-room hotel was built in 1908.

Charlene Porsild, president and CEO of the foundation, explained that the goal was not only to help fund these small projects, but also to spark further development.

"We leverage private dollars," Porsild said. "We raise money and then we go out to these communities and say, 'How can we help you?'"

Along with the grants, the Montana History Foundation offers training on grant writing to the small organizations they help. That training allows these groups to apply for bigger grants that ultimately lead to greater financial support for their projects.
The DEQ has 60 days from April 26 to do one of three things: issue a letter to the company requiring more information; approve the permit; or extend the review period an additional 30 days, after which the DEQ must either issue a deficiency letter or approve the permit.

The public may continue to comment during the review period.

Concerns

The decision follows a packed public meeting held April 17 in Shepherd.

A citizens group called Saving Shepherd has produced a website outlining concerns ranging from water pollution of Crooked Creek  a tributary to the Yellowstone River  water depletion in the areas aquifer, noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution and the threat of decreased property values. It also encourages residents to comment to DEQ.

A lot of our concerns are valid, especially the water table is very high out here, said Kati Grove, who lives about a half-mile from the proposed pit.
A car crashed into a power pole on Hallowell Lane causing a power outage to about 240 customers on Billings South Side late Friday.

A customer service representative from NorthWestern energy confirmed the cause of the outage. A technician was on scene at 12:15 a.m. Power was restored just before 2:15 a.m., according to a NorthWestern energy spokesperson.

The 19-year-old female driver from Billings lost control of the car when she took a corner too fast and overcorrected, Billings Police Department Sgt. Shane Winden said.

Winden did not know how fast she was going. She was not intoxicated, he said.

She was cited for careless driving, driving without insurance and driving while suspended. She did not have a valid driver's license, he said. She had a minor injury, he said.

A Subaru Outback remained on Hallowell Lane after the wreck. American Medical Response and Billings police and firefighters responded to the scene.

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An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline got blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

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The so-called Montana Born Alive Infant Protection Act is nothing more than a political gimmick designed to elevate a nonexistent problem into a wedge to use against supporters of abortion rights.

There is no such thing as legislatively protected infanticide in Montana  or anywhere else in the United States. The myth that doctors are murdering newborns following a failed abortion is a cynical, dishonest and fear-mongering tactic designed to get headlines. This is a junk science bill that wont protect any mothers health or save any infants life.

The bills sponsor, state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, knows this, but he and his colleagues are rushing to make Montana central to the campaign to pass harsh and unconstitutional legislation that would join the numerous legal cases seeking to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade via a Supreme Court ruling.

We dont need this kind of spotlight. Women in Montana have other, more pressing needs. Despite ranking fourth in the nation in publicly funded womens health services needs met, Montana, ranks 41st in uninsured women.
In North Dakota, travel matters. From families that frequent local ice cream parlors to tour groups immersing themselves at vibrant art venues, to new residents calling North Dakota their forever home, to the brewery down the street, travel and tourism are vital elements of our states legendary story.

More than 2,900 businesses classified as tourism make up the third-largest industry in the state, contributing billions of dollars to our economy. National Travel and Tourism Week is a time to share the stories behind the travel; stories grounded in people who find passion in their work and its impact on the industry.

Gov. Doug Burgum has proclaimed Sunday through May 11 as Travel and Tourism Week in North Dakota. For 36 years, communities nationwide have united around a common theme to laud travels contributions to the economy and American jobs. This year, we celebrate why Travel Matters each day by stimulating economic growth, personal well-being, hometown pride and connecting us all.

To honor travel and tourisms role in developing and sustaining dynamic communities, North Dakota Tourism launched its own Travel Matters series last year to introduce prospective visitors to our states greatest resource -- North Dakotans. By showcasing stories and videos of our remarkable people and destinations, visitors, job seekers and residents alike can discover why we call North Dakota home and why North Dakota allows all to be legendary.

With spring and summer travel on the minds of many, be sure to include the experiences found here in North Dakota. Search "ND Travel Matters" on NDtourism.com to view the growing videos of our neighbors who invite you to come meet my North Dakota. After all, when we are curious, we learn and explore the countless opportunities North Dakota has to offer, which reminds us why travel matters.

Sara Otte Coleman is the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism director.

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"Ultimately, this bill is not in line with interstate commerce law, and it's going to be litigated. We believe that litigation will prevail against the state of Washington."

-- Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, on a likely legal challenge to a Washington state bill that would reduce the volatility of crude oil shipped by rail.

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"We could come to a point where we have $1 billion in earnings, and that's why the conversation and the information is so important because a plan really has to be set in place. I think that the people of North Dakota are expecting a plan."

-- State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt, on the need for a study on how to use the Legacy Fund.

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"People just came and worked hard and did their job."

-- Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, on the legislative session.

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"Certainly at the end, it feels like there is a lot more cooperation and collaboration between the House and Senate this go-around."

-- Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, evaluating the legislative session.

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"It's going to have impact longer than a generation. It's going to have impact that goes beyond a city or a region, and it's going to be a national and international impact."

 Gov. Doug Burgum, on the importance of funding the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

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"It's very, very confusing. It's a very odd loophole. It's putting a criminal proceeding standard into a civil proceeding with no trial."

-- Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, criticizing changes in his civil asset forfeiture reform bill. The bill was passed by the House, 55-37, and the Senate, 43-4.

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"The job of the auditor is to keep people out of trouble, not to go out there looking for trouble."

-- Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, voicing support for a measure that requires the state auditor to receive approval from the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee before conducting performance audits.

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"Our nation mourns with all those who held a special place in their hearts for this sacred place."

-- Chairman Mark Fox of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, after the historical Memorial Congregational Church burned.

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"The problem we're running into in Bismarck and Mandan is ... if we reduce service by very much, we run the risk of losing one or two of those increments of (federal) funding that we've received in 2019. This starts to put us in that quintessential between a rock and a hard place.'"

-- DeNae Kautzmann, on the challenges facing Bis-Man Transit.

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"Motorists were noticing the settlement ... you were starting to get the famous bump at the bridge that nobody really likes and takes out mufflers all the time."

 Ron Farmer, a representative of Short-Elliott-Hendrickson Inc., on the problems with the East Century Avenue Bridge approach embankments.

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Im kind of tired of In re Tam also. But I have been a bit surprised that there has not been a more discussion, or as far as I can... The post 43(a)? It...

19 hours ago
On May 1st, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a Catholic church named after the saintly carpenter and foster father to Jesus, tragically burned to the ground in Phoenix, Arizona.

On the very same May 1st in Europe it was a state holiday. It was International Workers Day, also known as Labor Day, when the workforce traditionally enjoys a day of non-work.

As Europeans picnicked and leisured, in the dark Arizona desert hell broke loose in the form of a fiery blaze to St. Joseph Churchs roof. Though only 50 years old, its demise seemed all too eerily similar to the inferno that devastated Frances Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral only a few weeks ago.

I have always had strange pangs about enjoying any genuine non-work time on Labor Day, as a Catholic American living and working in Rome. I inevitably will find some excuse to get some work done, even if it is sweaty yard work. The Phoenix tragedy reminded me of my own spiritual and worker proclivities.

May 1st is not a day to navel gaze about our glorious work-related personal achievements. Much less is it a day to celebrate the public system nor a day to worship our laborious collective efforts within it. We are not supposed to celebrate ourselves as 9-to-5 heroes laboring Monday to Friday toward a semi-divine societal cause. It is what Marxist propagandists, who originally established the public holiday to commemorate the bloody Haymarket Square Riots of May 4, 1886, wanted their valued workers to think and feel. They wanted them to be honored as precious cogs in the wheels of their centrally planned and utopia-creating machines.

The burning down of St. Josephs Church in Phoenix may not be a symbolic coincidence after all, but rather a purposefully planned crime to desecrate Christianitys supreme patron of work.

It conveniently falls along a sad trajectory of Christian bloodshed set in motion in the 20th century (like never before in human history) when collectivist dictators like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, sent millions to death for having a competing religious belief. They were murdered and worked to death in labor camps primarily for believing in a God who is the independent Author of their inalienable human rights and liberties. They did not fit into in the unbending homogeneous rules created by an Almighty Autocratic State with little respect for their individuality. So they were gotten rid of like rodents.

In brief, on May 1st, or any any other day, Christians are not supposed to celebrate heaven on earth or to worship their own work, but rather pay homage to a great saint in heaven. They are called to venerate the most exemplary human worker, St. Joseph, who dutifully labored for God, His Son, and to maintain His Holy Family. St. Joseph the Worker was the very antithesis of an impersonal State which seeks to replace family love and charity through public doles and welfare.

As Bishop Robert Barron, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reminds us in a recent article Violence against Christians and the Warnings of Reason, we are to never forget  especially on May 1st, that it was State-worshiping communist and socialists leaders of our recent past who systematically executed the greatest number of Christians since the Church was founded.

There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in all of the previous nineteen centuries combined. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and many of their lesser-known totalitarian colleagues put millions of Christians to death for their faith in that terrible hundred-year period, Barron writes.

If the Phoenix church burning is, in fact, result of arson, it will go down in history as part of a series of unstoppable and intensifying global persecutions of Christians, their lives, and their houses of worship over the past few years. As we just witnessed with martyrs slain in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings, crosses painted in excrement on church walls and a murdered elderly priest in France, and just a few days ago in Cesena, Italy, as inebriated vandals entered yet another sanctuary to destroy its precious artifacts.

The question is will it ever cease? One of the saddest features of the still-young twenty-first century, Barron concludes, is that this awful trend is undoubtedly continuing.

The good news is there was hope seen when the flames were finally doused at St. Josephs Church in Phoenix. Just as in the aftermath of the Notre Dame fire, there stood tall and bright through the hot steam and smoldering embers a miraculously well-preserved Cross. It was an auspicious oracle to all those who follow God, the only Author of their rights: He and His Church will never perish at the hands of evil.

(Photo credit for featured image: Screenshot from YouTube)
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
News / National

by newzimbabwe

A pre-election political marriage of convenience, between the Nelson Chamisa led MDC and Transform Zimbabwe fronted by Jacob Ngarivhume has ended.The union was part of a pre-election pact cobbled by opposition parties to form the MDC Alliance in a bid to unseat Zanu-PF but was unsuccessful.While former MDC secretary generals Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti have successfully been integrated back into the MDC, the situation has been different with Ngarivhume confirming he was going solo, at least for now."We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organization and then work with the alliance in 2023," said Ngarivhume.The other members of the coalition were faction of Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP), Ncube's MDC, Zanu Ndonga led by Denford Musiyarira, Multi-Racial Christian Democratic Party and Zimbabwe People First fronted by Agrippa Mutambara.Ncube is now Chamisa's deputy while Biti currently serves as vice national chairperson. The two are angling to be vice presidents at the upcoming congress set for this month.While Ngarivhume was unwilling to be dragged into the reasons for his leaving. Relations between him and Chamisa took a nosedive when he had an MDC candidate fielded in a constituency he had been allocated in the run-up to last year's general elections.The Transform Zimbabwe leader however said his party could still go into another pre-election coalition with the MDC in the next election."Transform Zimbabwe executive felt we can add more value as TZ to the democratic movement. We want to build more our organisation and then work with the alliance in 2023," he said.Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue."I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Special Anti-Corruption Unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's office has opened a fresh probe into Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) senior managers over multi-million dollar vehicle insurance tender fraud, it has emerged.The probe is targeting former Zinara acting chief executive officer Moses Juma, finance director Simon Taranhike and director for human resources and administration Precious Murove.The trio allegedly flouted tender procedures by directing insurance service providers to work with a company known as ICEcash which had not participated in a tendering process to issue electronic vehicle insurance cover notes.The Special Anti-Corruption Unit's chair Thabani Vusa Mpofu, an experienced prosecutor, confirmed the investigation, but declined to give further details, saying pre-empting via the press would "jeopardise investigations".The case has been dragging on since September 2016.Information at hand indicates that the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) called for a tender to recruit and select a provider to develop a third-party electronic cover note issuance system for vehicles.A lot of companies responded to the tender invitation and a shortlist drawn from the applicants had Courteville Solutions from Nigeria, Agilies from India, Westchase from Zimbabwe and Emali from South Africa.Courteville won the tender, prompting the ICZ to sign an agreement with Courteville Solutions.However, sources close to proceedings said the deal was hijacked by ICEcash which is related to Emali."How Zinara comes into the picture is through the fact that for the electronic cover note system to achieve its biggest objective of stopping fake insurance, enforcement had to be computerised. This would be achieved by having a data sharing agreement between the insurance industry and Zinara. This meant both bodies would be able to access the same database for the purposes of issuing the insurance cover and Zinara issuing road licences. So all Zinara agents would do before issuing a licence would be to go into the system and check if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to buy the licence for," a source said."The insurance industry would create a portal that would allow Zinara to access insurance information of the vehicle that wanted to purchase road licence and if the insurance was valid for the period the motorist wanted to licence the vehicle for, go ahead and issue it. Because both the insurance and licensing systems are cloud based, the former arrangement was better, given the connectivity issues of Zimbabwe. So whilst the insurance industry was trying to complete the arrangement for the complete process through a data-sharing agreement with Zinara, Serge was busy sabotaging the whole thing through several ways that included writing a letter to Zinara discrediting Courteville."Eventually Zinara issued a directive to the insurance industry asking them to all sign with ICEcash for the purposes of issuing electronic cover notes. ICEcash are one and same company with Emali."According to the sources, the order instructing companies to engage ICEcash came from Juma, who claimed he was acting on behalf of the Transport ministry.ICZ chief executive Oliver Guni declined to comment on the matter."The ICZ is unable to comment on the matter at this stage as it is still under investigation," he said.It also emerged that Courteville Solutions made spirited efforts to save the deal but to no avail.A letter by Courtville Solutions executive director Oye Ogundele, who is based in Lagos, Nigeria, dated September 26, 2016 and addressed to the then Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) chief executive Cletus Chitambira indicates that the company made frantic efforts to have the deal implemented."As you are aware, there is an ongoing mediation by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development on the stalled process of deploying the ICZ/Courtville system for electronic cover note after our appeal letter to the minister following our inability to reach an amicable conclusion at the meeting with Zinara. To this effect, a meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 and the following resolution was reached at the meeting; that Zinara shall henceforth deal with ICZ directly for anything that has to do with electronic cover notes and that Zinara shall not in any way form or deal directly with individual insurance companies. With immediate effect, Courtville can activate its system to allow members of ICZ to issue electronic cover notes on the platform but without interaction with Zinara's system until the security clearance for Courtville is done," the letter, which sources say was ignored, reads.ICEcash officials could not be reached for comment as their mobile number was unreachable while Juma is currently serving a prison term for a related offence.
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE have busted a four-man-syndicate that was producing fake national identity cards, drivers' licences and defensive drivers' certificates among other documents countrywide. Police did not release the names of the accused persons but they reside in Harare.The syndicate's activities, police said, had far reaching consequences as companies nationwide may have engaged people to positions of authority and trust on the basis of forged qualifications.Speaking during a ZRP Crime Watch programme on ZBC TV, Officer-in-Charge Harare Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) Inspector James Chimombe said the suspects are being charged with 15 counts of fraud and 48 counts of unlawfully possessing national identification cards."Police from the CPU received information from the public that there were criminals who were going around town supplying citizens with fake driver's licences, national identity cards, defensive driver's certificates and skilled worker certificates."The team managed to arrest the accused person who led them to the office of the perpetrator who was arrested in his office while he was busy producing some certificates. The team conducted a search and managed to arrest four accused persons," he said.Insp Chimombe said police recovered the materials that they were using to make the documents and have since taken the case to the commercial crime unit Harare province for investigations.He said the criminals were also forging certificates of skilled worker qualifications duping many corporates and employees."We have since checked with the manpower planning and development board who confirmed that the certificates are forged documents which poses a risk to our manpower in the country," Insp Chimombe said.Officer-in-Charge of the Harare Crime Control Unit (CCU) Assistant Inspector Blessing Mutumbi said the suspects took original national identity cards and defaced them, leaving only the security features appearing on the actual identity card."They then superimpose them with information printed on paper such that one cannot notice that it's a fake document. These criminals even use the same font used on actual documents," he said.Officer-in-Charge CCU Insp Ngoni Kutadzaushe said police are engaging the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and the Registrar General's office in investigating the case."This case has a national impact and many companies and individuals might have fallen victim to such activities hence we are intensifying investigations," he said.Harare Central and Suburban districts Officer-in-Charge Insp Joshua Kadungu said the arrest was a milestone achievement for the police."We are expecting a decrease in crime as perpetrators have been held accountable. Anyone who knows people producing such documents should report to their nearest police station," he said.Police urged service providers who will be issuing documents to members of the public to educate them on the security features that are found on actual Zimbabwean documents to reduce crimes of this nature."We also urge members of the public to go to relevant offices to access documents because they are duped at unregistered service providers. Do not to consult any agencies in matters concerning identity particulars," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

IT is the battle of the titans in the MDC as party bigwigs vying for the three vice presidency posts defied the National Council to withdraw from the race ahead of the party's congress later this month in Gweru.Eight candidates, namely Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Elias Mudzuri, Morgen Komichi, Lilian Timvoes, Lynnette Karenyi Kore, Paurina Mpariwa and Tracey Mutinhiri are all vying for the party's three vice presidency slots.Party's spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that none among the bigwigs have withdrawn from the cluttered race to deputise Nelson Chamisa who is now waiting to be anointed when the party congregates from the 24th to the 26th of this month."We are still waiting for people to make withdrawals but so far no one has withdrawn maybe because Wednesday was a holiday. But if there is no consensus then there will be elections," said Mafume.After a national council meeting last weekend, the MDC resolved that candidates who had been nominated were supposed to build consensus among themselves and minimise friction."All nominees had been given up to Tuesday (last week) to accept nominations or to withdraw. Where more than two candidates accept the nomination, they are encouraged to discuss in the spirit of consensus building," read part of the resolutions.However, the die is cast as all the candidates start to campaign for a fight that will either prop them up the political ladder or completely off the radar if they lose.Mafume said as things stand the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has already started the process of producing ballots."Since there are no agreements we are now going for contestations which will be superintended by the ZCTU. The Electoral Commission shall then produce ballots on every position where more than one candidate decide to contest. The positions to be contested include the president, vice president, national chairperson, secretary-general and treasurer-general," said Mafume.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Condolences are pouring in from all corners following the passing of EFF leader Julius Malema's grandmother, Koko Sarah Malema.Malema on Saturday tweeted a tribute to his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday morning."Our pillar of strength has fallen, the great tree that provided cooling shades of comfort, love and stability have been uprooted, forever, from our lives. I love you, my confidant..." Malema said.The ANC sent a message of condolences to Malema and his family."The ANC has learnt with sadness about the passing of Koko Sarah Malema, the grandmother to Mr Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF. The ANC conveys its deepest condolences to the Malema family."Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during their moment of grief. Koko Sarah Malema's life must be celebrated. She was a pillar of strength for her family. May the soul of Koko Sarah Malema rest in eternal peace," said the ANC.President Cyril Ramaphosa has also conveyed his message of support."This bereavement is felt more sorely because of the special relationship Mr Malema enjoyed with his grandmother. I too have fond memories of Koko Malema following an opportunity I had to speak to her when she was in hospital. It is my hope that Mr Malema will draw strength from his beloved grandmother's values and her presence in his life."DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: "To my fellow Brother, Leader of the EFF @ Julius_S_Malema I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the passing of your grandmother. We all know very well how much your grandmother meant to you and as such I pray with you and wish you strength.Other politicians and public figures also paid their respects on social media.
Opinion / Columnist

In his message to workers on the eve of the Workers' Day President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, and I quote "we must no longer merely survive, now is the time for us to blossom, thrive and prosper as a nation, as a people" and indeed as the Zanu PF Youth League we are confident that this will be a reality sooner than later.President ED Mnangagwa has opened up Zimbabwe for investment, removing bottlenecks that impended economic growth and opening himself to public scrutiny and engagement with stakeholders.Every minister, civil servant and business should religiously complement the President's efforts. His leadership style is reflective and a constant reminder to the model of Servant Leadership, it is a style he executes so well and with brilliance that slowly, even the naysayers are now appreciating that there is light at the end of the tunnel.Unfortunately, while our President has been an exemplary leader, traversing the globe and almost abandoning his roles as a father, it is of major concern to us that some in civil service including some businesses are either sleeping on the job or they are pulling in the opposite direction.We would like to call ministers, and other stakeholders in key sectors of the economic, be it service delivery or economic players to open up and appraise the nation on the progress they have made if any, and the challenges they face in executing their roles.It is trite that the party is supreme to government, but, and worryingly so, some civil servants view the party with disdain and a condescending attitude, forgetting that they are in a Zanu PF Government.We challenge ministers to open up, just as "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" and periodically inform the nation through various forms of the media what they will be doing, their failures and success.They are some senior civil servants who are now living in the lap of luxury, smug in their comfort zones they forget the reason why they are in Government, sometimes such officials, declare reckless statements that sadly are not a reflection of the thinking in Zanu-PF or the President.Yes, there are some public officials we are not even proud to associate with as the Zanu-PF Youth League, these people are in the habit of starting fires that they cannot douse, these people, soon, we will name and shame them and ask the party to recall them from whatever posts they are basking in.We want accountability in all sectors and that should start in ministries that remain closed to public scrutiny and engagement even when the President himself is accessible. The following sectors and players should update the nation periodically.Energy in particular fuel sector Food sector industry Monetary Authorities Transport Information Parliament Anti Corruption Justice System Our people deserve better from all public and private institutions as both are designed to serve the people of Zimbabwe not the other way round. Some pronounce policies that are inconsistent with the President's thrust to turn around the economy while others have become saboteurs to the President's vision.That must stop now. All those who receive foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) should be audited and the results must be publicised. Those who abuse the foreign currency allocation scheme should go to jail and banned from future allocations.All those breaking the country's laws should be brought to book. Violent characters and sponsors of anarchy should face the full wrath of law. Non governmental organisations sponsoring regime change should be banned immediately.We cannot continue to be romantic with those interfering with our politics, leaving their mandate. We would like to see all corrupt elements at whatever level going to jail whatever their social standing.Parliament should also play its part and enact laws that protect the general public from economic saboteurs. We do not expect double standards from parliamentarians and any corrupt legislator has no role in the august House, but rather a place in Chikurubi.MPs cannot expect good perks from Government while at the same time supporting sanctions that hurt the general public and Government, it is high time we enact laws that address the issue of sanctions and authors of Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA).While we are appreciative of the liberalisation of the media and enjoyment of civic rights we are appalled by the abuse of the media especially the social media, which is causing unnecessary suffering among the people of Zimbabwe through misinformation.At a major cost to the country's image dangerous information is being spread and hurting national interests. Equally, irresponsible media houses should be dealt in terms of the law. Because their actions or rather distortions are hurting the country especially its image and we cannot afford to stand akimbo while our Great Country is dented by surrogates of imperial powers.Those playing politics of the stomach and also who are into rent-seeking should be stopped forthwith. Licence of such businesses should fall while responsible players should be supported through licences and loans.The time to confront those working against the President's vision is now. We want answers now otherwise these purveyors of doom will destroy the hope created by the New Dispensation.
Person using calculator next to charts and graphs

When it comes to investing like the worlds best, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to have the worlds biggest bank account.

You just have to follow the same simple guidelines: invest for the long haul.

Beyond that, investors should look for stocks that have strong brand power, low cost of production compared to their peers, and can repeat the same sales for years to come.

If youre looking into new stocks to invest in, you dont necessarily have to be looking for high-risk, high-reward options. Instead, even during an economic peak or valley, your investment should continue to do well if youre planning to hold onto it for years to come.

Right now is actually a great time to be doing this, and there are some companies out there that some of the biggest investors in the world are starting to put their money on.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) may not be what it once was, but thats likely a good thing. The company that brought you BBM created a trend, and trends die; as did this company, frankly. But BlackBerry is now back from the dead and investing in an entirely new stream of production.

BlackBerry is now an enterprise software company, with a current focus on cybersecurity, the company acquiring Cylance in early 2019. While acquisitions like this will bring the companys top line down in the short term, over the long term is the start of real a real growth opportunity. The stock may only reach $16 per share by the end of the year, but that leaves plenty of room to grow.

Brookfield

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN)(NYSE:BIP) is on the opposite spectrum, currently at an all-time high at $55.75 per share at the time of writing. But again, if youre looking for a long-term buy, this one provides an excellent opportunity.

The biggest clue for investors should be the companys share split announcement back in 2016, when the company issued new shares to shareholders turning, say, 100 shares to 150 shares overnight. Since then, a share-repurchase plan was also put in place for 13.82 million shares, which management only does when they believe shares are undervalued.

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And frankly, it likely is. This company has been one of the most reliable on the TSX for years, outpacing its market average. That isnt set to change as the company has a number of infrastructure projects in the pipeline (pardon the pun) for years to come and cash flow continuing to come in from literally around the world.

Royal Bank

Another company at an all-time high is Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY). Now, as Ive recommended in the past, you could wait for this stock to drop before buying, which its likely to do. A housing crisis will certainly hurt Royal Bank, and an incoming recession will definitely provide a buying opportunity in the near future.

But again, if youre planning on purchasing for the long haul, it shouldnt scare you that youre not buying at drastically low prices. Honestly, any dramatic dips have quickly rebounded within a month or so if you look at this stocks historical performance, so I wouldnt fret all that much.

Instead, look at how this bank has managed to rebound after any catastrophe, and its room to grow. After the Great Recession it fared as one of the best banks in the world coming out of 2008, and its recent focus on growing its wealth and commercial clients in the U.S. should provide the company with some serious growth coming out of next year. In fact, analysts predict the stock could rise to $130 in the next 12 months.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of BlackBerry. BlackBerry and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 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
Two hands holding champagne glasses toasting each other with Paris in the background

Finding the perfect investment mix that can offer growth and income-earning opportunities while still adhering to having a somewhat diversified portfolio can be a daunting task, as many times those great investments are clustered around one particular segment of the market, such as banking or utilities.

For those investors looking to diversify their portfolios with several unique and promising investments, here are three companies worthy of consideration.

Canadian Western (TSX:CWB) is not a bank that we often hear about, but investors wanting to add a bank to their portfolio would be wise to take a look at the Edmonton-based bank. Why should you consider investing in Canadian Western? That would come down to a slew of strong results, a healthy dividend, and strong growth prospects.

First, the bank reported strong results in the most recent quarter, which runs contrary to the weak quarter that many of the big banks recently reported. Specifically, net income registered a 7% uptick, while revenue saw an increase of 10%, coming in at $66.5 million and $212.4 million, respectively. While those amounts may pale in comparison to the big banks, Canadian Western also managed a phenomenal 10% loan growth and 13% term deposit growth during the quarter, which is something that long-term investors should take into consideration.

Finally, theres the dividend. Canadian Westerns quarterly dividend offers a yield of 3.73%, which, while lower than some of the larger banks, continues to see strong growth year after year, with the bank now boasting 27 years of consecutive growth  a feat that beats many of the Big Banks.

Canadian Western trades just shy of $30 with a P/E of 10.42.

Telus (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is one of the big telecoms in Canada, offering subscription-based TV, internet, wired and wireless service to customers across large parts of the country. Across all of those segments, Teluss wildly popular wireless service is what investors should be looking at most.

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In a little over a decade, wireless devices have gone from being seen solely as communication devices to being vital to our daily lives. We are on our cell phones for longer periods of time, consuming more data with each passing year on a greater variety of applications that are steadily eliminating single-purpose devices we no longer have a need for, ranging from alarm clocks and cameras to pens, notepads, music players, and maps.

In terms of results, Telus boasted strong revenue growth of 6.3% in the most recent quarter, while EBITDA growth registered an equally impressive 4.3%. The company also added 112,000 net additions to its wireless network, while improving customer retention to an industry-leading 0.91% churn. Across the company, Telus registered 164,000 new customers across all of its segments, including some of the best quarterly figures in half a decade.

Teluss quarterly dividend is reason enough for many to consider investing. The current 4.41% yield is respectable, but what really makes the stock shine are the long-term growth prospects for that dividend. Telus has maintained a CAGR of over 7% over the past several years, providing investors with annual or better upticks that have kept the company as an attractive pick for dividend investors. Turning back over a decade, the dividend has more than doubled, and theres little reason to doubt further increases will continue.

Telus currently trades just under $50 with a P/E of 18.50.

Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS) is a final pick that will power any portfolio to riches  literally. As one of the largest utilities on the continent, Fortis has a massive customer base that includes parts of Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. Part of the reason that Fortis is so large today is thanks to the companys incredible appetite for expansion, which has seen the company take on increasingly larger acquisitions over the years, allowing it to expand to new markets.

That growth has helped Fortis continue to provide annual growth to its quarterly dividend, which currently provides a 3.63% yield and boasts nearly four decades of annual, consecutive dividend hikes. Throw in the stable, if not lucrative business model that utilities operates under and Fortis emerges as the must-have investment for nearly any portfolio.

Fortis currently trades near $50 with a P/E of 19.56.

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Fool contributor Demetris Afxentiou has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
FILE - In this May 7, 2017 file photo, Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was in blatant violation of rules set out by the federal government restricting how the drug can be promoted, according to a leading expert on cannabis policy.

Deepak Anand, CEO and co-founder of the cannabis supply and distribution company Materia Ventures, and a renowned industry consultant, took to Twitter on Thursday with a screenshot of the provinces online cannabis store.

The image, which was also captured by Yahoo Finance Canada, shows the title Leafs By Snoop appearing above cannabis products.

Snoop Dogg promotes cannabis products under the name Leafs By Snoop. Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO), a longtime partner of the famous rapper, introduced the LBS branding a day before recreational legalization in Canada last year.

The title on the page has since been changed from Leafs By Snoop to LBS.

A screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website showing products endorsed by rapper Snoop Dogg on Friday, May 3, 2019.

The Cannabis Act, the federal legislation legalizing recreational use in Canada, states that it is prohibited to promote cannabis or a cannabis accessory or any service related to cannabis . . . by means of a testimonial or endorsement, however displayed or communicated and by means of the depiction of a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional.

This is a blatant violation of the Cannabis Act by a provincial government, Anand told Yahoo Canada Finance. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations that they have developed.

Cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser said the issue at hand is what exactly constitutes a depiction of a person and testimonial or endorsement under s.17(1) of the Cannabis Act.

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OCS spokesperson Amanda Winton said the Leafs By Snoop reference was posted due to a technical error and was corrected as soon as it was noticed.

Health Canada is tasked with monitoring regulated parties to verify compliance with the Cannabis Act.

Health Canada is aware of the issue you have raised and followed up with Ontario Cannabis Store yesterday, Health Canada senior media relations advisor Maryse Durette said in a statement to Yahoo Canada Finance. Ontario Cannabis Store informed Health Canada that they were already aware of the issue and had corrected their website.

Shortly after recreational legalization last October, Health Canada found New Brunswicks province-run online cannabis store ran afoul of the rules by displaying images of a woman doing yoga and a group of people smiling and taking a selfie.

In addition to rules on depictions of people and endorsements, the act forbids brand elements that evoke glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.

Cannabis NB said it made adjustments to its website.

The Wild West

The apparent disconnect between Ottawas rules and the influx of celebrity interest in the cannabis industry is causing confusion for companies looking to establish brands.

Anand, the former vice president of business development and government relations with the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance Inc., said advising clients on how to stay within the bounds of the law has been challenging.

While the rules expressly forbid celebrity promotion, many licensed cannabis producers have recruited star power to their brand.

Canopy works with Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Seth Rogan. The OCS sells a line of bongs, pipes and other accessories named after Bob Marley. OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI.V) has partnered with the Trailer Park Boys to develop a line of cannabis. The list goes on.

We see people every day asking if things are compliant, Anand said. I hope that Health Canada starts to enforce some of these regulations, or else we are going to see the wild west.

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A Buffalo Airways aircraft made a forced landing off the runway in Hay River, N.W.T., on Friday.

According to Katherine Defosse, Buffalo Airways communications director, the cause was a mechanical issue. She said the two crew members on board are safe.

The incident happened at about 8 a.m. Friday. Buffalo Airways 169, flying a DC-3, took off from Hay River to Yellowknife at 7:41 a.m., and then turned back toward Hay River. The aircraft headed for the airport but didn't make it.

The Transportation Safety Board says it is gathering information to decide whether it will send investigators.

It confirmed that moments before the landing the pilots told air traffic control they were "unsure" if they could make it back to the airport.

The pilot made a "forced" landing five nautical miles (nine kilometres) from runway 32.

Emergency crews, rangers dispatched

The town of Hay River dispatched emergency crews as close as possible to the crash site, said Judy Goucher, the town's senior administrative officer.

Fire crews were notified of the crash this morning and were on standby roughly three kilometres from the plane, which is not available by road access.

RCMP and Canadian Rangers dispatched all-terrain vehicles to retrieve the two people from the crash site, she said.

Ross Potter, the director of protective services for the Town of Hay River, said he was pleased to see RCMP, rangers and the town's first responders work together.

Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways, which operates World War II-era aircraft, was featured in History Television's Ice Pilots NWT. The airline operates passenger, charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting and fuel services, according to its website.

Buffalo Airways has a history of hard landings and other incidents. The company's licence was suspended by Transport Canada back in 2015; it was reinstated the following year.
Caitlin Brady speaks of socialism as though it's the only rational response to 21st-century America.

"I work full time, I work 40 hours a week, and I qualify for food stamps," the 31-year-old said, explaining why she volunteered for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) campaign in Chicago's municipal elections last month.

To get food stamps in Illinois means Brady makes no more than $1,670 US a month. She pays no income tax on that  but neither did tech behemoth Amazon pay tax on the reported $10.8 billion it made last year.

"The richest country in the history of the world," Brady said, "and I'm not able to put a roof over my head and eat."

Like many toiling in the trenches of the DSA campaign, Brady is a millennial. Born between the early 1980s and 2000, theirs is the biggest generation since the baby boom and the most likely to think the American Dream  success equals prosperity  is dead.

Chicago is a historically big "D" Democratic city, and for years it has operated a bit like a one-party state. Republicans don't figure much in its politics. Political offices are sometimes passed between generations of the same Democratic families.

But in recent years, the socialists have spotted weaknesses on the Democrats' left flank: unaffordable urban housing and unkept promises of rent control. They struck, painting the Democrats as sellouts to big real estate developers.

Caitlin Ochs/Reuters

On election night, the media clucked and fussed over Democrat Lori Lightfoot, the openly gay black woman chosen to replace Chicago's unbeloved Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But underneath that headline was the news that the socialists running for a handful of city council seats had won them all. Granted, that's only four. But it means they now have six spots out of 50 in the government of the third-largest metropolis in the country  socialism's biggest victory in modern American history.

There are varieties of socialism around the world, but in the American context, it is fundamentally about ensuring that the health and welfare of the people does not depend on the incentives of capitalism.

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"People over profits" was a popular rallying cry among Chicago's DSA. But the DSA did not insist that workers should control the means of production and promise to take over Amazon. They ran on affordable housing, universal health care and returning government to the people.

'It's back'

The results in Chicago were preceded by a tsunami of speculation about the resurrection of the American left why and where in the land it might or might not pop up.

In March, New York magazine churned out several thousand words trying to answer its own question: When did everyone become a socialist? On the right, The Weekly Standard (just before it folded in December) took aim at what it called "the illusory dream of democratic socialism" in a piece called "Up from the Grave," which began: "It's back."

In between, countless think pieces have analyzed what's going on, usually making a link to the unexpected successes of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (a.k.a. AOC). But the truth is the warming trend for socialism began before any of that.

CBC

Nearly a decade ago, the Pew Research Center reported that American millennials, a generation with growing political clout, saw the world differently than their forebears. A 2010 Pew study found that, as a whole, Americans strongly favoured capitalism over socialism, but millennials slightly favoured socialism over capitalism.

Perhaps because they had no memory of the Cold War, they didn't see socialism as a bogeyman. They were open to it.

A few years later, the political scientist and writer Peter Beinart took the Pew study and contextualized it in a widely read essay in the Daily Beast. Under the headline "The Rise of the New New Left," he tried to unpack how a promise to make the rich pay for universal childcare turned lefty Democrat Bill de Blasio into the mayor of New York. Priorities were disrupted, thought Beinart.

Response to 'fail decade'

With a hat tip to the sociologist Karl Mannheim, Beinart argued that only certain generations disrupt the status quo, and they do it because something irregular and meaningful happens during their formative years  late teens, early twenties  that forever colours their worldview.

The political coming of age for the first American millennials wasn't at all like the decades that preceded it. The 21st century opened with the catastrophes of what some describe as "the fail decade"  as Beinart wrote, "the decade of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis."

With striking prescience, he warned that both Republicans and Democrats had something to fear from a maturing generation that believes government should play an expanded role in their lives, and that status quo politics had failed.

More than three years ahead of the fateful 2016 election, Beinart predicted that in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton would be "vulnerable to a candidate who can inspire passion and embody fundamental change, especially on the subject of economic inequality and corporate power."

Beinart saw Senator Elizabeth Warren as that candidate. The eventual challenger turned out to be Bernie Sanders, but other than that, it seems Beinart was right.

Both Warren and Sanders are vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination saying corporate power needs stronger guardrails. Sanders describes himself sometimes as a socialist, sometimes as a democratic socialist  probably to avoid persnickety arguments about whether there's a difference between them.

Tiffany Foxcroft/CBC

Warren eschews both labels and claims that ideologically, she's "a capitalist to my bones." But her skepticism about unrestrained markets is as defiant as Sanders'. She's against what she calls "shareholder value maximization ideology."

For instance, she has proposed an "Accountable Capitalism Act" about corporate governance. If it were law, it would force certain big corporations to have federal charters and allow their shareholders to sue company directors if they act contrary to the interests of "all corporate stakeholders"  meaning running afoul of employee rights and environmental impacts.

That sounds like a shout-out to the socialists that, whether they want to or not, Democrats are hosting in their party.

Legacy tied to FDR, LBJ

"We're being the real Democrats, that's how I like to view it," said 30-year-old Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, now in his second term as a DSA city alderman in Chicago.

"We're being truer to the history of the party, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to Lyndon Baines Johnson."

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

There is truth to that. FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society are monumental figures in the history of the Democratic Party. They established unemployment insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, financial regulatory reforms and other programs that conservatives still dream of trying to roll back.

But the Democratic Party of FDR and LBJ was not the party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom extolled the virtues of leaner government. Clinton and Obama largely conceded to the economic arguments of the Reagan revolution, which conflated market freedom with personal freedom.

In his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton famously declared "the era of big government is over." Obama's autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, has grudging respect for Reagan scattered throughout it.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has wrestled with the ambitious vision of the socialists in her caucus, and she's unequivocal about where she stands. "That is not the view of the Democratic Party," she told CBS's 60 Minutes recently.

Nor, from a strictly utilitarian perspective, could it be. Pelosi became Speaker after the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. Their margin of victory had little to do with democratic socialist AOC winning her seat in the reliably Democratic district of the Bronx. It had everything to do with candidates such as Abby Finkenauer, who overturned a Republican in swing state Iowa's First District.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Put another way, the number of degrees Democrats can safely shift to the left in 2020 is probably less than AOC and some others elected in safe Democratic districts would like.

No one knows that better than President Donald Trump, who used his State of the Union speech in February to kick off his campaign against an imagined red menace.

"We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said, and then went on to define socialism as the monster that ate Venezuela. "America will never be a socialist country," he pledged, implying the nation could bank on that only as long as he was in the White House.

DSA members often say that when they think socialism, they think Denmark, not Venezuela. But Democrats won't get to argue that case in the 2020 election debate when Trump is already winding up his base with wild stories about a socialist dystopia. He recently warned that the Green New Deal means people will have to give up their cows.

There are many reasons that this is a watershed moment for Democrats.

Not only do they want to beat Trump in 2020; many feel it's their moral responsibility. But socialist talk is unnerving to those who fear ideological flirtations are better put on hold  at least until they've dealt with job one.

WATCH | Municipal election results in Chicago could signal a broader turn toward socialism in American politics:
Two cruise ships have sustained "minor damage" after they came into contact on Saturday morning near Vancouver's Canada Place.

The Port of Vancouver said in a written statement that at around 6:30 a.m. the Oosterdam was berthing when they came into contact with the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was at berth.

There were no injuries, and no pollution as a result of the incident, and cruise operations are continuing normally.

In a written statement, Erik Elvejord with the Holland American cruise line said that the incident happened closer to 6:50 a.m.

"Disembarkation on both ships proceeded as usual. Damage to Oosterdam is minimal. Six [...] stateroom verandahs on Nieuw Amsterdam require repairs which are underway," he wrote, adding that guests booked in those rooms will be given other accommodation.

CBC

Elvejord said that all required repairs are above the ships' waterlines, and that the seaworthiness of the ships is not affected.

The Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to depart today on a seven-day roundtrip to Alaska. The Oosterdam is scheduled to sail overnight to Seattle.

Elvejord said he does not anticipate that either itinerary will be affected.

Angela Hagen was packing up after a six-day cruise from San Diego on the Nieuw Amsterdam when she heard "lots of crunching and breaking of things."

At first, she thought the ship had hit the docks.

"My sister went out on the balcony and said 'we hit the other ship!'" she said.

Hagen said she could see the railing was gone from the rooms next to hers. They were briefly asked to leave but were eventually able to return to retrieve their luggage.

Transport Canada will work with the Holland America cruise line to fully assess the damage.
By Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapons into the East Sea in a military drill supervised by leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the North's state media reported on Sunday. The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units," the Korean Central News Agency said, implying that the latest firing was not the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States. Kim gave an order of firing and stressed the need to "increase the combat ability so as to defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance" of North Korea in the face of threats and invasions, the report said. The statement came a day after the latest firing, which analysts interpreted as an attempt to exert pressure on Washington to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure. "Yes, the tests were the most serious since the end of 2017, but this is largely a warning to Trump that he could lose the talks unless Washington takes partial denuclearization steps offered by Kim," said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "A resumption of long-range test could be next unless Kim gets what he wants soon." North Korean had maintained a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missiles testing in place since 2017, which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pointed out as an important achievement from his engagement with Pyongyang. The latest firing prompted Seoul to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula" on Saturday, while Trump said in a Twitter post that he was still confident he could have a deal with Kim. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Saturday. The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a vaguer description and said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. North Korea demanded Washington to lift the U.S.-led sanctions in return for a partial dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, while the United States wanted the quick rollback of the Norths entire nuclear weapons programme. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Its official: Thailand has a new king and queen.

A coronation ceremony was held for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, on Saturday.

King Maha, 66, became monarch after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. The exact reason for the delayed formal coronation is unknown, although it was initially said to be due to a mourning period for the kings father.

Saturday marked the first day in a three-day coronation ceremony.

As the day began, Maha entered the Grand Palace and began the first of three major rites, the Royal Purification Ceremony, during which the king was showered with holy waters, according to the Associated Press.

From there, the king changed into ornate golden clothes, and while seated on a throne, underwent the Royal Anointment Ceremony. During the rite, holy water was poured on the kings hands and he was also given a ceremonial nine-tiered white umbrella.

At the conclusion of the rite, the king had assumed full regal power.

Thailand's King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

King Maha | Public Relations Department, Thailand/Getty Images

Thailand's King Maha | THAI TV POOL/AFP/Getty Images

In the last of the three rites, the Presentation of Royal Regalia, the king was crowned while seated on a throne. According to the Associated Press, the crown, which is covered in gold-plated diamonds, is over 200 years old and weighs 16 lbs.

As one of first acts as crowned king, Maha went on to present his wife with traditional regalia.

The coronation will be followed by a procession through Bangkok on Sunday.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Thailand's King Maha | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Queen Suthida | ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

It was announced Wednesday that the monarch had married his consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and named her Queen Suthida, according to the Associated Press.

The announcement was reportedly made in the Royal Gazette, although it did not give a date of the wedding.

Thai television stations broadcast the royal order on Wednesday along with a video of Suthida, wearing a pale pink dress, laying before the king and presenting him with a tray of flowers and joss sticks, AP reports. Suthida, 40, was presented gifts in return.

Story continues

DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The couple also signed a marriage certificate book, also signed by the kings sister, Princess Sirindhorn, and Privy Council head as witnesses. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and other senior officials were also in attendance at the ceremony.

The Thai monarch has had three previous marriages. He divorced his most recent wife in 2014.

Thailand's King Maha and Queen Suthida | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Thailand's Queen Suthida and King Maha | Bureau of the Royal Household/AP/Shutterstock

Little is known about Thailands new queen. The couple reportedly met on a flight when she was working as a flight flight attendant for Thai Airways International.

In 2013, Suthida joined the palace guard. King Maha then appointed Suthida as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. He made Suthida a full general in December 2016 after he became king, and the deputy commander of the kings personal guard in 2017. He also made her a Thanpuying, a royal title meaning Lady.
Thousands of Alberta students  carrying signs like "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone: The Gays" and "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?"  walked out of their classes Friday morning to protest the new UCP government's position on gay-straight alliances (GSAs).

The United Conservative Party intends to overturn a law that prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins a GSA. However, Premier Jason Kenney repeated Friday that his party's plan would maintain "the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country."

The student-led protests spanned about 90 schools across the province, with participating teens stepping out of their classrooms at 9:30 a.m. MT for 20 minutes. Many schools saw dozens to hundreds of students walk out  despite snow falling in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and other parts of northern Alberta.

Scroll through the blog below to see tweets, photos and video from the protests around the province:

LGBTQ rights advocates say notifying parents who do not approve of their child's sexuality could lead to suicides and dangerous situations at home. The risk of being outed, they say, would deter kids from joining clubs and finding support.

"We think that this is a problem because in some cases parents might not be very accepting of their child and it could pose a danger to their child. This is not to say that all parents are going to do this but there are definitely some," Grade 10 student Aimee told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"Additionally, we believe that it should be up to the child themselves of when they want to come out and how they want to come out."

Tiphanie Roquette/Radio-Canada/CBC

Many students, like Alyssa Gabriel, echoed that message. Gabriel, who is gay, studies in Edmonton, and although her parents are supportive, she marched for her friends.

"I have a lot of gay friends who think the GSA is very important to them, and it's their little safe space and they have homophobic parents," Gabriel said.

Story continues

"But now with this [proposed] rule, it's not like a safe space anymore. They can't be there anymore 'cause they don't want to tell their parents they're gay because they might get kicked out."

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Protesters held signs with slogans, such as, "Hey, Kenney, leave us alone  The Gays," "Are your tax cuts more important than queer youth?" and "It's my choice, not yours. #KeepOurSafeSpacesSafe."

Sean Ruhland, one of hundreds of students who marched at William Aberhart High School in northwest Calgary, said his school's GSA was helpful when he came to terms with his identity as a gay transgender man.

CBC

He's graduating this year and said he wanted to protect other students' ability to come out to their parents on their own time.

"[The UCP] do not care. They do not care about youth, they do not care about future generations," Ruhland told Radio-Canada. "And they simply do not care about the quality of education in schools."

Not every school had large turnouts, though.

At Bishop Grandin High School in southwest Calgary, for example, fewer than 10 people took part.

One student told CBC they felt the walkout wasn't well-advertised, or worse, they worried that other students didn't care.

Only a few protested at Wheatland Crossing School but one student, Grant Carson, wrote on social media, "Our voice matters. Even in a small school."

Nelly Alberola/Radio-Canada

Other Albertans honked their car horns while passing protesters or shared their support of the students by posting on social media. Members of MacDougall Church in Edmonton marched to support students at Allendale School, as well.

Grant Carson

Former NDP education minister David Eggen attended the protest at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton, where students chanted, "Save our GSAs," and "Hey, Jason, leave our kids alone."

"Jason Kenney and his caucus seem bound and determined to out gay kids, to remove that safe place, that safe sanctuary," Eggen told reporters. "We're here to stand together to oppose that and to stop him."

MLA Sarah Hoffman, former NDP health minister, attended at Ross Sheppard School in Edmonton, where about 50 students protested.

Jennifer Lee/CBC

Student organizers said they kept it short so students could take a stand without missing much class time and encouraged people to seek parental permission as some schools said they would count it as an unexcused absence.

'They are fearful'

Teacher Kevin McBean, who is the GSA faculty sponsor at M.E. LaZerte School in Edmonton, says his school's club is a social space for kids to discuss social issues, watch movies and make pizza.

"Certainly many of my students aren't necessarily out to their parents, or if they are, it's already a rather contentious issue at home," McBean said in advance of the protests.

Dawson White

"The GSA provides them with a space where they can be themselves and just connect with other people, and so I think they are fearful that these kinds of policies could hurt them."

UCP promises 'strongest legal protection' in country for GSAs

Legislation came into effect under the previous NDP government in 2017 that protects the establishment of gay-straight alliance, or GSA, school groups. The law also prohibits schools from telling parents when their child joins the group.

The UCP, which was sworn in on Tuesday after winning the recent provincial election, plans to give Alberta schools the discretion to inform parents of their child's participation in a GSA.

That announcement has been criticized by LGBT advocates, school administrators and teachers across Alberta, and sparked protests in Calgary and Edmonton during the election campaign.

Upon Kenney's victory, the students organized the mass protest.

Ariel Fournier/CBC

Kenney has said he would replace the NDP's Bill 24 with the seven-year-old Education Act  in essence removing some legal protections for Alberta LGBTQ students and school staff.

The Education Act, proposed under the former Progressive Conservative Party, does not have the change the NDP passed, including:

The requirement for school principals to grant student requests for GSAs.

The requirement for private schools to have public policies on protecting LGBTQ students.

Kenney has said that the UCP's proposed Education Act would still protect GSAs,

At an Edmonton event in March, he said that parents would only be notified by school staff of their child's involvement in rare cases  a position he reiterated when reached Friday.

"We're keeping our election commitment, which is to modernize the Education Act in Alberta and to maintain the strongest legal protection for gay-straight alliances in the country," Kenney said ahead of the rally.

"It's great to see young people taking an active interest in issues. I'd suggest better for them to do rallies or protests after school hours and not during them. We want to make sure young people are actually learning in class instead of doing politics."

University of Calgary political scientist Melanee Thomas said on Twitter that she felt students had to protest during school hours as many take long bus rides to get home at the end of the day.

"Goal is to be inclusive," she Tweeted.

Chris Wattie/Reuters

Schools where students protested

The following schools are among those with students participating:
The city of Whitehorse is ramping up its forest fire preparedness efforts with the summer approaching.

Staff have a booth in the Canada Games Centre at the annual trade show this weekend. On Tuesday, staff are screening the documentary Into the Fire at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

In part the film looks at FireSmarting yards and homes.

Environmental co-ordinator Glenda Koh said embers blowing into yards are the main cause of homes burning during forest fires, not the actual flames.

She said the priority is creating a non-combustible zone around a home.

"So what we want to do is reduce all things that embers could eventually land on and ignite," said Koh. She used her home as an example.

Dave Croft/CBC

It has wood siding, "which is very nice, but wood is probably the worst siding you can have in terms of being resilient to fire," she said.

Better materials are cement board and stucco, she added.

Asphalt shingles on the roof are okay, said Koh, but wood shingles "would be absolutely a no-no."

There should be a 1.5-metre zone around a home completely clear of anything combustible, said Koh.

That includes firewood, bushes and accumulations of dead leaves.

Koh said anywhere dried leaves pile up, like in a carport or under a deck, are important to keep clean.

"Wherever you see leaves, that's probably where the wind has taken those leaves and so that's exactly the same path that an ember is going to take in case of a fire," she said.

Wooden fences that connect directly to the house should be avoided, she said, or least broken up with something like a metal gate.

Dave Croft/CBC

A moist lawn is not going to burn as quickly as dry grass, said Koh.

Wildfire risk reduction strategy started

Koh said preventing fire damage requires action on different scales and levels within the community.

"So it's not just a government issue and it's not a matter of how to evacuate," she said.

"In case of a wildfire there's a lot of preventative stuff that we can do on private property and on public land."

Koh said the city has begun work on a wildfire risk reduction strategy. It's expected to be done by next spring.

The city is also participating in the Nanook military exercise at the end of the month. Two neighbourhoods will be evacuated to test emergency preparedness.
It may not surprise you to learn people are getting hooked on an addictive Wisconsin export. But it might surprise you to learn that export is cheese.

In his book The Cheese Trap, doctor and author Neal Barnard argues that America is addicted to cheese. He says giving up cheese would help Americans lose weight and improve their health. Needless to say, Barnard will be stopped at the border if he attempts to enter Wisconsin.

Barnard grew up in North Dakota, no doubt in a household stocked with colored oleomargarine, a once-banned product Cheeseheads now begrudgingly accept. He says cheese is loaded with calories and sodium, and has more cholesterol than a steak. Apparently we are supposed to think all this is bad. But steak and salt are awesome, and as for calories, well, most of us arent posing for underwear ads anytime soon, so bring em on!

The book delves into the addictive nature of cheese, which contains casein, a protein with opiate molecules built in. This makes cheese dangerous, not unlike Wisconsins other top export, which is of course serial killers. Wait, no, I meant beer.

Brewskis go down like mothers milk for many a Wisconsinite. Barnard says consumers hankering for a hunk of cheese begins with infancy. When babies nurse, opiates in the milk reward them. When we eat cheese, we take in concentrated amounts of those same molecules.

Barnard isnt the only one who has warned against the dangers of cheese. My nine loyal readers may recall that in a 2015 study, University of Michigan researchers found the casein in cheese stimulates cravings by triggering the brains opioid receptors. As much as wed like to disregard any assertion made by Michiganders, who are of course not to be trusted  they stole the Upper Peninsula from us, doncha know  their findings certainly would explain the behavior one witnesses at Lambeau Field. Call it a curd mentality.

Subjects were asked to identify the foods they crave, and scientists quickly found a common ingredient. You guessed it: Asparagus. Just kidding, it was cheese. Researchers noted that while milk contains only a tiny dosage of casein, 10 pounds of it are used to produce a pound of cheese.

You start out with a few nibbles: Just a taste, the grocer says, First ones on me. The next thing you know, youre strung out, loitering outside Sargento and begging for a hit of colby.

The studys authors used their findings to identify a potential cause of addictive eating, and to call for public policy initiatives regarding the marketing of cheese to children. Hey, kids: Cheese is no gouda for you!

Theirs is an uphill battle. Theyre like Sisyphus, pushing a cheddar wheel up a mountainside. After all, the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people. No doubt Wisconsinites, who tend to be above average, consume considerably more than that. I bet 100 pounds are eaten at the Chuck E. Cheese in Green Bay every Tuesday.

Like the Michigan researchers, the author Barnard is going to have a hard time convincing Americans to give up cheese. His message certainly will fall on deaf ears in Americas Dairyland, where we love things that arent good for us. We live for beer and sausage. We swung for Trump. Half of us die ice fishing and snowmobiling. Were about as worried about our cholesterol as we are an alien invasion.

Plus, we might note that the National Dairy Council responded to Barnards claims by saying consuming cheese in moderation can be part of a healthy eating plan. After all, the only way most of us eat vegetables, other than at gunpoint, is to slather them with melted cheese.

Unfortunately, consuming things in moderation tends not to be Wisconsinites strong suit. Weve been known to take a second drink. And when it comes to cheese, we dont just eat it: We wear it.

Call us addicts if you like, we dont care. Besides, we can hardly hear you over the squeak of fresh cheese curds against our teeth.

Ben Bromley writes for the Baraboo News-Republic.

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Michael Hedges May 3, 2019 -

Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. Somber Tones, Little Sunshine, No RestMichael Hedges May 3, 2019 - Follow on Twitter Advocates for media and press freedom set out their concerns and, sometimes, praise on World Press Freedom Day. Worries certainly outweigh tributes. The UNESCO designated day to commemorate the benefits of media and press freedom to democratic well-being has been observed since 1993. This years official theme is journalism in times of disinformation. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here.
Charmaine LeMay Korn passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minn., surrounded by her family. She was born to Donavan LeMay and Ruth Lueck LeMay Nov. 6,1933, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Charmaine, lovingly called Char, graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1951. Following her graduation, she attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. Upon completion of her studies, she was employed by Cargill, in Minneapolis, in their accounting division.

In 1956 Char returned to her home town of Chippewa Falls, working in the accounting field for local businesses. It was at this time, during her first marriage, she had two children, a daughter, Darcy and a son, Bruce. In 1977 she married Gene Korn, and together they raised a blended family, while Char worked at National Presto Industries. In 1982 the Korns relocated to Minneapolis where she worked for FMC Corporation and Target.

Upon retirement from Target, she remained active in her book club, womens groups, bible study and other church functions. She especially enjoyed the womens yearly retreat sponsored by her church.

Char is survived by her daughter, Darcy LaVigne, of Columbia Heights, Minn.; her son, Bruce Lavigne, (Aubrey); and grandchildren, Ashton, Laithan, and Aspen of Trent, South Dakota; stepdaughter, Carla Korn Steinmetz; brothers, Don LeMay, and Karl LeMay, (Connie); sister, DeEtta Bachman; and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Donavan and Ruth LeMay; husband, Gene Korn; stepson, Jeff Korn; sister, Yvonne Kropidlowski; sister-in-law, Patricia LeMay; and brother-in-law, L. Bruce Bachman.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at Zion Lutheran Church, 110 E. Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls, followed by lunch, and then a graveside interment.

Char will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor and generous nature. If you would like to honor her, a donation to your favorite charity would be welcomed.
WASHINGTON  Eight-year-old Liam Daly became an internet sensation when he penned a letter to his grandfather, William Barr, while sitting in the front row at Barrs confirmation hearing in January.

Dear Grandpa, he wrote. You are doing great so far. But I know you still will.

Alas for Liam, and for all of us, it was not to be. Now, just weeks on the job as President Trumps attorney general, Grandpa has disgraced himself. The speed with which Barr trashed a reputation built over decades is stunning, even by Trump administration standards.

Before, Barr was known as the attorney general to President George H.W. Bush and an eminence grise of the Washington legal community. Now he is known for betraying a friend, lying to Congress and misrepresenting the Mueller report in a way that excused the presidents misbehavior and let Russia off the hook.

Three weeks ago, Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., asked Barr about reports that special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs team complained that Barrs four-page summary of their work didnt adequately or accurately portray their findings. Do you know what theyre referencing? Crist asked.

No, I dont, Barr replied under oath, speculating that they probably wanted more put out.

Grandpa was fibbing.

Thanks to The Washington Posts reporting, we now know that two weeks before Barr denied knowledge of the Mueller teams displeasure, he received a letter from Mueller complaining that Barrs summary did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions and resulted in public confusion.

Barr, caught in flagrante delicto in his deception, told senators Wednesday that the question was relating to unidentified members of Muellers team, not Mueller himself  a technical answer that might get him off for perjury but doesnt avoid the conclusion that he deliberately misled Congress and the public.

Why didnt Barr disclose the Mueller letter when Crist asked the question? Barr replied that Crist had posed a very different question.

Um, right.

Of equal concern, Barr rejected Muellers requests to release more of the report to clear up the confusion. At that point, it was my baby, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. It was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Muellers.

It was his baby, and he smothered it  thus allowing Barrs misrepresentation of Muellers report (characterized by Trump as total exoneration) to harden.

Barrs mistreatment of Mueller is all the more appalling because, during his confirmation hearing, Barr boasted that the two men and their wives were good friends and would remain so. Barr reportedly told a senator privately that he and Mueller were best friends, that their wives attended Bible study together and that Mueller attended the weddings of Barrs children.

If so, Barrs betrayal reminds us: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. In addition to his unilateral clearing of Trump on obstruction of justice (something Mueller did not do), Barr also echoed Trumps claim that there was no collusion (a question Mueller did not address) and that there had been spying against Trumps campaign.

Barr continued undermining Mueller on Wednesday, calling Muellers letter to him a bit snitty and saying Mueller should have ended the investigation if he didnt think it in his purview to say whether Trump committed a crime. And Barr eagerly played Trumps defense lawyer.

Muellers finding that Trump repeatedly leaned on White House counsel Don McGahn to get Mueller fired?

Barr devised the implausible explanation that Trump only wanted Mueller replaced by another special counsel.

And Trump instructing McGahn to say publicly that Trump didnt order Mueller fired? Not a crime, Barr argued.

Barr also defended his assertion that Trump fully cooperated with the investigation, even though he refused to be interviewed and tried to get then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to unrecuse himself and shut down the inquiry.

I dont see any conflict between that and fully cooperating with the investigation, Barr reasoned.

Even Barrs choice of pronouns  we have not waived the executive privilege, he said  showed he was Trumps lawyer, not Americas attorney general.

Repeatedly, Barr said it didnt matter that Trump had deceived the public. Im not in the business of determining when lies are told to the American people, he said. But now Barr, by misrepresenting his dealings with Mueller, has gotten himself into the business of lying to the American people.

Even an 8-year-old knows lying is wrong, whether its legal or not. Surely Grandpa Barr should have. The attorney general owed better to his friend Mueller, and to the rest of us.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for Sri Lanka church and hotel bombings

The Islamic State has claimed that it was behind the horrific suicide bombings of churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend.

The terrorist group made the claim through its official Amaq news agency on Tuesday.

It comes after Sri Lankan intelligence named radical local cleric Moulvi Zahran Hashim as the chief mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks. He reportedly used his social media channels in the past to incite hatred against non-Muslims.

Senior government officials had blamed the little known radical Islamist group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which gained prominence last year after being accused of damaging Buddhist statues.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne previously said that whoever carried out the attacks must have been helped by an international network.

"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," he said.

"There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."

The devastating attacks were carried out on two Catholic churches and one evangelical church that were packed with worshippers celebrating Easter Sunday.

Four luxury hotels were also targeted in the attacks that claimed the lives of 321 people, including eight British citizens.

Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday that he believed the bombings were in retaliation for the recent attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed when a gunman opened fire in the mosques on March 15.

"The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch, but we are continuing investigations," Wijewardene said.
Viaje has announced the return of two Japanese-inspired small batch releases, the Viaje Hamaki and Viaje Hamaki Omakase. Both of these cigars were originally released in 2017 as a part of the Viajes White Label Project. This time the two small batch releases return and receive their own packaging.

Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar. The project was provoked by Viaje founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. It is a 6 x 54 box-pressed torpedo with the blend details not being disclosed. When Hamaki was first released back in 2017, it was a Dominican puro produced at the Quesada factory in the Dominican Republic.

Like Hamaki, the Hamaki Omakase was provoked by Viaje Cigars founder Andre Farkas travels to Japan. Omakase is the Japanese tradition of letting a chef choose your order. The word actually means I will leave it to you and it fits in with the theme of the cigar (the name Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar) as the details of the blend have not been released. The cigar itself is a 5 x 52 Robusto produced in Nicaragua. The 2017 release of the Hamaki Omakase also was an undisclosed blend in a 5 x 52 Robusto size.

The Hamaki is packaged in 25-count boxes while the Hamaki Omakase comes in 18-count boxes.

In terms of the new packaging Viaje refers to this as graduating from the White Label Project series. The White Label Project is a series of experimental cigars and in some cases factory errors. Lately, Viaje has been using White Label Project to test the waters with a new line. This has allowed Viaje to see how the market responds to a release before investing in a more detailed packaging.

Photo Credit: Viaje Cigars
If youve been reading the liberal media and Left Twitter the past couple of months, youd be certain of one thing: Joe Biden is hopelessly out of touch  too old, too white, too male, too handsy, too racist, too misogynist, too unwoke, and far too compromised by his past positions to be the Democratic nominee in 2020. Josh Marshall, while liking Biden, regarded him as unsuited to the moment in almost every way imaginable. Jamelle Bouie saw him as a repugnant variant of Trumpism: For decades Biden gave liberal cover to white backlash. My colleague Rebecca Traister recently called him a comforter of patriarchal impulses toward controlling womens bodies. Ben Smith declared : His campaign is stumbling toward launch with all the hallmarks of a Jeb!-level catastrophe  a path that leads straight down  Joe Biden isnt going to emerge from the 2020 campaign as the nominee. You already knew that. Michael Tomasky summarized the elite consensus: Nearly everyone thinks [Biden] cant win the nomination.

Nearly everyone  i.e., all my friends and acquaintances in the journalistic and political elite  also thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in to win the general election. But Biden has had an extremely good start to his third campaign for president. His announcement video was aimed at those on the left who see Trump as the tip of the spear of white nationalism, and to those swingier voters who simply want to return to normalcy, constitutional order, and, well, decency. Thats a message that rallies the base but also appeals to those who may be exhausted by the trauma of Trump. As an opener, perfect. Even, at times, moving.

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The polling is just as impressive. In three separate polls released this week, Bidens support is somewhere in the upper 30s, and his nearest competitor is in the mid-teens (or, in one case, low 20s). In a field of 20 candidates, thats a big share, and in Nate Silvers analysis, Well-known candidates polling in the mid-30s in the early going are about even money to win the nomination, historically. Yes, hes riding an announcement bump right now and his numbers may and almost certainly will fade over time. His name recognition is sky-high compared with some others, who could catch up as the campaign progresses. And he might once again gaffe his way into oblivion. But he has a big enough lead to be able to afford a certain amount of erosion.

And his strength is drawn from two contrasting bases: older, moderate whites, and African-Americans. Although his share is in the 30s overall, he has a whopping 50 percent share among nonwhite Democrats, according to the latest CNN poll. A Morning Consult poll found him with 43 percent of the black vote, including 47 percent support among African-American women. Bidens deep association with Obama gives him a lift in the black vote no other white candidate can achieve. And so it turns out that the base of the Democrats has not been swept into the identity cult of the elite, wealthy, white left. As a brand- new CBS poll finds, Democrats may prefer a hypothetical female nominee over a male (5941 percent), a black nominee over a white one (6040 percent), and someone in their 40s to someone in their 70s. But thats in the abstract. In reality, Biden seems to scramble these preferences.

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Hes also been able to reach non-college-educated white men in ways few other candidates could. Thats a big fucking deal in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin  and if Biden can carry those states, hell be the next president. Hes a union man, and always has been. In what was a brilliant ad-lib, Biden began a speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers by making a joke about the excesses of #MeToo  I had permission to hug Lonnie, the union leader, he quipped. Later, as he brought some kids onstage, he joked again, as he put his hands on the shoulders of a boy: He gave me permission to touch him. The crowds reaction both times was bellows of laughter.

Yes, this might be seen as insensitive, or tone-deaf. It is certainly politically incorrect. But what Bidens joke did is tell the white working class that he has not defected to the woke, white urban elites. This matters. In a recent poll , 80 percent of Americans say that political correctness is a problem in this country. Hostility to new speech codes from elites was one factor that drove support for Trump in 2016. Americans do not want to abolish all differences between men and women, do not support reparations, and view college campuses as strange, alien pockets of madness. Any Democrat in 2020 has to reach that  exhausted majority  who are sick of all that. Biden has already done it.

Would upping the white working-class vote for the Dems alienate minorities, women, and high-income whites? Maybe. Charles Blow recently argued that these voters are fickle, getting smaller and smaller as a segment of the electorate, and are hostile to the interests of women and minorities. That is, theyre deplorables, unworthy of attention. Clinton tried that strategy. And she lost the presidency because of her thinly veiled contempt for the white working classes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. The idea that the white working class is incompatible with a multicultural coalition is what two Obama campaigns disproved.

Bidens positive message is a defense of the worker from the excesses of decadent late-capitalism. He can effortlessly channel that and compete with Trump in the Rust Belt. Sanders can do this as well  but Bernie, for all his sincerity and authenticity, does not have the heft of a two-term vice-president who has long been at the center of his party. For those who simply want to defeat Trump at all costs, Biden, for now, seems the safest bet. He can run on a platform deeply informed by the lefts critique of the market, without the baggage of left wokeness or those eager to play into the GOPs hands and explicitly avow socialism.

Thats exactly what the Trump campaign fears. And in the critical head-to-head dynamic against Trump, Biden already seems to have gotten into the presidents head. Despite what we have been told is strong internal advice from his mute dauphin-in-law not to engage Biden, Trump couldnt help himself. When Biden got an endorsement from the firefighters union, Trump unleashed a torrent of 58 retweets before 6:30 a.m., all citing firefighters support for Trump. The president insists that every firefighter, cop, and service member supports him. All of them. And so the president went on to attack the union itself: Ive done more for Firefighters than this dues sucking union will ever do, and I get paid ZERO! After this sad temper tantrum, Biden was ready for a response: Im sick of this President badmouthing unions. Labor built the middle class in this country. Minimum wage, overtime pay, the 40-hour week: they exist for all of us because unions fought for those rights. We need a President who honors them and their work. Biden 1, Tump 0.

In subsequent remarks, Trump revealed his current strategy for reelection: Hell tout a strong economy, fight mass immigration, and run against the threat of socialism. But hes obviously terrified that Biden wont fit easily into this AOCIlhan Omar rubric. Hes hoping that the left of the party will kneecap him: I think Biden would be easier from the standpoint that you will have so much dissension in the party, because itll make four years ago look like baby stuff  They want the radical left  they want the left movement  and he probably isnt there. And I think youre going to have tremendous dissension [sic] just like Hillary did. So the president just told the country that his most potent opponent is no leftist. A Trump adviser told Politico : We dont think Biden can make it out of the woke Democrat primary. Boy, are they hoping he doesnt.

The reason Trump is so rattled is that Biden is seven points ahead of him in head-to-head polls right now, and, after four years of Trumps assault on this countrys constitutional order, Democrats are likely to turn out in high numbers, and back whoever gets nominated. As it becomes clearer that this president regards himself as above the law, and has an attorney general who shares this view and will also target Trumps opponents if told to, opposition could intensify. New data from 2018 shows how big Democratic turnout was: 36 percent of young people voted, compared with 20 percent in 2014. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians all saw their turnout rates soar  up 11, 13, and 13 points, respectively, compared with 2014. When these voters have a chance to get rid of Trump, whoever the nominee is, I have no doubt theyll show up. If Biden could make some inroads with non-college-educated whites and seniors, it could be another big fucking deal. Adding Kamala Harris as his veep could unify the Democratic base behind the ticket.

Two other points: Biden is a Catholic. Anyone who has ever been saturated in American Catholicism can swiftly recognize the figure: old-school but open, a believer in the innate dignity of every human soul, regularly at Mass, deeply comfortable in the world of white ethnic America, surprisingly liberal. Catholics  shockingly, given the depravity of the Republicans  split their vote last time. Move them a few points, as Obama did in 2008 , and you have a real shift in our politics. And then theres the fact that Trumps uncanny ability to define someone with a brutal but telling nickname seems to have failed him with Biden. Sleepy Joe? I can detect nothing sleepy about this septuagenarian embarking on a third run for president. Biden seems to genuinely flummox Trump. Which is very good news.

There is also, dare I say it, a deeper contrast between the two men. One is decent, kind, generous, funny. The other is indecent, cruel, miserly, and has the callous humor of a bully. There would be a moral gulf between any current Democrat and Trump, of course. But with Biden, were reminded of the America we thought we knew. Yes, this is partly nostalgia, but no one should underestimate nostalgia in a country as turbulent, afraid, and resentful as America right now. Bidens moment, in my mind, was 2016, but he was prevented from competing by Clinton and Obama. But history takes strange turns. This already feels to me like a two-man race. That may change. Its extremely early, but the odds are with Biden. And the tailwinds behind him are intense.
SHELBY - The Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill was the only childhood home Columbus resident Dallas Thelen ever knew.

His parents, George and Cindy Thelen, purchased the building at 240 N. Walnut St. in 1979, less than a year after Dallas was born.

The Thelens operated their business by day before heading up a flight of stairs every evening after the bar closed.

It was definitely unique, Dallas said of the living arrangement with his parents and three siblings. That was the only home I ever knew growing up. But it was fun, there was a long hallway that we would run down playing hide and seek and stuff, and then dad actually took out a few walls and put in a swing set so we had our own playground indoors.

Dallas moved to Columbus with his wife, Denise, in 2007, and his parents continued calling the establishment home before moving just a few blocks away in January 2010.

Although the top portion of the Shelby Hotel Bar & Grill has now been vacant for some time, the bottom floor has remained lively with numerous area residents patronizing the facility on a regular basis. On Wednesday, the business celebrated 40 years of being in business with an all-afternoon gathering that drew in around 100 people.

Throughout the afternoon and night it was pretty busy, Cindy said. The kids are the ones who really did it, got it up on Facebook and told people to come  we werent going to do anything.

The couple is glad they celebrated, though. At the end of October, the establishment is permanently shutting its doors. Although there will be a final party  likely a Halloween-themed bash, this served as a bit of a farewell.

With Cindy turning 65 in June and George creeping up on 72, its finally time to throw in the towel. The couple has served as a two-person crew for multiple years following the departure of longtime employee Carol Funkhouser, who manned the short-order grill during the lunch hour for the better part of three decades.

I think that its a good time for them to retire, Dallas said. I think that they have put in their time for a business like that. Its an extremely long tenure, just because of all the time they have had to spend there. I remember that mom would be there before 7 (a.m.) when they opened, and then dad would be there until past 1 (a.m.) at close. And then they would wake up and do it all over again.

George and Cindy agree, but its still hard stepping away from the establishment that not only provided their livelihood, but also a shelter over their childrens and their own heads for so many years. Its a place where third-generation customers pop in and talk about their familys history and memories at the bar.

Just a whole lot of parties  good memories, George said of what he will remember fondly, with a laugh. Everything that has happened on Main Street we have been part of because we lived on Main Street for such a long time. The homecoming parades, all the Halloween parties and anniversary dances weve had over the years 

In the late 1970s when the Thelens opened shop, there were five watering holes in downtown area. Now, at least for the time being, there will be none beginning in November.

Dallas knows this is a tough pill for his father to swallow.

Hes always been really supportive of the community and just adamant that Main Street needs to have good businesses, Dallas said. He never wanted businesses to leave.

Now that the time has arrived for the Thelens, their focus is on the future. The couple will be able to relax a little bit more and enjoy the company of their seven grandchildren.

Shelby will still be their home, and they will undoubtedly keep seeing a lot of familiar faces. But they will miss the interactions theyve had with customers at the bar for so many years.

We just want to thank everyone for their business and for supporting us for all these years, Cindy said. Without them, we wouldnt be here, they are the ones that made our living and kept us going.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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Diane Thress and her former work partner, Linda Brandenburgh, used to operate the Child Support Enforcement office in a back corner of the Platte County Attorneys office.

While conveniently located directly across from County Attorney Carl Hart Jr.s office, it wasn't the most comfortable setting.

It was pretty small, Thress said. We were on top of each other. A lot of times, when you moved your chair or opened a file drawer, you would back into someone. We also had nowhere to meet with clients. It was time to approach the board for finding us a bigger location where we could serve clients who came in and needed assistance.

Thress and her newly expanded staff no longer need to worry about playing bumper chairs in their office. Three weeks ago, the Child Support Enforcement office moved into an old courtroom just a door down from the county attorneys Office.

The move was necessary due to the expansion of Thress staff following an audit by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. According to Hart Jr., the agency was worried that the two workers had too big of a work load and needed to expand in order to make it a bit more manageable.

They determined we had well over 1,500 cases that were being handled by two experienced workers, Hart Jr. said. They did a comparison with other counties (that had the same workload) and some counties had as many as four workers. They told us You people are doing more than your fair share if youre working 750 cases per employee. Thats twice the workload of child support collection workers in other counties.

With Brandenburgh retiring in June 2018, and with DDHS forcing an expansion of staff, space was incredibly cramped for the already extremely busy unit. Thus began the search for a new place to call home starting in fall 2018.

One of the options included moving the department into the basement of the courthouse that previously housed the Nebraska Extension-Platte County office. The idea was seriously considered, and hearings were held where discussion and debate took place.

Ultimately, it was not a popular recommendation.

The solution, arguably, was to put someone down in the basement, Hart Jr. said. Nobody wanted to go down there. Its not very nice.

The proposal also would have been inconvenient for both the workers and the attorneys appointed to fight these cases. They would have had to go up four flights of stairs just to get to the county attorneys office.

I didnt want to do it, because how could I supervise these three child support employees? Hart Jr. inquired. That means I have to get on an elevator or go down four flights of stairs. One of my lawyers is going down there, as well. We could do those things, but we found a (better) solution.

Eventually, the board settled on the old courtroom. Four months of work followed, in an effort to reconfigure the space from a hall of justice into suitable office quarters.

Tile was replaced with new carpet, and electrical wiring was installed to facilitate a modern office with computers and access to databases. Most importantly, Thress says that the new office has plenty of space for her staff, not to mention plenty of new amenities to help those who need it most.

Clients can come in and talk to us, Thress said. The front desk has a computer that we can all log on to and talk to the clients at the front desk, rather than having them come back and see confidential information that they dont need to see. We can talk to them up front and take care of them right there.

Hart Jr. is also very satisfied with how things transpired. While there may be a need for an additional courtroom sometime in the future, he doesnt think he will have to uproot the staff that just moved.

I dont anticipate that happening, he said. I dont think that in the near future we would expect to get that (Child Support Enforcement) bumped out of here.

Zach Roth is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net

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After the historic blizzards and flooding rolled through Nebraska and devastated our communities, weve heard countless stories of neighbor helping neighbor, and donations and help pouring in from across the country for our hurting communities, farms, and businesses.

I have been working hard in Congress to provide our state with relief  and I am proud to introduce legislation that would give a hand up to individuals and businesses.

Recently, along with Congressman Adrian Smith, I introduced the Disaster Tax Relief Act. This bicameral, bipartisan measure would deliver much-needed tax benefits to communities that were recently designated as disaster areas.

Id like Nebraskans to know some of the specifics of what the Disaster Tax Relief Act would do and what it would mean for our citizens and businesses impacted by the catastrophic weather conditions.

This legislation lifts regulations for the use of retirement funds. Currently, those who make early withdrawals from their retirement accounts are charged with a 10-percent penalty. But as we have seen in the wake of the severe weather, many Nebraskans are forced to dip into their retirement funds to restore their home or rebuild their farm or business. This bill would waive the 10-percent early withdrawal fee for those affected. Plunging into hard-earned retirement savings is disheartening on its own, Nebraskans should not be penalized in the process of putting the pieces back together.

The Disaster Tax Relief Act would also temporarily eliminate the cap on deductions for charitable donations within a disaster area. Charitable deductions are normally capped around 30 to 50 percent of income. Without these limitations in place, this legislation can provide even more incentive for donations to Nebraska communities that need the most assistance.

Usually the IRS offers a limited deduction for destroyed property. This bill would expand the deduction so it can be claimed for damages not covered by other insurance or federal programs.

Targeted changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the bill would help alleviate financial pressures some of our friends and neighbors are facing. EITC recipients generally receive credit based on the amount of money they have earned, but as floods have caused our businesses to halt operations, wages could fall. This bill would allow affected Nebraskans to claim their previous years credit, if their wages decrease.

This legislation would help families keep a steadier stream of income as they recover. A tax credit would be made available for employers in disaster areas who continue to pay their employees. In some cases, this would give businesses the flexibility to continue paying their workers while they recover.

The bottom line is this: the Disaster Tax Relief Act offers more flexibility and frees Nebraskans from regulations, so they can make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones as they recover.

Nebraskans are strong and tough. Day-by-day we are reopening doors and restoring our communities in the Good Life. I believe this common-sense tax relief measure would only help to speed up the process of getting back on our feet.

The passage of the Disaster Tax Relief Act would be an important step in the right direction. I will continue to fight to ensure that Congress quickly enacts this bill into law to lighten the load for our hurting families.

Deb Fischer is a United States senator who represents Nebraska.

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
The patients who inevitably see Hafiza Ferhatovic at UPMC Pinnacle Carlisles medical-surgical unit run the gamut of health issues, from orthopedic problems to adverse events related to chronic diagnoses to substance abuse.

A common element in many cases below her unit in the emergency department, however, is the help some of these patients could have received if they had help from a primary care provider.

The reason why we get people in our emergency department is they cant control their chronic illnesses because they dont have a primary care physician, she said.

That shortage is a nationwide issue, and one Ferhatovic hopes to address by becoming a family care nurse practitioner.

Ferhatovic, who was born in Bosnia but moved to Pennsylvania when she was in kindergarten, only has two years of nursing under her belt, but shes already taking classes to become a nurse practitioner. Though the Carlisle nurse doesnt know if shell end up staying in Pennsylvania, she like other nurses are hopeful Pennsylvania will be the next state to approve more independence for nurse practitioners.

If the Legislature passes a bill that would allow nurse practitioners more freedom to prescribe medication as well as other duties, the state would be more attractive to nurses like Ferhatovic who sees more nurse practitioners as an answer to the primary care provider shortage.

Im hoping it heads in that direction, she said.

Ferhatovic said that while nurse practitioners arent in school for quite as long as physicians, they are definitely beneficial, especially in hospitals and as primary care providers.

And providing care has been a goal for her since she experienced a complicated introduction to the countrys health care system.

My moms health took a turn unexpectedly while I was in high school, Ferhatovic said. English wasnt her first language  its not my first language  so I would go with her to appointments. I missed school to go with her.

What Ferhatovic discovered were nurses who would patiently explain to them everything they wanted to know and would simply try to make them feel better.

I learned a lot from asking them questions, she said. These nurses meant a lot to my mom.

Its the same experience she hopes to bring with her to her adult patients in the medical-surgical unit, and to emergency room patients she hopes to treat in the future as training for an occupation in family care. And she hopes patients, who are often experiencing their worst days while at the hospital, keep that in mind while she admittedly pesters them about keeping their socks on and generally being safe in the unit.

I just want them to get better, she said. Were with them 24/7. Your duty is to improve the health of the patient.

Giving them instructions and even addressing the primary care shortage may not be enough to keep patients out of the emergency room. Ferhatovic said she knows what the other factors are that prevent patients from seeking care or following through on a nurses instructions upon leaving the hospital.

I think one of the biggest challenges I face is that I cant control everything. Youll find that the patients who are least compliant have financial issues, she said, adding that they will give instructions on finding a physical therapist or give a prescription to pills that the patient may not be able to purchase. If a patient cant afford it, I guarantee that they will not do it.

While shes learning to let go of the factors out of her control, shes starting to embrace that her future may not be set in stone, either.

I talked to a lot of the older nurses, and you never know where your career is going to end up, she said. I never want to tell myself Im going to do just this.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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Cumberland Countys child services department is trying to get back on its feet after losing, and subsequently re-gaining, its full social services license from the state amid issues with turnover and heavy caseloads.

Cumberland County Children and Youth Services operated on a provisional license from July 19, 2018, until March 8, 2019, due to lapses in casework reviewed by the state during the renewal process in late 2017, according to state records.

Most, but not all, of those issues had been corrected as of late 2018, with a full license re-issued this spring.

It was a stressful six months but it got us reorganized and reinvigorated, said Necole McElwee, Cumberland Countys CYS director. When we were put on a provisional license, we really sat back and looked and divided apart every one of those citations and looked  at the areas we needed to improve upon.

Inspections

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services routinely inspects county agencies that carry out the state social services programs by spot-checking an agencys records and noting violations.

The inspection report on Cumberland County Children and Youth, issued last summer for inspections conducted in December 2017, logged 44 pages of problems, resulting in the revocation of the agencys full license and the issuing of a provisional status.

Many of these issues involved CYS not making contact with a family or completing the required Safety Assessment Worksheet within the required time frame. In some cases, people who are supposed to be contacted per state investigatory standards were not contacted at all.

In one citation, for instance, a report was received alleging lack of food and improper feeding of an infant with kidney issues. The referral was listed as a 48-hour response time, but should have been assigned 24-hour status, according to the state. Ultimately, no contact was made with the family until six days after the report was received.

Another citation found that, in five of the 14 cases reviewed, a preliminary SAW was not completed within the 72 hours prescribed by the state. One case took 13 days to have a SAW completed, and another had a SAW dated a day before the agency actually made contact with the family, according to the state inspection.

The states December 2018 inspection found significant improvement, with the number of violations cut roughly in half, something McElwee credited to better oversight and organization among her staff.

The department determined that significant and continuous progress has been made in the implementation of your plan of correction, the state wrote in re-issuing Cumberland CYS full license. The department commends the agency for implementation of the plan of correction in a timely manner and demonstrating the agencys commitment to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of the children served.

But some lapses remained. In one citation, law enforcement was not notified of a relevant case for a month despite the 24-hour notification statute. In another, one of the children in a home under supervision was not listed on the SAW and was not assessed at all, according to the state.

McElwee agreed with the assertion that those issues are likely an indication of rushed or sloppy work by caseworkers who are overloaded.

Staffing is an ongoing issue absolutely, getting qualified applicants, training them, staying ahead of that, McElwee said.

Staffing

Cumberland CYS is down five caseworkers, out of 47 total caseworker positions, McElwee said. Turnover for the 2018-19 fiscal year is already at 23 percent, meaning roughly one in four positions has or will change hands.

But it has been worse, McElwee said. Turnover in 2015-16 and 2016-17 was around 30 percent, before dropping down to just 7 percent in 2017-18. The number of open positions was also 12 at one point.

While this would be rapid by most standards, it doesnt appear to be uncommon for social workers. Casey Family Programs, the nations largest foster care nonprofit, estimates caseworker turnover of 20 to 40 percent in the child services field. York Countys caseworker turnover was 23.8 percent last year, according to county spokesman Mark Walters.

I work really hard with our current staff on morale, McElwee said. These folks deal with a lot of things.  Its a lot of nontraditional hours. When we hire new people I dont think you realize how much time youre going to spend away from your own family.

Cumberland County pays relatively well, with starting salaries around $48,000 for caseworkers, about $10,000 higher than surround areas of central Pennsylvania, McElwee said. The state pays 80 percent of the salary and benefit cost for local social service agencies, with the county responsible for the other 20 percent.

But Cumberland is also one of the few counties in the area to still staff its human services through the states civil service commission, McElwee said. When positions are open, the county relies on a list of qualified applicants from the state, with a hiring process run by the commission.

Cumberland County has submitted its letter to withdraw from the civil service system and set up its own state-qualified recruitment process, but this can take up to two years, McElwee said.

There are a lot of technical rules that dont make hiring easy, McElwee said. The department has just hired six new caseworkers via the civil service system.

This past month we have seen a more positive hiring [outlook], McElwee said.

Caseloads

The department is also planning to double its clerical staff, from the current three employees to six, to allow caseworkers to spend more time out visiting families rather than filling out paperwork. McElwee praised the willingness of the county commissioners to approve new positions, with a total of six  the three clerical staff, two caseworkers, and one manager  in the process of being created.

Cumberland CYSs caseloads include backlogs of cases that are awaiting a final clerical detail or clearance before they can be fully closed. One caseworker who does intake and initial evaluation  the most difficult role in the department to staff, McElwee said  was working 23 cases in March, for instance. But that person also had another 67 cases waiting for clearance from backlog, according to department documents.

Some of the violations cited by the state involved excessive delays, sometimes months, before supervisors were able review and sign off on safety plans. McElwee said she hopes to get the departments caseworker-to-supervisor ratio down to four-to-one, from the usual five-to-one.

Cumberland CYS has 227 children in its custody, McElwee said, of which 189 are in foster care or are placed with a relative under CYS supervision, and the rest in a group home, treatment center or other accommodation. The department also works with between 200 and 250 families in a given month who have experienced issues but whose children are not subject to removal.

High rates of removal often go hand-in-hand with parental drug use, which is often cited by social service agencies across the state and nation who are overburdened with the surge in opioid addiction.

Cumberland Countys opioid crisis is, by some measure, beginning to subside, with overdose deaths dropping last year versus 2017. While still elevated, McElwee said that the caseload appears to be leveling out, along with the rate of drug-related cases.

Last year, 48 percent of new placements were due to parental drug use, McElwee said, down from a peak of 74 percent a few years ago. But these cases are still difficult when it comes to the necessary standards for safety planning.

When youre dealing with a parent with an opioid issue, theyre at a higher risk, McElwee said. It does make safety planning with them harder  and if we cant safety plan, were asking for removal.

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The United States Air Force General Tod D. Wolters was sworn in as top military officer of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), at NATOs military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.

Tod D. Wolters

Service: He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is a former US pilot who has served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa. He has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He will succeed U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti to become new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for a term of two to three years.

(SACEUR) for a term of two to three years. He will also be a commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

A SACEUR is commander of NATOs Allied Command Operations (ACO). He is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium.

He also heads Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). SHAPE is ACOs headquarter.

SACEUR is second highest military position within NATO. In terms of precedence It is only after Chairman of NATO Military Committee.

Importance : NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer.

: NATOs SACEUR post has always been held by an American military officer. A SACEUR position is dual-hatted i.e. one who serves as SACEUR also holds role of Commander of United States European Command.

It is one of most challenging and most important military positions in world.

NATO
Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod...

From my book Child and Domestic abuse vol II There was a very well known kiruv personality. Perhaps you could say that he was a poster ...

Absolute proof that the Vaccines are an intentional Bio weapon foward this to your Doctor Inbox PATTERNS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF TOXIC COVID ...

Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com
With the fifth day of May approaching on Sunday it is time once again to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations came to the United States in the 1960s when Mexican-American citizens of the United States, particularly in southern California, began to bring to holiday to light for their fellow citizens.

Many individuals in the United States mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexicos independence  this is a falsehood as Mexicos Independence Day falls on Sept. 16.

Cinco de Mayo is actually the celebration of Mexican armys victory over the French in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, during which Napoleon III had tried to build an empire in Mexico. In Mexico, May 5 is not a federal holiday, but just a regular day. There are some military parades, some recreations of the battle, and other festive events, however, banks and most businesses remain open on Cinco de Mayo.

While the holiday began in Mexico, some of the largest celebrations of Cinco de Mayo are held each year in the United States. It is an opportunity for people to celebrate Mexican-Americans and their culture by having parades, parties, and other festivals and events.

El Tapatio, at all three local locations (Park Hills, Farmington, and Desloge), will be offering several specials for the big celebration on Sunday. Regular pitchers will be $15, jumbo margaritas and margaronas will be $6.50, Lunch Special #5 will be $6.50 all day, and the Burrito California will be $7 all day. There will also be free T-shirt giveaways.

The Old Mine House Bar and Grill in Park Hills will be having $2 tequila shots and $3 margaritas featuring their new habanero mango whiskey margarita. These specials will run all day on Sunday.

Perhaps one of the biggest St. Francois County Cinco de Mayo celebrations will be at Hubs Pub and Grill in Bonne Terre.

Hubs will be having a Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. and featuring Top Gunz. The party is labeled all '80s, all night! There is a $10 cover for the evening. Top Gunz is an all '80s music group from St. Louis. The group calls themselves a tribute to 80s Hair Band RocknRoll and features Blaze Magnum on vocals and props, Izzy Rocks on guitars, keys, and pees, Razzle Foxx on guitars and more guitars, Hollywood Velvet on bass and fishnets, and Danger Zone on drums and beer fetcher.

On Sunday, Hub's will offer $2 margaritas and $2.50 Coronas all day and will be featuring live Mariachi music from 1 to 3 p.m.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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According to the Leadington Police Department, witnesses said that just before 12:45 p.m. David Taylor, 68, of Leadington, was driving a Chrysler 300 southbound when he swerved over to the left side of the road and then went off the right side of the road. The vehicle traveled up an embankment and overturned, landing on its top.
Four Florida men are in custody following a Walmart theft and a high-speed pursuit on Thursday.

Bernard Rodgers, 22, Carlos Green, 22, Anthony Rhynes, 23, and Reechaey Bush, 25, all of Tampa, Florida, have each been charged with felony resisting arrest. They are currently being held in the St. Francois County Jail on $75,000 bond each.

According to the probable cause statement by the Desloge Police Department, a Desloge officer was dispatched to Walmart for a report of theft. It had been reported by Walmart loss prevention that the suspects had left the store in a silver Chevrolet Tahoe with Florida license plates.

While en route to the store, the officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating his lights and sirens.

The report states that the vehicle initially appeared to be slowing, but abruptly sped up and overtook several vehicles that were in its pathway.

The Tahoe then sped through a red light and also ran through a stop sign at a four-way intersection. The pursuit then continued onto U.S. 67 southbound from Parkway Drive in Park Hills. While on U.S. 67, the Tahoe reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

The vehicle then exited U.S. 67 onto Highway 32/Karsch Boulevard in Farmington at which time the driver lost control and struck a ditch.

All four men continued to attempt to flee on foot even after officers commanded them to stop. The four men were quickly captured by officers, placed under arrest, and transported to the St. Francois County Jail where they remain detained.

Matt McFarland is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3616, or at mmcfarland@dailyjournalonline.com.

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For the second year in a row, rain forced Thursday nights local National Day of Prayer observance inside the St. Francois County Courthouse. Despite the cloudy and wet weather, however, those who attended the observance were not dampened at all in spirit.

About 100 people gathered for fellowship and to pray together to exemplify this years theme, Love One Another. This years scripture, from John 13:34, read, Love one another, just as I have loved you.

After a time of praise and worship led by Kevin Kappler, pastor of Farmingtons New Life Church, the crowd joined together in the Pledge of Allegiance and then local pastors were invited to the podium to lead prayer for specific groups.

Praying for government officials was Elevate Faith Church of God Pastor Dane Corbett; law enforcement and first responders, Bismarck First Assembly of God Pastor Mike Barton; churches and revival, Faith Cowboy Church Pastor Ronnie Rothlisberger; schools and youth, Young Faith in Christ Executive Director Tim Burdin; families, Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church Pastor Daniel Clayton; Americas business and economy, United Assembly of God Pastor Rob Hampton; media, Three Crosses Cowboy Church Pastor Mike McGee; and military, Rev. Ryan Retzer of Eastside Church of God.

This years keynote speaker was Dwight Jones, Harvest Christian Centre pastor, who spoke on this years theme of loving one another.

Many of us in our nation have been delivered from the bondage of hell but we dont realize it, he said. "I want to share something with you that I really dont think most of us understand. How many of you are familiar with the children of Israel? Do you realize that we are knitted together as a nation of the children of Israel. Do you understand that the nation of America at its founding almost chose Hebrew as our national language?

Our first logo, our first emblem, our first sign of America was the sign of Moses with a rod lifted up over the Red Sea leading the children of Israel. Are you aware of that? There are so many things that lock us together with Israel. And something about Israel I dont think many of us realize is when we read about Israel being in bondage to the pharaoh and to the Egyptians, we think they were in bondage for 400 years  but they were not. As a matter of fact, if you read the scriptures, the Israelites were only in bondage around 80 or a little over 80 years. Much of that time they ruled with great authority and great power.

Listen to me, the power in the world is trying to marginalize the body of Christ. Theyre trying to tell us that our opinion does not matter. Theyre trying to tell us that we are the minority, but we are here tonight to declare that with the people around the nation, we speak with one voice and one accord and we are a mighty army because we are united as the body of Christ.

Rev. Jones also noted that he agreed with former Vice President Joe Biden who said recently that the American people are in a battle for the soul of the nation.

Unfortunately, Mr. Biden is fighting for a nation that has excommunicated God, Jones said. He is fighting for a nation where homosexual marriage is the norm. He is fighting for a nation where good is evil and evil is good; where right is wrong and wrong is right. My friend, we gather here tonight as do countless thousands across the nation to pray to a god who alone can heal our land. Listen to me, I told you earlier  hes not a Democratic god, hes not a Republican god. He is God and the only way to please him is to please Christ.

The event was sponsored by the St. Francois County American Family Association.

Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-756-8927 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Greetings Friends of the 144th Legislative District!

As session is on the final countdown, the Capitol is very active with visitors. Arcadia Valley students with the JAG program (Jobs after Graduation) along with Bart and Rhonda Ackley visited the Capitol this week.

Next week, we will have visitors from the District up for a luncheon with the Lt. Governor. The Lieutenant Governor will be selecting individuals for the Senior Service Award. It will be exciting to see if any of our locals are honored with this award. We have so many individuals in our community who put in countless community service hours and would be so deserving of this award.

General Assembly Approves Important Legal Reforms (SB 7)

The members of the House gave their stamp of approval this week to legislation meant to improve Missouris legal climate and bring fairness to courtrooms in the state. The legislation, which was previously approved by the Senate, now heads to the governors desk to be signed into law.

The legislation comes in response to Missouris existing laws on joinder and venue that have made the state a premier destination for out-of-state litigants to file their lawsuits. The reputation that courtrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City have for handing out big judgments have attracted thousands of litigants from across the nation. Only 1,035 out of 13,252 mass tort plaintiffs in cases being heard in St. Louis City were actually Missouri residents.

The changes approved by the legislature reflect a ruling made in February by the Missouri Supreme Court. The states highest court found that a St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge incorrectly allowed a suit by a St. Louis County plaintiff against a New Jersey-based company to move forward in his court. This legislation will reduce cost and increase access for Missouri residents to the court system by reducing the number of cases filed in Missouri courts by plaintiffs with no connection to the state.

Gov. Parson praised the legislature for sending the bill to his desk. The governor released a statement saying, Passing venue and joinder reform is a huge win and will provide long overdue relief to Missouri businesses that have been taken advantage of by rampant abuse of our states legal system. Todays passage of SB 7 will soon deliver a significant economic boost and create a better business environment all across Missouri.

I look forward to the Governor signing these positive reforms to improve our states competitiveness, strengthen our legal climate, and bring fairness to our courtroom.

Members of the Missouri House approved my House Bill 1135 meant to help victims of domestic violence get away from abusers and move on with their lives.

Under my bill, victims of domestic violence, who are engaged with an agency accredited with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence, would receive a one-time fee waiver for obtaining a copy of a birth certificate.

Individuals who leave a home where abuse occurs often leave behind birth certificates, as well as other documents and identification. When they attempt to obtain new forms of identification such as a driver license or attempt to open a bank account, it is difficult to do so without a birth certificate. The fee to get a new copy is often a burden to a survivor faced with numerous other expenses while trying to start down a new path in life.

These vulnerable people need access to birth certificates in order to participate in legitimate activities leading to independence and self-sufficiency. Abusers often take control of a victims vital records since that keeps them unable to leave. This is a bill I filed after a visit with individuals from the SEMO Family Violence Council from Bonne Terre. During their visit they shared with me some of the obstacles they face as they try to help these victims. This piece of legislation is a small step we can take to help these individuals get on their feet and away from their abuser.

The bill also provides a free birth certificate to any homeless or unaccompanied youth, and allows an unaccompanied youth to obtain a birth certificate without consent or signature of a parent or guardian. The bill now is now under consideration in the Missouri Senate.

House Bill Moving to the Senate

HB 1162 requires the Department of Economic Development to maintain a record of all federal grants awarded to entities for the purposes of providing, maintaining, and expanding rural broadband in the state of Missouri. In cases in which funds have been retained, withheld or not distributed due to failure to meet performance standards or other criteria, the department must seek to have the funds awarded to another eligible, qualified Missouri broadband provider. The bill would keep grant funds in Missouri instead of returning the funds to the federal government to reallocate. This would ensure that funds remain in the state to bring broadband to the rural areas.

HB 1002 requires dump trucks to be equipped with mud flaps that have up to 12 inches of ground clearance, instead of the eight inches required for other vehicles. Mud flaps on dump trucks get caught on piles and rip off. Raising mud flaps will help dump trucks maneuver better. This bill will allow mud flaps to be adjusted and prevents wasting mud flaps. Often times these mud flaps rip and then eventually fall off on the highway and cause a safety concern. The purpose of the bill is to save drivers money, to facilitate consistency and help keep our roads safer. There are 13 states that do not require mud flaps and only three states have the eight inch requirement.

HB 585 establishes the "Taxpayer Protection Act." For all tax years beginning January 1, 2020, this bill requires paid tax return preparers to sign any income tax return or claim for refund and provide the preparer's Internal Revenue Service preparer tax identification number. The bill will help prevent fraud and also serve as a consumer protection measure to help prevent taxpayers from being taken advantage of by unqualified tax preparers or criminals.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have. As your Representative I am here to assist you however I can. I can be reached by email at Chris.Dinkins@house.mo.gov or by phone at 573-751-2112.

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Governor Parson and First Lady Theresa Parson hosted a BBQ at The Peoples House following adjournment on Monday evening. All who were invited were greeted graciously by the Governor and First Lady. They shook everyones hand and personally thanked everyone for coming.

Due to the rain, tents were set up on their lawn and table and chairs throughout the main floor of the Mansion. It was truly an honor to visit with them and to have the chance to mingle with all Representatives in a setting that they provided for us. Missouri is truly blessed to have Governor Parson and Mrs. Parson as the Governor of the State of Missouri.

To access the various events that the Governor Parson has attended or hosted, click on https://www.flickr.com/photos/141271541@N03/albums. Some of the photos on this site are Legislator BBQ, MO National Guard Swearing In, MRTA Teachers at the Capitol, Governors Faith Based and Community Service Partnership for Disaster Recovery.

To access the Governors Home Page, click https://governor.mo.gov/. Our Governor is totally a Governor for the People!

On Tuesday at the Capitol, I had the pleasure of meeting with students and their advisors from our district representing the JAG Program. JAG stands for Jobs for Americas Graduates. Jag is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who have serious barriers to graduation and/or employment. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has delivered consistent, compelling results  helping over one million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue postsecondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities. A few (okay, many) years ago, when I was in the school system, I wrote and received for our school a grant to start a Jag Program in our district. It was a pleasure for me to see this program thriving and to meet with the JAG students from Farmington, West County and Bismarck. It is a great program for students, for parents and for our communities.

On Wednesday, in keeping with students and our future workforce, a Resolution was presented on the House Floor to the First Robotics group in our state. This will just be the beginning of future Robotics! A hearty Congratulations to these and all future students and a Thank You to the Teachers who are implementing these programs in our schools.

Bills of Interest

HB 942 will be a bill that will benefit small businesses. The House has passed this bill and the Senate committee has now taken up bill to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. Providing quality health insurance is often a fundamental part of efforts to retain good employees. Small companies are struggling with the rising costs of insurance. Current Missouri law prohibits multiple employer welfare arrangements from being publicly marketed, making them nearly impossible for small business to discover. These plans are cheaper than traditional plans as they allow small companies to combine their purchasing power. HB 942 will make these products available and let them be marketed to small business owners to help their employees. I believe that government must get out of the way and allow plans such as this to make it easier for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees

HB 324 dealing with drones over correction facilities has now been rolled into Senate Committee Substitute for HB 113, an omnibus piece of legislation dealing with criminal reform. I am very happy that this bill that protects our correctional facilities, state mental health facilities and open air stadiums such as Busch stadium is now in a bill that contains many non-controversial pieces of legislation that when passed will positively impact the lives of the citizens of Missouri.

HB 604 the school turnaround act has now been through the House and Senate Committees and is waiting to get to the Senate floor. This bill is intended to add support to buildings that are struggling with student achievement. It takes the approach of not punishing a building but offering assistance that will help teachers and staff in these buildings that have been identified. By doing this it is the students that ultimately benefit.

To track the legislation that I have filed, click here. https://house.mo.gov/MemberDetails.aspx?year=2019&code=R&district=117

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It is hard to believe, but we have reached the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session. After approving the budget, my colleagues and I have continued to work on several other important pieces of legislation, including two regarding property rights.

On Monday, April 29, we debated Senate Bill 391. This legislation deals with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Part of this legislation prohibits county commissioners and county health boards from instituting rules or regulations that conflict or are stricter than the rules and regulations put forth by the Department of Health and Senior Services. As long as property owners are in compliance with the departments regulations, they should have the freedom to choose how they manage their land and livestock and not be subject to stricter regulations.

On Wednesday, May 1, House Bill 1062 was heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee. This proposal specifies that no private entity has the power of eminent domain for the purposes of constructing above-ground merchant lines. The original purpose of eminent domain was to use private land in a way that would benefit the entire community. Private companies are using eminent domain to build on an individuals private property for private gain. While the land owners are compensated for the use of their land, sometimes the damage caused by the projects can have lasting effects on the property. Property owners should not be forced to agree to their land being used by a private company to construct these above-ground merchant lines.

Both pieces of legislation have the potential to affect property rights in our state. It is my job as your state legislator to protect your interests, and I certainly support the rights of all property owners in our state. I look forward to further discussing SB 391 and HB 1062 with my colleagues.

I always appreciate hearing your opinions and concerns regarding your state government. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov. For more information, please visit my official Senate webpage at www.senate.mo.gov/romine

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Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

Vote

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Benton Countys newest judge took the oath of office on Friday in a brief, informal ceremony at the county courthouse.

With about two dozen friends, family members and co-workers looking on, Joan Demarest raised her right hand and swore to uphold the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and faithfully discharge the office of a judge in the Benton County Circuit Court.

The oath was administered by Presiding Judge Locke Williams while the courts third jurist, Matthew Donohue, watched from the gallery.

Demarest was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown from among several applicants to succeed David Connell, who retired recently from the Benton County Circuit Court bench and now serves as a senior judge.

Judge Demarest will take up her new duties on Monday, and Williams let her know shell be greeted by a full caseload.

Judge Donohue and I are excited to be working with a new colleague, and were here to give you any help you might need, he said.

Demarest got emotional as she thanked those in attendance for their support.

The joke in my family is Im not going to be a hanging judge, Im going to be the crying judge, she said.

A formal investiture ceremony will be scheduled for a later date.

Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt.

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by Reese Erlich





Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden praise him as a man with extensive foreign policy experience. Hes living proof, however, that extensive doesnt necessarily mean good.





Biden reflects the mindset of the previous generation of mainstream Democratic leaders who are out of touch with the anti-interventionist sentiments of most Americans.





We dont like his experience, says Karen Bernal, the outgoing chair of the California Democratic Partys Progressive Caucus and who supports Senator Bernie Sanders for President. Biden is way too deferential to the military-industrial complex. I dont see him changing.





Biden is a liberal interventionist, at least historically, willing to wage wars of aggression in the name of human rights or national security. He actively drummed up support for US bombing in the Balkans, supported the occupation of Afghanistan, voted for the 2003 war in Iraq, publicly backed the bombing of Libya and supported vastly intensified drone wars in Pakistan and Somalia.





Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is running on an anti-military intervention platform. He offers solid criticism of the U.S. war-making system and calls for a sharp reduction in military spending in order to fund much-needed social spending.





These are hardly abstract points of debate. The U.S. has spent $6 trillion fighting the doomed war on terror. Between 480,000 and 507,000 people have been killed in the US post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including nearly 7,000 U.S. troops.





Bidens pro-war stand is morally and politically wrong, and I am not alone in my opinion. Biden will have a hard time convincing voters that his policies are all that different from Trump's. A recent poll confirms that a majority of Americans oppose Trumps foreign policy. But Biden's baggage could actually help Trump win.





Bloody Hands





In the early 1990s, Biden strongly pushed for war against Serbia and favored Bosnian independence, a war that tore apart former Yugoslavia. Some 25 years later, Bosnia, still plagued by ethnic conflict , is governed by a European-appointed high representative, and 7,000 NATO troops remain on the ground.





Similarly, Biden supported the U.S. invasion of Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, further splintering Yugoslavia and placing power in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army-- a group that U.S. officials had previously described as terrorist . To this day 4,000 NATO troops, including some 700 Americans, remain stationed in Kosovo.





Biden voted to authorize President George Bush Jr. to wage war against Iraq, despite his false claims of weapons of mass destruction. Well after the anti-war movement and even some establishment politicians denounced the war, Biden still defended it, saying in 2005 , We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq [but] I think that would be a gigantic mistake, or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out-- equally a mistake.





Biden later criticized Bushs handling of the Iraq war. But instead of calling for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops, he called for decentralizing Iraq, splitting it into three parts: Kurdistan, a Shia Muslim east and Sunni west. Far from being a peace plan, Biden sought to establish a U.S. sphere of influence in Kurdistan at a time when the US was badly losing the war.

After September 11, 2001, Biden supported the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. He initially called for maintaining U.S. troops there to rebuild the country. Later he favored keeping a smaller number of troops there to fight a counter insurgency war, supposedly to stop terrorism. In practical terms that means keeping U.S. troops and bases permanently in Afghanistan.





During internal White House meetings, Vice President Biden reportedly objected to various military interventions, including the 2011 bombing of Libya. But publicly, Biden supported the attack and even proclaimed it a model for future interventions.





NATO got it right , he said in 2011. In this case, America spent $2 billion and didnt lose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward than it has (been) in the past.





Biden chose to ignore the thousands of Libyan civilians who were killed and injured as the U.S./NATO war turned Libya into a failed state. And a year later insurgents killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in the infamous Benghazi attack. Libya is hardly a prescription for anything.





Sanders Foreign Policy





Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, offers a more systemic criticism of U.S. militarism. He calls for a significant reduction in the $700 billion annual military budget . Do we really need to spend more than the next ten nations combined on the military, he asks, when our infrastructure is collapsing and kids cant afford to go to college?





Progressive Caucus chair Bernal says shes seen a lot of progress in his views since the 2016 campaign, when he tended to deemphasize foreign policy. His base wants him to be much more progressive, she says, and he responded.





In a 2017 speech on foreign policy, Sanders rejected the benevolent global hegemony promoted by some in Washington. I would argue that the events of the past two decades-- particularly the disastrous Iraq war and the instability and destruction it has brought to the region-- have utterly discredited that vision.





Sanders has opposed all the recent U.S. wars of aggression and has said the U.S. should take military intervention off the table in Venezuela and Iran . Instead, Sanders emphasizes diplomacy and the need to root out the underlying causes of international conflict.





For sure, Sanders, as a democratic socialist, is still a captive of some Cold War myths. For example, in his 2017 speech he praises the Marshall Plan as an example of the U.S. unselfishly helping to rebuild Japan and Germany after World War II. In fact, the Marshall Plan was aimed at tying those countries to U.S. corporate interests and isolating the then-USSR. And its not clear how Sanders might react if confronted by liberals calling for military intervention on humanitarian grounds.













Trump And The Presidential Campaign





In 2016, Trump claimed to oppose the Mideast wars. But he kept US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and vetoed a Congressional resolution to end U.S. support for the disastrous war in Yemen. The drone strikes in Somalia that began under Obama have vastly increased under Trump. Hes moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognized Israels illegal annexation of the Golan and virtually eliminated the already remote possibility of a two-state solution with Palestine.





Trump also withdrew from the UN Security Council mandated nuclear accord with Iran and unilaterally re-imposed harsh sanctions. His administration declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist organization. What Democrat will move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv or acknowledge that the Revolutionary Guard is not a terrorist organization? I dont think Biden would.





During the primaries, when Biden will face sharp criticism from the left, he may try to reinvent himself as a progressive on foreign policy. Its true that he voted against the 1991 Gulf War and opposed the Reagan administrations aid to the Nicaraguan contras . And as vice president, Biden established a dovish reputation compared to hawks such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. On May 1 Biden criticized Trump's support for the Yemen War.





But the reality remains that Biden publicly defended each new war initiated by the Obama administration. When Obama and Biden took office, the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they left the White House, the U.S. had initiated, backed or vastly expanded additional wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia.





Sanders doesn't have Bidens baggage and will run an issue-oriented campaign. But even if you're not a fan of Sanders, Biden is a poor choice given the wide range of more winnable progressives. Its time the Democrats nominate someone willing to break with interventionism and reflect the views of the American people.
The same establishment hacks-- think Neera Tanden of the grotesquely corrupted Center for American Progress , for example-- who foisted Hillary Clinton on the Democratic Party (bringing us Trump) now want us to get behind another Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden-- and for many of the same shiny reasons. Hillary represented the status quo establishment then; Biden does now. She was the most experienced candidate ever then; he is now. She did have one thing about her that everyone was genuinely excited about: she would have been the first woman president. He has nothing at all. His entire career has been about how bad a politician can be without joining the Republican Party. If you liked Joe Lieberman, you should love Joe Biden. If you think Joe Manchin is the ideal Democratic political leader today, Joe Biden is your man.

And... if you think the doddering, incoherent fool in this clip-- shot earlier this week in Iowa-- is the best man to bring down the Trump regime... good luck to you. Or better yet, please watch it again, and carefully:

The video, up top, of Elizabeth Warren, from David Doel of the, should remind people who don't remember the pre-Obama Biden of why progressives thought he was always such a danger to working families. Yesterday, reporting for, Alex Gangitano wrote about Biden's K Street problems . There have long been two Democratic politicians steeped to the point of drowning in lobbyist corruption-- one in the House (Steny Hoyer) and one in the Senate (Status Quo Joe)-- and to tie the Democratic Party nomination to this taint is a losing strategy. "The influence world," wrote Gangitano, "is stocked with former aides and supporters who have rallied around his previous bids for president. In this cycle, though, those lobbyist ties, past fundraising from corporate interests and perceptions that Biden is more favorable to businesses could hurt his bid for the Democratic nomination."

His campaign has said he will not take money from lobbyists and corporate PACs, but that is unlikely to be enough for progressive groups in the primary who have larger concerns about the candidate.





With Joe Biden, if he wants to say no to corporate lobbyists' money thats great and its a step in a positive direction that acknowledges the times, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told The Hill.





But, with Joe Biden, its not about course correcting any one little thing, its about his big picture brand, which is being cozy with big corporations and cutting back room deals with Republican political insiders.





Biden's allies run deep on K Street, where a number of former aides from his time as a senator now hold high-level positions at powerful lobbying firms.





Christopher Putala, who founded the lobbying firm Putala Strategies, was a lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden, as was Jeffrey Peck, now a lobbyist at Peck Madigan Jones.





Biden also has allies in Tony Russo, a lobbyist at T-Mobile, who served as his legislative counsel in the Senate; Larry Rasky, the chair of Rasky Partners, who worked on Bidens 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns; and Ankit Desai, a political assistant to Biden in the Senate and now a lobbyist at Tellurian.





And Biden's more than three decades in the Senate and previous runs for president will give his critics plenty of fodder.

When Biden ran for president in 2008, he raised money from lobbyists. He reversed course when he joined the ticket with President Obama, who made running against K Street and rejecting corporate money a centerpiece of his first presidential campaign.





In the Senate, Biden also represented Delaware, a state that is home to many large corporations, including a number of credit card giants.





Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, took a shot at Biden last week, accusing him of being on the side of "the biggest financial institutions" over "hardworking families."





This year, Biden also held a fundraiser hosted by David Cohen, telecom giant Comcast's chief lobbyist. And Biden allies led by Democratic fundraiser Matt Tompkins quickly launched the For the People PAC after he officially jumped into the race, a move first reported by The Hill. The PAC aimed to raise millions to boost Biden's bid.





His campaign, though, was quick to distance itself from the super PAC, telling The Hill that "Vice President Biden does not welcome assistance from super PACs."





Republicans, who see Biden as a strong challenger to President Trump, have also called for more scrutiny over the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden and potential conflicts of interest.





As vice president, Biden pressed Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor, who faced accusations he had ignored corruption among officials in the government. The prosecutor was eventually removed.





The New York Times in a story this week reported that Hunter Biden was on the board of an energy company the dismissed prosecutor was investigating. Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Thursday called for an investigation into "Biden conflicts" of interest.





Biden's campaign told The Times that his son's business dealings had no connection to policies Biden carried out as vice president.





The issue of corporate ties has taken newfound importance in the Democratic Party, where liberal groups are pressing candidates to reject special interest cash.





Theres a new benchmark of what Democratic campaigns are now judged by, a new litmus test, and it would be hard for any candidate to not reject [lobbyists money], Zach Friend, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for Obama for America, told The Hill.





Its how you enter into the race. It would be equivalent to any other Democratic policy-- do you support unions? Do you support marriage equality? Do you support choice?





The scrutiny on Democrats is intense.





Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has seen his stock rise in polls of the Democratic primary race, has found strong support on K Street, especially among LGBTQ lobbyists who are rallying behind the openly gay 2020 contender. But that support led Buttigieg last week to say he would no longer accept lobbyist donations and that he would return the $30,000 he received in the first quarter of the year.





Not taking lobbyist money poses its own challenges for Biden, and he will need to show his strength at raising small-donor donations, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has, to stay competitive.





Biden's allies, though, won't be on the sidelines.





Those on K Street noted there are other ways for lobbyists to help without writing a check.





There are plenty of ways to help, Al Mottur, Democratic lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, told The Hill. Often, Mottur said, lobbyists can help a candidate by introducing them to other big donors.
A sandbox would allow experimentation with new approaches and new business models without legal repercussions.

A discussion on new business models and the exercise of creativity by startups drew a lot of interest from entrepreneurs, investors and experts at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

One of the big questions raised at the discussion was how to "behave" with new business models and what are the appropriate policies for models in the domestic market without legal framework or precedent.

"Through lessons learned from some countries, Vietnam can use a sandbox (approach). It enables a safe environment for businesses to test services or products without the risk of being sued for the legally unauthorized actions," said Nguyen Thien Nghia, deputy director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The use of technology in a new business model is highly competitive. There are some businesses that argue that the new business model destroys traditional business, but I personally have a different perspective. The new business model adopts highly competitive technology, for example, Uber or Grab combining e-commerce and transportation," he said.

Agreeing with the opinions of some leading government agencies and experts, Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam, said it was necessary to have a sandbox that would create space and time for new technology platforms and business models to demonstrate their ability to promote socio-economic development. However, businesses participating in the sandbox need to be selected carefully, he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Grab booth at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 on May 2. Photo by Ngoc Thanh

"The emergence of new technology always creates big changes and there will be some traditional businesses that are not willing to change. However, they also need to apply technology to enhance their capabilities. competitiveness, increasing customer benefits and reducing administrative burdens by themselves," Lim said.

In just seven years, from a small Malaysian startup with just 10 people, Grab is now currently a unicorn in Southeast Asia. It operates in eight countries with 6,000 employees. The emergence of a technology-based sharing economic model that Grab is applying has created jobs for millions of workers and small business partners throughout Southeast Asia.

However, because this economic model is still too new, and there is no legal framework in Vietnam, Grab's operation is currently facing many difficulties, the forum heard.

The Vietnam Private Economic Forum on May 2-3 was co-chaired by the government and the Central Economic Committee. The Research Department for Private Economic Development and event organizer IEC Group were the other co-organizers along with VnExpress.
The Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum was jointly organized by the government and the Central Economic Commission, in collaboration with VnExpress and the IEC Group.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposes policy prescriptions at the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

"The private sector is a major job creator in Vietnam, contributing 40 percent to the national GDP," Vu Tien Loc, president of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at the forum on Thursday.

On behalf of enterprises, the VCCIs president offered solutions to promote the private sector's contribution to the national economy.

"Firstly, while state-owned enterprises play a leading role in some areas, the private sector needs to be the backbone of Vietnams economy."

He also stressed the fundamental importance of institutional reforms that are focused on supporting and facilitating private businesses.

Noting that 30 percent of GDP was contributed by individual business households, Loc proposed that the Law on Enterprises is revised to promote further growth in that area.

He said two things that have to happen in tandem are simplification of administrative procedures and establishment of a complete legal framework. "The legislative framework should catch up with the trend of the digital economy."

Vu Tien Loc, president of VCCI, speaks at the forum.

Furthermore, enterprise associations should be allowed to take the initiative to make legislative recommendations, he noted.

Loc also recommended that more be done to promote not just the number of enteprises, but also their quality.

"Socialization of public services and public-private partnerships should be promoted. Enterprises should play a role in projects of national significance."

Legislative reforms should ensure greater fairness and transparency, particularly in resolving business disputes, he said.

He stressed that private sector development cannot be separated from state-enterprises restructuring and policies to attract FDI firms.

Lastly, the VCCI head said that more effective policies were needed to boost startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large-scale enterprises as well as private economic groups, which are crucial elements of value chains, contributing to labor productivity and global integration.
Government inspectors will study the latest power price adjustment that saw electricity bills go up by 8.36 percent from March 20.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Government Inspectorate to work with the ministries of industry and trade, and finance to study the latest electricity price adjustment, including the method used to calculate the price and the collection of electricity bill payments.

The inspectorate and the two ministries should clarify whether the electricity price increase was right or wrong and report to the PM by next month.

A document issued by the Government Office says the prime minister's decision follows many households complaining about sudden and significant increases in their electricity bills for April.

However, the electricity sector has said that the surge in bills is only partially due to the increase in electricity prices. It has said that unusually hot weather conditions and the resultant increase in households' electricity consumption are other contributing factors.

Speaking to VnExpress Thursday, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said his ministry would set up inspection teams at electricity companies to ensure strict compliance with the ministry's decision to increase electricity price by 8.36 percent.

Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing economies, has been struggling to develop its energy industry.

World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said at a recent forum that Vietnam would need to raise up to $150 billion by 2030 to develop its energy sector.

Dione added that electricity demand in the country is set to grow by about 8 percent a year for the next decade.
Over 500 artifacts and documents mark the Memories of Truong Son trail exhibition open this month in Hanois Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum.

The exhibition is being held to mark the 60th anniversary of the opening of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, aka the Truong Son trail, which connected North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The road was used to transport soldiers and supplies from the north to the southern frontier during the Vietnam War.

Regiment 70 uses elephants to transport goods from the central province of Quang Binh.

For 16 years from 1959 to 1975, soldiers and people used the Truong Son Trail that traveled around 20,000 kilometers through 21 Vietnamese provinces, Cambodia and Laos.

It used 600 kilometers of waterways, 1,400 kilometers of petroleum pipelines, 1,500 kilometers of communication lines. More than two million soldiers used this trail to and from the battlefield, and over a million tons of weapons, ammunition and goods were transported on the trail.

Soldiers from regiment 71 proceed to southern Vietnam on Truong Son trail in August 1962.

Regiment 90 makes a temporary bridge on the trail.

Battalion 102 prepares to depart on the trail.

U.S. aircraft spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Anti-aircraft force unit fights to protect the Truong Son trail.

On a part of the trail where there was no forest cover, the Engineer Battalion made a leaf truss to camouflage and spread stones to cover the roads surface, ensuring safety for transportation trucks to run through on March 1971.

A training session for doctors in Laos in March 1972.

The opening ceremony of Reunification Railway held in Thuan Ly station in the central province of Quang Binh in December 1976 after the war was over and country had been reunified.

The exhibition will last from May 3-31 at the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum, Kilometer 15, Highway 6, Yen Nghia Ward, Ha Dong District.
An Australian court sentenced two Vietnamese crop-sitters working for hundreds of cannabis plants on Friday.

Quang Le was sentenced to three years and four months in jail while his accomplice Si Ngo got two years in prison after they pleaded guilty to "crop sitting" hundreds of cannabis plants at homes in the suburbs of Newcastle, ABC News reported.

Crop sitting refers to the act of living in homes and tending to cannabis plants grown there.

The court heard Quang had racked up $30,000 worth of gambling debt and was being pressured by loan sharks, forcing him to guard cannabis crops to service his debt.

It also heard Ngo became a crop-sitter after his student visa expired and his work as a strawberry picker dried up.

Ngo will be deported upon his release in August 2020, the court ruled.

It is a crime to be caught with cannabis in Australia. However, possession of a small amount for personal use is not a criminal offense in several states.

The Australian government estimates more than 2,300 Vietnamese students have overstayed their visas in the country. Many of them have been involved in growing and selling cannabis.

Last month, four Vietnamese men were sentenced to up to three years and four months in jail for playing different roles in a $2.8 million cannabis operation in Australia.
Garbage, including food waste, plastic bags and bottles are left on pedestrian streets around the Hanoi's Sword Lake after the New Years Eve countdown on January 1, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Two fixed cameras and over 30 environment staff are recording footage of those littering pedestrian streets in Hanoi's iconic Sword Lake area.

The Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO) and the central Hoan Kiem District are running a pilot project between April 26  May 19 to record littering offenses.

While the two fixed CTTV cameras operate full time, over 30 staff will use their smartphones or the companys mobile cameras.

"We will report the recorded violations by both locals and tourists case by case to the local police who will decide the follow up and punishment. In the case of businesses, we will build up a collection of videos and photos proving that they pollute the environment and submit the data to local authorities," said a URENCO representative.

The company has currently put up dozens of boards along the walking zone around the lake, telling pedestrians that littering in the area will be recorded. It warns that those caught littering will face fines of up to VND7 million ($300).

After the trial period, the company will assess the project and report the result to Hoan Kiem District authorities, who will decide whether to extend the action on a permanent basis.

The walking zone around the lake is activated from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. It first opened in September 2016 and was expanded two years later.

District authorities say the zone receives 20,000-25,000 visitors each day and the figure goes up to around 200,000 during holidays and festivals.

However, the pedestrian zone is badly trashed by the crowds that gather on the weekends, and it gets much worse on occasions when it is chosen as a venue for outdoor events.

URENCO said it has been collecting 200 tons of garbage each day from the walking zone.

Current laws in Vietnam regulate that a person can be fined between VND5-7 million for littering sidewalks, streets or the water drainage system. But fines are rarely issued.
Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018.

The number of distributed denial-of-service attacks in Vietnam was the second highest in the Asia-Pacific and sixth in the world in Q4 last year.

In the region, it ranked just below China, while globally it was after China, the U.S., France, Russia, and Brazil, according to data gathered by Hong Kong-based Nexusguard, a leading cloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solutions provider.

A DDoS is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet.

Incoming traffic flooding the victim originates from many different sources, effectively making it impossible to stop the attack simply by blocking a single source.

Nexusguard has said Vietnam is now in a precarious position, a meeting heard in Hanoi Friday.

Vietnam accounted for 3.53 percent of DDoS attacks around the world in the last quarter of 2018 compared to 9.52 percent for China.

Nguyen Huy Dung, acting head of the Authority of Information Security, told the meeting that these days it has become much easier to carry out DDoS attacks and preventing them, much harder.

His agency has now developed a system to fight cyberattacks by linking with businesses and Internet providers to handle DDoS attacks on significant data bases, he said.

Nexusguard has also warned about DDoS attacks aimed at communication service providers, including telecom suppliers.

Perpetrators are using smaller, bit-and-piece methods to inject junk into legitimate traffic, causing attacks to bypass detection rather than sounding alarms with large, obvious attack spikes, the company said.

Last September Russias Kaspersky Lab named Vietnam among the top 10 countries hit by DDoS attacks in the last quarter of 2017 and also among the top 10 nations affected by botnet-assisted DDoS attacks as more than 637,000 computers were hit.
iStock/welcomia(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) -- A credit card belonging to an American tourist killed six months ago while on vacation in Mexico was recently used in Oklahoma City, police said.

Taylor Meyer, a 27-year-old from California, was found dead last November in Playa del Carmen, near where he was staying with several friends to celebrate one of their 30th birthdays.

On Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department posted images of the man who used the card to its Facebook page, and requested the publics help in identifying him to hopefully help investigators get one step closer to solving this tragic crime.

Through the course of the investigation detectives working the case found out the victims credit card was used here in [Oklahoma City], police wrote in a Facebook post.

The man seen in the photos was driving a silver SUV and he was accompanied by a woman at the time, Oklahoma City police said. They are urging anyone who knows the identity of the man to contact Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or submit a tip online (case #19-0028862).

In an interview with ABC Los Angeles Station KABC following his death, Meyers parents said they were told that his body was found in a park not far from the bar where he had been with friends, and that his wallet, watch, shoes and iPhone had been taken.

Playa del Carmen sits along the Caribbean Sea in eastern Mexico.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Thomas Peter

The United States accused China Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps.

It was some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

"The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps," Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be "closer to 3 million citizens."

Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified "given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million."

"So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description," he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was "reminiscent of the 1930s."

The U.S. government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate "in proportion" against any U.S. sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were "the same as boarding schools."

U.S. officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there.
" " All-uppercase type has come to indicate shouting in internet-speak. But what's the first instance of its use in that way? David Schliepp/HowStuffWorks

WHAT IF I WROTE THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IN ALL CAPS? WOULD YOU READ IT? MAYBE IF IT WERE VERY SHORT, BECAUSE YOU'D OBVIOUSLY BE WONDERING, "WHY IS THIS WRITER/MY GRANDPA SO ANGRY?" BUT I BET YOUR CURIOSITY WOULDN'T LAST LONG.

HOW TIRED OF READING THIS ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED.

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Sorry, I was shouting  but you knew that.

These days, people use the written word to communicate more than we have in any other period in history. You can make a plan with a friend, discuss the grocery list with your spouse, and negotiate your kid's curfew without having to strain your precious, beautiful vocal cords one bit. But the problem with conversing through the written word instead of face-to-face has to do with tone. In order for your reader to get the full meaning of your 246-character text, you have to use all the tools the QWERTY keyboard has to offer. One of those tools is the caps lock key.

In a two-partseries on meh., the daily-deal-retail-site-turned-internet-forum, writer and former typesetter Dave Fleishman explores the evolution of SHOUTY CAPS, and suggests the history of using all capital letters to indicate outrage or very strong, spirited emphasis is much older than our internet forefathers would have us believe.

Capital letters evolved in the Roman Empire where stone cutters made inscriptions on the topmost capitals of monuments and buildings using big, straight letters. The lowercase letters evolved from adaptations of capitals that were written by hand in manuscripts. Eventually there was a crossover where the capital letters wound up being used as big illustrated centerpieces of illuminated manuscripts, and finally the two cases flirted with each other until the deal was sealed around the mid-1400's when the Gutenberg Bible became the first mass-produced book using movable type.

" " Ancient Greek writing used all capital letters (and no spacing between words), but it wasn't to emphasize shouting or anger. Danita Delimont/Getty Images

But throughout history, capital letters were used for emphasis: the use of capitals in NO PARKING and NO SMOKING, for instance, lend the messages a certain gravitas. Newspapers used all caps for their headlines until the 1910's, when it was pointed out that capital letters are just plain exhausting to read.

"But there's a difference between shouting and signifying importance," says Fleishman. "I was trying to figure out, was there a historical basis for the convention of using the uppercase to shout? A lot of things are tacit; everyone alive today who uses an online service appreciates that when you use uppercase, you're shouting. But was that true before?"

If you ask early internet users, they'd say modern use of all caps as tantamount to shouting goes back to at least March of 1984, when a guy named Dave Decot, then a computer science student at Case Western Reserve University, wrote in a forum:

Well, there seem to be some conventions developing in the use of various emphasizers. There are three kinds of emphasis in use, in order of popularity:

1) using CAPITAL LETTERS to make words look 'louder',

2) using *asterisks* to put sparklers around emphasized words, and

3) s p a c i n g words o u t, possibly accompanied by 1) or 2).

This was just after computer terminals switched from all-uppercase to mixed-case keyboards, so when given the option of writing in lowercase or uppercase letters, the early internet decided all caps was great for shouting. However, if you didn't know the implications, using all caps just made you seem old.

"Anybody who persisted in using all upper case even after the switch in computer terminal keyboards seemed fussy and out-of-date because they were still using older terminals or hadn't gotten used to the new system," says Fleishman.

But Fleishman sensed the internet didn't invent uppercase shouting, and after a protracted search, found a reference from an 1856 edition of The Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, that recounts the tale of a Dutchman with small pox:

"'I dells you I've got der small pox. Ton't you vetsteh? der SMALL POX!' This time he shouted it out in capital letters."

"That's the smoking gun right there," says Fleishman.

So, now you know and may go about your business, quietly and with good manners. All-caps-as-shouting predates the American Civil War, toilet paper, the machine gun, pencil erasers and postcards.

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Now That's Interesting A campaign began in Sweden in 2001 to remove the caps lock key from computer keyboards. In the early 1980's, caps lock took over the keyboard real estate where the control key used to be. These days, CAPSoff.org advocates for the removal of "this ludicrous key."
December 3, 1931  January 25, 2019

Joe Richard Williams was born in Cannon City, Colorado on December 3, 1931, to parents Veta Jeanette and Clyde Jackson Williams. Joe grew up in Cannon City and spent most of his time hunting and fishing in the surrounding mountains. This love of the outdoors lasted his entire life, and was a legacy he passed on to his children. Joe joined the Navy at 16 years old, with his parents assistance and consent, and spent four years serving his country during the Korean War.

Joe married his first wife Gloria Kathryn Miller on June 15, 1949 in Elko, Nevada while in the Navy and they had two children, Kathryn Louise and Jack Edward. He spent a brief period in the United States Merchant Marine after his honorable discharge from the Navy, which deepened his love of the ocean. After his service in the Merchant Marine, Joe returned to his family in Elko where he worked mainly in the casinos. Joe and Gloria left Elko after a couple of years to go back to Colorado, where Joe worked as a contract miner in several mines in the Leadville area, trying to make enough money to give his family a better life financially. After several years in the Leadville area, Joe and Gloria ended up back in Elko. During this time Joes love of the outdoors grew and he continued hunting and fishing in the Nevada Rockies with his father Jack, as well as his son, Jack.

Joe and Gloria moved to the Denver area, in 1962 to return to their beloved Colorado and to start new careers. Joe attended Barber College in Denver and worked as a barber for a brief time, but decided that this was not the career he sought. He was successful as a salesman in the office furniture business and ended up starting successful businesses, Desks Inc. and Electro-Coating Co. in Denver.

Joe and Gloria divorced in 1974 and Joe moved back to Elko, where he started Four Seasons Landscaping, Greenhouses and Floral Store.

In 1985 he married Frances Taylor in Elko. Joe and Fran were very happy together for nearly twenty years until Fran was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Joe dutifully cared for Fran in their home in Sunsites, Arizona until she passed away. He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn; son, Jack; sisters, Cheryl (Jack) Paul and Janice Marr.

After Fran passed away Joe won one battle with lung cancer while still in Arizona, but at the expense of losing one lung. He moved to the Texas gulf coast town of Port Mansfield where his breathing was much improved and he could continue to enjoy his love of the ocean and fishing. During this period he met Naomi Jorgenson and he lived out the rest of his life abundantly with this very special lady friend. Complications from a second battle with lung cancer claimed his life on January 25, 2019 in Brownsville, Texas.

Joe lived all of his life abundantly and enjoyed all of the best things given by God to us in this life on earth. He passed on this legacy to his children and also to some of the many friends he made during his life. He is now with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Burns Funeral Home on May 31 at 10:00 am followed by a graveside service with Full Military Honors. A luncheon will follow at the VFW Hall.
Five trucks with food and hygiene kits, dispatched by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), entered Russia-held territories in Donetsk region.

"Five trucks sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross have passed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint and entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Relief supplies (food and hygiene kits) weighing 95 tonnes are being delivered to residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of Ukraine's State Border Service said.
On the occasion of the UN events to mark the international day of press freedom, Ukrainian diplomats recalled the illegal imprisonment of journalist Roman Sushchenko in Russia and the suppression of freedoms by Russia in the occupied Crimea, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN said on Twitter.

"As the UN community gathers to mark #WorldPressFreedomDay, Ukraine appeals for the release of Roman #Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist @UKRINFORM, who remains behind bars in the Russian Federation under fabricated charges. #PressFreedom #FreeSushchenko," the message reads.

Also, the Ukrainian mission at the UN noted that the state of freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied Crimea is of the greatest concern.

"Areas of utmost concern remain #Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia. Crimean journalists and bloggers critical of the occupation are facing prosecution and prison sentences, while harassment of independent media and activists are intensifying. #WorldPressFreedomDay #FreePress," it says.

In addition, they added that more than 70 citizens of Ukraine were detained in the occupied Crimea for political reasons - "for simply raising the Ukrainian flag over their house, or perusing their cultural or religious rights."

"The case of Oleh #Sentsov, a jailed Ukrainian film maker and writer, is probably the most appalling examples of how the Russian occupation authorities in #Crimea crack down on the freedom of expression. This practice must be resolutely condemned. #WorldPressFreedomDay," the diplomats added.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree on the dismissal of Yuriy Artemenko from the position of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

Corresponding presidential decree No. 186/2019 of May 4, 2019 was made public on the website of the head of state on Saturday.

"In accordance with paragraph 13 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I order: dismiss Yuriy Artemenko from the post of a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting," the document says.

Earlier today, a statement by Artemenko appeared on the website of the National Council, in which he announced the decision to resign and to leave his office.

According to him, there are two reasons for this decision. "The first reason is simple human fatigue - to work daily in constant stress for 10-12 hours during five years, sometimes even seven days a week. Secondly, the proposal, which came at that time to take another job," said he.

Yuriy Artemenko was appointed a member of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting by the presidential decree dated July 7, 2014. Soon he was elected chairman of the National Council.
Ukraine's Embassy to U.S. organizes charity concert, funds of which to be transferred to 'Next Step Ukraine' rehabilitation center

The Ukrainian Embassy to the United States, in cooperation with the "Revived Soldiers Ukraine" Foundation, organized a charity auction and concert of the Ukrainian violinist Oleksandr Bozhyk, and will transfer the proceeds to the rehabilitation center "Next Step Ukraine," the press service of the diplomatic department said.

"With the funds raised from the concert and the auction, prostheses will be purchased for three soldiers, the rest will be transferred to support the paralyzed of "Next Step Ukraine" rehabilitation center, which is located in Ukraine," it said on Facebook.

In addition, before the concert, ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly addressed the assembled guests with gratitude for their attention to the charity events of the embassy and Ukrainian-U.S. volunteer organizations that provide an opportunity to help Ukrainian soldiers and veterans.

Also, Chaly and Iryna Vashchuk, the president of the Foundation "Revived Soldiers Ukraine," congratulated and thanked for participating in the event of the Ukrainian military Maksym Shkabiuk, who is undergoing rehabilitation in the United States after receiving serious injuries during the fighting in Donbas.
Ukraine at the events on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership on May 13-14 should demonstrate the consistency of its foreign policy and convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv, Ukraine's representative to the European Union Ambassador Mykola Tochitskyi has said.

"On May 13, the President of the European Council gathers the heads of state and government of the six participating countries [Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia] for a working dinner. The Eastern Partnership's "fathers" Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt are also invited. A meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs will be held in the afternoon on May 13. The Ukrainian side will be represented by Pavlo Klimkin. And the next day, a high-level conference will take place with the participation of the heads of state and government," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering the question how the EU plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

In addition, according to him, a number of bilateral meetings of the president of Ukraine with the leaders of the institutions of the European Union and some EU member states are scheduled.

"I believe that from our side we need to use this forum in order to demonstrate the consistency of Ukraine's foreign policy, and this is the course towards integration into the European Union," said Tochytskyi.

The diplomat stressed that at the events of May 13-14, Ukraine should convey to European partners the importance of maintaining continuity in the policy regarding Kyiv when changing the composition of the European Commission and the European Diplomatic Service in November.
Advisors to President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Danyliuk and Ruslan Riaboshapka, continued discussing in Brussels support for the priority steps of the new head of state.

According to the press service of Zelensky, on May 3, they met with the offices of President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

In addition, members of Zelensky's team took part in a working lunch at the Canadian Embassy in Belgium with representatives of the participating countries of the conference on supporting reforms in Ukraine, which will take place in Toronto this summer.

"The main issue of discussion was the assistance of Western partners in the implementation of anti-corruption measures, judicial and economic reforms, ensuring the rule of law. These areas are the top priorities of the newly elected president of Ukraine," the press service of Zelensky noted.

Advisor Danyliuk noted that Western partners are committed to supporting the declared policy of Zelensky and their interest in enhancing cooperation with Ukraine during his presidency.

Advisers of Zelensky also met with EU Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson and the European Defense Agency's Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
Based on the latest official figures released by the European Union, the amount of Iranian exports to the EU in the first two months of 2019 have dropped sixteen folds compared with the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the value of the EU export to Iran also decreased nearly to one-third of what it was in January-February 2018.

The statistics published on the official website of the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, also reveal that the value of products the Islamic Republic exported to the EU was only 136 million euros (approximately $152 million).

The same source also reveals that before the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018, the value of Iranians export to the EU in the first two months of the same year amounted to more than 2.2 billion euros (approximately $2.5 billion).

However, the dramatic drop in Iranian exports to EU was in line with expectations, since 90% of it was crude and energy-related products. European countries stopped buying oil from the Islamic Republic in mid-2018.

The United States imposed financial and industrial sanctions on Tehran in August 2018, followed by bans on its oil exports and banking sector in November.

In the meantime, the value of the EU exports to Iran also dropped to 621 million euros ($695 million) in January-February 2019, while in the same period last year it amounted to 1.56 billion euros (roughly $1.75 billion).

According to the European Commission official figures, the 28-member union exported 8.9 billion euros (approximately $9.9 billion) to Iran in 2018, about 17.6 percent less than 2017, while their imports from Iran declined 4 percent year-on-year to 9.72 billion euros (approximately $10.86 billion).

The details of the statistics point to the fact that Iranian exports to the EU started

to plummet in mid-2018, as most European clients stopped buying crude from Iran.

The value of EU's imports from Iran amounted to 9.72 billion euros (roughly $10.855 billion) in 2018, or 4% less than 2017.

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece are the leading European trade partners of the Islamic Republic, respectively.

The latest statistics show that exports and imports between each of these individual countries and Iran have also sharply dropped in the first two months of the current year.

Germany, as the biggest trade partner of Iran, lost almost half of its exports' value to the Islamic Republic in the first two months of 2019.

Nonetheless, the other major European trade partners of Iran lost more exports to the Islamic Republic than Germany.

Based on the EU statistics, France, Italy, Spain, and Greece used to buy Iranian crude up to mid-2018, which accounted for almost all of the imports from the Islamic Republic.

Iran Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) recently reported that the value of Iran's imports from the EU in last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019) reached $9.82 billion, with nearly 22% drop compared with the previous year.

China, the United Arab Emirates, and the EU are now Iran's main trading partners, accounting for 19.5%, 16.8%, and 16.3% of Irans traderespectively. The EU used to be the first trading partner of Iran before the current U.S. sanctions regime was imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

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 on May 4, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.

As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue has featured the second plenary session on Youth for peace: Building a counter-narrative to violent extremism.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the session.

Leyla Aliyeva addressed the session which was moderated by High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

An official meeting under the leadership of Azerbaijans Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov was held at the Central Command Post on May 4, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry.

The meeting held with the participation of the deputies of defense minister, commanders of the branches of troops, chiefs of the main departments, departments and services of the ministry, as well as commanders of the army corps also involved the commanders of formations and other responsible officers via video communication.

The minister of defense brought to the command staff the specific tasks on the increasing military potential of the Azerbaijani army, set by President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, and instructed to focus on increasing the combat capability of all types and branches of troops, especially foremost units.

The minister of defense set the tasks for the officials to increase the intensity of exercises and training conducted according to the combat training plan, especially at night, in conditions and in areas as close as possible to the combat, to increase the agility and combat readiness of the troops, strictly observing the requirements of covert control and field camouflaging, general safety rules, in particular, fire safety, as well as to organize preparations for the transfer of weapons, military and specialized equipment of army corps and formations to the summer mode of operation.

The minister gave specific instructions to better organize combat training, to raise the level of military professionalism, to strengthen ideological work and moral-psychological support in order to increase military patriotism and the fighting spirit of the military personnel, as well as to solve other official issues.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Due to the coming spring-summer season, the number of tourists visiting the national parks of Azerbaijan has noticeably increased in recent days, said Irada Ibrahimova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

According to her, over the four months of this year, the national parks of the country were visited by 11,131 tourists, 9,850 of which were locals and 1,281 were foreign tourists.

"Of course, it will be great if more tourists visit national parks. It is true that it is not always possible during wintertime, but since May we are expecting a significant increase in the number of visitors to the parks, due to the favorable weather and beautiful nature. Ecotourism is a new concept for us and we hope to achieve successes in this area," she said

Ibrahimova added that today there are 110 different tourist routes in the national parks.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

As part of its 25th anniversary campaign, EY Azerbaijan carried out its first tree planting initiative on the Absheron peninsula, just north-east of the capital, Baku. Nearly 50 EY staff members joined the event together with their children. This initiative reflects EY Azerbaijans strive to contribute to the countrys sustainable development.

Ilgar Veliyev, Managing Partner at EY Azerbaijan said: We are a socially responsible organization. For us, corporate social responsibility isnt just a trendy expression. Both as professionals and citizens, we understand the importance of looking after the environment and giving back to the communities around us.

As a global firm, EY has pledged its responsibility to manage its own operations to limit environmental impact. Gunel Farajova, Head of Climate and Sustainability Services at EY said: As a company, we have been advising both public and private sector on how to build and maintain a sustainable and environmentally-friendly business. So we have to lead by example. EY Azerbaijan has therefore joined our global commitment to conduct our operations in such a way that will reduce the environmental footprint. Each and every business should acknowledge the importance of ecosystem services adopted by the UN.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan Aselsan Engineering signed an agreement on export of optoelectronic devises to Turkey, Trend reports via Kazakh media.

Furthermore, company signed a memorandum with Turkish venture on avionics modernization for helicopters within the territory of Kazakhstan.

This agreement was reached on the 14th International Defense Industry Fair in 2019, which took place in Istanbul.

More than 20 meetings with foreign partners took place during the fair. Issues of cooperation, creation of the new joint projects to attract investments and creation of new technology were among key topics during the meetings with Turkish companies MKEK and Aselsan. The discussion on the realization of the new joint project with TAI company also took place.

As a result of the meetings, it was agreed that five Turkish companies are to visit Nur-Sultan (former Astana) to define the technicalities on realization of the joint projects in the defense industry.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

Follow the author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Iran continues its negotiations with the UKs Pergas International Consortium on the Karanj oil field, located in Irans southwestern Khuzestan Province, said Ahmad Mohammadi, CEO of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), Trend reports referring to Mehr News Agency.

According to Mohammadi, hopefully, these discussions will result in an agreement.

Mohammadi added that production is, of course, currently underway in this field, and it is even provided with gas for oil extraction.

"With the participation of the Pergas consortium, the development will accelerate," he said.

Noting that the annual natural gas production in the southern oil fields of Iran have declined by 10 percent, he said that various steps, including repairs and sidetrack drilling, are used to compensate for the decrease.

Commenting on the volume of oil production in the southern oil fields, Mohammadi said that 3.5 million barrels of oil are produced daily without the implementation of development programs.

"Currently, Iran's oil production and exports are under sanctions. The problems faced by this process are undeniable. Iran has proved that it will overcome these problems," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

As part of the upcoming first forum dedicated to the development of social entrepreneurship, the main aspects and possibilities of the business environment in Azerbaijan will be discussed, Sakina Babayeva, the head of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, told Trend May 4.

She said that the agenda of the event includes discussion of the issues of a sustainable model for the development of social entrepreneurship, as well as key aspects of social entrepreneurship defined in the legislation.

During the panel discussions, a wide exchange of views and international experience in the field of social entrepreneurship is expected, she noted. The development of womens entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan and in international practice is a priority direction in the business sphere, so holding such an event is extremely important.

She noted that the forum will be organized by Education HUB, Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy, as well as with the support of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan.

The forum is expected to be attended by Azerbaijani MPs, international experts and representatives of international organizations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to share their military airfields, Trend reports citing Kazinform.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Baurzhan Tortaev stated that relevant international treaties were signed on April 15 of this year within the framework of the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan and in accordance with the current plan for concluding international treaties of Kazakhstan for 2019.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of air defense was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It is aimed at addressing issues of operational interaction of duty forces, timely exchange of information on the aerospace situation, assistance to aircraft in distress, joint training of troops, and the exchange of experience in the development and improvement of air defense forces.

In addition, another agreement was signed between the two ministries on the organization of reception, aerodrome-technical maintenance and protection of military aircraft at military aerodromes of the Armed Forces of the two countries.

The agreement defines the mechanism of mutual settlements between the defense ministries of the two countries for refueling military aircraft with fuel, oils, lubricants, special liquids and gases.

During the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan on April 14-15, 2019, talks were held with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which resulted in a joint statement by the two heads of state.

The leaders of the two countries declared their intention to promote further development of cooperation in the defense and military-technical sphere, as well as in the field of space research and development.

The parties also stressed common positions in assessing the current situation in the region and in the world, and agreed on adopting joint measures aimed at anticipating and countering contemporary challenges and threats to security in the region, primarily in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal migration and other problems, both in a bilateral format and in the framework of multilateral structures.

Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova, Aysham Rustamova  Trend:

In order to expand cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of transportation, a relevant aviation agreement should be signed in the nearest future, the EU ambassador to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.

"The aviation agreement is an integral part of the regional transport hub project, which is the next major project of Azerbaijan. This project is equally beneficial for both the EU and Azerbaijan," Jankauskas said. He added that a high-level dialogue on transportation with Azerbaijan began this year. We have various infrastructure projects, he noted.

Jankauskas also pointed out that negotiations are underway on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. "We had a series of video conferences after the last round of negotiations on trade issues. The work is underway. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the text is signed as soon as possible," said the EU ambassador.

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.

In November 201, the European Council issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct negotiations regarding a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan on behalf of the EU and its member states.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take into account the objectives shared by the EU and Azerbaijan and the challenges facing them today. It 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 policies with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should facilitate access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

Trend:

Kazakhstan now exports 113 types of products to China, Trend reports referring to kazpravda.kz

The export includes 16 types of livestock products, 16 types of crop products and 81 types of processed products. The obvious leaders among exported goods are wheat, vegetable oil, oil seeds, flour, soy and fish. Last year, Kazakhstan exported mutton and honey for the first time, reads the news report.

The increase in export is due to 13 added types of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates that were agreed on in the last three years. The dynamics of Kazakhstans export continue to increase. In 2015 the volume of export to China totaled 111 million tenge, in 2016 it amounted to 134 million tenge, in 2017 it stood at 180 million tenge and in 2018 it equaled to 250 million tenge, the report says. Total volume of Kazakh export manufacture increased by 12.9 percent in January-February of 2019, compared to the same period of 2018 and amounts to $610.2 million.

Kazakhstan mainly exports products of agribusiness to Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and China.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

In January-February 2019, Azerbaijan supplied 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey compared to 1.1 billion cubic meters (an increase of 24.2 percent) in the same period last year, Trend reports referring to a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority ( EPDK).

The report shows that in January-February this year, Turkey imported 10.1 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 6.1 billion cubic meters were imported through pipelines, and more than 4 billion cubic meters accounted for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Azerbaijan supplied 683.2 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in February 2019, compared to 536.6 million cubic meters during the same period last year. The share of Azerbaijan in the total import of gas by Turkey in February 2019 amounted to about 16 percent.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.

Hossein Fereydoun, brother of the Iranian president, is charged with a series of corruption cases. His name was mentioned in connection with a scandal revolving around the exaggerated salaries of Irans state insurance company.
Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehrans ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with Iran on civil nuclear programs, Trend reports citing Press TV.

The waivers, which were due to expire Saturday, are being extended for 90 days, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Ford told Bloomberg on Friday.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the official added that two other waivers, one that allowed Iran to store surplus heavy water in Oman and the other that allowed Russia to process Iranian uranium, would not be renewed.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Irans eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May is optimistic that she is close to striking a deal to secure the opposition Labour Partys support for a deal to leave the European Union, reports Trend with reference to Reuters

In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU, sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said that its sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European Parliament elections due on May 23.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a glimmer of hope that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labours customs union proposal was a long-term solution, reports Trend citing to Reuters

The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered, he told the Press Association news agency.

If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal).
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, reports Trend citing to Reuters

Hamed al-Khaiyali told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded, the others slaughtered or shot.

A source in Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed Islamic State and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

Sebha  like much of the south and its oilfields  is controlled by the LNA but the force has moved troops north for a month-long offensive on the capital Tripoli, held by the internationally recognized government.

The campaign has not breached the southern defense of the capital.

The LNA faced strong opposition from the Tebu ethnic group during its campaign in the south at the start of the year.

Islamic State militants are also active in southern Libya where is has staged several hit-and-run attacks in recent months. It retreated to the south after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.
Seven hundred and 10 fighters of the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli have been killed since the beginning of the battle for the capital, the government said in a statement, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The offensive launched by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli has entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.
Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algerias de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflikas regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflikas system, a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed Algerias God because many saw him as the countrys real authority.

I send to this person a final warning, Salah said at that time.
Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce, Trend reports citing Press TV.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it, he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatars capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate cross-border attacks by PKK militants on Saturday, the defense ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases,Trend reports citing Reuters.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was lightly wounded after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

It said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Three other Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after PKK militants shelled the region, the defense ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy the militant targets.

Turkeys military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated his country's opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, saying that Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Shanahan told journalists the government remained steadfast in its opposition to Turkey's adoption of the S-400 anti-aircraft technology.

"If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forward with, then we have to move work out of Turkey," he said.

Shanahan noted that he had met with delegations from US aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss options if Turkey refuses to forego the S-400.

Washington has warned for months that Turkey's adoption of Russian missile technology alongside US fighter jets would pose a threat to the F-35 and endanger Western defense.

As a member of NATO, Turkey is taking part in the production of the fighter jet for use by members of the treaty, and has plans to buy 100 of the jets itself.

Ankara's ties with Washington have been strained over Turkey's decision to buy the Russian-made defense system, and US officials threatened Turkey's removal from the F-35 program, halting the delivery of jets to the country and excluding Turkish manufacturers from joint production. However, Turkey received two more jets two weeks ago after the delivery of the first batch in June 2018, and four Turkish pilots currently continue their training at the Arizona base.

Like other NATO allies of Washington, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in production of the F-35, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays, and entered service in the United States in 2015.

Ankara has proposed a working group with the United States to assess the impact of the S-400s, but says it has not received a response from US officials.

The Ankara-Moscow S-400 deal was inked in December 2017, when the parties signed a $2.5 billion agreement for two batteries of the systems  Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system in use since 2007.
United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes there is a big potential for building good relations with Russia, Trend reports citing Reuters.

"Very good call yesterday with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia", he wrote on his Twitter account commenting on Fridays telephone conversation with the Russian leader.

"Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. Look how they have misled you on "Russia Collusion." The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" he wrote.

According to the Kremlin press service, the two presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States, had a lengthy telephone conversation on Friday that was initiated by the US side. The two leaders discussed issues of bilateral relations with a focus on economic cooperation and reiterated their commitment to closer dialogues in various spheres, including on matters of strategic stability.
KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 19:25 | Japan, All

Japanese whaling vessels launched on Saturday the last round of what Japan calls scientific research off the Pacific coast ahead of the country's pullout from the International Whaling Commission next month for commercial hunting.

Japan will resume commercial whaling possibly from July in waters of the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone after the withdrawal from the IWC takes effect at the end of next month.

The four ships organized by the Association for Community-Based Whaling based in Fukuoka left Hachinohe port in Aomori Prefecture Saturday morning and caught eight minke whales. They will operate through late this month.

They plan to catch up to 80 whales including those already caught in April.

"Waters off Hachinohe contain rich prey for whales. It could be a pivotal location for future commercial whaling," said Tatsuya Isoda, senior scientist at the Institute of Cetacean Research who leads the research whaling.

Related coverage:

Japan to leave IWC, resume commercial whaling in July

Quitting whaling commission is risky gambit by Japan

Australia, NZ rap Japan's IWC pullout, commercial whaling restart
By Kazushige Motokura, KYODO NEWS - May 4, 2019 - 12:00 | All, World

Japanese Emperor Naruhito is well-prepared and temperamentally suited to the role he assumed Wednesday after his father's abdication, said a friend from his time at the University of Oxford, reflecting on his early impressions of the royal figure then known as Prince Hiro.

"The Japanese people are fortunate they have him as the emperor, that he represents Japan," said Keith George, 57, an American lawyer from Charleston, West Virginia, who studied at Oxford in England for the same two years in the 1980s as Emperor Naruhito.

(Photo taken April 22, 2019, in Charleston, West Virginia, shows American lawyer Keith George holding a framed clipping from The New York Times showing a photograph of him speaking to Japan's Prince Hiro, now Emperor Naruhito, during the 1983 entrance ceremony for the University of Oxford.)

"Monarchies in some countries have scandals and erode moral standards, (but) Hiro doesn't have that at all," George told Kyodo News, describing the new emperor as a "perfect fit" to "maintain tradition but also respect change" in Reiwa, the new Japanese imperial era which began with the new emperor's enthronement.

George and the prince, whose official name in his college days was Hironomiya, first met in 1983 at the university's matriculation ceremony where they were placed alongside each other by name in alphabetical order. A photo of the two sharing a moment of levity later appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

"I was surprised because there were hundreds of photographers in front of us. Hiro said to me, 'You will get used to this,'" George recalled.

The future lawyer then speculated the two could induce a barrage of camera flashes by leaning in and staging a conversation.

"We did it and that worked. We laughed. He has a good sense of humor (and) I thought we would be good friends."

In the New York Times' coverage, a clipping of which George has framed, the two men were photographed smiling during the brief exchange.

While living in adjacent dormitory rooms, the friends enjoyed playing music -- the prince on his viola as George improvised country-style tunes on a guitar -- and going out to a student pub where George remembers the prince delighting in mundane things that his sheltered life had denied him, like, for example, handling money.

("Prince Hiro" at Oxford University in October 1983.)

U.S. media at the time reported that his grandfather Emperor Hirohito only handled money personally once in his life. The young Prince Hiro also treasured the new experience of doing his own laundry during his graduate studies in England.

At Oxford's Merton College, the prince worked on a thesis paper related to 18th-century navigation and traffic on the River Thames and later wrote a memoir about his time in England titled "The Thames and I" in the English translation.

In 1985, a few weeks after his Oxford stint ended, the prince traveled to the United States and spent a night as a guest of George's family in a quiet mountain town about two and a half hours by car outside of Charleston.

"His life would be totally different in Japan," George said. "There was a certain sadness of losing the freedom that he had in the university, but at the same time he said he was gratefully accepting his duties."

"He was prepared to assume his duty to be the crown prince and eventually the emperor -- it was very clear."

The Japanese royal officially became crown prince in 1991 and married rising diplomat Masako Owada, now Empress Masako, in 1993 after her own two-year period of studying international relations at Oxford.

George has been able to visit with the prince a few times in Japan, including at an official wedding celebration for the royal couple. The American has since released a country music album featuring some of the songs he played with the prince, and his eldest daughter is the same age as Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako's only child.

"After the enthronement, the Japanese people will (get to) know him better," said George, who has maintained contact with his old friend through occasional letters and phone calls. "He is kind, honorable and caring -- he will never dishonor his people and his country."

The former Emperor Akihito has been lauded for a 30-year reign in which he sought to bolster relations with neighboring countries that suffered as a result of Japan's wartime aggression.

With all eyes on the 59-year-old emperor to see how he will take up his father's legacy, public sentiment seems initially to be in his favor. A Kyodo News survey conducted just after Emperor Naruhito's ascension found that over 82 percent of respondents had a fondness for their new emperor.
BENGALURU: On Friday, the High Grounds police arrested Gangadhar Amalajeri (30), a native of Rabakavi in Bagalakot district, and Ajith Shetty Haranje (40) of Bramhavara in Udupi, for morphing photos of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and actress Radhika and spreading fake news on social media and a news portal claiming they were visiting a resort in Udupi.

also read: Sri Lanka Bomb Blasts: Army chief claims suicide bombers travelled to Kashmir, Kerala for training

According to the police officials, a case was lodged on Wednesday when the morphed photos went viral on social media after the portal uksuddi.in published it. The media secretary in the CMO, who noticed the fake news, approached the police and registered a complaint.

In the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Gangadhar, who works in an MNC and also runs the news portal, had downloaded old photos of the CM and the actress and morphed them to make it seem that they were entering a resort. The duo had also claimed the CM had scolded the scribes who had taken the photos. After a day, Shetty posted the fake news on his Facebook page and tagged his friends, police said.

Amid the investigation, Gangadhar said he posted it to make his portal popular. Shetty, who owns a garment business, wanted to damage the Karnatakas CMs image. He has put up several posts on Facebook against the present government, police said.

also read: Apologized to SC not BJP or Modi: Rahul Gandhi
Firefighters Day was created in 1999 after 5 firefighters died tragically during a wildfire in Australia when the direction of the wind changed suddenly and engulfed them in flames. The first organized professionals whose job it was to combat structural fires lived in Ancient Egypthowever, at the time, firefighters worked for private companies that provided their services only to those who could afford them. It is celebrated on May 4th because that is Saint Florians day, and Saint Florian, who was said to be one of the first commanding firefighters of an actual Roman battalion and saved many lives, is the patron saint of firefighters.

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To be noted that Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighters life. International Firefighters Day (IFFD) is a time where the worlds community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions. By proudly wearing and displaying blue and red ribbons pinned together or by participating in a memorial or recognition event, we can show our gratitude to firefighters everywhere.

Let us share that international Firefighters Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year. The IFFD ribbons are linked to colours symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with  red for fire and blue for water. These colours also are internationally recognised as representing emergency service.

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Istanbul: On Friday, in a tragic incident, seven people including five children lost their lives after a boat carrying 17 people capsized off Turkey's Aegean coast. All the passengers were reportedly refugees. Five have been rescued while five are still missing with the authorities reportedly trying to locate them. Among the 17 on board the boat, one was a human trafficker, as per the coast guard.

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According to the Turkish coast guard, 7,100 migrants have attempted to cross over so far alone in 2019. In a bid to escape the turmoil in their own country, thousands have attempted to cross to Europe undertaking the dangerous Aegeans sea route. These migrants include people from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and some African nations. Turkey has been among the main routes for migrants trying to cross to Europe in recent years.

The infamous photograph of Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a shore had brought international attention to the migration crisis leading to a global outcry over the issue. The United Nations had launched "WithRefugees campaign to display solidarity with the refugees after the photograph went viral.

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Colombo: The Sri Lankan army chief claimed that some of the suicide bombers who were involved in bomb blasts in Srilanka on Easter Sunday had visited Kashmir, Kerala and Bengaluru in India.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke said, it is being suspected that the attackers travelled to India to establish their links with other terrorist organisations. In an interview to BBC, army commander said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us.

Boeing 737 slides off the runway, falls into river in Florida

On the reason of visit of terroristm he said, Possibly for some sort of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country.

Last Month, On April 21, nine suicide bombers carried out terror attacks in three churches and four high-end hotels of Sri Lanka, claiming lives of 253 people and injuring over 500. The Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group claimed the responsibility of the serial blasts.

Nepal to begin construction of railways linking Kathmandu with India, China

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently carried out raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and nabbed several people for suspected link with the ISIS. On April 27, the agency took a native of Kerala's Kollam, Faizal into its custody on suspicion of having direct contacts with Sohran Hashif, one of the conspirators behind the Colombo blasts. The agency later detained three more persons from Keralas Palakkad and Kasaragode.
" " Destroying an entire planet all at once? It happens in 'Star Wars,' but could it happen in real life? Peopleimages.com/Getty Images

In "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an evil military junta called the First Order has risen from the ruins of the Galactic Empire, and is waging war against with a particularly frightening new weapon. Starkiller Base, as it's called, is an icy planet that's essentially been converted into a giant ray gun, capable of obliterating an entire distant solar system with a single shot.

The bad guys upped their game considerably since the first "Star Wars" movie, in which the Empire's ultimate weapon was the Death Star, a moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy a planet.

As the official Star Wars website explains, Starkiller somehow harvests energy from the star it orbits, and then contains it within magnetic fields inside the base's planetary core. That energy is then harnessed and converted into an "ultra-powerful beam" that can blast through hyperspace  apparently a so-called wormhole in the time-space continuum in which incredible distances can be covered at speeds faster than light.

When the beam comes out at the other end of hyperspace, those in its path are doomed. The Starkiller's beam is "able to sterilize the worlds of a distant star system with a single shot," we're told.

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The Nitty-Gritty Starkiller Mechanics

As often happens in science fiction, the details of how Starkiller would actually work are left to the audience's imagination. And if you've suspended disbelief and immersed yourself in the "Star Wars" fictional universe, the idea of a weapon so immensely powerful probably doesn't seem any harder to buy than lightsabers, talking robots with human-like personalities, and The Force itself. In the actual universe that we live in, though, is a solar system-killing weapon even remotely conceivable? And if so, how would someone build it?

University of Glasgow professor Martin A. Hendry, head of the university's School of Physics and Astronomy and an occasional lecturer on the physics of "Star Wars," says that that though the Starkiller is fantasy, it has at least a little reality mixed in.

"The Sun's magnetic field is very important in funneling hot plasma, an ionized gas, close to its surface," says Hendry in an email. "We see these huge ribbons of hot gas as prominences, and they can be the cause of violent eruptions known as solar flares that send large amounts of hot gas across the solar system  producing displays of northern lights when the plasma hits our atmosphere."

A really powerful flare, he says, could create an electromagnetic pulse with extremely destructive effects. "It basically would send our technology back to the Stone Age," says Hendry, but it wouldn't be enough to wipe out the planet, the way that Starkiller supposedly can.

Hendry says the idea of using magnetic fields to contain and direct beams of plasma  which is pretty close to what Starkiller supposedly does  is based on perfectly sound physics.

"Where it jumps the shark is the way that the plasma is being directed from the star to the planet with the Starkiller base through apparently empty space," he says. "How does the Starkiller base generate a sufficiently intense magnetic field to re-direct so much of the star's plasma towards it? I thought the effects during that sequence looked great, but the physics wasn't very sound I'm afraid."

While the idea of stealing energy from a star to power a weapon seems like the way to go, "it's just not clear how you do it," says Hendry.

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Actual Star Death

When stars are wiped out in the real universe, they often do it to themselves, by blowing up into supernovas when they run out of fuel. Another way that a star can be destroyed is if it collides with a black hole, whose intense gravity creates forces that literally can tear a star apart if it comes too close, according to an article on NASA's website.

When that happens, the event is called a tidal disruption, and most of the resulting debris is sucked toward the black hole by its gravitational force. As that happens, the debris is heated to millions of degrees in temperature, and generates an enormous amount of X-ray radiation until the debris falls beyond the black hole's event horizon, a point from which no light can escape.

Astronomers actually have used NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer in concert to observe a black hole's destruction of a star, in an event called ASASSN-14li, which was first discovered in November 2014. The real-life star killer is a black hole located in the center of PGC 043234, a galaxy about 290 million light years from Earth, which is estimated to weigh several million times the mass of our Sun. Here's a video animation illustrating what it looked like.

Pretty cool, huh?

But in order to use a black hole as a star-killing weapon, you'd need to be able to build and control one. Back in 1989, a British scientist, Martyn J. Fogg, published a paper in which he suggested somehow placing a manmade black hole on Jupiter, and then using it to generate enough energy to warm the temperatures on the giant planet's moon Europa to Earthlike levels.

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Can We Actually Kill a Star?

That's something that, if possible, is way, way beyond anything that engineers can do today. In 2010, though, Chinese researchers did get some attention by building a device called an omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber that they likened to a "mini black hole," in that it could absorb microwave radiation in the manner that an astrophysical black hole could swallow up a star and its energy.

As you might imagine, they'd have to scale up that man-made version of a black hole quite a bit to have a weapon as potent as Starkiller. Until they do, we'll just have to rely upon George Lucas' special effects for stellar annihilation.

Now That's Interesting "When I've done my 'Physics of Star Wars' lectures in the past, based on the old-style Death Star laser that destroyed Alderaan," says Hendry, "I've tried to guesstimate how much energy must have been stored in the Death Star's batteries. It's equivalent to the total energy emitted by the Sun for thousands of years."
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new test that can reliably predict the future course of inflammatory bowel disease in individuals, transforming treatments for patients and paving the way for a personalised approach.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease - collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - are chronic conditions that involve inflammation of the gut. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. There is currently no cure, but there are a growing number of medicines that aim to relieve symptoms and prevent the condition returning; however, the more severe the case of the IBD, the stronger the drugs need to be and the greater the potential side effects.

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust previously showed that a genetic signature found in a certain type of immune cell known as a CD8 T-cell could be used to assign patients to one of two groups depending on whether their condition was likely to be mild or severe (requiring repeated treatment). However, isolating CD8 T- cells and obtaining the genetic signature was not straightforward, making the test unlikely to be scaleable and achieve widespread use.

In the latest study, published in the journal Gut, the researchers worked with a cohort of 69 patients with Crohn's disease to see whether it was possible to develop a useful, scaleable test by looking at whole blood samples in conjunction with CD8 T-cells and using widely-available technology.

The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.

The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London.

"Using simple technology that is available in almost every hospital, our test looks for a biomarker - essentially, a medical signature - to identify which patients are likely to have mild IBD and which ones will have more serious illness," says Dr James Lee, joint first author of the study.

"This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition."

The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments.

"IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine.

The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.

The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."

Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's

Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.

This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."

Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.

This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.

When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.

Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."

Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier.

"I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."

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Reference

Biasci, D and Lee JC, et al. A blood-based prognostic biomarker in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut; April 2019; DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318343
Scientists have shown that a brain imaging technique called fMRI can be beaten by the use of two particular mental countermeasures

People have certain physical 'tells' when they conceal information - and studies show that good liars can prevent these 'tells' being detected by displaying physical red herrings of their own.

But scientists have now shown that even a brain imaging technique called fMRI, which in theory is much harder to trick, can be beaten by people who use two particular mental countermeasures.

The work was led by Drs Chun-Wei Hsu and Giorgio Ganis at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with the University of Padova, Italy, and published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

This research is the first to explore the effects of mental countermeasures on brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - and it showed that when people used the countermeasures, the test proved to be 20% less accurate.

How do concealed information tests work?

Concealed information tests work because a person who is hiding something will 'give away' what they are concealing when faced with it in a list. For example, if a thief has stolen a diamond ring, the ring will be more striking to the thief than similar control items such as necklaces and bracelets - and the thief will show physiological signs (e.g. sweating) that reveal their guilt.

However, these tests based on physiological signs are easy to beat as perpetrators can artificially alter them when seeing a control item, therefore confusing the test. To overcome this problem, researchers moved to methods that look directly at brain activation using fMRI.

An fMRI machine tracks blood flow to activated brain areas. The assumption in concealed information detection is that the brain will show signs of recognition when presented with the concealed items while exerting extra effort to conceal signs of such recognition, and so the brain regions that do more work will get more blood. Such regions light up in scans, and they are primarily involved in directing attention and in decision making.

What did the study show?

In the new study, participants were asked to conceal information about a 'secret' digit they saw inside an envelope.

Researchers taught 20 participants two mental countermeasures. The first was to associate meaningful memories to the control items, making them more significant. The second was to focus on the superficial aspects of the item they were trying to conceal, rather than on the experience of familiarity it evokes, in order to make it less significant.

The results showed that these countermeasures lowered the accuracy of the test by about 20% because it was more difficult for fMRI to find any differences in brain activity. Thus, participants were more likely to be able to hide their concealed information item when using the mental countermeasures.

The research team concluded that in order to improve the robustness of the test, future work needed to identify a way of detecting mental countermeasures, and potentially look at conducting whole-brain analyses, rather than just examining regions of interest.

Lead author Dr Chun-Wei Hsu, a researcher in the CogNovo research programme at the University of Plymouth, said: "fMRI tests are not currently used by law enforcement in the same way as polygraph tests, but they have been considered for scientific and criminal use as a way of detecting when someone is concealing information. This study shows that the process can be manipulated if someone associates meaningful memories to the control items, or focuses on the aesthetics, rather than the memory, of the item they're trying to hide.

"None of our participants were seasoned liars or criminals, they were just everyday people, so before this test can even be considered for forensic use, there must be further studies carried out to help identify when someone is using mental countermeasures.

"Deception is a really challenging area of psychology, and the more we can find out about the techniques used to detect it, the better."

Dr Ganis is one of the lead researchers at the upcoming Brain Research & Imaging Centre, which will open in 2020 as the most advanced multi-modal brain imaging facility in the South West.

###

The full study, entitled The effect of mental countermeasures on neuroimaging-based concealed information tests, was carried out by the University of Plymouth and the University of Padova, Italy. It is available to view now in the journal Human Brain Mapping (doi: 10.1002/hbm24567).
The president of the British Pakistani Youth Council who previously hosted David Cameron on a visit to Birmingham once said he would 'salute' Adolf Hitler if he 'killed more Jews than Muslims' in a newly-uncovered Facebook post.

Kamran Ishtiaq, 37, says he set up the group in 2009 to 'focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people' and 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

But in 2014 he posted a picture of the Nazi dictator and when questioned about it said 'I would salute him still if he killed 90 Muslims and 92 Jews.'

His comments have caused outrage in Birmingham with MP Khalid Mahmood calling for authorities to investigate him.

And when questioned about his remarks, Mr Ishtiaq said he stood by the statement.

British Pakistani Youth Council president Kamran Ishtiaq, pictured with David Cameron when the politician visited Birmingham's Muslim community in 2007, once said he would 'salute Hitler if he killed more Jews than Muslims', it has been revealed

Mr Ishtiaq posted a pictured of Hitler on his Facebook in 2014, pictured, and made the comments when challenged by others

On the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, he added: 'Now (sic) why he [Hitler] is my hero cuz, he just killed Jews, didn't get a chance to kill Muslims... lol.'

Asked if he felt the same way about Jews now, Mr Ishtiaq, who welcomed David Cameron to his grocery shop in 2007 during a political visit, said: 'To be honest with you, I feel that about the Jews who are killing the Palestinians now.

'Not the Jews who are leaving Israel - there are Jews who support Palestine. I was reading today in the media that there are Jews leaving Israel because Israel didn't live up to their expectations.

'OK, but Jews, American Jews, yes I feel like that about them. The ones who are murdering the Palestinians. I do feel that about them.

'And what I wrote there, it's about the Jews.'

He also said Hitler was his 'hero' because he 'didn't get a chance to kill Muslims'. The 37-year-old said he stood by his comments this week, but claimed he was not talking about all Jews, but only 'Jews who kill Muslims'

He added: 'When I say Jews, it's not the Jews fighting the Jewish killers of Palestinians, the Jews who are with Muslims, but the Jews which are killing the Palestinians, yes. The murderers.

'I mean if anything happened to any Jewish community here my youths would be there frontline to support them. Jewish people here are not Palestinian-killing like the Jews over there.

'They're peaceful like us Muslims here. They don't want nothing to do with that.

'It's like the terrorists. You can't hate all Muslims because you hate terrorists. You can't hate all Jews because you hate the killing Jews.'

Asked about those killed by the Nazis, Mr Ishtiaq said he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

He said: 'To be honest, I don't believe that. Every attack, anything on Jews is exaggerated. Yeah. I think that was an exaggeration too.

'He killed Jews, yeah. He did kill Jews, there's no doubt in that. He killed Jews. But that figure is a question mark for me.'

Asked why he thought the Nazis killed Jews, he replied: 'We don't know what happened then.

'If they were doing this now, killing Palestinians, we don't know what they done to the Germans at that time.'

Mr Ishtiaq suggested the figure could have been exaggerated and added: 'It [the figure] gives the Jewish people a reason, you know retaliation - "Look what's happened to us? 'We were nearly being ethnic cleansed and have to stick together".

Mr Ishtiaq's (pictured) comments have been condemned in Birmingham and MP Khalid Mahmood called for an investigation

'It gives them a point of unity, it gives them a reason to retaliate, revenge, you know, empathy, whatever, you could say.'

On whether Hitler's actions were wrong, he added: ' I can't think for Hitler. I can't think why Hitler killed them. I just made that statement [on Facebook]. So why and how, I couldn't tell you.

'I stand by the statement I made, yes.'

Mr Ishtiaq said his views about Jews were shared by young people he worked with.

He added: 'They feel ten times worse.

'My job is to get that feeling out of them, but I need positives to erase that feeling out of them.

'The Jews, the Israel (sic), have not given me a positive. Them feelings are getting day by day worse after what the Israelis are doing.'

His group does not appear to have a website but does have a Facebook page that lists him as president and has not been updated since early 2016.

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Barr, said Mr Ishtiaq's remarks had no place in society.

He said: 'Clearly, these are very inflammatory, offensive, anti-Semitic remarks which have no place in society, in Birmingham, in the UK or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.

'Nor should we in any way look to try to justify that in the way he's tried to justify that.

'It is purely wrong. Hideous comments have been made about killing people and killing the Jewish community - and the non-recognition of the Holocaust is absolutely absurd for someone to make comment.'

Mr Mahmood added: 'These sort of people do not represent the views of the Pakistani or the Muslim community in Birmingham, and where these people exist they should be sought out and held to account for their views.'

Mr Mahmood also called for an investigation into Mr Ishtiaq's role.

He said: 'He is holding these views, he has access to young people. I think it is a serious matter for the authorities to look at.

'The authorities need to have a clear look and investigate this issue, because it certainly brings the whole of the community into disrepute and certainly we're not where the community wants to be at all.'

Mr Ishtiaq, pictured with Mr Cameron at his shop in 2007, said he took over the youth council in 2009 and wanted to 'build bridges' between the UK and Pakistan

Kamran Ishtiaq previously worked as a store manager at his family's grocery business, with which he is no longer linked.

He says he took over as President of the British Pakistani Youth Council in 2009 and talks about the group 'building bridges' on his LinkedIn page.

He wrote: 'The BPYC is a national group of young people who, whilst recognising our faith and ethnic heritage, focus on the present and look to the future.

'We focus on issues affecting our lives as British young people. As the President I lead to work proactively with the mainstream media to counter the negative stereotypes associated with British Pakistani young people and highlight the positive contributions we add to British society.

'This work has led me to work across the UK and Pakistan to build bridges.'

David Cameron visited his family's Raja Brothers grocery business in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, in 2007, when Mr Ishtiaq was manager.

Speaking at the time he said the future prime minister appeared to be a 'normal bloke'.

He said: 'He was relaxed, cool and chilled - you couldn't tell he was the opposition leader.

'When he came here he seemed like a down-to-earth guy. His background didn't show, it was like he was just a normal average guy.

'He was easy to communicate with. I would definitely have him back to work in the shop.'
Sure, people love extolling the virtues of the road less traveled. I get it! Trying new things can be a great thing, and often leads to growth.

But taking another route can also occasionally lead to something uncomfortable and life-threatening...like sinking into a swamp. That's what happened to 83-year-old Alfred Cutting, a man in Staten Island whose seemingly harmless idea to take a shortcut required helicopter intervention.

CBS News reports that on Thursday afternoon, Cutting missed his bus on the way to a doctor's appointment, and decided to walk there instead. He then remembered a shortcut he'd taken in the past, and wandered over thereexcept that a lot's changed since he last took that route decades ago, namely the fact that it's now a swamp capable of swallowing people.

Cutting said that he fell backwards whle walking and was "drowning" ears-deep in the marsh, yet was somehow able to call 911 on his flip phone for help. Authorities eventually found Cutting near Seaview and Mason Avenues "unable to free himself from a swampy area," according to the NYPD.

Authorities then used a helicopter to hoist Cutting up from the wetlands, as The New York Post reports. An officer harnessed Cutting to himself, then pulled him up and out of the muck. He was then taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he sustained minor injuries and is probably rethinking all of his life's shortcuts.


By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked billionaire investor Carl Icahn's company for information about trades in crane maker Manitowoc, Icahn Enterprises disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, in its first acknowledgement of such a probe. Icahn Enterprises said it received a subpoena after critics questioned the timing of Manitowoc stock sales Icahn, who briefly served as an unpaid adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, made before his administration announced steep steel tariffs in March 2018. Questions had swirled about whether the sales were prompted by inside information about Trump's plans. The stocks of many U.S. industrial companies, major consumers of steel, fell that day after the announcement, with Manitowoc losing more than 6%. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises in June 2018, the company said in the filing. "We cooperated with the request and provided documents in response to the subpoena." The U.S. Attorney's office and Icahn's office had no immediate comment. Manitowoc did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors in Manhattan have a history of pursuing major cases over insider trading on Wall Street, famously securing the trial conviction of hedge manager Raj Rajaratnam and a guilty plea from the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. Icahn sold roughly one-third of his stake in Manitowoc, which uses steel to make its equipment, between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22, 2018. Trump said on March 1 that he would impose 15% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on imported aluminum to make domestic production more attractive. In response to news reports about his stock sales, Icahn said he cut his position in Manitowoc for "legitimate investment reasons" and dismissed any speculation that his sale of shares was prompted by knowledge about Trump's plans. Icahn, who has been friendly with Trump for decades, has been a sounding board for Trump and was instrumental in vetting people for key positions before Trump was inaugurated in 2017. He stepped down as an unpaid special adviser to Trump in August 2017. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nate Raymond; Editing by Richard Chang)
(Corrects to show all 11 board members are not Waterton nominees in 1st paragraph)

May 3 (Reuters) - Hudbay Minerals Inc said on Friday it had agreed with Waterton Global Resource Management Inc, its second largest shareholder, to elect a slate of 11 board members that includes some of the nominees proposed by both parties.

The agreement settles a long-drawn out proxy contest with the private equity firm, which nominated five directors to the the Canadian miner's board.

Waterton, which owns a 12.1 percent stake in Hudbay Minerals, had recently filed a suit against Hudbay in a bid to stop it from soliciting proxies for its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 7.

Both companies have also agreed to look for a successor as board chairman to Alan Hibben. After he steps down as chair, Hibben will remain on the board until the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

Much of Waterton's ire against Hudbay surrounds alleged talks the company had to acquire Chile's Mantos Copper for about $780 million last year, which Bloomberg reported in October. (Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
The airline industry has historically been a lousy one to invest in. It's sensitive to the economy, capital-intensive, highly regulated, and hypercompetitive. Making matters worse has been poor management decisions by some of the top airlines that have led to numerous bankruptcies over the years.

But with all the bankruptcies, wars, fuel-cost spikes, and recessions, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has stood tall for almost half a century. An early investment in Southwest would make even Walmart millionaires jealous.

I don't expect Southwest to be a home-run investment, but I do think it can outperform the broader market. Here are the main reasons I decided to buy shares of the low-fare giant recently.

An airplane sitting on a runway.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Industry-leading profitability

Since its founding in the 1970s, Southwest has prided itself on delivering best-in-class service and competitive fares. The formula of flying short routes, driving up productivity by flying one type of aircraft, and stripping out extraneous operating costs like in-flight meals has made Southwest the industry's most profitable airline since the late 1970s. Even with smaller airlines like Spirit Airlines trying to copy the low-cost model, Southwest still maintains industry-leading margins and returns on invested capital.

Southwest is the only airline that has turned a profit for 46 consecutive years, and that's while its competitors, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United (now United Continental Holdings, US Airways (now operated by American Airlines), and TWA filed for bankruptcy between 2000 and 2011.

2. Industry-leading financial fortitude

Southwest is the only airline with a credit rating of A- or better from the credit rating firm Moody's. The company has more cash than debt on its balance sheet and generated $2.97 billion in free cash flow over the past year.

The company's financial strength makes it a good dividend stock, too. The dividend yield is currently below average at 1.23%, but that's because Southwest pays out only 14% of its earnings as dividends. The important thing is that Southwest has increased the dividend by 236% over the past five years.

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With a low payout, a history of raising the dividend, and growth initiatives underway (more on this below), Southwest should be a great dividend growth stock for years to come.

3. Valuation

I love looking for fast-growing companies that could become multibaggers, but I equally enjoy looking for industry leaders that are on sale.

Southwest stock is cheap. It trades for a trailing P/E of 12.3 and a forward P/E of 10 based on next year's earnings estimates. That's at the low end of its trading range over the past 10 years. This is for a company that analysts expect to grow earnings by 12% per year over the next five years.

4. Track record of growth

Those growth estimates seem very reasonable, given that adjusted earnings per share climbed about 300% over the past five years. Much of that increase was from a significant improvement in operating margin, as revenue has increased only by 8.8% per year since 2009.

Keep in mind that Southwest's recent growth has come while there has been much skepticism about whether the low-cost pioneer would be able to maintain its lead, given the heightened competition over the past decade. While competitors have emerged from bankruptcy with a renewed focus on profitability, Southwest continues to maintain high returns on capital by modernizing its fleet, investing in facilities, and introducing new technologies, such as a new reservation system on the customer side and a new maintenance system on the company side, all designed to increase profitability.

Of course, staying ahead of the curve with these investments is a lot easier when you generate the best margins among your peers.

5. New growth opportunities

Management has big goals for the future. Its vision is "to become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline." It has already achieved that domestically, so now it is turning its sights on international expansion. However, consistent with its strategy in the early years, Southwest is expanding in baby steps.

First, Southwest is expanding its routing to Hawaii, which is management's highest growth priority for 2019 and 2020. After a delay, Southwest initiated its Hawaii flights in March. The delay in launching the Hawaii service caused some pressure to margins during the first quarter, as the company's fleet was underutilized. But management said during the fourth-quarter conference call in February that they expect the cost pressure to ease up in the second half of the year.

The new reservation system is also adding to the company's top line. Southwest rolled out this new system in 2017, and last year, it generated $200 million in additional pretax profit. Management expects the annual benefit from the new system to reach $500 million in incremental pretax profit by 2020, which is about a quarter of the company's current annual net income.

A well-run company built for sustainable returns

In recent years, Southwest has faced increasing competition, especially from ultralow-cost carriers, but Southwest stock has still outperformed the broader market, delivering a return of 120% over the past five years. Management's relentless focus on keeping costs down while investing in new moneymaking opportunities, such as new routes and technologies, should keep Southwest generating a healthy profit and paying a rising dividend for a long time.

On top of all the under-the-hood initiatives that could improve company performance, what I'm most enthusiastic about is the potential for extra juice to the stock's return stemming from its low valuation. The combination of a well-run business and a cheap valuation is what ultimately persuaded me to pull the trigger.

More From The Motley Fool

John Ballard owns shares of Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Brazilian aviation company Embraer is seen during the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair (LABACE) at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil planemaker Embraer SA said on Friday that it delivered 11 commercial planes in the first quarter of 2019, three fewer than in the same period last year, as it works to cede control of that profitable division to Boeing Co .

The company said its overall backlog, a gauge of future revenue, stood at $16 billion, maintaining a recovery from a 5-year low that it had recorded in October of last year. The backlog at that time stood at $13.6 billion.

Embraer also said it had delivered 11 executive jets in the quarter, the same number as in the same period in 2018. Once it completes the separation of its commercial planes segment, Embraer's bottom line will become more reliant on the performance of this division, which has posted losses in recent quarters.

Boeing and Embraer's commercial aviation partnership, which would consolidate a global passenger jet duopoly, has been approved by the Brazilian government and by Embraer's shareholders but still needs regulatory approval from several countries.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic should not initially rule out any Chinese or Russian companies from plans to build up new-generation 5G mobile networks or expand its fleet of nuclear power stations, new Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said in an interview.

After a cabinet shuffle, Havlicek is stepping into the industry post on Tuesday as the state pushes ahead with both projects that face security questions over the possible participation of China's Huawei in 5G, as well as Russian and Chinese involvement in the nuclear expansion.

Havlicek said security would play a key factor in both sectors and warnings would not be ignored. But first, conditions for the expansions have to be outlined and discussion with key players should take place, he said.

"We have to evaluate all of the factors," Havlicek told Reuters on Monday evening, before his official appointment to the government on Tuesday.

"But definitely it is not acceptable from the business point of view, and communication point of view, to in advance reduce the group of potential investors, potential suppliers," he said.

In December, the Czech cyber watchdog NUKIB warned about possible risks from using Huawei equipment. The United States has also urged allies not to use Huawei products, saying they could enable Chinese state espionage - which the company denies.

Similarly, in nuclear power, a Czech government advisory body recommended last year security settings that would indirectly exclude Chinese or Russian suppliers in the multi-billion dollar expansion project.

NEW PLAYER

The state is holding an auction for new 5G frequencies later this year, seeking to draw a fourth operator to the country to boost competition against O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile and Vodafone and push down data prices, among the highest in Europe.

"I think the opportunity exists that a new multinational or Czech player is coming," Havlicek said, adding there had been talks with around 10 interested parties, including American, South Korean, French and Czech.

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The nuclear expansion has six potential bidders: China's CGN, Atmea - a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and EDF Group - Westinghouse, South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP), French state-owned Areva and Russia's Rosatom.

Czech utility CEZ, which runs two nuclear power plants accounting for about half of its traditional production, and the state, its 70 percent shareholder, have been stuck for years over financing the construction of new units.

In February, Prime Minister Andrej Babis outlined a plan under which the state would control construction after signing a contract with CEZ. The state would then have power to halt the project if power prices don't support it.

Havlicek said he hoped to have the contract with CEZ done in the autumn.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Potter)
May 3 (Reuters) - The city of Detroit said on Friday it agreed to pay $107.6 million for nearly 215 acres of land needed to construct a new $1.6 billion Fiat Chrysler Automobiles assembly plant.

The automaker also plans to invest $900 million to retool and modernize its Jefferson North Assembly Plant, enabling the creation of nearly 5,000 new jobs, the Mayor's office said.

The cost of purchasing the land will be split between Detroit and the state of Michigan.

Earlier in the day, FCA said new U.S. pickup truck models would help achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza? Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of

When we think of AI, most peoples thoughts turn to Sophia, the worlds most expressive robot. However, there are plenty of use cases for artificial intelligence that are much more mundane and closer to home. Take LinkedIn or Gmail predictive text, for example. These are both cases of AI at work in our everyday lives. Doesnt sound so scary when we put it that way  but whats the use case for AI when it comes to Dominos Pizza?

Dominos Pizza has announced a partnership with SingularityNET

In a media release on 1st May, SingularityNET and Dominos Pizza announced a collaboration. The company behind many of Sophias abilities to see, hear and respond empathetically is launching into the world of fast-food.

The pizza industry meets blockchain technology once again as #SingularityNET and @Dominos Malaysia and Singapore divisions announce a partnership leveraging SingularityNETs AGI token ecosystem. Read more here: https://t.co/x5hB8EaK2N pic.twitter.com/t9jRkzc3CQ  SingularityNET (@singularity_net) May 1, 2019

Does that mean your pizza will end up being delivered by a robot? Well, not exactly. Not for the time being, at least.

As the examples of predictive text serve to highlight, AI goes way beyond making robots work. SingularityNET is, in fact, a decentralised blockchain-based AI platform that allows developers to build and deploy artificial intelligence services at scale.

That makes it particularly interesting for large companies that suffer from multiple inefficiencies in the supply chain or delivery, such as Dominos Pizza.

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For now, though, the partnership will be limited to the Malaysia & Singapore arm of the fast-food giant, aimed at accelerating the companys growth in this region.

According to the release, this will allow SingularityNETs decentralised AI community to build innovative algorithms and solutions that will enhance Dominos operational capabilities and delight its rapidly growing customer base in Malaysia and Singapore.

What exactly will innovative algorithms do for Dominos Pizza?

The details of the partnership are a little fuzzy at the moment. After all, eluding to innovative algorithms and delighting customers doesnt exactly explain what the two companies are hoping to achieve.

Reading between the lines, however, it seems that AI can be particularly useful when it comes to automation and the supply chain. By using scalable algorithms, Dominos will be able to solve many of its most pressing challenges in logistics.

This means that the company may be able to achieve economies at scale by automating part of its delivery operations and even consolidating its operations centres.

Dominos CEO for the region, Ba U Shan-Ting, enthused SingularityNETs AI algorithms and services will allow us to explore these efficiencies at scale.

SingularityNETs CEO, Ben Goertzel, praised Dominos for its commitment to innovation. He said that we were moving into a new phase of society and economy, and that all businesses would need to embrace AI of some kind in order to survive and flourish in the new climate.

Specific to this partnership, he remarked:

We are proud to embark on a future partnership with Dominos to achieve their ambition of becoming the leader in pizza delivery and customer brand loyalty by 2020.

A pioneering company where emerging technology is concerned

Many large companies have jumped on the blockchain train in some way or another (just think Walmart or Carrefour). However, Dominos is the first to test out a blockchain-based AI solution. This gives the company a certain amount of kudos for being pioneering in the space.

Shan-Ting waxed lyrical about the Dominos constant commitment to innovation (I mean, what other company would combine salted caramel with pizza?). But while using vague words like mission, vision, innovation and excellence may come over as a little vapid, the company is expecting plenty of tangible results. These include greater efficiency for customers through automation and the consolidation of various operations centres.

SingularityNET, as part of the partnership, will be delivering AI-centric workshops, and conducting feasibility studies to see how to best impact Dominos business operations. At the same time, Dominos will widen its ability to access scalable algorithms that can help the company overcome its bottlenecks in the supply chain and logistics.

The partnership marks a key milestone for SingularityNET as part of its quest to bring enterprises to the AI marketplace.

So will you be getting your pizza delivered by a robot?

This is a pilot project starting in Singapore and Malaysia where Dominos Pizza has over 260 stores. The company will be using AI to speed up delivery, improve customer loyalty, and make cost efficiencies.

So, if its successful, this could be one more step toward bringing blockchain adoption to the masses. You can probably even expect that a robot will take your delivery by telephone, or even put your pizza together. Dont hold your breath that youll see Sophia knocking on your door any time soon though.

The post Your Dominos pizza may soon be delivered by a robot appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Gold and silver miner Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) had a rough year in 2018, with its stock falling around 40%. There were a number of factors behind that, including weak earnings, soft commodity prices, a strike at a key mine, and a heavy debt load. But Hecla also made some investments in its future, expanding into Nevada via acquisition. It believes that move, including mine-level improvements at the purchased assets, will help strengthen results in 2019 and 2020. When you look to the longer term, though, the company's future is likely to be driven by two investments in Montana. And the news there hasn't been very good lately.

What it means to be a miner

Running a mining business is a complex, expensive, and labor-intensive job. From a big-picture perspective, a miner has to find a location that might have precious metals (or other key materials, like copper). It then has to get permission to start building a mine. Assuming it can get its plans approved, the company will build a mine. And -- not a small issue -- it has to hope that the mine actually lives up to its predevelopment expectations. Lower ore grades or more-difficult-than-expected mining conditions can quickly turn a great plan into a bad investment.

A man standing at the mouth of a mine with the sun behind him.

Image source: Getty Images.

Once built, a mine is operated until it is no longer economically feasible to run, at which point the company must return the land to its pre-mining state. A lot can go wrong here, but there's one thing inherent to the process -- each mine has a life cycle and will eventually close down.

Indeed, mines are depleting assets. Once you pull an ounce of gold, silver, or copper (or whatever is in the mine) out of the ground, it is gone. And once you pull all of the commodity from the mine, you need to find a new mine to replace it, or the business will start to shrink. Running a mining company is like running on a treadmill in some ways: You can never stop to rest because you always have to be on the lookout for the next mine.

Story continues

Bad news for Hecla

This is exactly why Hecla investors need to be concerned about the fact that a judge recently blocked a permit for Hecla's Rock Creek mine project in Montana. This is one of two mines in the state that the company is planning to build in close proximity to each other. The other proposed mine is called Montanore. Bad permitting news at one mine is a bad omen for the other mine. Hecla's stock dropped around 10% following news of the adverse judgment at Rock Creek.

There's a couple of reasons for this. First, these two mines are in close proximity to the company's operating Lucky Friday mine in Idaho. The goal is to benefit from economies of scale by running a number of assets in the same general region. That will help lower costs for Hecla, which would be a good thing. Hecla's all-in sustaining costs (AISC, which includes operating costs and investments to maintain operations) for silver in 2018 were $11.44 per ounce, versus a year-end silver spot price of $15.40. Although by this metric it's profitable on the silver side of things, the company's AISC costs for silver rose over $3.50 per ounce last year. As for gold, Hecla's AISC were $1,226 last year compared to a year-end gold price of $1,282 per ounce, which isn't much breathing room. Keeping a lid on costs would be a good thing for the miner.

HL Chart

HL data by YCharts.

However, it's the second reason for the stock decline that should really worry investors. Rock Creek and Montanore are the company's two largest projects. The inferred resources (the amount of a commodity a miner's earliest estimates of the location's potential) at these mines dwarf any of its other long-term projects. Putting some numbers on that, the company hopes to find 148 million ounces of silver at Rock Creek and 183 million ounces of silver at Montanore. Together, these two assets make up 70% of Hecla's inferred silver resources.

In addition to the silver, Hecla hopes to find 658,000 tons of copper at Rock Creek and 759,000 tons of copper at Montanore, together making up virtually all of its inferred copper resources. If these numbers are close to accurate, Rock Creek and Montanore could rank among Hecla's largest operating mines.

There's no near-term worry, because the company still has plenty of silver and gold to mine for now, but every ounce it pulls out of the ground is one less ounce it has to mine in the future. And eventually, it will need to bring on new mines. So the setback at Rock Creek is notable because it will clearly be an important mine...but only if it gets built. The same holds true for nearby Montanore, which will likely experience the same environmental and regulatory headwinds that impact Rock Creek. If these two mines don't pan out, Hecla will have a big problem on its hands.

Far in the future, but still a concern

At this point, Rock Creek and Montanore are nowhere near close to contributing to Hecla's production. And near-term financial results aren't really going to be impacted by the trials and tribulations at these two proposed mines. That said, these are important long-term investments for Hecla. If they don't pan out, the miner will have to go back to the drawing board and find other investments on which to build its future. That, in the end, is why Rock Creek and Montanore should be on your radar, even if they aren't material to today's financial results.

More From The Motley Fool

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Signage is seen at the Huawei offices in Reading, Britain, May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies said it will "vigorously oppose" a motion filed by U.S. prosecutors on Thursday to disqualify its lead defense lawyer from a case accusing the Chinese company of bank fraud and sanctions violations.

According to a filing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. government sought to remove James Cole from the case.

Cole was the No.2 official at the Justice Department between 2011 and 2015, a period when the United States was obtaining information on how Huawei might have been doing business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

The filing did not make public why it is seeking to remove Cole from the case. In a letter to the court, prosecutors said they had filed a sealed, classified motion to disqualify Cole and expected to file a public version by May 10.

Cole, the former U.S. deputy attorney general, is now a partner at law firm Sidley Austin in Washington. He declined to comment.

Huawei said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it chose Jim Cole as its lawyer in 2017. "We have seen no facts from the government that would justify disqualifying him and denying Huawei its constitutional rights. Huawei will vigorously oppose the governments motion," it said.

The case against Huawei has ratcheted up tensions between Beijing and Washington as the world's two economic powers try to close a trade deal.

Angering the Chinese, the company's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada in December at the behest of U.S. authorities.

Huawei was charged with bank and wire fraud, violating sanctions against Iran and obstructing justice. Meng, who must answer to some of the charges, has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition. She is due in court in Vancouver on May 8.

Cole entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the company and its U.S. subsidiary on March 14 in Brooklyn.

Story continues

The crux of the case is that Meng and Huawei allegedly conspired to defraud HSBC Holdings Plc and other banks by misrepresenting Huaweis relationship with Skycom Tech Co Ltd, a suspected front company that operated in Iran.

Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huaweis Iran business.

U.S. authorities claim Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods, technology and services in Iran, and to move money via the international banking system.

U.S. prosecutors said last month they planned to use information about Huawei obtained through secret surveillance in the case.

In March, Reuters detailed how U.S. authorities secretly tracked Huawei's activities, including by collecting information copied from electronic devices carried by Chinese telecom executives traveling through airports.

In February, Reuters exclusively reported how an internal HSBC probe helped lead to the U.S. charges against Huawei and its CFO.

The indictment references reporting by Reuters from six years ago that Skycom offered to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator. The reporting detailed links between Huawei and Skycom, including that Meng had served on Skycom's board of directors in 2008 and 2009.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The ticker symbol and company logo for InterContinental Hotels Group is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Karina Dsouza and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group Plc said fewer people checked into its hotels in the first quarter due to lower demand in China, South Korea and France.

InterContinental, whose 13 brands include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo, reported a 0.3 percent rise in room revenue as strong demand in the Latin America and Caribbean markets was offset by weakness in the Greater China region.

Occupany rates slipped 0.2 percent in the period

The FTSE 100 company's shares fell 3.3 percent to 4,833 pence in the first hour of trading before cutting their losses to 1 percent by 0915 GMT.

IHG reported a 3 percent fall in revenue per available room (RevPaR) in France as it felt the impact of the "yellow vest" protest.

In South Korea, the company reported a 30 percent plunge in RevPar, because of tough comparisons due to the Winter Olympics hosted in the country last year.

The company has been focusing on business customers and expanding its luxury offerings to fight the rising challenges posed by companies such as Airbnb and online travel agents.

Weak demand in China's smaller cities meant the company reported flat room revenue. Accor SA, Europe's biggest hotel group, recently said weakness in Asia held back growth in RevPAR in its first quarter.

InterContinental Chief Executive Officer Keith Barr said on a call that China, where the company operates 400 hotels, would continue to be an important market.

Barr has steered the company towards affluent Chinese customers to lessen dependence on highly mature U.S. markets, while aggressively rebranding to compete against the likes of Marriott International Inc and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar and Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Writing by Noor Zainab Hussain; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile programme and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

Story continues

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The Latest on North Korea test firing short-range missiles (all times local):

6:50 a.m.

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire drill of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons.

The report by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency on Sunday came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North launching several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast.

The agency says Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over Saturday's drills and stressed frontline troops to keep a "high alert posture" and enhance combat ability to "defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance of the country."

___

11:10 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he still believes a nuclear deal with North Korea will happen, after the country fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Trump tweeted Saturday that he believes that leader Kim Jong Un "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it."

Added Trump: "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A diplomatic summit between Trump and Kim over the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons broke down earlier this year without a deal. North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

___

4 p.m.

South Korea says it's "very concerned" about North Korea's weapons launches, calling them a violation of last year's inter-Korean agreements to reduce tensions between the countries.

The South Korean government says it urges North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear negotiations.

South Korea says it's working with the United States to find out details of the launches such as what type of projectiles North Korea fired earlier Saturday.

The South Korean statement came after a meeting of the presidential national security adviser, the defense minister, the intelligence chief and other officials following the North Korean launches at the presidential Blue House.

Story continues

___

3:20 p.m.

The United States and South Korea are analyzing North Korea's short-range missile launches while "carefully responding" to Pyongyang's action.

That's according to South Korean Foreign Ministry statement following telephone talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart in Seoul.

Later Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also talked by phone with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and they agreed to keep coordinating while also "carefully responding" to the launches.

___

2:45 p.m.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have held telephone talks after North Korea launched several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says Kono, who is currently visiting Angola, and Pompeo talked for about 10 minutes Saturday and confirmed the two sides will share information on the development and stay in close contact.

The two ministers also agreed to cooperate with South Korea.

Japan's Defense Ministry says the projectiles weren't a security threat and didn't reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim Jong Un.

___

11:45 a.m.

The White House says it is monitoring North Korean short-range missile launches.

In a terse statement, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says, "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea early Saturday launched several short-range missiles off its eastern coast into the ocean.

If it's confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

___

11:15 a.m.

Japan's Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It says at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

___

10:45 a.m.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has launched "several" short-range missiles off its eastern coast.

The military said in a statement Saturday that the missiles flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before they landed in the water.

The South had previously said the North launched a single missile.

___

10:05 a.m.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff says the North's missile was fired from Wonsan on the east coast.

It says South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details of the launch.
wallstreetmarketshutdown.jpg





Wall Street Market, the second-largest darknet market in the world in recent months, has been shut down by international law enforcement agencies, including Europol as well as U.S., German, Dutch and Romanian law enforcement. Three suspected operators of the online marketplace for illegal goods and services have been arrested in Germany, while some of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics were arrested in the United States.

Darknet markets are the digital black markets only accessible through the anonymizing Tor browser; they use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment. Since the pioneering Silk Road was shutdown in 2013, such markets have only grown in popularity. According to research by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published in January 2019, darknet market activity almost doubled throughout 2018, surpassing a yearly volume of $600 million. Back in the days of Silk Road, the record yearly volume never topped $200 million, according to Chainalysis.

One of Silk Roads recent successors, Wall Street Market, offered a platform for selling illegal drugs as well as weapons, hacking software and stolen login credentials. According to Europol, over 1,150,000 user accounts were registered on Wall Street Market, and over 63,000 offers had been placed on the website by more than 5,400 seller accounts. This made Wall Street Market the second-most popular darknet market at the time of closure, Europol noted, presumably behind Dream Market.

The website was ultimately shutdown by German Federal Criminal Police, under the authority of the German Public Prosecutors office, and three suspected operators were arrested. The German police were supported by the Dutch National Police, Europol, Eurojust and various U.S. government agencies including the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice. German authorities also seized 550,000 (approximately $615,500 USD) in cash and six-figure amounts worth of bitcoin and XMR (monero), as well as several vehicles and other evidence.

Story continues

Europols Executive Director Catherine De Bolle commented in a statement published on the Europol website:

These two investigations show the importance of law enforcement cooperation at an international level and demonstrate that illegal activity on the dark web is not as anonymous as criminals may think.

Darknet Disarray

As reported by Bitcoin Magazine last week, Wall Street Market had been in a state of turmoil for several weeks. Following a presumed influx of new users from the also-defunct darknet market Dream Market, Wall Street Market operators started pulling an exit scam, reportedly stealing a total of $14 million to $30 million worth of bitcoin and XMR from user accounts. On top of that, some Wall Street Market users were being blackmailed, as one of the websites moderators threatened to leak identifying information about the users to law enforcement, unless these users paid him 0.05 BTC.

As reported by ZDNet, the same moderator went a step further only days later, as he published the IP address and his login credentials to the darknet market on darknet-focused forum Dread. This not only revealed the location of the Wall Street Market server, which was located in the Netherlands, but also allowed anyone access to the websites administrative section to collect information about users and orders, which reportedly included deanonymizing details like home addresses. Its likely that this is how law enforcement was able to shut down Wall Street Market and arrest suspects, but this has not been confirmed.

The takedown further confirms that the recent darknet market era, with Dream Market and Wall Street Market as market leaders, is coming to and end. Wall Street Market is now officially offline, and Dream Market halted trading weeks ago with its future unclear. While a notice on Dream Market predicted it would shut down on April 30, 2019, the website is still up  though with trading still disabled. The Dream Market replacement website is not online either, as the onion address in the notice is unresponsive.

On top of that, in the same press release, Interpol announced that Finnish authorities shut down yet another darknet market earlier this year. Valhalla, which was previously known under its Finnish name Silkkitie, was one of the oldest darknet markets online, though, according to Finnish customs, the site had been compromised by them since at least 2017. Still, according to Europol, Valhalla had its contents seized by Finnish Customs only this year, in close cooperation with the French National Police.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
Monster Beverage Corporation MNST reported solid first-quarter 2019 results, wherein top and bottom lines outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. Notably, this marked the fourth straight positive earnings surprise, with the third consecutive sales beat.



A clear reflection of the companys robust first-quarter performance was visible in a 6.1% increase in its share price during the after-hours trading. Moreover, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock has surged 17.8% year to date, outperforming the industrys growth of 9%. This is mainly attributed to the strong momentum in its energy drinks business.



Q1 Highlights



Monster Beverages earnings of 48 cents per share rose 26.7% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Monster Beverage Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Monster Beverage Corporation Quote

Net sales of $946 million improved 11.2% year over year and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $916.3 million. Moreover, gross sales (net of discounts and returns) rose 10.1% to $1,090.4 million. Robust gross and net sales growth are attributed to strong sales for the Monster Energy brand energy drinks, introduction of new Monster Energy brand energy drink and the launch of Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance energy drinks.



Additionally, net sales to customers outside the United States totaled $274.3 million, up 17.4% year over year. This represented about 30% of total sales in first-quarter 2019 compared with 25.8% in the year-ago quarter. However, top-line growth was partly negated by unfavorable currency that hurt gross and net sales by $25.9 million and $22 million, respectively.



Segmental Performance



Monster Energy Drinks: Net sales at this segment increased 11.5% year over year to $870.4 million. Robust gains from the sale of Monster Energy brand energy drinks and Reign Total Body Fuel high-performance drinks were partly offset by a negative impact of nearly $18.2 million from adverse currency rates.



Strategic Brands: This segment includes a range of energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company KO in addition to its affordable energy brands. Net sales at this segment rose 6.9% to $70.3 million in the first quarter. However, currency headwinds hurt the segments results by $3.8 million.



Other: Net sales at this segment, which includes some products of American Fruits & Flavors sold to independent third parties (AFF Third-Party Products), grew 12.8% year over year to $5.3 million.



Costs & Margins



First-quarter 2019 gross margin remained flat at 60.6%. Gross margin benefited from increased prices for products sold in the United States and Canada along with product sales mix. This was somewhat mitigated by negative geographic sales mix and higher input costs.



Operating expenses increased 11.4% year over year to $262.1 million. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, grew 60 bps to 12.9%. However, selling expenses, as a percentage of net sales, dipped 50 bps to 11%. Meanwhile, distribution costs, as a percentage of sales, declined 10 bps to 3.8%.



Despite higher costs, operating income of $311.5 million increased 11.3% year over year. Meanwhile, the operating margin remained flat at 32.9%.



Other Financials



Monster Beverage ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $618.3 million, and total stockholders' equity of $3,698.8 million.



Moreover, the company bought back 2.6 million shares for about $139 million (excluding broker commissions) in the reported quarter. As of May 2, 2019, it had nearly $20.6 million and $500 million remaining to be bought back under share repurchase plans authorized in August 2018 and February 2019, respectively.



Strategies on Track



Monster Beverage completed its strategic alignment with Coca-Cola system bottlers in the United States, with the allotment of the Kalil Bottling Groups distribution territories in March 2019 and the transition of the Big Geyser Inc. territory in April 2019. Further, the company is on track with the transitioning of the Monster Energy brand to Coca-Cola system bottlers in more countries.



Furthermore, management remains committed toward product launches to boost growth. In the first quarter, it successfully launched the Monster Energy Ultra Paradise, the Monster Dragon Tea line, Reign Total Body Fuel line of high-performance energy drinks and Java Monster Swiss Chocolate in the United States. Additionally, it rolled out many Monster Energy and Strategic Brands energy drinks in existing international geographies.



Moreover, the company is set to launch the new strategically preferred affordable energy brand  Predator  in additional international markets in 2019.



2 Better-Ranked Soft Drink Stocks to Count on



PepsiCo Inc. PEP has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 7.2%. Further, it has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



New Age Beverage Corporation NBEV, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, witnessed positive estimate revisions for the current year in the last 30 days.



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(Adds State Department's decline to comment in paragraph 9)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet.

Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Story continues

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

SECURITY GUARANTEE

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cold temperatures and rain didnt dampen the spirits of volunteers in northeastern Pennsylvania. The community united to demonstrate its support for the Hanover Township Fire Department at the fourth annual Ladders and Laces 5k. The annual race coupled with Team Navient contributions raised $17,000 to help the local fire departments efforts in keeping their firefighters and community members safe.



We cant express our deepest appreciation to Navient for their thoughtfulness and support to our department, said Joseph Temerantz, department chief, Hanover Township Fire Department. Without their support we would not be able to provide the level of service that we currently do to those who live, work and travel through our fire protection district. Last year, we responded to 941 calls for service and we can truly say we delivered a high level of service to those in need because of Navients support.

This years donations will help purchase new safety equipment and technology including two water rescue boats, several sets of fire gear and a smaller and more versatile jaws of life tool. In addition, funds will also help purchase a fire pup costume to support fire prevention awareness among children. The fire department provides activities for more than 400 children each year.

Despite the unfavorable weather, the 3.1 mile race attracted about 140 runners and many supporters and volunteers. This year, the event offered a race registration fee discount to students.

Were grateful for the Hanover Township Fire Department efforts in keeping our community safe, said Lisa Stashik, vice president, Navient. The Ladders and Laces 5k is our way of showing our gratitude.

In addition to the race, employees raised funds to support the fire department through Navient's popular Jeans BeCause program. The program allows participating employees a "pass" to dress casually on certain days.

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Since 2016, the annual race coupled with employee contributions has raised $68,000. Funds have aided the construction of a firehouse, the purchase of a state-of-the-art fire engine and life-saving equipment.

Connect with @Navient on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Medium .

About Navient

Navient (NAVI) is a leader in education loan management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare and government clients at the federal, state and local levels. The company helps its clients and millions of Americans achieve financial success through services and support. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Navient also employs team members in western New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and other locations. Learn more at navient.com .

Contact:

Media: Brianna Huff, 302-283-2973, brianna.huff@navient.com

NAVICP
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- electroCore, Inc. (ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, today announced that two oral presentations featuring non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) will be presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) to be held on May 4-10, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Abraham Nagy will present findings highlighting real-world evidence of cluster headache patients using nVNS. Dr. Maike Moller will present data demonstrating the effect of nVNS on specific brain regions providing further mechanistic support for the efficacy of nVNS in multiple headache conditions.



The pairing of real-world evidence-based findings and mechanistic rationale further support the use of gammaCoreTM, specifically as an early-line treatment. While the use of traditional pharmacologic options is valuable, the mounting evidence highlights the potential for gammaCore to provide patients with an effective, safe and convenient non-drug option, said Francis Amato, chief executive officer of electroCore.

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) and the Trigeminal Autonomic Reflex: An FMRI Study

Session: S20.002: Headache Imaging and Physiology and Episodic Syndromes Associated with Migraine

Presenter: Dr. Maike Moller of the Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

Time: 3:30  5:30 p.m. EDT

Title: Real-world Use of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Acute Treatment of Pain in Episodic Cluster Headache Attacks: Results From a Patient Registry

Session: S38.006: Headache: Clinical Trials II

Presenter: Dr. Abraham Nagy, Chairman of Neurology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 1:00  3:00 p.m. EDT

gammaCoreTM (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) is intended to provide non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) on the side of the neck. gammaCore is indicated for:

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Adjunctive use for the preventive treatment of cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with episodic cluster headache in adult patients.

The acute treatment of pain associated with migraine headache in adult patients.

The safety and effectiveness of gammaCore (nVNS) have not been established in the acute treatment of chronic cluster headache

gammaCore has not been shown to be effective for the preventive treatment of migraine headache

The long-term effects of the chronic use of gammaCore have not been evaluated

Safety and efficacy of gammaCore have not been evaluated in the following patients, and therefore it is NOT indicated for: Patients with an active implantable medical device, such as a pacemaker, hearing aid implant, or any implanted electronic device Patients diagnosed with narrowing of the arteries (carotid atherosclerosis) Patients who have had surgery to cut the vagus nerve in the neck (cervical vagotomy) Pediatric patients Pregnant women Patients with clinically significant hypertension, hypotension, bradycardia, or tachycardia

Patients should not use gammaCore if they: Have a metallic device such as a stent, bone plate, or bone screw implanted at or near their neck Are using another device at the same time (e.g., TENS Unit, muscle stimulator) or any portable electronic device (e.g., mobile phone)



NOTE: This list is not all inclusive. Please refer to the gammaCore Instructions for Use for all of the important warnings and precautions before using or prescribing this product.

About electroCore, Inc.

electroCore, Inc. is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company dedicated to improving patient outcomes through its platform non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy initially focused on the treatment of multiple conditions in neurology and rheumatology. The companys current indications are for the preventative treatment of cluster headache and acute treatment of migraine and episodic cluster headache.

For more information, visit www.electrocore.com .

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about electroCore's business prospects and product development plans, its pipeline or potential markets for its technologies, and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "anticipates," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends," other words of similar meaning, derivations of such words and the use of future dates. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to pursue electroCores business and product development plans, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies, the ability to commercialize gammaCore, competition in the industry in which electroCore operates and overall market conditions. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and electroCore assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents electroCore files with the SEC available at www.sec.gov .

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors

617-535-7743

hans@lifesciadvisors.com

or

Media Contact:

Sara Zelkovic

LifeSci Public Relations

646-876-4933

sara@lifescipublicrelations.com




By Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Chile's mining minister Baldo Prokurica said royalties for the ultralight battery metal lithium would be set on a "case-by-case" basis from now on, using a negotiation model similar to that used with top producers in Chile's Atacama salt flat.

State development agency Corfo struck deals with top miners SQM and Albemarle in previous years that set a sliding scale for royalties, depending on the price of the metal.

Prokurica, speaking late Monday, did not specify what rates would be used as a starting point for any new negotiations.

"This will be studied on a case by case basis, considering Corfo's experience with its holdings in the Salar de Atacama," Prokurica told Reuters.

Chile is the world's No. 2 producer of the metal, which is used in the batteries that power cell phones, electric vehicles and other consumer goods. Nearly one-third of the world's supply of lithium comes from Atacama, a sprawling salt flat in the country's northern desert.

Several companies, including Wealth Minerals, Lithium Power International, and Bearing Lithium , among others, are advancing projects in Chile to take advantage of surging demand.

Chile's government had been studying various options for royalty payments, from a system that would put lithium royalties on par with those of copper, as well as additional taxes to spur development in the regions where the metal is mined. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Dave Sherwood Editing by James Dalgleish)
Friday, May 3, 2019

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC) and HCA Healthcare (HCA). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Pfizers shares have underperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry in the past six months (-5.7% vs. -1%). Pfizer beat estimates for earnings and sales in the first quarter. Pfizer expects continued strong growth of key product franchises, including Ibrance, Eliquis, and Xeljanz in 2019.

However, The Zacks analyst thinks loss of exclusivity on key drugs in the United States, mainly Lyrica and currency headwinds will likely significantly hurt 2019 sales. Other top-line headwinds are weak sales in the sterile injectables portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition.

To offset the threat of generic competition, Pfizer is strengthening its pipeline as well as oncology portfolio. Pfizer looks well positioned to deliver several potential new breakthrough innovative medicines in the next five years, which can drive long-term growth. Biosimilars are also expected to contribute to growth in 2019.

(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>> ).

Shares of Intel have outperformed the Zacks General Semiconductor industry in the past year, losing -4.3% vs. a decline of -7.4%. Intel reported stellar first-quarter results. Rising demand witnessed in companys higher performance products, both in data center and client domains acted as a catalyst.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company is benefiting from robust performance of the DCG, IoT Group, NVM Solutions and PSG. The companys strategy of expanding TAM beyond CPU to adjacent product lines like silicon photonics, fabric, network ASICs, and 3D XPoint memory is bearing fruit. However, a declining trend in PC shipments is detrimental to business prospects of Intel, which continues to depend substantially on PC sales.

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Further, the company provided a tepid forthcoming outlook. Weaknesses in demand from China, softness in NAND flash pricing trends, delay in transition to 10-nm process are other concerns. Moreover, intensifying competition remains a headwind.

(You can read the full research report on Intel here >>> ).

Buy-Ranked HCA Healthcares shares have outperformed the Zacks Hospital industry in the past year, gaining +28.7% vs. +13.1%. HCA Healthcares first-quarter 2019 beat expectations and increased year over year on the back of higher admissions and revenues.

The Zacks analyst thinks its top line has been growing over the last several quarters on higher admissions, volume growth, etc. Multiple acquisitions helped the company gain a strong foothold in the industry, fueling its inorganic growth.

A strong balance sheet and free cash flow are other positives for the company. However, high operating expenses are persistently weighing on its margins. The company is expected to witness a rise in costs due to its constant growth-related investments. Its high leverage is another concern.

(You can read the full research report on HCA Healthcare here >>> ).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Activision (ATVI), Xilinx (XLNX) and Cummins (CMI).

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

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Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Pfizer's (PFE) New Drugs to Push Sales Amid Generic Woes

Intel (INTC) Rides on Product Rollouts Amid 10nm Delay

Growing Revenues, Inorganic Growth Aid HCA Healthcare (HCA)

Featured Reports

Xilinx (XLNX) Rides on Solid Growth in Communications Market

Per the Zacks analyst, strength across the wireless communications market, driven by the 5G momentum, is a key catalyst for Xilinx.

Investments, Customer Additions Aid American Water (AWK)

Per the Zacks analyst, American Water's investment of $8-$8.6B in next five years to strengthen infrastructure and customer growth via organic and inorganic ways will boost its operations.

Twilio (TWLO) Banks on Burgeoning Active Customer Accounts

Per the Zacks analyst, Twilio's steady focus on introducing products and pursuing its go-to-market sales strategy is helping strengthen its active customer accounts, which is driving the top line.

Cabot (COG) to Benefit from Marcellus Acreage Holdings

The Zacks analyst believes that Cabot's large acreage holdings in the fast-growing Marcellus Shale would support its 2019 production growth target of 20%.

Dolby (DLB) Rides on Solid Licensing Unit, Liquidity Strength

Per the Zacks analyst, Dolby is well poised to gain from increasing content in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, coupled with growth in Dolby Cinema.

Acquisitions, Loan Growth Aid Raymond James' (RJF) Revenues

Per the Zacks analyst, opportunistic acquisitions, strong balance sheet and rise in loan balances will support Raymond James' revenues.

Maxim (MXIM) Rides on Automotive Strength Amid Soft Demand

Per the Zacks analyst, growing production of electric vehicles is aiding Maxim's growth in automotive space.

New Upgrades

Unit &RevPAR Growth to Drive Hilton's (HLT) Performance

Per the Zacks analyst, Hilton's continues to benefit from robust Unit and RevPAR Growth as well as industry-leading loyalty program. For 2019, Hilton anticipates net unit growth of 6.5%.

Cummins (CMI) Gains From North America's Truck Production

Per the Zacks analyst, augmented medium and heavy-duty truck production in North America owing to robust backlog is driving Cummins' engine and component sales.

Harris (HRS) Buoyed by Strong Order Trends & Merger Deal

Per the Zacks analyst, multiple contract wins from U.S. federal customers augur well for Harris' healthy top-line growth. Also, the approval of shareholders for the L3-Harris merger deal is laudable.

New Downgrades

Lower In-Game Revenues, Higher Costs Hurt Activision (ATVI)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower in-game revenues, higher costs and increase in investments is hurting Activision's profitability amid rising competition.

Input Costs & Divestitures to Dent Kellogg's (K) Bottom-Line

Per the Zacks analyst, high input costs are a drag on Kellogg's bottom-line, as also witnessed in the first quarter. Further, management has cut the view for 2019 due to divestitures.

Soft Sales at Unum International, High Costs Ail Unum (UNM)

Per the Zacks analyst, lower sales at Unum International, persistent soft results at Closed Block and Corporate segment and rise in total benefits and expenses are weighing on margins.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
(Adds comments about Keystone XL oil pipeline)

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 3 (Reuters) - Pipeline company TransCanada Corp said on Friday it has changed its name to TC Energy, to reflect the expansion of its business beyond Canada to the United States and Mexico.

Calgary-based TC Energy has been struggling to make progress in building new oil export pipelines out of western Canada.

The company has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion ($8.9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

"TC Energy better describes our complete business, which ... has grown steadily to become a C$110 billion enterprise with critical assets and dedicated employees across three countries," Chief Executive Russ Girling said at the company's annual general meeting.

Girling said there were no plans to move the company's headquarters out of Calgary.

TC Energy still has extensive operations in Canada, including the Keystone pipeline, which transports 20 percent of western Canadian crude exports to U.S. refineries, and natural gas pipelines, which are part of one of the largest gas transmission systems in North America.

Keystone XL faces hurdles in the United States, including a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

As those matters have dragged on, TC Energy has now "lost the 2019 construction season" for work on Keystone XL's U.S. portion, said executive vice-president Paul Miller. TC has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

"We will not make any major capital commitments until we have a clear path to construction," Miller said.

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TC's shares ended down 1.2 percent in Toronto at C$62.63.

The company reported a first quarter profit on Friday, beating analysts' estimates as it earned more by phasing into service the Columbia Gas pipeline and one of its Columbia Gulf growth projects in the United States, as well as moving more volumes on Keystone.

TC Energy said earnings from its U.S. natural gas pipelines rose 22 percent to C$792 million.

Comparable earnings rose to C$987 million, or C$1.07 per share, from C$864 million, or 98 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to C$3.49 billion from C$3.42 billion. ($1 = 1.3430 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky)
The uncertainty over whether and when the U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement this year is creating a cloudy outlook for grain volumes this fall.

"We expect uncertainty to persist in the grain market due to the foreign tariffs," said Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) executive vice president for marketing and sales, on his company's first quarter earnings call on April 18. Rocker said UNP's grain carloads were down by 7 percent in the first quarter, driven by reduced exports to China.

So far this year, U.S. grain shipments via rail are lower than the same period in 2018. Year-to-date U.S. carloads carrying grain are down 4.5 percent to 370,786 carloads for the week ended April 27, according to the Association of American Railroads. Grain traffic represented 8.8 percent of total U.S. carloads.

Grain producers, especially soybean farmers, have been concerned about the lack of progress in trade negotiations between China and the U.S., including the 25 percent tariff that China levied on imported soybeans from the U.S., according to the American Soybean Association.

U.S. soybean exports are expected to fall this year. Projected soybean exports for the 2018-2019 marketing year, which runs from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, total 1.88 million bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In contrast, the U.S. exported an estimated 2.13 million bushels of soybeans in 2017-2018 and 2.17 million bushels in 2016-2017.

For the railroads, this drop in exports translated into diminished traffic to the Pacific Northwest last fall. What stings for soybean farmers is that both the railroads and landlocked soybean farmers in the upper Midwest have invested in equipment to enable greater soybean volumes to the Pacific Northwest, according to Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek. Steenhoek said the U.S. normally exports $14 billion of soybeans to China. At second place is Mexico, at $1.4 billion in U.S. soybean exports.

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According to U.S. Census export data, U.S. soybean exports were worth $18.2 billion in 2018, $22.2 billion in 2017 and $23.6 billion in 2016.

"All of this money has been spent based on this long-term forecast, that has changed. It really hurts industries like agriculture when you don't have the predictability," Steenhoek said.

Despite the uncertainty, some grain producers think a trade resolution is in sight, confirming market observations. Should the U.S. and China reach some trade agreement, the move could benefit grain producers, especially those that export wheat and corn, depending on the agreement's timing.

"We see encouraging signs regarding resolution of the U.S,-China trade dispute and we are optimistic for a resolution by mid-year, importantly, well before the U.S. harvest," said Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) president and chief executive Juan Luciano during his company's first quarter earnings call on April 26. Luciano described those signs as the language used by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping characterizing trade relations between the two countries, as well as ADM's Chinese counterparts preparing to receive grain imports.

"Our team has shown great agility and flexibility to minimize the impact of the dispute to ADM thus far. Nevertheless, a resolution will benefit several of our businesses."

But even though U.S.-China trade uncertainties could affect how much grain gets moved via rail this fall during harvest season, other factors come into play.

While severe flooding in the Midwest damaged some crops in storage, the damage was limited and not expected to have a big impact on the overall grain supply, said agricultural economist Jay O'Neil.

But U.S. exports will still need to compete with other grain-producing regions of the world, including South America and the Black Sea region of Russia.

"We still have grain surpluses and need more export demand," O'Neil said.

Image sourced from Pixabay

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FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Patriot missile system is seen at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $6 billion worth of weapons sales to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in three separate packages, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification.

The United States depends on allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian influence. In April, the U.S. moved ahead with part of a THAAD missile defense system sale to the kingdom.

In one of the notifications sent to Congress on Friday, Bahrain could potentially buy various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.48 billion. That potential Bahraini deal included 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles known as GEM-T, an upgrade that can shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles.

In a separate State Department notification sent to Congress, Bahrain was also given the nod for various weapons to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. That package included 32 AIM-9X missiles, 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles and 100 GBU-39s which are 250-pound small diameter bombs and other munitions.

In a third State Department notification, the United Arab Emirates was given potential approval for $2.73 billion worth of Patriot missiles and related equipment including 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale. The notification process alerts Congress that a sale to a foreign country has been approved, but it does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded.

The principal contractors for the sales were Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Co.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX), a Chattanooga-based truckload (TL) carrier, held a call with analysts and the media to discuss its first quarter 2019 earnings, which were $0.15 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $0.18.

The company said that given the subdued freight market thus far in the quarter it now expects its operating ratio (OR) will be worse year-over-year in the second quarter (second quarter 2018 OR was 93.4 percent). Management said that it will wait for better market visibility before updating its full-year OR guidance. That said, the 93 percent full-year OR target isn't off the table.

Management said that the OR goal could be achieved if the spot market were to produce a little improvement in both volumes and price. Additionally, the company has cost reduction initiatives in place to drive future OR improvement. Part of the 93 percent target will require insurance expenses to move lower.

The company has phased in hair follicle testing for drug use instead of 100 percent adoption of the policy in an attempt to stem any negative impacts in driver turnover. USX believes that all of its drivers will be in the hair follicle testing program by year-end. Also, the company continues to implement measures to achieve an entirely frictionless order system to improve service and lower cost, but this is a long-term project and not likely to impact 2019's OR.

While USX is not seeing robust seasonal volume increases, it is seeing positive results in contractual pricing. So far, the company has re-priced 40 percent of its contractual book and it is seeing 5 percent rate increases. USX expects to achieve mid-single digit price increases in 2019 as the company continues to have constructive conversations with customers regarding future contract renewals. Management believes that an increase in dedicated freight, along with modestly lower spot exposure, will provide tailwinds in achieving improved average revenue per mile. That said, the over-the road division has a bit of a headwind; this division has roughly 20 percent spot exposure (spot market exposure represents only 10 percent of USX's total revenue). Management expects to attain contractual rate increases in its over-the-road offering, but said that it will be tough to get increases in average revenue per mile in the division with spot rates down 20 percent year-over-year.

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DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

DAT VAN FREIGHT RATE INDEX (NATIONAL US VAN) - SONAR

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - FINANCIAL

USX reported operating revenue of $415.4 million for the quarter, a 2.4 percent decline year-over-year. Revenue adjusted to exclude fuel surcharges and the company's discontinued operations in Mexico increased $2.9 million in the period. Adjusted operating income was 8 percent higher at $16 million. The adjusted operating ratio improved 40 basis points to 95.7 percent.

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

USX KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - OPERATING METRICS

Average revenue per tractor per week increased 1.1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019 to $3,762 in the TL segment as average revenue per mile increased 3.8 percent to $2.13, partially offset by a 2.5 decline in average revenue miles per tractor. The TL division reported a 20 basis point improvement in operating ratio, which was 96 percent. The company said that its spot exposure, 20 percent, in its over-the road division created rate and volume headwinds in the quarter. Additionally, both truck divisions were impacted by adverse winter weather, particularly in the Northeast where the dedicated division has a large concentration of volume.

USX's average tractor count was up 30 trucks to 6,275 units. The over-the-road division's truck count declined five units while the dedicated division increased its count by 35 trucks. Over-the-road average revenue per truck per week declined 6 percent as average revenue per mile increased 0.7 percent year-over-year. Dedicated reported an 11.8 percent increase in average revenue per truck per week with a 7.1 percent increase in average revenue per mile.

The brokerage division reported a 15.2 percent revenue decline year-over-year to $46.2 million as load counts declined 13.8 percent. Gross margins expanded 350 basis points to 17.5 percent. Operating income increased 18.9 percent to $2.8 million in the quarter as higher gross margins were driven by lower transportation costs on a per load basis and improved third-party capacity sourcing.

Management said that 2019 will be the last year for accelerated capital expenditures on equipment as the company lowers its average tractor age to 18 months by year-end (from 27.5 months currently). Total spend will be $170 million in 2019, but should normalize to $115 million beginning in 2020.

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

USX STOCK PRICE CHART - SONAR

Image sourced from Pixabay

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SAN ANTONIO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) (Valero) today announced that members of company management will attend the Citi Global Energy and Utilities Conference on May 14, 2019.

About Valero

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products. Valero is a Fortune 50 company based in San Antonio, Texas, and it operates 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day and 14 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.73 billion gallons per year. The petroleum refineries are located in the United States (U.S.), Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the ethanol plants are located in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S. Valero also is a joint venture partner in Diamond Green Diesel, which operates a renewable diesel plant in Norco, Louisiana. Diamond Green Diesel is North Americas largest biomass-based diesel plant. Valero sells its products in the wholesale rack or bulk markets in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Latin America. Approximately 7,000 outlets carry Valeros brand names. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

Valero Contacts

Investors:

Homer Bhullar, Vice President  Investor Relations, 210-345-1982

Gautam Srivastava, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-3992

Tom Mahrer, Manager  Investor Relations, 210-345-1953

Media:

Lillian Riojas, Executive Director  Media Relations and Communications, 210-345-5002
GOLDEN, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 30, 2019 / Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (OTC PINK: VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma one of the world's emerging biotechnology companies focused on allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell ("MSC") research and clinical products including AlloRx Stem Cells, Brain Grow Technologies NutraVivo Stem Cell Activator, and the MSC-Gro Brand Stem Cell Culture Media has been awarded Certification to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Quality Standard 13485:2016 for medical devices.

This certification further strengthens Vitro Biopharma's quality management system that is ISO 9001:2015 and CLIA certified. Regulatory certifications encompass our quality system, clinical diagnostics and cGMP manufacturing based on our commitment to attaining customer satisfaction and seeking continual improvement as a primary goal. We use risk assessment guidance, extensive control systems encompassing outside service providers, manufacturing, process & product validation, and new product development in the operation of our quality system. Vitro Biopharma is FDA-registered and operates within a broad regulatory umbrella and platform suitable for FDA-compliant drug/biologics and medical device manufacturing.

Vitro Biopharma is executing its business model based on supporting IRB-approved stem cell therapies in off-shore locations that are now yielding evidence of safety and efficacy. This goal requires compliance to internationally recognized standards such as ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 to gain clinical trial approvals in global medical tourism destinations. The recent IRB approval of our clinical trial entitled "Vitro Biopharma Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem CellTherapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions" in the Bahamas was facilitated by our ISO certification. Through our partner, DVC Stem, in Grand Cayman Island we provide AlloRxStem Cells to support an IRB-approved trial determining the effects of MSC transplants on various inflammatory conditions. We provide our MSC-Gro stem cell culture medium to support clinical trials of MSC therapy for osteoarthritis (OA). These trials and several others totaling 2385 patients and pre-clinical studies in 20,000 animals provide evidence of safety and efficacy. In the US alone there are more the 30 million OA patients. The standard of care is joint replacement, but emerging evidence suggests that a single MSC injection into afflicted joints can regenerate cartilage, reduce pain, restore functionality and defer replacement at a fraction of the cost of joint replacement. We have gained preliminary evidence of safety and efficacy of AlloRx Stem Cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases through clinical studies in New Zealand. Our regulatory certifications support further expansion into other medical tourism markets as well as clinical trials leading to US approvals. The FDA is in the process of adopting ISO 13485 as its quality standard for medical devices and full legal implementation is anticipated in 2020.

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Dr. Jim Musick, CEO of Vitro Biopharma said, "We are extremely pleased with this milestone accomplishment as we have recently focused on achieving ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and CLIA certifications. This provides necessary support for our goal of suppling offshore medical tourism destinations with high quality AlloRx Stem Cells for various applications in regenerative medicine. AlloRx Stem Cells are distinctly superior to "stem cell" clinics operating in the US that are restricted to "minimally manipulated" products that contain limited stem cell content at very low purity and do not achieve international standards of stem cell definition. Adipose-derived allogeneic MSCs (Allofisel) have been recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for treatment of a type of Crohn's disease. These are expanded and purified stem cells that presently require pre-market FDA approval in the US as drugs. Offshore venues allow studies of expanded and purified MSCs wherein the identity, purity and potency are clearly established. Several clinical studies support the concept that adequate stem cell dosage is critical in determining therapeutic outcomes. There are variations in the known types of adult MSCs and our patent-pending AlloRx Stem Cells are superior to other known adult stem cells."

About Vitro Biopharma

Vitro Biopharma, for over 10 years, has supplied major biopharmaceutical firms, elite university laboratories and clinical trials worldwide with Mesenchymal Stem Cells, MSC-Grow Brand of cell culture media, various stem cell derivatives and stem cell-derived differentiated cells. We also supply primary fibroblast cells and an expanding line of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from various tumors including lung, breast, melanoma, pancreatic and colorectal tissues. Our CAFs are purchased by major pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical firms to advance immunotherapy of cancer.

We now support clinical studies of stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis, neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease while pursuing select US markets for stem cell therapies. We support high quality offshore medical tourism with the DaVinci Wellness Centre, our clinical trial partner in the Cayman Islands www.DVCStem.com.

We provide Brain Grow TechnologiesNutraVivo Stem Cell Activator that has been shown to induce proliferation, migration and epigenetic modification of human adult stem cells. NutraVivo improves overall cellular wellness and significantly increases expression of anti-aging genes.

We private label Limitless MD cosmetic products for topical applications in skin beautification.

About the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (www.iso.org) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It is comprised of national standards bodies from 159 countries that promote high quality standards for all company processes. To meet ISO certification requirements for Quality Management Systems, companies must establish a well-tuned system of interacting processes that ensures consistent quality of the company's products; their capacity to optimally meet customer requirements; and their fulfillment of all applicable regulatory requirements.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein regarding financial performance have not yet been reported to the SEC nor reviewed by the Company's auditors. Certain statements contained herein and subsequent statements made by and on behalf of the Company, whether oral or written may contain "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements are identified by words such as "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "expects" and "hopes" and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plan of business operations, product research and development activities, potential contractual arrangements, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues and related expenditures. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, acceptability of the Company's products in the market place, general economic conditions, receipt of additional working capital, the overall state of the biotechnology industry and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulations, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Dr. James Musick

Chief Executive Officer

Vitro BioPharma

(303) 999-2130 Ext. 1

E-mail: jim@vitrobiopharma.com

www.vitrobiopharma.com

SOURCE: Vitro Diagnostics, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/543561/Vitro-Biopharma-Receives-ISO-13485-Certification-Supporting-its-Stem-Cell-Medical-Tourism-Initiative




The worlds two largest economies can be competitors without being enemies.

Thats according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, and a bevy of business leaders who gathered at Yahoo Finances U.S.- China Investor Forum on Friday evening on the sidelines of Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholders meeting.

Despite a year-long trade feud between Washington and Beijing and China seeing its lowest GDP growth rate in 28 years, investors are maintaining a positive tone on the East nation.

I think that China and the United States absolutely are destined to be the superpowers, beyond my great-grandchildrens lives, and will always be competitors, Warren Buffett said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper.

Both sides have learned to negotiate

Since the tit-for-tat tariffs that started last June, American businesses have been feeling the pinch of these incremental taxes. Many businesses caught in between the trade war have been trying to move supply chain out of China.

2019 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting

But thats not easy, according to Helen Ye, vice president of the Global China Practice at Ogilvy Group.

China is the only country to have a full supply chain around the world, Ye said at the forum. There's no next China. It can take years to build a whole region to be the next China.

Ye said clients who have thought about relocating supply chains quickly found it almost impossible.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, , USTR and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad in Beijing, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

This week the U.S. and China continued trade talks in Beijing and sent out positive signals ahead of what both sides hope to be the last round in Washington. Investors are expecting an announcement on a signing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, which will be held later this month or in early June.

The upside of the year-long negotiations, according to Jeffrey Towson, an investment professor at Peking University, is to bring two sides to the negotiation table to deal with an inevitable confrontation.

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There was not really a great mechanism for the two countries to discuss issues, Towson said at the forum. This past year, I think what we've seen is the two countries learning to talk to each other about meaningful issues for the first time. And I think this is going to go on for the rest of our lives that these two countries are going to learn to deal with their issues.

Ogilvy Groups Ye said she had seen more reflections from the U.S. side on what they can do. Meanwhile, China has a long-term development plan in place and is trying to attract top talent across the world.

I found a lot of people in DC start to talk about, Why don't we look at our homeland, the U.S.? How can we be competitive? Ye said. [The] government can do something to set up a long-term plan, and to forge and to attract more talent into the U.S., and to stay on top of the competition.

China hadn't remotely achieved their potential

The other issue on investors' minds is the slowdown of Chinas domestic economy. In March, the government lowered the growth target to 6%-6.5%, due to ongoing structural reforms among other things. At the same time, Beijing has pushed stimulus measures and tax cuts to make sure the economy doesnt head for a hard landing.

Buffett doesnt seem to be worried by the impact a slowing China could have on the global market.

China's going to grow a lot, over time, When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it, Buffett told Yahoo Finance. And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential.

Born in 1930, the legendary investor has seen Americas real GDP per capita grow six times from what it was. And he believes Chinas growth story has been even more extraordinary.

I don't think there's ever been anything like it. We've done it, too, but it took so much longer, said Buffett. Whats happened there almost is beyond belief. And that game's not over.

Berkshire Hathaway's major investments

Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to her via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter.

Read more:

Apple cuts iPhone XR price for partner sellers in China

Amazon shuffles thousands of workers in its quest to revamp delivery

Amazon eyes closed Sears stores for Whole Foods expansion
(Adds analyst comment, links)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday signaled his commitment to Kraft Heinz Co and defended his actions toward Wells Fargo & Co, two of the largest investments at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, despite mistakes at both that have caused many investors to sour on them.

Buffett, 88, spoke before tens of thousands of people in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Berkshire Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 95, fielded more than 50 shareholder and analyst questions for six hours at the centerpiece of a weekend of events.

Kraft Heinz has been a thorn for Berkshire, which in February took a $3 billion writedown on its 26.7 percent stake, because of the packaged food company's inability to keep up with changing consumer tastes and reliance on older brands such as Oscar Mayer and Jell-O.

The company was created from the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz, the latter of which had been owned by Berkshire and Brazil's 3G Capital, which runs Kraft Heinz day-to-day.

Buffett defended 3G's management, saying the combined company is doing well operationally, and that its current problems cannot be blamed on a lack of investment.

But he also maintained that "we paid too much money" for Kraft.

"You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much," he said, while adding it was "not inconceivable" Berkshire could partner with 3G again on a transaction.

He said 3G had more willingness to take on leverage and "pay up," but in many cases also had "way better operators."

'MISTAKES' AT WELLS FARGO

Buffett, who became famous in 1991 for criticizing Salomon Inc's practices and becoming interim chairman to right the mess, also faced a question about his relative silence about Wells Fargo, where Berkshire owns a nearly 10-percent stake.

Wells Fargo has spent more than 2-1/2 years addressing fallout from mistreating its customers, including by creating fake accounts, losing two chief executives in the process, including Tim Sloan in March.

Buffett repeated that Wells Fargo "made some big mistakes" in its sales practices, and that "when you find a problem, you have to do something about it." He also said chief executives who make big mistakes shouldn't walk away with their wealth.

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But many questionable Wells Fargo practices long predated Sloan's becoming chief executive, and Buffett and Munger have defended him.

"I don't think people ought to go to jail for honest errors of judgment," Munger said, calling Sloan an "accidental casualty."

BIG PROFITS, BIG BUYBACKS

Berkshire also reported on Saturday that operating income, a measure of Berkshire's business performance, rose 5 percent, helped by the Geico auto insurer and BNSF railroad, though it fell just shy of analyst forecasts.

Results excluded Kraft Heinz because that company has not released its own quarterly results, Buffett said.

Berkshire also repurchased $1.7 billion of stock, reflecting Buffett's difficulty in finding better uses for the company's $114.2 billion cash hoard.

Buffett acknowledged he would be willing to repurchase $100 billion of stock if it became cheap enough, and Munger predicted Berkshire would become "more liberal" with buybacks.

"This much cash is certainly a drag" for Buffett, said Trip Miller, managing partner of Gullane Capital Partners LLC in Memphis. "He and Charlie are certainly open that they missed it on several great businesses for many years. The purchases of Apple and Amazon are a good sign."

Berkshire owns more than $50 billion of Apple Inc stock, and Buffett said one of Berkshire's portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, has invested in Amazon.com Inc .

Munger also lamented Berkshire's failure to invest in Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, saying "I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google earlier."

Berkshire's more than 90 businesses and roughly 389,000 employees make the company a barometer for the U.S. economy, and a report card for one of the world's most revered investors.

NOT JUST BUSINESS

The shareholder weekend is not all business.

Buffett on Saturday morning made his usual slow-motion crawl, with a crowd of photographers in tow, through an exhibit hall where shareholders could buy Berkshire-owned products, including 20,000 pounds of See's candies and 28,752 Dairy Queen bars.

"We love you Warren," shareholders shouted as Buffett nibbled a Dairy Queen vanilla orange bar.

People lined up before midnight to get early access to the best seats at the arena, which opened at 7 a.m.

Daphne Kalir-Starr, 9, a fourth-grader from New York City, lined up with her father at 11 p.m. on Friday night, along with her sleeping bag. It's her third time to see Buffett.

"I really like hearing from great investors," she said. "Even though he wasn't really recognized at the beginning, he kept working at it."

Bela Chowdhury, 49, came from Kolkata, India, with other students from a nonprofit group that promotes financial literacy for women. "He is the ultimate guru," she said.

Meanwhile, Luke On, a University of Toronto finance undergraduate, said he lined up at 10 p.m. on Friday.

"I have no place to stay and wanted to save money, but I wanted to see Warren and Charlie," he said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
The federal government is investigating a crypto crime involving the alleged theft off bitcoin mining rigs. | Souce:. Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP

By CCN.com: A New York Bitcoin miner hosting company called Northway Mining stands accused of stealing at least 5100 pieces of mining equipment from two companies. Given the scope of the investigation currently underway by the federal government, the damage might be much more significant than this.

Northway Mining Sued For Violation of RICO Act

At least four Bitcoin companies have been allegedly victimized, though we use the term allegedly in its most legal definition: strictly because the accused have not yet been convicted.

MinedMap, Inc, Serenity Alpha, Inc, both of Nevada, and Quebec, Inc from Canada. The other is BlockAssets, a company based in Perth, Australia.

The former chose Northway Mining to host more 2800 Bitmain S9 miners, over half of its entire fleet, in September 2018. Another 800 miners were sent to the facility by the companies. The latter had the decision made for them by a Canadian company who couldnt handle their 1500 units. Well be following up with a story about BlockAssets at another time.

As to MinedMap, Serenity Alpha, and Quebec Inc, theyre collectively filing lawsuits against Northway Mining, as a start. At the same time, the issue is currently being treated as a criminal investigation by federal authorities. As you can see in the videos below, the US Marshall Service searched the facility leased by Northway in Coxsackie, New York, this past week.

At Least Over 5000 Bitmain Miners Stolen in All

The pending lawsuit alleges that Northway bilked clients out of nearly 3600 pieces of Bitcoin mining equipment (one was recovered with the help of the Marshalls), as well as over $500,000 in deposits. The complaint records this:
Michael McDonough, downtown branch manager for First State Bank & Trust Company, recently completed the 2019 School of Banking Fundamentals. This School was held April 8-12 in Grand Island, Nebraska.

The School of Banking Fundamentals is sponsored by the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Associations and is in partnership with the Colorado, Louisiana and Wyoming Bankers Associations.

The school is designed to instruct students in the core banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank. Completion of this course assists students in developing skills, which allow them to better serve their banking community.

McDonough has been with First State Bank & Trust Co. since 2015. He is a member of the MainStreet of Fremont Board of Directors and the MainStreet Retail and Promotions Committee.

The Schools of Banking, located in Lincoln, is a jointly owned subsidiary of the Kansas and Nebraska Bankers Association.

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Miami-Dade Police Department(MIAMI) -- A Miami-Dade police officer was charged this week for forcefully arresting a woman, and then making false statements about what happened, in an incident that sparked outrage after video of the incident went viral.

Police bodycam footage and a cell phone video recorded by the womans friend showed the officer, Alejandro Giraldo, pushing Dyma Loving against a fence before grabbing her by the neck and pulling her to the ground.

Giraldo had been responding to a 911 call made by Lovings friend, Adrianna Green, to report that a neighbor had threatened them with a shotgun. An internal police investigation later found there was no basis for arresting Loving.

Giraldo was arrested on Thursday and charged with official misconduct, a felony, for making false statements in official reports. He was also charged with battery.

After taking the sworn statements...and reviewing all the known video evidence, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to charge a violation of Floridas criminal statutes, the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office said in a statement.

On the morning of March 5, Green called 911 to say that her neighbor had been hurling racist insults at her, and that he had pulled out a shotgun and threatened to shoot her. Four officers reported to the scene and interviewed Green and Loving about the incident before going to the neighbors home to interview him about the allegations.

They told Loving and Green not to go anywhere, the warrant said.

It was at this point that Giraldo and a sixth officer, Juan Calderon, arrived at the scene and arrested Green.

Giraldo said he made the arrest because Loving would not obey commands, was uncooperative, and was screaming at us, causing a scene in a residential neighborhood, according to the police report. None of these statements, however, could be backed by evidence, officials said.

In sworn statements, each of the officers said that Loving did not in fact speak aggressively or act in a way that could have been perceived as a threat to the officers safety, the police report said.

Lovings attorney, Justin Moore, said that Loving had expressed relief over Giraldos arrest, and applauded prosecutors for moving forward with the case. But he said that other officers should also face charges for their role in the incident.

The fact is that the other officers involved in Dymas arrest assisted Officer Giraldo and drafted police reports detailing the incident, Moore said. It is more than reasonable that they meet the same scrutiny that Officer Giraldo has received.

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez called Giraldos arrest disappointing and said it overshadows the hard work of the dedicated men and women of law enforcement, who strive daily to serve and protect our community, according to a statement.



This particular case underscores our commitment to cooperate and work together with the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office in our continued effort to hold ourselves accountable, the statement said.



Andre Rouviere, Giraldos defense attorney, expressed concerns regarding the nature in which the case was brought about in a statement provided to ABC News. "Of the 35 body worn cameras and videos that were available, the media was shown only a small handful in which to present to the public," he said, claiming that the State Attorney's Office succumbed to "the pressure of a signature gathering campaign pushing for the filing of charges against Officer Giraldo."



"As a result of the pressure and rush to judgement, Officer Giraldo has already been convicted by the state attorney's office, his own Police Department, the media and the public," Rouviere said. "One would hope by the time the matter goes to court, Officer Giraldo will, as any accused, be cloaked in a presumption of innocence."

Giraldo has since been released from jail, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Whos going to get the farm? And what are they going to do with it? Will your future plans for your land create harmony or strife for your family? Or have you even started to think that far ahead?

Map of My Kingdom, a play focusing on farmland transfer, will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday at West Point Community Theater, 237 N. Main St., in West Point. A second performance will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cox Activity Center Theater on Northeast Community College campus, 801 E. Benjamin Ave., in Norfolk. Admission is free, hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Community College Foundation.

The drama tackling land transition is by Mary Swander, and commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa. In the play, a lawyer and mediator share stories of how farmers and landowners approach land successions.

We hope this play will inspire the hesitant and the fearful to start the conversation that cannot wait, said Sandra Renner, project associate with the Center for Rural Affairs.

In the next 10 to 15 years, a tremendous amount of land transfer will take place as the average age of Nebraska farmers is around 56.4 years old.

The featured actor is Lindsay Bauer, a theatre educator from northwest Iowa. An audience discussion will follow the performance with Dave Goeller, retired deputy director of North Central Risk Management Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

These are the final performances in a series of four in Nebraska and six in Iowa. The Iowa performances were co-hosted by the Practical Farmers of Iowa.

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Looking for inspiration to get caught in the throes of the impending months of wedding fever? We have a list of upcoming romances, complete with a range of diverse authors and fresh character perspectives that won't disappoint.

'A PRINCE ON PAPER' BY ALYSSA COLE

Release date: April 30

Another gorgeous cover and delectable story in the "Reluctant Royals" series. This third installment mixes a fake engagement along with the usual sizzling chemistry Cole always brings to her books.

"A Prince on Paper" (Avon) features wonderfully diverse characters, the author's quick humor and also an exploration of deeper issues underlying the fairytale plot.

'LOVE FROM A TO Z' BY S.K. ALI

Release date: April 30

S.K. Ali's YA contemporary romance follows the crossing paths of two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip in Doha. Both are putting on brave faces despite tremendous personal challenges. Zayneb is trying to cleanse her toxic thoughts about her Islamophobic teacher and Adam is hiding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis from his friends and family.

Discarding their acts of pretend with each other, these two will win your heart through their honest conversations of feeling out of place, or rather cast aside, simply by being who they are. More perspectives like this in future romances please! "Love from A to Z" (Simon & Schuster) will be sure to resonate with many.

'PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND OTHER FLAVORS' BY SONALI DEV

Release date: May 7

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's classic, Trisha Raje is royalty, both in her blood and in her illustrious career as San Francisco's reigning neurosurgeon. DJ Caine is a chef with a rough background but promising future. While he is tempted to work for Trisha, he feels that she'll judge him before given a fair chance.

However, when DJ's sister is in medical danger, the two meet and confront their assumptions head-on. "Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors" (William Morrow) is a delicious multicultural spin on the iconic tale of class and character, you won't be able to put Sonali Dev's latest down.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE UNHONEYMOONERS' BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

Release date: May 14

In this enemies-to-lovers story, you'll find the perfect comedy to raise your spirits. In a freak turn of events, when the bride and groom are too ridden with food poisoning to enjoy their honeymoon, the bride's twin sister Olive and her archnemesis Ethan (brother of the groom) go on the trip instead to avoid the waste of money. In a fiasco of fake dating, the two rivals find real chemistry. You'll find your perfect beach bag read in "The Unhoneymooners" (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'AMERICAN FAIRYTALE' BY ADRIANA HERRERA

Release date: May 20

Another fairytale plot for the true romantics...the latest in Adriana's Herrera's Dreamers series features a modern setup for two men in New York City. In "American Fairytale" (Carina Press) determined billionaire Thomas Hughes courts the down-to-earth social worker Milo in a heartwarming story of personal growth and change.

Pre-order on Amazon, $9

'PASSION ON PARK AVENUE' BY LAUREN LAYNE

Release date: May 28

This story is the first of Lauren Layne's "Central Park Pact" series and full of female empowerment. Naomi Powell, daughter of a housekeeper, has hustled her way from the Bronx to a CEO position among the Upper East Side elite.

As she tries to prove her worth to her peers, this jewelry empress finds herself tangled with an old childhood rival, all grown up and looking for new ways to cause friction. Saucy and fun, this series is off to a promising start (Gallery).

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE SUMMER OF SUNSHINE AND MARGOT' BY SUSAN MALLERY

Release date: June 11

Twin sisters Margot and Sunshine are opposites in many ways but have one thing in common  their poor judgment with men. Both struggle with the emotional baggage of their mother absence to chase one man after another, but have grown closer for support in consequence.

However, when they strike up a friendship with a past Hollywood icon, the sisters learn from this enigmatic woman how to take their differences in stride and approach life with a whole new outlook. Friendship, healing and romance all come together seamlessly in what is sure to be Susan Mallery's latest bestseller (Harlequin).

Pre-order on Amazon, $18

'THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL' BY ABBI WAXMAN

Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19

Leila has always dreamed of finding true love on her own, but she's 26 years old (gasp) and her parents are now giving her a deadline. If she is not able to find a husband on her own terms in three months, then they arrange a match as many have before in their South Asian-Muslim American community.

In her debut "The Marriage Clock" (William Morrow), Raheem contributes thoughtful humor, well-drawn characters and a beautiful portrait of navigating cultural expectations with personal fulfillment.

Pre-order on Amazon, $16

'THE RIGHT SWIPE' BY ALISHA RAI

Release date: Aug. 6

This is a fantastic contemporary romance that captures the modern dating world head-on with a business rivalry between two app creators. While they are fierce competitors at work, Rhiannon and Samson can't help sparks flying in their personal lives.

So many extra points go to "The Right Swipe" (Avon) for a full cast of diverse and developed characters, many of the minor ones deserve books in their own rights.

Pre-order on Amazon, $15

BookTrib.com is the lifestyle destination for book lovers, where articles and books are paired together to create dynamic content that goes beyond traditional book reviews. (c)2019 BookTrib, All Rights Reserved Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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According to Scott Schaller, Fremonts Miller Skate Park gets a lot of use.

Its showing some wear, said Schaller. Theres been some maintenance issues that weve been working on.

For Schaller, the wear and tear at Miller Park is a sign that skating is still a popular activity in Fremont  one which could use some upgraded facilities.

I still think that need is here because if you go down to Miller Skate Park, theres always kids down there, he said. Its getting used, and obviously if its wearing out and things are needing to be repaired as much as they have been, obviously its a need.

Schaller and a group called SK8 Fremont, which had been involved in the formation of the original Miller Skate Park, which opened in 2003, are now beginning the process of exploring a potential new skate park for Fremont  one that will be built with community input.

Theyve been kind of tossing around ideas or thoughts and we decided lets bring the community together and see if this is something that the community really is diving into and seeing what the communitys thoughts and ideas are, he said.

The group is hosting a meeting at the Christensen Field Meeting Roomo on May 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting will be an open discussion, featuring options for new skate park elements that the community can explore and choose what they prefer. At this point, the group hopes to get community input on everything for the new park: from the location to the lighting to the pieces in the park.

Skating has changed since 19, 20 years ago, he said. What the meeting is kind of about is giving people the option to say well this obstacle on this photo looks good or maybe this planter like this or this lighting looks good. And thats what this is kind of about: putting together an idea of what the community wants or would like to see.

Still on the table is the possibility of renovating Miller Park instead of building an entiely new park, but it all depends on what kind of feedback the group gets from the community.

Schaller, a former city councilman in Fremont, added that the goal is for the park to be funded without city dollars and instead, with grants, though its too early to say what the financing plan will be for sure.

At this point, however, everything is in the early stages, and this first meeting is meant to lay the groundwork and get community input.

I just ask that everybody, whether you think youll be interested or not, show up and listen to feedback and listen to the groups and give your opinions, Schaller said.

He added that he believes creating opportunities for outdoor activity is important.

This gives kids another option here in Fremont in getting out and doing something with their bicycle or with their skateboard, Schaller said. t gives them something other to do than sitting on their sofa playing video games.

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Today

HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.

Walk for Clean Water, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Peace Lutheran Church, 1  miles east of Walmart, just south of U.S. Highway 30, Fremont. Check-in is from 9-9:30 a.m. From 9:30-10:30 a.m., walkers, families and friends will walk the perimeter of the church green. Donations given (checks payable to Peace Lutheran) will be forwarded entirely to World Vision International.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Graduation, 5 p.m., Scribner-Snyder High School.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, 7:30 p.m., Fremont High Schools Nell McPherson Theatre.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday60th Annual Fremont Coin Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christensen Field Main Arena, Fremont. The annual event features a collection of coin dealers who can help coin enthusiasts sell, purchase or appraise valuable coins and other currency. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available.

Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Dodge County Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team (REACT), 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross, Dodge County Chapter, 439 N. Main St., Fremont. For more information, call 402-687-2160.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

MondayTOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Friends of the Library Board, 6 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Celebrate Recovery, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.

Fremont Night MOPS group, 6:30-8 p.m., Fremont Alliance Church, 1615 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, contact Fremont Alliance Church at 402-721-5180 or Cindy Slykhuis at 402-708-1561.

American Legion Post 20, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 20 meeting, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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For my birthday the Titter of Wit residents bought me a membership for the British Museum. It's probably the major museum in London that I'm least familiar with. I guess the first summer I spent working in London I must have visited the mummies at least once - I was only here for six weeks and I went to every big, cultural tourist attraction - and occasionally I've taken visitors there but it's always crowded and it can be a bit overwhelming. I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't used my membership card yet, well not until today.

I had nothing planned for today other than a trip to the food market. As Traybake is swanning around Sweden I went by myself so it didn't take long although I still managed to spend a small fortune. I had lunch at home and then set off to go to central London. It was one of those days when the weather can't decide what to do, one moment bright sunshine and then ominous black clouds and heavy downpours. Luckily I managed not to get soaked. It was cold though although not as cold as in other parts of the country where apparently it snowed today.

Before going to the museum I called into the LRB bookshop. This is my favourite bookshop in London and I imagine that it would be possible to meet interesting people in there who might start chatting to you and who knows where it would end (although probably a high percentage of academics so possibly not). I like the way they display books on tables as you nearly always see something interesting which you wouldn't necessarily get in places like Waterstone's. They are very good on non-fiction.

I bought The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson, the most recent Sally Rooney which is now in paperback and another novel by an Irish writer I'd not heard of before, Rebecca O'Conner. I've had a good run of reading books I've really enjoyed recently and I highly recommend the two books that are at the top of my currently reading list.

There was a massive queue to go through security at the British Museum but as a Member I got to go in the priority lane and walked straight through. I suspect all the people in the ordinary queue were looking daggers at me as they shuffled along. I visited the Member's Room which overlooks the central court and while it isn't particularly fancy it was good not to have to stand in line for 15 minutes to buy a cup of coffee and then struggle to find somewhere to sit. Most of the other Members were elderly and doing Sudoku puzzles. On the way up the stairs I passed some beautiful mosaics. I then went to the Munch exhibition which was pretty crowded. I have seen some Munch paintings which I've liked but the BM exhibition is prints and mainly of dying children or people suffering from anxiety attacks so not very cheery.

I have decided though that I shall visit the BM once a month for the remainder of the time that I have the membership and each time I will spend half an hour looking at something specific because otherwise it's just too much. I shall avoid the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles and of course the mummies.

While I was there today I tried not to think about the fact that one of my sisters calls it "the evidence room".






A young female moose was spotted Friday near Colorado 105 and Santa Fe Trail in the Monument/Palmer Lake area, according to a tweet from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Wildlife officials received multiple calls about the moose, and asked that people keep their dogs leashed and avoid approaching it.

Moose, the largest big game species in Colorado, are unpredictable and will attack if they feel threatened, wildlife officials cautioned, adding that dogs are especially at risk.

We know you want to see the moose. But we want to keep you and the moose safe. Please stay back. Moose are unpredictable. Dogs are especially at risk. Take photos from a safe distance and move on. pic.twitter.com/j7XME1UzaK  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

ATTN @townofmonument /Palmer Lake, @COParksWildlife responded to calls today of young cow moose near Highway 105 & Santa Fe Trail. DO NOT approach it. Keep dogs leashed. If moose feel threatened, they may attack. Ears back and hackles up? Get back! Keep yourself & the moose safe. pic.twitter.com/9c1ZOIqmjm  CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) May 3, 2019

This time last year, photos and video taken of people harassing, feeding or approaching moose across the state prompted officials to issue a warning to give the wild animals their space.

Last September, a 700-pound cow had to be tranquilized after wandering into the Ivywild neighborhood in west Colorado Springs. At the time, Bill Vogrin, spokesman for Parks and Wildlife, said that moose sightings were becoming more frequent because of population growth along the Front Range and into the wildland-urban interface.

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Religious organizations in the Pikes Peak region are banding together as places of worship worldwide become targets for gunmen and terrorists.

The Pikes Peak InterFaith Coalition began to take shape after an October shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 people dead.

Were trying to stand firmly and positively and together against terrorism, against hatred, against bigotry, against violence, said Jeff Ader, president of Temple Beit Torah and a member of the coalitions steering committee.

Its bad enough to be bigoted to another group. But to resort to the violence that weve seen worldwide  to act on that bigotry  is unconscionable, he said.

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Over the past six months, t.he coalition has grown to include temples, churches and the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, more than 50 people were fatally shot in a pair of terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. Bombings targeted churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, killing more than 250 people.

And, on April 27, a 19-year-old man opened fire in a San Diego-area synagogue, killing a woman and wounding the rabbi and two others.

One more precious soul was lost, Rabbi Steven Kaye told dozens of people gathered at Temple Beit Torah on Friday night, where leaders of the newly formed coalition were presented at a special Shabbat service.

Showing up to synagogue tonight, to a church tomorrow, to a mosque, today or earlier today  in doing so, we will say, We will not let discrimination and hatred stop us from worship, Kaye said.

The Colorado Springs area was once home to the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue, an organization founded by Rabbi Howard Hirsch and other faith leaders with a similar mission. But Hirsch retired and moved away in 2013, and the center faded.

Local faith leaders hope that, by allowing people of different religions to learn about one anothers faiths, the new coalition can safeguard against prejudice thats fueled by a lack of understanding.

Theres a fear of the unknown, said Khurshid Qureshi of the Islamic Society. We believe in the same God. We have so many things in common. But a lot of people are so afraid.

In late February, members discussed the roots of anti-Semitism at a workshop that attracted dozens of people. Qureshi, the groups chairman, hopes the coalition can hold similar educational events three times a year.

The coalition also plans to invite organizations of other faiths, such as Buddhism, he said.

Were learning, in a way, how to hold hands, said Ralph Anderson, a retired pastor for First Lutheran Church whos also on the steering committee. That doesnt mean we are giving up those specifics individual to our own tradition. It means were simply learning how to understand each other in the context of those traditions.

It certainly seems that our circumstances here in Colorado Springs, as well as in the state, as well as in the country, demand it, he said.
Representatives with the Osage Chamber of Commerce and City of Osage welcomed U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, who represents Iowa's 1st district, to Osage on Friday afternoon.

Finkenauer took a brief tour of downtown and was able to meet with some local business owners.

Discussions included rural development, infrastructure and workforce.

"We have a lot to be proud of, from our new daycare center, hospital and school renovation projects, vibrant downtown district and so much more, said Kati Henry, Executive Director of the Osage Chamber of Commerce. It's great to be able to show off our successes and talk about where we need help to our representatives in Washington."

In Congress, Finkenauer serves as vice-chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.

Finkenauer also sits on the Small Business Committee, where she chairs the Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee.

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Located 45 miles northwest of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the town of Tequila is known as the birthplace of the drink that bears its name.

The picturesque township, with its colorful buildings and cobblestone streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The federal government of Mexico calls it Pueblo Magico or Magical Town.

It's here that casual sippers drink this aromatic spirit, but there's one secret they may not know: Without the women of Tequila, there'd be no tequila.

The cultivation and annual replanting of the agave blooms in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes in Mexico, has historically been left to the women of Tequila.

No one knows exactly when women became an integral part of growing agave, but it's believed that when the male farmers ate their lunch and rested under parota trees, their wives stepped in to lend a hand. The women, who it turned out were exceptionally skilled at sorting and taking care of the young plants, began working in the fields sometime in the 16th century.

Reviving economy

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one hotel and a handful of restaurants in Tequila. Today it's bustling with Mexican and international tourists who've come to learn about the history of the spirit and its important role in Mexican culture.

Visitors can take a walk through agave fields, visit The National Museum of Tequila, watch production and enjoy a tasting at one of the 22 tequila houses in town, partake in a professional tasting guided by a Maestro Tequilero, a certified master of tequila, and take in a range of Mexican art exhibits at the newly opened Centro Cultural Juan Beckman Gallardo.

The Tequila train

On weekends, about 300 passengers take a day trip on The Jose Cuervo Express, also known fondly as the tequila train. The two-hour journey from Guadalajara to Tequila travels through the Rio Grande Canyon, which provides sweeping views of bluish agave fields and midget oaks spanning against the backdrop of Tequila volcano.

Traingoers can watch an Aztec dance performance before getting on board; upon their return, the performances are live mariachi and folk dancers.

During the ride, guests can enjoy tamales, chips and guacamole and unlimited tequila-based cocktails.

Growing agave

To be officially designated as tequila, the beverage must be distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico, mainly Tequila and surrounding municipalities. The rich volcanic soil and dry climate make it ideal to grow Agave Azul Tequilana Weber (blue agave), a plant native to the area.

If you walk or horseback ride through Jose Cuervo fields surrounding the town, you can see the growing, harvesting and pruning of agave plants.

Farmers wearing cowboy hats to shield their face from the hot sun, cultivate and harvest the prickly cactus-like agave plants, while the women of Tequila select, care for and plant the small delicate seedling, called hijuelos (little children).

Dressed in long-sleeve shirts and long pants, the women can be seen working in the fields from February to July, when the agave plants sprout shoots. They inspect, clean and sort the young plants and send them to the nursery for further care, until they are ready to be planted.

Indeed, there's something about knowing the care and dedication involved in the process that'll make you appreciate your salted margarita even more.

Making tequila

Visitors walking through Tequila's main square hear church bells chiming on the hour; they smell the sweet aroma rising from the chimneys of the distilleries in the area.

Once the pina (pineapple) of the agave plant is harvested, it is brought to a distillery, where it is roasted for 36 hours, releasing its sugars and juices.

A 90-minute guided tour through La Fabrica La Riojena, Latin America's oldest active distillery established in 1795, takes groups through the entire production process, from the brick oven to the cellars. It concludes with Jose Cuervo's premium tequila tasting experience where a master (equivalent of sommelier) demonstrates the proper way to sip tequila from an elegant slender glass.

"There are a lot of men but no more than 10 women certified as 'master of tequila' in Jalisco," says Sonia Espinola, one of the first women in Tequila to earn this designation. She passed the entrance exams based entirely on her own experience working in the tequila industry, and she went on to take the full course at a recognized university. She now conducts guided tastings and seminars.

Agave by-products

Since only the pina of the agave plant is used to make tequila, Mundo Cuervo's nonprofit arm, Fundacion Beckmann, found a way to utilize more of the plant and offer local women more of an opportunity to create and produce  and get paid for their work.

Workshops for aspiring women entrepreneurs teach how to use agave bagasse and recycled tequila bottles for artisanal crafts.

Espinola, who is also the director of Fundacion Beckmann, says, "The women don't only learn how to make the products, but how to sell, incorporate their businesses, create business plans, logos and much more."

Demonstrating their support for Tequila's ambitious women, many hotels including Hotel Solar de las Animas and Hotel Villa Tequila proudly display agave paper notepads and journals in the bedrooms for guests' use, a commitment to the local products of the region.

"When my 10-year-old daughter needed prescription glasses, I asked her to help me make agave paper so she can earn extra money," says Sandra Elizabeth Serna Caballero, one of the women currently enrolled in this particular program. "I feel useful, plus the creative process is quite relaxing," she adds.

One example of how the foundation, largely funded by tequila tourism, has directly impacted women in the area is through Ernestina Carrero Cortez's story.

Cortez, a Jalisco native who was experiencing financial difficulties, approached the foundation about work opportunities. Cortez's husband was a construction worker in the U.S., her son had fallen ill, and she'd resigned herself to cooking food in her home and selling it in the town to help pay for medical expenses. But it wasn't enough.

And so Cortez, through the foundation, learned to knit handbags and wallets using agave fiber. Her original designs became so popular that she started her own brand label, Puntadas. After seven years with the foundation, Cortez now employs 22 women in her business, some as old as 83, and she sells her products through boutiques, museums and hotels around Tequila.

The women's handicraft enterprises also make use of tequila bottles that are discarded by bars and restaurants. Used tequila bottles donated by Mundo Cuervo brands are recycled, selected, cleaned and given to the women at the foundation.

Mother of six, Carolina Garcia Torres faced psychological trauma when she was pregnant with triplets and was concerned with the future of her family's financial health.

"I was worried how my husband, who works in a tequila distillery, would support our family," says Torres. She was instantly drawn to glass-making workshops offered by the foundation, where she learned to cut recycled tequila and wine glass bottles to create decorative pieces like vases and spoons."

Every day, there's an open market in the town plaza where local women sell handmade bags, lotions, paper, jewelry and decorations. Visitors will want to save room in their luggage for gifts and self-care purchases.

Preserving Culture

Mundo Cuervo's Beckmann Foundation started 15 years ago with a mission to preserve the cultural heritage of the women of Jalisco. About 10 families participate in the foundation's culinary program through ongoing festivals, the opportunity to sell homemade products like jams and juices, home-hosted meals and cooking classes.

One such festival is Fogones y Metates (Ovens and Fans). In its second year, it will be held in early December in the town of Tequila.

The event brings together women from different regions of Jalisco to share and preserve old culinary traditions, using native ingredients such as blue corn and criollo beans.

Three generations of women, Amparo Rivera, Evalia Castaneda Rivera and Emma Ramos Castaneda, participated in the festival last year.

Travelers who want to have a gastronomic experience can pay to dine at The Rivera's home, where dishes incorporate local ingredients from the family's own ranch, called El Chiquihuitillo.

This home-hosted meal for visitors to Tequila is a popular foundation initiative. At the Rivera home, guests sit in the open-air patio and sip ciruela juice while they watch Evalia and her husband make fresh corn tortillas and warm gorditas de horno (corn and cheese cakes) in a wood-fired oven.

Curated dining experiences like this one are privately arranged through hotel concierge and tour operators familiar with Beckmann Foundation. The price of such an experience depends on the group size, dishes and more. Evalia said some people just call her to pick up one dish, or a few dishes; others are joined by friends around a table at the Rivera's house.

The food is very different from what you would find at restaurants. "This is how my family eats every day. It is simple for us, yet visitors find it exotic!" Evalia says.

A visit to Tequila not only involves insight into the history of the popular beverage and a greater appreciation for it, but also an opportunity to learn about the Jalisco region  its culture, traditions and people.

Almost all of of the world's tequila comes from Jalisco, and in Tequila, the women ensure that the tequila way of life continues.

The-CNN-Wire &  2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said she wants the wealthy to pay their 2 cents worth during a campaign stop in Mason City on Saturday.

Warren touted her 2-cent tax proposal in front of a standing room-only crowd at Fat Hill Brewing as a way to pay for proposals such as universal child care, free college and student loan forgiveness while still having $1 trillion left over that could be used to fund the New Green Deal as well as infrastructure building.

"Everyone should pay a fair share," said Warren.

Warren's proposal calls for those with assets of more than $50 million to be taxed 2 cents on every dollar over that amount.

She said the wealth tax is just part of the structural change that is needed to address economic inequality in America.

Warren said she wants to end lobbying as "we know it" and "shut the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington."

She also said she wants to re-write the rules to protect democracy.

Warren proposed a Constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American to vote "and have that vote count."

Warren's proposals were greeted by big cheers from the crowd.

During the Q&A portion of Warren's appearance, two protesters from the California-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere came to the front of the crowd and challenger her on her co-sponsorship of the Dairy Pride Act in the U.S. Senate to require that non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants and algae no longer be labeled with dairy terms like milk, yogurt and cheese.

"Why aren't you standing up to big dairy?" one of the protesters yelled.

Employees from Fat Hill escorted both of them out of the building. The police were called, but no one was arrested, said Mason City Police Sgt. Greg Scott.

Warren continued answering questions after the protesters were escorted out.

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Local author Jason Gangwish will join the River City Wordsmiths Writing Group for their May 9 meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The meeting is held in the library of Grace Church, 440 N. Illinois Ave., Mason City. Jason will talk about his recent childrens book, Ivan, the -Inch Worm.

The public is invited to come and hear about Jasons writing and publishing process. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Gangwish will read his book for any children who come.

As a child and now as a father, nature has proven to be Gangwish's favorite classroom. He combines nature and nurture in his first childrens book.

For more information about Gangwish's book go to: www.ivantheinchworm.com.

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For 10 years, North Iowa Honor Guard members from Vietnam Veterans Chapter 790 have participated in the state's Vietnam Veterans Day Recognition ceremony on May 7.

Tuesday's occasion will make 11.

A group of eight North Iowa men will travel to Des Moines to present and post the colors as part of the annual commemoration at the state's Vietnam War monument.

They are: Larry Paul, Daryl Johnson, Dan Gatton, Larry Reynolds, all of Mason City; Steve Hanson, Waverly; Mike Nelson, Abe Borne, both of Clear Lake; and Mike Woodhouse of Nora Springs.

The state Legislature passed a resolution in 2008 naming May 7 the annual day to remember and thank the nation's most forgotten veterans. Tuesday's ceremony will include remarks by Gov. Kim Reynolds and a keynote address by Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, as well as a wreath laying at the monument.

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Americas Biggest Economic Challenge May Be Demographic Decline



Slower growth in the working-age population is a problem in much of the country. Could targeted immigration policy help solve it?



By Neil Irwin





Much of the United States is seeing a decline in working-age residents. In Dayton, Ohio, an economic program to attract immigrants has led to some restored homes over the last decade, including on Alton Avenue in North Dayton.CreditCreditTy William Wright for The New York Times





For many years, American economists have spoken of Japan and Western Europe as places where the slow grind of demographic change  masses of workers reaching retirement age, and smaller generations replacing them  has been a major drag on the economy.



But it is increasingly outdated to think of that as a problem for other countries. The deepest challenge for the United States economy may really be about demographics. And our understanding of the implications is only starting to catch up.



A new report from the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank funded in large part by tech investors and entrepreneurs, adds rich new detail, showing that parts of the United States are already grappling with Japanese-caliber demographic decline  41 percent of American counties with a combined population of 38 million.



At the national level, slower growth in Americas working-age population is a major reason that mainstream forecasters now expect the economy to expand around 2 percent each year rather than the 3 percent common in the second half of the 20th century. As a matter of simple arithmetic, lower growth in the number of people working will almost certainly mean slower growth in economic output.



But demographic change doesnt hit everywhere equally. Besides the inevitable effect of the extra-large baby boom generation hitting retirement age and stepping away from the work force, decisions by working-age people can accentuate or lessen the impact of that underlying shift.



Many younger workers move to bustling urban centers on the coasts, leaving smaller cities and rural areas behind. Immigrants bolster the labor force but also disproportionately go to those same big coastal cities.



Daytons height of population was 1953, and weve seen stagnant growth for the region since 1990, said Nan Whaley, the mayor of the Ohio city.



A lot of people say this was just going to happen, that this is the way it is  I hate that comment, she said, arguing that policy decisions had incentivized investment in coastal cities.



Over all, 80 percent of American counties encompassing 149 million people experienced a decline in the number of residents ages 25 to 54 between 2007 and 2017, according to the paper, which was written by Adam Ozimek of Moodys Analytics and Kenan Fikri and John Lettieri of the Economic Innovation Group.



They project that the trends will continue, and that by 2037, two-thirds of American counties will have fewer adults of prime working age than they did in 1997, despite overall population growth in that period. (Their projections tried to take into account undocumented immigrants.)



Policies to encourage American families to have more children would help over the long run by increasing the supply of potential workers in the future. So could efforts to ensure that even struggling cities have the kinds of amenities young families desire, particularly good schools.



The population of different places is always fluctuating, and economists have traditionally viewed that as a mostly healthy process. Workers make their way to where they will be the most productive, enabling the overall economy to adapt and grow.



But people who study regional economies are increasingly concerned that some aspects of this wave of demographic change make the pain more severe for places left behind  which can get stuck in a vicious cycle.



Theres a possibility that once local areas start on this downward spiral, its self-reproducing, said Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.



A shrinking supply of working-age people can prompt employers to look elsewhere to expand, making it harder for local governments to raise enough taxes to pay for infrastructure and education, and encouraging those younger people who remain to head elsewhere for more opportunity.



It raises the possibility that, if unchecked, these demographic trends might not merely reduce overall national growth rates in the decades ahead. They could also cause the left-behind cities to hit a point of no return that undermines the long-term economic potential of huge swaths of the United States.



The authors of the E.I.G. report suggest a potential solution: an immigration policy that would stop the vicious cycle. They propose that visas could be made available to skilled immigrants on the condition they go to one of the areas struggling with demographic decline. The idea would be to create growth in the working-age population in those places, increasing the tax base and the demand for housing, and giving businesses reason to invest.



The real power of this is that it would start to change how investors, businesses and entrepreneurs view locational decisions, said Mr. Lettieri, the president of the group. They would know that there is this new pipeline for talent.



Given hostility to immigration in large segments of the country, he said, places should be able to elect whether to make visas available to immigrants as part of an economic development strategy. It would have to be a dual opt-in approach in which both the community decides it wants more immigration, and individual immigrants elect to move there.



Dayton is the kind of place where that approach may just have some appeal. Ms. Whaley, the mayor, said a program called Welcome Dayton, intended to help immigrants move to the city, has been helpful in holding the population steady after a long pattern of losses.



Programs like that, she said, combined with a low cost of living and investment in community colleges to create qualified workers, can give smaller cities like Dayton the means to break out of demographic ruts.



Regardless of what one thinks about using immigration policy to try to arrest demographic decline, theres a more basic point that everyone who cares about the United States economic future must wrestle with.



Demography may be the most powerful economic force of them all, and for much of the United States, the trend lines, for now, are pointing in the wrong direction.





Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for The Upshot. He previously wrote for The Washington Post and is the author of The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.
This San Francisco purveyor of graffiti has it right.When times are bleak -- when country and planet sink under the barely restrained sway of greed, raw power, and fear -- it's time to restate what matters. I write here to preserve and kindle hope for a national and global turn toward multi-racial, economically egalitarian, gender non-constricting, woman affirming, and peace choosing democracy that preserves the habitability of earth for all. There's a big order -- but what else is there to do but struggle for this? Not much.Topics range from the minuscule to the transcendent to the global, from dire to delightful. I am not an optimist, but I refuse to allow myself to wallow within the easy bias that everything is going to always be awful. Good also happens; love lives too.I've been yammering here about activism, politics, history, racism and other occasional horrors and pleasures since 2005.I intend to continue as long as the opportunity exists. In this time, that means activism and chronicling resistance. Perhaps it always has, one way and another.My other internet project: 596 Precincts-Walking San Francisco
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Areas of fog early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines pushed ahead Wednesday with an attempt to cut retirement benefits to Indian Health Service pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber, who sexually assaulted Blackfeet children.

The Republican senator for Montana questioned Assistant Surgeon General Michael D. Weahkee on Wednesday about Indian Health Services handling of reports against Weber.

The questions came as the assistant surgeon general appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to make his case for the IHS 2020 budget. After the hearing Daines introduced a bill to cut off retirement benefits for federal workers convicted of on-the-job child sexual assault.

Despite numerous reported suspicions of Webers inappropriate behavior, IHS turned a blind eye and enabled Weber to continue his unspeakable actions for years, Daines said. IHS failed to protect the children they were entrusted to care for. Accountability must be demanded.

In January, Weber was convicted by a U.S. District Court in Great Falls of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all felonies. The charges stem from his 1993 to 1995 employment as an Indian Health Service pediatrician on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Working in Browning, Weber engaged in sex with a boy younger than 12 and attempted to have sex with another boy younger than 16, according to prosecutors.

He was sentenced to prison for 18 years and four months, and fined $200,000 by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. The case has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Weber faces 10 more charges stemming from alleged child sexual encounters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Pine Ridge accusations span 13 years occurring after Webers time in Montana.

Now retired, the pediatrician receives more than $100,000 a year in retirement benefits. Daines has asked IHS to cut off Webers benefits, which the agency has said would be difficult.

Weahkee told the Appropriations Committee the health service is weighing its options concerning Webers pension.

I have personally submitted a letter requesting Dr. Webers retirement pay be discontinued and we are working through the legal counsel, whether or not we have the authority to do that, Weahkee said. Dialogue continues as we evaluate whether or not we have current authority or were going to need to seek legislative support to make those changes.

The Daines bill denying benefits to federal employees convicted of child sexual abuse would apply to future offenses committed by any federal worker. As Weahkee indicated in his testimony Wednesday, denying benefits retroactively for child sexual abuse is legally difficult.

Its shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children, Daines said. "That is unacceptable, which is why Im going to be taking action introducing that bill today to fix this very flawed system.

In February, the Trump administration announced that it was creating a task force to investigate how Weber managed to sexually assault children within IHS.

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A lawsuit filed by a Helena landlord who alleged that NorthWestern Energy illegally cut off power to an East Broadway property he owned has been settled and dismissed with prejudice, according to court documents filed with the First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County.

A document filed March 26 indicates that Dwight Barrett of Salt Lake City reached a confidential settlement with NorthWestern by that date, prompting the April 25 order of dismissal.

Dismissed with prejudice means the plaintiff is barred from again bringing an action on the same claim.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2018, alleged that Barrett's property had the power cut off during a frigid week in February 2018 over an outstanding balance of $16.37.

As a result of NWEs conduct, temperatures in Apartment No. 1003 fell to 10 degrees, endangering the health and safety of the occupants of the property and resulting in thousands of dollars in property and consequential damages, the lawsuit said.

Previous reports state that the apartment was vacant at the time.

Notably, Barrett asked for more than $240 million in damages. He told the Great Falls Tribune in October that he did not believe he would receive that much, but saw an eight-figure settlement as possible.

Judge Mike Menahan of the First Judicial District Court signed the dismissal order, which requires each party pay their own legal fees.

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Today's Highlight in History:

On May 4, 1961, the first group of "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C. to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

On May 4:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1925, an international conference opened in Geneva to forge an agreement against the use of chemical and biological weapons in war; the Geneva Protocol was signed on June 17, 1925 and went into force in 1928.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for "The Music from Peter Gunn."

In 1968, the Oroville Dam in Northern California was dedicated by Gov. Ronald Reagan; the 770-foot-tall earth-filled structure, a pet project of Reagan's predecessor, Pat Brown, remains the tallest dam in the United States, but was also the scene of a near disaster in February 2017 when two spillways collapsed, threatening for a time to flood parts of three counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, died three days before his 88th birthday.

In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, telling the convicted terrorist, "You will die with a whimper."

In 2009, President Barack Obama promised to crack down on companies "that ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., underwent the nation's first double-hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Mexican officials lowered a swine flu alert level in their capital. Cleveland's LeBron James was named the NBA's MVP. Actor, comedian and director Dom DeLuise, 75, died in Santa Monica, Calif.

In 2014, Eight acrobats were injured, most of them seriously, when a carabiner clip broke during an aerial hair-hanging stunt, sending the women plummeting to the ground during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show in Providence, Rhode Island. Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams was released without charge after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in the decades-old IRA killing of a Belfast mother of 10, Jean McConville.

In 2018, President Donald Trump suggested that his newly-hired attorney Rudy Giuliani needed to "get his facts straight" about the hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election; Giuliani had earlier said that Trump knew about the payment to Daniels made by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and that Trump had paid Cohen back. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the 1975 bludgeoning death of a girl in Greenwich, finding that Skakel's trial attorney had failed to present evidence of an alibi. (The U.S. Supreme Court later left in place the Connecticut high court ruling.) Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit, reaching the mark with a broken-bat single against the Seattle Mariners.

Thought for Today:

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

 Franklin P. Jones, American journalist-humorist (1908-1980).

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DECATUR  Decatur residents Ty-Aija Jones and her dad Tyrice Jones attended Saturdays annual Duck Derby at the Childrens Museum of Illinois during a father-daughter date.

The 5-year-old girl took advantage of a free day at the museum after she had her face painted like a butterfly at the Duck Derby.

We are playing on everything, she said.

This year is the 28th year for the Duck Derby, which is the largest fundraiser for the museum at 55 S. Country Club Road.

We are a stand-alone, non-profit, said Amber Kaylor, the museum's executive director. We dont get any state government or local funding. We rely on our fundraisers, admission, special events to keep the museum going.

The museum was open and free to the public through a sponsorship from Jerger Pediatric Dentistry.

The museum parking lot was filled with Duck Derby activities such as face painting, bounce houses, crafts and tours of heavy equipment. Food was also available from Mr. Softee and Dippin' Merv's.

Regina Rhodes, from the pottery business Outside the Lines, brought her white van to the event, allowing families to paint whatever design they wanted on the vehicle. Its all water based, so it washes right off, Rhodes said. These are things you are allowed to do anywhere but home.

For this year's Duck Derby, organizers created the Celebrity Derby in which five well-known community members were invited to run through an obstacle course located among the other events. All armed with duck flippers and inner-tubes, the racers consisted of the winner Lindsay Romano from Neuhoff Media as well as John Reidy, digital editor at the Herald & Review; Decatur firefighter Ryan Pritts; Debbie Bogle from United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois; and Abby Koester, the museums director of education.

For every $100 dollars that was credited to their name, they got a second off of their obstacle course time, Kaylor said.

Pritts, 36, has participated in similar community activities. But this is my first time doing a race like this, he said. Ive done all kinds of silly stuff like this before.

The big floppy duck feet gave the firefighter a challenge. Its not like you can just run forward like you normally would, Pritts said. Otherwise you end up tripping and falling.

The highlight of the event was the Duck Derby. This year the race among thousands of rubber ducks was separated into five heats with the winner announced after the final race. Guests were able to purchase a duck up until the last race.

This year's winners are Jennifer Smith in first place with $3,000; second-place winner Priscilla Burnett with $1,500, and third-place winners Mark and Tappy McLeod with $500.

The multiple races provide two advantages in the Duck Derby.

If a participants duck didnt win a previous heat, they can pay for another opportunity in the finale. They can buy back in, Kaylor said. It gives them greater chance to win.

Also, the children have more than one opportunity to cheer on toy ducks in a race.

The kids are there all day and the race takes all of 15 seconds, Kaylor said. This give them multiple races to see.

Scarlett Donoho, 3, brought her 1-year-old little brother Sullivan along with their parents Hannah and Austin from Moweaqua. Shortly after the family arrived at the Duck Derby, Scarlett had her shoes off. Weve done one bounce house and we are on No. 2, her mother said.

Although the event was filled with activities, the little girl had little interest on anything other than the inflatable houses. I want to do the blue one, she said after finishing the the first house.

Face painting, crafts, and even the museum couldn't pique her interest.

Well just go with the flow and see what looks good, her father said.

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

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RCC professor honored

DECATUR -- Professor Evyonne Hawkins has been named a recipient of the Dale P. Darnell Distinguished Faculty award by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Hawkins has been at Richland Community College for 25 years, where she began her career as an administrative assistant, part of the team that developed the associate degree in nursing program. She holds associate degrees in office technology and general education; bachelor's and master's degrees in education and has been named faculty of the year and a distinguished alumna at Richland. She created the African American studies degree program at Richland and dual credit programs at Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools.

Church to hold community fair

DECATUR -- Life Buildiers Church, 833 W. Pershing Road, will hold a free community event 2 to 6 p.m. today for all ages.

Activities include free food, a Kids' Zone, inflatables, a Construction Zone, stage acts, mobile zoo, escape rooms and more.

Photo contest entries sought

DECATUR -- Macon County Conservation District is inviting students in grades K through 12 to submit original photographs depicting scenes from Illinois nature.

Entries may be submitted in one of three categories: Landscapes, Wildlife and Humans and Nature. Each must be framed and measure at least 8 by 10 inches.

Conservation District staff will determine first, second and third place photographs and award ribbons in each category. All submissions will be displayed in Rock Springs Nature Center in June and August along with other artists' work.

Drop off or mail entries by May 24 to Rock Springs Nature Center, c/o Alysia Callison, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur IL 62521. Photographers must include their name, age, grade, school or home school, and a parent or guardian's phone number. Winners will be notified on Monday, June 10. For more information, visit maconcountyconservation.org.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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DECATUR  Heads up, drivers: With warmer weather approaching, repair crews could soon start fixing some of the region's most well-traveled roads.

City, county and state officials have identified several roadways for repair or improvement projects. Whether they begin this summer or are completed before the construction season ends depends on several factors: budgeting, weather and approval from governing bodies.

"We start putting together (a list of) streets for the coming construction season at the start of the previous construction season," said Griffin Enyart, Decatur's assistant city engineer. "... The goal is to get these projects out early in the spring."

The Decatur Public Works Department on Monday will present city council members a list of roads that it has targeted to repair using funds collected by the local motor fuel tax, which is 5 cents on each gallon of unleaded fuel and 1 cent per gallon for diesel. The council will vote on whether it wants to approve the list and allow staffers to work toward getting the projects ready for contractors to bid on.

More road projects could be coming in the next few years. Republican President Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state and federal lawmakers have all called for major increases in infrastructure spending, but progress has been stymied by how to pay for it.

Illinois needs $13 billion to $15 billion for highway maintenance over the next year, according to IDOT Acting Secretary Matt Magalis. Lawmakers generally agree that the state's roads and bridges need work, but they differ about how to cover the cost. Some have advocated for increasing the state's motor fuel tax, currently 19 cents a gallon, but others are deeply opposed to the idea.

At the federal level, infrastructure could bring together Trump and Democrats in Congress, who said last week that they had agreed to work together on a $2 trillion plan. How to fund that plan remains up in the air. Trump campaigned on a promise to upgrade deteriorating roads and bridges and has been trying for two years to roll out such a package.

For now, city and county leaders say they're focusing on what they can fix with the resources they have. The rising cost of asphalt, decline in motor fuel tax proceeds and other budget pressures have spurred a growing problem for Decatur and communities across the state that have struggled to keep up with repairs.

Deteriorating roads are a continual source of frustration for residents, who say the potholes hurt their cars and make for an unpleasant drive. County Engineer Bruce Bird said the highway department gets a lot of calls from residents about roads that they think should be prioritized for repairs.

There are more roads and bridges on the county's "to-do" list than can be repaired immediately, he said.

We dont use dart boards and Ouija boards, he said. Some people think we do it that way, but we have a five-year plan for any projects that we have on the radar.

Targeted city streets

Some of the Decatur roads targeted for improvement include a reconstruction of East Division Street and North 34th Street to North 35th Street, patchwork for East Wood Street and North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to North Maffit Street, and East Wood Street between Jasper and 22nd streets.

A memo provided to city council members highlighted the Wood Street project as the primary project on the list. About 80 partial lead water services will need to be replaced as part of the project, which means portions of Wood Street will be closed to all traffic until they're replaced.

The proposal as a whole is estimated to cost about $1.8 million, with $1.4 million coming from the motor fuel tax fund and about $367,000 in utility costs coming from the city's storm, sewer and water main replacement funds.

Enyart said the city does street inspections every year, and grades the roadways on a scale of 0 to 100 called a "pavement condition index."

The proposal memo said the city's annual capital improvement list generally focuses on streets with a PCI rating of less than 75. About 41 percent of the city's streets fall below that rating and the overall condition of city streets has dropped from an average PCI rating of 82 to 78 in the past six years.

Enyart notes that low PCI scores aren't the only things that city staff takes into consideration when planning repairs. Other factors such as how much traffic the street regularly gets, or whether underground repairs are scheduled for a certain road also guide the city's decision-making.

"There will be certain ones deferred to future years for some of those reasons," he said. "We'll also decide which ones really need the work based on the budget and what can fit within our budget."

In addition to the primary roads that city staff are recommending for repairs, the city's proposal also features alternate streets for council to consider.

These streets are ones that don't score quite as high on the PCI, but could be improved if bids come in below the engineer's estimate. They can also be switched out for some of the primary repair proposals if the council feels that their repairs should take precedence over the staff recommended projects.

Alternate projects mentioned in the proposal include a $40,000 asphalt overlay to East Eldorado Street and North 33rd Street to North Lake Shore Drive and a $105,000 overlay from 33rd and South Lake Shore Drive to East William Street Road.

Beltway progress

Elsewhere in the county, crews have already begun work to remove a section of Brush College Road near Mound Road to connect with new intersections as part of the ongoing $220 million Macon County Beltway Project.

YOUR TURN What roads should be fixed? Join the conversation and have your voice heard at herald-review.com/letters.

The beltway is a 22-mile loop of road that will run from Brush College near Interstate 72 over Lake Decatur and through Long Creek into Mount Zion before linking to Elwin Road. Macon County Engineer Bruce Bird said crews have made "really good progress" on the Brush College project.

David Brix operates a corn, soybean and alfalfa farm on Garver Church Road, near the closed portion of Brush College. While he and his family arent blocked in on Garver, he said, they now have to drive toward Illinois 48 and wrap around in order to travel south in the city. Looking toward the eventual completion of the beltway, Brix said itll be a challenge getting used to how the new traffic patterns work and also getting large farm equipment down the smaller lanes of roadway that the connector routes will boast.

He also said the overall cost of the beltway project could probably be used to tend to the needs of several other roads in the area. When asked what roads are in the most need of repair, Brix said all of them. Weve sure got a lot of bad roads that could be fixed."

One thing Bird said people should take into account is that local government may not have jurisdiction over many of the major roads going through the area. The responsibility for those roads typically falls on the Illinois Department of Transportation, Bird said.

Other road and bridge projects that the county currently has scheduled include work on Wyckles Road between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36, a bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek, the Baltimore bikepath between Harryland and a reconstruction of Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121.

IDOT has also organized a five-year improvement plan that was released last year. Recently, the department received Decatur city council approval to proceed with a $4.1 million project to fix a stretch of Eldorado Street that runs from North Fairview Avenue to North Church Street.

Decatur-area road projects The following is a list of Decatur roads and bridges targeted by the city and county for improvements in the near future: The end of East Central Avenue to North Warren Street

North Warren Street/East Central Avenue to East King Street

East Division Street/North 34th to North 35th

East Wood Street/South Jasper Street to South 22nd Street

North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Wabash Crossing)

East Wood Street/North MLK to North Maffit Street

Bayview, Country Manor, Lakeridge and Baker Woods neighborhoods

Brush College Road connector for Beltway project

Baltimore bikepath, between Harryland and Lost Bridge Road

Wyckles Road, between Illinois 121 and Illinois 36

Bridge on 85th Street in Long Creek

Bridge on School Road near Cisco

Niantic Road from old Illinois 26 to railroad tracks

Lost Bridge Road from Country Club Road to Illinois 121

Box culvert replacement near Warrensburg on County Highway 20

Bridge replacement on Lake Fork Road north of Argenta

Bridge replacement on Shellabarger Road in Illini Township

In addition to repaving the worn-and-torn street, new traffic lights and curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Greg Jamerson, program development engineer for IDOT's District 7, which includes Macon County, previously said there's no defined start date for that project. It will ultimately depend on how quickly the state can acquire land for the new traffic signal systems.

Enyart said that while the city doesn't currently have a multi-year plan for road improvements, staff is considering adopting one in the near future.

The plan "still maybe would change a little bit year-to-year as priorities do change, but we'll at least have a plan in place," he said.

Contact Jaylyn Cook at (217) 421-7980. Follow him on Twitter: @jaylyn_HR

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Sunday, April 28

Taylorville continues tornado recovery

Vickie Barker, 67, chose to build on the same Coal Street lot where her last house stood, before the storm roared through and blasted the structure that Dec. 1 evening. Heavily damaged, it had to be razed and a cement foundation was poured, ready for a new modular house on the way.

Were ready to come home, Barker said.

Barker is one piece of the sprawling, ongoing recovery underway in Taylorville this winter and spring. Wednesday marked five months since a violent EF-3 tornado tore an 11-mile gash through this Christian County community, leaving behind a trail of destruction and debris. More than 700 buildings were damaged in some way, but against all odds, no one was killed.

The story of Taylorvilles reconstruction is a lesson in the importance of emergency preparedness, hard work and community togetherness at a time of critical need.

Monday, April 29

City floats Lake Decatur fee hikes

Boat owners and other Lake Decatur users could see fee increases as city leaders contemplate how to make revenue for recreation on the lake cover the cost of supporting those services.

During a study session at the Decatur Civic Center, council members directed city staff to look into how a gradual recreation fee increase could be implemented at the lake in the near future. No action was taken on the issue Monday, but City Manager Scot Wrighton staff will work to have a proposal for council to consider finalized "fairly quickly."

"There are no specific rate hikes at this time," he said before the meeting. "We're at the broad policy stage of this."

Wrighton said dealing with recreational fees is just one aspect of a larger conversation surrounding the city's stewardship of the lake and how it should manage costs and keep it clean in the aftermath of the $91 million dredging project that ended last year.

Tuesday, April 30

Rains drench Central Illinois

Heavy rains and thunderstorms across Central Illinois are bringing a risk for flash floods, keeping farmers from their fields and creating challenges for construction projects.

The wet weather started Monday and was not expected to relent until late in the week. A flash flood watch is in effect until Wednesday evening for counties including Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, DeWitt, Logan, Shelby, Christian, Champaign, Sangamon and Coles.

"This extended period of rainy weather is starting to get a little unusual," though some rain is typical for springtime, said Chris Geelhart, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Geelhart said the region was expecting another 2 to 2 inches through Thursday night. People are itching to get out in the fields, he said, adding that a period of drier weather was expected to start Friday.

Wednesday, May 1

Students' mock trial marks Law Day

A mock trial was conducted at the Macon County Courthouse by members of the Decatur Bar Association in observance of Law Day, first instituted President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Three years later, Congress passed a resolution to make May 1 Law Day annually to celebrate Americans' rights as laid out in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This is something we do to demonstrate our commitment to the law and to really engage the community, said Regan Lewis, chair of the event for the Decatur Bar Association and a new Decatur School District board member.

This year's theme for Law Day was free speech, free press and a free society.

Typically, we give a little bit of information about it to the kids, and then we do a mock trial so they can sort of see how the pieces work. This one (Cinderella) is a civil trial, but I'm going to try to do a criminal (mock) trial next year because that's what the kids seem most interested in, Lewis said.

Thursday, May 2

Buffett gives another $1M to city

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has donated another $1 million to the city of Decatur for its community revitalization efforts.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe made the announcement during her State of the City address Thursday morning during breakfast as part of the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in the Decatur Civic Center.

The foundation previously gave $1 million for revitalization in November 2017, part of which was used to buy 750 parcels of Macon County trustee land, Wolfe said. The neighborhood revitalization project has been a longtime goal for city leaders.

"We're going to get those houses down, and we're going to build up this community," Wolfe said during her remarks.

Moore Wolfe said progress means she can barely find a parking spot downtown these days  and that's a good thing.

"Now, it's time to get really, really specific to fixing our other neighborhoods," Moore Wolfe said.

Friday, May 3

Costly details in property tax plan

Illinois Senate Democrats have sweetened a sales pitch to voters for a proposed graduated-rate income tax in 2020 by attaching to it a vow of property tax relief to weary taxpayers.

Like any sales pitch, the proposal  to freeze property taxes that go to schools  has some significant fine print attached.

First, it would only happen if voters ratify that proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. And, it would only take effect if the state shouldered more of the overall funding for education in Illinois  including funding special education, transportation, free and reduced meal programs and other mandated categorical programs.

The state also would have to meet its decadelong commitment to boost funding for the new general state aid formula by $350 million a year.

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CHICAGO  Mourners came by the hundreds to a Crystal Lake funeral home Friday to pay their respects to a 5-year-old boy many of them didn't know but whose tragic death and the circumstances surrounding it left them heartbroken and wondering why more wasn't done to save him.

Along with the many tears for Andrew "AJ" Freund was also the hope that his sad story would prompt greater action to protect children from the type of life and death authorities said AJ experienced.

The boy was killed last month, and his parents were charged with murder and other crimes after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock. The boy was born with opiates in his system and lived in a home often visited by police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line outside the Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory. "Losing a life in general ... but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

People young and old walked solemnly through the funeral home and past a the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross. The casket was made and donated

Visitation for Andrew "AJ" Freund began at 1 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave., and will last until 8 p.m. By 12:30 p.m. hundreds of people had formed a line and were waiting to enter to offer their final goodbyes.

Among them was Elissa Emmert of Crystal Lake, who was holding and rocking her 21-month-old son Levi. She said she came to "show support to AJ. My heart breaks for what happened to him."

The funeral home was expecting thousands of people to attend the memorial visitation for AJ, who was killed last month and whose parents were charged with his death after his body was found in a shallow grave near Woodstock.

Blue ribbons adorned poles and trees along Terra Cotta. There were several posters with pictures that showed AJ with angel wings and were inscribed with the words, "In loving memory of AJ." A flag was a half-staff at one local business.

At the nearby Twisted Stem floral design business, a big blue balloon archway was on display. Owner and designer John Regan had just finished making his 1,000th blue bow, which he has been giving to members of the community for them to display since AJ was reported missing April 18.

"I'm helping turn the city blue today," he said "It's just a simple gesture."

Many mourners, some who brought their children, questioned how, as authorities allege, the parents could beat and kill their own son. They also decried what they said were the failures of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and begged for change.

The Tribune has found that DCFS, which has had contact with the family over several years, missed signs of trouble despite hotline calls and police reports that documented squalid living conditions, substance abuse, domestic violence, suspicious bruises and, at times, uncooperative parents. DCFS' acting director said the agency is reviewing its "shortcomings" in the case and would take steps to address those issues.

"It's unfortunate," said Sarah Dakota of Crystal Lake, who with her 2-year-old daughter Skylar waited patiently in the ever-growing line. "Losing a life in general, but especially so young. Hopefully, DCFS standards go up, people are held accountable. Maybe AJ will be the face of change."

Lovey Sauers of Crystal Lake asked why other local agencies and community groups were not contacted by DCFS to help in AJ's case.

She said "there are so many resources" that could have been called to help including shelters, CASA, local churches, schools and Safe Haven at Willow Creek Church.

"Crystal Lake is a family community," Sauers said. "It's a good community. To have this at our back door, it's shameful and it's disturbing."

Michelle Murphy of Cary attended because she wanted to pay respects to a boy who it appeared to her no one wanted.

"If they didn't want him, they're other things they could have done," she said. "Don't kill him. There are other things you could do."

Marjorie Lehmann, director of administration at Trappist Caskets of Peosta, Iowa, said the business is donating an oak casket, made by monks of the New Melleray Abbey child casket ministry.

The Abbey also will plant a tree in AJ's name to replenish the wood used to make his casket.

AJ was reported missing by his parents April 18. He was found buried in a shallow field near Woodstock a week later. An autopsy determined that AJ died from blunt force trauma to his head.

His parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham, have been charged with murder and are being held in McHenry County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

AJ is remembered in an online obituary as a doting and loving big brother to his 4-year-old brother and his mother's unborn child. He is described as "loving, affectionate and outgoing ... a virtual ray of sunshine to all who knew him, with a giggle and laugh that was uniquely his."

An online account remains active to raise money for AJ's siblings. As of Wednesday it had raised more than $58,000.

Donations may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/d62g4d-rest-in-peace-aj.

The funeral for AJ will be private.

Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.

Also forgot one bouquet was from a family in Florida... sweet messages on the flower cards people saying they are sorry and how he's an angel now...

**

Took about an hour to walk through, like my other notes people told me ... very somber, several comfort dogs, big flower arrangements everywhere, one bouquet from Chicago Cubs another from Crystal Lake Lions Club and others with what looks like random family names I didn't recognize .. flowers are all colors not just blue and white ... there are gifts, stuffed animals toy trucks near the casket, large pics of AJ smiling. When you walk in there is a big Batman balloon appearing to lay on and hold a huge stuffed teddy bear ... alps are in there and there is an honor guard by the casket.

Oh and a piece of art made by St Mary's preschool in Woodstock.. looks like a tree then all the kids thumb prints in different colors are the leaves ... very sweet ...

As mourners exited the funeral home many carrying big blue ribbons or tiny blue ribbons with a rose attached they described a "somber" and "sad" scene.

"It's very quiet. Very somber. Everybody was comforting everybody," said Laurie Pitner of Crystal Lake.

Many described several blue and white floral arrangements, oversized photos of AJ smiling and comfort dogs. A priest also was present hugging and consoling people.

Jenny Carlini of Crystal Lake described the child's tiny wooden casket engraved with a cross that was protected by an honor guard. A statue of an angle was placed nearby the casket as were flower arrangements from area businesses and family members.

Carlini said the mood inside where many sniffles were heard was sad but also hopeful, as if this has presented the community and beyond a time for "resetting what's important."

"I felt mad (at first)," she said, but as she looked at the hundreds of mourners lined up along Terra Cotta Ave. waiting to go inside she added: "Look what we can do as a community."

"We have to take care of our children," Carlini said. "If we don't we're going to have a very bleak future."

***

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ALTON (AP)  A disaster proclamation has been issued by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for 34 counties along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers due to flooding.

Friday's declaration is to ensure communities battling floods caused by heavy rain will receive state support. That support includes the Corrections Department providing work crews to support sandbagging efforts.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for several rivers across Illinois after several days of soaking rain. More than 5 inches fell in places like Aurora, Morris and Chicago's Midway and O'Hare international airports.

Public works employees in Alton erected a barrier wall Thursday after a Mississippi River surge closed roadways. The weather service forecasts a crest of 35.5 feet by Sunday or Monday in Alton.

The Mississippi River at Chester on Friday was at nearly 37 feet with the weather service forecasting it to crest at more than 43 feet by Monday.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Fifty years ago, new Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie pushed through the state's first income tax to shore up Illinois finances. It was a flat 2.5% applying to all levels of income. Requiring a flat-rate income tax was hotly contested a year later among those rewriting the state Constitution. The Constitution enshrined it in 1971, Ogilvie lost re-election in 1972, but the debate over the system's fairness never abated.

Enter Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a multibillionaire who campaigned on dumping the flat-rate structure for a so-called "fair tax," a graduated scale that duns wealthy taxpayers at greater percentages. The Illinois Senate approved the inaugural steps to that goal last week.

Here are some questions and answers on the subject:

Q: WHAT'S THE IDEA?

A: Pritzker proposed a progressive structure which he touts as one in which 97% of Illinois taxpayers would pay the same as they do now or less. It starts at 4.75% for incomes up to $10,000. Those making $100,000 to $250,000 would pay the current 4.95%. The rates go up from there and top out at 7.95% for those earning $1 million or more.

Those 3% who would pay more would produce $3 billion in extra revenue, Pritzker contends, to help the state erase its structural deficit  wrought by spending unexpectedly outstripping revenue  and help the state twist its way out of tens of billions of dollars of debt associated with overdue bills, underfunded pensions, and more.

A non-partisan study largely agreed with Pritzker that his plan would spare the bulk of taxpayers from increased tax bills and narrow the ever-widening income gap.

Q: WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR THE CHANGE?

A: An amendment to the state Constitution. Democratic Oak Park Sen. Don Harmon's proposal won Senate approval last Wednesday by a three-fifths majority. It must get a three-fifths majority endorsement in the House before voters would get the final say at the ballot box in November 2020. If they approve, the new tax rate would take effect in 2021.

Q: IS THERE OPPOSITION?

A: Quite a bit. No Senate Republicans voted for the constitutional amendment or follow-up legislation from Sen. Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Olympia Fields, which sets the tax rates. The GOP and leading business interests say the plan simply generates $3 billion for Democrats to spend unaccountably. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs called the Senate vote "another step toward handing a blank check over to the Democrats and their reckless spending habits."

Q: BUT DEMOCRATS ARE ALL ON BOARD?

A: No. Chicago Democratic Rep. Robert Martwick is sponsoring a constitutional amendment in the House, and he's still counting noses. A three-fifths majority is 71 House votes, and there are 74 Democrats. The GOP is solidly opposed, and Illinois Democrats are a disparate group. Martwick says he's trying to combine "the right ingredients to make everyone happy with it."

Although the amendment doesn't mention rates, the two are inextricably linked. Martwick says some lawmakers are comfortable supporting the amendment but shy away from a vote on rates. Others don't want to commit to the amendment without seeing the rates.

Q: BUT PRITZKER PROPOSED RATES. AREN'T THEY ALREADY PART OF THE SENATE PLAN?

A: No. The Senate-approved Hutchinson legislation includes a top rate that differs from Pritzker's. It increases the top rate to 7.99% and applies it to $1 million in income for married couples filing jointly. But for single filers, Hutchinson's plan applies the top rate to income over $750,000. She said that's to make the process fairer for couples whose combined income can often kick them into a higher tax bracket, a phenomenon dubbed the "marriage penalty."

"It's a delicate balance, but right now, we have a system that doesn't tax where growth is actually occurring and growth is occurring in the top income brackets," Hutchinson said.

Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who inherits the Senate tax plan, said House Democrats are less concerned about slight changes in the rates than they are about property tax relief.

Q: AREN'T PROPERTY TAXES THE REAL BANE?

A: Arguably, yes, given that Illinois has the nation's next-to-highest property taxes after New Jersey. Pritzker's plan offers a 20% increase in the property tax credit, meaning taxpayers would be able to claim an income-tax credit of 6% of property taxes paid instead of 5% of property taxes paid.

And the Senate added another sweetener last week when it adopted Sen. Andy Manar's measure to rein in the property taxes collected by public schools, which rely to a disproportionate degree on real estate taxes because the state has traditionally not met its funding commitment. The Bunker Hill Democrat's plan would bar schools from increasing property taxes as long as the state met all its expected obligations for general state aid funding and so-called categorical program such as transportation and special education.

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SPRINGFIELD  Members of a liberal House caucus announced their opposition Friday to the Senates move to strike Illinois estate tax from statute, a measure unexpectedly included in a package of bills to change the states income tax structure.

Chicago Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the state is at a critical moment. The General Assembly is negotiating the terms under which to implement a graduated income tax system, and repealing a tax on the transfer of property, he said, is a move in precisely the opposite direction.

Giving a $300 million tax break to the estates of the richest people in Illinois, that nobody as far as I can tell is even really asking for, seems to me like a step in the wrong direction, Guzzardi said.

The measure, contained in Senate President John Cullertons, D-Chicago, Senate Bill 689, passed the Senate with 33 votes after unexpectedly being added to a package of bills which can only become law if the voters approve a graduated tax constitutional amendment in November 2020.

Six Democrats joined all but one Senate Republican in voting against the measure. State Sen. Dan McConchie, a Hawthorn Woods Republican, said the estate tax repeal is generally supported by Republicans, but his opposition was based on the fact that the repeal could be reversed at any time.

The estate tax currently only applies to estates worth more than $4 million, and it produces $305 million in revenue, according to a 2020 estimate from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Guzzardi said that revenue would have to be made up elsewhere or the budget would have to be cut to account for the $305 million  even with the estimated $3.5 billion in revenue that would be gained from a proposed graduated tax structure.

I think that we are pushing pretty hard on about every other source of revenue we can find, he said.

He said cuts might have to come from programs people care about, such as higher education, health care, human services or others.

I think it would harm our ability to balance our budget and it would undermine our efforts to make our tax policy more fair, he added.

Guzzardi said the Progressive Caucus supports the graduated income tax proposal because Illinois does not have the financial resources to fund services its members see as ones a government should provide  quality public schools, affordable health care and access to social programs.

Our tax system in this state is broken  we tax poor people and working-class people too much and very, very wealthy people way too little, Guzzardi said. We support the progressive income tax because it makes our tax system more fair and generates the revenue we need to pay for the services the government needs to perform.

He said he is optimistic the constitutional amendment necessary to enact the new tax structure will receive enough votes to be presented to voters in 2020. The bill needs 71 votes in the House, which has 74 Democratic members.

But either way, removing current law that taxes the transfer of property is not something Guzzardi said he thinks will be successful in his chamber.

To be clear, there arent enough votes in the House for a repeal of the estate tax and whatever happens with the fair tax, we dont believe that that should be or will be included, he said.

Democratic Reps. Carol Ammons (Urbana), Theresa Mah (Chicago), Celina Villanueva (Chicago), Delia Ramirez (Chicago), Kelly Cassidy (Chicago), Robyn Gabel (Evanston), Gregory Harris (Chicago), Joyce Mason (Gurnee), Anna Moeller (Elgin), Aaron Ortiz (Chicago), Lamont Robinson, Jr. (Chicago), Anne Stava-Murray (Naperville) and Maurice West (Rockford) joined in the caucuss opposition to the estate tax.

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The last time I saw John William King, he was leaving a courtroom in Jasper, Texas, in handcuffs. It had taken a jury of 11 whites and one African-American just 2 hours to convict him of one of the most heinous hate crimes America had ever seen.

King was 24 at the time, clean-cut with an engaging smile. He did not look like someone who could chain a man to the back of a pickup truck and drag him for nearly 3 miles, ripping the body into pieces scattered along the road.

He looked like an all-American guy. But 49-year-old James Byrd Jr., the unfortunate black man who crossed paths with King and his two accomplices that awful day in 1998, proved how easily looks could be deceiving. One had to gaze beyond King's boyish charm to see the monster that lived inside.

Last week, King was put to death by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. But his execution did not change a thing. Before the week had ended, evil was resurrected during a Passover service in California.

King orchestrated the lynching in Jasper and, for a while, he was one of the most loathsome men in America. A self-proclaimed white supremacist, he rekindled memories of a vile part of our nation's history that some thought had been buried 40 years before. He reminded us that hatred and bigotry, when cast into a shallow grave, could simply kick off the dirt and rise again with an even greater vengeance.

Byrd, an unemployed ex-convict, became a martyr. His funeral drew a thousand people from across the country, including politicians and activists. He had not lived a perfect life, but he did not deserve such a horrendous death. On this point, most Americans agreed.

The only way Jasper and the rest of the country could heal, most seemed to think, was if King were put to death. Two decades later, he was.

As a national reporter for the Tribune, I covered the 1999 trial, but I had long forgotten the defendant's name. By the time he was executed, most Americans likely had never heard about what King had done, or they could not recall.

One of King's accomplices was executed in 2011 and the third is serving a life sentence in prison. Byrd's murder reawakened America's spirit, but it quickly fell asleep again. People rarely mentioned it anymore.

In this country, outrage is fleeting. It mellows over time like emotional pain vanishes after injecting a synthetic drug. When it comes to easing the burden of injustice, America's drug of choice is apathy.

Byrd's slaying recalled an era when African-Americans were routinely lynched by hooded nightriders. Jasper residents feared their town being portrayed as one of the most racist communities in the nation. Some believed at the time, however, that the case would be a catalyst for change across the country, as the nation came together in solidarity.

But it changed nothing. Years later, there would be racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Charlottesville, Virginia. There would be religious slaughters in Charleston, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh. And there would be countless stories about attacks on Muslims, gays and lesbians, Hispanics and African-Americans that would not even make the news. And the nation would be even more divided.

When the trial was over, Booker T. Hunter, then the president of the Jasper chapter of the NAACP, told me that King would have to die in order for people to heal.

"If we get total justice, the death penalty, people will begin to heal," Hunter said. "We will never forget it, but we can move on."

The truth is that we moved on long before King was put to death. But we still have not healed. There have been too many evil people picking at the scab.

I am not an advocate of the death penalty. I have never believed that a life for a life is the best way to right a wrong. Retaliating with more violence is not the way to end violence. And certainly, it will not put an end to hatred.

But the timing of King's death seemed appropriate. As our country is under siege by bigotry, contempt and anger, America was reminded that evil is nothing fresh. It is something we have toiled with and cried over since our nation was founded.

Though people eventually forget and move on, bigotry lingers and waits for the perfect moment to strike again. Hardly a week goes by in today's America that we don't see this hatred manifested. Each time we stop and wonder if evil is winning, and whether we are helpless to stop it.

Last Wednesday, King lay on a gurney with a needle in his arm. Witnesses said his eyes were closed the entire time, moving only once to take a deep breath when the killing process began. When the warden asked if he had any last words, King, 44, said, "No."

Byrd's sister watched from the gallery. "There was no sense of relief," she said afterward. Some of the victim's relatives knew that from the start and had advocated mercy for the killer.

It only took three days for evil to rear its head again. A gunman, yelling anti-Semitic slurs, opened fire at a synagogue in Poway, California. A 60-year-old woman was killed. A rabbi was shot in the hand and two others were wounded.

King's execution did nothing to stop it.

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Japanese Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday. It was a simple and spiritual ceremony that belied his importance as a champion of global harmony.

He was the son of Emperor Hirohito, who approved the bombing of Pearl Harbor and helped lead the world into the chaos and destruction of World War II. Akihito inherited a new monarchy as victorious Allied Forces demanded that the institution become totally symbolic, a world of distance from his predecessors godlike status. In that new era, he was an unshakable pacifist.

Akihito became a leading moral voice who traveled the world marking the impact of Japans aggression. He honored his countrys own dead without excusing the deaths they caused. Educated by an American Quaker, he quickly came to understand the necessity of peace.

This has stood in contrast to recent moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed for a more unshackled military that has been constrained since the end of the war.

And Japan has not been alone in militaristic moods. The United States and Russia spend billions on their armed forces and eye Cold War-style aggression. Parts of the Middle East remain a battle zone. Terrorists the world over murder innocent civilians, and Western nations become more comfortable using drones as weapons as they argue over the principles of a just war. More leaders like Akihito are needed to stand for peace and acknowledge the terrible alternative.

I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Akihito, 85, said in a farewell address.

We couldnt agree more.

Newsday

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When around 870 million people globally are deprived of food, losing or wasting around 1.3 billion tonnes of food valued over $1 trillion is nothing less than a crime. A report by FAO says that if just one-fourth of lost or wasted food were saved, it could end global hunger. Another FAO statistics states that food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emission each year. Hence it is the responsibility of each stake holder(from farm to fork) to ensure nothing is lost/wasted. Food loss could be the result of inadequate infrastructure, markets, price mechanisms, poor supply chain, improper packaging and many more.Understanding the impact food loss has on the world population, Hitesh Lohani (Managing Director) & Priyanka Lohani (Director)incepted Top Fresh International Private Limited (TFIPL) in 2017 in Delhi. Our companys foundation stone was laid on the very concept of food

lost during transit. Most of the brands work with distributor model, which compromises their brand name in a lot of possible ways, where the quality is highly affected due to poor supply chain, explains Hitesh. Hence TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model. This helps the company keep a thorough check on the quality of the product and supply fresh products like fresh fruits, green peas, sweet corn, veg soya chaap, broccoli, mix vegetable, strawberry, blackberry French fries and many more at the top conditions.



"TFIPL deals directly with every client, eliminating the middle men, agents or distributor model"



Quality being the centrifugal force of the company, it packs every product at its own cold chain & packaging unit in Delhi that maintains a very low temperature but ensure no ice formation, which is common otherwise as the temperature drop leads to thawing of a product which degrades the quality. This gives the best shelf life and can be achieved only with good relations with third party warehouse providers and creating your own stock, adds Priyanka. To further ensure healthy products, TFIPL has leased a small land in Rudrapurcity of Uttarakhand for pesticide-free cultivation of green peas.



Customer is the King

Giving its ears to every client concerns, TFIPL puts their opinions and suggestions on top priority and
Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh spoke about the regimes reasons for planning such activities and the agencies that are involved and the role that each one plays.

Last year there was a significant escalation of the regimes malign activities in Europe and in the United States. As a result, several regime diplomats and members of the MOIS were arrested and jailed for terrorist and espionage activities.

Jafarzadeh spoke mainly about ten separate incidents and confirmed that the MOIS and Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are directly involved, emphasising that attacks are not planned by rogue agents. Indeed, the highest ranks in Tehran are involved.

He explained that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves all decisions. Plots are signed off by the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Rouhani. While the IRGCs Quds Force takes the lead on terrorist plots across the Middle East, the MOIS is in charge of terrorism in Europe.

Foreign embassies are used as intelligence centres where agents are given cover, documentation, weapons, and the all-important diplomatic immunity. The embassies will intervene if terrorists are arrested and the issue will be whitewashed with the suspects taken out of custody and sent back to Iran.

A number of PMOI members have been residing in Albania which has become a point of interest for the regime. A plot to bomb a Nowruz (new year) celebration was foiled by authorities and two regime agents were arrested. Jafarzadeh explained that a senior MOIS official became the regimes ambassador in Albania to prepare for terror attacks.

European authorities also foiled a plot to bomb the oppositions Free Iran gathering in Paris last year where a number of foreign dignitaries were due to attend, as well as 100,000 supporters. The regime diplomat that was residing in Austria was stripped of diplomatic immunity and is in German custody. The regime is taking great efforts to get him send back to Iran.

Jafarzadeh also pointed to the involvement of foreign ministers, including current minister Zarif who, as a member of the Supreme National Security Council, is aware of the regimes terrorist activity. Jafarzadeh said that Zarif should be arrested for his involvement, pointing out that of all the regimes diplomats that were expatriated back to Iran only one remains jailed.

Moving forward, Jafarzadeh believes that the Supreme Leader and his office as well as the MOIS should be designated as a foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) and that Iranian agents in Europe should be prosecuted. He also suggested that the regimes embassies in Europe should be shut down. Jafarzadeh said that the regime has taken advantage of diplomatic relations to plot terrorist attacks in the West.

He further went on to explain that the real solution to the regimes belligerence is not sanctions, but regime change that is effectuated by the people.
Zarif said: I put this offer on the table, publicly, now. Exchange them. All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on an extradition request from the United States Let us exchange them I have the authority to do that. We informed the government of the United States six months ago that we are ready.

Now, there is a critical inaccuracy in that statement. Zarif, as a member of the executive branch, does not have the power to make such offers to foreign governments. This power is held solely by the head of the judiciary, who is appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Zarif even manages to admit that he has no power to release prisoners when he was questioned about the environmental scientists held by Iran, claiming that the judiciary is independent and that he is busy enough preventing wars and economic pressures.

So how can it be that Zarif has the authority to release some prisoners but not others? After all, the eight environmentalists, arrested on vague charges like spreading corruption on Earth, have received support from human rights organizations and Members of the European Parliament urging their release but Iran has not responded. One scientist, Iranian-Canadian Kavous Seyyed-Emami, died in suspicious circumstances while in jail and the Regime claimed it to be suicide.

Other foreign citizens held in Iran include:

British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

US Navy veteran Michael White

Princeton University student Xiyue Wang

US businessmen Baquer and Siamak Namazi

The truth is, of course, that Zarif only has the power to release prisoners that Khamenei believes will get him concessions from the international community. The Iranian Regime uses hostages as political pawns to gain leverage against other governments, something that has been true since the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days.

Dr Majid Rafizadeh said: In a nutshell, the Iranian regime is once again using foreign citizens as hostages in order to blackmail other governments. It is incumbent on these countries not to submit to Tehrans hostage-taking game. Accepting Irans terms will only embolden and empower the regime.
General thoughts of fun stuff, like music, books and the like. Thanks for reading.
About Me William Kelly I am a freelance writer, journalist and historian whose major interests are music and history, with a special emphasis on the assassination of President Kennedy. View my complete profile

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SPRINGFIELD  This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). When the NIIW observance was established in 1994, the U.S. was in the midst of several outbreaks, the largest of which was among Illinois and Missouri residents. Decades of increased vaccinations led to the declaration of measles being eliminated in the U.S. in 2000; however, 25 years after the first NIIW, the country is once again seeing measles outbreaks. During NIIW April 27-May 4, 2019, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is asking parents to talk with a health care provider to ensure their children are fully immunized.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not have heard of some of the serious diseases they prevent. Children can suffer serious illness and even death when exposed to diseases like measles, mumps, and pertussis, said Dr. Ezike. Although vaccines are among the most successful, safe, and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death, some people still chose not to be vaccinated. It is essential that you protect your child against serious illness by having them vaccinated before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.

As of April 26, 2019, there have been more than 700 cases of measles in the U.S. this year, including 78 new cases identified last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Although Illinois data do not reflect the same trend, the U.S. is seeing an increase in the number of children younger than two years old who are receiving no vaccines. CDCs data suggest that many of these parents do want to vaccinate their children, but they may not be able to get vaccines for them. They may face hurdles, like not having a health care professional nearby, not having time to get their children to a doctor, and/or thinking they cannot afford vaccines.

Public health officials are working with schools, community organizations, religious groups, parent organizations, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to provide vaccinations.

Steps will include, but are not limited to:

Mobile Units: IDPH will assist in providing mobile health units to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates to hold clinics and provide vaccinations.

Targeted Events: IDPH will identify events with high parent and children attendance and support vaccination clinics at these events. These can include county fairs and neighborhood celebrations.

Faith Outreach: IDPH will work with religious organizations to sponsor vaccination clinics after services, during vacation bible school, and near other religious gatherings.

Community Coordination: IDPH will work with community health workers and parent educators to help set up appointment times for vaccinations, provide or arrange transportation, and assist parents in filling out the paperwork.

Public Education: IDPH will work to combat misinformation about vaccines and increase education efforts through health events, marketing, and social media.

IDPH is currently working with local health departments across the state to meet and talk with school officials and health care providers in the community to learn about barriers that limit vaccination and identify additional opportunities to increase rates. Barriers already identified include:

Transportation: Some parents do not have a way to get their children to clinics for vaccinations.

Time: Health clinic hours may not fit with working parents schedule.

Paperwork: Vaccination requires the consent forms to be filled by the parent. Some parents may be overwhelmed by the paperwork and not fully understand how to fill it out.

Wait Times: While local health departments and providers may offer special vaccination clinics before the beginning of the school year, the wait times can sometimes be more than an hour.

Additionally, IDPH continues to recruit and retain Vaccine for Children (VFC) health care providers. The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost for children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. The VFC program helps children get their vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule.

Through on-time immunization, parents can protect infants and children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases before age two. While overall childhood immunization rates remain high, unvaccinated children in the U.S. are at risk for contracting diseases that some parents might consider diseases of the past.

In the 1950s, nearly every child developed measles, and unfortunately, some developed serious complications including death from this serious disease. Today, many practicing physicians have never seen a case of measles due to the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, although rare in the U.S., they are still commonly transmitted in many parts of the world and brought into the country by unvaccinated individuals, putting other unvaccinated people at risk.

More information about the VFC program and immunizations can be found on the IDPH website at www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.

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Carriage Crossing Senior Living located at Green Mill Village in Arcola, Illinois, is hosting a free luncheon on Thursday, May 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at your Lifespan Center 11021 E. Co. Rd 800 N. Charleston, IL, behind Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital off Loxa Road.

This free luncheon is one of the Caring Conversations Luncheon Series where leading experts in the Senior Living industry discuss purposeful and thoughtful topics that interest seniors, their loved ones, and their caregivers.

With proper information, assistance and encouragement, informed decisions can be made allowing seniors to live the life they love with respect and dignity in their chosen community.

The speaker for this free luncheon is Ms. Brenda Hearn, a certified Assisted Living Cabinet Member of Leading Age Illinois. Ms. Hearn is a highly trained professional in the Senior Living industry who fully understands the needs of seniors and their families, and the importance of maximizing the independence of the senior while residing in an assisted living/memory care facility. Ms. Hearns topic for this luncheon will be: Navigating the Senior Living Curriculum.

Carriage Crossing Senior Living of Arcola is a leading choice for assisted living communities. Carriage Crossing has successfully implemented a focus on lifestyle, family and trust, with maintenance free living, exceptional farm to table meals, life-enriching opportunities and 24-hour personal care assistance.

Memory care at Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to support families caring for loved ones with dementia through a partnership built on trust between the well trained and caring staff, the resident, the family and the physician.

As seniors age and require personal care services, Carriage Crossing Senior Living is designed to grow with them, enabling them and their loved ones to know they have chosen a community that can meet their needs for today and tomorrow.

The luncheon is free and open to the public. An RSVP is needed to secure space for the luncheon. Please call 217-268-3516 today to reserve your spot.

For more information on this event or other upcoming activities open to seniors, find Carriage Crossing Senior Living Arcola on Facebook.

The LifeSpan Center is located at 11021 E. County Road 800N, Charleston. The telephone number is (217) 639-5150. The numbers for the programs are as follows: Coles County Telecare -- (217) 639-5166; Family Care Giver Resource Center -- (217) 639-5168 and Dial A Ride -- (217) 639-5169 or 1-800-500-5505. See you at your LifeSpan Center.

Come join us each weekday at noon for Lunch at LifeSpan. Peace Meals are served Monday through Friday at a suggested donation of $3.50. To register, reserve a lunch or learn more, contact Peace Meal at (217) 348-1800.

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CHARLESTON  A large pool of Eastern Illinois University graduates will be walking across the stage Saturday to receive their diplomas.

Just a few years ago, this annual ritual would have signified a major blow to the university's enrollment numbers. But officials are anticipating the arrival of a larger population of students this fall that should fill the gap left by those who are graduating.

May 1 was National Decision Day, the day many prospective students make their final college decisions, and predictive figures for EIU enrollment shows another year of growth.

Last year, the fall enrollment numbers saw a 7.1 percent increase.

The university is on track to see an overall increase for the 2019 fall semester.

"When you are at May 1, and you are sitting at over 20 percent (more compared to last year) on your freshman commitments, that is fantastic," Josh Norman, EIUs associate vice president for enrollment management, said.

Interestingly, the number of applications to the college is similar to what officials saw in the previous enrollment cycle, but the yield, the metric for commitments to EIU, is growing.

"The yield has just been abnormal in a great way," Norman said. "It is great to see what (the university) is doing is working."

The increases the university is seeing in its student populations are accelerating, especially in the freshman incoming populations. Exact figures were not given, but Norman said they can expect a significant increase in the freshman class this fall.

Beyond these metrics, the upward swing university officials have been seeing for the past couple of years has become most evident in the popularity of orientations, open house events, and regular visit days. On one recent regular visit day, where students and their families are given a tour around the campus, there were 67 who participated, a number not seen in a while.

"The momentum is wild," Norman said.

The international numbers will be the determining factor for how much student population growth the university will see.

International enrollments have become a wild card in the past couple of years, and this is not for a lack of interest, Norman indicated. The international applications are up, but that means little without the visa to get into the country.

As previously reported in the JG-TC, it is harder nowadays for the prospective students to get their visas accepted.

Looking at the incoming populations, the demographics appear to be diversifying.

This has been a slow-building trend over several years, but the university has been getting more interest across state lines. Norman said the university has been putting more resources into efforts to attract out-of-state students.

EIU is looking beyond bordering states to as far as California, where Norman said there has been a large export of students.

Norman noted these out-of-state students are often athletes looking to play at EIU.

This growth had not been at the expense of quality students, Norman said. The university academic profile is advancing, as well, with a 25 percent increase in honors commitments.

Officials have consistently pointed to the Vitalization Project, which tasked the university as a whole with identifying efficiencies and possibilities to make the university more marketable, as the reason for the upward trend.

The university has still got some time before it reaches its goal of 9,000 students. Norman said they are working at hitting that number by 2027.

Contact Jarad Jarmon at (217) 238-6839. Follow him on Twitter: @JJarmonReporter

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SHELBYVILLE  Joseph D. Denton, 50, of Shelbyville, IL, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 6, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Mattoon, IL with Father John Titus as Celebrant. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Monday in the church. Following the service, a luncheon will be held in the Parish Center. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday in the Potomac Cemetery, Potomac, IL with military honors. Memorials may be given to the Immaculate Conception Church of Mattoon.

"Joseph Joe Dean Denton was born January 24, 1969 to Dean L. Denton and Ann (Berry) Denton in Charleston, IL. Joe grew up primarily in Nebraska and Alaska under his stepfathers name, Robinson. As a youth Joe was an avid hunter into his teens. Joe had the privilege to hunt in some of the most challenging areas of Alaska, primarily in the Arctic. Joe later became an avid shooter in the area of marksmanship.

Eventually, Joe graduated where he started with his last name restored to Denton, from Charleston High School with Honors in 1987. After graduation, Joe joined the U.S. Navy serving first on the Battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) in Long Beach, CA. Later, after extensive and intense training in what is now known as Special Ops Joe became the head of security for Long Beach Commander Admiral John Hogginson. Joe was involved in extensive security issues when representatives of the previous USSR came to Long Beach Naval Station as part of the SALT II Nuclear Treaty. Joe was commended for his role in this and after activities. Joe was recommended, and received, a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy but for personal reasons could not attend. Joe traveled extensively to Asia and the Middle East.

Joe became a professional Firefighter, first at the now-defunct University of Illinois Fire Department, then the Champaign Illinois Fire Department. In March of 2000, Joe suffered a catastrophic injury to his back, left leg, and hip while carrying a woman from her residence during an emergency response. Joe would live the rest of this life in chronic pain and with titanium rods, bolts, and plates, Keeping me together as he joked. In 2010, he received a spinal implant which did wonders for his pain levels.

Despite this monumental hurdle, Joe took pride in helping those in need and giving back to his community. He was involved in Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Mattoon Knights of Columbus where he was a 4th Degree Knight. Immaculate Conception in Mattoon, IL became Joes spiritual home, presided over by Father John Titus, whom Joe was deeply impressed with and respected both as a man and as a Priest.

Joe served on various committees and Councils at Immaculate Conception. These included the reinstitution of 24 Adoration (hours) and was also involved with his Parish Council and the Legion of Mary, Joe was also a Cooperator in Opus Dei.

Joe had a passion for genealogy. He located several living cousins including Harry Selsor and his wife Shirley, and Cynthia Snider who assisted him with his membership application for Sons of the American Revolution, of which he became a member in 2017. His Patriot Ancestor was his 6th Great Grandfather Pennsylvania Militia Captain Martin Bowman. Joe eventually developed and became Chairman of the Public Safety Award Committee at the Ewington Chapter of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Joe also discovered he had an ancestor at the Jamestown Colony, a man named Isaac Madison, the common ancestor Joe shared with eventual President James Madison.

He leaves behind his adored wife, Julie, beloved stepson Jordan, sisters Julie McCarty of California, Jane Robinson of Louisiana, and father Dean Denton of Canada. Joe also leaves behind his faithful and constant companion, his dog Taz.

Joe served his Country, his communities, and people in need in general. He was a staunch supporter of the First & Second Amendments and was an Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association. He was a 3-sport letterman and held physical fitness in high regard, and the reason he was able to walk after his injury as a Firefighter. He will be missed by those who knew him."

Obituary as written by Joseph D. Denton.
CHARLESTON  Having a healthy lifestyle and knowledge of resources can help you stay healthier longer while improving your quality of life. The University of Illinois Extension will be holding a healthy aging summit at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County on Monday, May 13 from 9 a.m.  2 p.m.

The Amazing Brain will feature three Extension Educators focusing on valuable, timely research related to healthy brains. Local Foods/Small Farms Educator and State Master Naturalist Coordinator Dave Shiley will present Refresh, Relax and Recharge in Nature where he will point out how nature can reduce stress and attention fatigue while increasing creativity and brain wellness. Nutrition and Wellness Educator Mary Liz Wright will discuss Eating for Cognitive Health and will teach participants what to eat to delay cognitive decline. Family Life Educator Cheri Burcham will be presenting Two Heads are Better than One. She will share the connection between social engagement and brain health, while leading participants through intellectual exercises that will challenge their noggins! Special guest speaker Elizabeth Hagemann from the Alzheimers Association will be speaking on what the latest research identifies as the best (not foolproof) ways to prevent Alzheimers disease. There will also be fun brain breaks throughout the day.

The summit will be held at the LifeSpan Center of Coles County at 11021 E CR 800 N, Charleston. The cost for this summit is only $5 and includes a buffet lunch and all materials. Pre-registration is required by calling the University of Illinois Extension office at 217-345-7034 or by going online to http://go.illinois.edu/agingsummit Those wanting to attend must be registered and paid by May 8. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in this program, please call 217-345-7034.

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Investor Whitney Tilson used to attract a mix of seasoned professionals and amateur investors to his conferences around the Berkshire meetings. Tilson no longer holds the events, but he is looking forward to his 22nd annual meeting.

"There is really is nothing else like it. It draws people from all over the globe," Tilson said.

And the smaller conferences and gatherings of friends help enhance the attraction of Berkshire's meeting, Tilson added.

Author Bob Miles said it was natural to move his Value Investing Conference to Omaha from California in 2011 because the course already focused on Buffett, Munger and other prominent investors.

"Warren Buffett has popularized value investing and devotees from across the globe see the Berkshire weekend as a touchstone for honoring, learning and emulating an investment genius and masterful teacher," Miles said.

For Creighton University professor Gerald Jensen, setting up an investing conference at Creighton's campus just north of downtown made sense because of all the investors gathered before Berkshire's meeting.
Here are some ways to cope with loneliness during the holiday season, five foods that can help prevent cold and flu, and more videos to improv
A federal judge this week said Lincoln firefighter Troy Hurd must choose between a new trial on damages or a $630,000 reduction in the amount the city must pay him for retaliation he faced after reporting discrimination against a female firefighter trainee born in Iraq.

Senior U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp said based on the evidence at Hurd's trial in Omaha in February, it wasn't shocking or plainly unjust that the jury awarded Hurd a substantial amount for past and future emotional distress.

In all, the jury awarded the fire captain $1,177,815.

"It is, however, shocking that the jury awarded $930,472.12 for future emotional distress, because the jury wasn't presented with any evidence of extraordinary circumstances that would merit such a large amount," she said.

Smith Camp said Hurd still works for the city and suffered no financial hardship.

At trial, Hurd said he always wanted to be a firefighter and now considers his career in Lincoln Fire & Rescue effectively over.

Over roughly seven years, he said he suffered from a list of problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and a loss of energy.
Nepals indecision on same-sex marriage leaves couples in limbo

Today, over a decade after the Supreme Courts verdict and four years after the committees report, same-sex marriage remains unrecognised, putting couples like Pant and Melnyk in limbo, with no decision in sight. Two years ago, the couple visited ministry after ministry to seek help for a spousal visa for Melnyk, before filing a case against the immigration office.
In February 2016, he delivered a TED Talk he said was a first of its kind. Prosecutors weren't allowed to say the kinds of things he said publicly. It could have spelled the end of his career.

Everything did change that day, but in a good way, he said.

"I remember the feeling of walking off the stage and just being like, something has happened. The universe has shifted," he said.

Prosecutors, he said in his talk, are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system, but they are unaware and untrained in the notion that the decisions they make every day have grave consequences.

Thousands of people make big mistakes, but they deserve to have the chance to transcend them. Prosecutors have the power to change lives instead of ruin them.

With that, in saying prosecutors have to admit they're part of the problem, people started to listen, he said. Foss has since founded Prosecutor Impact, an advocacy organization that develops training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. He travels the country providing training and delivering talks.
BILLINGS, Mont.  An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada's oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.

TransCanada executive vice president Paul Miller made the statement during a Friday earnings call with analysts. The company also announced it was changing its name, to TC Energy Corp.

Plans to begin construction of the long-delayed pipeline were blocked last November when a federal judge in Montana ordered additional environmental reviews of the project.

President Donald Trump has been trying to push it through. He issued a new permit for Keystone last month.

The $8 billion line would carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude daily, along a route stretching from Canada to Nebraska.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on Keystone XL's proposed route through the state.

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As Lincoln developed around the old village of Lancaster, there was no building originally located on the southeast corner of 10th and P streets and although it is unclear if Quick himself built the original frame building on the site, in 1873 it was known as Quicks Saloon and quickly became known as the citys quasi-official headquarters of many fraternal orders and was one of 18 saloons, mostly within a block of Market Square which was between 9th, 10th, O and P streets.

In February of 1874 a group of Lincoln women, from several local churches, were organized by the minister at First Methodist (later renamed St. Paul Methodist) Church to combat the ever-increasing presence and power of the citys saloons. On Feb. 14 and 15 the ladies visited each of Lincolns 18 saloons. At Quicks they were met by the owner and his attorney E. E. Brown, who was also Lincolns mayor, and both urged the ladies to move on. One of their number, Mrs. Ricketts, ignored the plea and entered the saloon only to be physically removed by the barman C. W. Whipple. Mrs. Ricketts husband, A. C. Ricketts, prosecuted Quick with the first trial ending with a hung jury. Then, with the second trial, Quick was assessed $57.50 though it was apparently never paid.
A group of Lincoln and Nebraska organizations -- the Native Womens Task Force, Sacred Winds United Methodist Church and Nebraskans for Peace -- concerned about violence against indigenous women will sponsor a discussion from 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at Sacred Winds UMC, 2400 S. 11th St. The event is titled Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: A service, discussion-meal and remembrance.

About 5,700 Native American and Alaskan Native women and girls were reported missing across the nation in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center. The number is probably higher, since many missing go unreported to authorities. An estimated 80% of native women have experienced violence. Nebraska ranked seventh-highest among the states for cases involving missing or slain Native American women and girls  as the Seattle-based Urban Indian Health Institute found.

Omahas 24 cases were the eighth-highest total among 71 cities studied. As the Omaha World-Herald noted, Nationwide, 25% involved missing person cases, 56% were murder cases and 19% had an unknown status.
Had Barr taken the next two years to comb through Mueller's report to determine what information should be redacted, Democrats would have a point. But that's not what happened. On April 18, the public and Congress got a chance to read Mueller's report, with only about 10 percent of it redacted.

Yes, the full report is more damning to the president than the conclusions shared in Barr's letter. It describes sordid scenes where the president asks subordinates to lie. It says Trump had advance notice of the WikiLeaks disclosure of emails stolen by Russian hackers. It shows how Trump's campaign built up a communications strategy around those stolen emails.

As Barr's letter said, "While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." As my colleague Noah Feldman has noted, Barr was only following Justice Department regulations when he issued his letter. He was not violating any procedures or rules.
Its commencement season at the University of Nebraska  a time for us to celebrate the achievements of thousands of young people who are about to start a new chapter in their lives.

I am often asked to characterize the universitys impact on the states economy. To me, theres almost no more powerful force for economic growth than the thousands of graduates Nebraskas colleges and universities produce for the workforce every year, including 11,000 students who graduate annually from the University of Nebraska.

These young people are Nebraskas future farmers and ranchers, nurses and doctors, teachers, artists and entrepreneurs. Upwards of 40 percent of them are the first in their families to attend college. Every graduating class of the University of Nebraska has a $2.4 billion impact on Nebraskas economy.

I know each diploma being handed out this week represents a story of hard work, sacrifice and opportunity. And each new graduate will be a catalyst for change for Nebraskas quality of life and economic competitiveness.

Theres just one problem: We are proud of our growth over time, but Nebraska is not producing nearly enough college graduates to solve the urgent workforce crisis facing our state.
Lincoln is a community of diverse political views, and no party holds a majority of registered voters. As a result, our leaders must be willing to work across party lines, to understand differing viewpoints and to craft consensus solutions from the best ideas of all stakeholders.

Leirion Gaylor Baird demonstrated those qualities last year, when our community addressed the safety and success of Lincoln's children.

Following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, community members asked the city and school district for a deeper partnership on student safety. However, there was significant contention on which preventative, protective and proactive programs to include, as well as how to fund them.

Leirion reached out to school board members to find common ground. She worked to unite the City Council, the Board of Education and the mayor's office. Together, we found a sustainable, consensus solution -- the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement.

Leirion's leadership, her commitment to building consensus and her love for this great community made that agreement possible. She demonstrated precisely the qualities we need in our next mayor. Please join me in electing Leirion Gaylor Baird.

Lanny Boswell, Lincoln

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RACINE  Downtown jewelry store Plumb Gold is poised to expand sideways in a unique way, into the space now held by beads and art shop Funky Hannahs.

The two adjacent businesses  Plumb Gold at 322 Main St. and Funky Hannahs at 324 Main St.  each occupy a storefront of a single, 1860s building. On Wednesday, Plumb Gold owner Austin Schultz, owner of his building, closed the purchase of the Funky Hannahs building from owner-operator Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath.

Paffrath will be closing Funky Hannahs in its current form and said she is not sure what will come next. Shes already marked down her inventory to prepare for an exit by about July 6.

If shes able to be out by then, Schultz said, he would like to open his new shop, Plumb Silver, by the next holiday season. But if the project goes later than that, it would have to wait until after the holidays.

Schultz purchase of 324 Main St. will have several outcomes, one being to reunite what was constructed as a single building  albeit with two separate storefronts  under one owner.

He will also make a doorway between the two spaces, and what is now Funky Hannahs will become a new Plumb Gold division of sorts, Plumb Silver.

The deal came about for a couple of reasons, said Paffrath and Schultz, who bought Plumb Gold from former owner Judy Olsen 3 years ago.

Were out of room, he said. I want to be able to offer our customers new things, and we just dont have anywhere to put them. So thats when I approached Amanda.

Austin talked to me about buying my building, and I was ready to do something different, Paffrath said.

But shes not yet sure what that something will be. What were saying that were doing is that were closing this location, and stay tuned for details.

Paffrath, also owner of Hot Shop Glass, 239 Wisconsin Ave., added, We have a great location at Hot Shop thats a possibility, but theres lots of possibilities.

Interesting history, she remarked, is that the second floor of that building is where Plumb Gold started.

Plumb Gold, Plumb Silver

Schultz said he didnt want to merely expand Plumb Golds footprint, but also to create something new.

The stores are going to have different personalities, he said.

Ive been trying to make Plumb Gold really welcoming and comfortable for people, Schultz continued. Before, I think  it was a little standoffish. So, (Plumb Silver) is my way of counteracting that and also putting my own stamp on a space.

He plans to put in chairs and a lounger and said, I want people to come in and just hang out. Come in and have a coffee with your friends  and we just happen to sell jewelry, or gifts.

Plumb Gold has a secured door, and customers have to be buzzed in. Plumb Silver will not, Schultz said. It will sell lower-priced merchandise than Plumb Golds, and all the silver jewelry from there will be moved over to Plumb Silver.

Keeping Downtown retail alive

It was always my dream, when I bought that business, Schultz said, to own both buildings.

I wasnt looking to sell this building, Paffrath said. I wasnt looking to retool the business  although its perfect timing to do that.

But with the movement thats happening Downtown, having somebody whos in retail, who lives locally, who wants to keep a thriving retail business and make it better, to me was a real motivating factor too.

Because I feel really strongly about having some properties being held by people who have local ties and who are interested in keeping retail alive Downtown. And thats not easy to do.

It was always my dream, when I bought that business to own both buildings  The stores are going to have different personalities. <&textAlign: right>Austin Schultz, owner of Plumb Gold and the future Plumb Silver

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RACINE  Seven months after the Wild Root Market reached one fundraising goal, it still needs to fill an approximately $1 million financing gap to be able to start renovating its building, and the group has again pushed back the project timing.

It is now going on a decade that the hoped-for food cooperative has been in the planning stage. In late 2009, a small group of people first met to talk about starting a community-owned, natural foods grocery store in the Downtown area. The impetus for their efforts came from a market study, in about 2006, for a Downtown grocery store that would emphasize natural foods.

Last Sept. 23, on its final day of member fundraising, the local food cooperative hit a milestone when it reached its $1.125 million goal in memberships and member loans. A precommitted loan from the National Cooperative Bank, for construction and equipment, was contingent on the co-op coming up with the $1.125 million in owner loans and donations.

At the time Wild Root was anticipating opening the north-side food cooperative, at 500 Walton Ave., this year.

The co-op did close on the purchase of that building in December, Wild Root Board Secretary Margie Michicich said Tuesday. The City of Racine released $175,000 of its promised project grant of up to $390,000 to help with the purchase, Michicich said.

However, per the property covenant, if Wild Root Market has not closed on its private financing by Dec. 31, Wild Root must deed the property to the city. The city would be able to sell the property in order to recoup the $175,000 grant. It has been determined that the property is worth more than $175,000.

The Wild Root board continues to work with the National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., as the primary lender for construction and equipment, Michicich said. Our primary lender wants us to have a strong cash position to ensure stability in our first year, she said.

Consequently, the Wild Root board has been talking with private, government and community entities that Michicich declined to identify as potential sources for closing the $1 million gap.

The boards goal is now to find that funding and begin renovations on the building this year, as soon as possible, she said. The expectation is that renovations will take at least six months.

Michicich said she and other Wild Root board members are cautiously optimistic about landing the needed funding to spring loose the main loan. And she said Wild Root has obtained more than 80 percent of the capital it requires.

The Wild Root Market plan

The cooperative, formed in 2011, is trying to open a full-service grocery store with 7,700 square feet of retail space, at an estimated cost of $5.2 million, in a former medical building two blocks west of the Racine Zoo. The plan includes a delicatessen and cafe, local and organic meat, eggs and produce; bulk foods; bakery; wine and beer; supplements and more. Wild Root says the grocery store will create about 50 jobs, all of which will pay above minimum wage.

Although the Wild Root Market would be member-owned, returning the profits to its members, it would be a for-profit operation that would increase the amount of property taxes paid to the city on the now-vacant building.

The co-op expects to make between $5 million and $6 million in its first year, and at least 20 percent would come from sales of products produced within 100 miles of the market.

For more information, visit wildrootmarket.coop or email info@wildrootmarket.com.

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ORLANDO, Fla.  Gateway Technical College Collegiate DECA Chapter earned several recognitions at the International College DECA Conference held recently in Orlando.

The following Gateway students received an award of excellence for placing a high score in their event: David Czuper, of Racine; Jada Peters, Taylor Arena and Angelique Ortiz, all of Kenosha; and Ailyn Castro, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.

Executive Leadership Passport Award to the Gateway DECA chapter. The Collegiate DECA Leadership Passport Program encourages local chapters and individual members to plan activities and participate in events that enhance the experiences of members. Individual Leadership Passport Awards were awarded to Gateway students Czuper, Peters and David St. Peter, of Kenosha.

Community Service Award. This award is designed to recognize Collegiate DECA chapters for civic activities performed in their community. This year students raised awareness and funds for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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DSP Dhungel suspended for suspected association with a robber

When the police division started the investigation after three of the six robbers had been arrested, Shresthas connection with Dhungel was revealed.
RACINE  The reconstruction of Three Mile Road from 150 feet east of Douglas Avenue (Highway 32) to 480 feet west of LaSalle Street is set to begin Wednesday, according to John Rooney, Racine city engineer.

The work is a joint project between Racine and Caledonia, with Racines Engineering Department overseeing the work. Waukehsa-based LaLonde Contractors was awarded the contract and is expected to finish the project by mid-August.

The road will be closed from just west of LaSalle Street to Charles Street during the project. Only westbound traffic from Charles Street in Caledonia or the quarry will be permitted on Three Mile Road to Douglas Avenue.

The western half of the project will be staged to allow westbound traffic on half of the roadway at a time.

Traffic will be able to exit businesses on the south side of Three Mile Road near Douglas Avenue by traveling west. Westbound traffic from Charles Street will be able to enter businesses on Three Mile Road.

The posted detour for eastbound traffic will be from Douglas Avenue to South Street to LaSalle Street, and the same route in reverse for westbound traffic.

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MADISON  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is raising concerns that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers gave temporary raises to workers at only state six prisons across Wisconsin, none of which are in Racine County.

Earlier this week, Evers authorized temporary raises of up to $5 an hour to workers at six prisons. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that guards and sergeants at Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun correctional institutions, as well as at the Lincoln Hills youth prison, will receive the additional pay.

While providing raises for our correctional officers is the right thing to do, cherry picking which facilities receive the benefits is fundamentally unfair and creates unnecessary animosity in a system that already needs reform, said Vos, R-Rochester. There are three corrections facilities in my district and every one of the hardworking officers deserves to be compensated for the incredibly important work that they do.

The three corrections facilities in the 63rd Assembly District, which Vos represents, are: Racine Correctional Institution on Wisconsin Street in Sturtevant; Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center on Highway C in Dover; and the Sturtevant Transitional Facility on Rayne Road.

I look forward to working with our finance members to bring forward a fair compensation package that acknowledges the hard work and dedication of our correctional workers in Racine County, Vos said.

The pay increases come at a time the state Department of Corrections is struggling to recruit and retain prison workers.

Overtime hours, turnover and vacancy rates in the states prison system rose dramatically over the last five fiscal years, according to a report state auditors released Friday.

The report underscores the DOCs ongoing struggle to find enough people willing to deal with inmates for relatively low wages. DOC Secretary-designee Kevin Carr said in a letter to auditors that unless the agency can get control of vacancies things probably wont change.

Until the vacancy rates of our institutions are decreased, overtime will continue to be the reality for many employees, he said.

The total number of paid overtime hours within DOC institutions grew 50.7% from fiscal year 2013-14 to fiscal year 2017-18, auditors found. Of the $397.5 million the state spent on DOC wages in fiscal year 2017-18, nearly $53 million, or 13%, went to cover overtime hours worked mostly by security personnel.

The 10 employees with the most paid overtime hours that year worked between 69 and 93.2 hours per week. Their earnings averaged $117,500, with $71,000 of that overtime pay.

High turnover

Playing into the overtime hours are turnover and a failure to fill vacancies.

Auditors found the turnover rate for guards grew from just under 18% in 2013-14 to 26% in 2017-18. Turnover was highest in maximum-security prisons, with Columbia Correctional Institution seeing the largest increase of about 25% from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

The turnover rate for health and social service employees saw the highest turnover rate for any type of DOC worker in both years at 24.4% and 31.7%, respectively. Nurses had a turnover rate of nearly 60%, and social workers had a turnover rate of about 54%. The report notes that DOC attributes that turnover to nurses and social workers finding more lucrative positions elsewhere.

The report also shows that DOC is struggling to fill empty positions. The vacancy rate for security personnel, including guards, more than doubled over the five fiscal years, from 6.7% to 14%. As of June 2018, the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, four prisons had vacancy rates of 20% or higher. Three of them were maximum-security institutions. The other was a minimum-security prison.

The report notes that perceptions that prison jobs arent safe and low pay are likely fueling the turnovers and vacancies.

There were more than 300 inmate-on-employee assaults or attempted assaults in each of the five years, with a high of 367 in 2015-16. As for wages, the report found Wisconsins $16.32-an-hour wage for entry-level guards in August 2018 was the second-lowest among seven Midwestern states, higher only than Indianas $16 an hour. The average entry-level pay among the seven states was $18.35 an hour.

Evers plan

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers state budget calls for spending an additional $23.8 million to implement a pay progression system for guards, sergeants and psychiatrists within DOC and the state Department of Health Services. The report notes that the budget doesnt specify amounts. Raising the starting wage for Wisconsin guards to $17.90, the median starting wage for guards in surrounding states, would cost about $30 million, the report indicates.

DOC is attempting to retain workers through training academies at six institutions where guard applicants work alongside guards and job fairs at its prisons, auditors noted.

They recommended DOC evaluate the effectiveness of the training academies, job fairs and potential pay progressions and report findings to the Legislatures Joint Audit Committee by March. Carr said in his letter he looks forward to providing the committee with details on the agencys follow-up to the report.

Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, co-chairman of the audit committee, said in a statement that DOC needs better data to determine the effectiveness of its worker retention programs.

The goal is still to reduce staffing vacancies, turnover and instances of excessive overtime, Cowles said. Doing this would not only result in cost savings, but ultimately a safer work environment.

Christina Lieffring of The Journal Times contributed to this report.

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- A Facebook page named Kren Austria received intense public online bashing

- The Facebook page is believed to be managed by the trending daughter who slapped her mother with a slipper

- Maria Magdalena Austria, Kren's mother also left a comment in the Facebook Page

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Amidst the bashing and online backlash, an apologetic message was posted by a 'Kren Austria' Facebook page. Netizens were convinced that the account was legit especially with Maria Magdalena Austria commenting on it.

Kren Austria was the daughter of Maria Magdalena Austria who took the Filipino netizens by storm when she asked for Raffy Tulfo's help.

The old lady went to Raffy Tulfo because she wanted to fix her relationship with her two daughters. They were also living with her in her house.

She emotionally shared how her younger daughter Kren slapped her with a slipper. When they finally got to talk to sort things out, the older sister Irish said she was willing to settle their feud. The younger sister, however, earned more hatred from the netizens when her mom hugged her but she seemed not to care at all.

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She did not hug her mother back. A 'Kren Austria' Facebook page was made recently. Based on the posts it was made by Kren herself because she deactivated her private account.

"I created a public FB account, but then it was disabled by Facebook. I deactivated my private account to protect my privacy. Let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry and please stop spreading hatred. Thank you!"

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

With the intense online reactions, Kren's employment could get affected especially with the netizens sending messages of protests to the company she is working with.

'Kren Austria' Facebook page receives public backlash

Source: Facebook

In the comment section, a message from Austria Maria Magdalena read, "To all....naintintihan ko po kayo, as a mother, kaya po pang unawa sa bawat isa sa amin ang pangyayari ito. Siguro pagsubok ito sa amin at nalusutan namin. Dios pa rin ang nangibabaw at nagtagumpay. God is good to all of us. I need your pang unawa nlng. God bless to all...I love you all....salamat po."

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Working through my ignorance with your help.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has introduced The Peoples Budget.

So its no surprise the most recent Marquette poll showed that 70 percent of Wisconsinites support the Medicaid expansion  a cornerstone of the governors budget proposal.

Unfortunately, since 2014 Republicans have refused to do the right thing and accept these funds. Let me give you a quick reminder about the positive impacts Medicaid expansion would have on our state.

Over 80,000 people across Wisconsin would gain access to affordable health coverage under BadgerCare. Insuring more people means healthier families and a healthier workforce.

Accepting the expansion is also the fiscally responsible thing to do for our state. It would save $324 million dollars for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Medicaid expansion also helps address the opioid crisis. Low-income adults are an especially high-risk population that are more likely to be uninsured and vulnerable to opioid abuse. Governor Evers budget proposes assisting all individuals in crisis, including those in need of substance abuse treatment.

Finally, Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do for our rural communities. Studies have proven there is a direct correlation between states that have expanded Medicaid and the ability of rural hospitals to stay open in those states due to increased reimbursement rates.

While Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion at every turn, its never too late to do the right thing.

Wisconsin Democrats stand with the people of Wisconsin who overwhelmingly want us to accept the Medicaid expansion.

Democrat Dianne Hesselbein, Middleton, represents the 79th state Assembly District.

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With shiny brown eyes, a glossy tan coat and a sleek physique, Belgian Malinois Tasja is a canine beauty with an elite pedigree. She is also a crime- fighting force in the La Crosse community.

With her striking visage, mental sharpness and impeccable physicality, Tasja was the perfect choice for the Vohne Liche Kennels and Kinetic Performance Dog Food K-9 of the Year, winning a year supply of kibble and bragging rights for both the diligent dog and partner Joshua Czys, investigator for the town of Campbell Police Department.

Their photo submission will also be featured in Kinetic and Vohne Liche media and marketing materials for the duration of the year.

We got another group of amazing entries this year, said Dave Dourson, co-owner of Kinetic Performance Dog Food. Teams like Investigator Czys and Tasja are great examples of why Vohne Liche is known as one of the best in the business when it comes to working police and military K-9 dogs and training.

We were excited. Its cool, Czys said of winning the nationwide contest.

Czys and Tasja graduated from Vohne Liche, an Indiana based K-9 training facility for police and military service dogs, in 2013.

She was sworn in at the Campbell Police Department in 2016 after community members raised the funds to purchase Tasja, previously owned by the Adams County Sheriffs Department, for the local force. The 7-year-old dog was trained in handler protection, finding drugs and evidence and locating missing people at Von Liche, founded in 1993 by U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Kenneth Licklider and staffed by 24 trainers of military or law enforcement backgrounds.

Investigator Czys and Tasja are a veteran K-9 team with years of great service together, said Vohne Liche owner Ken Licklider. Its great to see these guys looking fit and still serving strong years after we first introduced them here at our kennel.

Canine graduates have gone on to serve at more than 5,000 agencies including the Pentagon, National Security Agency and U.S. State Department, U.S. Army and more than 500 other U.S. government, police, military and civilian agencies. In addition to assisting in narcotics and patrol, Tasja also works with the SWAT unit.

With the Campbell Police Department funded through donations, Czys says the free dog food prize will save the department about $1,000. The hardworking dog, however, is priceless.

Shes trustworthy, Czys said of his canine partner. Shes fearless and reliable.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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A multifamily dwelling was left with minor smoke and fire damage after flames broke out Friday morning.

The La Crosse Fire Department was called to 704 Division St. at 7:31 a.m. Friday for reports of a possible fire.

Fire crews arrived in less than two minutes and found smoke and flames coming from a stairwell doorway leading to a second-floor apartment. The fire was quickly extinguished and all residents were safely evacuated, firefighters said, with one resident evaluated and released by Tri State Ambulance at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

Damage was confined to a stairwell, door threshold and steps, firefighters said, and extensive ventilation of smoke from the basement and two apartments was required.

Firefighters determined careless use of smoking materials caused the fire. The La Crosse Fire Department received assistance from La Crosse police.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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This key and this fire truck are both in the artifact collection of La Crosse County Historical Society.

While small, the key is certainly not the smallest item in the collection, but the fire truck is one of the biggest. Probably Historic Hixon House itself is the only thing that could be considered bigger.

A relatively large key, 5.5 inches long, it folds in half for convenience  not a feature we often see on keys these days. But handy for keeping it safely in a pocket.

Its been in the collection for a very long time: so long, the documentation about who donated it has been lost.

But we know it was a key to the old La Crosse Courthouse because it still has its original tag, with very old writing in script that has turned sepia with age, reading key to court house square, please return to Central Police Station.

We presume this refers to the La Crosse County Courthouse, which opened in 1904 and was torn down in 1965.

The fire truck is a chain-driven 1922 American La France pumper ladder truck, used by the La Crosse Fire Department.

This truck was actually maintained and used as a back-up until 1962, when the Southside Businessmens Club bought it for $250 and donated it to the Historical Society.

A few years ago, it was on display in our exhibit All Fired Up: The History of Firefighting in La Crosse.

At that time a retired firefighter told me he remembered riding in the open back of this truck and bouncing down city streets like the keystone cops. He was the last of a generation of firefighters who rode on the outside of their vehicles. Im sure its safer this way, but possibly not as much fun.

In terms of size, the key and the fire truck represent two extremes of the roughly 10,000 local historic artifacts that LCHS preserves and shares with the people of this region.

Proper storage and cataloging are priorities, and we share our treasures as best we can: at our house museum, Historic Hixon House; at our small local history museum in Riverside Park, Riverside Museum; in our online database; and every Saturday through this newspaper column.

Despite our name, LCHS is not a part of any branch of government: we are a private non-profit corporation and have been 1898.

We are very grateful for the $18,100 grant we receive every year from the La Crosse County commissioners, but as you can imagine, it doesnt begin to cover our costs.

From year to year we are dependent on our members and donors to fill in the gaps left by grants and museum admissions, and do more with less. Our computers are second hand, our staff of 2.5 receive no benefits, and there are no stipends for devoted volunteers who give guided tours or make Silent City possible year after year.

So why am I telling you all this in a Things That Matter column?

Because people keep asking me what we are raising money for. It is to keep our doors open, and to keep people caring for our artifacts. La Crosse County Historical Society is a public trust: we collect, preserve and share these artifacts on behalf of you, the people of La Crosse County.

We pay for core mission support through memberships, appeals and events. I cannot overemphasize the importance of membership. Members receive free admission to Hixon House and they stay abreast of LCHS events through an excellent quarterly newsletter that also publishes well-researched articles on local history. We are a member-governed organization, with the membership electing our board of directors.

LCHS members are engaged with our goal of creating a new local history and cultural center for the region, where we will have the opportunity to display many more of our historic treasures and share stories with more people. We are eager to be able to display more cool things, such as fire trucks and memorabilia from the old Courthouse.

Membership is easy to do and isnt expensive: individual membership is just $35. You can join or make a donation from our website, lchshistory.org, or you can call our office at 608-782-1980 for more information on this, as well as on our museum and event schedules.

Have a historic day.

Peggy Derrick is executive director of the La Crosse County Historical Society.

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Fall in imports, bird flu scare drive up price of goat meat

Goat meat has become dearer by around Rs150 per kg in the Kathmandu Valley over the past month, mainly due to a fall in imports of live animals from India and a surge in demand caused by consumers switching to goat from chicken over a bird flu scare.
FOUNTAIN CITY  Karl Hoffmann wanted $100 for the cast iron, claw-foot tub he bought last year while Up North near his cottage in Crivitz.

The chamber pot he found at a resale shop had a $10 sticker, but the three remaining 7-week-old kittens in the nearby carrier were free.

Meanwhile, Nellie, a pregnant and plump 6-year-old golden lab, waddled her way up and down the sidewalk here where Hoffman was having a garage sale.

In a few months, Nellies litter will also be up for sale at $325 a pooch.

I should have a sign on her back, Hoffmann joked about Nellie, who is expecting 11 puppies. Shes a great duck retriever.

The weird, unusual, living and vintage are all on display  and for sale  this weekend with the spring ritual known as the 100 Mile Garage Sale. Many towns, villages, cities and neighborhoods set aside specific dates throughout the spring and summer in an effort to group together sales and maximize the crowds.

But along both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sides of the Mississippi River this weekend, 22 communities have joined together to create a string of sales, many of them just feet away from the passing traffic on the Great River Road.

On Highway 61 from Hastings to Winona, Minnesota, and on Highway 35 from Prescott south to Fountain City, Wisconsin, the four-day event that roughly circles Lake Pepin brings thousands of people to the region that is punctuated with bluffs, barges, passing trains and historic buildings.

Residents along both sides of the river have always had garage sales, but according to Pat Mutter, executive director of Visit Winona, Minnesota, around 2005 the first weekend of May became the official event and was dubbed The 100 Mile Garage Sale. The title plays off of 100 Miles of Friends, a collection of about 15 communities that promote themselves through an umbrella organization, Mississippi Valley Partners. That organization puts together a comprehensive website that lists scores of sales, their addresses and brief descriptions of the inventory.

Each year it really changes, Mutter said when asked about the size and scope of the event. I mean, we get people from around the United States who come to this.

And some of those visitors arent just buying.

Bonna Schultz came from Gwinner, North Dakota, with a truckload of clothing to sell at a family sale in a rural subdivision between Buffalo City and Fountain City. The family has been doing a sale for about 15 years, and Schultz was quick to pull out her smart phone to show off pictures from 2013 when the sale was blanketed in wet snow.

It was actually a good sale because a lot of people wanted to get out after the snow, Schultz said.

The 70-mile Rummage Along the River set for May 17-18 For those who missed this weekend's 100 Mile Garage Sale or didn't get their fill, there's another major sale, only this one is south of La Crosse. The 9th annual Rummage Along the River is a 70 mile garage sale event on May 17 and 18 along Highway 35, also known as the Great River Road. The event features a wide range of sales in Stoddard, Genoa, Bad Axe, Victory, De Soto, Ferryville, Lynxville and points in between. Seneca and Mount Sterling on Highway 27 northeast of Lynxsville are also taking part. Information about the sales can be found at www.rummagealongtheriver.com and the event's Facebook page. Maps for the sales will be placed on-line on May 16 while gas stations and convenience stores, some bait shops and select village offices will also have the maps.

Her familys driveway included a CB radio, a red, three-piece set of American Tourister luggage, five waist-high vases and a Sun-Mar composting toilet thats never been used.

We had an offer of $300 on it, said Jerry Axvig, of Moorehead, Minnesota. It would be great for a hunting shack.

Next door, Paul and Cindy Lorenz, of Fountain City, were just hoping to make enough money to pay off the $150 plumbing bill they incurred the previous weekend while setting up the sale at their sons home. Paul thought he could easily replace the outdoor faucet so he could wash off a few dog transport crates and a bike he had stored in a barn but he broke the faucet off at the pipe. Thankfully the water had been turned off.

I think Im almost even, Paul said Thursday morning shortly after selling $85 in fishing lures. Its not bad for a couple of hours of work.

Back in Fountain City, Frances Burt and her husband have an old lumber yard building stuffed with old tools, signs, outboard motors, vintage soda and beer bottles and even an A&W toboggan. There are buckets of nails, thousands of car parts and plastic bottles filled with small agates.

Wed actually like to sell the building, said Burt, 81.

The couple will also likely, someday, sell one of the Great River Roads more unusual roadside attractions. Burt and her husband, John, 86, who is in declining health, own the Rock in the House. In 1995, a 55-ton boulder broke loose from the hillside and crashed into the bedroom of Maxine and Dwight Anderson. The couple escaped death and sold the home to the Burts a few months later.

The first year the Burts owned the house, 20,000 people visited. Last year, about 3,000 people paid $2 to get a glimpse at the rock that remains embedded in the house that fronts Highway 35 on Fountain Citys north side.

Were trying to downsize, Frances Burt said.

In Alma, where the bluffs have contained the community into a two-block-wide, seven-mile-long city, history mixed with rummage.

In a cinder-block garage that at one time was used to store appliances and hardware for a local store, tables filled with items lined the buildings interior. Windows in the back offered views of the swelling river and the occasional passing freight train. Other items spilled out onto the sidewalk and into the street, including a box of sweaters for $2 each, 25-cent Christmas decorations and an old metal bed spring.

A bin also held a few dozen wooden yardsticks including some from the Bank of Mondovi, Gilmanton Co-op Creamery and the Lincoln Lumber Company in West Allis. They were all priced at $1 each but others inside were $5 apiece because of their outdated telephone numbers. The Goodrich Lumber & Coal Co. in Durand, for example, had a phone number of 28.

Robin Becker owns the building and seven others in the city and used two personal days from her job as a teacher in Eau Claire to run the sale on Thursday and Friday. Last year, she made $3,000 over the four-day event.

We were setting up last weekend and people were stopping, Becker said. I had sales starting at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Its been crazy.

One of the neatest settings was just up the street where Gina Dyess used the old Heise Grainery barn, constructed in 1862, to hold her sale. The building still has its original wood floor and the pulley system in the rafters used to pull grain from wagons. Modern Mylar balloons with long strings, and purposefully let loose by Dyess, dotted the ceiling to discourage bats.

Her inventory, like most, was a melange of items. However, one stood out. She was asking $125 for a Victrola from the Victor Talking Machine Co. in New Jersey. The price includes a small collection of records, one featuring the song Theres a Little White House on a Little Green Hill performed by the Cadillac Orchestra.

It gets really busy, Dyess said of the weekend sale. Whatever youre not looking for, you can find.

Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

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They're big, they're burly -- and they're baaaaack.

We're talking about basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, and they've been spotted all over the coast of Southern California for the first time in decades.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are reporting dozens of basking shark sightings from Ventura and the Santa Barbara Channel, all the way to Los Angeles and the Channel Islands.

Basking sharks can grow up to 30 feet long -- almost the size of your average Metro bus -- and boast a mouth that can stretch open to more than 3 feet wide. (Lucky for us they eat plankton, not people.)

While they're found pretty much all over the world, especially off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, basking sharks are a fairly rare sight in Southern California.

In the 1950s and '60s, boaters and fishermen reportedly spotted them in the hundreds or thousands, They've since all but disappeared -- until now..

"It's a pretty big deal," said NOAA fisheries biologist Heidi Dewar, who is part of the team that's now keeping a close eye on the sharks. "Time will tell if this is a one-off rebound or a real comeback."

No one is quite sure why basking sharks seemed to disappear, but Dewar said there's strong evidence that, locally, many of them became victims of commercial fishing bycatch. They were also targeted eradication efforts against populations of basking sharks in British Columbia to keep them out of salmon fishing nets.

Fortunately for the sharks, things have changed quite a bit since then. In 1994, California banned gill and trammel net fishing within three nautical miles of the state's coastline, and that zone appears to make up a good portion of the sharks' preferred feeding grounds.

A basking shark spotted by NOAA researchers near Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

Dr. Chris Lowe with the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach agreed that the latest sightings appear to be a good sign, but noted that it could also just be another indicator of climate change.

Warming ocean temperatures and recent marine heatwaves are causing plankton and other microorganisms to slowly shift north up the West Coast, bringing the larger animals that feed on them (e.g.: basking sharks) with them.

"Ultimately, what we don't know is why they show up at certain places at certain times," Lowe said.

That knowledge gap is largely due to the fact that scientists simply haven't had the opportunity to properly study their range in the Pacific or what their regular offshore habitats look like. And because it's been so long since one of them was spotted, data collection on basking sharks in California has been sporadic and inconsistent over the years.

"It was, honestly, off my radar that we used to have basking sharks off California," Dewar said.

NOAA researchers follow a basking shark for satellite tagging off Santa Cruz Island (Pike Spector/NOAA)

But with more basking sharks popping up in recent weeks, NOAA is now actively maintaining a database of those sightings -- and they're asking anyone who sees one to let them know.

"We can take that data and link it to environmental conditions that day and try to get a better sense of what their preferred habitat is or even get a boat out on the water to catch up with them and put a satellite tag on them," Dewar said.

So if you do spot a basking shark, help a scientist out and call NOAA's basking shark hotline at (858) 334-2884 or send an email to basking.shark@noaa.gov.
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A charter school in South Los Angeles, whose future was already in doubt, has taken the unusual step of ending its school year a month early before ceasing operations for good.

Friday was the last day of classes at Summit Preparatory Charter School, which originally planned to end its school year on June 7. The charter enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood.

Summit Prep parents have known about the closure for about a month.

On April 2, the L.A. Unified School Board voted against renewing Summit Prep's charter. Later the same day, with the school already running a deficit, Summit Prep's leaders decided to begin the process of shutting it down.

Summit Prep students have technically already clocked a complete school year; they've met a state minimum for instructional time, the school's founder and executive director Arianna Haut said.

"We will continue to work with our families to ensure our students are enrolled in schools for next year," Haut said in a statement. "With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to a community that welcomed us."

While Summit Prep's closure isn't exactly sudden, for a charter school to close this early is rare.

In the past two decades, state data shows that 135 charter schools have closed in L.A. County. But the vast majority closed in June or July -- likely after the school year ended. Before Summit Prep, just 13 charter schools closed between October and May.

Every three to five years, charter schools must apply for renewals from the "authorizer" that regulates and oversees them -- often, the local school district in which they operate. LAUSD officials asked school board members to deny Summit Prep's renewal application, citing concerns with the school's financial and academic track record.

Last school year, nearly one-quarter of Summit Prep's students were at-risk or long-term English learners. District officials said only 1.1 percent of the school's English learners had been "reclassified" as English-proficient -- far lower than other area schools.

"That number matters," said Ed Lin, president of Summit Prep's governing board, in an emotional interview. "We would've liked to have a chance to address it." (The school had developed an action plan to improve its English learner metrics.)

Summit Preparatory Charter School enrolled around 250 students in grades 4 through 8 and operated in a wing of an L.A. Unified middle school in the South Park neighborhood. (Kyle Stokes/KPCC)

Summit Prep leaders could have appealed the LAUSD board's April 2 vote on its petition to renew its charter for five years, and sought a new charter from either county or state officials.

But Lin said the LAUSD board's non-renewal vote jeopardized a short-term loan the school was counting on in order to continue operations. Summit Prep had a projected net income of $275,000 this year -- but that still left the school with negative net assets of around $310,000.

"There's no way we could've gone all the way to June," Lin said. "We would be so far into the red that it would be irresponsible. This is the best plan we could come up with."

"Is it what we wanted? No," Lin added. "We wanted to finish out the school year."

Donations to a GoFundMe page for Summit Prep, which Haut posted shortly after the decision to close last month, netted just under $15,000 for the school, Haut said. Those donations -- coupled with an early closing date and selling off school equipment -- should allow Summit Prep to settle all of its existing expenses, including staff payroll before it closes its doors.

Summit Prep's shutdown has raised eyebrows among critics of charter schools. Teachers unions in particular see charters as existential threats to the finances of traditional, district-run public schools.

Prominent charter critic Diane Ravitch posted a write-up about the early closure on her widely-read blog.

The post noted that Summit Prep claimed space on an LAUSD campus under the state law known as Prop. 39, which entitles charter schools to operate on district-run campuses at minimal cost. These "co-locations" sometimes force the LAUSD host school to give up computer labs, music rooms and parent centers for the charter school's use.

"Nothing, I mean nothing," the blog post quoted an LAUSD teacher as saying, "is worse to me than lying to immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much to get to this country, to give their children a better life."

An exasperated-sounding Lin, who was a founding board member of Summit Prep, said that criticism of charter schools has gotten out of hand -- particularly after January's L.A. teachers strike.

"I passionately believe in public education," Lin said. "The treatment we've received from LAUSD, and from the public ... it's ridiculous. We're members of this community trying to do a good thing."
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An Orange County infant who was too young to be vaccinated is hospitalized with measles, OC health officials announced Saturday. That latest case became public hours after UC Irvine officials said a graduate student who spent time on campus this week had also been confirmed to have the highly-contagious disease.

The student, identified as a man who lives in Long Beach, did not need hospitalization and is currently quarantined at his home, officials said. Orange County health officials said he had been vaccinated and had no history of international travel.

Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis said the man is among some 3% of people who still contract measles despite being vaccinated. The good news is that those people typically suffer less severe symptoms and also are not as contagious to others.

Here's What You Need To Know About Measles, As The Outbreak Continues To Grow

The man had spent extensive time in public before his diagnosis, including at a movie theatre, grocery stores and wine bars in Long Beach, according to information released by health officials.

L.A. County officials also named some of the region's most popular tourist destinations as having been visited by a local person now known to have been contagious, including The Grove, L.A. Farmers Market and the La Brea Tar Pits. [Details below.]

L.A. County officials on Saturday also said another person infected with measles recently traveled through the area. They did not offer any additional details about that individual. To date this year, L.A. County has reported eight cases in residents and another six non-resident cases.

The majority of the people who had measles had not been vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Orange County had announced its first case of measles this year, a Placentia woman in her 20s who became infected while traveling internationally. She went to the movies in Fullerton while contagious, according to health officials.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE INFANT

OC health officials said the baby has "no history of international travel." They did not give a specific age for the infant, who was cared for at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) emergency department.

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a child get the first dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine when they are between 12 months and 15 months. A child who is traveling internationally should get the first vaccination at 6 months of age, health officials recommend.

OC officials said the infant was infectious while being cared for at CHOC's emergency department at these dates and times:

Sunday, April 28, 7 - 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, 9:30 p.m. through Wednesday, May 1 at 12:15 a.m.

Thursday, May 2, 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

One of the key reasons public health officials say vaccination is important has to do with a concept known as herd immunity. If enough people are vaccinated -- typically at least 90 to 95% of the population in cases of highly contagious diseases such as measles -- that effectively protects those who cannot be vaccinated like infants or people who have compromised immune systems by limiting the spread of the disease.

UCI CASE

In an announcement released to the UC Irvine community Saturday morning, Chancellor Howard Gillman said the university had been "informed that the student attended classes or was present while contagious."

The latest case comes after concerns about the spread of measles on two campuses in Los Angeles County, Cal State Los Angeles and UCLA, led health officials to quarantine hundreds of students until the period for signs of new infections passed earlier this week.

As of Thursday, state health officials reported 40 people in California have been diagnosed with measles so far this year. Most were unvaccinated. The number is already twice the reported cases in all of 2018.

Nationwide, a number of large outbreaks have propelled the number of measles case over 700, already more than in 2014 when an outbreak tied to Disneyland led to a renewed vaccination push and stricter rules on exemptions in California.

The trend is concerning to many public health officials who point out measles had once become so rare in the U.S. that the disease was considered eliminated in 2000.

WHERE THE GRAD STUDENT WENT

Gillman provided a list of places where the student came in contact with others on the campus:

Monday, April 29: Humanities Instructional Building 100, 10 a.m.-noon Krieger Hall, Classic Dept. 4th Floor, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Humanities Hall 112, 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2, UCI Student Health Center, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Dr. Albert Cheng, of the UCI student health department, said they'd worked to evaluate if students who came in contact with the infected man had immunizations or lab work to show immunity.

If not, he said they're working to reach out.

Gillman said some students who may have come in contact with the contagious person had already been cleared. He described the number of people on campus who did not have vaccinations as a "small percentage."

"I want to assure you that campus health experts have been working closely with local public health officials to ensure that notifications are made and proper care is provided to all who might be affected," he wrote. "We are currently notifying students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed, providing them with information about treatment and prevention."

In addition to the places on campus, OC health officials provided the following locations in Fullerton the man visited on Friday, May 3:

The Pickled Monk, 1:45 - 3:30 p.m.

Brick Basement Antiques, 2:40 - 4 p.m.

Buffalo Exchange, 3 - 4:15 p.m.

8Eightyeight Cigar, 3:15 - 5 p.m.

He also said the student will remain at home, which is in Los Angeles County.

Long Beach health officials also released a list of locations the man had visited in his home city:

Sunday, April 28: Pizzanista, 1837 E 7th St, 5:30- 7:00 p.m. Total Wine, 7400 Carson Blvd, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, Susan European Dressmaker, 3319 E 7th St, 5 -7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1: Art du Vin Wine Bar, 2027 E 4th St, 8 -10 p.m. Ralph's, 2930 E 4th St, 2 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2: Ralph's, 6290 Pacific Coast Highway, 3- 6:30 p.m. AMC Marina Pacifica, 6346 E PCH, 6- 10 p.m.

Friday, May 3, Broadway Carwash,4000 E Broadway, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

L.A. County offered this list of public places visited by a person infected with measles. They did not specify which case, the Long Beach resident or the non-resident individual, the exposures are tied to:



Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28, Farmer's Daughter Hotel 115 S Fairfax Ave

Also on Saturday, April 27: Peet's Coffee, 3rd & Fairfax, 9 a.m. - noon Fratelli's Cafe, 7200 Melrose Ave, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. TART Restaurant (located in Farmer's Daughter Hotel), 5 -8 p.m. The Grove, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles Farmer's Market, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Paper Source, 3rd & Fairfax, 4 - 6 p.m. Whole Food's (Fairfax) 6350 W 3rd St., 8 - 11 p.m. La Brea Tarpits, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30, LAX International Terminal, 7:45 - 11:45 p.m.

Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1, LAX Employee Shuttle, unclear time and 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1,LAX International Terminal, 7:10 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

ANOTHER OC CASE

Earlier this week, Orange County health officials announced a confirmed case of measles in a county resident who was infected while traveling internationally.

Places where that person, identified as a Placentia resident in her 20s, could have come in contact with others while contagious are:

Tuesday - Thursday, April 23-25, 5 Hutton Centre Dr., Santa Ana, 7:45 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. daily

Thursday- Friday, April 25-26, AMC Movie Theatre, 1001 S. Lemon St., Fullerton, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Saturday, April 27, St. Jude Emergency Department, 7-9 a.m.

THE LATEST FROM LA COUNTY

In Los Angeles County, officials this week announced a seventh confirmed measles case on Tuesday.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting that day, Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer warned that there will likely be more cases.

And she cautioned that although most people who get measles get a high fever and a rash all over their body and recover, there is a small risk of much more serious harm.

"It does cause and can cause very serious illness," she said, "including brain swelling, deafness, pneumonia, and death."

That's why she and other health officials are urging everyone to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date.

Megan Garvey and Michelle Faust Raghavan contributed to this report

UPDATES:

11:45 p.m.: This article updated with additional details about the new L.A. County cases and locations where the public was exposed.

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details about vaccinated people still contracting the measles.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the case of the infant in Orange County as well as additional details about where the UCI student had been while contagious.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
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Congresswoman Barragan Hosted Town Hall Meeting on Compton Potholes

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44) hosted a community town hall regarding residents concerns over the growing number of potholes in Compton. During the town hall, Rep. Barragan questioned panelists from the state, county and city regarding funding sources, including Measure P and the progress of street repairs in Compton and Unincorporated Compton. Although street repairs are the responsibility of state and local officials, it is among the top issues reported to our office. As a result, constituents received some transparency on sources of funding and spending, and were also given the opportunity to ask questions about the status of repaving their roads.

Panelists included Compton City Manager Cecil Rhambo, Compton Public Works Director Wendell Johnson, LA County Public Works District Engineer Dai Bui and Caltrans Deputy District 7 Director Paul Marquez.

For years, potholes in the City of Compton and Unincorporated Compton have damaged residents vehicles, caused people to get in or near accidents and made it difficult for first responders to rapidly address emergencies.

ADVERTISEMENT

This issue has been years in the making due to the mismanagement of the citys funds and a lack of an organized schedule to repave the roads, said Rep. Barragan. I will continue working to ensure our roads are safe for my constituents and our first responders.

To report a pothole, residents are encouraged to call our office at (310) 831-1799 or email [email protected].

Live stream of the town call can be found here.

Photos of the town hall can be found here.
One of my all-time favorite Westerns -- indeed, one of my favorite movies -- has just been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber That movie is BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), the second collaboration between star James Stewart and director Anthony Mann BEND OF THE RIVER has a well-written screenplay by Borden Chase based on the novel BEND OF THE SNAKE by Bill Gulick. It's the story of Glynn McLyntock (Stewart), a man with a violent past seeking to reform and live a new life with a group of settlers in Oregon.McLyntock meets Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) when he saves him from a lynch mob. Cole, like McLyntock, has a dark past. Cole is initially helpful to McLyntock, whether battling Indians or retrieving stolen supplies, but although Cole wins the love of Laura ( Julie Adams ), one of the settlers, he still finds himself tempted off the straight and narrow.This is a marvelous film in every respect, with a great cast in a well-paced 91-minute story. It was a particular pleasure having the chance to see it shortly after watching Stewart and Mann's first Western, WINCHESTER '73 (1950), at this month's TCM Classic Film Festival . I wrote about the WINCHESTER '73 screening for Classic Movie Hub In both films Stewart plays a tough man who balances tenderness and gallantry with sadness and bitter anger. We see his affection for Laura in the ways he watches her when she's not looking; he's a man with deep, unspoken feelings who's capable of not only love but deep hurt. His "You'll be seein' me" when betrayed by a friend conveys pain but is also downright chilling.Stewart is matched by Kennedy as a man who can't quite make up his mind what he wants and whether to be bad or good. Kennedy and Stewart have many wryly funny moments together as well as darker dramatic scenes. Watching two very similar men struggle and ultimately chart different paths is part of what makes the film so interesting.I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes to flesh out Julie Adams' character, who goes through some interesting transitions which could have been presented with more depth. That's really my only criticism of the film. Rock Hudson is charming in the third lead as Trey Wilson, a gambler who throws in his lot with McLyntock and Cole when trouble brews in town. He has a cute courtship of Laura's younger sister Marjie (Lori Nelson) and is delightful to have on hand.Also in the excellent cast: Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Howard Petrie, Jack Lambert, Frances Bavier, Frank Ferguson, and Lillian Randolph. I especially enjoy the sweet relationship between Chubby Johnson as a paddlewheeler captain and Stepin Fetchit as his helper; though Fetchit at times speaks in stereotypical fashion, I find that aspect is offset by the depth of the loving friendship between Johnson and Fetchit's characters. The movie was shot in Technicolor by Irving Glassberg , shown off nicely via Kino's attractive Blu-ray.Extras include a typically solid commentary by Toby Roan of 50 Westerns From the 50s , who shares the background of all the players as well as some of the difficulties faced by the company shooting at remote locations in Oregon. The disc also includes the trailer, as well as five additional trailers for Westerns available from Kino Lorber.For a bit more on this film, I wrote about seeing it at the Egyptian Theatre with star Julie Adams present in 2011 , along with a more cursory post way back in 2006 BEND OF THE RIVER is a film I go back to time and again, always finding something new to appreciate. Highly recommended.
Opposition parties disrupt Provincial Assembly meeting

The NCP and NC criticised the ruling parties for appointing their activists only while forming committee in all eight districts.
Saturday, May 4, 2019





Structural Tools of Settler Colonialism by Carrie Rosenbaum, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming

Abstract

The systems of immigration and criminal law come together in many important ways, one of which being their role in instilling difference and undermining inclusion and integration. In this article, I will begin a discussion examining the concept of integration, simplistically described as inclusion into American life, not in the more traversed realm of citizenship, but in the context of crimmigration. I posit that when considering the relationship between those who are formally considered integrated versus other, or outsider, which may or may not overlap with immigration status, the accepted concept of integration is misguided at best. Instead, if the concept of integration is framed as an epistemological tool of settler colonialism, the construction of race provides a more fruitful line of inquiry.



There remains a divide in United States civil society, where people racialized as nonwhite do not have the same lived experience as people racialized as white. Similarly, identity, or the perception of race, play a role in the criminal justice system, wherein people racialized as nonwhite are disproportionately incarcerated. These two problems are mutually reinforcing  being poor increases the chances of being incarcerated, while being a person racialized as nonwhite is part of the equation in socio-economic standing and the likelihood of experiencing incarceration. Achieving socio-economic parity with people racialized as white has generally been considered a hallmark of what over-simplistically, and even dangerously, is characterized as integration.



These problems are replicated in and by the crimmigration system. Just as people racialized as nonwhite are more likely to be relatively socio-economically poor and more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, immigrants racialized as nonwhite face these same challenges. The effects of racialization are significant, and the mechanisms purportedly designed to reverse, erase, or change these dynamics have failed immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite. There is a longstanding myth that in a democratic society, such as the United States, everyone has the opportunity, the path, and maybe even a right to strive to and achieve integration. Becoming a naturalized United States citizen is a symbol or marker of such achievement, although it is superficial and still limited with respect to full membership and integration. Citizenship does not elevate one above the caste system of racialized hierarchy. The failure of integration is evidenced by the reality that immigrants and citizens racialized as nonwhite do not obtain the socio-economic successes of the dominant class.



This article will propose that the promise of integration is a myth. Even more than a false promise, the concept of integration itself erases the historical racialized institutional infrastructure that is responsible for the falseness of this promise. Crimmigration is a piece of this larger puzzle.



Derrick Bells consideration of racial realism and theories of settler colonialism will be explored here to propose a theory of why the offer of integration is disingenuous and a promise never intended to be fulfilled. Settler colonialism is a continuing form of nation building, whereby settlers fortify the dominant culture, removing and replacing communities with constructed ones. (While racism predates colonialism, it plays a leading role in settler colonialism.) These methodologies also help explain why and how crimmigration is an extension of settler colonialism and is responsible for reinforcing racialized differences and the impossibility (and perhaps undesirability) of integration. While the theoretical tool of integration provides some insight into the relationship between racialization and the roles of the criminal justice and crimmigration systems, broadening the lens to examine crimmigration via the methodologies of racial realism and settler colonialism exposes the flaws in the integrationist paradigm.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/05/immigration-article-of-the-day-crimmigration-structural-tools-of-settler-colonialism-by-carrie-rosen.html


Today we tell a traditional American story called a "tall tale." A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated  much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories.



Pecos Bill was a larger than life hero of the American West. No one knows who first told stories about Pecos Bill. Cowboys may have invented the stories. Others say Edward O'Reilly invented the character in stories he wrote for the Century Magazine in the early 1900s. The stories were collected in a book called "The Saga of Pecos Bill," published in 1923.



Another writer, James Cloyd Bowman, wrote an award-winning children's book called "Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time." The book won the Newbery Honor in 1938.



Pecos Bill was not a historical person. But he does represent the spirit of early settlers in the American West. His unusual childhood and extraordinary actions tell about people who believed there were no limits to what they could do. Now, here is Barbara Klein with our story.



Pecos Bill had one of the strangest childhoods a boy ever had. It all started after his father decided that there was no longer enough room in east Texas for his family.



"Pack up, Ma!" he cried. "Neighbors movin' in 50 miles away! It's getting too crowded!"



So they loaded up a wagon with all their things. Now some say they had 15 children while others say 18. However many there were, the children were louder than thunder. And as they set off across the wild country of west Texas, their mother and father could hardly hear a thing.

Now, as they came to the Pecos River, the wagon hit a big rock. The force threw little Bill out of the wagon and he landed on the sandy ground. Mother did not know Bill was gone until she gathered the children for the midday meal. Mother set off with some of the children to look for Bill, but they could find no sign of him.



Well, some people say Bill was just a baby when his family lost him. Others say he was four years old. But all agree that a group of animals called coyotes found Bill and raised him. Bill did all the things those animals did, like chase lizards and howl at the moon. He became as good a coyote as any.

Now, Bill spent 17 years living like a coyote until one day a cowboy rode by on his horse. Some say the cowboy was one of Bill's brothers. Whoever he was, he took one look at Bill and asked, "What are you?"



Bill was not used to human language. At first, he could not say anything. The cowboy repeated his question. This time, Bill said, "varmint."



That is a word used for any kind of wild animal.



"No you aren't," said the cowboy.



"Yes, I am," said Bill. "I have fleas."



"Lots of people have fleas," said the cowboy. "You don't have a tail."



"Yes, I do," said Bill.



"Show it to me then," the cowboy said.



Bill looked at his backside and realized that he did not have a tail like the other coyotes. "Well, what am I then?" asked Bill.



"You're a cowboy! So start acting like one!" the cowboy cried out. Well that was all Bill needed to hear. He said goodbye to his coyote friends and left to join the world of humans.



Now, Pecos Bill was a good cowboy. Still, he hungered for adventure. One day he heard about a rough group of men. There is some debate over what the group was called. But one storyteller calls it the "Hell's Gate Gang."



So Bill set out across the rough country to find this gang of men. Well, Bill's horse soon was injured so Bill had to carry it for a hundred miles. Then Bill met a rattlesnake 50 feet long. The snake made a hissing noise and was not about to let Bill pass. But after a tense minute, Bill beat the snake until it surrendered. He felt sorry for the varmint, though, and wrapped it around his arm.



After Bill walked another hundred miles, he came across an angry mountain lion. There was a huge battle, but Bill took control of the big cat and put his saddle on it. He rode that mountain lion all the way to the camp of the Hell's Gate Gang.



Now, when Bill saw the gang he shouted out, "Who's the boss around here?"



A huge cowboy, 9 feet tall, took one look at Bill and said in a shaky voice, "I was the boss. But you are the boss from here on in."



With his gang, Pecos Bill was able to create the biggest ranch in the Southwest. Bill and his men had so many cattle that they needed all of New Mexico to hold them. Arizona was the pasture where the cattle ate grass.



Pecos Bill invented the art of being a cowboy. He invented the skill of throwing a special rope called a lasso over a cow's head to catch wandering cattle.

Some say he used a rattlesnake for a lasso. Others say he made a lasso so big that it circled the whole Earth.



Bill invented the method of using a hot branding iron to permanently put the mark of a ranch on a cow's skin. That helped stop people from stealing cattle. Some say he invented cowboy songs to help calm the cattle and make the cowboy's life easier. But he is also said to have invented tarantulas and scorpions as jokes. Cowboys have had trouble with those poisonous creatures ever since.



Now, Pecos Bill could ride anything that ever was. So, as some tell the story, there came a storm bigger than any other. It all happened during the worst drought the West had ever seen. It was so dry that horses and cows started to dry up and blow away in the wind. So when Bill saw the windstorm, he got an idea. The huge tornado kicked across the land like a wild bronco. But Bill jumped on it without a thought.



He rode that tornado across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, all the time squeezing the rain out of it to save the land from drought. When the storm was over, Bill fell off the tornado. He landed in California. He left a hole so deep that to this day it is known as Death Valley.



Now, Bill had a horse named Widow Maker. He got that name because any man who rode that horse would be thrown off and killed, and his wife would become a widow. No one could ride that horse but Bill.



And Widow Maker, in the end, caused the biggest problem for Pecos Bill. You see, one day Bill saw a woman. Not just any woman, but a wild, red-haired woman, riding a giant catfish down the Rio Grande River.



Her name was Slue-foot Sue. And Bill fell in love with her at first sight. Well, Bill would not rest until he had asked for her hand in marriage. And Slue-foot Sue accepted.



On their wedding day, Pecos Bill dressed in his best buckskin suit. And Sue wore a beautiful white dress with a huge steel-spring bustle in the back. It was the kind of big dress that many women wore in those days  the bigger the better.



Now, after the marriage ceremony Slue-foot Sue got a really bad idea. She decided that she wanted to ride Widow Maker. Bill begged her not to try. But she had her mind made up.



Well, the second she jumped on the horse's back he began to kick and buck like nothing anyone had ever seen. He sent Sue flying so high that she sailed clear over the new moon.



She fell back to Earth, but the steel-spring bustle just bounced her back up as high as before.



Now, there are many different stories about what happened next. One story says Bill saw that Sue was in trouble. She would keep bouncing forever if nothing was done. So he took his rope out -- though some say it was a huge rattlesnake -- and lassoed Sue to catch her and bring her down to Earth. Only, she just bounced him back up with her.

Somehow the two came to rest on the moon. And that's where they stayed. Some people say they raised a family up there. Their children were as loud and wild as Bill and Sue were in their younger days. People say the sound of thunder that sometimes carries over the dry land around the Pecos River is nothing more than Pecos Bill's family laughing up a storm.



This tall tale of Pecos Bill was adapted for Learning English and produced by Mario Ritter. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. The video was produced by Adam Brock.

________________________________________________________________

Test your understanding of this story by taking this short quiz.

Quiz - Pecos Bill Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy classify to help students understand the story of Pecos Bill.



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

debate - n. a discussion between people in which they express different opinions about something

varmint - n. (chiefly US, old-fashioned + humorous) an animal that is considered a problem

lasso - n. a rope with a loop that is used for catching animals (such as cattle or horses)

tarantula - n. a large, hairy spider that lives in warm regions

scorpion - n. a small animal related to spiders that has two front claws and a curved tail with a poisonous stinger at the end

make up ones mind - idiom. to decide on something
Nearly 100 years ago -- in 1920 -- the U.S. Constitution was changed to guarantee women the right to vote.

Today, at least six women are running for president  the highest number the country has ever seen.

The struggle for womens political rights in the United States has deep and complex roots, says historian Kate Lemay. She recently launched a show at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., called Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence.

The show explains that the struggle for womens political equality began long before 1920. It was connected to the fight against slavery in the 1800s.

It also connected to efforts to reach civil rights for African Americans during the 1900s.

Political rights for women are only part of the story, argues another historian, Katherine Marino. In March, she released a book called Feminism in the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement.

Marino writes that a group of influential feminists in Latin America in the early 1900s split with some feminists in the United States over the goals of the movement. These Latin American feminists wanted to advance social and economic rights along with political rights.

For example, they spoke out against government oppression and international imperialism. And, Marino says, Latin American feminists sought rights for families as well as individuals.

Marino says feminists from Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Chile, and other places often worked together. Their work resulted in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. It also gave birth to the phrase womens rights are human rights.

Today, says Marino, some feminists in Latin American still combine struggles for women's rights with other issues. For example, she says, before the #MeToo movement began in the United States, some Latin American women created Ni Una Menos. The phrase means not one woman less. It speaks out against the killing of women and girls, and in some cases also opposes national austerity measures.

Marino notes that, even with an early split, feminists across the Americas are sounding similar again.

She says, Today in the U.S. we are seeing a broader definition of feminism thats connected to social, racial, economic justice.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

persistence - n. the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people

imperialism - n. a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world

austerity - n. a situation in which there is not much money and it is spent only on things that are necessary

broad - n. including or involving many things or people : wide in range or amount
A Vietnamese woman who was tried in the killing of the half brother of North Koreas leader left a Malaysian prison on Friday and flew back to Hanoi.

Doan Thi Huong recorded a video just before her airplane left Malaysia. In the recording, she thanked everyone who prayed for her.

I want to say I love you all. I thank you my Lord Jesus. Thank you so much, she said.

Huongs release likely closes the murder case.

Four North Koreans are named as co-conspirators in the 2017 killing of Kim, but they escaped to North Korea. Malaysian officials never officially accused North Korea. The officials also made it clear they did not want the trial politicized.

Huong was the last suspect in detention. In March, Malaysias attorney general decided to drop charges against her co-defendant, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia.

The decision followed Indonesian efforts to persuade the Malaysian government to suspend the case against Aisyah. Huong asked to be acquitted after she was freed, but government lawyers rejected her request. Aisyah returned home to Indonesia.

The two women were charged with working with the four North Koreans to murder the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The women put VX, a nerve agent, on the face of Kim Jong Nam in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, 2017. Both women later said they believed they were taking part in a prank for a television show.

Last month, the 30-year-old Huong admitted guilt to a lesser charge of causing injury after the Malaysian government dropped a murder charge against her. She was sentenced to 40 months in prison from the day of her arrest and was released early for good behavior.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik is Huongs lawyer. At the airport Friday, he said that the case has come to a complete end because the government did not appeal her sentence.

After her sentencing last month, Huong said she wants to sing and act when she returns to Vietnam.

Last August, the High Court judge had found there was enough evidence to believe that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans plotted to kill Kim Jong Nam. He called on the two women to present their defense.

The four North Koreans left Malaysia the day Kim was killed.

Lawyers for the women have said that they were pawns in a political assassination. They said the killing clearly had links to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They also said that the Malaysian government failed to show the women wanted to kill Kim.

The desire to kill is an important part of a murder charge under Malaysian law.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

co-conspirator  n. the partner of a person who is involved in a secret plan to do something harmful or illegal

attorney general  n. the senior legal officer of the state or country

acquit  v. to decide that someone is not guilty of a crime

prank  n. a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

pawn  n. a person or group that does not have much power and that is controlled by a more powerful person or group

assassination  n. to kill a usually famous person for political reasons
Eschenbrenner, Hain and Naprstek held a presentation for the LRHC Auxiliary over differences in Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans that a beneficiary should be aware of when making a decision whether to leave the traditional Medicare benefits, and the vast network of providers which are contracted with Medicare versus the current Medicare Advantage plans in the area which do not have the same developed network. This can mean that a beneficiary in a Medicare Advantage network may have limited choices of providers and services compared to beneficiaries covered under the traditional Medicare network of providers. These facts are often not known to the beneficiaries when they are sold these plans and the women in the Auxiliary were also surprised to learn these facts. There were approximately 40 people in attendance, said Hain. Eschenbrenner said they also spoke about the network of specialists that come to LRHC and the services that can be done at the hospital.
Praying for the direction to take in this years devotions, God directed my thoughts to the alphabet and 2x26 equals the weeks in a year, and that He can be described by many English words beginning with those 26 letters (X is the exception, but EX words will work). This year, I will gaze at the glory of God using the ESV and the alphabet!




Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo(SEATTLE) -- Its a boy!

The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington welcomed one of its latest and tallest babies this Thursday.

Olivia, the zoo's 12-year-old giraffe gave birth to a healthy boy at 4:56 am yesterday morning.

Unlike human newborns, the baby was on his feet within an hour after he was born, which is what we want to see, Katie Ahl, a lead zoo keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, said in a press release.

Olivia and her unnamed calf are currently out of view in the giraffe barn to allow what the zoo calls a cozy, quiet environment for maternal bonding and nursing.

The first 24 to 72 hours are critical to the proper development of newborn giraffes, Ahl said.

An experienced mother, Olivia is showing good maternal behavior for her second offspring, Ahl said. In 2013, she gave birth to her first boy, Misawa, with another male giraffe, Chioke.

This babys father is 6-year-old Dave, who also fathered Olivias sisters baby.

Olivias sister, Tufani gave birth to a girl, Lulu, in 2017 -- making this latest giraffe the second baby born in the zoo within the last 5 years.

Although the baby is nursing and standing, concerns remain about his rear legs.

Hes not walking normally on his rear legs, a condition known as "hyper extended fetlocks," Dr. Darin Collins, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo, noted in a press release.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In a subsequent update, Collins said that the medical team have applied "casts on both rear legs to help heal the tendons, which is the current best practice in treating this condition in newborns."

"Treatment will most likely span over several months," and the newborn giraffe will be monitored closely, the statement added.

The baby is other wise healthy and "continues to nurse and bond with his mother," Collins concluded in the latest update.

In the coming days the zoo will be a holding a community naming contest to give Seattle residents a chance to name their zoos newest addition.

For all the other giraffe fans that cannot make it to the zoo to see the new baby, the zoo will be putting up a live barn cam. Fans can visit www.zoo.org/giraffe or follow the zoo on social media to find updates on when the live barn cam will be up.

Baby giraffes have a magical way of touching the hearts and minds of people, no matter how old you are," said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

"We hope everyone connects again with this new baby and comes to care about saving giraffes in their natural ranges in Africa. We want everyone to care about giraffes as much as we do.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Police arrest man with 1kg smuggled gold

Anukesh Kumar Sah, a local, was held while he was transporting the contraband gold on his motorcycle (Lu 4 Pa 5803), said police.


Ronald Reagan

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Albert Einstein

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

Winston Churchill





It isnt so much that liberals are ignorant. Its just that they know so many things that arent so.

With integrity nothing else counts; Without integrity nothing else counts.

Winston Churchill





Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey S. Firestone





It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. H. L. Menken



Referenda insure all have a voice in land use decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Listen carefully to first criticism of your work. Note just what it is about your work the critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.

Jean Cocteau
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Private sector urges SAARC nations to invest in Nepal

The countrys private sector on Thursday urged the business fraternity from SAARC member nations to invest in Nepal, saying that the government has adopted lenient policies to boost investment in the country.
In an era of increased scrutiny of and cynicism about law enforcement and policing practices, it is easy to lose sight of the dangers and stress experienced by the rank and file, and how this contributes to mental health problems.

On a daily basis, police officers encounter individuals and situations that put their lives at risk. They regularly witness and investigate unspeakable acts of violence, cruelty and tragedy. Compounding this burden is the constant awareness that every action, utterance and split-second decision, on good days and bad, are captured on video and subject to scrutiny by superiors, the public and, in worst cases, prosecutors. It doesnt take an expert to conclude that these extraordinary burdens can have a deleterious effect on mental health.

Although most segments of our society, including the military, have made great strides in reducing the stigma associated with common and treatable mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and addiction, the law enforcement community has lagged in this respect.

Thanks in part to organizations like Badge of Life and Blue H.E.L.P., there is a growing awareness within law enforcement of this issue and the need to address it in a meaningful way. This is a critical first step.
Mack's Mets Blogspot - Mets News and Links, #Mets Twitter Feed, Mets Minor Leagues, and comments. Mobile Uses click down arrows for more pages
Illustrating the importance of networks, Madison shared how City Council President Shiva Bidar, who works for UW Health, helped secure funding for local yoga instructor Keena Atkinson to get certified as a teacher.

Ive been trying to really work at UW Health to be really intentional about not creating these barriers in the system to give money out because thats what systems do, Bidar said.

Madison was seeking a black yoga instructor to work with young girls in the community. Atkinson described how she felt unwelcome in yoga studios to the point where she could not focus on the class.

Im going to teach yoga, so people can have the experience I want to have, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said she wants to focus on living her life authentically and unapologetically as a black woman.

A lot of mornings I hear Sabrinas voice in my head, I quit my job to work for black women, so I was like Im going to quit my job because I want to live my purpose, Atkinson said.

Atkinson ended up quitting her job to focus on teaching yoga and on her hair and wellness businesses.
Supervisor Analiese Eicher, District 3, said new supervisors, including herself, were not expecting to take another vote on the major capital project. She agreed with the boards action in the 2018 budget and thinks the south tower option makes sense.

At the end of this, our goal is a smaller jail, a safer jail and a jail that is more in line with jail reduction strategies that allow us to engage in best practices, Eicher said.

Though he campaigned after the board first voted on the jail project, Supervisor Yogesh Chawla, District 6, vocally opposed the plan. Chawla feels the county needs more information, such as the results of a mental health study, before proceeding with a decision.

Were really making critical decisions with incomplete information and the big question I think we need to ask the community is do we want to take a $150 million risk without all the information in front of us?

When the board first voted, four supervisors voted against the project. Two of those supervisors  Heidi Wegleitner, District 2, and Richard Kilmer, District 4  remain on the board.

To move forward, the county will have to vote on a budget resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
Two held for extortion

The suspects planted a suspicious object saying it was an explosive at Dhadkan Road on April 27 apparently to terrorise the business community.
A seven-year Idaho study of non-lethal methods, with zero wolf killing, mirrors these results: sheep depredation losses to wolves were just 0.02% of the total number of sheep present, the lowest loss rate among sheep-grazing areas in wolf range statewide.

As The Grizzly Times states in The Problem of State Wildlife Management:

Management of wildlife by state agencies is almost wholly for the benefit of hunters and fishers  Hunters are a shrinking minority, not the majority of those who care about wildlife and places like Yellowstone. As the Tribes in the Northern Rockies are fond of saying, state wildlife management agencies represent a last bastion of the ethos of Manifest Destiny, which led to genocide and the destruction of ecosystems during the 1800s and early 1900s.
Interestingly enough, it was a medical professional who originally recommended marijuana, highlighting several studies that demonstrated not only relief from pain, but also from muscle spasms. I remember being embarrassed to admit that I had never used marijuana (I know, Im a square) but I was willing to try. Luckily, I had a college friend who was willing to help, and that was how I tried marijuana for the first time.

Not only did it eliminate my pain symptoms, but for the first time since my accident, I had no spasticity. Having lived for so long with pain and discomfort, it was overwhelming to just feel normal. I had tears welling up in my eyes. Unfortunately, the side effects were a little too intense. I found it difficult to focus, my appetite grew unruly and it made me way too sleepy. It just wasnt for me.

Im fortunate, because I have been able to regulate my pain using legally prescribed medications  but what has worked for me has destroyed the lives of many others. I know how difficult it can be to step away from pain medications after an injury. When I was in the hospital recovering from my accident, they prescribed all kinds of opioids: hydromorphone, fentanyl patches, morphine, OxyContin, hydrocodone and diazepam.
Release date: July 9

The perfect story for any true bibliophile. The only child of a single mother, Nina Hill is content with life as it is. She's comfortable working in a bookstore, finding companions among the bound copies and routinely leading her trivia team to victory. When her estranged father dies and the rest of that side of the family reaches out, Nina is faced with more social interaction than she knows what to do with.

To make matters more complicated, her trivia nemesis wants to get to know her outside of their encyclopedic battleground. "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" (Berkley) is charming and relatable for any introvert who would rather pass time with fictional characters than people, but will rise to the occasion with the right support.

Pre-order on Amazon, $11

'THE MARRIAGE CLOCK' BY ZARA RAHEEM

Release date: July 19
Aaron Kennedy is an entrepreneur with national credentials. He was founder and chief executive officer for Noodles & Company, led Colorados successful branding and marketing campaign, managed product rollouts for major firms and continues to advise emerging companies through some of the nations leading accelerators.

Now, perhaps somewhat to his surprise, UW-Madison graduate Kennedy is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UW-Green Bay.

The late April announcement that Kennedy will join the effort to put Green Bay on the map for startups and scale-ups is the latest example of how the Upper Midwest is making a collective case for being a place where innovation is valued, talent is available and companies with the ideas can grow.

Not that anyone is hanging Vacancy signs in tech hubs such as Californias Silicon Valley, Boston or North Carolinas Research Triangle, which continue to flourish, but there are reasons for investors, entrepreneurs and others to tap the rise in activity across the Upper Midwest.
The high volume of police calls at Rethke Terrace and Tree Lane has exposed challenges in housing so many of the citys most vulnerable at the same sites and inadequacies in the funding model to pay for critical support services for tenants, OKeefe said.

Police calls for service at the properties stabilized in colder months, but have bumped up again with warmer weather, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

The primary issue for police centers on the lack of long-term or permanent property managers at each site, DeSpain said, adding that Heartland is working to resolve the situation. Problems, he said, are often related to people being allowed into the buildings when they shouldnt be there. The hope is these situations, and calls for police service, will be mitigated with more consistent management, he said.
This was my goal, Lor said of opening his own business. I wanted to have my own shop someday. But it took me almost 15 years.

How did you and your family end up in Madison?

In like 1979, (the Thai government) tried to eliminate all the camps so we (were) sent to a second one, and after the second one my family, they had to decide to come here or go back to Laos. My parents did not want to do either one so we escaped from the official refugee camp to live with Thai people. And then, like 10 years later they closed all the camps and we (were) stuck in the middle. Then the Thai government took us and registered us and told us we had to come here.

When you got here what did you do?

I went to school. I was barbering in Thailand for four years so when I came to this country it took me three and half years to learn English, go to (Madison Area Technical College) and get my (barbers) license. And then I went to work at Dick & Arnies (Barber Shop, in Middleton) for almost 10 years.

Did you need a license to cut hair in Thailand?
MILWAUKEE  The Evers administrations war on school choice continues.

The latest attack is from Gov. Tony Evers appointed successor at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who is refusing to allow private schools in the choice programs to count online (virtual) learning toward annual class-time requirements. She is doing so even though DPI has permitted public schools to use virtual learning for a variety of reasons, including to make up for class cancellations caused by Wisconsins winter weather.

This is unfair and wrong. We also believe it is illegal. Last month, attorneys at our organization, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), sued Taylor and DPI in Waukesha Circuit Court on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action, a membership organization of private choice schools.

This winter has been brutal for Wisconsins schools. With unprecedented snowfall, temperatures frequently below zero and mass flooding, Wisconsin K-12 schools have been forced to cancel classes at an extraordinary rate. Because of a state law that requires students to attend more than 1,000 hours in the classroom, many schools are having to make up class time by extending minutes in their school day or by adding days to the school year.
Perhaps Republicans work from a principle akin to Facebook: If the project is liked, the land is taken. This is exactly how conservative Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling described Republican views on eminent domain in a Nov. 9, 2017, interview in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Many of the people on my side  the conservative side  they change their opinion on this [eminent domain] if the project is something that they like.

Such arbitrariness in whose property is protected and whose isnt erodes public trust in government institutions and undermines citizens confidence they live in a fair economic system.

Seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke warned that the arbitrary taking of property by the government absolved the people from further obedience. Heeding Lockes advice and recognizing the threat to a new democracy, our countrys Founders crafted the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The amendment limits government to taking private land only if it is for public use. It is time for Wisconsin Republicans to anchor their eminent domain actions to the constitution and work to secure the property rights of all Wisconsinites.

Borchardt, of Marshfield, is founder of 80 Feet Is Enough, a group advocating for property rights in Wisconsin: 80feetisenough.org and mbgs@tznet.com.
Prayers for All is today

TWIN FALLS  The first Saturday of the month is time for Prayers for All. The public is invited to attend at 10 a.m. Saturday at Max Newlins home, 328 Seventh Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Celebrate by trying something new  praying for everyone from different faith perspectives.

This months theme will be Indigenous Traditions, including Yoruba, Animism, Native American Church, Shenism and Zoroastrianism.

Prayers from Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish scriptures, the Quran and Bahai Prayers will be read. Discussion will follow without proselytizing and with respect for all viewpoints.

For more information, call 208-221-8621.

Feed My Sheep Ministry recognized by IEF

TWIN FALLS  The Feed My Sheep Ministry at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension was recognized by the Idaho Episcopal Foundation with an Excellence in Mission Award at the Bishops Banquet April 27 in Boise.

Ascension parishioners Bette Krepcik and Georgia Durbin received this distinguished award for their efforts in 2016 to re-establish an abandoned monthly meal program for those affected by food insecurity in Twin Falls. The Mustard Seed Ministries in Twin Falls offered their location as a place to hold a Saturday hot meal, and monthly meals have been provided for the past three years.

Their dedication to and passion for serving Christ in others through this feeding ministry has inspired and transformed the lives of both those who receive a warm meal and those who have volunteered, the Idaho Episcopal Foundation said in a statement.

In 2018 Feed My Sheep served 912 meals  many of those to children who do not have access to food on weekends.

Unitarian Universalists ponder anxiety

TWIN FALLS  Why do we get so anxious? Sundays sermon will explore the concept of fear and anxiety  the good and the bad. Sometimes we just get nervous about getting nervous. We can work ourselves into a frenzy trying to figure out why we are getting nervous.

Perhaps it is time to break the cycle and just accept that a certain level of anxiety is to be expected.

We must allow ourselves to feel the fear and then do it anyway.

The public is welcome at the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at 160 Ninth Ave. E., Twin Falls.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths individuals travel. Congregations are places where people celebrate, support and challenge one another as they continue on their spiritual journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Newcomers of all religious paths, or none at all, are always welcome. Child care is available.

The church is handicapped-accessible.

Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building.

For more information, call Ken Whiting at 208-410-8904 or email mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or go to magicvalleyuu.org.

Bishop Thom visits Ascension

TWIN FALLS  The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will welcome the Right Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop of the Diocese of Idaho, for his annual visitation on Sunday.

Holy Communion will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at the church, 371 Eastland Drive N. Childcare for infants to five-year-olds will run from 8:45 a.m. until after worship.

A fellowship coffee hour will be held after the 10 a.m. service.

All are invited to meet and greet the bishop.

The community is invited to the final seven weeks of Living the Questions which will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays at First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls.

This video and discussion series helps participants explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in todays world.

Prior participation in the earlier portions of this program held at Ascension Episcopal Church and Our Savior Lutheran Church is not necessary.

The knitting and handwork group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Choir practice is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Bible study is held from 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

All are welcome for worship, fellowship or study at Ascension which is handicapped-accessible.

For more information, call 208-733-1248 or go to ascension.episcopalidaho.org.

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Whose government is it anyway? People ask as President presents policies and programmes

On social media, some posted screenshots of Part 1 (Preliminary) of the Constitution of Nepal, asking why the Head of State was referring to the government as my government. Article 2 of the Constitution of Nepal reads: The sovereignty and state authority of Nepal shall be vested in the Nepali people. It shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Constitution.
KIMBERLY  Rock Creek Rural Fire District has hired a firefighter out of Wyoming to replace its long-beleaguered fire chief who resigned in August.

Aaron Zent will take over the fire department May 28, district Clerk Jennifer Egbert said Friday. Zent is a Rawlins, Wyo., fire battalion chief.

Rock Creek fire district covers 212 square miles in eastern Twin Falls County  including the cities of Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh  and parts of Cassia County. The department responded to 402 fire calls and 897 medical calls in 2018.

Keller resigned his position Aug. 31, and Interim Chief Stacey Thomas took over on Sept. 3.

Thomas, still a captain with the department, later resigned as interim chief, and long-time firefighter Assistant Fire Chief Greg Vawser stepped in.

The department has been through several rounds of applications before deciding on Zent, Egbert said.

Thomas spoke with the Times-News after Keller resigned and credited the past chief with the departments growth in recent years.

We wouldnt be where were at had it not been for Chief Keller, Thomas said.

But townsfolk say discord often surrounded Keller.

A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against Keller and the Rock Creek Fire District by former training Capt. Brent Blamires was settled in January 2017 for $26,000.

Blamires claimed he was fired in January 2016 for blowing the whistle on Kellers driving a fire district vehicle while under the influence, which led to Kellers week-long suspension in August 2015.

Keller was a finalist to become Twin Falls fire chief in 2016, but the city dropped Keller from consideration over allegations in the suit.

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November 27, 1960April 30, 2019

TWIN FALLS  Deena would like to inform you all that her work here is done. She began her work on November 27, 1960 and survived this place for 58 years. On April 30, 2019, she received a call (sort of an offer you cant refuse). She accepted and will not be returning from this endeavor. Deena requests that everyone wipe the tears from their eyes and smile. Fill your hearts with joy, as this call has lent her the opportunity to be free from pain while reuniting with many family and friends.

Deena was born in Rexburg, Idaho, to Dee and June Newman. She was raised in Sugar City and Howe, ID., but attended high school in Arco, ID. Deena was a part of the Butte County High School graduating class of 79. Shortly thereafter, she met and later married Nelson Dean Slaymaker on February, 1980. Together they had four beautiful children to which Deena cherished. (Randy Nelson, Andrea Rose, Brittany Dee, and James Dean). Deena and Dean later divorced in 1994 but remained great friends until his passing in 2008.

Deena met her husband, Eric Saeugling, in January 2000. It took a year before Deena agreed to a date with him but it was worth the wait for both. They married in August of 2001 and have been inseparable since.

Deena had a love affair with her fuzzy blankets, A&E criminal television shows, and butter. Not necessarily in that order. She did not care for Idaho Power and towels folded incorrectly (which was any way other than her way). She had her quirks however as her family and friends, we never questioned her love for us, the gospel, and her pet chickens. Not necessarily in that order. Deena was passionate about several things. For instance, she loved to sing, read, and was always expanding her education. Deenas love of singing and beautiful voice was noticed by many. She was often asked to sing at celebrations. Her strong thirst for knowledge led her to pursue a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, completion of her CNA, and certification as a Behavioral Specialist. Deena enjoyed reading, whether it was a mystery novel in bed at night or a childrens book to the grandchild on her lap, she seemed to always have a book in her hands. Deena often bragged about her 8 grandchildren. She welcomed every opportunity to cuddle and sing to them. She was fortunate in life to have five best friends, her sisters, (Sheila, Jolene, Clara, Jennie, & Pennie). Not a day passed that she didnt speak to at least one of them. When all six girls reunited several times a year, Oh... help us all! No husband nor child was safe from the giggling teasing of the ole biddies. They laughed (at our expense) till they cried. Most truly a beautiful thing to witness was the strong bond they shared and their love so great.

Deenas children not only consisted of her four biological but also included several that she took under her wing and loved as if they were her own (Kelsey Stanger, Justin Wallis, Brandy Hill, Dan & Lucy Thieman, Jhovan Ellinger). Suffice it to say, Deenas greatest love in life was family.

Deena was preceded in death by her two loving parents and her little sister Jennie. She is survived by her husband, four sisters, children, grandchildren and several other family members.

She was beautiful. Beautiful for the way she thought. She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful for the ability to make others smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasnt beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She was just beautiful.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 6, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Cedar Draw Ward, 840 W. Midway Street in Filer. A viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, at White Mortuary Chapel by the Park, 136 4th Ave E. in Twin Falls and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral at the church. Burial will be at Twin Falls Cemetery.
With 40 percent of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.

All Idahoans benefit from the clean water, abundant wildlife habitat, recreation and wood and paper products that healthy forests provide, along with many positive economic impacts.

Arbor Day is April 26, a time to celebrate the benefits forests provide us, but also a time to reflect on how forests depend on humans for their continued health through active forest management  the sustainable cycle of harvesting followed by replanting of trees and using fire as a management tool to reduce overgrown vegetation.

There are 21.4 million acres of forests in Idaho. About 10 million acres of federal forests in Idaho are overgrown, unhealthy, and prone to devastating fires.

Impaired forest health conditions and wildfire know no boundaries. As Land Board members, we oversee the management of one million acres of forested state endowment lands. The lands are a gift to Idaho in all they offer. Timber sales on endowment lands generate millions of dollars in revenue for Idahos public schools annually. Sustainable forest management practices ensure these lands will continue to benefit public schools and Idaho citizens for years to come.

However, 94 percent of forested state endowment lands border federal national forests in Idaho. Wildfire, insects, and disease move freely between federal, state, and private lands.

To address the forest health crisis in Idaho and maintain healthy state endowment forests for public schools, we directed the Idaho Department of Lands to work with the U.S. Forest Service, forest industry, conservation groups, and others to help improve forest conditions on a scale that matters.

The recently inked Shared Stewardship agreement recognizes that different land owners  federal, state, and private  need to work together to reduce the risk of fire and infestations of insects and disease in our forests.

The state and federal government are using spatial planning tools to identify, coordinate, and treat priority landscapes across ownerships. The result will be reduced fuels to protect Idaho communities from wildfire, improved forest health, and job creation in the private sector.

We are just getting going with Shared Stewardship in Idaho, but we are anchoring to our success with the Good Neighbor Authority, a related program that encourages collaboration, resource sharing, and a get it done approach to land management.

We all love forests. But most of Idahos forests need to be conserved, not preserved. Active, sustainable forest management is part of conservation. The steps we are taking with your support will ensure our forests are healthy for future generations.

The State Board of Land Commissioners is comprised of Gov. Brad Little, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, State Controller Brandon Woolf, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

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The federal government should meet a high threshold of proving illegal activity when seizing personal property in a criminal investigation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should not be given cart blanche to take an Americanshard-earned and legally-earned moneyand then require the accused to prove the IRS should not have taken it in order to get it back. Unfortunately, there have been reports over the years of the IRS seizing the bank accounts of small businesses making cash deposits of money earned legally and then only returning portions of the accounts after an exhaustive, drawn-out and nebulous investigation. I have pressed for an end to this abuse. Thankfully, progress is being made in making reasonable changes to federal law putting better restraints on the IRS, requiring it to prove criminal intent to seize property.

The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 was intended to prevent money laundering. It requires financial institutions to report daily cash transactions that exceed $10,000. The problem is some small businesses with legal earnings have been accused of structuring cash deposits to fall below the reporting threshold. Small business owners have been caught up in costly, drawn-out, bureaucratic nightmares to try to get their money returned for deposits of legally earned money. As I have looked into this issue and questioned the IRS about it, I have found that while property owners have the opportunity to challenge the governments evidence in court, this opportunity unjustly comes after the account has already been seized.

For example, at congressional hearings to look into this abuse of small businesses, a Maryland dairy farmer detailed his family farms awful experience with the IRS. The agency seized more than $60,000 from his familys bank account and filed criminal charges after his family made cash deposits from dairy sales. He testified about the difficult and lengthy process to try to get the money returned while trying to keep the farm afloat. Another producer, who grows corn and raises chickens, was investigated by the IRS for cash deposits from sales of produce at farm stands. The farm was left with a zero balance in its bank account when the IRS seized all of the roughly $90,000 in the account. The producer testified that IRS agents told them that after being investigated they may get part of their money back, but they should not expect that to happen quickly. He explained how overwhelming this was during a challenging year stating the seizure left them without money for family living expenses, for their daughters wedding, or to pay the many farm vendors.

This is backward and beyond outrageous. The federal agency should have to prove illegal activity before seizing property. The property owners should not have to prove their innocence to get their property back.

Bipartisan legislation, known as the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, is making its way through Congress. This legislation includes important reforms aimed at curbing wrongful seizures that leave American small businesses in limbo. Among its provisions, the legislation would restrain the IRS from seizing bank accounts of taxpayers for structuring deposits to fall under the $10,000 threshold to avoid reporting requirements unless the funds are from an illegal source or connected to criminal activity. The House of Representatives passed this legislation unanimously by voice vote before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. I look forward to enactment of these much-needed restraints on shameful, federal bureaucracy run amuck.

Mike Crapo represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

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J.R. Strunk Benefit Dinner organizers appreciate community

Thank you to some very special people. On April 20, we held a benefit dinner for J.R. Strunk  with a last minute change of venue. With a few Hail Marys and a lot of phone calls, we got it ready.

Thank you to Greer Copeland for allowing us to use his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on South F Street in Rupert. He and his young men were a blessing. They opened the building, set up the tables and chairs and opened the kitchen for us to use. Then they came and helped tear down and put everything away.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated their wares and gift cards to be raffled off, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle 13-5, all the kitchen help, Adam Fowler for taking care of the riffles to be raffled off, Zeb Bell, Weekly Mailer and Cat Country for advertising our event, Les and Marilyn Wilson  our co organizers, Rupert Veterans Memorial Inc., Penny Schell of the Minidoka County Senior Center and the riders and car clubs that did the awesome drive around the building. Thank you most of all to the public who showed up and contributed to our success. We could not have pulled it off without everyones help.

George and Dona Mas

Les and Marilyn Wilson

Rupert

Wendell schools thank sponsors

Thank you to the sponsors that made the Wendell schools Cinco de Mayo Fiesta a free event for the community: Jesus Hurtado Dairies, Stouder Holsteins, Double A Dairy, Glanbia, Idaho Power Co., Mr. Amigo El Bailador, Lupita La Indomable Madrigal, Payasitos Felices/The Happy Clowns, 208 Photo Booth, Garibaldis, El Tapatio, Washington Federal, Wells Fargo, Simerlys, Advance Restoration, Bunn Insurance, Miller Brothers and Thomas and Darlene Neal.

Wendell schools personnel

Thank you from the ERC

The Environmental Resource Center of Ketchum thanks its sponsors for the Clean Sweep event: KBs of Hailey and Ketchum, Cox Communications, Idaho Mountain Express, Clear Creek Disposal, Atkinsons Market, McLaughlin & Associates Architects Chartered, AlA, Lee Gilman Builders, AC Houston Lumber Company, Clearwater Landscaping, Friesen Gallery, Idaho Lumber and Hardware, Idaho Mountain Builders, Mahoneys Bar & Grill, Perrys, Wood River YMCA, All Seasons Landscaping, Conrad Brothers Construction, Lutz Rental, Rickshaw, Sushi on Second, Trout Unlimited/Hemingway Chapter, Wiseguy Pizza Pie, Dangs Thai Cuisine, Hailey Coffee Company, Johnny Gs Subshack, Starbucks, the Board Bin, the Cellar Pub, and Whiskey Jacques.

Special thanks to Blaine County and the cities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

The Environmental Resource Center staff

Cassia School District Federal Programs appreciates support

Cassia School District Federal Programs would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for their generous support of our fifth annual College and Career Day  Your Future, Your Choices: Packaging Corporation of America, Southern Fabrication Works, Burley Fire Department, First Federal Savings Bank, Fairfield Inn, New Cold, Dow Chemical, High Desert Milk, Landview Fertilizer, Lynch Oil, McCain Foods, Raft River Electric, United Electric, Stotz Equipment, Streamline Precision, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop, Square One Restoration, C3 Customer Contact Channels, Vivent Smart Home, D.L. Evans Bank, Idaho Central Credit Union, Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho Workers Opportunity Network, Intermountain Health Care, ISU Credit Union, Nifty Marketing, Boise State University CAMP Program, Cassia Regional Technical Center, College of Southern Idaho Mini-Cassia Center, College of Southern Idaho, Cosmetology School of Arts and Sciences, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, Lewis and Clark State College, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, City of Rocks National Reserve, United States Forest Service, Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center, Community Council of Idaho, Idaho State Police, United States Army, Idaho National Guard and the United States Navy.

We would also like to extend a big thank you to Steffany Wells and the Best Western Burley Inn and Convention Center staff. Without their help and support, this event would not have been possible.

In addition to providing the students of Cassia School District with ideas for college, career opportunities and options, our students will also benefit from the generous donations which helped purchase swag bags and provided door prizes. Thank you: Butte Irrigation, Cassia Regional Hospital, DOT Foods, Lewis Clark State College, Packaging Corporation of America, Redox Chemicals, Sprinkler Shop and Square One.

The community support for Cassia schools has been amazing. Please help us continue to thank these businesses by shopping locally. While you are there, thank them for their support of our schools and children.

Kim Bedke, Federal Programs Coordinator

Jeanne Allen, Federal Programs Assistant Coordinator

The Letters of Thanks column will publish letters of up to 200 words from organizations thanking contributors or supporters and individuals thanking public agencies and businesses for extraordinary service. Send letters to letters@magicvalley.com. If you would like to purchase a classified ad to express gratitude of a personal rather than public nature, call the Times-News Customer Service Department.

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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 ...



ENJOY


El 2 de diciembre de 1970, Oscar Arnoldo Rios Maldonado, estudiante de Periodismo de la Universidad de Concepcion y militante del MIR, fue asesinado por un disparo de un integrante la Brigada Ramona Parra del Partido Comunista. Salvador Allende, quien habia asumido la presidencia de Chile el 4 de noviembre, solicita a las direcciones de ambos partidos que logren un acuerdo que impida conflictos que empanen el desarrollo del naciente gobierno. En la foto de izquierda a derecha aparecen Andres Pascal Allende, Luciano Cruz y Miguel Enriquez, quienes aun clandestinos por el caso Osses Santa Maria se presentan en el velorio de Rios que se realizaba en esos momentos en la pinacoteca de la universidad. Al fondo de la foto se puede apreciar el conocido campanil de la Universidad de Concepcion. Foto y texto tomado del muro de Facebook de MARCO BRAVO, 29 de sept 2018 4 Comments 2 Shares 23 Rolando Briones, Matias Salvador Villa Juica and 21 others
Every day, 78 Canadians receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, the most deadly form of cancer in the country. Some of them will have one of the lobes of a lung removed by thoracotomy, a common, but risky surgical procedure that requires months of recovery. However, a less invasive and safer surgical technique exists and could be used more widely.

In a large international clinical study presented at the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Moishe Liberman, a thoracic surgeon and researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), and his team showed that thoracoscopic lobectomyvideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)combined with pulmonary artery sealing using an ultrasonic energy device reduced the risk of post-operative bleeding, complications and pain.

Unlike surgery with thoracotomy, which involves making a 25 cm incision in the patient's chest and cutting the ribs, a VATS procedure requires small incisions. A miniature video camera is inserted through one of the incisions. In both types of surgical interventions, there is a risk of bleeding because the branches of the pulmonary artery are very thin, fragile and are attached directly to the heart.

"Thanks to this clinical trial conducted in Canadian, American and British hospitals, we have shown that it is possible to safely seal pulmonary blood vessels through ultrasonic sealing and effectively control possible bleeding during a VATS procedure," explained Dr. Liberman, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Montreal.

Currently, only 15% of lobectomies around the world are performed by VATS, mainly because of the actual risks of major bleeding or surgeons' perception of these risks.

"I truly hope that the results of our clinical trial will reassure surgeons about the technical feasibility and safety of this operation and will encourage them to adopt it. A large number of patients could benefit from it and would be on their feet faster, with less pain," indicated Dr. Liberman.

Next-generation device

After five years of preclinical research at the CRCHUM, trials conducted on animals, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials showing the safety of the surgical intervention, Dr. Liberman's team has recently completed their large international phase 2 clinical trial launched in 2016.

It was able to evaluate the effectiveness of this new technique on 150 patients in eight hospitals across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. 139 of them underwent a lobectomy, while the remaining 11 underwent a segmentectomy (removal of a small part of the lung).

A total of 424 pulmonary artery branches were sealed during the study: 181 using surgical staplers, 4 with endoscopic clips and 239 using the HARMONIC ACE +7 Shears, designed by the company Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson). With a 3-millimetre jaw at its tip, this high-tech "pistol" allows a surgeon to seal blood vessels by delivering ultrasonic energy. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills nearly 1.69 million people around the world every year.

Explore further Revolutionary surgery for lung cancer

More information: "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, "Prospective, Multi-Center, International Phase 2 Trial Evaluating Ultrasonic Energy for Pulmonary Artery Branch Sealing in VATS Lobectomy" by Dr. Moishe Liberman et al. in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, www.aats.org/aatsimis/AATSWeb/  9-A-655-AATS-44.aspx
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You can hear some of Montana in the high-decibel drone of "Life Metal," the new album by metal band Sunn O))).

Tim Midyett, of the late indie-rock band Silkworm, plays bass and baritone guitar on the tracks, which were recorded at Electrical Audio, the studio run by fellow Hellgate High School graduate Steve Albini.

Sunn sounds like someone liked the part at the beginning of a Black Sabbath song, where unaccompanied guitar makes a crashing entry, and decided to make that the basis for an expansive new sound.

"It's fairly challenging music to play because the riffs are so long," Midyett said in a phone interview, "and time is kind of indeterminate. It's kind of predicated on whatever happens on a given note, however long you're going to be hanging out on it, so it was challenging for me at first."

The idea of crushing riffs played for extended periods of time, as in 20 minutes long, might sound inaccessible, but the record was named "best new music" by Pitchfork and premiered on NPR's First Listen series, where it was described as "joyous" in its own way, which might become clear after you adjust to the density.

"If you're a musician or you have a certain appreciation of experimental art or whatever," Midyett said, then you'll recognize "there's a depth of character to it."

*

Midyett grew up in Missoula and played in a local art-rock band called Ein Heit. His next group, Silkworm, headed to Seattle and then Chicago, where they recorded a succession of albums with engineer Steve Albini, whose credits include classics like Nirvana's "In Utero" and the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa." Albini's own guitar work with Big Black and Shellac added to his reputation for experimental, abrasive rock.

Midyett has known the main forces behind Sunn since his time in Seattle in the 1990s, and they invited him to record on "Life Metal."

In an email, guitarist Stephen O'Malley said, "Tim's presence not only brought a great sense of spirit," but they also both play Travis Bean aluminum neck guitars, a first in the band's history. He said Midyett's the first person he knew who had one of the guitars, which are no longer made.

The band is named after the manufacturer of their favorite model of amplifier, and the ones used by drone pioneers Earth. The "O)))" is a reference on the amp's logo, and isn't pronounced. The album title, meanwhile, is an in-joke  the term "life metal" was frequently used as a derogatory term in the metal community, and the band members began to make jokes about it.

"If you had to go do your laundry and pick up your robe at the dry cleaners or whatever, that would be doing 'life metal,'" Midyett said.

The band does feel that the name reflects the music on this album, which is "very uplifting" and "expansive" once you've acquainted yourself with the sound, Midyett said.

"Sometimes the playing is aggressive, but the overall experience I think is rather welcoming and enveloping. And I think it encourages reflection and meditation, and a kind of calm state of being in time," he said.

That plays out in different ways live. For instance, O'Malley and fellow guitarist Greg Anderson cue the rest of the band live, when the fog and lights and robes can be an impediment.

"If you're going to hang out on some part of a piece for awhile, that'll be indicated in some subtle way by somebody and then you'll kind of go with the flow and see what's going to happen. A lot of times you can tell by careful listening, when the change is about to happen," Midyett said.

They recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio studio, all to analog tape with very few overdubs. Even string player Hildur Gunadottir was in the room for her parts, such as a long, modern classical section on the album-closer, "Nov."

Midyett said that Albini's often stereotyped as a "noisy rock band" engineer, but "some of the most beautiful records he's made are records that are heavy on acoustic instruments."

For this session, it meant "an awful lot of sound" to capture on tape. "He has decades of experience of doing it, and I think he's only gotten better over time," he said.

In an email, O'Malley said, he thinks "Steves accomplishments on behalf of the recording are self evident in the fidelity and capture of the reality of what the band sounds like at that moment in time. Remarkable isnt the right word, but minimalism, realism and cinematography are all metaphorical terms I have been using lately when discussing this recording."

In an email, Albini said his task "was to somehow make the listening experience at home evoke the sensation of hearing the music in person."

"Beginning each piece, Stephen and Greg would trace out the outline of the structure and then fine-tune the sound of each of their rigs. With a band like this, where so few sounds are present at any one time, each of the sounds needs a voice that can suffer scrutiny, and these two are meticulous about sculpting the density and texture of each chord. They can hear the difference between 2 o'clock and 2.30 on the dial of one of their pedals, and they should be able to hear that same difference in the studio once it's been recorded," he wrote.

During the sessions, O'Malley and Anderson might run their guitars through six to eight amps, some set up in different rooms.

"Any one of those amps might not sound particularly perfect on its own," Midyett said, "but you put the whole thing together and they tweak them so that they're adding up to this huge thing that you could never get out of a single piece of equipment."

Albini said the multiple-amp configuration contributed to the final wall of guitar tones in a few different ways. They can have different pedals and different pickups send to different amplifiers.

"Also, each amp will have a particular breakup character that may be overbearing if the whole signal is breaking up, but as a component of the sound can be invigorating. There's a mode of distortion that Sunn O))) use where the individual notes disappear and you hear the buckling sound of the speakers as a principal voice. Blue Cheer and other heavy bands hint at that sound but Sunn O))) have really made it a trademark. This sound is a product of volume, and strictly speaking is a kind of failure mode for an amplifier. Each amplifier will enter that mode in different ways, and the effect, especially in stereo, can be startling," he wrote in an email.

Over the 70-minute run time, there are plenty of shifts in texture and variations in the sound.

Albini said that "the hack, stock way of thinking about electrical guitars in the studio is that they are unsubtle and don't require careful attention or technique. Stick a mic on there and don't ask too many questions. If I've learned anything over the years it's that guitarists are extremely particular about precisely what their instruments sound like, and doing them justice is as demanding as recording a string quartet or chamber orchestra."

He had to keep track of all those signals and then work in additional instruments like the cello, pipe organ, synth, baritone guitar, and halldorophone, a "self-contained amplified cello that produces feedback and infinite-sustain effects," he said.

In the fall, the band will release a second album, "Pyroclasts," with material from the same sessions. Midyett said they're fairly meditative pieces, in the 11- to 14-minute range, based on a single root note. They were recordings from the beginning or end of a session, "where everyone would gather together and play these things to kind of either wake up and introduce the studio to what was going to happen to it that day, or calm it down," he said.

Midyett, who is on tour with the group, said the new albums are the closest to the live Sunn experience yet. "It's essentially impossible to replicate that unless you have a really big stereo, and even then you're not going to have a bunch of people in robes and fog, probably in front of you, unless you hire somebody."

O'Malley and Anderson tune their lowest guitar string down a fifth from standard tuning, and which means it's lower than the famously heavy riffs on Sabbath records. They often have 15 amps on stage, with O'Malley and Anderson running their guitars through three Sunn amps, plus one more. Another member, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, plugs his Moog synthesizer in three amps. Steve Moore runs his synthesizers through several Fender amps (and plays trombone), and Midyett plays through two amps.

He estimates that it adds up to about 3,200 watts on stage. "The technical rider is very detailed, with particular focus on being able to source enough current to keep everything up and running," he said. Sound tech Chris Fullard is "super important to the whole thing coming off properly," and so is Anne Weckstrom's pink-and-blue lighting and fog design. "The fog is kind of a great leveler. It can transform any space you're in," he said.

O'Malley said the overall sonic experience to be "a kind of spiritualism in my life."

"Id hesitate that the band has a unified philosophy as far as being inside the group as there are very distinct and different characters involved, with vastly differentiating points of view, tastes, tendencies, beliefs and lifestyles, but also vastly compatible and amenable ones as well. And these change all the time. We get together for the glory of being able to be part of the greater phenomena of sound of the O))) rather than individual philosophies, but those philosophies are all welcome inside of this."

*

Regarding the music itself, Midyett's been able to "live in the riffs for awhile, so I'm used to it."

He compared it to playing improvisational jazz, combined with modern composition, in which they have to listen closely and read the moment.

"There's a map, and the map is there and you have to know what the map is, but you can wander quite a bit as a group. It's a pretty wide trail. As long as you're going together, or if you going to go against things, you're doing it intentionally," he said.

With such long sustained notes, it adds a degree of difficulty.

"You might be living with whatever you do for awhile. So if you hit a wrong note, and you don't get it right, you've got to figure out a way to adapt whatever you did to make it work, but ideally you want to hit them right in the first place," he said.

The set, which can last for a couple of hours, is paced as one continuous piece of music, with several long songs stitched together through interstitial drones, which he compared to a monolith that you can view from multiple angles.

He said it's all of a piece, and that "a lot of art that's any good has a kind of fractal quality to it, where you can break it down to smaller subsections of the whole and it still maintains its integrity somehow," he said. "People have analyzed Jackson Pollock paintings and you look at a square inch of a Jackson Pollock painting and then it has the same compositional qualities as the whole thing has, and that's the reason you and me can't go drip-paint all over something and make it look like a Pollock."

He feels the same about the sound O'Malley and Anderson have created with Sunn, where any short section of the set is carefully considered. "But in terms of the texture of it, they're kind of the only band in the world that sounds like that," he said.

Midyett's band, Mint Mile, just finished a double album with a fall release planned. It's called "Ambertron," a word he coined himself. He likes music that tries to capture a feeling, impression or thought and presents it in a form that allows you to re-live it, although it might be slightly different, something preserved in amber. The "tron" part comes from Greek word for an instrument.

"I think bands are kind of machines for doing that," he said.

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Hotter, drier summers. More wildfires and smoke. Additional flooding. Lower stream flows with higher water temperatures. Shorter ski seasons.

Welcome to what could be Missoulas future.

A draft Vulnerability Assessment on what the greater Missoula area might be like by 2050, based on climate projections paints a disturbing picture. Despite that, two authors of the study are upbeat, noting that now that the community has identified potential impacts, its residents can prepare and work on strategies and solutions.

Climate change is such an overwhelming issue. But when people dive in and start to understand the local effect, they can start to think about what approach we can take so its not so depressing that we want to run away, said Amy Cilimburg, executive director of Climate Smart Missoula. It is sobering and a lot to take in, but the Vulnerability Assessment should lead to helping people feel motivated and figure out what to do.

Diana Maneta, the energy conservation and sustainability coordinator for Missoula County, adds that they learned a lot in creating the report, which used input from more than 100 local stakeholders ranging from agriculture to public health sectors.

The report is based on a workshop that brought together the stakeholders, many of whom I knew nothing about, Maneta said. It was interesting to learn about the impacts to these stakeholders.

The Vulnerability Assessment is the product of collaboration among Missoula County, the city and Climate Smart Missoula. Its part of the Climate Ready Communities: Building Resiliency in Missoula County initiative, an 18-month climate resiliency planning process that started last summer.

The new document, which was unveiled on Friday, comes on the heels of a Climate and Community Primer, which included three mid-century climate scenarios that illustrated a range of possible futures Missoula County could face within 30 years. That document was released in December.

The climate projections presented in the primer suggest that Missoula County is likely to experience hotter, drier summers; warmer, wetter springs; decreased low-elevation snowpack, and earlier spring runoff, the Vulnerability Assessment notes. We are already beginning to see the impacts of these changes. The conditions that led to our 2017 fire season and the 2018 flood season are likely to become increasingly common in the coming decades.

Addressing more frequent and intense wildfires, with the potential loss of lives, is probably the greatest climate-related change for Missoula city and county emergency services. The report notes that rural parts of the county are served by a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters, whose departments already are understaffed and shrinking. With more people building homes next to forested wildlands, those limited resources are expected to be increasingly strained.

For instance, the Missoula City-County Health Department recommended evacuating the entire town of Seeley Lake in 2017 due to wildfire smoke, and there may be an increased need for such evacuations in the future.

The reports note that these and other impacts may be wide ranging. People could experience more health problems and increased health care costs due to smoke from wildfires. Water supplies could become unreliable due to drought. Business revenues could drop as tourism declines due to smoke, fires and floods. Forests could change to grasslands. Crops could be damaged from more intense rains and early or late freezes.

The report adds that its important to keep in mind that although the risks are described one by one, in the coming decade, the Missoula community may experience impacts concurrently, like wildfire smoke combined with higher temperatures. They also could come in quick succession, with heavy precipitation and flooding in the spring followed by dry conditions and wildfires in the summer. That will make dealing with them even more challenging.

Yet even as the local results to a worldwide problem are daunting, Cilimburg said theyre not insurmountable.

We need to think about mitigation to reduce carbon pollution and our carbon footprint. Everyone needs to do it, she said. We also have some time to adapt to changes that already are here and those that are coming. This Vulnerability Assessment is part of the process of us understanding the risks, prioritizing those risks and impacts, and deciding which really are the most crucial to develop strategies to deal with them.

The report also notes that warmer weather may have positive impacts on Missoula Countys agricultural sector. It could increase the length of the growing season, creating opportunities for new crops such as stone fruits, grapes, melons and corn. Those extended growing seasons also could benefit alfalfa and hay producers by allowing for additional cuttings.

Two informal workshops, where the public can provide input on the draft and gather feedback, are set for this month. One will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, and the other is noon to 1:30 p.m. May 16.

Both events will take place in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse Annex at 200 W. Broadway. People can also provide input online at missoulaclimate.org/resiliency-planning.

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Even back in 1966, a University of Montana graduate student talked about preserving Native American languages, in this case the names of edible and medicinal plants used by residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

"As knowledge of my study became known on the reservation, many curious and interested Indians asked me if I had collected various plants or told me of different uses for plants which I already had," wrote Ron Stubbs in his master's degree thesis. When possible, he had at least two people identify each plant. "  My informants  expressed an intense desire to make sure that I recorded information concerning each plant correctly."

This year, prompted by a UM faculty member, Montana lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

"Montana is the home to 13 different Indigenous languages," said associate professor Rosalyn LaPier in an email. "Folks like me and others at UM work on the national and international stage to strengthen policies regarding (Native American) languages."

In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly made a proclamation declaring 2019 a time to support Native languages, which the UN noted "play a crucial role in our lives."

"They are not only our first medium for communication, education and social integration, but are also at the heart of each persons unique identity, cultural history and memory," said the UN proclamation.

LaPier requested the 2019 Montana Legislature's American Indian Caucus take up a resolution in support of the UN proclamation, and legislators adopted the statement partly to "draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages."

The joint resolution was introduced by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder; Rep. Jade Bahr, D-Billings; Rep. Barbara Bessette, D-Great Falls; Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula; Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning; Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, D-Crow Agency; and Rep. Marvin Weatherwax, D-Browning.

"The 66th Legislature is committed to the continued preservation of tribal languages in Montana and urges all state agencies to take appropriate steps, when applicable, to support the preservation, revitalization and promotion of these valued languages and cultures."

Higher visibility

Kelly Webster, chief of staff for UM President Seth Bodnar, said in an email the campus stands behind the legislation.

"The UM family celebrates the signing of this joint resolution in support of the United Nations proclamation of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages," Webster said. "UM faculty and students have long been leaders in revitalizing, preserving, and strengthening indigenous languages and cultures, work that enriches our campus, our state, our country, and our world."

Native American language preservation is recently more visible on the UM campus. Last month for Arbor Week, LaPier said Environmental Studies interns added Salish names to local tree tags, such as satqp for Ponderosa pine.

In January, LaPier herself participated in a gathering at Harvard University as an invited speaker to discuss the National Coalition of Native American Language Schools and Programs, an organization she helped found. She said this week that people often consider Native language and Native knowledge as separate entities, but that's not the case.

"Those things are really deeply connected," LaPier said. "  That's something I teach at UM, how those things are connected. And when you are revitalizing or even saving an indigenous language, you're also saving that community's indigenous knowledge, which is connected to their ecological knowledge and their environmental knowledge."

LaPier is an indigenous writer and ethnobotanist in Environmental Studies at UM, and she said the flagship has worked hard toward Native language preservation.

"University of Montana is one of the leaders in promoting and preserving Native American languages on the national stage," said LaPier, also an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Metis.

The joint resolution notes the Montana Secretary of State will provide copies of the legislation to recipients including the secretary general of the United Nations, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., each tribal government on the seven Montana reservations and Little Shell Chippewa tribe, and the Montana governor.

Please sign up on Missoulian.com to subscribe to Under the M, the weekly email about the University of Montana and higher education news in Montana.

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NorthWestern Energy issued a warning Wednesday that scammers are targeting Montana customers, threatening immediate utility shut offs unless payment is made.

The company says customers have reported that they have received a call in which a recording instructs the customer to call a 1-800 number to avoid having their utility service interrupted.

Customers who called the phone number report that the person who answers the call demands immediate payment.

The scammers appear to be calling utility customers throughout Montana.

NorthWestern says it does not call customers and demand immediate payment of past-due bills. The utility will provide multiple past-due notices before terminating service.

If you get a cancellation notification, the company recommends dialing the customer service number on your utility bill to verify the notification. NorthWestern never asks customers to use a prepaid debit card for payment.

NorthWestern Energy has reported the scam and the phone number being used to authorities.

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Custos Media Technologies runs a unique blockchain-based anti-piracy product, which leverages the immutability of public blockchains and game theory to curb incidents of piracy.

Custos cofounder Fred Lutz told MyBroadband that the companys technology functions by encouraging pirates to anonymously rat out their compatriots  with a Bitcoin reward up for grabs.

While at the forefront of blockchain technology, Custos was founded in Stellenbosch, South Africa  once again showing that the country can be the home of world-first developments.

Great adoption

The great thing about building on global platforms like Bitcoin and AWS means we were global from day one, Lutz told MyBroadband.

Our first customer was the foremost film distributor in South Africa, Indigenous Film Distribution. They are very forward-looking and jumped on the opportunity to increase the security of their customers content.

Custos has applied its piracy protection to over 350,000 movies across the film industry, and it has seen a dramatic reduction in piracy since it entered the market.

In South Africa, for example, about 60% of films were pirated before we entered the market  it is notoriously bad for piracy, Lutz said.

We have not had a single leak from any of the movies we protected since.

And its not as if the pirates left  there have been two cases where our internal web crawler picked up pirated copies of movies that we protected well before they were in the market.

Custos contacted the customers and in both cases a single unprotected DVD copy was sent out to a reviewer that insisted on it. Needless to say, they refused to send any DVDs following that.

The company has also been contracted by one of South Africas biggest universities to protect the content that goes through their learning management platform.

Based in South Africa

Lutz said that the physical distance of South Africa from the rest of the world can be a challenge for companies with international clients, but they have managed to overcome this obstacle.

We now have customers in Hollywood, Atlanta, New York, Canada, the UK, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, Norway, and even Trinidad and Tobago. We also protect just about all major movies in South Africa, Lutz said.

Id say the biggest issue is the flights, he said, adding that time zone differences also impact working hours.

Lutz said another big issue has been raising venture capital in South Africa, noting that while the local industry is developing at an exciting pace, there are still few early-stage deep tech investors locally.

Luckily, Custos was able to source funding from TIA, Stellenbosch University, local angel investors, and US-based firms.

This was coupled with exchange controls in South Africa, Lutz added.

Youd think that the government would be happy about money flowing into the country, but the expected time for funds to be cleared into South Africa through the Reserve Bank is eight weeks. Show me a startup for which an eight-week knock to cash flow is easy to weather.

Blockchain in SA

Lutz said that South Africa is a powerhouse for blockchain innovation, which he ascribes to early adopters, a general distrust for the government, and good tech talent.

This access to great engineers and talent, in general, has been a very big plus for building a blockchain startup in South Africa, Lutz said.

The lower cost of living locally has also helped the team develop their technology for a fraction of what it would have cost to do in the United States, Lutz added.

Now read: The one thing IT professionals like more than money
Eskoms power generation woes mean that it may be time to look to alternative energy sources that can assist in keeping the national power grid running.

This is particularly important given the monumental failure that has been South Africas two newest coal plants  Medupi and Kusile.

One possible alternative energy source is wind energy, with wind turbine generators currently providing 2020 MW of operational capacity to the grid.

South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chair Mercia Grimbeek explained to MyBroadband how wind energy offers great potential in South Africa.

No need for nuclear

Grimbeek said that according to the current draft update of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which serves as the governments long-term energy plan, there is no need for any new nuclear power to be added to South Africas grid.

Instead, Grimbeek said, the country can reduce its reliance on coal plants by using other clean forms of power such as wind power, which is expected to constitute 15% of installed power capacity by 2030.

Government has, to an extent, embraced renewables, which have gained traction in other parts of the world as countries recognise this economically sound means to combat climate change, said Grimbeek.

She added that while wind power has the potential to provide even more grid capacity than the planning current foresees, SAWEA recognises that issues of social and economic development are as important as successful energy transition.

The feasibility of wind power

Grimbeek said that wind and solar are the two fastest power generation systems to deploy, as it takes just 1-2 years as opposed to 10+ years for coal and nuclear plants.

As a result, said Grimbeek, these generation methods are ideally suited to assist Eskom in dealing with the current energy crisis.

Operational wind power has avoided lots of additional load shedding and additional diesel burn, and more of them will avoid more, said Grimbeek.

Grimbeek added that wind is often available during the evening hours of the day, which is the time of day with the highest demand. This means that wind power is particularly well-suited to helping Eskom deal with peak energy usage periods that are most likely to otherwise necessitate load-shedding.

Outside of reducing the threat posed by load-shedding, Grimbeek said that other benefits of wind power include:

Low cost power generation.

Construction that happens on-budget and on-time while creating jobs.

Advancing the transformation agenda.

Attracting foreign direct investment.

Contributing to national emissions reduction targets.

The value of wind energy is evident in the fact that it is one of the fastest growing sources of electricity, while also being one of the cleanest and safest means of generating power.

The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other research institutes have conclusively demonstrated that the option of new wind, solar PV and flexible generation capacity in South Africa delivers the least-cost electricity price trajectory in the years ahead to 2050 and beyond, as well as least water consumption, lowest carbon emissions and the most jobs, added Grimbeek.

The department of energys plans for wind power

Grimbeek highlighted that the Department of Energy, in its Draft IRP 2018, has outlined its cost-optimised path for the South African electricity sector.

According to this scenario, wind would be the largest source of electricity by 2040. The DoE foresees 12 GW of wind by 2030, 38 GW by 2040 and 50 GW by 2050.

The DoE however omitted three key disruptions in its IRP2018: batteries, electric vehicles, and flexibility on the demand side, added Grimbeek.

All three factored in, wind will reach 18 GW by 2030, 57 GW by 2040 and 75 GW by 2050.
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AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CALVARY CHAPEL NAPA

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets as well on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. Check out our website at calvarynapa.org.

CARMELITE MONASTERY

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. Confession Days for English and Spanish: Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.; 8-9 p.m. First Saturdays: Confessions at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. 944-2454. oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING

Services are 9 and 10:30 with Teen Group at 10 and Youth Program at 10:30. Rev Jay's topic is "Springing into Action for the Environment". Path of the Sacred Self Workshop with Ardyce West this Sunday after services at noon. Spanish Meditation Mondays, 7-8 p.m. Course in Miracles on Tuesdays from 6:15- 8:15 p.m. Open Meditation Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. followed by Power of 8 Healing Circles. Three-week Interfaith Series continues Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m. with a Shasta Abbey Buddhism presentation. Spiritual Cinema Night Friday, May 10, features "Barbara Marx Hubbard Tribute: Co-Creative Evolution". Rev Jay's 8 week class Practical Wisdom from Ancient Roots begins Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30-8:45. 1249 Coombs St.; 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase. 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

Congregation Beth Shalom-The Center of Jewish Life in the Napa Valley-Shabbat Worship Services, Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. followed by Oneg Shabbat at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at 9:30. Religious School at 10 a.m.. Join Roy Barush and learn to make Chocolate Babka. At 10 a.m., Shorashim for tots. May 6 at 7 p.m., Women's Wisdom Circle. Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 1455 Elm Street, Napa,; 707-253-7305. www.cbsnapa.org

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Rev. Jesse Larson examines the Gospel of Luke 24: 13-35 this week assisted by Liturgist, Doreen Wilkinson. The text reminds us that when the lonely become our friends, when a stranger is welcomed, when hope is stronger than despair, we will find Jesus walking beside us. Our doors open wide every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome to worship and lead. The Covenant Choir is back, accompanied by Mark Osten, and well sing one of our favorite hymns this week, Here I Am, Lord. Youll find us tucked among the vineyards in north Napa at 1226 Salvador Avenue. Join us for a Cinco de Mayo feast in the fellowship hall after church. Well enjoy good food, friendship, and conversation while celebrating our neighbors. See you Sunday! (707) 255-9426, www.cpcnapa.org.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH

Please join us Sundays at 8:30 or 10 a.m. for a new series about our relationship with the "Stuff of Life". Money-related issues are among the most stressful that we face in life. The wisdom of Jesus offers a helpful guide. Children's programs available during 10 a.m. service. Check out our website for more information -- CrossWalkNapa.org. This year's theme: Love is Bigger, It is Hopeful  whatever we go through, Love is Bigger.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We welcome you to come and experience a Sunday morning at First Christian Church. Be inspired and encouraged by a message from the Bible that you can apply to your daily life. Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. Our Kids Ministry has a great time planned for your kids (babies through 5th graders) We are located at 2659 First Street; www.fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

You are invited to worship with us at First Presbyterian Church - Napa! Sunday, May 5, is Communion Sunday. All are welcome. Our Traditional Service with hymns and choir is at 9 a.m. and our Contemporary Worship Service with Praise Music is at 10:30 a.m. Childcare for newborns to age 4 is available, and The Path (Children's Sunday Schools) is during the 10:30 a.m. service. We invite you to stay and enjoy coffee and refreshments following both services. 1333 Third Street, 707-224-8693; www.fpcnapa.org or Facebook.com/fpcnapa.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY

Grace Church of Napa Valley: Worship service at 10 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 8:45 a.m.; Childrens Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. and Childrens Church at 10 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior High and High School ministry meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036. hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses, there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE

Sunday worship service 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840. The public is welcome.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De La Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Please join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. for Sabbath School and Connection Classes. Stay for the worship service at 11:15 a.m. Our Community Services is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 2110 Seminary St., 252-8552, Napacomm.com, 1105 G St., Napa; 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH

You are invited to worship each Sunday at the Napa Methodist Church at 625 Randolph St. where ALL are welcome. The May sermon series is "Unafraid: Facing Fear with Faith". This Sunday, the Bonner Handbell Choir will play at the 9:30 am worship service and the Fusion Band will play at the 11am service. Keith Calara will preach on "Holiness and Silliness" at both worship services. Our Sierra Service Project Youth are hosting a fundraiser on May 11 and everyone is welcome to enjoy a God's House Band Concert at 4pm and a Bar-B- Que Dinner at 6pm. A good will offering will be requested at both fundraisers. Please call the church at 253-1411 for more information.

NAPA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS)

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. Childrens program available with advance notice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH

(See Napa Valley Life Church listing)

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching, and a class is available for children and youth during this service. A Bible study on the Song of Solomon is being held at the chapel at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. 1559 Second St., Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH

We welcome you to join us Sunday at 10 a.m. for our morning service! We also welcome Brad Jameson to lead us in the message entitled Loving Others: Eternal Grace Revealed in Love, using the text from 1st John 4:7-12. We will celebrate the Lords Supper. Sunday School for children and childcare also provided. Open forum discussion immediately after refreshments after the service. Napa Valley Community Church is a Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. www.napavalleychurch.org.

NAPA VALLEY LIFE CHURCH

Napa Valley Baptist Church is now Napa Valley Life Church. Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 2303 Trower Ave. for exciting worship, relevant message and a safe and fun childrens program. A well-staffed and trained nursery is provided. Tony Valenti is Senior Pastor. nvlife.org.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN

We welcome all regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, culture, age, etc. All are welcome!

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS

At 9 a.m.: Leaders: Shawna Bynum & Margaret Kelso (What Moves Us: UU Theology #9) An Organic Faith for Our Time William Schultz considers Unitarian Universalist worship services to be places where one learns how to seek, perceive, and touch the Spirit. These practices translate into a willingness to think and act in global and nondualistic ways. What in our religious history and our congregational life shapes and forms our moral values and informs the way we act in the world? Schultz uses word like holy, grace and spirit. 11 a.m: Lessons from a Tuscan Grasshopper Traditional service with Jeanne Foster and Sunday Service Assistant, Jeff Leles. When we use the word diversity, we usually think of the differences among human beings. But the interdependent web, we UUs vow to support, embraces all being, including non-human beings. The little creatures of the world have a lot to teach we big ones if, in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau and Anne Dillard, we will take the time to simply see. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH

All masses are in English. Visitors are welcome. Sunday Mass times: 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday Evening (Vigil for Sunday) 4:30 p.m. Daily mass times: Monday-Friday: 7 and 8:45 a.m.; Saturday: 8:45 a.m. Confession: Saturdays: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Monday-Friday: 6:30-6:50 a.m., Monday-Saturday: 8:15-8:35 a.m. 3700 Lassen St., Napa.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome streets in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH

We start a new series on May 5, Visions of Hope, finding hope in the visions of John in the Book of Revelation. This week we focus on the vision of the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation 5:1-14. Worship at 8:30 (traditional, Communion, Hand Bells) and 10:15 (contemporary, childrens church). All are welcome! (3521 Linda Vista, stjohnslutheran.net)

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY

Worship meetings every Sunday at 9 a.m.  breakfast included! Everyone is welcome and we always include solid Bible teaching. Need something less churchy? Try our 10:30 a.m. Coffee and Conversation time: A Bible study which allows anyone to bring their questions about life, spirituality, and Jesus to the table. Join us for one or both each week. Childrens meetings are available too. The Salvation Army, 590 Franklin Street, Napa. 707-226-8150; Napa.Salvationarmy.Org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY

Sunday, May 5 at the 10 a.m. service, Unity welcomes, Rev. Marjorie Brach, her message is titled,How To Let God Help You: Chapter 1-The Purpose of Living. Her theme: This week, we are beginning a new series based on the Unity Classic Book, How to Let God Help You. This compilation of treasured teachings and writings of Unitys Co-founder Myrtle Fillmore, is full of inspiring and practical ideas for how to live the Truth as we know it. Join us for a wonderful Sunday celebration of living our purpose, of fully expressing the God wisdom that lives within us! Unitys musical director, Lon Eakes, will be performing our Sunday Service music this week. 11:40 a.m.-Forum-After a brief refreshment break, Rev. Marjorie will facilitate a discussion group pertaining to her message. Sunday Service and Forum are held at the historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagan Road (1 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking next to the building. www.Facebook.com/USCNV, www.UnitySpiritualCenterNapa.org 255-6881.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH

This Sunday, May 5, we will have Senior Chaplain of Napa County Lee Shaw as our guest speaker. Come join us at 10 a.m. Sunday for our worship service. We have our weekly Prayer meeting at 9 a.m. in the conference center. The main church building is under repairs and we are meeting in our Sunday School classrooms on the North side of the church. Come join us for coffee, doughnuts, and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sunday School is for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fifth - eighth grades and high school students),and Children's classes "Jesus and Me", (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. Church office hours at Tuesday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; 6619 Yount St., Yountville; 707-944-2179.

Want to have your church included in Worship Notes? Need to update your congregations information? Contact editor Kelly Doren at kdoren@napanews.com or 256-2263.
Heather Hernandez has been the manager of Live Fire Pizza in the Oxbow Public Market for about a year now. Asked about her impressions, she was quick to respond, I am beyond impressed. I dont think I expected it to feel this natural. And the quality  from the food, to the staff to the owners  is amazing.

Thats hardly idle praise. Hernandez is a self described foodie who has spent her career in the hospitality and food industry. Shes seen all sides of the business, from fast casual, to cafe to full service.

Live Fire is actually a blend of all of that, depending on what our guests want. Many people pick up their food to go; others order, get a pager and walk around the market or enjoy Live Fires private patio, and some prefer to sit at the bar for full service.

The delicious and approachable menu, crafted by Liza Shaw (San Franciscos A16, Redd Wood and Merigan Sub Shop), features artisan pizzas, salads, sandwiches and plenty of wine country inspired small plates.

Pizzas, cooked in a brick oven, are charred just enough to give them a full flavor, and to add a little bit of love, as Hernandez puts it.

The mushroom pizza, which is prepared with a bounty of roasted mushrooms, also features ricotta, smoked mozzarella, radicchio, grana, garlic and oregano. Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts? Wait until you try a side of fried Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, which are roasted in the wood fire oven, quickly fried and then drizzled with lemon, capers, chilies and mint, and you may change your mind. Live Fire offers a carefully curated selection of beers, wines and other beverages.

For Hernandez, Live Fire is all about people. We really listen to our guests. Shes worked in corporate environments, which allow for no deviation from the formula.

Its wonderful here. Were going to remodel the outside patio this summer, largely based on wanting to create a comfier dining environment for all our locals and visitors.

When the owners are in, its to taste product and high five the staff. That really rubs off on the people dining here.

Even the staff is amazing  high energy, creative, willing to do what it takes to make the guest experience completely positive.

Grand re-opening

Antiques on Second, at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets, celebrates new ownership and a remodel on May 18 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Expect a splash, small bites and a great new look for the store. New owner Jennifer Smith, who has been an antique dealer at the site for ten years, said she didnt have to change a lot.

Molly (Silcox, who opened the business 17 years ago) did a great job. Its updated, but we are still keeping the vintage look and feel.

Smith has rearranged vendors and added six new ones. The store is open daily.

See you downtown!

Craig Smith is the executive director of the Downtown Napa Association and also the author of Lies That Bind  How Do You Arrest Somebody Who Doesnt Exist? Reach him at 257-0322 or craig@donapa.com.
Depending on whos describing it, Measure F is either a tool to protect reasonably priced senior housing or an unwelcome government intrusion into a cordial relationship between Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Parks tenants and owners.

St. Helena officials steered a neutral course during Saturdays informational workshop, taking a just the facts, maam approach to a polarizing measure that will be decided by a June 4 special election.

We are Switzerland, said City Manager Mark Prestwich before he and Deepa Sharma, an attorney representing the city, delved into the details of the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO).

A yes vote would enact an ordinance passed by the City Council last November introducing rent stabilization at the citys mobile home parks, of which there is currently only one. A no vote would maintain the status quo at Vineyard Valley, where tenants typically sign a long-term lease with annual rent increases of 3 percent.

Under Measure F, tenants entering into new leases would have two choices: a short-term lease of 12 months or less subject to rent stabilization or a long-term lease with the parks usual rent increases.

Annual rent increases for rent-stabilized leases would be capped at 100 percent of the change in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3 percent of the base rent, whichever is less.

If park owners seek a higher rent increase than the formula allows, they would have to hold informational meetings to explain the reason for the increase  major capital improvements, for example  and engage in mediation with the leaseholders.

If mediation fails, the dispute could end up in arbitration, where an arbitrator would ensure that the park owner receives a just and reasonable return.

Rent increases exceeding 300 percent of the change in CPI would go straight to arbitration once mediation fails. Rent increases of 300 percent or less of the change in CPI would go to arbitration only if 51 percent of the rent-stabilized leaseholders sign a petition for rate review.

The city would pay all related costs (mediation, arbitration, staff time) until 50 percent of the leases opt into rent stabilization. Once that threshold is crossed, the city could charge a fee to the owner, who could pass half of that cost on to tenants.

The ordinance also contains a vacancy control provision. When a unit is sold in place and the new buyer chooses a rent-stabilized lease, the park owner wouldnt be able to increase the rent beyond whats allowed by the rent stabilization formula.

The owner would be able to bring the rent up to market rate if the buyer signs a long-term lease, if theres a termination of a tenancy, if a mobile home is abandoned or removed for reasons other than off-site rehabilitation, or if the owner can establish that an adjustment is necessary for the owner to receive a fair return.

The city will hold another informational workshop about Measure F at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the firehouse.

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19382019

On Monday morning April 29, 2019, Wallace Wally Dean Gray, Jr., devoted husband and loving father, passed away at the age of 80 surrounded by family after an arduous battle with bone cancer. Wally was born on December 22, 1938 in Ohio to Wallace and Clarice (Rogers) Gray, Sr. After his childhood spent in Idaho, Wally went on to receive his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho, then proceeded to earn his license in engineering. He carried on his work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard for over 40 years. After retirement, Wally taught computer classes for the Adult Education Program at Napa Valley College.

At the tender age of 19, he met the love of his life, Judith Santina Ramos, in Costa Rica. Despite a language barrier, they fell in love and married on August 29, 1959. They had three children together. When he wasnt attending to his family, he used his time to obtain his pilot license, read numerous books, contemplate physics, and become an avid Star Wars fan and Trekkie. With his children as his accomplices, he occasionally partook in playing practical jokes on his unsuspecting wife. He was known to be a kind, welcoming man who gave great hugs.

In his passing, Wally is now reunited with his parents and his youngest son, Eric. Wally is survived by his wife, Judy; his son Greg and his wife Melissa; his daughter Sue and her husband Ken; his grandchildren Jeanette, Blake and Gianna; and his great-grandchildren Noah, Sariah and Michael.

Services will be held on Friday, May 10th, 2019 at Tolucay Cemetery on Coombsville Road at 11 a.m. with a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society.

May the Force be with you.
Chad Frazier thinks theres some special scenery along Highway 128 as it runs by Markley Cove Resort along Lake Berryessa in remote, eastern Napa County.

Were quintessential California, said Frazier, the resort general manager. Were the oak trees and poppies and lupine at this time of year  were kind of this hidden gem up here that people dont know about.

California could help spread the word. Highway 128 might someday have the blue signs with the orange poppies that mark official California scenic highways.

Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, is trying to open the door to a designation. Her Assembly Bill 998 would make Highway 128 eligible for scenic highway status, though not bestow the honor in-and-of itself. It recently passed the Assembly and now moves to the Senate.

As a designated scenic highway, Highway 128 will promote tourism and enhance local pride in the region, Aguiar-Curry said in a press release.

Highway 128 is about 140 miles long. It runs from Highway 1 near the misty Pacific Ocean in Mendocino County east through Sonoma, Napa and Yolo counties before ending at Interstate 505 at Winters near walnut orchards in the hot Sacramento Valley.

Thats the big picture. Theres also the smaller, Napa County picture.

The highway enters the western county near Calistoga, travels northern Napa Valley on a shared route with Highway 29 through St. Helena, cuts across wine country, then heads into eastern mountains past Lake Hennessey. It leaves the county near Monticello Dam, that 300-foot-tall, Lake Berryessa-creating concrete monolith blocking Putah Creek at Devils Gate.

Highway 128 has more than the scenic beauty of oak-covered hills and sprawling vineyards, according to Assembly Bill 998.

There are also many Michelin star restaurants and world class resorts, from spas to rustic bed-and breakfasts, where drivers can stop and enjoy local cuisine and comforts, the bill said.

California began its scenic highway program in 1963. To be chosen, a state highway must first be on a list of eligible roadways passed by the state Legislature. Napa County already has highways 29, 121 and 221 eligible, though none of them are designated.

Being eligible isnt enough. A local government such as Napa County must prepare a scenic highway proposal that includes a survey of the visual highlights. The proposals must be discussed at a public meeting.

Then the paperwork goes to Caltrans. Once Caltrans accepts the proposal, the local government creates a corridor protection program that details how the scenic views will be protected. Then Caltrans decides whether to designate or not.

That means, if Aguiar-Curry succeeds in making Highway 128 eligible for scenic road status, Napa County must decide whether it wants to complete the effort for the segment within its boundaries.

The county hasnt ignored the idea of scenic roadways. In fact, it has designated 280 miles of scenic roads on its own and tried to protect them from visual intrusions with its viewshed ordinance. Among them is Highway 128.

But Napa County has never taken those extra steps that would bring official state designation and those official poppy signs.

Historically, the county has refrained from seeking official state designation due to concerns about maintenance and improvement costs, the county general plan says.

The general plan doesnt detail the nature of the costs. A Caltrans report gives an example, saying counties are responsible for installing and maintaining those scenic highway signs with the poppy logo at three-to-five mile intervals and at important intersections.

Could Napa County have a change of heart in the case of Highway 128 if Aguiar-Currys bill passes the Senate and wins Gov. Gavin Newsoms signature?

Supervisor Diane Dillons district contains much of the Napa stretch of Highway 128. She said she looked at the ramifications and whats involved with state scenic highway designations after Aguiar-Curry asked for her support.

There didnt seem to be a downside, Dillon said.

Meanwhile, a regional push to publicize Highway 128 has resulted in a Highway 128 website. The site features attractions along the route and has web links to tourism groups in all four counties along the route, including Visit Napa Valley. Go to https://www.visit128.com to see the site.

Among the Highway 128 attractions featured on the website is Markley Cove, with its marina, store, launch and cabins on a finger of Lake Berryessas 160-mile shoreline. The Frazier family has operated the resort on federal land for more than 30 years.

Chad Frazier wasnt recently ready to take a position on Assembly Bill 998, given he didnt know the details of what state scenic highway status entails. But he doesnt want the area to be hidden away, adding its tough for people to care about something if they dont know anything about it.

If youve never driven that whole length of 128, that really is a fantastic drive, he said.

Assembly Bill 998 is co-authored by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg and Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa.

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A Napa County jury will soon decide whether a Bay Area man accused of pimping a young woman in her 20s will be found guilty of human trafficking charges.

The case stems from the October 2018 arrest of 28-year-old Kevin Lamarr Lewis. He was arrested at the Motel 6 in Napa after he drove the woman to meet law enforcement officers who had responded to her online prostitution ad. The Napa Special Investigations Bureau, which focuses on human and drug trafficking cases, partnered with the Vacaville Police Department in the sting operation that resulted in his arrest.

The woman involved in this case is not being named in this article because the Napa County District Attorneys Office has identified her as a victim of human trafficking.

Court records show Lewis is charged with seven felonies related to pimping, human trafficking, pandering and witness intimidation. He also faces four misdemeanors related to violating a protective order, obstructing an officer and driving with a suspended license. Judge Rodney Stone presided over Lewiss week-long trial before the 12-person jury of six men and six women.

At the time of his arrest in Napa, Lewis was out on bail after abandoning a court date in Los Angeles a week earlier, law enforcement officials said in court. That court hearing was related to human trafficking charges he faced in Los Angeles after a September arrest that involved the same woman targeted in the Napa arrest.

Prosecutors argue that Lewis and the woman were heading to Los Angeles for prostitution, but Lewis said he invited the woman on the trip for company while he broke into cars.

Los Angeles law enforcement filed a protective order that barred Lewis from contacting the woman. Napa officials have since done the same.

When questioned in court by prosecutor Stephanie Macumber of the DAs Office on Wednesday, the woman claimed she fell in love with Lewis, who encouraged her to return to prostitution after leaving an abusive pimp, then took all of the money she earned from performing sex acts and threatened her. Lewis took the stand Friday afternoon to deny those accusations and claim that he did not know the woman continued to prostitute.

Alleged victim takes the stand

The woman who accuses Lewis of being her pimp said in response to the prosecutors questions Wednesday that she did not want to testify and was subpoenaed. Her family had recently received threatening phone calls and she worried for their safety, she said.

She told the prosecutor that she and Lewis had known each other for years and were introduced through family. They were friends at first, she said, but that changed about six or seven years later when their relationship began to change to one that she described as being more than friends.

She had previous experience with prostitution, but that didnt last long, she said. Her last pimp was physically violent and she left, she said.

She had tattoos on her hand and neck that referred to Lewis, plus another large thigh tattoo that referred to her old pimp. Tattoos can be a way for pimps to brand prostitutes, Macumber said, though the woman said she had received those tattoos before Lewis became her pimp, and Lewis denied forcing her to get the tattoos.

She said he promised her money, nice clothes and a nice car if she prostituted for him, but he kept all of the money she made, she said.

She would place ads for sexual services on the internet, and Lewis would text her to commit sex acts, drive her to dates and wait nearby for her in his Infiniti with paper plates covering the license plate, she said. He would keep her purse while she went on dates, and sometimes keep her phone and delete text messages between the two of them, she said. Lewis denied doing this.

She wanted a regular job, but Lewis discouraged her and said people with regular jobs are squares, she said.

Lewis September arrest in Los Angeles came up several times in court Wednesday when Los Angeles Police Department officials and the woman testified.

Lewis, who said he has been breaking into cars for the past decade and has faced seven or eight related felonies in various counties, maintained he and the woman took the trip to L.A. so that he could break into cars. Los Angeles police returned stolen items found in their car to at least five owners, said Lewiss public defender Andy Rubinger.

The Napa County District Attorneys Office played body camera footage from an arrest in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, when officials say Lewis was apprehended after skipping out on a court hearing for charges related to human trafficking.

The video shows Lewis in a Hogwarts T-shirt and an unzipped black hoodie. Officer Michael Liebe led him into the back of a black-and-white police SUV on a sunny day. The video captures some small talk between Liebe and Lewis while sitting in traffic, on their way to the South-Central Los Angeles police station.

Audio from the footage captures Lewis asking Liebe to let him go and tell officials that he escaped instead.

I got $10,000 for you, bro, Lewis said, before asking the officer to turn off his body camera.

Lewis said Friday that he did not have that much money and had no intention to give the officer any money, but wanted to avoid going to jail.

Lewis tries to clear his name

Lewis said that he met the woman on her 18th birthday. The two began to develop a sexual, noncommittal relationship over the coming months, but fell out of touch until late 2017, when he said they reconnected over social media. He then asked her to accompany him on a trip to Los Angeles so that he could break into cars.

Los Angeles was a better spot to break into cars because frequent car break-ins are featured prominently on Bay Area news, Lewis said. They returned to Los Angeles between five and 10 times for such trips, Lewis said, though the woman did not participate in the car break-ins.

During their September trip to Los Angeles, Lewis said he broke into at least 40 to 50 cars at one point and stole property worth about $2,000. He agreed to drop the woman off to meet with friends since he had already made so much money.

Thats when the woman got arrested after meeting up with an undercover officer.

Lewis said when Los Angeles officers found him later, guns drawn, there were many stolen items in his backseat. He initially thought he left a cell phone turned on and officers had tracked the devices location.

After his arrest, Lewis said he called his girlfriend, who is not the same woman as the alleged victim, to ask her to start gathering bail.

He said he skipped his court date the next month because the bail had been raised to $245,000 from $100,000, he said. Lewis knew it was wrong, but he had about $160, he said.

He headed to catch a Greyhound bus, where he was arrested. Again, Lewis said he called his girlfriend for help pulling together the bail, but she came up $1,500 short. His grandfather agreed to loan him the last sum he needed to be released and the alleged victim said she could give Lewis $1,500 to repay his grandfather, he said.

He texted and called the woman multiple times to no avail, but she eventually answered and agreed to meet with him, Lewis said. Lewis agreed to drive her to meet someone in Napa who he believed to have the $1,500, he said. Thats when the woman and Lewis were arrested at the Motel 6.

He denied that he would drive her to commit an act of prostitution and said he knew the woman had previously been a prostitute, but didnt know whether that continued to be the case, he said. Lewis also said he did not know that the woman had previously accused him of pimping her out.

While Lewis denied the human trafficking charges, he admitted to contacting the woman in spite of protective orders, delaying officers, driving on a suspended license and making phone calls in jail, in spite of a judges order that he could only contact his four-year-old son.

The trial resumes Monday, when closing arguments are expected to be made.

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Napa Valley College will host a campus housing forum on Wednesday, May 8, in the Community Room 1731 on campus. Members of the public are invited to drop in any time from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with presentations at set times during the day.

The college recently implemented a feasibility study on campus housing to determine if there was a true demand for housing, and if so, what NVC's specific needs would be.

This is the publics opportunity to learn more about the process and weigh in on the feasibility study. The Community Room at Napa Valley College will be open to the public all day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that people can review materials and post comments and questions.

The college's vendor, the Scion Group, will make three presentations at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m and also be available for questions throughout the day.

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Anyone whos visited the Oxbow Public Market on a weekend or downtown Napa on a Friday night can attest to the number of tourists making Napa a destination.

The statistics back it up.

In 2018, the Napa Valley welcomed 3.85 million visitors who spent $2.23 billion, said a new report from Visit Napa Valley. To compare, the 2016 report said visitors spent $1.9 billion in Napa Valley.

On Friday, Visit Napa Valley released the 2018 Napa Valley Visitor Industry Economic Impact and Visitor Profile reports, with results of a yearlong research study conducted by Destination Analysts.

According to Visit Napa Valley, nearly 70 percent of the $2.23 billion is generated from overnight hotel guests, who spent an average of $446 in Napa County per guest, per day.

The $2.23 billion spent in 2018 represents $85.1 million in tax benefit to residents, said the report. Taxes generated by the visitor industry include revenues from the transient occupancy tax (TOT), sales taxes and property and transfer taxes paid on lodging facilities.

The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County (after the wine industry), supporting the livelihood of an estimated 15,872 people in the community, with a combined payroll of $492 million, said the report.

The tourism industry continues to provide a significant positive impact to Napa Valleys economy, while also supporting local initiatives essential to the well-being of our community, said Linsey Gallagher, the new president and CEO for Visit Napa Valley.

As residents, we sometimes overlook the ancillary benefits that visitor spending achieves. Napa Valleys healthy and vibrant tourism industry contributes to the quality of life that we are so fortunate to enjoy. We live and work in one of the most desirable destinations in the world.

Direct visitor spending within Napa County increased 15.4 percent since 2016, outpacing visitor growth of 8.9 percent in the same time period, said the report.

Our goal is to maintain and increase travel and spending in the Napa Valley during nonpeak time periods, including November through April (Cabernet Season) and midweek, Sunday through Thursday nights, said Gallagher.

The city of Napa generated more than $21.6 million in TOT in 2018 followed by $6.9 million in Yountville, $3 million in St. Helena, $6.2 million in Calistoga and more than $1.5 million in American Canyon.

Revenue from tourism allows local government to invest in services and programs that benefit all residents, including infrastructure improvements, civic amenities and public safety, said Gallagher.

Additionally, tourism creates demand for a diverse range of goods, services, and cultural programs that are available for both residents and visitors to enjoy, she said.

In 2018, Visit Napa Valley rallied the support of the hospitality industry and other leaders to pass a voter supported 1 percent increase in TOT for a special fund dedicated to workforce housing in five out of six jurisdictions. Approximately $5 million will be collected annually to promote future housing development for residents, said Visit Napa Valley.

Napa Valleys second largest industry

In 2018, tourism put an estimated 15,872 people to work in the community providing a combined payroll of $492 million to support their families, reported the data.

This represents an employment increase of 18.1 percent from 2016 and a 27.2 percent increase in combined payroll in 2016.

Not surprisingly, the majority of hospitality jobs are related to either restaurants or hotels. Since the last survey in 2016, three hotels - Las Alcobas, Vista Collina and Archer Hotel Napa - opened, along with four smaller inns with 10 rooms or less.

Overnight guests versus 'day trippers'

More than one-third, or 35.5 percent, of visitors in 2018 stayed overnight in the Napa Valley, while the remaining 64.5 percent were on day trips.

In total, 80.7 percent of overnight visitors stayed in a hotel within Napa Valley and 12.4 percent stayed in a private residence.

Compared to the 2016 study, overnight visitation grew 13.7 percent in 2018 with day trip visitation growing 5.3 percent, supporting Visit Napa Valleys mission to inspire visitors to extend their stay by experiencing the valleys more than 125 hotels, motels, and inns, said the release.

Hotel guests in 2018 were responsible for $1.55 billion in direct visitor spending, or an average of $446 per person, per day, compared to an average of $170 per person, per day spent by day-trippers. This represents a 15.4 percent increase in spending from 2016.

The largest proportion of day trip visitors originated their trip from San Francisco, followed by Vallejo-Fairfield, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

How much visitors spend

The largest component of visitor spending in 2018 was on retail, which accounted for 40 percent of all spending, or $746 million, reported Visit Napa Valley.

The second and third largest components of Napa Valley visitor spending included restaurants at $479 million and lodging at $476 million. Group meetings, weddings, and social events generated $267 million in direct spending in Napa Valley.

How often they come back

The Napa Valley draws a substantial amount of repeat visitation, with the average visitor in 2018 making 3.6 trips to the Napa Valley in the past twelve months (compared with 2.9 trips in 2016). In total, 88.1 percent of respondents said that they were very likely or likely to return to the Napa Valley.

Why they visit

Visitors stated the primary reason for visiting the Napa Valley was for a getaway or vacation, representing 71.8 percent of all visitors. Wedding or special events represented 11.3 percent of visitors and a conference or business travel represented 5.8 percent of visitors.

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For the last few decades, Californias largest utilities and the states Public Utilities Commission have conducted an elaborate kabuki-style dance every two or three years, whenever the utilities applied for general rate increases.

Now the amounts at stake in these dramatic farces are rising to absurd levels, with all three of the states big privately-owned utilities suddenly asking that shareholders get rates of return on investment approximating what they could net from risky junk bonds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the largest of these, asked in late April to increase shareholder returns from about 10 percent to 16 percent, essentially trying to reward itself and its investors for negligence that led authorities to hold it largely responsible for two huge blazes in less than a years time. Southern California Edison, No. 2 in state electricity sales, is gunning for a leap from 10.3 percent to just under 17 percent, while San Diego Gas & Electric seeks a jump from around 10 percent to more than 14 percent.

Customers around the state would pay an extra $11 to $12 per month for these ill-gotten rewards, if the PUC grants them. Add in the approximately $2 each company will seek to get in increased profits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the added tab goes to about $14 per month for the average customer.

This mere concept outraged Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opined of PG&Es bid for 16 percent that Theyre not going to get it, periodIts jaw-droppingly wrong.

Newsom, unlike his long-serving predecessor Jerry Brown, at least wants to protect consumers. Trouble is, while he can appoint new PUC members, he cant fire anyone on the commission once theyve been confirmed by the state Senate for six-year terms. So Newsom wont make the vital upcoming decisions; holdover Brown appointees will do that.

It appears these cases will proceed in the old-fashioned way, via a Japanese-style kabuki-like charade. If past is prologue, it will work this way: After months of public hearings and massive paper filings, the utilities will get something above current profit rates on facilities and equipment, but less than theyre asking. The PUC will brag about its toughness, while the utilities cry all the way to the bank  or to Wall Street investment houses. As with an elaborately acted out and costumed kabuki dance, everyone in the cast and audience knows this outcome in advance.

The utilities say they must offer shareholders junk-bond level payouts to draw investors while their corporate futures are in doubt due to fire responsibility and liability. Virtually all fire-related lawsuits against the companies have not yet been decided or settled, but the firms are desperate to protect themselves.

We are having to make significant investments to harden the grid and make it more resilient to wildfire, one Edison executive told a reporter. To attract the capital, we need (for this), we need a return on investments that reflects the operating risks we have today.

As usual, the big utilities expect customers already paying some of the highest rates in America to foot the bill. Employees are not being dunned, no matter how negligent. Just customers, most of whom live nowhere near fire areas and will get no new benefits for their higher rates.

Essentially, these companies seek to deflect responsibility for their actions or lack of action away from management and ownership and onto consumers.

No matter what Newsom says, theres little reason to suspect the PUC will act differently from how it predictably has in the past, rewarding utility ineptitude and error with increased revenues.

Rather than sticking with that course, the better path for state regulators would be to cut rates and punish the utilities for their cavalier attitude about past errors.

This could encourage formation of more publicly-owned Community Choice Aggregations, which already supply power to dozens of cities and counties around the state, and are answerable to elected officials, and, thus, to voters.

But utility rate cases have long followed the same path. Chances are the new kabuki dance will play out like the old ones, with the big utilities again making out like bandits.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

This is an urgent question in the wake of the latest synagogue attack last week in Poway, Calif., that left one brave congregant dead as she tried to defend her rabbi and three wounded.

A raft of statistics demonstrates the shocking increase in violent extremism by white supremacists over the past three years. That includes near-historic levels of anti-Semitic acts in 2018 and the single deadliest attack against the Jewish community in American history, which killed 11 at Pittsburghs Tree of Life Synagogue six months ago.

Yet rather than denounce radical white nationalism, the president deliberately downplays it, or even excuses it.

His pro-forma denunciation of anti-Semitism hours after the Poway killing came one day after he once again defended the torch-bearing white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017.

And rather than organize a counterterrorism strategy, the Trump administration has gutted the very federal programs that were set up to deal with this insidious threat.

A number of these programs were run by George Selim, who held senior posts in countering terrorism and confronting domestic extremism under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. He recalled having a budget of more than $21 million under President Obama and 16 employees to develop local strategies to combat and prevent such violence. Now the budget is $3 million and the staff cut by half.

Now a senior vice president for programs of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which closely monitors extremist groups, Selim says the incoming Trump administration was not interested in prioritizing this issue: We certainly saw an emboldening under Trump. At no point in recent memory have we seen a march like Charlottesville with white nationalists from 30 states carrying tiki torches and chanting Jews will not replace us.

The statistics reveal how much has changed for the worse since Trump.

ADLs annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded a total of 1,879 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions across the USA in 2018, the third-highest year on record since ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s. That includes white nationalist banners hung over highway bridges, and flyers distributed on campuses.

ADLs audit also identified 59 people who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017. That includes the record 11 murders at the Tree of Life synagogue, where the killer shouted All Jews must die.

ADL Senior Vice President Eileen Hershenov told a congressional hearing: White supremacists in the United States have experienced a resurgence in the past three years, driven in large part by the rise of the alt-right. There is also a clear corollary ... to the rise in polarizing and hateful rhetoric on the part of candidates and elected leaders.

Another grim statistic: White supremacists, Hershenov noted, were responsible in 2018 for 78 percent of all extremist-related murders.

In the Trump era, radical white nationalists have taken full advantage of social media. Racist and anti-Semitic white nationalist rhetoric and manifestos, filled with particular catch phrases and memes, spread across borders via the internet and hate-filled internet chat rooms, such as 8chan or Gab. For example, the Poway shooter cited as his inspiration the manifesto of the New Zealand killer who shot dead 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch.

The language these white nationalists use often conflates fear of replacement  whites being replaced by minorities, especially Muslims  with claims that international Jewry is facilitating such replacement. Example: the Tree of Life killer claimed, falsely, that American Jewish financier George Soros was funding the migrant caravans on Americas southern border. Thus, this mad murderer justified killing Jews.

When President Trump whips up hysteria over migrant caravans on Americas southern border, when he refuses to denounce the torch-bearers at Charlottesville, he is viewed by white supremacists as signaling his approval.

When Trump hinted last fall that the caravans were funded by George Soros, he only confirmed the conspiracy theories of the alt-right.

The New Zealand killer wrote that he saw Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.

Unfair? If Trumps unremitting winks and nods at white nationalists are not meant as approval, he can easily prove it. He need only denounce white supremacists violence publicly.

He needs to devise an overarching policy to deal with these issues, says Selim. Trumps actions dont match his strong words about condemning anti-Semitism.

There is plenty he can do. The ADL has a list that includes revitalizing agencies working against hate crimes and strengthening laws against perpetrators of online hate.

Most important, Id add, is for the president to stop yellow lighting white supremacists who support him and who blame Jews, Muslims, blacks, and immigrants for all their problems.

How many synagogue shootings will it take to force the Trump administration to confront the rising tide of white supremacist terrorism at home  and abroad?

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If you've ever seen a horse break a leg and go down on a racetrack, you'll never forget it. Sometimes the injured animal will get up and try to run with the limb dangling below the break.

Tracks have become adept at hiding this horror. A vehicle follows the Thoroughbreds in every race, and when a horse goes down, huge fabric screens are pulled from the truck and quickly erected between the horse and the people in the stands.

But it's not the spectators who need protection -- it's the horses.

That became clear this year when a public that has grown intolerant of racing's cruelty erupted in outrage after 23 Thoroughbreds died at Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles between December and April. In response, Santa Anita officials took unprecedented steps to prevent further carnage and enacted rules to protect horses. This was a good first step, and so far, no more horses have died.

But the changes must not stop here. The Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown season will be haunted by those 23 horses -- and thousands of others who have died -- unless the entire racing industry does away with the worst forms of abuse immediately. All 38 racing states should ban all medications in the two weeks before a race, ban trainers with multiple medication violations, stop pushing very young horses beyond their capacity, end whipping, and switch to high-quality synthetic tracks, which are known to be safer.

Even that isn't enough, but it's a start. The racing industry must be held accountable for the harm that it has caused.

Broken bones should never have become business as usual. But the more than two dozen horses who die on tracks every single week in the U.S. have been sold out by an industry that puts speed and winning above decent care.

While several factors may contribute to a horse's leg snapping, evidence from thousands of necropsies of Thoroughbreds overwhelmingly shows that most horses who break legs have been recently injured. In other words, unfit horses are being forced to train and race when they should be recuperating.

These horses don't appear sore because they're given a constant cocktail of medications that mask injury. They feel OK because they've got painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, sedatives and other drugs in their bodies. But they're not OK, and sometimes they die.

It made good sense for Santa Anita Park to call for a ban on more than a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs, decrease the allowable limit of medication in a horse's system on race day, mandate inspections of horses for training as well as for racing, require trainers to disclose veterinary and medication records, and more. This is how they can find out if horses are injured and, if they are, allow them to recover fully.

It's also logical to use a synthetic track, which has been proven to be safer; allow horses to develop properly before forcing them to run at high speeds; and get rid of the trainers who think a syringe full of drugs is a prerequisite for every race.

And finally, it's time to stop the whipping. The constant refrain of "we love our horses" coming from the racing community rings hollow when the very animals who supposedly love to race are being beaten to make them run.

Owners, trainers and racetracks, the next move is yours. Do right by the horses.

Kathy Guillermo

Senior Vice President

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
In 1914, at the young age of 18, a young woman crossed the Atlantic, bound for New York City. Anna did not speak a word of English, nor could she read the English alphabet, speaking Hebrew, Yiddish, and some Polish and Russian.

She left her parents, grandparents, and four brothers and sisters behind. In her home country, due to her religion, her family faced persecution, attacks, and discrimination.

Anna passed through Ellis Island carrying the hopes and aspirations of many.

Anna faced many obstacles, eventually finding employment as a seamstress. She worked in a garment sweatshop alongside other immigrants looking to make a living. Over the next few years, Anna was able to send enough money home and bring her parents and all siblings (but one) to join her in NYC.

Leon, the one brother who remained, was blocked from joining his family by the Immigration Quota Act of 1921, designed to limit immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe and Italians from Southern Europe. Leon was trapped.

Twenty years later, having started his own family, Leon died in the Birkenau Concentration Camp.

This is part of the history of my family. It is also the history of so many other families today. There are currently over 65 million refugees in the world, each fleeing grinding poverty and oppression, searching for better lives. The prejudice these refugees face presents insurmountable odds to their finding peace.

Last weekends violent shooting in a synagogue in Poway, California, is an example of where such ideology leads.

When immigrants are turned away at the border or deported into dangerous situations, we are all harmed. When we allow the concept of the other to support prejudice, we lessen our own humanity.

Elie Wiesel, the author and Holocaust survivor, said that: We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

At Blue Oak, we welcome all, creating a safe place to learn, connect, and act. But we know that the problems of the world still deeply affect many of our Blue Oak families. Therefore, two years ago, we enacted this Board Immigration Policy to protect our community.

On this anniversary of the Holocaust, what else can we all do to make our world a better place?

Dan Schwartz

Head of School

Blue Oak School
Dollar still losing value in Armenia

Parliament vice-speaker receives American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia board chairman

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Armenia Health Ministry Legal Department head: Decision of Constitutional Court is ministry's victory

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Armenia President receives group of parents of deceased servicemen

Armenia Security Council holds session

Iran FM: Tehran is ready to participate in next stage of negotiations with Saudi Arabia

Zakharova on Armenia-Azerbaijan railway link: Substantive discussions continue on trilateral working group

Kremlin: US may consult with Ankara over settlement of situation in Ukraine

Zakharova: Moscow believes Ankara will take Russia's signals seriously

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Audit Chamber official: Armenia banks have misused state subsidies they received

Armenia health, labor inspectorate to inspect 700 economic entities in 2022

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe travel of more than 2,000 people to, from Karabakh in one day

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Russia MFA: Not only Turkey ready to hold 3+3 regional consultative mechanism meeting

Maria Zakharova wishes Yerevan and Baku peace and patience

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Putin, Aliyev confirm readiness to strengthen Russia-Azerbaijan strategic partnership

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1 more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh

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Lavrov: Involvement of Kiev in NATO poses serious risks, even large-scale conflict in Europe

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President thanks Russia peacekeepers, Putin in terms of Artsakh security

Newspaper: What is actual Covid death toll in Armenia?

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US arms exports fall 21% in 2021

Diaspora Commissioner: More than 1.5 million people left Armenia in 30 years

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Armenia won't build relations with Turkey at expense of interests of nation

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Fifth Turkish Column is very active in Armenia

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Armenian High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: Living in Armenia is safer than in developed countries

Analyst shares information about growth of sales of Armenian wines

Analyst: Artsakh wine export indicators have dropped

Karabakh President: Presence of Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh needs to be guaranteed and termless

Iraq calls for launch of direct talks between US and Iran

Hayk Marutyan bids staff of Yerevan Municipality farewell

Moscow State Institute of International Relations to introduce Armenian language courses

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Iran FM expresses willingness to assist Azerbaijan in restoring Karabakh's occupied territories

Turkish vice-president tests positive for COVID-19

Lights of main Christmas tree in Yerevan switched on

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NEWS.am daily digest: 23.12.21

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Turkish court rules to leave Osman Kavala in custody

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59 N. Ogden St., #5. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Speer?

According to Walk Score, this Denver neighborhood is quite walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and has good transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Speer is currently hovering around $1,295.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

59 N. Ogden St., #5

Listed at $1,340/month, this 595-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 59 N. Ogden St., #5.

In the apartment, you can expect a dishwasher, granite countertops and air conditioning. The building has on-site laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are allowed. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

619 Logan St., #406

Next, there's this apartment situated at 619 Logan St., #406. It's listed for $1,335/month for its 492 square feet of space.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking, outdoor space and a fitness center. In the unit, expect a dishwasher, air conditioning and in-unit laundry. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. There's no leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

636 Pearl St.

Here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 636 Pearl St. that's going for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts on-site laundry, assigned parking and storage space. Pet owners, you're in luck: this spot allows cats and dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

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77 S. Ogden St.

Lastly, check out this 414-square-foot studio that's located at 77 S. Ogden St. It's also listed for $1,315/month.

In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher, a balcony and carpeted floors. The building features a fitness center, a swimming pool, a residents lounge and outdoor space. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are permitted here. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
1218 Walnut St., #306. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Washington Square?

According to Walk Score, this Philadelphia neighborhood is a "walker's paradise," is convenient for biking and is a haven for transit riders. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Washington Square is currently hovering around $1,470.

So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $1,400/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental offerings, via Zumper. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1312 Walnut St.

Listed at $1,400/month, this 782-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is located at 1312 Walnut St.

In the unit, you can anticipate hardwood floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Neither cats nor dogs are welcome. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

1218 Walnut St., #306

Next, check out this 500-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1218 Walnut St., #306. It's listed for $1,395/month.

In the unit, you'll get hardwood floors. The building features on-site laundry. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

319 S. 12th St.

Located at 319 S. 12th St., here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's also listed for $1,395/month.

The building boasts on-site laundry and outdoor space. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are permitted. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

1109 Spruce St., #1F

Here's a 350-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 1109 Spruce St., #1F that's going for $1,350/month.

In the unit, there are hardwood floors. Cats and dogs are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

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(Take a look at the full listing here.)

1229 Chestnut St., #314

Then, check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit that's located at 1229 Chestnut St., #314. It's also listed for $1,350/month.

The building offers on-site laundry, a fitness center and an elevator. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

735 Spruce St.

Finally, located at 735 Spruce St., here's a 655-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's listed for $1,350/month.

In the unit, you can expect a dishwasher and a fireplace. Package service is listed as a building amenity. Dogs and cats are not welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
(Corrects location of base on west bank of river, paragraph 11)

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Turkish army post hit by artillery shelling, wounding two

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit (Updates with Turkish defense ministry statement)

By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun

BEIRUT/ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion.

Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months.

The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory.

Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.

Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria.

But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people.

Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia.

The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now.

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Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT

A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
* Scotland's Davidson pledges "no more referenda"

* Support for independence from the UK at 4-year peak

* Handling of Brexit has eroded Conservative support (Adds details, color, quotes)

By Elisabeth O'Leary

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 4 (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises.

The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands.

Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives.

"We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum.

But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall.

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At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support.

POLL RATINGS

In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls.

Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters:

"I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said.

Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister.

But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood.

"It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
(Adds CHP spokesman, details)

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish businesspeople in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name."

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labeled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

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"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
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(Adds senior parliamentarian urges talks with world powers, IAEA)

DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Iran will continue with low-level uranium enrichment in line with its nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying on Saturday, despite a U.S. move to stop it.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

"Under the (nuclear accord) Iran can produce heavy water, and this is not in violation of the agreement. Therefore we will carry on with enrichment activity," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Larijani as saying. The Fars agency carried a similar report.

Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

The United States also scrapped its sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

Washington said the move was aimed at forcing Tehran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected as it says it uses the uranium to help produce electricity.

Until now, Iran was allowed to ship low-enriched uranium produced at Natanz to Russia before it hit the 300-kg limit, an expert said.

The United States also said it would no longer waive sanctions that allowed Iran to ship to Oman for storage heavy water produced at its Arak facility beyond a 300-tonne limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior parliamentarian called for talks with Iran's partners in the nuclear deal and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Iran could continue to enrich uranium, ISNA reported.

"With new sanctions, America wants to slow Iran's nuclear industry, so new talks should be held with nuclear deal members and the IAEA to approve that Iran can enrich fuel to 20 percent and higher," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

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Separately, President Hassan Rouhani said live on television on Saturday that Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports.

"America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves ... So we have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," Rouhani said.

"Last year, we had we non-oil exports of $43 billion. We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist America's plots against the sale of our oil."

Friday's U.S. move, which Rouhani made no direct reference to, was the third punitive action Washington has taken against Iran in as many weeks.

Last week, it said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It also blacklisted Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Trump administration's efforts to impose political and economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson)
(Corrects location of summit to Hanoi in lead paragraph)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as analysts said the country is stepping up pressure against the United States after February's failed nuclear summit in Hanoi.

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description.

If the unidentified projectiles were missiles, it would be the first missile launch since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

In Saturday's statement South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) which flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles).

In an earlier message, South Korea's military command had said the North fired an "unidentified short-range missile."

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches.

Surveillance and vigilance has been stepped up in preparation for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

The latest firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April, added to the pressure Pyongyang has sought to exert on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program.

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Korea's presidential Blue House is "analyzing the situation," a Blue House official said without elaborating. There were reports of a missile launch by North Korea, but we have not confirmed the entry of any ballistic missile into Japans Exclusive Economic Zone. At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected. Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Korea's action would send a message to the United States.

"It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates and Simon Cameron-Moore)
* Flare-up follows killing of two Hamas militants

* Cairo trying to mediate truce

* Netanyahu convenes Israeli security council (Adds U.S. State Department comment)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.

The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups.

Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

"The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar.

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The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike.

"According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details.

Two multi-story buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said.

Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel.

TRUCE EFFORTS

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

"Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts.

The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks.

"The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

"The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.

Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years.

Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
(Adds updated injury count, details on investigation plans from news conference)

By Brendan O'Brien

May 4 (Reuters) - Federal investigators on Saturday began searching for what caused a Boeing jetliner with 143 people on board to slide off a runway into a shallow river while landing at a Jacksonville, Florida, military base during a thunderstorm, injuring 22 people.

The Boeing 737-800 chartered by the U.S. military was arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members when it slid into the St. Johns River at the end of the 9,000-foot runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday night, authorities said.

Officials raised the count of people injured to 22, from 21, after a three-month-old child was admitted to a local hospital for observation, Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer at the Jacksonville station, told a news conference.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have recovered an undamaged flight data recorder and it has been sent to Washington for analysis, NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at the news conference.

"We expect to get a very full report on that shortly," he said.

Investigators said they are hoping to interview the crew on Sunday. The cockpit voice recorder is in the tail of the plane and submerged underwater. Investigators will not be able to recover it until the aircraft is lifted out of the water, Landsberg said.

"We are going to be very careful in preserving the perishable evidence," he said.

Officials were determining the best way to remove the plane from the water, NTSB investigator in charge John Lovell said.

"There are some ideas being floated in terms of putting some sort of cushioning below it ... and moving it on those cushions," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard placed floating booms around the jetliner to contain leaking jet fuel in the water, Landsberg said.

The plane, chartered from Miami Air International, was attempting to land at about 9:40 p.m. local time amid thunder and lightning when it slid off the runway and came to rest in the shallow water of the river, authorities and passengers said.

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Landsberg said investigators will look closely at whether the weather played a role in the incident.

"It is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story," Connor said early on Saturday.

Active duty military members, civilian government employees and their dependents were on the jetliner, Connor told CNN.

The military base is on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles (12.87 km) south of central Jacksonville, about 350 miles (563.27 km) north of Miami.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane.

Representatives of the airline did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Boeing Co said that the company was aware of the incident and gathering information.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" round-trip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles, and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)
(Recasts with new information throughout)

BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theaters of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces," said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defense ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
(Adds comments from Prime Minister May, context)

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - British police will not investigate the sacked defense minister, Gavin Williamson, after a senior officer said the information that was leaked about Chinese telecoms company Huawei was too minor to count as a criminal offense.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson on Wednesday, despite his denials that he was to blame for a newspaper report that Britain would allow Huawei equipment to be used in part of a new 5G mobile data network.

The Daily Telegraph story, which came from a meeting of Britain's normally top-secret National Security Council (NSC), embarrassed the government and set it at odds with the United States over the next generation of communications technology.

The opposition Labour Party had called for a criminal investigation into the leak. But on Saturday, Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer rejected this.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Williamson, once in charge of party discipline for May's Conservatives, was an important ally for the prime minister as she struggled to steer Britain through Brexit without a majority in parliament or consensus on how to leave the European Union.

May defended her decision to sack him following a brief investigation by the government's most senior civil servant, Mark Sedwill, who unusually is also the NSC's secretary.

"The importance of this was not about the information that was leaked, it was where it was leaked from. This was about the NSC and trust in the NSC," she told Sky News on Saturday before the police said there was no criminal case to answer.

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"The investigation was conducted properly, and was about the fact that something was leaked from the NSC, and the importance of everybody around that table having trust when they come together in those meetings," she added.

Williamson said he had not been given full details of the evidence against him.

"With the Met Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt," he told reporters. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Ros Russell)
Eat This, Not That!

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has surged worldwide in record timeit was only three weeks ago that the first case was identified in South Africa. Last week, it accounted for 73% of new COVID infections in the United States, according to the latest CDC data. It's highly contagiousscientists estimate it's twice as transmissible as the Delta variant, which itself was twice as transmissible as the original COIVD strainwhich calls for an abundance of caution. How do you know if you've been infect
(Updates sourcing, adds details, background)

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday.

No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV.

Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration.

"The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday.

Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people.

Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority.

"I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time.

Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria.

Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!."

Story continues

The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests.

Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft.

Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Photography has shaped the American memory of the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings.

The image of a young woman screaming in horror as she crouches beside the body of a student has become the defining moment of the day when National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio.

This year, on the 49th anniversary of the shooting, historys lens has gotten a little wider. Getty Images has released previously unpublished pictures revealing the weekend leading up to the tragedy, the moments when the guards opened fire and the grief afterwards.

An unidentified demonstrator runs through a cloud of teargas on the Kent State University Commons during a student antiwar protest, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

The new photos were taken by John Filo and Howard Ruffner, two students at the university. Filo captured the days most iconic image: 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio beside the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller.

View, from behind, as Ohio National Guardsmen in gas masks and with rifles as they prepare to advance up Blanket Hill, through clouds of teargas, to drive back Kent State University students during an antiwar demonstration on the university's campus, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. Visible at left is Taylor Hill. The protests, initially over the US invasion of Cambodia, resulted in the deaths of four students (and the injuries of nine others) after the National Guard opened fire on students. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Ruffner, a second-year-student who had learned about photography while serving in the U.S. Air Force, was working on the universitys yearbook. Recruited as a freelance photographer by LIFE magazine, he snapped photos after students set fire to the campus ROTC building and National Guardsmen began to take over the school grounds. The campus was mostly empty, because Kent State was known to be a suitcase school  where students leave on the weekend, Ruffner told TIME.

Paramedics and students run as they push the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller (1950 - 1970) on a gurney after he'd been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Students were arriving back on campus on May 4  a Monday  and about 500 people gathered for a rally to protest the presence of the National Guard and the Vietnam War at around 12 p.m.

Ruffner said he was standing about 80 feet from the soldiers when they opened fire on the protesters.

On Blanket Hill, Kent State University students, several with hands over their mouths, stare in the aftermath of the Ohio National Guard having opened fire on their antiwar demonstration, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

I heard people shouting, Oh my God, theyre shooting with real bullets,' Ruffner said. And I looked around with my camera by myself, and I saw people on the ground in front of me, a person on the ground beside me. I was probably in a [state] of awe, or disbelief. But it didnt stop me, or change who I was I had to continue doing what I was doing.

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Bob Ahern, the director of Getty Images archive, told TIME that Ruffner and Filos perspective as students makes the images even more powerful.

Students kneel on the grass beside wounded classmate John Cleary after the latter had been shot when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. | Howard RuffnerGetty Images

Its incredible coverage because it is [a] kind of eyewitness, he said. It was people there with cameras They werent seasoned photojournalists, they were very much in the moment. [The pictures are] incredibly immediate like any good news photo can be. They still have a freshness and a rawness about them, which is kind of chilling.

Prior to the shootings anniversary, Getty asked Ruffner and Filo to look through their archives and check whether they had any unreleased photos. As they were freelance photographers at the time, their full collection of photos likely wouldnt have gone into a magazine archive, Ahern says to explain why the photos are surfacing now.

Closeup of a bullet hole left in a metal sculpture after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on antiwar protesters at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. In the background, an unidentified person photographs the hole from the opposite side. The sculpture, 'Solar Totem #1' by Don Drumm, is located outside Taylor Hall. | John FiloGetty Images

Ahern said the power of the Kent State photographs echoes through time.

[The pictures remind] us of whats involved in protest, and how high that price can be, he said.

Correction, May 5:

Captions in the original version of story misidentified two of the victims during the Kent State shootings. They are believed to have died while walking to class, not while taking part in the protest. The original version of this story also misstated why Mary Ann Vecchio was present at the Kent State protest. Vecchio was visiting Kent State, she was not a student and was not Jeffrey Millers classmate.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Looking to get out into the community this weekend?

From an architecture tour to a community bike ride, there's plenty to do when it comes to community and cultural events coming up in Milwaukee. Read on for a rundown.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

Thoroughly Modernist Milwaukee

From the event description:

The stroll will explore different forms of architecture and urban planning, from the mid-century era and beyond. The event will also include discussions about the legacies of renowned modernists Eero Saarinen, Dan Kiley, Harry Weese, Harrison and Abramowitz and others, as well as the late-century landmark collaboration between Santiago Calatrava and Dan Kiley.

When: Friday, May 3, 5:15-7 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WeGiveMKE: Spring Food Distribution

From the event description:

Kingdom Manna and F.I.N.A.O., will be providing food for individuals within the community. Quantities are limited. There are also opportunities to volunteer for set-up and food distribution.

When: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-noon

Where: CFFC Destiny Plaza, 7220 N. 76th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

WPR Listener Appreciation Event

From the event description:

Join us for an open house at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee. You can chat with Larry Meiller and other Wisconsin Public Radio staff over coffee and pastries while exploring all the nature center has to offer. There will also be live music from PK Harmony, guided nature hikes with Havenwoods naturalists, arts and crafts, yard games and more.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-noon

Where: Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Re-imagining Villard Forward Session 1

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From the event description:

Momentum is building as the Villard Avenue business corridor is currently being revitalized. Community members are invited to share their thoughts and opinions.

When: Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Where: Milwaukee Public Library Villard Square Branch, 5190 N. 35th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

Inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail Spring Ride

From the event description:

Join the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail for the inaugural Hank Aaron State Trail spring ride to celebrate the opening of the west end of the trail. The event will kick off with a presentation about the trail, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Two sculptures will also be unveiled in a new artistic monument planned for this very location: People of the Road. People of the Road is a five-sculpture public artwork that will honor and celebrate the thousands of workers who built the locomotives and rail cars made in Milwaukee.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2-3:30 p.m.

Where: Menomonee Valley Community Park, 212 S. 36th St.

Admission: Free

Click here for more details, and to get your tickets

This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
ABC News(DALLAS) -- Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters at an event in Texas Friday night, but one of his fellow Democratic challengers was happy to immediately come to his defense.



Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner Friday when he was interrupted on several occasions by anti-gay remarks.



The protesters yelled, "Marriage is between a man and a woman," and, "Repent," according to CNN reporter DJ Judd, who was in the audience. Judd also filmed footage of a woman being ushered out of the venue for making anti-abortion comments.



Buttigieg came out as gay just four years ago, at 33 years old, in an op-ed for the South Bend Tribune. He married his boyfriend, Chasten, in June 2018.



He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in history. Buttigieg has periodically been heckled on the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in mid-April.



Fellow presidential candidate, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, quickly came to his opponent's defense on Twitter.



"Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred," O'Rourke wrote. "Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon."



O'Rourke was also in Texas on Friday night, speaking at an outdoor event in downtown Fort Worth, just a half hour west of Buttigieg's event in Dallas.



"This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through," O'Rourke told the assembled audience.



Texas, once regarded as a magnet for conservative candidates, has seen an influx of Democratic presidential contenders stumping in the state. Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth last week and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will also be in the city this weekend.



The protesters' comments at Buttigieg's event echoed those of Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, an evangelist who was a spiritual adviser to a dozen presidents, both Republican and Democrat. Billy Graham died last year.



Franklin Graham tweeted on April 24, "Mayor Buttigieg says hes a gay Christian. As a Christian, I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as a sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman  not two men, not two women."



The 37-year-old Buttigieg was largely unknown nationally before launching an exploratory committee earlier this year and officially beginning his presidential campaign last month. The candidate has emerged as a serious contender early in the race, though.



The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll from late April showed Buttigieg in third place among a very crowded field. He ranked at 5%, behind former Vice President Joe Biden (17%) and Sanders (11%).

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Thai House Restaurant. | Photo: L C./Yelp

Looking for a sublime Thai meal near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Thai restaurants around Mesa, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to meet your needs.

1. Thai Patio

Photo: JASON P./Yelp

Topping the list is Thai Patio. Located at 1929 N. Power Road, Suite 101 in Moondance, the Thai spot is the highest rated low-priced Thai restaurant in Mesa, boasting four stars out of 186 reviews on Yelp.

2. Thai House Restaurant

photo: L C./Yelp

Next up is Golden Hills's Thai House Restaurant, situated at 1155 S. Power Road, Suite 121. With four stars out of 165 reviews on Yelp, the Thai spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option.

3. Wok In

PHOTO: MATTHEW M./YELP

Wok In, located at 7530 E. Main St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the inexpensive Asian fusion, Vietnamese and Thai spot four stars out of 131 reviews.

4. Royal Thai Grill

PHOTO: CRIS N./YELP

Royal Thai Grill, a Thai spot, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 106 Yelp reviews. Head over to 321 W. McKellips Road to see for yourself.

5. Thai Food Corner

photo: kim g./yelp

Over in Alta Mesa, check out Thai Food Corner, which has earned four stars out of 74 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Thai spot by heading over to 5253 E. Brown Road, Suite 104.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
El Molcajete. | Photo: Elizabeth R./ Yelp



In search of a new favorite Mexican spot?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Mexican restaurants around Louisville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. Fiesta Time Amigos

PHOTO: CAPTAIN M./YELP

Topping the list is Fiesta Time Amigos. Located at 135 S. English Station Road, the Mexican spot is the highest-rated low-priced Mexican restaurant in Louisville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 58 reviews on Yelp.

The restaurant offers various lunch and dinner entrees that range from taco salads and burritos to fajitas, quesadillas and enchiladas. Look for the flatbread filled with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle sauce and served with rice, or try the shrimp nachos with grilled shrimp, cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Happy hour is Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. when domestic and Mexican beers and margaritas are flowing.

2. Taqueria La Mexicana

PHOTO: MEGAN F./YELP

Next up is Taqueria La Mexicana, situated at 6201 Preston Highway. With 4.5 stars out of 28 reviews on Yelp, the Mexican spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option. Choose from a menu of tacos, tortas, sopes, burritos and quesadillas. Keep it simple with steak or chicken tacos with cilantro and onions or quesadillas with a flour tortilla, beef and cheese.

3. El Caporal

PHOTO: RAYMOND B./YELP

Bon Air's El Caporal, located at 2209 Meadow Drive, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the affordable Mexican spot 4.5 stars out of 48 reviews.

With a history that dates back to 1989, El Caporal has fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, seafood, house specials and more. A menu favorite is the Burritos Mexicanos, consisting of two burritos stuffed with beans and beef tips and topped with lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Save room for dessert, from ice cream to sopapillas to cheesecake.

4. El Molcajete

Photo: EL MOLCAJETE/Yelp

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El Molcajete, a Mexican spot in South Louisville, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 144 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2932 S. Fourth St. to see for yourself.

El Molcajete serves up gorditas, sopes, tacos, burritos, tortas, desserts and more. Enjoy dishes like the steak or chicken grande quesadilla served with salad or the shrimp fajitas topped with bell peppers, onions, rice and beans.

5. Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza

PHOTO: KATHY T./YELP

Finally, over in University, check out Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza, which has earned four stars out of 82 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Mexican spot by heading over to 2787 S. Floyd St.

This spot offers soups, salads, burritos, tortas and a number of specialty dishes. Opt for empanadas, nachos and carnitas. The Baja fish tacos are customer stand out as well.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
New Dong Khanh. | Photo: Little J./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for Southeast Asian fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Southeast Asian restaurants around Boston, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings.

1. New Dong Khanh

Photo: new dong khanh/Yelp

Topping the list is New Dong Khanh. Located at 83 Harrison Ave. (between Knapp and Beach streets.) in Chinatown, the Vietnamese and Chinese spot, which offers bubble tea and more, is the highest-rated affordable Southeast Asian restaurant in Boston, boasting four stars out of 553 reviews on Yelp.

For starters, try the deep-fried shrimp bean cake served on a bed of vermicelli and lettuce. Stir fried noodle and rice dishes are available as entrees. Fruit shakes and smoothies are available as well.

2. New Saigon

Photo: chris h./Yelp

Next up is East Boston's New Saigon, situated at 985 Bennington St. (between Saratoga and Trident streets). With 4.5 stars out of 140 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a cheap option.

On the menu, you'll find rice plates, pho and more. Try the fried squid or the crispy soft-shell crab.

3. S & I Thai

Photo: nguyen t./Yelp

Allston's S & I Thai, located at 168 Brighton Ave., Suite A (between Parkvale and Harvard avenues), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the low-priced Thai spot four stars out of 451 reviews.

Lunch and dinner specials are served with a spring roll, chicken wing, gyoza, dumpling, fried tofu or crab wonton. Try the whole fish, available steamed, grilled or pan fried.

4. Pho Viet's

Photo: stephanie c./Yelp

Pho Viet's, a Vietnamese spot in Allston, is another cheap go-to, with four stars out of 415 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1095 Commonwealth Ave. to see for yourself.

The business has another location in Newtown Centre. In addition to the usual pho, rice and noodle dishes, it offers vegetarian specials like tofu saute, with vegetables, lemongrass and rice.

5. New Saigon Sandwich

Over in Chinatown, check out New Saigon Sandwich, which has earned four stars out of 418 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the deli and Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and more, by heading over to 696 Washington St. (between Lagrange and Stuart streets).

Sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, chili peppers, cilantro and soy sauce or fish sauce. Boxed meals include teriyaki chicken with noodles.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Michigan State University interim President addresses graduates Friday, May 3, 2019, during commencement ceremonies at the Breslin Center.

EAST LANSING, Mich.  Acting Michigan State University President Satish Udpa was taken to a hospital after falling on stage during an commencement ceremony Friday.

An MSU spokeswoman said Udpa had "a health incident" and was receiving medical attention.

"He is receiving medical attention and everyone in the Spartan community has he, (his wife) Lalita and their family in our thoughts and prayers," said the spokeswoman, Emily Guerrant.

Guerrant declined to elaborate about the nature of the health problem and said she had not received an update about Udpa's condition.

The incident happened late Friday afternoon during the commencement ceremony for advanced degree candidates. No other details were available Friday evening.

Udpa, an executive vice president for administrative services, was appointed acting president of the university in January after John Engler resigned as acting president under pressure related to the Larry Nassar scandal.

Udpa has been an executive vice president at the school since 2013. He previously served as dean of the school of engineering for seven years.

His wife, Lalita Udpa, is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU.

Follow Ken Palmer on Twitter: @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Acting Michigan State Univ. President Udpa hospitalized after falling during commencement
WASHINGTON (AP)  The "no-collusion" chorus sang loudly this past week, with President Donald Trump in full-throated roar and even Russian President Vladimir Putin chiming in.

The upshot: substantial misrepresentations of what the special counsel's Russia investigation actually found.

A review of recent rhetoric from Trump and his associates on Russia and more, with Putin in the mix:

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

PUTIN on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: "A mountain gave birth to a mouse."  remarks Tuesday, echoed in a phone call with Trump on Friday.

THE FACTS: Some might say this is a mouse that roared.

The investigation produced charges against nearly three dozen people, among them senior Trump campaign operatives and 25 Russians, as it shed light on a brazen Russian assault on the American political system.

The investigation did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia and it reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Yet it described his campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt rival Hillary Clinton and it exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

The Russians caught up in the investigation were charged either with hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

___

TRUMP: "The Mueller Report strongly stated that there was No Collusion with Russia (of course) and, in fact, they were rebuffed ... at every turn in attempts to gain access."  tweets Thursday.

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: "The evidence is now that the president was falsely accused of colluding with the Russians and accused of being treasonous. ... Two years of his administration have been dominated by allegations that have now been proven false."  Senate hearing Wednesday.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Mr. Mueller and his team concluded there was no collusion."  Senate hearing.

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THE FACTS: This refrain about the Mueller report stating there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign is wrong.

Trump's assertion that his campaign denied all access to Russians is false. The Mueller report and other scrutiny revealed a multitude of meetings with Russians. Among them: Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Clinton.

On collusion, Mueller said he did not assess whether that occurred because it is not a legal term.

He looked into a potential criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign and said the investigation did not collect sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges on that front.

Mueller noted some Trump campaign officials had declined to testify under the 5th Amendment or had provided false or incomplete testimony, making it difficult to get a complete picture of what happened during the 2016 campaign. The special counsel wrote that he "cannot rule out the possibility" that unavailable information could have cast a different light on the investigation's findings.

___

BARR, speaking of Trump: "He fully cooperated."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: It's highly questionable to say Trump was fully cooperative in the Russia investigation.

Trump declined to sit for an interview with Mueller's team, gave written answers that investigators described as "inadequate" and "incomplete," said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and  according to the report  tried to get aides to fire Mueller or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry.

In the end, the Mueller report found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice.

___

GRAHAM: "As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide after two years, and all this time. He said, 'Mr. Barr, you decide.' Mr. Barr did."  Senate hearing.

THE FACTS: Not true. Mueller did not ask Barr to rule on whether Trump's efforts to undermine the special counsel's Russia investigation had obstructed justice.

According to the report, Mueller's team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted.

As a result, the report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, specifically leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter or for prosecutors to do so once Trump leaves office.

Barr wrote in a March 24 letter that he ultimately decided, as attorney general, that the evidence developed by Mueller was "not sufficient" to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction of justice.

Barr subsequently acknowledged that he had not talked directly to Mueller about making that ruling and did not know whether Mueller agreed with him.

___

VENEZUELA

TRUMP says Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."  remarks to reporters Friday after speaking with Putin on the phone.

THE FACTS: Putin is already deeply involved in Venezuela as U.S.-supported Juan Guaido, opposition leader of the National Assembly, challenges President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

Russia has a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support Maduro's hold on power.

The Russians have provided Venezuela with substantial assistance, including an air defense system and help circumventing U.S. sanctions on its oil industry.

"Russia is now so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down," said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

___

NATO

TRUMP: "We're getting ripped off on military, NATO. I'm all for NATO. But you know, we're paying for almost 100 percent of defending Europe."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: The U.S. is not paying "almost 100 percent" the cost of defending Europe.

NATO does have a shared budget to which each member makes contributions based on the size of its economy. The United States, with the biggest economy, pays the biggest share, about 22 percent.

Four European members  Germany, France, Britain and Italy  combined pay nearly 44 percent of the total. The money, about $3 billion, runs NATO's headquarters and covers certain other civilian and military costs.

Defending Europe involves far more than that fund. The primary cost of doing so would come from each member country's military budget, as the alliance operates under a mutual defense treaty.

The U.S. is the largest military spender but others in the alliance obviously have armed forces, too. The notion that almost all costs would fall to the U.S. is false.

In fact, NATO's Article 5, calling for allies to act if one is attacked, has only been invoked once, and it was on behalf of the U.S., after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

___

ECONOMY

TRUMP: "We just did 3.2 ... 3.2 is a number that they haven't hit in 14 years."  interview Wednesday with Fox Business News.

THE FACTS: First-quarter growth of 3.2% in the gross domestic product is nowhere close to the best in 14 years, by any measure. It's only the best since last year, surpassed in the second and third quarters with rates of 4.2% and 3.4% respectively.

Perhaps he meant to say it was the best first-quarter growth in 14 years. But that's not right, either. It's the best in four years.

The economy grew by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2015. So President Barack Obama has a better first-quarter record than Trump to date.

___

TRUMP: "Wages are rising fastest for the lowest-income Americans."  Wisconsin rally on April 27.

THE FACTS: This is true, though he's claiming credit for a trend that predates his presidency.

Some of the gains also reflect higher minimum wages passed at the state and local level; the Trump administration opposes an increase to the federal minimum wage.

With the unemployment rate at 3.6 %, the lowest since December 1969, employers are struggling to fill jobs. Despite all the talk of robots and automation, thousands of restaurants, warehouses, and retail stores still need workers.

They are offering higher wages and have pushed up pay for the lowest-paid one-quarter of workers more quickly than for everyone else since 2015. In March, the poorest 25% saw their paychecks increase 4.4% from a year earlier, compared with 3% for the richest one quarter.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Rugaber, Eric Tucker, Lolita C. Baldor and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

___

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
ASHEVILLE, N.C.  Students whispering into phones and hiding behind barricaded doors. Panicked parents calling on behalf of their children, feeding information from text-message updates. Faculty members requesting help, unsure whether their classrooms could be the next target.

The four-dozen 911 calls placed in relation to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting Tuesday paint the picture of a campus in chaos moments after a gunman wielding a pistol opened fire in a large lecture hall, killing two people and injuring four more.

Student Riley Howell, who in his last seconds fought to subdue the gunman, died not far from a professor who called to report the shooting seconds later.

"A student went out to make a copy, and he came running in saying he saw people bleeding," she told one of several 911 operators fielding calls about the shooting. "I have a room full of students ... these doors don't lock ... look, we need help."

Mourners pause to look at a variety of memorials left at Kennedy Hall at UNC Charlotte on Thursday, May 2, 2019. A gunman opened fire at Kennedy on April 30, killing two and wounding four.

Several of the 911 calls came from faculty members working in buildings close to Kennedy Hall, where police say Trystan Andrew Terrell entered a room during an anthropology lecture and began shooting. One male teacher told an operator that he could see students running around all over campus from his window but that he hadnt been alerted of an emergency by the university.

We dont really know the status of anything, he said.

More: Police stopped UNC Charlotte shooting quickly. But what about preventing it?

Looking for information

That was the case for about a dozen parents who called 911 asking for updates or trying to relay information theyd received in text messages.

One man called to tell police that his daughter was hiding in the bathroom of the Chick-fil-A in the student union. There, she was taking shelter with her roommate and with members of the fire department providing first aid to one of the shooting victims.

Shes hiding in a bathroom right now, the man told the operator, talking about his daughter. The fire department is with the girl who was shot there, and theyre hiding her, too.

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Though many of the calls came from people who had witnessed only the panic and not the shooting, a handful of student callers were able to identify the suspect, describing his light skin, dark hair, black clothes and the pistol with which he was armed.

One of the callers told an operator she had escaped from the class in which the shooting unfolded.

It seemed like he was shooting at one person, she said. It was a lot of shots. He was still shooting when we left.

For those students who werent close to the shooting, only text messages and the shouts of others informed them of what was happening. One such caller told an operator he was in the library  located just across the street from Kennedy Hall  when he learned of the shooting.

I was sitting at the computer when someone came in yelling, and I ran, he said. I didnt even see who yelled it. I just got up and ran.

Some of the people who called 911 to report the shooting didnt even have that much information.

One woman who called on behalf of her sister, who was hiding and unable to call for herself, cried as she tried to pass her sisters location on to the operator. During their discussion, she received a troubling text.

Oh gosh; she said people are running outside in the hallway, she told the operator just before breaking down and sobbing.

As she was still on the line, the operator got word that Terrell, 22, had been taken into custody. She told the woman on the other end that her sister was no longer in danger.

Thank you, the woman said, struggling to get the words out between sobs.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'It was a lot of shots': 911 calls from UNC Charlotte shooting describe campus in chaos
The plane that greeted the 143 passengers and crew at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was four hours late and lacked air-conditioning.

It got terrifyingly worse when the Boeing 737 hours later crashed into the St. Johns River off a runway in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night at 9:40 p.m.

Cheryl Bormann, a passenger on the military-chartered plane heading from Cuba to Jacksonville, said they were in a "universally miserable" mood when they boarded the plane but begrudgingly took their seats anyway.

Appearing on CNN with host Don Lemon Friday, she described a frantic, confusing final minutes, with the pilot seeming to lose control before the plane skidded off the runway and into the marsh of the nearby river.

This handout image obtained courtesy of Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff's Office on May 3 shows a Boeing 737 aircraft after it went off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the St. Johns river, near Jacksonville, Florida.

All passengers and crew aboard the plane are safe and accounted for, although 22 were treated and one, a 3-month-old child, was hospitalized overnight as a precaution. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there were no critical injuries.

More: Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe

The plane traveled through rain and lightning to make it to Jacksonville  but the tumultuous landing came afterward.

Bormann, a prominent defense attorney from Chicago, said the landing "didn't feel right." She said the plane "literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right."

She added: "The pilot was trying to control it but couldn't, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something."

She said the plane "came to a complete like crash stop."

The plane skidded off the runway at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and into the river, but it did not submerge in the water. Photos showed the plane landed in a shallow dredge of water with minimal damage.

Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at the station, called the safe landing "a miracle."

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CNN reported that the plane was carrying military personnel headed home, on vacation, or to get medical care. The group included families, civilians, grandparents and children connected to the military.

Bormann said that after the crash landing some oxygen masks deployed, and overhead bins opened up and sent belongings spilling out. She said her identification, cash, credit cards, computers, phone and passport were sent flying to the seats behind her.

Passengers didn't know what happened or where they were, she said. However, she recalled that they weren't screaming, and people helped each other put on their life vests and exit the plane onto its wing and into a raft.

Bormann told CNN that as of Friday night most passengers didn't have the identification that authorities are asking for because their items are still on the plane.

"Everyone is sort of milling around because no one knows quite what to do. They won't let us leave," Bormann said. "Everybody is curious about their belongings and want to know what will happen next."

Connor, the commanding officer, told reporters Saturday that despite the chaotic landing, those on board were "very cordial" and there wasn't "any commotion or panic."

While all of the passengers on board made it out OK, at least four pets aboard the plane had not been found and are presumed dead.

More: Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

The pets, which included dogs and cats, were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane, the portion that was partially submerged.

Connor told reporters the status of the pets became the "second priority" for responders after it was determined all passengers were safe. He said first responders looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said. He said that he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positive determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about 8 miles south of downtown.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it is investigating the crash landing and officials were working Saturday to retrieve the plane's flight recorder and get the jet to shore.

Contributing: Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'All of a sudden it smashed into something:' Jacksonville, Florida, plane crash survivor recounts chaotic landing
Photo: Miyako Yakitori and Sushi/Yelp

Want the dirt on Austin's most talked-about local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this spring.

Miyako Yakitori & Sushi

Photo: lenny d./Yelp

Open since November, this sushi bar and Japanese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, sushi bars saw a median 3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Miyako Yakitori & Sushi saw a 57.7 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Miyako Yakitori & Sushi's review count increased by more than 170 percent.

Located at 8701 W. Parmer Lane, Suite 2128, Miyako Yakitori & Sushi offers sushi (special, baked, tempura, house rolls and nigiri and sashimi), yakitori (skewers with chicken, beef, pork seafood and vegetables), ramen, donburi (rice bowls), curry and chicken, salmon and beef entrees. Click here to view the full menu.

Anthem

Photo: alice l./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Austin's Anthem, the beer bar, cocktail bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Anthem bagged a 14.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

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Open at 91 Rainey St., Suite 120, since September, Anthem's Hawaiian-themed menu includes an Aloha burger (bacon, gruyere cheese and grilled pineapple), a curry vegan hot dog on a pretzel bun and the coastal fish and fries (redfish fried in a tempura beer batter with cilantro and Cajun panko served with furikake fries). To view the menu, click here.

Bao'd Up

RMMA's Bao'd Up is also making waves. Open since July 25, 2017 at 1911 Aldrich St., Suite A1, the popular Asian fusion and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers bubble tea and more, has seen a 7.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bao'd Up's review count increased by more than 200 percent.

There's more than one hotspot trending in Austin's breakfast and brunch category: Il Brutto has seen a 7.1 percent increase in reviews.

On Bao'd Up's menu, look for items such as barbecue pork and vegetable bao, pork belly guabao, picked vegetable salad and apple curry or sesame noodle bowls. There are also breakfast options. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.

Austin Taco Project

Photo: harvard p./Yelp

Downtown Austin's Austin Taco Project is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The well-established bar, which offers tapas, tacos and more and opened at 500 E. Fourth St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 3.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Austin Taco Project features fusion tacos inspired by Latin and North American, European, Asian and African flavors. Try the Eisben (caramelized pork shank and sauerkraut) from Europe and the Umami Tofu (mushroom mix, fennel salad, candied ginger and portobello shell) from Asia. View all of the choices here.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
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Crypto exchange Bitfinex will conduct an initial exchange offering (IEO), aiming to raise $1 billion, according to details from an upcoming white paper reviewed by The Block. The final version of the white paper is still under review.

Bitfinex's exchange tokens, dubbed LEO, would first be offered to private investors, then subsequently opened to the public after May 10 if there is any allocation left, according to the information shared by shareholder Zhao Dong. According to Zhao Dong, Bitfinex has already raised $600 million in private, verbal commitments. Since last week, it has been rumored that Bitfinex would raise money via an IEO, a red-hot fundraising mechanism that allows crypto firms to sell tokens on an exchange to raise cash.

As per the white paper details, the firm says it is issuing the exchange tokens to cover the $850 million currently frozen in several accounts controlled by the payment processing company Crypto Capital. A week ago, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) sued Bitfinex and Tether for allegedly commingling funds to cover the loss of that $850 million.

In documents described as "information from the white paper," Bitfinex says it is actively collaborating with the legal investigation and applying to unfreeze these funds through legal procedures. The company is confident that it will retrieve these funds, according to the white paper details.

As for the specifics about the new tokens, they will be bought back on a monthly basis at market price, with at least 27% of Bifinexs profit from the previous month  akin to stock buybacks on Wall Street. Notably, Bitfinex also reserves the right to buy back the tokens within 18 months after its funds are unfrozen.

In fact, at least 95% of the unfrozen funds will be used to redeem and burn the LEO in an equivalent amount. Zhao Dong said that even if the seized money cannot be retrieved, according to the projections from Bitfinexs profits in 2017 and 2018, the company should be able to buy back all of the tokens within 4 years.

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If Bitfinex were to retrieve a portion of the hacked 119,756 bitcoins (~$72 million at the time) from 2016, at least 80% of it would be used to buy back and burn the tokens. Market observers, however, tell The Block this would be nearly impossible.

Like other exchange tokens, such as Binances BNB, LEO will also offer discounts on trading fees. In addition, LEO holders will have access to a 15% discount of taker fees for crypto-to-crypto trading, discounted lending rate, and discounted withdrawal fees.

Bitfinexs profit in 2018 was $404 million, and it paid out a dividend of around $261 million.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the information contained within this report was pulled from documents related to Bitfinex's white paper, not the official white paper itself.
UPDATE: May 7  The bodies of a dog and two cats have been recovered from the cargo hold of the airplane that crash-landed in a Florida river, Naval Air Station Jacksonville said Sunday in a Facebook post. All three animals belonged to a military family. A fourth animal on the flight was traveling in the cabin with its owner, who safely took the pet off the plane.

PREVIOUSLY:

While all humans aboard a charter flight that crash-landed in a Florida river on Friday night survived, multiple animals remain in the planes waterlogged cargo hold, and its unclear whether any are alive.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737 was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members from the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when it skidded off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville during a thunderstorm. The plane ended up coming to a stop in the St. Johns River.

The people were rescued with only some minor injuries. But NAS Jacksonville spokeswoman Kaylee LaRocque told USA Today that based on the flights manifest, there were at least four animals that had been checked as luggage traveling in the planes cargo hold. Although the plane is not totally submerged in the river, there is water in the cargo hold and the animals there are unaccounted for.

The charter plane sitting in the river on Saturday.

Our first priority was obviously human life, NAS Jacksonville base Cmdr. Mike Connor said at a Saturday-evening press conference.

After learning there were animals still aboard, Connor added, My heart immediately sank because I am a pet owner myself and cannot imagine what the pet owners were going through.

At that point, he said the next priority became to attempt to determine the status of the pets.

Connor said first responders looked inside the cargo bay, and did not see any animals or hear any animal noises. They then backed out, he said, because at that point responders were unsure if the plane could sink at any minute.

Later, he said he asked first responders to assess the cargo hold again, and said they could not see any pet carriers that were above the water line.

NAS Jacksonville did not immediately return a request for comment from HuffPost. But LaRocque told NBC News that no one will know the animals status for sure until the plane is removed from the water.
Miami (AFP) - A Boeing 737 slid off a runway into a river after crash-landing at a Florida naval air station Friday, officials said, with no fatalities reported.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ended in shallow water next to the air station in Jacksonville, with all passengers safely evacuated, naval authorities said.

"There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter.

Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Images showed the plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry tweeted.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries military personnel and family members.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and gathering information.
Algiers (AFP) - Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.

There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.

He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after a stroke in 2013.

Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.

In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.

Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika to neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state".

Tartag -- described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother -- was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.

Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."

According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

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Mediene said "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudo-meeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.

Algeria's former defence minister Khaled Nezzar meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.

Demonstrations are ongoing in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

___

Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.
By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian police have arrested Said Bouteflika, the youngest brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and two former intelligence chiefs, Generals Bachir Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene, security sources said on Saturday. No more details were available, and there was no immediate comment from police. The sources were confirming an earlier report from Ennahar TV. Said Bouteflika, who served as a top advisor to the presidency for more than a decade, acted as Algeria's de facto ruler after his brother suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him in a wheelchair. Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change to Bouteflika's regime pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked the former administration. "The arrest of Said is definitely the peak in the dismantling of Bouteflika's system," a top political source told Reuters on Saturday. Army chief of staff Ahmed Gaed Salah has promised to rid the country of corrupt politicians, oligarchs and military officials in order to restore confidence among the people. Last month Salah accused a former intelligence chief of trying to undermine the transition, in a clear reference to Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God" because many saw him as the country's real authority. "I send to this person a final warning," Salah said at that time. Bouteflika had fired Mediene in 2015 in an attempt to weaken the intelligence services, but he is still seen as one of the most powerful figures in Algeria. Protesters are also calling for the resignation of interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who is due to serve until an election on July 4, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. On Friday, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in Algiers, chanting "we will not shut up!". The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests. Last week Lieutenant General Salah, who helped push Bouteflika out after having him declared unfit for office, said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft. Several oligarchs, including Algeria's richest man Issad Rebrab, are behind bars with investigations ongoing. (Reporting by Hesham Hajali and Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Lamine Chikhi and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Charlie Munger, business partner of billionaire Warren Buffett, said Saturday the two are "ashamed" of not having invested in Google, which has become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire, of which Munger is vice president, recently took a stake in Amazon and has a $40 billion stake in Apple, but has generally steered clear of the technology sector.

"We are ashamed," Munger, 95, told a shareholder at the annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, when asked about the absence of an investment in Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger said.

"We screwed up," he said, without indicating whether Berkshire Hathaway aimed to catch up now.
OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday swung to a big quarterly profit, bolstered by gains in its stock investments, and also posted a small increase in operating earnings.

The $21.66 billion overall profit, or $13,209 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per share, and a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.39 billion.

These results illustrate what Buffett has called the "wild and capricious" and, in his view, meaningless swings caused by an accounting rule requiring the reporting of unrealized stock gains with earnings, regardless of Berkshire's plans to sell.

Berkshire said operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 5 percent to $5.56 billion. Operating profit was $5.29 billion, or $3,215 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Kneeling in front of her King, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya was invested as Queen on Saturday in Bangkok's Grand Palace, taking up a prominent role in a country where the monarchy is deeply revered, a fairytale ascent for the former flight attendant.

Wearing a pink traditional dress, Suthida took her seat next to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the throne hall after he poured a few drops of sacred water on her forehead and handed over insignia according her status as queen.

The newest member of the royal family is the fourth wife of 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, a deeply private monarch who spends a lot of his time abroad in Germany. He has a 14-year-old son from his third marriage and six other children.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation Saturday came just three days after a stunning palace announcement that the pair had married bestowing Suthida with the title of Queen.

But not much is known about his long-time consort-turned-queen, who faces a new and protocol-filled life in the wealthy and venerated Thai monarchy.

Broad biographical details such as her work as a flight attendant and her education at an upper-crust institution have emerged in Thai media. But the palace has so far declined requests for more information.

Suthida does not have the same royal lineage as Vajiralongkorn's mother Queen Sirikit, who is the great-granddaughter of the Chakri dynasty's fifth king.

She has "really come from the people", said Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Thailand specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside the country is dangerous and can result in a prison term of up to 15 years per count.

Thailand's normally effusive social media have been subdued in reaction to the royal news.

Suthida's first public engagement came Thursday when the couple kneeled to pay their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's old quarter.

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On Friday, she accompanied her husband to the sacred Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the heart of the Grand Palace.

- Queen brings 'legitimacy' -

Born on June 3, 1978, she graduated with a Communication Arts degree in 2000 from the Catholic-run Assumption University of Thailand.

She then worked as a flight attendant for national carrier Thai Airways.

According to a local media report she met the future king, a keen aviator with a pilot's licence, when he flew the company's aircraft during a charity event in 2007.

In November 2013, Suthida entered the royal army before becoming part of the monarch's prestigious security detail less than a year later.

She was promoted to the rank of general in December 2016 two months after the death of revered former King Bhumibol Adulyadej as Vajiralongkorn took to the throne.

Less than a year later, in 2017, she was made deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard, often seen shadowing the monarch at public events.

One of her latest appearances was in April, when she sat stone-faced behind her future husband wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed police.

The couple would often travel to Bavaria in southern Germany, where Vajiralongkorn has several residences.

The king's marriage to Suthida is a "way of further legitimising" his reign, said Paul Chambers, political analyst at Thailand's Naresuan University.

"A king is supposed to have a queen and now he has one."
The California Legislature is attempting to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns  a move that could bar President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's primary ballot if he does not make the documents public.

The state Senate voted 27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state's presidential primary ballot to publicly release five years' worth of income tax returns. The proposal is in response to Trump, who bucked 40 years of tradition by refusing to release his tax returns prior to his election in 2016.

California's presidential primary is scheduled for March 3. If the bill becomes law, Trump could not appear on the state's primary ballot without filing his tax returns with the California secretary of state.

"We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn't have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns," said Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from Healdsburg and the co-author of the bill along with Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.

Congress fights for returns: Treasury misses second deadline to release Trump's tax returns, will make decision by May 6

Opinion: It's April 15. Do you know where President Trump's tax returns are?

Sarah Sanders: This Congress not 'smart enough' to understand Trump's tax returns

The Legislature passed a nearly identical bill in 2017, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, telling lawmakers he was concerned the law was unconstitutional. Brown, a Democrat, refused to release his tax returns while in office.

He left office in January and was replaced by Gavin Newsom, who has released his tax returns and embraced his role as a national "resistance" leader to Trump and his policies.

Newsom's office didn't say whether he'd sign it. If the bill reaches his desk, "it would be evaluated on its own merits," spokesman Brian Ferguson said.

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McGuire said he has had "initial discussions" with the Newsom administration about the proposal.

"I never want to put words into his mouth, but here's what I'll say: Gov. Newsom has led by example," by releasing his own tax returns, McGuire said.

The bill would also apply to the more than a dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. But many of them have already released their tax returns. They include California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who released his tax returns last month after refusing to do so in 2016.

Candidates would have to submit tax returns to the secretary of state's office, which would work with the candidates to redact some information before posting the returns online.

The bill echoes similar legislation being considered in Illinois, Washington and New Jersey.

In New York, Democrats have examined multiple approaches in hopes of helping release Trump's tax returns, including bills requiring officials to release tax returns to appear on the ballot. State lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would allow the state to release Trump's state tax returns if any of three congressional committees  the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation  ask for the documents.

Trump is a resident of New York and does much of his business in the state.

'Im not gonna do it': Donald Trump says he won't give his tax returns to Congress

All of the bills come as Democrats in Washington continue to fight for access to Trump's returns.

Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal officially requested six years of the president's tax returns last month from the IRS but it hasn't been easy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also oversees the IRS, has missed two deadlines, imposed by Neal, to hand over the documents and instead said he would wait for the Justice Department to weigh in on the legality before making a decision.

In his latest letter last month to Neal, Mnuchin detailed both the constitutional concerns and his department's worries with releasing the president's financial information. He also accused Democrats of attempting to skirt the law in order to obtain the documents, something they have been after since even before Trump was elected.

Contributing: Joseph Spector

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California bill: President Trump won't appear on ballot unless he releases tax returns
Julian Castro (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Nati Harnik/AP, Moises Castillo/AP, AP)

Presidential elections are decided by many things: media exposure, financial backing, personal chemistry, timing and luck. Policy positions often are just a way of signaling where a candidate stands on the political spectrum. But 2020 is shaping up to be different, the most ideas-driven election in recent American history. On the Democratic side, a robust debate about inequality has given rise to ambitious proposals to redress the imbalance in Americans economic situations. Candidates are churning out positions on banking regulation, antitrust law and the future effects of artificial intelligence. The Green New Deal is spurring debate on the crucial issue of climate change, which could also play a role in a possible Republican challenge to Donald Trump.

Yahoo News will be examining these and other policy questions in The Ideas Election  a series of articles on how candidates are defining and addressing the most important issues facing the United States as it prepares to enter a new decade.

Three years into the presidency of Donald Trump, who launched his campaign with a call to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, the United States is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southwest border without proper documentation in more than a decade.

But more important than the totals, which remain well below the historic rates of illegal border crossings reported during the late 1990s and early 2000s, is the demographic makeup of the migrants.

During the month of September 2018, Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 people caught illegally crossing the border with a family member  ending the fiscal year with what was, at the time, the highest monthly total of family unit apprehensions to date. Since then, arrests of families between official ports of entry on the southwest border have continued to climb to historic highs each month, with significant spikes in February (36,531) and March (53,077) and another big jump last month to over 92,000, a 12-year high.

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Immigrants from Central America seeking asylum at Travis Park Church in downtown San Antonio. (Photo: Eric Gay/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Families and unaccompanied children  mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  now make up a majority of migrants arriving at the southern border without documentation, supplanting single adult males from Mexico.

But unlike single men, families and children arriving at the border to request asylum cannot be quickly deported after arrest. Border officials have found themselves ill-equipped to accommodate this new population in facilities that were designed for single men.

Beyond the border, the United States is home to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, 66 percent of whom had been in the country for more than 10 years as of 2016 and who, because of Trump administrations aggressive enforcement policies, are increasingly vulnerable to the threat of deportation.

More than 50,000 immigrants are in detention, a record high, with ICE actively searching for more space to house detainees.

Although the crisis has been shaped by Trumps immigration policies, its origins can be traced to legislation that dates from well before the current administration.

Much of the legal framework for todays immigration system is rooted in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, or INA, of 1965, which eliminated discriminatory country-based quotas that favored immigrants from Western Europe in favor of a system that prioritized family reunification and, to a lesser degree, employment-based immigration.

The law helped create the diverse, multicultural immigrant population that has changed the makeup of the United States  legally and illegally  over the last half-century.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed another immigration overhaul that laid the groundwork for todays deportation and border enforcement system.

The changes made it easier for the U.S. to deport people, and made more people eligible for deportation, while also making it significantly harder, if not impossible, for immigrants already in the country unlawfully to obtain legal status. Deportations skyrocketed after 1996, as did the undocumented population in the U.S.

After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, new laws and policies greatly expanded the immigration enforcement crackdown set into motion by the 1996 law, a trend that continued through the Obama administration and has accelerated under Trump.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Immigration Bill of 1965 on Liberty Island, with a view of the New York City skyline in the background. Next to the president on his right are first lady Lady Bird Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. To the president's left are Sen. Edward Kennedy (third from right) and Sen. Robert Kennedy (second from right). (Photo: Corbis via Getty Images, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Among the changes were the expansion of immigration detention and expedited removal, the use of criminal penalties against some border crossers and restructuring the Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Services to become part of the newly established Department of Homeland Security. These moves officially conflated the missions of immigration and border enforcement with counterterrorism and national security.

Meanwhile, Congress, the White House and the courts have wrestled for years over how to treat Dreamers  people who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as children  an issue that was caught up last year in the debate over Trumps request for funding for a wall on the border with Mexico.

While many the Trump administrations immigration policies have been widely condemned by Democrats, most of the 2020 presidential candidates have held back from presenting specific plans for reform.

In fact, of the 20 candidates currently crowding the 2020 Democratic primary field, just one so far has produced a detailed policy proposal on immigration: Julian Castro. On April 2, the former San Antonio mayor who served as secretary of housing and urban development under President Obama unveiled his People First Immigration Policy.

Castros ambitious proposal includes many standard Democratic positions, including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, for refugees with temporary protected status because they would be in danger in their homelands, and millions of others living in the U.S. without protection or other options for legal status. He pledged to undo a number of Trump administration policies, including the ban on entry for citizens of majority-Muslim countries and barriers to asylum seekers. He would reverse Trumps large cuts to refugee quotas and expand the qualifying categories to account for new global challenges like climate change.

Castros proposal also includes bold reforms to the broader immigration system, starting with a repeal of the law that treats crossing the border without authorization as a federal crime rather than a civil violation. This statute, he notes in his proposal, has allowed for separation of children and families at our border, the large-scale detention of tens of thousands of families, and has deterred migrants from turning themselves in to an immigration official within our borders.

He also seeks to eliminate the private immigration detention and prison industry, and drastically reduce the population of detainees. He proposes restructuring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into two separate agencies, one tasked with general immigration enforcement and another focused on investigating terrorism, drug and human trafficking, an idea supported by many ICE officials in a letter sent last year to then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Looking beyond U.S. borders, one section of Castros proposal outlines a plan for Establishing a 21st Century Marshall Plan for Central America, to improve conditions in the countries from which refugees are fleeing.

Julian Castro with students at Rancho High School in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

Asked why he chose to dive head first into immigration at this early stage in the campaign, Castro told the New Yorkers David Remnick, I wanted to go as straight to what this President has considered his bread-and-butter issue. This is how he stokes division.

Other candidates have been more hesitant to take the plunge.

Before entering the race, former Rep. Beto ORourke seemed to be positioning himself as Trumps most formidable adversary on border and immigration issues, especially on the construction of a border wall. When Trump traveled to El Paso to speak about the border wall earlier this year, ORourke held a counter rally, proclaiming, We are not safe because of walls but in spite of walls. In a post on Medium, he listed 10 immigration, security and bilateral policies that match reality and our values, including increasing visa caps, and investing in additional infrastructure and personnel at the ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug and human trafficking.

As a presidential candidate, however, ORourke has been light on specifics. At a town hall in San Diego this week, ORourke talked loosely of comprehensive immigration reform that would include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers and their parents.

While Bernie Sanders hasnt shied away from the immigration debate, he hasnt offered much in the way of new ideas on the issue.

During a Fox News town hall on April 16, Sanders expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform, and called for hiring hundreds of new judges to more quickly clear up backlog of more than 800,000 pending immigration cases. He also endorsed building proper facilities right on the border for the surge of families in custody.

Demonstrating the sensitivity of the issue, though, Sanders, speaking in Iowa last month, denied he was "an advocate for open borders, an accusation Trump regularly lobs at Democrats.

"If you open the borders, my God, theres a lot of poverty in this world, and youre going to have people from all over the world, Sanders said, once again calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

Meanwhile, candidates such as Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are working on immigration issues in Congress, rather than on the campaign trail. Harris, the California senator and daughter of immigrants, who has made clear that she intends to court Latino voters, has introduced legislation to expand oversight of ICE detention facilities. She said she plans to introduce a bill with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., to allow Dreamers to serve as congressional staffers.

This week in the Senate, Booker took the lead to re-introduce Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, an ambitious bill to drastically undo the countrys vast immigration detention system in response to the Trump administrations latest efforts to expand it.

Castros proposal was praised by immigration advocates, who have long been pushing for Democrats to push back harder against Trump on immigration issues. Some predicted Castros plan would be the catalyst to force other Democrats to offer clear proposals of their own, though thus far no one has really followed suit. The question now is how long the other Democrats can avoid taking a strong position on what will surely be a central issue of Trumps 2020 campaign.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats generally steered clear of the topic, focusing instead on issues such as health care and taxes, while many Republicans copied Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric and his efforts to stoke fear about migrant caravans.

President Trump at a recent rally in Green Bay, Wis. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP, digitally enhanced by Yahoo News)

The result, a historic gain for Democrats in the House of Representatives, appear to have vindicated that strategy.

But the politics might play out differently in a presidential election, when Trump himself is on the ballot.

According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week, Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about illegal immigration at the southwest border, with 24 percent now agreeing that the situation is a crisis, compared to 7 percent who felt that way in January.

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Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - The leader of South Africa's main opposition party urged voters Saturday to give "change a chance" in next week's general election after 25 years of ANC rule.

"Let us be brave and give change a chance," Mmusi Maimane told more than 10,000 Democratic Alliance supporters at Dobsonville stadium in Soweto.

South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in one of the most competitive national elections since the first multi-racial vote in 1994.

Nelson Mandelas African National Congress, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has won every election since then.

But addressing his final and biggest rally before the vote, Maimane said it was time for change as the country battles corruption, poverty and high unemployment.

"Today the choice is between fear and bravery. If South Africans were not brave, I bet you apartheid would still be in place.

"We are brave and we are going to show courage and hope for change in this election".

He condemned the ANC for going from from "leaders in the struggle for freedom" to those who now "stand directly in the way of freedom".

"They were once our liberators but today we need to be liberated from them," Maimane told the cheering crowd in his home township.

- 'Yes we can!'-

Donald Mlangeni, 28, said in the last election in 2014 he had voted for the ANC, but now he will go with the DA.

"We are going to put an end to corruption," he said, complaining that he struggles to get access to basics such as water at his house. "I think the DA will bring change. At least let's give them a chance".

Ketsie Kobedi, 67, echoed a view driven by disappointment with the ANC that things were actually better under white rule.

"We want to go back to the white people era when things were in order. We don't trust the ANC because of corruption," she said.

The DA, which has been the largest opposition party in South Africa for the past 19 years, has hammered away on the ANC's failure to deliver Mandela's dream of a prosperous and equal South Africa.

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Its popularity has steadily grown over the years to 22 percent in the last election. During the 2016 local government elections the DA wrested control of the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the administrative capital Pretoria, from the ANC.

For the past decade, the DA has also been in charge of the Western Cape - one of the country's best run provinces.

Plagued by intra-party wrangling, the DA is not expected to move much in numbers at Wednesday's polls, according to latest pre-voting surveys, which give the ANC a victory of up to around 60 percent of the ballots cast.

"This is not a popularity contest. This is about competence. Im merely asking you to employ a government with a proven track record. But let us first prove to you that we can do this job because I know we can. I have no doubt that the DA can turn South Africa around," said Maimane.

"Yes we can!" said Maimane concluding his 40-minute long speech, borrowing former US president Barack Obama's famous campaign slogan.
Paris (AFP) - On May 6, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain -- a 50.5-kilometre (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making.

Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 metres (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travellers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe.

It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises.

- Dating back to Napoleon -

Already in 1802 French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages.

A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes.

In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation.

Nearly two kilometres were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain -- apparently wary of risks to its national defence -- cited "strategic reasons".

The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later.

In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build.

Work got under way in 1973 and some 300 metres were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 metres near Dover on the British side.

But two years later Britain's then prime minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons.

- Bridge or tunnel? -

After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the Channel gained new impetus.

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A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail-road bridge; a rail-road bridge-tunnel; a rail-road tunnel; or a rail tunnel.

Most Britons followed Thatcher's preference for a road link while the French were keener on the rail option.

It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the "Eurotunnel" was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986.

- Breaking through -

Europe's biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain.

AFP stories tracked the tunnel's progress, a rate of "500 metres a month", as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems -- and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometres.

Then, on December 1, 1990 at precisely 12:12 pm, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up.

An AFP photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk.

Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British.

- Queen and president -

"Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous," Queen Elizabeth II said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel.

"We now have, Madame, a land border," said Mitterrand. The project would be "decisive" in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said.

After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce which -- due to its large size -- was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent.

Following behind in a car once owned by the late French president Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand's wife Danielle and the Duke of Edinburgh.

During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with then prime minister John Major joking that Britain was "still an island", AFP reported.

Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey.
Dover (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's "greatest achievements" but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

"I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit," the 70-year-old told AFP. "I don't see that as incompatible."

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community -- the forerunner to the EU -- in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

"We voted for a trade deal," he explained. "I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'."

- 'Little bit overwhelming' -

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

"I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other," Cozette told AFP this week.

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The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

"I don't think it will drive the English and French apart," he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered "it was all a little bit overwhelming" and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

"They had champagne, wine, food," he said. "On our side we had just tea, coffee and water -- and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!"

- 'I had other plans' -

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

"The faster we went, the more money we got," he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

"I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough'," he added.

"I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans."

-'Historical moment' -

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

"It's a great engineering feat," he said. "It's good that people enjoy it."

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

"It was a historical moment," he recollected of his famous handshake.

"The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you."
Sam's Canterbury Cafe. | Photo: Henry F./Yelp

Visiting Tuscany-Canterbury, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this Baltimore neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Mediterranean spot to Hong Kong-style beverages and desserts.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Tuscany-Canterbury, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cypriana Of Roland Park

Photo: cypriana of roland park/Yelp

Topping the list is Mediterranean, vegan and Greek spot Cypriana of Roland Park. Located at 105 W. 39th St., it's the highest rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 126 reviews on Yelp.

This spot, which has operated for nearly three decades, was named one of Baltimore's "hidden gem" restaurants by Open Table in 2017, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. On the menu, look for selections of wood-fired flatbread and small plates of grilled eggplant and stuffed grape leaves.

2. Sam's Canterbury Cafe

Photo: sam's canterbury cafe/Yelp

Next up is cafe and breakfast and brunch spot Sam's Canterbury Cafe, serving coffee, tea and more, situated at 3811 Canterbury Road With 4.5 stars out of 45 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite.

Yelp named this spot one of the top 50 places to eat in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun. On the menu, expect all-day breakfast, along with lunch fare like sandwiches, flatbreads and greens. Look for The Charles, a flatbread topped with mozzarella, burrata, spicy red sauce and basil.

3. TSAOCAA

Photo: Tea T./Yelp

TSAOCAA, a spot to score beverages and desserts, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 4 W. University Parkway, 4.5 stars out of 31 reviews.

With nearly a dozen locations across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Las Vegas and more, this Hong Kong-style tea and dessert shop offers a wide selection of teas, milk bubble beverages, smoothies, milkshakes and more. Look for the hot cheese-infused mango tea.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Photo: iStock

The number of crime incidents in Miami saw an overall increase last week, after a previous decline, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents rose to 443 for the week of April 22, up from 360 the week before.

The specific offenses that increased the most were theft and burglary. Theft rose to 175 incidents last week, from 146 the week before. Burglary went from 21 to 27. Reports of burglary have continued to grow for the last three weeks.

There was also a notable percentage increase in robbery, from eight incidents per week to 12.

There was one reported shooting last week. That represents a steady state from the previous week.

Among the few types of offenses that saw a downturn last week, reports of assault went from 69 to 61.

There were 166 reports of "other" crimes, an increase of 52 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 44 involved arrests, for offenses such as drug possession, up from 28 reported arrests the week before.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, Allapattah, Downtown and Little Havana continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Crime in Liberty City went up the most. Crime reports in Downtown also rose, after declining the week before, and incidents in Allapattah are up considerably as well.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday saw the most crime incidents last week. The largest increase from the previous week occurred on Tuesday, Monday and Wednesday, while incidents on Sunday, Saturday and Thursday went down. Comparing times of day, late afternoon, late morning and evening saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.
Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) (AFP) - The Dutch territory of Curacao said Saturday it would do what was needed to prevent measles spreading from a Scientology cruise ship, after a crew member came down with the disease.

The Freewinds, which left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia on Friday, arrived back in its home port of Curacao Saturday.

There were about 300 people aboard the ship, according to Saint Lucia authorities.

The Curacao government said it would "take all necessary precautions to handle the case of measles on board of the Freewinds," including vaccinations.

"An investigation will also be done to determine who will be allowed to leave the ship without (posing) a threat to the population of Curacao," it said in a statement.

The vessel is moored in an area not accessible to the public.

Three health officials had gone aboard to examine passengers, Dutch broadcaster NOS said, quoting its correspondent in Curacao.

Anyone who could prove they had been vaccinated or who had contracted measles in the past would be allowed to leave the ship while the others would have to stay on board, the reporter told NOS.

"It is imperative to make all efforts to prevent a spread of this disease internationally," the Curacao government said.

It said the risk of the disease spreading was relatively low as many people had been already been vaccinated in the past but advised parents to make sure their children were vaccinated.

The Church of Scientology says the 440-foot (134-meter) vessel is used for religious retreats and is normally based in Curacao.

The vessel had arrived in St. Lucia from Curacao on Tuesday, when it was placed under quarantine by health authorities because of a measles patient, said to be a female crew member.

The resurgence of the once-eradicated, highly contagious disease is linked to the growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as a major global health threat.

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The church, founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, did not respond to requests for comment.

Its teachings do not directly oppose vaccination, but followers consider illness a sign of personal failing and generally avoid medical interventions.

The Curacao government is asking people who may have visited the Freewinds between April 22 and 28 to report to health authorities.
Photos: Petfinder

Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of charming rabbits up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Pittsburgh, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect fit.

Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of rabbits available for adoption near you. Read on to meet some friendly locals.

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.

Blue Belle, rabbit

Adorable Blue Belle is a female American rabbit being kept at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Blue Belle's compatibility with kids and other pets.

What my friends at Rabbit Wranglers think of me:

Blue is one beautiful, 9 pound ball of "please love me." After six months in a shelter, she decided she needed a break, and really, who can blame her? Blue immediately cheered up in her foster home! She started greeting her foster parents within two days by showing off her bunny dance moves when they would enter the room.

Apply to adopt Blue Belle today at Petfinder.

Lemmy, rabbit

Lemmy is a charming male satin rabbit in the care of Rabbit Wranglers.

Lemmy is looking for a kid-free family.

His vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but he's been neutered.

Notes from Lemmy's friends:

Lemmy is a gorgeous black satin rabbit. He came to Rabbit Wranglers to give him a much-needed break from shelter life and to help him resolve some behavior issues. He is now sweet and calm. He loves to run around and find new hiding places. Hes also big and strong at just over 10 pounds!

Read more about Lemmy on Petfinder.

Remmie, rabbit

Remmie is a female rabbit being cared for at the Humane Animal Rescue.

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Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Remmie is looking for a kid-free forever home.

Remmie's friends say:

Meet our darling girl, Remmie! Remmie is a sweet, shy girl who is learning to come out of her shell and enjoy things. Remmie enjoys playing with toys that she can chew and toss around (especially cardboard boxes, tubes and stuffed animals). While Remmie is a bit unsure about her new environment, give her some time and love and you'll see her blossom into a curious and active girl, ready for adventure.

Read more about Remmie on Petfinder.

Trooper, rabbit

Trooper is a female bunny rabbit mix being cared for at The Foster Farm.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, and she hasn't been spayed yet.

There's no information on Trooper's profile about how she does with children or other animals, so it's worth asking The Foster Farm directly.

Notes from Trooper's caretakers:

Trooper and her siblings were an accidental litter surrendered to us when the owner had to move. She is pretty human friendly, but a quieter bunny and prefers to lounge in the company of another rabbit.

Read more about Trooper on Petfinder.

Harriet, rabbit

Darling Harriet is a female tan rabbit currently housed at Rabbit Wranglers.

Her vaccinations aren't up to date quite yet, but she's been spayed.

Contact Rabbit Wranglers for information about Harriet's compatibility with kids and other pets. Harriet is a special needs pet, so please inquire about her specific care requirements.

Harriet's caretakers say:

Harriet is a very active girl with lots of love to share. She was found roaming free and we suspect that experience has caused her be scared and distrustful. But, once you've earned her trust, she'll gladly join you on the couch for TV binge-watching! One of Harriet's favorite activities is sitting and listening to someone read to her; it calms her down and lulls her to sleep if you are still enough.

Read more about Harriet on Petfinder.

This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Damascus (AFP) - The Syrian government has accused Kurdish leaders of "treason" for organising a conference with allied Arab tribes to plot out the political future of territory under their alliance's control.

The Kurds and their Arab allies control a vast swathe of the north and northeast that makes up around a third of Syrian territory, much of which they captured in the long and costly campaign against the Islamic State group.

Buoyed by its recapture of most of the rest of Syria, Damascus is now demanding that alliance-held areas too return to central government control.

Weakened by the decision of its main ally Washington to withdraw most of its troops following the defeat of the last vestige of IS's "caliphate" in March, the Kurdish-led alliance has opened talks with Damascus.

But its leaders are determined not to accept the negotiated surrender of a "reconciliation agreement" like those imposed by Damascus on various rebel groups, and on Friday convened a conference of Arab tribes to seek their support.

The state SANA news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as accusing organisers of the conference in the alliance-held but mainly Arab town of Ain Issa of "treason".

It claimed that the meeting in a town "held by armed militia dependent on the United States and some European countries" had ended in "failure" as a result of a "boycott by most of the tribes".

"Such gatherings are clear embodiments of the treason of their organisers, whatever their political, ethnic or racial allegiances," the source added.

In his address to Friday's conference, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said that Damascus would need to recognise the authority of the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria as well as the "special status" of the alliance and its role in defending the region against IS.

He said there could be no going back to the situation before the civil war erupted in 2011 when the Kurds were denied any official recognition as a minority that accounts for some 15 percent of the population.

"It is not possible to reach a democratic and pluralistic Syria without full recognition of the rights of Syria's Kurds," he said.

The SDF has been cornered into seeking an accommodation with Damascus by two-pronged pressure from the looming US troop withdrawal and a longstanding threat by Turkey to send troops across the border to end the experiment in self-rule by Kurdish forces it regards as "terrorists".
By Elisabeth O'Leary ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, on Saturday pledged to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom just as support for secession rises. The Conservatives, the party of government in Westminster, have seen their poll support slide in pro-EU Scotland over their handling of Brexit while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen. On Friday local council elections in England provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour. In Scotland, it has meant support for independence from the United Kingdom is at a peak of the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to stay in the EU. A march in support of independence in Glasgow on Saturday was expected to attract tens of thousands. Davidson's championing of Scotland as part of the UK has made her the toast of moderate Conservatives, giving her higher public approval ratings than the woman she is trying to unseat, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. "I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda," Davidson, back at work after six months of maternity leave, told cheering Scottish Conservatives. "We've had enough to last a lifetime," she told the party conference in the city of Aberdeen. Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in a 2014 referendum. But Brexit has soured relations between north and south, partly because most Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU in contrast to the result of the vote in Britain overall. At the same time infighting and the mishandling of Brexit has whittled away the authority of the prime minister, eroding Conservative voter support. POLL RATINGS In Scotland, support for the Conservatives in a future Westminster election has fallen five percentage points since last autumn to 22 percent, according to the average of three recent polls. Asked how the Brexit wrangling could damage Davidson's ambition to unseat pro-independence Sturgeon in the next devolved parliament elections, environment minister Michael Gove, who attended conference, told Reuters: "I think that by the time it comes to 2021 elections that issue will have been resolved, and Ruth will be fighting on the side of the party that has delivered Brexit," he said. Returning to work this week after giving birth in October, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister. But, as senior Conservatives jockey to replace May, speculation about Davidson continues to swirl despite her not having a seat in Britain's national parliament at Westminster. In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, Davidson, who is gay, was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood, talking about "bone-crushing" tiredness and the difficulties of combining work with new motherhood. "It turns out you can type on a laptop one-handed while breastfeeding with the other...I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done". (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)
Today marks the anniversary of an important Supreme Court case that helped to end the Hollywood studio system and fuel a young television industry in the late 1940s.

Hollywoods greatest drama took place over two decades in a fight that featured movie barons, President Franklin Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, and the United States Supreme Court.

In the end, the Court ruled in United States v. Paramount on May 4, 1948, finding that the studios had violated anti-trust laws, in a devastating blow to five major studios and three smaller ones. The case had roots dating back to 1921, when concerns first arose about the studios and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

The major studios had a near-monopoly on the movie business in the United States. Each studio had exclusive contracts with actors and directors; owned the theaters where their movies played; worked with each other to control how movies were shown in independent theaters; and, in some cases, owned the companies that processed the film.

The system of vertical integration was expensive to maintain, but it was lucrative when the movie business was booming.

Independent movie makers and theater owners started taking legal action decades before the 1948 Supreme Court ruling.

The website Hollywood Renegades Archive has a detailed history of the 27-year fight that pitted movie titans like Adolph Zukor and Jesse Laskey against the Justice Department in the 1920s.

The Justice Department won the first round of the fight in 1930, when the Supreme Court ruled that the movies studios were monopolies. A key finding was that the process of block booking was illegal. In block booking, studios forced theaters to buy films as a group well in advance, and often without seeing them.

But the studios, after some legal delays, found an ear with incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Claiming that the movie business was in dire straits during the Depression, the studios asked President Roosevelt to stop the forced breakup of the monopolies. After all, the nation needed movies as a relief from troubled times.

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Roosevelt used the National Industrial Recovery Act to justify a delay. But the Supreme Court threw out the Recovery Act in 1935, and in 1938, the Justice Department filed a new lawsuit against the studios.

Again, the studios found a way out of losing their monopolies. In 1940, they reached a deal with the Justice Department in a consent decree. During a three-year trial, the studios could keep their movies theaters, but block booking was regulated and theater owners had a chance to see movies before they bought them.

The decision enraged independent producers like Disney, Chaplin, David Selznick, Mary Pickford, and Orson Welles. They organized as a group, even though some would be defendants in the case because of their roles in United Artists, a studio that only distributed films.

The Justice Department, with the support of the independent producers, renewed the case in 1946. A federal district court in New York eliminated the studios ability to sell blocks of films, but it also let the studios keep their movie theaters.

Both sides appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In its 1948 ruling, the court effectively dismantled the Hollywood studio system.

In an opinion from Justice William O. Douglas, the court killed the block booking system, and recommended the breakup of the studio-theater monopolies. The justices asked the lower court to decide the issue of selling the theaters.

As the movie studios regrouped for another fight in the lower courts or another deal with the Justice Department, their unity in the case cracked. Maverick studio owner Howard Hughes of RKO Pictures decided to sell his movie theaters.

The Justice Department made it clear that no deals were coming, and then the biggest studio, Paramount, sold its movies theaters. Its involvement in the antitrust case blocked its ability to buy into a new fad called television. The battle was over.

In the end, the Paramount case greatly fueled the growth of television, in addition to changing the movie business. RKO and other studios sold their film libraries to television stations to offset the losses from the Paramount case. The studios also released actors from contracts who became the new stars of the television world.

The audience for television grew tremendously as people stopped going to movie theaters. In 1948, about 90 million people were regular moviegoers. By 1958, that number fell to 46 million people. The audience for television grew to 204 million people in 1958.

Scott Bomboy is editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.
Denver-based travel app company Pana has secured $10 million in Series A funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced April 29 and led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Pana is on a mission to make travel simple, personal and delightful. From an app, they make booking travel as easy as texting a friend, provide white-glove care for the highs and lows of travel and offer best travel perks, rewards and experiences."

The fo-year-old startup has raised four previous funding rounds, including a seed round in 2016.

The round brings total funding raised by Denver companies in commerce and shopping over the past 90 days to $35 million. The local commerce and shopping industry has produced 11 funding rounds over the past year, capturing a total of $81 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, risk management company Insurdata announced a $3 million seed funding round on April 15, led by Anthemis Group.

According to Crunchbase, "Insurdata provides insurance and reinsurance underwriters property-specific data to support their pricing, underwriting and portfolio management decisions. The firm specializes in high-resolution, peril-specific exposures and building-level risk data, using technology that includes mobile augmented reality and 3-D model creation, providing both desktop and mobile products."

The company also raised a $1 million seed round in 2017.

This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Catenae Innovation Plc (LON:CTEA) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 91%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 52% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 39% in the last three months.

We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Check out our latest analysis for Catenae Innovation

Catenae Innovation recorded just UK15,851 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). Investors will be hoping that Catenae Innovation can make progress and gain better traction for the business, before it runs low on cash.

Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. Catenae Innovation has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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Our data indicates that Catenae Innovation had net debt of UK863,835 when it last reported in March 2018. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But with the share price diving 39% per year, over 5 years, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. The image below shows how Catenae Innovation's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CTEA Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Catenae Innovation had a tough year, with a total loss of 52%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 39% over the last half decade. 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. You might want to assess this data-rich visualization of its earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Pacific Basin Shipping Limited (HKG:2343), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Basin Shipping

Pacific Basin Shipping Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Mats Berglund, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$1.9m worth of shares at a price of HK$1.85 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of HK$1.62. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive). Mats Berglund was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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SEHK:2343 Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.8% of Pacific Basin Shipping shares, worth about HK$56m, according to our data. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Pacific Basin Shipping Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Pacific Basin Shipping shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Pacific Basin Shipping insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Pacific Basin Shipping.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Shaw Communications Inc.'s (TSE:SJR.B) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Shaw Communications has a P/E ratio of 29.87. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying CA$29.87 for every CA$1 in prior year profit.

View our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

How Do You Calculate Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Shaw Communications:

P/E of 29.87 = CA$26.92  CA$0.90 (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Shaw Communications's 81% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. On the other hand, the longer term performance is poor, with EPS down 12% per year over 5 years.

How Does Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. As you can see below, Shaw Communications has a higher P/E than the average company (23.2) in the media industry.

TSX:SJR.B Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

That means that the market expects Shaw Communications will outperform other companies in its industry. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Shaw Communications's Balance Sheet

Shaw Communications's net debt equates to 29% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Shaw Communications's P/E Ratio

Shaw Communications trades on a P/E ratio of 29.9, which is above the CA market average of 14.4. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and its EPS growth is very healthy indeed. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: Shaw Communications may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides again faltered.

Israel said around 50 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defence systems intercepted dozens of them.

The army said it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response.

A Gazan security source said later that a series of Israeli strikes hit at least three separate areas of the Gaza Strip and that three "resistance fighters" were wounded.

It was not yet clear if there were casualties on the Israeli side.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.
Doha (AFP) - The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

- 'Failed strategies' -

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

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Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the opposition's local election victory in Istanbul to be declared invalid and the vote re-run, increasing the pressure on the country's electoral authorities.

"Clearly, there were irregularities and corruption," Erdogan said in a speech at a business leaders' meeting.

"If the Supreme Electoral Council could dissipate all this, that would ease the conscience of our fellow citizens," he added.

The electoral body, the YSK, is due to meet on Monday to examine a request by Erdogan's AKP party to cancel the result of the March 31 local elections which the party lost in Istanbul, where the main opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu won the mayoral race by a tight margin.

Several partial recounts have so far supported the initial results in both Ankara and Istanbul, with the main opposition CHP party calling Erdogan a "bad loser" willing to do anything to hold on to power in the country's economic capital.

Observers attribute the electoral setbacks to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to voter discontent over Turkey's ongoing economic troubles.

Refusing to concede the Istanbul result, Erdogan denounced "massive irregularities", and his party accused voting officials of under-reporting votes cast in favour of its candidate.

"My fellow citizens say to me: 'My president, there must be a re-run of this election'," Erdogan said. "Come and let's go before the people and we will accept what the people's wish dictates."

Istanbul prosecutors on Thursday said they had opened around 30 probes into the vote, and over 100 voting booth managers had been summoned for questioning.

In comments later Saturday Imamoglu urged the electoral council to "take a decision based on the law and justice,".

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told Erdogan to "stop putting pressure on the YSK".

"There were no irregularities, no abuse," he insisted.

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Istanbul (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday fiercely denounced Israel for the bombing of a building housing Turkey's state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

"We strongly condemn Israel's attack against Anadolu Agencys office in Gaza," Erdogan said on Twitter.

"Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks," he wrote.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff were evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: "Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israel's unrestrained aggression.

"Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is Anaa crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone," he said.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a "tyrant" after Netanyahu called him a "dictator" and a "joke".
BAMAKO, May 4 (Reuters) - At least 18 civilians were killed in two related attacks this week in central Mali, the United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission said on Saturday, as the death toll from fighting between local hunters and herders continues to climb.

MINUSMA did not identify the assailants in the attacks on a Dogon ethnic community in the Mopti region.

The region has been engulfed in a conflict between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders that killed hundreds of civilians in 2018 and is spreading across the Sahel, the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa's savannas to the south.

MINUSMA said a number of Dogons were killed in an ambush on Wednesday, while other members of the same community were killed on Thursday as they tried to retrieve the bodies from the previous day's attack. One Fulani civilian was also killed, it said.

"The U.N. urges the authorities to redouble efforts to stop this cycle of intercommunal violence, whose recurrence is very worrying in an already alarming security context," MINUSMA chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said in a statement.

The Malian authorities have come under fire for failing to disarm militias or beat back Islamist insurgents, who have been capitalizing on the spiraling communal conflicts to recruit new members and extend their reach in the Sahel.

This week's attacks follow a March massacre of at least 157 Fulani villagers in Mopti, in what was seen as one of the worst acts of bloodshed in the region in living memory.

The escalating violence led to the resignation in April of the entire Malian government.

The largely Saharan nation has been in turmoil since Tuaregs and allied jihadists took control of more than half the country in a rebellion in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year. (Reporting by Souleymane Ag Anara; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - The United States' allies in Europe have criticized its recent decisions to restrict oil trade with Iran and to limit the extension of waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects.

"We ... take note with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran," Britain's foreign office said in a joint statement with its German and French counterparts and the European Union.

"We also note with concern the decision by the United States not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects," Britain's foreign office added.

Washington acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Last week, the United States said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Brussels (AFP) - EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union.

"We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement.

"In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added.

"In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights".

On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September.

According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.

Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights".

In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources.

Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move.

"This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said.

It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation".

The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration.

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Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February.

The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara.

European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling.

Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island.

In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships.

Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.

The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed.

Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern".

In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law.

Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Reacting to President Trumps over hour-long Friday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said he didnt press Putin on meddling in the 2020 presidential election, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi claimed that POTUS had given the Russian leader the green light to interfere again.

Speaking at the White House shortly after the call, the president said that Putin sort of smiled when they talked about the Mueller Report, adding that the Russian leader said it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. The Mueller Report, while finding no chargeable conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, found Russia engaged in sweeping interference during the 2016 election.

During Fridays Deadline: White House, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Figliuzzi what jumped out at him about the phone call, noting that Trump and Putin share a personal relationship, and she hasnt heard Trump describe a foreign leader smiling since he was president.

Its troubling to think the president is finding comfort in our adversary, Figliuzzi, an MSNBC national security analyst, replied. And our nations adversary is actually now his buddy. Hes finding self-affirmation in someone who gets up every morning trying to hurt our country.

The former FBI official pointed out that Trump should have told Putin that the Mueller Report contained troubling information about Russias attempts to mess with our democracy and that hed receive the wrath of American sanctions if it happened again.

Wallace went on to ask about Trump discussing the Mueller Reports conclusions with Putin, wondering what he thought about a president talking to a U.S. adversary who attacked our democracy and theyre sharing some sort of commonality about its result?

After stating that Trump is once again mixing up collusion with criminal conspiracy and that Mueller didnt actually look at the matter of collusion, Figliuzzi said the president was welcoming further meddling by the Russians.

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With regard to continued relations and cozying up to Putin, Putin has the green light now, he declared before referencing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen describing Trump as having a mob boss mentality.

And the lack of pushing back by this government and by the president has got to be giving Putin the green light to do it again, Figliuzzi added. Do it again. Help us out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Zendo. | Photo: Mario C./Yelp

Spending time in downtown Albuquerque? Get to know this Albuquerque neighborhood by browsing its most popular spots for food and drinks, from a restaurant featuring New Mexican cuisine to a tapas bar.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit downtown, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Cocina Azul

Photo: diana s./Yelp

New Mexican spot Cocina Azul, situated at 1134 Mountain Road NW, has proven to be a local favorite, with 4.5 stars out of 1,088 reviews on Yelp.

2. The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine

Photo: adrienne a./Yelp

Bar and Spanish spot The Cellar Tapas Beer and Wine, which offers tapas and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW, 4.5 stars out of 229 reviews.

3. Slow Roasted Bocadillos

Photo: Carol R./yelp

Slow Roasted Bocadillos, a sandwich shop that offers sandwiches, tacos and more, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with five stars out of 58 Yelp reviews. Head over to 200 Lomas Blvd. NW, Suite 110 to see for yourself.

4. Zendo

photo: alice w./yelp

Check out Zendo, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 185 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score coffee, tea and more at 413 Second St. SW.

5. Cafe Lush

Photo: michael c./Yelp

Finally, there's Cafe Lush, a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 150 reviews. Stop by 700 Tijeras Ave. NW to hit up the cafe and New American spot next time you're in the neighborhood.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Havana (AFP) - US giant ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against Cuba's state-owned oil company and a major business group for what it called "unlawful trafficking" of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeks $280 million from Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and Cimex, which operates service stations on the island nation.

The lawsuit from America's biggest oil producer came as the administration of US President Donald Trump lifted the suspension of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.

The provision allows anyone whose assets were seized after the revolution to sue Cuban individuals and businesses profiting from the former holdings.

It had been suspended by all previous US presidents to avoid causing friction with allies, some of whom view it as overstepping American jurisdiction.

Exxon said in the suit it was seeking compensation "for property that was expropriated by the Fidel Castro regime in 1960, including oil refineries and service stations, which are still in use today even though Plaintiff has never received any compensation for this property."

Exxon is one of the companies born out of the now-defunct Standard Oil, whose refinery in Havana was one of the first American entities nationalized by Castro.

The refinery is currently operated by Cupet.

Exxon merged with Mobil in 1988.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliament's Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian party's rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: "Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us."

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: "There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity."
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
TRIPOLI, May 4 (Reuters) - Recent fighting in southern Tripoli in Libya has killed 187 people and wounded 1,157, a spokesman for the ministry of health said on Saturday.

The government has also transferred a number of wounded to Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Ukraine for medical treatment, said Tarek al-Hamshiri, the head of the government forces' Field Medical Centre.

The offensive launched by eastern Libya-based military commander Khalifa Haftar to take control of Tripoli is now in its fifth week.

The U.N.-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli issued a statement earlier on Saturday recognizing 710 fighters killed in Libya's civil war in 2014 as "martyrs," in a move a Tripoli government source said was aimed at winning the backing of forces in nearby Zintan in the fight against Haftar.

"The GNA took this step in a bid to get support from the mountain town of Zintan to strengthen its forces in confronting the eastern forces deployed by military commander Khalifa Haftar," the government source said. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Miami (AFP) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

The issue is an especially sensitive one in

Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure barring people with felony convictions from registering to vote unless they first pay fines, court fees and restitution that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Critics accuse Republicans of seeking to prevent 1.4 million ex-felons who had only just regained the right to vote in the southeastern US state from registering ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The state's House of Representatives approved the bill 67-42 on Friday, a day after it passed the Senate, and it now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk.

"We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid," said Representative James Grant, the sponsor of the measure in the Florida House.

"I think the product that you're seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote," Grant told the local WCTV channel.

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The issue is an especially sensitive one in a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.

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a state that has had a major impact on who takes the White House, and where elections are decided by narrow margins, with every vote counting.

- Democrats call for veto -

In November, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to ex-convicts who have already served all terms of their sentence, and did not commit sex crimes or murder.

The Florida constitution had previously denied voting rights to ex-felons, and the amendment was expected to add tens of thousands of people to the state's voting rolls.

But the Republican-controlled Florida legislature proposed the measure requiring the payment of debts such as court fees first -- something critics say is impossible for many ex-convicts to do.

After hours of debate, lawmakers reached an agreement under which judges will be able to waive the payments, or allow ex-convicts to pay their debts through community service.

The measure "serves no purpose other than to try to keep working-class Floridians from voting," said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Her party has called on DeSantis to veto the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that if approved, the bill would disproportionately hurt poor people of color.

"Restricting the ability to vote based on the size of one's bank account will have a disparate and intensely negative impact on communities of color and economically disadvantaged individuals, and perpetuate the old Jim Crow practice of government interference in African Americans' access to the ballot box," the ACLU said in a statement.
File image of jail cell (Photo: Getty Images)

After a mentally ill Florida woman was allegedly left alone to give birth in her jail cell, advocates are pushing for a full review of medical and isolation practices.

In a letter to Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony on Friday, Public Defender Howard Finkelstein expressed outrage over his 34-year-old pregnant client, who was left alone in a jail cell for almost seven hours, despite asking for assistance. She eventually gave birth alone, the Associated Press reports.

I am incensed and heartbroken after learning that a mentally ill client was forced to deliver her child alone in a jail cell, Finkelstein writes.

According to Finkelstein, his client complained of contractions and bleeding. However, jail staff, who were fully aware that his client was pregnant, only attempted to contact an on-call doctor, instead of taking her to a hospital. The doctor said he would check on the inmate when he arrived at the jail.

Six hours and 54 minutes after asking for help, a BSO (Broward Sheriffs Office) tech notified medical staff that Ms. Jackson was holding her newborn baby in her arms, having delivered her baby without medication or the assistance of a physician, the letter reads. She was forced to deliver her baby alone.

In her time of extreme need and vulnerability, BSO neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve. Not only was Ms. Jacksons health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk, Finkelstein continued.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, 1396 pregnant women were admitted to prisons from 2016 to 2017. 92 percent of outcomes resulted in 753 live births, while there was also 46 miscarriages (6%), 11 abortions (1%), 4 stillbirths (0.5%), 3 newborn deaths, and no maternal deaths. Of the 753 live births, 30% were cesarean deliveries, and 6% were preterm.

It continues by saying that three quarters of incarcerated women are between the ages of 18 and 44, which is considered to be childbearing age. Two thirds are mothers and the primary caregivers to young children.

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The study concludes that those in positions of power should work to optimize health outcomes for incarcerated pregnant women and their newborns, whose health has broad sociopolitical implications.

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Washington (AFP) - Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a firm that operates centers for housing unaccompanied migrant children, US media reported Friday, prompting a storm of criticism from Democrats.

The ex-Marine general -- who as Homeland Security secretary proposed the controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents -- joined Caliburn International four months after leaving the White House.

"General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Caliburn International CEO James Van Dusen in a statement cited by various US outlets.

Democrats including 2020 presidential hopefuls accused Kelly of profiting from policies he had supervised during his stint in President Donald Trump's administration.

"John Kelly oversaw many of the Trump Admin's most morally repugnant immigration policies," tweeted Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren.

"Now he could be making big bucks serving on the Board of a company that's profiting from the same cruel plans he put in place. This is corruption at its absolute worst."

Senator Cory Booker, another Democrat candidate, tweeted: "Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting."

Caliburn is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, a private firm that has been given contracts by US Customs and Border Protection.

It runs Homestead, a temporary facility for housing unaccompanied migrant children, in Florida.

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.

During his stint as Trump's Homeland Security secretary, Kelly said would consider separating migrant children from their parents and would "do almost anything to deter the people from Central America" getting into the US via the Mexico border.

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He later became White House chief of staff, before his relationship with the president reportedly deteriorated.

In December last year, shortly before leaving the White House, Kelly said he had "nothing but compassion" for undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

"Illegal immigrants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people.... I have nothing but compassion for them, the young kids," Kelly told the LA Times, adding that many had been manipulated by traffickers.
Paris (AFP) - French investigators are looking at several videos that appear to show police violence during May Day demonstrations in Paris, including one showing an officer push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man.

The man attacked with a telescopic truncheon had been plucked from a crowd of protesters, many of whom were chanting "everyone hates the police".

Paris police chiefs have asked the IGPN, the body that investigates police abuses, to investigate the incident, which happened when the arrested man was pinned down by other officers.

They are also looking at two other incidents caught on video.

One shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester while the second shows another officer hurling a paving stone at protesters.

On Friday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told journalists: "If someone is at fault, there will be a sanction, legal and administrative sanctions."

The traditional May Day workers' march took place in an already tense atmosphere, given the weekly "yellow vest" protests in Paris and other French cities over the past six months.

Clashes occurred even before the march got underway and continued throughout the day.

For months, yellow vest activists have accused the police of heavy-handed repression of their right to assemble and protest, in particular the use of rubber bullet launchers that have seriously injured dozens of people.
Paris (AFP) - Film stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart joined hundreds of people from the arts world in backing France's "yellow vests" movement, as the latest anti-government marches took place Saturday.

Binoche and Beart joined more than 1,400 signatories to an open letter published in the left-leaning daily Liberation.

Entitled "Yellow Vests: we are not fooled!", it denounced what it said were attempts to discredit the movement.

It also backed the demands of the protesters, which it said included calls for greater social and fiscal justice, and radical measures to tackle what they called an ecological emergency.

The open letter condemned what it said were the increasingly repressive measures taken against the movement, noting that international organisations such as United Nations and the European Union had already expressed their concern.

Binoche and Beart were among the most prominent signatories, which also included directors, scriptwriters and composers. Binoche won an Oscar for her role in "The English Patient" while Beart is perhaps best known internationally for her role in the first "Mission Impossible" film.

Official estimates suggested that turnout for Saturday's marches was down, in the wake of the May Day rallies when yellow vest activists joined the traditional trade union march.

The interior ministry said 18,900 people demonstrated across France, 1,460 of them in Paris -- well down on their count for the previous weekend, when they said 23,600 turned up across the country.

The yellow vest organisers, who regularly dismiss the accuracy of the official count, put the turnout across France on Saturday at 40,291.

The day's marches were relatively calm, with only a handful of arrests and eight people detained in Paris.

In the southwest city of Bordeaux, where support for the movement has been strong, 61-year-old teaching assistant Jose acknowledged that the movement was running out of steam a little.

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"That's 25 weeks that we have put our life on hold for a bit to at least get back a minimum of dignity," he said.

- Police violence probe -

At Charles de Gaulle airport, meanwhile, around 20 yellow vest protesters handed out leaflets objecting to government plans to privatise Aeroports de Paris (ADP), which runs the capital's three airports.

Saturday's protests come just days after Wednesday's May Day protests, and the fallout over the violence was still being discussed.

The IGPN, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, is looking at three incidents caught on video that appear to show police violence against May Day protesters.

In one, an officer appears to push his truncheon inside the trousers of an arrested man. Another shows a helmeted officer hitting a protester, while a third shows another officer hurling a paving stone.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday that if anyone was at fault they would be punished.

But he is under pressure himself after acknowledging Friday that he had been wrong to call an incident at the Paris Pitie-Salpetriere hospital an "attack".

Video footage and accounts from hospital staff and demonstrators suggest that protesters had been fleeing riot police.

And on Saturday, more than 30 people arrested inside the hospital grounds held a news conference to say that all they had done was "flee the ultra-violent police".

Several placards at Saturday's demonstrations denounced Castaner as a "liar".

In the northwestern city of Metz, meanwhile, yellow vest protesters and ecologists joined forces in a march ahead of a meeting there of G7 environment ministers on Sunday and Monday.

Police said 3,000 people turned out for the march, while the organisers -- an alliance of around 40 environmental and grass-roots groups -- put the figure at between 4,500 and 5,000.
JERUSALEM, May 4 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes.

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.

Two more Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli forces in the often violent weekly demonstrations at the Gaza-Israel border.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March set off a burst of intense fighting, have been working to prevent any further escalation.

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Al-Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

Some two million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people. Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky. The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities. The latest round of violence began on Friday when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military. Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed two militants from the armed Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were killed by Israeli forces on the same day, Palestinian officials said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad began firing waves of rockets into Israel early on Saturday. The Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft responded with strikes against more than 120 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions shook Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers preparing for Ramadan. The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby, her pregnant mother and another man were killed by Israeli strikes and at least 20 other Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. "The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby," said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. The Israeli military Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, questioned whether the baby was killed in an air strike. "According to indications, the infant and her mother were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities and not as a result of an Israeli raid," he said on Twitter, without providing further details. Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were destroyed by Israeli raids. One, the Israeli military said, housed Hamas's intelligence and security offices. The other housed Islamic Jihad facilities, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings before they were bombed. One of them also housed the office of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Ankara condemned the strike. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, the Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded by shrapnel. TRUCE EFFORTS Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Friday's events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo. In a joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: "Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza. Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had traveled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. "Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel, but there is no conclusion yet," said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairo's mediation efforts. The United Nations has also been part of the Cairo talks. "The United Nations is working with Egypt and all sides to calm the situation," said U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov. "This endless cycle of violence must end and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza." "The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. Although aerial exchanges are frequent, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Israel is due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant. Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairo's mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara and Mike Stone in Washington, D.C.; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Stephen Farrell, John Stonestreet, Ros Russell, Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)
Berlin (AFP) - German police have shut down one of the world's largest illegal online markets in the so-called darkweb and arrested the three men allegedly running it, prosecutors said Friday.

The "Wall Street Market" (WSM) site enabled trade in cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines as well as stolen data, fake documents and malicious software.

The encrypted platform had more than one million customer accounts, over 5,000 registered sellers and more than 60,000 sales offers, according to Frankfurt prosecutors and affidavits filed by US prosecutors in federal court in Los Angeles.

"WSM operated like a conventional e-commerce website, such as eBay and Amazon. However, its sole existence was geared to the trafficking of contraband," US prosecutors said.

Three German administrators of WSM were arrested, while a fourth man -- a Brazilian who acted as an online mediator for the website -- was being pursued in Brazil.

In addition, two people US prosecutors said were top WSM vendors and major drug dealers operating out of Los Angeles were also arrested in an international operation that involved Europol, German and Dutch police and the FBI.

Launched in 2016, WSM grew over the past three years to be the largest darknet site after the 2017 shutdown of the notorious AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces.

The site was accessed through the encrypted Tor network to shield customers from detection and transactions were made with crypto currencies Bitcoin and Monero.

It offered interfaces in six languages -- English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian -- and numerous separate categories for merchandise, including drugs, jewelry, equipment and support for credit card fraud, software and malware, among others.

One vendor category was simply called "fraud," according to the court filings.

Like legal online marketplaces, buyers could search by product, product popularity, vendor ratings, payment type and price.

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The operators allegedly received commissions of two to six percent of the sales value.

The police operation started after Finnish authorities shut down the illegal Tor trade site Silkkitie (Valhalla) earlier this year, said Europol.

This had led some Finnish narcotics traders to move to WSM.

In April, the WSM administrators were apparently alarmed at the sudden surge of customers and, the court documents said, enacted an exit plan that involved freezing the escrow accounts and customer wallets and taking all the virtual currency held in them at the time -- estimated at $11 million.

That spurred investigators to act and on April 23 and 24 they arrested the three German suspects, aged 22 to 31, in the states of Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

They also seized servers, over 550,000 euros (about $600,000) in cash, and hundreds of Bitcoin and Monero, as well as several vehicles and a gun.

In the United States, an investigation in Los Angeles led to the arrests of two of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics, and the seizure of illegal weapons as well as millions of dollars in cash, said German authorities.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) are becoming unelectable after the head of their youth wing JUSOS called for companies such as BMW to be collectively owned, works council chiefs have warned. JUSOS chief Kevin Kuehnert, 29, unleashed a storm of protest, including from party allies, this week when he said that "without collectivization, overcoming capitalism is not thinkable", citing BMW specifically. The uproar took on a new dimension with the publication on Saturday of comments from works council chiefs, traditionally among the party's biggest supporters, who said the SPD was alienating itself from workers. "For workers at German companies, this SPD is no longer electable," Manfred Schoch, head of the general works council at BMW, told WirtschaftsWoche magazine. Works councils are elected bodies dealing with management on issues such as working conditions and are a particular feature of Germany's post-war economic success. Kuehnert's vision for some evokes memories of Communist East Germany. The backlash threatens to further erode support for the SPD, junior partner in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. The SPD is languishing in polls and risks heavy losses in European and regional elections later this month. The party may even lose power in Bremen, a city state they have ruled for 73 years, in a May 26 vote. Kuehnert, who opposed going into coalition with Merkel's conservatives, appeals to those on the left of the party but less so to the centrists and floating voters it needs to increase its overall vote share. Mass-selling daily Bild splashed the backlash on page one of its Saturday edition and quoted the head of Daimler's works council Michael Brecht as saying: "I share the view that it is becoming ever hard for workers to vote for the SPD." Brecht pressed the SPD to work out quickly what it wants to stand for: "For secure jobs and a sustainable industry policy, or for fantasies far from reality that in the end only cost jobs and increase social inequality." Bild also quoted the former head of Porsche's works council, Uwe Hueck, an SPD member since 1982, as saying the party was still electable but adding that Kuehnert's comments were absolute nonsense that could be excused by his age. "If he had witnessed the GDR himself, then he would not say something like that," Hueck said with reference to former Communist East Germany. SPD leader Andrea Nahles told the paper: "Workers can feel assured: The SPD is not demanding nationalization. Every day, we pursue policies for good work, high collective wage agreements and secure pensions - all in line with the works councils." (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by David Holmes)
LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that his Conservative Party could reach a compromise on Brexit with the opposition Labour Party, but did not think Labour's customs union proposal was a long-term solution. "The glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both Conservative core voters and Labour core voters want Brexit sorted, and both would be extremely angry with the party they voted for if we had another general election without Brexit being delivered," he told the Press Association news agency. "If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential (for a deal)." (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
Lizzie Deignan found the going tough on home roads

Lizzie Deignan admitted the conditions on the second and final stage of the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Womens Race had pushed her to the limit.

The Otley-born former world champion was pretty much a spent force after trying to keep track of stage and GC winner Marianne Vos as the race entered a crucial stage.

And she was honest enough to admit the gruelling conditions had left her making the wrong tactical moves when it mattered most.

She said: I probably wasnt in the best tactical moves today but I was on the limit physically so I wasnt making the most intelligent decisions but I had a good race.

Marianne is a phenomenal rider. She was there with me in the breakaway and was probably a lot smarter than I was. She saved herself and wasnt pulling through when we made that first move.

An oil spill before the first climb at Cote de Silpho meant the race was briefly neutralised and the womens peloton were diverted around.

Anna van der Breggen blew the race apart shortly after and after she was reeled back in, Mavia Garcia tried her luck before she was joined by Vos and Italian rider Soraya Paladin.

The trio never really looked like letting anyone else have a look in and finished the stage with a three-up sprint more than a minute ahead of Christine Majerus and Amanda Spratt who battled it out for fourth.

Despite not quite having the legs to be prominent in the finish of either stage former Tour de Yorkshire winner Deignan, racing for the first time in Britain since the birth of her daughter Orla in September, said she was pleased with her progress.

She said: I think my progression has been really good and Im really happy with the team and my personal progress has been good.

My legs were good and then bad and then good. I went through all kinds of emotions. But I think the main point for me was that at the pinch points there on the climbs when it really mattered I was able to follow the best in the world, so I know Ive still got a lot of improvement to make but Im happy with my progress.

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Deignan, who finished the stage three minutes 54 seconds behind Vos, didnt leave the race empty-handed though.

She won the public vote for the grey jersey given to the most active rider.

And the 30-year-old was quick to thank the thousands of fans who braved the horrendous conditions to line the route despite the dreadful weather conditions.

She said: I think the whole womens peloton is incredibly grateful for the support weve received. Its been a real top class race.

Hannah Barnes of Canyon-SRAM was the top-placed Brit in eighth with Biglas Lizzy Banks 20 seconds behind her in ninth.

Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk/tdy
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MyState Limited (ASX:MYS) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 6.8% makes it one of the market's top dividend payer. In the past ten years, MyState has also grown its dividend from A$0.10 to A$0.29. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for MyState for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio.

See our latest analysis for MyState

What Is A Dividend Rock Star?

It is a stock that pays a stable and consistent dividend, having done so reliably for the past decade with the expectation of this continuing into the future. More specifically:

Its annual yield is among the top 25% of dividend payers

It consistently pays out dividend without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout

Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past

It is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings

It is able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future

High Yield And Dependable

The company's dividend yield stands at 6.8%, which is high for Mortgage stocks. But the real reason MyState stands out is because it has a proven track record of continuously paying out this level of dividends, from earnings, to shareholders and can be expected to continue paying in the future. This is a highly desirable trait for a stock holding if you're investor who wants a robust cash inflow from your portfolio over a long period of time.

ASX:MYS Historical Dividend Yield, May 3rd 2019

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. In the case of MYS it has increased its DPS from A$0.10 to A$0.29 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.

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The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 86%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a payout ratio of 88% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 7.1%. In addition to this, EPS should increase to A$0.34.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

Next Steps:

Investors of MyState can continue to expect strong dividends from the stock. With its favorable dividend characteristics, if high income generation is still the goal for your portfolio, then MyState is one worth keeping around. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I've compiled three important aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MYSs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MYSs outlook. Valuation: What is MYS worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MYS is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The uprising marked the first time soldiers had become directly involved in the bid to remove Nicolas Maduro - AFP

Juan Guaido and his advisers were perhaps too impatient in their keenness to force out Nicolas Maduro, according to the only man to have ever ousted the Chavista rulers of Venezuela.

Pedro Carmona, now 77, toppled Hugo Chavez in a 2002 uprising whose anniversary was marked across Venezuela last month. He was sworn in as interim leader inside the Miraflores presidential palace and ruled the country for 48 hours, before supporters in the military rallied round Chavez and restored him to power.

Mr Carmona, in his first ever interview with a British newspaper, said that the uprising launched on Tuesday was disappointing, risky, and should have been better planned.

Five people have been killed in a week of protests, yet Mr Maduro has held on, despite this being Mr Guaido's most serious push to oust him since declaring himself the constitutionally-legitimate interim president on January 23.

Its hard to opine from outside, said Mr Carmona, who has lived in exile in Bogota since his failed rebellion. But it looks like they could have given advance warning of some actions. They could have planned better. It seems like they should have had some more things in place. It was risky.

Mr Guaido released a video on Twitter, calling on more soldiers to join him in Credit: EPA-EFE/REX

Despite its failure, however, it was a stunning gambit on the part of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader. Venezuelans woke up to a dawn video message from Mr Guaido, flanked by dozens of troops, stationed just outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas, announcing the start of "Operation Freedom". By his side stood Leopoldo Lopez, the long time opposition leader, freed from house arrest by members of the state intelligence service, Sebin.

Across Venezuela, protesters heeded Mr Guaido's call, pouring on to the streets. Most of the military, however, heeded Mr Maduro's, and succeeded in putting down the rebellion. But while the state was able to reassert its grip, the fracture within the armed forces was left in evidence; at one point, the gates to the La Carlota base opened, allowing in anti-government protesters.

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While Mr Guaido has since acknowledged that he did not have enough military support for a definitive break, last weeks events saw Mr Maduro come closer to losing his hold on the nation than ever before. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, even said that Mr Maduro had an aeroplane waiting for him on the tarmac, destined for Cuba, but was convinced to hang on by Russian advisers.

Rebelling forces identified themselves with blue armbands Credit: Yuri Cortez/AFP

In Venezuela, its never just the opposition at work  its international geopolitical forces, and armed gangs, Mr Carmona said. Last week the Russian ambassador was acting like a military spokesman, reassuring the nation that everything was fine in the country.

Its a disgrace that the Russian government supports Maduros genocidal regime.

Mr Carmona sees clear parallels with his own attempted uprising 17 years ago, which was preceded by street protests similar to those occurring now. Fourteen people died in the violence and a group of soldiers, angered at the civilian bloodshed, conspired to remove Chavez. Mr Carmona, the president of the chamber of commerce (Fedecamaras), was chosen as interim president.

On April 11, 2002, the military swung into action, and arrested Chavez, taking him to the national army headquarters, Fuerte Tiuna. Chavez accepted an offer of asylum from Fidel Castro, but was prevented from leaving by coup leaders who wanted him tried in Venezuela - a mistake which was to prove fatal to their plot. Pro-Chavez soldiers then came to his defence, and on April 13, at 4:40am, he addressed the nation from inside Miraflores, president once again.

John Bolton pointed to three members of Mr Maduro's inner circle as being involved in the plan to remove him Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX

Recently declassified documents have shown that the US - as well as Spain - were strongly supporting Mr Carmona behind the scenes  he, however, insisted to The Telegraph that he never spoke to any US agent or official either before or during the coup.

This time around, Donald Trump's administration has been open about its role. Speaking amid the uprising, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, claimed Mr Maduro had been betrayed by three of those closest to him: the supreme court president , the head of the presidential guard, and, crucially, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister. The next day, Elliot Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, said that those who had been negotiating Mr Maduro's departure had "switched off their cellphones".

The Sebin intelligence chief, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, was also allegedly on board - and indeed was fired by Mr Maduro the day of the uprising; he himself released a letter admitting knowledge of, if not complicity in, the plot, before apparently fleeing the country.

On Thursday, Mr Maduro addressed troops with Gen. Lopez by his side, insisting he was in control of the military Credit: Jhonn Zerpa/Miraflores Press Office

Gen. Lopez, meanwhile, later appeared to confirm the Americans had contacted him, telling troops on Thursday there were those who approached him with a "ridiculous offer" who then went "shooting their mouths off". Whether he rejected the offer, double-crossed the US or reversed course as failure loomed isn't clear.

Leopoldo Lopez, meanwhile, also claimed on Thursday that senior military figures had committed themselves to ousting Mr Maduro. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he insisted.

Mr Carmona, however, believes the uprising has brought the end of Mr Maduro's reign closer.

Guaido did make advances last week  it wasnt a total failure," he said. "He weakened the resolve of many soldiers. He freed Leopoldo Lopez from house arrest. He reiterated international support. Its a process of steps. Now he is moving to a strike. And history has shown us that dictatorships in Latin America often fall with general strikes.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Southern District of New York Court.

Matthew Herricks high-profile legal case against Grindr had all the ingredients of a salacious story about the unintended victims of the internet until late March, when a federal appeals court ruled against his case proceeding. Although his lawyers are seeking a rehearing, for now its looking like Herrick may never get his day in court, and its business as usual at the gay hookup site that is used by millions of people worldwide.

In a message to Yahoo News, Herrick said he was heartbroken upon learning of the decision.

I find it reprehensible that a company that knew the horror I experienced from their platform for an entire year has no responsibility to step in or take any accountability, Herrick wrote. This wasnt simply harassment. This was a full-fledged attack on my life.

Herrick, an aspiring actor living in New York City, had his life upended when an ex-boyfriend turned to Grindr to torment him between October 2016 and March 2017. The ex set up fake profiles impersonating Herrick, using his photo, allegedly directing would-be hookups to his real address. The profiles were intended to attract men who were into deviant, hard-core sex, and in the profile description were code words for drugs, unprotected sex and bondage. The fake profiles also falsely claimed Herrick was HIV-positive.

What happened from there was described in court papers as a nightmare for Herrick. Strangers would show up at his home and workplace, directed there, he alleges, by Grindrs geolocation features, which allow men to meet other men in their vicinity. Herrick would try to explain to the men that the profiles were impersonations, but because the lewd enticements in the fake profiles included rape fantasies, some of the men thought Herrick was role playing, and refused to leave, aggressively demanding sex, sometimes violently.

Evidence in the Grinder v. Herrick court case. (Photos: Southern District of New York court)

Herricks bitter ex had apparently got what he wanted: revenge. Although the ex was arrested and charged with stalking and other felonies in October 2017 (he remains in custody awaiting trial), Herrick believed that Grindr should also be held responsible for his ordeal. He had complained to the company numerous times, filed more than a dozen police reports and even got a temporary restraining order issued against Grindr, but his complaint says the company failed to take action and the unwanted solicitations continued. Herrick, the complaint said, experienced grave emotional distress and trauma because Grindrs products and services marshaled an endless stream of horny and violent strangers into his life.

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For its part, legal filings by the companys attorneys claim Grindr rigorously worked to try to stop the alleged impersonation...and identified and deleted numerous accounts. But its central defense was that it couldnt be held responsible for content posted on its site by a third party. It was invoking a powerful statute that has long protected online platforms from being sued  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Grindr, like Facebook, Reddit, Yelp or other online platforms that do not produce their own content, are generally immunized from lawsuits such as Herricks. Section 230 was intended to encourage freedom of expression online, but it leaves victims like Herrick without much legal recourse against powerful Internet companies. The dismissal of Herrick v. Grindr by the Second Circuit was yet another affirmation of the laws broad protections for companies like Grindr.

The weaponization of products has become a major issue with no legal recourse to the ones it harms, Herrick wrote in his reply.

Im on a f***ing crusade against Section 230, Carrie Goldberg, Herricks attorney, told Yahoo News. Goldberg is owner of a law firm specializing in defending abuse and harassment victims, and author of the forthcoming book Nobodys Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls.

It was never supposed to give the tech industry blanket immunity for any harm thats caused on their platforms, Goldberg said. I had all this hope, especially with the Second Circuit, that the court could narrow back down the scope of 230.

Goldberg says courts are interpreting the law too broadly and is calling for legislators to scrap the section entirely. And she isnt the only one calling for more scrutiny of a law that has long been considered a bulwark against censorship. Section 230 is being attacked from the left and right sides of the political spectrum, by everyone from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

But as much as Section 230 is under political attack, the Herrick v. Grindr lawsuit shows what an uphill battle victims face in challenging the liability protections in court.

Matthew Herrick. (Photo: Larry Hamilton)

Herricks legal team filed 14 claims against Grinder, claiming that it was legally liable for a defective product design, that it had engaged in false advertising and inflicted emotional distress on Herrick, but virtually none of them stuck. The court ruled that Section 230 barred all the claims, except for the claim of copyright infringement for use of Herricks photograph in the phony profiles.

As Aaron Rubin, co-chair of the Technology Transactions Group at Morrison & Foerster, pointed out in an interview with Yahoo News, courts have shown ambivalence in recent years about Section 230 protections. In one controversial case, Doe v. Internet Brands, the Ninth Circuit found that a company that posted model profiles was not protected by Section 230. A model had posted her profile, and a rapist used the information to lure her and later rape her. The judge found the company could be held liable for failing to warn the model that this could happen.

What was interesting about Herrick v. Grindr is that the Second Circuit didnt go down that rabbit hole. This is a pretty standard Section 230 analysis, says Rubin. Weve seen over the past few years this seesaw back and forth. Herrick and Grindr is another swing in that pendulum.

Powerful tech companies and digital rights groups are lobbying to uphold 230 protections. Following the Herrick v. Grindr decision, the Electronic Frontier Foundation issued a statement praising the courts decision: In a victory for online freedom of expression, the Second Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a dangerous lawsuit that would threaten to undercut what makes the Internet an essential tool for modern life.

After the ruling, Herrick tweeted: We started a conversation. I feel as though we have contributed to something much bigger than just my case. I am proud of our fight. This is a road block, not an ending. I will continue to advocate for reform and justice. One day the courts will have to see the light.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Kyle Hendricks threw a complete-game shutout on 81 pitches to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon.

Hendricks (2-4) allowed four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter in the opener of the three-game series. It was his third major league shutout and first since a 5-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1, 2016.

The last Chicago pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches was Carlos Zambrano, who beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0 on 98 pitches on Sept. 25, 2009.

Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer among his three hits for Chicago, which has won five in a row, the past two by shutout.

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty (3-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts and a season-high four walks.

The Cardinals had wrapped up their four-game series at the Washington Nationals on Thursday night after a 2 1/2-hour rain delay. The Cubs had been off since finishing their two-game series at the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.

Flaherty walked back-to-back batters with one out in the third before Rizzo lifted an 0-1 pitch just inside the right field foul pole for a 3-0 lead.

It was Rizzo's fourth home run in the past five games and the 199th of his major league career.

After striking out in his first three plate appearances, Javier Baez lined an RBI single to right in the seventh to make it 4-0.

Only one batter moved into scoring position off Hendricks, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Cardinals on Sept. 12, 2016.

Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong led off the third with a single. He was thrown out at second for the second out on a bunt back to the pitcher by Flaherty, who then became the first pitcher in the majors to steal a base this season. Hendricks got Matt Carpenter to ground out to first to end the inning.

--Field Level Media
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Encana Corporation's (TSE:ECA) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Encana has a P/E ratio of 9.89. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Encana

How Do You Calculate Encana's P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Encana:

P/E of 9.89 = $6.51 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD )  $0.66 (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Most would be impressed by Encana earnings growth of 17% in the last year. In contrast, EPS has decreased by 9.1%, annually, over 5 years.

Does Encana Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Encana has a lower P/E than the average (16) in the oil and gas industry classification.

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TSX:ECA Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 4th 2019

Encana's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Encana's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Encana's net debt is 81% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On Encana's P/E Ratio

Encana trades on a P/E ratio of 9.9, which is below the CA market average of 14.4. While the EPS growth last year was strong, the significant debt levels reduce the number of options available to management. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

But note: Encana may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.
WASHINGTON  A key Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says he fully expects the panel to vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over a full, unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

There is a huge groundswell on the committee to move this as quickly as possible next week, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a Friday interview on the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. So I would be startled if we didnt do it next week.

Raskins comments came the same day that committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., gave Barr one last chance to turn over the full Mueller report  and the underlying evidence used to reach its conclusions  by Monday or face contempt. Nadler, however, softened his demands somewhat, offering to work with the Justice Department to make a joint request to the courts to release grand jury material, one of the main sticking points in the dispute. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who has emerged as one of the leading Democratic voices on the panel, also said that 99.9 percent of the American public would conclude that Barr lied when he answered, No, I dont after being asked by Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., whether he knew what was behind press reports that mentioned members of Muellers staff had objected to the way he described the Russia report in his March 24 letter to Congress clearing the president of any wrongdoing. The question came on April 9, 13 days after Mueller had sent Barr a letter saying that the attorney generals letter did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.

Did he lie? Raskin said. Yeah, he lied. Of course he lied. Now, could he be prosecuted for perjury? Now, certainly the Department of Justice is not going to accept our referral and prosecute the attorney general, so its kind of the same position were in with Trump. We would have to impeach the guy. Could we impeach him? Sure, we could impeach him for perjury.

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On Wednesday, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he took Crists question to mean members of Muellers staff, not Mueller himself. And when he called Mueller after receiving the letter, the special counsel told him that he didnt believe anything he wrote in his letter was inaccurate  and that his beef was really with the press coverage of the letter.

Raskin laid out the likely strategy the committee will pursue against the attorney general: It will vote to hold Barr in civil, rather than criminal, contempt, and then ask a federal judge to hear the case on an expedited basis. That could result in Barr being personally fined if a judge rules in the Houses favor and the Justice Department continues to withhold the full report.

Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News

That move, however, could get bogged down in a protracted legal battle. Raskin acknowledged an alternative route  seeking to hold Barr in criminal contempt  would ultimately not prove fruitful since the Justice Department under Barrs leadership would never prosecute.

Still, Raskin said, he doesnt consider the criminal contempt threat to be pointless.

Its not toothless if you have any shame. Would you like to be held in contempt of Congress? he said. I would consider it, in a democracy, if you have civic self-respect and respect for other people, you would consider it a major shame and stigma for the rest of your life, as I suppose President Clinton carries it as a shame and stigma that he was impeached by the House of Representatives despite the fact that it was a totally tawdry partisan affair.

Asked why it was important for the committee to see the full report, given that most of it including all of Muellers conclusions  has already been publicly released, Raskin pointed to a key sentence about Trumps potential motive for obstructing justice. After saying that Trumps underlying conduct did not show that he was engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the Russians, Mueller added: But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal and political concerns.

Raskin said that sentence could point to all of the money that came in through laundering schemes with the Russians who bought condo units in Trump Tower and all of the other money which members of the Trump family have bragged about coming from Russians to bankroll them after Trump suffered four bankruptcies, and they said, Oh well well just get all our money from the Russians now. Theyre talking about dirty money that was laundered here, he said.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seeking financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. In a filing in Manhattan federal court, the Committee on Financial Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said they needed to intervene in the lawsuit in order to "defend their significant interests in the enforcement of their subpoenas" as part of "investigations on issues of national significance." In a separate filing on Friday, Trump, his children and his company asked U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos for a preliminary order blocking the banks from responding to the subpoenas while their lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, is pending. They said they will suffer "irreparable harm" without such an order, and that the subpoenas appeared to be intended to expose their confidential financial information "for the sake of exposure." "That purpose is illegitimate and provides no constitutional footing for the subpoenas," they said. Deutsche Bank has long been one of the main banks for Trump's real estate empire. A 2017 financial disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to Deutsche Bank. Democratic lawmakers had asked Capital One's chief executive in March for documents related to potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's hotel in downtown Washington and other business interests. In their lawsuit, Trump, a Republican, and the other plaintiffs accused House leaders of pursuing records for no legitimate or lawful purpose in hopes they would "stumble upon something" they could use as a political weapon against Trump. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on April 15 their panels had issued subpoenas to multiple financial institutions for information on Trump's finances. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January, including possible dealings with Russia, and has said "we're fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House. The White House is also resisting other House subpoenas, including for Trump's personal and business tax returns, and sought to block current and former administration officials from cooperating with House investigators. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Pontianak (Indonesia) (AFP) - Indonesia began sinking dozens of impounded foreign boats Saturday to deter illegal fishing in its waters, a week after a naval vessel clashed with a Vietnamese coastguard near the South China Sea.

Up to 51 foreign boats -- including from Vietnam, Malaysia and China -- will be scuttled at several different locations over the next two weeks, officials said.

Over a dozen were scuttled Saturday near Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province.

Fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the action was necessary to warn neighbouring countries that Indonesia was serious about fighting illegal fishing.

"There's no other way," she said. "This is actually the most beautiful solution for our nation, but yes, it's scary for other countries."

She said Indonesia suffered great economic loss from lax regulations that gave leeway for foreign boats to fish in Indonesian waters.

Since president Joko Widodo took office in 2014, hundreds of captured foreign fishing vessels have been sunk -- more than half from Vietnam.

The practice was suspended for several months, but has resumed since last week when a Vietnamese coastguard boat rammed an Indonesian navy ship attempting to seize an illegal trawler.

A dozen fishermen were detained and remain in Indonesian custody.

"If we don't act firm, they will be even more daring. I believe these collisions will get worse one day, this will escalate," Pudjiastuti said.

Jakarta claims the area in the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone and two years ago changed its name to the North Natuna Sea in a bid to show sovereignty.

More recently, it inaugurated a new military base in the chain of several hundred small islands to beef up defences. The moves prompted criticism from Beijing, whose claims in the sea overlap Indonesia's around the remote Natuna Islands.

str-dsa\fox
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Cora Gold

Cora Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Paul Quirk for UK125k worth of shares, at about UK0.038 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK0.038. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Cora Gold share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 3.9m shares for a total of UK150k. Cora Gold may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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AIM:CORA Recent Insider Trading, May 4th 2019

Cora Gold 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.

Insiders at Cora Gold Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Cora Gold. Overall, three insiders shelled out US$150k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership of Cora Gold

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 29% of Cora Gold shares, worth about UK742k. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Cora Gold Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Cora Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soliders took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim. (Reporting By Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Additional reporting by the Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Emperor Naruhito urged Japan to work together for world peace as he made his first public appearance Saturday in front of a cheering, flag-waving crowd of tens of thousands.

"I sincerely wish that our country, hand-in-hand with foreign countries, seeks world peace and further development," said the 59-year-old Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Wednesday.

Japan's 126th emperor wore a morning coat to make the brief appearance on a glass-covered balcony of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, along with other adult royals including Empress Masako.

Masako donned an elegant yellow, long-sleeved dress with a matching hat and pearl necklace.

Emperor and empress emeritus, Akihito and Michiko, did not join their children as they have decided to withdraw from official duties after their three-decade reign.

Akihito, 85, was the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than two centuries.

The royal family were scheduled to make a total of six appearances throughout the day, with some 50,000 people gathered before the main gate of the palace before the first one, according to national broadcaster NHK.

More elaborate festivities are planned for October 22 when he and Masako will appear in traditional robes for a palace ceremony before parading through the streets of Tokyo to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals.
TOKYO (AP)  A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space Saturday, making it the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company's test site in the town of Taiki on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido and flew about 10 minutes.

"We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching the space," Interstellar Technologies CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference from Hokkaido.

The rocket, about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in diameter, weighs about 1 ton. It is capable of carrying payloads as heavy as 20 kilograms (44 pounds) but currently lacks an ability to send them into orbit.

The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, who was a former Livedoor Co. President, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites into space. Horie expressed high expectations for his new business.

"I'm hoping that many manufacturers and satellite makers will come here to join us," he said.

The launch is part of a growing international trend in space business, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by U.S. startups such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Saturday's success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times EDT):

9 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is making his foreign policy experience a primary selling point to top donors to his presidential campaign.

At a private fundraiser Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Biden told several dozen donors that "at least 14 world leaders" have called him during President Donald Trump's tenure expressing unease.

Biden said British Prime Minister Theresa May asked him directly for reassurance that the U.S. and the United Kingdom "still have a special relationship."

Biden said the U.S. under Trump "is about to squander alliances" built over generations. He noted that he's "spent my entire adult life" in foreign affairs, first with 36 years in the Senate then eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden told donors he doesn't believe he's the only Democrat who can beat Trump. But he said he can beat Trump and then "on Day One" be ready to serve as head of state and lead post-Trump world affairs.

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8:15 p.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is telling donors in South Carolina that he knows President Donald Trump is "going to go after me and my family" in the 2020 presidential race.

Biden said he will answer Trump "directly" in the future without name-calling. He recalled saying in 2016 that in high school he'd have fought Trump. "Guess what? I probably shouldn't have done that," Biden said. "The presidency is an office that requires dignity and reestablishing respect and standing." Biden said he doesn't want to give the president the "mud-wrestling match" that Biden believes Trump wants.

There "are so many nicknames I want to give this guy," and he drew laughter when he joked that he'd "start with clown."

"The only place he has any confidence is in the mud," Biden said, because the president "doesn't understand how to respond to issues."

Story continues

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6:30 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says one area in which he doesn't fault President Donald Trump is his handling of North Korea.

The independent senator from Vermont tells ABC's "This Week" that Trump's face-to-face meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un "is the right thing to do."

Sanders says North Korea is "a threat to the planet" and that the U.S. has to do everything possible to have China and others in the region put pressure on the North and "make it clear that they cannot continue to act this way."

South Korean officials say North Korea fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Saturday. The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown between the U.S. and the North.

"This Week" airs Sunday morning.

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5:40 p.m.

Joe Biden is suggesting any adult American should have the option to buy "Medicare-like" insurance as part of expanding health-care access in the U.S.

The former vice president made his pitch for a so-called "public option" during his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other Democratic presidential hopefuls back a single-payer health insurance commonly referred to as "Medicare-for-all."

What Biden pitches is adding a government-run insurance program like Medicare and Medicaid to the insurance exchanges that were created by the Affordable Care Act that was enacted when Biden was vice president.

Exchanges now sell private insurance policies to individuals who don't otherwise have access to coverage. Biden says even workers with access to employer-based plans should be able to buy a public plan.

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5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. "You see it," he said Saturday. "You got Jim Crow sneaking back in."

The former vice president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be "aggressive in making sure it doesn't happen." Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target "mostly ... people of color."

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the South's first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Biden's son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. "Joe and I love South Carolina," she said.

The former vice president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Biden's first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesn't endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Biden's event, but Biden noted one of Clyburn's daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains "at risk" for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump "puts us squarely in trouble" with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Mueller's report "demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

She says Trump then "turns around two weeks later and says 'we're all good on this'? We're not all good on this."

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of "tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia."

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, "then I need to buy more ammunition."

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, "When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesn't just save ammunition. It saves American lives."

Under his presidency, Moulton said, "we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department."

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsel's report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didn't warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. "What I would say when I'm president to Vladimir Putin is that we've got your number, I've got the FBI after you, I've got the CIA looking at all of this, I've figured out what you guys are up to and we're going to protect our elections and we're going to put increasing sanctions on against you."

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators haven't been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as "the witness we need to go after Russia so that they don't attack our elections again."

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke says the legacies of "slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression" are "alive and well" today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. He's spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says "the work is far from over."

He's previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

O'Rourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
Marseille (AFP) - Investigators in southeast France have seized a white tiger cub at the home of a suspected exotic animal trafficker, while pythons and endangered marsupials were found at his mother's house, a police source said Saturday.

Members of the public health agency OCLAESP were recently informed of the illegal sale of lemurs and their investigations led them to the suspect's premises.

The arrested man is believed to have cashed the sum of 17,000 euros ($19,000) "but had not yet handed the small primates from Madagascar to the buyer," the French police said in a statement.

A raid on his home uncovered the white tiger cub, while a simultaneous operation at the home of the suspect's mother in northeast France uncovered four sugar gliders -- small, nocturnal marsupials native to part of Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea -- as well as nine snakes including two royal pythons.

Appearing before a judge, the arrested man was immediately jailed for eight months in connection with an earlier fraud case.

Illegal trafficking in wild animals is punishable in France by a year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.

The baby tiger, now called Hermes, was taken to the Barben zoo in southeast France.

White tigers are not a separate subspecies. The white fur is a rare genetic mutation which is mainly seen among animals inbred in captivity.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP)  A man who was one half of the first gay couple to attend a high school prom says he didn't expect to become entrenched in LGBTQ rights history and that he looks back on the event in South Dakota 40 years later as "just a moment."

Grady Quinn was 20 when he attended the Lincoln High School prom in Sioux Falls with 17-year-old Randy Rohl.

The May 23, 1979, event drew news media from across the country, and it's still commemorated in Sioux Falls today. But Rohl told the Associated Press at the time that he didn't think they were "more worthy of special attention" than any other couple.

Quinn echoes the same sentiment now, the Argus Leader reported.

He said he's glad the prom happened, but he didn't think at the time that they might be making a historical stand for LGBTQ rights. Quinn said "it was just us being real and being who we are."

The Sioux Falls newspaper first wrote about the story on May 11, 1979, saying that Lincoln High School had approved a request from an unidentified high school senior to take his boyfriend to the prom. Later stories clarified that the two weren't romantically involved.

Apart from the attention and news coverage, the night ended up being an average high school prom.

The Washington Post wrote several days later that the only special treatment that Rohl and Quinn received "was a lot of room on the dance floor."

Rebuffing suggestions from acquaintances in the years that followed that he could somehow capitalize on the event, Quinn told them: "What? No. It's part of my life. It was just a moment."

The two drifted from the public eye after the prom, eventually losing touch after they both moved away from Sioux Falls.

Quinn said he later learned that Rohl had died of AIDS in 1993.

"It hit kind of hard," Quinn said. "I lost a lot of good friends in that era. It was sad to learn that was what got him."

Story continues

Sioux Falls Pride hosts an annual event named after Rohl. The Randy Rohl Youth Prom is held for LGBTQ and allied youth who aren't permitted to bring their partner to prom, or who would feel unsafe doing so.

Quinn Kathner, president of Sioux Falls Pride, said she doesn't think many Sioux Falls residents know about this part of the city's history.

"It transcends," Kathner said. "The message transcends whether it was 40 years ago or today."

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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
Presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was heckled by several anti-gay protesters at a campaign event in Dallas on Friday night.

Buttigieg, the first openly gay man to run for President, was speaking at an event hosted by the Dallas County Democratic Party when he was interrupted by multiple hecklers, shouting calls such as Marriage is between a man and a woman! and Repent, according to CNNs DJ Judd.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

As the hecklers were escorted out of the event, Buttigieg acknowledged to the crowd that he had fought for their right to protest, according to journalist Marcus DiPaola. Buttigieg was deployed to Afghanistan for six months on active duty as a navy officer.

A woman, who event staff said did not have a ticket, was also escorted out of the venue after crying out anti-abortion comments, according to a video tweeted by Judd.

Anti-gay protester Randall Terry is back and yelling at @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/SBwjP8ocTZ  Marcus DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) May 4, 2019

Buttigieg has been openly gay since 2015, when he published an op-ed about his identity in the South Bend Tribune. He married his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, last year.

Story continues

After the event, presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke defended Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred, ORourke wrote. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred. Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon. https://t.co/IhRDtIBREb  Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) May 4, 2019

Both Buttigieg and ORourke are considered to be serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. The most recent Quinnipiac poll, from April 30, said that Buttigieg is ranking fourth among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with 10% of the polls (behind Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders). ORourke ranked sixth, with 5% of the vote.

Buttigieg told TIME earlier this year that his observation of homophobic behavior has convinced him that people can change and earn forgiveness.

This idea that we just sort people into baskets of good and evil ignores the central fact of human existence, which is that each of us is a basket of good and evil, said Buttigieg, The job of politics is to summon the good and beat back the evil.

Correction, May 4: The original version of this story misstated the results of the April 30 Quinnipiac poll. Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders polled ahead of Pete Buttigieg.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - One member of Mexico's navy was killed and three were injured on Saturday when they came under fire while patrolling a section of state-run oil firm Pemex's frequently plundered pipelines, the country's naval secretary said. Members of the navy were monitoring part of the Tuxpan-Azcapotzalco pipeline, which runs from the southeastern state of Veracruz to Mexico City, the navy secretary said in a statement, without saying exactly where the attack took place. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to crack down on the country's rampant fuel theft, which cost Pemex an estimated $3 billion last year alone. "Groups dedicated to fuel theft have increased the level of aggression against the staff of this institution," the navy secretary said. "The navy secretary of Mexico rejects these actions and reaffirms its commitment to act firmly in defense of the peace of Mexico." (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Julia Love; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
New York (AFP) - As scandals under the Donald Trump administration offer a steady stream of fodder for satirists and comedy show hosts, now the world of musical theater is taking a stab at lampooning the White House.

This weekend a New York take on "The Mikado" -- a 19th century comic operetta originally intended to satirize British politics through Japanese imagery -- sees its characters take on decidedly Trumpian airs.

Ben Spierman's revamp of the Victorian musical in which a clownish despot rules over his juvenile population is an attempt, he says, to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"For me 'The Mikado' is a perfect example," Spierman, the director of the Bronx Opera, told AFP.

"The politics and the reality of the fact that we have corruption, and that we have unqualified people in jobs or whatever, nepotism: these things have not changed."

Performed this week as part of New York's Opera Fest, the themes of the piece originally staged in smog-choked 1880s London by dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan resonate "almost too well," says Spierman.

"We're in a time that's shadowed not just by this person, by Trump himself, but by 'Trumpism' -- by this kind of cultural battle that we're having," he added.

Spierman's production, set in the White House press room, doesn't match characters one-to-one with members of the US president's administration, instead weaving elements of real-life personalities into the show.

The likenesses of Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are featured alongside elements of former chief strategist Steve Bannon, senior advisor Stephen Miller and press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Another character evokes the personalities of Hillary Clinton and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren -- a champion of progressive causes in the US -- while the titular Mikado himself recalls none other than Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Trump himself is an overarching presence rather than a specific character, with all of the players in the comic romp inhabiting aspects of his persona.

"To put Gilbert's words, or even the adapted words of Gilbert, into the mouth of Donald Trump just didn't make any sense to me," Spierman said. "He's just not that clever with the language."

- Art as critical vanguard -

Opera has long been a potent medium for provocative takes on the contemporary moment, according to Spierman -- one that can make audiences laugh before encouraging more sober reflection on the state of our times.

"I think that one of the things we have in this country which is important to remember is that we are allowed to poke fun at the president," he said.

"It's important that we use that right, because if you don't... you lose that. It's important to be aware that yes, we've just laughed, but we also need to understand the serious issues that underlie what you just saw on the stage."

Spierman continues to update the script as events unfold at the White House, and even squeezed in some tweaks when the infamous Mueller report into Russian interference in US democracy came out last month.

"We all as artists have to be aware of what's going on; I think that part of our job is to be the vanguard in some ways of political criticism."

At one moment in 'The Mikado' a character presented as a female challenger to authority describes herself "an acquired taste," Spierman's nod to the double standards in contemporary coverage of male leaders and their female counterparts.

"I really think that is very telling, when it comes to talking about how strong women are looked at in our political discourse," he said.

- From footnote to chapter -

Considered a classic of British musical theater, "The Mikado" is no stranger to controversy: modern critics have skewered it not for its political commentary but for what they dub casual racism.

Many point to the traditional production's setting in Japan that includes excessive bowing by white actors, who sing in pinched voices while wearing yellow-tinted makeup.

The Bronx Opera's revamped version eschews those ingredients, aiming instead to "focus people on the fact that it is ultimately about the political state," Spierman said.

Actresses on his stage sport the business casual pantsuits quintessential to the halls and corridors of Washington's great institutions while several of the men don excessively long red ties, a clear visual nod to Trump.

Twitter also features strongly in the show, whether via a series of Trump tweets or allusions in the libretto to direct messages between characters.

For now, the production is running solely as part of the city's annual Opera Fest -- a bid to bring shows to a wide audience and highlight the diversity of New York's contemporary opera scene -- but Spierman sees it as fitting into a broader narrative of the Trump presidency.

"He's just a fact of history," the director said. "That's what happened when he was elected president -- he went from being a footnote to a chapter."

Though he is satirizing the 45th US president's term, for Spierman it remains to be seen whether Trump is comedy or a tragedy: "I think we're not at the end of the show yet."
ABC News(CARACAS, Venezuela) -- Two days after violent clashes ended in Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido said that although the protests did not end President Nicolas Maduros usurpation, those who stood in opposition had still made progress.



Guaido called on supporters to rally in a video on Tuesday, saying that their push to oust Maduro had reached its final phase and that they had obtained the support of some of the embattled presidents key aides. Three senior aides in particular were believed to be ready to declare their allegiance to the constitution, according to U.S. officials. However, that failed to materialize.



In an interview with ABC News, Guaido said that although Maduros senior aides did not defect, there are fractures in the military and government, and pointed to Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the head of the countrys SEBIN intelligence agency.



The very director of intelligence under Maduro, who used to be Chavezs guy for 12 years is against whats happening now, Guaido told ABC News. And its not like hes on my side necessarily, but on the side of the constitution.



Guaido said that hes open to evaluating all our options in order to return the country to stability and governability. He noted that Cuba is already helping the opposition with counterintelligence against Venezuelan soldiers. But he also emphasized that any transition should be done peacefully and with as little violence as possible.



Weve built the majority, we have manifested our discontent, we have achieved getting a hold of Parliament, we have succeeded in getting support from the armed forces, said Guaido, noting that theres been a lot of sacrifice too.



After just this weeks protests, at least four people had died and 239 were injured, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a human rights group, told ABC News on Thursday.



Maduro, who has faced months of protests over the countrys economic collapse and his consolidation of power, made a show of force on Thursday when he appeared on state TV and again derided what he has called a U.S.-backed coup and vowed to combat traitors.



Something good came from evil, which is loyalty, in full combat, Maduro said. The time has come to defend peace.



Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, was sworn in as interim president by that body in January. He was immediately recognized by the U.S. and, ultimately, 53 other countries as the legitimate leader.



Guaido said the best options so far are to end Maduros usurpation, to establish a transitional government and to hold free elections all within our constitution.



Those who are on the side of the constitution, on the side of the Venezuelan people...we would be willing to talk to all of them, Guaido said. We expect that...theyre still in a phase of rumors and doubt among themselves while we are very clear in our objective, our way, our direction, and we would like for there to be many more of them to guarantee a democratic and peaceful transition in Venezuela.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Kinshasa (AFP) - More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organization had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

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Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began. Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

- 'Deeply worrying' -

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."

The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert. This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."

In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

burs-jah/qan
415 N.W. Ninth St.| Photos: Padmapper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Overtown are hovering around $1,500, compared to a $1,900 one-bedroom median for Miami as a whole.

But how does the low-end pricing on an Overtown rental look these days  and what might you get for the price?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is extremely walkable, is convenient for biking and has excellent transit.

Read on for the cheapest listings available right now. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1720 N.W. First Place

Listed at $800/month, this 391-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom, located at 1720 N.W. First Place, is 46.7 percent less than the $1,500/month median rent for a one bedroom in Overtown.

The building boasts on-site management. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. Pet owners, rejoice: cats and small dogs are allowed, according to the company's website. An application fee of $20 and a security deposit of $1,600 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

415 N.W. Ninth St.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 415 N.W. Ninth St., is listed for $850/month for its 472 square feet of space.

In the unit, look for hardwood floors and in-unit laundry. Cats and dogs are not permitted. A $20 application fee and security deposit of $1,500 are required.

(See the complete listing here.)

1533 N.W. Second Ave.

Then there's this 600-square-foot at 1533 N.W. Second Ave., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, look for in-unit laundry and hardwood floors. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are allowed. The building boasts assigned parking and on-site management. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

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(See the listing here.)

219 N.W. 10th St.

Check out this 408-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 219 N.W. 10th St., listed at $1,050/month.

In the unit, you'll find ceramic tile floors. The building offers assigned parking and on-site management. Pet owners, you're in luck: furry companions are allowed on this property. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(Here's the listing.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A year ago at the UnitedHealth Group offices at 1 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, Wali Omarkheil, a 43-year-old regional marketing director, gathered with five of his colleagues to meet their new supervisor, Josiane Peluso.

But before Peluso even introduced herself to her new team, she complained to the group about the new strict security in the building.

Its because of all the darn terrorists we have in this country, she said as she made eye contact with Omarkheil. She didnt look at anyone else, he said. Suddenly, he felt the rest of the staff turn their heads and stare at him, too.

Omarkheil brushed it off as a coincidence. I remember thinking, I hope she didnt mean what she said, he told HuffPost.

But it turns out she did mean it, according to Omarkheil. Within six months of their first meeting, Omarkheil, who had put in nearly 12 happy years at UnitedHealth, was out of a job. He was fired.

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January against UnitedHealth Group Inc. and the individual supervisors involved, Omarkheil detailed the abuse he faced under Peluso, as well as the lack of proper recourse by her manager, David Willhoft, and the human resources representative assigned to handle his case, Jennifer St. George.

He alleged that Peluso frequently made comments about his Muslim faith when it had no relevance to his work, pressured him to work on weekends during the holy month of Ramadan when he was fasting and berated him for using his lunch break to attend Friday prayers. Just weeks after Omarkhail issued a complaint with human resources which was escalated to Willhoft, UnitedHealths Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he was terminated without warning.

There is little data that tracks anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace. But Muslims across the country have complained of bias during interviews, targeted harassment during employment, and, like Omarkheils case, unlawful termination.

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Over 24,000 anti-Muslim allegations have been brought to the EEOC since 2000. Over 1,300 cases were brought in 2019 alone. The EEOC saw the highest numbers of complaints in 2016 with over 2,500 cases. Half of those total allegations were complaints regarding unfair discharge.

In 2018, the Council on American Islamic Relations received more than 228 cases of employment discrimination nationwide, compared to 225 cases in 2017.

Muslims are also less likely to get hired when their social media profiles mentioned their faith compared to their Christian counterparts, according to a 2013 Carnegie Mellon study. Even after being hired, Muslims still faced high levels of discrimination. In November 2018, a group of Somali Muslims in Minnesota forced Amazon to negotiate better treatment for its workers, including the right to pray during breaks. In 2016, the New York City Police Department allowed for Muslims and Sikhs to grow out their beards for religious reasons.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-Muslim discrimination in the workplace can take many forms, whether its firing an employee or a refusal to accommodate an employees religious garb such as the hijab or holiday schedule.

Civil rights law generally requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices of their workers and that doesnt always happen in practice, Daniel Mach, the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion & Belief, told HuffPost.

Omarkheil says that for several months, Peluso verbally abused him and used hostile comments about his faith. Once he sought help from human resources about the rising workplace discrimination, the targeted harassment intensified. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

After that initial meeting with his new boss, Omarkheil dismissed the incident as a one-off misunderstanding. The next day, Omarkheil had a one-on-one meeting with his new manager to discuss work goals and team expectations. He had hoped the meeting would start them off on the right foot. But Peluso didnt discuss any of that during the meeting, instead, she wanted to discuss Omarkheils Muslim faith.

Before we can start our one-on-one meeting, I want you to know that I am a Christian and I take my religion seriously, Peluso allegedly told Omarkheil, according to the lawsuit. I know youre a Muslim and I will do my best to treat you right.

Omarkheil was first hired to be a sales rep for UnitedHealth in 2007, after being aggressively recruited. It didnt take much for him to decide to take the job. He knew this was where he wanted to work and grow  he even hoped to retire there someday.

For the next 12 years he soared at the company. He hopped from promotion to promotion, moving up from sales representative to supervisor to regional marketing director, where he oversaw a team of over 50 sales associates and five supervisors. According to the lawsuit, he increased the companys Brooklyn membership by more than half, from 130,000 members to 200,000 members, and even opened a new storefront in downtown Brooklyn.

Omarkheil, who immigrated from Afghanistan when he was just 11 years old, embodied the quintessential American dream. But none of that would matter when he was assigned a new supervisor in 2018.

Over the next 5 months working under Peluso, his situation significantly worsened, as the level of harassment increasingly became more aggressive.

Omarkheils team was spread across five boroughs of New York City and Long Island, requiring him to commute between offices every day. Peluso would call Omarkheil three to four times a day, according to the lawsuit, asking him to prove his whereabouts at any given time. She didnt trust Omarkheil to be where he said he was going to be, Omarkheil said. On multiple occasions, she asked him to pass the phone to a co-worker nearby to confirm that he was indeed where he said he was.

Peluso would call Omarkheil repeatedly when he attended Friday prayers. Every week Omarkheil attended a service, also known as Jummah, where Muslims go to a mosque for congregational prayers.

For years, Omarkheil attended the prayers during his lunch break, since the service usually began around noon, without any problems. His previous managers were accommodating, he said. But Peluso repeatedly called during this time and made anti-Muslim remarks about his choice to attend prayers.

Oh, you do that? she would sarcastically ask him despite the fact he told her he attended prayers every week.

If he didnt pick up, she would admonish him. Omarkheil says he was clear about when and where he was going to be, but every week she continued to harass him during his time at prayer.

My previous managers had no issues with it. But she was disrespectful to it from the beginning, he said.

Omarkheil believed he was being harassed by Peluso because of his faith. He began to take notes after every incident, according to documents reviewed by HuffPost. Two of Omarkheils former colleagues, who asked for anonymity because they are still employed by UnitedHealth Group and they fear retaliation by the company, told HuffPost they either witnessed or discussed Pelusos harassment with Omarkheil.

The Targeted Harassment Intensifies

Peluso gave Omarkheil menial tasks not normally required by managers, such as pitching tents for work events and delivering flowers. During a midday meeting with a client, who happened to be a friend of Peluso, the client and Peluso began drinking alcohol. When Omarkheil asked to excuse himself from the the rest of the meeting, Peluso demanded he stay. You dont drink because youre Muslim so you can start taking notes for me, she said, according to the lawsuit.

For several months, Peluso verbally abused Omarkheil and made hostile comments about his faith. Whenever he was unavailable to take her phone call, Peluso said, Let me guess, you were at prayers again? She would perceive Omarkheils religious commitment as laziness and treated him as though he was a delinquent, according to the lawsuit.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. Instead, he worked late nights and felt obligated to take on weekend events during the long summer days.

I felt scared of her. I thought she was coming after my work. I thought, I gotta do everything that she was asking of me. I started going to events on weekends and it was very, very tough. Hot weather, no water no food and Im out there and Im sending her pictures [to prove that] Im here, he told HuffPost.

But nothing seemed to appease her, he said. Instead, the abuse escalated. She started to berate him in front of other UnitedHealth employees and embarrassed him in front of his clients. During a June incident detailed in the lawsuit, Peluso scolded Omarkheil in a phone call, which he had on speakerphone, for hanging out around the Muslim/Arab community way too much.

During the month of Ramadan where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, Peluso pressured him to work evening events, a time where he was meant to be home breaking his fast and attending evening prayers with his family. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Trying To Do It The Right Way

The next day, on June 13, 2018, Omarkheil wrote a letter to UnitedHealth Groups Human Resources department, which HuffPost has reviewed. He voiced his concern to the HR representative that he was particularly worried that speaking out could result in retaliation, but the representative reassured him not to worry.

But days after Omarkheil wrote to HR, Peluso informed him that he would not be receiving his quarterly bonus due to poor performance, which Omarkheil disputed. His numbers were strong, he said. HuffPost has reviewed a number of Omarkheils performance reviews which indicated he had consistently met or exceeded work expectations.

The following week, Omarkheil was instructed by HR to meet with Pelusos manager, David Willhoft. When he did, Willhoft told him if he was unhappy he could always find work elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. He was also advised that he address his concerns directly with his manager and not with human resources.

Laszlo Bock is the chief executive officer and co-founder at Humu.com, a technology company based in Mountain View, California, that uses behavioral sciences and artificial intelligence to help organizations improve their work culture.

Bock said instructing an employee to go above their own manager could invite conflict from ones immediate manager and may escalate a situation.

The former senior vice president of People Operations at Google said most HR departments are pretty forward-thinking in terms of a social justice perspective and want to do the right thing.

He said when it came to allegations of discrimination, it was imperative for HR representatives to address the situation carefully and in full transparency. For starters, when an allegation like Omarkheils is raised, he said HRs default presumption should be that the victim is being truthful.

If somebody raises a complaint of discrimination, you start from a bias of believing that person, said Bock. It doesnt feel good to make a complaint like this. [That person has] typically been second-guessing [themselves] this whole time.

Large companies, Bock said, should employ several best practices in situations like this one. He said that they should conduct a thorough investigation and know that an investigation will make all parties in the conflict uncomfortable. Do get all the facts, he said, and do conduct interviews with other people beyond those directly involved. But, he warns, dont drag out the process. Dont ask the junior employee to conduct the investigation themselves. Do provide a path for redemption, he added, but if warranted, dont shy away from firing people.

Back at UnitedHealth, Omarkheil followed the instructions by his HR representative Jennifer St, George, and detailed his concerns in an email to Peluso, despite his extreme discomfort registering his complaint and discussing it without St. George present. He wrote that it was clear he was treated different and that he did not want to be harassed anymore for anything including my beliefs or cultural background. Omarkheil told his manager that he felt embarrassed, demoralized and degraded as a result and requested a meeting with her to settle the matter.

Instead what followed was a series of emails and meetings between Omarkheil, Peluso and Willhoft, none that brought any resolve. He attempted to go back to the human resources department but each time he was pointed back to Peluso or her manager. He was stuck in a bureaucratic circle.

A company like UnitedHealth, who the public trusts [with] their families healthcare coverage, and these are people from every type of community, its incumbent on them that they must show that theyre dedicated to servicing everyone and that theyre going to treat people, including their employees, equally, regardless of their background. said Lawrence Pearson, partner at Wigdor LLP, an employment litigation law firm based in New York City representing Omarkheil.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group told HuffPost the company could not comment on specific matters that are in ligation, but it took such allegations seriously and that the company remained committed to inclusion and diversity in our workforce, and continuing to meet the needs of the multicultural clients, communities and individuals we serve.

Peter Romer-Friedman is a workers rights attorney at Outten & Golden LLP based in Washington, D.C., where he litigates and supervises employment discrimination cases.

Romer-Friedman said Omarkheil case is a clear cut case of discrimination and retaliation and pointed to the very brief time period between when the complaint was filed to Omarkheils termination as one of the main indicators.

It also appears to be a strong discrimination case, because even though most of the evidence of discrimination would be considered circumstantial, there is such strong evidence here that the person who is directly involved in Omarkheils termination harbored animus against Muslims and crossed some real lines in harassing this man when he was trying to exercise his religion outside of the workplace.

Two months after initiating a formal complaint with HR, Omarkheil went into work when he noticed he couldnt access his email. Once at the office, he was brought into a meeting with Peluso and Willhoft. There was no one from the Human Resources present at the meeting. He was told then that his position was being eliminated and he was terminated effective immediately.

The term at-will employment refers to the U.S. labor law in which an employee can be let go by an employer without establishing a reason, so long as it is not illegal. Romer-Friedman, who previously taught civil rights law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, however noted that the civil right laws overrules the at-will employment rule, including in Omarkheils case.

Just invoking the discretion to fire someone doesnt bar the person from making a claim for discrimination. Even if someone is a lousy employee, if the real reason you fire the person is motivated by bias, then its discrimination full-stop, Romer-Friedman told HuffPost.

A lawyer representing Peluso, Willhoft and St. George did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

I was completely shocked. I have kids. I have a family. I have bills. Suddenly everything is going through your mind. [I thought] how am I going to survive this? said Omarkheil. It was a tough process. I really didnt know what to do because I was there for over 11 years, with a really good record.

Omarkheil and his daughters in their home. He is worried he might have to sell his home if he doesnt find work soon. (Demetrius Freeman for HuffPost)

Two UnitedHealth staff members who spoke anonymously told HuffPost that Omarkheils position was in fact never eliminated instead another employee was designated to take his place and now oversees his team.

United Healthcare did not respond to HuffPosts questions confirming or denying what actually occurred to Omarkheils position.

It was only after the lawsuit was filed, UnitedHealth revealed to Omarkheil that he had signed documents during his employment that required his claims to be arbitrated and not heard in court. With his case now in arbitration, a widely criticized behind closed door process required by private companies including UnitedHealth meant to resolve legal matters outside the court system, Omarkheil and his lawyers withdrew his case from court.

Romer-Friedman, who is critical of cases being taken into arbitration, explained during the process the employer has the upper hand. For example, the panel selected to mitigate the issue is often selected by the employer.

Arbitration is not transparent, Romer-Friedman said. It denies the worker often the opportunity often to tell his or her story which impacts the ability of other people to learn about these problems at a company.

For the past nine months, Omarkheil has been looking for work, and hasnt found anything yet. With a wife and three daughters to support, Omarkheil says he will be forced to sell his home if something doesnt turn up soon. An Afghan native who immigrated to the United States in 1985, Omarkheil calls himself a New Yorker through and through, with the accent to prove it.

All these years you work hard and youre left with nothing, Omarkheil told HuffPost. At the end of the day, it had nothing to do with my performance. It had nothing to do with anything that I was doing wrong. It was just who I was. I didnt think we would part ways this way. I never saw the ugly side until now.
SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea's joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analyzing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler)
* North Macedonia holds presidential election run-off

* Country's name change has dominated campaigning

* Ruling coalition candidate seen winning vote

* Low turnout could invalidate vote, force fresh election

*

By Ivana Sekularac and Kole Casule

SKOPJE, May 5 (Reuters) - Voters in North Macedonia will elect a new president on Sunday in a run-off vote dominated by deep divisions over a change in the country's name agreed with Greece that has opened the path to NATO and European Union membership.

Greece had for decades demanded that the tiny ex-Yugoslav republic change its name from Macedonia, arguing that it implied a territorial claim on a northern Greek province also called Macedonia. The new name was formally ratified earlier this year.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for the presidential election, when about 1.8 million voters will choose between two candidates who got through to the second round.

The ruling coalition's candidate, a long-serving public official and academic, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival, the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova came neck-and-neck in the first round two weeks ago.

In the run-off, political analysts give the advantage to Pendarovski, who is expected to win support from voters of the second largest Albanian party whose candidate Blerim Reka came third in the first round.

"We are half way to full NATO membership, and in two months we expect a date to begin membership talks with the EU," Pendarovski told supporters at a rally.

"After 10 years Macedonia deserves to have a president who will speed up every positive government policy."

Siljanovska-Davkova, a university professor, opposes the name change accord but is also pro-EU. She has accused the government of dragging its feet on economic reforms.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post in North Macedonia but he or she is the supreme commander of the armed forces and also signs off on parliamentary legislation.

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The refusal of outgoing President Gjeorge Ivanov, a nationalist, to sign some bills backed by parliament has delayed the implementation of key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language -- 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

But Ivanov had no authority to block the constitutional amendments passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament that enabled the name change to North Macedonia.

THREAT OF LOW TURNOUT

The main concern is that if voter turnout falls below 40 percent in the second round the election will be declared invalid. In that case, the speaker of parliament would become interim president and new elections would have to be held.

"The ruling coalition voters are disappointed with the pace of reforms, while opposition supporters see that their candidate is not set to win, so many people are likely to stay at home," said Petar Arsovski, an analyst.

Turnout in the first round of voting was 41.6 percent.

Some opponents of the name change planned to boycott Sunday's vote.

"Vote? Why? Voting means Im giving legitimacy to the name change. No thanks," said Dejan Temelkovski, 47, a dentist.

"By not choosing a president we are sending a message to all politicians that it is enough."

Polling stations will be open until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), with the first preliminary results due two hours later. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac Editing by Gareth Jones)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes.

"I will never hesitate even for a second to fly on a 737 MAX," he said in response to a question from AFP on the sidelines of the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha.

While Buffett, the world's third-richest man, owns stakes in several of the most prestigious American companies -- from Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs to Apple and, recently, Amazon -- he holds no shares in Boeing, though he has invested in airlines.

Buffett was responding to a question about the damage to Boeing's reputation after 737 MAX planes were involved in two fatal crashes that left a total of nearly 350 people dead in a span of less than five months.

Boeing's entire 737 MAX fleet has been grounded since shortly after the latest crash in March, while investigators study the incidents and engineers work on solutions.

Another Boeing plane -- a 737 model that preceded the MAX line -- was involved in a rough landing late Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, when it skidded off a runway and into a river, but without causing any serious injuries.

"Planes have never been so safe," Buffett said, even as he encouraged Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to always make safety a priority.
Tripoli (AFP) - At least nine people were killed Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group targeting forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar in southern Libya, officials said.

IS fighters, "backed by criminal groups and mercenaries", launched a dawn assault on a military training camp in the southern city of Sebha, which is controlled by Haftar's forces, the city's mayor Hamed al-Khayali told AFP.

"The attack left nine dead ... some of whom had their throats slit and others who were shot dead," he said.

A spokesman for the Sebha Medical Centre confirmed it had received nine dead bodies.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through social media, saying it had targeted "Haftar's heretical militia" and freed prisoners held on the base.

Sebha is controlled by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which opposes the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

A power struggle between the unity government and Haftar -- who has over the last month launched an offensive against Tripoli and forces loyal to the GNA -- has left the country's vast desert south a lawless no-man's land.

The rugged territory, which shares borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan, has become a haven for jihadists and other armed groups.

In a statement, the GNA said Haftar shouldered "direct responsibility for the reemergence of the Islamic State organisation; for (its) terrorist activities and its return to the scene... after the GNA had been successful... in destroying" the jihadist group.

"Ever since the offensive against Tripoli, we have warned that the only beneficiaries... are the terrorist groups and that what is happening will offer them a fertile ground to restart their activities".

Meanwhile the UN's mission in Libya, UNSMIL, said on Twitter it "strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Sebha, which was claimed by (IS) and resulted in a number of Libyan casualties."

"Perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities must be brought to justice," UNSMIL added.

Ahead of its assault on pro-GNA forces on the edge of Tripoli, the LNA in mid-January announced the start of an offensive intended to "purge the south of terrorists and criminal groups", including rebels from Chad.
Beirut (AFP) - At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.
London (AFP) - The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

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"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

- 'Royally screwed': Williamson -

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself."

He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
WASHINGTON  North Korea fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the defiant nation's first launch in more than a year and possibly re-stirring tensions with the U.S.

Both the White House and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches. South Korean media reported the missiles were fired about 9 a.m. local time Saturday from the city of Wonsan. The missiles flew about 125 miles in the direction of the ocean before landing in the water, the joint chiefs said.

Officials are analyzing the situation and details surrounding the type of missiles that were launched, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said late Friday that the White House was "aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The launch comes less than three months since President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi to negotiate denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The summit, which was the second held between the leaders, ended without any agreement on denuclearization or sanction relief.

The launch would not violate Kims self-imposed testing moratorium, which prevented the country from testing intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But the news is sure to raise tensions between North Korea and the U.S. and is the first missile launch since the North's November 2017 test of an ICBM.

In March, after North Korean officials threatened to resume testing missiles, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Kim had promised Trump that such tests would not happen.

"In Hanoi, on multiple occasions, he spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing nor would he resume missile testing," Pompeo said. "So thats Chairman Kims word. We have every expectation he will live up to that commitment."

More: North Korea wants Pompeo out of talks; Kremlin announces an April visit by Kim Jong Un

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More: Negotiations between Trump, North Korea at a standstill, but optimism still in force at DMZ

President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June.

Last month, Kim oversaw the testing of a new "tactical guided weapon." It was the nation's first publicly announced weapons test since last year and came amid growing signs that Kim has soured on his negotiations with Trump.

The country's state-run news outlet KCNA did not specify what kind of weapon the North Koreans tested last month but said the event was "of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power" of the country's military.

Since the February summit, the country has asked that Pompeo be pulled from negotiations, saying he'd been "talking nonsense" and misrepresenting comments made by Kim.

Harry Kazianis, who works for the conservative think tank National Interest, said the launch made it clear that "North Korea is angry" after February's summit with Trump, and the administration's "lack of flexibility" when it comes to sanctions.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," Kazianis said. "My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."

In March, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that the U.S. threw away a "golden opportunity" when the two countries did not come to an agreement during the February summit and said the country was rethinking its moratorium against missile launches.

"We have neither the intention to compromise with the U.S. in any form nor much less the desire or plan to conduct this kind of negotiation," Choe said.

At the time, Pompeo downplayed the threat, saying Trump would continue to pursue negotiations with the North Korean leader. Pompeo added that the U.S. expected Kim to live up to his promise to Trump to maintain the moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and dismissed North Korean demands that he be removed from negotiations.

Just last week, Pompeo reiterated that negotiating with the North could be fruitful and stressed that it would take time.

"There are lots of elements of this. There are many pieces. Its an enormous challenge for that country to make its shift, too," Pompeo said in an interview for CBS' "Intelligence Matters" podcast, noting the country's history of telling its citizens that nukes "kept them secure."

"So theres not just a military strategic decision, but a political strategic decision that we think Chairman Kim is prepared to make," Pompeo said. "Only time will tell for sure, but Ive seen enough to believe that there is a real opportunity to fundamentally shift the strategic paradigm on the peninsula there."

Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea fires several short-range missiles, its first launch in more than a year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leads the testing of a newly developed tactical weapon, November 2018 - REUTERS

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong-un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

The tests were the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.

The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9am (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.

The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017, before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.

Kimhas vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or ICBMs, but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

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The missile firing, coming after the North's test of what it called a tactical weapons system, added to the pressure it has exerted on Washington in talks on ending the North's nuclear programme.

"It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'," said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with US President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the North's nuclear programme due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.
By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April. Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear program after a summit in February ended in failure. South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year. "We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement. "We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearization talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defense minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief. In a Twitter message Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said he was still confident that he could reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment on North Korea's military action, instead referring Reuters to Trump's tweet. Talks stalled after a second summit between Kim and Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration. "It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate," said Yang. The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to come from multiple rocket launchers, and were not ballistic missiles. The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year. SECURITY GUARANTEE Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump told Putin several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize." During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media. "The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification. "CAUTIOUSLY RESPOND" U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement. Sanders said, "We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary." Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. "At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Jack Kim, Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland, Joel Schectman and Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Diane Craft)
North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February.

The talks broke down after cash-strapped North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong Un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand.

The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio.

Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him.

Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.

- 'Unbureaucratic' -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger.

"But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said.

Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm.

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Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.

- Investing in tech -

On Saturday, Buffett and Munger also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.

Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online bookseller into the e-commerce giant it is today.

Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up."

But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40-billion stake in Apple.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.

Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp).

The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater.

Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world. This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip.

He later made a surprise appearance at a sideline event organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the gender imbalance in investing.

"It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal.

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.




All 143 passengers and crew have escaped after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a terrifying attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air international plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

Officials said the 136 passengers and seven crew were alive and accounted for after the plane ditched in shallow water.

Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries but were in good condition.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. On Saturday the National Transportation Safety Board said 16 investigators were arriving to determine the cause.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.

Emergency crews work next to a Boeing 737 aircraft arriving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 3 May.Photograph: Thomas A Higgins/AP

A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was alive and accounted for but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville sheriffs office said on Twitter.

Plane slides off runway into river in Jacksonville, Florida https://t.co/YPpdEyZ6zp pic.twitter.com/ACeadSy14O  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2019

A passenger on board the plane, lawyer Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced, it was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane, it bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.

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Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. We were in the water, we couldnt tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

The Jacksonville fire and rescue department posted on Twitter that about 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier Friday.

Later, Capt Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse. I think it is a miracle, Connor said. We could be talking about a different story.

It wasnt known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Miami Air international is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly rotator roundtrip service between the US and Guantanamo, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the naval station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

Reuters and Associated Press also contributed to this report.
All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but three pets weren't as fortunate.

The bodies of a dog and two cats were recovered, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, where the crash landing occurred, confirmed Sunday. An owner safely removed one animal that traveled in the cabin.

"Those who were involved in this sad tasking performed the recovery in the most dignified way possible with the base veterinarian on site to ensure all protocols were followed," the station posted on Facebook. "The animals will be cremated through a local company. Every possible avenue to rescue these animals was pursued following the incident."

Previous reports indicated at least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each was presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Theres water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."

Authorities have left the plane untouched as the National Transportation Safety Board conducts an investigation of the crash landing, meaning passengers' possessions, including pets, are still on the plane.

Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said the status of the pets became the "second priority" for initial responders after it was determined all passengers were safe.

He said they looked in the cargo bay and did not hear any animal noises or see any crates  a suggestion they were under water.

"So at that point, as well as for their own safety and not knowing if the aircraft could potentially sink and risk their lives, they backed out," he said at a Saturday news conference.

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He said he later in the night had first responders do a second assessment in search of pets, but again they did not see any pet carriers above the water.

"Obviously, we do not have confirmation, but we are continuing to do what we can to positively determine the status of the pets," he said, adding that he has spoken to some of the pet owners. "It's a very, obviously, rough situation. My sympathy and my heart really goes out to those families."

LaRocque said earlier Saturday that the pets include dogs and cats. The flight's manifest recorded a total of four pets on board, but she said it's possible more could have been boarded.

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

The plane skidded off the runway at around 9:40 a.m. Cheryl Bormann, prominent defense attorney who was aboard the plane, described a chaotic landing in which the pilot appeared to lose control of the aircraft before it smashed into the water and screeched to a halt.

LaRocque said that once the plane is removed from the river, authorities will then retrieve the pets and everyone's luggage.

Authorities haven't said what caused the plane to overshoot the runway. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about eight miles south of downtown.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3 pets died in Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility's ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy "in the coming weeks," according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-based PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has "concurrent jurisdiction" with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E's bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for Californias goal to source 60% of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

"PG&E recognizes its important role in supporting the state's commitment to clean energy initiatives and remains committed to continuing to help California achieve its bold clean energy goals," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We appreciate the concerns from stakeholders across the state concerning the impact that Chapter 11 filing could have on the state's clean energy progress. PG&E has made no decisions as to whether to assume or reject contracts as part of filing for Chapter 11."

Officials from NextEra were not immediately available for comment.Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles and Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)
Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and Jerad Eickhoff and four relievers shut down a decimated Washington lineup as the host Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 4-2 on Friday.

The Nationals are now 1-9 in the first game of a series this year, as Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his fifth save while the Phillies won for the fifth time in six games. Neris fanned Michael A. Taylor for the last out with a runner on.

The winning rally started as Jean Segura reached on an infield single with one out and Bryce Harper followed with a walk against his former team in the bottom of the sixth.

Hoskins then hit a 1-1 pitch from lefty reliever Dan Jennings (0-1) well over the fence in left for a three-run shot and a 4-2 lead. That was the 10th homer of the year for Hoskins.

Eickhoff lasted five innings but allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Washington starter Jeremy Hellickson fanned five in a row at one point. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs against his former team while striking out nine. That was the most since he fanned nine at the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Eickhoff was replaced in the sixth by Seranthony Dominguez (3-0), who gave up a solo homer with one out to Kurt Suzuki as the Nationals took a 2-1 lead. The reliever allowed one run in one inning with two strikeouts.

Segura, hitting second in the Phillies lineup, hit a solo homer off Hellickson to make it 1-0 in the first.

The Nationals tied the score in the third as Hellickson led off with a walk, went to second on a single by Adam Eaton and scored on an RBI single by Howie Kendrick.

Washington left fielder Juan Soto did not start again Friday, as he is dealing with back spasms. It was the third game in a row that he missed. Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are on the injured list for the struggling Nationals, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games.

--Field Level Media
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB - Getty Images

From Esquire

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To The Last Post Of The Week From The Blog's Favourite Living Canadian)

They have to be kidding now. From the Washington Post:

President Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour Friday about topics including special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation but that he did not confront Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the two leaders devoted only a brief part of their conversation to what Trump characterized as a finding of no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

I sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and ended up as a mouse, Trump said. Pressed by a reporter on whether he had confronted Putin on Russian interference in the election, Trump said: We didnt discuss that.

All "checking in with the home office" japery aside, the President* of the United States was on the line with the Russian president whose people ratfcked the 2016 presidential election and already may have started ratfcking the next one, and neither of those events even came up? This is like JFK's getting on the teletype with Khrushchev in October of 1962 and discussing the weather in Havana.

And this had escaped my notice.

Putin has echoed some of Trumps talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand, Putin said last month. Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump.

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Explain to me how this entire presidency* isn't a national-security crisis. Jesus, Lord, somebody throw the emergency brake, or hand out parachutes.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller - Getty Images

'Fi were king of the forest...the following things would happen.

Beto O'Rourke-or Joaquin Castro-would be running for the Senate in Texas, and Stacey Abrams would be running for the Senate in Georgia, and Steve Bullock would be running for the Senate in Montana. Michael Bennet would stay in the Senate to torment Ted Cruz further-a worthy goal for any right-thinking American. Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan would be running for re-election to the House, and Bill DeBlasio would be back in New York, trying to get the subways to run on time.

Nobody who watched William Barr's performance before a Republican-majority Senate Judiciary Committee this past week can sensibly deny that, as long as the Senate remains in the hands of the Republican Party, it doesn't matter what happens in the 2020 presidential election. If the incumbent* wins, there will be four more years of enabled destruction of our political institutions. If one of the Democrats wins, and the Senate stays Republican, the Democratic president simply will not be allowed to govern. Not as a Democrat, anyway.

And this didn't start with El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, either. The record shows that, upon Bill Clinton's election, good ol' Bob Dole announced that he was there to represent everyone who didn't vote for the winner. The Florida burglary in 2000 was in part a refusal to allow another Democrat to succeed Clinton, and the upper echelons of the Republican Party in Congress decided to obstruct Barack Obama at a dinner on the night of Obama's inauguration. If the Democratic Party can't get its senatorial campaigns together, they're chasing a fool's errand for which no fool would volunteer.

Thus, one of the most important Democratic politicians in the country is a woman named M.J. Reger, an Afghanistan vet and the favorite to win the Democratic nomination in Texas for a chance to relieve the Congress of the presence of John Cornyn. Outside of the presidential contest, that's the most critical election of them all.

Photo credit: Jessica McGowan - Getty Images

WWOZ Pick To Click: Once again, the mighty, mighty 'OZ was doing some broadcasting from Jazz Fest this week. Anyway, "Downtown Soulsville" (Chuck Edwards): Yeah, I pretty much still love New Orleans.

Weekly Visit To The Pathe Archives: Here's a British guy in a motorized bathtub. Nice that they gave him a license plate. I don't know why I felt like including this but history is pretty cool.

Is it a good day for dinosaur news, ScienceDaily? It's always a good day for dinosaur news!

An early winged dinosaur couldnt fly, but it could run. Now, with assists from a robotic dino and young ostriches wearing artificial wings, a study suggests that the dinosaurs running gait caused its wings to flap, in what may have been an evolutionary precursor to flight.

Caudipteryx was a peacock-sized dinosaur with feathered and winglike forelimbs that lived about 125 million years ago. Running at speeds of about 2.5 to 5.8 meters per second sent vibrations through its body, causing its wings to flap vigorously, scientists report online May 2 in PLOS Computational Biology. If true, the results suggest that some dinosaurs had to run before they could fly - adding a new wrinkle to a long-standing debate over whether the earliest fliers were flappers or gliders.

The vision of dozens of these poor beasts flapping their way across the savanna in futile attempts to get airborne is truly heartbreaking, even if does bring to mind a very famous skit from the Pythons.

In particular, Zhao and his colleagues wanted to see how Caudipteryxs running gait might have jostled its forelimbs, perhaps causing them to flap involuntarily. Hypothetically, with strong enough vibrations - and if the wings were large and strong enough - such flapping could generate enough lift to leave the ground.

Imagine being the first dinosaur to find itself flying by accident. That seriously could screw you up. But the vision of all those plucky dinosaurs trying to conquer the air is enough to be glad they lived them to make us happy now.

The Committee was very impressed with Top Commenter Carol Nicklaus and her ability to use various variations of words beginning with "pend--" while resisting the temptation to employ the word, "pendejo" which in our current circumstances can be an overwhelming one.

As for any "pendency" inhibiting the president*'s ability to perform any "governance," I think that would be the "pendency" of his twitter device perpetually "pendent" from his fingers...

Pending delivery, you will have 80.11 Beckhams on the house.

I'll be back on Monday with the results of my borscht taste-testing, which is part of Making American Kiev Again. Be well and play nice, ya bastids. Stay above the snake-line, and don't give up trying to fly. A few million years from now, who knows?

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

('You Might Also Like',)
Lisbon (AFP) - Portugal's Socialist prime minister has boosted his credibility in an election year and piled pressure on the conservative opposition by threatening to resign if parliament approves salary increases for teachers, analysts say.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa issued the warning on Friday, a day after a parliamentary education committee approved giving teachers salary increases that were not paid during the country's financial crisis.

The proposal was unexpectedly backed by his minority government's far-left allies -- the Communists and the Left Bloc, plus the conservative PSD and CDS parties which have long defended the need for stiff austerity measures.

It must be ratified by the full parliament but Costa said his government will resign if it goes through, bringing forward general elections slated for October 6. The far-left parties have already ruled out any compromise.

Costa said the measure would cost 800 million euros ($895 million) a year and undermine efforts to balance the budget.

The stand-off however positions the Socialists as "a centre-left party ... (and) puts pressure on the rightist camp because it shows their incoherence and contradictions" on austerity, political analyst Antonio Costa Pinto told AFP.

"Whoever thought the Socialist Party would turn left was completely mistaken. The centre is what matters for the elections," he added.

Recent polls have suggested the Socialists are on track to win the next general election but fall short of a majority.

The popularity of the party has slipped in recent months amid a scandal over perceived nepotism within the government. Costa's cabinet includes a married couple and a father and daughter.

- 'Only responsible party' -

The Socialists' chances have now improved since they "appear as the only responsible party," political analyst Pedro Marques Lopes wrote in a column Saturday in daily newspaper Diario de Noticias.

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"Welcome to the now real possibility that the Socialists will win an absolute majority. With compliments of the PSD," Lopes wrote.

Since coming to power in 2015 with the support of the Communists and the Left Bloc, Costa's government has focused on restoring fiscal credibility and balancing the budget.

The budget deficit, once 11 percent of total economic output during Portugal's 2010-14 debt crisis, has been almost eliminated even as the government has opened the purse strings in some areas, raising pensions and cutting taxes for those on lower wages.

This helped the government win the prestigious post of Eurogroup leader for its finance minister, Mario Centeno, who in this role chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers.

- 'Act of political mastery' -

Centeno was quick to accuse opposition parties of being irresponsible in voting for the teachers' salary hike.

Costa has also warned that the extra spending would have to be made up through "significantly higher taxes" or steep public spending cuts.

Costa's move was "an indisputable act of political mastery" since it allows him to present the Socialists as the "guarantor of fiscal stability and the right as being irresponsible," political analyst Jose Miguel Judice told private TV station Sic.
UN and other experts Saturday praised India for its early warning systems and rapid evacuation of more than 1 million people, which they said helped minimise loss of life from a deadly cyclone that battered its eastern coast.

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, tore into Odisha Friday, leaving a trail of devastation across the coastal state of 46 million people before swinging towards Bangladesh.

In 1999 the same state was hit by a devastating 30-hour super-cyclone that saw a storm surge sweep 20 kilometres inland. Unprepared for the scale of the diaster, authorities struggled to evacuate the stricken population and some 10,000 people were killed.

This time, improved forecasting models, public awareness campaigns and well-drilled evacuation plans -- backed up by an army of responders and volunteers -- has seen Odisha's inhabitants spared the worst of Fani's fury.

Only twelve people have been killed by the cyclone in India -- which escaped being hit by a major storm surge -- and at least 160 injured, local media reported.

As soon as it became clear this week that Fani was on course to hit Odisha, emergency teams began the mammoth task of evacuating those living in low-lying regions, moving 1.2 million residents away from danger areas and in to temporary shelters.

Alerts asking residents to stay indoors and follow the dos and don'ts were issued repeatedly on TV and radio, and broadcast through loudspeakers in public places.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised the government's "effective" evacuation, saying it had "saved many lives".

- New weather models -

The state government in Odisha along with national disaster response teams and volunteers have worked in tandem to carry out evacuations and set up safe shelters.

Workers have been equipped with satellite phones and inflatable boats along with food and medicines to distribute in the storm's aftermath.

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Some 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters have been set up, thanks to an army of 45,000 volunteers.

Emergency workers are now focussing on restoring damaged infrastructure, including power and telecom lines, and clearing roads.

Mahesh Palawat, the vice-president of meteorology at private forecaster Skymet, said the early warnings had been vital in allowing authorities to plan in advance.

"From April 25 onwards we (the Indian Meteorological Department and Skymet) had been monitoring the track and intensity of the cyclone continuously, what time it would make landfall and the probable points of landfall," Palawat told AFP.

Numerical models, adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2014 to supplement the more traditional statistical modelling, allowed forecasters to track Fani's progress and wind profiles in the upper atmosphere.

Denis McClean, a spokesperson for UNISDR, said "the almost pinpoint accuracy" of the early warnings from the IMD had enabled the authorities to "conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan."

Social media users also lauded the Indian authorities for averting a mass human disaster, despite the fact that a densely populated region was in the eye of the storm.

"Credit goes to #India authorities for their aggressive pre-impact response, including massive evacuations," wrote Josh Morgerman, a US-based cyclone expert.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For months, President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen tried  but failed  to position himself as a whistleblower in the vein of Watergate hero John Dean.

As the time ticked down toward his deadline to report to prison, Cohen also lost the interest of the one group of people who could help him out: the federal prosecutors he desperately hoped would ask a judge to shorten his sentence.

Since mid-March, prosecutors in New York have rebuffed Cohen's repeated offers to provide more information about alleged wrongdoing by Trump and other people in his orbit, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis told The Associated Press on Friday.

"Why not see him?" Davis asked. "What's the downside? He's about to go to prison."

Cohen's legal team reached out to prosecutors in March asking for an opportunity to meet for a "frank discussion" about reducing his sentence, based on his cooperation. That meeting never happened.

That snub might be the best evidence yet that Cohen's months-long campaign to sell himself as a potential witness hasn't paid off.

Cohen is scheduled to report Monday to a federal prison 70 miles north of New York City to begin serving a three-year sentence for campaign-finance violations, tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress.

In an apparent bid to maintain a semblance of normalcy before starting his sentence, Cohen left his Manhattan apartment building on Saturday with his son to go to a coffee shop and then to a barbershop, Eddie Arthur Salon. They both got haircuts. Cohen's next stop was the pricy retailer Barneys New York, where he told journalists that he plans to hold a news conference Monday before heading to prison.

Cohen remains the only person charged in a scandal involving hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who were threatening during the presidential campaign to speak up about alleged affairs with Trump.

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Cohen started to cast himself publicly as a whistleblower less than three months after the FBI raided his home and apartment.

He gave a series of tantalizing teases that there was "more to come," starting with an interview last July in which he told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos he was no longer loyal to Trump. More dribbled out over the next few weeks. Davis released a tape of Cohen and Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments.

That effort, though, has largely been met with an uncompromising approach by federal prosecutors.

New York investigators built their case for months without speaking with Cohen, then finally agreed to meet with him on a Saturday last August, just a few days before he would plead guilty.

At the meeting, they delivered an ultimatum: plead guilty or be indicted within days. Cohen also believed after the meeting that his wife could be charged with financial crimes if he didn't cooperate.

"I love this woman, and I am not going to let her get dragged into the mud of this crap," Cohen later told an acquaintance, the actor Tom Arnold, in a conversation that Arnold recorded and provided to The Wall Street Journal.

Cohen's wife, Laura, filed taxes with her husband and made investments with Cohen in taxi medallions. She ultimately was not charged.

After pleading guilty in August, Cohen did meet with Manhattan-based prosecutors multiple times to discuss several issues. Those included Trump's personal business dealings, the president's personal involvement in attempts to pay off McDougal and Daniels, and his inaugural committee, which is now the subject of a criminal investigation centering on possible donations by foreign nationals and influence peddling.

Cohen also met with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators several times, culminating with a session just days before the former FBI director turned his report over to the Justice Department.

Still, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, in court filings before his sentencing, criticized what it described as Cohen's unwillingness to cooperate fully and be debriefed "on other uncharged criminal conduct, if any, in his past."

They didn't ask the judge for a lenient sentence and have given no sign that they intend to file a so-called Rule 35 motion a legal filing that could reduce Cohen's punishment if his cooperation is deemed to be of substantial assistance. Cohen's attorneys say they believe Cohen's information supports several potential prosecutions.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

In February, Cohen testified before several Congressional panels about what he said was dishonesty by Trump in his business affairs. He also testified that a Trump Organization executive, Allen Weisselberg, and Trump's son Donald Jr. were involved in reimbursing him for one of the hush money payments.

During that testimony, Cohen said a number of Trump-related topics were still being probed by New York prosecutors.

"I am currently working with them right now on several other issues of investigation that concerns them, that they're looking at," Cohen said.

Yet, within weeks, prosecutors were through speaking with him.

Davis, in the interview Friday, said he believes Cohen has been treated unfairly.

"The Southern District of New York was disproportionate in the sentence it asked for and appears to have targeted just Michael Cohen for reasons that I can't understand," Davis said.

___

Sisak reported from New York.
By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A protest in the South Darfur city of Nyala ended in violence on Saturday, with security forces launching tear gas at protesters and firing gunshots, state news agency SUNA and Sudan's main protest organizer said. Around 5,000 protesters marched peacefully from the Atash camp for the displaced to a military installation housing the 16th Infantry Division, SUNA said, citing South Darfur's governor. Sudan has seen frequent protests near military buildings. The agency said protesters attacked military personnel and tried to seize military vehicles in the town, some 1,100 km southwest of Khartoum. However the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests that led to the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir last month, said the protesters were peaceful, and made no mention of casualties. South Darfur Governor Hashim Khalid Mahmoud said four military and Rapid Support Forces personnel were injured, SUNA reported. He said the joint forces fired live ammunition into the air and used tear gas, but said no demonstrators were hurt. The SPA is locked in a standoff with the ruling Transitional Military Council over who will control a proposed joint civilian-military body to oversee the country until elections can be held. Protests have continued in a bid to push the council to cede power to civilians. The SPA, part of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, called on people across Sudan to take to the streets "in rejection of the practices of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militias, and condemning their attacks on the peaceful rebels in Nyala". "Let us go out to the streets and rally at the sit-ins to support our brothers in Nyala, in support of them and their right to recapture their glorious sit-in in front of the 16th Infantry Division," the SPA said in a statement. Mahmoud said he would "not allow again the presence of protesters" in front of the military's general command and the state government building in Nyala. "They have to choose any other place to sit in," he said. A widely circulated video that was shared live on Facebook from inside a hospital in Nyala showed several people with gunshot wounds to the limbs. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Yousef Saba; Editing by Jan Harvey)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Puerto Rico's government has reached a key debt restructuring deal with a group that bought bonds issued by the U.S. territory's power company.

The deal announced Friday is expected to reduce some of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority debt by 33 percent as the company prepares to privatize the energy generation.

The deal also was reached with bond insurer Assured Guaranty Corp. and calls for a fixed transition charge of 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour that will rise to 4.5 cents. The increase would be reflected in customer's bills as Puerto Ricans decry austerity measures.

A federal control board that oversees the island's finances said the plan would save about $3 billion in debt service payments over the next decade.

The deal has to be approved by a federal judge.
The Cincinnati Reds on Saturday released outfielder Matt Kemp, who had been a disappointment since being acquired in an offseason deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati also demoted former 30-homer man Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville.

The moves come one day after the Reds recalled top prospect Nick Senzel. He made his major league debut in center field on Friday night and went 1-for-5 with two walks in a 12-11, 11-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Kemp, a three-time All-Star, was batting just .200 with one homer and five RBIs in 20 games with the Reds, who are managed by David Bell.

"With our support, David is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

The 34-year-old Kemp last played for the Reds on April 21, when he suffered a broken left rib after colliding with the left field wall in San Diego while trying to catch a two-run double hit by Padres outfielder Wil Myers.

Kemp batted .290 with 21 homers and 85 RBIs for the Dodgers last season. He was traded to Cincinnati in December as part of the deal in which the Reds landed outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Cincinnati also recalled left-hander Cody Reed from Louisville. Reed was 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances.

Reed has spent part of the last three seasons with the Reds and is 2-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 39 career appearances (18 starts).

--Field Level Media
Kigali (AFP) - The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered in Rwanda's genocide were laid to rest Saturday in a sombre ceremony in Kigali, a quarter of a century after the slaughter.

Mourners sobbed as 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mass killings were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital.

They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, massacred over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militia forces determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 -- the day the genocide began. But this year has witnessed particular commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary.

"Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is every Rwandans responsibility -- and so is giving them a decent burial," said Justice Minister Johnston Busingye at the mass burial.

Some mourners broke down wailing as survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the funeral by ushers.

Emanuel Nduwayezu said the discovery meant he finally had somewhere to come each April 7 and lay a wreath in memory of his murdered family.

"Right now I am very happy because I have buried my dad, my sister and her children, and my in-law. Twenty-five years have passed and I had not known where they were," he told AFP.

"Everyday I was thinking and getting confused (about) where my dad was but now I found him and I have a buried him.

The remains of those interred on Saturday were only found early last year, when 143 pits containing thousands of bone and clothing fragments were discovered beneath homes on the outskirts of Kigali.

Those exhumed for burial on Saturday came from just 43 such pits -- leaving 100 more to go.

A painstaking effort was undertaken so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothing and other markings.

They join 11,000 other victims already laid to rest at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial.

Story continues

- Grim discovery -

Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors, said a landlord from the area revealed the location of the graves only after he was threatened with arrest.

More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 with dumping corpses, came forward with new information.

Dusingizemungu said it was likely those living on the graves knew what lay beneath their homes.

"It is unfortunate that... these perpetrators, now free, never bothered to reveal to bereaved families the location of these grave sites, so they could get closure," he said.

Clementine Ingabire was the sole survivor from her extended family of 23 who were massacred in the frenzy.

Seven of her relatives were identified from the pits, their remains scattered among the coffins. But at least they were granted a dignified burial, she said.

Just seven at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous she made it out alive.

"Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others," the 32-year-old said.

"I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend to my mother. She saw me running and grabbed me... that's how I survived."

The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing the genocidal killers out of Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became Rwanda's president and has remained in power ever since.
2030 15th Ave., #3. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Sacramento?

We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down housing in Sacramento if you've got $1,000/month earmarked for your rent.

Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

4500 63rd St. (Tahoe Park South)

Here's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 4500 63rd St. This apartment is listed for $995/month.

Amenities offered in the building include on-site laundry, storage space and secured entry. In the apartment, there are granite countertops and a walk-in closet. Cats are allowed, but dogs are not. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

Per Walk Score ratings, this location is car-dependent, is relatively bikeable and has some transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

603 11th St. (Alkali Flat)

Here's a 550-square-foot studio apartment at 603 11th St. that's also going for $995/month.

In the unit, you'll get a walk-in closet. The building boasts on-site laundry, outdoor space and secured entry. Pets are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $25 application fee.

According to Walk Score, this location is very walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look at the full listing here.)

2030 15th Ave., #3 (Carleton Tract)

Located at 2030 15th Ave., #3, here's a 700-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that's listed for $895/month.

The building has on-site laundry and assigned parking. Apartment amenities include air conditioning and laminate flooring. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted.

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According to Walk Score, this location is friendly for those on foot, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive

His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan's fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. "I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops," Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the frontline of Islamist militancy in Pakistan.

Tyson Foods recalls almost 12 million pounds of chicken strips over contamination fears

Tyson Foods Inc significantly expanded a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips to close to 12 million pounds (5.4 million kg) over contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday. The Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was aware of six complaints from consumers who found pieces of metal in the product.

Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone

A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.

UK's Vectura wins patent infringement case against GlaxoSmithKline in U.S

British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said.

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Congo Ebola deaths surpass 1,000 as attacks on treatment centers go on

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, with attacks on treatment centers continuing to hamper efforts to control the "intense transmission" of the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record. The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Newly adopted children need specialized health exams

Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcare workers should play a significant role in the adoption process, the guideline authors emphasize.

AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms  where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples.

Scientology cruise ship leaves St. Lucia after measles quarantine

A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia late on Thursday after health officials provided 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, media reports said. The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined in port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected on board.

Scientology cruise ship faces renewed quarantine at home port in Curacao

A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said. A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations

An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds. The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in April test accident

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an "anomaly" - science jargon for when something goes wrong.

First moon landing manual could fetch $9 million at auction

The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie's said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apollo 11 lunar module timeline book details every procedure that was needed to undock, land and rendezvous the Eagle with its Columbia command module when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK politicians can reach Brexit deal in next few days: Scottish Conservative leader

A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen.

North Korea fires 'projectiles', South Korea says stop raising tensions

North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula." The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rocket attacks, air strikes

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday and an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

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'I shall reign with righteousness': Thailand crowns king in ornate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

UK Conservatives look for Brexit compromise after local poll losses

Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

South Africa's largest opposition party promises to lead coalitions, tackle racism

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions.

Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports. Rouhani's comments, carried live on Iranian TV, came a day after Washington acted to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting its ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Cyclone Fani kills at least 12 dead in India before swiping Bangladesh

The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety. Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'Deep Depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan dismissed concerns about a potential intelligence failure on Venezuela like the one that preceded the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and said top U.S. officials had held talks at the Pentagon on Friday. President Donald Trump's strategy on Venezuela has come under growing scrutiny as President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, raising questions about the way ahead for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and some 50 countries recognize as the legitimate head of state.

English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos: early results

English voters used local elections to punish both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the deadlock over Brexit, partial results showed on Friday. With just under a third of English local council vote results declared, the Conservative Party had lost 212 councilors and the Labour Party had lost 54 councilors, according to a BBC tally. The Liberal Democrats gained 145.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Thailand to crown its newlywed king in elaborate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday begins intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowns its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The king will be joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

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Canada vows to defends its business in Cuba as U.S. opens way for lawsuits

Canada vowed on Friday to defend its businesses operating in Cuba after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a ban on American citizens filing lawsuits against investors working on the island nation. "The Government of Canada will always defend Canadians and Canadian businesses conducting legitimate trade and investment with Cuba, and is reviewing all options in response to the U.S. decision," a foreign ministry statement said.

Scotland's Davidson girds for fight as support for independence rises

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

Trump says he, Putin discussed new nuclear pact possibly including China

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

Israel kills two militants in Gaza; two Palestinians killed in border protest

Israel killed two Hamas militants in air strikes on Gaza on Friday, and two Palestinian protesters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces along the enclave's border. The strikes were a response to gunfire from southern Gaza that wounded two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said.

One Venezuelan protester's brush with death

A young protester, his arms outstretched and his head thrown completely back, is struck from behind by a Venezuelan National Guard riot control vehicle and pulled underneath. Luis Alejandro had joined a protest outside 'La Carlota' military base in Caracas after opposition leader Juan Guaido called on Venezuelans to support the "final phase" of his effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.

U.S. cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant

The United States acted on Friday to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran's ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of U.S. sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programs designed to prevent Iran from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons program.
By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc's drivers in New York will go on strike next week shortly before the ride-hailing company goes public to protest what they view as unfair employment conditions, a taxi union said on Friday. The protests underscore the challenge for Uber of finding a way to lower driver costs in order to become profitable and paying drivers enough to retain their services. Drivers for Uber, as well Lyft Inc and other ride-hailing apps, will strike on Wednesday for two hours, beginning at 7 a.m. ET (1100 GMT). Uber currently expects to price its IPO on Thursday and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following day. The drivers join peers in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., who are also planning to strike. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) said the drivers are demanding job security, livable incomes and a cap on the amount ride-hailing companies can collect from fares. "Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our work day," Sonam Lama, a NYTWA member and Uber driver since 2015, said in a statement. "Uber executives are getting rich off of our work. They should treat us with respect. We are striking to send a message that drivers will keep rising up," Lama said. Uber cautioned in its IPO filing that its business would be "adversely affected" if drivers were classified as employees instead of independent contractors. The company hopes to be valued at between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion. Uber has yet to turn a profit. It reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2019. "I voted to go on strike because drivers need job security," said Henry Rolands, an NYTWA member and Lyft driver. Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lyft said in an emailed statement that its drivers' hourly earnings have increased over the last two year. "Over 75 percent drive less than 10 hours a week to supplement their existing jobs. On average, drivers nationwide earn over $20 per hour," Lyft said. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)
A University of North Carolina student who died charging an active shooter on the schools Charlotte campus will be buried with full military honors, local TV station WJZY reported Friday.

Wells Funeral Homes confirmed to the outlet that 21-year-old Riley Howell, a ROTC cadet, will receive the special recognition when he is laid to rest.

Howell, who was nearly finished with his junior year of college, was killed on Tuesday as he tackled the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Trystan Terrell, a former UNCC student who has been arrested.

A second student, 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, was also killed, and four others were injured. Terrell faces two charges of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

In Howells obituary, he is remembered as an adventurous guy who loved the outdoors and had a passion for life and all living things.

The family is profoundly moved by the outpouring of love and support shown by our friends, family, community and people around the country we have never even met, the obituary reads. Riley died the way he lived, putting others first.

In the wake of the violence, UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois told students in a statement Thursday that we will emerge from these difficult days.

We will not emerge unchanged, but we will emerge united and stronger, he said. That will be our new normal.
DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated.

"This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying.

Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail.

Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by David Holmes)
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian court has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis brother to an unspecified jail term, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, in a corruption case the presidents supporters allege is politically motivated. "This person (Hossein Fereydoun) was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations," IRNA quoted judiciary official Hamidreza Hosseini as saying. Hosseini said he was unable to give details as the sentence could still be appealed, the agency added. The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges. He had initially been held in 2017 before being released on bail. Some Rouhani supporters have seen the charges against Fereydoun, a close adviser to the president and a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a move by the hardline judiciary to discredit the pragmatic Rouhani. The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in cases it tries. Rouhani was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)
(Repeats story moved May 2)

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK, May 2 (Reuters) - During Thailand's main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4, the monarch will be presented with five royal regalia, which are treated as symbols of kingship, marking the legitimacy of his reign.

Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known.

The items were first made for the coronation of King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok, or Rama I, and heavily infused with Hindu-Brahman beliefs.

Here are the five royal instruments that will play a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, the 10th divine monarch of Thailand's Chakri dynasty.

THE GREAT CROWN OF VICTORY

The crown is the most important article among all the royal regalia. Adorned with diamonds set in gold enamel, the crown is 66 cm (26 inches) tall and weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb). At the tip of the cone-shaped crown is a large diamond from Kolkata, India, called "Phra Maha Wichian Mani."

During coronation ceremonies of the early reigns, kings Rama I to III would only place the crown next to them upon receiving it. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries, King Rama IV started the practice of placing the crown upon his head, to be more in line with the Western idea of kingship.

The high-reaching crown symbolizes the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra's heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch's royal burden.

THE SWORD OF VICTORY

The sword is believed to be an ancient sword of the Khmer Empire, which was lost at the bottom of a lake in Siem Reap until it was caught in a fisherman's net and later presented to King Rama I.

The king then ordered the sword's hilt and sheath to be ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems, becoming the sword "Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri" as we now know it.

The length of the sword is 89.8 cm (35 inches), including the 64.5 cm (25 inch) blade. It weighs 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) when enclosed with the sheath.

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It represents the king's ability to protect his nation.

THE ROYAL SCEPTER

The 118 cm (3.8 feet) staff, called "Than Phra Kon," is made of Javanese Cassia wood enameled in gold. The finial is shaped like a trident gilded with gold, and its iron hilt is also inlaid with gold.

The staff symbolizes the righteousness of the king.

THE ROYAL FAN AND FLY WHISK

The "Walawichani" was originally only a fan made of a palm leaf, with gold-trimmed rim and gold-enameled rod.

However, King Rama IV said "Walawichani," in the Pali language, refers more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, an animal found in the Himalayas. The king, therefore, ordered the whisk to be made and included it in the royal regalia along with the original palm-leaf fan.

The fan and whisk signify the king's duty to chase away his people's troubles.

THE ROYAL SLIPPERS

The curve-tipped slippers, called "Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon," are made of colorful enameled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

During the coronation ceremony, the chief Brahmin, who presents the king with the five royal regalia, will put the slippers on the king's feet.

The royal slippers represent the ground of Mount Meru, the abode of the god Indra. (Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
Havana (AFP) - Russia is stirring the ghosts of Cuba's Cold War past as it looks to re-establish its influence in the Communist-run island nation, although this time analysts say Moscow has no intention of bankrolling Havana.

Whereas once the Soviet Union and Cuba were linked by an ideological bond, now pragmatism and a shared rejection of US foreign policy is drawing them together again.

At Havana's colorful May Day parade Wednesday, Raul Castro, the first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party, received the highest distinction from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation: the Order of Lenin.

The former Cuba president said the prize -- first presented in 1930 by the Soviet Union -- pointed to the "historic relations" between the two countries that "have endured different scenarios and today are being reinforced and renewed."

This rapprochement is not new but has been consolidated by shared opposition to sanctions imposed on Cuba by Washington, which accuses the Caribbean nation of providing military support to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, another Moscow ally.

"The effect of this policy is that it isolates the United States on Cuba and we're opening the door for greater Chinese and Russian presence on the island," said Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, which connects Cuban-Americans advocating economic and political freedom on the island.

Relations between Havana and Washington had thawed under former president Barack Obama, but have chilled considerably since Donald Trump's administration took over.

- 'Lovers triangle' -

The Soviet era may have been confined to history, but it hasn't been forgotten.

"In Cuba, we've always had fond memories of Russia," said 82-year-old Luis Corredera Rodriguez as he played dominos with friends on a Havana sidewalk. "They supported us in everything."

"They're friends for life," added Julio Garcia, 59, although he noted that "the Russians have changed." In effect, he said, the Cubans have become more Russian than the Russians themselves.

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"They're no longer Soviet, they're capitalist like everyone."

Behind the dominos table -- Cuba's national pastime -- a parked Russian Lada is passed by a revving classic 1950s American car.

"It's almost like a lovers triangle between the US, Cuba and Russia: it's an old relationship, there's a lot of emotion here," said Scott B. MacDonald, senior associate of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the last two years have seen Cuba slide into "a new Cold War," although with a different dynamic this time.

"At the end of the Soviet Union, it was about $4 billion a year that went to prop up the Cuban economy."

That came to an end when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1990.

Now, Russia is only Cuba's third largest commercial partner, after the European Union and China.

"Russia likes the idea of warming up this relationship, but does Russia want to spend $4 billion a year to keep Cuba alive economically?" asked MacDonald.

The US may be wary of Russia sidling up to Cuba but the EU seems to have no issue with it.

The EU ambassadors in Cuba invited their Russian counterpart to their monthly meeting, where Andrei Guskov talked about the collaboration between Moscow and Havana and his desire to increase it, several participants said.

After agreeing to business deals worth $350 million in 2018, Russian investments will allow Cuba to increase its energy production by 20 percent and renew the 14-strong fleet of the national airline, Guskov said.

- 'No ideological dimension' -

On top of that, Russia has agreed a 38 million euro ($42 million) loan to modernize Cuba's military, $1 billion to refurbish its railway lines and agreements in civilian nuclear power and cybersecurity.

This "is part of a larger effort by Russia to destabilize the United States, rather than" a bid "to form a Soviet satellite 90 miles off the (US) shores like during the Cold War," said Herrero.

However, the friendship between the two countries today is "built on a pragmatic base, without the ideological dimension there was during the Soviet era," said Nikolai Kalashnikov, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

While Russia is no longer communist, socialist Cuba is driven in part by the threat it will lose its oil aid from crisis-wracked Venezuela -- itself creaking under the strain of US sanctions -- and its need for cash.

"Cuba needs to export and Russia is a market of 143 million" people, said Santiago Perez, deputy director of the Cuban Research Center for International Policy.

There may no longer be a common ideology, but there are "mutual interests."

"The relationship with Russia is crucial for us right now, and I think it's the same for them too."
By Steve Gorman

May 3 (Reuters) - A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said.

A team of health officers in Curacao plans to board the vessel to determine who aboard may have been exposed to a crew member diagnosed with measles and who aboard has previously been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the official said.

Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, chief epidemiologist for the Curacao Biomedical and Health Research Institute, said passengers and crew who can prove they were already vaccinated or have had measles in the past would likely be free to disembark "and go about their business."

Others would likely be restricted from leaving the vessel for the duration of the incubation period - the time during which they could potentially transmit the disease to others, he told Reuters by telephone.

"What we don't want is for the disease to spread further," Gerstenbluth said. "There is no other way than ... by not allowing anyone who may be infected off the ship."

Incubation can last up to 21 days after exposure, with infected individuals most contagious from four days before the onset of tell-tale measles rash - while the person is experiencing cold-like symptoms - to four days after the rash appears.

Gerstenbluth said the infected crew member had traveled to Europe and rejoined the ship on April 17, then reported feeling ill on April 22. She remained on the vessel after a blood sample taken several days later came back positive for measles, by which time the ship was already en route to St. Lucia.

Health authorities placed the ship under quarantine after its arrival there on April 30, barring anyone from disembarking. St. Lucia also was reported to have furnished 100 doses of measles vaccine to the vessel before it departed on Thursday for Curacao.

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A total of 318 passengers and crew are believed to be aboard the ship, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified by maritime-tracking records as SMV Freewinds, the name of the 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

The church, on its website, describes Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion."

It says the boat is based in Curacao, an island once part of the Dutch Antilles north of Venezuela and now an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Scientology officials have not responded to requests for comment.

Although the measles-infected crew member has supposedly been restricted to her cabin since diagnosed, the relatively confined interior of a cruise ship and highly communicable nature of the virus - it can linger in an enclosed space for two hours - raises the risk of exposure to others who lack immunity, Gerstenbluth said.

The quarantine comes amid a worldwide resurgence of measles blamed by public health officials on declining inoculation rates in some populations due to misinformation about the safety of the vaccine.

The number of measles cases in the United States alone in recent months has climbed to more than 700 this week, a 25-year peak. Health authorities in Los Angeles last month ordered quarantines on two university campuses after each one had reported at least one confirmed case. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Dakar (AFP) - Senegalese lawmakers on Saturday approved a constitutional reform to scrap the post of prime minister, the first initiative of President Macky Sall's second term in office.

The motion passed with 124 MPs voting in favour and only seven against, National Assembly president Moustapha Niasse said Saturday evening after a nine-hour debate.

The government approved the measure last month before sending it to the parliament where the presidential party enjoys a majority.

Sall, who was comfortably re-elected in February, announced the plan in early April, telling the prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, to abolish his own job.

The move was a surprise as it had not been part of Sall's re-election campaign.

On Saturday, lawmakers also backed legislative changes aimed at preventing the president from dissolving the National Assembly, which in turn can no longer table a motion of no confidence against the government.

Justice Minister Malick Sall said the changes were "purely technical and administrative".

"The goal is not to increase the powers of the president of the republic," he told MPs.

Opposition parties have denounced the constitutional amendments.

"It's a democratic setback. You can't concentrate powers in the hands of one person," said Toussaint Manga, who heads an opposition group founded by supporters of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall has been in power since 2012 and secured 58 percent of the popular vote in the recent election.

A self-proclaimed social liberal -- despite a flirtation with Maoism in his youth -- Sall has described, in his autobiography published last November, a slow, steady rise from a modest background all the way to the top, despite a stint in the political wilderness.

But critics argue that such single-mindedness has made Sall willing to bend the rules to get what he wants.
Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) - When he first heard Pope Francis would visit North Macedonia, the birthplace of the world's most famous Catholic nun Mother Teresa, Marinko Pinjuh thought it was "fake news".

Like many of his fellow Catholics, the waiter said he is equally puzzled and delighted to welcome the pontiff to their tiny country on Tuesday.

Catholics account for less than one percent of the Balkan state's population of 2.1 million, most of whom are Orthodox Christians while a quarter are Muslim.

But the capital Skopje does have one claim to Catholic fame: Mother Teresa -- who earned the sobriquet "Saint of the Gutters" for her lifelong work with the poorest of the poor in the Indian city of Calcutta -- was born there in 1910.

"He is coming to the hometown of Holy Mother Teresa, who became the moral conscience of the world," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said ahead of the pope's "historic" visit.

Mother Teresa, who was canonised in 2016, lived in Skopje when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire.

Born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she belonged to a rich family from the ethnic Albanian minority in Skopje.

North Macedonia's Catholics hail from both the country's Albanian and Croat minorities, as well as descendants of Macedonian Slavs who did not embrace Orthodox Christianity after the Great Schism in 11th century.

- Mother Teresa everywhere -

Although Mother Teresa rarely returned to her birthplace after leaving in the 1920s, her legacy is everywhere in the small Balkan capital.

A motorway bears her name while a plaque marks the place where she was born, though the house itself was destroyed in a devastating 1963 earthquake that nearly wiped the city off the map.

Next to it are trees she planted during her last visit in 1980, according to her grand-nephew Gombar Alojz, 71, who sells pendants with the nun's effigy in his nearby shop.

A few metres away tourists pose for pictures with a photo of Mother Teresa, while down another road stands a memorial devoted to her life and works, which the Pope will visit on Tuesday.

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Believers should thank the revered nun for the pope's visit, Macedonian bishop Kiro Stojanov told AFP.

During an Easter mass he called on his congregation to welcome Francis with "humbleness" and to show themselves as "worthy of his love".

Outside Skopje's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart stands a statue of Mother Teresa with her hands clasped in prayer, while nuns of her order were recognisable at the Easter mass by their white saris with blue borders.

"Do not be afraid, little flock," said the bishop, quoting the Gospel of Luke.

In this "small country, the number of (Catholic) believers is equally small... but like Jesus, the pope is devoted to the ordinary man," he said.

- Why North Macedonia? -

Believers are now gearing up for the mass of a lifetime, with Francis set to guide them in prayer in Skopje's central square. Around 15,000 people are expected to join the ceremony.

Pinjuh, the 42-year old waiter, never thought his town would host the pontiff.

Why did the pope choose North Macedonia?

"No idea," he says. "Everybody has the same question."

Andreja Atanasovska, a 22-year old Catholic economy student, echoed him.

"It is a bit odd, isn't it?," she said. "But it is nice to meet the pope!"

Catholic saleswoman Katerina Milevska said the visit is related to the recent change of the country's name -- which added "North" to Macedonia -- that helped seal a deal to end a long-running dispute with Greece.

"Since the situation is tense in the rest of the Balkans... the pope wants maybe to release a message of peace to Christians of Europe in these difficult times," she said.

Gombar Alojz, who met Mother Teresa twice, is convinced that the pope is coming to tell Macedonian Catholics: "You are a small flock and I want you to increase."

"There are really very few of us," he added.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions. At the DA's final campaign rally on Saturday, Mmusi Maimane, the first black African to lead the center-right party, told 5,000 supporters in the township of Soweto the DA would grow jobs, protect minority rights and unite the country. "You will find us at the heart of coalition governments in this country, as we build a strong center for South Africa, free from the divisions of the past," Maimane said. Parliamentary and provincial elections take place every five years, with seats allocated according to a proportional representation system. The DA and the hard left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) teamed up in 2016 local elections to clinch control in three of the country's largest metropolitan districts - South Africa's economic hub Johannesburg, administrative capital Pretoria and Nelson Mandela Bay in the eastern province. But the parties have been at odds since, disagreeing over key laws at national and local level, particularly land reform. The DA rejected a move to amend the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation after the EFF brought the motion to parliament, and eventually saw it passed with the support of the ANC. Polls in the past two weeks suggest the DA, as well as the ANC, will struggle to win outright majorities in crucial urban areas. "The smaller parties pose somewhat of a threat to the dominant ones this year. New parties, many launched by former ANC and DA members, will siphon away votes and could be key in provincial coalitions," political risk organization Eurasia said in a note. The DA won 22 percent of the parliamentary vote in 2014, giving it the second biggest number of seats in the National Assembly. Analysts also say a sharper fracturing of voters along racial and ideological lines has seen smaller, more hardline parties gain traction. "Your vote should not simply there to expression your race," Maimane said. "If the rights of the minority are going to protected they are going to be protected by the majority," he said, responding to a growing challenge by smaller nationalist groups to the party's traditional base of white, English and Afrikaans-speaking middle class voters. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ros Russell)
Sri Lanka's Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter's suicide bombings, even as police and troops tightened security.

Father Edmund Tillakaratne said public masses were suspended for a second week amid fears of a repeat jihadi strike, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television.

Police, meanwhile, said they were stepping up search operations over the weekend ahead of a planned re-opening of over 10,000 public schools after an extended Easter vacation.

Some 257 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings against three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21.

"We will not allow any parking near public schools from Sunday afternoon," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. "Search operations will be intensified as part of tighter security."

Police and troops across the country had recovered small quantities of explosives, guns, swords, daggers and kris knives, Gunasekera said.

"We will grant a two-day amnesty for people to surrender such weapons," he added.

Despite the tight security, Catholic churches will remain shut on Sunday, a spokesman said, adding that a private mass will be telecast live from the residence of the Archbishop.

"It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live," spokesman Edmond Tillakaratne told AFP.

Ranjith, also archbishop of Colombo, said Thursday a "reliable foreign source" had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for a second week.

"The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution," the Cardinal said in a statement.

- Basilica secured -

Official sources said the Thewatte National Basilica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

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"There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security in the neighbourhood," a police official said.

Although the 10,194 public schools re-open on Monday, a few Catholic schools will remain shut "until further notice".

Sri Lankan authorities had advance warnings from Indian intelligence of the impending Easter attacks, but police and security forces failed to act.

There were at least 42 foreigners among the 257 killed, while some 480 were also wounded. About 50 children were among the dead.

Armed guards have been stationed outside hotels, churches, Buddhist temples and mosques across the country since the attacks.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Friday that some of the conspirators may still be at large.

"Most of those responsible for the Easter attacks have been arrested. Some have been killed," Wickremesinghe said during a tour of island's east, where a Christian church was hit.

"We are trying to see if there are any more secret IS cells in the country," he said. "We will ensure that IS terrorism will be eradicated from our land."

Sri Lanka bolstered security Friday with fears of attacks against several bridges and flyovers in Colombo as well as police stations.

The attacks were blamed on the local National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) whose leader was among the suicide bombers. The group had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.
By Shihar Aneez and Shri Navaratnam COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would "eradicate terrorism" following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end. Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility. "Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism," Sirisena told Reuters. The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election. "We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them," Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 "active members" linked to the bombings still at large. Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: "It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings." Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known. Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings. Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation. Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers. ATTACKERS ON LOOSE Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done. "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers." Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago. Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday. The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks. "This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement," Sirisena said. "Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace." Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent. Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15. "Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas," he said. Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues. Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a "big blow" by the attacks, Sirisena said. The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year. "It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sirisena said. "For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks." (Reporting By Shri Navaratnam & Shihar Aneez; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
Omaha (United States) (AFP) - As the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway gets underway on Saturday, a key question hangs over the gathering: who will take the reins of the empire built by 88-year-old billionaire Warren Buffett?

"Warren Buffett is irreplaceable," said Macrae Sykes, a research analysts at Gabelli & Company.

But Meyer Shields, managing director at the investment firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, was less concerned.

"Berkshire Hathaway can certainly survive without Warren Buffett," he said. After all the conglomerate is made up of "mostly solid businesses that are only minimally impacted by their ownership."

Investors are not expecting major upheaval, since Buffett has taken steps in recent years to carefully prepare for a leadership change, although he has not made the plan public.

Among four likely candidates, there are two clear frontrunners: Gregory Abel, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67, who were both promoted last year to the board of directors and who are both known quantities who have been with Buffett for decades.

- Leading candidates -

Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities.

Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

Also potentially in the running are Todd Combs, 48, and Ted Weschler, 56, chosen by Buffett and his long-time business partner, Charles Munger, 95, to handle the group's investments.

"That's never been officially disclosed, but I suspect it will be either Greg Abel or Ajit Jain... and probably the former, given his solid and growing exposure to Berkshire's non-insurance businesses," Shields said.

Sykes agreed, noting that Jain "really likes to focus on insurance businesses and... seems less interested in the spotlight."

It is always possible a dark horse candidate could emerge from the company's board, which includes fellow billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

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One is Tracy Britt Cool, 35, a Harvard graduate and Buffett's right-hand woman for the past 10 years.

Regardless of who the successor will be, Shields said markets should at first "respond very negatively" to Buffett's absence, in part due to his unique status.

But it is also partly because Berkshire's "exceedingly weak" disclosures "have forced investors to rely more on Mr Buffett's carefully-managed public persona than on the companies' individual or aggregated earnings potential," Shield said.

Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager at Meeschaert Financial Services, said Buffett's presence added 10 to 15 percent to the company's share price, and without him, that premium would "disappear."

- More transparency? -

In a little more than 50 years, "the Oracle of Omaha" has built a juggernaut worth more than $530 billion, with businesses that range from paint to railways to consumer products, and include energy, clothing, insurance, banking and fast food.

Buffett never embraced the idea of passing the baton to his children -- Susan, Howard and Peter -- who are involved in many charities.

Only Howard is listed in the Berkshire Hathaway organizational chart as a member of the board of directors.

In 2011, Buffett told CBS that he wanted his son "Howie" -- who has joined in night patrols in Arizona to prevent unauthorized immigrants from crossing onto American soil -- to succeed him as non-executive chairman of the board of directors.

But even if the face of the company will change, its culture and investment strategy likely will remain marked by the caution that has been so central to Buffett, the world's third richest person, analysts say.

Buffett epitomizes safe, value investing. His investments are carefully scrutinized, as are decisions to pull out of any businesses.

Leaders of the individual business units will maintain a high degree of autonomy, while frivolous acquisitions are unlikely.

His departure could lead the financial community to demand more transparency from the company. Berkshire only publishes its results once a year in Buffett's annual letter and does not hold a conference call, as other publicly-traded companies do, to answer questions from financial analysts and journalists.

And even the questions asked at the annual shareholder meeting are selected by journalists whom he has picked.

"I'm not sure investors will be as satisfied with the crumbs of disclosure that are currently offered," Shields said.
* Rebel-held northwest under aerial bombardment for 5th day

* Upsurge in violence strains Russian-Turkish deal for area

* Syria says campaign targets jihadists, UN says schools hit

* War monitor says at least 67 killed so far in offensive

BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest with fresh air strikes on Saturday, the fifth day of a widening campaign that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee, sources in the area and a war monitor said.

The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas has strained a Russian-Turkish agreement struck last September that staved off a government offensive into the last major foothold of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping.

Syrian state media has said government forces are attacking jihadists. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

ESCALATION

After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area.

"Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he told Reuters from northern Syria.

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The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly."

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib province, but that such an operation was impractical for now.

Russia's deal with Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented.

The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence.

Mustafa, their spokesman, said Damascus was well aware the rebels were well armed and capable of repelling any assault: "The regime will not be able to advance." (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Khalil Ashawi in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry Editing by Gareth Jones)
"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming," the Japanese artist's largest solo show to date, will open on May 18 at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.

The exhibition, curated by Sun Qidong, features a series of LED displays and performance pieces, spanning the Japanese artist's career since 1988. It will also present several artworks created specifically for the show, including the LED installation "Time Waterfall" and the video performance "Counter Skin Face."

The show reevaluates Miyajima's core concepts in the light of Japan's radical postwar art wave. Entitled "Keep Changing," "Connect with All" and "Goes on Forever," these guiding principles are the foundation of the artist's installations and performance videos.

Often billed as "immersive," Miyajima's artworks invite viewers to reflect on continuity, eternity and the flow of space and time. Most of his installations feature LED lights counting down from 1 to 9 -- embodying the human life cycle and the Eastern philosophy of change and renewal.

"In Western thought, permanency refers to a sense of constancy, without change. In Eastern and Buddhist philosophy, change is natural and consistently happening," the artist explained in a statement.

"Tatsuo Miyajima: Being Coming" will be on show at Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum from May 18 to August 18, 2019. See additional information on the museum's website: www.minshengart.com.
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

It's not possible to invest over long periods without making some bad investments. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of China Nonferrous Gold Limited (LON:CNG); the share price is down a whopping 92% in the last three years. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And over the last year the share price fell 79%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 41% in the last three months.

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 Nonferrous Gold

We don't think China Nonferrous Gold's revenue of US$291,000 is enough to establish significant demand. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. For example, investors may be hoping that China Nonferrous Gold finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money.

As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. There 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 go on to make revenue, profits, and generate value, others get hyped up by hopeful naifs before eventually going bankrupt. China Nonferrous Gold has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.

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China Nonferrous Gold had net debt of US$402,333,000 when it last reported in June 2018, according to our data. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But since the share price has dived -56% per year, over 3 years, it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak. The image below shows how China Nonferrous Gold's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

AIM:CNG Historical Debt, May 4th 2019

In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.

A Different Perspective

Investors in China Nonferrous Gold had a tough year, with a total loss of 79%, against a market gain of about 2.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 37% over the last half decade. 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.

But note: China Nonferrous Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
West Texas Chophouse. | Photo: Jay B./Yelp

Looking to try the top steakhouses around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end steakhouses in El Paso, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

1. West Texas Chophouse

Photo: cody a./Yelp

Topping the list is West Texas Chophouse. Located at 1135 Airway Blvd., Suite 7B, in Cielo Vista, the steakhouse, which offers burgers, sandwiches and more, is the highest rated high-end steakhouse in El Paso, boasting four stars out of 195 reviews on Yelp.

2. Garufa Argentinean Restaurant

Photo: kris p./Yelp



Next up is Mesa Hills's Garufa Argentinean Restaurant, situated at 5411 N. Mesa St., Suite 26A. With four stars out of 121 reviews on Yelp, the steakhouse, pasta shop and Argentine spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge.

3. Ruth's Chris Steak House

Photo: ruth chris steak house/Yelp

Cielo Vista's Ruth's Chris Steak House, located at 8889 Gateway Blvd. West, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse four stars out of 99 reviews.

4. The Grape Italian Steakhouse

Photo: josh a./Yelp

The Grape Italian Steakhouse, a bar, steakhouse and Italian spot, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 52 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6350 Escondido Drive, A11, to see for yourself.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) - A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force captured a village from Kurdish YPG forces north of Aleppo on Saturday, the spokesman for the rebel force said.

"There is military action, and the village of Maranaz has been liberated," said Yousef Hammoud, the spokesman for the Syrian National Army, a force formed from a number of factions of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The YPG could not immediately be reached for comment.

The village is part of a YPG-held piece of territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat that the FSA groups have long vowed to recover. "Our aspiration is to reach Tel Rifaat and what is beyond it," Hammoud said. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi and Khalil Ashawi; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Israeli forces had targeted a building in Gaza where the offices of Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency are located, and added that the attacks were a crime against humanity.

Earlier on Saturday, Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - One Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat on Saturday, during an attack by the Kurdish YPG militia, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aiming to drive Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

The ministry said the army had retaliated with artillery fire but gave no further details on the whereabouts of the attack.

Turkish forces shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defense ministry said Turkish and Russian forces carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by David Holmes)
(Reuters) - Two Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders said on Friday they would withhold their support for the re-election of all ExxonMobil directors at the company's annual meeting due to the U.S. oil major's "inadequate response" to climate change.

The Church Commissioners for England (CCE), the endowment fund of the Church of England, as well as New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who manages the state's pension fund, also urged other shareholders to vote in favor of an independent chairman.

ExxonMobil's inadequate responses to climate change indicated its board was not functioning effectively due to the absence of an independent chairman, the two shareholders said in a filing.

Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for DiNapoli declined immediate comment on Friday.

The filing comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier in April that Exxon Mobil was not required to let investors vote on a shareholder submission calling on the company to set emissions targets beginning next year.

Exxon had called the resolution misleading, substantially implemented and an attempt to interfere with its management responsibilities.

The proposal, which would have asked the oil company to set emissions targets "aligned with the greenhouse gas reduction goals established by the Paris climate agreement," was rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Reporting by Akashdeep Baruah and Philip George in Bengaluru and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Stephen Coates)
By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday approved a $307.5 million civil settlement for about 100,000 U.S. owners of Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that the government said had illegal software that allowed them to emit excess emissions.

Under the settlement approved by Judge Edward Chen, about 100,000 owners and lessees of Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0-liter diesel vehicles from model years 2014 to 2016 will receive payments for having a software reflash completed. Most owners will receive $3,075 payments.

Current owners and lease-holders have until February 2021 to submit a claim, and until May 2021 to complete the repair and receive compensation, while former owners have until August to submit a claim.

The Italian-American automaker on Jan. 10 announced it had

settled with the U.S. Justice Department, the state of California and diesel owners over civil claims that it used illegal software that produced false results on diesel-emissions tests. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

Chen also approved the consent decrees announced in January between Fiat Chrysler and California, Environmental Protection Agency and agreements with all 50 states.

Under the agreement, Fiat Chrysler agreed to apprise an independent auditor of the status of various initiatives. Fiat Chrysler said on Friday it has launched three-quarters of the initiatives and one-third are already complete.

Fiat Chrysler estimated the total value of the various settlements at about $800 million.

Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided emissions control software for the Fiat Chrysler vehicles, agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve claims from diesel owners, while Fiat Chrysler is paying $280 million of the $307.5 million.

Fiat Chrysler is also paying $311 million in total civil penalties to U.S. and California regulators, granting extended warranties worth $105 million. Fiat Chrysler is also paying $72.5 million for state civil penalties and $33.5 million to California to offset excess emissions and consumer claims.

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Fiat Chrysler and Bosch also agreed to pay $66 million to the lawyers representing the vehicle owners.

The hefty penalty was the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules.

Regulators said Fiat Chrysler used "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests in real-world driving. Fiat Chrysler did not admit liability.

U.S. regulators are also reviewing Ford Motor Co's emissions certification process and emissions questions about some Daimler AG vehicles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A panel of three federal judges on Friday ruled that Ohio's Republican-drawn congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and ordered the state to revamp it before the 2020 presidential election. The ruling comes a week after another federal court ruled that Michigan's congressional maps were unconstitutionally drawn by Republican politicians to dilute the power of Democratic voters. Both Michigan and Ohio are expected to play a pivotal role in the 2020 election, as they have in recent elections. They were key swing states in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral victory. "We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity," the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati panel wrote in its decision, ordering the state to create a plan to fix the map by June 14. The ruling in Ohio could be short-lived if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that partisan gerrymandering cases cannot be brought in federal court. In partisan gerrymandering, one political party draws legislative districts to weaken the other party's voters. The lines are typically redrawn once a decade after the U.S. census, and in many states the party in power controls the decision-making. Republicans control both houses of the Ohio legislature, as well as the governorship. Four congressional elections have occurred under the map and each resulted in 12 Republican representatives and four Democratic representatives, the ruling noted. Included in the 2012 map was the "'Snake on the Lake'  a bizarre, elongated sliver of a district that severed numerous counties," the judges wrote in their 301-page opinion, referring to the state's 9th district that runs along Lake Erie. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement that the state will seek a stay and appeal. The court said it will redraw the maps itself if Ohio fails to come up with a solution that the judges deem fair. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought last year by the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union against the state's attorney general. "This opinion, declaring Ohio an egregiously gerrymandered state, completely validates every one of our claims and theories in every respect," Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. Ohio's secretary of state, Frank Larose, a Republican who oversees the state's elections process, said his office will work to "administer fair, accurate and secure elections in 2020, pending the conclusion of the judicial process," he said. The conservative justices who hold a 5-4 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court at a March hearing focused on gerrymandering in Maryland and North Carolina signaled that they were skeptical of lower courts' authority to block electoral maps drawn to give one party a lopsided advantage. Critics have said gerrymandering has become increasingly effective and insidious, guided by precise voter data and powerful computer software. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
By David Shepardson and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials rejected Tesla Inc's bid for relief from President Donald Trump's 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot "brain" of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to China's industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed "strategically important" to the "Made in China 2025" program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: "Our costs for producing our vehicles in the U.S. have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China."

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart China's efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of U.S. intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing China's prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and U.S. demands for sweeping changes to China's policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

ECONOMIC HARM

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the "brain of the vehicle" when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that "increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability."

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In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Tesla's request because it "concerns a product strategically important or related to 'Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs." USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a U.S. government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corp's Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

"The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit," Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

NO U.S. SOURCES

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that "choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training."

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

"For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China," Tesla wrote. "When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers' lives due to a defect from a supplier."

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls "the brain responsible for Tesla's Autopilot functionality" and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of U.S. sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent U.S. tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of U.S. Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and David Lawder; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, David Gregorio and Sandra Maler)
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U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc (NYSE: USX)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

May. 02, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:





Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the U.S. Xpress first-quarter 2019 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Brian Baubach.

Thank you, you may begin.

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate your participation in our first-quarter 2019 earnings call. With me today are Eric Fuller, president and chief executive officer; and Eric Peterson, chief financial officer. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available on the Investor section of our website through May 9, 2019.

We've also posted a supplemental presentation to accompany today's discussion on our website at investor.usxpress.com. Before we begin, let me remind everyone, that this call may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include remarks about future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements.

More From The Motley Fool

Such risks and other factors are set forth in our 2018 10-K, filed on March 6, 2019, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements. Additionally, during today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Eric Fuller.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to start by reviewing our first-quarter results and the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives and then conclude with a review of our market outlook. Eric Peterson will then discuss our first-quarter financial results in more detail before opening the call for questions. I am pleased with our team's execution to the first quarter given the more challenging market backdrop that we encountered as we managed through the closure of our Mexico joint venture and encountered weather disruptions.

Despite these challenges, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is a 40-basis-point improvement from the year-ago quarter and our seventh-consecutive quarter of OR improvement. Our results clearly demonstrate the continued successful implementation of our strategic initiatives as we strive to transform our operations and improve our profitability. While we have achieved a great deal over the last several years, we have much more to accomplish in order to realize our goal. Turning to our segment-level highlights.

In our over the road division, average revenue per tractor per week declined 6.1% compared with the first quarter of 2018. This was a result of a 6.7% decrease in average revenue miles per tractor per week, partially offset by 0.7% increase in our average revenue per mile. The impact on average revenue per tractor per week resulted from unfavorable weather conditions, the transition out of the companies US-Mexico cross-border operations and the less favorable freight environment. Typically, about 80% of our over the road division's volume is contracted and approximately 20% is noncontracted.

In the first quarter, we experienced an 8% increase in our contract rates, while noncontracted spot rates declined more than 20%. Turning to our dedicated division. The average revenue per tractor per week, excluding fuel surcharges, increased to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily the result of a 7.1% rise in the division's revenue per mile in addition to a 4.4% increase in the division's revenue miles per tractor per week.

The increase in utilization was largely the result of our initiative designed to grow our business with those accounts that offer a more attractive combination of rate and utilization while reducing our business with accounts that have a less attractive blend. We implemented this initiative through 2018, and I am very pleased with the improved execution in the dedicated division over the last two quarters. Brokerage segment revenue decreased to $46.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 on fewer loads and decreased revenues per loads. The revenue decrease was more than offset by a higher gross margin as transportation cost per load decreased significantly due to sourcing third-party capacity more efficiently.

As a result, operating income increased 18.9% to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the year-ago quarter. Importantly, the brokerage segment continues to provide additional selectively for our assets to optimize yield, while at the same time, offering more capacity solutions to our customers. I would now like to spend a few minutes reviewing our strategic initiatives designed to deliver improved profitability and the priorities that we have for the year ahead. As we've discussed on previous calls, our management team has been driving a complete overhaul to company strategy and operations in order to improve our execution and profitability.

We have created an execution-oriented structure, whereby we now manage the business by core metrics with the focus on rate, truck count, utilization and cost. We've also designed and implemented initiatives to improve these core metrics. And ultimately, our operating ratio where we strive to meaningfully improve our profitability. As part of our transformation, we have improved our asset optimization through a redesigned fleet-renewal and maintenance program, optimized our asset utilization through the use of proprietary optimization software and implemented our load-planning initiative in our over the road initiative, designed to improve utilization.

The successful implementation of these initiatives have contributed to the significant margin expansion that we have achieved over the last three years. Another key focus for our initiatives is to improve the quality of life for our drivers as we reduced the day-to-day challenges and frustrations that they encounter. Our drivers are critical to our success and are our greatest asset. As a result, we have launched a series of initiatives designed to position U.S.

Xpress as the company of choice for drivers in the industry. One such initiative was the launch of our new driver development program and the opening of our redesigned development center in Tunnel Hill, Georgia this past February. The newly launched program was created with input from our drivers and provides continuous learning opportunities for both new and experienced drivers. The multi-platform program features in-person development sessions; a hands-on commercial motor-vehicle learning lab, where drivers inspect and identify faulty equipment; a competency-aligned simulator program; a driving range, where drivers can practice complicated maneuvers; over a 150 e-learning modules; and ELD practices and device training.

Our goal is to provide our drivers with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for successful driving career. Moving to the balance of 2019, our priority continues to be on improving the lifestyle and satisfaction of our drivers, as well as our operations as we focus on technology, including digital load matching, automated load acceptance and prioritization and working toward our ultimate growth of the frictionless order. When you analyze the process from order to cash, what you find is that there are many gates in that process where manual decisions are made. These manual decision points open the door to less-than-optimal decisions, along with the potential for errors, given that data entry is often required.

As we remove more the friction that exists, those errors, which frustrate our drivers, will be reduced, and our driver satisfaction will improve. Our goal over time is to have a frictionless order, which we believe will not only improve driver retention but also reduce costs and optimize freight planning, not to mention improved capacity. As you can see, utilizing technology to improve our operations represents a significant opportunity for U.S. Xpress.

As the trucking industry continues to rapidly evolve, U.S. Xpress will be at the forefront, and we're very excited to have Cameron Ramsdell join our team as President of our newly formed unit U.S. Xpress Ventures. As we announced last week, U.S.

Xpress is internal business unit focused on developing and implementing new asset-based business models and technology strategies. Turning to the market and our outlook. The second-quarter freight environment remains subdued relative to normal seasonality and in comparison to the strongest market in 20 years, which we experienced in the second quarter of 2018. While we expect ongoing improvements in network efficiency from the exit of our Mexico business and then operating efficiencies from our strategic initiatives, the changing market conditions since our fourth-quarter call has changed our expectations on second-quarter earnings.

While we continue to expect our initiatives and an improving market backdrop to allow us to improve our adjusted operating ratio on a sequential basis, we now expect our second-quarter adjusted operating ratio to deteriorate as compared to the year-ago comparable quarter. Importantly, we believe the operating improvements implemented over the past several years has positioned the company to better manage market fluctuations such as those that we are now experiencing. As we look forward, our current guidance of delivering a 93% adjusted operating ratio for the full-year 2019 remains achievable, though, it is dependent on market conditions strengthening through the balance of the second quarter. As a result, we plan to update our full-year adjusted operating ratio guidance when we have better visibility on the freight market and our full-year results.

Despite the more challenging freight market, we have contractually agreed to rate renewals for approximately 40% of our anticipated truckload revenue for 2019 with an average rate increase of approximately 5% since November. While current rate increases have moderated slightly, we believe full-year contract rates will increase in the mid-single-digit range. I would now like to turn the call over to Eric Peterson for a review of our financial results.

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon. As Eric discussed, we are pleased with the continued successful execution of our strategic initiatives which enabled our team to manage through a more challenging market backdrop. We offset more challenging market conditions through leveraging our fleet and our brokerage operations and taking advantage of our enhanced dedicated business mix achieved during 2018. In addition, we believe we are well positioned to continue to execute on our current initiatives to drive continued operating ratio improvement.

I'm going to spend a few minutes summarizing our results for the quarter, and we'll focus on the core metrics we use to evaluate and monitor our progress. Operating revenue was $415.4 million, a decrease of $10.3 million compared to the first quarter of 2018. Excluding revenue from our Mexico operations, which were discontinued in January 2019, operating revenue increased $2.9 million, excluding fuel surcharge. The increase was attributable to a 3.8% increase in revenue per mile, mostly offset by decreases of $8.3 million in brokerage revenue.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $12.5 million, compared to the $14.9 million achieved in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $3.4 million in costs related to the exit of our Mexico operations, our adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2019 was $15.9 million, which compares to $14.9 million in the first quarter of 2018. As Eric discussed, we delivered a 95.7% adjusted operating ratio for the 2019 first quarter, which is the 40-basis-points improvement from the year-ago quarter. Additionally, our adjusted operating ratio improved by 260 basis points to an adjusted operating ratio of 93.9% from 96.5% for the trailing four quarters ending March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $4.7 million, compared to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income for the first quarter was $7.3 million and compares favorably to $1.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.15 for the first quarter of 2019. As we discussed our fourth-quarter call, the exit of our fixed cost investment and our cross-border US-Mexico operations was expected to be a drag on our first-half results as revenues would declined more rapidly than expenses which we experienced in the first quarter.

Looking forward, we expect the headwind to persist into the second quarter, though, at a reduced level before turning neutral in the third quarter. Thereafter, we expect to build an annualized operating income benefit. Importantly, we'll offer customers, both additional capacity within our core U.S. lanes and continued access to cross-border coverage through an asset-light alternative.

Our effective tax rate for the third quarter was approximately 27.5%, and we continue to anticipate our full-year 2019 effective tax rate to be between 27% to 29% that we outlined on the fourth-quarter 2018 call. For the full-year 2019, we continue to expect our cash tax rate to be in the low single digits. Turning to our fleet, we continue to manage our tractors to a 475,000 mile replacement cycle, and we are converting a portion of our leased tractors to owned, and we'll spend approximately $170 million to $190 million in net capex through 2019 to execute that strategy, with approximately $45 million of the total related to replacing leased equipment with owned. As a reminder, when thinking of free cash flow, a normalized net capex figure over a four-year period is approximately $115 million annually, and we expect our net capex to revert to more normalized levels in 2020 and 2021.

During the first quarter of 2019, the company adopted new ASC Topic 842 leases. The new standard requires us to recognize right-of-use assets and a comparable amount of lease liabilities arising from operating leases on the balance sheet. This resulted from in approximately $187 million of assets and a comparable amount of liabilities being recognized on the balance sheet at March 31, 2019. Rent associated with these operating leases was approximately $20 million for the first quarter of 2019 and is reflected under vehicle rent and general and other expenses in our income statement for the 2019 quarter.

The impact on stockholders' equity was immaterial, and the impact on covenant compliance under our credit facility is also immaterial. Capital leases will continue to be recognized on the balance sheet but are now referred as finance leases as required by the new standard. In regards to leverage, we ended the first quarter with $407.1 million of net debt and had $120.4 million of cash in availability under our revolving credit facility. Interest expense for the first quarter was $5.6 million, and we continue to expect interest expense to be approximately $22.0 million for the full year of 2019.

Looking for the remainder of the year, we continue to have opportunities for improvement as our existing driver-centric initiatives mature and as a focus on operational execution. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Eric Fuller for concluding remarks.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Eric. In summary, we are pleased with the progress that we have achieved executing upon our strategic initiatives, enabling us to achieve our seventh-consecutive quarter of adjusted operating ratio improvement in the first quarter and the highest earnings of any first quarter in our company's history. As we've discussed, the outlook for the second quarter remains challenged in comparison to an exceptionally strong 2018 comparable quarter. That said, we continue to have much opportunity and remain well positioned to capitalize on our numerous initiatives aimed at driving operational efficiencies as we work toward our goal of achieving a 100% frictionless order, which will improve the lives and daily routines of our drivers, not to mention, reduce costs and expand our capacity.

As we focus on managing the core metrics within our business, we remain committed to our goal of improving our operations in solidifying U.S. Xpress as a leader within the industry. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress on our second-quarter call. Thank you again for your time today.

Operator, please open the call for questions.

Questions & Answers:





Operator

[Operator instructions] Our first question here is from Ravi Shanker from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Thanks. Good evening, guys. So on the OR target for the year, obviously, it's understandable it's going to be dependent on market conditions. But part of the story here also was you guys undertaking a number of cost initiatives to close the gap to peers and so maybe that OR improvement was not as market depend on some of your peers.

So can you help us understand that how much tailwind or opportunity there is in the cost side this year? And kind of, if that's tracking consistent with your initial expectations behind the IPO?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So this is Eric Fuller. So we had -- obviously, we have focused around a couple of the big factors and driver turnover being one of them. That is an area where we still believe we're going to continue to get traction through the year.

Our big focus -- the big initiative that we have in our operation is around what we're calling the frictionless order. And we believe that's going to greatly improve our driver retention. So we think we can drive a good bit of cost in that area over probably the next, say, four quarters. We also still believe that we're going to get improvement in the insurance line item.

Insurance is the area where we continue to see higher than what we had expected or what we'd hoped for. But with the forward-looking event recorders, we're putting a new program around driver training. We're trying to move more toward -- all of our drivers going to hair follicle testing. We believe that we will start to see some significant results in that area as well.

So those really are our two biggest cost items that we think we can see some improvement over the next couple of quarters.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

OK. Got it. And just on the pricing side, I think your mid-single-digit pricing expectations sounds pretty good and may be ahead of some of your peers. What gives you confidence that you should be able to kind of sustain that rate going into the back half of the year when maybe you could see some more pricing pressure if current trends continue?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Yes, I think we can -- we will continue to see a little bit of pressure from where we're at today. But we're still having constructive conversations with customers in a positive manner in relation to rate increases for this year. So we feel confident that where the market is -- where we believe the market is going, and we will continue to be able to get decent rate increases on a go-forward basis that will still put us in that mid-single-digit range.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. And if I can just squeeze one more in. Can I just ask you what U.S. X ventures, sounds pretty interesting? Can you just give us maybe two or three top priorities for that venture? And kind of does that involve M&A? Is this homegrown? Kind of, what do expect to see there and maybe some timing on some of the new initiatives?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. I think it's really an exploration about what technology can do for us going forward. If you look at all the money that's getting thrown in to venture capital, all the investments out there, we believe that technology is going to be a big driver of asset-based trucking companies going forward. I think it's going to be an improvement to the overall operations and profitability.

We also think that there's going to be some -- maybe not on the asset side, exactly, but there's going to be some new entrants and some new things that we're going to have to face that maybe we have faced in the past. And we think applying technology to those problems is going to be key to having a lot of them. And so we're going to be exploring exactly what that means. I think today, I would tell you that we are in an infancy stage, but we will be looking at opportunities whether it be an M&A-type opportunities or whether it be looking at some homegrown opportunities to further make better business model-type changes in our existing business or potentially new businesses as we explore what technology can do for us.

And we just think there's a lot of exciting things going on in the market, and we think that we can capitalize if we put a focus on it.

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Great. Thank you.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Brad Delco from Stephens. Please go ahead.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon, guys. Eric, I think you kind of touched on this in your comments, but can you sort of help us reconcile the revenue per loaded mile being up 60 basis points versus kind of your comments about mid-single digits? I mean is it just because you have 20% exposure of a spot? I mean why wouldn't we be reducing that and trying to get more trucks into a committed or contractual basis or maybe even in more dedicated?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So it is in -- it is because of the spot concentration. So absolutely, we are looking at probably more dedicated. The market is probably a little tougher from bringing on new opportunities.

The one thing that we have -- that's been a little bit of a headwind for us is that move out of Mexico where we've had additional capacity that we've had to try to fill. So we've had to go to customers and find new opportunities. And so I think that for us to move some trucks out of these spot environment, we're going to have to probably go to dedicated. But we're doing that, and we are seeing some a little bit of growth in our dedicated area.

And so I think that over time, we'll continue to migrate more into that dedicated arena. I think -- personally, I think that where we're at from our spot exposure though is still decent level of spot exposure. And when you look at a long term -- on a long-term basis, so while it is kind of affecting us today, I think long term, we're in the right position.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then when we think about sort of weather impacting results, would that have -- would you have visibility to know if that impacted your OTR business or dedicated business more? And any comments would be helpful there.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So dedicated, we had a big concentration in the Northeast. And so obviously, any time you've got any kind of weather issues -- winter weather issues, you end up being pretty impacted in those areas. So I would say it's probably a fair mix. But with our concentration of dedicated in the Northeast, we definitely saw a fairly large impact from that business.

The over-the-road piece was typically because the trucks aren't as concentrated, you do end up having trucks probably down for a little bit longer. So when you're ending up having a maintenance-related issue as it relates to weather, that's probably a little bit more impactful in the over the road division. But I would say that both areas were impacted by the weather.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. And then maybe last one. I appreciate the comments about second quarter and not seeing OR improvement on a year-over-year basis. What is -- maybe this is for Eric Peterson, what's really happening on the cost side that gives you that much visibility.

I mean I feel like it's pretty early into 2Q, and June's probably the most important month, but is there anything specific that's occurred in April, whether a bad accident or something that maybe gives you less confidence in being able to improve margins in this environment?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Brad, I think the biggest thing right now is our visibility, where we stand today on May 2 as it relates to the quarter from an overall volume standpoint. The freight is a little bit weaker than we would like. And as we get into spring shipping, we would have liked to seen a little bit of a more robust environment than we're seeing today. So that leads us to believe where we stand today that may be the quarter could be a little weaker than we expected.

Now obviously, your quarter's made in May and June. And so things could change, but we felt like it was prudent to go ahead and get that out there. We're not seeing any kind of cost issues as it relates to this quarter that have us concerned at this point.

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

OK. All right, guys. I'll get back in queue. Thanks for the time.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question is from Scott Group of Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Hey, thanks. Afternoon, guys.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Afternoon.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

So I just want to follow up on the second-quarter comments. Can you say -- are you including or excluding the Mexico cost? And then what's the base of OR you're using for second-quarter '18?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. If you look at our adjusted second-quarter OR for '18, we're comparing that to a 93.4%. The headwinds on the -- we had a $3.4 million adjustment in the first quarter related to Mexico. That adjustment in the second quarter is going to be significantly lower than that $3.4 million.

So it won't really impact the adjusted OR by a meaningful amount.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Helpful. And then as we think about the utilization on the OTR, it was down 7%. Maybe, Eric, what are some of the initiatives to get that better? Are you seeing that start to get better? When can that turn positive? And then on the pricing side, if we look at the rev per loaded mile, up less than a percent.

Even with the pricing -- contract pricing, are we confident that that stays positive in the second quarter?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So on the utilization piece, it really impacted in two areas: weather was a big impact and then just overall freight volumes was an impact. I would say we're not going to have those weather issues in the second quarter. I still think that freight volumes are lighter than we would like, and so that could have a little bit of a drag in our utilization in our over the road division as we go into this quarter, especially in comparison to the previous year. On the contract business, we still think that the contract rates will trend in a positive manner.

And even with that little bit of underlying weakness in the market, we are still getting positive rate increases currently from our customers. So I still feel confident that we will be positive, up, and like we said that mid-single-digit range in contracts for the year.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

I guess I was asking about the total revenue per mile.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, OK. Oh, we're going to be higher than that. I think that with our exposure to spot, I think that's going to be difficult.

To be higher than --

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Understood. And then maybe just lastly for Eric Peterson. Given sort of the backdrop here, any thoughts to maybe slowing in the capex a little bit, maybe doing less of the lease conversions just to generate some cash and pay down some debt?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. I think it's too early to make that call. I think if we look at why we're here is to stick to our strategy, which we believe is in the best interest of our shareholders over the long run to bring that equipment in. When we do the math, it shows that if we delay that equipment cycle, the operating costs increase significantly.

And it might get a temporary benefit on my net debt for a quarter or free cash flow calculation, but I believe that's absolutely the wrong decision over the longer for the enterprise. And so we're going to stick to our strategy at 475,000 miles. Obviously, if there's an extreme situation or circumstance, then we won't be so bullish on that strategy if we need to make a change. But I don't see us as anywhere near the type of situation right now with our current credit profile and liquidity that would prevent us from executing our strategy.

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

OK. Makes sense. Thank you, guys. Appreciate the time.

Operator

Our next question is from Ken Hoexter from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, good afternoon. Eric, can you just quickly clarify, what is your spot exposure now and what was it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So it's really -- it's right in that 10% of our total revenue or, say differently, 20% of our over the road division, and that really hasn't changed. It's just that obviously the spot rates have changed dramatically, but our overall exposure hasn't changed much.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

And how significantly have you seen the spot rates change whether it's year-to-date, year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I think we're down roughly 20%.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. year over year?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

At this point?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

OK. So just to come back to, I guess, the first question. I guess I'm little -- still troubled by the lack of improvement on the initiatives. During the IPO process, you talked about all the different programs you were putting in place that were specifically focused irrespective of the market that we're going to see the operating ratio improved.

And even -- last year was the best freight environment in generation, so we should have been setting all-time record. And now we're back to kind of -- it seems like October '17. If you're down 20% on spot rates, that's kind of right around the time of the hurricanes but maybe a little bit before ELDs but not a collapsed market. And if you're talking about rates being up mid-single digits, I'm confused as to why we're not seeing some of the benefits from the initiatives that you made.

Has something gone awry in terms of driver pay or has turnover actually gone against you and increased? Maybe talk a little bit about what's going against some of the initiatives that you have been rolling out?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

OK. I think -- This is Eric Peterson. I believe when I'm looking at the financial results from these initiatives, I think it's fair to say that there are some we haven't made progress on that we'd like. But I think if I step back and look what just happened in the first quarter, it was the best first quarter from an earnings perspective in the enterprise's history.

And I believe in what -- 100% of the people would agree, it was not the strongest market from a first-quarter perspective. To answer your question on where we're behind is these event recorders with the insurance and you look at our insurance expense for the quarter, I believe it was adversely impacted by weather. But I also believe we're not making the progress at the speed of financial return that he probably thought we would. With that said, Eric addressed earlier, with our new training facility that launched in the first quarter of this year and also with the hair follicle testing, we are laser-focused on this forward-facing event recorder that we are going to get the savings.

And just because we don't have it now doesn't mean we're not going to get it. It's a path that we're not recreating anything. Other organizations are doing this successfully. And it's -- just because it's not implemented doesn't mean that it will not be.

And so that's where we are on that initiative. But I guess just to step back, are we where we want to be on an absolute basis on earnings? No. Was it the best quarter in the enterprise's history and are we still progress and do we have initial initiatives that we're launching that we think will accelerate over earnings improvement? Yes.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Thanks for that Eric. And then just on your ability to get to 93% full year, you said you need to see some see strengthening. Is that -- you need to see a strengthening on where? Is it on the volume side as Eric talked about? Maybe not as strong of a second quarter or is it pricing to accelerate? Maybe just walk through on that target.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I mean I think that a little bit of market pick up as it relates to both volume and rate. If we can just get some -- a little bit of life in the spot market, I think that would go a long way and then get a little bit more volume. As I mentioned, part of our utilization impact has been a lack of volume opportunities in the market.

So we believe with just a little bit of pick up on the demand side, then we can start to see some movement there that I think can get us in that direction. As Eric just mentioned, I still -- we're going to have to see a little bit of life in the initiatives around insurance. That has been an area that admittedly has been disappointing and one that we did talk about on the IPO that we expected to see a little bit of movement there previous to now. So that is an area that we continue to believe that we have put a lot of focus on and investment on.

And we're going to -- we believe we will see some improvement in that area, but that is an area where -- at this point, if there's anything, I would say, disappointing as that we haven't seen that move as of yet.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Just one last one, if I can. We head some other companies talk about Amazon and Walmart bringing business in-house. Have you seen any enterprises pull any dedicated business away from the market? Is that any exposure of yours that we should look to?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. I'm not seeing anything on the dedicated side at all.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Or over the road?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

No. we have seen some stuff on -- that we're really were running mostly in our brokerage division. But we've had two customers -- two larger customers that did pull some business out of the brokerage side and take that in-house. So that's probably been about the only thing that we've seen from somebody moving business back in-house.

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Appreciate the time and thoughts. Thanks, guys.

Operator

Our next question is from Brian Ossenbeck from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Hey, guys. Good afternoon. I just want to come back to the hair follicle testing for a second. Is this something where you're going to see a bit of cost before you get some benefit, potentially on the insurance side? I'm thinking when you make switch you have a higher standard and little bit more cost and probably a little bit more turnover.

So maybe if you can just walk us through that, and if that's the right way to look at it? And if so, where you are in that process? This is going to get a little bit worse before you start to get some improvements and some benefits from it?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. If you look at how we're managing that process is we're doing it a little bit more in a phased approach. You've seen some people who've had probably the most impactful results from an overall truck-count standpoint that went 100% all-in. We have been a little bit more phased in our rollout.

And it's for that reason that we know -- we're trying to overall manage the impact on the negative side. I do believe though that we are seeing some real positive results as it relates to, not only less accidents and insurance-related issues from drivers who have been hair follicle tested, but we're actually seeing less turnover as well. So I feel confident that as we continue to roll this out to the entire fleet, then we can manage any kind of downside issues as it relates to truck count, and we can get through this with a positive impact throughout the entire process.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And then so the timing, is it supposed to be done by the end of the year, I mean, what specifically [Inaudible] would look like?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Yes, I would say that at this point our plan would be to have the entire fleet under hair follicle testing by the end of the year.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And Eric, one more for you. You talked about this frictionless order concept. And it sounds like there might be something we talk more about in the next couple of quarters.

It sounds like from what you said about the timeline. So maybe you can give a high-level view in terms of what that means in the longer term. And I guess in the intermediate step, what you're looking to accomplish? Is this in brokerage or do you tend to see a lot more of the tech-enabled stuff? Or it does sound like it's going to be more impactful for the drivers, so maybe you're approaching a little bit differently than what we've seen so far in the market.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I would say we're approaching it a little differently and really focused around on the asset side of our business. So if you look at a typical order, there could be as many as 15 gates. And those 15 gates are points in the order in which either they are some sort of data entry point or some sort of decision has to be made.

Some of those decisions are being made by office employees and that entries being entered by office employees. Some of those gates are actually managed by the drivers. So it creates a level -- it's a couple of issues. One, when you're -- every time you have to enter data, there's a chance that you're going to have errors.

So being able to completely take that data entry piece off the table can reduce the amount of errors I have on my system. But then also, by optimize -- and then I can optimize those gates and make better decisions and make sure that I'm making an optimal decision every time. And then also, by optimizing and potentially even automating the gates on the driver side, I can reduce the amount of friction and frustration that the drivers have. So the drivers aren't constantly having to send information back into us on things going on with them or in their order that we can automate a lot of that.

And so for us, we believe it's probably more impactful on the driver turnover side. So as the drivers job become easier and they don't have that friction in their day-to-day, we can drive the driver -- the driver turnover down. And we think it's going to be extremely impactful as we go through the year. Admittedly, we started this process, what, about three or four months ago.

I can tell you today we're at 0% frictionless. But we believe over this next year, we'll start to drive some of those gates out to where we can automate them, and we're going to make things a lot easier for the drivers and also a lot easier for office employees as well.

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

OK. And I just want a quick follow-up. Is this an internal process where you're dealing with the U.S. X folks or you have consultants? Is this more off the shelf? What's -- how's this all structured and being handled?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It's mostly internal. We have worked a little bit with some consultants here and there, but for the most part we're doing this internal. And so that's where we think we're going to get the biggest benefit, and we think it will be a differentiator.

Operator

Our next question is from David Ross of Stifel. Please go ahead.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

Yes. So just a follow up there on the technology costs. Is there any lumpiness to the investments that you are making in the technology around the frictionless order or other? And is it going to flow through mainly in capex or opex?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Thanks for the question. This is Eric Peterson. I look at this more of a continuation of what we've been working on.

If you track back to our S-1, this is launched last June, two of our four strategies were technology. And we were using words like AI and graph databases, and we were doing that back then. And then kind of as we've evolved, and we've had these initiatives around the fleet management, the customer service, the load planning, part of those initiatives had a technology component. And as these initiatives evolve, you start putting the investment where you're getting the largest return.

And what we found right now is that on the technology component to those initiatives, they're all ultimately driven around to see the tractor utilization rate and cost is where -- how we focus our initiatives. We see that as we're putting extra investment to the technology piece that we're getting a larger return. And so as we mentioned, the core part of that was a consultant component and then part of that now is bringing some of that talent and ideas in-house to augment the team with perspectives we haven't had before. So right now, we're not talking about a significant capex investment that we're making.

But to the extent that we're walking in trying to enhance the enterprise value and we have a discovery on this initiative where an investment might make a lot of sense relative to the return, then we would do that. But right now, I don't have a plan in place that says, this is how much -- I'm going to have this big lumpy spend in the next month, and then it's going go away. We're just focused on the technology and investing in it as we go along.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. So no lumpiness in the opex or anything, it just flows through and then..

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Correct.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

What's the current average fleet age for the tractors and trailers?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're in that mid-27-month range right now. And I think the important with this capex here to point out as we plan on exiting the year at 18 months on the tractors. And so when you're -- and that's why that investment looks heavy in 2019, but I think what really sets us up for the 2020 is having a really young fleet, lower operating cost and a chance to really enhance our earnings as we migrate down to 18 months over that remaining seven months of the year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

And what about the trailer side?

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

I don't have that exact number in front of me.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And you talked about the event recorders, what percent of the fleet now has those event recorders? And when is it going to be 100%?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I mean we're pretty much at 100%. There are some straggler out there. But for the most part, we're at 100% and have been, since mid-summer of last year.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. And last question is just a clarification. When you talked about a couple customers moving freight from your brokerage division in-house, were they moving it in-house to their own private fleet, in-house to their own in house brokerage or in-house to manage under contract with another carrier?

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Not moving into another carrier, in most cases, moving it in-house to manage through potentially their own brokerage.

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

OK. Excellent. Thank you very much.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

OK. We appreciate everybody's time, and we'll see you in a couple of months. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 54 minutes

Call participants:

Brian Baubach -- Senior Vice President Corporate Finance

Eric Fuller -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer

Ravi Shanker -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Brad Delco -- Stephens Inc. -- Analyst

Scott Group -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst

Ken Hoexter -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Brian Ossenbeck -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

David Ross -- Stifel Financial Corp -- Analyst

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ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen. "There is a deal that could be done in the next few days in quite short order, and I really hope we can get to that point." (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary, writing by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Elisabeth O'Leary and David Milliken

ABERDEEN, Scotland/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May could reach a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party within days, a leading Conservative Party figure said on Saturday, after senior ministers urged compromise following poor local election results.

Ruth Davidson, the Conservatives' leader in Scotland, told party members that a cross-partisan agreement on Brexit was needed before this month's European elections, or Britain's major parties would face an even bigger backlash from voters.

The Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election, and Labour - which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote - instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If we thought yesterday's results were a wake-up call, just wait for the European elections on the 23rd of May," Davidson told a party conference in Aberdeen.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she said there had been progress in the weeks of talks between the Conservatives and Labour to find a Brexit deal which passes parliamentary muster.

"There is a deal that could be done in the next few days ... and I really hope we can get to that point," she said, describing the results as "a kick up the backside".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday there was now a huge impetus on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

But even if the Conservative and Labour Party leaderships reach a Brexit compromise, there is no guarantee that it will pass through parliament, which has roundly rejected May's proposals three times already.

In an indication of the hostility May faces from the most pro-Brexit wing of her party, former leader Iain Duncan Smith renewed his call for her to step down soon, calling her a "caretaker prime minister" after the local election losses.

Story continues

Complicating the picture, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two major UK parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

"MOOD FOR COMPROMISE"

Health minister Matt Hancock urged pragmatism in a BBC radio interview earlier on Saturday.

"I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt also saw a "glimmer of hope" that there might be a deal with Labour soon.

But an EU customs union that prevented Britain from striking its own trade deals was not a viable long-term option for the world's fifth-largest economy, he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Buzzfeed News reported sources saying that May was optimistic about a deal, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," the sources familiar with the talks said.

One source told Buzzfeed "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

However, the sources did not think a deal was necessarily imminent, as Labour might wish to delay any agreement until after the European elections to maximise the damage to May.

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement favoured by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in ABERDEEN and Kalia Shubham in BENGALURU; Editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Jan Harvey)
(Reuters) - British drugmaker Vectura Group Plc said on Saturday that it won a patent infringement litigation case against GlaxoSmithKline Plc in the United States and has been awarded $89.7 million in damages for the period from August 2016 through December 2018. A jury trial in a Delaware district court on Friday found that one of Vectura's U.S. patents was infringed by sales of three of GSK's Ellipta products in the United States, Vectura said. The jury found that GSK, which is also a UK-based pharmaceutical company, willfully infringed the patent, which Vectura said gives it the right to seek enhanced damages. Vectura expects to seek application of the 3 percent royalty to sales of the infringing products through the end of the patent term in mid-2021, it said. Vectura started legal proceedings against GSK in July 2016 after a patent license agreement between the two companies expired and GSK declined to license additional patent families under the original agreement. GSK did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

His speech at a military base in the northwest, where he appeared alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

Earlier this week, Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection but it quickly fizzled out as a group of 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

Maduro had responded to that by insisting the military high command had reasserted its loyalty to him.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty ... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said in his speech broadcast on public radio and television.

The socialist leader accused Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- of trying to launch a "coup d'etat."

Despite Guaido's best efforts, the military has remained loyal to Maduro.

His appeal came during a week in which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned Caracas that "military action is possible."

Despite repeatedly alluding to such an intervention, Washington has so far limited its actions to ramping up sanctions against key figures in the Maduro regime, as well as state oil company PDVSA.
LIMA (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting "terrorist groups" in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on the groups in Colombia that it alleged Maduro was protecting. But it said in its joint statement that it rejected any attempt to assassinate Colombian President Ivan Duque or undermine regional security. Duque said on Twitter on April 27 that explosives set off at a military base had been orchestrated from Venezuela, where he alleged Maduro was protecting Colombian ELN rebels. Maduro's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro often accuses the right-wing Duque, the Lima Group and the United States of plotting to overthrow his socialist government. The Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, reiterated on Friday that it opposes military intervention to remove Maduro from power, and encouraged Venezuelans to continue efforts to keep fighting for democracy. "This process must be done peacefully and respecting the constitutional order in Venezuela," Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told journalists after meeting with his counterparts in a Lima Group meeting in Peru. The Lima Group backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's push to oust Maduro on Tuesday, which failed to trigger the military defections needed to wrest control of key institutions. The Lima Group said it wants Maduro's ally Cuba to join efforts end the political crisis in Venezuela, and called for an urgent meeting with the EU-backed International Contact Group, which has placed more emphasis on dialogue to find a solution. (Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
FOCA, Bosnia, May 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of Muslims flocked to the town of Foca on Saturday for the reopening of a historic mosque leveled at the beginning of the Bosnian war, in a ceremony aimed at encouraging religious tolerance between deeply divided communities.

The 16th century Aladza Mosque was one of the most prominent masterpieces of classical Ottoman architecture in the Balkans before its destruction in the 1992-95 war by Bosnian Serb forces trying to carve out an ethnically "pure" state.

The eastern town of Foca became notorious for the mass persecution and killings of non-Serbs that took place there during the conflict.

Before the war, the Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, made up 51 percent of its 41,000 residents with the remainder mostly Serbs. Today, among some 18,000 residents, just over 1,000 Bosniaks remain.

"Everything that was connected to Islam, its civilisation or culture was destroyed," said 65-year-old Muslim worshipper Sulejman Dzamalija.

Sacred items dumped on rubbish tips have been restored and built into the mosque "to mark the start of a new era in this part of the country," he said.

Nestled in the valley by the Drina river, Aladza, also known as the Colourful Mosque, was one of 17 Ottoman mosques in Foca. Five of them were destroyed during World War Two, while the 12 remaining were demolished during the 1990 war.

During the war, Bosnian Serbs authorities renamed the town Srbinje, but Bosnia's top court ordered the reinstatement of the original name of Foca in 2004.

Muhamed Jusic, the Foca assembly speaker, said the reconstructed mosque offered hope for the return of pre-war residents and "a new beginning in Foca."

Twenty four years on from the devastating war between its Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, Bosnia remains split along ethnic lines, with rival groups blocking reconciliation and reform needed to join the European Union.

"Today we are witnessing a hope that people will again find peace at this place," the head of Bosnia's Islamic Community Husein Kavazovic said at the ceremony.

Story continues

Work on rebuilding the mosque started in 2012 and was financed by the governments of Turkey and the United States.

"Aladza should serve as a monument to resilience, reconciliation and diversity," said U.S. Ambassador Eric Nelson.

Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said reopening of the mosque demonstrates that "racism and hatred can make material damage but cannot destroy culture of co-exsistence nourished for centuries."

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela Editing by Ros Russell)
By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Neb., May 4 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday rejected a frequent criticism that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc does not disclose enough about its more than 90, often large operating businesses or its common stock investments.

Buffett defended Berkshire's disclosures in responding to three questions at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Meyer Shields, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is among the critics of Berkshire's disclosures, saying in an April 28 report they leave investors "disproportionately reliant" on Buffett's public persona and past investment successes rather than actual knowledge about the company.

Berkshire owns or co-owns several companies, such as the BNSF railroad, large enough to be in the Fortune 500 on their own, yet which merit no more than a couple of pages in its quarterly and annual reports. Profit and revenue for many smaller units are not disclosed at all.

Buffett said "I don't think we actually provide less information" in periodic reports, but may present it in a different form.

He insisted that overwhelming investors with technical information was the wrong idea, saying you can "lose people" in a 300-page report that says less than a 50-page report.

Buffett also said Berkshire did not need to know the reasoning beyond its investments in stocks generally and foreign stocks, saying it might require the disclosure of proprietary strategies or would not be legally required.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski)
Just four short years ago, things weren't looking so hot for the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). The company had announced a 75% dividend cut to help with its high debt load, and the share price dropped like a stone.

However, since then, Kinder Morgan has been pulling itself together. Can it keep it up? Here's where the company is likely to find itself five years from now.

Pipes head toward a refinery in the distance

Kinder Morgan, the largest gas pipeline company in the U.S., has been punished by the stock market. Image source: Getty Images.

Slow but steady improvement

Kinder Morgan's fortunes cratered during the energy price slump of 2014-2017. By 2016, the company's revenue on a trailing 12-month basis fell almost 20% to just over $13 billion. Net income dropped off a proverbial cliff, falling 85.6% between Q3 2014 and Q3 2016. Long-term debt levels soared 28.5% from about $35 billion to more than $45 billion. And with the company's painful dividend cut, investors fled the stock, shares of which collapsed 65%, from more than $40 per share to $13 per share.

Since then, however, the company's fundamentals have improved slowly but steadily. Revenue is up 8.4% from its 2016 low. Free cash flow is up 259% from its 2015 low. And management has used some of that cash to pay down long-term debt by 22% and double the dividend payout.

But more important than the improving fundamentals are the improving industry conditions driving them.

More gas than producers know what to do with

Since the oil price slump began in 2014, domestic oil and gas production has exploded, thanks to the comparatively inexpensive shale drilling available in the Permian Basin and other U.S. hydrocarbon hot spots. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. natural gas production has increased by 8.3% since 2014, and estimates it will jump an additional 10.9% by 2020.

All that gas has to go somewhere, and Kinder Morgan has been expanding its pipeline network to accommodate it. The company currently has about $6.1 billion of expansion projects under construction, and expects to greenlight an additional $2 billion to $3 billion annually moving forward. These projects include two major gas pipelines from the Permian Basin: the Gulf Coast Express, which is slated to begin operation this October, and the Permian Highway Pipeline, which will enter service in October 2020. Management admitted on the most recent earnings call that it's even considering a third pipeline as well.

Story continues

Some of these new projects push the envelope a bit. Kinder's traditional focus has been on natural gas pipelines, but the company is pursuing a joint venture with Tallgrass Energy (NYSE: TGE) to develop an oil pipeline through the Rockies. The JV would primarily consist of Tallgrass' existing Pony Express oil pipeline system and Kinder's Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline, which would be converted to handle oil.

Looking long term

Kinder Morgan plans to keep growing its gas pipeline network and to expand into the oil pipeline business through its JV with Tallgrass. But it's worth pointing out that pipelines aren't built in a day. We're looking at where the business will be five years from now, but some of the projects currently in Kinder Morgan's $6.1 billion program may not even be finished by then.

That's not stopping the company from looking ahead to 2024. Indeed, on the most recent earnings call, president Kim Dang had this to say about where the company might be in five years: "Overall, the higher utilization on our systems ... will drive nice expansion opportunity. If you look at the longer term, by 2024 the natural gas market is projected to grow to almost 110 [billion cubic feet] a day, driven by increases in power generation, LNG and Mexico exports, and continued industrial development, with most of that supply growth expected to come out of the Permian, the Haynesville [Shale of Texas/Louisiana], and the Marcellus [Shale of Pennsylvania/West Virginia/Ohio]."

Is anyone surprised that Kinder Morgan has significant pipeline assets in all three of these named formations that are expected to drive supply growth?

Keep an eye on Kinder Morgan

The U.S. energy boom seems to be here to stay, and Kinder Morgan is poised to ride the wave of higher domestic production. With a steady stream of new projects in the pipeline (no pun intended), the company looks set for sustained growth over the next five years.

Investors should expect that growth to power additional dividend increases and debt reduction, which makes the company even more attractive as a long-term investment.

More From The Motley Fool

John Bromels owns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I cant think of a better illustration of our partisan divide than the reactions to Attorney General William Barrs testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Democrats are furious at Barrs defense of his rollout of the Mueller report and his assertions of executive power. Some Democrats want Barr to resign, others want him to be impeached, and Nancy Pelosi says hes guilty of lying to Congress. Republicans have found a hero.

Barr is the new Dick Cheney: a stocky, bespectacled, confrontational, blunt, intelligent, unapologetically conservative, experienced, high-powered official who believes in and fights for the office of the president. Just as Democrats loathed Cheney as a bugaboo manipulating President George W. Bush to further the interests of Halliburton, they attack Barr as a dishonest factotum of President Trumps. The qualities that drove Democrats batty over Cheney  his inscrutability, his cleverness, his asperity, and above all his success  make them incensed about Barr. These happen to be qualities Republicans find appealing.

Whats behind conservative support for Cheney and Barr is their lack of embarrassment. Most Washingtonians, no matter their party, find it important to be held in esteem by the citys tastemakers, who are overwhelmingly liberal. Not these two. The classic Cheney moment was his 2004 exchange with Pat Leahy on the Senate floor. Cheney complained that Leahy had called him a war profiteer. Leahy responded that Cheney had said he was a bad Catholic. So Cheney ended the conversation by telling Leahy to perform a physically impossible four-letter act. Youd be surprised at how many people liked that, Cheney recollected in a 2010 interview. Its sort of the best thing I ever did. Hes selling himself short.

Republican fans of Barr circulated clips of his Senate appearance Wednesday even as media coverage of his testimony was uniformly negative. No Democrats are held in less esteem by conservatives than are the ones on the Judiciary Committee. They will never live down their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh. Trump supporters nodded in agreement when Barr said the controversy over his March 24 description of the Mueller report is mind-bendingly bizarre. They chuckled when he said Muellers March 27 letter to him was a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff members. They guffawed when Barr described the verb spying as a good English word. They cheered when Richard Blumenthal asked for notes Barr had taken of his phone conversation with Mueller and Barr told him no. Why should you have them?

Story continues

Where his predecessor was genial and deferential to Congress and the press, Barr is disdainful and combative. At his April 18 press conference before the publication of the Mueller report, a CBS reporter asked Barr if his use of the word unprecedented to describe the circumstances of the Russia investigation was quite generous to the president and his feelings and emotions. Barr replied, Is there another precedent for it? No, the reporter acknowledged sheepishly. Another reporter wondered, Is it an impropriety for you to come out and sort of spin the report before people are able to read it? Barr said, No, and left the room. Lib owned.

In 2001, Cheney fought with Henry Waxman over records related to the formers energy task force. Almost two decades later, Barr and Jerry Nadler face each other in a standoff over whether a sitting attorney general ought to be questioned by staff counsel. Not even CNN could locate an instance where a Cabinet official was interviewed by staff members during a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. But that hasnt stopped Nadler from claiming theres ample precedent for his request. Committee Democrat Steve Cohen accuses Barr of being afraid of staff attorneys, but anyone whos watched Barr before Congress knows he doesnt spook easily. The fight with Nadler is over optics. Nadler wants his hearing to evoke memories of Watergate and Iran-Contra. Barr has no problem denying him the opportunity.

The Democrats have a dilemma. Their base would like to impeach Trump, but the public at large is against it, and Democratic voters themselves dont put impeachment high on the priority list. The people most interested in impeachment, it seems, are cable-news anchors and the same four Democrats  SwalwellSchiffLieuBlumenthal  who appear on their shows day after day. Pelosi has adopted a too-clever-by-half strategy of letting the committee chairmen hound the Trump administration while leadership resists full-bore impeachment. The danger of overreach is real.

Barr is an obstacle not just because of his support for a strong presidency. He also shows every sign of wanting to get to the bottom of malfeasance at the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 campaign. His critics decry his use of the word spying to describe surreptitious intelligence gathering on Trump advisers, but the day after his Senate testimony the New York Times revealed that George Papadopoulos had been contacted by a second FBI employee as part of the Bureaus counterintelligence probe. It was another vindication of Barr, who had told Congress last month the question wasnt if spying had occurred, but if it had been adequately predicated.

I think we did the right thing, Dick Cheney tells James Rosen in Cheney One on One. And I dont have any problem defending it. Bill Barr gives every indication of feeling the same way. Thats why hes become a Democratic target. And a GOP star.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Free Beacon.

More from National Review
(Bloomberg) -- Bombardier Inc. backed away from its 2020 forecast a week after cutting its 2019 outlook, and said it would sell a Northern Ireland wing factory as the company extends a revamp to focus primarily on making luxury jets and trains.

The manufacturer is unable to reaffirm its financial targets for next year, and Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert said he couldnt provide any additional precision. Bombardier also announced Thursday the formation of a new aerospace division that will oversee private aircraft and CRJ regional jets.

The cloudy outlook underscores the challenges still facing Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare, who began a five-year turnaround of the debt-laden company in 2015. While the planned divestiture in Belfast would further his overhaul of Bombardier, the potential sale would take a bite out of revenue -- and face uncertainty from Britains planned split from the European Union.

We think it is going to take longer than we had previously thought to get the company to the targeted levels of cash flow and profitability, Rob Stallard, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in a note to clients as he cut the stock to hold from buy. The decision to sell half of the aerostructures division, with no buyer lined up, also removes a considerable chunk of the projected future profits and cash flow.

Bombardier fell 4.7 percent to C$2.23 at 2:25 p.m. in Toronto, paring declines of as much as 11 percent. That came on the heels of a 15 percent one-day decline a week ago, when the company cut its 2019 sales and profit forecast. The bonds also weakened, as $2 billion of notes due in 2027 traded to yield 7.91 percent, from 7.73 percent Wednesday.

Potential Buyers

Bombardier last year handed control of its C Series jetliner to Airbus SE, which Airbus renamed the A220. The Belfast factory makes wings for the single-aisle plane.

It still isnt clear whether barriers will be erected between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain after a divorce. The exit has been postponed until Oct. 31, and a chaotic no-deal scenario that would snarl trade -- the worst-case for businesses -- hasnt entirely been ruled out.

Story continues

The government will work with potential buyers to take this successful and ambitious business forward, U.K. Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement about the Belfast plant.

The biggest players in aircraft parts include U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. and Triumph Group Inc., plus Britains GKN, acquired last year by Melrose Industries Plc in a $10 billion hostile takeover.

Speaking to journalists after the annual meeting of shareholders in Montreal, Bellemare said the decision to sell the Belfast plant had nothing to do with Brexit, adding the company also employs 4,000 people on the train side in the U.K. and loves its presence there. The wing factory in Belfast has about 3,600 employees.

This asset could benefit from having a company that would focus on aerostructure to grow because the potential in Belfast is very significant, he said. Its a high-value business and were confident there will be lots of interested buyers.

Bombardier wants to get the full value of the asset, he said, adding that its not a fire-sale situation.

Prized Asset

Selling Belfast would further distance Bombardier from the A220, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Seth Seifman said in a note to clients. This makes it a prized asset and with Airbus still ramping production of a young program, we imagine it will have an opinion about who owns this integral piece of it.

Spirit said Wednesday that it was looking for acquisitions to diversify away from its dependence on Boeing Co. and the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes in five months.

If Airbus does not want the asset itself, another possibility is Spirit AeroSystems, Seifman said.

Spirit declined to comment on the Belfast plant.

For all of the Belfast plants technological prowess, buyers will also need to assess its profitability, said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

We dont see wing businesses as being very lucrative, Ferguson said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg TV.

Beyond Bombardier

Belfast plant chief Michael Ryan told Bloomberg in November that he planned to look beyond Bombardier for growth as the company shrank its aerospace business, adding that all options would be considered, with nothing out of the question.

There are no new workforce announcements as a result of this decision, the Northern Ireland operation said.

Bombardier said it would also look to sell an aerostructures plant in Morocco.

A new division called Bombardier Aviation will oversee the Global, Challenger and Learjet private aircraft, the manufacturer said in a statement. Bombardier said the unit will also maximize the value of its proven CRJ regional jets, a business for which the company has been exploring strategic options.

The aviation business will be one of two strong pillars for the future, Bombardier said in the statement.

This change reflects our strategic and discipline approach to simplify and better focus the company on the growth opportunities, Bellemare said on the conference call.

Geographic Footprint

Bombardier Aviation will retain a geographic footprint stretching from Montreal to Texas and Mexico. The division will be led by David Coleal, the head of Bombardiers business-jet operations. Bombardier expects to close a sale of its turboprop operations this year.

The Montreal-based company burned through $1.04 billion on a free cash flow basis in the first quarter, more than the expected outflow of $947.2 million. Sales fell 13 percent to $3.52 billion. That fell short of the $3.67 billion expected by analysts. The company swung to an adjusted net loss of seven cents a share.

Bombardier last week cited challenges in its rail-equipment business as it pared its 2019 outlook for sales and profit.

Before effectively pulling its 2020 forecast, the company had targeted financial objectives including revenue of at least $20 billion and free cash flow of $750 million to $1 billion.

Bellemare said its good to have a prudent approach on 2020 because of recent difficulties in the rail unit.

Theres been some disappointment on our performance in the train sector, we acknowledge it and it is being addressed, he said.

(Updates with CEO comments.)

--With assistance from Emma Ross-Thomas, Christopher Jasper, Esteban Duarte and Julie Johnsson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brendan Case in Dallas at bcase4@bloomberg.net;Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
News about a good book often travels fast. Readers love to share what they are reading and talk about the last great character or plot-twist they encountered. At the library, all of that shared information turns into some books being checked out more often than others. As we look back at 202
Harry has cancelled his trip to the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images

Two days after announcing a trip to the Netherlands, The Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip, and the world is holding its breath

The Duke had been scheduled to visit Amsterdam and The Hague next week, but will stay in England in the coming days.

Logistical challenges have been cited as causing the sudden change of plans, but as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex suspicion is mounting.

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours ago, Buckingham Palace have now cancelled the first day of the trip.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussexs scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019 .

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The Duchess is suspected to be long overdue. Photo: Getty Images

Harry was originally scheduled to visit the Netherlands on the 8th and 9th of May.

The announcement left observers wondering if something more was afoot, as the decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife a little longer.

What is unclear is whether he will spend the time waiting for, or enjoying the company of their newborn baby.

Is possible the change of plans is a nod to his father, the Prince of Wales, who will be undertaking an important diplomatic visit to Germany next week at the request of the Foreign office.

The trip will see the Prince meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and to secure the friendship between the two countries amid ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Some are concerned the importance of Charles visit would play second fiddle to the development in the Sussex family life.

The delay could be a nod to his father Prince Charles. Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry will now instead travel only to The Hague on the 9th to launch the Invictus Games.

The Duchess is now thought to be overdue, and international media and fans are waiting with bated breath.

Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

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A YouTuber inadvertently filmed what might be the body of a murder victim stuffed in a suitcase for a travel video.

The suitcase may be connected to a serial murder case rocking Cyprus politics, nearly two years after the video was filmed. The suspected killer confessed to murdering seven people just days ago, and told law enforcement officials he dumped some of his victims' bodies in suitcases into a lake that's become a destination for travel influencers.

New York-based vlogger Sarah Funk visited Cyprus' Mitsero Red Lake, a toxic, acidic body of water tinted red from now-abandoned British mining operations in June 2017.

"This is what murder episodes are made of," Funk's partner, Luis Yanes, can be heard joking in a YouTube video she posted of their visit to the eery locale.

They climbed over barbed wire and scrambled down a steep hill to get to the lake.

"This feels like death, you know what I mean?" Funk exclaimed. Later, she quipped, "I just feel death in the air, it's so nice."

A shot of Funk squatting to photograph a boxy object in the water can be seen at roughly 2:08 in the video. The object may be one of the suitcases containing a woman's remains.

Cypriot officials believe there are three suitcases in the lake and on Saturday retrieved one of them. It's unclear if that suitcase is the same one Funk saw nearly two years ago and police have not confirmed whether they used Funk's video during the investigation. On Sunday, Cypriot military officer Nicos Metaxas confessed to murdering five women and two children over a three year period. He said he dumped three of their bodies into Mitsero Red Lake. His adult victims were domestic workers for households around Cyprus, according to the Guardian, and are thought to hail from the Philippines, India or Nepal, and Romania.

Political critics are blaming police for mishandling the case, noting that they were unmotivated to find the missing persons because they were foreigners.

Story continues

The Washington Post reports that two of the suitcases have been located, but only one has been retrieved. Authorities continue to search for the third suitcase.

Funk said she thought the suitcase was a log.

Image: sarah funk

After news of the confession broke, Funk posted a blog post with photos of one of the suitcases and asked people to stop contacting her about it.

"This is terrible and I am devastated for the victims' families," she wrote. "It felt eerie there but I did not see anything completely out of the norm ... I dont have any other information about the lake. This is all of the information I have, and I hope it helps."

She added that at the time, she thought the suitcase was a log.

Funk also said she didn't have any other information about the lake.

Image: sarah funk

The Guardian reports that four bodies have been found so far, but notes that the island has "scores" of unsolved cases related to missing migrant women.
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The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

In mid-2017, California Resources, (CRC), took off like a rocket, reaching a peak of over $50 a share before the world changed in early October of 2018.

The CRC long thesis is pretty straight-forward. CRC's insulated market in California, imports almost 60 percent of its crude from overseas. It takes a lot of oil to keep ~50 million people standing still on freeways, trying to get to work or home.

Source A common scene from the 405 in LA.

With its production tied to Brent pricing, CRC should be able to sell every barrel it can produce at a nice profit. Combine that with its low decline ratio from convention reservoirs, and investors have flocked to the stock.

It has rallied nicely from its Dec 24th low, but in recent weeks has stalled out under $30, and recently the bottom has just fallen out. Now headed back to recent lows the question naturally ariseswhat gives with CRC?

Analyst downgrade due to debt

The market has become much less forgiving of corporate debt over the past few months, taking down the valuations of companies with too much of it. It's kind of funny in a way though, when you think about it (as I often do), the same analysts who loved CRC a year ago when it was on its impressive ramp to ~$50-ish a share, and using the same fact-set, essentially, does a 180 on the stock. Not an uncommon situation in analyst world.

Source

We should acknowledge though for a company with $1.3 bn in market capitalization, having $5.2 bn in long term debt poses, at least an optical problem in the balance sheet. In the last six months "Capital Restraint" has entered the oilfield lexicon, and companies are being held to account.

But, the debt was right there on the balance sheet in February of 2018, when the very same firm, Goldman upgraded CRC to neutral (whatever neutral means...maybe, don't buy it, but don't sell it?). About the same time two other firms upgraded it to buy. It then started its ramp to $50. Proving only that you shouldnt overly rely on investment analysts advice when making decisions!

Source

Now, Goldman is downgrading a company with significantly more cash flow, and less debt than a year before. A headscratcher, that one! The debt was a legacy from its former parent, Occidental Petroleum, when the two separated in 2014.

In 2018 CRC repurchased about $230 mm in debt for $199 mm, saving approximately $31 mm in the process. It was able to do this as a result of improving cash flow YoY, and high net realizations from an aggressive hedging strategy. I think this will continue, the oil price allowing. Related: Mexico Puts The Squeeze On Fuel Theft

Bottom-line, I think, absent a big drop in oil prices, debt is a false flag to fly with California Resources. This a well-managed company, that was born with a stone around its neck, and has been gradually working its way to a better Enterprise Value. In the currently supportive price environment, the stock should not be punished for the debt.

CRC's Strategic Advantage in California

It can't really be over-stated what the importation of ~60 percent of its crude means to California. I've heard higher figures, some approaching 70 percent, but let's go with what the state tells us. What it boils down to is that a significant disruption in shipping could cripple the state, energy-wise.

Source This goes back a lot farther than the 10 year period I captured. If you go back to 1982, California only imported about 5 percent of its needs.

So as California has become more and more addicted to foreign crude it is interesting to note the sources to which it has turned to keep its roadways clogged up.

Source

It's easy to see that over a third of Californias crude comes from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-KSA, and KSA has been making the news for one reason alone in the past few months. They are reducing total shipments to the U.S., and other countries (but, the U.S. in particular), in an effort to drive prices up.

IMO 2020

From the table published by the State of California, almost 370 mm bbl of crude were brought into the state by oil tanker in 2018. Let's assume these were all VLCC's that hold a 2-million barrels a pop, that's a hundred and sixty-five loads. I am not going to get all wonky and try and calculate the carbon foot-print of a VLCC, but what I will say is that the cost of crude shipping will be rising due to this IMO 2020 mandate, that restrict the amount of sulfur in diesel used in marine engines. This will make locally produced crude even more competitive. A win for CRC.

Let's not forget, as well, that crude shipping is an interruptible supply, meaning that these boats can go anywhere.

New vapor pressure law in Washington State could shutdown Bakken crude.

As if California drivers shouldn't already be paranoid about having enough gas to fill up the minivan for a trip to the soccer field, now the very 'green' State of Washington throws them a curve ball. You may ask, "What's the legislature in Washington have to do with driving in California?" A fair question. The answer is that that California does not produce all the refined products it needs, and the five refineries in Washington are the marginal suppliers to them.

If the new law mentioned goes into effect, about 150 K BOPD of Bakken crude could have to find another home. I am sure you see where I am going with this line of thought. California crude and refined product supply could come under potentially greater threat, making locally produced oil still more valuable.

Summary of CRC's California advantage

Source

100 percent of CRC's daily production comes from fields within the state. A guy named David Ricardo once postulated what has become known as the Law of Comparative Advantage. I won't get too deep in the weeds here, but the relevance to this article is that CRC has an advantage over other (foreign) producers by being in the state, and can sell every barrel it produces at Brent prices, and a lower net cost.

A new potential problem that is weighing on the stock.

California AB-345 is a red-herring that will never see the light of day as a law, but has made waves as it passed through a key committee. What it does essentially is sunset the entire oil production industry in the state. Here is a link if you would like to read the bill.

What hasnt gotten a lot of ink in the press is the fact, that even in the unlikely event it did become law, all permits to drill that have been issued will remain valid. California Resources currently has over 600 permits to drill approved and I see this bill as non-event in assessing CRC stock.

Related: How The Renewable Revolution Is Reshaping Geopolitics

Notable outtakes from Production Data and other Key Financial metrics for 2018

Daily production was132 BPOED, 8 percent higher YoY, and with a slight increase in Q-4 to 86 K from 84 K in Q-3. A trend that it would be nice to see continue in Q-1 of this year. Worth mentioning also was the product skew improved in favor of liquids over gas.

Source

CRC is guiding for capex of about $500 mm for 2019, with about 2/3 of that generated internally. That's a slight step back from 2018, and reflects a conservative outlook with respect to price realizations. Speaking of which, CRC benefits from its exposure to Brent pricing and aggressive hedging.

Source

CRC also built its reserves base YoY while cutting costs.

Source

CRC is telling us to expect daily production of about 132K BOPED for 2019, or ~$2.9 bn in gross revenue at hedged prices. If you back out roughly $2.3 bn in core costs, that leaves about $250 mm in free cash. If you give them a multiple of 10 it suggests a price of $48-52 might be in a fair range for CRC. A 100 percent upside from current pricing, making CRC an easy 2-bagger, assuming favorable oil price conditions persist.

Your takeaway

The market is currently whacking CRC like it had the same fundamentals as shale players. It doesn't. CRC produces from predominantly conventional reservoirs with a low decline curve, (about 10 percent a year), as opposed to the much higher curves for shale.

As I've said, I think too much is being made by the analysts of CRC's debt. In my view they are taking the same metrics applied to shale drillers without considering CRC reservoirs and unique sales scenario in California.

When the market comes to its senses, CRC is well positioned to see some gains.

By David Messler for Oilprice.com

Disclosure: The writer does not hold and does not intend to obtain a position in this stock within the next 72hrs. The author expresses his own opinions and has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Global oil market fundamentals are looking particularly bullish, from the OPEC+ production cuts, to the constraints of exports in Nigeria and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuelan. While oil price volatility has increased thanks to financial analysts putting an emphasis on Trumps apparent Twitter agreements with OPEC leaders, market fundamentals are still very bullish. Until the global market realizes that U.S. oil storage reports are not the be all and end all for oil prices, volatility will remain.

There is a new threat looming though as OPEC+ prepares to meet at its June 25-26th Ministerial Meeting in Vienna. The internal cohesion of OPEC is being called into question at present, as several major member countries are facing not only external sanctions but threats of a total internal implosion of their respective regimes. The removal of U.S. waivers for leading oil importers of Iranian oil and gas is putting the Tehran regime under severe pressure. While Trumps target of reducing Iranian production to zero is unrealistic, the impact of the sanctions is undeniable. No new oil contracts have been reported between Iran and its main clients, China and India, since the sanctions. It seems that the fear of indirect sanctions by the U.S. is already having its desired result, Irans hydrocarbon exports have been hit hard and seem to have no response. Reports about Iran having trouble to pay not only its own bills, but also its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, also show that the regime is struggling.

At the same time, Irans staunchest supporter in OPEC, Venezuela appears to be on the brink. Confronted by U.S. sanctions and increased political support from Arab and European countries for opposition leader Guaido, Venezuela is a facing an economic meltdown as its hydrocarbon sectors come to a standstill. In recent days the situation here has worsened as the opposition, supported by parts of the Venezuelan armed forces and security services, has openly started a rebellion to remove current president Maduro. The latter remains in power, but mainly due to Russian, Chinese and Turkish support. Irans Latin American partner is heading for a possible civil conflict of unknown proportions. Related: Economists: Higher Oil Prices Here To Stay

Based on these two key OPEC producers, at least on paper, OPECs internal structure is fragmenting. The Saudi-led OPEC+ production cut strategy is still in place, but it is partly successful due to the negative repercussions of the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. The high level of compliance with the agreement (128%) is based on the loss of these particular volumes. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Russia, are sticking to their roles, cutting as needed. Optimism about Iraq is based on uncertain assumptions, while Libyas overall situation is highly volatilie.

To top up OPECs internal issues, Africas main oil producer Nigeria reports that it is not even able to sell some of its cargoes. Nigerian sources stated on May 2 that around 20 Nigerian oil cargoes are not sold, even after severe price cuts. Nigeria has already reduced its selling prices of a basket of May-loading crude oil grades, mainly as buyers were not showing an interest in contracts for cargoes offered at and above a premium of $2 compared to dated Brent. At present, Nigerias major grades, including Bonny Light and Qua Iboe, Forcados and Escravos, saw a decrease of around 20 to 25 cents compared with April. At the same time, Nigeria has been hit by several force majeurs, such as that declared by oil major Shell on exports of Nigerias major Bonny Light stream after the closure of one of two export pipelines, while Amenam, operated by Total, is also under force majeure. The main reason for this is not a lack of demand from China or India, but from European clients. Related: BP CEO: Trump Is The Wild Card In Oil Markets

In the coming weeks, as analysts focus on production figures, storage volumes and demand, OPEC will be focusing on defusing pressure to increase production, while at the same time the Saudi-led faction will likely confront the Tehran-Venezuela (and possibly Iraqi) axis. Iran has openly threatened to undermine OPECs stability if no support can be gathered before the June meeting. In several statements to the press, Irans oil Minister has warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse. Tehran threatens at present to take all necessary measures to block oil and gas flows from OPEC members that are supporting the U.S. sanctions regime. At the same time, Tehran has warned to take measures against countries trying to fill in the supply gap left by Iran. Zanganeh reiterated the latter during a meeting with OPEC secretary general Barkindo in Tehran. Barkindo reacted by saying that OPEC will do its utmost to depoliticize oil and gas policies of the organization. OPECs SG statements however look very bleak in light of the growing heat in the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Zanganeh is counting on Iraq, Libya and Venezuela to keep the pressure on Riyadh an Abu Dhabi, not to fully support U.S. sanctions. The meeting in June will be crucial. Geopolitical pressure, combined with an aggressive power projection of Iran in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya), leaves less room to maneuver for Arab countries than before. Tehrans hope to keep Moscow on its side also seems to be backfiring as Russia openly is behind OPEC+ cuts, while backing Saudi-UAEs efforts in Libya.

In many ways this appears to be a repeat of the 2018 meeting of OPEC in Vienna. The main difference will be that Tehran has lost much of its internal OPEC powers, due to the departure of Qatar and the implosion of Venezuela. Tehran doesnt hold any real cards anymore, even the threat of military action in the Gulf or elsewhere will backfire. The cartel is heading for a rearrangement of powers, a rearrangement in which a new actor may be taking part. Moscow is still heading for an official agreement with OPEC, threatening to topple any Iranian future in the cartel for a very long time. Putins need for Iran is gone, new power plays are already in place, in which Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Libya are much more prominent.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Russias second largest natural gas producer, independent player Novatek, has signed up key participation from two state-owned Chinese oil majors in its massive Arctic LNG 2 project. The deals were inked last week at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation held in China. This cements Novateks position as Russias leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer, moving it a step ahead of the countrys two state-backed companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and China National Oil and Gas Development Co. (CNODC), a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), signed up to acquire 10 percent each in the project. CNOOC is also Chinas largest offshore oil and gas producer and developer.

Novateks chairman, Leonid Mikhelson, welcomed CNOOCs involvement, saying China was one of the key consuming markets for our LNG sales. He added that Arctic LNG 2 would be a game-changer in the global gas market and noted the companys experience from its Yamal LNG project as a demonstration of its ability to carry out operations in the Arctic.

The entry of the CNPC unit, meanwhile, was described by Mikhelson as an important milestone for Arctic LNG 2, while he noted the Chinese companys participation in Yamal LNG. The accumulated experience of working together is a solid basis for the successful implementation of our new LNG project, he said. No details have been given yet for the price the Chinese companies paid. French oil major Total also invested in Arctic LNG 2 in March. Novatek, in its first-quarter results, said the sale of a 10 percent stake in the project had resulted in a net gain of $4.8 billion. Related: Oil Market Is Set To Become Very Tight Later This Year

Experience

China was instrumental in making the Yamal LNG work. In addition to the participation of CNPC, which acquired a 20 percent stake in 2013, the Silk Road Fund (SRF) purchased a 9.9 percent stake for $1.21 billion in March 2016. SRF also provided a 15-year loan worth some $813 million. Additionally, CNPC signed up to a 20-year off-take agreement, covering 3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of Yamal LNGs production, indexed to the Japanese Crude Cocktail (JCC) price, the leading LNG pricing benchmark in Asia. The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) also provided loans, of $10.4 billion and $151 million in 2016. This came on top of a $4 billion loan from Russian funding.

Massive gas project

The Arctic LNG 2 project will cover three production trains, each with 6.6 mtpa worth of capacity. An all-important final investment decision (FID) on the project is anticipated later this year, with the first LNG delivery slated for the end of 2023, around the time when most analysts forecast that global LNG markets will pivot from its current overhang to a possible shortage of the super-cooled fuel.

Insatiable gas demand

hinese LNG demand could reach 80-100 mtpa by 2025, according to various industry forecasts, up from 53.7 million tonnes in 2018. Rising demand for the fuel is part of Beijings drive to clean up the air quality of the countrys largest cities, which have been plagued by high air pollution levels for years. This drive has seen an explosion of demand in recent years that has been increasingly met by imports, including U.S.-sourced geopolitically charged gas imports that have also been embroiled in the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing. Overall demand for gas is expected to climb to 620 bcm by 2035, according to CNPC, up from at 280.3 bcm in 2018. The oil major has also predicted that domestic production will amount to 300 bcm by 2035, up from 161 bcm last year. This will mean an expansion in imports from 124.7 bcm in 2018 to 320 bcm in 2035.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Read From Oilprice.com:
In spite of their political differences, the display of warmth between President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Dakar shows that they are cool outside politics.

Pundits expected them to be at each others throat, especially with the completion of the presidential election to which Obasanjo had joined forces to try to unseat Buhari.

The boisterous exchange of pleasantries by Buhari and Obasanjo at the inauguration of President Sall of Senegal is a confirmation that politics is a game. No hard feelings.

Obasanjo, who supported Buhari in 2015 election, gave his support to Atiku Abubakar this time.

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A Massachusetts teenager named Mathew Borges is currently facing murder trial after he stabbed his classmate Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, and later beheaded him for sitting with his girlfriend in the cafeteria of Lawrence High School in the United States.

The prosecutor, Jay Gubitose, said that argument later ensued between Borges and Viloria-Paulino following the development which happened in 2016.

Gubitose told the jury that Borges, who was 15 years old at the time, was very jealous. He started screaming at his girlfriend. He sent her a text that said:

I think of killing someone and I smirk  Its all I think about every day.

In November that year, a day before Borges allegedly killed Viloria-Paulino, he texted the girl with whom he had broken up by then because of his jealousies saying:

The next time you see me, look at my eyes because thats the last time theyll be like that. Theyll be dead.

Surveillance video at the home of a neighbor of Viloria-Paulino showed the victim and Borges leaving together and walking toward a river, the prosecutor told the jury.

Borges, who is being tried as an adult, told police that he and the victim walked toward the river to smoke marijuana and that he left.

The video showed four people later walking near the victims house, and then returning with duffle bags, the prosecutor said, adding that Viloria-Paulinos home had been burglarized.

Borges attorney, Edward Hayden, said that his client and his friends burglarized Viloria-Paulinos home, but that Borges did not commit murder.

Hayden also said that the case against Borges lacked evidence such as DNA, weapons or blood implicating his client, that witnesses who are going to say he committed murder are not reliable.

And while Borges texts supposedly indicate jealousy, he argued, they did not mention Viloria-Paulino.

In these thousands of texts and messages there is no evidence that Mathew killed Lee. Anything incriminating is referring to the house break. There is nothing in all these messages and theres no motive, he said.

Police searching Borges home found a journal in which he wrote kill him, and he spoke of calling his friends, and telling them to cover their shoes with bags.

The defendant told them he stabbed him to death and cut his head and hands off so he couldnt be identified, Gubitose said.

A man who was walking his dog found Viloria-Paulinos decapitated body by the river. Police later found his head in a bag close to where the body was located.
Foreign Affairs Ministry says its silent diplomatic efforts in the past few weeks culminated in the release of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar arrested by Saudi authority for a drug-related offence.

The ministry said this in a statement by its Acting Spokesperson, Friday Akpan, on Thursday in Abuja

Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian student who travelled for Lesser Hajj with her mother was arrested by Saudi Security Officials on December 26, 2018, in a hotel in Madinah.

She was accused of possessing a bag containing illicit drugs purportedly bearing a tag with her name.

Another passenger, Ibrahim Abubakar, unrelated to Zainab who also travelled on the same aircraft, was also arrested on the same day, it stated.

The ministry explained that Zainab Aliyu was released on April 30, while Ibrahim Abubakar was released on May 1.

It also stressed that the intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari directing that all efforts be exerted to secure their release facilitated the expedited final favourable resolution of the matter.

While explaining further its efforts on the release of the two Nigerians, the ministry stated that on receipt of the information on their arrest, the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah intervened.

It stated that the Nigerian Mission in Saudi then requested for a full investigation to ascertain the innocence of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

Investigations conducted by the Airport Authorities and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano discovered a drug cartel at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, that specialises in planting illicit drugs on innocent travellers without their knowledge.

It was also discovered that the bag tagged in Zainabs name was planted by the cartel without her knowledge.

Following the arrest of members of the cartel, the Federal Government is currently prosecuting the suspects in the Federal High Court, Kano.

The outcome of the investigation and subsequent trial of the suspects confirmed the innocence of the two Nigerians.

The Consulate General of Nigeria in Jeddah, upon instruction from Headquarters, therefore sent series of Diplomatic Notes to the Saudi Foreign Ministry informing of the arrest of members of the syndicate in Kano and forwarding the report of the NDLEA investigation and court proceeding.

It stated that investigation documents were forwarded to the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah to further support the innocence of the two Nigerians and also resolve the issue of luggage tag numbers.

According to the ministry, following these efforts, officials in the Consulate secured an appointment and met with the Director General of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Jeddah.

It said that the DG then requested the official in the consulate to forward the NDLEA report to all concerned Saudi agencies with a view to releasing Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

All these processes followed were consistent with the usual diplomatic channel of engagement.

To maintain the diplomatic pressure, another Note was sent by our Embassy in Riyadh conveying the same message to the Saudi Authorities.

On April 26, a Note was also sent to both the Saudi Embassy in Abuja and its Consulate in Kano, forwarding court documents relating to the trial of members of the Kano syndicate, it stated.

It added that the Legal Adviser of the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that relevant agencies and departments in Saudi Arabia were going to meet to consider all the Notes Verbal and reports submitted by Nigeria.

This, it stated, was to facilitate early resolution of the case of Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

The ministry added that the judicial and legal process in Nigeria also provided the critical documentation that aided the diplomatic efforts to establish the innocence of both Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar.

It stated that the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jeddah is currently processing travel documents for the two individuals to facilitate their return to Nigeria.

The ministry commended the Saudi government, through its Embassy in Abuja and officials of Saudi Foreign Ministry, for cooperating with Nigeria in the eventual resolution of the matter

Post Views: 91
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

This is a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast.

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the U.S. mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

South Korea said in a statement its very concerned about North Koreas weapons launches, calling them a violation of last years inter-Korean agreements to reduce animosities between the countries.

The statement, issued after an emergency meeting of top officials at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, also urged North Korea to stop committing acts that would raise military tensions and join efforts to resume nuclear diplomacy.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that U.S.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (U.S.-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.

Post Views: 30
State governments across the country are taking a fresh look at their finances with a view to mapping out strategies for payment of the new N30,000 minimum wage.

They are also awaiting guidelines from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on how best to handle the situation.

Although some of the states, including Kano, Zamfara, Kwara, Rivers, Kogi and Edo, had expressed their readiness to pay the new minimum wage, there seems to be discordant tunes from some other states about their ability to pay.

One of such states is Oyo where the current monthly wage bill stands at N5.6 billion.

The state is allocated an average of N4.4 billion a month from the federal purse while its internally generated revenue is about N1.6 billion monthly.

Information, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Toye Arulogun, could not tell what the wage bill would look like when details of the new minimum wage are released.

He said that could only be determined when the Federal Government gazettes the new minimum wage and guidelines are out.

The commissioner explained that the government would take the necessary step if it was confronted with inability to pay.

But he was quick to add: We will wait to cross the bridge before deciding the appropriate line of action.

The Kwara State Government is also awaiting the template for payment from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

It says the template is required by the 13-man minimum wage reviewing committee it set up to guide it on computing new salaries for workers.

Investigations revealed that the state government receives between N2.5 and N3.8 billion monthly, going by the figure usually released by the Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC).

The internally generated revenue of the state also stands at between N1.7 billion and N2.3 billion per month.

The Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Prof Muritala

Awodun, recently said that the service generated a total sum of N6.279 billion as revenue in the first quarter of 2019.

Awodun, said that the agency generated N2.16 billion in January, N1.76 billion in February and N2.38 billion in March 2019.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of N60 billion revenue per annum or N5 billion monthly, however, said that the service has been developed to a point that it would not make less than an average of N2.5 billion every month.

It was gathered that the state government currently spends over N2 billion on the payment of workers salaries.

A source gave the breakdown of salary payment as follows: core civil servants N600 million; primary and secondary school teachers N940 million; local government staff N500 million and pensioners N400 million.

Like Oyo and Kwara, Cross River State is also waiting for the guidelines from the federal authorities.

It currently has about 25,000 workers on its payroll and receives an average of N3 billion allocation from Abuja monthly and generates between N1.5 billion and N3.5 billion.

Apart from paying salaries and meeting financial obligations in respect of projects, the state also services the loan taken for the execution of the Tinapa complex.

This is put at almost N100 million per month.

There is also the controversial superhighway expected to gulp over N700 billion.

The governor recently transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly to approve modalities for funding the project by the state government.

The letter, which was leaked on the Internet, sought approval for an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for N648.8 billion in favour of a construction company.

The letter with reference number SSG/S/300/VOL.XVII/1199, addressed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, sought the state legislature to consider and pass a resolution granting an approval for the state government to issue an ISPO of N300 million monthly through a bank in favour of the construction company.

Imo ll pay, says Okorocha

as gov-elect insists on checking records first

The Chief Press Secretary to outgoing Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told The Nation that the state government would pay the new minimum wage.

He said: Imo State was the first state to pay the N18,000 minimum wage and it will also pay the new minimum wage of N30,000.

The governor has always considered the welfare of workers a top priority of his administration.

But Mr. Chibuike Onyeukwu, the media aide to Governor-elect Emeka Ihedioha, said the records would have to be checked first to determine what could be done.

He said: The issue of the minimum wage is a matter the governor-elect will not comment on until he is sworn in and assumes office on May 29.

Thereafter, he will check the records on ground and make the position of the state known.

Investigation showed that the current monthly wage bill of workers in the state is about N4 billion, pensions gulp N1.4 billion, while internally generated revenue (IGR) is N1.4 billion per annum.

The state also gets between N3.4 billion and N5 billion as allocation from Abuja monthly.

Speaking on the states chances of paying the new minimum wage, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Iyke Njoku, described it as a complicated issue.

He said: With the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law, every state is expected to pay. For it to be obtainable, the Federal Government should have made it optional rather than foisting it on the states.

States should have been allowed to negotiate with the workers and agree on what they can pay.

For instance, in Imo State, we have free education going on, and this is taking a lot of money and we cannot stop that to meet up with the new salary because they will bring back hardship on the people.

And if you fail to comply with the new salary structure, labour will revolt. So it is a very complicated issue for now.

Niger to initiate discussion with labour

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is seeking talks with labour leaders in the state on how to proceed with payment of the new minimum wage.

He wants to find out why governments wage bill has remained unchanged despite the large number of those who have either retired from the service or died since 2015 when he assumed office.

Bello said that while he is committed to paying the new minimum wage, we will initiate discussions with the organised labour on how to proceed with the necessary modalities for the full implementation of the 30,000 minimum wage bill as signed into law by the President.

He said it was disheartening that despite conscious efforts to turn around the fortunes of the state, the state wage bill continues to remain static, regardless of the number of the people that have retired from the service and those who died between 2015 and now.

The civil servants need to be sincere with themselves and support government in changing the ugly trend.

The federal allocation to Niger State in January 2019 was N4.043 billion.

Figures recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the states IGR last year at N6.5 billion per annum, an average of N543 million per month.

Abia ready to pay, says commissioner

The Abia State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, told The Nation that the state government was ready to pay the new minimum wage, saying it will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be on the same page with other states.

Asked whether the state has the financial muscle to pay, he said: Our IGR is not static; it fluctuates. In my time, it has gone beyond N1 billion, and at times, it has fallen below N700 million.

It keeps fluctuating, but we have arrived at a point where I think today, we can target N2 billion as IGR in Abia and achieve it.

Ultimately, people believe that Abia can make N5 billion as IGR, and I share that optimism. But that hasnt happened yet.

Minimum wage is something that we have all agreed that the amount currently being earned by workers is low, and as a state, we are going to abide with the decision, in line with other states. Whatever other states are doing, be rest assured that we are going to do it.

But I am not also worried, because if you check the whole of Southeast today, Abia pays the highest. N30,000 minimum wage will also give us the opportunity to recalibrate our wage structure to be at the same page with other states.

On the possibility of the wage bill being a burden on the state, the commissioner said: There is no doubt that it is going to be a big burden on the state.

But why I am not a bit bothered like other states is because Abia has been paying well above the N18, 000 minimum wage since 2011 till date.

So, we are not as jittery as other states. But like I told you, this has also provided a very good platform for us to look at our wage structure, knowing that we pay the highest.

We have the capacity to continue paying highest. We are going to use this opportunity and adjust and then make it easier for us to pay and for the workers to earn this money as and when due.

It is going to be a win-win situation for everybody. The workers will be happy and the state will also be happy.

I know that when we came in and did the biometrics and the new payroll administration strategy where we have centralized payroll system, that assisted us in realigning our wage structure and we made huge savings from that exercise.

This exercise was basically for the MDAs, but the minimum wage now is going to give us the opportunity to look at what is being earned even in other parastatals like Abia Poly where the wage structure is dysfunctional because a PhD holder in Abia Poly earns higher than a professor in ABSU (Abia State University, Uturu).

It is absurd and totally unacceptable. So, be rest assured that with the restructuring that we are trying to do, it will realign these things and make it look like what it should be, so that the state will be alive to its responsibility, these institutions will also be alive and running.

We are going to restructure our salary wage bill to be in line with what is obtainable elsewhere.

Concerning our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), we are currently undergoing restructuring. During the period of restructuring, you dont get that kind of quantum leap that you expect, but any moment from now, we will start reaping the dividends of those things.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly kept the selection of his choices for new ministers for his second term in office to himself.

According to The Nation, some members of the inner power circle popularly known as Cabal went to London to meet with the president but were denied access based on strict orders from him.

It was reported that unlike his first term in office, the president has not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party.

A top source said: It seems Buhari has realized that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.

His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London.

Those who went to London came back empty-handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).

We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.

A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015?

He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.

Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him.

A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.

I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President.

We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended.
Anglican Diocese of Aguata in Anambra State has asked the state governor, Willie Obiano to tender an unreserved apology to Ndigbo for betraying them by supporting President Muhammadu Buharis reelection during the electioneering campaign.

The church said that the insult the governor gave the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, in the run-up to the last general elections, is a betrayal to the entire Igbo race.

These were contained in the Bishops Charge presented on Friday by Rt. Rev. Samuel Ezeofor at the 2nd Session of the Fifth Synod of Diocese of Aguata holding at St James Anglican Church Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of the State.

The church described Obianos betrayal as an insult which inflicted a deep wound on Igbo people.

The insult Chief Willie Obiano laid on President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo was a betrayal of the highest order, a betrayal of the whole Igbo people, a betrayal of his own people. It was an insult on the whole of Igbo race and we call on him, His Excellency Chief Willie Obiano to apologize to Ndigbo. We do not know how Governor Obiano can explain the stance he took but may it please him to know that he wounded us so deep in his bid to stop his benefactor Sir Peter Obi. We also need to let the Governor know that we are not unaware of his moves against the Anglican faithful in Anambra State.

Chancellor of the Diocese, Justice Pete Obiora commended the Bishop for his analysis of the society and courage to say things the way they were.
Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT], Lanre Osibona has reiterated the Federal Governments commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are un-banked or under-banked.

Osibodu made this assertion in his keynote address at the recently concluded Lagos Fintech Week that was held in Lagos.

Lagos Fintech Week is an invigorating week of distinct Fintech events that delivers exciting discussions, stimulating demos and insightful debates.

He said that digital financial services is critical to building a robust digital economy and government is determined in using it to make financial services affordable to everyone irrespective of their status and gender.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity  the National Identity Number (NIN).

For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians, he said.

He also pointed that government has put in place a number of initiatives that include FECs approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies, developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

He said the Federal Government was expected to have setup an independent Data Protection Agency. This is currently in the National Assembly for final adoption before being signed into law, he added.

The Presidents senior adviser also mentioned that government is developing a robust cyber security framework on the outcome of the cyber security assessment initiative.

We have upgraded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) technology in order to scale the number of records it can hold and working with a number of stakeholders including the private sector to develop strategy for e-commerce in the digital economy.

He stated that the country cannot afford to lose out in leveraging the opportunities that digital economy is bringing but must work together in developing policies and regulations that will address challenges of data sovereignty, data ownership and commercialisation of data.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will meet with the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigerias power sector to assess the take-off and implementation of the third-party meter deployment scheme, Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), initiated by the regulatory agency.

However, as the date for the MAPs to begin rolling out meters to all electricity consumers enters the third day, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr. Kola Adesina, has said meter rollout alone will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

It was also gathered that many Discos did meet NERCs May 1 deadline for the conclusion of their selection of MAPs.

However, the regulator has insisted that all Discos must engage a MAP, insisting that the Discos conclude theirs immediately.

The roll out commenced Thursday as contained in the permit. We shall have update from Discos/Permit holders during the NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry) meeting on Monday, May 6, in Lagos, a senior official of NERC said.

NERC, from various notices it released, has indicated that it had issued permits to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc; Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc, to engage MAPs.

According to the agency, Discos MAPs permits were in accordance with section 4(3) of the MAP Regulations- NERC- R-112 of 2018.

It added that the Port Harcourt Disco appointed Armese Consulting Ltd and Holley Metering Ltd as its MAP; Yola Disco appointed Chris Ejik International Agencies Ltd; while Enugu Disco appointed Mojec International Ltd.

Ibadan Disco, NERC said, appointed CWG Plc, Integrated Resources Ltd, Mojec International Ltd, Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd, New Hampshire Capital Ltd, Protogy Global Services Ltd and Tinuten Nigeria Limited to provide meters within their respective franchise under the MAP scheme.

It also issued permits to Ikeja and Benin Discos to appoint their preferred MAPs, as well as to Abuja and Jos Discos.

NERC approved for Ikeja Disco to appoint Mojec International Limited to provide 399,790 meters; Consolidated Infrastructure Group Ltd  397,922 meters and New Hamshire Capital Ltd  276,699 meters respectively for it within its franchise network, while Benin Disco got its nod to appoint FLT Energy System Ltd; G-Unit Engineering Ltd; Inlaks Power Solution Ltd; Sabrud Consortium Nigeria Ltd and Turbo Energy Ltd to provide meters within its franchise network.

For Abuja Disco, NERC approved Mojec International Limited, Meron Consortium and Turbo Engineering Limited to provide 487,000; 213,000 and 200,000 meters respectively for the distribution company.

NERC also approved Triple 7 and Mojec International Limited consortium to provide 500,000 meters to Jos Disco.

The commission had directed that the rollout of meters under the MAP shall commence not later than May 1, 2019, and asked customers of the Discos to expect from the commencement of rollout date for meters to be installed in their premises within 10 working days of making payment to MAPs in accordance with section 18 (3) of the MAP Regulations 2018.

It added that MAPs shall charge an upfront amount of N36, 991.50 for single-phase meters and N67, 055.85 for three-phase meters.

These costs of meters are inclusive of supply, installation, maintenance and replacement of meters over its technical life.

The commission shall monitor closely the rollout plan of distribution licensees and overall compliance with the regulation and various service agreements by the MAP and electricity distribution licensees, the NERC had stated in one of its statements on the scheme.

However, out of the 11 Discos, NERC reported that only eight have procured their MAPs. Kaduna, Kano and Eko Discos have not.

Meanwhile, Kola Adesina, the chairman of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), said only meter rollout will not solve the problem facing the power sector in the country.

Adesina, who spoke with journalists on the side-lines of the inauguration of the 2019 Young Engineers Programme (YEP), an initiative of the company, said rather than shifting focus to metering, the federal government and the regulators should recommend a holistic solution to all the fundamental problems in the power sector.

He said: Well, you said it all, yesterday (May 1), was meant to be the first day for meter rollout. I believe that from today most of them will begin to see how fast they can rollout the meters. My own view has always been this: when you have a problem of this nature, it is a holistic solution that you need to recommend.

But because the narratives for the power sector have shifted to metering as above the key solutions here, we want to see whether that alone can solve the problem. But I know that alone will not solve our problem. We still have many other issues within the value chain that need to be solved.

Citing the power outage experienced in the country recently, which he said was caused by a bolt that went off leading to shutting down the pipeline for repair, Adesina stated that as a country, having only one pipeline was not acceptable.

He explained: I give you an instance; recently we had serious power outage in Nigeria. The reason for that was that the gas provider had a leakage on the pipeline, and in solving that leakage, all generation companies had to ramp down their power because they cannot be supplying gas while they are repairing what needed to be repaired.

So, it is a bolt that actually got off within the pipeline. So, they needed to repair that. Now, I say, for us to have a holistic, total, systemic solution, Nigeria should not have just one pipeline supplying gas to different power plants. Nigeria should have multiple gas pipelines to all the power stations that we have, such that if there is shortage in one, they can divert gas all to the other. But that is one side of the equation as well.

He re-echoed the issue of electricity tariff as another fundamental issue that needs to be addressed in the power sector, saying without a cost-reflective tariff in place, stable, uninterrupted power supply might not be achieved as desired by Nigerians.

According to him, Once there is cost reflective tariff and all the relevant critical enablers apart from tariff, are made available, investors and business will all fall suit. They will want to make more money doing the business and they will want to make legitimate money doing this business.

If the cost of generation is N10 and tariff is N6, you cant get power. If the tariff methodology is very clear; if the generation companies are charging to power companies, using the exchange rate of N305 to a dollar, therefore, the distribution companies must use the exchange rate of N305 to charge the customers for the power they are consuming.

But today, the distribution companies are using N199 to $1. I am sure none of you can get a dollar at 199. So if the equipment required by distribution companies are being gotten at N360 per dollar, which is even the open market rate, then there is a big issue that somebody needs to speak to here.

They cannot be using N199 as the exchange rate for distribution companies to you and I the consumer, and whereas the generation companies use N305 to charge to the distribution companies. So somebody is losing money and it is the distribution companies.

Adesina called for the review of electricity tariff, saying tariff review was supposed to have been done for six times since the last review but that that has not happened till date.

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There was a brief commotion after a helicopter landed at the stadium in Kogi State University yesterday 3rd of May. It was gathered that the helicopter made an emergency landing at the school due to bad weather.

The Universitys stadium was overcrowded with students who rushed to the scene in their numbers to catch a glimpse of the chopper and also to take some pictures.

The pilot later revealed they were flying to Abuja, but because of the weather condition, they landed inside the school stadium as it was about to rain.

The helicopter later left for its destination after spending some minutes there. Continue to see photos below;
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
One of Chinas most popular tourist destinations has been hit by an avalanche in the middle of a busy holiday period.

The landslide at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan took place on Friday morning near Baisha Ancient Town, another popular local attraction.

Although the incident happened in the middle of the extended May Day public holiday, no injuries were reported.

Visitors to the area recorded dramatic pictures of the avalanche, showing clouds of dust being thrown into the air along the mountainside, footage first published in the local newspaper Spring City Evening News.

The Yulong county government said rocks had been sent hurtling into the valley below, but the area was uninhabited and away from the main tourist areas and there had been no risk to life as a result.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also known as Mount Yulong, is the southmost glacier in the northern hemisphere, stretching over 35 kilometres (22 miles) and consisting of 13 peaks, the highest of which is at an altitude of nearly 5,600 metres.

One of Chinas busiest tourist sites, it attracted about 4.32 million visitors last year, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, according to the local government.

A preliminary investigation by the authorities concluded that the rock collapse had been caused by a free-thaw effect in the alpine landscape, which is common in high-altitude mountains and frozen soil regions.

A similar incident was recorded on the mountain in March 2004.

The government said it was conducting comprehensive field inspections and had set up warning signs on the periphery of the collapsed area to stop members of the public from entering the area.

The county will then call in geologists to conduct a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the impact of the incident.

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Taiwans presidential election is still eight months away but there is already an elephant in the room for the opposition Kuomintang hoping to defeat incumbent Tsai Ing-wen.

Its the China factor  the one issue KMT candidates are hesitant to mention but has played a big role in previous presidential polls.

The self-ruled island has elected four leaders since its first democratic presidential race in 1996 and the mainland has remained a key influence each time during and after the elections.

For the KMT, embracing Beijings economic incentives could boost the economy and its chances of winning. But such cross-strait associations also risk a backlash from voters who fear encroachment from the mainland, analysts say.

Four KMT members have signalled their interest in taking part in the partys primaries next month to determine who will be on the KMTs ticket  former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng, former Taipei county magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, and Foxconn billionaire chairman Terry Gou. Popular Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu has yet to say whether he will run.

But so far, none of them has said how they would deal with the mainland if they became president.

Wang Yu-min, legislator and former KMT deputy legislative caucus head, said the candidates would not be able to dodge the question forever.

Taiwans president is responsible for handling cross-strait policy and relations, so all hopefuls will have to address this issue if they want to run for president, she said.

While the KMT supports having conciliatory ties with the mainland to maintain cross-strait peace, it also faces censure and criticism by the pro-independence camp here for trying to sell Taiwan to the mainland, thus making both the party and the KMT hopefuls more cautious over the China factor during presidential elections.

Analysts said that since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party first took power from the mainland-friendly KMT in 2000, the China factor has been growing increasingly more complex as Beijing has tried to influence the election results in its favour.

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It used military intimidation and wooed away Taiwans diplomatic allies to try to discourage Taiwanese voters from supporting the DPP. But tactics like this only led to a backlash from residents, Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping said.

Beijing first tried those tactics before the 1996 presidential election, the islands first. It launched unarmed missiles at Taiwans doorstep to discourage voters from electing Lee Teng-hui, over what it saw as Lees attempt to promote Taiwanese independence.

It tried again by mounting vitriolic attacks and staging war games around Taiwan when Chen Shui-bian from the DPP ran in 2000 and again in 2004, only to find that such spurred resentful Taiwanese to vote for the pro-independence Chen.

Fan said Beijing had learned the lesson and become more sophisticated in its attempts to influence the islands elections, using tactics such as cybertroops and content farms to feed false information.

Wang said the party and its hopefuls did not want to be tarnished by such associations with the mainland if elected.

Other dangers in aligning with Beijing are closer to the surface.

Recent disputes over [People First Party chairman] James Soong Chu-yus visit to the mainland exemplify what the KMT wants to avoid in times of election, she said.

Soong came under intense criticism in Taiwan after Beijings state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying he supported Chinese President Xi Jinpings January proposal to have the two sides to discuss cross-strait unification under one country, two systems model used in Hong Kong and Macau.

Opinion polls suggest the model is highly unpopular in Taiwan, and Soong later denied ever making the comment to Xinhua.

Another contentious cross-strait issue is the 1992 consensus, an understanding reached verbally in 1992 in Hong Kong to allow both sides to continue talks as long as they support that there is only one China. Tsai, from the DPP, has refused to acknowledge the understanding, which Beijing demands as the foundation for any exchanges.

KMT deputy spokeswoman Angel Hung said the KMT still supported the consensus. But we define that China as the Republic of China, she said referring to Taiwans official title, adding Beijing could have its own interpretation of what that China stands for.

Chang Ling-chen, an emeritus political science professor at National Taiwan University, said that while the KMT might try to avoid the China factor during the election, the DPP would do all it could to capitalise on it.

They [DPP] would resort to the scare tactics by saying Taiwan might be forced to reunify with the if the KMT won the presidential poll, she said.

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US President Donald Trump has said China would like to be part of a new three-way accord to limit nuclear arms  a suggestion greeted with scepticism by many observers who questioned whether Beijing would want to limit its ability to enhance its second-strike capacity.

Trump, who had a lengthy telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, said they had discussed ways to include China in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which became effective in 2011.

We discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal. And China  Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Slovakias Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road, Trump said.

We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less, and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he added.

The New Start Treaty between the US and Russia restricted the number of strategic nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy to 1,550 and halved the number of missile launchers they possess.

China is not believed to have any deployed warheads but is thought to be expanding its nuclear capacity.

The exact number of Chinese warheads is a closely guarded secret, but a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year estimated China has about 280 nuclear warheads, compared with a total of 6,450 deployed and non-deployed warheads for the US and 6,850 for Russia.

On Friday Trump implied that the question of arms reduction would be linked to talks on ending the US-China trade war.

During the trade talks, we started talking about that. They were excited about that  they felt very strongly about it, he added, noting that the new treaty would be a very comprehensive one.

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Trump may be completely misreading China

Zhao Tong

Last month he suggested that China and Russia should join America in discussing arms controls once Washington and Beijing have settled their trade war.

During a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, the US president said it was ridiculous that the three countries were spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

He then turned to Liu and said: A lot of money could be put in other things, would you like to respond to that?

Liu replied: I think it is a very good idea.

If this is Trumps basis for saying China felt very strongly about joining a nuclear arms control agreement, he may be completely misreading China. In fact, all reactions in Beijing to the US proposal have been very negative, showing no serious interest, Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said.

China is very sceptical of US intentions to pressure China on arms control.

China fears the United States is seeking to gain advantage in a comprehensive competition with China by withdrawing from existing arms control agreements such as the INF [Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces] Treaty and giving itself more freedom to strengthen its military capabilities against China on the one hand and pressuring China to limit its own strategic capabilities on the other.

Earlier this year German Chancellor Angela Merkel said China should be incorporated into a new INF deal  to ban land-based intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and launchers  after Trump pulled out of the previous agreement blaming Russian non-compliance.

But China, which mainly possesses missiles that would be affected by the ban, has dismissed the idea.

Its top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi said China would develop its capabilities according to its defensive needs and would not pose a threat to anyone.

But Beijing has yet to comment on Trumps remarks and analysts believe the chances of China joining the treaty are low as Beijing is eager to enhance its nuclear arms stockpile.

Beijing perceives China to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia

Adam Ni

In January, China ran a simulated launch and strike mission against an imaginary enemy, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from an underground facility, a second-strike exercise widely interpreted as a way of enhancing the credibility of its deterrent.

Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said China  which has a no-first-use policy  is rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal, but does not feel secure about its ability to deter nuclear attack.

There is virtually no prospect that China will voluntarily sign up to something that would limit its ability to develop and enhance a credible nuclear second-strike capability.

This is especially so because Beijing perceives it to be in a position of weakness compared to the US and Russia, he said.

Ultimately, Beijing wants to develop its nuclear capabilities in order to raise the credibility of its nuclear deterrent while the US wants to slow Beijing down.

The likelihood of a meaningful nuclear treaty with the participation of China is virtually zero, at least in the short term.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said China would be unlikely to sign a new Start treaty.

I am not optimistic about the feasibility of a new trilateral nuclear deal due to Chinas limited number of nuclear arms, he said.

Chinese experts believe that China's nuclear capabilities are too small due to the expansion of US missile defence.

Indeed, US missile defence has been posing rising threats to the credibility of China's nuclear deterrent and constitutes a major driver of Beijing's efforts to modernise and expand its nuclear capabilities.

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AVAIL of limited time offers from IXS  the newest Internet service provider in the country offering high-speed dedicated fiber Internet connectivity for the enterprises since 2012.The plans range from

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Legal adviser to Hong Kongs legislature questions why mainland China is not excluded from controversial extradition bill

The row over a contentious proposal to amend Hong Kongs extradition laws has deepened, with the legal adviser to the legislature questioning why mainland China is not excluded and a prominent law expert suggesting local suspects be exempt from transferral across the border.

Both the Legislative Councils legal division and scholar Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, raised doubts on the amendment ahead of a showdown meeting among lawmakers on Saturday. That meeting will discuss a motion by the pro-government camp to unseat a rival who presides over the committee that will scrutinise the extradition bill.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

If passed, the amendment will allow case-by-case fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including Taiwan and the mainland.

But in a letter to the Security Bureau dated April 30, Legcos legal adviser raised dozens of questions about the proposal, including whether the government had changed its policy on seeking a formal extradition agreement with the mainland.

The letter said that the intent of excluding China from the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance when the law was localised for the handover in 1997 was to have a separate agreement with the mainland.

Timothy Tso Chi-yuen, the divisions senior assistant legal adviser, said the bureau should explain if there had been a policy change, and if so, give the reasons.

Tso also wrote that there had long been a case-by-case arrangement under the existing ordinance, to allow Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to places it lacked an extradition deal with.

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Such a move was possible if the chief executive issued an order under the ordinance, he wrote.

Tso urged the bureau to clarify why such an arrangement was considered impracticable now.

His other queries included whether further human rights safeguards could be introduced to the bill, as well as how Legco and the public would be informed of possible transfer requests.

By convention, the bureau had to answer questions from the division, lawmakers said.

Separately, in an online commentary, University of Hong Kong legal scholar Chen said local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to the mainland. Instead, the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen said it was advisable to include more restrictions and safeguards in the bill. He said case-by-case extradition should be limited to the most heinous crimes and a small number of the most serious offences.

The professor also said the amendment should be non-retroactive, meaning it would only apply to cases that happened after the bill passed.

He also said that if the bill passed, Hong Kong courts will be placed in a difficult and invidious position, as judges would have to decide whether the mainlands legal system complied with human rights standards before granting extradition requests.

In a statement issued on Friday night, the Security Bureau said the exclusion of mainland China from the existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was not intentional.

A bureau spokesman said mainland China was not included as a destination of fugitive transfer in the British law the ordinance was based on.

The matter was not handled in the process of localising the ordinance, and the exclusion of China was not intentional, he said.

The spokesman also said the current amendment did not target individual jurisdictions, but any that currently lacks an extradition agreement with Hong Kong.

The bureau will issue a reply and submit it to the bills committee before May 14, he said.

Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said Tso had pointed out the flaws and unanswered questions related to the bill, noting that the document had been in greater detail than usual.

Why is there a sudden change in a policy that was established 20 years ago to exclude the mainland? Kwok said.

Pro-establishment legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a former security minister, said the existing case-by-case arrangement would not work in Chans case, as Taiwan was considered by the central government as part of China.

Two functional constituency lawmakers in Ips camp  Ma Fung-kwok and Tony Tse Wai-chuen  also faced pressure from their sectors to properly consult electors before backing the bill.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming will head to Canada and the United States on a 14-day visit in a bid to persuade the international community to voice its opposition to the bill.

The group will also testify at a public hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington to voice concerns over the threats Hongkongers may face from the bill.

Additional reporting by Alvin Lum

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North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw "a path forward" in the denuclearisation process. The North last carried out a missile test in November 2017, before a rapid diplomatic rapprochement saw tensions ease on the peninsula and a series of summits. A return to missile launches would be likely to infuriate US President Donald Trump, but the North's official KCNA news agency shied away from the term in its report, saying Kim had ordered a "strike drill" involving "long-range multiple rocket launchers" -- which are not targeted by UN sanctions resolutions -- and unspecified "tactical guided weapons". Seoul's defence ministry said Sunday an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested "240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometres" (45 to 150 miles). The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a Trump-Kim summit in February, when the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal. But despite the latest sabre-rattling from Pyongyang, Trump insisted that a breakthrough was possible. "Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted Saturday. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" The US leader did not elaborate on Kim's promise. Pompeo, speaking Sunday on ABC, said the rockets were relatively short range, had crossed no international boundary, had landed in waters east of North Korea "and didn't present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan." He called the situation serious and said the US always knew the road to denuclearization would be "bumpy and a long one." But, Pompeo added, "we still believe there's a path forward." The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday carried 16 photos of the weapons test on its front page, including a picture of a grim-looking Kim clutching his binoculars in an observation post as well as several images of projectiles shooting skywards. - Broken promises? - Trump proclaimed that the North Korean nuclear threat was over after the two sides' historic first summit in Singapore in June, when Kim pledged to work towards "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". The two have since disagreed over what that means, but Trump has insisted the leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Vietnam broke up without a deal or even a joint statement, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests. But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US while staying below that threshold. The Saturday drill followed last month's test-firing of very short-range tactical weapons, and came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments during nuclear talks. Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington. "Kim wants to ensure the world knows it is upset with the US hardline stance on denuclearisation and will not bow to external pressure," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. - 'Unwanted outcome' - But Ankit Panda of the Federation of American Scientists stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles". Even so, a statement from Seoul's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned", calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year. On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the centre of the Hanoi debacle. Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions. - Biegun visit - Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive. Last week, on the anniversary of the first Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises. The North Korean drill comes just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea for talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal.
Row over controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong intensifies as legal scholars call for changes sends shock waves through political circles

An adviser to Hong Kongs leader on Saturday hit back at a prominent legal expert who expressed doubts over the controversial proposal to amend extradition laws, as legislators passed a motion that was likely to lead to more chaos at the committee scrutinising the bill next week.

Academic Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, wrote on Friday that local officials should give serious consideration to retaining the right to refuse to hand over Hongkongers to mainland China. Instead, the University of Hong Kong law professor said the government could consider trying residents locally for crimes committed across the border.

Chen was commenting on the governments proposal to amend fugitive laws, such that Hong Kong could transfer suspects to places it lacked a formal extradition agreement with, including the mainland and Taiwan.

His proposal sent shock waves through political circles as the scholar had in the past tended to side with the government on thorny legal issues.

At least one opposition party has called for a discussion of his suggestion, while a pro-Beijing lawmaker who had been lined up to steer scrutiny of the bill expressed doubts.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

On Saturday, senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member to Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngors cabinet, said Chen had given in to public pressure.

He should know that trying Hongkongers in Hong Kong is not the answer, Tong wrote online, citing as an example the United States, which he said did not have extraterritorial powers over serious crimes.

Criminal acts are internal issues of each country or jurisdiction, it is part of a regions sovereignty, it will not be easily controlled by other countries, Tong said.

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However, Section 2332 of US law states that whoever kills American nationals outside the country can still be punished by its courts.

Tong also said it would be hard for local courts to obtain evidence and witness statements for crimes committed outside Hong Kong.

Alvin Yeung, leader of the opposition Civic Party, who had made a similar suggestion on extraterritorial powers, said even Chen was having some strong doubts about the amendment.

Whatever Professor Chen is suggesting its a way to counter the present proposal, Yeung said, adding the academics other suggestions also deserved thorough discussion.

But pro-establishment camp veteran Paul Tse Wai-chun said Chens suggestion on trying Hongkongers locally might be easier said than done, as it would require foreign law enforcement agencies to send over witnesses and physical evidence.

Nonetheless, the authorities should carefully study Chens suggestions, Tse said.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, held a special House Committee meeting on Saturday, triggered by moves from the pro-establishment camp to remove pan-democrat James To Kun-sun from presiding over the committee that will vet the extradition bill.

A letter signed by 42 pro-establishment lawmakers called for To to be replaced by the camps Abraham Razack. They asked the House Committee, which considers matters relating to Legco business, to issue guidelines on ousting him.

Their motion to issue a non-binding guideline to the bills committee for Razack to replace To was passed 37-19.

The bloc has accused To, who is leading the bills committee because of his seniority until a chair is elected, of filibustering.

Hundreds of pro-democracy supporters protested against the bill outside Legco as the meeting took place.

The bills committee meets for the third time on Monday afternoon.

The struggle for control of the bills committee did not end with the vote. Soon after the meeting, Legcos secretariat issued a circular to lawmakers on the committee, asking them to express in writing before Monday noon whether the guideline should be adopted  instead of letting To deal with it.

To insisted that only he, as the presiding member, had the power to issue circulars, and the matter had to be debated at the meeting.

Ive lost faith in the secretariat, it has become a political tool, To said.

However, the secretariat said it was practical to issue the circular, as the bills committee lacked an elected chair at the moment.

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The plane was carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

A Boeing 737 skidded off a runway into a river after crash-landing during a lightning storm in Florida on Friday, officials said, with terrified passengers all safely evacuated to shore from the stricken jet's wings.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down ... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."

Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told a news conference early Saturday it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane ... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft", NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook Saturday.

'Lightning and thunder'

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the crash-landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters attended the scene.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday a team was being sent to investigate the incident.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to website FlightRadar24.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October, and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa, occurred shortly after takeoff.

 2019 AFP
The IMF said that carbon pricing is "the single most effective mitigation instrument" in cutting greenhouse gas emissions

At $70 per ton of carbon dioxide, a carbon tax would be the most efficient means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to an International Monetary Fund report published Friday.

But for the moment, carbon taxes remain unpopular, particularly in France, where plans to increase it to 55 euros (or $61.60) from 44.60 euros recently ignited the Yellow Vest protest movement.

The French government was forced to suspend the plan in the face of popular revolt.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 by more than 200 countries, aims to cap overall increases in global temperatures at two degrees centigrade above the pre-industrial era.

"The 2C target would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around $70 per ton," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar, the fund's head of fiscal affairs, said in a joint blog post.

"There is a growing consensus that carbon pricing... is the single most effective mitigation instrument," they said.

It allows for a reduction in energy consumption, favors cleaner energies and mobilizes private financing, according to the IMF.

"It also provides much needed revenues," they said, adding that countries could use that income to finance sustainable and more inclusive growth.

In the report, the IMF said that in China, the world's largest emitter, and in India or South Africa, countries which rely heavily on coal, a carbon tax of just $35 per ton would cut emissions by 30 percent.

But in nine countries that use little coal, such as Ivory Coast, Costa Rica or France, the result would be a reduction of only 10 percent.

 2019 AFP
Morocco and Tunisia are two success stories of the Arab Spring. They are two countries struggling to establish democratic rules in a regional environment plagued by the rise of the military as a kingmaker.

In Algeria, the army scapegoated an ailing president and is currently trying to refurbish its facade despite mounting popular protests.

In Libya, renegade general Khalifa Haftar, bolstered by foreign support, is on the offensive to take Tripoli where a UN-backed government of national accord is trying to hold still.

In Mauritania and Egypt, the head of the military is the head of state with a blank check to quell dissent and flout basic democratic rules and human rights standards.

In such a regional context, the two stable Maghreb countries face increasing security and economic challenges. In Tunisia, the degradation of security conditions in Libya implies more displaced people flowing into its borders seeking refuge and medical treatment in crowded hospitals.

Tunisian border towns rely heavily on trade with Libya and the war will only hamper the flow of goods.

Morocco will also have to wait for a new Algerian leadership that sees the Maghreb as a win-win project. The North African Kingdom has on multiple occasions called on Algeria to open the borders in order to pave the way for an integrated region. However, the call falls on deaf Algerian ears.

Both Morocco and Tunisia are looking closely to the uncertainty in their surrounding where military regimes continue their power grab.
Indian residents inspect damage on a street in Puri in the eastern state of Odisha after Cyclone Fani made landfall

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India.

Eight people reportedly died in India and Bangladeshi police said nine perished even before the eye of the storm rumbled over the border in the morning.

Some 400,000 people have been taken to shelters, Bangladeshi officials told AFP.

Fourteen villages were inundated as a tidal surge breached flood dams. The dead included a minor in Barguna district on the coast and five others killed by lightening.

"We are mooring our boat because it's the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again," Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

With the storm weakening but still packing a punch, winds of up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) per hour and heavy rain battered overnight and on Saturday morning the Indian state of West Bengal and its capital Kolkata, including the Sundarbans mangrove forest area.

"It's a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater," said Manturam Pakhira, Sunderbans affairs minister.

Residents wade along a partially flooded street in the Indian holy city of Puri, where the massive storm made landfall

"Locals spent a sleepless night and many came out of their thatched huts and stood on the river banks measuring the level of the water," Pakhira said.

"Several homes have been flattened, roofs blown off, electric poles and trees toppled."

Several hundred thousand people were told to evacuate coastal areas of West Bengal before the arrival of Fani ("snake" in Bengali), with 5,000 leaving the low-lying areas and old, dilapidated buildings of Kolkata, home to 4.6 million people.

"Nearly a dozen people were trapped as an old building in the northern part of the city has collapsed," Kolkata's mayor Firhad Hakim said. "They have been rescued and shifted to a safer place."

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal's chief minister and a key figure in India's ongoing mega-election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Kolkata's international airport was ordered closed. Train services were also halted.

Cyclone Fani ripped down trees, power lines and damaged buildings

Flying trees

Worst hit was the state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

Eight people were killed in Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris.

While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster management official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 people injured in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri alone.

"It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us," said one Puri resident.

"There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air," the man told AFP. "The wind is deafening."

An Indian resident rides a bike past a bulldozer clearing debris from a road in Puri

PTI reported that a construction crane collapsed and that a police booth was dragged 60 metres (yards) by the wind.

As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services.

Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and windows on many buildings were smashed.

Puri's famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped damage, however.

Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his six-strong family collapsed, its roof blown away.

"I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime," he told AFP.

Graphic on the path of Cyclone Fani in India and Bangladesh

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed," Odisha's chief minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hundreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs.

burs-stu/qan

 2019 AFP
Traditional Songket weaver. Credit: Universiti Teknologi MARA

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr. Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layerswhich include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

Explore further Mobile phone 'Have-nots' sidelined

More information: The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.
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ATHOL  It was a rich life of family, farming and community. And for many years James E. Galusha delighted residents during Thurman Maple Days when they toured Toad Hill Maple Farm and its maple syrup operation.

On Thursday, just four months after Galushas wife Norma Jean passed away, Galusha, 78, died while a patient in Glens Falls Hospital. Married in 1959, Jim and Norma would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August.

James Elliott Galusha April 5, 1941  May 2, 2019

One of the couples favorite adventures was taking long Sunday drives and traveling out west for horse auctions and rodeos, according to his obituary.

A horseman for many years, Galusha won several awards with Long Shadows Duke, an American Quarter Horse.

Serving as the Thurman town justice for six years and the town supervisor for four years, Galusha was also well known for leading the bidding at Warrensburgs annual auction at the Smoke Eaters Jamboree and for several charity auctions.

In the 1960s he began Toad Hill Stud Farm, where he trained, bred, boarded, bought and sold horses. And he competed throughout New York in horse shows and in team roping events at local rodeos.

According to Galushas obituary, friends may call from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Alexander Funeral Home, 3809 Main St., Warrensburg.

A memorial service will immediately follow the visitation at 4 p.m. at the funeral home, and burial for both Jim and Norma will follow at the Warrensburg Cemetery.

A dinner will be held after the burial at the First Presbyterian Church of Warrensburg, 2 Stewart Farrar Ave.

Please visit www.alexanderfh.net for online guest book, condolences and directions.

Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli covers Washington County government and other county news and events.

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Editor:

I have three sons and one son-in-law who have served our country for 17-27 years. My Marine was injured in Afghanistan and has three Purple Hearts.

In October 2011, my husband passed after a short bout of cancer. On his gravestone, I left two dimes; the meaning known to only my husband and I. My Marine left one of his Purple Hearts.

On Monday, April 22, I went to the Moss Street Cemetery and the dimes and Purple Heart were there. I went on Sunday, April 28, and lo and behold, the dimes were there and the Purple Heart gone! After eight years, the ribbon faded, the shiny medal still recognizable, but not as shiny. It could not mean anything to anyone but our family.

So, please, if you have it, return it. It cant possibly be as important to you as it is to us.

Disappointed and brokenhearted.

Patti Stoy and Family, Hudson Falls

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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
Morocco has offered key intelligence to help Sri Lanka avert further attacks after offering tip offs that led to identifying the perpetrators of the Sunday Easter Bombing in the Island nation, Indian paper The Economic Times reported.

Morocco, which maintains a substantial information bank on ISIS and its network, provided leads to Sri Lanka in collaboration with India that led to an operation in Colombo to eliminate terrorists who were planning a second round of attacks after Easter Sunday bombings, the Indian paper said.

The paper also highlighted that Morocco cooperates closely with India in counterterrorism and that both countries lent a helping hand to Sri Lanka in the wake of the bombings that targeted churches and hotels in different parts of Sri Lanka, killing at least 359 people.

Morocco maintains close cooperation with many leading countries in the global fight against terrorism including the US, Spain and France as well as India, recalls the paper, noting that the North African Kingdom signed last February with India a cooperation agreement to counter terrorism.

Morocco, which follows a moderate school of Islam, has one of the successful records of counterterrorism and de-radicalization. Last year Abdelhak Khiame, Head of Moroccos Central Bureau of Legal Investigation (BCIJ), said Moroccan security services dismantled 183 terrorist cells in the country that were in various stages of planning 361 devastating terrorist projects. More than 3,000 people, including 292 individuals with previous criminal record, have been arrested by Moroccan security services, said the Economic Times.

The paper also highlighted the measures taken by Morocco to foster the legal framework including the adoption of laws that criminalize a range of terrorism-related actions including foreign travel to conflict areas such as Syria as well as the creation of the counterterrorism agency BCIJ.
The semi driver saw the car circle around behind him, so he swerved and struck the Volkwagen, pinning the car under the trailer.

Johnston fired several more rounds into the passenger door of the semi. The semi then pulled onto Atalissa Road, just south of the interstate, and observed the black Volkswagen travel south on Atalissa Road and turn around and park.

Moments later, the black Volkswagen approached the semi.

Iowa State Patrol arrived on scene, and Johnston fired two shots at a trooper, striking the squad car.

Officers fired on the Volkswagen. Additional officers arrived and secured the scene.

Johnston was brought to an ambulance to be checked out and was transported to the Cedar County Jail. After his arrest, he mentioned he was taking several prescription drugs and had recently been hospitalized.

Officers found several prescription pill bottles in plain view in the vehicle.

Johnston also said he became enraged or obsessed over a family supposedly killed in a crash with a semi and that the motive behind his actions was to harm a truck driver or truck drivers in retaliation, according to the application.
You just have to wait for Mother Nature to heal itself, Onken said. The flood event and crest doesnt concern as much as what the forecast holds for next week. We dont have any room for heavy rain.

Forecasts for next week predict rainfall on four days. With land and levees at full saturation already, even an inch or two of rain could yield major repercussions for farmers.

We are really not in a panic situation by any stretch. All were doing is being concerned and attentive going into next week, Onken said. This is the longest stretch of time that weve been in major flood stage. Its a learning experience for us.

Although it remains too early to know how flooding will affect the price of crops, farmers said it is unlikely consumers will be affected.

The consumer will never see (an issue), Onken said. Its going to have to take a lot more. We have such a surplus of commodities on hand right now. As you can see by watching the commodity trade right now, in Nebraska and Iowa, its not reflected in the value of our corn and soybeans one bit.
Representatives of food and beverages major PepsiCo India, which has decided not to pursue the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, met state officials Friday seeking "amicable solution for everyone".

Senior officials including Chief Secretary J N Singh and Additional Chief Secretary of the agriculture department Sanjay Prasad met PepsiCo India representatives in Gandhinagar.

"PepsiCo representatives informed us that the company has decided to withdraw cases against nine farmers in Gujarat," Prasad said after the meeting.

Also Read: PepsiCo withdraws lawsuit against Gujarat potato farmers

The company will now file necessary applications in the concerned courts, he told reporters. The company's delegation was led by Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President, Snacks Category.

"We came here to update the government about our decision to withdraw cases against farmers. The meeting was positive. It was aimed at bringing an amicable solution for everyone in the longer run," he told reporters.

The multi-national firm has sued nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts for allegedly growing a variety of potato for which it claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

Also Read: BT Buzz: Pepsi vs farmers - Lay off the potatoes

Following public outcry, it announced Thursday that it will withdraw the cases.

Meanwhile, following the PepsiCo's litigation, some 25 major farmers' bodies including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body, Seed Sovereignty Forum, to protect farmers' rights to seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith, said farm rights activist Kapil Shah.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non- negotiable," he said.

Also Read: PepsiCo seeks Rs 1 crore from four farmers it sued for patented Lay's potatoes

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a watch on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, a common practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips of Lays brand), while small potatoes are discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed only those potatoes. We have now realized that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.
1944  75 years ago: After eighteen months in various naval hospitals, preceded by a year of war during which time he was reported killed, took part in seven major and twenty-one minor naval engagements, and carried an unexploded 20 mm. anti-aircraft shell in his right hip for two weeks, Allen Gordon came home last night. He was driven by Earl Wendt in an ambulance.

1969  50 years ago: Two purse snatchers were apprehended about 10 last night by definitely non-apathetic citizens, who chased them and held them until police arrived.

Mrs. Robert Horn, 39, of 1013 South 11th St., Silvis, was leaving Moline Public Hospital, where she had been visiting her mother, who is hospitalized there, about 9:45 p.m.

As she approached her car in the east parking lot, two youths grabbed her purse and ran through the lot, over the terrace and onto 8th St. in the 500 block.

1994  25 years ago: ROCK ISLAND  After eight days of questioning 100 candidates, attorneys this morning picked a woman to be the 12th juror who will decide whether Larry Simpson brutally killed and sexually assaulted 5-year-old Amber Sutton.

Ask the Times appears on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can call 563-333-2632, email ask@qctimes.com or write Ask the Times, Quad-City Times, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA 52801.

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If those stories aren't enough to scare drivers into taking care, perhaps doubling the bite will raise awareness of the prohibition and scare scofflaws into compliance.

Cheers to Moline for pursing a light-timing study for the Avenue of the Cities.

"We have never gone back and looked at either the timings or the phasing since those intersections were installed years and years ago," city engineer Scott Hinton told the Moline City Council this week. "We have them all timed together so we can coordinate them, but the coordination doesn't work real well."

Motorists who use this busy business district artery should be applauding. So should pedestrians who walk the corridor and would no doubt welcome changes that make it easier for them to cross the busy avenue.

Though the study is expected to cost $200,000, it will be a good investment if it makes this central essential corridor safer, easier to travel and more inviting.
I am so sick of hearing about the media urging people to get vaccinated, get a booster shot, etc. While Covid is a deadly and dangerous disease to get, it is just common sense to mask up, wash your hands and disinfect. I believe everyone should get vaccinated and booster shots or this will never go away! Joe Biden should mandate it for frontline workers. Stimulus checks won't solve this issue. Mask up if you don't believe in vaccinations, and shut up if you get the virus from not protecting yourselves and others! Thank you for your time.
A celebration of the culture of Moline's culturally diverse Floreciente neighborhood will be held Sunday afternoon.

Celebra Floreciente, a neighborhood festival, will happen at the Catalyst Kitchen, located inside St. John's Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Ave. from 2-6 p.m.

The fest, hosted by the church and A Palomares Social Justice Center, will feature: food vendors, music from DJ Candela, free children's activities including Miller's Petting Zoo, games and an inflatable obstacle course.

Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers, director of Cafe Mundo, said in a press release the cafe aims to encourage acceptance and inclusion of the many cultures that exist in the Quad-Cities.

"Food perhaps is the most universal language, and it brings people together," she said. "By breaking bread together, we break down barriers and appreciate the joy of experiencing another culture's food, music and other things that make it unique."

A portion of the proceeds from Cafe Mundo dinners will go towards scholarships for entrepreneurs to become certified food managers before they start their business.

The event was made possible by a generous grant from the Exelon Corporation, according to the press release.

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But as the Mississippi River reached a record crest of 22.64 feet at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, she said the flooding became an emergency.

"Our block wall has shifted in about two feet from where we placed it; the water moved it two feet," she said. "And (Thursday), we had water at the very top of our blocks. If we had any other rise in the crest, that water was coming over."

Managers, she said, had to make an immediate decision to reinforce the inside of the building with a sandbag wall.

"It was a lesson we learned from the city of Davenport: You better have a back-up plan," she said.

Crews brought in two truckloads of sand, sopping wet from the rain, then took them to the building by boat.

"We pulled as many available crew people as we could. And friends and family came from Iowa City and drove in, and took off work, to come help," she said. "By 2:30, the sandbag wall was built inside the building to protect us in case water comes over the wall."

By 4:30 p.m., she said, all they could do was "sit back and watch."
Although its long been a dream to serve in public office, Iowa City businesswoman Veronica Tessler has decided not to run for Congress.

Tessler posted on social media that with a heavy heart, she has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination in Iowa 2nd District. There will be an open-seat race in 2020 because U.S. Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack has announced he will not see re-election. Loebsack was first elected in 2006.

Tesslers announcement follows a similar decision by state Sen. Kevin Kinney of Oxford not to run.

Like Kinney, Tessler, 33, has not endorsed another candidates.

However, in her announcement she offered suggestions on who should run in the 24-county district that stretches from Johnson County to the Mississippi River on the east and Missouri to the south.

For too long, Democrats have played it safe, she wrote. These times call for courageous leaders, and I urge those willing to fight for the solutions we need to get in the race, she said.

Loebsacks retirement, she said, provides an opportunity for fresh, bold leadership.
The Moline Police Department has announced the arrest of a man on suspicion of being a gang member being armed with a gun.

Maycol J. Lopez-Miller, 20, Moline, was arrested around 5:38 p.m., Thursday, in the 2100 block 6th Avenue, Moline, according to a department news release. A residence in that block was being watched by Moline and East Moline police because of reports of gang activity.

The officers allegedly observed Lopez-Miller, a known member of the Latin King gang, leaving that residence while carrying a revolver and arrested him on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, according to the release.

He was being held Friday morning in the Rock Island County Jail, according to jail staff. He was expected to make his first appearance in the afternoon.

The investigation is still open, and police are asking for information from the public.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident or any gang activity is asked to contact the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.

Crime Stoppers can also be contacted through the P3 Tips app.

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Two men have been charged with stealing copper piping from the appliances on the roof of the former Hotel Davenport and Conference Center, located at 5202 Brady St.

Todd Aaron Cottrell, 48, of 2503 Pacific St., Davenport, and Jeffery Robb Willson, 53, no address listed, each are charged with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

Each of the charges is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Both men were being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail on $20,000 bond each, cash or surety.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police officer Dwight Swartz, at 5:59 a.m. Friday officers were dispatched to the closed hotel to investigate a report of people on the roof damaging and stealing property.

Officers found Cottrell and Willson on the roof, where they used a DeWalt saw to cut copper piping from several appliances. The two men were cutting off the copper pipe with the intent to sell the metal.

Police seized the saw, which had copper shavings on the blade.
ITC Ltd is mulling to broaden its reach in the Indian market by expanding its dairy beverages portfolio to the rest of the country by next summer. The company is also looking to grab a 5-10% market share in the first year of its operations.

With the launch of its three fruit beverages under its B Natural brand in PET bottles, ITC is on the expansion spree. The company presently offers nine flavours of fruit juices in tetra packs and has a market share of 9-10% in the Rs 2,000-crore fruit beverages component.

The Tobaccos-to-hotels major's food division is already present in India selling fruits-based beverages for the past four-five years. ITC also offers dairy-based beverages which it soft-launched in the South in December 2018.

Also Read:ITC, Patanjali under lens for not passing on GST rate cuts to consumers

With the launch of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk last December, the company entered the ready-to-drink dairy beverages market. The milkshake market in India is around 1,000 crore.

"We would be extending our dairy beverage business and will be launching across the country by the next summer. We expect to clock 5-10% of the Rs 1,000-crore market in the first year of operations," Sanjay Singal, Chief operating officer for dairy and beverages unit at ITC told PTI.

Also Read:ITC to launch milk-based beverages to take on Coca-Cola, Britannia

ITC is also planning to export its dry fruits-based dairy beverages badam milkshake to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It had also unveiled its Aashirvaad brand in Kolkata and Bihar. The company offers packaged milk and curds under this brand.

Meanwhile, Singal told the news agency that ITC would focus concentrate only in the Eastern markets for its packaged milk business in the foreseeable future as there is less competition in these markets.

He also said that the company will launch vegetable juices within a month and is also assessing possibilities in the water segment.
The Figge was without an executive director for 18 months after former director Sean O'Harrow became director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art.

Most of the University of Iowa's collection of 12,000 pieces is housed at the Figge after a 2008 flood irreparably damaged the Iowa City museum.

Schiffer said Friday he's moving to Iowa City, but not to become new director of the new University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. The plan is to break ground for that museum June 7, and have the building completed in two years.

We are very grateful for Tims contributions to the Figge and the community as a whole, said Cindy Carlson, current Figge board president. We will greatly miss the leadership, knowledge and love for art that he brought to the Figge.

During his tenure, the museum has become a hub of community activity, as well as a major factor in community initiatives such as the Q2030 regional vision and Davenport riverfront plans, she added. I am proud of what we have done here and believe we have lived our mission of bringing people and art together.
When Georgia's biggest political star left Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at the altar earlier this week, Republicans cheered.

Stacey Abrams, who came whisper-close to winning her state's governor's race last year, spurned the Senate minority leader's efforts to entice her to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue next year. Instead, Abrams is expected to make another bid for governor in 2022.

Nor was she the first much-talked-about Democrat to take a pass on a Senate race. Texas's Beto O'Rourke, a narrow loser last year against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, is running for president, instead of taking on Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn.

In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is also expected to soon announce a presidential bid, after ruling out a challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. And in Iowa, Rep. Cindy Axne, who flipped a House seat to Democratic in the 2018 midterms, announced that she is staying put, rather than challenging GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

The political world is fixated on the rapidly growing 2020 presidential field, but it is worth remembering how much Democrats have at stake in next year's Senate races. They need three more seats to take control if they win the White House, and four if they do not.
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BISMARCK, N.D. | North Dakota plans to invest $33 million in the unmanned aircraft systems industry in an attempt to establish the state as a premier location for drone research, testing and commercialization.

Gov. Doug Burgum is expected to sign a bill authorizing the investment in a ceremony Monday with state leaders. The majority of the money will go toward building out infrastructure to support operations to fly drones beyond the sight of the pilot.

About $2 million will be used to support an unmanned aircraft test site in Grand Forks that's been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones without chase planes to observe the flight. Another $3 million will upgrade infrastructure at Grand Sky, the country's first unmanned aircraft business park located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The first trans-Atlantic flight of a medium-altitude unmanned aircraft flew from Grand Sky to England last July.

Burgum lauded the state's strong commitment to supporting researchers, entrepreneurs and technology in the field when announcing the decision this week.

"The exciting work made possible by our statewide UAS infrastructure network and beyond visual line of sight capability will diversify our economy and create lasting benefits for taxpayers, businesses and industry alike," Burgum said.

The new commitment will raise North Dakota's total investment in drone research and development to $77 million.

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A Montana senator has introduced a bill that would deny pensions to a former Pine Ridge doctor and any federal employee convicted of child sexual abuse.

The law would make sure "any monster who's guilty of the unspeakable crimes that Stanley Patrick Weber was convicted of will not receive a federal government pension," Republican Sen. Steve Daines said at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 1. "A convicted pedophile should not receive one cent of taxpayer money in retirement benefits."

Daines' bill, Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act, is inspired by the fact that Weber  who awaits trial in Rapid City to face allegations that he sexually abused Native American boys while working at the Indian Health Service on the Pine Ridge Reservation  is set to receive more than $1.8 million while serving his more than 18-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing boys on Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"It's shocking that a government employee can still receive a pension after being convicted of sexually abusing children," said Daines, calling it "unacceptable" and "outrageous."

Daines said he hopes federal agencies will try to come up with a fix as he works on the legislative angle.

Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee, principal deputy director of the IHS, told Daines he is exploring "every possible avenue" to hold Weber accountable and make sure he doesn't receive his pension.

Weahkee said he's working with lawyers to see if IHS is able to cancel the pension itself, or if it can only be done through legislation. He also said he asked the Health and Human Services Department and Surgeon General's Office to see if they can do anything.

Weber, 70, receives his pension, worth about $100,000 a year, from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which sends doctors to the IHS and other federal agencies. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

There are three current and planned investigations into the IHS, which for decades failed to investigate or cleared Weber after receiving tips that he was abusing children. A White House task force is investigating how Weber was able to sexually assault children in his care and how to prevent future abuse, while the Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing the effectiveness of the actions IHS has already taken. The IHS is hiring an independent contractor to review whether laws and policies were followed in the past, and what future improvements it can make.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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PM Narendra Modi Saturday hit back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over reports that Gandhi's former business partner received defence offset contracts during UPA regime.

Addressing an election rally in UP's Pratapgarh, PM Modi said, "Today I read that during UPA, one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha (It was their government, their friend and their own defence deal.... which means they had arranged it all)".

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

We'll fire up the economy with NYAY, create jobs, says Rahul Gandhi

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up.

On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owed 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

Edited by Aseem Thapliyal
BELLE FOURCHE | George Douglas Doug Johnson, 83, passed away at the South Dakota Human Services Center in Yankton, after a ten-year-long battle with dementia.

The third of eight girls and two boys, Doug was born on Jan. 27, 1936 in Newell, SD to George J. and Mamie (Stolnack) Johnson. His family rented ranches from south of Newell to south of Camp Crook until purchasing a ranch between Castle Rock and Redig in 1946. At the age of 10, he trailed 500 head of sheep from Camp Crook to their new home 50 miles away, with a 15-year-old friend, one horse and one dog in four days.

He attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1954. While in high school he worked as a bellhop at the Don Pratt Hotel for his room. Following high school, he attended Colorado State University for one year. Along with working on the family ranch, he worked in the Fall in the sugar beet factory and drove truck until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1961, where he served as a Military Policeman at Fort Riley, Kansas. His job in the Army was to bring soldiers back who went AWOL. On one of his trips to New York to find a prisoner, he met Patricia Ann Caswell. Following his honorable discharge from the service in 1963, he flew back to New York and the couple married in October of 1963.

They moved to the family ranch and had four children. He and his brother worked on the ranch until it was sold in 1974. Doug then bought a ranch southeast of Belle Fourche where he resided until dementia forced him into an assisted living. In 1977, he purchased an interest in a car dealership in Rapid City. He sold his interest in the dealership in 1984 and bought another dealership in Spearfish in 1986. He owned and operated that business for 17 years. He always said his best customers were the farmers and ranchers from the five-state region.

While he would spend his weekdays at the car dealership, his weekends were always spent on the ranch. During his time selling cars, he also bought a registered Angus herd and sold bulls for 20 years. His wife loved animals and calved out and kept records for the herd until her death in 1987.

Through the years he was a director for the Federal Land Bank, holding that position for ten years, and was on the advisory board for Norwest Bank. He won numerous awards for excellence and customer satisfaction through his 25 years as a Ford dealer. He was a member of the Buckaroos and the Custer Trail Riders. The highlight of the year for him was the annual trip to the NFR in Vegas. Following his retirement from the Ford dealership, he would still get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and go to town for his morning coffee, occasionally help his son with the morning chores and field work, and his favorite, Chase the tail of a cow on horseback.

Doug is survived by his three children; Tammie Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Tyron (Tami) Johnson, Coffeyville, KS and Troy (Carolyn Stansberry) Johnson, St. Onge, SD; grandchildren, Jack and Jessa, St. Onge, SD; brother, Andrew (Linda) Johnson, Rapid City, SD; sisters; Betty Niemi, Buffalo, SD, Doris Johnson, Rapid City, SD, Beverly Miller, Mission, TX, Darlene Schafer, Mission, TX, Arlene Reynold, Rapid City, SD, Judy Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD and Ida (Melvin) Johnson, Apple Valley, MN; and friend and brother-in-law, Arnie Schmidt, Brandon, SD.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Patricia; daughter, Teryl Johnson; and sister, Marilyn Schmidt.

Doug will be laid to rest privately with his family present at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A public celebration of Dougs Life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, from noon-4 p.m. at Troy and Carolyns home at 11295 SD HWY 34 between Belle Fourche and St. Onge. All of Dougs friends are encouraged to stop by.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels & Isburg Crematory of Spearfish.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com.
The oversight of private residential treatment programs for troubled teens in Montana no longer rests in the hands of program owners who, for the past 12 years, have regulated the same programs they operate.

On Friday, Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill into law that terminates the Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs (PAARP) board and moves licensing of programs under the state health department.

I would say its one of the first steps toward regulation, said Sen. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, who carried the Senate Bill 267.

This is not the last step. Its the beginning of a process of paying very focused attention to both the implementation of that law but to other potential activities that will bring these programs into compliance with every other residential treatment program, Sands said.

The board has been criticized as the fox guarding the henhouse because the 12 years since its creation have seen 58 complaints against programs, yet the board has not issued any significant sanctions, a yearlong investigation by the Missoulian found.

Under the move to Department of Public Health and Human Services Quality Assurance Division, which oversees more than 70 similar facilities, more complaints against programs will be public.

The Department of Labor and Industry, which oversaw the PAARP board, and the board chairman both conceded that the board lacked the resources to properly oversee programs and supported the shift to DPHHS.

I do think that DPHHS is probably better set up to offer the kind of oversight and regulation than is the Department of Labor and Industry, board chair John Santa, who co-founded Montana Academy in Marion, told the Missoulian.

Santa said he feels confident in the move because DPHHS has indicated they would be cooperative with us in creating regulations that meet the kinds of levels of care that we represent and that weve been operating under for the last 10 years.

The health department has yet to establish new rules for standards of care at private alternative residential treatment programs.

The original version of SB267 included language specifying minimum standards of care, but that language was removed in an amendment by Rep. Bob Brown, R-Thompson Falls.

Brown, who previously worked at the now-closed program known as Spring Creek Lodge where a student died by suicide in 2004, said he proposed the amendment because language in the bill could hinder programs ability to exist.

The fact that those things could be a barrier to these programs operating, how is that not a huge warning sign? said Tamara Cherwin, who attended Montana Academy from 2010 to 2011.

If you cant operate with minimum standards of care and qualified staff, I dont think you should operate at all, Cherwin said.

Cherwin said shes grateful the bill passed but still feels that its not enough and that she still deals with PTSD that she was diagnosed with from her time at the program.

When I think of the state of Montana, I should think of huckleberries and hiking and Glacier Park, Cherwin said. Instead, I think of the worst two years of my life.

Santa said he has some concerns about the rules that DPHHS could create, but declined to specify examples that would hinder a programs ability to operate.

They could create regulations that would make it impossible for the levels of care we offer, and that would not be a good thing because it would close a number of businesses throughout Montana and it would also take away levels of care that are very important, Santa said.

Carter Andersen, the administrator for the Quality Assurance Division at DPHHS, expressed an interest in working to accommodate programs needs in a February PAARP board meeting.

Andersen is currently responsible for the oversight of residential treatment programs in the state, including a program where he was formerly the CEO called Acadia Montana, which has been criticized recently by the state of Oregon for its use of chemical restraints and other practices.

The rules governing Acadia Montana and other residential treatment programs for youth remain unclear, as The Montana Standard reported.

Sands said her efforts to bring increased oversight to programs isn't done. She said she remains interested in following the programs' transition to the health department.

Sands also said she intends to continue to bring up religious programs in the interim between legislative sessions. Those programs are allowed to operate unregulated if they claim ties to a religious organization. Currently, if children at religious programs are sexually assaulted or psychologically or physically abused, the state's child protection system can move the child to safety but can do nothing to the program or its employees.

House Bill 222, which would have regulated religious programs, died in committee, adding to a history of failed attempts to bring religious programs under licensure.

However, Sands found success with another bill which made it illegal for staff and therapists at private residential treatment programs to have sexual relationships with the teens they treat  even if those clients are 16, the age of consent in Montana.

All three of the bills in the 2019 legislative session to increase protections for youth in residential treatment programs were met with emotional testimonies from former program participants.

"Its the courage of people to come forward in all of this that makes a difference," Sands said.

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Gov. Steve Bullock signed Hannas Act into law Friday, authorizing and providing funding for the state Department of Justice to hire a missing persons specialist to help quickly coordinate searches for missing Montanans  especially Native Americans.

The bill is named for Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman who went missing on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in July 2013 and was found murdered soon after. Rep. Rae Peppers, a Democrat representing Harris's hometown of Lame Deer, carried the bill for the State-Tribal Relations Committee.

Hannas Act was one of 24 bills Bullock signed into law Friday, and one of two carried by Peppers. The other, House Bill 54, requires Montana law enforcement to accept reports of missing persons without delay and compile a complete and accurate record of information for cases that go unsolved after 30 days, including a photograph of the missing person. Reports of missing persons younger than 21 must also be entered into the FBIs National Crime Information Center database within two hours.

In addition to Peppers's bills, Bullock signed another bill requested by the State-Tribal Relations Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 40, carried by Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, requires the state Office of Public Instruction to maintain a database of photographs of Montana schoolchildren, though their parents can decide to opt out. The Missing Persons Clearinghouse at the state Department of Justice would have continuous access to the database.

Montana's attorney general called the new law an important step forward in solving missing persons cases.

"My team and I have been working on this legislation since before its inception, and we are already working on its implementation," Tim Fox said in a Friday statement.

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One man's odyssey through the world of books
Guyana Goldstrike Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties. It explores for gold deposits. It primarily holds an interest in the Marudi Gold project that covers an area of approximately 13,500 acres located in Guyana, South America. The company was formerly known as Swift Resources Inc. and changed its name to Guyana Goldstrike Inc. in March 2017. Guyana Goldstrike Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Just because cryptocurrency is having a bad time of it doesnt mean crypto thieves arent thriving: On the contrary, theyve managed to nab at least $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year alone, according to CipherTrace cybersecurity firm. That figure includes outright theft from crypto exchanges and complicated digital scams.

If you break it down, theft alone was $356 million for Q1 2019--the rest was fraud.

Even more specifically, exit scams in which crypto company founders steal everything accounted for $195 million in losses.

CiperTrace CEO Dave Jeans blames inadequate regulations and enforcement, noting that insider issues such as fraud or theft have grown mostly due to operations outside of the U.S. where regulations are poor, or simply due to greed and mismanagement by young management teams at these cryptocurrency companies that are managing hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

For last year, CipherTrace noted in its Q4 Anti-Money Laundering Report that $1.7 billion in stolen and exit scammed crypto needs laundering. That figure represented a 3.6-fold increase over 2017 thefts, even though token prices were lower.

The most high-profile exit scam went down in Canada, when an estimated 90,000+ investors on the largest crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, were left high and dry after the CEO and owner, Gerald Cotten, passed away and took his passwords with him to the grave. Perhaps it wasnt an outright scam, but it does speak to the crypto exit vacuum that investors have to deal with in this little-known and little-understood digital world. All told, these investors lost around $190 million in fiat and digital tokens that have since been rendered to the black hole.

It was a one-man show that took everyone down with it.

Last summer, Chinese police busted a group of hackers who had allegedly stolen around $87 million in cryptocurrencies in what was the highest-value crypt heist in China so far.

Related: Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs On Blue Chip Earnings

During that same period, South Korea-based Bithumb, the sixth-biggest exchange in the world, revealed that it had lost $30 million to hackers, leading to a temporary shut-down of its services.

And just last week, the New York Attorney General said that over $850 million in crypto had been misplaced by Bitfinex. Last Thursday, crypto markets lost a whopping $10 billion in a single hour after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Bitfinex and Tether of rigging the market in order to hide an $850-million loss. James aid that Bitfinex used up to $700 million in stablecoin Tethers cash reserves to cover up the losses.

And on the theft side of things, new techniques are popping up at breakneck speed, with crypto thieves using methods. One such method involves SIM swapping, a fraud that tricks a provider into transferring a subscribers phone number to a SIM card controlled by someone else, according to Reuters. And then its just a matter of emptying their wallet.

The wider picture, though, is that this is a major global--and even geopolitical problem because its the new heart and soul of money-laundering and terrorism financing. From CipherTraces perspective, then, its a gold mine as it flaunts its AML and ATL wares for the crypto world. With that in mind, CipherTrace is now expecting a whirlwind of new global regulations aimed to make crypto less amenable to the underworld.

By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com
The 37th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival will return to Santa Marias Rancho Sisquoc Winery on Saturday, when winemakers and winery owners will pour from their collections and answer wine-related questions. Held from 1 to 4 p.m., the festival will feature over 70 wineries, many pouring newly released wines. In addition to tasting from locally grown varietals, festivalgoers will enjoy local food purveyors, live music, culinary and wine demonstrations, and a silent auction.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday refuted the report that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," the Congress Chief replied during a press conference.

Gandhi's reply came after BJP President Amit Shah slammed him in a tweet, over a BusinessToday.in exclusive story, alleging his company Backops Limited associated with Gandhi's former business partner Ulrik Mcknight received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Shah tweeted, "With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way."

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

Documents accessed by India Today indicate that Ulrik Mcknight received defence contracts as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime.

According to filings made by the Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. The Congress President owned a majority of 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before it was wound up. On the other hand, his business partner Ulrik Mcknight owned 35% equity in the firm. According to Gandhi's election affidavit filed in 2004, he declared movable assets belonging to Backops UK, including its three bank account details. The company was dissolved in February 2009.

However, Mcknight, in 2011, went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence company Naval Group against Scorpene submarines. Additionally, Mcknight's future companies went on to benefit from the offset contracts given by the French company.

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019 Live Updates: Cyclone Fani throws campaign schedules out of gear in West Bengal; Modi, Shah, Mamata's rallies re-scheduled
" " A maintenance worker inspects the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel in the CERN (European Organization For Nuclear Research) research center on Nov. 19, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Vladimir Simicek/isifa/Getty Images

When the Large Hadron Collider was first turned on in 2008, there were seemingly endless possibilities  and ideas  for what it might find. Maybe it would spot the elusive Higgs boson, which would help scientists confirm how other particles gain mass. Maybe it would uncover a host of new particles that would give physicists not just confirmation of supersymmetry, but also a bonanza of new science to study. Maybe it would create a new universe where it was OK to eat Cheetos for dinner and protons looked like Froot Loops.

Some of these possibilities were more likely than others. And a few of them (ahem) were, in fact, not really within the LHC's scope. While naysayers predicted that the LHC's mini Big Bangs would create black holes that would destroy the world and eat the universe like so many Cheetos for dinner, the truth is that there weren't that many theories that the LHC could prove or disprove.

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And in terms of that scope: No, the LHC is not going to prove string theory  but it might provide evidence to support ideas that are central to string theory.

Think about it like this: I'm walking along and see a tunnel. I think that tunnel might have some sort of creek running through it, so I throw a ball in and see what happens when it comes out the other side. If the ball comes out sopping wet, I could say that it totally supports my theory that the tunnel contained a stream. But someone else could say that it supports the theory that there is a sprinkler in the tunnel. Still another could say that it is actually raining in the tunnel, and a wet ball is just the thing to prove it.

The only thing we can say for certain is that the wet ball supports all those theories, and perhaps rules out the theory that the tunnel is bone-dry. At the LHC, physicists with very disparate ideas are looking for "the ball is wet" statements to support  or refute  theories about how particles (and the universe) work. One of those theories is string theory.

String theory basically says that particles are composed of energies that resemble vibrating strings. The distinctive vibrations of the strings create all the different particles and forces. So, fundamentally, all matter and forces in the universe are made of these vibrating strings [source: Greene]. But here's a fun fact: String theory doesn't really become a unifying theory  one that can explain the makings of every force and particle in the universe  unless it turns out that the universe also has more than three dimensions. Which, you know, is hard to get a lot of physicists to shake hands on.

And for good reason. This not being Hogwarts, we can't just apparate into another dimension to check on whether it's really there. We can only look around and see three observable dimensions in front of us. But you might be able to talk yourself into believing it if you think of the dimensions as really, really tiny ... maybe they're just too small to see.

That creates a problem: If the necessary dimensions are too tiny to see, how the heck can we expect to observe  or even test a hypothesis about string theory?

That's where the LHC comes in. There are a few ideas being bandied around to test some of string theory's characteristics. One is pretty straightforward: The simplest model of string theory predicts the existence of superpartner particles. Basically, these are much heavier partners to the Standard Model quarks and leptons that physicists have already observed, and they would unite force and matter. Physicists expected to find superpartners in the same mass as the Higgs, but they haven't yet. So, the LHC is doing its darndest to try to find those superpartner particles, both in their latest proton collisions, and in future experiments at even higher energies. The "wet ball" in this case  superpartner particles  would also support the theory of supersymmetries, which is connected to, but separate from, string theory.

The LHC can also jump into the hunt for those ultra-tiny dimensions that would have to exist for string theory to work as a unified theory. If those dimensions exist, we'd be pretty much swimming in them. LHC can slam protons together to produce new particles  just like it's been doing. By adding up the energy of the particles formed in the collisions and subtracting it from the energy the particles pre-collision, we can tell if some of the energy is MIA. If it is, we might then be able to say, "Hey, we don't know where that energy went  but maybe it's in another dimension."

This time, the wet ball is the difference in energy before and after the collision. Again, this wouldn't be "proving" string theory or even extra dimensions. But it would be ascientific discovery that supports some of the things necessary for string theory to work.

What we can't predict is whether string theory will mature into a scientific hypothesis we can test or observe. Right now, one of the reasons it's so controversial is that many physicists don't think it's possible to test, and more importantly they don't think it's possible to prove false. Some in the physicist community are comfortable saying that string theory is straight-up not falsifiable [source: Nature Physics]. (That means that you have to be able to disprove the hypothesis, not just confirm it.)

So, while we can be reasonably certain that no, the LHC isn't going to prove string theory is true using proton collisions, physicists might find some evidence that doesn't prove it wrong.
" " This deep-sea hydrothermal vent octopus was discovered 2,394 meters below sea level (nearly a mile and a half down) near Antarctica in 2012. NOAA

A lot of people are pretty sure that we've discovered everything there is to discover. Oh sure, there are probably some bacteria we haven't classified yet, but as far as large animals and land masses, there isn't too much left to explore.

Not so, say scientists, who in recent years, have discovered new species all over the world  mainly smaller mammals, fish, insects and microbes. But does that mean larger animals we've never seen are still out there, too? That's exactly what Matt Frederick, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown discuss in this episode of Stuff They Don't Want You to Know.

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There are an estimated 8.7 million classified species in the world, and scientists figure that there are 5 million left to be described. Add microbes and bacteria to that number and it jumps to 1 trillion. A number of them have been discovered recently, including a small primate in Africa called the pygmy galago; an enormous spider guaranteed to give you nightmares; and scores of fish and other sea creatures. But so many are still left to be found, it's hard to imagine none of them are large mammals. Could just one of them be a cryptid like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster?

Maybe so. Of course, you won't find either of those  or any other undiscovered species  in your backyard. More than likely, they'll be found in habitats that are difficult for human scientists to explore  like caves  where species flourish under extreme conditions. Movile Cave in Romania, for instance, housed many previously unknowns, and is referred to as a "poison cave" because of its lack of oxygen and high density of dangerous gases like hydrogen and sulfide. The conditions explain why it took so long to find out about the species calling this place home.

Other unwelcoming habitats include the massive teeming biome of the Amazon rainforest, where discoveries of new species including plants, insects and mammals are made every day. Thermal vents under Antarctica have yielded "lost worlds" of new animals; the Himalayan mountains, as well, have led us to exciting new classifications. And deserts, what seem to be the most inhabitable of all climates, have also given us new creatures to study, including ant-like bees and the Mongolian death worm. But almost everyone agrees that if there is a large animal out there we've never seen before, it's bound to be in that most mysterious biome of all: the ocean.

The ocean is as mysterious a place to us as space. Fathoms deep, teeming with life and hard to explore, the ocean has yet to give up all its secrets; scientists estimate that two-thirds of marine life has yet to be discovered. And with the rates of extinction, many species are winking out before we have a chance to study them. Tune into the podcast to hear Matt's, Ben's and Noel's thoughts on whether we'll ever know exactly what we're sharing this world with.
The news was reported by the Kyodo News and has caught my attention, Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as defense against cyber attacks.

The Kyodo News revealed that Japan will develop its first-ever computer virus as a defense measure against cyber attacks and that the development will be completed by next March.

The Defense Ministry plans to use the malware as a vaccine that could neutralize the other malicious codes.

The Japanese Government aims at improving its defense capabilities in the fifth domain of warfare and wants to be ready to face threats from the cyberspace.

Japan wants to fill the gap respect more advanced countries in the cyber space. and plans to make important investimests to reach the goal in time.

The government has said it is looking to enhance its defense capabilities beyond the ground, marine and air domains to address security challenges in new areas such as cyberspace and outer space amid technological advances in recent years. states the KyodoNews website.

Japan lags behind other countries in addressing the threat of cyberattacks. It plans to increase the number of personnel in its cyberspace unit to 220 from 150, compared with 6,200 in the United States, 7,000 in North Korea and 130,000 in China, according to the ministry.

The efforts are the result of the latest national defense guidelines launched by the Defence Ministry in December.

The use of malware for defense purposes is in the middle of a heated debate. The cyberspace has no boundaries and the risk that malicious code will go out of control, threatening the sovereignty of foreign states, is concrete.

Some defense experts say the ability to obstruct an enemys use of cyberspace could exceed the limits of the countrys exclusively defense-oriented policy. continues KyodoNews.

The virus will be developed by private companies and will not be used for pre-emptive attack or active defense, a ministry source revealed.

The Government policy allows cyberattacks only against a country or any other organization considered equivalent to a country.

Pierluigi Paganini

( SecurityAffairs  malware, Japan)

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 "When Plea Bargaining Became Normal" | Main | Assembling criminal justice questions for the 2020 Prez field 

This local article out of Florida, headlined "Legislature OKs criminal justice reforms but no change to mandatory-minimum sentencing," reports on how the Sunshine State is starting to move forward on reform inspired clearly by the federal FIRST STEP Act. But, as the article explains, political challenges have resulted in Florida's first step being even more limited that what has been achieved at the federal level:

The Florida Legislature passed a 296-page criminal justice reform package bill Friday, the last full day of the session, addressing the issue of a bulging prison population that has long eluded resolution....

Reshaping Floridas tough-on-crime policies and reducing the states nearly 100,000-person prison population is a rare issue that has united Trump populists and progressive civil rights groups, yet often results in open and closed-door fights among Republicans over how far to go.

This year, compromise was reached. The House passed the bill unanimously Friday, following the Senates near-unanimous passage on Thursday. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk. Despite the victory for Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, whos long been a leading voice in the Legislature for the need for criminal justice reform, the bills passage was bittersweet.

I am incredibly disappointed, he said Thursday, referring to several big-ticket reform pieces that were taken out of the bill at the behest of the House. Im not surprised we didnt get there, but I think what we did was advance the conversation.

House Bill 7125 is the result of private negotiations between the two chambers over the past week and contains many changes proposed by those seeking to reshape Floridas tough-on-crime laws from the 1990s. That includes making it easier for felons to get professional licenses and allowing state attorneys to decide whether juvenile cases should be transferred to adult court. Currently, that happens automatically if the crime is severe or the child has certain prior convictions.

It also would raise the threshold dollar amount at which theft charges go from a misdemeanor to a felony, from $300 to $750. Thats not as high as the Houses original proposal, which was to raise it to $1,000, but it brings Floridas law closer to the national average. It also eliminates or reduces drivers license suspensions as a criminal penalty, which lawmakers have said unfairly hampered peoples ability to get to their jobs and continue to make an honest living.

The bill has been dubbed the Florida First Step Act after the federal reform law with the same name. Shortly after the bill passed the House, Kara Gross, the legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the bill amounted to a baby step, at best....

What didnt make the cut of the final bill:

 Allowing judges discretion over sentences for certain drug crimes that currently have required amounts of time that defendants must serve, called mandatory minimum sentences.

 Permitting prison inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies to be released after serving a minimum 65 percent of their sentence if they have good behavior and participate in educational and rehabilitative programs (current law is 85 percent).

 Retroactive re-sentencing for people who were convicted of aggravated assault back when the states punishment for that crime was harsher than it is now.

Email messages between House and Senate staff obtained by the Herald/Times show that the House had, at one point last week, been comfortable with modified language related to giving judges more discretion over sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, reducing the length of some sentences. But that didnt make it into the final bill....

Despite some lukewarm support for giving judges more sentencing discretion, Gov. Ron DeSantis poured cold water on the idea of letting inmates out after serving 65 percent of their sentence, likely one of the reasons that piece was scrapped....

The bill passed with only one no vote in the Senate, which came from Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, who praised Brandes efforts but said that he, too, was frustrated with the compromise. Honestly, Im tired of submitting to the will of the House on these types of issues, he said.

Still, the willingness of the House, traditionally the more tough-on-crime chamber, to cobble together a criminal justice reform package of this size shows a shift of tone, however subtle, toward reducing Floridas burgeoning prison population.

Fridays bill also creates a task force to reevaluate Floridas entire criminal punishment code, and whether the set punishments fit the crime. House Speaker Jose Oliva said that this bill is the result of several years of discussion on this issue. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they intend on taking up some of the issues that failed next year. Sometimes ideas take time for people to understand and to have a chance to really let set in. For a lot of years the idea was being tough on crime, Oliva said recently. He added, though, that data showing the harms of these policies started a conversation. I think that conversation is now maturing.
From Guoco Midtown and Shaw Towers to the new residential developments at Tan Quee Lan Street and Middle Road, the Beach Road-Rochor Road area is set for a massive renewal

For the past four decades, those driving along Nicoll Highway from Singapores East Coast to the CBD have been treated to the landmarks defining Beach Roads skyline: first, the Golden Mile Complex and Tower, a relic of the 1970s; followed by the 1990s modernist architecture of The Concourse, designed by the late American architect, Paul Rudolph, and the knife-edged triangular towers of The Gateway by the legendary American-Chinese architect I M Pei who turns 102 this year.

In recent years, the skyline has been enhanced by the addition of two multi-billion-dollar integrated developments designed by star architectural firms of the current era, namely DUO by Buro Ole Scheeren, and South Beach by Foster and Partners.



DUO, an integrated development by M+S, completed in Dec 2016, was designed by Buro Ole Scheeren (Credit: M+S)

The stretch of Beach Road from Ophir Road and Rochor Road onwards has changed a lot, says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of listed property group GuocoLand Singapore. But the eastern stretch of Beach Road is still quite old.

GuocoLand is developing Guoco Midtown, a new integrated development at the junction of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road. Adjacent to Guoco Midtown is Shaw Tower, which will be redeveloped. A commercial tower built on a site sold in the government land sales (GLS) programme in 1970, Shaw Tower is a redevelopment of the former Alhambra and Marlboro theatres, and also where the original Satay Club at Hoi How Road was located. The 34-storey tower contains offices from the 11th to the top floor, carpark lots from the second to 10th floors and a retail podium with two cinemas. Shaw Tower is owned by Shaw Foundation, which was established in Singapore in 1957.

NEW ADDITIONS

The new commercial development that will replace the existing Shaw Tower will be predominantly office with a total net lettable area of 222,700 sq ft. The redevelopment of Shaw Tower is overdue, says Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

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Construction is underway at the Guoco Midtown site, with the adjacent Shaw Tower to be redeveloped into a new commercial development (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The new Shaw Tower and Guoco Midtown will be linked to each other and to their neighbouring developments on the second level, and by underground pedestrian links to the MRT stations. For instance, there will be an underground link from Guoco Midtown to Bugis MRT Interchange Station for the Downtown and East- West Lines. From South Beach, they will have direct access to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. South Beach is also linked directly to Suntec City via an overhead bridge that brings pedestrians to City Hall MRT Interchange Station for the North-South and East-West Lines.

Guoco Midtown and the redevelopment of Shaw Tower will be new additions that will complement South Beach and DUO, says Chris Archibold, JLL head of leasing. They will bring a critical mass of Grade-A office space to the area, which GuocoLand has aptly branded Midtown.

There will be very little new office supply in the next two years until Guoco Midtown is completed. South Beach Tower, which contains about 500,000 sq ft of premium office space, and was completed in 2015, is full today, says Archibold. Likewise, DUO Tower, which has 568,000 sq ft of office space, and was completed in 2017, is also almost full. The average rent in these two towers is said to be around $11 psf. Guoco Midtown is expected to trade at double- digit rents. However, the office tower in the development will only be put up for lease two years from now. Our view of the market is very positive, he adds. The supply pipeline is fairly low, and demand seems fairly robust across many different sectors.



The new redevelopment on the site of Shaw Tower will have predominantly office space and will be linked to the neighbouring South Beach and Guoco Midtown (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

JLLs basket of premium, Grade-A office buildings are made up of those that are under 16 years old and have floor plates of at least says Archibold. Whether they are in Marina Bay, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar, they are all trading at around $11 psf per month.

MIXED-USE APPEAL

Beach Road appeals to a wide spectrum of occupiers, notes Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore managing director. Potential tenants could include fintech, technology, energy sector, co-working operators and MNCs that appreciate the accessibility within the CBD, he adds. We anticipate the new developments will attract tenants keen to upgrade and flight-to-quality will be a feature of tenants relocation drivers.

Planned as a mixed-use district with offices, hotels and residences, the Beach Road/ Ophir-Rochor corridor primarily serves as an extension of the central business district due to its proximity to Raffles Place and Marina Bay, adds Armstrong. The area is also unique due to its heritage and cultural vibe from the Kampong Glam conservation area. It has the cool factor. The existing commercial building architecture in this micro-market is particularly distinctive.

When South Beach Tower first entered the market five years ago, 80% of prospective office occupiers were already drawn to the location. The Beach Road area has a very nice mixed-use feel, says JLLs Archibold. Theres a fair amount of retail and F&B in the area, and youre also near a very large retail mall of over a million sq ft at Suntec City. From an immediacy point of view, it works very well.



Completed in 2015, South Beach Tower contains about 500,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space is full today (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Construction has already started at Guoco Midtown, located on a 2.1ha GLS site purchased by GuocoLand in October 2017 for $1.622 billion.

Designed by acclaimed Australian architectural practice, Denton Corker Marshall, Guoco Midtown is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The property, which has a gross development value of $2.4 billion, will contain a 30-storey Grade-A office tower linked to a five-storey Network Hub. Office space will account for 770,000 sq ft (81%) of the total gross floor area (GFA) of 950,000 sq ft within the development.

Landscaped public spaces comprise a total of 170,000 sq ft spread across multiple floors. There will also be a 32-storey residential tower with more than 200 units, called Midtown Bay. Within the site is a three-storey, conserved colonial- era building that once housed the Beach Road Police Station.

BUILT-IN FLEX COMPONENT TO CHANGE LEASING MODEL

GuocoLand has announced that it will be offering a core and flex leasing concept at Guoco Midtown. The floor plates of the office tower are rectangular in shape and measure 27,000 to 30,000 sq ft. There are also four different access points in each floor, which makes it very efficient for sub-division, says JLLs Archibold.

CBREs Armstrong agrees: Where Guoco Midtown stands out is that it specifically incorporated agile areas and facilities into the developments design concept, he says. We are likely to see changes in lease contracts whereby end-users core occupied space is leased for conventional, longer periods, while a proportion of the space is held under shorter and more fluid terms.

This in turn will change leasing models, says Armstrong, where core leased space will be offered at a lower cost base, with a premium payable for flexibility. This is akin to an airline ticket whereby the customer pays a higher price for a ticket that can be changed versus one that is more rigid, he adds.



Guoco Midtown will have a total of 770,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space and is scheduled to be completed by 2023 (Credit: GuocoLand)

ENLARGED RESIDENTIAL CATCHMENT

Located directly across the road from the upcoming Guoco Midtown is an empty green plot of 124,119 sq ft, flanked on one side by the conservation shophouses along Tan Quee Lan Street.

The GLS site has been earmarked by URA for a residential development of about 580 units, with a maximum height of 30 storeys, and a low-rise block of six storeys. The first level will be allocated to commercial space. The site will be launched for sale in May, with the tender to close in September.

Meanwhile, just one block away on Middle Road, another GLS site was sold in early April to listed property developer Wing Tai Holdings. The group had emerged at the top of 10 bids received at the close of the tender on March 29. Wing Tais bid price was $492 million ($1,458 psf per plot ratio).



The Middle Road GLS site was sold to Wing Tai for $492 million or $1,458 psf per plot ratio (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The site, which covers 80,000 sq ft, will be developed into two high-rise, 20-storey residential towers with a low-rise block containing commercial units on the first level and residential units on the upper levels.

As it is within the Central Area, we are excited by the excellent opportunity to create a fresh, exciting living space that caters to urbanites who desire to live in the city and experience its vibrant, cosmopolitan culture, says Tan Hwee Bin, executive director of Wing Tai Holdings.

C&Ws Li expects the future projects to enlarge the residential catchment in the area and further boost the attractiveness of the sub-market. On the one hand, you have more residential developments which cater to the expatriate community in town, she says. On the other hand, you have more top-notch corporate clients coming over from older CBD buildings to take up office space in this up-and-coming submarket.

DIFFERENTIATED OFFERINGS



The residential site at Tan Quee Lan Street will be put up for launch sometime later this month (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

She reckons the new 99-year leasehold residential developments in the area are likely to have selling prices in the $2,550 psf to $2,800 psf range, depending on the unit sizes. The products will be differentiated to suit the spectrum of buyers and tenants at Beach Road, adds Li.

For instance, at South Beach Residences, which was launched last September to coincide with the Singapore Grand Prix, prices of units sold started from $2,795 psf for the lowest floor on the 23rd level to a high of $3,950 psf in the first month of sales. The super penthouse, a triplex, was sold for $26 million ($3,865 psf) last October. Units in the 190-unit luxury residence occupy the 23rd to 45th floors of the 45-storey tower, with luxury hotel JW Marriott Singapore occupying the lower half.

Units at South Beach Residences have still been sold at prices from $3,207 to $3,551 psf over the two months from March to April, according to data from URA REALIS. Sales at South Beach Residences have been pretty encouraging despite the property cooling measures, notes C&Ws Li.



View from a unit at South Beach Residences, where units have been sold for as high as $3,950 psf (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

GuocoLand could well position the residences at Midtown Bay as a luxury project similar to its 181-unit Wallich Residence, which sits on top of Guoco Tower at its $3.4 billion integrated development, Tanjong Pagar Centre.

According to GuocoLands Cheng, the residences at Midtown Bay will have spectacular views of Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and Orchard Road. We will take advantage of these views, he says. We hope that Guoco Midtown will be a game-changer, adds Cheng. We want to redesign street life, city living and Grade-A office space in the Beach Road district.

Meanwhile, Golden Mile Complex, designed in the 1960s and completed in 1973, was relaunched for collective sale with a price tag of $800 million at the end of March with Edmund Tie & Co as the marketing agent. The tender closed on April 25 with no bids.



Golden Mile Complex was put up for collective sale a second time last month at a price tag of $800 million (Credit: Edmund Tie & Co)

While the main 16-storey tower with its stepped facade is to be retained, URA has indicated that intensification of the existing development to a total GFA of 925,677 sq ft with a plot ratio of 6.387 can be considered.

In the long term, it is likely to be redeveloped into another landmark integrated development with office, retail, hotel, serviced apartments and residences. For now, as an industry veteran remarks, Golden Mile Complex will remain a golden o

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Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly.

"We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards."

Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.
A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida A Boeing 737 is seen in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. May 3, 2019 in this picture obtained from social media. JACKSONVILLE SHERIFFS OFFICE /via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

"The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for," the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

The sheriff's tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

"No fatalities reported. We are all in this together," Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a "really hard landing" in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

"We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again," she said, adding that the experience was "terrifying."

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. "We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean."

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The military base is situated on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly "rotator" roundtrip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.

It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.

The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians traveling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Tim Reid in Los Angeles and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to start exploratory drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, already condemned as illegal by the European Union. "We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus," Mogherini said in a statement. "In March 2018, the European Council strongly condemned Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean," she added. "In this context, we urgently call on Turkey to show restraint," she added, warning that the EU would "respond appropriately to any illegal action that violated Cyprus's rights". On Friday Turkey sent out a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, announcing its vessels would be carrying out drilling operations in the Mediterranean until September. According to reports in Cypriot media, the operation will encroach on Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. Turkey's foreign ministry rejected Mogherini's comments and said its drilling was based on "legitimate rights". In a statement, it accused the government of Cyprus of "irresponsibly jeopardising the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region, by disregarding the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriots," which it described as "co-owners" of the island's natural resources. Cyprus on Saturday "strongly condemned" Turkey's move. "This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said. It added that it had "taken all necessary measures to address the situation". The government of the Republic of Cyprus only controls two-thirds of the Mediterranean island, the northern third of which is controlled by a Turkish-backed breakaway administration. Turkey first announced it would be drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus back in February. The discovery of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has prompted claims by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government and Ankara. European Union member Cyprus has been pressing to develop offshore gas deposits and has signed deals with energy giants Eni, Total and ExxonMobil that have seen them carry out exploratory drilling. Ankara claims that such exploration deprives the Turkish Cypriot minority of benefiting from the natural resources that surround the island. In February 2018 a drillship for Italy's Eni abandoned an attempt to search for gas off Cyprus after it was blocked by Turkish warships. Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since invading in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The northern part of the island was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. UN-sponsored efforts to reunify the island have failed. Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern". In a statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law. Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometres to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed by Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip Friday, authorities in the enclave said, after Israel reported two of its soldiers wounded in a shooting on the border. Two of the Palestinians were shot dead during clashes along the frontier while two fighters from Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers, were killed in an air strike, the health ministry in Gaza said. The Israeli army said the air strike was in retaliation for the shooting incident on the border that left its soldiers wounded. Hamas confirmed two of the dead were members of its military wing and pledged to respond to what it called an "Israeli aggression". The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border. The Israeli army said "one soldier was moderately injured, and another soldier was lightly injured" when they came under fire during renewed protests. An army spokeswoman said around 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day. Palestinians have participated in often violent demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave. At least 269 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period. Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
SIOUX CITY | Kevin McManamy, president of United Real Estate Solutions, Inc. presented production awards to the companys top producers at their Quarterly Awards breakfast. Twenty-six people received honors for the 1st quarter of 2019.

Earning the real estate industrys highest production honors, the Presidents Award, were Barb Kimmel, Gayle Miille, Dave Pepin and Mark Vos, as well as Beau Braunger and Nathan Connelly of NAI United.

Claiming the Diamond Award were Rick Arnold, Paula Brown, Liz Deurloo, Joe Krage, Jeff Nelson, Adam Stokes and Nick Tramp. The Platinum Award was presented to Chuck Burnett.

Receiving the Gold Award were Hank Baker and Sheryl Ford. Silver Award winners were Judy Clayton, Mick Morgan, Mike Wojcik and Kuen Yeh. Those earning Bronze Awards were Mike Borschuk, Anne Danielson, Eric Hoak, Bob Patton, Patti Robinson, and Tonya Vakulskas.

Individual company awards were also presented to the overall Top Producer in several categories. Dave Pepin was the companys Top Residential Producer with the highest overall production volume for the quarter. Joe Krage earned the Top Lister Award for the highest number of listings taken.

United Real Estate Solutions has been the Sioux City areas real estate market leader since 2001 with professional sales associates licensed in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company has three offices located at 302 Jones St. in Sioux City, Iowa, 1913 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City, Neb., and 400 Gold Circle in Dakota Dunes, S.D. They can be found online at www.unitedrealestatesolutions.com. NAI United is headquartered at 400 Gold Circle Suite 120 in Dakota Dunes and online at www.naiunited.com.

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HARTLEY, Iowa -- An Archer, Iowa man was arrested Friday after he reportedly abducted his ex-girlfriend in Hartley.

According to a press release from the O'Brien County Sheriff's Office, at around 2:27 p.m. Friday, authorities took a report of a woman taken against her will and forced into a car near Neeble Park in Hartley. The abductor was the woman's ex-boyfriend, and the two had recently broken up.

The Hartley Police Department issued an attempt to locate notice to all area law enforcement agencies.

At around 4:33 p.m., an Iowa State Trooper located the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Audi, on Highway 59 south of Calumet. The woman was recovered and the ex-boyfriend, Justin Michael Banta, 37, of Archer, was taken to the Hartley Police Department for an interview.

Banta was taken into custody and faces charges including third-degree kidnapping charge (a class C felony), domestic abuse assault first offense and driving while suspended.

A no-contact order has been issued between Banta and the victim. Banta went before a magistrate Saturday and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SIOUX CITY -- Shortly after being accused of fatally stabbing two Sioux City teenagers, Tran Walker offered no regrets for his actions, a police officer testified Friday.

Det. Nick Thompson said he interviewed Walker soon after he was released from a local hospital in the wee hours of Jan. 28, 2018.

Thompson recalled he asked Walker if he had anything to say to the families of the two victims, Paiten Sullivan, 17, and Felipe Negron Jr., 18.

"He said, quote, 'I would tell them, I would tell them that, I don't think I would apologize to them just because right now I don't feel sorry," Thompson said.

The detective's testimony came during the second day of Walker's trial in Woodbury County District Court.

Walker, 19, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sullivan and Negron Jr., both of Sioux City.

Police believe Walker stabbed Sullivan in a PT Cruiser near the King Koin Launderette in Morningside because he was upset about a recent romantic breakup with her. Negron was stabbed as he tried to protect Sullivan, according to court documents.

Sgt. Todd Sassman recounted that he knew Sullivan would not survive upon seeing her after the stabbing.

"I knew as soon as I looked at her that she was probably already deceased," Sassman testified.

During the trial Friday, prosecution and defense attorneys reached an agreement over the use of text messages sent by Walker and Sullivan prior to the stabbings as evidence.

Mark Campbell, an assistant Woodbury County attorney, had Thompson read a set of messages from Walker to various acquaintances.

"The only reason I'm able to smile and talk about my issues is Paiten," Thompson said, reading one of Walker's texts. "And if she were to cheat or leave me, IDK how I'd react. All I know is that it would be very bad."

Walker also sent messages threatening to kill "witnesses," and, at one point, wrote, "I'd rather just have someone beat her a--, LMAO, bust her face in so she's hideous."

Sullivan, meanwhile, expressed fear of Walker in some texts.

"Tran, until you are better, we won't work. I love you to death, but FFS when you said that about killing (me), that scared me. I can't be in a relationship where I'm scared," she wrote. FFS is an abbreviation for an expletive-containing phrase.

Campbell quoted another text message from Walker during the discussion about whether the pages of messages would be included in evidence.

"At the top it says, 'So she wants to say I'm controlling. Most guys (wouldn't) allow their girls to talk to their exes but I did,'" Campbell said, quoting from the text.

Defense attorney Jennifer Solberg argued that the authorship of the messages is not proven, that the recipients of the messages are unknown to the defense, that the messages are irrelevant and remote in time to the case and that they represent hearsay.

"There's different authors, there's people who aren't here, they're unknown that any of these things are actions or thoughts or who the author actually is, some of them are just people that have not testified," she told the court.

In the end, Judge Tod Deck agreed to withhold some pages of text messages from evidence but to permit others.

"The court believes that the records themselves are, (we are) satisfied that they are accurate representations of statements that were made on Facebook, so because of that the court does not believe that they would be excluded as hearsay," Deck said.

Walker's defense attorneys also have vociferously objected to the prosecution's bid to enter as evidence dozens of Facebook messages sent by Walker to various people prior to the slayings.

During the trial Friday, some employees of the Gordon Plaza Hy-Vee also testified about Walker's appearance at the store after the stabbings. Employees called 911 after Walker arrived bloodied and asking to use the restroom. He told an assistant manager that he had been jumped.

Authorities arrested Walker in the store restroom, following a search through Morningside that involved the use of K-9 search dogs. After he was apprehended, he was hospitalized briefly after injuring himself in the alleged incident.

Also Friday, the defense asked many of the witnesses about Walker's mental status in the hours after the killings.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Because Walker waived his right to a jury trial, Deck will render the verdict. If convicted of first-degree murder, Walker will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DES MOINES -- Democrats see an incumbent Republican president ripe for electoral defeat and no standard-bearer within their own party whose candidacy convinces others to remain on the sidelines.

Those factors and a few others, experts say, is why we have nearly two dozen Democrats running to become the next President of the United States.

The largest-ever field of presidential candidates grew this week to 22 when former vice president Joe Biden and Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet made their campaigns official.

The field will grow even more when Montana Gov. Steve Bullock joins the race as expected later this month, and media reports appear to indicate New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also is expected to announce his run soon.

How did the field of Democratic candidates grow so large, blowing well past even the 2015 field of Republicans, which capped out at what at the time seemed like a remarkable 17?

Experts say myriad factors have contributed to the candidate boom, but there are two particularly influential reasons: the Democratic Party has no clear national leader, and Republican President Donald Trump has stoked Democrats passion and sense of urgency.

It looked like a wide open opportunity with no heir apparent taking the baton or carrying the torch, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University. He said that contrasts to 2016, when Hillary Clinton appeared to be the partys heir apparent to President Barack Obama. A new generation of more diverse Democrats and their supporters are now jockeying for position to lead.

The field includes party stalwarts like Biden and Elizabeth Warren, and longtime progressive independent Bernie Sanders, who is making is second run for the Democratic nomination; but also young faces and candidates new to the national scene like Pete Buttigieg and Beto ORourke.

Prominent though theyve been on the national stage, and while they have led in most early polling on the primary race, Biden and Sanders were not strong enough candidates to stop 20 others from also running.

The fact there is a couple dozen candidates announcing indicates theres no clear leadership in the Democratic Party in the Trump era, said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University and co-author of a historical encyclopedia on the Iowa caucuses.

And then theres the current president.

Democrats are fired up by Trumps policies and actions, and they believe his re-election prospects are shaky.

Politicians are rational animals, and the fact that so many Democrats have gotten in reflects a view that they really do think they have a reasonable chance, if not an excellent chance to defeat an incumbent president, Goldford said.

Trumps average job approval rating, according to Real Clear Politics average of national polls, is 43.6 percent approve and 53 percent disapprove. His average Gallup poll approval rating while in office is 39 percent, easily the lowest of any president in the polls history.

And its not just the perceived weakness of Trumps re-election chances, said Sue Dvorsky, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman. Its also Democrats fierce opposition to Trumps policies and behavior, particularly on social media.

The current occupant has really made a situation that feels dire, Dvorsky said. There is so much passion involved in this. That is driving people.

Republicans, unsurprisingly, see matters differently. A spokesperson for the national Republican Party said Trumps policies are gaining favor with Iowans while Democratic candidates are becoming increasingly liberal.

While Democrats continue to embrace costly, out-of-touch policies that will hurt middle America, those same families continue to benefit from the policies enacted by the Trump administration and the choice for them could not be clearer, Republican National Committee spokesperson Preya Samsundar said in a statement to the bureau.

Goldford said the field may also be large because some candidates could be running with ulterior motives. He said some candidates may not believe themselves to be legitimate contenders, but could be using a run to boost their national profile in order to sell a book, earn a job as a cable news commentator, or land a job in a future Democratic administration.

If people can monetize their candidacies, even if they dont get the nomination, that may very well not be the rationale (anyway), Goldford said.

The expansive field creates a unique challenge for most of the candidates to find a way to establish and distinguish themselves. Other than Biden, who served for 8 years as vice president, and Sanders, who ran for president 4 years ago, the candidates must find a way to rise above the crowded field.

Many of these candidates are going to have to do the relatively quiet work of putting together organizations in key states before they can begin to build momentum and make any noise, said Donna Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. Right now, this can happen by doing ground work in early states and trying to catch the attention of local activists, local media, and parlaying that into some level of momentum that might be noticed in other early states and with national media.

It will take a candidate with a dynamic personality, a message that is relevant to voters concerns in 2020, and a natural constituency that will be drawn to the candidate, Steffen said.

Goldford said one thing will not change despite the fields enormous size: the Iowa caucuses will still come down to which campaign can best organize and mobilize its supporters.

Right now obviously youve got Biden and Sanders seemingly ahead of everybody else. A lot of thats familiarity and name recognition. ... Everybodys out there working away, trying to carve out something, Goldford said. It still is the standard caucus route: organize, organize, organize and get hot at the end. Thats the ticket.

Experts said while the current atmosphere allows candidates to survive longer than in the past --- online fundraising makes it easier for candidates to support their campaigns and social media makes it easier to communicate with voters --- they still expect the field to narrow before the caucuses.

Were not going to have 23 people to caucus for. That is not going to happen, Dvorsky said. I think the field will winnow.

Hoffman noted a number of Republicans in that large 2015 field dropped out before the caucuses, and said she thinks even more Democrats will drop out this year ahead of Februarys caucuses, especially if fundraising streams start to dry up for bottom-tier candidates.

Goldford said he expects the field to thin by mid-summer, or at the latest by the state fair in August.

But he added a caveat that summarizes the whole caucus campaign.

In many ways, Goldford said, were in uncharted territory here.

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Its that time of the year again, when the pollen-heavy rains of spring have overstayed their welcome, and we all breathlessly await the real arrival of summer. Along with the prospect of beach days comes the annual opportunity to guess what new trends and takes on warm-weather staples will overtake Instagram. Throwing her hat into the predicting ring early is Who What Wear senior news editor Erin Fitzpatrick, who declares that the Montunass Trellis Lirio Rope-Trimmed Acetate and Linen Tote  is ripe to become a summer It bag. How exactly Fitzpatrick has divined this forecast isnt entirely clear, but the Montunas bag is certainly ripe to be named of the strangest objects Ive ever laid eyes on.

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Apparently inspired by the shape of plant pots, the Trellis Lirio tote is a curious little bag that costs a mere $435 and resembles either an inverted lampshade or one of the little trash cans that one keeps in their bathroom. Or perhaps a half-full, to-go cup of ice cream. Maybe an Easter basket?

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The tote features a structural exterior made of acetate pearlescent slats and a drawstring pouch interior. Theres also a pink tassel involved. The website copy suggests that buyers match your lip color to the pretty pink rope handle and that the tote is one for Instagram, which makes sense since it looks as if it will fit approximately three things. Other bags in the Montunas line are comparably  eccentric. The Guaria tote, for example, looks a bit like a rectangular green spice rack attached to a silk scarf and is inspired by hanging pots and planters. The Lirio bag is similar in structure to the Trellis Lirio, except without the slats, which somehow makes it look even more like a bathroom trash can, albeit one cast in resin. According to one of the founders of Montanaus, all of the acetate bags are inspired by their orchid house in the mountains of Costa Rica.

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The shapes are all based on orchid pots and vessels, and the names are native Costa Rican orchids. For us, nature is our biggest inspirationits not hard when youre from Costa Rica! The new Pearl collection fuses together the two important parts of nature there: the jungle and the sea.

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Yes, of course. Now that Ive read that, I definitely understand the raison detre for this little trashcan orchid pot bag. While the entire bag strikes me as nonsensical, what I will say is that the most confounding part is that the little interior linen pouch is apparently removable, which feels both like a security risk and a huge hassle. Whoever owns this purse is stuck holding it perfectly upright, lest their linen bag of three things tumble out onto the street. Or should you leave your home without the linen pouch, youre walking around with what is functionally a bucket with slats through which anyone can see what three things youve chosen to carry with you. Actually, now that I think about it, this might be the perfect bag for a concert venue where youre only allowed to bring in a transparent vessel.

Price: $435

Who would buy this thing? Cher Horowitz going Easter egg hunting
Rachel Held Evans, an influential progressive Christian writer and speaker who cheerfully challenged American evangelical culture, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans, 37, entered the hospital in mid-April with the flu, and then had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics, as she wrote on Twitter several weeks ago. According to her husband, Dan Evans, she then developed sustained seizures. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma, but some seizures returned when her medical team attempted to wean her from the medications that were maintaining her coma. Her condition worsened on Thursday morning, and her medical team discovered severe swelling of her brain. She died early on Saturday morning.

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She put others before herself, her husband, Dan Evans, said in an email on Saturday. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

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Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism, first as a blogger and later as an author and sought-after speaker. She started her eponymous site more than a decade ago, and in her years of writing she confronted every controversial issue in American evangelical culture. She wrote about biblical literalism, racism, abortion, evolution, theology, marriage, patriarchy, women in leadership, and evangelical support for Donald Trump. She advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church and analyzed her own complicity in racial bias after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The Washington Post once called her the most polarizing woman in evangelicalism.

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Evans political and cultural polemics attracted the most attention. But she also wrote passionately about her own evolving faith, her prayer life, her wrestling with doubt, and her love for the church. Anyone who has loved the Bible as much as I have, and who has lost it and found it again, knows how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend, she wrote in her most recent book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.

Evans was a forceful and winsome public voice for progressive evangelicalism.

Evans announced in 2014 that she was leaving evangelicalism, exhausted by wearing out my voice in calling for an end to evangelicalisms culture wars. She began attending an Episcopal church. But she remained widely read within evangelical circles and among Christians and others who had left evangelicalism but still felt connected to it in some way. Evans was famous enough among Christians that many referred to her online simply as RHE. When her friends and colleagues, the writers Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu, announced an online prayer vigil for her on April 19, the hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter.

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High-profile female writers and speakers in American evangelicalism have traditionally focused on spiritual questions and shied away from controversy and confrontation. But Evans often used her platform to challenge male pastors and leaders. Over the years, she sparred about theology, culture, and politics with prominent Christian men including Russell Moore, John Piper, Rod Dreher, and Mark Driscoll. (Many of them have expressed their prayers for her in recent weeks, after Evans shared the news of her illness.)

Evans reacted righteously to injustice wherever she saw it: She published a series on her blog about abuse in the church in 2013, years before many evangelical institutions began to seriously confront the problem. But her writing was also warm and funny. For her second book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, she spent a year following the Bibles instructions for women literally, gamely camping out in her yard in obedience to Levitical instructions for menstruating women. She put so much of herself into her books, her husband said. I tell people: If you want to know Rachel, read her work. She was the author of four books, and the co-founder of two major conferences aimed at progressive Christians, Why Christian and Evolving Faith.

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Evans was born in Alabama in 1981 and moved to Dayton, Tennessee, as a teenager. She graduated from Bryan College, a small Christian institution there named for William Jennings Bryan, who had prosecuted the Scopes monkey trial in Dayton in 1925. Evans was an enthusiastic and devout believer from the start, steeped in the American conservative evangelicalism of the 1980s and 90s; as a teenager, she was quoted in Christianity Today praising her high schools federally funded abstinence program. (As an adult, she became a vocal critic of shame-based purity culture.) She married her college boyfriend, Dan, and worked as a journalist and humor columnist before her first book was published in 2010. The couple has two young children: a 3-year-old boy and a girl who turns 1 later this month.

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Evans last blog post appeared online on March 6, Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. It is a day of repentance and solemnity that marks the beginning of Lent, which leads up to the joyful Easter celebration of resurrection. She wrote:

It strikes me today that the liturgy of Ash Wednesday teaches something that nearly everyone can agree on. Whether you are part of a church or not, whether you believe today or your doubt, whether you are a Christian or an atheist or an agnostic or a so-called none (whose faith experiences far transcend the limits of that label) you know this truth deep in your bones: Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. Death is a part of life. My prayer for you this season is that you make time to celebrate that reality, and to grieve that reality, and that you will know you are not alone.

More on Rachel Held Evans

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: An Evangelical Blogger Follows the Bibles Instructions for Women

An Evangelical Writer Spent a Year Living Biblically. Now a Major Christian Bookseller Wont Carry Her Book.

With the Religious Right in Turmoil Over Trump, Can Democrats Become the Party of God?
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

When I moved to Europe I was 29 and my skin-care routine consisted of a nightly face wash, a slap of Differin, and some moisturizer. No 12 steps (11 of them Korean) and no bathroom vanity spilling over with tubes and bottles. My skin was easy and needed very little. But life changes: I became a bicycle-loving expat. I met the love of my life in Berlin, on an app. Also, my forehead exploded, and I suddenly had problematic skin.

So for the first time ever, I went after my skin care. Under duress and budget constraints, it was an unscientific process. I picked up a bottle of micellar water at my local apotheke, going for Bioderma, the much-touted clear-skin fixer of every Parisian I knew. I swiped morning and night, and waited.

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Based on what showed up on the cotton pad, my face was obviously cleaner than in its pre-micellar state. It was not, however, any less red and angry, and it was still just as broken out. The Bioderma went under the bathroom sink, and I went down an oligosaccharide-filled rabbit hole of online reviews. Bioderma contains solvent and humectant propylene glycol which, to some people online, is contentious. Im not sure if that was the source of my problem, but I decided to look for an equally loved, more natural micellar.

Melvita Floral Bouquet Cleansing Micellar Water

Somewhere deep in the internet I found Melvitas Bouquet Floral Micellar Water. Made in France, the Bouquet Floral ticked all the boxes: It contains clearing, soothing, and dependable witch hazel and rose water, and none of the preservatives or fragrances that can be found in plenty of other micellars.

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With the Bouquet Floral, my skin relaxed, and even brightened. The redness of unwisely savaged zits calmed down. After transferring a supply to a travel bottle and using it throughout the day against sweat and street dirt accumulated from biking, I noticed the micellar water was particularly effective as a preventive. I would never ditch my face wash for micellar-only cleansing, as some do, but its an essential part of my slightly-more-adult skin-care regimen, and I absolutely credit the Melvita for my skins willingness to finally relax and enjoy life in a new city.

More skin savers

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

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As stated, Bioderma didnt work for Susannah. But finding a skin-care routine is always a matter of trial and error, and plenty of people swear by Bioderma  like our own Rio Viera-Newton, who once said, since Ive incorporated this Bioderma micellar into my routine (pre-cleanser), my skin has felt even more supple and rejuvenated.

Cosrx Whitehead Power Liquid

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Another Rio favorite, this time from Korea: this Cosrx liquid works wonders on breakouts.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the country, the company announced Friday.

The company, Caliburn International, owns Comprehensive Health Services Inc., which operates a massive shelter in Homestead, Floridaa facility congressional Democrats have described as keeping children in prison-like conditions.

It seems that Kelly, as a former White House official, would not be prevented from sitting on the companys board under current White House ethics rules, but he is still not allowed to try to influence government policies in a way that would benefit the company, according to the Associated Press. Democrats have expressed outrage over what they have deemed the corruption and callousness of a former administration official joining a company that participated in the separation of thousands of families at the border during the administrations zero-tolerance policy in the spring of 2018.

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This is unforgivable, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district containing the facility, tweeted. It confirms what we knew about the Presidentthat he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.

Sen. Cory Booker echoed that sentiment on Twitter: Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting.

Kelly, who left the Trump administration in January, had already been on the board of advisors of the investment firm that now owns Caliburn before joining the White House. Kelly stepped down from the board in January 2017 when he joined the administration. The company was awarded at least $222 million to operate the Florida facility between July 2018 and April 2019, according to CBS News.

The Homestead facility, which is continuing to expand, still holds thousands of migrant children, most of whom arrived at the border without a parent or guardian. During the zero-tolerance period, the shelter held up to 140 children separated from their families, according to the AP.

Comprehensive Health Services has won licenses to operate three shelters in Texas for migrant children along with the one in Florida. According to CBS News, the Florida shelter is the only one in the country not subject to routine inspections from child welfare experts.
North Korea fired several short-term projectiles into the sea Saturday, in what could be the countrys first missile test since 2017 and a possible warning to the U.S. after the two countries denuclearization talks stalled.

While its not clear what the projectiles are, the South Korean military, which reported the test and originally identified the projectiles as short-term missiles before revising its statement, has used the term before for missiles before they can be identified. There is no evidence that the test Saturday involved a nuclear explosion and it appears not to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the New York Times.

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The projectiles were fired from the east coast of the peninsula and launched 45 to 125 miles. The launches will not have violated the moratorium the country declared in November 2017 on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile tests, according to the Washington Post. That moratorium was intended to help clear the path for negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea.

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In April, North Korea tested a new weapon, which it called a tactical guided weapon, and which is thought to have been a more conventional weapon. That test appeared to be a warning to President Trump to continue the talks between the two nations, as in February a failed summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim Jong-un resulted only in frustration. In that summit, Kim demanded sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament and Trump refused to lift sanctions until North Korea gave up all of its nuclear weapons. The two did agree to remain in discussions, and both nations have said a third summit between the two leaders remained a possibility.

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Since then, it appears North Korea has only become more frustrated with sanctions and the hard line taken by the U.S, as well as with continued U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Last month, Kim said in a speech he was losing patience and that he would give the U.S. until the end of the year to come up with new terms.

According to the Post, South Koreas president said the Norths actions violated a September military cooperation agreement between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions. A spokeswoman for the president said the South would work with the U.S. to ramp up vigilance and closely communicate with neighboring countries as needed. According to the Times, the South Korean foreign minister said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in a conversation with her that the U.S. would respond with caution. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said he still believes he can reach a nuclear deal with Kim.
On Thursday, we found out what the sound of a defenestrated troll is like. That afternoon, Facebook banned Infowars, Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, and other inflammatory figures like far-right personalities Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos, white supremacist politician Paul Nehlen, and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has long been criticized as holding anti-Semitic and homophobic views. These bans are reportedly permanent and extend to the fan pages and groups affiliated with their accounts.

The breakup wasnt clean. The news broke before Facebook had actually banned all of their accounts across its platforms. Loomer and Yiannopoulos were still able to post to Instagram for nearly an hour after the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, and the Verge published stories saying they were getting the boot. In that time, Loomer and Yiannopoulos used their accounts to tell their legions of followers where else to find them. On Facebook, Alex Jones was able to stream on Facebook Live for nearly two hours after the world learned that he was technically no longer welcome there. Facebook told Wired the reason for the time lag was that scrubbing these characters footprint was a bigger job than they anticipated.

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While Facebook briefed news organizations ahead of time over these actions, the company didnt specify how these accounts had violated the platforms policies. Instead, a spokesperson told multiple outlets that the company has always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology, which was a bit tough to swallow, considering these accounts have been spewing hate for yearsand many, many hateful accounts remain on the social network. (A quick search Friday on Facebook for the term jews oven unearthed a page called Jewsinoven?) The Facebook spokesperson continued, The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today. Facebook didnt share what rules specifically were violated or what the process was for reviewing its rules. Presumably, if Thursdays actions reflect a new approach that Facebook is now takingor at least a new sense of urgencythen far more than seven accounts would have been banned.

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Still: At the end of the day, a bunch of high-profile bigots had been stripped of a major platform. It shouldve resonated as a victory against the fringe figures who have benefited from the distortionary effects of social media, where ranking algorithms tend to benefit divisive, emotional content. So why did this latest act of content moderation instead feel underwhelming?

The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists.

Deplatforming certainly does help to reduce the spread of hate. Since Alex Jones lost his main Facebook and YouTube pages in August, traffic to Infowars has plummeted. Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right provocateur who was banned from Twitter for directing racist harassment at the actress Leslie Jones, can no longer receive financial backing from his fan base via Venmo or PayPal and is reportedly in severe debt. (Those services banned him last year after he sent $14.88, a number that symbolizes a salute to Hitler in neo-Nazi communities, to a Jewish journalist.) But, particularly in Facebooks case, deplatforming also has to align with a set of clearly articulated policies so that it isnt read as a tyrannical act of corporate censorship that will further inflame accusations of bias. In this case, Facebook created a news story in much the way it might if it had announced a new product, but it didnt actually say why specifically the accounts were removed. What should have been a by-the-book punitive act became a spectacleand probably one that Alex Jones and the like will try to spin to their advantage. Facebook has the power to punish wrongdoers, as it did on Thursday. But we dont know its full rationale for doing so, nor do we know who will be next.

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The lack of transparency is so troublesome because Facebooks content moderation processes arent only applied to famous racists. For years, black users on Facebook have been forced to navigate the platforms mercurial enforcement of its speech policies. Its become so routine for black activists to get suspended when they complain about racism that its become common practice in activist communities to create backup accounts and use slang like wypipo to dodge the companys content moderation algorithm. Complaining about racism isnt hate speech. But Facebook appears to have done less hand-wringing when moderating content from this community than it has with content that is anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, or racist, or that promotes dangerous conspiracy theories that have led to violence. While figures like Alex Jones might attract the attention of higher-up Facebook executives, most people are moderated by a mix of algorithm and low-level contract workersand are subject to a broad brush with little room for appeal.

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I emailed Facebook to ask specifically which rules were violated, what the process was for reviewing the rules, and if this means more accounts, presumably of lesser-known users, would be banned for engaging in hateful rhetoric soon, too. I have yet to hear back. But unless this move is part of an overall cleanup effort in which the company includes its rationale for taking action and promises to do so consistently into the future, dont expect Facebook to become free of bigotry anytime soon. Removing hate will always be a game of whack-a-mole. Its good to ban high-profile bigots. Its also critically important to explain in clear terms what policy was violated, how many violations were tabulated, and what they did to violate the policyeither shared with the account holder or with the public. Simply saying the company always does this isnt sensical or sufficient.

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What might be more bothersome, however, is that Facebook risks unleashing a whole other breed of hate and disinformation across its networkone that a high-profile act of deplatforming doesnt address.

Earlier this week, Facebook shared that it is redesigning its platform to promote the use of private groups for sharing Facebook posts, which would reduce the prominence of the more open news feed. Moving people into private rooms will certainly make it a lot easier for Facebook to continue its haphazard style of governance. Its a lot easier to promote and share bigotry in a closed group of racists than it is to do so on a public pageand for that bigotry to spread widely without anyone noticing, as it did on WhatsApp during the Brazilian elections last year. And its a lot harder for users who are trying to fight hate to report it. I expect the people who lost their accounts on Thursday to start new ones soon, or worse, commandeer an account or group with a large following from an ally. Sure, they probably wont have the reach they did before, but hate is insidious. Policies against racism dont eradicate racism. Unless Facebook applies its rules consistently and transparently, people with an agenda will find a way to come crawling back to find their fans. And if theyre in big private groups, where only their fellow sexists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, homophobes, and racists are allowed in, they may well find a hideout there too.
Imagine this: Scientists have just detected an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. According to their calculations, the damage would be catastrophic, and we dont have long to prepare. Experts determine that the best plan of action would be to launch armed spacecraft, perhaps with nukes, to rendezvous with the asteroid.

Though this sounds suspiciously like the plot of Armageddon, its also the plot of the sixth International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference. Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the European Space Agency, the U.N., and other international space experts have gathered in College Park, Maryland, this week to do a cosmic fire drill. The premise of this role-play universe begins with an imaginary asteroid called 2019 PDC, which has a 1 in 100 chance of striking Earth in 2027. According to NASA, those odds were selected for this drill because experts worldwide generally agree that thats the threshold for when we should take collective action.

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Sure, it seems far-fetched, but its only a matter of time until were faced with a serious asteroid threat. This year has already seen three close asteroid flybys, between 73,500 and 274,000 miles away from us, but none close enough to sound the alarm. (For reference, the distance between Earth and the moon is 238,900 miles.) Small asteroids pass within 4 million miles of Earth all the time. Earth has definitely seen some giant impacts before, but it seems in our best interest to be ready next time around. (As this amazing shirt from the European Space Agency says: Dinosaurs didnt have a space agency.) So, the logic goes, practice makes perfect.

The conference looked like any otherexperts giving presentations in a nondescript meeting hallbut instead of covering new advances in the field, the talks gave a broad outline of the hypothetical impact scenario and discussed the questions and decisions that would stem from it. The scenario is wrapped around an excellent and compelling storyline. Though every tweet from organizers and attendees, as well as the PowerPoint slides, included the word EXERCISE in bold letters, I found myself getting drawn into the role-play as I watched the conference livestream from home (and, apparently, so did some momentarily alarmed folks on Twitter, prompting one astronomy account to remind followers that the scenario was not real). Like a good sci-fi storyline, each day of the exercise advanced the story forward. While Day 1 took place in real time, Day 2 took place three months later, in July 2019, and then we jumped forward to Dec. 30, 2021, on Day 3, to 2024 in Day 4, and to 10 days before impact on Day 5.

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At first, efforts focused on quantifying the problem: Where might the asteroid strike, and with how much force? By Day 3, experts had calculated that 2019 PDC would land in the middle of Denver, completely incinerating the immediate area (one scientist used the phrase molten buildings to describe the damage) and casting shock waves hundreds of miles out. Windows are breaking from Pueblo to Laramie, said physicist Mark Boslough to set the scene at his end-of-day briefing about the asteroids physical effects.

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A great deal of discussion has focused on how best to deflect the asteroids path. Some suggested deploying kinetic impactors, launched to collide with the asteroid and knock it into a different path, as well as launching nuclear weapons. The problem is that scientists arent yet sure exactly how each method would move the asteroid because theyre not sure of the asteroids mass, which, as you may guess, matters a lot when it comes to physics. The logistics of this exercise assume that humankind will send a probe up to study the asteroid more closely, but given the lag in how long it takes for spacecraft to reach the asteroid, scientists will need to make a decision about their deflection method before the probe sends back additional data.

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In imaginary 2024, the experts decide to send up a series of kinetic impactors, which successfully move the asteroid out of Earths path, but the force of the impacts also causes a chunk of the asteroid to break offand the simulation has it hitting Earth in April 2029. Luckily, the fake piece is small, by celestial standards: Its estimated at 60 meters. While it will likely become smaller or even vaporize while entering our atmosphere, it still has the power to inflict damage; for instance, the Tunguska meteor in 1908 was thought to be around the same size, and while it didnt leave a crater, it flattened hundreds of miles of Arctic forest. On Day 5, it was revealed that 2019 PDC would hit Manhattan in 10 days, an incident worse than Tunguska. Experts drew up models of the damage and began planning for evacuations.

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Unsurprisingly, much of the drill focused on decision-making and mission logistics. How do we learn as much as we can about this asteroid, and what do we do to minimize its damage? But a full-scale rehearsal like this also brings more practical considerations to the forefront, and attendees questions and experts analyses highlight the very real concerns people might have should a scenario like this arise in real life.

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One attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S.

At the end of Day 3, for instance, one attendee seemed pretty hand-wavy about potentially destroying a huge swath of the western U.S., even for a thought exercise, saying, I might be biased since were all on the East Coast here, but   This person went on to ask: Had we considered possibly sending spacecraft up just to nudge the asteroid slightly away from any major population center, instead of nudging it out of Earths orbit? The speaker, NASAs Brent Barbee, politely shot him down. I would characterize that as a last resort. Our primary goal would be to move the asteroid off of Earth, he said. The moderator of the Q&A also jumped in to add that the impactors targeting wouldnt be precise enough to ensure the exact amount the asteroid would be moved. But still, this questioner is probably not alone. The people who would be tasked with huge decisions like this are more likely to live in certain cities, and, as well-intentioned as they may be, that could color decisions.

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But its also not clear who, ultimately, will get to make those calls. Attendees brought up questions about the possibilities of different countries getting in each others way when it comes to launching spacecraft meant to work together, like if three different space agencies each contributed kinetic impactors to a global mission. With a mission of this scope, youd need strong coordination, said discussion moderator Paul Chodas, of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With procedures and protocols, we could achieve the coordination necessary, but it would be essential to coordinate very closely.

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In theory, there would be an international team that coordinates important intergalactic decisions, like how to launch defense against the asteroid or, if nuclear weapons are used, who actually initiates the detonation. (Hopefully, this coordination is better than that of the crew in Armageddon, when Bruce Willis pushes young Ben Affleck out of the way at the last moment.) We dont have those procedures in place right now, but were developing them, Chodas said.

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Figuring that out appears to be outside the purview of this conference, but it seems like a piece of the puzzle law and politics experts should figure out long before were faced with an actual asteroid threat. And one hopes that any team meant to represent the interests of all humans on Earth includes delegates from countries that dont have their own space programs but can contribute in other ways, like drawing up policies and offering technical expertise. Currently, the International Asteroid Warning Network is the go-to group for finding and monitoring near-Earth objects and coordinating international resources, and while there are a good number of institutions from space-faring countries represented, its definitely biased toward wealthier powers.

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This thought experiment also demonstrates how important it will be to bring in experts outside of physics and astronomy. In several summaries, experts have mentioned the consequences of a huge asteroid event on plane or train travel and internet access, as well as the possible destabilization of the economy as property values in potential strike areas plummet. Others have pointed out that areas outside the immediate strike zones will likely be ravaged by wildfires caused by the impact. There are real costs to culture, as well. One researcher noted that when 2019 PDC incinerates Manhattan, museums like the Met would need to move their collections elsewhere as quickly as possible.

My favorite question came from an attendee who has clearly seen his share of action movies: How big would [the asteroid] need to be to pop the cork on Yellowstone? The scientists onstage didnt seem to immediately understand his question, so the attendee went on to explain that an impact could destabilize the Wyoming supervolcano. We have not considered volcanic impacts, replied one of the scientists. Well, the attendee said, maybe its something to take a look at.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Foreign investments quite beneficial in stabilising national economy: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Friday, announced federal government plans for strategies to alleviate the creation of business and investment opportunities.



He was addressing the Investment Conference in Islamabad when he said that foreign investments would be quite beneficial in stabilising the national economy as well as creating employment and remittances. There is a need to promote investment and trade, he added. FM Qureshi believed it was high time for entrepreneurs to take advantage of lucrative business opportunities in the country.



The minister talked at length about various sectors, which would be enhanced to improve the economy by facilitating foreign investors and businesspersons. Minister Qureshi assured the exchange of modern technology would be made possible on easy terms.



He maintained the tourism sector would also play an important role in economic betterment. However, the developing countries were said to definitely need the cooperation of the developed nations to meet their targets. Qureshi said for the first time government was pursuing economic diplomacy for socio-economic development of the country.





Saudi Arabia was said to have committed $20 billion investment in Pakistan while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were also eyeing investments in various sectors.



He noted, Saudi Aramco wants to establish an oil refinery in Gwadar, moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister had expressed his interest in various sectors in Pakistan during his visit. ExxonMobil Company has returned to Pakistan and has been engaged in the exploration of energy resources, he continued.



Qureshi also talked about the major steps taken to promote tourism. He asserted, Pakistan is providing E-Visa facility to tourists besides provision of other facilities.



The foreign minister reiterated that Islamabad desired longstanding peace in Afghanistan and was also playing its due part in the peace process.



Pakistan played a role for peace, and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, took peace overtures towards India, including opening Kartarpur corridor and reinvigorated relations with China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia and Iran, he added.





He further asserted, We are moving in the right direction following the vision of Prime Minister [Imran Khan]. The Foreign Ministry is also taking steps for amelioration of economy on diplomatic fronts. he continued.
This week's 'Rewind' is the regular monthly edition of Years Ago, this time devoted to events, personalities and memories from the decade of the 1970's. This offering is a bit different than usual in that all of the pictures and accounts are from the same location.

For many years, horsepeople from numerous geographical areas in Canada raced at Wolverine Raceway located on the outskirts of Detroit. Thanks to the work of archivist and photo collector Don Daniels, viewers are able to see some good quality photos from the Abahazy collection that Don has painstakingly restored. It is interesting to note that in each photo a rather large crowd is visible as a background.

1970 - Springfield Wins Matron Stake at Wolverine

The connections of Springfield gather in the winner's circle at Wolverine following a victory (shown in photo above) by the Dr. George Boyce-owned two-year-old son of Shadow Wave. He and Mrs. Boyce are at the far right end of the picture receiving the trophy. (Abahazy photos)

Two races after Springfield's win came the second division of that year's Matron Stake and it was won by the amazing Albatross, then driven by Harry Harvey. That year saw the great son of Meadow Skipper win a total of 14 races in 17 starts good enough for $183,540 taking a two-year-old mark of 1:57.4. Numbers not seen too often back then or since for that matter.

1971 - Ontario-Owned Merrywood King Scores in 2:02.3

Merrywood King is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver and trainer Don Larkin with his distinctive polka dot silks. (Abahazy photos)

For many years Don Larkin was the private trainer and driver for the Merrywood Stable of Grand Bend, Ont., owned by Eric McIlroy. Their farm and training centre was located close to this once-popular summer resort town located on the shores of Lake Huron. At one time Mr. McIlroy operated a popular dance hall dating back to the 1930's. The Merrywood name for their horses became popular and many of the farm breds were successful across Ontario and Michigan. When the O.S.S. started in 1974 Merrywood Sara was the fastest performer during that entire season.

1974 - McIntosh Brothers Winning At Wolverine

By the 1970's the brothers McIntosh -- Doug as driver and Bob as trainer -- were making their mark. Both were introduced to the sport through their father Jack McIntosh who bred and raised a number of notable performers at his Wheatley, Ont. farm. In the 1950's, accompanied by the noted veterinarian Dr. Lloyd McKibbin, the senior McIntosh purchased a filly named Success Barbara at a U.S. sale. After racing her at many local one-day meets and at Old Woodbine she was retired and began her career as a broodmare. Among her better offspring was Baroness Barbara, shown in the photo below.

Baroness Barbara, owned by Leo Thibodeau of Windsor, Ont., is shown in the Wolverine winner's enclosure following a win in 1974. On the left is Bob McIntosh with brother Douglas John on the far right. Mr. Thibodeau, long associated with the transport industry as part-owner of Thibodeau - Finch, owned a lot of good horses over the years. In later years Mark Austin trained a number of his horses. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Ray Remmen Campaigns At Wolverine

Western-born horseman Ray Remmen of Hanley, Sask., made his way eastward in the late 1960's. His journey, which eventually led him to become a star at the Meadowlands in New Jersey when it opened in 1976, included stops at Windsor Raceway and many trips across the border to Wolverine. Always in demand as a catch driver in addition to his own trainees, Ray made numerous visits to the Wolverine winner's circle. A couple are shown below.

Ray Remmen reaches the wire a winner behind the pacer Goyo, owned by Eric and Harry Whebby of Dartmouth N.S., in 2:00.3 to defeat Master Command (Boring) in a conditioned event for $3,400. The betting public must have had others to wager on as this winner paid $37.00, $10.60 and $5.00 across the board. The roan son of Canadian Dares out of Betts Folly was a six-year-old at the time. (Abahazy photos)

Jewell Mir, co-owned by trainer and driver Ray Remmen and Wilbur Thompson of Weyburn, Sask., is shown in the Wolverine winner's circle with driver Remmen after a 2:01 score which was a pretty good mile for April. The six-year-old son of Buxton Hanover had been a member of the Miron Farms contingent in previous years racing for Marcel Dostie. (Abahazy photos)

1976 - Quebec Stable Successful at Wolverine

Even a few horsemen from Quebec made the long trip to Wolverine and showed their expertise. Yvon Demers of Angers, P.Q. was one of those who campaigned here during the 1976 season. His own Chief Hielo was also among the top performers in his stable.

Yvon Demers had his trainee Keystone Sheldon, a four-year-old son of Bye Bye Byrd in top form as he took a new lifetime mark of 2:02.3 on April 13th. This horse was owned by Thaddee Matte of Papineauville, Quebec and won a total of eight races that season. As shown, the winner received a nice Wolverine Raceway cooler to mark this victory. (Abahazy photos)

Note: There are a number of unidentified individuals in the above pictures. If anyone in the reading audience can readily identify these people please feel free to do so.

Who Is It?

Can you identify this driver appearing during the 1978 season at Wolverine? The correct answer will be given during the upcoming week. (Abahazy photos)
Do you eat, sleep and breathe harness racing? Do you have exceptional customer service skills? If this sounds like you and you feel like you have the potential to be an outstanding ambassador for Standardbred Canada, read on.

Standardbred Canadas Member & Stakeholder Relations Department is seeking a summer student/intern to assist with various member and customer service related activities. Knowledge of horse racing is an asset.

The position requires an energetic self-starter with strong interpersonal and computer skills, outstanding organizational and presentation skills, and experience in social media applications. This individual will have the ability to work independently while contributing to a team. The successful candidate will work out of SCs office in Mississauga, Ontario.

Some of the duties include:

Data entry & analysis

Report writing

Writing for website

Assisting with producing video content for web & social media

Assisting with SCs Member Value Program

Assisting with writing web stories for National Caretaker Appreciation Day

Assisting with industry research

Taking photographs at events, etc.

Administrative duties as required

Qualifications

Currently enrolled in a Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or Business Administration program

Detail oriented with outstanding time management skills

Customer Service training an asset

Knowledgeable about horse racing is an asset

Computer Skills Required

Excel/MS Office/Power Point

Experience with SurveyMonkey & DirectIQ

Experience with social media tools

Experience with Premiere Pro would be an asset

Applicants must be returning to a post secondary program in the fall of 2019. Access to a car would be an asset, and the applicant should be willing to work a few weekends if required.

Duration: 8-10 weeks (start date of mid-June)

Please submit applications via email no later than Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. to:

Member & Stakeholder Relations - Kathy Wade Vlaar

Standardbred Canada

2150 Meadowvale Blvd.

Mississauga, ON L5N 6R6

email [email protected]

We thank all those who apply, but only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.
These men  some of these old Jewish men  are a special breed  from a special time and place.

I mean, all the expectation today leaves little for a kid to dream about. You are supposed to go to college. Then maybe law school or medical school. Family and responsibilities then start to add up. A decade or two goes by and you wonder where it all went.

But these guys.

These guys peak the imagination, if only in a villainous way.

Because what boy wants to work 8-5 and take orders?

A reflection of a road not taken. A tough guy, indeed.

Around each other, these men have a kind of ease that makes you want to confide things. The ease of old friends. Late nights. Stories by now more fiction than fact. Stories set on the stoops and corners of Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Brownsville, in a time when Jewish gangsters, that lost romantic breed, still roamed the streets, when Italians had no monopoly on hooliganism, when a Jewish boy could still fashion his future as murderous and daring and wide open, a future shot full of holes. Alleys. Blue smoky rooms. Basements. The ominous echo of footsteps. Leather shoulder holsters.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews
Texas Tech University

At Texas Tech, in Lubbock, students can pursue a PhD in Technical Communications and Rhetoric. A focus area in technical communication is available. Research methods is significant emphasis of the program. The degree can be completed on campus, or through an online program. To earn the degree, students will be required to complete 60 credit hours, a qualifying examination, and a dissertation comprised of original research. Students may choose a minor in a complementary subject area.

Texas Tech also offers an MA in Technical Communication. The program can be completed on-campus or online. Students will be required to complete 36 credit hours to earn the degree, and students must assemble a portfolio of their work. Students may complete an internship as a component of their degree. The Media Lab offers space to collaborate on the integration of new media literacy within technical communications.

Texas State University

Texas State University, in San Marcos, offers an MA in Technical Communication. The 30-credit program is offered on-campus with evening classes, or online. The department offers a user experience (UX) research lab, for students to see how readers or users would interact with a product they create. Scholarships or graduate assistantships may be available to assist with funding, and a travel fund supports students in attending professional conferences.

University of Houston

At the University of Houston, students can pursue an MS in Technical Communication. The program requires 33 credit hours of study. A capstone course requires the production of a portfolio containing five major projects. Concentrations are available in areas including Science and Medical Writing, Instructional Design, and Usability Research. Students can also pursue certificates in Plain English or Medical and Applied Health Communication.

University of Texas El Paso

At the University of Texas El Paso, those who are interested in technical writing can earn a graduate certificate in technical and professional writing. The program is offered online. It requires twelve credits to complete. Professionals working in any field who wish to improve their communication skills are encouraged to apply.

University of North Texas

Students can choose to pursue an MA in Professional and Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Students are required to specialize in a technical cognate field. Those pursuing the degree can choose a 36-credit hour program with a written exam; or a 30-hour program with a thesis. A graduate certificate in teaching technical writing is also available.
Are you hoping to have a fun and educational Fourth of July celebration with your family this year? This blog post offers interesting July Fourth facts you can share with your kids.

Fourth of July: Keys to Celebrating

The Fourth of July is a fun, family-friendly holiday. Kids and adults alike can enjoy the warm weather, delicious cookouts, and exciting fireworks. But it's also a holiday that marks a key moment in American history, which is important to remember during your celebration. To make the holiday more educational, we recommend you share these seven fun facts with your children.

Fact 1: The vote to declare independence from Great Britain was almost unanimous.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted on the decision to declare the colonies' independence. Almost every representative voted ''yes,'' except for the delegation from New York, who were awaiting authorization from their home state.

Fact 2: The Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed on July Fourth.

Rather, it was signed almost a month later, on August 2nd. July Fourth is actually the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. The later signing date was partly due to the delay in getting the New York State delegation's approval. Additionally, it took two weeks for the document to be written on parchment.

Fact 3: The Fourth of July was first celebrated as a holiday in 1777.

That was the year colonists began celebrating July Fourth as their day of independence. Their celebrations usually included reading the Declaration of Independence, enjoying bonfires, firing cannons, and watching parades and concerts. They even celebrated July Fourth throughout the Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783.

Fact 4: Congress made the Fourth of July an official federal holiday in 1870.

In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress voted to make July Fourth a paid holiday. What a great way to encourage people to celebrate the United States' independence every year!

Fact 5: Fireworks were invented in China between 600 and 900 A.D.

Between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese scientists were experimenting with mixing different substances when they accidentally created gunpowder, an explosive mix of charcoal, sulfur, and other substances. Then they filled bamboo shoots with the powder and threw them into a fire, creating the world's first firecracker. The Chinese later went on to use paper tubes to create firecrackers that were used in celebrations and battles.

Fact 6: The fireworks first used to celebrate the Fourth of July only came in orange and white.

Buried within the gunpowder used in fireworks are pellets of substances, like strontium, calcium, iron, and sodium, that produce bright sparks of different colors when lit. The colorful fireworks displays you see on the Fourth of July today are due to these materials. However, in 1784, not long after the first Independence Day celebrations, these combinations had yet to be developed. So the fireworks used in colonial celebrations only came in orange and white.

Fact 7: The 50-star American flag was designed by a 17-year-old boy.

The American flag has evolved throughout the years, as the number of states in the union has changed. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th American state, and the flag needed to be updated again. A contest was held to find a new design, and a 17-year-old boy was named the winner. His flag design is still the one we use to this day.

For more engaging, educational lessons you can share with your child, check out Study.com's library of over 70,000 lessons for all ages.
In the fall of 2018, a fundraiser was held at all 14 Fibre Federal Credit Union locations to raise money for Doernbechers Childrens Hospital.

Titled Doernbecher Days, offered at the branches to members for small donations were Childrens Miracle Network balloon signs and Credit Unions for Kids piggy banks.

In addition, several independent staff-driven fundraisers were held including raffles and sales of snacks.

Over the seven-week fundraiser, FFCU staffers raised $32,751.52 for the hospital. The money was combined with a $20,000 donation from early 2018 staff fundraisers to donate $52,751.52 to the hospital for the 2018 year.

This year, on April 11, the top fundraising credit union employees visited the hospital to present the donation check and to meet with a doctor to discuss plans for the hospitals growth. The group toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and saw firsthand how premature infants are cared for at the hospital.

According to a press release from FFCU, Northwest credit unions have for decades supported Doernbecher through Credit Unions for Kids, a collective effort with the Childrens Miracle Network.

The Gary and Christine Rood Family Pavilion, the newest addition at Oregon Health Science University, will house patients families from distant locations. One of the floors in the pavilion will be named after Credit Unions for Kids to honor the organizations commitment.

Fibre Federal Credit Union will continue to raise money for Doernbechers.

The credit unions president and chief executive officer, Christopher Bradberry said in the press release that the credit union is passionate about supporting Doernbecher because we see the miracles they achieve every day.

He noted all children should have access to caring and comprehensive medical treatment, even if their families cannot afford to pay for it.

Every fundraising dollar for Doernbecher supports those children and helps give them a better chance at growing into healthy and vital adults.

What better way to support our communities than to help children have a better future?

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India made several efforts to politicise proceedings at FATF: FO

Islamabad on Friday expressed deep concern over Indian finance ministers statement about New Delhis intention to have Pakistan downgraded on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list.



The Indian ministers statement re-confirms Pakistans longstanding concerns that this technical forum is being politicised by India against Pakistan, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.



The Foreign Office said that India has made several efforts in the past as well to politicise the proceedings at FATF. Prior to the FATF plenary meeting in February 2019, India circulated its own assessment of Pakistans progress and solicited immediate support for blacklisting Pakistan. On several previous occasions, calculated leaks were made to the Indian media about the proceedings of FATF, which were otherwise strictly confidential, the Foreign Office said. These instances of politicisation by India have been brought to the attention of the FATF president by the finance minister of Pakistan, it added.



Indias attempts to politicise the proceedings in FATF against Pakistan call into question its credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group, that reviews the progress made by Pakistan to implement the FATF action plan, the statement observed. Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the FATF action plan. This commitment has been made at the highest political level, it continued. However, FATF must ensure that the process remains fair, unbiased and firmly grounded in the technical criteria of the forum, it demanded.
There are fewer minority employees than statistically expected at Kelso schools, but the district is working toward adding diversity to its workforce within the next five years, according to an affirmative action report.

The federal government requires any employer that receives federal funding to complete an affirmative action plan. These plans show what the current minority representation is in the workforce, compare it to the statistically expected percentage of employees and outline how the business can make sure minorities are fairly represented in their workforce.

An analysis of the 2017-18 school year staff showed that were are no administrators or supervisors from minority backgrounds working in the Kelso district at that time. Kelso would need three minority administrators and one minority supervisor to meet its statistical expectations, according to the report.

As for teachers and support staff, Kelso has about 19 and 17 minority staff members, respectively. Thats compared to the expected rate of 32 teachers and 49 support staff.

The report says one reason for the disparity in Kelso is that the percent of minorities in teacher and education staff associate training programs has not kept up with demand. Certificated training programs with higher concentrations of minority students are outside Washington state.

To balance out minority representation, the Kelso School District plans to advertise jobs in minority-focused media, attend a variety of job fairs and post jobs with colleges, universities and professional organizations that traditionally have diverse populations, among other strategies listed in its affirmative action plan.

The district will also continue its equal opportunity hiring practices, which base screening criteria on job qualifications and create a bias-free selection process with a diverse hiring committee, among other practices.

The school board will review the complete affirmative action report and plan at its meeting Monday night.

Also Monday the board will:

Vote on an architect/engineer for the districts capital bond projects that will not receive any state match money. District officials are recommending the board select Collins Architectural Group of Longview.

Vote to accept a bid for soil stabilization work at the Wallace and Lexington elementary school build sites. Additional information about the bids was not included in the board agenda packet.

Vote on a boiler project at Kelso High School. Additional information about the project was not included in the board agenda packet.

Set its 2019-20 meeting schedule.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Administrative Offices on Crawford Street.

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State lawmakers revision of Washingtons sales tax exemption rules has many Cowlitz County retailers worried that their Oregon customers will stop crossing the Columbia River to shop here.

The bill, which legislators approved last weekend, eliminates the sales tax exemption at checkout for residents from tax-free states and countries, including Oregon and British Columbia. Instead, these customers would need to apply for a reimbursement for paid Washington state taxes through the state Department of Revenue, starting January 2020. Only one application will be allowed per calendar year.

Under the new system, which takes effect in July, eligible shoppers must save sales receipts to submit together, complete special reimbursement paperwork and wait to get their refunds. Its a process that used to be paperless and took just seconds and the flick of a ID at checkout stands.

Im 86-years-old. Im not interested in messing with the little details, said Jack Crosby, a long-time Rainier resident.

Crosby was shopping at Rainiers Grocery Outlet Friday afternoon, but he said he also does a lot of my shopping in Longview because there are some items that he cant buy locally.

Its available there, but its not available here, he said. But now hell be more likely to drive to Portland for those items to avoid the extra paperwork, he said.

While the new law does not affect vehicle sales, it will apply to most other tangible goods, such as furniture, appliances and electronics. And all customers will be charged sales tax on vehicle parts, too.

Right now they dont pay sales tax on the parts, but they do pay sales tax on the labor. Now they will have to pay sales tax on the parts, as well, said Pat Sari, president of Columbia Ford in Longview. Those are things that could hurt our economy quite a bit. Those customers in Oregon will have to decide if they want to go all the way to Portland  if they want to buy furniture or have work done on their cars.

Sari said he hopes the level of quality and the convenience of close-to-home car service options will convince Columbia Fords Oregon customers to continue shopping at his dealership.

If a car breaks down and they need it repaired, it might not be practical to get it to Oregon.  Hopefully they will keep all the benefits they had, and they just have to fill out the (reimbursement) paperwork, Sari said.

After several failed attempts in the last five years to alter or eliminate the sales tax exemption, the Legislature finally succeeded in pushing the bill through. It passed with close votes in both chambers: 55-43 in the House and 25-22 in the Senate.

The six local lawmakers who represent Cowlitz and Lewis counties voted no on the measure. One of the no votes came from Sen. Dean Takko, a Longview Democrat.

For a lot of people that dont live in a border districts, its an easy vote.  I dont think they really realize its impact on retail in the border counties, particularly in Clark and Cowlitz counties, Takko said. People in Rainier and Clatskanie, they dont have the variety and options in those communities across the river like they do in Longview. They come across here.

This particular bill was drafted as a strategy to increase state revenues. It banks on the hope that Oregon buyers arent going to save their receipts and turn them in once a year for the sales tax rebate, Takko said.

If every one of those residents saved all their receipts and submitted them, then there would be  zero income for the state, he said.

The state anticipates the new law will generate nearly $54 million in fiscal years 2019-21. That estimate is based on several assumptions, including a loss of sales to non-residents and a tax rebate submission rate of only about 21 percent of Oregonians and 11 percent of residents from other tax-free places.

Takko said the bill will negatively affect retail sales in border areas such as Cowlitz County. He said it is likely to deter Oregon buyers from coming across the bridge to shop.

Ranae McKee, owner of Sears Hometown in Longview, said about 40 to 50 percent of her customers come from Rainier, Clatskanie and other rural Oregon towns. She doubted whether those customers would really be willing to fill out the forms to get a tax rebate.

What Ive learned in the retail industry is that they want instant gratification, and thats applying to any kind of discount they can receive. How many people, when they look at rebate option so to speak, really submit that paperwork? McKee said.

Instead, those customers might decide to drive to whatever competitor they live closest to in Oregon because it is more convenient than having to save and submit receipts, she said.

Rainier resident Jewell Labelle said he agrees that the new reimbursmenet system will be a hassle for buyers.

Who is going to save their receipts? What a pain that would be, Labelle said.

Although it will be more inconvenient to drive the extra distance to shop in Oregon  as opposed to the short jaunt across the bridge to Longview  Labelle said hed be willing to make the drive to save money.

Theres always Clatskanie. Theres always St. Helens. And then theres always Portland, Labelle said.

McKee, the Sears owner, said she worries that the appeal of getting an immediate savings of hundreds of dollars in sales tax for appliance purchases will detract from her Longview store.

I think instead of the hassle of applying for rebates, I think they will choose to go somewhere in the Oregon state to avoid having to do that, McKee said. I am afraid it will lose business for us.

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Probation violation  Longview police Thursday arrested Mark Anthony Edmonds, 33, of Longview on suspicion of probation/parole violation, resisting arrest, obstructing a public servant and driving with a suspended license.

Possession of a stolen vehicle  Woodland police Thursday arrested Devon Lee Miller, 24, of Kelso on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Vehicle prowls

200 block of Shawnee Street, Kelso. Thursday. Subjects tried to break into a neighbors car.

200 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. A man and a woman seen going through a vehicle then leaving on foot.

Burglary

4000 block of Westside Highway, Castle Rock. Thursday. Black 2014 Yamaha stolen.

Stolen vehicle

500 block of Seventh Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. White 1995 Honda Civic. Washington BEJ4256. Tape over front lights. Back the Blue sticker on the trunk.

Theft

1100 block of Second Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Reports girlfriend has taken his vehicle, phone and other items.

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NEW YORK  Understanding Donald Trumps foreign policy is a challenge, since the president has written and spoken little on the subject for most of his life. So how to make sense of his worldview? Is there a Trump Doctrine?

Michael Anton, a former Trump national security official, believes there is, and he explains it in a new essay in Foreign Policy. The Trump Doctrine, Anton argues, is simple: Lets all put our own countries first, and be candid about it, and recognize that its nothing to be ashamed of. But, as Daniel Larison responds in the American Conservative, That isnt a doctrine. It is a banality. What country has not put its own interests first? What president has argued to give preference to global interests over American ones?

Anton outlines a certain kind of nationalist conservatism that does seem at the heart of Donald Trumps worldview. More important  since Trump is rarely consistent and could change his mind tomorrow  it reflects the views of the man closest to him on foreign policy, national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton has been variously described as a neoconservative, a paleoconservative and a conservative hawk. In fact, he is simply a conservative, in the oldest, most classical sense, someone who has a dark view of humankind. As a former U.S. official told the New Yorker, Bolton believes that Thomas Hobbes famous description of life without order applies precisely to international lifenasty, brutish and short.

Bolton believes that to protect itself and project its power, the United States must be aggressive, unilateral and militant. Bolton seems to share the worldview that animated Dick Cheney, who after 9/11 spoke openly about the need to work ... the dark side and to use any means at our disposal basically to achieve our objectives.

There are some in the foreign policy establishment who believe that a revanchist Russia poses a grave threat to America. Others worry about a rising China or an ideological Iran. For Bolton, its all of the above and more. He has at various points warned darkly about the mortal threat posed to the United States by Cuba, Libya, Syria and of course, Iraq. A longtime fan of regime change, he recently labeled Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a triangle of terror and said the U.S. looks forward to watching each corner of the triangle fall. It seems he wants them to fall not to usher in an era of democracy, but because they resist American power and influence. The Monroe Doctrine is alive and well, Bolton told the New Yorkers Dexter Filkins. Its our hemisphere.

This kind of conservatism believes that national interests are worth pursuing not because they are virtuous  about democracy and freedom  but because they are ours. This view originates in a cultural chauvinism and can easily morph into racism.

And sure enough, a senior State Department official, Kiron Skinner, this week explained that the challenge with confronting China is that it is a great power competitor that is not Caucasian. She noted: The Soviet Union and that competition, in a way it was a fight within the Western family.

Where to begin? The Cold War was an existential struggle because the Soviet Union believed it had a superior ideology of economics, politics and society that it would impose on the rest of the world. That is why it was called totalitarian. Chinas rise to power is the standard process by which a new powerhouse economy tries to find a space on the international stage. Chinas system, incidentally, is largely a mixture of two Western ideas, capitalism and communism  Adam Smith and Marx  which is why The New York Times Nicholas Kristof has aptly described it as Market-Leninism.

By Skinners logic we had more in common with Hitlers ideology than with the Chinese because the Nazis were Caucasian, which is both historically uninformed and morally grotesque.

The more practical problem with the Cheney-Bolton worldview is that it is profoundly inaccurate. The world is not nasty, brutish and short. Life has improved immeasurably over the last 100 years. Political violence  deaths from wars, civil wars and terrorism  has plummeted. And this has happened in large part because human beings also have the genes to cooperate, to compete peacefully and to weigh the costs of war against their benefits.

Bolton says that he might well invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine  which asserts that the U.S. can use force unilaterally anywhere in the Western hemisphere. If he does, what is the argument against Russia doing the same in Ukraine, China in the South China Sea, and Iran in Yemen? Without rules and norms, the U.S. would have to militarily thwart every such effort or else accept a world of war and anarchy. You see, nationalist assertiveness works as long as only you get to practice it.

Fareed Zakarias syndicated foreign affairs column appears each week in The Washington Post.

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Pak Army support Afghan peace process: COAS

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Friday reiterated its support for Afghan peace process and vowed to continue working for sustainable peace in the country.



The support for Afghan peace process was reaffirmed as the latest round of talks between the United States and Taliban in Qatar ran into a fresh stalemate due to the latters refusal to accept the American demand for a ceasefire. The US has made it clear that a peace deal would require simultaneous agreement on troops withdrawal, counterterrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.



Forum reiterated to continue its efforts for bringing enduring peace in the country while supporting all initiatives towards regional peace, ISPR said in a statement on the corps commanders conference held at the GHQ, which was chaired by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.



Pakistan facilitated the talks between the US and Taliban and more lately Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged neutrality in Afghan conflict. Pakistan will not be party to any internal conflict in Afghanistan anymore, Mr Khan said in a policy statement on Afghan peace last week in which he denounced violence by both sides of the conflict. The prime ministers statement was welcomed by the US government.



However, such categorical statements from Islamabad too have failed to push the peace process forward with the Taliban first refusing to talk to the Afghan government, then last month cancelling a meeting with Afghan representatives in Doha, and now refusing to observe a ceasefire. The Taliban, it should be recalled, had on the occasion of Eidul Fitr last year observed an unprecedented ceasefire raising hopes for peace. In a related development the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan ended on Friday with demands for peace and ceasefire.



The commanders meeting, which is a monthly feature, discusses internal and external security situation and professional matters of the Army. Forum reviewed evolving geo-strategic environment and security situation of the country including progress of operation Raddul Fasaad, ISPR said.



Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had at a press briefing earlier this week said that Operation Raddul Fasaad (RuF) was progressing satisfactorily. Sharing statistics, he said 47 major operations and 100,000 intelligence-based operations had been undertaken, which resulted in the recovery of over 64,000 weapons and 5.1 million units of ammunition.



A major success under RuF has been the border fencing. A total of 1,000kms of border has so far been fenced decreasing chances for unauthorised border crossing. Additionally, the security of the border with Afghanistan has been buttressed by construction of 300 border forts. A total of 843 forts are planned to be constructed.
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.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
What was formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale has expanded its mission, and changed its name to match.

After 15 years in operation, the organization will now be known as the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois, according to a Friday news release from the group.

The release states the name change is to reflect its expanded goal of serving more children and teens around the region.

The club also launched a fundraising goal on Friday; they are trying to raise $15,000 by June 30.

For more information, visit bgcsi.org.

 The Southern

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Les Winkeler Sports editor Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Follow Les Winkeler Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

You have to see it to believe it.

Nearly one-fifth of Alexander County has been inundated by Mississippi River floodwaters since mid-February. Yet, little is said about the chronic flooding because relatively few people are affected. No industries or serious infrastructure are threatened by the flood.

Many of the homeowners in the area sold their homes following the 2016 New Years Flood caused by a massive breach of the Len Small Levee. While water currently covers about 30,000 acres, most of the acreage is farmland located south of Olive Branch.

There are a few homeowners living on small islands throughout the region. They use boats to get to and from their land. But, little or nothing is being done to assist them.

Fact is, at the current time, it appears little can be done.

Prior to the levee breach, the Mississippi River had to top 48.5 feet at Cape Girardeau to put the land in danger. With the three-quarter mile gap in the levee, water begins pouring through the breach at about 33 feet.

In recent years, thats a pretty good bet to happen at least once or twice a year.

As tempting as it is to blame politicians and government agencies for the inaction, thats not really fair. As Jeff Denny, county engineer in Alexander County explained, levee repairs can only be made when the river is low for an extended period of time.

That hasnt happened recently. As noted earlier, much of the county has been underwater since mid-February. With the drenching rains that struck the Midwest this weekend, those waters arent likely to recede anytime in the near future.

Once upon a time plans were on the table to repair the levee breech, but that was three or four floods ago.

The roiling floodwaters have expanded their damage since then, scouring more dirt away from the levee.

And, the floodwaters have become more insidious since the levee gave way in 2016.

These arent passive backups from water topping a levee. The water now is forced through the breach with a vengeance, powerful enough to carry away homes and pull pavement off roadways. The floodwaters deposited tons of sand on Alexander County farmland.

When the water recedes, large portions of the county are covered in several feet of sand. And, no one is quite sure what the floodwaters are doing to Horseshoe Lake and its trademark cypress and Tupelo trees. Aerial photographs graphically illustrate the siltation occurring.

The flooding has become a slow-motion natural disaster occurring right under our noses. There are just so many questions that appear to have no answers.

Will Horseshoe Lakes cypress and Tupelo survive? Will the shallow lake become nothing more than a wetland? Will the Mississippi change course as many are worried it might do? Will any of the flooded land be tillable again? Will state and federal agencies be willing to appropriate money to repair the levee? Will and state or federal government simply buy up the property to turn the area into a wildlife refuge? What would taking the land off the tax rolls do to an already cash-strapped Alexander County?

Worst of all, the people of Alexander County will be waiting months, likely years, for answers.

LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call 618-351-5088 / On Twitter @LesWinkeler.

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South Carolina Telehealth Alliance Receives National Award

BAMBERG -- The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance was awarded the American Telemedicine Association Presidents Award for Transformation of Health Care Delivery during the ATA Annual Conference held recently in New Orleans.

The ATA Presidents Award for the Transformation of Healthcare Delivery recognizes the leadership of an organization that incorporates virtual health care services as part of an initiative resulting in improved health care quality and value for a large population of patients.

The SCTA is a statewide collaboration of many organizations that have joined forces to expand telehealth services across South Carolina. Led by the SCTA Advisory Council, it provides guidance, assists with strategic development, and advises on technology and standards. The SCTA was formed with founding strategic providers, Greenville Health, McLeod Health, Medical University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health, providing telehealth care services.

SCTA Advisory Council co-chairs, Kathy Schwarting, MHA, Palmetto Care Connections chief executive officer, and James McElligott, MD, MSCR, MUSC Center for Telehealth medical director, accepted the award along with representatives from S.C. Area Health Education Consortium, S.C. Department of Mental Health, SCTA, McLeod Health, MUSC Health, Palmetto Care Connections and Prisma Health.

This award recognizes that SCTA is a national leader in statewide telehealth collaboration, Schwarting said. And its a testament to the great work that is being done to improve access to health care for all South Carolinians.

ATA stated that the SCTA has demonstrated exceptional character, leadership along with continued service to the association and telehealth industry.

The winners of this years awards are doing amazing work and its wonderful to see the innovation and transformation that is happening in the Telehealth field, said Laurie Poole, vice president, clinical innovation at the Ontario Telemedicine Network and chair of the ATA Awards Committee.

Consideration for this award included: the impact on the population served such as special needs groups; academic peer-reviewed research and presentations; targeted education programs; number of telehealth sites; business case or business model; long-term sustainability; and effective partnerships and collaboration.

The ATA is a non-profit association based in Washington with a membership network of more than 10,000 industry leaders and health care professionals. As the only national organization completely focused on telehealth, the ATA is working to change the way the world thinks about telemedicine and virtual care.

The SCTA provides administrative functions of programs and services, telehealth equipment and maintenance, technical support and security and leads initiatives determined by collaborative strategic planning.

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C. PCC is the leader of the Palmetto State Providers Network, a broadband consortium which facilitates broadband connections throughout the state.

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A Revolutionary War battlefield near Eutawville is being enhanced as part of its inclusion among a system of Liberty Trails that aims to connect all of the war's battlefields throughout the state.

As part of the process, the battlefield will be one of five battle sites to be developed into a park, complete with amenities such as a visitor's center, trails, shelters and an amphitheater.

Its a real source of pride

"The Liberty Trail was a project conceived by the South Carolina Battlefield Trust and we're partnering in this project with the American Battlefield Trust, a large foundation in Washington," said Doug Bostick, executive director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, a land trust that preserves battlefields in the Palmetto State.

In that role, Bostick also serves as the director of the South Carolina Liberty Trail project, which includes 69 American Revolutionary War battlefields which are divided into four trails stretching from as far south as Jasper County to as far north as Spartanburg County.

"What we want to do is connect all these sites. First, we want to preserve the ones that are not currently preserved. There are three that are run by the National Park Service, three that are run by state parks and two that are preserved by individual organizations," Bostick said.

"But the balance of all those are not currently protected. So our objective is to acquire as many of them as we can either through direct ownership of the land, or through a conservation easement," he said.

The work doesn't stop there.

"Then our plan is to interpret all of these to the public, both with battle signage and battle maps on the ground where there properties are, but also through a smartphone tablet app that will be available to the public for free.

"This app is currently being engineered. So it would give you drive-in directions, battle narratives, biographies, battle maps, any engravings or paintings that have ever been done of these battles, even down to linking you to where to stay and where to go eat when you visit these areas," Bostick said.

He added, "Our objective is to get all of this in place prior to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which is coming up in the next six years. Now some of these are just going to be small sites, where you might have the chance to pull off and park and then read the interpretive signage and understand what happened there," while others will be developed into parks.

"Five of them are going to be developed into full parks, meaning it'll have visitor amenities, shelters, trails, everything that you would expect to see if you went to a state park or a national park," said Bostick, noting that the Battle of Eutaw Springs deserves to be recognized.

The battle occurred on Sept. 8, 1781, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. The site includes a historic marker, a monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the tomb of British Commander major John Marjoribanks.

The Eutaw Springs battlefield site became listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 2, 1970.

We think itll draw a lot of just attention to Eutaw Springs. Eutaw Springs was a really big deal in its day. It was one of the most important battles in our state and in the nation. And so, number one, we want people to understand the real story of Eutaw Springs and, number two, to have the opportunity to go there and learn about all the people who were involved in this.

Several of the American Revolution's heroes fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs -- William Washington, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion, Andrew Pickens, "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Wade Hampton.

There are many captivating stories related to this battle. Thats the thing about the American Revolution. Theres kind of a piece of the story for everybody. At Eutaw Springs, we jokingly refer to it as the Patriot All-Star Game because most all of the notable commanders for the American cause were at Eutaw Springs, Bostick said.

A treasure trove of stories have come out of the battle, including that of slave Jim Capers.

He enlisted with Francis Marion in 1775, fought with Marion throughout the war, was wounded four times at Eutaw Springs, but was with his unit a month later to watch the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, Bostick said.

When he returns to South Carolina, hes given his freedom and he moves out West, which was Alabama in those days, and remarkably  I dont know how he did it  lived until the age of 110. But if you go to his grave today in Alabama, youll find a Revolutionary War veterans cross on his grave. So these stories about Eutaw Springs just go on and on and on, and thats why that particular battle is a very big deal to us, he said.

Bostick also shared the story of one of the battles Maryland commanders who later became governor of Maryland.

When he goes home after the war, he renames his own plantation Belvidere for the name of the plantation on which the battle was fought. And he names what today are all of the historic downtown streets of Baltimore. Theyre named after other patriot commanders that fought with him at the battle.

And if you go to a Baltimore Orioles game today to walk through to the gate of Camden Yards, which is the name of their stadium, you walk down Eutaw Street. Now I doubt that anyone in Baltimore knows where those names came from, but they all come from Eutaw Springs, he said.

Bostick added, Its a real source of pride. This battles a big, big deal, so big that a guy from Maryland goes home and names everything after people and things in the battle. So I think that that gives us a different understanding and appreciation of what happened there.

Its going to draw peoples attention

Cameron resident Douglas Doster is the past state president of the Battle of Eutaw Springs Chapter of the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Doster is excited about the Liberty Trail project and the enhancements that the S.C. Battlefield Preservation Trust proposes to make to the memorial battle site in Eutaw Springs.

"It's pretty common knowledge that this group has purchased several properties around Eutawville. And it is all going to be part of this group of Liberty Trails. We're on Liberty Trail One. It starts down here in Charleston.

They've already built up the grounds around Fort Fair Lawn, an old plantation there, but it's going to come up to Eutaw Springs and go all the way up to Camden and end up in Lancaster County at a mass grave of patriots that were killed. It's called Buford's Massacre, and we observe that every May, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trust is buying big pieces of land at different phases of the battle.

So weve been buying land in Eutawville for a while now. Weve bought four properties there so far. We have others under contract, and we others that were still negotiating over. Well never buy the entire battlefield. The whole battlefield is 4-1/2 square miles, but what we want to do is buy significant pieces of this battle because this battle stretched over four miles in length and was five hours long, he said.

Bostick said the enhancement plan includes turning the old Chefs Choice restaurant into a visitors center. The Preservation Trust purchased the restaurant  less than one mile from the site  in 2017.

Were still developing the master plan, but we would like to create a visitors center there so that you could go inside and get a proper orientation to the site. And, again, our hope is that well have an amphitheater there and a shelter there where people could meet, trails and facilities, he said.

The part of the battlefield that includes the historic marker and the monument by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is being leased to the Preservation Trust by Santee Cooper.

We own a total of 20 acres so far, and the Santee Cooper property that were going to lease is about another eight acres. Thats the end of the battle on that property. A lot of people think thats the whole battlefield, but thats just where the British camp was and thats the very end, Bostick said.

Doster said, Its going to be developed with a visitors center with displays and hopefully some artifacts. Some of the people whose families have been there since that time may say, Well, you know, so and so has got those old cannonballs that came from there, and old muskets and so forth. Were hoping that we can entice some of them to put them on loan like they would do with artifacts at a museum.

He added, The key thing is whats happening now with this Liberty Trail program. Thats going to pick things up and draw peoples attention. Were excited about that.

While an interpretive visitors center is not yet developed, there are illustrated signs throughout the Eutaw Springs battlefield site that tell visitors about the battle.

Doster said the South Carolina Society of Sons of the American Revolution traditionally celebrates the anniversary of the battle. This years commemoration will take place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

We do the commemoration every year. In 1936, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of Interior to establish a battlefield park near Eutaw Springs. It could have been a national park right then, but this was never implemented. Then, of course, World War II came along and everything got swept under the table, Doster said.

Bostick said the Preservation Trusts mission, however, will continue to highlight and preserve not just the Eutaw Springs battle sites, but others across the entire state.

Weve been around a good little while. To date, we have preserved 58 battlefields around the state, and were adding to that list fairly rapidly right now with the focus on the Liberty Trail, he said.

Bostick said the reason is simple.

People have lost touch with the founding of our country. If we had a better understanding of what it took to become the United States of America, then I think we will take better care of it.

The Liberty Trail is a project to create outdoor classrooms to allow people to visit these places and learn the stories of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Jim Capers. Every battlefield has its own story. We want to get Americans, South Carolinians and our visitors back in touch with all the great stories about how we started, he said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will stop by Orangeburg next week.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will host a meet and greet at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Sulit, located at 1005 Broughton Street.

Buttigiegs campaign recently told the Associated Press that his visit to South Carolina stems from a focus on outreach to African American voters.

While hes in South Carolina, Buttigieg will hold town hall events at North Charleston High School and the Eau Claire Print Building in Columbia.

This will be the former naval intelligence officers first campaign visit to Orangeburg County, which is no stranger to presidential candidates.

Buttigiegs fellow Democratic presidential candidates Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have all recently visited the county. Beto ORourke visited Bamberg County.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516.

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A group of fathers came together Thursday evening at Mellichamp Elementary School to put the hood back in fatherhood.

The topic of discussion was the impact of fathers and father figures in the community. A four-person panel and audience members discussed topics ranging from the absence of a father in the home to the necessity of mentoring youth in the community.

Mellichamp Elementary School Principal Hayward Jean, who hosted the forum, sparked the conversation.

Im learning now that youre not a father just because you are a father biologically, he said.

The panel consisting of Jerrod Anderson, Jamall Grant, Aldolphus Johnson and Van Gaffney followed with their definitions of fatherhood.

Fatherhood to me means putting someone other than yourself first for providing a safe environment, for taking responsibility and investing in loved ones and your community, Anderson stated. Its very important, vital what role we play today, and not only for those who we bring into this world but those who are in our community.

Grant said being a father covers many areas.

For me personally, it means being a provider, a protector. Sometimes it means being a mother. It means being a disciplinarian. It means being a friend. We dont get a lot of credit for it, but a real father sacrifices a lot, Grant said.

Gaffney said fatherhood means setting an example for the youth.

To me, fatherhood is being a positive role model because what you do, your children usually mirror you. So, if you set a good example and are a good example for them, the old saying the chip doesnt fall far from the tree is true, he stated.

Johnson said being a father represents, being protector. It means that youre a provider, but to me being a father means that youre responsible.

I believe that if youre a father, youre responsible for your kids, youre responsible for their well-being.

Panelists discussed their relationships with their fathers and noted how it impacted them.

Gaffney noted that his father was in his life.

My father was in the military, and we traveled a lot. Discipline was his thing. He taught us that he was a provider. He was organized and he taught that if youre going to be a man, be a man, do the right thing. He set that tone for us early in our life, Gaffney stated.

It taught you responsibility. It taught me that you handle your business first before you go do something else, he stated.

Grant stated that his father was involved in the early years of his life, but became absent in his pre-teenage years.

In the first part of my life, I had my father. Then, being honest, I dont know what happened, even to this day. When he left, that was probably when I needed a father the most, he stated.

At that time, Im being raised by music, he said. I hid a lot from my mom. I had male figures in my family, dont get me wrong, but I had none I could look up to from the time I was 12 until the time I was maybe 24.

Grant stated that the circumstances led to him making decisions that involved the street life. Now Grant has a mentoring program at Mellichamp Elementary and is looking to expand his program.

Jean asked the panelists how they can become visible to the youth who may not have father figures.

Anderson said it requires an investment to reach the youth.

I think you just have to take the time and get involved, he said.

Gaffney also said it requires a commitment to make a change.

Youve got to be committed because once you are involved with a young persons life, you cant just be there then leave them out there after you talk to them, he said. You have to take time with your children or any child because if you want them to respect and trust you, youve got to show them you can be trusted and respected.

Grant said parents have to be willing for their children to be mentored.

The mothers who want their child to get help and be helped, theyve got to be willing to let somebody help, first of all, Grant said.

Johnson said that it also takes practice.

I think before you go out in public that you should practice at home. I see a lot of younger people, a lot of people that have a good heart for their community, but theyre not practicing it at home, he said.

All panelists agreed that fatherhood ultimately comes down to sacrifice and unconditional love.

I believe that if you want to be a great father, you have to be willing to sacrifice, Johnson said.

Its important that you make the time to teach your children how to live with you together because if youre not there, then theyll learn to live without you, Anderson said.

Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516

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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.
North Macedonia goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential run-off vote that will be a litmus test for the pro-Western government, which has warned low turnout could invalidate the vote and trigger a general election.

The first round of voting last month was a tie between the candidate favoured by the ruling Social Democrats and his right-wing rival, reflecting a deep divide in the Balkan state, particularly over the country's historic name change.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but the poll is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's centre-left government, which recently finalised the controversial deal to add "North" to Macedonia's official name and end a long-running dispute with Greece.

The ruling party's preferred contender, 56-year-old Stevo Pendarovski, is a strong backer of the name deal and has cast himself as the pro-Western candidate who will join Zaev in bringing North Macedonia closer to Europe.

His nationalist-backed rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor who would be the country's first female president if elected, is highly critical of the change. She has framed her campaign around tackling weak rule of law and corruption.

But in addition to taking a majority, the candidates are pressed with drawing high enough turnout to clear a legal threshold.

More than 40 percent of the Balkan state's 1.8 million electorate need to cast ballots to validate the poll, a margin that was barely passed in the first round of voting last month.

If enthusiasm dips any further, it could hand a political crisis to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

According to the premier, the country would have to either restart the election process or make constitutional changes, such as allowing parliament to choose the president.

A failure to reach the turnout threshold -- or a victory for Siljanovska-Davkova -- would also trigger snap parliamentary elections, Zaev has said.

But the premier remains optimistic about hitting the turnout target, saying in TV interview this week: "We believe that citizens will elect a president".

- Voter discontent -

Some new voters may be motivated to head to the polls to avert more turmoil in a country that lurches from political crisis to crisis.

"I did not vote (in the first round)... but now everyone says there will be a crisis if we don't elect president, so I'll just do it," said Jana Damjanovska, a 27-year-old Skopje resident.

The country's name change was a compromise to end a decades-old row with Greece, which has a province called Macedonia and has never accepted its northern neighbour's use of the name.

In return, Athens promised to stop thwarting Skopje's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.

But that is just one of a range of issues concerning voters.

Petar Arovski, an analyst in Skopje, said the record low turnout last month reflected "dissatisfaction with rule of law reforms, the fight against corruption and the poor economy".

More than a fifth of the country is jobless while average wages are stuck at around 400 euros ($450) a month, helping fuel waves of emigration abroad.

In 2018 GDP growth was 2.5 percent, the lowest figure in the Western Balkans region according to the World Bank.

The presidential candidates are also vying for votes from the country's ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up around a quarter of the population.

The Albanian candidate fell out of the race after the first round.
Un avion commercial Boeing 737 avec 136 personnes a bord a du atterrir dans les eaux du fleuve Saint Johns, pres de Jacksonville en Floride, a annonce un porte-parole de la base aeronavale de Jacksonville.

Laccident na fait aucun blesse mais lequipage saffaire a controler le kerosene dans leau, a declare le maire de Jacksonville sur Twitter.

We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

 Lavion na pas ete submerge. Tous les passagers ont ete retrouves et sont en vie , ecrit le sherif de Jacksonville dans un tweet.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Le vol en provenance de la base navale de la baie de Guantanamo est entre dans l'eau en bout de piste vers 21h40 locales, a annonce la base aerienne. L'avion, portant le logo de la compagnie Miami Air International, est reste parfaitement intact, dans des eaux peu profondes.

Miami Air International est une compagnie charter qui exploite une flotte de Boeing 737-800. Boeing a dit etre au courant de l'incident et rassemblait des informations pour expliquer cette arrivee en catastrophe, a declare un porte-parole.
The Virginia businessman whose attempt to buy the Kemmerer coal mine in western Wyoming failed this month blamed the busted bid on the creditors of the bankrupt coal company Westmoreland.

The Kemmerer mine is owned by Westmoreland Resource Partners. As part of the bankruptcy process, the troubled coal firm was set to sell the coal mine to Tom Clarke for $7.5 million in cash and more than $200 million in secured promissory notes.

There was also the challenge of bonding  secured funding for cleaning up the large open surface mine.

During a private status conference call Tuesday to discuss Westmorelands creditors attempt to block Clarke from buying the mine until reclamation was secured, it was disclosed that Clarke would no longer be purchasing the Kemmerer mine due to his failure to provide bonding terms prior to an April deadline.

Clarke rebuffed that narrative in a call with the Star-Tribune, arguing that he had been ready to acquire the mine as early as mid-March and had obtained a bonding package. However, the lenders became inflexible, he said. The impending sale fell short as the first-in-line lenders that Westmoreland is indebted to balked at the deal offered by Clarke, the businessman maintained.

We had everything, he continued, detailing a plan for bonding that included cash collateral and ongoing payments to equal approximately $14 million paid over the next 10 months and provided by operations from the mine. We had the money. We had bonding commitments, maybe not the bonding commitments that the creditors wanted, but they were the only bonding commitments available.

The deadline for the sale closure was extended from April 15 to 25. Clarke said he received a letter from the creditors attorneys asking for more time. After the first extension, Clarke said he was approached by the creditors asking for another.

Clarke said he wasnt interested in an extension, but he still wanted a deal. The deadline passed and the asset purchase agreement cleared by the bankruptcy court expired.

A call to the secured lenders attorneys in Houston, Porter Hedges LLP, was not returned by press time.

Clarke still wants to buy the mine, he said.

His interest in Wyoming has expanded to other potential assets, though he declined to disclose which mining operations he was interested in. Clarke said the mine-to-plant operations, in which a coal mine feeds directly to a power plant, could be kept open for years to come with the right strategy.

Wyoming has been facing increasing concern over the potential closure of power plants like PacifiCorps Naughton plant  which is the chief purchaser of the Kemmerer mines coal, a relationship that goes back to the 1950s. PacifiCorp has a coal supply agreement with the mine that ends in December 2021.

As coal is pummeled in a power market where cheap natural gas is replacing the black rock as a fuel source, companies like PacifiCorp have become more interested in closing uneconomic coal plants in favor of new wind or gas power.

The utility disclosed recently that closing Naughton and other coal plants by 2023 would save customers $12 million.

Clarke said his ongoing interest in the Kemmerer mine, and other mine-to-plant operations in Wyoming, is based on his belief that he has a solution to the trend of retiring coal plants.

Rather than have a sudden announcement of early termination of power plants, there ought to be a longer term plan so that a community like Kemmerer can figure out a new economic base, he said.

Clarke first got involved in Westmoreland as a shareholder. He said he and his wife were at one point the largest private shareholders in the company. With the bankruptcy, Clarke saw an opportunity to take over the mining operations. Clarke had made a similar, surprising move in 2015, when he acquired coal assets in Appalachia from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal  a spinoff of Peabody Energy in the early 2000s that took on some of the coal giants liabilities and operations in Appalachia.

Patriot went bust after five years, declaring bankruptcy in 2012. It entered bankruptcy again in 2015, when Clarke picked up a number of coal mines from Patriot, including a number that were not operating.

Clarke considers those mines his success stories in coal. Those once-fallow mining operations from Patriot have generated nearly 1,000 jobs under his ownership, Clarke said.

The businessman, whod started out in nursing homes and health centers, said in a previous interview with the Star-Tribune that he became interested in coal when its decline played a role in shutting a struggling local hospital in Virginia. Hes had a number of high-profile acquisitions or projects in his home state, including a public spat with current Gov. Jim Justice over coal pollution in Appalachian waterways.

Few of Clarkes public ventures have gone smoothly, and a number of critics have risen in their wake.

The state of Ohio opposed the sale of Westmoreland coal assets to Clarke when they went before the bankruptcy judge, arguing that Clarke and his wife, Ana, did not appear to have the money to support reclamation associated with those sites.

In March, the Sierra Club asked a U.S. district court judge in West Virginia to force Clarke to pay $6 million that the environmental groups claim he has failed to pay  payments to an environmental nonprofit that were part of a settlement agreement for coal-polluted waterways in Appalachia.

Clarke also ran into trouble in the iron ore business in Minnesota, picking up assets from a bankruptcy in 2016. He was later booted from his role as an executive in the iron ore companies, ERP Iron Ore and Chippewa Capital Partners, at the insistence of the other investors, according to reporting at the time from Business North, a Minnesota business news publication based in Duluth.

In a previous interview with the Star-Tribune, Clarke said that the iron ore experience was a lesson learned in whom to partner with.

With the Kemmerer acquisition in limbo, Clarke argued that he is like a bride left standing at the altar. However, he said he is still willing to negotiate with the mines debtors. His style is in part a social one, making connections locally in Kemmerer, he said.

For the sake of the miners and the community, I hope, if not me, they find somebody else. But there are not too many people left, he said. There are people that are like Write me a check and well take over, but real mining companies? Youre not going to find Arch or Peabody coming [out there].

Follow energy reporter Heather Richards on Twitter @hroxaner

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BY MARK OSBORNE/ ABC News





Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries originally appeared on abcnews.go.com





A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.





There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.





"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."





The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."





Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.




Sally Ann Shurmur Community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur arrived at the Star-Tribune to cover sports two weeks after graduating from the University of Wyoming and now serves as community news editor. She was raised in Laramie and is a passionate fan of Cowboys football, food and family. Follow Sally Ann Shurmur Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Thank you for your service.

Five words say everything necessary, said Lt. Col. A. Michael Pezeshki, one of a number who spoke to the standing-room only crowd on Thursday night.

Speakers quoted songwriter Lee Greenwood and William Shakespeare.

Bagpipes and drums played America, and Amazing Grace.

The governor arrived 15 minutes late and spoke from his heart.

The Rev. Bill Pierce, who is a preacher and a doer and a Vietnam veteran, prayed over the group.

He thanked God for the wonderful country You have given us, for all of those who served on the front lines and here at home.

Gary Cohee, a Marine Vietnam veteran, explained that the first name on the wall is of the first casualty suffered in 1956. He said the wall contains six sets of fathers and sons, 11 sets of brothers. West Virginia has the most names on the wall, and there are the names of seven women, all nurses.

Indeed, the wall is constructed by date, with some panels reaching more than six feet high, containing names of lives lost in sometimes a period of five or six days.

Casper College president Dr. Darren Divine spoke of gratitude that often is felt but not shown. He choked up as he quoted from Lee Greenwoods song, God Bless the USA.

It was a remarkable evening.

Veteran students at Casper College worked for months to organize the five-day visit of Americas Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall, an 80 percent replica of the same wall erected in Washington, D.C., in 1982.

The opening ceremony was solemn and heartfelt, uplifting and sad all at the same time.

Gov. Mark Gordon said he was honored to attend.

He spoke of a cousin, George Patton IV, who served in Vietnam and another cousin who was Secretary of the Air Force.

In our family, there is quite a bit of talk about having a mission you can understand, he said. Americans stand up and step forward. Because we are Americans, we are the greatest country in the world and I am proud to be governor of the greatest state in the greatest country in the world.

In addition to the more than 5,000 names on the wall just outside the windows of the Gateway Center, Gordon remembered the 1,711 unaccounted for, including five from Wyoming, whom he mentioned by name, hometown and date they went missing.

(Harry Bob Coen, Riverton, May 12, 1968; Orville Dale Cooley, Range, Jan. 16, 1968; Joseph Leslie Hart, Afton, Feb. 25, 1967; Alva Ray Krogman, Afton, Jan. 17, 1967, and Thomas William Skiles, Buffalo, Dec. 19, 1971 I knew him, the governor said.)

The keynote speech was delivered by Eric Distad of Casper, who served in Vietnam for 14 months before returning home, where he graduated from Casper College and then the University of Wyoming before practicing law.

He said that there was a tremendous amount of survivors guilt for having come home virtually unscathed.

Perhaps some who view the wall only see the numbers, we still see the faces, feel the pain of their deaths. The wall is a symbol of closure and healing, Distad said.

He closed his remarks by quoting Shakespeare in Henry V:

... From this day to the end of time, without our being remembered: we few, we happy few, we band of brothers  for whoever sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother.

The wall is open to the public until 3 p.m. on Sunday, when a closing ceremony will be held. It is located just across the parking lot from the Gateway Building on the Casper College campus, off of Casper Mountain Road.

Follow community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur on Twitter @WYOSAS

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GILLETTE  More than four decades ago, a 30-year-old shoe salesman named Mike Enzi was elected mayor of Gillette, kicking off a political career that would take him all the way to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the senior senator from Wyoming announced the end of his political career from right where it began  Gillette City Hall.

In a press conference in the city council chambers, Enzi, 75, announced his term ending next fall will be his last, drawing a storied  if understated  career on Capitol Hill to a close.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, he said. I want to be able to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt, to do several small business initiatives, to protect and diversify Wyomings jobs. I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this term, Ill find other ways to serve.

While not the longest-serving senator in the states history (that distinction belongs to Francis E. Warren, who served the Equality State in Washington for nearly four decades), Enzi has spent 22 years in office  among the longest tenures of any delegate from Wyoming.

Long-known as one of Washingtons more reserved statesman, Enzi is also one of the Senates more influential members, passing more than 100 bills since taking office in 1997, when he replaced former Sen. Al Simpson. During that time, Enzi led efforts in the Senate to pass the Republican tax cuts of 2017, and has served terms as both chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and its Budget Committee, a position he has held since 2015.

At the press conference, which was attended by Enzis family, friends and a handful of journalists, Enzi noted that most of his successful bills passed with fewer than 15 votes in opposition, which is considered very bipartisan, he said.

I didnt get into the Senate for the fancy titles, he said. I like passing legislation.

A strong fiscal conservative, Enzi in recent years has been highly outspoken about the nations looming fiscal crisis, and has introduced legislation intended to avert future shutdowns of the United States government and reduce the national debt.

Enzi told reporters he had also addressed roughly 14,000 individual constituent issues while in office.

My biggest job, as it turns out, is to solve problems for the people of Wyoming, he said.

Prior to his time in Washington, Enzi spent a decade as a member of the Wyoming Legislature, serving two terms in the House of Representatives and six years in the Senate.

With Enzis retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. The most recent opening in Wyoming came in 2007, when Sen. John Barrasso was appointed to replace Craig Thomas, who died in office.

Barrasso lauded Enzi in a statement released shortly after Saturdays announcement.

Mike Enzis character, courage and credibility have made him a respected moral leader in the U.S. Senate, Barrasso said. In four terms in the Senate he has never wavered in his commitment to God, family or Wyoming. The Senate and Wyoming will miss the valued leadership of the trusted trail boss of our congressional delegation.

Potential replacements

The field to replace Enzi in 2020 could be large.

Recent candidates for Senate like Democrat Gary Trauner and David Dodson  a Republican who ran an unsuccessful bid against Barrasso last year  could potentially try another run for office, and other names floated have included statewide elected officials like Superintendent of Public Education Jillian Balow, who gave an open-ended answer when asked by the Casper Star-Tribune earlier this year whether shed consider a run for Senate.

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr  who hinted at higher political aspirations last year  told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in January she would not be running for the office.

Rep. Liz Cheney  who is currently the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives  could potentially mount a run for the Senate, having made an attempt to unseat Enzi in 2014. However, recent power struggles with members of party leadership could leave the door open for her to make a potential run at Speaker of the House in 2020, should the Republicans take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections.

In a statement released after Enzis announcement, Cheney said Wyomings senior senator never forgot where he came from.

During his 20 years in Washington, he brought our states values to the nations capital, fighting for smaller, less obtrusive, and more efficient federal government that would allow people to grow and thrive, she said.

Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Enzi  one of nine Republican candidates for office the last time an open seat became available with Sen. Al Simpsons retirement in 1996  declined to comment on future prospects for his seat.

Typically, when its an open seat, the delegation doesnt take sides, itd be an unfair advantage, said Enzi. The voters get to decide, and Ive thought theyve done a good job for 22 years.

Legacy

As mayor of Gillette during its first oil boom, Enzi helmed the ship at a time where a new era of prosperity was being ushered into what locals consider to be the Energy Capital of the Nation. During his eight-year tenure, the citys population doubled in size, new municipal buildings were constructed and the citys profile began to grow.

Enzis administration laid down a foundation for the future, he said, building a system to provide water for 30,000 people, striking a deal with the county for a local landfill, developing a street plan for the future and constructing a number of new parks in town.

I never intended to get into politics, said Enzi, who was urged to run by Simpson when the former senator was in state office. But I was mayor eight years during the first boom. I got to work with some amazing people who didnt know what couldnt be done  so we did it.

In 1996, while recovering from open-heart surgery, Enzi was urged by local leaders to try and run for Simpsons seat, despite Enzis wishes to take some time to hunt and fish. Relaxation didnt seem to be in the cards, however. In his speech, Enzi remembered leaving his church in tears, after hearing some higher power telling him I didnt keep you alive to hunt and fish.

The career that followed saw many successes. The first bill he ever sponsored  which preserved property rights for Campbell County residents caught up in a coal-bed methane dispute with the federal government  passed unanimously. He enjoyed a high legislative success rate thanks, in part, to what he called his 80 percent rule, where you work across the aisle to come to terms on the 80 percent of a bill the two parties agree on and ignore the 20 percent where they dont.

A legislative workhorse, Enzi was also known as an effective vote counter, and has long advocated for a slow, methodical approach toward passing legislation, working his fellow lawmakers one at a time, over a long period of time, in order to affect incremental change.

I sold shoes for 28 years, said Enzi. Thats the best training for being in Washington. You have to know who your customer is, you have to know what they want and you have to see how it matches up with your inventory. Its the same thing in Washington.

Thats why you dont see me on the floor as much, he added. Im talking to customers and my inventory is the bills.

In an era where Washington seems more polarized than ever, Enzi told reporters that this method is still effective, but has often gone unrecognized  citing a career and technical education bill he recently passed that got little attention.

I asked reporters about that, he said. And they responded, it passed unanimously, it must have been easy. That was seven years of my life.

Theyre not looking for what gets done, he said. Theyre looking for good fights they can report on, that people get excited over. We can come out of a meeting where weve just accomplished something, and they dont want to know what weve just accomplished  they want to know what this person has just said about that person which, in my opinion, is starting a fight because they couldnt find one. Thats not journalism. Getting the word out on whats being done is journalism. People might not be as excited about that.

Most recently, Enzi has placed most of his focus on addressing the national deficit and the nations looming fiscal crises. Earlier in the week, Enzi gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor warning of the imminent insolvency of the nations Social Security and Medicare programs. As chairman of the budget committee, Enzi has been central to conversations around that issue in recent years, and has worked several pieces of legislation intended to address it, including a five-year plan he announced earlier this spring intended to fight the national debt.

Though those conversations will soon be in someone elses hands, Enzi said he was not done yet.

Ive got a year-and-a-half yet, so dont write me off, said Enzi. Weve had some success with it before, but we just werent able to get it across the finish line. So we should be able to do what weve done before and move it along. Ill be able to concentrate on that this year instead of a campaign, which is a very complicated thing and getting even more complicated all the time. So now, I can devote myself to this for the next year-and-a-half, and I will.

Enzi also mentioned he would be continuing his work on ambitious proposals in health care and economic development over the next 18 months. But  on a trip home in a job that keeps him in Washington for four days a week  Enzis Saturday plans in Gillette were more simple:

First lunch, then fishing.

Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds

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Recently I attended a fundraising event at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs for the Western Bear Foundation (WBF). There were about seventy people in attendance. There were several raffles, an auction for some beautiful prints, free snacks and a cash bar.

The big issue of the event was the use of bear baiting as an aid in hunting. This is the practice of having a barrel, with a small opening and containing aromatic foods, like old donuts, preset in the wilds at the end of a clear line of fire. WBF speakers demonized environmental and animal rights groups, who have filed an intent to sue the government in order to stop this practice. The speeches, however, had an evangelical quality to them, as though WBF indisputably held the moral high ground of an aggrieved victim.

For example, speaker Joe Kondelis, WBFs president, harped on and on about how the public needed to be educated  meaning they are uneducated. If we were to listen to Kondelis, however, we could become blessedly educated. According to WBF, environmentalists are spreading misinformation among the public. But might it be that environmentalists are also the public, and have a right to say what they may? Is there any value to what little education environmentalists might have?

Kondelis also seemed to take it upon himself to speak for state wildlife agencies and their professional biologists and experts, as the rightfully intended party to make wildlife policies, and that it is morally wrong, and maybe even unconstitutional, for the judiciary to interfere in matters of hunting. Are all individuals, who work for wildlife agencies, in agreement with WBF? Some were in attendance, but, as usual, they didnt say anything  are they scared?

According to Kondelis, environmental extremists are inappropriately getting in the way of the public, now meaning WBF, and a strong tradition of bear baiting. Looked at linearly, both ends of an argument are extremes, and WBF is certainly at one of them, making WBF extremist, too. As for a bear-baiting tradition, WBF would have you believe that only beneficial and equitable results come about from baiting, for both bears and people. This is because, a little contrarily, the bears end up dead or maimed, and some humans can form a pretty superior image of themselves.

The huffy environmentalists, WBF complains, oppose baiting animals as contrary to the doctrine of fair chase and tradition. Here, WBF surely has two good points, so lets have bear baiters hunt with only a sharp stick and a rock, in the nude like our ancestors. This would put tradition back into things. Simply pull the bears head out of the bait barrel, and have a more or less equal fight. Sportsmen and sportswomen could then rightly call what they do a sport, because a sport involves opponents who have an equal chance of winning.

There was a short film showing the step-by-step drama of a bear-baited black bear hunt, though it was nothing like Ive just proposed above. Instead, to background sounds of a breeze and mystical instrumental chords, and speaking in a hushed conspiratorial tone, the narrator, decked out in trim paramilitary clothing and expensive gear, allows us to see, using powerful optics, the bear on a distant mountainside. We drive in a spotless truck some distance to within twenty minutes easy walking of where the bear is struggling to extract goodies from a bait barrel.

The narrator slowly and methodically gets into position and aims his high-powered rifle, from which we now view the bear through an expensive scope. We concentrate hard and take deep breaths. We are dramatic, holy and wise. The trigger is slowly, expertly, pulled, and the bear pops up in astonishment! It runs this way and that, till shortly exhausting itself and falling face forward into the grass. It heaves once or twice, then stops moving. We cautiously, yet reverentially, advance towards it. The hunter kneels before it, he reaches out to touch the great bear, he sensuously pushes his hand from the front of the bear to the back, pushing deeper and deeper into its fur and body, in a seemingly sexual show of dominance over the now submissive wild animal. Now law and order, or at least obedience, can prevail over wild and dangerous nature, as personified in the bear.

Tom Gagnon lives in Rock Springs.

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Each Sunday we ask you a question about an issue important to Wyoming, then print what you think the following Sunday. We call it Open Air because its a chance to examine a topic from all sides  wide open like Wyomings sky.

You can reply through our website or by email, postal mail, Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to specify youre responding to the Open Air question. Please keep your responses to 350 words and include your full name, town and contact information so we can verify your submission. Be sure to submit your comment by Tuesday or it might not make our deadline.
The second half of the book also explores Barajass history, from his childhood spent on Tucsons south side to his stand-up comedy career nurtured at Laffs Comedy Caffe under the tutelage of his mentor Gary Hoodie Hood, who died in 2016. Barajas, 30, gave up standup when he moved to Los Angeles several years ago to pursue a career in comic book publishing with Top Cow, where he is an operations director in charge of organizing events including comic-cons.

The first installment of La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, which is available digitally through gumroad.com, introduces us to Jaurigue, a first-generation Tucson native who returned home after the war, married a Pascua Yaqui girl and lived in Old Pascua, a settlement along the Santa Cruz River on West Grant Road. When the federal government stepped in during the early 1960s with plans to extend Interstate 10 through Tucson, the land the Pascua Yaquis occupied was in the direct path. Thats when Jaurigue and a group of Yaqui activists formed M.A.Y.O. and began lobbying to save their land.
We want this great place to be accessible to the American people and to the people of the world, as much as possible, he said.

Another consideration is the enormity of the Grand Canyon, which is 277 river-miles long. That makes effective enforcement a challenge, he said.

If a visitor wants to head off trail or peer over a precipice, Torres said, it better be an isolated event with no distractions or tomfoolery.

Quinley said relatively small choices and decisions visitors make at the park can lead to significant consequences.

Nancy Meyer of Phoenix visited the Grand Canyon over spring break with family and friends from New York and England. She said the rules and regulations at the national park shouldnt be changed at all.

Its such a natural and beautiful thing, and I really believe that people should be responsible and understand what they need to do if theyre going to take more of a hike than a tourist look at the Canyon, Meyer said. And also be responsible for their own health. You know, the usual that we do when we go to beaches  use sunscreen, drink enough water, hydrate, wear the proper clothing. Mostly common sense.
Michael Torres, a detective with the Marana Police Department, died Friday after a battle with an "aggressive form of cancer," department officials confirmed.

Torres began his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Tucson Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator.

Marana Police Department welcomed Torres into their family on July 9, 2012, officials said. In that capacity, he worked in a similar role as he did with Tucson police before becoming a detective in June 2014.

Officials say he worked "tirelessly" to investigate cases and provided "unparalleled service," which made him well-known in the community.

After he was diagnosed in February, Southern Arizona law enforcement agencies came together for the "Towers for Torres" event to raise money in support of Torres and his family. They raised more than $6,000 during the event on April 12.

Services in honor of Torres are pending.

Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1

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I would like to extend my thanks to Emily Bregel and Kendall Blust for their excellent reporting on the serious problems with sewage being fac
Days from now, works will begin on the disassembly of a 134-year-old cathedral in Nam Dinh Province of north-central Vietnam, removing from existence an architectural marvel that has served the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the Southeast Asian country.

Built in 1885 during French colonist era, the Bui Chu Cathedral serves a namesake diocese in Nam Dinh with over 412,000 Catholics.

It is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in Vietnam, founded in 1533 during the first wave of European missionaries who arrived in the area to proselytize.

Bui Chu Cathedral is considered a one-of-a-kind architectural gem that holds a significant place in the history of Catholicism in Vietnam.

As the priest who oversaw its construction was Spanish, Bui Chus design incorporated elements of baroque architecture with inspirations from East Asian culture.

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Most materials used in construction of the cathedral were sourced locally, allowing the structure to withstand the tropical climate of north-central Vietnam for nearly one and a half centuries, according to Vietnamese architect Cao Thanh Nghiep.

Its structural strength comes from weight-bearing brick walls combined with rows of ironwood pillars juxtaposed among exquisite sculpted stone platforms, a unique construction technique unseen at any other Catholic churches in Vietnam, Nghiep said.

At 78 meters long, 27 meters wide and 15 meters high, Bui Chu is also one of the largest Catholic churches in the area.

Ironwood pillars inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam remain in good condition after 134 years. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Bui Chu Cathedral is up for disassembly on May 13, according to a plan agreed upon by a council of priests and local Catholics.

Severe degradation and risks of collapse are cited as reasons for the demolition.

Construction of a new cathedral on the existing ones grounds  bearing the same design and architecture albeit with entirely new materials  has also received approval from provincial authorities.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

VND200 billion (US$8.57 million) worth of ironwood trunks have been imported and are being carved by artisans working at a camp set up near the cathedral to prepare for construction of the new building.

The new cathedral will be bigger and better than the old one, said a local official.

The current building may be a heritage to architects, but to us it is a wreck thats no longer safe for service, he added.

A large number of visitors  including regular tourists, photographers, journalists, architects, and art researchers  have been drawn to the site in recent days to pay one last visit to the historical structure before its demolition, according to a woodworker.

An aerial view of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Reflection of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is seen on a puddle. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The roof and bell towers of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam is badly degraded. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Signs of degradation are seen on a wall of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Children offer prayers inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Parts of the roof of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam have fallen off, posing risks to churchgoers. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Elements of European baroque architecture are incorporated in the interior design of the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Stained glasses are used inside the Bui Chu Cathedral in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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BANGKOK, May 04, 2019 : Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will be officially crowned on May 4 as part of elaborate three-day coronation ceremonies, has been listed as the worlds richest monarch by publications such as Business Insider in 2018.





His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was also listed by Forbes magazine as the worlds richest royal ruler in 2011, edging out the Sultan of Brunei.





Estimates of Vajiralongkorns personal wealth start at $30 billion, according to Business Insider.





That puts him among the wealthiest individual rulers, although when it comes to royal families, Saudi Arabias tops the list with an estimated $1.7 trillion, according an MSN Money report in 2019. The Thai royal family ranked fifth in that list.





Reuters was unable to independently confirm those estimates.





The Crown Property Bureau did not respond to Reuters request for comment. The Bureau of the Royal Household did not respond to written questions about the value of royal assets.





The following is a look at some of the Thai kings most significant assets:





PROPERTY Most of Vajiralongkorns wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau, which holds title to 6,560 hectares (16,210 acres) of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the capital.





Vajiralongkorn in 2017 placed the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control and later announced the removal its tax exempt status.





In Bangkok alone, the Crown Property Bureau owns 1,328 hectares of land, some of it prime real estate in the heart of the business district. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth $33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorns father, King Bhumibol, A Lifes Work.





The kings private secretary, Air Chief Marshal Satitpong Sukvimol, was appointed chairman of the Crown Property Bureau in 2017, a position previously held by the Finance Minister.





NEW DEVELOPMENT DEALS





Since the king took control of Crown Property Bureau, some $4.7 billion in new developments have been announced on land it owns, based on company announcements.





Property developers have stepped up investment on Crown Property real estate in recent years with the latest in April, when mall operator Central Pattana Pcl and hotelier Dusit Thani announced the $1.2 billion residential, retail and office project Dusit Central Park on a 67-year lease on 3.68 hectares. It is expected to be completed in 2024.





In 2018, TCC Group and Fraser Property Ltd, both controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, announced the $3.5 billion One Bangkok. The mixed-use project, on 16.7 hectares with a lease to 2083, is expected to complete its first phase in 2022, according to Fraser Property.





COMPANY STOCK





In a statement last year, the Crown Property Bureau announced assets previously registered to Crown Property would be held in the Kings name, placing shares worth some $9 billion in companies Siam Cement Group and Siam Commercial Bank among his personal assets.





Vajiralongkorn has a 23 percent stake in Siam Commercial Bank, Thailands second largest lender and 33.3 percent in countrys largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Group.





Both companies were founded by royal decree in the 1900s.





Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.





GOLD AND GEMS





Among Thailands crown jewels is the 545.67-carat brown Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world. Its value is estimated at up to $12 million by The Diamond Authority, a jewellery website.





It was presented to Vajiralongkorns late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1996 to mark the 50th year of his reign, according to the Gem and Jewelry Information Center, an industry body in Thailand.





On coronation day, the King will also be presented with five royal instruments, including the 7.3 kg (16 lb) golden Great Crown of Victory, which in inlaid with gems and topped by a large diamond from Kolkata, India.





The other priceless regalia are also adorned with diamonds and set in gold enamel, each steeped with history and cultural significance.





MALLS





While the Crown Property Bureaus 17,000 Bangkok rental contracts cover everything from government agencies to shophouses, some of the most visible holdings are the land on which some of the best-known shopping malls are built.





Siam Paragon shopping centre, Siam Discovery and Siam Center, all of which rest on Crown Property land, drew in some 200,000 shoppers per day last year.





The Crown does not run the malls but collects an unknown amount of rent from their operator, Siam Piwat, which also opened the $1.7 billion luxury mall, IconSiam, last year on its own land.




Check out whats in the news today.

Society

-- Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, landed in Hanoi on Friday night, hours after she was released from a Kuala Lumpur prison in the morning.

-- A journalist of Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper on Friday received death threats from phone calls of a woman who is the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit in the south-central city of Nha Trang that his newspaper had previously reported.

-- Local people residing along the banks of To Lich River in Hanoi, which is seriously polluted by wastewater, were surprised by its sudden greener color on Friday, thanks to water released from the West Lake as a way to prevent flooding in the iconic lake following recent downpours in the Vietnamese capital.

Business

-- Vietnams newest carrier Bamboo Airways announced on its website on Friday that it will open commercial air routes from the northern port city of Hai Phong to Quy Nhon, the capital of the south-central province of Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from May 10 with one round-trip flight per day for each route.

-- Vietnams automobile import turnover reached US$2.4 billion in the first four months of 2019, up 95.6 percent year-on-year, of which imports of completely-built-unit cars from countries in the ASEAN soared 619.3 percent.

-- Ho Chi Minh City reported a zero turnover in gasoline import in the first four months of this year, as to businesses have switched to sourcing petroleum locally produced at Dung Quat oil refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

-- Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has tasked the government inspectorate with coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to scrutinize a recent power price hike that has been widely opposed by members of the public and local media.

Lifestyle

-- The 2019 European Book Days is taking place simultaneously in the three major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from May 2 to 25.

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Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman who spent more than two years in a Malaysian prison on suspicion of killing North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam, has thanked those who supported her during the legal battle in a letter released after she was freed on Friday.

Huong, 30, was charged along with an Indonesian woman with poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong last month after she pleaded guilty to an alternate charge of causing harm.

Huong was taken into immigration custody immediately after her release from prison, where she remained until boarding a flight from the Malaysian capital to Vietnam later on Friday.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Video: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

In a handwritten letter, Huong thanked the governments of Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as those involved in her trial and imprisonment, for "all the support".

"I'm very happy and thank you all a lot. I love you all," Huong said in the letter shown by her lawyers at an airport press conference before her flight.

Thank [you] so much [to] everybody [who] pray[ed] for me [at] the church, and at home as well, Huong wrote in broken English.

Thank you Lord Jesus for he love[s] me so much, reads the letter, dated May 2, 2019.

A close-up view of Huong's letter

Huong's father, Doan Van Thanh, said he and her brother would be in Hanoi to welcome her home.

"I am so happy now, my whole village is happy now," Thanh told Reuters by telephone.

"We will hold a party on Sunday and anyone can come and join the party. We will slaughter some pigs for the party. My daughter particularly likes fried fish, so we will prepare that too," he said.

Huong arrived in the Vietnamese capital at 9:35 pm on Friday on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Doan Thi Huong smiles as she leaves the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam surrounded by reporters on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Speaking with the press upon arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport, Huong said she was happy to be back in her home country and sent thanks to the government of Vietnam and Malaysia as well as to her lawyers.

Huong said she had no immediate plan for her future except to spend time with her family in the neighboring province of Nam Dinh.

We are happy with the release of Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong and that she is reunited with her family in Vietnam, said foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang the same day.

This is the fruit of citizen protection efforts by the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Vietnam Bar Federation as well as Malaysian lawyers, Hang said.

At the same time, we acknowledge the positive efforts made by competent Malaysian authorities in resolving this issue, she added.

Doan Thi Huong take questions from reporters after arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on May 3, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Huongs co-accused, Siti Aisyah, was freed in March after prosecutors also dropped a murder charge against her.

Defense lawyers have maintained the women were pawns in the murder 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 came under criticism for charging the two women with murder - which carries a mandatory death penalty in the Southeast Asian country - when the key perpetrators were still being sought.

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Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Friday nabbed a 25-year-old man who broke into a local elementary school and stabbed students playing in the yard with a knife on the morning the same day.

The incident took place at around 9:00 am at Dong Luong Elementary School in Lang Chanh District, with one fifth-grade student killed and four others injured by the knifeman, Do Minh Chieu, who is now in custody, according to the district deputy chairman Le Duc Chung.

The man, who broke into the school by jumping over its fence, also stabbed a teacher when she rushed to stop him, and then fled the scene.

Local authorities immediately mobilized all forces to hospitalize the injured and hunt the suspect.

It took law enforcement only one hour to arrest Chieu, a Thanh Hoa resident.

The suspect is seen in this photo provided by the police.

As of Friday evening, the four wounded students and the injured teacher were still receiving treatment at a local hospital. Three of the students were severely injured, according to officers.

The knifeman still lives with his parents in Thanh Hoas mountainous Lang Chanh District and does not have a stable job, according to police. Local residents said he is addicted to online games.

The motive for the knife attack remains unclear and police are investigating further.

The knife used in the attack is seen in this photo provided by the police.

Also on Friday, police in Ho Chi Minh City said they have arrested Truong Tin, 29, for allegedly killing his grandmother, mother and aunt the day before, when he was apparently high on drugs.

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Presidents Trump and Putin held a 90-minute telephone conversation on Friday. Hopefully, it is the start of a long-overdue strategic dialogue to repair the damage done by Russia-gate and other political roadblocks thrown up in the way of a resumption of Russian-American efforts to find areas of common global interest and set aside points of conflict in the interest of global stability.

The list of shared concerns is long: Extension of the New START Treaty covering strategic weapons; efforts to either salvage or replace the INF Treaty before both Russia and NATO begin deploying intermediate range missiles along a European front; Korean denuclearization; a diplomatic solution to the Syrian War, now that it is clear that President Bashar Assad has survived the eight-year regime change effort.

While the MSM continues to assail Trump every time he tries to strike up a conversation with Putin, a number of Cold War veterans have come out recently, pressing for US-Russian dialogue. William Perry, Sam Nunn and George Shultz penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on April 10 headlined "The Threat of Nuclear War Is Still With Us." They argued for a multi-track resumption of US-Russian diplomacy, involving the Executive and Legislative Branches. Most urgently, they called for the US and Russia to agree to abandon the "launch on warning" doctrine of nuclear retaliatory strikes, which give leaders only moments to decide whether to launch Armageddon. A majority of Democratic Senators recently wrote to President Trump, urging the beginning of direct dialogue with Russia over extension of New START beyond the 2021 termination date.

Before the Trump-Putin phone call, two Administration officials traveled recently to Moscow to confer with counterparts. Fiona Hill, the National Security Council director for Russian Affairs visited around the same time that the President's envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun made an April 17-18 visit to the Kremlin to discuss US-Russian collaboration to revive the stalled Korea denuclearization talks.

The Hill and Biegun talks were a very cautious first step towards reconstituting a Russian-American diplomatic engagement. Still far from plans for the Trump-Putin summit that has been on hold since July 2018, when the two presidents met in Helsinki.

All of the bitching and moaning about Donald Trump's personality, his unpredictability and worse cannot any longer stand in the way of some effort to resume real substantive Washington-Moscow engagement. Nuclear war and the other pressing issues on the US-Russian table are adult stuff. The Beltway infantile fits about Trump-Russian "collusion" have played their course. It's time to let it go.
Tonight on 60 Minutes Liz Hayes fronts a special investigation into Boeing following recent aviation failures.

Fatal Flaw

When aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced its brand-new passenger jet, the 737 MAX, it thought it was onto another winner. Airlines around the world  including Australia  ordered thousands. But Boeing was wrong, and the plane has turned out to be a catastrophic failure. In the last six months two of the jets have crashed and 346 people have been killed. In a special edition of 60 MINUTES, Liz Hayes reconstructs the final horrific moments of both Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. In startling interviews with 737 pilots, aircraft engineers and a former Boeing insider, Hayes investigates the fatal flaw of the 737 MAX, and questions not only why Boeing designed a plane with the ability to override the control of the pilots, but also why the company didnt tell the airlines buying the planes it was doing this. Boeing says it can, and will, fix the problem, but Hayes asks whether the damage has already been done. For decades Boeing has relied on the undisputed trust of pilots and millions of passengers flying worldwide. But now, has it all been lost?

Reporter: Liz Hayes

Producer: Gareth Harvey

8:40pm Sunday on Nine.
EXCLUSIVE: Foxtels Head of Drama Penny Win is stepping down from a full time position but will continue in a consultancy role.

Win (pictured top left) joined the company as Programme Promotions Manager in 1996, before a five year stint as programmer at TV3 & TV4 in New Zealand and rejoined Foxtel in 2003. She has held the positions of Channel Manager with Foxtel Networks and was appointed as Commissioning Editor for Drama in 2012 and then to Head Of Drama in 2014.

Dramas under her watch have included Wentworth, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Secret City, A Place to Call Home, Fighting Season, Devils Playground, Deadline Gallipoli, and The Kettering Incident. Upcoming commissions include Lambs of God, Upright and The End.

The achievements under Penny are impressive, said Executive Director of television Brian Walsh.

Under her direction, Foxtels drama series have been recognised by the Australian creative community and industry professionals to great acclaim and won numerous accolades for achievement in excellence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Penny for her enormous contribution and more broadly, for her invaluable participation in furthering the creation of unique Australian stories for television. Penny will continue to play a key role in Foxtels local production plans, specifically as our Drama Consultant on signature series, Wentworth.

Pennys associates in our Drama Department, Carly Heaton and Lana Greenhalgh, will now report direct into Ross Crowley.
excerpt from The Real Face of Facebook in India: How Social Media Have Become a Weapon and Dissemninator of Disinformation and Falsehood by Cyril Sam and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (April 2019) Published by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta | available via: https://amzn.to/2ViCdzV

aThe 2014 Modi pre-election campaign was inspired by the 2012 campaign to elect Barack Obama as the aworldas first Facebook President.a Some of the managers of the Modi campaign like Jain were apparently inspired by Sasha Issenbergas book on the topic, The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. In the first data-led election in India in 2014, information was collected from every possible source to not just micro-target users but also fine-tune messages praising and amythologizinga Modi as the Great Leader who would usher in acche din (good times) for the country.a

[ . . . ]

aEarlier, in 2015, the Modi government rallied support for the social media platform by announcing an e-governance scheme called aDigital Indiaa a all government departments, ministers and bureaucrats were asked to create Facebook pages to reach out to their friends and constituents. In effect, Facebook became the default communication platform for the government of India. In the years that followed, supporters of the BJP started aweaponizinga Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to target voices critical of Modi and his party.

These three social media platforms together comprise the biggest advertising network of its kind in the history of humankind. But they have huge design issues that go beyond leaking user data. Facebook and its sister platforms are not just addictive but seek to convert politics into games. Democracy and interpersonal interactions turn into games of engagement: likes, shares, comments and a race to gather more followers.

In India, representatives of various political parties have been reported saying that the chances of a person getting a party ticket to stand for elections would go up if the concerned person had a large number of followers on Facebook. In March this year, Prime Minister Modi asked his party MPs how many of them had over 300,000 agenuine likesa on their Facebook pages and said he would incentivise such MPs by appearing on video conferences for their supporters.

The social media giant is no ordinary corporate conglomerate. As the New York Times recently put it: aIn just over a decade, Facebook has connected more than 2.2 billion people, a global nation unto itself that reshaped political campaigns, the advertising business and daily life around the world. Along the way, Facebook accumulated one of the largest-ever repositories of personal data, a treasure trove of photos, messages and likes that propelled the company into the Fortune 500 (list of the worldas largest companies).a

Facebook makes money, and lots and lots of it, on engagement. aCommercial, political and personal speech are different a Facebook short-circuits democracy by blurring the lines between and among them,a said Dr Ravi Sundaram, media scholar at the aSaraia programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a Delhi-based think tank, adding: aIt is an infrastructure that makes money by conflating all forms of messaging and speech into commercial speech.a

Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, together also comprise the biggest consciousness manipulation infrastructure of its kind that has been constructed on a scale never seen before in the history of the world. In 2012, Facebook conducted a notorious global experiment to evaluate how changes to its news feeds affect the emotional state of its users. The results published in 2014 were not surprising. When users see more positive content on their feeds, they post positive content. And when people see negative posts, they post negative things.

Simple, but true! Facebook makes lots and lots of money by manipulating the consciousness of its unsuspecting users. Extreme content generates extreme emotions and, therefore, enhances engagement. Advertisers realised this quite quickly. The tactics employed by political hackers is borrowed from the playbook of advertisers. Facebook does its part by providing support to political operatives to generate better, more effective and more polarising messaging.

In the book, we have already examined the role played by Facebook and WhatsApp in disseminating fake news, hate speech and incendiary information and their alleged complicity with Modi, and the BJP. We have reported on how Facebook arrived at the dominant position it is in India at present with more than a little help from the current ruling regime. We continue to outline the role played by key individuals with close links with the BJP and Prime Minister Modi in propagating his partyas right-wing Hindu nationalist agenda on social media platforms like Facebook.a
The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said. The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.(AP)

The influential younger brother of Algeria's former longtime president was detained Saturday for questioning along with two generals who previously ran state security agencies, a security official said.

The official confirmed Algerian news media reports of Said Bouteflika's detention. The 61-year-old served as a special counselor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, before the ailing leader resigned under pressure April 2 after 20 years in office.

The arrests of three key figures from the Bouteflika era underscored ongoing turmoil in the government as protesters at weekly Friday marches push for the rest of the old guard to go, too.

Said Bouteflika was widely viewed in Algeria as the man at the center of a political system that enriched the oil-rich nation's industrialists while young Algerians suffered rates of high unemployment. He has been accused of usurping presidential powers after his brother's 2013 stroke.

The two arrested generals also occupied top positions in the power hierarchy established during Bouteflika's long presidency.

Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, was for 25 years was in charge of military intelligence service DRS and one of Algeria's most powerful men until he was forced to resign in 2015.

Also detained was Athmane Tartag, who headed the DSS state security service until last month, the official said.

The security official said the three men were being questioned by the central security service. The security official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the discreet nature of security services.

There was no official [comment] from the government on the arrests.

The DSS previously reported to the president but now is under the Defense Ministry, led by the powerful army chief whose withdrawn support helped push Bouteflika out.

Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah might have had a hand in Saturday's arrests as well. He publicly accused Toufik of plotting against the protesters who took to the streets of Algiers on Feb. 22 after the president formalized his candidacy for a fifth term.

Story continues

In an April 16 speech, Gaid Salah said he had "irrefutable proof" of the Touflik's alleged actions and warned of legal consequences if the fellow general did not stop behind-the-scenes manuevers, according to a transcript posted by online site TSA Algerie.

Gaid Salah lambasted Said Bouteflika, without naming him, as head of "the gang" that ran Algeria. Protesters picked the label and chanted about the "leader of the gang" while demanding a clean sweep of the government.

(AP)
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Saturday he backs a re-run of mayoral elections in Istanbul which resulted in a narrow victory for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the first time in 25 years.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP), which also lost control of the capital Ankara in the March 31 local elections, has already filed an appeal to Turkey's High Election Board (YSK) to annul and re-run the election in Istanbul due to what it says were irregularities.

The YSK is expected to rule on the AKP challenge on Monday, but it has ordered district electoral officials in Istanbul to investigate their respective ballot box officials in its interim rulings.

Prosecutors on Thursday launched probes into allegations of irregularities in Istanbul and summoned more than 100 polling station officials for questioning as suspects, in a move the opposition CHP said would not alter the results of the vote.

Speaking to Turkish business people in Istanbul, Erdogan said the Istanbul elections were marred by irregularities and called on the YSK to make a decision that would eliminate controversies and "clear its name".

"My people tell me the elections should be renewed. I have not spoken until now, I've been silent. But everyone else has spoken. Enough already," Erdogan said.

"There is a controversy here, it's clear. There is an irregularity here, that's clear too. Let's go to the people and see what they say and whatever the outcome, we will accept it."

Erdogan had accused the opposition of supporting "terrorism" and labelled the local election a "matter of survival" for Turkey during his campaign, which was held amid growing disenchantment among voters over economic woes.

CHP spokesman Faik Oztrak told reporters later on Saturday that it was time for Erdogan and his AKP to accept defeat.

"The real matter of survival here is those who put aside the people's concerns about food prices, wages and focus instead on their own benefits," Oztrak told a news conference in Ankara.

Story continues

"There is only one thing that can clear the YSK. That is for it to act in line with its regulations and previous rulings."

"WE CAN ONLY LAUGH"

The uncertainty over the results in Istanbul, which accounts for around a third of the country's economy, has kept financial markets on edge, as Turkey tries to recover from a currency crisis that saw the lira lose more than 30 percent of its value last year.

On Friday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the Istanbul elections had become a test of democracy. He accused the AKP of exerting political pressure on the YSK to order a re-run of the vote.

Erdogan said his party was only exercising its legal rights.

"Claiming that Tayyip Erdogan is trying to steal an election he has no right to is the biggest insult," Erdogan said. "We are not hurling threats, we're just waiting."

While the CHP's Ekrem Imamoglu took office as Istanbul's new mayor last month, the AKP won 25 of the city's 39 districts and the majority of seats in the municipal council. It has said that this proved irregularities had taken place.

Speaking to his supporters on Saturday, Imamoglu said the AKP appeals were unreasonable.

"So the 25 districts are all clean, the municipal council votes are perfect, but when it comes to the mayorship, there is an irregularity. We can only laugh at this," Imamoglu said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)
At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

At least nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country's internationally recognised government.

Clashes raged in Tripoli's southern outskirts throughout the night as the rival forces fired at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.

The IS group claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online Saturday.

A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. A statement on the Sebha hospital website put the number of dead at nine.

Hamed al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and seven others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.

A source in Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed IS group and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

News-gathering in southern Libya is difficult due to the absence of an effective state authority in a region dominated by different armed groups and tribes.

The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, faced strong opposition from ethnic Tebus during a military campaign it ran in the south at the start of the year.

Sebha - like much of the south and its oilfields - is controlled by the LNA but the force has co-opted local armed groups and tribesmen to control territory.

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Such alliances often shift in a country that has been in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The LNA has moved troops from its southern campaign towards the Tripoli front, also moving in heavy guns in the past week. But it has been unable to breach defences in the city's southern suburbs.

The IS group is active in the south to where it retreated after losing its stronghold in the central city of Sirte in December 2016.

There have been several attacks in southern Libya since the Tripoli offensive, among them an assault on the Tamanhint air base outside Sebha and clashes at the El Sharara oilfield, the country's biggest.

As well as the humanitarian cost, the Libya conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration to Europe and has scuppered a UN peace plan to hold elections to produce a unified government and army.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
More than 1 million recovered from puppy fraudsters in Scotland A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK.

More than 1 million has been recovered in Scotland as part of a crackdown on fraudsters selling puppies on the black market.

A taskforce was set up by HMRC in October 2015 to tackle dog breeders across the UK after welfare groups suggested that tens of thousands of puppies were being reared in unregulated conditions and sold illicitly.

Officers uncovered fraudsters selling puppies on a mass scale and for huge profit.

Due to the underground nature of the activity, the sellers had failed to declare their sales.

In the west of Scotland, two unconnected puppy breeders were handed tax bills of 425,000 and 337,000, while a puppy dealer in the east of the country was handed a tax bill in excess of 400,000 as part of the probe.

Using a full range of civil and criminal enforcement powers, HMRC recovered a total of 5,393,035 in lost taxes in the UK from 257 separate cases since the formation of the taskforce.

Several arrests have been made as part of the taskforces work across the UK over the past four years.

Puppies seized as part of Operation Delphin (HMRC/PA)

HMRC is also involved in Operation Delphin, a multi-agency collaboration across the UK and Ireland designed to tackle illegal puppy smuggling and its consequences.

It is led by the Scottish SPCA and includes partners such as the RSPCA, Ulster SPCA, Dublin SPCA, Irish SPCA, Border Force, and the police.

The head of the Scottish SPCAs Special Investigations Unit, who cannot be named due to undercover operations, said: Unfortunately, the puppy trade is big business, with thousands of dogs being brought into the country each year, particularly from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is a multimillion pound industry and many of these poor dogs are bred on large scale puppy farms with little to no regard for their welfare.

We have seized 27 puppies smuggled from Ireland at Cairnryan Port in Dumfries and Galloway as part of Operation Delphin, which is dedicated to ending the illegal puppy dealing industry and bringing those who prioritise profits over animal welfare to justice.

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Its a barbaric trade which commands huge profit from selling puppies. Often these puppies are kept in appalling conditions and this leads to injuries, health issues and behavioural problems.

Some are so far gone that they pass away from complications due to the way they are bred and kept.

The efforts of all involved in the taskforce have helped us to make inroads into this brutal trade but it is a growing problem.

Last year nearly half of all animals seized by the Scottish SPCA were rescued from puppy farms and I would urge everyone to sign the pledge #SayNoToPuppyDealers and send a clear message that this cruel trade has to end.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured."They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.""We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings."Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.(AP)

Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, with police saying two people died in the city of Ashkelon. Israel responded with air and tank strikes in which two more Palestinians were killed Sunday.

Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Story continues

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.

(AP)
The Scottish Tory leader pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18.

Ruth Davidson has made her pitch to be Scotlands next first minister, pledging to bring about a blue-collar revolution that would get the country on the right track.

Despite the next Holyrood elections being two years away in May 2021, the Scottish Tory leader said the choice voters would face would be between another SNP government led by Nicola Sturgeon banging on about independence and a Conservative administration that would offer a brighter horizon.

Ms Davidson pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18, or take up a structured apprenticeship or training place if they want to go into work.

The Tories want the 10,000 youngsters who leave school every year and take a job with no training, or who have no job at all, to be able to carry on with their education or learn new skills, with a future Tory administration pledging between 20 million and 60 million to help make this happen.

In her speech she said the greatest service we can do to our nation would be bringing down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance.

Closing the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, Ms Davidson said: As first minister, I wont use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. Ill use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.

And Ill make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotlands next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. Weve had enough to last a lifetime.

We can't see the potential of another generation go unfulfilled. These are the people who should demand our attention.#SCC19 pic.twitter.com/e2eqkENrAv  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The speech marked her return to frontline politics after going on maternity leave, and she told activists: Im back because I want to put Scotlands constitutional division aside, to allow the country to come back together again.

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Im back because I want us to build a better Scotland  right here, right now.

That election is still two years away but today its time we fire the starting gun on the campaign.

With Ms Sturgeon having declared her desire to hold another independence referendum within the next two years, the Scottish Tory leader was clear about saying no to another referendum.

But she stressed that was because she wanted to deal, front and centre, with the very real issues affecting our country.

Here are the policies announced in Ruth's speech to #SCC19 that will help bring Scotland back together:  A New Economic Strategy for Scotland A Scottish Exporting Institute Investment Hubs in the Rest of the UK Economic Growth Fund Reformed Enterprise Agencies 1/2  ScotConservatives (@ScotTories) May 4, 2019

The bulk of her speech was about the policies the Tories could bring in if she achieves her goal of ousting Ms Sturgeon.

She outlined plans for a new skills participation age of 18, ending the current system which allows children to finish education when they are 16.

Ms Davidson said she wanted it to be the law that everybody up until the age of 18 has to either go to college or university, or if they want to start work, its through a structured apprenticeship or a traineeship.

As part of a sea change in culture in vocational education, she argued for junior colleges to be set up to provide more opportunities for those who choose not to go to university.

Ms Davidson also promised a lifelong skills guarantee that could help workers of all ages to retrain or improve their skills to help their careers.

What we need is nothing short of a blue-collar revolution. And a government led by me would deliver on it.

On the economy, she pledged the Tories would start by untangling the bureaucracy thats spread like Japanese knotweed under this SNP Government.

Outstanding speech by @RuthDavidsonMSP. Setting out our @ScotTories vision to grow the Scottish economy, transform the life chances of Scotlands young people, restore our public services, and end 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance. #SCC19 pic.twitter.com/5aNeF4opYN  Miles Briggs MSP (@MilesBriggsMSP) May 4, 2019

In addition there would be a new economic growth fund to support those looking to invest in Scotland, as well as the establishment of a Scottish exporting institute.

With the world facing the massive challenge of climate change, she said Scotland could be at the forefront of the new clean energy revolution of the future too, adding that her government would work to encourage technologies such as hydrogen power.

Countries like Australia are already investing millions in developing hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas, she said.

Its zero emissions, you can make it from water using renewable electricity, you can store it and then export it to neighbouring countries. Well why not us too?

You cant trust a word @RuthDavidsonMSP says today. Heres what she really thinks pic.twitter.com/OciYsrdBDo  Scottish Labour (@scottishlabour) May 4, 2019

But SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: Ruth Davidson is, just like her boss Theresa May, running scared of democracy.

Support for independence is on the rise, and the Tories can see that, which is what lies behind their utterly undemocratic move to block the people of Scotland having a say on their future.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said the Tory had been silent about how the reforms she promised would be funded.

Mr Gray said: Labour is committed to lifelong learning, but the most urgent reform our education system needs is more funding  we have over 3,000 fewer teachers under the SNP but Ruth Davidson wont ask the richest to pay their fair share to deliver it.

In fact, Ruth Davidson was silent on how she plans to pay for her plans.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

Shamima Begum, pictured going through security at Gatwick airport, before catching a flight to Turkey in 2015 to join Islamic State (Met Police/PA)

She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

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Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Three men have been arrested over the incident in the south of the city on Friday.

A teenage boy is critically ill after being attacked in Belfast.

The 17-year-old was found by police inside a flat on the Donegall Road in the south of the city on Friday afternoon following reports of a disturbance.

He was found injured and unconscious.

Police are currently investigating the serious assault of a teenage boy in the Donegal Road area of south Belfast this afternoon. He has been taken to hospital for treatment. Witnesses or anyone with info call 101, quoting reference number 1018 of 03/05/19.  PSNI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 3, 2019

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said the victim is understood to be critically-ill in hospital.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened at about 4.15pm on Friday.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said those who were arrested are being questioned at Musgrave police station.

Anyone who can assist us with our investigation is asked to contact Musgrave CID on 101, quoting reference 1018 03/05/19, he added.
Wellbeing and sport spokesman Brian Whittle said the issue was 'not an easy one' for the party to deal with.

Government welfare policy on the rape clause is a not an easy one for Conservatives to deal with, a leading Scottish Tory said.

Brian Whittle, the sport and wellbeing spokesman for the Conservatives in Holyrood, said great marketing by opposition parties had seen them use the policy to attack the Government.

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Lesley Laird insisted it was absolutely shameful that Conservatives, including Ruth Davidson, support the despicable Tory rape clause.

But speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative Aberdeen conference, Mr Whittle argued it was legitimate to debate the limits that should be put on benefit payments.

He said: The thing about the rape clause, and I think it is fair to say the opposition have grasped hold of that and are driving that really hard into us, the thing is this, were looking at a system where the question is, should there be an upper limit on social benefits, and thats a debate that has to happen and its a very legitimate debate

We think there should be a limit to what social security payments should be, and if we agree to what social security payments should be, you would accept there have to be exemptions to that.

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He added that if the party had not included an exemption to the policy  which limits to two the number of children for which families can claim tax credits  they would have been massively criticised.

But Mr Whittle said Tories were getting beaten for doing that, when the actual debate is around social security benefits, should there be an upper limit, what it should be, and if there isnt an upper limit how does that encourage people to go back into work.

He continued: Its not an easy one for Conservatives to get round, and Ive been beaten for that as well.

But there is a legitimate debate to be had here that is not being had.

Alison Thewliss MP, SNP, said: Brian Whittles comments are not only offensive, theyre totally heartless.

He seems to be in total denial about the hardship and misery his own party is causing.

The rape clause is not a political invention  its an utterly horrific policy of the Tory government, which has forced families across Scotland and the UK into poverty.
[Translation from the original statement in Portuguese - Nota da Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia em Defesa do Ensino e Pesquisa Nas Areas de Humanas, BrasAlia, 26 de abril de 2019 is made available here for public information, hoping that social scientists in South Asia will express their solidarity with Brazilian sociologists protesting end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and write letters of protest to the Govt of Brazil]

sacw.net - 3 May 2019

Statement from Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia / Brazilian Sociological Society

BrasAlia, April 26, 2019.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology (SBS) publicly expresses its strong criticism of the statements made by the President of the Republic regarding his intention to "decentralize" university resources to human areas - specifically philosophy and sociology - in order to "focus" on areas such as veterinary medicine, engineering and medicine.

Certainly, the areas of veterinary, engineering, medicine - and others such as biology, chemistry, etc. - are fundamental for the social and economic development of the country.

However, it is necessary to point out that the humanities, among which the mentioned disciplines philosophy and sociology, have a long trajectory in the history of knowledge elaborated in several universities in Brazil and in the world and are equally important for the construction of a modern country, developed and more supportive.

Sociology is a scientific discipline as much as physics, medicine, chemistry, biology, etc. The knowledge it draws is based on empirical facts confronted with theories and concepts, but also on conceptual reflections and analyses of social reality carried out through the use of analytical categories that are proper to it. The results obtained through sociological research are the result of the use of rigorous methods for obtaining data, considering and analyzing multiple sources of information and also sophisticated techniques in the treatment of quantitative and qualitative data obtained in various ways. In this sense, the Brazilian Society of Sociology cannot accept the unreasonable charge that sociology, both national and international, produces ideologies or the like. Sociology is a science, and like all others, it is separated from notions of common sense.

Sociology, moreover, is an academic discipline present in virtually every country that has universities. In all the contexts in which it is present, it has provided relevant contributions in analyzing issues of public interest such as violence, inequalities, social, urban and rural life, etc. Their results contribute, in no small measure, to the formulation and implementation of public policies to address the many issues facing our societies.

Sociology, as one of the most respected contemporary sociologists Anthony Giddens has argued, has, after all, become a fundamental actor in modern societies, since the knowledge produced by it enables citizens to understand the world around us and the broader contexts in which we live.

It will never be too much trouble to warn that countries with more robust university systems than Brazil have vigorous departments of human sciences and sociology, such as Harvard, Columbia and Yale in the USA, the London School of Economics in England and France, Ecole des Hautes Atudes en Sciences Sociales, as well as sociology departments at the German universities of Bielefeld, Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt, or in emerging countries such as China and its Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Instead of suffering senseless accusations and threats of budget cuts, these institutions and their departments of sociology enjoy social and intellectual respect for their local communities and, at the same time, the protection and academic encouragement of their respective governments.

Finally, it is important to point out that numerous international calls for the execution of large technological projects (in areas as diverse as the environment, health in general and public health, engineering) have required the presence of sociologists or sociologists in the teams of researchers, since more and more discussions in international political arenas take into account the possible ramifications and consequences of the results of these projects on the living conditions of broad population segments.

To decree and / or stimulate the end of teaching and research in sociology, as well as in the social sciences and humanities, is to stimulate and promote the international isolation of the country in front of the most advanced in all fields of science in the world.

The Brazilian Society of Sociology urges the national and international university communities to join in the defence of the departments of sociology - and philosophy - in Brazil, as well as the other areas of the human field.

SBS also calls on Brazilian society to defend freedom of thought and research, preservation of academic dialogue between the various areas of knowledge, namely, the intellectual exchange between the natural sciences, the technological areas and the human build together scientifically and socially relevant knowledge for a modern and supportive society as we hope
As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.May Day hangoverAfter the May Day demonstrations \- when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops. * Yellow Vests battle images of violenceThen, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'Numbers drastically fallingOne would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central ParisHowever, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.This may be attributed to two reasons:Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten. Notre Dame vs the people? After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms. * Fall in Yellow Vest numbers after Macron's proposed reformsThe reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.Sacred summerAnother reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?

As the Yellow Vests completed their 25th week of protests, the movement has significantly dwindled. Will the arrival of summer usher in a well-deserved break for protesters, police and the people?

For the 25th consecutive week of protests on Saturday, the Yellow Vests held three marches in Paris on 4 May, including a 'Media March', where demonstrators visited major French television and radio stations, accused of biased coverage.

Demonstrations were also held in the city of Lyon and in the southern French towns of Montpellier and Toulouse.

The numbers were significantly down on previous weeks. At 14h00 CET, just 1,000 marched in Paris and only 3,600 in all of France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. The protestors claim the number was higher. But it was certainly a significant drop from the 300,000 involved in the first weekend of protests last November.

The marches were generally much calmer than in previous weeks, possibly also due to the fact that wintery weather had returned to Paris and enthusiasm was possibly waning after the May Day clashes with police.

May Day hangover

After the May Day demonstrations - when the Yellow Vests were joined by France's trade unions, climate marchers and other disgruntled protesters - the gilets jaunes seem to be on their own again.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on 1 May, some honouring France's May Day tradition with the lily of the valley flower, others with signboards, and a few stray 'Black Blocs' with their proverbial mayhem.

The Black Blocs, sideline hardliners who have been infiltrating the Yellow Vests right from the start, have frontlined media coverage with their acts of vandalism.

Notable scenes of destruction included the desecration of the Arc de Triomphe, a violent break-in at the French government's spokesman's offices and looting of high-end shops.

Then, there was the burning of Le Fouquet's, the elite restaurant on Paris's Champs Elysees avenue, a symbol of France's pampered 'elite' - politicians, businessmen and high-profile journalists.

Story continues

This all adds up to half a year of protests, vandalism, social media frenzy, debate and dissatisfaction.

But, for Act 25 of this endless theatrical odyssey, the question on everybody's lips is 'how much longer can it keep going?'

Numbers drastically falling

One would expect that with the coming of spring and better weather, more Yellow Vests would be seen on Saturdays amidst the summer-clad tourists in central Paris

However, even if the Yellow Vests have been faithfully hitting the streets every Saturday for nearly six months now, figures show that since April, numbers have been dramatically dwindling.

This may be attributed to two reasons:

Firstly, despite an initial smattering of reforms that only added fuel to the gilets jaunes' fire, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to have wisened up.

Over the past few months, he has proposed many reforms addressing the meagre revenue of France's working and rural middle classes, who claim they cannot make ends meet.

Crucial to this series of government reforms was the Grand Debate, where Macron rolled up his sleeves and spent months touring France's forgotten towns and villages.

He put in many hours in the true tradition of French 'debate', ostensibly reaching out to town councillors, people's representatives, the retired, and other groups who feel left behind by the young President's political stance.

The conclusion of the Grand Debate was a series of revolutionary reforms which promised a government overhaul.

But, as fate would have it, on the night that Macron was to proudly announce the measures on national television, a fire ravaged Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, and the complaints of the Yellow Vests were momentarily forgotten.

Notre Dame vs the people?

After the Notre Dame dust cleared, the Yellow Vests expressed their amazement at the huge amount of donations that went into the cathedral's reconstruction, and lamented that a national heritage monument was deemed more important that the plight of the suffering masses.

Macron came back on national television a few days later to announce his reforms.

The reforms, to be fair, did address many concerns of the Yellow Vests. There were tax cuts, benefits for the retired, and even a shutdown of the ENA school, often pointed out as a breeding ground for France's elite.

A keyYellow Vests' demand had been ignored, namely a government system led by a citizens' referendum. But Macron's reforms seemed to have appeased a large number of protesters.

The Yellow Vests started deserting the streets.

Sacred summer

Another reason that may explain the fall in Yellow Vest numbers is the advent of summer.

As anyone who has lived in France will know, summer holidays are a sacred ritual in the country.

Regardless of political circumstance, rich and poor, old and young rush to get a piece of sunshine on France's summer beaches - from temperate Brittany in the West to the Mediterranean sun in the South.

Summer in France is, indeed, a time for truce. A time where left and right-wingers rub shoulders on bright cafe terraces, burying the hatchet until the weather cools down.

One wonders if this summer truce, along with Macron's reforms that seems to have addressed many gilets jaunes concerns, will see the movement slow down to a mere trickle this summer?
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is engaged to her longtime partner, fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, after a proposal over the Easter holidays, her spokesman said on Friday.

The forthcoming nuptials are a rarity for world leaders in office and follow Ardern's pregnancy last year which was seen around the globe as a symbol of progress for female leaders.

She is only the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990 and, if she marries while in office, will be the first major leader to do so since French President Nicolas Sarkozy wed Carla Bruni in 2008.

Her fiance, Gayford, is a 41-year-old host of a television fishing show who takes care of their 10-month-old daughter Neve Te Aroha, while Ardern, 38, runs the country.

News of their engagement broke after journalists noticed Ardern wearing a ring on her middle finger at a public event on Friday.

Her spokesman Andrew Campbell confirmed she had been wearing the ring since Easter. He did not give details of the proposal.

Ardern was asked by the BBC while visiting London in January if she would consider asking Gayford to marry her or wait for him to propose.

"Absolutely, I'm a feminist, but I want to put him through the pain and torture of having to agonise about that question himself. That's letting him off the hook, absolutely not," she said jokingly.

The couple met about six years ago when Gayford went to complain to a member of parliament about the then National Party government's proposed changes to security legislation.

He bumped into Ardern, a rising star in the Labour Party, they had coffee and were living together not long after.

Gayford's television show, Fish of the Day, takes him around the Pacific, fishing and finding recipes for his catch. The series has been sold to 20 countries and won a gold award at the Houston International Film Festival in 2016.

While Ardern was breastfeeding her infant daughter, the family travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Story continues

The family divides their time between the capital Wellington and Auckland, where they own a house in a central city suburb.

Ardern's calm and compassionate response to the killing of 51 Muslims in March burnished the credentials of a leader who has been criticised domestically over her handling of the economy and flip flops in government policy.

Three U.S. presidents married in office, according to the White House historical association, wartime leader Woodrow Wilson and two nineteenth century presidents, widower John Tyler and Grover Cleveland, who married at the White House.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jacqueline Wong)
May 5 is Your Last Chance to Win a $1.3K PokerNews Cup Package For $33

May 03 2019 Matthew Pitt

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This final $33 satellite shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. GMT on May 5 and is your last chance to get your hands on the following package:

550 ticket to the PokerNews Cup Main Event

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Is This the Best Welcome Bonus?

Those of you who have already attempted to win a PokerNews Cup package in the previous two $33 satellites can now register for the final satellite and see if it is a case of third time lucky. If this is your first attempt at winning a satellite or if you havent got a Natural8 account yet, youre in line for what could be the best online poker welcome bonus.

Download Natural8 via PokerNews, create your free account and when you make your first deposit, Natural8 matches it 100 percent up to a maximum of $1,688. Not only is the bonus amount large, there is no timeframe attached to releasing the bonus into your account; you can have as much time as you wish as long as you do not make a withdrawal while the bonus is active.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you contribute $50 to the cash game rake or in tournament fees. You will also gain access to a $500 New Player Freeroll if your initial deposit is at least $10.

Join us in Bulgaria for the 2019 PokerNews Cup and see if you can write yourself into pokers history books.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least 152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of 4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive 827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.

EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.

Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.

For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.

Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.

Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?

History of the EPT in Monte-Carlo at a Glance

Year Entries Prize Pool Winner Country Top Prize (in EUR) 2005 211  1,983,400 Rob Hollink Netherlands  635,000 2006 298  2,801,200 Jeff Williams United States  900,000 2007 706  6,636,400 Gavin Griffin United States  1,825,010 2008 842  8,420,000 Glen Chorny Canada  2,020,000 2009 935  9,350,000 Pieter de Korver Netherlands  2,300,000 2010 848  8,480,000 Nicolas Chouity Lebanon  1,700,000 2012 665  6,650,000 Mohsin Charania United States  1,350,000 2013 531  5,310,000 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland  1,224,000 2014 650  6,500,000 Antonio Buonanno Italy  1,240,000 2015 564  5,640,000 Adrian Mateos Spain  1,082,000 2016 1098  5,325,300 Jan Bendik Slovakia  961,800 2017* 727  3,525,950 Raffaele Sorrentino Italy  466,714 2018 777  3,768,450 Nicolas Dumont France  712,000 2019 922  4,471,700 - -  827,700

*Held as PokerStars Championship
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.
Local banks are taking precautionary measures to cope with card fraud, such as asking cardholders to change their passwords and locking automated teller machines (ATMs) after 10 p.m. during public holidays.

How much does it cost to convert magnetic into chip cards?

Vietnam to have first domestic chip cards in Q1 2019

More Vietnamese consumers embracing digital payments: Visa

A client of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank withdraws cash from an ATM. Local banks are adopting preventive measures to minimize risks for themselves and their clients  PHOTO: SACOMBANK

A cardholder of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that she had received an email from the lender on April 28, which detailed the types of scams being employed.

For example, scammers pose as bank staff and tell clients they have won prizes, or they hack into Facebook accounts to send phishing messages. These individuals also pose as police officers and threaten clients to make them provide their bank account details.

Some cardholders of Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, recently complained that they could neither withdraw cash at ATMs nor make online transactions.

VietinBanks Chairman Le Duc Tho told Tuoi Tre newspaper that multiple ATMs of the bank had been targeted for credit card skimming, where a small device is planted on the ATM to read credit card details, which scammers then sell or use to make fraudulent purchases.

To ensure card security during the long holiday, VietinBank has identified ATMs at high risk of skimming and has changed the card status for those clients in addition to sending SMS messages to the cardholders, who will need to change their passwords at ATMs before conducting any transactions.

Other banks, such as Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), have taken similar steps. Some have also imposed a limit on cash withdrawals at their ATMs at night.

An Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the State Bank of Vietnam allows commercial banks to close their ATMs at a number of locations that are at high risk of skimming. As such, clients can only access these ATMs at a certain time. However, the banks are required to post their opening hours at these ATM locations and on their official websites.

In August last year, the State Bank of Vietnam asked these banks to flexibly cap the amount of cash withdrawals at ATMs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., following scores of unauthorized withdrawal cases.

Credit card skimmers are often placed over the card swipe mechanism on ATMs, though skimmers can also be placed over almost any type of credit card reader. With ATMs, a small, undetectable camera may be placed nearby to record people entering their PIN numbers. This provides thieves with all the information they need to manufacture fake cards and withdraw cash from the cardholders accounts.

Victims of credit card skimming are often unaware of the theft until they notice unauthorized charges to their accounts or have their cards unexpectedly declined. SGT
In the context of Industry 4.0, Vietnam is trying its best to promote a digital economy, with an initiative to promote a national innovation centre.

Vietnam wants to boost enterprises by creating innovative facilities such as the NIC

Let's takes a look into which incentives are expected to be offered to investors that wish to be involved in the initiative.

Soon after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to speed up the development of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), the Ministry of Planning and Investment has called for investment at an international level through visits to developed countries like Singapore and Germany.

At the first seminar in Singapore to introduce the NIC to the international market, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung received questions about policies for investing in the centre.

According to Minister Dung, innovative entrepreneurs operating in the centre will pay just 50 per cent of personal income tax. They will be supported in training, and consultancy on capital mobilisation, trade management, and marketing by the Vietnamese government. For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the minister said that those established in five years can register to operate in the centre and be facilitated to commercialise their research results and technology development. They will also enjoy incentives of corporate income tax at the rate of 10 per cent within 30 years. Furthermore, they will also be exempt from import tax for input goods and services in support of research and development activities.

These businesses can register to establish an enterprise without listing business lines and receive a business registration certificate within 24 hours after providing the necessary information for the NIC.

Minister Dung also emphasised that SMEs can receive capital contributions, purchase shares of venture capital funds, foreign angel investors, and be supported by the NIC in administrative procedures related to investment, business, and product and service commercialisation.

Moreover, investors who fund startups operating in the centre will benefit from a 50 per cent tax reduction on transfer of shares and capital contribution if they invest for more than two years.

With such outstanding incentives, the centre will be a model in which enterprises and startups can bring into full play their creativeness and ability, Minister Dung said.

Vu Tuyet, principal at Boston Consulting Group, one of the two consultants for the NIC, told VIR that there are two notable factors that would set the centre apart from what currently exists in Vietnam.

The first is the development of a complete innovative ecosystem, especially with the presence of established big companies and links between those companies with smaller enterprises and startups, said Tuyet. The second is the experimental regulatory environment that allows the piloting of nurturing regulations and policies for new sectors to grow.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, the centre is the place to test new institutions, including giving autonomy to the management board with a special governance model. The centres head will be hired and will play a very important role. This person must be truly talented, internationally influential, and be paid an internationally competitive salary, he said.

Cung also noted that the centre is result of the serious learning of lessons from hundreds of innovation centres across the world. These centres include 17 ones in South Korea, which help startups connect with big international and domestic corporations operating in the region like Lotte, LG, Hyundai, Samsung, and SK to take advantage of their resources and experience. Meanwhile, China has established a network of manufacturing centres, a national technological innovation centre, and a network of areas demonstrating innovative ideas. In the Made in China 2025 plan, the government plans to create a national-level network of innovation centres with 15 centres established in 2020 and up to 40 such facilities in 2025.

As one of Asias leading countries in innovation, Singapore has established JTC LaunchPad, a site over six-and-a-half acres which offers a nurturing environment for startups. This environment has helped them have the chance to share and learn from each other through common use of equipment and workshops.

According to Tuyet of Boston Consulting Group, Vietnams NIC places a lot of emphasis on talents which will be the core competitive advantage for Vietnam going forward. There is huge untapped potential of Vietnamese talents who have made their mark in the world, she said. We will provide the best working and living environment in a vibrant community around the NIC, with talents at the centre, and will provide what is required for them to prosper here in their home country, she added.

Being aware of the NIC, foreign groups like German-based Bosch Vietnam and Swedish tech pioneer ABB see new opportunities, confident with their achievements gained over recent years in Vietnam. Bosch Vietnam is now getting to know about the level of foreign investment that could get involved at the centre, while ABB Vietnams priorities in smart factories, smart cities, and digital industry provide competitive advantages and so investment in the NIC is being seriously considered.

According to Ho Duc Hoan, CEO of tech startup Edu2Review, capital is a big challenge to Vietnam private companies. Vietnam hasnt got a single information gate so that startups can find capital easily. Therefore, the NIC, with its incentives, will be a good place for startups to find capital, and share and develop their ideas. Hoan also said that the current procedure of granting investment certificates for foreign-invested enterpirses often takes from five to 10 days. When the procedure is shortened to 24 hours as proposed, it will become a great area of support from the government.

Meanwhile Ho Minh Duc, co-founder of Artificial Intelligence solutions firm VBee, said that startups need financial support. Over the years, due to lack of suitable legislation, we have witnessed a lot of startups move to neighbouring countries. This brain drain wastes Vietnamese talent. He said the mechanism of capital, tax, and business procedures will help attract and keep talent in Vietnam.

Pham Minh Tuan - CEO, FPT Software

The NIC will be a place for startups to carry out and test their ideas. This is very important because to have any perfect product, we have to try again and again. Particularly in technology, its very normal to redo, repair, and improve. Being fearful or refusing responsibility are barriers to innovation. So when the government commits and accompanies startups, their chances will be wider.

The government will understand the difficulties of startups and have quicker, better solutions for them. For example, digital signature will be easier and widely applied with the support of the government. Moreover, the voice of government will help startups and innovative enterprises promote their products.

Vietnam is now attracting many major investors from across the globe. It seems that international financiers are excited with the Vietnamese market. In fact, many investors are overpaying for some of Vietnams initiatives. We have witnessed that products with potential are welcomed by funders, and they even compete with each other to own innovative products.

Norihiko Muratake - General director NTT DATA Vietnam

NTT DATA is a company with over 50 years of experience in supporting the social infrastructure in Japan and 45 other countries. Recently, we have begun collaboration with startups in possession of the worlds most advanced technologies, which we aim to utilise for the purposes of creating innovative and sustainable businesses. This is the reason why NTT DATA is interested in the NIC. This model is ideal for Vietnam to improve its IT infrastructure for Industry 4.0 through connecting startups and innovative enterprises, not only within the country but also in the ASEAN, especially Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. We will endeavour to understand more about the concept and contents of the NIC and eventually enact our plan to contribute to its progress in the future.

Brian Hull - Country managing director, ABB Vietnam

Operating in Vietnam for 25 years, ABB is proud to be a continuing partner in the countrys sustainability. The technology for utilities and automation, used in both smart cities and Industry 4.0, is changing rapidly and Vietnam is at an exciting phase of its development.

The establishment of the NIC sends a strong signal for startups, innovative enterprises, and investors. Startups will make use of the convenient infrastructure of the NIC for their innovation while larger companies such as ABB can collaborate and garner benefits from these new developments.

We look forward to continuing with clear guidance from the government on the technological and cybersecurity aspects, as well as the appropriate financial mechanisms where necessary. VIR
The Vietnamese private sector has gone on a journey from no to yes, suffering stumbles to become mature.

From zero

Even though the Vietnamese private sector suffers from mistakes and losses, pioneers constantly appear, seeking ways for breakthroughs, and becoming mature, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chung, Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Economist Pham Chi Lan said that after the national liberation, the private sector was not recognized. Only in the renewal period, the private sector was mentioned.

However, statistics showed that, after five years of reform, the private sector emerged outstandingly. Average growth rate of the non-state sector was 6.2pc. Meanwhile, the state sector only grew 1.9pc. The proportions of the state sector, non-state sector, and FDI sector are 31.8pc, 64.6pc, and 3.6pc, respectively. However, the number of private businesses remained modest amidst a range of economic barriers.

The Law on private enterprises and the Law on companies were introduced in 1990, making a turning point for the private sector. As of 1996, Vietnam housed 21,000 private companies, 9,000 limited liability companies, 210 joint stock companies. Meanwhile, the number of household businesses increased from 840,000 in 1990 to 2.2 million in early 1996.

However, the Law on Enterprises was released in 1999, marking a big leap in thinking of the State, serving to generate a new wave of the private sector. The Law was passed by the National Assembly in 1999, changing the face of the Vietnamese private economic sector, said Economist Lan.

Since 2000, the number of newly-founded enterprises yearly surged from 20,000 to 25,000, to 30,000, to 100,000 in 2015 after the Law on Enterprises was passed in 2014. Especially, the figures increased vigorously and set new records in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to 110,000; 126,000; 131,100.

The development process of private enterprises is on a pair with the national economic integration path. The 1999 Law on Enterprises was introduced, helping Vietnam to catch up with the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement. So far, the private sector is regarded as an important driving force for the economy, Ms. Lan said.

Strong rise

The private sector is strongly attached with a large number of trademarks. In the early period, famous brand names included Da Lan toothpaste, Biti's footwear, My Hao dishwashing liquid, Kinh Do bakery. At present, well-known trademarks include Vietjet Air, VinGroup, FPT, TH True Milk, VPBank, Trung Nguyen. They have contributed to bringing Vietnam to speed up in the world economic map.

Statistics showed that the private sector accounted for 38-43pc of GDP in 1995-2017 period. However, the proportions decreased from 43pc in 1995 to 39pc in 2010, 38pc in 2017.

Mr. Cung assessed that the development of private enterprises with big brand names has created counterbalance with the State sector and FDI sector, serving to generate more competitiveness.

For example, the emerge of Vietjet Air has served to make the domestic aviation market more dynamic.

Some careers appear of which private sector plays a vital role including software, Internet, real estate, steel, coffee, food.

Vietnamese billionaires made debut including Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Ba Duong, Tran Dinh Long who were listed in the Forbes list. Vietnamese brand names such as Truong Hai, Vietjet Air, Masan, FPT have reached the outside world.

What will the Vietnamese private enterprise sector look like?

So far, private enterprises have changed. A large number of Vietnamese trademarks appeared and disappeared. The hard and competitive market functions its selective competence. The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that besides the record number of newly-established enterprises, there are temporarily suspended or dissolved enterprises.

Hence, it is necessary for Vietnam to own more powerful firms.

According to Mr. Chung, it is difficult to forecast which enterprises will up and which enterprises will down or whether enterprises are successful at present will look like in the future. However, institutions decide development of enterprises.

Mr. Cung suggested private enterprises focus on five issues namely costs, legal risks, business safety, fair competition, good administration.

He also recommended the Party and Government attach importance to generating a proper environment in favor of the private sector which is expected to become the key engine for the economy. VGP
TheStable.ca, racings fastest-growing fractional ownership operation, will welcome special guest Daniel Dube to its Open House on May 12.

Dube will join a collection of top drivers showcasing TheStable.cas two-year-old hopefuls.

The Quebec native celebrated his 9,000th win on March 17 at Yonkers Raceway.

Having driven horses to more than $121 million, Dube is one of the top 20 all-time money-winning drivers in harness racing. Among the many standout horses he has steered are Horse Of The Year winners Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010).

"I've known Anthony for a long time, said Dube. When he approached me about attending their Open House, I was intrigued. Driving in the stakes program in New York I was impressed with what I saw from TheStable.ca's videos of their New York eligible horses, he said.

Another good friend of mine, Scott Di Domenico, owns a piece of one of them and will be training all four this summer, so I am looking forward to going with the babies. It's going to be a lots of fun," said Dube.

Clients of TheStable.ca and newcomers of all ages are welcome to attend the event at Tomiko Training Centre (210 Campbellville Rd., Hamilton) and drop-in any time from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The event is free but an RSVP is requested.

During the Open House, guests are invited to meet the horses of TheStable.ca and chat with owners Anthony and Amy MacDonald, their staff, clients, and industry professionals.

The event will showcase many of the engaging features of TheStable.ca, including its bi-weekly live streaming video broadcasts of TheStable.ca horses in training.

The Open House broadcast kicks off at 10:00 a.m., when the horses will train on the racetrack. Dube and fellow drivers will steer the young colts and fillies, while TV commentators preview the horses pedigrees. The broadcast will include live interviews and video features and be streamed at TheStable.ca starting at 10:00 a.m. EST

A catalogue will be available on The Stable.ca on May 10, detailing all horses for which fractions are available for purchase. The catalogue will include a schedule of when each horse will be showcased on the broadcast during the Open House.

Several prizes will be awarded throughout the event, including one-percent fractions of the horses.

Onsite purchasing will be available for horses and merchandise. Payment can be made with credit card, PayPal, cash, cheque and e-transfer.

The facility offers a heated viewing area with limited seating. Hot and cold drinks will be sold as a fundraising effort by Racing Under Saddle Ontario. Lunch is available to purchase from the Gastro Grub Food Truck.

Now in its fourth year, TheStable.ca is an award-winning fractional racehorse ownership operation based in Guelph, ON. There are currently 130 Standardbred horses owned by nearly 700 people from 11 countries worldwide.

Complete Open House event details and the RSVP form are available here.

(TheStable.ca)
More than 1,000 domestic and international delegations paid tribute to former President, General Le Duc Anh at ceremonies held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and his home province of Thua Thien-Hue on May 3.

At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh

Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Condolences sent to Vietnam over former President Le Duc Anhs death

Leaders of various countries have extended their condolences to the Party, State, Government and people of Vietnam over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.

Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.

The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.

In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.

On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Respect-paying services held for former President around the globe

Respect-paying services for former President General Le Duc Anh in the Republic of Korea

The Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General in Germany are staying open on May 3-4 for individuals, organisations and Vietnamese people in the country to pay tribute to General Le Duc Anh, former President of Vietnam.

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu and staff of the embassy as well as representatives of the Vietnamese community in Germany spent a minute of silence in memory of the former leader.

On May 3, foreign ambassadors in Germany, including Spain, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Jamaica, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burkina Faso, and representatives from the diplomatic corps, the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, as well as foreign friends came to the embassy to pay last tribute to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, World Trade Organisations and other organisations in Geneva held a memorial service and opened the funeral book for former President Anh.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of the mission, recalled great contributions by the former leader to the country, especially his efforts to normalise Vietnams relations with China and the US as well as the countrys joining of the ASEAN.

The diplomat said that the mission received condolences from many international organisations over the former leaders passing away.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong (China), the Vietnamese General Consulate opened the funeral book in memory of General Le Duc Anh. Representatives from the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, the administration of Hong Kong, general consulates of ASEAN countries, and diplomatic delegations from various countries in Hong Kong paid tribute to the former leader.

Writing on the funeral book, Thai Consul General in Hong Kong expressed deep condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the great loss, stating that the deceased made great contributions to the development of the Thailand-Vietnam relations.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and held a memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh.

A delegation from the Malaysian Government led by Deputy Foreign Minister Haji Marzuki Yahya paid homage to the deceased. The official highly valued efforts by the former President to the strengthening of the bilateral partnership.

In Seoul, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Taeho headed a delegation to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh. Representatives from many countries in Seoul, including Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Ireland, Mexico, Angola, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, the US, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Thailand also came to the embassy to pay tribute to the deceased.

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh have also been held in many other countries around the world, including Belgium and Israel.

Foreign officials pay respect to former leader at overseas ceremonies

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai writes down in the funeral book

Senior officials of many countries have paid homage to Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh at the tribute-paying ceremony held by Vietnamese embassies.

President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin led a parliamentary delegation to pay tribute to the former leader of Vietnam at the service organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh on May 3.

In the condolence book, he wrote that Gen. Le Duc Anh was a close friend of Cambodia who greatly helped to liberate the Cambodian people from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and to recover and develop the country.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol also came to pay tribute to former President Le Duc Anh and handed over King Norodom Sihamonis condolence letter.

Other Cambodian officials, including Senate President Samdech Say Chhum and Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development Yim Chhay Ly, also showed their respect for Le Duc Anh at the ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said General Le Duc Anh directly made enormous contributions to the two countries friendship.

From 1981 to 1986, he served as Deputy Defence Minister and Commander of Vietnams volunteer soldiers in Cambodia. He was Defence Minister of Vietnam at the time the countrys volunteer soldiers fulfilled their mission in Cambodia in 1989, the diplomat noted.

Also on May 3, the Vietnamese Embassy in India held a respect-paying ceremony.

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, wrote in the condolence book that Gen. Le Duc Anh was an excellent leader with considerable contributions to Vietnams development. The Indian people will always keep in mind his role in enhancing the India-Vietnam friendship.

Indian officials and representatives of diplomatic corps in the country also came to pay homage to the former leader.

A similar ceremony took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand the same day.

In his note, First Vice-President of Thailands National Legislative Assembly Surachai Liengboonlertchai expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Vietnam on the passing of Le Duc Anh.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Chairman of the Thailand-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Sakchai Tanaboonchai, along with many diplomats and Vietnamese people in the country, also attended the event.

Officials, diplomats and Vietnamese people in Russia, Singapore and New Zealand also paid homage to the former leader at the ceremonies held by the Vietnamese embassies in the countries.

The overseas ceremonies are scheduled to last through May 4.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

Lao leaders pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993

General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith led a high-ranking delegation to pay tribute to former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Vientiane on May 3.

In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3.

Foreign officials pay homage to former President in UK, France

Scene taken at the respect-paying services held at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK

The Vietnamese Embassies in the UK and France held respect-paying services for Vietnams former President Le Duc Anh on May 3.

Attending the ceremony in London, on behalf of the UK Government and people, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field extended his deepest condolences toward the passing of the former President.

The ceremony, to last until late May 4, has so far gathered the attendance of representatives from foreign embassies in UK, including those of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, China, Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea, among others.

Meanwhile, at the ceremony in Paris, Corine Crespel, a representative from the French Foreign Ministrys Asia-Pacific Department, paid respect to the deceased. In the condolences book, she wrote about the significant role the former President once played in consolidating Vietnam  France relations.

The same day, many members of foreign diplomatic corps came to pay their homage.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

General Le Duc Anh remembered at former military base browser not support iframe.



During recent days, thousands of visitors flocked to the former military command base of the People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam, a national special relic site that witnessed daily works of General Le Duc Anh during Vietnams resistance war against the United States in the past.

The 3,200-hectare site, known as Ta Thiet military base in Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province, consists of a tunnel system, accommodations and workplaces of high-level party and state officials during the resistance war, including former State President Le Duc Anh, who passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Here in the base, strategic decisions were made, which greatly contributed to the glorious victory of Ho Chi Minh Campaign and liberation of the South to reunify the country.

With its rich historical values, Ta Thiet military base has become not only a tourist destination in Binh Phuoc province, but also a venue for educating youngsters about patriotism.

Besides Ta Thiet Military Base, Loc Ninh is also home to other renowned historical relic site, including the Headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and Loc Ninh military airport.

Foreign officials mourn former President Le Duc Anhs passing

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

A delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence on May 4 paid tribute to former Vietnamese President General Le Duc Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

On behalf of the Cambodian officers, Defense Ministry Secretary of State Elvan Sarat expressed his deepest sorrow at the passing of General Le Duc Anh.

He recalled the former Presidents great contributions to enhancing the friendship, solidarity and multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies.

Representatives from several ministries and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia also paid their last respects to former President General Le Duc Anh.

The same day, Russian Ambassador to Cambodia Dmitry Tsvetkov came to the Vietnamese Embassy to pay his homage to the late leader.

The diplomat showed his respect to the deceased for his talent, and lauded his huge contributions to consolidating and strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in various spheres.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt also opened the book of condolences for former President General Le Duc Anh on May 3 and 4.

Representatives from foreign embassies and diplomatic corps in Egypt, local officials and Vietnamese expats in the country came to pay tribute to the late leader.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Foreign leaders extend condolences over death of former President

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk (second, right) received President Le Duc Anh (second, left) on August 8, 1995 during the latter's official visit to Cambodia

Leaders of Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Palestine have sent messages and letters of condolences to leaders of the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people over the passing of former President General Le Duc Anh.

In his letter of condolences to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni offered the deepest condolences to the top Vietnamese leader, people and the family of former President General Le Duc Anh.

King Norodom Sihamoni also highlighted the late leaders great contributions to Vietnams national construction and development cause, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh was an excellent and respectable leader of Vietnam.

Saudi Arabias King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, extended their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Palestinian President, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas also sent messages of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra sent a letter of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Respect-paying ceremonies held for former President in Myanmar, Netherlands

Myanmars Minister of International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin came to the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar on May 4 to pay respect to former President Gen. Le Duc Anh.

Writing in the condolence book, the minister extended his deepest sympathies to the Vietnamese people and the family of the deceased.

The passing away of the former President on April 22 was a great loss for the Vietnamese people, he wrote, adding that the general will be remembered for his important role in Vietnams struggle for national liberation and development.

On May 3-4, ambassadors of many countries in Laos, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and international friends paid tribute to the former Vietnamese leader at the embassy.

On these two days, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands also held a respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for the former President.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.

A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered in China, ASEAN

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao writes in the condolences book.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China on May 3-4 opened a condolences book for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month at the age of 99.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Chaiman of the Steering Committee of the National Peoples Congress Li Zhanshu, and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Wang Yang sent wreaths in memory of the Vietnamese former leader.

Paying last respects to the deceased, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference Liu Qibao wrote in the condolences book that the passing of Le Duc Anh is a great loss for both Vietnamese and Chinese peoples, describing him as a friend of the Chinese people.

He affirmed that the Chinese Party and State always attach much importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, and want to promote the Vietnam-China friendship collaboration in a practical and stable manner.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi, Deputy Secretary-General Hoang Anh Tuan and staffers at the ASEAN Secretariat on May 4 paid homage to former President Anh at the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia.

In the condolences book, Lim expressed his deep sympathies to the Vietnamese people over the passing of Le Duc Anh, who made great contributions to the nations peace, stability and economic development, particularly in the nations joining the ASEAN in 1995. He will be remembered as one of the most respected leaders in Vietnam and a leader that gave strong support to the ASEAN, the official wrote.

At the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters, the Vietnamese national flag flied at half-staff on May 3-4.

Former President Le Duc Anh remembered abroad

Vietnam's permanent mission to the United Nations opened a condolence book for former President Gen. Le Duc Anh in New York on May 3.

Maria Luiza Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sent a representative to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese leader and write in the funeral book, affirming that former President Le Duc Anh will go down in Vietnams history as a talented and respected leader.

Ambassadors of several countries such as Laos, Cuba, Singapore and Australia also came to the missions headquarters to pay homage to Gen. Anh.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in the US also held a solemn respect-paying ceremony and opened the funeral book for him.

Crowds of representatives from the US administration, organisations and diplomatic missions of many countries in Washington DC came to pay tribute to the former Vietnamese President.

Susan Parker-Burns, Acting Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State, extended her profound condolences to the family of the deceased, emphasizing that under the leadership of the former President, Vietnam and the US made important steps forwards towards reconciliation and establishment of cooperative ties, laying important foundations for the current good relationship between the two countries.

In the funeral book, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families Ann Mills-Griffiths affirmed that President Le Duc Anh had made great contributions to building the US-Vietnam relations, including supporting and promoting Vietnams humanitarian policies on POW/MIA work,

Memorial services for former President Le Duc Anh were also held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Mozambique, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Canada.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22 at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4. A State funeral for the former President was held on May 3.

Respect paid to former President Le Duc Anh in Latin America, Africa

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile holds a respect-paying ceremony on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh

The Vietnamese Embassy in Chile held a respect-paying ceremony in the Latin American country on May 3 and 4 for former President, General Le Duc Anh who passed away late last month.

The ceremony saw the presence of many local officials, representatives of political parties and Vietnams friends in the countries. Heads of many foreign diplomatic offices in Chile were also on hand.

They expressed their deep condolences to Vietnam over the passing of the former President.

Meanwhile, representing the Tanzanian government, Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs Palamagamba Kabudi on May 4 came to the Vietnamese Embassy in the African country to pay his last respect to the deceased.

Writing in the condolences book, the minister highlighted that former President Anh had greatly contributed to the strengthening of the bilateral relations.

Representatives of many foreign embassies in Tanzania also came to pay respect to former President Le Duc Anh.

VNA/VNN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang

On April 1, Malaysias Shah Alam High Court (MLS) sentenced Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of a man holding a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder. The prison term was calculated starting from the time Doan Thi Huong was detained on February 15, 2017.

Huongs lawyer Salim Bashir said after the trial that Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behaviour.

Huong was set free on the morning of May 3. She took a flight from the Kuala Lumpur Airport afterwards and arrived at Hanois Noi Bai airport the same day.

Spokesperson Hang said: We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam.

This outcome was contributed by continuous efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong, she said.

We also acknowledge positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time, she added.-VNA
Bui Hai Hung, PhD, who has resigned from his post at Google DeepMind to be the head of VinAI Research, said that he was returning to Vietnam to struggle, not to retire.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.

Mr Bui Hai Hung

He obtained a scholarship to Curtin University of Technology which was offered to one Vietnamese student winning an international prize in 1991. The scholarship program for Vietnamese students unexpectedly was postponed the next year.

This drove him to continue study for a doctorate and skip the masters degree after he finished Curtin University in Australia with high marks. Later, he left for the US and realized that the US, not Australia, was the ideal environment for technology engineers.

Considered a prodigy in childhood and hailed as a talented scientist as a youth and adult, Hung, 46, said he gained achievements thanks to unexpected opportunities.



When I started working at Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, there were only several Vietnamese. The figure now is several hundred, Hung said. There, staff develop research and seek opportunities themselves, while Vietnam does not have a methodical process to produce a high-quality labor force, he said.

The former senior expert of Google DeepMind will to draw up a plan to produce a high number of talents in IT industry for Vietnam, or those who can perform in technology centers such as Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are many talented Vietnamese, but they developed their careers accidentally like me. They dont know how good they are, how far they can go, and where they should go to develop their abilities, he said.

In the field of AI, Bui Hai Hung is a leading expert in the world who has been carrying out research on AI for the last 20 years in Silicon Valley. In recent years, scientists have begun talking about the 4.0 industry revolution, and AI is at the center of the revolution.

However, despite Hungs stature, Vietnam remains a zero on the worlds AI map. Hung has vowed to change the situation.

Hung met Pham Nhat Vuong, chair of Vingroup, a Vietnam conglomerate which has made heavy investments in R&D and technology. Hung said the meeting was, once again, something he did accidentally in his life.

The meeting of a leading scientist in AI and the US dollar billionaire ended up with Hung deciding to come back to Vietnam to take the post as head of VinAI Research. Hung believes that he and his future colleagues can perform top-level research in Vietnam.

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For lifetime Hanoian Thanh Van, days filled with fresh air and walks down the cool, tree-shaded streets of the capital are few and far between.

Hanoi to focus on air quality monitoring

Hanoi residents worry about air pollution

Thick haze engulfs Vinh Tuy Bridge connecting Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien District.

The woman born and raised in the Old Quarter is more used to a thick blanket of haze on her daily commute.

Some 7 million people living in the city suffer the same ordeal.

Hanois air quality has worsened dramatically in the last few years, remaining at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels almost year-round, according to air quality forecast app AirVisual.

A report released by Greenpeace in early March listed Hanoi as the second most polluted city in Southeast Asia, following Indonesias Jakarta.

Theres an estimated global cost of US$225 billion in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets, noted Yeb Sano, Executive Director of Greenpeace South East Asia, on the effects of air pollution.

Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by nearly two years, research by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found.

Hanois heavy concentration of particulate PM2.5 in the citys air has also raised concern.

At monitoring stations in areas with high traffic density such as Pham Van Dong Street, Hang Dau Street or Minh Khai Commune in Bac Tu Liem District, PM2.5 concentration is usually measured at 300-400 micrograms, far exceeding the World Health Organisations safety limit of 25 micrograms.

PM2.5 refers to tiny dust particles, also known as fine particles, that are about 30 times smaller than a human hair, which allow them to intrude the lungs and blood.

Exposure to fine particles can lead to reduced lungs function, respiratory and heart-related diseases.

Be careful

Despite visual indications used by monitoring apps, tracking air quality is tricky.

It depends a lot on which location you put a sensor. Simple activities like cooking can also lift the index, implying the air quality is worsening, said Do Van Nguyet, director of NGO Live&Learn Centre for Environment and Community.

The declining air quality in Hanoi has been blamed on inner city pollution sources including rapid rise of vehicles, constructions and daily activities like using coal-stoves or burning waste.

The citys sunken terrain and poor urban planning along with temperature inversions also foster pollution spikes, according to researcher Nguyen Thi Anh Thu from Green ID.

Hanoi is being choked by high-density construction. Photo taken on Minh Khai Street. VNS Photos Khoa Thu



Cross-border air pollution has also emerged because of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial zones and energy production or burning forest for agriculture.

There are several causes of air pollution so to tackle the problem, Hanoi needs to determine its major causes, Thu stressed.

Unfortunately, there has been no completed report on what triggers the citys air pollution, making people blame traffic as the biggest pollutant.

Meanwhile, according to a report by International Energy Agency, the total CO2 emissions of Vietnam in 2016 were 187.1 million tonnes, of which thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, accounted for 40 per cent, followed by manufacturing industries and construction with 33 per cent.

Transport contributed 35.7 million tonnes, equivalent to just 19 per cent.

Most of nearly 30 operating coal-fired plants in Vietnam are located in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh.

Urgent intervention

In early April, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan rejected the 2018 World Air Quality Report by Greenpeace and AirVisuals report, saying Hanoi ranking as the second-worst polluted city in Southeast Asia was inaccurate.

According to Nhan, the report just showed pollution results of 20 cities of four among 11 nations in the Southeast Asia.

It was a baseless conclusion, he said.

For Thu Thuy, an apartment resident on Minh Khai Street, Hanois ranking is not important.

I do not care whether Hanoi is the second most polluted city in the region or not. What I want to know is how we can take action to improve the situation, not downplay it. Air pollution is real. I can feel it, I can see it without anyone telling me the citys air quality is declining, she said.

Pham Huyen, a NGO officer in Bach Mai Street, said she was not put at ease by the deputy ministers statement.

Frequently travelling to Southeast Asian countries, despite having no data, I still feel Bangkoks air is much more breathable than Hanois, she said.

The authorities need to give instructions on how to protect our health and urge companies and people to use eco-friendly materials and energy in construction, transport and daily lives, Huyen added.

Meanwhile, data provided by Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network at moitruongthudo.vn is updated slowly.

We need air quality to be forecasted, just like weather so that people can take measures to protect them when going out, said Nguyet.

While authorities seem to be passive in responding to polluted air, NGOs have launched several initiatives.

Clean Air  Green Cities, a project by USAID and Live & Learn, is working with the Center of Multidisciplinary Integrated Technologies for Field Monitoring (FIMO) to install low-cost air sensors in Hanois schools and offices.

Data collected from these sensors is updated at fairnet.vn for students and parents easily tracking air quality at where they are studying.

A bulletin on air quality is also published weekly, focusing on air pollution challenges and community-based solutions.

The systematic problem of air pollution needs a systematic solution, according to experts.

Hanoi authorities need to specify major pollutants and promptly take action to reduce and manage them, said Thu. Regulations on construction dust control should be tightened along with reducing vehicle emissions.

Collaboration between Hanoi and neighbouring provinces in monitoring toxic air is key, she added.

To tackle bad air quality, Hanoi has mulled banning motorbikes by 2030, aiming to accelerate public transportation use.

In the recent three years, the PM2.5 concentration recorded at the US Embassys air quality monitoring station has slightly reduced yet remained at a high level. Therefore, we need more commitments to improve the situation as well as more sensors and shared data to fully portrait the citys air quality, said Thu.

As all these efforts take time to alter Hanois air quality, Van is looking for help from nature.

Sometimes, rain can wash away all dust and give back Hanois clean sky, even for a short moment, she said.

Lucky for her, summer rains are forecasted for the next few days.

Information on Hanois air quality can be found at:

Ha Noi Air Quality Monitoring Network: www.moitruongthudo.vn

FAirNet Map of air quality: www.fairnet.vn

PAM Air Map of air quality: www.pamair.org

Real-time Air Quality Index: www.aqicn.org/city/vietnam/hanoi

US Embassy in Ha Noi: www.airnow.gov

German Embassy in Ha Noi: www.hanoiair.de/en_US/

AirVisual: www.airvisual.com/vietnam/hanoi

(Source: The Clean Air - Green Cities Weekly Bulletin)

VNS
Vietnam needs to settle fundamental problems before it can think of building smart cities, experts say.

The Da Nang City Peoples Committee has announced it will spend VND2.1 trillion to implement a smart city project from now to 2025.

To date, more than 30 cities and provinces have been implementing or have begun preparing for similar projects.

Meanwhile, some analysts say that local authorities have been too hasty to build smart cities, though they think agree with the concept.

Nguyen Van Ngai, vice rector of Hoa Sen University, said that there was a smart city rush which follows the airport rush, university rush and a movement to build administration centers.

He said while local authorities have called on to build smart cities, their understanding about smart cities remains vague.

Authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.



Ngai said that authorities need to develop modern, clean and safe cities. Local people want authorities to gather strength on settling urgent problems such as pollution, flooding, traffic jam, accidents and robberies before thinking of smart cities.

An analyst, agreeing with Ngai, said it is easy to attract foreign investors. They will come if they can see promising profits. However, before inviting them to Vietnam, local authorities need to think about how to program the development of the cities, and how much to budget for smart city plans and other issues.

He said Vietnam needs to learn a lesson from the heavy-industry development plan initiated in the 1970s. It was too hasty to implement the plan when it lacked capital and technologies.

Smart city sounds fashionable. But in the context of a scanty budget, he said, local authorities have to prioritize to spend money on the most essential needs.

Meanwhile, Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City, said there was no need to worry about smart city rush, saying that it is the era of IT and digital technology application in urban area management.

Cuong pointed out that there will be obstacles in building smart cities.

First, the IT era is an era of communication, but the ability of Vietnamese to cooperate and exchange information is poor.

Second, to have smart cities, it is necessary to have information systems for exchange. Agencies and individuals need to have the desire to provide information and get shared information.

Third, its necessary to re-train and upgrade peoples knowledge in science and technology. Fourth, financial capability is limited.

RELATED NEWS

First phase of smart city project considered a success

Smart urban areas are right for VN

Kim Chi
A Vietnamese suspect in the murder of the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol arrived home on May 3 after two years in prison in Malaysia.

Doan Thi Huong arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 3

Doan Thi Huong arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 10pm on Friday after being freed from a prison in Malaysia's Selangor State at 7.20am the same day.



Huong, wearing jeans, long coat and sunglasses, constantly smiled as she was met by well-wishers and journalists who came to see her at the airport. Huong's father and brother were also present to welcome her.

She was accompanied by a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese lawyer, and three Malaysian lawyers.

Huong answered questions from the media for about five minutes and then quickly got on a car and left with her family members.

Huong said she was very grateful to the Vietnamese and Malaysian governments and some lawyers both from Malaysia and Vietnam for their work.

"I was treated well in prison in Malaysia," she said. "I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone for that."

The 30-year-old former hair salon worker said she still wanted to follow her dream to become an actress and wished to have a chance to return to Malaysia again.

Anh:

Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were put on trial for murdering the holder of a Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur Airport in October 2017 and faced death by hanging if convicted.

The two women always denied having committed murder, arguing that they were pawns in a plan hatched by North Korean agents who fled Malaysia after the killing.

The defence stage of the case was due to start in March, but in a shock move, prosecutors announced they were withdrawing the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, and she flew back to Jakarta.

Her release followed intense diplomatic pressure from Indonesia, including from President Joko Widodo.

Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong's murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. Dtinews
US chemical firms, including Monsanto should be responsible for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Monsanto court ruling bolsters the hope for millions of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

VN welcomes Monsanto ruling: Foreign ministry

Vietnam demands Monsanto compensate Agent Orange victims

Illustrative photo



Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical?  a Vietnamese association has questioned US courts for ignoring those of US Agent Orange chemical warfare.

Vietnam is again seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange (AO), inspired by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California. The biotech firm had supplied the US military with the chemical during the Vietnam War, the RT has reported.

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) has logged a letter to a US court asking it to restart a class-action lawsuit by AO victims against American chemical firms, including Monsanto, which the Eastern District Court of New York dismissed in 2004, claiming a lack of evidence and asserting that herbicide spraying... did not constitute a war crime pre-1975.

Citing two recent court rulings in San Francisco, where Monsantos Roundup was found responsible for health damages and the company was ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, VAVA asserted that it is time for the company to take responsibility for supplying the US military with AO during the brutal chemical warfare campaign (1961-1971) in which 12 million gallons of herbicide were used.

Dioxin, a highly toxic element of AO, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. Stressing that Vietnam currently has more than 4.8 million AO victims, the letter asked for justice for people with hideous deformities.

Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical? the letter states.

Is all the scientific evidence, with people as living proof, and Vietnams environment ravaged by AO used by the US in a meaningless war from 1961-1971 still not convincing?

Monsanto, which was acquired by German giant Bayer AG last June, in the past argued that it was the US military that had set the specifications for making AO and decided on where and how the herbicide was used. The company also noted that it was just one of many wartime US government contractors who manufactured the toxin.

Last month a jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million in punitive damages to Edwin Hardeman after the court found that Roundup, Monsantos infamous glyphosate-based herbicide, was a substantial factor in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

In a similar case in August 2018, Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million after developing cancer from long-term exposure to Roundup. After months of legal drama, the terminally ill cancer patient agreed to a reduced payout of $78 million.

Earlier last month, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Foreign Affairs Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said that Monsanto needs to be responsible for settling consequences caused to people and environment in Vietnam. Hanoitimes
A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War.

War-remnant coffee shop in Hue City

Little House on the Prairie in town

A cafe at 287/72 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCM Citys District 3 is a living museum of the Vietnam War. -- Photo: VNN

The cafe, which opened over a year ago, used to be a weapons vault supervised by Tran Van Lai, who was a Sai Gon special soldier.

Lais son Tran Vu Binh, who runs the cafe now, said it is decorated with memorabilia of soldiers in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

"I was researching materials to rebuild this house in its original form and collecting artifacts to make this a historical cafe for people to visit. This idea was born out of my affection and respect for the soldiers," he said.

The three-level building still has its original brick floor and tiled roof. The houses specialty is a tunnel system that opened to visitors last year.

Many objects used to make the tunnel are also displayed at the cafe, including iron boxes and wooden barrels for weapons.

The coffee shop also showcases items once used by Saigon residents many decades ago, evoking nostalgia for a bygone era.

VNS
WATERLOO  William L. Burts dream of operating a mobile barbershop is on hold  for now.

Burt, who cuts hair at four different locations in the Cedar Valley, has been trying to launch Kut Kings, a mobile barbershop, since December. But Iowa code prohibits barber shops not having a fixed location.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, who said Burt wants to serve people who cant come to his shop, such as people at homeless shelters, veterans clubs, senior centers and schools.

The bill went through the Iowa House, but was stopped by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, later in the State Government Committee.

A no vote wont stop me, Burt said. So if the people need me, give me a call.

Burt has been one of Smiths barbers throughout his life.

Some of the things that he was doing are really in line with my mission as a member of the Legislature, Smith said.

The legislation to legalize mobile barbershops was bipartisan and had a Republican co-sponsor, Smith said. Americans For Prosperity also endorsed the bill.

It passed in the House with broad support, Smith said. We were pretty surprised to see when it, singularly, was pulled out of a cosmetologist bill. It was the only thing that was pulled out of that bill.

Zaun never made his reasons for opposing the bill clear, Smith said.

He was pretty dead set on not negotiating and not having a conversation about it, Smith said. To me, if were allowed to groom a dog in a mobile vehicle, then it doesnt make sense why we cant have a barbershop do the same thing for humans.

Zaun didnt respond to The Couriers call for comments on the legislation.

Smith plans to start over again next year.

This was just the first step, Smith said. Were definitely not finished.

Mobile barbershops are going to become a need, especially in rural Iowa, he said.

Burt hopes the legislation moves forward next year.

Im keeping my ducks in a row, Burt said. Im kind of just waiting in limbo.

If hes unable to operate in the state, Burt said hell leave Iowa to operate Kut Kings. It doesnt stop here.

Currently, his prospective shop is sitting in his backyard waiting to be used.

Everythings tied up. Its like a clogged drain right now, Burt said. Im just trying to stay afloat.

Burt has invested thousands of dollars into the stalled project, but hes still making house calls.

If you need me, if youve got anybody thats sick or shut-in, give me a call, Burt said. I just wont pull the bus and cause a big scene, but I will bring my clippers.

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NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

May 3, 2019



NEW YORK, May 3, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks by an Alabama legislator:

Alabama state Rep. John Rogers is against the death penaltyfor those who have been convicted of murdering someone.

But he believes in the death penalty for innocent unborn childrenon the incredible supposition that they might grow up to be violent criminals 15 or 20 years later.

"Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later," he told the Alabama legislature earlier this week, as he spoke in opposition to a bill protecting the unborn. "You bring them into the world unwanted, unloved, then you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later."

Rogers' hypocrisy knows no bounds. In 2002, speaking against the death penalty, he lectured pro-lifers: "If you are against abortion, you ought to be against the death penalty."

But the obverse, in his view, doesn't hold. While many pro-lifers do oppose capital punishment, Rogers, while opposing the execution of convicted criminals, believes innocent unborn children should be executed, for crimes they might commit if they are permitted to be born and grow up.

In 2002, arguing for changes in Alabama's death penalty law, Rogers declared, "We need to at least give a man a chance to prove that he is innocent." But unborn children targeted for abortionwho clearly are innocentdon't get that chance. They are presumed to be headed for a life of violent crime, and thus can be killedshould be killed, in Rogers' viewbefore they can grow up and prove to be productive, law-abiding citizens. History is literally filled with the stories of people who, having grown up in terribly deprived, destitute, neglected or abused circumstances, went on to make inestimable contributions to the common good.

Since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 1,494 executions in the United States. During that same time, there have been upwards of 40 million babies aborted. Does Rogers really believe, if abortion had not been legal, that we would have had anywhere near 40 million executions over the last 43 years? If not, that's an awful lot of innocent lives destroyed to get at the relatively few who might have become criminalsand whose lives Rogers would have fought to protect if they did commit violent crimes.

Pro-life people are of course aghast at Rogers' callous remarks. But many abortion supporters are upset as well, for a different reason. They know that Rogers has ripped the mask off the human carnage that is abortion.

Rogers fully acknowledges the brutal truththat every abortion kills an innocent, living human being. We appreciate his honesty, even as we deplore his cold-hearted embrace of that killing. In calling it what it is, he is far more truthful than most abortion supporters.
WAVERLY  After many years selling his wares, Doug Cole of Cole Art Pottery in Sumner noticed a trend: Young people his daughters age didnt seem to be buying art anymore.

Millennials and Gen X, theyre just not buying stuff  they go more for experiences, Cole said. They dont want to collect stuff.

Thats a big problem for Cole and other artists who sell stuff. Hes seen galleries close up and shows dissipate over the years.

Its a tough time for the art world, he lamented.

And yet, Cole was doing brisk business Saturday morning at the Art Walk in Waverly, selling his ceramic pottery to a crowd he called fantastic and one of the better turnouts hed seen. Hes the only artist who has been at the event all 14 years.

Apparently, today seems to be a little bit of an exception, Cole said.

Plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the high 60s worked in the favor of the artists showcasing their wares at the 14th annual Art Walk, held at the riverside Kohlmann Park in downtown Waverly.

Its the kickoff to the spring season for a lot of people, said Tiffany Schrage, tourism and special events director for the Waverly Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the Walk. A nice day like today, people can see their friends and see some art while theyre down here.

Thirty-one artists, the vast majority from Iowa, set up along the parks winding sidewalk, hawking everything from paintings to metal sculptures to jewelry to wooden benches as hundreds passed through.

Jennifer Jones Ruiz began the Art Walk as a service project while in high school and continues to direct the event 14 years later.

We have a lot of talented artists for one, and a lot of community support, Jones Ruiz said. I think people appreciate and are happy we have an event like this.

Food vendors and childrens activities, like the yearly piano painting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., helped bring families out.

But kids were painting more than just a piano. At age 11, Maria Tonelli of North Liberty was the youngest artist selected for the event this year, showcasing watercolors and pastels.

Shes been painting since she was 5, she said.

I think I just like doing them  the animals, she said.

Her pieces featuring puffins were a top seller, friends working her booth confirmed.

Grandmother Margie Kline of St. Ansgar, a ceramics artist herself, said Marias art can be found in stores in Decorah, St. Ansgar, Mason City and Austin, Minn.

I do pottery and (husband) Bill does pottery, and Maria started coming along with us, she said.

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WATERLOO  Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in the case of a Waterloo man accused of killing his girlfriends daughter in 2015.

Chad Allen Littles defense team rested their case on Friday after Little declined to take the stand.

Prosecutors said Little, now 35, called a hospital hotline using another persons name on the morning of May 30, 2015, to report Gracie Buss, 4, had a seizure and fell down the stairs of her Downing Court townhouse. He then left Gracie and her mother, Kristi Buss, at the apartment before the ambulance arrived.

Gracie remained unconscious in the hospital until she died days later. A medical examiner determine she died of blunt trauma to the head but wasnt able to determine if it was accidental or homicide.

During trial, doctors said the collection of injuries to Gracies body and retinal hemorrhages in her eyes pointed to abusive trauma.

Little first told police he wasnt at the apartment May 29 and 30, 2015, but then admitted he was there for a little while and said Gracie was asleep at the time.

Buss, 34, is charged with child endangerment, and she is being tried separately.

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WATERLOO -- A former Waterloo man is in custody awaiting extradition to Texas on a warrant for three counts of manslaughter.

Jarmmal Augustine Phillips, 36, was taken into custody without incident at 10:10 a.m. Saturday at Kwik Star, 506 West Ninth St.

Waterloo Police ran Phillips' license plate Saturday morning and found the manslaughter warrant out of Texas, and pulled him over.

Phillips was being held in the Black Hawk County Jail on a no-bond hold as of Saturday morning awaiting extradition to Kaufman, Texas.

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office in Texas said Phillips is wanted on three separate charges of manslaughter, but had no further details Saturday.

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In the northern hemisphere, April showers bring May flowers, or so the saying goes. We see the earth waking up around us at a frenetic, energetic pace. Bare stems on trees that survived winter sprout green buds, lush flowers, and shiny leaves. May marks the best of spring: the fiery heat of full summer has not yet emerged, and the blistering cold of winter appears to be a just a memory. Traditionally, the month of May invites a celebration of fertility created through fun, fortitude, flexibility, and foundation.

Fun:

While many may see the definitive start of May celebrations as May Day or the sabbat Beltane, imagine six days of games and celebration, where everyone, including sex workers, revels in the full emergence of spring and fertility with the release of fertile animals, such as hares and goats. This is the traditional Roman festival of Floralia, honoring the goddess Flora, held from April 27-May 3 in the Julian calendar (May 11-May 16 in the modern Gregorian calendar). As a festival of the people, and not just the elite or upper classes, everyone celebrated, including prostitutes.

As a precursor to raucous modern May Day festivals, Floralia symbolizes the ability to let go of inhibitions and to frolic in the present. Spring flowers bloom and die, but while they live they capture moments of pure joy. Other festivals, such as Maiouma, where nocturnal revelry reigned, serve as a reminder that the heart of the month comes down to fun.

Fortitude

For most of the world, the start of May means International Workers Day. While Labor Day in the United States in September is a holiday now associated with picnics, the traditional end of summer, holiday sales, and politicians giving speeches that honor the common laborer, the start of May and Workers Day highlights the strength and bravery that many undertake on a daily basis for workers rights. Although the timing of the Haymarket Affair led to the eventual designation of May 1 as International Workers Day, the underlying problems and themes continue to this day.

The fight for economic security, a mandatory eight hour work day, the rights for all workers to earn a livable wage, the right to work in a safe environment, and the right to collectively bargain for changes are the bedrock of many issues that are still being fought. Even though the legal Labor Day in the United States is in September, marches, demonstrations, and protests to bring awareness to the importance of the worker and to workers issues traditionally take play on May Day. In 2017, workers protested immigrant rights against the wishes of the governmental designation of May 1, 2017 as Loyalty Day. The continued willingness to use the energy of spring to demonstrate strength of character and resilience is what makes International Workers Day an important May celebration.

A free press demonstrates fortitude by having the courage to shed light on issues that are not always popular. The UN General Assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, and the current theme is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. The freedom to express oneself without restrictions is one that many enjoy during the positive upbeat festivities in May;however, acknowledgement of the role that a free press plays remains vitally important in continuing to have such expression.

Flexibility

May is a time of great flexibility. The weather can easily change. One day a few plants are sprouting, and a week later, an entire field of bushes displays a lush array of flowers. Completion and beginning can seemingly occur in one breath. The rush of college graduations in the United States that occur in May simultaneously launch the graduate into a new world and complete a long phase of individual development for the student. It can be a mix of hearty congratulations, gifts, and parties one week, and hitting the reality of finding a permanent job or a new stability the next.

The traditional commencement speech marks the rite of passage from the walls of academic learning to the open vistas of the larger world. It is no accident that the speech reflects the speakers own life and experiences as lessons that are passed onto the new graduates. Works of wisdom such as the final work by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You Will Go and his earlier, less controversial I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew are classic gifts.

Graduation symbolizes achievement on many levels, including the ability to take charge of ones own path through the many challenges that life brings. Each year is a renewal of this celebration in a variety of forms, such as watching high school students arrive in colorful gowns and dashing tuxedos to celebrate the coming end of the school year at prom. From the presentation of a wrist corsage or pinning on a tuxedo of a boutonniere, to the official photo outside the venue, to dancing for hours to music, it is the experience of prom that provides memories.

Graduation and prom are institutional symbols of achievement that mark conclusions and beginnings. They require a willingness to accept the change and to start in a new direction. Such flexibility allows us to enjoy all that the month of May has to offer.

Foundation

May is also a common month for weddings. How better to celebrate change, fertility, and foundation than with a wedding? Many who come to Paganism do so from other traditions and faith practices given by families of origin. A wedding is a formal rite of marriage, and as such is seen as foundational for the continuation of a strong society. The ceremonial space often includes flowers, as bridal wreaths and bouquets symbolize the hope for a fertile, long-lasting union. We toast to the health and happiness of couple.

Beltane is another celebration that provides a foundation for the rest of the year. Whether it is placing yellow flowers on doors, leaping over a bonfire, or bringing a bit of the community bonfire back to ones home to light the family hearth fire or altar, Beltane provides a chance to start fresh. Traditionally, the start of summer, the sabbat Beltane takes the spark, the fire that burns literally and asks us to use it figuratively and spiritually in our lives. Beltane celebrates the act of union, be it the physical act of sex or the symbolic creation of something new.

One of the largest foundational holidays in May in the United States is Mothers Day. Although the holiday has become more commercialized with sales, the obligatory Mothers Day card, text, flowers, and calls, the sentiment remains one of celebrating family, and in particular, maternal bonds. Restaurants tend to fill with families taking Mom out so that she does not have to cook for the family. Calling Mom becomes a popular way to maintain a sense of growth and continuation. We celebrate foundation with that call or remembrance of our mothers.

In the end, we plant in May, or when the soil is receptive, moist, and able to promote maximum growth for harvest later in the year. We use the warmth of the sun, the diurnal flame that warms our planet and our bodies to grow, to begin unions, to release ideas, and to remember why life is so much fun in the first place. We celebrate what it means to be human. After all, it is the laughter and the uncertainty that allow us to embrace all that this time has to offer.

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.
SHE GOT PROMOTED TO OUR 'PERMANENT REGISTER' THIS IS THE LINE OF THINKING OF YOUR 'FUTURE BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP'. She does NOT value "Black lives". She ONLY cares about RE-RATIONALIZING HER MIND - using a WHITE REFERENCE. I WILL RE-WATCH THIS VIDEO WHENEVER I BELIEVE THAT 'MY LOVED ONES' ARE SAFE FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL MOLESTATION - AS A WEAPON.









Black Inferiority / Progressive Nationalism



Foreign Colonization Is AMERICAN DOMESTICATION



RIZZO IS DEAD IN PHILLY. LONG LIVE FRAUD IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY.



America: One Big INTEREST ONLY Loan



US Government USED Americanized Blacks' To Achieve Its African Goals Why Did You Hear This Admission About The US/NATO Actual Destructive Goals From 'WHITE TRiUMP', While The "We Are In The White House Negroes' Never Pushed President Obama To Admit That The Coup In Libya North Africa WAS NOT A 'Humanitarian Mission', As 'The Black Commander In Chief' Told The World?

What Is The 'American Containerized Black' Tribe GIVING UP In The Name Of PROGRESSIVE DISARMAMENT, Which Will Later Be Used Against Them Toward Their Destruction, That Will Be Called 'Social Justice'?

A Major Step In Protecting Black Valuables Investmented



We Are Now In The "Or Else WHAT" Stage



Slavery In Libya North Africa 2017 6 Years After The "Humanitarian Mission" - Not A Peep From "Black Grievance Studies" Professors

Perfect 1.0 'Spiritual Whiteness' Is No Respecter Of Skin Color



The "Blackest" Moment In American Jurisprudence

A Ninja Got Himself Kilt Last Night



Few Colonial Subjects Will Ask "Who Were They Fighting Against Between These Two Historical Points"



The Qualifications For Admission Have Increased



Street Pirate Adverse Community Experience Creator



When The Colonizer Becomes Aware Of The Need To Find A NEGRO CONFIDENCE MAN PARTNER



The Revenge Of LBJ After MLK "Stabbed Him In The Back" Over Vietnam



#BlackLivesMatter Is NOT A GOVERNANCE Movement It Is ONLY A POLIITCAL OPPORTUNISTIC Movement With Up To 75% Of The Homicide Victims In Philly Being Black This Means That About 126 Black People Murdered In 2015 Have Not Triggered More National Awareness Than The Cherry Picked Small Number Of Inductees In The "Black Civil Rights Homicide Victim Martyr Hall Of Fame" That Is Used As A Reference Of The Status Of Black People With Reference To White Americans

"#All Killers Of Black People Are Equal Street Pirates" The "#BlackLivesMatter" Movement Must Prove That It Is More Than The 'Ideologically Bigoted' Analog To "Police Racial Profiling" By Eliminating Its Propensity To 'Walk Past Dead Black Bodies That Don't Fit Their Agenda' On Their Way To The Protest Rally On The Downtown Public Square.



The Flag Of A New Colonizer Is Hung At Full Staff



Sudan - To-Damned-Day



The Manifestation Of Progressive Feminism As A Cultural Replacement Download Video: .mp4

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose From "My Queen" To "My Bitch" In A Few GenerationsCONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK UNIVERSITY Agrees With Her Logic As A Logical Extension Of Her "Progressive Fundamentalist"/'Social Justice' Inference BUT It Is An Assault Upon The 'Functional Culture' That Is Needed For The Black Diaspora To Find Its Purpose

THE NINJA WHO GOT HIMSELF KILT



YOU ARE A WITNESS TO A REVOLUTION IN "HAMSTERDAMN"



Thanks To The Progressives I Can Now Breath



Getting Your Ass Whipped In Prison Is Not A Choice. Silence In Public Reaction To It Is



Kermit Asks That You Be Consistent



A Friend Of "Black Community Development"



The Capture Of The Assassination Killer Of Kim Jones Of Philadelphia Should Be Top News Among Those Who Value "Black Lives"

Maybe You Are Being "Colonized" Today?



The Henry Dee & Charles Moore Martyr Hall Of Fame & Last Chance NIT Tournament



"Black Consciousness" Is NOT Proven By A Large Headcount



A Black Man Seeing Crying In Philly After A Loss At The Hands Of A Street Pirate



A Question Of Personal Values And Community Priorities And Black Media Agenda

I Want To Be Allowed To Develop Into Maya Angelou



Dr King's Pulpit Then And Now



The Americanized Negro Has Known No Rivers Beyond The Urban Water Supply Spigot



The Fire Hose As A GPS Coordinate Depicting Black People's Coordinates Upon "The Struggle"



If After 20 Years Of Observations I Am On To Them, The Fact That The Media Has Been Echoing Them For 50 Years Without Challenging Them About The DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAST OF THESE UNDER THEIR CARE - Points To A Conspiracy

Converting "Safe Passage" From Municipal Street Sign To A Consciousness Within The People



The Embedded Confidence Man's Press Agents Blow Smoke Rings As Circular References



The SUPERIORITY Of White People's Thoughts



Material Access To Consumer Comforts Is Not Indicative Of A Greater Consciousness



Mayor Nutter's Lessons Learned



Gen Edmund Pettus C.S.A. - Thanks You



He Cracked The Code On Black Progressive Outrage



In This House We Still Believe In God!!!

Tavis-You Blacks Need To Fire The Negro Generals Who Have Failed & Get New Leadership



The Inside Threat That Lurks Outside Of The Window Of Community Consciousness



My Faith In Institutions That I Once Trusted To Indoctrinate My Children Will Forever Be Shattered



Regulatory Capture







The Black Racial Services Machine



A Miscalculation On The School Busing Program To Social Justice



Full Faith And Confidence Of The Office Of The President Of The United States

The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection. The First Black Man In World History Who Is Able To Execute The Foreign/ Military / Economic Policy In The Name Of The United States Of America And Not Get Arrested In Doing So Because He Runs The Federal Prison System. His Power Is So Venerated That "The Blacks" Have Even Stopped Protesting Against The Actions Of The US Government Because They Fear That Their Outward Expression Of Discontent Against The Government Might Hurt His Chances At Reelection.

Who Diverted The Community's Eyes Off Of The Prize In Pursuit Of Shortsighted Political Gains?



As I Increase The Scope Of My Sample For Observation It Is Becoming Clear To Me That The "Machine Effect" In Metro-Atlanta That Distorts And Disrupts The Development Of Black People Is Not A Geographic Phenomenon But Instead Is Rooted In Lack Of Conscious Awareness Beyond One's On Provincial Interests And, More Importantly, The Absence Of A GOVERNING OVERLAY That Can Push Back Against These Misappropriations Of "The Black Community Development Consciousness"

NYOil - Ya'll Should All Get Lynched

Why Haven't Those Who Claim To MANAGE Your Community Told You The Dimensions Of The Space?



The Rabid "Embedded Black Fox Confidence Man"



The Mayor Of Philly Learned What The Korean Merchants Already Know



A Black Man Is Not Equal Until He Can Commit A "Civil Rights Violation" With His Actions



The Elephants In Africa Are Not Republicans







Bishop Henry McNeal Turner



Obama - The First American President To Bomb Africa w/o Massive Protests From "The Blacks"



Prison Radio Speaks To BLAX News



A Foreshadowing In "The Motherland"



What About All Of The Black Executions That The Police Or The State Did Not "Sponsor"?



The Pathway Upon Which The Hijacking Occurs



With The Loss Of Black American Consciousness Comes This Detachment



With the failure of the institutions within the Black Community to develop ORGANIC COMPETENCIES domestically there is no chance that the interests of the diasporatic Blacks can be protected by American Blacks who are more focused in domestic political affairs. The main utility of this video will be to make the American Negro "angry", increasing his resolve in "VOTING HARDER" as his means of fighting against racism, this according to his present consciousness. :'(

The "Mission Accomplished" Banner Hung By The Black Progressive-Fundamentalist



A People's Consciousness Fused To An Agenda Not Of Their Own



My Relative Ideological Position



Malcolm X Called You A "Race Traitor". CF Calls You A "Racial Consciousness Misappropriator"` The "Racial Consciousness Mis-Appropriators Malcolm X Picture On Your Blog" Removal Project

Racism Chasing - The Ultimate Hustle



The Nationalization Of The Black Community Consciousness



The PPP&HWBC Blog Supports The BAOHPEH, Inc



Evaluate The Varacity Of The PROCESS Of Judgment Not Merely The Verdict Rendered



Community Management 101



Profiles In Community Consciousness



Make Black America Happy Once Again



When We Were Colored



Schuyler And X



The 10P's In The Pod Of The Black Establishment Progressive Politicians

* Perpetual Protesters (Civil Rights orgs)

* Policy Influencers (lobbyist groups, think tanks)

* Press Operatives (the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")

* Performers (singers, rappers, actors)

* Preachers w/ and w/o Pulpits * Public Intellectuals (Humanities Professors)

* Public School Teachers

* Pro-Union Labor Forces

* Posters (Bloggers) (Civil Rights orgs)(lobbyist groups, think tanks)(the Black Press - "The Progressives Town Criers")(singers, rappers, actors)

Don't Shoot Me Street Pirate! I Am Attempting To Be A Positive Asset To My Community



Will The Black Comunity Recover From The Hijacking Of Its Consciousness?



The Use Of "Slave/Jim Crow Images" In Black Political Debate - Evaluate The Agenda The use of "slave imagery" is common in ideological discourse among Black people today. The best way to appraise the veracity of the agenda of the presenter is to distinguish between those images which are used to cajole Black people into "Ideological Unity" versus those images used to bring consciousness to the sad fact that in far too many cases today - the man holding the gun is a Black man, his disturbed consciousness allowed to fester because the balance of our community organizers are focused on external political affairs. They sell us on the notion that when our people assist their political/ideological external partners in their success that these individuals who suffer from BENIGN NEGLECT will be cured - no longer terrorizing us. In the circular reference that is their struggle - the more damaged individuals that matriculate through the local institutions that they now control per their struggle, the louder their call for continued UNITY and redirection lest our community's long time external adversaries start terrorizing us again. They successfully avoid community scrutiny of their stewardship of our key "Human Resource Development" institutions.

I Am A Man!!



The Photographic Negative Of The Black Progressive Blogs That Focus On What White Folks Are Doing Black Racism And Race Hatred Blog

Stuff Black People Don't Like

Chicago Lady 216 - The Crisis Of Consciousness WITHIN The Black Community You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

Consciousness Mission Accomplished



I Support The "Corporate Premise Security Equality Project"



New York Times Demographic Mapping



The Antidote For Fear And Ignorance Antidote to the use of the tactics of FEAR as propagated by 'confidence men' to prompt a people toward a certain direction that is against their permanent interests is the development within these masses a base of Knowledge. When this knowledge is applied to their daily lives this builds up their Competencies. As a result their "Standard Of Living" is increased toward the a favorable level.

Obama Commemorative Plate = "Mission Accompished - An Ensnared Black Community"



Black Male Un-Demployment Rates In "Mission Accomplished" Cities



The Conflict Between The Civil Rights Pharisees Vs The Neo-Progressive Establishment Players You probably do not have the Flash Player ( Get Adobe Flash Player Here ) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

From Reactionary Transactionalism To Management Of Our Community



Ideologically Polarized Vision



Ted Kennedy & Black Independent Consciousenss



People Who Aide & Abet Street Pirates Need To Hear These Words & Instead Pursue Absolute Justice

THe NAACP & Rachael Maddow See These Guns As INFERIOR To Guns Used By Right-Wing Militias ** No matter how many guns these Street Pirates gather and no matter how many Black people are killed - these "equal human beings" will never been EQUAL in the mind of Civil Rights Pharisees and their White Snarling Fox Liberal co-conspirators because there is no ideological and political advantage in going after them.

The Rallo Tubbs Fan Club



Blog Archive

Those Who Have Their Conciousness Focused "Within The Black Community"

Page Views - Last 7 Days
SSC results on May 6

Staff Reporter :

The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations will be published on May 6.

Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee President Professor Muhammad Ziaul Haq said that the chairmen of all education boards would hand the results to

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni in the morning of May 6.

"The Education Minister will then announce the results in a press briefing at International Mother Language Institute," Professor Ziaul said.

Usually, the Education Minister submits the results to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a programme at Ganabhaban in the morning of the publishing day. After getting PM's approval, the Education Minister announces the results formally. But this year, as the Prime Minister is not at home, Dr Dipu Moni will announce the results, the Education Ministry sources said.

A total of 21,35,333 students -- 10,70,441 boys and 10,64,892 girls - from 28,682 institutions took part in the examinations.

Of the examinees, 17,00,102 sat for the SSC examinations under eight general education boards while 3,10,172 for Dakhil examinations under the Madrasa Education Board, and 1,25,059 for vocational examinations under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

A total of 434 students appeared in the examinations from eight overseas centres as well.
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for reelection in 2020. Enzi, 75, was first elected to the Senate in 1996. He has been returned to the Senate for three additional terms, getting over 70% of the vote each time.

Possible replacements could include former Gov. Matt Mead or Rep. Liz Cheney. In July 2013, Cheney announced she would challenge Enzi for the Republican nomination. After failing to gain significant party support, she withdrew in early 2014. Enzi would easily defeat four other challengers on the way to winning a fourth and final term in November that year. Cheney went on to win the state's at-large seat in the U.S. House in November, 2016.

Enzi becomes the fourth Senator to announce a 2020 retirement. His Republican colleagues Lamar Alexander (TN) and Pat Roberts (KS), as well as Democrat Tom Udall (NM) will be leaving. All these seats are seen as safe for the incumbent party.
Nicholas Mulder in n+1:

Where most of the charges that the right levels against the EU are hard to take seriously, the left has produced cogent and sophisticated critiques of the organization. Leftist skepticism about the project of integration goes back to the beginnings of the European Economic Community, but was generally a minority current; the Eurozone economic crisis and Britains ongoing attempts to depart from the EU have reanimated this tradition, with some arguing for a left exit, or Lexit. The Lexit position points to a split among the Unions left-wing critics: varying diagnoses of the EUs democratic deficit and neoliberal bias in turn suggest different paths to a more progressive and democratic Europe.

Currently, there are two broad varieties in left-wing anti-Europeanism. The first line of criticism is that the EU is an unaccountable technocracy constitutionally opposed to democracy. On this reading, unelected Eurocrats at the European Commission threaten national sovereignty as they enforce budgetary rules, laws, and regulations with no accountability. A related but distinct accusation is that the EU is terrible for national democracy because it is a vehicle for German empire. On this reading, the technocrats are either simply doing the Germans bidding, or else the Germans are responsible for long ago having rigged the rules of the union in favor of the continents largest and most powerful country.

These left-wing analyses focus on a real problem: the constraints of current EU and Eurozone economic policies, which have deepened and prolonged the continents crisis. Yet in their urge to counter the tyranny of the market, left nationalists misread the nature of the neoliberal project in European politics.

More here.
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The best athletes, teams, coaches of 2021: South Dakota Sportswriters awards

The South Dakota Sportswriters Association honored the best teams, players and coaches in college, high school and independent sports.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In late June 2015, Enrique Palomino, then 14, went mobbing overnight with five friends in a Foothills neighborhood. The spree ended early the next morning when one of the teens, 16-year-old Jeremiah King, shot and killed a 60-year-old homeowner  a popular local bartender who had tried to chase the teens away from his house.

Last month, police say, Palomino  now an 18-year-old on supervised probation  and two other teens shot and seriously injured a homeless man during a robbery. A GPS monitor put Palomino at the scene of the crime, according to court documents.

Palomino, Xavier Pino, 18, and Dominic Lopez, 17, are charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the April 4 shooting of 29-year-old Garfield Lopez, who was homeless. There is no indication that Garfield Lopez and Dominic Lopez are related.

Palomino was arrested for an unrelated probation violation on April 11 and booked into the juvenile detention center. The charges connected to Garfield Lopezs shooting were filed against him this week.

Meanwhile, Pino has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Dominic Lopez.

In another twist, police say the casings found at the scene of the shooting have been traced to at least six other shootings, including a 2017 homicide and the April 8 slaying of 15-year-old Martin Maestas. A police spokesman did not provide details about any of the shootings.

Palomino was at the scene of Maestas slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

Palominos mother, Amanda, told the Journal that Maestas and her son were good friends and that the two were shot at randomly by two robbers.

My son does not deserve what were going through, she said.  He has a lot of people that love him and are going to fight for him.

Palomino was detained at the scene of Maestass slaying and police say his involvement is still under investigation.

A storied history

Palomino has a storied history in the case files of the Albuquerque Police Department and Childrens Court.

Most notably, he was the second youngest of six teenagers charged in the 2015 death of Steven Gerecke after a night of mobbing  when a group of teenagers broke into cars and homes.

Palomino, who said he was in the car when Gerecke was shot, pleaded guilty to larceny, conspiracy, aggravated burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced as a juvenile and shuttled around treatment facilities, two of which he was kicked out of for fights and drug possession.

Palomino was released in November 2018 and placed on probation, but it didnt take long for him to catch the eye of the law.

On April 2, a Facebook photo surfaced of Palomino holding a gun and beer  a violation of his probation. That is what led to his April 11 arrest. He pleaded guilty earlier this week to that violation, and a judge sentenced him to a juvenile detention facility until he is 21 years old.

This is our neighborhood

The recent robbery and assault charges against Palomino are the most serious since Gereckes slaying.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers responded to a shooting around 7 p.m. in the 3400 block of Tulane NE, near Carlisle and Candelaria, on April 4. They found Garfield Lopez, who friends and family described as being homeless, had been shot four times.

Neighbors told police three young men  later identified as Palomino, Pino and Dominic Lopez  sped off in a gray car after the gunfire. One man said two of the suspects pointed guns, one with a green laser on it, at him as they fled.

Benjamin Gomez told police he was walking with Garfield Lopez down the street when three men said this is our neighborhood, asked if they had drugs and called them a slur for homosexuals.

Police say two of the suspects drew guns and one tried to pistol whip Garfield Lopez as the other robbed Gomez of his phone and wallet. When Garfield Lopez punched one of the suspects, they shot him and ran off.

A woman who lives nearby told police that her son Dominic Lopez and his friends may have been involved. She told police that the three all carry guns and were outside her home when the shooting occurred. She called her son a wanna be gangster who loves guns and thinks its cool.

Detectives spoke with Palomino after he was arrested for the probation violation and told him his ankle bracelet put him at the scene. He told them he was with Pino and Dominic Lopez but a couple blocks away when he heard gunshots.

Before APD officers could track down Pino, he was arrested April 21 in Moriarty by local police after he allegedly pointed a gun  with a green laser on it  at another driver during a road rage incident.

When questioned about the shooting of Garfield Lopez, Pino told police he was chilling in the car when Dominic Lopez and Palomino robbed the two men. Pino said Palomino shot Garfield Lopez after being punched and they jumped in his car and fled the scene.

According to the complaint, Pino said he had not seen Dominic Lopez or Palomino since, and he has been focused on school.

Journal staff writer Elise Kaplan contributed to this report.
It just felt right, Cathy Baehr said, when asked why she has decided to retire from Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Baehr, the principal at Enchanted Hills Elementary since January 2000, is the longest-serving RRPS principal. She said leaving is truly bittersweet  its a humbling experience.

Sometimes you feel its time to look for new adventures, she said.

Growing up in Oklahoma, she recalled wanting to be a nurse, then laughed when she noted her college degree was in business management.

I found it wasnt going to fulfill my heart and soul. I returned to school and got my teaching license, she said.

That was back in 1984, when her first job was teaching language arts in Cyprus-Fairbanks, north of Houston.

That forced her to renege on something she had told her mother: I am not going back to school to be in school, (but) I loved it.

In 1986, she and her then-husband moved to Albuquerque and she got a job with Albuquerque Public Schools.

In making a long story short, she basically wound up in Rio Rancho because she learned then-Enchanted Hills Elementary Principal Carl Leppelman was not only looking for references for someone, but also recruiting. Baehr said she was interested, and soon found herself teaching in Rio Rancho  at Lincoln Middle School, in the 1986-87 school year.

Eight years later, when the APS buildings in the City of Vision were absorbed when RRPS became a reality, Leppelman brought Baehr to Enchanted Hills to be his assistant principal. When Leppelman became an RRPS administrator  hes now the executive director of curriculum and instruction  Baehr was named the schools principal.

Its been a great ride, she said, soon to say goodbye to at least six teachers who have been there for 20 or more years, and two women who work in the office, with 12 years each under their belts.

Shes always in good humor  Ive never heard her raise her voice, said Liz Bushma, the schools attendance clerk. She can multi-task like nobody on the planet.

Added Aileen Patrick, the schools registrar, Cathy has been a pillar of the school. Anytime you think of Enchanted Hills, you think of Cathy Baehr: not only a great principal, (but) a great friend  to the staff and the kids. Shes been a blessing.

Its leaving a family, Baehr said, making her decision to retire hard. I need to learn to unwind after 35 years  25 in this building  and take a bit of a break.

That break includes a cruise to Cuba and Cozumel with her sons, both of whom attended EH El. Now shell have more time for housework, walking her dogs, organizing, church and reading.

Her EH El highlights have been many, among them seeing the school receive an A from the state Public Education Department, being rated as one of just 12 exemplary schools in the state and hiring one-time Enchanted Hills students who decided to become teachers.

We get to help mold them with their parents, she said of her role as an educator and principal.

She sees the good in even the students with the most challenging demeanors and biggest struggles, says former EH El teacher Kristi Smith, now teaching in California. Cathy is also fiercely loyal and loves students.

She notices that good in her staff, Smith added.

When Cathy sees something in you, there is nothing that will stop her from helping you believe as well, Smith said. For example, Cathy approached me quite a few years ago and asked if I would consider being our schools next education tech specialist. Intimidated by the idea, I told Cathy I did not think I was capable of that role. She pushed in the way only Cathy can until I decided to give the job a try. It was a decision I will forever be thankful for, both professionally and personally.

Baehr said current Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary assistant principal Jennifer Bartley has been named her successor.

Baehrs advice to Bartley: Keep a great sense of humor.

As far as her legacy is concerned, Baehr, who doesnt like talking about herself, said she hopes others understand that I tried to give the kids the best learning environment, a safe school, and I provided lots of encouragement for the students.  Im glad my work has meant something to others.

After all, she concluded, We need to prepare them for the world  and its moving very fast.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
If someone libels, slanders or defames your character, you can sue them. Of course, youll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business, and youll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion. Youll have to show the offender made a false statement of fact.

I got to thinking, if everyone is equal under the law, shouldnt this standard also apply to those high-powered lawyers who routinely throw out defamatory comments while defending their celebrity clients?

Currently two brothers, Bola and Ola Osundairo, have filed a defamation lawsuit against the attorneys representing television actor Jussie Smollett. You probably remember that Smollett was accused by law enforcement in Chicago of filing a false police report in late January.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay, reportedly told police that while he was out on a late-night sandwich run, two white men wearing Trump-inspired MAGA hats attacked him, shouting homophobic and racist slurs while splashing him with bleach and looping a noose around his neck. Smollett later told ABC he never mentioned MAGA hats but his attackers declared This is MAGA country!

The Osundairo brothers came forward to say they were the attackers but it was all a pre-planned publicity stunt choreographed by Smollett himself. They explained they were bit actors on the TV program Empire, on which Smollett also appeared, and had staged the hoax hate crime as a favor to Smollett. Sixteen felony charges were filed against Smollett, but in a controversial move they were later dismissed. Smollett insists he is a victim.

Smollett engaged the top-tier law firm of Geragos and Geragos. Its founder, Mark Geragos, and his associate Tina Glandian went on a publicity drive of their own, calling the brothers liars and saying they were guilty of a hate crime. On March 28, Glandian appeared on the Today Show and went so far as to say the brothers, who are black and from Nigeria, may have been wearing whiteface during the attack. In early April, Glandian was on the popular podcast, A Reasonable Doubt, strongly suggesting one of the brothers had a sexual relationship with Smollett.

Less than a month later the Osundairos filed their defamation suit against Geragos and Glandian, alleging they had falsely maligned the brothers to distract from Mr. Smolletts farce and to promote themselves. They claimed damage was done to their reputations, personal lives and acting careers. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria, punishable by long jail sentences or even death by stoning, and the brothers claimed the lawyers false statements made them fear for their familys safety back home. The suit also pointed out that many of the ugly accusations by Smolletts lawyers came after charges had been dropped, so the Geragos team could not convincingly say they were just doing their job defending a client.

The written response to the defamation suit from the Geragos and Geragos firm may have compounded the problem. It calls the lawsuit comical and then clearly accuses the brothers of fraud. It reads in part, While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public.

Wouldnt it be something if this suit was not dismissed? If high-profile, camera-loving attorneys were held accountable for their public statements defaming adversaries? It might change the whole tone of the justice system when dealing with headline cases.

Last December, criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman preemptively released emails between his former client, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and two women who have accused him of sex crimes. Brafman alluded to more emails from other women who may be called to testify at Weinsteins upcoming criminal trial. Brafman wrote to the judge, For the most part, these extraordinary emails suggest, beyond question, that many of these women have lied in making their complaints against Mr. Weinstein. Brafman branded these women as liars, and under the defamation standards you and I would be held to he would have to prove his claim or be held liable, right?

I was in the Florida courtroom during opening statements in the trial of Casey Anthony, accused of killing her toddler daughter. Her lawyer, Jose Baez, sought to deflect attention and told the jury Casey had been sexually abused for years by her father. Yet during the trial he presented no evidence of that. Could George Anthony have sued for defamation? Id think so, but he didnt.

Jurors and journalists need to be on the lookout for these flamboyant lawyers who steamroll over peoples reputations without repercussion or proof. Verdicts should be reached only on the actual evidence presented at trial. Publicity-seeking lawyers who face the cameras first before entering the courtroom in hopes of influencing public opinion arent doing their job. Their job is to defend their client in court with the truth.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Student test scores will not be included in New Mexico teacher evaluation process this year, the state Public Education Department announced this week.

A memo from Deputy PED Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment to superintendents and charter school leaders statewide said the test scores are being dropped from the Transition Teacher Evaluation Reports for 2018-19.

Under the teacher evaluation system unveiled this week, teachers will be graded on a 100-point scale.

 Classroom observations will be worth 50%.

 Planning, preparation and professionalism will be worth 40%.

 Family and student surveys will be worth 10%.

Student assessments accounted for 35% of the previous evaluation under the administration of then-Gov. Susana Martinez. Earlier in her administration, it had been higher, but she reduced it after opposition from a wide spectrum of educators.

Despite the change, the use of test scores was still opposed by teacher unions.

The PED memo said the decision to drop test scores was made to comply with an executive order addressing teacher evaluations signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The governor issued an executive order in January  just days after being sworn in to office  directing the PED to come up with new rating and assessment tools to decrease unnecessary pressure on students and teachers, while also providing more time for instruction.

But the executive order did not specify what factors the new evaluation system should use, and two bills aimed at revamping the states current system  and putting those changes in state law  stalled in this years 60-day legislative session.

The first-term Democratic governor earlier ordered that New Mexico drop the PARCC exam and create a new state-specific assessment system in its place. Scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exam have been used by the state in past years as a factor in teacher evaluations and school grades, which were used to identify low-performing schools for potential closure.

As we look to the future of teacher evaluations in New Mexico, the educator growth and development team will engage stakeholders across the state to ensure all voices are part of designing a new teacher evaluation system, the memo said. NMPEDs stakeholder engagement events will begin in late May and (be) held throughout the state.

The change drew both praise and criticism.

The transitional system helps students by putting teachers, not standardized test corporations, back in control over classroom teaching, and it will improve and showcase our teaching, National Education Association-New Mexico President Betty Patterson said in a news release. Increasing classroom observation to 50% is appropriate. So too is the increased importance of planning, preparation and professionalism to 40% of the total.

Patterson said all teachers will be able to show their hands-on abilities as they are observed by their highly trained administrators.

There is no doubt our students will benefit from these changes, she said.

But National Council on Teacher Quality President Kate Walsh called the decision a step backward.

Good teachers have nothing to fear from such measures (student assessments), Walsh told the Journal.

Walshs organization praised the states previous evaluation system in a report, calling it a model for success.

NewMexicoKidsCAN Executive Director Amanda Aragon called the decision a disservice to students and teachers.

She predicted that New Mexico would fall further behind other states. She said student scores are part of most states teacher evaluations.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
SANTA FE  With her trial date approaching, former state Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla allegedly defied a judges order by attempting to contact a division director at her old state agency who is also listed as a possible witness in her case.

Thats according to Attorney General Hector Balderas office, which has asked a judge to revoke Padillas conditions of release over the incident.

The dispute is the latest legal salvo in the states public corruption case against Padilla, a former Cabinet secretary in Gov. Susana Martinezs administration who has pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and using her appointed position to push for favorable tax treatment.

In a motion filed this week, the AGs Office alleged that Padilla tried to call Aysha Mora, director of the Taxation and Revenue Departments Audit and Compliance Division, in March regarding a taxpayers audit. Padilla is a certified public accountant who has been working as her case plays out.

Mora, who did not respond to the telephone message, is among the states possible witnesses in the case against Padilla, who was ordered last year by a judge to have no contact with witnesses.

Attorneys with the AGs Office have previously raised the issue of improper contact with witnesses, as an assistant attorney generally said during a November 2018 preliminary hearing that he had personally observed Padilla speaking with two witnesses and said he had been told she also mouthed something to another individual who was testifying.

The judge did not immediately act on the request at the time and allowed Padilla to remain free on her own recognizance. In addition to no contact with witnesses, her conditions of release also include no alcohol and no leaving the state without the courts permission.

In its latest motion, the AGs Office said Padilla was already on notice that she should not attempt to communicate with potential witnesses.

On its face, defendants attempted contact with Mora might not seem alarming; but viewed in proper context, the contact should make the court question why defendant is willing to continue to violate her conditions of release by contacting identified witnesses in her pending criminal case, two assistant attorneys general wrote in their court filing.

Padillas attorney, Paul Kennedy, declined to comment Friday on the latest allegations.

Padilla was charged by the AGs Office in June 2018 with embezzling more than $25,000 from a Bernalillo-based company, Harolds Grading & Trucking, and other alleged crimes, including violating the ethical principles of public service and engaging in an official act for personal financial gain.

If convicted of all seven charges she is facing, Padilla could face up to 16 years in prison and as much as $20,000 in fines.

The effort to revoke Padillas conditions of release is one of several motions state District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer could rule on this month. The case is expected to go to trial this summer.
Climate change is not a lie. Do not let our planet die.

Thats a chant that could be heard by those passing by the University of New Mexicos Johnson Field around 1 p.m. Friday.

Repeating those words was a crowd of more than 100 mostly high school students who were skipping school.

They didnt seem to worry about getting caught. They were proudly carrying signs that said Climate Crisis, Stop Climate Change Before Its Too Late, System Change, Not Climate Change, and Claim Our Rights.

For them, walking out of class was a way of making their voices heard about the future of their planet. The demonstration was part of the National School Strike for Climate Action in which high school students throughout the U.S. and Canada walked out to urge action to halt the damage caused by climate change.

I want to send a message to our senators, people who can vote and those in charge that we need to take action immediately, said Aubrey McCullough, a freshman at Sandia High School.

She wants government officials to cut down on carbon emissions and switch to renewable resources.

Obviously, its not something that will happen with an immediate change, she said. Its not going to happen with one bill. We definitely need to start weaning ourselves off of it (fossil fuels).

Eldorado High School junior Jared Sichler walked out to encourage more action and legislation to save the planet for future generations.

We need to start using renewable energy more and start committing more money to it, Sichler said. He agreed with McCulloch that America needed to start cutting back on its dependence on oil.

Teslas doing a lot of things to make electric cars more affordable, Sichler said.

Sandia High School junior Alyssa Ruiz was concerned about the damage continued dependence on oil would do to the environment and the economy.

She said didnt want to live in a world where climate change causes drought and food shortages.

Ruiz said she would like to see climate change declared a national emergency.

Jennifer Patterson, also a junior at Sandia High, said she would like to see more policies cutting down air pollution by companies.

Id also like to see Styrofoam bans in Albuquerque, she said.

Eldorado sophomore Mitchell Hahn voiced a concern that the Earth is being destroyed and pointed to the problems being caused by plastic products piling up in the oceans. Hes in favor of banning plastic products.

That includes water bottles, straws and plastic utensils, Hahn said, with the exception of use by some businesses.

He views the recent decision by the Albuquerque City Council to prohibit businesses from providing single-use plastic bags at the point of sale as a positive step.

I believe we should be using reusable bags, Sichler said.
SANTA FE  Two New Mexico state lawmakers  one Republican and one Democrat  were feted Friday by a national group for their work on criminal justice legislation.

Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, were among 10 individuals selected to receive the People Over Partisanship award by The Coalition for Public Safety, a Washington D.C.-based group.

The honorees, who also included U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were recognized at an upscale ceremony at a Kentucky castle that both Maestas and Rue planned to attend.

Rue and Maestas teamed up during this years 60-day legislative session  along with a few other lawmakers  on a crime package signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that will expand a diversion program aimed at unclogging the states court system.

The two also worked on a different bill dealing with changes to New Mexicos probation and parole system that was vetoed after prosecutors statewide raised concerns about it.

Maestas and Rue are also co-chairs of the state Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that meets while the Legislature is not in session to study ideas and hear testimony. The subcommittee was disbanded several years ago but later revived after a three-year break.

Along with Rue and Maestas, bipartisan legislative duos from Kentucky and Pennsylvania were also honored Friday by the Coalition for Public Safety for their work.

Party staffing: With a high-stakes election cycle on the horizon next year, the New Mexico Republican Party currently has only one full-time employee.

GOP spokeswoman Anissa Ford-Tinnin said Friday that Pam Kingston, the partys bookkeeper, is currently the only full-time staffer as others doing work for the party, including Ford-Tinnin herself, are volunteers.

Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said after being elected to the post in December that he planned to get to work immediately on fundraising and hiring a full-time staff. And a hiring ramp-up could still happen before next years election season, which will include a presidential election and a race for an open U.S. Senate seat.

By contrast, the Democratic Party of New Mexico currently has five full-time staffers, including an executive director and communications director.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to  contain any type of fuel.

____

Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
WASHINGTON  Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill  charges he denied. People may know hes a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and hes said he doesnt plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trumps nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some pretty radical decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the courts more conservative justices  Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito  can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high courts longest-serving justice, the senior associate justice, when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the courts ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the courts far right.

Thats won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas highly underrated. Trump said Thomas has been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas views may now have more sway, something she described as terrifying to many progressives.

Still, Thomas views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he wont be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but theyre kind of sucked along in his wake, Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law . He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the courts Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans werent citizens, labeling both notoriously incorrect.

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as abdicating our judicial duty. Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest  with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that hes not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when hell celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the courts third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: Its a pretty good job. Im having fun, and Im winning.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
CHICO, Calif. - A structure fire was reported in Chico on Saturday just before noon. The Chico Fire Department and CAL FIRE Butte County crews responded to the scene on Dead End Court.

According to Chico Fire Captain Ken Smith, the fire appears to have been caused by a wiring issue involving an air conditioner.

The homeowners had the air conditioner mounted on the shake-shingled roof. Captain Smith referred to those shingles as "a receptive fuel bed on the roof."

He said smoke was noticed by a neighbor who sprayed the air conditioning unit with a fire extinguisher, keeping the situation in check until firefighting personnel arrived.

Captain Smith suggests that as the summer heat picks up, people should get their air conditioners serviced by a quality, professional company.
Blue Dart, Indias leading logistics service provider and part of Deutsche Post DHL (DPDHL) Group, has been conferred with the prestigious and highly acclaimed Superbrands Award for the 12th consecutive year. Superbrand is the worlds largest independent arbiter of branding and pays tribute to the strongest and most valuable brands in the world through an intense process of selection.

The selection criteria followed by Superbrands is internationally renowned and is considered as one of the esteemed awards in the Branding category. This year Superbrands India invited brands from an exclusive group and were voted by 18,031 consumers and senior professionals from a cross section of industries.

Commenting on the occasion, Ketan Kulkarni, Head - Business Development & CMO, Blue Dart said It is an honour for Blue Dart to be recognized as a Superbrand for the 12th year in a row, validated by the industry and consumers. As leaders in the express logistics industry and trade facilitators for the country, Blue Dart has been established based on strong brand equity; we will continue to delight our customers at every touch point through high service quality, best-in-class technological innovations, products and services. This accolade stands testimony to our ability to continuously raise the bar in driving innovation in the industry. We are focused on building an organisation that sets new benchmarks in driving customer delight in Blue Dart country.

Superbrands has earned the proud distinction of being the award that brands consistently use as a symbol of excellence and credibility. Superbrands is a concept that started in 1993 in the UK to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands, to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians. Since then 86 countries have already published 360 volumes featuring more than 15,000 case studies.

Blue Dart remains one of the best managed companies in India which is evident by the awards and recognitions it has received. The company is benchmarked to international standards and continues to be Indias Most Innovative and Awarded Logistics Company.

Prior to this, Blue Dart was ranked no.1 amongst the 25 best multinational workplaces in Asia  2019 by Great Place to Work Institute, Asia for the third time in a row. Great Place to Work identified Blue Dart as the top organization that has successfully created high-trust, high-performing cultures in the Asia and Middle East regions. It was also recognised as a Readers Digest Most Trusted Brand for the 11th consecutive year.
Cinepolis, Indias 1st international and the worlds 2nd largest movie theatre circuit in terms of attendees has collaborated with Paytm and Student Of The Year 2, to provide an exclusive offer on the popular Student Combo. The blockbuster offer was announced in the presence of the supremely talented and spunky star cast of the much-awaited release, Student Of The Year 2. The excitement was heightened as the vibrant actors unveiled the second song of the movie.

Cinepolis in sync with the popularity of the sequel Student Of The Year 2 has curated this initiative to enhance the movie watching experience for the movie buffs. Tickets for Student Of The Year 2 can be exclusively booked via Paytm to avail the 90% off on the Student Combo. The offer will be available from 10th to 12th May, with advance bookings open from 5th May onwards, across 20 cities. The offer has been customized in line with Cinepolis constant endeavor to engage their patrons with interesting initiatives.

Devang Sampat, Director  Strategic Initiatives, Cinepolis India said We constantly look out for enticing offers that will not only ease the accessibility to watching movies but also truly enhance the experience. Given that Student of the year-2 is anticipated to be one of the biggest release of 2019, we want to add to the excitement of the experience by providing the most demanded combo at an unbelievable price. We look forward to our patrons availing the exclusive offer.

Siddharth Kadam, Head of Marketing, Dharma Productions added, We have partnered with Cinepolis to create an exciting offer for all students. SOTY2 is an anticipated franchise film and we feel the student combo offer, available India wide, across Cinepolis theatres, will be like icing to their Summer movie delight. Hope the students enjoy the film and the combo!

Cinepolis understands the importance of a quality culinary experience and thus focusses on constantly innovating their offerings. A new lip smacking menu handcrafted by the celebrated Chef Saransh Goila was recently launched to advance the premium immersive experience for its patrons. Adding to its list of initiatives for foodies, the blockbuster offer available on Student Combo can availed through bookings on the Paytm website https://paytm.com/ and App.
Indian tyre major JK Tyre & Industries Limited has launched a powerful TVC in their effort to build a premium imagery of the brand and establish a youth connect. Aimed at capturing the imagination of the young and ambitious Indians, new TVC talks about the enduring journey of international Indian ace-racer Armaan Ebrahim.

The new television commercial by creative agency BBH India builds an emotional connect with Armaans journey, riding on the different waves of his life that brings hope, dreams and achievements.

The ad reflects the character of every kid who loves speed; the kid is portrayed in the role of Armaan Ebrahim, who grows up to become an international motorsports racing star and trusts JK Tyres at every step of his journey to achieve speed. The commercial captures three stages of Armaans life, as a 3-year-old bike enthusiast growing into an 8-year-old boy, thereon to a 15-year old with dreams and aspirations of racing to becoming the present champion of the track and how with JK Tyre, he finally achieves his dream speed with tyres that finally keep up with him in all conditions and help him be in Total Control.

Elaborating on the commercial, Vikram Malhotra, Marketing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, The new TVC highlights our core brand values of determination, passion and unwavering commitment towards realising dreams. The new commercial showcases the emotional connect we have with our customers who like to stay in total control, be it on small car or luxury sedan. We cherish our association with Armaan Ebrahim and his journey to success has encouraged millions of youngsters to dream big and never lose sight of the goals. This is a true reflection of our brand philosophy.

The advertisement has been produced by Vivek Singhania of Picture Perfect and directed by Ruchi Narain, mostly known as the writer of the film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. The TVC is currently running across platforms.
Field work for IRS Q2 2019 has already begun: Ashish Bhasin

Adgully spoke with Ashish Bhasin, CEO  Greater South and Chairman & CEO  India, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman, MRUC, and Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH, Madison World and IRS Technical Committee Chairman, to know more about the key trends and observations on IRS Q1 2019.

Mark Tuttsel moves on from Leo Burnett

Mark Tuttsel the executive chairman of Leo Burnett has announced that he will retire from his role at the agency. He has been associated with the creative shop for 34 years.

IPL, Polls, World Cup will buoy news broadcasters revenues by 40%: MK Anand

In a freewheeling interaction with Adgully, MK Anand, CEO & MD, Times Network, speaks about the 2019 Elections and what they mean to the news media industry, marketing opportunities, key trends and much more.

The Zoom Studios achieves milestone of 80 mn+ views and 1 mn+ subscribers in year one

The Zoom Studios, original content arm of Zoom today announced the successful completion of its first year and with it sets a new benchmark in storytelling with powerful and real-life narratives aiming a 100% growth over the next year. The Zoom Studios also announced its plans of 6 new originals for FY 19-20, targeting 200% increase in subscriber base.

Offbeat: Indira Rangarajan - A Zoya Akhtar fan girl spreading tinsel magic on-air

Indira Rangarajan is the National Programming Head for Radio Mirchis second frequency, Mirchi Love. Rangarajan has spent the last 12 years of her life across various roles in Radio Mirchi  from heading programming across various cities to managing and curating music across multiple stations in India.

Ad lands Young Guns: Shreya Natasha Shah, FCB Ulka

With 2 years of experience in advertising, Shreya is a Senior Copywriter at FCB Ulka, Delhi. Shreya first ventured into advertising when she was completing her Bachelors in Mass Media from St.Xaviers College, Mumbai. However, with an ardent interest in human behaviour and the ability to influence it through writing, Advertising, always seemed like a natural fit.

The Lion marks its new territory in Mumbai

In a move that will enable the agency to become the crucial hub for its much-acclaimed Power of One capabilities, Publicis India, the full-service ad agency from Publicis Groupe has announced its relocation to a swanky new office in Mumbais iconic commercial landmark in Parel (East).

Honda Cars awards Dentsu X its media duties

According to media reports, dentsu X, part of Dentsu Aegis Network has won the media duties for Honda Cars. The creative mandate for Honda cars is already being handle by Dentsu One. The account was previously held by the media agency Motivator who was handling the business since 2015.

Solomon Wheeler moves on from Vistara

Solomon Wheeler, VP & Head of Marketing at Vistara the Joint Venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. According to media reports his last day with the aviation company was April 17th.

HONOR ropes in Mullen Lintas as its new creative agency

The agency won the creative mandate for HONOR following a multi-agency pitch held in New Delhi recently. The agency will errand conceptualizing and developing innovative communication strategy to support HONORs long term vision of providing best quality products for the young dynamic target audience.

Saint-Gobain appoints Vizeum India as its media agency

The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch. Under this partnership, Saint-Gobain is launching its new brand campaign after a gap of 15 years. The campaign will be rolled out nationally across television, digital and content streaming portals.

Hansa Research appoints Praveen Nijhara as Chief Executive Officer

Praveen Nijhara takes over from veteran Ashok Das who will continue as Senior Advisor of the Group. Till recently, Nijhara was Senior Executive Director, responsible for the Customer Experience Business for Kantar IMRB South Asia region, which he led for nearly a decade.

Viacom18 appoints Gourav Rakshit as COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures

Gourav Rakshit will be joining the organization in May 2019, and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18. Rakshit is currently serving as the President and CEO of People Group that owns and operates Shaadi.com.

Sabeer Ahluwalia joins BBC Good Food India as COO

BBC GoodFood India has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Sabeer Ahluwalia to spice up the luxury quotient and consolidate their presence in Print, Digital, TV, Social Media and Events.
RTHK: Trump and Putin have 'positive' Venezuela talks

US President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks on Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Collaborative spaces  led by global giant WeWorks expansion in India  are having a real impact on the concept of workspaces and therefore the economy. A new report assessing economic impact has outlined interesting insights that point to Indias work-life moving in a new direction.

Democratization of neighborhoods

Intensive urbanization and growing population density in a few areas have made the CBDs of metropolitan India practically inaccessible over the past two decades, especially in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. NITI Aayog foresees the growth of the Indian real estate sector to jump over fivefold to $650 billion by 2040. As commercial real estate become more expensive, flexible workspaces are democratizing access by reducing the prohibitive barrier of price. This is re-injecting vibrancy to these locations and enabling businesses and individuals to benefit from proximity to business areas. In fact, the report found that 76% of WeWork members in Mumbai, 74% in Bangalore, and 67% in Delhi and did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork.

This has also had an impact on associated activities in these areas; 9-15% of WeWork members have moved closer to the WeWork location since joining, especially in Bangalore where 1 in 4 (37%) members visit neighborhood restaurants, cafes and businesses daily. In Bangalore, the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,957 crore and in total supports INR 2,002 crore (INR 44 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city.

Mumbai comes next in terms of impact, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,692 crore of GDP and in total supports INR 1,737 crore (INR 45 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Economic contribution of WeWork in Delhi is the highest, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 2,986 crore of GDP and INR 62.7 crore indirectly, resulting in a whopping INR 3,049 crore GDP impact.

Knowledge workers, entrepreneurs are the biggest beneficiaries of co-working revolution

Growing automation is driving a shift towards knowledge work, and these contributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the growth of collaborative workspaces. Flexibility and low capital commitment helps encourage entrepreneurship, with 17% of Mumbai WeWork entrepreneur-members, for instance, pursuing their first startup project at WeWork.

Likewise, over 77% of WeWork members in Bangalore are in the innovation economy, and a fifth of WeWork member-entrepreneurs are taking the plunge to self-employment for the first time. In Delhi, 53% of members are in the innovation economy while 11% of entrepreneur-members are first-timers.

Flexible working correlated to the rise of women in leadership roles

The flexibility, access and convenience that collaborative workspaces offer have an impact on women rising to leadership positions, and Indias WeWork members are ahead of the curve.

Led by Mumbai, where a significant 41% of senior roles (executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors) are held by women, followed by Delhi (29%) and Bangalore (26%), India is far ahead of the rest of Asia, where the percentage is at 23%.

Companies grow faster with better collaboration, global access

Across cities, collaborative working has had a direct impact on company growth, with 65% members in Bangalore and 58% in Delhi stating that WeWork has helped accelerate growth. This is especially true among small and medium companies, who benefit from the national and international network of member companies, ease of collaboration and world-class infrastructure access. In fact, the average growth rate across SMB WeWork members in Bangalore is 25% compared to 4% for all companies in the city. The difference is even starker in Mumbai, where SMB WeWork members have grown at 37% on average compared to 2% for all companies in the financial capital.

Flexible workspaces more efficient, sustainable

Easier access to flexible workspace has also increased the viability of sustainable forms of commute, including walking, biking or public transport. In Bangalore and Mumbai, over half of WeWork members use sustainable public transit modes. Members also tend to switch from self-driving to sustainable public transit, with 15% in Bangalore and 25% in Mumbai reporting that theyve done so since joining WeWork. In Delhi, over 60% of members use sustainable transit options and about 29% have given up polluting cars since joining WeWork.

Karan Virwani, Co CWeO WeWork India says, WeWork as a community enables its members to collaborate with each other, which has led to the creation of efficiencies in terms of increased creativity, productivity at the workplace and innovation. This process has effects that go far beyond individual considerations as it also sparks the development and support of local communities, neighborhoods and businesses, a culture that we as an organisation look to actively imbibe, encourage and promote. This is true for WeWork across countries around the world and in India.
Note: Dan wrote this post in 2016. It holds truer than ever today, when vaccine mandates and pushes to eliminate exemptions are raging from coast to coast. I miss Dan so much. Our anchor. Our beacon. The General of the Rebel Alliance. Kim



By Dan Olmsted



"An effort spanning two decades has resulted in a global first," CNN reported Thursday. "The Americas have eliminated measles, the World Health Organization said this week. The battle was won through mass vaccination to prevent the viral disease, which can cause severe health problems including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death."



Well, the battle was mostly won before the battle began, as anyone who's looked at the pre-vaccine wipeout of the disease would know.



From Mark Blaxill and my 2015 book, Vaccines 2.0:





In Vaccines 2.0 we wrote: Much of the recent publicity about measles reflects a small increase in US cases in the past few yearsusually overseas travelers becoming infected and then spreading the illness in small pockets that generate alarmist headlines.



In the spring of 2014, a news outlet in suburban Washington, under a large banner titled Health Warning, reported public health workers are informing people who were at various locations . . . that they may have been exposed to a person with measles. Northern Virginia area health officials are mounting a coordinated effort to identify people who may have been exposed.



The idea that measles is highly infectious is certainly true; the claim that it is a health emergency is not. For generations, measles was considered a rite of passage for children, with little risk of complications and the reward of lifetime immunity."



A blogger at Livingwhole.org made the same point in June 2014 in a post titled, Measles Shmeasles:



So far, in 2014 there have been 288 cases of measles, no cases of encephalitis, and no death. In 2013 there were 189 cases of measles, no encephalitis and no death. In 2012 there were 54 cases of measles, no encephalitis, and no death. In 2011, there were 22 cases of measles, and you guessed it . . . no encephalitis, and no death.



I could go on, but you get the point.



By and large, measles is unpleasant, not deadly.



In comparison, the same cannot be said for the MMR vaccine. As of March 1, 2012 there were 842 serious injuries following the MMR vaccine and 56 deaths. Since 1990 there have been more than 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Whats even more sad is that only 110% of cases are actually reported .



Honestly. If youve seen Vaxxed, you know it does a great job of contrasting the Disney measles hysteria with the blase attitude of mainstream media and medicine and the CDC and the NIH and HRSA and etcetera to the endless, increasing, debilitating, sometimes lethal autism epidemic and its allied catastrophes.



But of course kids will all be getting the MMR into perpetuity  now with one part that doesnt work and spawns epidemics post-adolescence that are far more dangerous (mumps); a vaccine for a disease that is usually not serious and is no circulating (measles) but can have serious side effects, and one for which there can be an altruistic argument given the risk of congenital rubella syndrome, but also with serious risks. Put them all together, shake it up and voila -- the autism shot, as Jenny called it.



Kind of like the DPT  diphtheria doesnt circulate, tetanus is not a serious risk, and certainly not to anyone but the person who might get it, and pertussis, for which we believe there is a case worth discussing.



Not to mention the deadly and disgusting HPV, the useless and dangerous Hep B, the useless and dangerous chickenpox.



This is why parental choice and no mandates are so important, regardless of ones stance on vaccines overall. Too much autism, too many vaccines with too many side effects  but at least, thank God, no measles.

--

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
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Hundreds of current and former members of the Badr Organization protested April 13 in downtown Baghdad demanding long-overdue financial compensation for their combat service against Saddam Hussein, whose regime was toppled in 2003. However, security forces affiliated with the party's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, used violence to deter protesters, and a number of demonstrators were jailed for days.

The protests failed to get coverage in local Iraqi newspapers and media outlets because of Amiri's political influence, according to participants and organizers.

Amiri doesn't seem to have earned the confidence of ex-combatants who fought by his side against Saddams regime in the 1980s. They blame him for their marginalization and lack of compensation.

The Badr Organization was founded in 1982-83 as a military group in Iran. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Badr turned into a civil organization that ran all elections in Iraq. Amiri has been heading the organization since early in its founding days.

Many Badr members, annoyed by the unilateral internal decision-making process, left the organization earlier this year. They attacked Amiri's leadership and labeled the organizations policies as "racist, sectarian and serving foreign projects.

Politically, Amiri seems to be on top of his game. His Al-Binaa Alliance, in participation with the Sairoon Alliance led by Muqtada al-Sadr, formed the new government. Al-Binaa is now seeking to pass parliamentary laws in line with its agenda.

Yet, at the internal Badr level, Amiri has his difficulties. He is surrounded by a group of dissidents who lash out at him on social media, along with a group of ex-combatants who believe he abandoned them for power and money.

This organization is not the one we knew," said Sattar Douwad al-Tamimi, who fought alongside Amiri from 1984 to 1997. "It is entangled in a lot of corruption issues. Amiri has turned it into a family establishment," granting favors to friends.

Tamimi is leading a broad campaign demanding rights for a number of Badr ex-combatants. Under an order issued in 2004 by US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer, combatants who fought against Saddams regime are entitled to recognition and benefits and may be integrated into the regular armed forces.

Badr has abandoned its members. Many of them were wounded and suffered chemical injuries and did not receive any compensation for fighting the former regime," Tamimi said. "Amiri has not kept his promise over the past 15 years to about 3,000 ex-combatants in Badr who are today in dire need."

One of those ex-combatants, Mahmoud al-Qazwini, who left Badr in 2017, told Al-Monitor, We cannot leave our brothers with whom we fought on the front lines. I would not accept enjoying rights that my brothers are being denied.

On April 13, Qazwini participated in the protest outside Badr headquarters. "We wanted to get our rights," he said. "But our protest seems to have worried those close to Amiri. We were severely beaten and detained for several days at two police stations in Baghdad.

He went on, I was detained along with six other people. We were interrogated on charges of defamation of Amiri and the Badr Organization. We were also accused of using violence. We are old people, how can we use violence in a peaceful protest?

Two days after the protest, while Qazwini was still under investigation, Amiri issued a press statement requesting that the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meet the demands of the protesters "and do them justice," pointing out that their demands are "true and legitimate."

Tamimi and Qazwini believe Amiri is trying to evade his responsibility to secure the rights of Badr ex-combatants.

Amiri promised before the elections to get us all our rights immediately after the formation of the government in return for our electoral support of Badr," Tamimi said. Instead, Amiri has put the names of his close associates on the compensation list instead of real fighters.

Al-Monitor tried to obtain more information about the changes taking place in Badr, but more than one member refused to talk, fearing reprisals.

However, a source close to the Badr Organization told Al-Monitor, Anger toward Amiri is growing within Badr over a series of positions, including the neglect of ex-combatants and the expansion of internal influence of those close to Amiri. He also said Amiri often appears to be under Iran's control.

The source said on condition of anonymity, There will be new splits within Badr in light of the unilateral decision-making process by Amiri. The current situation is stirring anger. A shake-up inside Badr is imperative.

Meanwhile, Tamimi and Qazwini said they will continue to issue statements and stage protests to expose the Badr situation and get all ex-combatants what they are owed.
By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovi?, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovi? said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.
Putin brokers Israel-Syria goodwill gestures

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two Syrian prisoners as a "goodwill gesture last week, a sign that he may be ready to live and let live with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The prisoners release was the sole decision of Netanyahu, Ben Caspit reports, made without authorization from the Cabinet and carried out in utmost secrecy. In the harsh public and political criticism that followed, it was argued that the move was the second part of a secret deal that Netanyahu made with Assad under the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first step, it was said, was the transfer of the remains of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel to Israel just prior to the April 9 elections, winning Netanyahu brownie points from the public as a world-class statesman, as we reported here.

Putin, it will be recalled, outed Syrias role in the return of Baumels remains, telling Netanyahu, As you may know, our military personnel and their Syrian partners helped find Zacharys remains. The official response from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) at the time was that Syria has no clue about Baumel and that the incident confirms cooperation between terrorist groups and Mossad.

Russia Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev later said that the retrieval of Baumels body paid off for Syria in the end and that Russia would never act in a way that contradicts Syrias interests.

Between the lines is another astonishing fact with regard to Israels relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, writes Caspit. Many high-level Israeli figures have long since branded Assad as finished, someone who had lost international and ethical legitimacy and committed genocide on his own people. Now, however, it seems that Israel has simply decided to reconcile itself to Assads full return to power. It even maintains covert relations with Assad via Russian mediation, including goodwill measures and confidence-building steps. Despite Israel's frequent attacks on Iranian targets in Syrian territory, according to foreign reports, there are no direct conflicts with the Syrian ruler himself. On the contrary  many high-level Israeli figures have maintained over the last two years that Assad knows that he has a lot to lose from the Iranian presence on his territory and agreed to it only under pressure. He is loath to pay Israel the price for that presence.

Could it be, Caspit asks, that the Israeli-Syrian deal was designed to mobilize Assad to leave the Iranian camp for the Israeli side, with Russian encouragement?

Pro-Syrian commentators have suggested that Putin, and by extension Assad, got burned in the exchange with Netanyahu. Syria News remarked that Netanyahu released a Palestinian who didnt want to go to Syria in the first place  and a drug dealer who has already spent his 11 years sentence in the Israeli prisons and was set to be released in a couple of months completing his sentence without any deal!

SANA nonetheless reported the return of the prisoners on April 28, with photos, and quoted Quneitra's governor, Humam Dibyat, as saying that the Syrian state puts the liberation of all captives in the Israeli occupation prisons as a priority, on top of them Sidqi al-Maqt and Amal Abu Saleh. The reference to Syrias most prominent prisoners in Israel hinted that Damascus may have expected they would have been the ones released. It might also signal the prospect of a subsequent exchange or some other quid pro quo to compensate, from Damascus perspective, from a disappointing trade.

Akar: United States has moved closer to our position on safe zone

US Syria envoy James Jeffrey was in Ankara this week to narrow differences with Turkey over a "safe zone" on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The official Turkish readout of Jeffreys meeting with Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on May 1 set a high bar for the talks: With the planned safe zone, Turkeys security concerns would be addressed and the area would be cleared of all terror groups.

For Turkey, all terror groups includes the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which make up the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US on-the-ground-partner in the coalition to defeat the Islamic State.

Amberin Zaman got the scoop on the gap between the Turkish and Kurdish sides heading into the talks: Turkey wants a lead role in a safe zone that would be 32 kilometers (20 miles) deep and stretch the length of Syrian Kurdish-controlled territory all the way to Iraq.

The trouble is that the YPG refuses to accept any Turkish presence in Kurdish-controlled territory stretching east of the Euphrates River to Iraq, Zaman writes. It has reportedly rejected one of the ideas being floated  that Turkish and US forces conduct joint patrols as they currently do in Manbij. The Arab-majority town that lies west of the river has been the source of unremitting tension between Turkey and the United States.

SDF commander Mazlum Kobanes demand that Turkey return Afrin to its people, is also a nonstarter, Zaman reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was guarded following Jeffreys meetings, saying, We have not agreed on everything, but we are making progress, while Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he was extremely happy to see that Jeffrey and his delegation have moved closer to our position.

By painting a rosy picture, Zaman writes, Turkey jams US officials into a corner from which they cant publicly contradict Ankara in hopes over time to pull them toward its own interpretation of events.

Kobane said on May 3 that the SDF was holding indirect talks with Ankara through "intermediaries," adds Zaman, in other words, through the United States. Kobane said his group stood ready to negotiate with Turkey and resolve outstanding problems in peaceful ways.

The recent US diplomatic flurry with Turkey reflects Washingtons priority in getting Ankara more closely aligned with American objectives in Syria, and preventing a Turkish attack on the YPG. This is no easy task, given the differences over the YPG and PYD, Turkeys purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defense systems, Americans held in Turkish jails and Ankaras indignation that the United States will not extradite Fetullah Gulen, who it blames for the attempted coup in 2016.

Meanwhile, Turkey is joined with Iran and Russia in the Astana group talks on Syria. Representatives of the three countries met April 25-26 for the 12th time since October 2016 in Nursultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, as reported here by Kirill Semenov. The Astana grouping is, in principle, based on the conditions for a Syrian transition in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Astana format has basically absorbed, and in many ways overtaken, the Geneva process. UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen participated in last weeks talks. The United States and Jordan are observers, rather than participants, in these sessions. Iraq and Lebanon, which favor some lines of engagement with Damascus, were added last week as Astana observers.

Both Russia and Iran have also developed a backchannel between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad. The Syrian Kurds are already talking with the Syrian government, and we can probably expect that channel to accelerate, as the United States seeks to accommodate Turkey while withdrawing its ground forces from Syria.

The first-order challenge for the Trump administration is whether it can tilt Turkey away from the Astana orbit  a tall order, given Putins assertive diplomacy in Syria, the strains in US-Turkey ties and a trend toward normalization with Damascus among some regional states. The UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and other Arab countries, to varying degrees, are also seeking to rebuild ties with Syria, in part to balance Iranian influence. And even Israel may be resigned to Assads staying power, as reported above.

Jeffreys meetings reflect an aggressive US approach to turning this around. Otherwise, there is probably only so long the United States may be able to keep up the present workaround of the Assad government. The trendlines "on the ground" lead to dealing with Damascus. Washington is nonetheless steadfast in its opposition to any normalization efforts. US oil sanctions are taking their toll, and if Iran policy is any guide, we can expect even more sanctions on Syria in the coming months.
A vacation home is a luxury. But for many, its also about family, and that was at the heart of every decision Joanna Goodman made while designing this luxurious Florida beach house. As vice president and director of interiors at Birminghams Christopher Architecture & Interiors, Goodman is accustomed to getting to the heart of each assignment.

This Gulf Coast home was a significant project: The four-story, 8,000-square-foot house includes four master suites, four kitchens, 10 bathrooms, and it sleeps 28 people. Early in the nearly three-year process, Goodman visited the owners multigenerational family at their Little Rock, Arkansas homes to learn how they liveand how they want to live on vacation.

Goodman describes the patriarchs home as dripping with tradition, including mahogany walls and a two-story library. But the beach house was meant to provide a different environment, a place where the couple, their daughters, grandchildren, and cousins could relax and enjoy easy living.

The familys requests were fairly straightforward: The home should be clean and fun, incorporating LED lighting and other technology while avoiding a typical beach house look.

Goodman used a neutral color palette in each room, creating a look designed to remain in style throughout the years.

I was trying to appease several different generations and tastes, and keep in mind the longevity of the interiors, making sure it was going to be timeless and comfortable, low-maintenance and livable, she says.

Accessories add color to the rooms, such as bedroom pillows and a bench cushion in living coral. Texture also adds visual interest. Goodman says layering over a neutral palette makes it easy to update a room when a homeowner grows tired of a look, or wants to change out details for a season. Artwork ties the rooms together, and the family has since added its own whimsical touches to reflect their personalities.

Goodman also considered details to ensure that the family finds easy living when they visit their beach home. She used performance fabrics throughout the house to keep the interiors low-maintenance and livable.

They dont have to worry about wet bathing suits or spilled wineor, in this case, splashes from the pool, Goodman says.

That pool is one of the most striking features in a home full of thoughtful details. The radius infinity pool surrounds the homes main living area. A motorized wall system allows the living areas windows that open out to the pooland to the sundeck a story above itto stack behind a curved wall. The result is seamless access to the homes outdoor living spacesand views of the beachas well as ample space for the family to socialize.

Their love of spending time with others was obvious when Goodman visited the familys Arkansas homes, and the beach house is full of spaces for them to gather.

Such a meaningful part of how I design is I really get to know the people. Its a strong bond, she says.

And it showed when the family arrived for their first visit to the completed home. Goodman and her team had stocked the pantry, lit candles, and had wine ready to serve.

They were crying and laughing. It was such a moving experience, she recalls. It was probably the highlight of my whole career. It was incredible to see that all your hard work and time paid off at the end.

Designing Across Borders

Christopher Architecture & Interiors is based in Birminghams Highland Park neighborhood, but its common for the firms clients to come to them from far beyond the metropolitan area. Pinterest has been an asset for the firm, which has seen a number of clients find it because of images that link back to the companys website.

Vice President and Director of Interiors Joanna Goodman says the social media site also is an asset in collaborating with clients. A current client is based in Hong Kong, for example, but the client and Goodman are easily able to share ideas via Pinterest.

The firm counts several West Coast residents among its clientele, including actors, musicians, and other high-profile individuals. But the principles of design are the same, regardless of location or the clients time in the spotlight.

You treat everybody the same and it doesnt matter who they are, Goodman says. You design for their life.

This story appears in Birmingham magazines May 2019 issue. Subscribe today!
Casey Cep has a message for folks in Alabama: Go into your garage, climb into the attic or head to the bookshelves in your home. Pull out that old set of reference books that nobodys touched for decades  or better yet, dust off the battered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird thats been passed down in the family.

If youre lucky, you just might find literary treasure inside, in the form of a letter signed by Monroeville native Nelle Harper Lee.

The author of Mockingbird was a prolific correspondent during her lifetime (April 28, 1926  February 19, 2016), writing letters and notes to family members, friends, acquaintances and people who briefly entered her personal sphere. In the early years of her acclaim, after her best-selling novel was published in 1960, Lee even responded to the voluminous amounts of fan mail that arrived at her doorstep.

Its not out of the question, then, that a small part of Lees correspondence  precious but long forgotten  might be tucked into a book that you own.

Harper Lee wrote graciously to total strangers, says Cep, a writer from Maryland whos become something of a specialist on Lee. She had decades-long relationships with some of her correspondents. ... Some of it is high-octane writing. There are great, incredibly vivid little scenes and set pieces.

Lee, a reluctant celebrity, was not inclined to discuss her writing with the public or reveal any projects she might have in the works, post-"Mockingbird."

Her letters can be telling, though, offering a window into what this famously private woman was thinking and feeling.

Case in point: In 2009, a woman named Sheralyn Belyeu found a note from Lee dated June 11, 1978, inside an Encyclopaedia Brittanica that was purchased by Belyeus husband at the Salvation Army in Alexander City. A card from Lee, thanking the hosts of a cocktail party shed attended, was discovered near the encyclopedia entry for Harpers Ferry.

You simply cant beat the people in Alex City, Lee wrote. If I fall flat on my face with this book, I wont be terribly disappointed."

The book in question? It certainly wasnt Go Set a Watchman, a precursor to Mockingbird that was set aside by Lee but found its way to print in 2015.

As it turns out, Lee was working on a true-crime project in the late 1970s, documenting a murder case in her home state. The case involved a rather notorious figure in the Alex City area, the Rev. Willie Maxwell, who was suspected of killing five people to cash in on insurance policies.

Maxwell was fatally shot in 1977 during the funeral of one of his alleged victims, and Maxwells former attorney, Tom Radney, was now defending the man who shot him.

Lees efforts to research and write about the Maxwell case are the subject of a new book by Cep, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95 hardcover, in stores Tuesday).

In Furious Hours, Cep offers readers a detailed look at the Maxwell case and three primary figures whose lives intersected because of it: the reverend, the lawyer and the celebrated author who wanted to write about them.

Correspondence by Lee  including that note hidden inside the encyclopedia  formed an important part of Ceps research for Furious Hours, along with legal documents, court transcripts, police reports, autopsy files, death certificates, press clippings and other documents.

Cep conducted interviews with a long list of people with were involved in the case in some way or had firsthand knowledge of her three main characters: Maxwell, Radney and Lee. She also relied on an archive that few have ever seen: a briefcase stuffed with original materials on the murder and the trial of Maxwells killer, including typed notes by Lee and hundreds of pages Radney had given Lee for her research in the 70s.

Lees estate found the briefcase after her death and returned it to the Radney family, who allowed Cep to review the contents for her book. (Tom Radney died in 2011 at age 79.)

Cep spent about three years working on Furious Hours, prompted by her longtime love of Mockingbird and some tips shed received while visiting Monroeville for a 2015 piece on Go Set a Watchman in The New Yorker.

Ceps reporting for The New Yorker revealed that Lee had been planning to write a true crime book, The Reverend, but no one seemed to know what happened to the project.

This one was darker, stranger, and made me reconsider what I thought I knew about one of my favorite writers, Cep says in a message to readers on her website. Having already helped her childhood friend Truman Capote report In Cold Blood, she had a template for what she wanted to doand being Harper Lee, she saw in this almost tabloid-tale a parable about race and criminal justice. I wish that shed been the one to tell you this story, but Im honored to pick up where she left off.

Furious Hours is divided into three sections devoted to Maxwell, Radney and Lee, telling the story in a chronological manner but providing information about the trio -- biographical, social, political, emotional -- that resonates throughout the book.

There are three core ways of making sense of the world: religion, law and literature, Cep says during a phone interview with AL.com. In some ways, the book tells the same story three different times.

Given the enduring fascination with Lee, some readers may be tempted to skip the first two sections on Maxwell and Radney, and go straight to the chapters on the Mockingbird author.

Cep says she certainly understands that impulse, but hopes people will tackle the text -- which spans 314 pages, including the notes and bibliography -- in a straightforward way.

Youll understand her more and will have more sympathy for the struggles she faced," Cep says. You need each section to build on the previous one. Like any writer, shes a creature of her time and place. Youll learn about her context as a Southern writer, and as an Alabamian."

The image of Lee that emerges isnt always a flattering one, but Cep, a meticulous researcher, wasnt interested in writing a hagiography. Furious Hours tells us, for example, that Lee had a drinking problem, and could be quite unpleasant when she indulged in an excess of scotch or vodka.

Lee could be grumpy, irascible and sharply critical, the book indicates; she didnt suffer fools gladly and resented the demands celebrity made on her time and privacy. On the flip side, Lee is described as warm, friendly and charming. She was fiercely loyal to her family members and intimates. Her intelligence was formidable. She valued the truth and had a sincere love of history, music and literature.

Lee also enjoyed a good mystery, a fact that might have drawn her to the Maxwell case.

Although she was said to be writing constantly -- people who lived in Lees apartment building in New York City often heard her typewriter clicking -- Lee admitted that the task made her unhappy. Her perfectionist tendencies were more curse than blessing, and resulted in something akin to writers block.

Despite several attempts and approaches, and in spite of much labor and strife, Lee never managed to complete her book on the Maxwell case. At least, all the available evidence points that way in Furious Hours."

Some might regard it as a failure on Lees part, but Ceps book seeks to illuminate, not to judge. That philosophy extends to her entire portrait of Lee, whom Cep regards as a complex and fascinating figure.

Its clear that she was juggling a lot," Cep says. Writing made her miserable, but she was not a miserable person. She was vivacious and witty and clever. ... I hope, by the end of the book, that you feel she was a happier person than others thought she was. She is not an entirely tragic figure. Like all of us, she was a complicated person."

Cep will make six stops in Alabama next week on her book tour for Furious Hours, and her wish list for those dates, May 5-11, includes conversations with people who can add to her extensive storehouse of Lee lore. Cep says shes looking forward to hearing stories, anecdotes and trivia about the author from the people in Lees home state.

You live in a story, when youre writing a book, and form your own ideas and opinions about it, Cep says. I think itll be exciting to go from that to being with people who have their own ideas about Harper Lee and this project. Thats exciting to me. I cant wait to talk to them."

Ask Cep what Lee might think about Furious Hours," and her response is a thoughtful one thats tinged with humor. Shes been digging into Lees life for years, after all, and casting a wide net with her research. No subject was taboo and no stone unturned, within the time constraints.

Surely that wouldnt sit well with the woman who once told a reporter from AL.com to Go away! in no uncertain terms.

I think obviously she would have been allergic to being a character in this book, Cep says. I would like to think that the scrupulousness of the reporting would impress her. I just think I would have a hard time getting her to open the book. I think shed read the first two sections and then slam the lid closed.

If you go: Casey Ceps book tour for Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee will make the following stops in Alabama. The agenda for each includes a talk by the author and a Q&A with the audience.
Celia Keenan-Bolger remembers To Kill a Mockingbird being one of the first chapter books her mother ever read to her as a child.

My parents used it as a teaching manual about race in America, she said.

Now she can be seen nightly playing the role of Jean Louise Finch, aka Scout, in the new Broadway adaptation by Aaron Sorkin, best known for writing works like The West Wing and A Few Good Men.

Keenan-Bolger, who is a nominee for the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, may not seem like the obvious choice for Southerners protective of Harper Lees iconic novel. After all, she aint exactly from Maycomb County.

Like Jeff Daniels, who currently portrays Atticus Finch, Keenan-Bolger grew up in Michigan. Shes spent most of her adult life in New York -- though she points out her husbands family is from Atlanta and shes made many long drives through the South. Still, shes always felt a connection to Mockingbird.

Its so easy for us in our little bubble to look as other places as The Other and even as a kid, Maycomb was so different than inner city Detroit but I felt such a pull to the story, she said in an interview with AL.com

It felt different but it didnt feel Other. Its easy to feel so divided. But I didnt feel like a crazy Northerner from New York City. It made all 50 states not feel so spread apart.

AL.com columnist John Archibald gave the production his stamp of approval when he attended previews in December 2018.

This story, this work of genius that used fiction to reveal truth about justice in the American South, was somehow evolving before my eyes, he wrote in a column.

Not in a way that was untrue to the original. Not in a way that was obvious or upsetting. In a way that was timely. And necessary.

Keenan-Bolger said that she did visit Alabama for several days when researching the role of Jean Louise, spending two days in Lees hometown of Monroeville which was the basis for the books Maycomb. She also visited Selma and Montgomery. The trip was different than she anticipated.

I was going there in hopes of finding someone who would tell me everything about Harper Lee but that was not what happened. It was a spiritually nourishing trip, she said.

Because the movie is black and white, I just assumed it was a dusty old town and getting there, its certainly a small town, but it was so green and the sky was so blue. The air feels so differently from New York City, I found it really helpful in imagining what it would be like to grow up there. That trip ended up being enormously helpful.

She said witnessing her three year-old son explore Monroeville gave her insight into what it wouldve been like to be a child there.

This isnt the first time Keenan-Bolger has portrayed a child on stage. In 2011, she starred as Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher, a play based on the 2004 novel offering a unique interpretation of Peter Pan.

But taking on the role of Jean Louise offered a different challenge. In Aaron Sorkins To Kill a Mockingbird, the children are portrayed by adults. However, its also clear to the audience that the story is framed as Jean Louise and Jem looking back on their childhood as adults.

These are adults looking back on a summer in their life and trying to figure what doesnt make sense, Keenan-Bolger said.

That allows Sorkin and the actors to explore themes that would otherwise be too mature for a child to understand. The audience sees Scout looking at the trial and understanding that Oh, the reason this all happened is because [Mayella Ewell] was abused by her father, said Keenan-Bolger.

That doesnt make it right, but it does help you walk around in someone elses skin.

Thats a point that wasnt clear in the 1962 film but was clear in Lees novel. Keenan-Bolger said it was important that Sorkin restore that aspect of the narrative. Part of that decision was driven by the #metoo movement and other real world considerations.

The theme of false rape accusations was discussed among the cast during rehearsals in the Summer of 2017. Brett Kavanaugh was being considered for the U.S. Supreme Court and under scrutiny for allegations of sexual assault. Some pundits began comparing the situation to To Kill a Mockingbird.

We all collectively felt was that we didnt want another story about a woman testifying against someone in this climate. So obviously we have to stay true to the story but is there a way to point the audience in a direction to help us understand why she does this?

Politicians have used the play to its advantage, but the play is trying to reclaim that.

Tickets to Mockingbird are currently on sale through November -- and theres an HBO documentary in the works, as well -- but Keenan-Bolger hopes the show will be extended long past that.

Ive never been a part of something that reached so many people.

One attendee stood out, however. Mary Badham who iconically portrayed the role of Scout in the film. Badham, who grew up in Birmingham, visited the Broadway production in a few months ago and Keenan-Bolger said it was one of the most moving experiences shes had with the production so far.

She could not have been more generous or more supportive of the play. She was eight years old when she played this part and she made it her life work to support anybody that wants to talk about this novel, Keenan-Bolger said.

It has a lot to do with the novel that Harper Lee wrote in the first place. She wrote the book in 1960 about the 1930s and here we are in 2019 and the story still endures.
Make a list; check it twice.

Thats our advice for anyone who plans to cover the entire Spring Parade of Homes in Birmingham.

A total of 73 homes are on the tour this year, and it takes careful planning -- not to mention a dose of stamina -- to travel to every one of them.

Luckily, organizers at the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders provide a comprehensive map on the Parade of Homes website, along with information, addresses and photos of the featured homes.

Twice per year, the home builders association opens the doors of models, spec houses, remodeled and pre-sold homes, aiming to give potential buyers and real-estate buffs a look at the latest trends, designs, colors and accessories.

The 2019 Spring Parade launched on April 26 and will conclude on May 5. Hours for the tour are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today, and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free on the self-guided tour, which covers territory ranging from Morris to Montevallo, Pell City to McCalla.

More than 40 homes on the tour received awards linked to various communities and price categories. A house by Drummond Built Homes, at The Overlook in Liberty Park, earned the accolade for best in show.

One house, at The Cove at Overton, is featured as the 2019 Ideal Home. It takes the No. 1 spot on the tour and is a good place to start for visitors. (Five homes on the tour are featured in the photo gallery at the top of this post, including the Ideal Home and best in show.)

For more information, see the FAQs on the Parade of Homes website or call the home builders association at 205-912-7000.
Federal agents this week arrested seven Birmingham residents who allegedly conspired to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana in Alabama, prosecutors said Friday.

The seven defendants were indicted in April stemming from a long-term investigation of an operation to bring large quantities of marijuana from California to Birmingham through commercial flights.

Three of the defendants were also charged with federal gun-related offenses, including alleged ringleader Stephen Lamar Gadson, 38. Gadson was charged with discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Two others, 32-year-old Lynn Darnell Gadsdon, Jr. and 31-year-old Ryan Jamal Washington, were charged with felon in possession of a firearm.

The other defendants were: Keoni Keith Gaddy, 30; Erica Jacinda Gadson, 30; Cormisha Ketua Quinn, 24; and Janacia Latrice Thomas, 28.

Guns and drugs are a volatile mix, as well as a problem for the Northern District of Alabama, which we will continue to do everything within our power to stop, said Jay Town, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Gadson, Gadson, Jr., Erica Gadson, Washington and Quinn were also charged with money laundering, which carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department and three police departments.

These indictments represent the long-term enforcement efforts by ATF and area law enforcement, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. As a result, the violent criminal acts that plaque our neighborhoods have been reduced.

ATF agents and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies found a gun in Gadsons car while arresting him on an outstanding state trafficking marijuana warrant from 2016, prosecutors said. The state warrant stemmed from an incident where Gadson allegedly shot a Jefferson County sheriffs deputy during a narcotics search warrant in June 2016. Three charges against Gadson from the April 2019 indictment deal with his conduct from the 2016 arrest, including the discharging a firearm during a trafficking crime charge. The offense has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The establishment of an Alabama abortion ban intended to trigger a federal court challenge to abortion rights is drawing closer to completion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing and vote on the bill Wednesday, committee Chairman Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said its likely the Senate will consider the bill on Thursday if it is approved by the committee.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 74-3 on Tuesday, with the Republican majority prevailing over Democratic opposition. Most of the 28 House Democrats did not vote.

Republicans control the Senate, too, holding 27 of 35 seats. They could give the bill final passage and send it to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law.

Lori Jhons, deputy press secretary for Ivey, said the governor is withholding comment as the bill works its way through the process.

The bill would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion. A woman receiving an abortion would not be liable.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the sponsor, said the purpose is to spark litigation that could lead to a challenge of the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.

The bill would allow abortions to protect the woman from serious health risks. But there is no exception for pregnancies caused by incest or rape.

Collins opposed the Democrats amendment to add that exception in the House, saying the intent is to confront the Roe v. Wade decision by asserting that the unborn child is a person. The House rejected the rape and incest exception by a vote of 72-26.

Marsh said he expects the rape and incest exception to be debated in the Senate. Marsh said he supports allowing that exception, as well as the exception for the health of the woman.

Someone is going to have to make a pretty good reason why you would change that for me, Marsh said

Democrats proposed an amendment that would have required lawmakers who vote for the bill to bear the legal cost of defending it in court. That amendment was voted down 61-27.

Rep. Louise Alexander, D-Birmingham, said it was wrong to try to take away womens right to choose abortion. She criticized the lack of an exception for rape and incest.

Until all of you in this room walk in a womans shoes, yall dont know, Alexander told the House.

Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston, said he feared a return to the days of back room surgeries and unsterile conditions.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, has a Senate bill identical to Collins bill.

Albritton, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he does not know how the votes will line up on the committee. Albritton said committee approval will likely be the biggest hurdle for the bill because he said the committee is generally not as conservative as the Senate overall.

Albritton said his purpose in supporting the bill is not to trigger a court challenge, although he expects that would happen if it passes.

Whether it results in a court challenge and such, Im not going to worry about that, Albritton said. Im not going to focus on that. My purpose is trying to get this bill approved and pushed into law so we can protect human life in Alabama.

Ward said the public hearing on the bill would be Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., followed by the vote.
Rachel Held Evans, a young writer whose books about her journey from a conservative Christian upbringing to a new faith brought her tens of thousands of readers, has died at age 37, according to multiple press reports including Religion News Service.

Evans never recovered from a severe infection caused by a reaction to antibiotics, reports said. She had been in a medically induced coma and never regained consciousness.

Writer and friend Sarah Bessey said Evans died surrounded by friends and family who sang and prayed at her bedside.

It is with a broken heart that I share that @rachelheldevans passed away early this morning. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends - we sang, prayed, held her always. Woman of valour, eshet chayil. Official update: https://t.co/WYznnc5tYh  Sarah Bessey (@sarahbessey) May 4, 2019

Evans grew up in Birmingham before moving to Dayton, Tenn., when she was 14 years old. Her father was an administrator at Bryan College, where Evans graduated with a degree in English literature. She married her college sweetheart and worked briefly as an intern at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

News of her death brought an outpouring of grief from new and longtime fans and leaders of established denominations and organizations. Bible teacher Beth Moore was one of those who posted her grief on Twitter.

Sobbing over @rachelheldevans death. My heart is broken for Dan and the children and for all of you who loved her so so much. I will spend the time Ive been daily praying for her praying for all of you.  Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) May 4, 2019

The president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, said he was grieving and asked for prayers and financial support for her family.

. @rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills:https://t.co/LZnq7Z3j0p  Russell Moore (@drmoore) May 4, 2019

Other fans expressed their own grief on social media as news spread about Evans death.

This is such a loss for all of us. I learned so much and was inspired by the writings and life of Rachel Held Evans. :( "Christian writer Rachel Held Evans is dead at 37" https://t.co/j4z1Mk3zVU  Lisa Burgess (@LisaNotes) May 4, 2019

Evans books included including New York Times best-seller A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Searching for Sunday and, most recently, Inspired. She was popular for her Internet blog posts and her support of women in ministry.

Her husband posted on Evans website today that physicians had weaned Evans from her coma medication but she never returned to a wakened state. On Thursday, her condition changed dramatically and her medical team found swelling in Evans brain. They took emergency steps, Evans wrote, but the swelling was not survivable. She died early Saturday morning.

This entire experience is surreal, Evans wrote. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.
Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African American student to attend The University of Alabama, on Friday received an honorary doctoral degree from UA at a commencement ceremony.

The architect of desegregating Alabamas education system, Autherine Lucy Fosters bravery + tenacious spirit paved the way in the face of adversity. #TodayAtUA  a legendary moment as we presented our 1st civil rights trailblazer with an honorary doctoral degree  Her story  http://bit.ly/2IYbnYo  #BamaGrad #WhereLegendsAreMade Posted by The University of Alabama on Friday, May 3, 2019

I love The University of Alabama, and it is an honor to be recognized in this way, said Foster upon learning of the honorary doctoral degree. I am thankful for opportunities such as this, which allow us to talk about the past while looking to the future, said Foster, who believes that while talking about the past may be painful, it is necessary so that none of us forget.

Foster applied to attend the university for graduate school in 1952, but was denied attendance because she was black. A federal court reversed the decision in 1956 and Foster attended class for just three days before she was removed from campus because of threats against her life.

Fosters dismissal was reversed in 1988 and she re-enrolled with her daughter Grazia. The two graduated together in 1991.

Its truly a privilege to award Mrs. Foster with an honorary degree from The University of Alabama, Stuart Bell, UAs president, said. Her tenacious spirit, gracious heart for helping others and unfailing belief in the value of education and human rights positions Mrs. Foster as a meaningful example of what one can achieve in the face of adversity.

Since graduating in 1991, UA has honored Foster for her desegregation efforts by issuing two endowed scholarships in her name every year and erecting two markers on campus.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  A charter plane traveling from Cuba to north Florida ended up in a river at the end of a runway Friday night, officials said.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, crashed into the St. Johns River, according to s Naval Air Station Jacksonville news release.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist. The plane was in shallow water and not submerged. Officials say everyone on the plane was alive and accounted for, although 21 adults were transported to the hospital, none with critical injuries.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted on Twitter that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water.

4. All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all. @JFRDJAX @jaff122  Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) May 4, 2019

Officials didnt immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.
By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented on the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to official Israeli television channel KAN NEWS, Trend reports.



As such, according to the Armenian minister, Israels arms trade leads to the destruction of the Armenian people, and the arms race in the region does not serve to establish peace and security.

Commenting on these statements about the arms race in the region, Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys press service Leyla Abdullayeva said that this is primarily a consequence of the aggressive policy of Armenia, which captured and held one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

"The situation is also aggravated by total ethnic cleansing in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. That is, it is a matter of causal relationships of events taking place in the region. In the absence of a policy of territorial claims, military aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing, there will be no need for an arms race, and this will lead to the establishment of peace and security in the region. In his interview, the Armenian Foreign Minister also states that Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and security in the region, seeking the resolution of the conflict on the grounds acceptable to all parties. However, speaking of the acceptability of the decision suiting all parties, Minister Mnatsakanyan deliberately keeps quiet about the principled position of the world community about the need for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population including the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is one of two parties interested in the resolution of the conflict. As is known, all relevant decisions and resolutions of international organizations, primarily the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. Currently, it is still possible to achieve tangible results in advancing the negotiation process through the manifestation of political will in achieving the necessary conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. These are the expectations of Azerbaijan and the entire world community from the political leadership of Armenia. But time is a factor, and it is obvious that it works against Armenia, the aggressor," said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

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.
An Alabama lawmaker this week defended his kill them now or kill them later criticism of strict abortion legislation pending in the Legislature, and more details emerged about horrific conditions in state prisons reported by the U.S. Justice Department.

Measles remained a hot topic of conversation as officials continued to clarify which adults may need measles vaccine and which ones probably dont.

Readers in Alabama and across the nation also were shocked by the death of a Delta Force commander in a lawn mower accident at his home.

Mother of measles victim attacked online

The mother of the 5-month girl confirmed as Alabamas first case of the measles was attacked online for her comments related to vaccinations. Audrey Peine of Pell City wrote in a now-private Facebook post that she did everything to protect her daughter Emma before her diagnosis. She blamed negligent parents who didnt vaccinate their own kids.

Lawmaker defends abortion comments

An Alabama lawmaker is defending comments that on Wednesday quickly shook the hornets nest of the abortion ban debate. So you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later, State Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said in a video posted on Twitter.

On Thursday, Rogers defended the statement, arguing Alabama does not value life despite the House having just passed what some say is one of the strictest abortion laws in America.

Inmates mom: I dont want my son dead

Linda Donahoo says she occasionally gets phone calls from inmates at Easterling Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Thats where her son Shannon is imprisoned.

The phone calls are simple: Send money, or your son could die.

She says she sent $300 last time. Shes sent larger sums over the years - $400, $500. The money is sent through Green Dot, Pay Pal, Western Union or Walmart cards.

Here are Alabamas top 56 high schools in 2019

U.S. News and World Report came out with its list of the best high schools in America this week and Alabama had one high school----Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery ranked 13th in the nation--- near the top of the national list.

The next-closest Alabama school in the national ranking is Mountain Brook High School, located in the states wealthiest suburb and ranked 213th out of more than 17,000 schools nationwide.

This is the first time the list includes nearly every high school, up from last years ranking of 2,700 schools. The new methodology relies heavily on student access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and tests, state standardized test results, and graduation rates.

Former Delta Force commander dies in accident

A retired Army Major General and one-time commander of the elite Delta Force died in a lawnmower accident at his Alabama home, according to reports. Retired Major Gen. Eldon Bargewell, 72, died Monday after his lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his house in Eufaula,

According to his military biography, Bargewell enlisted in the Army in 1967 and served in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. According to the award citation, Bargewell placed a deadly volume of machine gun fire on the enemy during an attack, despite being wounded himself. He later refused medical treatment in order to defend the area and allow the safe extraction of his team.
The introduction of tolls for the new Interstate 10 bridge and the Wallace Tunnel has sparked concern among state transportation officials about toll-averse drivers changing their commutes and traveling on free roads.

In Mobile, expectations are for a traffic surge onto the Spanish Fort Causeway and Interstate 165 toward the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.

And that is the same bridge that leads into the heart of Africatown, a mostly black, low-income community that has long found itself forced to co-exist with the pollution and industrial stench of paper mills, oil storage farms and chemical plants, and the all-hours noise from big trucks moving back and forth.

We are sick and tired of being dumped on, said Ruth Ballard, a resident of the Africatown-Plateau community three miles north of downtown Mobile for most of her 83 years.

We have nothing

The Alabama Department of Transportation is aware of the concerns, and has met with residents in the community. The state is looking for ways to mitigate the potential new river of traffic through the community.

An ongoing analysis by ALDOT, as part of an environmental impact statement process for the massive $2.1 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, will be discussed during two separate public hearings this week: 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Spanish Fort Community Center and 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the Mobile Civic Center.

The meetings will focus on topics addressed in the supplemental draft analysis, released in March. The 200-plus-page document contained a chapter dedicated to environmental justice and focused on the bridges effects in Africatown-Plateau. The historic communitys roots reach back to the 1860s, when the survivors of the last known slave ship into the U.S., the Clotilda, settled within the area after the Civil War.

Many descendants of these original families still live in Africatown today.

In the past half-century, residents have struggled amid what they claim is an inundation of heavy industry. Some protest that dumping and discharges have spiked the cancer rate; there is persistent suspicion of International Paper, which closed more than two decades ago: An ongoing lawsuit maintains that the company is responsible for dangerous toxins in the communitys midst.

At one time we had a viable community, said Ballard. We had grocery stores and everything. We didnt have to leave the area. Now we have to leave the area for everything. Doctor trips, the cleaners. We have to leave to go to a service station. We have nothing out here.

Community benefits agreement

A map of the Africatown-Plateau community's boundaries north of Mobile, Ala., in relation with the preferred route for the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge. (map courtesy of the Alabama Department of Transportation).

ALDOT has met with the community on multiple occasions within the past year, highlighted by a March 19 meeting at Union Missionary Baptist Church.

About 50 people attended, and ideas were floated to include traffic signal adjustments, new traffic lights, and crosswalks.

But the idea that packs the most intrigue is a request for ALDOT and its future toll operator to consider the creation of a community benefits agreement.

Under the agreement, a portion of the revenue generated from the new toll roads would be reinvested in the areas where toll diversion could result in more congestion  Africatown, Spanish Fort, downtown Mobile, to name a few.

The suggestion was included in a letter sent Thursday to ALDOTs I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening spokeswoman Allison Gregg.

ALDOT, as a way to pay for the new six-lane, 215-foot-high bridge across the Mobile River and eight-lane Bayway, is pitching tolls that would cost $3 to $6 for a one-way trip. The plan calls for segmented tolling, in which the total fee is based on how far someone travels along the 10-mile length of the Bayway project stretching from Virginia Street in Mobile to U.S. 98 in Daphne.

ALDOT is also exploring a 15% discount for local drivers who would use the Bayway and Bridge when taking 20 or more trips.

The tolls, which would be assessed on the new bridge and the Wallace Tunnel, has generated concern among ALDOT officials and the public about pushing more traffic to the non-tolled roads. Interstate 165 and New Bay Bridge Road  the main routes leading motorists to the non-tolled Cochrane-Africatown Bridge -- are likely to bear the most traffic.

Ramsey Sprague, president of the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, said the Africatown community views the toll revenues as something that should be reinvested into communities dealing with the new traffic.

The letter to Gregg, signed by Sprague and other Africatown leaders, does not say what this reinvestment should entail.

Separate from the community benefits agreement, Sprague and his group are requesting infrastructure improvements that include putting timers on the traffic lights at Magazine Street at the foot of the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge. They also want more crosswalks to the historic Old Plateau Graveyard, the resting place of many of the enslaved Africans borne here by the Clotilda.

Africatown has a number of needs that are severe and when the community approaches the city to discuss these things, they say there is only so much money to go around, Sprague said. The community needs to attract grocery stores, small businesses and to do that, you need existing store fronts. You need something to attract business.

Cleon Jones, president of the Africatown Community Development Corporation (ACDC) who is a famous father-figure in the neighborhood best known as a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York Miracle Mets, said he thinks the community benefits agreement is a great idea.

Jones and the ACDC have voiced support for progress projects in Africatown.

You cannot take from communities all the time, Jones said. Something has to be given back to the community. The concession from tolls  some of that, if its given back to the community to help facilitate the needs in the community and help with its growth, I think its a great idea.

ALDOT reactions

Gregg said that ALDOT is well-aware of the community benefits agreement suggestion, but isnt committing to it.

She said that toll revenues, as currently planned, will be reinvested in paying for the massive project that  without a toll system  would likely never get off the drawing board.

As for the concept of funding for Africatown, Gregg said, We just dont have a plan for that right now. It would need to be further explored.

She added, We have mitigation efforts that are a part of the project.

Indeed, ALDOT is considering several elements to help resolve the projected traffic surge, such as new signals at a four-way stop outside Union Baptist Church.

Projections show that with or without the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project, congestion is expected to rise along Bay Bridge Road within Africatown.

Jones pointed out that the new traffic wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing: As more drivers see Africatown, interest and tourism will rise, especially with the prospects of a new $3.5 million welcome center forthcoming.

Another tourism possibility exists if ALDOT decides to construct a bicycle-pedestrian pathway in Africatown leading onto the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. The current plan from the state provides for a bike-pedestrian path for the area.

The community was very supportive of that idea, said Gregg.

Jones predicts the commercial trucking industry preferring to pay for the toll costs, and not diverting off I-10 for an out-of-the-way non-tolled route to I-165.

It depends on how you look at it, said Jones. If I had a choice, I would take the non-tolled road to go home if I lived (in the Eastern Shore). But if I was a truck driver, the toll would not be a problem for me and I would take the bridge.

Tolls for semi-tractor trailers weighing more than 80,000 pounds or requiring a special permit to drive, are estimated to cost $36.

Gregg said ALDOT was unsure as to how the trucking industry will react to the proposed toll fee.

We are working with the trucking industry, she said. Its a question of time versus money and whats more important to you  getting through and paying the toll or taking the time to divert through the toll-free route. That is up to the individual drivers to make that kind of judgement call for themselves.

Gregg said that ALDOT does anticipate fewer hazardous material vehicles traveling through Africatown. Currently, trucks carrying hazardous materials are prohibited from traveling through either the Wallace or Bankhead tunnels.

We anticipate seeing less of those vehicles cutting through that community, she said.
As white supremacy reigns supreme in the US, a new book seeks to bring back to the fore one of its ideological branches.

In March this year, a new volume called, The Four Horsemen, hit the book market in the United States. The book boasts an introduction by British comedian Stephen Fry, three essays and the transcript of the 2007 recorded discussion among four proponents of the so-called new atheism  Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens.

Prior to this encounter, all four had authored books arguing that religion and holy war pose the greatest threat to human civilisation and therefore, religiosity should not be tolerated in Western societies.

Their works  Dawkinss, The God Delusion, Harriss, The End of Faith, Dennetts, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and Hitchenss, God Is Not Great  were all essentially written as a blind reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and all zoomed in on Islam and the Muslim world, demonstrating a remarkable ignorance of both.

Needless to say, none of the four was able to offer any serious historical understanding of this terror act, why it happened, what it meant, or how to prevent similar acts of wanton violence in the future. Nor did they make any intellectually challenging or noteworthy contribution to the millennia-old debate on belief and disbelief in God.

That publishers have chosen to resurrect, today, this 12-year-old Islamophobic backslapping session advertised as a landmark discussion about modern atheism is indeed quite telling. With white supremacy currently flourishing in the US and elsewhere, a book on new atheism  a pseudo-intellectual movement that has heavily contributed to its rise  would surely sell.

Spectacular ignorance

Before proceeding any further, let us be clear: Atheism as such is a perfectly healthy proposition and the world, including the Muslim part of it, has never been devoid of atheists  all the power to them.

Across religions and cultures, there are decent and reasonable atheists, as there are equally decent and reasonable believers, who can and should openly engage in debate about religion and the belief in God without succumbing to hatred and convictions in ones supremacy. Such open and honest conversations are indeed healthy for any community or nation and should be encouraged.

But what the so-called four horsemen have engaged in during their 2007 discussion and in their public appearances and writings, is not an open and honest debate. Instead, the entirety of their work is just a vicious attack on a 1.5-billion-strong, immensely diverse and dynamic community.

So who are these four new atheist crusaders (yes, they may deny it, but they are indeed very much the product of the white Western Christian crusader tradition)? They are all white older men, who have never embarked on studying Islam, do not speak Arabic  the language of the Quran  and certainly have no special insight into any Muslim community on earth. They are, literally, illiterate.

Let us take Sam Harris, for example. In his book, End of Faith, he dedicates a whole chapter to the The Problem with Islam. There, he explains that: While Christianity has few living inquisitors today, Islam has many  In our opposition to the world view of Islam, we confront a civilization with an arrested history. It is as though a portal in time has opened, and fourteenth-century hordes are pouring into our world. Unfortunately, they are now armed with twenty-first-century weapons. One is left breathless considering whether to address the unabashed racism, the astonishing ignorance, or the barefaced vulgarity of such utterances.

The other rabid Islamophobe, Dawkins uses the infamous Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, which sparked mass protests in a few Muslim countries, to portray in his book, The God Delusion, all Muslims as a gang of delusional psychopaths. In his opinion: Danes just live in a country with a free press, something that people in many Islamic countries might have a hard time understanding. With this one sentence, Dawkins tries (but fails) to erase the long and sustained history of Muslims struggle for freedom of expression and truthful journalism.

In Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Dennett, too, engages in some sweeping and vastly inaccurate conclusions. For example, he makes the following mind-boggling observation: It is worth recalling that the Arabic word Islam means submission. The idea that Muslims should put the proliferation of Islam ahead of their own interests is built right into the etymology of its name. Yet, Islam means submission to the will of God, which is a central theological pillar in many religions and which has nothing to do with proliferation of Islam.

Last but not least, Hitchens is equally creative with his spurious conclusions about Islam in God Is Not Great. Just one example would suffice: Real horror of the porcine is manifest all over the Islamic world. One good instance would be the continued prohibition of George Orwells Animal Farm, one of the most charming and useful fables of modern times, of the reading of which Muslim schoolchildren are deprived.

I am a Muslim. I was born and raised in a Muslim country. I read Orwells Animal Farm in Persian in Iran when I was a teenager. The book was translated into Persian soon after its publication in English, and ever since has had numerous Persian translations and I, myself, have repeatedly included it in my courses.

New atheism and Western imperialism

In other words, it is quite clear from the writings of the four horsemen that new atheism has little to do with atheism or any serious intellectual examination of the belief in God and everything to do with hatred and power.

Indeed, new atheism is the ideological foregrounding of liberal imperialism whose fanatical secularism extends the racist logic of white supremacy. It purports to be areligious, but it is not. It is, in fact, the twin brother of the rabid Christian conservatism which currently feeds the Trump administrations destructive policies at home and abroad  minus all the biblical references.

While the right-wing conservatives favour the Judeo-Christian canard (the idea that the Judeo-Christian civilisation is superior to all others), the liberals opt for new atheism (or the idea that secular Western societies are superior to all others). Both, however, are in perfect agreement about their perceived white supremacy, which supposedly gives them the right to wreak havoc across the world as they please. That is  they are the two faces of that same cheap imperialist coin.

And just as religious white supremacy encourages individual and state-sponsored violence against those perceived as inferior, so does its new atheist version. Historically, the liberal atheists have always eagerly joined their Christian conservative brethren in the battle call in advance of any US aggression anywhere in the world.

However, this is, not to say that such deadly fanaticism occurs only in the US (and by extension Europe). Militant Islamism and extremist Zionism have the same exact roots. If Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden are the symbols of Muslim fanaticism, Meir Kahane, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked, and Naftali Bennett are the prime examples of the Zionist equivalent, while the four horsemen, along with Steve Bannon, Mike Pompeo et al are the flag bearers of secular-Christian imperialism in full power.

In the raging battle between these hateful, toxic ideologies, they thrive and feed off of each other. Caught in the crossfire of this clash of ignorance and barbarity, are billions of human beings  Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists  who pay the price with their lives.

Thus, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in the US, Brenton Tarrant who massacred 51 Muslims during Friday prayers in New Zealand, members of National Thowheed Jamath, who murdered 257 people during the Easter massacre in Sri Lanka and the Israeli soldiers who over the past year have slain more than 260 unarmed Palestinian during right of return protests at the Israel-Gaza fence are all kindred souls.

In todays world, mass murder and religious and secular fanaticism go hand-in-hand.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Said Bouteflika was seen as Algerias de facto ruler after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013.

Algerian police have arrested former President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas youngest brother alongside two former intelligence chiefs, according to local media.

Said Bouteflika, General Bachir Athmane Tartag and General Mohamed Mediene were taken into custody for questioning on Saturday, the private Ennahar TV reported.

The younger Bouteflika, who served as adviser to the president for more than a decade, is seen by many as having taken de facto control of the North African state, after his brother suffered a crippling stroke in 2013.

Massive ongoing protests calling for a radical change pushed the ailing president to resign on April 2, but demonstrators continue to demand the removal of all those linked to the former administration.





Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, a former associate of President Bouteflika, came to the fore in late March after he broke ranks with the ailing leader, and called on him to step down. The president resigned five days later.

The 79-year-old Gaid Salah has since sought to win the confidence of demonstrators by vowing to prosecute members of the old guard suspected of corruption.

But the arrest of more than half a dozen prominent businessmen seen as close to the presidential clan has largely failed to appease protesters, who continue to take to the streets demanding a complete overhaul of the political system.

On Friday, during the eleventh straight week of demonstrations, some protesters called on Gaid Salah to resign. They held up banners accusing him of failing to take on senior figures in the Bouteflika government, including the presidents brother.

Others held placards reading No to military rule.

North Africa analyst Rochdi Alloui said that, in prosecuting members of the ruling elite, Gaid Salah was hoping to set himself further apart from Bouteflikas immediate entourage and signal both his readiness and credibility to negotiate a transition with the opposition.

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An important question that we should ask is what these arrests mean to the popular movement, Alloui said.

Honestly, it offers an opening for negotiations between Gaid Salah and some of the leaders in the movement.

Gaid Salah had previously criticised the younger Bouteflika, without ever citing him, instead describing the 61-year-old as the head of the gang that was running the country.
Brazilian president drops plan to attend New York gala in his honour, citing resistance and deliberate attacks.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has cancelled a trip to the United States after major protests in New York City prompted several companies to withdraw sponsorship for a gala event in his honour.

Bolsonaro, who was named 2019 Person of the Year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, was due to receive the award at a May 14 event in New York.

But on Friday, Bolsonaros spokesperson Otavio Rego Barros said the president would not attend the gala, citing resistance and deliberate attacks by the New York mayor and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organise, sponsor and host the event annually.

Bill de Blasio, New Yorks mayor, welcomed the announcement, saying Bolsonaro just learned the hard way that New Yorkers dont turn a blind eye to oppression.

We called his bigotry out. He ran away. Not surprised  bullies usually cant take a punch. Jair Bolsonaro, Good riddance. Your hatred isnt welcome here, de Blasio said in a Tweet.

.@jairbolsonaros assault on LGBTQ rights and destructive plans for our planet are reflected in too many leaders  including many here in our country. EVERYONE must stand up, speak out and fight back against this reckless hate. https://t.co/JX96ZokYfB  Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 4, 2019

Bolsonaro swept to power in a highly divisive October election on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption and tough on crime ticket.

He is revered by his supporters for his outspoken pro-gun, conservative family values and military stances but is despised by critics for his frequent homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks.

Bad for Brazil

The gala was originally scheduled to be held at New Yorks Museum of Natural History. But the venue ditched the event last month amid heavy criticism for potentially hosting Bolsonaro, who has pushed to deregulate existing environmental policy since taking office.

In particular, Bolsonaros plan to open up the Amazon for commercial activities such as mining, logging and farming has drawn fierce censure from scientists, climate activists and environmental NGOs.

At the time, de Blasio praised the museums move, denouncing the 64-year-old Brazilian leader as a dangerous man.

The event was then moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, prompting protesters to gather outside the venue seeking the galas complete cancellation.

Amid the demonstrations, major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week pulled their support for the event.

Analysts said the events in New York were bad for Bolsonaro and bad for Brazil.

This is a direct result of Bolsonaros rhetoric and it is something that he will have to deal with in the upcoming years; he might change his narrative and try to demonstrate more empathy to some topics, or he might present it as an attack on him and spin it around, Thiago de Aragao, director at the Brasilia-based political consultancy Arko Advice, told Al Jazeera.

Bolsonaro-Trump ties

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce confirmed the event will still take place as planned, however, with Bolsonaro now set to be acknowledged in absentia for his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro has actively courted a closer relationship with the US since assuming office and repeatedly expressed admiration for President Donald Trump.

The pair met for talks at the White House in March, after which the Brazilian leader said the two countries were tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news.

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Mauricio Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaros cancelled visit to New York was an embarrassment for his administration as it seeks to pivot to Washington.

Bolsonaro is facing an international backlash that is without precedent for any democratic Brazilian president, Santoro told Al Jazeera, adding more censure and protest would likely accompany the presidents overseas trips in the future.

In general, Brazil has had quite a lot of soft power abroad  and that has been important for Brazilian foreign policy, but its very different with Bolsonaro, he added.

If he goes on with the kind of policies he is pursuing concerning the environment, education, human rights, and sexual and ethnic minorities we are going to see many other cases of international reaction against him  its a difficult moment in Brazil right now.
Nearly 30 people killed in the two South Asian countries as the strongest storm in years hits the Indian subcontinent.

Cyclone Fani, the strongest storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in five years, has barrelled into Bangladesh after leaving a trail of deadly destruction across the eastern coast of India.

At least 16 people died in India, mostly in the worst-hit state of Odisha, Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler said on Saturday, citing local Indian media reports.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said at least 12 people died and scored of others wounded as Fani swung northeastwards into the country.

At least four of those deaths were reported from Kishorganj district in central Bangladesh. They died after they were struck by lightning. There have been heavy rains and storm here since Friday noon, the districts Deputy Commissioner Sarwar Murshed Chowdhury told Al Jazeera.

Kabir Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Barguna district, said an elderly woman and her grandson died around 3 am on Saturday morning after a tree fell on their tin-shed home.

Millions moved to safety

Over a million people were moved to safety, Bangladeshi officials said, a massive evacuation exercise also followed in Indias Odisha state, where a similar cyclone 20 years ago had killed 10,000 people.

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After it made landfall early on Friday, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a Deep Depression by the Indian Meteorological Department as the storm moved inland over Bangladesh.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladeshs low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.

We are mooring our boat because its the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again, Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP news agency while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

The fear of a major disaster is mostly over as it has weakened, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Al Jazeera.

Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeeras Heidler said the priority for Indian authorities is to reach the areas hit by the monster cyclone.

The biggest concern now is clearing the roads so that they can get to the communities that are cut off, he said, adding that the hardest-hit areas are without electricity.

Heidler said there are also fears over Fani (snakes hood in Bengali) triggering a heavy rainfall or storm surge along the eastern Indian coast.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengals chief minister and a key figure in Indias ongoing general election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Motorcycles lie on a street in Odishas Puri city after Cyclone Fani hit on Friday [AP Photo]

Odisha state worst hit

Worst hit was the Indian state of Odisha where Fani made landfall on Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200km an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and telecommunications.

With power lines down, authorities in Odishas Bhubaneswar city installed these lights on the roads [Subrat Kumar Pati/Al Jazeera]

As authorities assessed the damage, Indian media reported that at least 12 people died across Odisha, with most deaths caused by falling trees.

But a mass evacuation of 1.2 million people in the 24 hours before Fani made landfall averted a greater loss of life.

The seaside temple town of Puri, which lay directly in the path of Fani, suffered extensive damage.

Destruction is unimaginable  Puri is devastated, Odishas Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told Reuters news agency, adding that over a 100 people were injured.

At least six people died in Bhubaneswar, Odishas capital, where fallen trees blocked roads and electricity supply was still to be fully restored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the midst of a general election, said in a tweet that he would visit Odisha on Monday.

Bhubaneswar airport suffered considerable damage, but would re-open on Saturday afternoon, Indias aviation ministry said.

Shelters were set up in schools and other safe buildings to accommodate the evacuees, who included scores of tourists.

Neighbouring West Bengal state escaped substantial damage, but authorities moved nearly 45,000 people to safer locations.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December.

Faisal Mahmud contributed to this report from Dhaka, Bangladesh
The escalation has raised fears that a truce that lasted almost eight months in Idlib will be declared over.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies have intensified their air offensive on the countrys rebel-held northwest for a fifth consecutive day in a widening campaign, killing and wounding dozens and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

After an overnight lull, government and Russian warplanes escalated bombings on Saturday hitting rebel areas in Idlib and the neighbouring province of Hama, aid workers in the area said.

The Syrian military sent new reinforcements towards Idlib, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and hundreds of troops on Saturday.

The official SANA news agency said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement.

But the UN humanitarian coordinator said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months.

Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters.

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Now, the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama, Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the US-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), told Reuters News Agency.

The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse, al-Dbis added.

The recent upsurge in violence is the most serious in Idlib since Russia and Turkey negotiated a ceasefire in September.

The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days.

Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50 while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war, said at least 67 people had been killed.

Medical facilities bombed

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the civil defence director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: Civil defence centres have been targeted directly.

UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaeda-linked fighters attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week, according to the AP news agency.

Idlib is the last major area of Syria still in rebel hands after a string of government offensives backed by Russian air power since 2015 turned the tables in a protracted civil war.

President Bashar al-Assad has regained control over most of the country, with the northeast held by Kurdish groups backed by the United States.

Idlib is held by an array of rebel groups, including the powerful Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of armed groups including those formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

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Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the air attacks with little success.
By 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 on May 4, Trend reports.

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 US has imposed sanctions on Iran, which relies on oil and gas for 80% of its exports. How will this impact the Iranian economy?

Irans economic situation is even more precarious now that US sanctions waivers on eight major buyers of its oil have expired.

Irans oil sales have already fallen by half since Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The end of the sanctions waivers will likely impact the whole region, especially other oil-producing countries.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid explains the economic impact of Washingtons actions.
A court in Iran has sentenced President Hassan Rouhanis younger brother to an unspecified jail term in a corruption case that supporters of the Iranian leader allege is politically motivated.

Hossein Fereydoun, who is also a close confidante of the president, has vowed to appeal the sentence, local media reported on Saturday.

This person [Hossein Fereydoun] was found not guilty on some charges, while he was sentenced to prison on other accusations, Hamidreza Hosseini, a judiciary official, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The trial of Fereydoun, along with six co-defendants, began in February without the judiciary giving details of the charges.

He had initially been held in 2017 on financial crime charges before being released on bail.

Fereydoun, responding to the courts decision on Saturday, said he rejected the ruling.

I strongly and categorically reject allegations against me in the court and some of the media, and Im protesting, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Fereydoun was a senior diplomat who took part in talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Some supporters of Rouhani, who was born Hassan Fereydoun before adopting his new surname, view the charges against his brother as a move by the judiciary to discredit the president.

The judiciary has denied having any political motivation in the cases it tries.
Police say leak from meeting on Chinas Huawei  which felled the defence secretary  is not a criminal offence.

British police have declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms company Huawei, saying the disclosure did not amount to a crime.

In a statement on Saturday, Neil Basu, Britains counterterrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the defence secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act.

No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said.

Opposition politicians had called for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over media reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

The councils discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

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Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office, the assistant commissioner said.

The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Royally screwed

Williamson has strenuously denied he was the source of the leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper and suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

On Saturday, he told the Daily Mail newspaper: I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

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The 42-year-old was once a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was Mays parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

He was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip  tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

May appointed International Development Minister Penny Mordaunt to replace Williamson.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huaweis involvement in developing Britains 5G network due to the firms obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, Mays effective deputy, said on Thursday there were no plans to pass information from an internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.
Weapons test seen by analysts as a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with the US.

North Korea has fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and United States authorities are analysing the details.

If its confirmed that North Korea fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since its November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

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That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from North Korea and a belligerent response from US President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas latest action sent a message after the failed summit between North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump in February when the two disagreed over weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, told Reuters news agency.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to cautiously respond to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Koreas foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japans Foreign Minister Taro Kono and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans defence ministry said in a statement.

Undesired consequences

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

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North Koreas vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the US would face undesired consequences if it fails to present a new position in denuclearisation talks by the end of the year.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, Kim said that peace and security on the Korean Peninsula depended on the US, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.
Fighters in Gaza fire more than 200 rockets into Israel, as Israeli air raids continue to hit besieged enclave.

A pregnant Palestinian woman and her one-year-old niece have been killed in a wave of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, shattering a month-long lull in violence in the besieged enclave.

The bombardment on Saturday came as Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine fired more than 200 rockets towards cities and villages in southern Israel.

At least three Palestinians, including the woman, an infant and a 22-year-old man were killed in the air raids, the health ministry in Gaza said, while 13 others were wounded.

Shrapnel from the Gaza rockets meanwhile wounded two Israelis; one of them was an 80-year-old woman.

The latest escalation comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday. Those killed included two Hamas fighters, who died in an Israeli air raid, and two Palestinian protesters, who were shot dead near Israels fence with Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded with rocket fire on Saturday, promising a broader and more painful response if Israel pursues its aggression.

Israeli military hit back with air raids and tank fire against more than 30 targets belonging to both groups.

Relatives of 22-year-old Emad Naseer mourn during a funeral in the Gaza Strip [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Dangerous situation

Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

Ibtessam Abu Arar, aunt of Siba, the 14-month old infant who died in the Israeli raid, said: The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby.





Siba was being held in the lap of her pregnant aunt Falestine Abu Arar, 37, who was also struck. She died from her wounds hours later, the health ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, it was mistakenly reported that Falestine was Sibas mother.

The Israeli military denied responsibility for the two deaths, blaming a misfiring of a Hamas rocket.

Across the fence, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead, and Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for Israeli military, said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks.

The European Union called for an immediate de-escalation late on Saturday, and threw its backing behind efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to calm the situation.

The rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel must stop immediately. A de-escalation of this dangerous situation is urgently needed to ensure that civilians lives are protected, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU.

Israelis and Palestinians both have the right to live in peace, security and dignity, she added in her statement.

Egyptian mediation

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Some two million Palestinians live in the coastal enclave, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2007.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to the cash-strapped territory.

But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut crossings in and out of Gaza entirely on Saturday.

Smoke rises during Israeli air attacks in Gaza [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israel had also so far failed to facilitate the promised extra funding from Qatar and that other easings of the Israeli siege have not borne fruit either.

Mukhaimer Abu Sadda, a professor of political science at Al Azhar University in the Gaza Strip, said the onus was on Israel to implement the agreements brokered following the March fighting.

Its the Israeli government who has not implemented the latest understandings, Sadda told Al Jazeera.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave.

The latest outbreak of fighting, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, also comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv.

Al Jazeeras Fawcett said the bout of conflict had erupted at a politically sensitive time for the Israelis.

Perhaps the calculation is that Israel wont ramp up this military escalation to the extent of a full conflict because of the concerns about those events and this might be a time to try to get it to follow through on what it reportedly promised at the end of the last military escalation at the beginning of April, he said.
Gazas health ministry says 51 Palestinians were also injured in both incidents.

Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that two demonstrators, Raid Abu Tair, 19, and Ramzi Abdo, 31 were shot dead in the eastern Gaza Strip, near the Israeli fence.

Fridays protests broke out in the afternoon as part of weekly rallies and protests that have been going on since March 30 last year.

Qidra added that another two Palestinians, belonging to Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli air raid on the central Gaza Strip, east of al-Mughazi refugee camp.

They were identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Abu Malooh, 33 and Alaa Ali al-Bubali, 29.

Hamas confirmed the deaths of its members and pledged to respond to what it called an Israeli aggression.

A total of 51 people were also injured in both incidents, the ministry said.

According to the Israeli army, two of its soldiers were injured at the Israeli fence east of Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had hit a base belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its forces along the border.

An army spokesperson said about 5,200 Palestinians had taken part in the demonstrations throughout the day.

As part of the Great March of Return, protesters in the Gaza Strip demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israels 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclaves economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.

The Gaza health ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests last year, the Israeli army has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others, who were officially referred to hospitals.

Israel has waged three offensives on Gaza since December 2008.

The last war in 2014 severely damaged Gazas already weak infrastructure, prompting the United Nations to warn that the strip would be uninhabitable by 2020.
Israeli raid kills Palestinian in Gaza, amid latest flare-up a day after Israel kills four in two separate incidents.

A Palestinian has been killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza Strip, according to Gazas health ministry, amid a fresh escalation between Israels military and Gaza fighters.

Imad Nseir, 22, was killed in Beit Hanoun after Israeli warplanes targeted multiple areas in the besieged enclave on Saturday morning after dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

The latest flare-up comes after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in two separate incidents on Friday.

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza came after an Israeli drone attack in the north of the strip early on Saturday, which injured three people.

We are looking at another military escalation, the first since last months in which we saw another exchange of air raids and rocket fire out of Gaza, which seemed to end with some hopes towards some kind of longer-term resolution, he said.

There was a good deal of reporting about talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt with further relaxing of the situation likely to happen from the Israeli side, he continued.

Hamas says so far all they have seen is the relaxation in maritime controls, allowing fishing out to 15 nautical miles from six, which has now been reduced again.

Rockets fired

The Iron Dome missile system intercepted dozens of projectiles, the Israeli army said, adding that about 90 rockets were fired from the strip. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side, the army also said.

According to Palestinian news agencies, Israeli warplanes targeted an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun, a northern town in the Strip, with multiple air raids following the rocket fire.

Israeli forces at the fence with Gaza also shelled several monitoring outposts east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Gaza health officials also said four Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli raids.

The Iron Dome system intercepted rockets above Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Israelis look on as the anti-missile system intercepts rockets over Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Sirens went off in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, and nearby Zikim beach, located two kilometres north of the Gaza Strip, was also closed off.

Municipality workers told beachgoers to leave following rocket fire in Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza.

The Palestinian Information Center quoted Hamas spokesperson Abdullatif Al-Qanou as saying: The resistance will remain present to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow it to shed the blood of our people.

The Islamic Jihad movement also released a similar statement, saying the resistance is doing its duty to protect and defend our people, adding that it will respond to the [Israeli] aggression to the fullest extent.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in the occupied West Bank has condemned the escalation on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to curb the aggression.

https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1124587570837499904?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents; two of them were shot dead during the weekly Great March of Return protests near the Israeli fence east of Gaza, while an air raid targeting a Hamas outpost killed two members of the movements armed wing.

Raed Abu Tair was killed during a protest at the fence on Friday [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

The Israeli army said it had hit the Hamas base after two of its soldiers were injured by gunfire from Gaza at the Israeli fence.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israels April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

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Israels army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Following the air raid, the Israeli military said two rockets were launched from Gaza toward Israel, setting off sirens in parts of the south.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head, Yahya Sinwar, left the enclave for Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on the truce.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently engaged in negotiations to form a new government following last months election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers intentionally shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report outright but Hamas called for Israel to be held accountable.
The king has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has performed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida on Saturday after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time.

The king appeared dressed in white as he underwent a royal purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The countrys Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the kings body, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members.

Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects.

The kings coronation, after a period of mourning for the late king, comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military government chief and a democratic front trying to push the army out of politics.

King Vajiralongkorn has inherited one of the worlds richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis.

Thai kings coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, signifying that he is the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782.

The monarchy is the only institution in this country that has lasted for more than 700 years, Sulak Siwarak, a historian in Thailand told Al Jazeera.

I think the new king means well about his country. He wants to do something significant.





Royal patron of Buddhism

Saturdays rituals are about transforming him into a Devaraja, or a divine embodiment of the gods.

As the waters started pouring, ancient cannons from the 19th century, used specifically for the coronation, started firing 10 volleys each.

The king will then change into a full uniform and take a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hands in an anointment ritual.

Selected officials, including military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the National Legislative Assembly, and the chairman of the Supreme Court, will pour the waters from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

The waters used in both rituals were collected from 117 sources last month and blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country before they were combined and consecrated.

Before noon, the purified and anointed sovereign will sit under an elaborate nine-tiered umbrella, where he will receive the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week.

The king will also receive and wear five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

Once in full regalia, the king will give his first royal command, a short utterance that will highlight the essence of his reign.

The king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done.
Wine says his supporters relate to him because of his fight against injustice.

Ugandas opposition politician Bobi Wine has told Al Jazeera that he is willing to sit down with President Yoweri Museveni to discuss challenges facing the country.

The popular musician-turned-politician was released after three days in custody for taking part in what the authorities called unlawful protests against a social media tax.

Bobi Wine has support among young Ugandans, many of whom are poor, frustrated and have struggled to find jobs.

Catherine Soi reports from Kampala.
The protest call comes days after Guaidos failed bid to convince the armed forces to rise up against President Maduro.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido will make a fresh bid on Saturday to rally Venezuelas armed forces behind him calling on his supporters to march to military bases and barracks.

The protest call by the head of the National Assembly legislature  who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries  comes just days after he urged the military to rise up against the socialist president.

Peacefully, civically  we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas on Friday.

The call is to add and not to confront, to ask the military to be on the side of the constitution, he said on Twitter.

Calle permanente y sostenida!

Manana a las 10:00 am, todo el pais se moviliza en paz a las principales unidades militares. El llamado es a sumar y no enfrentar, a que se pongan del lado de la constitucion.

Anunciaremos los puntos en @Presidencia_VE. #VzlaEnPieDeLucha  Juan Guaido (@jguaido) May 3, 2019

A small group of military personnel responded to Guaidos call to join him on Tuesday, but the effort petered out, triggering two days of protests against the government in which four people were killed and several hundred injured.

Military supports Maduro

Also on Tuesday, Leopoldo Lopez, a politician and Guaidos mentor who was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017, appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish ambassadors residence.

Venezuelas military has since reiterated its support for the government, and President Maduro is standing his ground.

Do not come to buy us with a dishonest offer, as if we do not have dignity, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said.

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The countrys attorney general Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for civilian and military conspirators following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

However, analysts say the actions of the military reveal the uncertainty of the current situation.

What happened on April 30, displays the fragility of the system at this moment, Ramon Pinango, a Venezuelan sociologist told Al Jazeera.

How is it possible that Leopoldo Lopez was under house arrest, with officers in front of his house, and he was able to walk out, and be in the streets for a good part of the day? he added.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the Constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

The standoff has drawn in major world powers, with the US throwing its support behind Guaido and Russia and China backing Maduro.





The United States has imposed tough sanctions and President Donald Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro out.

But Trump adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone after a more-than-hour-long conversation with Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis, describing the Friday talks with his Russian counterpart as very positive.

He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump said of Putin.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, in Moscow on Sunday.

Interference in internal affairs

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisers, in particular, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The US is insisting Maduros days are numbered, but experts say its options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.
By Trend

Russia did not keep the word it gave to Turkey, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said, Trend reports referring to Turkish media on May 3.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow agreed that with the mediation of Russia, the YPG troops would leave the Syrian district of Tall Rifat. Much to our regret, for the time being, the YPG detachments remain in this district and periodically shell the territories that the Turkish Armed Forces liberated from the terrorists, said Akar.

He added that in general, the joint actions of Turkey and Russia in Syria are aimed at ensuring stability and peace in the region.

On April 30, the Turkish Armed Forces shelled the positions of the Syrian branch of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terrorist network - PYD/YPG in the north of Syria in Azaz and Tall Rifat towns.

The operation to eliminate terrorists began after an attack on a Turkish military convoy, as a result of which one Turkish soldier was killed and three were injured.

On August 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against the "Islamic State", and liberated, with the support of the Syrian opposition, Al-Bab town and the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria.



On January 20, 2018, Turkish Armed Forces together with the Free Syrian Army launched the Olive Branch Operation in Afrin, Syria.
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.
These days in Japan, the attention of most people has been riveted on the historic abdication of one emperor and the ascension to the throne of a new one, whose reign inaugurates the Reiwa era, by the imperial calendar. This occasion seems appropriate for expressing appreciation for the character of Japanese people and their achievements as a nation. I am an American citizen but have spent more than 30 years in this country and often reflect on how fortunate I am to be able to live here.

This appreciation has not at all been dampened by consideration of unpleasant facts about past national wrongdoing. Without a doubt, there have been dark periods in Japanese history, such as the period leading up to World War II. During that interlude, a "holy war" ideology (not the one we are very familiar with nowadays) violently supplanted democratic government and inflicted much harm. Few in Japan want a return to those days.

Multitudes all over the world are attracted by Japanese comic books, animation, and other pop culture icons. Others are fascinated by traditional elements like ninja warriors and haiku poetry. My perspective is different. In my view, the most attractive aspects of the Japanese are qualities like gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition.

To begin with, the Japanese are generally very grateful people. Thankfully, an entitlement mentality does not yet pervade Japanese society. If one is congratulated or thanked in Japan, the appropriate response is often to say "okagesama de," which means something like "it is only thanks to you/everyone." Boastfulness and self-glorifying behavior are usually frowned upon.

Foreigners, including Americans, also experience this kind of gratitude from people. In view of the devastation brought on Japan by the American military during World War II, it would not be surprising if there were widespread, deep-rooted resentment toward the U.S., but this is generally not the case. The opposite is true.

In Sapporo, the city where I live, there are monuments in various places to Americans and other Westerners who helped modernize and advance Japanese education, agriculture, and industry, such as statues of William S. Clark, who started Sapporo Agricultural College in the nineteenth century, the origin of present-day Hokkaido University. His parting words to his students  "Boys, be ambitious!"  are legendary throughout Japan. Likewise, a museum in Sapporo commemorates Edwin Dun, an American rancher who came to Hokkaido to develop livestock farming. Even in small towns here, one often finds replicas of the Statue of Liberty and American flags on display. In the town of Kutchan, I once encountered a laundry named "America."

Along with this, Christianity is generally appreciated, since its influence helped to remedy some of the feudalistic features of Japanese society, including the low status of women. Education for women in Japan was pioneered mostly by missionaries and Japanese Christians. My own university began as a girls' school, started by nineteenth-century American missionary Sarah Smith. Many Japanese would be surprised to find out that Western feminists often blame Christianity for oppressing women, since the opposite has been Japan's experience. However, the number of Christian believers in Japan is small.

Though they are often open to ethical reforms, Japanese people value tradition and are basically conservative in outlook. As Scruton observes in England: An Elegy, royal families provide a symbolic link to the past, and Japan's imperial family has also performed that role. There has been nothing akin to the Cultural Revolution in communist China, when many of the young, at the instigation of Mao Zedong, went on a rampage against the "Four Olds" (old ideas, customs, culture, and habits), abusing their elders and destroying many objects associated with China's past. The new imperial name, "Reiwa," comes from an ancient collection of Japanese poetry. In regard to the era name, the current prime minister expressed his hope that Japanese culture and tradition will be passed down to future generations.

Finally, there is the well known civility of Japanese people, still intact though somewhat eroded by social media and other influences. The Japanese tend to make a practice of showing consideration for the feelings, social standing, and reputations of others. Generally speaking, the worst offenders against good manners in Japan come from the minority of political ideologues, delinquents, and criminals. I need not fear that Japanese university students will try to mob me if I say something in class they disagree with. They even make a point of personally thanking me for my teaching efforts.

It is sad to note that gratitude, civility, and respect for tradition used to be more widespread in places like North America and Europe before left-leaning educators, entertainers, activists, politicians, and journalists got to work "fundamentally transforming" things. My hope and prayer is that most Japanese people will continue to capitalize on their strengths and resist the voices advocating unhealthy changes.

Bruce W. Davidson is a professor at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan and a contributor to The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia.
According to Julius Caesar, in first century B.C., Gaul was divided into three parts, though it was probably more accurate to say that all Gaul was at that time divided into five parts. Differences still exist about the origins of France, but generally speaking, the beginning of modern France is seen with the emergence of the Kingdom of France in 987 under Hugh Capet (987-996), who made Paris the power center of the country. He was the first of 14 Capetian kings of a people who regard the Gauls as their ancestors, and their legendary hero Vercingetorix who united the Gauls in revolt against Roman control.

The national myth often rests on shaky foundations. Is France the eldest daughter of the church? Certainly, Notre Dame, started in 1187 and completed a century later, though it has had frequent small changes, was quickly understood as the center of international gothic with its perfect form and style, and its famed gargoyles, flying buttresses, and stained-glass rose windows. It is one of the symbols not just of Paris but of the whole country. Notre Dame was nationalized in November 1789 and is the property of the French state, though its use for religious purposes has been returned to the Catholic Church. Notre Dame therefore is maintained at the expense of the State, mostly by the Ministry of Culture.

Notre Dame has played a conspicuous role in French life. Napoleon was crowned Emperor there in 1804, and a memorial service for Charles de Gaulle took place there on November 12. 1970. It is a great place of worship and seen as a symbol of peace, but it is also a major tourist attraction, the most visited French monument after the Louvre, with 13 million visitors a year. The whole country, indeed the whole world, was traumatized by the event, apparently a tragic accident, on April 15, 2019 when the roof caught fire and caused damage that may be irreparable, though President Emmanuel Macron has vowed it will be restored, irrespective of the cost and within five years.

The interesting thing is the deep concern that a church, though a Gothic jewel, should exist in a secularized country. According to Article 2 of the October 1958 Constitution, France is an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social republic, a modern version of the republican slogan adopted during the days of revolution in 1792. All the main symbols of French pride are political and or military: the main national holiday, July 14, commemorates the storming of the Bastille; the tricolor flag, the motto, Liberty Equality, Fraternity; the national anthem, the Marsellaise, written after the declaration of war against Austria, for the Rhine Army of revolutionary France; the personification of the country, bare-breasted Marianne, a national symbol displayed through the country who in recent years, has taken on, since Brigitte Bardot, the visage of well-known celebrities.

Despite the respect and love exhibited by countless people after the tragic fire at Notre Dame, France is not a Christian country, nor a united one. The struggle between church and state continued through the 19thcentury until the 1905 Law separated them, and church property was confiscated. This is a law of separation, not discrimination, neutral to all religion, and tolerant to all. Reflecting the cultural diversity of France, the law and current practice rests on the principle of laicite, which however differs in interpretation as on the issue of wearing religious symbols in state schools.

However, religion today, apart from the issue of immigration of Muslim Arabs, is not as important or divisive as social and economic ones. President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Notre Dame: It is our history, it is our literature, it is our imagery. Its the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars, to pandemics, to liberations. But he is faced with a number of issues that divide the country.

Macron is a pluralist rather than a populist. His misfortune is to be confronted by the gilets jaunes, the yellow vests, the grassroots movement that began on October 18, 2018, originally motivated by government plans to increase fuel prices. For 24 subsequent weeks thousands have demonstrated in streets in Paris and other cities, blocking roads and fuel depots, and damaging shops and other property, smashing windows, burning cars, using violence against the police. Even on the annual May Day celebrations, thousands of yellow vests took to the street to demonstrate. The protestors, slowly aligning themselves with Frances old leftist organizations, have adopted various formulas: they are underpaid, overtaxed, want a higher minimum wage, more direct democracy, lower taxes but restore the tax on wealth, increase the public sector.

The supposed objective of the yellow vests is to reduce elitism in France, though the paradox is that they are now already a symbol of France.

Macron has been unable to end the demonstrations and the violence. He suggested a great national debate, 10,000 local debates, though the danger of this is that the process might raise too many grievances, reminding the country of the unhappy past experience when a similar set of grievances led to the cahiers de doleances in 1789 which galvanized a spirit of insurrection and the French Revolution.

So far, the record of Macron is mixed, but so is that of divided France. The French work fewer hours than the OECD average, 14 hours less than the average U.S. figure. France has a higher than average share, 82%, of full-time employees. The working week is three hours shorter than in the U.S. or UK. Its high productivity rate is countered by high unemployment.

Macron remains a puzzling, polarizing figure. He has good, sensible ideas on economic and political reforms in France. He is an internationalist, an advocate of deeper EU integration and global governance, a severe critic of British Brexit policy. On a platform of freedom, protection, progress he has called for more border controls, higher taxes for global tech companies, an EU-wide minimum wage, and a European innovation council to fund business investment.

He is also an elitist, overconfident, the youngest French president ever, accused of hubris. He is essentially a part of the French meritocratic elite, a brilliant technocrat, investment banker, millionaire. He resurrected the Palace of Versailles, seat of monarchy, as the place for summits. For a number of reasons, he has also been accused of lack of concern for civil liberties. In October 2017, an anti-terrorism law increased the power given to police forces. In February 2018, an immigration law weakened the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Macron, the young man in a hurry, has slowed down. Now at 41 he is confronting at least four problems, social, territorial, economic, and democratic. He remains ambitious, as his proposal to criminalize some criticism of Israel as a form of hate speech, and his partnership with Egypt worth millions of euros, show. He is also forthright with his attack on far-right nationalists who he called anger-mongers backed by fake news.

Macrons immediate comment on the Notre Dame tragedy was to call on the nation to unite and rally the country, to rebuild a society of equal opportunity and national excellence. Yet, Macron has been criticized for lack of emotion and connection with people. An interesting test may come over Macrons proposal to close down or radically change the prestigious ENA, a college that trains public servants. Macron is himself a graduate, as are his prime minister, finance, and defense ministers, and six of his top advisers. Will any proposed change satisfy the yellow vests and reduce the gap between the ruling French elite and the workers of France?
Normally, one would expect that a university fortunate enough to get a sitting Supreme Court Justice to join its faculty would be receiving accolades from its students. But of course, these are not normal times. Thus, when George Mason University recently announced that Justice Brett Kavanaugh would co-teach (along with Professor Jennifer L. Mascott) a summer class at its Antonin Scalia Law School, the campus Left was seriously triggered.

Students immediately launched protests, a petition drive, and an ad campaign claiming that they would suffer harm due to the uncorroborated allegations of sexual assault made against Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings last fall.

Reason's Robby Soave described the unhinged response:

'The hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well-being of all survivors on this campus,' said one female student during the public comment period of GMU's board meeting last week Another student, a survivor of sexual violence, claimed that her mental health had already suffered as a result of the Antonin Scalia Law School's decision to hire Kavanaugh. 'It is affecting my mental health knowing that an abuser will be part of our faculty,' she said. A third student said, As someone who has survived sexual assault three times, I do not feel comfortable with someone who has sexual assault allegations walking on campus.'

And it wasnt just students. Professor Bethany Letiecq, president of GMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, actually suggested that the university conduct its own separate investigation of Kavanaugh. It's hard to imagine what such an investigation would even look like, Soave noted, given that the incidents in question do not involve GMU, were made three decades ago, and were already explored by the federal government and the news media.

GMU president Angel Cabrera sought to bring some common sense and civility to the discussion, saying that:

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. 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.

Dr. Cabrera later reiterated his support for Kavanaugh at a town hall organized by GMUs student government, saying that even if the outcome is painful, whats at stake is very, very important for the integrity of the university.

What is so absurd about all this is that Kavanaugh will not be teaching anywhere near the GMU campus in Virginia. The course will be taught in Runnymede, England. In other words, we are being asked to believe that some university students (and professors) will be traumatized by the presence of an individual teaching at a campus 3,600 miles away.

The contretemps may surprise some who think of GMU as a conservative university. However, Walter Williams, the respected professor of economics at GMU, explained that the university's reputation as a bastion of conservatism is somewhat overstated:

George Mason University erroneously earns a reputation as a conservative/libertarian university because of its most distinguished and internationally known liberty-oriented economics department, which can boast of two homegrown Nobel laureates in economics. Its Antonin Scalia Law School has a distinguished faculty that believes in personal liberty and reveres the U.S. Constitution -- unlike many other law schools that hold liberty and our Constitution in contempt. The rest of the university is just like most other universities -- liberal, Democratic Party-dominated. The chief difference between my GMU colleagues and liberals at some other universities is that they are polite, respectful and congenial, unlike what one might find at places like U.C. Berkeley or University of Massachusetts.

The subject of Justice Kavanaugh's course itself might prove triggering to the Left. The course is entitled Creation of the Constitution. According to the course description, students will study the historical origins of the Constitution and read Founding-era documents and debates shaping the content of the document.

Runnymede, where the course will be taught, was the location of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

In his indispensable book, The Roots of American Order, Russell Kirk explained the significance of the Magna Carta [p. 195]:

It became the rock upon which the English constitution was built. It was principle of the supremacy of law: the idea that an enduring law exists, which all men must obey. The king himself is one of those men under the law. Along with this principle ran the corollary principle -- that if the king breaks the law, and invades the rights of his vassals, then barons and people may deprive him of his powers. From this principle, the whole English constitution -- an unwritten constitution in the sense that it can be found in no single document -- developed in time. This principle would be asserted by the Americans in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; it is the root of the Declaration of Independence.

This is our shared heritage, the British legal system, the foundation of America's freedom. Recently, Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner for the presidency, said that our "English jurisprudential culture" should be changed, although he declined to say what he might replace it with. Biden ought to take some time to visit Runnymede this summer and audit Justice Kavanaugh's class. He just might learn something.

You can follow Nicholas J. Kaster on Twitter.
On April 6, 2019, AT published the article, On Joe McCarthy, Washington Post Gets It Embarrassingly Wrong, by the estimable Jack Cashill. It drew hundreds of comments, which were overwhelmingly laudatory of McCarthy. The relatively few anti-McCarthy comments were pounced on by the McCarthy partisans.

McCarthys (few) detractors in the comments section of that article included this writer. My comments against McCarthy drew lots of ire and opprobrium from his fans. I thought that it would be best to write a rejoinder.

Perhaps my disdain for McCarthy is almost genetic, for it comes from my late fathers personal knowledge of him. My father, Lt. Col. Anthony R. Nollet, was a Marine Corps aviator and knew McCarthy well, they having served together in the same squadron that flew Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers in the South Pacific. McCarthy was the Air Intelligence Officer for that squadron. My father passed on to posterity three stories about McCarthy, based on his personal observations. Perhaps this oral history has predisposed me to despise McCarthy.

THE CARD SHARP

McCarthy was a ferocious poker player -- and a cheater and a welsher on his poker debts. He left the South Pacific owing his fellow officers some $4,000 in unredeemed markers from poker games.

Today, that would be less than a months pay for an O-2 with under two years military experience, which is what McCarthy and most of his fellow officers were. But during world War II, the monthly basic pay for such officers was all of $166.67. At this salary rate, McCarthy left the South Pacific owing two years pay.

There was, of course, no way that the Marine Corps could force McCarthy to honor his debts. This is because gambling for money was illegal, and the Marine Corps cannot enforce illegal contracts. The only factor compelling any officer to discharge such debts is his own integrity. Honorable officers pay their gambling debts and dishonorable ones dont. McCarthy didnt.

And dont ask me for evidence, either, for there is none. The last surviving aviator of the Black Sheep Squadron, the sister squadron of my fathers SBD squadron, died five years ago, and probably all my fathers squadronmates likewise have passed on. Perhaps some of the enlisted men are still with us.

But there is indirect evidence. The two great poker players of 20th-Century American politics were Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy. Nixon was so good at it he was able to use his winnings from the Pacific War to finance his first campaign for Congress. And McCarthy was so good that before the war, he was able to finance his way through the Marquette University Law School with winnings acquired in the gambling halls of Wisconsin. Historian Arthur Herman describes McCarthys poker style as demonic. That is, McCarthy played poker the same way he played his politics: with bluster, boisterousness, intimidation, and lots of bluffing for high stakes. Herman also says that McCarthy cheated whenever he thought he could get away with it and thought it was a hoot whenever he was caught. It is easy to envision such a man eagerly participating in the poker games of the Marine Air Wing in which he and my father served. (Nixon at least couldnt have defaulted on his poker debts, since he was able to bring back enough money from the Pacific to run for Congress.)

THE SHYSTER

After the war, my father and McCarthy found themselves together again -- in Camp Pendleton, California. The Marine Corps thought that a former Wisconsin judge like McCarthy would be perfect to serve in the bases Legal Department pending his discharge. My father was there awaiting the decision on whether he wouldnt be demobilized and discharged.

A M arine corporal was facing court-martial for beating up an illegal Mexican immigrant. Nowadays, such offenses would be within the jurisdiction of the State of California, but not so in 1945. McCarthy was assigned to be the corporals defense attorney.

McCarthy found a typically devious and, well, McCarthyite way to win a trial victory: he went to the Mexicans hospital room and said to him, Here, spic, take this $50 and get back to Mexico, or Ill have you arrested and deported. The Mexican accepted the stipend and did just that, after he was discharged from the hospital. Without a complaining witness, the case against the corporal collapsed. McCarthy wins again!

Dont ask for evidence here, either. There isnt even indirect evidence. I now regret that I never thought to ask my father how he knew of the story. Perhaps McCarthy boasted of it; it would be like him.

THE DRINKING MAN

Fast-forward eight years, to 1953. By this time, my father had not only been permitted to remain in the Marine Corps, he had also earned a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. And on March 5, 1953 (the day Stalin died), Polish pilot Francizek Jarecki defected by flying his MiG-15bis from Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. They sent my father to help evaluate the MiG-15.

When my father returned to the USA, they sent him to Washington to give testimony about the MiG to Congress. And when in the Capitol Building, he was surprised to run into his old squadronmate from the South Pacific, none other than Joseph R. McCarthy himself, now a U.S. senator.

McCarthy remembered his old comrade and greeted him most jovially. He said, Ello there, Owlet [sic], owre you doing? Perhaps one reason McCarthy mangled the pronunciation of my fathers name is that even though it was only midday, McCarthy was already stinking drunk.

And no, dont ask me for evidence about that one, either. There would have been no witnesses. Although indirect evidence does exist for this one as well, in that McCarthy is well known to have died a roaring, angry alcoholic.

I already know what McCarthys partisans are going to say: Wheres the proof? If theres no proof, then it cant be true. And I reply by stipulating that of course there is no proof in the formal sense. But I will add that I hope that McCarthys partisans can sympathize with me that if my father said it, then I take it to the bank. No matter how correct McCarthy was about Communists in the United States government -- and for the most part, he was correct -- he was still a scoundrel.

Ill go farther. I say that not only was McCarthy a scoundrel, he was the worst internal enemy that the United States ever had during the Cold War. Through his demagoguery, his bullying, his reckless accusations -- a few of them against innocent men -- and his alcohol-fueled rages, he gave respectable conservatism and anti-Communism a black name from which they arguably have not recovered to this day. Even seventy years later, shrieks of McCarthyism! continue to be the Lefts favorite dog whistle to stifle conservative opposition. McCarthy made our eventual victory in the Cold War harder and more costly, because we conservatives had to fight on with his albatross around our necks.

So hail and farewell, Joe McCarthy. We did it without you. More precisely, we did it despite you. That is, we triumphed over Communism and won the Cold War anyway, and we did it despite all the difficulties that you threw in our way by bringing our cause into such disrepute. My father saw right through you and had your number.

Thanks for nothing, Tail Gunner Joe.

The author is an Iowa truck driver known to some AT readers as "Kzintosh."
Last April 24 was Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Millions of Armenians around the world remembered how the Islamic Ottoman Empire killed  often cruelly and out of religious hatred  some 1.5 million of their ancestors during World War I.

Ironically, most people, including most Armenians, are unaware that the first genocide of Christian Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks did not occur in the twentieth century. Rather, it began in 1019  exactly one thousand years ago this year  when Turks first began to pour into and transform a then much larger Armenia into what it is today, the eastern portion of modern-day Turkey.

Thus, in 1019, "the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts ... the savage nation of infidels called Turks entered Armenia ... and mercilessly slaughtered the Christian faithful with the sword," writes Matthew of Edessa (d. 1144), a chief source for this period. Three decades later, the raids were virtually nonstop. In 1049, the founder of the Turkic Seljuk Empire himself, Sultan Tughril Bey (r. 10371063), reached the unwalled city of Arzden, west of Lake Van, and "put the whole town to the sword, causing severe slaughter, as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons."

After thoroughly plundering the city  which reportedly contained eight hundred churches  he ordered it set ablaze and turned into a desert. Arzden was "filled with bodies," and none "could count the number of those who perished in the flames." The invaders "burned priests whom they seized in the churches and massacred those whom they found outside. They put great chunks of pork in the hands of the undead to insult us"  Muslims deem the pig unclean  "and made them objects of mockery to all who saw them."

Eight hundred oxen and forty camels were required to cart out the vast plunder, mostly taken from Arzden's churches. "How to relate here, with a voice stifled by tears, the death of nobles and clergy whose bodies, left without graves, became the prey of carrion beasts, the exodus of women ... led with their children into Persian slavery and condemned to an eternal servitude! That was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia," laments Matthew. "So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital."

Contemporaries confirm the devastation visited upon Arzden. "Like famished dogs," writes Aristakes (d. 1080), an eyewitness, "bands of infidels hurled themselves on our city, surrounded it and pushed inside, massacring the men and mowing everything down like reapers in the fields, making the city a desert. Without mercy, they incinerated those who had hidden themselves in houses and churches."

Similarly, during the Turkic siege of Sebastia (modern-day Sivas) in 1060, six hundred churches were destroyed, and "many [more] maidens, brides, and distinguished ladies were led into captivity to Persia." Another raid on Armenian territory saw "many and innumerable people who were burned [to death]." The atrocities are too many for Matthew to recount, and he frequently ends in resignation:

Who is able to relate the happenings and ruinous events which befell the Armenians, for everything was covered with blood[.] ... Because of the great number of corpses, the land stank, and all of Persia was filled with innumerable captives; thus this whole nation of beasts became drunk with blood. All human beings of Christian faith were in tears and in sorrowful affliction, because God our creator had turned away His benevolent face from us.

Nor was there much doubt concerning what fueled the Turks' animus: "This nation of infidels comes against us because of our Christian faith and they are intent on destroying the ordinances of the worshippers of the cross and on exterminating the Christian faithful," one David, head of an Armenian region, explained to his countrymen. Therefore, "it is fitting and right for all the faithful to go forth with their swords and to die for the Christian faith." Many were of the same mind; records tell of monks and priests, fathers, wives, and children, all shabbily armed but zealous to protect their way of life, coming out to face the invaders  to little avail.

Anecdotes of faith-driven courage also permeate the chronicles. During the first Turkic siege of Manzikert in 1054, when a massive catapult pummeled and caused its walls to quake, a Catholic Frank holed up in with the Orthodox Armenians volunteered to sacrifice himself: "I will go forth and burn down that catapult, and today my blood shall be shed for all the Christians, for I have neither wife nor children to weep over me." The Frank succeeded and returned to gratitude and honors. Adding insult to injury, the defenders catapulted a pig into the Muslim camp while shouting, "O sultan [Tughril], take that pig for your wife, and we will give you Manzikert as a dowry!" "Filled with anger, Tughril had all Christian prisoners in his camp ritually decapitated."

Between 1064 and 1065, Tughril's successor, Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri  known to posterity as Alp Arslan, a Turkish honorific meaning "Heroic Lion"  "going forth full of rage and with a formidable army," laid siege to Ani, the fortified capital of Armenia, then a great and populous city. The thunderous bombardment of Muhammad's siege engines caused the entire city to quake, and Matthew describes countless terror-stricken families huddled together and weeping.

Once inside, the Islamic Turks  reportedly armed with two knives in each hand and an extra in their mouths  "began to mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants of the entire city ... and piling up their bodies one on top of the other[.] ... Beautiful and respectable ladies of high birth were led into captivity into Persia. Innumerable and countless boys with bright faces and pretty girls were carried off together with their mothers."

The most savage treatment was always reserved for those visibly proclaiming their Christianity: clergy and monks "were burned to death, while others were flayed alive from head to toe." Every monastery and church  before this, Ani was known as "the City of 1,001 Churches"  was pillaged, desecrated, and set aflame. A zealous jihadi climbed atop the city's main cathedral "and pulled down the very heavy cross which was on the dome, throwing it to the ground," before entering and defiling the church. Made of pure silver and the "size of a man"  and now symbolic of Islam's might over Christianity, the broken crucifix was sent as a trophy to adorn a mosque in modern-day Azerbaijan.

Not only do several Christian sources document the sack of Armenia's capital  one contemporary succinctly notes that Muhammad "rendered Ani a desert by massacres and fire"  but so do Muslim sources, often in apocalyptic terms: "I wanted to enter the city and see it with my own eyes," one Arab explained. "I tried to find a street without having to walk over the corpses. But that was impossible."

Such is an idea of what Muslim Turks did to Christian Armenians  not during the Armenian Genocide of a century ago, but exactly one thousand years ago, starting in 1019, when the Turkic invasion and subsequent colonization of Armenia began.

Even so, and as an example of surreal denial, Turkey's foreign minister, capturing popular Turkish sentiment, recently announced, "We [Turks] are proud of our history because our history has never had any genocides. And no colonialism exists in our history."

Note: The first Turkic invasion of Armenia (and others) is documented in Raymond Ibrahim's recent book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. American Thinker reviews of the book can be read here and here.
Over the next few weeks, we will learn why so many Democrats wanted to destroy or derail the Trump presidency. It had nothing to do with ideology or liberal versus conservative ideas or tax plans or foreign policy. It had everything to do with covering up what the Obama administration did to protect Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

The counterattack is led by Attorney General William Barr, and a lot of information that will make the "Trump-Russia story" look like a G-rated movie.

As Andrew McCarthy wrote, the next move will come soon:

The coming weeks will expose the true genesis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation  and just how it is tied to some of the highest Obama-era officials, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy. McCarthy made the ominous prediction on Fox News host Bill Hemmer's "Hemmer Time" podcast and said he expects the answer to what really spurred the investigation to be revealed when the Department of Justice's Inspector General releases his much-anticipated report. "We're going to start getting the answers in the next four to six weeks when we can expect that Inspector General [Michael] Horowitz's reports are going to start flowing out," McCarthy told Hemmer.

We will wait for such a report. My guess is that the report won't make a lot of people look good and some could be looking criminal.

All this is about to boomerang on the Democrats because they couldn't accept the 2016 election results. They had to find excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss, from Russia to "they stole the election" to whatever.

In other words, they put the country through two years of hell just because Hillary Clinton could not accept that voters turned on President Obama.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because you may get it, as the expression goes. The Democrats are about to get it, and they won't like it.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
By Trend

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.



Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.
That didn't take long.

Mere days after President Trump lifted the waiver on lawsuits by Americans to sue communist Cuba for expropriated assets, Big Oil's Bigfoot, ExxonMobil, was on this case like Godzilla. The Miami Herald reports that it is ready to stomp Cuba:

Exxon Mobil has filed suit in U.S. federal court against Cubas CIMEX and CUPET companies for their use of an oil refinery and other properties seized by the Fidel Castro government six decades ago. Exxon Mobil is the first U.S. company to file suit after President Donald Trump allowed Title III of the Helms-Burton Act to take effect, opening the way for demands against Cuban and foreign companies that benefit from properties seized by the communist government. Title III had been suspended every six months by every U.S. president since the law was approved in 1996.

That's a monster. And it's going to cost Cuba big, if ExxonMobil wins, and ExxonMobil always plays to win, and with some of the world's best attorneys, it usually does win. The Helms-Burton law of 1996 states that U.S. companies who had their property stolen by communists in Cuba are entitled to sue for three times the value of the stolen properties, plus 6% annual interest, which, compounded over 60 years of Castro rule, is a...lot of interest. The company must have had that lawsuit ready for Trump's move, given the speed with which it was executed.

It shows just how major President Trump's act was. Over the years, much of the reporting on this matter has focused on small-time Cuban-American stakeholders who lost shops and apartments in the vast uncompensated thievery of communization, and these are people who have largely been dismissed as poor mice hopelessly living in the past.

Exxon's the elephant, though, and it never forgets.

Why do I think this will be a monster for the Castroites? Well, because back when I was reporting news, I wrote an investigative story describing ExxonMobil's response to Venezuela's expropriations. The company fought the Chavistas like the Mobil tiger in the tank  and it eventually won more than a billion in compensation. The company plays for keeps. Here is an old story I found from 2005 that ran on Page One of Investor's Business Daily, describing how ExxonMobil responded to Chavista Venezuela's attempt to steal ExxonMobil's assets.

ExxonMobil, of course, is going to be painted as a bully for doing it by the Chavista left, and it's likely the leftists are painting their signs and calling up their media buddies as I write this. But ExxonMobil has a rationale for this, because its business extends across the globe, and it doesn't get to pick where the oil is  which means it often has to deal with some very gamy dictators. Of course they have to fight the thieves among them. Because once word gets around in the global dictator community that big-moneyed ExxonMobil can be pushed around (its revenues, as I noted in the IBD piece back in 2005, were three times the size of the Venezuelan economy), all of them will jump in and try to shake ExxonMobil down for more for themselves. It's dictator nature. So for ExxonMobil, it's fight the miscreants, and keep the rest on their best behavior. It's the only way to run an international oil company. Now Cuba is about to learn that the hard way.

This is precisely what it deserves, given its propping up of the Maduro regime in Venezuela through its use of intelligence agents, incompetent technicians, and torturers. Trump's move is about squeezing Cuba to force it to get the hell out of Venezuela, and Trump plays hardball.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of socialist thieves.
Despite the barbarism seen in Venezuela these days  the latest the running down of protesters with armored military vehicles  President Trump's hard words for the brutal socialist dictatorship there have largely been seen in the context of winning the Florida vote, or blustering for the sake of it, or speaking loud and carrying a small stick based on the geopolitical realities of confronting Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Most important, Trump himself has been seen as reluctant to get the U.S. into any conflict abroad, based on the miserable series of nation-building wars on Stone-Age people.

Consequently, the conventional wisdom that Venezuela's acting president Juan Guaido's inability to enact a military uprising has been dubbed a 'failure.' Trump's not gonna act, so dictator Nicolas Maduro stays in place strong.

There are now signs that that may not be the case. Here's longtime Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer's surprising take on what he's hearing. He writes:

How likely is a U.S.-Brazil-Colombia military intervention in Venezuela? I still think that it's highly unlikely, but judging from what I'm told are secret talks between United States and Latin American officials to resurrect a dormant 1947 Inter-American mutual defense treaty, I'm no longer willing to bet that it won't happen. First, the Trump administration is escalating its rhetoric following the Venezuelan opposition's courageous but unsuccessful April 30 attempt to spark a military rebellion. Going beyond his earlier talking point that, "All options are on the table," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that "military action is possible."

He adds that it's Latin diplomats who are telling him that talks about a collective military intervention effort are going on. Hmmm, real interesting. Perhaps there really will be a Panama-style pounding and then leaving the Venezuelan democrats in charge to take care of the matter.

The Venezuelans themselves  and its most notable dissidents  are certainly calling for it. Maria Corina Machado, who's been opposing the dictatorship for at least 15 years, has pointed out on Twitter and in television interviews that Venezuela pretty much doesn't have many other options. Venezuela's former United Nations ambassador and U.N. Security Council president, as well as senior statesman, Diego Arria has pointed out that the U.N. went into Bosnia to defend its locals from the Serbs in the 1990s for much less.

There seems to be a lot of support for the idea inside Venezuela and with Venezuelans pouring over Brazil's and Colombia's borders, the attitudes are changing in those quarters, too.

It's very significant to read this coming from him, because he's the Latin swamp thing, he knows what goes on in the thinking of the established elites around Latin America and in Latin American policy circles. If he's hearing military talk, and he's balancing that against the establishment, there's general inertia and fear toward intervention in the affairs of other countries, there must be something going on.

If it comes off right, it certainly would argue for a bright future for Colombia and Brazil, not only in that they'll have a democratic neighbor instead of a bleeding ulcer of socialism on their border, but that their own troops are highly competent. It would demonstrate the case for their joining on as full-blown NATO members, too, something President Trump has brought up earlier. Meanwhile, as long as this looks to be a multi-nation effort, it would be nice to see the Dutch and Maltese involved, too, given the positive role both nations have played in checking the Maduro regime  the Netherlands by helping out with aid and the geography of its Curacao island territory off the coast of Venezuela, and Malta by throwing a massive roadblock to Russia's designs in setting up military supply lines to Venezuela.

If this is what's going on, it shows that the matter is not over. It shows that Venezuelans have not failed, and that their refusal to stop fighting  two decades into what became a socialist dictatorship  is something that may ultimately lead to its liberation  by whatever means necessary.

Maduro can sleep with one eye open on this report.

Image credit: Sgt. Anthony J. Kirby, U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Is it time to break up Twitter, or regulate it as an edited platform?

The people over there really went over the line, not to enforce rules, but simply to show us all how powerful they've become by suspending one of the most popular Twitterers, actor James Woods, whose pithy, perfectly composed tweets have brought him 2.12 million followers.

Breitbart had the story that happened.

James Woods, one of the few conservative stars in Hollywood, has been locked out of his Twitter account for over a week now for "abusive behavior," once again demonstrating the double standard the tech giant holds when it comes to enforcing rules. Twitter suspended Woods for a tweet that read, "'If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll," according to his girlfriend Sara Miller.

And the disgusting censorship was noticed by President Trump, who went into a full tweetstorm about all the instances of social media censorship of conservatives he could think of in just the past few days:

So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

This seems to have ended the Woods suspension early this morning, a capricious censorship of a powerful conservative voice that was over absolutely nothing. Update: It hasn't.

Thing is, it is censorship, a very raw, creepy, Mao-style censorship coming from a private company. The leftists running Twitter and its algorithms claim to be a private company, which they seem to think gives them the right to run their company any way they want, but their erratic censorship practices make them an edited platform.

Now, it's fine and dandy to be an edited platform as a private company, but they want it both ways  the non-accountability of a public utility but the private censorship practices of an edited platform. If they can be declared that, they would need to be regulated as newspapers are  responsible for every single word that goes out on their site, including the words of the freaks and killers and terrorists who also employ their platform. They'd have to edit every last bit of it, not just the words of people they don't like politically, or who have politically powerful voices they don't like politically. Someone tweets murder; maybe Twitter should now be suable for it, given that it's chosen to be an edited platform instead of a public utility.

Because it isn't rules anyone is violating based on their banning practices; it's big voices they don't like.

How capriciously are they censoring? Well, against the backdrop of Woods's tweet, which was the repetition of an old saw dating back to a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, I've gotten actual death threats that Twitter didn't deem worthy of any censorship when I complained to it about the problem. Only time constraints prevent me from locating the correspondence and posting it. Freaks threatening death? Not a problem for them. Woods citing an old saying? Ban!

What's more, they make their money through getting their customers' information in exchange for the right to post, something Mickey Kaus has noted is legally known as 'consideration.' If they are going to go around censoring now, not only are they an edited platform, but they are also suable for breach of contract with their customers.

Here's another thing. Woods is big, and Woods attracts a lot of eyeballs to Twitter, which is exactly what it should want as a company to make money. Banning Woods is contrary to its own business interests, given that it drives away customers for the practice. As a public company, Twitter ought to be suable for lost profits by shareholders, too.

Trump was right to point out that the matter is getting out of hand. It's time for some legislation to hold the company accountable and force it to choose whether it wants to be the equivalent of a public utility, such as the phone company, or else a censoring, capricious, edited private platform that would also be forced to be accountable.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Seven of the UAEs top projects were named winners among the Gulf regions best projects at the recently held 2019 Meed Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, in Dubai, UAE



The UAE was followed by Oman with four winning projects, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had three winners each and Kuwait had one regional awardee.



The only awards programme recognising excellence for completed projects in the GCC, Meed Projects Awards honoured national winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in ceremonies held at the Conrad Hotel Dubai.



We are honoured to be a partner with Meed in recognising projects excellence in the GCC. This is our way of putting a spotlight on these projects for not only upholding quality standards, but also in improving the standard of living in the Gulf through their invariable impact on the socio-economic aspirations of the region, said Mohammad Khader Al Shouli, senior vice president, Head of Contracting Finance at Mashreq Bank, headline sponsor of the awards programme.



The 2019 Meed Quality Project of the Year, in association with Mashreq, the award programmes highly coveted honour, was given to Saudi Arabias Haramain High Speed Railway Project (entered by Saudi Railways Organization and owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia). It also won the GCC Transport Project of the Year award.



The judges praised the projects efforts to maximise social impact and the efficient design of departure and arrivals lounges improving passenger flow and comfort and which are also low energy with innovative prismatic daylight collectors on the roofs.



The other Saudi Arabia winner was the Titanium Sponge Plant Project in Yanbu Project (entered by a Joint Venture of Chiyoda Corporation and CTCI Corporation and owned by Advanced Metal Industries Cluster and Toho Titanium Metal Company Limited) which was awarded the GCC Industrial Project of the Year.



The GCC is home to some of the worlds most high-profile projects, known worldwide not just for their engineering and construction brilliance but also for being beacons of the regions economic progress. We are delighted to honour their commitment to the highest quality standards for projects excellence, said Richard Thompson, editorial director, Meed.



Among the regional winners from the UAE were Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (GCC Tourism & Leisure Project of the Year), Bluewaters Mosque (GCC Small Project of the Year), Improvement of Mafraq to Al Ghweifat Border Post Highway  Section 4A from Himeem Interchange to Abu Al Abyad (GCC Road Project of the Year), Sheikh Shakbout Medical City (GCC Healthcare Project of the Year), Offices 4 and Offices 5, One Central (GCC Commercial Project of the Year), Khalifa University (GCC Education Project of the Year) and Dubai American Academy (Innovation Medal, sponsored by China State Construction).



In Oman, the projects honoured for excellence were Diyar Al Salam (GCC Residential Project of the Year), Suhar Refinery Improvement Project (GCC Oil and Gas Project of the Year), Salalah II Power Project (GCC Power Generation Project of the Year) and Muscat International Airport (Mega Project of the Year).



From Bahrain, the projects which gained regional recognition was Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Works, Long Sea Outfall & Irrigation Network which received the GCC Water Project of the Year, GCC Engineering Project of the Year and the Sustainability Medal (sponsored by China State Construction).



Kuwaits regional winner was The Ministry of Education Headquarters Project which received the GCC Social, Culture and Heritage of the Year award.



Special awards were also given to Maher Habanjar, senior director of the Water & Environment Division at Khatib &Alami, (Engineer of the Year), The Founders Memorial (Meed Editor's Award for Special Achievement) and Al Karamah School, Abu Dhabi (Meed Editor's Award for Contribution to Community).  TradeArabia News Service
Creators are driving record audiences to YouTube, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told the presentation audience gathered at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. Two-hundred million people come to YouTube every single day just to watch gaming videos. Thats twice the audience of this years Super Bowl.  Los Angeles Times
Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO Jatan.

Ahemdabad: A day after PepsiCo announced that it would withdraw cases filed against the potato farmers in Gujarat, activists and farmer leaders on Friday said the company must do it unconditionally and also pay a compensation to the cultivators for causing "harassment".

Agitated by PepsiCo's earlier decision to sue potato growing farmers for allegedly growing a variety of potato registered by it, around 25 major farmers' bodies of Gujarat and the country, including Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), along with activists and NGOs have decided to form a central body - Seed Sovereignty Forum - to protect farmers' rights on seeds.

A meeting to chalk out an action plan under this umbrella body was held on Friday at the Gujarat Vidyapith here, said farm rights activist, Kapil Shah of NGO 'Jatan'.

"We are apprehensive because PepsiCo's statement yesterday does not offer anything new. The company had earlier told the court that it will withdraw cases on two conditions - either farmers give up using company's seeds or farmers become part of contract farming with the company," Shah told reporters here.

"We demand that the withdrawal of cases must be unconditional. We also want the company to pay compensation to these farmers for causing harassment. The law is crystal clear and it says that farmers' or cultivators' rights will always supersede the rights of seed breeders. Farmers' right over seed is non-negotiable," he said.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts were sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights, and sought damages ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from each of them.

They have been sued by the company under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.

Shah said the issue touches farmers of the entire country and not just of Gujarat.

"After this issue cropped up, around 25 national and regional organisations working for farmers decided to come under one roof to form 'Seed Sovereignty Forum'. We will hold a meeting today to devise an action plan to fight against such cases in the future and formulate a long-term strategy to ensure that farmers' rights are not snatched away," said Shah.

Shah was accompanied by four farmers of Sabarkantha district, who were sued by the MNC. Office-bearers of the BKS and several other farm rights activists were also present.

Registrar of Gujarat Vidyapith, Rajendra Khimani, called for spreading of awareness among farmers about various laws that protect them.

"All the Acts are in English, not in the language understood by the majority of farmers. As a result, they are not aware of their rights. There is a need to make such laws available in local languages. We also need to keep a check on any attempt aimed at diluting such pro-farmer laws," Khimani, who is the president of Gujarat Association of Agricultural Sciences, said.

Chhabil Patel, one of the farmers sued by PepsiCo, said they used rejected potatoes as seeds, which is a natural practice in villages.

"We have been wrongly framed. After grading, PepsiCo takes only large-size potatoes (to make chips), while small potatoes were discarded. Such rejected stock is available everywhere. We sowed those potatoes only. We have now realised that even the law allows us to do so," Patel, who hails from Sabarkantha, said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PepsiCo India had said it has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers after holding talks with the government.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection," the statement said.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing.

New Delhi: Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) on Saturday said it will raise funds up to Rs 2,000 crore in one or more tranches.

The board of the company in its meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to raise capital up to Rs 2,000 crore, DHFL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"The Board has constituted a sub-committee named "Special Committee for Issuance of Securities" and authorised the said Committee to decide upon various factors viz. mode, pricing, terms & conditions and other allied matters in respect of the said issuance," DHFL added.
Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

Mumbai: Indias sugar production could rise 1.5 per cent in 2018/19 to a record 33 million tonnes, increasing inventories in the worlds second-biggest producer and putting pressure on local prices, a producers body said on Friday.

The record production could force New Delhi to continue incentives for overseas sales of sugar into the next season, weighing on global prices, which are now trading near their lowest in four months.

In the first seven months of the 2018/19 marketing year that started on Oct. 1, mills have churned out 32.1 million tonnes of sugar, 3 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.

India produced 32.5 million tonnes of sugar for the whole of the 2017/18 marketing year.

The sugar recovery in northern India has been substantially better than the sugar recovery achieved in the last season, the association said.

Years of bumper cane harvests and record sugar production have hammered domestic sugar prices, making it hard for mills to pay monies owed to farmers, who form an influential voting bloc.

Indias money-losing sugar mills have run up a record USD 4.38 billion in arrears to 50 million cane farmers, who have gone unpaid for their produce for more than a year.

To bring down cane arrears and reduce rising inventories, New Delhi has been providing incentives to mills for overseas sale of sugar and set an export target of 5 million tonnes.

But mills are likely to export only 3 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year due to a drop in global prices, according to ISMA estimates.

That means Indias sugar inventory levels will rise to 14.7 million tonnes at the beginning of the new season on Oct. 1, 2019, up 37.4 percent from a year ago, the trade body said.

The industry has been hoping the 2019/20 seasons output could drop due to higher ethanol production and a drought in the western state of Maharashtra, the countrys second-biggest sugar-producing region.

With additional ethanol production capacities getting installed and expanding existing capacities at a very fast pace ... (that) in turn will further reduce sugar production in the next season, the trade body said.
The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of Gaddi Lohar community.

Mumbai: Deana Uppal, Miss India UK, is all set to direct and produce an in-depth documentary on the life of this Banjara community. The actress-turned-businesswoman is working to bring out the facts and reality of the Gaddi Lohar community.

Uppal is also working on forming her own organisation that will work for the issues faced by the Banjara community on a day-to-day basis. As the entire country participates in the mega general elections with fervour, Rajasthans Gaddi Lohar community has been left out. This nomadic tribe, who fall below the poverty line, do not possess any voter ID, Aadhar Card or any other identification document.

In the absence of these vital documents, this nomadic tribe does not get a chance to exercise their franchise. Also, being bereft of these documents, this community does not get the benefits of the government schemes.

As part of her campaign for the nomadic community, Uppal is also holding meetings with several ministers of Rajasthan and putting forth the issues faced by these people.

The Miss India UK has been to the offices of Public Works and Development Ministry, Health Ministry, Women and Child Development Ministry to discuss the problems faced by the Gaddi Lohar community.

As Rajasthan goes to polls on May 6, Uppal has written to the chief electoral officer of Rajasthan, Anand Kumar, urging him to devise a strategy for future so that this community can have their voting rights and get a chance to elect their representative.
Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

The super-prolific Hindi-Malayalam director Priyadarshan, who is currently directing his 93rd film, wont be directing the third film in the Hera Pheri franchise.

There were reports that Priyan would return to direct Hera Phera 3. The Hera Pheri producer Firoz Nadiadwala had a massive fall-out with his director after Hera Pheri in 2000. The second Hera Pheri film was directed by writer Neeraj Vora who passed away last year. Crushing all the speculations, producer Firoz Nadiadwala denies Priyadarshans inclusion in Hera Pheri Part 3.

Priyan is busy shooting his most ambitious film to date in Hyderabad.

It is called Marakkar: The Lion Of The Arabian Sea. It features my favourite actor Mohan Lal in the lead. This time hes playing a real-life character, says Priyan excitedly.

Priyan and Mohanlal have worked in a staggering 44 films together. Marakkar is their 45th collaboration. Says Priyan, We are shooting on ships that weve created and erected in a studio. At the age of 62, Im shooting non-stop for nearly 90 days. I must retire soon. But only after I finish directing my 100th film. Marakkar is my 93rd film. Hope God will keep me going for seven more films.
The UAE government has signed a strategic agreement with National Bonds, the leading Sharia-compliant saving and investment company, to launch its new Labour Saving Programme (Tharaa) initiative.

The laborer in UAE is the creator of foundations, the thread that holds together the social fabric, and the one who is impacting the domestic economy and its development. Thus, he deserves special attention and privileges awarded by the UAE Government, said a satement from Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE).

The attention paid by the leadership is notable as it recognises laborers rights and ensure that laws are in place and being regulated by various bodies and ministries, such as the MOHRE, which is working to ensure laborers happiness, convenience and rights.

In keeping with MOHREs efforts, Tharaa was launched under the National Happiness and Positivity Programme of the Ministry of Happiness.

Tharaas launch occurs ideally in conjunction with the global and local celebration of Labor Day, emphasizing MOHREs constant efforts to provide laborers with the best services and competitive earnings, in order to achieve the highest level of happiness. This, in turn, is reflected in the Happiness Index for the UAE, as a whole, said the statement.

Tharaa is aimed at enabling labourers to build a financially stable future through monthly fixed deductions directly from their Wage Protection System (WPS), the amount of which is voluntarily contributed by the laborer throughout the duration of his/her stay in the country.

The laborer shall also have several benefits, annual profits, micro-financing facilities through third party tie ups and entry into National Bonds generous rewards program.

This allows the laborer the chance to win several rewards including a million-dirham every quarter, in turn enabling him to create a happy and secured future.

The savings initiative, Tharaa, is supported by automated kiosks at thirty-eight of MOHREs Tawjeeh Centers, spread across the Emirates.

They will be also eligible to participate in additional program benefits and awards, which amount to more than Dh37 million. These rewards are distributed on a monthly and quarterly basis to local and expatriate employees working in the private sector, said the statement.

The most prominent of these awards is the quarterly one million prize draw. This draw is divided into two parts: the quarterly one million prize draw for UAE locals, and the same for expatriates.

UAE locals and expatriates can also participate in the monthly draw for two cars or their equivalent of Dh100,000, two monthly draws for a cash prize of Dh10,000 and 40,000 prizes of Dh50 each distributed monthly.

Furthermore, 50 savers will benefit yearly from Takaful services that protect them in the event of work-related death or injury.

In addition, more benefits will be provided including a complimentary quarterly money transfer service; a labor loyalty program, which will be launched in a later phase it stated.

On the novel scheme, National Bonds CEO Mohammed Qasim Al Ali said Tharaa come as part of the development of innovative programs and products to enhance financial happiness and strengthen the UAE's position as one of the best countries to live, work and invest in.

"This initiative will help employers and workers develop quick and practical plans for better financial health, and contribute to their families welfare and thus enhance their productivity," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour. (Photo: File)

Bhubaneswar: Back in 1999, when Odisha was hit by a cyclone, thousands had lost their lives. The state was left in shambles with the story of despair and fear written all over it.

Twenty years later in 2019, when cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India, the state was better prepared to handle the crisis.

Odisha is prone to incessant rainfall, cyclone and extreme weather conditions. The state is among the poorer states in India with coastal cities and villages exposed to the cyclone.

The administration had a daunting task to manage; evacuation of more than a million people from low lying coastal areas to shelter homes.

In this process, they had to ensure the expediency and immediacy.

The New York Times reports that the state engaged in 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, around 1,000 emergency workers, buses, police and civic administration and reaching every lane of every village informing the last man about the nearing disaster.

Cyclone Fani thundered Odisha on the morning of May 3rd carrying winds at the speed of 120 miles per hour.

The impact was huge as trees and structures were ripped from their roots. While the millions were evacuated, very few lives were lost.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation spoke to the NYT. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

After the catastrophe in 1999, the state undertook the construction of numerous cyclone shelters. These were built miles away from the seashore.

Designed by some prestigious engineering colleges, the shelters, basic in design, have been of great help.

The Indian Meteorological Department had kept a close eye on the movement of the cyclone. Its path was accurately predicted and it landed at Odisha coast. Odishas fishermen were warned beforehand.

On the morning when the storm hit the coast, Odisha government had released a five page action plan prioritizing the safety of lives.

Having practised the evacuation drills on numerous counts, the task was clear in volunteers minds.

Food and beverages were delivered at the shelters. The loudspeakers kept asking people to reach the nearest shelter at the earliest.

In some areas, police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, asking people to leave.

Packed buses made rounds around Puri. Each shelter accommodated several hundred people.

In Puri, the officials said the winds reached at the speed of100 m.p.h. knocking down the very machine which measured the speed.

Though the lives were not lost, it did affect livelihoods. However, the storm of 1999 did prepare the state to gear for this battle.

Evacuating a million plus people in a span of 3-4 days was a challenging task. The bitterness sown in 2019 bore sweets in 2019.
In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Puri: Eight people were killed as Cyclone Fani battered Odisha on Friday, packing in rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees and electricity poles, cutting off power supply and swamping towns and villages.

The monster weather system, the biggest in years, made landfall at the holy city of Puri at around 8 am and continued to wreak havoc for four hours.

Special relief commissioner B.P. Sethi said three people had died in different incidents in Puri, Nayagarh and Kendrapara districts. While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district. By evening, the toll mounted to eight.

In Bhubaneswar, the roof of a building at AIIMS was ripped off and its video clip was tweeted by the governments media wing.

Extensive damage to the structure of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, all patients, staff and students safe, Union health secretary Preeti Sudan was quoted as saying.

Fani, which is pronounced as Foni and means snake hood in Bengali, struck with the fury and venom of a poisonous snake, bringing destruction to districts like Puri, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

The landfall of Fani happened at Puri at around 8 am. We have recorded wind speed of 142 km from hour gusting up to 175 km per hour, said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, additional director general of India Meteorological Department, New Delhi.

Puri city, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and many other parts of the state remained completely disconnected from the world with internet and telephone services hit, flight and train services remaining suspended.

Airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata were closed. Bhubaneswar airport was shut on Thursday midnight. No flights departed Kolkata airport after 3 pm on Friday. Operations will remain suspended at Kolkata airport till 8 am on Saturday, aviation regulator DGCA said in New Delhi.

After pounding Odisha and heading northeastwards, losing strength on the way, the extremely severe cyclone (ESC) moved towards West Bengal where it is likely to hit Kolkata early on Saturday with gale wind speed reaching 90 to 100 kmph.

We are monitoring the situation 24x7 and doing all it takes... Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

The authorities in Odisha, where 10,000 people perished in a 1999 cyclone, had evacuated more than a million people two days ahead of the cylone from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in probably the largest evacuation exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the Centre has released more than Rs 1,000 crore to Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in advance for undertaking preventive and relief measures

A baby was born near Bhubaneswar just as the cyclone passed through. We are calling her Lady Fani as she was born when the hospital was hit, said a spokesperson for the hospital.

Fani is the strongest cyclonic storm since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which claimed close to 10,000 lives and battered the Odisha coast for 30 hours

Winds from to the weather system of the were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying.

As Fani pummelled Odisha, neighbouring West Bengal braced itself for its fury.

The sky was overcast in Kolkata and several other places since Friday morning as rain came in spurts, inundating several parts of the state capital.

Traffic snarls were reported from different places in the city. The storm brought down the political temperature, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelling all her election rallies that were planned over the next 48 hours and getting down to monitoring the situation.

The eye of the storm is likely to be weakened when it enters West Bengal. The wind speed will be around 100 kmph to 110 kmph, an official of the meteorological department said.

A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

New Delhi: Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was all set to face sanctions as a terrorist by the European Union due to the efforts of France but the proposed move has now been supplanted by the UN designation of Azhar as a global terrorist, French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said on Friday, even as he termed the listing of Azhar by the UN as a very good news for the world community and an important political decision.

The French envoy also said that the listing of Masood Azhar by the UN Sanctions Committee is a watershed in our long fight against terrorism.

The UN sanctions on Azhar will need to be followed by all countries including the EU nations. The French ambassador said the UN listing would hinder the JeM chiefs activities. He also said that India had been officially invited (by France as the host) to the G-7 Summit to be held in France in August this year. The G-7 group comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, termed as seven of the largest advanced economies in the world.

The French envoy described the listing of Masood Azhar as a successful realisation of the diplomatic efforts that France has been conducting for many years.
Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Patna: Leadership battle in the RJD resurfaced after Lalu Yadavs elder son Tej Pratap hinted that he is no longer in a mood to hand over the reins of the party to his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

While addressing a rally in Jehanabad, he called h-imself a second Lalu and also attacked his you-nger brother Tejashwi Yadav, who has been spea-rheading RJDs campaign in the absence of Lalu Yadav. He said, Lalu Yadav is a role model and guru for many leaders. There are some leaders who fall sick by addressing two or four rallies but Lalu ji used to campaign continuously and attended 10 to 12 political meetings during elections without taking rest even during excessive heat.

Party leaders said that Tejashwi had to cancel few of his public meetings citing ill health due to the heat wave in Bihar.

Tej Pratap was in Jehanabad to campaign in favour of his candidate Chandra Shekhar Yadav, where he gave the statement.

"The RJD candidate is weak because he has lost twice from this seat. Please vote for my candidate Chandra Prakash Yadav because he is capable of defeating the BJP in Jehanabad."

Senior RJD leader Surendra Yadav has been pitted against BJP candidate Chandeshwar Chandrawanshi from Jehanabad seat. The election in Jehanabad is in the seventh phase on May 19.

Political analysts claim that Tej Pratap fielding candidate against the RJD may upset the partys caste calculations in Jehanabad. He had has also been campaigning against RJDs Sheohar candidate Syed Faisal Ali.

Grand Alliance insiders said that reports of a rift in Lalu Yadavs family have confused RJD workers.

Reacting sharply to Tej Pratap's statement, former Bihar chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "People don't take Tej Pratap seriously but I feel that he has made a mistake by fielding a candidate against his own party."

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The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site.

Srinagar: Lateef Tiger, the only surviving member of Burhan Wani group, is among the three militants killed in a fierce fire fight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Shopian district on Friday.

Wani, the 22-year-old Internet savvy poster boy of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, was along with two associates killed by the Army in Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016, triggering widespread unrest in the Kashmir and parts of Chenab valley of Jammu region.

The officials said that the fighting broke out in Adkhara village of Shopians Imam Sahib area at dawn on Friday after the security forces, including the Armys 34 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), laid siege to the area on learning about the presence of the Hizb militants in a private house.

A police spokesman, while confirming one of the slain militants was Lateef Ahmad Dar alias Tiger, said that he was a close associate of Burhan Wani and was active in south Kashmir since 2014. The two other militants killed with him have been identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh alias Mufti Waqas alias Tariq Moulvi and Shariq Ahmed Nengroo, both local residents.

The officials said that one Army soldier was injured during the fighting. The residential house in which the militants had been holed up was completely and two adjacent houses were partially damaged in the security forces final assault against them, the local sources said.

The killing of militants sparked off protests by surging crowds who soon clashed with security forces near the encounter site. The security forces fired teargas canisters and pellet shotguns to quell stone-pelting mobs, leaving, at least, 17 persons injured. Three of them have been brought to Srinagar for specialized treatment.

As the word about the killing of the Hizb militants spread, traders brought their shutters down and transport services were withdrawn from the roads in most parts of Shopian and Pulwama. The authorities immediately snapped mobile Internet services in south Kashmir whereas train services through the area have also been suspended.

A handout issued by the police here said that, as per police records, Lateef Tiger had a long history of crime records since 2014 and was involved in planning and executing several attacks in the area. It said that similarly, Tariq also had a long history of crime records and was involved in several attacks. About Shariq, it said that he too was involved in several attacks.
Modi said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

New Delhi: A day after Congress claimed that multiple surgical strikes were carried out by the UPA regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the me too claim of the rival party on Friday, saying only the Congress can do a surgical strike on paper and in video games.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, Mr Modi suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes and also hit out at the UPA for shifting IPL tournament abroad in the past due to its failure to provide security.

Showcasing the ruling BJPs muscular nationalism, Mr Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during that partys term and now another leader is saying there were six. PM mocks Cong me too claim on surgical strikes

The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time the elections are over, this will increase to 600, he said.

Jab kagaz par hi karni ho, jab video game mein hi strike karni ho to 6 ho ya 3 ho, 20 hon ya 25 hon, ye jhoote logon ko kya fark padta hai (When the surgical strikes are to be done on a piece of paper then how does it matter if they have conducted 6 or 25), Mr Modi said.

Hitting out at the Congress for questioning his governments anti-terror action across the border, Mr Modi hit out at the party for Pehle upeksha, fir virodh, ab me too, me too (They initially rejected it, then opposed it and now they are saying me too, me too).

He said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

Mr Modi accused Congress leaders of calling the Army chief a goonda (thug) and the Indian Air Force chief a liar, in an apparent reference to alleged remarks by Sandeep Dikshit and Veerappa Moily in past years.

He said the Congress leaders do not trust the valour of the countrys jawans and raise doubts on casualties inflicted on terrorists.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

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Speaking at a rally in Karauli, the Prime Minister hit out at the Congress for shifting IPL tournament abroad on the pretext that they cannot ensure security for it.

IPL matches were played outside the country on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, because the government did not give permission, citing elections. But now, elections are also happening and so is the IPL, he said.

Ye poonch daba ke bhaagne waali sarkar mein the, Modi seena taan ke jata hai (It was a government that was scared while Modi is here standing tall), Mr Modi said.

Mr Modi accused the Congress of cheating people in the name of various schemes.

In Rajasthan, people are given forms for Rs 100 for getting Rs 72,000. This is how they cheat, he said.

Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan will be held in the fifth phase of the election on May 6. Thirteen other seats in the state went to polls in the fourth phase on April 29.
Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

New Delhi: Days before polling in Amethi, considered by many to be the pocket-borough of the Gandhis, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to voters there urging them to vote him back as their MP and promising to push schemes for the region blocked by the BJP when his party gets to form the government at the Centre.

Amethi goes to polls in the fifth round of the general election on May 6.

It is my promise to the people of Amethi that the moment the Congress comes to power at the Centre, the schemes blocked by the BJP will be started soonest. On May 6, vote in large numbers to bring back this member of the family, he wrote in the letter.

The Congress president, who is said to be facing a tough fight in Amethi from Union minister Smriti Irani, has not been seen much in his constituency, which has been managed by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation is rife in the Congress that if Mr Gandhi wins both Amethi and Wayanad  the second seat from where he is contesting  then he is likely to vacate Amethi for Priyanka.

In the letter on Friday, Mr Gandhi accused the BJP of setting up a factory of lies and distributing rivers of cash to voters.

Amethi is my family. My Amethi family gives me courage that I stand with the truth, that I can hear the pain of the poor and weak and raise my voice for them and to ensure equal justice for all, he wrote.

With your love, I have tried to unite the country from north to south; east to west... My karmbhumi Amethis ideology is getting support from across the country, the Congress president said in his letter.

Amethi has voted elected Mr Gandhi since he first took his eletoral plunge in 2004. But the much-reduced votes and vote share in the last election in 2014, when the BJP fielded Ms Irani against him, has given the Congress chief reason to worry.

The BJP has alleged that he chose Wayanad to also contest as he was afraid of losing from Amethi.

Smriti Irani said the letter signifies that he has not given importance to Amethi.
In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was assaulted by a man during his road show in Moti Nagar area here on Saturday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the Chief Minister.

The man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway, said police. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

However, this is not the first time that his security has been breached. In November 2018, a man had attacked the Chief Minister with chilli powder inside the Delhi Secretariat.

AAP condemned the cowardly act and said that opposition sponsored attack cannot stop AAP in Delhi.

"Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi," tweeted AAP.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi.  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

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'Intimate Audrey': Hepburn exhibition opens in Brussels on the 90th anniversary of her birth.

An exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth. (Photo: Pixabay)

Brussels: From personal pictures and dresses to film props and awards, an exhibition offering an intimate look at the life of late actress Audrey Hepburn has opened in Brussels, marking the 90th anniversary of the Hollywood stars birth in the Belgian city.

Put together by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Intimate Audrey features hundreds of private and professional photos - originals and reprints - as well as some movie memorabilia, such as the scooter used in the 1953 classic Roman Holiday for which Hepburn won a best actress Oscar.

Hepburn Ferrer, whose father was U.S. actor Mel Ferrer, said he wanted to offer a more personal perspective of the life of the British actress, who dedicated her later years to charity work and became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She lived a humble life, a simple life, and maybe in there lies the key to why she is still so beloved today, he told Reuters.

Hepburn was born in 1929 in the Brussels area of Ixelles to a Dutch mother and British father. She later moved to London to pursue ballet training and eventually turned to acting, taking to the stage in New York in 1951 for Broadway play Gigi.

She starred in a string of films in the 1950s and 1960s, including Breakfast at Tiffanys, Charade and My Fair Lady. Hepburn died in 1993 aged 63.

On display are also Hepburns fashion drawings and humanitarian writings. Hepburn Ferrer said one the key features of the exhibition was a replica cherry blossom tree, a tribute to the childhood home in Switzerland his parents bought in 1963 and remained Hepburns residence until her death.

It is an unusual exhibition because it has been completely devoid of the Hollywood aspect of her career so its the woman who is coming home, naked of the legend, of the icon, he said. Intimate Audrey runs Espace Vanderborght until Aug. 25.
No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Global security officials agreed a set of proposals on Friday for future 5G networks, highlighting concerns about equipment supplied by vendors that might be subject to state influence.

No suppliers were named, but the United States has been pressing allies to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies over concerns their gear could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei denies this.

The overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country should be taken into account, participants at the conference in the Czech capital said in a non-binding statement released on the last day of the two-day gathering.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.

Diplomatic sources said participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home but called for participants to seize on the momentum moving forward.

This would be a pity if this turns out to be a one-off event, Japans ambassador for cyber policy Masato Ohtaka said.

Neither China nor Huawei were invited to the event, although participants said no country or company was being singled out.

Some western countries concerns about Huawei centre on Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law, stating that Chinese organisations and citizens shall, in accordance with the law, support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work.

EU members have until the end of June to assess cybersecurity risks related to 5G, leading to a bloc-wide assessment by October 1. Using this, EU countries would then have to agree measures to mitigate risks by the end of the year.

Huawei said it was ready to work with regulators and other stakeholders on creating effective rules.

We are encouraged by the emphasis on the importance of research and development, open markets and competition, but would urge policymakers to avoid measures that would increase bureaucracy and costs and limit the benefit that 5G can bring, it said in a statement.

As the EU continues its deliberations, we firmly believe that any future security principles should be based on verifiable facts and technical data.

The final document looked at the impact of 5G on policy, technology, economy and security, with general recommendations on how best to mitigate potential risks.

All stakeholders including industry should work together to promote security and resilience of national critical infrastructure networks, systems and connected devices, the document said.

The security issue is crucial because of 5Gs leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them.

Europe  where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are preparing to auction 5G licences this year  has emerged as a battleground over Huaweis next-generation technology.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has collaborated with the IE School of Global and Public Affairs (IE) and International Trade Centre (ITC) to launch the groundbreaking Executive Master Degree in Internationalization and Trade in Spain.

Held at the IE School campus in Madrid, the event featured a panel discussion on the Challenges of Global Trade and International Business Expansion with panelists including Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol (ITFC CEO), Arancha Gonzalez (ITC Executive Director) and Isaac Martin Barbero (Cabify Chief Cities & Communities Officer).

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is a co-designed program, originally initiated by the ITFC after it recognised the need for a specialised executive course capable of developing trade professionals with rounded knowledge and expertise in order to thrive in global trade and international business.

The programme which focuses on trade, trade finance and trade development, is the first of its kind to be initiated by a multilateral financial trade institution, said a statement from ITFC.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade has been designed for two complementary profiles: executives and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their global businesses, and professionals working in trade policy and regulation of global trade.

This provides each with a unique opportunity to share experiences of addressing the universal challenges of making trade more inclusive and improving livelihoods to lift people out of poverty worldwide.

Through collaboration with IE and the ITC, ITFCs vision of shaping a comprehensive degree has led to the creation of a course built around a blended methodology, combining live videoconferences and interactive forums, with face-to-face sessions in Geneva and Madrid.

This approach enables students to advance their career while simultaneously pursuing a valuable and meaningful education.

Salem Sonbol said: "Shaping up a programme like the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade is an answer to the needs of the dynamic and evolving landscape of Trade and Trade Finance."

"Partnering with prominent institutions like IE and ITC in this Program provides a unique transformational experience that combines academic excellence and practitioners leadership with the aim to push the frontier of learning beyond conventional practices and assumptions to new horizonsthis is at the core of our mandate of Advancing Trade and Improving Lives," he stated.

IE Dean Manuel Muniz said: "We live in a time of exponential change. This is also evident in the space of trade. The digitalization of value chains, 3D printing and the use of cryptocurrencies or Blockchain technology is radically reshaping trade."

"We need policymakers and trade practitioners to understand this change, navigate it and make the most of the opportunities it brings," he explained.

The Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade programme is a notable milestone for ITFC. It is the organizations first foray into education and a major contribution to encouraging experienced professionals in the industry to take up the challenge of transforming trade.

Salem Sonbol pointed out that after witnessing the dynamics of global trade over the years, the need to equip professionals with the essential skills and latest trends has become a necessity.

"Working everyday across the value chain of trade, we could tell the Why, but to get a mastery on the What and the How directed us to partner with IE and ITC; and together we designed the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade to establish the excellent means to improve transformation of trade executives, professionals and experts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The launch would be North Korea's first action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned. (Photo:File)

Washington: Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has paid no price for its perfidy, prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.
Rich Guys Are More Likely to Pretend to be Experts, Says Study

Rich Guys Are More Likely to Bullshit You

While some people seem to have a natural ability to call BS, for other people, it isnt quite as easy. However, heres some help. According to a new study, rich guys are more likely to pretend theyre experts on subjects they know nothing about.

RELATED: The Surprising Trait Self-Made Millionaires Share

The study, published in April in the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, aptly titled Bullshitters. Who Are They and What Do We Know About Their Lives? assessed the ability to pretend to be an expert without actually being one  or, the ability to bullshit.

The research conducted by John Jerram and Nikki Shure of the University College of London and Phil Parker of Australian Catholic University involved assessing participants and their knowledge of 16 math topics. The study also used data from the Program for International Student Assessment, which involves tens of thousands of 15-year-olds globally. The participants answered topics based on a five-point scale from never heard of it up to know it well, understand the concept.

But there was a twist in the topics. Three of them were fake, essentially outing which of the participants were the true BSers. Those who pretended to know about the fabricated topics, proper numbers, subjunctive scaling, and declarative fractions, ranked highest on the BS meter.

Just who those imposters were, might surprise you. According to the study, men were more likely than women to pretend like they knew what they were talking about. There was also a difference between those who were wealthy, poor, and middle class. Rich guys, specifically, were the biggest BSers.

The study also suggested that North Americans were more likely to pretend to know about something than English speakers in other parts of the world. Incidentally, participants from Canada ranked at the top of the list.

RELATED: Best Dating Sites for Rich Men

Do you know any self-proclaimed math whizzes? It turns out, those participants were also the most likely to claim to be experts in other non-existent subject areas. According to the study, if you frequently boast about your abilities, you might also be good at bluffing and pretending to know about topics you know nothing about.

Fortunately, there are some good things about having a knack for pretending like you know about stuff that you dont. The studys authors wrote, Being able to bulls- convincingly may be useful in certain situations (e.g., job interviews, negotiations, grant applications).

And, it could also explain why the biggest BSers also happened to be wealthy. The study suggests that this behavior could help them earn higher wages and explain some of the gender wage gap, said study co-author Nikki Shure. This has important implications for thinking about tasks in job interviews and how to evaluate performance.

One thing to note about the study is that the participants were 15-year-olds, which doesnt necessarily mean the results apply to adults. Although the studys authors guess that most traits like the ability to successfully bluff transfer from teenage years to adulthood, there isnt definite proof of it.

Further, the study only involved math topics, which may or may not have something to do with the participants inclination to embellish on their knowledge. Who knows, maybe participants are more honest about their knowledge when it comes to other topics. In the meantime, its probably safest to take what your self-proclaimed math genius friends tell you with a grain of salt.

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Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy. Cloudy and damp with rain, possibly heavy this morning, then becoming partly cloudy late. High 53F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill earlier this week declaring marital rape illegal and repealing the state's previous exemptions, reports AP.

The state of play: The state house approved the bill 132-0, while the Minnesota senate unanimously voted 66-0 this week. Previously, the law protected a rapist if he or she lived with the victim and had a prior voluntary sexual relationship. State Rep. Zack Stephenson, who wrote the bill, called the marital rape exception an "abominable law," in a statement, Reuters reports.

The big picture: Marital rape was made illegal in all 50 states by 1993, but many loopholes and remnants of the historic "spousal defense" persisted, per AP. Maryland made marital rape illegal in 2017, reports the Baltimore Sun. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers are continuing to close these loopholes, intending to reintroduce a similar bill later this month, per NPR.

Go deeper: Tech companies step in to stop date rape
Beto O'Rourke told supporters at a Fort Worth rally on Friday that he would put former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in charge of voting rights initiatives if he were elected president, CBS reports.

Driving the news: Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has fielded offers from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Joe Biden for respective Senate and 2020 White House runs. O'Rourke reportedly said at the rally he spoke with Abrams on the phone "to thank her for all the work that she's doing on voting rights."

What they're saying:

When asked about O'Rourke's potential offer, an Abrams spokesperson told CBS, "As she thinks about her own campaign for the Presidency, Leader Abrams has taken the time to speak with numerous Democrats who are already running about the need to combat voter suppression and about the importance of Georgia's 16 electoral votes."

An O'Rourke campaign spokesperson told CBS that "Beto believes he would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ms. Abrams in any capacity and looks forward to continuing to follow her incredible lead on the many efforts she's championing including protecting voting rights and fighting to increase access to the ballot box."

"...we will put Stacey Abrams in charge of this effort so that we get it done," O'Rourke said at his rally on Friday, in reference to automatic voter registration and gerrymandering.

The context: Abrams filed a federal lawsuit challenging the gross mismanagement of Georgias 2018 gubernatorial election after she narrowly lost to Republican opponent Brian Kemp amid mass voter purging.

Go deeper: Stacey Abrams commends Joe Biden for recognizing harassment claims
Ariston Thermo, an Italian specialist in heating systems and related products that opened its first manufacturing plant in Bahrain last year, sees the Gulf Construction Expo as a major platform in the kingdom to establish and expand its business and network of contractors.

The three-day event, organised by Hilal Conference and Exhibitions (HCE), concludes today at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The 7,000-sq-m plant located in the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) has a production capacity of 250,000 electric water heaters. The company manufactures storage electric water heaters branded Ariston, which are mainly marketed in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

We see a good number of construction and real estate developers at the event. We hope to build new contacts at the show and yield new projects too, said Edoardo Pauletta dAnna, country manager, UAE, Gulf and Levant, Ariston Therma SpA Middle East Branch.

A leading company in the water heating and heating industry, Ariston Thermos product portfolio includes water heating, heating and solar systems, heat pumps and gas boilers. Apart from showcasing its Made in Bahrain water heaters at the Gulf Construction Expo, Ariston for the first time is also promoting its new Kairos Thermo  a solar system for sanitary water heating.

We see a trend towards energy-efficient water heaters and thats why we are promoting this here, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
By Trend

For as long as Armenia continues to engage in a destructive propaganda campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and keeps its soldiers in the Azerbaijani territory, recent bilateral talks hosted by the Russian Federation and OSCE, with the intention to pacify the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, are doomed to failure, Peter M. Tase, expert in Transatlantic Relations and Azerbaijani Studies, a senior advisor to the Global Engineering Deans Council and to various European and Latin American governments, told Azernews, Trend reports.

He noted that the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at the center of these talks, however concrete actions by the government of Nikol Pashinyan are nowhere to be seen, and Armenia continues to occupy twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and maintains a posture of belligerence in the region.

Tase recalled that on April 10-11, Nikol Pashinyan visited the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, in this occasion he delivered once again an inflammatory speech against Azerbaijan, stating the following in the plenary: [Azerbaijan] must refrain from the use of force, threaten by use of force and military rhetoric.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, who pretends to refrain from the use of force and calls upon Azerbaijan to stop using force, is simply bluffing, deceiving the international community and misinforming the Council of Europe. In fact Armenia is the belligerent party and the main source of violence and turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighboring seven districts, all of this territory is a sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and is recognized as such by United Nations and by all its member states, said the expert.

He believes that Pashinyan must review the OSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

In the Helsinki Final Act the principle of refraining from the use of force, included as the second point among its ten tenets, states: The participating States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations and with the present Declaration. The entire international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said Tase.

He went on to add that Armenian Prime Minister must take immediate steps to refrain from the use of force according to the demands of the international community towards the full withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in order to ensure a lasting peace, regional security and economic prosperity in the region.



Tase pointed out that the two governments are not equally positioned on a negotiating table: Armenia is the aggressor (occupying twenty percent of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and plundering its natural resources) and on the side is the government of Azerbaijan (fully respecting International Laws, U. N. Security Council Resolutions and patiently waiting to solve this conflict by peaceful means, even though Azerbaijan has the military might to liberate its occupied territories with the use of force).

Prime Minister Pashinyan is utilizing every diplomatic tool and international factor that would delay any progress made in the bilateral negotiations time table. International Economic sanctions against Yerevan and constant political condemnation of its aggressive actions in the Caucasus are very much necessary in order to pressure Pashinyan to fully withdraw Armenian Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. Only after the withdrawal of Armenian Armed Forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, we may have lasting results in the solution of this conflict that has caused so much pain and suffering for Azerbaijan and its peace loving nation, he said.

As for the statement of the Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan about the possibility of moving military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, Tase said that David Edgari Tonoyan is a former representative of Armenia to NATO, in his current position as Minister of Defense he should focus more on providing sufficient quantities of food and overall resources to the Armed Forces of Armenia, which is going through economic hardships. Tonoyans statement on upcoming Armenian Military Operations is a deceptive message that wont frighten Baku, he added.

Tase noted that Azerbaijani Armed Forces are ranked among the top ten military forces worldwide, thanks to their impeccable training, cutting edge weapons technology and high levels of moral and patriotism. Tonoyans forces will be met with an unmatched response and a heavy thunder of weapons, if they try to awaken the Azerbaijani might. As the old Latin adage states: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon).

On the other hand, Tase believes that one concrete example of showing international pressure towards Armenia is to suspend the current cooperation framework between Armenia and NATO, until the Government of Nikol Pashinyan has withdrawn all of its Armed Forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

NATO must take steps on the ground and deliver political statements that condemn Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories; the alliance should halt the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with Armenia for as long as this country is ruled by politicians that have kissed the blarney stone and use epizeuxis approach when engaged in a smear campaign against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its people, he concluded.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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By Trend

Montenegro highly appreciates and supports Azerbaijans commitment to the concept of intercultural interaction, Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, said at the 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Montenegro has always acted based on the principles of multiculturalism and diversity and that the country government has promoted these principles, trying to improve the cultural policy and the concept of intercultural dialogue in the region and around the world.

Diversity of cultures is an important factor that allows nations to express and share opinions. The policy, which is based on these principles, supports a continuous flow of ideas, while the obstacles that hinder strengthening intercultural dialogue demonstrate the need to give impetus to the promotion of these principles in different social contexts. The target group that we must recognize and focus on for promoting intercultural dialogue is the youth. Young people are a factor of force in any society. In the history of Montenegro, the factor of intercultural dialogue was maintained as a basic condition for political interaction and the creation of a foundation for preserving the cultural heritage," Bogdanovic said.

The Minister noted that multiculturalism is one of the priorities of the state policy of Montenegro and its principles are reflected in the national strategic program for 2016-2020.

"We believe that all countries should work together towards strengthening intercultural dialogue, and we highly appreciate and express our support to Azerbaijan demonstrating its adherence to the ideas of intercultural interaction. We must move in one direction to support the projects of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and other leading international organizations," the minister said.

He also noted that the Baku once again provided a platform for a wide exchange of views and important discussions focused on serious problems and issues in today's international agenda.

The 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue under the motto "Building dialogue into action against discrimination, inequality and violent conflict" has concluded its work in Baku on May 3.

The forum, which has been held on May 2-3 in Baku, hosted more than 20 events with the participation of high-ranking officials from over 105 countries and more than 35 international organizations. The event has been broadcast by the UN on its official website.

The event has been organized by the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Culture, and the partners are UNESCO, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO.

During the event, exhibitions and music programs have been organized for guests.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana Shirley Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Mali Ramatoulaye Diallo, Minister of Culture of Algeria Meriem Merdaci, Head of Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran Abouzar Ebrahimi Torkaman, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, Minister of Information and Youth Affairs of Kuwait Mohammad Aljabri, Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodzic and Minister of Education of Myanmar Myo Thein Gyi have participated in the forum.

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By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order appointing Khalaf Khalafov Deputy Foreign Minister, Trendreports.

By another presidential order, Khalafov has been entrusted with the duties of a Special Presidential Representative for border and the Caspian Sea issues.

Earlier, Khalaf Khalafov served as head of the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

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By Trend

ADA University and ASAN Radio are launching a new media project called Hello America, with support from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and coordination assistance from IdeaLab, LLC. The project will include a weekly radio show highlighting culture, traditions, politics, and daily life in America, and will emphasize ties between Azerbaijan and the United States.

To help start the project, ADA University Communications Faculty staff, representatives of ASAN Service Public Relations Department, and ASAN Radio's creative staff members were expected to travel to the United States at the end of April as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program. While there they planned to visit local, national, and satellite radio stations, broadcasting foundations, government regulatory offices, and communications schools, and meet with many professionals working in radio broadcasting and other media formats to exchange ideas. And of course, to experience American culture!

Asan Radio's director, Emin Musavi, said: "ASAN Radio is committed to bringing reforms, innovations, and services to Azerbaijanis in a comprehensive and creative way. I am convinced that this exchange experience with the United States will significantly increase the quality of our radio station broadcasting.

ADAN University and ASAN Radio produced the "EuropeAsAN" program for the last two years, with the support of the European Union. Shafag Mehralieva, Program Officer, said: "Our joint experience shows that the country's community feels a great need for exciting and interesting content. As with our first project with ASAN Radio, this time ADA University will take international relations theory and translate it into a fascinating radio program for Azerbaijani listeners, with the help of creative media. "Hello, America!" will feature interesting interviews and programs on the political and social differences, traditions and culture of American society, and will increase the knowledge of our youth on global issues."

Speaking about the new project an Embassy spokesperson said, "We are pleased to be working with two leading Azerbaijani organizations in the fields of communication and education with this project, along with support from IdeaLab. While one of the projects main goals is to help people in Azerbaijan understand Americans better, we also hope it results in even better communications programs here in Azerbaijan, and higher broadcast quality for locally-produced shows.

You can listen to the "Hello, America!" program every Friday from 18:45 at ASAN Radio 100 FM wave, easyradio.az website or ASAN Radio mobile phone application, beginning May 3.

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By Trend

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijans joining to the Partnership for Peace Program of NATO on May 4, 1994, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement reads:

"25 years ago, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 4, 1994. National Leader Heydar Aliyev visited NATO Headquarters on May 4, 1994 and signed the Partnership for Peace (SNT) Framework Document Since that time, Azerbaijan has established a solid and mutually beneficial partnership with the Alliance.

Cooperation with NATO is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Azerbaijan sees its partnership with NATO as a means of contributing to security, stability and progress in the entire Euro-Atlantic space.

The SNT program is undoubtedly one of the most successful Alliance programs and positively assesses its role in strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.

25 years of cooperation with NATO relies on the shared values and principles of the PfP Framework Document and the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the commitment to respect the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.

Azerbaijan welcomes the continued support of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the resolution of the conflict on the basis of these principles, as it has been noted in the Summit Declarations from the beginning of our partnership with NATO allies.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regular political dialogue with NATO on issues of mutual interest and highly appraises practical cooperation with the Alliance on various issues, in particular in peacekeeping operations and defense reform.

Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong partnership in peacekeeping operations. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to contribute to peacekeeping operations led by NATO and acting under the mandate of the UN Security Council. At present, Azerbaijan contributes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan by joining the army and allowing the mission to use its airspace and ground communications lines. Azerbaijan also provides substantial financial support for the training of Afghan security forces.

Azerbaijan is determined to continue working with NATO on the basis of its achievements in the framework of the Partnership for Peace with the aim of maintaining peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond its boundaries and in accordance with its principles and objectives."

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By Trend

The mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated the transparency assessment in the fiscal area of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to IMF.

Transparency indicators of Uzbekistan improved on the eight principles of the IMF Code compared to the assessment conducted in June 2018. Now Uzbekistan complies with 23 of the 36 principles of the Code.

IMF states that this is quite a significant progress, taking into account the fact that the time interval between estimates was nine months.

However, despite all the progress, transparency still lags behind the average in the developing countries. IMF explains it by the fact that Uzbekistan embarked on the path of reforms a little more than a year ago, while many other countries have been carrying out reforms for several years, and some for decades.

For example, IMF experts recommend stopping the expansion of budget coverage and reporting on government finance statistics in order to include all fiscal flows of budgetary organizations and extrabudgetary funds.

If Uzbekistan continues to move at the same pace in the implementation of reforms and implement the recommendations of the IMF, the country will have even greater progress in ensuring the transparency of fiscal policy, the IMF said.

Fiscal Transparency Code is a key element in the system of standards for fiscal transparency and defines the basis for assessing compliance with its principles in various countries.

Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to invite IMF experts to conduct an assessment of the country's budgetary policy transparency. IMF conducted a fiscal transparency evaluation (FTE) for Uzbekistan in June 2018. The FTE found that Uzbekistan met at least the basic standard of practice in 16 of the 36 principles defined in the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code.

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Perhaps at no point over the past 30 years, since the recognition of the newly-independent Republic of Armenia by Turkey in 1991, have the circumstances been so auspicious as to begin a lasting and sustainable normalisation of the relations between the two nations.
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Bahrain has reached an agreement with the Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni to develop the northern concession 1, said a BNA report.

The National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) will sign the commercial deals with the Italian firm, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, adding that a draft law would be referred to the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council to be endorsed.

The minister made the press statement on the sidelines of his patronage of the annual Bapco Green School Award 2018-2019.

Noga is now gathering information regarding the analysis of the seismic and geological data of concessions 2, 3 and 4 in the north of Bahrain, he said, adding that international companies would be invited to participate in the exploration later.

He revealed that Bapco is studying a project to make use of carbon dioxide for injection into the Bahrain Field to increase the output when extracting oil.

Noga is also studying plans to cooperate with Government departements in carrying key projects such as the fish farming and tree planting across Bahrain.
Lukoil, one of the worlds largest vertically integrated and privately-owned global energy companies and the market leading lubricants brand in Russia and Europe, has partnered with Al Mustaqbil Al Zahir Cars Trading (Amaz) to distribute its extensive range of lubricant products in the UAE.

Lukoils premium product range includes Genesis, the advanced Synthetic Automotive Lubricants products, already acclaimed in the industry and approved by reputed car manufacturers globally.

Lukoil Lubricants boast over 700 products in their global range and carries more than 1000 international OEM approvals and endorsements, which include Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Scania, MAN, Mack, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, Siemens, Wartsila, ZF and several more car makers from Japan and Korea.

The agreement between the two parties was finalized at the offices of Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC. The event was presided over by June Manoharan, the managing director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants DMCC; William Gilbert Dsouza, Lukoil Sales Director, Automotive Lubricants; Sandeep Malhotra, Lukoil Regional Sales Manager besides Amaz officials including Abdullah Ahmed Bahwan, Executive Director; Shyam Asnani, Chief Operating Officer, Intl Business; Paulo S Fernandes, VP, International Business and Parvinder Singh, Head of Lubricants Business.

Manoharan, who is responsible for Automotive Lubricants in the region, said: "As the 21st century consumers, governments and industries move towards advanced technology to achieve increased efficiency and reduced emissions, the role and scope of oil manufacturers changes and calls for huge R&D investments in new product developments."

"Lukoil being a progressive organization, has already kept itself ahead of the curve and developed an impressive range of synthetic products. The Lukoil Genesis products meet and exceed the stringent quality and high-performance standards set by the global industry organizations, API and ACEA," she stated.

"We are pleased to partner with Amaz to market our Genesis range and other motor lubricants in this highly sophisticated and competitive market," he added.

On the Lukoil tieup, Ahmed Bahwan said: "We are very pleased to partner with Lukoil, a progressive organization and respected global brand, whose strategy for the region matches with ours."

"We want to bring high quality products & services to UAE consumers and continuously strive to provide best in class customer service. Our experienced and motivated teams will significantly contribute to the success of Lukoil Lubricants in the UAE," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Californians Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Include your name and phone number; they wont be published.
One of the two men convicted in the murder that introduced a scandalized public to the so-called Lords of Bakersfield is out of prison after 3
Beachy Dating Advice: Three Wowing Central Oregon Coast Make-Out Spots

Published 05/01/2019 at 3:53 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Newport, Oregon)  Whether it's trying to find a place to really impress someone on a first date or provide a little zing into an ongoing relationship, the Oregon coast is hard to beat. Though theres a lot thats cliche about romantic getaways along the shoreline, and its easy to veer into very unsurprising territory (Above: 15th St. ramp, Lincoln City).

So, what can you do on these beaches that is different and really romantic? This article looks at three places on the central Oregon coast to wow and woo that first date in a very singular way (while in a previous article suggested North Oregon Coast Romantic Surprises).





Pier at South Beach. Newport has tons of lovely beach area, but not a lot thats unpopulated unless youre wandering at night. One spot, however, is a manmade beauty by day or night, sitting on the other side of the bay from Newport.

Park in or around the marina, close to the south jetty, and youll find a pier stretching out a hundred feet or so into Yaquina Bay. Mostly, youll find crabbers and their crab pots  if you find anyone at all. But at night theres usually not a soul here. The lights of the bayfront shimmer and twinkle on the water, and the sound of the waves in the distance is quite lulling. Cuddling together to keep warm in this somewhat exposed spot is another kiss-inducing plus. Lodgings in Newport - Newport Virtual Tour





SW 15th Street Beach Ramp, Lincoln City. In many ways, this central Oregon coast spot doesnt stand out for natural beauty or the possibility of being really alone. In fact, its sort of the opposite: theres a lot of people on this one, with their cars, and its a tad on the greasy side because of the oil from the auto traffic.

However, the fact it allows cars on the beach offers some unique opportunities for interesting romantic moments. Hit this beach later at night, and youll likely find yourselves alone. Slip in your sweethearts favorite romantic, slow dance tune into your vehicles CD player or I-pod port. Then engage in a gushy slow dance on the sand with the surf nearby.

Youll be the hero for what appears to be a spontaneous tender moment and for thinking outside the box.

After dark, the ramp is lit up in an especially lovely way, and either the sloped pavement or the stairway will make for a nicely atmospheric stroll down to the beach should you decide to not take your vehicle down there.

If you do take a rig thats not well equipped for driving on the sand, be careful to stay on the wet and hard parts, and watch for the mushy sections. Its quite easy to get stuck here.

During the day, this spot does provide some fascinating rocky areas at the tideline, which can yield engaging tide pool life. Lodgings in Lincoln City - Lincoln City Virtual Tour











Intoxicatingly Lovely in Lane County. In that 20-mile or so stretch of central Oregon coast between Yachats and Florence, there are copious possibilities for finding yourselves the only two people on the beach. Even on the busiest of weekends, its not hard to find a chunk of sand to yourselves. Its a smorgasbord of kissy-kissy possibilities.

Various hidden accesses lie next to better-known spots like Ocean Beach Picnic Area, Ten Mile Creek or Neptune State Park. These are all hidden enough and even rough enough in landscape as to make them largely unusable at night, unless youve got a really good flashlight. But even then things get so dark and bumpy its a tad comfortable for a totally romantic vibe. However, this all depends on how adventurous the two of you are.

Daylight provides a whole lotta lovin opportunities around here, however.

On the southern side of the little blob-like hill of Ocean Beach Picnic Area sits Rock Creek Campground and Roosevelt Beach. Just south of the campground and the bridge over the creek youll find some hidden accesses trailing off through the shrubbery. These lead to parts of Roosevelt Beach, which is one seriously enchanting tract of sand mixed with rocky structures. Youll pretty much never find anyone here.

This beach, like many along this area, is not wide. So these are big no-nos during high tide events or stormy conditions. But the big plus is that theyre surrounded by high bluffs from which to watch the tidal melee while smooching. Along this part of 101 sit many little overlooks, which make this an awesome spot for wintry dates as well, especially if you want to remain hidden from the elements in your car. And what can be more perfect than making out in your car with a wild beach view, as the wind and rain batter your rig? Lodgings in Yachats - Lane County Virtual Tour











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Over the last several months, a visit to any Beaumont-related social media was almost guaranteed to lead to conversation about one of the citys most hotly-contested council races.

The matchup of incumbent Mike Getz, 62, and Jefferson Fisher, 30, has seemingly prompted the most conversation among city residents.

During the campaign season, a website disapproving of Getz appeared online through an unknown owner. Fisher quickly made clear he didnt approve it, instead choosing to refocus on his own mission to reshape the future, according to his campaign Facebook page.

The website later was taken down, but speculation spread on who could have started such a page and what side they belong to.

THE BALLOT: Candidates in contested races across Southeast Texas

Fisher says he entered the race because the city needs a breath of fresh air. He says hes the candidate to foster positive relationships and be a young, civil force to help improve the citys image.

Getz, a sometimes controversial council member first elected in 2011, has acknowledged that his tenure has drawn opposition from some, but believes many detractors live outside of Ward 2. He says his constituents know him as a council member who answers phone calls and emails, and addresses complaints as soon as possible.

Both local attorneys have discussed addressing crime with differing approaches.

Fisher said he believes in fighting crime smarter, not harder, which doesnt always mean bringing in more officers. He said members of the Beaumont Police Department have told him theyve had trouble hiring to fill current vacancies, so simply budgeting for more officers likely isnt the best response.

He has said the city needs to focus equally on the causes of crime, including taking care of youth.

Getz has stressed being an advocate for keeping police, fire and EMS at proper staffing and training levels, ensuring they have the equipment they need to do their job.

While in office, Getz has stuck with that campaign promise, and also led and funded a charge to put In God We Trust on emergency vehicles.

Fisher was endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association; Getz was endorsed by the Beaumont Professional Firefighters Local 399.

If elected, Fisher has said he plans to open a dialogue with the school board to build a trusting relationship and push for an overhaul of the citys website to provide residents easier access to information, among other initiatives.

Getz plans to advocate for an extension for Dowlen Road and start a multicultural festival that could happen on the Great Lawn outside the downtown Event Centre.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
One of the biggest issues facing Nederland voters at the polls this spring is a proposed $155.6 million school bond issue split into two proposals.

Proposition A would devote $82 million to build a new high school at the site of the existing building; $49.1 million to repair and expand all four elementary schools; $11.1 to make improvements to both middle schools; and $4.8 million to upgrade technology throughout the district.
Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, made landfall near Puri, India, on Friday morning, lashing the coast with winds gusting at more than 120 miles per hour, said media reports.

Odisha was put on high alert with several teams of the Indian Army, Navy, Coast Guard, National Disaster Rapid Force (NDRF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on standby for rescue and relief operations. The cyclone is said to be the worst to hit India since 2014.

Eight people were killed in Odisha due to the cyclone. According to the government, nearly 160 people were reported injured, with extensive damage to kuchha houses, old buildings and temporary shops, news agency ANI reported.

While a teenage boy was killed when a tree collapsed on him in Puri, flying debris from a concrete structure left a woman dead in Nayagarh. An elderly woman died of heart attack at a relief shelter in Kendrapara district, it stated.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani over coastal Odisha and adjoining northwest bay moved north-northeastwards and has weakened further before reaching Bangladesh.

It now lies over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area at last reported around 9pm, according to the latest special weather bulletin from Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

By Friday night, the full impact of the storm was still being assessed according to local officials. Indias Coast Guard said on Twitter that emergency workers had started providing aid within the first hour of the storm making landfall, reported The New York Times.

Tens of millions of people are potentially in the cyclones path. India and Bangladesh evacuated more than 1 million people each from coastal areas. Large sections of coastal India and Bangladesh are threatened by storm surges, and heavy rains could cause rivers to breach.

The fast-moving storm struck the coast as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Several hours after it made landfall, the cyclone was downgraded to a very severe storm from an extremely severe storm.

Some relief efforts were hampered by extensive damage. Many large trees were uprooted and toppled onto roads in Puri district, according to a government spokesman, but road restoration work had already begun by Friday night, stated the report.

Phone lines, internet and electricity were all down in the city, but the government vowed to have services running again soon. At least 160 people were injured by the storm, it added.

The military conducted aerial surveys Friday evening to assess the damage, and at least four ships with aid supplies were stationed in affected areas, the navy said on Twitter.
Audiovisual technologies company Christie has been named the Official Displays and Projection Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai. It will create life-like visuals on Al Wasl Plaza dome to provide unparalleled visual experience across the entire Expo 2020 site.

With more than 250 ground-breaking laser projectors will illuminate iconic dome, visible from the sky, unparalleled visual experience awaits at Expo 2020 Dubai for the visitiors, said the event organiser.

As the Official Displays and Projection Partner, Christie will showcase its breakthrough laser projection technology, including using more than 250 of its D4K40-RGB projectors to create life-like evolving scenes on Al Wasl Plazas giant 130-metre-wide projection surface, which can also be seen from above.

Christies ground-breaking innovations have featured in Hollywood blockbusters and at major sporting events.

The award-winning company operates in more than 20 countries, and has a major presence in the UAE and Middle East since 2007 with the opening of its Dubai office.

The firm has installations across world-class events, retail centres, classrooms and movie theatres, and operated at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.

Regarded as setting the gold standard for display and projection technology, Christie will supply and manage all display screens across the Expo site, contributing to an exceptional Expo experience for the millions of visitors expected to attend.

Ahmed Al Khatib, the chief development and delivery officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We aim to create an unrivalled experience at Expo 2020 and spectacular visuals on the giant Al Wasl Plaza dome will be an iconic part of this."

"Christie is a trailblazer in this field and we anticipate an array of memorable displays across the Expo site thanks to Christies innovative technologies," he stated.

Bryan Boehme, the executive director, Global Sales and Business Development, Christie, said: "We are proud and excited to be an Expo 2020 Dubai Official Partner and look forward to creating memories with our unparalleled visual displays."

"The Christie D4K40-RGB pure laser projector is a powerhouse of technology and will wow the world with its unrivalled, rich and crisp visuals that raise the bar in image quality, making sure Expo 2020 welcomes the future in the most unforgettable and magical way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
She's the voice that soothes us into an easy Sunday morning on BBC Radio Ulster. But for veteran broadcaster Roisin McAuley, a recent holiday of a lifetime was far from stress-free due to a terrifying medical emergency.

Cookstown-born Roisin, who lives in Belfast with her husband Richard Lee and is stepmum to two children and a granny to one, took seriously ill on a world tour in March.

The much-loved and respected former news reporter, who returned to Northern Ireland five years ago after spending three decades in England, was rushed to hospital in Queensland after falling ill while visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

"We were doing a six-week, I suppose you could call it, world tour," she says. "We wanted to go and visit our friends and relations in Australia and in New Zealand. We decided to go via our nieces in New York and our nephew in California. Our friends also flew down to join us. We went then to Tahiti, to New Zealand and then on to Australia.

"We were in north Queensland beside the rainforest at a lovely resort called Port Douglas. We were able to travel on the Skyrail over the rainforest and we went out to see the Great Barrier Reef.

"It was during the trip out to the Barrier Reef that I fell ill. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I just felt suddenly ill and was out of it. I felt funny and started vomiting. We were on a kind of platform on a reef so it wasn't exactly sea sickness.

"I have very little memory of it. I just remember that Richard was going out snorkelling on the reef and I was thinking to myself, do I want to go out there, too?

"I remember thinking that you had to wear a wetsuit at that time of the year on the reef, because there were little fish out there which could bite you horribly and some of them could be poisonous, and maybe even lethal," she says.

"I was thinking all this and thinking about putting on a wetsuit and how tight it was going to be and I started to feel very unwell. I thought, I don't know if I want to do this at all, and then I started to feel even worse.

"Richard had come back from snorkelling at this stage and all I can remember is being violently sick and staff running to help me. The staff were absolutely excellent.

"They must have been medically trained. One of them, Johan, saw that I really wasn't well at all and acted very quickly.

"He took my blood pressure and told me that they were going to get the Flying Doctor in. He took a list of the medication I was on. I think he must have guessed what was happening, or perhaps he had seen it happening before.

"The boat was at this stage making its way to shore and the Flying Doctor wasn't needed as there was an ambulance waiting there for me. Thankfully there were no helicopters involved, but I was whizzed off to the hospital in a nearby town, Mossman, which was a really small place.

"It was a lovely little hospital, almost like the cottage hospitals that used to exist in Ireland. It was a small, local, district hospital but it was very well staffed," she adds.

When Roisin arrived at the hospital, doctors quickly diagnosed her with hyponatraemia, a critical depletion of salt levels in the body. Signs and symptoms of the condition include nausea and vomiting, headache, short-term memory loss, confusion, lethargy, fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, and decreased consciousness or coma.

"The doctors quickly diagnosed me with hyponatraemia," she says. "It basically meant that my body was depleted of salt. It is a very serious condition. It is the illness that took the lives of the five children - Adam Strain, Claire Roberts, Raychel Ferguson, Lucy Crawford and Conor Mitchell - in hospital in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2003.

"It can lead to all kinds of problems and if I hadn't have been lucky enough to have been on the boat and had it spotted by staff, things could have turned out very different.

"I originally thought that it was heat stroke, as someone I knew had suffered from that and they had been sick like I w as. They had gone to bed to sleep it off and felt fine when they got up again. If I, feeling unwell, had gone to bed and gone to sleep, it might have been curtains for me.

"They were absolutely wonderful at the hospital. They put me on a saline drip. I was very confused. I kept saying to my husband 'Where am I?' and he would say to me 'You're in Australia' and I'd keep asking him 'What am I doing in Australia?' I was totally confused and out of it. But after a few days I came around all right.

"They asked me the usual questions: What day of the week is it? Do you know where you are? What year is it? I was able to answer them all correctly and they were able to let me out when my salt levels returned to normal. They looked after me so well. I was very fortunate and very lucky."

Roisin says it was explained to her that her condition arose due to her medication.

"It all happened because I had taken medication for blood pressure," she says. "My medication is called bendroflumethiazide and because it acts like a diuretic it can deplete the salt in your body.

"I have been taking the same medication for a number of years. But sometimes, they explained to me in the hospital, something else can trigger the condition and cause a low salt crisis. And in my case it was probably the heat and the humidity.

"It was very, very hot in Queensland at the time. In fact, there was a cyclone when I was recovering in the hospital. There was torrential rain - it is the rainforest, after all - and that was spectacular. At least I got to see that, even if it was from my hospital bed.

"I'm just glad that my condition was spotted by wonderful people and treated by amazing people and it was dealt with. They took me off the medication and I'm still off. My blood pressure now seems fine."

Roisin says that she doesn't like to dwell too much on the life-threatening experience, but instead the fact that she is so lucky and blessed.

"I never like to make things too dramatic," she says. "I was very fortunate that I was around people who knew what they were doing. Had the symptoms not been spotted, who knows how serious it could have been? I don't particularly think of my own mortality when I think of this. It just makes me think I am very, very lucky. It was an extraordinary experience and an interesting one.

"I feel that I always appreciate life and I just feel that I was so fortunate that we were able to get help quickly.

"There is a really excellent health system in Australia as far as I could see. They were very prompt in dealing with me and their hospital was very well staffed. There is a Medicare system - a system of reciprocal medical treatment between the UK and Australia. So we didn't even have to pay for my hospital stay.

"We just had to go to an office and register with Medicare and the reciprocal arrangement stood. That was very good and very reassuring.

"I might not have been so lucky had I fallen ill in Tahiti. I don't know what the hospitals are like there. I feel that it is hugely important that when people are travelling to another country they have insurance and know all about these things."

Roisin says she wouldn't be qualified to give others a warning on her condition, as it was so unique to her situation and came on so suddenly, but advised that if anyone feels unwell when travelling they get themselves checked over by a doctor. "As far as symptoms go, mine was just severe vomiting," she says. "I just felt awfully unwell. I just remember thinking that there was something really not right.

"I'm sure there are other ways it presents but I am not medically qualified to advise others. I just know the reason it happened to me.

"It is an unusual condition and it had to do with the medication I was taking so I couldn't put out a general warning to others to watch out for it, except to say that if you feel unwell, go seek medical attention.

"I don't think that it's a common condition by any manner of means, but I would just implore everyone to make sure that they are aware of the health arrangements in the country they are going to."

"For me, I don't have to keep an eye on this. They just took me off the medication I was on and it was fine. And if it continues to be okay, that's fine.

"And it if goes up again they will put me on something different," she says.

Roisin spent four days and four nights in hospital while on holiday recovering from her ordeal.

She says she has one big regret over the whole experience - not getting to see a famous Sydney landmark.

"One of my biggest regrets about the whole thing was that we had booked to go to the Sydney Opera House," she says.

"Before I took ill we had planned to go and stay with friends of ours in Sydney, visit the city and attend the opera house.

"We were so looking forward to five days in the city. That obviously didn't happen. We missed what might have been a highlight of our holiday.

"But in any case we had a wonderful time away. We loved Australia. It was hot and cheerful and beautiful. We will certainly go back.

"Next time, though, we will definitely stay out of the hospital and go to the opera instead."

Roisin is no stranger to drama and stress, perhaps due to her four decades working in the newsrooms of Belfast and indeed England.

"I went to the BBC from a post-grad secretarial course," she says. "It was brilliant for typing like smoke and taking a note, but I was never cut out for keeping 'the boss's diary'.

"It was in the days when there were ads in the newspapers for 'Girl Fridays'. I answered a BBC advert for a newsreader but I suppose I went into journalism because I wanted to write the news rather than read it.

"I've had some rather memorable moments over the years.

"I met Yasser Arafat. I made a film in Sarajevo while under siege and bombardment. We had no electricity and had to depend on water from trucks. I remember racing down 'Sniper Alley' in a 'soft' car - which is one with no armour plating.

"I remember meeting the incredibly brave hospital staff who could only operate when they had to switch on the reserve generator to keep the blood supplies cooled."

She adds: "I remember being tear-gassed in a Lima riot and reporting on the revolution in the Philippines. I remember walking through the abandoned palace of President Marcos after he fled. I filmed in Beirut during the hostage crisis, being the only reporter in West Beirut.

"I recall there being armed guards in the hotel whose only other occupants seemed to be arms dealers but bizarrely, there was a wedding by the swimming pool with belly dancers and obligatory firing of rifles, all this while I lay with my ear to the BBC World Service hearing reports about the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"There are just too many other memories to list."

And Roisin's Australian medical emergency is not the first time the broadcaster has had her holiday interrupted by a hospital stay.

"My return to Belfast in 2014 was actually prompted by an accident in France while we were on holiday there in 2013," she says. "Both my Achilles tendons were ruptured when I fell down a flight of stairs.

"I spent two weeks in a hospital in Bordeaux and 18 weeks in a rehab clinic there learning to walk again.

"I had magnificent care throughout.

"Richard stayed in an apartment nearby and visited me every day.

"Every single member of the family came out to Bordeaux as well as friends from Ireland.

"It prompted Richard to suggest we should move to Belfast. He had retired from his job as chairman of a law firm and we'd been talking about moving from Reading, where we were living."

Roisin adds: "Just after we moved - in early 2014 - the BBC offered me the job presenting Sunday Sequence.

"So you could say my return to the BBC was because of my Achilles tendons. Life takes you in unexpected directions sometimes."

Roisin presents Sunday Sequence on BBC Radio Ulster at 8.30am every Sunday morning
Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Counting has resumed for a second day in Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

Amongst the DUPs successes was the election of their first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, at Antrim and Newtownabbey Council.

Although she received warm congratulations from many of her party colleagues, former DUP health minister Jim Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Expand Close Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting of ballots begins in the Northern Ireland local elections as at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster. Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Handout photo issued by Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, of himself celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster.

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall. (Rebecca Black/PA)

In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote. (Rebecca Black/PA)

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Derry ward where journalist Lyra McKee was murdered (PA)

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly has topped the poll in a Derry ward weeks after the dissident republican murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

Mr Donnelly is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

He polled 1,374 first-preference votes in the Moor district electoral area (DEA) of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

He was first elected to the council as an independent in 2014. Mr Donnellys re-election came as Ms McKee, who was shot dead during disturbances in Derry, was remembered during a May Day parade in Belfast.

Her murder sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly said she died because of a reckless act.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said: This is wrong and my thoughts like the thoughts of this entire community are with her loved ones.

I would plead with those behind this attack to desist from any further attacks and seriously consider the consequences of their action.

Revulsion at her death has galvanised a new bid for political agreement at Stormont following criticism of the stalemate from a Catholic priest.

Demands for action from Father Martin Magill and Ms McKees sister Nichola Corner during her funeral in Belfast spurred the UK Government into a renewed effort to restore Stormont powersharing, due to begin next week.

On Saturday, members from the NUJ paid a special tribute to Ms McKee at Belfast City Hall as the parade made its way through the city.
DUP leader Arlene Foster at the count centre for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Pic: Cate McCurry/PA Wire

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the partys first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by party members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking a vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of the dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Around a third of the 462 seats will be filled today before the final make-up of the regions 11 councils can be revealed.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

At the start of Saturdays count, the DUP were leading the pack with 81 seats, ahead of Sinn Fein on 74, the UUP on 57, the SDLP on 42 and Alliance on 36.

Later, a former Sinn Fein MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff will find out whether he has been elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. (Niall Carson/PA)

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker, Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg who was convicted of drink-driving has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Hogg said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
A former MP, Barry McElduff, who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat (Barry McElduff/PA).

A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre will discover later whether he has won a council seat.

Barry McElduff is standing for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the local government poll.

He stepped down last year after an outcry prompted by him posting a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was put on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmills atrocity.

Ten workmen were shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

On Friday, the Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate was elected in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA). PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, was elected in Northern Ireland (Dave Pettard/PA).

Alison Bennington was propelled onto Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to represent the pro-union and Christian party and praised her supporters good, hard work and good teamwork.

The DUPs founder, the late Rev Ian Paisley once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Sidelined former DUP health minister Jim Wells has said his former leader would be aghast, but her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from her supporters at a leisure centre near Belfast..

The DUP is staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage and has thwarted recent efforts to legalise it.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where it is banned, despite five attempts by the devolved administration to introduce it and calls on Westminster to bypass Stormonts quarrelling politicians.

Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same sex marriage were two separate issues (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Miss Bennington winning a seat and the partys policy on same-sex marriage were two separate issues.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the centralist Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week following the shooting dead of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April.

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.

Antrim and Newtownabbey voters have re-elected a former DUP mayor following his recent conviction for drink driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He said: I am overwhelmed to have been elected with 999 votes  my largest ever.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.
A former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre has won a council seat in the Northern Ireland local elections.

Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5, 1976.

The Co Tyrone man was elected to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on the fourth count.

Newly elected councillor Barry McElduff - who was forced to resign as Sinn Fein MP after angering relatives of the Kingsmill massacre - said he wants to move forward with dignity and integrity. pic.twitter.com/PuZzk7NHRr  Cate McCurry (@CateMcCurry) May 4, 2019

Mr McElduff and his supporters did not celebrate when it was officially confirmed.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she does not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Former West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle DEA  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance Partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

He previously ran for office in the 2017 Westminster election in North Belfast and won 19,159 votes, finishing second behind DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.

Pat Finucane was shot dead by loyalists at the age of 39 in front of his wife and three children in 1989.

The Ulster Unionist Party has suffered a number of high profile causalities, including Jeffrey Dudgeon who lost his council seat in the Balmoral DEA of Belfast.

In what has been a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

In 1981, Mr Dudgeon took a legal challenge to Europe to change the law on homosexuality in Northern Ireland.

The court ruled in his favour and the law in Northern Ireland was changed, bringing the region into line with the rest of the UK.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the Northern Ireland local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would be aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made those comments to the media.

Expand Close The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The DUPs first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who has won a seat at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (Dave Pettard/PA)

(Jim) should have been coming through the normal routes, through the party, if he had concerns about those issues, she said.

We will look at all of those issues after the election. We will be looking at vote management schemes, we will be looking at where we did very well and we will be looking at bad behaviour as well.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in a Moor DEA of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered to be one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes just weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.

It sparked outrage across the world as well as a swell of criticism for dissident republican terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor DEA with 1,374 first-preference votes, just over the quota of 1,292 votes.

Counting continues across Northern Ireland following the local government elections.

Expand Close Counting of ballots at Coleraine Leisure centre in County Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The first day of the count saw gains for the DUP and the centralist Alliance Party, while the Ulster Unionists suffered some losses.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his party had had a very good day.

I am delighted with some of our results west of the Bann, we are taking extra new seats in places where we havent done before, and pleased that a lot of our sitting councillors have been returned, but we have also got some very good fresh blood coming through, he said.

The contest was dominated by early gains in the greater Belfast area for the Alliance Party and Green Party, solid performances from Sinn Fein and the DUP and a slump in support for the Ulster Unionists.

Of the smaller parties, the Progressive Unionists suffered a blow in Belfast with the loss of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston  while People Before Profit gained a seat with Fiona Ferguson.

It's a new day for People Before Profit. And it's a new voice for Socialist politics in this city. Fiona Ferguson has defied the odds and taken a seat in Oldpark. An incredible achievement. Things are about to shake up on Belfast City Council! pic.twitter.com/et6zjGAxvI  South Belfast PBP (@sbelfastpbp) May 3, 2019

The son of a prison officer shot dead by dissident republicans in 2012 was also elected for the DUP.

Kyle Blacks father David died following a motorway drive-by shooting.

Expand Close Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kyle Black, son of murdered prison officer David Black, celebrating with his girlfriend Adele Bradley, after winning a council seat in Mid Ulster (Handout/PA)

In Ards and North Down Council, Tom Smith, deselected as a DUP councillor after he voted to light up a council building in rainbow colours, retained his seat as an independent.

In Londonderry in the far west, the nationalist SDLPs Mary Durkan was elected. The barrister is the sister of Stormont Assembly member Mark H Durkan.

The north-west city also saw Anne McCloskey become the first candidate from the anti-abortion all-Ireland Aontu party to be elected.

Expand Close Counting in the local government elections at Belfast City Hall (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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In Belfast, Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death on a street in East Belfast in January.

In Antrim and Newtownabbey, a former DUP mayor was returned with an increased vote following his recent conviction for drink-driving.

Thomas Hogg served a five-month suspension from the council earlier this year.

He is one of two councillors to be re-elected after a drink-driving conviction.

Alliance councillor Patrick Brown topped the poll at the Rowallane district electoral area in the Newry, Mourne and Down council.

He was caught riding his motorbike while under the influence of alcohol in 2017.

Expand Close DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp DUP councillor Thomas Hogg, who was convicted of drink-driving, has won back his council seat with an increased vote (Rebecca Black/PA)

The council election is being conducted by single transferable vote, a proportional representation system.

A fresh bid to restore Stormonts moribund powersharing institutions is to begin next week.

The last Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded amid a row about a botched renewable energy scheme.

The rift between the erstwhile partners-in-government subsequently widened to take in disputes over the Irish language, same-sex marriage and the legacy of the Troubles.

A total of 819 candidates are standing for 462 available seats across 11 council areas in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland wants to move away from them and us politics, the leader of the Greens has said after her party made significant gains.

The Green Party picked up four seats on Belfast City Council, including holding the one they won in 2014.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

The centralist Alliance Party also made gains in Belfast, going from eight seats to 10 seats.

Expand Close Eric Hanvey of the Alliance party (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Green Party leader Clare Bailey told the Press Association she is feeling overwhelmed by their success.

Mal OHara received a jubilant response from supporters as he emerged from the counting room having been deemed elected in the Castle DEA of north Belfast holding a rainbow flag.

He received a kiss from his partner and a hug from Ms Bailey.

Green Partys Mal OHara is elected in Castle DEA in what has been a phenomenal election for his party in Belfast. Celebrated with a kiss from his partner and a big hug from party leader Clare Bailey pic.twitter.com/GeQu2nmszr  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 4, 2019

Ms Bailey also praised the performance of first-time candidate Aine Groogan, who topped the poll in the Botanic DEA.

Mal OHaras election is a phenomenal breakthrough for the party to get a seat in north Belfast. It was a very tight race, and Aine Groogan topping the poll in Botanic as a first-time candidate coming in ahead of the mayor and deputy mayor of the city, she said.

People have really come out and supported us, they have shown us by their vote that they really want to make the change and our conversations at the door have really resonated, climate change and climate chaos right at the front of the arguments.

Expand Close Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michael McCartan celebrates with his partner Mal OHara (right) of the Green Party at the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

So regardless of our traditional cultural identities, the them and us politics, what we really need to be looking at is how we all mitigate against climate change, and that message is just being understood on the doors and over the last few days we are seeing that result coming in.

Its phenomenal.
A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service

A man convicted of assaulting the person responsible for the manslaughter of his father has been given community service.

James McGaughey was sentenced at Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday where a judge said, that in the circumstances, he was not ordering any compensation to be paid.

McGaughey (24), of Celandine Court in Londonderry, had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm on James Healy on May 7 last year.

He also denied harassment of Healy between January 1 and January 31 last year.

At the earlier hearing at Derry Magistrates Court, Healy, the injured party, gave evidence that last January he had been crossing the Peace Bridge when he encountered McGaughey.

He said McGaughey started shouting things like "you murdering b******" and "I'll get you".

He told the court that McGaughey then followed him up to his flat and said he felt "anxious" after the incident.

The court was also told that the pair had met later outside a shopping centre and the defendant told him he was lucky he had his child with him or he would have killed him.

In relation to the incident last May, the witness said he had been walking across the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge when he encountered McGaughey and another man.

He said the defendant said to him "no knives today big man" before punching him and breaking his nose.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Alan Stewart, Healy agreed he had been convicted of the manslaughter of McGaughey's father on October 30, 2011.

He also agreed the killing involved a knife and that he had been released from prison in October 2017.

The barrister put it to him that when he saw McGaughey, he had said to him "would you like me to murder you like I murdered your father?". This was denied.

McGaughey had told the court that Healy had used "two knives" to kill his father and said the first time he had seen Healy since his release was in May.

He said when they met on the Craigavon Bridge Healy had made the remarks about his father and then reached to his pocket.

McGaughey said he thought Healy was reaching for a weapon so he punched him.

Under cross-examination by a prosecution solicitor, McGaughey denied having met Healy before the incident in May.

District Judge Barney McElholm said the case came down to a credibility issue and he believed the injured party.

He said he did take issue with McGaughey's anger towards the witness.

But he added people could not simply "lash out as that road leads to anarchy".

At yesterday's hearing Mr Stewart said that his client was basically a carer for his mother. He said he had sought counselling on a voluntary basis.

Imposing a sentence of 160 hours community service, Judge McElholm said he was not ordering any compensation to be paid and Healy could pursue that himself if he chose to do so.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to a Northern Ireland man who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) hosted a record 3.43 million delegates for the first time in its history in 2018 with visitation growth of 4 per cent year-on-year.



The results, announced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, deputy chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA), were driven by 363 Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and business events  a notable 3 per cent increase over 2017  of which 97 were large-scale events.



Aligned with Dubais progress towards a knowledge-based economy, top-performing events reflected steady growth across key sectors identified within the UAE Vision 2021 national diversification agenda, equally reflecting the strong return on investment witnessed by show participants across these sectors.



Chairing the Dubai World Trade Centre Authoritys Annual Board Meeting, Sheikh Ahmed reviewed the companys 2018 results and its strategic plans for future growth and expansion. Members of the Board in attendance at the session included Buti Saeed Al Ghandi; Ziad Abdulla Galadari; Abdulla Mohammed Rafia; Khalifa Suhail Al Zaffin; Saoud Ibrahim Obaidalla; Abdulrahman Mohammed Rashid Al Sharid; and Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DWTCA and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of DWTC.



In his address to the board, Sheikh Ahmed said: This year marks 40 years since the opening of the Dubai World Trade Centre and the iconic Sheikh Rashid Tower, which was forged by the ground-breaking vision of our citys founding father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. As we remain future-focused with the aim to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world, DWTC will continue to play a central role in fuelling innovation across all sectors, driving destination competitiveness, and creating future economic opportunities for both, Dubai and the global community.



The year-on-year footfall increase was a reflection of the strength of DWTCs entire business portfolio in its ability to attract 54,717 exhibiting companies from 162 countries, of which 41,147 were foreign exhibitors (5 per cent increase from 2017), accounting for 75 per cent of total exhibitor participation. DWTC has been able to build on the success of 2017 by continuing to assert its regional leadership and impactful contributions in the international Mice sector and by leveraging Dubais strategic positioning as a powerful international convening platform for business and trade enablement, fuelling investment and expansion opportunities across industry verticals throughout the wider EMEASA region.



With strong international participation in 2018, DWTC welcomed 1.04 million foreign business travellers to Dubai, representing 41 per cent of its overall participant volumes. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to aid Dubais destination competitiveness with the development of critical event-related infrastructure and successfully succeeded in spurring growth within its key source markets. The primary source for attendees continued to be dominated by the proximity markets and Europe, namely Saudi Arabia, India, Oman, China, Egypt, Turkey, UK, Germany, Italy and Kuwait, ranked in order of participant volume. While several of the non-regional markets moved up in their ranking in 2018, Italy entered the Top 10 business visitor source country list for the very first time.



Growth across key sectors aligned with national diversification agenda

DWTCs scalable and content-rich events calendar added 28 new entrants including seven exhibitions, nine associations and 12 conferences in 2018, of which 13 were categorised as large scale events with more than 2,000 attendees. Overall, DWTCs 97 large-scale events attracted 2.5 million participants, 23 of which were classified as mega-events and attracted over 30,000 attendees per event. Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to demonstrate its ability to meet the demands of the global Mice sector across a range of high-performing sectors including healthcare, science, F&B, hospitality, technology, energy and environment.



Healthcare, medical and science

In alignment with the UAE vision and Dubai Plan 2021, the Dubai Health Strategy aims at transforming Dubai into a leading healthcare destination by promoting public and private participation in the sector and enhancing Dubais competitiveness as a global medical destination. DWTC hosted 22 events in the healthcare, medical and science sector in 2018, including seven new events. Total visitor participation in this sector grew by 7 per cent from 419,217 in 2017 to 449,098 in 2018. Mega-event Arab Health, the largest medical exhibition and conference in the Middle East, topped the sectors figures with a 3 per cent increase in exhibiting companies, while Dubai Derma recorded a 29% increase in foreign visitors.



Hospitality, food and catering

The hospitality, food and catering sector once again rallied strong, reflecting the criticality of the industry and the far-reaching impact that its sustainability bears on global society. With 10 events collectively witnessing a robust double-digit surge in the number of participants, the portfolio was up 32 per cent in its visitation volumes from 325,438 in 2017 to 428,183 in 2018. Dominating the hospitality sector, as always, Gulfood, the worlds largest show for food business professionals and suppliers, attracted close to a 100,000 visitors, its strongest performance to-date. Meanwhile, the regional and global F&B manufacturing industry convened at Gulfood Manufacturing, which witnessed a 4 per cent increase in exhibiting companies from 1,543 in 2017 to 1,600 in 2018. Gulf Host, hospitality equipment and food service expo attracted significant interest with an impressive 25,000 visitors, up 144 per cent from 2017.



Travel and tourism

With Dubais global positioning as the #4 most visited city in the world and travel and tourism driving 5.1 per cent of the UAEs GDP, the sector continued to be a major focus in 2018. Arabian Travel Market, the leading global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, welcomed around 39,000 visitors while the Hotel Show had a strong showing with over 30,000 attendees.



Information communications and technology

One of the fastest growing and most disruptively transforming sectors across the world, ICT continued to remain a priority feature of the DWTC Calendar with 13 shows recording 42 per cent growth in the number of participants across events  from 226,708 in 2017 to 321,871 in 2018. These growth figures are reflective of Dubais visionary leadership to pioneer innovation, enable sustainable shared economic development and create a platform for continuous knowledge sharing and start-up empowerment. Flagship mega-show GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Future Stars, the regions premier technology and start-up events, showcasing game-changing innovations and the most illustrious investor and start-up gatherings, retained its ascendancy as it welcomed over 150,000 participants (4 per cent growth year-on-year), out of which approximately 40 per cent were foreign visitors with over 5,000 exhibiting companies. The new ICT event entrants in the calendar included the inaugural Future Blockchain Summit, which attracted significant interest with an impressive 14,000 visitors.



Energy and environment

Showcasing the UAEs progress to a sustainable future, the 20th WETEX and third Dubai Solar Show, a regional showcase of the latest developments in conventional energy and renewables reported 2,100 exhibitors and 35,088 visitors, a 10 per cent increase over 2017. Middle East Electricity Exhibition attracted 62,567 visitors, of which nearly half were from international markets.



Corporate portfolio drives synergistic value and sustainable future growth

Throughout 2018, DWTC continued to carry out critical event-related infrastructure upgrades and introduced a number of new facilities across its assets to enhance the experience of business travellers to the exhibition complex. DWTC saw the completion of Offices 4 and 5 in One Central, Dubais newest business district located within the DWTC complex, offering an integrated residential, commercial and hospitality destination, ahead of schedule in December 2018, marking the conclusion of the commercial aspect of the mixed-use destination.



DWTC also continued to extend its successes throughout Dubai through its role in the development of the Expo Village and the new Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at the Expo 2020 site.



DWTCs position as a global innovation leader in the MICE sector continues to be enhanced by the scaling up of strategic events within its calendar  both through the introduction of novel formats, niche segments and new events, as well as the development of the scalable, flexible content for its existing event portfolio. By harnessing new technologies and future-proofing DWTCs businesses by setting the gold standard in digital innovation, DWTC is able to deliver the ultimate, integrated, game-changing business destination experience, not just for 2019 but equally ensuring that we pioneer the evolutionary journey of the global MICE business as we look to the future, said Almarri. - TradeArabia News Service
Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson, who is acting as an ambassador for a huge summer commemoration to honour police and army veterans of the Troubles, says there is nothing dissident about the New IRA terrorists who killed journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry.

"They're just the same old, same old as far as I am concerned," said Lawson, who used the words of Gerry Adams to claim: "They haven't gone away."

The Enniskillen actor said he was "humbled" to have been asked to play a role in the August 17 events paying tribute to police and army veterans who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Thousands of former members of the security forces, along with ex-prison officers and retired emergency service personnel are expected to descend on Lisburn for a drumhead service and parade to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of Operation Banner, the name for the British Army's deployment here from 1969 to 2007.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lawson, who plays Jim McDonald in the TV soap, will fly in next Tuesday to take part in the press launch for the parade organised by the Northern Ireland Veterans Association (NIVA), who are inviting all servicemen and women to take part in the commemoration.

Lawson said: "My family are all from the services. All through my life relatives have been associated with the armed forces and I have done everything I can to support veterans over the last 30 years.

"So when the association asked me to be an ambassador for the commemoration in August I had no hesitation in saying yes.

"It's the least I can do. I have always stood my ground in defence of the people who served here," added Lawson who has campaigned for more help to be given to the men and women who served here during the Troubles and to families whose loved ones died.

"I didn't lose any relations in the Troubles but I know many people who were affected by the violence. Even as a child I was very much aware of what was going on. When we lived in Fermanagh we owed a great debt of gratitude to the security forces for providing the security they did.

"My own father, who was a unionist politician, was considered a target. I also know that my mother lost friends in the Enniskillen bombing."

NIVA who have expressed concerns about the recent charging of soldiers with murders here, have said that the August commemoration will be primarily a day for reflection on the losses sustained by the security forces and other services during the Troubles.

The official figures for Army, police and prison service deaths stand at just over 1,200 but research by NIVA has uncovered the names of 2,400 men and women who they say died not only in terrorist attacks but also as a result of suicide and stress related illnesses.

"I'm only too aware of post-traumatic stress disorder. I know personally of people who are getting no help. It makes me very angry," said Lawson who is on record as saying that he didn't meet a Catholic until he was 20 when one of his first friends "from the other side" was fellow Fermanagh actor Adrian Dunbar, currently starring in the hit TV series, Line of Duty

"We're still close friends and we've never had a cross word during 40 years about what happened back home," said Lawson who uses social media to keep up to date with developments in Northern Ireland.

He added: "I knew there was trouble in the Creggan estate even before journalist Lyra McKee was killed. That was shocking and I see graffiti has gone up on the walls supporting the New IRA. To me there's nothing dissident about them. They're the same old same old as far as I am concerned."

On a lighter note on the subject of Adrian Dunbar, Lawson said: "Don't ask me if he's H. I'm not saying a word."
There has been a surge in support for Northern Irelands smaller parties in the local government elections.

Alliance and the Greens have topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.

With all 462 seats filled in 11 councils, Alliance is celebrating victories across the country, which saw its representation jump by 65%.

However, the political landscape in Northern Ireland stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the countrys largest.

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The unionist party gained 24.1% first preference votes  up by 1%  and ended the election with 122 seats, a loss of eight seats compared to the 2014 council elections.

Sinn Fein suffered a slight dent to its support base with 23.2% first preference votes  a drop of 0.8%. The party walked away with 105 council seats, the same number of seats they won in 2014.

The Alliance party saw a surge in its share of votes which increased from 6.7% to 11.5%. Its number of seats rose from 32 to 53.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said she not expect the remarkable breakthrough in the local government elections, adding that it has transformed the party.

She said: We got seats in places that our target was to get a candidate who would run there.

We were not expecting the surge that we got and it has been tremendous. We were fortunate that we have a robust approval system for our candidates.

It has completely transformed the party and I am excited about where the party can go from here.

The Green party and independents also made significant gains across the 11 councils.

The Green partys Mal OHara was elected to Belfast City Council in what has been a hugely successful election for his party in Northern Irelands capital.

The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party suffered some of its biggest causalities with the loss of high-profile Belfast councillor Jeff Dudgeon.

In a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

The party now has 75 council seats, a loss of 13 compared to the last local government elections.

The SDLP also lost seven councillors and gained 12% of first preference votes  a drop of 1.6%.

The Traditional Unionist Voice suffered a heavy blow to its representation after losing over half of their seats. The party have been left with six seats.

Independents made significant gains taking 23 seats. People Before Profit added a councillor to its representation, taking home five seats.

In Omagh, a former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre won a council seat.

Expand Close Barry McElduff (Barry McElduff/Twitter/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Barry McElduff was forced to resign his Westminster seat last year amid an outcry after he posted a video of himself balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she did not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.

John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle district electoral area  which encompasses parts of north Belfast  with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance partys Nuala McAllister, who attracted 1,787 votes.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUPs first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

The leader said her party will look at a number of issues including bad behaviour by members after the local elections have concluded.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would have been aghast at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUPs founder once led a campaign to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made the comments to the media.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in the Moor district electoral area of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnellys election comes weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.
The 17-year-old victim was found unconscious in a flat in Belfast.

A teenage boy is in a critical condition following an assault in Belfast.

Three males have been arrested in connection with the attack, which happened at around 4.15pm on Friday, May 3. Police were called to reports of a disturbance at a flat on the Donegall Road, where they found the 17-year-old victim unconscious.

He has been taken to hospital where his condition is understood to be critical.

Detective Inspector Keith Wilson said: The arrested males were detained at the scene and were taken to Musgrave police station for questioning. They remain in police custody this morning.
Patricia Irvine, chair of the United Nations Association NI, speaking at World Press Freedom Day in Belfast

The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday described Northern Ireland as "an inhospitable place for journalists".

Speaking in Belfast on Unesco World Press Freedom Day, NUJ official Seamus Dooley warned of increasing threats to both the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

At least 95 journalists were killed last year while at work, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Mr Dooley said that the unsolved murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan in 2001 was "a stain on the history of policing in Northern Ireland".

Turning to the murder of Lyra McKee, Mr Dooley said: "Unlike Martin's murder, Lyra was not the target of a deliberate and premeditated act of violence against a journalist.

"But Lyra was killed in the course of her work, the important work of witnessing news on the streets of Creggan."

He also criticised the arrest of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their investigation into the Loughinisland bar murders.

"The treatment of Trevor and Barry illustrates in microcosm the difficulties faced by those who seek the truth," he said. "On a regular basis we get reports of threats to journalists from both sides of the political divide. The threats are vicious and vile and increasingly directed at women and misogynistic in nature.

"Today we must assert the right of journalists to do our job, not just in Northern Ireland but across the globe."

In London, the Society of Editors has called on all politicians in the UK to give their support to the media.

Ian Murray, executive director of the society, said: "All too often strong words in support of a free media are quickly forgotten when new laws on being considered to constrain what the public has a right to know."
The Unite union has said it will campaign for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation to be nationalised if a new owner seeks to break up the company.

Announcing the sale of its aerostructures and engineering operations in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards on Thursday, the Canadian giant said it was committed to finding a buyer that will "operate responsibly" in Northern Ireland.

A number of major companies involved in aerospace components have already been suggested as potential buyers, but the prospect of a venture capital-led takeover has prompted fears among unions.

Susan Fitzgerald from Unite said such an outcome could spell the "kiss of death" for Bombardier's 3,600 workforce and could threaten thousands more jobs in the supply chain.

"The idea of somebody coming in and picking what they want and scrapping the rest is just a recipe for job losses, not just within the Bombardier workforce, but in the supply chain as well," she said.

"Shorts was nationalised in the past. If that's what it takes to secure jobs in communities, we don't have a problem putting that out there and standing over it. If we thought the workforce could be broken up, we would put forward that as a campaigning demand and we would be vigorous in pursuing it.

"We have no choice. Do we just sit by and let market forces dictate what happens to communities, to jobs and people's lives? The answer from Unite is no."

While Bombardier has previously expressed concern over the uncertainty posed by the threat of a no-deal Brexit, the company said on Thursday that its exit from Northern Ireland was down to a strategic move away from commercial aviation.

But the UK's eventual status within the EU is likely to be a significant factor in who buys the business.

American-owned manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems and UK-based GKN have emerged as potential front-runners.

Both companies declined to comment yesterday on a potential bid for Bombardier.

GKN was recently acquired by Melrose Industries in a hostile 8bn takeover and may not be geared toward an acquisition.

Spirit Aero, which is heavily dependent on Boeing's crisis-hit 737 Max, has recently expressed interest in acquisitions to diversify its business.

Airbus, which is one of the biggest customers for Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation, could also potentially step in. The European aerospace giant owns the majority stake in the A220 aircraft series, which Bombardier makes the wings for. The sale of the business is likely to include the wing programme.

In a statement, Airbus said it does not anticipate any impact on A220 production as a result of the sale, but added: "We will of course monitor the evolution with our partner, Bombardier, to ensure that this is the case."

China's state-owned AVIC, which acquired NI aircraft seat manufacturer Thompson Aero three years ago, could also see Bombardier as an opportunity to strengthen its stake in the UK.
Sinn Feins John Finucane celebrating with party colleague Mary Ellen Campbell during the local government election count at Belfast City Hall (Mark Marlow/PA)

Veteran Eamonn McCann celebrates after being elected for People Before Profit during Derry and Strabane District Local Government Elections count in Derry on Saturday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin 4-5-2019 

Counting continues at Belfast City Hall for the Belfast City Council elections after Thursday's voting across Northern Ireland. Alliance parties Nuala McAllister celebrates topping the poll in Castle pictured with Naomi Long. Picture Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

The 2019 Northern Ireland Local Government Elections saw a surge in support for the middle ground with smaller parties claiming a bigger share of the vote - and the Alliance Party surging in popularity.

The DUP took a 24.1% share of first preference votes - a 1% increase on the last election, while Sinn Fein's vote was slightly down by under 1% to 23.2%. The Alliance Party share of first preference votes was up by almost 5% to 11.5%. The SDLP, UUP and TUV all saw a drop since 2014, while the Greens enjoyed a 1.2% increase.

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For a full breakdown visit our Election hub and check out the results from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

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Here's how the results unfolded:
The son of murdered prison officer David Black has been elected in the Mid Ulster Council.

Kyle Black ran as a candidate for the DUP in the Carntogher electoral ward.

His father, David 52, died following a motorway drive-by shooting in Co Armagh in November 2012 while on his way to work.

A republican organisation calling itself the IRA said it carried out the murder.

Kyle celebrated with family as he was unveiled as the first candidate returned in his District Electoral Area (DEA).

He said he was over the moon and ecstatic to be elected, adding that his thoughts were also with his father.

Its something I think of every single day, he said.

Its been a big part of my drive as to do what Im doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially and offers opportunities.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live inKyle Black

He said that by getting involved in politics he could give back to his community.

Speaking to Radio Ulster, he said: (My dad) was a huge influence on my life and he moulded me into the man I am today.

He was a man of principle, a man of great moral integrity and if I can live up to half the man he was I will be doing well.

He was a fantastic man and anybody that did know him would be able to testify that.

If I had of reacted differently (to his murder) that would have been understandable.

However, my family had no control over what happened to us but we have control over what I do and what we do and out of absolutely devastating consequences, that will impact our lives forever, I felt that out of that I would try and do something positive and put something back into the community.

I felt it was something good to be able to do for the people in the local area.

I cant change what happened but I will create my own identity in who am I.

I want to make Northern Ireland a better place for everyone to live in.

He also welcomed the election of the DUPs first openly gay candidate.

Alison Bennington will serve on the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

I believe that individuals should be elected on the basis of their merit and their personal capabilities, Kyle added.
Damac Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality arm of UAE developer Damac Properties, has signed a key partnership agreement with Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, a leading regional name in hospitality, on the opening day of the 26th Arabian Travel Market expo in Dubai.



Under this agreement, Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh, an architectural landmark in the heart of Riyadh, featuring luxury hotel apartments furnished by Fendi Casa, will be operated under the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand.



Ali Sajwani, the general manager of operations at Damac, said: "Our partnership with Rotana will help us realise our vision of offering unrivalled investment opportunities in the hospitality industry. The kingdom sees continued growth in the travel sector, which is driven primarily by leisure, pilgrim, and corporate visitors, and we are confident that this partnership will translate to renewed value for investors and differentiated experiences for our guests."



Rotana's acting CEO Guy Hutchinson said: "We are proud to be signing this agreement with Damac and to be participating in the kingdoms development journey towards Vision 2030."



"The partnership confirms our commitment to achieving the goals of the National Transformation Program 2020, which entails the activation of the kingdoms regional and global role as a commercial and economic centre, as well as a destination for tourists and investors alike," he noted.



"Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana in Riyadh looks forward to welcoming guests, while supporting the diversification of the kingdoms hospitality offering, characterized by Rotanas personal touch developed for long-term guests and families," stated Hutchinson.



The agreement with Rotana, with a footprint that now crosses the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, will further boost investors confidence through an attractive rental pool programme.



Damac Towers Arjaan by Rotana, Riyadh is the first property to be included in the agreement and comprises of two towers that offer deluxe serviced apartments and a collection of penthouses.



The partnership between two of the regions most prominent home-grown brands also highlights a shared commitment to service the thriving hospitality market of Saudi Arabia.



This rise in tourism is attributed to the kingdoms ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap that emphasises diversifying its economy with increased investments in infrastructure, real estate and tourism sectors, said the developer.



International arrivals to the kingdom are expected to increase on average by four per cent per year, reaching figures of 22.1 million by 2025, it stated.



Earlier this year, Damac chairman, Hussain Sajwani, expressed interest in new plots in Saudi Arabia. Around the same time, Rotana also laid out its plans of stepping up efforts to expand its footprint in the kingdom, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Ulster Unionists' vote has fallen significantly as the Alliance Party made massive gains in the council elections.

UUP leader Robin Swann last night acknowledged Alliance's success but insisted his party was far from finished. He pledged he would "listen to what the voters are telling us" and learn from the poll.

Visit our Election hub and check out the results as they come in from each council: Antrim and Newtownabbey --- Ards and North Down --- Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon --- Belfast --- Causeway Coast and Glens --- Derry and Strabane --- Fermanagh and Omagh --- Lisburn and Castlereagh --- Mid and East Antrim --- Mid Ulster --- Newry, Mourne and Down

Counting continues today but with over half of 462 seats across Northern Ireland filled, there has been a significant shift to the centre ground.

The DUP vote increased and the party elected its first openly gay candidate, Alison Bennington, who took a seat in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Her victory was greeted by cheers and hugs from DUP supporters.

Party leader Arlene Foster said DUP opposition to same-sex marriage was unchanged.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson welcomed Ms Bennington's election. "If you believe in our party's principles, if you stand for our values, if you are prepared to go forward and seek selection and you are selected and elected by the people - then get on and do the job," he told the BBC, adding that opposition to Ms Bennington's candidacy expressed by DUP MLA Jim Wells was shared only by a minority of members.

The Greens and People Before Profit secured notable victories in Belfast where the performance of the day came from the SDLP's Paul McCusker and his poll-topping 2,856 vote in Oldpark.

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The son of murdered prison officer David Black, Kyle, took a seat for the DUP on Mid-Ulster District Council. "I'm absolutely ecstatic at being elected," he said. "I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support that I received."

He said that the murder of his father was always prominent in his thoughts. "It's been a big part of my drive as to do what I'm doing now. The reason why I got involved in politics is that I want to play my part in moving Northern Ireland towards being a truly peaceful society that thrives economically, culturally and socially."

In Belfast, DUP group leader Lee Reynolds failed to get elected in Titanic where the party fell short of the three seats it wanted.

In Oldpark, PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston lost her seat. UUP councillor Sonia Copeland dedicated her victory in Titanic to community worker Ian Ogle, who was stabbed to death in east Belfast.

Dr Anne McCloskey made history as the first candidate to be elected for new party Aontu. She won a seat on Derry and Strabane District Council.

Overall in the District Electoral Areas (DEAs) where votes have been counted, election pundit Nicholas Whyte said the Alliance vote had increased 4.1 percentage points from 2014 with the DUP recording a 1.6 percentage point rise. The SDLP's vote fell by 0.6 percentage points, Sinn Fein was down 0.8 points and the UUP 2.2.

Alliance topped the poll in a number of areas including six DEAs in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and in three Antrim and Newtownabbey DEAs.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Alliance leader Naomi Long said she was delighted with her party's performance.

"I am conscious we are only halfway through the election results but there is no doubting this is a fantastic day for Alliance," she said.

"While this is a council election, it is clear people have been left disillusioned with the stagnation at Stormont and deadlock at Westminster.

"While others engaged in the politics of fear, many people instead responded to Alliance's positive campaign by voting in a different way than they had before. That vote to increase the centre ground may well have changed the dynamic in terms of local politics."

Mrs Long added: "Some people and parties spent the campaign accusing Alliance of being unionist or being nationalist.

"We didn't engage in that but rather told people what we would do if elected; it is clear people desire that delivery, which has been reflected in the results."

The UUP leader admitted he was disappointed in how his party polled in Belfast.

"There's still a bit to go and more results to come," Mr Swann said. "It has been a day of mixed fortunes. We acknowledge we have issues in Belfast and we will work to address that.

"This has been a good election for the Alliance Party. The UUP will still have representatives in every council chamber in Northern Ireland.

"And we have had some good results such as John McDermott winning a second seat in Carrick Castle, Alex Swan winning a second seat for us in Downshire East alongside James Baird on Lisburn and Castlereagh Council with possibly more gains there. Louise McKinstry was a first-time candidate and was elected on the first count in Lurgan to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council."

Mr Swann added: "I acknowledge this has been a good election for the Alliance Party, but the UUP are in this for the long haul. We will learn from these elections and come back stronger. We will listen to what the voters are telling us."
An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher

An order restricting the reporting of evidence in the trial of two boys charged with the murder of a schoolgirl in the Irish Republic has been lifted for all but one publisher.

A judge varied an earlier ruling that there was to be no further publication of any evidence in the trial of the two 14-year-olds accused of the murder of Ana Kriegel until after the verdicts.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the ruling would only apply to one media organisation.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to the murder of schoolgirl Anastasia 'Ana' Kriegel (14) in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys has also denied a further charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's body was found by gardai at a disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen by her father leaving her home at 5pm on the day she disappeared.
Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison including Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Star Wars fans have gathered in Ireland to mark the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Hundreds of fans, many dressed as their favourite characters from the film, descended on Kerry and Donegal for the May the Fourth festivals.

Themed festivities and events for all ages attracted tourists from all over the world to Irish locations made famous by the films.

Activities included walking tours, childrens work shops, movie screenings, exhibitions, fireworks and boat trips.

Storm Troopers invading the universe of #MalinHead #Donegal today for our #Maythe4thBeWithYou festival which is in full swing with lots of adventures for the entire family. Find out more https://t.co/NZ0KEjHD1Z #WildAtlanticWay pic.twitter.com/9RPhdXX4lE  Failte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) May 4, 2019

Star Wars events were held around the world on May 4, due to the date sounding like the films famous phrase  May the Force be with you.

In Ireland, two festivals were staged over the weekend at locations close to where scenes from the most recent movies were shot  Malin Head in Co Donegal and in Portmagee in Co Kerry.

Ciara Sugrue, head of festivals and events at Failte Ireland, said the festival in Kerry connected fans from across the world.

She said: This festival is really something that we created to celebrate the fact that some of the greatest movie makers in the world picked this part of Ireland to include as the location for their movie.

Its that connection with the Wild Atlantic Way and Stars Wars and attracting people to this beautiful part of the country and to celebrate universal Star Wars day.

The place is buzzing.

Expand Close Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as a Snow Trooper (left) and a Tie Fighter on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed, during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee (Brian Lawless/PA)

Gary OToole, who makes Star Wars costumes, was one of the main attractions for the festival.

He paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who recently died at the age of 74.

Chewbacca is quite possibly one of the most popular characters and one of the first that comes to mind when you think of Star Wars, he said.

Peter was a very gentle sole. Some of us has the pleasure of meeting him and his family. Who doesnt love Chewbacca and Stars Wars?

He was gentle giant, someone with a very kind heart who was dedicated and brought a lot of charisma to the role.

Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as Star Wars character Rey.

She said: Its an amazing experience. The scenery is stunning and I can see why they chose here.

I was almost in tears when I got to see Skellig Michael, its a stunning place that everyone should go see.

I loved Chewbacca  it was my favourite character. I burst into tears when I heard Peter (Mayhew) died.

He lived a great life and it impacted on so many people. He will live on.
An emergency fund should be set up to help NHS workers at Hairmyres Hospital facing a potential delay of their wages due to a new payroll system, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon has said.

The new system is set to be introduced at the hospital in East Kilbride this month by NHS sub-contractor ISS, with fears that the change could cause financial hardship for staff.

Currently, payments are made in arrears on a fortnightly basis, however during the rollout of the new system it is claimed there are plans for staff wages to be delayed for one week on the first payment.

Hospital workers at Hairmyres are facing the loss of a weeks pay because of their money grabbing PFI employer.



As a trade union organiser I fought against PFI, as Labour First Minister Ill end it because this is what it does to workers. pic.twitter.com/Weq0sTmy75  Richard Leonard (@LabourRichard) May 3, 2019

It would mean workers receiving two weeks pay covering a three-week period, with a weeks worth of wages retained by the employer.

Workers who could struggle to make ends meet have been offered bridging loans to help make up the shortfall, although the money would have to be paid back to the employer.

According to employees who applied for loans, some have still not received them.

In a letter to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman Monica Lennon requested that funding be granted to support the workers.

Shame on @issworld for implementing this cruel pay-grab. I raised it with @NHSLanarkshire today and requested emergency support for those put into hardship. @lilian_macer represented the workers brilliantly and presented the facts that NHS Lanarkshire needed to hear about ISS. https://t.co/vtDOdvxBo6  Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) May 3, 2019

Ms Lennon and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also addressed a rally of workers who held a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

It is scandalous that hospital workers are being forced to fight for their wages and are having to consider industrial action, said Ms Lennon.

I have called on NHS Lanarkshire to work with the GMB and Unison to put an emergency fund in place for low-paid, frontline staff who need urgent assistance.

The possibility of industrial action is growing.

NHS Lanarkshire must urgently send out a hard message to Prospect Healthcare and its sub-contractor ISS that this conduct breaches the principles of fair work, and will not be tolerated in our health service.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: The Health Secretary wrote to both ISS UKs managing director of healthcare and chief executive officer to express concerns about the financial impact of these changes on staff at Harimyres Hospital, who are a vital part of our NHS Scotland staff.

We welcome the ISS proposal to provide an interest free bridging loan to cover the additional six days pay now being withheld from staff and which are to be repaid over a 20-week period.

ISS is a PFI contractor appointed in 2001 during the reconstruction of the hospital. It provides facilities services at Hairmyres Hospital, and its staff are valued members of the local healthcare team.

Senior staff at NHS Lanarkshire are in dialogue with ISS and a dedicated helpdesk has been set up by ISS, offering help to individual members of staff who wish to discuss changes in the payroll system.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said: I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was compelling evidence he was behind the leak  something he denies.

In a statement, Mr Basu, head of the Mets Specialist Operations, added: Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Mr Williamson himself has said he would welcome a police probe, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs on Thursday there was no plan to pass information from its leak inquiry to police, and said the Prime Minister regarded it as closed.

It was understood the information leaked from the meeting was not judged by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to be of a classification level that would require a criminal investigation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has described the partys local election performance as brilliant and believes its opposition to Brexit will be the key to future successes.

The Twickenham MP told BBC Breakfast that the gains of 676 after Thursdays vote were the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Sir Vince said the Lib Dems positioning as a Remain party will win them votes in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for EuropeSir Vince Cable

He told the BBC: We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that. We have a long history of support for Europe.

When people are trying to make their minds up, they would and they should vote for us, knowing that every vote is a vote to stop Brexit.

The Lib Dems have taken control of ten councils, including Winchester and North Norfolk, which Sir Vince credited to lots of hard work, over months.

Congratulations to hundreds @LibDems councillors elected today, scoring 703 gains - the most in our partys history. Your commitment and formidable campaigning were crucial to this stunning result. Next the European campaign, when every @LibDems vote will be a vote to #StopBrexit pic.twitter.com/9lOQWXKiGf  Vince Cable (@vincecable) May 3, 2019

The party increased its presence across England, including in Chelmsford, where it gained 26 seats and took control from the Conservatives.

The town, which had a population of 168,310 according to the 2011 census, voted 53,249 in favour of Leave in 2016, compared with 47,545 to Remain.

Thursdays poll saw the Conservatives lose almost 1,250 seats and 45 councils  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Meanwhile, the number of councils under no overall control has increased by 36, to 71 in total.
Police are appealing for information about the robbery (Joe Giddens/PA)

Robbers have stolen a safe containing a five-figure sum of money from a mans home after bursting in and threatening him.

Police believe the robbery in Galston, Ayrshire, may have been a pre-planned, targeted attack.

The group of men entered the property on Shields Road at around 2.15pm on Friday.

One of the men threatened the 66-year-old victim while the others stole the safe, which contained a five-figure sum.

Police Scotland is appealing for information after a 66 year-old man was robbed at an address in Galston yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/XXuxGORkZ5 pic.twitter.com/aCNTz62rIS  Ayrshire Police (@AyrshirePolice) May 4, 2019

The men then made off in a silver coloured Lexus GS300 vehicle, which had a broken rear windscreen, heading towards the centre of Galston.

Police are appealing for information about the incident.

Detective Sergeant Ewan Bell, at Kilmarnock Police Office, said: Although the man was not physically injured, this robbery was a terrifying experience for him to have to go through and he has been left shaken.

Nobody should be afraid in their own home and it is vital that we find the men responsible for this incredibly callous and forceful crime.

Our officers are currently going through CCTV and making door to door enquiries, however we are appealing for the wider public who may have any information that can help us to get in touch.

We believe that the man we have described may have been in the area in the days leading up to the robbery and that it was a pre-planned, targeted attack.

Do you remember hearing or seeing anything in the area prior to the incident taking place, or did you see the vehicle described driving away from the area?

We know the area was busy with people at the time, think back, you may have information that did not seem like anything at the time, but now you know a robbery took place, may now seem significant.

The men are described as a group of four of five, with one wearing a grey balaclava.

One of the men is described as 5ft 10ins, of stocky build with pale skin, stubble and short cropped blonde or red hair.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police via 101, quoting incident number 2010 of Friday May 3, 2019 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

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Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

Expand Close Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Member of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison Siobhan Hind, from Dublin, dressed as the character Rey on a boat trip to Skellig Michael, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

Expand Close Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Unai Corr, 8, and his mother Monika Knorr, from Kenmare, take part in lightsaber training during the May the 4th Festival in Portmagee, where scenes from Star Wars were filmed (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Theresa May must set a date for her departure or her MPs will do it for her, a former Conservative Party leader has said in the wake of devastating local election results.

Iain Duncan Smith described the polls as a judgment on leadership as he urged the caretaker Prime Minister to say when she will stand down.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils after the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

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Mr Duncan Smith said the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should urgently meet again to decide on Mrs Mays fate.

We have to make a change The message was loud and clear that, since March 29, people have decided they are absolutely furious with the political class, he told LBC.

The committee has to sit again now, urgently, and decide that either the Prime Minister sets the immediate date for departure or, Im afraid, they must do it for her.

The threat of an imminent challenge to Mrs Mays position as Conservative leader was lifted last month when the 1922 Committees executive rejected calls to change party rules which protect her from a no-confidence vote until December.

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Earlier, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the outcome would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

He said the results were very disappointing, telling BBC Breakfast: What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit.

We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Ministers meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the message from voters in local elections was: Get on, deliver Brexit and then move on.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The electorate right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt pointed the finger at purist Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories drubbing.

Asked who was responsible for the losses, he told reporters in Africa: You can look at lots of different groups of people  you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

You can for sure look at Government  Im sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently.

But it was a good night for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Sir Vince Cable hailed the best results weve had in the 40 years of our existence.

Reflecting on several years of election losses, Mr Cable said the Lib Dems opposition to Brexit will help them in the upcoming European elections.

We are clearly a major force, we are clearly the leading Remain party and we expect to do well on the basis of that, he told BBC Breakfast.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as PM and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters.
A leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei which cost Gavin Williamson his job did not amount to a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked as defence secretary over his alleged involvement in the disclosure, was among those to call for a criminal investigation, which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

But Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the policeNeil Basu

He said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, Mr Basu said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

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Whatsapp Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network (Steve Parsons/PA)

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case is referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

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According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the countrys foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had nothing to do with Ms Begum, and warned she could be hanged.

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someones citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

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She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged.

The issue of Ms Begums citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of ISs self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the childs death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mothers status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begums citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begums family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretarys move.

Ms Begums familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out what is obvious to all.

Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladeshs problem, he said.

What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping  taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamimas citizenship.

This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and are not taken lightly.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UKs National Security Council.

Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry:

April 23  A meeting of the UKs National Security Council (NSC), the countrys top national security body, is held.

April 24  The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britains new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting.

Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council.

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April 25  Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is deeply worrying.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is completely unacceptable for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should absolutely be looked at.

Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible.

In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had divulged information from the National Security Council.

April 26  An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions.

Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak.

Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved.

Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved.

April 27  It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill.

Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting.

Chinas ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure.

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April 28  Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone.

He says the UK should exercise a degree of caution about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei.

April 29  The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers.

May 1  Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information.

Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having lost confidence in his ability to serve.

May 2  Gavin Williamson says he would be absolutely exonerated if there was a police investigation into the leak.

May 4  The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.
Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech to local party members at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby (Nigel Roddis/PA)

Tory leader Theresa May has overseen a local election massacre, with one-in-four of her councillors being booted out of their seats.

The Conservatives had dropped nearly 1,300 seats and lost control of 45 councils as the final results came in  the worst performance, in raw numbers, by a governing party in local elections since 1995.

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw the Tory leader heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: Why dont you resign? We dont want you.

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was always going to be difficult at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main partiesTheresa May

She said: Because we havent delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties.

As the party who has been in government for nine years, it was of course always going to be particularly difficult for us.

But as we look at what happened, nobody was expecting that Labour was going to do as badly as they did.

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Labour lost 63 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.

He told ITV: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done, parliament has to resolve this issue. I think that is very, very clear.

Well see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections- Brexit - sort it. Message received.  John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) May 3, 2019

And shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: So far, message from local elections  Brexit  sort it. Message received.

Mrs May welcomed the Labour leaders offer to get a Brexit deal done as the only escape route.

She said: I welcome the fact that Jeremy Corbyn has said today that he sees the time is now to get a deal and to deliver on Brexit  its what Ive been saying for some time.

Its what we want to do, its what weve been working for, so now we must get on and do that.

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But backbench MPs called for her removal and warned that the party would be toast if it did not change direction.

Heckler Stuart Davies, a Tory Party member and former county councillor, said he called for Mrs May to resign because of her handling of Brexit.

The 71-year-old, from Llangollen, told the Press Association: I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly, she is telling lies  We will be out by March 29.

I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move onSir Bernard Jenkin on Theresa May

There were calls from Tory MPs for Mrs Mays removal as leader, with senior Brexiteer Sir Bernard Jenkin warning that the party would be toast unless it mends its ways pretty quickly.

He said voters overwhelmingly believed that the Prime Minister had lost the plot and that the time had come for a change of leader.

Certainly among Conservative activists and council candidates there is an almost universal feeling that it is time for her to move on, he said.

His comments were echoed by former Cabinet minister Priti Patel, who said voters saw Mrs May as part of the problem.

I just dont think we can continue like this. We need change, we need a change of leadership. Perhaps the time has now come for that, she told the BBC.

Labour was also licking its wounds after forfeiting control in heartland councils like Burnley, Hartlepool and Bolsover.

Despite some predictions that Jeremy Corbyns party could pick up three-figure gains, Labour was down more than 100 seats, though it did have the consolation of restoring control in Trafford for the first time sine 2003.

Remain-backing Labour MPs warned the leadership against striking a Brexit deal without the promise of a referendum, after shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner suggested the party was bailing out Tories in cross-party talks.

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Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said: Labour should not be bailing the Tories out. Any deal  any  must go to a public vote. Without a commitment to a public vote, Ill vote for a Labour-Tory deal when hell freezes over and Im not alone in that.

With all results in the Conservatives had lost 1,269 seats, Labour 63 and Ukip 36.

The Lib Dems gained 676, the Greens were up 185 and independents increased by 242.

The Conservatives lost councils including Peterborough, Warwick and Worcester to no overall control, while Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton fell to the Liberal Democrats, with North Kesteven going to independents.

However the party held on in the bellwether council of Swindon, seen as a possible Labour gain, and took Walsall and North East Lincolnshire from no overall control.

Labour, meanwhile, lost control in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Wirral and the mayoralty in Middlesbrough, where its vote was down 11% as independent Andy Preston was elected, although it did gain control of Amber Valley from Tories.

Even where the party held on in its traditional stronghold of Sunderland, which voted heavily for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, it still lost 10 council seats.
Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council as a shabby and discredited witch hunt and called for a probe into it.

The Metropolitan Police said the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, but the former defence secretary accused Prime Minister Theresa May and Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill of badly mishandling the inquiry.

Huge thank you to all of you for all your support the past few days. Enormously grateful to have received so many kind and supportive messages - there have been far too many to respond individually to!  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 3, 2019

He said: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamson was sacked on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the leak of information about Chinese tech giant Huawei, and has previously called for a criminal investigation which he believed would absolutely exonerate him.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said on Saturday that he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

AC Neil Basu statement re National Security Council disclosure https://t.co/BZJUdDnBQY pic.twitter.com/rRRl13meVq  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 4, 2019

Mr Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting and had taken legal advice.

I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police, he said in a statement.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

Opposition parties had called on Mrs May to refer the matter to the police for a criminal investigation, after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Scotland Yard would not launch an inquiry unless the case was referred to them by the Government.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the companys involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies confidence in the security of UK communications.

The PM told ITV News on Friday: I did take a difficult decision. This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.

40 years ago today Margaret Thatcher entered Downing St as Prime Minister. She demonstrated to Britain & the world her passion, commitment & courage to stand up for her values, party & country. #IronLady pic.twitter.com/LT4ga4dLaT  Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) May 4, 2019

Several Tory MPs aired their anger at the handling on the inquiry following Mr Williamsons sacking, including Conservative backbencher Peter Bone who said he had been found guilty in secret in a kangaroo court, as he called for an independent inquiry into the probe.

I think it more and more looks like there was a rushed judgment. If the police dont think theres an offence it does rather put a question mark on why the Secretary of State was fired, he told the Press Association.

It smells this investigation, and it looks like for whatever reason they wanted to get rid of the defence secretary.

And Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson told the Press Association: Its good to hear that there was no breach of the OSA, but that doesnt change the facts of what happened.

An official investigation found that there was compelling evidence that Gavin Williamson leaked details from the NSC. Given that, why does Theresa May think it appropriate that Gavin Williamson maintains the Tory party whip?

But Mr Williamson, an avid user of social media site Instagram, struck an upbeat tone following his dismissal, posting a photograph of him eating at McDonalds on Friday instead of attending a cancelled dinner with the US defence secretary.

Smiling alongside chips and a soft drink, he wrote: So the plan had been for dinner this evening with the US Defence Secretary at Lancaster House. Obviously things change and you just cant beat a @mcdonalds#mcdonalds #food.

In what has been seen by some as a thinly veiled dig at Mrs May, he tweeted a photograph of Margaret Thatcher on the 40th anniversary of her election as prime minister, saying she demonstrated her passion, commitment and courage to stand up for her values, party and country.
The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to hold US Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress if he does not comply with a new deadline for providing special counsel Robert Muellers full, unredacted report on his Russia probe.

The new offer from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler comes after the Justice Department missed the committees earlier deadline for the information.

Mr Nadler slightly narrowed his offer in a new letter to Mr Barr on Friday, saying the committee would limit its request for underlying materials to those directly cited in the report.

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He also asked for the department to work with Congress to seek a court order for secret grand jury materials, a request Mr Barr has previously denied.

The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr.

But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.

The contempt threat comes a day after Mr Barr skipped a Judiciary panel hearing on Mr Muellers report amid a dispute over how Mr Barr would be questioned.

Mr Nadler said after that hearing that he would give the Justice Department one more chance to send the full report and then he would move forward with holding Mr Barr in contempt.

Mr Nadler set a 9am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to respond to the latest offer.

Democrats have assailed Mr Barrs handling of the Mueller report and questioned the truthfulness of his statements to Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she believed Mr Barr had lied about his communications with Mr Mueller in testimony last month, and that was a crime.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Ms Pelosis accusation reckless, irresponsible and false.

In the letter, Mr Nadler wrote to Mr Barr that Congresss constitutional, oversight and legislative interest in investigating misconduct by the President and his associates cannot be disputed.

In terms of the underlying materials, Mr Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and items such as contemporaneous notes that are cited in the report.

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He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version of the report.

The Justice Department has made a less redacted version available for House and Senate leaders and some committee heads, but the Democrats have said that is not enough and have so far declined to read it.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the new letter. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes at no point will it ever be enough for Democrats.

It is astonishing to me that not a single Democrat has yet to go read the less redacted version of the report, yet they keep asking for more, Ms Sanders said.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, and for the first time in almost 20 years a local journalist was prominent in our minds.

The death of Lyra McKee, who was murdered by the New IRA in Londonderry just over two weeks ago, was all the more shocking because only two journalists have been killed during more than four decades of the Troubles and also in the lingering but savage violence which still disfigures our society.

Sadly, other journalists have been shot, wounded and subjected to other forms of intimidation, despite the fact that it is widely accepted a free press is a vital component of democracy.

Lyra's untimely death is a stark reminder of the price that can be, and often is, paid by those journalists who seek to report on events and to uncover the truth in the public interest.

Freedom, including freedom of speech, is under attack across the globe as never before. The hostility to journalists shown by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious acts of violence against news professionals.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), at least 95 journalists were killed last year while carrying out their work. The hallmark of many of these crimes is what press freedom campaigners describe as "the concept of impunity" whereby people who want to attack the press are emboldened by the authorities to countenance such behaviour.

This is characteristic of both the developed world and elsewhere. All of which is why it is vital that the PSNI investigation of Lyra McKee is robust and ongoing.

Of course, the detectives here have to face challenges peculiar to Northern Ireland, and while it is regrettable that the police have to take such a step, it is nevertheless welcome to see them offer anonymity to anyone who could assist them with bringing her killers to justice.

Without doubt, a successful conviction for Lyra's murder would be one of the strongest signals that press freedom remains a cornerstone of democracy in these islands.
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There is a certain tension in the phrase, social democracy, and the description of someone as a social democrat. Social in this context is socialism by the state. A democrat supports the freedom for individual electors to express and defend personal interests in regular plebiscites. The two positions are incompatible, Eurasia Review writes in the article Why Social Democracy Is Failing Europe  OpEd.

Social democratic political parties express a belief in social justice. But social justice is a meaningless term used by the far left to attract support for more extreme forms of socialism. In Europe, social democrats advocating social justice have held sway since the Second World War. But they are becoming victims of their success at taking down capitalism, because they are losing electoral support.

The era of social democracy appears to be coming to an end. Germanys SPD recently suffered its worst electoral result since the Second World War, and Frances Socialist Party came fifth in the presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron, a political outsider. Other social democratic parties to have lost ground include the Netherlands Labour Party, Italys Democratic Party and Austrias Social Democrats. In the United States there was a rejection of the Democrats in favor of President Trump, who like Macron in France started as a political outsider.

Brexit was the rejection by the British voter of the socializing controls imposed by a remote super-state. The British parliament initially paid lip-service to the electorates wishes, before rallying round its socialist credentials and is now conspiring to stop Brexit. So strong is Parliaments collective socialist instinct that Mays appeasing government is prepared to destroy its electoral base rather than stand against the socialist tide. It comes at a time when the Labour Party has been captured by a Marxist clique which appears increasingly likely to form the next government.

Commentators attribute the decline in social democracy to events such as the great financial crisis. This and other reasons are why traditional working-class and blue-collar workers have drifted away. The philosophical conflict between socialism and democracy is at the heart of the rebellion, if only the voters themselves knew it. Instead of rejecting socialism, they are embracing extremes, and the extremes are always socialist extremes. Notably, almost none of the disillusioned social democrats support free markets.

The point missed by most analysts is that social democracy is failing because of the contradiction between personal freedom and state control.

As a form of mild socialism, it fails for the same reason as did communism. It all plays into the hands of the communists, for whom the failure of social democracy is an opportunity.
After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

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After years of watching her daughter struggle with sickle cell disease, Brandons Juliette Adetudimu said she feels blessed to finally be able to say her daughter is cured.

"Theres no words to explain it. Everything has changed for her  she has energy, shes eating better, playing better, shes mentally better," Adetudimu said of her 14-year-old daughter, Dorcas. "When you have a sickle cell crisis, you dont have your life  Now, shes free like a bird to be able to do anything and everything."

Dorcas Adetudimu14, and her mother Juliette sit together in her bedroom earlier this week. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

Sickle cell disease is a severe form of anemia that is found more frequently in people of Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean and African descent because those geographic regions are most prone to malaria. It causes red blood cells to become irregularly shaped, rigid and sticky  prone to getting stuck in small blood vessels and slowing or blocking blood flow to parts of the body, which can be extremely painful.

Two years ago, Dorcass condition was worsening, Adetudimu said. She was suffering through multiple crises a year  one of which landed her in the intensive care unit in Winnipeg after her lungs collapsed.

"Some (crises) were worse than others," Dorcas said. "I would get back pain, joint pain  it felt like someone was squeezing your ribs together."

Doctors suggested a stem cell transplant for Dorcas, Adetudimu said, so the family kicked into gear  with the help of Canadian Blood Services  raising awareness in the community for the stem cell registry while at the same time hoping to find Dorcas a stem cell match.

They held a stem cell registration and swab event in Shoppers Mall in 2017, and while it didnt lead to a match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said the community support was amazing.

"We were happy to raise awareness about the importance of being a donor," Adetudimu said. "If people hadnt been giving that blood, she wouldnt be here today  you dont know who is going to need it."

It was shortly afterward that a family member was found to be a 70 per cent match for Dorcas, Adetudimu said. While an 100 per cent match would have been better, they decided to go ahead anyway in hopes the transplant would take.

The treatment was a long process, Adetudimu said, beginning in April last year and continuing through until August.

Dorcas had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of her existing red blood cells before the transplant could be completed, Adetudimu said.

She also had to stay in isolation because of the risk of infection.

"Shes like a newborn baby in that you have to protect her from infection, her immunity was wiped out," Adetudimu said, adding that Dorcas is in the process of being completely revaccinated.

As of August, the treatment was declared to be successful, and Dorcas was able to go back to school in September.

Dorcas Adetudimu, 14, plays the video game Fortnite at her home Wednesday, in her room that was renovated by people behind the charitable organization The Dream Factory. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

"Going to a treatment like that, you dont know if youre going to have the same child when you get back  it could have been the opposite," Adetudimu said. "Were just fortunate shes alive. Many kids have died before this age because of the disease. Were just blessed to be here."

These days, Dorcas is catching up on things she wasnt able to do before.

Shes enjoying playing volleyball, she said, and is trying to get as much swimming in as possible.

"Its good  I dont have to worry about medicine. I can also go swimming; before I couldnt go swimming because the cold water would make me go into a crisis," Dorcas said.

"She hasnt really had fun as a kid," Adetudimu said. "You cant play too much, when its cold  its a problem, when its hot its a problem, everything wasnt good. So now that life is good, we can start having fun."

Always a need

At any given time, there are more than 600 patients across Canada looking for a stem cell transplant, said Canadian Blood Services donor relations representative Adrienne San Juan, as there are more than 80 diseases  between blood disorders and blood cancers  that stem cell transplants can help cure.

There are approximately 445,000 people signed up to be potential stem cell donors in Canada, with Manitoba only representing three per cent of that  or approximately 15,000 donors.

Right now, there is a need for more ethnic donors to register, San Juan said.

"The registry is comprised of 69 per cent of Caucasian registrants, while only 31 per cent of the database is comprised of people from diverse ancestry," San Juan said. "So in order to accurately reflect the patient population, more potential stem cell donors from diverse ancestry are needed on the Canadian registry."

Registering to be a donor is quite easy, San Juan said. After completing a health questionnaire on their website, Canadian Blood Services sends interested registrants a swab kit to complete at home and mail back.

It takes between six and eight weeks to be put on the registry, but even then it could be months or even years before a registrant is matched with someone in need of a donor, if at all.

"Its actually more likely for you to win the lottery than to actually match someone  its that rare," San Juan said.

There is also a tight criteria to register, as donors need to be between the ages of 13 and 35.

However, a lot of people outside that age range can still help by donating blood, San Juan said.

While waiting for her transplant, Dorcas went for blood transfusions every four weeks for 18 months, Adetudimu said, just to get her body ready.

"Patients who are waiting for a match and undergoing transplants are an immediate need for blood and blood products," San Juan said. "So we really strongly urge everyone to continue to donate blood, as well."

New room, new Dorcas

Support from organizations such as Westman Dreams for Kids and The Dream Factory have been a blessing in Dorcass treatment and recovery, Adetudimu said.

When The Dream Factory approached Dorcas asking if they could fulfil a dream for her, Dorcas said she knew exactly what she wanted  a new bedroom.

"At first she wanted to renovate the whole house," Adetudimu said, laughing. "But her room was so important to her recovery. Coming back after chemo and radiation you cant socialize, you cant go out, youre in isolation because of the risk of infection. So to be able to stay in the room for 24 hours it has to be nice. (The room renovation) made the recovery process so much better."

When The Dream Factory approached Jaydi Dinsdale with Timber + Lace Interior Design asking for help making Dorcass dream possible, she said she jumped at the opportunity.

"Ive always wanted to be able to do projects like this, to really make a difference for somebody and donate my time to a good cause, so I was really excited," Dinsdale said. "I actually spent quite a bit of time in the hospital when I was a kid, so it kind of has a special spot in my heart."

Working with Dorcas to pick out colours, look over designs and discuss what Dorcas needed out of her space, Dinsdale said she created vision boards from which Dorcas could choose.

With generous donations from local businesses such as Blinds by Anita, Jeannies Interiors and Westman Premier Homes, Dinsdale said the room was able to be completed in a couple of months  just in time for Dorcas to come home from treatment.

"I didnt like my room at all before," Dorcas said with a chuckle. "When I saw this room, I thought it was so cool. I really like it."

"She spends all her time in here," Adetudimu added.

Westman Dreams for Kids has also been a huge support while Dorcas travels back and forth to Winnipeg for appointments and treatment, Adetudimu said.

They also made it possible for Dorcas to visit Disneyworld.

"We were just so lucky and fortunate to go (to Disneyworld) because we didnt know if it would be the last time, the last trip, wed be spending together," Adetudimu said, adding shed like to bring Dorcas back to Disneyworld and create new memories, now that shes cured.

"If I have my way, Ill take her back ... now that she can really enjoy it, she can really have fun."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

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A collection of drugs and cash Brandon Police Service members seized on Thursday, which was part of a broader pattern of seizures that have totalled approximately $450,000 during the past week. (Brandon Police Service)

Brandon police seized more than $450,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl in drug busts during the last week, including one on Thursday when six people were arrested.

"When we have those numbers in those amounts that we can remove from the street, at the end of the day its protecting the most vulnerable in the community because those will filter down to the people that are addicted and have a substance-use disorder," Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said.

"If we can remove that, it allows them time to not have access to those drugs and seek some sort of assistance for their addiction."

The most recent Thursday incident comprised of Brandon Police Service members finding 11 ounces of meth  worth approximately $30,800 and a quantity of Canadian currency during a vehicle stop.

A second vehicle was stopped shortly after, where police found four ounces of heroin, which according to the Brandon Police Service has a maximum street value of $56,000.

After the second vehicle was stopped, a 28-year-old Brandon woman was found in possession of 71 grams of meth, with a maximum value of $7,000 and a can of bear spray.

Later in the day, police conducted a search warrant on a house in the west end and found another nine ounces of meth and two grams of heroin, which added up to a value of $26,400.

As a result of the drug busts on May 2, six people were arrested and charged with drug offences, including a 45-year-old man from Thompson, a 45-year-old man from Brandon, a 40-year-old man from Winnipeg, a 28-year-old woman from Brandon, a 24-year-old man from Winnipeg and a 20-year-old man from Thompson.

All six are in police custody and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Balcaen wouldnt say specifically how long the investigation took before the arrests but said the days events unfolded over around 10 hours. He said the drug bust was "very significant."

At a Brandon police funding announcement on Friday, Mayor Rick Chrest called the news of the drug bust a "pleasant surprise."

"We know it helps to at least seemingly temporarily disrupt the flow of illicit product into our community and presumably to other communities around us."

The city is currently dealing with a meth crisis and an influx of the drug into Manitoba, but Balcaen said the increased appearance of fentanyl is relatively new in the city. Fentanyl is an opioid used as a painkiller. It is especially powerful and responsible for a large number of overdoses in other parts of the country.

"Weve seen it in the last month or so starting to have an increase here, so its certainly a concern to us when you have that because ultimately it can result in serious harm or death to individuals."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

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SMITHERS, B.C. - RCMP say they're investigating a fatal plane crash north of Smithers in northwestern British Columbia.

The joint rescue co-ordination centre received a notification Saturday from an emergency locator transmitter, indicating a small plane had gone down.

The centre's navy Lt. Tony Wright says a search was launched and the wreckage of the Cessna 182, capable of carrying four passengers, was found about 100 kilometres northeast of Smithers.

Wright says a technician was lowered by cable from the helicopter to check for survivors and the operation was handed over to police.

RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says they know there is at least one fatality, but they are still working on getting people to the crash site.

She says the coroner and Transportation Safety Board have been notified about the crash.
MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

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Residents of Holy Street in Ile Bizard west of Montreal, float a porta-potty down their street, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Residents of the street have not been evacuated but cannot flush their toilets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

MONTREAL - Water levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit currently by floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

"Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners," they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels haven't dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.
People in Drogheda are living in fear that someone will die before the violent feud between rival drug gangs in their town is brought under control.

Up to a thousand people have attended a rally in the Co Louth town over gang violence.

The town's locals have been sending a message to gangs that enough is enough.

They are unhappy with the Government's response in tackling a violent feud between rival drug gangs in the town.

People gathering in Drogheda for a rally against the gang violence that has blighted the town in recent months@VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/xULPp0o6Yd  Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 4, 2019

Labour councillor Pio Smith has hit out at the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for not putting enough resources into the local Gardai.

He said: "The fault lies squarely with Minister Charlie Flanagan because... we should have had the 25 gardai earlier on.

"The challenge now for him and the Government is, are they going to fully resource An Garda Siochana?"

Standing in solidarity with the people of Drogheda saying to the thugs and criminals Enough is EnoughThomas Byrne TD Breathnach https://t.co/5tZMEgeo2K pic.twitter.com/Qyo4YVLbD2  Declan Breathnach (@BreathnachLouth) May 4, 2019

Declan Breathnach TD said the message from the community was clear.

He said: "There was a massive crowd there...made up of men, women, children, community organisations, the public and politicians.

"The message was loud and clear to the criminals acting in Drogheda, enough is enough, and they want these people to get off the street and leave their town."
UPDATE: A missing 18-month-old baby, Shania Constantin, and her grandfather, Condrut Iosca, have been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai have issued an appeal to the public for help in locating a missing baby who is in the care of her grandfather in Dublin.
Maria Pearson, a native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, has won a seat for the Tory Party in the local elections for Brentwood Borough Council in England. This is the first time a native Irish speaker has been elected.

Maria was elected in the Herongate, Ingrave and West Herndon Ward of Brentwood, an area in the London commuter belt.

Maria got a huge majority of the vote, approximately 70%, and said she was both surprised and proud of the result.

"This is the first time I have stood, and I was nervous about running, people don't normally get in the first time. It was a personal vote I think, and I have to say that I'm very proud of the result."

Speaking on the on the Ronan Beo show on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta on Friday, Maria said that her husband, who's Scottish, had owned a pub in the area for two years, something which meant that they knew many people in the area personally, and she felt that this helped her campaign a lot.

"People gave me a vote who would never normally have voted Tory, and indeed never had. It was a personal vote ..."

Maria said that Brexit was a huge issue on the doorsteps and that they were 'eaten alive' on that subject.

She explained that there was strong support for a No Deal Brexit in the area, that all people wanted was to be going out of the EU, but that people had little or no understanding of the border question.

She believes that they can't go with a no deal Brexit and said explaining the implications on the doorsteps was challenging.

"Over here, in the papers and on the radio, nobody was talking about the border and what was going to happen in Ireland, something that was of huge importance to me.

They don't understand the border, they think it's like something they've seen on TV with guards walking up and down patrolling.

"I was explaining how there are houses that straddle both sides of the border, and they found it hard to believe.

"But it's something that's so important to me personally, and to everyone at home in Ireland.

"When I explained the implications to them of a no deal Brexit, then they began to understand and to come around to my point of view."

You can listen to the full interview here.
More than 20 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow airports, Yandex. Schedule service informs.

It is reported that two flights were delayed and two canceled at Vnukovo, six flights delayed and nine canceled at Domodedovo. In Sheremetyevo, two flights were delayed.

There is no information about the reasons for the delays.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As far as blue-ribbon seats go, Wentworth was one of the Liberal Party's safest.But in the byelection that followed the resignation of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, independent Kerryn Phelps trounced the Liberals and forced Scott Morrison's government into a minority. The contest for Wentworth was a litmus test for a government trailing in the polls, and Phelps' victory was a fillip for independents. The independents who make it to Canberra are generally the exception rather than the rule  but they can make a big splash when they get there. Fast-forward to this federal election campaign, and prominent independent candidates for the lower house  Phelps, Julia Banks in Flinders, Helen Haines in Indi, Rob Oakeshott in Cowper, Zali Steggall in Warringah, Andrew Wilkie in Clark, and Oliver Yates in Kooyong  release a statement setting out the "price of power" for their support after May 18. This includes demands to take action on climate change and to potentially block the Adani coal mine. Loading Sydney Morning Herald and Age commentator David Crowe says: "The demands are a sign of confidence among key independents that climate change policy will help swing the federal election, helping them defeat Liberal or Nationals candidates." Meanwhile, the Centre Alliance party is being forecast as a likely kingmaker in a post-election Senate. In Parliament's upper house, senators assume the role of gatekeepers, deciding which laws will pass. The support of the crossbench can be critical.

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These confident candidates are not the only ones hoping to shape the agenda of the future government. What role do independents  and minor parties  play in our Parliament? Who are the ones to watch at this election? What chance do other independents and smaller parties have? And how much influence can they wield when the election dust settles? Independent, minor and micro: what's the difference? All minor and micro-party and independent MPs elected to Canberra sit on the crossbench, the seats between the government and the opposition in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. Independents are not members or affiliates of a political party. To run, they havecollected 100 signatures, filled in a nomination form and paid a $2000 deposit at their local electoral office.

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Ninety-five independents have put up their hands to contest the 151 lower house seats, and 37 independents are fighting for state-based Senate spots. There are 76 Senate seats but elections are staggered and fixed to six-year terms so only 40 are up or grabs. Loading Once elected, some independents, such as Pauline Hanson, have sought to build their personal popularity into a party that can spread their message.

The term "minor party" is used to describe a party that is not Labor, the Liberals or the Nationals, which for decades have been the only parties big enough to form government. There are more than 50 minor parties registered with the Australian Electoral Commission this election, ranging from the Animal Justice and Australian Affordable Housing parties through the alphabet to Pirate Party, Australia, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, The Women's Party and Yellow Vest Australia. In the Federal Parliament, there is a higher hurdle under parliamentary entitlement rules to gain recognition as a minor party  five elected MPs are needed to obtain minor party status and the extra staff and other resources that come with it.

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Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota were able to thrust themselves into the public debate. Micro-parties are the very small parties that have risen to prominence in the Senate in the past 10 years  including Family First, the DLP and the Liberal Democrats  by winning seats with small numbers of votes because of preference deals. After the 2013 federal election, the micro-parties lobbed a hand grenade into the political arena. Senators elected on primary votes of less than 1 per cent of a quota (Ricky Muir from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party infamously pulled in .51 per cent) were able to thrust themselves into the public debate by joining together to block the passage of contentious legislation. The major parties joined to change the Senate voting system, making it difficult for micro-party candidates to get elected. Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull then called a double-dissolution election, putting all the upper house seats up for grabs. Greens leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Derryn Hinch embrace after the Senate agreed on amendments to a bill in the Senate in February. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Is the era of micro-parties over? The 2016 rule changes to Senate voting mean groups of unknown micro-parties are no longer able to funnel their votes to each other until they have a quota of votes in their own right.

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The voting system is now optional preferential above the line, in which voters rank at least their first six candidates  thus distributing their own preferences. "I think the reform is a huge advantage for democracy," says ABC election analyst Antony Green. The members that now get elected actually get votes. "The Arts Party  I dont know what theyre doing," he says. "Seniors  who are they? Pirate Party  vague idea who they area. Health Australia party are anti-vaccinations. None of these have a hope in hell. All these people think they can be the next Ricky Muir, but they cant get elected [now because of recent Senate reforms]." But some independents and minor parties with high enough profiles are still likely to get elected, says Green. These include Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, the Australian Greens and Pauline Hansons One Nation, which are able to attract a significant primary vote. "The members that now get elected actually get votes," says Green. Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has entered the fray. Credit:AAP

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A crime scene has been set up in Brisbane's north as police investigate a suspicious death.

Emergency services were called to a 42-year-old mans Mitchelton home about midday on Saturday.

He was rushed from the Osborne Road unit to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital but died shortly after arrival, according to police.

A police spokesman said a crime scene had been declared as police worked to determine the cause of death.

No information about the mans injuries was available.
A saw accidentally hitting a fuel tank is believed to have sparked a fire that broke out at a business north of Brisbane.

Emergency services, including six firefighting crews, were called about 10am on Saturday to A1 Car Wreckers used-car and wrecking business on South Pine Road at Brendale.

A fire broke out at Brendale. Credit:Video by Chloe MacIntyre supplied to Seven News

Police said the contact between a saw and fuel tank sparked the flames that destroyed a shed on the premises.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the fire was under control 20 minutes after the initial call but firefighters were still on scene to put out the blaze.
A year-long police operation that disrupted and dismantled a drug syndicate in north Queensland has come to an end.

The investigation targeting the trafficking of drugs in north Queensland led to 20 raids in properties at Bowen, Collinsville, Mackay, Sarina and Ayr.

Queensland police have busted a drug syndicate after raiding properties in north Queensland.

Police discovered about 60 grams of meth, a quantity of cannabis plants and seeds, more than $25,000 in cash, two firearms, knuckledusters, a flick knife and pepper spray.

It will be further alleged that a clandestine laboratory was located as a property in Bowen as well as two hydroponic cannabis production sites.
Iran's revenues from the tourism amounted to $ 11.8 billion since March 28, the chairman of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation of Iran, Ali Asghar Monesan reported.

He stressed that the impact of the sanction pressure on Irans tourism sector is negligible.

In addition, the chairman of the organization drew attention to the fact that tourism makes a significant contribution to the country's economy. "The creation of new tourist accommodation sites will help the development of the sector," Trend quotes Monesan as saying with a referring to ISNA.
New Delhi: The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri on Friday with wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometres per hour before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswa.

Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'deep depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.

A storm surge still breached embankments to submerge dozens of villages on Bangladesh's low-lying coast, a disaster ministry official in Dhaka said.
Seoul: North Korea has fired "a barrage" of unidentified short-range projectiles toward the ocean, according to the South Korean military.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities were analysing the details of the Saturday launch.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch in Seoul on Saturday. Credit:AP

The South initially reported that a single missile was fired, then said it was a barrage of missiles, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometres before splashing into the sea toward the north-east. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions

They flew for a range of about 70 to 100 kilometres from 9.06am (10.06 AEST), the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details of the missiles.
Jerusalem: Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets toward Israeli cities and villages on Saturday, drawing air strikes from Israeli aircraft, the Israeli military said.

Israel Radio said at least 50 rockets were fired in the space of about 30 minutes, some deep into southern Israel.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties as many of the rockets were intercepted and rockets alerts sent residents running to their shelters. There are reports of four Palestinians killed since Friday.

Medics move their wounded colleague, shot by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border at Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The flare-up followed the killing in an Israeli air strike on Friday of two militants from the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza. The Israeli military said the air strike was a retaliation to gunfire from Gaza that had wounded two of its soldiers near the border.
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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 Israeli military began to strike the targets of radical Palestinian groups, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces informs.

It is specified that the strikes were the answer of Israel to the missiles fired from Palestine.

"To date, more than 10 terrorist targets were hit with tanks and drones, TASS cites the military communique.
The gathbandhan, the term in common parlance for the Uttar Pradesh alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has left the big two of Indian politics rattled in the most populous state.

Over the past three days, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing. The results of UPs 80 seats could determine whether the BJP would make a comeback or struggle to get the requisite number of allies, as happened in 1996, and fails to prove its majority. ...
While a battery of some 100-odd erstwhile left activists have been deployed to campaign extensively for Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Avantika Nehru, daughter of former MP Arun Nehru, has been roped in at Rae Bareli. ALSO READ: Rae Bareli Lok Sabha polls: Voters say Congress turncoat no match for Sonia The Congress is getting its act together, following reports of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar making extra efforts in Amethi to dislodge Rahul Gandhi, who had had a ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
Exxon Mobil on Friday sued Cubas state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and CIMEX Corp in US federal court seeking $280 million over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized after Fidel Castros revolution. Exxon, the largest US oil producer, is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2. The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents ...
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick. That, of course, was nothing new. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as chief executive of Uber in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in Silicon Valley, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Mr. Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future. Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would ...
By 9:30 am the line for Fultons Pancake House and Sugarbush had snaked out the door and down the driveway toward the parking lot, like the day a new iPhone goes on sale. But the restaurant, roughly 40 miles southwest of Ottawa, isnt brand-new. Its in its 50th year, and its star attraction, maple syrup, is much older. It was invented by Native Americans long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. Maple is a social crop, said Shirley Fulton-Deugo, the owner. Its the first crop of the year and a sign that spring is ...
U S President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour. The 2011 New START ...
Hours after approximately 200 rockets were fired from the Gaza strip towards Israel on Saturday, the latter responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, one person has died as a result of the Israeli strikes, and seven others have been wounded, reported CNN.

The rockets fired by Gaza wounded two Israelis, including an 80-year old woman in the city of Kiryat Gat, about twenty miles from Gaza.

In light of the rocket fire, Israel announced that it was closing Kerem Shalom and Erez crossing between the two countries, as well as the Gaza fishing zone. No specific date has been given for when the crossings and the fishing zone would reopen.

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days after nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel fired artillery and launched air raids into Gaza on Saturday morning in response to what it said had been scores of rockets launched out of the strip, escalating tensions after an airstrike killed two Hamas members and Israeli border forces shot two protesters on Friday, The National reports.

Gaza health officials said three Palestinians were wounded in one of the Israeli strikes on Saturday. Hamas-run Al Aqsa Voice reported that there was shelling in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

Israeli radio said that there had been air raids and shelling in response to 50 rockets in the space of about 30 minutes  some launched deep into Israel. The official Israeli military Twitter account reported a heavy barrage of rockets being fired at southern Israel from Gaza. It added that air-raid sirens were being sounded in towns across the area.
The sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Roopnagar Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Singh welcomed Amarjit to the party's fold and said it was Punjab government's initiatives in the last two years that had encouraged the opposition MLAs to join the Congress.

"We have got a major boost from the wave of the exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state. It is a clear endorsement of our government's path-breaking initiatives over the past two years," said Chief Minister Singh while speaking to reporters here.

He said that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's oppressive style of functioning had forced the leaders of his party to join the Congress.

"Arvind Kejriwal's autocratic style of functioning and the chaos in the state wing of the party were making its legislators feel suffocated. They are motivated to shift to the Congress because of our focus on the state's development," he said.

Singh urged Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state and help Manisha Tewari, who is the party's MP candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency in Punjab.

This is the second jolt to the AAP in a week's time. Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, joined the Congress on April 29.

Punjab will see polling for all 13 seats on May 19, the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A girl was hacked to death allegedly by her neighbour in Agra's Khandauli area, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the reason behind the girl's death is yet to be ascertained.

A case will be registered soon and strict action will be taken against the culprit, police added.

Superintendent of Police (SP) City Prashant Verma said, "The body has been sent for postmortem. Her (victim's) family is at the police station registering a complaint.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Special CBI court here on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against a Gulf-based investor for being allegedly linked to the AgustaWestland case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar issued the warrant against foreign investor Omar Al Balsharaf after pursuing the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) counsels -- Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Pramod Kumar Dubey and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta.

During the course of hearing, ED's counsels argued that the agency had issued summon to him multiple times since March 2018, but he didn't join the investigation deliberately and also didn't provide the information sought from him, while he was availing his legal remedies before the different legal forums.

The agency further claimed that by not joining the investigation, he is evading the process of law and the NBW issued against him and it is necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the investigations carried out by the ED, it was revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, transferred an amount of USD (5,303,471) to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai but the same was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf-Gautam Khaitan in the book of RAKGT, which raises many questions and need clarification. Some other entries were also found to be suspected in the case, which needed Omar to join the probe.

As RAKGT is associated with Shiekh Omar Al Balsharaf, it is contended that Balsharaf trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain about the money he got from various companies into Dubai account, in which some companies are related to accused Gautam Khaitan and other accused.

On July 18 last year, ED had filed a prosecution complaint against 34 accused persons and companies including Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former directors of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland, former IAF chief SP Tyagi and others in the case of VVIP helicopter scam.

The ED investigation revealed that the kickbacks were allegedly paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels.

One channel was handled by the middleman Christian Michel James and the other channel was handled by Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.

According to ED investigations, Gerosa and Haschke in collusion with Tyagi brothers, cousins of former IAF chief SP Tyagi, allegedly conspired with Gautam Khaitan of OP Khaitan and Company Auditors & Solicitors based in New Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded at Bhubaneswar airport due to cyclone Fani. The flight will leave for Bhubaneswar from Delhi Airport at 3 pm and from Bhubaneswar to Delhi at 5.45 pm.

Also, Air India on Saturday announced the recommencement of operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the cancellation of all flights to and from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata airports due to the cyclone on Thursday.

The carrier also stepped forward and decided to ship free of cost relief material to cyclone-affected areas in the state by any NGO, Civil society, Self Help Group etc.

Heavy rains along with over wind speed of over 175 kmph battered Odisha as cyclone Fani made landfall close to the temple town of Puri on Friday morning, leaving a trail of destruction in the state.

The cyclone, which crossed Odisha coast close to Puri coast between 8 am and 10 am, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday introduced a "baba," having apparent resemblance with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The 'baba' donned a saffron attire as Adityanath does and also had his head shaved in a similar fashion. However, his face is not visible. Baba can be seen accompanying Yadav in the pictures shared by latter on his twitter handle.

"We cannot bring fake God but we bring a 'baba' ji. He has left Gorakhpur and is telling truth about the government to everyone in the state," tweeted Yadav.

SP, BSP and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as an alliance. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, BSP, SP, and RLD are contesting 38, 37 and three Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Robert Daigle, Pentagon's top official, has resigned from his position, announced the US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Friday.

Daigle, the Director of the Department Of Defence's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, will vacate the office in mid-May after serving for two years.

"On behalf of the entire Department of Defense (DOD), I thank Bob Daigle for his extraordinary service over the past two years," The Hill quoted Shanahan as saying.

He adds that Daigle and his team "have been key architects of the investment strategies that ensure our military is ready to compete, deter, and win in any high-end fight of the future. These investments have formed the foundation for our Department's FY19 and FY20 strategy-driven budgets, enabling DOD to field new technologies and weapons systems at the speed of relevance."

Reportedly, Daigle is leaving to rejoin the private sector. He did not ascertain the reason for resigning.

Daigle, who took over CAPE in August 2017, earlier worked in House Armed Services Committee and led the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission for three years.

During his tenure, his office took the decision to decommission Truman aircraft carrier and called for the Air Force to buy the F-15X.

His departure will add to the expanding void of confirmed top-official in DOD.

At present most top positions at Pentagon are filled by individuals on acting-basis, including the secretary and deputy secretary of defence, the chief management officer, the office of the undersecretary of personnel and readiness and the Air Force secretary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tiger Found Injured In Orang Park, Treatment Underway In State Zoo

Assam [India], May 4 (ANI): A Royal Bengal tigress was brought to a state zoo here on Friday after she was found injured near the Orang Park in Sonitpur district.

She had accidentally drifted away from the park. "The reason for straying out of the park may be due to territorial fight with another tiger. Orang has seen a rise in tiger population and has the highest tiger density in India. Tigers being fiercely territorial, such fights are common in high tiger density areas," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswamy told media persons here.

The tigress has now been kept in a comfortable cage.

On being rescued, she was found to have developed blindness due to corneal opacity, which might have happened due to starvation or injury to the eye.

The nails of her feet had become brittle, eyes had begun to lose vision and she was nearing her death when found by the team of zookeepers in Sonitpur district.

"The blindness, however, is curable. On May 10, doctors will again monitor her health," officials confirmed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States on Friday (local time) warned that assisting Iran in expanding its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could invite sanctions, according to the US State Department Spokesperson.

The latest announcement is part of United States' "unprecedented maximum pressure campaign" on Iran, as per an official press release. Washington also targetted Iran's enriched uranium exports through its statement on May 3.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable. In addition, activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable," Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in the statement.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment. We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the statement added.

"The US will continue to apply maximum pressure until #Iran's leaders change their destructive behaviour, respect the rights of their people, and return to the negotiating table," the US State Department tweeted.

The relations between Iran and the United States have worsened after the latter pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump came into power. Washington re-imposed sanctions on nuclear cooperation with Iran, including by re-designating Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entities, and by placing new limits on foreign assistance that could expand Iran's nuclear program in November 2018.

Furthermore, in March 2019, the US designated an additional 31 Iranian individuals and entities "linked to Iran's WMD proliferation-sensitive activities," as per the US Department of State.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar being placed on United Nations terror list will not have any impact on Pakistan and United States relations, asserted Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on Saturday.

"We want good relations with the US. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Majeed said quoting Duniya news.

On Wednesday, the UN designated Azhar as a 'global terrorist' after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal floated by US, UK and France in the UNSC following the Pulwama terror attack.

"Those steps are not to make anyone happy but it is for our own need. It will not have any impact on US-Pakistan relations," he asserted.

In a major diplomatic breakthrough for India, the United Nations on Wednesday added Azhar to the United Nations 1267 ISIL and al-Qaeda Sanctions List.

After putting technical holds for 10 years, China on Wednesday supported the draft resolution put forward by P3 Nations - United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The United States has welcomed the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist and has sought "sustained actions" from Pakistan against terrorism perpetrating from its soil.

This was the second proposal in a year by the P3 nations, the first proposal was moved 12 days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in Kashmir in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed after a Pakistan-backed JeM terrorist rammed an IED laden car into the jawans' convoy.

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Stepping up the attcak after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, Finance Minister Arun jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's PM," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 per cent stake) and US Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.

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One person died and four were injured as a result of the attack by Israeli forces responding to the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

"A 22-year-old Palestinian was killed, four more injured as a result of an Israeli air forces strike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip," spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said.

According to the press service of the Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian militants fired about 90 missiles in the morning, dozens of which were intercepted by missile defense systems. Israel responded with tank fire and air strikes on militant positions and rocket launchers, including in the north of the enclave.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at BJP calling its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls -- 'a cut and paste job of old documents'. "Who is discussing BJP Manifesto? I have not seen or heard anyone talking about BJP's manifesto. It is a "cut and paste job" of old documents, he said addressing a press conference here. "The only manifesto which is being discussed across the country is Congress manifesto. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not discuss his party's manifesto. I have not seen any BJP minister who speaks about its manifesto. They are only speaking against the Congress manifesto. The only manifesto, which is before the people, is the Congress manifesto," he said. Claiming that the Congress and its declared allies are ahead of BJP and their declared allies in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said

"The government will not let NSSO publish the data. Where are the jobs? We have learnt 4 lakh government posts are lying vacant and 20 lakh post are vacant in the state government. It was our first election promises that we will fill all these 24 lakh vacant posts by March 21, 2020. This is a low hanging fruit and we will do it." Chidambaram said Modi also said he will double farmers' income but in the last five years, farmers' death has doubled.

"Ask any farmer he will say the same. That is why we are promising a separate Kisan budget. For the first time, people will know what is really being done for agriculture. If a farmer defaults on a loan, he will not be jailed. It is a big promise," he added. Asserting that if BJP comes to power there will be no Nyay to people of India, Chidambaram said: Nyay scheme (Nyuntam Aay Yojna) is justice for India's poorest people. "Around 20 per cent of Indian population lives below the poverty line. Nyay will revolutionise the poorest part of India's economy."

"BJP can say they cannot implement NYAY because it is unimplementable for them. The biggest idea they have done is to ask people to do yoga," he added.

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Leicester City's manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as "one of the best players in the world."

"What I loved about Raheem was that, for a young boy, he knew what he wanted to be," Rodgers told a press conference.

"When I ask young players what it is they want to achieve, he wanted to be one of the best players in the world, at that age," Goal quoted Rodgers, as saying.

"He's taken his game now to a level where he clearly is one of the best players in the world," he said.

The 46-year old further added that Sterling has put in the work and did not rely solely on his talent.

"He was someone who was always going to do the work, he wasn't just expecting it because of his incredible talent. This was a boy who looked after his body and his life to ensure that he could give himself every chance to do that," Rodgers said.

Rodgers even enunciated that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is not the same without Sterling.

"I look at Pep [Guardiola's] team and it's not the same if he's not in it," he said.

Rodgers' Leicester City will compete with Manchester City in the Premier League on May 7.

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At least 17 people, including police officers and Taliban militants, were killed during clashes here on Saturday, according to the provincial police chief.

"The clashes started in the early hours of the day after Taliban stormed Boldak Nika police security checkpoint in Spin Boldak district, southern part of provincial capital Kandahar city. And the exchange of fire lasted for four hours leaving the casualties," General Tadeen Khan told Xinhua.

Out of the deceased, three are police officers while 14 are Taliban militants. Furthermore, four police officers and seven Taliban militants were also injured due to the fighting.

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In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the Prime Minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Gandhi.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA, the Gandhi scion said he is ready for all the investigation.

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Gandhi told reporters.

Gandhi also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar Chor hai' as he hasn't apologized for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan.

"The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The results of all the phases will be announced on May 23.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said the party wanted Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to focus on 20 seats instead of being captive to only the Varanasi parliamentary constituency with an aim to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi by contesting polls.

On being asked whether Priyanka's decision not to contest elections from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is because Modi is said to be invincible from the temple city, Pitroda in an interview to ANI said, "Earlier also I have said that it has to be her own decision because contesting elections is a very personal decision and it has to be a decision between a party and a person. When the party and the person collectively made that decision, we all have to support it."

When asked about the reason behind Priyanka's decision not to contest polls, Pitroda said, "They must have felt it is better to use her time and talent on more seats rather than one seat and not divert her energy to one place as opposed to 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh."

Priyanka had faced much criticism for her decision not to contest from Varanasi against Modi despite a big build-up.

Congress has fielded Ajay Rai, a local Congress leader against Modi in the temple town.

Varanasi will go to polls in the last phase of elections on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

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Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching speed of 200 kmph, and left three persons dead besides over 160 injured, a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst April storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre has released Rs. 1,000 crores to Odisha and other states to deal with the devastation caused by Fani.

Director General of the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) S N Pradhan said that three persons lost their lives during the cyclone.

"As of now, three persons have lost their lives in the cyclone. The precautions that have been taken should be continued," Pradhan told ANI.

Central government spokesperson Sitansu Kar said quoting a telephonic conversation with state administration officials that 160 people were reportedly injured.

A state government statement said, "There is extensive damage to dwelling houses. Almost all kutcha and old pucca have been fully or severely damaged."

Power supply snapped due to the uprooting of electricity poles, damage to substations and KV lines. "Power restoration process is in full swing," it said. Uprooted trees and electricity poles blocked roads preventing vehicular movement.

The cyclone caused damage to telecom towers resulting in failure of cellular and land-line telephone networks in several areas including capital Bhubaneswar. "All telephone and cell phones are down in Puri district," the statement said.

Large-scale devastation has also been caused to summer crops, orchards and plantations, it added.

The storm caused extensive damage to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with several overhead water tanks and a part of the roof getting blown away. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said.

Strong winds uprooted several electricity poles on the campus. However, all patients, staff and students are safe. "We have enough supply and are ready to support the state," Sudan said.

Massive waves along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state inundated low-lying areas in Ganjam. Khordha, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A large crane at an under-construction building site fell on the buildings nearby but there was no indication whether there were any human casualty.

The office of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik posted on Twitter that over 11 lakh people from the vulnerable regions have been evacuated since Thursday.

Over 3 lakh people were evacuated from Ganjam district alone, followed by 1.3 lakh from Puri district. Around 5000 kitchens are operating to serve people in shelters.

A 60-year-old reportedly died in a shelter home in Kendrapara following a heart attack.The cyclone weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" after landfall.

"Everything is flying in Air ..have literally turned deaf because of wind sound ..All window panes were broken..difficult indeed ..if this is my condition in a concrete building ..I pray for the lives of millions," tweeted BJP leader Sambit Patra who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Puri.

"The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun ..extremely high wind speed ..heavy rain ..the harrowing sound ..reminds me of 1999 Supercyclone With folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jaganath ji to give us the strength to endure this," he said.

Civilian air services have been suspended from airports in Odisha and Kolkata while nearly 225 trains cancelled including 56 on Friday.

Indian Navy's P-8I and Dornier aircraft are scheduled to undertake an aerial survey to assess the extent of impact and devastation caused by the cyclone.

Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Paradip, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata besides four ships at Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

Helpline number - 1938 - has been made operational by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter, saying that she has cancelled all her election rallies till May 5 in her state.As Fani continues to move north-northeast, it is likely to further weaken into a "severe cyclonic storm".

The system is expected to weaken gradually and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal as a "severe cyclonic storm" by the early morning of May 4, the MeT department said. Thereafter, it is expected to move further north-northeastwards and emerge into Bangladesh by May 4 evening as a cyclonic storm.

Disaster Response Force teams deployed in Digha, West Bengal, has evacuated nearly 150 people including children from Dattapur and Tajpur to a shelter.

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The Odisha government claimed the cyclone 'Fani' has led to one of the biggest human evacuations in history as a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours including 3.2 lakh from Ganjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri.

"3.2 lakh from Ganjam and 1.3 lakh people from Puri were evacuated with almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. The mammoth exercise involved more than 45 thousand volunteers, 3 million targeted messages, 2000 emergency workers, youth clubs and other civil society organizations, ODRAF, NDRF, PRI agencies," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik also added that the death toll is only in single digit without mentioning the exact number. "According to our latest report, it is only in single digit," he said.

Cyclone Fani on Friday made landfall in Puri with a wind speed of over 200 Km/hr. 'Kuccha' houses were completely destroyed in Puri, parts of Khurda, and other districts. The cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply. Lakhs of trees were uprooted blocking roads, breaking homes and damaging infrastructure.

The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in the state. It left three people dead and over 160 injured along with leaving behind a trail of destructions that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm" was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreak havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'FANI' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Cyclone Fani has weakened and is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of the cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal," said Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations, NDRF.

Cyclone Fani on Friday lashed Odisha, triggering heavy rainfall accompanied by wind touching the speed of 200 kmph, and left three people dead and over 160 injured. It also left behind a trail of destruction that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.

The impact of the "extremely severe cyclonic storm", which made landfall close to the temple town of Puri between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. was also felt in parts of West Bengal, including the beach town of Digha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclone, the worst storm in 43 years, caused "huge damage" in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts in the state, according to the Odisha government.

Air India on Saturday announces the recommencement of its operation from 9.45 am at Kolkata Airport.

On the other hand, for the convenience of passengers, the Railways has decided to run a special train from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, today evening. This Special Train will leave Bhubaneswar at 7 pm and will reach Bangalore at 1.35 am on May 6.

It will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nandayal, Guntakal and Dharmavaram between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.

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BJP candidate from North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat Hans Raj Hans on Saturday mentioned the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman while addressing a rally here.

Hans said that Wing Commander Varthaman was taken into custody in Pakistan after a "successful operation."

"Hum sochte they ki pehle jaise delay ho jaega, Ye na ho Sarabjit jaise usko bhi fansi laga dein bahut papi,beimaan mulq hai," he added.

This comes after the Election Commission earlier today gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Wing Commander Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

While addressing a poll rally, Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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The US Defense Department is preparing for the final exclusion of Turkey from the program to create the newest American F-35 bomber fighters, the acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said, specifying that this measure is due to the purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 by Ankara.

According to him, he held a meeting with the direction board of the US military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin and the United Technologies company. The parties discussed in detail the consequences of Turkeys possible exclusion from the F-35 program. "If we cannot find a solution to the current situation, then we need to carry out our plans in terms of their progress," TASS quotes Shanahan as saying with a reference to the transcript of the conversation published by the Pentagon.

The acting Defence Minister stressed that it is necessary to make sure that the plan is effective. I need plans that don't have a single weak point, with a zero risk of failure, so that we can smoothly deliver F-35 to our other customers, he stressed.

In addition, Shanahan noted that during the meeting with the management of the companies he understood where the risk level is high. "Now it is necessary to make decisions to reduce this risk, but at the same time, we continue the negotiations with Turkey," the acting Defence Minister noted.

He stressed that the Turkish side is still the US strategic partner. "In my opinion, today the relations between Turkey and the United States are better than two or four months ago, simply because of the frequency of contacts," he explained, reiterating that the purchase of S-400 by Ankara will lead to the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program.

Shanahan also confirmed the Pentagons position on impossibility of the simultaneous use of the Russian S-400 and the American F-35 systems.
Final voter turnout in the fourth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections held on April 29 stood at 65.51 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India (EC) on Saturday.

The voting percentage is 2.46 per cent higher than in 2014. The 2014 Lok Sabha witnessed 63.05 per cent turnout in the fourth phase.

The first, second and third phases of the Lok Sabha polls held on April 11, 18 and 23 witnessed a turnout of 69.5 per cent, 69.44 per cent, and 68.4 per cent respectively.

A total of 72 seats from nine states including Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the fourth phase.

The polling percentage in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections was the highest in West Bengal - around 76.44 per cent till 5 pm, EC had said on Monday.

Eight seats of the state went to the polls in the fourth phase. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the polling percentage for these seats was 83.38 per cent.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout with just 10.5 per cent votes. Polling for Anantnag seat is scheduled to be held in three phases. Kulgam district went to polls in the fourth phase.

The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

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Escalating the tensions in the region, Gaza on Saturday launched rockets towards Israel after the latter's forces killed four Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip on Friday, reported Al Jazeera.

Reportedly, Israeli defence forces are intercepting rockets through its Iron Dome missile.

According to Gaza health ministry, while two civilians were killed in the firing by Israeli forces, two others died in air strikes. Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries.

Israeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling with Palestinian protestors.

Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson said, "Some roads and sites along the Gaza border, including the Zikim beach, would be closed off after Friday's incident, which comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are in Egypt in an attempt to bring about calm in the border."

Military activities have increased at the Israel-Gaza border in the past few days as nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the "Great March of Return" or weekly protest which started last year, protestors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the formation of Israel in 1948.

The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three offensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands.

After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be "uninhabitable" by 2020.

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The British police on Saturday declined to investigate the leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecom company Huawei, saying that the disclosure does not amount to any crime.

In a statement, Neil Basu, Britain's counter-terrorism chief, said he was satisfied that the leak, which brought down the Defence Secretary, did not breach the Official Secrets Act, Al Jazeera reported.

"No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police," he said.

Opposition lawmakers had urged for an investigation after Prime Minister Theresa May sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary over reports that Britain had agreed to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britain's new 5G wireless communications network.

The decision was reportedly made at an April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). The council's discussions were only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first signed the Official Secrets Act that allows them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the act, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office," Basu was quoted as saying.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances," he added.

Williamson has repeatedly denied he was the source of the leak and suggested that May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G networks.

The 42-year-old former minister was once a trusted ally of May. He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

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A day after North Korea fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, their leader Kim Jong-un supervised the "strike drill" of defence units to test their performance, state media reported.

"The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance of large-calibre long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defence units in the frontline area and on the eastern front," said state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from its eastern coastal town of Wonsan into the East Sea. They flew about 70 kilometres to 200 kilometres, reported Yonhap News agency.

Despite this, United States President Donald Trump reaffirmed confidence in the North Korean leader, saying that "he won't break his promise."

"Anything in this very interesting is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" Trump tweeted.

Saturday's weapons tests were the most serious by the Asian country since it launched the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017, The New York Times reported.

South Korean officials said the "short-range" projectiles flew only 42 to 124 miles off the North's east coast, ruling out the possibility that the country had resumed tests of intermediate- or intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

The launch of the short-range missile comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea are yet to see progress following the abrupt fallout of the Hanoi summit.

Ties between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock over the ease of sanctions, where Pyongyang sought relief as a recognition of the steps taken towards denuclearisation.

No joint statement was released following the talks, as it is reported that the two countries could not resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

Washington has, until now, reinforced that relief in sanctions would only be given after Pyongyang carries out "complete and verifiable" denuclearisation.

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Hitting out at the BJP for terming his party's rule in Uttar Pradesh as "gundaraj," Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that "let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us but show us FIR copies registered against state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath." "They blamed us for gundaraj (hooliganism) in Uttar Pradesh. I want to say let us know if a single FIR has been filed against us. But also show us FIR copies registered against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," Akhilesh Yadav said while addressing an election rally here. "He has been charged under several sections. I can not even count them and you cannot even imagine what kind of sections he was charged under," he added. The SP chief and former chief minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled the nomination of his party candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav from Varanasi. "The government claims that it wants to end terrorism but it was afraid of a jawan."

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Yadav said: "What are the BJP people bringing on roads? It is bulls. And bulls are hurting the people on roads. If a bull hurts anyone, what charges the police will impose on them? Will they register an FIR against a bull?"

Yadav wondered if a case will be filed against any bull if it hurts anyone and demanded that the FIR should be registered against Adityanath instead. He also claimed that seven people died in Lucknow because of the bulls.Later, Akhilesh attacked Adityanath for branding him a 'tonti-chor' (a thief who steals water tap).

"The Chief Minister (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) and a few of his officials have taught 'chilam' (tobacco pipe) to PM Modi. Those who are calling us 'tonti tonti,' they are the one with chilam" (Mukhyamantri ji ne aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chilam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chilam wale)."

Polling for 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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A retired employee of an insurance company has been arrested for allegedly molesting at least six girls including minors in Jagrati area of Meerut.

The accused identified as Vimal, 65, has been working as a social activist, providing shelter and free education to the poor girls.

"We have arrested an old man for allegedly physically exploiting at least 6 girls, including minors, at his residence in Jagrati Vihar colony. FIR will be registered in the case. Have also arrested another person in connection with the case," senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari told ANI.

The horrendous incident came to light on Thursday when CCTV footage of Vimal's residence at Jagrati Vihar was inspected. Vimal used to persuade young innocent girls and later used to sexually abuse them.

"The accused was living in the posh area while going through CCTV footage we found young girls being molested. Vimal has been arrested and the family of the victims have been informed., he added.

A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

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Muslim Education Society (MES) President Dr P A Fazal Gafoor has received an anonymous call threatening to kill him, a day after he issued a circular banning students from covering their faces with religious veils at its educational institutions.

He received the call from an international number on Friday, following which he filed a complaint at Nadalkavu police here, he said in a complaint in which he had alleged that the caller used "threatening, harsh and demeaning" words against him.

Founded in 1964, MES runs as many as 35 colleges and 72 schools.

In the notice banning religious veils issued on May 2, he had also asked the institution heads and officer-bearers of the local management of the institutions to remain vigilant.

His notice had come days after Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' demanded the imposition of a ban on the burqa in India in the interest of security, citing a similar measure taken in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks last month.

The editorial had stated, "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the Prime Minister as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Wednesday."

The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by an NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.

The Sri Lankan government on April 28 took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on the occasion of Easter Sunday on April 21, claiming the lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds.

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A Delhi court is recording the statement of former Union Minister MJ Akbar today in connection with a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani after she complained of sexual misconduct.

Ramani and other senior journalists will also appear before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal today.

She had on April 10 pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar.

In the last hearing, ACMM Vishal had also granted a permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance in the hearings to follow.

In February, Ramani was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

Ramani was the first woman to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment during the #MeToo campaign.

Akbar, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, had filed a defamation case against the journalist for accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The allegations levelled against him forced him to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.

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Actor Vivek Oberoi, who essayed the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his biopic 'PM Narendra Modi,' on Saturday said that the latter will remain the Prime Minister of the country even after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The history of India demonstrates that whenever any a prince or any foreigner has ruled us, they have only robbed us. Now, all the citizens and all the 'Chowkidasrs' won't let the country be robbed again," he told media persons.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory is confirmed. He is the Prime Minister and he will remain the Prime Minister. Now, India won't get robbed. Rather it will rise," Vivek said.

Vivek was in the capital to take part in BJP's 'Saaton Seetein Modi Ko' campaign at the India Gate. Bengaluru South BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya and Kapil Mishra were also present.

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Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JDU and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling it a "vote cutter" party. He also accused Congress and SP of "betraying" BSP supremo Mayawati for their personal gains.

"Congress leaders are happily sharing the stage with SP in rallies. These people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. The party which was staking claim to prime ministerial post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said at a public rally here.

"These people made an alliance just to benefit themselves. They took advantage of Mayawati by showing her dreams of becoming the prime minister. But instead, Congress and SP kept her in the dark," he added.

Raking up the alleged links of Congress president Rahul Gandhi with Scorpene deal, Modi said: "Today I read that during UPA's tenure, one of naamdar's (dynast) business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

Continuing his attack on Congress, the Prime Minister remarked: "The naamdars used to say they are scared of Modi's effect and his aura. Now they are openly saying they can't win against Modi unless they can taint his hard work, honesty and nationalism. The naamdar (Gandhi) himself admitted that a campaign is being run against Modi to spoil his image."

Targeting 'mahagathbandhan', Modi alleged that if the grand alliance come to power, then it would spoil the future of the youth in the country and indulge in personal benefits.

"If the 'mahamilavat' is given free rein, they will ruin the future of the country's youth and pursue benefits only for themselves. So, naamdar, open your ears. This Modi has been working hard for the country in the last five decades. He has given his life for the nation and nothing else," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister listed five dangers that the mahagathbandhan poses including corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic and bad governance. Taking a dig at Congress, Modi said he was not "born with a golden spoon or into a royal family."

Exuding confidence that the BJP will be voted to power again, he said, "The people of Uttar Pradesh decided the results already in the four phases of voting. The people here have vowed that they want development and nothing else. The 'mahamilawati' can't understand now what game they should play in the remaining phases of polling. A situation could arise that they will run away from the field seeing people' enthusiasm."

Accusing the Congress of not doing anything for poor, Modi said: "Rahul is shouting loudly that he wants proof of Modi's works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor," he said.

Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, 39 of them have gone to polls in Uttar Pradesh while remaining 41 constituencies will go to polls during the next three phases of the polling, that is scheduled on May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of being a 'Chowkidar' only for a few businessmen while ignoring the welfare of farmers and youths.

Addressing a poll rally in Sultanpur parliamentary constituency, Rahul Gandhi lambasted the Prime Minister and said, "The whole country has understood this now that this 56-inch-chest man or chowkidar has done chowkidari of only Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and not of farmers or youth. This chowkidar has no strength and he couldn't stand in front of Choksi and Vijay Mallya and sold off complete country".

He also said that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are a fight between NYAY and injustice and said, "I had asked Prime Minister four questions in Lok Sabha but he couldn't answer. He gave a speech of one and half hours in the Parliament but was very comfortable while making that address."

"There have been many promises made by him one after the other but during these elections, he is not able to speak a single word about his own promises. It is because he has no strength and he is hollow," said the Gandhi scion in a strongly worded attack against the Prime Minister.'

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi is contesting on BJP's ticket from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Congress has fielded former legislator Sanjay Singh against her.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning the name of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a rally in Gujarat's Patan district.

"The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. After examination, the Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted," the electoral body stated on Saturday.

While addressing a poll rally, Prime Minister Modi had said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences after Abinandan was detained.

"When Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan, I said (to Pakistan) that if anything happens to our pilot, then we will not leave you," he said.

Earlier, the EC had directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of the defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign and exercise caution while making reference to armed forces.

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Prince Harry delayed his trip to the Netherlands next week as he awaits the arrival of his first child.

"Due to the logistical planning for the traveling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as saying.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned," the spokesperson added.

While there have been speculations that Meghan Markle has already secretly given birth, Buckingham Palace recently confirmed to E! News that the baby hasn't been born yet.

The announcement of Harry and Meghan expecting their first child together was made on the Twitter handle of Kensington Palace on October 15 last year.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sending bribes of Rs 20,000 to village headmen of Amethi parliamentary constituency.

Addressing a public gathering Priyanka levied these strong acquisitions against her political rivals and said: "Wrong kind of campaign is happening here as money is being distributed. I am sending our election manifesto to village headman but BJP is sending letters with Rs 20,000 in the envelope. They are thinking that Amethi headmen will sell themselves for Rs 20,000. They think that generations of love, generations of development can be purchased in Rs 20,000."

Priyanka, who is also Congress's general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh East, said the BJP government is halting development work in Amethi.

"BJP government has been there in the country for five years. People voted in large number to bring their government in power in the state and Centre. Now there is BJP government in State and Centre and the effect is such that the projects started by Rahul Gandhi are being halted in this parliamentary constituency," she said.

In a direct attack on the BJP candidate Smriti Irani, she accused Irani of visiting Amethi for very less number of times. She said: "BJP candidate came to this constituency only for 16 times in all these years. Every time she comes, she leaves in just four hours. Compared to this, your MP Rahul Gandhi has come two times more to the constituency and has always met people and listen to their problems."

On April 30, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said, in last five years, BJP leader Smriti Irani visited Amethi more times than Congress President Rahul Gandhi did in the last 15 years.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting against BJP candidate Smriti Irani from Amethi parliamentary constituency. Gandhi had defeated Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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Draught in many parts of Maharashtra is adversely affecting students from these regions who are living in other cities of the state for higher or to prepare for tests for government jobs.

One such student living and studying in Pune, Deepak Kangne said, "I belong to a drought-prone district and I am preparing for competitive exams staying in Pune. My native place gets hit by drought every year and farming suffers which in turn hampers our financial situation. I do a part-time job to support my studies."

Many students from these drought-hit areas also say that they won't be going back to their homes during summer holidays as that would increase financial burden on their families.

Another student Nivrati Tiwode said, "I am from Nanded district and have been living here for four years. I do not get money from home and hence work with a catering company during weekends. I cannot go home even during vacations because I have to work during that time to earn money for fees for next year."

While, these students fight through these adversities to continue their education, there are also organisations which help them sail through these challenging times.

Tiwode said that an organisation called Student Helping Hand provides them with free food twice a day.

Vinayak another student from Nanded living in Pune said, "I do not get any financial help from my home and work on a cloth shop part-time. Students Helping Hand provides us with food two times a day."

Organisation President Kuldeep Ambedkar says, "We try to help the students who are financially struggling. 2,000 students filed an application seeking help. But due to financial constraints, we are able to provide food to 600 only."

The Government of Maharashtra has declared 151 talukas as drought affected.

On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for wishing to scrap the sedition law if they come to power after the Lok Sabha polls.

"Rahul baba says; Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap the sedition law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail," asked Shah, while addressing an election rally here.

He also went on to recall the incidents which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in February 2016 and said that if the sedition law was removed, then those raising anti-India slogans could not be jailed.

"Slogans were raised in JNU -- Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah, Insha Allah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government put them behind the bars under sedition law. If you scrap sedition law, how will you put them in jails," he asked.

The BJP president was joined by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and BJP MP candidate from North West Delhi Hans Raj Hans in the public meeting.

Shah also said that he had just attended a roadshow in Amethi and he could guarantee that Rahul Gandhi's constituency will make BJP win this time.

"I have just come after holding a roadshow in Amethi and I will tell you what is going to happen this time in Rahul baba's constituency. Lotus will bloom in Amethi this time, guaranteed," he said.

"I will not speak much but I promise to come here again and reveal every misdeed of Arvind Kejriwal," he said attacking the Delhi Chief Minister.

Delhi will see polling for seven Lok Sabha seats on May 12, the sixth phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Rescue and relief operations were mounted on a massive scale in Odisha, which was recovering from devastation on Friday left by Cyclone Fani that crossed West Bengal on Saturday, bringing in its wake heavy rains in Kolkata and causing damage in various towns of the state.

Extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure was reported from Puri, Bhubaneshwar and other parts of Odisha when the storm with wind speed reaching up to 175kmph lashed the Odisha coast after it made landfall near Puri coast.

The Crisis Management Committee met in Delhi on Saturday and reviewed the rescue and relief measures being carried out in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It was felt that due to timely measures and large scale evacuation of people to safety shelters, loss of human lives was minimal.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the death toll was only in single digit but did not give the exact figure. He said a record 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours and called it one of the biggest human evacuations in history.

A total of 3.2 lakh people from Gunjam district and 1.3 lakh from Puri were evacuated.

The Odisha government is now on the task of restoring infrastructure afresh in Puri district and parts of Khurda, which is severally ruined. The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagada have also been affected.

"In the event of such a major calamity like this, where Odisha was hit by close to a Super Cyclone, instead of it being a tragedy of humungous proportions, we are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure," said the chief minister.

The cyclonic storm 'Fani' that wreaked havoc in Odisha on Friday and West Bengal on Saturday, has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression.

"The CS 'Fani' over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards and weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 08.30 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6degN & long 88.8degE. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs," tweeted India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Patnaik over phone and discussed the situation in the wake of Cyclone Fani wreaking havoc.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Cyclone Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster," the PM said.

He also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi and promised Centre's readiness to provided all help needed to cope with the cyclone.

Rain lashed Kolkata as cyclone Fani hits West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier on Saturday. Trees were uprooted in towns in coastal West Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai as the storm surge forward.

After crossing Kharagpur, it moved further in North-East direction with approximately a wind speed of 90 km/hour. NDRF personnel were clearing the uprooted trees from the road at Digha and other places.

"Severe Cyclone FANI weakened into a Cyclonic Storm and lay centred at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon," tweeted IMD.

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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday said that he believes that party President Rahul Gandhi is capable of being a Prime Minister as he is the right man to lead the country.

On being asked whether there would be any consensus among 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders for pitching Gandhi as the first choice for prime minister, Pitroda said, "...if we get to form the government, the party will decide who will be the candidate for the prime ministerial post. I, Sam Pitroda, personally would like Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister because he is a young guy and is highly skilled, well-educated, his heart is in the right place and he has learned a lot in the last decade. You have seen a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years. I think he will make a good leader and I am convinced."

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Calling himself a "small party man", Pitroda, a confidant of the Gandhi scion, said he personally believes that India needs leaders who are in their 40s and 50s and not someone above 60 years of age.

"No, I am just a small party man but I genuinely believe that today India needs younger people. We have 650 million people below the age of 25 and I would like to see leaders who are in the 40s and 50s and not in 60s and 70s," he said.

Before Pitroda, DMK president MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had batted for Gandhi as a PM candidate.

Meanwhile, Pitroda slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for questioning Gandhi's nationality.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for 15 years. You (those questioning his citizenship) sat with him in Parliament, 15 years you worked with him in Parliament, why did you wake up today with lies and you think people are stupid? Don't underestimate the intelligence of Indian people, don't play with their emotions. It's not a good thing and they will show you in these elections. I am telling you, you can't just cheat and lie all the time. If you had a question on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship, you had 15 years to ask but you asked two weeks before elections. Rahul Gandhi is a proud Indian citizen," Pitroda said.

The remark came after the Ministry of Home Affairs recently issued a notice to Gandhi regarding his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

Swamy had also claimed that the Congress president had declared his nationality as British in a UK-based company.

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NCP president and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday discussed the current drought crisis in the state with his party leaders.

Prominent leaders of the party, its MPs, and MLAs attended the meeting. According to party sources, Pawar also spoke to every district unit party president via video conference.

As the drought is expected to aggravate in the state in coming days, the NCP chief is likely to visit the farmers. The meeting also discussed important issues to be taken up during the Monsoon Session of the state assembly, which is scheduled to commence from next month.On April 30, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Election Commission (EC) seeking relaxation in Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to carry out drought relief measures in the state.

"Extreme summer. There are a number of infrastructure works such as drilling of bore wells, repairs to drinking water schemes, irrigation canal maintenance works, etc. which need to be taken up during the extreme summer," wrote Chief Minister Fadnavis.

"The Government of Maharashtra declared 151 talukas as drought affected and the Government of India has extended the assistance of Rs 4,714 crore in this regard. Separately I am proposing the Cabinet Meeting on this issue at the earliest," Fadnavis further wrote.

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In the wake of the serial bomb attacks that rattled Sri Lanka killing over 250 people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday ordered the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to regulate madrasas, instead of the education ministry.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told Daily Mirror that the Prime Minister stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas, though the minister had earlier said the education ministry would take steps to regulate them.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam said.

Earlier, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said around 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at the Madrasas. These clerics had arrived on tourist visas and therefore they should be deported, the minister added.

Sri Lankan authorities are on high-alert after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts that shook three churches and three high-end hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring more than 500.

The IS (Islamic State) or 'Daesh' terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), believed to be associated with the former, for the deadly attacks.

Wickremesinghe on Friday visited the Zion Church Batticaloa, which came under terrorist attack on Easter Sunday and discussed with the church authorities on the various matters related to security measures.

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Tesla is very serious about its data and the level of seriousness is evident from the company's latest e-mail to its employees, warning against leaking confidential information.

The e-mail, shared with CNBC, warns that outsiders who will do anything to see Tesla mail are targeting employees for information through social media and other methods.

It reminds employees about their confidentiality agreements and warns them that leaking propriety business information will result in action against them, including termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has officially crowned the reigning monarch on Saturday, after his father, the late King Bhumibol passed away in October 2016.

"I will continue to preserve, develop and rule the land with justice for the benefits of all Thai people," the new King said shortly after being crowned in a ceremony at the Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence at the Grand Palace here. He was flanked by two men wearing military uniforms during his address.

In an event marked by elements from both Buddhist and Hindu faiths, the new King donned an elaborate gold crown weighing around seven kilograms while sitting on his throne beneath a nine-tier umbrella. Only the King is permitted to sit under the nine-tier umbrella in Thailand, which signifies the reigning monarch's connection with heaven.

Cannons were fired in honour of the new King, as Thai citizens around the country wore yellow to commemorate the crowning, which is being held for the first time in 69 years. The colour yellow is associated with the monarch's day of birth, according to CNN.

Vajiralongkorn is the 10th member of the Chakri dynasty, making him King Rama X. The dynasty has ruled Thailand since Rama I took the throne in 1782.

Just days before the coronation, he married his royal consort, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, declaring her as the queen of the nation. The wedding ceremony took place at the Ampornsathan Throne Hall in Bangkok's Dusit Palace on May 1 and was attended by members of the royal family and Junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha amongst others.

"I am happy to see this event. Now we have a full King the country will be better. This ceremony is an auspicious thing to see. I am so proud of it," a 62-year-old Thai citizen, watching the coronation outside the palace, told CNN.

The official coronation ceremony will last three days. It began with a purification ritual which used water collected from all 76 provinces on Saturday. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway ever since the passing away of King Rama IX in 2016.

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The United States and South Korea have agreed to "prudently" deal with North Korea's launch of a short-range missile on Saturday, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

South Korea also alleged that the missile launch breached inter-Korean military accords which were signed between the two states last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said.

The statement comes after the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held talks via phone, hours after the North Korean launch on Saturday.

Kang also spoke with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono over the phone with regard to Pyongyang's latest move and vowed to respond "with discretion".

The unidentified short-range missile was launched in the eastern direction from the east coast town of Wonsan in North Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

This latest development comes at a time when denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock following the abrupt ending of the second US-North Korea summit held in Hanoi earlier this year.

The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences over the ease of sanctions, leading to the summit ending with no agreement. The much-awaited agreement was expected to chart out the future course in the denuclearisation process, which was agreed upon by Pyongyang in the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year.

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Pentagon is planning to eliminate Turkey from a programme on creating F-35 multi-role fighters over the latter's deals to buy Russian S-400 defence system, said acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

He also underlined that Turkey remains a key "strategic US partner", however, it cannot have S-400 and F-35 "together", reported TASS on Saturday.

"I want air-tight plans that have near-zero execution risk so that we can flawlessly deliver on all the other F-35s to, you know, our other customers. So part of me going through there is, and meeting with folks is like, show me where the risk is. Let's talk about what kind of decisions we have to make to mitigate that risk. But at the same time, we are talking with Turkey," said Shanahan.

"Now, S-400s and F-35s do not go together. That's a big bump," he added.

Last week, Shanahan held a meeting with the leadership of Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corporation, US' principal defence manufacturers, to discuss the consequences of removing Turkey from the programme.

Earlier Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said that US considers Russia deal with Turkey as a "strategic trick" of Moscow to disconnect Ankara from its western allies.

However, Turkey has indicated that it would not go back on its deal, regardless of the US decision.

"Turkey could cooperate with any other country if the US refused to supply F-35 fighters," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The development would further strain the already fragile US-Turkey relations.

Russia and Turkey signed a deal for S-400 in 2017 after engaging in hectic negotiations for a year. Reportedly, Turkey has already transferred the advance payment.

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Union Minister V K Singh, a former army chief, on Saturday denied knowledge of a surgical strike during his tenure and accused the rival Congress of lying about it.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So-called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS (chief of army staff). Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story."

The statement from the Union Minister came days after Congress leader Rajiv Shukla told reporters at the AICC briefing that six surgical strikes were conducted during Manmohan Singh government.

Shukla had further stated that two surgical strikes were carried out when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister--one on January 21, 2000, in Nadala Enclave across the Neelam River and second on September 18, 2003, in Baroh Sector in Poonch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday mocked the Congress party for its claim of having conducted surgical strikes during the UPA regime and said after questioning the NDA government's strikes it was now claiming having done similar strikes by saying "me too, me too".

The Congress hit back saying by making these remarks the prime minister was insulting the armed forces.

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Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

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BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Twitter after a news report alleged that the Gandhi scion's former business partner Ulrik McKnight got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," tweeted Shah.

According to the report, McKnight was the 35 per cent owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up.

McKnight was later director in a company that acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

This news came to light just days after Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.

"Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read.

The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake while McKnight had 35 per cent.

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The Yellow Vest protesters took to the streets in Paris for the 25th consecutive week on Saturday.

At least three rallies are expected in Paris on Saturday alone, according to Sputnik.

The protests have continued despite French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge of a "significant" cut in income tax during a conference recently. Macron had previously unveiled an 'economic and social emergency plan' after the demonstrations started in November last year

The protests reportedly attracted more than 23,500 people across France last week. Scores of people were arrested by the police as clashes erupted during the protests.

The Yellow Vests also used the May Day rally to protest against the French President's economic policies. Police had to resort to using tear gas and sting grenades to control the crowd gathering near Paris' Montparnasse train station during Wednesday's protests. The demonstrators responded by throwing bottles and firecrackers at the police.

At least 165 protesters were arrested on Wednesday as per the French police.

Demonstrators donning yellow vests have been taking to streets across France since November 17, to protest against rising fuel prices and Macron's policies. Even though Macron has since scrapped the rise in fuel prices, protests have continued with calls for the President's resignation being rampant throughout the agitation.

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A total of 159 students were taken into custody from an unlicenced resort in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi early on Saturday for drug abuse, police said.

According to police, a large number of college students, mostly from Kerala, gathered at the Agri Nest resort in Pollachi on Friday to party.

However, the blaring music throughout the night and also a drunken brawl amongst the students disturbed the neighbours, who complained to the police.

Police then raided the resort and saw some of the students drunk while others seemed to have consumed narcotic substances.

While the resort's owner is absconding, police have seized the two and four wheelers of the students.

According to police, the students contact each other via social media for such parties and this time they fixed a fee of Rs 1,200 per head.

Meanwhile, the district administration has sealed the resort.

--IANS

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The Assam government deported 20 convicted Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, on Saturday, an official said.

"The 20 people were deported to Bangladesh through the Sutarkandi (India)-Sheola (Bangladesh) border check post (in Assam) in the presence of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh," police inspector (border wing) Utpal Sharma told the media.

These 20 people, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, were convicted for violation of either the Passports Act or the Foreigners Act, or both and had been lodged in Silchar jail.

"These Bangladeshi nationals have confessed that they entered India illegally in search of jobs or to meet their relatives," Sharma added.

Assam shares a 263 km border along Karimganj district with Bangladesh's Sylhet district.

--IANS

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Aamir Khan-starrer "Laal Singh Chaddha", which is the Hindi remake of Tom Hanks' 1994 classic "Forrest Gump", will release around Christmas in 2020.

The release date of the film, produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, was announced on Saturday.

The film, which is expected to go on the floors in October, is written by Atul Kulkarni and will be helmed by "Secret Superstar" director Advait Chandan.

Aamir had announced the project on his birthday in March. The actor, who tasted failure with his last film "Thugs of Hindostan", said he would be losing around 20 kgs for his role in "Laal Singh Chaddha". He also shared that he would be sporting a turban for some segments of the movie.

"Forrest Gump", directed by Robert Zemeckis, is based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name. It follows the life of Forrest Gump, a big-hearted man from Alabama, who witnesses and influences several historical events in the 20th century in the US.

The film went on to win six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hanks.

It is also being reported that "Laal Singh Chaddha" might clash with Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Krissh 4".

--IANS

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"Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."

--IANS

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Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

--IANS

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Promoters and top officials of realty firm Amrapali Group diverted homebuyers' money for personal benefits and building their own empire, said the forensic report submitted to the Supreme Court.

The audit report reveals that around Rs 3,500 crore of homebuyers' money was diverted by the Amrapali top brass. According to the auditors, the money was spent on houses, luxury cars and weddings among others and also invested in shares and mutual funds.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed both the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and the banks concerned for the diversion of funds by the group.

Pointing to the diversion of Rs 3,500 crore by the Amrapali Group as estimated by the forensic auditors, Justice Arun Mishra said: "Rs 3,500 crore have gone away. Due to your inaction, cheating has taken place. The banks' inaction has contributed to it. Had you taken action timely, this would not have happened."

"It is your own doing. You have not done anything. If you had done anything, this would not have happened. If it is not hand in gloves then what it is," Justice Mishra told the Noida, Greater Noida authorities and the banks.

The forensic auditors' report pointed to instances where money moved from one company to another company of the Amrapali Group.

The court said that that "without the active support of the banks, this kind of large scale money laundering could not have happened".

However, as per the auditors, it is possible to raise the required funds to complete the Amrapali projects. For this, they said the money diverted will have to be brought back and several other assets of the group will have to be sold.

A total of around Rs 9,590 crore can be recovered from the group, noted the auditors.

--IANS

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Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.

--IANS

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The Boeing 737 charter jet that was seen floating on the St. Johns River in Florida after crashing, was reminiscent of the January 2009 emergency landing of a now-defunct US Airways jet in New York's freezing Hudson River.

Twenty-one people were injured in the Friday night incident when the pilot attempted to land the Boeing amid thunder and heavy rains. All the 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued by early Saturday morning.

Images from social media showed rescue teams scurrying over the plane in the St. Johns River, similar to the January 15, 2009, emergency landing on the Hudson River.

That time, the US Airways' Flight 1549 with 155 people on board had suffered a bird strike upon take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. It was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The US Airways' pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, had told the air traffic controllers that the plane suffered "a double bird strike" that led to loss of both the engines and that he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart.

Given the total loss of power and time constraints, the pilot opted to land on the Hudson River.

Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia saw the plane clear the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before gliding into the water.

Later, Sullenberger, emerged as a hero, with praise being heaped on him by passengers, officials and aviation experts for handling the emergency river landing with aplomb and avoiding major injuries.

The incident was dubbed as "Miracle on the Hudson" and the story behind it was told in the movie "Sully". Actor Tom Hanks played pilot Sullenberger.

Sullenberger's final words before losing contact with Air Traffic Control were calm but direct: "We're gonna be in the Hudson."

The time between the loss of the engines and landing the plane was 208 seconds, just under four minutes.

--IANS

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.

--IANS

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Campaigning for five Bihar Lok Sabha seats -- Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur and Saran -- concluded on Saturday for the fifth phase of the seven-phased elections on May 6.

Nearly three-week long canvassing saw intense campaigning by top leaders of the ruling NDA and opposition grand alliance as well as Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP). While the Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are part of the NDA; the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, the RLSP, the HAM and the VIP have formed grand allaince.

Amid the political war of words creeped in some personal attacks by various leaders. For the NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with other star politicians, spearhead the campaign.

For the grand alliance, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and the Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav (both RJD), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the campaigning scene hot.

It's more or less direct contest between the NDA and the grand alliance, except in Madhubani where a rebel Congress candidate Shakeel Ahmad has made the contest triangular.

The prominent candidates in the fray are Chandrika Rai (RJD, Saran), father in law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav. He is taking on senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

In Muzaffarpur, sitting BJP MP Ajay Nishad is caught in a tough battle with Vikassheel Insaan Party's Raj Bhusan Choudhary. In Hajipur, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Pashupati Kumar Paras is being challenged by RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram. Paras is younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has kept himself out of the election this time.

Besides economic development, quota in government jobs and eradication of corruption are among the main electoral issues. However, the BJP is also tom-tomming nationalism and action against Pakistan.

According to political pundits, caste equations will dominate the voting pattern. Thus, the NDA is banking on upper castes and economically backwards besides OBCs and dalits. The grand alliance is hoping to garner votes of OBCs, EBCs, Muslims and Dalits.

More than 87 lakh voters would decide the fate of 82 candidates on Monday. Tight security arrangements have been made and adequate para-military personnel have been deployed. Surveillance will also be conducted by drones, officials said.

--IANS

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Campaigning came to an end on Saturday in 51 constituencies spread over seven states which will go to the polls on Monday in the fifth phase of the mega seven-phase electoral exercise.

Since poll timings vary in different seats, the campaigning period also ended at different times between 4 p.m and 6 p.m., 48 hours before the voting closure time at each constituency.

The 48-hour period preceding the conclusion of voting is called the "silence period" during which any kind of political campaigning is prohibited.

As the silence period began, election rallies and street corner meetings ended in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Rajasthan, seven each in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, five in Bihar and four in Jharkhand.

Campaigning also ended in Ladakh, and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.

--IANS

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A court on Saturday reserved its order on BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to bring a Delhi Police Vigilance report on record in Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj said it would pass its order on May 13 on Swamy's plea seeking to bring on record a vigilance report on the alleged tampering of evidence in the case.

The court was hearing arguments against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, accused of abetment of suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Swamy told the court that there is certain evidence which is required in the case. He told the court that some people had gone to "extraordinary extent" to "make sure that the evidence was destroyed."

But Tharoor's counsel and senior advocate Vikas Pahwa opposed the plea and said that Swamy has no locus in the case because he is neither associated with the prosecution nor with the accsued or victim.

Swamy responded that he has locus in the matter as chargesheet in this case was the outcome of his public interest litigation filed in the higher court.

Defence counsel Pahwa said public suits did not grant anyone the right to be a part of a trial.

Advocate Pahwa also said that all the allegations on destruction of evidence were false.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava also opposed Swamy's plea and raised question over its maintainability.

On May 14 2018, police chargesheeted Tharoor under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to abetment to suicide and cruelty to wife, which entail a jail term of up to 10 years.

Pushkar, 51, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in south Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

--IANS

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Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.

--IANS

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History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)

--IANS

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The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has filed a criminal complaint against UK-based Liberty House Group for withdrawing after successfully bidding for Amtek Auto.

The IBBI, the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings in the country, filed the complaint on Friday.

Liberty House had emerged as the highest bidder for Amtek Auto but soon backed out citing inadequate information being provided, which was allowed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after imposing a cost.

But the lenders moved the NCLT, alleging that Liberty House wilfully withdrew. The tribunal in agreement with them said the board may move against Liberty House as per the regulations laid down under the bankruptcy code.

Section 74(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) says that any party that violates conditions laid under the resolution plan is liable for prosecution and may face a prison term of up to five years with a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore.

--IANS

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An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the UK for causing a death of another man due to dangerous driving.

Jaskaren Dayal, 47, pleaded guilty to the crime which took place on January 6 last year when he crashed his Mercedes into the victim's vehicle while driving drunk and above the speed limit in northwest London.

He pleaded guilty in April at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced by the same court on May 2, MyLondon News reported on Friday.

The report said that cabbie Anwar Ali, 55, was working in the early hours of January 6 last year in Kensal Rise area when out-of-control drink-driver Jaskaren Dayal crashed into him.

Witnesses say they saw him driving at "excess speed", reaching 76mph in a 30mph area just before he crashed into Ali's taxi.

Ali, from Stoke Newington, was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Metropolitan Police officers arrested Dayal at the crash site and he was found to be over limit. He was taken to hospital for treatment for a leg injury before being taken into custody.

The police charged him in March 2019.

Detective Constable Rob Simpson, of the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This was an awful incident in which the actions of an irresponsible man resulted in the death of an innocent man going about his work.

"There was simply no justification for the way Dayal was driving; as a result, it meant that the victim, Anwar Ali, did not stand a chance.

"Dayal will quite rightly spend a significant amount of time now in prison, but this will be of little comfort to Anwar's family, who continue to grieve for his untimely loss."

--IANS

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Israel attacked about 70 military targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad organisations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, said a report by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Israeli attack followed a barrage of more than 200 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel starting around 10 a.m., wounding two people, of whom was an 80-year-old woman seriously injured in the city of Kiryat Gat, Xinhua reported.

According to reports by the Israeli media, during the IDF attacks in Gaza Strip, a 14-month-old Palestinian infant was killed.

The IDF announced that one of the destroyed Palestinian targets was an Islamic Jihad 20-metre-deep cross-border tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

In addition, other Islamic Jihad targets were struck, including military compounds and refugee camps.

According to the IDF, five military compounds of Hamas in the city of Gaza were also attacked, which are used for training and weapon manufacturing.

One of the compounds, according to the Israeli army, serves the Hamas Naval Force.

A joint compound belonging to both organisations was also under attack in the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Indian air strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot would have been ranked "among one of the major military operations of the world", had it not been for "politics".

In an interview to India TV's Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma in front of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Modi was asked what had prompted the early release of captured Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The PM replied cryptically: "That was a (terrible) night. There are many mysteries buried in (the darkness of) that night. Let those mysteries stay where they are," he added.

Speaking at length about the air strike on Balakot, Modi said in the absence of the general election, the air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world.

In a sharp jibe at the Opposition, who sought credible evidence of the strike, he said: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence... political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself."

He argued that after the air strike, Pakistan was in a quandary. "If it admitted that the air strike caused damage, the world would know that there was a terrorist camp there. It was a lone residential building housing 600 people on a hill surrounded by trees. So, to hide this, they had to do something," he added.

Recounting the sequence of events on the day of the strike, Modi said: "As per our strategy, we were to meet in the morning to plan something. At 3.30 a.m., when the operation was over, and our pilots and aircraft returned, took off their uniforms and were sipping tea and joking among themselves... But I was curious, to find out how the world took this. I started surfing online for international news."

He said that at 5.15 a.m., the Pakistan Army tweeted saying that Indian aircraft had dropped their payload and left. Such a reaction was self-explanatory that they were trying to gain sympathy, he added.

On the dogfight between Indian and Pakistan jets, a day after the air strike, Modi said it was a Pakistan fighter plane which had crashed, and its pilot died, but they said that an Indian plane was downed.

"They had lost their balance, and they are still to come out of that trauma," he added.

--IANS

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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has sent a letter to the Justice Department's inspector general, requesting a probe into whether Attorney General William Barr has acted upon requests or suggestions from President Donald Trump to investigate his "perceived enemies".

In a letter addressed to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, cites the findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and Barr's Wednesday congressional testimony as the reasons, reports CNN.

"Such inappropriate requests by the President have been well documented," Harris wrote. "Special Counsel Mueller documented a disturbing pattern of behaviour on the part of the President -- repeated attempts to target his perceived opponents.

"There must be no doubt that the Department of Justice and its leadership stand apart from partisan politics, and resist improper attempts to use the power of federal law enforcement to settle personal scores," the letter said.

Harris' letter comes days after a heated exchange between the California Democrat and the attorney general, in which Barr parsed words to answer Harris' question about whether the White House has "asked or suggested" that he open an investigation into anyone.

In her letter, Harris also points to details in Mueller's report where he notes three occasions on which the President called for an investigation into former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister and AAam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday attacked during a road show in the national capital allegedly by a party worker, police said.

Kejriwal, who was campaigning for party's candidate in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area along with party candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar, was "slapped" by a person wearing a maroon colour T-shirt soon after the CM boarded the open jeep to participate in a road show.

AAP workers and supporters overpowered the alleged attacker.

Today's road show was organized from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at R.K. Ashram Marg. Police said security was in place for the event in consultation with the organizers.

"The Chief Minister arrived around 5.43 p.m. at the venue. He stepped out of the official vehicle and got on to the open Gypsy prepared for the road show. As he was greeting his party workers who had gathered around the Gypsy, a person, later identified as Suresh, got to the bonnet of the Gypsy and attempted to assault the CM," said Additional PRO (Delhi Police) Anil Mittal.

"Suresh was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The road show then resumed as per schedule," said Mittal.

"Preliminary interrogation has revealed that Suresh, a scrap dealer in the area, was an AAP activist and worked as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings", he said.

As per the accused version, over a period of time he got disenchanted due to behaviour of its leaders. He got further angry due to distrust of the party in the armed forces, Mittal said.

"Today Suresh was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party as he stood near the the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault Kejriwal", the officer said.

Suresh, a resident of Kailash Park, is being interrogated. Police are awaiting a formal complaint from AAP to register an FIR against him", the officer added.

"An inquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered as to how the accused was allowed to be in the proximate area," he added.

--IANS

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Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will meet his Venezuelan counterpart Jorge Arreaza for talks on Sunday.

The two diplomats will discuss the situation in Venezuela in light of the attempt by the opposition led by Juan Guaido - whom more than 50 governments have recognized as the country's interim President - in urging the armed forces to turn their backs on embattled President Nicolas Maduro, Russia's TASS News agency reported.

Russia, one of Maduro's main backers, is against involvement in Venezuela's internal affairs, while the US has not ruled out military intervention.

Trump has long stated that "all options are on the table" when it comes to Venezuela, where Maduro is clinging to power despite street protests and withering US sanctions.

But the US President's aides have appeared to lean further into military options in recent days as an uprising led by Guaido, whom the US recognizes as the country's legitimate President, failed to topple him.

Venezuela was one of the topics of conversation during a telephonic talk held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Friday.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Trump that external interference and any attempts to forcefully change the power structure would go against a peaceful solution to the crisis gripping the Latin American country.

--IANS

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to declare ceasefire in the state during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Addressing a press conference at her high-security Gupkar Road residency here, Mufti said that people in Kashmir were being subjected to immense hardships in the name of militancy and stone pelting.

"People pray day and night during the holy month of Ramadan and the government should consider a halt in its anti-militancy operations in the Valley as was done last year when I was the Chief Minister," she said.

She simultaneously appealed to the militants to stop attacks on security forces during the month of Ramadan that starts on May 7.

She also alleged that space for the people of Kashmir was being choked at every front.

"In the name of militancy, people are being intimidated and harassed while various institutions such as the J&K Bank are being targeted to choke the people economically.

"Now even the government employees are on the radar of the intelligence agencies. Many other tactics are also being employed to choke the people," Mufti said as she slammed decisions like suspension of cross LoC trade, closure of highway for civilian traffic and the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

She also warned that such tactics would not work and the only way to keep the state with the rest of the country was through dignity, and not by coercion.

--IANS

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Veteran actress Mumtaz is in London, hale and hearty, said her family members after a death hoax on social media.

Mumtaz's daughter Tanya Madhwani confirmed that her mother is doing well through a post on social media. And her nephew and actor Shaad Randhawa told IANS that Mumtaz is enjoying her time with her grandchildren.

"So exhausting, another rumour of my mother's death. She is healthy and looking beautiful as always and has asked me to let her fans know she is well! It's all rubbish," Tanya wrote on Instagram.

In an accompanying video, she said: "My mother is fine. She is in London... She is sending her love to you all."

Sharing how the veteran actress reacted to the rumour, Shaad told IANS: "Firstly, Mumtazji is absolutely fine, healthy. She is actually having a happy time as she has four grandchildren.

"When she got to know about the rumour, of course, initially, she was upset and irritated but then eventually we all were laughing. She was like, 'what is this rubbish, why these people keep doing this? More than anything, my fans, who loved me for years, are misguided'."

The buzz began with some social media users, including key film trade experts, writing about Mumtaz's death on Friday night.

"Well, Komalji (Komal Nahta, who first tweeted about the rumour) is a very respected journalist and even our family knows him. I am sure he did not do it intentionally. But we all know about the power of social media. If we put out anything, it just spreads everywhere like wildfire," Shaad said.

Film director and writer Milap Zaveri had also dispelled the rumours first, and tweeted: "Just spoke to Mumtaz aunty and her nephew Shaad Randhawa on the conference. She is hale and hearty."

According to Shaan, several family members also panicked after the death hoax.

"Milap started calling me repeatedly and my mother also got worried and started calling. They panicked. Then I made Milap talk to aunty and now things are fine."

Even last year, rumours of Mumtaz's demise had done the rounds. The 71-year-old actress is known for films like "Do Raaste", "Bandhan" and "Loafer".

--IANS

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North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.

--IANS

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Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.

--IANS

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Sheer negligence on part of various security agencies might have resulted in the avoidable tragedy in which 15 commandos of the elite Quick Response Team (QRT) were killed in a Maoist blast in Gadchiroli on Maharashtra Day, May 1, a top security expert opines.

Former Additional Deputy Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID), Shirish Inamdar, in a freewheeling chat with IANS, said that from all available indicators, the QRT squad may have unwittingly walked into a 'trap' laid by the Maoists.

There were at least a dozen intelligence alerts indicating the possibility of precisely such attacks in the Maoist-infested district, but complacency may have overtaken caution, particularly since the Parliament elections had passed off virtually peacefully.

"Ominous signs had come in the hours preceding the strike. Just a day before (April 30), the Chhattisgarh Police had nabbed six dreaded Maoists from Aranpur in Dantewada. In the early hours of May 1, the Maoists hit back by torching around 36 heavy vehicles in Kurkheda, resulting in higher movement of security forces. Barely hours later they triggered the road blast claiming 15 of our commandos," Inamdar, a retired Intelligence Officer, points out.

In such circumstances, he suspects the Maoists had practically "anticipated the retaliatory moves" by the Maharashtra security forces, which reacted as per their assumptions, leading to tragedy.

Soon after the Kurkheda incident, the Deputy Superintendent of Police had ordered the QRT to rush there and probably since official armoured vehicles were not immediately available, they took a private van, says Inamdar.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Deepak Kesarkar and Director-General of Police Subodh Jaiswal referred to this aspect - which Inamdar dubs akin to making the security forces asitting pigeons easily targeted by the rebels.

"The question is for how how long was that private vehicle working for the QRT, was the driver knowledgeable or trained for such sensitive assignment like transporting troops in a danger zone, did the information about the security itinerary leak out to the Maoists and how?" wonders Inamdar.

On the contrary, the government is trying to make political capital with emotional reactions - a Minister claiming credit for successful elections in the Maoist-infested regions, the Chief Minister saying their sacrifices won't go in vain and the Prime Minister saluting their bravery - instead of concentrating on the root causes.

Suspecting that standard operating procedures may have been "thrown to the winds", Inamdar said it was not clear whether the Road Clearance Party (RCP) and Road Opening Party (ROP) did their job of sanitising the expected route taken by the QRT van.

"The fresh road digging activity is clearly visible in videos/telecasts, apparently two vehicles had passed that route before the security van was blasted. The Maoists got sufficient time to plant the explosives by digging the road, covering it and retreating to their dens, there are too many unanswered questions," Inamdar said.

On how the rebels in Maharashtra and other Maoist-troubled states manage to get unlimited funds or uninterrupted supplies of arms and explosives, the former top cop revealed that their methods were similar to terror groups worldwide.

"Nearly two-thirds of the arms and ammunition are stolen. In the May 1 case, there were no guns seen lying in the vicinity of the blast, so we can easily draw this conclusion," he adds.

As for funds, they cultivate opium in isolated areas which is sold for their various needs or simply swapped for more arms with the narcotics mafia.

"While the sophisticated arms go to the top-level guerillas, the other lower cadres use mostly country-made arms or even bow-arrows and occasionally even slings," smiles Inamdar knowingly, having served in some of the affected regions.

He rued that in the so-called Controlled Areas where the Maoists are the virtual rulers, they cultivate opium, have illegal arms manufacturing factories, build small dams, bridges, well-equipped training camps and other necessary infrastructure for their survival and it is practically impossible for anybody to infiltrate there.

Even in the Liberated Zones, which Maoists don't completely control but even the government has limited access, other illegal activities nevertheless flourish virtually unhindered.

However, Inamdar says that the three-pronged policy of the former UPA government when P. Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, has proved to be "extremely successful" in containing the red rebels menace across the country and left untouched even by the BJP-led NDA government since past five years.

These pertained to 'No Negotiations' with the Maoists, Low Intensity Conflict to clear their areas of influence and All Inclusive Development in all the affected regions around the country.

"The proof of success is that since the past nearly two decades, the government and security forces have restricted them to their areas of influence without giving them space to spill over to other territories, development activities along with employment has noticeably increased in the affected areas," Inamdar explains.

However, on the 'surrender policy', Inamdar is a tad sceptical as mostly new Maoist recruits, with limited knowledge of the operations of the top commanders and their forces, opting for it, or others defecting to the law's side without specific reasons.

"The latter variety can be tricky as some maybe tempted to act as 'double-agents', but the entire responsibility of protecting and rehabilitating them is the government's job, making it a very risky and costly proposition," concludes Inamdar.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reacting sharply to Sri Lankan Army chief Mahesh Senanayake's statement that some of the 12 suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday bombings were trained in Kashmir, a top intelligence officer here said that there was no input to prove the claim.

Speaking to IANS, the officer, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have no such information. The Sri Lankan intelligence has not sent us any input on this so that we can work on those links.

"As far as our information and inputs are concerned, there is nothing to prove that any of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir in connection with any subversive activity or for obtaining terror training."

Backing the officer's statement, a Union Home Ministry official said, "Sri Lanka hasn't shared any such information with us. More importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies have themselves ruled out this possibility after investigation."

There have been instances in the past when foreign militants, other than those belonging to Pakistan, got involved in militant activities in Kashmir.

Militants from Afghanistan, Sudan and even Chechnya have been killed by the security forces in Kashmir in the last 32 years. However, there have been no militancy-related incidents proving the involvement of Sri Lankan militants here.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while Pakistan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP and several other parties on Saturday blamed the BJP for the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a road show in West Delhi today, calling it yet another instance of "negligence" in the security of the AAP leader.

AAP said the "opposition-sponsored attack" won't be able to stop the party in Delhi.

Delhi will go to the polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of the election. The AAP is contesting against the BJP and Congress.

Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia said Kejriwal has remained "unstoppable" in the last few years, alleging that "(PM) Modi and (BJP chief) Shah are trying to kill Kejriwal".

AAP spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj too blamed the BJP.

"Kejriwal is supposedly a Z+ security protectee, who has been attacked several times in a systematic and clearly visible pattern. Whenever there is an attack, BJP tries to justify it on national TV. They try to make a hero of the attacker," said Bhardwaj.

"Many of the attackers in the past have had links with the BJP. The wife of today's attacker also confirmed that he is a Modi bhakt."

He alleged the Delhi Police deliberately lowers its guard to make the CM vulnerable to such attacks. "No one talks of suspension of Commissioner of Police... this is in itself a glaring evidence that the Modi government is patronising these attacks."

Several other parties too blamed the BJP and condemned the attack.

Sharad Yadav, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief, said the slap will ensure the defeat of BJP.

"The slap on Arvind Kejriwal today during the roadshow will ensure BJP's total defeat. The BJP has made in the country very dirty in the last five years. It will take years now to cleanse in our country," he tweeted.

TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack.

"Political vandalism. Political goondaism. Political vendetta. Maligning and attacking Opposition leaders show that BJP has lost the election and is making desperate attempts. We condemn the attack on Arvind Kejriwal... we are all with you, Arvind," she said.

CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury also condemned the attack, saying: "This is highly condemnable. Delhi's security is controlled by Modi and his government. Even then a Chief Minister is not safe. But many middle-rung BJP and RSS persons have got top-level security."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the attack "shocking and unacceptable."

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said after trying to defeat, demoralize, degrade, destabilize and dethrone Kejriwal, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles "are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal".

"This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such a dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this act. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy."

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Tanweer Hassan and Manoj Jha too condemned the attack.

The Delhi police said the attacker was an AAP supporter and worked as an organiser of party's rallies and meetings.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, however, said Delhi Police was doing everything at the behest of the Modi government.

"Delhi Police planted that man. This is shameful... even wife of the attacker has herself said that her husband is a Modi bhakt and that he did not like anyone talking against Modi. This is same Delhi Police that had planted a man for the 'mirchi (chilli powder) attack' on the CM. The police's statement is a proof that Delhi Police is taking orders from the Modi government," he said in a statement.

Kejriwal has been attacked multiple times. Last year, the CM was attacked with chilli powder outside his office in Delhi Secretariat.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
the UK's Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex's scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby's arrival.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most parts of Assam witnessed incessant rains on Saturday due to the impact of cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades.

Following the rains, the state government has issued an alert to suspend ferry services between Jorhat and Majuli, Guwahati and North Guwahati, Dhubri and other places from Saturday to Sunday.

While flight services from Guwahati has been suspended till Saturday evening, the Northeast Frontier Railway has also cancelled several trains to Kolkata and Odisha. Similarly, trains from Kolkata and Odisha to Assam were also cancelled.

Weather experts at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar had warned of heavy rains accompanied by strong winds to lash the northeastern states on Saturday and Sunday.

Assam government had earlier warned the district administrations to remain alert ahead of Fani and deployed 40 companies of National Disaster Rescue Force at some vulnerable locations across the state.

As of Saturday, Fani has weakened into a "cyclonic storm leaving no more major threat" for West Bengal. It is situated at Shantipur in Nadia district about 60 km north of Kolkata, and is likely to enter Bangaldesh around Saturday noon.

The cyclone made landfall in Odisha on Friday morning.

--IANS

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(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 said that restoration work was going on following the devastation caused by cyclone Fani, that hit the state earlier in the day but weakened soon after.

Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha's Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur, with a wind speed at 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. The storm will later move towards Bangladesh.

"Electricity poles went down, some sub-stations were damaged. As per the latest report, around 12 kuccha (thatched) houses have been destroyed. Restoration work is in process," Banerjee told the media.

She said that trees that were uprooted in places like West Midnapore's Goaltore, Digha, Mandarmani and North 24 Parganas district were being cleared.

Major damage will be taken care of in the next two days.

"All the District Magistrates have been instructed to repair the damaged houses," she said.

According to the Chief Minister, nearly 42,000 people who were evacuated will be asked to return to their houses from Sunday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After a section of employees floated the proposal to take over management control of the grounded Jet Airways and arrange up to Rs 3,000 crore from external investors, a group of frequent flyers of the cash-strapped airline has approached the key lenders, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, to submit the 'Revival of Jet Airways Plan' or 'Roja'.

Claiming to be reputed professionals and minority shareholders in Jet Airways as well as nine banks that have lent money to Jet, the group has proposed a leveraged buy-out plan (LBO) to revive the grounded airline.

The group of professionals, led by Sankaran P. Raghunathan, has given a presentation on the airline's revival plan to various stakeholders, including pilots, engineers, employee unions and bankers.

As per the plan, the employees of Jet Airways would first take control of the company. They will take loan from existing lenders and invest in the company, eventually becoming part-owners.

"The banks can give Rs 1,500 crore loan to the employees. This is six months' salary of each employee as personal loan. The employees will use this money to buy out 51 per cent stake in the company from SBI and 12.5 per cent from Etihad. The balance Rs 200 crore would be given to the company for new shares. This way the employees will control Jet Airways," said the presentation reviewed by IANS.

In the next step, the plan is to raise money involving the frequent flyers.

Accordingly, the banks can be persuaded to give a personal loan to all those who want to buy four tickets each for Rs 10,000 which would be valid for two years. By pre-selling these tickets, as much as Rs 8,000 crore could be raised.

The employees, already in controlling position, would pass a resolution to authorise the additional issue of shares on a preferential basis to all those who buy the ticket packets -- 100 shares each for Rs 150 each -- and thus raise Rs 12,000 crore.

"The Rs 20,000 crore raised will now be used for operational working capital and for repayment to creditors over five years," the presentation said.

Facing severe financial crisis, Jet Airways had on April 17 announced to temporarily suspend its flight operations. The airline continues to be grounded and its revival depends upon fresh fund infusion by the investors.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With its 3,500 to 4,000 shakhas across Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to play an active role in the state during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

With around 20-100 active workers in each shakha, the RSS began doing its homework for the parliamentary elections right after the December Assembly polls, which saw the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government voted out.

Since January, the organisation has been working on the ground to ensure that the voting percentage in the state increases during the Lok Sabha elections. Thirteen of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan voted in the fourth phase of elections on April 29 while the remaining 12 seats will go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 6.

As part of its plans, the RSS has categorised the voters into four categories -- A, B, C and D.

While the first two categories include RSS workers and people connected to the organisation and BJP workers and those who vote for the party, the 'C' category comprises people who keep shifting parties. This section has at times voted for the Congress, while at other times, it went with the BJP.

The last category are those who vote for the Congress or the other opposition parties.

The RSS workers believe that there is no point in appealing to the last category of voters as it would be a waste of time. However, they definitely want to spend time with the 'C' category which, they feel, can be influenced towards supporting the BJP.

While the outfit is in constant touch with people belonging to the 'A' and 'B' categories, it is putting in extra efforts to convince those falling under the 'C' category.

As part of its mobilisation plans, Krishna Gopal, the national Joint Secretary of the RSS, had convened two meetings in the state in January and March.

In between, the RSS workers also held meetings in February to chalk out a clear-cut strategy for the elections, state RSS prachar pramukh Manoj Kumar said.

Even before the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10, the RSS had worked out a three-tier plan for the elections. The first stage included holding meetings, the second stage involved distributing pamphlets while the third stage focused on ensuring that the voters exercised their franchise.

As many as 40 different branches of the RSS, including Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, are working with the tribals in the state while a separate unit is active in the border areas. However, Kumar said that the RSS is focusing more on areas where its network is strong.

"We have also chalked out a clear plan for social media to ask voters to cast their votes. We went from door-to-door and met people in different areas," he said.

However, not everyone is ready to beleive that the RSS is working hard on the ground.

Senior Congress leader Suresh Chaudhary said that RSS, which was once a social organisation, has now turned into a political unit supporting the BJP and trying to get plush portfolios for its people. "It (RSS) works for the BJP and is now enjoying it's due share in politics," he alleged.

He also said that in 2003, Vasundhara Raje had come to power in the state with the help of RSS after it helped dethrone the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

(Archana Sharma can be reached at archana.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday pushed back Congress chief Rahul Gandhis attacks on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a telling tweet: "Midas Touch, no deal is too much!

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga."

The reference was to a media expose on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

The former partner, Ulrik Mcknight, who was also co-owner at BackOps, acquired defence assets when the UPA was in power at the centre. The media story claimed that Rahul Gandhi had a 65 per cent stake in Backops between 2003 and 2009, when it was wound up.

However, after that McKnight acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011. He also went on and signed a contract with a Visakhapatnam-based firm for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene missile, a report in Business Today said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi responded to the charges and to Shah's remarks, saying, "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale."

There is also a company named Backops Services Private Limited, an Indian firm, in which Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as co-director. Rahul Gandhi owned 83 per cent shares in this Indian firm and had made a capital investment of Rs 2.50 lakh in the same. This also folded up. As for McKnight, he won the offset contracts from the French company, the Business Today report said.

In 2011, as part of his contract with the Naval Group, McKnight had signed a contract with Visakhapatnam-based Flash Forge Private Limited for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene submarines being built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) -- the contract to build the submarines was worth Rs 20,000 crore, the Business Today report said.

The Indian firm Flash Forge also acquired a UK-based company named Optical Armour Limited in which Mcknight was given directorship. He also had 4.9 per cent shares in it.

For the record, the Indian and European companies associated with Rahul Gandhi were dissolved before the Naval Group engaged in a contract with Flash Forge, the Business Today report said.

The website of the Naval Group refers to a September 18, 2018, event to mark 10 years in business for Naval Group in India.

"Naval Group in India was created in 2008 as a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of the group to ensure a long-lasting presence in the country, thereby demonstrating the strong commitment to the Indian Navy.

"This partnership led to the emergence of an industrial ecosystem which fosters the indigenous manufacturing of submarines," it says.

--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.)
The Auckland-based mother and sister of one of the Sri Lankan Easter Sunday suicide bombers have been "cooperating fully" with the New Zealand police following the attacks that killed over 250 people.

Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed was to blow up the luxury Taj Samudra hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. He, however, is believed to have botched the attempt to detonate bomb at the five-star hotel and instead blew himself up at a nearby budget motel, killing 2 guests who had just arrived.

Mohamed's mother, sister and her husband live in a modest house in southern Auckland. They refused to comment on the extent of their involvement in the suicide bombings' investigation, which involves the New Zealand police and Sri Lankan authorities.

"We only cooperate with the (New Zealand) police, no matter what they want to know, that's about it," Mohamed's brother-in-law told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday.

According to a report by the daily, 10 years ago, after the death of Mohamed's father Abdul Latif, his mother Samsun Nissa moved the family to Colombo, renting the upper floor of a mansion in a majority Muslim eastern suburb.

After completing his studies in Britain, Mohamed returned to the property and fell in love with Shifana, daughter of their landlord who came from an affluent meat-trading family. Mohamed married her and shifted to Australia with her to pursue postgraduate studies.

Mohamed's sister, meanwhile, married a Sri Lankan and emigrated to Auckland along with her mother.

Mohamed, who had his first child in Australia, later returned to Sri Lanka to live in the mansion his family previously rented. His grandfather had left him an extensive property portfolio, including the family home in Kandy.

As a result, the trained aeronautical engineer did not need to work.

The bomber's sister said Mohamed had been well educated but became increasingly withdrawn and intense as he descended into extremism. "My brother became deeply, deeply religious while he was in Australia. After he did his postgraduation in Australia, he returned to Sri Lanka a different man.

"He had a long beard and had lost his sense of humour. He became serious and withdrawn and would not even smile at anyone he didn't know, let alone laugh," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)








Top astronomers all over the world have had a working understanding for about a century that the universe is continually expanding. But recent discoveries have had astronomers double-checking their facts. This is because according to recent research, the current universe is expanding 9% faster than the early universe. This is faster than first predicted. And you can read about these findings in an article published by Astronomy Magazine.

These findings, which seem to be valid, have caused some controversy among scientists, though. This research, which was conducted from the Hubble Space Telescope, is in direct conflict with the European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies of the early universe and how it would continue to expand. The European Space Agencys Planck spacecraft studies suggest that as the universe expands in the future, it will follow the same pattern as it always has.

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark matter and dark energy, which have been theorized about for some time now, seem to be one of the unpredictable variables that partially explain the accelerated expansion of the universe. However, most dark matter, which scientists have only caught glimpses of, is too small to reflect light and therefore cannot be seen, even with the Hubble Space Telescope. And the existence of dark energy has never actually been established for certain.

And while all of this new information is fascinating, this kind of science isnt as easy to follow as television shows like Star Trek or the Big Bang Theory. In fact, even if you read the article in Astronomy Magazine (which is written for laymen), you may walk away scratching your head. This is because astronomers dont use the words Star, Planet, and Galaxy so much as they use the words Cepheid,Magellanic Cloud, Type Ia Supernova, Neutrinos, and Dark Radiation.

So to fully appreciate even the simplest explanation of how the universe is expanding, you will need a glossary of astronomy. This is a book that is set up like a dictionary, with entries that define astronomy terms and also explain the concepts of astronomy, cosmology, and their sub-disciplines. An astronomy glossary can turn you from a stargazer into a person who has a concept of how the universe works.

One such glossary, Astroglossary: Revised Edition, compiled by the late G. Cyr, is one of the most comprehensive and easily understood astronomy reference books on the market today. It is an invaluable resource which includes all of the critical terms needed to understand modern astronomy, and at the same time gives any reader a deeper appreciation of the universe.

In fact, using this glossary as a resource is the first step to fully comprehending new findings of the universe. Whether you are reading an article in a scientific magazine or watching a television program about how the universe is developing, you will be able to absorb much more information if you have the Astroglossary on hand. Knowing critical terms while you educate yourself about the wonders of the universe will also help you better understand how infinitely beautiful, awesome, and ever-expanding it is.
After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the apparent failure of the Sri Lankan government to act on intelligence on Easter Sunday's suicide bombings, information has now surfaced that the defence authorities had also ignored Turkish government alerts that 50 members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) had arrived in the island country.

Sri Lankan former External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said that Turkish Ambassador Tunca Ozcuhadar had handed over documents related to the matter to him, the Daily Mirror reported on Saturday.

Peiris is a loyalist of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

There was an attempted coup to overthrow the Turkish government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2016. The coup bid was blamed on FETO, a terrorist outfit led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, in which 250 people were killed. Later, FETO terrorists fled to different countries.

Peiris said that the Turkish Embassy had repeatedly alerted the Sri Lankan government, Denmark, Austria and some African countries about the terrorists sneaking into their territories. While the governments of these countries took prompt action on the alert, the Sri Lankan authorities paid no heed, he added.

The former Minister said that he then brought this to the notice of President Maithripala Sirisena when he met him with a delegation led by Rajapaksa on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the country.

Sri Lanka has been on alert since the April 21 bloodbath in which over 250 people were killed and hundreds injured. The authorities have cancelled weekend mass in the capital due to fears of fresh bomb attacks.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine soldiers were killed as a terrorist attack on Saturday targeted an Army training centre in the Libyan city of Sabha, officials said.

"Terrorists launched an attack at 5 a.m. (local time) on the training centre of the Army in Sabha. The attackers used vehicles and opened fire at the soldiers," a military official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He added that the Islamic State was likely to be behind the attack.

Osama al-Wafi, spokesman of Sabha medical centre, said they received nine bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack.

Sabha, southern Libya's largest city, has been under the control of the east-based Army since January.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.

--IANS

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UN's humanitarian agencies have met ahead of Cyclone Fani arrival in India to study the readiness for it, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Guterres.

He said on Friday at his news briefing: "Our colleagues in India are well aware (of the situation). The UN humanitarian agencies in India have also met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures."

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) referred to the evacuation of over a million people from the endangered areas and the opening of thousands of cyclone centres and said "it is to be hoped that the massive mobilisation operation ahead of Fani will keep casualties to a minimum".

The Geneva-headquartered WMO noted that the fatalities from severe cyclones have been coming down in India because of "forecasts and warnings and better coordinated disaster management".

Super Cyclonic Storm BOB06 caused more than 10,000 fatalities in October 1999, but the toll from an equally intense cyclone, Phailin, in 2013 was less than 50.

Fani was less intense at landfall than either of those two, "but is still one of the most intense storms to make landfall in Odisha for 20 years", it added.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are stretched bringing aid to East African countries reeling from a double punch delivered by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone was about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget. We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people hit by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said. "What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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India and Sri Lanka have urged countries to come together and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by India in 1996 but blocked by some nations, as the world mourns the victims of terrorist attacks in the island nation.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue," Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Rohan Perera said on Friday at a UN event to mourn the Easter Sunday attacks' victims.

"The time has come for the international community to go beyond words and demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

Perera is the chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism that is charged with piloting the CCIT.

"The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the global counter terrorism strategy," he said.

The CCIT has been derailed by differences over defining terrorism, with some making a false distinction between "freedom-fighters" and terrorists instead of seeing that it's the tactic of killing civilians, including children, and not the ideology that defines a terrorist.

India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin joined Perera in appealing for concluding the CCIT as a tribute to the victims of terrorism.

Perera, "has, for more than two decades, tried to steer us to an outcome on the CCIT", Akbaruddin said. "Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of putting in place a global legal framework to counter the global scourge," he said.

At the meeting, musical tributes were paid to Sri Lankan and international victims of the Easter attacks. UN leaders and representatives of nations pledged to fight terrorism.

There were also calls for international action to stop social media from being used to spread hate and violence. "While protecting the freedom of expression, we must also find ways to address incitement to violence through traditional and social media," General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces said.

"It's sobering that the theme of World Press Freedom Day today is 'Journalism in times of disinformation'," she said. "We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote -- and not harm -- human security," Garces said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke about social media being used to spread hate. "The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. Today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet," Mohammed said and added,

"The UN continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism."

The Sri Lankan Permanent Representative was more forthright in calling for a consensus on how to regulate social media, like Twitter and Facebook, to prevent them from becoming the media to spread hate.

"It's time to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework. It's vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools, such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are used as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism," he said.

Sri Lanka blocked access to social media after the Easter bombings because it was being used to circulate fake news and create enmity between communities. Access to social media was restored on April 30.

Denouncing the use of religion to justify violence, the UN deputy Secretary General said: "As a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance. Tragically yet, again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become killing grounds and houses of horror.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence."

The General Assembly President reflected on how religions can bring people together.

"I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans -- Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others -- donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage and resilience. Of unity," she said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

--IANS

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Renowned US geophysicist Roger Bilham, who was denied a visa to attened a International workshop on climate change and extreme events in the Himalayan region last month, will receive the document the next time he applies it, the California-based convenor of the event has said.

"I got a phone call from the Ministry of Home Affairs saying his case is now cleared and that he will get the visa next time he applied," workshop convener Ramesh Singh of Chapman University in California, who took up the visa issue with India's Home Ministry, told this correspondent on the phone.

Bilham welcomed the move.

"That I am again allowed to visit India comes as welcome news to my many scientific colleagues in India, and restores global confidence in the fundamental integrity of Indian science," Bilham said.

"I always believed that banning Roger Bilham was a very bad move by the Indian government and went against the fundamental right of free expression," said Chittenipattu Rajendran, a leading seismologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru. "I am extremely happy the ban has been revoked and I am looking forward to interacting with him."

"Roger Bilham is a true scientist, solely driven by the spirit of enquiry," said Vinod Gaur, former director of the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad. "For example, the list of research investigations required to calculate ground accelerations to arrive at a safe seismic design of Jaitapur nuclear structures for reassuring the public, still remains outstanding, even as Roger was banned from entering the country in the wake of this publication."

Bilham, a professor at the University of Colorado who catalysed the GPS and modern geosciences research in India, first came to know he was on the country's list of "unwanted persons" on May 18, 2012 when he was sent back to US immediately on landing at the Delhi airport.

Bilham met with a similar fate in 2014 when he was denied visa to deliver a talk at the UK-India workshop on Himalayan earthquakes held in Jammu & Kashmir. Last month's visa denial prevented his presence at the workshop in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

"I have twice applied for a visa and, after payment of $450, have been refused one," Bilham had told this correspondent at the time.

Though he was not told the reason, Bilham says he learnt from the US State Department he was "blacklisted" by the Indian government allegedly for "national security/intelligence reasons."

He says it was likely a reaction to his publications in 2011 bringing to light seismic risks to Jaitapur - the proposed site south of Mumbai - for a 9.9 Gigawatt nuclear power plant. His plea that he did not mean to scare, but only provide a starting parameter to engineers for safe design of the power plant was apparently ignored.

"The scientific findings that led to my banishment are not controversial, although they were considered so by one or two former seismologists who proposed scientific blacklisting to the government in 2012," Bilham said without naming them.

(K.S. Jayaraman is a veteran science journalist. He can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

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Actor Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving after his arrest for driving under influence last year.

Vaughn accepted a no-jail plea deal on Friday involving his drunk driving arrest at a sobriety checkpoint in California last June, reports nydailynews.com.

The "Wedding Crashers" star had a lawyer appear on his behalf in the courtroom here and enter a plea of "no contest" to one count of misdemeanor alcohol-related reckless driving, sources said.

He was immediately sentenced to three years probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said.

Vaughn was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program, pay fines and submit to any alcohol screening tests requested by law enforcement while on probation.

The actor's lawyer was advised that if Vaughn drives under the influence and a person is killed, he could be charged with murder, prosecutors said.

The deal, which dropped the original three charges in the case, means Vaughn won't have a DUI on his record.

Vaughn, 49, was stopped around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 last year at a checkpoint in the coastal community of Manhattan Beach.

--IANS

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Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

"It was not done by the Congress," Rahul said amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking credit for Azhar being designated terrorist by world body UN, and terror strikes to wipe out terror launch pads across the border.

Addressing a mid-poll press conference here, the Congress leader said, "Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him."

He also asserted that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

"Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly," he added.

He was responding to a question over Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist by the United Nation Security Council.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.

--IANS

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Campaigning ended on Saturday evening for the seven seats going to poll in the fifth phase on May 6 in Bundelkhand, Vindhya and Narmada regions of Madhya Pradesh. This would be the second of the four rounds of polling in MP. The remaining two phases are scheduled for May 12 and May 19.

The Congress has fielded new faces in all seven seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put its bet on old hands in five seats.

With poling for more than 60 per cent seats over, star campaigners, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief Amit Shah, made electoral sorties in MP in quick succession.

The BJP, which won all these seven seats in 2014, replaced four candidates and RSS stamp is pronounced in its selections. There is growing resentment against the candidates chosen for Khajuraho and Betul, where (like Bhopal) the sole merit for selection is candidates' proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

After the first phase witnessed complaints of sabotage from the BJP candidates, the leadership is keen to ensure better booth management this time.

Damoh, Tikamgarh and Khjuraho, the three seats in the Bundelkhand region gearing up for the polling, have strong BJP leaning.

The BJP has held Damoh since 1989. The Congress has fielded Pratap Singh Lodhi here against Prahlad Patel a two-time winner. The Congress has changed its candidate on each of the past four occasions. It ignored the recent acquisition from the BJP, Dr Ramkrishna Kusmaria, who won the seat twice.

Tikamgarh also has a contest between experience and fresh face. The BJP has retained Union minister Virendra Khatik, seeking a third term, while the Congress has nominated state women's Congress Secretary Kiran Ahirwar. An untested Ahirwar is toiling on gamely hoping to benefit from resentment against Khatik over his long incumbency.

Khajuraho boasts of having returned former Chief Minister and Union minister Uma Bharti four times. Both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces this time. The RSS which had insisted on fielding Vishnu Dutt Sharma in the face of near rebellion in Bhopal has shifted him to Khajuraho. The party has overlooked protests with some party members burning Sharma's effigies.

The Congress has settled for Kavita Singh, wife of Vikram Singh Natiraja, MLA from Raj Nagar. Natiraja hails from an influential Royal family in the neighbourhood. It will be interesting to see how the RSS ensures victory of Sharma who has no connection with the constituency.

The BJP has dominated the constituency since in 1989 and has returned the Congress candidate Satyavrat Chaturvedi once from 1999 to 2004. His mother, Vidyawati Chaturvedi, was elected twice in the early 1980s. Former state minister Nagendra Singh, member of outgoing Lok Sabha, has apparently been denied ticket over incumbency fatigue.

The two Vindhya constituencies in the second round of polling are Rewa and Satna. Though the constituencies have only one Assembly segment each reserved for Scheduled Castes, the Bahujan Samaj Party wields immense influence here. Rewa has returned a BSP member to the Lok Sabha thrice, while Satna has elected a BSP candidate once.

Sitting MP from Rewa Janardan Mishra, faces Siddharth Tiwari, son of 2014 runner-up Sunderlal Tiwari who died recently. The Tiwaris are a prominent political family with the patriarch Srinivas Tiwari (Sunderlal's father) having been the Assembly Speaker for over a decade. The contest is triangular with Vikas Patel of the BSP making a strong presence.

In Satna, Ganesh Singh is in the fray for a fourth term. He faces Rajaram Tripathi who earlier contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Patels and Brahmins dominate the electoral scene in the region. Caste has played a key in the region all along since formation of MP.

The other two seats Hoshangabad and Betul lie across the Vindhyachal ranges on the gateway to south. They were part of the old MP, which had its capital in Nagpur.

Rao Udaypratap Singh, who won the 2009 election from Hoshangabad on the Congress ticket, switched to the BJP and won the 2014 battle. The BJP has been winning the seat since 1989 except for 2009.

Significantly, Udaypratap who won the seat with a margin of 19,000 votes in 2009 saw 17 per cent swing in his favour in 2014 to win by nearly 3.8 lakh votes. He would find it hard to match that performance. The Congress has overlooked the five-time representative of Hoshangabad, Sartaj Singh, who switched from the BJP not long ago. It has fielded a new face Shailendra Dewan.

In Betul, reserved for Scheduled Tribe, the Congress has had a history of approaching each election with a new face for past many terms. The Congress has nominated Ramu Tekam against the RSS choice of Durgadas Uikey. Two-term MP Jyoti Dhurve has been disqualified following controversy over her ST certificate.

The BJP's move to change the narrative to tune it to the RSS agenda is likely to have a bearing on elections. It is Modi versus Congress now on and the BJP supporters do realise Modi's popularity has waned considerably since 2014.

--IANS

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Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Saturday raided a zoo here and rescued 134 foreign animals, allegedly brought into the country illegally.

On a tip-off, DRI officials raided the zoo located in Malharganj area, run illegally by the NGO Karuna Sagar, an official release said.

Creatures found in the zoo included a South American Marmoset, Australian Iguanas, a Persian cat, Red Eared Singapore Slider Turtle, North American Alligator Gar, South American Guinea Pig and South American Macaw.

The rescued animals, birds and reptiles were shifted to Kamala Nehru Zoo in the city.

The NGO which was running the zoo could not present legal documents related to import or purchase of these foreign animals, the DRI release alleged, adding that appropriate legal action will be taken against it.

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The death toll in the Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years



It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit. Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure."



An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected. Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations. The state has so far been able to restore all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration. Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work. The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday. Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

He said trains originating from Bhubaneswar, including the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express will run normally from Sunday barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express.

There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, the official said.

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Two private cars of same make, colour and bearing identical registration number were seized in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A police spokesman said they have arrested a man in this connection.

The person was arrested after the owner of one of the cars lodged a complaint with the Lakhanpur police station that another car of the same make, colour and registration number is plying in the town.

He also said he had purchased his car from a person named Mohammad Rafiq, a resident of Broindhai Hatli village in Kathua. Police said Rafiq was arrested after it came to light that he recently purchased a brand new car and intentionally used the same registration number.

The spokesman said a case has been registered and police are seeking clarification from authorities concerned.

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The US city of Minneapolis on Friday announced a $20 million civil settlement with the family of an unarmed Australian yoga instructor who was shot dead by a police officer.

Mohamed Noor was convicted Tuesday of murder for the 2017 shooting that killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had moved to the US to marry her fiancee.

The 40-year-old was killed while approaching Noor's police car. She had called police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home.

Noor's conviction was the first time in the Midwestern city's modern history that an officer was found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited the unprecedented circumstances as playing a role in the record $20 million settlement with Damond's family -- the highest in the city's history.

"As the proceedings made clear, there was not a clear threat before the use of force was made, as per Mr Noor's statements," Frey said at a conference.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward." The family was to donate $2 million of that money to a fund to fight gun violence in Minneapolis.

Robert Bennett, a Ruszczyk family attorney, said the large settlement was meant to send "an unmistakable message to change the Minneapolis Police Department in ways that will help all of its communities," according to CNN.

The 33-year-old Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was acquitted of the most serious charge of second-degree murder with intent to kill.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 7.

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Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three suspected drug peddlers and four bovine smugglers were arrested Saturday in two separate operations in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The three suspected drug peddlers were arrested from Poonch town and were detained under different preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and sent to judicial custody, a police official said.

In a separate incident, four persons were arrested after police foiled their attempt to smuggle bovines along the Mughal road, connecting Poonch with Shopian district of south Kashmir, the official said.

Four load carriers, heading towards Kashmir, were intercepted separately by a police party and 16 buffaloes were rescued, he said.

A case was registered and the accused were arrested, the official said, adding that their vehicles were also seized.

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Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

"The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near SaraiKale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An AAP supporter slapped Delhi Chief Minister during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders, police said.

Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.

The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the and used to work as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings, they said.

"An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to enquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group," Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said.

According to his version, over a period of time, Suresh got disenchanted due to behaviour of the AAP leaders. His anger intensified due to "distrust of the party in the armed forces", the official said, adding further interrogation is on in the matter.

No FIR has been registered in the matter as police did not receive any complaint.

"Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM," said in its statement.

The AAP, however, alleged that the had planted that the man belonged to the party.

The AAP roadshow was organised from 4 pm to 10 pm in Moti Nagar. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at RK Ashram Marg, it said.

Proper police arrangement from both Security Unit and local police was put in place for the event in consultation with the organizers of the event, it added.

The chief minister arrived at around 5.43 pm at the starting point. He got out of the official vehicle and boarded the open gypsy prepared for the roadshow. As he was meeting and greeting his party workers who had gathered around the gypsy, suddenly a person got on to the bonnet of the vehicle and attempted to assault the chief minister, the statement said.

He was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The roadshow then started and continued as per the schedule, it said.

During security arrangements at such events, which are put in place in consultation with the organizers, necessary tie-up is made with the organizers so that they ensure that only the persons identified by them are in the reception party or the proximate group or near the vehicle used for the roadshow, police said.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the had planted the man.

"Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker's wife has herself said he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi.

"This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no 'mirchi attack' happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red faced," Bharadwaj said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday attacked BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, claiming that after the Lok Sabha poll results, 'bua' will term 'babua' the king of goons and 'babua' will say that she is the very image of corruption.

Mayawati and Yadav are referred to as 'bua' (aunt) and 'babua' (nephew) respectively.

"Bua-babua are together now, but after May 23, bua will say babua is the king of goons and babua will say bua is the very image of corruption," he claimed.

Adityanath Saturday addressed rallies in Pratapgarh, Faizabad, Gonda and state capital Lucknow.

On the UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "Countries all over the world are happy about the news, while in India one can understand why there is silence in the camps of opposition parties."



He asked why had the Congress and SP linked terrorism with votebank. "Their intentions are clear. They are not bothered about the national security, they are only worried about their votes," Adityanath said.

The BJP leader also launched a scathing attack on Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over a video in which children were seen using abusive language in front of Vadra.

"I was looking at a video of the Congress shehzadi which went viral on social media. At an age when kids should be taught about moral values, she was seen teaching them abusive words. The Congress should not teach its kusanskaar (bad values) to the children of the country," he said.

He also referred to the Congress leader touching and petting snakes during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, a video of which was circulating on social media.

"I saw Congress ki shehzadi playing with poisonous snakes, the same way in which the Congress gave this country poisonous snakes like terrorism, Naxalism and separatism during its rule.

"For 55 years, these snakes continued to bite the country. The Congress cannot improve (on its own), and now the public of the country will improve it," he said.

Taking a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad besides Amethi, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is losing elections in Amethi and now he has gone to Kerala to hide his failures."



"...When we were asked why the BJP speaks of nationalism, we said that nationalism for us means that the poor have their own concrete houses, toilets, gas connections, electricity and security of 120 crore people of India (is ensured)," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish-Iraqi Border: Turks Bomb and Kurds Use Assyrians As Human Shields

House in Tashish, Barwari Bala valley, in Iraq, near the border with Turkey; destroyed by Turkish aviation. It is only a matter of time until the last of the Christians who still resist on the Iraqi side of the Zagros, on the border of Iraq with Turkey, disappears. The Chaldean-Assyrian Christian villages are being devastated by the missiles launched by the Turkish army against the Kurdish secessionist guerrillas, which use them as human shields and even 'squatted' monasteries.

It happened in Tashish, a Christian village in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border, at nightfall and in the usual way.

First, the buzzing of the drones was heard and it did not take long, the thunderous and horrendous detonation of the two bombs dropped by a Turkish plane. With absolute certainty, he was one of the F16 fighters or the F4 Phantom II that Ankara has active while imploring the Americans to provide his desired F35.

The missiles struck in a very precise way in one of the houses of the Christian village. The shock wave caused damage in more than one hundred meters to the round and the shrapnel and the metal splinters projected against all the houses of the surroundings, biting the outer walls and leaving big notches in the formwork so that the memory never is lost of what happened at 10.37 at night, local time, on April 11, 2019.

In the pictures taken the next morning, the lethal destructive power of these weapons is seen in all its magnitude. The building-one of those bright, one-story little houses that rise above the shady orchard of the hills of the Barwari Bala valley -was reduced to a mountain of twisted iron, large blocks of reinforced concrete and broken concrete slabs. A few meters from the house, the perforations and dents of the pick-up of the Kurdish militiamen who 'squatted' the house are intuited.

Nobody wants to talk about it, but that someone died is taken for granted . How could someone have survived such an explosion? The Turks know well the objectives of their so-called "war against terrorism". That has to be granted.

Attending, exactly, to the 'surgical' accuracy of their air attacks and the meticulous information they obtain thanks to their drones and their intelligence services it is possible to conclude that the Turks did not ignore that the night of that bombardment there were eight civilians in the town. All of them were Chaldean-Assyrian Christians , oblivious to the pulse that the Turkish Government of Erdogan holds in Iraq against the Popular Defense Forces (HPD, according to its Kurdish acronym), armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), around which the bulk of the Kurdish secessionists from Turkey gather.

It was providential that there were no civilian casualties: the few Christians who resist in the valley dined shortly before twilight in two courtyards near the building that the missiles hammered. Twenty meters from the blast site, a family of four was talking. As it has been common, they waited at dawn and left scared of the small town. The night had been long.

Parish closed in Sharanish, with the poster in Arabic and in Syriac.

Turkish artillery bombs Christian villages

Just one day earlier, on April 10, Erdogan's artillery had bombarded the town of Sharanish, another Chaldean-Assyrian enclave located near the Turkish border, in the Kurdish-Iraqi district of Zakho, about fifty miles east of Tashish, and northeast of Dahok. Both its Muslim and Christian neighborhoods were devastated by the projectiles.

Sending Sharanish mission fighter-bombers or beating him with artillery has been a long tradition since, a few years ago, the Kurd militia of the HPD, at war with Turkey, left the high and steep snowy peaks of the Zagros to seek refuge among the civilians who occupy the hidden valleys of one of the wildest and most uninhabited borders of the planet.

Kurds "kind" but armed: they use Christians

In a systematic way, Christians have been used by the guerrillas as human shields. It is an open secret that they stand in their villages to avoid, without success, the attacks of the Turks.

An Assyrian bishop visits Hezaney, in the Nahla Valley; has tried to convince the Kurdish militias to leave the place, without success.

"They are kind, that's true, " a Christian from the Nahla Valley tells us, while imploring us to identify him with the nickname of Saad Matey. " They are as kind as can be someone who holds a kalashnikov. It is also true that there have never been problems of coexistence and, unlike the Barzani peshmerga [the Kurdish armed forces that operate in the Noriequen territories], they always pay for what they take and interact politely with us. Of course, that is not the real issue. The point is that we are not a judge or part of a foreign conflict, and nobody has ever asked us if we want to live in a militarized zone or in peace. and oblivious to a struggle that does not concern us and that is forcing us to abandon one of our last Iraqi enclaves. "

Christians have been trapped with the rest of Iraqis in the crossfire of a war that is not theirs.

No one in Iraq needs the Islamic State to turn their lives into hell. These types of situations have often been silenced by the great reports about the criminal activities of Daesh.

Unlike what usually happens in other parts of Iraq, such as Bajdida or Erbil, the bulk of NGOs, humanitarian organizations and Christian charities operate on the border . It remains 'terra incognita', an opaque blur whose precise location ignores, in a literal sense, even large maps.

A wild border with mini-guerrilla states

"Look at our house," laments a countryman from the town of Sharanish interviewed by a local television station while showing the shrapnel notches, the vain busts and the cracks of the walls of a house hit by the shock wave of the bombs. artillery. "We were around eighty families. Then, that number fell to twenty, and later, to eighteen , and so on until everyone, Muslims and Christians, left for fear of being busted or buried in the rubble. "

Almost the entire border strip has been occupied in progressive waves by small groups of Kurdish guerrillas attached to the HPD (or PKK) that NATO, EU and Turkey still have today as terrorists. Some of the fiefs that the guerrillas have in places like Sinyar or Qandil are real proto-states beyond the control of the Erbil governments (of Kurdish-Iraqi autonomy) or Baghdad.

The Kurds often crossed the Zagros mountain range, coming from Turkish Anatolia, to get away from Turkey. Of course, gradually, small groups of them left their holes in the rocks to descend to the populations that mark the border. One of the last occupations took place in the Nahla Valley, four years ago.

It was as of that moment when the Government of Turkey stopped settling for illegally invading Iraqi airspace to displace several contingents of replacement soldiers . With the acquiescence of the Kurdish leader Masud Barzani, the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan, the different Turkish units of the Komando were quartered in positions of tactical importance from where they control the natural steps of the guerrilla and from where they strike indiscriminately anyone who is in the immediate vicinity of the guerrillas, even if, as it almost always happens, it is against their own will.

Sharanish is one of the Chaldean-Assyrian peoples most punished by Turkish bombs . What happened in that small town is a good example of the process that is about to end Christians, in this case, without stenographers. Today there is no one who goes to pray to any of his two churches; one belonging to the Chaldeans (Catholics) and the other, built in the 4th century on an old synagogue, by the Eastern Church (Nestorian, or "of the Persians"). In Antiquity, all its population was Jewish, before its conversion to Christianity.

Descendants of the Turkish genocide a century ago

Like other valleys ravaged by Turkish bombs such as Nahla, most of its inhabitants descend from the survivors of the Assyrian-Greco-Armenian genocide of a century ago in Turkey. They arrived, originally, from Turkey, where the Christians were literally exterminated by Kurdish tribes under Ankara, during the First World War.

From their old patriarchal headquarters, located in Kodshanes, their ancestors fled with the almost legendary patriarchs Simon Sea XXI and Agha Patros at the head , to undertake a circular road through Persia that would take them back to the mountains, only from the side Iraqi from their lands. They are the survivors by antonomasia.

Long before the emergence of the Islamic State in the geopolitical scene, the persecution against this minority has been brutal, systematic and often sponsored by the nationalist and supposedly democratic governments of the hostile ecosystem where they live. The jihad to which the Salafist parties appeal is often only an alibi to appropriate their assets.

The same happens against Bartella's babaquAes, who have their own religion, different from Islam, although influenced by it. Or much earlier, in the villages of Nahla. Spiritual differences have often been used to fuel rivalries that, in the end, mask the petty desire to steal their lands. Daesh has been just one of his problems. And not necessarily the biggest one.

On the border of Turkey is another conflict that is settled on the bloody Chaldean-Assyrian sand. It is not religious differences that worries the PKK. In fact, there are Turkish Christians in their ranks from Tur Abdin. They are not, as is usually agreed, an atheist militia, but secularized.

The Kurdish militia paraded in an Assyrian monastery,

Among the buildings occupied by the Anatolian Kurdish militia to hide from the Turkish bombs is the 1,400-year-old Assyrian monastery of Qayoma Mar. As a general rule, Kurdish guerrillas look for uninhabited houses in the heart of the villages, and 'squat' without the opinion of their legitimate owners, who have very little to say about it. In fact, not even complaints have been registered. Could they complain about it? The supposedly temporary occupations against which several Assyrian priests protested have become permanent.

The Kurdish militia at Assyrian funerals

In some villages like Hezaney, the daily coexistence with the militiamen is now daily, and it is possible to see the militia girls , very young, go to a funeral, with their campaign uniforms and without detaching themselves from a moment of their AK47 , to present your respect to the family of the victims. Thanks to the belligerency of Turkey, the guerrillas have indirectly exported their conflict, drawing the violence of the Turkish government of Erdogan towards families completely unrelated to their disputes.

Often, when night falls, from Chaldean-Assyrian populations such as Kanimase (Barwar Valley), it is possible to see in the distance the flashes of Turkish artillery blinking against the cross of the Mar Sawa church.

Aviation raids do not only start, in fact, from Turkey. Also the Iranian neighbors have launched their missiles on the positions of the PKK occupied by Chaldean-Assyrian civilians. They are so accustomed to it that, unless it rains bombs, there is nothing to alter their daily lives. In summer, they gather in the cool to look at the sky, as if they were fireworks.

Article translated from Spanish to English by Google Translate.
An Afghan official says at least seven Afghan policemen were killed overnight when the Taliban stormed security checkpoints in western Badghis province.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said Saturday that three other security forces were wounded during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry said Saturday that two separate airstrikes conducted Friday night by coalition forces in coordination with Afghan forces killed at least 43 militants from the Islamic State group in eastern Kunar province.

The statement said the airstrikes targeted IS in Chapara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"



"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition.

"If you scrap the sedition law, how will you send such people to jail?"shah asked.

"The Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they hurl a brick at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make their stand clear on the demand for a separate prime minster for Kashmir.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one can take it away from India till the BJP is there," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the Army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."



Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A barrage of around 50 rockets was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and dozens were intercepted by air defences, the Israeli army said.

The army said earlier it had targeted two rocket launchers in Gaza with an air strike in response. It was not yet clear if there were casualties on either side.

The escalation follows the most violent protests along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank and said they consider even a "human being just a number".

Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

"SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj PArty) and have been affected by a bad habit that they consider even a human being just a number, Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing when SP chief vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.
There will be no negative repercussions of UN's designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Pakistan's ambassador to the US has said, asserting that the move only reinforces Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

The United Nations on Wednesday designated Pakistan-based Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him.

China removed its hold on the proposal, which was moved by France, the UK and the US in the Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February just days after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, who is on a rare visit to Houston this week, noted that the United States also appreciated Pakistan's commitment in its first reaction to the designation on Thursday, the Dawn reported.

Before the adoption, China and Pakistan worked jointly to delink the designation from the Kashmiri struggle for freedom and the Pulwama terrorist attack, it said.

The delinking allows Pakistan to continue to support the Kashmiri movement, it added.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the United States or China," said the ambassador while talking to the media after his address at the World Affairs Council in Houston on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism," Khan said.

In his address to the council, the ambassador also spoke about improvements in the US-Pakistan relations after a recent dip.

"This is a very important and consequential relationship. We are keen to have a strong partnership," Khan said.

The ambassador also spoke about Pakistan's role in promoting US-Taliban talks in Doha and asserted that Islamabad helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks," he said.

Ambassador Khan said that while Pakistan's role was important, other regional actors must also play their part.

Pakistan also supported US efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban, he said.

Khan hoped that the progress in the Afghan peace process would improve Pakistan's relations with the United States.

Underlining Pakistan's efforts for better ties with India, the ambassador noted that in February the two nuclear states had the first dogfight.

"This is very dangerous but unfortunately India seems more interested in whipping up differences for domestic political gains than in resolving disputes," he said.

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A madrasa teacher who was declared a Bangladeshi living illegally in Assam was arrested, and 20 other Bangladeshis were deported to their country on Saturday, officials said.

Abdur Rashid, who was working as a teacher in a government run madrasa since 2001, was declared a Bangladeshi by the Foreigners Tribunal of Morigaon district on October 30, 2016, official sources said.

He had then moved the Gauhati High Court but it upheld the declaration of the Tribunal in September 2018.

Rashid was in service till Saturday, the sources said adding that he will be sent to the detention camp inTezpur on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 20 jailed Bangladeshis, including a woman, were deported through Sutarkandi on the international border in Karimganj district.

Karimganj Superintendent of Police Manobendra Debroy said those 20 people were handed over to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the border guards of the neighbouring country.

Of them, 19 were in Sichar Central Jail and one in Kokrajhar Central Jail for the last two to five years, official sources said.

Debroy, district Deputy Commissioner M S Mani Mannan, BSF Deputy Commandant S K Uppadhay were present when they were deported.

The Bangladesh side was respresented by police and BDR officials, Debroy said.

Another group of 21 Bangladesh nationals was deported on January 19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (BJP) on Saturday attacked chief for his alleged links to a defence firm that got an offset contract when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Gandhi refuted the allegations and said he was willing to face any probe, but added that an investigation should also be ordered in the fighter jet deal.

At a press conference, Union Finance Minister pointed to a media report to allege that and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt Ltd registered in in 2002. He said a firm of a similar name was registered in the in which and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an influence-for-cash company, Jaitley alleged. The FM said Mcknight was married to a leaders daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhis social gang. Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor

In 2009, Rahul Gandhi left the firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, Jaitley alleged. Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an deal to build submarines, he said, citing the report. Jaitley said Rahul Gandhis was a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and was now aspiring to be prime minister.

The rejected the allegations. This has all been dealt with (already). Please take any investigation, any action you want. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. (But) please also investigate Rafale, he said.

BJP Subramanian Swamy said he had sent a complaint to central probe agencies in December 2015, and insinuated that Jaitley blocked the probe. Is this on part of Jaitley a prayashchit (penance) or credit grabbing after blocking the ED (Enforcement Directorate) from investigating my complaint on Backops money laundering? Swamy tweeted.





Congress said it was an allegation that needed to be proved. Sibal released three video clips purportedly showing government officials who claimed they could get old notes exchanged months after demonetisation, and alleged that it was done at the behest of the BJP. The videos were apparently shot in 2017 by an investigative journalist. However, there was no authentication of the clips by the party or any other agency. No immediate reaction was available from the BJP.

The first video was shot in a car in Delhi on March 27, 2017. According to Sibal, a serving sub-inspector alleged in the clip that Piyush Goyal, who was BJPs treasurer, regularly instructed security personnel posted at the BJP headquarters to let in specific vehicles without any checks. He also introduced the journalist to a couple of retired IAS officers who agreed to get the currency exchanged, Sibal alleged.

The Congress claimed the second video was shot in Delhi on March 27, 2017 and the same official discussed the exchange of notes with a face value of Rs 300 crore. Sibal claimed that in the third video from April 1, 2017, a government official said the new currency notes were printed in Moscow. Extra notes were printed, more than the value of demonetised currency, the Congress leader said.

Sibal said, if elected, the Congress would conduct an investigation into the matter. He termed demonetisation an ill-thought decision. Demonetisation apparently was the biggest political scam has ever seen. The victims were the hapless 1.25 billion people, Sibal said.

Sibal said one of the objectives was to discourage the use of cash and check the currency in circulation to reduce flow of black money, but now cash was being used in a big way.

Demonetisation allowed black money to be generated and stashed abroad which is reflected by the latest data released by Zurich-based Swiss Bank (SNB), where money deposited by Indians rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion swiss francs (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, a year after the note ban, he claimed.


BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy by threatening TMC workers to bring musclemen from Uttar Pradesh and kill them like a dog if they dared to act smart.

Ghosh, a former IPS officer who was once close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Senior TMC leader Parthat Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

When contacted, TMC's Ghatal candidate Dev said, "I do not understand what to say. I think people should not forget decency. I had huge respect for Bharati-di, but after this incident I think that will be affected. I think the people of Ghatal will give a befitting reply to this."



Earlier, Banerjee conducted a road show in West Midnapore urging people not to cast their votes for BJP candidates and save the country.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nomited for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging that the party was distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi, instead of handing out its election manifestoes.

Addressing an election meeting here, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Money is being distributed here. The Congress has distributed its election manifesto among the public, but the BJP is not distributing manifestoes, it is distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans."



Priyanka Gandhi also attacked Union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting from Amethi on BJP ticket. "She is doing drama in your constituency. She has herself come here 16 times, while your MP has visited the place twice as much. He has even stayed in villages," the Congress leader said.

"She comes here with the media and distributes shoes. She wants to insult you. She has been unable to understand what the public of Amethi wants," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had committed suicide. "Insurance premium worth Rs 10,000 crore paid by the farmers goes into the pockets of big industrialists," she claimed.

She took a dig at BJP leaders over the issue of stray animals and asked whether any of them had come to the people's agricultural fields to do 'chowkidaari' and safeguard them from stray animals.

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Militants shot dead BJP leader Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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BJP's Telangana president K Laxman Saturday said the party plans to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and others in Delhi over the alleged goof-up in the declaration of intermediate exam results.

Laxman had called off his indefinite fast on the issue Friday following an appeal from BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir.

Laxman was discharged from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Saturday.

He was shifted to the NIMS on April 29, hours after he launched the fast and continued his fast in the hospital.

The state party unit intends to move ahead by preparing an actionplan - consoling parents of deceased students, giving confidence to parents, meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and also the President, he told reporters here.

The party also plans to meet the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the alleged police detention of BJP workers and how force was allegedly used to 'suppress' the agitation by students and organisations like the ABVP, he said.

Though the stir started by BJP against the alleged injustice to the students has been on since April 15, there was no response from the government as it was 'dictatorial and autocratic', Laxman alleged.

Asserting that BJP would stand by the students, he appealed to them not to take the extreme step.

He hit out at TRS working president K T Rama Rao over his comments that the opposition parties was involved in "cheap politics."



"When 26 children had died (allegedly committing suicides), it is cheap politics for you," he said.

The state government has not seriously pondered over why more than three lakh students had failed among the more than eight lakh who appeared for the exams, Ahir had alleged here Friday.

The Centre would check the technical issues of the matter and study the possibility of conducting a CBI probe if the state government fails to take up the issue with due compassion, Ahir had said.

"We don't interfere in the work of any state government. But, we cannot leave the students in the lurch," he added.

Laxman started his fast with demands, including sacking of minister G Jagadeesh Reddy, suspension of Board of Intermediate (BIE) secretary, judicial inquiry into the whole episode and paying compensation to families of students who allegedly committed suicide.

BJP staged a state-wide bandh on the issue Thursday last.

Meanwhile, CPI activists held a protest here Saturday on the alleged bungling of the results.

About 9.74 lakh students had appeared for the intermediate exam in March this year and 3.28 lakh of them had failed, according to official sources.

The BJP has claimed that 25 students killed themselves since the declaration of results April 18.

The alleged bungling by BIE in the announcement of results led to widespread protests by students, their parents, student organisations and political parties.

Some students and their parents claimed even meritorious students have scored low marks.

Errors like not displaying practical exam marks in the memos of certain geography students and error by examiners, along with mistakes of other nature, have come to the fore since the announcement of results.

A three-member committee, appointed by the state government to look into the issue, has pointed out certain shortcomings in conducting the exam and suggested remedial measures.

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Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven)... Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."



Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act". He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.

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The has issued a notice, seeking reply of BJP's candidate Kirron Kher after she shared a video on twitter in which children were seen campaigning for her.

The poll panel has asked the actor-turned-politician to reply within 24 hours.

"You have shared a video on your twitter account which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour through slogan 'Vote for Kirron Kher' and 'Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar'," the notice, issued on May 3, said.

In the notice, it was mentioned that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January 2017 had requested the to ensure that children are not involved in any form with election-related activities, by either elections officials or political parties.

The EC had subsequently instructed that it should be ensured by all political parties and election officials that children are not involved in any election-related activity, as per the notice.

Kher is seeking re-election from the seat and is pitted against four-time MP and candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan.

will vote in the last phase of elections on May 19.
Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."



"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

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A BJP worker was shot dead by suspected militants in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, police said.

Unknown terrorists fired at a member of the BJP, Gul AhmadMir, at Nowgam Verinag, a police official said.

The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

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With less than 48 hours to go for polling in West Bengal's Bongaon(SC) Lok Sabha seat in the fifth phase, its BJP candidate Shantunu Thakur Saturday met with an accident at Hanskhali in Nadia district, police said.

Shantanu Thakur, who is the grandson of the Matua community matriarch late Binapani Devi, his driver and two others who were in the vehicle, were injured, the police said.

He suffered an injury in his head and was rushed to the Bongaon sub-divisional hospital.

The accident happened at around 12.15 p m when a police van lost control and hit Thakur's vehicle at the front when he was heading towards Kalyani to attend an election rally on the last day of campaigning, the police said.

BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya was scheduled to speak at the rally.

None was arrested in connection with the accident and the police vehicle was allegedly damaged by BJP workers.

A West Bengal Police officer said "We are trying to find out what actually happened and whose fault it was. We are talking to drivers of both the vehicles. So far nobody has been arrested".

When contacted the BJP candidate's mother Chabirani Thakur alleged that the accident was the result of a "conspiracy" hatched by Trinamool Congress.

"My son's vehicle was standing on the side of the road and suddenly from nowhere this police van came and hit it. We want a thorough investigation into the matter," she told PTI.

Seven parliamentary constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpore both in North 24 Parganas district, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampore, Hooghly, Arambag are scheduled to go to the polls in the fifth phase.

BJP has pitted Shantanu Thakur of the Matua community against sitting TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur, the daughter-in-law of the late Matua matriarch. The family is witnessing a feud over control on the community, which has an estimated 30 lakh population in the state and can influence results in at least five parliamentary constituencies of North and South 24 Parganas districts.

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Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

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Campaign ended on Saturday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar which go to the polls in the fifth phase of general elections on May 6.

The five seats are Muzaffarpur, Saran, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Hajipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaigning from the front, holding a rally at Muzaffarpur where he canvassed in favor of the local BJP candidate as also nominees fielded by alliance partners the JD(U) and the LJP.

He described the ruling NDA in the state as a cohesive three in one entity and the opposition weak, loosely knit and helpless against menaces of black money, corruption and threats to national security.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose party is not contesting any of the five seats going to the polls on Monday, did not hold an election meeting in these constituencies which are, however, being contested by alliance partners in the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies at Saran and Sitamarhi and spoke about the prime ministers commitment to his work which is evident from his having not taken a day off in 20 years.

In his speeches Shah sought to present a contrast with Gandhi whom he accused of going on a holiday every three to four months.

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Hema Malini held a rally at Sitamarhi where she expressed delight over the improved infrastructure in Bihar and recalled with amusement the 1990s when the then chief minister Lalu Prasads reported promise of making the potholed roads of the state as smooth as her cheeks had made headlines.

All the five seats going to polls in the fifth phase were won in 2014 by the NDA two each by BJP and LJP and one by Upendra Kushwahas RLSP, which quit the coalition last year and joined the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

Sitamarhi MP Ram Kumar Sharma, who had supported Kushwaha when he severed ties with the NDA, revolted after he was denied a ticket by RLSP, which is contesting five seats as against three five years ago.

He shared the stage with Amit Shah at the latters Sitamarhi rally dropping ample hints about his future political move. The seat has now gone to Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U), which has fielded former MLA Sunil Kumar alias Pintu.

The party had earlier nominated Varun Kumar, but he declined to contest. Pintu faces Arjun Rai of RJD, who had won in 2009 on JD-U ticket.

BJP MPs Ajay Nishad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy are seeking re-election from their respective seats of Muzaffarpur and Saran respectively. Ajay faces another Nishad, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary fielded by the Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which is seeking to assume leadership of the Nishads.

Rudy faces Chandrika Rai of RJD, father-in-law of Lalu Prasads elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who has announced that he would no longer contest direct elections, has fielded his younger brother and state minister Pashupati Kumar Paras from his pocket borough of Hajipur.

In neighboring Vaishali, he has replaced mafia don-turned-politician Rama Singh with former BJP MLA Veena Devi, who is said to have joined LJP after her candidature was announced.

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Campaigning for the four Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the second phase of elections in Jharkhand on May 6 came to an end on Saturday evening.

A total of 65,87,028 electorate will decide the fate of 61 candidates.

Among the total electorate, 31,44,679 are female voters and 83 belong to the third gender, the Election Commission said in a release here.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 4 pm in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Khunti (ST) Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday.

Union minister Jayant Sinha is seeking re-election from the Hazaribagh constituency as a BJP candidate.

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is pitted against him.

Two-time MP and CPIs Jharkhand unit secretary B P Mehta is also in the fray from Hazaribagh.

The BJP has fielded former chief minister Arjun Munda from Khunti, Sanjay Seth from Ranchi and Annapurna Devi from Koderma, replacing its sitting MPs Karia Munda, Ramtahal Chaudhary and Ravindra Rai respectively.

Annapurna Devi, who quit the RJD and joined the BJP on March 25, is facing Mahagathbandhans Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi and CPI (ML- Liberation) MLA Raj Kumar Yadav from Koderma.

Seth is taking on former union minister and Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay from Ranchi, where the five-time BJP MP, Ramtahal Choudhary, is also contesting as an independent after being denied ticket by the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi canvassed for Annapurna Devi from Koderma while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed Hazaribagh people through a video conference from Lucknow as he could not reach the constituency on Friday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the people of Khunti and sought their votes for party candidate Kalicharan Munda.

Adequate security arrangements have been made to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections, police sources said.

The EC release said that total number of polling personnel for the second phase polling is 39,909 and the number of micro observers will be 1,191.

Out of a total of 8,834 polling stations, 105 will be manned by women polling personnel.

At least 918 polling stations out of the total will have webcasting facility.

The first phase of polling in Jharkhand was held in three Lok Sabha seats - Lohardaga (ST), Palamu (SC) and Chatraon - on April 29.

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BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23.

Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

"Kamal Nath, you think you can win elections in a democracy by repressing our workers? Let Lok Sabha results be declared on May 23 and all four legs of your chair will tremble," he said, adding that the "Congress's way" of suppressing the opposition would not work anymore.

"During recent visits, I heard the ordeal of our workers. Those engaged in campaigning were externed from the districts, cases of murder were filed against them, and two workers were killed," Shah alleged.

The BJP chief also accused the state government of encouraging activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

"There was a time when Malwa region of the state was the base of SIMI. Shivraj Singh Chouhan (ex-BJP chief minister) dismantled the SIMI network and they (SIMI workers) were forced to leave Madhya Pradesh. Some of them are in Ahmedabad jail, some in Delhi jail and others in prison in Bhopal," Shah said.

"But due to vote bank politics, this government is again encouraging SIMI. I want to warn them, do not play with the country's security or your hands will get burnt. The BJP will strongly oppose their every step," the BJP chief asserted.

Shah claimed that the Congress, which came to power in the state in December 2018 after a gap of 15 years, had already started failing the people.

The BJP chief alleged that within three months of the Congress coming to power, transactions worth Rs 281 crore were unearthed during Income Tax raids at the premises of those close to Kamal Nath.

Seven seats of Bundelkhand, including Rewa, will go to polls on Monday.

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Former legislator from Langate constituency in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Sheikh Abdul Rashid Saturday said the Centre would be responsible if anything bad happens to JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik who is in Tihar Jail.

"Malik is not a criminal. He is a leader, a soldier of the people who respect him. Whether we like his ideology or not, we warn New Delhi not to play with fire... If anything bad happens to Malik, the responsibility will be on the Government of India," Rashid told reporters here.

A Delhi court last week sent Malik to judicial custody till May 24. He was arrested in a case related to alleged funding of separatists and militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), said the low poll percentage in parliamentary polls should make New Delhi understand that the separatist leadership "has its routes deep in masses and their voice cannot be muzzled by force".

"Be it banning Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF, nothing will change on the ground unless New Delhi realizes significance of resolving Kashmir issue," he said.

The former MLA said his party would take out a protest march outside Civil Secretariat on Monday the day it opens in the summer capital here as part of the bi-annual darbar move -- against the alleged failure of the government to provide basic immunities to people, arrest of youth, "state suppression against pro-resistance leadership" and for seeking revocation of ban on the Jamat-i-islami and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) .

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Three Naxals were Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.

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A Saturday posted for May 7 plea of Rajeev Saxena, a middleman-turned-approver in a case related to the chopper scam, seeking permission to travel abroad.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar, before whom the matter came up for hearing, posted it for May 7.

The court had earlier issued notice to the (ED) on Saxena's plea to travel to Europe, UK and in May.

Saxena has sought permission to travel abroad on the ground of medical ailments.

The court had earlier allowed Saxena to turn approver and his plea for grant of pardon on the condition that he will fully disclose all information in the case.

He was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusal of reports submitted by AIIMS.

Saxena, director at two Dubai-based firms -- UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings -- is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the Rs 3,600-crore scam.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party's internal assessment after four phases of polling shows that the BJP will lose in the Lok Sabha elections and he sees a "scared prime minister" unable to face the onslaught of the opposition.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, he stated that it was said five years ago that Modi cannot be defeated and will rule for 10-15 years, but the Congress has "demolished" him.

"The structure that is standing is hollow. It is going to fall in 10-15 days," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

With more than half the election process completed, there is a clear cut feeling that PM Modi is losing, Gandhi claimed.

"There is an undercurrent and the BJP is losing. I don't see a strategic campaign by the BJP...I see a scared prime minister unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and a PM who is absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped and he is not going to succeed," he said, adding that the BJP's is a "panicky campaign".

He expressed confidence of a very good showing of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

First time defence ministry officials have written that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is directly negotiating with France, Gandhi alleged.

"What does it mean. Why is the PMO holding parallel negotiations, it has to be a money transaction. Why has Anil Ambani got Rs 1000 crore tax rebate in France. There is going to be zero tolerance on corruption," Gandhi said.

Asked about who will be the prime minister after the election, he said people have to decide who will be PM.

"The main issues are of employment, farmers, PM's corruption, and attack on institutions," Gandhi said.

The biggest issues are of unemployment and that Modi has destroyed the Indian economy, he said.

"The country wants to know from the Prime Minister. You had told the youth that you would give 2 crore jobs in a year, and today unemployment, is at a 45 year-high. Congress party's manifesto's first chapter is on jobs. We have given all the details, how we will make jobs available, the benefits of Nyay scheme," Gandhi said.

Modi does not say a word about employment, because he cannot say anything as there is neither any plan nor there is any record, he claimed.

"First, he used to talk about corruption. Now wherever you say chowkidar, people say 'chor hai'. Narendra Modi's system is to distract. When he sees he is losing he comes out with some distraction like the sea plane in Gujarat," Gandhi claimed.

But, the reality is that he is losing the elections, he said.

Gandhi also elaborated on the Congress's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme Nyay, saying it aims to put money directly in the bank account of the poorest people and also jump-start India's economy.

"Narendra Modi demonetised the economy, Nyay yojana will remonetise it," he said.

"As soon as the Nyay yojana money will come, people will start buying, shops will get impetus and then factories will get more work and jobs will be generated," he said.

Gandhi also listed other key promises of the Congress such as 22 lakh government jobs to youths within a year and 10 lakh jobs in panchayats.

"What is the BJP doing about jobs. Everybody has said Congress manifesto is an effective document as it is the voice of the people. What has Modi promised," he said.

"Congress has fought on the ground and changed the narrative. The country is in danger," he claimed.

Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi over not holding press conferences during his tenure, saying "please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences as it is really looking very bad".

"He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A scuffle broke out between Congress workers and BJP supporters after the latter raised pro-Modi slogans during a Congress' roadshow here on Saturday, police said.

The roadshow was being conducted by the Congress in support of party candidate Jyoti Khandelwal.

During the roadshow, a group of people raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting to that, Congress supporters allegedly manhandled two-three people and raised slogans like 'chowkidar chor hai' (watchman is a thief).

Police said both the groups were separated within a short span of time and situation was brought under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister on Saturday claimed that the Congress-led opposition was staring at an imminent defeat after completion of four phases of polls and seeking excuses to cover up the same like a batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled.

They began with hurling abuses at Modi, all day long. When they realized it was not paying electoral dividends they changed tack and started complaining about faulty After four phases of elections, they have become flustered and started pointing fingers at the Election Commission, Modi told an election rally in this remote Lok Sabha constituency located along the Indo- border.

These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness, he said wryly.

The Prime Minister also charged the Congress, which has ruled the country for so long, with lacking a clear vision with regard to combating terror and said I was appalled to see that they have promised in their manifesto, among other things, withdrawal of special powers given to armed forces in insurgency-hit areas and abolition of the

ALSO READ: A journey down the Ganga in the age of Narendra Modi

They do not realize the consequences. They are unmindful that if the armed forces are divested of the special powers, they will end up spending their time and in appearing before courts for cases that secessionists may frame them in. And they are promising scrapping of which would only embolden extremists and the pattharbaaz gang (stone- pelting mobs phenomenon recently observed in the restive state of and Kashmir), Modi claimed.

They are simply clueless about how to combat terrorism, naxalism or any other type of security threat. And what disgusts me most as the language they have ended up speaking reminds us of what the Pakistanis keep on using, he alleged.

Before we came to power in 2014, not a month used to pass without some corner of the country or another being rocked by bomb explosions. That has been effectively checked since we took over. The credit goes not to Modi but to your vote which helped a strong government come to power. You, through your vote, sent the message across that will no longer take things lying down, the prime minister said.

Speaking in the presence of alliance partners - Chief Minister and Union minister who head the JD(U) and the LJP respectively-, Modi also took a veiled dig at the proposed NYAY scheme of the Congress, saying they could not help the poor in getting their accounts opened in banks and now they have suddenly begun to promise direct cash transfer. Beware of their misleading promises.

About another poll plank of the waiver of loans to farmers Modi said they made a similar promise ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. And after the elections, they waived loans to the tune of a meagre Rs 54,000 crore when debts ran into nearly Rs six lakh crore. And, as the CAG later pointed out, many of the so-called beneficiaries had their loans waived despite not being engaged in agriculture. They want to indulge in a similar fraud once again.

It has been an old trait of the They promised to the people of that they would build houses for the poor and got many people sign forms to make their tall talk credible. Nobody got these houses which remained on paper. In Rajasthan, where they have come to power, they are again making people sign forms saying these were meant to enroll them for the NYAY scheme which promises remittance of Rs 72,000 per year. Beware of such scams, Modi alleged.

The Prime Minister also sought to draw a contrast between the and the BJP saying whenever his party was in power it handled volatile issues with care unlike the opposition party which often left the country in turmoil.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, three states of Uttarakhand, and came into being. All these new entities have excellent and cordial relations with the parent states. Compare that with Telangana which was carved out of under Congress rule. So much of bitterness prevails between the two states despite both being peopled by Telugu-speaking citizens, Modi said.

Similarly, we have seen so much of tension in the past on the issue of caste-based reservations. There has been rumor- mongering that quotas are under threat. We demonstrated by introducing quotas for the economically weaker sections among the general category, without infringing on the rights of other social groups, how these things should be handled, he asserted.

has worked very hard to pull out of the lantern age, Modi remarked in a lighter vein in a veiled dig at Lalu Prasads RJD which is the main opposition party in the state, and added please do remember whichever NDA constituent you vote for your vote shall be going to Modi.

Seeking to strike a rapport with the local populace, Modi began his speech that lasted 40 minutes with a few sentences in the local dialect Bhojpuri evoking rapturous response by the crowds.

He also spoke of the NDAs role in getting the Tharus a tribe populating the terai region along the Indo- border



the Scheduled Tribe status.

Modi also said that he had drawn the inspiration for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Mahatma Gandhis satyagrah in Champaran. He also showered praise on Bhagirathi a local BJP MLA who has been awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her social work.
/ -- Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) supports concerted joint action



The Council for Healthcare and Pharma hailed its just concluded Legislative day at Capitol Hill D.C. as engaging and successful. The forum received overwhelming support and consensus for greater traction between India and the USA to fully utilise mutual synergies and complementarities in the Pharma & Health space for the cause of Universal Healthcare.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/881557/CHP_Legislative_Day.jpg )



The 'Legislative Day' had attendance of over 20 eminent US Congress leaders, representatives from Industry & Trade, Medical Fraternity and Board of Management AAPI, supporting the need for greater affordability, accessibility and accountability in keeping populations healthy.

Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, President, CHP, said, "For Universal Healthcare to become a reality, we must pull out all the stops to optimise the sourcing and delivery of each element of the health value chain. This calls for extensive deployment of the best-known bases and practices around the world for high quality medicines, technologies and skill sets. The logic, natural synergies and complementarities between India and the US in healthcare are compelling and the potential to realise accelerated gains from bringing these together is enormous and immediate."



A strong proponent of Affordable Medicare, Congressman Steny Hoyer emphasized the need for Government to work for improving healthcare access and affordability and to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health coverage. Further, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is a champion for Universal Healthcare expressed her commitment towards working proactively for the same.

Senator Roger F Wicker was of the view that one of the biggest concerns facing the US in the arena of Health is the lack of affordable health insurance coverage. Expressing his support to the cause of Women's Healthcare, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was categorical that America succeeds when women succeed in their quest for affordable healthcare. He also expressed his commitment towards accessible and affordable medicines to achieve the goal of 'Health for All'.

Congressman Frank Pallone who serves as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee was of the opinion that all Americans should have access to high quality affordable healthcare. He assured the gathering that he is committed to work steadfastly to protect the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin applauded the Council and its members in its committed support towards the TB elimination programme in India. Furthering their collaboration, the two organisations have entered into a joint dialogue to offer affordable Oncology Medicines for women, especially for cancers of the Breast and Cervix.

The Indian Ambassador to USA, H.E. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, hailed the contribution of the Indian Generics industry in its drive towards affordable care. He also applauded the role of the AAPI community in the US Healthcare system.

The opportunity to lower cost clearly lies in emphasizing a high quality Generic Formulary, realizing supply chain efficiencies, complementing R&D strengths to amplify drug development efforts, locating manufacturing where advantageous, leveraging new technologies such as Robotics, AI and Blockchain for greater efficiencies, better health surveillance, early detection of disease, improved treatment protocols, enhanced patient experience with significantly better outcomes.

These opportunities can be developed where best feasible through a Make in USA or Make in India initiative.

India has critical mass in providing affordable, high quality generic medicines to the USA and the world. India additionally has strengths in IT and a vibrant start-up environment for frugal innovation with interesting health applications being developed that have the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and outcomes in delivering healthcare.

On the other hand, American firms can outsource significant parts of their R&D efforts with considerable savings in new drug discovery as well as to amplify their shortlist of drug candidates for further research and development. These drugs in turn can be marketed not only in the US but also in India and other populous countries.

In addition, there are medical challenges of significant proportions like AMR which continue to deplete our arsenal of antibiotics by rendering them ineffective on account of overuse and misuse. The US has done a lot of work in alleviating this global problem and both countries can collaborate to mount a sizable program to mitigate this menacing challenge and such others.

The Council for Healthcare and Pharma (CHP) is an integrated, not-for-profit, Global think tank that advocates the development of sustainable health systems around the World. It looks at engaging with Governments and other stakeholders to adopt rational approaches that capture benefits, that accrue through the optimization of the eco-system and value chain involved in treating diseases and keeping people healthy. CHP members include domestic and global Pharmaceutical companies, Providers of Diagnostics, Medical device Manufacturers, Hospitals and adjunct services.

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the Council focuses on Africa, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, UK and the USA. Its important areas of work are in ease-of-doing business; increasing competitiveness; broadening access to safe, efficacious and affordable healthcare services and medicines. CHP is guided in its work by expert advisory committee's in Intellectual Property; Market Access; Regulatory Policy; Key Therapeutics - Women's Health, Oncology & Tropical Diseases; Research & Development (R&D); Artificial Intelligence (AI); Environment; Healthcare start-up's.

As a significant and credible stakeholder in alleviating the burden of disease, the CHP brings to bear the collective wisdom of industry and policy makers on health issues that stand to make a positive contribution to society in bringing about Universal healthcare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court Saturday issued open ended Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against a Gulf based investor for his alleged links to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar, allowed the Enforcement Directorate's application against Gulf investor/ businessman Omar Ali Balsharaf.

The agency's Special Public Prosecutor D P Singh and advocate Naveen Kumar Matta argued that the ED had summoned Balsharaf multiple times since March 2018, but he did not join the investigation deliberately.

The ED further said by not joining the investigation, he was evading the process of law and NBW against him was necessary to secure his presence in the instant case for an effective investigation.

According to the ED investigation, it is revealed that M/s interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius, a company which received the AgustaWestland kickbacks, transferred an amount of USD 5,303,471 to the account of M/s Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading (RAKGT) LLC, Dubai which was maintained under the ledger head Omar Ali Balsharaf and Gautam Khaitan, another accused, which raised many questions and need clarification.

Some other entries also found suspected in the RAKGT need Omar to join the probe, the ED said.

The agency contended that as RAKGT was associated with Balsharaf, his trading business may be legal, but he needs to explain the money he got from various companies into the Dubai account. Some companies are also related to accused Khaitan and others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Air Force Saturday sent three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Bhubaneswar from Hindan Air Base for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, an IAF spokesperson said.

The aircraft are carrying approximate 45 tonnes of relief material including medicines for the locations affected by Cyclone Fani.

"The IAF had remained on hot standby for a launch ever since the first warning about the cyclone was received. The aircraft were positioned at Hindan for a short notice take off, waiting for the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields," he said.

The Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter landed at Bhubaneswar for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The helicopter, launched from Guwahati airbase, is one of many IAF aircraft being deployed to the cyclone affected areas, he said.

"Air operations began after the restoration of landing facilities at cyclone affected airfields and are going to continue with full force in the coming days.

"The Indian Air Force is committed to providing dedicated efforts to bring succour and relief to the affected populace and help in restoring normalcy in the region," the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 14 people were killed and 63 injured as severe Fani barrelled into on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in neighbouring India, media reports said on Saturday.

authorities said that more than 1.6 million people have been shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in country's coastal areas.

The deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur that were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone, the Tribune reported.

The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

"In Noakhali district, a minor has been killed and several of the family injured when the house collapsed on them during storm. Moreover, 30 villagers were also injured as the storm destroyed over hundred houses in the two unions," the paper reported.

Similarly, in Lakshmipur district a 70-year-old woman, Anwara Begum, was killed in house collapse due to the storm.

The cyclonic storm battered the coastal districts of the country and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Sky in several parts of continue to remain overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds is continuing across the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel12 flights so far and delay several others, the paper reported.

The severe Fani also caused destruction in

The cyclonic storm, which made landfall at India's eastern state of Odisha on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Indian officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
A day after cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, a massive restoration and relief work was launched on war-footing Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas, officials said.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, they said.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

All the four people were killed after uprooted trees fell on them at different places in Baripada, the emergency officer of Mayurbhanj district, S K Pati, said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the cyclone's landfall in the coastal state.

The prime minister assured continuous support from the central government.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.



Had a discussion with Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji on the situation in the state due to Fani. Assured all possible help from the Centre to the sisters and brothers of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Though the "extremely severe" cyclone weakened into a "very severe" cyclonic storm in a few hours, it flattened houses with thatched roofs and kutcha houses, uprooted scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers in coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit.

Patnaik, after reviewing the situation on Friday night, had said that Puri district suffered huge damage.

"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he had said.

Hundreds of engineers and technicians are working to restore power supply, the officials said.

Work is on to restore road communication, thrown into disarray with thousands of uprooted trees blocking the way in innumerable places, Patnaik said.

ALSO READ: Bhubaneshwar flight operations expected to begin by 1 pm on Saturday

Men and machinery of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services swung into action and launched a massive restoration work to bring back normalcy, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), B P Sethi, said.

Odisha Energy Secretary Hemanth Sharma said around 3 million power consumers have been affected by the cyclone, which threw electricity distribution infrastructure out of gear in most coastal districts.

Restoration work is on in full swing, he said.

In Bhubaneswar city itself, over 10,000 electric poles have been uprooted or broken, he said, adding, efforts are on to restore power supply in 25 per cent crucial sectors such as the airport, the railway station and hospitals.

Another 25 per cent work will be completed on Sunday and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest, Sharma said.

The power network had been severely damaged in districts such as Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore.

The Quick Action Team (QRT) of the premier naval training establishment, INS Chilka, was immediately deployed to provide emergency assistance in cutting and clearing trees in some areas, said an official.

A naval Dornier aircraft carried out aerial survey and found extensive damaged to vegetation in many places around Puri.

Large-scale water inundation was observed in many places, particularly in low-lying areas between Puri and Chilka lake, he said.

The chief minister said nearly 1.2 million people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, "probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country".

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially-designed cyclone centres, he said.

Cooked food is being served to them for free.

The cyclone, after the landfall, passed through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal, the SRC said, adding, Bhubaneswar city was hit by high velocity winds of around 140 kmph.

Telecommunication lines got snapped in several parts of the state capital and other areas.

Summer crops, orchards and plantations also suffered huge damage, he said.

Around 220 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled in view of passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.
'Fani', which ravaged most parts of and left 12 people dead, poses no threat to West Bengal anymore, as it weakens further before entering neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official said on Saturday.

As per forecast, there will be moderate to light rainfall, particularly in the districts adjacent to Bangladesh, but the weather condition in and around the city will normalise through the course of the day, Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here, Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

"There is absolutely no threat from this system ( Fani) to West Bengal. The very severe cyclonic storm had weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over coast before entering West Bengal," he said.

"Fani is likely to continue to move and further weaken in the next six hours. It is very likely to move to Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression," Bandyopadhyay said.

Light to moderate rain is likely in the districts adjacent to Kolkata, and clear skies are expected in the city by afternoon, the official said.

The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures Friday in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans, in wake of the cyclonic storm.

'Fani' barrelled through on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least 12 people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.
Committees of Creditors (CoCs) should provide all relevant information and share their vision for companies under the insolvency process, a senior official said Saturday as he asserted that it will be dangerous to let viable firms to close down.

Amid rising number of stressed assets being referred for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), IBBI chief M S Sahoo said the law also gives opportunities to rectify the mistakes during the insolvency process.

The objective of the law is to rescue viable companies and close down unviable ones, he said.

"If due to incompetence (of market participants) the reverse happens, then it is dangerous," Sahoo said here.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson also noted that CoCs must provide all relevant information to resolution applicants so that they find interest in the companies.

"Commercial decisions are not black and white. There is no mathematical formula to say that a company is unviable and another is viable. It depends on so much considerations and it depends on who is looking at it," he noted.

Speaking at an event, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said that financial creditors should not play foul while going through the viability and commercial aspects of a resolution plan.

Citing examples, he indicated that operational creditors should also be getting money and not just the financial creditors in a resolution process.

Responding to a query on whether operational creditors are not getting their dues, Sahoo cited data till December 2018 to say that both operational and financial creditors "on average, got about 48 per cent each of their claims".

About haircuts taken by creditors, he wondered what can be done if the resolution process started very late.

"Today about 370-380 companies have been ordered into liquidation. Most of them, 80 per cent, were in BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) or defunct companies. So when there is nothing to really recover, when the liquidation value almost zero, you will have to take haircut," he noted.

According to him, it also needs to be seen how much one gets in comparison to his claim and in comparison to the liquidation value.

"Up to March data, creditors have got about 195 per cent of the liquidation value. That means companies have been rescued and thereafter creditors have got 195 per cent of the liquidation value. Anything above liquidation value is bonus and that has come because of the IBC," he said.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) President and Chief Justice (Rtd) M M Kumar said that 32 more members would be joining the tribunal, which would help in stabilising the system.

At present, it has 25 members.

Despite the adjudicating authority functioning with a very poor infrastructure, the average timeline for resolution of cases is around 300 days, Kumar said.

Under the IBC, the timeline for resolution of a case is a maximum of 270 days.

Kumar also said the institution of resolution professionals needs to be strengthened and such professionals must be more equipped and full of knowledge.

They were speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by industry body Assocham.

The IBC provides for market-driven and time-bound resolution of stressed assets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sana Niyaz has joined the league of her three sisters after topping the Delhi government-run schools in the CBSE Class 12 examination.

Niyaz, who studied at Sarvdaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Jama Masjid, scored 97.6 per cent marks in the examination and thus bagged the first position among the students of the schools run by the Delhi government.

Her three sisters had also studied in the same school. While one among them was the top scorer of the school in her Class 12 exams, the other two also had performed excellently.

Niyaz, whose father is a cook at Matia Mahal's famed Al Jawahar restaurant and mother a housewife, says she had to maintain the "standard" set by her elder sisters.

And she did not disappoint.

"I never had to take any tuition because my sisters were there to clear all my doubts. I wanted to live up to the standards they had set in the family," Niyaz said.

Her family says they felt happy when Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called them to congratulate for the results of Niyaz.

The results for the Class 12 examination were announced by the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) on Thursday. The pass percentage of Delhi government schools has gone up by 3.6 per cent to 94.24 per cent this time.

Niyaz wants to pursue Bachelor of Arts at St Stephen's college and also prepare for civil services.

Niyaz's younger sister is studying in Class 9 in the same school and she also has to follow suit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost a hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly also -- we discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal," the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

"And China, I've already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that," Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

We're going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. We'll be talking about nonproliferation. We'll be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major drug racket was busted at a resort near Pollachi in the district and over 150 college students were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

Based on a complaint that a large number of students, who were camping in the resort since Friday night, were involved in drug abuse, a raid was conducted, they said.

A total of 159 students were allegedly under the influence of ganja, cocaine, intravenous drugs, sedatives and also liquor when they were arrested, police said.

Majority of the students were from neighbouring Kerala and studying in private colleges in and around Coimbatore, they said.

Six employees of the resort were also arrested while the owner was at large, police said, adding that a large number of narcotic substances and vehicles were seized from the resort.

Meanwhile, District Collector K Rajamani has issued an order to seal the resort, official sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."



The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Embassy Office Parks REIT, India's first listed real estate investment trust, has raised Rs 3,000 crore through private placement of debentures mainly to repay debt.

Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between global investment firm Blackstone and realty firm Embassy Group, is a leading developer of commercial real estate. It launched the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to raise Rs 4,750 crore.

In a statement, the company said "it has successfully priced and allotted by way of a private placement Rs 30 billion of rupee-denominated, listed, rated, secured, redeemable and non-convertible debentures (NCDs)."



The NCDs will be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market segment of the BSE.

The debentures, EMBASSY REIT Series I NCD 2019, carry a face value of Rs 1,000,000 with yield to maturity of 9.4 per cent and will mature in June 2022.

Embassy REIT intends to use the proceeds from the issue to repay its existing debt and for general corporate purposes, it added.

On April 23, 2019, the Debenture Committee of the board had approved the issue of debentures aggregating Rs 3,650 crore in two tranches.

The panel on May 3 approved the allotment of the Tranche A debentures aggregating Rs 3,000 crore.

Embassy REIT owns and operates a 33 million square feet (msf) portfolio of seven Grade A office parks and four city-centre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, comprising two completed hotels, two under-construction hotels and a 100 MW solar park supplying renewable energy to park tenants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready." Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban appeared to rebuff the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.

The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither Khalilzad or the Taliban have said much about progress in their latest talks, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms" and "stop repeating failed strategies & expecting different outcomes."



Last year, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.

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"Westworld" star Evan Rachel Wood will be headlining the Hiroshima bombing survivor drama "One Thousand Paper Cranes".

According to Variety, Richard Raymond will direct the project from a script by Ben Bolea.

Wood, 31, will be joined by actors Jim Sturgess and Shinobu Terajima in the cast.

The film is based on the story of Hiroshima survivor Sadako Sasaki and author Eleanor Coerr, who wrote the bestselling children's book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes".

Sasaki was a two-year-old when the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. She was later diagnosed with leukemia caused by exposure to radiation from the blast. She, however, drew strength from a Japanese legend that, if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be granted a wish, which in her case was to live.

Coerr, an aspiring journalist and young mother, learns of the girl and becomes determined to share her story with the world.

Raymond will also produce the film Ian Bryce and Irene Yeung.

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A retired Army man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The deceased, identified as Irdaus Lakra (68), had gone out to answer nature's call at his vegetable farm adjacent to his house in Sithra village under Chhal forest range in the wee hours when he was attacked by the elephant, he said.

"Lakra, a retired Army man, died on the spot in the attack. After being informed about the incident, forest personnel reached the place and sent the body for post- mortem," the official said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000, he added.

According to the official, a herd of 11 elephants has been spotted in this forest range and the forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on their movement to avoid untoward incidents.

After the incident, local residents staged a protest and blocked the Dharamjaigarh road for about three hours, demanding protection from the wild elephants.

The villagers also asked the forest department to keep them informed about the movement of wild elephants and provide them equipment like torches to keep the pachyderm away from human habitations. The protesters were later pacified by the forest officials.

The forested Surguja division comprising five districts- Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Balrampur and Surajpur- and two other districts- Korba and Raigarh- of Bilaspur division, are notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.

The region, which falls in northern part of the state, has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in past years.

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Not farmers' income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former minister alleged Saturday.

The also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

"Farmers' income will be doubled (if the comes to power). In the last five years, farmers' income has not doubled but their debt has doubled," told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 400,000 vacant posts in the government will be filled when the comes to power, he said.

said another issue is farmers' distress.

"I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014," the Congress said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

"Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJP's alliances," he said.

The BJP won all the seats in and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in in the last elections, but Prime Minister did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 1.5 million in of every citizen and 20 million jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congress's election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people."Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room," Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJP's manifesto, they are discussing the Congress's, he said.

On his party's proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise India's economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.
A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

"Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Arjun Singh is known for his local connections and strong booth management skills but sitting TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi dismisses the chances of his former chief election manager in their fight for supremacy in this seat, saying he is a non-factor in this poll.

Having a 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, Barrackpore is one of the key seats where the Modi-Mamata factor has turned the contest into a prestige fight for both the TMC and the BJP.

With Trivedi eyeing a consecutive third term from the seat, which goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6, Singh, who defected to the BJP recently, is hoping to upset the former Union minister's applecart.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign in West Bengal had claimed that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to accuse him of engaging in horse trading and demanding for cancellation of his candidature.

"After this statement and counter statement, the election in this seat is more about whether the BJP and Modi will be able to make a penetration in Bengal or Mamata Banerjee will be stop them and become the next prime minister," says a senior TMC leader of North 24 Parganas district.

Even wall graffiti mention a Modi vs Mamata fight.

"It is a fight to make Didi (Mamata Banerjee) prime minister and stop horse trading of MLAs", says a wall writing here whereas another writing goes: "Vote to re-elect Modi as PM and end the misrule of Mamata".

Barrackpore, situated in the north western part of Kolkata, has about 40 per cent Hindi-speaking population, which had migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the past few decades. They are likely to be a deciding factor in the polls.

Though Singh is a four-time former TMC MLA from the Bhatpara assembly constituency and is said to have considerable influence among the Hindi-speaking population of the area, Trivedi asserts his rival is a non-factor in the elections as he has lost connection with the masses.

"He was never a factor in this seat. His tall claims that it was his organisational skills that helped TMC win the seat would fall flat in the Lok Sabha polls. He will get to know his political stature once the results are out on May 23," Trivedi, who was railway minister from July 2011 to March 2012, told PTI.

Singh, who was the main election manager of Trivedi since 2009, had switched over to the BJP in March, after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from this seat.

Once also known to be close to former CPI (M) MP from Barrackpore Tarit Baran Topdar, Singh was considered a game-changer for the TMC in several elections, from panchayat polls to parliamentary battles, due to his local connections and strong booth management skills.

"The people of this seat will vote for BJP and Modiji. Trivedi has been a complete failure as an MP. People will oust him," Singh told PTI.

At present, all the seven assembly seats in the Lok Sabha seat are held by the TMC.

There is also a minority-dominated Amdanga assembly segment and the TMC eyeing these votes.

Apart from Trivedi and Singh, the contest has also become a prestige issue for BJP leader Mukul Roy whose son Subhranshu Roy is a TMC MLA from Bijpur assembly seat which falls under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.

The onus on Roy is to ensure victory of Singh from Barrackpore, whereas for Subhranshu it is a fight to prove his loyalty to the party.

Roy, once considered number two in the TMC, had switched over to the BJP in 2017. Many also consider him to be the BJP's key organisational man in engineering defections in the TMC.

"It's has nothing to do with father-son relationship. I can ensure you that TMC would win from this assembly segment with a big margin," Subhranshu says.

In 2014, Bijpur gave the TMC the highest lead among the all seven assembly segments in the constituency.

But with the fast changing political equations in the area, both the TMC and the BJP have kept the cards close to their chest.

The Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, which has been a CPI(M) stronghold since early sixties, had elected Trivedi for the first time in 2009.

Also in the fray are Gargi Chatterjee of the CPI(M) and Mohammed Alam of Congress.

Trivedi won the seat in 2014 by defeating his nearest rival of the CPI(M) by a margin of over two lakh votes. The constituency at present has 14,33, 276 voters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol.

Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Donald Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation.

This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration.

"One of the things that everybody in this country needs to think about is when the president denies the Congress documents and access to key witnesses, basically what they're doing is saying, Congress you don't count," said Rep.

Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. "We cannot we simply cannot have a presidency that is run as if it were a king or a dictator in charge," said Cummings, D-Md. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversight and Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do so is testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

Trump derides the oversight of his business dealings and his administration as "presidential harassment" and has the backing of most Republicans in Congress. With Mueller's work completed, Trump wants closure to what he has long complained was a "witch hunt."



"No more costly & time consuming investigations," Trump tweeted.

Stunned by the administration's refusal to allow officials to testify or respond to document requests, lawmakers have been left to think aloud about their next steps against the White House.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding a redacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge.

Barr could face another subpoena to appear before Nadler's committee after skipping a hearing Thursday in a dispute over the rules for questioning him.

Nadler, D-N.Y., also has subpoenaed testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

Cummings is considering what to do on several fronts, including about testimony from Carl Kline, the White House's personnel security director.

Cummings said Kline declined last week to answer specific questions in a closed-session hearing about the security clearances granted for White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president's son-in-law and daughter.

Also, the House Ways and Means Committee is being refused access to Trump's tax returns. Republicans are largely declining to join Democrats in pursuing the investigations any further.

"It is over," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Barr testified last week before the committee.

Graham, R-S.C., has asked Mueller to respond to Barr's testimony, particularly after the disclosure of a letter the special counsel sent Barr complaining about attorney general's summary of the 400-plus page Russia report.

The rejection of oversight is the latest and perhaps most high-profile example of the new normal in the Trump era.

Gone are the daily White House press briefings, once a fixture in Washington.

Top department vacancies go unfilled, leaving fewer officials to respond to congressional requests.

Agencies across the government seem more insular than before. Princeton professor Julian E Zelizer said what's unfolding between the White House and Congress "fits in a long history of bad moments when the branches clash over vital information."



While other presidents, including Barack Obama, have resisted congressional oversight in certain situations, including during Attorney General Eric Holder's blockade of the "Fast and Furious" gun-running investigation, Zelizer said "Trump is going further by saying no to everything."To Zelizer, "certainly there are echoes of Watergate when the administration did everything possible to stonewall Congress as they undertook legitimate investigations and hearings into presidential corruption."He said presidents with "too much power" can easily make decisions that undermine government operations in everyday lives.

"Should citizens care? Of course, the restraint of presidential power is an essential part of our Constitution and the health of our democracy," Zelizer said.

Impeachment is being shelved, for now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her leadership team are taking a step-by-step approach to the White House standoff, declining any rush to impeachment proceedings, as some in her party want, for a more incremental response.

Pelosi did note this past week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there?" Pelosi said Friday.

"I don't agree with that."



Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt.

They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jail time.

Capitol Hill has been buzzing about the unlikely prospect of using a jail that some say exists somewhere in the Capitol and that was used in the past to detain those in contempt of Congress.

But the House and Senate say no such facility exists. "No evidence suggests that any room in the Capitol was ever designated for use as a jail," says an entry on the House website's historical pages.

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A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see if he is still fit to rule.

The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible", according to the ruling seen by AFP Saturday.

Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.

But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.

"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads up one of the groups behind the bid, said.

Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered on October 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.

During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum.

A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.

But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial enquiry into his state of health.

Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.

Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who ruled from 1967.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farmers' organizations alleged Saturday that the Gujarat government had yet to consult them or the cultivators sued by PepsiCo India for growing a 'protected' variety of potato in its discussions with the company.

PepsiCo has decided to withdraw the cases filed against nine farmers in Gujarat following an outcry.

"The Gujarat government, after making itself a mediator in this controversy, has not consulted the farmers sued by PepsiCo and has not involved any farmers' organizations in the discussions it is holding with PepsiCo India," farmers rights groups said in a joint statement.

They also said they would intensify their agitation, if the government, as reported by an English daily, tried to persuade farmers not to grow the variety of potato for which PepsiCo is claiming Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights, or tried to persuade farmers to sell the produce only to the company.

"Why should the government try to persuade the farmers when they have not committed any crime under our law?" the statement asked.

No permission is required to be taken by farmers for growing any variety including registered ones as per the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001, they said.

PepsiCo India Thursday announced that it will withdraw cases filed against potato farmers in Gujarat.

On Friday, representatives of the company held a meeting with the Gujarat government officials and called for an "amicable solution for everyone".

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by the company for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which it has claimed PVP rights.

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Shops and other businesses in Gujarat can remain open round the clock now with the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 coming into force from May 1, the government said.

The act, passed by the state Assembly in February, was notified on May 1, a government release said Saturday.

With this, commercial establishments in municipal corporations limits, or those near national highways, railway stations, state transport depots, hospitals and petrol pumps will be allowed to operate 24 hours.

The shops and commercial entities operating near state highways and within municipality limits can now operate between 6 am to 2 am.

The act replaced the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act of 1948, which prohibited shops and other businesses from operating between 12 am to 6 am.

Under the new act, shops and commercial entities employing more than 10 workers will require one-time registration with no need for renewal, while those with less than 10 employees will need no registration.

Employees will get twice the regular salary for working overtime, against the one-and-a-half-time as provided under the earlier act.

Under the new act, working hours for women employees can be between 6 am and 9 pm, which could be relaxed only if a written request is made and after the authorities consider safety issues.

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(ANSA) - Turin, May 3 - A three-man gang sold drugs as Communion wafers in Turin, police said Friday.

A 31-year-old Ivorian, a 27-year-old Gabonese and a 22-year-old Mauritanian were arrested at their underground drugs lab.


US President Donald Trump has said that he had a very positive conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Venezuela, emphasising that Moscow was not looking at all to get involved in the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump on Friday spoke with Putin for about an hour, during which Venezuela was one of the major topics of discussion.

I had a very good talk with President Putin -- probably over an hour. We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, Trump told reporters.

Stating that he too wanted something positive for Venezuela, Trump said the US was willing to help the nation with humanitarian aid as people were starving.

We want to get them some humanitarian aid. Right now, people are starving. They have no water, they have no food. This is one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago, and now they don't have food and they don't have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis, he said.

Responding to questions, Trump said the alleged Russian interference in the US election was not discussed.

We didn't discuss that. Really, we didn't discuss it. We discussed five or six things. We went into detail on various things, especially, I would say, the nuclear. Especially, maybe, Venezuela. We talked about North Korea at great length, and pretty much that's it, he said.

The two leaders also discussed trade.

We intend to do a lot of trade with Russia. We do some right now. It's up a little bit. But he'd like to do trade and we'd like to do trade, he said.

Getting along with Russia and China, getting along with all of them is very good thing, not a bad thing. It's a good thing. It's a positive thing. We want to have good relationships with every country, he added.

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Police in Sri Lanka on Saturday asked members of the public to hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police station after a haul of such blades were recovered from mosques and homes during searches following the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara that the knives which are used for day-to-day "domestic" and "justifiable" purposes were not required to be handed over to police.

Apart from large blades, Gunasekara said that police and army uniforms or such camouflaged materials, which are in possession with the common people should also be hand over to the police.

"This will be in effect from today until tomorrow", he said, adding, "If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station".

The move came after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, and camouflaged materials during searches of mosques and houses following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

According to the police, several people including politicians were arrested for possession of sharp-edged weapons like swords since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests to identify around 56 bodies, laying unclaimed in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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SAD candidate from the Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday accused the Punjab government of failing to procure gunny bags that led to "stalling" of wheat procurement process in the constituency.

"The Congress government's criminal negligence in failing to procure gunny bags has choked all the grain markets in the constituency, besides stalling the wheat procurement process and causing untold misery to farmers," she claimed.

Holding Amarinder Singh responsible for farmers' "hardships", the Union minister said the farmers had the right to know why their chief minister had "let them down".

"Raja Sahab you are accountable to the people. You should tell farmers why your government failed to procure gunny bags in advance by placing orders in time. It is condemnable that you are still not paying attention to this problem forget about identifying those responsible for this lapse and taking strict action against them," she said.

She advised Singh to lead from the front and address farmers' grievances.

Badal said the CM had made only one visit to a grain market while enroute to a political function more than one week back.

She said with no political will to mitigate the problems of farmers, the administration as well as procurement agencies were now also giving a "raw deal" to the farmers.

Badal said she was getting complaints from all mandis in the constituency, including Bhucho, Naruana and Kaljharani, besides the local mandi that despite complaints to staff, no attempt was being made to lift wheat from the mandis.

She said farmers were complaining that the procurement process had also been delayed.

"Even commission agents are suffering due to lack of lifting," she added.

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BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday that if an alliance of opposition parties came to power, there will be a different prime minister every day.

The Opposition is leaderless, Shah said, addressing an election rally at Govindgarh in Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.

"Friends, tell me who will be the leader of the alliance....I am asking who will be their leader, but there is no reply," he said.

Quoting a WhatsApp message sent by a BJP worker, he said, "...if an alliance government is formed at the Center, on Monday, Mayawati will be PM, Tuesday Akhilesh (Yadav), Wednesday Sharad Pawar, Thursday (H D) Devegowda, Friday Chandra Babu (Naidu), Saturday Mamata Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and on Sunday the country will go on holiday!"



"Can a country be run like this? The country needs a strong leader and a strong government at the Center. Congress government will not help the poor. It will not fight terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give a befitting reply to Pakistan," the BJP chief said.

Referring to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's suggestion that Jammu and Kashmir should have a separate prime minister, Shah alleged the Congress wanted the same.

"But the Modi government will never allow secession (of Kashmir) from India," he said.

"Anti-national slogans like 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge' were shouted in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). Shouldn't these people be sent to jail?" he asked.

On Congress leader Sam Pitroda's statement that India should hold talks with Pakistan, he said, "Rahul Baba's guru Sam Pitroda made a statement....tell me, should we talk to those who killed our 40 jawans (in Pulwama terror attack) or should we attack them? This is a Narendra Modi government which will reply to gunfire with a bombshell."



When the whole country was rejoicing over India taking revenge of the Pulwama attack (by conducting air strike at Balakot in Pakistan), Shah alleged that there was gloom only in Pakistan and "at (houses of) Rahul Gandhi and (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Kamal Nath".

Congress leaders were sad after the Balakot air strike because "their vote-bank was sad", he added.

Even if people do not wish to vote for the development carried out under the BJP, they should elect Modi (as PM) for strengthening the country's security, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut Saturday advised Sitaram Yechury to drop his first name after the CPI(M) general secretary said Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were replete with "violence".

Raut also asked Yechury if he would term as "violence" the action of security forces while defending the country against Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

"If Sitaram Yechury calls Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu violence, then he should remove Sitaram from his name," Raut added.

In an article for the CPIM mouthpiece, People's Democracy, Yechury had said the BJP's decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal is an expression of its efforts to consolidate the Hindutva "communal" vote bank.

Yechury also took on Narendra Modi for his claim that Hindus can never be violent, alleging that the Prime Minister erases Indian history replete with gruesome battles and wars.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

Raut said, "What do you mean by saying Hindus are violent? The Ramayana and Mahabharata conveyed a central message -- victory of good over evil, truth over falsehood. Ram, Krishna and Arjuna are symbols of truth."



"If this is the meaning they interpret, then tomorrow they will say our soldiers fighting against Pakistan is 'violence'. When we defend ourselves against Pakistani acts of terrorism in Kashmir, is that violence?" he asked.

"Sitaram Yechury's intentions are clear: it is to attack Hindus and make oneself a secular person," the Sena Rajya Sabha MP alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here convicted two persons, including a woman, in the abduction and rape case of a 13-year-old girl.

While the court sentenced Jhalawar's Chitawa village resident Inderraj Gujjar (25) to life imprisonment till the remainder of his natural life, Seema Saina (27), a resident of Salora village in Jhalawar, was given 10-year rigorous imprisonment.

In the order that was delivered on Friday, the man and the woman were also told to pay a fine of Rs 95,000 and 50,000, respectively.

The convicts had abducted the minor from Kanwas in Kota district in May 2015. The police had rescued her after two months from Jhalawar district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a 'Pathalgadi' area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering don't strike a chord in Jharkhand's Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or 'Pathalgadi', declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where 'gram sabhas', or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes don't recognise any authority and don't owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6 BJP's former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress' Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

"Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes," proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through 'Pathalgadi' leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

"We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference," Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers' outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, "It is no subject."



"There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here," he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, "No one has reached us."



The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhand's high profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their "jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land)".

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, "We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us."



"Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat," added an elderly man. "We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright."



To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Munda's home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India could soon be facing a predicament of having more writers than readers, feels iconic author Ruskin Bond.

Bond also said the publishing industry in the country has developed and matured over the years, benefitting young writers.

The 85-year-old author was in the city recently to launch 'myELSA', an English learning app for school students.

"Publishing has come of age and more and more writers are making a good living out of it... But, I think with so many people writing now, there is a danger of having more writers than readers," he said in reply to a question on the present Indian literary scenario.

"After all, we want people also to buy them (books)," the celebrated author told PTI.

In a word of advice for budding writers, the 'Padma Bhushan' awardee said they must be sure to be able to write first. "Confidence in the language is a must. You should have something to say and be able to research on it well. Clarity is key."



On the increasing trend of people turning to e-books and other alternatives on the digital platform, Bond said the printed book is still the first choice for those in love with literature and reading.

"I would call e-books and other such apps an extension, in a way, of people's reading habits. They offer convenience and are useful for seeking information or hone one's writing and speaking skills. But, printed books are here to stay as a form of pleasurable reading," he said.

Talking about his favourite authors, Bond said there have been "too many" since his childhood days, but Charles Dickens, Somerset Maugham and Rabindranath Tagore are among his most-loved writers.

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India, close on the heels of getting Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar blacklisted, has given a clarion call at the UN for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending global convention on international terrorism amidst increasing terror attacks on places of worship across the globe.

India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at a solemn commemorative event Friday for victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, said the early adoption of the global framework to combat terrorism will be a "tribute" to those killed and injured in the "barbaric and cowardly" terror attacks in the island nation last month.

"The barbaric and cowardly attacks on places of worship and recreation, that took lives of hundreds of innocent people of different nationalities, is a reminder that terrorism aims not only to disrupt livelihoods, destroy lives and traumatise people, but also rupture societies, destabilise states and undermine the fabric of human beliefs by creating panic for the sake of panic," he said.

Akbaruddin highlighted the efforts by Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Amrith Rohan Perera over the last two decades towards achieving an outcome on the CCIT.

"Perhaps, as a tribute to the victims in his country, we can all try and strengthen efforts to achieve that objective of a putting in place a global legal framework to counter a global scourge," he said at the event co-organised by the President of the General Assembly and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN.

India's clarion call to adopt the CCIT came just a day after it won a massive victory in the fight against terrorism with the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The blacklisting of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief on Wednesday came 10 years after India first moved a proposal in the UN body to sanction him.

Perera underscored the need for the international community to demonstrate a "political will" to adopt the legal framework to combat international terrorism, saying "too much blood" has been spilled due to terrorism and nations can no longer remain deadlocked over the issue.

"I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining step to conclude the CCIT and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism," Perera said.

"Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue. The international community must send out a strong signal of its collective will to combat terrorism and contribute to the effective implementation of the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy," the Sri Lankan envoy said.

Akbaruddin stressed that the challenges posed by the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka reflect threats to the common heritage of mankind that nations strive to build at the UN.

"Terrorists, globally, seek to lay the foundations of edifices built on violence, even as we strive here to promote the culture of peace. They are antithetical to all that we promote here. Terrorism fundamentally stands for the denial of all that we stand for here at the UN - peace, development, security and human rights," he said.

UN leadership and members expressed their condolences to Sri Lanka for the attacks that killed over 250 people and injured close to 500.

Nationals from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US were among those who lost their lives or were affected by the attacks.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the commemorative meeting that "tragically", again and again, the world is seeing places of worship become "killing grounds and houses of horror".

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said, adding that "as a Muslim, I know my faith preaches peace and tolerance".

Mohammed said the world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, voicing concern that today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet.

President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly Mara Fernanda Espinosa said the attacks, targeting worshippers, families, workers and holidaymakers, ignited fear among communities in Sri Lanka a country still grappling with the deep wounds inflicted by three decades of civil war.

"Against this backdrop, I was deeply moved by the images of Sri Lankans Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sinhalese, Tamil and others donating blood to treat survivors. Mosques and temples have opened their doors to Christian services. That is an inspiring expression of courage, resilience and unity," Espinosa said.

On March 15, a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and injured as many others in two Christchurch mosques, the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history.

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A group of 18 Indian fintech companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme.

The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually.

"These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT).

"The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming our nation as the best place to raise capital for foreign investment," he said.

The Indian delegation included Nomisma Mobile Solutions, Nineroot Technologies, Chillar Payment Solutions, Rupeepower, Credenc, Lithasa Technologies, CredRight, Fingpay, Aye Finance, StashFin, Intelligence Node, Safehouse, Zuper, Oro Wealth, Clensta, Zest IOT, Inclov and Mobile Wallet.

At an event organised by the City of London Corporation and the Indian High Commission in London, the companies attended a fintech roundtable at India House on Friday to discuss barriers to entry in the UK and how these can be addressed.

Led by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Charanjeet Singh, the event brought together stakeholders from Innovate Finance, Grant Thornton, Santander and investment firm CoBa to share their expertise on the UK-India relationship.

"India and the UK have much to gain by increasing ties in fintech, an area seeing significant growth and innovation in both our countries," said Estlin.

"Many Indian firms have expressed interest in setting up in the UK, but market access remains an issue for some, especially smaller companies. This meeting in London aims to explore what support organisations like the City of London Corporation can provide to address this and further open our doors," he said.

According to the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the financial heart of London known as the Square Mile, the UK's fintech sector is worth around 6.6 billion pounds to UK GDP and accounts for 76,500 jobs.

The latest Indian fintech delegation follows a visit to India in October 2018 by former Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, who led a UK fintech delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

The delegation from India coincided with the UK Fintech Week, backed by the UK government and City of London Corporation.

UK Fintech Week, which concluded on Friday, was designed as a think-tank and collaborative approach to cover topics such as post-Brexit UK, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cyber security.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian man in the UAE has hit a jackpot by winning a whopping dirham 15 million (USD 4 million) in a raffle draw in Abu Dhabi, the latest addition to the long list of lucky winners from India.

Shojith KS, who lives in Sharjah, won on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Duty Free's Big Ticket series draw which was livestreamed on Youtube.

Shojith bought his winning ticket online on April 1, but is unaware that he is now a multi-millionaire as he repeatedly rejected the calls of the officers who tried to get in touch with him.

"If (our calls) don't get through we will keep on trying. And if we still can't get in touch with Shojith, we are going to his house - we know where he lives in Sharjah," Richard, who conducts the Big Ticket Raffle at the Abu Dhabi International Airport every month, told the Khaleej Times.

Another Indian expatriate Mangesh Mainde won a BMW 220i in the draw, it said, adding that eight other Indian nationals and one Pakistani won 9 consolation prizes.

Last year, Indian driver from Kerala John Varughese won dirham 12 million in the raffle draw.

In January, another Keralite in the UAE had won a dirham 12 million in the raffle prize money in Abu Dhabi.

Eight Indians were among the 10 people who had won dirham 1 million each in a mega raffle draw in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic State (ISIS) is an "extremely dangerous" terror organisation, which is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, Dr Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has said here.

He was delivering a lecture on 'Israel, Iran and the Arabs: The Middle East of the 21st Century' at the Pune International Centre here on Friday.

"We have to distinguish between the IS as a territorial facet in the region, which I think has been demolished...But ISIS is internationally extremely dangerous, not because of their military power, not because of their territorial base, which has disappeared, but because ISIS is a source of inspiration for international terrorism," he said.

Since it is a source of inspiration and support for international terrorism, it is very difficult to combat, he added.

"ISIS has the capacity to engage in terrorism. We have seen it in France, we have seen it in Sri Lanka," he said.

Giving the example of Israel, Susser said the country fought terrorism fairly successfully due to its "outstanding intelligence" and "effective military force".

"The problem of those who stand up to ISIS, they have neither of these capacities...take the example the European Union. Their intelligence on ISIS and military capabilities are relatively poor. Although every EU member has its own intelligence operations, they do not cooperate," he said, and called for greater international cooperation.

Prof Susser said the Middle East of the 21st century is not the Arab world as it used to be.

"Arab countries have declined economically, politically and also in terms of their power in the region. This is due to lack of political freedom, deficit of first world education and gender equality," he said.

Former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also present at the talk.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public Saturday for the first time since his succession, expressing hope for Japan to keep pursuing peace.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the palace ground, Naruhito thanked throngs of well-wishers for congratulating him.

"I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today," said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

"I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further."



As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long lines outside the palace.

More than 140,000 people came to celebrate, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 59-year-old new emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after World War II and the first who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death. Still, there has been a lack of discussion about maintaining the monarchy's male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, a Harvard-educated former diplomat, is still recovering from stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Naruhito's succession leaves only two younger male heirs in line for the throne, his 53-year-old younger brother Fumihito and 12-year-old nephew Hisahito.

Adding to the issue, the family faces a declining royal population because female royals are stripped of their status when they marry commoners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday accused the Congress of damaging constitutional institutions and patronising corruption during the UPA regime.

He claimed that it was Congress' character to give threats of impeachment to Supreme Court judges.

"The Congress-led UPA government gave 2G scam, CWG scam to the country. The party is known for corruption in every deal and for taking commission in different forms," the minister alleged.

"The Congress has now come up with a claim that surgical strikes were carried out in its rule also but Union minister and former army chief V K Singh, in whose tenure the strikes were claimed to have happened, has also said that he is not aware of any such action during his tenure," he said.

He also alleged that then prime minister Manmohan Singh did not give permission for surgical strike after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 but Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his assent to the Indian Air Force after the Pulwama attack.

Javadekar, who is BJP's poll-incharge in Rajasthan, said security of the nation was the main issue in the election and people have expressed their faith in the leadership of Modi.

He exuded confidence that the BJP would win more than 300 seats in the ongoing polls.

"We will win more than 300 seats in the country and will maintain the record of 2014 Lok Sabha polls of winning all the 25 seats in Rajasthan," he said.

Javadekar said the BJP has done intense campaigning in the state where top leaders of the party, including Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, addressed public rallies and conducted roadshows.

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Seeking to promote use of public transport and make commercial areas pedestrian-friendly, the north corporation has hiked parking fees for using a Karol Bagh street in this popular marketing zone in Delhi.

The move comes right after a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road in the area was made pedestrianised on Wednesday.

Senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) officials Saturday said, the approval for the project and on parking fee hike was taken just before the elections dates were announced.

Ajmal Khan Road for decades has been clogged with traffic and haphazard parking leading to discomfort for visitors.

"This project had been first conceptualised in 2010 but could not take off for some reasons. So, we picked up this zone, as soon I took charge at NDMC, and we engaged with market associations and created off-street parking spaces by utilizing old, defunct municipal spaces," NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi said.

On Wednesday, visitors taken by surprise, when they found a stretch of the nearly one-km road, decongested, and pavements lined with benches and the street decorated with flower pots.

"About 600 metre of the Ajmal Khan Road has been pedestrianised, rest of it being done. People were taken by surprise, as we did most of the work at night time, from installing benches to painting kerbs, etc, she said.

The street has been marked with yellow and white strips demarcating space for hawkers. Besides, bollards have been put at the entry points of Ajmal Khan Road on Pusa Road and Arya Samaj Road to restrict entry of vehicles to the road.

Joshi said, the project could not have been executed without arranging for alternative parking spaces, and so, off-street parking zones were built in a couple of places nearby, adding, the idea is to enhance shopping experience and encourage walking among people.

In pursuance of its pilot project to decongest Karol Bagh and disincentivise use of private cars, the NDMC has increased the surface parking rates on portion of Arya Samaj Road.

The civic agency has increased the parking charge for cars from Rs 20 to Rs 40 for the first hour. For the second hour, the charge will be Rs 50; between two and three hours, the rate will be Rs 60; between three and five hours, it will be Rs 70; and for over five hours, the charge will be Rs 300.

Also, instead of perpendicular parking, parallel parking is being implemented to give more access of the Arya Samaj road to pedestrians, the commissioner said.

The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation has also launched a similar project to remove vehicles from Chandni Chowk, and work on which is currently underway.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act".

Police said the man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway.

Kejriwal was on an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before he was pulled off the jeep.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park area.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj too alleged that the BJP might be behind the attack and asserted the incident would not deter the spirit of the party.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi," he said.

BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari condemned the incident and said the AAP might have "scripted" the incident.

"We do not support violence and condemn such action by anyone. But I have doubt as to why such incidents happen with Kejriwal in election time only.

"I doubt this incident may have been scripted by Kejriwal himself," Tiwari alleged.

Kejriwal was holding the roadshow in favour of New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the Lok Sabha seat.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally. Earlier, he was also attacked with ink and spices.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited and for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka mulls regulating Madrasas under religious and cultural ministry

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in and Kerala, the chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka police arrests Indian photo journalist on trespassing charges

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security".

He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the chief added.
Madrasas in should be regulated by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry and not by the Education Ministry, Prime Minister has said, days after the country's worst terror attack killed over 250 people.

Authorities are on high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring about 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that Wickremesinghe has stressed the need for the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to look into the regulation of Madrasas.

"The Prime Minister wanted the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry to deal so as to prevent any controversy," Kariyawasam was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror newspaper.

Earlier, Kariyawasam had said that the Education Ministry would take steps to regulate them.

Some 800 Foreign Islamic clerics were engaged in religious teaching at Madrasas, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, adding that they had arrived on tourist visas and therefore should be deported.

has a population of 21 million which is a patchwork of ethnicities and religions, dominated by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.

Muslims account for 10 per cent of the population and are the second-largest minority after Hindus. Around seven per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians.
A city-based advocate Saturday approached police over an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana which called for a ban on burqas in India.

In the editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqas and other face-covering garments in India considering the threat it poses to the nation's security.

Police said advocate Munsif Khan has approached Santa Cruz police station demanding action against Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut and others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

"The Constitution of India has given right to life and liberty to the citizens of India and it allows the citizens to wear clothes of their choice and there is also freedom to follow religion," Khan's complaint stated.

When contacted, senior inspector Shriram Koregoankar of Santa Cruz police station said police had received an application from Khan but no case has been registered as yet.

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The Press Club Leh has accused the BJP of trying to bribe its members by offering "envelops filled with money", a charge denied by the party which said the allegations were "politically motivated".

BJP state president Ravinder Raina also threatened to file a defamation suit if the body did not issue a public apology.

"The BJP will not tolerate such allegations. It will file a defamation suit in the high court against the press club if it fails to make a public apology," Raina said.

He said the charges were "baseless and false propaganda" and it was a "politically motivated move".

A two-page letter signed by several members of the Press Club was circulating on social media, seeking an FIR against Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa for allegedly trying to bribe journalists by offering money in envelops to influence the outcome of elections.

Press Club, Leh, president Morup Stanzin confirmed that the letter was written but said they had not lodged the complaint with the police.

"We have lodged our complaint with deputy commissioner, Leh, who is also the returning officer on Friday... After a press conference, Randhawa handed over the envelops filled with money to some journalists who returned these to him immediately," Stanzin told PTI.

Raina refuted the claim, saying he had left the room immediately after the press conference was over on May 2 around 1.30 pm as he had interviews lined up with media groups.

The Ladakh parliamentary constituency is going to polls on May 6.

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Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Saturday visited Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the force in the sector.

The GOC-in-C Northern Command visited the headquarters of Fire and Fury Corps, a defence spokesman said.

The Army commander was briefed by Lt Gen Y K Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on the operational readiness being maintained in the Ladakh sector, he said.

Lt Gen Singh appreciated the high standards of professionalism displayed by all ranks of the Corps, the spokesman said.

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Winning this Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma claimed, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

The seat was won by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee five consecutive times between 1991 and 2004, and Sharma believes that Singh will win as he has carried forward the BJP stalwart's "vision for development".

Lucknow is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and will go to polls on Monday, the fifth phase of the general elections.

While the SP-BSP-RLD alliance's Poonam Sinha, who is backed by her actor husband and former BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, is making her political debut, the Congress has fielded self-styled spiritual guru Pramod Krishnam, who had unsuccessfully contested Sambhal in 2014 and got just 1.52 per cent of the votes.

Krishnam is seeking votes invoking Vajpayee's legacy and has promised that if he wins, he will build a grand statue of Vajpayee in the UP capital on the lines of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.

The statue in Gujarat is designed as a memorial to India's Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

In the midst of his hectic campaigning, Sharma told PTI: "The (Lucknow) seat will be a cakewalk for Rajnathji, who has carried forward the vision for development of Atalji in this constituency."



Singh was a minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet between 2003 and 2004, and also the president of the BJP from 2013 to 2014 before Amit Shah took over.

He was made the district chief of the Jana Sangh in 1975, became an MLA in 1977 and an MP in the Rajya Sabha in 1994.

Campaigning in Lucknow, an urban constituency, has been peaceful, with Shatrughan's daughter Sonakshi Sinha adding a tinge of glamour towards the fag end of hectic electioneering by her mother.

On his part, Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister between 2000 and 2002, during his campaign, tried to portray a balanced image by visiting temples and Muslim clerics.

Since Muslim voters are a force to reckon with in Lucknow, with around 13 per cent of the city's residents belonging to the community, every party has been making efforts to woo them.

Singh met with some Muslim clerics, including Lucknow Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali.

Rasheed, however, downplayed the meeting as "non-political", saying it had nothing to do with the elections.

Poonam Sinha, too, has been meeting Muslim leaders. "We are meeting Muslim clerics because we feel they are important. We need their blessings," she said.

During most of his public meetings, the Union home minister has harped on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India has surged ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire world has acknowledged the fact that Modi has done wonders to help the country attain great heights," he has been telling voters, sounding confident of a big win from Lucknow.

He led a massive road show in the Uttar Pradesh capital in April before filing his nomination.

Similarly, gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLD alliance) candidate Poonam Sinha held public meetings in Aminabad, an area in old Lucknow with a large Muslim population, and famous for 'chikan' (thread work).

Khalid, a rickshaw puller who mostly plies his cart between Qaiserbagh and Hussainganj, hoped that Muslims will vote for the SP-BSP alliance candidate.

However, in the busy commercial zone of Hazratganj, a Muslim youth, requesting anonymity, said young voters would back the BJP for Modi's "vision and dynamic personality".

Poonam Sinha is relying on transfer of votes from the BSP along with SP's own votes.

"But, presence of a Congress candidate will queer her pitch," said, Harish Tiwari, who runs a betel shop outside Charbagh railway station.

"Ultimately, Rajnath Singh will emerge victorious," he said, with a BJP party flag fluttering atop his kiosk.

Tiwari pointed out that Singh has been a politician for over four decades.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."



"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message.

"The United States stands firmly with you in your quest." National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation." This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.

"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving." Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go.

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Mahindra wants to make South Africa the hub of its exports into the rest of the Africa, a senior official of the company has said.

Arvind Mathew, Chief of International Operations at Mahindra & Mahindra, joined Rajesh Gupta, CEO of the company's local subsidiary, Mahindra SA, on Friday to launch two models in the 7500 series and three in the 6000 series of its tractors from its farming equipment range, which are very popular in India and several other countries.

Africa is the future agricultural base of the world, Mathew told reporters and farming sector representatives at the event in the heart of the farming community in North West Province.

In the15 years that Mahindra has been in South Africa, it is very well recognised in the automotive and information technology sectors, and today we are announcing our advent into this sector with our farming equipment, he added.

Alongside the two tractors, the guests were also introduced to the entire range of farm equipment, including Mahindra implements, Sampo Combines, and Hisarlar implements sourced from India, Turkey and Finland.

With the strong historical bonds between India and South Africa, we have embraced South Africa as our home outside India and have already established a strong presence in the automotive business.

South Africa will always be our base for Africa. We have our assembly plant in Durban and we have built our brand in automotive, he said.

Mathew was referring to a plant which was set up a year ago to assemble its Pik Up-range, that is now among the top six brands in this category in South Africa.

We have also seen initial success in our generators and construction equipment businesses. We feel this is the right time for us to introduce our wide range of farm solutions.

Gupta explained that extensive research across South Africa had shown that farmers wanted versatility, efficiency, reliability, comfort and good service, which matched exactly what the two models of the Mahindra range of tractors which were unveiled offered.

Mahindra is the world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume and many of our models are designed for markets that demand tough and efficient solutions which are also effortless to operate in harsh conditions.

Our initial market study shows that these attributes are in high demand in South Africa as well and we trust that it will find favour with our customers, he said.

Gupta said Mahindra South Africa was now among the fastest growing automotive brands in South Africa for its range of bakkies and SUVs in a market where the industry overall was going through a difficult time amid the economic slump in the country.
The main accused of kidnapping and killing a minor boy here was nabbed after a gunfight with the police at HapurModinagar road, a day after his four accomplices were arrested, officials said Saturday.

Aditya Bansal, a student of Class 6, was kidnapped by two bike-borne men on the evening of April 27 and his body was recovered the next morning from a jungle under the Niwari police station area, Superintendent of Police (rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

During its routine checking late Friday night, the police had signalled a bike to stop, but the rider took a U-turn and sped away, Jadaun said.

The bike-borne men then entered inside a sugarcane field and fired upon the police team. During exchange of fire, a goon and constable Irfaan sustained bullet injuries. They both were immediately rushed to hospital.

The injured youth has been identified as Dinesh alias Ajay, who was riding the bike. He confessed to killing the boy, the SP said.

Police have recovered two country made pistols, three live and two used cartridges from his possession, Jadaun said.

Four people, including a woman, were arrested Friday in this connection.

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The Thane district court in Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

Judge S A Sinha also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 42-year-old man (name not disclosed), a resident of Uttan in the district, after convicting him under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC on Friday.

The victim and the convict, who worked as a security guard, were neighbours, said Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar Saturday.

On August 27, 2018, the victim and her younger brother had gone to the convict's residence to play with his cat, she said.

The convict sent the boy outside to purchase something and raped the girl.

After the girl narrated the incident to her grandmother, a complaint was lodged against the convict at the Uttan Sagari (Marine) police station, Moholkar said.

The judge relied on the victim's testimony as well as on the medical evidence, the prosecutor added.

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PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the Centre and the militants to announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir for the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan so that the "people get some relief".

"The month of Ramzan is starting after a couple of days and so, I appeal the Government of India that ours is a Muslim-majority state and people here are facing difficulties.

"It is a month of prayer and so I request them (Centre) to announce a ceasefire like the last year so that crackdowns, search operations and encounters are stopped and people get some relief, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told reporters here.

She also asked the militants to stop attacks on security forces.

I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attacks in this month, she said.

Ramzan is likely to commence from Monday or Tuesday.

The Union government had in May last year directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". Mehbooba was at that time heading a PDP-BJP coalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

Mehbooba said Ramzam ceasefire would be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he was following former prime minister A B Vajpayee's policy of "insaniyat', jhamooriyat' and Kashmiriyat".

Modi keeps on saying that he wants to follow Vajpayee's policy of insaniyat, jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat and I feel that announcing a Ramadhaan ceasefire will be the biggest proof of democracy and humanity, she said.

The former chief minister said while elections were going on in the country, the Centre has turned Jammu and Kashmir "into a battlefield" and slammed decisions like ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and JKLF, suspension of cross-LoC trade and the closure of highway for civilian traffic for two days a week.

The PDP president said since the elections started, youths have been arrested "in the name of stone-pelting" especially from south Kashmir where from she is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if anti-militancy operations like the Friday's in Shopian would have any impact on the polling in the two districts of Shopian and Pulwama in the last leg of the three-phased polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mehbooba said naturally, it will have an impact.

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Former Pakistan batting great Javed Miandad laughed off some of the allegations that the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has levelled against him, in his book 'Game Changer'.

In the book, which is officially launched in Pakistan on Saturday, Afridi described the former captain Miandad as a small human being.

Claiming that Miandad didn't like him and his batting style, Afridi said one day before the first Test against India at Chennai in 1999, the 61-year-old didn't even give him time in the nets to practice.

Miandad laughed off the allegations.

"I leave everything to Allah but how is it possible that a player is not given net practice a day before a Test match he is supposed to play," Miandad laughed as he told PTI.

Miandad said it is true that he had his issues with Afridi but they were purely professional.

"I always told him the potential he had he could have been a much better player for Pakistan. There were times I spent hours with him in the nets trying to improve his temperament and batting techniques," claimed Miandad.

The former batsman added that he is not surprised by the content of Afridi's book as nowadays one has to create controversies to sell biographies and autobiographies.

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Dozens of shocked passengers were evacuated to safety from the wings of a stricken Boeing 737 on Saturday in Florida after the jet made a rough landing in a lightning storm and skidded off the runway into a river.

The plane carrying 143 people including crew from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba slammed into shallow water next to a naval air station in Jacksonville after a hard landing that saw the plane bounce and swerve down the runway, passengers said.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

"As we went down... the plane bounced and screeched and bounced more and lifted to the right and then it lifted to the left," Cheryl Bormann, a defense attorney who was on board the flight, told CNN.

"And then it sort of swerved and then it came to a complete crash stop."



Some oxygen masks deployed and overhead lockers flew open during the landing, she added.

Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were critically injured, the Jacksonville sheriff's office said on Twitter. Others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, told reporters it was a "miracle" no more serious injuries or fatalities had occurred.

"We could be talking about a different story this evening, so I think there's a lot to say about, you know, the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane... it very well could be worse," he said.

All 136 passengers and seven air crew on board had been accounted for, NAS Jacksonville said in a statement.

However, there were fears for a number of pet animals travelling in the plane's luggage compartment.

The pets had "not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft," NAS Jacksonville said in an update on Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a 16-member team had arrived on site to investigate the incident, and would brief the media later in the day.

Boeing said it was aware of the incident was and providing technical assistance to the agency as it conducts its probe.

Images showed the Miami Air International plane lying partially submerged in water after the rough landing, with its nose cone missing.

Passengers in life vests were instructed to clamber onto the wings of the jet before being transported to shore aboard inflatable life rafts, Bormann said.

"We couldn't tell where we were, a river or an ocean. There was rain coming down. There was lightning and thunder. We stood on that wing for a significant period of time," she told CNN.

Navy security and emergency response personnel including some 90 firefighters were on the scene.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted that the White House had called to offer assistance as the situation was developing.

"All alive and accounted for. Our Fire and Rescue teams are family to all," said Curry.

Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, he added.

The "Rotator" flight from the US military base in Cuba carries passengers including military personnel and family members.

The plane involved was a Boeing 737-800, in operation for 18 years, according to the FlightRadar24 website.

US aerospace giant Boeing is under scrutiny following two crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew and grounded its newer 737 MAX planes worldwide.

Both a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October and March's Ethiopian Airlines crash outside Addis Ababa occurred shortly after takeoff.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks courage to speak even a word about the poll promises, including on jobs, that he had made in 2014 and said a strong leader should be able to apologise for failing to keep his word.

Addressing an election meeting here, Gandhi repeated the claim that six surgical strikes were conducted during the tenure of the UPA and said his party never used it for political benefit.

He said the prime minister must tell as to how the youngsters will be given employment after 2019.

"Modi is unable to speak even a word about his earlier promises.

"If Modi had the guts, then he would have said that I had spoken about giving two crore jobs every year in a rush of blood but I have made a mistake. But, this man lacks courage....

"A strong leader is the one who accepts the truth. A strong leader is the one who would tender an apology for failing to provide two crore jobs to youngsters and Rs 15 lakh, and then talk about rectification (of the mistake)," Gandhi told voters in the constituency from where the BJP has fielded Maneka Gandhi, the estranged sister-in-law of Congress Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress has given ticket to Sanjay Singh, while the BSP has nominated Chandrabhadra Singh.

Gandhi said the entire country has understood that the "chowkidaar is doing chowkidaari of Ambani, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. This chowkidaar has spoken lies before the country."



"The lion-like Congress workers have burst Modi's balloon which was inflated by the media," he said.

A day after Modi mocked the Congress saying the party, which first ignored the surgical strikes carried out under his government across the Line of Control and then opposed them, was now crying me too, me too, Gandhi reiterated his party's stand.

"There were six surgical strikes during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress never used it for political purpose and neither wants to say anything now. It gives the credit for this to the Army, and not to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Rahul Gandhi said.

The Congress president also said that "India's ideology is influenced by love. Nothing can be derived from hatred. But, the BJP people speak about violence.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are likely to conduct roadshows in Kolkata before the last phase of elections on May 19.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said though the dates are yet to be fixed, the two leaders are likely to hold separate road shows in the city.

"Both the prime minister and our party president have addressed rallies in each and every phase (of polling). But they have not conducted any roadshow. They are likely to hold separate roadshows in Kolkata. The dates will be fixed by next week," Ghosh told PTI.

BJP sources said the decision to conduct roadshows of Modi and Shah is a reflection of the "special focus" that West Bengal has in the party's scheme of things.

Shah has set a target of winning 23 out of the 42 seats in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier had rescheduled the election rallies of Modi and Shah in coastal districts of West Bengal where cyclone Fani was supposed to have an impact.

BJP general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Friday that Modi's May 5 rallies in Tamluk and Jhargram were rescheduled to May 6.

Similarly, Shah's rallies scheduled for May 6 at Ghatal, Midnapore and Bishnupur will be held on May 7.

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More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a "deeply worrying situation".

The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016.

Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials.

"In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable)," the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday.

The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighbouring Ituri region.

The World Health Organisation had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine.

But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort.

"We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation," Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

"We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission," he added.

The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people.

But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC's December elections "are being manipulated" against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said.

"Communities... need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicised in the process," he added.

Ryan said the UN health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short.

"We don't necessarily know which way this outbreak is going," he said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began.

Neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers.

Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country.

Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organisations said in a statement.

In such conditions, the "risk of disease spread is high", they added.

"This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat," said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document.

"These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services."



The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone.

Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola.

"As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks.

"Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert.

This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings."



In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said.

More than five million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.

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The opposition BJP Saturday released an 'aarop patra' or charge sheet against the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh, targeting it over its "failure" to deliver on the promises it had made to the people.

The charge sheet, which is a 12-page booklet, lists the "unfulfilled promises" of the Congress, which formed the government in the state in December last year.

The saffron party alleged that among other things, the Congress duped farmers in the name of loan waiver. It also said that the ruling party has disappointed the people of the state as its assurances have remained "only on paper", as against its claim of implementing 83 promises.

However, the ruling party hit back at the BJP saying the allegations against it were "baseless".

The booklet was released at the BJP's state party office by former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party's national vice presidents Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Prabhat Jha, among others.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Chouhan said, "The farm loan waiver scheme of the Congress, on the basis of which it came to power, has been a complete failure. Not a single farmer in the state has received a loan waiver certificate."



"Although the Congress government had issued an order of loan waiver, the debts of not a single farmer have been written off.

"Farmers across the state are setting on fire the copies of false certificates, while Congress leaders, including party chief Rahul Gandhi and CM Kamal Nath, claim that the government has waived loan of up to Rs two lakh as promised, which is actually false," Chouhan alleged.

Referring to the power outages in the state, he said, "It reminds us of the 'Bantadhar Yug' (ruined state) when electricity cuts had become routine."



Chouhan's 'Bantadhar Yug' remark indirectly referred to former MP chief minister Digvijay Singh's rule.

He said, power had tripped even when Nath had gone to cast his vote in his constituency.

"It shows the kind of situation in the state and the government is blaming BJP for it instead of tackling the issue...They are so afraid of power cuts that now the CM has provided a mobile generator to (Digvijay) Singh for his campaign to deal with power cuts," Chouhan added.

Singh is Congress' candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, polling for which will take place on May 12.

On the Congress's promise of providing Rs 4,000 as unemployment allowance to the youths in the state, the BJP national vice president claimed that nobody has got the assistance so far.

He also alleged that a number of welfare schemes launched by the erstwhile BJP government led by him, were closed due to paucity of funds, including the scheme under which Rs 5,000 used to be given for performing last rites of poor people.

Chouhan said instead of improving the situation in the state, the Congress government has launched a "transfer industry to mint money".

"The recent I-T raids on persons close to Nath in which Rs 281 crore worth illegal assets were unearthed shows the kind of government in the state and reflects the nature of the Congress," he alleged.

Chouhan said that after the Congress came to power, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated.

"The recent rape and murder of a minor girl and shooting down of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in his residence in Bhopal are just some examples of it," he said.

Responding to his charges, state Congress media cell chairperson Shobha Oza said, "BJP's charges are baseless. BJP and Chouhan ruled the state for nearly 15 years, during which over 21,000 farmers committed suicide and 25,000 to 30,000 incidents of rape and gang rape occurred."



"Then why did Chouhan remain a mute spectator all these years?" she asked.

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The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges.

"The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf.

According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added.

In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.

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The RJD on Saturday demanded resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in view of the CBI's revelation in the Supreme Court that 11 minor girls were allegedly murdered in the Muzaffarpur shelter home where a sex scandal has broken out in 2018.

If Kumar does not quit on his own, the RJD said, Governor Lalji Tandon should dismiss his government for its inability to protect the lives of 11 inmates of the state aided shelter home.

The party of Lalu Prasad stepped up its offensive against the Bihar government a day after the CBI, in an affidavit, told the apex court that 11 girls were murdered by Brajesh Thakur, the key accused in the Muzaffarpur home sex scandal case, and his accomplices, and "bundle of bones" were recovered from a burial ground inside it.

"We request the governor to sack the Nitish Kumar government immediately following its involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case," RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "If there is any shame left in Nitish Kumar, he should tender an apology after evidences have been found in Muzaffarpur shelter home case Why Nitish Kumar used to go to Brajesh Thakur's home at Muzaffarpur?"



The leader of opposition in Bihar assembly also asked, why an FIR was not lodged initially against Thakur, and when it was lodged, why he was not booked under the POCSO act.

RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha, who held a press conference here on the issue, said Kumar should resign on his own and if he does not resign, the governor should sack him.

"After the CBI's confirmation that 11 out of 42 minor girls were murdered at the shelter home, the chief minister has no moral right to continue in the post," he said.

"We demand that Nitish Kumar resign taking up moral responsibility in the matter. If he does not resign, the governor should sack his government," Jha said.

Asked whether the RJD will approach the governor to press for the demand, Jha said the party will wait till May 6, when the matter will be heard again in the apex court.

Tejashwi, through his tweets, also wanted to know whether the 11 missing girls of the shelter home were buried after being killed as it appeared that they were not cremated following Hindu traditions.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The probe into the case was transferred to CBI and the agency has chargesheeted 21 people, including Brajesh Thakur who, as the head of an NGO, used to run the home.

Tejashwi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not utter a single word on this issue as Kumar and several BJP ministers in Bihar government are involved in it.

The PM addressed an election meeting in Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the RJD spokesman Jha defended fielding Vibha Devi, the wife of former RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav who was convicted for raping a minor, from Nawada seat.

"Raj Ballabh Yadav was convicted in the rape case but his wife was not. If someone is convicted, you cannot hold the entire family guilty," he said.

To another query whether or not Tej Pratap Yadav's comment that his father-in-law and the party's Saran Lok Sabha candidate Chandrika Rai is an "impersonator" amounts to indiscipline, Jha replied in the negative saying statements sometimes flow in the heat of electioneering.

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A newly-married couple was found dead at Visva-Bharati university campus in Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.

The bodies were found near Cheena Bhavana, located within the campus, on Friday late night, the police said.

The Department of Chinese Language & Culture of Visva-Bharati university is known as Cheena Bhavana.

The deceased were identified as 18-year-old Somnath Mahato and 19-year-old Abantika, a police officer said.

The couple had got married recently and both of them were students of Srinanda High School at Bolpur, the police officer said.

Somnath had appeared for Higher Secondary Examinations this year and Abantika had appeared for class 10 board examinations, he said.

Though it appears to be a case of suicide, it can be confirmed only after the most-mortem examination report arrives, a senior officer of Bolpur police station said.

"Our security personnel informed us about the matter after they spotted the bodies near Cheena Bhavana," the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Visva-Bharati, Anirban Sarkar, said.

"We will look into the matter and the authority may issue an order to find out how they had entered the campus at late night," the PRO said.

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Except for damaging a few huts, cyclone Fani did not cause much havoc in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as the severe cyclonic storm weakened Saturday morning and headed towards neighbouring Bangladesh.

While flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am, train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) also resumed its routine operation this morning at both Haldia and Kolkata docks.

"The entire administration was awake the whole night. We were very worried about the cyclone Fani," Banerjee said.

Banerjee had cancelled her election programmes and stayed put at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district to monitor the situation arising out of the cyclone.

"There were not much damage in the state. At least 850 mud houses in the districts were partially damaged while 12 were completely destroyed," she said.

Banerjee said the state government will extend help to people whose houses have been damaged due to the cyclone.

Trees uprooted in different parts of the state due to speedy wind have been removed and the roads cleared for plying of vehicles, the chief minister said.

Restoration of electricity snapped in different districts is underway.

"Around 42,000 people have been evacuated by our people who took them to relief shelters. The civic services have been restored in Digha, Mandarmoni, whereas it is work in progress at other places," she said.

The storm weakened on Saturday morning and moved towards Bangladesh. Kolkata witnessed wind speed of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am Saturday, officials said.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district from where it will go to Murshidabad district before entering Bangladesh. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation.

"We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Much to the glee of passengers, flight operations, which was suspended from 3 pm on Friday, resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.

Air India was the first airline to start operating out of Kolkata airport, the AAI official said, adding that a GoAir flight from Delhi was the first flight to land in Kolkata at 10.10 am.

The AAI official said that airlines had refunded fares of cancelled flights to the passengers and took care of them.

Very few passengers had stayed back at the airport on Friday, the official said.

Out of an average 224 daily flights only 110 flights operated on Friday, the official said.

Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections are also getting back to normal, officials said.

The ferry services on river Hooghly, however, were yet to resume.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in central Kolkata's Beniatola Lane, police said.

All the five injured persons were released after treatment.

Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said there had been no damages to the port infrastructure. "Operations at both Kolkata and Haldia docks have resumed since morning.

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With the rollout of the agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications from May 1, the number of Indian students in French universities will go up substantially, a senior French diplomat has said.

Talking to PTI here on Friday, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Sonia Barbry, said the number of Indian students in her country may go up to 15,000 by 2025 from the current figure of 9,000.

Four Indian academic qualifications -- Senior School Certificate (SSC), Bachelor's and Master's degrees and PhDs - from government-approved institutions have been recognised by the French government from May 1.

Barbry said inviting Indian students to study in the universities of France has been one of the priorities of the consulate.

"We want to have more Indian students. Now, we have 9,000 students studying in France. They are studying business management, engineering, social sciences and others. We have a number of courses in English and they need not learn French," she added.

"This has been made possible by an agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications signed during President Macron's visit to India last year," she added.

The agreement was signed during the India-France Knowledge Summit, the first high-level summit for university, scientific and technological cooperation held by the two countries.

The diplomat said that five years ago, only 3,000 Indian students were studying in France.

"President Macron gave us an objective of 10,000 Indian students by 2020, now we are almost there. We want to have 15,000 in 2025 or 20,000 in 2030," she said.

According to Barbry, the course in France have better value for money.

"Basically, we have a very high quality higher education, which is recognized all over the world and it is very affordable for Indian students. If they study in France, they get two year visa to work," Barbry said.

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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted.

In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said.

"We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

"It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Four foreign nationals including one from Pakistan who violated immigration and emigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested persons include two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high-alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 people.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.

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Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

"It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families," another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.

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Gazan authorities reported a pregnant Palestinian mother and her one-year-old daughter killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, but an Israeli army spokesman challenged the Palestinian account of the incident.

The Gazan health ministry said in a statement Falestine Abu Arar, 37, died from the "Israeli targeting east of Gaza".

It had earlier announced the death of her 14-month-old daughter in the same incident as Israel carried out strikes in response to some 250 rockets fired from Gaza.

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesman on Twitter questioned the claim and suggested Palestinian fire may have been to blame, but did not provide details on what he believe occurred.

"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike," Avichay Adraee said.

He added that pictures from the day "clearly show the launching of rockets from crowded areas."



Israeli army international spokesman Jonathan Conricus declined to provide more clarity.

The army said earlier it was only targeting military sites in Gaza. The incident took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw significant damage to a building. Neighbours said an area outside had been hit by an Israeli strike.

Two other Palestinians were also killed in the Israeli strikes Saturday, according to the ministry, bringing the death toll to four.

In Israel, one woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Israeli police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

Medics said the woman was 80 and the man 50. A house near Ashkelon was damaged while other rockets hit open areas.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."



Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans. In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'chowkidar' of his industrialist "friends" and accused him of speaking one lie after the other.

Gandhi was addressing his first poll rally in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress has fielded Ajay Singh Yadav from the Gurgaon parliamentary seat.

"During last elections, PM Narendra Modi made different promises to people of this country and Haryana Modi speaks one lie after the other. He said he will give two crore jobs to the youth, put Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts, remunerative price for farmers' produce and will double farmers' income," Gandhi said.

"Did you give farmers the right price for their produce? Did you put Rs 15 lakh? No," he said.

"He (Modi) waived loans worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore of 15 industrialists of this country," Gandhi claimed.

"I want to ask how much loans of farmers of Haryana he waived," Gandhi asked the gathering.

He also spoke about how the Congress, after coming to power in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, waived farmers' loans.

When the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and in Haryana, the MSP was hiked from time to time. Modi is not your Chowkidar, not Gurgaon's chowkidar," he said, claiming that the prime minister was a 'chowkidar' of a "big" industrialist.

Referring to alleged Rafale scam, the Congress chief Rahul claimed that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to an industrialist's company.

"Modi stole your Rs 30,000 crore and put it into his (industrialist) accounts," he claimed.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Gandhi said, "To seek votes, whatever comes to Modi's heart, he utters from the stage without applying the mind".

Referring to Modi's statement made from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Rahul said he said that the "elephant was sleeping" before he came to power.

Gandhi said Modi was trying to project as if nothing had happened in the country before the BJP came to power.

"Modi said nothing happened in the country before he came to power," he said.

"Gurgaon was not developed by Narendra Modi, but its people, its youth, labourers, farmers. Gurgaon was world famous before you (Modi) came, it was an IT hub. What have you given to Gurgaon, what have you given to Gurgaon and its people. Did you bring Metro?" he asked.

"When Modi says from the ramparts of the Red Fort that elephant was sleeping before he came, he insults you, your parents, your forefathers. The country is not built by one person, but crores of its people. Its farmers, labourers, mothers and sisters build this nation.

"Gurgaon is an example where people of various castes and communities co-exist peacefully. Before the BJP came, people lived peacefully in entire country. Wherever Modi goes, he spreads hatred, speaks lies," he alleged.

Congress president further accused the PM of "destroying" small trade and businesses with demonetisation and GST that he described as 'Gabbar Singh Tax.'



"Entire Gurgaon knows how adversely these decisions hit them. Fugitives were given money and they fled the country," he claimed.

He also said no farmer who failed to repay his loan will be arrested if the Congress comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Hardworking farmers of this country tell me that when they take loans and are unable to pay, they have to go to jails. But rich industrialists, who borrow money and don't repay and then flee the country, are not caught.

If the Congress comes to power at the Centre, a law will be brought so that no peasant who is unable to repay loan will have to go to jail, he said, adding that a separate budget for agriculture will be brought out.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies on May 10 and May 13 in Punjab, where polling for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 19.

Modi will address first rally in Hoshiarpur on May 10 and second in Mansa on May 13, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma said on Saturday.

The BJP has fielded Phagwara legislator Som Prakash from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) seat and he is pitted against Congress candidate and MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal.

Modi's second rally will be held in Mansa which falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency from where Akali candidate and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting for the third time.

BJP chief Amit Shah will also hold rallies on May 5 in Pathankot and on May 12 in Amritsar, said BJP's national secretary Tarun Chugh.

As per the seat-sharing arrangement, Akalis will contest on 10 seats while the BJP on three seats.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday wished speedy recovery to javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who underwent an elbow surgery.

"Undergone elbow surgery in Mumbai...Will require some months of rehabilitation...Every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before," Chopra tweeted on Thursday.

Modi wished him well, saying he is a brave youngster who has been making India proud continuously.

"Everyone is praying for your quick and complete recovery," the prime minister tweeted.

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Sri Lankan police on Saturday directed the public that those who are in possession of any sharp-edged weapons like swords or Kris knives, and uniforms similar to that of the Army and the Police should deposit them at the nearest police station by tomorrow.

The move was taken after police recovered a large haul of weapons, including swords, during searches of mosques following the Easter Sunday's suicide attacks, which claimed 250 lives.

Announcing the amnesty scheme, Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said "This will be in effect from today until tomorrow".

"If you are having police or camouflaged military uniforms, please hand them over to the nearest police station," he said.

The police said that several people including politicians were arrested for their possession of sharp-edged weapons like sword since the crackdown began to arrest the suspects and their network, following the blasts.

Gunasekera also requested the relatives of the bomb blast victims to assist the police in performing DNA tests on them as around 56 bodies, laying in the Colombo judicial medical officer's mortuary, are yet to identified.

"Relatives of anyone missing since April 21 who might have been in areas of explosions, please inform the nearest police stations," Gunasekera said.

The police said that a special security arrangements have been made for the re-opening of schools.

"We will carry out a thorough search of all schools during tomorrow. There will be special parking arrangements nears the schools to ensure safety," he said.

The schools were to reopen on April 29 but it was extended till May 6.

Doubts were being raised if the security situation was favourable for the reopening of schools.

However, the Archbishop of Colombo has instructed the Catholic schools not to commence their terms until further notice.

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Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Saturday appealed to industry chambers to organise relief operations for helping people affected by Cyclone Fani.

"Appealing all in commerce & industry organise relief for the unfortunate affected by #FaniCyclone. We will organise best possible way to ensure the help reaches those who needs it most. All Chambers must immediately respond to this calamity," Prabhu tweeted and tagged industry chambers CII, Ficci and Assocham.

Cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people. Fani or the 'Hood of Snake', labelled as a category 4 storm on a scale of 1 to 5, made landfall around 8 am in Puri on Friday, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

The storm has weakened as it entered West Bengal last night.

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: A priest was killed and another was injured allegedly by a masked robber-gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy Temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying tobreak the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday directed minister Brahm Mohindra to meet representatives of government employees and resolve their issues after the Lok Sabha elections.

Singh reviewed the issues relating to government employees with top officials and directed the Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mohindra to meet their representatives on May 27 to work out an early resolution.

Polling to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on May 19.

Since the government can not take any decision in the matter till the model code of conduct is in place, it was felt that a meeting should be held immediately after the declarations of results to resolve the pending issues, an official spokesperson said.

The government employees under the banner of 'Saanjha Mulazam Manch' had protested against the government in March, seeking clarity on dearness allowance issue, regularisation of contractual employees, reducing the term of probation period, restoration of old pension scheme, among others. PTI CHS VSD



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As turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on Saturday.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."



Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."



Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if loses."



Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."



Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday accused the Congress of doing a U-turn on the issue of surgical strikes, saying the party which earlier sought proof from the Modi government, was now claiming that six such operations were carried out during the UPA rule.

He claimed that people came to know about the phrase 'surgical strike' thanks to the Modi government.

The chief minister also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have become the butt of jokes on social media.

"Congress, which was seeking a proof of air strike and surgical strike, had to say yesterday that it had conducted surgical strike six times. It means looking at the mood, enthusiasm and patriotism of people, you have made a U-turn. You would ask for proof earlier, but now you accept that it has happened. Now you say we (UPA) also conducted it," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"It means you have quietly accepted that there was a surgical strike (under the Modi government)...The truth is that the people of the country learnt about the word 'surgical strike' from Modi government, which conducted the operations in response to the terror attacks in Pulwama and Uri. People were not even aware of the word till then. And India made it possible," he said.

The Congress had Friday stated that it conducted six surgical strikes between June 2008 and January 2014.

On the controversy surrounding the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said, "Congress is blaming the Election Commission. It will start blaming the EVMs. These machines worked fine in three state elections (where Congress won), but they will be called faulty when it is defeated."



He also targeted Congress in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her meeting with snake charmers in Uttar Pradesh, and said that she and her brother Rahul Gandhi have become the butt of joke on social media.

"Priyanka Gandhi is playing with snake charmers. This is childishness. Both the bother-sister have become the butt of joke on websites, YouTube," he said.

He said the Congress will get the least number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

"Congress is left with nothing but hopelessness. People want a strong government, which only Modi can give," he said.

He also attacked the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh alleging that they failed to deliver on the promises of loan waiver and unemployment allowance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday cited a media report to attack Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a defence deal under the UPA government in which an alleged business partner of Gandhi had got an offset contract.

According to Business Today magazine, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm in which Gandhi owned a majority stake received defence contract as an offset partner of a French company when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

"With Rahul Gandhi's midas touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," Shah tweeted, tagging the report.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge conducted a two-day hearing here to ascertain whether there was sufficient cause to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an unlawful association.

The tribunal, presided by Justice Mukta Gupta of the Delhi High Court, began its hearing on Friday in Pune and it concluded on Saturday.

Founded in 1977, SIMI was banned in 2001. The tribunal, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was constituted by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 21 this year after the five-year ban on SIMI ended on January 31.

Officials from the Maharashtra Police's Crime Investigation Department, the state Anti-Terrorism Squad and State Intelligence Department deposed before the Unlawful Activities Tribunal, to justify the ban on SIMI.

Among officials who deposed before the tribunal were Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS), Ganesh Shinde, Special Branch (CID), Mumbai Police and Nisar Tamboli, Deputy Commissioner, State Intelligence Department.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who is part of the tribunal, said the three nodal officers from the state CID, ATS and Intelligence deposed before the tribunal stating the ban on SIMI is essential in view of national security and to ensure there are no anti-national activities.

"All three officers deposed and briefed about the pending trials, discoveries and seizures made and information gathered regarding SIMI activities and how the ban is essential in view of national security," she said.

DCP Tamboli, while deposing before the tribunal Saturday, informed there are about eight cases involving SIMI.

He also told the tribunal that if the ban on the organisation is lifted, it will regroup and carry out anti-national activities.

ATS SP Pardeshi, who deposed on Friday, justified the ban on SIMI and submitted information about the Mumbai local train bombings of 2006 and also briefed about a SIMI operative who was convicted by the court.

He also submitted that the lone convict in Pune's German Bakery blast case, Mirza Himayat Baig, had links with SIMI.

DCP Shinde from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cited a 2001 case from Mumbai where a SIMI operative was arrested and some incriminating material were recovered.

Anand said the tribunal will head to Hyderabad for the next hearing and, thereafter, will return to Maharashtra, where a hearing is likely to take place at Aurangabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six persons, including three women, were injured when two groups hurled stones at each other over a minor dispute at Khaikheda village under the Kakroli police station limits in this district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

According to Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Jitender Kumar, the incident occurred on Friday, following an altercation between a man and a woman. The altercation turned into a violent clash involving two groups which hurled stones and bricks at each other, the officer said.

The injured -- Bidyawati, Rinu, Mamta, Chatrapal, Deepak and Prince -- were rushed to a hospital, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."



Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."



"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...for development to take place in real sense."



Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the SP, BSP and Congress of "trampling upon" principles for gaining power, and said they were so obsessed with poll arithmetic that they treat people merely as vote banks.

Addressing an election rally here, the PM continued his 'mahamilawat' (grand adulteration) jibe at the opposition alliance and predicted that the bonhomie between the parties fighting the BJP together was short-lived. They will be at each others' throat after May 23, when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared, he said.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

He also attacked the SP and the BSP over alleged corruption while apparently referring to the NRHM "scam", illegal sand mining mafia and allegations that some interior fittings were missing after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav vacated his government bungalow on the Supreme Court's direction.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

The PM said NDA's work culture was different from that of the 'mahamilawati' alliance. "We want to decentralize the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said, adding his government has worked strongly keeping development in mind.

"When your 'sevak' goes to different parts of the world, they realise the power of 130 crore Indians," Modi said.

He also referred to the UN listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

"Earlier governments used to cry over activities of Pakistan. They were more concerned about their vote banks than the country's enemy. There was a time, when Indian leaders were seen crying, and today Pakistan is going around crying," he said.

Attacking BSP chief Mayawati over her recent tweet that number of violent incidents during her government was fewer than that during the BJP's, Modi listed out some such incidents in Uttar Pradesh from Mayawati's 2007-2012 tenure.

"On May 23, 2007 there were serial blasts in Gorakhpur, whose government was there? Six months later, there were serial blasts in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Lucknow, whose government was there then? In 2008, there was an attack on CRPF camp in Rampur, and in 2010, a blast took place at Dashashwamedh Ghat, whose government was there at that point of time?" he asked.

He also slammed the three parties over the "condition of Poorvanchal".

"When the Congress was in power at Centre, and the SP and BSP governments were in the state, what was the condition of Poorvanchal? You know it very well. The lives of the children were in danger due to Japanese Encephalitis, and they (political parties) were busy in vote bank "



Modi also said those who are contesting just eight seats have readied themselves for taking oath as the prime minister.

"Those who are fighting just 20 seats are also salivating. And those who are fighting 40 have given their their clothes for stitching," he said.

"Tell me which is the face that can eliminate terrorism? Who can rise beyond casteism and think about the betterment of the country?" he asked the gathering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a big game against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Addressing BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, Modi said the SP-BSP alliance partners will be at each other's throats when the results are out on May 23.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh.

He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about respect towards her.

It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now 'Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said.

"By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that the Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four persons, including two minors, resting under a tree alongside the Lucknow-Varanasi road here were killed after being run over by a speeding car, police said Saturday.

The accident took place in Mahkani village and the deceased were identified as Mamta Devi (30), Gudhiya Devi (32), Neeraj (5) and Suman (4), Additional Superintendent of Police Avneesh Mishra said.

The four were rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, he said.

The car also overturned and fell into a ditch, he added.

The driver of the car was taken into custody and the bodies were sent for post-mortem, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK president M K Stalin Saturday blamed the ruling AIADMK government for not holding civic polls and said it was the reason for problems related to provision of basic amenities like drinking water and roads.

Addressing people in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency here, which goes to the bypolls on May 19, Stalin said his party had held over 12,500 village level meetings (Ooratchi Sabai) and listened to the grievances of the people.

"You have listed the problems of your region.

If you look at the basic problems, there are several of them like providing drinking water, road and bus facilities, and sanitation and hygiene," he said.

"If you ask the reason for such problems, this government has not held the local body elections. Had civic polls been conducted (and if elected bodies had taken charge) there is no scope for such grievances," he observed.

Local body elections were originally scheduled to be held in October 2016.

Subsequently, the DMK moved the Madras High Court and the State Election Commission had said in January this year that notification for the civic polls would be issued in May.

Days ago, the SEC has again approached the court, seeking three months time for issuing the notification.

Assuring that DMK would solve the problems of the people, Stalin said the government should address issues pertaining to the handloom sector (Tirupparankundram is home to handloom weavers), with the Centre's support.

"This (State) government, however, is unable to solve even basic problems...this is a minority government (alleging that AIADMK does not have majority support in the Assembly) which is not worried about the poeple," he alleged.

The DMK had for long been working for the welfare of handloom weavers, he said and recalled that party founder C N Annadurai and late leader M Karunanidhi had sold handloom goods by going door to door for the benefit of handloom weavers.

Also, 100 units of electricity was provided free of cost to handloom weavers to help them, he said.

"This is the history of DMK," he said and assured that such bonding with handloom weavers would continue for ever.

Stalin alleged that the AIADMK, the ruling party for eight years, was giving several assurances since bypolls were around the corner, and all of these were nothing but a "deceitful drama."



"On May 23, (the day of counting of votes) there will be a change of government at the Centre and State and after that the grievances of weavers will be addressed.

I would like to assure you that the DMK will take resolute steps to ensure that," he said seeking support for his party candidate, P Saravanan (Tirupparankundram).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma' (duty as a husband), she will also play her 'patni dharma' once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."



When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the one-man show' and the two-man army will not return.

The 72 year-old quit the BJP after being sidelined for years.

Sinha, who had served as minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has often targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

His exit from the BJP was precipitated by that party's announcement that Ravi Shankar Prasad will contest from Patna Sahib, the seat Sinha won in 2009 and 2014.

In the build-up to the inevitable breakup, Sinha needled his party bosses repeatedly on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.

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: Additional general manager of Southern Railway Rahul Jain inspected the Pamban railway bridge Saturday and said the bridge was strongand that the construction of the new railway bridge has been speeded up.

Talking to reporters here, he said the construction of the new Pamban bridge would be done without affecting the marine resources.

The first phase of work on the extension of train service to Danushkodi has been completed, and the rest of the work would begin soon, he said.

The new bridge uses 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally. In the new bridge, a 63-metre section would lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck. It would be done using sensors at each end, an official had told PTI.

The entire bridge, including the navigational span, was being designed keeping in mind the railways electrification plan, according to PTI.

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President Donald Trump said he held "very positive" talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"It was a very positive conversation," Trump said. "He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela."



"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."



Trump's tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognized as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlin's assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

"Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict," said a Russian statement.

"Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country," it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduro's days are numbered -- but experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leader's strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trump's position -- that "all options" are on the table -- Shanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

"I'm trying to avoid walking into 'We could do this or we could do that,'" he said.

"What people should feel confident about is we have... there's depth to these plans."



"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and I'm just going to leave it at that."



Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

"Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections," Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered out -- with 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas -- sparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez -- who made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arrest -- has since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuela's military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesday's failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing "a very confusion situation," a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

"The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united," he said.

"There are cracks, but not in the military leadership," said the source. "International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"



Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles." But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkmenistan's national air carrier has scheduled flights to the United Kingdom and Germany again following a ban imposed in February by European Aviation Authorities.

Flights to the English city of Birmingham and Germany's Frankfurt beginning on June 1 appeared on Turkmenistan Airlines' schedule late Friday.

Flights were not listed to Paris, another destination the airline flew to regularly. "We have no confirmation regarding Paris," a Turkmenistan Airlines spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

The resumption of flights was not mentioned on the European Aviation Safety Agency's website as of Saturday.

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain in February after the EASA suspended Turkmenistan Airlines over safety concerns.

The isolated Central Asian republic's flag carrier provides services from London and Birmingham to the Indian city of Amritsar which is popular with Britain's Punjabi community.

The UK Foreign Office said in a February travel advisory that EASA had "suspended Turkmenistan Airlines flights to and from the EU pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards." Turkmenistan is an energy-rich, authoritarian former Soviet state with a poor human rights record and state-controlled media.

The government-run airline was created in Turkmenistan's first full year of independence in 1992.

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Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing e-rickshaws after offering the drivers cold drinks laced with sedatives in northeast Delhi, police said Saturday.

The accused, identified as Dheeraj Pal (32) and Gaurav (25), were operating the infamous 'Jahar Khurani' gang, they said.

The arrest was made on Friday after a trap was laid at the Dharampura red light following a tip-off that two persons travelling in an auto-rickshaw would be coming towards Seelampur from Shastri Park, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) said.

Eight stolen e-rickshaws were seized from them, he said.

The accused duo used to offer cold drinks laced with sedatives to e-rickshaw drivers and then fled with their vehicles, he added.

They used to dispose off the vehicles out of Delhi, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice has been the major achievement of Narendra Modi government during the last five years.

He said Prime Minister Modi has put corruption on 'ventilator' and development on 'accelerator' in the last five years.

"This has made the champions of corruption feeling suffocated in the atmosphere of honesty and transparency," Naqvi said at an election meeting here in support of the party's Jaipur candidate Ramcharan Bohra.

He said in the last five years PM Modi has restored the dignity and stability of the government.

"The Modi government has removed policy paralysis by taking bold and tough reformist decisions keeping in mind the welfare of the common man. It has proved to be a government of 'Iqbal' (authority), 'Insaaf' (justice) and 'Imaan' (integrity)," he said.

Naqvi said PM Modi has provided equal opportunities of development to every needy of the society without 'vote bank politics'.

"No section of the society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on the basis of caste, religion, region or state. All the sections have been provided equal opportunities for socio-economic-educational development," the minister said.

He claimed that "loot and leakage" of the public money has stopped in Modi-led central government.

"Our Government has created 'high-way of development' by demolishing 'speed breaker of corruption', he stressed.

Hitting out at the Congress, Naqvi said the party wants a "contractual prime minister who can be remote controlled."



"But the people of the country do not want a prime minister on 'rotation and contract' for 6 months," he said.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country, in a speech to troops on Saturday.

Maduro called on the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."



His speech at a military base came as opposition leader Juan Guaido rallied his supporters in a new day of protests to press the armed forces to support his bid to dislodge Maduro.

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Idea said Saturday it will seek its shareholders' approval on June 6 to transfer optical fibre assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Towers Limited.

The company has proposed to hive off its telecom fibre infrastructure to Towers before monetising it and approached the National Company Law Tribunal Ahmedabad on April 11, 2019, for its approval.

"NCLT has directed a meeting to be held of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company... notice is hereby given that a meeting of the equity shareholders of the Applicant Company will be held...on Thursday, the 6th day of June 2019," said in a regulatory filing.

According to an industry source, (VIL) has received valuation of around Rs 15,000 crore for its around 156,000 kilometre long telecom fibre assets.

"... the Transferor Company (VIL) believes that it would be beneficial to restructure its business by divesting the Fibre Infrastructure Undertaking into a separate legal entity with sharper and dedicated focus on the fibre infrastructure business so as to achieve greater infrastructure sharing, operational efficiencies and cost optimization resulting in more affordable and reliable telecommunications services to its consumers," the filing said.

VIL in the filing said that there would be neither any change in its the capital structure nor in the Vodafone Towers pursuant to the sanctioning of the scheme.
A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of AgustaWestland chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan, in a black money and laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to Ritu Khaitan after she appeared before the court in pursuance to summons issued after filing of charge sheet.

In the same case, the court had on April 16 granted bail to Gautam Khaitan and had put various conditions on him, including that he will not tamper with the evidence or try to contact or influence the witnesses and join the investigation as and when called.

The fresh criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Gautam Khaitan and his wife on the basis of a case lodged by the Income Tax Department against him under the provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP's Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

His remarks came a few days after Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia joined the Congress.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

"Everyday, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return," said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of "jhadoo" to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the "unparalleled" work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for "ruining" Punjab.

"In Punjab, you have seen divisive in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues," he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state government's 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar' scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsiders -- Hardeep Puri and Sunny Deol -- from Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

"Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections," he said.

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A woman was arrested for allegedly blackmailing a BJP corporator from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and extorting money from him, police said on Saturday.

The woman was identified as Priya Chandrakant Kharat (28), police said.

Corporator Daya Gaikwad, who is also the Kalyan unit chief of BJP's backward cell, had lodged a complaint at Khadakpada police station against her.

"In the complaint, he said that after befriending him on a social networking site a few years back, the woman started demanding Rs 10 lakh from him. But when he did not pay heed to her demands, she allegedly filed a false case of rape against him in September 2017," police said.

"On April 15 (last month), she again demanded Rs five lakh from him and threatened that if he failed to pay, she would lodge a similar complaint against him. She forcibly took him to an ATM and made him withdraw Rs 5,000," police added.

Based on the complaint, police arrested Kharat, a resident of Thane, on Friday night, and booked her under IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 500 (defamation).

Further investigation is on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna visited Bengaluru-headquartered Flipkart to commemorate the first anniversary of the partnership between the two companies, the e-commerce company said Friday.

McKenna who is on a four-day internal business (April 30 to May 3) visit to Flipkart, interacted with the company's top management and employees, Flipkart said in a release.

Richard Mayfield, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Walmart International and Leigh Hopkins, Walmart's International Strategy Head were also a part of the interaction.

The company said Judith praised the "creativity and passion" of the team and commended the Flipkart leadership for its commitment to bringing e-commerce to more Indian consumers to make their lives better.

She also met with the top leadership and employees of Flipkart Group companies- Myntra & Jabong & Phonepe. Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer met Mckenna to update her on how the cash-and-carry business is changing the lives of kiranas (general stores) in India, the statement said.

During the visit, Walmart International's Judith McKenna had expressed confidence in team Myntra as well. Judith along with Kalyan and Amar Nagaram, Head Myntra and Jabong, announced the launch of Myntra's first of its kind service kiosk that offers shoppers a host of value added services such as flexible pickup and drop, instant returns, trial room and free alteration of products.

Judith also met with Flipkart employees at its head office and with PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam and his team at the PhonePe office. McKenna visited a Flipkart fulfilment centre to understand the supply-chain efficiency which Flipkart is bringing to the country, and also met with kiranas (general stores)that are a part of the Myntra's unique MENSA (Myntra Extended Network for Service Augmentation) network.

Judith said she was "delighted" to see Flipkart excelling by leveraging its homegrown innovations, cutting-edge technology and deep customer centricity and making the most of synergies with Walmart as it seeks to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online.

After Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon's visit to Flipkart a few weeks ago, she met with the PhonePe staff and said she appreciated the work they were doing to revolutionise financial payments through technology.

"Flipkart's partnership with Walmart is helping the Group better serve Indian customers and accelerate its growth with products and solutions that solve real problems in the country. These include supply-chain infrastructure that is disrupting the industry to benefit local consumers, suppliers and manufacturers, "Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Walmart in May 2018, had announced that it is buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about Rs 1.05 lakh crore, it's biggest deal which will give the US retailer access to Indian e-commerce market that is estimated to grow to $200 billion within a decade.

Also Read:Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA regime

Also Read: Birla Corp profit surges 66.10% to Rs 255.70 crore in FY19; board declares dividend of Rs 7.50 per share
After PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah took on Rahul Gandhi over reports that his former business partner got defence offset contracts during UPA. Jaitley said Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself has been involved in corruption.

Meanwhile, PM Modi Saturday tore into Congress saying that the party leaders who shared the stage with BSP supremo Mayawati, betrayed her "so cunningly" that even she is not able to understand it. "Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP.

Cyclone Fani has thrown a lot of poll campaigns of political parties in the run-up to Lok Sabha Election 2019 out of gear especially in the eastern states. While PM Modi's public meetings took a hit in Tamlik and Jhargram in West Bengal which were scheduled on May 5 but have been scheduled to be held on May 6, Shah's rallies in Ghatal and Bishnupur (West Bengal) on May 6 have been pushed back to May 7.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee also announced Friday that her party has cancelled all its poll campaigns and political programmes for the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, top leaders across the political spectrum including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will campaign across the states today.

Where PM Modi will canvass for BJP in Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Pratapgarh and Basti followed by a public rally in Ramnagar in Bihar's West Champaran district, Shah will campaign in Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Rewa, he will also, hold a roadshow in UP's Amethi and address a public meeting in Rohini, Delhi. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will canvass for his party in Harayana's Gurugram and UP's Dhammor. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal will hold a roadshow in South Delhi where he will campaign for AAP candidate Raghav Chadha.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting FAQs, election results, constituencies' details

Here is the timeline for Lok Sabha election 2019:

7: 30 pm: Union Minister VK Singh hits out at Congress party over its claim of having carried out 6 surgical strikes when the UPA government was in power.

The BJP candidate from Ghaziabad and the current member of Parliament from the district in a tweet questioned the claim of Congress that surgical strikes had been conducted between 2008 and 2014.

Congress has a habit of lying. Will you please let me know which 'So called Surgical Strike' are you attributing to my tenure as COAS. Am sure you must have hired some Coupta to invent another story . - Chowkidar Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) May 4, 2019

7:10 pm Election Commission gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on April 21. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

6: 57 pm: Electioneering ended Saturday evening for 12 Rajasthan constituencies, which saw hectic campaigning by the BJP and the Congress over the past week. Election campaigning for 14 Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituencies also ended today evening. Polling for the fifth phase on Monday will see a clash of titans including Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6: 45 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah accuses the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23. Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges.

6: 20 pm: Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Sharma says winning Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP has held since 1991, will be a "cakewalk" for Union minister Rajnath Singh, even as SP's Poonam Sinha seeks to give a tough fight to the saffron party.

6: 10 pm: Man taken into police custody. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

6: 00 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by a man during his roadshow in Moti Nagar, Delhi. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

#WATCH: A man slaps Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his roadshow in Moti Nagar area. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/laDndqOSL4 - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

: Chidambaram said, "Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person."

5:20 pm: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram over banning of terrorist Masood Azhar by United Nations

Chidambaram asked, "We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie and only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?"

4:59 PM: PM Modi takes on RJD in Bihar

Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar says Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs.

4:45 pm: Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" Jaitley said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

4:35 pm: RED CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF TWEETS

PM Modi's higher overall reach also is on account of a larger number of tweets. Since 10th March, Modi has tweeted 654 times (excluding retweets) - the highest among all leaders.

4:30 pm : After Modi, FM Jaitley hits back at Rahul Gandhi over defence offset clause deals during UPA regime.

Jaitley in a press conference said, "It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher & today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge. "

4:00 pm: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offered prayers in Amethi today.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) offers prayers at Hazrat Meer Imamuddin dargah in Amethi. pic.twitter.com/DsgcKFJF3m - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3:46 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused his rival parties of indulging in vote bank politics during a rally in Basti and said they consider even a "human being just a number". Addressing an election rally in Basti, he also said the Congress and its 'mahamilawati' associates do not want a stable and durable government.

3:25 pm: ORANGE CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NET ENGAGEMENT

In terms of total retweets and favourites in this election season, PM Modi is far ahead than Rahul Gandhi. PM's total engagement--retweets and favourites combined--over the given time period was 20.7 million, which is 5.5 times more than Rahul Gandhi's 3.7 million.

3:20 pm: BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani held a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency.

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

3.00 pm: Manoj Tiwari gives a rebuttal to Kejriwal on his "naachta bahaut acha hai" remark

"By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it," says Tiwari.

Manoj Tiwari on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's remark 'Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai,is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena,naachne wale ko vote mat dena': By abusing me he has directly insulted ppl of 'purvanchal' & the same ppl will now show him what are the consequences of it pic.twitter.com/J5LZmJWw8U - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

2.45 pm: Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP during rally in Barabanki, UP

"BJP wale kinhe utar rahe hai sadak par,dekha hai kabhi?Saand aa rahe hai aur aisi BJP ki sarkar hai,saand logon mar raha hai.Agar saand maar de kisi aadmi ko,bataye humari police kaunsi FIR hogi uspe? Agar saand maar raha hai toh FIR CM pe honi chahiye," says Yadav.

1:59 pm: PURPLE CAP FOR RAHUL GANDHI: HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT PER TWEET

However, in terms of engagement per tweet, Rahul Gandhi beats the Prime Minister. Gandhi, on an average, got 8,094 retweets per tweet, compared to Modi's 4,844. Same for favourites: Gandhi got 30,673 favourites per tweet, on an average; Modi got 19,242.

1.50 pm: Congress leaders betrayed Behenji (Mayawati): PM Modi in Pratapgarh

"Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," says PM Modi during a public rally in Pratapgarh, UP

1.45 pm: Kejriwal attacks BJP's Manoj Tiwari, says "naachta bahaut acha hai" (dances very well).

"Manoj Tiwari dances very well, Dilip Pandey (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate) doesn't know how to dance, he only knows how to work. This time vote for the one who works, not the one who dances," says Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, hitting out at BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi.

#WATCH Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: Manoj Tiwari naachta bahaut acha hai, Pandey ji (AAP's North-East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey) ko naachna nahi aata, kaam karna aata hai, is baar kaam karne wale ko vote dena, naachne wale ko vote mat dena. (03/05/2019) pic.twitter.com/a3EuxyNytP - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

12.40 pm: The Central Government Saturday filed a fresh affidavit inRafale review case pertaining to the deal in the Supreme Court saying that theDecember 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiatedmedia reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in aselective manner cannot form the basis for review, ANI reported.

Centre files fresh affidavits in Rafale review case in SC saying- the Dec 14, 2018 judgement upholding 36 Rafale jets' deal was correct and unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form basis for review. pic.twitter.com/oMfFYdZltG - ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

11.15 am: Amit Shah alleges Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA.

BJP Chief Amit Shah Saturday slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi after a Business Today story alleging a company associated with Gandhi's former business partner received offset defence contracts during the UPA regime.

"With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much. When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way." Shah tweeted.

With Rahul Gandhi's Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn't matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019

10.00 am: Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi at press conference.

On Unemployment Issue: "The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

On Surgical Strikes on Pakistan: "The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army," says Rahul.

On Chowkidar Chor hai jibe: "Process is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologize to BJP or Modi ji. 'Chowkidar Chor hai' will remain our slogan," says Rahul.

On UN ban on Masood Azhar: "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt," says Rahul.

On BJP Chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contract during UPA: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale," says Rahul.

On PM Modi: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. Congress party has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down," says Rahul.

9: 05 am: GREEN CAP FOR NARENDRA MODI: HIGHEST NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

With over 47 million followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is far ahead than any other leader.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," PM Modi tweeted.

Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts. - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

8.30 am: Poll campaigns across parties have been rescheduled in Basirhat, Jaynagar, Diamond Harbour, Medinipur, Ghatal, Howrah, Hooghly, Kanthi, Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency which are either adjacent to Odisha or close to the sea, IANS reports.
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Penticton

Penticton city hall story of the year: Byelection brings controversy Contentious byelection Casey Richardson Castanet is revisiting the top stories of an eventful 2021. Today, for Penticton's City Hall Story of the Year, we are looking at the controversy that was brought when a managing editor of a local paper won a councillor seat. Penticton residents went to the polls in 2021 to fill an empty council seat left by Jake Kimberley, who retired following a stroke. Ten candidates came forward in the by-election, many taking a second shot after losing in 2018. On June 19, Penticton Herald managing editor James Miller took the seat with 33 per cent of the votes. But his win didnt come without controversy. As a local newspaper editor, he would have to make some changes, limiting his writing and editing coverage. During his election campaign, Miller had taken time off from the paper and hired freelance reports to cover his run. Miller felt he had prepared the right tools in order to succeed. Im gonna have obviously a lot of strict guidelines. I tried to test run before I even announced to see if I can do it. As I said, and thank you to the 1,666 people who, who trust me when I said, I can wear two hats, but not at the same time. I will not be mentioning City Council, I will not be writing on it, he said on election night, after his win. When council has their bi-weekly meetings, Miller stated he planned to not be in the Herald building at all and assured that he would absolutely not mandate to staff what they are to report or say. The union that represents some Penticton Herald reporters and employees expressed their concerns after Miller won, citing conflict of interest of retaining both positions. We have concerns when the editor of a paper is elected to council and wants to hold onto his newspaper job. There's a very serious conflict of interest there, and it certainly raises ethics concerns as well. And it puts our one remaining reporter there in a very awkward position where he is reporting on his boss, Jennifer Moreau, the secretary treasurer for Unifor Local 2000 told Castanet back in June. Miller joins Barbara Roden, Mayor of Ashcroft and editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, as one of the few in B.C. who work in both a journalist and local politician role. Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs of people in power. And in this case, you have someone holding both positions. So I don't know how you can be a watchdog of people in power and also be sitting on council and keeping your position at the newspaper. I just don't see it working, Moreau added. Miller was sworn in to council on July 6. Penticton will once again head to the polls in the fall of 2022. When Castanet reached out to the union for comment in December, president Brian Gibson said he was unable to comment, since the organization was currently in collective bargaining with the newspapers in Penticton and Kelowna.







Oliver, Osoyoos mayors grateful for town spirit throughout 2021 Mayors talk town resiliency Photo: Casey Richardson The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire sat between Oliver and Osoyoos throughout the summer of 2021 It was a long year of pandemic, drought, wildfires, intense heat and evacuations for the South Okanagan. The mayors of Oliver and Osoyoos look back on 2021 as a time when the community came together through hardships. I just think that the town is showing leadership. We're getting on with our lives with COVID, Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen said. Tight restrictions were still in place at the start of the year, and care homes throughout the region dealt with outbreaks. Oliver saw a handful of their own deal with rising case numbers in staff and residents. McKinney Place care home had an outbreak that took the lives of 13 residents. When the pandemic restrictions allowed visits with friends and family again, things began to find new normal. Then, restrictions from the provincial government in the spring limited hotels, accommodations and campsites in the South Okanagan, with non-essential travel cut off for BC residents outside their own health authority regions. As vaccine doses continued to roll out, the area saw an increase in their visitors with travel limits taken down. I guess one of the positives about living in Osoyoos is that we didn't see as much of the lack of tourists or lack of business as other places did. We were kind of a go-to spot during tourist season for a lot of people in B.C. and certainly we had many from Alberta as well, Osoyoos Mayor Sue Mckortoff said. The area suffered a loss in the spring when a church was set ablaze near Osoyoos in April. Fire crews in Oliver were called to a church on Nk'Mip Road on Osoyoos Indian Band land on June 21, the same day Penticton fire crews had responded to the fire at Sacred Heart Church on Penticton Indian Band land. Then in July, wildfire season kicked off with the Wolfcub Creek wildfire that destroyed one home. Two weeks later, the massive Nk'Mip Creek wildfire that would rage for over two month between Oliver and Osoyoos, sitting mostly on OIB land, would officially claim three properties, burning through rural areas and forcing people from their homes. One thing that does stand out for me is how the community came together during the wildfire. It was inspiring to see the support of those that were impacted by evacuation orders and it was pretty intense there in July and August, Johansen said. The fire season was a huge, huge issue around Osoyoos. And the heat, oh my goodness, it's kind of scary, isn't it? To think of all the things sort of gone wrong, McKortoff added. The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire reached over 20,000 hectares and lasted until September as a wildfire of note. The final evacuation alerts associated with the wildfire were also rescinded then. It definitely took centre stage for quite a while here and the town of Oliver stood up. Our emergency support services put in more hours than I think anyone in the surrounding South Okanagan, as well, Johansen said. We are doing a post-review on how things rolled out during the fire and what we could do better when another one comes. This is our second one in a couple of years. You have to plan for more because I don't think this is the last one that we're going to see. The situation presented challenges for peak summer tourism as well, with some visitors impacted by evacuation orders debating whether to go home or not. I did say that, if they were in an evacuated area, they should probably consider going home. It was probably safer to do that, McKortoff said, adding that she was never encouraging all visitors to leave. But the skies were full of smoke and the community was on edge, which did push some visitors from the area. South Okanagan tourist towns were hit further as they faced more challenges seeing visitors drop due to BC's vaccination passport program. We're going to have to learn to adapt and live with COVID. It isn't going anywhere. It isn't going to suddenly disappear. But we just need to find a way forward to keep everybody safe and keep getting back to the things that everybody likes to do, Johansen added. Both towns saw phenomenal support and turnout at local events that were allowed to proceed. There's a lot of pent up demand. We just need to find ways to get back to having the festivals and events and the programming and having our town open for business and open for the community, Johansen said. The town of Oliver ran events, celebrations and a history exploration for reaching their centennial year. Snowbirds and other travellers were eager to cross the Canada-U.S. land border in Osoyoos in November, with non-essential land travel resuming for the first time in nearly 20 months. Certainly the day that the border opened in November you could see the cars and trailers parked up the highway for about three miles. Pretty well close to town, McKortoff said with a laugh, adding that it levelled off after that first weekend. People were happy that that is an available route now. But I sure don't see it as busy as it could have been or I thought it might be. Even throughout a tough year, both towns saw a boom in development and construction for the area, including Canada's first wine village finally opening in July. All that development that is getting started, I'm looking forward to seeing it getting completed, Johansen said, pointing to plans for further affordable housing developments, condos and industrial buildings. Mckortoff added that Osoyoos has seen around 20 new businesses open up since January. Last year, our building report showed, I think about $7 million in building and this year it's close to $30 million. It just shows that there is a great deal of work going on here. And the mayors look forward to the continued growth heading into 2022. They shared excitement to see projects move forward, developments come to fruition and hopefully, more of their usual celebrations. I think that we have to kind of look at ways that we can help one another and celebrate things but do it in a safe way and I think we've been able to do that. So we'd sure like to have music in the park next year and all of the events that people normally put on, McKortoff said. I think that there's so much COVID fatigue going on, but I just hope you know this new variant coming out, you can just see the ripple of concern, but just hoping that we can continue to move forward, Johansen added. While next fall will bring municipal elections, both Johansen and Mckortoff are considering it as they work through the next ten months, but neither confirmed whether they would be running for re-election. I love the job. I think it's fascinating. I'm so lucky to be in this job. Yes, there are some negatives because there certainly are some people who don't agree with what we're doing and that's totally understandable. You're never going to have everybody on side. But the bottom line is we're trying to look at the whole picture, what's best for our town and our citizens, Mckortoff said.

Highway 97 Brewery opens its doors after moving into downtown Penticton Brewery opens its doors Photo: Facebook Pull up a bar stool at a familiar brewery in a new spot in Penticton. Highway 97 welcomed customers through their doors on Ellis Street, with their grand opening on Wednesday. The brewery has been open since 2017 at its location on the highway across from the South Okanagan Events Centre. "We will be opening with minimal food until the new year but will have all our delicious beer flowing. Come check out our new digs and celebrate our opening," they shared on their Facebook page. Highway 97 Brewing got an official thumbs up from Penticton city council to move forward with their plans to take over the former Mile Zero bar on Ellis Street in January. The boutique-style family-owned and operated craft brewery is also dog-friendly. The brewery will also be operating with limited holiday hours until the new year. Find out more information on their Facebook page here.







Penticton gym asking for locals to help out fitness centres as closures come down Help out the local gyms Photo: Contributed One Penticton business is feeling the impact of nearly two years of the pandemic as gyms and fitness centres are dealing with another closure, with provincial restrictions coming into effect. City Centre Fitness Owner Kirby Kirby Layng explained that he thought classes might be cancelled in the midst of rising numbers, but the full closure was a complete shock. The gym has dealt with changing restrictions, class size allowances and vaccine passports. "A [number] of fitness clubs have already closed down across Canada...So this is just going up that number. There's a little bit of government help, but in a lot of cases, it won't be enough." There comes a question on looking after not only an individuals physical health during this time, but their mental health. "It's a tough time for people since you can't really exercise outside, especially with the coming cold weather. It's gonna be a tough one. So yeah, just really try and stay healthy and watch your nutrition, of course, this time of year, which is tough," Layng added. But the gym is hoping to keep people active with online classes starting in the new year on Zoom. "We're open for supplement purchase. The other thing we are doing is we're renting out some equipment as well. Spin bikes, weight equipment and dumbbells and selling gift certificates." Keep an eye on your own gyms or fitness centre website or social media page for updates on what they're offering and how to support.

Penticton mom gifted a free vehicle and holiday feast from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Deserving mom gifted a car Photo: Casey Richardson One family in need had Christmas come early on Thursday afternoon, when they were given a car for free from Huber Bannister Chevrolet Penticton. Courtney Brown walked into the dealership with her mom expecting to help her find a car and instead was greeted with a giant surprise. I had no idea what was going on. My mom had just told me that she had something for me. So she asked if I was able to leave work early. I thought we were coming down here to look at cars for her. And little did I know, I was coming in to find a car for myself, she explained. This is so wonderful. I am still in such complete shock. The dealership gifted Brown a 2013 Grand Caravan, along with three months insurance, an extended warranty and a Christmas feast with some presents for her two kids. Brown had been trying to save for a car for the past year, to help take her kids to school, go to appointments and make it to work. But just like anyone else, things come up with the kids. I just didn't have the funds at the moment. Huber Bannister Chevrolet started taking nominations in the beginning of December and had over 50 submitted for families or friends that could use a car. With everything that's been going on this year with COVID and with floods, we had a lot of nominations and that's without even expanding it to too much, General Manager Julian Smallbone said. Everyone deserves to get one but we found this would really help this family. Tears of joy shed down Browns face after being given the car. I've had to rely on my mom. I've had to rely on some friends to help me out over the last couple years. And so this is just going to help so much, she said. It is amazing. I could not thank the staff here at Huber Bannister enough. The idea came from Sales Manager Will Seguin, who wanted to spread some Christmas cheer, especially this year. If we had more vehicles, I would love to give them all the way. There were so many. It's really tough to decide on the submission and some tears are shed when we were reading those things, he added. Seeing the look on their face when they actually get the keys in their hand is probably my biggest achievement. The dealership hopes to see others join in the holiday giving over the coming years. What we are hoping to do is to make it into two cars next year, three and four afterwards. Again, we're going to have to get other other businesses support to be able to do that, but we are hoping to be able to give away more cars in the future, Smallbone explained. Photo: Casey Richardson

COVID-19 has caused the BCHL to cancel its 60th Anniversary event BCHL cancels all-star game Photo: BCHL COVID-19 has caused another cancellation. The BC Hockey League is postponing its 60th Anniversary event which was scheduled for January 2022 due to increased provincial restrictions around events and a spike in COVID-19 cases in B.C. The event, was going to feature an outdoor 3-on-3 All-Star Series, skills competition and alumni game, as well as a Top Prospects Game, over several days, Jan. 14 to 16 in Penticton, B.C. We are extremely disappointed to announce todays news that, in the interest of public safety, we have decided to postpone our 60th Anniversary event to next year, said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. We are disappointed for our loyal fans that were planning on attending the event, but we feel the worst for the 50 players who were set to participate in the weekends festivities. The outdoor game was also set to be a Save Pond Hockey event, in partnership with the Climate and Sport Initiative. We are grateful to all our event and league partners who supported us and are eager to work with them again next year to make the event even bigger and better. The silver lining is that the event will go ahead next year in Penticton at the newly built outdoor arena, if health protocols allow.

Princeton continues to work on flood recovery and housing for the community Overcoming all together Photo: Contributed The Town of Princeton continues to work on getting interim housing in place for the residents displaced by the floods. Mayor Spencer Coyne shared an update on Wednesday night from town's facebook page, amid ongoing discussions with the Province. "We have identified a temporary area and hope to have some answers soon," he stated. "We are working on a Resiliency Centre that will help navigate our communities recovery stage." Emergency Support Services are being carried out through Red Cross with the Province and those in need are asked to contact them if not already done so. Do not consume and boil water orders still stand for much of the community and Princeton hopes to see answers come in the next week, waiting on information from the health authority. Much of their water and sewer infrastructure was damaged. "We are working with NGOs and Provincial agencies to bring mental health supports into the community. We understand that this is a hard time of year and moving forward things will get harder we want to have the supports in place to assist not only with what is to come next, but the realization of what has just happened," Coyne said. "We have lobbied hard to get our community those much needed supports." The town is working on syncing their recovery with that of surrounding rural communities that were effected including Tulameen and Coalmont, so services can be provided to throughout equally. "We are in this together and we want to overcome this together." "I know some days it seems as nothing is happening or that we have hit a wall. I will reassure you all that there is still an army of volunteers and town employees and outside agencies working tirelessly to try and bring some sense of normalcy back to our community. We are Princeton Strong as people have started to say and we will overcome this and we will do it together." The town will have a long road ahead of extensive, expensive cleanup. To contribute to Princeton residents who need help in the wake of flooding, click here. Casey Richardson

Some facilities to close at Penticton Community Centre Community Centre changes Photo: Contributed The City will be closing Penticton's Community Centre fitness room, as a response to new health orders issued by the province on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the city announced the changes, along with a note that all customers who hold valid passes will receive an extension to their pass equal to the duration of the closure. All of the land-based fitness classes are suspended as well. Clients who are impacted by the fitness class cancellations and facility rentals impacted by the restrictions will be contacted by staff. Currently, all other recreation programs and services are able to continue as scheduled, including public swim, public skating, drop-in sports and general recreation classes. These closures will begin at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 22 and run through Jan. 18.

Baldy Mountain Resort sees strong opening week with fresh powder and new snow activities Fresh powder on opening Photo: Troy Lucas Try out your volleyball skill's at Baldy's new snow court Baldy Mountain Resort was ready for opening on Dec. 17 with a snow packed hill and groomed runs for power hounds to enjoy. "We had a great snow this year, because we had lots of time to groom it and pack it," Troy Lucas, operations manager with the resort shared. "Lots of snow and there's a lot coming." Opening numbers were a little smaller start but Lucas expects that to progress as people take time off heading into the holidays. "The local community we had a dry run with, we put on a lunch for them," he added. "We got rave reviews from them and they even sent us emails and thanked us because it's first year they've done that up here, inviting all the locals to meet our staff and get to know the community." On top of the 110 cm base and all lifts open, the resort has a snow volleyball court set up on 'Baldy Beach', along with a frisbee golf course through the forest, an improved picnic area and an outdoor s'mores pit. "We've kind of re-done the kiosk and the picnic area for lunches because of obviously COVID and seating so we have that outdoor seating all good to go and the umbrellas up." The focus this year was to make the resort very family friendly. "This is more of a family mountain," Lucas added. The resort also spent part of the summer working with the Ministry of Transportation on the road heading up to the hill. Check out Baldy's snow report on their website here. Photo: Contributed
Photo: The Canadian Press TransCanada Corp. president and CEO Russ Girling addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary.

TransCanada Corp. topped expectations as it reported a profit of $1.00 billion in its latest quarter, up from $734 million a year ago, as its revenue edged higher.

The pipeline company says the profit amounted to $1.09 per share for the quarter ended March 31. That compared with a profit of 83 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for what was the company's first quarter totalled $3.49 billion, compared with $3.42 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

On a comparable basis, TransCanada says it earned $987 million or $1.07 per share for the quarter, up from $864 million or 98 cents per share a year ago.

Chief executive Russ Girling says the increase was due to the strong performance of the company's legacy assets, along with roughly $5.3 billion of growth projects that were placed into service in the quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 99 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
A joint investigation with special agents from the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and investigators with multiple East Tennessee law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a New Market police officer for arranging to have sex with a minor.

At the request of 4th District Attorney General Jimmy B. Dunn, TBI agents, along with investigators with the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the 4th Judicial District Attorney Generals Office and the Knoxville Police Department, began investigating New Market Police Officer Joseph Ray Miller, 43.

During the course of the four-week investigation, agents developed information that indicated Miller attempted to arrange through an adult to engage in sexual activity with a female under the age of 13.

The investigation revealed Miller intended to pay money to the juvenile for engaging in the act, and to the adult for making the arrangement.

On Friday night, TBI agents, with the assistance of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, arrested Miller and charged him with one count of solicitation of a minor. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail. His bond will be set at his next court appearance.
The two religious leaders sign a joint declaration of solidarity with the victims in Sri Lanka. Those who sow death are "the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth." This is why it is our duty [. . .] to banish them".

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  The head of the Catholic Church of India and the leader of one of India's most important Islamic groups signed a joint declaration this morning in Mumbai, expressing their solidarity with the victims of the Sri Lanka bombings and condemned the bloodshed in three churches and three hotels in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

For Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), and Mawlana Mahmood A. Madani, general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, "The persons and the groups responsible for the serials blasts are anti-human, anti-civilization and anti-God.

According to the two religious leaders, those who killed at least 257 people "are the incarnation of the most heinous forces on the earth. To associate them with any faith would be most sacrilegious to the faith itself. Therefore, the people of all faiths must disown and condemn such barbarous individuals and groups. It is our duty to expose them and banish them from civilized society.

In their statement, the cardinal and the mawlana list five points in which they lay out their rejection of violence perpetrated in the name of religion and call for the elimination of terrorism. The points are:

1) The terrorist attacks become all the more gruesome if launched under the garb of religion and holy mission. Besides causing great loss of innocent lives, peace and harmony is destroyed. It is the prime duty of all faith leaders to stand up and use all our resources and to cleanse society of this evil.

(2) Attacks on religious places and during religious festivals such as Easter are perpetrated with a design to cause a divide between people of various faiths and communities. Therefore, we feel it all the more necessary that we stand together with our Christian brothers everywhere and assure them that we share their sorrows and pains and express our solidarity with them.

(3) We appeal to the government and law-enforcement agencies all over the world to be more vigilant and take effective precautionary measures making it impossible for any terrorist groups to play havoc with the life and property of civil society anywhere.

(4) Sri Lanka being our closest neighbour, we are ready with an offer of help to enable the victims to get over the unprecedented crisis in their lives. We propose to depute a high-level delegation of various faiths to Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of cooperation and also to offer our sincere condolence to the bereaved families.

(5) We sincerely hope that media and peace-loving citizens of this country will extend their fullest cooperation for our endeavour against terrorism. We express our resolve to continue our struggle against terrorism and for global peace. We appeal to everyone irrespective of their religion, caste and creed to come forward to save humanity and to maintain social harmony and peace.
Sugar-white beaches and aqua blue waters have drawn sun seekers to Anna Maria Island for more than a century. Yet, the seven-mile-long barrier island off the coast of Bradenton, Florida, seems to be a well-kept secret among loyal visitors for whom it reflects a bit of old Florida with understated charm.

Notwithstanding recent growth, Anna Maria has intentionally kept its local flavor, respectful of the natural habitat and with an eye towards sustainable development. There are no high-rise hotels or chain restaurants; the island character is a blend of retro bungalow and Key West chic  with an element of funky flair.



Thanks, Fig Newton



The first wooden bridge was built from the mainland in 1922, but development on the island began in 1897 by the family of homesteader George Emerson Bean and Charles M. Roser, inventor of the Fig Newton. Roser sold his would-be famous cookie recipe to Nabisco, and reportedly funded early building and infrastructure on Anna Maria.

Three towns, three vibes



Surprisingly, the narrow stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay comprises three distinct municipalities: the town of Anna Maria at the north end, Holmes Beach at mid-island, and Bradenton Beach at the south end near the bridge to Longboat Key. There are countless small hotels, resorts and vacation rentals in each township.

The north end is mostly residential and quiet, but its charming Pine Street is a village hub with great restaurants, boutiques, and LEED-certified buildings. The middle of the island is the main commercial area and further south, Bradenton Beach is the hot spot with lively restaurants, Tiki bars, and the historic Bridge Street, where the original wooden bridge once stood and is now a popular fishing pier.



You can explore the island by bike or car (be forewarned that car parking is limited in busy areas) or take the free island trolley that operates daily. Another option is the Monkey Bus, a color-schemed minibus that offers rides for tips only.

A three-day jaunt



Despite frequent visits to Floridas west coast, I only recently discovered Anna Maria Island on a weekend getaway, thanks to Allegiants new flights to Sarasota/Bradenton from Nashville. The island is a 30-45 minute drive from the airport (or one hour from Tampa/St. Pete).

Even a short stay allowed us plenty of time to enjoy the pristine beaches and activities such as biking, fishing and kayaking. My husband and I stayed at the new Anna Maria Beach Resort at Holmes Beach (formerly the Blue Water Beach Motel) which is completely renovated and well appointed with luxury upgrades, a lovely walk-in pool, Jacuzzi and beach access. Some suites have full kitchens and living space with mesmerizing views overlooking the Gulf.



We set off to explore the island on colorful cruiser bikes available to motel guests, heading north to the town of Anna Maria, which has bike paths and quiet roads along the bay side. After passing several beach access points we finally propped our bikes against a picket fence and walked through a nearly hidden tunnel of palms before the wide expanse of beach known as Bean Point opened before us. The tip of the island is stunningly beautiful and a favorite spot for beach walks and watching sunset.



Out on the water, we took a guided kayak tour with AMI Paddleboard Adventures, a wonderful outing which led us through mangrove tunnels, bayous and lagoons. We also signed on with Paradise Boat Tours to see dolphins, manatee, herons and other wildlife that inhabit Sarasota Bay. Our knowledgeable captain shared interesting tidbits about the habits of the various species we spotted; even my skeptical husband was most impressed with the eco-tour.



Seafood and champagne sunsets



Youll find front row seats for sunset at several beachfront restaurants, but the place to be for toes-in-the-sand dining and the fresh catch of the day is The Sandbar, where sunset is our big event every night, our waitress told us. If you correctly guess the exact minute of sunset, you win a bottle of champagne. Another dining favorite for fine food and a romantic experience is Beach Bistro, top-rated by Zagat.

Gulf Coast seafood reigns on Anna Maria, though there are plentiful culinary options. We found wonderful choices for brunch or lunch, including Eliza Anns Coastal Kitchen, the Waterfront Restaurant for new American cuisine and delicious salads, and the irresistible Poppo's Taqueria for a healthy, fresh take on Mexican. Dont miss the Donut Experiment  fun for families, where every donut is your creation and choices range from plain Jane to glazed keylime and Sriracha.



Make sure to stop in at The Doctors Office, creatively themed after the actual doctors office it once was, and now serving craft cocktails and fresh, ingredient-driven bar fare. The Painkiller  made with Pussers Rum, fresh pineapple, orange juice and cream of coconut  cures what ails you.



Anna Maria has not lost sight of its greatest assets and experiences  from beachcomber mornings to nature activities and the celebrated sunset hour. Even the locals say, Anna Maria Island is where old Florida still exists. https://www.bradentongulfislands.com/



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Ann Yungmeyer is a travel writer and frequent contributor to print and digital publications.


There is a problem in one area of Soddy Lake that is out of the jurisdiction of the city of Soddy Daisy. Caused by flooding at the end of September 2018, a lot of debris washed into the lake and collected in the area between State Highway 27 and Dayton Pike in the area known locally as Soddy Embankment. In that area, which is always shallow, just one foot deep in some places, there is a path almost 200 feet wide now filled with dangerous pieces of jagged metal, wood and other materials that have accumulated. The trash lies just below the surface and cannot be seen from above. With the temperatures warming and people increasingly using the lake, there is a real fear that jet skiers, boaters and children being pulled on inner tubes could be seriously hurt if they run into the rubbish.

Mayor Gene Shipley said the city has made every effort to clean out that space but has been unable to. The water level never has dropped low enough because of the huge amount of rain this winter and spring. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for cleaning it up and keeping people safe, he said. Officials from the city have met with representatives from TWRA to ask for help by putting up buoys as markers and signs of warning until they are able to get rid of the debris. In the meantime, the mayor is asking to get the word out through social media about staying away from the dangerous area.



A public hearing was held at the commission meeting Thursday night about an amendment to the city code that will allow beer sales every day of the week, 24 hours a day. Just one resident of Soddy Daisy spoke saying he was in opposition and asking instead for the city to allow no alcohol sales at all. The commissioners voted five to one to change the law. The state controls the sale of wine and spirits and has made changes to times that is allowed. The new hours approved for beer sales will match those for alcohol and will reduce confusion by retailers who sell both.



City Manager Janice Cagle received approval from the commissioners for several expenditures including $24,400 for a contract with Johnson, Murphy and Wright for yearly auditing services. The public works department has paved several roads and payments of $27,465 for labor and $64,040 for materials to pay for the work was authorized. Some fire hydrants in Soddy Daisy were originally installed in the 1940s and parts are no longer available to repair them. There are 10 hydrants that are scheduled to be replaced this year. Only one bid was received for $23,500. These were planned for in the budget, said Recorder Burt Johnson.



A solution is being sought for speeding cars that several commissioners routinely hear complaints about. Commissioner Rick Nunley said that the city has tried using rumble strips, posting signs, putting up speed displays that show how fast a car is traveling and giving tickets, but he said, "We are not getting anywhere." He asked the commissioners to consider enhancing existing rumble strips and adding new ones.

City Manager Cagle questioned that being the answer, because she said, where they have been used in the past, people living nearby call and wanted them removed. The people that are speeding most often are residents who live in the neighborhood where they are stopped, she said. The possibility of putting in speed humps was also discussed. City Attorney Sam Elliott said the city has been advised that its insurer considers them to be a liability. He suggested talking to the liability carrier for their advice.


Kelly Ann (Richie) Burns, 51 of Chattanooga, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Kelly was born on June 5, 1967, in Chattanooga, to Gene and Norma (Bolton) Richie.



She received her Masters of Science in Accountancy from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2007 and worked in payroll supervision for the past 4 years. Most recently, she was the payroll supervisor for the Hamilton County Department of Education.



On May 26, 2006, she married the love of her life, Barry Burns. Kelly was the proud mother of Jonathan Chase Hudson, a 2013 West Point graduate, and currently serving as a captain in the United States Army.



Kelly loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her family, people, and life. Her interests were varied and included sewing, traveling, motorcycles, and pets. Her smile was infectious and she touched many lives.



She is survived by her husband, Barry; her son, Captain Jonathan and his wife, Lisa; her parents, a sister, Chris and her husband, Doug; and a large number of extended family.



A celebration of Kelly's life and her Savior will be held at noon on Tuesday, May 7, at Stuart Heights Baptist Church, 3208 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, with Pastor Gary Jared and Pastor Doug Raynes officiating. Burial will take place at the Chattanooga National Cemetery at 2 p.m.

Those wishing to memorialize Kelly's life are encouraged to contribute to the Stuart Heights Baptist Church's Chosen Ministries.

Please visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort.



Visitation will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the church.



Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421.


Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo recently surprised fans with the announcement that they were moving to Los Angeles. The couple posted some information on their blog, and everyone was extremely thrilled to see the two branching out on their own  and heading to a city thats so different from where they were raised. But now, fans are a bit confused about the move, since Jinger keeps posting photos from Laredo, Texas, where they currently live. Are they still moving?

Jinger Duggar with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo and daughter, Felicity Vuolo. | Jinger Vuolo via Instagram

Duggar and Vuolo recently announced theyre starting a new chapter in Los Angeles

A few months ago, Duggar and Vuolo took a family trip to California and allowed their followers to live vicariously through all of their Instagram photos from the trip. Fans loved how much fun the two seemed to be having, and several people suggested Los Angeles might make a perfect home for the couple and their young daughter, Felicity. Not long after the family returned home, they made a huge announcement on their blog  they would, indeed, be moving to Los Angeles.

People were thrilled to see the couple taking their lives into their own hands

When Duggar and Vuolo made their announcement, everyone was extremely happy for them. Duggar has been dubbed the most rebellious of the family, since she broke away from some family traditions once she got married. While shes still extremely religious, she wears pants and tank tops now, and reportedly even stood up for transgender rights. People were excited to hear that the Vuolos would be moving to a city as liberal and accepting as Los Angeles, because it might make them see that all kinds of people deserve to be loved and respected.

Fans keep asking Duggar if shes still moving to California, since she keeps posting photos from Laredo

Although Duggar and Vuolo made their major announcement, fans have been a bit confused about their timeline. Duggar recently posted a photo of Felicity sitting on a friends couch in Laredo, and her followers were confused. Are you guys still moving, one user wrote. Are yall still moving to Cali? Another questioned. The comments section saw several confused fans wondering what the couples big announcement meant, since they still havent moved.

We have some BIG NEWS to share with all of you  https://t.co/ui64DhFKUT  Jinger Vuolo (@jingervuolo) March 25, 2019

To clear things up, Duggar and Vuolo wont be moving to California until July. Vuolo will be starting graduate classes out in Los Angeles in the fall, which is why the couple is waiting until the summer to move. The move is still in place, but they have a few months left in Laredo before they start a new life in California.

People clearly favor Duggar and Vuolo over the other Duggar family couples

When it comes to the Duggars, Jinger Duggar flew under the radar up until she married Vuolo. When the two started their own life together, fans realized how funny and friendly Duggar seemed, and they loved that she didnt always play by the rules. According to a poll conducted by InTouch, Duggar is the overwhelming favorite of fans among any of her siblings. She received 33% of the vote; Jana Duggar came in second with 21%. All of the other Duggars received less than 10%. Fans will continue to follow Duggar as she makes her move out to California and eventually grows her family even more (were still waiting on a baby no. 2 announcement).

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Dannielynn Birkhead, 12, and her father Larry Birkhead have officially made their yearly pilgrimage to Churchhill Downs. She is looking even more like her mother with each passing day. The father-daughter duo was first spotted on Friday evening at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala, an event held in honor of the upcoming race each year. The pair is expected to stay in Louisville through the weekends festivities. They will be on hand for Saturdays officially running of the 145th Kentucky Derby. This year marks Dannielynns 10th appearance at the event, according to People.

Why is the Kentucky Derby important to Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead?

arry Birkhead and Dannielynn Birkhead | Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/WireImage

Dannielynn has been residing with her father, Larry in rural Kentucky for years now, but thats not how it always was. Dannielynn, born to Anna Nicole Smith in September 2006 was at the center of a custody battle when she was just a few months old. Birkhead had been purposefully left off of the childs birth certificate, and a bitter court battle ensued following Smiths untimely death at a Florida hotel.

I cant catch a break even on my birthday! But I am proud of Dannielynns grades! #birthday #honorroll #bankrolled pic.twitter.com/Ex7TDkzO8A  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) January 22, 2019

Birkhead eventually won the battle, proving he was the biological father of the child and had every intention of raising her. Since then, they have kept a low profile  even moving to the rural Kentucky area to allow Dannielynn to be raised in relative anonymity. The duo does surface each year for the famous horse race for one important reason; its precisely where Larry Birkhead met Anna Nicole Smith so many years ago. According to the Courier-Journal Birkhead told Steve Harvey I make it as normal as I can. Shes like any other kid; she goes to school with every other kid, and shes a girl scout. She does things that I think her mom would be really proud of her for,

Kentucky Derby time once again. Dannielynn looks pretty in pink in her dress by Junona and her Moms hat from her unforgettable appearance at The Kentucky Derby in 2004#KentuckyDerby2019 pic.twitter.com/5oUZfcGfbW  Larry Birkhead (@larrybirkhead) May 4, 2019

The event at Churchhill Downs is a way of connecting Dannielynn with her mother. The younger Birkhead surely doesnt remember much of her mother, but Birkhead is dedicated to keeping the memory alive while raising the tween in a healthy environment.

How did Anna Nicole Smith die?

Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at around 1 pm on February 8, 2007. Smith was rushed to a local hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. An official autopsy report noted the existence of 11 drugs in the 39-year-old models system, many of which had never been prescribed to her. The lethal concoction is blamed for Smiths demise.

Anna Nicole Smith | Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Smiths death came on the heels of the passing of her son, Daniel. Daniel died while visiting Smith in the Bahamas following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn. An inquest found that Daniels death was caused by an accidental overdose. Birkhead has suggested that the 20-year-old may have stolen his mothers methadone; methadone was one of three drugs found in his system.
No one was too surprised to hear the newsafter months of keeping so many details of the pregnancy private, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted that they were taking it one step further. Instead of posing for a post-birth photo a few hours after Baby Sussexs debut, the couple announced that they have taken the personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private and that they look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.

Understandably, the decree drove royal fans into a frenzy. As the hours ticked by towards the speculated (yet unconfirmed) due date, conspiracy theories abounded. Did Meghan Markle already have the baby in secret? Could we guess the plans based on Prince Harrys travel plans? How long would the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make everyone wait before sharing the news?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

This babys birth feels even more exciting than any of Prince William and Kate Middletons kids, which is weird because he or she is even further from the throne. The mystery is part of the appeal. However, there are critics who believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a huge mistake by being so secretive.

Meghan Markles influence has changed Prince Harry

Whether its good or bad is up for discussion. But theres no denying that Prince Harry is a much different man these days than he used to be, and many say its Meghan Markles presence that inspired the change.

Before Markle came along, Prince Harry was known for wild partying and controversial antics. He had calmed down in recent years, but he seemed perfectly content to hang out as the third wheel with his brother and sister-in-law. Thats all different now.

Ever since they became serious, Prince Harry has been forging a new path with his wife by his side. First, it was the break from offices at Kensington Palace and starting his own official household apart from Prince William. Now its throwing up walls of privacy where none existed before.

Critics think Prince Harry is shirking his royal responsibilities

Meghan Markle joined the royal family with little exposure to their customs. It makes senseMarkle is an American Hollywood actress, not a British socialite. Its logical shed expect a different approach.

But now people are miffed by her reticence and failure to do those things that the public expects from the royal family. It may not go along with Markles agenda, but in certain ways the royal family belongs to the public, and allowing them access to their big life events is part of the deal. This whole veil of mystery was fun at first but its starting to make people irritated.

Prince Harry may be intentionally punishing the media

There are lots of people blaming Meghan Markle for keeping all the birth details secret, but there are just as many fans who think it stems from Prince Harry, too. Its common knowledge that the Duke of Sussex has a complicated relationship with the press and some say hes hiding royal baby details on purpose to punish them.

As Sun photographer Arthur Edwards told the New York Times: Its the way Harry is at the moment, hes just got this bee in his bonnet that all the media are to be ignored.

But destroying his relationship with the media could prove disastrous for Prince Harry, especially as he and his wife are trying to get specific issues (such as mental health) into the spotlight.

The next few weeks will reveal more about Prince Harry and Meghan Markles deeper agenda. For now, we all just have to wait some more.
Anna Duggars announcement of her sixth child with Joshua Duggar was met by fans with a mix of concern and sadness. While another baby is undoubtedly a happy occasion, fans have long wished Anna would leave the man who spent a good portion of his time in Washington D.C trolling the internet for extra-marital affairs. While the news of Joshuas indiscretions broke back in 2015, fans have held out hope all these years that Anna would finally take a stand.

#Throwback to when Jill, Joy & I were pregnant together!Currently, there are 4 Duggar sisters/sisters-in-law that have shared expectant baby news! I wonder how many more new cousins will be announced before https://t.co/IelSs196ih  Anna Duggar (@Anna_Duggar) May 2, 2019

The announcement of their 6th child together have evaporated those hopes, but are fans the only ones disappointed in Annas decision to stand by her man? What does her large, ultra-conservative Christian family think of her choices?

Anna Duggars brother has offered her a chance to escape

While the majority of the Keller family has stayed mum about their feelings for Joshua Duggar, there is one Keller who has held nothing back. Daniel Keller, the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family, has been outspoken about his feelings regarding Josh. In fact, Daniel has informed fans he offered Anna the chance to escape. Not only was he willing to give the homeschooled mom a place to stay, but he even offered to pay for her childrens needs.

Daniel has not spoken publicly about Anna since the 2015 scandal, but if his words from back then still apply, hes likely not thrilled with the recent turn of events. Daniel stated that he wouldnt stop trying to get Josh out of his family.

Annas parents might be part of the reason she stayed

According to In Touch, the Keller family does not consider divorce an option, under any circumstances. Mike and Suzette raised their large family in Florida, and while they adhere to most of the Duggar family rules, insiders allege they take the conservative rules around dating and marriage even more seriously. Divorce would be seen as a massive sin, and Anna may have been advised by her parents to stick it out.

In 2017 an alleged insider posted an AMA on Reddit and noted that things were really rocky when the news first broke about Joshs cheating. According to the insider, Michelle Duggar was under the impression that Anna was planning to leave the family, but something happened that changed her mind. Some fans surmise that watching her divorced siblings being treated with icy indifference was enough to make her stick it out with Josh.

The Keller kids dont all adhere to the rules

While Anna and her siblings were all raised in an ultra-conservative household, they all dont share their parents moral leanings. In fact, two of the Keller kids are officially divorced. Rebekah Keller, who was married to Joshua Macdonald in 2005 filed for divorce from her husband in 2015.

Happy Thanksgiving for our family to yours! We have so much to be grateful for and what a better time then today to give thanks to God and others for all that has been given and done for us. @annaduggar @susanna_keller pic.twitter.com/ZPOqFIWCu6  David & Priscilla W (@DavidNCil) November 23, 2018

According to Radar, the reasoning for the divorce is purposefully vague, but its clear Rebekah broke all the rules. Not only was she the one to file the paperwork, but she also requested full custody of the couples two children. The divorce was finalized the following year.

Daniel Keller also called it quits with his wife. Keller married a woman named Candice in 2008, but their marriage dissolved in 2016. They share one son. Neither Daniel nor Candice have ever spoken publicly about their marriage or divorce.

Anna Duggar and Josh Duggar | Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images

Rebekah and Daniel arent the only Keller kids to face romantic issues. Younger sibling Susanna broke free from the Keller family years ago. She gave birth to a child in 2013; she never married the father of her daughter. Susanna was featured on several episodes of 19 Kids and Counting during Josh and Annas courtship.
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are officially a married couple.

Shortly after the 2019 Billboard Awards, the famous couple headed to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas to take their relationship to the next level.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas |Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Getty Images for dcp

Though none of us saw this spontaneous wedding coming, Jonas and Turner tied the knot while they were in Sin City for one particular reason.

Their marriage needed to be legal in the U.S.

On May 1, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner shocked us all when it was revealed they had tied the knot immediately following the 2019 Billboard Awards.

Shortly after Joe Jonas performed alongside his brothers and Sophie Turner presented, the couple, along with their friends and family, headed to A Little White Chapel to say I do at the Sin City locations Chapel LAmour.

Videos from the wedding were caught and shared by Diplo on his Instagram Story.

Those in attendance were Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Kevin Jonas, and Danielle Jonas. The country duo Dan + Shay even sang their smash hit Speechless during the ceremony.

Though many fans knew Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner were planning on getting married, they were not expecting a ceremony to happen so soon.

Jonas and Turner have discussed their plans to get married this upcoming summer in France but there was a reason the couple decided to tie the knot in Vegas.

According to sources, if the couple only got married in France, their marriage wouldnt be legal in the United States.

They knew they needed to have a legal ceremony in the U.S. and decided a few weeks ago to do it in Vegas after the Billboard Awards, a source revealed to E! News. Some of their friends and family would be there so it felt like the perfect timing.

It was just the right time

Though Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopras wedding was well-thought out and beautifully executed, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turners Las Vegas wedding was in the spur of the moment.

Since they were already in Vegas for the Billboard Awards, what better way to end the night than getting married in a wedding chapel?

Their wedding this summer will be a lot more formal, but Jonas and Turner just couldnt wait any longer to be man and wife.

They booked the chapel for a big block of the night to make sure they had it to themselves and that the timing could be spontaneous, an insider shared. A friend paid and set up the entire thing.

Instead of exchanging wedding bands, Joe and Sophie gave each other ring pops and couldnt be happier that they are officially married.

A source says that the couple is just so excited to be together and to be married.

As for their summer wedding in France, the couple still plans for that to happen.

The ceremony will be a lot more formal than the one in Vegas and more of their family and friends will be in attendance.

It looks like multiple wedding ceremonies are a thing in the Jonas family!
It was only a few weeks ago when reports of a new royal feud were underway. It started with The Sun publishing the first story about Kate Middleton and her once good friend Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The two were believed to be good friends and were often seen together at royal gatherings. The Duke and Duchess had also been on several double dates with Hanbury and her husband. Now it seems there is a rift between them and rumors say infidelity is to blame.

When the article first came out in March, it only covered the alleged feud between Middleton and Hanbury. What happened next caused a social media firestorm and even bigger rumors to circulate.

Rumors of Prince Williams infidelity are going viral

According to Page Six, it was In Touch Weekly that first published cheating allegations against William. It was their unnamed source that claimed Middletons friend and husband had an affair together, causing the end of their friendship and marital problems. However, there is no tangible proof that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are having marriage problems and no evidence of infidelity.

The public cant seem to drop it. Its just too juicy of a story to let go. Social media has also exploded with opinions. It seems people are divided. Some believe William is having an affair, taking after his father, Prince Charles. Others believe that the duke and duchess are too in love to worry about the Marchioness. Still, others wonder why the British media isnt covering the story.

Why isnt the British media covering Prince Williams alleged affair?

While many American media outlets have started covering the rumors of Prince Williams affair, the British press seems decidedly absent. This has caused even more speculation, as the British media never stay quiet on these matters. They are known to be the most aggressive in their search for the truth or a good story.

Some have taken to Twitter, questioning why theres a lack of coverage. It could be that he is the future king, and they dont want to get on his bad side. We should also remember that he and Kate have sued them in the past for publishing inappropriate photos of the duchess, and they won.

According to the Daily Beast, the royals had their lawyers send a letter to the media outlets that said: In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights.

It might be that the British press is worried about another lawsuit. After all, there is no evidence to support the rumors as of yet. Then again one Twitter user, @Celia, wrote, How much tax money does the British monarchy give to the British media to keep quiet about Prince Williams affair?

How much tax money does the british monarchy give to the british media to keep quiet about Prince William's affair ?  Celia (@_MrsWanted) April 24, 2019

There is plenty of coverage for Meghan Markle

Still, one cant help but wonder why the British media can trash Meghan Markle in the press when they rarely have proof. A Twitter user, @Wiltshire said: The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story theyre threatening to sue the media over is probably true! 90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didnt notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!

The worst part is, The Prince William Affair story they're threatening to sue the media over is probably true!



90% o Meghan stories were exaggerated, made up, blown out of proportion, or outright lies! I didn't notice KP trotting out Lawyers for Meghan DoS!  Wiltshire (@SocialIssueNews) April 23, 2019

Another reason, Williams affair rumors arent being covered might be due to Meghan and Prince Harrys baby. They have had a lot of media attention over the past year. It could be that the Sussex celebrity status is bigger than the Cambridge celebrity status right now.
Russell Finex, worldwide suppliers of high quality separation equipment, celebrate 80 years of experience in chemical sieving and filtration. With innovation at the core of their business, their wide range of vibratory sieves, liquid solid separation equipment and self-cleaning liquid filters have been the answer for many customers within the chemical industry around the world. Russell Finex work closely with renowned chemical companies, providing them customized solutions to their unique separation and filtration needs.



Russell Finex are aware that every process or application is different and choosing the right machine is essential to assure a maximum throughput. Therefore Russell Finex provide their machines for trials at either the customers site or at their specialized test facilities. By offering this service customers are assured they have the right machine for the application.



With offices in the UK, Belgium, USA and India and a broad network of agents, Russell Finex serve over 140 countries offering the support you need. Within the chemical industry Russell Finex have offered screening solutions such as the precise filtration of liquid paint, the sieving of chemical powders and separation or recovery of plastic. Below you can read more about the machines suitable for these applications.



Liquid paint filtration



The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter has been used by many coating companies for the filtration of liquid paint. The filter provides a fine and continuous filtration down to 15m, removing any impurity or skins from the paint at the end of the production line. The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter is a major advancement compared to bag- or cartridge filters. It has a stainless steel re-usable filter element which is continuously cleaned by a wiper system. This way product loss is minimized and costs for replacing bag or filter media are eliminated.



Sieving chemical powders



Russell Finex have often provided the Russell Compact Sieve for the sieving of various chemical powders. This vibratory sieve meets the high standards of the industry. It is a reliable machine providing a consistent high capacity and accurate fine screening. In combination with the Vibrasonic Deblinding System, which uses ultrasonic frequencies to keep the mesh clear, sticky or porous chemical powders can be easily screened down to 20m.



Separation or recovery of plastics



The Finex Separator is a multi-purpose machine which can be used for separation, grading, screening, dewatering or recovery. This high performance machine is often used for the grading of plastics pellets such as masterbatch. When installed with up to 4 meshes, the Finex Separator is able to provide 5 accurate product fractions. The Finex Separator is also used to process recovered or recycled plastics, like UPVC. The machine separates unwanted material from the plastic and grades it leaving a pure fraction fit for reuse.



Please visit the Russell Finex website for more information about separation equipment for the chemical industry.
The ceremony began at 10.09, an auspicious time. The rituals of purification and anointing turned the man into a Buddhist deity. The king ascended to the throne in 2016, following the death of the late monarch Bhumibol.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) - This morning King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned king of Thailand, at the start of three days of ceremonies.

Dressed in the golden robe required for the occasion, the 66-year-old monarch placed the 7.3 kilo Great Crown of Victory on his head before issuing his first royal command: "I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever.

The coronation began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, with the purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

The king received the five Royal Regalia - the symbols of kingship - which include the Great Crown of Victory, the Royal Slippers, the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Sceptre.

The celebrations will last until Monday and represent the kings transformation from human into a divine figure.

Today, in addition to the coronation and gifts, Rama X will visit the Emerald Buddha temple (Wat Phra Kaew), where he will proclaim himself Royal Patron of Buddhism. Afterwards, he will symbolically move into the official Royal Residence with a housewarming ceremony.

Tomorrow he will ride the Royal Palanquin allowing people to pay homage to him. On Monday, he will grant a public audience on a balcony in the Grand Palace.

Born on 28 July 1952, King Vajiralongkorn is the second child (only male) of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He has an older sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya  who recently put herself forward as a candidate in an election, only to be forced to withdraw because traditionally the royal family remains above politics  and two younger siblings, Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn Walailak.

He studied abroad, in Great Britain and Australia, and was proclaimed heir to the throne on 28 December 1972.

King Vajiralongkorn, who will be known from now on simply as Rama X, is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since in 1782.

He ascended the throne in 2016 following the death of his beloved father, but had to wait until after a long mourning period before he could be crowned. Two days ago, in a surprise move, he married Queen Suthida Tidjai, his former bodyguard.
Guest Commentary

As president, Donald Trump has leaned heavily upon what he has called an America First policy. This nationalist approach involves walking away from cooperative agreements with other nations and relying, instead, upon a dominant role for the United States, under girded by military might, in world affairs.

Nevertheless, as numerous recent opinion polls reveal, most Americans dont support this policy.

The reaction of the American public to Trumps withdrawal of the United States from key international agreements has been hostile. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in early May 2018, shortly before Trump announced a pullout from the Iran nuclear agreement, 54 percent of respondents backed the agreement. Only 29 percent favored a pullout.

In July 2018, when the Chicago Council on Global Affairs surveyed Americans about their reaction to Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement, it found that 66 favored remaining within the Iran accord, while 68 percent favored remaining within the Paris accord  an increase of six percent in support for each of these agreements over the preceding year.

Most Americans also rejected Trumps 2019 withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. A survey that February by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs reported that 54 percent of Americans opposed withdrawal from this nuclear arms control treaty and only 41 percent favored it. Furthermore, when pollsters presented arguments for and against withdrawal from the treaty to Americans before asking for their opinion, 66 percent opposed withdrawal.

In addition, despite Trumps sharp criticism of U.S. allies, most Americans expressed their support for a cooperative relationship with them. The Chicago Councils July 2018 survey found that 66 percent of Americans agreed that the United States should make decisions with its allies, even if it meant that the U.S. government would have to go along with a policy other than its own. Only 32 percent disagreed. Similarly, a March 2019 Pew Research poll found that 54 percent of American respondents wanted the U.S. government to take into account the interests of its allies, even if that meant compromising with them, while only 40 percent said the U.S. government should follow its national interests when its allies strongly disagreed.

Moreover, despite the Trump administrations attacks upon the United Nations and other international human rights entities  including pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council, withdrawing from UNESCO, defunding UN relief efforts for Palestinians, and threatening to prosecute the judges of the International Criminal Court  public support for international institutions remained strong. In July 2018, 64 percent of Americans surveyed told the Chicago Councils pollsters that the United States should be more willing to make decisions within the framework of the UN, even if that meant going along with a policy other than its own. This was the highest level of agreement on this question since 2004, when it was first asked. In February 2019, 66 percent of U.S. respondents to a Gallup survey declared that the UN played a necessary role in the world today.

But what about expanding U.S. military power? Given the Trump administrations success at fostering a massive military buildup, isnt there widespread enthusiasm about that?

On this point, too, the administrations priorities are strikingly out of line with the views of most Americans. A National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey of U.S. public opinion, conducted from April through November 2018, found that only 27 percent of respondents thought that the U.S. government spent too little on the military, while 66 percent thought that it spent either too much or about the right amount. By contrast, 77 percent said the government spent too little on education, 71 percent said it spent too little on assistance to the poor, and 70 percent said it spent too little on improving and protecting the nations health.

In February 2019, shortly after Trump indicated he would seek another hefty spending increase in the U.S. military budget, bringing it to an unprecedented $750 billion, only 25 percent of American respondents to a Gallup poll stated that the U.S. government was spending too little on the military. Another 73 percent said that the government was spending too much on it or about the right amount.

Moreover, when it comes to using U.S. military might, Americans seem considerably less hawkish than the Trump administration. According to a July 2018 survey by the Eurasia Group Foundation, U.S. respondents  asked what should be done if Iran gets back on track with its nuclear weapons program favored diplomatic responses over military responses by 80 percent to 12.5 percent. That same month, as the Chicago Council noted, almost three times as many Americans believed that admiration for the United States (73 percent) was more important than fear of their country (26 percent) for achieving U.S. foreign policy goals.

Unlike the president, who has boasted of U.S. weapons sales to other countries, particularly to Saudi Arabia, Americans are also rather uncomfortable about the U.S. role as the worlds pre-eminent arms dealer. In November 2018, 58 percent of Americans surveyed told YouGov that they wanted the U.S. government to curtail or halt its arms sales to the Saudi Arabian government, while only 13 percent wanted to maintain or increase such sales.

Finally, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to express their support for nuclear arms control and disarmament. In the aftermath of Trumps withdrawal of the United States from the INF treaty and announcement of plans to build new nuclear weapons, 87 percent of respondents to a February 2019 poll by Chicago Council said they wanted the United States and Russia to come to an agreement to limit nuclear arms.

The real question is not whether most Americans disagree with Trumps America First national security policy but, rather, what they are willing to do about it.

Dr. Lawrence Wittner syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor of history emeritus at SUNY/Albany. He is the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).
Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T) has known that the hydropower cable that connects Haines and Skagway to the Kasidaya hydropower project has been vulnerable to damage for years, predicting the faults that the cable would develop with great accuracy. Still, no steps were taken to provide maintenance.

An average household in Haines or Skagway pays between $200 and $250 a month for power, according to AP&T power operations manager Darren Belisle

They charge us a lot of money for the electricity we use, and maintenance has to be a part of their budget, said veteran Haines Borough planning commissioner Rob Goldberg.

We dont have any routine maintenance, Belisle said. Because its hard to do when its in such deep water.

Belisle explained that there are only a few ships in the world capable of dealing with a hydropower cable at that depth, and it costs at least $250,000 to bring one of them here. The 17-mile armored cable is 4.5 inches in diameter and rests below 800 feet of water at the place where the cable is damaged worst.

On March 3, AP&T first lost communication with the Kasidaya plant and realized that some of the cables fiber-optics were damaged. The company contacted a remotely operated submarine to assess the damage. It arrived two weeks later, which Belisle said is a fast response time. The submarine found significant damage caused by underwater landslides, which are frequent occurrences in the Taiya River Delta. Since the end of March, AP&T has known that the cable is on the verge of failure.

Nothing has changed, said Belisle. Now, AP&T is going through the process of a long and complex contingency plan. AP&T is just beginning to talk to the municipality about other places to relocate the cable.

In 2011, then AP&T operations manager Danny Gonce predicted that one or more faults would develop on the cable within the next 10 years.

Its not a question of if, its a question of when our cable is going to fail, the CVN reported that Gonce said.

When exactly the cable might failThats the million-dollar question, said Belisle. Reading all of the documentation on them, they last from 20 years to 50 years. Theres quite a large gap there, said Belisle.

The hydropower cable was bought for $6 million in 1998. According to CVN reporting from 2011, the Italian manufacturer that built the cable, Pirrelli, guaranteed it for 30 years. Since then, Pirelli has been taken over by a company called Prysmian, and Prysmian did not respond for comment about the cables warranty. The cable is now 21 years old. Belisle estimated that a new cable would cost $7 million.

If that cable does have an expected life span, then its a maintenance item. And if its a maintenance issue, it should be replaced in a timely manner, said Goldberg, We said it back (in 2011), why dont you just schedule this and replace it if its a maintenance item? But they didnt do it.

AP&Ts explanation for not providing cable maintenance was that it was unaffordable and impractical to do so.

If the power cable fails, it will take at least six months to replace it, according to Belisle, meaning that for at least six months, Haines would rely on diesel power.

In 2010, AP&T first proposed to build a hydropower project closer to Haines, on Connelly Lake, which many opposed due to environmental concerns. In 2013, due to the high cost of the project, AP&T scrapped its Connelly Lake plans.
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.
Q&A with Greg Laurie: America ripe for spiritual awakening

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SoCal Pastor Greg Laurie caught up with My Faith Votes recently at the National Religious Broadcasters convention. He talked openly with us about his new book, Jesus Revolution, Americas need for another spiritual awakening, the churchs role as salt and light and where our ultimate hope lies. For a few truly uplifting moments, watch the full interview.

Standing in front of the colorful Jesus Revolution bus, Pastor Greg Laurie shared his testimony of becoming a Christ-follower during Americas last great spiritual revival  the Jesus Movement  in the 1960s and 1970s. He believes America is in desperate need of spiritual revival today and that the apparent divisions in our country over race, economic status, politics, religion, etc., poses no obstacle to God. In fact, Laurie suggests the timing might be more ripe for spiritual awakening because most revivals seem to happen during times of conflict.

Laurie says Christians must pray for spiritual revival in their own lives as a catalyst for America to experience spiritual revival and must recommit to follow the biblical exhortation to live as salt and light in our culture. By comparing believers to salt, Laurie says the Bible calls Christians to be cultural preservatives, and the best way to do that is to proclaim the gospel. As light, Christians are to beat back the darkness and stop the spread of evil.

Along with prayer and preaching, Laurie suggests a practical way for Christians to oppose evil is to register and vote. No candidate will ever align perfectly with biblical values but, he says, find one that is as close to biblical values as possible and vote for them.

Thats our core mission at My Faith Votes. We work every day to empower Christians to put their faith into action. That means helping Christians to be informed and think well about the issues being decided at the ballot box, to pray for our country and our leaders and, ultimately, to live out our faith by voting.

There is no perfect political or cultural solution for America. Our hope is in nothing that human beings can do, Laurie says. Our hope is in God. The Bible calls that our blessed hope.
National Day of Prayer: David Platt on the 'greatest hindrance' to advancing the Gospel

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WASHINGTON  Influential megachurch pastor and best-selling author David Platt voiced concerns about a trend within church culture that he suspects might be the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel today.

As Americans celebrate The National Day of Prayer Thursday, Platt spoke before a group of church leaders gathered for the Mens and Womens Prayer Breakfast Wednesday morning at The Willard Hotel located about a block from the White House in Washington, D.C.

The Radical author and former leader of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board explained that church and ministry leaders are too frequently tempted to accomplish their ministry goals through human abilities and ingenuity without the presence of God.

I believe you and I are tempted in a strangely similar way all across our church culture, said Platt, the teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. Think about it. You and I are tempted every day in our lives and in our churches to do the work of God apart from the power and the presence of God.

Lets be honest with each other. We have created a whole host of means and methods to our ministry today that require little if no help at all from the Holy Spirit of God, he continued. We dont have to fast and pray for the Church to go. We have marketing for that today.

It's dangerously possible for leaders to carry on the machinery and activity of churches and ministries," the 39-year-old pastor said. "All of it to be successful in the eyes of the world and we can never notice that the Holy Spirit is totally absent from it, Platt worried.

If we are not careful, we can deceive ourselves by mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a building for the existence of spiritual life in a church. I wonder if the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel in our day may be the attempt of the people to do the work of God apart from the power of the Spirit of God.

He suggests that the greatest barrier to spreading the Gospel might not be the self-indulgent immorality of our culture but rather the self-sufficient mentality in the Church evident in our prayerlessness.

Earlier in his keynote message, Platt explained that he recently returned from a preaching trip in South Korea. He said it was a trip in which the Lord convicted him in a fresh and deep way after seeing how hours of intentional prayer, repentance and fasting played a major role in the spiritual awakening in the country.

Platt noted that around 1900, less than 1 percent of the Korean Peninsula was Christian. But in 2000, there were as many as 10 million Christians in South Korea. Today, the country is only second to the United States in the number of missionaries sent around the world.

At the church I was preaching at recently, they still gather every morning. They have a prayer gathering every Friday night, all night to pray. There's not a formal event for them once a year. Prayer is a way of life every single day in the church. And I walked away convicted because I have not led the church well in this way, in a country where I am part of the church culture where I preach at conferences and events filled with hours of talks and sermons and relative minutes of prayer and confession.

Platt warned that leaders in the American Church culture are known for preaching and teaching, writing and blogging, organizing and strategizing, planning and planting.

But we are not known for our praying and fasting, He added. And in this, we're in profound danger of missing the whole point. When was the last time we got together with the church just for worship on Sunday and crowds of people fell on our faces weeping for hidden sin in our midst, crying out for God's mercy upon us? We have no room because we need to get on to the next song we have planned, the next program that is waiting.

What kind of church culture have we created where we pastors, members of churches like ours, are content to go week after week after week in church, watch what happens on stage and then move on with our lives? Platt asked.

Platt pointed to Exodus 33, a story in which Moses and the Israelites were faced with the possibility of having to journey to the promised land flowing with milk and honey without the presence of God.

So what does Moses do when faced with the prospect of doing Gods work apart from Gods presence? He prays. He goes in the tent of meeting, Platt explained. You should see this scene.

Platt detailed the scene in which Moses goes far outside of the camp to set up a tent in which he meets face-to-face with God just as a man speaks to a friend. A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Moses as he entered the tent and were struck with awe when the pillar of cloud came down to speak with Moses.

This is one of those places where you cant believe this is in the Old Testament, right? Platt commented. We didnt gather here today to watch Ronnie [Floyd] go into a tent or anybody go into a tent. Every single one of us can go into the tent. We dont have to go anywhere. You are the tent.

Platt added that Christians today have the privilege to speak with God face-to-face before they even get out of bed in the morning, a privilege that we have that Old Testament saints could only long for.

We have the privilege of knowing God face-to-face through Jesus what He has done on the cross for us, Platt said. What a privilege we have. Lets not forsake this privilege. Moses goes in and he says, I cant do this without you. He pleads for Gods presence to go with him. And God answers.

Lets do this. Lets get on our faces before God, not just these couple of days but day after day, all night in our churches and say, God we cant do this without you. We need Your grace. We need Your mercy. We need Your presence among us.

Platt called for ministries in the U.S. to throw aside their damning dependence on natural ability and human ingenuity and plead for God to do in our churches, across our countries and among the nations what only God can do.

Keep on pleading until the day when Scripture promises we will see His face and all His unchanging perfections, Platt concluded. Purposes and promises will come to pass in His ever-unfolding plan in which you and I get to play a part. Lets play our part.

In addition to various National Day of Prayer events held throughout the country on Thursday, a national observance ceremony will be held at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Child sex trafficking victims, ex-drug addicts find healing in Duck Dynasty star's jewelry line

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Driven by her belief that God is a God of grace, forgiveness, and redemption, Missy Robertson is giving hurting and broken women a second chance at life through her new jewelry line.

The former Duck Dynasty star told The Christian Post she created Laminin by Missy Robertson back in 2016 to provide jobs for women in the West Monroe, Louisiana, area coming out of the sex industry, addiction, and poverty, among other life issues.

When women come to apply for a job, they dont fear checking that box that says have you ever been convicted of a felony? That doesnt scare us, and it doesnt stop us from hiring you, Robertson told CP. I strongly believe in second chances, and Laminin is about second chances.

But that wasnt always the goal.

Robertson, a mother of three, admitted that when he first conceived of Laminin  not without the help of her mother-in-law, Miss Kay, she said  it was with the intention of helping women like herself.

I pictured women who had married early and didnt have a college degree but were working and at the same time trying to be involved in their children's lives, she said. But Gods will is different from ours, and it takes a while to see it.

The women who applied were nothing like me, she continued. Theyd had tumultuous backgrounds and many of them were basically the result of being on drugs, whether their choice or their parents choice. Many of them were trying to stay out of trouble and had lost everything they had because they had been in prison.

Robertson recounted the story of Brandy, a former Laminin staff member who has overcome a life of drugs, crime, and unimaginable abuses. She shared how Brandy was born with drugs in her system and at the age of 9, was sold by her own mother into prostitution.

Her own mother took her to men at truck stops to fuel her drug habit, Robertson said. She would be tied to a bed and given drugs so that these men could do what they wanted to her.

Addicted to drugs and desperate to make ends meet, Brandy ended up prostituting herself and eventually ended up in prison on a slew of charges. While in prison, Brandy found Christ and decided to turn her life around.

While working with Robertson at Laminin, Brandy went on to finish school and earned her degree in counseling. Now married, she has a daughter of her own and works to help save other women from the life that nearly destroyed her.

I would just say one word, and thats God, Robertson said. Its truly amazing how He works.

The former A&E star shared another story of a Laminin employee who was previously involved in the mafia: One day, she was put into a vehicle, blindfolded, Robertson said. They took her to this area where a man was tied to a tree. They said, This man was caught talking, and heres what happens to people who talk. They shot him, right in front of her.

These things happened right in my hometown, she continued. This is a huge problem, and what were trying to do is provide them a safe environment to come to and give them the skill to create something thats useful and beautiful. It gives them purpose and value.

This month, the Laminin website was re-launched. Each piece of jewelry available is handcrafted and consists of natural stones and beads with mixed metals, deer horns, Druzy stones, leather, rosary beads, and more. Robertson emphasized that Laminin is a business  not a charity.

Thats something I feel strongly about, Robertson said. If this was a charity, these women would have their hands out. Theyve learned how to manipulate the world around them to get what they can to survive. If this business grows and thrives, its because of their commitment to it. Every time I walk in with another success story, whether its a new account or business, they get so excited and thrilled because they feel that what theyve done is valuable.

She explained that Laminin is a molecular protein that holds everything in our bodies together. If seen through a microscope, laminin is in the exact shape of the cross. The organizations mission verse Colossians 1:17: He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

This year alone, weve had three women come to Christ at Laminin, Robertson shared. God has His hand all over this ministry. When women come to work for Laminin, not only do they get a second chance at life, they learn about the greatest gift there is  and thats a relationship with the Lord.

Yes, its a business, but its a ministry, too, she added. What greater way to grow the kingdom of God.


Rachel Held Evans, progressive Christian writer, dies at age 37

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Rachel Held Evans, a New York Times best-selling progressive Christian writer, has died at age 37.

Evans died Saturday morning at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after she had been in a medically induced coma for several weeks.

It is with a broken heart that we share with you that Rachel Held Evans died early this morning. She took a serious turn on Thursday morning and deteriorated quickly. Rachel died in the very early morning hours of May 4, 2019. She was surrounded by her family and her close friends  we sang and we prayed and we held her always. We are grateful for your prayers and for all the ways you have supported not only her but her family especially Dan and the kids, wrote Sarah Bessey, a feminist Christian author and friend of Evans in an update on the official GoFundMe page for the family.

In a public statement on the crowdfunding page, Evans' husband, Dan, wrote:

"Rachel was slowly weaned from the coma medication. Her seizures returned but at a reduced rate. There were periods of time where she didnt have seizures at all. Rachel did not return to an alert state during this process. The hospital team worked to diagnose the primary cause of her seizures and proactively treated for some known possible causes for which diagnostics were not immediately available due to physical limitations.

"Early Thursday morning, May 2, Rachel experienced sudden and extreme changes in her vitals. The team at the hospital discovered extensive swelling of her brain and took emergency action to stabilize her. The team worked until Friday afternoon to the best of their ability to save her. This swelling event caused severe damage and ultimately was not survivable.

"Rachel died early Saturday morning, May 4, 2019.

"This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake. I feel like Im telling someone elses story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her."

In an email to Ruth Graham of Slate on Saturday, Dan Evans added: She put others before herself. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didnt hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

Evans announced on April 14 that she was in the hospital to treat the flu and a urinary tract infection and had a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. She then began experiencing symptoms that caused her to have constant seizures and was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Jeff Chu, a reporter and friend of Evans, wrote on Twitter Saturday: She gave me some of the best advice I ever received. She loved me so, so, so welland I know I'm not alone in that, because she gave so much of herself to others. Last night, a few of us gathered to say goodbye to her. I got to hold her hand and thank her for being who she was.

Pray for Dan and their two beautiful children. And I love you, Rachel, and I miss you so much already, he added on Twitter.

Chu and Bessey are co-curators with Evans for the Evolving Faith Conference. They, along with Jim Chaffee, started the GoFundMe page that has raised over $122,000 to help pay for the cost of Evans medical care.

Christian writer Jen Hatmaker, who made headlines in 2015 for voicing support for the legality of same-sex marriage, also shared her reaction on Twitter Saturday: Eshet chayil, beloved Woman of Valor. You ran a beautiful, faithful race. We are crushed. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Evans was a former evangelical who joined an Episcopal church and operated a blog that is popular among progressive Christians.

She wrote the book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a New York Times best-selling e-book in 2012. She also authored other titles such as Searching for Sunday, Faith Unraveled and Inspired.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, continued to call for an outpouring of support from believers across the political and theological spectrum for Evans' family.

On Saturday, Moore extended his public condolences in a post on Twitter: "I am shocked and broken-hearted to hear of the death of @rachelheldevans. Please stop right now and pray for this young family."

He also encouraged believers to continue to donate to Evans' family to help pay for expenses incurred for treatment at the hospital: ".@rachelheldevans leaves behind a husband and two small children, one 3 and one less than one year old. As many as can, lets please help this grieving young family with the overwhelming medical bills."
North Korean defector details decade of abuse, forced labor at orphanage

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WASHINGTON  A North Korean defector recounted Thursday the hell she experienced during a decade full of abuse, starvation and enslavement as an orphan in the rogue nation, a fate that too many children are still experiencing today under the Kim regime.

As part of a weeklong advocacy effort in support of human rights reform in North Korea, Park Ji-Hye told attendees at an event held at the Family Research Council headquarters that she spent time in two different orphanages after her father died of starvation during a famine in the 1990s.

With her mom having been trafficked to China, Park said she knows too well the desperate situation facing North Korean orphans today, as they have no social protections guaranteed by the government and are treated as property in the country that has been ruled by the repressive Kim dynasty over the past 70 years.

It was just like going through hell for me to live in an orphanage, then running around by myself and being trafficked to China, Park said through a translator during a 45-minute recounting of her life. It was a long journey of suffering. I know for sure even now there are people going through the same thing, whether it's in an orphanage or in China.

While much attention has been paid in the last several years to the fact that thousands of Koreans are worked to death in labor camps, not as much focus has been paid to the human rights abuses being committed in North Korean orphanages, said Suzanne Schulte, head of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a key organizer behind North Korea Freedom Week.

I can tell you when we brought the first survivors of the political prison camp to testify [before Congress] in the late 1990s, people did not believe the stories because there were only a few witnesses, Schulte said.

Now, there have been hundreds of folks that have been able to escape and testify about the horrible political prison camps that are really death camps for innocent men, women and children. Today, we're facing that same issue except now it is the orphans.

Schulte, who has been involved in North Korea human rights advocacy for over 20 years, said that many people dont know what is happening to orphans in North Korea because there are very few survivors.

Thursdays North Korea Freedom Week event at FRC was the first time Park has shared her story on the international stage, according to an event organizer.

Life in two orphanages

Park was born into a family of four children. She has a younger sister, an older sister, and a younger brother and her mother left home on a quest to run a business in hopes of supporting her family. However, Parks mom ended up being trafficked into neighboring China.

In the 1990s famine spread throughout North Korea. It's been estimated that between 330,000 up to 3 million people died as a result of starvation. One of those people was Parks father, who worked as a miner.

While her younger sister was adopted and her older sister was allowed to live at her grandmothers house (before defecting at the age of 13), Park and her younger brother were not as fortunate.

The first orphanage they went to, she said, was a state-run orphanage where countless children were being housed in a three-story building.

The facility was awful and they didnt provide any food to children, she explained. So many children tried to escape and jumped out of the building.

Park and her younger brother eventually escaped and fled to their grandmothers house. During that time, her brother became ill and they both stayed at their grandmothers house until he recovered before being sent to a second orphanage where they were held for about 10 years.

She said it was a private orphanage run by a married couple. The couple themselves were honored as heroes by the Kim regime, she recalled.

According to Park, there were 170 children at the orphanage. Each bedroom housed as many as 30 children, she added.

The family that ran the orphanage also ran a farm at the same time. Park said that a typical day for the orphans started at 4 a.m. as they were forced to work for two hours on the farm.

At 6 a.m., she added, the children would then be forced to march in the streets to wake people up. Following that, they would head back to the orphanage for breakfast.

After breakfast, the school-aged children would go to school while the rest of the children would go back to work in the field.

At school, Park said, the facilities were awful and only one textbook was provided for the whole class. Also, the students were not provided with lunch at the school.

After school, the orphans returned and were forced to go into the mountain to fetch firewood. According to Park, each orphan had a quota to meet. If the orphan didnt meet his or her quota, they would not be given dinner.

This meant that Park, whose younger brother was only 6 at the time and too weak to carry his weight, had to work doubly hard to ensure that both she and her brother would eat each day.

At night, the children would be called into self-criticism sessions, park added.

Not only did we have to confess what we did wrong that day, we also had to criticize others for what they did wrong, she remembers. Since we lived together, we basically took a turn to say, I would criticize you today and you can criticize me tomorrow.

Those who made mistakes, they were scolded and punished, she continued.

Following the self-criticism session came the recreation session, when the children were made to sing and dance.

But even if the children cried, they had to smile and pretend they were having a good time during singing and dancing, she said.

It wouldnt be until about 10 p.m. that children would be allowed to go to bed on most nights, Park explained.

That is how I lived for about 10 years of my life, she contended.

The three sons

Park said that manual labor was only part of the problem with the orphanage. The worst part of the orphanage, she recalled, was the three sons of the couple that owned the orphanage.

Although the sons were all married, they considered the girls in the orphanage as their possession or slave they could use.

Whenever they liked, they designated one person. There was no choice for the girls that were designated and anyone who did not fulfill their needs or request, then all the children were summoned. In the morning, we found out the first thing, they would share who was called and who got pregnant by the three sons.

Park said that the mother who ran the orphanage tried hard to cover up what her sons were doing.

Most of the time the pregnant girls had an abortion, Park explained.

Park detailed that one of the sons tried to abuse her. However, the mother prevented Park from getting abused by the son because Park has family on the outside. She said that children with family on the outside of the orphanage were largely protected from such abuses.

However, Park wasnt completely shielded from abuse. She recalled a time in which the mother of the orphanage allowed her to borrow a bicycle and go to the market to buy something.

But when she returned, she said that one of the sons summoned all the children because he was furious that the bike was taken without his permission. Park told the son that his mother had allowed her to take the bike. As punishment, the son forced all the children to stand outside barefoot for 30 minutes in the winter cold.

During this time, Park said the son started beating the orphans with his belt.

He started to beat me also with the belt but the female owner came in and screamed at her son, she said.

For the next month, the female owner allowed Park to stay in a special room with just her and her husband to recuperate from the scars all over her body. After the husband tried to abuse Park, she asked to move back into the room with all the other children.

Eventually, the female owner got Park out of the orphanage by sending her to work and live at a restaurant. But during her three months at the restaurant, Park said she was treated like a slave.

The husband of the owner of the restaurant was disabled. After long hours of work at the restaurant, I would go back to the house and take care of the husband, she recounted. After three months, I got ill because of the hard work in the restaurant.

She was then forced to move back to the orphanage. She stayed there for about another year before she finally escaped at age 19.

I decided to escape from the orphanage and live my own life, she said.

Living her own life

Park said she immediately went back to her grandmothers house but was scolded for fleeing from the orphanage. So Park asked one of her grandmothers neighbors if she could stay at their house, which she was allowed to do.

Eventually, the orphanage released her younger brother at the age of 16 because he was on the verge of death from starvation. Park said they released her brother so that he wouldnt die in the orphanage. The orphanage, she said, was more worried about keeping its reputation intact than helping her brother.

He came back to my grandmother's house and stayed there to recover. My grandfather decided to let both of us go because he couldnt take care of us anymore, she said. We started wandering around in the street. In order to support my younger brother, I started my business in the market.

Park said she was inspired to go into the market because her sister who was adopted did. Eventually, Park rented a room in a small house that she and her brother could stay in.

Park also borrowed money on high interest in order to start her business and pay for her brothers expensive medication. She was eventually beaten because she was not able to pay back the lender.

Trafficked to China

After being beaten, Park decided to flee to China. But without money to flee, she decided that the best route was to get trafficked to China.

I stayed there about a year-and-a-half in China and I married a Chinese man and gave birth to a son, she explained, adding that her child was stateless because he couldnt be registered to a government.

In China, Park reunited with her two sisters and as a family they fled to South Korea.

When they arrived in South Korea, Park said the sisters discovered that their mother, who had been trafficked to China when they were children, had also resettled in China.

All four members in my family reunited and having a great life in South Korea now, she said.

Whats happening now?

Although Parks horrifying past is behind her, she recognizes that there are still helpless children in the same shoes that she was in.

I am a mother with two children now. I have my own family, she said. Whenever I see orphans, I feel the same pain that they might be going through. I really urge that the international community will get together to solve this North Korean human rights issue.

Kim Yong-Hwa, a former military officer who escaped North Korea in 1988 and founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association, told the audience that the Kim regime has put up propaganda-type orphanages that foreign delegations are sent to in order to get the idea that orphans in North Korea are well cared for.

These are orphanages set up to show the outside world, Kim said. This is for Kim Jong-Un, he wants to promote that he loves children, which is show and nonsense. This show and a lot of people are believing in the nonsense that he has set up for the outside world.

At the private orphanage that Park was at, she explained that it received humanitarian support from humanitarian associations from other countries because it was famous for being run by so-called heroes.

As soon as officials from the humanitarian associations left, two of the North Korean officials arrived and took half of the aid we got from them, she explained. After that, the family of the founders took most of the leftovers which left us almost nothing. Children in the orphanage were starving.

After listening to Parks experience, Kim vouched by saying that orphanages in North Korea are like a slavery facility.

When you hear the word orphanage, you think of a place where kids can be safe and be adopted, that is not what orphanages are like in North Korea, Schulte added.

In addition to the orphans in North Korea, Kim said there are as many as 40,000 North Korea orphans who have crossed the border into China.

Recently, we have seen even the boys are being sold and trafficked. They are being sold to coal mines as workers or as hard laborers in mountains and woods. Even if they die, there is no compensation. There is nothing. Even if the employees dont get money, there is nothing to complain about with the Chinese government [which repatriates defectors back to North Korea]. There is really no way to improve the circumstances for them. As they have lived as slaves in North Korea, even in [China], they are also living as de-facto slaves.
Why Is Kim Jong Un Afraid of Christianity? Group Points to Clash Between Jesus and 'Supreme Leader'

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A persecution watchdog group has explored the reasons why North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains "afraid" of Christianity, which go to the heart of people's beliefs about Jesus.

"It's likely because people who are following Jesus and who are committed to one another mean there are people he can't control, and who follow a greater King. It means there are people who practice radical love for each other and for Jesus  who won't so easily follow him and the lies of his regime," Open Doors USA suggested.

"This is why Christians continue to be seen as 'dangerous' and are also part of the hostile class, according to the country's social system called songbun. What this means is that anyone who is known to be a follower of Jesus is immediately assumed to be a hostile political figure."

The organization, which lists North Korea as the No.1 worst persecutor of Christians around the world, noted that Christianity "directly challenges the notion of any Supreme Leader and the idea that there is any master outside of Jesus Christ. Additionally, Christianity offers a new way and identity for people in North Korea. Both aspects of faith are direct threats to the ruling family of North Korea."

Kim has reportedly made the unprecedented move of inviting Roman Cathoic leader Pope Francis to visit him in Pyongyang, with reports indicating that the pontiff is considering agreeing to the meeting.

Kim, who earlier this year met U.S. President Donald Trump in another controversial and unprecedented meeting, has been criticized by the United Nations for human rights abuses in the country's labor camps.

Kim continues making moves to meet major world leaders, though the consequences of that for the suffering minorities in his country, including close to 300,000 Christians, are yet unclear.

Back in May, the congressionally-mandated 2017 International Religious Freedom report by the U.S. found that there are between 80,000 to 120,000 people trapped in North Korea camps, many imprisoned for their faith.

"The government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in almost any religious practices through executions, torture, beatings, and arrests," the report stated.

"An estimated 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, some imprisoned for religious reasons, were believed to be held in the political prison camp system in remote areas under horrific conditions.

"Religious and human rights groups outside the country continued to provide numerous reports that members of underground churches were arrested, beaten, tortured, and killed because of their religious beliefs."

Christian defectors have spoken of torture they have suffered at the hands of the North Korean regime. Believers are often thrown in prison or even executed if they are found with a Bible.

Amid the uncertainty for believers, Open Doors urged people to pray.

"Please continue to join your brothers and sisters in North Korea in prayer. Pray for their strength in the face of a regime that views their faith as a special threat. Pray for God's grace in every situation. And pray for a change in the hearts of the regime, that they would see the love of Jesus as the road to truth and peace," the group stated.
Alabama lawmaker defends abortion: 'You kill them now or kill them later'

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A Democratic state representative in Alabama justified the practice of abortion during a debate over a pro-life bill by arguing that some kids are unwanted" and you either "kill them now or kill them later."

Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham garnered widespread condemnation for comments he made during a debate over House Bill 314, which makes most abortion procedures a felony. The bill eventually passed by a vote of 743.

Rogers argued that he was opposed to the bill because he believed it was a womans choice whether to abort her children, and then went on to say that some kids are unwanted.

Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So you kill them now or you kill them later, said Rogers.

Rogers' statement was posted to social media on Wednesday by Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra, whose tweet got as of Thursday afternoon over 7,700 retweets.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Saavedras post and weighed in on the comments by Rogers, describing them as stomach curling.

Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we've seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening, tweeted Trump Jr.

Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review called the comment horrifying and chilling, adding in an opinion column that she believed it was a striking reminder of how rarely abortion rights activists openly admit the reality of the right they are demanding.

Most often, they dismiss unborn human beings as a clump of cells or a parasite within the mother, wrote DeSanctis.

Rogers has exposed those lies, admitting, as abortion defenders so rarely do, that every abortion procedure  no matter when or how it takes place  intentionally ends an innocent human life.

For his part, Rogers has defended his comments, saying in a statement on Thursday that his comments were centered on his belief that Alabama in general does not value human life.

Weve closed 13 rural hospitals in this state, including Cooper Green. We have put hundreds of people in jail. Making it hard for you to get food stamps. In other words, if youre on drug tests, you cant get food stamps, said Rogers, as reported by al.com.

And then youve got at least two people a night dying in our Alabama prisons. It just doesnt make sense. So why do you want to bring these people in the world and then deny them the right to process and live in Alabama?
The murder took place on the morning of 17 October 2011. The defendants are the two alleged killers, a tribal leader and three militants, and the member of a paramilitary group. Charges against the former mayor of Arakan and two army officers previously investigated have been dropped. The four key witnesses are under the protection of the authorities.

Manila (AsiaNews)  A court in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, has remanded seven people for trial in connection with the unsolved murder of Fr Fausto "Pops" Tentorio (picture 1), a priest with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), this according to Fr Pietro Geremia, also a missionary with the Milan-based Institute in Mindanao.

Fr Tentorio was killed on the morning of 17 October 2011, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Aid in Arakan, North Cotabato (Mindanao). He had been in the Philippines for more than 32 years

Because of his work in favour of Manobo tribes threatened by mining, the missionary was not liked by the Filipino military. In December 2017, the case took a new turn when new suspects came into the picture.

Now a court has now decided to try the new suspects: Jimmy and Robert Ato (the suspected killers); Jan Corbala, commander of a group of tribal militants called Bagani, and three members of his unit; and Nene Durado, a member of the Ilaga movement, a group of fanatic Christian settlers who have been fighting against Muslims and tribals since the 1970s and who still continue to steal land from them.

It should be noted that the charges against some people who had previously been investigated were dismissed. These are the former mayor of Arakan, Romulo Tagpos, and two businessmen from the city; the Lieutenant Colonel Joven Gonzales and last Major Mark Espiritu, officers in command of the 57th Army Battalion and Special Forces units at the time of the killing of Fr Fausto.

In the brief filed on 1st April by Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan G. Parrocha (picture 2), the circumstances of the missionarys murder are summarised: "That on or about 7:20 oclock in the morning of October 17, 2011, at the compound of Our Mother of Perpetual Help parish, Arakan, North Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and mutually aiding one another, with the aim of accomplishing a common design, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously kill FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO.

The indictment goes on to say that the accused, with treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, and with evident premeditation, as shown by evidence that such killing was previously planned on October 20, 2011 at Sitio Kamanagan, Brgy. Ganatan shot and hit said harmless victim FATHER FAUSTO POPS TENTORIO, several times using 9mm caliber firearm with frangible bullets, hitting him several times on his head, trunk and the different parts of his body, which caused his instantaneous death.

As preparations for the trial get underway, "The four key witnesses and their families are kept in a safe house under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Fr Geremia noted. There are also new witnesses preparing to testify.

"The trial can identify the perpetrators and the motive for the killing. It can obtain at least partial justice for Fr Fausto and other similar Extra Judicial Victims (EJK). The trial can provide more security to the witnesses so that they can return to their homes and their jobs.

"It can also provide more security for those who continue the programs of Fr Fausto and all those who serve the Tribals all over the country, and it can even inspire more volunteers to serve the poor.

Finally, "It can bring some comfort to the Tentorio family and to the PIME family and to all the communities who shared Fr Faustos activities. In particular, it can contribute to the peace process in Arakan and Mindanao.
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Speaking at a campaign event last week in Nevada, Democratic Presidential candidate Robert Francis Beto O'Rourke was asked by a student how he will protect a womans right to access safe and legal abortion.

During his response, ORourke reiterated his support for abortion rights. This was unsurprising. Every Democratic Presidential candidate this election cycle is a vocal proponent of legal abortion. However, during his response, ORourke raised eyebrows with his effusive praise for Planned Parenthood. He stated that Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women.

Here O'Rourke is misinformed. Planned Parenthood is America's number one performer of abortions. Their most recent annual report indicates that they performed over 330,000 abortions in 2017. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood's annual reports indicate that the number of abortions they perform has been consistently increasing, while the number of other health services they offer has been consistently decreasing. Specifically, between 2005and 2017 Planned Parenthood conducted 64 percent fewer breast exams and 69 percent fewer cancer screenings  while performing 26 percent more abortions.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that funding Planned Parenthood improves other aspects of public health. In his remarks, O'Rourke referenced high rates of maternal mortality. However, reports of high maternal mortality rates in Texas are based on a flawed study that was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2016. A 2018 study published in the same journal finds that due to coding errors in the 2016 study  the maternal mortality rate in Texas is half of what was previously indicated. Furthermore, there is no evidence of any kind that funding reductions to Planned Parenthood has increased maternal mortality rates.

In 2011, the Texas state legislature and former Governor Rick Perry took the lead in cutting off taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Many media outlets and health professionals confidently predicted doom. The New York Times, The Texas Tribune, and NPR cited a Legislative Budget Board analysis which predicted an increase of over 20,000 unplanned births. Similarly, a Guttmacher Institute analysis, according to a piece put out by The Nation, predicted that in the absence of funding for family planning, abortions would increasb e by 22 percent in the Lone Star State.

However, since that time, many public health trends in Texas have been very positive. The most recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicates that since 2011, minor pregnancies have declined by 33 percent, minor births have gone down by 30 percent and minor abortions have been reduced by over 48 percent. The total number of abortions in Texas has fallen by 22 percent since 2011. The record indicates that Beto O'Rourke is incorrect. Planned Parenthood is not saving lives. Indeed, ORourkes home state of Texas is faring very well without forcing its taxpayers to fork over millions of dollars annually to Planned Parenthood.

Originally posted at cnsnews.com

Michael J. New is a Visiting Associate Professor at Ave Maria University and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
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Some questions come from people who are skeptical about the Christian faith. Some come from believers who have skeptical friends. And some come from believers who are struggling with the issue themselves.

Our question is found in the hearts of all three.

Who of us hasnt wondered at times why we believe this ancient book is the revelation of the God of the universe?

Think about it for a moment: The Creator of all that exists reveals himself to a small group of former Egyptian slaves in a remote corner of the globe. Not to kings and emperors, or to scholars in leading universities, but to shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, refugees. On documents which no longer exist so that we must depend on the copies that history has handed down to us. Through circumstances completely foreign to our culture and lives today.

Think of King Arthur and Camelot, and you envision ancient history. The Bible sitting on your shelf is more than twice that old. If we arent sure King Arthur existed or why he matters, what of this ancient book upon which we build our faith? Why should we believe it to be the word of God?

The Bible claims to be the word of God

This fact does not settle the issue, of course.

The Koran claims to be the word of Allah; the Book of Mormon claims to be the revelation of God. But at least we know that Christians do not believe something about the Bible which it does not claim for itself.

Paul was convinced that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). He meant the Old Testament, which was the Bible of his day.

Peter, the leader of early Christianity, considered Pauls writings to be Scripture as well: [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16, my emphasis).

Jesus believed his words to be divinely inspired: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Luke 21:33).

Speaking of the totality of biblical revelation, the writer to the Hebrews claims, The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Someone said, God said, I believe it, and that settles it.

His friend replied, No, God said it and that settles it, whether I believe it or not.

J. I. Packer called the Bible God preaching. Augustine described it as love letters from home.

The copies we possess are trustworthy

Now, lets turn to objective evidence that the Bible is right in its self-description as Gods inspired, authoritative word.

We begin with the manuscript evidence. No original manuscript of any ancient book exists today. The materials used in that era could not stand the effects of elements and time.

For instance, we have only nine or ten good copies of Caesars Gallic Wars, none made earlier than nine hundred years after Caesar. Tacitus, the greatest ancient Roman historian, wrote fourteen books of his Histories; we possess only 4, none made earlier than the tenth century AD. We can find only five manuscripts of any work of Aristotle, none copied earlier than fourteen centuries after Aristotle wrote the originals.

By contrast, we possess five thousand ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and ten thousand copies in other ancient languages. Fragments and parts of these copies date back as early as thirty years after the originals were written. Complete versions of the Gospels, Acts, Pauls letters, and Hebrews date to the early part of the third century. Revelation dates to the latter half of that century. Complete volumes date to the fourth century. Extensive quotations of Scripture in the letters of early Christians date to AD 100.

Textual critics are scholars who devote their attention to comparing ancient manuscripts and trying to produce a copy as close to the original as possible. Those who work with biblical texts believe that the Old and New Testaments we possess today are virtually identical to the originals. The only questions that remain affect matters of spelling, punctuation, and isolated verses. None relates to essential doctrines or practices of the faith.

Archaeology confirms the biblical record

Archaeological finds continue to give us confidence that the biblical writers accurately recorded history.

For instance, the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) was once dismissed as non-historical. Now, tour guides in Jerusalem point groups to its location in the northeast quarter of the Old City. Ive seen the ruins myself.

We have a stone inscription documenting the life and office of Pontius Pilate; the ossuary (coffin) of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the crucifixion; an inscription found at Delphi that describes the work of Gallio, proconsul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17); and scores of other artifacts that document the accuracy of biblical history and description.

The best test for the Bible

There are strong evidential reasons to believe the Bible is Gods word. But the best test comes from personal experience.

I once owned a 1965 Ford Mustang and found myself under its hood as often as I was behind its wheel. Chiltons Car Repair Manual became my constant companion. I learned to trust its advice because it worked.

Try living by the Bible. Accept its Savior as yours. Make its principles the guideposts of your life. And youll learn for yourself that its words are the word of God.

What makes the Bible different from other religious books?

My grandfather was born before the turn of the twentieth century. In his lifetime, he saw the advent of the automobile, commercial airplanes, and the computer. But he never met a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Mormon. Our question never occurred to him.

Today, its a common issue: Why do we believe the Bible is right and other religious books are wrong?

Other religions are just as sincere in their commitment to their sacred writings as Christians are to ours. Is it not the height of bigotry and hypocrisy to claim that our book is right and theirs are not?

In our post-9/11 world, there has been an explosion of interest in Islam and an accompanying cry for tolerance. When we claim that our holy book is true and theirs is not, arent we just as intolerant as those who attacked our nation?

Different paths, different mountains

Conventional wisdom these days dictates that the various religions are just different roads up the same mountain. It doesnt matter which God you trust because they are all the same. Allah is Jehovah; Buddhists and Hindus seek the same God we worship. Different holy books are simply religious diaries. Whos to say that your diary is right and mine is wrong?

Such an approach to world religions and their writings feels tolerant and hopeful. But is it true? Do other religions agree with this characterization of their faith commitments?

In a word, no.

Buddhist beliefs

Buddha taught that there is no god, despite the fact that some of his followers now worship him. He instructed his disciples to avoid all material desires that they might cease their sufferings. The Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path are the keys to enlightenment. The Tripitika is the oldest compilation of the rules, sermons, and doctrines of this approach to life.

Hindu beliefs

Hindus believe in thousands of territorial deities but no Lord of the universe; Brahman is the divine force that sustains the universe, not a personal God to be worshiped. The Rigveda, their earliest scriptures, refer to Brahman as the power that is present in religious sacrifices and actions. Their Upanishads glorify the concept of Brahman over other inferior forms of personal deities.

Muslim beliefs

Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) is the one supreme ruler of the universe, that Jesus was a prophet but not the divine Son of God, and that salvation comes through obedience to the Koran. This book is Allahs self-revelation through his prophet Muhammad. All other holy books are inferior to it, for its pages alone contain the very word of God.

Jewish beliefs

Jews believe that Yahweh revealed himself through the Laws and Prophets of their Scriptures, that Jesus was not the Messiah, and that the New Testament is not the Word of God. They base their hope of heaven on the mercy of God in response to their lives of obedience and morality.

Mormon beliefs

Mormons believe that God revealed himself in the Bible but also in their Book of Mormon, a history of the early peoples of the Western hemisphere. Joseph Smith translated the book from golden plates that he claimed to have received from the angel Moroni. Doctrine and Covenants contain further revelations received by Smith from God. The Pearl of Great Price contains more writings of Smith. They picture God as an eternal being of flesh and bone who had physical relations with Mary to produce Jesus. Salvation and heavenly rewards come through obedience to these revelations.

If any one of these religions is right, the others by definition are wrong. None believes that other religions are equally correct or divinely inspired. The scriptures that the various world religions trust do not describe different paths up the same mountain but very different mountains.

Examine the evidence

So far, we have demonstrated the fact that the worlds great religious books cannot all be right. In fact, if any of them is correct in its teachings regarding the supernatural and eternal, the others are by definition wrong.

So, how do we decide which documents to trust?

Examine the evidence for their truth claims.

Hindu documents, for instance, posit an afterlife filled with reincarnations. Is there any historical support or objective evidence for such a position?

Does objective, independent evidence exist to document the Buddhas enlightenment or Muhammads experiences with Allah?

A number of cities, inscriptions, and places are described only in the Book of Mormon. To date, none have been found by archaeologists.

Conversely, independent evidence for the existence and deity of Jesus Christ is remarkable. Manuscript evidence documenting the trustworthy nature of the biblical materials is overwhelming. There are excellent reasons to believe the Bible is what it claims to be: the word of God.C

What makes the Bible different from other holy books?

In a word, Jesus.

He taught that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). The Bible was written to help us believe in him and find life in his love (John 20:31).

The sacred writings of the various world religions each tell a different story about the divine, the afterlife, and the purpose of life today. Different roads lead to different destinations. The road you choose determines where your trip will end.

Choose wisely.

Isnt the Bible filled with contradictions?

Here is one of the most common ways skeptics justify their skepticism about the Bible. The question is based on the commonplace supposition that contradictions are bad. If you can find a statement I make that disagrees with something Ive already said, youll feel justified in rejecting both. Even though one may be right. Even though they both may be.

Why?

Contradict the contradictions

We have Aristotle (384-322 BC) to thank or blame. In his desire to compile all knowledge into an organized system, he devised laws of logic as organizational tools.

One of them is called the law of contradiction: A cannot equal B and at the same time not equal B. A fish cannot also be a mammal, if a biologist like Aristotle is going to classify it. From then to now, we Westerners have adopted Aristotles law as the basis for determining all truth. If we can find a contradiction in the Bible, we have reason to dismiss its veracity.

But theres a fly in the ointment. Aristotle applied his laws to physical and rational truth, not to spiritual or relational experience.

It may appear contradictory to claim that you love your children and yet sometimes wish theyd never been born. But if youre a typical parent, both are sometimes true.

Jesus claimed to be fully God and fully man; God is three and yet one; the Bible is divinely inspired but humanly written; God knows the future but we have freedom to choose. Inside every essential Christian doctrine, there is a paradox, an apparent contradiction.

Many of the so-called contradictions in the Bible fit into such spiritual or relational categories. For instance, the Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet it also states clearly, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18). And it warns, For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Romans 2:8).

How can God both love and hate? Dont ask Aristotle. But you can ask any parent.

Not all truth fits into test tubes. My seventh-grade geometry teacher claimed that parallel lives never intersect. But to prove it, hed have to draw them forever. Black and white are not the only crayons in the box.

Consider the context

The second category of apparent contradictions in the Bible is more historical and factual.

For example, here are two of the common questions Ive been asked. Each is clarified when we understand the larger context of the text in question.

The Old Testament teaches, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. Which is right?

Both.

Moses was dealing with an ancient culture in which blood vengeance was common and drastic. If you kill my son, I kill your entire family. To limit retribution to the actual criminal and crime was a great step forward.

On the other hand, Jesus was speaking to the issue of personal insult. People in his day used only the right hand in public (as the left was used for personal hygiene). To strike you on the right cheek (Matthew 5:39) with my right hand meant to slap you, a threat to your social standing but not your life. Here you are to forgive rather than punish.

Matthew says that Judas hanged himself; the book of Acts says he fell down and died. Which is it?

Matthews gospel does indeed record Judas suicide by hanging (Matthew 27:5). In Acts 1, Peter says, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out (v. 18).

It may be that Judas body decomposed so that when the rope broke or was cut, it fell as Peter describes. Or it may be that the Greek word translated hanged is actually the word impaled (both meanings are possible) so that Peter describes more vividly the way Judas killed himself.

Either option is a possible way to explain the apparent contradiction.

When we consider the intended meaning of the text and its larger context, such apparent contradictions are resolved.

Check all the options

The third category of supposed contradictions is not the result of context.

For instance, 2 Samuel 24:1 states that the Lord incited David to take a census of the people; 1 Chronicles 21:1 records, Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

But the Jewish people saw all that happens as within the providence and permission of God, so that Satans activity (1 Chronicles) was permitted by the Lord and thus attributable to him (2 Samuel). And the people grew in their knowledge of God so that the Chronicler (writing four hundred years after 2 Samuel) could record Satans activity in more detail than the people had earlier understood.

Matthew 4 records Jesus temptations in a different order than does Luke 4. But neither claimed to be writing chronology, so the order is immaterial. One could set them in time order, the other in spiritual priority, for instance.

1 Kings 7:13 states that Huram, one of the builders of Solomons temple, came from the tribe of Naphtali; 2 Chronicles 2:14 says his mother was from the tribe of Dan. But she could have lived in the territory of Naphtali, or her parents could have come from both tribes.

The real contradiction

The next time someone claims the Bible is full of contradictions, ask him if he has read the Bible. Then ask if it is a contradiction to dismiss a book he hasnt read. Then offer to help him study the Bible and meet its Author.

It is a contradiction to me that a holy and perfect God would want me to live in his perfect paradise.

Im glad its not a contradiction to God.

Who decided what books should be in the Bible?

My earliest experience with the Bible was leafing through an ancient King James Version my parents kept in the guest room. The fountain-penned family tree calligraphied in the first pages fascinated me. The printed thees and thous made no sensethe begats even less. I assumed the entire thing had been handed from God to man in black leather.

Most people know better. Theyve heard somewhere along the way that some books were excluded from the Bible and wonder why. Maybe a group of church officials decided the whole thing. Maybe there were books that told a different story than the one we have in our Bibles. Maybe there was a smoke-filled room somewhere. Maybe there were hanging chads.

The actual story is nowhere near that interesting.

How the Hebrew Scriptures came to be

Christians typically call this section the Old Testament, but those who wrote the New Testament didnt.

When Paul, writing from death row in Rome, asked Timothy for his scrolls and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13), he was asking for his copies of the only Bible he knew. Most scholars appropriately call these thirty-nine books the Hebrew Scriptures, in deference to the Jewish faith they express.

The Hebrew Bible was first divided into Law, Prophets, and Writings, the arrangement current in Jesus day (see Luke 24:44).

The Jews numbered the Scriptures as twenty-four books, combining Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the 12 Minor Prophets as The Twelve. These books were written and compiled over centuries of use.

According to Jewish tradition, a council of rabbis and scholars met at Jamnia on the Mediterranean Sea in AD 90 and again in AD 118. They finalized the list of books as we have them today, recognizing what their people had accepted as Gods word for centuries.

How the New Testament joined the Old

Eventually, the Christian movement began recording its faith and doctrines as well. The eyewitnesses to Jesus life and ministry were dying or growing old. Fraudulent claims were beginning to appear. Believers needed a canon (rule) by which to measure truth and defend the faith. The New Testament was the result.

Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

1. The book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony.

Matthew, the tax collector, was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John.

Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Acts 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Pauls second missionary journey at Troas (note Acts 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from they to we). He wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Luke 1:1-4).

Pauls letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Acts 9:1-6), as did the letters of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John.

This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon.

2. The book must possess merit and authority in its use.

Here, it was easy to separate those writings that were inspired from those that were not.

For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24).

It wasnt hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

3. A book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation.

Pauls letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter that became circular in nature, i.e., read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status.

By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally by the church, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. Others were not considered to be inspired by God.

4. A book came to be approved by the decision of the church.

The so-called Muratorian Canon was the first list to convey the larger churchs opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around AD 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius in AD 367. His list was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God.

By the time the councils had approved the twenty-seven books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

So, who decided what books should be in the Bible?

Ultimately, their Author.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical revelation (2 Peter 1:20-21) led the Christian movement to those books he inspired.

You can know that the Bible you hold today is the book God means you to have.

He did, in fact, hand it to man, through manthough the color of the cover is your choice.

Originally posted at Denison Forum.
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Six-year-old Biola, four-year-old Leona, and eleven-month-old Seth were dressed in their Sunday best by their parents Rangana and Danadiri to attend St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka Easter Sunday to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Christian faith. Moments after arriving for worship, the entire family was brutally murdered by an Islamist terrorist who detonated a bomb inside St. Sebastians.

This beautiful Christian family represents five of the 359 killed and more than 500 injured in a wave of bombings targeting Christians on Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. Suicide bombers hit churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa as worshipers celebrated the resurrection of their savior.

The horrific scenes across Sri Lanka are an abomination to the world and a brutal reminder that terrorism from ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for Sundays bombings, and other Islamist groups are still a significant threat to peace-loving citizens across the world, particularly Christians.

Christians are being persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith across the world. Unfortunately, the coordinated attacks targeting Christians in Sri Lanka were not isolated incidents. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS suicide bombers killed 45 Coptic Christians in Egypt as they worshiped. A Taliban suicide bomber killed dozens of Christians celebrating Easter in 2016 in a public park in Pakistan. A Boko Haram killer took the lives of 38 Christians worshipping on Easter Sunday in 2012 in Nigeria.

U.S. State Department estimates show that over 250 million Christians suffer some form of oppression for their beliefs around the world, most notably in North Korea and Iran. Recent studies show that 215 million Christians in more than 50 countries currently experience extreme levels of persecution  simply because they believe in Jesus Christ.

Christian communities in have existed for nearly 2,000 years in Iraq and Syria, but in the past decade have been nearly exterminated by Muslim extremists. More than a million Syrian Christians have been killed, forcibly converted, or chased out of their own country. Iraq, which once was home to 1.5 million Christians, has just 200,000 Christians left after years of violence. In Iran, Christians face imprisonment, torture, and execution for their faith. Last August, a Christian couple was sentenced to one year in prison in Iran on the charge of propagating against the Islamic Republic in favor of Christianity." These Christian converts were arrested in 2015 and held without trial for three years before being sentenced.

Anti-Christian violence is also spreading throughout Asia and Africa. Christians in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan report increasing occurrences of Muslim and government-sponsored persecution. In North Korea, a recent defector described a life of hell for her nations Christian population as the Kim regime kills, imprisons and tortures Christians found practicing their faith. In Nigeria, the killing of Christians because of their faith shot up by more than 62 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The list of atrocities committed against Christians peacefully practicing their religion is taking place in more than 50 countries all across the world. Places like China, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, and Indonesia continue to crack down on churches and worshippers who dont adhere to their respective regime's rules of worship. Even political allies of the U.S. such as Saudi Arabia and India have seen dramatic increases in the number of Christians persecuted or killed for their faith.

As the most religiously tolerant and free nation on earth, the United States must lead the way for the rest of the world in allowing believers of all faiths to live the tenets of their religion peacefully. However, as the data surrounding religious freedoms around the globe illustrates, it is imperative that President Trump and Congress continue efforts to insist that nations that do business with the U.S. must defend the rights, liberties, and lives of all people, including Christians, in their countries.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have displayed strong leadership on the international stage to advance the cause of religious liberty. Christians around the world are counting on the United States to continue to lead the way in stopping religious persecution and protecting the rights of Christians and other religious minorities around the world.

Tim Head is the Executive Director of Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Interfaith leaders slam US law firm lobbying for Chinese govt, other repressive regimes

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An interfaith group of religious leaders and human rights activists asked one of Americas top international law firms Wednesday to stop representing foreign governments known for their repeated human rights abuses.

In a joint letter sent to the chairman of Squire Patton Boggs, 44 leaders and activists from various faiths and political backgrounds voiced their concerns about the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered organizations representation of foreign governments that are among the worlds most aggressive persecutors of people of faith.

It is deeply troubling to us that your prestigious firm and the many good people it employs are currently associated with and providing legal counsel, representation and other services to such nations, the letter reads.

SPB has 47 offices in 20 countries and has clients that range from local and national governments to large corporations and emerging businesses. Wednesdays letter specifically calls out SPBs relationship with the governments of China, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Surely, Squire Patton Boggs attorneys and advisors  including former House Speaker John Boehner and other prominent, retired American lawmakers  and your firms other clients, have no desire to be associated with, let alone involved in defending or otherwise being implicated in, these governments odious practice, the letter contends.

The letter is spearheaded by the grassroots organization Save the Persecuted Christians and its president, Frank Gaffney, a conservative security analyst and a former acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

Save the Persecuted Christians is pleased to join with others determined to hold accountable those who persecute people of faith  including lobbyists who, as a practical matter, work to enable the persecutors to do so with impunity, Gaffney said in a statement. This is an important initiative in STPCs effort to build a grassroots movement that will help create real costs to the perpetrators for their crimes against humanity.

Included as a signatory in the joint letter is former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican who is considered by many to be an icon in the international religious freedom movement and is the namesake of the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act.

Wolf has been vocal over the years about his concerns with SPBs work for governments in countries like China and Sudan, among others.

Pastor Bob Fu, a religious freedom advocate who runs an influential Chinese religious freedom watchdog, the nongovernmental organization China Aid, also signed onto the letter. Fu has on different occasions testified before Congress about Chinas abuses against Christians.

Signatories also include Foley Beach, the primate of the Anglican Church in North America; popular conservative Christian radio host Eric Metaxas; Greg Mitchell, a longtime lobbyist for the Church of Scientology and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable; Omer Kanat, director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project; and Lily Zhang, director of government and advocacy for the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Association of Washington, D.C.

The letter notes that the communist government in China has systematically repressed every religious minority group in the country through means that include controlling what citizens can access on the internet.

The Uighur Muslim community has greatly been impacted by Chinas intolerance to faith as hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been imprisoned in concentration camps.

Some such camps have reportedly, chillingly had crematoria installed for disposing of the bodies of those who die while interned, the letter explains.

The letter also stresses that the Chinese government has destroyed countless underground Protestant and Catholic churches and regularly arrests pastors who are not registered with a state-sanctioned church. The letter adds that the Chinese government has begun offering rewards for information about secret worship gatherings.

As for other faiths, Falun Gong believers are being subjected to organ harvesting while Tibetan Buddhists are suffering from a cultural genocide.

As for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the leaders contend that the country is systematically repressing its own people, especially women.

The monarchy places a particular emphasis on the suppression of religious freedom at home, the letter states. "As a result, Christians and other faith communities in the Kingdom risk imprisonment and gruesome corporal punishments, including decapitation.

Last week, Saudi Arabia received much criticism from the international religious freedom community when 37 Saudi nationals, most of whom were Shia Muslims, were executed.

The joint letter also criticized the Saudi regime for promoting intolerance in its textbooks, mosques and overseas madrassas.

The leaders specifically pointed to the killing last year of journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

On the basis of the KPIs, unquestionably the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most egregious offenders of religious liberty and that is why it is a [a country of particular concern], Commissioner Johnnie Moore from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said this week during the rollout of USCIRFs annual report.

Moore was among a group of evangelical leaders who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last year as part of a USCIRF delegation that met with Saudi religious police.

Qatar is ranked as the 38th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA. Open Doors warns that the Qatari government has engaged in heavy persecution of Christians.

The letter contends that Qatar is funding terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and propaganda outlets like Al Jazeera. The letter adds that Qatar is promoting intolerant practices worldwide toward people of other faiths or not faith at all.

As advocates for suffering religious communities globally, we are determined to hold accountable those responsible, the letter concludes. We respectfully call upon your firm promptly and fully to disassociate itself from and cease all work on behalf of the governments of the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Christian Post reached out to SPB for a response to the letter. A response is pending.
From Paris to Boston, the crucial role of fire chaplains

Chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, Jean-Marc Fournier, is credited with saving several items of great significance  such as the crown of thorns  from the Cathedral of Notre Dame as it burned.

Previously a military chaplain in Afghanistan, Fournier also cared for survivors from the 2015 terrorist rampage at the Bataclan in Paris that killed more than 100 people.

Fournier is not alone in placing himself at great risk in service of others. Mychal Judge, the first casuality of 9/11, was a Catholic chaplain to the New York City Fire Department.

Although rarely seen by those on the outside, fire departments across the country include chaplains. They provide care to firefighters, family members and members of the public in a range of crucial ways.

Regardless of their own faith background, they typically work with people of all faiths and beliefs, outside of traditional congregations or parishes.

The chaplaincy context

Historically chaplains were required in the military, federal prisons and the Veterans Administration.

But as congregations shrink and growing numbers of Americans move away from organised religion, it is chaplains that are often doing the work of spiritual care.

Chaplains these days are mostly present in health care settings such as hospices, hospitals and some nursing facilities where people are more likely to need end-of-life spiritual care.

They are also to be seen in airports, seaports, car racetracks and in areas where disasters have struck. There are chaplains even for pets and their owners.

Some chaplains have graduate degrees and extensive clinical training while others may not.

Fire chaplains in Massachusetts

As scholars of contemporary religion and its practice, we interviewed 65 chaplains in a range of sectors over the past three years and spent time with fire chaplains who work across the greater Boston area.

The Boston Fire Department appointed its first chaplains in the early 1900s and since then chaplains have served continually in the Mass Corps of Fire Chaplains. Over the course of the 20th century, several of them have put themselves at great risk to serve firefighters and others in need.

During the 1942 fire in Boston's popular Coconut Grove nightclub in which more than 450 were killed and 160 injured, chaplains were a steady presence and served in whatever way was most helpful.

In another devastating fire in Hotel Vendome in 1972, in which nine firefighters died, James Keating, Catholic chaplain to the fire department, crawled into holes dug in the rubble to administer last rites to two of the firemen who had died in the collapse.

In 1973, Father Daniel Mahoney provided support at Logan Airport when a flight crashed, killing all 89 on board.

In 1983, Father Maloney entered Temple Tifereth Israel in Everett to save the precious Torah scrolls during a fire. Like Fournier in Paris, he took an extraordinary risk to save religious items. Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains later honored him for his distinguished service.

The emotional work

Fire chaplains also serve firefighters and their families when they are sick, getting married or have other needs.

In our interviews, one fire chaplain described blessing the bodies of firefighters killed in the line of duty and accompanying their families and coworkers through memorial services and months of grief. He explained how chaplains try "to bring some solace," when there is loss of life during a fire. "Whether it's through prayer or just chatting with them or .. blessing a body  the whole entire reverence that takes place at that time is important," he said.

Chaplains help firefighters cope with other difficulties as well. Witnessing injuries, losing colleagues in the line of duty, or recovering the remains of fire victims all take an enormous emotional and mental toll on firefighters.

"Chiefs appreciate our role," one reflected, "I look at the scene and I have been around long enough to assess this is going to be a three-hour operation so it is worth rolling the rehab truck up."

Sometimes this includes being a resource for fire victims. One chaplain remembered a time when the fire had been put out and everyone was ready to leave. He said, "And there is one man who lived there and he was waiting," as the Red Cross had not shown up yet. He recalled thinking,

"I can't walk away and just leave this man here by himself. So I sat there with him for like almost two hours before the Red Cross finally came. No one even really knew that I did that and that is one of the things we do. We are silently there and do what needs to be done."

Chaplains are a central, if often overlooked, element of the changing American religious landscape.

Jean-Marc Fournier's service is a reminder of the role many play. Often it is quiet and behind-the-scenes.

Wendy Cadge, Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University and Michael Skaggs, Executive Director, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Brandeis University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
India: decades of hostility against NGOs have worsened under Narendra Modi

India has nearly 3.4m non-governmental organisations (NGOs), working in a variety of fields ranging from disaster relief to advocacy for marginalised and disadvantaged communities. They are a major part of civil society which bring rapid change and social transformation.

NGOs are considered as independent of the state, and voluntary in nature. They depend on individual donations, foreign funding and aid from different government agencies and private donors. Their work helps rid India of

prejudices, corruption, illiteracy and poverty.

But in recent decades, India has been a difficult environment for a number of organisations  particularly those working to empower people against unjust government policies, question structural discrimination and advocate for the rights of Dalits, tribal people and other deprived groups. A succession of Indian governments have tried to curb their activities.

The most draconian attempt to crack down on NGOs came in 2010 with amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA) by the Congress government of the then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The law was first enacted in 1976 by the Congress government to prohibit the use of foreign funding in political activities in an effort to restrain foreign interference in domestic politics. But the 2010 amendments meant "any organisation of a political nature" was forbidden from taking foreign funding. This vague definition allowed the government to question those NGOs demanding better government accountability about their funding sources.

Soon after Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister in May 2014, a leaked report from India's Intelligence Bureau accused NGOs such as Greenpeace, Cordaid, Amnesty and Action Aid for reducing India's GDP by 2-3% per year. It helped to legitimise the government's actions against NGOs.

In late 2018, it was revealed the Modi government had cancelled the licenses of nearly 20,000 NGOs receiving foreign funds under the FCRA. According to a report on India's philanthropic landscape by the consultancy Bain and Company, there was around a 40% decline in foreign funding between 2015 and 2018.

Even NGOs such as the Public Health Foundation of India, which has expertise in public health policy, and Navsarjan, which works for the protection of Dalit rights, have had their licences to receive foreign funding cancelled.

In 2015, Greenpeace staff member Priya Pillai was taken off a flight on her way to a meeting in the UK about issues relating to the allocation of coal exploration licences and its impact on tribal people.

In 2018, a number of rights NGO activists were arrested and accused of being Maoists working against the state. This included Sudha Bhardwaj, general secretary of the Chhattisgarh People's Union for Civil Liberties, who had worked for decades to empower disadvantaged, voiceless groups in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

Muzzling NGOs

Such clampdowns are not new and not merely the result of the ideology of Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) regime. They reflect decades of attempts under various governments, irrespective of political ideology, to curtail the work of NGOs.

In 2012, Singh's government cracked down on NGOs protesting against the Kudankulum nuclear power project, without recognising the fact that NGOs were representing and supporting people's safety and environmental concerns. At the time, Singh criticised NGOs, saying: "There are NGOs, often funded from the US and the Scandinavian countries, which are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces." Three NGOs lost their licence.

READ MORE: 'It Is Devastating For Families': How Compassion International Is Being Forced Out Of India

Modi has used his political platform to speak out against NGOs, in an attempt to fuel mistrust of their activities. In early 2016, he claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy by NGOs to finish him and remove his government.

Yet, in recent decades, many NGOs in India have assisted the state to serve its citizens by pushing for laws including those on the right to information, food security and rural employment.

Still, India's disproportionate number of NGOs and the sector's lack of transparency and accountability is clearly an issue that needs reforms. Nor should allegations of corruption against NGOs be ignored. In 2009, 883 NGOs were blacklisted after being found to have indulged in misappropriation of funds. In such cases, NGOs need to uphold probity in their work. But the government's tactics of cracking down on rights-based NGOs through vague legislation goes against the idea of justice.

Issues such as the rising cases of violence against Dalits and land grabs by the state in India provide an opportunity for NGOs to ask uncomfortable questions of the government. This particularly so at a time when the rights of those who don't agree with the state need to be protected.



Sujeet Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Is Britain breaking up?

Is Britain about to break up? The argument is being made more frequently by the commentariat in London and Manchester  especially those who are opposed to Brexit. 'Look' they say, "Brexit will mean the break up of Britain" and this, along with the other apocalyptic predictions 'planes will stop flying, the NHS will collapse, the end of civilization as we know it', is being used as a weapon to prevent Brexit.

But how true is this meme? And does it matter from a Christian perspective?

I live in Scotland. I am a Scot. And I have been involved in the Scottish political scene since 1979. In 2014 the independence movement came very close to achieving its aim. David Cameron had granted a referendum on Scottish independence confident that he would easily win it and kill off Scottish nationalism for good (does that sound familiar?).

He was so confident, (polls were showing 70% for the Union) that he even allowed the leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, to draft the question; "Should Scotland be an independent country?" It became a close run thing with all the stops being pulled out, everything from Project Fear to Gordon Brown. The union survived 55%-45%, but the SNP thrived. Its membership quadrupled and in 2015 they won an astonishing 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in the Westminster election.

In the 2016 EU referendum 1.6 million Scots (63%) voted Remain, 1 million (37%) voted Leave. The narrative since then has been that Scotland wants to remain and so will leave the UK in order to join the EU. This narrative is superficial and simplistic. It won't happen. In fact the opposite has occurred  instead of strengthening the chances of Scottish independence, Brexit has killed the possibility off for decades.

Why?

One third of SNP voters voted for Brexit and they cannot understand why the SNP would want Scotland to become independent of one union, only to join a larger one, where we would have less say. 'Independence in the EU' is to them an oxymoron.

Whatever the pros and cons of the EU, when your economies, laws and courts are largely controlled by an outside body, that is not what most would call independence. The obsession with Brexit seems to have turned the SNP into the EUNP. Ironically they now use the same Project Fear arguments against leaving the EU, as were used against leaving the UK. In the 2017 General election the SNP lost 21 seats and the Tories gained 12  largely because of the Brexit issue.

Secondly, as the UK has found with leaving the EU, breaking up is hard to do. If leaving a 50 year old union is hard, how much more complex will leaving a 400 year old one be?! That is why, despite the chaos in Westminster, polling figures show that support for independence has not risen, and may even have shrunk. In order to call a secnd independence referendum Nicola Sturgeon wants the polls to be at about 60% Yes. They are generally 15-20% short of that.

But didn't the First Minister talk recently about putting legislation for another Independence referendum before the Scottish Parliament? Was she bluffing? To put it bluntly, yes. She was speaking to a conference of SNP activists hungry for news and hope. She offered them the carrot of another referendum knowing that it is not going to happen.Because another referendum cannot happen without the Westminster government giving what is called a Section 30 order. Both the Tories and Labour have said they will not do this.

When the UK parliament refuses, this is a win/win for Sturgeon and the SNP. They don't have to fight a referendum they would almost certainly lose and they get to blame the bad politicians in Westminster yet again.

So if you are concerned about the breakup of the UK, relax. Scotland won't be leaving soon (although Northern Ireland is a different and even more complex story).

But should we care? And is there a particular Christian perspective on this? I think so.

There are Christians who want Scotland to be an independent country (I am one of them) and others who want us to remain within the UK. I hope that none of us will claim particular biblical sanction for our positions. Amazingly, the Bible says nothing about Scottish independence! But we should be concerned about the state of Christianity in our countries.

The 17th century was also a time of great turbulence in the British Isles  with a civil war in England being extended to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Amidst all the turmoil, including a king losing his head; parliament requested a large group of 'divines' (clergymen) to meet in Westminster to formulate a plan for uniting the churches, and thus the kingdoms, in Britain.

Although that didn't exactly pan out, it did result in the Westminster Confession of Faith (the basis of most Presbyterian churches). Ultimately by the end of the century we had a stronger parliamentary democracy and the union of Scotland and England.

Who knows but the current chaos in the land may yet lead to something better! We can only pray!

The United Kingdom was formed for economic, military and social reasons. But what is often forgotten is the fourth element  the United Kingdom was founded on the basis of Christianity.

Whether that was a good or bad thing  I tend to plumb on balance for the former  is not the question. The real question is now that we are removing Christianity can a United Kingdom that was founded upon it, remain? And do we want it to? Perhaps there is more that hangs on that question than we realise.

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He blogs at www.theweeflea.com
Will Europe's persecuted Christian refugees be acknowledged in Jeremy Hunt's review?

Many Christian refugees from the Middle East report facing persecution from Islamic extremists in the refugee camps and centres in Europe and converts from Islam to Christianity are in the worst danger, as they are considered apostates by the extremists.

Although protection policies exist in UN treaties and international refugee law, these protections are rarely implemented because officials fear that they will be accused of discrimination. In effect, most agencies and charities working with refugees in Europe choose to ignore the problem.

The interim report into persecution by the Bishop of Truro for the Foreign Secretary, released on Friday, also ignores the plight of Christian refugees in Europe, even when it was highlighted as part of the oral and written evidence submitted to the independent review panel in Westminster.

In fact, the report doesn't mention what is happening with Christians in Europe or Great Britain at all.

Yochana Darling, head of mission at (ICC), which manages a day centre and safe houses for Christian refugees in Greece, was one of those who gave oral evidence to the Westminster panel.

According to that evidence, Christian refugees in Athens were surrounded by Muslim extremists and shown videos of the Islamic State beheading Christians. They were told they would be next.

The review panel were told that when a family was relocated from a camp to official agency accommodation, they were attacked with knives.

An Iranian refugee in Greece suffered a heart attack when around fifty extremists surrounded their accommodation unit after he returned from church with his family. The extremists poured petrol on their temporary home and held knives to the throats of the women and children. The security guards were too afraid to intervene.

"Verbal abuse is normal," Yochana tells me. "Christians are mocked, ridiculed, and called kafirs [unbeliever]. That happens daily. More concerning though are the high numbers of regular death threats and threats of physical harm. Over the past three years, we have come across countless cases of actual physical and sexual assaults."

In 2016, both Open Doors in Germany and ICC in Greece published two separate reports on the persecution of Christian refugees. These reports were independent from each other but produced almost identical results: at the time, 87-88 per cent of respondents reported of persecution in refugee and migrant camps and accommodation. And because the persecution is ignored, it continues unabated.

"Rape is used as a punishment for conversion and a method of coercion to get apostates to repent and return to Islam," Yochana says.

"Women and children have had knives held to their throats, whilst fathers and husbands are beaten with metal pipes and other implements. Families have had petrol poured over them and threatened with burning alive, just because they were reading their Bibles together and singing some worship songs.

"Tents and accommodation have been destroyed and Christians driven out of camps and other accommodation.

"The police and camp officials don't intervene, and no protection is given."

In Greece, there have been many reports of male converts being gang-raped as punishment.

In the Moria camp, on the island of Lesvos, 95 per cent of Christian refugees told ICC it was unsafe to read the Bible. In Germany, an Afghan man was recently stabbed because of his faith. He survived but the police told him he was lying and that the attack had nothing to do with him being a Christian, so that it wouldn't be recorded as a hate crime.

Some Western Christians are sceptical about refugees converting to Christianity but the grim reality is that converting from Islam to Christianity can be dangerous anywhere in Europe. We hear similar reports of attacks on converts across Europe, including Britain.

Our contacts in Germany tell us that when Muslim converts to Christianity are attacked, the emergency services often delay their arrival. This has resulted in the death of some converts.

"It's a politically sensitive question but overwhelmingly the persecutors are fellow asylum seekers from the Middle East and from Islamic backgrounds," Yochana says.

"There are concerns about the number of extremist groups in the camps, and this is something that we are told regularly by our charity's beneficiaries, who are shocked that their persecutors in the Middle East have followed them into the camps.

She asserts that government and other official agencies "avoid looking at religion at any cost".

"The general policy is to not ask anything about religious beliefs or issues, and consequently, religious persecution is usually completely off their radar," she says.

"They fear political consequences or accusations of preferential treatment if they consider the dangers faced by Christian refugees and converts.

"People still tend to consider Europe as a Christian majority continent, and it can be challenging for people to understand that Christian refugees are a religious minority group in need of protection in certain situations."

ICC has a day centre in Athens specifically for the Christian refugees. They need to feel safe to access integration support services and other types of support, so it has become a vital hub for many of the organisation's beneficiaries.

So what does Yochana want to see happen?

"The first thing that needs to happen is recognition of the issue," she says.

"Fear of political backlash or accusations of discrimination is not an excuse to ignore serious violations of religious

freedom rights in Europe.

"More support needs to be given to this group, which is currently a hidden persecuted minority, and protection measures in camps and other accommodation need to be implemented. Currently this is not happening."

Yochana says that the wider refugee population also needs to be educated about religious freedom rights.

Many people working with refugees are willing to talk about the issue off the record but fear that talking about it publicly could endanger the important work they are doing improving the lives of the refugees. Also, they fear that the wider refugee population, who have nothing to do with the extremist groups, will be demonised and that public opinion that is often already hostile against refugees, will become even more so.

But we can't ignore these attacks any longer, she concludes.

"It would be wonderful to see the British Foreign Office take a stand in this matter and lead by example in upholding these fundamental human rights, which are currently being completely ignored for Christian refugees", Yochana says.

With the Bishop of Truro's full report due out in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the plight of Europe's Christian refugees is acknowledged then.
A pilot from Anahuac survived the second helicopter crash of his life Saturday afternoon, this time in New Caney.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office reported the helicopter crash just after 2 p.m in a parking lot near FM 494 and Antique Lane.
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Humble residents gathered at the Humble Civic Center on Thursday to love one another and to pray for the community and country, city officials said.

As part of the National Day of Prayer, residents, community religious leaders and city officials also offered prayers to the government, military, first responders, educators, businesses, families and the media.

The goal was to bring the community together.

This years theme is Love One Another, and it is taken from John 13:34, Jennifer Wooden, Humble Civic Center director said. Love one another just as I have loved you.

Back in 1952, Kansas Senator Frank Carlson and Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotels initiated a bill asking Former President Harry S. Truman to set aside a day, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer.

It wasnt until 1983 when the first National Day of Prayer was observed and organized by the National Day of Prayer Committee. It took place in Washington D.C.

Former President Bill Clinton signed a bill that became law in 1998 recognizing the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring May 2 as the 2019 National Day of Prayer. Trumps proclamation acknowledges religious liberty as a natural right, given to us by our Creator, not a courtesy that government extends to us.

The City of Humble also gave a proclamation declaring May 2, 2019 as the National Day of Prayer in Humble, which was read by Mayor Pro Tem Norman Funderburk.

The city is pleased to serve as host for this significant event offering unified public prayer for our countrybringing us together from all backgrounds, transcending whatever differences that may exist between us, Funderburk said. Through our participation we become part of a movement nationwide where millions of Americans of all faiths praying for our country.

Many residents who attended the ceremony donned their patriotic colors as they prayed for the U.S. Many if not all who attended the ceremony believe prayer is a powerful thing.

Prayer is so important to me because without it, were nothing, Humble resident Pam Ripley said. We have to have our God for wisdom, guidance and direction. He loves us, and He hears our prayers.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
A longtime member of the Katy Social Services Advisory Board and a coordinator of the Katy United Methodist Church home-delivered meals program is the 2019 Katy Senior Citizen of the Year.

Peggy Dimmick, director of social services, said she nominated Nevelynn Melendy for the honor and her nomination was unanimously supported by the advisory board. Her name then was submitted to Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner and she will be honored at the May 13 Katy City Council meeting. May is recognized as Older Americans Month.

Dimmick said Melendys contributions to the Katy community through the years are the main criteria for her being selected this year for the honor.

Nevelynn is very special to us and has been an asset to our community ... we are all proud to honor her with this special Senior of the Year Award, added Dimmick.

Melendy was among seniors who participated in the August 2011 ground-breaking for the senior citizen center built at 5370 E. Fifth St. in Katy. She volunteered on the Katy Social Services Board at the Fussell Senior center from October 2001 to May 2018. For 14 years, she coordinated the meals program at the Methodist church first through the Stephen Ministry and then through Interfaith Ministries.

Born in Sweetwater, Texas, she moved with her family when she was about a year old to Katy where she grew up. After she married, she moved to Cypress for about 20 years before moving back to Katy. Shes lived in the Katy area for over 64 years, said William Melendy, of Houston and one of her three children. Her son, Wes, and her daughter, Patti, live in the Katy area. She has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When he was a youngster, William Melendy said his mom volunteered first with the Boy Scouts and then worked for them a number of years as director of handicapped Scouting before she retired. She also served in various positions with the AARP  Katy Chapter #2655.

Shes always been involved in the community, he added. Shes always there to lend a helping hand. Thats just my mom.

Her involvement includes teaching Sunday school at church and belonging to the Joyful Noise Makers choir which makes weekly visits to nursing homes as well as singing with the church choir.

A huge Astros fan, Melendy turned 85 on April 15. Through AARP, shes able to attend Astros games with her friends. If an Astros game is on TV, shes watching the Astros, added William.

karen.zurawski@chron.com
The woman who died after hitting a downed tree in a Kingwood street on Friday night has been identified as a fourth-grade teacher in the Humble ISD, according to Houston police.

Amy Woodeshick taught at Groves Elementary, the district confirmed in a letter sent to parents.

The 25-year-old hit the fallen tree around 8:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Kingwood Drive, a business and tree-lined thoroughfare near the HEB grocery store, according to officials.

An officer was flagged down to the crash and she was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where she died, police said.

"She loved helping children learn and grow, and she made students' school days bright," the Humble ISD statement said.

Counselors will be on hand to support students and staff on Monday.

Woodeshick was a graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball and the University of Houston. She previously taught at Humble Middle School and Shadow Forest Elementary.

The crash happened after several storm cells swept through Waller, Montgomery and north Harris County with multiple confirmed tornadoes, hail and flooded streets in the Spring area.

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Each year, they gather to celebrate accomplishments, raise money and have a little fun. But what makes the difference for those gathered for the annual Go Red For Women luncheon is that they leave the respective facility with a little bit of education.

Hundreds of women and men gathered Friday for the 2019 Northwest Harris County Go Red For Women Luncheon at The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside.

The Go Red For Woman cause is to raise awareness among women about the health threat of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, one in three women are impacted by cardiovascular disease.

By the end of the luncheon, thousands of dollars had been raised to help the cause  through pledges and donated auction items  and stories were shared which punctuated the notion that women need to be aware of their heart health.

CVS Health serves as the national sponsor for Go Red for Women. Locally, Houston Methodist takes the reins as a top sponsor.

Emcee Lindsey Caldwell lauded the events 15th anniversary but cautioned against complacency.

The fight is not over, she said while pointing out 80% of heart events are preventable.

Go Red For Women Chair Darcy Mingoia said, The Go Red movement starts with us. We raise money. We also educate men and women in our community.

Telling their stories of heart disease were survivors Regay Hildreth and Temika Jones, who connected as young mothers and wives with heart problems.

Jones was just 32 when she ended up in the hospital when she landed in the hospital, where she was heavily sedated for a week as doctors worked to heal her damaged heart.

Hildreth has a history of parents and grandparents with heart disease and had a similar story to share.

Together, Jones and Hildreth led the way for the Open Your Heart campaign, which according to the American Heart Association $0.90 of every dollar raised supports research and education for women and heart disease.

For more information, go to GoRedForWomen.org or locally visit nwHarrisCountyGoRed.heart.org.

rkent@hcnonline.com
The largest tribe in South Dakota told the state's governor on Thursday that she is "not welcome" in its homelands, a sprawling reservation southwest of the capital city, Pierre.

The extraordinary step is the latest escalation in a years-long feud over the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, a conflict that now pits advocates of indigenous rights, environmentalism and free speech against the state government, the Trump administration and a powerful oil company.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted Wednesday to ban Gov. Kristi Noem, R, from its Pine Ridge Reservation and sent a sharply worded letter on Thursday.

"If you do not honor this directive," wrote tribe President Julian Bear Runner, "... we will have no choice but to banish you."

In response, Noem's spokeswoman said the governor was surprised at the letter but said she will "maintain her efforts to build relationships with the tribes."

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Bear Runner pledged that the ban would last until Noem rescinds her support for a pair of laws the state passed in response to promised demonstrations against the Keystone XL pipeline project. The laws, which codify "riot boosting," are designed to prevent protests that may disrupt pipeline construction.

Critics say the legislation was designed to prevent the sort of large-scale, high-profile protests that unfolded over the Dakota Access pipeline in neighboring North Dakota, which began in 2016 and lasted for months. Demonstrations there led to more than 750 arrests, and the policing effort cost the state $38 million.

Noem announced the bills in the waning days of the year's legislative session, and the state's Republican majorities pushed them through the House and Senate in just 72 hours.

"My pipeline bills make clear that we will not let rioters control our economic development," Noem said in a statement after she signed the bills into law in late March.

But the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have staunchly opposed the new laws, criticizing what they see as serious threats to free speech.

Together, the laws would allow officials to sue activists if violence or law breaking occurs at a protest they organized, promoted or somehow encouraged. Money collected from those lawsuits would be used to pay for damage claims stemming from that demonstration or for law enforcement costs.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new statute (and two existing criminal riot laws), claiming that it is too vague, too broad and impinges on protected speech.

"We believe they chill free speech and they are therefore unconstitutional," said Courtney Bowie, the legal director for the ACLU's South Dakota chapter, in an interview with The Washington Post. "I don't think anyone can accurately define what 'riot boosting' is ... the law is completely unclear and that's part of the problem."

Chase Iron Eyes, the public relations liaison for Bear Runner, told The Post that the laws pose a direct threat to members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, many of whom plan to oppose the pipeline project, which would run through, and could threaten, sacred tribal lands.

"We have a right to speak freely," Iron Eyes said. "We have a right to peaceably assemble."

Tribe leaders have said Noem and state legislators excluded them from the bill crafting process and instead elected to meet with TransCanada Corp., the company behind the $8 billion project. Iron Eyes said the effort amounted to a violation of the tribe's sovereignty and the treaty it signed with the United States.

"We don't feel Kristi Noem wrote this legislation for the good of South Dakotans, or our land, or our water," he said. "We believe big extraction wrote this legislation."

The tribe's response on Wednesday was an unprecedented step, said Iron Eyes, who couldn't recall another instance when leaders told a representative of state government that she wasn't welcome on their land. If Noem violates the resolution, she could face banishment, a serious formal tribal process - though Iron Eyes said he doesn't think it'll come to that.

Noem's press secretary, Kristin Wileman, said in a statement that the governor "has spent considerable time in Pine Ridge building relationships with tribal members."

"This announcement from Oglala Sioux tribal leadership is inconsistent with the interactions she has had with members of the community," Wileman said.

Noem visited the reservation in March, as residents were recovering from severe flooding in the region, a trip leaders welcomed at the time. However, Iron Eyes said, she made subsequent trips to the reservation without informing Bear Runner or other leaders, which, he said, was a lapse in diplomatic courtesy.

"It's unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux's leadership when resources were needed during recent storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community," Wileman said.

The letter is another sign of further fraying relationships between the state government and its neighboring tribes in the weeks since Noem proposed the protest bills. In mid-March, four tribal chairmen, including Bear Runner, asked the state not to display their flags at the Capitol, saying that the bills had "destroyed our trust" in South Dakota's leadership.

But Iron Eyes said he's confident the laws will be struck down eventually.

"We're on the right side, here, of spirit and morality," he said. "And the legality just needs to come along. We've got to evolve."

From the Oval Office, however, President Donald Trump has tried to muscle the pipeline project through its court challenges. Days after Noem signed her bills into law, Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to clear a path for pipeline construction. That, too, now faces legal challenges.
High school students from Spring, Klein, Tomball, Humble and The Woodlands raised their right hands and pledged to serve in the U.S. Army on Wednesday, May 1.

While most of the 52 student recruits dressed in matching black shirts taking the oath were high school seniors, Caston Benoit of Klein Collins High School, is still a junior.

I just hope to be on base and work on the big trucks, all of the equipment and do my best, he said.

After completing his basic training, Benoit said he will return to complete his last year of high school in September, less than three weeks after the year officially begins.

While getting ready to take the oath, he said he enjoyed getting to know the other recruits.

Its like a big family  a bunch of brothers and sisters. It doesnt take long to get to know someone, he said.

Other students, like Mirakle Clayton, a senior at Westfield High School, said her decision to enlist was more practical.

Eventually, she also plans to enroll at a university when she can obtain financial aid and pursue her studies in microbiology.

Wherever Im stationed, I will look up universities, she said.

As the first in her family to join the military, Gina Lucciono, a senior at Spring High School, said she wanted to join so that she could travel around the world.

Lucciono said that while shes still not sure what she wants to study, she plans to eventually enroll at a university wherever she is stationed.

After a year or two, Im hoping to start college while Im deployed, she said.

While on stage with the other recruits, Lucciono said that reciting the oath reminded her of her commitment.

It gives you that rush of anticipation. You know its happening. Youre not quite there yet, but youre saying this stuff. Youre ready to go, she said.

The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the Church at Creeks End in Spring as a way to honor families and encourage students for their upcoming military service, said chamber president Jenan Blank.

With the way the world is right now, who knows if some of them are coming back. Why not support them and their families? Whether you agree with whats going on politically or worldwide, these kids still believe in our country enough that we can believe behind them, she said.

Tariq Carter, a senior at Tomball High School, said his family talked him into enlisting so that he could receive help with tuition costs once he enrolls in college classes.

Carter said he hopes to stay in Texas so that he can close to his family and eventually take film studies courses at the University of Texas or the University of Houston.

While he was taking the oath along with the other recruits, he said he would take his responsibility seriously.

I was just thinking its real. Its a big commitment youve got to make. I was just thinking to myself, This is what I want to do, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
May 3, 1621  Sir Simonds DEwes published his political biography of Sir Francis Bacon, in which he accuses the great lawyer, scholar of his most abominable and daring sin. DEwes continued, I should rather bury in silence than mention it, were it not a most admirable instance of how men are enslaved by wickedness and held captive by the devil. DEwes accused Frances Bacon of keeping still one Godrick, a very effeminate-faced youth, to be his catamite and bedfellow deserting the bed of his Lady. That same year, Bacon resigned as Lord Chancellor over accusations that he accepted payment from litigants, which, while against the law, was a widespread and accepted practice at the time. He quickly confessed to accepting payments, a confession that may have been prompted by threats to charge him with the capital offense of sodomy.

Wrote DEwes:

. . the favour he had with the beloved Marquis of Buckingham emboldened him, as I learned in discourse from a gentleman of his bedchamber, who told me he was sure his lord should never fall as long as the said Marquis continued in favour. His most abominable and darling sinne I should rather burie in silence, than mencion it, were it not a most admirable instance, how men are enslaved by wickedness, & held captive by the devill. For wheeras presentlie upon his censure at this time his ambition was moderated, his pride humbled, and the meanes of his former injustice and corruption removed; yet would he not relinquish the practice of his most horrible & secret sinne of sodomie, keeping still one Godrick, a verie effeminate faced youth, to bee his catamite and bedfellow, although hee had discharged the most of his other household sevants: which was the moore to bee admired, because men generallie after his fall begann to discourse of that his unnaturall crime, which hee had practiced manie yeares, deserting the bedd of his Ladie, which hee accounted, as the Italians and the Turkes doe, a poore & meane pleasure in respect of the other; & it was thought by some, that hee should have been tried at the barre of justice for it, & have satisfied the law most severe against that horrible villanie with the price of his bloud; which caused some bold and forward man to write these verses following in a whole sheete of paper, & to cast it down in some part of Yorkehouse in the strand, wheere Viscount St. Alban yet lay: Within this sty a *hogg doth ly,

That must be hangd for Sodomy. (*alluding both to his sirname of Bacon, & to that swinish abominable sinne.) But hee never came to anye publicke triall for this crime; nor did ever, that I could heare, forbeare his old custome of making his servants his bedfellowes, soe to avoid the scandall was raised of him, though hee lived many yeares after his fall in his lodgings in Grayes Inne in Holbourne, in great want & penurie.

At a time when moralists described gay love as unnatural lust, and a variety of other degrading terms, Sir Francis Bacon was the first person in the English language to use the non-stigmatizing phrase masculine love

May 3, 1921  Dr. Clarence P. Oberndorf, a New York City psychoanalyst, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Brooklyn about one of his patients, a 74-year-old Civil War veteran who suffered from depression, saying For sixty years I have been leading a double life. He became aware of his feelings for other men at a very early age. He preferred rough, coarse men, like longshoremen, husky and full of vitality. These he sought at intervals, while his acquaintances knew him as a refined gentleman interested in art and literature. He never married. Oberndorf quoted tim: In my younger days, I used to grieve because of my affliction, but in later years I have become indifferent.

Oberndorfs goal was not to cure homosexuality per se. Where treatment is undertaken for passive homoerotism in the male,  active homosexuals, or tops, were not considered truly homosexual in the early 20th century  psychoanalysis may powerfully influence the attitude of the patient toward his malady by removing some of the urgent neurotic fears which accompany the inversion. After analysis such an invert at least feels himself more reconciled to his passive homoeroticism than previously. I have had male passive homoerotics seek treatment with just such stipulations  not to be cured but to be made more content with their lives.
ALBANY  Presidential candidate Tim Ryan on Friday spoke to more than 1,000 delegates at the New York State United Teachers convention at the Capital Center.

Of the 21 Democrats running for president, the Ohio congressman is one of the more obscure candidates but that was OK. In fact it may have been one of the reasons he was there.

Thats because NYSUTs national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, is taking a decidedly different approach toward the 2020 presidential race in comparison with 2016.

AFT, considered an essential pillar of support for any Democrat, was badly burned the last time around when their leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, a full year before the convention. The early support of Clinton angered those union members who wanted to support Bernie Sanders and it left them on the losing end of the race to Donald Trump.

Union leadership, as well as rank-and-file members, has conceded that. I think there was a significant backlash, said Jennifer-Jo Moyer, a teacher from New York City attending Fridays convention.

So this year, AFT is trying for a more inclusive and deliberate process.

AFT President Randi Weingarten, in her speech before she introduced Ryan to the crowd, noted that the union has a website devoted to gathering input from members on the upcoming races. Answer the questions. Tell us what you think, she told NYSUT delegates.

And following his talk to union members, Ryan participated in a Town Hall style meeting with a small group of activists.

Topics ranged from the high cost of college and the subsequent loans, to mandated testing. One union member asked Ryan how he plans to win over voters in New York City, which is several times larger than the candidates hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

More for you With new Democratic Senate, education debate could grow protracted, complicated

My experience is that people are people, he said.

AFT says there will be a number of such meetings with candidates this year. And during her speech, Weingarten did mention other Democratic candidates the union is engaging with, including Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders.

Normally, endorsing early can have benefits.

Its rational from their perspective. You get on the train early and you get rewarded, said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College and a longtime electoral observer.

But these arent normal times, with Trumps unexpected win in 2016. Public sector unions like NYSUT/AFT are also under additional pressure due to last years Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case, which can make it easier for people to leave their unions. That doesnt appear to be happening at NYSUT, but Janus has caused a rethinking of how labor leaders have to keep their members happy.

The historically large field of Democratic candidates is another complicating factor. There are too many candidates, said Muzzio. Its more problematic.

The NYSUT gathering marked the largest convention to come to the Capital Center since it opened in 2017.

That was welcome news to Jill Delaney, president and CEO of Discover Albany, which promotes visitors and tourism in the Albany area.

Overall, more than 2,000 union members were expected for the event, which runs through Saturday.

Were using all of our properties congruently, said Delaney. In addition to filling up the Capital Center, spaces in the adjacent Empire State Plaza also are being used. There are 1,700 room-nights, or rooms booked for the event, and Delaney said $1 million would be a super conservative estimate about the economic impact on the area. That represents money spent on ancillary services like restaurants, Uber drivers, bars and other businesses in town.

This is our proving ground for a multi-site event, she said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
Authorities said theyve confirmed that a human foot found in April in a pond in northwestern Indiana was that of a missing Indianapolis-area woman.

Police responded in Crown Point after a fisherman reported snagging what appeared to be a human foot. Officers determined the remains were human and a distinct tattoo led authorities to believe the remains belonged to 30-year-old Najah Ferrell of Avon, who has been missing since mid-March.

The Avon Police Department said Wednesday that the identification was confirmed by DNA analysis and comparison.

Family members have said that Ferrell left for work early March 15 and never made it. Ferrells vehicle was found March 26 abandoned in Indianapolis and some of her belongings were located along an interstate.

SPILLED GRAVY: A simple accident revealed child porn on a man's computer

The investigation into Ferrells disappearance is ongoing.

"It's a very disturbing a case of this magnitude. A mother of 5 just simply vanishes. It doesnt just happen on its own. Somebody has some involvement," Avon Police's Deputy Chief of Investigations Brian Nugent told Fox 59.

Nugent said investigators recognize foul play is involved and understand residents are concerned.

"We certainly agree that there is concern about what took place. Does that make one area more unsafe in our community than another? I dont believe so," Nugent said.

Anyone with information that may be relevant to Ferrells disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477).
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the end of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election during a lengthy phone call Friday but said he did not raise concerns about the possibility of Russian interference to come in the 2020 contest.

Trump also contradicted his top national security aides on Russian motives in Venezuela, where the United States and Russia are on opposite sides of a deadly political schism.

The two leaders, during their first known conversation in months, also discussed North Korea, whose leader met with Putin last month, and a potential nuclear arms control deal.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the call with Putin, Trump described a brief exchange about the conclusion of the two-year investigation. Mueller found that while Russia interfered "in sweeping and systematic fashion," there was not a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump's campaign.

"We discussed it. He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse," Trump said. "But he knew that, because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever."

The two leaders could not see each other during the call. Trump's description was meant to convey that it was a light moment, a spokesman said.

Trump was asked repeatedly whether he raised the issue of election interference or warned Putin not to do it again.

"We didn't discuss that," Trump said eventually. "Really, we didn't discuss it."

In the past, Trump has bristled at criticism that he has not forcefully confronted Putin over Russian actions aimed at influencing the election and undermining Americans' faith in their democracy.

After the two leaders met in Helsinki last July, Trump accepted what he called Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of election interference, despite the opposite conclusion by American intelligence agencies.

Trump's comments Friday came shortly after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that the Mueller report was discussed "very, very briefly" during the morning phone call, which lasted slightly more than an hour.

"It was discussed, essentially in the context that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," Sanders said.

Sanders said most of the conversation was devoted to other topics, including nuclear agreements, North Korea, Venezuela and trade.

Trump later tweeted about the call, referring to the Mueller investigation as the "Russian Hoax."

Russian election interference in 2016 included a social media campaign that favored Trump and disparaged Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as the hacking of computers maintained by allies of Clinton and the subsequent release of stolen documents.

The special counsel did not find sufficient evidence to bring charges of criminal conspiracy with Russia against Trump or anyone associated with his campaign. The report did not offer a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General William P. Barr later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for obstruction of justice, but House Democrats are continuing to pursue that issue.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned last month that Russia is continuing to attempt to undermine U.S. elections, including the presidential election next year.

Putin has echoed some of Trump's talking points in ridiculing the Mueller probe. Russian state television described it as a witch hunt orchestrated by the U.S. political establishment to punish Trump for seeking to improve ties with Russia. Putin has also denied that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

"We knew a mountain was being made out of a molehill, so to speak, because we knew how it would end beforehand," Putin said last month. "Now it has come to pass, but it did not make the domestic political situation in the U.S. any easier. Now new excuses are being sought to attack President Trump."

Trump also contradicted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other advisers who have said this week that Russia propped up embattled Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and blocked what might have been a peaceful transfer of power to the U.S.-backed opposition.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said after the conversation with Putin, which had been arranged in large part to air differences over Venezuela and de-escalate a brewing proxy fight.

Instead, Trump appeared to take Putin at his word that Russia wants to help ease a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Right now, people are starving. They have no water. They have no food."

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the White House had said that Russia "must leave" Venezuela and "renounce their support of the Maduro regime." Russia has significant investments in Venezuela and has been a strong backer of Maduro.

Pompeo delivered the same message in a Wednesday call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Pompeo will see next week in Finland. Pompeo had said that Russia had told Maduro not to step down and accept an offer of passage to Venezuelan ally Cuba.

"It's the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he's not going to govern," Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday. "Structurally, there's no way he stays in power. It's time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door."

A day earlier, national security adviser John Bolton had said that if Russians continue to ignore U.S. warnings about malign influence in Venezuela, they "will do that at their own cost."

The Kremlin said that Putin "underscored that only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country, whereas outside interference in the country's internal affairs and attempts to change the government in Caracas by force undermine prospects for a political settlement of the crisis."

Sanders said Trump reiterated "the need for a peaceful transition."

Trump said he and Putin also discussed the possibility of extending a current nuclear agreement or creating a new one that includes China. A trilateral agreement among the world's major nuclear powers would be significant advance in arms control.

"We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now," Trump told reporters.

It was not clear whether he was referring to an extension of the existing New START accord limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons with Russia, or a separate compact. The 2011 New START accord expires in 2021 but can be extended for five years by mutual agreement.

Regarding North Korea, Trump's focus was on "the importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," Sanders said.

- - -

Troianovski reported from Moscow. The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
A teenager was shot at an after-prom party at Preet Banquet Hall off Fairbanks North Houston Road in northwest Houston late Friday, authorities said.

A sheriff's deputy said there had been a high school party when one boy was shot in the torso at around midnight. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. It's possible a white sedan four-door vehicle was involved, deputies said.
A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Kent State University School of Information (iSchool) presented Library Media Specialist Angie Jameson, Chagrin Falls Schools, with its Dan MacLachlan Award in Library and Information Science on April 25.

The award is given to a library media specialist who exhibits creativity, leadership and dedication in his/her school. Each year, the university recognizes the alumni who are transforming the global information environment.

Dr. Meghan Harper, MLIS program and school library media concentration coordinator, nominated Jameson for this award, which is named for Dan MacLachlan, Riedinger Middle School Librarian from 1984-1993.
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Democracy Day was observed Thursday (May 2) in South Euclid, as people from several communities gathered at City Hall to center on the themes that corporations are not people and that corporations have too large an influence on todays elections and lawmaking.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in the case Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that corporations are entitled to the same constitutional rights and protections as natural persons.

Those who gathered Thursday believe the decision restricts the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity.

Hence, this decision supported the increasing amounts of money being spent by corporations to influence election results and legislation at federal, state and local levels, said South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo, the first of 14 people to speak at the Move to Amend, non-partisan event.

In November 2016, South Euclid voters joined a list of communities in Ohio -- including Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Lorain, Lyndhurst and Mentor -- as well as about 800 others throughout the country and 19 states, in seeking change.

Seventy-seven percent of South Euclid voters approved Issue 201 in 2016, which called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with constitutional rights; and that money is not equivalent to speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Until a constitutional amendment is ratified reflecting the principles listed above, Welo said, South Euclid will continue to hold a public meeting (a Democracy Day) every two years where our citizens will have an opportunity to speak on the impact that uncontrolled political contributions have on local governments.

Thursday marked the second such meeting held in South Euclid since the 2016 passage.

After each public hearing, a letter will be sent to key elected leaders of our state and federal government, including a reminder that in 2016 the citizens of South Euclid voted in support of this constitutional amendment, Welo said.

As was the case in 2017, South Euclid resident Madelon Watts organized the event. Watts has also worked in other Ohio communities to forward the cause.

Speakers included interested parties from across Northeast Ohio. Tish ODell, of Broadview Heights, said that corporate influence is present when many of our countrys laws are written.

Were following, very obediently, laws written by corporations, ODell said. Thats got to change.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Sara Continenza took to the podium, which had on it logos of corporations such as Exxon, McDonalds and GE under the statement End Corporate Personhood."

I recently read an article that Amazon paid zero dollars in taxes to our federal government -- zero, Continenza said. "Yet, they have over $10 billion in profits. Meanwhile, we have someone working 40-plus hours a week at minimum wage with a family paying more taxes than that.

So we have to really think where we cast our votes, and every dollar we spend is a vote we cast. She urged shopping at mom-and-pop stores and curbing urges to always shop online.

Brecksvilles Jack Petsche spoke of how the costs of elections have been on the increase in the eight years since the Supreme Court decision.

The 2018 election was the most expensive midterm ever by a large margin, with total spending surpassing $5.7 billion, he said. That cost exceeded the 2016 presidential election, in which $5.3 billion was spent.

In 2018, Petsche said, "a blue wave of money helped Democrats crush House Republicans. Democrats outspent Republicans across the board in the 2018 cycle.

Ten individual mega-donors combined to pour $436 million into the election, displaying the widespread influence of wealthy individuals in the post-Citizens United era.

He concluded by saying, I ask my Republican friends, Democrats and independents to join forces and fight to obtain reasonable regulation of money in politics so that our individual votes do count, and our great democracy survives and thrives far into the future.

The event attracted Shaker Heights High School students Lauren Sheperd, a sophomore, and senior Christos Ioannou, who spoke about the harsh realities of school shootings, as well as Suzanne DeGatano, owner of Macs Backs bookstore on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights.

Ioannou said of firearms in society, This is not just a gun issue, its an empathy issue." He said that politicians are "dehumanizing human beings.

DeGatano said of her bookstore and the online competition it faces, I feel we can compete with online sellers. Were in touch with the community.

Cleveland Heights residents Carla Rautenberg and David Berenson took a different approach to attempt to show the absurdity of the Supreme Court ruling by performing a pair of skits.

In one, Rautenberg played a driver and Berenson a judge in a skit based on an actual California case in which a woman was cited for driving alone in the carpool lane. She answers the charge by saying that the photograph in her car that day of a corporate charter was her passenger that day. Like in the skit, Rautenberg said the person in California had her case dismissed.

Watts said anyone wishing to join the Cleveland East Move to Amend affiliate and help pass a 28th Constitutional Amendment can do so by visiting movetoamend.org/oh-cleveland-east, or Facebook.com/movetoamendclevelandheights.

See more Sun Messenger news here.
WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Chase, Interstate 90: A Westlake police officer at 1:15 p.m. April 27 stopped a vehicle on the Crocker Road overpass for equipment and moving violations.

As the officer got out of his cruiser and began to approach, the vehicle drove off and committed several traffic violations while fleeing westbound on I-90, according to police. The officer pursued the fleeing vehicle for two minutes before calling off the chase for safety reasons.

The vehicle, which belonged to an Elyria resident, soon was reported stolen to Elyria police. It was reported stolen from an apartment complex in Elyria.

Arrest on warrant, I-90: Police at 11 a.m. April 29 found a pedestrian walking along the highway near Crocker Road.

The man told police he was walking back to Cleveland. Police discovered that the Parma Police Department had a warrant for the mans arrest for a dangerous-drug charge. Westlake police arrested the suspect and turned him over to Parma police.

Westlake police also warned the Cleveland man against walking on the highway and for a marijuana pipe they confiscated from him.

Theft by deception: Westlake police arrested a suspect April 29 on several warrants for theft by deception.

Police said the suspect on multiple occasions approached local business owners asking for loans. The suspect claimed to be a small businessman who had locked himself out of his building or out of a car and needed to borrow money to hire a locksmith.

In one instance, the suspect got away with $40 and in another, he got away with $60.

The suspect never returned with the cash. The suspect is being held on $7,500 bond.

Felony theft, Center Ridge Road: Management at a business contacted police at 7 p.m. April 30 to report that they suspected one of their employees had stolen more than $1,500 in gift cards.

A 25-year-old female employee from Lorain admitted to the theft, and police arrested her for felony theft.

Prostitution arrests: Westlake police arrested three people accused in two suspected prostitution cases.

At 7:30 a.m. May 1, investigators learned that a woman was advertising online that she would provide services at the Red Roof Inn on Clemens Road. Police stopped a suspicious vehicle leaving the motel, and two woman inside admitted to soliciting prostitution.

The women, 30- and 31-year-old Cleveland residents, also were charged with drug possession for suspected ecstasy found in the vehicle.

In the second incident, at 7:30 a.m. May 2, investigators learned that a female suspect was advertising services online at the Super 8 Motel on Sperry Road. Officers again responded to the advertisement and arrested the suspect as she walked from the room. The 24-year-old Cleveland woman was charged with soliciting for prostitution.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.

Read more news from the West Shore Sun here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man with a service dog was taken into custody then hospitalized Saturday after he bit a Cleveland police officer.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police were called to assist TSA with a man who was being disruptive, police said.

The man became combative and bit one of the officers, police said. Police did not say where the officer was bit.

He was taken into custody and admitted to St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for an evaluation, police say.

Police took the service dog to the citys kennel, police say.

The incident is still under investigation and the officer was not seriously hurt, police say.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A Cleveland judge is calling on U.S. Attorney Justin Herdmans office to consider reaching a consent decree with Cuyahoga County over conditions in its jail, where eight inmates died in 2018.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Michael Nelson hand-delivered the May 1 letter, which cites the recent indictments of several jail guards, along with the former director and warden, as underscoring ongoing dysfunction thats eroded public confidence in the management of the jail.

Nelsons letter says it is time Herdmans office consider meeting with the County to carve out a consent decree to ensure the jail is run in accordance with state and federal law, according to a copy of the letter provided to cleveland.com.

Read the letter below.

Nelson first spoke out in October about jail conditions later deemed inhumane by the U.S. Marshals Service. He vowed not to send people charged with most crimes to the county jail because he believed it unsafe following a spate of six deaths over a four-month span.

Two more died in 2018. The county is now facing several lawsuits and a federal civil rights investigation over inmate conditions. The administration of County Executive Armond Budish says it continues to implement reforms.

The dysfunction directly impacts on the fair pursuit of justice, which is the lynchpin of a civilized society, the letter says. It appears from all of the preliminary reports that the County cannot protect the rights of detainees without the intervention of your department.

Nelson in an April 17 interview with cleveland.com called for a U.S. Justice Department consent decree, but had yet to ask Herdman to begin the process. U.S Attorney spokesman Mike Tobin declined comment at that time about whether his office is considering such a proposal.

Cleveland.com previously reported that the U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI are looking at the Nov. 21 marshals report that said inmates civil rights were routinely violated.

U.S. Attorneys offices elsewhere in the county have pursued consent decree agreements with jails and prisons, including through intervention in existing lawsuits. One filed in December on behalf of seven Cuyahoga inmates has called for a federal monitor.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Theft, Shopping Center: After a high school-age boy was heard asking if a cell phone on a restaurant counter belonged to anyone at 3:15 p.m. April 22, an employee noticed hers was gone.

She said it had been behind the beverage containers and on the employee side of the counter at Einstein Bagel. The $800 phone was deactivated with the carrier, but the owner would like it returned to her.

Identity theft, Nob Hill: A man received an email April 22 indicating that he had an outstanding bill for $3,700 from a Good Sams reward Visa card. The bank for the credit card will investigate.

Animal at large, High Street: A homeowner, 47, was cited for not containing his dogs on his property at 9:56 a.m. April 22 and faces a Bedford Municipal Court date.

His two dogs charged out from a yard at walkers in Whitesburg Park. He had been warned for the same infraction the previous week.

Disturbance, Hall Street: Police arrested an Avon Lake woman, 28, for obstructing official business at 1:20 a.m. April 27. A man had called police when his intoxicated passenger would not get out of the car at his home. The woman would not cooperate with police, either.

EMS checked her out and she was transported to the Bedford jail.

Suspicious, South Franklin Street: A worshiper contacted police during a church service at 11:20 a.m. April 28 after seeing a man in the front row with a guitar case large enough to contain a weapon.

The Chardon man with the guitar checked out fine, but he said he could understand the concern.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Disturbance, Pekin Road: Police were called at midnight April 28 about a large party with numerous vehicles stopped -- blocking both lanes of travel -- and more than 200 party attendees.

Police backup was called for from South Russell, Chester and the Geauga County Sheriffs Office. The homeowner was extremely agitated about the police presence. Officers stood by to keep the peace until all the vehicles were moved.

Drunken driving, Sunrise Lane: Police responded at 4 a.m. April 22 to a one-car crash with an unresponsive driver. Upon arrival, the driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Theft, Chillicothe Road: Police detained a man at 1:17 a.m. April 27 after he stole two cases of bottled water from Circle K. He also had an outstanding warrant and was taken into custody.

Traffic stop, Kinsman Road: An underage driver, stopped for ignoring a traffic signal at 10:45 p.m. April 26, was found to have alcohol beverages and a fake ID. He will face charges for those offenses.

Suspicious vehicle, Kinsman Road: An officer on patrol at 1:30 a.m. April 23 encountered a man in a parked car. The man explained that he had been kicked out of his home and was sleeping in his car. He was advised of park hours and available resources and sent on his way.

Animal at large, County Line Road: A Hunting Valley resident found a brown and white female cat, approximately 1 year old, in her yard April 23 and took it to the Happy Tails cat sanctuary. She reported it to police in case someone was looking for the cat.

Suspicious, Chillicothe Road: After receiving an email that he had purchased a ticket to Boise, Idaho, and receiving a Federal Express package from the same location, a man called police April 29. He had not purchased a ticket, and was told it was a scam that he should not respond to.

When the package was opened at the police station, it was discovered that he had ordered those items.

Read more news from the Chagrin Solon Sun here.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Noble Prize-winning economist, says there are "several problems facing the global economy."

These challenges range from President Trump's protectionism to trouble in Europe and concerns about the stability of growth in China.

He points to the increased deficits from Republican tax cuts, which he says are "not well designed," as the primary driver of increased growth in the United States. He expects a growth slowdown moving forward.

Stiglitz, a longtime skeptic of the broad benefits of globalization, also discusses Trump's strategy of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

"Many of us who were critics of the WTO, and I think correctly, didn't really appreciate the virtues of the WTO until we actually confronted the reality of a world without rules," he says.

Watch the video above to hear more from economist Joseph Stiglitz on risks to the economy and global trade.

See more:
Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a small stake in Occidental Petroleum, people close to the matter told CNBC on Friday.

The company is in the middle of a rare bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum, having bid $38 billion for its smaller rival. Chevron had previously bid $33 billion for Anadarko.

Shares of Occidental jumped 2% in extended trading Friday, immediately following the news.

The size of Icahn's stake is still unclear, and Bloomberg  which first reported the stake  reports Icahn hasn't decided whether to push for changes at the company. Still, the stake throws another heavyweight name behind a bidding war that's already captured Wall Street's attention.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested $10 billion in Houston-based Occidental in an effort to help the takeover bid. CNBC reported earlier Friday that Buffett was willing to invest as much as $20 billion.
Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters

WASHINGTON This one is both highly personal and disturbingly global. On Wednesday afternoon this week, fifth grade students of Sidwell Friends Middle School walked down Wisconsin Avenue to the Washington National Cathedral to say goodbye to one of their own. A suicide terrorist's bomb  at an Easter Sunday brunch at a Sri Lankan hotel  had taken the life of their classmate, Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, age 11. They gathered in pews with parents to celebrate the life of Kieran, who had died along with more than 250 others in nine coordinated attacks. They heard about his pet ball pythons and the wooden mazes he built for them, about his too-long showers and tendency to misplace things, about his knack for math and science and his gentle spirit and captivating smile. Our daughter Johanna, also 11, had been a classmate and friend of Kieran since pre-kindergarten. Like her classmates, she was looking forward to his return from a year abroad in Sri Lanka. Like the others, she couldn't fathom why God would take this sweet soul so prematurely, this boy with the biggest heart and the most inventive Halloween costumes. The pastor couldn't help them. "How did this happen? Why did this happen? These are the questions that haunt us," said the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. "Why God allows such tragic events to take place, I do not know." Yet he did offer a response: "We have to push back against the evil that would divide us, the evil that seeks to create fear, hatred and destruction. We have to push back, not with violence but with a renewed commitment to reach out to one another, to be like Kieran and seek to build new relationships, new understandings, to live with love and hope and courage." "This is Kieran's example to us."

A global and more coordinated response

What Reverend Hollerith didn't say was that events of recent weeks have underscored that the community that pushes back would need to be global and more coordinated and resourceful than is currently the case. The ISIS terrorist cancer that took Kieran's life isn't defeated or even in remission, but rather it is metastasizing since its loss of a caliphate first in Iraq and then finally Syria. The Trump administration's national security strategy has represented a shift from the post 9-11 emphasis on fighting terrorism to address a new era of major power competition with China and Russia. However, what's growing clearer with each day is that the United States and its allies will likely have to contend with extremist, Islamist terrorism for decades to come. On Monday, just two days before Kieran's funeral, the so-called Islamic State released a video of its leader and the world's most wanted man, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, signaling this new challenge. "Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy," he said in an 18-minute video, "and they must know that jihad will continue until Judgment Day." He praised the Sri Lanka Easter attacks as an act of vengeance against "Crusaders" for ISIS' last loss of territory in Baghouz, Syria and added "Praise to Allah" that "among the dead were Americans and Europeans." Much remains to be explained about the video and what it says about the well-being and location of the ISIS leader and the capabilities and reach of his terrorist organization. The apparent intent of Baghdadi's decision to surface, despite a $25-million bounty on his head, is to reassert his authority and send a signal that the Islamic State still exists and that he is still in charge, even after having lost his caliphate. It's believed several thousand battle-hardened ISIS combatants have now re-formed as an international network of militants that will sometimes remain silent and at other times launch unpredictable attacks in under-prepared settings like Sri Lanka. In a piece in The Atlantic, Graeme Wood studies the image Baghdadi projects in the video, his first since declaring the caliphate in 2014. He has morphed himself from the religiously robed, rhetorically grandiose leader of a caliphate with a well-armed military, tax collectors and health inspectors to "a terrorist leader, an insurgent, a shadow leader of a subterranean movement of global reach." The garb is a pocketed vest, rifle by his side, with a sheet as backdrop.

Terrorism 3.0
Isabel Diaz Tinoco (L) and Jose Luis Tinoco speak with Otto Hernandez, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as they shop for insurance under the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of Americas on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images

The Affordable Care Act once again faces legal hurdles after President Donald Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit questioning the health-care law's constitutionality. If the lawsuit succeeds and the courts decide to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans could lose their health care if a replacement plan is not established. Though Trump wanted to replace the law with a new Republican plan before the 2020 elections, the GOP refused to bring forward its own proposal until it wins a majority in the House of Representatives. The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn Obamacare after a federal judge in Texas ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the removal of a tax penalty levied against citizens without health insurance. The Trump administration reduced the tax penalty, called the individual mandate, to $0 in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Though Obamacare remains law while it awaits deliberation in the courts, about 25 million Americans may be left uninsured if the law is struck down in its entirety. Here's who is at risk of losing their health insurance if Obamacare is repealed:

Exchange plans

Approximately 11.4 million Americans enrolled or re-enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan in 2019. Obamacare established public marketplaces for individuals and families to shop for insurance plans that are compliant with ACA regulations. The exchanges also let citizens see if they qualify for federal subsidies that can help reduce health care costs. Twenty-eight states use federally run marketplaces, while 12 states use their own state-based marketplaces. Eleven states use either federally supported state marketplaces or marketplaces that are run by a partnership between the federal government and the state. But those exchanges would likely cease to exist if Obamacare is repealed, according to Cori Uccello, a senior health fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries. "If the entire law has to go, then what is an exchange?" asked Uccello. Uccello said she is not sure what would happen to the state exchanges, but people who got their plans on the federal marketplace would almost certainly lose their coverage. States could potentially step in and fund their own exchanges, according to Ben Sommers, professor of health policy and economics at Harvard University, "but that's not a straightforward process," he said.

Medicaid expansion

Medicaid enrollment increased by 16 million people since Obamacare went into effect, with 13.6 million of those people living in Medicaid expansion states. Obamacare expanded Medicaid eligibility to cover adults at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid was also expanded to make uninsured children and many people with mental illnesses eligible for coverage. Thirty-six states and D.C. have adopted Medicaid expansion and 14 states have not. As of now, the federal government pays 90% of the cost in states that have expanded Medicaid, but if Obamacare is repealed, states would no longer receive that funding. Sommers said states don't have the resources to continue Medicaid expansion without federal funds, which could cause the people now insured through expanded eligibility to lose their coverage. "We're talking about millions of low income adults that become uninsured," Sommers said.

Pre-existing conditions
Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images

For Emmanus Stephen, an Uber driver from Asbury Park, New Jersey, earning enough to pay the bills means strategizing carefully about where he will work each day. Local, short-distance rides near his home on the Jersey Shore are convenient for him, but they don't pay well  "You drive all day and you can make $100," says the father of six. So to pay the bills, he'll often drive the 45 miles to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he can shuttle travelers on longer distance, more lucrative trips. He works all night to beat the New Jersey traffic, then heads home at 4 a.m., dropping his children off at school before getting some shuteye. With Uber preparing for an IPO, the issue of whether gig economy workers like Stephen can earn a living wage is likely to reemerge. For publicly traded companies, the issue of social impact is a growing issue. Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers, according to The State of Independence in America 2018 report by MBO Partners, which studies the freelance economy. For those millions of full-time gig workers, getting recognized as a full-fledged employee  at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere  is not coming anytime soon. This week the Department of Labor clarified that these workers are to be classified as independent contractors that are not entitled to health insurance and other benefits that would force companies to follow federal minimum-wage laws. (However, companies still have to abide with local minimum wage requirements.)

Making a living wage

Steve King, an analyst at Emergent Research, which studies independent workers, says Uber and Lyft drivers net $12 to $15 an hour after costs, based on his firm's calculations. "That is substantially below what you need to earn to have a middle-class job," says King. The median household income in the U.S. was $63,378, according to Sentier Research, which bases its calculations on U.S. Census Bureau data. But many ride-share drivers don't have the skills required for jobs where they could earn more and would otherwise have to take a minimum-wage position somewhere, notes King. For them, gig work offers a benefit they would not have in a lower-skilled, hourly job. "They have more flexibility and freedom driving," he says. More from At Work: 4 gig economy trends transforming the job market

What's key for workplace happiness That said, many gig workers earn far more than ride-share drivers do. "A lot of them are highly skilled and paid that way," says King. The Freelancing in America 2018 survey, run by the giant platform Upwork, found that 31% of freelancers earn $75,000 a year or more, up 15 points since 2014. Among respondents who left a traditional job to freelance, 73% said they earn more now freelancing than they did at their prior, traditional job.

Julie Ewald, founder of Impressa Solutions, a marketing firm in Milwaukee, got her start as a solo freelancer on Upwork eight years ago. She made enough to quit several part-time jobs she was juggling and has since expanded her business by bringing on a small army of contractors she found on Upwork. Being very specialized has helped her to command healthy fees, she says, and she does not find she's an anomaly in the world of freelance workers. "Some of the folks I meet are doing really, really well," she says. Jeff Brown, a radio veteran turned podcaster from Nashville, Tennessee, who runs an online event for freelancers called The Boss-Free Virtual Summit, says the best paid freelancers generally aren't "trading time for money" like Uber and Lyft drivers but instead are creating products or recurring services that tap into their knowledge. "Create something once and sell it hundreds, if not thousands, of times," he advises. In his own case, he started a paid, subscription-based book club.

The talent chase heats up
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of his country's own Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017.

North Korea launched "several unidentified short-range projectiles" on Saturday, a South Korean military official told NBC News.

"We confirm that what North Korea launched today was not ballistic missiles," the official told NBC News.

The official said the projectiles were launched at about 9:06 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. Korean Standard Time from Wonsan's Hodo Bando area in a northeastern direction. The official said the projectiles traveled about 70 to 200 kilometers (about 43 to 124 miles).

Officials had originally said there was one missile launched.

"The National Security's chief, the Minister of National Defense, the head of the National Intelligence Service have gathered at South Korea's presidential office and are monitoring the current situation and are sharing information closely with the U.S. counterparts," a South Korean's presidential spokesperson told NBC.

The Associated Press reported that Japan's Defense Ministry does not see any immediate risk to the country's national security as the missiles did not enter the territory.

South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the situation, the military official told NBC, adding that the South Korean military has upped its surveillance and on the look out for more launches.

A senior administration official told NBC that National Security Advisor John Bolton has "fully briefed" President Donald Trump on the situation.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

This incident comes a little over two weeks after Pyongyang said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of a new type of tactical guided weapon.

Saturday's launch is the second time North Korea fired a missile since talks collapsed between Trump and Kim in February. The two men had met in Hanoi to discuss the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, but those talks ended abruptly without a deal. That summit had followed the historic meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June.

In April 2018, North Korea had pledged to cease its nuclear and long-range missile tests. But suspicions about that promise flared when satellite images surfaced suggesting that a long-range missile test site was undergoing "rapid rebuilding."

Saturday's missile launch risks reigniting tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

The Trump administration has been pressing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons but so far Pyongyang has resisted. On Friday, Sanders said Trump pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage Kim to denuclearize. But the Russian leader responded by urging the U.S. to ease its sanctions on the isolated state.

The North Korean leader had his first meeting last week with Putin. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin discussed that meeting and his takeaways with Trump.

 CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed reporting.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at federal court, April 4, 2019 in New York City. A federal judge will hear oral arguments this afternoon in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seeks to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal.

Tesla's security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who "will do anything to see us fail" are "targeting" employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, "Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges."

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, "In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists."

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

Tesla's beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the company's recent accomplishments including:

Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

CEO Elon Musk's promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So it's not surprising that Tesla's security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

Here's the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges. As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day. When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they "will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish" any of Tesla's confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted]. If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted]. The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary. We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization. Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information. If you're unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences: * This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day. * A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information. * A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets. * Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations. * In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Tesla's Communications policy. It's every employee's responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Tesla's mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

WATCH: Elon Musk is interested in buying $25 million Tesla stock
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.

OMAHA, Neb.  88-year-old Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway shareholders another hint about who his successor (or successors) will be, but once again refused to tip his hand too much, frustrating some in the audience at the company's annual meeting who repeatedly asked him for more information on the matter.

The chairman and chief executive officer said at the company's annual meeting that longtime executives Greg Abel and Ajit Jain could one day join him and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on stage and answer questions from shareholders.

For years, Buffett and Munger have taken questions from Berkshire shareholders without sharing the stage at an arena in Omaha. But Buffett said Saturday that "this format will not be around forever and if it's better to have them up on the stage, then we'd be happy to do it." He added that they thought of having all four of them on stage at the same time.

Abel and Jain were promoted last year, with Abel running Berkshire's noninsurance businesses while Jain handles all insurance-related operations. These promotions made them the clear-cut favorites to succeed Buffett once he departs from his post.

Jain and Abel even answered shareholder questions on Saturday at Buffett's urging, two rare occurrences at the annual gathering.

Still, Buffett shied away from hinting at exactly who is the frontrunner and when they would take over. Instead, he said of Abel and Jain: "You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished."

Buffett made his remarks after hearing a shareholder's question on the succession matter. The crowd erupted in applause after the question was read, a sign of just how much the matter is weighing on their minds. Buffett has been running Berkshire since the 1960s and over that time the conglomerate has returned more than 20% annually, double the return of the S&P 500. Many shareholders want to know what the long-term succession plan is.

But Munger, Buffett's longtime right-hand man, said the way Berkshire operates makes succession questions tough to answer.

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," Munger said. "We don't have analyst committees deliberating forever and making bad decisions. We're radically different. It's awkward being so different, but I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us."

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People Ethan Miller | Getty Images

When Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping student debt forgiveness proposal last month, many borrowers imagined how their lives would transform if their loan balance shrank or disappeared. "Emotionally, it's the biggest thing in the back of your mind," said Dominic DeFelice, 23, who owes more than $100,000. "To have Elizabeth Warren actually come out and have a plan for it felt really good." On Twitter, people described what student debt forgiveness would mean to them and included the hashtag #cancelmydebt. Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans. Average debt at graduation is currently around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the early 1990s. Repayment is a challenge for many: Every day, 3,000 borrowers default.

Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "The time for half measures is over," Warren writes. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Critics of the proposal, which could cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, say much of the money would go to borrowers with high incomes who are capable of repaying their debt. Others say the plan only throws money at the larger problem of rising tuition. Still, more than half of Americans say student debt is "a major problem" for the country, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. And it's no wonder people saddled with student debt can't help but dream of a different life (even if the candidate with the proposal trails in the polls): 67 percent of people with student debt say the loans delayed them from buying a house, car or large appliance. Forty percent claimed the debt caused them to put off having a child or getting married. CNBC spoke with borrowers about how the Massachusetts Democratic senator's proposal would change their circumstances.

Dominic DeFelice Source: Dominic DeFelice

DOMINIC DeFELICE'S bachelor's degree in geology left him $120,000 in the hole. "That amount of money is incomprehensible to someone like me," said the 23-year-old DeFelice. "I should have known that at 17." The entry level jobs to which he's been applying since he graduated last year from Juniata College in Pennsylvania offer annual salaries of around $30,000. After taxes, he calculates, he'd have $2,200 a month to live on. His student loan bill is more than $1,300. (The loans are currently on pause, accruing interest.) "I invested in an education and I don't see a return in sight," DeFelice said. He said his brother, who is 2 years younger and never went to college, makes more money as a security guard. DeFelice noticed a lot of the environmental jobs he hoped to fill require a graduate degree. And so thanks to a grant he received, he recently enrolled at Brooklyn College to get his master's degree in geology. However, he decided to leave school after just one semester, realizing that, given the high cost of living in New York, he'd still have to take out some loans.

I could actually plan my life. Dominic DeFelice

"It could really amplify my earning potential, but I just can't," he said. "I'm just digging myself deeper when I'm already at rock bottom." Education loans, ironically, can be a barrier to education: One study found that bachelor degree recipients without debt are 70% more likely to enroll in further schooling than those with debt. Under Warren's plan, DeFelice would have $50,000 of his federal loans wiped away, and potentially some of his private loans, too. With a smaller debt load, he said, he could likely finish his schooling and not have to move back in with his parents or his girlfriend's, a reality now on his horizon. "I could actually plan my life," he said.

Kanu Mendoza Source: Kanu Mendoza

KANU MENDOZA wishes she could work less, but she owes more than $50,000 in student loans. When a disk in her back ruptured, the 52-year-old had to leave the Navy after a two-decade career. To advance in the Navy, she pursued a bachelor's degree in leadership and then a master's in public administration at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Currently, she's a supervisor at an aerospace manufacturing company in San Diego. "If I didn't have that debt hanging over my head, I'd probably find a less demanding job," Mendoza said. "It's difficult when you're in so much pain you don't want to move, but you have to get up and go to work." Student debt is growing fast among older people: In 2018, Americans over age 50 owed more than $260 billion in student loans, up from $36 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Mendoza said her $400 monthly student loan bill makes it hard for her to save for retirement. Her pension is just $1,500 a month. "If I didn't have that debt I could retire in the next few years," Mendoza said. "With it, I'm going to be in the workforce another 10 years, if not longer."

Morgan Hopkins has paid off more than $12,000 in credit card debt during the break for student loan borrowers. Source: Jaheem J. Green

MORGAN HOPKINS would like to start a family. But she owes more than $75,000 in student loans, for her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and women's studies. "If I could understand the implication of having this debt forever, I might have made a different choice," Hopkins, 31, said of her education. Today, she works as a national field manager at a nonprofit in Denver. She said it's going to take years of planning for her and her boyfriend to be able to have a child and buy a house  and even just a financial cushion should one of them lose their job or fall ill. "If I didn't have half-a-rent payment in student debt, I'd have an emergency savings plan," she said.

How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life? Morgan Hopkins

Her monthly student loan bill is more than $900, most of which she said just goes to interest. "I haven't seen any significant reduction," Hopkins said. Under Warren's plan, half of Hopkins' debt would be canceled, and all of her boyfriend's loans would be forgiven. The result: She could see a future. "I have a lot of financial stress now, as a lot of our generation does," Hopkins said. "How am I ever going to get to these goals I have for my life?"

Madeline Smith Source: Madeline Smith
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday retweeted messages from conspiracy theorists and far-right figures after Facebook banned several right-wing personalities for promoting violence and hate.

Trump has lashed out against Facebook following the bans, tweeting on Friday that he is "continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms." On Saturday morning, he retweeted a number of Twitter users who defended the far-right personalities, including one of the banned users.

Later in the day, Trump questioned why The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were allowed on Facebook and Twitter, saying much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

Trump resumed his attacks on tech giants on Saturday afternoon, asking how it is possible for a "strong but responsible Conservative Voice" like actor James Woods to be banned from Twitter. Woods got locked out of Twitter for posting the hashtag #HangThemAll in an apparent reference to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, according to a screen capture shared by Woods' girlfriend Sara Miller.

Tweet

Facebook on Thursday banned Infowars, as well as its founder Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson, the former editor-at-large for the website, which is notorious for pushing conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was staged. Facebook also banned far-right media personalities Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as Paul Nehlen, who has run for Congress in Wisconsin and is widely considered a white supremacist.

"We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today," Facebook said in a statement.

Trump on Saturday retweeted two messages from Watson, the former Infowars deputy who now hosts a YouTube channel called Prison Planet Live known for its nativist screeds. On Friday, Trump tweeted that he was "so surprised" to see "Conservative thinkers" like Watson and Woods banned from Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

He also promoted a tweet by Lauren Southern, a far-right author and activist who backed the anti-refugee campaign Defend Europe, which sought to harass boats attempting to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2017, Southern and activists from the nativist Generation Identity movement filmed themselves firing flares at a Doctors Without Borders vessel.

The president on Friday retweeted an anti-Islamic video shared by Deep State Exposed, an account tied to author Jeremy Stone, who is associated with a pro-Trump conspiracy theory called QAnon.

The video shared by Stone and resurfaced by Trump shows a bearded man with subtitles saying Muslims will conquer the U.S. and kill Americans, take their women and smash their churches if they do not convert to Islam. The last subtitle highlights the words "this is Islam."

Stone boasts in his Twitter profile that he has been retweeted by Trump nine times.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, April 26, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to promote his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for the two countries to have a good or great relationship.

Trump suggested the "Fake News Media" is not covering that potential fairly. He alleged the media misled the public about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia. Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media," he tweeted.

Tweet

Trump and Putin spoke for over an hour on Friday, the White House said. The two discussed the Mueller report, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea and nuclear arms control.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are currently heightened on several fronts.

Washington backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido in his bid to push strongman Nicolas Maduro from power, while Moscow is supporting the Maduro regime. The Trump administration also suspended a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia this year, and U.S. sanctions remain in place on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and its role in the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in order to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster Trump. Mueller indicted 13 individuals and three entities in Russia on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by posing as Americans to stoke political and racial tension on social media during the election.

Mueller's report concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's assistance in the 2016 campaign but found insufficient evidence to bring a charge of conspiracy. American law enforcement warns that Russia will likely step up its efforts during the 2020 election.

Trump continued his long-standing criticism of the media's coverage of the investigation on Saturday, saying "Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.'"

"When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!" Trump tweeted earlier on Saturday.

Trump questioned why the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC are allowed on Twitter and Facebook. He said much of their work is "FAKE NEWS."

Tweet

In fact, Mueller's investigation did not attempt to assess whether collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place. Collusion is not a legal term. The special counsel considered whether there was evidence of criminal conspiracy.

 CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a break in talks at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on February 28, 2019.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with North Korea 'will happen,' hours after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had fired new tactical guided weapons.



Trump said he believes Kim Jong Un will do nothing to interfere with the "great economic potential" of North Korea.



"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me," Trump said. "Deal will happen!"



Trump tweet: Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!



The South Korean military said Sunday that North Korea fired multiple rocket launchers including new tactical guided weapons. A military official told NBC News that Pyongyang did not launch ballistic missiles.

Seoul originally said the North had launched a single missile, but subsequently changed its language and said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified, short-range vertical objects.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the projectiles landed in the sea east of the Korean peninsula and never posed a threat to South Korea, Japan or the United States.

"We know that they were relatively short range and beyond that we know they weren't intercontinental ballistic missiles either," Pompeo said.

The South Korean president's office said Seoul and Washington are sharing detailed information and analyzing the material used in the projectiles and what exactly they were.

"In particular, we do notice that North Korea's action this time has taken place when the de-nuclearization dialogue is in lull state," presidential spokeswoman Koh Min Jung said. "We do hope that North Korea would positively participate in efforts to resume the dialogue."

A senior U.S. administration official told NBC News that National Security Advisor John Bolton had "fully briefed" Trump on the situation.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration is aware of North Korea's actions: "We will continue to monitor as necessary," she said.



In April, North Korea claimed to have "tested a powerful warhead" in the first public weapons test for the regime since Trump and Kim met for a historic summit in Singapore last year.



Trump and Kim held a second round of talks in Vietnam February of this year, but negotiations collapsed after Trump reportedly handed Kim a note demanding he turn over the North's nuclear weapons and bomb fuel.
Warren Buffett has shown a bigger interest in the oil industry with Berkshire Hathaway's recent $10 billion investment to back Occidental Petroleum's bid for Anadarko Petroleum, and he said it's a bet on the Permian Basin.

"I mean the Permian Basin is four million barrels a day. It's incredible," Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an interview before the start of Berkshire's 2019 annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Remember it was the last great find in the United States 40 years ago or more...The United States is producing 12 million barrels and four million" are from the Permian, he added.

Occidental revealed this week that Berkshire has committed to invest $10 billion in the company to help fund its proposed acquisition of Anadarko. Berkshire would make the investment by purchasing 100,000 shares of preferred stock, which pays out an 8% annual dividend.

Backed by Berkshire, Occidental's bid topped an earlier bid by Chevron. However, the "Oracle of Omaha" doesn't consider it to be a hostile deal because Anadarko wants to sell its properties.

"I mean it's not a hostile deal in that Anadarko had been talking to Occidental about the sale of their properties...It's different than Coca-Cola or something like that. You are buying physical assets...Anadarko wanted to sell...It wasn't like a private company being sold or a management controlled company," Buffett told Quick.

When asked about why Buffett didn't buy Anadarko outright, Buffett said he's not an expert on the oil industry.

"Charlie is quite impressed with the Permian Basin. He knows more about oil than I do, which isn't really much praise, but we both follow that," Buffett said.

The Permian Basin, which is 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, stretches from New Mexico to Texas and holds more than 20 of the top 100 oil fields in the country, according to Chevron.

"You can mess up oil fields very easily. A lot of that was done in the early days, so you can take a field that is huge and by foolish production techniques you can reduce the recoveries dramatically," Buffett said.

At a Q&A session at the annual meeting, when asked if Berkshire will do other large financing transactions in the future, Buffett said "Maybe there's one three or four years from now, it won't be identical. I hope it's larger. The point is we are very likely to get the call because we can do something that really no institution can do it."

"Well I like it," Charlie Munger, Berkshire's Vice Chairman and Buffett's longtime partner, said at the annual meeting, referring to the Occidental investment.
Warren Buffett tours the shopping kiosks at the 2019 BHASM in Omaha, NE on May 3rd, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway's Amazon bet seems to stray from Warren Buffett's value investing style, but the Oracle of Omaha said the e-commence giant still meets the philosophy.

"The people making the decision on Amazon are absolutely [as] much value investors as I was when I was looking around for all these things selling below working capital years ago. That has not changed," Buffett said Saturday during a Q&A session at Berkshire's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. "The considerations are identical when you buy Amazon versus ... say a bank stock that looks cheap against book value or earnings of some sort."

Berkshire Hathaway revealed this week that one of its investment managers has been buying shares of Amazon. The news sent Amazon's stock soaring more than 3% that day. The stock is up 30% this year.

Buffett said the money managers who bought Amazon shares took into consideration a slew of financial metrics including the company's sales, margins, tangible assets, excess cash and excess debt.

"All those things go into making a calculation as to whether they should buy A versus B versus C and they are absolutely following the principal...I don't second guess them," he added.

Berkshire has been sticking with big value companies such as Coca-Cola and Bank of America over the years, missing out on the big tech boom that saw some of the so-called FANG names crossing $1 trillion market cap. Buffett just started purchasing Apple as recently as February 2017.

Berkshire's vice chairman and longtime investing partner, Charlie Munger, said he'd forgiven himself for not investing in Amazon earlier, but missing out on Google is a hard one to swallow.

"Warren and I are a little older than some people... Of course if something extreme as the internet happens and you don't catch it, other people are going to blow by you ... I give myself a pass. But I feel like a horse's ass for not identifying Google better. I think Warren feels the same way," Munger said Saturday.

"We saw it in our own operations and how well the Google advertising is working and we just sat there sucking our thumbs," Munger added.

Google parent Alphabet's stock has surged from about $96 a share at its inception in 2004 to about $1,189 today.
Warren Buffett's aversion to bitcoin just escalated.

"It's a gambling device... there's been a lot of frauds connected with it. There's been disappearances, so there's a lot lost on it. Bitcoin hasn't produced anything," Buffett told a group of reporters ahead of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

"It doesn't do anything. It just sits there. It's like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me," he added.

Buffett even compared the cryptocurrency to a button on his jacket.

"I'll tear off a button here. What I'll have here is a little token...I'll offer it to you for $1000, and I'll see if I can get the price up to $2000 by the end of the day... But the button has one use and it's a very limited use," Buffett said.

Buffett had previously called bitcoin "rat poison squared," and Berkshire's vice chairman Charlie Munger said trading in cryptocurrencies is "just dementia." Bitcoin rallied to a six-month high on Friday, rebounding from a steep loss last year.

However, the Oracle of Omaha acknowledged the blockchain technology that bitcoin is built on has some promise.

"Blockchain...is very big, but it didn't need bitcoin. J.P. Morgan of course came out with their own cryptocurrency," Buffett said Saturday.

Asked if Buffett will get involved with blockchain, he said "We are probably doing it indirectly, but no, I wouldn't be the person to be a big leader in blockchain."
Max Beaverbrook: Not Quite a Gentleman by Charles Williams

Max Beaverbrook is one of the most entertaining figures ever to have sat in a British Cabinet. He did so twice, during both the First and the Second World Wars, despite being detested and distrusted by a large part of the Establishment.

And yet the Beaver, as he was known, has slipped almost into oblivion, a name but not much more to most people under the age of 70. This book performs the valuable task of bringing a strange and gifted figure once more before the public.

Charles Williams provides, at the start of this biography, a useful list of some of the people who loathed Beaverbrook. They included Kings George V and VI, Stanley Baldwin, Clement Attlee, Lords Alanbrooke and Curzon, Hugh Dalton, Ernest Bevin and a large segment of the Canadian political and industrial establishments.

But Winston Churchill decided he was just the man to put in charge of aircraft production in May 1940, and David Lloyd George entrusted propaganda to him in early 1918, when the Germans were gathering themselves for a last attempt at a knockout blow in the west.

Beaverbrook was an adventurer who spotted opportunities where others could only see problems; a businessman of genius whose early fortune was founded on attaining, by devious manoeuvres to which this author devotes too much attention, a near monopoly in Canadian cement.

He was born Max Aitken in 1879, the third son of the Reverend William Aitken, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who had emigrated to New Brunswick, in Canada, as there were no jobs going in Scotland. Max was a rebel who started out with nothing except a knowledge of the Bible, but who soon displayed astonishing gifts as a financier.

Having made large sums and a reputation for sharp practice in Canada, he moved to Britain, where in December 1910 he was elected Conservative MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. At the same time he made friends with Bonar Law, like him the son of a minister in New Brunswick, who the following year became Conservative Party leader.

Aitken was at the heart of the manoeuvres which at the end of 1916 saw Asquith supplanted as Prime Minister by Lloyd George, after which Aitken was raised to the peerage as the first Lord Beaverbrook.

The King was not pleased, nor were the upper reaches of the aristocracy. But Beaverbrook had taken control of The Daily Express, and was turning it into an enormous success, the greatest mid-market newspaper of its time, smart and popular and a source for its proprietor of great influence, for there could be no doubt who decided the editorial line.

Beaverbrook sent jolts of electricity through any outfit where he took control. He was a malicious bully who was also capable of great generosity, and who stood by friends when they got into trouble. He had a brilliant eye for talented subordinates.

He despised Stanley Baldwin, who dominated the Conservative Party for the 14 years after Bonar Laws death in 1923. Baldwin tempted Beaverbrook into overplaying his hand, and gave him and his fellow press baron Lord Rothermere a bloody nose by accusing them of exercising power without responsibility  the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.

It seemed as though Beaverbrooks career, except as a newspaper proprietor and a writer of vivid and perceptive books about Lloyd George and other men of power he had known, might well be over. Then the nation turned to Churchill, an outsider in Conservative Party terms, and Churchill needed to recruit other outsiders who could help him to grip and dynamise Whitehall.

This is the most exciting part of Williamss account. The pace quickens as Beaverbrook seeks to ensure that the RAF gets the planes it needs. He picks tremendous battles within the bureaucracy, threatens at frequent intervals to resign, but is told by the Prime Minister that he is indispensable.

For Churchill, Beaverbrook is a boon companion, a friend with whom in the darkest days of the war he can find relief from the almost intolerable burden of leadership, an ally who can be sent to negotiate with Stalin and Roosevelt, and who charms them too. Clementine Churchill, by contrast, regarded him with lifelong distrust.

The first sentence of this book reads:

Lady Diana Cooper, in her day one of Londons leading society lionesses, described Max Beaverbrook as this strange attractive gnome with an odour of genius about him.

The word lionesses will not do as a category in which to place Lady Diana. Nor is there any need for in her day. But the quotation which follows is wonderful.

This mixture runs through the book. Williams can be cloth-eared, but has a keen eye for good material. The dust jacket notes that he is 86. His industry puts many younger biographers to shame.

At times, however, it is excessive. He sketches more of the background to various early transactions than we really need, and this thoroughness is accompanied by a sense of responsibility which sometimes gets in the way of conveying his subjects utter irresponsibility.

He is not unscrupulous enough to revel in Beaverbrooks exploits. The author remarks that his own wife, Jane Portal, who got to know Beaverbrook in her capacity as Churchills secretary, still describes him as somebody you would instinctively walk away from.

Her instinctive reaction was right. Beaverbrook usually treated the women in his life, who were numerous, with cruel neglect once his eye had been attracted by new conquests.

To get an idea of how intolerable but also invigorating Beaverbrook was, the short sketch of him in old age by his great-nephew, Jonathan Aitken, published as the first essay in Heroes and Contemporaries (2006), is in some ways a better place to start.

Williams quotes an admirable description of Beaverbrook by Peter Masefield, who worked for him during the war:

He was unlike any other man I ever knew. For all his foibles and tough exterior, he was at heart deeply sensitive and often lonely. Critical, thrusting, demanding, self-centred and intolerant, he could be kind and even generous, just as he could be hasty and vindictive. He could reverse passionate feelings within hours. He perpetually maintained a hard front, even when the man inside had softened. I often thought of the frightened little boy in Canada, whose Presbyterian father had drunk away the familys slender funds.

The religion mattered. Beaverbrook was steeped in it, and said it was better to be an evangelist than a cabinet minister or a millionaire. As a lapsed Calvinist, he suffered from deep feelings of guilt, and was profoundly hurt by the scathing reviews given to one of his last books, The Divine Propagandist, which attempted to present the life of Jesus as it appears to worldly men of my generation.

Williams touches on the religion, but does not convey how important it was. Perhaps that is an impossible task. Beaverbrook was good at covering his tracks, and in 1964, shortly before his death, had a lot of his personal papers burned.

He liked buying up other mens papers, and controlling access to them during his lifetime, but there were strict limits to how mischievous the great mischief maker wanted anyone else to be at his own expense.

It is a pity he is not better known today, for among many other qualities, he was a remarkable journalist, who for over 60 years cultivated at his various houses a range of contacts of which most people could only dream, and was ruthless and vulgar enough to publish what they told him, except when he was covering up Churchills stroke or Tom Dribergs trial for indecent assault.

Beaverbrooks refusal to treat the Establishment with the respect it believed it deserved was attractive to men of the Left such as Driberg, Michael Foot and A.J.P.Taylor.

But it was not attractive to Attlee. When Churchill said during the 1945 general election that a Labour government would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo  an accusation against his wartime coalition partner which was generally reckoned to have gone much too far  Attlee was quick to counter-attack, while at the same time exculpating Churchill, whom he liked and admired:
Local elections 1) The Conservatives lose 1,300 councillors, the worst results since 1995

The results in full  BBC

Conservatives must change course, or die  Leader, Daily Telegraph

The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blairs humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago as they lost 1,269 council seats. Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a devastating voter backlash over Brexit. On a night described as brutal by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live TV interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents. Labour, which had expected to profit from the Conservatives failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful Opposition leader of the past 40 years.  Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: The local election aftermath. May and Corbyn are like two spooked children, drawing nearer for comfort as the thunder rages.

>Yesterday:

Local elections 2) There is worse to come, warns Javid.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted voters had issues of trust over Brexit, and said the European elections would be even more challenging. But, in a rallying cry to Conservatives in Aberdeen, he said that a divided party cannot unite a divided nationThe home secretary said the party risked losing voters trust after not delivering on a promise at the heart of our last manifesto. And, speaking about the European elections, due to take place on 23 May, he said: We shouldnt be surprised if people tick the protest box on the ballot paper. Without anything else at stake, it will be a verdict on the delivery of Brexit.  BBC

Home Secretary vows to secure more funding for the police  The Sun

Local elections 3) May to be told she must set a departure date

How can the battered Tories defend themselves with a leader whos keeping them on their knees?  Leader, The Sun

One member of the 1922 Committee  has already told colleagues that he has changed his mind and would now favour a rule change to allow a challenge  James Forsyth, The Sun

Theresa May will be told by senior Tories that she must set a date for her departure next week after their party was given its worst drubbing in local elections in almost a quarter of a centuryThe head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, will meet the prime minister when the Commons returns on Tuesday to request that she set a timetable for her departure. It is understood that Sir Graham met Mrs May before the elections on Thursday but agreed to defer the committees demand for her to set a date to leave until after the vote. Yesterday a source on the committee said that if Mrs May refused to set a date they could move to rewrite the rules to allow a fresh no-confidence vote in her leadership. Priti Patel, the former cabinet minister, led calls for Mrs May to go while Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, called on the 1922 Committee to take action.  The Times

.>Today: Dinah Glover on Comment: The Prime Minister lacks empathy, negotiates badly  and doesnt lead. The Conservative Party needs to get her out now.

>Yesterday: WATCH: May heckled at the Welsh Conservative conference. Why dont you resign?

Local elections 4) Labour lost seats too

Labour had expected to make gains, but instead suffered a net loss, and lost control of a string of councils, including Burnley, Darlington and Wirral.Many Labour MPs suggested the results underlined the urgency for Labour to shift to a full-throated remain position. But Corbyn insisted: I think it means theres a huge impetus on every MP, and theyve all got that message, whether they themselves are leave or remain  or the people across the country  that an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done. Parliament has to resolve this issue  I think that is very, very clear. Close Corbyn allies Ian Lavery and Richard Burgon echoed his message, saying Brexit was detracting from a string of other crucial issues, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the message from voters was: Brexit  sort it.  The Guardian

Sir Tony Robinson resign from the Labour Party  The Sun

McDonnell had predicted 400 net gains  Daily Express

How Corbyn was snared in a death trap by trying to appeal to either side of the Brexit debate but ended up offending both  Peter Oborne, Daily Mail

Local elections 5) Lib Dems feeling tiggerish

Pavement politics can still matter  Sir John Curtice, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 6) Charge of the independents

Sir Vince Cable, who is preparing to stand down as leader, described his party as the big success story of the night. He took a swipe at Change UK, which also backs a second Brexit referendum, saying: We are clearly the dominant, successful Remain party. Change UK was not formed in time to compete in the local elections but will field candidates in the European elections on May 23. A Lib Dem source said that their party had a bounce in our step and we are feeling Tiggerish, a play on Change UKs first name, the Independent Group (TIG), and the Tiggers nickname given to its members. On a bruising night for the two main parties, the Lib Dems scored a victory in Leave-supporting Chelmsford, Essex, where they are now in control of the council. They also took councils including North Devon, North Norfolk, Winchester, Cotswold and Vale of White Horse in OxfordshireThe Lib Dems also did well in typically strong Labour areas like Hull and Barnsley. Lib Dem sources played down the idea that the party was simply the beneficiary of protest votes, pointing out that it had taken seats in areas where it had a strong local history.  The Times

A community fed up with party politics has seized control of its council as independent candidates made big gains across the country. Voters in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, elected a new independent party to 30 of the councils 35 seats amid anger at Brexit wrangling. Only three Conservative councillors and two Labour survived as 65 per cent of the working-class districts voters backed the Ashfield Independents, with candidates in some wards taking 90 per cent of the vote. The humiliation for Labour in Ashfield came as independent candidates made sweeping gains across the UK, with more than 575 new councillors elected and 997 independents taking seats. In North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, the Tories lost control as eight independents were elected, while in the Labour heartland of Bolsover, Derbyshire the party lost control of the district council for the first time in 40 years. Among 11 new independents was Ross Walker, a bricklayer who went into politics after the council cut down a sycamore tree commemorating his grandfather.  The Times

Local elections 7) Green Party boasts of phenomenal gains

Local elections 8) Thousands of spoiled ballot papers

The Greens have hailed a phenomenal set of local election results Bartleys co-leader, Sian Berry, said the party had won its first councillors in areas not seen as traditionally Green areas, including South Tyneside, Sunderland, Colchester, Folkestone and the Cotswolds. Weve broken through on to the councils to become the new voice, she told BBC News. Weve done that through hard work, basically. I can pretty confidently say were going to have a record number of Greens on a record number of councils. In Sunderland, the Greens defeated Labour in Washington South. In South Tyneside, the party crushed Labour as its candidate took more than two-thirds of the vote to become the first Green member of the council.  The Guardian

Election results were delayed in parts of England overnight after so many people had deliberately spoilt their ballot papers. Some voters scribbled Brexit means Brexit, Get May out and us out of the EU or traitors on their forms and refused to mark crosses against any candidates names. Each of the spoilt papers had to be individually adjudicated and the number to be examined was higher than normal in Ipswich, Suffolk  delaying the result.In Basildon alone there were 800 spoilt ballot papers, reported BBC Essex. Brexit Party MEP candidate Michael Heaver said the figure showed huge anger out there. It was 200 in Immingham, Lincolnshire, with councillor David Watson saying: That is a phenomenal amount. The residents have disengaged with the political process. Meanwhile there were 414 in Castle Point, 600 in Tendring and 539 in Chelmsford, all in Essex, plus 647 in Folkestone & Hythe, Kent, and 693 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.  Daily Mail

Local elections 9) DUP holding up in Northern Ireland results so far

Son of murdered prison officer ecstatic as he thanks supporters after election  Belfast Telegraph

Local elections 10) Rees-Mogg: It could be a blessing in disguise

It was a good day for the Alliance and a bad one for the UUP and the TUV. Sinn Fein and the DUP look to be holding up their vote. Greens and People Before Profit had notable victories while the new pro-life party Aontu secured its first seat. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (which finished up at 6am), Lisburn and Castlereagh, and Mid Ulster councils have all completed meaning with still have eight councils still to declare.  Belfast Telegraph

People who normally vote Tory either stayed at home or voted for a protest party, be it Liberal Democrats, Greens or independents. Labour suffered too because it also failed to deliver on its Brexit promises. Thus, the warning shot has been fired and the Conservative Party must heed it. While the importance of local government must not be understated, this could possibly be a blessing in disguise as it now gives the Tories the opportunity to make the things right that have gone wrong. Inevitably, this will be with a new leader. Mrs May has already announced that she will retire before the next election but it must be someone who will advocate Conservative principles, put them into action and ensure that promises and deeds match.  Jacob Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph

Local elections 11) Parris: These results show remainers must unite

The Voters Verdict  Leader, The Times

Something is rotten in Britains political system  Leader, Financial Times

Leadership 1) Davis declares for Raab

Surely this cries out for a temporary alliance of Remain-leaning political movements, and a temporary coming-together of Remain-leaning voters? Its too late for this in the European elections due on May 23. Change UK appears to have blocked co-operation. The Lib Dems are open to it. The Greens just might. But a leaked alleged strategy document from the Tiggers makes ugly reading. Strategy: Win over LD activists and members . . . attract support and resources from LD backers . . . draw attention to any ex-LD [parliamentary candidates] joining TIG . . .. Change UKs response when this was published was hardly a denial. And an article by Umunna, defending his partys disinclination to get into bed with anyone else, was shot through with an overconfident, even conceited, expectation of a moment that never came.  Matthew Parris, The Times

We will need a leader with focus and drive, a combination of conviction and tenacity. There is no shortage of talent in our party, but the demands on him or her will be great. Bluntly Brexit alone will require a unique combination of intellect, determination, decisiveness and courage. The next stage of Brexit, and the coming election will both be a real test of the character of the next prime minister. With all these considerations the standout candidate is Dominic Raab, so I will back him if he runs. I have known and worked with Dominic over the last 13 years so I know he has the vision and personal attributes required to lead us at these crossroads in our history.  David Davis, Daily Mail

Leadership 2) Gove claims to be a team player

Leadership 3) Hunt speaks out against the Customs Union

Michael Gove has insisted he has not gone soft on Brexit as he pledged to strive to get it over the line in the wake of the Tories disastrous local election resultsSpeaking from his parents home in Aberdeen, he also said he had learned from his botched 2016 Tory leadership campaign and insisted he was now a team player. Although he refused to be drawn on whether he intends to stand again in the race to succeed Theresa May, he argued that his conduct since being recalled from the subs bench showed his fellow Tory MPs that he is trustworthy. With his mother and father watching on, he paid tribute to them for instilling in him compassion and being unafraid to tell him home truths over his mistakes.  Interview with Michael Gove, Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt makes another thinly veiled leadership pitch by speaking out against the prospect of Britain staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit. The Foreign Secretary warned that it would fail British exporters because the UK would have no say in trade deals the EU signs with third countries.His comments came in an interview with the Press Association where he refused to reveal the naughtiest thing he has done  because its too X-rated. But the Foreign Secretary said it was definitely naughtier than running through a wheat field, which Theresa May famously said was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.  The Sun

Foreign Secretarys wife is his secret weapon  Daily Telegraph

Leadership 4) Hancock: Voters want the centre, not the extremes

Sedwill accused of failing to investigate troop numbers leak

 We need to deliver Brexit and then turn the page and we need to deliver from the centre ground, says Matt Hancock. The 40-year-old health secretary could be the new-generation Conservative leadership candidate. He is wearing jeans, a T-shirt and trainers when we meet the morning after the local elections at a cafe packed with mothers and babies in Kensal Rise, northwest London, where he orders us all a latte and fried banana bread and leans back to discuss the results.He dislikes the way some in his party, including the prime minister, have disparaged citizens of nowhere who havent stayed close to their roots.We need the Conservatives to be not just comfortable with modern Britain but champions of modern Britain.  Interview with Matt Hancock, The Times

Sir Mark Sedwill, the man behind the leak inquiry that led to Gavin Williamsons sacking, has been accused of refusing to investigate a leak which risked putting soldiers lives in danger. Allies of the former minister claimed Sir Mark had declined to intervene when a newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was to almost double the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr Williamson was so concerned that the story would compromise troop safety that he had tried to issue a D-Notice  the mechanism used to prevent newspapers reporting the most sensitive security issues. Sir Mark, however, declined to instigate a leak inquiry despite two separate requests from the then minister, according to Mr Williamsons allies.  Daily Telegraph

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy demands to see the evidence against Williamson  The Sun

Davidson promises an end to constitutional games

News in brief

The age of political volatility  Sunder Katwala, CapX

How the Tories can turn their dire election results around  James Forsyth, The Spectator

Grieve escapes deselection proceedings despite losing confidence vote  Independent

This climate change fantasy will cripple our economy  Benny Peiser, Conservative Woman

Neoliberals must retake the reins of the Conservative Party  Samuel Prosser, 1828

Ruth Davidson will deliver a withering assessment of Nicola Sturgeons record in government on Saturday as she promises no more constitutional games and no more referendums if she becomes Scotlands next First Minister. The Scottish Conservative leader will tell delegates at the party conference that the country must get out of the trenches of the last decade of Yes and No, Leave and Remain. Setting out her plan to replace Ms Sturgeon in 2021 she will pledge to build a better Scotland now, using the Scottish Parliaments powers, rather than blaming Westminster and agitating for independence.- Daily Telegraph
74%

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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-20, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-25, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
You might think that archaeology is nothing but sifting through the dirt trying to find 3,000-year-old toilet pits. But since we make the past every single day, the whole field of preserving history has had to step up its game. That means we're digging up 20th-century artifacts in places that are far stranger than any viking crapper. For example ...

5 The Original Lunar Photos Were Recovered From Somebody's Filthy Backyard

From '66 to '67, five NASA lunar orbiters took pictures of the moon's surface to pinpoint the best landing sites to model Stanley Kubrick's set after. These pictures, including the first-ever earthrise image, were beamed directly into magnetic tape decks. And in deference to their lofty purpose, these tapes were preserved with the same dignity afforded to your weird uncle's collection of 1970s amateur porn. They were printed once, in really terrible quality, and then shoved in a dusty box to be forgotten

Fast-forward to 2004, when NASA hackers in an old Usenet group learned that retired archivist Nancy Evans had saved the tapes from being destroyed in 1986. And when they tracked Evans down, they found both the tapes and the refrigerator-sized drives to read them on in her backyard garden shed, surrounded by farm animals. Together, Evans and the hackers launched the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (or LOIRP), tasking themselves with recovering the history trapped inside the hundreds of tapes. They established their base of operations in the greatest symbol of JFK's America: an abandoned McDonald's.
The AIDAstella made her inaugural call to Gibraltar on Friday, April 26, according to a statement.

Minister for Tourism Gilbert Licudi QC said: The call by the first AIDA cruise ship is significant and shows that Gibraltar continues to be an important port of call for cruise ships in the Mediterranean.

As with other inaugurals, there was an exchange of plaques onboard the ship between the Captain and representatives of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, the Port Authority and local shipping agents Lucas Imossi.
STRATFORD  Oronoque Village will host its sixth annual Mini Walk and Car Show to benefit the Alzheimers Associations Connecticut Chapter on Saturday morning, June 1 (rain date is Sunday, June 2).

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the South Clubhouse parking lot on South Trail and the short walk, loops around South Trail, starting at 9:30. The recommended entry donation is $10 per walker, but donations above the entry are very much appreciated. Water will be provided for the walkers. At 10 a.m. the Car Show begins in the back parking lot. A $10 entry donation per car is recommended. There will also be a bake sale so please bring money to indulge in our delectable baked goodies after the walk!
Contributed Photo / Google Maps

STRATFORD  Melanie M. Ordner, a 55-year old Stratford resident, was found dead in a vehicle in a New Hampshire store parking lot on Thursday, state police there said.

Around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, troopers from Troop A in New Hampshire responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the southbound State Liquor Store parking lot along Interstate 95 in Hampton, N.H., state police said.
Our own Bruce Siwy and Eric Kieta talk about their true-crime cases in Return To View: The Roundtable
CRUDE OIL PRICE FORECAST  TALKING POINTS

Selling pressure in crude sent oil prices tumbling over 2.5 percent before trimming losses during Fridays session to finish the week roughly 1 percent lower

A surprise stockpile build in the US sent oil prices swooning while calls on OPEC to increase production countered the prospect of supply constraints from the expiration of Iranian sanctions

Crude oil price outlook now shifts focus to the possibility of a US-China trade deal next week which could boost future demand for the commodity if materialized

Crude oil dipped 1.17 percent to $62.15/bbl over the last 5 trading days, inking back-to-back weekly losses for the commodity. The primary driver of recent downside could be attributed to reports from the EIA that crossed the wires during Thursdays session which stated US crude stockpiles skyrocketed 9.9m/bbl to their highest level since September 2017.

US OIL PRODUCTION AND CRUDE INVENTORIES

Source: EIA, Reuters | Henning Gloystein

Ballooning crude oil production in the US now tops 12m/bpd and largely contributed to the recent bulge in oil inventories. The trend looks to continue after the Trump administration announced that the Interior Department released a fresh set of regulations last week that makes offshore oil drilling easier for energy companies.

Furthermore, President Trump continues to demand that OPEC increases its output after oil prices have soared since the start of the year  but the recent threats of higher supply has sent crude plunging in response. Also, Saudi Arabia is already rumored to have plans in place to boost production ahead of an expected spike in domestic demand during the summer.

That being said, the updated EIA short-term energy outlook report is due for release on May 7 and looks to provide oil market participants with the latest comprehensive insight over potential supply and demand imbalances.

OIL DEMAND & US-CHINA TRADE DEAL

Looking forward, however, global demand for crude oil  and consequently its price  hinges principally on the final outcome of US-China trade talks which are now expected to conclude within the next two weeks. A positive outcome where the worlds largest two economies reach a trade deal looks to provide a solid boost to global growth and thus demand for oil.

Although, this scenario has largely been factored into market pricing already and may limit potential upside in oil prices. On the other hand, a negative outcome where the US and China fail to reach an agreement could quite possibly derail bullish prospects for oil demand and prices.

TRADING RESOURCES

Whether you are a new or experienced trader, DailyFX has multiple resources available to help you: an indicator for monitoring trader sentiment; quarterly trading forecasts; analytical and educational webinars held daily; trading guides to help you improve trading performance, and even one for those who are new to FX trading.

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MIDDLETOWN >> Approximately two dozen residents of Chester and Delaware counties, joined by state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, and a representative of U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, met Friday morning at the site of Sunocos latest known sinkhole along Route 1 in Middletown.

Since assuming office in 2016, Quinn has repeatedly expressed his concerns about the risks to public safety associated with the proposed Mariner East pipelines.

Shut it down, said Quinn. Ive visited the sinkholes in the Lisa Drive area, but this area is built on granite.

There shouldnt be sinkholes here  yet there are. Its like youre driving a car when a warning light comes on. You need to stop immediately and get it checked out. Im calling for an immediate halt to construction and operation of these pipelines.

Signs were held high for the benefit of drivers on Route 1.

Gov. (Tom) Wolf needs to shut down these dangerous pipelines now, said Linda Ciavarelli, a Middletown resident and health care provider whose property lies in the blast zone of Sunocos proposed hazardous, highly volatile liquids export project, marketed as Mariner East.

There is no way that this sinkhole did not expose the leaky old 12-inch workaround pipeline. This project is putting our community, our first responders, and workers at unacceptable risk.

Delaware County Council procured an assessment of the risks associated with Mariner East, which was publicly released in November 2018. It predicted lethal blast and thermal effects resulting from a leak of highly volatile liquids from Mariner East could extend a mile and a quarter from the point of a release.

The 12-by-12- by-12 foot sinkhole opened near the State Police Barracks in Middletown on Wednesday, April 24. Apparently, before notifying appropriate regulatory agencies such as Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection, the Public Utility Commission, or Middletown Township, Sunoco filled the sinkhole with flowable fill, a kind of concrete.

While the sinkhole appears to be directly over the centerline of the 12-inch workaround pipeline, these agencies currently have no knowledge of whether this sinkhole exposed the line. The nearby 8-inch Mariner East 1, another 1930s-era Sunoco pipeline, was shut down by the PUC in 2018 and again in 2019, both times after the pipeline was exposed by sinkholes in Chester County.

Middletown Council Chairman Mark Kirchgasser wrote to the chairman of the PUC on April 29. In his letter, Kirchgasser stated on behalf of a unanimous township council, We have grave concerns that despite an unexplained subsidence with no determined cause in an otherwise stable area that an aged, repurposed 12-inch line carrying highly volatile liquids is allowed to continue to operate without a clear cause for the event, or any knowledge of what an adequate remedy to the subsidence issue could or would otherwise be.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Sunoco continue to investigate the subsidence that occurred in front of the State Police barracks; both parties assert to the township that the 12-inch HVL line is safe to operate. While Sunoco has answered all of our inquiries, Middletown Township firmly stands by our letter to the chairman of the PUC and requests that the 12-inch HVL line be shut down until a clear cause of the subsidence has been made.

The sinkhole is next to the shoulder of heavily trafficked Route 1, adjacent to the Pennsylvania State Police Media Barracks, and across the street from Granite Farms Estates retirement community and the Rocky Run YMCA.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance, said there is no prof that the sinkhole is related to the pipeline.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has proven itself to be an effective watchdog that relies on science and engineering before rendering decisions. There has been no definitive report to conclusively determine cause in this area, and there is risk. No portion of the pipeline was exposed, Knaus said.
If Shakespeare had titled Attorney General William Barrs appearance on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he would have called it Much Ado About Nothing.

Democrats seized on the supposed bombshell that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to Barr expressing dissatisfaction with the attorney generals four-page memo to Congress from March 24, declaring it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of his report. Barr told senators upon receiving the special counsels letter that he immediately called Mueller and said Bob, whats with the letter? Why dont you just pick up the phone and call me if theres an issue?

Heres a better question he should have asked: Bob, why didnt you accept my offer to review the memo before it was released to the public?

The fact is, Barr gave Mueller the chance to go over the document, and offer comments or suggested edits, before the attorney general made it public. Mueller declined to do so. Sorry, you dont get to turn down an opportunity to review a document before release, and then complain about it later if you dont like how it is being covered by the media.

And putting his complaints in a letter  going to paper in Justice Department parlance  the details of which (surprise, surprise) were then leaked to the media on the eve of Barrs testimony, was dishonorable. The entire episode hurts Muellers reputation more than it does Barrs.

Moreover, officials told The Washington Post, When Barr pressed [Mueller] whether he thought Barrs letter was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not, but felt that the media coverage of the letter was misinterpreting the investigation. So, there was nothing wrong with Barrs letter per se. What Mueller really wanted was for Barr to release more information  specifically the introduction and executive summaries of each volume of the report, which he had marked with redactions to remove any information that potentially could be protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure that concerned declination decisions; or that related to a charged case.

But, as Barr testified on Wednesday, even if he had agreed that releasing the introductions and executive summaries was a good idea (which he did not), he could not have done so because they required additional redactions from the intelligence community. Barr did not want to release the report piecemeal. I thought what we should do is focus on getting the full report out as quickly as possible, he said. The attorney general did just that.

Regardless, the whole issue was moot by the time Barr testified, because the entire 448-page report  including the introduction and executive summaries  has been released to the public. That did not stop Democrats from using it to attack Barrs credibility. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told Barr you lied to Congress and had chosen to be the presidents lawyer rather than Americas lawyer. She announced that she had asked the Justice Department inspector general to investigate his conduct. She called on Barr to resign. Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. It was a disgusting partisan display. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., rightly chastised Hirono, declaring, You slandered this man from top to bottom.

ar from lying, Barr has bent over backward to be open with Congress and the American people. He overrode Justice Department regulations, and released the full Mueller report with only minor redactions. Thats virtually unprecedented. And he has made an almost completely unredacted version of the report available to members of Congress, who now have access to all but one-tenth of 1 percent of the document. And while the Justice Department worked overtime to speed the redaction process, he released a memo which accurately informed the American people about Muellers bottom line conclusions. It is a fact that Mueller declared that his investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

And it is a fact that while the report does not exonerate him of obstruction it also does not conclude that the President committed a crime. For two years, Trump was falsely accused of being a Russian agent and colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin  including by many of those on Capitol Hill now attacking Barrs credibility. If members of Congress want examples of dishonesty and efforts to mislead the American people, they can start by looking in the mirror.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.

(c) 2019, The Washington Post Writers Group
Only a fool believes the political landscape will never change. As the Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan once told his aides: There are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of.

As it happens, Callaghan said those words almost exactly four decades ago, as he was preparing to lose the 1979 election to Margaret Thatcher.

Perhaps the Tories should reflect on the irony that yesterday, which saw one of their most wretched electoral performances in recent times, was the 40th anniversary of one of their greatest landmarks, when Margaret Thatcher won her first General Election.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion.

Triumphant: Margaret Thatcher, flanked by husband Denis and son Mark, salutes the party faithful on May 4, 1979

The truth, however, is that the political landscape over which the Iron Lady presided has largely disappeared.

Voters today are angrier, more frustrated, less deferential. Influenced by social media more than ancestral loyalty, they are more likely to swing between extremes, and much more likely to be wooed by radical new groups.

A number of voters took to social media to boast of spoiling their ballot papers in the local elections. People shared images of voting slips with messages including Get May out, Brexit betrayal and Traitors written across them.

These are not normal times.

Despite the Tories taking a battering and Labour performing wretchedly, their spokesmen yesterday robotically intoned prepared lines about their determination to listen and learn from voters frustrations. But if the two main parties think things will soon return to normal, they are deceiving themselves.

For with Brexit having rewritten the rules of British politics, I believe these local elections are a last warning for the two historic parties of government.

Unless something changes radically, the local elections may well go down in history as the first part of a three or four-act drama that could reshape the landscape of British politics to an extent not seen since the 1920s.

And with European elections likely to follow on May 23, and a possible General Election or second referendum to come, both the Conservatives and Labour are in serious danger of being torn apart completely.

Conservative MP Vicky Ford after the Tories lost a comfortable majority in Chelmsford, Essex

Much of this story, of course, is about Brexit. For as soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box.

The Prime Minister can hardly blame them. For almost three years, she has assured us that her priority is to deliver Brexit. Yet the original deadline for leaving the EU has come and gone, and she has conspicuously failed to do so.

This is not entirely her fault. If all Tory MPs had backed her withdrawal deal, their party would surely not be in such a mess. But the British people are perfectly entitled to conclude that many Tory MPs have completely lost the plot, and are more interested in ideological posturing and self-promotion than in reaching a compromise in the national interest.

It is true, of course, that Conservative governments often do badly in local elections.

It is generally forgotten, for example, that David Cameron lost a whopping 2,000 council seats between 2012 and 2014, but still won an overall majority at the next General Election.

Yet if the Tories think they can easily repeat the trick, then they are even more deluded than I thought.

Whatever you think of Mr Cameron, his government gave an impression of competence and unity. By contrast, these abysmal results come against a background of unprecedented Tory divisions, infighting and paralysis.

No wonder that, among the public at large, frustration and anger are running higher than at any time I can remember.

Leave voters, in particular, are outraged that Britains exit from the EU seems to have been delayed indefinitely. But many Remain voters, too, can barely contain their exasperation with a Government that seems incapable of winning a vital vote in the Commons.

The one consolation for the Tories is that Labour is doing equally badly. For while governments almost always lose council seats, it is extraordinary to see the main Opposition party haemorrhaging seats, too.

In other circumstances, Labour might expect to be celebrating a tremendous night.

Under Ed Miliband in 2012, Labour won more than 800 seats. Yet on Thursday, facing a far weaker Tory Government, it lost at least 87 seats, which suggests it would find it very hard to win a majority at a General Election.

Labours performance in many working-class Leave areas was astonishingly bad.

It is tempting, but perhaps too obvious, to suggest the Tories badly need another Mrs Thatcher, offering the same mixture of ideological vision, efficiency and ruthless pragmatism, as well as the same adeptness on television and grasp of public opinion

In the West Midlands it lost control of Dudley, while the Tories gained control of Walsall.

And in the North East, Labour lost control of Hartlepool, shed seats in Sunderland and lost the mayoralty of Middlesbrough to an independent.

The explanation is no mystery.

Labours flagrant dishonesty on Brexit has disgusted Leave voters, who rightly suspect most Labour MPs would like to pretend the referendum result never happened.

Yet at the same time, Jeremy Corbyns refusal to back a second referendum has alienated enthusiastic Remainers, who turned on Thursday to the Lib Dems. So in effect, Labour has tried to be all things to all men and ended up pleasing very few.

On top of that, Labour is suffering badly from the Corbyn factor.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst.

Social media data shows hard-Left websites are losing support. And Mr Corbyns shameless evasions on Brexit have clearly alienated thousands of youngsters, who care more about staying in the EU than they do about his weird enthusiasms for Palestine, Venezuela, punitive taxes and the nationalisation of water.

The longer Mr Corbyn remains as Labour leader, the more he looks like just another shop-soiled, dishonest politician.

Indeed, given that almost every week brings some new accusation of anti-Semitism, I find it hard to see how his personal ratings, already dire, can ever improve.

As soon as the unholy alliance of ultra-Remainers and hard Brexiteers torpedoed Theresa Mays deal with Brussels, it was pretty obvious the public would exact revenge at the ballot box

What both major parties need is a long break to rest and reflect  but that is precisely what they are not going to get. For, barring some miraculous breakthrough in their Brexit talks, the bloodied, weary combatants will have to drag themselves back into the ring for the dramas second act: the European elections.

And although it is never wise to make predictions these days, I am very happy to stick my neck out.

Turnout will almost certainly be dreadful. The Tories will do abysmally, probably sinking below 20 per cent of the vote. Labour will lose votes to the Lib Dems, the Greens and the new Change UK party, which will divide up the Remain vote between them.

Above all, the big winners, sweeping up Leave supporters across the country, will be the Brexit Party, with perhaps as much as a third of the vote.

The day after the results come through, every paper will carry a prominent picture of a grinning Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, raising a pint in victory.

In other words: chaos. And if that scenario does materialise, I dont expect things to become any clearer over the summer.

If the Tories do as badly in the European elections as everybody expects, the pressure on Mrs May to stand down will probably become intolerable.

It is patently clear that the Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! bubble of two summers ago has burst

That would mean the Tories could face a summer leadership contest, which could well tear the Conservative Party in two and see the Government fall from office.

Most Tory insiders think that if a Brexiteer such as Boris Johnson made it to the final run-off between two candidates, he would almost certainly sweep to victory with the partys national membership.

But if he did win, many pro-Remain MPs might refuse to support a Johnson government, forcing him to call a snap election.

Alternatively, Tory MPs might gang up to keep Mr Johnson (or another Brexiteer such as Dominic Raab) out of the final two. If that happened, the grassroots could revolt en masse.

In turn, that would be a huge boost to the Brexit Party and could create an irreparable rift between Tory MPs and party activists.

In other words, the Conservatives would be damned if they did and damned if they didnt.

For Labour, the picture is scarcely brighter. If it does badly in the European elections, there could be more defections to Change UK.

And if Change UK and the Lib Dems have the sense to strike a formal alliance, the newcomers could easily position themselves as the natural home of liberal, do-gooding Remainers.

That would leave Labour as well, as what?

As the natural home of working-class Leavers? That doesnt seem likely, given the pro-European predilections of many of its MPs.

As the last redoubt of anti-Semites, crypto-Communists and the Fidel Castro fan club?

That would be true to Mr Corbyns convictions, but I cant imagine such a party would fare very well at a General Election.

Should anything like this come to pass, all bets would be off. Anyone who claims to know what the political landscape will look like this time next year is a fantasist.

Not since the early 1920s, when Labour supplanted the Liberals as Britains main anti-Conservative party, has politics been so fragmented. And the comparison seems particularly apposite because then, as now, seismic change led to the proliferation of insurgent alternatives, rather like todays Brexit Party and Change UK.

Among the candidates at the 1922 election, for example, were 334 Liberals, 155 National Liberals, three Independent Liberals, 20 Independent Conservatives, five Communists, four Agriculturalists and four Independent Labour candidates. And although things had calmed down a bit by the 1924 election  the third in three years  there were still 12 Constitutionalist candidates, among them a certain Winston Churchill.

The big winners in the end were the Tories and Labour. But had the Liberals remained united, they might have seen off the Labour challenge and political history would have been very different.

The fate of those Liberals, once a mighty party of government, should be a chilling warning for todays mainstream parties.

Adrift in this bewildering new world and apparently baffled by Brexit, they seem incapable of charting a new course. And if they continue to haemorrhage votes, the next General Election could see one, even both, swept away.

Given how both the Tories and Labour have behaved over the past three years, I suspect few people would mourn their demise.

Yet the alternative  a fragmented, European-style mosaic of squabbling parties  would hardly make for effective Government.

And if that sounds bad, theres an even grimmer possibility.

What if the Tories fall apart and Labour dont? What if a chaotic General Election ends with Jeremy Corbyn walking into No 10, to the cheers of assorted Communists, Trotskyists, anti-Semites and the Russian secret service?

You might think it could never happen. But if the political shocks of the past few years have told us anything, it very certainly could.
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Julian Coulston's battle with a rare bone cancer wasn't one he was left to fight on his own.

His girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018, with doctors in Melbourne, Victoria, telling the couple chemotherapy had failed.

And she stood next to him on March 28 at their dream wedding ceremony, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.

Sadly, that only meant another eight days for Julian.

Julian's girlfriend of seven years, Ayla Sharp, 27, (both pictured) stood by him when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2015 and when he tragically relapsed in 2018

The 27-year-old was told by specialists that the last round of treatment had been ineffective and they would have to remove 100 per cent of his sacrum - which is connected to the pelvis - if he wanted any chance of survival.

Vital nerves that control bowel and leg function would also be taken out as a result and he'd be unable to walk.

Above all else, surgery couldn't promise that the cancerous cells wouldn't return a third time either.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle.

So she reached out to volunteer group My Wedding Wish in hopes they could help make their special day come true.

Ayla's sister knew that despite their desire for a lavish wedding at Werribee Mansion they could never afford it and time appeared to be running out for the couple to walk down the aisle (Ayla pictured)

The company provides free weddings - with the help and support of the local community - to terminally ill brides and grooms.

Julian and Ayla's application was approved within the hour.

'The only issue was that Julian was currently in Peter Mac Hospital undergoing pain management protocols. We all had to wait, eager to create magic, but unable to without a time or place for the wedding,' the company wrote on their Facebook page.

'On March 26 a date was set because doctors couldn't get Julian's pain under control and we were concerned this may change. We had two days.

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day.'

'Ayla and Julian said they'd love to be married at the amazing Werribee Mansion. Our founder Lynette made some phone calls and Parks Victoria jumped on board, waiving all fees and bending over backwards to ensure the couple had a beautiful wedding day,' My Wedding Wish wrote on Facebook

My Wedding Wish organised the cake, Ayla's wedding dress, a suit for Julian and the legal proceedings in just a few short hours, with a photographer, celebrant and makeup artist soon to follow.

With Julian's health deteriorating the wedding was set to be one of the most emotional days for the two families joining as one, with images from the day showcasing just how close the couple were.

'The next day, Thursday March 28, 2019, a stunning autumn day, close friends and family gathered at 2pm to watch Julian and Ayla marry in a moving ceremony,' the team at My Wedding Wish wrote online.

'There were a lot of tears and there was so much joy.'

In writing to the charity foundation a few days after her nuptials, Ayla expressed extreme gratitude for the team who brought her the greatest gift of all: Eternal love.

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' Ayla said

'Thank you again for giving me the most perfect day that my son and I will remember long after Julian passes on,' she said.

'I can't believe the generosity of everyone who helped pull off the wedding.

'I cried out of bittersweet happiness because I finally married my best friend of seven years and it will always mean the world to me.'

In the weeks prior to the wedding, Ayla had been packing up their home in Melbourne to move as Julian wanted to be in New Zealand surrounded by family when he died.

They were due to fly out on the evening of April 3, 2019, and that night the new little family prepared to jet off abroad.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand

Harry from Melbourne Portraits dropped by that evening to deliver their wedding album. Julian was able to reminisce on the day he married his wife.

But in a heartbreaking twist of fate the young man didn't get his final wish to return to New Zealand.

He was in too much pain to board the three-and-a-half hour flight and had to be admitted back into hospital.

Julian died two days later in the arms of his beloved wife on April 5 and his funeral will be in the country he had hoped to return to on May 4.

You can donate to Julian's funeral fund by visiting this website.
From Victoria to The Crown, we cant get enough of TV dramas about British royals.

The latest to hit our screens is about another queen of England, albeit one who has often seemed like the side story in the bigger tale of her husbands murderous reign.

The Spanish Princess, a sequel to the hits The White Queen and The White Princess about the Wars of the Roses and the early days of the Tudor dynasty, centres on Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs first wife.

It shows her before she was scorned in favour of a younger model who might be able to give Henry the male heir he so desperately wanted.

Catherine is typically portrayed as little more than the older, uglier, spurned wife whose refusal to go quietly led to Henrys break with the Catholic Church.

A new series retells the love story of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon (pictured) - to whom he was married for 17 years

But in this retelling, which like those previous series is based on books by Philippa Gregory, she is much more than that.

Catherine is perceived as an older woman who was unwanted baggage for Henry VIII, when in fact she was the love of his life, says the dramas co-writer Emma Frost.

They were married for 17 years before he took up with Anne Boleyn, and we felt it necessary to dignify Catherines place in history with a retelling of her story.

This starts in Spain with Catherine, daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile, being brought up to believe its her destiny to be queen of England because, as a direct descendant of John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV, shes an heir to the English throne.

Played by British actress Charlotte Hope, Catherine arrives in England at the age of 15 to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales.

The princesss arrival in this dour, warring nation from what was then the most powerful country in Europe is a culture shock for her.

Shes surrounded by enemies, in particular Maggie Pole, played by Downton Abbeys Laura Carmichael  her brother Edward Plantagenet, a nephew of Richard III, had been killed to ensure there were no challengers to Arthurs  and so Catherines  path to the throne.

British actress Charlotte Hope (pictured right) stars as Catherine alongside Ruairi OConnor (pictured left) as Henry VIII. The drama begins with Catherine preparing to marry Arthur, the Prince of Wales

Most marriages come with a degree of pressure, says Emmas co-writer Matthew Graham.

But this one particularly so because the security of Europe hinges on it being successful.

When, less than five months after their wedding, Arthur dies of a disease known as the sweating sickness, Catherine is forced to take destiny into her own hands.

From the age of four shed been told God was giving her the throne of England, says Matthew.

When circumstances changed and the throne seemed to be out of her grip, she refused to believe that was Gods will.

'She had to fulfil the destiny God laid out for her.

So we see Catherine spin the tale that will lead to her becoming queen of England  she claims her union with Arthur was never consummated, something that would allow her to marry his younger brother Henry (Ruairi OConnor), now the king himself after the death of Henry VII.

The drama's co-writer Emma Frost says Henry was obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife (pictured: Catherine and her retinue arrive in England in the new drama)

Catherine is such a fascinating character because she has this absolute belief in what her destiny should be, says Emma.

She makes dangerous choices to get where she wants to be.

Although her marriage to Henry, five years her junior, was convenient as it meant her valuable dowry stayed in England, it also turned out to be a real love match, Emma insists.

But when Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry became obsessed with the idea that God was punishing him for marrying his brothers wife, says Emma.

It becomes a story about a lie. The series looks at the decisions she made and their consequences.

'Its a strong story of a woman trying to define her place in the world, and one modern audiences will be able to relate to.

The Spanish Princess will be on Starzplay (via Amazon Prime and Virgin) from tomorrow.
Whether it's nature or nurture, what makes someone a killer is something that's long been debated by psychiatrists.

That question is even trickier when you apply it to child murderers - how does an innocent young person turn into a cold-hearted killer?

FEMAIL spoke to Dr Keri Nixon, a consultant forensic psychologist, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series which focuses on the deadly crimes of young people.

She told how generally, people who commit murder or acts of extreme violence have usually got troubled backgrounds.

'That's the case for some of these perpetrators,' Keri explained. 'But interestingly with some of the cases this series covers, many of them haven't, which makes them quite unusual.'

Here Keri gives her take on some of the UK's most famous child killers - and whether murder was inevitable or could have been avoided.

The mystery: William Cornick

The nation was horrified when model student William Cornick, then 15, stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish lesson

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed his Spanish teacher Ann Maguire to death during class

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014.

He left his classmates in a state of shock when he casually walked up to Ms Maguire and stabbed her seven times while she was writing on the whiteboard.

The teenager was described as a 'a clever child from a loving middle class home' and the 'most unlikely perpetrator of a crime that would shock Britain'.

The teacher in charge of his year said he was 'a delightful pupil who always gave his best', while fellow pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College said he was a just a 'typical lad' who rarely misbehaved.

'William Cornick doesn't fit the profile of what we would usually see,' Keri told FEMAIL.

'As a forensic psychologist, I can honestly say that the majority of murderers or violent offenders that I've worked with, whether that's young people or adults, have got that history of dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyles.

FEMAIL spoke to forensic psychologist Keri Nixon, pictured, to examine the shocking stories of some of Britain's most infamous killer kids ahead of a new series examining the crimes of young people

'There were some dark sides of his personality, but it's easy for us to unpick that with hindsight.'

Keri suggested that, had Cornick come from a dysfunctional family and had previous convictions, people may have taken his threats to kill his teacher more seriously.

' I think people thought his disturbing behaviour was just him being a bit bizarre, a bit dark,' she said.

'There was evidence of personality disorder and psychopathic traits, although you can't diagnose somebody at that age because he's far too young. But some of his behaviour was evidencing of that.

William Cornick shocked the nation when he stabbed his teacher Ann Maguire to death during a Spanish class in April 2014

'People talked about him being a loner, a bit odd, but didn't consider him a genuine threat because he didn't have those risk factors, so I think there's a bit of confirmation bias going on.'

She said 'bystander apathy' also came into play, with people presuming someone else would raise concern about the violent threats he was making.

'Nobody takes on the responsibility for reporting it themselves because they assume somebody else is doing it,' she explained.

'I think also, we'd be quite surprised and troubled if we could hear a lot of the conversations that go on between adolescents, especially on social media. I think a lot of adolescents make some quite throwaway comments and threats, but they don't take each other seriously.'

Flowers and tributes left the entrance to Corpus Christi College in Leeds following the shocking murder of teacher Ann Maguire

Ann Maguire's family say they still don't know what caused him to kill - except for severe hatred for the teacher.

Cornick told a psychologist: 'I wasn't in shock, I was happy. I had a sense of pride. I still do.' The criminal also said after the killing that he thought everything he had done was 'fine and dandy'.

Speaking about the 'nature versus nurture' debate, Keri said the two are very much entwined because a person's environment impacts on their brain.

But the fact Cornick showed no remorse makes one question whether there is something within him that drove him to commit such an unprecendented atrocity.

Britain's youngest female double murderer: Lorraine Thorpe

Lorraine Thorpe, pictured age 16, was given a life sentence for killing her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt in August 2009

Age: 15

Crime: Murdered her father Desmond Thorpe and a stranger called Rosalyn Hunt

Lorraine Thorpe became Britain's youngest female double murderer when, aged 15, she smothered her father Desmond Thorpe to death in the hope he wouldn't tell the police about her killing a stranger, Rosalyn Hunt, following a row over a dog in 2009.

Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days, with Thorpe responsible for kicking, punching and stamping on her head.

Her father, 43, a 'vulnerable' alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about her first crime.

She was given a life sentence, with the judge ruling she had been brought up 'with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong'.

She was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who five years later was found dead in his cell.

Thorpe, now 24, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Thorpe was convicted of taking part in the crime with 41-year-old Paul Clarke, pictured, who five years later was found dead in his cell

Mr Justice Saunders said she could be 'manipulative' and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: 'She found violence funny and entertaining.'

The judge said Clarke, also an alcoholic, was the 'instigator' in the murder of Ms Hunt, although Thorpe 'played a full part'.

'Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head,' he said.

For Keri, Thorpe's crime is one that could have been prevented - especially if she had never met Clarke.

She explained: 'I start to feel complete empathy for the girl that was let down, by society and professionals. No girl should be living with her alcoholic father at the age of 12.

Keri said she very much feels Lorraine Thorpe's crimes could have been prevented had she not been let down by society and professionals

'She was lost. She went from her mother to foster care, and then she ran away to be with her father and eventually social services lost her and she was living on the streets drinking with alcoholic men. That shouldn't happen in our society.

'I believe she was groomed by Paul Clark and living a life that no teenager should be living.

'But then we look at the level of violence she enacted on Rosalyn Hunt. It was so extreme, so vicious, and that's where it's difficult to look at the vulnerable girl.

'Would those murders have taken place if she wasn't part of that drinking community, and if she hadn't met Paul Clark? No, I don't believe they would have done.'

Britain's youngest serial killer: James Fairweather

James Fairweather was just 15 years old when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex - and was set to kill again

Age: 15

Crime: Stabbed two people, stopped while planning a third

James Fairweather was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student in Colchester, Essex, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins.

Fairweather was branded a monster at Guildford Crown Court in 2016 when he was found guilty of two murders and was sentenced at the Old Bailey by Mr Justice Spencer, who said the killings were 'brutal and sadistic'.

He was caught after a dog walker spotted him lurking in woods 'lying in wait for his next victim'. After his arrest, he admitted he had been hunting down a third victim.

Fairweather's first was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014.

Three months later the 5ft 6in schoolboy - who was 'obsessed' with killers including the Yorkshire Ripper - attacked Saudi PhD student Nahid Almanea, 31, knifing her 16 times with a 10-inch bayonet on a public footpath.

Both victims were stabbed in their eyes. During the two-week trial, the jury was shown clips from Fairweather's police interviews in which he provided 'chilling' details of his attack on Mr Attfield.

Fairweather, who told a psychiatrist he could have killed another 15 victims, committed the murders under the noses of his parents James, 45, a cleaner, and Anita, 45, a McDonald's worker.

Keri said Fairweather's obsession with serial killers and other 'warning signs' could have made these crimes preventable.

'There had been a previous non-custodial sentence for armed robbery where he'd used a knife on a newsagents, so again I think with this one there were definitely warning signs there,' she explained.

James Attfield, pictured with his mum Julie Finch, was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014 by James Fairweather

A knife used by James Fairweather, the teenager who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper and murdered two innocent people

'Apparently after he was in a psychiatric unit he did start to respond well to some treatment. He's got autism, and he was obsessed with serial killers, and that's something that we see with autism - that obsession and absolute focus on something.

'It doesn't mean people with autism are more likely to commit violent crime, absolutely not, in fact we know studies have shown that it doesn't increase a predisposition to violence.

'However, somebody who has got autism and was not given that support, plus the different difficulties that he has, then he's certainly somebody that became quite obsessed with violence.'

She added: 'This is a young man that needs treatment in a hospital, not a prison, in my opinion.'

The Twilight Killers: Kim Edwards & Lucas Markham

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards, right, was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, left, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016

Age: Both 14

Crime: Killed Kim's sister, 13, and mother, 49

Schoolgirl Kim Edwards was just 14 when she enlisted the help of boyfriend Lucas Markham, also 14, to kill her mother Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her sister Katie at their home in the village of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in April 2016.

Edwards and Markham, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders.

In his police interview Markham described with a complete lack of emotion how he killed Elizabeth and Katie Edwards by 'stabbing them in the neck'.

The couple, believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers, became known as 'The Twilight Killers' as they went downstairs and calmly watched the vampire films together just moments after the brutal murders

TIMELINE OF HORROR May 23, 2015 - Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham began their relationship, shortly before he was excluded from Sir John Gleed school just a year before the murders. March 17, 2016 - Edwards, who had been assessed by mental health professionals after expressing suicidal thoughts, makes an attempt on her own life and spends two days in hospital. April 11, 2016 - During a conversation in the back garden of the Edwards' family home, Markham and his girlfriend agree to kill her mother and sister. April 13, 2016 - Markham smothers and stabs both victims through the neck. April 14 - Edwards and Markham are reported missing to the police by their school and his aunt. April 15 - Police find Ms Edwards and Katie dead in their beds. Both defendants are arrested on suspicion of murder. April 17 - Both teenagers are charged with two counts of murder. September 6 - Edwards and Markham both admit manslaughter but plead not guilty to murder. October 10 - Markham admits murder and is remanded in custody October 11 - Edwards is found guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict. November 10 - Edwards and Markham are both given life sentences with minimum terms of 20 years. June 9, 2017 - Their minimum terms are reduced to 17 years the Court of Appeal which also rules they can be named. Advertisement

The lovers hatched the gruesome plot after Elizabeth tried to break them up, and also as revenge because Edwards believed her mother favoured her sister Katie over her.

The clinical justifications they gave for their crimes in police interviews were so startling officers took the unprecedented decision to make the recordings public, because of the danger they believed the teenagers represented to society.

Markham pleaded guilty to murder, and Edwards denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility - a defence rejected by the jury. They were both sentenced to 20 years in prison, but this was later reduced to 17 following a hearing at the Court of Appeals.

Liz Edwards with daughter Katie Edwards who were both found dead in their house in Spalding, England

Keri said she believes had this pair not been in a 'toxic relationship', it's likely these killings would not have happened when they did.

She told FEMAIL: 'I don't believe that individually, each of those two people would have killed at that particular time. That's not to say that neither of them would have gone on to do something else at some point.

'They both had difficult childhoods, Lucas Markham in particular had a very dysfunctional background and was desperate for love and attention, and I think he had a toxic relationship with Kim Edwards. I think they both had a toxic relationship with each other.'

Likening the case to that of Lorraine Thorpe, Keri said the threat of an outsider on their relationship and situation was the 'trigger' for them to kill.

'Just before the murders occurred, the families had separated them; there was this dramatic, "You two or not going to be together," and the murders took place shortly afterwards,' she said.

'All these factors that have been put forward, that she hated her mum and was jealous of her sister, but I think fundamentally the key trigger was when their relationship was threatened and they were being kept apart.'

Killed his girlfriend for a free breakfast: Joshua Davies

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast

Age: 15

Crime: Bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend

Joshua Davies lured 15-year-old Rebecca Aylward to a secluded spot in Bridgend, South Wales, where he killed her by bashing her over the head with a rock so he could win a bet over a free fried breakfast.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him.

In the court case the following year it emerged that in the time before the meet-up in October, the killer had been publishing hateful material about Rebecca online and bragging to friends that he was going to poison her with plants like deadly nightshade, or push her over a quarry or into a river.

In January 2010, Davies ended his relationship with Rebecca, pictured, for another girl. She then found another partner - only for her ex-boyfriend to persuade her to end it and meet up with him

'Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now,' Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley later said.

'In January 2010 he left Becca for another girl. She was absolutely devastated and I hated seeing her so hurt. But in time she started going out with another boy herself - only for Josh to convince her to end it and to meet up with him.

'She did so, almost instantly, thrilled at the thought of their reconciliation.'

As the day of the meet-up wore on, concern started to grow as Rebecca failed to return home.

Becca never told me that (it was abusive) but there must have been some controlling element looking back now.

After a night of searching, Rebecca's body was found at around 9am the next day near Aberkenfig. The wooded area was said to have been popular with teenagers.

Davies, who had since turned 16, was accused of Rebecca's murder after bludgeoning her to death with a large rock.

With Rebecca's mother sitting in court alongside family and friends, the horrifying details of what happened that day began to emerge.

It was heard that Davies had told a friend he was going into the forest with Rebecca and smiled as he said 'the time has come'. The same friend later phoned Davies to ask if he was with Rebecca. The defendant replied with two words - 'define with'.

After summoning the fellow 16-year-old into the forest, the murderer then told his friend he had hit Rebecca from behind with a rock until she stopped screaming, before discarding the bloody weapon into the undergrowth.

Rebecca's mother Sonia Oatley said she believes there was a controlling element to Rebecca and Davies' relationship

His demeanour was described merely as 'cool'. Together the boys went home, in full knowledge that Rebecca's body lay in the woods behind them. Davies even sent texts to Rebecca's phone, knowing she was dead, pleading with her to let people know where she was.

Keri said she believes Davies was a very controlling individual with 'all the hallmarks of a domestic abuse perpetrator'.

'None of these people can be diagnosed with any personality order because of their age, but he is certainly demonstrating traits that would point to that direction in the future,' she explained.

'The complete lack of remorse, the planning; people thought that he was not possibly serious because of the way that he would calmly talk about what he was doing.

'He wanted to take control of her, break her down and destroy her, and he ultimately did the worst thing he possibly could.'

Gang of sword-wielding baby-faced murderers: 'The Liverpool Launderette killings'

Andrew Hewitt (right) and Corey Hewitt (left) who murdered an apprentice bricklayer in a launderette then boasted about the killing in September 2013

Five teenagers attacked and murdered a man in a Liverpool launderette when two of them were only 13 in September 2013.

The gang chased Sean McHugh, 19, into a launderette and killed him. As he lay dying in hospital, the yobs sent each other a series of chilling messages mocking their victim.

Liverpool Crown Court heard gang member Keyfer Dykstra, just 14 at the time of the murder, posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty  we always knew ye was a p***y'. Shockingly, 11 people 'liked' the comment.

Keyfer Dykstra, 14, and Corey Hewitt, then 13, plus his 15-year-old cousin Andrew Hewitt, and Joseph McGill, who was also just 13 at the time of the attack, were all convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with 19-year-old Reese OShaughnessy.

Recorder of Liverpool, Clement Goldstone QC, took the unusual step of naming the young gang members after a jury found them guilty.

Keyfer Dykstra, pictured, far left, was 14 at the time of the murder, and posted on Facebook: 'RIP Shorty.' The ringleader Reese O'Shaughness, 19, pictured middle, had been carrying the sword stick weapon. Joseph McGill, just 13 at the time of the attack, pictured right, was given a minimum sentence of nine years

Victim Mr McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang. As Mr Williams sought refuge inside a nearby newsagent, Mr McHugh, who was known as Shorty, was chased back into the launderette they'd just come from.

O'Shaughnessy, who was carrying a sword stick - a walking cane with a blade hidden inside - and Dykstra, armed with a knife, arrived a short time later and the gang kicked the back door of the shop open.

Victim Sean McHugh had been walking down the street with friend Josh Williams when they were approached by some of the gang - and he was chased into a laundrette

Prosecutors were unable to prove just who struck the fatal blow but argued that all involved in the attack were guilty of murder, whether they held the blade or not.

The boys were slammed by a detective in the case, who said they had shown little remorse for their actions, including the suffering heaped upon Mr McHugh and his family.

The senior police officer also said he heard the boys laughing and joking as they sat in the dock.

Corey Hewitt, 13, pictured left, was convicted of the 'vicious and brutal' murder in Anfield, Liverpool, along with his cousin Andrew Hewitt, 15, pictured right

Keri put this brutal crime down to 'gang mentality'. She explained: ' None of those young people intended to go out and take somebody's life that night. They intended to do harm, because of the weapons they went and got, but the they didn't intend to go out and kill that man that night.

'However that doesn't make it any less horrific; what happened was awful. But the gang mentality kicked in there - that pack mentality where they all get involved.

'They all had difficult lives; I worked with Merseyside Police looking at knife crime 10 years ago and I looked at the backgrounds of 105 young offenders who used knives and guns, and they fit every single characteristic of the ones we looked at.

'They've come from dysfunctional backgrounds, poverty, they've got no hope, they've got no identity apart from the identity of this low level, geographical gang. It gives them something.

'It means they have little respect for life, and it's incredibly sad. It's something social workers are dealing with all over the country right now.'

Britains Deadliest Kids premieres at 10pm on Saturday 11 May on Quest Red.
A British man has become the first patient in Europe to undergo walk-in, walk-out prostate surgery  carried out while he was wide awake in an outpatient clinic. The procedure, for an enlarged prostate, requires only a local anaesthetic and the 76-year-old patient was allowed home just hours later.

Its hoped the procedure will soon be offered at community clinics, benefiting thousands of men with prostate problems.

Those suffering from prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are currently offered major surgery as a last resort, which is effective but can cause loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence. Some are too frail for the operation, which is called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP.

Others, understandably, are simply unwilling  up to 42 per cent of those needing it delay it due to fears about complications. The TURP operation can mean three nights in hospital.

The new treatment will hopefully mean no more rushed trips to the toilet (a man using a urinal, pictured above)

The UroLife treatment works by firing clips into the prostate which hold the urethra open

The new procedure, called UroLift, has been available for about ten years but this is the first time it has been carried out as a walk-in, walk-out case, with no need for an operating theatre or an overnight stay.

The new operation was offered to John Penny, from Thornton, near Crosby on Merseyside. He had had BPH for a decade, getting up five or six times a night to go to the toilet.

John kept postponing his operation because a traumatic surgical experience in his teens left him terrified of going under the knife. I nearly died having my appendix out when I was 18, recalls John. Every time I go into hospital, my blood pressure, which is usually absolutely healthy, shoots up.

Now, eight months after the UroLift procedure, his symptoms have eased considerably and he is sleeping much better.

An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties (stock image of man and woman holding in their urine)

The prostate, a walnut-size gland, sits beneath the bladder and is essential for producing components of semen. An enlarged prostate is not linked to cancer  yet the symptoms are similar, so men with the problem are tested to make sure their prostate is not cancerous.

Although two million men in Britain have been diagnosed with BPH, it is thought to affect as many as half of those over 50, and 60 per cent of those over 60. Many suffer symptoms without realising the cause.

The most common sign is a frequent, urgent need to urinate, even throughout the night. An overgrown prostate can press into the bladder  leading to urgency  but also blocks the urethra, the tube through which it empties. As a result, men often find they are unable to go, even when they are desperate to.

Enlarged prostates are thought to be linked to hormonal changes as a man gets older. John recalls: About ten years ago, I starting having difficulty peeing. My GP told me I had an enlargement of the prostate, due to my age, and put me on tablets. Things did improve but I was still waking five times a night, so I never got a proper nights sleep. I even moved out of the bedroom, as I was disturbing my wife Lorraine.

It was very stressful. It takes over your life because it is constantly on your mind.

Treatment for BPH usually begins with medication to relax the bladder muscles and shrink the prostate. John was told he needed TURP surgery  carried out on some 18,000 men a year in the UK  when he began to worry that wouldnt be able to go to the lavatory at all.

He says: My GP again asked me to think very carefully about surgery, but I was very nervous.

In the meantime, he read an article in a newspaper about UroLift, which described how it was done as a day case under a local anaesthetic. After showing the newspaper clipping to his GP, John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital, who offered the procedure.

John was referred to urologist consultant surgeon Marc Lucky at Aintree University Hospital (pictured above)

Mr Lucky says: Its been available as day case surgery on the NHS since last year and has far fewer complications than TURP. It involves no cutting or incisions, and men who may have heart problems that make them unsuitable for major surgery can have it.

It is a huge development, and means we could see community clinics offering it in the not- too-distant future, meaning that patients could be treated without even visiting hospital.

A catheter is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder and anaesthetic is injected through it. The catheter is then removed and a protective sheath, about 7mm in diameter, inserted into the urethra to protect it against damage from instruments used in the procedure.

The UroLift device itself is a handpiece  a little like a gun, with a trigger  with a long, fine metal tube on the end.

The tube goes through the sheath to where the prostate is enlarged and the trigger pulled to fire a tiny clip into the organ, anchoring it to the tissues beside it. This lifts the gland away from the urethra, allowing urine to flow again.

Several clips can be used  John had three  and the operation can be repeated if necessary.

Consultant urologist Professor Roger Kirby, director of The Prostate Centre, London, welcomed the advance, saying: UroLift is better at preserving sexual function than other procedures, and now it can be done without a hospital admission, which will provide a cost-saving to the NHS.

It doesnt work so well for very large prostates as the tiny implants [clips] may not be able to hold the tissue back. In these cases, a type of laser treatment may be a better alternative. UroLift is still relatively new, so we dont totally know how durable the procedure is. But it looks promising.

John recalls: I was quite nervous but I couldnt believe I was only in there for 15 minutes.

He was home later the same day. Its been a vast improvement, he says. Id recommend it. It hardly feels like youre having a serious operation.
Tolkien Cert: 12A, 1hr 52mins

Rating:

Tolkiens The Lord Of The Rings was first published in the mid-Fifties, understandably giving rise to the idea in some quarters that the author had got his inspiration for the endless battles and marauding orcs of Middle-earth from the Second World War.

A new biopic  recently disowned, it must be quickly said, by the Tolkien estate  knocks that notion very firmly on the head. It places the books origins 30 years earlier amid the mud, shell holes and carnage of the First World War, the horrors of which John Ronald Reuel Tolkien  now often described as the father of modern fantasy fiction  experienced first-hand.

Whatever the estates misgivings (its brief statement did not elaborate), the movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Finnish film-maker Dome Karukoski, nevertheless comes across as plausible, tender and, for the most part, extremely watchable.

Tolkien begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) is desperately searching for news of a friend

Anyone who was ever a Tolkien fan  even if only for a few brief teenage years  will find something to interest and enjoy here.

It begins in the British trenches of the Somme in 1916, where a possibly traumatised, possibly ill Lieutenant Tolkien is desperately searching for news of a friend. But, to the despair of his batman, he cant find the right regiment and the trenches are under constant bombardment.

Wounded and exhausted, he collapses and so the flashbacks begin.

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Geoffrey Bache Smith (Anthony Boyle), Robert Gilson (Patrick Gibson) and Christopher Wiseman (Tom Glynn-Carney)

What follows is a tale of triumph over adversity  Tolkien had lost both his parents and anything resembling family money by the time he was 12  and of enduring male friendship, with Tolkien winning a scholarship to King Edwards, Birmingham, where he made the sort of friends you assume are made for life.

Unless, of course, the war to end all wars is just around the corner.

I love this section, with the younger Tolkien, already skilled in several languages and knowing his Chaucer by heart, very nicely played by Harry Gilby until Hoult takes over.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches

Tolkien becomes firm friends with Robert Gilson, Geoffrey Bache Smith and Christopher Wiseman. Together they are four impetuous, intelligent boys with a love of tea and cake and a touching desire to change the world through the power of art.

One of them, of course, in a film not exactly subtle in tracing cause to effect, will. With two of the boys, Tolkien included, hoping to go to Oxford and two to Cambridge, its atmospherically reminiscent of Alan Bennetts great tale of grammar-school success, The History Boys.

At Oxford, the film begins to lose a little traction, despite the best efforts (and they are uniformly good) of Messrs Hoult, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle and Tom Glynn-Carney.

This is partly because were very used to the sight of posh white boys in tweed jackets getting drunk in pretty quadrangles and partly because the screenplay, by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford, has made its one serious mistake.

When forced to choose between Oxford and his first great love, Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), Tolkien chooses Oxford and consequently we get bogged down in rugger matches, fencing and drunken run-ins with the police.

IT'S A FACT Tolkien and fellow author CS Lewis once dressed up as polar bears to attend a New Year's Eve party - which wasn't fancy dress. Advertisement

Meanwhile, as anyone who heard the 2017 Radio 4 drama Tolkien In Love may recall, the real action was taking place in Cheltenham, where Edith, banned from seeing the smitten Tolkien until he was 21, was on the verge of marrying someone else, and Tolkien was desperate to stop her.

Here, however, we see and feel almost nothing of this romantic tension, leaving Collins little to do except flounce out of a teenage high tea and improbably mime her way through Wagners Ring.

Despite liberties clearly being taken with the chronology, and the fact that were never quite sure whether the war scenes are real or hallucinatory (Tolkien was eventually diagnosed with trench fever), theres no doubt that the film has a real emotional power, underpinned by the enduring idea that brave men died in the mud of the First World War so that others could live to do great things.

J R R Tolkien did not let his friends down.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

Long Shot (15)

Rating:

This is surely one of the most welcome surprises of the cinematic year, with Jonathan Levines enjoyable film showing that unorthodox casting combinations can work and that there is still life in the romantic comedy. Hurrah!

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky, whos just lost his job.

Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, perhaps the most glamorous Secretary of State in American political history, while Seth Rogen is the lippy, badly dressed journalist Fred Flarsky

They used to be childhood friends, reconnected as adults, and when Charlotte decides to run for President and finds herself in need of a speechwriter well, Fred seems perfect for the job.

What ensues is intelligent, funny, bang up to date and without stereotypes. Amid the romantic fun, look out for a bedroom scene that is not only very funny but mildly sexy too.

Vox Lux (15)

Rating:

Brady Corbets cautionary tale of fame and pop music has real quality, particularly in the first half, as the actor-turned-film-maker tells the story of Celeste, a young pop wannabe who achieves overnight success when she survives a high-school shooting and writes a haunting musical tribute to classmates who did not.

With Jude Law playing her manager, we see the still-only-14-year-old Celeste  played very well by Raffey Cassidy  taking her first steps to fame and fortune. Then the story jumps 16 years and Natalie Portman  in a very big performance  takes over as the, by now, badly damaged diva.

The film will divide opinion but the late Scott Walkers score is wonderful.

A Dog's Journey (PG)

Rating:

A surely unwanted sequel to A Dogs Purpose, the 2017 oddity about seemingly endless doggy reincarnation. With Baileys original owner now very old, a new succession of pooches  all reincarnations of Bailey  are charged with looking after his granddaughter.

Josh Gads canine voiceover is as testing as the near two-hour running time.

The Curse Of La Llorona (15)

Rating:

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity, murders her children and has been killing other peoples children ever since.

This is a horror flick based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona, the weeping mother who, discovering her husbands infidelity and murders her children

Expect a Seventies Los Angeles setting, plenty of jump-scares and a generous dollop of The Exorcist.
Man Of La Mancha

London Coliseum Until Jun 8, 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

Kelsey Grammer  the great sitcom star of Frasier  is the nicest performer to interview. I saw him in his first major Broadway Shakespeare, in which he acted just as he seemed off-stage: a friendly, cheery, charming man incapable of violence.

Unfortunately, he was playing Macbeth.

Now Grammer is better cast in Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darions Sixties musical retelling of Cervantes novel about Don Quixote, the shows windmill-jousting hero who does knightly deeds in an unchivalrous age.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical

Grammer sings the shows only hit, The Impossible Dream, in his sturdy baritone, and he does it well. But when the show opened in 1965 it ran for almost six years. Watching this plodding London revival, I couldnt see why.

Director Lonny Prices conception for the show doesnt help. Its set in a concrete bunker-like prison in some modern fascist state ruled over by the Inquisition (theyve dropped the Spanish).

The author Cervantes (Kelsey Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel

The author Cervantes (Grammer), to save his manuscript of Don Quixote from being stolen along with all his possessions, acts out the novel and leaves its fate to the jury of captives, who take various parts.

Nicholas Lyndhurst appears as the sinister Governor and a boozy innkeeper. Maybe hes drinking because hed rather be in the current Only Fools And Horses musical.

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea

The opera soprano Danielle de Niese plays Aldonza, the village prostitute whom Quixote turns into his virginal damsel Dulcinea. De Niese is a feisty presence but her brutal rape scene at the hands of the villagers proves a terminal downer in an evening that trades in comic whimsy.

Peter Polycarpou comes off best as a charming Sancho Panza.

As long as karaoke exists, The Impossible Dream will never die. But I am not so sure about this musical. Grammer fans like me will still worship at the altar. But he looks too unsure of himself to ride to the rescue here.

Ghosts

Royal & Derngate, Northampton Until Sat, 2hrs 25mins

Rating:

This is the play that was deemed a public health hazard in the 1890s. The Norwegian writer Ibsen wilfully dragged syphilis, incest and assisted dying into this drawing-room drama in which the truth will out.

And boy it does, when the son of the widowed Mrs Alving returns home, having inherited syphilis from his debauched father, whose reputation his mother loyally shielded from scandal.

Penny Downies ramrod Mrs Alving is superb  severe but with occasional bright flashes. Lecturing her on her past failure as a mother is Pastor Manders, expertly played by James Wilby with a greasy smirk and a bad temper.

As her son Osvald, Pierro Niel-Mee is steeped in self-loathing.

For the family, the sins of the past are the unavoidable ghosts. The diseased, futureless Osvald and his adoring mother end up alone with a stash of morphine.

Lucy Baileys classy production comes with the sound of ceaseless rain and a lively new English version by Mike Poulton.

A cracking evening.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Rose Theatre, Kingston Until Sat, touring until Jun 29, 2hrs 50mins

Rating:

The book that spawned a thousand holidays to Cephalonia arrives onstage, 25 years after it became a publishing sensation.

Louis de Bernieres novel about a romance between an Italian soldier and a Greek woman during World War II is in safe hands with adapter Rona Munro and director Melly Still, who knows how to mount big, beautiful productions of bestsellers (see also The Lovely Bones and My Brilliant Friend).

This is a hugely enjoyable evening, reminding audiences why de Bernieres sweeping historical fiction was so popular, while also finding new theatrical means of telling the story.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia is irresistible

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat being played  very charmingly  by actors. But Still also fills the stage with epic, evocative images and movement, whether suggesting changing seasons or the horrors of war.

The romance between the dashing yet sensitive Captain Corelli (Alex Mugnaioni) and the spirited, intelligent Pelagia, portrayed with real freshness by one-to-watch Madison Clare, is irresistible  although given that he doesnt arrive until halfway through the show, the relationship occasionally feels oddly rushed.

There are whimsical choices, such as a pet pine marten and big-eyed goat (Luisa Guerreiro) being played  very charmingly  by actors

Two crumpled copper panels loom over Mayou Trikeriotis sparse set, and with Malcolm Rippeths gorgeous lighting, you can almost feel the Mediterranean sun on your face.

Warmly recommended.

Holly Williams

captaincorellismandolin.com

This Is My Family

Minerva Theatre, Chichester Until Jun 15, 2hrs 20mins

Rating:

Tim Firths musical about a family who go on a terrible camping holiday is given a warm, fuzzy staging by Daniel Evans that has a campfire-cosy glow.

Firth (who wrote Calendar Girls) has a pleasingly light touch: this is a sitcom with songs, the humour broad and relatable. Its pretty predictable, from the male midlife crisis to the overlooked mum, from the moody teenager to the grandma losing her marbles.

Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock (pictured with Kirsty MacLaren) steals them back with a bittersweet performance

But in turning hackneyed gripes into nimble songs with comic observation, it feels familiar and fresh.

James Nesbitt is touching as the emotionally constipated dad, with Clare Burt nicely shaded as his long-suffering wife. Scott Folan steals scenes as a hilariously anguished teenage goth  until Sheila Hancock steals them back with a bittersweet performance, both mischievous and melancholic.

Holly Williams
Britains best-known brothel-keeper cheered up the nation, remembers Rowan Pelling

Madam Cyn flicks the V-sign

I was 12 when Cynthia Payne  Madam Cyn  was found guilty of running a disorderly house and sentenced to 18 months in prison. I read my dads newspaper on the school run, risking car sickness to devour every last salacious detail of the trial. Scriptwriters couldnt have dreamed up a more British tale of suburban swinging  down to the fact that her ageing clientele paid for sexual services with luncheon vouchers.

The police infiltrated Cynthias South London home during a sex party, where they found 53 men  allegedly including a lord, an MP, a couple of vicars and a clutch of lawyers  queuing for, or enjoying, the ministrations of 13 scantily clad women. PC Stewart Taylor told the judge he posed as a client and went upstairs with a woman called Isobel, who explained in a German accent that her specialisms were bondage and domination.

The timing of the trial, in the early months of 1980, couldnt have been more fortuitous. Britains steel workers had gone on strike for the first time since 1926 and the years headlines were dominated by soaring unemployment. The country was in drastic need of cheer and Cynthia delivered it in spades. In the dock she explained her ideal slave was someone who does all the housework and in return he likes a little bit of caning, insulting and mild humiliation. Judge Brian Pryors sentence was widely viewed as overly harsh and the term was reduced on appeal to six months.

This photo shows an exuberant Cynthia on her release, giving a V-sign to the establishment as she was whisked off in a Rolls-Royce to a champagne reception. The trial elevated her to national treasure status  two films were made of her life and she even stood for parliament, as a member of the Payne and Pleasure party. So when I became editor of the Erotic Review magazine, I was able to remind my anxious mother that being a woman of ill repute hadnt harmed Cynthia Payne.

Sebastian Coe (right) won gold in the 1500m event at the Moscow Olympics

Also that month
Trophy hunters are paying huge sums to shoot big game animals  including endangered species  and its all legal. Lady VICTORIA HERVEY reports on a bloody trade thats attracting women in ever growing numbers

To my left is a magnificent lion standing regally at the centre of an African landscape. To the right crouches a beautiful leopard, while in the distance a cheetah lies sprawled in a tree. This is not, however, the Serengeti plain. Nor am I watching these creatures through the lens of a camera in the bush.

I am, in fact, in the US  thousands of miles from their natural habitat  under the gaudy neon lights of a convention centre in Reno, a casino town in the Nevada desert. Here the natives are paunchy Americans and their camouflage-clad wives who are sipping cocktails at 9am while plotting their next hunting safari. The animals around me are stuffed and lifeless, victims of one of the worlds most senseless hobbies.

Lady Victoria Hervey with trophies on show at the Safari Club International Conference in Reno

I am here for the Safari Club International (SCI) convention, the worlds biggest gathering of trophy hunters. I have been interested in conservation for more than a decade. Ive done everything from vaccinating wolves in Ethiopia to making a documentary about the illegal bushmeat trade of gorillas and chimps in Cameroon. But in November 2017 I decided to take direct action after the Trump administration announced plans to lift the outright ban on importing elephant kills to the US. Although approval is still on a case-by-case basis, it effectively means these animals can be butchered, stuffed and hung on ranch walls. So I started my own foundation, Preserve Our Wild, to highlight crimes against wildlife, and this is what has brought me here today.

Billed as a hunters heaven, this event sees 20,000 people from more than 100 countries flock through its doors over four days. More than 800 exhibitors peddle everything from the latest guns and wolf skins for little over 100 to week-long trips that offer the chance to kill a rhino for somewhere in the region of 100,000. Within minutes of entering the conference centre, Im offered a ten-day stay at the Okarumuti Game Lodge in Namibia where I could hunt eight different animals, including a zebra and a giraffe. A snip at 13,326. Nadia Savoldelli, the Okarumuti Game Lodge representative at the show, adds conspiratorially that: This is the only place you are going to be able to kill a Hartmann mountain zebra.

You may have seen pictures of these safaris on the internet, featuring people grinning broadly while holding up the head of some of natures most extraordinary, and rare, creatures. Indeed, most of those I spoke to at the convention dreamed of bagging the big five  an African elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo, African lion and African leopard  and were willing to pay up to 100,000 for the privilege. And its all completely legal. Despite pressure on the UK government to ban trophy-hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were brought into the country last year, the law has yet to be changed.

Larysa Switlyk

The SCI has more than 50,000 members worldwide. Most of those here today are white men dressed in camouflage hunting gear. Most accents are American, but I also hear Russian, Spanish and Italian. Some brag to me that they are the messengers of death. The one thing they all bond over is the thrill of a kill. What surprises me more are the women and children  babies in camouflage onesies; toddlers gazing in awe at guns bigger than they are  who are here, albeit in smaller numbers. What was traditionally a rich white mans sport has seen increasing numbers of women flocking to pay 90 to kill a baboon or 2,940 to gun down a giraffe. In many ways women are the perfect hunters, Nadia told me. They typically dont have as big an ego as men and are more patient.

Gun camps with names such as Babes with Bullets encourage women to join. Over the past few years a record number of women have joined the organisation. And who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare, had been old and she was simply participating in conservation through game management. Even Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whose father is associated with a hunting safari in Zimbabwe, has been spotted at SCI conventions.

Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year. Set up three years ago to teach hunting skills to women, it has doubled in size every year since, and camps get booked up months in advance. Women listen, recognise the guides skills and follow instructions. Men are more governed by their egos, co-founder Shannon Lansdowne says. Ive hunted all my life and the thrill of the kill never goes away. When you pull the trigger and know this beautiful animal has given their life for you it is an emotional moment.

Who could forget the pictures of American hunter Tess Thompson Talley posing in South Africa last summer after killing a giraffe during a hunting holiday? When her posts caused widespread outrage, she attempted to defend herself saying the giraffe wasnt rare

She Hunts, along with many other hunting companies, peddles the same message that the slaughter is somehow necessary in the name of conservation. I was told repeatedly that money earned from hunting safaris funds preservation, that older animals need to be culled and that, thanks to the millions of dollars raised through legitimate hunting safaris, the economies in poor African countries are bolstered, creating a regulated environment where endangered species can thrive. Yet a report by Washingtons House of Natural Resources Committee in 2016 found that there was little evidence of the money being used to help threatened species such as lions, rhinos and leopards. Instead, corruption and poorly managed wildlife programmes take it all. The report reached the damning conclusion that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals, including elephants.

At a stand for Charlton McCallum Safaris, I watch a horrific video showing an elephant hunt. Two men appear to shoot randomly at a herd of elephants charging towards them as an elephant drops to the ground. We only kill the older male bulls and the ones that are causing a problem for the rest of their herd, one of the men on the stand tells me. But studies claim younger elephants depend on their elders to teach them to forage and raise a family. Dan Bucknell, executive director of Tusk Trust, an organisation that protects African wildlife, says: Elephants are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals that are known to mourn their dead. Killing any individual is traumatic for those that remain, while shooting older herd members removes decades of ecological knowledge and social experience that is important for the herd. Far from being past their prime, the older males that get targeted are often the prime breeders and leaders in male society; younger males become more aggressive when theyre not around.

Victoria at an exhibition stall targeting women. She writes: 'Among the stalls, I spot a US-based camp called She Hunts, which offered a special Mothers Day discount last year'

There are hundreds of hunting trips advertised here, with names such as The Grizzinator and Blazin Hot Guide Service. How much you spend depends on what you want to kill. When, at one stand, I enquire about rhino hunts, Im asked whether I prefer white or black. The rare subspecies of white rhino is critically endangered after the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 80s. The southern white rhino is classed as near threatened while the black and Sumatran rhinos are also critically endangered. Yet a trophy hunter can still kill these animals in places such as Namibia and South Africa legally, albeit with a licence. Its mind-boggling, until you see the numbers. One pound of rhino horn is worth around 150,000 on the Asian black market, where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Last year China partially reversed a ban on the trade of rhino horn to allow parts from captive animals to be used for scientific, medical and cultural use  a move the World Wide Fund for Nature said would have devastating consequences.

It is even possible to hunt big game on US soil. The Ox Ranch in Texas breeds exotic animals specifically for hunting. To shoot a zebra costs 4,000; a kangaroo 5,300. If all this continues, we risk making these creatures extinct for little more than machismo, and the facilitators profit. The future must be one where we shoot wild beasts with cameras not bullets.

For more information on Victorias foundation, visit preserveourwild.org
How to help yourself heal

How do you learn to live again when life as you knew it has fallen apart? When her marriage broke down, Mary Jane Grant discovered that the little pleasures can make the biggest difference

After her husband Stuart announced he wanted a separation from their 25-year marriage in November 2013, Mary Jane decided to move from their home in Canada to London to be near her son, Ryan. She told herself that this was a test of their relationship and that they would find a way to get back together. But in London she found some simple but effective ways to help ease her sadness, which made her feel more alive than ever

Mary jane With her son ryan

The pleasure of living in the moment

The vibrant city of London was at my feet and I was barely taking it in. Upon seeing something remarkable, I would instinctively reach out to touch my husbands arm and say, Will you look at that? but nobody was there and I felt the sting of rejection. Youve been discarded, remember? Then I went into a tea shop and came face to face with a display of small white pots filled with different types of tea. Smell the teas said the laminated sign. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and picked up a cup labelled tranquillity. The scent of lavender hit me first but also something citrus.

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, then opened them to look at the tea  tiny buds of pale purple lavender and dried lemon peel. I was present and it felt wonderful.

I walked back to my rented room and instead of looking down, I looked up at the faces of people coming in the opposite direction. Sometimes my eyes met theirs and I must have been smiling because several smiled back at me.

Cool air, I said to myself as the damp evening chill touched my cheeks. Spicy curry, catching an exotic scent as people went into an Indian restaurant. Listen. The sounds of rush hour swirled around me. As I walked home I clung to the five senses. For the first time in months, obsessive thoughts of what a lifetime of loneliness might look like were refreshingly absent.

By focusing on the moment, I was not stuck in the past or worried about the future. I could calm the mind and soothe the spirit by doing something blissfully ordinary. Paying attention to our senses is intelligent, not indulgent. It is, in fact, the only way to live fully connected to the world and to each other. The choice was stark  I could continue to stumble through life, senses dulled, heart aching for what wasnt here, or I could live right now.

The pleasure of wandering

I began to walk everywhere. Using my senses had started to make me feel more alive. Now, more than ever, I wanted the journey and the day, the space and the time to simply unfold. I could appreciate what Rebecca Solnit said in her book Wanderlust, Part of what makes roads, trails and paths so unique as built structures is that they cannot be perceived as a whole all at once They unfold in time as one travels along them.

Is that a metaphor for our journey through life? I wondered. No matter how much we plan and worry, we can never see round the next bend. Immersed in the green of trees, the cool of the air, the scent of autumn leaves, I had nothing to do but feel the simple pleasure of moving through the world at this moment. The never-ending script that had been my constant companion, so full of babble, interior dialogue, worry and what-ifs, had been nudged out of the frame by a quiet awareness, a simple noting of this and that and a most welcome peacefulness that was new to me.

You dont live for 80 years. You live today and then today. You dont live yesterday, you dont live tomorrow. You can only be alive one moment at a time. This seemed suddenly obvious to me, but why had I lived my life up until now as though something else was true? As if tomorrow mattered more than today? I realised I had spent most of my time designing a future life, while forgetting to live the only current life I have.

If my life is only one moment long, how do I choose to live each moment? If I am ready with a kind word, I will live a life of kindness. If I am quick to offer someone a warm embrace, I will live a life of compassion. If I ask why? then I will live a life of curiosity. If I stop to savour beauty, my life will be lifted by what is beautiful.

The pleasure of letting go

In London, I was living in a much smaller place and carrying few possessions. I was feeling freer and happier than when I energetically chased happiness and meaning. Living lightly, I was starting to sense what it felt like to have, do and be enough.

A friend invited me to a fundraiser one evening. But I dont have anything to wear, I said. Its ten in the morning, youre in the middle of London and you have a credit card, she replied.

I met my son Ryan, who lives in London, and we went shopping. I found a little black dress made of light wool, cut in a slim silhouette. I tried it on and it looked as though it had been tailor-made.

After showering, I put on the dress. It was perfect paired with my new suede high heels. So far, my time in London had been solitary  save for when I got together with Ryan. I was feeling a little nervous when I arrived at the party but as the evening went on I felt my confidence coming back. By the way, I love your dress, my friend said when I found her to say goodbye.

What happened next came as a surprise  I started to wear that little black dress everywhere. In my previous life, after its initial debut, this special dress would have hung unworn in the wardrobe for months. But now, with limited choices, I wore it often. Every time I did, it reminded me I was living a full life in this fantastic city and doing it all with so little. I thought about all the striving I was leaving behind. I had been trying to have it all, do it all, create a more beautiful home or fashionable wardrobe. Slowly, I was moving away from that, towards a state that felt like enough.

The pleasure of doing what you love

I could see that the void created by the loss of my marriage was now available to be filled with something new. And that was the opportunity to do something that I loved. A new routine took shape. I rose early and walked from my flat to the British Library. My days began to acquire a sense of purpose and focus.

As I spent my time reading and writing, I felt a deep connection with something  creativity brought a feeling of satisfaction and meaning that had been missing in recent months. Working in the library with hundreds of other people eased my feelings of isolation. In following my instincts, I was bringing something  my writing  into existence. No matter how it might turn out, the process of creation produces something that can never be wrong  engagement, meaning and aliveness.

The pleasure of appreciation

What am I doing here? Isolation swirled around me just before Christmas. I was painfully aware of my husbands absence. Was he sitting in front of the fire with this new woman now?

I held my tear-soaked face in my hands. I remembered what the writer Julian Barnes said after the death of his wife. All couples, even the most bohemian, build up patterns in their lives together and these patterns have an annual cycle. As the morning progressed, I moved like someone recovering from a fall  bruised and sore but knowing it was better to work through the discomfort than resist it. Remember, I reminded myself, thoughts and feelings, good and bad, will come and go. Nothing lasts for ever.

To chase only the good feelings while resisting the bad would be living half a life. Wasnt this what I had been experiencing in the past few weeks? Being present, loving the here and now and allowing life to unfold in the moment? I could see that I had been operating with an implicit assumption: if I got through the pain, I would reach a better, brighter place. What if this pain and sadness was worth much more than that  not something to endure but embrace?

There was a silver lining to what had happened. I got to live in the incredible city of London and spend time with my son, seeing him working and happy. I was free of the obligations that had stolen my creative life in the past. And I was becoming reacquainted with myself  rediscovering parts that had been suppressed for years.

The poet David Whyte says, We use the word heartbreak as if it only occurs when things have gone wrong. But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human And of coming to care for what we find along the way.

The pleasure of starting a new life

On a surprisingly warm autumn day in 2016, I briskly walked through the streets of Soho to a small bar on Dean Street. I had dipped my toe into the world of online dating and I was going to meet someone I liked, at least on paper.

And here he is today, just returning from his morning run through Greenwich Park. In less than a month we will be returning to that same bar on Dean Street to celebrate the second anniversary of the day we met. We dont know what life will bring, but we are living it together now, one small pleasure at a time.
The police forces in England and Wales that are most - and least - likely to cancel a speeding fine has been revealed.

There's a huge difference in the chances of being let off a speeding fine depending where in the country you've been caught, according to Home Office data.

For instance, three in five motorists are let off a fixed penalty notice (FPN) related to speeding by City of London, while drivers are pretty much banged to rights by North Wales police, according to a new report.

These are the police forces that cancelled the highest percentage of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences in 2017-2018

Analysis of government data covering the 12 months to the end of March 2018 was conducted by vehicle finance provider Moneybarn.

The figures not only highlighted which police forces have dished out the most FPNs for speeding during that period but also revealed the ones most and least likely to cancel them for one reason or another.

Exclusive data for This is Money showed the top 10 forces that ripped up speeding tickets more frequently and 10 who cancel fewer than four per cent of fines they issue for the offence of driving over the limit.

Police forces that cancel the most speeding fines 1. City of London - 62.6% 2. Cambridgeshire - 30.6% 3. Greater Manchester - 26.7% 4. London Metropolitan - 24.2% 5. Bedfordshire - 23.2% 6. Hertfordshire - 21.3% 7. Warwickshire - 17.9% 8. Northamptonshire - 15.0% 9. Avon and Somerset - 14.9% 10. West Midlands - 13.0% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

City of London was way out in front for the most commonly canceled speeding fines.

Some 62 per cent issued to motorists over 12 months were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons.

This includes:

The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) had incorrect details about the nature, time or location of the alleged offence

The alleged speeder wasn't driving when the offence took place

The road signage for speed limits was missing or incorrect

The speed measuring equipment had not been calibrated or was being misused

Cambridgeshire police are the next most likely to revoke a speeding FPN, with just over 30 per cent being cancelled.

Manchester Metropolitan police tore up more than a quarter, while Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police also revoked more than 20 per cent of speeding tickets they issued.

Some 62% of speeding fines issued to motorists caught by City of London police were torn up, which may have been for a variety of reasons

Some police forces are not quite as forthcoming when it comes to cancelling speeding FPNs, the figures reveal.

North Wales police are least likely to let a driver off, with almost 99 per cent of speeding fines upheld.

Police forces that cancel the fewest speeding fines 1. North Wales - 1.3% 2. Devon & Cornwall - 1.6% 3. Dyfed-Powys - 1.8% 4. Wiltshire - 2.1% 5. Nottinghamshire - 2.1% 6. Cleveland - 3.3% 7. Gwent 3.3% 8. South Yorkshire - 3.3% 9. Surrey - 3.8% 10. Humberside 3.9% Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Devon and Cornwall police is second in the table, revoking just 1.6 per cent of tickets, while Dyfed-Powys was third with just 1.8 per cent of intended prosecution notices for speeding being overlooked.

The minimum penalty for a speeding ticket in England and Wales is 100 and three points added to a driver's licence.

If you're caught by a camera, you will receive an NIP and Section 172 notice in the post.

You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.

After you've sent the Section 172 notice back and admitted you were at the wheel, you'll be sent a FPN requesting a payment of 100 or more, depending on the severity of the offence and punishment.

Last week, information released by forces in England and Wales identified the tolerances set for speed cameras in different regions, with most operating a 10 per cent plus 2mph threshold.

Motorists caught speeding by an officer will be handed a FPN on the spot or will have one issued in the post.

You're least likely to get off a speeding fine if you were caught in Wales. Though stats also suggest the chances of being caught driving over the limit is less likely than in England

Moneybarn's stats also revealed which police forces handed out the most fines.

Avon and Somerset issued the largest number of fixed penalty notices FPNs for speeding, with a staggering 199,337 brandished to motorists during the 12-month period - the equivalent of 548 issued each day.

The vast majority of drivers would have been caught by the 800 active speed cameras - both fixed and mobile - in the area rather than the 3,000 officers in its constabulary.

West Yorkshire and London Metropolitan follow in second and third place, with 174,796 and 135,430 FPNs issued for speeding.

The police forces issuing the most and least speeding fines (Apr 2017-Mar 2018) FORCES ISSUING MOST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs FORCES ISSUING LEAST SPEEDING FPNs FPNs 1. Avon and Somerset 199,337 1. Gwent 242 2. West Yorkshire 174,796 2. Dyfed-Powys 793 3. London Metropolitan 135,430 3. Wiltshire 1,191 4. Thames Valley 131,401 4. City of London 3,888 5. Greater Manchester 101,421 5. Durham 8,802 6. Essex 95,967 6. Derbyshire 10,480 7. Norfolk 92,750 7. Cleveland 11,308 8. Hampshire 79,126 8. Kent 18,878 9. Bedfordshire 74,297 9. North Wales 20,462 10. Surrey 74,163 10. Gloucestershire 21,727 Source: Moneybarn using Home Office statistics

Welsh police forces dominated list of areas where the lowest number of speeding fines were issued - though we now know that most of these are upheld.

Gwent police - which has just eight active speed cameras - issued the lowest, at just 242 speeding tickets.

Knowing that 96.7 per cent are upheld, by our calculations that means just eight drivers have their FPNs rebuffed.

Dyfed-Powys and North Wales also feature. It means you're least likely to be hit with a speeding fine in Wales, but if you are there's very little hope of squirming out of the fine and penalty points.
Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of its burgeoning population.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts.

Former farmland on the edge of Sydney is being consumed by new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits.

Australia's biggest city could run out of land for new housing within a decade because of a population boom (pictured is Oran Park in Sydney's outer south-west)

In just a decade, the population of the Camden local government area ballooned by 58 per cent, surging from 49,645 in 2006 to 78,218, Australian Bureau of Statistics Census figures show.

That rate of growth was more than triple that of greater Sydney - at 17 per cent - over the same period, as the population climbed to 4.8million, fuelled by high levels of immigration.

In Sydney's south-western outskirts Oran Park, a former car race track, mushroomed from less than 200 people in 2011 to 4,765 people five years later.

In another part of Sydney, the opening of the Metro Northwest railway line is also underpinning apartment construction near the Rouse Hill station, almost 50km from the city.

Nearby, West Schofields is expected to house another 45,000 people between 2021 and 2031, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment projected.

Mark Steinert, the chief executive of residential building group Stockland, this week predicted Sydney could run out of land for new housing within a decade.

Hemmed in by the Blue Mountains to the west and national parks to the north and south, there was little room for further expansion.

Apartment towers and master-planned houses (Oran Park pictured) are mushrooming up to 60km from central Sydney, with heavy construction underway in the the city's south-west and north-western outskirts

Former farmland (Narellan pictured) on the edge of Sydney is making way for new housing projects, as the city continues to expand towards the city basin limits

'There's very little housing land left in Sydney, in fact we'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years,' Mr Steinert told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon.

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would unavoidably lead to high-density housing, killing off the backyard.

Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert: 'We'll be out of housing land in 10 to 15 years'

'What has been Australian life will vanish inevitably,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'You cannot ramp up the population of the Sydney basin with the highest level of immigration of any developed country - in proportion to the existing population - without forcing the city to go up in increased densities.

'We are now looking at the last land available for broad-acre subdivision and development.

'We were never going to be able to sprawl forever.'

Former New South Wales Labor premier Bob Carr said high population growth in Sydney would eventually kill off the backyard

Australia's population surpassed the 25million mark in August 2018, 24 years earlier than predicted in the federal government's first inter-generational report of 2002.

The 1.6 per cent population growth pace is also more than double the rich-world average of 0.7 per cent.

Mr Carr served as foreign minister in 2012 and 2013, as Australia's annual net immigration level surged above 200,000 for the first time, when Julia Gillard was prime minister.

'There was no discussion in cabinet on immigration levels,' he said.

'They continued to be pumped up but there was no opportunity to have a broad debate on migration and population.'

Since the late 1990s, backyard sizes in new Sydney houses have shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres, in places like Oran Park in the Camden Council area.

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said backyards had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres (new house at Oran Park pictured)

Sydney's median house price has fallen by 16.1 per cent since peaking in July 2017.

But at $880,369, detached homes with a backyard are still more than 10 times an average full-time salary of $83,500, which is forcing couples with children to move to an outer suburb.

How backyards are shrinking or disappearing Griffith University senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning Tony Matthews said backyards, during the past two decades, had shrunk from 700 square metres to just 400 square metres. Tony Matthews: 'We're running out of greenfield land' The traditional 'quarter acre block' backyard was becoming rarer as houses grew larger and in many cases, land sizes became smaller. 'The building footprint fills up a considerable portion of the block, maybe as much as 90 per cent,' Dr Matthews told Daily Mail Australia. High land costs were also encouraging developers to fit in more master-planned houses to get higher yields. 'The cost of land is so high developers or master planning development companies need to get a yield that will allow them to make sufficient profit to go ahead with the actual development,' Dr Matthews said. The lack of new land in Sydney was also contributing to smaller backyards and more apartment towers. 'We are basically running out of greenfield land,' he said. 'Within our existing urban areas and our existing suburban areas, and even our existing outer-suburban areas, what has been a planning priority over the last 20 years is to try and curtail sprawl development, particularly at the edge of the cities. 'That's also why we've seen so much high-rise development.' Advertisement

Dr Tony Matthews, a senior lecturer in urban and environmental planning with Griffith University, said many parents were moving to small blocks 60km from the city to find somewhere affordable with a vague semblance of a backyard.

'Their priorities shift when they have children and they starting thinking about, "You know what, I'd really rather raise my children in a more conventional house",' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're prepared to sacrifice their backyard or a large backyard.

'There has been a long history of reluctance to equate family living with apartments in Australia.'

The excessive commute times in Sydney were also creating 'socially detrimental consequences'.

'You've just got less time with your kids or one parent has less time with their kids,' Dr Matthews said.

'Children end up often being not just in daycare but long daycare so they might be there from 6am to 6pm, which isn't necessarily optimal for them for their social development.

'The amount of time that you spend commuting is almost directly proportional to the amount of time that you are likely to engage with your community and participate in things like voluntary activities.'

Camden Liberal councillor Peter Sidgreaves, who until recently was mayor, said population growth was a problem in his area.

'I have to say that the traffic congestion is getting worse,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

An influx of new immigrants - from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal - were moving into the area, 65km from Sydney's city centre.

'Yes, that's certainly a major change to Camden and that's something as a community we're dealing with,' Mr Sidgreaves said.

At this stage, Mr Sidgreaves said Camden's population increase was fuelling more demand for house and land packages than apartments.

'There have been a lot of residential developments and that has been happening in the south-west growth centre precinct,' he said.

Late this week Dart West Developments, the group behind the new Narellan Town Centre, lodged a council application to knock down 11 houses to build a new four-storey apartment complex along Somerset Avenue.

Whether they sell for a good price is another matter, with New South Wales already home to almost half of Australia's apartments.

While younger people may prefer apartments (Sydney Olympic Park pictured), Dr Matthews said parents with young children were preferring to live in house, even a long way from the city

Tim Lawless, the head of research with real estate data group CoreLogic, said younger people were preferring to live in apartments closer to the city instead of houses a long way from work.

'We are seeing a gradual shift towards medium to high-density preferences,' he said.

Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics; House of Representatives Standing Committee for Long-Term Strategies, December 1994 Advertisement

'Those people look to, say, sacrifice the Hills Hoist in their backyard and live close to the city where they can perhaps live in medium to high-density but also be much closer to where they work, closer maybe to transport connections, social opportunities, perhaps where their parents live.'

At the Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon, in Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel overlooking The Rocks, the Property Council of Australia's group executive of policy and advocacy Mike Zorbas slammed Mr Carr's suggestion as premier that Sydney was full.

Mr Carr said big business and federal Treasury economists were wedded to 'remorseless population growth as the underpinning of our economy'.

'It is the orthodoxy that links business and the Canberra bureaucrats,' he said.

He said Mr Steinert's prediction of land running out in Sydney 'confirms the warnings I've been making for over 20 years about the "more the merrier" ideology'.

'The inevitable depletion of the land supply mandates a basin filling with towers.'
Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate, lifestyle and safety.

A report by AfrAsia Bank found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running.

In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular.

Australia is the world's number one destination for millionaires with the rich moving for the climate and lifestyle (pictured is the Sydney Opera House at night)

'Sydney is one of the top financial centres in Asia and has become one of the most sought-after destinations for the world's super-rich due to its lifestyle, safety and climate,' the 'Global Wealth Migration Review' report said.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

Despite having had seven prime ministers since 2007, Australia was also regarded as being the 'most politically developed country in the world'.

'Politicians in Australia are seen as everyday public servants and do not have extreme power,' the report said.

A report by AfrAsia Bank, with headquarters in Mauritius, found high-net worth individuals had preferred it to the United States for the fourth year running. In 2018, 12,000 wealthy people moved to Australia, with Sydney proving particularly popular

'Notably, the Prime Minister of Australia is often replaced between elections if party members feel they need a change.'

After Australia, the U.S. was the second most prevalent destination for the rich, with 10,000 high net worth individuals moving there last year, as 108,000 wealthy people migrated globally.

By comparison, 4,000 wealthy people moved to Canada as another 3,000 relocated to Switzerland.

The United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean, which includes the tax havens of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, each attracted 2,000 very rich migrants.

Australia, which has avoided a recession for a record 28 years, was praised in the AfrAsia report for having the 'fastest growing world market over the past 20 years'.

New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, Portugal, Greece and Spain each welcomed 1,000 wealthy new residents last year.

Australia was regarded as the best place for the rich which, unlike the U.S., doesn't have inheritance taxes, is free from gun massacres and has accessible universal health care for everyone regardless of their income.

'Australia is also a particularly safe country to raise children,' the report said.

'The U.S. has some safety problems especially in the big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.'

Australia was also praised for having the 'highest minimum wage in the world' and a migration program biased towards those with skills instead of family reunion.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, from billionaire Meriton Group founder Harry Triguboff (left) to online retail millionaire Ruslan Kogan (right)

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996

'Most of the immigrants that are allowed into Australia are professional people (i.e. doctors, lawyers, engineers),' it said.

'Notably, in Australia there is only a small difference in wages between manual labour jobs and corporate jobs - this encourages a more equal society.'

Apart from Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts, Perth and Brisbane were popular with rich migrants.

Migrants are among Australia's wealthiest people, with their ranks including billionaires Harry Triguboff, the 86-year-old Chinese-born founder of the Meriton apartment building group, and Westfield shopping mall founder Frank Lowy.

Young entrepreneurs born overseas include 36-year-old online retail king Ruslan Kogan, who moved from Belarus as a child and grew up in a Melbourne housing commission flat.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce initially moved to Australia from his native Ireland in 1996.
A wild raccoon has moved into a zoo - and keepers can't kick him out.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover the uninvited guest inside the existing raccoon enclosure on Friday, Germany's Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung reported.

It's not known how the animal managed to get through the security barriers keeping the animals inside, but he has been integrated into zoo life.

Keepers, who have nicknamed him Fred, have seen him getting along with the seven other raccoons in residence, the publication reported.

Staff at Heidelberg Zoo were surprised to discover a wild raccoon had moved into the raccoon enclosure (stock image)

'Fred came to us and got used to the good life in the zoo,' Sandra Reichler, mammal curator at Heidelberg Zoo told the publication.

While Fred initially had issues adapting, Ms Reichler said: 'he has become accustomed to the zookeepers and also adapted his daily rhythm to his conspecifics in the zoo.'

The raccoon can now expect to a live comfortably alongside the captive raccoons for the rest of his life.

The 2015 EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species forbids wild animals from being released back into the wild after life in captivity.

The wild creature, nicknamed him Fred, can expect to live 'the good life' from now on as EU law forbids him from being released back into the wild (stock image)

Despite upgrading to a life of luxury, Fred will unlikely produce any offspring with potential mates at the zoo.

Fred will also need to be castrated, as per the 2015 EU Regulation.

Raccoons are considered an invasive alien species that may pose a threat to European plants and animals under rule.

Wild raccoons in Europe are the descendants of animals that escaped from fur farms decades ago.
The family of a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death in east London have paid tribute to the 'loving, caring boy' who had an 'infectious laugh'.

Detectives believe aspiring musician Tashaun Aird was killed after a 'fracas' with a group of young people in a park in Hackney on Wednesday evening.

His family went to the scene of his death in Somerford Grove, Hackney, with one woman heard screaming: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

He was described by friends as a 'good guy' and produced Afrobeat and drill music.

In a statement released by Scotland Yard on Friday, they said: 'Tashaun was family orientated, he loved his family and we loved him dearly. He was passionate about his music and he loved drawing. He was a loving, caring boy with an infectious laugh.

The family of aspiring musician Tashaun Aird, 15, have paid tribute to him after he was stabbed to death in east London on Wednesday evening

'There are no words to avoid this empty void we now have, a huge part of us is now missing. He was a talented young boy and worked hard in his studies, particularly with his English.

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by our loss; we have lost a dear son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson and an uncle in Tashaun.'

Another teenager, 16, was riding a bicycle when he was stabbed and chased, before he sought refuge in a convenience store.

He remains in hospital after he was found with stab injuries in nearby Shacklewell Road, but police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Tashaun Jones, 15, was described by friends as a 'good guy' who produced drill music

There have been no arrests and police are appealing for information.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Rance said: 'Tashaun's family have been left devastated by the sudden loss of their son and we are continuing to do everything we can to find those responsible.

'We believe both victims were attacked following a fracas with another group of youths in a park near Somerford Grove before both fled.

'Although we are following a number of leads we are urging anyone who has any information that may help our investigation to get in touch with us or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

The killing, which is the 43rd homicide in the capital this year and the 27th fatal stabbing, happened in Somerford Grove on Wednesday night.

Despite efforts of medics to save him, he was pronounced dead at 9.49pm. He is the eighth teenager to die violently so far this year.

A post-mortem examination gave his provisional cause of death as a stab wound to the lung.

Members of the victim's family were seen today at the estate in Hackney, East London, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son'

Police in Hackney, East London, this morning after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death

A blue tent was erected overnight in Hackney as police continue to investigate this morning

A friend who visited the scene of the boy's death said: 'It's sad. It came to us as a surprise because he was a good guy.

'We did music together. He didn't only produce afrobeats, he made drill music as well. He also sold some beats to some big artists.

'I never thought that any of my friends would be murdered. I'm shocked.'

Another friend added: 'I'm so done. It doesn't feel safe anymore.'

Family members leave flowers at the scene in Hackney on Thursday following the stabbing

Police officers investigate the scene in Hackney after the boy was stabbed to death

There have been 43 murders in London so far this year, and another on a London-bound train

Members of Tashaun's family were seen at the estate, carrying flowers. One woman was heard to scream: 'It's my son. It's my son.'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: 'I am deeply saddened by the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy in Hackney. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

'This horrific violence has absolutely no place on our streets. To anyone with information - please contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.'

No arrests have been made and the Metropolitan Police put a Section 60 order in place for Hackney, which allows officers to stop and search anyone in the area.
Police said Aida Melcado, 18, is one of two women who stole 2,000 pairs of underwear from a Pennsylvania Victoria's Secret store

Police in Pennsylvania have identified two suspects accused of stealing $21,000 worth of Victoria's Secret underwear last month.

Lower Allen Township police said Aida Melcado, 18, and a minor identified as 'BC' were behind the theft of 2,000 pairs of underwear from the Victoria's Secret store at the Capital City Mall near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 7.

Authorities said Melcado and BC were identified and arrested during a drug investigation in Virginia's Fairfax County on April 18, according to Fox 43.

The duo was said to have had the stolen underwear with them at the time of the arrest and that police later found their 'booster' bags  specially lined to prevent electronic security tags from working  which they allegedly used during the robbery.

Melcado and BC are believed to gone into the Victoria's Secret store at about 3 p.m. on April 7. Each was said to have been carrying a large, black shopping bag while using their cell phones.

Police said that the pair took the underwear off of a display table and out from inside the size drawers. BC was said to have acted as the lookout while Melcado secreted the huge quantity of underwear into the booster bags.

Authorities released surveillance pictures of the two women accused of stealing the underwear. It's believed that the woman in these images is Melcado

Police also released this image of the second suspect in the theft, who was identified as 'BC'

Melcado and BC are accused of having lifted the 2,000 pairs of underwear from this Victoria's Secret in Pennsylvania's Capital City Mall

Police said the pair stole 375 hipster panties (similar to left), 375 cut thongs (similar to right), 1,000 thongs and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties from the store display

The theft occurred at a time when the Victoria's Secret employees were busy assisting other shoppers, police said after releasing surveillance pictures of the suspects during their initial investigation of the crime in early April, CBS 21 reported.

All told, Melcado and BC are accused of having swiped $21,000 worth of merchandise, which was broken down as being 375 hipster panties worth $3,937.50; 375 cut thongs worth $3,937.50; 1,000 thongs worth $10,500, and 250 raw-cut hip-hugging panties worth $2,625.00.

On Friday, police issued an arrest warrant for Melcado, who now faces a felony charge of retail theft and conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of an instrument of crime, according to Penn Live.

BC faces juvenile charges as well, although the specific charges are unclear.
Jeremy Corbyn was humiliated in Labours heartlands yesterday as the party lost councillors on a night it had hoped to gain hundreds.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils.

The party suffered a string of stunning reverses in heartlands and Leave- voting areas such as Hartlepool and Bolsover, the local council of Left-wing firebrand Dennis Skinner.

By 7.30pm last night, Labour had recorded a net loss of more than 70 councillors.

Despite Theresa Mays extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives.

In a disastrous set of results for an Opposition party, Labour (Jeremy Corbyn is pictured left) recorded a net loss of dozens of councillors  and lost control of six councils. Despite Theresa Mays (right) extensive troubles, Labour ended up with the same national vote share as the Conservatives

As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats

The astonishing scale of Labours failure came as a total shock to the party leadership. As the polls closed on Thursday night, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was boasting that he expected Labour to win more than 400 seats.

By yesterday morning he was forced to admit the voters message from the local elections was: Brexit  sort it.

He added: Message received. Mr Corbyn could only say he was very sorry at the scale of the losses. Last night, an internal row broke out over the partys Brexit policy, with backbench MPs saying the poor performance was because of its mixed messages on the issue.

Former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw said: When you cower in the middle of the road on the biggest existential crisis facing Britain for generations, you get squashed.

I quit after 45 years, says furious Baldrick He once had a cunning plan to get Labour in power. But thats all history now, as Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson last night quit the party over its complete s*** leadership. The actor, who played Baldrick, said he had left Labour after 45 years because of Brexit and anti-Semitism. Actor Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder He described as duplicity the partys decision not to come down fully on the side of a second referendum. Sir Tony has appeared in party political broadcasts for Labour and has served on its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from 2000 to 2004. He tweeted: Ive left the Labour Party after nearly 45 years of service at branch, constituency and NEC levels, partly because of its continued duplicity on Brexit, partly because of its anti-Semitism, but also because its leadership is complete s***. Sir Tony tweeted to say he was leaving the Labour party Actress Tracy Ann Oberman replied: I feel your pain. Huge part of our identity  gone x. But one Corbynista said: The middle-classes always cave in, they never have the stamina for a long fight. Another wrote: Bye bye, sulky saboteur. During the 1980s Sir Tony played Baldrick, famous for his cunning plans, across four series of Blackadder. Advertisement

Remain-supporting Labour MPs said the fact that both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens had done well showed the party should back a second referendum.

Jess Phillips said: Those who had a clear message last night seem to have prospered much better. People dont know where the Labour Party stand on Brexit.

But MPs in Leave areas claimed the polls proved the party would prosper only if it helped to facilitate Brexit.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery told the BBC the clear message from the local elections was that the two parties need to get on and get Brexit sorted.

One MP, Neil Coyle, blamed Mr Corbyn himself for the poor results, saying: The number one negative for Labour was Jeremy Corbyn.

Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, said Mr Corbyn was losing the support of the working classes. Its a mixed picture for us, but the key worrying trend is the white working-class moving away from Labour, she said. Its a long-term trend, but Brexit has put rocket boosters under it.

Labour celebrated taking Trafford Council in Greater Manchester, and it made gains in Amber Valley, High Peak and Calderdale.

But results elsewhere were disastrous. The party in Barnsley said it was their worst night in years, with a 17 per cent swing to the Lib Dems. And Labour lost control of Bolsover for the first time in 40 years. Outgoing Labour leader Ann Syrett said: What weve met on the doorstep is that its just not clear to people what Labour means on Brexit. It simply isnt clear.

Visiting Trafford, where the party won overall control for the first time since 2003, Mr Corbyn said he was very sorry at the scale of losses. I wanted us to do better, of course, he said. Results across the country are interesting, to put it mildly. But I also say the swings to Labour in many parts of the country show that we can win seats in a general election, whenever that comes.

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis said: Last night John McDonnell was boasting about winning more than 400 seats.

Theyre actually going backwards, which is a dreadful place to be in Opposition.

Former Labour minister Chris Bryant said: I never thought constructive ambiguity would survive the white heat of the ballot box. Voters want to know what theyre getting from a party. Fudge just sickens them.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: Whats important is that before the European elections, we have clarity in relation to our position on Europe. In my view, that means giving the British public a final say on whether they accept the deal negotiated by the Prime Minister or the one which has the most support in Parliament, with the option of remaining in the EU.

But shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: We are not a second-referendum-at-all-costs party.
Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country, it was announced Friday.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Donald Trump cabinet member in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described 'prison-like' conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida and the news has already been condemned by several senior democrats.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was 'corruption at its absolute worst,' and Sen. Cory Booker said Kelly's actions were 'disgusting.'

U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the district where the facility stands tweeted: 'This is unforgivable. It confirms what we knew about the President - that he and the people he surrounds himself with, like John Kelly, are willing to profit off the cruel detaining of immigrant children.'

But CEO Van Dusen said: 'With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team.'

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate operating the largest facility for migrant children in the country

An executive order on ethics issued by Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities. Trump and Kelly are pictured here in 2017

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space.

It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

CBS News first reported on the board appointment in a Friday news report.

Kelly revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was already affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.

Kelly was seen last month touring the migrant teen detention camp in Homestead, Florida, where he was also spotted by activists protesting over the detention of children.

The new conglomerate formed last year by DC Capital Partners consolidated four companies. One of them is the facility contractor, called Comprehensive Health Services.

About 2,500 children are detained at The Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Florida. The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space

Children are seen as they walk through the facility in February. The facility is the nation's largest for housing migrant children

Among its executives, Caliburn also has a high-ranking military officer who advised President Donald Trump his first months in office, and a former Department of Defense inspector general.

'It appears to be a strategy of trying to leverage Washington insiders to help the company win contracts,' said Mandy Smithberger, a director at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog group.

The government recently gave the company new contracts to run other facilities in Texas and awarded it $340 million to expand its Florida operation in a no-bid phase.

The corporation's chief compliance officer, Lynne Halbrooks, served as Department of Defense's principal deputy inspector general from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015. She is included in a 'revolving door' database by an independent watchdog group of military officials who are now working for companies they used to oversee.

The chief strategy officer for Caliburn is Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, who was an assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 2015 to August 2017.
A father-of-three who was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on issued a chilling warning about the dangers of the machine just days before he died.

Craig Tanner, 42, from Engadine, 33km south of Sydney, had been working as an industrial cleaner for an ink plant in Auburn when he was fatally struck by a mixing blade that abruptly began moving in December 2017.

It's now emerged that Mr Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services and was working at the site on a contract basis, had predicted his own demise in an eerie caution to his brother-in-law Mark Riach.

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Craig Tanner, 42, (pictured right alongside his wife Rachel Tanner and three sons) was crushed to death when the blades of an ink vat he was working inside suddenly turned on

'Craig said to me, "I'm scared the ink vat is going to turn on one day",' Mr Riach told The Daily Telegraph.

Tragically Mr Tanner's worst fears were confirmed just days later when he was trudging through the ink tank and it suddenly revved up and trapped his leg and crushed his pelvis.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident.

Another worker, 29, was injured while a third man, 28, sustained leg injuries when he tried to save his co-workers at the DIC Australia premises on Chisholm Road.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death (Mr Tanner pictured alongside his three sons)

Ms Tanner (pictured alongside her three sons) said she struggles with the lack of closure from not knowing the exact circumstances around her husband's death

Mr Tanner has left behind a loving wife Rachel Tanner and three young sons all under the age of ten.

Ms Tanner said she was grateful for the support from her friends and family but admits the entire family have been left devastated by her husband's death.

'Craig was my best friend and soul mate. He was such an involved father that loved nothing more than his sons. He loved taking them on adventures and they worshipped him,' she said.

Ms Tanner said she struggles with the lack of closure from still not knowing the exact circumstances surrounding her husband's death.

'I'm his wife. I should know what happened to my husband. I can't even tell my sons why their father was killed. It's difficult to explain that we have no answers,' she said.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Tanner passed away around two hours after the incident

The incident occurred at DIC Australia factory on Chisholm Road in Auburn, western Sydney

A man dressed in protective clothing stands in the factory metres from where the accident occurred

At the time of his death SafeWork NSW issued multiple safety notices to the Auburn plant which, according to the government agency, have now been complied with.

SafeWork NSW and the police have also submitted an investigation into Mr Tanner's death to the coroner.

However, Jacob Carswell-Doherty who works as a lawyer for Ms Tanner, said the investigation had taken far too long.

He also said that while he understood the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation there had not been an adequate amount of transparency.

A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW told the publication the agency was committed to continue to provide 'significant resources' to the ongoing investigation.

The case will be reviewed at the NSW Coroner's Court on June 28.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Tanner for comment.
A cancer sufferer has received disgusting abuse online after she reached out to a Facebook group for help to save an injured ibis.

Chelsea Campbell, 21, who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across the injured bird on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday.

She immediately reached out to NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), who contacted Sydney Trains to help save the injured bird.

Chelsea Campbell, 21 (pictured), who has stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, came across an injured ibis on the train tracks at Miranda, south of Sydney, on Wednesday

But when the transport authority was unable to provide immediate assistance, and Ms Campbell commented about it on Facebook, she was slammed by trolls.

'Basically the response I got was, 'Is she kidding?',' Ms Campbell told Yahoo News Australia.

The 21-year-old said she was horrified to read the replies to her post about the ibis - which is often referred to as a 'bin chicken' for its scavenger eating habits.

Initially, Ms Campbell was ridiculed for suggesting Sydney Trains should intervene, but eventually the comments took a dark turn, she said.

She said 'some really nasty people' began leaving horrific messages on her Facebook post, in relation to photos of her taken during cancer treatment.

One Facebook user replied to her call-to-action post by commenting on a photo of Ms Campbell without hair, saying she resembled an ibis herself.

While another disgusting message told the 21-year-old to 'go kill yourself'.

The post quickly garnered more than 50 negative comments, before the Facebook group's admin intervened and removed it from the page.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued (stock)

Ms Campbell, who suffers from anxiety and depression, was so traumatised by the comments that she reached out to her family, who have slammed the online haters.

Her aunt, Sam Ward, was so angered by the actions of the trolls that she took to Facebook to share her concerns over the incident.

'How would any of you feel if your son, daughter brother, sister, mum, dad was told to go 'kill themselves' when asking for help?!?! (sic),' Ms Ward wrote.

She told Yahoo News the people responsible for the hateful comments have no right to be so judgmental and should be ashamed of themselves.

Despite the backlash, Ms Campbell didn't back down from trying to save the bird, and after she provided several updates to WIRES, the ibis was eventually rescued.
He has launched a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools

Pushy parents are driving teachers out of their jobs by ranting on social media when their children get told off, the Education Secretary has warned.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies.

He revealed that he plans to update guidance for heads and teachers on what to do when they are cyber-bullied by parents and pupils.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn [File photo]

He told the conference of the NAHT school leaders union: Teachers and leaders should not be subject to online abuse simply for doing their jobs. He also said social media companies had a role in protecting victims.

Speaking earlier to the Daily Mail, he said it used to be that if you were in trouble at school you were in trouble at home.

He added: Thats still true in lots of cases but there is this minority. In the very worst cases  and I do stress this is a tiny minority  social media then comes into play.

Social media changes everything. It does concern me greatly because I want to attract and retain the very best people into teaching. I dont want there to be any untoward thing that makes that profession less attractive.

Some parents were also quick to phone or email schools, very ready sometimes to be over-challenging of what schools are doing.

Mr Hinds warned: School teachers are in charge of schools and its really important for good discipline, good behaviour, that everybody knows where they stand.

These cases are a small minority of parents, but it would be crazy to say there isnt that problem. With some families there is a much quicker willingness to say, Why are you taking this action against my child?.

He said that for teachers who are considering leaving the profession, behaviour is one of the key things that is part of that consideration. He added: When you ask parents and grandparents, what is it about the school system that they care about most, behaviour comes out really high.

And one of the reasons for that is, its what they are hearing from their children.

Damian Hinds said that while the vast majority of families back schools, a minority are launching online campaigns against teachers when they disagree with discipline policies [File photo]

Mr Hinds said he recently met a group of children who told him the thing they most wanted to change about their school was that there were other kids in the class that have come not ready and are not wanting to learn.

He was speaking before the launch today of a new 10million project to banish bad behaviour in schools. It will create a network of head teachers who have a track record on improving discipline to provide bespoke support for other schools.

From next year mentor schools will provide advice on issues including detention and sanction and reward mechanisms.

More than 82 per cent of parents consider good discipline in the class a key factor when choosing a school for their child, according to research. However, more than a third of schools are currently judged as not having good enough behaviour by Ofsted.

Mr Hinds, 49, a father of three, said children were most likely to reach their academic potential if they have clear boundaries where everyone has mutual respect for each other.
Gary Hill was caught having sex with Crystal Frances Monday night in Florida. Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public

A Florida man has arrested after being caught having sex with a woman outside a police station following them downing a pint of vodka.

Gary Hill was spotted on North Roosevelt Boulevard Monday night with his short around his ankles and a woman passing by alerted cops at headquarters in the immediate vicinity.

A police report states the witness told cops via dispatch telephone in the Key West Police Station lobby that she saw two subjects who appeared as if there were about to have sex.

His partner in the 9pm clinch Crystal Frances was found on the sidewalk by a pond with no underwear or clothing on her bottom half.

According to a report after the incident, Hill and Frances were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' between a metal fence and concrete barrier when law enforcement went to investigate.

When confronted Hill told Officer Brian P Leahy: 'It was a Key West moment.

'I'm horny. She was giving it up to me right then and there.'

The couple is said to be homeless. Hill's address was listed as a general reference to Key West.

Police said Hill put his clothes back on when prompted.

However Frances angrily refused and cops took her to hospital after being led to believe she was intoxicated. The report stated her speech was not understandable.

A woman passing by Key West Police Station spotted them appearing as if they were about to have sex. They were 'actively engaging in sexual intercourse' when police arrived

Officer Leahy called in Sergeant Siracuse for backup and he handcuffed Frances after she eventually did put clothes on.

The reporting officer stated Hill had 'glassy/bloodshot eyes' and emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath.

'I observed Hill to have slurred speech and be unsteady on his feet,' Leahy wrote.

Hill, 46, told cops he and Frances had consumed a pint of vodka between them earlier in the evening.

Police found a half empty bottle of vodka near where they were caught having sex.

Hill was arrested and charged with Lewd & Lascivious Indecent Exposure/sex in public.

Police said they aimed to obtain a warrant for the woman's arrest on once she's released from hospital for treatment of alcohol consumption and 'possible ingestion of narcotics'.
A mother and son have opened up about their terrifying ordeal when a group of robbers strapped bombs to the pair in an elaborate plot to rob the son's bank.

Matt Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home.

Matt was then zipped and headphones were placed over his head so that the robbers could speak with him, saying that he would need to go the credit union where he worked and steal money.

Matt Yussmann opened up about terrifying moment he was held hostage by a gang of robbers who strapped a bomb to him in a plot to steal millions of dollars from the bank where he worked

Yussmann and his mother Valerie sat down with Dateline for an interview that aired Friday on NBC at 9pm, and recalled how the men quickly separated the pair after attacking them inside their Connecticut home

'It was a very specific amount. We want $4.2 million in cash,' says Matt in a clip obtained by DailyMail.com.

'They knew where I work. What I did. That I had my mother in the house.'

The men then showed him the explosives he would be wearing, and that would be placed under this mother's bed, if he did not comply.

'They said, "Do you know what this is ?" And I said, "No",'says Matt.

'And they said, "This is C4 explosive. We're gonna make an explosive device and we're gonna strap it to you because we don't trust that you're gonna do what you're told."'

His mother could also hear the men from the next room.

The men broke into Yussman's home in Bristol, Connecticut (pictured)

'And then I could hear them unwrapping duct tape, lots and lots, I could hear that unwrapping. And that must've been when they were strapping it around him,' says Valerie.

'And I began to cry harder and really panic because - as you're laying there, and I'm thinking, "they're putting a bomb on him".'

Yussman told police that two men confronted him when he arrived at his home in Bristol after work. The suspects bound Yussman and his mother and held them for hours before sending Yussman out at daybreak to get money from a branch of the credit union in nearby New Britain, police said at the time.

When Yussman arrived at the branch, he called a fellow credit union official, who called police.

Minutes later, police found Yussman alone in his car outside the New Britain branch of the credit union with the bomb strapped to his chest.

Attempted heist: Police swarm around the Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Connecticut on February 23, 2015, after Yussman was found in the parking lot with a device strapped to his chest

Public works trucks were brought to the scene as 'shields' because they would be large enough to withstand a blast or stop a car from fleeing if needed.

The state police bomb unit was called in and rendered the device safe, police said.

The suspects had disappeared by the time police arrived, fleeing in a white older model four-door Mazda, according to reports at the time.

The incident sparked a massive police response involving dozens of officers and SWAT equipment. Schools were put on lockdown and roads were closed.

Yussman, 46, was treated at a hospital for exposure to freezing temperatures while having to sit in the unheated car while authorities removed the device, police said. His mother wasn't harmed.

Police withheld many other details at that time, including whether the suspects made off with any money and whether Yussman was an unlucky victim or part of the plot.
Authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao have announced they will quarantine a ship carrying 300 people, after confirmation that a female crew member has measles.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, and is set to dock early Saturday.

Health officials say they will board the vessel when it arrives and assess who has been vaccinated for measles or has had the virus previously.

They say proof will be required, and that those who do not comply will be vaccinated immediately, regardless of their religious views.

The Church of Scientology website describes the Freewinds as a floating 'religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion'.

It is normally docked in Curacao when not in use, but Church officials have not returned messages for comment.

Freewinds, a 440-foot ship reportedly owned by the Church of Scientology, will be quarantined when it arrives in Curacao on Saturday

Detained passengers were pictured on the deck of the vessel in this picture during its mooring at St. Lucia earlier this week. The passengers were not let off the ship, and it has now turned back to Curacao

The ship departed Curacao for the nearby island of St Lucia on April 28.

Prior to departure, a female crew member had visited a doctor for cold symptoms. She told medics that she had recently been in Europe.

A blood sample was taken, but by the time officials diagnosed her with measles, she had already left port on the ship.

Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia, who banned passengers from disembarking when they reached island. The ship has now turned back to Curacao.

Officials urged anyone who visited the Freewinds ship from April 22-28 to get a medical checkup.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks, in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
Derryn Culverwell and her children survived but her husband Alan was shot dead

The wife of a man shot dead at close-range by callous Caribbean pirates, who raided the family yacht on a round-the-world trip, survived the traumatising ordeal despite being brutally attacked with a machete.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht near Morodub island in the Guna Yala district in Panama's northeast at about 2am local time on Thursday.

It's understood Mr Culverwell was attacked after he was woken up by a noise on the yacht's roof, but when he went upstairs to check what the noise was he was fatally shot.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of Mr Culverwell, local media outlet TVN Noticias reported.

The former paua diver's wife Derryn and daughter Briar, 11, were also set upon by the hooded assailants, but the mother and daughter managed to stay alive because Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

'There were about two hours where Derryn just sheltered with the kids in the boat,' Derryn Hughes, Mr Culverwell's sister, told Stuff.co.nz.

Despite suffering with knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand who helped the family get back to safety.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed by shotgun-wielding robbers while he attempted to defend his wife and two children from the mob who stormed his 65ft yacht

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean

'As a family, we are so proud of her,' Ms Hughes said.

Ms Hughes also said she believed both her sister-in-law and niece, who had been taken to hospital in Panama City, had now been released from hospital.

The couple's son Flynn, 11, was not injured in the attack, it's understood.

The family began their two-year sailing adventure after purchasing the yacht in the United States and had been travelling around the Caribbean.

Panama was to be their final destination before making their way back to New Zealand.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Three suspects have since been arrested in connection with the incident and the director of the Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, confirmed an investigation was ongoing.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

A GoFundMe page had been set up by loved ones to help the Culverwell family (pictured) in the wake of the traumatising incident

He also said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.
A man who called police to report his cannabis plants were stolen was charged when officers allegedly found more illegal plants in his house.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in Tennant Creek, a Northern Territory town, on Friday.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material.

The 60-year-old allegedly had 82 cannabis plants (pictured) at his home when he called police to report people had been stealing them in the Northern Territory on Friday

'Police were alerted to the presence of the plants when the male called them to report that a number of individuals had been stealing them,' a Northern Territory police spokeswoman said.

'A search warrant was executed at the property.'

The man was charged with cultivating a commercial quality of cannabis, supplying a dangerous drug and possessing a trafficable amount of cannabis.

He was issued a notice to appear at court.

Police raided the house and found cannabis plants (pictured) ranging from seedlings to two-metres tall and 250 grams of cannabis plant material
A New York schoolteacher who was jailed for murdering her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus, 55, murdered her lover's wife Betty Jeanne Solomon in 1989 by shooting her in the back with a gun nine times.

She was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail in 1992 for the bloody murder, which drew parallels to the famed film Fatal Attraction that came out just two years prior in 1987. In the film the main character is obsessed with her lover and seeks to harm his wife.

After decades behind bars, a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison on Friday, and she could get out as early as June 10.

'Fatal Attraction' killer Carolyn Warmus, 55, was granted parole on Friday. In 1992 she was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail for the bloody murder of her lover's wife in 1989. Warmus pictured left in 2017 and right in court in 1991

A three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10. Pictured above in New York Supreme Court in 2017

The convicted teacher was denied parole after her initial board appearance in 2017.

Warmus is the daughter of a millionaire insurance executive and worked as a teacher at Greenville Elementary School in Scarsdale, New York in the late 1980s.

She was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him.

Then on January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back.

After she committed the horrific murder she met up with Paul for drinks at a hotel bar and reportedly had sex with him in his car.

Warmus was just 23 when she met her lover fellow teacher Paul Solomon, then 40, and began to have an affair with him. Solomon pictured above with his wife Betty Jeanne at their wedding

Paul Solomon pictured testifying in her murder trial in 1991

On January 15, 1989 she killed his wife Betty Jeanne by firing nine shots into her back. Paul Solomon pictured above talking with a friend as he left court in 1992

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

Warmus pictured above in her high school year book photo

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus has always maintained her innocence.

At her first parole hearing she insisted she was innocent and 'was found guilty because of the media attention and the publicity', as per the New York Post.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, 'We are indeed pleased that release has been granted.' He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting 'the particulars of her future' in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.
Had his chips: Gavin Williamson posted this picture of himself in McDonald's last night

Gavin Williamson has received the backing of more than 200 Conservative MPs since his brutal sacking by Theresa May, friends revealed last night.

Amid mounting Tory unease at Mr Williamson's dramatic ejection from the Cabinet, allies of the former defence secretary said around two-thirds of the party had sent him supportive messages.

He is also understood to have received a consolatory call from DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose MPs prop up Mrs May's Government.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  allegations he strenuously denies  is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name.

He told the Mail last night: 'I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.'

Downing Street had reportedly decided that Mr Williamson was guilty of leaking 48 hours before he was given an ultimatum of quitting or being sacked.

Sources told The Times that it was apparent on Monday that Mr Williamson no longer had a place in Theresa May's government - two days before he was sacked.

A cabinet source had said: 'Everyone knew [Mr Williamson] was a serial leaker so the onus was on him to disprove it. The test is whether he has the prime minister's confidence.

'That is the only test that needs to be applied.'

Mr Williamson is now mulling whether to make a potentially explosive speech in the Commons as he fights to clear his name

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report into the leak that sealed Mr Williamson's fate. Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who oversaw the inquiry, has also resisted calls to ask the police to investigate, despite opposition claims that the leak  which revealed secret details of Huawei's involvement in the UK's 5G mobile network  constituted a breach of the Official Secrets Act which can carry a two-year jail term.

Mr Williamson has claimed Sir Mark was engaged in a 'vendetta' against him amid suggestions that he found him guilty before the inquiry even began. One Whitehall source yesterday said Sir Mark had told a meeting of officials on the morning the Huawei leak was reported that he believed Mr Williamson was guilty.

'Sedwill was telling people last Wednesday that Gavin was guilty,' the source said. 'It raised a few eyebrows because at that stage no one can have known.'

His astonishing 'F*** the PM' memo Mr Williamson scrawled 'F*** the Prime Minister' across an official memo as his relationship with Downing Street deteriorated, it emerged last night. Friends of the former defence secretary confirmed that he had written the aggressive message in frustration after Theresa May overruled his controversial decision to deploy the UK's new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. Word of Mr Williamson's angry response in February spread like wildfire around the Ministry of Defence and is said to have reached the ears of Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who would play a central role in his downfall. Mr Williamson's announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to the South China Sea underlined his position as the Cabinet's leading hawk on China's expansionist policies. He said the UK had to be prepared to use 'hard power' against countries that 'flout international law', as critics claim Beijing has done in the disputed South China Sea. The decision angered Beijing and caused consternation in Whitehall, where officials were eyeing up a potential trade deal with the communist giant. China's rulers were so irritated that they cancelled a planned visit by the Chancellor Philip Hammond. Downing Street responded by overruling Mr Williamson, with the PM's official spokesman making it clear that she would make the 'final decision' on the route taken by the aircraft carrier when it is deployed to the Pacific. The row highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Mrs May and the man who masterminded her 2016 leadership victory and forged an alliance with the DUP that kept her in power following the disastrous 2017 general election. Mr Williamson had been one of Mrs May's most trusted allies. But, as No 10 came to be dominated by Brexit, relations grew more strained. The former Remainer became an increasingly vocal advocate of a hard Brexit. He was one of a handful of Cabinet ministers urging Mrs May to leave the EU without a deal if she could not get her plans through. Advertisement

Mr Williamson and Sir Mark are known to have clashed in recent months.

The Cabinet Secretary, who also serves as the PM's national security adviser, was said to be 'sore' after coming off second-best during a clash over defence spending last year when Mr Williamson secured more cash for conventional forces at a time when Sir Mark was pushing for the money to be invested in cyber defences.

One source said: 'Gavin and Mark basically agreed on 90 per cent of things.

'In most relationships that would be enough for two people to get along.

'But Mark is someone who if you are not 100 per cent with him, he sees you as being 100 per cent against him.'

Yesterday, Parliament's cross-party National Security Committee demanded that Sir Mark, Britain's top civil servant, hand over the evidence that led to Mr Williamson's sacking.

Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, who chairs the committee, told Sir Mark that MPs had to be 'apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry,' adding: 'This directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the National Security Council.'

The involvement of Huawei in the rollout of the high-speed, next-generation 5G network is highly controversial. The Chinese firm insists it is a private company, but ministers have been told that the security services judge it to be under the control of Beijing's communist regime. The United States, which has banned Huawei from its networks, has warned that intelligence sharing with the UK could be jeopardised if the deal goes ahead.

No 10 yesterday denied tensions between Mr Williamson and Sir Mark had coloured the inquiry. A spokesman said the investigation, led by the Government's chief security officer Dominic Fortescue, had been conducted 'fairly and impartially'.

In the PM's letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, she said the investigation had found 'compelling evidence' that he was the source of the leak.

But the former defence secretary has told friends the only evidence produced against him by the PM was an 11-minute phone call with the Daily Telegraph journalist who reported the leak. The inquiry is said to have found that the reporter later spoke to 'several' other ministers and officials who attended the National Security Council meeting on April 23.

Mr Williamson, who was refused access to the inquiry's findings, pointed out that he had reported the phone call himself and flatly denied divulging any details of the Government's dealings with Huawei.

Mrs May yesterday said it had been a 'difficult decision' to sack Mr Williamson, adding: 'This was not about what was leaked, but where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

But she ducked a direct question about whether she was 'convinced' that Mr Williamson was responsible, telling ITV News: 'I took the decision I did. It was the right decision.'
Sir James Dyson's former PA has hit back at claims that she stole family secrets including his wife's medical records.

The inventor and his wife Lady Deirdre are suing Lynette Flanders for allegedly plundering emails, family records and photos of their grandchildren at their 20million mansion.

But Mrs Flanders, 50, branded the claims 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files.

Lynette Flanders has been accused of 'spying' by her former boss, businessman James Dyson

James Dyson and his wife Deirdre are suing his former PA Lynette Flanders for 50,000

She also said she had only taken photos of framed family snaps to remember their position on a windowsill so she could return them to the right place after tidying.

The Dysons, who are worth 9.5billion, have lodged High Court papers demanding 50,000 compensation from Mrs Flanders.

The married mother-of-three joined their staff as a cleaner in 2007 and rose to become the 35,000-a-year house manager of Dodington Park, where the couple live, with a staff of 100.

Lawyers for the 72-year-old vacuum cleaner tycoon said this gave her 'extensive access to private and confidential information' before she was made redundant last August.

In May last year, she allegedly created a folder called 'Deirdre' on her work laptop containing 'private, confidential and sensitive medical records' of Lady Deirdre, then later copied it to a portable data storage USB stick.

She also copied 5,000 emails to her personal email account and sent herself five photos taken on her phone inside the Dysons' home, it was claimed.

Mrs Flanders, 50, denies the allegations, saying they are 'vague and embarrassing', insisting she only took a copy of Lady Deirdre's computerised records to help 'tidy' the electronic files

On another occasion, it was said, she copied a list of guests invited to a 'private opera' the Dysons were hosting, including their private email addresses. It is also alleged she made a secret recording of a conversation between two senior estate staff.

The Dysons, who bought their 300-acre Georgian estate in south Gloucestershire in 2003, said there was 'no legitimate basis' for her to have the data.

But Mrs Flanders, of Bristol, denies their claims of breach of contract, breach of confidence, misuse of private information and causing distress and anxiety. She admits creating a computer folder called Deirdre and moving records of the work she had done for Lady Deirdre into it 'in an effort to try and tidy the electronic files', her lawyer said.

She later copied it to a USB device 'in order to retain a profile of the work she had undertaken as an aide-memoire'.

To the claim that she photographed pictures of the Dysons' children and grandchildren, she said it was for a 'legitimate work-related purpose'.

The couple's sprawling country home, the 300-acre 20million Dodington Park in Gloucestershire

Her lawyer Allan Roberts said: 'These photographs were a general view of a windowsill area, which contained items including photographs. The windowsill was to be cleared and the photographs taken to enable the items to be returned to their original place.'

He added that Mrs Flanders had intended to send them to her work email address 'but inadvertently selected her personal address'.

The opera guest list was indeed sent to Mrs Flanders's personal email address, he said, but this was because she was working from home and could only print it out from her home computer, not her work laptop. The recording of a staff conversation was also made as an aide-memoire, he added.

Mrs Flanders claims Lady Deirdre, 76, was well aware of her using her personal email address for work because the tycoon's wife had often sent work emails to it. She had never been asked to delete the files in her personal email account, her lawyer said.

Mrs Flanders denies all the Dysons' claims and says they are 'retaliation' for her intention to sue the billionaire couple for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

No date has yet been set for a court hearing. Neither side wished to comment last night.
Ministers have set up a Line of Duty-style anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drug-taking in prisons.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'.

But there is growing evidence the drugs are being smuggled in by prison officers working for organised gangs.

A new anti-corruption unit to tackle the epidemic of drugs in prisons will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty (pictured)

Police chiefs strongly suspect gang members are encouraging associates or family members to get jobs in prisons to bring in banned substances.

In one unnamed jail in the West Midlands, up to 13 employees were suspended last year for smuggling in drugs.

The Counter Corruption Unit was launched this week and will pursue any officers suspected of corruption in prison and probation services.

Many inmates are hooked on the psychoactive substance Spice and watchdogs have described the crisis as 'out of control'

It will work in a similar fashion to the fictional AC-12 unit in the BBC's hit series Line of Duty, which is tasked with rooting out police corruption.

The unit will consist of intelligence analysts who will work on tip-offs from prison staff to identify culprits.

Prison employees can already report wrongdoing anonymously via a hotline.
Travel broadens the mind, but it can broaden other things, too.

Two pies, two haggises, two whisky and lemonades and two packets of crisps, please, is the dinner order from my neighbours at the next table in the restaurant car on the Caledonian Sleeper.

If an alien with even a faint grasp of cultural indicators were to beam down from Mars and hazard a guess at what was going on, it might conclude that I am on a Scottish train with Scottish people heading to Scotland for a Scottish break, and it would be entirely correct.

But it is not just any old Scottish train.

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous! The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life

With the help of a 60 million subsidy from Scotlands government, the services giant Serco has spent 150 million relaunching the ageing sleeper service whose previous set of carriages had ploughed up and down between England and Scotland for the past 40 years. It is not before time.

For decades, regular passengers like me increasingly despaired at the decrepit carriages on the sleepers, the balding carpets and the prison-like sleeping berths where every expense was spared and comfort was as thin as the duvets.

Now the 75 ageing carriages have finally been replaced by a spanking new fleet which came into service this week on the Lowlander trains, which run between London and Glasgow or Edinburgh. Highlander trains to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William are due to get the new carriages next month.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine

The trains boast the first commercial sleeper cabins to offer double beds, complete with mattresses from the Queens own supplier.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel.

Certainly, the prices dont make sense to ordinary travellers, who might find that it is cheaper  and quicker  to fly or drive.

What can I tell you? The high-profile launch was, alas, a complete disaster.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night

The first train from London rolled into Glasgow three hours late and blushing with shame.

The journalists, dignitaries, passengers and MPs on board endured lost bookings, delays, unmade beds, water leakages and even a shortage of butter, shriek.

A signal failure at Carstairs Junction, South Lanarkshire, was blamed for much of the woe. Did matters improve for my midweek journey from London to Glasgow a few days later?

At Euston Station, the heart soars at the sight of the beautiful, gleaming 16-carriage train that awaits to whisk us through the night to Scotland. It is gorgeous!

The front eight carriages are destined for Glasgow, while those in the rear are Edinburgh-bound; the two cities and their people travelling together but apart, on the train tracks as in life.

Just as before, the train splits into two (or joins up, on the reverse journey) at Carstairs Junction, a violent shunting process that traditionally and infuriatingly wakes everyone up in the wee small hours.

But not any more, as train bosses promise a smooth new transition in every way. Well, we shall see about that.

At least we leave on time, just before midnight, sliding quietly out of London on the long journey north.

I paid a rather gasping 270 for my First Class Solo Cabin ticket  one way!  which provides an ensuite toilet and shower, a sink, a little desk, space under the bed to stow your luggage and coat hooks.

There is a smart plaid carpet, pleasant lighting, power and recharging points, but best of all, the whole cabin seems to be hermetically sealed from your neighbours. What utter luxury.

Prices start at 335 one-way for single occupation of a double cabin, which suggests that the Scottish governments aim is to offer business passengers and tourists a plusher and more sophisticated return to a golden age of rail travel. The club car is pictured above

But whats this! On a hook, there is a grotty mesh nylon bag crammed with crushed towels and a spare loo roll; like something you would be handed before going into solitary confinement at a maximum security facility.

Are those towels clean, I squeak? Yes, we just havent thought of a better way of storing them, says the steward. After she has gone, I cant figure out how to use the sink tap, and have to wash my hands with bottled water before going to dinner.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy.

Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals.

Dishes include a traditional hand crafted pie, 7.50.

Oh, what is it today, I ask, expecting something glorious and gamey, such as venison or grouse. Pork, says the waiter. He makes a circle with his hands. Its about that big with a thick crust.

Instead I have the haggis, neeps and tatties (9).

The tasty haggis is supplied by Cockburns of Dingwall and is actually not bad, but the vegetables are lumpy and the dish is so badly made and terribly served  slumped on a plate with a splat of whisky sauce on top  that it looks like an unspeakable effluence that has been ejected at speed from the Monarch of the Glen himself.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap

Nothing is actually freshly made on site but cooked and pre-plated elsewhere in the dreary modern way, before being heated up in the trains warming ovens.

Still, at least there are some genuine Scottish delicacies on board, in the form of Mackies haggis crisps (1.10), and Tunnocks teacakes (50p), hurrah.

They also charge 50p for an apple  at these ticket prices youd think they could find it in their hearts to give them away free, but no.

Back in my cabin I snuggle under the crisp cotton sheets and lulled by the rocking of the train, fall into a deep and lovely sleep.

Sleeper travel has always been expensive, but for me travelling home on the Highland line, to Perth and beyond, is more convenient than flying.

Booked in advance once meant that tickets were cheaper and there was the option of sharing a compartment with twin bunks. That is no longer the case, and the pricing system offers few bargains to travellers like me  unless you want to pay 45 to sit up all night.

I have booked breakfast in the dining car at 6am but oversleep. At 6.10 I am woken by a female Scottish voice crackling through my ears. Hello! Hello! Jan. Thats your breakfast ready. Repeat, your breakfast is ready for you.

What? Is that my mother? Mum? Whassgoinon? I had no idea they had a kitchen to cabin intercom system. But now I do.

On the sleeper train, there is still drenching romance to be had if you time it right. I have breakfast as the train speeds through the beautiful border country, past fields shimmering with the pink mist of dawn, through the hill farms dotted with sheep and two old Clydesdale horses, almost skipping in the spring sunshine.

The dining car is smart and comfortable, but understaffed with only one waiter and a kitchen hand, making everyone a little testy. Clearly the experience is aimed at those who might be impressed with a menu that promises to celebrate Scotlands food culture with mouth-watering meals

Yet despite all the improvements, a part of me does mourn the sleepers of old. Even I can remember when dining cars had genuine kitchens staffed with real chefs, who would sizzle bacon, fry farm eggs and cook up proper breakfasts for 50 in a space the size of a telephone box. The porridge was historic and always made with water and salt, never with Sassenach cream and sugar, in the proper Scottish way.

In those days there were starched tablecloths, silver teapots and uniformed stewards who came around at night to knock on the cabin door to serve your complimentary nightcap.

Whisky or brandy, madam? they would say. How civilised. Still, progress means we have more comfort and less pain, give or take the loss of charm.

Yes, the Carstairs shunt is more of a gentle bump  that really is progress  and you can even have a shower in your room, can you imagine!

So back in my cabin, I get in the shower cubicle, switch on the tap and wait to experience the latest in luxury train travel.

Except there is no water. Of course there isnt. I should have known.
A Central California school district has allowed a high school newspaper to publish a risque profile of an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry and has earned as much as $475 in three hours from selling nude images.

The Lodi Unified School District didn't stop the story from running Friday in the Bear Creek High School paper, The Bruin Voice, where Caitlin Fink says that one of the hardest things since leaving home after a fallout and moving in with her friend's parents, is earning enough money.

But she quickly learned some tough lessons

'I used to sell my content first before receiving any sort of payment, and when I asked for the payment, [buyers would] save my content and block me,' Fink said in the article Friday. 'I've also had to put my name on pictures sometimes because people would try and sell them, claiming them as theirs.'

Lodi Unified School District didn't stop a story about Bear Creek High School student Caitlin Fink's porn career from running Friday in The Bruin Voice

The editorial team of the Bruin Voice and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby (right), fought hard to get the article published, saying that the piece humanized Caitlin Fink (left) and tells the story of the challenges she has faced

The lawyer who represents teacher Kathi Duffel (left) and student writer Bailey Kirkeby (right) concluded that the story didn't violate education codes

The paper's adviser, English teacher Kathi Duffel, had accused district officials of censorship after they demanded to review and approve the article before publication.

In an April 11 letter, district Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of possible discipline, 'up to and including dismissal' if she refused.

Duffel refused on free speech grounds, and officials in the San Joaquin Valley district, which has about 31,500 students, agreed to let an attorney review the story.

Matthew Cate, who represents Duffel and the student who wrote the article, concluded that the story didn't violate education codes.

A lawyer for the district, Paul Gant, wrote to Cate Wednesday to say the district wouldn't prevent publication of the story. But Gant also called Duffel insubordinate for refusing to submit the article for review, and said, 'There is no question that the article could be lawfully reviewed or censored,' the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Duffel refused to let district review story she oversaw before its publication

California English teacher, Kathi Duffel (pictured), could lose her job after overseeing a high school newspaper story about senior, Caitlin Fink, 18, who is working in the porn industry

'Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,' the district said in a statement. 'Because we are charged with the education and care of our community's children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law.'

The Bruin Voice tweeted Thursday that Duffell said: 'This is a whole new level of district administrators who have lost their minds, quite frankly.'

Duffel, who has taught English for 33 years in the Lodi School District, believed that Fink should be able to tell her own story.

Fink says in the piece: 'When I first started selling, it was just for money. But then I liked the attention I got, [such as] being called beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me feel good about myself.'

The article profiles a student who sells nude videos and aspires to be a stripper

Fink works as a part-time dishwasher and pays a friend's parents $300 per month to live with them. Duffel said the teenager wanted to share story and challenges that led her to do porn

She details how she was 'so excited' when her agent told her about scenes she was going to do under her professional contract with Pornhub. She passed mandatory blood test every two weeks in order to film sex scenes but was told to get her body acne cleared because the camera picks up details.

Her first professional porn shoot was cancelled as a result and she hasn't earned anything so far with the website.

Fink has a second job as a dishwasher to make ends meet.

'You can choose how you get paid,' Fink shared. 'It usually goes by view count, or you can sell your videos if [users] want to download them. There is also a tip option on [member's] profiles. Pornhub sends money to your PayPal.'

Officials from Bear Creek High School believe the Bruin Voice (file image) story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'

Video courtesy KTXL

Fink aspires to be a stripper where it's easier to rake in the cash.

'When I auditioned at a strip club, I made $80 in what felt like five or six minutes,' Fink - who calls herself a 'lovey-dovey, old school romantic' reveals.

She warns in the Friday article that her onscreen encounters do not reflect real-life sex.

The district believes the story violates the state education code that prohibits publication of material that is 'obscene, libelous or slanderous' because the story focuses on 'the production of adult videos'.

The editorial team and the writer of the story, Bailey Kirkeby, said the piece humanizes Fink.

'I am very proud of the story and how it turned out,' she told the Chronicle.

Duffel contacted an attorney after the district warned (letter picture) her that she would be personally liable for any legal claims that could result from the article and if she failed to provide a copy of the story, she could face 'dismissal'

Duffel had told the paper that the article doesn't glamorize pornography, but it 'will help students think more critically about the choices they do make at this age in their lives.'

The student who was interviewed said she wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm 18, what I'm doing is legal, and I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,' Fink said.

California law ensures that the First Amendment applies to student journalists. It prohibits prior restraint of school newspaper stories unless they are obscene, libelous or slanderous or incite unlawful acts or school disruptions.

Duffel's students 'are getting a front-row seat to our government in action,' she told the Chronicle. 'What better way to teach the value of the First Amendment than by teaching them firsthand not to have their voices silenced?'

Duffel has relied on the law before to block censorship attempts over her nearly three decades advising the Bruin Voice. For example, in 2013 the principal at the time confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper when students exposed inaccuracies in the school safety handbook.
A conman has launched an appeal against his eight-year sentence while on the run, in an echo of notorious speedboat killer Jack Shepherd.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue.

It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction.

Raja, 32, a cold-call scammer from Grays, Essex, who duped elderly victims into handing over their life savings by posing as a broker, fled to Dubai before his trial. In January he was sentenced to eight years in jail for his part in the 2.4million fraud, which he had used to buy an Aston Martin and a 4,000 Rolex.

Fugitive Sami Raja is seeking to have his jail term overturned while in a Dubai bolthole  a move that a judge joked was in vogue. It comes after Shepherd spent ten months hiding in Georgia while legal aid funded an appeal against his manslaughter conviction

Yesterday, at a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, it emerged he is launching an appeal from his hideaway. Prosecutor Paul Casey said: We understand Mr Raja is contesting his conviction.

Judge Christopher Hehir replied: It seems to be in vogue these days, that one contests ones conviction having fled overseas.

Shepherd, 31, was convicted in his absence after he fled to Georgia instead of attending his trial for the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, who died in December 2015 when Shepherds defective speedboat capsized on the Thames, throwing the pair into the freezing water.

He triggered public outrage when he was granted legal aid to fund his appeal, but was brought back to justice last month after a Daily Mail campaign flushed him out in Georgia, where he was working as a web designer.

Back in London, he was given an extra six months on his sentence for running away by a judge who praised the Mail for finding him. His appeal has yet to be heard.

Shepherd has been found guilty of manslaughter after Charlotte Brown, 24, died in 2015 when his speedboat flipped on the Thames while they were on a first date

Raja was found guilty in his absence of six counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Victims received unsolicited calls from brokers who used high-pressure sales techniques to persuade them to invest in the scam products. As a fugitive in Dubai, he is believed to still be running Sami Raja Consultancy, which claims to help investors set up and expand their businesses in the UAE and the UK.

Senior investigating officer Hayley Wade, of the City of London Polices fraud squad, said: Raja cruelly targeted often elderly individuals with the intention of defrauding them of their life savings. He clearly felt no remorse.

Raja was one of five men convicted over the scam, which saw 130 victims conned between 2012 and 2013.
A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies.

In a thread of communications between the teacher and a year 13 student, seen by Stuff, the Auckland teacher allegedly discussed meeting up and going for a drive.

The teacher then allegedly recalled sexual dreams she had about her student, which included kissing him all over and 'sensuous' oral sex.

A female teacher has been stood down for texting a teenage boy about 'sensuous' sex and sending nude selfies (stock image)

The male student and female teacher are connected on social media and have shared their phone numbers.

The Auckland college where the teacher was employed denied to comment on the alleged dirty texts but said the matter was before the Teaching Council.

A spokeswoman confirmed to Stuff they were following up a report lodged by the college but were unable to comment further.

She said teachers who did not maintain their professional boundaries with students were in breach of the profession's Code of Professional Responsibility.

'Also, serious misconduct as defined in the Education Act 1989 and the Teaching Council Rules 2016 includes breaches of professional boundaries such as engaging in an inappropriate relationship or any behaviour or communication of a sexual nature with a student.'

A parent at the school alleged the teacher had also sent nude pictures to students amid the offending.

The parent told Stuff she understood the teacher had been dismissed.

The register of New Zealand teachers says the student voluntarily agreed to step away from teaching.
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Shoppers were sent jumping out of the way as a huge tree fell in strong winds on Soho Square in the centre of London as gusts came in from the North Sea earlier today.

Racegoers at Newmarket had to cling onto their hats and umbrellas as they battled the bad weather during the first day of the QIPCO Guineas Festival.

Arctic winds and biting rain blasted attendees, with temperatures reaching just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area.

This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a chilly one, in stark contrast to the warmer climes seen this time last year and over the Easter holiday.

Many of us are still sporting tans from the glorious sunshine over Easter but the heatwave is now long gone, with unseasonably cold temperatures and even hail forecast for the May Day bank holiday weekend.

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday.

Saturday will see a cold and frosty start for many with possible heavy showers for the Midlands and South East, and a risk of hail.

A tree fall that squashed a van has blocked off Soho Square in central London, as strong winds hit the country and the capital faces hail, showers and wind

This woman was left holding on to her hat as arctic winders battered the Newmarket racecourse today

Others struggled to control their umbrellas as rain fell during day one of the QIPCO Guineas festival

Temperatures reached just 9C as winds of up to 30mph hit the area today

Elsewhere, an inch of snow couldn't stop the Shepherd family from Dornoch eating their breakfast outside at a campsite near Aviemore today

Wendy Stewart and Marilyn Hemingway went out for a run in the snow near Aviemore with dogs Chunk and Rowan

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.' Pictured: the Inverness to Edinburgh citylink bus near Inverness

Waves crashed over the sea wall at Tynemouth earlier today as Brits prepared for a chilly Bank Holiday weekend

Pictured: People braving the rain to go punting on the River Cam in Cambridge

Sunday is set to be dry except for showers in the North East, continuing into Monday.

Andy Page, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: 'After cold, frosty starts and cool days for many across the Bank Holiday weekend, daytime temperatures will gradually recover early next week.

The daytime average for the start of May is around 16C (61F) - and the top temperature over Easter was 77F (25C).

The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather  including 28.7C (83.7F) at Northolt, north-west London, the warmest since records began in 1910.

The lowest temperature ever recorded on the early May bank holiday weekend was -6.4C (20.5F) in Grantown-on-Spey in 1981 and then again in Kinbrace in 1988 - a figure that could be beaten this weekend in Scotland.

Speaking about the forecast for Scotland, Grahame Madge of the Met Office said: 'It will feel very cold at the weekend, especially after the great weather we enjoyed at Easter.

Pictured: snow on the hills of Herefordshire near Longtown today. The coming weekend is a stark contrast to last year, when May Bank Holiday beaches across Britain were packed thanks to fine weather

Tourists didn't let the wet weather in Cambridge stop them from going punting on the River Cam

People watch others surfing in the Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships held at Perranporth, Cornwall

This group of tourists huddled under umbrellas on the River Cam in Cambridge earlier today

Huge waves pound Seaham lighthouse on the North East coastline as cold weather beckons for the bank holiday weekend

People out punting on the river Cam in Cambridge today get caught in one of the rain showers

In the North East of England, a maximum of 9C (48F) is likely today, rising to 10C (50F) on Sunday. Pictured: Tynemouth today

'What we are expecting is a weather 'battleground' as we are seeing influences from all parts of the compass. Higher parts of the country, including the Highlands, will see some snow over the weekend, as will the Southern Uplands.

'It will be a cold and frosty start to Saturday but the day is expected to produce plenty of sunshine as well. That will help keep up day time temperatures, even though it is a cold air mass moving down from an Arctic direction.

'It will feel chilly but it shouldn't stop you getting out and about this Bank Holiday  even if you need extra layers.'

Mr Madge added: 'We might see night-time temperatures getting pretty cold. The cities should not drop too far below freezing but in sheltered spots in the north of Scotland, expect it to get down to 3C, 4C or possibly even 5C over the next few days.'
North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said - a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington over its nuclear arsenal.

Missiles from Hodo peninsula flew for between 70km and 200km before landing in the sea, according to Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details, South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said.

If Saturday's activity in the city of Wonsan between 9.06am and 9.27am is confirmed as a firing of banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.'

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired unidentified short-range missiles from its eastern coast. It's two months since Kim Jong Un (pictured April 24) and President Trump (pictured Friday) didn't come to an agreement at a nuclear summit

If confirmed as a firing of a banned ballistic missile, it will be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Pictured is North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang on August 29, 2017

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

Their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February ended without an agreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the country's coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

The ministry said it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean short-range missiles fired Saturday have reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

It said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security.

Japan is seen as avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The firing Saturday comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the US mainland

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: 'We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.' Trump met with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC Friday

Last month Pyongyang said it was testing a 'tactical guided weapon' conducted in 'various modes of firing at different targets'. They demanded that Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations.



Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to 'cautiously respond' to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

North Korea has claimed to have ballistic missiles that could reach the US mainland. The country also says it has developed a nuclear bomb small enough to fit on a long-range missile.

People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday

Japan's Defense Ministry said at this point Japan does not face a situation that would pose any immediate risk to its national security. In Tokyo people walk past a screen showing a TV news on unidentified short-range projectiles fired by North Korea

As the projectiles were launched it was still Friday in the US when Trump hosted reporters during his meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

North Korea's vice foreign minister said on Tuesday the United States will face 'undesired consequences' if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

During a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

'The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today,' said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times 'the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.'

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korean missiles have not reached in or around Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone

'With North Korea never promising to completely stop all missile testing - it only promised a self-imposed moratorium of testing long-range missiles such as ICBMs that can hit the US homeland - we should not be shocked by North Korea's short-range launch,' Korean studies director at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, Harry J. Kazianis, said.

'Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough. It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump Administration's position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of 'maximum pressure'.'

Experts believe that the North has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons.

In this April 18, 2019 photo, a mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, center, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea

North Korea said last month it had test-fired a new type of 'tactical guided weapon' and demanded Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations. Pictured above, visitors watch a photo showing North Korea's missile launch at the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea on April 19

During the diplomacy that followed a rocky 2017, Kim Jong Un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

However satellite images last month indicated radioactive material could be being turned into bomb fuel.

A short-range missile would not violate that self-imposed moratorium.

It may instead be a way to register his displeasure with Washington and the state of talks meant to provide sanctions relief for disarmament without having the diplomacy collapse.
A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier.

Nick Rose, 32, was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo.

'I was in total shock to see this dog running towards us like that, stopping and then just lunging,' Mr Rose told Daily Mail Australia.

A schnauzer poodle cross called Cosmo (pictured) needed to have his leg amputated after he was viciously mauled by a bull terrier

Following the savage attack, Cosmo (pictured) was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated

He said the attack wasn't about dominance as the comparatively huge dog locked onto Cosmo's leg and wouldn't let go - thrashing him around like a rag doll.

'The bull terrier latched on and started to twist and turn its head,' Mr Rose said.

He recalled how terrifying it was to witness what was happening to Cosmo, and at one point he heard the dog's leg snap and twist around at the weirdest angles.

'I heard the cracks as its (the bull terrier's) teeth were chipping the bones and everything,' he said.

Desperate to free Cosmo from the other dog's grasp, Mr Rose kicked, punched and screamed at the bull terrier, but try as he might, he couldn't separate the animals.

He said it felt like the longest time had passed before help eventually came in the form of a horse trainer called Jason, who was passing by the field.

'Jason had the lead rope from some horses he'd just taken to the stables nearby, which he clipped onto the bull terrier's harness and started pulling,' Mr Rose said.

As Jason pulled the lead, the bull terrier started to let go of his grasp, and when he finally did, Jason led him around the field in a circle to keep him away from Cosmo.

Nick Rose, 32 (pictured), was walking Cosmo and another dog near the Newcastle Velodrome on April 20, when a white bull terrier suddenly charged and latched onto Cosmo

Cosmo (pictured) is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest

'If it hadn't been for Jason, Cosmo would have died,' Mr Rose said.

When the dog's owner eventually turned up and saw Cosmo's leg wound, he simply said 'aw, mate' before putting his lead on the animal and walking off.

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving.

He said rangers are investigating the matter and a number of people have come forward to say they have seen the man around the streets of Hamilton South.

Following the savage attack, Cosmo was rushed to an emergency vet, where he underwent treatment to save his leg, but in the end, it needed to be amputated.

Mr Rose (left) said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000

Mr Rose said he doesn't know who the dog owner is and hasn't had contact with him since the ordeal - although he did manage to take a photo of him as he was leaving

Cosmo is now trying to get used to walking on three legs, but as Mr Rose explained, he still isn't out of the woods in the slightest.

'The amount of damage and dead tissue has prevented blood flow to the area so, even after amputation, the whole thing (the wound) is breaking down,' he said.

Mr Rose said Cosmo will likely need more costly surgeries, so he has created a gofundme page to help cover the costs, which are estimated at about $15,000.

'I've borrowed from family and friends, sold off what I can and maxed Vetpay for almost everything to date but there's still money owing on vet bills,' he wrote.

Mr Rose, who describes Cosmo as his first born child, said while he doesn't like having to ask for help, the idea of putting him is just devastating.

'Help me get this guy back on his feet and give him at least another 5 years of Hawaiian shirts, stolen cheese and cuddles,' he wrote.
Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate

The acclaimed poet Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the chance to become the next poet laureate to focus on her own work.

Miss Dharker, who was widely tipped to receive the highest honour in British poetry, would have been the first Asian laureate in the posts 350 years.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing.

I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands pf a public role. The poems won, she told The Guardian.

It was a huge honour to be considered for the role of poet laureate and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and encouragement from all over the world.

Miss Dharker, who was born in Lahore but grew up in Glasgow, was due to be announced as the next laureate - taking over from Dame Carol Ann Duffy who has been in the post for 10 years this month.

The Queen presenting Imtiaz Dharker with The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

It is understood that any formal selection was yet to take place but an announcement is expected this month.

The honorary position expects doesnt entail any specific duties but he holder is expected to write verse for significant national and royal occasions.

It is now up to the individual whether or not to produce poetry for royal occasions.

Some former poet laureates have said the role has not been kind to their own their work.

Andrew Chalice, who held the position from 1999 to 2009 said the role was very, very damaging to my work. While still in the post he said: I dried up completely about five years ago and cant write anything except to commission.

The 65-year-old, who describes herself as a Pakistani Scottish Calvinist Muslim, says it was a huge honour to be considered for the role but the poems won as she wants to focus on her own writing

A stipend of 5,750 is given to the laureate and traditionally a butt of sack equivalent to roughly 600 bottles of sherry.

Ms Ann-Duffy, 63, used her money to fund a poetry prize.

A spokeswoman from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said yesterday: The recommendations of an independent panel have been considered in the usual way. An appointment has not yet been confirmed
President Trump says he is 'closely monitoring' Facebook, Instagram and Twitter after the social media giants removed a number of conservative figures from their platforms.

Right-wing personalities Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer were banned from Facebook this week, as the site attempts to combat criticism that it spreads misinformation and hateful content.

However, in a flurry of Tweets on Friday, the Commander-in-chief seemed to imply that the purge was merely an attack on right-wing voices and that shutting off their access to social media may be a violation of first amendment rights.

'I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America  and we have what's known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH!' Trump wrote in one post.

He added: 'We are monitoring and watching, closely!!'

President Trump took to Twitter Friday to declare that he is monitoring social media sites for censorship of conservatives. It comes in the wake of Facebook's announcement that it was banning several far-right figures from its site

Trump shared a flurry of outraged tweets - clearly unimpressed by Facebook's recent purge of controversial users

Later, the president posted a tweet referencing Diamond & Silk, right-wing commentators who were briefly blocked from Facebook last year amid claims that their page was 'unsafe'.

'The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we're looking into.

'It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media! ' he proclaimed.

Trump then shared a link to a Breitbart article that discussed the social media bans of two more famous right-wing figures.

'So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook!' he tweeted sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. also weighed in on Facebook's recent purge.

'The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @Facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears they're taking their censorship campaign to the next level.

'Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back,' he implored.

Despite the president hitting out at the social media giants, he is still a prolific user of Twitter.

He has tweeted a whopping 41,600 times and he boasts an incredible 60 million followers.

Donald Trump Jr. joined his father in criticizing Facebook and other big name social media sites

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site.

They additionally blocked Paul Nehlen, a white nationalist who ran for Congress in 2018.

However, the social media giants have also barred other controversial voices who do not identify as conservative or right-wing.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was one figure who was blocked from the website, following accusations of antisemitism.

On Thursday, Facebook announced that in addition to banning Yiannopoulos, Watson and Loomer, they had also culled Infowars founder Alex Jones from their site (pictured is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg)

Alt-right radio host Paul Joseph Watson, also a writer and conspiracy theorist, is among the right-wing personalities banned from Facebook this week

A Facebook spokesperson told Dailymail.com that it conducts a lengthy process to determine which people or groups it considers to have a violent or hateful mission.

Among the factors include whether or not the person has called for or directly carried out acts of violence against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity or national origin.

The firm also considers whether they're a self-described or identified follower of a hateful ideology, use hate speech or slurs in their bio on Facebook, Instagram or other social sites, and whether they've had pages, groups and accounts removed from Facebook or Instagram for violating its hate speech policies, the spokesperson added.

Facebook's policies around dangerous content are further detailed on its site.

The company first signaled a broader crackdown on content when, in March, it banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform.

As part of the sweeping crackdown, Facebook said it would no longer allow posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer' to remain on its site.
A Texas woman's world was turned upside down when she took a genetic history test and learned that a sperm donor she believed was her father, wasn't her dad - her mother's fertility doctor was.

Eve Wiley, 31, spent years looking for her father after she learned she was conceived by artificial insemination in 1987. Fourteen years ago she traced her mother's sperm donor Steve Scholl - known as Donor #106 - and over time they've built a loving father-daughter relationship.

But that relationship was rocked when she took genetic history tests on 23andMe and Ancestry.com and learned that her true father was fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries.

McMorries had quietly mixed in his sperm with that of the donor after the donor sperm failed to impregnate Wiley's mother Margo Williams after five tries.

He used his own sperm that he donated to a sperm bank from his medical school days - and succeeded in getting her pregnant.

But he didn't tell a soul.

Dr. McMorries has now defended his actions, claiming they were 'acceptable practice for the times.'

'I had no idea, 33 years ago, the importance of an offspring's desire to know their biological identity. At that time, the anonymity was supposed to be permanent,' he added.

Texas woman Eve Wiley, 31, was shocked to learn that her mother's fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries (right) is her biological father after he artificially inseminated her mother using his own semen, without her knowledge. The truth finally came to light after Wiley took 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on learning her true father's identity on ABC's 20/20

Margo Williams (pictured) was artificially inseminated by her fertility doctor Dr. Kim McMorries after Williams and her husband experienced fertility problems

But the truth finally came to light when Wiley decided to learn more abut her family and medical health history and took the genetic 23andMe and Ancestry.com tests.

The hits however, didn't match that of her believed sperm donor father Scholl who she spent years developing a close relationship with.

'I call him dad. We say I love you,' Wiley told the Dallas Morning News, referring to Scholl, 'We spend holidays together and he actually officiated at my wedding.'

The hits of her genetic family tree matched her to someone in east Texas  where neither Scholl or his family ever lived. After she found a biological first cousin and traded information, she learned the truth.

'I have one uncle,' her first cousin said when Wiley asked him about his family. 'He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas, and his name is Kim McMorries.'

'I said "Oh s**t. That is my mom's fertility doctor." I think at that point it was -- I was just in shock. I was in shock,' Wiley said on ABC's 20/20.

Neither Wiley nor her mother ever knew that McMorries had used his semen in the procedure.

The family even has a picture showing McMorries carrying her in his arms after delivering her.

'It looks like he's holding me like a prize. You can see him smiling through his mask with his eyes, and he's holding me up... It's his little secret,' Wiley said on the photo.

Dr. McMorries pictured carrying Wiley moments after delivering her in 1987

McMorries is considered a reputable and respected doctor in Texas and runs the McMorries Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility clinic in the small town of Nacogdoches

McMorries says that he mixed his semen with the donor's as a practice he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. He says he couldn't tell Williams he was the donor because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation

Williams said she had no idea that Dr. McMorries had mixed in his own semen with that of a donor to artificially inseminate her

Sharing the hard news to Scholl and her mother, broke Wiley's heart.

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' she said.

'I was just in shock. I was shaking. I couldn't believe it. I really trusted him,' her mother Margo Williams said.

Finally Wiley confronted McMorries in a letter explaining their genetic connection.

McMorries then replied in a letter saying that Donor 106 failed to impregnate Wileys mother six times, leaving him to resort to mixing Donor 106's sample with another local sample.

Mixing was a practice he claimed he learned in medical school to increase the chance of conception. The doctor claimed that Williams was on board with the mixing plan.

When Williams is asked if she knew he was using local donor sperm she shook her head and says, 'Absolutely not. That never happened.'

Wiley believed sperm donor Steve Scholl was her father and developed a father-daughter relationship with him 14 years ago

'Having to tell Steve and having to tell my mom. Those were the two most difficult conversations I have ever had in my life,' Wiley said on breaking the hard news to Scholl

Wiley has a half sister who was conceived naturally by Williams and her husband 14 months after Wiley's birth

She said she didn't want to mix to avoid the chance of Wiley growing up and discovering she had a half sibling in town.

Nonetheless McMorries fetched his own sperm from his donor days back in medical school and continued with the fertility treatment.

Though McMorries declined to be interviewed for the ABC special, he maintains he couldn't tell Williams that he was using his own sperm because of an anonymity agreement he signed when he made the donation.

He argued 'there is no law that requires the disclosure of donor identity'.

He used semen from his donor days back in med school (above) to artificially inseminate Williams

In Texas, the act is not considered a crime as the state does not include rape by deception charges.

But Wiley wasn't satisfied and asked if he had inadvertently fathered any other children in the same way.

The doctor said he knows of one to two other women who became pregnant after he mixed his semen in with a donors.

'It is easy to look back and judge protocols/standards used 33 years ago and assume they were wrong in todays environment,' Dr. McMorries wrote. 'However, it was not wrong 33 years ago as that was acceptable practice for the times.'

Dr. McMorries still runs an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility clinic in Nacogdoches called the Womens Center. Its website says the clinic offers 'conservative values with personal health.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor

His lawyer defended him saying: 'Dr. McMorries is a good and fine man who is an excellent, well respected ob/gyn. He has a reputation for trying to help his patients as much as he possibly can.'

Wiley is now lobbying for a change in the law in a bid to make it a sexual assault offense if a health care provider implants human sperm, eggs or embryos from an unauthorized donor.

She has visited more than 20 legislative offices to press for passage of bills that would change the law in Texas to categorize fertility fraud as sexual assault.

'It's really important to protect vulnerable people,' she told The Dallas Morning News. 'You spend a lot of time with those doctors. There's a lot of trust. You are trusting them and you are incredibly vulnerable.'

If the bill goes into law then offenders can expect a punishment of between six months and two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee have unanimously approved the bill and sent it to the full Senate.
Elvis Presley was not hurt in the 1973 Las Vegas crowd attack but was 'rattled' and bought the weapon

Elvis Presley's gun, bought after a four-person onstage attack in Las Vegas left the star 'rattled', is to be auctioned next weekend along with other personal pieces.

Other lots include chest x-rays taken just months before his death by heart attack, golden jewellery owned by the king of bling and Graceland documents.

The personal pieces are expected leave bidders 'All Shook Up' when they go under the hammer with GWS Auctions in Beverly Hills next weekend, Saturday May 11.

Elvis's Smith & Wesson handgun bought by the star after he was attacked onstage in 1973 could sell for up to 15,300.

He was left unhurt by the attack at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada, but was believed to have been so 'rattled' by the encounter that he purchased the weapon.

According to a provenance letter, the 'Shook Up' star then added black grips and filed the hammer down so he could 'strap it to his right leg while onstage'.

The Smith and Wesson handgun bought by Elvis after he was attacked onstage in 1973 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada. Expected to sell for up to 15,300 ($20,000 USD)

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000USD). It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD)

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death has an estimate of $3,000 USD.

The x-ray that could have been taken to analyse chest pains, with the cause of Elvis's death in August 1977 ruled as a heart attack.

Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand scanning for a potential break or fracture where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot.

A dimpled signet ring owned by the star, diamond and white gold, with Elvis Presley's initials E.P. spelled in diamonds

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with KING is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present

The 10-karat gifted watch bares an inscription on the back plate reading 'KING' in true Elvis style

A 14-karat yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing. It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back - To Bobby from 'Squirrly'

Brigitte Kruse, of GWS Auctions, said: 'When Elvis was attacked on stage by a crowd of people during one of his it rattled him and put things into perspective.

'He was able to get away and from my understanding his security team would have been able to mitigate the situation.

'I don't think he was harmed but it was a wake-up call for him.

'Being a performer on stage, you don't know if someone is coming at you to cause harm to kill or embrace you, it really scared Elvis.

'What he did with this revolver was file it down to fit in his boot, that way he could wear it on stage, should something happen.

'There has always been this crazed fanbase surrounding Elvis Presley and then The Beatles, people tried to steal Elvis's body after it was buried the first time.

'The chest x-ray was before Elvis passed away, I can only speculate but it's quite possible that Elvis had chest pains - ultimately passing away due to heart issues.

In these shots you can see Elvis and his gold bracelets. Two other x-rays are also up for auction, one of his right hand for a potential break or fracture, where his bracelet can be clearly seen, and another of his right foot

A series of x-rays, including a negative of the chest scan from September 1976, less than a year before his death that could have been taken to analyse chest pains. The lot could sell for up to 2,300 ($3,000 USD)

A chest scan. The cause of Elvis's death in August 1977, was ruled to from a heart attack

'He had heart disease and what is amazing to me is that in September 1976, less than year before his death, he was obviously complaining of chest pains.

'I would say in the medical realm of memorabilia these are extremely rare because unlike pill bottles, x-rays are kept in medical files.

'What's also really neat is that in the hand x-ray you can see his gold bracelet, it's something very different and you won't see this kind of item again.'

Potentially leading the bidding could be the purchase contract for Graceland signed by Elvis, his mother Gladys and father Vernon, which could fetch 30,000 ($40,000 USD).

It validated the sale of the property from Memphis socialite Ruth Moore for a total of 70,000 ($90,000 USD), where he would live for 20-years.

Brigitte said: 'I have never seen anything with all three of their signatures on it, which is just incredible.

'Elvis loved his parents so much, so to be able to have something like this and share such success with them, makes it one of the most notable pieces.'

Some of the elaborate jewellery of Elvis is also up for sale including his iconic diamond and 14k yellow/white gold nugget ring bearing his initials.

Elvis Presley Custom Made Solid 18K Yellow Gold Guitar Brooch with tiger eye inlay. It was given to Aunt Delta, with a certificate of authentication. He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, Flying Lady and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornaments. Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet

An 14k yellow gold watch gifted after his electrifying sold out performance in 1969 following eight years without performing.

It was given to the bandleader of the Las Vegas International Hotel, Bobby Morris, engraving on the back 'To Bobby from Squirrly EP'.

Although misspelled by the engraver, the nickname 'Squirrley' was given to Elvis due to his 'fooling around' during rehearsals.

A vintage Bulova Accuquartz timepiece engraved with 'King' is also up for grabs, it was given to Elvis's bodyguard and eventually wardrobe manager Richard Davis as a Christmas present.

Brigitte said: 'Jewellery was Elvis's way of decorating himself, you realise his parents were sharecroppers.

'For someone of such humble beginnings, he could never have dreamed about owning jewellery, so then to become one of the most famous people in the world.

'I think jewellery was the first thing attainable to him, it was something he never had before and could only have dreamed of those finer things as boy.

A rare pair of unused concert tickets from The Tour That Never Was a mere month after Elvis's death

Gold Record to commemorate Suspicious Minds selling more than one million copies

'When he found a piece that he really loved he would buy five or ten, he was a very giving person, gifting jewellery and cars.'

An 18k yellow gold belt buckle bearing the Rolls Royce grill, 'Flying Lady' and 'Spirit of Ecstasy' hood ornaments.

Elvis gave the prized piece to his Aunt Delta, who was the only person living on Graceland after his death - it was previously purchased by the owner of the Elvis Museum Jimmy Velvet.

He met the star in 1955 and remained close with the family, even after Elvis's death, and also received a custom made 18k yellow gold guitar brooch.

Jimmy said: 'Delta disclosed that she was going to pass away soon and wanted me to purchase all of the things which Elvis had given her over the years..'

These feature alongside a rare pair of unused concert tickets from 'The Tour That Never Was' a mere month after Elvis's death and 1969 RIAA Gold Record to commemorate 'Suspicious Minds' selling more than one million copies.

An autograph book with Elvis, his girlfriend Anita Wood and uncle Vester Presley's signatures, a promotional collection from Blue Hawaii, and a sympathy acceptance card from the Presley family to a fan.

Other headlining pieces include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather.

The timepiece that is engraved with 'Vito's' after his character Don Corleone and 'MB' his initials, could sell for $10,000 USD.

Other headlining pieces in the May 11 auction include a Rolex watch given to Marlon Brando as a gift after winning the Oscar in 1973 for his performance in the Godfather. Expected to sell for 7,600 ($10,000 USD)

Marlon Brando's watch. The timepiece is engraved with Vito's after his character Don Corleone and MB his initials. It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship

It was given by Brando to Academy Award nominated designer Patricia Norris after the pair developed a friendship.

Brigitte said: 'This is a pretty incredible find and has never been offered at auction, it's a piece no one knew existed.

'It's arguably the most significant film of all time, Marlon Brando and Don Vito Corleoni, in the film world that's as good as it gets.

'Patricia built such a great rapport and relationship with Brando that he said, "This will probably fit you and I want to give it to you."'

The Archives of Hollywood & Music auction will take place on May 11 starting at 10am PST (6pm UK time), for more information or to place a bid visit: www.gwsauctions.com
The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship.

A Labor candidate is also in hot water over anti-refugee comments posted on social media.

According to The Guardian, Ms Zaki declared she had renounced her Afghan citizenship on April 16, but the document she provided to the Australian Electoral Commission and Afghan citizenship law both suggest an additional step is required for complete renunciation.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship.

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The Liberal party is facing another challenge to their election team as questions emerged about whether Canberra candidate Mina Zaki had properly renounced her Afghan citizenship

In 2018 the High Court ruled - in the midst of the dual citizenship crisis of the 45th Parliament - that the 'reasonable steps' defence for renouncing foreign citizenship was insufficient.

This is the first election where all candidates are required by the AEC to fill out an eligibility checklist declaring whether they have any issues, such as bankruptcy or dual citizenship, that could put them in breach of section 44 of the constitution.

While the Canberra seat is notionally held by Labor on a 12.9 per cent margin, uncertainty about another candidate's eligibility will rock the Liberals who have already lost nine candidates since the election was called.

Meanwhile, Labor is under pressure to disendorse their candidate for the Western Australia seat of Durack over anti-asylum seeker posts on social media.

The West Australian reported that Sharyn Morrow made her comments on Facebook in 2013 in response to a riot at the Nauru detention centre.

'These trouble makers should be sent back to where they came from, they do not deserve our charity. When will we see a government that understands charity begins at home.'

Questioned by reporters about Ms Morrow's comments shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it was the first he'd heard of her remarks.

'We have processes to look at these things. We would need to look at that closely,' he said.

On her eligibility checklist she identified that both her parents and grandparents were born in Afghanistan and that she held Afghan citizenship

Environment minister Melissa Price holds the seat of Durack on a margin of 11.1 per cent.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said that all parties would be examining their processes after the election, including candidate endorsement.

'All parties have been struggling with candidates that have not quite met the mark for both the parties they choose to represent but also the broader Australian public,' she told the ABC.

So far fifteen candidates have either been sacked or stood down ahead of the federal election because of a string of scandals.

From rape jokes and Islamophobic comments to anti-Semitic remarks, the controversies have involved candidates from a number of parties.

Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery. She stepped down on Friday.

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

Earlier in the week One Nation candidate Steve Dickson resigned after footage emerged of him making inappropriate comments at a strip club in the United States.

Dumped Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan came under fire over a series of Facebook posts made in her name, which advocated for Muslim women to be sold into slavery

Labor candidate and former school teacher Luke Creasey quit on the same day over jokes made on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity

Ms Whelan was accused in Parliament of advocating the genital mutilation of Muslim women and selling them as slaves, and of saying Tasmanians 'don't bloody want' to take in Syrian refugees.

A Facebook profile under the candidate's name recently commented on a post about US police officer Mohamed Noor, saying: 'He's a filthy Muslim!'

Her second alleged remark was under a Reclaim Australia Rally's Facebook post about Iraqi and Syrian refugees being settled in New South Wales.

'Don't bloody send them to Tasmania. We don't want them. Nick McKim, the biggest waste of space in politics, does not represent Tasmanians,' the same account wrote.

Ms Whelan has denied the allegations, but stepped down as the candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club.

The recording was captured by an undercover journalist and was leaked to Nine's A Current Affair, which broadcast the footage on Monday night.

Mr Dickson, who is married, called one of the dancers a 'bitch' before describing her as 'hot' and could be heard saying Asian women don't know what they're doing during sex and 'white women f*** a whole lot better'.

Liberal candidate Jeremy Hearn was also dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light.

The House of Representatives candidate for Victoria state wrote online in 2016 that taxpayers should not fund Muslim schools because they were 'fomenting rebellion against the government'.

One Nation's Steve Dickson was led to resign from the party after footage showed the Queensland leader groping dancers at a Washington DC strip club in the US

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson (pictured) online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE RESIGNED OR BEEN SACKED SO FAR Jessica Whelan (Liberal, TAS) - Facebook comments about Muslims Luke Creasey (Labor, VIC) - Rape jokes and memes on social media Jeremy Hearn (Liberal, VIC) - Anti-Muslim Facebook posts Wayne Kurnoth (Labor, NT) - Anti-Semitic Facebook posts Peter Killin (Liberal, VIC) - Homophobic blog posts, insulting Tim Wilson Murray Angus (Liberal, VIC) - Breaking party rules Melissa Parke (Labor, WA) - Anti-Israel comments Steve Dickson (One Nation, QLD) - Strip club scandal ELIGIBILITY PROBLEMS: Kate Oski (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Vaishali Gosh (Liberal, VIC) - Citizenship doubts Helen Jackson (Liberal, VIC) - Public servant Sam Kayal (Liberal, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Courtney Nguyen (Liberal, NSW) -citizenship doubts Mary Ross (Labor, NSW) - Citizenship doubts James Harker-Mortlock (Nationals, NSW) - Citizenship doubts Advertisement

Peter Killin, who was also running for the House in Victoria, resigned from the party after secretly attacking gay government lawmaker Tim Wilson online in December and calling for party members to do more to prevent gays from being elected.

Liberal candidate Murray Angus, 71, was disendorsed after breaking party rules.

The candidate for Corio in Geelong, Victoria, told News Corp papers he thought Labor opponent Richard Marles was a 'good bloke'.

Helen Jackson was dumped as the candidate for Cooper in Victoria as she was an employee of Australia Post.

Labor candidate Mr Creasey resigned from his party after it emerged he once joked on Facebook about his friends 'roughly taking' a woman's virginity.

The 29-year-old faced calls to step down for sharing porn and rape memes and insulting working class voters on Facebook in 2012.

In the posts in 2012, Mr Creasey shared one meme titled 'overly attached girlfriend' which read: 'Hey I just met you / If you don't date me / You'll go to prison / I'll say you raped me.'

Another meme he shared, designed to insult people with concerns about immigration, said: 'Complains refugees waste tax dollars / Uses Centrelink money to buy drugs and alcohol.'

Mr Creasey also insulted working class voters in Scott Morrison's south Sydney seat with a post that read: 'Endorsement by those who call the Sutherland Shire home is not something that anyone with decency should aspire to.'

He also shared a link to porn involving the sexual kink pegging.

Another Liberal candidate, Jeremy Hearn, was dumped by the party after a series of anti-Muslim comments came to light

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook

In the latest post to emerge, he joked about watching a female friend have sex with several people and wanting somebody to 'roughly take her virginity'.

Labor candidate Wayne Kurnoth was dumped following a string of bizarre social media posts including sharing an anti-Semitic rant on Facebook.

Mr Kurnoth, who was set to run for the party in the Northern Territory, was given the boot by Labor after it was revealed that he shared a video by controversial British lecturer David Icke.

In the clip, Icke claims that the world is being run by shape-shifting Jewish lizards.

Mr Kurnoth shared the conspiracy theory - in which Icke also alleged that the Rothschild banking family are controlling the world - on his Facebook page in December 2015, according to The Australian.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten might still be leading the polls, but the Labor leader has not been able to avoid the scandal brought to his party by its candidates

Mr Kurnoth was already under pressure after being caught posting an image of Malcolm Turnbull beheading ABC journalist Emma Alberici, and making offensive remarks about former MP Natasha Griggs.

Labor candidate Melissa Parke quit the party after a controversial speech which outraged the Jewish community.

The candidate for Curtin at Perth, Western Australia, described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 'worse than the South African system of apartheid' while speaking to pro-Palestinian activists last month.

Labor's Mary Ross and the Liberal party's Kate Oski, Vaishali Ghosh, Courtney Nguyen and Sam Kayal all pulled out over citizenship uncertainty, as did the Nationals' James Harker-Mortlock.


The mother of a toddler who was punched by a shopper has revealed how a malfunctioning self-service checkout sparked the Kmart clash.

The mother, identified as Rebecca, was purchasing her items at the store in Westfield Albany, Auckland, when the alleged assault occurred on Thursday at about 12pm.

Rebecca recalled joining a fairly long queue at the checkout with her three young sons in tow, NZ Herald reported.

A woman believed to be in her 60s is accused of punching a two-year-old boy and pushing a trolley towards him after he threw a tantrum at Kmart in Westfield Albany (pictured)

The boys, aged six, four and two, became increasingly restless and her youngest began to throw a tantrum.

She tried to console him by explaining they would leave soon to visit their grandma's but the meltdown only got worse.

'He wouldn't usually behave like this, but I've got to admit - it was a really bad tantrum. Probably one of the worst I would have seen,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items.

She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

'I had my two-year-old in my arms and was trying to scan my products with the other arm it was getting quite bad,' she said.

The mother-of-three was trying to make her way through the self-service checkout but it continued freeze as she tried to scan her items. She said the malfunction only made matters worse as her son continued to be inconsolable.

She then put her son down in front of the shopping cart when a woman, believed to be in her 60s, appeared to have lost her patience with the young family.

Rebecca claims she turned around to see a trolley being pushed straight towards her son by the woman.

When the mother moved to stop the attack, the woman hurled abuse at her, telling Rebecca to 'take him bloody home'.

Rebecca said people watched on in shock as the woman screamed at her.

She continued to scan her items as she tried to come to terms with what had transpired and her son quieted down.

A stranger came over to tell her she was doing an 'amazing job' as she finalised her shopping.

After the alleged attack, Rebecca approached Kmart staff to see what could be done, and CCTV footage allegedly shows the woman appear to intentionally steer her trolley towards the young boy.

A store worker said they would review the footage further, file a complaint and see if they could find the woman, and Rebecca left the store.

The woman has not been identified, but police are investigating the allegations

Later that day, the man called Rebecca with more terrible news.

'We've reviewed the video footage in detail and we can see that she has actually punched your son in the head with quite some force, when your back was turned,' he told Rebecca.

A spokesman for NZ Police told Daily Mail Australia an investigation had been launched.

'Police were notified on Thursday afternoon about an earlier incident where an assault was reported to have taken place,' he said.

'Police will be looking into the matter and will be following up with the complainant.'
Fire and Rescue crews rushed to Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night after a military charter plane carrying 143 people skidded off the runway and plunged into water.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing shortly after 9.30pm.

The plane was not fully submerged in the water, and all passengers were evacuated safely.

Two people were treated for minor injuries, according to CBS.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

Pictures show the plane in shallow water, with crews working to control jet fuel which had spilled out of the aircraft

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing will be investigated.
This is the moment staff and customers in a South Carolina McDonald's watched as a homeless man smashed up the front windows then waited for police to arrest him.

The man is seen on video taking a brick to break glass as shocked spectators urge staff to call law enforcement to detain him.

At the same time onlookers are concerned for the man who later smashes another area of the fast food chain's window using only his forehead.

A homeless man smashed up a South Carolina McDonald's then waited for police to arrest him

He's seen throwing stones outside the fast food restaurant and angrily demands attention from people inside

'He's going to kill himself,' one woman is heard yelling in the clip filmed from a witness inside the restaurant.

When the cell phone recording begins the man knocks on the door and window to get the attention of people inside the McDonald's branch then begins throwing stones.

At first onlookers sound amused then realized real damage could be done and begin to question where the cops they called earlier could be.

After destroying multiple areas of the glass front, the shouting man then plants himself on top of a bush and patiently waits for law enforcement.

He then smashes glass with a brick and uses his forehead to break the windows if the venue as customers stand back. One window near a children's play area is pictured broken

The voice of the woman's recording the incident states that the commotion began when 'he grabbed my hand when he asked for mustard'.

She adds: 'Y'all are blaming this on mental health problems. That's crack. That's heroin.'

But another concerned woman warns the person filming to quieten down predicting the man will get upset if he hears.

'Don't say that to him because that makes him angry,' a woman says, noting that he comes in regularly and predicting he'll simply return are temporarily being taken to a psych ward.

The camera shows the restaurant covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'.

The restaurant was covered in shards of glass and background voices call the situation 'scary'

The man wearing a high visibility jacket then patiently waited for a policeman to detain him

Later in the 10-minute-long video the witnesses are appalled when a policeman finally shows up six minutes into when they first began recording the man who appeared to have earlier been locked out.

However a woman explains that the door was in fact not locked.

They then note how only one officer arrived to detain him in what seems to be a lengthy process getting him into a car.

'He probably did that just to get somewhere to stay,' one man is heard saying as staff continue to take customer's orders.

Staff express their frustration at how difficult it will be to find someone to fix the windows on the same day. The woman filming points out that police are quick to stop people but take an alarming long time to respond to a scene like this.

'South Carolina is crazy', she adds.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been ruthlessly mocked online for cringeworthy memes about 'Star Wars Day'.

May 4 has been dubbed as 'Star Wars Day' for its similarity in sound to the movie's famous catchphrase 'may the force be with you'.

But Mr Morrison's attempt to connect popular culture with the impending Federal Election backfired with Star Wars fans and voters alike questioning the Liberal Party's bizarre ploy.

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten

Mr Morrison's face was planted on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber-wielding body in an image which was shared to the Liberal Party's social media accounts on Saturday.

'The economy is strong with this one,' the meme, written in Star Wars text, said.

The party also used Star Wars Day to take a dig at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

A second meme, with Mr Shorten dressed as Emperor Palpatine, suggested the Labor Party's 'debt' was similar to the death star.

The moon-sized weapon lurked over Australia and the meme was covered in a red tinge, reminiscent of the Opposition Party's colour.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise.

Social media did not seem to enjoy the party's creative imagery and Mr Morrison's choice to connect himself to the movie franchise

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read

Mr Morrison was even transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers'

One unimpressed Twitter user hit back with Princess Leia saying 'no thanks'

They hit back with more Star Wars memes, including Princess Leia saying 'no thanks' and the movie's famous yellow opening text.

'This content is bad and you should feel bad,' a meme from the opening sequence read.

'This is not the hot take you're looking for,' another person wrote in response to Mr Morrison's Obi-Wan portrayal.

Mr Morrison was also transformed into the the 'Jar Jar Binks of Australian Prime Ministers' with his head planted on to his body.

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' an image of Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca read

Despite being labelled as 'embarrassing' some viewers requested more of the 'great' memes

Another homemade meme showed Mr Morrison appear to use the lightsaber to destroy the on-screen text.

Despite numerous attempts to mock Mr Morrison, some viewers enjoyed the Party's humorous take on Star Wars Day.

'Please continue to make more of these,' one person tweeted.

'Keep going these are great,' tweeted another.
Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a ship off the Great Barrier Reef after getting caught in fishing nets.

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year and obtained by WWF, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe.

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Shocking photos show scores of dead sharks pilled waist-deep on a fishing ship off the Great Barrier Reef after meeting their fate with destructive fishing nets

The leaked images, snapped earlier in the year, have sparked calls to remove gill nets from fishing areas at one of Australia's most famous heritage sites

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said.

'These pictures show that gill nets are indiscriminate killers in that they drown whatever swims into them including many iconic and threatened species.'

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines.

The photos of the bloodied and lifeless sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off.

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data.

WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman stressed his concern about the nets amid declining numbers of sharks across the globe

'There is nothing illegal in any of these images and in some ways that makes them more disturbing,' he said

Scalloped and great hammerheads are both listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List as endangered.

A marine turtle was also snapped caught in a net on the deck, with their rostrums cut off.

WWF-Australia is advocating for a 85,000 square-kilometre safe space, where gill nets would be banned from the north of Cooktown through to the tip of the Cape.

Supporters of WWF had previously helped the organisation buy and retire three commercial gill net licences operating on the Reef.

'We're calling on the next Australian government to help create a Net Free North and to end targeted shark fishing in the Great Barrier Reef by providing adequate financial adjustment for affected fishers to remove the last 3 remaining industrial sized gill nets from the whole GBR,' Mr O'Gorman said.

The photos of the bloodied and lifelesss sharks included at least four sawfish, with their snouts cut off

The sawfish are deemed to be one of the most endangered species of sharks and rays

Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills, fins and spines

GILL NETS The nets are used to target species, typically, gummy shark, saw shark and elephant fish. They are long rectangular panels of netting with diamond-shaped mesh. Gill nets are anchored to the ocean floor and when fish swim into the net, their gills, fins and spines become entangled. The are normally implemented in waters less than 100 metres deep. SOURCE: Australian Government: Australian Fisheries Management Authority Advertisement

In 2018, 125,000 sharks were caught in nets according to data from Fisheries Queensland, the Cairns Post reported.

Of the total, 41,000 were discarded and 84,000 were processed.

The fillets of small sharks can be sold as 'flake' in fish and chip shops but larger sharks are not appropriate for human's to eat.

Their fins, however, are usually cut off from their discarded bodies and are exported.

Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the government was taking the necessary steps to encourage sustainable fishing.

'There is already an existing catch limit on commercial harvest of sharks, which can be harvested sustainably, particularly smaller, faster growing sharks like black tip sharks,' he said.

The catch also saw hammerhead sharks lying on the deck, with the WWF claiming an analysis showed their population in on the Great Barrier Reef could have declined by 83 per cent in comparison to the 1960s data
Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers.

The cigarettes are then sold for less than the lollies and chocolates sitting on the counter nearby.

Shops are illegally selling single cigarettes for as little as 50c in a scheme believed to be aimed at underage teenagers (stock image)

Health advocates believe the practice is aimed at children who can't afford more than $20 for a pack but can use their meager cash to buy one or two at a time.

Cigarettes can only legally be sold in packs of at least 20 and shops can be fined up to $19,028 for selling 'loosies'.

The ban was brought in as part of the Tobacco Act of 1987 specifically to protect children, who are particularly prone to nicotine addiction.

The Geelong Advertiser visited 10 convenience stores and milk bars undercover and found two in Norlane that sold single cigarettes.

When asked if they sell 'loosies', cashiers open a secret stash of smokes in a draw behind the counter and hand them over to customers (stock image)

One sold them for 50c each and their other for $1.50, and the customer merely had to ask before the cashier opened the secret drawer.

Norlane and neighbouring Corio have the highest smoking rate in Victoria with 30 per cent of the population describing themselves as 'current smokers'.

The local council is responsible for cracking down on illegal sales but would not reveal how many fines it had dished out.
The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse.

On Friday, a Church spokesperson slammed an article published by Vice News, which questioned whether a 24-hour abuse help line was effective in supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.

'Abuse is taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' the spokesperson said.

'The Church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse'.

The helpline is available to its 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents so that they can report suspected cases of criminal behavior.

But, earlier this week, Vice published its bombshell article alleging that the hotline may actually be used 'to shield the Mormon Church from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to them'.

The Mormon Church is denouncing claims that they used a victims' hotline to hide reports of sexual abuse

Vice claims that calls to the hotline were 'funneled' through to law firm Kirton McConkie so that they could help the Church identify cases that might pose a high financial risk

According to the publication, calls to the the hotline 'are not immediately transferred to authorities', but are rather 'funneled' through to the law firm Kirton McConkie, which has close ties to the Church.

The publication quotes a source as saying that one lawyer from Kirton McConkie 'acknowledged that that they [the firm] uses information gleaned from helpline calls to identify cases that pose a high financial risk to the Mormon Church.'

The Church does not publicly disclose the number of calls that are made to its hotline.

Vice claims that the 'lack of transparency contrasts starkly with actions taken by other religious groups and institutions' and that it is a 'visible symptom of a system that appears to place Church interests ahead of abuse victims.

Church practices surrounding the hotline were reportedly brought to light in a sexual abuse-related civil lawsuit brought against the Church by six plaintiffs in West Virginia.

All plaintiffs say their children were abused by convicted Mormon sex offender, Michael Jensen.

'Helen' spoke with Vice about the alleged sexual abuse suffered by her son at the hands of his babysitter, Michael Jensen

One of the plaintiffs, known only as Helen, was interviewed by Vice, and relayed harrowing details of the alleged abuse her child suffered at the hands of Jensen.

She said her four-year-old son tearfully told her that Jensen 'made him suck his privates' while he was employed as their babysitter.

In 2013, Jensen was jailed for the abuse of two other children in the community whilst working as a babysitter.

He is currently serving 35 years in prison without parole.
A paedophile wanted in Australia was able to roam free and commit a series of sickening crimes against young boys in the UK after he slipped through the net.

Barry Radford, 53, who resided in Northumberland, in the northeast of England, was wanted by New South Wales state police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999.

But the British-born spray painter moved back to the UK the year after he committed the alleged crimes.

Barry Radford (pictured) resided in Northumberland, in northeast of England, and was wanted by New South Wales police for sexual offences believed to have been committed in 1999

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this week, after he admitted to committing multiple offences including inciting a child into sexual activity, grooming and possessing indecent images.

Radford had taken indecent images of one of his victims on two occasions.

On one occasion the boy had passed out after taking drugs and drinking, and another he had paid the boy in a bid to let him take the inappropriate images.

He also possessed more than 1,000 indecent images of other children.

Radford's heinous crimes were only alerted to authorities last year when one of his victims came forward.

In 2007 Australian authorities issued an arrest warrant and Interpol got in touch with Northumbria Police after Radford had been stopped for a driving offence.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and trampoline parks

But two years later New South Wales authorities revoked the warrant when it did not lead to Radford being sent back to Australia for the alleged offences.

Meanwhile Radford was left to prey on teenage boys in the Northumberland area.

It's understood Radford would groom the young men by giving them money and buying them expensive gifts such as trainers.

He allowed the teenagers to drink and smoke cannabis, a class B drug in the UK, at his home where the boys could also play pool.

Radford would also take his victims out in his camper van to caravan sites and to trampoline parks.

Throughout a lengthy grooming process Radford conned one boy's parents into trusting him.

One of Radford's victims described him as a 'very dangerous man' and said he had known 'exactly what he was doing'.

The persistent pervert was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) earlier this week

Handing down the sentence, Judge Amanda Rippon noted Radford's action had had a 'profound effect' on his victims and their mental health.

Radford's lawyer said his client was remorseful and had taken the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.

Outside the courtroom a spokesperson for New South Wales police said in 2000 authorities had established that Radford had fled to the UK.

'In 2000, it was established that the man had left Australia and travelled to the UK.

'In 2002, NSW Police issued two warrants for his arrest, however a decision was made to revoke them in 2009.

'Given the man remains before the courts in the UK, it would be inappropriate to comment on further action by NSW Police,' the spokesperson said.

But a Northumbria police spokesperson said they were made aware of Radford in 2007.

'We can confirm we were made aware, by international partners, of Radford in 2007, who was suspected of living in our area at the time.

'This was an intelligence-led request by police in Australia. This was an investigation by NSW Police and we had no power of arrest.

'We are unable to comment on this any further,' the spokesperson concluded.
A man who was seen wearing a Nazi swastika armband while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community.

The man was riding his bike along Atherton road in Oakleigh this week, when a shocked member of the Jewish community saw him and took a photo.

The identity of the man is not known.

The Jewish man then sent the photo to the Anti-Defamation Commission - an organisation that keeps track of anti-Semitic activity and tracks perpetrators.

A man who was seen wearing a Nazi Swastika armband (pictured) while riding a bike on a suburban street in Melbourne has been slammed by the Jewish community

Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich responded to the incident by issuing a statement, where he slammed the man's actions.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol.

'No one can feel safe when such sickening incidents happen, and we should not stand for this heinous behavior,' Dr Abramovich said.

He said people shouldn't have to see such things - especially after Christchurch and San Diego when white-supremacist ideology manifested itself in such a deadly way.

'It is chilling that anyone would so openly exhibit the ugly Nazi swastika - a universal symbol of genocide and evil, Dr Abramovich said.

'This open display of hatred, which would have caused enormous distress to a Holocaust survivor, should anger all people.

The chairman questioned how the cyclist could be so brazen to ride around the suburban streets while wearing the shirt emblazoned with the symbol (stock)

'During a week, in which we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the millions of victims who died at the hands of Hitlers regime, it is abhorrent that individuals filled with hate are intimidating and terrifying community members.'

The chairman said the 'repulsive display of racism' is an attack against all Australians and violates the memory of courageous diggers who fought to defeat Hitler.

'At this time, we repeat our call for federal and state governments to ban the public displays of symbols from the Third Reich,' he said.
Australian voters trust New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern far more than any Aussie politician - as it's revealed female candidates are more 'believable' than men.

The country's leader was 24 points more trustworthy than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the 'Believability Index' by OPR.

Ardern scored 77 out of 100 while prime minister Scott Morrison scored 43 and Bill Shorten scored 42.

The top four positions were all taken by women with Senator Penny Wong in second, Julie Bishop in third and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek in fourth.

The NZ PM was 24 points more believable than the most believable Australian politician, according to the 2019 leadership edition of the Belivability Index by OPR

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said

The most believable Australian politician was Senator Wong with 53 points, closely followed by Julie Bishop with 52 and Tanya Plibersek with 50.

'Whats clear is that Australians see our female candidates as having much greater leadership strength and believability than their male counterparts,' the report said.

Politicians and business people were assessed across six 'dimensions of believability' by 1400 people in March and April.

The dimensions were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important.

Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton and Clive Palmer all performed poorly in integrity and were the least believable politicians with scores of 36, 34 and 30, respectively.

Prime minister Scott Morrison (left) and Labor leader Bill Shorten (right) were neck and neck in the believability index. Mr Morrison beat out Shorten by one point

The dimensions of believability were relevance, integrity, affinity, commitment, shared values and follow through - with integrity being the most important

Greens Party leader Richard Di Natale scored 45 and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson scored 44, both beating out the major party leaders.

Anthony Albanese scored 46 to beat Shorten by four points, suggesting Labor may have backed the wrong horse in the 2013 party leadership election.

Australians even found business leaders more believable than politicians.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose scored 64 points.

Former Fortescue CEO Twiggy scored 53, tying with Senator Wong.

ABC Chairwoman Ita Buttrose (pictured) scored 64 points, 11 more the most trusted Australian politician Penny Wong
Former Vice President Joe Biden charged Saturday that Jim Crow is 'sneaking back in' as he emphasized the need to ensure voting rights are protected, which he said is lacking under the Trump administration.

Biden drew several hundred people to a community center in Columbia as he opened his presidential campaign in South Carolina, home of the first-in-the-South primary and where black voters play a major role in the Democratic nominating process.

In criticizing Republican attempts to reconfigure voting rules, including establishing identification requirements, Biden recalled the racial segregation laws of the past known as Jim Crow.

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, (left), has attacked Donald Trump, (right), for letting 'Jim Crow sneak back in' by attempting to reconfigure voting rules in his latest campaign appearance

'You've got Jim Crow sneaking back in,' he said, and added: 'You know what happens when you have an equal right to vote? They lose.'

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House, continuing to make his campaign a full-throttle assault against President Donald Trump.

'Quite frankly, I've had it up to here,' he said. 'Your state motto is, "While I breathe, I hope." It's not a joke. We're breathing, but God, we have got to have hope.'

Biden's initial campaign agenda to South Carolina included a fundraiser and a Sunday morning visit to a black church in Columbia.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now, Biden is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. The laws, which existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964, were meant to return Southern states to a two-tier class structure by marginalizing black Americans.

Biden recalled racial segregation laws of the pasts as he took a swipe at Trump. He is pictured taking photos with supporters following the first rally of his 2020 campaign on Saturday

Biden centered much of his speech around the need to restore decency to the White House

The dawn of the 20th century saw states across the south ratcheting up Jim Crow laws, which affected every part of daily life.

Laws forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas.

Signs posted at town and city limits warning African Americans that they were not welcome were also a familiar sight. The post-World War II era then saw an increase in civil rights activities in the black community, with a focus on ensuring that black citizens were able to vote.

This heralded the era of the Civil Rights Movement which resulted in the gradual removal of Jim Crow laws in various states.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended discrimination and segregation that became entrenched in American society.

Biden claimed the Trump administration was allowing 'Jim Crow to sneak back in.' He was referring to a set of laws that legalized racial segregation. The regime existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1964 with the start of the Civil Rights Movement

Laws also forbade African Americans from living in white neighborhoods and segregation was enforced in most public areas across the South

Meanwhile the latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders. He is pictured posing for photos with audience members during a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday

Biden has attacked many of the policy areas and changes presided over Donald Trump, (pictured), since launching his presidential campaign last month

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.
A father-of-two was knocked out with a single punch and left in a heap on the floor after becoming caught up in a wild street brawl.

Footage shows the 26-year-old man was knocked unconscious during a mass fight on Hindley Street in north-west Adelaide late on Friday evening.

South Australia police attended the scene just after midnight and the violent altercation is still under investigation.

A 26-year-old father-of-two (pictured) has been knocked out by a single punch in a violent altercation

The man could be seen among a group of other men who were fighting.

The reason for the attack is not clear from the video.

A man could be seen grabbing the young father by his t-shirt during the melee.

He then punched the man square in the face, causing the target of the attack to be seemingly knocked out cold.

The man then punches him one more time before he hits the floor.

The young father appeared to lie completely still on the ground.

No arrests or charges have been made but police are investigating.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said the current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming.

Buffett, 88, notes that the current climate is an unusual one with unemployment at the lowest levels for a generation, inflation and interest rates staying low and the U.S. government continuing to spend more money than it brings in.

'No economics textbook I know that was written in the first couple of thousand years that discussed even the possibility that you could have this sort of situation continue and have all variables stay more or less the same,' Buffett mused in a CNBC interview on Friday.

Warren Buffett notes that unemployment remains its lowest since 1969, yet interest rates and inflation are not rising

Speaking on CNBC Buffett notes how the U.S. continues to spend more money than it takes in

A shareholder arranges her belongings under a large graphic of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. An estimated 40,000 people are expected in town for the event

A shareholder and his son, both dressed in suits with pictures of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, try to get a glimpse of Buffett as he arrives at the 2019 annual meeting

Shareholders linedup before dawn to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett

'These conditions are not sustainable for the long term', Buffett said during the broadcast which came one day ahead of the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha this weekend.

'I don't think our present conditions can exist in terms of fiscal and monetary policy and various other elements across the political landscape,' he said. 'I think it will change, I don't know when, or to what degree. But I don't think this can be done without leading to other things.'

The figures tell the story. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April on Friday, the lowest since 1969.

Inflation was up just 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, well below the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is surrounded by press and fans as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting

The current economic environment is one that no one could have seen coming, Warren Buffett said

Shareholders gather to hear from billionaire investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska

Shareholders try to get a glimpse of Warren Buffett (not pictured), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway,

Buffett doesn't believe today's current economic conditions are sustainable for the long term

A cutout of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett holds Duracell Batteries during a shareholders shopping day in Omaha

The third-richest man in the world also revealed that his firm has been buying shares of Amazon.

On Saturday, he will appear at the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire.

The 'Oracle of Omaha' and his 95-year-old business partner Charlie Munger will take more than five hours of shareholder questions posed by three journalists.

Two questions are sure to come up, as they did last year: 'Who will succeed him?' And 'When does he intend to retire?'

Buffett will also meet privately with investors and business owners, many of whom are making the trek to Nebraska.

Jaymee Wei of Taiwan poses with a life-size photo of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett

He is attending his firm, Berkshire Hathaway's, annual meeting Saturday

Last year, about 40,000 people made the trip to Omaha, a leafy city home to about 410,000 residents, to hear him speak. Lines start forming at 4am to enter the theater and by 8am all the seats are gone.

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Does he believe in the strength of the sharing economy, symbolized by companies like Uber and Airbnb?

What does he think of artificial intelligence and self-driving cars?

David Kass, finance professor at University of Maryland, has made the trip each year for the past decade, sometimes with MBA students, a number of whom were granted private meetings with Buffett.

'It's pretty much a hobby,' said Kass, a Berkshire shareholder since 1985 and the author of a blog on Buffett.

This year he invited 200 of his students to follow the proceedings along with him, broadcast live in one of the university's auditoriums.

Berkshire Hathaway's meeting has been dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' with 'festival-goers' hailing from the Who's Who of the American business community.

People pass an illustration of Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, during the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska dubbed 'Woodstock for Capitalists'

In addition to well-known names like billionaire Bill Gates - Buffett's friend and bridge partner - business executives and investors come to seek the approval of the well-liked, folksy mogul at a time when appearing elitist can be a curse.

'He sets a great example for the leaders, especially business leaders, setting a great example for young people. He gives his money to help other people... and I think there is something we are missing now in this world,' said Indian millionaire Paul Singh, 68, who became an angel investor after the sale of his Primus Telecommunications company.

Singh's son Jay Phoenix, 32, a psychiatrist who became a millionaire after selling his startup, said Buffett represents a long view.

'Because you are getting wealthy and you are hitting those numbers, it doesn't mean that your lifestyle has to change that much,' he said. 'It's... about how you treat other people and the integrity that you have.'

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.

Apart from surveillance cameras, no other security is visible, but if a visitor takes photos, an agent will come out and ask 'nicely' what they will be used for.
Scott Morrison had to hit the ground running as he became Prime Minister just ahead of a series of regional summits.

But the newly-minted leader had an experienced ally to show him the ropes as he entered the world stage - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Mr Morrison spoke of his admiration for the veteran head of Australia's second-biggest trading partner, calling him 'the senior figure' among Asian leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of his admiration for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

'He's got a real wisdom about him which I found really helpful and which I have leaned on,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Morrison said a dinner in Darwin together with their wives stuck out among the many meetings he had after he replaced Malcolm Turnbull.

'It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had... and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period,' he said.

'Because I became prime minister and went pretty much into the summit season.'

Mr Morrison said his Japanese counterpart was particularly useful in helping him balance Australia's strong alliance with the US with its proximity to regional power and huge trading partner China.

Japan has to navigate a similar situation and Mr Morrison said this meant his new friend had a wealth of experience to share.

He said the Japanese Prime Minister was similar to 'us' as the country also has an important relationship with the US.

Mr Morrison explained the connection with China was intercultural and economic, while the US attachment was based on values and history.

He said maintaining a stable relationship with the south-west Pacific is a priority.
A mother has made a heartbreaking plea to find the people responsible for a brutal bashing that has left her two sons in hospital.

Lochie, 20, and Rueben Higgins, 17, were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, about 3am on Saturday.

The pair's mother, Amanda, took to Facebook to share photos of her badly beaten sons following the attack.

'These are my two boys at the Alfred [Hospital] Emergency Department. Both king hit early this morning.'

Lochie and Rueben Higgins (pictured) were allegedly coward punched outside Coles at Mornington, about 50kms south of Melbourne, at around 3am on Saturday

The photos show her injured sons (pictured, Lochie) wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds

The photos show her injured sons wearing neck braces, lying motionless on the hospital beds.

Dry blood is splattered across the face of one of the men, and his left eye badly bruised.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward.

The brothers are understood to have been walking through the car park in front of the supermarket on Railway Grove at the time.

The pair became involved in an argument with a group of men, before they were knocked to the ground.

Bystanders intervened before the attackers fled in an unidentified car.

Both victims were taken to hospital with non-life threatening head injuries. One of the men is in a serious condition.

A 28-year-old man presented himself to police in the afternoon and is assisting officers with their inquiries.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident.

A distressed Ms Higgins urged anyone who had witnessed the attack to come forward (pictured, social media post made to Facebook following the attack in front of a Mornington Coles on Saturday)
An earthquake shook homes in Surrey's leafy commuter-belt overnight as residents in the county's tremor hotspot were panicked by rumblings for the third time in three months.

'Scary loud bangs' were reported by people in the Crawley area and a seismograph from the British Geological Survey confirmed the quake happened at 1.19am.

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years.

Last night, one concerned resident tweeted: 'Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!'

It is the latest shudder to strike the region's 'earthquake zone' following Newdigate's trembling on February 27 which was the most powerful quake in the south east for 50 years

A seismograph from the British Geological Survey shows the tremor at 1.19am BST

'Scary loud bangs' and 'shakes' were reported by people in the Crawley area overnight

Another said: 'Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up'

The magnitude of the tremor is not yet clear.

It follows a series of earthquakes in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration in Horse Hill, but this has not been proved.

However, Professor Stuart Haszeldine of Edinburgh University believes that the recent tremors are a direct consequence of drilling into known fault lines.

And the geoscience expert, who has described the Surrey patch as an 'earthquake zone', told MailOnline that the tremors are likely to become more frequent over time and could even see buildings damaged.

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport

He said: 'We know that there are fault lines and that the oil company has said the oil production has drilled into these.

'To me it's entirely unsurprising that is has caused some movement'

'As this goes on this is just going to get worse and I think the frequency with which they occur will increase.'

This is because the rocks below the surface are under more pressure and will be more likely to shift which could lead to buildings on the surface cracking.

MailOnline approached UK Oil and Gas, which is drilling at Horse Hill, for comment.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were 'keeping an open mind', there was 'still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities'.

He said: 'It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.'

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
Sydney train services were thrown into chaos after a passenger was hit by a train at Town Hall station.

A woman is understood to have walked onto the train tracks before she was injured at around 4.30pm on Saturday.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia the passenger has since been transported to hospital for treatment.

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed as a result.

Sydney train services have been cancelled amid reports of a commuter being hit by a train at Town Hall station

Sydney Trains took to Twitter to announce some outbound services had been delayed on Saturday afternoon

Trains travelling through Platform Three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line.

'We temporarily had to suspend services over the bridge,' Sydney Trains said on Twitter.

Passengers took to social media to vent their frustration when trains suddenly came to a screeching halt.

'So there is someone on the track between Central and Townhall... Whats going on?' one person tweeted.

A Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia police had been investigating the incident..

'We can't say how long delays will take as police are currently undertaking their investigations,' a Sydney Trains spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Only earlier today, an electrical fire in the roof of the station forced train services to skip platforms two and four.

The delays come as hundreds of rugby league fans make the commute to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Roosters face off the West Tigers.

If you are in need of advice or assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Trains travelling through platform three at the CBD station were affected, as well as the north shore line and services leaving the city
Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after drunken visitors caused fights and had too many accidents.

Hikers, Kayakers and campers in the Ardeche national park won't be able to indulge in a cheeky alcoholic beverage from May 1 to September 30 this year.

Officials said it was is in response to regular fights at the only campsites, Gaud and Gournier, and accidents caused by drunkenness.

The famous gorges, such as the natural Pont d'Arc bridge, are visited by around 1.5million people, and 180,000 kayakers, including people from Britain, according to the Syndicate of Management of the Gorges de l'Ardeche.

Alcohol has been banned from gorges in southern France this summer after hikers and campers caused too many accidents

The park in southeastern France is well known for natural features including the famous Pont d'Arch natural bridge (pictured)

Francoise Soulimane, the state prefect for the Ardeche, made the temporary order.

'It is forbidden for hikers and users of boats to hold alcoholic beverages for consumption in the bivouacs (tents) of Gaud and Gournier [the only areas where camping is allowed in the gorge] or on the fluvial area,' it read.

Anyone caught flouting the rules to sneak in a bottle of wine, beer or spirits, will face a 28 (23.83) fine, reports The Times.

Once taken, the drinks can be reclaimed from authorities headquarters in Vallon Pont d'Arc village for up to a week.

Founded in 1980, the park covers 32km of gorges carved from limestone rocks by the river Ardeche.

The Ardeche gorges are located in southeastern France near Avignon, Nimes and Valence
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Japan's Emperor Naruhito greeted the public for the first time since his succession - as more than 65,000 people queued up in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him.

Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father, Akihito, abdicated.

From a balcony overlooking the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo, Naruhito thanked tens of thousands of well wishers for congratulating him.

'I am deeply grateful and pleased that I am receiving celebration from you all today,' said Naruhito, wearing a formal suit and standing next to his wife, Empress Masako.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greeted the public for the first time since his succession from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today

He greeted well wishers waving hundreds of Japanese flags alongside his wife Empress Masako and other members of the royal family

Naruhito's father, Akihito, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor. Pictured: Princess Tomohito, Princess Kako, Princess Mako and Princess Kiko

In this aerial shot, thousands of well wishers can be seen queuing for the chance to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

Emperor Naruhito was joined on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by Japan's Crown Prince Akishino

The area in front of the balcony was filled with a sea of Japanese flags and cellphones as people scrambled to take a picture of their new emperor

During his speech, Naruhito said: 'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further'

'I wish for your health and happiness, and sincerely hope that our country pursues world peace hand in hand with other countries and will develop further.'

As he waved from the balcony, where he was accompanied by other members of his royal family, the spectators cheered, took photos and waved Japanese flags.

Akihito, who became the emperor emeritus, and his wife Michiko, were not present to avoid concerns about interference with the serving emperor.

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace. An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate.

Pictured: crowds queuing up outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the new emperor

An estimated 65,000 people reportedly came to celebrate. Pictured: people wait in line to see Japan's new Emperor

Naruhito was scheduled to make balcony appearances several more times through the evening to greet many more people still waiting in long queues outside the palace

People walk towards the Imperial Palace as they are led by Imperial Guard officers ahead of the emperor's speech

People wave Japanese national flags and try to take photos of the new emperor in Tokyo earlier today

Here, a group of Imperial Guard officers stand in front of the gate at the palace earlier today

The 59-year-old emperor is a historian who studied at Oxford. He is the first emperor born after the Second World War and one who has studied overseas.

Naruhito, at his May 1 succession ceremony, pledged to emulate his father in seeking peace and staying close to the people.

Akihito took the throne in 1989 and devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in his father's name while bringing the aloof monarchy closer to the people. His era was the first in Japan's modern history without war.

The nation celebrated the imperial succession prompted by retirement rather than death amid the lack of discussion about the significance of maintaining the social upper-class bound by its male-only succession rules and other paternalistic traditions.

Naruhito's wife, Harvard-educated former diplomat Masako, is still recovering from her stress-induced mental conditions that she developed about 15 years ago after facing pressure to produce a male heir soon after giving birth to their daughter Aiko, now 17.

Emperors under Japan's postwar constitution are given only a symbolic status without political power.
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.

But her parents, from Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay 3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.

They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.

Claire and Martin were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas, 27, last December.

Claire told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her  and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'

The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.

It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.

The letter they received asked that Martin pay 2,038.62 and Claire contribute 1,595.

He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'

The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.

Gretna Green (pictured) was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'

Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.

At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.

Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.

As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.

The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.
Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal.

The Environment Secretary said that he is opposed to the prospect of a customs union but said that there is no 'arithmetic' in the House of Commons for Britain to leave the EU without a deal.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures.

Michael Gove has insisted that he has not 'gone soft' on Brexit after voters punished the Conservatives in the Local Elections - but added that Brexiteers need to 'face facts' over No Deal (Pictured today at the Scottish Conservative Party conference)

He said in an interview with The Telegraph at his parents' home in Aberdeen that he had not 'gone soft' on Brexit, but instead said that the country and his party had to 'face facts'.

'At the moment the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal,' he said.

'There would be economic challenges. We could get through them but they would undoubtedly be there in the short term.'

Mr Gove added that leaving without a deal would 'undermine the Union' and that the best way of 'bringing the country together is to leave with a good deal'.

The former leader of the Vote Leave campaign was speaking at his parents' home following the disastrous results in the local elections, in which the Conservative Party lost 1,300 seats after furious voters punished the party for its Brexit failures

Outlining his opposition to a customs union, Mr Gove said that he wanted Britain to have an 'independent trade policy' and that the best way to secure it was to 'get the Withdrawal Bill' through and persuade Labour 'of the merits' of it.

The Brexiteer also said he had learned from his failed 2016 Tory leadership campaign, in which he dramatically withdrew his support for Boris Johnson's bid before announcing his own candidature, saying that he is now part of a team.

However, he refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May, but said that his conduct since being made Environment Secretary showed that he is trustworthy.

He said that the local council results, in which Labour lost seats in areas which had voted strongly for Leave in the referendum, showed that Jeremy Corbyn should help the Government pass a deal and ditch any prospect of a second referendum.

Despite his own party's disastrous results, Mr Gove said that Labour should have done 'much better' in the elections after nine years of Conservatives' in power.

'I hope they will recognise that they need to work with the Government in order to deliver Brexit,' he said.

The father-of-two has become a leading Cabinet figure again after many accused him of 'treachery' over the way in which he brutally torpedoed Boris Johnson's chances of becoming Tory leader in 2016.

Since then, he said the pair had 'worked well' on issues such as the 'Brexit strategy' and the illegal wildlife trade.

The results left the two-party system at breaking point and the Conservatives lost 1,335 seats

Mr Gove refused to confirm or deny whether he intends to stand in the contest to succeed Theresa May. Mrs May said he had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted that Brexit was an 'added dimension' to the results

He added that Johnson remained 'a friend' who he held in 'enormously high regard'.

The Surrey Heath MP was at his parents' home in Scotland ahead of his keynote speech to the Scottish Conservative Conference today, in which he is expected to pay tribute to Ruth Davidson's leadership.

He was born in Edinburgh but adopted by Ernest and Christine Gove when he was just four months old.

The couple, now aged 82 and 79 respectively, live in the same house in which Gove grew up in from the age of eight.

Following the disastrous results yesterday, Theresa May claimed she had been expecting a 'difficult election' and admitted Brexit was 'an added dimension' to that result.

'There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit,' Mrs May said.

'This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that,' Mrs May told the Welsh Conservative Conference.
An explosion at a Chicago chemical plant on Friday night has left three people dead and four others injured, officials have confirmed.

The blast erupted at the AB Specialty Silicones plant in Waukegan at 9:45pm last night, leveling the large structure.

A local resident's doorbell camera captured the dramatic moment a ball of fire erupted into the night sky, causing surrounding homes to tremble as and debris to fall to the ground below.

Another terrified local remarked that it 'felt like an earthquake' had struck the Illinois town.

Waukegan Police Commander Joe Florip described it as a catastrophic explosion and said an employee at the plant was found dead this morning shortly before authorities suspended their search due to structural instability at the site.

The search could not be continued, officials said, as heavy-duty equipment needed to be brought in to dig further beneath the rubble to find those who remained missing.

However by 11:30am, officials confirmed that the bodies of two other employees who were previously reported missing had been recovered.

Firefighters are seen battling a blaze at a chemical plant in Waukegan, Illinois, on Friday

The AB Specialty Silicones plant was reportedly leveled by the blast at around 9.45pm

Pictures taken on Saturday morning show the horrifying aftermath of the explosion

Debris can be seen scattered across the roads nearby. Local residents said houses shook for miles around

Officials say the cause of the explosion is still not yet known. The victims' identities have not yet been released.

All of those affected by the blast are employees of AB Specialty Silicone. The four injured workers were taken to local hospitals with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

The plant was open and in operation when the blast rang out.

Ablaze for several hours, all fires at the dilapidated building have now been fully extinguished.

Hazardous materials technicians and other specialist crews are also at the scene to assist local emergency responders.

Twitter users living nearby said the blast shook houses for miles around.

One wrote: 'Huge explosion across the street from me, my friend over 10 miles away said he heard it... felt like an earthquake.'

The Lake County Sheriff's office said on Twitter last night that it was aware of a very loud explosion sound and the ground shaking.

They have asked residents living nearby to avoid the area.

They wrote: 'Fire, police, and paramedic personnel are working diligently at this scene.

'Again, please stay out of the area and let the first-responders work.'

A doorbell camera captured the moment the 'catastrophic' explosion occured

As of Saturday morning, three people were still unaccounted for

Footage captured by ABC 7 Chicago on Saturday morning showed the devastation at the scene.

Florip estimated that damage to buildings in the area is likely to exceed $1 million. At least five surrounding structures are thought to have been affected.

Many neighboring properties are going to have damage, he said. I would categorize this as a massive explosion.

He added they have no concerns about air contamination or quality and insisted theres no need to seek immediate shelter.

The plant has been very responsive and was safety cautious after the incident from the previous fire, Lenzi said in a press conference. We have had no instances as far as code violations or anything like that with the plant.
A British father and son who travelled to Spain in March for a six-day road trip and haven't been heard from since 'may have come to harm' detectives have admitted.

Daniel Poole, 46, and his 22-year-old son Liam, travelled to Malaga on March 31 for the short break.

The pair, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex were last in contact their their family on April 1.

Daniel Poole, 46, left, and his son Liam, 22, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, flew to Malaga on March 31 and hired a car for a six-day road trip. They were last in contact with their family on April 1

The pair had checked into the Valle Romano Hotel, pictured, before they vanished. Police are becoming increasingly worried about their safety and fear they may have come to some harm

The Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team are now investigating the case to find the pair from Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

They are working with the Spanish authorities to investigate the circumstances of their disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Heater of Sussex Police said: 'We are working closely with the Spanish Police.

'One possibility that must be considered, as they have not contacted family or friends, is that they have come to harm.

'Their family are very concerned about them as they last heard from them on April 1, the lack of contact is out of character for the pair. The family are being supported by family liaison officers and are being kept informed.

'We know that Daniel and Liam hired a grey Peugeot 308 car when they got to Spain but this has not been returned to the car hire firm. We would like to hear from anyone who has seen them, the car or has any information about their whereabouts in Spain or any other location since March 31.'

The father and son flew to Spain on March 31 and checked into a hotel.

Detective Sergeant Alan Fenn of Sussex Police's missing persons team said last month: 'This is extremely unusual behaviour from Daniel and Liam to not be in contact with their family.

'They have been on holiday together before, but never have they lost contact with family members in Burgess Hill where they live.

'We, and their family, are eager to hear from anyone who has made contact with either Daniel or Liam since Monday April 1.'

The men were reportedly staying at the Valle Romano Hotel, after arriving in Estepona on March 31 for a six-day holiday.

Daniel's wife, Tara Poole, told The Olive Press last month: 'This is completely out of character for them. They never have their phones off and always keep in touch - we are so worried.'

Tara said she last spoke to Daniel, who runs a car repair shop in Burgess Hill, at about 6.30pm on April 1.

Sussex Police said that Daniel, 46, is white, 5ft 9in tall, of heavy build and with short grey hair.

Liam, 22, is white, 6ft, of medium build and with short light brown hair.
Magistrate Richard Pithouse (pictured) told Rex Morgan, who had refused further testing, not to call him 'bro' and to 'drop the attitude'

A man has been slammed by a magistrate after he called him 'bro' and gave him 'attitude' in court.

New Zealand man Rex Morgan appeared Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria this week after he reversed his car 30m on the opposite side of the road and up a driveway before crashing into his neighbour's fence.

Police observed the crash and the man tested positive for alcohol in a preliminary breath test, he was then asked to undergo further testing at a police station.

Morgan refused and told officers 'just charge me bro, I don't care', the Herald Sun reported.

Magistrate Richard Pithouse was not impressed with his behaviour.

'Don't call me bro,' Magistrate Pithouse said.

'Drop the attitude, take your hands out of your pockets and start showing some respect to the court,' he said.

Morgan was convicted and given a three-year cancellation on his license along with a $1,500 fine at Werribee Magistrates' Court in Victoria (pictured)

During proceedings, Morgan claimed he had no idea why he had been forced to attend court as he claimed to have only consumed one drink.

Morgan claimed he was the designated driver at a friend's 21st birthday party and the only drink he had consumed was in his car while in his own driveway before the crash.

The magistrate berated Morgan over his refusal to take a breath test and said that the police had every right to demand he undertake further testing.

Mr Pithouse convicted the man and cancellled his licence for three years - a full year over the required minimum for refusing a breath test.

Morgan was also fined $1,500.
Despite having some of the best wines in the world, France is turning towards craft beers, stouts and British-inspired pale ales.

And one micro-brewery launched by a French man and his British neighbour in the wine-soaked Loire valley last year UK-origin pale ales.

France has been flowing to these alcoholic beverages for some time, with the number of breweries in the country almost tripling in eight years from 387 in 2010 to 1,100 in 2018.

Their number looks set to rise too as demand went up by up to 4.2 per cent alone last year.

The number of French breweries has tripled in eight years to 1,100 in 2018 (stock image)

A French man and his British neighbour have started a brewery together making UK-inspired India pale ale (stock image)

Dominique Terray, 63, who spent 40 years advising Loire vineyards, teamed up with his British friend Simon Armstrong, 42, to produce the alcoholic beverages, reports The Times.

The pair were neighbours in Chinon, Loire valley, and used to go on beer tasting holidays to Britain together.

Mr Armstrong moved back to Somerset as a stonemason, but then returned to Chinon last year where he began brewing in the kitchen.

Describing the choice to brew pale ales, Mr Terray said it was because of their fruity scent with a hint of honey.

'When you swill it around the glass it exudes a scent that is fresh, fruity and floral, with a hint of malt and honey. Once in the mouth, the taste is full and rounded and capped by a well-controlled bitterness.'

They sell an India pale ale and an extra pale ale, both priced at 2.90 (2.50) for a 33cl bottle, and a black India pale ale for 3.30 (2.81).

France has the third highest number of breweries in Europe, behind Britain with 2,250, and Germany with 1,408, according to organisation the Brewers of Europe.

The country has the second highest area of land devoted to wineries at more than 800,000 hectares according to Eurostat, while Spain has the most land for making wine at 941,000 hectares.
A British music teacher who plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines has been jailed.

James Alexander, 42, was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017.

British music teacher James Alexander, 42, plotted to sexually abuse girls as young as four in the Philippines. He was caught by the National Crime Agency after he sent money to known facilitators who had live-streamed child sexual abuse from Illigan City, in Northern Mindanao

Forensic analysis of his electronic devices showed Alexander, of Beeston, Leeds, sent at least 15 money transfers to abuse facilitators between August 2017 and June 2018.

It also showed that Alexander tried to arrange with abuse facilitators over Skype and WhatsApp to travel to the Philippines to abuse little girls himself.

Alexander admitted one count of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence; three counts of attempting to cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

He was prosecuted under section 72 of the Sex Offences Act 2003, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed abroad.

Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard Alexander had a discussion with one female facilitator about a 13-year-old girl, in which he said: 'If I meet anyone else I would like younger'.

He then asked the facilitator for pictures of her 12-year-old daughter.

It is believed indecent images of the 12-year-old were sent to him, as his recovered chat history shows he said: 'nice baby * now take the other pictures I asked.'

On 1 February 2018 Alexander and the woman discussed plans for him to meet the girls in a hotel and he asked: 'Are you going to bring them both with you and stay also'.

He added: 'You'll show them what to do.'

The woman told Alexander she had other daughters aged nine, six and four.

Alexander, who taught in Leeds and Malaysia before moving to Thailand, asked for sick images of the girls aged nine and six posing in a certain way, and asked what the six-year-old would do with him.

He was arrested on June 30, 2018, at Manchester Airport as he flew into the UK from Thailand where he had lived since 2017. Alexander, who served as a reservist in the Parachute Regiment from 1999 to 2003, was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (Photo supplied by the National Crime Agency)

He also explained how he would like to sexually abuse the four-year-old.

Alexander told another Filipino mother - who says she will make her daughters do anything for money - that he wants to have sex with her seven and 11-year-old girls. He directed them to pose for photographs.

NCA officers also discovered other WhatsApp messages where Alexander asked a 10-year-old to send him images of her posing, and asked if he could meet her.

There were no records of Alexander ever travelling to the Philippines.

In-country investigations into the facilitators continue, but as a result of NCA intelligence, one suspect was arrested and several children safeguarded.

Alexander taught at Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok, Thailand, which dismissed him upon notification of the investigation. Safeguarding checks were made at the school and there was no evidence of Alexander offending there.

Alexander's phone contained child abuse images.

He was jailed for five years at Leeds Crown Court. He was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Speaking after the hearing, Hazel Stewart, NCA senior investigating officer, said: 'Alexander clearly tried to manipulate and exploit the poverty of the vulnerable in order to gratify his sick sexual desires.

Alexander was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order at Leeds Crown Court which bans foreign travel and made to sign the sex offenders register for life

'He believed he could abuse Filipino children safely from his home and wanted to visit the Philippines to carry out the sexual abuse himself.

'The NCA has strong partnerships with law enforcement in the Philippines. We work together to combat this kind of offending.

'We and UK policing will never give up our pursuit of offenders who commit these horrendous crimes.'
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A Cambridge postgraduate student has reportedly been arrested for forcing himself upon a female student in his college dormitory.

The 27-year-old suspected rapist is thought to come from a 'wealthy overseas family' according to a source who spoke to the Sun.

He allegedly sexually attacked a 20-year-old undergraduate but is believed to deny these claims.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year (stock pic)

Instead, he is reportedly insisting it was consensual sex and has been bailed until May 22.

A source said that the alleged rape has caused 'considerable shock'.

Cambridge is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities which enrolls roughly 20,000 students each year.
Three people - including a minor - have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack.

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday.

His daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury.

Three people were arrested following the attack and will front court in Colon, a city in Panama, on Sunday, the NZ Herald reported.

A minor and two other people have been arrested after a father was shot dead and his wife slashed with a machete during a pirate attack (pictured, Alan Culverwell with partner Derryn)

New Zealand man Alan Culverwell, 60, was killed after sea-bandits stormed his yacht near Morodub island, in the Guna Yala district in Panama's north-east at 2am local time on Thursday (pictured, Derryn, Briar, Flynn and Alan)

Mr Culverwell's daughter Briar, 11, was knocked over the head while his wife Derryn was slashed with a machete. His son Flynn managed to escape injury (pictured, Alan Culverwell)

Mr Culverwell is understood to have been sleeping below deck with his family when he heard a noise on the yacht's roof.

When he went up to check on the cause of the noise, he was fatally shot.

His wife, and two children, managed to stay alive after Ms Culverwell 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the below cabin.

Despite suffering knife wounds, Ms Culverwell summoned enough energy to make a call to a friend in New Zealand.

'He kept Derryn on the phone and as calm as he could,' Mr Culverwell's sister Derryn Hughes said.

'The attackers had left the boat at that stage, but Derryn was very scared but trying to keep it together for the kids.

The friend notified authorities in Panama and New Zealand Police, before the family was finally rescued.

A tracker was also installed on the boat, which helped rescuers locate the vessel.

Ms Culverwell received stitches for her injury and left hospital with her two children on Saturday.

While the exact motives behind the unprovoked attack are yet to be confirmed, the pirates reportedly stole an outboard engine from the vessel as well as other items.

Mr Culverwell's stepson and a close friend are understood to be leaving New Zealand to be by the family's side.

Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela has since appeared on television and publicly apologised to the Culverwell family.

During the broadcast, Mr Varela promised that the attackers would pay for their crimes.

The 65-foot yacht (pictured) was bought in the US as part of the Culverwell family's round-the-world-trip

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island

The Culverwell family had sold their home in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern end of New Zealand's South Island.

The father used the money to purchase the 65ft yacht from a seller in Florida, US.

'It was a beautiful big boat that had been owned by someone with way too much money and [Culverwell] just timed it perfectly, he bought it in Florida for way less than had been spent on it,' Paua Industry Council chief executive Jeremy Cooper said.

The family were sailing the newly-bought boat back from the place of purchase, making numerous stops along the way.

They made a stop at the Panamanian island of Bocas del Toro and were to make their way back to New Zealand before they were intercepted.

Panama National Border Service, Eric Estrada, said psychologists from the Public Ministry and social workers had been in touch with the surviving victims.

Ms Culverwell (pictured left) 'forced the pirates out' before locking herself and her children in the cabin

The father-of-two was shot at point blank range before the pirates attacked his wife and daughter

The General Congress of Guna Yala also expressed their sadness at Ms Culverwell's death.

Piracy in the Caribbean Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s It declined to almost non-existence in the 1830s 1716 to 1726 was considered the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the Caribbean Piracy was popular in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare Aboard a pirate vessel each pirate had to abide by a 'codes of conduct' Some rules included a dress code and strictly no women were allowed A punishment for breaking the rules would be agreed upon by everyone boarding the boat before it departed Advertisement

Meanwhile Mr Culverwell's friends and family have paid tribute to the beloved family man.

He was described as a 'legend' and a 'brilliant teacher' by his friends.

A GoFundMe page had been set up to help the Culverwell family.

'The Culverwells are special people. They are without a doubt the kindest and most genuine family we have ever met,' a statement on the page read.

'Derryn will be faced with multiple logistical challenges ahead.

'Derryn, you are not alone, and an army of people love you and are happy to help your beautiful family.'

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they were 'providing consular assistance to a New Zealand family following an incident in Panama'.

'Due to privacy considerations no further information will be provided,' a spokesperson said.

The family are in the process of also arranging Mr Culverwell's body to be transported back to New Zealand.
Andrew Marks (pictured) who is running as a United Australia Party candidate is the youngest member in the federal election

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook.

Andrew Marks is representing the United Australia Party at this year's federal election, and is the youngest candidate running for a seat.

The 18-year-old has been criticised after he posted a meme referencing Hitler on Facebook in 2016.

Mr Marks, who is studying accounting and communications at university, shared an image of a man giving a Nazi salute.

He also shared a meme of a character using a time machine to applaud Hitler.

An election candidate has been slammed after posting memes praising Adolf Hitler and joking about school shootings on Facebook

Election candidate Andrew Marks has been slammed for sharing memes about Adolf Hitler on Facebook in 2016 (pictured is an image shared by Mr Marks)

His father, Robert Marks, who helped set up the UAP and is also running as a candidate, said his grandfathers fought against the Nazis and the family aren't anti-Semitic.

'We are absolutely anti-Nazi. My son was 15 when he posted those memes. He is now 18,' Mr Marks told The Sunday Telegraph.

'The memes are from a WWII Facebook history page that my son signed up to. It may be substandard to us but this is how the kids communicate these days,' he said.

The co-chair executive officer at the executive council of the Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said these memes harm and are damaging to the Jewish community.

Mr Marks had also previously shared an image referencing school shootings.

The post which pictured chips, a bag of McDonalds and a rifle, said: 'Everyone wishes that they were your friend when you bring these to school!'

His father Robert Marks (pictured) said they are anti-Nazi and his son was 15 when he shared the posts on Facebook

A number of UAP candidates have also been criticised for inflammatory social media posts.

North Sydney's Peter Vagg shared a post about stopping Muslim extremists and African gangs from immigrating to Australia.

Mr Vagg also shared images calling for a ban on the burqa and a ban on school excursions to mosques.

Also, the candidate for Greenway, Scott Feeney, posted an image of comedian Bill Cosby following his sentencing for sexual assault.

He captioned the photo: 'Holy crap, Morgan Freeman just got sent to prison.'

Mr Feeney said the post referred to a joke officers made while he was in the navy and he is not a racist.
A snake catcher has found a huge python that had slithered under the bed of an unsuspecting woman.

The photo of the two-metre long carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was posted online by snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie, who found the intruder in a woman's bedroom on Friday.

A neighbour had spotted a snake in the area but after the woman's bedside lamp blew out she wasn't able to spot it easily, Mr Mckenzie said on Facebook.

The photo of the two-metre carpet python, taken on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was uploaded to Facebook

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?' snake catcher Stuart Mckenzie asked

'I relocated this Carpet Python out of the ladies' room and back in to the bush,' Mr Mckenzie said.

'What would you do if you found a snake under your bed or even in your bed?'

He said that while the snake is not venomous, they can still be dangerous if they grow bigger, noting that he has caught ones as big as 3.3m long.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Mr Mckenzie said.

The snake catcher said the it was able to get inside the house due to an all too common mistake.

'The screen door to the house was left open so the dogs could come in and out, unfortunately that means other wildlife can come in and out too!' Mr Mckenzie said.

'A snake that size is starting to get to the point where dogs and cats may be at risk,' Stuart Mckenzie said (pictured)

The Carpet Phython is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland

'You can leave your screen doors open if you are there, but if you are leaving the house you have got to shut everything up, especially at night because that is when they get in.'

He ended the post by asking people how they would react to seeing such a large snake in their house.

The carpet python is the most common snake the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers find so the chance of coming across one isn't unlikely in Queensland.

Some commenters were braver than others but many people said they would happily run away from their houses or 'burn the house down'.
A mother of a ten-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome claims her daughter was left in tears after she was refused entry into a trampoline park.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer.

Lisa Henry, 29, claims her daughter Dana, pictured, was devastated after being told on a family day out with sister Ava, eight, to Flip Out trampolining park, in Glasgow, that she could not use the equipment

She said she was told by Flip Out staff that neither would be a problem and had taken her daughters to the park in the past, the Daily Record reported.

However, when the family arrived, Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment.

Ms Henry tried to speak to staff about her daughter's condition, but said they were 'not in the slightest bit interested'.

Ms Henry, from Ayrshire, Scotland, claimed she told staff before the family's arrival that her daughter had Down's Syndrome and asked if she would be allowed on the trampolines with a carer

The mother-of-two said that the family were served by a male member of staff who 'was gone for approximately five minutes' after seeing her daughters.

She said they were then asked to go to the manager's office and was told that Dana's Down's Syndrome meant that she could not take part.

'The manager said: "Sorry we notice your daughter has Down's syndrome and the policy that has come in means she won't be able to take part,"' she said.

'As I stood there I felt like my heart was ripped out with my daughter at my feet and she started sobbing,' she added.

People with Down's Syndrome who want to participate in gymnastics require a medical screening and approval under requirements issued by the British Gymnastics Association.

Ms Henry said she then tried to clarify her daughter's condition and explained that she was 'registered under the British gymnasium and is more than able'.

But she said the manager refused to let Dana get on the trampolines because 'his mind was made up'.

The family were then taken to reception and given a refund.

'I was totally heartbroken,' she added and claimed that, rather than being taken to one side to be told away from her daughter, Dana 'heard everything'.

She said that Flip Out staff have since failed to resolve the the situation and said she had to call the firm four times before they responded.

However, when the family arrived at Flip Out (pictured), Ms Henry claimed that she was told by a member of staff that Dana, who is a gymnast at Irvine Newtown gymnastics in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, would not be able to use the equipment

A Flip Out spokesman apologised for the 'misunderstanding' and stressed that their policy 'follows the advice given from the Down-syndrome.org website and the British Gymnastics Association which strongly recommends screening before any trampolining activities for people with Down-Syndrome.

'We then require a GP's approval letter confirming the participant is safe to take part in trampolining activities,' they added.

The firm invited the family to return as a 'treat' and said they had 'put on additional training' to 'further increase awareness.'

MailOnline has approached Flip Out directly for comment.
Lancashire police confirmed a body found in the woods near Parbold railway station was missing teenager Alex Davies, pictured

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy over the murder of a Home Bargains worker who was found dead in the woods.

Victim Alex Davies, 18, had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire on Monday when he got a taxi to Parbold railway station.

A murder probe was launched after his body was discovered off Parbold Hill in West Lancashire on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives were initially unsure if the body was a man or woman.

Mr Davies had recently been promoted to the job of lead sales assistant at Home Bargains in Skelmersdale, and was looking forward to the future, friends said.

A post mortem examination has been carried out and the cause of death has been established but for operational reasons we cannot disclose this at this time.

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said yesterday: 'We recognise the impact this investigation has had in the Parbold area and would like to thank the community for its support.

'We can confirm officers investigating Alex's death have tonight arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He is currently in custody.

'This is a truly shocking murder of a young man and my thoughts are with his family and friends at this desperately sad time.

'Alex was a much loved son and brother and his family are obviously distraught by what has happened.

Police cordoned off an area of woodland where the missing teenager's body was found

'I have a dedicated team of officers and staff working on this enquiry.

'We are keeping an open mind for the reason Alex was in the Parbold area. I would appeal to anyone with information which could assist to come forward.

'We are carrying out CCTV and house to house enquiries in the area to try and piece together Alex's movements but I need the public's help as someone out there could hold the key to solving this horrendous crime.

'Furthermore, if you have seen anyone acting suspiciously or any unusual behaviour in the area in recent days, please come forward.

'You may think you are doing the right thing protecting them but if anyone does have suspicions about an individual I would ask them to search their conscience and do the right thing and contact police.'

Mr Davies had not been seen since he left his home in Skelmersdale, Lancashire and his body was found off Parbold Hill two days later

On Thursday before his body was discovered, his boss Gerard Boylan said: 'This [going missing] is not something that he does.

'It's a complete mystery. Alex had his whole future ahead of him, and he loves his job and had recently got himself a promotion.

'He comes from Skelmersdale and lives with his mum.

'He's an energetic, kind and helpful lad, who loved working with customers.

'He's not a shy bloke, and is the type of person who would talk to anyone.

'He's a brilliant lad.'

Mr Davies had worked for Home Bargains for the last two years. He had not used his mobile phone since Monday afternoon.

Lancashire Police launched a missing person enquiry, which was upgraded to 'high-risk' on Thursday with the search reaching into its fourth day.

Police cordoned off two areas of field - one leading up towards Wrightington and a further field towards High Moore Lane.

A shocked passer-by said: 'Nothing ever happens here, I'm shocked to see so many police cars here.'
Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn.

They say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity in jeopardy unless immediate steps are taken to reverse climate destruction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction.

Stark warnings about the ecological crisis are to be made in a 1,800-page UN report which reveals that the annihilation of natural landscapes, forests (Amazon pictured) and wetlands is leading to an 'unsustainable' loss of plants of animals which risk extinction

Mankind is on the verge of wiping out up to one million natural species which will put the Earth's vital life-support systems at breaking point, UN scientists will reportedly warn (Young eco-activists chain themselves to the Houses of Parliament yesterday)

It is the first dossier of its kind since 2005 and is due to be released in Paris on Monday, but a preliminary copy has been leaked to the Guardian.

Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told the paper: 'There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

'We are in trouble if we don't act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.'

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population (Pictured: deforestation on Indonesia's Borneo Island)

The experts say that food and water resources will run dry for future generations and put humanity (pictured: Hong Kong Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday)

Hundreds students took part in the School Strike for Climate yesterday as the global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - was leaked

The global assessment on the state of nature - the product of 400 experts over three years - will construct several scenarios for the future based on likely decisions taken by governments and policymakers over the coming years.

Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population.

The report comes after scores of eco-activists rallied in London to raise awareness of climate change and its global impact.

Extinction Rebellion protesters paralysed parts of the capital for ten days as they blocked roads and caused transport chaos.

And earlier this week Members of Parliament approved a Labour motion calling on the government to declare a 'climate emergency'.
A police dispatcher has sued the state of Queensland for causing her post-traumatic stress disorder after she was forced to listen to the murder of a young mother in a chilling triple-0 phone call.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie boyfriend Lionel Patea on a Gold Coast road on September 8, 2015.

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call.

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond.

The 50-year-old has blamed Queensland police for the lack of support following the call, which led to her PTSD leaving her unable to work for 15 months, and has sued the state for $615,572.

'It's with me every day. I can replay every moment,' Ms Jansen told The Sunday Mail.

Tara Brown, 24, was repeatedly smashed in the head with a large metal casing of an eight kilogram fire extinguisher by her bikie ex-boyfriend Lionel Patea

Police dispatcher Chondra Jansen was the last person to speak to the young mother before she died after she made an emergency call. Pictured: Patea, left, and Ms Brown

Ms Jansen recalled how she felt 'helpless' as she kept calling out 'Tara, Tara', hoping she would respond. Pictured: Patea and his child

Ms Brown made the emergency call as she was chased by her tattooed partner who was driving a black Jeep on the morning of September 8.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries.

A neighbour was initially helping Patea smash the windscreen of Ms Brown's car, thinking he was trying help the woman get out.

Ms Brown was heard yelling out for her young daughter Aria by a witness and brave mother- of-four Leesa Kennedy, who tried to help stop Patea from murdering her.

Ms Kennedy, who said she had been haunted by vicious dreams since the murder, said the distressing event felt like 'it went for hours but it was really just 15 minutes'.

Ms Jansen remembered trying to find out where Ms Brown was and was told Patea was threatening her with a knife.

The dispatcher had asked not to deal with emergency calls but was only taken off the job for two days.

TARA BROWN'S CHILLING EMERGENCY CALL In the call, which left senior police officers traumatised, Ms Brown was heard repeatedly asking Patea to stop the attack that ended in her death a day later in hospital. Ms Brown phoned emergency services after she left the Nerang childcare centre, on Queensland's Gold Coast, where she had dropped off her daughter about 8.45am. Just 40 seconds later, the 24-year-old mother was heard begging for Patea to go away and then a huge crashing noise rings out. The noise was the moment Patea used his car to deliberately run Ms Brown's off the road. Advertisement

'The next minute he'd just run her off the road. I could her screaming. I just prayed she would talk to me, but she couldn't,' she said.

'It was 40 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to me.'

She was able to send emergency services to where the young mother was, despite the fact she was no longer responding.

Ms Jansen was unable to attend work after she was haunted by numerous news reports about Ms Brown's murder, including CCTV footage and details about the pre-trial hearing.

Apart from the lack of support, she also claims no one had done a welfare check on her.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyer Beth Rolton backed Ms Jansen's claim of being given no support for dealing with one of the most distressing phone calls.

'I never knew of a murder that has taken place while a person was on the phone, Ms Janson, who now works with Queensland Police as an acting executive secretary, said.

She said her new role has put her in a lower salary in comparison to her previous role.

Ms Jansen, who filed her personal injury damages to the District Court, is waiting for the response of the State Government.

Ms Brown and Patea shared a daughter, Aria, born in 2012.

Former Bandido sergeant-at-arms Patea was jailed for life on February 27, 2017 after pleading guilty to the murder of Ms Brown at the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Tara Brown's mother Natalie Hinton read out a victim impact statement to the court about the 'monster' who claimed her daughter's life.

'Tara was empathetic, warm and trusting. She was a lover of life from a very young age,' Ms Hinton said.

The 24-year-old crashed into the side of a home at about 8.45am, before her head was beaten with the fire extinguisher multiple times, leaving the mother with severe brain injuries

'The monster was now in control, she feared him. He took full advantage of her vulnerability. I was oblivious to the extent of his sickening actions.

'My whole world caved in around me as this misogynistic narcissist murdered my baby girl.'

Ms Brown had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at day care when Patea chased down her hatchback with a four-wheel-drive.

She had been hiding from him at a safe house and friends' homes since taking out a domestic violence order against him just days earlier.

Witnesses saw the pair reaching speeds of more than 100km/h and Patea bashing on Ms Brown's driver's side window with both fists when she had to stop at red lights.

Patea (left) ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's (right) car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle

Patea ultimately rammed the back of Ms Brown's car, forcing her down an embankment and trapping her inside the overturned vehicle.

He used the metal slab weighing 7.8kg taken from the side of the road to repeatedly bash her head, causing 'non-survivable' brain injuries.

Nearby residents who heard the crash originally thought Patea was trying to free Ms Brown and helped him break a window to get to her.

It wasn't until they heard her crying out that they realised what he was doing and tried to stop him, but he fought them off.

Emergency operators listened helplessly as the mother cried for help - as more than a dozen 'thumping' sounds were recorded over the phone.
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was subjected to homophobic heckling during an event in Texas on Friday night  but one of his Democratic challengers was quick to come to his aid.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by anti-LGBT+ remarks on four separate occasions.

Marriage is between a man and a woman, shouted one protester. Repent, added a second.

CNNs DJ Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door.

Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Partys Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by four protesters

The protesters' cries were in reference to biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were 'reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy'

Others shouted marriage is between a man and a woman.' Another protester repeatedly shouted repent, during Buttigieg's speech

After the fourth heckler - all of whom were part of a group for truth and justice who oppose same sex marriage and abortion - called out, Buttigieg reminded his audience of why he decided to enroll in the military and serve in the Middle East.

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance.

He also deadpanned that it was a lively room, adding later that he was just thinking of that scripture that says bless and do not curse.

Each of the protesters' cries were in reference to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Bible claims were reduced to ruin as a result of sinful acts  including sodomy.

It's believed their group is led by Randal Terry, who founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue in the 1980s.

The good news is the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you, Buttigieg responded in stride as the protesters were ushered away. Remember the beauty of our democracy. Everyone here gets the exact same voice and vote. Feels like the numbers are on our side, he added.

CNNs JD Judd, who was in the audience, also captured footage of a woman being ejected from the venue for chanting anti-choice rhetoric. What about the babes? He wants to kill babies, she can be heard calling out as security usher her out the back door

Demonstrators also positioned them outside of the Hilton Anatole, in Dallas, ahead of Buttigieg's arrival

Buttigieg, the first gay presidential candidate in history, married his partner Chasten Glezman in 2018

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, came out as gay just four years ago when he was 33.

He is the first gay Democratic presidential candidate in US History  but his trailblazing hasnt come without adversity.

As a result of his sexual orientation, Buttigieg has been heckled a number of times already early in the campaign trail, including at an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in April.

But this time, Buttigieg didnt have to face the jeers alone.

Pete Buttigieg has been interrupted four times here in Dallas by protesters. One yelled Marriage is between a man and a woman! Another yelled Repent! After the 4th, Buttigieg continued, The moment I packed my bags for Afghanistan, to defend that mans freedom of speech... pic.twitter.com/zIpDSCIrti  DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 4, 2019

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter.

Texans dont stand for this kind of homophobia and hatred,' O'Rourke wrote. 'Mayor Pete, we are grateful you came to Texas and hope to see you and Chasten back again soon.

ORourke also spoke in Texas on Friday night, where he hosted a town hall rally in downtown Fort Worth Texas, thirty minutes west from Buttigiegs event in Dallas.

This moment of maximum peril in our country's history could become the moment of maximum promise if we're willing to see it through, O'Rourke told the assembled audience.

Long a Republican stronghold, Texas has seen an influx of Democratic presidential candidates flock to the state early in the trail for the 2020 bid.

Fellow presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke was quick to defend Buttigieg on Twitter

I packed my bags for Afghanistan to defend that mans speech, Buttigieg declared, prompting a rapturous applause to break out among those in attendance

Last week, Bernie Sanders visited Fort Worth and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be hosting an event there on Saturday.

Before launching his campaign last month, little was known of 37-year-old Buttigieg outside of Indiana.

However he is now emerging as a serious contender, placing third in the late April polls at a ranking of 5%.

Only former president Joe Biden (17%) and Bernie Sanders (11%) are besting him.
The charity allowed Kamran Hussain (pictured) to give sermons in front of an ISIS flag and tell three-year-old children that martyrdom is better than school over a period of four months

A charity which ran a British mosque has been dissolved after it allowed a radical Imam to tell three-year-old children martyrdom is better than school and give sermons in front of an Islamic state flag.

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was closed for 'facilitating terrorism' by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from running a charity in future.

It comes after radical Imam Kamran Hussian was allowed to speak at its mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, over a period of four months in 2016.

Hussain was jailed for six-and-a-half years in 2017 after being convicted of six charges of encouraging terrorism and two of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic state.

An inquiry, opened by the commission last year, said the trustees 'failed to properly manage, administer and protect the trust and its resources, resulting in it being used to facilitate terrorism offences'.

It was also found the trust did not have a viable future leading to its dissolution with 132,000 funds split between five charities in Stoke-on-Trent which have similar objectives.

The Charity Commission's director of investigations, Michelle Russell, said what happened was 'unacceptable' and a 'clear failing on the part of the charity's trustees as its custodians'.

'Our actions will reassure the public that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated.

Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust, based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was closed by the Charity Commission and its trustees Fazal Ellahi and his son Isbar were banned from setting up a charity in future

'While instances of abuse of charities for terrorism are rare, such links undermine public trust and confidence in charities, and the vital work that charities do. It is right that those responsible have been held to account for their actions.'

The Fazal Ellahi Charitable Trust was set up in 2003 with the aim of 'educating all people, particularly children and young people, in the Muslim religion and Urdu language and the advancement of the Muslim religion through collective prayer meetings and otherwise'.

As part of the investigation, the Charity Commission carried out an unannounced visit and scrutinised material seized by the police including bank statements.

The report reads: 'The inquiry found that the charity's premises had been misused, by the Imam, to encourage terrorism and encourage support for a proscribed organisation, namely Islamic State.

'The fact that the sermons delivered by the Imam which resulted in his conviction were delivered over a number of months compounds the failure on the part of the charity's trustees to ensure that the charity and its property were not used for criminal purposes.

An entrance to the charity's mosque, pictured off the side of a street in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

'Trustee A (Fazal Ellahi) advised that he was not aware of what the Imam had said and that there had been no complaints made about him by those in attendance at the mosque.

'It is unclear whether the trustees were present for some or all of the Imam's sermons between June and September 2016 which resulted in his conviction; irrespective of whether or not either or both of the trustees were present, the inquiry found that the trustees failed to manage the charity's resources appropriately and that their failure to do so facilitated their use for terrorist purposes.'

Hussain, 40, of Knightsbridge Way, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed at the Old Bailey in September 2017 after anti-terror police planted an undercover officer in the Tunstall mosque.

The officer recorded 17 sermons and six were found to have 'crossed the line' by encouraging terrorism and two encouraged support for Islamic State.

The court heard Hussain would often deliver speeches in front an Islamic State flag and laud the values of terrorist groups.

In one he told the congregation: 'Inshallah...we will see the black flag rise over Big Ben and Downing Street.'

The preacher supported the virtues of killing, martyrdom and violent jihad and endorsed the efforts of those who had undertaken such acts.

And he told worshippers the UK government funded far-right groups to attack Muslims.

Hussain said: 'The kuffar (unbeliever) will attack you and kill you.

'Stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to stand in the face of the elements of Shaytan (Satan), be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt.'

It is not yet clear what the charity's dissolution means for the mosque, which had around 40 worshippers.
The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden, who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll was conducted from April 30 to May 1, just days after Biden announced he would be joining the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 election.

Biden led the field with 44 per cent of respondents indicating that they were 'most likely' to vote for him in the primary election. Sanders logged 14 per cent.

Following those two were: Senator Kamala Harris with 9 per cent, Senator Elizabeth Warren with 5 per cent, and Senator Cory Booker tied with Beto O'Rourke at 3 per cent.

The latest poll of Democrat presidential primary voters shows a surge in support for Joe Biden (left), who has opened up a thirty point-lead over Senator Bernie Sanders (right)

The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll poll of Democrat voters was conducted from April 30 to May 1

The poll represented a surge in support for Biden following his announcement. The previous Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted in March, prior to Biden entering the race, showed him at 35 per cent and Sanders at 17 per cent.

'The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,' Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill. 'His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.'

The new survey was conducted online and included 1,536 registered voters. Of those, 259 self-identified Democrats were asked about the party's primary field, and the results were weighted for demographics.

This weekend, Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other Democratic candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop Saturday in Columbia, the capital, followed by a fundraiser.

Biden, seen campaigning in Iowa this week, opened with an appeal to white, working-class voters. Now he is jetting to South Carolina to test his message with crucial black voters

He opened his latest run for president with explicit appeals to white, working-class voters across the Midwest, pledging his support for unions and promising to rebuild the middle class.

Now Biden now is trying to gauge whether his message will resonate among black voters whose backing will be crucial in South Carolina and elsewhere.

Iowa is the focus this weekend for some of his rivals, including Warren, Sanders, O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper are campaigning in New Hampshire.

Outside those early-voting states, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is in Houston, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio visits Michigan and Washington Governor Jay Inslee is in California.

Maverick businessman Andrew Yang, who proposes instituting a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for every U.S. citizen, is holding a campaign event in Detroit.
A 23-year-old man with a took his own life while under investigation for rape which his family claim is false.

Mark Hunton, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation.

Mark Hunton, 23, from Barnstaple, took his own life on May 21, 2018, nine months after the allegation of rape was made against him

Devon Live reported that the pressure of the investigation contributed to Mr Hunton's mental health issues, his father Nick said.

He added that he does not know how he will return to normality after the tragedy.

The family said: 'Despite our best efforts to look after him, Mark's mental health deteriorated and collapsed under the strain.

'When Mark took his own life he effectively took ours with him.'

The family have now turned to crowd funding in the hope of raising 25,000 to secure legal representation at the upcoming inquest into Mr Hunton's death.

In a tribute written on the day of his cremation, Nick Hunton wrote of his grief after having his son cremated 'in the presence of his mother and two brothers'.

'No mourners, no service, no friends and family to grieve only our boys who we truly trusted. No one to ask why, no awkward questions or explanations to provide,' he added.

'Asking each of my family in repeated turns 'Are you OK' - perhaps the most stupid words I've ever spoken - in sure and certain knowledge that they were not, but hoping that my two surviving sons would one day return to some level of normality. But how are we to return, Judy and I.

His devastated family have said he 'effectively took their lives with him' as they explained how his mental health 'collapsed' under the 'strain' of the rape investigation

'They said that there was nothing worse than to out live your child. No one has yet, I don't think, tried to categorise the severity of that tragedy.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'We are aware and continue to look into concerns raised by the family in relation to Marks' death.

'At this point, due to active and ongoing proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

For confidential support in the UK: call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
A man struggling with a severe lung condition and given just two years to live by doctors has been deemed fit to work and has had his benefits slashed.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions after attending a mandatory work capability assessment.

Mr Nicholson, from Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: 'I failed even though my condition has worsened. But because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work.'

The widower, who lost his wife to cancer when she was 36, previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month directly into his bank account.

Darryl Nicholson, 47, who is living with stage three emphysema has been presumed 'fit to work' by the Department for Work and Pensions. He said: 'Because I can hold a pen, open a door and use technology, they think I am fit for work'

But after being put on Universal Credit, his money has been halved to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat.'

The payment he receives just covers his expenses including 48 phone bill, 60 per month for electric, and 10.37 for gas, and around 15 per week for food.

'I'm not expecting to go on holiday or buy a car. I'm just expecting to be able to live. Sometimes I only have one meal a day, and there are days where I go with no food.

'This has a knock on affect and means that I can't take all of my medications because you have to take food with them. I've lost half a stone.

'A downside of my illness is that my immune system is weak and it will only weaken.

He underwent a mandatory reconsideration which was rejected and is now awaiting a tribunal.

'I should be focusing on life instead of this. I have spoken to people about work, but I don't know what I could do to be honest. I am stage three and would have more sick days than working days,' he said.

Mr Nicholson applied for two more benefits - the illness and disability enhancements on Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment - and has called the process humiliating.

Mr Nicholson previously received Employment Support Allowance of 474 a month but has had his money slashed to just 236 per month, which he has said means: 'I can't take medication because I can't afford to eat'

'I know I am going to die young. I was young when I got diagnosed, now I'm 47, and have been told I could live until I'm 50.

'Someone who does not understand this condition made this decision, with someone with even less understanding making a final decision.'

Mr Nicholson said the mandatory reconsideration process needs overhauling and the tribunal service needs to clear its back log, starting fresh.

'I'm wanting to share this not just for me, but for the thousands of other people who are also affected. It is atrocious and is like going back to the Second World War. It is like a slow genocide.'

A DWP spokesman said: 'Decisions for ESA are made by medical professionals following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including evidence from their GP or medical specialist.

'There is a free and independent appeals process where claimants can provide any further documentation.

'Mr Nicholson continues to receive benefits and support during his appeal and is not required to seek work.'
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has described an investigation into the National Security Council leak as a 'shabby and discredited witch hunt' and called for a 'proper, full and impartial' investigation into it.

Mr Williamson, who was sacked after he was accused by PM Theresa May of leaking details from the top secret meeting wants a full investigation into the scandal.

His comments follow the decision by Britain's top anti-terror officer Neil Basu to recommend no further police action into the Huawei leak. Assistant Commissioner Basu said the contents of the leak did not warrant further action as they 'did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'.

Commissioner Basu is the head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations and is the senior officer in charge of counter terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations said there was no evidence to suggest the Huawei leak which led to Gavin Williamson's sacking breached the Official Secrets Act

Former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured on his last official duty on board a nuclear submarine was sacked after Theresa May accused him of leaking details from a top-secret National Sercurity Council briefing to a newspaper

Mr Williamson, pictured yesterday on his Instagram feed, strongly denied allegations that he was responsible for the NSC leak

In a statement, Commissioner Basu said: 'I have spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material that was discussed in the National Security Council. This material was used to inform a discussion, the outcome of which was subsequently disclosed to the media. I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

'I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice. I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

'Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged.

'At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

'No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage Misconduct in a Public Office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.'

The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

The SO15 officers have special arrangements with government to examine information to determine whether a criminal prosecution was necessary.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured, insisted sacking Mr Williamson was the correct decision

Leaked reports of a meeting of the National Security Council last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in 'non-core' elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Mrs May overruled five ministers who expressed concern that the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying and undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary after the PM said there was 'compelling evidence' he was behind the leak - something he denies.

Downing Street insisted the leak probe into the NSC affair was carried out 'fairly', however, friends of Mr Williamson dismissed it as 'slipshod' and 'rushed'.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The investigation was conducted fairly by officials operating impartially.'

The chairwoman of Parliament's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Dame Margaret Beckett, wrote to Sir Mark Sedwill  who is also Prime Minister Theresa May's National Security Adviser  seeking information on the inquiry.

'The committee notes your ongoing inquiry into the leak of the National Security Council's decision on the use of Huawei in the UK's 5G telecommunications network,' wrote Dame Margaret.

'As this directly pertains to our work in scrutinising the NSC, the Committee would like to be apprised of the outcomes of this leak inquiry once it is complete.'

Following the sacking, PM Theresa May insisted it was the correct course of action.

She told ITV News: 'I did take a difficult decision.

'This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.'

Asked if she was convinced Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak of information about the NSC meeting, Mrs May said: 'I took the decision that I did. That was the right decision.'

How Huawei leak sunk Gavin Williamson's ministerial career Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson's sacking by the Prime Minister follows days of political drama surrounding the leak of information from the UK's National Security Council. Here is how the leak developed into a major Government inquiry: Gavin Williamson, pictured, was sacked as Defence Secretary after a leak from the National Security Council to the media. Mr Williamson, pictured, strongly denies the allegations April 23 - A meeting of the UK's National Security Council (NSC), the country's top national security body, is held. April 24 - The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that the Prime Minister has agreed to allow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network despite security concerns raised by Cabinet minsters at the meeting. Labour demands an official investigation into the leak from the highly secretive council. April 25 - Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, says the leak is 'deeply worrying'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid says it is 'completely unacceptable' for any minister to release sensitive information and that it should 'absolutely be looked at'. Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly deny they are responsible. In a statement, Mr Williamson says neither he nor any of his team had 'divulged information from the National Security Council'. April 26 - An ultimatum is reportedly issued to ministers over the leak of the secret discussions. Reports emerge that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has demanded ministers in attendance at the NSC meeting confess or deny if they were behind the leak. Downing Street refuses to say whether an inquiry is under way, despite calls for police to become involved. Sources close to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also deny they were involved. April 27 - It is reported that members of the Cabinet are expected to be summoned for interviews as part of a formal inquiry headed by Sir Mark Sedwill. Ministers and aides are reportedly issued questionnaires requiring them to explain where they were in the hours following the NSC meeting. China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, defends the tech giant Huawei and urges the Government to act independently and resist external pressure. April 28 - Jeremy Hunt says he has been questioned by officials as part of a leak probe and is prepared to hand over his phone. He says the UK should exercise 'a degree of caution' about the role of large Chinese firms such as Huawei. April 29 - The US delivers a warning that there is no safe level of involvement by Chinese tech giant Huawei in the 5G networks of Western powers. May 1 - Gavin Williamson is sacked as Defence Secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information. Downing Street said Theresa May asked Mr Williamson to leave the Government having 'lost confidence in his ability to serve'. May 2 - Gavin Williamson says he would be 'absolutely exonerated' if there was a police investigation into the leak. May 4 - The Metropolitan Police confirm that the leak did not amount to a criminal offence, and will not be investigated by officers. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting, but was 'satisfied' that the details disclosed to the media did not 'contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act'. Advertisement
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Archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC.

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday.

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah.

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre.

Khafre, also known as Khefren or Chephren to the Ancient Greeks, built the second of the three famous Pyramids of Giza as well as the Sphinx.

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, statues of jackals, as well as hieroglyphs.

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today: 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty.'

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered two tombs at the Pyramids of Giza dating as far back as the fifth dynasty period - between 2563 - 2423 BC

The tombs belonged to two high ranking men who were part of King Khafre's priests, it was revealed in a press conference about the ancient find on Saturday

An excavation worker carefully uses a tool inside a burial shaft at the Giza pyramid plateau following the recent discovery of the tombs

Egypt's antiquities ministry said one of the men in one of the tomb's was named Behnui-Ka, who had seven titles including the Priest and the Judge to the Pharoah

This excavation worker carefully brushes dust from the face of the sarcophagus

The other tomb belonged to another man named Nwi, who served as Chief of the Great State and 'purifier' of the Khafre

Another member of the excavation team carefully brushes away sand and debris from the sarcophagus

'Many artifacts were discovered in the tomb,' the ministry said, including limestone statues of one of the tomb's owners, his wife and son, as well as statues of what appear to be jackals

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who attended a press conference, told Egypt Today : 'The whole world is watching this great discovery that dates back to the fifth dynasty'
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Palestinian militants fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a month-long lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event.

On Saturday video footage of a family screaming in fear during rocket attacks was posted on social media.

A picture taken in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2019 shows an explosion following an airstrike by Israel

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, according to officials in Gaza, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators (pictured: A target explodes during airstrikes in Gaza City, May 4)

An explosion is pictured among buildings during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 4, 2019

Palestinians gather on the beach in Gaza City as smoke and fire billow following airstrikes by Israel in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites (pictured: Gaza City)

Missiles are fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells,

Gaza's militant strongholds came under fire (fireball pictured) from Israeli troops after they launched rockets into southern Israel

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 13 miles from the Gaza border, police said (pictured: Gaza City)

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire.

In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

Pictured: Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza city Israeli airstrike

Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them (pictured: An explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike)

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday (pictured: Fire rises in Gaza on May 4)

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late on Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said 'the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel.'

'We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks,' she said in a statement.

Smoke rises after Israeli army carried out airstrike in Rafah, Gaza on May 4, 2019

Israeli bomb squad inspect the remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Yad Mordechai

A picture taken from the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara shows an explosion caused by an Israeli air strike across the border in the Gaza Strip

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a 'high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel' that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to 'de-escalate' and restore recent understandings.

A missile fired from Israel's Iron Dome air defence system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells races towards Gaza

Damage to a house is seen after a rocket fired from Gaza Strip hit in the southern Israeli city Kiryat Gat, May 4

A statement from Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, allied to Hamas, claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary (pictured, rocket fired from Gaza towards Israel)

'Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all,' he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying 'firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.'

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas, 70, from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied.

People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court.

But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Legal scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been the 'senior associate justice' on the Supreme Court since Anthony Kennedy retired in 2018

Many Americans know Thomas from his 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill (center)

He is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September.

Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas became the high court's longest-serving justice, the 'senior associate justice,' when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer.

Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White on October 18, 1991. Scholars say Thomas is an 'originalist' who believes in interpreting the Constitution as it's written, the way its authors intended

Thomas is also a staunch conservative who recently was joined on the court by President Trump's right-leaning nominees Neil Gorsuch (top left) and Brett Kavanaugh (top right)

But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump. As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas 'highly underrated.' Trump said Thomas has 'been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit.'

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump.

Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the current President and First Lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as 'terrifying to many progressives.'

(Front row, left to right) US Supreme Court Justices Elena Kegan, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Conservative justices are now firmly in control of the court, which is expected to rule on issues like abortion, gun control and LGBT rights in the near future

Thomas and his wife, Virginia (left), herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas.

Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as un-influential, but Rossum disagrees.

'He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake,' Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, 'Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise.'

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

Thomas' far-right rulings have earned him praise from President Donald Trump. More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump

Thomas is now on a court with at least four votes for some 'pretty radical' decisions, according to political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist, believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant.

He feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.'

He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both 'notoriously incorrect.'

Thomas recently called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as 'policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law'

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as 'abdicating our judicial duty.' Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained: 'My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances.'

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news.

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

'Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale, where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice.

But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: 'It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning.'
A 97-year-old New Jersey man's indomitable work ethic is earning him praise and admiration from peers in his town.

Second World War veteran Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto of Edison, New Jersey, has been working a regular job virtually his entire life and refuses to stop doing so now, even though he's nearing 100 years old.

Ficeto currently bags groceries at the Stop & Shop grocery store in his community, doing four-hour shifts two days a week.

He technically retired from his job as a cosmetics company warehouse supervisor back in the 1980s, but told CBS News he's been doing odd jobs ever since because he has always loved putting in a hard day's work.

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Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto, 97, of Edison, New Jersey, bags groceries at his local Stop & Shop grocery store four hours a day, two times per week

Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner during WWII. He flew a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy

The store's manager says he tries to make Ficeto take required breaks, but the 97-year-old yells at him, saying 'Don't tell me how to work'

'Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy,' store manager Sal Marconi told ABC 7 NY.

Stop & Shop assistant manager Mike Moss said he's tried to make 'Bennie' take his mandatory 15-minute break during shifts, but Ficeto just yells at his boss, saying 'I don't want to stop. Don't tell me how to work. See the light on? That's where I'm going.'

'I don't take no breaks,' Ficeto told CBS. 'Why would I take a break when I only get to work four hours?'

Ficeto's attitude about work may have a lot to do with his time serving in the US Army Air Force during WWII.

In his youth, Bennie worked as a fighter plane gunner, flying a B-25 Mitchell bomber during missions over northern Africa and Italy against the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy.

Bartholomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto (center) and members of his 310th Bombardment Group 428th squadron during WWII. Ficeto, a gunner who flew missions on a B-25 Mitchell, was a barber and he shaved his soldiers head with the word, 'victory.'

Ficeto supposedly retired from his job as a warehouse supervisor for a cosmetics company in the 1980s, but he's been doing odd jobs ever since

Ficeto told reporters he wants to work until he drops dead

'I was scared every time I had to get into the plane. But the Lord took me back,' Ficeto said. 'The day I didn't fly, they shot my plane down. And I don't know where they went down.'

The loss of his brothers in arms seems to have stuck with Bennie throughout his life. He told reporters he isn't that old and still has all his wits about him, so doesn't plan to stop using them and will work until he drops dead, according to ABC 7.

'I get a feeling that I did something good. You can't just stand around, like an idiot. You have to have a reason to keep alive,' Ficeto said.
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A funeral service has been held for the three children of the Asos billionaire who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Fashion tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen was seen comforting his wife Anne and daughter Astrid as the flower-covered coffins of his three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes emerged from their hearses at Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark.

Astrid was seen walking with her parents towards one of the three hearses to cut a bouquet of balloons from a coffin.

Today's service was attended by members of the Danish Royal Family and the country's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Crown Princess Mary could be seen holding her daughter Princess Isabella as she was flanked by her son Prince Vincent and daughter Princess Josephine.

At a memorial service last week Mr Povlsen described the family's loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' but thanked family, friends and neighbours in the Danish town of Brande for their love and support and promised to come through the tragedy 'together'.

He was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant.

His son Alfred and two daughters Alma and Agnes were killed in the blast, while his third daughter Astrid survived. It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt.

Flowers are pictured covering the coffins of ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes as they arrive at Aarhus Catherdral in Denmark today. He is pictured with his daughter Astrid, who survived and his wife Anne

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid as she prepares to cut a bouquet of balloons from one of the coffins

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne stand before the three flower-adorned coffins of their children as their surviving daughter Astrid holds a bouquet of balloons outside Aarhus Cathedral

Anders Holch Povlsen, his wife Anne and their surviving daughter Astrid walk towards the three hearses of their murdered children Alfred, Alma and Agnes

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne watch as their surviving daughter Astrid releases the bouquet of balloons into the air outside the cathedral

The bouquet of balloons floats into the sky as a choir sings outside the cathedral in Aarhus at the funeral service

The coffins are carried out of Aarhus Cathedral by family and friends of the children after the funeral on Saturday

The coffins adorned with flowers and framed pictures of the children were carried out by family and friends of the victims

The girls' coffins were covered with pink and purple balloons along with their smiling faces in picture frames

Alfred's coffin with a bouquet of balloons attached and blue flowers was the first to be carried from the cathedral followed by those of his sisters

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne accompany their surviving daughter Astrid outside Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark on Saturday

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne walk across the cobbles outside the church with their surviving daughter Astrid

Anders Holch Povlsen and his Anne and daughter Astrid stand outside the Aarhus cathedral (far right) as the bishop looks on at their coffins

One of the children's white coffins adorned with pink flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

One of the children's white coffins adorned with blue flowers has a bouquet of balloons attached to it which young Astrid Holch Povlsen cut with a pair of scissors

One of the children's white coffins adorned with purple flowers after its arrival ahead of the funeral at Aarhus Catheral in Denmark

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (pictured centre) and her children Princess Isabella (centre being held by her mother), Prince Vincent (left), and Princess Josephine (right) attended the funeral service for the three children

The wife of Asos tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, Anne, is pictured holding back tears as she watches her children's coffins emerge, embracing her husband and surviving daughter Astrid

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary consoles her daughter Princess Isabella outside the cathedral

Denmark's ambassador to India, Peter Takse-Jensen, confirmed that one family member was injured but was discharged and returned home.

At a memorial service in Brande, Denmark, last Thursday, the family expressed their loss as 'utterly incomprehensible' in a text message.

Reading the message to a crowd of around 700 well-wishers, pastor Arne Holst-Larsen said: 'The loss of our beloved children Alma, Agnes and Alfred are completely incomprehensible.

'With the many lovely people we have around us, close friends, talented colleagues and our loving family we will come together through it.

'We greatly appreciate the humanity that is also shown in Brande tonight - not only to our families and children, but to all the victims of the cruel acts in Sri Lanka.'

Mr Povlsen's children were killed just days after he revealed plans to hand his Scottish estates to them, in the hope they'd carry on his legacy of conservation.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (right) also attended the funeral today where hundreds paid their respects

Other mourners outside Aarhus cathedral on Saturday as friends and family of the Holch Povlsen family paid their respects

He has been working via his Wildland project to 'rewild' parts of Scotland, bringing back endangered species by reviving long-lost habitats.

In an open letter posted on the firm's website, Mr Povlsen and wife Anne Storm Pedersen wrote that the project will take longer than a lifetime to complete and so would be carried on by their children after they died.

He wrote: 'From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape.

'As the holdings have grown and our common vision for the work becomes ever clearer, we have incorporated the entirety of the project into a venture we call Wildland.

'It's a significant and lifelong commitment that we have made - not just for ourselves but for the Scottish people and Scottish nature too - a commitment which we believe in deeply.

An emotional funeral service is being held for the three children of the billionaire Asos tycoon who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka

Friends and family left floral arrangements outside the church in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier today as Anders Holch Povlsen held a funeral for his son Alfred and daughters Alma and Agnes today

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo when it was hit by suicide bombers Zahran Hashim, suspected plot mastermind, and Ilham Ibrahim, the son of a millionaire spice merchant

It is thought he was injured in the attacks himself, though it is not clear how seriously he was hurt

Povlsen, 46, and Anne Storm Pedersen, pictured together, met when Anne began working in sales for Bestseller

Pictured are daughters Astrid and Agnes alongside son Alfred, in an image taken by daughter Alma. Mr Povlsen has confirmed that Agnes, Alfred and Alma died in the terror attack, while Astrid survived

Mr Povlsen and his wife described the loss of their three children as 'utterly incomprehensible' but vowed to overcome the tragedy 'together' (pictured are Astrid, Agnes and Alfred in an image taken by Alma)

The Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka is pictured after it was targeted by two suicide bombers on Easter Sunday morning

Mr Povlsen was staying with his family at the Shangri-La Hotel in the capital of Colombo, when it was targeted by two suicide bombers identified as suspected plot mastermind Zahran Hashim and Ilham Ibrahim

Sri Lankan Police officers inspects a blast spot at the Shangri-la hotel in Colombo a day after a bomb ripped through the building on Easter Sunday

A map showing where the eight blasts went off, six of them in very quick succession on Easter Sunday morning

'We wish to restore our parts of the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state and repair the harm that man has inflicted on them.

'There are many vulnerable properties across all of the holdings that we have the wonderful and privileged opportunity to rehabilitate and restore to life; there are also archaeologically important structures that we have the responsibility to protect.

'Our vision of Wildland is of a project that provides security and an enduring connection, not just for those that work and live on our estates but also for the greater communities.

'We are working towards an entirely sustainable model; everything in balance a project that can endure beyond what Anne and myself can ever expect to see in our own lifetime.'

Just days before the devastating attacks, Alma had shared a holiday snap of her siblings next to a pool.

Sri Lankan officials have blamed a little-known Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the terrorist attacks, adding that the organisation had 'international help'.

A video has emerged of eight men pledging allegiance to ISIS and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before the attack.

The bombers co-ordinated their attacks targeting five-star hotels and churches on Easter Sunday in an apparent deliberate attempt to target westerners and Christians.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' after the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

The death of Mr Polvsen's three children came just days after he revealed plans to pass on his estates in Scotland - where he is the country's largest land-owner - to them after he died

Memorial services were held for the three children in Stavtrup, a suburb of Aarhus where the family lives, last Thursday, ahead of the funeral today, as a torch-lit walk went from the town centre to their house

Walkers gathered outside the Povlsen house before Anders and Anne emerged and stood with them for a few minutes

As well as the memorial in Stavtrup (pictured), commemorations were also held in Brande last Thursday, where Mr Povlsen's fashion empire is based, the capital Copenhagen and third-largest city Odense

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

'Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism,' Sirisena said.

'We have already identified all active members of the group and it's a case of now arresting them,' Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 'active members' linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: 'It's crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organisation made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.'

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would 'eradicate terrorism' the devastating suicide attacks and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end

Sirisena said more needs to be done: 'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers'

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasised that more needs to be done.

'There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.'

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

A Sri Lankan soldier stands guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo last Monday - the country remains on high alert

Sri Lanka's security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

'This is not a Sri Lanka issue, it's a global terrorist movement,' Sirisena said. 'Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together haven't been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.'

Sri Lanka's leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

'Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas,' he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lanka's economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a 'big blow' by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

'It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry,' Sirisena said. 'For the economy to develop it's important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.'
Channel Nine star Erin Molan has helped convict a troll who sent her disgusting online threats about her unborn baby daughter.

Molan, 36, was 33 weeks pregnant when she reported the man's string of violent Facebook messages, including one hoping she would give birth to a stillborn baby.

'I wish u a f** still born I use u a f** still born I wish u a f** still born AND U DIE IN THE PROCESS ... hip hip hooray hip hip HOORAY,' one of the threats said.

'I am used to copping nasty comments, I am not a snowflake,' Molan told the Sunday Telegraph.

'But when it gets to the stage when I felt unsafe and I was heavily pregnant, and someone is threatening my life and the life of my child, it's too much.'

Erin Molan (pictured) was the host of the The Footy Show when she was bombarded with violent threats

A Facebook troll had sent her a string of offensive messages, including one wishing she would give birth to a stillborn when she was pregnant with her daughter

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages

Ms Molan was initially abused online for being the host of the NRL Footy Show, before receiving frightening messages about her unborn daughter.

'Get the f** off the footy show you fake f** slag...guarantee you are killing the show...maybe go do the weather report on channel 2 wheir ya belong yiu f** rag,' one message read.

'... pls i mean pretty please have a still born birth ...im praying u do,' another read.

The harasser also told Molan he would hunt her down and kill her.

She had blocked the user several times after he made multiple profiles to bombard her with messages.

Molan reported the messages to Chatswood Police after she felt the threats risked the safety of her and her child .

She had also reported the threats to Facebook but received a slack response from the platform saying the messages weren't 'abusive or offensive' enough to be taken down.

Facebook eventually deleted two accounts linked to the man.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence for the threats

Facebook Policy Communications Manager for Australia and New Zealand Ben McConaghy said the platform is meant to be a space 'where people feel safe to express themselves'.

'Our bullying and harassment policies are clear; we don't allow this type of vile content on Facebook and we'll remove it as soon as it's reported to us,' he said.

The troll was convicted, fined $1,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence.

He was initially arrested after failing to appear in court.

Molan gave birth to her daughter Eliza Ogilvy in 2018.
Former Tunnel Bore Machine Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph at Samphire Hoe, Dover

A quarter-century after the Channel Tunnel opened, the British miner who punched through to the French side and was a poster boy for the continental connection is now a Brexit supporter.

In an interview ahead of Monday's 25th anniversary, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind's 'greatest achievements' but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe.

'I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit,' the 70-year-old told AFP. 'I don't see that as incompatible.'

The retiree made history in December 1990, greeting French counterpart Philippe Cozette about 100 metres (109 yards) under the sea after they connected their respective sides of the tunnel.

Less than four years later, on May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterrand cut the ribbon on the new rail link.

Graham Fagg engineer (aged 42) from Dover (left) greets his French counterpart Phillippe Cozette in the Channel Tunnel as they make the first break through on December 1 1990

It has since welcomed 430 million passengers and 86 million vehicles and, for some Britons, come to symbolise the country's integration with the continent as a member of the European Union.

Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community - the forerunner to the EU - in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union.

'We voted for a trade deal,' he explained. 'I can't remember anybody ever saying to me, 'we're going to turn it into a federal Europe. We're going to set all the rules and you've got to obey them'.'

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg poses for a photograph next to the cooling facility for the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

Former TBM (Tunnel Bore Machine) Operator, Graham Fagg looks at a memorial to workers who died in the construction of the Channel Tunnel at Samphire Hoe just outside Dover on the south coast of England on May 1, 2019

'Little bit overwhelming'

A lifelong resident of the southeast English port town Dover, where 62 percent of people backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Fagg insisted he wants close future ties with Europe.

The grandfather-of-four has forged an enduring friendship with Cozette, visiting the Frenchman's home near Calais on several occasions.

'I don't really speak English and he doesn't speak French at all, but still we understand each other,' Cozette told AFP this week.

The 66-year-old argued centuries of increasing cross-Channel cooperation could survive Brexit.

The former miners of the Channel Tunnel - France's Philippe Cozette (left) and Britain's Graham Fagg, who dug the last meters of the Eurotunnel and met in a maintenance tunnel in 2014

'I don't think it will drive the English and French apart,' he said.

In footage of their historic first meeting, the pair clasp hands through a small gap in the tunnel to cheers from workers and officials looking on, before posing for pictures.

Fagg remembered 'it was all a little bit overwhelming' and being most concerned about not hitting Cozette with his digging tool before they had broken through.

After stepping into the French side, the Englishman was greeted by an array of cameras and remembered being impressed by the typically Gallic fare on offer to celebrate the occasion.

'They had champagne, wine, food,' he said. 'On our side we had just tea, coffee and water - and maybe a sandwich if you were lucky!'

French President Francois Mitterrand (R) welcomes Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) as she disembarks from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France in May 1994

Francois Mitterrand (2L) and his wife Danielle Mitterrand (L) welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) and Prince Phillip as they disembark from the inaugural Eurostar train during the inauguration of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles in northern France

'I had other plans'

Fagg dedicated five years of his life to the tunnel's construction between 1986 and 1991 and then worked in maintenance for Eurotunnel for nearly 15 years from the early 2000s.

He recalled a tough working environment amongst the heavy-drinking British miners, who were in a race to reach the middle of the tunnel before their French counterparts and were paid on a bonus scheme.

'The faster we went, the more money we got,' he said.

The moment that would ultimately become a recurrent landmark in Fagg's life was purely down to chance, with his name chosen randomly by bosses.

'I thought I was going up to the office to get told off about something, but in actual fact they said 'tomorrow you're doing the breakthrough',' he added.

'I was a bit surprised because it was my day off and I had other plans.'

A Eurostar Channel tunnel train - on its Royal Inaugural Journey to Paris with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard - pulls out of the international terminal at Waterloo Station in London

'Historical moment'

One of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe, building the tunnel involved more than 12,000 workers.

Today, it remains the longest undersea tunnel in the world at nearly 38 kilometres (24 miles) and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Fagg is most pleased that after years of financial problems it is now a viable business.

'It's a great engineering feat,' he said. 'It's good that people enjoy it.'

Fagg, who has been married nearly 50 years, survived a prostate cancer diagnosis six years ago which led to his retirement.

He admitted feeling nostalgic Wednesday revisiting the spot where tunnelling first started, stopping at a plaque overlooking the Channel honouring the 10 workers who died during the project.

'It was a historical moment,' he recollected of his famous handshake.

'The whole project was a historical moment. It involved five years of my life, so it's going to remain with you.'
Facebook has been slammed for banning a breast cancer advertisement that featured topless survivors.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) was ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests.

In a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite earlier approving the campaign.

According to the BCNA, the decision was made because the photographs violated the social media site's partial nudity policy.

'We certainly understand that the ads are promoting awareness for breast cancer, however the images associated with the ad are in violation of our policies for partial nudity,' a Facebook employee told the organisation.

The Breast Cancer Network of Australia (BCNA) were ready to launch a campaign on Thursday, featuring half-naked survivors holding pink cupcakes to their chests

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies

'We will uphold the disable here until the ads can be modified for compliance.'

Outraged cancer survivor, Emma featured in the advertisement and slammed Facebook's decision.

'That's not nudity, it's joyful and it's ridiculous that they would stop and look at something like that,' she told breakfast talk-show Today.

In the campaign, nine women and one man stand topless holding cakes in front of their scars and mastectomies.

Bakers Delight had provided the cakes used to cover the victims.

Slogans for the advertisements read: 'Breast cancer comes in all shapes and sizes' and 'Every fun bun counts.'

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate for its advertisements, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors.

'Every single one of those images is just amazing and the campaign has been set up as 'breast friend'. So we all got to come to shoot with our 'breast' friends and people who support you through what is a really awful journey  the campaign sends a wonderful, wonderful message.'

BCNA's Kristen Pilatti picked up the thread and said the campaign gave a voice to the victims.

Though in a last minute decision, Facebook banned the images despite approving the campaign last month

'We know that the physical and psychological scars of breast cancer can often be invisible to the wider community and this campaign lifts the t-shirt on the reality of the disease while reinforcing the importance of support,' Kirsten said.

'The campaign is also a celebration of those people in your life who support you during a diagnosis.'

She told the ABC campaigns like this were vital to raise money to help BCNA provide the necessary resources to victims.

'The opening days of the campaign are where we raise the most money for BCNA to ensure we can provide free resources to those people with breast cancer.'

'Facebook is a very important tool for us to promote the campaign.'

While the images will not be used as ads in Facebook, the social media site will still allow them to appear on the BCNA and Bakers Delight pages.

'It does seem to me that Facebook need to review their policies and have some consistency but, probably most importantly, some common sense around what they do approve and what they do reject,' Ms Pilatti said.

ANZ Facebook head of communications Antonia Sanda told CBS News on Friday that the social media giant would only allow the ads if they complied to its policy.

'I love these ads and our team has been working hard with Bakers Delight to allow them to run on our platforms,' she said.

'We recognize the importance of ads about breast cancer education or teaching women how to examine their breasts and we allow these on our platforms.

While Facebook deemed the content inappropriate, Emma said the campaign was empowering to survivors

'However, these specific ads do not contain any of these messages, rather it is a brand selling a product.'

Ms Sanda said Facebook had been working with the advertiser for weeks in the lead-up to the launch of the campaign.

She claimed they had not taken their advice into consideration.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling out fellow tech industry titans for violating users' privacy rights and expressing concern about he much time iPhone customers and their children are spending using Apple products.

Cook also mentioned Facebook and Google after criticizing sites that sell people's data, saying such sites can obtain more information in secret than a 'peeping Tom.'

His highly-critical comments were made during an exclusive ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer that aired on Friday.

The 58-year-old leader of the world's most profitable tech company was discussing the issue of online privacy and ways to help Americans spend less time looking at smartphone screens during a conversation about how technology is damaging people's lives.

'When I was growing up, one of the worst things other than something like hurting somebody or something, was the peeping Tom, you know, somebody looking in the window,' Cook told Sawyer.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave ABC News an exclusive interview that aired Friday

Cook told Diane Sawyer that some companies know a lot more about you than a 'peeping Tom,' which he described as 'one of the worst things'

'The fact is that the people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody's looking in your window, a lot more. Because you tend to put your thoughts online, what you think about something.'

Facebook, for one, has been embroiled in major privacy-related scandals over the last year or so.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the political data firm provided the 2016 Trump campaign with data from more than 50 million Facebook users, including information about their identities, who their friends are and what they've 'liked' on the website.

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook's stock price plummeted in the aftermath of the scandal before tumbling once again in December after a New York Times investigation revealed the social network had shared users' personal data with other tech industry giants like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify

Facebook vowed to improve its privacy features while announcing a new version of its site at the company's F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday

The world's largest social media company has vowed to change the way it manages users' private data.

During its F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday, Zuckerberg told a crowd of revelers Facebook's 'future is private,' as the company announced a redesign of its main app and website and plans to one day unify the site with the company's other platforms, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

'We dont exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly. But Im committed to doing this well and starting a new chapter for our product,' Zuckerberg said. 'Over time, I believe that a private social platform will be even more important to our lives than our digital town squares... We believe that for the future, people want a privacy-focused social platform... This is about building the kind of future we want to live in.'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October.

Apple offers Google apps including the search engine company's Chromes web browser, in its App Store. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed disapproval of Google's data collecting, but said Apple believes Chrome is the 'best web browser'

Cook previously denounced Facebook and other tech companies for hoarding 'industrial' amounts of users' private data during a privacy conference at the European Parliament in Brussels in October

He characterized the issue of online privacy as a 'crisis' on Friday.

'Privacy in itself has become a crisis. I think it's a crisis,' he said.

Sawyer pointed out Apple offers Facebook and Google apps like Chrome in its App Store and also does business through data collecting apps.

'You're making money through the App Store on the apps that are doing things that you think have got us in a crisis,' she said.

'We don't make any money on Facebook,' Cook responded pointedly. 'Google, we do make money on the browser. We selected Google, frankly, because we believe it's the best browser.'

American adults spend what amounts to 49 days per year looking at their smartphone, according to a 2018 Nielsen report.

That adds up to one and a half months staring at a phone screen over a lifetime.

During the interview, Cook said overuse of tech products concerns him, particularly how it is affecting parents and children.

He pointed out Apple created ways for parents to control screen time on specific iPhone apps in 2018, allowing them to track and police what children are using and how long they are using Apple devices.

'We have been working hard to add key capabilities into our products to help people find a better balance,' he said.

Cook emphasized that Apple makes most of its money from selling iPhones, iPads and other hardware devices, but the company doesn't want customers to overuse the products and miss out on real-world experiences.

'You make money from how long people stay on the app,' Sawyer challenged.

'No. No, we make money if we can convince you to buy an iPhone. And so it's kind of a straight forward and honest business model. But I don't want you using the product a lot. In fact, if you're using it a lot, there's probably something we should do to make your use more productive,' Cook responded.

Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to request for comment on Cook's comments.

The Apple CEO also said his company prioritizes customers' privacy and that other companies need to do the same to solve the growing problem.

Apple also installed a system on its Safari web browser in 2018 that allows users to limit access to their personal data.

'We treasure your data. We want to help you keep it private and keep it secure. We're on your side,' Cook said. 'This [privacy crisis] is fixable... We very much are an ally in that fight.'
Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc.

Mr Juncker, 64, who is set to leave his role as president of the European Commission in November, was speaking a few days before a leaders' summit on the future of the bloc in the Romanian city of Sibiu.

He told German newspaper Handelsblatt: 'We have lost our collective libido  Five or six years after the second world war there was one.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europeans have 'lost their collective libido' for each other and that Brexit was the 'logical outcome' of Britain having always 'reviled' the EU as he sought to explain the dangers facing the bloc

'Yet these days it should be much easier for Europeans to fall in love with each other than it was in 1952,' he added in the light-hearted analysis.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and as he took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'.

He said: 'Brexit is a special case. If you pepper a nation for 40 years with the message that it doesn't actually belong in the EU, then the decision to leave is the logical outcome. The bride was systematically reviled and then rejected.'

'The European commission is doing its best, but it cannot solve every problem,' he added.

On Brexit, Mr Juncker insisted that Britain's departure from the EU was a result of the country being 'peppered' with the message that it does not belong in the bloc and took aim at the weakness of 'British democracy'

'The commission cannot compensate for the weaknesses of the national governments and democracies in Europe. Look at the United Kingdom.

'The fact that the government and the opposition there only started to talk to each other three years after the Brexit referendum is hardly a sign of strength for the British democracy, he added.

The former prime minister of Luxembourg went on to defend his leadership of the European Commission and said that it no longer got involved in 'every tiny detail' of citizens' lives.
President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after a string of social media bans on controversial, mostly right-wing, figures sparked uproar.

'When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen!' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning, apparently referring to revelations of FBI surveillance on his campaign.

'Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!' he continued.

It followed a string of retweets of criticism aimed at Facebook for its recent ban of several controversial figures, which the company labeled 'dangerous individuals'.

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet reading ''If you try to kill the King, you best not miss' #HangThemAll,' a paraphrase of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

President Donald Trump has asked why the 'radical left wing media' is still allowed on Facebook and Twitter after the companies banned controversial, mostly right-wing, figures

Trump also highlighted the case of conservative actor James Woods, who was suspended from Twitter for a tweet paraphrasing a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote

Facebook's ban on Thursday included right-wing personalities Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, as well as radio host Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

Facebook also banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, an ally of left-wing Democrats.

Trump retweeted former InfoWars editor-at-large Watson, who wrote: 'The support for me has been incredible. This could actually lead to some genuine change. Keep up the pressure. Don't let it rest.'

Trump's retweets included a range of commentary blasting Facebook's ban as politically-motivated censorship.

'When did we decide, as Americans, that it's ok fo govt & 3d parties to censor/ curate our info? That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info?' read one tweet by Sharyl Attkisson, host of the Sinclair Broadcasting television show Full Measure News.

'Lmao at establishment conservatives who think they won't be labeled the new 'dangerous' / 'extremist' voices when those to the right of them are all banned. Good luck with that one guys,' wrote author and filmmaker Lauren Southern.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew criticism after the company banned a range of controversial figures on Thursday

Facebook said the newly banned accounts violated its policy against 'dangerous individuals and organizations'.

The company says it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

It added that when it bans someone under this policy, the company also prohibits anyone else from praising or supporting them.

It is not clear what events led to Thursday's announcement. In a statement, Facebook merely said, 'The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.'

Asked to comment by AP on the bans, Yiannopoulos emailed only: 'You're next'.

Jones reacted angrily Thursday during a live stream of his show on his Infowars website.

'They didn't just ban me. They just defamed us. Why did Zuckerberg even do this?' Jones said, referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Jones called himself a victim of 'racketeering' by 'cartels.'

'There's a new world now, man, where they're banning everybody and then they tell Congress nobody is getting banned,' he said.

Also on Saturday, Trump tweeted about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said the door was still open to de-nuclearization talks with North Korea after a weapons test on the peninsula early on Saturday, and said a phone call with Putin on Friday was productive.
Madeleine McCann could have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, a think-tank has claimed.

The shocking allegations were made by John Whitehead, president of US-based Rutherford Institute and author of a recent report on child sex abuse in the US, who said he believes she was taken in the same way as other children.

This comes after police began investigating an alleged foreign paedophile who was in the area in May 2007, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard, according to Portuguese media.

Maddie has been missing for 12 years since she disappeared from her hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents had dinner in a nearby restaurant. She had been with her younger twin siblings.

Madeleine McCann may have been taken by sex trafficking gangs helped by police, claims a US-based think-tank

Kate and Gerry McCann posted on their website findmadeleine.com where they said they would like to 'fast forward' the first couple of weeks in May (Madeleine pictured above)

When asked whether he thought Maddie was taken in a similar way to other children, Mr Whitehead told the Daily Star: 'Oh I think she was. Kids are being snatched all over the world.

'When you look at migrant children coming across the border in the US, they just go missing.

'It's big business. You can get more money than from drugs and guns because you have kids doing multiple sex acts a day and they're being filmed'.

Whitehead also claimed the child sex industry was being made possible by 'predatory cops' - although there is no evidence to suggest Portuguese police were involved.

The Rutherford think-tank recently published a report on child sex trafficking, entitled The Essence of Evil: Sex with Children has become Big Business in America, which looked into how kids are bought, sold and exploited sexually.

Portuguese detectives were recently given extra resources to look into a new suspect, following a tip-off from Scotland Yard.

Authorities are said to have 'many doubts' that Maddie is still alive amid claims police are 'nearer to knowing what happened'.

A report by news website Expresso said the enquiry 'relates to a complaint made about a foreigner who was in Portugal in May 2007.'

'The suspect is no stranger to Portuguese police,' it goes on.

'At the time the PJ investigated him on suspicion of being involved in cases of paedophilia but in light of the information coming from London, the investigators are looking into this case in more detail.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation was 'ongoing' but said they would 'not provide a running commentary'.

Lisbon-based newspaper Correio da Manha said prosecutors had turned down a request to see material in the case because of 'active lines of investigation'.

'Police are following new Maddie kidnap clues,' the newspaper claimed.

'More inspectors are advancing with an investigation into a new suspect. A new clue and a new suspect, which the PJ are trying to keep an absolute secret, has led to new resources being put in place to investigate the little girl's whereabouts.'

A spokesman for Portugal's attorney general said: 'Regarding these facts, as is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing. It is under investigation.'

The latest development came as Madeleine's parents vowed to carry on looking for their daughter 'for as long as it takes'.

Kate and Gerry, who cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie could still be alive, tell of their 'comfort and reassurance' that the police hunt to find her carries on.

In a message to mark the latest harrowing milestone which they wish they could 'fast forward', they share their heartache that Maddie would soon be turning sixteen.

In a posting on the Official Find Maddie Campaign website the couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, jointly say: 'It's that time of year again. As much as we'd like to fast forward the first couple of weeks of May, there's no getting around it.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured above) have vowed to continue to look for their daughter Madeleine, who went missing in 2007

Three-year-old Maddie vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals at the seaside complex.

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker and eminent heart doctor Gerry, 50, said continued supported from family, friends and the public boosted them.

In a joint message they write: 'The months and years roll by too quickly; Madeleine will be sixteen this month. It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.'

They add: 'Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief. For as long as it takes.' before signing off Kate and Gerry.

The couple (pictured above) have remained extremely grateful to Scotland Yard

The Facebook page, run by a close friend of the McCanns and seen by millions across the globe, has updated its cover photo with the couple's key words 'For as long as it takes.' in yellow, a couple representing hope in Portugal.

Kate and Gerry's message entitled '12th Anniversary of Madeleine's Abduction (3rd May 2019)' was posted just hours before they are due to join well wishers tonight to remember their daughter during a poignant prayer service in their home village.

Family, friends and locals will gather at the war memorial where a lantern - a beacon of hope - still shines brightly around the clock for the world's most famous missing child.

Maddie's parents remain extremely grateful to Scotland Yard who have actively been searching for their daughter for the past eight years.

Madeleine McCann (left and right) would be turning sixteen this month and her parents posted a heartfelt piece on their website

Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick confirmed yesterday that the force had applied for more money from the Home Office to continue its Operation Grange search for Maddie.

She said: 'We have active lines of inquiries and I think the public would expect us to see those through. A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding.'

Kate has previously said in a log standing post on the Find Maddie website: 'As a parent of an abducted child, I can tell you that it is the most painful and agonising experience you could ever imagine. My thoughts of fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable - crippling.'

A controversial new Netflix documentary re-examining Maddie's kidnap was released last month, triggering a barrage of online abuse against Kate and Gerry by heartless trolls. They pair, who refused to take part in the eight hour programme series, slammed it for 'potentially hindering' the search for their daughter while an active police hunt is ongoing.
A farmer who objected to the way Rihanna was dressed while she filmed a music video in his field has lost his council seat.

Alan Graham, of the Democratic Unionist Party, hit headlines across the world after voicing concerns over the revealing outfit Rihanna wore while recording for her 2011 hit We Found Love.

Mr Graham, who had agreed for one of his fields in Bangor, County Down, to be used for recording, said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain'.

Alan Graham said at the time he did not 'believe young ladies should have to take their clothes off to entertain' (pictured: Rihanna on the first day of filming We Found Love in Northern Ireland, 2011)

Alan Graham, left, said he had not halted the filming, adding that Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke (pictured right: Rihanna during filming in the New Lodge area of North Belfast, September 2011)

The farmer, who was 61 at the time, said Rihanna had been 'very gracious and respectful' when they spoke, and they had 'parted company on good terms'.

Carry On and EastEnders star Barbara Windsor spoke out in support of Mr Graham's stance, commenting at the time: 'I don't blame him. How old is he? Does he need that at his time of life, seeing Rihanna taking her top off? He doesn't.'

Mr Graham has been a councillor on Ards and North Down Council for several terms.

He is known for his conservative views and last year objected to a proposal to light up Bangor Town Hall in the rainbow colours for a Pride event.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land'

The DUP veteran lost his council seat on Saturday morning to Alliance Party representative Scott Wilson.

In 2011 Mr Graham had said: I had never heard of Rihanna until someone called me requesting the use of my land.

Someone explained she was as big as it gets as far as pop stars were concerned. I am a bit illiterate about those issues.'

After the issue came to light in 2011 it was reported that Mr Graham had said: 'I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God.'
Royal Navy supply vessels could be built in Spain as a result of Brexit negotiations regarding Gibraltar, union leaders say.

The GMB has raised fears that contracts worth 1billion to build the vessels could go to a naval yard in northern Spain.

The union said the contract for Fleet Solid Support ships could go to Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company.

A contract for Fleet Solid Support ships (pictured) could go to a Spanish shipyard as a result of Brexit negotiations, according to union leaders

Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company that could win the contract for the Royal Navy supply vessels

The trade union said there were rumours that the decision to give the work to Spain is linked to negotiations over the future of the British territory of Gibraltar.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said: 'If the contracts for these ships go abroad, the Government is basically sticking two fingers up to shipbuilding communities and the entire manufacturing industry in the UK.

'No other government would outsource national security.

'If it is true this deal is being done because of ministers' abject failure to sort out Brexit then it's not just negligent, it's grubby and reeks of self-preservation and putting party politics ahead of people's livelihoods and communities.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, said the potential deal is 'grubby and reeks of self-preservation'

'If this is what the Government is planning, it needs to think again.'

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We are required by law to procure the Fleet Solid Support ships through open international competition.

'We issued formal tender documents to bidders, including a UK consortium, in late 2018.

'The final decision regarding the winning bid will be made in 2020.'

There are believed to be five bidders to build the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, with the Rosyth yard in Fife, Scotland, in line for work if Babcock wins the contract.
King Maha was born on July 24, 1952 in Bangkok's Royal Dusit Palace, the 64-year-old is the only son and male heir of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.

As an adolescent he studied at two public schools in Britain, including King's Mead School, Seaford, Sussex, and then at Millfield School, Somerset. After, he embarked on a military career, training in Australia.

In 1976, he graduated as a newly commissioned lieutenant with a liberal arts bachelors degree from the University of New South Wales.

After graduating he started a career in the military training with US, British and Australian armed forces. He also qualified as a a fixed wing helicopter pilot in the late 1970s in the Royal Thai Army.

His military career was interrupted in 1978 so he could be ordained for a season as a Buddhist monk, as is customary for all Thai Buddhist men.

He married his first wife in 1977, a cousin, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978. They divorced in 1993.

Nine months after his daughter was born, the prince had a son with actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with whom he went on to have a total of five children and a tumultuous relationship.

Three years later his relationship broke down with Ms Polpraserth as she fled to the UK in 1996, after a spectacular bust up.

In 2001 he wed his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee, describing her as a 'modest and patient' woman who 'never says bad things towards anyone' and like his previous relationships there were to be a number of controversies in their time together.

In 2007, footage published online showed the couple throwing a party for his pet poodle - who held the rank of Air Chief Marshall - at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. Princess Srirasmi, a former waitress, who sang happy birthday to the dog topless, also got on her knees and ate from a dog bowl in the same video.

In late 2014, Srirasmi suffered a very public fall from grace when several members of her family were arrested as part of a police corruption probe and charged with lese majeste (treason).

Vajiralongkorn later divorced her and she lost her royal titles . The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

Despite holding a number of military titles, including Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems, the prince admitted to an interviewer he was unable to tie his own shoe laces aged 12 because courtiers had always done it for him.

The crown prince has spent much of his time away from the public eye, living overseas in Germany, but in recent years he has stepped in at some official ceremonies as his father's health declined.

In August 2015 he led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance.

He was drafted in as King in October 2016, 50 days after the death of his father, the highly revered Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had to fly back from Germany after learning of his father's deteriorating health in the days before.

Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne with tthe statement: 'The government will inform the National Legislative Assembly that His Majesty the King appointed his heir on Dec. 28, 1972.'

However, in a shock move he requested to delay his coronation and ascension to the throne for a year to mourn the passing of his father.
Private security contractor Erik Prince's connection to the right-wing activist group Project Veritas has been revealed.

Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, a self-described 'activist journalist', even visited Prince's family ranch in early 2017 to learn 'spying and self-defense,' according to a report Friday in The Intercept.

Prince, 49, famously founded Blackwater Worldwide, the private security company that subsequently changed its name and was sold after its guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

In late 2015 or early 2016, Prince became involved with Project Veritas, according to a former Trump White House official cited by the Intercept.

Private security contractor Erik Prince (left) invited Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe (right) to his family's Wyoming ranch in February 2017 for 'spy training'

Project Veritas uses hidden cameras and phony identities to attempt to catch subjects making embarrassing statements.

The group generally targets left-wing subjects, and first shot to fame in 2009 with video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

More recently, the group has sought to expose liberal bias in big tech and the media, and targeted teachers' unions.

According to the Intercept, Prince arranged for O'Keefe and Project Veritas to receive training in intelligence and 'elicitation' techniques from a retired military intelligence operative named Euripides Rubio Jr.

After several weeks of training, the frustrated Rubio quit, saying that the Veritas activists weren't 'capable of learning,' the report says.

The relationship between Prince and Veritas continued, however, with O'Keefe and his colleagues visiting Prince's family ranch in Wyoming in February 2017.

O'Keefe posted this photo on Instagram showing him on Prince's ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer, saying he was 'learning some new skills on spying and self-defense'

O'Keefe posted on Instagram and Twitter at the time that he was at a 'classified location' where he was learning 'spying and self-defense,' in an effort to make Project Veritas 'the next great intelligence agency.'

A photo O'Keefe posted on Instagram shows him on the ranch, aiming a pistol with a silencer.

In response to questions from The Intercept, Prince's spokesperson said, 'Mr. Prince supports Project Veritas's mission of uncovering government largesse and corruption, and has allowed Project Veritas to use his family's ranch in Wyoming.

The statement said that Prince has no business relationship with James O'Keefe or Project Veritas.

The Intercept report also gives a detailed account of Prince's dealings in Africa and the Middle East after selling Blackwater in 2010.
Penny Mordaunt (pictured on Friday) leaving Westminster Abbey after attending a service to recognise fifty years of continuous at sea deterrent

New Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt delighted the Royal Navys top brass on her first day in the job by sporting an honorary submariners badge.

The silver dolphin pin is awarded to submariners when they complete the final part of their training and, in an old tradition, they have to catch it between their teeth while drinking a tot of rum.

Ms Mordaunt, the first female head of the Ministry of Defence, who is herself a naval reservist, had previously served at the department as junior Minister for the Armed Forces in 2015.

During her tenure, she successfully completed the boozy submariners challenge and earned her own dolphin pin, which she chose to sport on her first official outing in the new role.

On Friday she joined the Duke of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey to commemorate Britains nuclear submariners, just hours after being promoted to replace sacked Gavin Williamson.

The service, attended by 2,000 naval representatives and their families, was in recognition of the Royal Navys commitment in maintaining Operation Relentless  the longest sustained military operation ever undertaken by the UK.

Since April 1969, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at least one British nuclear-armed submarine has been on patrol.

Prince William (pictured above) also attended the event

Ms Mordaunt said: We pay tribute to those incredible crews, their supportive families, the Royal Navy and the thousands of industry experts who will continue to sustain this truly national endeavour for many years to come. A Royal Navy source added: The dolphin was a really nice touch. Went down very well at a difficult time.

Ms Mordaunt vowed to channel her inner Nelson in her new role, putting up a picture of Britains greatest naval hero in her office in the MoD as one of her first acts in charge.

And The Mail on Sunday understands that she is poised to lambast France and Germany for not paying their way on Nato commitments. The move is likely to endear her to Washington, as Donald Trump has made such complaints a central part of his defence outlook.

All major Nato members have vowed to increase defence spending to two per cent of their economic output by 2024, but to date, only the US and UK have hit that target.
Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440-foot ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told The Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

'We will go on board and do our job,' he said, adding that aut horities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

The Freewinds cruise ship is docked in the port of Willemstad, Curacao early on Saturday. Authorities in Curacao on Saturday boarded the ship to start vaccinating people

A 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, SMV Freewinds, is docked under quarantine from a measles outbreak in port in Willemstad, Curacao on Saturday

'If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when we're talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance,' Gerstenbluth said.

Authorities worry people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St. Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St. Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St. Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early Saturday.

A passenger is seen on the deck of the Freewinds as the ship docks under quarantine

The Church of Scientology says the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling'

Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it's a small ship.

'This is what happens when we don't vaccinate,' he said.

Church officials have not returned calls for comment.

According to the church's website, the ship is the home of 'a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling.' It says religious conventions and seminars also are held aboard.

Though Scientology takes a well-known stance in opposition to psychiatric medication, the church does not oppose standard medical treatment for physical illness and injury.

The Church of Scientology has previously said that it takes 'no position' on the question of vaccinations.

Measles cases are at their highest numbers in the US since 1994

Symptoms of measles include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

Diagnoses are at their highest levels since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.
The Russian ambassador to London is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy.

Alexander Yakovenko, 64, became a contentious figure after making mocking remarks about the Salisbury poisoning attack, which nearly killed Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia and led to the death of British mother Dawn Sturgess.

In March, a Mail on Sunday investigation suggested Mr Yakovenko was expelled from the US during a purge of agents at the height of the Cold War.

Experts believe our expose could be behind the decision to send him back to Russia.

Russian ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko (pictured with his wife Nana) is to leave his post after eight years  just weeks after The Mail on Sunday revealed he may have worked in the US as a Soviet spy

The revelation, which Russia has strenuously denied, centred on Mr Yakovenko's disappearance from the US in 1986 at the time the US was sending dozens of Soviet diplomats working in New York back home.

Tory MP Bob Seely and Independent MP Ian Austin, who both sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, have written to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US.

Russian media has reported that Mr Yakovenko will leave his London post in midsummer to become head of the Russian diplomatic academy in Moscow.

An intelligence source said of his recall: 'The more direct attention being paid to his activities, including the news of his likely expulsion from New York, then the less able he was to do his job. His recall, and probable replacement by a more conventional mainstream diplomat, likely reflects an awareness in Moscow that an increasingly sceptical British Government is paying greater attention to who Russia chooses to represent it.'

Tory MP Bob Seely (left) and Independent MP Ian Austin (right) both wrote to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding that the Foreign Office declares what it knows of the circumstances surrounding Mr Yakovenko's departure from the US

Dr Andrew Foxall (pictured) said: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight... it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change'

Mr Seely said: 'The ambassador allowed himself to become a figure of comedy rather than a serious diplomat. The Mail on Sunday's brilliant expose of him as someone who was, very probably, a former spy, compounded his problems.'

Dr Andrew Foxall, director of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, added: 'Since 1991, Russia's ambassadors in London have served either three or five-year terms. Mr Yakovenko has served eight. Given that eight isn't easily divisible by three or five, it seems unlikely from this perspective that his leaving is part of a scheduled change.'

The Foreign Office last night confirmed the ambassador would be leaving his post.

The Russian authorities have dismissed accusations that Mr Yakovenko was a spy as 'a blatant lie'. Last night they did not respond to requests to comment on his departure from London.
In public, she has been the soul of discretion throughout her long reign.

But a very different side of the Queen is revealed today with the extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated.

According to a senior diplomat's diary, Her Majesty said she was 'surprised nobody had found means of putting something' in the coffee of the Jordanian king's 'wicked' uncle.

And in a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools.

A very different side of the Queen (pictured with Former Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden) is revealed with an extraordinary claim that she once jokingly suggested an Arab statesman should be assassinated, according to a senior diplomat's diary

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis.

At the time, Britain feared that Jordan's King Hussein, an Old Harrovian aged 19, was under the malign influence of his uncle and aide-de-camp, Sharif Nasser Bin Jamil.

Evelyn Shuckburgh, Assistant Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, wrote on July 7, 1955: 'After lunch I had what seemed like 20 minutes' conversation with the Queen, mostly about King Hussein of Jordan and his new Queen Dina.

'I told her the sad story of their estrangement and the machinations of the wicked uncle, Nasser. The Queen said she didn't really think it a good idea to send Arabs to English public schools.

'She had seen poor little Hussein, fresh from Harrow, a year or two ago and all he could do was stand stiffly to attention, saying, 'Your Majesty' and not another word.

'As for Uncle Nasser, she said she was surprised nobody had found means of putting something in his coffee.'

In a remark that would also raise eyebrows today, the Queen said she didn't 'think it a good idea' for Arabs to go to English public schools (Pictured: Prince Hussein of Jordan, who studied at Harrow, aged 17)

The young Monarch was speaking over lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1955, a year before Britain's confrontation with President Nasser of Egypt in the Suez Crisis (pictured)

Mr Shuckburgh had revealed to Her Majesty that King Hussein's uncle wanted to expel British soldiers from Jordan. It was then that the Queen joked somebody should assassinate him. The quip was not that far-fetched: British intelligence was involved in plots to kill Egypt's Nasser.

Mr Shuckburgh's diary entry was found by Dr Rory Cormac, professor of international relations at Nottingham University, and will be shown in a documentary tonight that also reveals King George VI's intelligence role in the Second World War.

Prof Cormac said: 'It shows the closeness between the Monarch and the secret state.'

In March 1956, British troops were expelled from Jordan, just a few months before the humiliation of the Suez Crisis.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on 'private conversations from more than 60 years ago'.

D-Day: The King Who Fooled Hitler will be shown on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.
With 4,000 animal kills to his name, including hundreds of lions, Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth.

The 89-year-old Spaniards appalling lifetime tally of kills includes 1,317 elephants, 127 black rhino, 167 leopards and 2,093 buffalo, along with 340 lions.

And disturbingly  despite the carnage  for some he is an object of adulation, celebrated as the worlds most dangerous and experienced game hunter and with a formidable reputation as a marksman who builds his own game cartridges and rifles, each one with his name engraved in gold on the barrel.

Tony Sanchez-Arino is perhaps the most prolific hunter on Earth. Over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards

He is a close friend of Spains former King Juan Carlos, who was discredited and dropped as honorary president of the countrys World Wildlife Fund branch after it was discovered he had hunted and killed elephants and buffalo in Botswana.

With astonishing hypocrisy, Sanchez-Arino has even had the temerity to say he fears the African elephant will be hunted to extinction in the wild within our lifetime, to the shame of humanity.

He made the jaw-dropping remark in his book Elephants, Ivory And Hunters, published in 2002, in which he describes how he has devoted his life to the pursuit of this magnificent animal.

Having gone to Africa on his first hunting safari at 21, he has since been hunting for ivory, guiding trophy-hunting clients and adding to his tally of big game, which he does for eight months each year, mostly in Botswana and Tanzania.

He was still leading safaris in his mid-80s and, although he has begun to slow down in his advanced age, over the past five years he has shot and killed 13 elephants, ten buffalo, one lion and two leopards.

Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: This man is little more than a serial killer of wildlife. Governments give them licences to kill, and the hunting industry lavishes them with awards.

Cold-blooded killers like Sanchez-Arino should get prison, not permits and prizes.
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A powerful Walther PPK pistol and a spear gun would seem excessive for most anglers  but then most anglers aren't James Bond.

Our exclusive pictures show Daniel Craig filming on set in Jamaica for 007's latest adventure.

And while there is no Pussy Galore, the spy's latest feline co-star clearly enjoys the finer things in life.

Daniel Craig looks down the sights of a Walther PPK pistol as he plays James Bond while filming on the Jamaican coast

The spy who love me: A very happy cat gets to share some of the delicious red snapper caught by a smiling Daniel Craig

Fishy galore for Bond's pussycat: Daniel Craig fed the cat as his feline friend took a liking to the fish 007 had caught

Tinned fish just won't do. Instead, Bond feeds it fresh red snapper killed with the spear gun and filleted on the beach.

But this being a Bond film, danger soon approaches and the secret agent has to reach for his pistol, main picture, left.

Like the cat, Craig, 51, is also being well looked after  with a physio, trainer and chef to ensure his physique is impressively ripped for Bond's 25th outing, and the actor's fifth as the British spy.

The unnamed film  scheduled for release next April and rumoured to be a remake of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby  opens with Bond having left active service.

Unfortunately his retirement is interrupted by the arrival in Jamaica of his CIA friend, Felix Leiter, who persuades him to help rescue a kidnapped scientist.

Bond's arch-enemy will be played by Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who starred as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Craig chomping on a cigar as he walked along the boardwalk for a scene for the upcoming film set in Jamaica which is rumoured to be a remake of On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Bond caught a red snapper with a harpoon gun and chomped on a cigar as he filmed for the new Bond movie, for which he is rumoured to be getting 50 million

James Bond carrying a huge red snapper fish in his right hand and a harpoon in the other (left) as he holds a handgun close to his chest (right)

More familiar faces include Ralph Fiennes as M, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Jeffrey Wright as Leiter.

Craig can certainly afford the cigars he was seen, left, enjoying during breaks in filming.

He is rumoured to be getting 50 million for his latest  and, he insists, final  Bond adventure.
Theresa Mays relationship with sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson collapsed after No 10 was told he had been spreading claims that her health was failing, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

Mr Williamson  who was fired on Wednesday for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council about Chinese firm Huawei  was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister.

The claim infuriated Mrs Mays allies, who say she is in robust health despite having to inject herself with insulin at least twice a day.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation.

Gavin Williamson was allegedly heard saying earlier this year that her Type 1 diabetes meant she was unable to discharge her responsibilities as Prime Minister

Reacting to an announcement by Scotland Yard that the leak did not breach the Official Secrets Act, he told Sky News: With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation, it is clear that a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled.

As the recriminations continued, this newspaper has also been told Mr Williamsons friends believe that one of his Ministers, Tobias Ellwood, reported him to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill over unfounded claims of a bullying management style and briefing against him.

This included disputing Mr Ellwoods heroics when he fought to save the life of stabbed PC Keith Palmer during 2017s Westminster terror attack.

Sir Mark oversaw the inquiry which concluded that Mr Williamson was responsible for the leak  which revealed details of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G network, which critics have warned poses a national security threat.

Last night, Mr Williamson said he had been the victim of a shabby and discredited witch-hunt and called for a full investigation (pictured: Gavin Williamson with Sir Mark Sedwill)

Will he do 'a Geoffrey Howe'? Gavin Williamson used his Instagram account to give a coded warning to Theresa May last night, appearing to question her loyalty and whether she was acting in the national interest. The spurned Tory posted this picture, above, of Margaret Thatcher at No 10, praising her for standing up for her party and country. It came amid speculation he could be planning to give Mrs May a Geoffrey Howe moment in the Commons. In 1990, Howe, who had been Deputy PM, gave a withering resignation speech criticising Mrs Thatcher, which triggered a leadership contest. Advertisement

Mr Ellwood infuriated Mr Williamson by making repeated criticisms of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, who he accused of holding Mrs May hostage and blocking the progress of her withdrawal agreement.

He has also indicated his support for a second referendum. Mr Ellwood, a former Green Jacket, was hailed as a hero when he tried to save the life of PC Keith Palmer  although an unfounded whispering campaign claimed his actions had actually impeded the work of the emergency services.

A source close to Mr Williamson said: Tobias and Gavin always worked closely together on military affairs, and no complaint was ever made regarding bullying.

But an ally added: Gavin did grow frustrated at the amount of time Tobias spent on the airwaves making the case for a second referendum and slagging off the ERG.

MPs were left reeling by Mrs Mays decision to sack Mr Williamson last week, despite the only publicly acknowledged evidence being an 11-minute phone conversation with the Daily Telegraph journalist who wrote the story.

One source said: She would only have done that if she had been presented with incontrovertible evidence in black and white.

In her letter to Mr Williamson on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister said that the investigation had found compelling evidence that he was the source of the leak.

There have even been claims in Whitehall that Mr Williamsons office in the MoD was being monitored by the security services at the behest of the Americans, who were angered by his claim last year that the Russians posed a threat to European energy supplies, which Washington said came from classified US naval intelligence.

'Don't underestimate how vindictive I can be' It was a cold January day and in a scene more akin to the politics of a Tudor court, powerful mandarin Sir Mark Sedwill gave Gavin Williamson a chilling warning that he was determined to oust him. According to the former Defence Secretarys account, the Prime Ministers seething enforcer stopped him in Cockpit Passage, the red-brick corridor that is the last surviving part of Henry VIIIs Whitehall Palace  and the scene of many historic executions. Do not underestimate how vindictive I can be Mr Williamson, the usually silver- tongued official is said to have spat towards his nemesis after yet another testy meeting where they had clashed. It was all very dramatic, Mr Williamson told friends, and further proof, he said, that there had been a long-running campaign by Sedwill for his head. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sir Mark confronted Mr Williamson as the pairs working relationship deteriorated. The extraordinary moment came after Mr Williamson jettisoned a plan by Sir Mark  the Prime Ministers National Security Adviser  to hive off part of the defence budget to use on his pet cyber security projects. The row saw two of Whitehalls most Machiavellian characters pitted against each other. Mr Williamson is said to delight in his image as a master of the dark political arts. He once said: I dont very much believe in the stick, but its amazing what can be achieved with a sharpened carrot. Meanwhile, Sir Mark has always been keen to play up his spooky securocrat image. This was all about spies v soldiers and in the end Mark got his revenge, just as he told him he would, said one observer. Last night the Cabinet Office refused to comment on the allegation against Sir Mark, but a supporter said: Dont believe everything you hear. Advertisement

Mr Williamson rose quickly under Mrs May, running her successful leadership campaign in 2016 and being rewarded with the job of Chief Whip.

He became Defence Secretary the following year after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over the pestminster scandal, but the relationship with No 10 started to sour after Mr Williamson lobbied for greater funding for the Armed Forces.

A senior party figure is understood to have reported to No 10 that they heard Mr Williamson suggesting her health condition meant she was not fit to continue as PM.

One of Mrs Mays allies said: Its absolutely outrageous he would attempt to use the Prime Ministers health condition against her and to suggest it makes her too frail and ill to be the Prime Minister.

When Mrs May revealed in 2011 that she had diabetes, which carries the risk of heart attacks and strokes, she said: The diabetes doesnt affect how I do the job or what I do. Its a case of head down and getting on with it. She is often seen wearing a diabetes monitoring patch, which helps sufferers keep track of their sugar levels without having to resort to fingerprick tests.

It was also revealed yesterday that Mr Williamson had scrawled f*** the Prime Minister across an official memo in February after Mrs May overruled his decision to deploy the UKs new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea.

Friends of Mr Williamson say he has received the backing of more than 200 Tory MPs since his sacking. He said yesterday: I have been royally screwed over  it is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name.

Downing Street has refused to publish details of the report that sealed his fate. Mr Williamson is weighing up whether to make a speech about his sacking in the coming days.

Last night, a source close to him said it was nonsense that his office had been bugged because the MoD office is a secure zone, with no mobiles allowed.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have strict security measures in place to prevent the use of listening devices in all sensitive areas of the MoD.

Mr Ellwood did not respond to requests for comment.

You'll never guess where Williamson's nemesis is jetting off to this week!

By Harry Cole, Deputy Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
It was the television advert that captured the nation's heart.

A young boy valiantly pushes a bike loaded with bread up the steep cobbled hill of a post-war British town.

Now, 46 years after it first aired, Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time.

Hovis's Boy on a Bike advert has been voted the most iconic and heartwarming TV commercial of all time

Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a gorilla playing the drums is another of the nation's favourite adverts

Set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony, the 1973 advert was directed by Sir Ridley Scott six years before his Hollywood debut with Alien.

Although the commercial is supposed to be set in a fictional Yorkshire town, it was in fact filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, which has one of the steepest streets in Britain.

Once the young boy reaches the top of the hill, he excitedly freewheels back down with a smile on his face, declaring in a heavy Yorkshire accent: 'T'was like taking bread to top of the world. T'was a grand ride back though.'

The advert was later parodied by numerous comedians, most famously by The Two Ronnies.

The 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book made the top five

Coca Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing is another of the nation's favourite adverts

In the poll it beat Cadbury's 2007 advert featuring a 'gorilla' drumming along to Phil Collins's hit In The Air Tonight, and the 1983 Yellow Pages commercial featuring elderly fictional author JR Hartley using the phone directory to hunt down a copy of his own book.

Research firm Kantar conducted the poll.

Other adverts that made the top five included John Lewis's 2010 Always A Woman and Coca-Cola's 1971 classic featuring young people singing I'd Like To Teach The World to Sing.
A new suspect police want to quiz over Madeleine McCann's disappearance 12 years ago is understood to be a German child sex fiend killer.

Detectives in Portugal are closing in on a foreign paedophile of 'considerable significance' following a tip off from Scotland Yard.

Prolific pervert and convicted triple-murderer Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on and are set to quiz behind bars.

Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry are yet to be informed of any fresh leads.

Martin Ney, 48, is believed to be one of the two key 'persons of interest' officers are now focusing on (left), and a previously issued suspect's photofit (right)

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz as a three-year-old in May 2007

Ney was jailed for life in 2012 for abducting and murdering three young children and abusing many more, The Sun reported.

The killer, known as the 'masked man', was reportedly known to haunt the Algarve and travelled throughout Portugal in the 1990s.

He revealed in chatroom messages, under the username GerdX, he had dressed in camouflage to jump out of bushes, 'in children's playgrounds if a beautiful boy goes past,' The Sun reported.

He also wore masks, balaclavas and replied 'yes' when one girl awoke from a nap and asked if he was her daddy.

Ney was jailed for killing Stefan Jahr, 13, in 1992, Dennis Rostel, eight, in 1995, and Dennis Klein, nine, in 2001.

His known victims are all boys, but experts claim gender is often unimportant for paedophiles.

It was reported last year that Ney confessed a fourth killing to a cellmate, that of 10-year-old French school boy Jonathan Coulom, who was kidnapped and killed from a holiday camp in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in 2004. This has not resulted in a charge.

He was also investigated over the disappearance of German boy Renee Hasse in Aljezur, Portugal, in 1996, but never charged.

He is known to have finished his teacher training aged 21 before travelling to Ecuador in 1993, Peru in 1995 and Portugal a year later. He was jailed in 2012 after a wide scale police operation.

Former disgraced Portuguese Police chief Goncalo Amaral gave a recent interview to Australian journalist Mark Saunokonko in which he claimed police were on the verge on naming a new Maddie suspect, a German paedophile whom he didn't identify.

Family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said of potential new kidnapper Ney: 'It might be him and he fits the profile, he is a known predatory paedophile and he's a foreigner.

'He wore camouflage gear, carried knives and jumped out of bushes to pounce on victims.'

Ney is believed to have leapt out at children from behind bushes wearing a mask and dressed all in black (photofit pictured)

He told MailOnline: 'It is quite possible and plausible police are looking at him again but it could be someone else. There is a degree of credibility it is Ney but we cannot speculate.

'Ney has been previously interviewed by detectives over Madeleine's abduction, and denied it. He is in a German jail now.'

Mr Mitchell said that Portuguese Police's fresh bid to close in on Maddie's kidnapper was 'action on a tip off from Scotland Yard.

He explained: 'The Yard has been doing a fair amount of work on this new person of interest and they then ask Portuguese officers to nail it down.

'If activity needs to be done, the local police have to do it even if it's a foreign force's investigation. And if Ney is the person of interest a German force will then have to get involved to interview him on their soil.'

He added: 'Kate and Gerry are not in a position to comment on this, nor would they because it is operational detail and they will not discuss it.

Police are reportedly pursuing two theories and two potential suspects including the German paedophile and another revolving around a suspect in another country

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are focusing on a convicted German paedophile

'It is purely for the police if they choose to comment. The family will wait to hear of any developments and remain grateful to the British police for everything they are doing.'

A close friend of the McCann's said: 'If Ney is the suspect can you imagine how Madeleine's parents will be feeling, knowing that a child killing pervert may be involved in their daughter's kidnap. It is beyond horrendous.'

Kate has previously said there is 'always the worst case scenario' as she told of her need to know if Maddie dead or alive.

She said in an interview to mark the seventh anniversary in May 2014 that not knowing was the worst thing.

She said: 'But there is always the worst case scenario. That's always been a possibility and anyone who thinks that we're blinkered doesn't know us.

'We obviously want Madeleine back number one, but we want an answer whatever.

'I'm not underestimating the blow of hearing bad news that your child has been killed, because obviously we're not going to go 'OK, at least we know.'

'But I've spent hours thinking about that and, each time, I still come up thinking we need to know.'

It is understood the new suspect, who is already in prison, has only been recently identified

Former GP Kate, 51, now a medical worker, told in her 2011 best seller book 'Madeleine' that several witnesses reported seeing 'men behaving suspiciously' around the Ocean Club resort in Portugal's Praia da Luz where Maddie vanished from as a three-year-old in May 2007.

Kate of Rothley, Leicestershire, said: 'The witnesses helped to produce images of these men.'

Of four, two look very similar and have been likened to Ney.


Pictured: Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was last night under pressure to cancel a planned visit to China on Tuesday, amid the growing row over Huawei.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the senior mandarin was due to fly to the Far East for a three-day visit, meeting Chinese government officials and businessmen in a major charm offensive.

But last night the trip was in doubt as Sir Marks role in the sacking of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson came under fresh scrutiny.

The latest row over China came as the police announced they would not be probing Mr Williamson and the leak of information from a top-secret meeting of the National Security Council about Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In a boost for the fired Cabinet Minister, the Mets Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the leak did not amount to a criminal offence and he was satisfied that the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

He added: No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

His intervention will increase pressure on the Government to publish what evidence they have against Mr Williamson, who has vowed to clear his name.

Leaked reports of a meeting of the NSC last month suggested that Mrs May had cleared Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of Britains 5G network, such as antennae, to the dismay of at least five Ministers led by Mr Williamson.

A Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home

This prompted Sir Mark to carry out an investigation over the leak and urge Mrs May to show Mr Williamson the door  but the Cabinet Secretary has been reluctant to publicly share what evidence he actually has.

However, last night Sir Marks defenders insisted that it was not the content of the leak that had so infuriated Mrs May and her spy chiefs, but rather the forum from which the leak came.

Sir Mark is understood to have fully supported the Huawei decision and was said by one Cabinet source to be furious that so many Ministers had questioned his advice at the fateful NSC gathering two weeks ago.

A source said: You only have to spend five minutes in a meeting with him to realise he has a temper that makes it just not worth going against him.

They added that Sir Mark lost it so badly over the Huawei leak because people dared to go against him and he doesnt brook dissent.

Another Government source said the fallout over Mr Williamsons sacking would likely mean Sir Mark sending officials to China on his behalf as he firefights back at home.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, they added.

Sedwill is up to his neck in this. Going kowtowing to the Chinese right now is hardly a good look, the source said

Separately, The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Mark has been accused of covering up a major bullying scandal at the Department for International Trade. Whistleblowers have exposed what they say is a horrific bullying culture within Whitehall, where you cant ever say you backed Brexit or you will find yourself cut out and sidelined.

The row centres on the promotion of trade official Rosalind Campion, who moved to work closely with Sir Mark at the Cabinet Offices Brexit unit.

But when she was International Strategy Director at DIT, serious allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination were made within the team she led.

A leaked staff survey showed that 15 per cent of staff felt they had been discriminated against, while 12 per cent felt that they had been bullied. Despite no direct claim of bullying against her, Ms Campion apologised in writing to her staff, saying she was truly sorry for this and vowing to fix the problem.

However, emails leaked to The Mail on Sunday show that within two weeks, she was approached to go to the Cabinet Office in a major promotion.

A source claimed that Sir Mark and civil service boss John Manzoni were behind the move, though this was disputed by their staff.

A current civil servant said last night: The civil service simply rewards failure and fails to act to stop horrendous levels of bullying and bias from within.

The international strategy directive was dissolved and all the bad news was swept under the carpet.

The senior official added: Sedwill and Manzoni are part of the problem and not the solution.

Anyone who disagrees with them and their cohort suffers retaliation.

Last night in response to the allegations made by the whistleblower, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on behalf of Ms Campion, Sir Mark and Mr Manzoni: It would be entirely inappropriate to comment on individuals.

They added: Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

The most recent survey of Cabinet Office staff shows incidents of this nature remain rare, but all allegations are taken extremely seriously.

And, with regard to claims that Brexiteers had been sidelined for expressing their views, the spokesman added: The Civil Service Code demands integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality, and underpins the work of thousands of civil servants who are working to improve peoples lives.
Tickets can cost up to 18,000 and create nearly two tons of carbon dioxide

High-flying hypocrite: Dame Thompson is spotted on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning, despite earlier demanding: We should all fly less

Left-wing actress Dame Emma Thompson was branded a first-class hypocrite last night after jetting to New York just days after backing climate protests that brought chaos to London.

The Jeremy Corbyn supporter took her personal booth in the luxury cabin of a British Airways flight from Heathrow to JFK on Friday morning after earlier demanding: We should all fly less.

First-class BA flights to New York cost up to 18,000 and generate nearly two tons of carbon dioxide  the main driver of climate change  for each passenger in the elite cabin.

Onlookers claim the multi-millionaire activist also drank Laurent-Perrier champagne and dined on beef carpaccio  even though cattle farming is also a major contributor to greenhouse gasses.

Dame Emma has also previously called on people to eat less meat in the name of preserving the planet.

Cows produce methane  which is 23 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide  while clearing forests for pasture and to grow feed for livestock also drives global warming.

Just two weeks before her 3,400-mile flight, lifelong Labour supporter Dame Emma, 60, joined the Extinction Rebellion protests that shut down swathes of Central London, climbing aboard a pink boat the activists had used to blockade Oxford Circus.

The group wants to curb air travel and even made an abortive attempt to close Heathrow Airport, from where she departed at 11.20am on Friday for the eight-hour journey. Her share of the carbon dioxide generated by the flight was the same as that emitted by heating an average house for nine months.

The 60-year-old jetted 5,400 miles from Los Angeles to join Extinction Rebellion protestors who had taken over swathes of London's streets, closing off Waterloo Bridge for days and bringing Oxford Circus to a standstill

Airbus A380-800 Super Jumbo airliner with it's four engines creates a vapour trail (pictured above)

Dame Emma was spotted in 2F  one of the most exclusive seats on board the Boeing 777-200, which accommodates just 14 wealthy passengers in the first-class cabin.

An onlooker said Dame Emma  who has previously championed the Meat Free Monday movement which aims to raise awareness of the environmental damage caused by eating meat  was tucking into those bovines who produce all that methane.

Extinction Rebellion believes that there is now a climate crisis and has suggested that flights be used only in an emergency.

Dame Emma was previously criticised after flying 5,400 miles from her 60th birthday party in Los Angeles to join their protests over the Easter weekend. On Good Friday, the Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street.

The Hollywood star, who lives in Hampstead, North London, but regularly flies to and from the US, addressed protesters at their makeshift camp off Oxford Street on Good Friday

I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion. We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed, she told the protestors in an address from a large pink boat

Addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

She told them: I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion.

We have to be here, we have to do this. Its inconvenient for people sometimes but its much more inconvenient to leave a planet thats so completely destroyed.

At the time, the group defended its celebrity backer. It insisted that the tons of carbon her flight produced for her to be at their protest was an unfortunate cost in our bigger battle to save the planet.

And addressing the charge of hypocrisy, Dame Emma added: Its very difficult to do my job without occasionally flying, although I do fly a lot less than I did.

Yes, its unhappy and an inconvenience and were often involved in situations where we will be hypocritical, but if we dont address this we are failing our children and our grandchildren.

The plane pictured above is the same model which Emma Thompson has been pictured on

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night. It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade

Wearing gold sandals and dungarees, Dam Thompson struggles for a few seconds to disembark the large pink ship in the centre of Oxford Circus

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

But she insisted: We should all fly less, the future of this planet is at stake and thats perhaps more important than our own reputations.

Dame Emma says she plants trees to make amends for her globe-trotting, claiming: Im in the very fortunate position of being able to offset my carbon footprint, but most people cant.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said: If Emma Thompson wants to come and help out, thats great  shes using her platform which is incredibly valuable to anyone. If she has to fly around the world like a climate lawyer might have to fly around the world, it seems counter-productive in the short term but we are looking at the bigger picture.

But last night critics branded the excuses nonsense.

Tory MP David Morris said: This is typical Left-wing Do as I say, not as I do. Dame Emma Thompson is clearly a first-class hypocrite and a champagne socialist.

Dame Emmas agent declined to comment last night.

It is not known whether her flight was a free upgrade.
In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
Hilarious footage has emerged of Star Wars' character Chewbacca speaking English to Han Solo during an outtake for The Empire Strikes Back.

Video shows Chewbacca, a Wookiee warrior who mumbled much of his dialogue and didn't speak English, welding piping while scolding Harrison Ford's character Han Solo in his native London accent.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Han Solo's hirsute and lovable sidekick, died of a heart attack aged 74 on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played the character Chewbacca in Star Wars, died of a heart attack on Tuesday after suffering years of health complications due to his height

Fans around the world have been paying tribute to Mayhew as a day of celebration for the iconic film series, dubbed 'May the fourth be with you' takes place on Saturday.

Mayhew was born in Richmond-on-Thames in London 1944 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2005.

In the footage, Chewbacca tells Han Solo in his native Cockney accent: 'Where the hell have you been?.' Solo then replies: 'Alright, don't lose your temper, I'll come right back and give you a hand.

Chebacca responds: 'Where you going? Tell them we're leaving,' to which Ford responds: 'Alright I'm tell em.'

Harrison Ford led the tributes to Mayhew at news of his passing, having last appeared on screen with him in 2015's The Force Awakens.

He tweeted: 'Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.

'These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca. We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him.

Video shows Chewbacca welding piping while scolding Ford's character Han Solo in an outtake for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back and unusually speaking English

Chebacca, a Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk, was Han Solo's hirsuit and lovable sidekick in the film franchise and starred in most of the franchise's nine movies

He added: 'He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience.

'Chewbacca was an important part of the success of the films we made together. He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them.'

Mark Hamill, who played Jedi hero Luke Skywalker in the franchise, also spoke out - praising Mayhew as 'a big man with an even bigger heart' and said that he was 'forever grateful' for the memories they had shared.

Mayhew, (pictured in 20017), was a mainstay at Star Wars conventions around the world, including the bi-annual Star Wars Celebration, and he was heavily involved in the Make-A-Wish foundation. He is pictured in character in 1978, (right)

His costars and fans around the world paid tribute to him following his death last Tuesday. He is seen in character with actors Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in a promotional shot Star Wars Episode Vi - Return Of The Jedi - 1983

Mayhew landed the role of the Wookie due to his towering 7ft 3ins frame.

He came to the attention of film casting agents by chance while working as an orderly at London's King's College Hospital when a reporter for a local newspaper took his photograph for an article about men with big feet in 1976.

Seeing the picture, producer Charles H. Schneer invited Mayhew to audition for a film he was working on - Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger - and he was cast as the Minoton, a robotic creature based on a Minotaur.

A short time later Mayhew was spotted by George Lucas who was looking for a large man to play the Wookie in his upcoming film, Star Wars.

He is sen here in costume as Chewbacca in 1983 with American actress Carrie Fisher, who played the role of Princesss Leia and died of a sudden cardiac arrest in December 2016

Lucas had originally cast 6ft 6ins bodybuilder David Prowse in the role, but he ended up playing Darth Vader. Lucas was desperate for a taller actor for Chewbacca, and said all Mayhew had to do to get the part was 'stand up'.

Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing film of all time.

It has been followed by another seven canonical films, with an eighth episode due this December, two standalone films, and has spawned TV series, video games and books.

Incredibly, Mayhew went back to his job at the hospital following the first Star Wars film and continued working there until Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, was released in 1983.

Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in five films, most recently in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. By that time Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones

After that he quit and made his living off the character, giving speeches and appearing at fan conventions.

Mayhew would reprise the role twice more - in 2005 for Revenge Of The Sith and 2015 for The Force Awakens.

By the time Force Awakens was produced, Mayhew had been using a wheelchair because his extreme height had caused weakness in his bones.

Producers gave him a courtesy call to say they would be casting a new actor in the role but Mayhew, who had just undergone a double knee transplant, insisted he could make himself fit enough to play the role one more time.

He underwent a physical training regime for three hours a day, every day, for four months. That was enough to get him out of the wheelchair and he was able to reprise the role alongside Ford as Solo.

Joonas Suotamo was then brought in to take over the role of Chewbacca after The Force Awakens.
Federal investigators have retrieved the flight data recorder to investigate why a chartered jet ran off a military base runway and into the St Johns River in Florida Friday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted aerial photos of the Boeing 737 stuck in the river along with a picture of an investigator holding the orange recorder that was recovered Saturday.

The military charter landed hard in a thunderstorm carrying 143 people from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overran the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Everyone on board survived without serious injuries, leading one former transportation official to liken the event to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson landing.

However, the animals on board were not so lucky. At least four pets are presumed dead after being transported in the luggage compartment below the plane when it landed in the river.

Miami Air International Boeing 737 crashed into Jacksonville's St Johns River on Friday night and is still stuck in the shallow water

The plane was carrying 143 passengers and seven crew members from Guantanamo Bay. All people on board were rescued, with two passengers treated for minor injuries

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee told Fox: 'I also call it a miracle in St. John, akin to the miracle in [the] Hudson with the great Captain Sully.'

Ten years ago, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger and co-captain Jeff Skiles saved all 155 people on board Flight 1549 when both engines blew out after striking Canadian geese.

The hero pilot made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River on a chilly January morning.

Now this Boeing 737 remains stuck in the riverbed, with the bottom of the fuselage under water and the plane's nose cone missing.

Marine units from local sheriff and fire departments joined first responders from the naval air station in helping passengers and crew who had lined up on the plane's wings to safety.

NTSB investigator Dan Boggs holds the flight data recorder to investigate why the plane overran the runway

At least four pets that were stored below the plane are presumed dead

Former Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary Oliver McGee likened the water landing to the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that the fact that nobody died was a 'miracle'.

He said: 'I think it is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story this evening.'

It isn't known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

The Miami Air Boeing 737 was returning from Guantanamo Bay when it ended up in St. Johns River following the botched landing

The plane was carrying military personnel, with one woman taking to Twitter to reveal her spouse was on board the jet.

'My husband coming off deployment [in Guantanamo] is on this plane,' she wrote.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kept citizens updated on the situation as it unfolded, revealing that the White House has called to offer its assistance.

The 18-year-old Miami Air International jet sustained minimal damage.

The cause of the botched landing is still being investigated.
Demands for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour to face a full-scale anti-Semitism probe intensified last night with the delivery of a 'damning dossier' alleging hundreds of incidents of anti-Jewish prejudice within the party.

Equality watchdogs were sent a huge file alleging 'endemic' anti-Semitic behaviour in Labour and the party's apparent 'don't care' attitude to the problem.

The digital dossier  equivalent to 15,000 pages  was delivered by anti-Semitism campaigners to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which is now considering whether to launch a full-scale inquiry into Labour.

Embarrassingly for Mr Corbyn, the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice by revealing her own 30-year-old daughter Ruby had now quit the party 'in disgust'  partly over his failure in dealing with anti-Semitism.

Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Manchester on Friday), the files emerged as one of his own Shadow Ministers openly challenged the Labour leader over his handling of anti-Jewish prejudice

Mr Corbyn leaving his home on Thursday - he has been challenged by Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton after her own daughter quit the party 'in disgust' over his Brexit policy and the anti-Semitism row

Shadow Health Minister Baroness Thornton tweeted: 'Well done @jeremycorbyn  the teenager who canvassed with you and for you in 2005 and who voted for you, has left the party in disgust at your failure to deliver party policy on Brexit and deal with anti-Semitism.

'My daughter along with many others  heartbroken.'

The EHRC said yesterday that it had yet to decide whether to launch a full investigation into how the Labour Party handled claims of anti-Semitism.

But campaign group Labour Against Anti-Semitism revealed that it had submitted a detailed dossier involving over 15,000 screenshots taken from hundreds of Labour members 'and officials' promoting anti-Semitic views.

Group spokesman Euan Philipps said the file provided evidence of anti-Jewish racism on a massive scale within the party and a lack of commitment to deal with it.

Mr Philipps said: 'Over the last two years, our team of dedicated volunteers has systematically collected and detailed evidence of Labour Party members promoting anti-Semitic views and tropes across a range of social media platforms.

'This has all been reported to the party's compliance team, in a format suggested by them and including a significant level of detail.'

But he claimed the response by the party had been 'shocking and alarming', with reports ignored and party members suspended for only weeks at a time.

'Most distressing of all, reports containing the most appalling levels of racism have been given only the lightest reprimand.

'The message again and again has been the same: we don't care about this issue.'

Last night, Lady Thornton said she shared her daughter's 'frustration' but said she did not intend to resign from Mr Corbyn's front bench.

Responding to the dossier last night, a Labour spokesman said: 'This has not been submitted to the party so we cannot establish whether or not these relate to party members.'

Mr Corbyn was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband (pictured in Washington on Wednesday), who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'

They declined to comment on Baroness Thornton's remarks.

In the latest anti-Semitic row to hit the party publicly, Mr Corbyn himself came under fire last week for having endorsed a book containing anti-Jewish ideas.

As a backbench MP in 2011, he wrote the foreword for a new edition of J. A. Hobson's 1902 book Imperialism.

His aides said Mr Corbyn completely rejected the 'anti-Semitic elements' of the book.

But he was rebuked by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said the Labour's 'uncritical foreword was not defensible'.
Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister uses an article in todays Mail on Sunday to appeal directly to the Labour leader to reach an agreement. She hopes such a deal could avoid the UK having to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

But last night, Tory Eurosceptics reacted with fury to the plan for a so-called customs framework or customs arrangement, describing it as abject surrender.

Theresa May today begs Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal over Brexit  as she urges her party to accept the stepping stone of a customs union as the price for finally leaving the EU

Downing Street hopes that Mr Corbyns poor showing in Thursdays local elections, when Labour lost dozens of seats in heartland Leave-voting areas, will motivate him to strike a deal.

Do they have the numbers? The hopes of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn of achieving a controversial customs union Brexit will rest on whether they can bring the so-called middle 400 MPs on board. Those are the Tory, Labour and other MPs who just want a Brexit deal passed to avoid either No Deal or a second referendum. If the Prime Minister can get most of the 270 pro-deal Tories to back her and Mr Corbyn can cajole even half of his 246 MPs to follow him, the deal may yet get through. Advertisement

The Tories were also punished over the Brexit impasse, losing 1,300 seats  their worst result in 24 years.

Mrs May writes that reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides  but promises her MPs that if the UK enters the arrangement now in order to secure cross-party support, they will be able to unpick it at a future date.

This deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead, she says. This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

She adds: To the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, Tory negotiators have told Labour that the Government would accept UK membership of a customs union  a red line for Brexiteers  but on condition that they called it something else to avoid inflaming party anger. One source said: It must look like a duck and quack like a duck, but it doesnt have to be called a duck.

Gove and The Saj play their leadership cards Values: Michael Gove makes his pitch in Scotland Two leading contenders to replace Theresa May made major pitches for the keys to No 10 yesterday as the battle for the Tory leadership intensified. Environment Secretary Michael Gove gave an emotionally charged address to the Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen, where he was raised by adoptive parents. In a well-received speech in which he gave his clearest hint yet that he is preparing to run to be Prime Minister, Mr Gove set out a vision of how he would lead the country based on the values taught to him by his mother and father. He said his parents values included: A belief that business is a force for good. A faith in education as a good in itself. A compassion for those less fortunate, which leads to action not just words. A big heart that they dont want to wear on their sleeve. A willingness to take risks and believe the best in others. A basic sense of justice, combined with a readiness to forgive. He later refused to rule out running in the looming contest when asked by The Mail on Sunday. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Sajid Javid also used his life story to set out his stall. In a clear pitch to the Left of the party and Labour voters, he spoke at the Welsh Conservative Party conference about how the state had helped him rise up from being a working class child in Rochdale to a City high-flyer. Straying way beyond his Home Affairs brief, he said: Health, education, work and pensions. For many in Westminster, these are the names of departments to be managed. But for my family growing up, they were our lifelines, and ultimately the ladder to my success. Referring to his brothers, he added: Theyre one reason that my parents, themselves raised by dollar-a-day farmers in rural Pakistan, could go on to raise a chief superintendent, an entrepreneur, a finance professional and a Cabinet Minister. Advertisement

Government sources insisted last night that an arrangement would differ from a union in that the UK would still be free to strike trade deals with non-EU countries. It could also be written directly into the Withdrawal Agreement Bill without approval from Brussels.

But former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith branded the idea of a customs union deal as total anathema. He said: The idea we would leave the EU but have the EU decide all our future trading arrangements, decide what our tariffs are  basically, thats the most ridiculous position to be in.

Mr Duncan Smith added: The election result was so devastating that the Prime Minister now has to consider herself a caretaker PM.

She must now move fast to resolve this matter of leadership urgently because everywhere you went [during campaigning], the element of trust in the PM had completely broken down.

The idea that she is now able to do a deal with an equally discredited Labour Party is ridiculous. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory partys Brexiteer European Research Group, condemned a customs union deal as symbolic of an attempt by the political establishment to avoid Brexit, to have a pretend Brexit. He also appeared to suggest it was Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill who was making the decisions, not Mrs May. She seems at the moment to have such authority as the Cabinet Secretary allows her, Mr Rees-Mogg said.

Tory arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said any customs union deal would amount to an abject surrender. He added that in the wake of the local election results, his Wellingborough Tory association executive had called on Mrs May to resign by May 23 and for Brexit to happen on No Deal/World Trade Organisation terms. The warning was echoed by Alanna Vine, chairman of the Cheadle Tory association, who said: If we dont change course, bin the non-Brexit withdrawal agreement, prepare properly for a WTO deal, immediately cease discussions with Corbyn about remaining in the EU Customs Union and stop endlessly extending our leaving date, our party will be wiped out for a generation.

In her MoS article, Mrs May apologises to Tory councillors who lost their seats, saying: Voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

She adds: The Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency in this.

Now that's what you call a people's vote! The scale of grassroots anger over the Governments failure to deliver Brexit was reflected in the blizzard of spoilt ballot papers across the nation in Thursdays local elections. A social media campaign, using the hashtag SpoilYourBallot, led to thousands of voting papers being scrawled with Brexit Party and Brexit means Brexit. Others said: None of these deliver Brexit. One ballot paper, in Staffordshire, had written next to Jeremy Corbyns candidate: Led by a terrorist sympathiser. Next to the Tory candidate were the words: Theresa May betrayed Brexit. Other voting slips stated simply, again in reference to Brexit: Traitors. Advertisement

My Message to Jeremy Corbyn: Let's do a deal

By Prime Minister Theresa May

In the local elections, many Conservative councillors lost their seats. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their tremendous hard work and dedication to public duty, and for all they did to improve the lives of the communities which they served.

I have been a councillor and I know what a rewarding and important job it is.

They did not deserve what happened and I am sorry.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster. And, as Prime Minister, I fully accept my share of the responsibility for that.

It is clear that the voters delivered their judgment in large part based on what is happening  or not happening  at Westminster

The voters expect us to deliver on the result of the referendum and, so far, Parliament has rejected the deal which I have put forward.

The March 29 exit date has been delayed, the public is frustrated  and I fully understand why.

Three years have passed now since the historic 2016 vote and people really do just want us to get on with it.

But the electorate delivered a message on Brexit to Labour, too. Labour also lost seats and councils which it has held for decades.

Clearly, the public is fed up with the failure of both of the two main parties to find a way to honour the result of the referendum, take the United Kingdom out of the European Union and to bring our country back together again.

There is no use trying to escape the facts, however uncomfortable they may be. I have tried, tried and tried again to deliver Brexit with the votes of Conservative MPs and our confidence and supply partners, the DUP.

I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK  a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws.

The free movement of people will end  giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades. However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing.

Pictured: Theresa May arrives to cast her vote at a polling station

Meanwhile, the series of indicative votes which MPs held did not deliver any path forwards. Parliament said what it didnt want  but not what it was prepared to vote for.

Since then, the Government has been in talks with the Opposition to try to find a unified, cross-party position. I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either.

But, as elected politicians, who asked the public to give us an instruction on whether to leave the EU, we cannot now shrug our shoulders and say its all too difficult.

We have to find a way to break the deadlock  and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this.

The talks with Labour so far have been serious. We dont agree with the Opposition on lots of policy issues, but on Brexit there are areas we do agree on  leaving with a good deal that protects jobs and our security and ends free movement.

But there are also differences on precisely what the UKs future relationship with the EU should look like, so reaching an agreement will require compromise from both sides.

We will keep negotiating, with more formal talks due to take place on Tuesday, and keep trying to find a way through.

Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about. The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line.

To MPs, I would say this: if we are able to negotiate a cross-party agreement, this deal will be a stepping stone to a brighter future, outside the EU, where the UK can determine the road ahead.

This is because no parliament can bind its successor.

Some people would prefer a less close relationship with the EU in the future, while others would prefer a closer relationship.

The key point is, the ultimate decision-maker in everything we do is Parliament. So future parliaments, with a different party balance, will be able to decide whether they want a closer or more distant relationship with the EU.

I do sincerely believe that  more than 34 long months on from the referendum  what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.

And to the Leader of the Opposition, I say this: lets listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Lets do a deal.
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Country House has won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after first-place finisher Maximum Security was sensationally disqualified in a stewards' call.

Maximum Security had crossed the line first, but was taken down due to an incident on the final turn when he veered out of line and impeded War of Will and Long Range Toddy.

Jockey Luis Saez was able to straighten Maximum Security up almost immediately, but the stewards ruled it was a foul after reviewing footage.

The 150,000 spectators who descended on Churchill Downs in Louisville to watch the race were forced to wait for more than 20 minutes for a victor to be declared.

The decision left 65-1 long-shot Country House to be declared the winner of the world-famous $3 million race.

The shock decision marks the first time in the race's 145-year history that the victor has been changed on the day.

And it's possible the situation doesn't end here. There could be appeals to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or the courts.

Controversy rocked the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, after first-place finisher Maximum Security (right) was disqualified shortly after the race

Maximum Security crossed the line in first place, but the victory lap was short-lived, with the thoroughbred subsequently disqualified in a stewards' call

Country House (right) crossed the line in second place, but was later crowned the winner

Country House jockey Flavien Prat was seen celebrating after his surprise victory

Maximum Security's jockey, Luis Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict- seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations

Country House was the second longest shot to win in the history of the Derby and paid out $132.40 on a $2 bet.

Jockey Flavien Prat, who originated the claim of foul, also won his first Derby.

'I'm kind of speechless right now,' Prat said, appearing in disbelief when the results were announced by the judges following the lengthy deliberations.

He later said: 'No words can describe this. It's amazing.'

'I really lost my momentum around the turn,' he said of Maximum Security's foul, which came as several horses were gaining ground on the leader.

The stunning outcome gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first Derby victory at age 65.

'It feels pretty darn good,' an elated Mott said after the race.

'It was an odd way to do it and we hate to back into any of these things. It's a bittersweet victory but I've got to say our horse ran very well and our jockey rode very well.'

He added: 'You always want to win with a clean trip and have everybody recognize the horse as the very good horse and great athlete that he is.

'Due to the disqualification, I think some of that is diminished.'

Country House is pictured in the winner's circle following the most dramatic Kentucky Derby in history

The disqualification was a crushing turn of events for Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis and jockey Luis Saez, who already had begun celebrating what they thought were their first Derby victories.

Saez, was shattered by the shock verdict - and was seen putting his head into his hands as his victory was quashed.

Maximum Security - owned by billionaire philanthropists Gary and Mary West - was the odds-on favorite to win the Derby, making the disqualification all the more heartbreaking.

"I never put anybody in danger," Saez said.

Servis backed up his jockey, saying: "He's right. He straightened him up right away and I didn't think it affects the outcome of the race."

Prat claimed that Maximum Security ducked out in the final turn and forced several horses to steady, including Long Range Toddy. War of Will came perilously close to clipping heels with Maximum Security, which could have caused a chain-reaction accident.

The only other disqualification in Kentucky Derby history occurred long after the race in 1968.

In that race, Dancer's Image, the first-place finisher, tested positive for a prohibited medication, and Kentucky state racing officials ordered the purse money to be redistributed. Forward Pass got the winner's share. A subsequent court challenge upheld the stewards' decision.

Saturday's race came at a time when the sport has come under scrutiny following the death of 23 horses at the famed Santa Anita track in Southern California since Christmas.

The spate of fatalities has prompted an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and led to protests by animal rights activists at the track, which is scheduled to host the Breeders' Cup in November.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks

While there was certainly plenty of drama on the track, there was much happening elsewhere at Churchill Downs.

Glamorous attendees pulled out all the stops for some eye-catching looks - with female racegoers sporting stylish hats and stylish fascinators.

Many were spotted wearing wide-brimmed, 'Southern Belle' inspired hats, which are believed to bring good luck.

Pictures showed attendees drinking and smiling as they soaked up the Kentucky Derby atmosphere, in spite of the wet and rainy conditions.

Organizers cautioned guests to bring a pair along a pair of flat shoes as the 'historic grounds can be tricky to maneuver and the day is long'.

No doubt, the sensible footwear came in handy, as the rain intensified over the course of the afternoon, creating mud and slush as punters prepared to head home.

Plenty of men at the event also made sure to dress to impress for the occasion - wearing stylish suits and trendy hats
Facebook is allowing anti-Christian extremists freedom to peddle hate despite closing down accounts of far-right and anti-Semitic leaders, MailOnline can reveal.

The social media giant this week said it had shut down profiles belonging to Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were thrown off Facebook, along with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and the white nationalist Paul Nehlen, saying they had violated its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

But the company was today accused of hypocrisy when hordes of anti-Christian fanatics and anti-Semites are allowed to function freely on the site despite a raft complaints.

They say hate preachers like the Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik  spreads anti-Christian rhetoric to thousands of followers on the network.

Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year.

Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi  spiritual leader of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik - spreads anti-Christian rhetoric - and is still allowed to remain on Facebook

He also praised the murder of Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah by Islamists in Glasgow in 2016.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the anti-racism group Faith Matters, reported him to Facebook in November 2017 amid concerns that his hatred was influencing British Pakistani communities.

But no action was taken and the fanatic remains active on the social network today.

'How long can this farce continue when Facebook says it acts and then does not?' Mr Mughal told MailOnline.

'How long can violence inspirers have Facebook pages? This man has praised the murderer of a British resident for allegedly 'blaspheming'.

'It is like we are back in the barbaric Dark Ages with Facebook giving us spin, whilst the founders lounge in San Francisco, batting away these issues with slick public relations statements.'

Rizvi is not the only Islamist using Facebook to spread his messages of Christian-hatred.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (pictured) had his Facebook account deactivated

Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation, said that the platform has become 'a sewer of poisonous anti-Christian hatred and anti-Semitism'.

'Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood are very active on Facebook, both as organisations and as individual members,' he said.

'They have been reported so many times but Facebook does nothing. In fact, when a Muslim friend of mine wrote an article that was mildly critical of Islamic fundamentalism, Facebook removed it.

'Sometimes I wonder whether the platform is really being run by Islamists.'

Mr Aleji demanded to know why Facebook purge hasn't included Ayat Oraby, the Egyptian blogger linked to the Muslim Brotherhood living in the US.

'Some of the things she writes on Facebook about Christians are truly poisonous, especially in Arabic,' he said. 'People have complained many times. Yet she is allowed to carry on freely.'

Far-right British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has also had his Facebook account deleted

It comes as a report by the Foreign Office found Christians are 'by far the most persecuted' religious group and are enduring what amounts to genocide in some parts of the world.

They are being driven out of the Middle East in a modern-day exodus that means the religion could be wiped out in parts 'where its roots go back furthest', the study found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed 'political correctness' for a failure to confront the oppression of Christians, which he called the 'forgotten persecution'.

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was behind massive demonstrations to demand the death penalty for Asia Bibi (pictured), a Christian mother-of-five accused of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010, before being acquitted last year

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa during his five-day tour of Africa, Mr Hunt  who is a committed Christian  said: 'I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

'I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.'

As well a Christian haters, Jewish groups have also long complained that Facebook tolerates anti-Semitism while coming down hard on pro-Israel sentiment.

Alison Chabloz, the Holocaust denier who was convicted of hate crimes last year, remains active on Facebook, often using it to promote her vile views  even though a court has banned her from using social media.

Similarly, Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Israel firebrand who lost a court case last year over his claims that anti-Semitism was invented to defraud the taxpayer, has a large Facebook following.

Extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir (Facebook profile image pictured) and the Muslim Brotherhood are still active on Facebook, Wael Aleji, an associate at the Wilberforce Alliance foundation claims

And David Icke, an arch conspiracy theorists who was banned from entering Australia and has been thrown out of numerous venues in Britain, operates openly on the social network.

Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: 'While we welcome Facebook's removal of a handful of bigots, this is mere virtue signalling as the platform remains a vehicle for hatred.

'The fact is that Facebook is where neo-Nazis, Islamists and far-left extremists feel at home, using it to spread poisonous hatred against Jews and many others.

'Facebook is the only major social network that refuses to talk to us about our concerns.

'For years, Facebook has done its best to avoid stamping out incitement on its network. This is too little, too late.'

A Facebook spokesman told MailOnline: 'We work hard to make Facebook a hostile place for extremism and do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism.

'We have invested heavily in specialist teams, expert partnerships, and new technology to identify, review and remove extremist content.

'99% of terrorist content which is removed from the platform is done so proactively before it is reported to us. '
Q. I would like to hitchhike or catch buses following the Mississippi River. What do you recommend? I am 66.

Tommy MacDonald, Chelsea, London

A. Hitchhiking could be risky, as well as tiring.

Rides on Greyhound buses from Minneapolis in Minnesota to New Orleans in Louisiana, stopping for a few days at St Louis in Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee, to get a flavour of life by the river, would come to about 200-250 (greyhound.com).

Long and winding: The Mississippi River is one of the longest rivers in the world and the route along it is well-served by Greyhound Buses

Q. We are going to a wedding in Positano in Italy, flying in to Naples. Can you advise on the best, and cheapest, way to get there from the airport?

Mrs Sam Pugh, via email.

A. For an adventure, take the 20-minute airport bus (4.30) to Garibaldi Station in Naples.

Then catch a 68-minute Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento (3.90). From Sorrento, its a 35-minute ferry to Positano (18, directferries.co.uk).

Or, much easier, a shared shuttle bus direct to your Positano hotel is from 48 for two (positanoshuttle.com).

Pretty as a picture: To reach Postitano, pictured, from Naples take the train to Sorrento then a 35-minute ferry for 18

Q. We want to go to Florida for a holiday, then hop over to Cuba for a week before flying back to Florida. Can we do this?

Chrissie Mobbs, via email.

A. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says: Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the U.S. to Cuba is not allowed under U.S. law. See gov.uk.

If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card. These cost 25 (cubavisa.uk).

Colourful: If you fly direct to Cuba from the UK, you need a tourist card costing 25

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions and provide tips for your precious time off. Send questions to: holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk or write to Daily Mail Travel, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT  and include your contact details.

We will do our best to answer your queries but we cant reply to every enquiry. Please do not send in any original documents. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Britain has over 1,000 islands and many of them, as a fascinating new book reveals, are ripe for exploring.

Islandeering: Adventures Around The Edge Of Britains Hidden Islands, by Lisa Drewe, charts 50 hidden islands, many accessible but little known  all perfect for adventure and circumnavigation.

The new book underscores what each island is best for, with categories including skinning dipping, epic tidal crossings and pubs. Here we pick out our favourite examples. Scroll down to behold some of Britains last undiscovered wildernesses

Best for epic tidal crossings: Worm's Head

Worm's Head, pictured, is described as 'one of the UKs most exhilarating islands by Lisa Drewe in her Islandeering book

Drewe describes Worms Head  on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea - as one of the UKs most exhilarating islands.

Not least because the jagged causeway to the island is submerged at high tide.

Handily, a large board below an old Coastguard lookout reveals the safe crossing times.

In the book, Drewe also lists the following islands as being best for tidal crossings: Lihou, Foulness, Scolt Head, Lindisfarne, Chapel, Hilbre, Ynys Lochtyn, Oronsay/Colonsay and Vallay.

Best for skinny dips and secluded swims: Sark

The potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches on Sark (pictured) is huge, writes Drewe. She lists it as one of the top spots for skinny dipping

Channel Island Sark, says Drewe, is a quirky, timeless island with a coastline thats packed with caves and swimming spots.

Perfect, the book points out, for skinny dipping.

Drewe, who lives in Wiltshire and the Isle of Skye, continues: Once ashore you seem to have inadvertently stepped into a time warp: This island has no cars, has its own parliament and the potential for a high-octane islandeering adventure among the cliffs, coves, gullies, caves and beaches is huge.

Drewes other skinny dipping hotspots are Lihou, Scolt Head, Cei Ballast, Ynys Gifftan, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Vatersay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for wild and remote: Steep Holm

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year to Steep Holm (pictured) and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds

Getting to Steep Holm, which is off the coast of Weston-super-Mare, isnt easy, but your efforts will be rewarded with panoramic views of the Somerset coast.

Drewe says in her book that there are just 12 sailings a year  roughly  and that landing on the island requires two high tides in the daylight, almost flat-calm water, and low winds.

The island is now a nature reserve but used to be a military outpost. Today, says Drewe, its packed with signal stations, watchtowers, gun batteries and underground munition stores  and about 2,000 pairs of nesting gulls.

The other wild and remote islands listed in the book are Samson, Foulness, Oronsay/Colonsay, Eilean Shona, Oronsay/Skye, Vatersay, Eriskay, Vallay and Taransay.

Best for glorious beaches: Vallay

Vallay is Drewe's favourite island. She says that it's a 'great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot'

Vallay is not only a glorious beach spot but Drewes favourite island overall.

Drewe, who spent the past 10 years researching this book, told MailOnline Travel: It has everything for me. There is an epic two-kilometre crossing to the island on tidal sands and stunning views out to the remotest part of Britain, the St Kilda archipelago, with the sea in between uplit by the bone-white sands.

This is a great place for surfing, swimming and a spectacular wild camp spot. This is freedom.

The other islands listed as having glorious beaches are Samson, St Martins, Herm, Scolt Head, Llanddwyn, Vatersay, Berneray, Taransay and Great Bernera.

Best for ruins and ancient remains: Great Bernera

At Great Bernera there's an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known

Great Bernera, off the west coast of Lewis, is an island with a passionate history, writes Drewe.

The highlights include an Iron Age village, a restored Norse mill and a semi-circle of standing stones whose purpose and significance are not known.

And theres a bonus, apparently  great cakes at the community centre.

Other islands that excel in the ruins and ancient remains department are Samson, Steep Holm, Alderney, Skomer, Flat Holm, Kerrera, Flotta, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for cafes, local food and inns: Muck

The cafe at Port Mor on Muck is, by all accounts, a great place for a scone, a cup of tea or a beer

Muck, in the Inner Hebrides, has much to recommend it, enthuses Drew  not least the cafe at the islands main hamlet, Port Mor.

She says that the owners are a hoot and serve up great scones, beer and tea.

And the cafe generally stays open until the last ferry leaves.

The island also boasts the Godag B&B, which is stunningly located on the northeast shore.

Other islands picked out for their cafes, food and inns are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Lundy, Mersea, Luing, Kerrera, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay.

Best for families: Brownsea

Brownsea has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, writes Drewe

Brownsea, in Poole Harbour, was voted the best nature reserve in the UK, and Drewe can understand why.

She says that it has easy paths that wind through a wide variety of landscapes, from pine-woods to meadows, crammed with flowers and wild creatures.

Heading to the peaceful South Shore for a swim is highly recommended.

The other family friendly islands listed in the book are Looe, Lundy, Lihou, Herm, Thorney, Llanddwyn and Flat Holm.

Best for birds, wild creatures and flowers: Skomer

Skomer is home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect

Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, is the location for one of Britains greatest natural spectacles, says Drewe  the nightly return of thousands of Manx shearwater sea birds, back from a days fishing.

Its also home to southern Britains largest colony of Atlantic puffins, glow worms and three species of stick insect.

Plus, there are lots of wildflowers. Springtime bluebell walks on the west coast are a must.

The other islands listed as best for birds, wild creatures and flowers are Looe, Brownsea, Lundy, Alderney, Two Tree, Canvey, Scolt Head, Vatersay and Taransay.

Best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks: Ynys Lochtyn

Ynys Lochtyn 'is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure'

This tidal island on the coast of Cardigan Bay is described by Drewe as a rocky adventure.

She continues: It is surrounded by steep cliffs that jut into Cardigan Bay  a setting that gives a thrilling sense of exposure.

If youve got adventure in your veins, she says, this island will not disappoint.

The other islands listed in the book as being best for exploring caves, gullies, geos and stacks are Bryher, Lundy, Sark, Hilbre, Worms Head, Davaar, Iona, Oronsay/Skye and South Walls.

Best for trail running: Thorney

On Thorney there's an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior

This West Sussex MoD-owned island is a haven for wildlife and the wild, says Drewe.

Theres an easy coastal path that skirts the islands secretive military interior and a nice sandy beach at the southern tip thats great for a swim.

For a change of pace, pop into atmospheric St Nicholas Church.

Other islands highlighted for their trail running potential are St Agnes, Bryher, St Martins, Alderney, Mersea, Lindisfarne, Ramsey, Flotta and Papa Westray.

Best for contemplation and retreat: Iona

Iona is the perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation. Must-visits include the abbey and St Martin's Cave. Heading along the north coast, youll see a Bronze Age stone circle on the peninsula of Aird an Uan, which leads to Eilean nan Each (Horse Island)

This sacred Inner Hebrides island is adorned with rock pools and secluded white-sand beaches, says Drewe.

The perfect spot for a spot of quiet contemplation.

Must-visits include the abbey, which is guarded by an array of beautiful Celtic crosses, and the remote and mesmerising St Martins Cave.

Other islands you should consider for contemplation are Lindisfarne, Llanddwyn, Bardsey, Holy Island (Arran), Davaar and Oronsay/Colonsay.

Best for spotting whales and dolphins: Bardsey

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place

HOW TO STAY SAFE 'The most important thing is to understand the tides around the island,' says Drewe, 'particularly if you need to cross tidal sands or causeways to get there. Not only the times of the low tides but also their depths as these can vary between spring and neap tides and could mean the difference between a walk, wade or swim. Tide tables are available but if in doubt the locals are the experts. They also know about water flows if you are thinking of a swim.' Advertisement

From the summit of Bardsey, which lies at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, its possible to spot pods of Rissos dolphins cavorting in the sea.

And seals and porpoises can be seen on the harbour beach.

Its claimed that Merlin was buried on Bardsey its certainly a magical place.

Don't forget to climb Mynydd Enlli summit for panoramic views, says Drewe.

Other islands that are prime spots for wildlife spotting are Lundy, Ynys Lochtyn, Ramsey, Davaar, Eriskay, Berneray, Taransay, South Walls and North Ronaldsay.

This graphic indicates 12 of the 50 islands that are featured in Islandeering - and what they're best for
She recently shared her fears over giving birth after stumbling upon a book about childbirth.

But Gemma Atkinson, 34, looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during Strictly Come Dancing's professionals tour.

The former Hollyoaks star concealed her baby bump in an all black ensemble as she smiled for the cameras.

Radiant: Pregnant Gemma Atkinson, 34, smiled for the cameras as she arrived at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester, on Friday

The English star sported figure-hugging black leggings and an unbuttoned cream shirt as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by the BBC One stars.

Gemma kept her hands in the pockets of her stylish black coat as she she stepped outside to meet the chilly weather.

She completed her look with a pair of sleek flat shoes and a handbag slung over her shoulder.

Also making an appearance at the Manchester theatre was actress Denise Welch who was accompanied by her husband Lincoln Townley.

Mum-to-be: The actress looked as radiant as ever as she arrived at the Manchester venue to watch boyfriend Gorka Marquez during the Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals Tour

Looking good: Gemma sported a casual look as she arrived to watch yet another star studded performance by dancing stars

Smile: The beauty sported a stylish black and a pair of sleek flat shoes as she arrived at the theatre

The former Waterloo Road star donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper, a pair of blue jeans and white trainers as she came to support the Strictly professionals.

Gemma's appearance comes less than a month after she discovered the unsettling reality of what might occur during her labour.

Writing to her 988,000 on Instagram the actress wrote: 'Baby books are fine until you read the part where you "May tear from your vagina to your bum"'.

Strike a pose: Also arriving at the Manchester venue was soap actress Denise Welch and husband Lincoln Townley

Keeping it casual: Denise donned a fuchsia-coloured jumper and a pair of blue jeans as she arrived at the theatre

Gemma and professional dancer Gorka Marquez, who met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, are expecting their first child later this year.

The couple, who went public with their relationship in February 2018, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram.

Since sharing their news the Gemma and Gorka, who is currently on tour with his Strictly co-stars, have been keeping fans up to date with the pregnancy on social media.

Joining Gorka for this year's Strictly tour are professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Oti Mabuse, Karen Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, AJ Pritchard, and Pasha Kovalev.

Horror: Gemma recently revealed her horror after stumbling upon a baby book that gave the gory details of childbirth

Chilling: The couple, who met in 2017, first announced the pregnancy on February 1 via a message on Instagram




Paris Jackson and Caroline D'Amore go together like pepperoni and cheese.

The 21-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson hosted a dinner party to celebrate the new Pizza Girl by Caroline DAmore pasta sauce at the private home of the CEO of Absolut Elyx, Jonas Tahlin.

The Chanel model wore a dramatic, low-cut black crop top that showed off her chakra tattoos and patterned boho pants.

Empowered women empower women: Paris Jackson hosted an event in Los Angeles on Thursday to support her friend's new product

She wore a number of bracelets ad three necklaces, each draped at different lengths around her neck.

The 21-year-old musician also wore a pair of large, beaded hoop earrings.

Paris wore her hair in tight curls and finished off the boho-rocker look with dramatic winged black eyeliner.

Gal pals: Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore

Pizza girl: Pizza, pasta, salad and specialty cocktails were all on the menu

Paris hosted the evening for her close friend, Caroline DAmore, 34, in celebration of the new Pizza Girl sauce she created.

Notable attendees included Ashlee Simpson, Emile Hirsch, Ryan Cabrera and Evan Ross.

Ashlee and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm and were happily enjoying the beautiful night before before taking their seats at the beautiful outside tables for the sunset dinner.

Guests of honor: Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross arrived arm-in-arm

Feast fit for a king: Dozens of guests gathered round the dinner table

Be our guest: Attendees feasted on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe

Just before 8pm guests sat down at the magical poolside dining table to feast on an array of pastas and pizzas, all featuring the new Pizza Girl sauce recipe.

Guests were also treated to specialty cocktails made with Absolut Elyx.

The most popular cocktail of the night was named 'Thats DAmore.'

The outing comes less than two months Paris was hospitalized.

Paris denied a report that she had attempted suicide, and sources told DailyMail.com that the King of Pop's daughter had been 'partying' very hard and cut herself with kitchen scissors after she had gotten out of control.
Nina Dobrev knows how to show a friend a good time.

The Vampire Diaries star, 30, helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress posted videos to social media on Friday.

And 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina.

Gal pals: Nina Dobrev (L) helped celebrate Keleigh Sperry's (R) bachelorette party by living it up on a luxury yacht as the actress, 30, posted videos to social media on Friday

Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out.

Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic.

Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil.

She not only models, but is also an aspiring actress.

Stunners: 26-year-old Keleigh - who is engaged to actor Miles Teller - flaunted her fabulous figure in a white swimsuit alongside a bikini-clad Nina

Impressive: Daring to impress, the ladies looked sensational in their skimpy swimsuits as they sipped cocktails and enjoyed the sunny day out

Keleigh appeared in the short film Opeth: The Devils Orchard in 2012 and in the short film Dance in 2017, according to IMDb.

And Keleigh recently partnered up with Wells of Life, whose mission is to bring clean water to the villagers of Uganda.

She posted a picture from a Wells of Life meeting with the caption: 'Thank you Kingdom of Uganda for your partnership,agreement, and donation to breaking ground on our sanitization compound to keep these wells in Uganda clean'

Seductive: Keleigh looked every inch the cover girl as she was snapped in a white mini dress and wedding veil

Sweet snap: Nina added a plethora of pics from the female-centric soiree as one included her kissing Keleigh on the cheek in a sweet black and white pic

Keleigh's sister Christie revealed in 2017 that Miles had popped the question to Keleigh while the pair were on a romantic safari holiday in Africa after dating for nearly four years.

Miles even brought Keleigh home to meet his whole family.

'I brought her to meet my grandparents,' he said in a 2014 interview with Elle magazine. 'My grandma tweets my girlfriend.'

Gangs all here: A gaggle of gorgeous girls help Keleigh celebrate

Last name! The ladies surprised her with balloons spelling out her fiance's last name

Keleigh and Miles have been a couple since way back in 2013, the year he drew attention for his high school film The Spectacular Now.

Meanwhile, Miles is busy wrapping up his highly anticipated sequel to Top Gun.

The film - directed by Joseph Kosinski - is subtitled Maverick with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles.
They have remained on great terms following their split.

And Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday.

The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple.

Family time: Sienna Miller, 37, and her former fiance Tom Sturridge, 33, played happy families during a stroll in New York City with their daughter Marlowe, six, on Friday

Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat.

Under the jacket the blonde kept it casual in denim jeans and a camel knit.

She boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a burgundy handbag from FRAME.

Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up.

Trendy: Sienna put on a stylish display for the family fun day in a bright yellow beret and navy blue coat, and she carried her favorite burgundy red bag from FRAME

Yum! The parents treated their offspring to an ice cream as she walked between them both through the Big Apple

Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper.

Tom caught the eye in bright blue trousers and a matching jacket underneath a navy raincoat.

Later on, Sienna seemed to step away from Marlowe and Tom as she took a phone call.

Fashionable: Like mother like daughter, Marlowe appeared to display her flair for fashion by donning bright leggings and a fluffy pastel pink jumper

Sienna previously gushed to Harper's Bazaar that Tom was her 'best friend in the entire world' - and that while they don't share a property, they often stay together to spend mutual time with their little girl.

Admitting their close bond has not broken since they cut romantic ties in the summer of 2015 after four years together, she explained: We still love each other.

'I think in a break-up somebody has to be a little bit cruel in order for it to be traditional, but its not been acrimonious in a way where you would choose to not be around that person.'

Trendy: Sienna boosted her petite frame with chunky heeled boots and kept her essentials nearby in a oxblood handbag

Natural: Sienna's golden locks were left down and she appeared to don minimal make-up

Sienna is now dating Lucus Zwirner, 28, the pair went public with their romance in January.

The couple, who met through mutual friends in New York, went public with their romance last year when they attended her ex Tom's birthday party in London together.

Lucas, who currently oversees 25 book releases a year as editorial director of David Zwirner Books, is a Yale-educated literature aficionado.

The star famously dated fellow A-lister Jude Law on-off from 2003, with the actor famously issuing a public apology to her after having an affair with his children's nanny.
Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children.

The 56-year-old reality star, according to The Blast, told a South Carolina court his ex-girlfriend Dennis, 26, has had her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, watch their two children - Kensie, four, and Saint, three - in the latest chapter in their bitter custody fight.

Dennis's time with the kids should immediately be suspended pending Price moving out of her home, Ravenel told the court.

The latest: Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 56, claims that his ex Kathryn Dennis, 26, foists off her parenting responsibilities on her boyfriend, in regards to their two young children

Ravenel, a one-time treasurer for the state of South Carolina, was responding to a previous request Dennis made that the court bar Ravenels girlfriend Ashley Jacobs from contacting the two children; or posting their images on social media.

Dennis has also requested the court give her a temporary order that would award her primary custody and Ravenel visitation (in which he'd be barred from consuming alcohol); and modified child support to reflect the arrangement.

Ravenel told the court Dennis's request for an immediate result was unwarranted, as there have been no drastic changes in their parenting arrangement as of late.

He chalked her requests involving Jacobs to jealousy, saying they were a means of control; and said that Dennis has past told the children he wants to harm and kill her, according to the outlet.

Romance: Dennis was seen with her current beau, Americas Got Talent alum Hunter Price, in an Instagram shot

On the offense: Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her

Ravenel also requested child support from Dennis, saying she has a six-figure income.

Ravenel asked the court to reduce the current amount of time Dennis has with the kids; and to randomly drug test her, after her custody was revoked three years ago after she failed a drug test (She has since finished a rehab and been granted joint custody).

The custody battle last year involved Bravo, as Ravenel sued the network in November to cease broadcasting content that hadn't previously been aired (linked to a discussion about his ongoing sexual assault case).

Bravo encouraged Dennis to enter a long custody battle with him in hopes of creating content for their series, Ravenel told the court.

Southern Charm comes back on May 15, airing on Bravo at 8/7c.
She first revealed her burgeoning pregnancy back in January.

And Kate Mara covered her growing bump during a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon.

The 36-year-old actress and heiress was pushing along a stroller, presumably for one of the other women's children.

Day out: Kate Mara, 36, was seen going for a relaxing stroll through Los Angeles with two friends on Friday afternoon

The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a black shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket.

She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag.

The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week.

Back in black: The 5ft2in star covered up on a breezy day in LA with a blakc shirt and a black Adidas tracksuit jacket

Matching: She stayed on theme with a pair of black sweatpants and black Nike trainers, as well as a thin black heart-shaped handbag

New 'do: The Chappaquiddick star showed off her fiery tresses in a new shoulder-length cut, a departure from the longer hairdo she rocked earlier this week

Kate was chatting with two friends who were recent mothers while pushing a stroller, though her own baby is still on the way.

The happy news was first reported in early January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans while waiting in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes.

She revealed she was pregnant after A Quiet Place's Emily Blunt commented on her growing breasts.

She was reportedly five-months pregnant at the time, suggesting she's close to her due date now.

Revealed: The news was first reported in January, when a source told Page Six that Kate had spilled the beans after Emily Blunt remarked on the size of her breasts while in line for the bathroom at the Golden Globes

This will be the first child for Kate and her husband Jamie Bell, whom she married in July 2017.

The two began their relationship in late 2015, after working on the doomed superhero flick Fantastic Four.

This baby will be her first, though Jamie shares a five-year-old son with his former wife Evan Rachel Wood, whom he divorced in 2014.

The Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool actor will next be seen in the Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which he'll play John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.

Kate will appear in the TV movie A Teacher. She played Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick, a young campaign worker who was killed while riding with the late Senator Ted Kennedy when his car plunged off a bridge.
She's getting ready for another showstopping appearance at Monday's Met Gala.

But Kim Kardashian wasn't waiting to steal the spotlight as she commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday.

The 37-year-old reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe while eldest sister Kourtney's ex Scott Disick joined in on the fun.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian, 37, commanded attention in a skintight white dress for a casual outing in Malibu on Friday

Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle.

Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders.

Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots.

Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades.

Impressive: Daring to impress, Kim turned heads in the form fitting number as she added a magnificent gold medallion necklace and matching bangle

Sister act: The reality star flaunted her famous curves as she was joined by her equally curvaceous sister Khloe

The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022.

And the reality TV star proved how focused she is on becoming a lawyer in a preview for Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The Selfish author was looking through letters from prisoners asking for her help with clemency when her mother Kris Jenner entered the room to give her some compliments about her new career goal.

Rear view: Kim put her pert derriere on full display as she was joined by Scott Disick

They could be twins! Khloe slipped her svelte physique in to a khaki maxidress and paired the enchanting look with a set of snakeskin boots

Kim is sitting on a sofa when she says, 'I'm reading this letter from prison and this one's a good one.'

Kris asks, 'How many cases do you do at a time?'

'The average time to get someone clemency is seven to 10 years,' said Kim, who did not finish college but is able to take the bar with proper studying. She has to pass a mini bar this year.

Hair story: Her trademark raven tresses were pinned back in a top knot as the loose tendrils cascaded over her shoulders

Casual cool: Scott proved on trend as he cut a casual figure in a royal blue shirt and faded denim while keeping a low-profile in retro shades

'I'm super proud of you Kim, you take this all seriously and I think that they're lucky that you listen,' added the momager.

'If I see something that I feel like has a real shot and just like moves me, then I'll send it to my attorney's who look over everything just to make sure it's legitimate,' she tells Jenner.

She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer.

Meanwhile, Kim is getting ready for another appearance at the highly anticipated Met Gala in New York City on Monday.

Aiming high: The wife of Kanye West is studying to become a lawyer and has been apprenticing at a law firm in San Francisco in hopes of taking the bar in 2022

Inspired: She also said that she was inspired by her lawyer father Robert Kardashian who died in 2003 from cancer

This year's exhibition, titled Camp: Notes On Fashion, will examine 'how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.'

'We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures,' curator Andrew Bolton told the New York Times in October.

How 'camp' went from the margins to mainstream

Inspired by the Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on Camp, the exhibition will comprise more than 250 objects, dating from the 17th century to the present.

These objects will take visitors through the evolution of camp, from the royal courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV at Versailles, to the American and European queer subcultures of the 20th-century, according to CNN.
Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun.

A source told the publication that the actress, 23, had been approached to appear on the show last year, but was banned from such deals under strict rules by ITV bosses.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced she would be leaving Coronation Street in 2020, making her seventh cast member in three months to quit the show.

Dancefloor ready: Coronation Street star Lucy Fallon has reportedly quit the soap to sign a big money deal with Strictly Come Dancing, according to The Sun

The source said: 'Lucy is a huge fan of Strictly and was invited to watch last year's live show in Blackpool. When Strictly bosses realised she was keen, they told her she'd have to quit Corrie because of its ban on deals.

'Lucy took the plunge as she knows her acting career has more opportunities ahead than sticking around in Weatherfield.

'Talks have started between her representatives and Strictly bookers. Some male dancers already want to partner her.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing and Lucy Fallon for comment.

Next big thing: The star had reportedly been approached to appear on the soap while she is stil playing Bethany Platt, but is banned from such deals by ITV bosses

Lucy would not be the first Corrie star to appear on Strictly after quitting the soap, joining stars such as Natalie Gumede and Georgia May Foote.

Gemma Atkinson also appeared on Strictly in 2017 after leaving Emmerdale, but it is unclear whether the same rules apply to the stars of ITV's rival soap.

The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020.

She's off! The news comes a day after Lucy announced that she had quit Coronation Street after four years of playing Bethany Platt, but would continue to appear on-screen until 2020

In a statement the star told MailOnline: 'After the most incredible four years, I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave Coronation Street at the end of my contract in 2020.

'It's hard to put into words how much this show means to me. I've made lifelong friends with some of the most talented and hardworking people in the industry, I've had some terrific and immensely important storylines and I've laughed with the best people everyday.'

The star added: 'I'm so thankful to Iain and everyone at Coronation Street, I owe everything to them and I will miss them greatly.'

Sequins at the ready: Several Coronation Street stars have gone onto take part in Strictly, after they left the soap (last year's winner Stacey Dooley pictured above)

Lucy then went onto clarify her decision in a tweet, writing: 'My decision to leave was made in August last year and has nothing to do with ANYONE at Coronation Street. I didn't make it lightly and I am going to miss every single person there.'

The beauty has joined stars such as Faye Brookes, Katie McGlynn and Kym Marsh who have recently decided to leave the soap, with a total of seven stars quitting in the last three months alone.

It comes after it was claimed by The Irish Sun that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as several stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary and long hours, as well as their bans on performing in panto and other big brand deals.

A source said: 'Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won't let her take them on.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coronation Street for comment.

Mass exodus: Lucy has joined seven other stars who have decided to leave the soap in the past three months
They first met on an international flight in August last year and since then, their relationship appears to have gone from strength to strength.

So much so, that Sophie Monk looked completely smitten with boyfriend Joshua Gross as they enjoyed a date night together while holidaying in the Maldives.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the Love Island host, 39, shared a sweet snap of herself and her beau staring into each other's eyes, as they cuddled up together.

The look of love! Sophie Monk and boyfriend Joshua Gross looked nothing but smitten as they cuddled up together for a new Instagram post shared by the Love Island host on Friday

In the photo, Sophie stunned in a plunging white crochet dress that tied together at the waist and teased a look at her ample bust.

Joshua was also dressed in white and wrapped his arm around Sophie, while she affectionately leaned on her love's shoulder.

Sweetly looking at each other, the couple looked the picture of happiness as they continued to mark their first relationship milestone - their very first holiday together.

Stunning: Sophie jetted to the Maldives for her first holiday away with boyfriend Joshua, who she met in August last year on an international flight

Sophie has been sharing plenty of snaps from their romantic getaway for her followers to see, including one of her posing in a low-cut fitted dress and round shades by the sea.

Other photos saw the beauty flaunting her enviable frame in a cut-away scarlet red swimsuit, as she posed by the water and alongside her beau.

Sophie's romance with businessman Joshua follows her less-than successful relationship with millionaire publican Stu Laundy, who she met on The Bachelorette in 2017.

Smitten: The TV star has been sharing snaps from their romantic break away with her Instagram followers, including a picture of herself and Joshua posing together by the pool

Wow: Other holiday snaps saw Sophie slip into a stunning scarlet red swimsuit that teased a look at the beauty's enviable frame with its cut-out panels

Monk has spent two decades in the spotlight and recently confessed, as she approaches turning 40 later this year, that she thought she'd now be living a 'normal life' with four children and a husband.

Speaking to TV Week, she said: 'I thought I'd have four children and be married.

'I thought I'd be in this industry for a little bit and then get out and have a normal life, where I'd pick up the kids from school, but I've realised that's not going to happen.'
Line of Duty star Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into his cab earlier this week.

The 34-year-old actor was reportedly left 'shaken' but unscathed after the HGV ploughed into the side of the vehicle he had been sitting in during a taxi ride through Salford, Manchester, on Thursday.

According to reports, one of cab's door's had been left completely destroyed following the crash.

Narrow escape: Martin Compston was left 'shaken' after a truck crashed into a taxi he had been sat in during his journey through Salford, Manchester on Thursday

Dashcam footage obtained by The Sun shows the moments after the star escaped serious injury as he was being driven back to his hotel in the city.

Taxi driver Derek Burton, 71, who claimed he had been waiting at a red light when the accident took place, described the moment the large truck smashed into his vehicle.

He told The Sun: 'There was a thundering bang. I thought it was a bomb. Martin screamed. We didn't know what happened. We hadn't seen the truck.

'It smashed into where he was sitting. Martin's door was bashed in. It was probably doing 10mph but was so big it destroyed the cab.'

Fighting crime: Footage obtained by The Sun shows the star after he escaped serious injury

On the hunt: The actor is currently starring in the fifth series of the BBC drama Line of Duty

Footage following the crash shows the Line of Duty actor walk around the cab as the taxi driver and the HGV driver exchange details.

The actor, who currently stars as Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the BBC One series, recently shared his thoughts on the countless fan theories surrounding Jed Mercurio's plot.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast he said: 'I saw some people the first time saying, 'I can't believe they got that wrong, that's a mistake.'

Theres no mistakes with Jed Mercurio. Hes got every single thing thought through.

Earlier this year, the award-winning drama, which follows the controversial police anti-corruption unit AC-12 and is currently in its fifth series, confirmed it had been renewed for a sixth season.

MailOnline has contacted Martin Compston's representatives for comment.
She has been embracing her newly-single status after announcing her split from husband Lee Henderson in October last year.

And showing her former love exactly what he's missing, Jackie O stunned as she stepped out for a Mother's Day High Tea hosted by her best pal Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta.

The radio presenter, 44, looked sensational in a chic all-black getup that made for a very leggy display.

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Sensational: Jackie O, 44, (pictured) looked incredible as she made a very leggy appearance at the Mother's Day High Tea hosted by Roxy Jacenko at Westfield Parramatta on Friday

Jackie paired together a black square-necked top and tailored shorts that were cut just above the knee.

She wore a stylish long blazer on top of her outfit choice and added a boost to her look with a pair of clear perspex heels.

Her footwear only emphasized her incredibly toned pins further and she finished off her outfit by styling her blonde locks into soft curls that framed her face.

Smile! The radio presenter was seen rubbing shoulders with her BFF Roxy (pictured far right) and other guests at the stylish event

Gorgeous! Jackie favoured a chic all-black getup that teamed together a long blazer and tailored shorts cut just above the knee

The mother-of-one wore glamorous make-up that boasted a dramatic smokey eye, bronzed cheeks and a glossy nude lip.

She was seen posing on her arrival to the event and flashed a smile alongside BFF Roxy, who dazzled in an off-the-shoulder pink layered dress, and other guests.

Jackie's appearance at the tea comes after she was recently heard discussing dating again on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, following her split with husband Lee last year.

Jackie joked that she could see herself dating a celebrity chef next, as her co-host Kyle Sandilands teased: 'You'll probably end up with one!'

Ready to find love again? Jackie recently joked on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she'll probably end up dating a celebrity chef following her split from husband Lee Henderson

She announced her split with Lee in October and stressed the decision to end their marriage after 18 years together was 'not made lightly'.

The exes have remained amicable despite separating and are now actively co-parenting their eight-year-old daughter Kitty.

Speaking on her radio show, Jackie, who has been supported through her split by close friend Roxy, explained: 'It's not a decision we took lightly at all.

'Lee and I have been so lucky that our separation has been extremely amicable.

All over: The star and husband Lee announced their split in October last year - they have separated after 18 years together, but continue to co-parent their daughter Kitty (pictured)

'I know everyone says that, but we actually have remained really good friends throughout this.'

She added that the pair were separated for quite some time before announcing their split, but decided to play things out privately at first, and still speak every day.

In December, just two months after news surfaced of their split, Jackie and Lee took their daughter Kitty on holiday together in Fiji.

Jackie and Lee married in 2003 - three years after first meeting in a bar in Sydney, when Lee had been backpacking around Australia in 2000.
Luke Perry was buried in an eco-friendly mushroom suit.

His 18-year-old daughter Sophie took to Instagram to confirm the news as well as share a cute story about how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet.

She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday with the caption: 'In December I went to San Francisco with two of my best friends.

'One of them, had never never been to California, so we went to show him the Redwoods. I took this picture while we were there, because i thought, "damn, those mushrooms are beautiful."'

Bond: Sophie Perry revealed that her father Luke was buried in an Infinity Burial Suit after his untimely death in March

Interesting: The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms

Sophie goes on to explain that mushrooms mean an entirely different thing for her as she goes on to explain the concept of an Infinity Burial Suit.

She continued: 'Any explanation i give will not do justice to the genius that is the mushroom burial suit, but it is essentially an eco friendly burial option via mushrooms. '

The teenager goes on to suggest that her followers read up on the suit as she shared that it was one of her father Luke's final wishes to be buried in one.

Sophie said: 'My dad discovered it, and was more excited by this than I have ever seen him. He was buried in this suit, one of his final wishes.

'My dad was more excited by this than I have ever seen him': She shared an image of mushrooms at the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County, California on Friday as she revealed how enthusiastic her famous father was about giving back to the planet

'They are truly a beautiful thing for this beautiful planet, and I want to share it with all of you.'

The suit was created by Jae Rhim Lee and is sold by her company Coeio for $1,500 and it is a biodegradable garment which has a built in biomix which is made out of all types of microorganisms including mushrooms.

It has three main functions: aid in decomposition, neutralizes toxins found in the body and transfer them to plant life.

Sophie has been doing plenty to honor her father's name as she has had a school named after him just two months after his untimely death.

Earlier this week she took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star.

She shared a group photo which included her mother and Luke's ex wife Minnie Sharp in front of the building which had his name emblazoned on the side.

Amazing gesture: Earlier this week Sophie took to Instagram to announce that she has had a school in Malawi named after the late Beverly Hills, 90210 star

Alongside the image, Sophie wrote a thoughtful caption which read: 'Thank you to everybody who donated to help with our projects!

'Our first school is finished and I cant tell you how proud and excited I am to see it open on Wednesday. Thank you to my amazing partner Ruben for everything. Especially for fighting to name the school after my dad.'

Over the past few months Sophie and her friends Gabriella and Ruben have been living in the southeastern African country serving as development instructors to help build preschools in rural communities.

Back in early March, Sophie rushed back home after the Riverdale star had suffered a massive stroke. He later died at the age of 52.

Since his untimely death, his daughter and 21-year-old son Jack Perry have gotten back to work.

Jack made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month and posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day.

Back: After spending the last month grieving, Jack Perry made his return to professional wrestling earlier this month

The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match.

'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video.

Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory.

Volunteer work: Sophie Perry also revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to her volunteer work in Malawi while wearing an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her dad

Triumphant return: The 21-year-old wrestler posted a clip of highlights from the match to his Instagram later that day

Work: The video showed Jack, aka Jungle Boy, triumphantly returning to the ring and winning his match

Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event.

'Unfortunately Jungle Boy will no longer be wrestling at our March 13th show,' the promotion said on its Twitter account. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.'

Luke Perry - who shot to fame in the early 90s playing Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 - died March 4, about five days after he suffered a massive stroke at his Sherman Oaks, California home February 27.

Changed: 'Im not sure Ill ever be ready, but Im back. Thanks for all the love and support. @gamechangerwrestling #jjsb3 #wrestlemaniaweekend2019,' he captioned the video

Motorcycle ride: Sophie also shared a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle

Sophie meanwhile revealed on social media Sunday that she has returned to Africa to continue her mission work.

She posted a selfie wearing a blue cap with an Andrews Construction label while traveling in a vehicle and also a video of herself riding three people on a motorcycle for her roughly 92,000 followers on Instagram.

Luke at the time of his death was portraying Fred Andrews on Riverdale who owned his own construction company Andrews Construction.

Charity trip: The teenager cut short her six-month charity trip when Luke suffered the stroke

TV tribute: Sophie in a selfie wore an Andrews Construction cap in a nod to her father's character Fred Andrews on Riverdale

Sophie wrote in the caption: 'First few days back in Malawi have been very emotional but it feels right to come back, to finish what I started, to do the most with whatever time we have left.

'I recently learned that may not be as much time as we think. It was quick and scary to leave home again so soon, but theres a job to be done, and someone to make proud,' she wrote.

Sophie added: 'Also excuse my ''post 30 hours o travel'' face'.

Good times: She was back in Malawi where she was volunteering to develop pre-schools

In September Sophie, who lived in Dowagiac, Michigan, posted a video describing her charity work for non-profit One World Center, and asked for fundraising help for her trip.

'I'm in a group of eight people, seven of us are going to Africa and one of us is going to Brazil,' she said.

'We're going to be there for six months, and we're going to be working on community development projects. These can range from teaching teachers, building schools, helping with agriculture, providing water purification, all types of good stuff.'

Technique: Throughout the clip, Jack is seen pulling off a number of highly technical moves, and he ends it with a submission victory

Moving forward: Jack was last scheduled to wrestle on March 13 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but revealed days before the match that he would be skipping the event

Loving: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began

Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52.

'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began.

'He loved supported me in everything, and inspired me to be the best that I could possibly be.'

Jack continued: 'I've learned so much from you, and my heart is broken thinking about everything you wont be here for.

Touching: Jack posted a touching tribute to his father on Instagram two days after the actor died at the age of 52

'I'll miss you every day that I walk this earth.

'I'll do whatever I can to carry on your legacy and make you proud.

'I love you Dad.'

Memories: 'He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad,' he began
Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night.

The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer.

Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand.

On the town: Kylie Jenner cradled her one-year-old daughter Stormi as she headed out to dinner at Nobu in New York City this Friday night

She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs.

Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos.

The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection.

When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby.'

Chic to the hilt: The 21-year-old cosmetics icon, whose family frequents Nobu Malibu, cut a glamorous figure in a pinstriped blazer

Family matters: Amid a swirl of rumors that she is engaged to Stormi's father Travis Scott, 28, Kylie could be seen wearing a glittering ring in on her right hand

What a look: She gathered her dark hair into a singe long braid, and beneath the blazer she wore a pair of glittery fishnet trousers that showed off her legs

A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

The caption set online tongues wagging, and an E! News insider gossiped: 'Kylie talks about having another baby very frequently'

To hear this source tell it: 'She would love to have another baby with Travis and would love to be pregnant by next year. She talks about it all the time and feels like she was truly meant to be a mother.'

Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga.

Hoofing it: Kylie accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup and accessorized with earrings, lending herself some extra stature with black stilettos

Recovery: The reality TV icon flashed a ring on the same finger on her Insta Stories the previous day, dishing to her fans that she was getting over a viral infection

Bombshell: When Travis turned 28 this Tuesday, Kylie wrote a sweet birthday Instagram caption in which she vamped: 'let's f*** around and have another baby'

Late that year, she was the subject of a storm of pregnancy rumors, but kept publicly mum on the subject until their baby was born in February 2018.

In the midst of a widely covered scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had sex with U.S. President Donald Trump, the baby was named Stormi.

Tyga has a six-year-old son called King Cairo with Blac Chyna, who shares a two-year-old daughter called Dream with Kylie's half-brother Rob Kardashian.

Specifics: A fan commented: 'Happy birthday Travis..I love you guys.. Perfect lil family now give stormi a brother,' to which Kylie replied: 'sister !!!!'

History: Kylie began her relationship with Travis in 2017, shortly after she ended her years-long romance with the now 29-year-old rapper Tyga

Steamy: The mom-of-one set pulses racing later with a provocative Instagram post
Brittney Weldon just finished her stint on Australia's Bachelor in Paradise, but she's already keen to join the American version of the show.

When asked about it by fans during an Instagram Q&A with her Bachelor in Paradise co-star Rachael Gouvignon, the reality star said she'd 'definitely' be up for a stint on the American series.

'I totally would, but I haven't been asked!' the 26-year-old exclaimed.

'Definitely!' Bachelor in Paradise star Brittney Weldon has revealed that she's keen to star on the American version of the show

Rachael was more hesitant about doing another season of Paradise, offering a less enthusiastic 'maybe' when pressed.

On Friday, Daily Mail Australia revealed that producers behind The Bachelor franchise in America are considering casting some Aussie talent for the show's upcoming sixth season.

A handful of names are already being thrown around, with Rachael and Alex Nation at the top of the list.

Coming to America? Producers behind the American Bachelor franchise are looking to cast stars from the Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise. (Pictured: Alex Nation)

'Bachelor in Paradise is far more extreme in the US than Australia, so producers are only interested in people who are outgoing and dramatic,' an insider revealed.

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up,' the source continued.

'Plus, she's been on the show three times now so she's knows what's expected and how to deliver on camera.'

'Rachael is crazy and emotional so she could really spice things up!' Rachael Gouvignon (pictured) and Alex Nation are the main names being considered for the show

Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise.

'She's gorgeous and she forms connections with a lot of people in a short amount of time, both men and women,' the insider said of Alex.

'Her sexuality will bring some much needed diversity to the show, which is something fans have been clamouring for.'

'She's gorgeous!' Alex's bisexuality is reportedly a big selling point for producers, who believe that the single mother could bring something fresh to the American franchise

Paddy Colliar, James Trethewie and Brittney Weldon are also being considered.

'Paddy and Brittney are hilarious and would fit right in with the American version, which is a lot funnier and more tongue-in-cheek,' the source said.

'James could be good but he's more reserved than the others, so producers need to find him an American match who is genuine about finding love to make it worthwhile.'

Comedic relief? Brittney Weldon (pictured) has also made the list thanks to her hilarious antics on Bachelor in Paradise this year

Producers are only looking at Bachelor stars that are currently single, leaving some regretting going public with their relationships.

'So many people went public with new relationships recently and I know they must be kicking themselves right now!' a Bachelor source revealed.

This isn't the first time that Aussies have been cast for the American Bachelor franchise.

Bring the boys out! Producers are also keen on Paddy Colliar and James Trethewie for the show

Producers first toyed with the idea back in 2016 for the third season, before Keira Maguire was officially cast as an intruder for the fourth season.

However, right before flying to Mexico to start filming, a sexual incident between cast members Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson resulted in production being halted - leading to Keira's role being canceled.

The Bachelor spin-off Winter Games went on to cast a number of international participants last year, including Australia's own Tiffany Scanlon and Courtney Dober.
Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth was on lunch duty at Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a suspected knife attacker on the school grounds, it has been reported.

Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler, 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday.

Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Private Sydney on Saturday, the couple were actually on the grounds during the police lock-down.

Thor blimey! Chris Hemsworth (pictured) and his wife Elsa Pataky were reportedly on the grounds of Byron Bay Public School while police frantically searched for a person who allegedly stabbed a teacher in the face on Tuesday

The school was locked down for four hours during the alarming incident.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Chris Hemsworth's management and Byron Bay Public School for comment on this story.

Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is recovering after receiving cuts to his face and and arm at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Close call! Chris and Elsa were originally thought to have arrived at the school after the attack, but according to Confidential on Saturday, the couple were reportedly on the grounds during the four-hour police lock-down

Hands-on dad! Earlier that day Chris and Elsa, who live in Byron Bay, arrived with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the school canteen

Chris and Elsa, who are parents to daughter India, six, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, five, had arrived at the school with boxes of sushi rolls to help out at the cafeteria.

Police allege that Sbaraini and Mr Vockler were 'speaking on the premises before she approached him with what's believed to be a pair of scissors'.

Sbaraini fled the scene after the alleged attack, but was later arrested at her home on Beachside Drive in Suffolk Park at about 10.30am.

Disturbing incident: Karina Fatima Sbaraini, 31, has since been charged after allegedly stabbing Zane Vockler (left), 28, in the face and arm at the primary school on Kingsley Street at about 7am on Tuesday

She was found crouching in her backyard when police arrived and questioned for hours before being taken to the station.

Later that day, she was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and trespassing.

She was refused bail and will face Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

In footage shared to Instagram just hours after the alleged incident, Chris and Elsa were seen carrying food into the school before helping out at the canteen.

Elsa captioned one of the clips: 'Another dad to help in the canteen today!'

Another video showed them inside the canteen preparing food with the other parents.

Having a laugh: Footage shared to Instagram showed Chris and Elsa inside the canteen preparing food with other parents

At one stage, Chris said, 'I've got a bigger pile than you', and gestured towards a mound of sushi rolls wrapped in paper on the table in front of him.

He then started rolling out more sushi servings while singing happily: 'Roll, roll, roll your boat!'

The other volunteer parents smiled and told Chris he didn't do 'too bad', to which he replied: 'Too bad? We dominated! Dominated!'
She has been giving fans a better glimpse into her life as a mother-of-one, by sharing more and more pictures of her daughter Mae, four, on social media.

And proving just how smitten she is with her mini-me, Kate Ritchie penned an open letter to her daughter in the new issue of Marie Claire, ahead of Mother's Day.

In the heartfelt note, the former Home and Away star, 40, gushed that life without Mae would be 'unimaginable', as she revealed becoming a mother has taught her to 'accept herself and her body'.

'Life without you seems unimaginable' Kate Ritchie, 40, has penned a heartfelt open letter to her daughter Mae, four, in the new issue of Marie Clarie

Addressing her daughter, Kate wrote in part of the letter: 'A life without you seems unimaginable and goodness knows who I'd be today if you hadn't come along to change me and my life.'

The actress added: 'You are teaching me to accept myself and value myself, especially when it comes to my body.'

She also credited Mae for helping her to be 'brave' and 'patient'.

'Greatest gift': The former Home and Away star described her little girl as an 'inspiration' and said Mae has helped her to 'accept herself and her body'

Kate concluded: 'You are my greatest gift, achievement and inspiration and I will feel this way even when you're a teen slamming doors in the hallway, just as I did.'

The letter made no mention of Kate's husband of nine years, Stuart Webb, who was charged with drink driving in March.

Stuart, 38, reportedly ran a red light on Avoca Street in Randwick, just a short distance from the couple's home.

Family: Kate's letter didn't mention her husband of nine years Stuart Webb, who is facing drink driving charges after running a red light in March

Police later learned he was also allegedly driving on a suspended licence.

If convicted, the former Sydney Roosters and St George Dragons player faces a further six-month licence suspension for the drink-driving offence alone, while driving without a licence carries up to 12 months in prison.

Kate, who shot to fame as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away, married Stuart back in 2010.

They share daughter Mae, who is now featuring more regularly on Kate's social media channels.

Showing her off: Kate has been giving fans a better insight into her life as a mother by posting more frequent snaps of daughter Mae online

Previously, Kate wanted to protect her daughter's identity and refrained from posting her face on Instagram.

She has since changed her mind and explained to fans that she was 'tired of protecting' Mae and wants to 'rejoice' in her little girl instead.

Kate said: 'I don't often share this most precious being but sometimes I am tired of protecting her and want to rejoice in her.

'She is full of wonder in so many ways and she also helps me to simply be me.'
Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York.

The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience.

Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa, 40, posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators.

Limelight: Melissa Gorga welcomed her fellow Real Housewives Of New Jersey to a fashion show for her line Envy this Friday in New York

The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side.

She balanced on a pair of gold ankle-strap stilettos and wore her wavy hair down, turning to the side to treat the audience to multiple angles of her outfit.

While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania.

Dolores herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin.

Fun for the whole family: The guest list included Melissa's reality show co-star and sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, whose 18-year-old daughter Gia joined her in the audience

Life begins at 40: Never one to shrink from the spotlight, Melissa posed up a storm on the catwalk at her own fashion show for the lucky spectators

When you got it, flaunt it: The Montville-born bombshell flashed her ample cleavage in a sleeveless pink cocktail dress that featured a sultry slit up one side

Mingling: While off the catwalk, she could be seen smiling for photographs with Frankie Catania, the son of Real Housewife Of New Jersey Dolores Catania

What a night: Dolores (right) herself was decked out in a Gothic chic black frilly ensemble and settled down in the audience next to former New Jersey Housewife Jennifer Aydin

At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider.

Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants.

While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno.

Fabulous: At another point, she could be seen mingling with current Real Housewives Of New Jersey Margaret Josephs (center) and Jackie Goldschneider (right)

Exquisite: Jackie flashed her impressively trim midriff in a busty sleeveless black crop top, which clashed stylishly against her bright orange pants

Date night: While sat in the audience, Margaret was draped in fur - whether it was real or faux is unknown - and accompanied by her husband Joe Benigno

However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand.

Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie.

Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress.

Feel the heat: However her fur was nowhere to be found when she posed solo for the cameras in front of a backdrop advertising Melissa's brand

Dynamic duo: Margaret's sizzling hot pink jumpsuit, which featured frills and an intriguingly low neckline, was on display as she got snapped with Jackie

Night out: Gia, whose father Joe is in ICE custody awaiting deportation to his native Italy after serving jail time for fraud, wore a sky blue mini-dress

Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway.

The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13.

Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa.

Jennifer Aydin, one of the newest members of the hit Bravo series' cast, arrived at the fashion show on the arm of her besuited husband Bill Aydin.

Heartthrob: Melissa's hunky hubby Joe Gorga, the brother of Teresa Giudice, tore his black jacket off his white T-shirt as he walked up the stairs to the runway

Party of three: The beefcake's jacket was all the way off when he posed backstage between his wife and their daughter Antonia, 13

Spot the resemblance: Antonia, who was named after her late paternal grandmother, could also be spotted posing solo on a grand staircase alongside Melissa
She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson.

And Anne Hathaway landed in JFK on Friday to continue the public relations media blitz for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake.

The 36-year-old Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport.

Model traveler: Anne Hathaway, 36, landed in JFK on Friday

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner was seen with no shirt on as she wore suits for the latest issue of Shape.

The mother-of-one talked about trying to stay positive. 'Finding yourself takes as long as it takes, and I'm still in the process,' said the brunette.

The star has had plenty of his and lows since she became famous with The Princess Diaries. After she won an Oscar for Les Miserables, trolls attacked her viciously. But she has found a way to handle herself.

'Some days are still like, Whoa, I just fell off this cliff again! But learning how to be kind to yourself while youre discovering who you are is something I wish for everybody.

Stunner: The Princess Diaries star showed of her wild side as she rocked an animal print jacket making her way through the famous New York airport

'Not having all the answers, not knowing what to do, and making mistakesthose arent reasons to beat yourself up.'

And she has also slowed down. 'Before I had my son, I sensed this pressure to fill my schedule,' she said. 'If I wasn't working, I felt like I was wasting time. Now I know I have to build in breaks in my year, and there are times when I'm just not available to work because it's important for me to be home with him.'

Anne's appearance comes after the star admitted she big plans in place for when her little boy is grown, admitting in a candid interview with ITV's Lorraine that she'll spend 'the back half of my life completely sloshed.'

Working hard: She's in the midst of her promo tour for The Hustler costarring Rebel Wilson

The Hustle is a female-centric remake of the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin.

The Sydney-born star explained that in one of her improv scenes with Anne, she suggested The Devil Wears Prada actress call her a 'big-t*tted Russell Crowe'.

'I insulted Anne a lot in that film and she didnt have many back so I gave her that one,' Rebel told Fitzy and Wippa.

'Thats not really an insult. I think thats a compliment.'

Anne shares three-year-old son Jonathon with her husband Adam Shulman.
Between the Billboard Music Awards and her brother-in-law Joe Jonas' surprise Vegas marriage to actress Sophie Turner, she's had a huge week.

But Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight.

The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top.

Looking good: Priyanka Chopra looked fresh-faced and fantastic as she strutted through JFK airport on Friday, with husband Nick Jonas nowhere in sight

The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal.

Chopra clad her feet in patent leather high heeled boots and wore her raven tresses loose and with a center part.

The Baywatch star needed only minimal makeup for the day, allowing her naturally gorgeous features to shine through.

She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year.

Feeling fine: The 36-year-old actress flaunted her fabulous physique in blue jeans and a white crop top

Strut: The Quantico star completed the look with a black coat that trailed behind her as she made her way through the terminal

However Nick's brother spent considerably less on his own nuptials to his Game Of Thrones star fiance.

Joe Jonas, 29, surprised fans by exchanging vows with fiancee Sophie Turner, 23, after the awards show in a wedding chapel on the Vegas Strip on Wednesday.

The two, who got engaged in October 2017, opted for a quickie $600 ceremony presided over by an Elvis impersonator and with candy rings.

Priyanka, who has become close friends with the X-Men: Dark Phoenix star, served as Sophie's maid of honor while Nick and brother Kevin were Joe's groomsmen.

Her man: She married Jonas brother Nick Jonas in a lavish Indian ceremony last year. The pair are seen here Wednesday night
The Hollywood actress recently announced that she is raising her eldest son Jackson, seven, as a girl.

And fully supportive of Jackson's decision to identify as female, Charlize Theron insisted it's 'not for her to decide' who her children are and will instead 'celebrate, love and support' their choices.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's BW magazine, the 43-year-old said she wants her children to enjoy figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Supportive: Charlize Theron has said her children's choices are 'not for her to decide' but to 'support and celebrate' after revealing her eldest child Jackson identifies as a girl

Speaking of the prejudice her children may face, Charlize told the publication: 'My oldest is already a little aware, but I watch that she enjoys this moment.'

'She gets to find herself and who she wants to be - for both my kids, that's not for me to decide.'

Charlize pointed out: 'My job as a parent is to celebrate that and to love and support that... to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be who they want to be.'

'That's not for me to decide, they are born who they are': The 43-year-old actress says she wants Jackson to enjoy finding out who she is without the fear of prejudice

The Long Shot star is he mother to two adopted African-American daughters, now three and seven.

She had introduced her eldest child Jackson as a boy when she first adopted her brood and over the years, rumours circulated suggesting Charlize was raising Jackson as a girl.

Addressing the speculation in April, Charlize confirmed Jackson identifies as female to the US Daily Mail.

When asked about Jackson, she said: 'Yes, I thought she was a boy too. Until she looked at me when she was three-years-old and said, "I am not a boy!"'

'So there you go! I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive.'

Charlize, meanwhile, also spoke about her single status in her interview with BW and admitted she always tends to 'make herself smaller' when she is dating to try and 'better' her relationship.

As a result, she admits she would rather 'stay single' instead of changing who she is for a partner, as it only leads to resenting the other person.

'I'd rather be single': Charlize also discussed dating in her interview with BW magazine and insisted she'd rather be single than changing who she is to be in a relationship

Charlize recently found herself at the centre of rumours she is dating Brad Pitt, but was quick to deny such speculation and shut down the claims.

She previously dated her Trapped co-star Stuart Townsend between 2001 and 2010, with the actor giving her a 'commitment ring' during their relationship.

Charlize later became engaged to Sean Penn. They were together for two years, later ending their relationship in 2015.
Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green.

The 'Hot Felon', 35, shared a snap of the Topshop heiress, 28, alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine, in Monaco.

Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours.'

Love: Jeremy Meeks has posted a gushing tribute to his rumoured fiancee Chloe Green, sharing a photo of her alongside his son Jeremy Jr, nine

Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage.

The model's tribute to his other half comes after rumours of a split swirled after Chloe stepped out without her 'engagement' ring in London earlier this week.

Chloe ditched her sparkling diamond band for a photocall, although she has been seen without the bling before.

The couple are parents to son Jayden Meeks-Green, one, and in October Jeremy hinted that he is set to wed Chloe imminently.

Post: Alongside the snap, he wrote: 'I love this picture @chloegreen5. Thank you for loving him like he's yours'

They fuelled engagement rumours after she was spotted flashing a jaw-dropping diamond ring on her wedding finger last year.

When speaking to US Weekly, the model teased 'maybe' when asked if they were set to take the next step in their relationship anytime soon.

Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht.

Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength and the couple welcomed Jayden at the end of May last year.

Split: Jeremy shares his eldest son with ex-wife Melissa, who he filed for divorce from in 2017 after seven years of marriage

Romance: Chloe and 'Hot Felon' Jeremy began dating in 2017, first sparking romance rumours when they were spotted locking lips on her father's yacht

In March, Chloe and Jeremy looked happier than ever as they jetted off on a romantic break to Thailand and shared a slew of snaps from their idyllic getaway.

The couple enjoyed some alone time together as they continue to settle into their roles as parents.

Before their holiday, the lovebirds were hit with rumours they had a public spat in Dubai in February, where hunky Jeremy stormed out of a club - leaving Chloe alone.

However, insiders revealed to MailOnline of their latest sighting in Thailand: 'They seemed really happy in each other's company and there was no sign of a strain in their relationship as has been reported recently.'
She's been dating NRL star Braith Anasta since early 2016.

And on Friday night, Rachael Lee and Braith looked as loved-up as ever as they celebrated the brunette beauty's 31st birthday in Sydney.

Heading to China Doll restaurant, Rachael shared photos from the night with her hunky boyfriend, labeling him: 'The absolute love of my life.'

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'Absolute love of my life!' Rachael Lee cuddles up to NRL boyfriend Braith Anasta in a thigh-skimming yellow frock as she celebrates her 31st birthday in Sydney on Friday night

Rachael stunned in a thigh-skimming yellow floral dress, as Braith looked smart in jeans and a black T-shirt.

Braith, 34, also uploaded an affectionate image of the pair from the evening to his Instagram, as they sporting huge smiles.

'Yes I know... I'm batting overs,' he wrote in his caption.

It all started with a kiss: Braith, 34, also uploaded to his Instagram the same picture where the pair can be seen sporting huge smiles

Time to celebrate: Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photo's with friends from the evening sharing laughs at dinner

In another photograph, Rachel can be seen giving Braith a big smooch on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Rachael couldn't of looked happier on her birthday night as she shared a slew of other photos with friends from the evening.

The entourage then appeared to go to another bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations.

'Amaaazing night w my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote

Heating up the dance floor: The entourage then went to a bar to dance the night away and continue the birthday celebrations

'Amaaazing night with my dearest friends- celebrating my birthday. SO much laughter & shots. Had a Ball!!!!!! Obviously,' she wrote.

The couple, who welcomed their first child together, daughter Gigi in January last year, have been dating since 2016.

Rachael is also a mother to eight-year-old son Addison from a previous relationship, while Braith is a father to five-year-old Aleeia from his former marriage to Jodi Gordon.

Jodi and Braith confirmed their separation in 2015 after three years of marriage.
They welcomed their first child together, a son, in February this year.

And now Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday.

The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre.

Happy: Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva have made their first public appearance together since becoming new parents as they attended the Tribecca Film Festival in New York on Friday

Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms.

He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look.

Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels.

Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection.

Loved-up: The actor, 69, looked happy and relaxed with his Spanish publicist wife, 36, as they cuddled on the star-studded red carpet of the It Takes A Lunatic Premiere at the Stella Artois Theatre

Laid back: Richard opted for a casual look at the event, donning a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a navy blazer jacket and black jogging bottoms

The couple looked more loved-up than ever as they hugged and laughed on the red carpet.

Richard even lovingly put a protective arm around his wifes waist as they smiled for waiting photographers.

The pair were joined by a plethora of other celebrities at the event including Robert De Niro, 75, and Michael Douglas, 74.

Keeping things casual: He added a pair of scruffy brown hiking boots, a pale grey cap and a blue scarf to his laid back look

Glam: Meanwhile, new mum went for a more glamorous look in a floor length black gown with a silver fringe detail and a pair of towering black heels

Dressed to impress: Her blonde tresses were styled into a tousled do, while her make-up was applied to perfection

Gangs all here! Billy Lyons, Robert De Niro, Wynn Handman, Michael Douglas and Richard posed for a group shot

Also in attendance at the premiere were Billy Lyons and Wynn Handman.

It Takes A Lunatic is a documentary film about the life and pioneering work of Wynn and The American Place Theatre.

According to the Tribeca Film Festival website, the film focuses on Wynn who was 'known for bringing voices worth hearing to the American stage'.

Oh baby! Richard and his wife Alejandra welcomed their first child together in Febrruary, a son born in New York City (pictured together in May 2017)

Richard and Alejandra, who's son Alexander was born in New York, revealed that they were expecting their first child together back in September.

Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama - who put his hand on her bump to bless the unborn child. Gere is a long-term friend of the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled spiritual leader.

A Buddhist himself, Gere is a prominent advocate for human rights in Tibet - something he says led to him being blacklisted in Hollywood. His support for the state also led to him being banned from entering China.

News: The couple announced they were expecting their first child together back in September, when Alejandra shared a photo of herself and husband Gere meeting the Dalai Lama

Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together.

Respected Madrid-based daily newspaper ABC broke the news of Geres wedding to the pretty Spaniard, 33 years his junior, earlier this year and first reported the pregnancy last month.

Pretty Woman star Gere tied the knot with Alejandra at a civil ceremony in Spain in April before celebrating the occasion with friends and family at his home near New York the following month.

Love and marriage: Their baby news comes after screen icon Richard tied the knot with Alejandra in April, after four years together. (pictured in October 2018)

Both Alejandra and Richard are already parents to a child each from previous relationships. Richard has a son called Homer  who celebrates his 19th birthday this month  with former wife Carey Lowell.

They married in 2002 and split 14 years later. He had previously been married to first wife Cindy Crawford for four years between 1991 and 1995.

Alejandra, who met her current husband while divorcing her first husband Govind Friedland, the son of mining magnate Robert Friedland, has a five-year-old son called Alberto, who she affectionately she calls Albertino.

Gere met wife Alejandra back in 2014 at a luxury Italian boutique hotel Alejandra bought with her former husband and was managing at the time.
She recently revealed how menopause has 'crippled' her sex life and left her 'wiped out physically and mentally'.

But Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Bodrum, Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram.

The blonde beauty, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach with her hands on her hips.

Pose: Meg Mathews appeared upbeat on Friday as she posed on the beach in Turkey in a series of snaps posted to her Instagram

Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace which settled on her trim frame.

And she wore her blonde locks loose around her shoulders as she dried off after a dip in the Aegean Sea.

Meg later posted a clip of herself on her seventh day of weight training inside the lavish Macakizi Hotel.

Relax: The entrepreneur, 53, showed off her golden glow in a tiny multicoloured bikini as she relaxed on the beach

Delicate: Meg completed her look with a pair of wide frame sunglasses and a delicate 'M' pendant necklace settled on her trim frame

In the caption of her snap, she wrote: 'Day 7 feeling better chest infection / cough still not feeling great but having my implants out have been the best thing I have done.

'But hanging in there as don't want to spoil this much needed rest and ... and the sun and sea ... #megsmenopause #menopause #53 #lovelife #noimplants #silicone free'.

It comes after Meg revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'.

The 53-year-old spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers.

Getting older: Meg recently revealed how menopause crippled her sex life, left her with no libido and 'wiped her out physically and mentally'

Breaking the stigma around menopause, she told Closer Magazine: 'I lost all my libido, I was like "urgh, dont come near me", I just wanted the whole bed to myself.'

'The minute he wanted to have sex with me I was like, "get off", it was the last thing that I was feeling.

'But you need keep masturbating because when you stop having sex, you don't miss it, after four or five weeks, you're much happier to just cuddle up with your dog.'

Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set.

Honest: Meg spoke candidly about how hormonal changes contributed to her split from her partner at the time, saying she would rather cuddle her dog than get frisky under the covers (pictured last month)

In the 90's Meg would spend her nights partying away with the likes of Kate Moss, Davinia Taylor and Sadie Frost.

So when menopause hit her 'like a tsunami' at the age of 48, Meg initially feared her rock 'n' roll lifestyle had caught up with her because she didn't realise her symptoms were the onset of menopause.

The entrepreneur stayed in the house for the next three months battling social anxiety and mental issues which made her life feel 'really overwhelming'.

Party girl: Her relaxed pace of life is a far cry from her days as the wife of Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher and member of the Primrose Hill set (pictured with Kate Moss and Fran Cutler in 1988)

Reformed: Meg is now a devoted mother-of-one to her 19-year-old daughter Anais (pictured in February) and prefers a quieter life than her 90's rock 'n' roll lifestyle

The mother-of-one, who shares 19-year-old daughter Anais with Noel, started taking hormone replacement therapy a year later and found her symptoms alleviated.

She has since launched her own MegsMenopause product range to help women cope with the symptoms.

The reformed party girl recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health.

She shared a number of lists to show the negative side effects of having the cosmetic procedure, alongside a candid before and after shot of herself.

The side-by-side comparison saw her pose in the same coral pink bikini which had a patterned hem, and in the first image the top could barely contain her assets before the removal.

Happy: Meg recently candidly revealed that having her breast implants removed was one of the best things she could have done for her health

Alongside it, Meg posed for a mirror selfie so that she could showcase her noticeably smaller chest, as large plasters were placed on either side of her rib cage, and stuck out from underneath the bikini top.

Speaking honestly, she wrote: 'The best thing I did was taking my implants out 2 years ago.'

In December 2017, she admitted to Lizzy Cundy during an interview on Fubar Radio that it was time to 'take it down a notch', and has said goodbye to fake nails and false lashes as well as going back to a B cup from a DD.

The '90s it girl explained that she had been struggling with social anxiety and not able to leave the house, and that she felt better when she removed her implants 21 years after getting them done.

Meg admitted she said that she wished she had done it ages ago, as she said: 'You get in to your 50s I think we try and stay young, I thought just let it go, come to terms with it.

'I can still wear all my clothes  they just look better. I have a Celine [the French luxury label] cashmere jumper and, with big boobs, it looked rubbish. Now, it looks amazing. I was a DD; Im now a B.'
Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview.

The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby for Hunger magazine in 2013.

Phillip - who was a CBBC host from 1985 to 1987 - told Holly he 'partied a bit' as a 'lad' but never lost his 'son of Enid Blyton' image because he knew to stay out of central London.

Confession: Phillip Schofield has revealed he once drank vodka and ate caviar with 'two East German hookers' in a newly resurfaced interview

He said: 'It wasn't a case of hiding it. I did the same as everybody else. I was a lad, we partied a bit, but I didn't hide anything. It's just that nobody bothered to look in the right place.

'We were simply getting leathered in Chiswick where we lived at the time. Everybody knew us and nobody was bothered, and nobody would tell. So I got away with it.'

The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Past: The presenter, 57, made the confession in an interview with his This Morning co-star for Hunger magazine in 2013 (Pictured with Sara Greene of Going Live! in 1990)

Scandal: The father-of-two went on to describe one particularly rambunctious night in 1989 - when he and his friends took a last minute trip to Germany to watch the fall of the Berlin Wall

Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes.

He confessed: 'We got in the car and we drove through Checkpoint Charlie with these two East German hookers, no questions asked. God knows what the children's television would have thought!'

But despite his boozy past, the presenter - who has daughters Ruby, 23, and Molly, 26, with wife Stephanie Lowe - said he 'never got much into drugs' because he 'wasn't very good at it'.

Drinking buddies: Phillip said he then ended up 'drinking vodka' and 'eating caviar' with two East German prostitutes (Pictured with Holly and Steve Wilson)

His confession comes after Holly evealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out.

The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air.

The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio.

Nightmare: It comes after Holly Willoughby also revealed some of the most disastrous things that happened to her live on air as a children's TV presenter following 'wild' boozy nights out

However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning.

She told the Mail On Sunday's Live magazine: 'There were times when we went straight from the hotel bar to going live on air.

'Everyone in children's TV drinks until 5am. If you mess up, no one cares. It got a bit too wild when my breast popped out of my dress.'

Had a shocker! The TV presenter, 38, recalled her boob popping out of her dress during one unfortunate episode of Ministry Of Mayhem as well as vomiting live on air

Messy: The star admitted that everyone in kids television stays up until the early hours partying and she would often head from the hotel bar straight to the studio

'It doesn't help when you read the script and you've got to drink anchovies in custard with some eight year old. No matter how hard you scrub in the shower, you can't get the smell of custard pie off your skin.'

Ministry of Mayhem was a CITV children's game show which saw Holly dress as a French maid and even boast a cockney accent, encouraging her guests- and celebrity guests- to catapult sweet treats off a skateboard.

The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood.

Yuck! However Holly's stomach was often turned when she was made to try some revolting mixes such as anchovies and custard first thing in the morning

Co-hosts: The show was later renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, aired from January 2004 to July 2006, and also featured Michael Underwood

Holly and Stephen have stayed firm friends over the years after their two-year presenting stint together on the children's television show.

As their friendship has flourished over time, their presenting careers have blossomed in the limelight.

Holly's most recent success includes reportedly securing a six-figure sum to step into the embattled star Ant McPartlin's shoes for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

Day job: She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip Schofield since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm

She has been co-presenting This Morning alongside her pal Phillip since 2009, winning audiences with her lovable charm.

Holly's hectic schedule has also included her Dancing On Ice hosting role, which she reprised in 2018 after the show returned following a seven-year hiatus.

Despite her clean-cut image, Holly also showcases her cheekier side during appearances on Celebrity Juice, which she has been a team captain on since 2008.

Holly is a firm fan-favourite on the programme, which she worked on alongside her pal Keith Lemon and best pal Fearne Cotton, until she left in 2018.

True love: During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side throughout, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin

Big brood: They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four

Before embarking on her TV career, she was signed to British icon Kate Moss' former modelling agency Storm Models at the tender age of 14.

During her soaring career, Holly has had one constant by her side, her husband of 11 years, Dan Baldwin.

Sparks first flew between producer Dan and Holly when they met during their time on Ministry Of Mayhem and enjoyed a secret romance.

Speaking of their relationship, Holly previously explained: 'At first, I didn't fancy Dan at all  I didn't even think about it,' she revealed to Woman & Home. 'I don't think he could have fancied me either because it was such a genuine friendship.'

However their friendship proved to be a firm foundation for their romance, as six months after meeting they embarked on a relationship.

After just 18 months of dating Dan popped the question and the couple later tied the knot in 2007 in a lavish ceremony.

They are now parents to three children together, Harry, nine, Belle, eight, and Chester, four.
She has just returned from a sun-drenched trip to Dubai.

But no sooner had she landed, Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page.

The Love Island star, 21, showcased her peachy posterior in a very high-rise white swimsuit as she leaned against the pool bar in a casual fashion.

'Not your baby: Georgia Steel jetted off on another idyllic break to Ibiza, as she shared some sensational swimwear shots to her Instagram page

She added a defiant caption to the image which read 'Not your baby', following her recent split from her convicted fraudster ex Medi Abalimba.

Georgia looked typically glamorous in the visually pleasing snap, as she showcased her glowing tan which was only accentuated by the bright white swimwear.

She coordinated her stylish look with a pair of kooky white cat-eye shades, which helped to shield her eyes from the dazzling sunshine.

Beach babe: Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches

The Celebs Go Dating star opted for a signature full face of make-up, while wearing her glossy locks in perfectly styled curls.

Georgia has so far littered her social media with snaps from the break, most recently sharing a picture of herself kneeling in the sand on one of the island's beaches.

She rocked a skimpy neon green bikini for the shot, while wearing her long locks in French braids and posing up a storm for the camera.

Wow! Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection

Another image showed Georgia leaning against a post, wearing a stunning black bikini with gold detailing, which highlighted her svelte physique to perfection.

The appearance follows Georgia's emotional interview with The Sun earlier this month, in which the Celebs On The Ranch star said: 'I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone.

'I was in my flat and I've never been in a situation like that in my life. I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.'

Ex: She recently claimed her ex Medi Abalimba had stolen 'tens of thousands of pounds' from her following their split, despite her former flame, 26, protesting it had 'nothing to do with him'

She added that she had confronted Medi about her missing funds, but he said it was nothing to do with him.

Georgia said the matter is now in the hands of the police and MailOnline contacted her spokesperson for further information at the time.

The Love Island star has just appeared on Celebs Go Dating after splitting from ex-boyfriend Sam Bird in 2018 after moving in to their very own love pad together following the hit ITV2 show.
She regularly turns heads with her sensational sense of style.

And Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday.

The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim miniskirt.

Stunning: Ferne McCann looked radiant as ever as she attended the public launch of the Summer in the City event at Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Saturday

She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt and styled her blonde locks into loose waves.

The reality star is one of several famous mothers who are currently selling their children's used clothes online.

Ferne, who is worth a reported 2.7million, is the most active on the Market For Mums app with 26 listings for clothes worn by her 18-month-old daughter Sunday, and has so far made 257 from the site.

The app, which promises buyers gorgeous one-offs from celebrity mums', is where Ferne is selling her daughter's used items, ranging from 5 for a pair of baby top to 25 for a 'balloon dress and frilly knickers' set.

Fashion: The former TOWIE star, 28, cut a stylish figure at the bash, donning a white shirt with a blue denim mini-skirt

Other celebrity mums are also a fan of the app, with Mario Falcone's wife Becky Miesner selling her breast pump.

Love Island star Tyla Carr's items are on sale on the app too, as well as Teen Mom UK's Amber Butler's belongings.

The Market of Mums website revealed: 'Were a group of Mums and shopping experts who got fed up hunting through apps to find nice stuff for our kids.

Style: She added height to her frame with a pair of camel boots and accessorised with a black and white printed belt

Ensemble: Ferne also sported cream handbag and a pair of bracelets for the fun event

Look: The TV star styled her blonde locks into loose waves for the day

'So we made our own, for busy parents like us.'

Last month, Ferne informed her Instagram followers of the app, revealing: 'Hey parents. Ive just joined a great app called @marketofmums where you can sell all your unwanted or second hand baby items.

'Its ideal for clearing out all your childrens outgrown clothes and accessories whilst supporting other parents! Ive added a few items already and all the sales made through the app help support the childrens charity BLISS.'
Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'.

The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview with The Guardian's Weekend magazine.

But Richard added that he firmly believes directors should cast 'the best actor for the role' - regardless of their personal life or sexual orientation.

Terrible: Richard Madden has admitted it would be 'terrible' if film and television producers began 'restricting people's casting based on their personal lives'

He said: 'It's a really terrible route to go down if we start restricting people's casting based on their personal lives. We have to focus more on diversity and having everyone represented, but also I'm a firm believer in the best actor for the role.'

Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic.

Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality after he famously came out as bisexual in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976.

Backlash: Richard's Rocketman co-star Taron Egerton, 29, received backlash from critics last year when he was cast as Elton John in the much-anticipated biopic

Candid: The Bodyguard actor, 32, said the industry should 'focus more on diversity and having everyone represented' in a candid interview

Richard, who plays Elton's manager and lover John Reid in the film, went on to describe the Tiny Dancer hit-maker as a 'very interesting and interested man'.

The role is the latest in a long line of impressive bookings for the actor - who has previously starred as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and the Prince in Disney's live-action retelling of Cinderella.

The actor said he put on weight through on-set catering when he was younger - but decided to shed the extra pounds when he applied for drama school at 18.

Good choice? Some questioned whether the actor, who is heterosexual, was the right person to portray the musician's struggle with his sexuality

He said: 'I didn't want to be the fattest boy in drama school'.

Richard also revealed he doesn't like the look of himself in the mirror, and joked he loves 'a high waist, always good for a fat lad'.

The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard.

On playing the stony-faced character, he said: 'Likable is the actor's flaw. It's something I've tried to shake off over the years.'

Smash hit: The actor recently starred as Detective David Budd in the BBC thriller Bodyguard (Pictured with Keeley Hawes)

Anxiety: Taron, 29, admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24

Richard's comments come after Taron admitted he feels 'anxious' ahead of Rocketman's release on May 24.

Speaking in GQ magazine's May edition, the actor spoke candidly about the life changing role as he discussed possible LGBTQ backlash, taking on a musical icon, and why life will never be the same from now on.

He reasoned: 'I've approached it wholeheartedly and I hope that for that reason people accept me [as Elton].

'The LGBTQ community has always been about inclusiveness, hasn't it? Not about "We're here. You're there." In fact, if you want to come in, come on in.'

He continued: 'It was a fairly revolutionary time. Men were more outlandish. We didn't have role models like that when we were growing up. Sometimes, I think I'm from a time gone by, born too late.'
Margot Robbie jetted home to the Gold Coast in time to attend her grandmother's burial on Saturday.

First reported in the Sydney Morning Herald's Emerald City, the Australian actress left New York on Friday after having attended the Tribeca film festival.

The 28-year-old joined her loved ones, including brother Cameron Robbie, at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs.

Loss: Margot Robbie, 28, flew back home to the Gold Coast in time for her grandmother Narnie's burial on Saturday. Pictured on April 29 at the Tribeca film festival in New York

Emerald City understands that Margot's family held a funeral service on April 26 at Southport's Trinity Lutheran Church.

However they decided to delay the burial until Saturday in order for Margot to arrive home in time.

Margot's grandmother Verna, 92, who was affectionately called 'Narnie', passed away on April 13.

Just days prior to the burial, the I, Tonya star was pictured looking understandably downcast in New York.

Support: Margot is understood to have joined her loved ones at Dalby in Queensland's Darling Downs, in time for Saturday's burial. Pictured at the Tribeca film festival on April 28

Margot had been attending a slew of events at the Tribeca film festival, promoting her latest movie Dreamland.

She stars in the film opposite Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Kerry Condon, Finn Cole and Darby Camp.

Margot plays a seductive bank robber on the run in 1930s Texas while Cole is an innocent young man who falls under her spell.

The drama, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, is adapted from a screenplay by Nicolaas Zwart and got its official premiere last Sunday at Tribeca.

Prior to the festival Margot and her English husband Tom Ackerley returned from a vacation in the Caribbean.

The pair wed in a private Byron Bay ceremony on the New South Wales coast of Australia, and are now based in Los Angeles.
Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason is ready to admit he has issues he needs to work on, following a brutal incident that left their family dog Nugget dead.

Eason has apparently come to terms with the fact he has serious anger issues, according to an insider who spoke to TMZ, and is now 'ready' to seek therapy or get into an anger management program.

But the reality person can't undo the damage done to Teen Mom 2, which has lost a number of key sponsors amid the controversy.

Ready for help: David Eason, the husband of Teen Mom 2's Jenelle Evans, is ready to admit he has serious anger problems and get help following a brutal incident that left their family dog death

Eason has come to terms with the fact that his anger issues are out of control and is ready to get the help he needs. It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant, and had previously admitted that she's 'thought' about divorce.

All the while, MTV is dealing with the fall out from the controversy, even though they already axed David from the show last year for making homophobic and transphobic comments online.

The pet company Greenies was one of the first to take a stand, tweeting: 'We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty. We can now confirm that, as a result of this incident, our GREENIES ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming.'

Chipotle also announced they were pulling their support, tweeting: 'We are no longer airing our ads during episodes of Teen Mom.'

Dove Chocolate echoed those sentiments, writing, We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.

Twix candy echoed the sentiment, writing: We in no way condone animal cruelty or the mistreatment of animals. We appreciate your feedback and wanted to share that we have stopped advertising on Teen Mom programming.'

Blow back: Teen Mom 2 has lost several sponsors over the dog controversy, even though Eason left the show last year

It's said Eason's temper has put him at odds with his wife, who originally appeared on 16 And Pregnant

David admitted to killing the family dog via social media earlier this week.

He defended killing the defenseless animal on social media Wednesday, sharing a video on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face.

Eason took to his HickTownKing Instagram page and posted the clip showing Nugget on the couch with his daughter Ensley who tries to go in for a kiss.

Instead of intervening between the animal, who is clearly uncomfortable as it cowers and pulls away from the little girl, Eason sits across the room and films the dog nip back at the girls face, causing her to cry.

He also shared a photo of a tearful toddler after the incident with a slight red welt on her cheek, the skin having not been broken by the dogs teeth.

Heartless: In response to the accusations that he killed the defenseless animal, Eason shared a video in his defense on social media of the small dog being baited to nip the girls face while he sat across the room and watched

Proof? Eason shared a photo of his daughter after the nip that showed a small welt as the dogs teeth had not broken the skin

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption

'I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face... whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s**t at all,' he wrote in the caption.

'I'm all about protecting my family, it is my lifes mission,' he continued.

He wrote: 'Some people are worth killing or dying for and my family means that much to me. You can hate me all you want but this isnt the first time the dog bit Ensley aggressively. The only person that can judge weather or not a animal is a danger to MY CHILD is ME.'

Eason turned off the comments function on the video post.

People were horrified when the brutal details of the dog murder emerged earlier this week.

The hunting enthusiast was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast.

Horrible: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason was reportedly 'covered in blood' following the vicious killing of their tiny family dog Nugget, according to The Blast; seen on Instagram

Sad: The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death

The Teen Mom 2 star 'grabbed the dog by the throat and slammed it on the ground' before throwing the helpless animal into the kitchen table after filming the French Bulldog nipping at their two-year-old daughter Ensley.

The 30-year-old father-of-two  and step-father to Jenelle's two sons from previous relationships, Jace and Kaiser  reportedly threw the body of the lifeless animal out of the door before grabbing a pistol and shotgun and returning outside to shoot the puppy to death.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything' to Jenelle.

The Attorney General's Office in North Carolina reportedly received 138 complaints from the animal welfare office once news broke that the dog had been killed, according to TMZ.

Sources revealed to the publication that Animal Control will be sending an officer to Jenelle's home on Thursday to 'confirm the dog is dead' and verify who has 'possession of the dog's corpse.

Law enforcement officials did later confirm to TMZ that a home check did take place, and the officers were able to drive onto the property through an open gate.

The Animal Control officers did see a grey pit bull on the porch, along with numerous 'No Trespassing' signs.

Sources claim that the Animal Control officers feared for their safety and left the property, alerting the Sheriff's Department who would come in and complete the visit.

Officers were hoping to determine whether or not Nugget was still alive, and whose name was on the ownership papers for the dog.

Later this afternoon, a source close to Jenelle told TMZ that right after Nugget 'nipped at his daughter,' David took the dog out back and slammed it repeatedly into their backyard shed, and then took the dog into the woods and shot it.

'Everyone in the house was too terrified to stop him during the attack,' The Blast reported, and while Jenelle was reportedly home at the time, 'the scene was so intense and traumatic that nobody said anything to Eason

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office confirmed later on Thursday afternoon that they are conducting a 'joint investigation into allegations of animal cruelty' with Columbus County Animal Control.

Jenelle told US Weekly that she's had 'thoughts' of divorcing Eason, 'but nothing is finalized,' adding that 'David and I are not on talking terms.'

In North Carolina, killing a dog is a Class H Felony under the Animal-Cruelty statute.

But officials told TMZ on Wednesday that they will only go after David if Jenelle reports him.

On Tuesday unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter.

Eason's reality star wife took to social media to express her grief at the situation.

'Nugget... Im crying everyday. I love you so much and Im so sorry. Im speechless. You were my side kick and knew the moment I felt bad and would cuddle with me,' she penned.

Adding: 'You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons. Everyday I wake up youre not here, when I come home youre not here, when I go to bed... youre not here. Youre gone forever and theres no coming back. #Heartbroken #Distraught.'

Jenelle had adopted the French bulldog in August and the couple also has two Pitbulls.

Unsafe: The couple have two other dogs, pitbulls, the safety of status of which are unknown

Eason made it clear he had no comment about the incident when he appeared in court to pay $5k of back child support Friday in North Carolina.

David proved he was not to be trifled with when a photog/reporter for local station WSFX asked about the canine's murder.

'Don't get in my face, bro. I promise you don't want to do that,' 2nd amendment enthusiast Eason threatened in video obtained by TMZ .

Eason and the photog's tense exchange happened after the former appeared in court over $5187 he owed in child support.

Though he was at risk of being sent to jail for failing to pay child support, Eason originally showed up to court without the money he owed.

The judge granted him a small reprieve, allowing him to come up with the money by the end of day. He returned with the money shortly after time in court.

But Eason still faces serious accusations from Olivia Leedham, a woman he dated briefly in 2013 and subsequently had a son with.

Tough guy: Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason threatened a photographer who asked him questions about killing the family dog when he appeared at a North Carolina courthouse Friday. He was in court over $5k of unpaid child support

Horrifying: An unidentified male made the frantic 911 call reporting the alleged felony and the Columbus County Sheriff told Radar Online they plan on filing a report after thoroughly investigating the matter

The pair have been embroiled in a tense custody battle for years.

In court, Leedham claimed Eason was physically abusive to her. Among her her claims, that Eason shoved her while eight-months pregnant and that he left her in the middle of the road at night when she was seven-months pregnant.

She also said Eason was 'thousands' of dollars behind in child support.

Eason has been accused of domestic violence in the past. Last fall Evans called 911 claiming her husband 'assaulted' her, causing her to break her collarbone.

'He got violent because he's been drinking,' Evans sobbed to the 911 operator in October.

'I'm recovering from a surgery on Monday. I can't breathe. I have four kids in the house with me right now. They're all sleeping. I don't know what to do. He left the house. I don't know what to do right now.'

But the reality star later dismissed the incident as a drunken misunderstanding.




Her glitzy looks and outrageous curves have made her a style icon.

And Dolly Parton is now throwing her cowboy hat into the fashion ring, set to launch her own clothing line according to WWD Friday.

The Jolene crooner, 73, explained how 'excited' she is about her forthcoming line of clothing, jewelry, accessories and home goods in a statement to the publication.

Fashion icon: Dolly Parton (above 2016) is giving fans the opportunity to embrace her style, set to launch a fashion line with IMG

Speaking about her multi-year partnership with high-powered management company IMG, she said: 'I am excited to be working with IMG on a global scale to give my fans products that they will cherish for years to come.

'You might even see my mug on a mug,' she joked.

IMG's VP of licensing Gary Krakower explained how 'thrilled' the company is to work with Dolly, telling WWD: 'Dolly Parton is an international icon and we are thrilled to be working with her.

'Together, we look forward to building cohesive lifestyle brand products that will celebrate Dolly and bring her iconic style and personality to her millions of fans worldwide in engaging new ways.'

More information about the line and its release date will be forthcoming.

Yee-haw! Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late. Above the beauty is seen in '77

Signature style: Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour. Above Dolly's seen in 2017 on The Tonight Show

Dolly has never shying away from sartorial drama through her six decade career.

Voluminous wigs, sparkling dresses, and curve-hugging silhouettes have made her the paragon of country glamour.

And it's said that Parton and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year.

Dolly's influence has been inescapable, especially since Western-chic has been en vogue as of late.

Lots o' looks! It's said that Parton (2002 above) and her creative director/wardrobe designer Steve Summers collaborate on creating a whopping 300 different looks a year

Muse: Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection

Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele made the I Will Always Love You songstress his muse for the Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest. Her face was also emblazoned onto a sweater.

Though she'll be a newcomer to fashion, Dolly has a number of other business ventures.

Her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee will celebrate its 33rd anniversary next year.

And later this year Netflix will debut an eight-part film anthology series, Heartstrings, inspired by her music.

True star: He embraced high-kitsch by airbrushing the beauty's visage on the back of a bedazzled jean vest and emblazoning her face onto a sweater
Kylie Minogue has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children.

Reflecting on her 2005 diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family, the pop icon told Sunday Times Style: 'I was 36 when I had my diagnosis (breast cancer). Realistically, youre getting to the late side of things.'

The petite beauty, 50, also spoke to the publication about her new relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons, who is the creative director of British GQ.

'Late side of things': Kylie Minogue, 50, has candidly discussed her battle with breast cancer and how it has prevented from being able to have children

Speaking of her desire to have children, Kylie explained: 'While that wasnt on my agenda at the time, it changed everything.'

Revealing how she has remained positive, she added: 'I dont want to dwell on it, obviously, but I wonder what that would have been like. Everyone will say there are options, but I dont know.

'Im 50 now, and Im more at ease with my life. I cant say there are no regrets, but it would be very hard for me to move on if I classed that as a regret, so I just have to be as philosophical about it as I can. Youve got to accept where you are and get on with it.'

Kylie also couldn't resist gushing about her new beau Paul, admitting: 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'.

'It changed everything': The pop icon reflecting on her 2005 breast cancer diagnosis and the impact it had on her starting a family (Pictured 2005)

'Have to accept it and move on': While Kylie admitted that having children 'wasn't on her agenda at the time', it changed everything

She shared: 'I can feel my face going, people say "Your face changes when you take about him," and it does.

'Happiness. Hes an inspiring, funny, talented guy. Hes got a real-life actual job! Its lovely.'

Meanwhile, Kylie has bagged herself a space in the famous afternoon Legend Sunday slot of the Glastonbury festival coming up this summer in 2019.

She was previously booked to play at the festival in 2005 but was forced to bow out after being given a breast cancer diagnosis.

'Happiness': The petite beauty also spoke to the publication about her relationship with 45-year-old Paul Solomons who is the creative director of British GQ

Smitten: Continuing to gush about her new beau Paul, Kylie revealed 'Ive met someone who I feel good with. It feels rights'

Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday.

She said: 'I keep losing my breath. Everytime someone mentions Glastonbury Im like, "yup, thats happening.

'It was 2005 and that was thrilling at that time that I was going to play Glastonbury. Then I received my diagnosis which put a halt to everything.

'All these years have passed and I was thinking, "well I guess thats never going to happen for me, I missed the boat on that."

'Then bang, I was offered the Legends slot which is incredibly exciting to me.'

Exciting! Speaking of taking to the stage at Glastonbuty, Kylie admitted her delight during an interview with The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday

Kylie has been reported to be writing and recording new music recently for Glastonbury.

A source told The Sun: 'Kylie's been writing and recording new music for a while and its likely fans will hear some of the material when she plays Glastonbury in June.

'She's just registered a song called A Rose Is A Rose which she wrote with producer EG White.

'He worked with Kylie on her most recent album and has written songs for big-name artists including Adele and Celine Dion.'

Read Kylie Minogue's full interview in Sunday Times Style.
Line Of Duty wraps things up tonight with a special extended episode.

In theory anyway...

Put another way, only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions.

What's next? Line Of Duty wraps things up tomorrow with a special extended episode, and put another way, that leaves only 85 minutes to answer A LOT of questions

Why did Supt. Ted Hastings misspell definately for example, and why did no one else in AC-12 notice?

Why had he accepted that 50, 000 in cash but not spent some of it on a better hotel - one where he could actually flush the toilet?

Had he really lost thousands in something called The Kettle Bell Complex, which sounded more like one of a conspiracy anthem by Radiohead than a serious investment?

Was Gill Bigelow a baddie or just habitually bitchy? Was it true that you couldnt send flowers to people in hospital anymore, as she told like when she told the Deputy Chief Constable? And were muffins really the right alternative as DCC Wise decided (for Teds wife)?

Dramatic: Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent

Its hard to see Jed Mercurio tying up all the loose ends, or how he can in the case of Ted Hastings who surely cant be guilty or completely innocent. And thats even if Mercurio wanted to, which frankly seems unlikely based on the previous four series.

You might be thinking the big issue in the finale is meant to be: will Superintendent Hastings turn out to be the high-ranking police officer/organised crime boss known as H?

Ironically though, thats the one thing we dont need to worry about.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! (As Ted would say.) Of course he isnt. Hes Ted Hastings!

Hes the last person who could be H.

So many questions: Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow

Suspects have included Derek Hilton and Lester Hargreaves but H is more likely to be a woman than Hastings or actually really G  possibly for Gill Bigelow.

Who is H?

Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out.

But here are 20 questions that should be answered in the Line Of Duty finale.

1. Is Ted Hastings H ?

Just because Hastings told the OCGs Lisa McQueen and Miroslav Minkowicz he was H, has spent the whole series seemingly helping the gang as H would, and misspelt definately like H didnt mean that he was H. We didnt float up the Lagan in a bubble you know Jed.

2. Will Ted go down for being H anyway?

This would give Mercurio a sensational ending for this series and a way to start the next (Arnott and Fleming trying to get him out of prison by exonerating him). Mercurio has dug such a deep hole for his hero its hard to see how he can come up with a convincing story to explain all Teds uncharacteristically strange behaviour and bad decision-making.

Bizarre: Given that Jed Mercurio is more duplicitous and secretive than H himself (or herself) you have to doubt that well find out

3. For instance why did Supt. Hastings furtively take his laptop to be disposed of in an Electronics Disposal Centre as soon as he learnt Arnott had made contact with undercover cop John Corbett?

This not only seemed highly suspicious but like a lot of trouble to go to  rather than just sticking it in a bin-liner and throwing it away. Where did Ted find a shop like this? Do they even exist?

4. And why had Ted Hastings accepted that Jiffy bag stuffed with 50K in cash and then just kept it on his desk, staring at it for several episodes, for AC-3 to find and use as evidence against him?

Teds explanation to DCS Patricia Carmichael was dodgy ex-detective Mark Moffatt had given him the money using false pretences and that hed been in the process of returning it. Clearly not only inadequate excuses but just not true.

5. Was Ted/Mercurio seriously going to claim hed been posing as H in order to discover Hs identity/trap H?

If Ted was going to use this (ridiculous) defence he was in trouble. H would not be living in a grotty Travelodge like Alan Partridge for a start and wasnt even a good cover story  given that H would want to maintain anonymity and Teds financial difficulties actually attracted suspicion that he was open to corruption.

Pretending to be H was a rubbish plan, as was proved when Lisa McQueen refused to believe H would break his cover at such a dangerous time after all those years undetected. Surely even Ted could see his trap could never work. H would know that Ted wasnt really H - because he was.

Odd: So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

6. If Ted was innocent why didnt he have anyone to corroborate that hed been pretending to be H? Or had been framed and by who?

Ted indignantly insisted to DCS Carmichael that hed been set up, but didnt have the foggiest clue who by. Ted had basically framed himself. He had nothing to corroborate his story about the 50, 000 because - much to Teds amazement, Moffatt hadnt left his fingerprints on the cash. And his visit to OCG member Lee Banks in Blackthorn prison - unaccompanied, unrecorded, and unbeknownst to any of his colleagues in AC-12  looked even more unwise/dubious when Banks failed to deny the accusation Ted had tipped the OCG off that Corbett was an undercover police officer (thus sealing his fate) by answering no comment to AC-3s questions.

7. Why had Ted Hastings spent THE WHOLE SERIES looking so shifty or sweating like the pilot in Airplane?

God knows how Mercurio would explain Teds behaviour  ordering Steve Arnott to shoot Corbett, moving armed officers away from the OCGs raid (allowing the balaclava gang to get away with 50m of stolen goods), panicking when AC-12 discovered a surveillance photo of the figure in the flat cap, or when corrupt PC Jane Cafferty revealed whod recruited her to the gang. No wonder at one point DI Kate Fleming even asked Ted: are you alright Sir?

8. Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

Ted Hastings had clearly been un-co-operative/ wilfully obfuscating regarding his involvement in the murder of John Corbetts mother - a police informant during The Troubles when Hastings was a young officer in the RUC.

Motives: Why did John Corbett hate Hastings with a passion and so convinced that Ted was H?

9. So far Hastings, Hilton, and Hargreaves had been suspects but could H actually be female?

Every time Ted said we will get our man or Lisa McQueen argued this is how he operates it seemed more like a red herring.

10. So could Gill Bigelow be H?

The PCCs legal counsel and Ted Hastings man-eating stalker was evil enough. Poor woman, she sighed, about the attack on his wife. At her age... She certainly seems keen on what she called a non-exclusive relationship with the truth. And the way she headed straight into the bathroom when Ted took her back to his hotel was suspiciously gratuitous. Had she been plotting to stitch him up by planting his DNA amongst the condoms discovered in AC-12s raid on the OCGs brothel?

11. Could DS Amanda Powell, DCC Andrea Wise, or DCS Patricia Carmichael be H or corrupt?

Any of these would be a cheap shot by Mercurio given that they had hardly featured. DCC Wise was also nice enough to send Roisin Hastings those muffins.

Sinister: Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

12. Were any minor characters working for the OCG  the likes of PC Tatleen Sohotra, authorised firearms officer Sergeant Kyle Ferringham, AC-3s Martina Trantor, or DS Arnotts ex-girlfriend for example?

The way Tatleen was running AC-12 virtually singlehanded seemed suspicious and DS Sam Railston rather desperate to get close to Steve.

13. Was Ryan Pilkington, the OCG thug who slashed PC Maneet Bindras throat, the new Dot Cottan  the next gang member to be planted in AC-12? (And was he really the kid on the bike in Series One nearly SEVEN years ago?)

It didnt bode well when Lisa McQueen asked Ryan how his exams had gone and heard back that he was preparing for an interview that ruled him out of any more fun with the OCG.

14. Is Lisa McQueen secretly undercover?

Her emotional reaction to the death of Maneet Bindra and the way she spared PC Caffertys life in episode one still contradict her image as the OCGs toughest cookie.

Who is it? Were any minor characters working for the OCG?

15. Could Lisa McQueen be the secret love child of series ones protagonists corrupt cop DCI Tony Gates and his lover Jackie Laverty - whose legs were in Terrys freezer?

This would explain why she seemed so satisfied by John Corbetts demise.

16. Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

Lisa McQueen and the gang had identified Steve from Terrys photos of AC-12 raiding the OCGs print shop.

17. Was DI Kate Flemings life in danger from the OCG?

The way Kate kept telling people like Steff Corbett that shed worked undercover seemed unwise/unprofessional and the soppy scenes of her life at home with her kids and (grumpy) husband worryingly uncharacteristic for Line Of Duty.

Scared: Was DS Steve Arnotts life in danger from the OCG?

18. Could Kate Fleming be H?

Admittedly the most outlandish rumour amongst LoD websites.

19. Does H actually exist?

The entire theory about the codename H stemmed from Dot Cottan blinking to confirm it just before he died. Kate Fleming was rushing through the alphabet so quickly some fans theory is that he really indicated G.

20. Should the next series of Line Of Duty be about AC-3 given that AC-12 are so useless?

Patricia Carmichael may be more icy and less noble than Ted Hastings but she would be a worthy replacement. And if AC-12 cant even arrest Terry  who lived in the flat opposite the OCGs print shop with Jackie Lavertys legs in his freezer all that time  it seems unlikely they will ever discover who H is.
She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015.

And Bella Hadid made sure her look for this year's affair would be picture perfect, as she headed to a final fitting in NYC on Saturday.

The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers.

Finishing touches: Bella Hadid got ready for Monday's Met Gala by going to a dress fitting in NYC on Saturday

The black and white and red all over Miaou pants, which retail for just under $300, rose high up her hips and featured a row of slick silver buttons and a cropped hem.

Keeping her look nonchalant, she tossed a crisp shirt on top.

Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble while she topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant.

The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun, also framing her face with hoop earrings.

Read all about it! The IMG model, 22, was white hot as she sauntered into the building rocking a little tank top with newspaper patterned trousers

Bun in the sun: The girlfriend of The Weeknd swept her hair to the side, before clipping it up into a messy bun

Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion, which is inspired by the similarly titled Susan Sontag essay Notes On Camp.

Defining 'camp,' the public intellectual described the concept as 'the metaphor of life as theater.'

And while the Gala is known for bringing out the dramatic, stars are said to be worried sick about how to tackle this year's theme.

Cool kicks: Doc Marten boots were both a classic and edgy addition to her ensemble

Accessories: She topped things off with little oval sunglasses and a gold pendant

Camp chic: Fashion fans have been anxious to see how the celeb set does with this year's slightly avant-garde theme Camp: Notes On fashion

'I know some A-listers who regularly attend were unhappy with the looks designers were pitching them,' one fashion insider told Page Six.

'The idea of "camp" is out of their grasp. One major hairstylist to an A-list actress told me, "Shes freaking out because she just wants to look pretty."'

Meanwhile, many are worried about offending the tastes of Ms. Anna Wintour.

As one insider explained: 'You get to the top of the stairs [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art] and... if she isnt smiling, your dress sucks.'

Previous years' themes have include 2015's China: Through The Looking Glass, 2016's Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, 2017's Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, and 2018's Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination.

Freshman year: She's been a mainstay at the Met Gala since her first appearance in 2015, above
Billie Lourd honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, marking May 4 Star Wars Day.

The 26-year-old actress posted a shot of herself and her mother with a caption of emojis honoring the nostalgic celebration that plays on the date and a key line throughout the Star Wars anthology, 'May the force be with you.'

Lourd had initially posted the mother-daughter shot prior on December 14, 2015 prior to screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which marked her onscreen entry into the Star Wars universe as the Lieutenant Connix character.

In her heart: Billie Lourd, 26, honored her late mother Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars anthology, on Saturday, which marked Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Fisher died at 60 on December 27 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, four days after she had a heart attack on a December 23, 2016 flight from London to Los Angeles.

Her mother and Billie's grandmother, Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds, died after a stroke December 28 as she was planning Fisher's memorial.

Lourd in December took to Instagram with a tribute to her late mother with clips of herself playing the 1967 Nico song These Days - a favorite of Fisher's - on a family heirloom piano.

'It has been two years since my Momby's death and I still don't know what the "right" thing to do on a death anniversary is (I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way about your loved ones),' the actress wrote.

Cherished memories: Lourd posted a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away Thursday

Icon: Fisher was seen in this still from the initial Star Wars film released in 1977

Lourd said that she's coped with the tragic experience by staying busy and keeping good company.

'I've found that what keeps me moving,' she wrote, 'is doing things that make me happy, working hard on the things that I'm passionate about and surrounding myself with people I love and making them smile.

She added that she hoped the emotional clip would inspire others 'feeling a little low or lost to "keep on moving."

'As my Momby once said, "Take your broken heart and turn it into art" - whatever that art may be for you,' she added.

Lourd, who's been seen on Scream Queens and American Horror Story, took to the site Friday with a childhood shot of herself and her mom with Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew - who passed away Thursday.

Classic: Mark Hamill, Fisher and Harrison Ford are seen in this shot from Star Wars

On the move: The trio was pictured with classic Star Wars characters Chewbacca (played by the late Peter Mayhew) and CP-30 (played by Anthony Daniels) in this shot from 1983's Return of the Jedi

No bargain: The Leia character found herself chained to Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi

Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, John Stamos, Jimmy Fallon and Bret Michaels paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists.

Also chiming in were Star Wars alums Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, who have appeared in recent Star Wars films in the anthology.

Star Wars with the stars: Across social media, a number of celebrities, including Mindy Kaling, paid their respects to the Star Wars films with various twists

Hey there: Hollywood stalwart John Stamos posed alongside a shot of of R2-D2 in this retro post he brought back for the special day

Lots of laughs: The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon hearkened back to a bit based on the films

Cloud City checks in: Billy Dee Williams, who plays Lando Calrissian, took to the site with an uplifting message

Amusing: Mark Hamill's tweet inspired a back-and-forth with pop culture king Jeff Goldblum

Nothing but a good time: Poison's Bret Michaels shared a lively concert pic for the occasion

Hulk meets Chewy: The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno shared this shot with characters from the film
Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks

US authorities are seeking to sell a $39-million luxury mansion in Los Angeles allegedly bought by a Malaysian financier with money looted from scandal-hit state fund 1MDB, court documents showed.

Billions of dollars were purportedly pilfered from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund by former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to artworks.

Financier Low Taek Jho is suspected of playing a central role in the fraud and has been charged in absentia in Malaysia and America, which is seeking to recover assets allegedly bought with looted funds via civil lawsuits.

Among these assets is the mansion in Beverly Hills, a wealthy area of LA that is home to many Hollywood stars, said to have been bought by Low in 2012 with stolen money.

US prosecutors and Low's holding company that owns the property have agreed to try to sell it, according to documents filed in a California court Friday.

"The property is at risk of deterioration and damage as it will likely be uninhabited during" ongoing legal action unless it is sold, the filings said.

"The expense of keeping the property is excessive and/or is disproportionate to its fair market value," they added.

The US legal action linked to the mansion will continue despite the agreement. Proceeds from any eventual sale will be held in a government account until the action ends, the filings said.

Low's spokesman in a statement welcomed the "mutual effort to preserve the property's value while ensuring the owners' claims are protected and may proceed in a timely fashion".

The current whereabouts of Low, who gained a reputation as a jet-setting playboy, are unknown. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The 1MDB scandal played a huge part in the election loss last year of Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

The ex-leader has since been arrested over the fraud and went on trial last month.

Malaysia's new government has re-opened investigations into 1MDB and vowed to get back stolen money. The US is getting ready to return about $200 million of recovered funds to Malaysia, Bloomberg News reported this week.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - Newly renamed North Macedonia heads to the polls on Sunday for runoff presidential elections. Two candidates, both university professors, are competing for the post after the third candidate was knocked in last month's first round.

Although the president has a largely ceremonial position, with some powers to veto legislation, the outcome of the vote could trigger early parliamentary elections in a country deeply polarized between the governing Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE conservatives. Turnout will be crucial, with 40% needed for the election to be valid. The first round barely made it past that point, with a turnout of 41.8%.

Campaigning in the first round centered on a recent deal the Balkan country reached with neighboring Greece to rename itself North Macedonia in exchange for Athens dropping objections to it joining NATO and the European Union. This time round, the candidates have focused more on the issues of corruption, crime, poverty and brain drain.

Here is a look at the two contenders for North Macedonia's presidency.

____

Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63 - The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock 'n' roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

A woman walks past a poster of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan "Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls." She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country's name to North Macedonia and had hinted she would challenge the name agreement in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But last week, Siljanovska said during a debate on national television MTV she will not "spend the whole mandate in reviewing the name agreement with Greece."

"I will fight for democratization of the undemocratic Macedonian political system," she added.

During a campaign speech, Siljanovska said her country needs a "radical reversal," and described it as being "in many elements a failed state."

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country's first constitution.

____

Stevo Pendarovski, 56 - A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovski's second bid for the presidency after being defeated by Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He has defended the name deal with Greece, arguing it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan "Forward Together" reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring foreign investment, jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

"People should know what is at stake, they should not stay passive," he said during the television debate. "They have to go out and choose between two concepts - the one that is for progress, cohesion and integration in the strongest international organizations, (and) the other that draws the country back in time."

People walk past a campaign poster of Stevo Pendarovski, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads: "Together Forward", in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Campaign posters of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, left, a candidate for the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, which reads in Macedonian: "Justice for Macedonia" and a poster of Stevo Pendarovski, right, a presidential candidate of the ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats, that reads in Macedonian: "Together Forward", are placed in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, Friday, May 3, 2019. Voters in newly-renamed North Macedonia will choose the country's new president Sunday, in tightly-contested polls that could see the ethnic Albanian minority playing a major role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly three decades. It may finally be his moment.

Many Americans know Thomas largely from his bruising 1991 confirmation hearing, when he was accused of sexual harassment charges by former employee Anita Hill - charges he denied. People may know he's a conservative and has gone years without speaking during arguments at the court. But scholars say it would be wise to pay closer attention to Thomas.

Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.

Thomas, for the first time, is on a court where there are at least four votes for some "pretty radical" decisions, said political science professor Corey Robin, the author of a Thomas book due out in September. Robin says the question will be whether the court's more conservative justices - Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito - can get Chief Justice John Roberts, a more moderate conservative, to go along.

Thomas, 70, became the high court's longest-serving justice, the "senior associate justice," when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired last summer . But unlike Kennedy, who sat at the court's ideological center and was most often the deciding vote when the court split 5-4, Thomas is consistently on the court's far right.

That's won him praise from Trump . As a presidential candidate, he called Thomas "highly underrated." Trump said Thomas has "been so consistent for so long, and we should give him credit."

FIILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

More than 20 of the men and women Thomas mentored as law clerks have gone on to hold political appointments in the Trump administration or been nominated to judgeships by Trump . Thomas and his wife, Virginia, herself a well-known conservative activist, have dined with the president and first lady.

Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, acknowledged that Thomas' views may now have more sway, something she described as "terrifying to many progressives."

Still, Thomas' views can be so far from his fellow justices that neither Roberts nor Chief Justice William Rehnquist before him have assigned Thomas big, landmark opinions on the belief that he won't be able to keep together the votes of his colleagues, said Ralph Rossum, the author of a book on Thomas. Instead, Thomas often writes separately, speaking only for himself. Some critics dismiss those solo opinions as uninfluential, but Rossum disagrees.

"He stakes out a position more forthrightly or vigorously than other justices are willing to go, but they're kind of sucked along in his wake," Rossum said, adding that, like a magnet, "Thomas drags the court in his direction. They may not go as far as he goes, but they go further than they would have otherwise."

Some of the areas of law where, over time, Thomas has pulled the court closer to his positions include voting rights, campaign finance, and the Second Amendment, Robin and Rossum said.

If it were up to Thomas alone, the high court would be willing to make sweeping moves. While the court is typically cautious about overturning its past decisions, Thomas, who as an originalist believes in reading the Constitution as those who wrote it meant, feels less bound by precedent than other justices.

Just this term, Thomas called on the court to reconsider a landmark 1964 First Amendment case, describing it and later decisions extending it as "policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law ." He also criticized a 1963 Supreme Court decision that guarantees a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one. And he equated the court's Roe v. Wade abortion decision with its Dred Scott decision, which said African Americans weren't citizens, labeling both "notoriously incorrect."

He also wrote an opinion rebuking his colleagues for declining to hear cases involving states' efforts to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, a decision Thomas described as "abdicating our judicial duty." Alito and Gorsuch agreed.

If Thomas' writing can be attention-getting, he personally keeps a low profile. Thomas shies away from public speaking, describing himself as an introvert. He once explained : "My personality is not such that I enjoy public appearances."

At the high court, Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments, a contrast with his vocal colleagues. When in March he asked a question during arguments for the first time in three years, it was headline news .

But colleagues and court staff know Thomas as gregarious.

"Clarence knows the name of every employee in the courthouse, from the lowest position to the highest ... with virtually all of them he knows their families, their happinesses and their tragedies," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told an audience in 2014 at Yale , where both she and Thomas attended law school.

Over the past year, speculation has intensified about whether Thomas might retire, letting Trump nominate a like-minded, conservative justice. But Thomas, who declined an Associated Press interview request, said in public comments recently that he's not retiring, not even in 20 or 30 years.

If so, Thomas is on track to be the longest-serving justice in history in 2028, when he'll celebrate his 80th birthday. He is currently the court's third-oldest member, behind Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 86, and Justice Stephen Breyer, 80.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar said part of the appeal of staying on the court for Thomas has to include his increasing influence. Amar said he could see Thomas justify staying this way: "It's a pretty good job. I'm having fun, and I'm winning."

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 1991, file photo, Clarence Thomas is sworn in to the Supreme Court in Washington, by Justice Byron White. Watch from left are first lady Barbara Bush, President George H.W. Bush, behind Thomas, and Thomas' wife, Virginia Lamp Thomas. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2011, file photo Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laughs while talking with other guests at The Federalist Society's 2011 Annual Dinner in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, from left, Supreme court Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts arrive for services for former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 1991, file photo, newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talks to reporters while posing on the plaza of the court in Washington. Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a court that has recently gotten more conservative, putting him in a unique and potentially powerful position, and he's said he isn't going away anytime soon. With President Donald Trump's nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh now on the court, conservatives are firmly in control as the justices take on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control and LGBT rights. (AP photo/Dennis Cook, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include the new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DOHA, May 4 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways' return to flying over Syria as its eight-year war dies down is part of its efforts to grapple with a nearly two-year Gulf dispute that has blocked it from using the airspace of many of its neighbours, CEO Akbar al-Baker said on Saturday.

Syrian transport minister Ali Hammoud said last month that his country had approved a request by Qatar Airways to begin using the country's airspace for routes, one of the first airlines to do so. Qatar did not comment at the time.

Qatar's state-owned carrier has had to re-route many of its flights since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with the tiny Gulf state in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

The adjusted routes have increased the duration and cost of flights moving west and south of the Gulf, and in March the company reported an annual loss for the second consecutive year.

"This is all about the blockade," Baker said of the decision, referring to the 2017 boycott. "We are blockaded, so we have to find ways to fulfil the requirements of my country. It's very simple".

Baker said the restored routes, which analysts have said include flights to Doha from Beirut and Larnaca, do not pose safety issues.

"You know Qatar Airways would not fly anywhere that is not safe. We have to protect our passengers and our crew," said Baker. (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in two separate attacks by Kurdish militants on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry said, adding that the army had retaliated in both cases.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the mainly Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian region of Tel Rifaat, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in a region where Turkey carried out a cross-border operation dubbed Euphrates Shield in 2016, aimed at driving Islamic State militants and the YPG from its border with Syria, the ministry said.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was later quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency as saying the military had killed 23 militants in retaliation for the attacks from Syria.

A Turkish security official told Reuters that the army was carrying out small operations to eliminate threats from the Tel Rifaat region, but that it could launch "a bigger operation" if necessary.

Separately, three Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, which borders northern Iraq, after Kurdish militants shelled the region, the defence ministry said in a separate statement.

It said the military had returned fire and launched a cross-border operation in the region backed by fighter jets to destroy militant targets.

Akar said the military had killed five other militants in the cross-border operation into northern Iraq, and a total of 28 militants in response to the two attacks.

"We neutralised the 28 terrorists who carried out the attacks. Our operations both inside and outside our country continue with great determination," Akar said, according to Anadolu.

Turkey's military has regularly carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. It also shelled YPG positions in the Tel Rifaat region earlier this year, saying this was in response to YPG fire.

Tel Rifaat is controlled by Kurdish-led forces and is located some 20 km east of Afrin, which has been under the control of Turkey and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies since an operation last year to drive out the YPG.

Turkey, which has long been one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has conducted patrols with Russia, one of Assad's main allies, in northern areas under agreements reached last year.

In March, the defence ministry said Turkish and Russian forces had carried out the first "independent and coordinated" patrols in Tel Rifaat. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Holmes, Jan Harvey and Hugh Lawson)
BEIRUT/AMMAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebels launched an offensive into territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, seizing some territory before heavy shelling forced them to retreat.

The operation marked an escalation on one of the most complicated theatres of the multi-sided Syrian war. Though the rebels are targeting the YPG, Syrian government forces are also deployed nearby as are their Russian and Iran-backed allies.

The Turkey-backed Syrian National Army took three villages before withdrawing "because of heavy shelling and the lack of an ability to sweep the area completely in the light of the targeting of our forces", said Yousef Hammoud, its spokesman.

He said pro-Damascus forces had shelled the advancing National Army fighters.

The YPG, which has fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State in eastern and northeastern Syria, has lost ground in the northwest since early 2018, when Turkish forces and their Syrian allies drove it from the Afrin region.

A military source in the Afrin Liberation Forces, which is close to the YPG, told Reuters the Turkey-backed rebels had advanced into an area where the Kurdish forces had no presence before being forced out.

"Now, after strikes from our forces, the opposition forces were forced to withdraw from those positions," the source said.

The National Army was formed with Turkish backing from a number of rebel Free Syrian Army groups. Its main foothold is a chunk of territory northeast of Aleppo known as Euphrates Shield that is secured with help from Turkish forces on the ground.

The FSA groups have long vowed to take the YPG-held territory north of Aleppo including the town of Tel Rifaat, taken by the Kurdish militia since 2016.

The Turkish defence ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a YPG attack in Tel Rifaat on Saturday.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil for autonomy in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast since 1984. The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main Syrian partner of the U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State. The SDF controls northeastern and eastern Syria, approximately one quarter of the country. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Khalil Ashawi in Turkey and Rodi Said in Qamishli; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Meredith Mazzilli)
Any reform in any community is sustainable in the long run only if it follows internal churning. It shouldnt be thrust down a community's throat, ideally, but it should come after debates, discussions and deliberations from within.

This, of course, applies only to practices that are not a threat to human life.

It is beyond time the Muslim community itself banned the burqa. (Source: Reuters)

The move of Keralas Muslim Educational Society (MES)  which controls 150 educational institutions  to ban any dress that covers the face for girls on all the campuses is thus a positive move.

The MES will not encourage any type of veils on its campus... Managers of each MES institution will have to ensure that girl students do not come to the campus with their faces covered. They are hereby asked to include this as a rule on the campus from the academic year 2019-20, the MES circular read.

It has for long been maintained that regressive practices within the Muslim world must be questioned  from within.

While many say that covering the face is a matter of 'choice', the hard fact is, millions of women in the world are forced to cover up their bodies, including their faces. The hard fact is also that in some countries, women can be stoned to death for not covering up. Every call for a ban on the burqa is met with senseless rebuttals, stating it is a matter of choice  and also a fashion statement for many. Both these weak defences either naively or deliberately miss the hard truth behind the practice.

But this glamorisation of the burqa by some has proven to be an incarceration of sorts for many others, who have risked their lives fighting for their right to walk with their faces uncovered and their heads held high.

However, when countries like France implemented this ban without much debate, almost as a diktat, they faced backlash. The implementation of a similar move is currently under discussion in Sri Lanka, following the terror attacks on April 21 that claimed over 300 lives.

Such a 'burqa ban' by a state, topdown and sans sufficient consensus, actually furthers divide  but when such a move is implemented from within the community, it creates room for positive dialogue.

Why should men be given the right to enforce a ban on women leaving their faces free? (Source: Reuters)

Some would say Keralas MES should have waited for a consensus to build on the subject. But that makes little sense, given that the burqa has been in existence for pretty long and has been implemented with such an iron fist for so many women that it needs to be done away with  now.

There is no reason for women to cover up their faces, just as there is no reason for women to join their deceased husbands on a funeral pyre, just as there is no reason for women to be killed while they are still a foetus.

Burqa is not a matter of choice of choice for many. It is a marker of deep misogyny. If there is a God, why would s/he want women to cover their faces and let men beat them up for not doing so? If womens faces were indeed problematic, why would that Supreme Being create them in the first place?

As the debate gathers steam, Kerala MES has made a very good beginning.

It is time more Muslims support it and speak out against the veil.

Also read: AR Rehmans daughter wearing the veil is her choice. But it's still a hugely regressive one
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Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC.
BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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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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Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is engaged principally in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing, management and ownership of an industrial global rental portfolio of properties in North America and Europe leased primarily to Magna International Inc. and its automotive operating units. It is a service REIT with an international portfolio consisting of over 100 properties. It provides a range of services that includes sourcing and real estate acquisition, site development, assisting with government approvals and re-zoning to specific uses, build-to-suit construction, property renovation, project management and long-term leasing. In November 2013, Granite Real Estate Investment Trust completed its acquisition of a 2.5 million square foot portfolio of seven properties located in Germany and the Netherlands from funds managed by AEW Europe.

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Shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF reverse split on the morning of Monday, November 7th 2016. The 1-2 reverse split was announced on Friday, October 14th 2016. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the market closes on Friday, November 4th 2016. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares MSCI Italy ETF stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split.
Power Financial Corporation provides financial services in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers life, disability, critical illness, and health insurance products, as well as wealth savings and income products, and specialty products. The company also provides financial products, including employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, enrollment services, communication materials, investment options and education services, fund management services, and investment and advisory services. In addition, it offers protection and wealth management products, such as payout annuity products; reinsurance products; and sub-advisory services. Further, the company provides mutual funds, pooled funds, segregated funds, separate accounts, and other investment vehicles; securities, mortgages, and other financial services; and investment management services. It offers its products primarily through distribution network of third-party financial advisors, consultants, and independent financial advisors. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Power Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada.

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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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4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Dimeco has received 32 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Dimeco has received 16 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Dimeco has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Dimeco and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe DIMC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe DIMC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
The Williams Cos., Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico; Northeast G&P; and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment comprises of interstate natural gas pipelines, Transco and Northwest Pipeline, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment includes midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation businesses in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment consists of gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of south Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins. The company was founded by David Williams and Miller Williams in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa,

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African Battery Metals Plc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for and exploits mineral resources. It explores for cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, gold, and other battery metals. The company holds interest in cobalt-copper exploration licenses, which include the Kisinka license covering an area of 50 square kilometers; and Sakania license covering an area of 140 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also holds interest in the Ferensola Project, a gold, iron, and coltan deposit covering an area of 153 square kilometers located in Northern Sierra Leone. The company was formerly known as Sula Iron & Gold plc and changed its name to African Battery Metals Plc in January 2018. African Battery Metals Plc was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in long-term, investment grade municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock MuniHoldings Insured Fund II, Inc. BlackRock MuniHoldings Quality Fund II, Inc. was formed on February 26, 1999 and is domiciled in United States.

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CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bioxyquell Limited, CALGON EUROPE LIMITED, CALGON LLC, CID LINES HOLDING NV, CID LINES INVEST NV, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstaff Inc., Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AP Holdings LLC, Ecolab AT 2 GmbH, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab B.V.B.A./S.P.R.L., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH, Ecolab CH 5 GmbH, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co., Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 S.a.r.l., Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab NL 4 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V.B.A., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Guangzhou Green Harbour Environmental Operation Ltd., HYDROSAN LIMITED, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BVBA, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., London & General Packaging Ltd, MALAYSIA SDN. BHD, MANUFACTURING S.R.L., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Europe Limited, Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, Midland Research Laboratories UK Limited, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM BVBA, NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND MANUFACTURING GMBH UND CO. KG, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO LUXEMBOURG HOLDINGS SARL, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO NORTH AFRICA LIMITED, NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO ZAO, NALFLOC LIMITED, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC, Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Nalco Gulf Response Corp., Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Shield Salvage Associates Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, Technical Textile Services Limited, Techtex Holdings Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, Wabasha Leasing LLC, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG.
ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V..
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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Intu owns and manages some of the best shopping centres, in some of the strongest locations, in the UK and Spain. Our UK portfolio is made up of 17 centres, including eight of the top-20, and in Spain we own three of the country's top-10 centres, with advanced plans to build a fourth. We are passionate about creating compelling experiences, in centre and online, that make our customers smile and help our retailers flourish. We attract around 400 million customer visits and 26 million website visits a year offering a multichannel approach that truly supports retail strategies. Our strategic focus on prime, high-footfall flagship destinations, combined with the strength and popularity of our brand, means that intu offers enhanced footfall, dwell time and loyalty. This helps our tenants flourish, driving occupancy and income growth. We are committed to our local communities, with our centres supporting nearly 130,000 jobs (representing about 3 per cent of the total UK retail workforce), and to operating with environmental responsibility. We have already met or exceeded a significant number of our 2020 environmental targets.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF's stock was trading at $20.50 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, BBJP stock has increased by 170.4% and is now trading at $55.43.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Heap of Dirt Abandoned at Bamenda Food Market Camera

Inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have been inhaling strong smell from the heaps of dirt dumbed along major areas in town, after the company in charge of keeping the town clean, HYSACAM, abandoned duty for security reasons.



Following the kidnapping of four workers of the waste disposal company few weeks ago in Bamenda, council officials expressed doubts if HYSACAM would continue cleaning the town.

Suspected separatists kidnapped four workers and seized a truck, around the dumpsite in Mankon on Thursday, April 11. The truck driver was freed along with the truck but the company had to pay ransoms for the other three to be released, although they didnt state how much.

Today the Bamenda Food Market is littered with dirt, stinks and makes the environment, quite uncomfortable for business persons, who say they dont have a choice, because they still have to earn a living, despite the condition they face.

Similar attacks on the company few months ago, pushed HYSACAM authorities to suspend its activities in three towns in the Anglophone regions. In January 2019, the company suspended its activities within the city of Bamenda. In a press statement, it explained the company was exposed to violence, perpetrated by armed separatists in the North West. They announced they had lost close to FCFA 1Billion.

Suspected separatists, damaged the bridge, connecting the city to the waste management center This grounded HYSACAMs activities for 15 days with no way to carry on with waste disposal in Bamenda.

The main bridge leading to the dump site in Mbelewa- Mile Four Nkwen in Bamenda 3 subdivision was broken by unidentified gun men, trying to restrict the movement of cars into certain parts of Bafut thus rendering the dump site inaccessible to trucks of the company.

HYSACAMs Communication Officer, Funwi Jude said their man power and machinery is ready to keep Bamenda clean but they couldnt access the dump site . The company also announced that same thing was done in Buea on the 2nd of December 2018. In Kumba, separatists burnt down two new brand trucks of theirs, that had just been commissioned. HYSACAM employees all over Anglophone regions, were threatened and some received calls to contribute to the war.

Since the arrival of HYSACAM, commended efforts have been done to clean up the city of Bamenda, to the acknowledgement of the population. As the Anglophone crisis intensified, the company has on several occasions complained of being attacked by separatists, as they carry out their activities.

However, the council has not released any official statement, on its activities in Bamenda.
Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 11 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 97.53%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.17% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $80.84 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, HYG stock has increased by 7.8% and is now trading at $87.16.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
iShares MSCI India ETF's stock was trading at $28.76 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, INDA shares have increased by 56.8% and is now trading at $45.10.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
UN Security Council concerned about humanitarian situation in Cameroon Internet

According to French magazine, Jeune Afrique, the United Nations Security Council will meet on May 13, to discuss the ongoing unrest in Cameroon's North West and South West regions.

The paper says the United States is behind the initiative, that will focus on the humanitarian aspects of the conflict that began since 2016. No statement is expected to be released by the council, after the meeting.

The magazine quoted a statement from the US mission to the United Nations, who said the situation in Cameroon had caught their attention, especially with the devastating humanitarian crisis.

"We hope that this meeting will encourage a more robust regional and international response (...) to avoid further deterioration of the situation," the source added.

Many diplomats and international bodies have voiced out on several occasions, the need to push forward the ongoing sociopolitical unrest in Cameroon, to the United Nations Security Council.

At least four million persons need humanitarian assistance in the English a speaking regions of Cameroon . The International Crisis Group, recently reported that over 500,000 persons have been displaced as a result of the crisis, while 1,850 persons have died as a result of the crisis.

Cameroonian government continues to believe that it can take control of the situation in the Anglophone regions by exerting force, while armed separatists believe that they would achieve independence at any moment from now.

A humanitarian assistance response plan, carried out by Cameroon and other international partners have seen an inadequate response, according to UN resident coordinator, Ms.Allegra Baiocchi.

Meeting in Yaounde on Friday with the national coordinator of the Humanitarian Response plan, Ms Allegra and Minister Atanga Nji Paul, announced they had created a platform to effectively account to the distribution of humanitarian needs.
The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; premium fleet services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment processing solutions for payment and transaction monitoring needs. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented and that require pre-authorization; and prepaid and gift card products that enables secure payment and financial management solutions with single card options, access to open or closed loop redemption, load limits, and with various expirations. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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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..
5 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for bioMerieux in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" bioMerieux stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in BMXMF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for bioMerieux or view top-rated stocks.
Kouam Wokam Paul Atia Azohnwi

The Divisional Officer (DO) for Buea, Kouam Wokam Paul has fired a missive at Chief Mafany Njie Martin of Liongo Village in Buea who doubles as President of the South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC.

In a "letter of observation" dated May 3, 2019, the Senior Civil Administrator conveyed to Chief Mafany Njie his "total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct." It was sent to the recipient through the President of the Buea Chiefs Conference.

The DO's epistle follows a letter signed by Chief Mafany Njie in his capacity as SWECC president in which he condemned the South West Governor Okalia Bilai Bernard's "ordering" of Chiefs to march on May 20 along with their subjects under pain of losing their royal crowns.

In a communique signed Tuesday April 30, 2019, Chief Mafany Njie Martin on behalf of his peers said the governor did not have to remind them of their civic responsibilities.

"We, the South West Chiefs categorically condemn the demeaning and threatening manner by which the Governor of the South West Region reminded us of our usual civic duties, which we have always performed so diligently without be ordered to do so by whosoever," the statement in response to Governor Okalia read.

The regional chief executive had on Thursday April 25, 2019, as he chaired a preparatory meeting ahead of the 47th edition of Cameroon's National Day nationwide celebrations billed for May 20, said chiefs who fail to march with their subjects will be sanctioned severely 30 days after the national unity feast.

"During the 20th May this year, all the Chiefs will march with a placard indicating their village and with their population behind them," Okalia said, adding that, "If that is not the case, it means those chiefs don't exist. And if you don't exist as a body, as a village, then you should neither be called a village nor be counted among villages."

"I said this some two, three years ago but the Chiefs refused to do it because they were still volunteer Chiefs. But today, know that the volunteerism is finish. Tradition is there, but you are tied to the state with an obligation. Eh Chief? You know noh? I don't want to disclose it here. But we understand each other," Okalia said with a feigned smile.

In a firm tone, he handed down a subtle threat: "If you fail to do what I am instructing, you'll see 30 days after, the consequences of that disobedience."

Okalia turned to the Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge to know the number of villages within his municipality and the mayor's response put smiles on his face. He then instructed the Mayor to prepare placards bearing the names of all the villages in Buea - which placards will be carried by the Chiefs as they lead their kits and kins during the National Day parade.

"So Lord Mayor, prepare the placards because soon they will say they don't have money. Prepare it. How many villages do we have in Buea? Ah! a hundred, put them on placards. Every Chief will march. And those who are in exile in Douala or Yaounde, Let them stay there. When they come back, they'll find someone else as chief," Okalia decreed.

The chiefs say their native laws and customs do not allow them as natural rulers to march past the grandstand during official ceremonies, according to the Chief Mafany Njie signed statement.

"We completely dissociate ourselves from such a representation and remind the public that the traditions and customs of the South West people are full of values of respect, tolerance, nobility and unity. We therefore call on our population to remain calm and positive as we look forward to accompanying the State in all national events like we have always done," the chiefs said through their president.

But in a rare outing, the Divisional Officer for Buea set the records straight.







What the DO "observed":

"It has been brought to my attention that in a declaration dated 30th April 2019 addressed to the general public and currently circulating in the social media, you took upon yourself on behalf of traditional rulers of the South West region to denounce, in calumnious language to the person of H.E. the Governor of the South West region the appeal he made on the 30th April 2019 during the first preparatory meeting for the 20th May 2019 at which you were conspicuously absent, an appeal made to traditional rulers and community leaders of Buea Subdivision for the mobilisation and massive participation of their population in the celebration of the National Day in Buea.

"Further thereto, I have the honour to observe that by embarking in this exercise of the deliberate distortion and manipulation of the words of the Governor, your statements which are characterised by untruths and gratuitous assertions could not be only demobilise to the population that you are expected to be catering for but to also severely undermine the relentless efforts deployed by public authorities to ensure the success of this event in Buea - the cradle of our National Unity. In this light, your statements constitute a sort of caution for the actions of enemy forces that have made the disruption of the celebration of this solemn event on of their main objective.

"At a time when I expect to see you actively engaged in the company of your peers within Buea Subdivision in action geared at ensuring a commendable representation of your respective communities through various socio-cultural associations and traditional dance groups, I regret to realise that you are rather actively trying to dubiously involve the entire body which you now chair of South West traditional rulers who were never mentioned at any point whatsoever of this working session.

"I deem it necessary to remind you that in your capacity as auxiliary of the administration, such agitation is punishable both at the administrative, disciplinary and penal levels especially in this period of security challenges.

"Consequently, this letter of observation is intended to convey to you my total disapproval of this malicious, odious and intriguing attitude as well as firmly caution you against such misconduct."






Rutherford said King sexually assaulted the victim and took advantage of her by taking her to get clothes and food when she was in need. He described her as the perfect victim.

Thats whats so horrible about this case, Rutherford said.

He requested King serve a 10-year sentence and said the defendant deserves every day of that time behind bars.

He takes advantage of girls who are in need, Rutherford said. Thats his M.O.

Rutherford submitted a victim impact statement from the victims mother, which Garrett initially ruled would not be allowed as evidence after hearing a defense motion, but the judge later reversed the decision.

Lamson said though King has some criminal history he has no previous sex offenses. He said King has helped teenagers in the area and others find employment, overcame his background as a felon by starting his own business and has spent more than $60,000 on his defense, which caused stress for his family.

In serving just more than two years in jail already, Lamson said King already exceeded the low end of the time sentencing guidelines called for and requested time served.
 Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association (Rixeyville) holds Gospelfest, featuring the Swanee Quintet of Augusta, Georgia, and others at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Womens Auxiliary holds a Prayer Luncheon at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. 15044 Ryland Chapel Road. (540) 661-2013.

 Zion Union Baptist Church Womens Fellowship hosts a Prayer Breakfast with the Rev. Denise Watson-Smith at 9 a.m. Saturday. Womens Day will be observed with performances by various gospel groups at 3 p.m. Sunday. 1015 Preston Ave. (434) 297-2271.

This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication, including an address and phone number, should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication.

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WASHINGTON  Heres how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending May 3:

House

Keeping America in climate accord. The House on May 2 voted, 231 for and 190 against, to continue U.S. participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The bill (HR 9) would deny funding to carry out President Donald Trumps plan to withdraw the United States from the global pact in November 2020. The bill also requires the administration to develop a plan for achieving voluntary carbon-reduction goals to which America subscribed when the Obama administration joined the agreement in 2016. Those goals would be reached primarily by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Signed by 195 nations, the Paris Agreement is designed to limit the increase in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (about 1850) levels. Each participant is responsible on a voluntary basis to meet emissions targets it negotiates with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The United States is the only signee nation to have disavowed the agreement.
Now a corner of Madison County has gotten its shot at world-class status.

We all knew that Old Rag Mountain was a challenging and rewarding hike, and we knew that it wasnt a local secret. Old Rag attracts tons of hikers, to the extent that it often can seem overcrowded.

Now Outside magazine has listed Old Rag as one of the 25 best hikes in the world . That puts it right up there (pun intended) with such sites as Everest Base Camp in Nepal and the Lares Trek in Peru.

Now we can expect more visitors.

That should be good news for Madison County (Old Rag lies in Madisons portion of the Shenandoah National Park) and for nearby counties.

Outside magazine acknowledges the crowding issue and suggests hiking the 9.2-mile loop (rock-scrambling might be more like it) during the winter at midweek instead of spring, summer or autumn weekends.

But the National Park Service warns against making the attempt in wet or icy conditions. (The website www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/old-rag-hike-prep.htm has more information.)
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:41PM

Well, this killed any remaining mystery surrounding the more affordable Google Pixel devicesspecifically the Pixel 3a XL. The phone was spotted at a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio. The phones were kept under glass but it showed the two previously leaked colours, Purple-ish and Just Black. The phone was being rumoured for a launch at Googles I/O event on May 7th. This seems to confirm that the phone will make an appearance then. The rumoured specs of are 5.6-inch for the Pixel 3a and 6-inch for the Pixel 3a XL. The phones will reportedly run on a Snapdragon 670 and 710 processors, respectively, with 4GB of RAM and the same Pixel Visual Core that runs on the cameras of the current Pixel 3 phones. The prices are said to be US$399 for the Pixel 3a and $479 for the Pixel 3a XL. While this seems legitimate, the launch hasnt happened yet, so as usual, its best to take this information with a grain of salt.

Source: Android Police
Under the insolvency proceedings, 41 per cent of the members of the committee of creditors (CoC) voted against the proposal, while 23 per cent were in favour.

New Delhi: Financial creditors of Jaypee Infratech on Friday rejected Suraksha Realty's bid for the debt-laden firm as the offer was low on upfront cash payment and will meet on May 9 to discuss the future course of action, sources said.

Mumbai-based Suraksha group was the lone contender in the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd on the grounds that the offer did not have approval from various government departments.

NBCC wants its bid to be reconsidered, while Adani Group has also shown interest in acquiring Jaypee Infratech and completing over 20,000 delayed flats in Noida.

Interestingly, Jaypee Group's promoters too have put in a bid to retain control of the company.

Under the insolvency proceedings Friday, members representing 41.85 per cent of voting rights were against the proposal, while 23.47 per cent were in favour.

Most of those voting in favour were homebuyers, who hold about 60 per cent of the voting rights in the CoC.

The remaining around 34.69 per cent homebuyers abstained from the voting process, which started on April 30 and concluded on Friday.

"Section 28(3) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code stipulates that 'No action shall be approved by the committee of creditors unless approved by a vote of 66 per cent of the voting shares'.

"Since the members representing 23.47 per cent of the voting rights assented to the matter, the decision on the item stands rejected," Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain said in a statement.

The CoC will meet again on May 9 to decide the future course of action, sources said, even as the court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution process ends on May 6.

Lenders have sought extension of the deadline and the matter is pending before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

IDBI Bank, India Infrastructure Finance Company, LIC, SBI, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank, ICICI, IFCI, Axis Bank and SREI Equipment Finance voted against Suraksha's offer. Only J&K Bank voted in favour.

Among homebuyers, 8,019 people voted in favour, 860 against while 14,632 abstained.

Suraksha Realty had in this round offered lenders Rs 18.55 crore as upfront payment and land parcels worth Rs 5,000 crore to settle the debt. It also proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital to complete pending flats.

After its bid got rejected, NBCC Ltd got the necessary approvals from various government departments for its offer and has written to the IRP that its bid should be reconsidered on merit.

Last month, business conglomerate Adani Group too wrote to the IRP, expressing its interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group's promoters too are keen to retain control over its realty arm and have already submitted their debt resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Meanwhile, the lead lender IDBI on April 29 approached the Allahabad bench of the NCLT seeking extension of insolvency proceedings beyond the May 6 deadline.

In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after the NCLT admitted the application by an IDBI

Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee Group's flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates, owes nearly Rs 9,800 crore to financial creditors.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the IRP to oversee the affairs of the company and conduct the bidding process to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech who can complete pending 20,000 flats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the company's net worth and assets as well as liquidation value of about Rs 14,000 crore.

In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT's direction.

To protect lenders interest, NBCC has offered Rs 5,000 crore worth land as well as 100 per cent equity of Yamuna Expressway, the only cash generating asset with Jaypee Infratech.

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur has promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore to complete pending apartments over the next four years. The group had submitted a Rs 10,000-crore plan before lenders in April 2018 as well, but the same was not accepted.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with the NCLT.
The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated. (Photo: Representational | ANI)

Panaji: The Government of France is planning to organise an investment conclave in Goa in October this year, to encourage French companies to invest in various sectors in the coastal state.

A proposal to this effect would be submitted to the Goa government soon, Consul General of France in Mumbai Sonia Barbry said here on Friday.

The French investment conclave was held at Nagpur last year, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis had participated, she said.

"During that conclave, a number of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LOI) were signed between French and Indian companies. Now, we will try to bring in French investment into Goa," she said.

The 'Franco Goa Investment Conclave' will look at investment in the field of green marinas, health, medical equipment and waste management besides others, Barbry said.

"We have some companies in France that know how to make sustainable marinas without disturbing the environment," she said.

Barbry, who was in Goa to oversee Indo-French Naval Exercise 'Varuna', met Goa Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Thursday and discussed economic interests of France in Goa.

She said some French companies were interested in investing in Goa in different fields.

During her visit, the Consul General also met Goa University Vice Chancellor Varun Sahani to discuss about preparations for the upcoming workshop for French teachers to be held from May 20-25 at Goa University.

She said around 130 teachers from various colleges from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal would take part in the workshop, which will improve their pedagogical skills.
Dabangg actress Sonakshi Sinha, who is currently shooting for Salman Khans Dabangg 3, took some time off from her hectic work schedule to head to Lucknow. There, the actress was seen campaigning for her mother, Poonam Sinha, whos contesting the General Elections as a candidate from the city.

Sonakshi, who is active on Instagram, also posted pictures of her with her mother Poonam in Lucknow as an Instagram story.

Reportedly, Sonakshi spent time meeting Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple and the rest of the family. Later in the afternoon, she participated in the road show that started from GPO in Hazratganj and urged people to vote for her mother. A huge turnout was seen, as many wanted to catch a glimpse of actress,while Sonakshi was seen waving to the crowds.
Based on Anna Todds successful fan fiction series on Harry Styles, After is being brought to the big screen. PVR Pictures is all set to charm the country with its release on 3rd May 2019. This romantic drama introduces us to the journey of a young woman who falls for a guy with a dark secret and the two embark on a rocky relationship. Directed and written by Jenny Gage, After is based on the 2014 fiction novel of the same name by Anna Todd. The movie features Hero Fiennes Tiffin(Hardin) and Josephine Langford(Tessa) in prominent roles, alongside Selma Blair, Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder, Swen Temmel, Inanna Sarkis , Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals , Pia Mia, Meadow Williams, Dylan Arnold.

We found Hero early on in the process, remembers Director Jenny Gage. His tape from London was one of the first auditions that we all saw. We didn't meet him in person until later, but even on tape there was something about his vulnerability in his performance that really captivated me. He was perfect for Hardin.

The character of Hardin Scott is described as having intense green eyes, an English accent, brooding good looks, and a piercing stare. Todd knew the moment she saw Hero that he was the perfect choice. When I got in the room with Hero, about 30 seconds in, I said to Jen, What just happened? This is it. No one else can be Hardin." Todd continues, I was to the point where I was literally saying, If you guys even think about trying to hire someone else, were going to be making a mistake. Hero has something.

Despite being unaware of the source material, the actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin was interested in what makes Hardin Scott tick. I had never heard of the book After when I first auditioned, but as soon as I mentioned it, everyone and their mum around me knew what it was, remembers Fiennes Tiffin. I don't relate to Hardin in too many ways, and that's why I find him funny to play, because there are aspects of his personality that interest me  his lack of self-control, the fact he's very logical but also impulsive and can be very erratic and unpredictable. Hardin is a womanizer who changes throughout the film, thanks to Tessa. Hardin is a dangerous character, he can go either way, you think you know him and then he will surprise you.

Hero comes from an incredible lineage of actors: his uncles are Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, states producer Mark Canton. Also, Josephines older sister Katherine, has been a big star on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. But it was more than their famous gene pools that made Josephine and Hero right for these roles.

The search for the role of Tessa proved to be more challenging and continued until just before shooting began. At the exact right moment, this girl happened to Skype in from Perth, Australia auditioning for the role of Molly, and the second she came on screen, I said That is our Tessa, explains producer Jennifer Gibgot.

Josephine Langford recalls, I was back home and did a self-tape for Molly, then I did a Skype callback, then a week later when I was waiting to hear back about Molly, I got a call at 5:00AM from my agents who said, The producers want to meet with you for the lead role. So I got on a plane with about sixteen hours notice, read the script on the plane to LA, had a meeting and about two other meetings and then got the job.

When asked about working with each other Fiennes Tiffin shares, I could go on for ages about working with Josephine, but Ill start with her acting ability, which helps me so much, and the fact she's such a nice, considerate person. She acts so well, especially in emotional scenes, and really gives me a lot to feed off. Shes really carrying this film,.

Langford is equally complimentary of her leading man. Hero brings this vulnerability and sincerity to Hardin which is difficult to find with a character like that. Ive loved working with him, Langford comments. When you're doing this type of content - a lot of intimate and intense scenes  its so important that you feel safe and comfortable with the person youre working with. So I feel lucky to have had him as a partner through this experience.

Catch this saga of love on the silver screen on 3rd May 2019 in the cinemas near you.
Bengaluru: Two BMTC bus drivers and a photographer were arrested recently by the Yelahanka police while they were trying to circulate fake notes.

The arrested were identified as Somanna Gowda, 38, from Raichur and working as a driver and conductor in BMTC, Nanje Gowda, 32, from Channarayapatna and works as a driver in BMTC, and Kiran Kumar, 24, who is from Hassan and a photographer. The police seized around Rs 81 lakh worth of fake notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations.

The police also raided a room in Garvebhavipalya, which was rented out by the trio. They had a computer and scanning and printing machines. They used to scan and print the notes and circulate them.

A couple of days ago, they were near Kogilu Circle trying to circulate the money. Based on a tip-off, the police went to the spot in civil clothes, identified the trio and started questioning them. The three tried to flee, but were arrested. The police found fake notes in their possession, the police said.

A case was registered at the Yelahanka police station and investigation is on.
Rameswaram: Bharathan, a Rameswaram fisherman who went missing after his fishing boat capsized in 1996 while he was fishing on the high seas, is alive 23 years later. He has been sighted among beggars in Colombo, his family members here claim.

The fisherman, who was 42 then, had set out for fishing in April 1996 along with five others when the boat capsized. While others were rescued, Bharathan went missing. He could not be traced for the next couple of months and there was no report of his body being washed ashore.

Believing that he had drowned, his wife, two daughters and a son conducted the rituals. As the fisherman had set out for fishing in the name of another fisherman Raju, the family members did not seek any compensation from the government.

The family had given up all hopes of his survival, when Rajesh, the fishermans grand nephew, an auto-rickshaw driver in Rameswaram, spotted him among beggars while watching a YouTube clipping of a special story done by Jaffna Tamil TV about a beggar millionaire in Colombo.The video clip showed beggars who had been begging for more than two decades in Colombo and one beggar had striking similarities with the missing Bharathan.

Rajesh showed the clip to his mother-in-law and Bharathans daughter - Saravana Sundari, 42, and she confirmed the man was her father.

On seeing the picture, Sundari wailed saying it was that of her father, Her husband Ramesh, also an auto-rickshaw driver said, after seeing the picture she is crying and is refusing to even take food.

Bharathans other daughter and son also confirmed that the beggar was their missing father, he said.

The fishermans wife Sarasu, however, is mentally unstable and is in no position to identify her husband, he said.

The family has no idea as to how Bharathan reached Colombo. They suspect that he may have lost his memory.

M. Karunamurthy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Meenpidi Thozhirsanga Kottamaippu has proposed to take the family members to the district collector so that steps could be taken to secure Bharathans return.
Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.

KOCHI: The health department has issued an alert against an outbreak of infectious diseases such dengue fever as summer showers intensified.

Residents of those areas where dengue fever was reported earlier have been told to be extra careful. The other vulnerable areas are plantations and migrant labourers' colonies.

The conducive climatic condition - drought, followed by intermittent summer rains - is a major reason for the increased breeding of anopheles aedes mosquitoes. The high daytime temperature coupled with evening showers also helps increase mosquito density.

Acute fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and pain around the eyes are the preliminary symptoms of dengue.

People have been asked to take preventive measures such as source reduction, proper waste management and obser-ving dry day against vector-borne diseases. Chances for outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases are higher this year as the city corporation is yet to intensify the pre-monsoon cleaning.

Meanwhile, education minister C. Raveendranath will chair a district level review on pre-monsoon cleaning and prevention of infectious disease outbreak.
Kozhikode: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Hussain Madavoor on Friday came out in support of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) banning face-covering dress for female students in its educational institutions.

He said face-covering dresses like burqa or niqab had not been recommended in the Quran.

The MES circular last month banning face-covering dress from 2019-20 academic year had sparked controversy with Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SKJU) coming out against it.

Quran only directs covering the body parts that create sexual urges in men. It can be a sari or a churidar provided it decently covers the female body, he told DC.

In schools, there can be law and order issues as even a boy could move around in such a face-covering dress, he said, adding that religion need not be mixed unnecessarily with all such issues.

He believes that the diktats to cover the face of women came in a later period through the interpretations of covering the body by the religious scholars.

Meanwhile, MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor, who issued the circular, said in Mukkam near here that the society was undergoing fast changes which the communities also should adopt.

"Those who believe that another should not see ones face should remain at their homes. It is time we gave ear to the changing times, he said.

Many scholars think that the veil is the dress in the deserts, not Islamic. Among the over 150-crore Muslims living all over the world, Arabs are only around ten crores.

In that too, hijab covering the face is used only by a few such as Yemenis and Saudis which is not limited to women as they protect them from sandstorms.
Ramani had pleaded not guilty before the court and claimed trial after the court framed defamation charges against her on a criminal complaint of Akbar. (Photo: File I PTI)

New Delhi: In a heated courtroom drama that lasted for almost two hours, former Union minister M J Akbar on Saturday recorded his statement and was cross examined in a defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "malafide" and "defamatory".

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, cross examined Akbar on details regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age, among others.

However, Akbar responded to most of the questions as "I do not remember". Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations. The court has posted the matter for the next hearing on May 20.
'The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official said. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kozhikode: The chief of a Muslim educational group in Kerala, which recently barred its students from covering their faces with any attire on campuses, has received death threat, police said Saturday.

Muslim Educational Society (MES) president P A Fazal Gafoor lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified caller had threatened him with dire consequences if he did not withdraw the circular asking students not to attend classes wearing face-covering attire.

A Kozhikode-based progressive group, MES runs 150 educational establishments, including schools and professional colleges. "The threat call was received from an international number, suspected to be from the Gulf. According the complaint, the caller used threatening and demeaning words against Gafoor, a police official told PTI.

A case is yet to be registered but investigation is already on to trace the caller, the police added. In the internal circular on April 17, Gafoor had said that any "inappropriate" trend on the campuses should be discouraged.

"Any attire, which is unacceptable in the public society, cannot be allowed, even if it is in the name of modernity or religious ritual," the circular had said.

"Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face," the circular, addressing the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions, said.

Though the dress code mentioned in the circular triggered opposition from orthodox Muslim organisations and scholars, the MES had maintained that covering women's faces was a new trend and had not been in practice in the community in the state earlier.

Criticising MES, Samastha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was "un-Islamic" and it should be withdrawn.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Shiv Sena has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban burqa and other face-covering garments in India, saying it posed a threat to the nation's security.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had attacked the Shiv Sena, alleging that the article was trying to create divisions and polarisation in the society.
The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

Kollam: In the wake of intelligence reports about possible terror attacks in the state, a luxury car with the caricature of deceased Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was seized here on Thursday.

Though the police could not find any link to terrorist groups, the issue is being investigated by the local police.

The owner of the car, Muhammad Haneef, 22, from Pallimukku here and driver Hareesh, 25, of Thanni were taken into custody and interrogated by the Eravipuram police.

The car was plying under the nose of the police for nearly a year, but was seized only after its pictures turned viral on the social media. The photos of the car bearing a West Bengal registration number with Bin Ladens caricature on its boot and his name written on the rear windshield were circulated on social media after it was spotted at Thattamala, Eravipuram and Mayyanad areas. A complaint about it was also received by higher police officials, following which action was taken.

The car was seized by Eravipuram police while it was being used by a young couple for their marriage at Ayathil on Thursday. Upon inspection, the car was found to be registered in the name of Praveen Agarval of West Bengal. Muhammad Haneef had bought the car about a year ago from his friend in Bengaluru for Rs 4.5 lakh, but the ownership was not yet changed. He told the police that the caricature of the terrorist was printed at a sticker shop at Mundakkal and intended just for fun. The police are further verifying the ownership details and whether the car is involved in crimes.
Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon. (Photo: File I Representational)

Kamareddy: A police official here attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

Speaking to media on Friday, Kamareddy DSP Laxminarayana said earlier in the day, Armed Reserve Constable Srinivas, who is serving as a sentry guard, attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon.

"He was immediately shifted to Kamareddy government hospital for treatment. Doctors have said he is out of danger. We are shifting him to Hyderabad for better treatment," he added.

The DSP said the reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained.

"Further details will be revealed after investigation," he added.
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has started an inquiry to identify officials said to be leaking information about the goings-on in his office to the Chief Ministers Office. This come just a day after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took umbrage at Mr Subrahmanyams absence from his review meeting.

According to reports, some officials were relaying information from the Chief Secretarys review meetings to the CMO.

Citing an instance, sources said that Mr Subrahmanyam had recently conducted a review meeting about a corporate hospital in Nellore demanding the organs of a brain dead patient in lieu of the bill payment. The matter was leaked.

Information of several other review meetings also leaked to the CMO, sources said, which left officials at the Chief Secretarys office worried. According to sources, Mr Subrahmanyam himself found some persons leaking information and had decided to take action.

Further, Mr Subrahmanyam had ordered an inquiry into alleged double payments in the Comprehensive Financial Management System and into payments of bills to contractors and firms by the finance department, which the Chief Ministers Office reportedly tried to stop.

Sources claimed that Mr Naidu had tried to stop Mr Subrahmanyam from holding reviews meetings by lodging complaints with the Election Commission but in vain.

Mr Naidu has been critical of Mr Subrahmanyam from the time he was appointed by the Election Commission. He has called the official an accused in the quid pro quo cases of YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, something that has angered IAS officials.

Officials are worried that the tussle between Mr Naidu and Mr Subrahmanyam will split the bureaucracy into two groups which would not good for the administration.
Vijayawada: In a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has alleged that Naidu deceived people of AP State on Polavaram funds, by taking Polavaram construction into his hand, for political benefits.

He stated that AP Re-organisation Act, 2014 mandates that the Central Government shall take over the Polavaram Project and complete it on expedient public interest. The Congress MP alleged that Naidu helped the contractors by paying variation charges from the year 2013, resulting in Rs 30,000 crores as burden for AP exchequer.

Mr Ramachandra Rao said that the then UPA Cabinet had also taken a decision that an Exclusive Authority (Special Purpose Vehicle) shall be constituted for the construction of Polavaram and also, entire cost escalation on the project due to cost and time overruns and also, the new Land Acquisition Act shall be borne by the Central Government.

He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naidu both deceived AP People and the Central Government renounced the responsibility over the project reconstruction, agreeing to Mr Naidus requests and put several conditions on the expenditure of the project.

Mr Rao said that in a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee of Water Resources in February, the Committee approved the project cost of Rs 55,549 crore at the 2017-2018 price-level. He stated that in the same meeting, the Advisory Committee also approved the estimates of Polavaram, at the 2013-14 price-level, at Rs 27,082 crore.

He lamented that now, according to the Central Governments decision, the Centre will only bear the price at the 2013-14 level and the difference in price- Rs 28,467 crore has to be borne by the AP Government.

Mr Ramachandra Rao alleged that Mr Naidu also issued GO 22 and GO 67 to help the contractors and spent several crores of rupees in the name of site visit of people, foundation and inauguration of several gates and pillars of head works and also Gallery Walk, family trip etc., giving an additional burden to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore to the State.

The Congress MP claimed that due to the greed of Mr Naidu, now AP was burdened with Rs 30,000 crore and also, AP is compelled to bear the entire expenditure of Polavaram initially and later, seek the funds from the Central Government and wait for their mercy.

He said that the Congress-led UPA Government had taken every precaution to safeguard the interests of APs people after bifurcation. He stated that the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, will not allow AP to lose further and it will assure that every provision of the AP Reorganisation Act will be implemented.

He urged Mr Naidu to ask an open apology to the people of AP for the loss that occurred to them in Polavaram, due to his selfish attitude.

Mr Ramachandra Rao further demanded Mr Naidu to immediately ask the officials concerned to file a counter to the PIL filed in AP High Court, requesting to issue an order directing the Central Government to bear the entire cost of Polavaram Project, without any conditions.
Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines.

Thrissur: Security will be tightened for the Thrissur Pooram in view of the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the Easter day and the terrorists threat to attack targets in South India.

The public will not be allowed to take carry bags to the site of the Pooram to be held on May 13. The police will take other precautions too to avoid any untoward incidents, said Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the Pooram at the collectorate here on Saturday. Collector T.V. Anupama and city police commissioner Yathish Chandra also attended the meeting.

Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines. The PESO officials in the regional office at Sivakasi had declined permission for the chain cracker citing a Supreme Court order in connection with festivals. The Pooram organising committee had sought permission from the Chief Controller of Explosives at the head office of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) at Nagpur last week.

The functionaries of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, who conduct the fireworks display said at the meeting that they had moved the Supreme Court over the matter and that the court was expected to take up the matter on Monday.

The decision to lift the ban on star elephant Thechikottukavu Ramachandran who had killed two persons during private celebrations at Kottappadi, Guruvayur, in February was not discussed in the meeting, Mr Sunil Kumar said.

Kerala Elephant Owners Federation functionary P. Sasikumar said that as the forest secretary was on election duty in Delhi, the forest department would issue an order to lift the ban on Ramachandran only after his return to Kerala.

Sasikumar also said that the ban on Dr P.B. Giridasan, veterinary doctor treating elephants in Thrissur, from issuing fitness certificates for parading captive elephants had been lifted. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (forest management) had asked the director of animal husbandry department on Saturday to keep the earlier direction issued by PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden on May 2 in abeyance and conduct a detailed inquiry into the complaints against the veterinarian.
'Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher,' Yogi said. (Photo: File)

Fatehpur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday hit out at Congress general secretary for UP, Priyanka Gandhi, over a video in which children were seen using objectionable language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Terming Priyanka Gandhi as "shehzadi", the UP CM claimed, "I was seeing a video of the Congress' "shehzadi" (princess) which went viral. At an age, when kids should be taught about 'cultures', she is sowing poison in their hearts. She is teaching them to abuse. This is the reality of the Congress party"

"Shehzadi is roaming around to show that she is a well-wisher. When there is flood and drought, then they do not remember India. At that time, they go to Italy. When elections are around, they begin to tour to show that they are the biggest well-wishers," he said addressing an election rally here.

The chief minister also boasted about dealing with criminals with a heavy hand.

"We made it clear that criminals will either be in jail or they will be on their way to "Ram naam satya hai"," said Yogi Adityanath.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting Masood Azhar listed as a global terrorist, the chief minister said, "You would have read that UNSC has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist. This has happened due to PM Modi's diplomacy. The countdown for Masood Azhar has begun just like Osama bin Laden."

Yogi also accused the rival parties of being soft on terrorism.

"First job that SP government took after coming to power in 2012 was to take back cases against terrorists," he said while referring to the various terror attacks between 2005-2014.

"Why are Congress, SP, and BSP being so generous towards terrorists?" the CM questioned.

Taking a dig at BSP president Mayawati, the BJP leader said, "I want to ask Mayawati jee, how did you go to seek votes for the people who insulted Baba Sahib?"

The Lok Sabha polls in the state are scheduled to be conducted in all seven phases. The first four phases were held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.

The rest three phases are scheduled to be conducted on May 06, 12 and 19. The results will be announced on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he 'insulted' the armed forces by taking credit. (Photo: ANI)

Chennai: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy on Saturday claimed that the country's economy will be destroyed if Narendra Modi gets a second term as the Prime Minister.

"What have you done in the last five years? You only burdened people with demonetisation, GST and not providing jobs. Businesses and industries have shut down due to demonetisation. He has already destroyed the economy and he wants another term. If he gets another term, then the country's economy will be destroyed," he told ANI here.

Continuing his attack on Modi, Narayanaswamy said that the Prime Minister was talking more on Pulwama attack, surgical strike and Pakistan and said he "insulted" the armed forces by taking credit.

"By taking credit, the Prime Minister has insulted our armed forces. He even criticised Congress on our statement on surgical strikes done during the tenure of UPA government. While our former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take credit, Narendra Modi is doing the opposite. He should apologise to the armed forces," he said.

The Congress leader said that it is important for any political party to recognise the talent of the armed forces and not dragging them into politics.

"Congress appreciated the air strike of our forces after Pulwama attack. We gave credit to the talent of our armed forces," Narayanaswamy said.

He asserted that the people of the country wanted to see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and not Modi.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading.
Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday. (Photo: File)

Patna: Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged on Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JD(U) and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly.

Hyderabad: A detailed analysis is under way in the Telugu Desam and YSRC camps of candidates who are most likely to win, which will come handy for the last-minute strategies that could well be adopted by both parties.

Simultaneously, there are quite a few hush-hush brainstorming sessions in which some super rich men have been heard discussing scenarios and possibilities if either political party falls short of 10 or 20 seats.

Top government sources told Deccan Chronicle that a few trusted aides of the powers-that-be were analysing the chances of candidates who contested on YSR Congress tickets. Right from ground reports to their financial status, their family background, their support and dominance in their respective constituencies are being analysed, sources said.

The analysis which sources said was at an advanced stage is likely to be completed in the next few days and the top brass of the TD will be briefed accordingly. The analysis is part of the preparations for worst-case scenarios which may emerge on the day the results are announced, they said.

It is unclear if feelers were being sent from either party to the candidates who are sure to win. The possibility always exists till the results are out, sources said.

It is believed that the bitterly fought elections has led to a polarisation in the state due to which various caste groups, it is learnt, are willing to help the party of their choice in any way possible to steer them to power.

Such meetings, or rather brainstorming sessions, have come to notice mostly in Guntur and Krishna districts in the last few days, where participants are discussing all sorts of possibilities on the day of results.

It is learnt that a similar exercise is going on in the YSRC camp, where leaders are trying to identify candidates who are sure to win. Obviously, the exercise in the YSRC is not on the same scale which the TD loyalists are doing as the ruling party has an edge over the rival parties it has the Intelligence department working for them, which collates ground reports and gets huge feedback about the candidate. The YSR Congress has some trusted people within the government who are helping them in the analysis, sources said.

The YSR Congress had won 67 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections and the party raised a hue and cry when 23 legislators switched sides and joined the TD.

Since there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, one can expect anything, one official said indicating that both parties are preparing for worst-case scenarios.
New Delhi: Hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Modi government will crumble soon, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at the party saying it is "desperate" and staring at its extinction.

"Comments made at the press conference (by Gandhi) are only an attempt to show a false bravado at a time when the Congress Party is facing extinction. The Congress is literally on the death bed and is fighting for its existence in this election," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told a press conference here.

"We see complete desperation because Congress is seeing not only its fortunes crumbling all over India but they also see their so-called bastion Amethi crumbling in the elections," he said.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, at a press conference, said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modi ji is invincible and it will rule for 10-15 years. The Congress has demolished Narendra Modi ji, it is a hollow structure and in 10- 20 days, it will come crumbling down. We have done what we had to do. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground."

Rao claimed that Gandhi was losing from Amethi with a big margin in the voting scheduled to take place on May 6. "Today's press conference by Rahul Gandi is an attempt to somehow show that he is still in the race. But field reports suggest that the Congress is losing by a very wide margin (in Amethi).

The Congress leader accused the Congress of using money, liquor and manpower in Amethi and Raebareli, seats where Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, respectively, are contesting.

Rao said: "They are resorting to unleashing manpower, distribution of liquor. A sizable number of weapons have also been recovered from Amethi and Raebareli."

Responding to Congress General Secretary in-charge, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comment about "eating into BJP's vote", Rao said that the statement reflected the "degeneration" of the grand old party.

"They themselves have declared themselves as vote cutter. This is degeneration of Congress party that has ruled this country for decades and that was in power just 5 years ago," Rao stated.

The press briefings by the two major national parties come amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 6. The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases will start on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
Hyderabad: The local income-tax office has issued notices to around 40 MLAs, all belonging to the TRS, demanding explanations for the increase in the value of their movable and immovable assets. These MLAs include those in the state cabinet and the TRS top brass.

Sources have confirmed that nobody from the Opposition has received such notices.

The income-tax investigation team studied the affidavits filed by the legislators before the Election Commission in 2014 and compared them with the affidavits submitted ahead of the Assembly elections last year. Those legislators whose records reflected a large difference in their I-T payments and assets are the ones who have been issued the notices, an official said.

This newspaper inquired with at least 10 elected representatives from Karimnagar, Medchal, Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthi, Adilabad, Asifabad, and Khammam districts, who confirmed receiving the notice.

Notices were issued to those whose incomes were found to have increased tenfold over a span of 4 years, since the previous election. The Income Tax department has asked the legislators to submit annual records explaining their source of income and legitimate reasons for the increase in their income. The MLAs have been given time to respond to the notice.

It is learnt that many legislators are seeking the assistance of their accountants and consulting chartered accountants to prepare their explanation.

According to the affidavits submitted, the highest increase in assets (movable and immovable) has been noted in the case of the Nagarkurnool MLA Marri Janardhan Reddy at Rs 160 crore, followed by the former finance minister Etela Rajender at Rs 42.41 crore, TRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, Parkala MLA Dharma Reddy, Wardhannapeta MLA A. Ramesh, and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took everyone by surprise when she named Saradha scam accused Madan Mitra as the party's candidate for the by-poll to the Bhatpara Assembly seat. It was widely believed that Mr Mitra had fallen from grace after he was jailed in connection with the infamous Saradha chit fund scam. Though he was released more than two years ago, the Trinamul chief had chosen to keep him at arm's length. But Ms Banerjee had her reasons for rehabilitating Mr Mitra. The move was necessitated after she received feedback that Dinesh Trivedi, sitting MP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, was being given a tough time by BJP's Arjun Singh, who had recently left the Trinamul Congress in a huff when he was denied a ticket by Ms Banerjee. Mr Singh is a known bahubali and the genteel Mr Trivedi was ill-equipped to deal with his rough ways. So, Ms Banerjee pulled out Mr Mitra from oblivion and named him candidate from Bhatpara, an Assembly seat in Barrackpore constituency. Mr Mitra is also a known bahubali of the area and, more importantly, Arjun Singh was once his protege. The upshot is that Mr Trivedi can now breathe easy as his chief opponent Mr Singh is being ably handled by his former mentor Mr Mitra.

The four-term chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, is known to be low-key, understated and reclusive. He barely moves out of the state and is seen and heard on a few occasions which had led to a lot of speculation about his failing health. However, in this election  Odisha has simultaneous state and Lok Sabha polls  Mr Patnaik has turned a new leaf. He is now more visible and vocal. Faced with a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in his home state, the chief minister has been campaigning actively, has given several interviews and has also reached to the youth through social media. In addition, he has put out video clips about his exercise regimen to dispel the widespread impression that he is ailing and, therefore, incapable of discharging his duties as chief minister. In fact, he has publicly blamed his former party colleague, Jay Panda (now with the BJP) for spreading rumours about his ill health in Delhi. This reference to Mr Panda and his health has touched an emotional chord among the people, especially women, who are clearly upset and angry about how Mr Patnaik had been backstabbed by a party member. All these efforts are working to Mr Patnaik's advantage who may well return as chief minister for a record fifth term.

The Bharatiya Janata Party cadre is wondering if it was necessary for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a massive road show in Varanasi before filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election. His two-day stay in the city involved hectic preparations by party workers in the midst of an election and was also an expensive affair with several hundred tons of rose petals being showered during the seven-kilometre roadshow through the streets of Varanasi. It is believed that Mr Modi's programme, which would normally have been scheduled just before polling, was held earlier to pre-empt and overshadow the announcement about Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's candidature from Varanasi. However, the Congress backed off from fielding her, as a result of which the main purpose of Mr Modi's roadshow was defeated. While questioning the need for scheduling the programme, BJP members said it was unnecessary considering Mr Modi's victory in Varanasi is a foregone conclusion. Instead, the BJP's star campaigner could have been utilised in constituencies where the party needs a boost.

The Trinamul Congress and the Congress may be busy attacking each other on the campaign trail but they are also keeping their options open for a post-poll rapprochement. Last week, a delegation of Trinamul Congress leaders approached the Election Commission to complain that the Bharatiya Janata Party's name was being displayed along with the party symbol on the electronic voting machines during a mock drill in West Bengal's Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. On learning about this, the Congress also decided to reach the Election Commission with a similar petition. Congress leaders were, however, baffled about their involvement in this case as they felt that their petition was unnecessary and uncalled for. Apparently, it was Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel's idea that the Congress also led a delegation on the same issue on the same day the Trinamul Congress leaders were reaching the Election Commission. The canny politician that he is, Mr Patel later explained to his doubting colleagues that this display of solidarity with the Trinamul Congress was needed as it could become necessary to build bridges with Mamata Banerjee after the Lok Sabha elections.
RTHK: North Korea tests short-range missile

North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North "fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06am to 09.27am today," the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres towards the Sea of Japan the JCS added.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest launches come just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim Jong-un held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong-un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The decision of Gujarat state last Thursday to deny the CBI sanction to prosecute suspended senior police officers D.G. Vanzara (who in an explosive letter of resignation from service, written from prison in September 2013, condemned the "betrayal and treachery" of then BJP general secretary Amit Shah, who had been minister of state for home) and N.K. Amin is an administrative, political and judicial scandal.

Mr Vanzara, who was a DIG of police and headed the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) in Ahmedabad at the time of a series of high-profile police encounters  those of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan, Tulsiram Prajapati and Sadiq Jamal  was arrested by the CID in April 2007. These encounters looked like extra-judicial killings.

The controversial police officer was released on bail in February 2015 and acquitted in the Sohrabuddin case in 2017, but not in the other cases. Last Thursday, the state government denied the CBI special court permission to try him, leading to all the cases being dropped.

Foremost among these was the much-talked-about Ishrat Jahan case in which a 19-year old girl was shot dead in circumstances that appeared to be cold-blooded murder. The manner in which events have panned out, it would seem no one killed the teenager.

Administratively, withholding permission to prosecute uniformed personnel charged with heinous crimes suggests the existence of an unaccountable government which permits those accused of high criminality by a leading organ of the state to roam free.

In his high-voltage letter of resignation, Mr Vanzara called then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi his God, but blamed the CM's government for his own woes. In the ten-page letter to the Gujarat Home department, the suspended officer did not once plead his innocence. He insisted that every act that he had committed was government policy.

I, along with my officers, stood beside this government like a bulwark whenever it faced existential crisis in the past, the disgraced police officer wrote. He wrote that between the government and the police, there ought to be a relationship of mutual protection and reciprocal assistance. It was his grievance that this turned out not to be the case.

He was deeply aggrieved that while Mr Shah had managed to secure his release in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, after being externed by the Supreme Court for two years from Gujarat, the state government had clandestinely made efforts to keep him in jail to save its own skin. This appears to be the crux of the matter on the political side. If, like Mr Shah himself, Mr Vanzara and others were not discharged from various cases, they would always remain a threat.

But the dead deserve justice. The system needs to be healed. The police personnel can have a fair trial only when the state government's order is challenged and reversed.
The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

After pushing along for several months, the Modi sarkars move on lateral entry into government has finally become a reality. The government has selected nine private sector specialists for appointment to the post of joint secretary in the Government of India on a contract basis.

But still playing it safe, these appointments have to wait for clearance from the Election Commission.

The department of personnel and training is clearly not sticking its neck out given that the nation is in the midst of a general election.

Those selected are Amber Dubey (for civil aviation), Arun Goel (commerce), Rajeev Saksena (economic affairs), Sujit Kumar Bajpayee (environment, forest and climate change), Saurabh Mishra (financial services) and Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale (new and renewable energy). Suman Prasad Singh has been selected for appointment as joint secretary in the road transport and highways ministry, Bhushan Kumar in shipping and Kakoli Ghosh for agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare.

The newly appointed joint secretaries include IIT, IIM and Oxford alumni who have worked with the United Nations and renowned multinational financial organisations.

Mr Saksena is a former banker who has worked at the Saarc Development Fund, Mr Dubey is an IIT-IIM alumnus who is a partner at KPMG, while Ms Ghosh holds a doctorate in plant sciences from Oxford University.

The lateral entry mode, which relates to the appointment of specialists from the private sector in government, is an ambitious step of the Modi government to bring in fresh talent in bureaucracy.

Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by IAS, IPS, IFoS and IRS officers who are selected through a three-step process undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In June last year, however, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) had invited applications for 10 joint secretary-rank posts through the lateral entry mode.

While nearly 6,000 candidates had applied for the posts, only 2 per cent of them qualified for the interview stage.

The long delay, sources say, was due to the government having to surmount opposition from entrenched babus who fear encroachment on their turf. The entry of domain experts from the private sector would mean relinquishing their carefully protected dominance of government administration.

The announcement of these appointments has, predictably, set tongues wagging. The civil service babus are expressing worries about conflict of interest due to the new appointees experience in the private sector during which they were advising private companies while liaising with government officials.

The other chief concern, it emerges, is that the appointments would undercut the heavily defined hierarchy in the administration, since some of the appointees are felt to be too junior for such key decision-making positions.

It is clear that the appointees have joined an elite club, but where despite their professional expertise, they will still need to earn their spurs! Fortunately, unlike on previous occasions when individual domain experts were inducted into government and had done well in their respective fields but were inundated by the vast civil service apparatus, the lateral entry move is strongly backed by the Niti Aayog.

Even then the government was moving slowly to avoid a pushback from the babus. Which is why the announcement, coming in the midst of elections, has taken many people by surprise.

With electioneering in full swing, it was widely believed that any development on this front would have to wait until the elections were over and a new government had taken over.

So typical of Narendra Modi to spring a surprise!
In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates. (Photo: File)

There is no precedent for the massive protest that was undertaken by the Congress before the Supreme Court of India on April 28. The Apex Court agreed to urgently hear a Congress petition that said the Election Commissions (ECs) ongoing silence on complaints regarding vitriolic speeches and the misuse of Indian forces as propaganda by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president, Amit Shah, was tantamount to a tacit endorsement of their conduct.

A bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, had consented to hear on April 30 a petition, whose urgency had been stressed by lawyers A.M. Singhvi and Sunil Fernandes.

In a direct criticism of the Election Commission, the petition filed by Congress legislator Sushmita Dev said the rules for Mr Modi and Mr Shah were different from those set for other candidates.

The Congress said that no action had been taken by the commission on the many petitions of violations that the Model Code of Conduct had moved so far. The delay, the Congress emphasised, was a deliberate action itself. According to the petition, since the notification of the election in March, the Prime Minister and Mr Shah had specifically in sensitive areas and states, ex-facie violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Rules.

The petition described at length the reported remarks of Mr Modi that allegedly contravened the code of conduct. For instance, Mr Modis utterances presented Rahul Gandhis choice of Wayanad as a seat where the minority is majority and called for votes in the name of the troops killed in the Pulwama attack in February. The petition alleged that the lack of action by the commission against the Prime Minister and Mr Shah was a tacit endorsement of their statements and a clean chit to the individuals.

Inaction on the part of the Election Commission is a sign of invidious discrimination and is arbitrary, capricious and impermissible ... certain selected very powerful individuals have been permitted to gain an unfair electoral advantage by their material infractions of the Representation of the People Act, Election Rules and Model Code of Conduct.

Eyebrows were raised when the present Chief Election Commissioner and his two subordinates were appointed brazenly without any consultation with the Opposition. On April 30, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to explain its silence against the hate speeches alleged against it in a 146-page affidavit. Forty representations had been now made against them since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 10.

Not since the days of Indira Gandhi (1972-77 and 1980-1984) have institutions been suborned as under Mr Modi. What is now directly in issue is the state of the Election Commission and its bogus code of conduct, which is of recent origin. The commission once based its rules on the rulings of the Supreme Court. The Model Code of Conduct that was enforced by the commission had no statutory back-up. It is well settled, since the days of A.V. Dicey that executive action against a persons rights are devoid of legality.

The time has come in 2019 to amend the Constitution to make consultation with Opposition leaders imperative in the appointment of all Election Commissioners and make it obligatory on the commission to seek legal opinion on whether the facts warrant a prosecution. The Election Commission seems to obey no rules except its own. Constitutional legislation is imperative if the situation is not to get out of hand. For this, an all-party consensus is essential. But that can be attained only after the elections. Indian political parties abhor consensus. We are in an acute dilemma.

By arrangement with Dawn
You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query. (Photo: Pixabay)

Google released its Chrome OS 74 which promises bug fixes, enhanced hardware support, and more importantly, a unified search experience.

As Engadget reports, the reworked search experience unifies Google Assistant, on-device and web search. You simply need to tap the search box and enter your query.

Other improvements include USB camera support for Android Camera app, output audio for Linux apps, and document annotation in Chrome PDF viewer.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie.

Google has built a new AI that uses your selfie and combines it with your choice of words to create your unique portrait, overlaid with poetry.

Called PoemPortrait, the online collective artwork is a combination of poetry, design, and machine learning. As Google explained in its blog, starting today, you can create your own custom portrait with poetry.

To create original selfie-poem artwork, users have to donate a word on the official page and take a selfie. Each word is then expanded into original lines of poetry by an algorithm that has been trained using nineteenth-century poetry.

The AI then provides a unique PoemPortrait of the face, illuminated by the original lines of poetry. All the lines are then combined to form an ever-evolving, collective poem.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

US trade officials rejected Tesla Incs bid for relief from President Donald Trumps 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot brain of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to Chinas industrial development plans.

According to documents filed by the US Trade Representatives office (USTR) and reviewed by Reuters, exclusion requests from Tesla and others for Chinese-made products from aircraft parts to biotechnology instruments were denied because they were deemed strategically important to the Made in China 2025 program.

Tesla declined to comment.

The company has separate pending tariff exclusion requests for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen and for the Model 3 Car Computer before USTR.

Tesla said in a securities filing on Monday: Our costs for producing our vehicles in the US have also been affected by import duties on certain components sourced from China.

The denials illustrate a systematic approach by the Trump administration to thwart Chinas efforts to develop high-technology industries that Washington alleges benefited from theft and forced transfer of US intellectual property.

Made in China 2025, a program aimed at growing Chinas prowess in 10 strategic industries dominated by the United States, is at the heart of trade negotiations and US demands for sweeping changes to Chinas policies.

Those industries include new energy and autonomous vehicles, aerospace, semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tesla first made its request to exclude its 3.0 Autopilot electronic control unit in July 2018, which it called the brain of the vehicle when the Palo Alto, California-based automaker warned that increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability.

In a March 15 letter, USTR general counsel Stephen Vaughn said the agency was denying Teslas request because it concerns a product strategically important or related to Made in China 2025 or other Chinese industrial programs. USTR issued a separate letter also denying a request for the earlier 2.5 version of the Autopilot ECU.

It was not clear when the letter was posted on a US government website. Other exclusion denials were posted at the same time, including for industrial robots imported by Kawasaki Robotics USA and composite panels made by Hexcel Corp in China for use in various Boeing Co aircraft.

Some less high-tech products cited in the 2025 denials included a wiring harness for a rear door imported by Lear Corps Chinese joint venture, Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC.

The material composition of the product consists of insulated wire, connectors, terminals, tape, and conduit, Kyungshin-Lear said in its request.

USTR has received China tariff exclusion requests for nearly 13,000 products and denied 5,311. Of the denials, 1,166, or more than a fifth, contained the same language as the Tesla request, citing links to Made in China 2025.

Tesla told USTR it was unable to find a manufacturer in the United States, adding that choosing any other supplier would have delayed the (Model 3) program by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation, and staff training.

Tesla says it reflashes the Autopilot ECU with the latest Firmware created in California when it is shipped from China by supplier Quanta Shanghai.

For a product as safety critical to consumers, and critical to the essence of Tesla, we turned to industry experts who could achieve this quality and complexity in addition to the deadlines, which was not possible outside of China, Tesla wrote. When it comes to identifying a supplier, we cannot risk our customers lives due to a defect from a supplier.

The Autopilot ECU, also used in the Model S and X, includes two printed circuit board assemblies, which Tesla calls the brain responsible for Teslas Autopilot functionality and the main safety system for the vehicle.

Tesla has a separate pending tariff exclusion request filed in December for duties on the Chinese-made Model 3 Center Screen.

Other exclusion requests also cited the lack of US sources. Kawasaki said there are no industrial robots manufactured in the United States, and it only produces robots in China and Japan.

In a previously unreported request, Tesla also asked USTR to waive tariffs on the 17-inch (43-cm) cockpit touchscreen control panel that displays navigation, media, audio, climate control, energy display, and all in-cabin controls.

Other automakers have sought similar exemptions but have not yet received answers.

General Motors Co in late July sought an exemption to a 25-percent US tariff on its Chinese-made Buick Envision sport utility vehicle. The Envision accounted for nearly 15 percent of US Buick sales last year.

GM has also sought exclusions for dozen of parts, including push button ignition switches and transmission bearings.

Nissan Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have also filed exclusion requests for parts, while Uber Technologies Inc asked for an exclusion for electric bikes rented through the Uber app.

Even if the United States and China reach a trade deal in the coming weeks to resolve their disputes, companies may not see tariff relief for months or possibly years. People familiar with the talks say that some tariffs, especially those aimed at the Made in China 2025 industries, could remain in place as part of an enforcement mechanism.

Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the manner in which tariffs were removed would be part of that mechanism, aimed at ensuring China lives up to its obligations in any agreement.

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Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1. (Representational Image)

Washington: A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups the ISIS and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups -- the ISIS and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to - and stayed with - JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, traveled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted that he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group. "Between 2013 and 2014 I traveled... around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahiden two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack," Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

"I also past out a newspaper that Jaish Mujahiden uses to recruit people and collect money. I lied because I was scared of getting in trouble because I participated in collecting money, food and passing out the newspaper for

Jaish Mujahadin which is a terrorist group but they also help the poor in Pakistan," he said.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York in 1999 at the age of fifteen. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well. The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said that he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there.
Washington: The United States is watching North Korea's actions after the South Korean military said Pyongyang had launched short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, the White House said.

"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The launch would be North Korea's first such action in more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Koreas missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang during a news show at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyong-yangs first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washin-gton with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The US and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyangs concessions on its atomic arsenal. North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06 am (0006 GMT) to 9.27 am today, the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 km towards the East Sea, the JCS added. In an earlier statement, it said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions reli-ef, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyon-gyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean vice-foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea. Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on. The White House said it was aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was no confirmation of ballistic missiles entering its territory.

At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used as a training area for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.
The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice. (DC)

Colombo: Sri Lankas Catholic Church will televise a private Sunday mass after cancelling regular services over fears of a repeat of Easter suicide bombings that killed 257 people, a spokesman said.

Father Edmund Tillaka-ratne said public masses were suspended for a second week, but a service conducted by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be broadcast on national television. It will be like last Sunday when we had a service at Archbishop's chapel and telecast it live, Tillakaratne said.

Ranjith, who is also archbishop of Colombo, said on Thursday that a reliable foreign source had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend, leading him to cancel Sunday services for the second week. The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution, the Cardinal said. Official sources said the Thewatte National Basi-lica, just outside Colombo, was the suspected target, and the military deployed hundreds of troops to search the area.

There were no explosives found, but we have stepped up security, a police official said.

The government is going ahead with plans to reopen public schools on Monday, but the Church said Catholic schools will remain shut until further notice.
A woman reacts as she stands amidst scattered objects in a house that was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza strip in the southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara, on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed one Palestinian gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Pales-tinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Israel hit Gaza with air strikes and tank fire after Palestinian militants fired about 150 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. The Israeli military said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike.

The Gaza Health Ministry said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants.

The Palestinian Educa-tion Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Across the border, rocket sirens sent Israelis running to shelters, and the Magen David Adom ambulance service said one woman was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the city of Kiryat Gat. Many of the missiles were intercepted, the military said.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene his security council, comes days before Muslims begin Ramzan.
In what is the biggest seizure of smuggled gold from an individual this year at the Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials confiscated gold worth Rs 1.19 crore from a passenger.

The man, who hails from Chamarajanagar, was travelling to Bengaluru from Dubai and had hidden the gold in a bench vice. He hid two gold bars worth one kilogram each and four cut pieces of a bar.

They were wrapped in black insulation tapes and were neatly packed in a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice, an official of the customs department said.

Having concealed the gold inside the bench vice, a thick iron sheet was welded and ground over the compartment to cover the area. The vice was painted to make it appear genuine. Besides the essential parts, around 7.6 kilograms of iron was packed with the bench vice to hide the gold. The item appeared to be suspicious when we scanned it. Air Intelligence officials then questioned the passenger. His responses prompted the officials to thoroughly check the vice, and they found the gold, a source said.

In a separate instance, officials also arrested a passenger flying in from Muscat, who attempted to smuggle in 358 grams of gold worth Rs 11.75 lakh. The man hid the yellow metal as 14 pieces in his trolley bag.

Officials found four very thin strips of gold painted in aluminium colour on the trolley bags handle and two black-painted gold buckles in the strap, besides eight thin straps of aluminium-painted gold strips fixed inside the bags metal casing.
India may engage with Pakistan soon after its parliamentary elections get over  notwithstanding the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's high-pitched poll-time rhetoric against the neighbouring country.

Though the formal dialogue, which remained stalled since January 2013, may not restart immediately, India and Pakistan are likely to have some engagements after the Lok Sabha elections, beginning with a bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two nations on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek  the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

If incumbent Narendra Modi retains the office of Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections, he is likely to attend the SCO summit in Bishkek on June 14 and 15. In case the poll results in a change of guard in New Delhi, his successor may take part the summit of the eight-nation bloc, which admitted both India and Pakistan as its newest members in 2017. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also likely to attend the conclave.

Pakistan is learnt to have informally conveyed to India through China and Russia that the opportunity presented by the presence of the leaders of the two South Asian neighbours at the SCO summit in the capital of Kyrgyzstan could be utilized for a bilateral meeting between them so that they could at least explore the possibilities of further engagements.

The top brass of the government in New Delhi did not turn down the proposal outright but asked for an assessment on the pros and cons of having a meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Bishkek. A source told the DH that the political leadership of the current dispensation in New Delhi might not be averse to have a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the SCO summit, but would like to make it sure that such engagements would not be misconstrued as resumption of the formal bilateral dialogue.

New Delhi would never budge from its stand that talks and terror could never go together, the source said, underlining that the onus to set the stage for resumption of the structured bilateral dialogue would remain on Imran Khan's Government, which would have to take credible, effective and verifiable actions to address India's concern over cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend a meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers in Bishkek on May 21 and 22  just after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on May 19 and before the counting of votes on May 23. Her counterpart in Pakistan Government Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also likely to take part in the meeting. It is still not clear if Swaraj and Qureshi are going to meet on the sideline and explore the possibility of a meeting between the leaders next month.

Another source in New Delhi said that the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the forthcoming SCO summit could not be ruled out, but much would depend on the political situation that would emerge after the Lok Sabha polls. If a new government with a new Prime Minister takes office after the poll, it would possibly like to review the status of India-Pakistan relations before deciding on such a meeting, he told the DH.
A girl has made a suicide attempt in her college campus in Thiruvananthapuram accusing the college union of forcing her to political activities and not allowing to study.

The incident took place at University College in Thiruvananthapuram, a decades-old prestigious institution.

Meanwhile, in a statement given to the police on Saturday, the girl maintained that she wrote the letter accusing the college union activists owing to the mental condition and she did not want to proceed with any complaint against anyone in this connection.

The first-year degree student, reported missing since Thursday, was found unconscious in a waiting room in the college on Friday morning with her wrist nerve severed. A note recovered by the police from her revealed that she was under stress from the Students Federation of India (SFI) led college union.

Even as the SFI denied any sort of pressure on her, the incident could trigger fresh discussions on banning politics in college campuses.

The condition of the girl was stable by Saturday morning and the police would be recording here statement in detail. Based on her statement further steps would be taken against any SFI activists, police sources said.

University College situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city has been a stronghold of SFI over these years. There used to be even allegations that SFI cadres would not allow any other political parties to function in the campus.

According to sources, the girl said in the note that some college union leaders were forcing her to participate in the union's programmes during the class hours and hence she could not study properly. She was also learnt to have shared this concern with some of her classmates and wanted to resist such acts by the college union. But most students feared of hostile measures by the union activists.

Meanwhile, SFI Kerala state secretary Sachin Dev told DH that there were no such issues at the college. "I had enquired about the incident. There was no pressure on any students to take part in union activities. Moreover, now it is vacation time at the college and hence no union activities used to take place these days," he said.

Despite restrictions imposed by High Court several times earlier, campus politics with the backing of mainstream political parties continues in Kerala college campuses. The brutal killing of a college student in Kochi last year over campus political rivalries had also triggered demands to strictly ban politics in campuses.
India has been invited to the G-7 (Group of Seven) summit which France would host at Biarritz on its southwestern coast from August 24 to 26.

Alexandre Ziegler, Paris's envoy to New Delhi, on Friday, told journalists that India had been officially invited to the G-7. He said that France had also invited India to take part in the preparatory meetings during the run-up to the summit.

The G-7 at present comprises France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States  the seven of the advanced economies designated so by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Russia was also a member of the bloc from 1998 through 2014, a period when it was known as the Group of Eight (G-8).

The bloc, however, suspended Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

Sources said that New Delhi had about a month back received the French Government's invitation for India to attend the G-7 summit and the invitation had already been accepted.

If incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be in the office after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, he, himself, may attend the summit. In case of a change in the regime in New Delhi after the elections, the new government would take a call on the level of participation, sources told the DH.

Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh had attended an outreach session of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles in the United Kingdom in July 2005. The bloc had then also included Russia. The UK, which had hosted the 2005 summit, had invited not only India but also Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa in the outreach session.

Sources in New Delhi said that the French Government's invitation to India to attend the G-7 summit this year had reflected growing stature and economic clout of the country.

The G-7 represents 58% of the global net wealth, more than 46% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on nominal values and more than 32% of the global GDP based on purchasing power parity. It came into existence in 1975 as a Group of Six with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US. Canada joined the bloc in 1976 making it Group of Seven or G-7, which remained as an important forum of the industrialized democracies for coordinating economic, security and energy policies. Its relevance, however, came under questions in the recent years, particularly after the G-20 came into existence in 1999 as an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union and started expanding its agenda in 2008.

India is a member of the G-20 and the Prime Minister  Modi or whoever else succeeds him after the LS polls  is expected to take part in the summit of the bloc at Osaka in Japan from June 28 to 29.
Chinas move to lift the hold on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee resolution to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist is a well thought-out move on the South Asian chessboard, part of a much larger diplomatic effort to preserve peace in the region so as to avoid any adverse impact on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Protecting this signature trillion-dollar initiative from any form of conflict is now the highest Chinese foreign policy priority, especially on two of the six BRI routes  the China-Pakistan and China-Myanmar corridors  threatened by durable disorder.

Pakistan and Myanmar provide China with important land-to-sea access that helps Beijing get around the Malacca chokepoint and hugely reduces transportation cost for its energy imports. The Chinese live in dread of a US naval blockade of the Malacca Straits in the event of exacerbated conflict. Hence the determined effort to cultivate Pakistan and Myanmar to seek an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Chinas geostrategic weakness of a small East Asia-focused coast (in contrast to Indias location in the middle of rimland Asia, with large coastlines in both East and West) has influenced much of its recent foreign initiatives, the BRI included.

Having interacted with a large number of Chinese academics, business and political leaders in recent weeks, many of them with links to decision-makers in Beijing, I got the feeling that China was almost desperate to avoid escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict post-Pulwama. If Kashmir, including the Pakistani part of it, became a battleground post-Balakot, the Chinese would not be able to operationalise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which begins in that area. The Balakot airstrike and Pakistans retaliatory air raids raised the spectre of an India-Pakistan war and left Beijing worried, because that would unsettle the CPEC at its point of origin. Who would believe that Chinese maps put up at the April 25-27 BRI conference showing the whole of Kashmir (and also Arunachal Pradesh) as Indian territory were a mistake! It may be one subtle effort to signal to Delhi that BRI would not undermine its sovereignty concerns on Kashmir. And why such a move just when Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visits Beijing amidst the humdrum of the BRI conference that India boycotted a second time!

The Chinese apprehend that Indian tit-for-tat covert operations inside Pakistan could intensify. Indian intelligence has assets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amongst the Shias, who resent resettlement of Sunni Punjabi ex-servicemen in Gilgit and Baltistan. A serious Indian effort to get them to attack Chinese-funded Pakistani assets is not a threat that Beijing can wish away. The Chinese already have trouble where the CPEC terminates  in Balochistan. The April 18 ambush in that restive province, in which Baloch rebels dressed in Pakistani military uniforms pulled out bus passengers, segregated military personnel, and shot 14 of them, has raised the hackles in Islamabad and Beijing. The Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), an united platform of three separatist rebel groups, have stepped up the heat in Pakistans most-endowed province, beginning with the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi late last year. That attack showed that the Baloch rebels were now willing  and somewhat capable  of hitting even outside their province.

With huge investments in Balochistans mineral resources and in the deep sea port of Gwadar, the Chinese surely dont fancy a powerful Baloch separatist movement that India (and now Iran) may back to counter Pakistans terror exports to Kashmir (and Sistan). In his book Kaoboys of R&AW, the late B Raman wrote about how India had used its assets in Sindh in the late 1980s to force Pakistan to stop making mischief in Punjab. That could be repeated in Balochistan. Indeed, early in his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the prospect, as had NSA Ajit Doval.

Baloch rebels

The Jaish-ul-Adl ambush on Irans Revolutionary Guards, in which 27 died, a day after the Pulwama suicide bombing, has left Iran fuming. The Revolutionary Guards chief even threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if such attacks continued. Pakistan has recently alleged that the Baloch rebels who murdered 14 Pakistani military personnel at Ormara came from Iran, where they now have bases.

This is Pakistans (and Chinas) worst nightmare  a joint India-Iran covert effort to arm and shelter Baloch rebels. Pakistan has already announced plans to fence its border with Iran. Insurgencies in PoK and Balochistan do not augur well for the smooth functioning of the CPEC  and the one way to prevent India and Iran from backing them is to restrain the Pakistani deep state from its terror exports. Withdrawing the hold on the UN resolution against Masood Azhar is Beijings first symbolic gesture to placate India and signal to Iran that Beijing will try to rein in the Pakistani terror factory. Pakistan itself has much to do to escape blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force. Just grey-listing is costing its economy nearly $6 billion annually.

The Chinese are also making a serious effort to get the Burmese peace process going. The Burmese army recently declared suspension of operations for two months against the Northern Alliance rebel groups in Kachin and Shan provinces. Of them, the Kokang group MNDDA is a Chinese surrogate. Peace in North Myanmar is crucial for the Chinese to implement their projects under the BRI and exploit the regions considerable natural resources. That the Burmese army announced suspension of operations after its chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaings visit to Beijing (followed by Aung San Suu Kyis visit to the BRI conference) is significant. China now has a huge interest in regional peace to ensure that its BRI routes are not affected by any conflict.

(The writer is a veteran BBC journalist and author)
CHESTER  Widener University President Julie E. Wollman announced last month the appointment of Andrew A. Workman, Ph.D. as the next provost of the university.

Workman, who is currently the interim president of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, will serve as the chief academic officer at Widener, comprising the main campus in Chester, Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Del.

As provost, Workman will play a significant role in advancing Wideners ongoing growth as a thriving, nationally ranked university that offers innovative programs, taught by faculty who are leaders in their fields, and that puts students on an inside track to success. He will oversee the full student experience, including student affairs and academic affairs.

My academic and administrative experience has prepared me to help lead a dynamic university like Widener, Workman said. Its history of growth and change demonstrates the universitys willingness to make the strategic moves that strengthen its core programs, embrace new opportunities, and move it toward an even stronger national profile. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute my talents at such a vibrant place.

He will begin his new position on July 17.

Kutztown draws up winning graphic design program

KUTZTOWN  Kutztown Universitys Communication Design program was ranked third in Animation Career Reviews 2019 Top 10 Graphic Design School Programs in Pennsylvania. This 2019 list is Animation Career Reviews fifth annual ranking compilation for graphic design. More than 700 schools with graphic design programs were considered in preparation for this years rankings.

KU was the lone state system university recognized.

Animation Career Review considers every degree-granting four-year school. The organizations goal is to give students and their parents access to ample information as a starting point for students to discover the schools that are the best fit for them and make an informed decision about their program.

High school students noted for leadership by Widener

CHESTER  Widener University, one of the nations premier universities for civic engagement and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, is proud to recognize the 2019 winners of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.

In its eighth year, the program recognized 163 students from high schools throughout the region for their abilities to stand up for what is right, address a wrong and make a difference in their communities or schools.

ASTON: Meaghan OBrien.

BROOKHAVEN: Bryson Eldridge.

BROOMALL: Hanna McDermott.

BRYN MAWR: Noor Bowman.

DARBY: Lowoe Samolu.

FOLCROFT: Anna Conrad.

GARNET VALLEY: Reece Gabriele.

GLEN MILLS: Thomas Carney.

HAVERTOWN: Gwendolyn Pfister.

MEDIA: Ann Crockett.

NEWTOWN SQUARE: Kathleen Till.

RIDLEY PARK: Ethan McKellar.

SPRINGFIELD: Elizabeth Lynch.

UPPER DARBY: Ciro Diop and Raisa Sharif.

VILLANOVA: Kian Bina.

WALLINGFORD: Grayson Ray.

WAYNE: Isaac Debrosse.

YEADON: Maya Taylor.

Glen Mills student inducted to Lebanons honor society

ANNVILLE  Julia Brewer of Glen Mills, was inducted into Phi Alpha Epsilon, the Colleges honor society celebrating academic achievement and volunteer service. Brewer, a graduate of Garnet Valley High School, is pursuing a bachelor of science and doctor of physical therapy in exercise science and physical therapy.

Widener expands international footprint

CHESTER  Widener University is pleased to announce it will build on its strong partnership with American Community Schools of Athens  a prominent K-12 school based in Greece  to begin offering graduate programs that focus on international school leadership.

An agreement signed recently by leaders of both institutions offers:

A doctoral degree, the Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

A masters degree, the Master of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership with a focus on international school leadership.

Access to online undergraduate coursework in general education subject areas, for qualified ACS Athens high school and non-ACS Athens students through Wideners Center for Extended Learning.

The masters and doctoral level programs are designed for people who want to be leaders in international K-12 schools. They may already be teachers or mid-level school administrators, either in public or private U.S. schools, or at institutions around the world.

These programs will position educators who want to advance in international K-12 school settings to compete for leadership opportunities, said Robin Dole, dean of Wideners School of Human Service Professions.

Bloomsburg claims fourth at national sales competition

BLOOMSBURG  the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania professional sales team recently finished fourth out of 75 teams competing at the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Kennesaw, Ga. It was BUs best finish ever.

Kimberly Oaster, of Springfield, along with Austin Collins took third place overall in the graduate competition.

The NCSC is a university sales role-play competition for more than 400 of the top university sales talent along with college sales professors during the three-day event.

Ashland University

ASHLAND, OHIO  Alana Waldt of Swarthmore, will receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing during Ashland Universitys spring 2019 commencement ceremonies on May 4.

Central Penn College

SUMMERDALE  Drexel Hill residents Nasir Copeland and Sabir Copeland were both named to the winter 2019 deans list at Central Penn College.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

MADISON, N.J.  Grace Schug, of Villanova, and Aleah Stevens, of Darby, made deans list at Fairleigh Dickinson Universitys Florham Campus for carrying a 3.2 GPA or higher for the fall 2018 term.

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

BRADFORD  The following students graduated at University of Pittsburgh at Bradfords commencement exercises on April 28.

COLLINGDALE: Mercy Johnson.

DARBY: Aaliyah Hyman.

MEDIA: Darien Talley.

UPPER DARBY: Malcolm Hardie.

Western Governors University

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  A number of local residents earned their degrees from the online university during a number of commencement exercises held from late last year to early this year.

BRYN MAWR: Stacey OBrien.

CLIFTON HEIGHTS: Belgica Urena.

SPRINGFIELD: Melissa Brennan.

UPPER DARBY: Emanual Amadiguwe.

YEADON: Kalese Dawson.
CHESTER  The citys Polish community gathered downtown Friday morning at the 1724 Courthouse to commemorate the 228th anniversary of the worlds second oldest democratic constitution. Members of St. Hedwigs Church were joined by leaders of Polish-American groups from throughout the region and city officials to honor Polands short-lived but long influential Constitution of 3 May 1791.

It is said that our Polish constitution was the culmination of all that good in our Polish culture, said keynote speaker Richard Piascik, a Philadelphia native and member of the Polish American Congress, Eastern Pennsylvania District. The constitution, in effect for only a year-and-a-half, followed shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and brought greater political equality to all classes of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Poland would soon be divided amongst surrounding kingdoms and remain non-existent as a political entity until the end of World War I.

Organizers estimated the annual courthouse event has been held since at least the 1970s, continuing despite a declining Polish population in the West End and 2019 marking 25 years since the process of redesignating St. Hedwigs Parish as a worship site and linking it with Scared Heart Parish in Clifton Heights was completed.

As long as were still here, well keep on doing it, said David Chominski, president of the Polish American Heritage Association of Delaware County. Back in the day when we had (St. Hedwigs School) open, we had the children doing Polish dancing, said Judy Kuchinski, vice president of the county heritage association and chairwoman of the constitution day event. This place used to more packed, but people are getting older, Kuchinski said, as both noted the challenge faced by many civic and fraternal groups of getting younger generations involved to carry on events. Kuchinski remained optimistic, however, saying her grandchildren are receptive to Polish traditions, singing holiday and celebratory songs in the Polish language.

City officials were on hand for the ceremony, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams giving an opening speech on the Chesters role in the founding of Pennsylvania. He landed here in Chester  not Philadelphia, Williams said. History started right here in Pennsylvania under William Penn, and our city is known as the Seat of the Nation, she said.

Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland presented a city proclamation honoring the anniversary, stating, in part, that the constitution serves as an everlasting platform for social justice and equality.

During his closing remarks, Chominski referenced Williams remarks about Chesters place in colonial history. Stating St. Hedwigs has been a major part of the citys recent history, he said We were in Poland back in 96, our (parish) was suppressed in 92. (Polish residents) asked where we were from and we said St. Hedwigs, and they said Chester,' he said. I think thats pretty cool  and Im proud to say Im from Chester, and that our church is from Chester.

Piascik provided a keynote address on his family history and their efforts to establish successful lives in America. I stand before you now on the shoulders of two great, heroic, and patriotic families, who through hard work and sacrifice got to live the American Dream, Piascik said. All while keeping what was good and Polish alive in me; I am proud of my Polish and American heritage. Piasciks familys process of emigrating to the U.S. meant enduring both world wars, German and Soviet occupation and the rise of the Eastern Bloc.

He first told of his paternal side, emigrating to America at the turn of the 20th century before returning to Poland with his young U.S.-born grandfather. His grandfather would return in 1931, intending to send for his wife and infant son. The scheduled October 1938 would be delayed eight years due to the outbreak of World War II, with Piasciks grandmother and father enduring slave labor amongst other oppression under the German occupation.

Piasciks maternal family endured both the Soviet and German occupations of then-eastern Poland, avoiding death in a mass execution in their village during the German occupation. A person pulls the trigger, but God guides the bullets, he said. Piasciks mother, then 13 years old, escaped execution while standing in the front of the crowd 15 yards from the machine guns. Finding themselves in newly claimed Soviet territory after the war, they then trekked back into Polish lands, where Piasciks mother worked in a fishery while completing a college degree. While on a U.S. visit in 1961, she met Piasciks father and soon married. She worked as the financial and operations officer of her husbands general contracting and rental property businesses  which he founded after arriving in the U.S. speaking no English and taking work making steel casting molds.
The stories coming out of Venezuela and Washington are complicated and confusing. Political cartoonists put their spin on these stories and more throughout the week.

Venezuela has been all over headlines this week.

The country's opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has been asking armed forces for the last few months to join his side to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido challenged the country's leadership when he declared himself interim president two weeks after Maduro was sworn in for his second term back in January. Thousands of protestors supported Guaido and several countries, including the United States, recognized him as the head of state.

Guaido spoke with the military base Tuesday in the capital of Caracas, signalling the military may finally have sided with him.

This caused serious clashes to happen outside the base when Maduro's government and supporters suspected an attempted coup.

Venezuela is one of Latin America's most prosperous countries, but the political upheaval has created an economic and humanitarian crisis.

Attorney General William Barr was also a big name to know this week.

Barr appeared before a Senate panel Wednesday and said he thinks "spying did occur" against the presidential campaign of President Donald Trump.

He did not define what sort of "spying" occurred.

Barr skipped a house hearing Thursday.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., made headlines for sending a message to Barr by placing a bucket of chicken in front of Barr's empty chair.

The large number of Democratic candidates is still making news.

Commentators are worried about the variety in platforms and the confusion it may cause voters.

Other stories this week included the fate of Social Security, infrastructure week and the recent tragic acts committed against religious communities.
When I first saw the original print of Andrew J. Russells East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of the Last Rail from the Union Pacifics Historical Collection at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, I found it surprisingly ... small. I had always imagined this iconic photograph, also known as the Champagne Photo, to be grandiose, superlative and towering compared to its hundreds of counterparts in the collection.

Over the course of a century and a half, this photo has been framed by historians, scholars and educators to encapsulate the entire narrative of the construction of the nations first transcontinental railroad. Yet, there it was before me, a standard imperial print measuring 10 inches by 13 inches like most of the other photographs.

The Champagne Photo is both a source of pride of accomplishment and a painful reminder of exclusion. While the old adage says a picture is worth a thousand words, it may not always tell us the entire story. As a member of the organizing entity to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, I and my colleagues hope to widen the lens of history to truly understand the magnificence of this project.

In Russells Chinese laying the last rail on May 10, 1869, eight Chinese railroad workers are placing a ceremonious rail just moments prior to the driving of a golden spike into a polished laurel tie.

Same day. Same photographer. Different story.

While teaching professional development to fourth-grade teachers across the Wasatch Front as part of the new Utah history curriculum, nearly all the teachers recognized the Champagne Photo and nearly all have never seen the photograph with the Chinese workers. One teacher even confessed to me she was surprised to learn the Chinese even worked on the railroad in Utah.

Not only did the Chinese work in Utah, they were part of a more than Herculean effort to lay an unfathomable 10 miles of track from sunup to sundown on April 28, 1869, to help settle a wager between Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific and Doc Durant of the Union Pacific. On that day, an estimated 4,000 Chinese workers along with a handful of Irishmen lifted more than 4.4 million pounds of materials including 25,800 ties, 55,000 spikes and 3,520 rails each weighing 560 pounds. These railroad workers were asked to do the impossible and they delivered the impossible.

The construction of the combined 1,776 miles by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads gave America its independence to move into the modern era of industrialization and to rise as a global power. On the other hand, there was undoubtedly collateral damage. In just a half century, the bison population declined from an estimated 30-50 million to just a few hundred. The way of life for the Native Americans was irrevocably altered. The Chinese became scapegoats for economic and labor woes and eventually became the first and only race to be excluded from immigrating to the United States with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

The stories behind the construction of the transcontinental railroad are exponentially greater than an image of a single photograph. In order to navigate our countrys present and future, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of our past. Flaunting the celebratory while flouting the dolorous is a disservice when it comes to fully recognizing and honoring the perseverance, resilience and fortitude of all those involved in the building of not just a transcontinental railroad but of Utah and America.
Despite decades of general knowledge about the negative effects of smoking, the effort to reduce the number of smokers and incidents of nicotine addiction never ends. Now, new research highlights the gaps in knowledge and the lack of education about the latest form of tobacco use  electronic cigarettes.

Recent numbers estimate that about 30% of youths between 13-18 have used e-cigarettes. A gap in language, however, reveals that the statistic could be much higher. U.S. health officials are having a hard time measuring underage vaping because to many young people, juuling is its own verb and is considered separate from vaping. To get a more accurate number, pollsters have now added juul as its own option.

The slim, sleek design of Juuls stands out from other popular vaping products and has caused the product, manufactured by Pax Labs, to become popular among youths. Its easy to conceal, and the company came under fire earlier this year for ads that appeared to target an underaged demographic. Last year, studies revealed that youths also were unaware that vaping can contain as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

We have previously cautioned against using a product whose side effects still arent fully known. Evidence also shows that teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to convert to traditional tobacco products eventually. These troubling facts indicate that decades of effort to reduce smoking in youths, which had seen tremendous progress, are starting to decline in effectiveness.

In an effort to combat this trend and prevent a new generation from becoming tobacco users, a Utah congressman and senator are among those who want to raise the legal smoking age to 21. A new bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would raise the age for the legal sale of tobacco products, which includes e-cigarettes.

Additionally, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is among a bipartisan group that supports prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. This effort echoes the example set here in Utah, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to raise the smoking age incrementally to 21 by 2021.

The number of youths who have been duped by sleek devices, fun flavor names and a trendy term may be troubling, but hope abounds. Efforts to crack down on underage vaping and to educate teens about the dangers of smoking and nicotine addiction have ramped up significantly in the last year. Lawmakers around the country have taken note, and even youths themselves are becoming advocates to fight the trend.

More precise language will give better insight into just how pervasive the problem is. Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step in finding ways to tackle it. Significant steps already have been taken, but its ultimately the responsibility of parents, educators and lawmakers to take initiative in educating youths about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes, even by any other name, are still tobacco products. Juuling may be considered a part of the youth lexicon, but the repercussions of a new generation becoming addicted lasts much longer than those teenage years. Increased education and smart lawmaking decisions are steps toward a healthy, addiction-free future.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Pew Research Center study released April 22 finds that people across the globe say their country has increased in diversity and gender equality while at the same time the role of religion has become less important and family ties have weakened.

The study surveyed over 30,000 people in 27 countries.

In the U.S., it finds 71 percent are in favor of more gender equity and 68 percent say gender equality has increased over the past 20 years. It also reports a majority  58 percent  of Americans say religion plays a less important role today than it did 20 years ago.

The exact link between these two phenomena  rising gender equity and the changing role of religion  is the topic of much debate.

In an April 2017 article, City University of New York professor Peter Beinart comments on a cultural departure from religion in the U.S.:

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.

Beinart explains that this separation from religion has results on the political left as well.

In 2016, the least religiously affiliated white Democrats  like the least religiously affiliated white Republicans  were the ones most likely to back candidates promising revolutionary change.

A cultural movement away from religion could offer the possibility of change in other areas, such as gender inequity, as the shift in focus allows society the space to address neglected issues, Beinart writes.

Whatever the reason, when cultural conservatives disengage from organized religion, they tend to redraw the boundaries of identity, de-emphasizing morality and religion and emphasizing race and nation.  City University of New York professor Peter Beinart

Religion itself can also be a driver of the trend toward gender equality.

While religion is historically seen as perpetuating gender norms, society often overlooks feminisms roots in those seeking equality within religious practice, explains the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

And women of faith have long been integral in changing gender inequality, argue Rachel Koehler and Gwen Calais-Haase of the Center for American Progress. As women assume leadership positions within their faith communities, serve in public office and advocate for immigrants and against sexual harassment, religious women make a societal space for women to flourish.

Additionally, Courtney McCluney writing for the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan suggests that because churches are not regulated by government policies seeking to amend wrongs toward women, congregations make their own decisions about putting women in religious leadership positions. Within many denominations, including predominantly black churches in particular, women are fighting against traditional religious patriarchy.

Efforts to promote religious freedom also have been integral to creating a greater platform for gender equality around the world.

A 2014 study by researchers from Georgetown University and Brigham Young University found that governments denying religious freedom contributes to economic instability  and this also impacts gender equality. Countries with severe religious intolerance affect womens financial empowerment by limiting their ability to participate in the economy, according to the World Economic Forum.

The restrictions present in religiously hostile environments threaten elements necessary for sustainable economic development, such as entrepreneurship  a component women often participate in both in the U.S. and around the world.

This correlation suggests that in places of religious tolerance  including religious indifference  women have increased opportunities to thrive.

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred.  New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof

Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, writes: (W)omens status, power, wealth, and life choices are stronger/better in the most secular societies on earth today, and weaker/poorer in the most religious."

He also suggests a clear relationship between religious decline and the rise of gender equality:

(T)he scriptures of major world religions contain explicitly misogynistic passages that cannot be equated to any similar such sentiments in modern, secular-humanist manifestos or declarations.

Zuckerman suggests that religion currently plays a lesser role in society than it has previously because many traditional religious tenets are so disparate from todays social practices. This contrast has resulted in the present-day shift that enables increased gender equality.

Whether one is religious or a proponent of gender equality, New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof writes that because religion is changing, society is also:

For millenniums weve placed a divine stamp on discrimination against women, insisting that inequity is actually sacred. But just as religion was initially used to justify slavery but later to inspire abolitionists, faith is now evolving from a rationale for suppressing women to a means for empowering them.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Canadian amputee has filed a new petition to have his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission after officials at an airport in Calgary reportedly confiscated the batteries he needs to power his scooter, CBC reports.

The Canadian man, Stearn Hodge, lost his left arm and right leg from a workplace accident in 1984. Since that time, he has used a scooter that uses lithium batteries to move around.

In 2017, Hodge traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife for their wedding anniversary. A security agent at the Calgary International Airport, who was also a representative from United Airlines, told him it was unsafe to fly with that battery, which cost $2,000, CBC reported.

Without the batteries, the scooter wouldnt work, which left Hodge confined to his bed for three weeks.

Hodge said he earned approval from the International Air Transport Association with prepared documents. But no one would listen to him, according to CNN.

"I still remember the CATSA agent saying, 'Well, you could get a wheelchair.' How's a one-armed guy going to run a wheelchair?" Hodge told the outlet. "How am I going to go down a ramp and brake with one hand? But that shouldn't even have to come up."

Hodge asked a United Airlines agent to confirm that he received permission, but the agent sided with the security team, according to CBC.

"We are looking into the allegations, and because of the pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment," Andrea Hiller, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, told CNN. "That said, the experience described falls far short of our own high standard of caring for our customers. We are proud of the many steps we have taken over the past few years to exhibit more care for our customers and we are proud to operate an airline that doesn't just include people with disabilities but welcomes them as customers."

According to The Hill, an airline complaint resolution sent an email to Hodge that there may have been a violation of federal disability requirements. The email reportedly offered Hodge and his wife an $800 travel certificate.
SALT LAKE CITY  An 83-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a young boy outside of a church nearly a decade ago was charged Friday.

John "Jack" Gordon, of Salt Lake City, was charged in 3rd District Court with sodomy on a child and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies. A $750,000 warrant was issued Friday for his arrest.

According to charging documents, sometime between 2008 and 2010, a boy, who was 7 or 8 at the time, was waiting outside a Salt Lake City church for his dad when Gordon approached him, according to charging documents.

He told the boy "he had some trinkets to show him if he would walk to the back of the building," the charges state. Once the two went behind the church, the boy was sexually assaulted, according to the charges.

The assault was reported to a police agency in Davis County in December, according to a search warrant affidavit. Gordon denied the assault when interviewed by police.

Court documents do not indicate why the allegations were being brought up 10 years after the alleged incident or what other evidence police may have collected.

According to state court records, this is the first time Gordon has been charged with a crime in Utah.
HELPER  A semitrailer hauling two tankers of crude oil rolled near Helper on Friday, dumping about 5,000 gallons of yellow sludge onto the roadway and into a creek, troopers reported.

They have not released a cause of the double-tanker crash that happened about 7 a.m. Friday on Highway 191, about 7 miles north of Helper. Crews were working to contain globs of waxy crude that had solidified in chilly Willow Creek about 5 miles downstream. Drinking water is unaffected.

Troopers said a portion of the road would be closed into Saturday and asked travelers to instead use U.S. 6 and state Route 40. They released drone footage showing the tankers tipped on their sides and surrounded by the waxy crude oil in both lanes.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Lawrence Hopper said the truck driver did not sustain injuries serious enough to be transported to a hospital. Hopper said the agency did not immediately know what caused the crash. No other cars were involved.

Scientists were taking samples from the creek, but results won't be available until Monday, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said on Twitter.

The truck had been carrying 280 barrels but 120 spilled out of the truck, Hopper said.
PROVO  A woman who admitted to having marijuana in her system when she caused a crash that killed a South Jordan teenager has been ordered to speak with students about the dangers of driving distracted or impaired, in addition to time behind bars.

Kali Shae Hardman, 31, was sentenced Friday to more than five months in jail in the death of Baylor Christian Stout, 13. Baylor, who loved loved hiking and motorcycles, had hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder, according to his family, and tried to make the world better with little acts of kindness.

He was killed July 22 after Hardman's Kia Sedona drifted into oncoming traffic on U.S. 89 near the small community of Birdseye and hit a Ford pickup truck head-on, troopers reported. Baylor, who was travelling in the truck with his father, was rushed to a hospital where he later died. Both had been wearing a seatbelt.

Hardman pleaded guilty in March to driving with marijuana in her system and causing a fatal crash, a third-degree felony, and driving without insurance, a class C misdemeanor.

Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell ordered her on Friday to three years of probation, and to pay roughly $35,000 in restitution to a hemophilia charity, court documents show.

Baylor's parents, Marty and Staci Stout, said they are satisfied with the sentence because it reflects the profound impact of Hardman's actions, but still gives her a chance to make a positive contribution.

But they also believe their son's death exposes a gap in Utah law that imposes lesser penalties on those impaired by certain drugs, including marijuana, than by alcohol.

"Whether it was marijuana or alcohol," Marty Stout said outside the courtroom, "this tragedy still had the same impact on our family, so we'd like to see more equity in the sentencing guidelines."
SALT LAKE CITY  In a rare action, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced a news story reported by Vice News, saying Friday that the media outlet irresponsibly mischaracterized the faith's response to sexual abuse.

"In short, Vice News chose to misreport this story," said Eric Hawkins, the church's director of media relations. "Abuse is a matter taken very seriously by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he added. "It is not tolerated, and the church has invested heavily in resources and training, including the help line, to prevent, combat and address abuse."

On Thursday night, HBO's Vice News Tonight aired a story about the ongoing pain and suffering of Christopher Michael Jensen's sexual abuse victims and their families in West Virginia. A print version was published Friday on the Vice News website. Both versions incorrectly reported the church's name multiple times.

Jensen was sentenced in 2013 to 35 to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two children while babysitting as a teenager. Vice News interviewed the attorney and two of five families who sued the church in 2013 regarding the Jensen cases, alleging the church acted improperly in its response to Jensen, a church member.

The families and church settled the suit last year. The church, which excommunicated Jensen in 2013, denied any wrongdoing and the settlement amount is confidential.

The Vice News story focused in part on the 24-hour abuse help line the church makes available to its approximately 30,000 bishops and 3,000 stake presidents. Those leaders, who are not professional clergy, are instructed to call the hotline promptly about every situation they believe includes abuse or neglect or risk for either, Hawkins said. The goal, he said, is to prevent abuse and advise bishops about compliance with local abuse reporting laws.

Vice News said its reporting "suggests that the system serves a very different purpose: to shield the 'Mormon Church' from potential lawsuits that pose a financial threat to the church."

Timothy Kosnoff, the attorney who represented the families in the lawsuit and who according to Vice News has been involved in more than 100 cases against the church, alleged in the story that the church uses the hotline to intimidate victims into not suing the church for possible liability in the abuse.

Hawkins called those claims an egregious mistake and said the hotline is designed to maintain confidentiality.

"We are deeply disappointed by Vice News' irresponsible mischaracterization of the church help line," he said.

West Virginia requires clergy to report abuse allegations and Hawkins said that contrary to Vice's reporting, the church complied with every reporting requirement in the Jensen cases, "and in years of investigation and legal process, no church leader was ever charged with a failure to report or to comply with the law."

"We disagree with many of the statements made by the plaintiffs in this story and are frustrated that no fact-checking appears to have been done to verify what individuals told Vice," Hawkins added. "Their statements to VICE are wildly different than (what they said in) police reports, depositions and court testimonies."

He pointed to the example of a victim's mother who told Vice that when she couldn't reach the bishop about Jensen's abuse, she called police.

Hawkins said she testified differently in court, that when she couldn't reach her congregation's bishop, she instead called his first counselor in the bishopric.

"She testified in court," Hawkins said, "that when she reported the abuse to him, he told her, 'this is a crime,' and provided her with the phone number so that she could call the police. The church leader then called the church help line, and the church then called the police to make sure a report had been made."

Hawkins said that was the most egregious fact withheld in the story. He also said the case is a positive example of the church's local leaders correctly using its hotline system and generating a criminal report.

Vice News representatives did not immediately respond to messages for them left Friday afternoon seeking comment on Hawkins' statement. Kosnoff, the families' attorney, also did not immediately return messages left for him and the families.

"To be very clear," Hawkins added, "the case in West Virginia is very different from the types of cases where churches have been held liable for not preventing or even covering up abuse. None of the abuse happened on church property or during a church activity. None of the abuse was committed by a church officer or leader. Tragically, a number of children were abused by a teenage member of the church, Michael Jensen, while babysitting or vacationing or temporarily residing in their or his homes. Jensen is in prison, as he should be, for a very long time."

Vice News said the church's hotline is operated by LDS Family Services and Kirton McConkie, a law firm retained by the church.

The church created the abuse hotline in 1995. A church document released last year states, "When bishops or stake presidents call the help line, legal and clinical professionals will answer their questions and provide instructions about how to assist victims, comply with local laws and requirements for reporting abuse, and protect against further abuse."

Hawkins said the legal advisers on the hotline strongly encourage and assist bishops and stake presidents to report suspected abuse to law enforcement whether reporting is required by local laws or not.
The Salt Lake City Jewish community held the event in response to the recent shooting attack at Poway Chabad in California, which took the life of 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three other worshipers. Houses of worship in the faith were encouraged to #ShareShabbat by encouraging synagogue attendance in the wake of the shooting. While the lighting of Shabbat candles is uniquely tasked to Jewish women, all wishing to show support were welcome to attend. In a statement, Rabbi Benny Zippel, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, said This coming Friday evening, May 3rd, Jewish women and girls the world over are being called upon to kindle Shabbat candles, in loving tribute to Lori, and in prayer for peace and tolerance amongst all of humanity.

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SALT LAKE CITY  Patient advocacy groups in Utah have dropped their argument in a legal challenge that lawmakers made broad changes to a voter-approved plan legalizing medical marijuana at the behest of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The groups' Friday court filings now focus on claims that lawmakers violated voters' constitutional rights and passed directives that conflict with federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal drug.

The recrafted argument comes after the Utah Attorney General's Office contended in filings last week that lawmakers had the authority to change the law. The office asked a judge to toss the suit, arguing the church was exercising its right to free speech when it called on lawmakers to find a different solution to Proposition 2, and when the church announced it was working to identify legislation it believed to be appropriate.

"The church was simply expressing its views and desires on a matter of public interest, as any person or group has the right to do," the Attorney General's filing says.

A church representative declined comment Friday. When attorney Rocky Anderson, former Salt Lake City mayor, first published a letter threatening legal action regarding Proposition 2 last year, it said it stands behind the compromise.

Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, or TRUCE, and the Epilepsy Association of Utah sued the state in 3rd District Court in December in an effort to block the replacement law, a compromise reached by legislators, plus backers of the ballot measure and opponents, including the church. The groups asked a judge to impose the voter-approved plan instead.

Ahead of the November election, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, brokered the legislation in private talks. The Utah Patients Coalition, the campaign that promoted and helped author Proposition 2; Libertas Institute, the campaign's largest in-state donor; the Utah Medical Association, a fierce critic of the initiative; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, another critic of the measure, all agreed to support the contents of a sweeping medical marijuana compromise bill following dozens of hours of negotiations.

The groups that hashed out the compromise said the measure created legitimate access to medical marijuana while also involving medical providers more with patients and guarding against recreational use. The bill, sponsored by Hughes, passed overwhelmingly at the Utah Legislature during a December special session. Herbert signed the bill later that day.

The lawsuit fighting the compromise maintains that it "unconstitutionally undermines or entirely defeats core purposes of Proposition 2" and "severely reduces or eliminates" some patients' medical marijuana access.

The groups previously contended the bill had violated Article I Section 4 of the Utah Constitution, which states "there shall be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate the state or interfere with its functions." But the new legal complaint filed Friday leaves out those arguments.

The suit names Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, as defendants.
SALT LAKE CITY  American International School of Utah is asking the Utah State Board of Education to forgive $360,000 of $514,000 in special education funds state officials say must be refunded because the money was used for "unallowable expenditures."

The full State School Board will consider the appeal during its June meeting. The boards finance committee on Friday referred the matter to the state's full school board without addressing the appeal or making a recommendation.

Following a review of the schools special education expenditures for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, State School Board staff notified the public charter school in late March that it must repay more than $500,000 in state and federal special education funds plus interest.

The appeal comes as the charter school's governing board is contemplating the future of the K-12 public charter school that serves 1,300 students amid growing concerns about its financial viability.

"Every effort is being made to keep the school open until the end of the year. There's a whole lot of work going on to try to make sure that happens," said Kent Burggraaf, chairman of AISU's governing board.

Still, "it's a dire circumstance," and it remains uncertain whether the school will remain open until the end of the academic year, he said. Earlier this week, the school's governing board voted to postpone a vote on the school's future.

Repayment of the special education funding is just one of the school's challenges.

Given state reviewers' findings with special education funds, instead of automatically disbursing restricted funds to the school, the state is reimbursing AISU as it presents documentation for those expenditures.

"The school has to front those costs," some $300,000 a month, Burggraaf said.

Earlier this year, the school received an unanticipated $250,000 property tax bill from Salt Lake County. Burggraaf said the school pays property tax as a condition of its lease.

It had no grounds to appeal the assessment so it wrote a check to the county, Burggraaf said.

"This SPED (special education) funding issue takes it over the top," he said.

According to state officials' letter to AISU, the state review determined that both state and federal special education funds were used to pay for expenses not supported by proper documentation.

The letter, dated March 28, said the funds need to be repaid "out of unrestricted funds within 90 days of receipt of this letter." The school had 30 days to appeal the state's findings, which it did.

The review by state special education staff found that during the 2016 fiscal year, "it appears" AISU incorrectly allocated more than $157,200 of federal special education funds to pay for "unallowable health insurance premiums and salaries and benefits of teachers."

A review of account records and supporting documents such as invoices, teacher contracts, schedules, payroll time cards and personnel activity reports did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act special education fund, the letter states.

The review also found that in the 2017 fiscal year that "it appears that American International School of Utah has incorrectly allocated $154,197.44 of state special education funds to pay for unsupported salaries and benefits of school administrators, teachers, social workers and health insurance premiums."

The letter goes on to say the review of document and records "did not contain sufficient information to support the allocation of these expenses to the state special education fund."

In an earlier interview, the school's executive director Tasi Young said about 25 percent of AISU students receive special education services.

Burggraaf said the school has submitted additional documentation to the State School Board to support its position special education funds were spent appropriately.

AISU is described on its website as a "public-private hybrid STEAM international charter school in Murray, Utah." It has a partnership with Realms of Inquiry, a private school also located at 4998 S. Galleria Drive, the site of the former Galleria Mall.

The public charter school was placed on warning status by the Utah State Charter School Board in December 2018. It is a formal action taken by the state charter board after a school has not resolved deficiencies previously identified by regulators.

"Warnings require the school to take action," the state charter board's annual report explains.

The process includes developing a timeline to address the deficiencies and can result in "possible removal of board member, director or business manager."

AISU contracts with Charter Solutions as its business manager. The firm's president is Lincoln Fillmore, according to its website. Fillmore is a Utah state senator. He did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Friday evening.

Charter Solutions was selected as the school's contract business manager through a request for proposals in 2017 and "was fully in place by January 2018," said Burggraaf.

Speaking during a governing board meeting at AISU Wednesday night, Fillmore urged the school's directors as they weigh the future of the school to keep in mind "it's not your money that you're spending. It's taxpayers' money. That taxpayers' money is a trust that the taxpayers of Utah have given to you to spend but they're wanting it to be spent on the education of students."
MOUNT PLEASANT, Sanpete County  Emily Wheeler said the last day she spent with her big sister, Kodi, and her best friend, Julie, she tried to join in on their secret handshake, but she couldn't quite match what they had already mastered.

"They were so perfectly in-sync," Emily Wheeler said. "They were perfect."

Now, Kodi and Julie are gone.

"It wasn't real," Emily said. "It's not real now."

Emily, 15, said she was "shaking" in the car when she heard the news after she and her mom drove to the scene of the crash.

There, on Power Plant Road in Sanpete County, 16-year-old Kodi Wheeler, 16-year-old Julie Oldroyd, and 18-year-old Ryan Lyman died after their vehicle rammed into the back of a slow-moving flatbed truck and burst into flames Friday night.

Emily said she and her family are in shock.

"Kodi's been by my side my entire life," Emily said. "And to have her not by my side, it feels like she's still gone hanging out with her friends, like she's coming home. And it's like half of me is gone.  It's been the hardest moments of my life, to not have her come home."

The girl choked back tears as she spoke.

"When you're a little girl, you dream of growing up together, being at each other's weddings, doing all these things together," Emily said. "She was my everything. And now I'm just here."

The group of high school kids were in a sedan, driven by a 16-year-old female, and were traveling west at about 9:20 p.m. when they came over a hill directly behind the slow-moving truck. The driver of the sedan tried to stop but was traveling too fast. The car hit the back of the flat-bed truck and burst into flames, Utah Highway Patrol reported.

The driver was taken to the hospital with a head injury but was later released.

Front-seat passenger, Lyman, of Ephraim, and back-seat passenger, Oldroyd, of Fountain Green, were both killed on impact, UHP reported. Wheeler, who was also in the back seat, was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries.

All three teenagers who died in the crash were not wearing seatbelts, UHP Cpl. Colton Freckleton said. The crash is still under investigation, but drugs or alcohol are not suspected, the corporal said.

The 16-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger of the truck received minor injuries and were later released by the hospital, Freckleton said.

The six occupants of the two vehicles were all students at North Sanpete High School, according to Freckleton.

The Facebook account for the North Sanpete Hawks, the high school's mascot, posted a statement Saturday morning saying counselors and administration officials would be available Saturday afternoon in the counseling center at North Sanpete High School. A state crisis team was also expected to come to the school Monday to give students support.

"We are all in this together, and we will stand by each other," the post said.

As news of the crash spread Saturday, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox lamented the loss to his community.

"A horrific tragedy in our small communities last night," Cox tweeted. "Our hearts are broken for these kids and their families."

Emily said her sister and Julie were "like two peas in a pod" and "did everything together. She said they had plans to raise lambs together for this year's local lamb show.

Emily said her sister and her best friend could "make anybody laugh" and connected with each other on an extraordinary level.

"I think that's something we can all look for in a friendship, is what Kodi and Julie had," Emily said.

Contributing: Tania Mashburn, Wendy Leonard
GILLETTE, Wyo.  Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he will not run for a fifth term in 2020, costing the GOP a loyal conservative senator but likely not the seat.

Enzi, 75, announced his pending retirement in his hometown of Gillette, where he owned a shoe store and "never intended to get into politics." But his election as mayor in 1974 was the start of a successful political career that led him to the Senate in 1996.

"I have much to get done in the next year and a half," he said. "I want to focus on budget reform. I don't want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign. After this year, I'll find other ways to serve."

During his tenure in the Senate, Enzi has gained a reputation of being low-key and willing to work across party lines to produce results.

"I didn't get into the Senate for the fancy titles," Enzi, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Saturday. "I like passing legislation."

President Donald Trump sent out a tweet Saturday night praising Enzi: "Mike has been a fantastic Senator!"

With Enzi's retirement, Wyoming will have its first open Senate seat in more than a decade. It's expected to remain in Republican hands. Wyoming hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in over 40 years. The state's other senator, Republican John Barrasso, easily won re-election last year.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that he's confident Wyoming will elect "another Republican who will best represent the state's values."

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and Democrats are looking to flip a number of Republican seats to win a new majority in 2020.

Enzi's departure could open the way for Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Five years ago, she launched an ill-fated challenge against Enzi. She dropped out of the race before the primary after being labeled a carpetbagger for having moved to Wyoming from Virginia barely a year earlier. Still, she was elected to Congress in 2014 and was re-elected last year.

Cheney has been a rising star in Congress and already is the third-most senior House Republican.

In a statement Saturday, Cheney didn't mention any further intentions for the Senate seat.

She praised Enzi for his service to the state and country.

"He never forgot where he came from and always put the interests of Wyoming first, constantly championing our Western way of life," Cheney said.

A phone message left with her spokesman was not immediately returned Saturday.

Enzi said Saturday that he envisions Cheney eventually becoming speaker of the House.
OREM  Former state lawmaker Derek Brown's easy win Saturday in the race to lead the Utah Republican Party was hailed by Gov. Gary Herbert as a "new beginning" for a party split by years of infighting over a controversial election law.

The governor told reporters the party now needs to stay out of efforts to change the law still known as SB54 that creates a signature-gathering alternative to the party's traditional caucus and convention system for nominating candidates.

"Let's not say, 'I'm more pure than you're pure. You're not really a true Republican and I am.' That stuff has got to be over inside the party," he said. "This is a new beginning, a new opportunity, for us to unite and stand together as Republicans."

Brown, who has served as Sen. Mike Lee's deputy chief of staff, was elected state Republican Party chairman with the support of more than 62 percent of the more than 2,300 delegates attending the convention held at Utah Valley University.

The new chairman said delegates made a "decision not to look backwards but to look forward in the future," by choosing him over three other candidates including Phill Wright, a leader of the faction of the GOP behind the battle over SB54.

"The SB54 fight is over because the Supreme Court has decided not to take it," Brown told reporters after his first-round victory. "The Legislature can do what they want to do, but as a party, we're going to look forward."

Wright, who ended up with about a third of the vote, a second-place finish ahead of Chadwick H. Fairbanks III and Sylvia Miera-Fisk, said he felt like he heard more support in the college arena.

"It is what it is," Wright said. "I'm a Republican. I'll support our chair."

Brown said in his speech to delegates he wasn't aligned with either side of the election law debate but is "the win elections guy. I'm the put Republicans in office guy," promising to maintain Utah's status as a reliably red state.

Wright told delegates "winning elections isn't just about winning elections. It's about making sure we elect candidates that have the same principles and values that we do."

Before the convention started, Brown and Wright campaigned at booths set up just outside the hall. While both candidates attracted supporters, Brown drew a much bigger crowd, including a number of elected officials.

Earlier in the week, Lee endorsed Brown as having the skills needed to "give the Utah GOP a fresh start." So did Sen. Mitt Romney, who did not attend Saturday's convention because of a family commitment out of state.

The governor, who paid for the more than $18,000 electronic voting system used at the convention out of his political action committee funds, had also encouraged Brown to get in the race.

Brown had briefly considered running for party chairman two years ago, when Wright lost to Rob Anderson. The now-former chairman campaigned on ending the SB54 fight, blamed for a debt that currently adds up to about $100,000.

As a member of the party's State Central Committee, Wright sparred with Anderson repeatedly over continuing the legal battle. His boss, Entrada CEO Dave Bateman, has picked up the legal cost.

But financial support for the state's dominant party slowed after the Utah GOP sued the state over SB54, which created an alternative path to the primary election ballot by allowing candidates to gather voter signatures.

The bill was passed in 2014 by the GOP-controlled Legislature as a compromise with supporters of the Count My Vote initiative that would have replaced the caucus and convention system with a direct primary.

The state won legal challenges to the law in federal district court in Salt Lake and in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case earlier this year.

Anderson, who chose not to seek a second term, told delegates the convention was paid for thanks to contributions by the governor and others. The price tag for the event was about $20,000.

The governor said the "clean sweep" of party offices, which included replacing now-former Utah GOP Secretary Lisa Shepherd with Kendra Seeley, means the financial situation should improve.

"It takes you a while to get into the hole, it takes you a while to get out of the hole," he said. "Those who have said, 'You know what, I'm going to sit on the sidelines,' I hope they will take a new, fresh look at the party and say it's time to re-engage."

Anderson said the message the convention results send to donors is positive enough that the party's debt could be retired in the next month or so. He said unlike when he took office, rent and utility payments are current.

GOP delegates gathered in the university's arena moved relatively quickly through the convention agenda, deciding not to take action on a long list of proposed bylaw changes and resolutions, including a call to repeal a new hate crimes law.

Speeches by elected officials largely focused on uniting against an increased interest in socialism and Democratic candidates in next year's elections, and the convention ended in less than four hours.

The usual sparring over procedural issues was kept to a minimum. State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the sponsor of SB54, presided over the convention until voting for party offices began.

The governor said delegates, which included the first lady, don't want the divisiveness of past conventions.

"They want to be able to work together with people, with respect and civility," Herbert said. "I think you saw an uprising here today that said, 'We don't have to have this elongated debate on silly issues."

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated SB54 was passed by the Legislature in 2015. It passed in 2014.
Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr. Paul Kehoe, T.D., paid tribute to the members of the 114th Infantry Battalion who will leave in the coming weeks for service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Minister was accompanied at the review by Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces , Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

In his address to the troops the Minister said: "I have had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas in Lebanon on several occasions and on each visit, I have seen the fine work that our personnel are doing on the ground, to help bring stability and peace to the region. Irish peacekeepers play an important part in improving the lives of vulnerable citizens on the ground."

The Minister went on to say that he was impressed by the strong relationship forged between our personnel and the local communities in which they serve. Liaison with the local population and the provision of support and humanitarian assistance is one of the hallmarks of Irelands approach to involvement in peace support operations.

Soldiers from 29 counties around Ireland were represented among the 450 strong battalion deploying to UNIFIL. Personnel from the Armed Forces of Malta will also deploy to UNIFIL for the second time as part of the Irish Battalion.

Minister Kehoe noted: Also today, we have twenty eight female personnel ready to deploy as part of this Battalion. Irish women peacekeepers have proven that they can perform the same roles, to the same standards and under the same difficult conditions, as their male colleagues.

The UNIFIL mission represents Ireland's largest overseas deployment. Following Finland's withdrawal from a joint Battalion in November 2018, Ireland increased the number of personnel deployed and assumed the full duties and responsibilities of the Battalion for a twelve month period. Earlier this year it was confirmed that a contingent of the Polish Armed Forces together with a contribution of troops from Hungary will join the Irish UNIFIL contingent in November 2019. The Minister today again welcomed this development commenting "Partnership with other States is an important element of peacekeeping operations."

The Minister thanked the families and friends for the support they provide to those serving overseas and concluded by wishing the 114th Infantry Battalion a safe and successful mission.
Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties such as Donegal who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region.

In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Donegal. Key findings from the report from a Donegal perspective included:

 60% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal are holidaymakers

 26% of overseas visitors who visit Donegal visit from mainland Europe ie Barcelona, Milan

 Overseas visitors spend an average of 6 nights in Donegal when visiting the region

Hiking, cross country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Donegal. 32% of overseas visitors coming to Donegal said an event or festival was also one of the highlights of their stay in Donegal. In addition the Wild Atlantic Way, Sliabh Liag and Malin Head featured as three particularly popular attractions for visitors coming to Donegal.

Visitors to Donegal through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 57% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a hotel or B&B during their stay in Donegal whilst visitors to Donegal estimated they spent on average 697 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016.

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019.

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Donegal & the entire region.

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland.

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said: "The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region.

"The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Donegal economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism."

Seamus Neely, CE, Donegal County Council, said: We welcome these research findings which will be of great value to us in determining future marketing strategies for the development of our tourism sector. Access and ease of access are important factors in growing visitor numbers in Donegal.

"Ireland West Airports plans for continued route development for overseas markets particularly through new European and US routes will benefit Donegal from both an economic development and inbound tourism perspective."

Pictured with this story: Members of the region's Local Authority delegation pictured in the new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre at Ireland West Airport Knock. Pictured with Board Chairman Arthur French and Airport Manager Joe Gilmore, were from left Donegal Head of Tourism, Barney McLaughlin, Sligo Cllr Paul Taylor, Sligo Co Council Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes, Mayo Co Council CEO and airport board member Peter Hynes, Galway Co Council Chief Executive Kevin Kelly, Roscommon Co Council's Leas-Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher, Galway City Council's Chief Executive Brendan McGrath, Roscommon Co Council Chief Executive, Eugene Cummins and Leitrim Co Council's Director of Services Joseph Gilhooly. Picture Henry Wills.
Donegal beef farmers are on their knees. That is the stark succinct warning from recently elected county Donegal IFA chairman Brendan McLaughlin, who called a crisis meeting earlier this week in the Clanree Hotel Letterkenny, to highlight the current crisis in the livestock industry locally.

And he called for immediate help from the government and the EU to help alleviate this crisis. Mr McLaughlin said the reason for the meeting was that the beef farmers in Donegal are all on their knees at the moment.

There is a major beef crisis here at present and farmers have been losing from 100 to 300 in the price they get for their animal. It is as high as 300 in some cases.

Mr McLaughlin said there were two major factors causing this crisis-market forces and the grave uncertainty over Brexit.

Supply and demand always govern prices. There are not enough live exports going abroad to Europe because of a recession.

You need that competition with the beef factories to keep the prices up for the farmers.

He added: The negativity on Brexit is also causing big problems here and is discouraging in investment in beef. This is a scare mongering game and that should not be happening.

Nobody knows what is going to happen in Brexit and Britain could still stay in, so how can the factories and the farmers know? The threat of Brexit means we will have no investment. We export 50 per cent of our beef to Britain. If tariffs go up and if you have an animal going for 1,000 to Britain, the farmer could be paying a tariff of up to 700. So that would put us out of business in the morning and lamb is much the same.

He added: There could be tariffs of up to 70 per cent on beef and we can do nothing about that. It is not the farmers fault and it is not the factories fault, it is to do with the EU and Britain and I think Europe has to compensate us in some way or another to save farming.

The suckler farmer is the basis for farming in Donegal and the West of Ireland and we need the beef man around the ring to buy our calves that we rear, the weanlings. And if we dont have those men, we are finished, beef men will not invest anymore because of all the uncertainty.

He added: "We are lobbying the government and Irish farmers in general have lost 102m since last September on beef alone. We want the government and the EU to do something. We want the government to stop hiding behind the EU and the EU to stop hiding behind the government.

And that is why I called the crisis meeting in Letterkenny on Monday night, the IFA is doing its very best for the farmers of Donegal," he added.
Following highly successful workshops over the past two months, a third workshop for Donegal businesses to get customs-ready for Brexit will take place on Thursday, May 9 in Solis Lough Eske, Donegal town.

The feedback on the first workshops has been very positive and businesses attending, engaged on six key steps to prepare their business for Customs after Brexit.

Any businesses in Donegal planning on moving goods to, from or through the UK after Brexit are being urged to prepare by attending the one day interactive workshop.

Previous workshops were oversubscribed and with demand once again expected to be very high for the limited places, businesses are being asked to make sure they book in good time.

Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, have stressed that the workshop is open to businesses from all sectors.

"If the UK leaves the Customs Union and Single Market, it will become a 'Third Country' for customs purposes. At this workshop businesses can learn about the potential impacts, formalities and procedures you will need to adopt when trading with a country which is outside the Single

Market and Custom Unions (a 'Third Country')," Head of Enterprise in Donegal, Michael Tunney said.

He added that the workshop is fully funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and is delivered by BDO Ireland on behalf of the Local Enterprise Offices.

"It will cover areas such as what export and import procedures apply, how tariffs work and how to correctly classify goods," he said.

This workshop is open to businesses from all sectors and the aim is to help Donegal businesses understand:

- The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) process

- The Administration process around import and export procedures.

- Custom formalities at borders

- Tariffs and cost implication of tariffs

- Import procedures, such as the Electronic Declaration Process and

- Automated Entry Processing (AEP)

Places are booking up fast, so interested businesses are asked to call book online on: localenterprise.ie/donegal or call the office on 0749160735



Local Enterprise Office Donegal is supported through co-funding from the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund 2014 - 2020. To contact the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal, log on to www.localenterprise.ie/donegal or phone 0749160735.
Two brave and heroic youths who saved the life of their friend were recognised for their courage at the National Garda Youth awards.

Odhran O'Neill from Ballyshannon and Ruby Hurst from Rossnowlagh were presented with their award on April 17, in Portlaoise.

Garda Grainne Doherty warmly congratulated the two youths this week.

She said: They showed immense bravery and remained very level-headed and they saved the life of one of their friends," she said.

They were very deserving winners of the award.

Recognition was also paid to the Irish Water Safety organisation in Ballyshannon where the two youths voluntarily undertook the CPR course.

Ruby said: We were at school, in a PE class and the student, he collapsed and started into cardiac arrest. Odhran immediately went for the defib.

The two youths then began to perform CPR on their friend and awaited the arrival of the paramedics.

Odhran said: Since we were eleven we have been training with Irish Water Safety in the Ballyshannon pool and the training kicked-in and the adrenaline kept us calm."

He paid tribute to his PE teacher, Michael Doherty, from Ardara, whose very presence kept both youths calm during the course of events and cleared the hall for them.

He let us take over the situation. If he hadn't been there I don't think we would have been as calm.

Ruby said that both youths worked well together as a team.

We both took turns doing compressions because it is very physically demanding.

Odhran commended the early intervention of the paramedics who were at the scene within around five minutes.

Ruby praised the Irish Water Safety Organisation which supports and facilitates people with the skills to save peoples' lives.

It is not just a skill for the day - it is a skill for life, she said.

Both youths work as lifeguards on beaches during the summer.

Garda Doherty said that without the training by the Ballyshannon organisation lives would have been lost.
An investigation into allegations that a Dothan High School teacher had been having sex with a student yielded an arrest Friday afternoon.

Julia Engle, 29, of Dothan, is charged with one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19. Dothan Highs website lists Engle as a math teacher.

According to a Dothan Police Department release, the agency began an investigation into the allegations Friday. Officers took Engle and two students to the police station for interviews, and Engle was arrested following the conclusion of interviews.

She faces a $30,000 bond on the charge. Other charges could be filed since the investigation continues.

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For example, under the 1872 law it's perfectly legal for foreign interests (many mining companies are based abroad) to stake claims on U.S. public land, and remove valuable "economic minerals." These companies make billions of dollars in profit, but they don't have to pay a dime in royalties to our government for the privilege, costs and enduring problems of mining public land. Safeguards to protect water, air quality and wildlife are virtually absent from the Mining Act. State and federal environmental laws can be marshalled against mining companies to some degree but state law in particular is provisional, changeable, and the Mining Act still enshrines the right of corporations to scar our mountains, foul our streams and pollute our air. If environmentalists file lawsuits, companies can declare bankruptcy or retreat to offshore unaccountability.

The rationale for the Mining Act's sweeping support for extraction above all else is as dated as the law: The urgent need to open the West to settlement and commerce. The ethos of the 1870s wasn't sustainability, let alone conservation. From the beginning, the Mining Act was steeped in corruption because it was written by the very industry that benefited from its passage. It has become only more advantageous to contemporary mining corporations with time, technology and greedy globalism.
We realize a citizen's video of the arrest was already circulating on social media, which likely contributed to Anderson's decision to release the footage. After viewing that citizen's video, our impression, like Anderson's, was that the officers had not gone too far, even though at one point one of the officers hit the woman with his baton, forcefully. Without context, without knowing what came before or after or what might have happened that we couldn't see, we wanted to know more to determine whether it was newsworthy.

Too many times the media have jumped to conclusions on something like this, only to learn that first impressions were wrong. Usually, that has meant someone was cast in an unfavorable light that turned out to be unfair. This case appears to be the other way around. The body cam footage showed the execution of an arrest that seemed well out of proportion to what the circumstances required. Not only was the arrest unnecessarily physical, the woman was threatened with bodily harm  You do anything other than what you're told to do right now and I'm going to kick you in the teeth  and subjected to a stream of profanity.
Bronac Mackin is the Business Development Manager at Carlingford Lough Ferry

Whats your favourite thing about Dundalk?

I know its been said a million times before but my favourite thing about Dundalk is undoubtedly its people.

My father was a Dundalk man born and reared, as is my husband and the entire Mackin clan!

When Im at family occasions or nights out in the town, I get that feeling of being at home. The craic is not the same anywhere else as it is in Dundalk town.

What would your perfect day in the local area be  and why?

Hands down my favourite place to spend some time is on the Navvy Bank.

A morning walk down towards Soldiers Point does the soul good. I love nature and and there is nowhere better in the area to get a glimpse at the abundance of wildlife that inhabits the shores of Dundalk Bay.

After that I would go to the Isle De France for a bag of chips! I would then spend the afternoon in Faughart Graveyard.

This is where I ran about as a child and still go to for peace as an adult.

Faughart Graveyard has the most stunning views of the mountains and sea and the town itself, especially at night when the entire town is illuminated!

What would you like to change about Dundalk?

I would love if more shops took up residence in the town centre.

As a child, my mam always took us up town on a Saturday and we spent the whole day in Clanbrassil Street, Park Street and the square going from shop to shop.

While I know there is work being done at present in the town centre, I hope that this brings some life back to the main streets and helps the traders who are fighting tooth and nail there at the minute.

What annoys you about the town?

The cycle lane coming up Chapel Street, from the Home Bakery to Ta Tas really annoys me.

I know that cycle lanes are important but the positioning of this one and some other cycle lane locations in Dundalk make absolutely no sense and are more dangerous than advantageous.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?

The ferry is getting busier with each passing week and we expect the coming summer season to be a bumper one so the rest of my working year will consist of getting out and about promoting the ferry business and the area, and encouraging new visitors to Dundalk and surrounds.

Over Easter weekend we welcomed over 6000 passengers onboard the ferry which contributed to a good boost to the local economy.

20+ national and international tour operators are committed to including the ferry and the area in their itineraries this coming season, and this number is growing.

So I will spend a lot of time getting to know business owners and providers in the locality to confidently showcase what this area has to offer.

Outside of work, I am looking forward to spending lots of family time with my husband and three girls.

How would you describe Dundalk people?

Dundalk people are down to earth, welcoming and full of life, but are always ready for a good slagging match!

Nowhere else do you get the type of caustic wit that exists in the town  if theyre not verbally hammering you  chances are they dont like you!!

What's your favourite story you've heard about Dundalk?

There are so many hilarious stories about Dundalk and a lot of emotional ones too, but my favourite is a story that everyone of a certain age can remember and most people tell.

When we had the old town square with the big fountain in it, every teenager at some point in their school career got a bottle of washing up liquid and emptied it into the water.

The suds would be everywhere and lasted for hours. Seems silly now but it was hilarious at the time.

What's your favourite Dundalk phrase?

Alright horse or Well hen!!

Is Carlingford Ferry a popular tourist attraction for Dundalk people?

We are seeing more and more Dundalk people using the ferry service.

Before the existence of Carlingford Lough Ferry, people from the town were not as likely to visit the tourist offerings that exist on the other side of Carlingford Lough like the St. Patricks Centre in Downpatrick, Castle Ward, Kilbroney Park, Spelga Dam, The Silent Valley and the seaside town of Newcastle to name but a few.

The ferry really adds to the whole day out experience and we are delighted that the service has been embraced by so many Dundalk people.

These days we all need some time to put down the phones and enjoy being outdoors.

The stretch of water that the ferry traverses is the most scenically beautiful in the country and people use the 20 minute crossing time to relax and breath while taking in some of the most stunning views in the area.
Photo: Contributed There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown Kelowna museum.

The Okanagan has the greatest biodiversity in all of Canada, and Kelowna Museum is celebrating some of that diversity in a new exhibition.

The museum is hosting Birds of Prey, a bilingual travelling exhibition from the Royal BC Museum. There will be 15 species of owl and 19 different raptors on display at the downtown museum, including barred owls, ospreys, turkey vultures and peregrine falcons.

Curatorial manager Amanda Snyder believes the intriguing birds will leave people impressed.

This exhibit presents a truly unique opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close, to analyze their details and to see what makes them so special. Im sure our guests will be fascinated by these beautiful birds," she says.

Theres an opening celebration today, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Snyder, who happens to be a bird watcher, is particularly excited about Birds of Prey, but believes it will have broad appeal with local audiences.

Birds of prey have what people might refer to as a wow-factor  theyre impressive and engaging I genuinely believe this exhibit will appeal to bird novices and avid watchers alike.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 5.
YouTube executives have been unable or unwilling to rein in toxic content because it could reduce engagement on their platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

In a 3,000-word article, Mark Bergen wrote that the US$16 billion company has spent years chasing one business goal: engagement.

In recent years, scores of people inside YouTube and Google, its owner, raised concerns about the mass of false, incendiary and toxic content that the worlds largest video site surfaced and spread, he noted.

Despite those concerns, YouTubes corporate leadership is unable or unwilling to act on these internal alarms for fear of throttling engagement, Bergen wrote.

The problem with the social internet, IMO, is metrics. They're almost always a false indicator  shock rather than quality  but because businesses are built on KPIs, they will always manage by any given numbers, even bad ones. https://t.co/peTyXPb6BR

 Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) April 2, 2019

Tackling Tough Content Issues

YouTube did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but in a statement provided to Bloomberg it maintained the companys primary focus has been tackling tough content challenges.

Some of the measures taken to address the toxic content challenge:

Updating its recommendations system to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation by adding a measure of social responsibility to its recommendation algorithm, which includes input on how many times people share and click the like and dislike buttons on a video;

Improving the news experience on by adding links to Google News results inside of YouTube search, and featuring authoritative sources, from established media outlets, in its news sections;

Increasing the number of people focused on content issues across Google to 10,000;

Investing in machine learning to be able to more quickly find and remove content that violates the platforms policies;

Continually reviewing and updating its policies (it made more than 30 policy updates in 2018 alone); and

Removing over 8.8 million channels for violating its guidelines.

Bad Virality

Corporate culture began to change at YouTube in 2012, Bergen explained, when executives like Robert Kyncl, formerly of Netflix, and Salar Kamangar, a Google veteran, were brought in to make the company profitable.

In 2012, Bergen wrote, YouTube concluded that the more people watched, the more ads it could run  and that recommending videos, alongside a clip or after one was finished, was the best way to keep eyes on the site.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At that time, too, Kamangar set an ambitious goal for the company: one billion hours of viewing a day. So the company rewrote its recommendation engine with that goal in mind, and reached it in 2016.

Virality  a videos ability to capture thousands, if not millions of views  was key to reaching the billion-hour goal.

YouTube doesnt give an exact recipe for virality. But in the race to one billion hours, a formula emerged: Outrage equals attention, Bergen wrote.

People inside YouTube knew about this dynamic, he explained. Over the years, there were many tortured debates about what to do with troublesome videos  those that dont violate its content policies and so remain on the site. Some software engineers have nicknamed the problem bad virality.'

Borderline Content

The problem YouTube now faces is how to create an effective mechanism to handle problematic content, observed Cayce Myers, an assistant professor in the communications department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Much of this content doesnt violate YouTubes social community standards, he told TechNewsWorld. This is content that is borderline.

Any mechanism that removes content from a platform creates risks. You run the risk of developing a reputation of privileging some content over others as to whats removed and whats not, Myers explained.

On the other hand, if something isnt done about toxic content, theres the risk that government regulators will enter the picture  something no industry wants.

Any time you have government intervention, youre going to have to have some mechanism for compliance, Myers said.

That creates an expense, an added layer of management, an added layer of employees, and its going to complicate how your business model runs, he continued.It may also affect the ease at which content is populated on a site. Regulatory oversight may take away the kind of ease and quickness that exists today.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

From Lake to Cesspit

Its doubtful that government regulation of YouTube would be beneficial, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California.

Though Facebook and YouTube and Google execs have claimed for years to be doing all they can to curb toxic content, the results are pretty dismal, he told TechNewsWorld.

The video shared by the suspect in the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque massacre is just their latest failure, King remarked. That said, its difficult to envision how government regulation could improve the situation.

Companies ought to be concerned about toxic content because it can have a negative impact on a companys brand and financial performance, he pointed out.

You can see evidence of that in various consumer boycotts of advertisers that support talk show and other TV programs whose hosts or guests have gone beyond the pale. No company wants to be deeply associated with toxic content, King added.

Failing to control or contain toxic content can poison a platform or brand among users and consumers. That can directly impact a companys bottom line, as weve seen happening when advertisers abandon controversial programs, he explained. In worst case circumstances, the platform itself may become toxic. With inattention and pollution, a popular mountain lake can quickly transform into a cesspit that people avoid. Commercial companies are no different.

Trump Card

Meanwhile, YouTubes efforts to manage toxic content may get more complicated due to a federal court ruling in New York state. That decision stems from President Donald J. Trumps blocking of some Twitter followers critical of his job performance.

We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account  the interactive space where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the Presidents tweets  are properly analyzed under the public forum doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.

That public forum analysis has social media executives wondering about the legal status of their platforms.

Everybody is concerned that rather than being a private club where everybody can have their own dress code, theyre more like a public forum or town square where theyre subject to the First Amendment, said Karen North, director of the Annenberg Online Communities program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

If theres a question of freedom of speech, then everyone is wondering where they can draw the line between what should be available and what should be blocked, she told TechNewsWorld. Some pretty vile and toxic speech is legal, and in the town square that speech is protected.
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By Kaitlin Grable

1. The media still isnt addressing climate change in a way that matches the urgency of the problem. Despite years of record-breaking extreme weather, the climate crisis usually gets minor mentions when mainstream news comments on climate-linked disasters or Trump's pro-fossil fuel rhetoric. Climate change shouldn't be a footnote  it should be center stage. Holding a climate-focused debate will ensure that the climate crisis is treated as a serious issue to address, not an opinion to be questioned. It would push the candidates to specifically address how they will tackle one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime, and give us all the ability to make an informed choice on who will lead us into an era of bold climate action that's accountable to communities.

2. We need bold, visionary leaders to beat Trump in 2020. We've spent more than two years resisting a racist and destructive Trump agenda. With daily attacks on our values and freedoms, this administration has attempted to divide us and wear us down. But people power has given us a record number of women in Congress, voting rights restoration in Florida, and the beginnings of an ambitious Green New Deal. This is just the start. Now we need presidential candidates that will look beyond the status quo and reimagine what's possible. The next president should have the guts and vision to move us toward a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future where we reject the politics of fear and exclusion  while directly confronting how corporate polluters tarnish our air, our water and our climate without repercussions. It's not the time for half-measures if we want to beat Trump. For decades, the bar on climate policy has been incredibly low. If a politician says they believe in man-made climate change, they've been lauded as progressive on climate. Agreeing with nearly every climate scientist in the world isn't leadership. We all deserve to know whether each Democratic candidate has a well-thought-out plan for the climate crisis and go toe-to-toe with the oil and gas industry. Here's what a climate-focused debate could reveal: Who supports the Green New Deal and who doesn't; How the candidates will stop the fossil fuel industry's influence on our democracy; Who will push our economy to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy; How candidates will support communities affected by climate disasters; Who will make a responsible plan to phase-out fossil fuels while protecting workers.

3. Communities across the country are being badly hurt by the effects of climate change. Politics has always been divisive. But recently the emphasis on "us versus them" has gone too far. Instead of creating common goals for thriving communities, with healthy air and water, and shared access to clean energy, the calls of "fake news" and "build a wall" put people in conflict with one another. We need to hear how candidates for president are going to bring us together  because we need everyone in this fight. If we don't shift the way we produce energy in this country, the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis will continue to suffer the most from devastating extreme weather events and environmental pollution. The time for talk has passed. We need to move to a 100 percent renewable energy economy and hold corporate polluters accountable for the damage they've caused.

4. We only have just over a decade to take drastic action on climate change. Scientists tell us we have until 2030 to cut carbon pollution in half to stave off the worst effects of climate change. You do the math. Our future rests on the shoulders of whoever we elect as the next president. Every day we allow to pass without taking action is one day we come closer to an irreversible ecological tipping point. Since we have just over 10 years to take major steps forward on climate, the coming years will be a critical time to make up for all the years of climate inaction on both sides of the aisle. The next president of the U.S. must take bolder, faster climate action than any leader has before. We want to see who is going to claim the mantle of climate leadership, and the best way to do that is for the candidates to debate their plans face-to-face on the debate stage.

Together, we can build a powerful movement to make sure that bold climate action is at the top of presidential candidates' priorities  but we need everyone on board.
Photo: Colin Dacre Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre, speaking to SILGA delegates in Penticton on Friday.

A regulated and decriminalized drug supply.

Thats what mayors and councillors from across the Southern Interior heard is the answer to the opioid overdose crisis, in the opinion of the woman leading the provincial agency trying to get a handle on the emergency that killed nearly 1,500 British Columbians last year.

Justine Patterson, executive director of the Overdose Emergency Response Centre within the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, spoke at the Southern Interior Local Government Association convention in Penticton Friday morning to update politicians on the provinces response to the post-fentanyl era.

In response to a delegate question about what law enforcement is doing to stem the tide of fentanyl in communities, Patterson qualified her answer as her own opinion and not that of the ministry.

Not sure if anyone in this room is going to like my answer, she said. But the answer is regulation.... There are harms from the illicit, illegal, toxic drug supply and there is criminal activity that surrounds that.

Like what happened with the prohibition of alcohol the answer is I believe regulation [and decriminalization], but it takes political bravery to take that step.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made similar public comments last month.

Patterson told delegates overdose is now killing more people in B.C. than motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides combined, making it the leading cause of unnatural death. Fentanyl was detected in 87 per cent of fatal overdoses in 2018, up from just four per cent in 2012.

Presented statistics showed the emergencys impact on segments of society outside the stereotypes. Sixty per cent of fatal overdose victims are not intravenous drug users, 40 per cent were employed at the time of their death and 68 per cent in Interior B.C. died while using at home.

Patterson spoke at length about the need to reduce the stigma associated with drug use, telling the room substance-use disorders are a health issue.

Not a failure of character, not a moral issue, but a health issue, she said. Because of stigma, people are more likely to use at home alone and die, alone.

The provincial government has been rapidly distributing naloxone kits throughout the province since declaring a public health emergency in 2016. The drug quickly reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Patterson said 45,000 kits have now been distributed in Interior B.C., with estimates of one life saved for every 65 kits handed out.

Opioid-replacement therapy like methadone or suboxone is also being made more accessible, with enrolled participants climbing from 14,000 in 2015 to 22,000 today.

While this is an improvement, this number represents less than half of all individuals diagnosed with an opioid-use disorder, Patterson said, noting there are hundreds of thousands more undiagnosed.

She said many of those now addicted to opiods started with prescriptions from doctors following an injury or surgery, with Canada very well known in the international context for liberally prescribing opioids. The country would benefit from a new, less opioid-dependant, pain management strategy, she said.
Primary school singing extravaganza to hit Villa Marina stage

More than 600 of the Islands primary school pupils will take to the Villa Marina Royal Hall stage next month.

The Sound of Stories will take place on Wednesday 12th June and features a variety of songs from films and musicals that have been adapted from books, stories and tales. 23 local primary schools, plus two local singing schools and choirs, will take part in the mass singing concert.



Organiser Katie Lawrence, a music teacher at Ballacottier Primary School, explained: The concert will showcase classics and family-favourites from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Wicked, Oliver and The Little Mermaid, amongst others. Its an opportunity for the children to just have fun and enjoy singing alongside their friends, without any sort of competition pressure.



Ive wanted to bring this idea to life for some time now and I decided 2019 would be the year I finally put it into action. There will be a live band and the evening promises to be something really special  certainly a feel-good night to remember!



Tickets for The Sound of Stories are priced at 10 for adults and 5 for under 16s and are available to buy online from www.villagaiety.com or by calling the Villa Gaiety Ticket Hotline on 01624 600555.
Education system praised in recent visit

The quality and diversity of education in schools in the Isle of Man has been praised following a recent visit from Olly Newton, Director of Policy and Research at The Edge Foundation.

The Edge Foundation is an independent education charity dedicated to shaping education in the UK.

The focus of the visit, which took place at the beginning of April, was to research and gain an insight into the education system on the Isle of Man.

Following the visit, Olly Newton praised the Isle of Man Governments innovative approach to learning.

In his recently published blog, Olly Newton summarised:

The Isle of Man presents an excellent example of what can flourish when schools are released from the strictures of the rigid EBacc and academic curriculum. Head teachers with greater autonomy, a broader curriculum, inter-disciplinary learning and early access to vocational opportunities  all giving young people on the Isle of Man more opportunities to develop the skills that our research shows that employers are looking for.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A northern Ontario First Nation where a mother and four of her children died in a house fire this week has no effective means or equipment to fight fires, a spokesman said Friday as the community grappled with its loss.

Sam McKay, spokesman for the chief and council of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, said the community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay has a fire truck that doesn't work, a fire hall that was never completed and no fire hoses.

There are fire hydrants in some parts of the community of roughly 1,000, but not everywhere, he said. At times, the community has used drinking water delivered there by truck to combat flames but that's not enough to put them out, he said.

"When there's a fire, you pretty much stand and look at the building burn and make sure there's nobody there," he said. "At this time we were very unfortunate that we lost five people."

Thursday's fatal fire happened around 3 or 4 a.m. so no one was around to help at first, McKay said, though some rescue attempts were made later. Three people were airlifted to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and other injuries after they tried to go into the burning home, he said.

Seamus O'Regan, the federal minister of Indigenous services, expressed his condolences in a tweet Thursday evening and said his department was working to provide assistance to the community.

Ontario's minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford, said in a statement that the province will also offer support to the community.

McKay has said the victims of the fire were a single mother and four of her children  aged six, seven, nine and 12. Her older daughter was away at the time and survived, he said.

A prayer vigil was held at the site Friday morning at the request of the family before police began their investigation, he said.

Ontario's fire marshal's office, coroner's office and forensic pathology service have also been dispatched to the community.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, has said a team of crisis and support workers would also be sent there.
Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries.

A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the US outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

HARD LANDING

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the sheriffs office said on Twitter. The sheriffs tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a really hard landing in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into East Sea

North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Koreas military said.

North Korea fired unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, according to South Koreas state-run Yonhap News Agency.

"MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF MISSILES"

Yonhap cited South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. today".





The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles seem to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The incident comes more than a year after the country fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details of the launch, the agency said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says it has been certified to represent hundreds of flight attendants at WestJet Encore.

The union says the decision was made by the Canada Industrial Relations Board after a majority of flight attendants signed cards in support of unionization.

The unionization of about 600 flight attendants at WestJet's regional carrier comes after their colleagues at WestJet's mainline carrier were unionized last July.

Together, nearly 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are unionized, while CUPE says it is continuing efforts to add flight attendants as WestJet's low-cost carrier, Swoop.

Meanwhile, the Calgary-based airline says that 92 per cent of its Encore pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association voted in favour of a five-year agreement that runs until Jan. 1, 2024.

Canada's second-largest airline saw the repercussions of labour strife last May, when WestJet pilots voted in favour of strike action before the Air Line Pilots Association and the company agreed to a settlement process two weeks later.
Pentagon: No F-35 for Turkey if it acquires Russian S-40

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reiterated US opposition to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Michael Shanahan said Turkey would not receive F-35 fighter jets if it proceeds with its purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, the Washington Examiner reported.

"ONE OR THE OTHER"

US officials have repeatedly said the S-400s could be used by Russia to collect sensitive information on the F-35s if the two systems are used simultaneously. They have threatened to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme and not deliver the 100 fighter jets it has ordered from the United States.

"There's no confusion on our part," Shanahan said at a House of Representatives Appropriations Committee hearing. "It's one or the other".





The US Congress passed legislation last year to block the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey if the Turkish government took delivery of the Russian missiles. Washington has also offered to sell Patriot air defence batteries to Turkey, of Ankara cancels the S-400 purchase.
The culture of political opportunism and hyper-masculinity fails the cause of womens representation.

The intention behind the demand for an increase in the representation of women in electoral politics has been to not only ensure the physical presence of women in the political arena, but also influence a change in the dominant political discourse rife with opportunism, sexism and, hyper-masculinity. Incidents like Priyanka Chaturvedis move from Congress to Shiv Sena, however, bring to attention a tragic irony. Chaturvedi, who left the Congress on grounds of inaction by the party on sexism and lumpenism against her, instead, chose to be co-opted by a political party that can hardly boast of a bright record on gender justice. While justifying her move up the ladder, Chaturvedi also reiterated her commitment to womens rights.

Such a move, though not in the least isolated, brings to focus the new normal of politics: a naked careerism bereft of principled or ethical stands, commitment, and guilt. It is important to interrogate this normality. This incident also reflects how parties may end up looking at their members as employees on a payroll, whose job is to market the partys brand and image. Such members could, however, not be considered politicians inasmuch as they are not expected to have any deep connect with people or even with the partys core beliefs and ideology. This also makes a switch between parties normal as it is in a corporate culture.
Indian sociologists and historians have retained a certain foundational bias and blindness regarding caste. M N Srinivass theory of Sanskritisation saw underprivileged castes as aspirational, seeking social mobility. Socio-economic changes were seen as destabilising caste relations and leading to their disappearance. The persistence of upper-caste hegemony, and the resistance to it from underprivileged sections, does not corroborate the thesis forwarded by Srinivas and other sociologists and historians. The neglect of B R Ambedkar has been part of a strange refusal to acknowledge the political in caste.

The intellectual discourse in India has since long been sitting comfortably in its deliberate blindness towards certain proper names of suffering. The proper name of caste struggled to find place in the world of social science theory as upper-caste academicians did not care or pay attention to it. Both liberals and Marxists in India have been reluctant to expand the terminologies of their discourse to include caste as a political category deserving theoretical investigation. Caste was of course mentioned, but never in terms of a political hierarchy that thwarted social change. And Untouchability was addressed not in its radical (meaning, radically exploitative) specificity but as a feature within the caste problem. The left and liberal discourse that supported reservations did so through the Western narrative of positive discrimination, or affirmative action. It was welcomed within the narrative of special, legitimate rights. But this did not simultaneously translate into a political discourse of caste erasure, of challenging the ideological edifice of the caste system.

The grounds were laid by a host of Indian political and social thinkers. In The Discovery of India (1964), Jawaharlal Nehru (1985: 85) speculated on the fluid condition of caste in its earlier stages, and rigidity coming in only later. According to Nehru (1985: 216), the institution of caste, with all its evils  was infinitely better than slavery. Unlike slave-labour in Greece, Nehru found a measure of freedom in the fixed occupational system of caste. This led, according to Nehru (1985: 216) to a high degree of specialisation and skill in handicrafts and craftsmanship.
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement today of its short list of finalists to host the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) underscores its unilateral and evidence-lite approach to addressing the future of US food and agriculture research.

"Any gains that USDA asserts will result from relocating ERS and NIFA away from our nation's research, food and agricultural policymaking are overwhelmingly outweighed by the detrimental impacts," stated Ron Wasserstein, executive director of the American Statistical Association (ASA). "Further, USDA has neither made a compelling case for such an upheaval nor listened to their own stakeholders, experts and leaders. Adding insult to injury, they have bypassed the 155-year partnership with land grant universities and Congress that has been a hallmark in determining American agricultural and food research policy."

ASA leaders also reissued their points made regarding USDA's March release of the "middle" list:

"We're disappointed to see USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue persisting in his plans to uproot the USDA research arm, despite the overwhelming concerns of its former leaders and the greater statistical and agricultural research community," said Wasserstein. "The USDA leadership developed their plans without consulting any of the agency's current or former research and statistical heads or the broader research community. With that community now having strongly voiced its concerns and opposition, USDA seems intent to proceed without course corrections." "We thank Congress for expressing its concerns and seeking clarity from USDA for both the rationale and the costs and impacts of the ERS/NIFA move," said 2019 ASA President Karen Kafadar. "Regrettably, USDA's announcement today dismisses the input from ERS/NIFA's customers and stakeholders, primarily policy- and decision-makers. We continue to believe that this move is not only costly to US taxpayers but removes ERS from its critical mission, 'to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision-making.' We strongly urge Congress to halt USDA's plans to move ERS/NIFA to protect the research and statistical foundations of our food, agricultural and rural economies."

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See also the March 25 press release, 101 Agriculture, Food, and Science Organizations Urge Congress to Block USDA Moves; the March 12 press release, American Statistical Association, Other Leaders Maintain USDA's Upheaval of Research Arm Unwise, Counterproductive; and the December 5 press release, The American Statistical Association Board of Directors Decries USDA Undermining of Federal Statistical Agency and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Contact: Steve Pierson, pierson@amstat.org, (703) 302-1841.

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.

As part of ASA's commitment to support the importance of government statistics for evidence-based policymaking, ASA created Count on Stats. In partnership with over a dozen organizations, the initiative is designed to educate and inform the public about the critically important nature of federal data. Without federal agencies' data collection and analysis, we would not have key insights into nutrition, economic trends, community issues, public safety, agriculture, and countless other facets that are vital to our society. For additional information, please visit the Count on Stats website at http://www.countonstats.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

###

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 8987 2499

Mobile: +33 (0) 7 8531 2036

Email: press@escardio.org

Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews

Notes to editor

The hashtag for EuroHeartCare 2019 is #euroheartcare.

Funding: This work was supported through the Swedish National Science Council (K2013-69X-22302-01-3, 2016-01390), Swedish National Science Council/Swedish research council for health, working life and welfare (VR-FORTE) 2014-4100, The Swedish Heart and Lung Association E085/12, The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20130340 and 20160439), the Vardal Foundation (2014-0018), the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS 474681).

Disclosures: None.

References and notes

1The abstract 'Cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure: a descriptive international study' will be presented during Moderated poster session - Heart Failure on Saturday 4 May at 10:45 to 11:45 CEST in the Moderated Poster Area.

About the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions

The mission of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) is to support nurses and allied health professionals throughout Europe to deliver the best possible care to patients with cardiovascular disease and their families.

EuroHeartCare is the annual Congress of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions (ACNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

Information for journalists attending EuroHeartCare 2019

EuroHeartCare 2019 will be held 2 to 4 May at the Milano Convention Centre (MiCo) in Milan, Italy. Explore the scientific programme.
New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests

New smartphone apps and greater use of social media could help reduce the exploitation of traditional weavers in poor rural regions of Malaysia, new research suggests. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, including experts in human-computer interaction, information management, and English and creative writing, studied the supply chain of the songket fabric market in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The researchers, who are supported by 'Digital Threads: Towards personalized craft production in Malay cottage industries', funded by AHRC UK, believe the use of new, social technology could help weavers connect more directly with customers, reducing the need to deal exclusively with merchants.

Songket is the traditional Malay fabric worn at special occasions, such as weddings and parties. A simple piece of songket can take a skilled weaver a month to make, with more elaborate designs taking much longer.

Many songket weavers work from home in isolated rural villages and they are often commissioned on an exclusive basis by merchants from large towns or cities. These merchants deal directly with the customers and also receive most of the profits from the sale of the garments.

The weavers, who are overwhelmingly women, often have limited education levels, lack ownership of their raw materials or equipment, have limited welfare provision, and are often only paid subsistence wages.

"Our findings indicate that weavers are invisible in both the physical world, due to their remoteness to customers, and the digital world because their relationships with customers are predominantly mediated by their merchants," said Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "Weavers have limited awareness of their vulnerable position because of their longstanding relationships with merchants, which for some has been built over several generations".

"Therefore, despite their exploitative nature, these relationships are, in fact, consensual and perceived as beneficial by most weavers."

The researchers, who captured and have written the stories of rural weavers so that these can be shared on online platforms used by weavers and prospective customers, point out that new designs of digital technology could help weavers to transition to selling their wares directly.

"Technological solutions will increase weavers' visibility in the market, and they will learn of the less exploitative transactions available, such as weaving for their own customers," said Dr Min Zhang, of Lancaster University and co-author of the research. "However gaining independence will take time and therefore, to ensure no loss of wages, the new solutions should co-exist, for a while, alongside the current exploitative relationships."

The research, which is to be presented at the prestigious computing academic conference CHI 2019, in Glasgow, highlights the opportunities available for computing experts to design new platforms for a transforming sangket supply chain and for its different social layers - which include customer, designers, merchants and weavers.

###

The research is outlined in the paper 'Designing for the Infrastructure of the Supply Chain of Malay Handwoven Songket in Terengganu', and has received an Honourable Mention Award, given to papers ranked among the top five per cent of all submissions to the CHI 2019 conference.

The Paper's authors are Dr Min Zhang, Professor Corina Sas and Dr Zoe Lambert, of Lancaster University, and Dr Masitah Ahmad, of Universiti Teknologi MARA.
New analysis of 16th-century drawing by Italian doctors concludes da Vinci's right hand affected by ulnar palsy, rather than stroke

A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."

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The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) is a leading voice in the UK and internationally for medicine and healthcare. Published continuously since 1809, JRSM features scholarly comment and clinical research. JRSM is editorially independent from the Royal Society of Medicine, and its editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.

JRSM is a journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it is published by SAGE Publishing.

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com
Richard Perez, the president of San Antonios Chamber of Commerce, apologized Friday for suggesting domestic violence allegations are not a business issue.

The comment, made Thursday after the chamber hosted San Antonios final mayoral debate at KLRN-TV, drew criticism from city leaders such as Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

After the debate between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and challenger Greg Brockhouse, a reporter asked Perez why the moderator did not ask Brockhouse about past police reports of domestic violence. The councilman was not arrested in either incident and has denied any wrongdoing.

We didnt really see it as a business issue, Perez said at the time.

In a statement from her campaign Friday, Gonzales said the comment was alarming.

I want to be very clear about this, domestic violence is very much a business issue, said Gonzales, herself a business owner. To deny this is at best willful ignorance and at worst conscious neglect.

On ExpressNews.com: In final debate, San Antonios mayoral candidates agree: They present a clear choice

Gonzales said people cant work when their basic needs arent being met, and safety is a basic need.

This is about basic human principles and as our city closes in on making important representative government decisions, its the best and proper time to talk about it, she said.

Soon after Gonzales released her statement, Perez said there had been a misunderstanding and apologized.

I explained our focus was on business issues rather than the allegations against (Brockhouse), Perez said. I, in no way, meant to imply that domestic violence is not a business issue, and I apologize for that.

Perez called domestic violence a vitally important issue that needs to continue to be a priority for our entire community.

Others were upset by Perezs initial comments as well.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO, said she read the statement in the newspaper Friday and was immediately upset.

Domestic violence should be an issue that everyone should be discussing, Chavez-Thompson said. The fact of the matter is we dont get enough attention in San Antonio, or even nationwide, on the issue of domestic violence.

She said she heard from a number of friends who were similarly troubled. Chavez-Thompson said she has reached out to Perez and wants to see if the chamber could do something to bring more awareness to the issue in the future.

The Express-News reported in March that Brockhouses ex-wife and current wife accused him of domestic violence in separate police reports in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He was never arrested or charged and his wife has repudiated her earlier account to police.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayoral candidate Brockhouse told debate moderators he would leave if they asked about domestic violence police reports

At a previous debate held by the nonprofit Rivard Report, Brockhouse told a moderator he would leave if asked about the reports.

I just told them Im not answering any more questions on it, Brockhouse said then. (My wife has) fully denied them. Ive denied them. I dont know what else there is to talk about.

Before Thursdays debate, Brockhouse said he would answer a question about the reports if asked. But Jim Forsyth, the moderator for KLRN, did not broach the topic.

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
Photo: The Canadian Press A Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River.

A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the U.S. military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing onto the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members came to a stop in shallow water in the St. Johns River. Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

Marine units from the sheriff's department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Capt. Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

"I think it is a miracle," Connor said. "We could be talking about a different story this evening."

Several pets were on the plane as well, and their status wasn't immediately clear. A navy statement early Saturday offering "hearts and prayers" to their owners said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

It wasn't immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information." The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane. The company didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

It wasn't known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.
Ethan Miller /Getty Images

More than 65,000 people have donated to Julian Castros presidential campaign, providing more assurance the former San Antonio mayor will appear on stage during the first Democratic presidential debates in June.

Castro, one of more than 20 candidates vying for the nomination, had already qualified for the debates by reaching 1 percent in three approved polls. That was one of two ways to qualify in rules laid out by the Democratic National Committee. The other way is by having at least 65,000 unique donors.
Arlis Olson wants mandatory trash service for suburban neighborhoods in unincorporated Bexar County. So do her neighbors Karen Roth and Mallie Van.

They are tired of picking up the trash others leave behind. Tired of seeing dumped mattresses, couches and TVs at empty street corners. They are disgusted by trash bags piled high behind a strip mall near their Candlewood Park neighborhood on the Northeast Side near Kirby. They are exhausted by asking the county to do something even though they know that something is never enough.

This is a slightly different story than The Glen, a Northeast Side neighborhood where garbage can pile 5 feet high, and it oozes and seeps across the street. It is an out-of-control public health crisis.

That doesnt happen at Candlewood Park, just beyond the city of San Antonios limits. The trash problem is not nearly so extreme here. But that doesnt mean there should be a trash problem  and it points to the failure by the county and state lawmakers to meaningfully address this issue.

Candlewood Park has the familiar and orderly trappings of the suburbs. Good schools. Spacious homes. Quiet streets. Part of its allure is being beyond city limits, and development signs herald the lack of city property taxes.

Its a fine place to live. Many military families call this neighborhood home, Van said. Its a mixture of rentals and longtime residents. But, yes, there is dumping and trash.

As Olson wrote in a letter to Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in March, We have a cleanup crew of neighbors that pick trash a couple of times a week. Our efforts are the only things keeping our neighborhood from swimming in trash like other unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

Some of that dumping is coming from beyond the neighborhood. But some of it is coming from neighbors who dont have private trash service, the three women said.

Its just an ongoing problem, Roth said. Its time for us to have mandatory garbage collection.

It was a sunny April morning, and the three women sat around Olsons kitchen table as a breeze drifted through open windows.

It wont solve everything, Olson said of mandatory trash service. But it would help.

Van agreed, but added she would like to see regular bulky pickup to deal with the mattresses, sofas and TVs.

None of this is unreasonable. Its not unreasonable to want your neighborhood to be free of garbage and dumping. Just as its not unreasonable to look at the mounds of garbage in The Glen and be disgusted, not just by the trash, but the inaction from the county and state.

Why is it two years after legislation was passed to grant the county the power to mandate trash service, so many Bexar neighborhoods continue to have trash problems? Why is it nearly four years after the city and county successfully partnered to provide mandatory trash service in the Camelot II neighborhood, no such partnership can be formed for The Glen? Its the next neighborhood over with nearly identical conditions.

The answer to these questions resides in that 2017 legislation. When state Sen. Jose Menendez filed it, the legislation originally included language that required landlords to provide trash service. But that language was stripped away.

Menendez said the law still gives the county the authority to do something, and they are choosing not to.

This may be so  never underestimate the power of indifference  but there is no doubt removing the landlord language undercut the intent.

Why? Because as many residents in The Glen and Camelot II have said, much of the trash problem in these neighborhoods is tied to rental properties.

But wait, there is more.

While the law allows the county to contract with the city or private haulers to provide mandatory trash service, it also allows residents to keep their existing trash service. This is problematic because the city would never provide such a service to a patchwork of homes (and the city has no interest in serving the unincorporated county). And if residents can keep their trash service, the county cant put an entire subdivision out to bid for one hauler.

Menendez said its probably too late in the session to fix the legislation. Hes hoping to meet with county officials.

In other words, its a political and bureaucratic mess  and Olson, Roth and Van are stuck with the cleanup.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
In case youre thinking of wearing a big sombrero to a Cinco de Mayo party  dont.

Please dont. Just take a few minutes and rethink the hat.

I know, theyre just hats. Its just a costume. Its fun, right?

Not really.

Its not so much that dressing up like a Mexican from 1915 is offensive, although people are offended when they are openly mocked. To be clear, speaking with an exaggerated accent, joshing about citizenship and tossing out punchlines involving the words siesta, beans, arriba, no bueno, ole and ay-ay-ay are  in most cases in which a Mexican costume party is concerned  mockery.

And silly stuff happens when people are in costume.

Still, were used to it. People have been putting on sombreros and quoting Speedy Gonzales to us since Richie Valens changed his name.

We are used to non-Latinos picking out a few cultural markers and using them as props and party favors during Fiesta, and on Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis  although in San Antonio, a fiesta can happen on any day.

Most of us dont give this more than a smirk or an eye-roll, as this doesnt directly take food off our table. In fact, for those of us who know how to properly make enchiladas or form a pinata the way God intended, it actually puts food on our table.

But unless youre a mariachi or are planning to spend a long day out in the sun, the sombrero is impractical. Thats why we dont wear them.

The glittery velvet numbers you see on mariachis and charros are ceremonial. Mariachis play at weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries, special dinners and happy events during which we like to hear songs that remind us of our past.

But we dont all dress like this, and even the charros and mariachis who do only dress up when theres a performance involved.

And that big straw sombrero? That is a throwback to an agrarian life that went away a long time ago. Today, we wear cowboy hats, Spurs caps and Selena newsboy hats  the same stuff you wear. Even my grandpa was a Resistol guy. Those of us who do work out in the sun all day have figured out a better way to stay cool than those hats worn by El Guapo from The Three Amigos.

So when we see you wearing a big sombrero at the party  or a bright sarape or a fake Emiliano Zapata moustache  we know where youre coming from. Youre wearing a silly, outdated caricature of us.

That you think its OK to do this shows us that you arent worried about what we think about that caricature. It shows us you dont know us at all.

My Mexican mom taught me that everyone deserves respect. Those whom we dont know, especially, deserve respect because how we treat them defines not only who we are but also how we will be perceived.

Think about this before you put on my great-great-grandpas hat so you can get your party on. None of us are wearing it; a few of us will take offense, but most of us will just roll our eyes.

But everyone will see you coming.

Mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
In the normal course of events, the successful demagogue demands and receives cringing deference. But how about a little empathy now and then?

Everyone loves heroic dissidents like Sir Thomas More, at least when canonizing them has no cost. They get all the best press and plays about them. Yet who stops to consider the predicament of the prince? He can always find some lickspittles who will do as they are told. But the problem with lickspittles is their darned undependability. Men or women who are subservient out of self-interest will turn against the prince when their interests change, or when they get a plea deal. One day they are drinking at a princes open bar. The next they are talking to 60 Minutes or congressional investigators. No matter how much the Michael Cohens of the world are favored and rewarded, their allegiance will go with a better bid.

Deep down  at their most honest and vulnerable  what demagogues really want is sycophants who act out of conviction. Is it too much to ask for servants who grovel because they really mean it?

By this standard, Donald Trump must be a very happy man. In Attorney General William Barr, he has finally found someone who licks his boots out of principle.

Barr was clearly chosen for his position because he genuinely believes in expansive executive authority. But his performance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee went a step further. Barr made an argument for expansive and largely unaccountable executive authority.

The attorney general essentially argued that if a president really, really, really believes he is innocent of a crime, then he can undermine an investigation of that crime without the corrupt motive required to prove obstruction of justice.

Said Barr: If the president is being falsely accused  which the evidence now suggests that the accusations against him were false  and he knew they were false, and he felt that this investigation was unfair, propelled by his political opponents, and was hampering his ability to govern, that is not a corrupt motive for replacing an independent counsel.

This is a remarkable claim on several counts. The evidence from the Mueller report does not provide evidence that the accusations against Trump were false. It found that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a criminal conspiracy. If the accusation is that the Trump campaign had extensive, disturbing contacts with a hostile foreign power in an attempt to gain political advantage, then the Mueller report comprehensively proves the charge. This tendency by Barr to equate the absence of a crime with vindication for the president is what makes him sound like part of Trumps defense team. It is also what seems to have rubbed special counsel Robert Mueller the wrong way, provoking his snitty letter of protest to Barr.

It is the broader implications of Barrs view of obstruction, however, that should concern us the most. He is claiming that Trumps belief in his own innocence, along with his conviction that political opponents were out to get him, constituted a sufficiently pure motive to fire Mueller (and much else) without incurring the guilt of obstruction of justice. But what president  Richard Nixon included  does not believe in his own innocence until a smoking gun appears? What president does not believe that his opponents are unfairly accusing him? And how should an attorney general determine that such beliefs are sincerely held?

The standard that Barr sets essentially makes obstruction of justice by a president impossible to demonstrate. And this amounts, for a president such as Trump, to preemptive permission.

I have no doubt that Barr believes his own argument. But this is what should please Trump the most. Barr is not merely summarizing Muellers findings. He is providing justification for Trumps whole approach to the Mueller investigation  the presidents charge of a witch hunt, his raging paranoia, his belief that everyone who serves at his pleasure should do his bidding. Barr is bowing and scraping with complete sincerity. Finally, Trump has found a man of integrity to bless his corruption.

Does this mean that Barr should resign as attorney general? He has diminished the independence of his office, not just in fact but in theory. He has removed a check on presidential power within the executive branch. This does damage to the effectiveness and standing of federal law enforcement.

But Barr, by his own lights, is performing his duty. And his boss has every reason for satisfaction. Why begrudge a prince his fondest wish?

michaelgerson@washpost.com
West Kelowna's Kalamoir Regional Park was filled with dozens of people looking to prepare the area for the upcoming fire season.

Friends of Kalamoir, a local community group dedicated to maintaining the regional park, teamed up with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan to clear wildfire fuel from the 27-hectare park's forest floor.

While the cleanup event was scheduled for two hours, the turnout was much better than expected, and the group of volunteers filled up the large bin with pine needles, pine cones and small branches within 45 minutes.

We're really kind of overwhelmed, said Cathy MacKenzie, parks natural resource technician with the RDCO. They've covered an amazing amount of ground in that amount of time.

MacKenzie said the main thing they were looking to remove from the site was smaller ground fuels that a fire could get started in, as well as some of the ladder fuels that can move a fire from the ground into the top of trees.

Saturday is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Canada, and the event in Kalamoir Park was an educational experience for those in attendance.

(The volunteers) learn about Fire Smart activities for their own homes and what to do around their own homes to help prevent forest fires, MacKenzie said.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund stopped by the park Saturday.

Every little bit of work helps, so seeing a community cleanup in the park here today is a really great thing, Brolund said. That's a whole big, huge bin load of material that's no longer in the park to burn.

The problem is so huge but every little drop in the bucket helps.

The waste material collected Saturday was taken to the Glenmore landfill's OgoGrow composting program.
The ancient hatred has migrated to the internet.

The San Diego synagogue shooter was self-radicalized on a right-wing message board on the website 8chan, posting before he went on his rampage a thank-you to the boards users: what Ive learned here is priceless.

The attack, which killed one and injured three, came six months to the day after the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11. The San Diego shooter declared the Pittsburgh shooter  also a creature of fringe internet culture  one of his heroes.

Anti-Semitism is a millennia-old phenomenon, and anti-Jewish shootings in the U.S. arent new either (several occurred while George W. Bush and Barack Obama were president).

Whats disturbing about the latest spate of violence is the common thread of white-nationalist ideology, propagated and readily available on the internet and developing its own twisted culture of mass shootings. What happened two decades ago with the Columbine shooting  which set the predicate for years of copycat killers, each soaked in the iconography of Columbine and seeking their own moment of notoriety  is being replicated by a loose collection of sick racists.

The San Diego shooter attested to how quickly hed been prepped for mass murder by 8chan, where white nationalists push one another to undertake acts of violence that they call real-life effort-posting. He said he never could have imagined killing even a few months ago and that he planned the attack in four weeks.

He explained that he was inspired by the Christchurch mosque shooter, who killed 50 in New Zealand and came from the same white-nationalist 8chan sewer. The San Diego shooter aped his hero by also posting a similar long manifesto to the site and attempting to livestream his crime.

Todays internet anti-Semitism is based on very old lies, at the bottom of which is the belief that the Jews are an alien, parasitic force conspiring against their host  in this case, supposedly the white race. The San Diego shooter even cited a notorious lie dating from the 15th century that Jews had used the blood of a Christian boy to bake their Passover matzos.

The addition the 8chan haters make to the anti-Semitic oeuvre is their very internet in-jokes and memes, underscoring their rancid nihilism.

Because everything must be about Donald Trump, the left blames him for Pittsburgh and San Diego. His critics point to his shabby response to Charlottesville (Trump actually did condemn the white nationalists and neo-Nazis, but posited fine people on their side who didnt exist). Yet Trump was explicitly rejected by the San Diego and Pittsburgh shooters, precisely because hes so pro-Israel.

His State of the Union address earlier this year was notably philo-Semitic. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism or those who spread its venomous creed, he said while recognizing a hero of the Pittsburgh massacre. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.

At the same time that an extreme fringe on the right marinates in its own malice, a different sort of anti-Semitism, rooted in hatred for Israel, is getting normalized on the left. It can be seen in the refusal of House Democrats to forthrightly condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar for her anti-Semitic tropes and in the astonishing publication by the international edition of the New York Times of a political cartoon worthy of Der Sturmer.

Its not the 1930s again, but the elite atmosphere is becoming more hostile to Israel than it has been for many decades, and the physical threat to Jews is growing. According to news reports, the San Diego shooting might have been much worse if the Poway Chabad congregation hadnt recently practiced shooter drills, and other synagogues will have to take note. If the freaks on 8chan have anything to say about it, there will be a next time.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The charge was criminal trespass, but Jack Michael Ule was put in jail because he was homeless and mentally ill. He died there, a tragic example of the criminal justice reform needed but that too many are still trying to stymie.

Ule spent two weeks in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center for a nonviolent misdemeanor simply because he could not afford a nominal bond. He spent two weeks locked up, and he never saw a judge.

Tragically, this is all too familiar. The contours of Ules death on April 18 mirror the December death of Janice Dotson-Stephens, another inmate in the Bexar County Jail. Both had schizophrenia diagnoses. Adults in their 60s, both were charged with criminal trespass and held on low bonds. For Ule, bond was $500. For Dotson-Stephens, it was $300. Neither received representation at their bail hearings, nor appropriate mental health treatment while languishing in jail.

Their deaths were four months apart, but each is the same damning indictment of a broken system desperately in need of the very reforms Bexar Countys judges continue to resist and reject. If Bexar Countys judges had embraced bail reform for nonviolent misdemeanors, Ule would never have died in jail. If Bexar Countys judges truly embraced public defender representation for all defendants at bail hearings, Ules mental health issues may have been flagged, and again, he may never have ended up in jail.

But he did end up in jail. Just like Dotson-Stephens was placed in jail. Just like countless others who are homeless or have mental health issues find their way into jail each day.

Ule was from Ohio. He was a bright student, earning straight As in grade school and high school. He studied agronomy at Ohio State University, his brother Joseph Ule told us. But as an adult, he was kind of diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Joseph Ule said.

He could be difficult when not on his medication, which was often. But he made his way, working at times as a cook and living with his mother, Sylvia Ule, in Richmond Heights, Ohio, just outside Cleveland.

After his mother died about four years ago, Ule became homeless. Sylvia was behind on her property taxes, and Joseph Ule said the house had to be sold.

He didnt understand why he had to move out of the house, said Peggy Taksar, Ules sister. He kind of just went on his own.

Joseph Ule lives in Kansas City and said he offered his brother a place to stay there, but his brother wasnt interested. Instead, Ule drifted across the Southwest. Phoenix. Albuquerque. Colorado. El Paso. North to Ohio and then south to the sunshine.

It was hard to keep tabs. Joseph Ule was battling pancreatic cancer back in Kansas City, and his brother was an adult. Ule might have been schizophrenic, but his siblings couldnt force him into treatment. As long as he wasnt a danger to himself or others, he was free to come and go. Joseph Ule said he had long been dreading the call he received about his brother.

His family didnt know how long Ule was in San Antonio or what brought him here. Joseph Ule thought it was the warm weather. Taksar thought her brother might have been making his way to El Paso.

But we know from a University Health System police report that he received medical assistance in February, and that UHS police had warned him about criminal trespass in March. We also know he listed Haven for Hope, the communitys homeless shelter, as his address. On April 4th, UHS police arrested Ule, 63, for criminal trespass at University Hospital in the Medical Center.

It was 12:08 a.m., and he was watching television in an unoccupied waiting area without an appointment, wrote officer Edwin Bell.

Ule said he had recently been discharged from the hospital and he wanted to rest and watch television. Bell said he was loitering.

University Hospital is the immediate alternative to jail for people in mental health crises, but in this case the system worked in reverse. The hospital sent a person with mental illness to jail. Why?

In a situation where we have a disturbance at the hospital or another University Health System facility, officers are faced with three options: asking the person to leave, making an arrest, or putting the person in emergency detention, wrote Elizabeth Allen, a public relations manager for UHS. The officer, like the majority of our officers, has had crisis intervention training to accurately assess these things, and this person did not qualify for emergency detention.

But that doesnt mean he should have qualified for jail.

In jail, his case was fast-tracked. It moved so fast the public defender never had the chance to meet with Ule and represent him at his bail hearing. It moved so fast no one took into account his previous mental health history.

Consider this timeline:

2:30 a.m. Ule entered the countys Justice Intake and Assessment Center.

2:42 a.m. The public defenders office received his booking slip.

3:30 a.m. Judge Celeste Ramirez set his $500 bond.

There are two problems here. The first is that even though the public defenders office is supposed to represent defendants at bail hearings, that representation comes with caveats. Per a district judge order, the public defender cant represent defendants with existing representation or another bond.

In real terms, that has meant public defenders have to jump through many hoops to determine if someone is eligible for representation. In our view, this obstacle reflects the district judges resistance to expanding the public defenders office and providing representation at bail hearings.

The second problem is that beyond bail hearings, the public defenders office primarily represents mentally ill defendants accused of low-level offenses. People just like Ule. But in this case, Ule was assigned a private court-appointed attorney.

He would have been the perfect candidate for our program, said Bexar County Chief Public Defender Michael Young. He had indicated some mental illness. He was charged with a low-level offense.

But the public defender never even had the chance to speak with Ule.

Instead, he spent the next two weeks in jail, a homeless man from Ohio with a $500 bond. It might as well have been $5 million. His family would have paid the bond in a heartbeat, but they had no idea where he was.

People being thrown in jail because they are homeless, said a disgusted Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who oversees Commissioners Court. Because they got a mental problem. Because they cant afford to pay a bond. Thats what the justice system is? No, its not.

In jail, Ule joined a cadre of people charged with criminal trespass who couldnt make nominal bonds. According to data from the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the week Ule died, 54 people were in jail for criminal trespass. Their bonds ranged from $100 to $2,000.

Ule died April 18, and the cause of his death remains unknown. A press release from the sheriffs office cites ongoing health issues as a possible factor. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he will no longer prosecute people charged with criminal trespass.

There are exceptions to every rule, but as a general matter, I dont think we need to have the homeless population in the Bexar County Jail because they are homeless, he said.

And Ules death was one of the reasons Bexar County Commissioners decided to have city of San Antonio judges oversee bail hearings. Municipal Court Presiding Judge John Bull has welcomed the public defender and said the defense and prosecution will be present at all bail hearings.

As welcome as these changes are, they are not enough. Meaningful criminal justice reform must be embraced by Bexar Countys felony and misdemeanor court judges, and this includes a better job identifying mental health issues to keep people out of jail.

There will be one more journey for Jack Ule. His ashes will be sent to Kansas City where there will be a service at a Slovenian church to honor his heritage, Joseph Ule said. His remains will then be buried in Ohio, beside his mother.
Being tough on crime means being smart on crime.

It means recognizing what cases to prioritize and how best to use limited resources. It means understanding some people accused of crimes should never be in jail, but others should not be released pretrial out of concern for the safety of victims and the community.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales gets this. Its early in his term, but Gonzales is moving forward with a number of smart and overdue reforms that should keep more people accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes out of the overcrowded Bexar County Adult Detention Center, and hes offering opportunities for these defendants to avoid ever being charged for these crimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, prosecutors have been working nights and weekends to address a backlog of family violence cases  another campaign promise from Gonzales.

By far the biggest reform Gonzales has promised voters is a meaningful cite-and-release program. This is when certain nonviolent misdemeanors are treated similarly to tickets. Picture charges such as marijuana possession of 4 ounces or less, criminal mischief, theft and theft of service  not paying for ones bill at a restaurant.

Under this program, defendants facing such misdemeanors will be given tickets and asked to appear at Bexar Countys Reentry Services building within 30 days. They may be asked to take a course, perform community service or enter drug treatment. If such conditions are met, then charges are never filed. And, of course, if conditions are not met, then charges will be filed and its back to the old way of doing things.

But the old way of doing things isnt always the best way of doing things. Thats the point of cite and release and other reforms.

Gonzales had hoped his cite-and-release program would be running by now, and so did we. But it looks as if it wont launch until this summer when new ticket books finally arrive. Part of this delay reflects the work Gonzales has put in to get this right. Gonzales has buy-in from the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the two largest local law enforcement agencies.

Gonzales told us a successful program might serve 100 people a month. In terms of dollars and cents, that would mean 100 people a month who arent languishing in jail for minor crimes at considerable taxpayer expense. In terms of supporting families, that would mean 100 people a month who could stay employed and live with their families, or who might participate in a program to meaningfully change their lives.

But this is also not the only reform in play.

Gonzales will no longer be charging most homeless people with criminal trespass. This policy change follows the tragic case of Jack Michael Ule, 63, a homeless man from Ohio who died in jail in April. He was charged with criminal trespass.

There will be exceptions to this rule, but the basic premise is that homeless people need to be guilty of something more than being homeless to be jailed for criminal trespass. We agree.

Ule was in jail on a $500 bond, which is yet another reminder about the inherent unfairness and absurdity of the cash bail system. One that rewards wealthy defendants, but punishes poor defendants and has absolutely nothing to do with community safety.

Gonzales has said he has instituted a policy for prosecutors to recommend personal recognizance bonds for such nonviolent cases. Hes going where Bexar Countys judges have refused to go.

Hes also considering declining charges for small amounts of marijuana possession and trace amounts of other drugs.

These are all welcome reforms that highlight an intention to bring fairness to the system, but its more than that. Its also about focus. The community is better served prosecuting violent crime (remember the backlog of family violence cases he inherited) than clogging the jail with low-level offenses.

Gonzales is lighting the way, and Bexar Countys judges, who have been so resistant to bail reform and other changes, should follow.
Re: Gun owners alerted to vehicle theft, Metro, April 24:

Do local authorities truly believe I am not aware of the possibly of theft if I leave my firearm in my vehicle? I can assure you that is not the case.

The off-the-cuff solution is to prevent law-abiding citizens from being forced to disarm whenever they enter certain venues, but I do respect the property rights of business owners who erroneously believe that I am the cause of violent crime in our society.

Instead, I exercise my right to do business elsewhere when possible, and I encourage other law-abiding armed citizens to do the same. Perhaps, if we work together, we can combat theft of firearms from vehicles and make society safer by starving gun-free zones of the monetary funds needed to continue business in their inherently unsafe spaces.

Robert E. Thornburgh III, Canyon Lake

Get armed, ladies

It seems like every couple of days one hears of a lady jogger or other women being attacked and sometimes killed. After watching the news or otherwise knowing about these attacks, I cannot fathom why girls still fail to arm themselves when continually being in situations where they are completely alone.

For heavens sake, ladies, I think a trip to the local gun dealer, a concealed carry license and a firearms course would be better than losing your life to some maniac. Just because you may have been getting away with it for a while doesnt mean that tomorrow you wont die!

Get armed, and dont be afraid to use the weapon. They make fanny packs especially for concealed carry that you could use. Protect yourselves!

John Burner

Really look at Trump

Re: Breaking the bank, Your Turn, April 23:

Larry Kovalchik overlooks the most glaring part of the issue. He is fine with criticizing Beto ORourke and Kamala Harris, but he never mentions the abomination he obviously voted for in the last election, who has not and will not ever release his tax records voluntarily.

Our liar in chief has defied even legal requests for these documents, and his supporters are more than willing to defend his actions. His protectors ignore every one of his egregious actions even when it involves cozying up to our enemies.

So, Mr. Kovalchik, please dont lecture about Rep. ORourke and Sen. Harris, when the biggest penny pincher is in the playpen with you.

Jeffrey Hall

Theyre the worst

Both parties have produced rotten presidents. But two presidents stand out: Richard Nixon, meet Donald Trump.

And to seal the deal, Attorney General John Mitchell, meet Attorney General William Barr.

William Larson, Universal City

Pick up a shovel

If the president is so obsessed with a wall around the border, I believe we should get him a hat, a pickax and a shovel, and tell him to start digging. Maybe then he will get some common sense.

Rolando M. Pena

Do they care?

Listening to the news, I fail to understand why we are trying to downgrade President Donald Trump, but our supposed Congress and senators cannot address or care about all the people coming illegally into our country and for whom we are paying  and at 77, Ive been paying for a long time.

Do our elected officials not care?

Patricia J. Wood

Why 20 years?

It is absolutely ridiculous that our penal system takes 20 years, on average, for a person to be executed on death row. How can anybody justify housing and feeding prisoners that have taken someones life? I can't understand why our supposed leaders of the state never touch that issue.

They are much more interested in getting their face in the newspaper or getting reelected than wasting taxpayers money housing killers. Instead of building new prisons, we need to clean out some and make room for more. That might even deter a few criminals once they see it happen.

Michael B. White

Never forget the past

Re: Statue must be placed in a museum, by columnist Josh Brodesky, Opinion, April 21:

History, like current news, is not always fair and balanced. More often than not it is mythologized, conflated and convoluted, as pointed out by Mr. Brodesky.

In bright daylight, place American romantic-nationalistic Confederate statues in museums. Red-blooded, American-soil heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Stephen F. Austin and William B. Travis, all who owned slaves, were no doubt held in high regard by the average Confederate soldier.

Slavery was not Americas so-called original sin. In fact, for centuries, it had been defended and condoned by the Bible. Removing Confederate statues is surely not enough. Truly, we must apply ethical reason, hard facts and abundant evidence to not forgetting what we did  and do.

Jesse L. Howell

A new work program

I have read that there was a Bracero program during World War II. The program was, for the most part, between the U.S. and Mexico, and was ended a long time ago. The program provided farm field workers. While it was not perfect, maybe Congress can come up with a better program and add other services such as caregivers, cafeteria workers and construction workers, to name a few.

They would be screened and given work visas that would permit them to legally work and file the proper U.S. income tax returns for income earned in the U.S. Would that not solve some of the immigrant claims that they come to the U.S. to find a job?

Manuel Vera Jr.
GREENWICH  Greenwich Hospital will spearhead an effort to help doctors better recognize the symptoms and signs of ovarian cancer and breast cancer and more effectively diagnose the potentially deadly diseases.

Town resident Kaile Zagger and Dr. Elena Ratner, a leader in the field of gynecological oncology, co-founded the MAT Education Program, which will provide doctors with a rigorous curriculum to help them to better understand the vague signs and symptoms of the two cancers at an early stage.

The issue is meaningful to Zagger, whose mother, Marilyn Ann Trahan, died after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. It was Trahans struggle with the disease that inspired the MAT initiative, which bears her initials.

She was a warrior and waged repeated battles with the horrific nature of ovarian cancer, Zagger said. In 1999 at the age of 46, she succumbed to the disease. My family was splintered. ... The impact was devastating.  Cancer doesnt just impact the patient. It traumatizes families, creates financial devastation, depletes communities and leaves scars that are unable to be healed.

The MAT program is designed to identify women who are at an elevated risk of breast or ovarian cancer as well as find those showing initial signs of the diseases sooner. Primary care physicians and specialists will learn more about the signs and symptoms, with a goal of diagnosing women sooner, instead of when they reach Stage 3 or Stage 4.

In the U.S. last year, nearly 300,000 new cases of breast and ovarian cancer were diagnosed. Of those patients, 55,000 women died.

Studies show that women with ovarian cancer have the disease for 24 months, and they have seen four to six physicians before it is diagnosed, Zagger said. Symptoms are vague, they whisper, but they are there and they are just enough for us to ignore and prioritize something more interesting.

And when some women seek medical care for abdominal pain, frequent urination, bloating, trouble eating, mild back pain, rashes, exhaustion or even flu-like symptoms, the diagnosis is not made. Saying the puzzle is not being completed, Zagger said the health care community needed more training to understand breast and ovarian cancers.

The curriculum was designed by Ratner, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Yale School of Medicine and clinical leader for the Gynecological Oncology Program at the Smilow Cancer Hospital. Her colleagues helped with the curriculum, which she will take to physicians working in a variety of specialities at Greenwich Hospital.

This truly will change the future of womens care, Ratner said. Greenwich Hospital will soon set an example for other hospitals and health systems to follow, she said.

We need to not only find these cancers early, we need to prevent the cancers, she said. The future is prevention. Im not only going to cure your cancer or find it early, were going to find it before it even happens so you never have to hear those words  that you have cancer.

The MAT program has partner organizations from around the community, including town government, the Greenwich-based Breast Cancer Alliance, YWCA Greenwich and the UJA-JCC of Greenwich.

The effort at Greenwich Hospital will officially launch June 1 with the goal of completing training by Oct. 31.

The MAT Education Program was celebrated May 1, with a special proclamation ceremony at Town Hall. First Selectman Peter Tesei presented the formal proclamation to Zagger and her two children, Geralyn Grace and Colton.

Tesei recounted that his mother and wife have both been treated for breast cancer, and his aunt died from it.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing together the resources medically, in research and within the professional medical community, to put this together, Tesei said. What youre doing is saving lives and saving the future for those women and their families. Ive seen first hand what happens when a parent doesnt survive and how it indelibly changes the future for those children.

During the ceremony, Greenwich resident Diane Powis, discussed what she is facing as an ovarian cancer patient. Her mother died from breast cancer, as did both of her mothers aunts. Because of her familys Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish descent, which research has shown is of high risk for breast cancer, Powis said she was hyper-vigilant about checking for any sign of breast cancer.

But when Powis became ill, neither she nor any of her doctors had any idea what was happening as she got sicker and sicker. It was only after she went for a colonoscopy that she found out that she had a large cancerous mass inside her that was caused by Stage 3 ovarian cancer. It had gone undetected and spread like sand thrown sideways inside her, she said.

When I was finally diagnosed in 2013, my prognosis was, at best, five years, and I am acutely aware that I am only still alive today because of recent advances in gynecological oncology as well as the amazing work of countless health professionals who have guided me through multiple surgeries, years of chemotherapy infusions, two clinical trials and my current regiment on a PARP inhibitor, Powis said. She wondered how her life would have been different had MAT training been in place and her cancer had been detected sooner.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
People of West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as severe cyclonic storm Fani weakened on Saturday morning and was moving towards neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior official of the regional meteorological centre said.

The city witnessed wind speeds of 30-40 kmph with moderate to heavy rainfall overnight, he said. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed, officials said. "Fani is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further over the next six hours.

"It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and enter Bangladesh around noon as a deep depression with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph," Deputy Director General of the Regional Meteorological Centre here Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

The very severe cyclonic storm weakened into a severe cyclonic storm over the Odisha coast, before moving further north-northeastwards and entering West Bengal through Kharagpur in West Midnapore around 12.30 am on Saturday.

"It has moved to Arambagh in Hooghly and is now in Nadia district...and is moving towards Murshidabad district," Bandyopadhyay said. A senior official said apart from a few mud houses collapsing and tress falling, there were no reports of casualties from any of the districts. "However, we are awaiting further details," he added.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, along with senior engineers of the civic body and local councillors, was on a night-long vigil in and around the city to keep a tab on the situation. "We had made arrangements to act on an emergency basis had Fani hit the city. But thank god nothing major has happened," Hakim told PTI.

Meanwhile, flight operations resumed at the Kolkata airport at 9.57 am on Saturday, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Flight services were suspended at the airport from 3 pm on Friday. Train services on the Sealdah and Howrah sections were also getting back to normal, the officials said.

Five persons were injured when a portion of the roof of a hutment collapsed on Friday night in the central part of the city's Beniatola Lane, police said. All the five injured persons were released after treatment. The West Bengal government had taken precautionary measures in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana districts, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans.

The cyclone barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages.

-PTI
British pig producers are 'furious' at the 'dismal' prices currently being offered at a time when the global pork market is buoyant.

The UK's competitors are enjoying increased prices on the back of soaring Chinese demand as the world's biggest pig producer comes to grips with the African swine fever (ASF) crisis.

Following recent small increases, the EU-spec Standard Pig Price (SPP) rose by just over 1p to reach 139.84p/kg last week.

This increase represents the largest weekly rise since June last year and the highest price since the first week in January.

Nonetheless, the price is still around 6p below the price this time last year. The National Pig Association (NPA) says the increases seen in April 'pale into insignificance' in comparison to what is happening in the EU.

'Game-changer' for UK's competitors

Danish Crown, Europe's largest pork producer, recently described the surge in demand for EU pork from China as a game-changer  the processors export volumes to China have doubled since February.

The latest Eurostat figures show EU fresh and frozen pork shipments to China were up by 16% (+19,600 tonnes) year-on-year in January and February, which has had a big impact on EU pork prices.

Meanwhile, the EU reference price has soared from 117p/kg in early February to nearly 146p/kg in the week ended April 22.

Most major producing countries have seen massive hikes over that period.

The China effect is being seen on prices all over the world, including the US, where prices have almost doubled since February.

UK pork exports to China were up 40% year-on-year in February  and yet the UK price is still almost exactly where it was at the start of February.

'Dismal prices'

The NPA says it has received a number of calls from concerned pig producers who want to know what is happening.

Chairman Richard Lister said the price British producers are getting is 'dismal', especially in the context of what is happening with China.

As the EU pig price surges ahead, UK pig producers are left feeling like the modern day Oliver Twist, he said, faced with heavily over-stretched overdraft facilities, producers were entitled to breathe a sigh of relief at the increase in EU prices.

Sadly, this relief has turned to anger and frustration at the scraps being offered over the last four weeks. Processors will know full well the pressures producers are under, with owning so many of their own sows, and having seen another significant independent producer disappear.

He added: I have had numerous producers ringing me during the last fortnight wanting to understand why we are not seeing a proper and significant recovery in their price.

It is important producers make their feelings known to processors and marketing groups because we need a fairer share - just like Oliver Twist, he said.

The NPA has been collecting data from members about the current market situation, which chief executive Zoe Davies said was proving to be illuminating.

The group is demanding 'rapid and significant change' from processors in the prices being paid.
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Pakistan continues to sponsor terror outfits that launched deadly attacks in India because Islamabad has "paid no price for its perfidy", a prominent think-tank expert has told American lawmakers.

"Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistan's "unwavering support" to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there. "Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan.

I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate the terms of our exit," he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

"As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered," he said.

"This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front," he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for "hard decisions" by the US.

"We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies' goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas," he said. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state. "It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood," said the anti-terror strategy and security expert. While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

"This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy," Roggio said.

-PTI
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Autodesk, Avigilon, CommScope, Finastra, McAfee, Poly and T-Mobile honored for channel program excellence at Impartner's annual customer and channel management conference

SALT LAKE CITY, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Impartner, the world's best-selling pure-play Partner Relationship Management solution today announced the winners of its fourth annual customer awards, which were presented at ImpartnerCON19, the company's annual global customer and channel management summit. The theme for this year's conference, which is now the largest conference of channel chiefs in the industry, was Elevate, with the focus being on helping companies prepare for 2020 and the decade beyond. Following are the winners of this year's Impartner Elevate Awards, which are presented to companies setting the pace for channel operations:

Autodesk: For pushing the boundaries of personalized channel communications in eight languages using Impartner's News on Demand solution.

Avigilon/Motorola: For innovation in CPQ functionality for partners and spectacular growth in partner engagement.

CommScope: For completely transforming their CRM and PRM solutions simultaneously and in record time, and at the same time, delivering an innovative, ground-breaking partner experience.

Finastra: For pioneering use of PRM in the fast-growing fintech industry.

McAfee: For a rapid, streamlined, efficient implementation of a PRM solution, despite the complexities of a major organization.

Poly: For nimbleness in transformation of the company's channel management solution, all while integrating a major acquisition.

T-Mobile: For the creation of a unique partner and distribution experience to enable an unparalleled, more comprehensive market presence.

At the event, Impartner also presented its first Partner of the Year Award to AchieveUnite, for being the company's highest producing referral partner.

The 4th annual conference comes as Impartner continues a growth streak that's driven by an ever-increasing slate of customer wins from Fortune 100 corporations in multiple verticals from tech, to manufacturing, to oil and gas, to fintech, all of which has resulted in a 10x growth in new customer logos in the same four-year time period. During the conference, the company also announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate direct and indirect sales by co-marketing and co-selling Impartner PRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

About Impartner

Impartner helps companies worldwide transform the performance of their indirect sales, increasing revenue an average of 31 percent and reduce administrative costs as much as 23 percent in the first year of use alone. Impartner's SaaS-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software is the best-selling, most award-winning pure-play solution on the market and can be up and running in as few as 14 days. For more information on Impartner, which is based in Utah's tech hotbed, the Silicon Slopes, visit www.impartner.com , or in the United States call +1 801 501 7000, for EMEA general call +33 1 40 90 31 20, for London call +44 0 20 3283 4465, and for LATAM call +1 954 364 7883.

Follow Impartner on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .

Contact:

Kerry Desberg

Impartner

425-231-9529

Kerry.desberg@impartner.com

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By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday. The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares

By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gulf of Mexico oil producer Fieldwood Energy LLC has met with companies in the United States and Europe to discuss potential strategic partnerships, joint ventures or farm-in agreements, four people familiar with the talks said on Friday.

The private equity-backed company is seeking partnerships because the environment for oil-and-gas initial public offerings is challenging, the people said. Partnerships can help oil companies to raise capital without listing shares.

The conversations have been ongoing with companies that seek exposure to the Gulf of Mexico, the people said, but did not specify which companies the talks were with.

Fieldwood has both deepwater and shallow-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico, including a stake in more than 500 platforms, according to its website. With over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in output, it is the sixth-largest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, marginally ahead of Exxon Mobil Corp, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.

Fieldwood declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. Barclays facilitated the meetings, two of the people said.

Fieldwood has grown to operate more than 1,000 wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since its formation in 2013 by buyout firm Riverstone Holdings. The company has acquired assets from oil firms exiting the Gulf, including Apache Corp, Noble Energy Inc and SandRidge Energy.

Fieldwood also operates two fields in Mexico's shallow water Bay of Campeche.

The company's fortunes have see-sawed in part due to an oil price rout that began in 2014 and to the massive onshore shale ramp-up in the United States, where production costs are generally lower than offshore operations.

Like a number of offshore producers in 2016 and early 2017, Fieldwood filed for bankruptcy in February 2018. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in April after restructuring its debt.

Fieldwood retained advisers to study an IPO last year in hopes to list on the stock market in 2019, seeking a valuation of more than $5 billion, according to media reports in September.

However, Fieldwood has been unable to pursue an IPO after several years of underperformance in the stock market by oil and gas producers compared with other economic sectors, the people said. In the last 12 months, energy companies in the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 index are down 12 percent, compared with a 10 percent gain for the broader index.

(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S

By Julia Harte

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, in what some experts say could be a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

The Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must be approved by federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump's presidency and first disclosed by Reuters, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits.

Congressional staffers confirmed to Reuters that the Trump World Tower lease requests were never submitted to Congress. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said his committee has been "stonewalled" in its efforts to obtain detailed information about foreign government payments to Trump's businesses.

"This new information raises serious questions about the President and his businesses' potential receipt of payments from foreign governments," Cummings said in a statement to Reuters. "The American public deserves full transparency."

A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved "matters related to ongoing litigation." The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which declined to comment before publication.

Following publication of this article, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten sent an email to Reuters describing the story as "inaccurate" and "misleading". He said Trump World Tower is owned by its third-party condominium owners and therefore Trump would not receive proceeds from the lease of such units.

Six legal experts said that regardless of who owns those units, the fact that Trump was collecting fees for managing the building while foreign governments were paying to live there represents a potential breach of the emoluments clause. Certain constitutional scholars counter that the definition of "emolument" should be more narrow, a view that Trump's attorneys share.

The 1982 Foreign Missions Act requires foreign governments to get State Department clearance for any purchase, lease, sale, or other use of a property in the United States. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Reuters obtained diplomatic notes sent to the agency under this requirement from early 2015 until late 2017.

The records show that in the eight months following Trump's January 20, 2017 inauguration, foreign governments sent 13 notes to the State Department seeking permission to rent or renew leases in Trump World Tower. That is more solicitations from foreign governments for new or renewed leases in that building than in the previous two years combined.

The governments of Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Thailand and the European Union got the green light to rent a combined eight units in Trump World Tower and followed through with leases, according to other documents viewed by Reuters and people familiar with the leases. Five of those governments - Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the European Union - had also sought to rent units there in 2015 and 2016, State Department records showed.

Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait.

"Letting this go without Congress knowing about it condones the creation of a second, opaque track of foreign policy," said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor at Yale Law School and former legal adviser at the State Department. "What it might lead to is a group of countries enriching the people in power on the mistaken belief that it's going to improve their access."

(For a graphic on foreign government leases at Trump World Tower, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2DHJKOS)

PAYMENT CHAIN

The 18-year-old luxury skyscraper is located next to the United Nations headquarters near the East River, and is not to be confused with Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue landmark where Trump maintains a residence.

Although Garten, the attorney, contended the emoluments question is moot because Trump World Tower units are owned by third parties, Trump does earn income through the Trump Corporation, a Trump-owned company that manages Trump World Tower and draws its income from fees paid by unit owners, according to the building's financial records.

In 2017, the president earned more than $15 million in management and related fees through the properties managed by the Trump Corporation, according to the president's financial disclosure. The document did not reveal how much of that sum came from Trump World Tower.

In at least eight instances in 2017, third-party owners in Trump World Tower leased their units to foreign governments. When privately-owned units are leased, their owners typically use that rental income to cover management fees and other common charges, according to two unit owners in Trump World Tower and four real estate experts interviewed by Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine exactly how the owners who leased the units to the foreign governments paid their fees.

But even if the condominium owners did not use their rental income to pay their common charges, it still could be considered an emolument because the foreign governments helped those owners defray their costs, with the benefit flowing to Trump, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law who has studied the history of Justice Department interpretations on the subject.

In other words, Clark said, payments passing through a chain of intermediaries to a U.S. official could still constitute emoluments because they could ultimately enrich and influence the behaviour of the official.

In legal opinions issued under previous administrations, Clark said, "the Justice Department has expressed concern that foreign governments would use companies as conduits for foreign emoluments."

However, South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said that foreign government payments that enrich a U.S. official should only constitute emoluments if they are "tied to the discharge of official duties." He has filed briefs in each emoluments lawsuit against Trump endorsing this view.

While U.S. presidents have rarely needed to seek approval of payments from foreign governments in the past, Trumps continued ownership of his vast network of businesses has left him exposed to more potential emoluments issues than any previous U.S. president, according to legal and ethics experts.

The revenue Trump draws from foreign government business at his properties, such as the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has sparked lawsuits by U.S. lawmakers and the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, alleging this income violates the emoluments clause. Defining exactly what constitutes an emolument is at the heart of those cases.

Trump's attorneys have argued in court that the Constitution only requires him to seek congressional approval for foreign emoluments offered in connection with his role as president. Trump has retained ownership of his global business interests while president, but handed off day-to-day control to his oldest sons and a longtime company executive.

On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge denied Trump's motion to dismiss one of the emoluments lawsuits against him, saying Trump's narrow definition of emoluments was "unpersuasive and inconsistent". Courts may ultimately decide whether some of Trump's business dealings violate the Constitution.

Issuing such judgements is not the job of the State Department office in charge of reviewing foreign government property requests, according to Patrick Kennedy, who from 2007 to 2017 was the top State Department official in charge of the internal administration of the agency. He said that office's mandate is to screen for national security and diplomatic concerns, not for potential emolument violations.

If the State Department began obstructing requests from foreign governments to lease units in Trump-affiliated properties, he said, it could prompt them to retaliate against U.S. diplomats seeking housing in their territories.

"The State Department's interest in saying 'no' is probably zero if there's no security threat and we have good reciprocal relations with the countries," Kennedy told Reuters.

'CONVENIENT AND COMFORTABLE'

According to the State Department records obtained by Reuters, which covered the period from January 2015 through September 2017, Trump World Tower was the only Trump-affiliated building in the United States where foreign governments sought to lease or buy units.

In 2017, the median monthly asking rent for units in Trump World Tower was $8,500, according to real estate website StreetEasy. That was more than 2.5 times the median in the surrounding neighbourhood, known as Turtle Bay.

Some of the foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, had previously purchased property in the building, where the average unit currently sells for nearly $7 million, according to StreetEasy.

Mohammad Alkadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Mission to the United Nations, said Trump World Tower's prime location near U.N. headquarters was the kingdom's motivation to lease there.

"The governments pay for these units in the building not to get favours from Trump or anything, but just because it's very convenient and comfortable for us," Alkadi said. He said he moved into his own unit in Trump World Tower at the end of 2017.

Slovakia, another Trump World Tower renter, said in a statement that its lease was "fully in line with U.S. legislation and our internal guidelines." Slovakia's prime minister is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House today to discuss security cooperation and other issues.

The Malaysian mission to the United Nations said it was not currently renting a unit in Trump World Tower when reached by phone in April. It declined to comment on the unit it rented in 2017. That lease was confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the transaction.

All the other governments that sought to rent units after Trump's inauguration declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Jason Szep and Marla Dickerson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday sued Cuban state-owned Cuba-Petroleo and the CIMEX corporation in U.S. federal court over a refinery, gasoline stations and other assets seized in 196O after Fidel Castros revolution.

The largest U.S. oil producer is the first corporation to sue Cuba since the Trump administration allowed a long dormant section of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, known as the Helms-Burton Act after its sponsors, to take effect on May 2.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Previous presidents had waived Title III of the Act, under which anyone whose property was nationalized after the 1959 Cuban Revolution can sue any individual or company profiting from their former holdings.

On Thursday two Cuban-Americans sued Carnival Corporation for using Cuban ports nationalized from the family members who owned them.

Exxon Mobil accuses the Cuban defendants of "unlawful trafficking in Plaintiffs confiscated property in violation of Title III of the ... Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996," according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Standard Oil refinery at Havana Bay, now operated by CUPET, was the first U.S. property taken over by Castro and his bearded revolutionaries after the company refused to process oil from the Soviet Union as tensions mounted with the United States.

CIMEX operates gasoline stations in Cuba with CUPET.

Standard Oil was broken up into several companies, one of which was Exxon, which merged with Mobil in a 1998 deal.

In the 1960s the United States certified 5,913 claims against Cuba valued at $1,9 billion of which Standard Oil and Mobil each have a claim valued at a combined $245 million according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a New York - based organisation whose expertise includes U.S. claims.

"This filing is significant. This is the fifth-largest company in the world using Title III of the Libertad Act to sue a company owned by the government of Cuba," said John Kavulich, president of the council.

"This provides comfort for other large claimants to sue, will increase fear by companies in other countries from engagement with Cuba due to the reach of Exxon Mobil and is consistent with Exxon Mobil efforts to recover assets in Venezuela and defend themselves in other countries," he said.

Under a Cuban law passed in 1996 in response to the Helms-Burton Act, certified claimants who take advantage of the Act will be disqualified from future settlements.

CUPET and CIMEX were not immediately available for comment.

An Exxon Mobil spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Cuba charges Title III violates international law because its nationalisation of property was legal and also because Cuban-Americans were not U.S. citizens when their properties were taken.

All other nations settled their citizens' property claims decades ago. Certified U.S. claims by American citizens at the time of expropriation were never settled.

Canada, the European Union and other countries charge the United States has no jurisdiction over their citizens' activity in Cuba and they will take the issue to the World Trade Organization, among other actions.

International opposition, and the fear that thousands of suits brought by Cuban-Americans would clog U.S. courts, led previous U.S. presidents to waive implementation of Title III.

Title I and II of the Helm-Burton Act codify all previous sanctions into law and set conditions for the U.S. Congress to lift them.

Title IV bans executives and their families from the United States if they profit from expropriated properties.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered.

The Gujarat government wants the best possible deal for farmers and has told PepsiCo India it can play the 'umpire' in its contract farming arrangement with potato farmers, Gujarats Chief Secretary J N Singh said.

Singh said the company was paying 'a good price' to farmers and the government wanted the contract farming programme to go 'smoothly'. He had suggested tripartite agreement as a model, where the government would be a party to a contract between PepsiCo and potato farmers.

Singh spoke to Firstpost after PepsiCo offered to withdraw the cases it had filed against nine farmers and two traders-cum-farmers for allegedly using its protected FL 2027 variety, which it sells under the trade name FC 5. PepsiCo had sued some farmers for Rs 20 lakh each. From others it had sought damages of Rs 1.05 cr each. A PepsiCo executive said the higher damages were meant to fast track the litigation and not for monetary gain.

The FL 2027 variety was registered in the United States in February 2004 and enjoys protection there till February 2024. PepsiCo India Holdings commercialised the variety in India in December 2009. It applied for registration under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 in February 2011, two months after the PPVFR Authority allowed new varieties of 11 crops including potato to be registered. Registration for FC 2027 was granted in February 2016. It will remain protected in India till February 2031.

PepsiCo was forced on the back foot by a backlash on social media. More than 190 organisations and individuals which claim to speak for farmers urged PepsiCo to take back its suit. The company was also on weak grounds legally because Indian law gives not just exemptions from breeders rights to farmers but also active entitlements. Congress Party leader Ahmed Patel chided the company and the Gujarat government. PepsiCo felt isolated.

Rather than risk further damage to its reputation, Pepsico India withdrew the litigation. This has been passed off as a triumph of the underdogs and a reminder to multinational corporations that however high they might be, the Indian law is above them.

Ashwani Mahajan, Co-Convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar which supports economic nationalism tweeted that it was a moral victory for farmers.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch had condemned PepsiCos decision to sue farmers in Gujarat. Pepsi: PepsiCo should have apologised for intimidation of farmers; ASHA - The Economic Times https://t.co/Nc2kt7ICtd  ASHWANI MAHAJAN (@ashwani_mahajan) May 3, 2019

Realising it was losing the battle of perceptions, PepsiCo accepted the face-saver of a negotiated settlement which the Gujarat government offered. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long-term and an amicable settlement to all issues around seed protection, PepsiCo India said in a statement.

If PepsiCo had persisted with the litigation, an opportunity would have been afforded to the courts to clarify the extent to which the entitlements of farmers could abridge the rights of breeders, a legal executive at an Indian agricultural biotechnology company with a portfolio of IPRs said. The section of the PPVFR Act granting farmers the exemption to save, share, exchange and sell produce and seed of even protected varieties (in an unbranded form) has not been legally tested, she said.

The Act says farmers will be deemed to be entitled in the same manner as before the law came into force. The legislative intent, she said, was to permit the customary practice of farmers using saved seed for sowing. The courts would have been able to say when a farmer selling the seed of a protected variety became a trader.

PepsiCo is the largest procurer of chips-quality potatoes. It buys 3 lakh tonnes annually from 24,000 contract growers. It paid about Rs 10 a kg in the last season. That would have resulted in a transfer of Rs 300 crore to farmers. The sued farmers were not on contract to PepsiCo India. If they wanted to supply chips-quality potatoes to PepsiCos rivals they have a choice of non-protected varieties like Lady Rosetta, ATL or Atlantic and Chipsona 1, 2, and 3.

PepsiCo India executives say they have been advertising in local newspapers that FC 5 is protected. They have distributed pamphlets in villages to create awareness and also told cold storages not to stock FC 5, which is meant for is captive use.

PepsiCo India had offered to buy FC 5 produce from the sued farmers and invited them to become its contract growers the next season. It had sold FC 5 seed to its contract growers at Rs 20-25 a kg depending on size and had brought produce from them at about Rs 10 a kg.

PepsiCo India executives say FC 5 gives it a competitive advantage. It is higher-yielding, has a higher proportion of dry matter and lower percentage of reducing sugars. But Vinay Bhardwaj, Head of Crop Improvement at the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, says ATL was better in some respects. Ismail Sheru, a contract grower in Banaskantha of French fry-quality potatoes for McCain, a Canadian supplier to McDonalds was also of the same opinion.

PepsiCos rates were similar to those offered by Hyfun Frozen Foods, which has 1,200 farmers on contract and procured 62,000 tonnes of potatoes in the last season. The company has a processing plant at Mehsana and supplies French fries to Burger King and KFC. It charged Rs 26 a kg for seed and paid Rs 9 a kg for potatoes at the farm gate.

The backstory is that Fulchand Kachchhava, the Managing Director of Tirupati Balaji Potato Chip, a company that procures potatoes for Balaji Wafers is orchestrating the agitation. The companys registered office is in Deesa, Banaskantha. Kachchhava and his brother, who are also potato growers, were among the 11 who were sued.

Kachchhava admitted to Firstpost that he was procuring 40,000 tonnes of potatoes. He had bought at the rate of Rs 9.50-10 a kg. These were both cooking variety and chip quality. He said he went by the characteristics of potatoes and not their trade names. He denied backing the sued farmers or engaging a PR agency to smear PepsiCo. I dont know what a PR agency is, he asserted.

Kachchhava said farmers were agitated by PepsiCo action. Till it withdrew the suits, farmers unions have decided to continue with the 'seed andolan' or protest at its potato collection points. They might even boycott its contract farming programme, he added.

Contract farming is good for farmers. It gives them the assurance of prices. India wants to encourage it. It has drafted a model law for the states to enact. Farmers also gain from hand-holding in good agronomic practices.

PepsiCo says it encourages sustainable practices like water-saving drip and sprinkler irrigation, the application of precise quantities of liquid fertilisers and the use of labour and cost-saving machines for planting, spraying and harvesting.

In the late 1980s, when PepsiCo sought a license to ply its soft drinks business in India, the government made horticultural development a pre-condition. Under the leadership of Ramesh Vangal, PepsiCo India set up a tomato processing plant in Punjab. It got farmers to grow tomatoes under contract. The varieties they planted were tall with fruit at various stages of ripening. These could be plucked manually with family labour.

Since the harvesting was in instalments and not in one go, the processing plant was smaller than in the developed countriesappropriate for a country with scarce and expensive capital. The pasteurised paste was of a quality that was acceptable to the finicky Japanese market. PepsiCo also introduced techniques like deep chiselling to break the hard pan that was formed about two feet below the surface in Punjabs fields due to compaction by tractors. This allowed plants to access underlying nutrients.

Another contract buyer, McCain, also changed the way potatoes were grown in the Banaskantha region. Before it began its operations in 2006, farmers would flood irrigate their fields. They would tap into the aquifers recharged by the River Banas. The water used over the course of a four-month period, from sowing to harvesting, if stacked, would rise to a column about two feet high.

McCain converted the farmers to micro-irrigation. With information provided by its weather stations, its agents in the field would tell them when to irrigate and how much. Not only was water saved but pests and diseases caused by humidity decreased. Jalgaon in Maharashtra has become a banana hub because of Jain Irrigation. The state is the second largest producer of bananas. Jain Irrigation promoted the cultivation of the fruit through a combination of tissue culture, drip irrigation and fertigation. It replaced traditional varieties with the high-yielding Grand Naine from Israel in the early 1990s.

While speaking at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association in Delhi in December 2017, NITI Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand said the involvement of companies was essential for profitable and innovative agriculture. But their share in agricultural investment at 2 percent was very low compared to that of farmers (84 percent) and the government (14 percent).

Indias milk revolution was brought about by Amuls contract dairy farming and the Green Revolution in north-west India was due to the price, procurement and hand-holding support given by the Indian government.

It will be a hollow victory for farmers if companies like PepsiCo India who benefit farmers through contract farming arrangements are painted as villains for trying to protect their intellectual property.

(The author is a senior journalist. He tweets @smartindianagri)
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in New Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

ANI reported while Kejriwal was waving to the people at the roadshow he was holding for the Lok Sabha polls, an unidentified man climbed his car and slapped him. CNN-News18 further reported that the man who slapped him has been taken into custody by Delhi Police.

The Delhi chief minister has been attacked several times since he entered public life.

On 20 November, Kejriwal was attacked by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

The incident occurred at 2.10 pm when the chief minister was leaving for lunch.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal for his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Transport Nagar of Rajasthan's Bikaner district, PTI reported.

Following the ink attack, ABVP activists Dinesh Ojha and Vikram Singh were taken into custody.

In April 2016, a man identified as Ved Sharma and claiming to be from the Aam Aadmi Sena (a breakaway faction from Aam Aadmi Party) threw a shoe at the Delhi chief minister when he was addressing a press conference in the secretariat.

Sharma was eventually detained by the police.

In March 2016, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Punjab's Ludhiana. The car's windshield was broken in the attack, The Hindu reported. Kejriwal was in Ludhiana on the last day of his tour to Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI
Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said

Cyclone Fani, the worst storm to hit the Indian subcontinent in 20 years and which left at least 16 people dead in India, weakened into a 'deep depression' and lay centered over Bangladesh on Saturday morning, after it moved further north-east from West Bengal, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. IMD also said that it is expected to further weaken over the course of the day on Saturday.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 on Saturday with four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, three each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and one each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, briefed the media after the storm ebbed on Saturday and said, "A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri and almost 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers."

In West Bengal, a total of 52,297 people were evacuated from 131 gram panchayats and put up in 723 rescue shelters. However, some people returned to their homes as the situation improved on Saturday. At least 771 houses have been fully or partly damaged.

Disruptions in traffic were reported in Garb2, Kharagpur 1, Keshiary and Mohanpur blocks due to broken trees. Power supply has also been restored by WBSEDCL

The cyclone left a trail of destruction to life and property after it made landfall in Odisha's Puri on Friday morning, with several structures collapsing in the district's temple town. The cyclone then moved into West Bengal via Kharagpur in the wee hours of Saturday. The effects of the cyclone were also felt in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Kolkata airport resumed operations, however, dozens of people were stranded at Howrah station in the city as most trains under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway remained cancelled. National carrier Air India offered to deliver relief material to affected areas free of cost. The airline resumed operations at Kolkata airport around 9.30 am on Saturday.

The CS FANI over Gangetic West Bengal moved further east-northeastwards & weakened into a Deep Depression, lay centred at 0830 hrs IST over Bangladesh near lat 23.6N & long 88.8E. It is very likely to move northeastwards, weaken further into a Depression during next 06 hrs. pic.twitter.com/VzDrqMJK2F  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 4, 2019

The airport in Odisha's capital, Bhubaneshwar, is likely to resume operations on Saturday. The equipment at the airport was significantly damaged on Friday but flight operations are expected to begin by 1 pm, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The passenger terminal building at Bhubaneswar has been considerably damaged, particularly at the rooftop and facades... Based on the feedback and action taken, it was decided that Bhubaneswar will resume commercial flight operations with effect from 1300 IST on May 4, 2019," the statement said.

However, as state governments and the Centre took stock of the damage in the wake of the storm, reports said that even though Digha was expected to face a major impact of the cyclone, the situation seemed calm on Saturday morning despite heavy rainfall on Friday night.

The IMD in Alipore was quoted as saying that there was no more threat from Cyclone Fani for West Bengal, as it has headed towards Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governors of West Bengal and Odisha on Saturday to take stock of the situations and said that he will visit Odisha on Monday, 6 May. Monday also happens to be the election day for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election. He also said that he had spoken to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and "assured continued support" from the Centre.

During his conversation with West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centre's readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," Modi said in a tweet.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans were expected to be hit by the storm that then moved towards Bangladesh and is likely to taper off.

Modi also extended the Centre's support to Odisha governor Ganesh Lal and said that the people of the state had shown "exemplary courage" in the face of the "natural disaster".

The United Nations agency for disaster reduction on Saturday commended the IMD's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life.

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Goa President, Ahraz Mulla has written a letter to the President, Prime Minister and Union HRD Ministry requesting them to postpone NEET exam, in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone 'Fani' in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," the letter reads.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm. The storm was initially categorised as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" by the IMD.

Effects of Cyclone Fani were felt as far as the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying. The Nepali government issued a warning that heavy snowfall was expected in the higher mountain areas with rain and storms lower down, and asked trekking agencies to take tourists to safety.

Hundreds of climbers, their guides, cooks, and porters huddled at the Everest base camp, according to Pemba Sherpa of Xtreme Climbers Trek, who said weather and visibility were poor. May is the best month to climb the 8,850-foot Everest when Nepal experiences a few windows of good weather to scale the peak.

It is still the beginning of the month, so there is no reason for climbers to worry that weather from the cyclone will cost them their chance to reach the summit, Sherpa said.

With inputs from agencies and 101 Reporters
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Priya Ramani, then began her cross examination of MJ Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details.

New Delhi: Former Union minister MJ Akbar came face to face with journalist Priya Ramani during a courtroom battle on Saturday. Akbar, who has slapped a criminal defamation suit against Ramani for going public with sexual misconduct allegations against him, recorded his statement in the case. When it came to the cross-examination, however, Akbar did not reveal much, choosing instead to claim that he did not have much memory of what happened then.

Several prominent women journalists were also in attendance in court, in a show of support to Ramani.

Akbar, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, said the allegations made by Ramani were "unwarranted, defamatory and mala fide". India's one-time Minister of State for External Affairs, Akbar began by essaying his careergraph  often a technical necessity in defamation cases, seeing that to put forth such a charge one would need to prove that there was a reputation of some worth to begin with in the court.

After speaking of his lengthy career spanning several publication houses and ultimately in the North Block, Akbar went on to say that he was in Africa when the allegation against him was levelled by Priya Ramani. "There was a curious anomaly. The original article in Vogue did not contain my name. I can infer that this was because the inclusion of my name would have been defamatory. The tweet however referred specifically to me, MJ Akbar," he said, alleging that the allegations had adversely affected his public life.

Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani, then began her cross examination of Akbar, represented by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, on the intricacies regarding Ramani joining The Asian Age and other case details. However, Akbar responded to most of the questions with "I do not remember".

John began with an examination of why Akbar had not mentioned in his detailed deposition that he had been a Congress MP from Bihar's Kishan Ganj from 1989 to 2002, a spokesperson of the party in 1988, and that he had lost on a Congress ticket in 1991. Moving on from her allegation of Akbar's "political opportunism", displayed by several U-turns in his political career, John went on to ask him if the Delhi High Court had indeed issued a contempt notice to him in 2003, when he was editor-in-chief of The Asian Age for "deliberate false reporting court proceedings."

A verbal battle broke out between Luthra and John over the former's interjections several times in the course of the cross-examination at this point. This was also the point from which onwards Akbar noted not remembering much. Among things he claimed to have never known or forgotten were where Ramani studied, whether he had asked her to meet at a hotel after 7 pm, and whether a friend had dropped her to the hotel.

Proceedings then had to be stopped for the day as Akbar's counsel claimed he had engagements for the day. Judge Vishal, while agreeing to the request, ended with a curt advice to "come prepared for the full day on the next date."

The court posted the matter for the next hearing on 20 May.

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on 17 October last year, had filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Akbar has denied the accusations.

With inputs from Bar & Bench and PTI
A string of incidents of people being injured because of explosives detonating accidentally have been reported in Kashmir.

On a Friday afternoon in February this year, a loud bang left two children soaked in blood at Rahmoo village in Jammu and Kashmir. After a grenade exploded near a river bed, eleven-year-old Intizar Bashir and his 12-year-old playmate Junaid Bilal lay writhing. Five days later, the older one died at a hospital in Srinagar. Hours before the explosion, the curious children had brought the grenade from a gun battle site in the neighbouring village of Drubgam, in which two militants were killed on 1 February, according to a police report.

The explosion led to injuries to Intizar's face and arm. His father, 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad Bhat, said, "The blast tore off the flesh from my sons face, and we had to get his arm operated...The children just picked up the shells out of curiosity. Security forces told us that my son was lucky that the grenade did not explode in his hands but hit a river bed."

Junaid's father Bilal Ahmad Wani said that his son succumbed to multiple shrapnel wounds that he had received in the head and limbs. A fragment of a shell had hit him in the head and he died at a hospital in Srinagar, he said, adding, I was praying at a mosque when I received a call from a neighbour telling me that my son was wounded. I was deeply shocked and it left me shattered.

Wani said that the government is considering compensating the families as "the police report mentions that they are not involved in any criminal case. He added, We have filed an application for compensation with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama.

The explosion at Rahmoo is among a string of such incidents reported in Kashmir. Several people have sustained injuries, while some people have died due to leftover shells exploding. In some cases, children collect shells from sites of gun battles between security forces and militants. In some other cases, blasts take place while people remove the rubble of damaged houses.

In a recent such example, on Wednesday, two boys were wounded as they were playing with a shell in Kulgam area of south Kashmir. They were fiddling with the shell near a water tank, when it burst, leaving them injured, said a police official. He described the blast as mysterious, adding that the nature of the explosive that resulted in minor injuries to the boys is being ascertained.

In Kashmir, for several years, human rights activists had campaigned against the use of a large swathe of a land close to a civilian area in central Kashmirs Budgam as an artillery firing range. Following public pressure, the army abandoned the area. But now, explosives that are not cleared from encounter sites are posing a new threat.

In the past four months, fatalities have been reported in at least half a dozen explosions across Kashmir. In October 2018, 6 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at an encounter site at Kulgam. In another incident, a shell exploded as a boy was playing with it, while another one detonated at a school in Sirnoo area of Pulwama, leaving several injured. Fatalities in similar incidents have been reported from Shopian as well.

Human rights activists have denounced authorities for their failure to clear shells from gun battle sites. Activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo said that it is the responsibility of the government forces to clear explosives from gun battle areas.

In some cases, bodies of militants are left badly charred as the houses are blown up through the use of heavy shells. The forces are not adhering to their own standard operating procedures (SOPs). They dont sanitise areas to clear explosives, he said.

However, Senior Superintendent of police (SSP), Kulgam, Gurinderpal Singh, said that youth converge at gun battle sites, and disrupt operations launched to clear the areas of any explosives.

We even put up banners asking the youth not to gather near encounter sites until combing has been completed. But they dont adhere to the advisories, due to which, at times, it becomes difficult to ensure a foolproof clearing operation, he said.
Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar.

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The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'. With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The Army, Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the "chowkidar chow hai" jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj said on Saturday that while Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati had allegedly called him a "gunda" or thug at a rally in Gonda, "she is Uttar Pradesh's gundi." Singh added that Mayawati had allegedly threatened to throw him into jail after elections.

Sam Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress chief said on Saturday that the BJP was sure to lose the Lok Sabha election and slammed its charge over citizenship against Rahul Gandhi. "He has been a Member of Parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the Parliament. You worked with him in Parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate the intelligence of Indian people," Pitroda told ANI.

"...you are a hilarious man!!! Anyway, we are still granting visas to Pakistanis for medical tourism. I will personally take you to a psychiatrist," Gambhir tweeted. He is the BJP candidate for the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Afridi in his just-released autobiography Game Changer had sarcastically referred to Gambhir as someone who "behaves like a cross between Don Bradman and James Bond," and has a "lot of attitude and no great records"

Not known to pull back punches, Gautam Gambhir hit back at Shahid Afridi, offering to take him to a session with "a psychiatrist" after the former Pakistan captain wrote a few uncharitable things about the Indian opener.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

He also accused the Congress of playing fast and loose with Mayawati's confidence. "Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behen ji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. A party which was staking a claim to the prime minister's post before the first round of voting, now admits to being a vote cutter," he said.

Narendra Modi, at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday, directed a tirade at the alliance, calling it a 'mahamilavat'. He said the alliance had five evils, including corruption, unstability, communalism, dynasty and misrule. He particularly cited a news report which claimed Rahul Gandhi's one-time business partner had received offset contracts during the UPA's rule, just what the Congress has been accusing Modi of orchestrating for Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal. He also alleged that several summons had been sent to Rahul by the government, presumably to deal with his corruption, but said that Rahul was waiting for the time when his government would come in power and these cases could be done away with. It is not known which cases Modi was referring to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

But the poll panel was unanimous Thursday disposing a third complaint against Modi, finding no violation of the poll code by him in his speech in Barmer in Rajasthan where he had warned Pakistan, saying Indias nuclear arsenal is not meant for Diwali, Express has reported.

A high-ranking source in the Election Commission told NDTV that on five occasions, one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let PM Modi and Amit Shah off the hook for their comments.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said.

On the Congress' claim that as many as six unpublicised surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA's tenure, the party's adviser on matters of national security said, "Call them surgical strikes, call them cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of the exact dates and areas that have been brought out."

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Yoga exponent Ramdev, along with a few other godmen, have filed a complaint with the Haridwar SSP against CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury for his statement, "Ramayana and Mahabharata are also filled with instances of violence and battles,"

"Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came. Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji," he added.

Amit Shah, in a roadshow at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's home turf of Amethi, told ANI that for the first time, Amethi is "feeling that development is possible there."

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is perhaps the only Member of Parliament, who holds the distinction of being thoroughly disliked as the serving representative of the Amethi parliamentary constituency and yet having been re-elected from there three consecutive terms. Since the last 15 years, thousands of people  who even say that he has consistently failed on every count for last three term  would still vote for him because of the emotional connect they have had with the Gandhi-Nehru family.

'Won't abandon Rahul Gandhi when he needs us most': Amethi voters admit to lack of development but are 'bound by emotions'

Jaitley said that Rahul did not have any business raising his finger at the BJP (presumably over the Rafale deal) when he himself have been involved in corruption. "What did you want to be? A defence dealer or a politician?" he said, asking how he would like to be judged now.

"This is a story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's prime minister. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to reveal this," said Arun Jaitley, as BJP raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

How do you like to be judged now, Arun Jaitley asks Rahul Gandhi

Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

" But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been five years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye," also added, in a snub to those who want to "divide the country."

Referring to the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal by its election symbol of lantern, Narendra Modi said at his Valmiki Nagar rally on Saturday that Nitish Kumar had replaced the 'lalten' with an LED bulb.

Jharkhand: A polling station in Ramgarh, under Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the looks of coaches of a train. The Parliamentary constituency will undergo voting on 6th May, in the fifth phase of #LokSabhaElection2019 pic.twitter.com/5WHVsS6G9P

A polling station in Ramgarh, under the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, has been given the look of a rail coache. The Parliamentary constituency will go to polls on 6 May, in the fifth phase of the election.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man who climbed up on his vehicle on Saturday.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Speaking at his third and final rally at Valmiki Nagar in Bihar, Narendra Modi slammed the grand alliance once again and hit out at the Congress manifesto. He also used the opportunity to celebrate the JD(U)-BJP government of Nitish Kumar. "Do not forget that 10 years ago, the Congress had declared a debt waiver. At that time, farmers' debt was Rs 6 lakh crores and they excused only Rs 52,000 crores," the prime minister said.

Based on a news report, BJP leader Arun Jaitley raised the pitch for the recognition of the allegation that Rahul Gandhi's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime through his firm Backops Limited, UK.

BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister and the party's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani are holding a roadshow in Amethi, a seat held for generations by members of the Gandhi family.

Kirron Kher the BJP's Chandigarh candidate apologised after she was sent a show cause notice by the Election Commission after a video she tweeted showed children shouting campaign slogans in it. "Whatever happened, it was wrong that children were used. Somebody sent it to us, my team shared it and later deleted it. Very sorry, it happened, it should not have happened," she said.

At his Basti rally, Narendra Modi once again spoke of Diwali as a synonym for warfare on Pakistan. "Every Indian has waited for the day when Pakistan-supported Masood Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the world's biggest organisation. Our government was so powerful that Pakistan must wait for Diwali now or find itself compelled to deal with Masood Azhar," Modi said, adding that his own strength had compelled Pakistan to deal with the problem.

Speaking at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi led with his charge of a divided Opposition and decried the grand alliance as one where the leaders are perpetually at each others' throats. "I wish to tell Opposition parties that Delhi is quite far," he said. Modi also spoke of how Opposition parties were not stable, corrupt and would push the country towards casteism.

Successive reports by The Indian Express and NDTV have shed light on the fact that the recent clean chits by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over allegations of poll code violations by the opposition were not unanimous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speech, usually extremely planned in progression, witnessed a minor glitch at his Pratapgarh rally on Saturday. Nearing the end of a vitriol-laden attack on the Congress, the SP and the BSP, Modi urged voters in Pratapgarh to vote for the cup-plate symbol. Except the Pratapgarh candidate was the BJP's very own Sangam Lal Gupta. Modi was hastily corrected, and quickly went back on his words to urge people to vote for the lotus symbol instead.

At his Pratapgarh rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Narendra Modi had a galaxy of BJP leaders in attendance including Maneka Gandhi and Yogi Adiyanath. Modi turned the full force of its thinly veiled rhetoric at Rahul Gandhi, whom he called 'naamdar' throughout. He hit out at the Congress chief's earlier press conference and said that appearances on television do not make a leader. Modi even did not spare late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and said Congress had tried to project a "Mr Clean" image for him and failed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. who is touring Uttar Pradesh, said on Saturday that while the Congress has been sending copies of its manifesto to the village pradhans, the BJP has been sending similar envelops with Rs 20,000 in them. "This too is hilarious that they think that the Amethi pradhan will sell himself for Rs 20,000," she said.

While Rahul Gandhi was holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted a poem with a news report that alleged that Rahul's former business partner got defence offset contracts during the UPA regime. The charge is similar in spirit to one brought against the BJP government of Narendra Modi's by the Congress in the Rafale deal. Congress has alleged that the Modi government intervened in the deal so that Anil Ambani could be made offset partner.

"When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way!" Shah wrote.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi held a press conference on Saturday in which he predicted a loss for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and aired a host of charges particularly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul also charged the Election Commission with having a separate set of rules for the Congress and the BJP.

The Election Commission concluded on Friday that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Varanasi. It also found nothing wrong in his comments made in Nanded, Maharashtra where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a 'sinking Titanic'.

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all matters.

In the centre of a contempt charge in the Supreme Court against misattributing the chowkidar chor hai jibe which he uses against Modi to the Supreme Court, Rahul said that while he has apologised to the apex court, he will not apologise to the BJP or to Modi. "Chowkidar chor hain will remain our slogan," Rahul said.

He also said the Indian Army was not Narendra Modi's personal property. The army, air force or navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks they are . When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting the Congress but the Army, he said.

On Friday, in a rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi mocked Congress's claim that its government had also conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control and accused the party of telling lies.

Addressing a rally in Sikar, he suggested that Congress leaders were confusing video games with such strikes. He said the party first ignored the strikes carried out under his government and then opposed them. Now it's me too, me too, he said using the English term.

He also addressed public meetings in Hindaun and Bikaner, accusing Congress at both places of not acting strongly against terrorism.

On the last day of campaigns before the fifth phase of the election on Monday, Modi will campaign in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister is scheduled to hold rallies in Pratapgad and Basti in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, he is expected to address rallies in Valmiki Nagar.

BJP president Amit Shah is expected to hold a roadshow in Rahul's home constituency of Amethi. He will also address rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to declare a ceasefire during Ramadan and stop crackdown and search operations during the holy month

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the government of India that just like a ceasefire was put in place during Ramadan last year, crackdowns and search ops should be stopped, so that people of Jammu and Kashmir spend at least this one month in relief," Mufti said addressing told media.

"I would also like to appeal to the militants that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," she added.

Criticising the NDA government, Mufti said that they have made Jammu and Kashmir a 'jung ka akhada', where the Centre is 'at war with its own people.'

"Whether it is imposing a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF and after that the manner in which business was stopped on Muzaffarabad Road and it was announced that highway will be closed for two days. It feels like the government of India wants to break the backbone of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the garb of militancy. They want to completely end our economy," Mufti said.

"Ever since the elections have begun, a lot of people are being arrested in the name of stone pelting. In this kind of an atmosphere, it is difficult to understand how they will be able to work with people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"They have left no stone unturned to push people of Jammu and Kashmir to the war. Because of this alienation is increasing. The space of the Jammu and Kashmir people - democratic space, economic space or financial space - they all are being choked... They have made life hell for the Kashmiris," the former chief minister added.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

NEET dress code 2019: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held tomorrow (5 May), in which over 15.19 lakh candidates are expected to appear to get admissions into undergraduate medical courses.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), the nodal body for the country's biggest undergraduate entrance test for medical courses, has prescribed a specific dress code for the applicants, which has been mentioned in the official brochure too. The 2019 NEET dress code is well-defined by the NTA in terms of clothes, footwear and other accessories.

This has been done to prevent cheating and to maintain the fairness of the exam. The exam body said: "The NTA believes in the sanctity and fairness of conducting the Examination, however, it also believes in the sensitivity involved in frisking (girl) candidates and will issue comprehensive instructions accordingly to the staff and other officials at the Examination Centres."

NEET 2019 dress code has been mentioned in the brochure on page 52 along with the list of barred items that cannot be worn or carried to the exam hall. The NEET dress code 2019 will also be mentioned in the admit card of the candidates to point out what would be allowed and what would not be allowed on the day of the exam.

However, we are listing down the major highlights here for convenience.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is allowed?

Male examinees are advised to wear simple shirt or t-shirt without any elaborate embroidery, multiple pockets, large buttons or patchwork motifs. The simple shirt or t-shirt qualifying as NEET dress code 2019 should be of half sleeves. Candidates wearing trouser, slippers or sandals are allowed to appear for the examination. Kurta pajama is not allowed for male aspirants.

Likewise, women candidates are asked to opt for simple kurtas in half sleeve without any embroidery or pockets. As per NEET 2019 dress code, Salwars and trousers are suggested for women candidates. All female aspirants are advised to wear slippers or sandals with low heels as shoes are not allowed in the examination hall.

NEET examination 2019 dress code: What is not allowed?

Light clothes with half sleeves and long sleeves are not permitted. Closed footwear, like shoes, is not permitted to the exam centre. Candidates who wish to wear cultural or customary dress to the exam centre should report at least an hour before the reporting time for proper frisking.

Burqa or head scarves come under this section. As per the Delhi High Court order, Sikh candidates will be allowed to carry traditional kangha kara and kirpan with them. These articles will be considered as a part of the customary dress.

Any footwear that causes obstruction in searching or frisking will have to be removed by candidates before entering the exam hall.

Other sundry items like wallet, goggles, handbags, belt, cap etc are not allowed inside the exam hall. Watches/wrist watches, bracelets, or any kind of elaborate ornaments are also barred from the examination hall.
If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Some things never seem to change. One of them may well be the United States department of defences cartographic perception of the India-Pakistan boundary, which seemingly has not changed from the Cold War-era when India was seen to be a Soviet bloc follower. If one goes by the Pentagon representation, then there is no dispute between India and Pakistan over that part of Kashmir which is under Pakistans control.

Released on Thursday (2 May), the Pentagon's much-awaited 123-page annual report to the US Congress called Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China 2019, had at least 10 maps of the relevant region where Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is shown to be inside Pakistan. The delineation of the India-Pakistan boundary lies in the realm of political controversy because of the Kashmir issue.

While Indias claim over PoK is ignored, the region is shown to be a part of Pakistan as a result of which the disputed status of the region is glossed over. But at the same time, the disputed status of the Aksai Chin region which Indian claims, but is under the effective control of China, is acknowledged.

In one particular illustration on page 78 of the report, the 1972 Line of Control (LoC) is mentioned on the map but the area India referred to as PoK is shown to be totally under Pakistan. Pakistan calls a large swath of this region Azad Kashmir. The LoC is the line that divides Kashmir and signifies the military control on either side.

The Pentagon is another name for the United States department of defence which is mandated to submit such a report to the US Congress every year. This year, the report has been prepared at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. In the past too, India had complained to the US several times whenever official US government maps failed to acknowledge Indian territorial claims. In most cases, the US made the appropriate rectifications.

While omitting any reference to the disputed India-Pakistan border, the report specifically mentioned the bickering over the India-China border. It says: Tensions remain with India along the shared border over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is part of Tibet and therefore part of China, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau. Chinese and Indian patrols regularly encounter one another along the disputed border, and both sides often accuse one another of border incursions.

Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a bitter 73-day stand-off in the Doka La near Sikkim before it ended on 28 August, 2017. The Indians objected to Chinese road building in a disputed area. It was followed by another incident at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, but that was also resolved.
The government in its Saturday response held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The Centre, Saturday, filed a fresh affidavit in the Rafale case, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions demanding a detailed investigation into the case on the grounds of national security. The BJP-led central government has argued that disclosing the procurement process will have "grave repercussions on existence of Indian state" and on national security, given the current environment in the country, as well as in neighbouring ones.

The Centre had been asked to file a reply latest by today (Saturday) on petitions seeking review of last December's verdict in which the apex court had dismissed pleas challenging India's deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

In its 14 December order, the Supreme Court had ruled that it was satisfied by the government's submissions and dismissed all petitions demanding a probe into the controversial defence deal. The court had asserted that the Rafale deal was not a case of "commercial favouritism", as opposed to what was being alleged by Opposition parties.

However, in the light of some media reports highlighting fresh facts about the negotiation process of the deal, and the alleged "parallel negotiations" by the prime minister's office, the Supreme Court had agreed to review its order.

The government, however, in Saturday's response, held that the apex court's December 2018 judgement was correct and held that unsubstantiated media reports and/or part internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner cannot form the basis for review.

The reference here was to a report in The Hindu, which leaked a "dissent note" by a defence ministry official objecting to the PMO's parallel discussions which has weakened the negotiation of the MoD and the Indian Negotiating Team.

The government had then opposed the admissibility of these documents as proof, stating that these were stolen from classified government files and had submitted that the "privilege documents" were procured by petitioners illegally. However, the court had shot down this "peculiar argument", maintaining that documents revealed by media without authorisation can also be treated as admissible evidence in public interest.

Now, the Centre has admitted to the PMO's intervention in the negotiation process but has claimed that mere "monitoring" by the prime minister's office of an important deal did not translate to conducting "parallel negotiations" with the French side.

"Monitoring of the progress by PMO of this Government to Government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations," the government told the Supreme Court.

The government also raised questions on the Supreme Court order of 10 April, allowing the submission of these documents saying that the by letting closely guarded State secrets be obtained through whatever means will have "great repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State".

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. A deal to procure the jets was signed between India and France in 2015. The delivery is expected to begin in September this year.

With inputs from @utkarsh_aanand and @ANI
By Azera Parveen Rahman Like fish trapped in a net, Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in the Kutch region, Ismael pointed at the massive structure of an ultra mega power plant releasing water from its outfall channel. Another power plant stands on the other side. They said it (power plant) would not adversely affect us. Truth is, it has driven away the fishes and nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing, he said. Ismael Ali does not have scientific data to support his claim. But when he, and other traditional fishermen like him in Traghadi, talk about the drastic drop in their catch ever since the 4000 megawatt Tata Mundra Power Plant came up in Tunda, in the vicinity of their village less than a decade ago, it strongly indicates the correlation. Before the thermal power plant came up, we used to fish here, in this intertidal zone and get 60-70 kilograms of fish every day. We now barely get two kilograms, he said. Pagadia fishing nearly wiped off Pagadia fishing is a traditional form of fishing in the intertidal waters of Kutch wherein the fishermen use only nets; pag from Pagadia means foot, indicating they go as deep into the water as their feet can take them. Mundra falls within the seven-kilometre intertidal zone where these fishermen live, and this type of fishing typically takes place during the 'off-season', between April/May to August, when the monsoon winds pick up, making it unsafe for boats to venture deep into the sea. For as long as I can remember, this type of fishing helped us sustain during the off-season, and we would get a very good catch. The women would sell the fishes in the nearby town and villages, Ismael said. But now, because there is not enough to sustain ourselves and we dont know any other work, the fishermen families go to moneylenders to help them see through this period. The debt builds up, and the rest of the year goes in repaying that.

Hussain and Ismael (L to R). Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

The imported coal-fired thermal plant became functional in 2012, but Hussainbhai, another Pagadia fisherman of the same village, said that not only were they "not consulted beforehand, but were later told the water from the outfall channel would be let off in a different direction that would not affect them in any way. However, the released water which is much hotter  seven to eight degrees warmer  came where we typically went fishing. Over time, the fisheslike pomfret and lobsters that were found in abundance earlier  started disappearing. Malai, Ser, Khagai (local names), all migrated elsewhere. Now we mostly get small fishes, thats it, he said. The Gulf of Kutch has nearly 200 species of fishes. Standing close to the Tata Mundra Power Plant is the Mundra Power Project by the Adani group. Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) which works for the fishermen community, said, The Tata Mundra Power Plant uses an open-cycle cooling system and releases 6,000 lakh (600 million) litres of water of higher temperature through its outfall channel, per hour. The Adani power project has a somewhat lesser impact because it uses a close-cycle cooling system, which means it cools the water before releasing it back into the sea; it releases 600 lakh (60 million) litres per hour. Although a 2015 law required all plants to install cooling towers to minimise thermal pollution by the end of 2017, the Tata plant has failed to do so, he added. In 2008, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a pan-India wildlife research organisation, assessed the possible future effect of the Tata Mundra Power Plant on the surrounding coastal and marine biodiversity, so that proactive measures could be taken to minimise the ecosystem damage. Published on the companys website, the report says that the 4.9-kilometre-long outfall channel through which the sea water is released into the open water of the Gulf of Kutch, crosses the Modhva creek. The channel will be carrying the saline water having seven degrees higher than the intake channel seawater, it said. The shoreline, intertidal area and the open sea adjacent to the outfall channel is rich in fisheries resources including elasmobranch (sharks). Traghadi, Salaya and Modhva have been considered as important fish landing centres. All these fall in the impact zone of the outfall channel, the report said. However this is a temporary (fishermen) settlement and is active only during the fishing season, i.e. September to May. Nearly 10 years on, the local fishermen say that not only has fishing during the peak season been affected  they now have to venture deeper into the sea, often risking venturing into international waters  but also during the off-season, nearly wiping away Pagadia fishing.

An abandoned fishermans settlement (left) near the outfall channel of the power plant in Mundra. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

Patel said that in the Mundra-Anjar region, 10,000-15,000 fishermen have been directly impacted by the industrialisation process along the coastline. Kutch also supplies the bulk of crude oil production. This and other factors have led to busy port traffic that also affects fishermen, he added. Coal ash from thermal power plants threatens life and livelihood The BNHS report also mentioned the adverse impact of high-temperature water on the breeding ecology of turtles. This area is an important nesting site for two endangered species  green sea turtle and the olive ridley turtle. Another impact on the fishermen is by the coal ash generated by the power plants. Although the Tata Mundra Power Plant says that all the coal ash it generates is stored within the plant premises and dry ash is transported in sealed carriers to the cement industry, the locals complain of its adverse effect on them. Gajendra Sinh, the Panchayat leader of Navinal village in the same area said, The coal ash from the power plants stains the fish that are left to dry, thereby reducing its market value by a big margin. Navinal has at least 40 fishermen families. Coal Kills, a joint report by the Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace estimated that the two coal-fired power plants in Mundra put the lives of 100-120 people of the region at risk of premature death. The clash between industrialisation and coastal ecology in Mundra with a direct socio-economic impact on the local population is just a sample of what is happening along Kutchs, and the rest of Gujarats, coastline. Nearly 60 percent of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) undertakings are along the coastline. In Kutch, particularly post the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, there has been a spurt in industries taking root, mainly cement, salt, and, along the coastline, of thermal power plants and ports. Mangroves are under threat too Yet another concern from the rapid industrialisation along Kutchs coastline, particularly by the salt industry, is mangrove destruction. Mahendra Bhanani of Sahjeevan, an NGO that works on the welfare of pastoralists and for the unique Kharai camel of Kutch, said that industries typically block a natural creek and create bunds that dont allow natural tidal water to come in. This dries up the mangroves and makes it easier for heavy machinery to uproot them, and create salt pans. The Rabari community  the tribe that typically owns the threatened species of Kharai camels that are highly dependent on the mangroves for feeding  near Tunda, voice a similar concern. The warmer-than-normal water from the power plants, they say, has been detrimental to the mangroves. In a village here, there was a time when almost every family owned Kharai camel. When the two power plants came up, its access to the sea was cut off by the canal and the conveyor belts built by the companies. So they now have to walk a much longer route to reach the sea, for the camels to swim to the mangrove islands. From around 2,500 camels a decade back, less than 200 remain in the village today. No hope from political leadership At a time when Indian political parties are going all out to appease voters and promising to meet their demands in the backdrop of the national elections, these local communities have little hope from them. For the villagers of Traghadi for example, politics makes no difference to their lives. It doesnt make any difference to us if Modi comes back to power or Rahul [Gandhi]. We are on our own, the Pagadia fishermen said.

(L to R) Bharat Patel, Jam Ismael, Hussainbhai. Photo by Azera Parveen Rahman.

MASS filed a suit against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bankwhich had financed the Tata power plantin the US Federal Court in 2015 for failing to ensure that the plant complied with the environmental and social conditions of its loan. Although the US district court ruled that the IFC had absolute immunity, the US Supreme Court, on 27 February this year, gave a ruling in the Kutch fishermens favour, saying that the IFC does not have absolute immunity and can be sued. This was a landmark moment for us, said Patel, We are now pursuing the case legally. As part of their corporate social responsibility, the thermal power plants in Tunda have supplied drinking water to the villages in the vicinity. We dont want the lights, the water, nothing. Just give us our livelihood back and we will take care of ourselves, Ismael said. There was no official response from the Tata and the Adani group despite attempts to get one. The BNHS did not respond either. However, in a recent development, an official statement from the Tata group said that its Mundra plant is making consistent, significant losses and that its experience (in Mundra) has helped convince the company to turn away from new coal-fired power. *** This article was originally published on Mongabay.com Mongabay-India is an environmental science and conservation news service. This article has been republished under the Creative Commons licence.
Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

New Delhi: Stepping up the attack after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made snide references, finance minister Arun Jaitley called Rahul Gandhi a 'defence deal pusher' on Saturday and questioned his role in a defence deal awarded during the previous UPA government to a company allegedly linked to his former business partner.

"It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to become India's ," Jaitley said at a press conference at the party headquarters here attacking Gandhi.

Quoting a media report, he said, "In 2002, a company named Backops Service Pvt Ltd with Rahul and Priyanka as its directors was formed. In 2003, a company with the same name was formed in Britain with its directors as Rahul Gandhi (65 percent stake) and US national Ulrik Mcknight. This is a liasoning company which uses influence for cash."

Jaitley alleged that Gandhi's former business partner was awarded the offset contract in the Scorpene-class submarine deal signed during the previous UPA government.

"In 2009, Rahul exits from the company and the Indian company folds its business in 2010. Meanwhile, Ulrik continues to work in the name of other companies. In this period, French company DCNS got a contract to manufacture six Scorpene submarines in India. In this contract, one little known Indian company Flashforge is selected as DCNS' offset entity in 2011," Jaitley said.

He said that Ulrik's companies were acquired by Flashforge before it was awarded the contract.

Seeking a reply from Congress leadership, Jaitley said: "What was his role? Was he a defence dealer, or a disguised defence dealer, or proxy dealer and a facilitator?"

"Why was this company formed in England and with similar names in India? What was its principal job, what are the businesses it did?" he continued.

Punning on the name of the company, Backops, Jaitley said: "What did this Backops mean? That there will be a back office and will help you?"

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah tweeted on the issue talking about Gandhi's 'Midas' touch while Modi attacked Gandhi on the issue in an election rally.

Gandhi, however, has refuted the charge made in a news article and said that he was ready to face any probe by the government.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi said: "Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale."

Jaitley slammed Gandhi for allegedly making false allegations against the BJP in the Rafale deal case without any substantial evidence.

Notably, Gandhi scion has been considerably vocal against the alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Congress in its manifesto has promised to probe the case if it comes to power.
The Bhil community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

Jaipur: Miffed at constant neglect from the government, a section of tribals inhabiting parts of central and western India have organised themselves as a formidable political force pushing for a separate state.

The Bhil tribe is demanding a separate Bhilistan state comprising 22 districts of four states: Rajasthan (five districts), Gujarat (seven), Madhya Pradesh (five), and Maharashtra (five). Their evolution in the political field is indicative of their commitment to the cause.

They first tasted success in 2017, when their student wing  Bhil Pradesh Vidyarthi Morcha (BPVM)  secured a clean sweep in colleges across Dungarpur, Sagwara, Banswara, and Khairwada in Rajasthan and came second in Udaipur, trouncing heavyweights ABVP and NSUI.

The 70-year-old slogan of Jai Bhil Pradesh resonated in the Rajasthan Assembly when it gathered for its first session in February. It was raised by two legislators belonging to the newly-formed Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), formed by Chotubhai Vasava, a legislator from Gujarat, in 2017. Rajkumar Roat won from Chourasi seat and Ramprasad Dindor won from Sagwara, both with decent margins. BTP contested 11 seats, won two, and did well in two other seats.

A fight for tribal might

Roat said, All we want is our rights as tribals, as Bhils. It hurts us when we are compared to Naxals. We are not against the state or union of India. All we want is reservation within reservation. Out of the 12 percent reservation for tribals, one community takes up 11 percent and all other tribals get a mere 1 percent. This must end.

BTPs MLA from Sagwara, Dindor, seconded him. Ensuring tribal rights is our main aim. For that, the formation of a separate Bhilistan is necessary. This was the slogan we raised in the Assembly on the first day, when we took oath in the name of nature  the sun, moon, rivers, mountains, and forests; these are our gods. We have arrived on the platform from where our voice can reach people, he said.

The Bhils are tribals, classified as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tripura.

In Rajasthan, they are the largest tribe. As per the 2011 census, there are more than 92 lakh people belonging to Scheduled Tribes in the state. This is 12 percent of the states total population and nearly 40 percent of its tribal population.

The Bhils established Rajasthans Banswara, Udaipur, and Dungarpur kingdoms, which are now districts. They also fought alongside Maharana Pratap in the Haldighati battle against emperor Akbar.

BTP state president Dr Vela Ram Ghoghra confirmed, We have fielded candidates from four seats, Banswara-Dungarpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Jodhpur. We hope to register our presence in the Parliament this time. Our candidates are Sansi Lal Roat from Banswara-Dungarpur, BL Sanwal from Udaipur, Amar Singh Kalunda from Jodhpur and Prakash Meena from Chittorgarh. We will regularly raise our demands through rallies, first in Rajasthan and later in Delhi."

Ghogra further said, Why is it that governors and Presidents, who are our guardians as per the Constitution, never took up our cause? Its time they did now.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be held on Monday, during which some parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls.

How Bhils emerged in politics

Before jumping in the political arena, Bhil leaders had changed tactics and started initiatives to infuse pride in their historic icons among community members and establish the tribal identity. Over the last decade, birth anniversaries of community leaders and icons have been celebrated with increasing enthusiasm and participation.

In 2017, Adivasi Parivar, a Gujarat-based community-funded organisation helped to form BTP.

The RSS did intensive outreach programmes through its Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad. But it failed to stop Bhils from gravitating towards their own party.

The community holds a decisive vote share in 23 Assembly seats in south Rajasthan and the three parliamentary seats of Udaipur, Banswara-Dungarpur, and Chittorgarh.

The 2018 Assembly polls saw the BTP polling 12.5 percent votes in Bhil-dominated seats of Banswara, Dungarpur, Sagwara, Bagidora, Chorasi, Ghatol, Kushalgarh, and Gadhi in Rajasthan.

The Bhilistan dream

The demand for a separate state for Bhils was prominently discussed at the annual convention of the Adivasi Ekta Parishad organised in Silvasa on 14 and 15 January this year. The Parishad is the largest body of tribals.

The community wants Bhilistan formed out of Udaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Aravalli, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, a part of Surat, and Panchmahal in Gujarat; Nashik, Thane, Dhule, a part of Pune, and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra; and Jhabua, Dhar, Barwani, Khargone, and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

The 22 districts have a dominant population of Bhils, a tribe unique to these areas. Historians confirm that, during the British Raj, these areas were called Khan Desh for their mineral mines, and were also called Bhil Patti (strip). They have one language, one gotra, and similar food styles, traditions, and rituals.

(The author is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com)
Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only 'on paper' and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

New Delhi: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls head on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and it should not be politicised as he also slammed the government on tackling terror, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, Gandhi alleged that the BJP compromises on it, adding that the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi because it works with a strategy, rather than "events".

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, he also hit out at the prime minister over his remarks that the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the Opposition party thought those were akin to video games.

Gandhi said Modi's comments were not an insult to the Congress, but to the army.

Asked about the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

"Who had sent him there? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists  Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh  were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress, Gandhi said, "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property."

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the army," the Congress chief said.

He said the army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle.

"It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it? It is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added.

Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

Thursday, 2 May was quite an unusual day on Prime Minister Narendra Modis calendar. He stayed put in Delhi.

In a departure from his routine since the election season took over the country, he did not hop from state to state holding three rallies a day.

But today he will be back to that punishing schedule. It is likely to remain so for most of the remaining days of campaigning that ends on 17 May 5 pm.

Whatever the results throw up on 23 May, one of the enduring images of campaign 2019 will be the pace Prime Minister Narendra Modi set for himself, rivalled by the campaign that candidate Modi mounted five years ago. In 2014 he was running a state government concurrently and this time a national government.

In around 125 days  from 25 December to 1 May  Modi has held 200 programmes across 27 states and Union Territories. Directed at the ongoing elections, these programmes, however, have been only a part of all the activities that Modi has been a part of in this period. He has chaired 14 Cabinet meetings in the interim.

This post on Narendra Modi's website gives an account of his campaign and how he has been juggling politics and administration.

Take for instance, the days of 25 and 26 February just two months ago. Modi delivered a keynote address at the inaugural of the two-day Rising India Summit 2019 of News18 at Taj Palace hotel. He left the venue around 9 pm on 25 February, six hours before the air strikes on Balakot. He remained awake throughout the night to keep himself abreast of the IAF operation to destroy Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps at Balakot around 3 am on 26 February.

After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his next days schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am.

He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. Soon thereafter, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi and took a Metro ride from Khan Market to attend an event at ISKCON temple in the city.

"There can't be any substitute to Modi ji as PM. Our country needs an energetic, strong and vibrant leader like him. It's always easy to criticise ones work, but through his hard work and perseverance, Modiji has set an example before the young generation," says Atanu Das, a grocer in South Delhi.

In fact, Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah seem to have taken the wind out of the Oppositions sails with their whirlwind election campaigning.

One of enduring images from the 2019 election campaign will be the sea of humanity that took to the streets to welcome their MP, Narendra Modi, when he landed in Varanasi to file his nomination papers. Slowly winding through the streets of the city, the juggernaut of the procession underscored yet again the strength of Modis grassroots connect.

His connect with the masses has always operated at several levels such as the Townhall programmes, Pariksha Pe Charcha through which he has connected with students, Main Bhi Chowkidar programmes that have touched the nationalistic chord among the voters, or the radio programme Mann Ki Baat that gets citizens in the remotest corners tuned in to listen to their leader.

"Whether one likes or dislikes Narendra Modi or many of his statements and ideas, what can't be ignored is his die-hard spirit and energy that he brings to his election campaigning, besides running the country simultaneously as prime minister," says Rajeev Bakshi, an engineer working with an ITES company in Noida.

But the Prime Minister is a multi-tasker who did not allow the approaching elections to cast any shadow on the ongoing work of the government, even though the country knew that polls would have been the top priority for all political leaders in the last year of the current government in power.

Two big successes for the nation that the PM oversaw just before the elections were announced were the Balakot air strike and the successful conduct of the Anti-Satellite Missile Test (A-SAT) on 27 February.

Its quite clear that being on the go 24x7 and not showing any stress from it is one of the biggest assets that Modi takes to elections. That at 68 he can maintain a schedule over such a long time is a vote-catcher.
For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. BJD is expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 election.

For nineteen years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. His party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)  named after his father Biju Patnaik  is widely expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly election.

However, Patnaik doesnt seem to be comfortable with the B factor. For the names of his two former associates-turned-bete noirs, start with the second letter of English alphabet: Bijoy Mohapatra and Baijayant Panda. Both are in his enemy camp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contesting polls. It was evident all within a space of less than a week on either side of the poll.

In the last and final phase of polls on 29 April, the entire state watched keenly the high voltage tussle between BJD and Naveens political enemy Baijayant Panda, seeking re-election from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. All thought the drama ended there. They were wrong.

On 30 April, while most of the leaders, following the grueling month-long campaign in terrible heat and energy-sapping humidity, searched for a welcome breather, Patnaik, who had also extensively held roadshows and addressed rallies for his party candidates, was in New Delhi.

He met the Election Commission (EC) and urged it to postpone polling in Patkura Assembly seat and withdraw the Model Code of Conduct for all the coastal districts in view of the severe cyclonic storm Fani. Polling in Patkura has been rescheduled for 19 May, following the death of the BJD nominee Bed Prakash Agarwal.

BJP knew what Patnaik exactly aiming at. So on 1 April, a BJP delegation, led by Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met the EC and urged it not to postpone the polls in Patkura seat  under Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat  from where its candidate Bijoy Mohapatra is contesting.

"The chief minister in his letter to the EC has mentioned that the cyclone is likely to hit Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. This is not correct. The cyclone is likely to hit Krushna Prasad block under Brahmagiri Assembly segment, which is 150 km from Patkura," Pradhan said in a statement.

Both politicians and experts realised that Patnaik's demand for postponing the elections in Patkura was a ploy to block his longtime rival Mohapatras entry into the Assembly. Mohapatra, who is at the centre of this political drama, doesnt seem to be bothered though. He has been through worse. Mohapatra said that Patnaik tried his best to postpone the election but when that failed, he went to the EC to delay it post 23 May. It shows his mindset. I cant imagine how someone can be so mean, Mohapatra said in between answering calls.

He exuded confidence that both he and Panda are going to win and Patnaik is aware of that. I have noticed from the minds of the people that they are very unhappy with Naveens tactics. There is a sympathy wave in favour of me. Baijayant Panda will also win, he declared.

Mohapatra said that Patnaik is scared of him. He is highly scared, therefore adopting such dirty politics. Naveen is just the opposite of his father and has a very small heart, he added.

Even leaders of the Congress, BJPs principal enemy, criticised Patnaik for such a move. They believe Patnaik is trying to scuttle Mohapatras attempt to get inside the Assembly, by hook or crook.

Naveen is in the habit of playing this type of politics. He dislikes honesty and efficiency. He thinks he can play with the entire democratic system, maintained senior Congress leader and Cuttack Lok Sabha candidate Panchanan Kanungo. He wants people around him who would remain surrendered and never raise their voice. When the state is about to face a natural calamity, the chief minister went to Delhi with his own personal agenda. This is really unfortunate, Kanungo, who once was the finance minister in Patnaiks cabinet, added.

Senior journalist Rajaram Satpathy, who hails from Patkura constituency itself, during his long career as a reporter has seen Kendrapara and Odisha politics closely. He too has watched political careers of Patnaik, Panda and Mohapatra, equally from close quarters.

According to him, Patnaik doesnt like to see the rise of the Panda-Mohapatra duo. Patnaik is against Panda due to his growing popularity. Panda as a two-term MP has done quite a lot of good work and is liked by the people of Kendrapara. Naveen is aware Mohapatras presence in the Assembly would create horrors for him. Otherwise, he wouldnt have forced Bed Prakash Agarwal to contest against Mohapatra, Satpathy believed.

But the BJD leaders are not ready to accept any such argument. Our president has always worked hard in the best interest of the state. If the BJP or others are thinking that BJD or our leader is against a particular leader, they are free to do so. Its their problem, said a block-level leader of the party. However, when asked about the reasons behind fielding an ailing Agarwal, he tried to avoid the question and said, Wait. The people of Patkura will tell us in the election what is right or wrong.

Incidentally, the entire state was baffled when Naveen announced Agarwal as BJDs candidate for Patkura. Consider this. While Patnaik chose to give rest to many seventy plus leaders like Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik (Berhampur), Jugal Kishore Patnaik (Bhadrak), V Sugnan Kumari Deo (Kabisuryanagar) and Jogendra Behera (Loisingha), he thought it prudent to nominate the 83-year-old Agarwal.

Not only that. The veteran leader, who was fighting for life in the ICU of a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar couldnt come to collect his ticket for nearly a week. Incidentally, Agarwals wife and son had met Patnaik and pleaded that the ticket be given to someone else in the family. But Patnaik maintained silence. On the other hand, he thought it apt to give tickets to sons of Pravat Tripathy (Banki) and Pravat Biswal (Cuttack-Choudwar). Both of them served jail terms for their links in the chit fund case.

The image of Agarwal filing nominations in a wheelchair, as beamed across TV channels, shocked all, as they dreaded the obvious. Agarwal passed away on 20 April. Ironically, the BJD then nominated his widow Sabitri Agarwal.

The voters have seen everything and they know the truth. Therefore, the sympathy wave that Naveen thought would help his party is not going to happen. Perhaps Naveen knows it and thats why he had approached the EC to postpone the election in Patkura, Satpathy said.

Patnaik-Mohapatra rivalry is part of the Odisha politics folklore. In the 2000 elections, Mohapatra headed the BJDs powerful political affairs committee. He was distributing tickets. He had filed his nomination and was sure of a successful return to the Assembly for a possible bigger role.

However, just a couple of hours before the deadline for filing nominations ended, Mohapatra, who was chairing a meeting of party leaders in Bhubaneswar, was informed of the cruel truth: someone else had filed nomination on the partys ticket. He didnt have the required time to even reach Kendrapara, let alone file nominations.

Since then, he experimented but remained in political wilderness.

Ironically, both Mohapatra and Panda were not only among the founding members of the BJD but they also regard Patnaik's maverick chief minister father with great respect and admiration. While the Twitter savvy, suave Panda always refers to Biju as 'uncle' for his familys long association with the senior Patnaik, Mohapatra, who welded immense power during Bijus rule (1990-95), cant stop lavishing praises on him. Biju babu was not only a great leader but also had a large heart. You rarely see such great men in Indian politics, Mohapatra said.

Kendrapara district was known as Biju Patnaiks karmabhoomi. The district has been loyal to the Biju family for over fifty years.
The 'full commission' which takes such decisions comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

On Saturday the Election Commission Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on 21 April. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

One of the two election commissioners gave a dissenting view in the decision of the 'full Election Commission' to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said on Friday.

The 'full commission', which takes such decisions, comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. In the past three days, the commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Congress against the prime minister, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

One of the election commissioners, according to the sources, gave a dissenting view in EC's decision to give clean chit to the prime minister on his speech at Wardha on 1 April where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Wayanad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama martyrs in Latur on 9 April.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the poll panel was unanimous in disposing of a third complaint against the prime minister for his speech in Rajasthan's Barmer where he warned Pakistan about India's nuclear arsenal. Every other day they used to say we have nuclear button, we have nuclear button. What do we have then? Have we kept it for Diwali? he said, as per the report.

However, NDTV reported that one of the three commissioners dissented with the majority view to let Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah off the hook for their comments on five occasions, as per a high-ranking source. In addition to Modi's speeches in Karnataka and Maharashtra and his questioning of Rahul Gandhi selecting the Wayanad seat, the fifth instance related to Shah's comments, also on Wayanad, where in a speech in Nagpur, he said "Rahul Gandhi is contesting in such a place where it is impossible to say when a procession is taken out, whether it is a procession in India or Pakistan."

Since it was not a quasi-judicial decision, the dissent was not recorded. It was a view verbally presented in the meeting, a functionary explained. The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 states that if the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The commission transacts its business by holding regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All election commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the commission.

With inputs from PTI
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party has 'demolished' the prime minister and the 'hollow structure will come crumbling down' in the next few days.

Addressing a media briefing, the Gandhi scion said: "Five years ago, it was said that Modiji cannot be defeated and it will rule for 10-15 years, that he is invincible. The Congress party has demolished Narendra Modiji, it is a hollow structure and in 10-20 days, it will come crumbling down. The work that we had to do, we have done it. Congress has changed the narrative by fighting on the ground." He also said the Congress will not allow the Indian institutions to be controlled and crushed.

"The Election Commission has to commit to their responsibility and they have to carry it out. All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effect of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, and crushed," said Rahul.

While replying to a question on the BJP chief Amit Shah's allegation that Rahul's former business partner got the defence offset contract during the UPA's tenure, Rahul said he is ready for the investigations.

Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army. pic.twitter.com/wAPPISCXUq  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

"Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale", Rahul told reporters.

Rahul also stated that his party will keep on using the slogan of 'Chowkidar chor hai' as he hasn't apologised for its usage but for citing the Supreme Court in reference to the slogan. "The process (Rafale case) is going on in Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologized. I did not apologise to BJP or Modiji. 'Chowkidar chor hai' is a reality and it will remain our slogan," he said.

He also promised to give 22 lakh jobs to the youth of the country and said: "Narendra Modi has badly damaged the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. He has demonetised, and NYAY scheme will remonetise the economy. We guarantee giving government jobs to 22 lakh youth in the first year."

The press briefing by Congress president Rahul Gandhi comes amid a hard-fought electoral battle. The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for 6 May. The results of all the phases will be announced on 23 May.

Rahul also slammed Modi for raising suspicion over the claims of the surgical strike during the UPA regime and asserted that doing so is an insult to the Army. On Thursday, Congress party claimed that six surgical strikes were conducted during former prime minister Manmohan Singh's regime from 2004 to 2014.

On Friday, Modi, in a rally in Rajasthan had said that the Congress had first objected "decisive" action against terrorist by way of surgical strikes and then claimed that they had also done the same. He also said the Congress leaders seem to play video games, and suggested that they treated surgical strikes in the same manner.

In response, Rahul said: "The Army, Air Force or Navy is not personal properties of Narendra Modiji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress, but the Army. These air strikes were done by the Army and we do not politicise the Army. The prime minister should not insult the Army."

Rahul also claimed the Congress's internal assessment is clearly saying that the BJP is losing. "More than half of elections are over and there is a clear-cut feeling that Narendra Modi is losing. The main issues are jobs, farmers, corruption by the prime minister and attack on an institution.

"People of the country are asking questions. Unemployment is the biggest issue in front of the country. The country is asking that Narendra Modi had promised employment to 2 crore people, but today there is maximum unemployment in the country in 45 years. In Congress's manifesto, we have the first chapter on jobs whereas Narendra Modi is not speaking a word on jobs because he cannot speak over it.

"He cannot speak because he has no plan or vision on the issue," said Rahul.

The Congress president once again attacked the BJP on the issue of release of Masood Azhar and said, "Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Government."
What makes things worse in the case of Rahul Gandhi is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse.

The India Today interview of Rahul Gandhi that was published in the groups magazine but wasnt aired on its TV channel (despite promos and teasers) for reasons unknown, proves a simple point. The Congress president is unfit for any public office, leave alone serving as Indias prime minister.

It is difficult to reach any other conclusion after going through the transcript of the interview. The interviewers were sympathetic. Not too many tough questions were asked, Rahul was given a free pass on dubious claims and allowed to go unchallenged on what he claimed were facts. They let him speak  and that is all the encouragement that the dynast needed to expose his ineptitude anew.

Obviously, this wasnt the first time Rahul has made a case against himself in public life. What came through in the interview, however, was that the Gandhi scion has sank deeper into his dystopian reality and started believing in own delusions.

This happens when a cocooned dynast  who has not been exposed to the rough and tumble of life, or has never done a real job to earn a living  is airdropped onto the top of an organisation not on merit but entitlement, and surrounds himself with sycophants who are determined to tell him only what he wants to hear.

The leader becomes cut off from reality, develops an exaggerated sense of self-importance and starts believing that the world revolves around him. It isnt a crime for a leader not to be an orator. For instance, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee are not known for their oratorical skills. Yet, they have repeatedly won electoral success and established their credentials as chief ministers and mass leaders.

It is possible that Rahuls grasp of reality is not sound enough for him to be able to deal with complex questions on policy and politics that he is expected to answer as a challenger to the prime minister. Then, he needs to do his homework and come up with sane responses to legitimate questions. The answers that he came up with are beyond belief.

What makes things worse in Rahuls case is that his ineptitude is accompanied by a megalomania breathtaking in expanse. This has degraded his ability to self-detect the inconsistencies and gaps of logic in his arguments. And since nobody within his party dares point out to him these anomalies, his delusion becomes progressively deeper and may eventually become incurable.

For instance, when asked in the India Today interview whether he would like to be the prime minister or is ready to be one, the Congress president comes up with a sensible answer. Who am I to say that? About 900 million people are casting their votes, its up to them to decide. Whoever they choose, Im happy with that.

He says much the same thing in a recent NDTV interview.

This would mean that Rahul grasps the key factor in a democracy  it is the people who decide and choose their leaders. Keeping this in mind, let us see scrutinise his answer to a rather innocuous question on his fitness mantra. While describing the value of persistence in fitness, Rahul draws a political equivalence.

Everyone told me Mr Narendra Modi cant be defeated. I said, 'Yeah, you really think so? I asked them, Tell me what Mr Narendra Modis strength is. They said, His strength is his (incorruptible) image. I said, Okay, Im going to rip that strength to pieces. Im going to take it and shred it. And Ive done it. Persistence, my friend! Keep going and keep going and keep going. And I will keep going until the truth on Rafale is out!

This is an extraordinary comment at multiple levels. At one level, it shows Rahuls confusion about key tenets in a democracy. It is not for Rahul or any other politician to rip into shreds the reputation of a rival who enjoys popular support and mass appeal. Even after five years in power as prime minister, Narendra Modis popularity far exceeds that of his rivals, and he punches even above the weight of his own party. His popularity graph, according to surveys and opinion polls, instead of dipping towards the end of tenure seems to have got a second wind after the Balakot air strikes.

It is breathtakingly arrogant for the Gandhi scion to assume that he can make the electorate think on his terms and sway their opinion. The logic behind his assertion isnt clear.

At another level, these comments reveal that Rahuls charges against Modi on the Rafale deal are fictional. These charges are not based on facts but driven by Rahuls self-declared urge to rip Modis strength (incorruptible image) into pieces. Whats more, Rahul is convinced that he has done his job (of damaging Modis image ostensibly through concocted charges and insinuations). This may also explain why Rahul continues to play truant with facts on the Rafale deal "controversy" and remains entitled to his own unverified and constantly fluctuating statistics.

We shall soon know whether Rahuls confidence is well-founded or misplaced, but from surveys and reportages, it seems that allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal have failed to catch public attention and Modi still enjoys an image of incorruptibility despite Rahuls effort to rip it into pieces.

Rahuls comments on the privatisation of public sector entities such as Air India are equally worrying. Not because he believes in socialism, capitalism or market economy. It is not clear what exactly he believes in, because his answers are fuzzier than mist on a winter morning in Delhi.

The question by the India Today interviewers was rather straight: Are you for or against public sector disinvestment? Does Air India need to be shut down?

Rahuls answer: This, if I may be blunt with you, is too basic a question: are we against it or for it? He goes on to say that the Congress has a strategy on public disinvestment, and he hates being asked these simplistic questions. This is not the kind of question you should be asking a national political leader, its the kind of question you ask high school kids. Come at me with sophistication and Ill come back at you with sophistication.

It is unclear what exactly Rahul means by sophistication. Perhaps it is his belief that "my mother is my sister. My sister is my mother." He insists, "They are the same thing, the same force. They are not different." This level of sophistication, one suspects, might boggle the minds of ordinary folks.

Rahul shows the same level of sophistication while dealing with a question on his favorite fruit. According to him, vipassana has made his mind so adaptable that his mind can construct the flavour of the fruit. Which apparently means that, You can choose to like mango, you can choose to hate it. You can choose to like poor people, you can choose to hate them. You construct everything in your mind. The mind decides everything.

Interestingly, the India Today group seems to have chosen not to telecast the interview on its TV channel. One of the journalists belonging to the group clarified on Twitter that this was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week."

This was never meant to be a TV interview. It was always a magazine interview alone. The Congress Presidents office did a video recording for their own purpose. We do not have a copy of the video recording. Print interview has been published in the magazine this week. https://t.co/yAd6xop0ZE  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 4, 2019

This clarification, however, runs thin on facts, because the media house had run promos and teasers of this interview on its channel.

And you say "watch" the most in-depth interview. pic.twitter.com/YNi804gdYH  Arun (@nonemnura) May 4, 2019

Dear Rahul kanwal, Your channel ran a ticker to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview at 6:30 on 2'nd of may Your channel's Twitter feed asked people to "watch" Rahul gandhi's interview Now tell me how was it supposed to be a Print interview when you asked people to "watch" it https://t.co/yUBDWvVjnP     (@indiantweeter) May 4, 2019

It is quite clear that the understanding was that this interview was meant to be aired. The group wouldnt have run promos based on the Congress material. It is not clear at what stage it was taken off air, why and whether the group came under any sort of political pressure in not airing it.
Agence France-Presse

The fossilised remains of an early human cousin found in the mountains of Tibet prove mankind adapted to live at a high altitude far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

A jawbone dating from at least 160,000 years ago of a Denisovan  a now-extinct branch of humanity  is the first of its kind discovered outside of southern Siberia, and experts believe it holds the key to understanding how some modern-day humans have evolved to tolerate low-oxygen conditions.

Contemporaries of the Neanderthals  and like them, possibly wiped out by anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens  the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago.

Their existence was determined through a piece of the finger bone and two molars unearthed at the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia's Altai Mountains and dated to some 80,000 years ago.

But the new remains  discovered in passing by a local monk nearly thirty years ago  has led researchers to conclude that Denisovans were far more numerous, and far older than previously thought.

"To have beings, even if a little archaic, living at 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) on the Tibetan plateau 160,000 years ago... That's something that no one could have imagined until today," said Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Max Planck Institute's Department of Human Evolution.

The bone, found in the Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe, China, was donated by the monk to a local museum, before scientists set about analysing its composition. It was so old no DNA could be extracted.

But Hublin and his team used the latest protein analysis to date one of its teeth and to link it genetically to Denisovan specimens found in Siberia.

"From my point of view it's confirmation of a working hypothesis I've had for a while: Nearly all Chinese and East Asian (hominim) fossils between 350,000-50,000 years ago are probably Denisovan," said Hublin, lead author of the study published in Nature.

Extraordinary

A recent research paper suggested that humans only reached the Tibetan plateau  a vast area of mountainous terrain north of the Himalayas  around 40,000 years ago.

"Here we have something that's four times older," said Hublin. "It's absolutely extraordinary."

The jawbone discovery also solves a riddle that has troubled anthropologists for years.

In 2015, researchers found that ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese living at altitude had buried in their genetic code an unusual variant of a gene, EPAS1, which regulates haemoglobin, the molecule that hauls oxygen around the blood. At high altitude, common variants of the gene overproduce haemoglobin and red blood cells, causing the blood to become thick and sludgy  a cause of hypertension, low birth-weight and infant mortality.

But the variant found in Tibetans increases production by much less, thus averting hypoxia problems experienced by many people who relocate to places above 4,000 metres in altitude. The mutation is nearly identical to that found in the DNA of Denisovans discovered in Siberia  at an altitude of less than 700 metres.

"That was something that no one really understood, because the Denisovans weren't known to live at altitude, so they didn't really need that gene to survive," said Hublin. "Now we know why. It's not the DNA from Denisovans from (Siberia), it's the DNA from the Denisovans of Tibet."
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled a trip to the United States, according to a written statement from his office, after sharp protests against his being honoured as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaro's past racist and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues refuse to host the event. Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co yanked their support of the event, as well.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing a wave of Israeli air strikes that killed a Palestinian baby and a gunman, as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday when a sniper from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired at Israeli troops across the border wounding two of them, according to the Israeli military. A retaliatory Israeli air strike then killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

On Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired more than 200 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. In response, the Israeli military said its tanks and aircraft carried out attacks against more than 30 militant targets belonging to both groups. Explosions in Gaza City, where busy streets were packed with shoppers making preparations for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, shook buildings and sent people fleeing for cover.

The Gaza Health Ministry said a 14-month old baby was killed by one of the Israeli strikes and at least 13 other Palestinians were wounded throughout Saturday. Residents identified two of them as militants.The Israeli plane fired a missile near the house and the shrapnel entered the house and hit the poor baby, said her aunt, Ibtessam Abu Arar. An Israeli military spokeswoman made no immediate comment.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in another air strike. Across the border, sirens sent Israelis running to shelters as the blasts of rocket interceptions sounded overhead. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said two people were wounded by shrapnel. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was prepared to intensify its attacks. He added that Islamic Jihad was trying to destabilize the border and blamed Hamas for failing to rein it in.

In a joint statement in which they claimed responsibility for firing rockets, Hamas and Islamic Jihad said: Our response will be broader and more painful if the enemy pursues its aggression.

Egyptian mediation

Although Israeli air strikes in retaliation for rockets from Gaza are a frequent occurrence, Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent any further escalation of hostilities. Egypt has stepped up its efforts with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Israel but there is no conclusion yet, said a Palestinian official familiar with Cairos mediation efforts.

The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs, comes days before Muslims begin Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day. Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March. The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the rocket barrages were a response to Fridays events and that Israel has been delaying the implementation of previous understandings brokered by Cairo.

Hamas said on Thursday that its Gaza chief, Yeyha Sinwar, had travelled to Cairo for talks on efforts to maintain calm along the border and alleviate hardship in the enclave. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, whose economy has suffered years of blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank, and poverty is rampant.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Over the past few weeks, Cairos mediation had helped persuade Israel to lift some restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and expand the Mediterranean zone where Gazans can fish. But Israel scaled back the fishing zone this week in response to rocket fire and shut the border crossings entirely on Saturday after barrages from Gaza.
Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

Seoul: North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament.

South Koreas military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the details. If its confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the Norths November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from President Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said several projectiles had been launched and that they flew up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) before splashing into the sea toward the northeast. Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the Norths pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland. The North probably has viable shorter range nuclear armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Koreas actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient. In a sign of Pyongyangs growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticized national security adviser John Bolton. North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified tactical guided weapon.

North Korea could choose to fire more missiles with longer ranges in coming weeks to ramp up its pressure on the United States to come up with a roadmap for nuclear talks by the end of this year, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University.

North Korea wants to say, We have missiles and nuclear weapons to cope with (US-led) sanctions, said Nam. They can fire short-range missiles a couple more times this month, and there is no guarantee that they wont fire a medium-range missile next month.

During the diplomacy that followed the Norths weapons tests of 2017, Kim Jong-un said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs. These short-range projectiles dont appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Kims displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

After the launches, South Koreas presidential national security adviser, the defense minister and the intelligence chief gathered at the presidential Blue House to monitor the situation, according to the Blue House. It said South Korea and the United States are closely sharing information about the launches.

South Koreas liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Trump and Kim.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked by phone with Pompeo about the North Korean launches, Kangs ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that South Koreas chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, had a telephone conversation with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea who is scheduled to travel to Seoul next week for talks.

Japans Defense Ministry said the projectiles werent a security threat and didnt reach anywhere near the countrys coast. Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Kim.
Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

Bangkok: Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned on Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago. The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favour the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralise royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers  though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said. A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometre (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election. In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so. On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning: 'The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions,' Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump are locked in a constitutional showdown over their powers to investigate him, exchanging threats that present risks for both sides as they head into the 2020 election.

In a clash over the balance of power between the government's legislative and executive branches, the Trump administration is stonewalling congressional investigators and asserting that it is within its rights to do so.

On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, one of several senior Democrats leading probes of Trump, his presidency and his businesses, issued a dire warning:

"The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a co-equal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever on even his most reckless decisions," Nadler said in a hearing on Thursday.

"The very system of government in the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator is very much at stake."

His remarks came after Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, refused to attend the same hearing before Nadler's committee, which is examining Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's efforts to stifle the probe.

In an unprecedented approach, Trump in recent days has filed lawsuits meant to block congressional subpoenas that were sent to two banks and an accounting firm that have worked with his businesses, which he did not divest when he took office. The subpoenas seek access to past financial records for Trump.

A businessman-turned-politician, Trump also still refuses to disclose any of his annual tax returns, rejecting decades of practice by recent presidents.

Standing by their president, Republicans in Congress dismissed as hollow Nadler's rhetoric about Trump's defiance and played down Barr's refusal to attend the House hearing.

The Republicans complained that Nadler wanted committee staff lawyers to be able to question Barr, a departure from the standard hearing format where lawmakers do the questioning.

They stressed Barr's readiness to defend his handling of the Mueller report before a Republican-controlled Senate panel on the day before he skipped the House hearing.

On Nadler's comments, Republican Representative Tom Cole said, "It's over the top. The attorney general showed up before the Senate committee and took every question."

POLITICAL RISKS

The partisan shouting match in Washington is intensifying as a platoon of Democratic presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail, with Trump lobbing Twitter insults at the front-runners.

Both sides run risks in ramping up their confrontation. The Democrats could turn off voters if they push too hard to investigate, and perhaps ultimately try to impeach Trump, allowing him to play the victim, a role he excels in.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading Democrat in opinion polls, said this week that Trump's stonewalling left no alternative but impeachment, which other Democrats have urged.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed the public split evenly over impeachment, with 40 percent in favor and 42 percent against it.

On the other hand, Trump's behavior may already be worrying Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump with a 37 percent approval rating after the Mueller report's release, his lowest of the year. [L1N2210EG]

Any further erosion will likely be muted by the economy, which is churning along in its 10th year of expansion. But if economic growth were to falter, the stand-off in Washington could become a bigger issue ahead of the November 2020 election.

MUELLER'S FINDINGS

Mueller's 448-page report, almost two years in the making, unearthed numerous links between Russians and Trump's campaign, but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

It described attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller's probe, but stopped short of declaring that Trump had committed a crime.

House Democrats are treating the report as a guide book for more investigations. Shortly after its release in redacted form on April 18, Nadler subpoenaed an unredacted version, as well as the underlying evidence that informed it.

Barr's Justice Department has refused to comply and Nadler is weighing a contempt citation against Barr over the matter.

In response to Nadler's and other inquiries, Trump has dug in. In a letter obtained by Reuters, the White House argued that Trump is within his rights to order his advisers not to testify before Congress, even though he allowed them to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, accused Barr of lying to lawmakers about his interactions with Mueller. "That's a crime," she said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman called Pelosi's allegation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on Nadler's panel, said Democrats are resorting to hyperbole because the Mueller report did not land a knock-out legal blow on Trump.

"If you don't have the facts and you don't have the law, the old joke is that you stand on the table and yell. Well, he's just standing on the table and yelling now," Collins said, referring to Nadler.

(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Kieran Murray and Howard Goller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X)

Q1 2019 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the United States Steel Corporation's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder today's call is being recorded.

I'll now hand the call over to Kevin Lewis, General Manager of Investor Relations.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning. On the call with me this morning will be US Steel President and CEO; Dave Burritt; Executive Vice President and CFO; Kevin Bradley; and Sara Greenstein; Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions. Sara has responsibility for the Mon Valley and the new technology we announced yesterday.

After the close of business yesterday, we posted our earnings release and earnings presentation under the Investor Section of our website. Yesterday morning, we also post an investor presentation highlighting our announcement on Mon Valley. On today's call, we will walk through via webcast, select slides, highlighting our investment in first quarter results. The link to the webcast can be found on the Investor Section of our website. We also posted this morning slides to our website.

Before we start, let me remind you that some information provided during this call may include forward-looking statements that are based on certain assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings and actual future results may vary materially. Forward-looking statements in the press release that we issued yesterday along with other remarks today are made as of today and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to US Steel President and CEO, Dave Burritt, who will begin today's presentation on Slide four.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Kevin. Today is a great day for US Steel. I could not be more excited for our employees; for our community; for our customers and for our current and future stockholders. Before I get into our strong first quarter financial results, I want to take a few moments to provide context for yesterday's state-of-the-art high-tech transformational announcement.

We have all seen in the headlines some on this call have even said US Steel's competitive position has weakened. US Steel can't compete with recently announced capacity additions. We know the competition, we live it and we welcome it, we don't fear it, but we respect it. We love to compete, it's our competitive spirit, our unwavering commitment and our relentless focus that has brought us to yesterday's announcement.

First, before we get into the materials, I want to talk about some facts, then I'll talk about the future. These are the facts, US Steel is special and you know this, US Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the US and the only US headquartered steel company that can mine, melt, and make steel in USA, that's a fact. We have a world-class safety performance, you all know that, that's a fact.

And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry, we understand cash is king, that's a fact. We are executing projects better, here are few examples; in the last two years, we spent $800 million on North American engineering capital projects, 90% were on or under budget. On the last five major projects, we underspent them and had an internal rate of return greater than 22%, I'm talking about projects like galvanizing line upgrades at Midwest, pipe mill and threading line projects in tubular, caster upgrades at Granite City, pickle line upgrades in Europe.

We completed nine large infrastructure projects and underspent the budget. These projects include; multiple blast furnace steel rebuilds at various facilities and steel shop environmental projects at Great Lakes Works and Granite City Works. On finishing projects, all the can do projects for our tin business were right on budget. We are executing projects better, that's a fact.

Typically first quarter is always a lighter quarter for financial results. You know -- you now know these first quarter issues well, whether or like the Polar Vortex this year and of course we can't ship pellets from Minnesota Mines, because the Soo Locks are closed. By now everyone should know how difficult the first quarter is. But we beat even our own expectations in the first quarter, because we are performing better. Asset revitalization is working, our performance and productive capability are better, that's a fact.

We're now pivoting from playing defense to offense. So let me tell you a little bit about yesterday's announcement and the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Hundreds of US Steel employees welcomed local government and community leaders to Edgar Thompson, Pennsylvania. The support we have received for this investment and the value it will create for our company, our customers, our employees and our community is extraordinary. I thank each and every person, who has reached out to congratulate the company for bringing state-of-the-art sustainable steel advanced manufacturing to Western Pennsylvania.

Following the announcement of the EAF in Alabama and a Dynamo Line in Europe, yesterday's announcement is another step in our value creation strategy. Here are the highlights: we expect the investment to be about -- approximately $1.2 billion; we are investing in the first state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line in the United States; we expect to achieve a $35 per ton reduction in operating costs. We are creating new product boundaries that create a moat around the most attractive markets we serve. Gauge and width combinations not available today in the United States. And we expect to deliver significant environmental improvements.

Turning to Page five, we have been making significant improvements to our business over the past few years, enhancing our operational excellence, creating operating leverage through improved performance and investing in technology to improve our cost structure and expand our capabilities. Our strategy is straightforward and we continue to be guided by our critical success factors. We will move down the cost curve, we will win in attractive markets and we will move up the talent curve.

Turning to Page six. This investment is truly transformative, again here is the proof. The Mon Valley is currently a low cost mill in the steel industry and we are now combining the best of both, our high quality integrated steel making process with industry-leading casting technology. Again, we expect the investment to further reduce operating costs by $35 per ton, and we are equipping the facility with best-in-class capabilities that significantly improves the quality and product attributes to meet the needs of our customers today and into the future. This is a significant competitive advantage for our company, and it delivers enormous value to our customers, as we will be able to provide sustainable steel solutions many thought impossible. The lightest, thinnest, strongest and most formable steel available.

Turning to Page seven, as part of our investment in this new technology, we are also building a state-of-the-art co-generation facility at our Clairton plant. The facility will convert coke oven gas to electricity and steam, delivering significant environmental improvements within our facilities and across the region. Once completed, we expect our investments to significantly reduce emissions; including the following estimates: 35% reduction in particulate matter 10 and 2.5, 50% reduction in sulfur dioxide, 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide.

Turning to Page eight, we've been listening to what our customers are telling us and our strategy is clear, we're creating a moat around the attractive markets through dimensions and differentiation, and are expanding our capabilities to be the material provider of choice in growing markets. We know that sustainable profitability lies with being a flexible and agile steel producer capable of solving 21st century material problems.

From asset revitalization to endless casting and rolling, our investment strategy expands our capability and cost profile to win share. We are revitalizing and now we are revolutionizing. From wide to narrow and from light gauge to heavy gauge our footprint will be well positioned to win in the US market and will help shape the future markets, we will create with our customers. To be clear we are not adding steel making capacity, instead we are transforming our footprint to capture market share. I have never been more confident in our future than I am right now.

With that I'll turn to Page nine and Kevin Bradley. Kevin?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Dave, and good morning everyone. Given yesterday's announcement, Page nine provides a helpful visual of the work we've done on our capital structure over the last two years. We've made great progress reducing our overall debt and shifting our maturity profile. We've reshaped our capital structure having eliminated or refinanced over $1.8 billion in debt. We've extended our maturity profile with no significant maturities until 2025 and beyond.

In addition, our strong liquidity at $2.5 billion including cash of $676 million and $1.8 billion of availability on our US and European revolving credit facilities, positions the company well for strategic investments like the one we announced yesterday.

Turning to Page 10, let's talk about the investment in Mon Valley. At a $1.2 billion level of investment, we are estimating a return of 15% or higher. You can see the expected cash requirements between today and 2022 with just over a $1 billion being required between 2020 and 2021. We are planning to fund the investment from a combination of vendor-supported financing and senior unsecured notes. The vendor-supported financing will be approximately $250 million, and we'll have flexible draw-down terms to match project cash flow requirements.

Slide 11 provides a summary of our recent technology investments. In January, we announced the construction of a new Dynamo Line at our European steel mill. We expect that this $130 million capital investment over the next two years will deliver an annualized run rate EBITDA benefit of $35 million. Full year EBITDA benefits are expected in 2021. In February, we announced the restart of the tubular EAF in Fairfield, Alabama. We expect annualized run rate benefits by 2021, up to total approximately $80 million from our $280 million capital investment to complete the EAF. This investment makes our tubular business self-sufficient on round substrate for the seamless pipe mills, resulting in significant cost savings.

Yesterday's announcement of the endless casting and rolling line is targeting first coil in 2022. With a full year $275 million EBITDA benefit expected in 2023. The combination of these three technology investments totaled approximately $390 million EBITDA expansion over the next three to four years.

Before I turn it back to Dave, let's recap some of the first quarter highlights on Page 12. Total adjusted EBITDA of $285 million was, up $30 million over the prior year quarter, and up approximately $60 million versus our expectations. Overall, it was a strong first quarter. We gained market share and continue to see opportunities to improve our competitive position. The better-than-expected results in our Flat-Rolled segment were largely driven by increased shipments and strong operational performance. I was very impressed with the team's execution across the Flat-Rolled footprint.

Our European segment performed in line with our expectations, while our Tubular segment capitalized on an improved commercial environment to deliver material upside. First quarter adjusted EPS of $0.47 was significantly higher than the first quarter of 2018 at $0.32.

Please note our Q1, effective tax rate was 12.4% as you know we released a significant portion of the valuation allowance against our NOLs at the end of 2018. That action is resulting in a more normal annual rate for the company. Our tax rate also reflects the benefits of the depletion, deduction generated by our mining operations. While, our reported tax rate should be higher than prior years going forward, we do not expect to incur US cash taxes for a few more years, due to the NOLs. As discussed in January, we will provide quantitative guidance later in the quarter, but given today's environment, we currently expect Q2 adjusted EBITDA at the enterprise level to be similar to Q1. The Flat-Rolled segment should benefit from stronger sheet and third-party pellet shipments. However, our European business is being negatively impacted by increasingly challenging market conditions across Europe. Overall, we feel good about the company's performance and our ability to execute our strategy and deliver results.

With that let me turn it back to Dave.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Kevin. Before we turn to the Q&A, we've covered a lot today, so I want to take a moment to recap. As Kevin said we are obviously happy with the first quarter. We have some serious headwinds in Europe that we have to work through, the market is certainly more challenged than anyone anticipated when we entered the year. But overall we feel good about the business and 2019.

Lastly, we have some really exciting news yesterday, we think this unleashes value in so many ways. It's a big time capability improvement and big time cost improvement and it's a big time sustainability improvement. It checks all the boxes. Strong strategic rationale, high levels of value creation and our capital structure is well positioned to support this investment. I couldn't be happier for our employees, the community, our customers and the returns this will yield for our long-term stockholders.

Kevin let's move to Q&A.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Thank you, Dave. We have a lot of people in the queue today. So, we'd appreciate your cooperation help us get everybody to questions. Greg, can you please queue the line for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instruction) Your first question comes from the line of Martin Englert from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Hi, good morning everyone.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Good morning.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

So for the Mon Valley project you've highlighted potential sources of funding of $250 million, I believe you said from vendors and then also unsecured notes, as well as cash and the revolver. Can you provide a rough breakdown of the remaining allocation? And also remind us of your targeted leverage metrics and what comfortable ranges?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we're in good shape and I kind of talked about the timing of the requirements, so I think overall we would look to fill most of it. You know, other than the vendor supported with high yield. But we're going to be opportunistic pick the right time, we want to make sure our message here is being absorbed and so we're in no hurry to go out there until the market is right and we need to. But I would say the majority ideally would be high yield and the vendor-supported financing.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay, and the leverage metrics that you're comfortable with?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, I mean given where we are now right, with this project and the Dynamo and the EAF, we're still very comfortably within our goal, which is kind of, you know, when we double the range. I don't think at any point we get to more than three times the total debt through this list. Obviously subject to market conditions as always. But you know given where we're starting from in terms of total and net debt leverage, we feel really good about our ability to pull this off and stay strong.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for that. and if I could one last one. The new Mon Valley project is potentially a significant support for the company. Can you discuss from a high level, if other similar transformational projects are potentially under consideration?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, of course, we're always looking at opportunities, I will say this is such a big transformational project for us this is one of a kind we don't see another project like this coming on for anyone, anytime soon.

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks for the detail there and congratulations.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Gagliano from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay great. Thanks for taking my question. I'm sure a lot of people are going to questions on Mon Valley. So I'll try and focus in on just one piece of it. Thanks by the way for the additional information on the longer-term targets here. I was wondering, if you can give us more details behind the targeted $275 million of EBITDA in 2023 that incremental contribution; for example what price is that based on or there offsetting reductions since I -- it looks to me like this is an upgrade to existing downstream production mix that kind of thing. And any other additional detail behind that $275 million would be great. Thank you.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understood. This is Dave, but the way I interpret your question is what are driving these EBITDA benefits, you know, there's yield improvement, there's reduced externally purchased energy, there's more efficient staffing, there is improved operational efficiency, there is all those things that are going to be making the business stronger and better in fact, if you think about this investment we are already low on the cost curve this will make us from a variable cost perspective, the -- from our out side in-look, the lowest in the United States and maybe Sara you can provide a little more color on this issue.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Sure. Thanks, Dave. This is Sara Greenstein, you know, when you think about what this icon -- what this iconic investment does, it does a couple of things; it makes the Mon Valley Works, one of the lowest cost steel mills in the world; able to profitably compete with both domestic and foreign steel producers; delivering sustainable profits through cycle. The other thing it does is enables the Mon Valley Works to be the producer of choice for the lighter, wider, stronger and more formable steel.

So the combination of this advanced manufacturing technology when combined with our integrated steel making process at the Mon Valley enables us to do what no other North American steel producer can do today. We will be able to produce our proprietary advanced high strength steel, substrate at the Mon Valley making the strongest, most formidable products available to allow our auto customers to continue to lightweight their end products previously incapable -- when we were previously incapable of doing this at the Valley.

We will continue to support our appliance, our construction and our industrial customers from the Valley and provide both our current and future product capability to them as they continue to lightweight their products, driving innovation and growth for them. But the profitability piece, which was the core of your question, really lies in the fact that we as Dave mentioned in his earlier comments will be the material solution of choice for these end markets, that we seek to serve, while simultaneously reducing $35 a ton reduction in our overall conversion costs, reducing our overall sustaining CapEx, and then all the things that Dave just mentioned, improving yield, lower energy consumption and greater production efficiency.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

You know, thanks for that, Sara. You know, I'm just, I'm sitting here holding a piece of steel in my hands, it's a sample of a 0.6 millimeter thick hot-rolled strip and that's 0.236 inches hot-rolled that is a thickness nobody in this market comes close to making today. We're going to unlock solutions for our customers that they've never thought possible to allow them to reengineer what they buy. This is clearly breakthrough folks.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And in addition to the investment that we're making at the Valley, our ability to be able to produce the thinner, lighter, wider product then frees up our Gary facility and all the investments that we've recently made in our hot strip out there, to go after the sicker, wider, heavy gauge product especially focused on the API market.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So the thick and thin of things are, we got the thin inside and we got to thick side, you know, what we're doing in Gary, $0.5 billion investment on hot rolled, and so we're building the moat on that side and the moat here on the thin side. So we feel very good about where we are on this journey and we're sort of over the top excited about the possibility. So thanks for the question, sorry for the very long answer. One more thing, Kevin Bradley --

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

One thing, Dave. It's a great question. You mentioned the commercial piece just, you know we model the IRR on this at 50% or higher. We're using a backward-looking through-the-cycle, you know, CRU. So this did not based on today's market this is a much more conservative assumption that, you know, the market would revert back to. We always look at it on a backward looking, so if you believe there's a new normal or that today's pricing is better and sustainable, the 15% would be much higher.

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Just my follow-up question here. Just curious how much capital has actually been spent at Mon Valley as part of the asset revitalization program, so far. And how much additional CapEx at Mon Valley tied specifically to that, you know, the ARP piece?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

So, this investment that we announced yesterday is in addition to the revitalization investment that we've made at the Mon Valley. And all in on -- across the Mon Valley, we will have spent a $200 million revamping our primary end and our finishing line.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

But think of this as a technological breakthrough. This is not revitalization, this is revolutionizing the way steel is made.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

And, specifically you know the hot mill has not received, you know, very much capital investment the last couple of years. So that's part of the question. We want to clear on that, as well.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The cold mill there is a significant, critical -- one of the 13 critical assets we talk about and is receiving capital.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

And is our primary end.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Terry from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Hi guys and thanks for taking my questions. Just in terms of the technology given you'll be the first in the US. Can you just talk through your conference on the reliability, and the technology itself? And then just -- I know you touched on this in some of the earlier questions. but why Mon Valley specifically? And how long have you been looking at this investment? What's the decision -- time line that you've been doing the details in this process. Thanks.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, this is Dave. First, the way we approach this when we look at our strategy, of course we look at our global footprint and make sure that we're optimizing the value we have, the rigorous capital allocation process. And then through that process we find out where the attractive markets are, and we focus on those markets where they have sufficient size, and have adequate margins and they're continuing to grow. And then we look at our capabilities and say how do we fit those capabilities into the markets that we want to pursue, and we looked at our footprint and we looked at the opportunities it was clear that Mon Valley was the place we knew, we need to be doing some upgrades on the 1938 mill at that time, and this was going to be something that would take this not just to a good level, but to an absolutely great level.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you, Dave. And if I could just add a bit, the state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling technology, while the first of its kind to be introduced in the US is actually in operation and it has been for years in other countries around the world. So this is a proven technology and capability. We are bringing it to the US and we are combining it with our lowest cost facility already and the integrated steel making process, and as a result have the ability to make products that no one else in this country can.

So, it's deploying proven advanced manufacturing technology with our integrated steel making process that allows us and positions us to really make a game changing difference in this industry in this country. But why the Mon Valley? I talked about some of these things. The first and foremost it expands our structural cost advantage at the Valley. We are currently a low cost provider, this move has even further down the cost curve. It provides us as US Steel greater footprint optionality. I mentioned what this allows us to do and focus on now at our Gary Work facility. It upgrades a 1938 vintage hot strip mill and takes us from being more limited in what we can do to being the most capable field producer in terms of thinner, wider, stronger product in this country. And finally it enhances the number of markets that we can and intend and will serve.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well said, Sara, you know, it's -- and there's obviously going to be a lot more discussions that we have on this. We have models that have built that will bring this to life to you. But if you think about this technology and think about the four processes of steel making, you've got iron making, steel making, hot rolling, you know, and then finishing. And where we've been challenged is typically at our mills. Liquid steel, we do exceptionally well and integrated mills have this great cost advantage from our mine side and from our coke making, because we can use that energy to power the facilities, still there's a lot of advantages that we have with liquid steel. Where we've had trouble is providing the extra variety of steel, the extra capability and this now expands our capability and moves us further down the cost curve. So that we can be a -- if not the leader certainly one of the leaders in US, because we are clearly in a great cost position when this is finished.

So it's really important to understand the benefits of this because it has the conversion costs benefits as we use our state-of-the-art PRO-TEC XG3 steel at -- in Ohio, where we'd be starting to run coils at the end of this year. So all of this connects very well with the footprint that we've been working on for quite some time. And we're finally able to get it announced to you folks. But it's going to take a while for you to digest it and understand it, and we have some models that we can be taking you through at the appropriate time.

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Just a follow-up question on the CapEx and the layering of the asset revitalization program about $900 million still to spend at EAF at Fairfield and now Mon Valley. Is there a way to maybe delay this? So you saw a sense of urgency, as well, a limited time frame to get this and/or do you think the balance sheet can handle it?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'm not sure, I fully understand you're breaking up a little bit, but we don't intend to slow down the asset revitalization we've always said, if we can get the returns faster we're going to go after them. So we need to make sure that we get ourselves positioned well and the revitalization is well under way we're executing, and so we don't want to move slower, we want to move faster.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Karl Blunden from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Hi, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the question. I guess on the side of funding here when you think about funding all of the CapEx and organic investment on Mon Valley. Are there any non-core assets in the portfolio that you've taken a look at that may help you raise some of the cash there and reduce the debt burden you're going to take on?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Well, we're always looking at our footprint and you know and you've heard me say this so many times everything's for sale all the time, but you know we certainly like our footprint currently and we're basically doing our best to create monetized value from all of our assets and upgrading them and improving them, so that we will be positioned here with this breakthrough investment for a better tomorrow.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Got you. And historically there was some discussion of the European asset. Is the environment now just not conducive to raising capital from that market through asset sales?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, I think you know about the Dynamo Line, so that's an important investment force and that is a extraordinarily well-run asset and it's been throwing off substantial EBITDA for the -- from well-run operations, you know, this is one of those businesses that makes money in the trough, and so it's an ideal asset for us and we'll continue to make sure that we manage that well and with the Dynamo Line that also gets us a additional EBITDA.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Okay, and just quick one. You mentioned unsecured debt in your slides, wondering if you'd be open to secure debt, as well if that's needed given the funding costs?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're always going to be open to anything the company needs at the same time we don't see that as a requirement, so that is not a preference for us, we'd like to stay unsecured, and that's our intention.

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Thanks for your time.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And maybe that gets into a little bit here of our capital allocation strategy, because you know what we're -- it's really important people understand this because we're always looking at throughout the business cycle and the way we manage this, and we have these three priorities for cash and that gets into what you're kind of walking around here on the balance sheet. We've got to have a strong balance sheet that's supportive of the company's strategic objective that's first and foremost and we'll do what's required in order to deliver that. We're investing now and the second one is investing in operational excellence, investing in technology, investing in innovation that's aligned with these critical success factors that we mentioned. Moving up the talent curve and moving down the cost curve and then winning in attractive markets, we got to take share.

And then finally this -- the third priority here is return capital stockholders, who have consistent dividend payments and opportunistic stock repurchases. This is what we want to construct here and with these types of improvements that we're making over the last few years, if you think about the clean up of the balance sheet, the cleanup of the operations and taking the operations to a better level or increasing our execution capability and demonstrating that we can perform. Now is the right time for this announcement for us to accelerate and set the stage for people that were, you know, we'll still play some defense, but mostly we're going to be pushing forward to show that we're a leader now and not somebody that's having market share taken from us, we're going to be taking it from others.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Nicholas Jarmoszuk from Stifel. Please go ahead.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning. Had a question on the CapEx outlook. We've got the Fairfield project, we have the Mon Valley provided the -- how that's going to be spent over through 2022? The Dynamo line, you have the ongoing asset revitalization and there's going to be a line for sustaining CapEx. Can you give us a sense for what those various line items are going to be for the next couple of years?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I'm not going to break it down. Let me let me start by saying that you've got the new updated guidance on CapEx moving up to 1.3. That reflects all the projects that we've announced, so in total and sustaining capital and all engineering capital, that's all in what we know today and what you know today is reflected. Clearly the icon, the project in the Valley et cetera is going to increase that going forward. Next year is our last year of revitalization and so it will be -- you'll see the same level coming through. There is going to be some spillover because of payment terms into the following year, as well from revitalization. But we're not going to, you know, forecast beyond this year in terms of CapEx. But as I shared earlier very comfortable with our liquidity, our cash flow position, the balance sheet strength and our ability to handle this lift.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

And then regarding that 275 uplift from the Mon Valley project. So if you're saving $35 per ton and the production is still going to be roughly 2.6 million tons, there I can account for roughly $90 million of EBITDA uplift. Can you talk about the remaining amounts in terms of how to think about the buckets in terms of the thinner gauges, the better pricing on that regard. How we can think about, what was it, the lower purchases of energy purchases, better staffing. How could we think about the bridge from the $90 million -- from $0 million to $90 million to $275 million?

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sure. Nick, you've summarized the calculation, the cost reductions appropriately that is about approximately $90 million of the EBITDA benefits expected as a result of this investment. Additionally we're sizing the commercial opportunities about 50% of the $275 million, so that's everything we're looking through for additional mix improvements and all the benefits that Dave and Sara have described here on this call today.

And then we have some other benefits from the co-generation facility and just some overall efficiencies throughout the entire Mon Valley footprint. So kind of to summarize the variable cost is about a third of the improvement with the half attributable to the commercial benefits. So that should give you some good insight to the anatomy of where the EBITDA is coming from on a run rate basis.

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Timna Tanners from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Hi, good morning. I want to ask little bit about the quarter, if I could just steer things that way. First half the decline in prices for the Flat-Rolled segment was a lot smaller than the spot price obviously you have annual contracts. But just as you see the current environment, so we expect to see, kind of, the same, kind of, decline going forward given the recent spot declines and on the Tubular side, you saw prices go up and PIPELOGIX price fell about $40 a ton. So, can you just provided a little bit more color on kind of the trends you're seeing in pricing?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes, so Timna. I'll talk a little bit first maybe about the 4Q to 1Q change in Flat-Rolled. I think we saw a really good improvement in our mix, we were able to capture some high-end hot-rolled and some other project business that kept our average selling prices pretty resilient in this spot market environment that we were in. It also reflects the success we had in our annual contract, so we were pretty happy with where we came in for the first quarter from an average selling price perspective.

On the Tubular side, we did see some good improvements in pricing, mostly on the seamless side. So early mix, nice mix change there with the -- with seamless and which contribute a lot to the commercial uplift in the Tubular segment from a 4Q to 1Q perspective.

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. Helpful. And then did ask a little bit about like it's that's -- if either one or both of those are trends that you could see continuing. And then separately can you give us your perspective and the updates you're seeing on the air quality issues in Clairton, I think, I saw last night or this morning comes through a lawsuit claiming $50 million in damages. Just wanted to get your response to that. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

So, Timna, maybe I'll take the first question on the trends, and then maybe ask Sara to give an overview about where we are at Clairton. So, I think we all seen the recent move down in spot prices, so we certainly expect that to impact our commercial portfolio. But we remain committed to kind of the mix improvements and going after those markets as described by Sara and Dave. So you could certainly model through the impact of a decreasing price environment here on the business. But overall our strategy remains to make sure that our mix is strong, and we can generate the right types of average selling prices and different types of the -- through cycle environments.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Yes. Thanks, Kevin. And while we don't nor will we comment on any legal activity as it relates to Clairton, what I will comment on is, and I think you all know we experienced a catastrophic event on December 24th and couldn't be prouder of the people and the team and the community that came together to support us and getting us back up. As of April 4th, we restarted the desulfurization process facility at the Clairton plant. We -- as of that date we're desulfurizing a 100% of the coke oven gas that we generate at that plant. And in fact on our January earnings call, we had forecasted about a $40 million impact from this fire. And we had about a $31 million impact in the quarter primarily really due to the purchase of natural gas and inefficiencies that we experienced. But we are backup, we are running and that's where we're at.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Vittorioso from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, thanks for taking my question. You know, forgive sort of an equity question from a debt guy. But you know, I thought share buybacks were really sort of something you did when you didn't have anything better to do with the cash. If you guys have identified $3 billion of value-add projects. What's the hurry in getting cash back to shareholders at this time?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. We're not seeing it as a hurry, when we announced the program last year, what we're trying to do is make sure we've got a balanced capital allocation methodology. So the $300 million over the two year period, we think, is an appropriate level and we're kind of committed to it. So we're going to continue to do that. Agree, we've got some very high and exciting opportunities, high return exciting opportunities. We want to make sure we're balanced as we go through it. So for now, we feel good about the program, we're executing against it, we think appropriately and you can expect that to continue.

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Then one quick follow up, as you think about coming to the high yield unsecured market, you'd mentioned sort of a leverage cap, if you will of around 3 times, and you've referenced, you know, a strong balance sheet a number of times today. I mean is that your sense that up to 3 times levered balance sheet would sort of maintain that strong balance sheet?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

No. And I didn't mean to imply it as a cap, What I was saying is what we've announced, you know, we don't think over the coming years would put us above 3 times. So what we said is you know and we've been talked with the agencies regularly, you know, under 4 times we think is a BB, and that's our medium to long term goal. And so I'm not implying a cap at three, I'm just saying given where we are and what we've announced in terms of investments, I don't think we go above three with that.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Tumazos from Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you very much. Could you give us a little more explanation as to the physical breakthroughs of the new rolling mill. How much wider is it? You already gave us thinness. Forgive me. Could you describe the scientific measures of improved ductility or formability that you refer to qualitatively? How much wider will this steel be for an automaker, because it's thinner, stronger, more ductile. Forgive me for my specificity and enthusiasm, please.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a very detailed question, and I think I'll keep it back to the -- is it strategic, we're going thinner and we're going thicker on the strategy, and we can get you more details on those specifics at another time. But I think today we're talking what the strategy is, and if we can get into those details at this point.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Congratulations.

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Thank you. What I can tell you just very quickly, as you know, we can go down to 0.03 on gauge and we can go as wide as 77 inches.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Phil Gibbs from KeyBanc. Please go ahead.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Hey, good morning. Thanks for all the good details this morning, appreciate it. I have just a question on the guidance for the second quarter, I know European spreads have been weak. Are we -- should we be expecting Europe to on an EBIT basis be in the red in the second quarter similar -- similarly should we expect that for Tubular given a little bit of softness in that market. And do you expect Flat-Rolled volumes to be higher relative to Q1 in the US?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

What I would say, you know, we're not going to give specific quantitative especially at the segment level. But given my comments you can expect Europe to be down from Q1. And we do expect shipments in North American Flat-Rolled to be up in Q2 sequentially, if that helps. But we're going to -- later in the quarter we're going to come out with more quantitative guidance and give you much more clarity around what to expect.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's no question, there's pressure in Europe and we see the economic reports and we feel the pressure on margin, no doubt about it. But as you look at this year and where we started this year and where we are right now, we feel as good about the year now as we did then. Now the mix of where things are has been shifting a bit, but the first half will be about the same as what we thought it was at the beginning of the year and we're going to have a really good 2019, that's where we are.

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks. And then just have a follow-up question. Just wanted to be clear so the $1.2 billion investment on Mon Valley, obviously need to support that with capital. Are we expecting that $1.2 billion to be syndicated right now? Meaning are you going out and raising those funds in the market today? Or is that going to be staggered through time. Thanks.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So we went through this a little bit, but the bulk of the requirement is in 2020 and 2021. So, yes, we're in good shape right now, we can be opportunistic. We want to pick the timing, we don't need to get out too far ahead of it. So when the market's right and we're ready we'll go in, but there's no hurry here for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Gambardella from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning, David and team and congratulations on the quarter and more importantly the project in Mon Valley. My question is really around the strategy with Mon Valley and the rest of your projects. A lot of other domestic steel producers have opted to import semi-finished or intermediate steel and then do the downstream finishing in the US. With some recent announcements by the administration with exemptions being denied out in California steel, I know you don't do stainless, gratings and some others, the administration is clearly saying we want domestic industry to invest in the US and invest in US jobs, like you're doing at Mon Valley. What assurances do you have from the administration that they'll be able to maintain that stance, and how do you think they'll address trade in terms of trend shipping, which, in my mind, is the key to fair trade and eliminating trend shipping?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's a lot in that question. I'll just say first on the slab things, we're open for business and so if anybody needs slabs we can certainly provide that. As far as assurances nobody can give anybody assurances on any of these things, but we have enough contacts and enough connections here that we just can't imagine this administration blinking and at a time like this, I mean there's a lot going on and we know it's very heavy, you got to get three different governments to agree on USMCA, you got Canada, you got Mexico, you got the United States so this is a heavy lift.

And also the more important issue is related to China, and China is the one with the excess capacity and to your point until you apply these things everywhere you're still going to have some leakage. So we have some leakage of unfair trade. That's happened in Europe right now and that needs to be shored up. And when that gets shored up, we'll start seeing a better pricing environment in Europe, as well. But as far as assurances, I don't know that anybody could say that, but we feel strongly that the 232 will continue and we're going to continue to operate our facilities and our business to the best we can within the current environment, and also continue to be more nimble take costs out, so that if it does change we're still going to be able to generate value. So it's really a hard question to speculate on. But we're optimistic that we'll get to the right conclusion with this administration.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

I agree, Dave. Just want to add a reminder. When we model out our strategy we absolutely try to look at it from a standpoint of not depending on things that we can't necessarily predict. So our strategy holds up on a through-cycle basis on a look-back. But agree completely. We feel the group -- the strong support from the administration, and we expect that to continue.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

That's a great point, we're focused on what we can control the -- we understand this whack-a-mole thing that you've been talking about for a long time, you know, the Vietnam case, and we have had changes with CBD and the whole trade situation. So certainly there are several provisions designed to increase the use of USMCA original steel and increased trade enforcement coordination among the three countries, and we look forward to getting an agreement there that's in the best interest of all, and we think we will. We absolutely think that there will be always some type of appropriate measure, maybe moving more toward quotas than tariffs for the USMCA, but we'll have to wait and see in any case we're optimistic that it will be a good result.

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

The West Coast market is pretty much served for carbon sheet by your joint venture with POSCO, UPI and California Steel, which was recently denied exemption on the slabs they have to import to finish. Are you shipping or intend to ship a fair amount of slabs, hot band out to the West Coast, which would move it out of the Midwest market?

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Go ahead, Kevin.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. So I was just going to -- yes, we have been shipping to our JV, UPI, for a few years now and that's continuing this year. So we're the primary supplier of substrate to that joint venture today.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Piyush Sood from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Hey, guys, good morning. A lot of questions have been covered, couple more from me. Once you're done with the Mon Valley investment and maybe reusing some of that equipment elsewhere. Is there a need to do something similar elsewhere down the line in a few years?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Good question. Really what we are putting in is brand-new technology. And what we are -- we'll no longer use is a 1938 hot strip mill. So I don't imagine that being redeployed anywhere else.

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

So you probably get rid of the old equipment, but this one to understand, if the other operations need a similar upgrade down the line?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Hey, Piyush. Yes. so as Dave described earlier when we look at our footprint, we look at the markets where we want to participate, and then we understand our capability to serve those markets. So with that strategy in mind that's what we found particularly compelling about this investment, the Mon Valley. As we evaluate our footprint and the capabilities required to serve the markets we find attractive. We will choose the investment strategy required to kind of satisfy that strategy. So that's the lens through which we look at these types of projects. And similarly, the Gary hot strip mill, we understood what it's capabilities were, what markets we wanted to serve out of that facility, how they are best positioned to serve those markets. So we'll continue to do that type of analysis on our footprint and we will invest in those types of projects that return value.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Charles Bradford from Bradford Research. Please go ahead.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Good morning. Do you have any current blast furnaces offline and/or any -- about to go offline. Hello?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

We're planning right now for us to turn off any blast furnaces today with the exception of planned outages for revitalization. But there's no plans to take anything offline today.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I'm not sure I understand. I think you're asking about major outages that we have scheduled for the second quarter, because we have Mon Valley the blast furnace number three Great Lakes split, B2 furnace and a shorter duration outage at number 14 in Gary. Is that what you're referring to because we have no plans to shutdown any blast furnaces.

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

No, I was thinking specifically about number 14 and that state problem.

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Okay. So, yes, we did have an outage in Q1.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, which was normal, and that was a high-tech improvement. That's a whole another discussion that we could have, that was incredible, awesome work. This was rehearsed. The team pulled it together. This is something you guys ought to come visit to see what the people did. This was absolutely remarkable. So, yes, that was an improvement that we made there and then that's behind us. Big success story for us.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Fields from Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hey, everyone. Don't want to be the dead horse on the funding issue. But noted your preference for unsecured bonds for the $1.2 billion. Is it are you willing to consider a short-term bond like a five year issue inside of your current maturities. Or is it important to be out there beyond 2026?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yeah we kind of -- we like the runway that we've created so we want to preserve that. So that's our intention. Again we're going to be nimble and flexible, we're going to do what's in the best interest to have an efficient capital structure. So we'll look at our options and pick the right option at the right time. But I'm indicating longer term high yield is the likely anchored tenant in the funding strategy for this project.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay. And then what was the look-back CRU price through the cycle that you used for your IRR calculation?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yes. It's just mathematical so you can do it yourself. But we're looking you know just above 600, that's kind of a multi-year look-back through cycle average for hot rolled.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Okay, great. And then last one from me. I appreciate the color on Clairton. I know you can't talk about existing litigation. But --

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Operator?

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Can we loop him back?

Operator

Matthew Fields, your line is open.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Hello?

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

Yes, Sorry Matt. You have to jump off there for a moment. So continue with your question please.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Yes. Just with regards to Clairton. Are you currently fully in compliance with your air emissions permit?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

We are.

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Alright. That's it from me. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Tyler Kenyon from Cowen. Please go ahead.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

Hey good morning. So appreciate all the colors, so far. But my first question was just related to the Mon Valley investment. And are you expecting any improvement, reduce bottlenecks or commercial optionality across the rest of your US Flat-Rolled operations outside of Mon Valley? And if so can you talk a bit about those?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

The answer -- the short answer is, yes, we are. And I think you might have heard Dave talk about we're going to be able to go thinner, lighter, wider and thicker, heavier and build moats around the markets that we are seeking to serve in a very differentiated way. So we've talked a lot about the investment and the technology investment at the Valley and then at Gary through our revitalization efforts have put significant money into our hot strip mill there and downstream assets there, that have positioned us to be able to serve the API market, the packaging market in a very differentiated cost competitive way. We're leveraging the best of our footprint with the best technology available to deliver to the market that we will serve and creating moats around those markets as we do so.

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

And so our -- are all of those benefits captured in your projected EBITDA contribution from the $1.2 billion or could those be in addition to what it is that you've laid out here?

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

It would be in addition.

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

So we're closing up on our time here, 9:30. So on behalf of the entire leadership team here at US Steel, we appreciate everybody's strong interest in the company, and the investment we made yesterday. And we are certainly available to take any additional questions that you have. And so with that, I'm going to hand it back over to Dave as we wrap up today's call.

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. Thanks everybody for your interest in US Steel, and as Kevin just said we know there was a lot to take in -- on the call the day, so obviously, you know, we're incredibly excited about this transformative announcement. So for those not able to have their questions answered on the call, our team is available to continue that dialogue. But before I sign off, I do want to recognize our US Steel employees, you finish the first 123 days of 2019 with all time record safety results as measured by days away from work. Thank you for making safety first, not a slogan, but a reality. Your hard work has gotten us to today and our announcement at the Mon Valley. This investment is a sign of our continued confidence in your abilities to deliver high quality sustainable steel solutions to our customers. Competitive pressures are increasing, but so is your fight and perseverance. We have made good progress so far, but I know our best days are ahead. Let's get back to work with safety and environmental stewardship as our core values.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

Duration: 61 minutes

Call participants:

Kevin Lewis -- General Manager of Investor Relations

David Burritt -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Bradley -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Martin Englert -- Jefferies -- Analyst

David Gagliano -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Sara A. Ulbrich-Greenstein -- Senior Vice President of Consumer Solutions

Chris Terry -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst

Karl Blunden -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Nicholas Jarmoszuk -- Stifel -- Analyst

Timna Tanners -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Matt Vittorioso -- Jefferies -- Analyst

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Phil Gibbs -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst

Michael Gambardella -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Piyush Sood -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst

Charles Bradford -- Bradford Research -- Analyst

Matthew Fields -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Tyler Kenyon -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst

More X analysis

Transcript powered by AlphaStreet

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.
In 2015, a waste containment dam ruptured at one of Vale's (NYSE:VALE) Brazilian mines. Earlier this year, another of the global iron ore miner's Brazilian containment dams broke. Lives were lost in both instances, but, understandably, the government of Brazil is taking a harder line with the company after the second mishap. Still, following a broad shutdown, Vale has been allowed to increase production at a key mine in the country. But if you step back and look at the big picture, most investors should remain wary of Vale stock despite this good news. Here's why.

Stop and start

After a mine waste containment dam broke at Vale's Samarco joint venture with BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) in 2015, the Brazilian government stepped in and hit the pair with large fines. However, when a similar disaster occurred at the company's Brumadinho mine earlier this year, the company and the government were faced with a bigger question: Were there broader concerns about the safety of Vale's facilities? When it turned out that Vale may have known about the risks at Brumadinho, the best course of action was obvious -- err on the side of caution.

Thus, Brazil suspended operations at a number of Vale's mines pending deeper reviews of the facilities. (Other miners voluntarily followed suit, to ensure the safety of those who live near mining assets.) Vale announced that the forced shutdowns would result in a roughly 20% reduction in its iron ore output in 2019. That's a huge drop, amounting to a reduction of around 75 million metric tons of iron ore. Iron ore prices moved higher on the news. The company also decided to part ways with some of its top brass, including the CEO, as it looked to hit the reset button.

Now, the company has announced that it has been allowed to restart some of its operations. The move will eventually mean the return of around 30 million metric tons of iron ore to Vale's production. Investors reacted by pushing iron ore prices lower. While this change is notable for the industry, and will likely be a benefit to Vale's business, it doesn't remove the big-picture problems the miner is facing today.

Not so big a deal

The first real indication that the restart isn't as helpful as it may appear is the simple fact that Vale didn't increase its production guidance for the year. It's maintaining the lowered range it announced following the government-imposed closures. It's possible that new management is simply taking a conservative stance, but the truth is, it kind of has to tread cautiously given the circumstances.

Two similar mine disasters in such a short period of time speak to bigger issues at the company. With the government taking a harder line, Vale can't politically afford to be overly aggressive in any way. It needs to show a significant level of contrition, if for no other reason than to convey it accepts responsibility for what happened. The impact that the production increase will have on the iron ore market, realistically, is almost immaterial to Vale's situation right now. The bigger problem the company faces is going to be on the legal and regulatory fronts.

For example, Vale and BHP have yet to settle all of the outstanding legal issues surrounding Samarco. According to a federal prosecutor, the $41 billion settlement agreement over that disaster is on hold until there's further clarity on the more recent disaster. If Vale turns out to be at fault, the Samarco deal could cost more, or at least end up being more complicated to finalize.

Vale is responsible for at least half of any costs associated with Samarco. It will likely be fully on the hook for any legal costs stemming from this year's dam failure. And, at this point, there's no way to tell how large the costs will be. What is clear, however, is that there are a number of very negative inputs. Those include the fact that this is the second disaster in a short time and that there were considerably more lives lost because of the second dam breach. Whatever the outcome is, conservative investors should probably see the $41 billion figure from Samarco as a low estimate for what Vale will face this time around.

Even if Vale is allowed to spread out the payments over a number of years, any fine will create a long-lasting bottom-line headwind. And that will be on top of the impact that comes from the Samarco settlement, the cost of which may actually go up. With so much legal uncertainty surrounding it, Vale is, at best, a special-situation stock right now. Most investors should avoid it.

Not worth the risk

Vale is one of the world's largest iron ore miners. What happens with its business has a major impact on the global supply dynamic in the industry, so investors do need to pay attention to what's going on with the company. However, amid uncertainty regarding the longer-term impact of the two mine disasters at Vale facilities, most investors would be better off avoiding Vale's stock. That remains true despite the fact that some market watchers are suggesting Vale's stock is undervalued. It's too hard to quantify the financial headwind that legal costs will impose, and they will likely hit the bottom line for years to come.
Oil giant Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) desperately wants to buy rival Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). It's so intent on making a deal that company executives flew out to Omaha, Nebraska last weekend to meet with super-investor Warren Buffett. They wanted his help in funding their battle with oil behemoth Chevron (NYSE:CVX) for control of Anadarko and its prime position in the oil-rich Permian Basin.

Occidental walked away from that meeting with a $10 billion commitment from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B), which gives it ammunition in its hostile fight for Anadarko. The deal, however, doesn't make much sense from Occidental's perspective. Not only is it willing to pay a high price for Buffett's support, but it has offered a significant premium to beat out Chevron. That seems excessive, since Anadarko's not the best strategic fit.

An epic battle in the oil patch

Occidental Petroleum has long admired Anadarko Petroleum, which holds an expansive position in the Permian Basin, as well as the Rockies, the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Africa. It sees those assets as highly complementary to its portfolio, which includes a leading position in the Permian, as well as Latin America and the Middle East. That's why it has made three offers to acquire Anadarko since late March. However, instead of engaging with Occidental, Anadarko agreed to merge with Chevron in a stunning $50 billion transaction that was below what Occidental offered.

Undeterred, Occidental took its battle public, reiterating its proposal to acquire Anadarko for $76 per share, well above the $65 per share it accepted from Chevron. CEO Vicki Hollub also went on CNBC to drill down into why she believes Occidental is the right buyer for Anadarko. She stated that:

We are the right acquirer for Anadarko Petroleum because we can get the most out of the shale. We have a lot more experience [in the Permian]. We are performing really, really well, and what hasn't been talked about very much is that the upside in this deal is the shale play.

She noted that Occidental's wells in the Permian perform 74% better than Anadarko's and that it spends less money on drilling and fracking. Because of that, the company believes it can extract more value out of Anadarko's assets. That leads the company to estimate it can capture $3.5 billion in cost savings and other synergies by combining, which is well above the $2 billion Chevron believes it can deliver.

Occidental has also directly addressed the concerns analysts and investors have with the deal. While Anadarko's positions in the Gulf of Mexico and its Mozambique LNG project line up well with Chevron's expertise, these assets only comprise about 15% of the deal's value according to Hollub. As such, they're not as meaningful as it might seem.

Another issue raised by analysts is that Occidental will need to take on a significant amount of debt to close this deal. They see the company's leverage ratio zooming from less than 1 times debt-to-EBITDA up to about 2.4 times its anticipated EBITDA in 2020. The company plans to address this issue by selling $10 billion to $15 billion in assets within a year or two of closing the deal. Investors, however, worry that the company might stretch itself too thin, especially if oil prices plunge again in the meantime.

Backing from Buffett

Occidental is working to address those balance-sheet concerns by bringing Buffett on board to help fund the deal. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to invest $10 billion into Occidental in the form of cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The preferred stock will pay Berkshire an 8% annual dividend, which works out to a hefty $800 million in cash flow per year heading from Occidental to Berkshire.

Buffett's company also will receive warrants to buy up to 80 million shares of Occidental's common stock at $62.50 apiece, which is a bit below the current price. That represents another $5 billion of potential investment in the oil company. It's also worth noting that Occidental can't redeem the preferred stock for a decade, though there's a mandatory redemption feature upon certain capital return events like a stock buyback. Meanwhile, Buffett has 11 years to exercise the warrants.

It's an excellent deal for Buffett and Berkshire since the preferred stock pays a very high rate. On top of that, Buffett picks up low-risk upside from the warrants that could pay off spectacularly if the merger delivers the benefits Occidental envisions.

This funding agreement, however, makes no sense for Occidental investors. For starters, the company would pay nearly twice the rate on the preferred stock as it would if it issued new debt to fund the deal. While they would help ease the potential leverage burden, the company is paying a high cost for Buffett's support since most analysts believe that the company could issue preferred stock in a public offering at 6%.

Further, the warrants give Warren Buffett the option to buy enough shares to dilute existing investors by 10%. As such, it transfers some of their upside potential to Berkshire Hathaway.

This battle could end badly for Occidental

Occidental Petroleum is doing everything in its power to position itself to emerge as the victor over Chevron in the fight for Anadarko. It's not only willing to pay a much higher price for the company, but it's prepared to secure expensive and potentially dilutive financing to ensure it has the firepower to compete against the big oil behemoth.

While that could be enough for it to win the bidding war, Occidental might not end up victorious in the end. The extra interest payments could hamper the company's ability to operate -- and might even put its high-yielding dividend in jeopardy -- especially if oil prices tumble. That's why its deal with Buffett doesn't make as much sense for Occidental's investors, though it certainly does for Berkshire shareholders.
Albo pointed out that several witnesses confirmed the suns glare was extremely potent that morning. One man said hed lived in that area since 1999 and it was the worst glare hed ever seen.

The defense attorney said Vancamp was the victim of a massive blind spot created by the sun and the shiny tanker truck, which was stopped at the time of the collision.

Its a sad and tragic situation, Albo said. But just because someone dies doesnt make it a crime.

Bird said that Vancamp was clearly not following his training by driving nine miles over the speed limit and not slowing down until an instant before the impact. The investigation showed that Vancamp traveled 1,948 feet in a straight line prior to the crash.

He was checked out, Bird said. I dont know why. But he certainly wasnt paying attention to what he was doing.

Bird pointed out that the other drivers adjusted for the suns glare by slowing down. She said a trained, certified driver should have done at least as much.

Vancamp was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail following his conviction. Because his conviction is a misdemeanor, he will only have to serve half of his time, or six months.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The Virginia Supreme Court, stating it was not filed in a timely fashion, has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multi-year battle with the town of Culpeper over the 2013 condemnation of 5.4 acres.

In July of 2017, a Circuit Court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in in just compensation for the property the town took through eminent domain to build the four-lane Col. Jameson Boulevard in an area he had envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer had asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, what he estimated as its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the jurys just compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, which heard arguments on it. On March 28, the court dismissed the case, agreeing with the town that the appeal was filed after the 30-day deadline to do so.
You have to take a look at how you think about where you locate them, how it doesnt end up affecting your power rates because of the enormous amount of power they use. And are there ways to do that and to make sure that theres going to be good jobs to go along with them? Because a lot of those centers dont bring a lot of employment, Warner said.

Del. Bob Thomas, RStafford, expressed his views on the Interstate 95 corridor with hopes to accelerate the process to relieve congestion in the area through local efforts and a push at the federal level.

This is the one thing that I need the federal government to step up onespecially on interstates, because its their responsibility, said Thomas. I think its good to know that even if theres not a major infrastructure package coming right now, that if we do come up with a proposal for 95which were going to study this yearto be able to take it not only to Congressman [Rob] Wittman, but also to Sen. Warner to help push this through the process. That would be a tremendous help. Its a non-partisan issue. Weve got to fix the roads.

Supervisor Gary Snellings also found another ally to help with Staffords transportation woes.
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How to make Adjarian Khachapuri at home - GeorgianJournal
Amazon Summer Sale on Nokia smartphones: Get attractive offers and discounts Features oi-Harish Kumar

The Summer sale is currently running over Amazon's shopping platform. Under this sale, you can purchase devices, gadgets and other wares at amazing discounts and other exciting offers. Those who are keen on having Nokia phones can follow our list. The enlisted devices from Nokia are the ones which will leave you satisfied with the features they are coming with.

Offers provided by Amazon, until the sale gets over include- no cost EMI option on all major credit cards and select debit cards, amazing cashback and exchange offer, 10% instant discount up to Rs. 1500 on minimum order of Rs. 3,000 with SBI Debit and Credit cards and Credit Card EMIs, get up to Rs. 2,400 cash back(on Swiggy, BookMyShow, Netmeds, Yatra) and on recharges & bill payments, and get GST invoice and save up to 28% on business purchases. The platform also offers a 100% purchase protection plan on these devices. You can find detailed offers, after following the devices individually.

17% off on Nokia 6.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.8-inch (2280  1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio with 96% NTSC Color Gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM, 64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android P

16MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP secondary rear camera

16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0um pixel size

Fingerprint sensor

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 15% off on Nokia 5.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.86-inch ( 7201520 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass 19:9 aspect ratio display

Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor with 800MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU

3GB RAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS, upgradable to Android P

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

13MP rear camera and secondary 5-megapixel rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh (typcial) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery 6% off on Nokia 8.1 Best Price of Nokia 8.1

Key Specs 6.18-inch (2246  1080 pixels) Full HD+ Puredisplay

Octa Core Snapdragon 710 10nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 616 GPU

4GB (LPPDDR4x) RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP rear camera and 13MP secondary rear camera

20MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3500mAh (typical) / 3400mAh (minimum) battery with fast charging 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.84-inch (2244 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ HDR 10 display with 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

4GB LPPDDR4x RAM

64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage

expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie)

12MP (RGB) rear camera and 5MP (Monochrome) secondary rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Dual 4G VoLTE

3060mAh battery with fast charging 50% off on Nokia 3.1 Best Price of Nokia 3.1

Key Specs 5.2 Inch HD+ IPS Display

1.5GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750N Processor

2/3GB RAM With 16/32GB ROM

Dual SIM

13MP Rear Camera With LED Flash

8MP Front Camera

4G VoLTE/WiFi

2990mAh Battery 23% off on Nokia 7.1 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

6 inch FHD+ 2.5D Curved Display

2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

12MP + 13MP Dual Camera With Dual-Tone LED Flash And PDAF And ZEISS Optics

16MP Front Facing Camera

USB Type-C

Fingerprint Sensor

3300 MAh Battery 10 % off on Nokia 8 Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs 5.3 inch 2K 700 Nits Display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor

4GB RAM

64GB On-Board Storage

13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono) Camera

13MP Front Facing Camera

Quick Charge 3.0

Nokia OZO 360 Degree Audio

3090 MAh Battery 22% off on Nokia 3.1 Plus Buy This offer on Amazon

Key Specs

13MP+5MP dual rear camera | 8MP front camera

15.24 centimeters (6-inch) capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio

Memory, Storage & SIM: 3GB RAM | 32GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB | Dual SIM dual-standby (4G+4G)

Android v8.0 Oreo operating system with 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6762 octa core processor

3500mAH lithium-ion battery

Best Mobiles in India

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HTC might soon launch an entry-level smartphone with 6 GB of RAM reveals Geekbench listing News oi-Vivek HTC = High Tech Computer

HTC or High Tech Computer, a Taiwan tech-company was the first smartphone maker to launch a smartphone powered by Android OS. In the last decade, HTC has launched a good number of smartphones with a lot of innovative features. However, the last few years have been very challenging, where the Chinese smartphone brands have been offering affordable smartphones, and HTC fails to cope up with the same.

An entry-level phone with 6 GB RAM

The recent listing on Geekbench suggests that the company is working on a new entry-level smartphone, which might launch in the coming day. An unknown HTC smartphone with model number HTC 2Q741 has been spotted on Geekbench.

Geekbench listing reveals that the smartphone scores 897 points on single core and 4385 points on multi-core performance. As per the listing, the smartphone is powered by an Octa-core chipset from MediaTek (Probably the MediaTek Helio P35), coupled with 6GB of RAM.

The benchmark scores reveal that the smartphone will sport an entry-level processor with 6 GB of RAM, which is a bit strange, considering the performance of the device. The listing also reveals that the smartphone will run on Android 9 Pie OS, probably with a custom skin on top.

Do note that, the company is also working on a similar smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC with the model number HTC 2Q7A100. It looks like the company will launch the Qualcomm variant in select markets, and the remaining countries will see a MediaTek variant.

If HTC price their devices competitively, then HTC still has brand value, at least in the country like India, where HTC is considered as a premium smartphone maker. What is your opinion companies using a MediaTek or a Qualcomm chipset? Which one do you prefer over one onther MediaTek or Qualcomm? Let us know in the comment box below.

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Pornhub wants to acquire Tumblr and bring adult content back News oi-Karan Sharma Verizon looking to sell Tumblr and Pornhub is ready to grab the opportunity. All you need to know.

Verizon has seemed to be interested in selling its blogging platform Tumblr which it has acquired two years back as part of its Yahoo acquisition. Now Pornhub has announced that it is interested in buying the blogging site after which it will end the porn ban which is imposed by Verizon.

"Verizon Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for blogging website Tumblr, according to people familiar with the matter, as it tries to steady a media business that has struggled to meet revenue targets," as per The Wall Street Journal report.

Just after the news broke Pornhub quickly showed its interest in buying the site. However, it is not clear that both companies have talked so far or not. Back in December 2018, Verizon banned all the adult content from Tumblr. It seems this Pornhub want to restore the site with all the adult content which were removed by the company.

"There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr," Pornhub VP Corey Price said in a statement to Ars. "We're extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content."

The announcement and interest of Pornhub buying Tumblr were first reported by BuzzFeed. Just to recall, back in 2013 Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. In June 2017, Verizon acquires Yahoo's operating business, including Tumblr, for $4.48 billion. Now, Verizon is also selling the blogging website.

Let's see who is going to buy Tumblr, would it the Pornhub or some other company. Hope we will see some acquisition soon in the near future.

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Tech Mahindra launches Blockchain Technology to curb spam calls News oi-Priyanka Dua Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share.

Tech Mahindra has announced the deployment of a cutting-edge solution leveraging Blockchain Technology aiming at mitigating spam calls for the telecom sector in India impacting 300 million mobile subscribers.

Tech Mahindra designed the Blockchain solution, constituting more than 25 percent of the Indian market share, in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of TRAI in order to enable Telecom providers to prevent unauthorized access of their subscribers' data.

Further, the firm is also demonstrating Blockchain capabilities in diverse sectors including Telecom, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech Industries, and Financial Services.

"Blockchain is a focus for corporates and government alike and is expected to be a trillion-dollar market by 2030. With the concerted and coordinated efforts by the Indian government and the industry backed by appropriate regulation, India can continue to sustain and enhance its leadership position in Blockchain technology. At Tech Mahindra, we are betting big on Blockchain as part of our TechMNxt charter, to deliver tangible business value and empower our customers to provide a completely differentiated experience to their end customers," Rajesh Dhuddu, Global Practice Leader, Blockchain, Tech Mahindra, said.

The digital transformation provider has already identified and is working on a holistic framework called Block Ecosystem that comprises of various levers; Block Studio, Block Engage, Block Talks, Block Geeks, Block Accelerate, Block Access & Block Value, which create industry-leading applications that are architected on innovation and human excellence to unlock significant value for all stakeholders.n

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How to get 25% cashback from BSNL annual broadband plans News oi-Priyanka Dua Customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

The State-run telecom Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has once again extended the deadline for the 25 percent cash back on its annual broadband plans till May 31, 2019.

BSNL also tweeted that through its official Twitter handle saying,"-Get flat 25 percent off on BSNL annual subscription."

For the unaware, this cashback offer was first announced last year in December for its landline and broadband customers.

However, there are some terms and conditions for this scheme as this cashback will be credited when a customer opts for an annual plan and makes payment timely.

In fact, the customer can use this cashback for payments of future bills and this scheme is available across all circles.

Meanwhile, telco installed 54000 towers during 2018-2019, which is higher than the combined figures of the previous three years.

BSNL has also started installing 4G towers during the financial year 2018-2019 and has installed approx.

Subscribers have welcomed the network expansion and attractive plans offered by joining BSNL and leaving other operators in large numbers. During the year 2018-2019 more than 50 lacs subscribers have ported their number to BSNL from other operators, utilizing the MNP facility. BSNL is one of the two operators showing net addition of more than 9 lakh subscribers, during February 2019, as per the latest TRAI report.

Recently BSNL has also offered Eros Now premium subscription free of cost with unlimited movies and exclusive video series to its consumers of select STV/plans of Rs.78, Rs.98 and Rs.298.

Source

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Jordanian king sacks senior intelligence chief, security officials, fearing plot: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 09:43AM

Jordanian King Abdullah II has sacked his intelligence chief along with other senior security officials, fearing a plot to destabilize the kingdom, according to a report.

The removals followed reports that several senior Jordanian officials were found to have planned mass demonstrations against Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper says.

General Intelligence Department Chief General Adnan al-Jundi was among the most influential officials to have been sacked by the king, along with other figures in the country's defense establishment and police force.

Following the removals, the king explained that the measure came in response to reported shortcomings in the country's intelligence apparatus, with some officials allegedly using their positions to advance personal interests at the expense of the kingdom.

Jordanian officials have said that they expect further changes to take place at the palace and in the country's security apparatus.

The abrupt dismissal and concerns over instability come as Jordan fears Saudi Arabia's recent push to normalize relations with the Israeli regime, in line with the US-proposed "deal of the century", may greatly destabilize the kingdom.

The plan formulated by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner will reportedly deny Palestinians any right to a sovereign Palestinian state while recognizing further Israeli rule over the occupied territories.

Jordanian officials have expressed concern that Riyadh may be seeking to compromise the special status of Jordan as the custodian of the Haram al-Sharif in East Jerusalem al-Quds and surrender the Palestinian right of return in order to achieve the deal.

"Half the population of Jordan are Palestinians and if there is official talk in Riyadh about ending the right of return, this will cause turmoil within the kingdom," said a senior official close to the royal court in Amman speaking to the Middle East Monitor.

King Abdullah has strongly voiced his opposition to any plan compromising Palestinian right to return in recent months.

Although many Palestinians in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and access to medical care, they are under-represented in parliament and have insignificant presence in the country's security services.

Jordan countering Israel

Jordan's heightened concerns over an impending Tel Aviv-Riyadh deal come as the country has recently taken a more vocal stance against Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that King Abdullah had ordered a review of the country's controversial multi-billion-dollar deal to import natural gas from the Israeli-occupied territories.

Jordan has also recently warmed ties with Tehran. Last year, King Abdullah met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for the first time in 15 years.

Last month, Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh and Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed the importance of Muslim unity against the Israeli regime during a meeting.

The Jordanian speaker said concerns over Israeli aggression on the al-Aqsa mosque make it necessary for Muslim states to pay special attention to the issue of Palestine.

King Abdullah has also recently expressed hope for improved relations with Syria and Iraq, hailing the improved security situation in the two countries.

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Jordan's King Sacks Intel Chief, Senior Officials Amid Plot Suspicions  Reports

Sputnik News

07:04 03.05.2019(updated 08:03 03.05.2019)

Jordanian King Abdullah II fired several senior officials, including the general intelligence chief over the past week following reports of a plot to destabilise the kingdom.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, citing anonymous sources, reported that several senior and influential Jordanian figures had conspired to hold a mass protest outside the royal palace in Amman to demonstrate a lack of public confidence in Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and thereby create instability in the kingdom.

The Jordanian King replaced the director of the General Intelligence Department, General Adnan al-Jundi, who held one of the most influential positions in the country. The palace issued a statement stating that the king had decided to retire Jundi, replacing him with General Ahmed Husni, who has served in several senior intelligence posts.

The king said in the statement, cited by Haaretz, that the move was prompted by complaints of shortcomings in the management of the intelligence system and finding that some people were using their status and positions to advance personal interests at the expense of those of the kingdom. Before Jundi, the king also replaced several officials in his bureau, including the head of policy and information.

Jordanian media reported that changes had also been made in the defence establishment and police force, with new commanders appointed for some regions. According to Jordanian officials, additional changes are expected to take place at the palace and in defence-related positions.

Haaretz also noted that Jordanian officials are worried about the repercussions of the Middle East peace proposal that the Trump administration is gearing up to present. The concern is that the plan could destabilize the kingdom and undermine its relations with the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and other Arab countries.

The Jordanian King has previously said that he has been subject to heavy pressure in the course of preparations to release the plan, noting that Jordan "will not compromise on issues of principle such as the Palestinian right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, as well as the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees".

Jordanian officials have firmly denied reports that the kingdom will grant citizenship to more than a million Palestinian refugees in exchange for generous economic assistance, estimated at tens of billions of dollars, as part of the peace plan. A senior Jordanian official told Haaretz on Thursday that King Abdullah has set clear red lines and would not "surrender to dictates that infringe on the Palestinians' basic rights." Jordan would not become an alternative to a Palestinian state, the official added.

 Sputnik

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3 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/3 19:21:37

Three militants were killed and a trooper wounded on Friday in a fierce gunfight with government forces in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out at village Aadkhara, Imam Sahab of Shopian district, about 58 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A gunfight broke out this morning between militants and joint contingents of army and police here. The militants present inside a house fired upon search party, which was retaliated by it resulting into a stand-off," a police official posted in Shopian told Xinhua.

Police said the identity of slain militants was being ascertained. However, local media reports said the three were local cadres of region's indigenous militant outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to police, the operation in the area was launched on specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the districts, south of Srinagar, in the wake of the gunfight.

Locals said clashes broke out between youth and government forces in the area following the killing of three militants in the gunfight.

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NATO Secretary General praises the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's long-standing contribution to Euro-Atlantic defence and security

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

03 May. 2019

"For seven decades, NATO has defended the way of life, and the values that underpin it: freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. This makes the job of SACEUR one of the most challenging  and most important  military positions in the world," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today (3 May 2019), during the change of command ceremony for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons (Belgium).

"Those who have held the title 'SACEUR' have led our Alliance during the Cold War, deterring the Soviet Union. They stopped brutal wars in the Balkans, helped to defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and spread freedom and democracy across the nations of Europe," Mr. Stoltenberg said. Speaking of General Scaparrotti, Mr. Stoltenberg said: "Your leadership and vision have proved critical to strengthening our Alliance. Under you command, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation, we have deployed four multinational battlegroups in the eastern part of our Alliance, and we have enhanced the readiness of our forces. You have been instrumental in the development of NATO's Hub for the South, increasing our understanding and approach to challenges in the Middle East and North Africa," the NATO Secretary General added.

"But now it is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters," Mr. Stoltenberg said. "As SACEUR you will now take command of forces from across our Alliance, ensuring the safety and security of the 29 nations of our NATO Alliance; standing up to current challenges as well as new evolving threats. I know you will continue to demonstrate the same levels of excellence you have become known for throughout your career," he pointed out.

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USS Louisville Returns to Pearl Harbor

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS190503-02

Release Date: 5/3/2019 9:25:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shaun Griffin, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a deployment, May 2.

"Louisville Sailors are some of the finest in the world," said Cmdr. Robert W. Rose, from Garland, Utah, and Louisville's commanding officer. "Their hard work, ingenuity, and constant effort kept Louisville ready for every phase of deployment. As commanding officer, it is my absolute privilege to lead this crew in carrying out our nation's most important tasking."

During the deployment, 27 Sailors were promoted and 26 Sailors and six officers earned their submarine warfare qualification.

"Our strength on Louisville has always been our teamwork and mentorship; it's what enables us to succeed," said Senior Chief Fire Control Technician Teruedum A. Cox, a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina and Louisville's Chief of the Boat. "The senior members of our crew did an incredible job training our junior Sailors on the deck plate level. My hat's off to our entire crew."

While deployed, Louisville conducted port visits in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets and hosted several Royal Thai Navy dignitaries during the bilateral exercise Guardian Sea.

"Seeing the crew serve as great hosts to our Thai allies on board speaks to the Louisville way," said Senior Chief Yeoman (Submarine) Gary White, a native of Dallas, Texas. "For many on board, this was the first time they interacted with foreign Sailors, and it was an awesome opportunity for them to learn about a different culture."

"Experiencing different cultures in the 5th and 7th Fleets was certainly a highlight of this deployment," said Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Alex York, from Tucson, Arizona. "This will stick with me for many years."

Louisville is the fourth United States ship to bear the name in honor of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. She is the 35th nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine of the Los Angeles-class design. The completion of her deployment in the 5th and 7th Fleet area of operations marks her last deployment as she prepares for decommission.

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Afghan president expresses readiness to declare ceasefire with Taliban

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:50PM

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani says his government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Taliban militant group as the grand peace assembly, known as Loya Jirga, demanded an immediate and permanent truce.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit in Kabul on Friday, Ghani said the ceasefire "cannot be one-sided."

"If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it," he said.

Ghani also announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as "a gesture of goodwill".

He also renewed his call for direct talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban militants.

The Taliban, which rejected an invitation to attend the summit, have refused so far to meet with the government of Ghani, calling it illegitimate.

The militant group, however, is engaged in talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, the Taliban and the US resumed a new round of negotiations, excluding Kabul, in Qatar's capital of Doha, where the militant group runs a representative office.

Ghani's ceasefire call comes as the Loya Jirga's delegates demanded the Afghan government and the Taliban to "declare and implement an immediate and permanent ceasefire."

The ceasefire should start at the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is set to begin next week, they said in a declaration at the end of the gathering.

The peace summit had gathered 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country.

There was no direct response from the Taliban to Ghani's offer, but its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group would "try not to inflict civilian casualties" during and after Ramadan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the assembly's outcome and truce call, saying "This would help create conditions for peace and save Afghan lives. UNAMA stands ready to assist all parties to bring an end to the conflict."

The assembly's declaration also recommended a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban militants have only boosted their campaign of violence across the country.

The American forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

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Exclusive: Hamas official says Palestinians will resist Trump's 'deal of century'

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:59PM

A senior Hamas official has told Press TV that Palestinians will resist the so-called deal of the century proposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, stopping at nothing less than creating an "independent Palestinian state."

"As Palestinians, we will not accept such ideas. We will resist. No one can accept selling his own land. We will not accept Jerusalem al-Quds being the capital of another state; it will be the capital of the Palestinian state forever," said Hamas' international relations committee head Osama Hamdan on Friday.

Hamdan made the comments on the sidelines of the first "Return of the Century" international graphic arts workshop for Palestine, which is currently being held in Mashhad, Iran.

The workshop has been held in a bid to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation of Palestine as well as Trump's "deal of the century," which is designed to do away with the Palestinian people's right of return to their own land.

Trump's "peace plan" is expected to be unveiled at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in June.

Describing the so-called plan as "a new Israeli-American arrangement" for the region, Hamdan said that Palestinians stood united against any concessions on the liberation and sovereignty of Palestine.

"We have to liberate it. There are Palestinian refugees that have to return to their homeland and we have to create our own independent state on all the Palestinian lands from the river to the sea," he said.

Hamdan also made reference to what he described as the Palestinian nation's objection to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's Camp David negotiations with Israel.

"If anyone of the Arabs is seeking to have relations with Israel, he can bring the Israelis to his homeland, [not Palestine]," he said.

The Hamas official added that, "if anyone wants to do anything good, he has to help the Palestinians and the resistance against the occupation."

Hamdan went on to laud the weekly "right to return" marches that have been held in the Gaza Strip since March 2018 as part of the "resistance against the occupation."

"We will continue the resistance, be it by either the return marches or by military action against the occupation. We will do it until the occupation ceases to exist on Palestinian land," he said.

The "Return of the Century" workshop, which kicked off on May 1 and will continue for three days, is attended by graphic designers from 12 countries. Thirty artists from Iran are also participating in the event.

According to organizers, 40 posters will be selected to be showcased by pro-Palestinian groups around the world on Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) as well as the International Quds Day.

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US Senate fails to end military assistance to Saudi war in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:38AM

The US Senate has failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a congressional resolution demanding an end to American military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, a country plagued by more than four years of a devastating conflict.

The vote on Thursday was 53 to 45, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, despite a handful of Trump's fellow Republicans joining Democrats in backing the War Powers Act, which limits the president's ability to send troops into action without congressional authorization.

The resolution's passage earlier this year marked the first time both the Senate and House of Representatives supported the provision of the War Powers Act.

Supporters of the resolution said they wanted to reassert the constitutional power of Congress to declare war, and send a strong message to Saudi Arabia about the devastating civilian toll of the war in Yemen.

The Saudi-led war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world's most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the former Saudi-sponsored government back to power.

The US along with some Western countries are complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

Last November, Washington stopped providing aerial refueling for the coalition's warplanes. It only halted the support after the coalition grew independent of it.

Many members of Congress have also become angry with Riyadh over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and columnist for the Washington Post.

US intelligence agencies believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

However, some observers believe the anti-Saudi sentiment in Congress is not genuine and Riyadh continues to have widespread support in Washington.

Riyadh spent $27 million on hiring lobbying firms in 2017 to influence Congress, compared with $10 million in 2016, according to the Center for International Policy, which tracks foreign influence spending in the US.

The Senate vote on Thursday comes less than two weeks after the beheading of 37 Saudi nationals across the kingdom.

World leaders and several human rights organizations have expressed shock and condemnation over the mass execution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that most of those beheaded were minority Shia Muslims. She also voiced concern about a lack of due process and fair trial in the kingdom amid allegations that confessions were obtained through torture.

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Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Calls For Immediate Cease-Fire

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

A Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, has wrapped up in Kabul, with leading Afghan politicians and tribal, ethnic, and religious leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire to help settle the nearly two-decade long conflict in the country.

Some 3,200 representatives, separated into dozens of individual committees, met in the Afghan capital under tight security to find common ground and discuss methods of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban militant group.

According to the state-run Afghan broadcaster RTA World, the Loya Jirga also called for a prisoner exchange and the opening of a Taliban office in Afghanistan.

Reacting to the Loya Jirga demand for a cease-fire, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was "prepared to implement the fair and legitimate demand" for a truce but stressed it "cannot be one-sided," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The Taliban later rejected calls for a truce, which the Loya Jirga proposed should start on May 6, the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, the Taliban said waging jihad, or holy war, during Ramadan had "even more [holy] rewards."

They called the Loya Jirga "symbolic" and a "failure."

The Loya Jirga said the government in Kabul must have a central role in the peace process with coordination provided by the international community. It also said human rights, including women's rights, must be protected in Afghanistan.

Some opposition politicians boycotted the assembly, saying they had not been consulted by the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who organized the event. Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, was among those saying he would not attend.

Ghani has alienated much of the country's political elite, who say they have been sidelined from the government's peace efforts.

Many concerns remain within Afghan society about a potential peace deal with the Taliban, with some people expressing worries that the militant Islamists would try to seize power and reverse advances in women's rights, media freedoms, and legal protections.

Hundreds of women attended the assembly and set out their "red lines" for any negotiations with the Taliban.

Semin Noori, head of one of the assembly committees, said that "withdrawal of foreign forces should not mean that all advances made in women's rights are forgotten and we are forced to suffer again."

Many leaders said the government and the Taliban must immediately agree to a nationwide battlefield truce as a prelude to a peace deal.

Abdul Hannan, a committee chairman who traveled from the south of the country to attend the assembly, urged "both sides to announce a cease-fire."

"The war will end only when both sides stop fighting before they sign a permanent peace agreement," he added.

"Every day, Afghans are being killed without any reason. An unconditional cease-fire must be announced," said Mohammad Qureshi, another committee leader.

Taliban negotiators have so far refused to negotiate with the government, calling it a puppet of the West, and have insisted on the withdrawal of foreign forces before talks with Kabul can begin.

The United States has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support, a NATO-led mission that provides training and assistance to security forces in Afghanistan as they battle Taliban fighters and other extremist groups.

The Taliban now effectively controls or influences about half of the country. Dashing hopes for any quick cease-fire, the militant group has announced the start of its spring offensive, despite taking part in several rounds of talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar.

Even if U.S. and Taliban negotiators strike a deal to end fighting in the 18-year war, the militant group would still need to reach agreement with Afghan politicians and tribal leaders before a sustainable cease-fire could begin.

Loya Jirga is an ancient Afghan tradition that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle major disputes. It plays a purely consultative role but usually carries much influence in Afghan society.

The most recent jirga was held in 2013, when the Afghan government endorsed a security agreement allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond their planned withdrawal in 2014.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-loya- jirga-assembly-wraps-up-statement- possible/29918505.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 Top NATO Military Officer Sworn In

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

MONS, Belgium -- U.S. General Tod Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the NATO military alliance.

Wolters became supreme allied commander in Europe, a post always held by a U.S. military officer, at a ceremony on May 3 at NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

At the ceremony, NATO's top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, said the command is "one of the most challenging and most important military positions in the world."

"It is time to pass the baton of leadership to General Wolters. Tod, as an Air Force pilot you have fought in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The leadership, professionalism, and dedication to duty you showed in the air has been an essential part of your career on the ground," Stoltenberg stated.

Wolters, who replaces U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, will also be commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

"Fifty-seven years ago my dad, then-Captain [Thomas] Wolters, was a NATO F-102 pilot out of Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, and he was responsible for securing West German skies. Thirty-two years ago, this Captain [Tod] Wolters was a NATO F-15C pilot out a Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, responsible for achieving local air superiority in the vicinity of the East German border. NATO had changed, yet the prospect of surviving a conflict in dad's F-102 and my 1987 F-15C was a challenge," Wolters said at the ceremony.

He takes over at a time when the alliance is preparing for the likely demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a U.S-Russian disarmament pact that has protected Europe for the past three decades.

Wolters had served as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe -- Air Forces Africa based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Wolters is a fighter pilot by training, with more than 5,000 hours through his nearly 32-year military career, according to his Air Force biography.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/new-top-nato -military-officer-sworn-in/29919201.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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Pentagon May Deploy Submarines in the Arctic to Deter Alleged Chinese Threat

Sputnik News

16:18 03.05.2019

Last year, China released its Arctic Policy, in which it vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a key stakeholder in the region.

On the pretext of China's growing activity there, the US may expand its military presence in the Arctic and deploy submarines, the Pentagon announced in a report published Thursday.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region," the report said.

This follows the publication of China's Arctic Policy, released in June last year, in which Beijing vowed to actively participate in Arctic affairs as a "near-Arctic State" and a major stakeholder in the region.

In the document, the Asian superpower introduced its plans to create shipping lanes opened up by global warming to develop a "Polar Silk Road" that relies on China's President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative; the programme's key aim is to develop infrastructure and boost ties between Eurasian countries.

The Polar Silk Road project is of great significance to China, as it allows the Asian state to ship goods to Europe faster than via the Suez Canal; shipping via the Arctic route may save Chinese vessels around 30 days.

In addition, the recently released Pentagon report showed its concern with the alleged Chinese threat after last month Beijing showcased a nuclear-powered submarine for the first time during a key international naval parade, held on the 70th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy's founding. The parade was held in the western port city of Qingdao, featuring 32 naval vessels led by China's latest and largest Type 094 (Jin-class) nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub.

The document went on to note that US submarines might be used "as a deterrent against nuclear attacks."

 Sputnik

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India-Pakistan Nuclear Exchange Would 'Immediately' Kill 20 Million  Official

Sputnik News

13:04 03.05.2019(updated 13:12 03.05.2019)

Earlier this week, the Pakistani Army blasted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks about New Delhi's willingness to use its "mother of nuclear bombs" to retaliate in case of a nuclear war between the two South Asian powers.

A nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India would quickly turn into a "nuclear Armageddon" affecting the whole world, Sardar Masood Khan, president of the Pakistani-administered jurisdiction of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has warned.

"If there was a nuclear conflict between the two countries, 20 million people would die immediately," Khan said, speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs in Istanbul, Turkey, with his remarks cited by the Anadolu Agency.

According to Khan, the long-running Pakistani-Indian conflict over Kashmir, which came into being immediately after the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947, "should be resolved and peace should be established. We have no other options," he stressed.

Among the three wars India and Pakistan have fought, between 1948 and 1971, two of them were over the Kashmir region, with low-intensity conflict raging inside the divided Kashmir region for decades, claiming thousands of lives and occasionally spilling out into broader tensions.

"The conflict in Kashmir is not only related to politics, economy and geopolitics, but it is also a human tragedy," Khan noted, adding that India and Pakistan might turn to the United Nations and neighbouring powers in a search for ways to resolve the problem.

Earlier this week, a Pakistani Armed Forces spokesman urged New Delhi not to "test" Pakistan's "resolve," saying that nuclear weapons were "a weapon of deterrence that should not be mentioned lightly."

The comments were a response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told supporters at an election rally last month that India had the "mother of nuclear bombs" and would never yield to what he described as Pakistan's attempts at nuclear blackmail.

According to a recent estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan and India have a total of between 140-150 and 130-140 nuclear weapons, respectively. Both sides also have access to air-launched, land-based and sea-based nuclear delivery systems.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in mid-February, when al-Qaeda* affiliated terrorists believed to be operating from the Pakistani side of the border in Kashmir attacked an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 personnel. India retaliated by launching airstrikes inside Pakistan in late February, with these resulting in a series of clashes along the Line of Control border area which have continued to this day.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Indian Forces Kill Three Militants in Kashmir, 20 Hurt Protesting the Move

Sputnik News

11:51 03.05.2019(updated 13:51 03.05.2019)

The authorities have suspended Internet services across south Kashmir following clashes and a gunfight; a shutdown is being observed in the state's Shopian sector and other parts of neighbouring districts.

New Delhi (Sputnik): At least 20 civilians suffered pellet injuries in Jammu and Kashmir state on Friday during clashes with the Indian security forces that erupted after the killing of three militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.

The clashes occurred in the state's Shopian district in the morning.

Three out of the 20 hit were struck by by pellets in their eyes, and were referred to a hospital in the state capital city of Srinagar for specialised medical attention while the others were being attended to in Pulwama and Shopian, other sectors of the state, a Police official said.

The security forces lobbed tear smoke shells and resorted to firing pellets to quell the stone-throwing crowd, witnesses said.

Earlier in the morning, a gunfight occurred after a joint team of Indian army, Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Adkhara village in the Shopian district.

According to police, Lateef Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pulwama district and the lone surviving terrorist of Burhan Wani group, was among the three terrorists gunned down by security forces. The two others were identified as Tariq Molvi and Shariq Ahmad Negroo, the residents of local villages in Shopian district.

"The trio was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen militant group," a police official said.

Burhan Wani was a commander of Kashmiri group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, perceived to be a prominent face of resurgence of terrorism in Kashmir whom security personnel neutralised in 2016. His killing had triggered massive civilian unrest, especially in the form of stone-pelting crowds, in which around 100 protestors were killed and thousands others were injured mostly with pellets.

 Sputnik

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Taliban Reject US, Afghan Demands for Cease-Fire

By Ayesha Tanzeem May 03, 2019

An Afghan grand assembly, or loya jirga, ended Friday with the delegates in Kabul demanding peace with the Taliban, as President Ashraf Ghani promised to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, which begins in a few days.

The Afghan Taliban, for their part, responded harshly to demands for a cease-fire, saying the United States should end the use of force instead.

"@US4AfghanPeace should forget about the idea of us putting down our arms. Instead of such fantasies, he should drive the idea home (U.S.) about ending the use of force & incurring further human & financial losses for the decaying Kabul administration," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, who started a sixth round of direct negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday as the jirga was taking place.

"It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace," Khalilzad said on Twitter.

Cease-fire vs. foreign troop exit

The government says the jirga was convened to allow delegates from Afghan society to formulate the parameters of negotiations with the Taliban.

In its final resolution presented Friday, the jirga demanded an immediate cease-fire.

The Taliban in turn issued their own formula for peace in the form of an op-ed on their website, titled, "What is the path towards Peace?"

"[O]ccupation and war are tied on a linear string as cause and effect," the piece read, adding that without the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, peace cannot be achieved.

The Taliban insist on postponement of an intra-Afghan dialogue involving the current Kabul administration until foreign troops are out of the country. Pressure has increased on the Taliban to include the government in peace negotiations as China, Russia and other regional countries add their support to this U.S. demand.

"So, when the occupation ends and the foreign aspect of war [is] removed from the equation, peace then requires the Afghans, especially the political class to be lenient, cordial and forgiving by learning from historic experiences and working hand in hand with one another to achieve the common goal of the people, a peaceful Islamic government," the opinion piece stated.

Prisoner release

Even though the Taliban have engaged with Afghan stakeholders in the past, including opposition politicians, they refuse to have direct talks with official representatives of the Kabul government, labeling it a puppet of foreign occupiers.

Ghani announced that he was ready to implement more than 20 recommendations of the jirga immediately. As a gesture of goodwill, Ghani pledged to release 175 Taliban from Afghan prisons.

Apart from an immediate cease-fire, the jirga also recommended the opening of a Taliban political office in Afghanistan, a prisoner exchange, preservation of human rights, including the rights of women during negotiations with the Taliban, and the formation of an all-inclusive negotiation team to talk to the Taliban.

Ghani has repeatedly asked the Taliban to move their peace negotiations to Afghanistan and promised them a political office and security. So far, the Taliban have ignored his requests, and usually meet Khalilzad and his team in Doha, where they have maintained an unofficial political office for years.

While the loya jirga does not have legal status, analysts say its recommendations will put public pressure on the Taliban.

The jirga was not without controversy. A majority of opposition politicians, including 12 presidential candidates, boycotted the jirga, calling it a waste of money and a campaign stunt by Ghani, who seeks a second term in presidential elections scheduled for September.

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European Security Chiefs Alarmed at Threat From Far-Right Terrorism

By Jamie Dettmer May 03, 2019

When British police first visited 41-year-old Steven Bishop at his home in the ethnically-diverse London suburb of Thornton Heath he told them he was planning a fireworks display.

But officers, who had been alerted by one of Bishop's co-workers who feared his colleague was making a bomb, examined the fireworks and discovered they had been tampered with.

Last month, Bishop, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, pleaded guilty to terror charges, including planning an attack on a nearby mosque in revenge  as he saw it  for the 2017 Manchester Arena suicide bombing by a radical Islamist that left 23 dead and 139 wounded, half of them children.

From Germany to Britain, alarm is rising across Europe about the terror threat from fringe far-right groups and their supporters. Analysts and intelligence officials say the groups are studying the tactics of jihadist factions, like the Islamic State terror group, and copying their bomb-making methods and social-media propaganda techniques, using YouTube and messaging platforms to radicalize others.

This week, German authorities said the number of far-right extremists and fringe groups has jumped by 50 percent over the past two years.

In Britain, intelligence agencies are now being drafted to help police tackle the far-right terror threat with authorities saying four attacks have been foiled since 2017. The country's Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, which is coordinated by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, has been tasked to assess the threat posed by militant right-wing terrorism.

Britain's interior minister, Sajid Javid, told reporters last month, "The marked shift in the nature of extreme right-wing activity, and in the organization of such groups and their reach, from being small groups mainly focused on promoting anti-immigration views and white supremacy to actual engagement in terrorist activity, has resulted in this aspect of the threat presenting a higher risk to national security than it previously has."

The alarm in London, Berlin and other European capitals has jumped since the live-streamed shootings in April at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 50 dead and 50 wounded. It emerged after the massacre that the 28-year-old assailant had ties to so-called Identitarian (white nationalist) groups in Europe, having sent donations to France's far-right anti-immigrant movement Generation Identaire and to an Austrian affiliate.

In an analysis of far-right extremist activity, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, warned that monitoring far-right militants with violence in mind is becoming increasingly challenging and labor-intensive. Traditional extremist groups have fragmented into even more shadowy and secretive factions. The potential for 'lone-wolf' attacks has increased dramatically, the agency warned.

"They are developing in different currents and spectra of the right-wing extremist scene, but also on the fringe or entirely outside of organized right-wing extremist tableaus," the report said. Online surveillance must be increased to try to keep tabs and head off attacks in the early stages of planning, the agency counseled.

The overall assessment of the threat from right-wing terrorism and violence has changed dramatically. Until two years ago, analysts were reporting that the number of deadly incidents perpetrated by far-right militants had declined considerably between 1990 to 2015, although they noted that that in most Western democracies, the number of deadly attacks motivated by far-right beliefs was higher than those motivated by Islamism, including in the United States.

Writing in the academic journal Perspectives on Terrorism in 2016, Jacob Aasland Ravndal, a Norwegian analyst of militant activism and political violence, noted the decline was puzzling given that the conditions commonly assumed to stimulate such violence were plentiful. "These conditions include increased immigration, enhanced support to radical right parties, Islamist terrorism, and booming youth unemployment rates," he wrote.

But intelligence officials across the Continent now say jihadists and the far-right militants are feeding each other, using similar methods to radicalize people quickly and to inspire loners to carry out copy-cat attacks. A London court heard last year how Darren Osborne, who drove a van into pedestrians in the capital's Finsbury Park neighborhood near a mosque, had been radicalized in a matter of weeks. Osborne was cited by the Christchurch attacker as an inspiration.

"Evolving technologies and increasing exploitation of social media for the purpose of spreading terrorist material and radicalizing others poses a particularly difficult challenge," Javid told reporters in London last month. Analysts say social media can indeed help turn political extremists into violent ones and the fear is that the trajectory may be shifting and that right-wing motivated violence may be heading back up.

Researchers at the University of Maryland, who compile the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism database (START) on terrorist attacks in North America, Western Europe and Oceania say "a spate of right-wing terrorist attacks broke out after a lull in the early-to-mid 2000s, just as social media began to gain popularity."

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Bahrain - Patriot Missile System and Related Support and Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-06

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain of various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.478 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Bahrain has requested to buy sixty (60) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, thirty-six (36) Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, nine (9) M903 Launching Stations (LS), five (5) Antenna Mast Groups (AMG), three (3) Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III, two (2) AN/MPQ-65 Radar Sets (RS), and two (2) AN/MSQ-132 Engagement Control Stations (ECS). Also included is communications equipment, tools and test equipment, range and test programs, support equipment, prime movers, generators, publications and technical documentation, training equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training, Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT), U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO), field office support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $2.478 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a Major Non-NATO ally which is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance Bahrain's interoperability with the United States. Bahrain will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats. Bahrain will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 Missile is Lockheed-Martin in Dallas, Texas. The prime contractor for the GEM-T missile is Raytheon Company in Andover, Massachusetts. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require approximately 25 U.S. Government and 40 contractor representatives to travel to Bahrain for an extended period for equipment de-processing/fielding, system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Patriot Missile System and Related Support Equipment

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-37

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to United Arab Emirates of four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.728 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates has requested to buy up to four hundred fifty-two (452) Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE). Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design, U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics, sustainment and program support. The estimated cost is $2.728 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important ally which has been, and continues to be,' a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modem systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security.

The proposed sale will enhance the UAE's capability to meet current and future aircraft and missile threats. The UAE will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. The UAE will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor for the PAC-3 System will be Raytheon Corporation, Andover, Massachusetts, and Lockheed-Martin, Dallas, Texas. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed program will require additional contractor representatives to travel to the UAE. It is not expected additional U.S. Government personnel will be required in country for an extended period of time.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Air Force Research Laboratory completes successful shoot down of air-launched missiles

88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published May 03, 2019

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Research Laboratory Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator Advanced Technology Demonstration Program successfully completed a major program milestone with the successful surrogate laser weapon system shoot down of multiple air launched missiles in flight, April 23.

The SHiELD program is developing a directed energy laser system on an aircraft pod that will serve to demonstrate self-defense of aircraft against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.

"This critical demonstration shows that our directed energy systems are on track to be a game changer for our warfighters," said Dr. Kelly Hammett, AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate director.

During the series of tests at the High Energy Laser System Test Facility, the Demonstrator Laser Weapon System , acting as a ground-based test surrogate for the SHiELD system, was able to engage and shoot down several air launched missiles in flight.

The demonstration is an important step of the SHiELD system development, by validating laser effectiveness against the target missiles. The final SHiELD system, however, will be much smaller and lighter, as well as ruggedized for an airborne environment.

"The successful test is a big step ahead for directed energy systems and protection against adversarial threats," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander. "The ability to shoot down missiles with speed-of-light technology will enable air operation in denied environments. I am proud of the AFRL team advancing our Air Force's directed energy capability."

High Energy Laser technology has made significant gains in performance and maturity due to continued research and development by AFRL and others in the science and technology ecosystem. It is considered to be a game changing technology that will bring new capabilities to the warfighter.

For more information about the Air Force Research Laboratory, visit www.afresearchlab.com.



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May 3, 2019

News

By Jim Garamone

Defense.gov

DOD Official Details Continuing Chinese Military Buildup

WASHINGTON -- China continues to build up its military to challenge and supplant the United States as the preeminent power in the Indo-Pacific region, the assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs said today.

Randall G. Schriver briefed the Pentagon's press corps following the release of the new China Military Power Report. He said China continues to challenge U.S. military advantages, such as America's ability to deploy and sustain forces anywhere in the world and its unparalleled alliance system.

China is investing money and time into capabilities and capacity, Schriver said.

"Our 2019 report finds that in the coming decades, China seeks to become both prosperous and powerful, and the report notes that China has a stated goal of becoming a world class military by 2049," he said.

China Building Military

China is continuing to build its missile force, Schriver said, and it has begun building a second aircraft carrier. The nation is sailing two new cruisers and is building more, he said. And China's air force has flown its J-20 fifth-generation aircraft, Schriver said. The aircraft has stealth characteristics and many U.S. officials have said they believe it may contain technologies stolen from U.S. manufacturers.

Chinese conventional forces are moving to improve training and evaluation of ground, sea and air forces, he said. Newly published doctrine "emphasizes realistic and joint training across all domains and tasks the PLA to prepare for conflict aimed at 'strong military opponents,'" Schriver said.

China is emphasizing civil-military integration with civilian companies entering the military market to achieve greater efficiencies, innovation and growth, he said.

The report also touches on Chinese espionage, including cybertheft, targeted investment in foreign companies with crucial technologies and its exploitation of access that Chinese nationals may have to U.S. technology. "In 2018, we saw specific efforts targeting such areas as aviation technologies and anti-submarine warfare technologies," Schriver said.

DOD officials have said they expect China will increase its military footprint, both in and out of the Indo-Pacific region. "We believe China will seek to establish additional bases overseas as well as points for access," Schriver said. He cited Chinese desires to establish military bases in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific.

International Status-Seeking

China has been working seriously to bulk up its worldwide status for more than 20 years. China's economy is expanding and the Chinese Communist Party can mandate a strategy unchecked by democratic forces in the nation. Two programs  the "Made in China 2025" and "One Belt, One Road" initiatives  point to the path China would like to take to ensure it is the preeminent power in the region.

Schriver said the initiatives have caused concern in many nations that following them would mean a loss of sovereignty if the nations by into the Chinese strategy. "Chinese leaders have softened their rhetoric and sought to rebrand [the initiatives], however the fundamental goals of these programs have not changed," he said.

The report covers Chinese efforts in "influence operations"  Chinese efforts to influence media, culture, business, academia in other countries to accept the Chinese way.

China continues efforts to claim the South China Sea and East China Sea. They continue to claim land on its borders with India and Bhutan.

China's attitude toward Taiwan continues to be threatening as they use elements of persuasion and coercion against the island," Schriver said. He said this is destabilizing to the entire region.

The U.S. National Defense Strategy says the United States is in competition with China, but that does not preclude the United States and China from working together when the interests align, Schriver said. "We continue to pursue a constructive results-oriented relationship between our countries, and it is an important part of our regional strategy to have stable, constructive relations with China and a relationship which mitigates the risk of incidents or accidents."

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US alarmed as China flexes military muscle with bases

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:22AM

The United States has expressed disquiet over Chinese increasing military activities, including the deployment of submarines to the Arctic Ocean as well as the construction of military bases around the world.

The US Defense Department released a report on Thursday, saying Beijing was planning to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in its trillion-dollar project, known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The initiative would reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects for international trade in an effort to counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies.

The US report said China, which currently has just one overseas military base in Djibouti, is believed to be planning others, including possibly in Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower.

"China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries," it said.

The report also said the target locations for such bases could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

The report was issued as Beijing and Washington are locked in dispute over US military presence in resource-rich South China Sea.

The US has been taking sides with several of China's neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, stepping up military presence under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

China has constantly warned Washington that close military encounters by air and naval forces of the two countries in the region could easily trigger miscalculation or even accidents at sea or in air.

'China's activities reaching the Arctic'

The Pentagon report noted that China has been accelerating military activities in the Arctic as well.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The eight-nation Arctic Council will convene a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday with the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Chinese military presence in the region.

The expansion of submarine forces is just one element of China's broad and costly modernization of its military, according to US experts, who believe the move is largely aimed at deterring any action by US armed forces.

The Pentagon assessment also mentioned Beijing's military actives in Taiwan, the self-ruled island, over which Beijing asserts sovereignty.

China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing's leadership pursues their reunification.

In 1979, the US adopted the "One China" policy, but under the administration of US President Donald Trump, it has courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China.

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful "reunification."

Beijing has accused Washington of making "a series of moves" on Taiwan and "other issues" that harm China's sovereignty.

The self-ruled island is only one of a growing number of sticking points in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war initiated by the US as well as an aggressive campaign it launched against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei's equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company's 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the law calling the bans unconstitutional.

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China May Create Bases in Pakistan to Protect Silk Road, Pentagon Report Claims

Sputnik News

11:24 03.05.2019

The Belt and Road Initiative, which was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, mainly focuses on the Maritime Silk Route, which connects China and Europe; the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt deals with Russia as well as countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Beijing may create more military bases across the world to protect its investments in its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments.

With China currently having just one overseas military base in Djibouti, target locations could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific, according to the report.

"China's advancement of projects such as the 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative will probably drive military overseas basing through a perceived need to provide security for OBOR projects," the document pointed out.

The document singled out China's push to "establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries".

In March, Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the US White House's national security adviser urged the Italian government not to participate in China's BRI, calling it a "vanity project".

Shortly after, however, Italy became the first major Western country to support the BRI, which stipulates promoting investment in projects that would link dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe through the creation of infrastructure networks similar in purpose to the ancient Silk Road trading routes.

During a recent BRI Forum in Beijing, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaie, in turn, said that major EU countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, are ready to sign a memorandum of understanding on BRI as a group rather than as individual states.

As for the Pentagon report, it comes at a time of ongoing Indian-Pakistani tensions, which escalated after the 14 February Pulwama terrorist attack in which at least 40 Indian security personnel were killed.

Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and New Delhi accused Islamabad of harbouring and sponsoring the Islamist terrorist outfit, a charge which Islamabad denies.

 Sputnik

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Pentagon Warns of Chinese Military Spying

By Carla Babb May 03, 2019

China's two decades of military modernization has paid off big in missile development and domains like cyber and space, but the Pentagon says China is still relying on spying on others to steal the latest military technology.

"China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals' access to these technologies, as well as ... computer intrusions and other illicit approaches," according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Thursday.

Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters Friday at the Pentagon that China frequently uses tactics that fall just short of armed conflict to reach its goal of becoming a "world-class military by 2049," from threats and coercion against media and academia to jamming systems against ships in international waters in the South China Sea.

The report said China has used these illicit approaches to acquire military-grade technologies from the United States that ranged from antisubmarine to aviation equipment.

He said the Chinese were "very aggressive" with modernization and had made "significant progress" in their ballistic and cruise missile development, but he stopped short of calling Beijing an adversary.

"We certainly don't see conflict with China, and it doesn't preclude cooperation where interests align," Schriver told reporters.

Arctic

The report also shows increased Chinese activities in the Arctic region.

Arctic states have expressed concerns that Beijing could use its presence there to strengthen China's military reach, mirroring worries about Chinese military presence in Africa and Latin America following its Belt and Road economic initiative.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report notes.

The Pentagon report noted that European allies like Denmark have expressed concern about Chinese proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station in Greenland.

Concentration camps

Schriver also noted the U.S. military's concern that the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission has taken sole authority of the People's Armed Police, China's primary force for internal security.

He accused China of imprisoning close to 3 million Chinese Muslims in "concentration camps" that "erode the rules-based order." He later defended his description, which harks back to the Jewish concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as appropriate, given the magnitude of the Chinese detentions and the goals of the camps based on public comments from the Chinese government.

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Seoul Confirms North Korea Tests Short-Range Missile

By William Gallo May 03, 2019

North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest small-scale provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the missile toward the east from the eastern town of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

No other details about the missile were immediately available, but a short-range missile would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirt the line of moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang said. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.

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India Considers Purchasing Russian Ka-31 Helicopters in $500 Mln Deal - Reports

Sputnik News

12:17 03.05.2019(updated 12:42 03.05.2019)

India recently also started formal negotiations with Russia to purchase 21 MiG-29 fighter jets, worth over $800 million, to bolster the ageing fleet of the world's fourth-largest air force. In January, India approached Russia for 18 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft, worth $700 million.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Having concluded multi-billion dollar deals since last October, the Indian government is likely to begin dwelling upon purchasing 10 Kamov-31 helicopters from Russia later this month for aircraft carrier operations and deployment on future Gregorivich-class warships.

The Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopter is based on the Ka-27 (Ka-28) design and its development started in 1987.

"The Defence Ministry is scheduled to take up over $500 million proposal for buying around 10 Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control choppers for the aircraft carrier operations and deployment of future warships of the Gregorovich class," reported Indian news agency ANI, citing government sources.

Russia has supplied a total of 14 Kamov-31 helicopters to the Indian Navy since 2003. The first four were inducted into the Indian Navy in April 2003 and the second batch in 2005.

The helicopter is powered by 2  Isotov TV3-117VMAR turboshafts generating 1633 kW (2217.7 hp) each driving contra rotating rotors, which allow the helicopters to be stowed on board frigate-sized ships.

Currently stationed on INS Talwar class frigates, Ka-31s will be based on the INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy's new aircraft carrier. The radar antenna of the helicopter can be folded and stowed under the fuselage during cruising.

The Koryo-A radar, produced by Phazotron NIIR Corporation, gives the Ka-31 the ability to monitor airspace all around it, up to a radius of 250 km. The radar detects and tracks aerial as well as surface threats using an electro-mechanically steered antenna. It can pin-point the geographical locations of the threats with co-ordinates, allowing data linked surface ships (Talwar class frigates, INS Vikramaditya) or airborne aircraft (MiG-29Ks operating from INS Vikramaditya) to engage the targets without turning on their own sensors and giving their position away.

Amid the backdrop of last year's annual summit in October 2018, which witnessed India and Russia sealing a $5.43 billion deal for S-400 air missile and defence systems, the old friends have inked defence deals worth over $7 billion, including the sale of submarines, short range air defence systems, frigates, and assault rifles by Russia to the Indian Armed Forces.

 Sputnik

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No looming war between US, Iran: Zarif

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he believed no military confrontation between Iran and the US is imminent and stressed that accidents like lack of communication with Iranian forces controlling the Strait of Hormuz could lead to conflict.

The Independent's journalist, Negar Mortazavi, released Thursday a summary of her recent talk with the Iranian foreign minister at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In the conversation, Zarif sees no possible war between the US and Iran as imminent but says that the lack of communication between the American ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf with Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) which is in charge of controlling the strategic strait on Iranian side might result in military confrontation.

IRGC, a major part of Iran's official Armed Forces, was listed by the US on terrorist organizations.

Zarif tried to highlight the consequences of such move when it comes to the oil lifeline in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian minister described lack of communication with IRGC as an 'accident' the other instance of which was the detention of US Navy boats in the Persian Gulf in 2016.

The incidents, however, were handled by Zarif and his then American counterpart John Kerry who were in touch directly following the nuclear deal that was signed with other permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Foreign Minister Zarif had also told the media in the past, that he had the authority to make prisoners swap deals with the US, but the swap would not include Europeans, the Independent added.

Commenting on his interview with the Fox News in New York, Zarif argued that speaking to the other side is sometimes important, according to the Independent.

In the interview, the Iranian foreign minister warned about the consequences of the 'B-Team' efforts, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, US National Security Advisor John Bolton, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and United Arab Emirates Prince Bin Zayed who are trying to exert a great influence on Trump's policies toward Iran.

9156**1424

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Iran's missile program 'national defense issue': Envoy to UN

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New York, May 3, IRNA -- Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations reaffirmed that the country's missile program is non-negotiable and Tehran will not retreat from its stance on the program as it is a matter of national defense.

Responding to a visit by the US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, to New York for mobilizing UN Security Council members against Iran's missile program, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi said Thursday, 'In a statement we announced our stances. Our missiles are by no means subject to the Resolution 2231. The Resolution that was proposed and ratified by the US itself and other countries stipulates that only the missiles that are designed for carrying nuclear warheads are forbidden.'

The permanent representative added that the Iranian missiles are not meant for such a purpose and Tehran has repeatedly announced and clarified the issue.

The 14 reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are evidences that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, Takht-e Ravanchi said.

The issue raised by Washington is not legitimate at all, he said adding that this was the US that had to explain why it withdrew from the nuclear deal and violated the Resolution 2231, as the deal was a part of the Resolution and Washington's pull-out from the deal was a blatant violation of the Resolution 2231.

'In the statement the US Secretary of State has issued on the visit of the official to New York, the Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal have not been mentioned, and this is evidence that they are misleading others, but they will get nowhere,' he said.

Iran's stances are absolutely clear, he said adding that the country is in contact with the opposed members of the Security Council.

'The missile issue is a matter of national defense, and therefore, it will not be negotiable, and there is no contradiction between the program and Resolution 2231 whatsoever,' the Iranian permanent representative to the UN said.

Hook has convened a meeting with the Security Council members on Iran's missile program.

9156**1424

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US imposes sanctions on Iran enriched uranium exports, but renews nuclear work waivers

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 08:19PM

The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium but at the same time renewed three key waivers that will allow European allies, Russia and China to cooperate with the Islamic Republic on civil nuclear program.

"Any involvement in transferring enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium will now be exposed to sanctions. The United States has been clear that Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the State Department announced in statement issued on Friday.

Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran is limited to keeping 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent. As part of the JCPOA, Iran is allowed to sell any enriched uranium above that threshold on international markets in exchange for natural uranium, with Russia a key player.

The waivers, due to expire Saturday, are extended for 90 days, the State Department statement added.

The waiver extensions pertain to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Fordow enrichment facility, the Arak nuclear complex and the Tehran Research Reactor, a senior US official said, on condition of anonymity.

On May 8, 2018, Trump announced that he would abandon the JCPOA, reached between Iran and six world powers  the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

The new decision comes after the Trump administration took other steps to crack down on Iran. Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

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FM Zarif rules out US-Iran war, but says 'accidents' possible

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 02:40PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismisses the likelihood of a war between Iran and the United States but says certain "accidents" might ignite a military confrontation.

In a recent interview with the British online newspaper Independent at Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Zarif said although he did not think a war between Iran and the US was imminent, "accidents can happen" that then spiral into a "military conflict."

In response to a question about the nature of such accidents, Zarif gave the example of a recent move by US President Donald Trump to put Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on its blacklist of foreign "terrorist" organizations.

A lack of "vital communication" between the IRGC forces and ships going through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where most of the world's oil exporters pass through, can easily lead to conflict.

The United States in April officially registered the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization," according to a notice published on the website of the US Federal Register.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) slammed the US government as "supporter of terrorism," designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization."

In a statement, the Iranian top security council said the designation came as a "reciprocal measure" against US President Trump's "illegal and unwise" move to blacklist the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

In a meeting with IRGC personnel and their family members in the capital Tehran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the recent US decision is rooted in America's "rancor" against the force, which has been in the forefront of the fight against enemies.

"The IRGC is the vanguard both on the field confronting the enemy on [Iranian] borders and even several thousand kilometers away [in Syria] as well as on the political battleground against the enemy," the Leader said, adding that Americans hold a grudge against the force for that reason.

Also in his interview, the top Iranian diplomat mentioned an incident happened in the Persian Gulf in January 2016 when the IRGC naval forces arrested 10 US sailors after their patrol boats entered Iran's territorial waters.

Zarif said that "a direct line of communication" between him and his US counterpart at the time John Kerry let the two top diplomats control the situation and secure the quick release of American sailors, adding that no such communication channel exists today.

"So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," he said.

On January 13, 2016, the IRGC announced that ten US Marines, who had drifted into the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and had been taken into Iranian custody, had been released after Americans apologized for the incident.

When asked about Zarif's interview with Fox News, the Iranian foreign minister said he wanted to reach out to Trump's base in American mainstream "because it is important to speak to the other side sometimes".

However, he noted that it was not his first interview with Fox and that he had talked to the channel years ago when he was Iran's ambassador at the United Nations in New York.

In the interview with "FOX NEWS SUNDAY", the top Iranian diplomat said all measures adopted by the administration of President Trump in dealing with Iran conveyed a message that "the United States is not reliable."

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Iran won't let US threaten Persian Gulf Security: FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 10:17AM

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran does not seek to escalate tensions with the United States, but it will not let Washington disrupt the security of Persian Gulf, the "lifeline of Iran".

"We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation," Zarif said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera TV, which is to be aired on Saturday.

"We have been clear that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are our lifeline. We depend on them for our livelihood, and we want them safe, secure, and free for navigation of all countries, including Iran," he said.

"As we have stated before, Iran won't permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf," the foreign minister added.

The US has vowed to cut Iran's oil exports down to zero, prompting Tehran to warn that it will not allow any other country to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz if Tehran cannot sell its crude.

Last Sunday, Iran's top military commander said Iran wants the strait  through which nearly one-third of all oil traded by sea passes  to remain open and secure, warning that the country will not allow anyone to destabilize the waters.

"As oil and commodities of other countries are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, ours are also moving through it," said Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri.

Iran "will definitely confront anyone who attempts to destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, and if our crude is not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, others' [crude] will not pass either."

The Iranian commander explained, "This does not mean [that we are going to] close the Strait of Hormuz. We do not intend to shut it unless the enemies' hostile acts will leave us with no other option. We will be fully capable of closing it on that day."

The US administration said in a statement on April 22 that buyers of Iranian oil must stop their purchases by May 1 or face sanctions. The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran's eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.

The US also said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would "more than make up the oil flow difference" to make sure that global markets were not unsettled. The two OPEC members are close Washington allies and firmly back US President Donald Trump's hostile Iran policy.

"We will continue to sell our oil and we will seek customers, and we will always remember those who worked with us during times of difficulty," Zarif said.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani played down Washington's plan to cut Iran's oil sales to zero, saying Tehran has its own ways of selling oil and will keep up its exports despite US pressure.

"America's decision to block and cut Iran's oil exports to zero is wrong and we will not let this decision become operational," Rouhani said during a ceremony commemorating Workers' Week in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has also said that the US administration's hostile attempts to block Iran's oil sales will lead nowhere, and that the country will export "as much crude as it needs and wishes" in defiance of American sanctions.

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Iran to respond to threats made by other OPEC members if interests are threatened: Iranian Minister of Petroleum

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 07:00AM

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has warned that Iran will reply in kind if its interests in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are threatened.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organization seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh said on Thursday.

The petroleum minister made the comments after a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo who had arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to participate in the 24th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Exhibition.

"I told Barkindo that OPEC is threatened by the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organization may collapse," said Zangeneh following the meeting.

Barkindo said that the organization seeks to reach decisions collectively.

"We have seen numerous times in the past how one-sided decisions made by state-members have failed to be effectual. The same will happen again this time," said the OPEC chief.

OPEC and its allies are set to meet in June to decide on any supply changes.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member-states, have however pledged to step up oil production to substitute Iranian barrels in line with the US policy of zeroing out Iran's oil exports.

The US announced last month that it would not renew waivers that allowed Tehran's eight largest customers to purchase its oil. The exemptions expired on May 1.

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of exaggerating their ability to replace the country's oil.

Countries affected by US sanctions have so far opposed the expected move, citing tight market conditions and high fuel prices that are harming oil-dependent industries.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US decision to end sanctions waivers had even angered Washington's allies.

"People are not happy. China is not happy, Turkey is not happy, Russia is not happy. France is not happy. US allies are not happy that this is happening and they say that they will find ways of resisting it," said Zarif.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned of the repercussions of the American sanctions on Iran, saying they negatively affect the entire region, including his own country.

Regarding the expiration of the waivers, the top Turkish diplomat said his country cannot quickly abandon Iranian oil.

"The refineries in Turkey are not adapted for Iraqi oil," said Cavusoglu.

Last week, China slammed the US sanctions, saying the country's dealings with Tehran were in accordance with international law, "reasonable and legitimate".

Bejing also warned that Washington's decision would "intensify turmoil" in the Middle East and in the international energy market.

On Monday, Chinese tabloid newspaper the Global Times said China and India could work together "to form a buyers' bloc" to counter US sanctions on Iran.

Opposition parties in India have also urged the government to push the US to reconsider the Iranian oil ban, describing the sanctions as a violation of India's sovereignty.

Earlier this week, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj accosted her US counterpart Mike Pompeo, saying immediate arrangements for alternative supplies to replace Iranian oil were "not possible,"

South Korea and Japan have also sought negotiations with the US, calling on Washington to backtrack on its decision.

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Turkey Says Unable To Quickly Diversify Away From Iranian Oil

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Turkey says it will not be able to diversify oil imports quickly after the United States ended sanction waivers on purchases from Iran, and Ankara continues to urge Washington to reconsider its decision.

"It does not seem possible for us to diversify the sources of the oil we import in a short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on May 2.

Turkey has reduced its heavy reliance on Iranian crude in the past year  traditionally some 1 million barrels a day --- but Ankara said its refineries were not suited to handling oil from some other countries.

"We have to renew the technology of our refineries when we buy oil from third countries. That would mean the refineries remaining shut for some time. This, of course, has a cost," he added.

The statement comes a day after the United States told international buyers to stop oil purchases or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers for eight countries to continue buying Iranian oil to ease disruptions on their own economies.

Washington has encouraged countries to find alternative sources and has pressed Persian Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to export more oil to meet potential shortages arising from Iranian sanctions and prevent a spike in prices.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on April 26 said Turkey was working to persuade Washington to allow oil refiner Tupras to continue crude imports from Iran.

"Tupras is following the subject closely. The characteristics of their refineries are suitable for Iranian oil. We are trying to convince the U.S.," Aksoy said.

Turkey and China are the only two countries so far to have expressed a need to continue substantial purchases of Iranian oil. Others, such as India, Japan, and South Korea, have indicated they will comply with U.S. demands.

China last month said it opposed "long-armed jurisdictions implemented by the United States" and would continue "rational and legal" cooperation with Iran.

The United States has said it wants to cut Iranian oil exports to zero as it looks to pressure Tehran for what it has called "malign" activities in the region, including support for extremists and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the accusations.

With reporting by Reuters, CNBC, and TRT

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-says- unable-to-quickly-diversify-away-from- iran-oil/29918502.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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State Dept Threatens Sanctions for Helping Expand Iran's Nuclear Power Plant

Sputnik News

23:59 03.05.2019(updated 00:38 04.05.2019)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States may impose sanctions against actors providing assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant starting on May 4, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a press release on Friday.

"Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable," the release said.

Iran reached a deal with Russia on the first stage of the Bushehr project  the Bushehr 1  in 1992. Russia and Iran signed an agreement in 2014 to build the second and third reactors for the Bushehr plant.

The press release says that the United States will no longer permit storage for Iran of heavy water in excess of limits related to its nuclear program.

"We will also no longer permit the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits; any such heavy water must no longer be available to Iran in any fashion," the release said on Friday.

US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also said that the United States calls on Iran to stop all proliferation-sensitive actives and warned Tehran that transferring enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable.

"Iran must stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and we will not accept actions that support the continuation of such enrichment," the release said. "Activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable."

 Sputnik

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US Grants Shortened Waivers to Iranian Nuclear Power Sites - Report

Sputnik News

23:53 03.05.2019(updated 23:55 03.05.2019)

The Trump administration has decided to renew waivers for Iran's limited nuclear power program, albeit on terms half as long as before. However, it has also revoked other waivers allowing disposal of excess nuclear material, putting pressure on Tehran to end all uranium enrichment to stay within the international deal signed in 2015.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ended international sanctions against Iran in exchange for its rejection of a nuclear weapons program. The deal, signed by Tehran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, provided for a limited amount of nuclear fuel to be produced by Iran for experimentation and nuclear power, but not of the quality or quantity necessary to produce a nuclear bomb.

While Washington unilaterally left that agreement last May, it has permitted nations that remained in the deal to engage in nonproliferation activities and nuclear research at three sites in Iran  Fordow, Bushehr and Arak  without facing sanctions. Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Ford announced on Friday that these waivers would be renewed, but this time only for 90 days instead of 180 days, as they had been before.

However, that deal has come at a price: Washington has also revoked two waivers allowing Iran to send its excess heavy water to Oman and to export excess enriched uranium, a practice it used to remain within the strict limits of the JCPOA. In turn, Tehran received from its trade partners "yellowcake" uranium, a type of the radioactive element with a much lower concentration than enriched fuel.

"We are tightening restrictions on Iran's nuclear program as part of our pressure campaign," US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told Bloomberg for a Friday article. "Iran cannot have any path to a nuclear weapon."

Two of the three facilities given waivers have relationships with foreign countries; the heavy water reactor at Arak is being redesigned with Chinese help, according to the JCPOA; the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was built with help from the Soviet Union, and today Russia supplies enriched uranium for the plant and takes away its spent fuel rods. The third site, Fordow, is a uranium enrichment facility. Its inclusion in the waivers has drawn heavy criticism because of the potential for the facility to be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is derived from uranium.

While US President Donald Trump and hawkish associates such as National Security Adviser John Bolton have pressed for a total cessation of all Iranian nuclear fuel refinement, the US State Department is forced to navigate a difficult and narrow path between, on the one hand, constraining Iranian production so as to avoid the perceived danger of an Iranian nuclear program, and on the other, pushing Tehran into such a desperate situation that it departs from all cooperation with the JCPOA powers and resumes its pre-2015 activities  something it's threatened to do more than once in the last year.

"Our leadership is not comfortable with any mechanism that allows uranium enrichment," Ford said. "We don't want to give Iran a supposed excuse to continue to enrich."

 Sputnik

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Zarif Warns Iran-US War Possible If 'Accident' Spirals Into Military Conflict

Sputnik News

17:08 03.05.2019(updated 20:01 03.05.2019)

Tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to mount amid US threats to bring Iranian oil exports down "to zero" and Iranian officials' warnings that the country may close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if its security was threatened.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe that a war between Iran and the US was imminent or inevitable, but does not exclude the possibility of some "accident" 'spiraling' into a military conflict.

Speaking to The Independent, the foreign minister indicated that the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 percent of the world's oil supplies pass, may be the spark that could ignite a war, particularly in the event of a lack of communication between the US military and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with each side recently labeling the other as "terrorists," in this narrow passageway.

Zarif also recalled a January 2016 incident in which two US Navy vessels entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and were detained by the IRGC. Here it was possible to avoid escalation thanks to the existence of a direct line of communication between Zarif and then-Secretary of State John Kerry. "But today there is no such line of communication between the Iranian foreign minister and US Secretary of State. So a similar incident in the Persian Gulf could quickly get out of hand," The Independent noted.

Zarif spent much of last week in the US, making appearances on US media and speaking to policy experts about the dangers of another war in the Middle East. The trip included an interview with Fox News, during which the foreign minister said he felt President Trump himself had no interest in war, but that some of his officials and US allies, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Prince Bin Zayed, were interested in "dragging the United States into a conflict."

In a separate event last week, Zarif warned that Iran would continue selling its oil abroad despite US threats and warned that Washington should prepare to face "consequences" if it took "the crazy measure" of trying to prevent Iran from selling its oil.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and the United States took a turn for the worse in May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and began slapping Iran with several rounds of sanctions, including energy restrictions aimed at bringing Iran's oil exports down "to zero", as well as banking restrictions and other measures meant to cripple the country's economy.

In late 2018, the US granted eight major importers of Iranian oil with temporary waivers exempting them from the possible US secondary sanctions. The wavers formally expired on Thursday, with the US Treasury giving no indication of any plans to extend them. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have promised to increase oil production to substitute Iranian oil, with Iran warning that its fellow OPEC members' policy would not be left unanswered.

 Sputnik

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Iran Vows Response to OPEC's 'Threats', Warns Organisation of 'Collapse'

Sputnik News

15:54 03.05.2019

The warning comes after Washington claimed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both OPEC member states, promised late last month to increase oil production to substitute Iranian crude, in line with the US policy of bringing Tehran's oil exports "to zero".

Iran will respond in kind if its interests in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are damaged, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said after his talks with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo in Tehran on Thursday.

"Iran is part of OPEC due to its interests and if members of the organisation seek to threaten it, Iran will not leave them unanswered," Zangeneh underscored.

He added that he had told Barkindo that OPEC, in turn, is damaged by "the unilateralism of some of its members and that it's possible that the organisation may collapse".

Additionally, Zangeneh accused "certain" OPEC members of exaggerating their capacities to compensate for any shortfall in the oil supply caused by a tightening of US sanctions on Iran, aimed to zero out Iran's oil exports.

"As I have already said, the US wishes to cut Iran's oil exports to zero but this is a pious hope. Any independent market expert knows that a surplus of capacities declared by certain countries is exaggeration and overstatement", Zangeneh told the opening of the 24th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran on Wednesday.

In late April, Zangeneh did not mince words and berated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for overstating their oil capacities.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, for his part, noted that he did not see any need for Riyadh to raise oil output in response to the tougher anti-Iranian sanctions, but added that Saudi Arabia would supply "more oil if asked to by its customers".

This came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recalled that Washington would not renew any exemptions from US sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil, and that he had received a commitment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE ensuring that oil supplies will remain stable.

The six-month waivers from oil sanctions against Iran were granted by the US in early November 2018 to Greece, Italy, Taiwan, China, India, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea.

The move followed the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

After that, Washington has repeatedly stressed that it wants all importers to eventually cut their oil sales from Iran to zero, in what the US claims will have a significant impact on the Islamic Republic's economy.

 Sputnik

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China, Turkey, India Silent on Buying Iran's Oil as US Ban Begins

By Michael Lipin, Anjana Pasricha, Hilmi Hacaloglu May 03, 2019

Iran's biggest likely remaining oil customers, China, Turkey and India, were silent about purchases of Iranian crude Thursday as a total U.S. ban on such trade took effect, leaving their next moves a mystery.

The Trump administration was equally silent about what action it might take if any of the three countries continues to purchase Iranian oil after Thursday, with no statements on the subject issued during the day by the departments of State or Treasury.

A six-month grace period granted by the United States for China, Turkey, India and five other governments to reduce their Iranian oil imports to zero expired Wednesday. In an April 22 statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said no nation would receive any further exemptions or waivers from U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's oil industry last November. The sanctions are part of a U.S. bid to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal to end its alleged nuclear weapons program and other malign behaviors.

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful and it intends to keep exporting oil, its main revenue source, in defiance of the U.S. sanctions.

Washington has been encouraging Iran's oil customers to switch to other major oil producers such as Gulf Arab nations that have pledged to keep energy markets appropriately supplied. Pompeo also has said the United States will enforce its unilateral ban on Iran's oil trade and warned that paying Iran for its crude entails "risks" that will "not  be worth the benefits," a reference to the possibility of purchasers facing U.S. secondary sanctions.

Turkey

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said diversifying Ankara's oil sources in a short time "does not seem possible."

Cavusoglu said Turkish refineries that have been processing Iranian crude are capable of handling oil from Iraq but not from many other nations, whom he did not name. He said Turkey would need to upgrade the technology of its refineries in order to import oil from those other countries, requiring the refineries to be shut down for a period of time.

"This would have a cost. However you look at it, the unilateral decision made by the U.S. is adversely affecting everyone," Cavusoglu said. "The U.S. should review its decisions."

The top Turkish diplomat did not say whether Ankara will buy Iranian oil in future.

But Turkey has been significantly reducing its reliance on Iranian imports since the start of the U.S. sanctions waiver. Data from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority show the country imported an average of 209,000 tons of Iranian crude per month from November through February, the first four months of the waiver period. It had been importing an average of 701,000 tons per month in the prior 10 months, accounting for around one-fifth of its total oil imports for the period.

China

China, Iran's biggest oil customer, made no comment on Thursday's expiry of the six-month U.S. waiver for buying Iranian crude. But its initial response to the U.S. decision not to extend the waiver was similar to that of Turkey. In an April 24 news briefing, Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing also opposes the unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdictions" of the United States. He also urged Washington not to undermine what he called Beijing's lawful and legitimate "cooperation" with Iran.

India

India also did not comment Thursday. In an April 23 tweet, Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said New Delhi has a plan to maintain an "adequate" supply of crude to Indian refineries, adding: "There will be additional supplies from other major oil-producing countries."

Pradhan did not name those countries or say whether the additional supplies would completely replace crude from Iran, which had been India's third biggest supplier a year ago.

Indian media have said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj appealed to Pompeo in an April 27 phone call for New Delhi to have more time to import Iranian oil without being hit by U.S. secondary sanctions. Swaraj was quoted as calling for flexibility in the U.S. position because India is in the midst of a general election and wants the next government to make decisions about whom to buy oil from.

China and India had been reducing their dependence on Iranian oil before the end of the U.S. waiver period. An April 30 report by Reuters showed both nations significantly cut their Iranian crude imports in the January to March quarter compared to the same period a year before, with China making a 28% reduction and India a 40% reduction in imported barrels per day.

What will the three do?

Frank Verrastro, a Washington-based energy analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told VOA Persian he expects further reductions in China's purchases of Iranian oil.

"They have been increasing purchases of similar-quality Saudi oil as well as looking at alternative supplies from the U.S., other Mideast nations and Russia," Verrastro said in a Tuesday email.

But Verrastro said Beijing also may try to keep importing some Iranian crude in ways that bypass the U.S. financial system and sanctions regime. He said China could barter with Iran, enable Iran to repay loans with oil, or make non-U.S. dollar purchases of Iranian crude.

Indian strategic affairs analyst Manoj Joshi of New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation told VOA the U.S. ban on Iranian oil exports presents India not just with an economic challenge but also a foreign policy one.

"It puts us in a very awkward spot," Joshi said in a Thursday interview, noting the move will hurt India's ties with Iran. "The U.S. may be our partner, but we cannot have a congruence of interests in everything. When there are no options, what do you do?"

Turkey is likely to wait and see what Iran's bigger customers China and India do before deciding whether to keep importing Iranian oil, according to Hakki Uygur, acting director of Ankara's Center of Iranian Studies. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Turkish, he said that if China and India maintain their recent levels of imports, Turkey may do the same.

"But if the U.S. sanctions are enforced strictly, Iraq would be one of our most important secondary sources of oil," Uygur said.

This article originated in VOA's Persian Service. Anjana Pasricha contributed from New Delhi and Hilmi Hacaloglu contributed from Istanbul.

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Five terrorists killed in Pakistan near Iran border

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 3, IRNA -- Pakistani security forces have killed five terrorists in two separate operations in Pakistani province of Balochistan near Iranian border, local media reported.

The security forces conducted operations in Khuzdar and Turbat areas of Balohcistan province of Pakistan.

The police also recovered radio sets, transmitters, GPS devices, explosives and huge cache of arms from the terrorists.

Pakistani province of Balochistan has faced a number of security challenges in recent months, with security personnel in the province often being targeted by roadside improvised explosive device (IED).

Last month at least 14 security officials were offloaded from buses and were shot dead by terrorists on the Makran Coastal Highway.

In the same month 22 people were killed and several others injured in a terrorist attack in Quetta targeting Shia community.

272**1416

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South Korea Approves $6.3 Billion Deal for New Warships

Sputnik News

21:58 03.05.2019

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has approved the construction of three more KDX-III Sejong the Great-class destroyers, along with three more KSS-III diesel-electric attack submarines. The procurement is worth $6.3 billion.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee, a division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, decided on Tuesday to OK the $6.3 billion deal, which will enhance South Korea's ballistic missile defenses above the waves and its offensive capabilities below. The vessels are expected to join the Republic of Korea Navy by 2028, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 11,000-ton Sejong the Great-class destroyers carry the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system, giving them upgraded air defenses as well as ballistic missile defense. The Diplomat notes the ships, roughly comparable to the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, will carry the SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missile and SM-3 Block IB missie, both of which are made by US defense giant Raytheon and are used for different types of anti-air defense.

While three of the destroyers have been in service with the navy since 2008, the KSS-III submarines, also called the Jangbogo-III-class, are new and of an indigenous design.

The first boat, dubbed "Dosan Ahn Chang-ho," only put to sea for the first time in September 2018, Sputnik reported. The 3,450-ton sub is Seoul's first ballistic missile submarine and by far the largest of South Korea's 18 submarines, sporting 10 vertical launch tubes that can carry either ballistic missiles or cruise missiles.

However, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho is still being tested and won't be delivered to the navy until at least 2020. That hasn't stopped Seoul, though, which hopes to have all four KSS-III subs in service by 2025.

 Sputnik

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Damascus won't let Turkey control even one centimeter of Syrian territory: Deputy FM

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 04:54PM

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad says the Damascus government "will not allow Turkey to control even one centimeter of the Syrian territory," stressing that Ankara should know that "Damascus will not accept the survival of militant groups" in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

"The Damascus government's resolution is to liberate every inch of the Syrian territory, and Idlib is no exception," Mekdad said in an exclusive interview with the Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network.

He added, "The Turks and others should know that the Syrian government is determined to recover all of Syrian soil. Turkey must also understand that its support for terrorism and its occupation of the Syrian territory will not guarantee security."

The high-ranking Syrian official then advised US-sponsored Kurdish militant groups active in northern Syria to stop being used as a pawn by Washington, and to prove loyalty to their homeland.

Mekdad told the pro-government and Arabic-language al-Watan daily newspaper on November 4 last year that "occupation" forces from Turkey must depart the territories of his conflict-plagued Arab country in order for security and stability to be restored there.

"The Syrian Arab army is the only party that stands against the Turkish occupation of the Syrian territories," he said.

"We believe that these (Kurdish parties) should return to the spirit of citizenship and to believe in their homeland; not to use Americans, Israelis and others against the interests of their native soil," Mekdad said when asked about calls by some Kurdish militant groups in the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stand against Turkish attacks.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister added, "The Syrian army stands with all groups, parties and tribes in order to tackle terrorism for the benefit of Syrian people."

He stated that Syria will eventually emerge victorious over terrorism and its sponsors, and all areas will be liberated from the clutches of Americans, Turks and separatists, thanks to the high motivation and sacrifices made by the Syrian nation and Syrian army.

The senior Syrian official highlighted that the Damascus government cannot trust Turkish assurances, because Ankara's objectives are colonial and expansionist.

"The Ankara government misleads the public opinion inside Turkey and in the (Middle East) region by announcing something but implementing something else," Mekdad commented.



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Militant attempt to shell Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria foiled, no one injured

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 12:46PM

A high-ranking Russia military official says foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants have attempted to shell the country's strategic Hmeimim airbase in Syria's western coastal province of Latakia, but it was successfully foiled.

"On May 2, militants from illegal armed groups, who hold positions near the towns of Qalaat al-Madiq and Bab al-Atika, made another attempt to shell the Hmeimim airbase. Their attempt was repelled. No Russian servicemen were injured, and no damage was done to the facility," Major General Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation, said on Friday.

He added that Takfiri militants had also launched barrages of shells at the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, Handarat town north of Aleppo city, as well as the city of Mahardah and Saklabiya town in Syria's western-central Hama province over the past 24 hours.

Kupchishin said on Wednesday that the Russian military had repelled 12 drone and rocket attacks by terrorists based in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib against Hmeimim airbase and positions of Syrian government forces in Latakia since early April.

Russia Defense ministry rejects reports on death of four soldiers

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry has dismissed media reports that four Russian servicemen had been killed as terrorists shelled an area in Syria's Hama province.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, described the reports as "fake news," stressing that all Russian forces deployed in Syria are well and fulfilling their duties.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other foreign-backed terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russian air cover.

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Military Escalation Continues in Northwest Syria

By Sirwan Kajjo May 03, 2019

Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighboring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA.

The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.

"The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.

"This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to northwestern Syria, it's only Russia who calls the shots," Abdulrahman added.

Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.

Russia has been backing the Syrian regime since 2015, helping government forces and allied militias recapture rebel-held cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Damascus suburbs.

Idlib is under the control of a former al-Qaida affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The Syrian province is the last stronghold of rebel forces battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. stance

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, the U.S. has twice carried out airstrikes against Syrian regime targets, punishing Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus and elsewhere.

The U.S., which has led a coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) terror group in eastern Syria, does not have any military presence in northwestern Syria, including Idlib. In the past, however, U.S. officials did voice concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of foreign fighters, including al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, in the province but cautioned against full-scale military operations, maintaining that doing so would lead to a humanitarian crisis, as the province is home to 3 million people.

"Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaida affiliates in the world right now," Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said this week during remarks at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

"We have very limited insights as to what's going on," he added.

Idlib is one of several de-escalation zones in Syria that were created in 2017 after trilateral talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran to try to prevent further escalation among warring parties.

U.S. officials have urged Russia and the Syrian regime to comply with their commitments in Idlib, which were to ensure that the zones remain free of escalation.

"The violence must end," Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement this week. "The United States reiterates that any escalation in violence in northwest Syria will result in the destabilization of the region."

Turkey's role

Turkey and Russia reached an agreement last September that prevented a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border. Turkey assured Russia that the local rebel and militant groups, some of which are allied with Ankara, would not assault Russian and Syrian government forces.

However, HTS's advances in Idlib earlier this year, which led to the terror group's consolidation of power over most of the province, has put an already fragile agreement between Russia and Turkey at further risk.

One point of the Turkey-Russia deal was that Ankara would work to disarm and dislodge the jihadist group and other extremists from Idlib. But Turkey has so far been unable to implement that part of the agreement.

"Turkey has two options. The first one is to give in to Russian demands by entering a war with HTS and its allies," said Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian army general who is now a military analyst based in Istanbul.

"But this unlikely because the jihadists are based in a civilian area where more 3 million people live. Turkey cannot enter such a war because it would create a major refugee and humanitarian crisis. That's why Ankara is pushing for a diplomatic solution."

The other option for Turkey, according to Rahal, is to yield the way for its allied Syrian rebel forces to enter an open-ended war with Syrian regime troops.

Military buildup or containment?

Pro-regime Syrian media outlets on Thursday reported a continued military buildup by regime troops near the southern part of Idlib, in what appears to be a final preparation for a ground offensive against rebel forces.

But experts say a major offensive carried out by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is unlikely at this point.

"I don't think the Syrian regime would launch a large-scale ground offensive in Idlib," said Fabrice Balanche, a professor at the University of Lyon in France who is an expert on Syria and follows developments in the country.

He told VOA the ongoing movements of Syrian government forces in south Idlib could be part of the "Syrian regime's policy of containment" to ensure that jihadists would not be able to expand their operations into Idlib's neighboring provinces.

Civilians displaced

The U.N. has blamed the Russia and Syrian regimes for the damage to a medical center and two hospitals resulting from the airstrikes in northwestern Syria this week.

While thousands of civilians have already evacuated from Idlib and its surrounding areas, the U.N. fears that such military activities could result in a massive refugee crisis in the region.

"Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib," said David Swanson, an official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"Between 1 and 28 April, it's estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates," Swanson told AFP.

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China could use force against Taiwan in push for unification: Pentagon

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 16:22:28

Washington, May 2 (CNA) China could use force to push Taiwan into unification or into unification dialogue, the United States Department of Defense said in its annual military report, which was issued Thursday.

In the 2019 report submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon said China is likely to pursue a measured approach by demonstrating its readiness to use force or take punitive actions against Taiwan.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) could also conduct a more comprehensive campaign designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or unification dialogue, under China's terms," said the Pentagon report, which focuses on military and security development involving China.

According to the report, Taiwan remains the PLA's main strategic direction and serves as one of the geographic areas the Chinese government identifies as having strategic importance.

"China's overall strategy toward Taiwan continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence," the Pentagon said in the paper.

To force Taiwan into unification or unification dialogue, China is likely to employ an air and missile campaign against Taiwan, the report said.

"China could use missile attacks and precision air strikes against air defense systems, including air bases, radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications facilities, to degrade Taiwan's defenses, neutralize Taiwan's leadership, or break the Taiwan people's resolve," the report said.

Taiwan has much smaller military capabilities than China, and the gap is growing, the Pentagon report said.

According to its estimate, China has 2,600 fighter jets, including 1,100 fighter trainers, while Taiwan has only 450 fighter jets in total.

China also has special mission aircraft, 450 transport planes, 450 bombers and 150 special mission aircraft, while Taiwan deploys only 30 transport planes and 30 special mission aircraft and has no bombers, the Pentagon said.

It said that while China speaks of peaceful unification with Taiwan, the Chinese government has never given up the use of force as an option, and continues to develop and deploy advanced military capabilities, paving the way for a potential military campaign to increase the pressure on Taipei.

Chinese President Xi Jinping () said in a speech on Jan. 2 that China is willing to talk with any party in Taiwan to push forward the process of peaceful unification on the basis of the "one China principle," but said he was making no promises to "renounce the use of force and reserved the option of taking all necessary means" to achieve that end.

In its report, the Pentagon said that in the event of a protracted conflict, China might resort to escalating cyberspace, space, or nuclear activities.

Alternatively, China might choose to fight to a standstill and pursue a political solution, the report said.

The Pentagon said the U.S. supports a peaceful resolution of China-Taiwan issues, and under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), will contribute to peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan Strait by providing defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain adequate self-defense capability.

According to the Pentagon, Washington has announced more than US$15 billion in arms sales to Taiwan since 2010.

The TRA was signed in April 1979 by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a few months after the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

(By Lu Tzu-ying and Frances Huang)

Enditem/pc



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Expert praises Taiwan's plans to purchase F-16V jets

ROC Central News Agency

2019/05/03 22:57:30

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) A Taiwanese military expert on Friday hailed the government's decision to purchase F-16V fighter jets from the United States for deployment in eastern Taiwan as a "correct strategic choice."

The F-16V jets are to replace the aging fleet of F-5E fighters at the Chi-Hang Air Force Base in Taitung County, which will be out of the reach of China's S-400 anti-air missiles, Su Tzu-yun (), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA.

Although the S-400 Triumf missile is intended to hit targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers, Su said, they are only capable of covering the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's western half, given the geographic features in eastern Taiwan, which has the Central Mountain Range and Coastal Mountain Range running down most of it.

Under such conditions, Taiwan's Air Force will gain an air supremacy in the region with the F-16V jets, he contended.

Su's comments came after the U.S. Defense Department published a report on Thursday warning that "China's leaders are leveraging China's growing economic, diplomatic and military clout to establish regional preeminence and expand the country's international influence."

Beijing in particular increasingly sees the U.S. as becoming more confrontational and trying to contain China's expanding power, the report said.

According to Su, since Chinese President Xi Jinping () assumed power, China has begun to incorporate its economic might into its military strategy, and it is seeking to further strengthen its military and economic power by building a strong national defense industry.

China's brisk military sales have made it the world's fourth-largest exporter of arms and weapons, Su noted.

Taiwan has officially asked to buy 66 F-16V jet fighters from the United States and Washington is expected to give a response in July.

(By Flor Wang and Yu Kai-hsiang)

Enditem/cs

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Russia 'ready to cooperate' to sell Turkey Su-57 fighter jets: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 03:25PM

The chief executive of Russia's state-owned hi-tech industrial development conglomerate, Rostec Corporation, says his country is "ready to cooperate" to sell Turkey Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets in case Ankara is excluded from the F-35 fighter jet program with the United States.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Sergey Chemezov told Turkey's official Anadolu news agency on Thursday.

He noted that Moscow would "gladly evaluate" any Turkish suggestions for the localization or transfer of technologies of Su-57 warplanes as well as advanced S-400 air defense missile systems.

"We are ready to support Turkey's desire to develop its own defense industry," Chemezov said.

The Russian official went on to say that Turkey, irrespective of US-led pressure regarding the S-400 deal, is holding a very direct and consistent position concerning implementation of all provisions of the contract.

"We signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries," Chemezov commented.

He also said Russia welcomes Turkey's participation in the development of S-500 missile system.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defense system without equal throughout the world," Chemezov said, stressing that both countries had the capacity to contribute to such a project.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 stealth fighter jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

On April 24, Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country will look elsewhere for an alternative to American F-35 fighter jets if Washington blocks the delivery of its advanced stealth warplanes to Ankara.

"We are already partners in the F-35 manufacturing program, we participate in this project, we have paid the necessary amount. There are currently no problems with this," Cavusoglu said.

"But in the worst case scenario, we will have to satisfy our need in another place, where the best technologies will be offered," he added.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017.

Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

A number of NATO member states have criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

They also argue that the purchase could jeopardize Ankara's acquisition of F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in US sanctions.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against Ankara in July 2016.

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Turkey says not moving away from NATO with S-400 deal

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 01:41PM

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar says his country is not distancing itself from the US-led NATO military alliance by acquiring Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Akar said Ankara should not be excluded from the F-35 fighter jet production program over the deal, noting that such a move would put "very serious" burdens on the other partners in the project.

"There is no clause saying 'you will be excluded if you buy S-400s' in this partnership. Excluding us just because any one country wants so would not be in line with justice, laws or rights. This should not happen," Akar said in an interview with broadcaster NTV on Friday.

The United States announced on April 1 that it would be suspending all "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of F-35 jets over Ankara's plans to purchase the S-400s.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 in December 2017. Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expedite the delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery could be made between late 2019 and early 2020.

The US and a number of NATO member states criticized Turkey for its planned purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The US also warned of tough sanctions if Turkey pursued plans to acquire S-400. Ankara, however, said it would not go back on the deal with Russia.

Turkey also proposed to form a working group with the US to determine whether the S-400s pose a threat to the F-35s, but says US officials have not responded to the offer yet.

Akar said that Ankara was attempting to clarify to the US and other partners in the F-35 project that the S-400s would not pose a threat to the F-35s, and added that his country had taken measures to prevent that.

President Erdogan on Tuesday criticized the US for threatening to stall the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to his country, saying "The F-35 project is bound to collapse if it excludes Turkey."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish minister said his country was still assessing the latest US offer to sell Raytheon Co. Patriot missile defense system, which he described as more positive than Washington's previous offers.

Turkey said two weeks ago it expected US President Donald Trump to use an S-400 sanctions waiver, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Ankara could face penalties under a law that calls for sanctions against countries buying military gear from Russia.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey's air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

Ankara's ties with its Western allies in NATO have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against the Ankara government in July 2016.

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Russia Ready to Sell Su-57 to Turkey if Ankara Quits F-35 Programme - Rostec CEO

Sputnik News

20:09 03.05.2019

US officials have repeatedly threatened to withhold deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and to impose sanctions on Turkey if Ankara moves forward with the delivery of Russian-made S-400 air-defence systems.

Russia is 'ready to cooperate' with Turkey to sell its Su-57 fighter jets if Ankara stops its participation in the F-35 jet programme, the head of Russia's Rostec corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said, as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

"These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export," Chemezov told Anadolu.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between Turkey and the US over Turkey's intention to buy the S-400 air-defence systems from Russia. Washington says that these systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards and thus put the F-35's stealth technology in danger. The US has offered Turkey the option to buy its Patriot missile system instead of Russian S-400s.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defence needs from elsewhere if necessary.

"If the United States is willing to sell, then we'll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn't want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems," Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar believes that if Washington excludes Turkey from the F-35 project it would put "very serious" burdens on the project's eight other partner nations. In an interview with NTV on Friday the minister stressed that Turkey had fulfilled all of its "financial, legal and administrative responsibilities" under the US-led F-35 programme.

Originally Turkey planned to purchase at least one hundred F-35 Lightning II jets as part of the programme which Ankara joined in 2002.

 Sputnik

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Russia Hails Turkey's Push for S-500s Amid Ankara's Adherence to S-400 Deal

Sputnik News

17:05 03.05.2019(updated 22:06 03.05.2019)

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Ankara's commitment to its deal with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, adding that Turkey may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.

Sergey Chemezov, head of the Russian state-owned corporation Rostec, has told the Anadolu news agency that Moscow would welcome Turkey's desire to join the project on developing the sophisticated Russian S-500 missile systems.

"The S-500s are currently under development and will be a Russian state-of-the-art air defence system without equal throughout the world", Chemezov said, adding that Turkey has the necessary technological capacity to contribute to such a project.

Separately, he touched upon the S-400 deal between Russia and Turkey, saying that "we signed the contract for the S-400s in 2017, and before the end of this year, we plan to conclude all deliveries".

The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Ankara's readiness to look into buying the S-500 systems in the future during his interview with Kanal 24 in March.

This followed Erdogan telling the Turkish broadcaster in June 2018 that Ankara is looking forward to the joint production of the S-500s; he said that he had "contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal" on the matter.

The development comes against the background of tensions between Ankara and Washington over Turkey's push to purchase the S-400 systems.

Turkish officials have repeatedly indicated that Ankara has no plans to abandon the S-400 deal, with deliveries due to start in July, despite heavy pressure to do so from Washington.

The US alleges that the S-400 systems are incompatible with NATO air defence standards, and pose a possible danger to the F-35's stealth technology. Washington has threatened to withhold the sale of the fighters to Turkey, or to slap Ankara with anti-Russian arms sanctions if it goes through with the S-400 deal.

Meanwhile, Russian Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov disclosed last month that the development of the S-500, the successor to the S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, had reached its final stage.

With the S-500's specs remaining officially classified, the system is reportedly capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away, and it is also believed to be able to track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (approximately Mach 20).

 Sputnik

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Zelenskiy: Relations Between Moscow, Kyiv Far From 'Brotherly'

By RFE/RL May 03, 2019

Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that current ties between Kyiv and Moscow cannot be called "brotherly," and the two countries now have little in common outside a shared border.

In a Facebook post on May 2, Zelenskiy reacted to recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Russians and Ukrainians had "lots in common."

"The reality is that today, after [Russia's] annexation of Crimea and [its] aggression in [Ukraine's eastern region of] Donbas, the 'common' thing that is left is the state border: 2,295 kilometers and 400 meters. And Russia must give back to Ukraine control over each millimeter. Only after that can we look for what is still 'common' between us," Zelenskiy wrote.

Zelenskiy said Russian actions such as banning oil exports to Ukraine, holding Ukrainian citizens in Russian jails, issuing passports to residents in territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists "do not bring our countries' relations one bit closer."

"And it is definitely impossible to call such relations 'brotherly,'" Zelenskiy added.

On April 29, Putin said that Russians and Ukrainians "may at the end of the day have common citizenship, as we have lots in common."

Zelenskiy's Facebook statement came a day after Putin signed a decree to fast-track passports and citizenship for people in Ukraine and Soviet-era deportees.

Before that, just days after Zelenskiy's April 21 victory in a presidential runoff, Putin signed another decree that simplified the process to get Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia-backed-separatist-controlled territories in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Putin's moves were decried by Ukraine and the West as an attempt not only to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty but Zelenskiy's electoral win.

Zelenskiy mocked the passport offer, telling Ukrainians not to bother since Russian citizenship means "the right to be arrested for peaceful protests," and "the right not to have free and competitive elections."

Meanwhile, separatists controlling parts of the Donetsk region have announced that they will start accepting applications for Russian citizenship from local residents as of May 3.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy- relations-between-moscow-kyiv-far- from-brotherly/29919040.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, Putin discuss possible new US-Russia nuclear accord: White House

Iran Press TV

Fri May 3, 2019 06:06PM

US President Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour, discussing the possibility of a new nuclear accord, North Korean denuclearization, Ukraine and the political situation in Venezuela, according to the White House.

Trump and Putin talked on Friday about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear accord between Washington and Moscow or an extension of the current US-Russia strategic nuclear treaty, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The New START treaty, which was signed in 2011, is the only US-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed nuclear weapons.

The accord expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree.

Trump has called the New START treaty a "bad deal" and "one-sided."

"They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well," Sanders said.

The two men also discussed briefly about the report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 US presidential election.

The Mueller probe discussion was "essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place," said Sanders.

Trump told Putin "the United States stands with the people of Venezuela" and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, Sanders said.

Sanders also said the two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump canceled a summit meeting with Putin in late 2018 after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on November 25 and arrested 24 sailors.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but Kim has yet to agree to a denuclearization deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times "the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize."

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New York, NY, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York, opening at the Museum of the City of New York on May 1, will trace how New York became the most unionized large city in the United States. For more than two centuries, New York City has been an incubator and battleground of movements by and for working people and today, 24 percent of New York City workers are unionized, compared to the national average of 11 percent. This exhibition will examine the social, political, and economic story of the diverse workers and movements in New York through rare documents, artifacts, photographs, archival film footage, and interactive features.



You cannot understand the history of New York City without understanding the history of labor movements here, said Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. Through this exhibition, visitors will learn how labor movements evolved over two centuries in New York, the current state of affairs for workers, and what the future may hold.



"Labor movements have been central to the rise of the city that we know today. It's exciting that City of Workers, City of Struggle explores New Yorks rich labor history, and also gives voice to contemporary labor activists and working people as they face the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing urban economy," said Steven H. Jaffe, curator of the exhibition.



City of Workers, City of Struggle will follow the progression of the labor movement by breaking the history into four segments and then looking toward the future. The exhibition begins with the section In Union There is Strength, which documents the 19th century when there was a shift from the artisan to wage worker through the development of new patterns of work and employment, as well as new technology. This will be exemplified in the exhibition by an enormous wrench used to build the Brooklyn Bridge. It will also include an illustration of the day in 1882 when New Yorks Central Labor Union launched the nations first Labor Day to underscore Labors efforts to secure better pay, hours, and working conditions.



The exhibition moves on to the period of 19001965 with the section Labor Will Rule, looking at an era when New Yorks unions gained monumental power. By 1950, New York City had about one million union members representing at least a quarter of the entire workforce. However, this power was not equally shared as female, African American, Latino, and Asian American New Yorkers still fought obstacles to their presence in union ranks and leadership.



Sea Change, the third section, focuses on the years between 1965 and 2001. Over the preceding decades, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants had joined African Americans from the South and Puerto Ricans in coming to New York to seek opportunity. The citys fiscal crisis in 1975, and a growing anti-union mood in local and national politics, led to challenges for the movement to organize labor. These developments coincided with court and federal agency decisions that scaled back legal protections earlier won by organized labor. Together, they began a long weakening of unions economic and political power, as many New Yorkers worried about the costs of union contracts to the city and as the number of unionized workers declined nationwide. Between 1960 and 2000, New York City lost more than 650,000 manufacturing and port jobs as businesses automated or moved away in pursuit of lower wages and taxes, and fewer regulations.



By the 1970s, a new militancy fueled the activism of previously marginalized workers: women, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Asian Americans were challenging union establishments. As union membership declined in private industry, organizations of government employees and service workers (hospital, maintenance, security, clerical, and others) increasingly became engines of upward mobility for thousands of New Yorkers.



The last section, New Challenges, looks at how New York activists after 2001 continued to reshape the future of labor by broadening the agenda to confront issues ranging from racial profiling to sexual violence, LGBTQ equality, environmental safety, and citizenship status. Worker Centers and other new community organizations used foundation grants, legal action, and public pressure to help non-unionized and undocumented workers. In a changing economy, this Alt Labor or New Labor movement also mobilized people who worked as freelancers or in a succession of jobs.



Although New York remains the most unionized city in the United States today, current realities are challenging. Conflicting visions for the citys future have sometimes pitted different groups of organized workers against each other. Yet local labor activists have also achieved important recent victories, including paid family leave, guaranteed sick leave, and a $15 minimum wage.



The exhibition is organized by curator Steven H. Jaffe with the help of a distinguished panel of scholars.



A companion publication takes a deeper dive into some of the topics touched in the exhibition. City Workers, City of Struggle features essays by leading historians of New York along with vivid depictions of work, daily life, and political struggle. Edited by Joshua B. Freeman, Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, it is published by Columbia University Press and is available for $40 in the Museum shop.



City of Workers, City of Struggle is presented in collaboration with the Kheel Center at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.



City of Workers, City of Struggle, its associated programs, and its companion publication are made possible through the generous support of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.



Additional support for the exhibitions companion publication is provided by Atran Foundation, Inc., and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and other generous donors.



Made Possible in part by The New Network Fund, supported by JL Greene.



Exhibition Committee

Governor David A. Paterson, Co-Chair

Patricia Smith, Co-Chair, Senior Counsel, National Employment Law Project Law Project; former New York State Commissioner of Labor

Vincent Alvarez, President, New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Esta R. Bigler, Director, Labor and Employment Law Program, Cornell University ILR School

Marco Carrion, Commissioner, Mayors Office of Community Affairs

Janella T. Hinds, UFT Vice President, Academic High schools, United Federation of Teachers

Ed Ott, Active in the Labor Movement for more than 50 years

Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor

Lorelei Salas, Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Maritza Silva-Farrell, Executive Director, ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York

Lara Skinner, Executive Director, The Worker Institute, Cornell University ILR School

Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City



Scholarly Advisory Committee

Joshua B. Freeman, chair, Rachel Bernstein, Michelle Chen, Margaret Chin, Richard Greenwald, Louis Hyman, Alice Kessler-Harris, Richard Lieberman, Stephen McFarland, Premilla Nadasen, Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Christopher Rhomberg, Aldo Lauria Santiago, Robert W. Snyder, Michael Spear and Clarence Taylor.



Public Programs

Uncovering the Lost Lives of Workers: The Archaeology of Labor

May 8, 6:30pm  8:00pm

$15 Admission | $10 Members

The New York City we know today was profoundly shaped by workers. Not only did workers build and maintain the physical city, but their struggles over pay, power, and inclusion have made and remade the city many times over. Join archaeologists Dr. Meta Janowitz, Dr. Jean Howson, and Alanna Warner-Smith as they share their latest findings about New York Citys working and living conditions. Moderated by Sharon Wilkins, Deputy Borough Historian of Manhattan.

Meet the Curators: Steven H. Jaffe

May 14, 4:00pm  5:00pm

$40 Admission | $35 Members

Join Curator Steven H. Jaffe as he guides you through City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York. Did you know that some of the nations foremost labor leaders have been New Yorkers? Ask questions, give feedback, and learn something new with your fellow New Yorkers (or New Yorkers at heart) during this truly behind-the-scenes experience.

New Labor in New York and the Fight for Workers' Rights

May 22, 7:00pm  8:30pm

$20 Admission | $10 Members

Join three of New York's most dynamic new labor activists, Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Allison Julien of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Michelle Miller of Coworker.org, for a conversation about recent gains (and setbacks) in their movements to protect the workers who make this city run. Moderated by Ed Ott, former Executive Director of the New York City Central Labor Council.

Moonlight & Movies Series

$15 General Admission

9 to 5

June 20, 8:00pm  10:30pm

This classic 1980 feminist satire 9 to 5 still remains all too relevant in today's #MeToo America. Prior to the screening, Jessica Bennett will share her perspective as the first-ever gender editor for The New York Times, working to expand the newsroom's coverage of social issues and culture through the lens of gender.

En el Septimo Dia

July 16, 8:00pm  10:15pm

En el Septimo Dia follows Jose, an undocumented bike delivery worker, over the course of seven days. Prior the screening, director Jim McKay and Make the Road New York's Mel Gonzalez sit down for a conversation about the contemporary immigration and labor issues that inspired the film.

Modern Times

August 21, 7:30pm  9:30pm

Charlie Chaplins timeless 1936 masterpiece, Modern Times, was the last outing for his iconic Little Tramp character, who stars as an inept factory worker caught up in the cogs and sprockets of modern industrialization. As one of the last great films of the silent era, Modern Times represents Chaplin's rejection of the forward march of modernization.

On the Waterfront

September 10, 7:00pm  9:30pm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan introduces this outdoor screening of Elia Kazans 1954 classic On the Waterfront. Egans latest novel, historical noir thriller Manhattan Beach, navigates the crime-ridden underworld of New York Citys shipyards in the 1940s.

Labor Day week union member discount

The Museum is offering a 50% discount on admission for union members who show any union card from Sunday, September 1st through Saturday, September 7th in honor of Labor Day week.

#CityofWorkers

About the Museum of the City of New York

The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the worlds most influential metropolis. It engages visitors by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the citys past, present, and future. To connect with the Museum on social media, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumofCityNY and visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MuseumofCityNY. For more information please visit www.mcny.org.



Press Contacts:

Mary Flanagan | 917-492-3480 | mflanagan@mcny.org

Sarah Jackson | 917-492-3483 | sjackson@mcny.org

Attachments
Upon assuming office as the Nassau County, N.Y., executive in 2018, one of Laura Currans top priorities was to build more transparency and accountability into the jurisdiction.Nassau County is home to nearly 1.4 million residents, situated in western Long Island beside the New York City borough of Queens. In recent years, the jurisdiction has had some controversy in its local government stemming from malfeasance by elected officials. Specifically, the county executive that proceeded Curran, Ed Mangano, was convicted in March in the wake of a 13-count federal indictment related to fraud and bribery. Curran, who said she doesnt like to focus on the countys past troubles, is now using a number of tech-based projects to push forward and foster more transparency and accountability.When I ran for office I knew it was very important to deliver on the promise of transparency, making sure that it was up to us now to win back the trust of the people, Curran said. The trust really was frayed. You can talk about transparency and accountability, but you have to do concrete things to show people youre serious about this.The concrete things that Curran is doing now are wide-ranging, to be sure, including many that arent related to technology at all, such as signing an executive order that prohibited her from giving jobs to anyone whod donated to her campaign. Whats happening in Nassau County involves technology being used as part of a unified philosophy around bolstering the governmental investment in transparency and accountability.This has resulted in a number of tangible projects in just the first nearly year and a half she has been in office. In conjunction with the office of the comptroller, the county has launched a new open checkbook , which details more than a billion dollars of annual county outside expenditures in an easy-to-read format.The county has rolled out an 18-month pilot program partnership with the private company Exiger. This partnership gives the county access to the companys Insight 3PM platform, which streamlines due diligence vendor research to help the county spot red flags that might be related to a conflict of interest.Not all of the work with tech to prevent malfeasance is that complicated, though. In fact, some of it is as simple as moving from paper-based to digital workflows. Curran said that when she first took office there were many vital documents being kept on paper and filed away in cardboard boxes, sometimes in a basement.These things included the financial disclosure forms required of county employees. They were being filled out on paper and filed away in physical containers, a format that inherently makes them easy to forget about and very difficult to search.People would have to dig through reams of paper to find this contract or that agreement, Curran said. Now with a click of a button, its right there.Moving forward, the county is working on a way to enable vendors to track where they are in the governmental procurement process. This is part of a larger idea to simplify the procurement process in general, bolster competition among the companies that the local government works with, and also open the doors to smaller, more agile companies like tech startups.Nassau County is far from alone in using digital tools in this way. In fact, it is part of a larger movement of jurisdictions that are putting an increasing amount of governmental business online, where it can be more easily accessed by both the public and other internal agencies. As this software has become cheaper and easier to develop or use, the prevalence of it in local government has gone up, thereby enabling counties like Nassau to combat long-standing accountability challenges with tech.
(TNS)  5G, the fifth generation of wireless, promises lightning-fast download speeds and could lay the foundation for high-tech advancements like self-driving cars. But like many new technologies, its sparking concern about potential health issues.The first generation of wireless ushered in mobile phones and 2G brought texting. 3G laid the groundwork for smartphones, and 4G allowed video streaming and more. 5G is expected to download data 20 times faster than its predecessor, and some experts argue it could be much faster.And its not just about streaming data faster, its about streaming more of it. On a 5G network, a user can download a movie instantly and data will flow between connected objects without delay. The amount of data people use on mobile devices has gone up 40 times since 2010, and is only expected to increase. 5G networks are wireless companies attempts to satisfy that demand.5G taps into millimeter waves at the top of the radio spectrum, which have not previously been used for telecommunication. The higher waves allow for faster transfer of data, but they also dont travel through buildings, trees and rain like previous generations of wireless, which operate on lower wavelengths.That means wireless companies must install more equipment with 5G than they did with previous generations of wireless. That includes new base stations and antennas on parking garages, or equipment on light poles that fill gaps for cellular coverage.The untested nature of 5G, and the extensiveness of its infrastructure, has some worried that the increased exposure could have serious health effects.Wireless safety advocates have called for more studies on the effects of the exposure, and one group is trying to stop the rollout of 5G networks in Chicagos neighborhoods. Verizon and Sprint turned on their 5G networks in parts of Chicago earlier this year, putting the city among the first in the nation with access to 5G. AT&T plans to turn on parts of its Chicago network later this year, and T-Mobile is aiming for 2020.The federal government has safety rules that wireless companies must abide by that limit human exposure to radio waves, including frequencies used with 5G. Wireless industry association CTIA says typical exposure to 5G infrastructure is comparable to Bluetooth devices and baby monitors, and there is no scientific evidence of adverse health effects.The companies, for their part, say they abide by the wireless network standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.Still, assurances from government agencies and industry operators are not enough for Chicago resident Judy Blake. Additional studies on 5Gs health impacts likely wouldnt soothe her either, she said. People cant choose whether or not to be exposed to this radiation.I dont need another test. The only test thats going to happen now is peoples lives, said Blake, 67.Though little is known about the long-term health impact of the millimeter waves that 5G operates on, some research has shown short-term exposure could be problematic, said Joel Moskowitz, a public health expert at the University of California at Berkeley.The eyes and sweat glands are among several body parts studies have shown could be at risk, Moskowitz said. Insects and plant life could also be affected, he added.Additionally, studies on the impact of radiation from radio waves used by previous generations of wireless have raised health concerns, and some 5G networks will operate in part on those lower-frequency waves too.The findings concern Chicago resident Kristin Welch.We absolutely need to study these high-frequency waves  before you put (this new equipment) in front of someones home or a school, said Welch, 39. Were putting the cart before the horse here.Cellphone radiation study finds biological changes in animals; human implications unclearThe mother of three recently co-founded a Facebook group called Stop 5G Chicago, aimed at halting the rollout of the network in residential areas. Welch said she is especially worried about the impact the radiation could have on vulnerable populations, like children and pregnant women.This is not an unreasonable thing to be concerned about, Welch said. We are now in a position where this untested technology is going to be widespread throughout our city.The wireless companies are using different technologies and techniques to achieve the new 5G standards. Sprint, for example, is building out its 5G network mostly on top of its 4G footprint in Chicago. Its installing new radios and other equipment on existing stations.The millimeter waves used in 5G are absorbed by the upper layers of skin, potentially causing the temperature of the skin to rise, said Suresh Borkar, senior lecturer in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The effects of extended rises in skin temperature becomes a big unknown, he said.Wireless industry association CTIA said in a statement that cellphone users safety is important, and it follows the guidance of experts regarding health effects.Following numerous scientific studies conducted over several decades, the FCC, the FDA, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society and numerous other international and U.S. organizations and health experts continue to say that the scientific evidence shows no known health risk to humans due to the RF (radio frequency) energy emitted by antennas and cellphones, the CTIA statement said.This isnt the first time people will come into contact with millimeter waves: Theyre also used in airport body scanners, said Lav Varshney, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Still, its the first time the high-frequency waves will be used on such a scale, and concerns surrounding new technologies are common throughout history.When cars first started replacing horse-drawn carriages, people were afraid of what the health impacts of traveling at high speeds would be, Varshney said. There has always been occurrence of this fear.
Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High near 55F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Irizar has signed a contract for 15 zero emissions electric buses and charging infrastructure for Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The energy needed for the charging stations will be generated by the Rhine River as it passes through Schaffhausen.





Irizar was awarded the supply contract for the first line of electric buses for the city of Schaffhausen by public tender. The contract includes 15 Irizar ie tram model zero-emissions electric vehicles (7 of which are 12 meters and 8 are 18 meters long); 12 fast charging stations; and 16 in-depot charging stations.

This is a lighthouse project with the aim of electrifying public transport in the city of Schaffhausen. There will be the possibility for a second phase in 2022-2027 when the amount could rise to 47 vehicles, 20 quick charging stations and 51 in-depot charging stations.

The Irizar ie tram model includes integrated Irizar Group technology in its electronics, energy storage and communications.

This is a unique project in Switzerland and in Europe where 12 fast charging points of 600 kW will be installed in one of the main avenues of the city and charging will be done using green energy generated by the river Rhine as it passes through Schaffhausen. Once more the Irizar Group is showing its capacity to provide turnkey solutions by supplying buses and charging stations that meet specific requirements of a city. Hector Olabegogeaskoetxea, Manager Director of Irizar e-mobility

Irizar e-mobility aims to provide comprehensive electric mobility solutions for cities, both in terms of manufacturing zero emissions 100% electric vehicles, and in terms of manufacturing and installing the major infrastructure systems necessary for charging, traction and energy storage, all designed and manufactured using 100% Group technology, with the Irizar guarantee and service quality.

The Irizar ie tram is a 100% electric bus that combines the large capacity, ease of access and internal configuration of a tram with the flexibility of a city bus.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Maid of the Mist, which has been navigating the waters of the Lower Niagara River since 1846, will launch later this year two new all-electric, zero-emission passenger vessels constructed in the United States.





Rendering of the new electric Maid of the Mist vessels

The catamaran-style vessels will provide more than 1.6 million guests from around the world with an up-close, iconic view of Niagara Falls. The vessels feature a wide stance, resulting in a smooth, quiet ride, allowing guests to better enjoy the roar and majesty of Niagara Falls.

Designed by Propulsion Data Systems, the new totally integrated vessels are currently under construction by Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wisc. In mid-May, the modules will be transported to Niagara Falls and lowered onto the Maid of the Mist dry dock and maintenance facility for assembly. Following completion of construction, launch and certification, the new vessels will be placed into service in mid-September.

ABB will supply a comprehensive integrated power and propulsion solution for the new-build vessels, including lithium-ion battery packs and an onshore charging system, enabling sustainable operation with maximum reliability.

Powered by ABBs zero-emission technology, the two fully-electric vessels will take tourists to the heart of the Niagara Falls, undisturbed by engine noise or exhaust fumes. Batteries will be recharged for seven minutes after each trip to 80% capacity, allowing for maximum efficiency and battery life.

The hull of the new vessels features an icon of the electricity symbol within a water droplet surrounded by a turbine with Niagara Falls in the background. The color scheme is environmentally-friendly green combined with the blue of the water.

Maid of the Mist VI (1990) and Maid of the Mist VII (1997), will be retired from service when the new vessels begin operating.

New York is leading the way in the transition to an electric transportation system. The Maid of the Mists conversion to an all-electric fleet is a bold move that shows the world we take our commitment to lowering carbon emissions seriously. The Niagara Power Project has been a long time partner to the Maid the Mist and we are pleased to support the Maid going electric and making our environment cleaner and greener with every trip.  Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO at the New York Power Authority

Maid of the Mist first launched in 1846, making it one of North Americas longest running tourist attractions. Maid of the Mist vessels have been continuously operating tours to the base of Niagara Falls for 134 consecutive years, providing guests from around the world with an iconic experience.

In 2012 Maid of the Mist faced closure in the absence of storage space for its boats on the New York side of the river. Governor Cuomo struck a deal to keep the boats running and produce increased revenues for Niagara Falls State Park. The Maid of the Mist Corporation agreed to invest $32 million in the former Schoellkopf Power Station site near the falls to make it suitable for the winter storage and maintenance of its boats. Under the memorandum, the company agreed to increase its license payments to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, totaling $105 million over 30 yearsthree times the revenues that were projected for the 30-year period when a contract was initially approved in 2002.

The new Maid of the Mist vessels build on a $70-million revitalization of Niagara Falls State Park. The initiative has renewed the parks major viewing areas including Luna Island, Prospect Point, Lower Grove, Three Sisters Islands, North Shoreline Trail, Luna Bridge, and Terrapin Point with new pedestrian walkways, enhanced landscaping, new benches, light posts and railings. Under Governor Cuomos NY Parks 2020 program, the state has made a multi-year commitment to revitalize state parks and includes $110 million in the 2019-20 State Budget for park improvement projects.
From December 19th through December 26th we will be granting free access as a gift to our readers presented by High Point University
The Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha dates to 1965 and was inspired by the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes from the early 1600s.

It may not be surprising, then, that Triad Stages artistic director, Preston Lane, felt the need to set his companys production in a more contemporary situation.

Similar to the original musical written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, this Man of La Mancha is set in a jail.

But this jail is modern, perhaps even futuristic. It has chain-link fences, barbed wire, security cameras and other current fittings. It has harsh lights, along with projections that include the watching eye of Big Brother when they arent setting a scene for the imagined adventures of Don Quixote.

Its inmates, similarly, wear individualized, up-to-date clothing (designed by K. April Soroko).

As Lane says in a program note, I was determined to shake off the 1960s theatricality and place the musical firmly and immediately in our times.
Participants also visit classrooms, ranging from talking about Native American boarding schools in AP History classes to presenting a Native American dance for elementary students. Malesovas said they'd welcome more chances to visit schools.

Academic support is a big part of the program's mission. There's a library of laptops, calculators and school supplies at students' disposal.

"We offer students the opportunity to participate in college visits in the fall and spring," said Malesovas, adding that she shares information about scholarships.

The American Indian Education Program has another feather in its cap  literally.

"Beginning last year, our graduating seniors were eligible to wear a coup feather in their graduation regalia, as a symbol of the milestone that they are achieving," Malesovas said.

The feather was given to the seniors by the American Indian Education Program at its annual student recognition banquet.

"Not every school district has that," she said.

Contact Cindy Loman at cindy.loman@greensboro.com, 336-373-7212 or on Facebook at Cindy News-Record Loman.
20190505g_nws_native americans "People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," says UNCG student Raven Dial-Stanley, a member of 

In February, a stare-down between a Native American man beating a drum and a white teenager in a MAGA hat caused a national stir outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Three years ago, President Trump began calling U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas.

And 10 years ago, Leslie Locklear, a member of the Lumbee and Waccamaw Siouan tribes, was a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill when classmates asked if she lived in a teepee.

As a younger Native woman, I spent countless hours explaining myself and my race, she said. It was both infuriating and exhausting to have the same conversation, in every class, with every new group of people, for countless semesters.

Raven Dial-Stanley, a third-year UNCG fashion design student and a member of the Lumbee tribe, knows how Locklear feels.

A college classmate told her "I didn't even know we still had Indians in the U.S.," Dial-Stanley said.

"People with college degrees have basically a kindergarten knowledge of indigenous people," she said.

General confusion about Native American culture and history remains.

Locklear said her peers comments were the fault of an American public school system that doesnt teach the roles of American Indians in an accurate way. Educators see long-term problems with glossing over Native American history starting in elementary school.

Not only is it not accurate, there is a significant portion of information missing, said Locklear, now the program director for the First Americans Teacher Education Program at UNC-Pembroke.

Dial-Stanley agrees.

"If it wasn't for the knowledge my mother and my people instilled me in, I would be ignorant of my history," she said.

Dial-Stanley, 21, is passionate about her culture. She has been a member of the One Spirit Cultural Class and Dance Team and the N.C. Native American Youth Organization and as a freshman at UNCG, she was president of the Native American Student Association, chairwoman of the UNCG Pow-Wow Committee, and president of the founding class of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, the nations oldest Native American Greek letter organization. She attended the United National Indian Tribal Youth Conference and the 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering in Washington, where then-first lady Michelle Obama was the guest speaker.

In Guilford County, indigenous students have resources that aren't available in most school districts. Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers monthly extracurricular classes that focus on academic and cultural elements "intended to further enhance the childs education and exposure to Native traditions," said Mia Malesovas, American Indian Education coordinator for Guilford County Schools.

The classes are created for Native American students, but others are welcome, Malesovas said. She and others also visit schools by invitation to share lessons and demonstrations on Native cultures.

Native Americans compose about 1 percent of the U.S. population. American Indian/Alaska Native residents make up 1.8 percent of North Carolinas population as of 2014. N.C. was one of only 15 states to have 100,000 or more people from this group.

When a voice is so small, its very easy to overlook it, Locklear said.

Kayla Trevethan, who teaches social studies in Wake County, thinks her first- and second-grade students arent getting much information about Native American life and history even though they could handle it.

I dont really think that, you know, its the best teaching practice to be reading and sharing literature with younger kids that pretty much just paints this happy-go-lucky picture of Native American lives, she said. Because that is not what happened.

Dial-Stanley graduated from Glenn High School in Kernersville, and her twin brother graduated from Atkins High in Winston-Salem. Their mom used to go to their school open houses and ask to see her kids' history books.

"If you're going to be teaching my children our history, I want to make sure it's done correctly," her mom told the teachers, Dial-Stanley says.

Her mom also volunteered to talk to classes and share that history, she said.

According to the N.C. State Board of Education, teachers are required to teach changes in American Indian life before and after European exploration in the fourth and eighth grades, but Locklear said this leads primarily to discussions of the Trail of Tears and thats it.

Some educators say whats taught is whitewashed.

Christopher Scott, an assistant professor at UNC-CH and member of the Lumbee tribe, said classroom instruction enforces that the world just began when Christopher Columbus came to the new world.

We dont teach kids that a holocaust happened in our country to the natives that were here, Scott said.

Dial-Stanley said most people don't know that indigenous children were placed in boarding schools in the late 1800s, torn from their families and culture for years at a time.

When she was a kindergartner in Charlotte, Erin Stacks learned about Thanksgiving by dressing up and joining her fellow Indian and Pilgrim classmates to peacefully eat a meal together. They held hands and broke bread, learning that the Indians and Pilgrims were allies who shared knowledge and thrived together.

This rendition of the Thanksgiving story has been played out for decades, but it glosses over the true relationship between indigenous people and Pilgrims.

Today as a senior at UNC-CH, Stacks has seen improvements in her peers education on native culture but there are still glaring gaps of knowledge.

You can ask people when did blacks in our nation receive the right to vote, when did women receive the right to vote; people know these things, she said. But you ask someone when did Native Americans receive the right to vote, and people dont know that it was 1924 because its not taught as intensely in our school system.

While the North Carolina education standards for elementary school call for a discussion of the Trail of Tears in the fourth grade, Locklear does not think this goes far enough to educate students about tribes outside of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee.

A study conducted by social studies scholars in 2013 found that 87 percent of state-mandated K-12 education standards placed Native Americans in a solely pre-1900 context, not mentioning the ongoing battle for civil rights.

Trevethans second-grade students learned about Native Americans by studying the concept of artifacts left behind from past civilizations.

Im not totally sure that (my students) have an awareness that there are still Native Americans today, almost like it was a thing of the past, Trevethan said. Wow.

Scott and Locklear worry about American Indian students sense of identity.

Scott, a former elementary principal, has seen the education system penalize students for displaying their culture. For example, students who are Lumbee have a linguistic marker that varies from standard English. Because of this, Scott said they cant write the way they speak at home because it is viewed as incorrect. These punishments for showing ethnic identity in the classroom can lead students to choose between success or showing their heritage.

You learn to hide, he said. You learn these traits of invisibility. You learn to mask who you are because thats safety.

Locklear sees the same thing.

Im spending 12 years in a school system that does not mention my people, does not recognize my people, she said. And then in those critical middle school, early high school years, where Im trying to develop my identity and all I see in the media is Pocahontas, and the savages, and the cowboys and the Indians, it almost harms that positive identity development.

Stacks said that her sense of Native American identity started forming because her family kept traditions alive, but she had to explain to students what her culture was.

It kind of started in middle school, she said, when I kind of realized that Native Americans live in society normally and that my classmates didnt understand that.

Today, Stacks answers more questions from college classmates about cultural appropriation than the questions Locklear faced during her time at UNC-CH.

Around Halloween, Stacks and the Carolina Indian Circle carry signs in the heart of campus to educate their peers about costumes that hypersexualize native women or fuel cultural stereotypes. At UNCG, the Native American Student Council put up a display spotlighting indigenous cultures with posters that said "We're a culture, not a costume."

Stacks can provide this education, but she said the earlier people can be taught about Native American tradition and culture, such as in elementary school, the better.

The State Advisory Council on Indian Education advocates to end low achievement rates among Native American students and provides an annual report to schools displaying the achievement gap between Native students and others in the subjects North Carolina tests.

Guilford County Schools' American Indian Education Program offers resources in academics and culture Mia Malesovas holds a position not many school systems in North Carolina have: American Indian Education coordinator.

Guilford's American Indian Education Program addresses that gap with academic support, mentoring and tutoring.

Olivia Oxendine, member of the state Board of Education and member of the Lumbee tribe, said the gap was startling. By providing an annual report highlighting the difference in testing between Native students and other groups, Oxendine said creative teachers can build lesson plans around this information.

The standards might be too skimpy and too focused on only one tribe, but publishing information on the achievement gap and requiring it on every schools website is a step in the right direction, Oxendine said.

The advisory boards website provides resources on teaching about Native Americans and, for instance, how to teach about Thanksgiving.

Scott said that the burden of accurately teaching this information cant just lie on educators, but also on policy.

Right now, Stacks calls the amount of information in the school systems about her people empty, but she has hope that will change one day.

I feel like society is slowly moving toward becoming more receptive and more aware, she said.

According to Dial-Stanley, "There's no subject in school that isn't touched by indigenous people."

For educators like Locklear, theres no reason why the learning shouldnt begin at a very early age.

To me, it is just the right thing to do, to tell the truth, she said, to not basically lie about the history of what this country was founded on.

Sophie Whisnant is a senior in the UNC School of Media and Journalism studying reporting. She is from Wilmington. News & Record Editor Cindy Loman contributed to this report. Contact her at cindy.loman@greensboro.com or 336-373-7212.
The report also advises city officials to require any group that discharges contaminating foam to clean it up afterward by containing, treating and properly disposing of the substances before they reach stormwater drains or sink into the ground.

Greensboro officials have linked pollution problems to years of actual firefighting and training exercises in the airport area, as well as to industrial plants that use the compounds either in production or in their fire-suppression systems.

For example, PTIs fire department is required by federal regulations to conduct annual training drills using PFOS-containing foams, a requirement that apparently would supersede any state statute. But Congress passed a law last year ending the PFOS requirement in October 2021, so that could change.

Over the years, other fire departments also have used the area for testing because of its industrial character, which includes the massive gasoline tank farm near PTI.

Greensboro officials discovered that the local water supply was contaminated by PFOS and PFOA while participating in federally mandated testing for unregulated emerging contaminants five years ago.
Climate change pact: The House has passed the Climate Action Now Act, which would require the president to submit annual plans for the U.S. to meet a goal set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change of cutting its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 26 to 28% by 2025, and request that other large economies meet similar emissions reduction goals. The vote Thursday, May 2, was 231-190.

Nays: Walker, Budd

U.S. Senate

Energy Department lawyer: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Cooper to serve as the Energy Departments general counsel. Cooper is a senior counsel at the McConnell Valdes law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former legal official on various House energy and natural resources committees. The vote on Tuesday, April 30, was 68-31.

Yeas: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, both R-N.C.
Attorney General William Barrs testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee was an exercise in what committee member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., accurately described as masterful hairsplitting.

But give Barr credit for making one thing clear: We must hear from special counsel Robert Mueller, directly and publicly.

At one point, under the Whitehouses questioning about the special counsels report, the attorney general said: I dont want to characterize Bobs thought process here. Except he did. Again and again.

Most strikingly, Barr told a blatant falsehood about Muellers reaction to the attorney generals efforts to portray the report as an exoneration of President Donald Trump. Barr did that twice  first in a four-page letter March 24 summarizing the findings of the report, and then in a news conference shortly before the 448-page document was made public April 18.

Mueller had never told me that the expression of the findings was inaccurate, Barr said during his testimony. I certainly am not aware of any challenge to the accuracy of the findings.
A threat made by a student to shoot up Weston Middle School was investigated by police and school officials.

In a letter to parents, Weston Middle School principal Daniel Doak said a number of students knew about these threatening statements for several days and perhaps, as long as three weeks.

Fortunately, one student turned to a trusted adult to report these comments and that adult passed the information on to the middle school administration. We immediately called the Weston Police Department.

Through our investigation, we quickly determined the nature of the comments and the time frame. We interviewed several students who had knowledge of the threatening comments. When we asked these students why they hadn't reported them to an adult (parent, teacher, counselor administrator), the consistent response was we knew it was just a joke.

In meeting with all three grades in the school, Doak told them we must never assume that a threatening comment is a joke, adding even if it is meant as a joke, is a very serious violation of our code of conduct with school and legal consequences.

Doak said some students mentioned a specific date for a shooting to take place (June 13) and several students referenced a list" of targeted individuals.

For the record, we have no evidence of a physical list. No student claims to have seen a list of names. Many students gave very different versions of who might be on the list. If we had knowledge of a list of that type, we would immediately notify all affected individuals.

Doak said students were not a risk and the situation is under control.

Police determined the student accused of making threats did not have direct access to firearms.

Doak said school officials and police would not allow us to open the school if we believed that our students, staff and visitors were not safe.
Last week, we reported that Nokia 3.2 and 4.2 were listed on the company's official India website hinting at an imminent launch. Now HMD Global, via Nokia, has shared a video teasing the May 7 launch date of the Nokia 4.2 in India.

This video shows off the dedicated Google Assistant button on the Nokia 4.2 which is located on the left side of the phone. The 3.2 also has this dedicated Assistant key on its left bezel, and it remains to be seen whether it will debut alongside the 4.2 in India on May 7, or will launch at a later date instead.

All your answers are a tap away. 4 days before you can #DoItAll

Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/r4Jwsxj744  Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) May 3, 2019

The flagship Nokia 9 PureView, announced back in February at Mobile World Congress is also expected to go official in India soon. The smartphone was teased by the company in March and it recently bagged a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, hinting at an imminent launch in the country.

Source
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND  Celtic won the Scottish league title for the eighth straight year on Saturday, completing the second leg in its bid to clinch a domestic treble for the third straight season.
Xiaomi seems to be quite deliberate in its efforts to muddy the waters surrounding its upcoming Redmi flagship device. Conflicting info has been floating all over the place and it seems that Lu Weibing - the brand's general manager remains one of the only fairly reputable sources on the matter. Thankfully, he is quite active on social media and willing to interact with fans. That's precisely how the latest revelation of an ultrawide camera on the phone came about.

To be more specific though, it is more of a reaffirmation, since a previous specs leak did mention a 48MP, plus 13MP and 8MP setup for the upcoming flagship phone. Coincidentally, that seems to be the exact setup on the Mi 9 SE, which would make a lot of sense.



Leaked specs of Redmi flagship

Other bits and pieces of info Lu Weibing has also spilled or at least eluded to on social networks include a 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming device, as well as NFC. Some other leaked alleged specs for the Redmi flagship include a 6.39-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display, Snapdragon 855 chipset and an 8GB/128GB memory configuration, which could be one of a few available. On the selfie side, rumors hint at a 32MP snapper, likely mounted on a periscope.

We only say likely since the design in question last appeared in a rather questionable, potentially photoshopped render, along with the mention of the Redmi X moniker. All the while, in yet another informative post, Lu Weibing noted that the Redmi flagship will not be called the Redmi X and will instead have "a better name". Now, that could either be interpreted as Redmi X being an internal codename for the product or, alternatively as the name of yet another unreleased Redmi device. Unfortunately, to further add to the confusion, rumors have mentioned that a Snapdragon 730 Redmi phone is also currently in the works.

Circling back to our original point - info on the upcoming Redmi flagship is messy and incomplete to say the least. We'll be sure to keep you posted if we get a clearer picture in the upcoming days.

Source (in Chinese) | Via




Haiti - Environment : A businessman blocks the landfill of Limonade





Esaie Lefranc, Deputy Mayor of Cap-Haitien criticizes the behavior of the businessman Lesly Nazon, who claims the land located in Mouchinette, in the commune of Limonade where the construction of the landfill, started to serve the populations of Limonade, Quartier-Morin and Cap-Haitien.



A claim followed by a decision that is the basis of the blocking of work.



Esaie Lefranc regrets that despite the energy and money spent by the town halls of the communes concerned in concert with international partners to carry out this project, nothing else moves because of the ownership claim of this businessman. For the Deputy Mayor the approach of the businessman is part of a "plot conspired with State authorities, especially at the north department to confiscate the land."



He recalled that following a popular protest organized by some inhabitants of Limonade, the 19 families who occupied the land at that time had submitted invoices confirming that they had paid taxes to the DGI as owners, stating that these people had already started to receive some of the money provided for compensation he wonders where was Lesly Nazon during this first stage of the process...



The Deputy Mayor is counting on the popular movements of citizens aware of the importance of a dump site in the corridor Cap-Haitien, Quartier-Morin and Limonade, to force the entrepreneur to listen to reason and withdraw his decision.



In the meantime, despite the resentment of the residents of the Madeline area, in the communal section of Petite-Anse, it is in the mangroves located near the habitats that the waste is thrown away. A practice that should no longer be appropriate, recall the Deputy Mayor.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Drug Trafficking : The Haitian Justice extraded Gregory Georges in the United States





Rebound in the case of the Panama-flagged "MV Manzanares" vessel carrying sugar from Colombia for the Nabatco Company (owned by Haitian businessman Marc Antoine Acra) and where a significant amount of cocaine and of heroin was found on board in various caches in April 2015 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html by agents of the Brigade for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (BLTS) coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a final estimated quantity of between 700 and 800 kg of cocaine and 300 kilograms of heroin with a market value of approximately $ 100 million.



This operation led to the arrest of 16 people including 3 Haitians https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html then to the arrestation of several members of an important family https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-more-members-of-a- large-family-Haitian-inculpes.html



Gregory Georges, aka "Ti Ketan" presented as a "lieutenant" of an international network of traffickers, only of all suspects apprehended in this case to be incarcerated in prison first in the national penitentiary and then in isolation for his safety at the civil prison of Croix-des-Bouquets, having survived 6 assassination attempts was extradited to the United States.



Arrived Friday on American soil in Florida, "Ti Ketan" will appear on May 6 before a federal judge where he will be tried for conspiracy to distribute drugs. For the US authorities this is a key witness in this case that could reveal names and bring down heads in the business community both in the US and Haiti, circles that have not ceased to accuse him of lying... what contradicts the many assassination attempts in prison to silence him...



This extradition to the United States was authorized by Jean Roody Aly, the Minister of Justice.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18257-haiti-flash-several-members-of-an-important-haitian-family-accused.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17272-haiti-flash-burglary-of-the-government-commissioner-s-office.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-15537-icihaiti-justice-11-crew-members-of-manzanares-released.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13885-icihaiti-justice-3-haitian-and-13-crew-members-of-the-mv-manzanares-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13617-haiti-justice-major-drug-seizure.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The Minister of Tourism meets French-Chilean investors

Thursday, Marie Christine Stepheson Minister of Tourism, spoke with Franco-Chilean investors. The discussions focused on the opportunities offered by Haiti in terms of tourism potential.



Words of Jovenel Moise

"I welcome the work of the press on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd. I urge press workers to be more respectful of ethical rules and more responsible in the exercise of their noble mission," Jovenel Moise.



Beekeeping source of income

Beekeeping is one of the income generating activities that Food for the Poor (FFP) facilitates across the country. The organization accompanies beekeepers, from training to setting up hives and inspection. As Roselaure, mother of 4 children in the commune of Gros Trou(Fond des Blancs), the inhabitants of Gros Morne (Department of Artibonite), the Small Artibonite River and Mole Saint Nicolas (North-West Department) can take care of their families through hive products. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22216-haiti-agriculture-beekeeping-an-alternative-activity-for-fishermen-in-st-jean-du-sud.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22870-haiti-environment-development-of-the-beekeeping-industry-in-the-south.html



Response Plan to the Southeast Food Crisis

Launch of the Food Crisis Response Plan in the Southeast. This two-month project aims to strengthen the resilience of inhabitants of the communal sections of La Montagne and Bas Cap Rouge to cope with food insecurity. About 800 families will benefit from this project, which will be implemented in close collaboration with the CASECs of the two communal sections and the organized groups of women living in these areas.



New union

A delegation from the Office of Citizen Protection took part in the launch of a union within the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights. This delegation, headed by the Coordinator of Territorial Presences, Mrs. Yolande M. Jodeph, was composed of Mrs. Erna Eloi, Head of Complaints and Investigations Department, Ms. Berline Jean Pierre, Legal Counsel and Mr. Jean Jolin Dodier, Communication Advisor. In her remarks of circumstance Ms. Joseph insisted on the bad conditions in which work citizens and the non respect of the quota 30% of the women in the decisional positions within the public administration.



The Minister of the Environment in DR

As part of the Cuba - Haiti - Dominican Republic Corridor Biological Project https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12513-haiti-environmentcaribbean-biological-corridor-signature-of-a-tripartite-agreement.html , Joseph Jouthe, the Minister of the Environment at the head of a delegation is in Santo-Domingo (3-4 May) to give a speech during the graduation of the 15th class of graduates executives in environmental management and natural resources. The Haitian delegation will take advantage of his stay to meet the management team of the Corridor Biologique project to discuss the progress and next steps of the project.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Getting millennials to move to San Diego has been a concern of business leaders who are struggling to fill highly skilled jobs. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. launched a campaign last year to attract workers, many of whom are millennials, in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.
Recerca

Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumor with no cure, usually associated with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The main EGFR mutation found in this tumor known as EGFRvlll- is treated with the antibody mAb806, a drug developed by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (United States) about twenty years ago, although its action mechanism was unknown. Now, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) reveals for the first time the action mechanism of this antibody on the mutated EGFR receptor.

The results of the study, which open new pathways for the treatment of cancer, suggest the antibody mAb806 could be used in many tumours in which EGFR has mutated and not only in a specific mutation like researchers believed so far. The study counts on the participation of experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the University of California (United States), among other institutions.

Moreover, the scientific team proved that, even if EGFR has not mutated yet, it can be treated to make it sensitive to the protocol with the antibody mAb806. These findings provide the rational basis to conduct anti-EGFR therapies combined with antibodies and kinase inhibitors, instead of blind testing them, as it has happened so far, notes Modesto Orozco, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB, head of the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Lab at IRB Barcelona and member of the Bioinformatics Barcelona platform (BIB).

Universitat de Barcelona
Two friends have been sent for trial accused of having more than 13,000 of cocaine in the west of the city.

Carley O'Connor (30) and Gemma Reilly (26) had books of evidence served on them when they appeared at Blanchardstown District Court.

Ms O'Connor, of Landen Road, Ballyfermot, and Ms Reilly, of Briarfield Grove, Kilbarrack, are both charged with possession of more than 13,000 of cocaine, with intent to sell or supply.

They are also charged with related counts of simple possession and sale or supply of the drug. The offences are all alleged to have happened at the Outer Ring Road, Clondalkin, on November 24, 2017.

A State solicitor said books of evidence were ready and had been served on the accused.

The DPP was consenting to their return for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Warning

Judge David McHugh gave each woman the formal warning that they must provide details of any alibis they intend to rely on in their trial to the prosecution within 14 days.

Free legal aid had been granted previously, after the court heard they were both working but their earnings came in under the threshold to qualify.

A lawyer for the accused asked Judge McHugh to extend legal aid to cover a senior counsel as well as a junior given the potential sentences on conviction.

Judge McHugh said that although he would not refuse the application, it should be renewed in the circuit court.

The accused have not yet indicated how they intend to plead to the charges, which are under Sections 3, 15 and 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They were remanded on bail under existing terms, to appear in the circuit court later this month.
'Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.' (stock photo)

A young man who claimed a stolen phone was his own but could not open it when challenged by gardai had told a "likely story", a judge said.

Christopher O'Grady (27) first said he bought the phone, which had a picture of women socialising on the cover, but then maintained he found it outside a McDonald's.

Judge Michael Walsh ordered him to carry out 120 hours of community service, instead of a three-month prison sentence.

O'Grady, of Cedarwood Park, Cox's Demesne, Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

He was not charged with stealing the phone.

Dublin District Court heard gardai saw O'Grady acting suspiciously and looking in the windows of parked cars at Wellington Quay at 3.40pm on March 24.

When asked why he was doing this, O'Grady "said he was not".

When searched, he had a mobile phone in his pocket with a picture on the cover of three women socialising.

He said the phone was his property and gardai told him to enter the pin but he said that the battery needed charging.

Threatening

However, it was turned on and he said he was unable to enter the pin. He then told gardai he had bought it for 50.

He was asked if he was aware of the value of the phone and he said: "Yeah, a couple of hundred euro."

The phone had been stolen from a woman while she was socialising in Temple Bar the night before, the court heard.

Separately, O'Grady admitted threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour when he was caught smoking drugs in a city centre car park.

The court heard that last February 13 gardai were called to Fleet Street car park, where security said a man became aggressive after refusing to leave when he was seen smoking heroin from a metal pipe.

The accused had had problems with heroin over the years, his lawyer said. He had a relapse after a bereavement.

The accused maintained he had found the phone outside McDonald's and had been "foolish" in keeping it.

"A likely story," Judge Walsh said.

The phone had now been returned to its owner.

O'Grady had previous convictions for public order offences.
Prices Lane where the innocent victim was brutally beaten

A man has been arrested over a random attack that put an innocent man in hospital with serious injuries.

The man, who is from Moldova, was not previously known to gardai for involvement in serious crime.

Most of his previous encounters with officers are said to be for minor matters, including public order offences.

Violent

The 32-year-old suspect, who is living in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin, was arrested by detectives from Pearse Street in Dublin yesterday morning as he made his way to work in the south inner city.

Detectives believe he launched his "violent attack" after consuming a considerable amount of alcohol.

The victim, a respected 46-year-old family man, was attacked by the crazed thug in Prices Lane, Dublin, at around 10.25pm on April 26 as he made his way through the city centre.

Earlier this week, the victim's niece shared heartbreaking photos of him in a serious condition in hospital.

It is understood there is high- quality CCTV of the attack.

The victim and attacker are completely unknown to each other.

"This poor man was just walking along, minding his own business, and his assailant went for him, violently attacking him in an entirely unprovoked incident," a senior source said.

"Gardai believe his attacker was heavily under the influence."

"A 32-year-old man was arrested this morning, Friday, May 3, in Dublin in relation to a serious assault in Prices Lane, Dublin 2, on Friday, April 26," a garda spokesman said yesterday.

"He is detained at Pearse Street Garda Station under the Provisions of Section 4 - Criminal Justice Act 1984."

"The injured man remains in hospital with serious injuries. Investigations are continuing."
This court finds it unsettling, nay, repugnant, that after violating the public trust, Mr. Boyle should stand poised to collect a pension, Judge Martin said in November 2009. However, the court is duty bound to apply the law. There is simply nothing in the record before this court that points to Boyle using any of his training as a fireman to further the commission of his felonious activities.
Eads said $1.3 million of the general fund increase is offset by state and federal funds, and the actual rise in city spending totals about $900,000.

The majority of that goes for raises for employees  $400,000  information technology is $70,000 [one position with benefits] and to fund capital [expenses] is $345,000, Eads said. The other piece was $50,000 for the CVB, which puts it where it was last year. It was also based on conversations with council in June or July of last year. When it was cut, I know there was a change of heart, and we discussed during the fall maybe CVB needed to be funded on a percentage level.

The mayor said its too soon to give additional funds to the bureau, and more study is needed to show what the citys return on investment of taxpayer dollars is from the tourism promotion organization.

Both Mumpower and Wingard also spent several minutes revisiting their concern that the city employs too many firefighters given its land size and population. And both renewed calls from 2017 to close a fire station, reduce staffing and relocate station one from next to the city courthouse to a more central location.
Superintendent Keith Perrigan said Friday the issue is timing.

The School Board will be in Marion that night for input for changing the SOQ [state Standards of Quality] as well as other conflicts, Perrigan said. I will try to make it back and some are trying to change their schedules, but no one is able to commit at this time.

Hopefully, in the future, Perrigan said they can work together to plan activities to ensure optimum participation.

Some members of City Council are expected to attend.

Chapter members have met with parents and other community members to gauge their thoughts about school consolidation, according to the statement. The reaction was overwhelmingly against closing our neighborhood schools. Its Virginia Organizings role to give voice to community thoughts, Melissa Roberts, parent and chapter leader, said in the statement. City leaders and School Board members continue to say the barrier is a lack of communication. We are holding this forum so they have the opportunity for discussion.

According to its website, Virginia Organizing, based in Charlottesville, is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives, especially those with little or no voice in society.

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She was a teacher and college counselor at Gerard High School in Phoenix. (I wrote about her once before.) She convinced me to apply to Pomona College in California. My parents, who were in dire financial straits, knew nothing about colleges or applications. And given that they were preparing to move our family into a motel room during my senior year, my college quest was not high on their agenda.
He said he was scared, but kept looking over his shoulder as he ran away.

As I was running, I kept looking back over my shoulder. I was too scared to notice much, but I saw him take out the money and run up to the main road.

Police said they were on the lookout for an old model black sedan with Tennessee license plates. Barnett described the holdup man as white, between the ages of 25 and 30, with blue eyes and sandy, curly hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, gray trousers and brown shoes.

Barnett said after the man left, he returned to his truck and tried unsuccessfully to chase him down.

Police searched for the suspect for several days, but its not clear whether anyone was ever arrested. The Abingdon Police Department has no record of the case in its current files.

We do not have many open case reports from that far back, Abingdon Police Department Community Relations Coordinator Tenille Montgomery said. This case could have been handled by us, the Virginia State Police or the WCSO [Washington County Sheriffs office]. For a long time, towns were not allowed to investigate felonies. Once they were granted authorization, many still relied upon the VSP or the county sheriff.

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Robert Sorrell Follow Robert Sorrell Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
A multi-state investigation into the armed robbery of a Marion, Virginia, business has resulted in the arrest of a Newport, Tennessee, man.

Travis Day, 47, has been charged via a federal criminal complaint with one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence.

On Thursday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, along with Marion Police Department Detective Wes Tomas, executed a search warrant in the 700 block of Raven Way in Newport at Days residence.

Marion Police Chief John Patrick Clair said Day was the primary suspect in an armed robbery that occurred April 18 at the Fas-Mart in Marion. A person with a gun entered the store and removed cash from the register, Clair said.

As a result of information obtained during the search warrants execution, Clair said Day was located by ATF agents in Morgantown, West Virginia, and was taken into custody without incident.

Clair said the investigation, which involved Marion police and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, led officers to Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Bidens well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasnt that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

Id never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Bidens explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.
(We must be clear, however, that case files remain open to the public and the news media.)

Del. Mike Mullins, a Newport News Democrat who led a bipartisan group of legislators in 2018 to work on legislation addressing transparency in the court system, was less than impressed by the high courts new rules. Speaking with the Daily Press, he was blunt in his assessment: You could drive a truck through these [rules].

And hes right; these rules are designed for the benefit of judges and court officials, certainly not the public.

The battle over court openness began more than three years ago when the Daily Press embarked on a statewide investigation project examining the differences in sentencing across the state, with an eye toward the defendants race and what type of legal representation the person had. The papers reporters discovered there was a tremendous discrepancy between counties regarding how such records were assembled and maintained, but that there was also a much more sophisticated database at the Supreme Court level. The paper sued for access to that database, but lost in court. From that legal battle, came the effort in the General Assembly to address transparency in the court system.

And not just the judicial systems case records shielded from the public: The new rules put information about the court systems finances and administration off limits to the public. Why the justices enacted these sweeping rules is anyones guess, but we believe they went much further than the Assembly intended in 2018. We hope, in 2020, legislators revisit the matter and pry the courts open.
The other day I overheard a person (white older male) comment that that he was tired of seeing all these immigrants coming in and stealing jobs away from good, hard-working Americans and he especially didnt want any of them around HERE! I felt compelled then to answer him in this letter.

Sir, have you noticed that the population of Southwest Virginia is shrinking? We are losing folks, not gaining them. The young people are leaving, by and large, and it is the habit of old people to die. That alone would seem a rather good reason to be welcoming immigrants, not discouraging them.

And, let me say, they are indeed NOT taking jobs away from hard-working Americans. Have you seen any immigrants lazing around the streets or just hanging out at a coffee shop? Id hazard a guess not. Chances are the immigrants you HAVE seen have most likely been working harder than many Americans would at the jobs they have and doing them very efficiently while learning a new language, to boot. Think about that the next time you talk about stealing jobs.

And have you SEEN all the help wanted signs out? Americans arent lining up for these jobs.
A Provo family caring for foster children needs help with Christmas magic

A Provo family needs help to make Christmas magical for their foster children this year. Maya and her family had cared for three foster children years ago who suddenly needed to stay with them again. According to Maya, the sudden change in family size has been a difficult adjustment. She has struggled to get enough sleep in addition to supporting all of the kids. Its hard to give everyone the attention they need, Maya said. As a previous Sub for Santa volunteer, Maya understands the tremendous impact that the program can have on a family. Using this service will help her to ...
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago by Montgomery Ward copywriter Robert L. May to sell toys in 1939. Heres how the popular Christmas character  and its author  went down in history.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in Chicago: Here's how the story became a book, song and TV special
Once is enough when it comes to big news stories
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted to set up shop here, at least for now. Instead, the focus would be on small craft growers, with an emphasis on helping people of color become entrepreneurs in the weed industry. In addition, adults would be allowed to grow up to five plants per household, in a locked room out of public view, with the permission of the landowner.
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Grand Prize Winner: Donna Rickey Blog Winners: A Song for her Enemies by Sherri Stewart: Mary Ann Hake Spies & Sweethearts by Linda Shenton Matchett: Connie Ruggles Sword of Trust by DebbieLynn Costello: Brenda Walters Justice for Julia by Donna Schlachter: Natalya Lakhno Party Prize winners: Sherri Stewarts Winners A Song for her Enemies: Angie Pool Bottle of Dutch Syrup: Carol Koch Alscheff Corrie ten Boom book: Deb Gramie Burgess Linda Shenton Matchetts winners: $5.00 gift card to online retailer or choice (Kobo, B&N, AppleBooks, Amazon): Karen Hadley A Bride for Seamus: Carol Osterhouse Wotring DebbieLynn Costellos winners: Sword of the Matchmaker: Melissa Planas Sword of Forgiveness: Paty Hinojosa Gomez Shattered Memories: Charlene Zall Capodice Sword of the Perfect Bride: Licha Haney Donna Schlachters winner: Leather Journal: Lisa Turley

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HICKORY  Thomas Dufour, son of Harold and Jennifer Dufour of Hickory, was recently honored for having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, scoutings highest achievement. In addition, he was awarded a Bronze Palm for having completed an extra five merit badges more than the 21 required for Eagle.

Only seven percent of Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle and less than one percent earn a Palm. The ceremony was held in the Althouse Room at Corinth Reformed Church and officiated by Scoutmaster Brad Lasecki and Committee Chairman Mark Faruque. A closing prayer was given by Pastor Peggy Stout of Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ.

Dufour, 16, a junior at Newton-Conover High School, has been active in scouting since first grade when he joined Pack 231 at First Presbyterian Church as a Tiger Cub. He continued through to Boy Scouts joining Troop 351, which later merged with Troop 1 at Corinth Reformed Church, where Thomas is currently an active member. He has enjoyed many camping excursions through scouting such as: hiking part of the Appalachian Trail, Mountain Man Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee, and sailing around the Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. John with Seabase Scout Camp. When wildfires struck New Mexico last summer, a planned trip to Philmont Scout Ranch was cancelled because the ranch was forced to close for the entire summer. Now that the camp is back in operation, he plans to attend Philmont next year.
A year before he left the assessors post, Hynes was tapped with heading up President Bill Clintons re-election campaign in Illinois, chairing what has become a routine staple of Illinois politics  the coordinated campaign which linked national and local Democratic candidate strategy and fundraising. So successful was the effort that Democrats, after two years as the minority, won back control of the Illinois House despite a Republican-drawn redistricting map. It also returned Michael Madigan to the speakers chair after the only two years he has not held the post since 1983.
The Islamic Research Foundation of Dr. Zakir Naik who is overtly supporting terrorism and propagating the ideology of terrorism was banned in India by the Indian Government on 17.11.2016. Even after that, the terrorists have committed bomb blasts in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, by taking inspiration from the speeches of Dr. Zakir Naik. A chargesheet submitted recently by the Enforcement Directorate in the court mentions that the illegal property of Dr. Naik worth Rs. 193 crores was found.

Similarly, the National Investigation Agency has claimed that the literature of Dr. Zakir Naik was found with the terrorists of Islamic State in Kerala. Therefore, if the Indian Government claims that Dr. Zakir Naik is dangerous for the national security, why the Facebook accounts of Dr. Naik himself and those of Islamic Research Foundation have not been banned so far by the Government ?

If Dr. Zakir Naik is allowed to propagate through an effective medium such as Facebook, the ban imposed on him appears pretentious. Therefore, the ban should be imposed immediately on the Facebook and other social media groups of Dr. Zakir Naik and his organisations, demanded Mr. Ramesh Shinde National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

After the Central Government imposes a ban on the organisation, as per the prevalent rules, the organisation or its activists cannot remain active in the interest of that organisation. Still, 1.7 crore followers are active on the Facebook account of Dr. Zakir Naik and 6 million followers on the Facebook account of the Islamic Research Foundation.

An official complaint was lodged on 5th June 2017 with the Union Home Ministry, Home Secretary and National Security Agency by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti demanding a ban on both the Facebook accounts. A memorandum to this effect was also personally submitted to the Minister of State of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir. Despite the lapse of 2 years, why is the Government has not taken any action in this matter ? Is the Government waiting for the terrorist attacks in India too on the lines of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ? These questions were also raised by Mr. Ramesh Shinde.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was eligible for the National Film Awards under the rules. According to the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the awards, Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for Awards.

The only condition for an artist under the rulebook is that his or her name should appear in the credit line and the person should be a resident of India.

Clause 7.1 of the regulations say that Only those persons whose names are on the credit titles of the film and are normally residing and working in India will be eligible for the Awards.

When a row broke out on social media about Akshay Kumars national award, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia made a similar point and said that foreign nationals can get National Awards.

Akshay Kumar was named for the Best Actor award for 2016. Akshay issued a statement on Friday regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He says he has never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport and that he doesnt understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about it.

I really dont understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years, Akshay tweeted.

I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others, he added in the statement.

He concluded by saying: Lastly, I would like to continue contributing in my small way to the causes that I believe in and make India stronger and stronger.

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Actor Priyanka Chopras to be sister-in-law Ishita Kumar has deleted every wedding-related picture from her Instagram account, after it was rumoured that her wedding to Priyankas brother Siddharth had been called off. Priyanka had recently come to India for the celebrations, which were reportedly supposed to take place at the end of April. Her cousin Parineeti Chopra, too, joined the family in Mumbai. But the actors flew back without any vows having been exchanged between Siddharth and Ishita.

Ishita had earlier deleted pictures from her and Siddharths roka ceremony and had shared fresh pictures of herself, hinting at new beginnings and beautiful endings. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Ishita has now deleted her solo pictures from the roka ceremony as well as the bridal shower that took place in London.

Ishita has posted a new picture of herself hanging out at a restaurant with the caption, Cheers to new beginnings. With a goodbye kiss to beautiful endings. Her mother Nidhi Kumar had written on the post, Close old book and write, whereas her father had commented, We are with you; Feel the expanse of the universe and be the star you were born to be.

Earlier, it was reported that the bride-to-be had undergone an emergency surgery just days before the wedding, which was thought to be the reason for the postponement. There has been no official word from the family regarding the matter.

Priyanka, however, ended up attending brother-in-law Joe Jonas surprise wedding with fiance and Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner in Las Vegas. Sophie and Joe tied the knot in a private ceremony soon after attending the Billboard Music Awards with the rest of the family. The Jonas Brothers performed at the awards and were cheered on by their wives, after which they headed to the Little White Chapel for the wedding. Priyanka was wearing a halo of white ribbons and is assumed to have played one of the bridesmaids to Sophie.

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If, as most polls suggest, Narendra Modi is likely to return as Prime Minister albeit weakened by the loss of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) majority, its time we took seriously some of his partys manifesto commitments. The ones I want to focus on concern Kashmir. It is, undeniably, one of the most serious challenges awaiting the next government and, arguably, very poorly handled by this one.

Compared to 2014, terrorist incidents have increased nearly 300% according to home ministry figures. Bomb blasts have gone up by 330% according to the National Bomb Data Centre of the National Security Guard put out by PTI. Last year, the people killed in Kashmir was the highest in a decade, according to the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The number of local Kashmiris joining militancy was also the highest in a decade, according to army sources quoted in PTI. Today its not uncommon for young Kashmiris, often young girls, to throw stones at security forces to prevent them from capturing militants. These young teenagers show no fear. It seems weve alienated them.

Its in these circumstances the BJP manifesto commits the party to abrogating Article 370 and annulling 35A. Other than BJP supporters, practically everyone else believes this will inflame the situation. Its a recipe for making things worse.

The key question is: Does the BJP mean what its manifesto says or is this political posturing to enthuse and consolidate its voters in the rest of the country? Until last weekend, there were few doubts but then general secretary, Ram Madhav, queered the pitch. Speaking in Anantnag, he said the issue will be decided by the Parliament. The BJP is fighting in Kashmir on the agenda of development, so lets now focus on this. He then proceeded to speak about Insaniyat, Jamooriyat, Kashmiriyat, the Vajpayee formula of two decades ago.

So was Ram Madhav tweaking the manifesto commitment? Was he, subtly, telling Kashmiris not to take it seriously? Possibly. That conclusion was seemingly corroborated when, a day later, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh reiterated in strong terms the commitment to abrogate. But they were speaking in Barabanki and Lucknow, far away from the Valley.

The truth is the BJP position on 370 has repeatedly changed since the mid-1990s. In 1996 and 1998, it promised to abrogate. In 1999 and 2004, it was silent though LK Advani publicly said (24 March 2004) that this was not the right time to abrogate. In 2009 and 2014, the BJP, once again, decided to abrogate. A year later, in 2015, in the Agenda for Alliance with the People Democratic Party (PDP), it committed itself to retaining 370. Now, in 2019, its gone back to abrogating.

So what should we make of the latest commitment? To whom is it addressed? And if the party wins, will it be implemented or forgotten? Whilst clear answers are awaited, one thing is certain: If the commitment is serious its certainly no more so than it was in 1998 and 2014, when the BJP-led governments that followed did not even for a moment consider abrogation.

This time around the commitment has provoked anger in the Valley. That, perhaps, is what the BJP wanted. It has the right effect on its supporters in the rest of the country. But lest the situation in Srinagar and Anantnag get out of control, Ram Madhav sought to delicately defuse it. And in case that sent the wrong message south of the Banihal, Shah and Singh trumpeted the undiluted commitment.

This feels like different strokes for different folks. Of course, thats what the BJP has been attempting for two decades. But does it reveal Modis BJP in a flattering light? Or suggest a preference for opportunistic tactics over conviction and principle? I wonder how Modi would answer that question.

The views expressed are personal

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India is being acclaimed around the world for upholding democracy by conducting the largest general election ever held. But this election once again raises two questions. How democratic is Indias democracy? And, is parliamentary democracy right for India?

It is often suggested that presidential democracy would be preferable to parliamentary democracy in India, that a president would be able to deliver development more efficiently than a prime minister. Certainly a president elected by the people is far freer to act than a prime minister because he is not answerable to the Parliament, and doesnt have to restrict his choice of ministers to members of parliament (MPs). But a president is less of a democrat than a prime minister because so much power is concentrated in his hands. That is dangerous and not necessary. Its often forgotten that two prime ministers whose powers were particularly limited by the constraints of parliamentary democracy were the most successful economic reformers  PV Narasimha Rao, who headed a minority government, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had to hold a jumbo coalition together.

It can certainly be argued that India would be more democratic if its MPs, now elected by being first-past-the-post in their constituencies, were elected by proportional representation (PR). There are different forms of PR but the basic principle is that seats in Parliament are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes each party wins. In other words, a party winning 30% of the votes gets approximately 30% of the seats in Parliament.

The results of the 2014 election demonstrate how undemocratic the first-past-the-post voting proved to be. We have come to believe that a popular wave swept Narendra Modi into Parliament, whereas, in fact, most Indians voted for parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party Modi led won 282 seats with just 31% of the votes. This is the lowest percentage of votes ever to win an absolute majority in Parliament. The Congress performance wasnt as miserable as its tally of seats, 44, suggests. Its vote share was 19.3%. Third came the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 4.2% of the vote which didnt give the party even one seat. If the election had been held under PR and if the voting had been similar, the BJP would have been well short of a majority, with about 170 seats and the Congress would have had a more respectable total of nearly 110 seats. The BSP would have found itself with 23 MPs. These figures show that under PR there is much more chance of every voters vote getting him or her representation in Parliament.

The main argument against PR is that it would lead to unstable coalitions . As Vajpayee showed, coalitions dont have to be unstable. The Congress coalition under Manmohan Singh survived for 10 years but it has to be said that apart from those two prime ministers, the survival rate of coalitions has not been encouraging. Against that, the long years of the Congress dominating Indian politics are not an advertisement that first-past-the-post can lead to stability because they favour bigger parties. Speaking in the Rajasthan town of Jalore in this campaign, Amit Shah called on Rahul Gandhi to give an account of what he called 55 years of Congress rule. With his call for a Congress-free India, Shah is now trying to create a one-party democracy under the BJP rule. Speaking on another occasion in Rajasthan, he said the BJP will now rule for the next 50 years.

I believe PR elections resulting in coalitions would be the most democratic way for a country as diverse as India to choose governments, rather than first-past-the-post elections, which might lead again to one-party domination. However, I doubt whether politicians can exercise the discipline and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices of personal interests and ambitions for multi-party coalitions to work. So maybe the best outcome for India after all, would be first-past-the-post elections leading to a two-party democracy. That would require the Congress to revive and the BJP to temper its ambition.

The views expressed are personal
Three men from Bangladesh  who allegedly used to take flights to Delhi to commit dacoity in different Indian

states before flying back to evade arrest  Friday landed in Delhi Polices net.

The stolen valuables and the passports used for the frequent trips have been seized from them, police said.

Police said the three are members of a larger gang that operates in different states of India. Besides the several crimes they have committed in Delhi, police officers maintained, five dacoities reported from Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Dharwad and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh have been solved with their arrest.

According to police, the three arrested men have been identified as Kamrul Kamaal (42), Sahidul Islam (38) and Nazrul (36)  all of them Bangladesh nationals. Kamaal was lodged in a jail in Delhi between 2003 and 2010, and then, at a jail in Muzaffarnagar between 2011 and June, 2017, police said, adding that Nazrul is involved in at least 21 cases and has been convicted in several of them. Islam, meanwhile, has six cases of robbery, theft and cases under the Arms Act registered against him, police maintained.

G Ram Gopal Naik, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said recently, a number of dacoities were reported from different states. All of the incidents were reported late in the night by a gang comprising six-eight members. The gang used to cut open window grilles and tie up all members of the targeted houses at gunpoint before fleeing with their valuables. During investigations into the case, it was revealed that a Bangladeshi gang is involved in these cases, and therefore, we put Bangladeshi gangs active in India under surveillance, Naik said.

Elaborating further, Naik said police managed to zero in on one Kamrul Kamaal, who was suspected to be leading the gang. Following an input of his presence in Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, our team swung into action and arrested Kamaal and two of his aides, later identified as Islam and Nazrul. Two countrymade pistols were recovered from their possession, he said.

During questioning, the trio told police that all of them are Bangladesh nationals. They said Kamaal and Islam had entered India with passports after procuring a visa while Nazrul had sneaked in through border, illegally. Passports revealed Kamaal visited India eight times since July, 2017, and Islam entered India thrice since. Nazrul said he had gained entry illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying R5000, the DCP said.

Police said the gang targeted houses in posh colonies. If any member resisted, they did not hesitate to kill them. They mostly stayed near railway stations or in the forested areas of the city. After committing the crime, the gang used to return to Bangladesh. Since the other two used to fly back, Nazrul, who used to sneak in illegally, used to carry the stolen valuables, which the gang later distributed equally, Naik said.
It was a two-minute conversation that 27-year-old doctor Chandra Prakash Verma had with his mother over the phone Thursday morning that led police to him.

Police tracked down Vermas last phone call location to Uttarakhands Rishikesh, but it took them more than 24 hours to identify the guest house where he was staying. They finally nabbed him from Roorkee when he was about to jump into the Ganga canal.

Vermas phone was switched off near NH-24 around 10pm Tuesday, almost two hours after he allegedly murdered his flatmate, Dr Garmia Mishra, a crime branch officer said.

As Verma did not turn up at his family home in Bahraich nor at his relatives or friends houses, we were waiting for him to switch his phone on or try to contact someone from a landline. The phone numbers of his family, relatives and friends were on surveillance, the officer said.

On Thursday, around 7am, Verma called his mother and said he had committed a big mistake and sought her forgiveness. He told her that he was going to kill himself and disconnected the call, the police said.

The call location was traced to Rishikesh. The police teams visited over 30 guest houses in Rishikesh found the one where he had stayed till 6am Thursday, the crime branch officer said.

Police said the guest house staff told them that Verma had been enquiring about the depth of the Ganga, the points where the river was very deep, and the chances of survival if he jumped into the river. The staff told him that the Ganga canal is much deeper at places in Dehradun and Haridwar. Our team began scanning areas along the river and the Ganga canal. They spotted him standing on a bridge in Roorkee and caught him. He confessed to killing his roommate and also admitted that he was about to kill himself, DCP (crime branch) G Ram Gopal Naik.

During questioning, Verma revealed that he tried to kill himself thrice but could not do so.

Verma said on Wednesday, at the guest house in Rishikesh, he planned to hang himself from the ceiling fan but dropped the idea as he thought that the fan would break, the officer said.

The second time, he tried to get himself electrocuted by touching a power transformer in Haridwar. But since Verma had dealt with cases of attempted suicides gone wrong at the hospital, he knew the problems the families of such people faced and decided to drop the second plan, the officer said.

He then decided to jump into the Ganga canal and reached the Roorkee bridge. But we caught him before he could jump, the officer added.
Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was booked on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after Baba Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in Haridwar.

Yechury had in Bhopal on Thursday said, Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Taking objection to the comments, Ramdev lodged a complaint with senior superintendent of police Haridwar, Janmejaya Khanduri.

Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies, Khanduri said.

A case under IPC Section 153(a) has been registered against Yechury.

Reacting to the case, member of CPI(M) state secretariat, Bacchiram Konswal said, Ramdev is working for BJP and his complaint is part of BJPs polarisation efforts. Yechury didnt make the statement against Hindus but on a statement of the BJPs Bhopal candidate. He never said anything against any community.
A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.
Two branches of Bank of Baroda in Surat sparked a controversy on Saturday for banning entries of customers in burqas and helmets and then backtracked following protests from Muslims.

Notices saying remove burqa/helmet and no admission with burqa and helmet had come up at Ambaji Road branch and New Civil Hospital branch in Surat. On Saturday, Muslims raised objections over the ban on burqa which is a religious tradition.

As Muslim leaders raised objections, the bank said it did not intend to hurt sentiments of any community and removed the notice.

Bank officials maintained that the notice was put up after recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka. Only two branches of the bank in the city had the notice.

There was no ill intent behind the notice. Also, it was not meant to target any community. It was done for security reasons. And it has been removed now, Ambaji road branch manager Navin Gohiya told the media.

But not everybody was convinced with the explanation.

Such notice definitely targets the Muslims. Helmets can be removed anytime. But Muslim women put on burqa to follow the religion. They are not supposed to remove it, said Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh.

The ruling BJP maintained that the government was not involved in the in the banks decision and said that peoples consent is required even in the matters of security measures.

The government has nothing to do with the banks decision. But the BJP believes that even for security steps, consent of people or community should be taken. Besides, the rules should not be the cause of inconvenience for anyone .
After cyclone Fani weakened into a severe depression and moved course towards Bangladesh by Saturday morning, chief minister Mamata Banerjee resumed campaigning, as she had put them on hold to monitor relief efforts, a day after she had cancelled all her political programmes for 48 hours.

PM Modi called up Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and expressed his concern and directly asked Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prepare a report.

An irked TMC secretary general and minister Partha Chatterjee said, In a federal structural a state government has its own position and rights. The Modi government never respected that.
A woman lawmaker in Telangana, who recently defected from the Congress to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, faced the fury of her former partys supporters who attacked her with stones and chappals on Saturday when she entered a village in her constituency to campaign for a TRS candidate in the local body elections.

Banothu Haripriya Naik, who represents Yellandu assembly constituency in Khammam district, visited Govindrala village of Kamepalli block in the morning to campaign for TRS candidate Lakhavarthu Sunitha contesting as mandal parishad (block) territorial constituency member.

As the MLA entered the village in an open-top vehicle, followed by the local TRS workers, irate villagers, mostly Congress supporters, shouted at her and asked her to go back. They questioned how she dared to enter the village after betraying them by defecting to the TRS.

We toiled day and night in the assembly elections held in December to get Haripriya elected braving tough fight with the TRS. But within a couple of months becoming the MLA, she joined the TRS betraying our faith, an angry Congress worker told local reporters.

As the Congress workers started pelting stones and chappals at Haripriya, the TRS workers formed a shield around her and saved her from the attack. The shocked MLA got back into her car and left the village, while the TRS workers retaliated by pelting stones back at the Congress workers. At least five people were injured in the stone pelting.

Police stopped the situation from getting out of hand by dispersing the warring groups. We immediately shifted the injured to the Yellandu hospital for treatment. The situation is under the control now, sub-inspector Tirupati Reddy said.

Police beefed up the security it the village and are trying to pacify the leaders of both parties to bring normalcy.

Haripriya could not be reached for her comment.

The Telangana unit of the Congress has been protesting against alleged illegal poaching of its MLAs by the TRS to eliminate an opposition in the state. The Congress won 19 seats in the elections to 119-member assembly in December and of them, 11 MLAs have defected to the TRS, leaving the grand old party with just eight members.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who began Prajaswamya Parirakshana Yatra (Save Democracy tour) from Khammam on Monday , called upon the party workers to pull up the defected MLAs for ditching the party.

He demanded that the turncoat MLAs be booked under Section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code, as they cheated the people who voted for them against the TRS.

Defecting from one party into other party was a matter of concern to all people. The Constitutional bodies should respond to the issue without delay, he said.

A TRS leader said on condition of anonymity that defection of MLAs from the opposition to the ruling party was not a new phenomenon. Even during the Congress regime between 2004 and 2009, then chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy poached several TRS MLAs into the Congress, he pointed out.

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Dismissing the Congress as a vote cutter party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the grand old party has now stooped to maligning his honesty and hard work.

Addressing a rally in Pratapgarh on the last day of campaigning for the fifth phase of national elections, Modi said till the first phase, Congress leaders were looking at the prime ministers post. But after four phases of polling, they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter, Modi said.

He said the Opposition was not able to accept the mandate given by the people to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the four phases of polling so far. Desperate Opposition is now trying everything up their sleeves to keep Modi out of power, the Prime Minister said.

Modi also accused Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav of cheating his Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair. However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the

Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he said.

If they [Opposition] see the crowd in my meetings, they will be rattled. I have never seen so many people gathering for a political cause in the month of May, said Modi, in a choked voice.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as maha milavati [adulterated], the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance  corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule, and misgovernance.

Dubbing Congress president Rahul Gandhi as naamdar, Modi said the Congress president has accepted that his motive was to malign his image by harping on false issues. Naamdar, listen to me. Modi has grown up eating dust of Bharat mata and has lived for Bharat mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceits, he added.

He also accused the Congress of not doing anything for the poor. Rahul [Gandhi] wants proof of Modis works. Rahul, we just completed five years. Your family was in power for so many years. What has your government done? First, give an account of that. You ruled for 55 years, but you did not give affordable medical treatment to the poor, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our jawans, as the conscience of country has awoken. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi while seeking support for BJP candidates from Basti, Siddharthnagar and Sant Kabeernagar.
Friday started on an unforgettable note for Sana, the daughter of a cook at the Walled Citys iconic Al Jawahar restaurant. She got a call from Manish Sisodia, Delhis deputy chief minister and education minister, congratulating her for topping the Class 12 school-leaving examination across the citys government schools.

The 17-year-old humanities student from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Chandni Chowk scored 97.6% overall and scored a perfect 100 in history. I received a call early in the morning, saying the minister wanted to speak to me. I thought it was a prank call. I believed it only after I heard him speaking! she said.

A bright student right through school, Sana never wanted to switch to a private institution. There were instances when my friends in the neighbourhood advised me to switch to a private school. They used to say I cannot do well in life after studying in a government school. But the private schools were expensive for us. I did not care about the suggestions and worked hard. I did not even take tuitions, said Sana, who wants to be an IAS officer.

First. I want to pursue BA (Honours) in Political Science from a top Delhi University college, and then will prepare for the civil services exam, she said.

Sanas father Niazuddin, whose secret twist to the butter chicken, is renowned across the city, cooked for the family on Friday as a special treat. My father loves to cook for us on big occasions, Sana said. He has always encouraged me and my four siblings to work hard. Even my sister had topped her school in Class 12 in 2017.

Niazuddin, who has been working at the Old Delhi restaurant for the last 35 years, said he takes care of its kitchen along with assisting the head chef who cooks the iconic delicacies, including the butter chicken. I am overwhelmed today. Despite all odds, my daughter has made us all proud, he said.

Gyan Kaur, 17, a student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Ramesh Nagar, got the second rank across Delhi government schools, scoring 97%. Kaurs father works in a cement company. She scored a perfect 100 in Economics and wants to pursue Political Science (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College.

The topper in the Commerce stream across the Delhi government schools is Pooja Singh, whose parents have hearing and speech disabilities. A student of Government Senior Secondary School in Sant Nagar, she got 481 marks out of 500. Her father works in Delhi University as a staffer. I want to pursue my career in finance, she said.

Sisodia said on Friday that the Class 12 results were unprecedented, with the overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools 94. 24% in the Central Board of Secondary Education exam. The results could have been better if the Delhi government was given land to build more schools. But our teachers and students worked very hard to make it possible. Even the results of our evening shift schools have improved to 89.3% from last years 83%, he said.

The results have improved even as the number of students appearing in the Class 12 exam rose from 112,826 last year to 129,917 in 2019.

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In a major security breach, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was attacked during his roadshow in New Delhis Moti Nagar area on Saturday.

The incident took place when Arvind Kejriwal was holding a roadshow in favour of his partys candidate Brijesh Goyal who is contesting from the New Delhi seat.

In the video, a man wearing a red shirt can be seen climbing atop the open jeep and slapping Kejriwal across the face before he is pulled off the jeep.

The assailant, identified as Suresh, 33, who has a spare-parts business in Kailash Park, was immediately apprehended by the AAP workers around the jeep and handed to the police. He has been taken to the Moti Nagar police station.

Heres the video:

This is not the first time that the Delhi CM has been attacked.

In November 2018, a man had thrown chilli powder on him outside his office in the Delhi secretariat.

In 2016, a man had thrown a shoe at Arvind Kejriwal when he was giving the details of the phase 2 of the odd-even scheme. Around the same time, a woman had also thrown ink on him at a thanksgiving gathering at Chhatrasal Stadium.

In 2014, an autorickshaw driver had slapped Kejriwal while he was campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections in Sultapuri in northwest Delhi. Kejriwal had suffered a black eye at that time.

Earlier, he has had engine oil and eggs also hurled at him.
India has conveyed to Pakistan its concerns about the security of its high commission in Islamabad and complained about the harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month, people familiar with developments said on Saturday.

Concerns about the security of the high commission were conveyed in a demarche submitted to Pakistans Foreign Office recently, the people said. They declined to go into the details of the security threat but indicated it was a serious matter.

In a separate note verbale sent to the Pakistani side on April 25, India protested about the harassment and detention of two of its diplomats at Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The diplomats, who were at the shrine to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were locked up in a room for close to half an hour by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, the people said. The intelligence operatives also questioned the diplomats and searched their belongings, they added.

Before letting the diplomats go, the intelligence personnel warned them not to come back to the area, the people said.

The note verbale asked the Pakistani side to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to ensure such incidents did not occur again.

Indian diplomats have been repeatedly harassed while trying to assist and facilitate visiting Sikh pilgrims at several gurdwaras in Punjab province. Indians pilgrims have also been confronted with propaganda by pro-Khalistan groups.
The chief of Sri Lankas army said some of the people who carried out the April 21 serial bombings in his country had travelled to regions such as Kashmir and Kerala in India to possibly be part of terrorism training activities, according to an interview with the BBC published online on Friday.

The comments by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke is the first confirmation by a senior security official in either of the countries of the terrorists having travelled to India, a link that Indian security agencies have been pursuing since shortly after the attacks in the island nation.

They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us, Senanayke said.

Asked if he was aware of the purpose of those visits, the army commander replied: It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

WATCH: Moment of explosion at Sri Lankas Kingsbury Hotel caught on CCTV

Counter-terror agencies such as the National Investigation Agency have carried out raids in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they have picked up several people for suspected links to the Islamic State  the Syria-based terror group that claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Indian officials who have not to be named, at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

A Union home ministry official did not comment on the Sri Lanka Army chiefs comment. Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation, a senior official in the security establishment, who did not wanted to named, said. Till now, Indian investigators have not mentioned a Kashmir link to the Lankan bombers, though leads were still being followed.

One of the key suspects who is believed by Indian officials to have visited India is Islamic preacher Maulvi Zahran Bin Hashim  leader of Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and the ringleader of Easter Sunday attackers.

Indian officials refused to share details about the purpose of Hashims visit or the people he was in touch with. Hashim, an official said, was initially associated with Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ) but the organisation was not found involved in any terror activities. He subsequently broke away from TNTJ to form his own  Sri Lanka National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and started preaching violent form of Islam in the island nation.
The Kerala police on Saturday registered a case after the head of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), who banned wearing niqab, the face veil, on campus of his institutions complained of receiving a death threat.

I received a call on my mobile phone on Friday evening threatening to kill me. He was very agitated and heaped abuses on me. He told me not to fiddle with religious issues, said MES president Dr Fasal Gafoor. I tried to reason with him but he was not willing to listen.

But Gafoor insisted his group will go ahead with its decision to ban the veil.

The police later found that the threat call came from one of the countries in the Middle east which has a sizeable non-resident Indians. The police did not name the country.

The MES had issued the circular on Thursday citing a recent Kerala High Court order to ban hijab which covers a womans head in all its institutions. The MES runs 150 institutions.

While many progressive Muslim outfits have welcomed the decision saying face veil was nothing to do with the religion but many traditionalists opposed it vehemently dubbing it an incursion on religious freedom.

Samastha Kerala Jemiayathul Ulema president Muthukoya Thangal criticized MESs move saying: The MES has no right to dictate terms to believers. Burqua is the identity of Muslim women and nobody can deny this, and demanded the withdrawal of the circular. Jammat e-Islami has also criticised the move.

But the dominant Muslim political party, the Muslim League, is yet to comment on the issue. The ruling Left Democratic Front has welcomed the move. Even while performing the Haj pilgrimage women never cover their face. It is nothing to do with religion and we should promote such saner voices from the community, said K T Jaleel, state minister for local administration.
A 56-year-old villager was killed on Friday when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to be planted by Maoists to target security personnel, exploded in Aurangabad district of Magadh region, about 125 km south of Patna, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred between Pachrukhia and Langurahi forest area where road construction work was on. The villager who was herding his cattle home stepped on the IED which blew up injuring him seriously. He succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital.

The deceased was identified as Karu Bhuiyan of Koilwa village Madanpur Tehsil. A police official said Karu had gone to the area to bring back his cattle when he stepped on the IED.

The official said the Maoists often plant IEDs to target security forces who regularly visit the area on routine patrol. A police team rushed to the spot after the blast and Karus body was sent for post mortem.

Additional Superintendent of Police (operations) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that a case has been registered in this connection. Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area to trace the ultras, he said.

Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the ongoing parliamentary election, have stepped up violence in their areas of influence.

On Friday night, suspected Maoists blew up the election office of Jharkhands former chief minister and BJP candidate from Khunti Arjun Munda.

On Wednesday, Maoists blew up a vehicle in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district killing 15 policemen and the driver on Dadapur road.

Shortly after the attack, Maoists set ablaze at least six vehicles and other machines of a construction company engaged in road construction in Bihars Magadh division.
India is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of buying more American shale oil, which the US has been pushing to counterbalance the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

Indias main problem with US shale is that it will be more expensive for Indian refineries to process it, effectively increasing the price of the output.

The officials, who didnt want to be named, said that once the US sanctions on Iranian oil kicked in, Indias future purchases from alternative energy suppliers will be finalised keeping in mind the countrys energy and commercial security.

Also Read | India could cut US shale import to offset Iran loss

The US sanctions will disrupt supplies from Iran, which accounted for 10% of Indias energy imports in 2018-19, but the officials said relying on US shale oil will be more expensive and require changes in the configuration of refineries currently set up to process Iranian and other crude.

This, in turn, will make output costlier, and hence, economically unviable, they added.

Were already taking a hit due to the disruption of supplies from Iran. It makes no sense if we have to take a bigger hit by sourcing oil that is more expensive from an alternative source, said an official familiar with developments.

The officials said India is reconsidering a decision to import more shale oil from the US.

Only a handful of new refineries, such as Indian Oil Corporations (IOC) Paradip Refinery, can process shale oil as its composition and properties are different from crude oil. The officials said shale oil processing requires refinery recalibration, which is not commercially viable, especially at a time when the country has been hit by the economic impact of the disruption of Iranian crude supplies.

Also Read | Easter bombers visited Kashmir for training: Sri Lanka army chief

On April 22, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to any country importing Iranian oil. India had been hoping for an extension of the six-month exemption or Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) that had been granted to it last November.

India imported oil and gas worth close to $4 billion from the US last year, and Indias envoy to Washington, Harsh Shringla, said in January the country is committed to buying American oil and gas worth $5 billion per annum.

IOC executives confirmed the company imported 3.8 million tonnes of shale oil from the US during 2018-19 for Paradip Refinery. Even earlier, we imported some shale oil from the US from the spot market in absence of any NOC [national oil company] in America. Now we have term purchase (long-term supply contract), an executive said, requesting anonymity.

The chief executive of a private refinery said on condition of anonymity: The government cannot force us to buy oil from the US if that does not make any economic sense.

Crude or shale oil have different assay, and refiners extract value based on that. One would buy crude oil or shale oil depending on the value one gets. It is a purely commercial consideration, he added.

Asked about Indias future oil purchases once the US sanctions kicked in on May 2, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a briefing on Thursday that all decisions will be taken on the basis of the countrys energy security, commercial considerations and economic security interests. He said the petroleum ministry has a robust plan for obtaining additional supplies from other countries.
India may use a mix of Euros and a Rupee-Rouble transfer to pay for new defence platforms it is buying (or which it has recently bought) from Russia to avoid attracting sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) even as New Delhi continues to explore options of a waiver from Washington, a senior official aware of the details said on condition of anonymity.

A team of senior defence officials led by the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was in Russia last week and one of the issues discussed was the payment channel. Over next few years, India will have to pay approximately $ 7 billion to Russia for weapon systems such as the surface-air-missile Triumf or the S-400, the leasing of the second nuclear-propelled submarine, and the two warships being built in Russia. The S-400 alone is likely to cost India 40,000 crore alone. This surface-air-defence system detects incoming threats at a distance of about 350380 km and its induction is likely to give Indian air-defence a major boost.

The Donald Trump administration passed CAATSA in 2017 with the aim to hurt Russia, Iran and North Korea through punitive measure  primarily sanctions. As many as 39 Russian entities have been placed on the blacklist. An entity dealing with them could attract sanction . Some of the Russian entities are Rosoboronexport, Almaz-Antey, Sukhoi Aviation, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, and United Shipbuilding Corporation. CAATSA came into force from April 2018; since then India has deferred its payments to Russia. Indias problems are at two levels: legacy equipment, most of which are of Russian origin, and which require spares or ammunition; and new weaponry. Washington understands India cannot stop using Russian origin equipment, payment for new equipment, however, is a tricky issue, a second senior official aware of the details said, asking not to be identified.

The Indian delegation met Dmitry Shugev the head of the Federal Service for MilitaryTechnical Cooperation, the body that regulates military-technical cooperation issues, the second official added. Rupee-Rouble trade was discussed as one possible avenue, he said. India, however, needs to make some payment in hard-currency and thats where the Euro comes in. Some countries like China, for instance, have used barters to settle payments with Russia. but that isnt an option for India. India doesnt export enough to Russia to cover the entire amount of the cost. In 2018-19, Indias exports to Russia in 2018 stood at about $2.1 billion whereas it imported about $8 billion from Russia last year.

Payment in Euros to Russia isnt entirely risk-free because it will have to be made through the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and attract sanctions. While the issue of paying Russia without attracting sanctions hasnt been sorted completely, we are closer to a solution, the second senior official said. Sanctions are currency neutral, but there are a lot of ifs and buts, but I am sure that if India has the political will, a way forward will be there and the deal will go through, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Country is run by small-scale shopkeepers, farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand that the nation is not run by a few industrialists but by small-scale shopkeepers and businessmen, said Rahul Gandhi while concluding his rally in Haryanas Gurugram.

We want nyay, not two Indias: Rahul Gandhi in Haryana

We want nyay, not two Indias. As soon as PM imposed demonetisation, you stopped buying and the producers stopped producing. The shopkeepers of Gurugram understand the loss very well. Now we introduced this scheme which will ensure 6,000 goes to every poor persons bank account. Yearly, you will get 72,000. In addition, small shopkeepers and youth will get benefitted. People will start spending on small things and the economy will benefit from it, said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Gurugram

PM Modi is reluctant to use the word chowkidar now in his rallies, lest someone shouts back chor hai, said Rahul Gandhi.

Man who assaulted Arvind Kejriwal during road show held

The man who assaulted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during road show in Moti Nagar area, was held and taken to Moti Nagar police station. He was recognised as Suresh (33).

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal assaulted by man during his road show

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was assaulted by a man during his rally in Moti Nagar area today. :ANI

They are trying to push you back in the lalten era: PM Modi in Bihar

Nitish ji removed Lalten (RJDs symbol) with hard work and provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the lalten era but Nitish ji and his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. :ANI

Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other: PM Modi

Unlike Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh- Uttarakhand, Telugu speaking states, divided by separatists, are hostile to each other, said PM Modi.

It has become fashionable to spread lies on reservation to divide community: PM Modi

It has become a fashion to spread lies on reservation to divide the community.

Congress, RJD want to save face through playing dirty politics: PM Modi

Congress and RJD now want to save face through playing dirty politics. Their intension is not to serve the people of Bihar. They do not consider themselves servants of the democracy, but rulers. They can go to any extent for their betterment, said PM Modi.

Amit Shah, Smriti Irani hold roadshow in Amethi

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. :ANI

BJP President Amit Shah & Union Minister Smriti Irani hold a roadshow in Amethi. Smriti Irani is the BJP candidate from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaEelctions2019 pic.twitter.com/QVk3NVsNU8  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019

BJP candidate hospitalised after SUV rams his car

Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Partys Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, West Bengal, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. :ANI

West Bengal: Shantanu Thakur, Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon, met with a road accident today near Jagulia. He has been taken to a hospital. pic.twitter.com/w8DBpl8gga  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

People of Bihar did not let mahamilavati allies strength increase: PM Modi

Congress, RJD and their allies have cheated this land. The youngsters of this land have been cheated. Bihars dreams were broken, and you all are witness to it. But Bihars people did not let these mahamilavati peoples strength, said PM Modi.

Sisters like Bhagirathi Devi leading new India commendably: PM Modi

It makes me happy when sisters like Padma Sri Bhagirathi Devi lead the new India commendably, said PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar.

After four phases, they are preparing ground for defeat by insulting me, EC: PM Modi

They used to insult me all the time. But after four phases, they have started insulting the Election Commission and blaming the EVMs too. This is nothing but their excuse for not winning the elections, said PM Modi.

PM Modi addresses public meeting in Bihars Valmiki Nagar

Bihars Champaran has lead the country into understanding the concept of cleanliness, said PM Modi in Bihar.

PM Modi addresses public meeting at Valmiki Nagar, Bihar. Dial 9345014501 to listen LIVE. #DeshKiPasandModi https://t.co/zD6kA12z6u  BJP (@BJP4India) May 4, 2019

Congress and its mahamilawati allies dont want stable government: PM

Congress and its `mahamilawati allies dont want a stable government, PM Modi at rally in Uttar Pradeshs Basti.

BJPs next 5 years will take the country to a new high: PM Modi

They raised bogey of Hindu terrorism in a way that even big terrorists managed to get away but we have changed this. We are promoting defence, farming and other industries in this region. The past 5 years were laying foundation stone of development and the next 5 years will take the country to a new high, said PM Modi

Under BSP rule, nothing or no one was safe: PM Modi

In BSP rule, neither the Taj mahal nor the ambulances were safe. Be it sand or anything else, nothing was safe

its clear that SP under guise of alliance have taken advantage of Mayawati: PM

Now, it is clear that SP under the guise of alliance have taken advantage of behen Mayawati, by keeping her in dark, telling that they would make her the PM but now it is becoming clear to her that SP and Congress have played a game for themselves. Behenji is now openly opposing and criticising Congress, said PM Modi

UP has decided to vote for development: PM Modi

I bow down my head to salute you. You have supported me wholeheartedly. You have already decided to vote for development. The opposition are at their wits end as to what to do to save themselves, said PM Modi

People of UP have decided what poll outcome going to be: PM Modi

The people of UP have already decided what the outcome of the polling is going to be. Bracing such scoching heat, you are standing on roof tops to bless me. I am sure none has been able to get such blessings. I urge caution to people standing on walls that they do not fall off, said PM Modi in UPs Pratapgarh

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan: Rahul Gandhis return fire at PM

Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan, said Rahul Gandhi in a return fire at PM Modi. Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by UN on May 1.

Strictest of actions should be taken against Masood Azhar, but who sent him back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP Govt, said Rahul Gandhi.

Still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

I apologised to Supreme Court for misquoting their statement, but I still stand by my chowkidar chor hai slogan, said Rahul Gandhi.

Our main aim is to defeat PM: Rahul Gandhi

Our main aim is to defeat PM Modi. Our manifesto is an effective document, it talks about main issues faced by our country like jobs and farm woes, said Rahul Gandhi.

BJP insulting armed forces: Rahul Gandhi

The BJP is insulting our armed forces. Army is not their property. The strikes were done by them and not by the prime minister, said Rahul Gandhi.

Modi damaged economy, NYAY will give it a jump-start: Rahul Gandhi

PM Modi has completely damaged the economy. He doesnt say anything about jobs. Our NYAY scheme will give it a jump-start. Our ,said Rahul Gandhi.

Our assessment, BJP is going to lose LS polls: Rahul Gandhi

It is now clear that BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha polls. You can see it in the prime ministers face that he is losing. Our assessment says that the BJP is going to lose the Lok Sabha elections, said Rahul Gandhi
PM Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up the political temperature on Saturday with a volley of attacks aimed at each other, two days before the fifth phase of the ongoing national elections amid a slugfest over anti-terror strikes conducted in Pakistan during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

At rallies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two key heartland states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting to repeat its impressive 2014 performance, Modi called the Congress a vote-cutter and said the people will reject selfish parties that insulted the countrys soldiers. He also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav, of cheating his so-called Bua, or aunt (ally and Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayawati), by benefitting from her vote bank and falsely promising her the PMs chair.

However, after realising the SP-Congress game, Mayawati has been openly criticising the Congress while Akhilesh prefers to remain silent. Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies, he alleged in Pratapgarh.

Gandhi responded in a speech in Delhi, saying the defence forces were not the PMs personal property, and took a swipe at the BJP for the previous NDA governments decision to release Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in 1999 after an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Indian Army. We do not politicise the Indian Army, said Gandhi. The comment came a day after Modi said the surgical strikes conducted during the UPA tenure  the Congress has claimed there were six  were only on paper or in a video game.

Gandhi also hit out at the Election Commission of India (EC) and said that the poll watchdog was on the straight line when it came to complaints from the BJP but was completely biased when it came to Opposition complaints.The EC cleared Modi of any wrongdoing in six cases of alleged poll code violation and BJP chief Amit Shah in two. Gandhi himself has been cleared in one case. The EC did not immediately respond to Gandhis charge.

Responding over allegations against the EC, Modi said: These are all excuses with which they want to explain away their imminent defeat. They are like the batsman who blames the umpire upon being clean bowled. They also remind me of the student, who flunks in examination and blames his failure on everything except his own lack of preparedness. The 48-year-old Congress president also criticised Modi for taking credit for the United Nations Security Council designating Masood Azhar a global terrorist earlier this week. Gandhi said it was the BJP-led government under AB Vajpayee that released Azhar. Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? Did the Congress party do it? Who bowed in front of terrorism, he asked.

The war of words took place in the middle of a general elections in which nationalism and national security, opposition alliance arithmetic, unemployment, and agricultural distress have emerged as big issues.

In Uttar Pradesh, Modi dismissed the Congress as vote cutter party and said it was maligning his honesty and hard work. Till the first phase, the Congress leaders were dreaming of PMs chair, but after four phases of polling they have themselves started confessing that they had been reduced to the status of vote cutter party, said the Prime Minister in Pratapgarh.

It was a reference to remarks attributed to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that the party had fielded weak candidates in some constituencies in UP just to cut into the votes of the BJP and help the SP-BSP alliance.

Referring to the SP-BSP alliance as Maha Milavati (mega adulterated), the PM said there were five major risks associated with such an alliance which were corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic rule and mis-governance. Naamdar [dynast  a reference to Gandhi], listen to me. Modi has grown up with the dust of Bharat Maa and had lived for Bharat Mata. You cannot destroy my penance though any interview on a television channel. This country forgives mistakes but not deceit, he said.

In Basti, Modi said the opposition parties were desperate to grab power but Delhi will be far from their reach. People will reject the selfish parties who insulted our soldiers as the conscience of country has woken up now. They will now vote on the basis of Niyat and Niti [policy and intention], said Modi.

He also accused his rival parties of mismanaging law and order. During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SPs tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared, he said. In Bihars West Champaran district, Modi warned people against gimmicks by the Congress to dupe poor farmers.

Later in the day in Delhi, Gandhi credited his party for demolishing Modis image. He is using nationalism as a means to distract. We have fought him in four-five elections, in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like the seaplane in Gujarat. That was a reference to Modi landing on the Sabarmati river in a seaplane towards the end of the Gujarat poll campaign in 2017. He signed off by asking the PM to address at least one press conference before the elections end. It is really looking very bad. He is looking terrible...
Former Union minister MJ Akbar was cross-examined for the first time on Saturday in the criminal defamation suit that he filed against journalist Priya Ramani, who accused him of sexual harassment last year.

Akbar had resigned from his position as minister of state for external affairs in November 2018 after Ramani named him as a harasser.

The case pertains to Ramanis allegations of sexual misconduct against Akbar, dating back to 1993 when he was editor and proprietor of the Asian Age, and she was applying for a job at the paper. I do not remember that Priya Ramani met me in my office in December 93 or that she was looking for a job in Asian Age, Bombay, Akbar told the Ramanis counsel, Rebecca John.

He further added that he does not recollect calling her to a five star hotel in Mumbais Nariman Point in the evening.

Ramani wrote two tweets in October that accused Akbar of sexual misconduct at the workplace. Her tweets also tagged other women, who had similarly accused him of the same.

Soon after the allegations surfaced, Akbar issued a statement that said, The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice.

On October 15, Akbar filed a criminal defamation suit, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, stating that his reputation had been irreparably damaged. If proven, Ramani could go to jail for two years in prison. The case will continue on May 20.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday that the Congress lacked the political will but Prime Minister Narendra Modis diplomatic skill led to the UN declaring Jaish-e-mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and the isolation of Pakistan in the international community.

She said the demand to declare Masood Azhar a global terrorist was being raised since 2009 but due to Modis diplomatic skills, Azhar was declared a global terrorist on May 1.

After the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, the then UPA government could have isolated Pakistan but it could not due to lack of political will. Our government has given a befitting reply to Pakistan after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, she said while addressing the Vijay Sankalp Samwad in which women from various fields and different sections of society participated.

She said Prime Minister Modi is among the prominent leaders in the world and is now setting the global agenda.

She said in the last five years, Indias respect in the international stage has grown and a lot of development work has taken place. Five years back India was among the weakest economies in the world while now it is the worlds sixth biggest economy.

She said any Indian citizen who sought help on twitter was given assistance and resolution of their problems within 24 hours. She said the Indian government has been successful in bringing back 2.75 lakh persons stranded in other countries.

She said the government had made its slogan sabka saath, sabka vikas a reality. Our government has given 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS), has increased tax exemption limit to 5 lakh for middle class and given constitutional status to the OBCS. The Haj quota for Muslims has been increased and Muslim women has got a reprieve from triple talaq, Swaraj said. This all became possible becase Modi hai toh mumkin hai.

At another press conference, BJP leader and former minister Vasudev Devnani said Lok Sabha election results would be a jolt to the Congress, claiming that the BJP will win all 25 seats. He said political equations in Rajasthan would change after declaration of results.
There will be no water cuts in the city till June-end, said Girish Bapat, guardian minister, on Friday. The minister said that a review of water stock in dams will be taken every ten days.

Bapat said, We have water to suffice only for May and June, and rains are expected in June. So, by considering this, there is no need to cut water supply till June-end.

The minister urged residents to use water judiciously.

We will take a review of the water level in dams every ten days and if needed will take appropriate decision at that time. Also, if needed, we will use water from dams dead stock, said Bapat. Bapat advanced the review meeting, scheduled for Saturday (May 6), to Friday. He held a meeting at Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters where officers from the civic body and irrigation department were present.

Last year on the same day the water level was eight thousand million cubic (TMC), but now it has come down to six TMC.

An official of the irrigation department on condition of anonymity said, At least half TMC water would be needed during the Palkhi procession and half TMC water will evaporate.

Meanwhile, as the civic administration plans to implementing water cuts in the city, the opposition targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bapat on the water issue.

Congress leader Mohan Joshi said, Bapat has released more water to rural areas during the voting period to attract votes for BJP candidate in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc at the pilgrim town of Puri with wind speed in excess of 220 km per hour, the district administration still grappling with the devastation which includes damage to parts of the Jagannath temple.

So far 16 people across Odisha have been killed in the cyclone due to wall collapse, falling of trees and flying debris. But officials said the death toll may go up as rescuers are unable to reach several places of the coastal districts which are still inaccessible.

Till now we are unable to reach disconnected blocks like Krushnsprasad, Bramhagiri and Astaranga. Though we have managed to somehow clear the national highway connecting Bhubaneswar and the roads in the town, many interior roads are still inaccessible. We have pressed NDRF and ODRAF teams for the job. We have opened around 25 free kitchens in the town, said Puri district collector Jyoti Prakash Das.

For people in Puri however the words were of little consolation as sweltering heat and lack of drinking water have made their lives miserable. Officials said it would take at least a week to restore power supply in the temple town.

In Kashiharipur village on Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, housewife Pushpalata Patra said she is at her wits end on how to feed her kids.

I have lost my home to the cyclone. Theres nothing to eat and not a drop of water to drink. I am forced to buy bottled water. How do I feed my five kids, asked Patra. In Batagaon village, 70-year-old Hatu Jena wept inconsolably over thinking of ways on how to survive after his small grocery shop was blown away. How do I feed my wife and grandchildren?  asked Jena.

Also read: Towns in darkness, deserted villages: Fanis destructive trail

In Ramchandi sahi slum of Puri, 55-year-old Sushmita Sahu too was distressed over her next meal after she discovered the 10 kg of rice that she stored had turned soggy.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said his government was trying hard to help people in the aftermath of the cyclone, but conceded that the challenge was huge.

Fani is one of the rarest of rare cyclones  the first to hit in 43 years and one of three to hit in 150 years. Because of the rarity, the prediction and tracking of the cyclone was challenging. In 24 hours, one was not sure of the trajectory it was going to take. Fani after landfall, tore apart the infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply,  said Patnaik, adding that the districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh have also been affected.

In the meteorological centre of Puri, weather officials said Fani was possibly as strong as 1999 super cyclone. The anemometer in our centre broke after clocking gusts of 148 knots (274 km per hour). This was the strongest cyclone I have ever experienced in my life, said Hrusikesh Panda, the officer in charge of the weather office.

Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said getting power and mobile connectivity was a huge challenge considering that thousands of kilometres of low tension and extra high tension lines have been snapped by the cyclone and hundreds of mobile towers wrenched apart. By Monday we are trying to restore BSNL connectivity in Puri and Bhubaneswar. We are trying to restore power in large parts of Bhubaneswar by Sunday. In Puri power restoration will take at least a week, he said.

Odisha energy secretary Hemant Sharma said 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar have been completely damaged affecting 30 lakh consumers. Electricity supply will be restored in 25 per cent area of the Capital city, he said. The electric poles and uprooted trees have brought traffic to a standstill on several national and state highways.

Also read: In Puri, Cyclone Fani terrorizes residents, submerges temple town

In Bhubaneswar, the East Coast Railway officials resumed operations on Saturday by running three special trains including one to Bangalore. The Airports Authority of India resumed operations in the afternoon.

The 500 odd hoteliers in Puri who depend on tourists, said they were worried over piling losses. Laxmidhar Sahu, who owns Hotel Shakuntala on the Puri sea beach, said he cant even think of the losses. The rooms in my hotel are stinking after the cyclone swept seawater. The beds are covered with thick layers of sand. I dont know when will the officials restore power. It will take at least three months to bring my hotel back to shape, said Sahu.

The fishing community in Puri too has been hit badly. In Balinolia sahi, the fishermen were glum over their overturned boats. Earlier we never feared the sea. But after Fani, we are not even thinking of going to sea. We have never seen the sea so violent, said P Dhananjay Swami.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi said he will visit Odisha on Monday morning to take stock of the post cyclone situation.
An analysis of Pakistans air strikes against Indian Army installations along the Line of Control on February 27 by a reputed think tank indicates that while the neighbour wanted to be seen to be retaliating against the Indian Air Forces strikes in Pakistans Balakot a day earlier, it carefully planned its response to misguide its domestic audience and ensure that the conflict did not escalate into war.

A new paper published by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) on Friday said Pakistan was fully aware that it was no match for India in a conventional conflict and the air strikes were merely a demonstration of will and did not intend to target Indias military or civilian assets. The paper, titled Reality of Pakistans Counter Air Strike on February 27: A Demonstration that Failed, noted that Pakistan was encouraged by false bravado and with the intention to misguide their masses.

It said the hurried announcement about the early repatriation of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also indicated Pakistans reluctance to escalate the military situation. Varthaman was captured by the Pakistan Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down. He downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan before his plane was hit. Varthaman was released on March 1. The paper, written by CENJOWS senior fellow Group Captain GD Sharma (retd), noted that Pakistan planned its strikes at an altitude that cost them stealth and launched the attack during the day when its strike package could be easily detected.

It appears that Pakistan planned strikes at 7000-10000 feet. Clearly, this denied them stealth and also gave Indian air defence a warning time of 10-12 minutes strikes planned at lower levels could have remained undetected for a larger portion of their flight, the paper noted, questioning the strike planning. Planning of strike at 9000h-1000h is militarily illogical as strikes are planned at a time to achieve surprise. At late morning hours, air defences could be expected to be at their best performance augmented by visual observers to detect flights which escape the radar detection, it added.The paper said the PAFs objective was not to strike targets on the ground. It noted that only three F-16 attempted shallow ingress of less than 10 km and then exited with the Bison on their tail. Missing a target is difficult unless the intention is not to hit. The only inference one can draw is either poor state of training or intended drop of arsenal was not meant to hit any military or civilian target, Sharma wrote.

CENJOWS director Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), who has commanded an army division along the LoC, said the area targeted by the PAF has a high density of military and civilian population along with other installations, and its near impossible to miss a target there. The paper said it was clear that Pakistan could not afford armed conflict with India because of its precarious financial situation. At the same time, it did not want to present an impression to its masses that it has chickened out of the prospective conflict..., it added.

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A radio-tagged female Amur falcon, which flew non-stop for five days covering thousands of kilometers to reach Somalia in November last year, has returned to the Indian sub-continent on her way to her breeding area in northern China, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said on Friday.

After the long open ocean journey, the bird skirted the coastline of Diu and flew straight over to Surat instead of Mumbai, scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is currently monitoring the route of the migratory bird, said. Right now she is in Maharashtra, he added.

Longleng, a female Amur falcon named after Nagalands district was radio-tagged and arrived in Somalia on April 18 from her winter sojourn in South Africa and started her four day return passage to India on April 29 flying at a speed of 45 km per hour, the WII scientist said.

The bird was radio-tagged in October 2016 as part of projects to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

The smart small raptor weighing around 175 grams, depending upon the weather condition is likely to fly across Nagaland and Manipur for her onward journey to China via Myanmar after passing through Bangladesh, Kumar said.

It seems she is tracking Cyclone Fani, Kumar, who has tagged 10 birds over the last five years, said. So lets wait and watch her next move as Cyclone Fani is heading towards her migratory route.

Two more Falcons-Tamenglong (female) and Manipur (male), were also tagged in Tamenglong district in Manipur on November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, Manipur was found dead four days later while Tamenglong has lost contact after reaching Zambia.
Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly promoting enmity between communities on religious grounds after yoga guru Ramdev lodged a complaint against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechurys statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ramdev led a delegation of seers to submit his complaint to Haridwars senior superintendent of police (SSP) Janmejaya Khanduri.

Confirming the complaint, SSP Khanduri said, Police have received a complaint from Baba Ramdev in which he accused Yechury of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus by making derogatory remarks against Hindu mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

After receiving the complaint, Khanduri directed the local police to take required action on the complaint after which a case was registered.

Based on the complaint we have registered a case against Yechury for promoting enmity between religious communities under section 153(a) of IPC. Investigations are on, said sub-inspector Thakur Singh Rawat, in-charge of Roori-Belwala checkpost.

Earlier before lodging the complaint, Ramdev addressed a press conference along with other seers comprising ex-ShankaracharyaSwami Satyamitranand, Mahamandaleshwar Harichetnan and Maharaj during which he attacked Yechury for his statements.

By making such a statement against Hindus, he has committed a sin ob both religious and social grounds. Calling it a national crime wont be wrong, he said.

He added, Yechury whose own name comprises name of lord of Ram, should be ashamed of what he has said. He should change his name to Kans, Babar or Ravana.

Ramdev called for the boycott of communists in the country.

People should launch a protest against them in states where they are in power. They should also burn their effigies and this should continue till he offers an unconditional apology for hurting sentiments of crores of Hindus, he stated.

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Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed the central government to announce ceasefire and stalling of operations against militants in the month of Ramzan starting next week.

After two days the month of Ramzan will begin. I request government of India that J&K is a Muslim majority state. People here are already facing hardships. Ramzan is the month of prayers ...So I request the government of India to announce ceasefire like last year. Crackdowns, search operations should stop so that people of J&K could pass the month peacefully, Mehbooba told mediapersons.

Mehbooba also urged militants against attacking the security forces during the month.

Last year, the Union home ministry had announced ceasefire in Kashmir ahead of Ramzan, however, the month had witnessed a spike in militant attacks. Despite requests from then CM Mehbooba Mufti, operations against militants resumed after Ramzan ended as Centre had refused to extend the ceasefire.

...Modiji has been repeating that he believes in ideology and follows insaniyat and democracy of Vajpayee ji. And for that,... the government of India should announce ceasefire, she said. Whether it is the ban on Jamaat, JKLF, stopping of cross-LoC trade or the closure of national highway, the government of India is trying to destroy the economy of the state, she said accusing the Centre.
Facing a sharp attack by leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday offered to face a probe over allegations that his former partner in a UK-based company had acquired defence offset contracts when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power

At the same time, Gandhi called for an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the 59,000 crore contract signed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government

At a press conference, Gandhi said: Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale.

According to a news article posted on the website of Business Today magazine, the co-promoter of Gandhis UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets under the UPA regime. Ulrik Mcknight was 35% co-owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned the remaining 65%. The company, founded in 2003, was wound up in 2009. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the article claimed.

The article offered instant ammunition for leaders of the BJP, which Gandhi has doggedly pursued over the deal for 36 Rafale jet fighters signed by the NDA government, alleging that the aircraft cost three times the initial bid by Dassault Aviation, the maker of the planes, when the UPA regime was trying to buy the warplanes. He has also alleged that the deal was signed to offer an opportunity for businessman Anil Ambani of the Reliance Group to win an offset deal from Dassault. Both the NDA government and Reliance Group have denied any wrongdoing.

Defence offsets require a foreign supplier to source a certain percentage of the value of the contract from Indian sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally on Saturday: Today, I read that during UPAs tenure, one of naamdars [dynasts] business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna, aur raksha sauda bhi bada - yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha.

The Hindi quote translates loosely as: His government, his friend, even the defence deal was big. That means the cream was ready to be served to the dynast.

BJP president Amit Shah took to Twitter to attack Gandhi. Midas Touch, no deal is too much! he wrote.

When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga.

After the remarks by Modi and Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a more elaborate attack on Gandhi at a press conference. Jaitley claimed that on May 28, 2002, a company was formed in India named Backops Services Private Limited with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as its directors. On August 21, 2003, another company was formed in Britain with the same name  Backops Limited  which had Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight as directors, the minister claimed.

This in itself is quite innocent but what does Backops mean. It was not a company that was into services or manufacturing but naturally into liasioning. Its an influence-for-cash company. We will use influence to get your work done, he said.

Jaitley alleged that Mcknight was also part of Rahul jis social gang and the son-in-law of a senior Congress leader from Goa and his wife was a journalist by profession.

After Backops wound up, Mknight continued his work through different companies, including one named Optimal, Jaitley claimed. In 2011, when the French company, DCNS (former name of Naval Group), got the contract to build six Scorpene submarines in Visakhapatnam, a small Indian company  Flash Forge  acquired two companies of Ulrik. And the offset contracts of the Scorpene deal were bagged by this company, Jaitley claimed.

Hindustan Times could not independently verify any of the allegations made by the minister or the magazine article.

Referring to Congress allegations on the Rafale deal, Jaitley said the party had set in place new norms that not the law of evidence but rules set by Rahul Gandhi apply. Now those standards will apply to Gandhi himself, Jaitley said.

He demanded a response from the Congress.

Did he [Gandhi] want to start as a defence dealer, disguised defence dealer, proxy defence dealer, facilitator. What is the meaning of Backops? It is a serious issue and we would want the Congress leadership to answer it as early as possible, he said.

It is the story of a man who once aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be the prime minister. It is a serious charge, he added.

Incidentally, Backops also figured in the row over Gandhis citizenship sparked by a home ministry notice to clarify his position on a claim by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy that Gandhi had mentioned his nationality as British in annual returns filed by the company in 2005 and 2006.
Saudi Arabia is learnt to have arrested Maulana Rila, brother-in-law of the Islamic State inspired Shangri-La hotel bomber Zahran Hashim, and a colleague of his, who just goes by the name Shahnawaj, last week on the basis of inputs from Indian intelligence. Hashim was the leader of National Towheed Jamaat and chief radicaliser of the hardline salafi group responsible for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. India is believed to have provided several warnings on the attacks, including time- and location-specific details, which were ignored by Sri Lanka.

Officers in Indian security agencies say they are already in touch with their Saudi Arabian counterparts to find out on any links between the IS cadres responsible for the Sri Lanka attacks and Kasargode (Kerala)-Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) module in India, with Colombo on the verge of sending a team to Saudi Arabia.

After the Easter Day bombing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is believed to have called up the top-brass of the Tata owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) to ask them to install security scanners and metal detectors at their three properties in Sri Lanka because all the suicide bombers are still not accounted for. The IHCL owned Taj Samudra had a lucky escape on April 21 as UK educated suicide bomber Abdul Latif Mohammed Jamil entered the hotel but could not trigger the device. He later died in a blast at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala suburb with a couple also losing their lives in the blast.

For the record, Indian intelligence alerted Sri Lankan police and security agencies on April 4, 10, 16 (the day the device was tested in a motorcycle), 20 and two hours before the multiple suicide bombings on April 21, the last with the names of three churches under imminent bombing threat.

The IS inspired bombings in Sri Lanka have raised serious concerns over spread of this Islamic group in India through the virtual space as the rabid group hardly holds any territory in Syria or Iraq. IS handlers are radicalising cadres in India through cyber-identities such as Yusuf al Hindi/ Abu Hurairah (used by Indian Mujahideen absconder Shafi Armar), Sameer Ali (used by Shajeer Mangalassery of Islamic State in Khorasan Province, killed in Afghanistan), Gold Dinar (used by Abdul Rashid Abdulla, main motivator of radicals from Kerala in ISKP and Babyboy111/Snickers021/Anwer (used by Ashfaq Majeed, who hails from Karala and belonging to ISKP). Since the rise of IS in 2014, around 115 Indian nationals have been radicalised and reached various conflict zones where the group held sway.

Around 81 reached Syria, Iraq and Libya, another 34 reached Nangarhar province of Afghanistan largely. From this original group of 115, 24 died fighting in Syria and Iraq and 11 lost their lives in Afghanistan. In addition to this 35 Indians were deported to India. Around 126 individuals are under the scanner of law enforcement agencies in India with 8 Indian nationals under arrest for their affiliations in other countries. So far nine persons affiliated to Islamic State, J&K have died in encounters in the state with security forces with eight of them hailing from Valley.

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Minister of state for foreign affairs and former chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on Saturday took on the Congress, which claimed that operations across the Line of Control (LoC)  the de-facto border between India and Pakistan  by the Indian military did happen in the past as well. In a tweet, he said: ... Will you please let me know which So called surgical strike are you attributing to my tenure....

General Singh was chief of Army Staff between April 2010 and May 2012.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress both slugged it out politically, former chiefs and veterans made a clear distinction between operations in the strategic and tactical domain.

Yes, we do carry out cross the border, but these operations are tactical in nature, carried out at the initiate of local formations, there was no political clearance, a general officer, who retired as director general of military operation, said on conditions of anonymity. Importantly, the scale of the previous cross-LoC strikes were limited. The targets were single unlike the 2016 operations when multiple targets spread across an arc of 250 km were hit simultaneously, he added.

General Deepak Kapoor, who led the army between 2007 and 2010, underlined the difference between strategic and tactical level operations across the LoC.

Local or tactical level operations dont have political clearance or backing, he said and are generally done by local commanders for reasons that are completely local, whereas the magnitude of the strategic operations are much bigger in magnitude and nations use to message adversaries. By claiming the 2016 operations, the government backed the operations and therefore should get credit, he said and added, Government backing gives credibility and shows strong resolve. General Kapoor, however, had a word of caution; The Indian Army is a professional military and should be kept away from politics.

General Syed Ata Hasnain who commanded Srinagar-based 15 corps echoed a similar view. The politics around cross-border operations is unfortunate. Local operations at the initiate of senior commanders do happen. But 2016 strikes across the border or the 2019 airstrikes, had a strategic message behind them: India is capable of hitting back, he said and added Comparing the operations of the tactical domain with those in strategic domain are like comparing apples to oranges.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by raising the question of who had released the terrorist in 1999.

Saying that the strictest of action should be taken against Masood Azhar, he said, Who sent Masood Azhar to Pakistan? Did Congress send him to Pakistan? Which government negotiated with terrorism? Congress didnt send him there, he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi.

Also Read | I apologised to Supreme Court, not PM Modi. Stand by chowkidar chor hai slogan: Rahul Gandhi

The reality is that BJP compromises with terrorism. Congress has never sent anyone to Pakistan and we never will, he said.

Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist on May 1 by the United Nations Security Council. Masood Azhar was among the three terrorists who were released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers aboard flight IC-814 which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

We deal with terrorism with a strategy, not with revenge, Rahul Gandhi said while referring to the recent air strikes at Balakot in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives.

He said, if voted to power, his party would adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government has displayed.
Political parties in West Bengal enthusiastically plunged back into campaigning on Saturday after cyclone Fani lost severity upon hitting the state on Friday.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, on Friday morning, had announced the cancellation of political programmes for 48 hours and positioned herself right on the projected path of the storm in Kharagpur to monitor and coordinate relief efforts, participated in two roadshows in Ghatal and Chandrakona in West Midnapore district.

We are happy that cyclone Fani had no major impact in Kolkata and Bengal. Our campaigning schedule will follow its normal course, said Sayantan Basu, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Bengal unit.

Even when the disaster was looming, our candidates conducted door-to-door campaigns as far as possible. Saturday will be a normal day, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sujan Chakraborty. On Friday, Left candidates went door to door in Tamluk in East Midnapore district, one of the areas where the cyclone was supposed to hit the hardest.

Saturday was the last day for campaigning for seven constituencies in Bengal where polling will be held during the fifth phase on Monday.

#Odishas emergency helpline number for #CycloneFani +916742534177, Control room number of different districts:- pic.twitter.com/aMoXKgDFJf  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 3, 2019

Though the damage to the Bengal districts from cyclone Fani is yet to be documented fully, the chief minister said on Saturday morning that 12 brick-built houses were flattened and 825 houses were partially damaged. We will build them again. I have told the district magistrates, she said on Saturday morning. Mamata Banerjee also said that power supply was disrupted in some areas since electric poles were toppled on Friday night.

The state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) evacuated 42,000 people. The KMC mayor and his team of civic officials stayed awake on Friday night to meet any eventuality, said the chief minister, adding that the roads had been cleared of uprooted trees. Banerjee also expressed the hope that those evacuated would be moved back to their homes quickly.

Damage was mostly reported in the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. In some areas of West Midnapore, farmers began harvesting paddy since the wind and rain flattened the ripe crop.

Though meteorological officials said on Friday that Fani would hit Bengal as a severe cyclone between midnight and early morning, the storm lost its sting by the time it reached Bengal.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director, IMD Kolkata, said on Saturday morning that Fani will start moving into Bangladesh by 10 am.

Rain was predicted in some areas of Nadia, Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas.

Kolkata airport began operations from 8 am on Saturday after remaining closed for 17 hours.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday he will stand by his Chowkidar Chor Hai jibe as it is a reality and continue using the slogan again Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference in New Delhi that he apologised to the Supreme Court as he felt he had made a mistake.

There is a process is going on in the Supreme Court and I made a comment attributed to SC so I apologised. I did not apologise to the BJP or Modi ji. Chowkidar Chor Hai will remain our slogan, he said.

As he launched another attack on the Prime Minister, he took on the issues of unemployment and agrarian crisis and criticised Modi for insulting Indias armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi said that it is clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is losing in the Lok Sabha election 2019 and is conducting a panicky campaign.

More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing  Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections, Rahul Gandhi said.

The reality is that Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face, he said.

The main issues facing the country, he said, were unemployment and the crisis facing the farmers of the country but the Prime Minister said nothing about the concerns of the common people.

The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. The country is asking that Modi ji you promised us two crore jobs, what about that? He doesnt speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, Rahul Gandhi said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: Modijis entire strategy is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. As soon as he realises that he is not going to win then he brings something new like he brought seaplane in Gujarat.

The Congress does not politicise the army, Rahul Gandhi said, and it is not anyones property as Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned the Congress claims that the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes during its tenure.

The army, air force or navy are not the personal property of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during the UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the army, Gandhi said.

The Congress presidents remarks come a day after the Prime Minister said during a public meeting in Rajasthans Sikar that the party which questioned the surgical strikes is now saying me too, me too.

The issue of surgical strikes has been a regular refrain in PM Modis electoral speeches after the IAFs air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility at Balakot in Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF jawans had lost their lives. He had even asked the first-time voters to dedicate their vote to Balakot.
The election commission will welcome 999 centenarian voters in Himachal Pradesh with roses and other flowers at polling booths on the May 19, when the state goes to polls.

Out of about 53 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh, 999 are more than 100-year-old. They include 377 male and 622 female voters. The highest number of centenarian voters  293, including 111 males and 182 females  are in Kangra district. Lahaul Spiti district has only 5 such voters, including two males and three females, lowest in the state.

Special facilities will be provided to voters who are more than 100-year-old at polling booths, said chief election officer (CEO) Devesh Kumar.

The list of the centenarian voters also includes the name of 102 year-old Shyam Saran Negi of Kinnaur, who is said to be the first person to cast his vote in independent India on October 25, 1951.

Himachal Pradesh also has 5,775 voters with visual disability, 4,366 with hearing and speech impairment, 19,173 with locomotor disability and 8,538 with other disabilities.

The state has 53,30,154 electorate, including 27,24,111 male, 26,05,996 female and 47 third gender voters.

As many as 1,52,390 voters  82,500 males, 69,880 females and 10 third genders  will exercise their franchise for the first time.

Of the 7,730 polling booths in the state,seven have been set up for the convenience of senior citizens and differently abled voters, the CEO said.

In Kangra district, two auxiliary polling stations  in an old age home at Dari in Dharamshala and at GHS, Bara Bhangal  had been set up for the convenience old residents, he said. Another such booth would function at an old age home at Key in Lahaul-Spiti district, he said.

Key Gompa, one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries, is situated 4166 metres above sea level in the Spiti valley.

Two auxiliary polling booths have been set up in Mandi district, and one each in Shimla and Solan districts, he added.

In Mandi, the auxiliary booths had been set up in ICSA building at Sundarnagar to facilitate differently-abled voters and at Balh Bhangrotu-I, Vridhashram Bhangotu, for the convenience of old age home inmates.
Barely two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was widely seen as the party all set to end the dominance of traditional parties that had dominated the electoral politics in Punjab for decades.

Its leaders, many of them first generation politicians lured into politics by party chief Arvind Kejriwals appeal and his promise of corruption-free, transparent government, were scenting power in the state assembly polls. But, it is an entirely different story today. A sub-par performance in 2017, frequent squabbles and splits have left hurt the party badly. And, the party is a pale shadow of its former self in the state with a flagging support base and an organisational set-up in total disarray.

SHRINKING SUPPORT, LIMITED CONTEST The AAP has had to struggle to find candidates for several of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. Its poll battle is limited to just Sangrur seat from where state unit chief and sitting MP Bhagwant Mann, the partys best bet in the May 19 polls, is in the fray. The stand-up comedian-turned-politician is in a tough three-way contest with Kewal Singh Dhillon of the Congress and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa of the SAD in his re-election bid.

In almost all other constituencies except Faridkot where sitting MP Sadhu Singh is the AAP nominee, the contest is directly between the Congress and the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine or is being made triangular by other smaller outfits. The mood is not the same in most constituencies, but Mann is doing well, thanks to his rural connect and image. This is one seat where we have a strong chance and have gone all out, one of the senior-most state leaders said, requesting anonymity.

Mann, the face of the party in Punjab, is mainly caught up in his own fight and not gone out much to campaign for other candidates. A bit of a letdown from a party that had pulled off a stunning performance in the 2014 parliamentary polls in Punjab as a rookie player by winning four seats  Sangrur, Patiala, Faridkot and Faridkot  with 25% vote share.

Prof Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science, Panjab University, said the AAP was in a moribund state in Punjab because the leadership failed to build a vibrant organisation, did not develop local leadership and got hampered by lack of resources. Though it promised internal democracy and transparency, the party leadership lost its basic moral fibre by taking decisions arbitrarily, leaving those who had joined the party driven by idealism disappointed.

COMPETING AMBITIONS, FREQUENT UPHEAVALS Though the party had its share of internal squabbles from the start, things got worse after the 2017 assembly polls in which it emerged as the principal opposition party, pushing the SAD to the number three position. The Punjab leaders and their supporters blamed the central leadership, which virtually controlled the state unit, for flawed ticket distribution and not allowing the state leadership a free hand, leading to state affairs in-charge Sanjay Singhs resignation.

There was no observer for eight months even as several state leaders with competing ambitions and distrustful of each other created chaos and the party did poorly in byelections and civic polls.

Kejriwal appointed his close aide and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, but he, too, could not set the house in order.

All hell broke loose after Kejriwals apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia to settle a drug charge-related defamation case. Most of the 20 party MLAs led by leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira challenged his authority. Though a split was averted, it set off a chain

of events that led to revolt by eight of the 20 party MLAs in July 2018, demanding autonomy, when Khaira was removed from his post.

The party has been plagued by desertions since.

The Delhi chief minister, whose own charisma was the prime reason for the groundswell of support for the party, also seems to be focusing more on Haryana (his home state). However, AAPs campaign committee head Aman Arora said the state leadership was concentrating on the entire Malwa region with Sangrur being the epicentre.

He said Kejriwal would spend five days in Punjab after polling in Delhi and Haryana on May 12 to address a series of public meetings and hold a road show.
As another year marked by the global pandemic comes to an end, our photojournalists remain challenged  and, frequently, awed - by the constant state of change.



We documented our ever-evolving world in ways few photo staffs could as we all worked to regain normalcy amid COVID-19s seemingly unbreakable hold on our communities. We showed the relieved faces of people receiving a coveted vaccine, telling the story of a scientific breakthrough with images of those benefitting from it. We covered new workplace policies, school protocols and policing practices. We traveled half-way across the world to an Olympics where the athletes couldnt hug each other, masked medalists step atop the podium and no one came to watch.



The Chicago Tribune faced its own series of changes, too. We have new owners. New bosses. Endured another move. Gained new talented journalists and lost many others from the newsroom ranks. The one constant has been our dedication to providing photography on a daily basis that is relevant to the communities we cover: The joy of picnicking at the lakefront on a summer afternoon, the pain of children, police officers and neighbors all falling victims to violent crime. Documenting whos in and whos out in the political landscape, escaping to your favorite cultural event or sports competition.



We hope this installment of the annual Photos of the Year project reminds us of the moments that shaped our lives and the thoughtful way we portray them. Its also a platform for acknowledging the talent and dedication of Tribune photographers, and all photojournalists, who make change a way of life.



The Chicago Tribune staff photographers for 2021: Brian Cassella, Erin Hooley, Terrence Antonio James, Vashon Jordan Jr., John J. Kim, Youngrae Kim, Jose M. Osorio, Antonio Perez, Armando L. Sanchez, Chris Sweda, Abel Uribe, E. Jason Wambsgans, Stacey Wescott and Raquel Zaldivar.



Tribune visual editors: Mark Hume, Andrew Johnston, Marianne Mather, Steve Rosenberg and Peter Tsai.

- Todd Panagopoulos, Director of Content/Visuals
A Christian priest prays for his victory as union home minister Rajnath Singh, who has had several Muslim clerics supporting him in his bid for a second term as Lucknow MP, patiently meets everyone at the residence of his lawmaker son Pankaj Singh.

In a poll season marred by Ali vs Bajrang Bali controversy, Rajnath has blended his campaign with temple visits, sandwiched by visits to Muslim clerics and churches.

Rajnath is up against the Alliance candidate Poonam Sinha, whose daughter and actor Sonakshi Sinha and actor-turned-politician husband Shatrughan Sinha are drumming up support for her, and Congresss nominee Pramod Krishnam.

In an interview to Manish Chandra Pandey, Rajnath spoke on a range of issues including elections, patriotism and Kashmir. Excerpts:

Patriotism and nationalism have become poll talk. Congress has accused the BJP of politicising the valour of the armed forces. What is your take?

Every Indian, who values nationalism, is a patriot. Praising a commendable work undertaken in the interest of the country from poll stage doesnt come under the violation of model code of conduct. Cant we even praise our security personnel who toil so hard for the country?

Why then is the BJP being accused of politicising patriotism?

Its a baseless charge. We will praise our security forces come what may. Nothing is bigger than the country and those who guard it.

BJP chief Amit Shah has spoken of scrapping Article 370 and giving special status to J&K. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti says Kashmir would burn if that happens. What do you have to say on this as well as Omar Abdullahs two PMs statement?

We will review both Article 370 and Article 35 A of the Constitution when we return to power. It must be examined whether these instruments have helped the border state or not. We will scrap it if we find that it hasnt helped the state. So far as Omar Abdullahs two PM statement is concerned, I condemn it in strongest possible terms. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had given the slogan of Insaniyat (humanity), Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri values) and Jamhooriyat (democracy) that made him popular in the Valley. When you talk of reviewing and scrapping Article 370 and 35 A, dont you think it is contradictory to Vajpayees mantra? A: No. We remain committed to insaaf (justice) and insaniyat (humanity). Our policy is clear. Justice to all, appeasement of none and thats what we would do.

What has been the change you have witnessed in Kashmir in the last five years?

A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done. The people of Kashmir want peace and development. Under PM Modis stewardship maximum financial help has been given to the state. It needs to be seen who is blocking the states progress. This is a cause for concern. This is the first time that SP-BSP have teamed up against BJP in Lucknow where Congress has fielded a seer against you. How are you facing the challenge? Coolly. I am getting support from all sections. I have never done politics of caste, creed or religion. Our PMs motto is sabka saath, sabka vikas. Our political opponents try and create fear of BJP, marketing it as communal. But, the fact is that they create sense of fear among minorities and now, people are seeing through their game. We have initiated works and projects worth 24,000 crore for Lucknow. This will benefit all.

While poll discourse is plummeting we saw your son Neeraj touching the feet of Congress candidate in Lucknow during campaign. How do you see it?

Its nice as I myself have never engaged in politics of hate.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition at a rally in Rajasthan on Friday over a spate of complaints against him by the Congress and other parties to the Election Commission.

Modi began by greeting the crowd with the word Abhinandan, which means welcome in Hindi but is also the first name of an Indian Air Force pilot who downed a Pakistani jet in a dogfight in February, and told the crowd that the Congress was now certain to complain to the EC over a violation of the model code of conduct for uttering the word.

Then their one man or chela will go to the Supreme Court. The court will ask the EC to decide the matter in one week and then EC will say that Modi did not violate he just greeted people. The Congress would then do a press conference. They are just playing this game, Modi said in Rajasthans Sikar.

Modis comments come at a time the EC is looking at several complaints against him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah for alleged violation of the model code of conduct (MCC)  the poll watchdog has already cleared the PM in five complaints of violating the MCC.

The principal opposition party had also moved the Supreme Court, accusing the poll watchdog of inaction and prompting the top court to set Monday as the deadline for acting against the complaints.

Air Force wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman hit headlines in February after he downed a Pakistani jet during a dogfight, that came a day after Indian forces struck terror targets deep within Pakistan in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama attack that killed 40 troopers on February 14. Varthamans jet was shot and he was captured by Pakistani forces, and returned a few days later.

One of the cases in which Modi was cleared by the EC this week pertained to a speech where he referred to the air strikes in Pakistans Balakot. The EC has since issued an advisory against the use of defence personnel as a part of political campaigns and a number of BJP leaders have got into trouble for featuring Varthaman in their election posters.

The Congress was not amused by Modis comment. Modis desperation is written all over his face. Bereft of issues and lost in the web of his own lies, he is mocking the entire nation and its institutions...Such arrogance is always given a befitting reply and that reply would have a resounding impact in his defeat on May 23, said the partys chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

At a rally later in the day in Bikaner, Modi questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism, saying the party could not stop Indias share of river water flowing to Pakistan. Was it right to give our share of river water to Pakistan? he asked the gathering, adding if he came back to power, he would prioritise giving water to the states farmers. Twelve remaining seats in Rajasthan go to polls on Monday.

He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her interaction with some snake charmers in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, The PM has flagrantly violated the model code of conductHe is a repeat offender, calls for multiple gag orders.
Senior Congress leader and the partys candidate from North East Delhi, Sheila Dikshit has no regrets that the party could not stitch an alliance with AAP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress is too big a party and far too historical a party while AAP is too small and just confined to the national capital, she told Hindustan Times. Dikshit had been a sharp and loud critic of the idea of the Congress teaming up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.

Also Watch: AAP too small, BJP main rival in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit on campaign trail

Reacting to colleague and Congress candidate from the New Delhi seat Ajay Makens recent statement that had the Congress-AAP alliance materialised, the grand old party would have won all 7 Delhi seats and with margins of more than 2-3 lakhs each, she said it was his personal perception.

But we contest elections not with perceptions. We contest them because we are contesting, she added. The buzz over a possible tie-up between the Congress and AAP continued for weeks before nominations for the polls. But all speculations were put to rest when the two sides were unable to work out a seat-sharing formula for the alliance.

Sheila Dikshit is also the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi constituency and is banking on her 15-year stint as chief minister to wrest the seat from sitting BJP MP Manoj Tiwari. AAPs Dilip Pandey is the other candidate in the fray in the three-cornered contest.

I am going to compete with both of them, says Dikshit, adding that she considers BJP to be the bigger competitor as the party holds all the 7 seats in Delhi as of now. AAP only makes a lot of noise about itself, she added.

Asked how many seats the Congress would win in Delhi, she refused to speculate saying, People are beginning to evaluate the candidates in the fray. I would not like to comment on the outcome of the elections since there are about ten days left for the electoral process to be over, said Dikshit as she signed off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

The prime minister was speaking at an election rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh. He was accompanied by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi. The prime minister has election rallies in UP and Bihar scheduled for today. In Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi has two rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti, while in Bihar; he will address a public meeting at Valmiki Nagar.

Now it has become clear that the Samajwadi Party under the guise of a grand alliance has used Mayawati. They have been shrewd with her and kept her in the dark about their intentions. They also went to the extent of promising to make her the PM. Now, Behenji has realized their ploy and hence openly criticizes the Congress, PM Modi said.

Making a reference to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi sharing the stage with SP leaders he said, SP keeps very quiet when asked about the Congress and on the other hand Congress leaders are even attending SP rallies and sharing the dias with SP leaders. They should not have tricked Mayawati in such a cunning manner. She is still not able to understand how they tricked her. Truth always comes to the forefront. It cannot be hidden for too long.

The party which in the first phase of polls was portraying their leader as a PM candidate have now started confessing that they are merely there to cut votes

Cutting votes and tearing bills are the character of the Congress, the prime minister said.

Now even Congress is openly accepting that they cannot win over Modi till they malign Modis honesty and hard work, he added.

This Maha Milawati Panja is very dangerous. Whenever they have come to power, the country has had to bear a heavy price. There are five major dangers of this alliance: corruption, instability, casteism, dynastic politics and bad governance, he said.

These people do not trust outsiders and therefore just keep their family members in power. Anyone who starts to emerge as an alternative is destroyed, the prime minister said signing off.
Two weeks after 257 people were killed in suicide bombings across three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka, the churches in the city are contemplating measures to upgrade their security.

Nigel Barrett, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Bombay  the apex body for Roman Catholic churches in the city  told HT that they are planning to restrict vehicle parking 40 feet away from the church. There will also be a prohibition on haversacks and large bags being allowed inside the church premises. The decision was taken during a meeting conducted by the archbishop of Mumbai, cardinal Oswald Gracias, with priests from the Roman Catholic churches on Thursday.

Last week, the archbishop held at meeting at his house, which was attended by representatives of various churches and the Mumbai police commissioner. Based on those discussions, we decided to take these measures, Barrett said.

He added that the cardinal has also asked the priests in-charge of various churches to take all necessary security measures after consultation with the local police.

Gracias along with Maulana Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind (body of Islamic scholars), also issued a joint statement condemning the terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

Apart from causing loss of innocent lives, terrorist attacks leave an impact on the peace and harmony of society. It is the duty of all religious leaders to stand up and use all our resources to cleanse society of this evil, read the statement.
There is a distinct similarity between the 2004 campaign of Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) first prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modis 2019 campaign - they share what can perhaps be best described as a feel good factor.

But what are the elements that set the two elections, and election campaigns, apart?

For starters, any dissatisfaction with Modis performance as Prime Minister does not appear to be necessarily leading to anger directed at him. This is a big advantage for Modi during this election season. His perceived iron-fist policy on security, his projection of nationalism, and his messaging on welfare programmes, is making supporters feel good about having him at the helm. But since this is accompanied with the subtext of Hindu consolidation, it causes a counter polarity of the Muslim vote, whose imprint will be more visible this time as compared to 2014, when not a single Muslim candidate was elected from Indias largest state Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP appears to be reaping a rich harvest from its schemes to provide toilets and housing in rural areas. The relative spread of public conveniences has brought about a behavioral change, and the roof over head mantra has struck a chord. These factors kept coming up in discussions with the locals during my travels in different parts of the country over last month.

By the end of 2018, Modi faced two distinct challenges  mushrooming farm distress, and disenchanted upper castes. The farmers complained about declining profits and the upper castes resented Modis restoring the provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court. Both played a role in BJPs defeat in the December assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states.

In the last three months, Modi has managed to address both. The second instalment of ~2,000 is going into the bank account of farmers even as India is still voting, and the 10% quota in jobs and education to the poor among the general category has changed the mood among the BJPs upper-caste supporters.

Also, the corruption charges that the Opposition threw at him with its chowkidar chor hai slogan, have managed to get only a limited response in most parts. On the ground, Modis image remains his strongest draw.

Notwithstanding this background, a question needs to be asked: Can Modi lose, like Vajpayee did despite his high personal popularity?

To answer this, a comparison needs to be drawn between the BJP of 2004 and 2019. The partys character has evolved since 2004, and how it has modified its campaign for different states makes the Modi of today different from the Vajpayee of 15 years ago. The BJP, too, has grown in size over the last five years.

The story of 2019 lies in Modis ability to keep Indias most backward communities, particularly in UP and Bihar, invested in him. He is winning new support from Dalit groups as well. Both these are different from Vajpayees support base in 2014.

With some exceptions, my trips indicated that there isnt too much dent in the support that Modi received in 2014  171.6 million votes to be precise. His challenge is to get the same number of seats as last time when Opposition unity is greater.

The upper-castes remain with him, so does the umbrella coalition of smaller caste groups that appears to identify better with Modi than with regional players in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These are the two bellwether states accounting for 120 Lok Sabha seats. Modi has also achieved this by altering his speeches in a way that touches the different set of constituents in different states. The BJP has carefully avoided a one size fits all campaign, a trap in which many other political parties find themselves caught in.

In West Bengal, the BJP tapped the nationalist space and talked about Mamata Banerjees pro-Muslim. The decline of the Congress and the Left helped it emerge as the main opposition. If Modi speaks of development and roads in Jharkhand, a tribal state that suffered on account of political instability for years, he goes out of the way to display soft Hindutva with an aarti on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi.

The Balakot air strike and corruption remain common refrains in his speeches. This has helped him traverse the journey from leading a suit boot ki Sarkar to emerge as a socialist leader whose welfare programmes touch a billion people.

If an India Shining moment sank Vajpayee, Modi chose to be careful in articulating that his ek bharat, shrestha bharat (one India, best India) was a work in progress that may need a second shot in power to be complete.

When the results are out on May 23, Modi could well prove that feel good is not a bad phrase in politics.

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The Bihar State Minorities Commission has requested the government to ensure a better civic amenities like water, electricity supplies and cleanliness in state capital, especially in the areas having high Muslim population during the month of Ramzan.

In a letter written to the urban development department, the Bihar State Minorities Commission has asked the department to make proper water supply facility in these areas especially at the time of Sehri (pre-dawn meal).

Sehari is consumed before the dawn breaks by the people who observe Roza or the day long fast during Ramzan and is considered obligatory for the people on fast. The month long festival is to begin in couple of days.

Often, the Sehri is observed at around 3 AM and during the time there is no water in the tap in many households in our city, as the municipal corporation starts supplying water at 6 AM, Prof Md Yunus Hussain Hakim, chairman of Bihar State Minorities Commission, said.

Faroque Zaman, an official from the Bihar State Minorities Commission, said that a large population in the city is still dependent upon government water supply facility.

Considering their conveniences and requirements, the minorities commission has reminded

the urban development to ensure uninterrupted water supply, especially at the time of Sehri, he said. There are many areas in the city with substantially higher Muslim population which include Aalamganj, Sultanganj, Patna City, Sabzi Bagh colony, areas around Gol Ghar, Samanpura, Raja Bazaar, Deegha, Danapur, Maner, Zaman said.

Masod Iqbal, a local from Sultanganj locality, said water and electricity supplies in areas like Sultanganj, Aalamganj and Patna city often remain disrupted. Instances of demonstrations, demanding to restore and regularise the water and electricity supplies are very common here. People demonstrate to press for the demands, he said.

Irregular water supply is a big problem here and may prove to be very inconvenient for the local Muslims during Ramzan, he said.

The minorities commission official said that Muslims are also concerned about the polling in Patna Sahib and Patliputra Lok Sabha constituencies. Visiting polling booth is not a big problem, but standing in queue for hours to cast votes while being on fast may prove to be difficult for many. Its the peak summer season and even those who are not observing fast, prefer not to go outdoors during the daytime, he said. The best thing is polling is to start at early morning, he added.

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Taking serious cognisance of the Thursday drowning incident that claimed the lives of three MBA students, Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud, on Friday decided to send alert messages on social media platforms to students. The messaging service will contain various measures that the students must keep in mind before planning an excursion.

Vernekar said, The college administration is in constant touch with the family members of the deceased students. We have extended all possible assistance to the bereaved families.

Giving details about the alert messaging service, Vernekar said, Considering the incident that took place on Thursday, we have now decided to send an alert message to all the students starting Friday. The messages will be sent on WhatsApp, phone message and email. The message will contain precautionary measures and dos and donts that the students must take before they plan an excursion. We will also ask the students to avoid going near dams, rivers and unknown water bodies.

Sachin Vernekar, dean, Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed to be university), Kothrud. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Besides that, for every new batch that joins the institute, we have organised an induction programme for both students and parents. As many students come from different places, they either stay at the college hostel or private residences. I would personally address the programme and inform them about the safety measures and their responsibilities while pursuing their education here. We will also take regular counselling sessions for students.

Talking about the incident, Vernekar said, The ten students who had gone to Mulshi dam were not residing at the college hostel. They did not have any restrictions and hotel deadlines. No such excursions are planned by the college and the students had gone on their own. The incident is extremely unfortunate.

Vernekar said, When we were informed about the incident on Thursday morning, a team from the college, including senior management officials, rushed to the spot. I was continuously following up with the college administration until all the bodies were recovered and their family members reached Pune.

The dean said that when the institute officials spoke to the other seven students who were in that group, they said that they have been to Mulshi dam several times in the past and were familiar with the nearby areas.

The students said that only Shubham Raj Sinha and Shiv Kumar knew how to swim and they rushed to rescue Sangita Negi. However, it was very unfortunate that all three of them drowned, Vernekar said.

Alert messages will carry precautionary tips

1. Carry safety equipment along with you on picnics/outings.

2. Carry preventive medicine/drugs

3. Keep your parents informed

4. Do not go with unknown persons and to unknown area

5. See that you are back home/PG/hostels by 10 pm

6. Read and follow safety signs

7. Follow traffic rules

8. Wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler

Students say

Though I have not met the victim students personally, I am shocked. We are a group of eight boys and, after this tragic incident, we have decided to not plan any excursion near an unknown water body.

Abhijit Koturwar , 1st year MA student

It was an unfortunate incident. The students should think about their family members before planning an excursion that involves a risk of any kind. They must inform their parents about their whereabouts at all times.

Sarita Anand, first year master in social work student

We must always carry safety equipment when we go for an excursion. If the outing involves trekking, one must carry a rope and a torch. These equipment can help during crisis and also save lives.

Suraj Devkar, second year MA student

We have the right to know the truth about Shivs death

The bodies of the three MBA students who drowned at Mulshi dam were kept at the dead house (morgue) of Sassoon General Hospital, before it were handed over to their family members on Friday.

The body of Shiv Kumar, one of the deceased, was collected by his father Gopal Krishna Kumar and uncle Bantu Sharma.

An inconsolable Sharma said, We would like to know if the incident was an accident or was he pushed into the deep waters. His friends at the college are not divulging any details. We at least have the right to know the truth.

Speaking about Shiv, Sharma said, He was loved by one and all and completed his graduation in commerce. He even won gold medals in academics. He was an ex-student of GLA university, which is considered as a top university in Uttar Pradesh.

We have not informed our family members about the incident. They have been told that Shiv is in the intensive care unit (ICU). I can imagine my sisters condition after knowing that her son is no more. She would be devastated.

Kumar, who is a police officer at Mathura, said, I was posted on election duty in Dholpur, Uttar Pradesh. I was unaware of the incident. As soon as I received information about the incident I rushed to Pune with my brother-in-law. I have three children and Shiv was the eldest. The youngest is disabled and my daughter is 17-years-old. I never thought that such an incident will happen with my son. My family members have not been informed yet. This is a very difficult time for us. Shiv was a brilliant student and has been residing in Pune for only one year.
HIV-suppressing medication can make the AIDS virus untransmittable even among couples who have sex without using condoms, new research showed Friday.

The Europe-wide study monitored nearly 1,000 gay male couples over a period of eight years, where one partner was HIV-positive and receiving antiretroviral (ART) treatment, while the other was HIV negative.

Doctors did not find a single case of in-couple HIV transmission within that time, raising hopes that widespread ART programmes could eventually end new infections.

Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero, said Alison Rodger, from University College London, who co-led the research published in The Lancet.

They support the message... that an undetectable viral load makes HIV untransmittable. This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face.

Researchers estimate that ART prevented around 470 HIV transmissions within couples during the study period.

HIV and the fatal illnesses it provokes remain one of the worlds largest health crises despite much progress in recent years.

More than 21 million people currently receive regular ART medication, which suppresses the virus - only around 59% of global HIV sufferers. The authors of the study noted several limitations, including that the average age of the HIV-negative men was 38. Most HIV transmissions occur in people aged under 25.

Individuals currently on ART must take medication almost every day for the rest of their lives, and treatment is often disrupted for a variety of reasons.

But the fact that couples can have unprotected sex for years without passing on the virus was still worth noting, experts said.

Timely identification of HIV-infected people and provision of effective treatment leads to near normal health and virtual elimination of the risk of HIV transmission, said Myron Cohen, from the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases.

Yet maximising the benefits of ART has proven daunting: fear, stigma, homophobia, and other adverse social forces continue to compromise HIV treatment.

The study shows that we can pass the message there is no risk, said Aurelien Beaucamp, the head of the French lobby group Aides.

The UN goal is for 90% of HIV-positive people to know their status by 2020. Of these, at least 90% must receive ART, and the HIV virus be suppressed in 90% of those. AIDS has killed 35 million people since it emerged in the 1980s and 78 million people have been infected with HIV.

There were 1.8 million new HIV infections, down from 1.9 million in 2016 and 3.4 million at the peak of the epidemic in 1996, according to UNAIDS. The number of deaths dropped by 50,000 year-on-year to 940,000, compared to 1.9 million in 2005 when a mere 2.1 million infected people had access to life-lengthening ART.

But for this, money is needed. And the global effort is short about $7 billion (six billion euros) per year, according to UNAIDS.

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Actor and comedian Kapil Sharma is all set to welcome his mother on The Kapil Sharma Show. The actor has released a teaser of the upcoming Mothers Day special episode in which he can be seen introducing his mother, Janak Rani to the audience. He captioned the teaser on his Instagram account, This weekend. The one n only #superstar my mother #mothersday special #love #blessings #mother.

In the teaser video, Kapil can be seen making the viewers emotional by welcoming his mother on stage, who is seen in a midi dress. He says that whole world asks a man about his salary, a mother asks her child if he has eaten food or not. He also reveals that his mother is usually present on the sets of the show. She says in the clip, It feels nice to watch him.

Badhaai Ho actors Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao will also be seen on the show this weekend. The promo shows comedian Kiku Sharda cracking a joke on the meaning of Gajrajs name. He says, Gajraj Rao ji, mujhe aapka naam bahot pasand aaya. Gaj matlab haathi (elephant). Haathi jo hota hai, woh uttpaatt machaata hai. Film mein, dekhiye, aap ne bhi machaa diya. As Neena Gupta, judge Archana Puran Singh and rest of the audience burst out laughing, an embarrassed Gajraj covered his face.

Kapil tied the knot with Ginni Chatrath in twin ceremonies in December 12 in Jalandhar. This was followed by three wedding receptions in Amritsar, Mumbai and Delhi. All from actors Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar to Rekha had attended the star-studded party in Mumbai.

Also read: Priyanka Chopras brother Siddharths fiance deletes all proof of bridal shower, roka ceremony from Instagram

Kapil was missing from action for several months as recovered from his ill health. He had attended the Drug Free India event in Chandigarh a few months ago and had spoken about his experiences of dealing with alcoholism. A source had told DNA, Kapil spoke about how he was consumed by the bottle. He recalled seeing his mother break down. Thats when he decided to kick the habit.

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My two sons who are involved in this and I have been in business now for nine years and weve been doing a lot of local county fairs and such and decided to branch out, Pomales said. Were in a spot where wed like to expand and people from Illinois have been coming out for so long to get our food, we thought it was time we brought it to them.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globes top three atomic powers.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each others intentions, arms control advocates say.

Trump cited the expense of keeping up the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a motivating factor behind wanting to limit how many weapons are deployed.

Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now, he said.

Trump said China during trade talks had felt very strongly about joining the United States and Russia in limiting nuclear weapons.

So I think were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves maybe to start off, and I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about non-proliferation, well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind, and I think itll be a very comprehensive one, he said.

The New START treaty required the United States and Russia to cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades, and limit delivery systems - land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

It also includes extensive transparency measures requiring each side to allow the other to carry out 10 inspections of strategic nuclear bases each year; give 48 hours notice before new missiles covered by the treaty leave their factories; and provide notifications before ballistic missile launches.

Trump has called the New START treaty concluded by his predecessor, Barack Obama, a bad deal and one-sided.

The Kremlin said the two sides confirmed they intended to activate dialogue in various spheres, including strategic security.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, briefly talked about the report by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Putin seemed amused, said Trump.

He said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain, and it ended up being a mouse. But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. Pretty much thats what it was, he said.

The Kremlin said the call was initiated by Washington. It said the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts on different levels and expressed satisfaction with the businesslike and constructive nature of the conversation.

With the United States concerned about a Russian military presence in Venezuela at a time when Washington wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, Trump told Putin the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin told Trump that any external interference in Venezuelas internal business undermines the prospects of a political end to the crisis, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump cancelled a summit meeting with Putin late last year after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on Nov. 25 and arrested 24 sailors. Putin also told Trump that the new leadership in Ukraine should take steps to solve the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said.

Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has yet to agree to a disarmament deal.

Sanders said Trump mentioned several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. The Kremlin said both leaders highlighted the need to pursue denuclearisation of the region.

During an April summit with Kim in Vladivostok, Putin expressed Russian support for a gradual process of trading disarmament for sanctions relief.
North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east on Saturday morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Koreas joint chiefs of staff.

The joint chiefs of staff said Korea and U.S. authorities are analysing details of the missile, which was fired at around 9 a.m., Yonhap said.

The joint chiefs of staff were not immediately available for comments, while South Koreas presidential spokeswoman said they were checking the report.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
School teachers have found a unique way to ensure their students behave in class. They are threatening to reveal key plots of the highly anticipated film Avengers: Endgame that had a massive opening this weekend.

With most students yet to watch the film, the threat by teachers is proving to be an effective step to keep students in line according to posts by users on Reddit and Twitter.

In the past week, various Reddit and Twitter users have posted pictures and videos showcasing an innovative strategy employed by their teachers: using the threat of spoilers as a way to ensure students behave well in class and stay focused.

One humorous and devious photo showed a substitute chemistry teacher allegedly writing letter-by-letter of a sentence that allegedly spoils part of the movie, whenever students spoke out of turn in the class

Another post from a Twitter user explained how a fellow classmate chose to answer every question to a recent assignment with a spoiler from the film, leaving the teacher unable to grade it.

According to Business Insider and as cited by People, New York high school teacher Rebecca Shamsian shared that she first began threatening her students with spoilers, after one of them accidentally said that he hadnt seen the film yet.

When that same student spoke up in class later that day, Shamsian said that she told him that if he didnt stop distracting people right now, I would tell him an Endgame spoiler.

She couldnt believe how effective the tactic proved to the students.

I could see his eyes widen, and immediately he closed his mouth and turned towards the assignment. I have literally never seen such an instantaneous result with a student, she shared. Needless to say, the rest of the period was perfectly on task.

Although not everyone may agree with this method, Shamsian said its particularly difficult to keep students engaged in whats going on in the classroom as summer break approaches.

When the weather is warm and the years almost over, the usual method of reminding them that their grade will be affected, or warning that you will call home, doesnt make an impact, she said. But the one thing I know my students care about is Endgame.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few showers early, becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Mary Jo Viero, who also works for BAPA, grew up in the neighborhood, as did her husband. When they moved back as adults, they had a four-level Tudor home. But as her father-in-law became dependent on a wheelchair, it was too difficult for him to maneuver throughout the home. They had a new Tudor home built a few blocks away, which melds with the neighborhood, but has an open floor plan and an accessible bathroom in a first-floor bedroom suite.
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"Just because someone believes differently than another, it is not cause to hate them. Our places of worship are the least places where we expect someone to attack and take innocent lives," Fakhruddin said.
Swiac said one of her first patients was discharged on her rotations last day. The patients gratitude "gave me a picture of what it would be like to be a nurse," she said, figuring working in obstetrics and delivery or the emergency room would be "a good place to use my critical thinking."
Rebranding

3 May 2019

Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Fountains Hotel in Cape Town announce the rebranding of the Fountains Hotel.

With 156 guest rooms and suites, the Best Western Fountains Hotel is located in the heart of Cape Town's central business district. Ideal for both business and leisure travelers, the hotel offers a choice of comfortable bedrooms, the majority with views over the harbour, the bustling Thibault Square or Table Mountain.

The hotel boasts a range of rooms, with air-conditioning, safe, coffee-and-tea making facilities, satellite TV's, mini-bars and complimentary WiFi. The restaurant offers a sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner all in convenient buffet style, whilst 24-hour room service is available as well. Breakfast includes international as well as cooked South-African choices, freshly baked bread, rolls, pastries all from their in-house bakery as well as a range of fruits and yoghurts.

Cape Town, South Africa's Mother City, and the location of the established Best Western Cape Suites, is renowned for its pleasant climate. The city offers many memorable experiences including the famous Table Mountain, a stroll around the city centre or to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, Cape Town's most visited tourist destination, whilst the Cape Town International Convention Centre is a mere 500 meter walk from the hotel.
Now Open

4 May 2019

AC Hotels by Marriott, AC Hotels by Marriott, a design-led European lifestyle hotel brand from Marriott International, recently announced the opening of the AC Hotel Lima Miraflores, located in the Miraflores district with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

AC Hotels by Marriott celebrates the beauty of classic modern design with its European soul and Spanish roots, born from the signature vision of the renowned hotelier Antonio Catalan, who founded the brand in 1998 and grew it into one of the most respected hotel brands in Spain. Following its success in Europe, a joint venture was formed with Marriott International in 2011, which has since launched AC Hotels by Marriott globally in France, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and now Peru. The new AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is the second AC Hotel by Marriott in South America.

On the other hand, Jorge Melero, CEO of Intursa (Tourism National Investments) - partner of Breca and Marriott International in Peru - shared that the investment made for this project in Lima amounted to roughly $28.9 million dollars. This new project is part of a franchise deal with Marriott International.

The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores is 18 stories high and has 150 rooms, 11 suites and 2 meeting rooms with a total area of 882 square feet and a capacity of 90 people. The hotel is also surrounded by boutiques, trendy restaurants and other local attractions. AC Kitchen serves European inspired dishes and the hotel's trendy AC Lounge offers guests a chic, open and comfortable ambiance, ideal for socializing. The AC Hotel Lima Miraflores also has a rooftop with beautiful views of the city.

AC Hotels by Marriott is a brand with a new understanding of the hotel industry, a modern design and constant evolution in its services, aiming to offer its guests surprising experiences. It allows travelers to know the quality of Marriott International hotels at affordable prices in some of the most interesting cities in the region and promising destinations.

Based on the idea that purposeful design improves lives, AC Hotels by Marriott carves away what is unnecessary, in order to provide guests with thoughtfully designed moments of beauty; experiences that elevate their stay and help them focus on what is important to them. The result is sophisticated yet unpretentious style, innovative food and beverage programming with locally inspired experiences for both guests and locals.

AC Hotel Lima Miraflores will provide employment to over 98 people and create approximately 120 jobs, said Juan Antonio Sanchez. "I've estimated that the hotel will be 60 percent occupied by the corporate segment and the remaining by conventional tourists, a segment that has been growing steadily," added Juan Antonio Sanchez.

Lima is one of the most important cities in South America, which continues to grow in tourism as a business hub and as the gastronomic capital of America. Thanks to its Convention Centers, international tourism has grown in the city.
The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension.

The first Clarion Pointe hotel opened today in Sulphur Springs, Texas, less than eight months after Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) launched the Clarion brand extension. The new select-service hotel combines the premium elements guests desire with an affordable travel experience and builds on the company's eight decades of expertise in the midscale segment.T

he 72-room Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs features custom murals showcasing popular Sulphur Springs attractions in each room, a brand hallmark that brings the hotel's location to life for every guest. Located at 411 East Industrial Drive, the new hotel is near Interstate 30 and well-known local attractions, including Hopkins County Veterans Memorial, Coleman Park, Main Street Theatre, and The Hopkins County Museum and Heritage Park.

"Clarion Pointe came to life faster than any brand in the company's history, and the first hotel in Sulphur Springs is proof of this powerful select-service conversion concept," said Anne Smith, vice president, brand management, design and compliance, Choice Hotels. "Choice continues to lead and shape the midscale space to meet the needs of franchisees and guests alike. Since unveiling our Clarion Pointe extension in September of last year, the brand has been in high demand."



Nearly 30 Clarion Pointe hotels are expected to open and 10 are planned for this year, including in Medford, Ore.; North Charleston, S.C.; Oklahoma City; and Rochester, N.Y. Influenced by the Clarion brand promise of creating environments for people to connect and socialize, Clarion Pointe allows guests to maximize their travel experience with "focal pointes," including:

Contemporary design touches, including signature murals in guest rooms and the lobby that reflect local points of interest.

Curated food and beverage, like free premium coffee and tea from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as free breakfast with fresh and nutritious items. Craft beer and select wines, juices and smoothies, and small bites are available for purchase in the hotel's marketplace.

On-demand connectivity that lets guests stream content from their mobile devices onto 49-inch TVs with casting capabilities and free streaming-strength Wi-Fi.

Modern fitness space featuring cardio equipment and a strength-training station.

"The interest in Clarion Pointe gives us a solid foundation for growth in the years ahead," said Tom Nee, vice president, franchise development, Choice Hotels. "Clarion Pointe is ideal for owners who want a hotel concept that resonates with today's travelers, from a company that's proven successful in the midscale segment. Owners gain access to Choice's extensive resources, from in-market support and help with the conversion process, to tools that assist with improving ongoing daily operations."

The new Clarion Pointe Sulphur Springs was developed by Helm Hotels Group, a family-owned company with over 35 years of experience in Texas.

"Our years of hospitality experience coupled with Choice's invaluable resources and established brands makes us excited to be at the forefront of the new Clarion Pointe brand," Charles Helm, Owner, Helm Hotels Group. "We know guests will love the brand, which offers a premium local experience, and all of the amenities to make for a great and memorable trip."

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The chaos surrounding the vicious murder of Nipsey Hussle is beginning to subside as mourners continue to grieve and celebrate the life and legacy of the rapper. Brooklyn-born rapper and former gang member China Mac rocked him "prolific" pullover as he sat down with Vlad TV to discuss Nipsey's death and the impact it's had on hip hop and pop culture.

There's no mistaking that Nipsey has gone from an independent rap star to a household name, but unfortunately, it was his death that made millions aware of who he was as a businessman, philanthropist, and community leader. According to China Mac, Nipsey's death is one of the most significant moments in history and it's reverberated globally and brought people into a higher vibration.



Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

"That's crazy," he says of the Staples Center maxing out tickets for Nipsey's funeral. "Because of that, I say his death was more powerful than say, Malcolm X. It was more profound. 'Cause you just look at...when Malcolm X died, it wasn't really much. A lot of people was hurt. A lot of people loved Malcolm but it wasn't...when Nipsey died he's selling out the stadium. You got the ex-President saying something. You have gangs unifying. You got people from all over the world traveling to the place where he got murdered at and showing love."

"I just feel like Nipsey's death...I just feel like it's a powerful...it's powerful and it's great for our generation to see something like that," he said. "Because the last person to have that type of effect was a Malcolm or a Martin [Luther King, Jr.]. And that was a long time ago. So for somebody to stand for something positive and stand for the community and to have this happen..." he expressed as his thoughts trailed off.

"Like I said, I feel like yo, it's a sad thing," he continued. "Nobody wants to see anybody go. It's always sad when it happens like that, but at the same time, I feel like that it was powerful. I feel like...he's the type of person that if he could choose, if he could have made a decision [to] end like this but you make this type of impact and you make this type of movement, or you just don't do nothing and you end like this, you live a longer life and whatever. I don't know him, but I would think he would make the choice like, 'Aight, I'mma go like this.' Like a martyr."

China Mac goes on to say that now Nipsey's message is "loud and clear" and will continue to have a lasting impact on communities, artists, and fans worldwide. Watch his entire message below.
Joe Biden's found himself in some hot water, once again. The Democratic nominee has been on his campaign in an attempt to lead the Dems into the White House during the next election. However, he's been dealing with a few controversies in recent times that might impact his chances in the election. Most recently, his comments about his trek to the "hood" have left many wondering just how out of touch he actually is.

Joe Biden's looking to win over the votes of the African-American community but as a politician, referring to inner-city communities as "the hood" is probably not the best way to go about it. During a stop on his campaign trail in Iowa, the former vice president spoke about the efforts to evolve the economy in cities such as Detroit which is when he brought up how he went to the hood to teach women of color how to code.

"Through a program, we had through community colleges, we said look, put together a program for us where we could teach people how to code, he said. "We went out, literally into the hood, and they found, turns out, 54 [people], they happened to be all women, the vast majority were women of color, no more than a high school degree, aged 25-54, and a third of them only had GEDs.

According to the Washington Examiner, there was an audible yikes from an audience member but his overall point was met with applause.
It's public knowledge that the Kardashian-Jenner crew make bank from social media posts, but the exact number of what they receive for peddling products hasn't been confirmed. However, court documents revealed just how much companies are willing to pay to have Kim Kardashian West pose with their items on Instagram.

Kim has sued Missguided USA clothing company for illegally using her image and likeness to sell their products. Back in February, Business Insider reported that Kim filed a complaint against the company, accusing them of "unlawful misappropriation" by stating, "Like other 'fast fashion' companies, Missguided ... has become notorious for 'knocking off' the clothing worn by celebrities like Kardashian."

"But Missguided does not merely replicate the looks of these celebrities as seen on red carpets, in paparazzi photos, and in social media posts," the complaint goes on to say. "Missguided systematically uses the names and images of Kardashian and other celebrities to advertise and spark interest in its website and clothing."

Also in the documents are details regarding how much Kim charges for her social media posts, and it states that the business mogul receives $300K to $500K per Instagram post. Although there are plenty of companies who are willing to write out a check for Kim to help them promote their products, the documents say that Kim regularly turns down offers because she doesn't want to be associated with the brand.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star claims that her personal brand is being damaged by the association so she's suing for $10 million. According to The Fashion Law, as of April 1, Missguided hasn't responded to the lawsuit.
A video of the violent arrest of a black woman who called the police for help has gone viral. Loving, the victim involved in the brutal arrest, stated to have called the police on March 5th following an altercation with her white neighbor who then allegedly went onto making shooting threats and yelling racial slurs. According to The Daily Beast, the mother of three felt menaced and called the police as she feared for her safety. Upon the police's arrival, Loving states to have been questioned vehemently and then physically assaulted by officer Alejandro Giraldo and three others. The latter is said to have occurred after Loving requested "to make contact with her children."

The viral video depicts the Miami police officer violently arresting Loving by first slamming her against a metal fence. Furthermore, the brutal assault continues with the officer placing the 26-year old in a headlock and forcing her onto the ground. The entire thing was captured on video and resulted in a public outcry. As such, recent reports by the Daily Beast now affirm that Giraldo has since been charged on two counts: third-degree official misconduct and a misdemeanor count of first-degree battery.

In response to Giraldo's arrest, Loving adds: "Im happy that officer Giraldo has been charged, but it does seem like its a slap on the wrist. And what about the other officers who were there? They should be held accountable for what they did to me too."

[Via]
After sweeping Nigeria's NET Honours 2019, with numerous trophy, wins based on national polling results, Tiwa Savage is ready to make her splash on the Global stage. Say what you will about the commercialization of music in the 20th cent. and beyond, but those who love Afrobeats took an interest long before it became a commodity.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1123890671570575362



As of this week, Nigerian phenom has been snapped up by Universal Music Group in what they're calling a "global recording dealing" similar to the contracts signed by WizKid and Davido not too long ago. In addition to the big three garnering the interest of the big multinationals, Warner Music Group recently struck a deal with an entire Nigerian music factory, the "Chocolate City" label based out of Lagos (with offices in Abuja and Nairobi, Kenya). Tiwa Savage expressed her delight in a message issued to the international press.

My biggest goal is to make Africa proud, said Savage in a statement. Im so excited for this moment and Im thankful to [UMG CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge and my new UMG family for their belief in my dreams. Im looking forward to this next chapter in my career and Im more ready than I have ever been."

As for the NET Honours gala that took place late last month, the following is a rundown of who in Nigeria is gaining the most attention on social media. It's no secret Nigerian spend a lot of their downtime on the Internet, so these polling results reflect the popularity dynamics in the more urban sections of the country.

NET Honours 2019 Winners

Most Searched Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Searched Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Male Musician  Wizkid

Most Popular Female Musician  Tiwa Savage

Most Popular Actor  Jim Iyke

Most Popular Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Searched Actor  Odunlade Adekola

Most Searched Actress  Mercy Aigbe

Most Popular Couple  Davido and Chioma

Most Popular Media Personality -Tosyn Bucknor (RIP)

Most Searched Media Personality  Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

Most Popular Person  President Muhammadu Buhari

Most Popular Comedian  Alibaba

Most Popular African Celebrity  Juliet Ibrahim

Most Popular Global Celebrity  Kim Kardashian

Most Popular Event  Big Brother Naija 2018

Top Big Brother Naija Star 2018  Tobi Bakre

[Via]
Munster High School has advanced into the top 50 of the Vans Custom Culture Competition to earn a chance to compete for a grand-prize of $75,000 for the school art program. As part of the contest the Vans corporation sent two white pairs of Vans shoes that students drew on and customized along two themes. The first theme is Local Flavor and the second is Off the Wall. The top 50 designs in each category are voted upon by the public with the top five schools receiving monetary prizes ranging from $10,000-$75,000. The public can cast their vote at https://customculture.vans.com. The money would go toward the development of a Digital Design suite within the school specifically geared to the needs of the art department. If Munster were to field a winning entry, specialty shoes would be produced for the design team and a school wide-BBQ would be held with a mystery musical guest flown in to perform for students and staff.
The way to get a company to respond to a complaint is to boycott, and in this social media generation, if you can get something to go viral, you may even get an apology. Earlier this year, Gucci found itself on the wrong side of rapper T.I. after they released an item of clothing that was deemed to be racist. Many people said the balaclava sweater resembled a Golliwog, a black caricature that has black skin, frizzy hair, and large, bright red lips, and they called the company out for allegedly being racist.

Following the backlash, T.I. hopped on social media to not only announce that he would be boycotting the brand, but also to urge others to do the same. "As a 7 figure/yr customer &long time supporter of your brand I must say...Yall GOT US f*cked UP!!! APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED," he wrote. "Our culture RUNS THIS SH*T!!! We (People of color) spend $1.25 TRILLION/year (but are the least respected and the least included)and if we stop buying ANYTHING they MUST correct any and ALL of our concerns. Thats THE ONLY WAY we can get some RESPECT PUT ON OUR NAME!!!!"

For the last few months, there have been a few celebrities who have followed suit, while others haven't taken the boycott seriously. In a recent interview with Ebony, Waka Flocka Flame and his wife Tammy Rivera shared their thoughts on the Gucci boycott. "A lot of stuff that we claim that's 'for blacks' from schools to books we read to lifestyles...it's not owned by a black person," Waka said. "So how can it be for blacks? I'm just being real. And I know that, so anytime I see cappin' going on, I'm gon' check it."

"And nobody can blame kids for wearing it," he continued. "I snap when I see a guy like me [wearing it]. We know, bro. We grown men. Now, to see a younger kid, like a young thug have it on, that's different. He a thug. He younger. It takes somebody like me to [say], 'Yo, bro you know that's uh...nine times out of ten, when I call them and say it, they be like, 'Whoa, big homie, for real? Man that's crazy. I ain't even know that.' People don't know."

"Like, women don't know why they wear high heels...It was made for men to have an arch, but that's different. But it becomes fashion today," he shared. Waka also says that it's hypocritical for someone to tell others not to wear certain designers because of racism or bigotry if they're wearing high fashion that mirrors exactly what they're against. "I would love for other people to know things," he said. "We just need high fashion black people. That's all I'm saying. [If] you're a black man, you should go to high fashion black men, that's all I'm saying. You wonder why the pants slippin' off your ass. 'Cause they're not made for you."
This weeks Texas Inc. is a salute to the 51st annual Offshore Technology Conference, which is bringing tens of thousands of the energy industrys best and brightest to the worlds energy capital.

Well be keeping an eye on attendance as a pulse on the industry. The conference at NRG Park once drew more than 100,000 visitors, but by last year, it had fallen to 61,300.

Oil prices have risen this year, but we just dont have the $100 a barrel oil that the industry came to expect about five years ago. Drilling offshore is expensive. And theres plenty of juice flowing from land, where its cheaper to drill and more efficient to produce thanks to fracking technology.

Themes at OTC this year center around lowering costs and using more renewable energy sources on offshore rigs.

The industry is looking for exploration and production opportunities that are lower cost, OTC chairman Wafik Beydoun Beydoun told reporter L.M. Sixel. At the same time, you have more societal and environmental awareness both onshore and offshore.  We have more than a dozen including offshore wind.

Energy reporter Jordan Blum details the many ways the offshore oil and gas industry is looking to trim expenses.

The offshore sector globally has been challenged by cheap sources of oil and gas, Vaseem Khan, vice president of global engineering for McDermott International, the Houston engineering and construction firm, told Blum. I dont like the phrase cutting costs. What were doing is removing waste from the industry.

Removing waste. Cutting costs. Its just semantics. If oil sells for less than it costs to produce, drilling for it is not a viable business.

Adding to the costs are increasing regulations as the nations around the world demand solutions to climate change.

Our columnist Chris Tomlinson skillfully argues that the OTC crowd is not paying enough attention to the threats it faces.

The dirty, big secret that only attracts brief mentions and side-long glances at OTC is greenhouse gas regulation, and the worlds need to slash carbon dioxide emissions, Tomlinson writes As the climate changes and people around the world demand action, the oil industry generally--and offshore drilling specifically--face near extinction without adaptation.

It something we must all adapt to eventually. But this week lets learn all we can from OTC. If it werent for the industry, Houston would likely still be a swamp.

Welcome to Texas Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- The National Transportation Safety Board will evaluate a range of factors that could help explain how a Boeing 737-800 plane arriving from Cuba slipped into a river after skidding off a runway in Florida, from human error to the weather to the airports systems.

We are very early in the beginning phase of this investigation, Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman, said during a news conference on Saturday.

The chartered flight operated by Miami Air International Inc. was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew when it left the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday evening, Boeing Co. said in a statement. Authorities said there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

The NTSB quickly dispatched a Go Team of 16 to lead the investigation.

NTSB recovered the flight data recorder, which has been sent to Washington for evaluation, but the cockpit voice recorder remains inaccessible in the plane, which is still partially submerged, said Landsberg. The plane had no prior history of accident or incident, and is one of over 4,000 of such planes worldwide, he said.

The Jacksonville airport runway has pavement that isnt grooved, Landsberg said, adding that it was unclear if the lack of grooves was a factor in the skid. Runway grooving can be an aid to drainage.

More for you SpaceX vehicle was destroyed during last month's 'mishap,' company confirms

The NTSB said they couldnt confirm that pets on board the plane had died, but an investigator didnt spot any pet carriers above the water line, said Capt. Michael Connor, a commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The investigations team has expertise in aircraft operations, structures, power plants, human performance, weather, airports and other areas, the NTSB said earlier. Boeing said its providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the NTSB.

While it isnt clear yet what led to the plane ending up in the river, the incident comes as Boeing remains enmeshed in one of the biggest crises in its century-long history.

The plane maker has been on the defensive since its 737 Max planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people in a span of five months. The 737 Max plane has been grounded as the company tries to convince airlines and regulators it will be safe once a software update is installed.

The chartered flight in Fridays crash arrived from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, according to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in a post on its Facebook page. Images show the plane partially submerged in the St. Johns River.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said soon after the accident on Friday that teams were working to control jet fuel in the water. The St. Johns River is the longest in Florida, flowing some 310 miles, and is a major shipping route around Jacksonville.

(Updates with NTSB comments from first paragraph.)

--With assistance from Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at sadam2@bloomberg.net;Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, James Ludden

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON - Six decades ago, the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro ordered federal inspectors to raid Standard Oil offices there, seizing maps and geological records in what was to become the first step in an expropriation that would go on to include a refinery, ports and more than 100 gas stations.

Now Exxon Mobil, Standards successor, is suing Cubas national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Washington Thursday seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest.

The legal action followed an announcement by the White House last month that President Donald Trump would allow companies and individuals to go ahead and sue in U.S. federal court for assets seized during the Cuban Revolution, breaking with more than two decades of diplomatic norms.

Exxon, the first publicly traded company to file a claim, declined to comment on the reason for the litigation Friday. But in the lawsuit, Exxon claimed the assets seized six decades ago, are still in use today even though [Exxon] has never received any compensation for this property.

The Cuban embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Ranging from hotels to ports to communications systems, the assets seized by Cuban forces beginning in the late 1950s have been valued at approximately $8 billion by the Justice Departments Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Congress passed a law allowing companies to sue for compensation in 1996, but European nations, concerned about how such a law might affect their trade relations with the Caribbean nation, threatened to file a claim against the United States at the World Trade Organization if the lawsuits went ahead.

The Maduro factor

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all chose to suspend the provision of the law that allows companies to sue. But unhappy with Cubas decision to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amid growing international outrage over the regimes human rights in Venezuela, Trump has decided to allow the litigation to move ahead.

Havana continues to prop up Maduro and help him sustain the brutal suffering of the Venezuelan people, National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a speech in Miami in April. As President Trump has said, Maduro is quite simply a Cuban puppet.

Under Trumps order, companies were allowed to begin filing suit for Cuban claims as of midnight Thursday. So far, Exxon is the only publicly-traded company to do so, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a business organization advocating for greater trade between the two nations.

Exxon has said nothing. This is hugely surprising, he said. Exxon Mobil is going to be the accelerant for others to decide to sue. It gives a lot of companies political cover and commercial justification to move ahead on their claims.

Other companies with claims against Cuba include the hotel group Marriot International, retail giant Office Depot and oil major Chevron, which has a claim on a refinery seized by Cuba valued at $56.2 million. But its unclear whether they and other companies will follow Exxon Mobil.

Cuban companies do not recognize the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, making it difficult to recoup any damages assessed against them by U.S. courts, said Philip Brenner, a professor studying U.S.-Cuba relations at American University in Washington. He added that many U.S. companies have deals in place or plans to develop business in Cuba in the future and might be reluctant to anger politicians there through litigation.

Political decision

The reality is Exxon Mobil has written this off long ago, as have other large companies, Brenner said. It looks wholly like a political decision to support the Trump administration.

So far, only two other lawsuits have been filed seeking compensation for assets seized by Cuba, both by individuals against the Miami-based cruise line Carnival, Kavulich said. They claimed Carnival operates on docks and other port facilities seized from their family by the Cuban government.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
From a tourists perspective, driving through small-town Texas can be a hit-or-miss affair. Main Street is usually the bellwether. In a typical Central Texas town, many of the mom-and-pop food stores and clothing shops have closed and remained boarded up, or have been replaced by tourist-oriented businesses, such as antiques stores and bed-and-breakfast hotels.

The vacuum along these once-bustling main streets can be explained by driving a few miles out of town where a giant Walmart Supercenter acts as a swirling black hole of commercial activity, sucking all the demand for daily necessities to its irresistible pull of low prices and one-stop-shopping convenience.

Lamenting the loss of traditional mom-and-pop shops to the draw of stores such as Target and Walmart is a fools errand. Consumers vote with their wallets, and by that measure, big-box stores are the winner.

I am often asked if the same thing might happen in the barbecue realm. Big-box shops such as Rudys Country Store and Bar-B-Q, Corkys BBQ and H-E-Bs in-store True Texas BBQ are expanding at a rapid pace. Will they replace the beloved mom-and-pop joints for which Texas is known?

I can say with certainty that they will not. Small, family-owned Texas barbecue joints are thriving, even with the additional competition from chain restaurants. Why? The main reason is the nature of the product being sold.

Love the smell of wood smoke in the morning? Join J.C. Reid, Alison Cook and Greg Morago as they discuss barbecue culture with special guests by subscribing to the Chronicle's BBQ State of Mind podcast on Apple's Podcasts, or visit houstonchronicle.com/ bbqpodcast. See More Collapse

A small, family-run food store is essentially selling commodity products. In most cases, theres no difference between the milk and flour you buy at a small store as you do at a big-box store. When it comes to commodities, small stores will never be able to compete on price with big retailers.

But when you move into more specialized products, small businesses have a better chance.

Consider hardware stores. In theory, big-box hardware stores such as Lowes and Home Depot should have killed off small hardware stores long ago. And yet I still find myself shopping at Southland Hardware in Montrose or the local Ace Hardware. Small hardware businesses have stubbornly resisted the draw of big-box retailers by offering an array of specialty items and, more importantly, the one-on-one customer service that consumers need to make educated purchasing decisions.

Small barbecue joints also provide the specialty items and personal customer interaction. If Im in the mood for pastrami, I know to go to Roegels Barbecue Co. on a Thursday. Craving wet-mopped pork ribs? Im heading to Pinkertons Barbecue. For an old-school rib sandwich, Im heading to Burns Original BBQ on a Wednesday. And in most cases, the owner/pitmaster will be taking my order or carving the meat right in front of me, ready to answer any questions or just greet me with a nod and smile.

The bottom line is that there is enough demand and differentiation for big-box barbecue and mom-and-pop joints to co-exist  and even thrive  side by side.

Indeed, if there is any danger of barbecue outlets closing, it will probably be the big-box versions, because of competition among themselves as well as with other casual-dining chains. For chains like Rudys or Corkys, the competition isnt from mom-and-pop barbecue operations but rather from other chains like Chilis and Outback Steakhouse.

In a case of American capitalism coming full circle, mom-and-pop craft-barbecue joints are now expanding to small-town Texas, joining antiques stores and bed-and-breakfasts in a revival of tourist-oriented businesses. Micklethwait Market & Grocery in Smithville, Louies BBQ in Buda and Bretts Backyard Bar-B-Que in Rockdale have all made the commitment to the thriving Texas tradition of family-run barbecue restaurants.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtx
Financial assistance is still available for homeowners who are still rebuilding their homes or seeking reimbursement after Hurricane Harvey.

Representatives from Harris County Commissioner 4 Jack Cagles Office spoke during the Humble Biz Com at Humble High School on Thursday to update the northeast Houston area on one of Harris Countys flood recovery initiatives called Project Recovery.

Homeowners can visit the Project Recovery website or call 832-927-4961 and see what kind of financial assistance program is best for them. Homeowners can also visit one of the countys intake centers to receive in-person assistance selecting a program.

Colin Gary, a public affairs specialist with Outreach Strategists, LLC, who has been collaborating with Harris County on Project Recovery, said over $200 million has been specifically allocated to homeowners outside of the Houston city limits.

RELATED: Harvey housing aid program delayed over vacancy provision

Harris County has just recently received in the last two weeks funding from the federal government for long-term housing assistance for homeowners who were affected by Hurricane Harvey, Gary said. Theres assistance available now for the community.

Financial assistance includes reimbursement up to $50,000 on funds used to remodel homes; up to $80,000 for homes that are still partially damaged and in need of repair; and up to $160,000 for homes that over 50 percent damaged.

More Information Intake Centers are open Monday- Friday from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 13101 Northwest Freeway Ste. 215, Houston, TX 77040 12941 North Freeway Ste. 600, Houston, TX 77060 14700 FM 2100 Ste. 2A&2B, Crosby, TX 77532 3315 Burke Rd. Ste. 204, Pasadena, TX 77504 See More Collapse

Gary said the pre-application process takes about five minutes and Harris County officials should get in touch with the applicant shortly after to help them fill out the full application.

RELATED: More than $1 billion in housing aid headed to Houston

I know its (almost) two years after the storm but (funding) is here now, Gary said. One other clarification is that this assistance is for people who live in Harris County but outside of the Houston city limits.

Gary said due to federal regulations, 70 percent is reserved for people who are on a low to moderate income and the rest is everyone else.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
Beginning on June 1, Bobby Lieb will take the helm of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, the organization announced on Monday, April 29.

Currently the chambers vice president, Lieb will succeed Barbara Thomason, who announced her retirement in March and will step down at the end of May after leading the chamber since November 2005.

In the two years Ive been working economic development here, I have grown to have a deep appreciation of this community. I hope people that live here realize how much theyve got up here and the positive attributes to it, Lieb said.

Before arriving at the chamber in May 2017, Lieb served in Colorado as a county commissioner of La Plata County and executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

Lieb said he found his niche when he began to focus on community work after leaving the private sector.

After two years with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce, Lieb said the challenges the community faces are mainly with crime, flooding and generating more jobs.

While violent crime along along FM 1960 is down, the recurring burglary, robberies and other crimes are tarnishing the image of the community, he said.

Its a very long-term problem. There are solutions. They require a lot of community buy-in, he said.

Another major issue facing both businesses and residents is the recurring flooding from the Memorial Day flood in 2015, the Tax Day flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The chamber has previously hosted flood control meetings to advocate for more infrastructure and flood mitigation projects.

You cant tell me that flooding doesnt have an adverse impact on the economy. The solutions clear. Theres lots of hurdles to overcome, but assigning focus and resources to it and then deploying those resources in reducing the level of flooding that does occur is paramount, Lieb said.

Lieb said that while he acknowledges challenges the community faces, the variety of jobs along Beltway 8, Springwoods Village, University Park and the North Houston District have been a benefit to the area.

One of his aims as economic director of the chamber has been to encourage companies and businesses in the community.

Theres lots of good jobs and what I like about it is the variety. Theres a job for every sector of this community. Many communities would kill for what weve got in terms of the diversity of jobs weve got, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
During a luncheon hosted by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 3, business owners and residents voiced support for the high speed train expected to travel between Houston to Dallas. David Hagy, regional vice president of external affairs for Texas Central, provided an project update to luncheon guests.

Robert Maxwell from Tomball, said he became a fan of high speed trains after riding one in France and was impressed by the speed and efficiency.

You could live in Houston and go to (Texas) A&M (University) and back on the train or go to Dallas, he said.

During a transportation meeting hosted by the chamber in April, business owners said they were skeptical of the plan to join the two cities through the high speed train.

Texas Central, the company behind the project, is planning to build 240 miles of tracks so that two trains traveling 205-miles per hour can make the trip between both cities in about 90 minutes.

The project is estimated to cost $12 billion and would seek private investors to fund the construction.

As no high speed rail exists in the U.S., Texas Central would employ a Japanese-style Shinkansen bullet trains, along with Renfe, a Spanish company, to operate the trains.

Hagy said the company acknowledged that the property acquisition process was one of the most controversial aspects of the project, which is currently being disputed in court.

All of our routes are really trying to minimize the impact on private property. Because we are not a government entity, we can pay more for appraised or market value (for properties), he said.

Texas Central is seeking to construct a raised track along the proposed route so that property owners along rural areas can still move their livestock as well as to minimally impact wildlife.

Maxwell said he understood that some property owners were reluctant to sell their property.

Its like someone walking and knocking on your door and saying, I want to buy your house. You get to name your price. To me, thats a benefit, he said.

Maxwell said he is on board with the project as he and his staff have to travel to Dallas to work. He even created a Twitter account called Texans4HighSpeedRail.

As the population in both cities is expected to grow, the train may also get commuters out of cars and provide an alternative to airplanes.

Art Barash, an investment adviser with Baron Financial Advisors in Spring, said he was also excited about the project, but hoped newer technology would be utilized in Houston so that commuters could have an easier time getting around.

The major corridors, such as the Katy Freeway, the North Freeway and U.S. 290 could benefit from rail transport, he said.

Im in favor of the train. Im more in favor of the technology being applied in Houston, he said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
The Woodlands Townships governing committee for design standards is in the midst of revising several aspects of the townships complicated covenants as challenges have arisen from short-term rentals as well as the recent trend of tearing down older homes and replacing them with new structures.

Walter Lisiewski, the chairman of the seven-member Development Standards Committee, presented an update to township directors on Wednesday, April 24, explaining how the committee and its legal team are coping with the increase in short-term rentals in the township  a development that has irked many residents who feel homes in their neighborhood are becoming hotel-like in nature  as well as tear-downs and rebuilds of older homes.

Weve been working on an update of the standards, Lisiewski said. As The Woodlands grows and gets older, redevelopment is a very vital part of sustainability and keeping property values up.

The committee heard 268 variance applications in the first quarter, which was a more than 35 percent increase from the same time period in 2018.

New changes to the covenants include requiring mandatory drainage engineering plans for swimming pools; a new prohibition on filing for a design variance if a home or business owner has an existing outstanding covenant violations on their record; the official OK to use the controversial Edison lights as well as LED lights  with the caveat the lights do not negatively affect a neighbor. Artificial turf-like will also be allowed now in limited areas, specifically in side yards and in backyards, and must be professionally installed. Some standards governing tree removal were clarified and strengthened to prevent unneccessary cutting down of trees.

Weve updated our standards on new (building) materials. There is a lot of new product out there now, roofing, solar panels  so , we updated that, Lisiewski said. Home fueling stations  after Harvey, everyone has one now. We want to make sure everyone realizes there are state codes governing that and make sure the fire department knows there is a storage tank and where it is.

Short-term rental policy being developed

Lisiewski said the legal staff that works with the DSC as well as the six other members are waiting until the Texas legislative session ends in May or June before making any final decisions on short-term rentals, notably because two possible pieces of legislation have yet to be acted upon and whatever happens with the two proposals, it will likely affect the DSCs policy on the issue.

As you know, short-term rentals have been a big topic of discussion. We have all the (short-term rental) standards updated, but there are two bills in Austin right now, Lisiewski said. Were going to wait until those are resolved. It doesnt make any sense to change the standards and then have to change them again to comply with a new law. We think well be able to control short-term rentals.

Tear-downs & rebuilds a concern

As The Woodlands ages, especially older neighborhoods in original villages like The Village of Grogans Mill, Lisiewski said it is natural for new home buyers to possibly want to merely destroy an old, out-dated home and rebuild a totally new structure. The issue has become controversial in recent years and flared in mid-April when two residents of the Village of Grogans Mill made accusations during public comment on April 18 that a new homeowner was not following covenants and had plans for a building that did not fit the area.

Lisiewski said some of the comments the resident had made to the Board of Directors on April 18 were not accurate, and that the home in question had not had construction started on it. He also said accusations that DSC member Robert Heineman had been disrespectful to homeowners was false.

The Woodlands is getting older, and there is redevelopment taking place  not only residentially but on the commercial side, he said. Were going to see more and more of that. You have to redevelop.

Township board Chairman Gordy Bunch said he is aware of the need to redevelop older, aging homes, especially ones that may not have been maintained or have suffered wear and tear over the decades since they were first built.

Lisiewski said the DSC will ensure all covenants are followed, but in reality there will be new homes with different designs than what was popular in the 1970s or 1980s. Another factor in trying to replicate the style of older homes on a street is that many of the materials, colors and other elements used in construction of homes in the 1970s is simply not available anymore.

It is not going to be exactly the same, Lisiewski said of rebuilt homes. There are some cases that came out recently in Grogans Mill and Panther Creek for redevelopment. We go by the standards on that, we make sure there are some people who are not going to like it. But you have to redevelop.

jeff.forward@chron.com
It was in Christmas 1984, while visiting his wifes family in Louisville, Kentucky, that Kercheval said he first sampled the regional popcorn brand called Old Capital. The already established popcorn company, based in tiny Corydon, Ind., since 1948, had just been purchased that same year for $2 million by married couple Edward and Linda Phillips. The brands name came from the fact that from 1813 to 1816, Corydon had been the state capital of Indiana. Kercheval said he had always dreamed of owning a popcorn farm in his Indiana home state so he contacted the couple and offered to buy the business.
The school was founded in 1896 and its building constucted in 1921. While it was originally created by and to serve German immigrants, demographic changes led to immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries, according to its website.
In announcing that he wont challenge Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn next year, Texas congressman Joaquin Castro explained that he wanted to focus on the important and meaningful work he is doing in Congress.

Many Texas Democrats were saddened by this news because they were hoping Castro would run statewide. Others were disgruntled by it because they would like to flip the Senate seat, and Castro would have been a strong candidate in a year when Democrats hope to recapture control of the U.S. Senate.

I would have been proud to vote for Castro, but have little sympathy for those who denounced his decision as overly cautious. Both he and his twin brother, Julian, have faced this criticism at various points during their respective careers in electoral politics, and its not entirely baseless. The Castro twins are deliberate in their decision-making, and reluctant to take unnecessary risks.

This approach has served them well. Julian Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, at age 26, and went on to become mayor in 2009. He left that office in 2014, to serve as Barack Obamas secretary of housing and urban development, and is currently running for president himself. Joaquin Castro was elected to represent the 20th Congressional District in 2012, after a decade in the Texas House of Representatives; by most accounts, he would have had a real chance of becoming the first Mexican-American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Its hard to put exact odds, though, on Castros chances of winning the Senate seat next year.

Cornyn was re-elected by a 26-point margin in 2014, but he can hardly be considered invincible given the strong showing of Democrats in last years midterm elections. Other Democrats have taken notice. M.J. Hegar, an Air Force veteran and the 2018 Democratic nominee in Texas 31st Congressional District, threw her hat in the ring last month. Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards is also mulling a bid, and other contenders may come forward now that Castro has taken a pass on a 2020 Senate race.

And although there's a sense among Democrats that now is the time to stand up Preisdent Donald Trump, it's worth remembering that Castro is already in a position to do that as a member of Congress. He represents a heavily Democratic district, and is unlikely to face a primary challenge. His stature in Washington has grown with the Democratic takeover of the House last fall, as has his presence in the national media: hes a frequent guest on cable TV news shows to discuss the Russia investigation or Trumps border policies.

Frankly, Castro can probably serve as the congressman from Bexar County until he decides to do something else. The 20th Congressional District is relatively compact, heavily Mexican-American, and historic; its gerrymandered, but not incoherent. And Castro, who grew up on San Antonios Westside as part of a politically active family, has deep roots in the community.

Cynics would be hard-pressed to explain why Castro was looking at taking on Cornyn in the first place, or for that matter challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in last years Senate race. Both would have represented major gambles that entailed giving up his safe House seat.

And that would have been a loss for his constituents  many of whom have been put at risk by Trump in various ways. His successor in the House probably would have been a Democrat, but one with no seniority in Congress, and less relevant experience. As a Democrat who spent 10 years in the Texas Legislature, Castro has dealt with Republicans who are drunk on power. In the aftermath of Trumps election, that has come in handy. In fact, Castro has been the most effective member of our states congressional delegation these past two years.

The Democrats unhappy with his decision aren't thinking about it in those terms; they're prioritizing partisanship over people. For Democrats to win statewide in Texas would be a victory with massive implications for both parties. But Republicans will likely retain control of the Senate, even if Democrats pick up a Senate seat. And Castro, in any case, doesnt work for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He works for the Texans who live in the 20th Congressional District, which was a full-time job even before Trump was elected president.

The leadership Castro has shown since 2016 as the congressman from Bexar County would have distinguished him as a Senate candidate. But hes right to say that he can continue doing important and meaningful work in the House  and Democrats who are unhappy with his decision should remember that theres more than one way to step up to the plate.

erica.grieder@chron.com
A China-donated sculpture has been unveiled in Florence, Italy as part of the activities marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci's death, sources with the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) said.

The work by Chinese sculptor Wu Weishan, director of the NAMOC, features Da Vinci and Chinese painter Qi Baishi having dialog, and is on exhibition in the Accademia Delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing).

It marks the first time for the academy in its over 450 years' history to collect and exhibit the work of a Chinese sculptor.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a famous Chinese painter noted for watercolors featuring a huge variety of subjects.

"Though Leonardo da Vinci and Qi Baishi lived hundreds of years apart, they have both contributed a lot to human civilization, and they could have a conversation that transcends time and space," said Wu.

Wu is an internationally renowned sculptor. His portraits of many great historical figures of Chinese culture, including Confucius and Laozi, have been exhibited in many countries across the world.
When the call came, Ken Hughes had no second thoughts. The state of Texas needed him or, more specifically, its sprawling prison system needed drugs that he could make.

That was in 2014, and for the next 14 months, the lifelong Texan  a gun-carrying conservative and devout Christian  became one of his states lethal injection suppliers, compounding the deadly drug pentobarbital inside his familys West University store.

It ended four years ago, and his wife, whod always been deeply conflicted about it, breathed a sigh of relief. But Hughes decision would come back to haunt him and his family. The source of lethal injection drugs has always been controversial, and  thanks to restrictive shield laws and tight-lipped corrections officials  often cloaked in secrecy. But in November, BuzzFeed News identified Greenpark Compounding Pharmacy and Gifts as one of the suppliers of the states execution drugs, an unexpected stain of notoriety that sparked protests, fear and angry phone calls.

At the time, Hughes would only say that his small business didnt make the drug anymore. But this week he and his family sat down with the Houston Chronicle to talk about the fallout, the turmoil, and the decision that started it all.

This is a death state, Hughes said. Texas is what it is.

Those things conflict me

Ken and Nancy were born and raised in Texas  she in Midland, he in San Marcos. They came to Houston for college and, though hed been raised a Methodist, the pair met at the Second Baptist Church.

Nancy worked as a youth minister and prekindergarten teacher. Ken launched his career at Hospital Pharmacies Incorporated and later worked as head pharmacist at a local hospital.

They were married in 1980. Ken made enough money to be comfortable and start a family, but he saw unfilled need among customers.

There were a lot of people not getting help with their regular medications, he said. Their dosage fell between the commercially available dosages and they were getting too much or not enough.

And some speciality medications  certain variations of prescription eyedrops to fight eye-eating amoebas and fungi  werent widely available elsewhere.

So together, he and Nancy bought the pharmacy and opened their doors in 1992. The business started with three employees, a family-run operation then in an industrial park on Brays Bayou. The couples two children worked in the store as soon as they were big enough to see over the counter.

My older brother taught me how to sneak candy and hide the wrappers behind the register, Amanda, now 30, recalled. Though their primary moneymaker was the niche doses of drugs and prescription eyedrops, the store also featured a kitschy gift shop, a room of baubles and Christmas ornaments meant as a distraction from whatever ailments brought in the clientele.

Greenpark was already compounding the powerful barbiturate pentobarbital for use by veterinarians when prison officials contacted the company to get some made for the states death chamber. Citing current secrecy laws, a state prison spokesman on Friday declined to offer other comment or confirmation.

Ken and Nancy are reluctant to offer details about any exchanges, agreements, or promises made with the state. Aside from short sighs, heavy looks, and the repeated reminder that capital punishment is the law in Texas, Ken is taciturn about explaining his thought process. But Nancy is quick to say that, for her, it was troubling from the moment they made the decision.

I have been struggling with it ever since, she said. It really upsets me to know that there are cold-blooded people among us  but Im still conflicted. I mean, I dont believe in abortion. But Im conflicted; those things conflict me.

For the sake of their marriage, they kept work at work and when they were at home, they didnt talk about their occasional customer.

Looking back, Ken doesnt remember exactly how many transactions there were or how many doses - and the paperwork he might have had to prove it is long gone, shredded and tossed away after the state-mandated retention period ran out.

But in 2015, he said, Greenparks manufacturer stopped selling the raw drug and the pharmacy sold to the state for the last time that April.

I cant prove it to you, that we dont do it anymore, Nancy said.

After a moment of thought, her husband chimed in: I cant even prove that I did it.

Threats and protests

For three years, the Hughes family went on with their business and didnt think much about it. Then in late 2018, an employee came to them with a letter  from then-BuzzFeed reporter Chris McDaniel, who said hed identified Greenpark as one of the states lethal injection suppliers.

It was a blockbuster story, revealing a tightly guarded state secret. As the death drugs have become harder to get, corrections departments across the nation have refused to name their suppliers for fear that drugmakers and compounding pharmacies will cave to pressure from anti-death penalty activists and stop providing the pharmaceuticals.

In Texas, a shield law prevents the state from releasing the name of any lethal injection supplier since late 2015  and the Texas Supreme Court recently decided officials dont have to release the name of the supplier from before then, either. So the public identification of Greenpark was a rare peek behind the curtain of lethal injection secrecy.

Unsure how to handle the media scrutiny, the Hughes family called up the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for advice. Officials sought to reassure them, Nancy said, advising them not to talk to anyone and to wait out the storm  surely this would blow over.

A few days later, they said, a prison official called to warn them about a protest planned outside the store. Since then, its been steady  sometimes a stream, sometimes a trickle  of calls, emails, threats, and protests.

Its always non-violent, but always unnerving.

Some of the claims in the story the family still takes issue with. First and foremost, they say they are no longer the states death drug supplier and havent been since 2015, a claim partially at odds with the BuzzFeed story. Citing federal documents, McDaniel reported that the company had compounded drugs for the state two times  once in 2015 and once in 2016.

But the story also dinged the pharmacy for its track record, including a major mistake the family says was horrible, but taken out of context and something theyve worked hard to correct.

In fall 2015  after they say theyd already stopped providing drugs for the prison system  the pharmacy got in trouble with the State Board of Pharmacy and ended up with two years of probation and a $2,500 fine when one of their workers accidentally switched two drugs. She then hurriedly signed a quality control form herself, forging the signature of the supervising pharmacist.

The mistakes came to light after three children took the improperly mixed medication, accidentally ingesting the antianxiety drug lorazepam instead the antacid drug lansoprazole. One ended up in the hospital, and the childs parents later filed suit.

Greenpark settled the case and fired the worker.

Although they racked up other minor violations over the years, State Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Allison Benz confirmed that the medication mix-up was the only matter serious enough to net state disciplinary action any time in the companys 27-year history.

But that wasnt the only problem BuzzFeed reported. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited Greenpark for possible sterility violations. The pharmacy responded by saying that theyd make some corrections and pointing out that everything theyd done had been in compliance with state guidelines. The matter didnt lead to any disciplinary action.

Now, Nancy said, the store has completely revamped its procedures, creating different forms, moving medications so that drugs with similar names are not next to each other, adjusting sterility protocols and changing some processes in the lab.

They completed their probation last year, and expected to return to business as usual  until the BuzzFeed story hit. Then, they worried about protests, hate mail and whether whether they could maintain relationships with their drug suppliers. One has already dropped them.

Confronting the issue

Since November, Amanda has been a constant ball of stress. Artsy and liberal, the tattooed University of Houston graduate is always kinetic and full of worry. She might have worried more four years ago, when her family still made drugs for the state  but she didnt find out until afterward.

I was torn, she said. I didnt even know you could make that. It was a thing I didnt really even think about.

But then she started reading news coverage, and following Twitter on execution days  and she came to a conclusion.

I am against capital punishment, because personally I believe there is only one person who gets to make that decision, she said. And that is Jesus Christ.

Regardless, she would support her parents. So last month, when she heard that another protest was scheduled outside the store, Amanda took matters into her own hands.

Late one Friday night, she phoned Gloria Rubac, a well-known death penalty opponent and perennial protester.

Greenpark doesnt make it anymore, she told her. Rubac was skeptical, demanding to know more.

By the end of the call, Rubac said, she was convinced.

We canceled that protest, Rubac said. If they did that in the past, well, shame on them, but if theyre not doing it now, okay.

She still wants to figure out who the states current supplier is, with the hope of protesting there until they stop. But if its not Greenpark, she understands.

Theyll never see us again, she said. We cant make them do penance for the past.

Every single day

Ken is a man of few words. Whatever second thoughts he has, he rarely shows them, save for a pause that lasts a few beats too long, or a vacant gaze out the stores front window.

For him, the world is black and white: Lethal injection is legal in the state of Texas.

Yet, when asked if he has any regrets, he lets out a sigh and falls to silence.

His wife is quick to answer, though, the tears rising in her voice.

Every day, she says. Every single day.
AUSTIN  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen proclaimed Friday they will muster the votes to pass a bill to cut property taxes and increase sales taxes, despite opposition from fellow Republicans and Democrats who call the swap a bad idea.

The public display of optimism came as a new state analysis shows households earning less than $100,000 a year would pay more in taxes after the swap, while businesses and wealthier households will see a reduction. In a press conference Friday, the leaders did not address that analysis, simply saying their plan would reduce property tax bills for homeowners across the board.

I have confidence that SB 2 is going to make it to my desk and be signed into law, Abbott said as he sat between the two other top Texas Republicans in his Capitol office.

While those three present a united front, there are key lawmakers who are not on board.

For subscribers: Ahead of 2020, Texas Republicans take a risk with sales tax swap plan

More Information How the plan would work A trio of bills in the Legislature aim to boost funding for schools while reducing property taxes and reining in future growth. The tax swap would raise state sales taxes by one percentage point - to the highest rate in the country - while buying down property taxes by an estimated 15 cents for every $100 in value. Renters are one group that may only see a net tax increase from the swap, unless landlords pass the property tax savings on by reducing rents. Another bill would cap what cities and counties can raise in property taxes each year, without first seeking a vote from residents. The measure would lower the cap to 3.5 percent from 8 percent. Local school districts, meanwhile, would be limited in what they could raise each year. Those provisions would slow the future escalation of property taxes, supporters of the bill say. Cities and counties protesting the legislation say funding for police, firefighters and other city services would suffer. A third bill would boost education funding by raising teacher salaries and increasing state spending by pupil. See More Collapse

One notable opponent is State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who has authored other tax relief proposals. He has repeatedly warned that tax swaps have historically failed. On Friday, Bettencourt renewed his objection, saying that homeowners would be left paying increased taxes in the end under the plan before the Legislature now.

Weeks earlier, Bettencourt said there was not a tremendous appetite among members of the Senate for the idea.

Texas has the third-highest property tax rate for single-family homes in the nation, according to a study by ATTOM Data Solutions, trailing behind only New Jersey and Illinois. Texans who own a home valued at $200,000 paid an average of $4,360 in property taxes in 2018, with an average effective property tax rate of 2.18 percent per year, the study found.

Republicans have proposed a 1 percentage point increase in the sales tax to raise billions of dollars to deliver promised relief for skyrocketing property tax bills. If successful, the tax swap would raise sales taxes to 9.25 percent for most Texans, making it the highest state sales tax rate in the nation. In 2020, the proposed sales tax increase is projected to raise $5 billion that lawmakers say would be used to buy down school property tax rates across the state. The owner of a $200,000 house would see a reduction of about $260 a year on property taxes.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

But the tax swap would increase the tax burden on low- and middle-class Texans, the analysis found.

You should expect the people struggling to support their families are going to have a harder time, and those who are already doing pretty well will be a little better off, said Dick Lavine, a senior fiscal analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Under that proposal, households that make less $38,000 a year would pay an effective local and state tax rate of 13.8 percent, according to the analysis released Friday by the Legislative Budget Board, which calculates costs of legislation. Households making more than $149,500 a year would pay an effective tax rate of 3.4 percent.

Texas businesses would see a decrease of about $638 million in tax collections, while households would pay nearly $413 million more in taxes, the analysis says.

The analysis does not calculate savings offered in a package of bills that would would restrict property tax increases enacted by cities and counties in the future. One bill would cap property tax collections for cities and counties at 3.5 percent without voter approval. Local school districts would be capped at 2.5 percent. The bills would also provide a further reduction in property taxes collected to fund schools  the decrease of about four cents per $100 of a homes value, would save the owner of a $200,000 house about $80 a year.

Lawmakers are grappling with two possible ways to pass the legislation. The current proposal would make the swap a constitutional amendment that voters would need to approve in the November 2019 election in order for it to take effect in 2020. However, that legislation would require approval by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate, a difficult threshold. Making it a constitutional amendment would ensure that the sales tax money would be dedicated to property tax relief into the future.

Otherwise, the Legislature could increase the sales tax to buy down property tax rates without an election. That route would require a simple majority in both chambers to pass  but lawmakers cannot guarantee that money will continue to be used to reduce property taxes.

Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen have just 24 days left to strike a deal before the legislative session adjourns on Memorial Day.

Allie Morris contributed to this report.
Civil rights groups asked a three-judge panel in San Antonio on Thursday to force Texas to submit its election maps to federal supervision for the next decade to make sure they dont discriminate against minorities.

But lawyers for the state urged the judges to deny the motion, saying the plaintiffs failed to meet requirements for such a request.

After listening to the arguments at a two-hour hearing, the judicial panel gave little indication on when it will rule on whether Texas should again be placed under federal electoral supervision called preclearance.

PURO POLITICS PODCAST : Tensions flare as election night nears

The plaintiffs request is the latest in an 8-year-old redistricting lawsuit that began when Texas redrew its political maps after the 2010 census.

Texas and other states had been required to preclear their political maps under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which mandated supervision for states and local governments with a history of racist voting laws. But in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that part of the law.

The plaintiffs asked the panel to return Texas to preclearance restrictions under a different part of the Voting Rights Act, Section 3, which requires, among other things, a showing of intentional discrimination. Case law on that matter is scant, the panel noted.

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, reminded the panel that it found, after a trial in the redistricting court battle, that Texas intentionally discriminated in several congressional and state House districts when it drew its maps in 2011. The judicial panel came up with interim maps for the 2012 election, which the state adopted in 2013 with no change.

These findings of intentional discrimination in this case  are also bracketed by discrimination in voting before and after the 2011 redistricting, Perales said. Since Texas was covered by Section 5, beginning in 1972, it has never stopped discriminating in its redistricting.

OnExpressNews.com: Pre-k 4 SA's future will rest with 2020 election voters

She argued that after Texas was freed from preclearance in 2013, the state continued to discriminate with laws requiring voter identification and a recent attempt to purge voters the state wrongly claimed were noncitizens.

But state Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick argued that while the Legislature sometimes gets it wrong, Texas has not engaged in pervasive discrimination or constitutional defiance that would drag the state into preclearance again. He also argued that the voter purge efforts and voter ID requirements were necessary for integrity in elections.

They want to strip Texas of its sovereign power to enact laws, Frederick argued. They want to do so despite the states adoption of remedial plans that the Supreme Court has now deemed were not intentionally meant to discriminate.

The Justice Department under the Obama administration had sided with the plaintiffs, which include minority voters and some Democratic lawmakers. But under the Trump administration, the department switched positions, and one of its lawyers, John Gore, backed the states arguments Thursday.

It is now time to bring this case to an end, Gore told the panel, adding that future violations can be addressed through other lawsuits on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Justice can bring those cases where appropriate.

Last June, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld 10 of 11 congressional and state House districts that the maps challengers said intentionally undercut the voting power of Hispanic and black voters, usually to keep white incumbents in office. The court found that the evidence was plainly insufficient to prove that the 2013 Republican-controlled Legislature acted in bad faith when it enacted the districts.

But the court agreed with minority groups that Fort Worth-based House District 90 was an impermissible racial gerrymander because lawmakers illegally used race as the predominant factor in deciding its boundaries.

OnExpressNews.com: San Antonio judge approves settlement ending state's voter purge attempt

The plaintiffs submitted to the three-judge panel a new House District 90 map Thursday that fixed the violations, and the state agreed to it.

The Supreme Court said last year, there is no need ... to prolong this already protracted litigation. ... And you want 10 more (years)? one of the panels jurists, Judge Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court said its over. I dont understand it.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, the chief justice of the San Antonio-based Western District of Texas, wondered if Section 3 requires actual injury or only threatened harm as part of its provisions to kick in preclearance. He got opposing responses.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, the third judge on the panel, asked if the state would stipulate that, after next years census, Texas would have full, fair and transparent hearings ... with (redistricting) maps for the public to see and the opportunity for the public to have meaningful input.

I couldnt even begin to consider it, Frederick answered.

So if the state cant stipulate to it, how can it object to preclearance? Rodriguez queried.

Frederick replied that there had been public hearings the last time around but that nobody is happy when they dont get what they want.

Rodriguez countered that the public hearings were held in unusual locations, with little advance notice or on or near holidays. Rodriguez pressed again on state stipulation.

I cant stipulate because the terms are not defined, Frederick answered. I dont know what I would stipulate to.
In less than 10 seconds, Zhou Bin, a resident in Fuzhou city, southeast China's Fujian Province, can access his social security and provident fund accounts on his cell phone.



"In the past, you had to find different official websites for different formalities and also apply for the verification code via your cell phone every time you log in," said Zhou.

But now, he said, the mobile app called "e-Fuzhou" covers almost all aspects of government services and approvals in daily life, saving the city's residents from the red tape.

The leapfrog offers a glimpse of China's digital efforts to improve its governance capacity and efficiency.

Startups can now complete registration procedures and obtain licenses at the self-service registration machines in the city of Pingtan without long queues and onerous paperwork.

The machines, connected to the government database and supported by facial recognition technologies, help streamline the application process and reduce the required time from days to just minutes.

A slew of digital technology applications, including the big data credit inquiry system, the online tax bureau, and the paperless customs clearance system, have also been developed in the province over the years.

Digital technology also has its presence in law enforcement and crime prevention.

Xiao An, a police robot, is now in charge of patrolling the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a famous scenic spot in Fuzhou.

The white robot, which is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 80 kg, moves at a speed of 0.4 meters per second in the designated area, almost the average walking pace of human beings.

Equipped with high-definition cameras on its heads, the robot can take pictures along its routes and send the collected information in real time to the backstage, where the data is further analyzed and nearby police forces can be dispatched accordingly.

The robot also provides tourists with services such as voice navigation and broadcasting lost and found notices.

While the citizens are reaping rewards of e-government data sharing, China has also beefed up laws and regulations to better protect the personal information of its citizens.

Tong Pingping, a government official in the city of Xiamen, said that citizen's sensitive information is encrypted and processed by computers, while officials only have access to information that would prove whether or not a person was involved in a crime.

"Making sensitive data invisible would encourage departments with rich data resources to open data-sharing ports," said Tong, stressing that data security of citizen information is the top priority in e-governance.

China will hold the second summit on digital development from May 6 to 8 in Fuzhou. This year's summit aims to serve as a platform for people at home and abroad to cooperate and contribute to digital China.

Fuzhou, where the first summit was held, has witnessed bourgeoning development of the digital economy in the past year, attracting famous businesses such as Alibaba to invest in the city and nurturing a batch of high-quality digital companies.




Hurricane Harveys 140 mph winds wiped homes completely off the map along one stretch of Copano Cove Road in Rockport, leaving nothing of some of them but a few wooden planks.

But while 11 homes were destroyed and dozens of others badly damaged along the road, one thing didnt change at all: the property tax bills that came later that month.

Just a fraction of over 200,000 structures that were damaged in the 60 counties declared disaster areas were reappraised to ensure that residents recovering from the storm werent hit with unfair tax bills to boot. In Harris County, which has more than 500 taxing districts, only 10 agreed to reappraise properties to reflect their post-storm value, which ultimately helped the owners of 14,000 properties, mostly within the Katy and Humble school districts.

Unconscionable, said Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, who is pushing legislation in Austin that he says will give homeowners a chance to fight back against unfair property tax bills after the next monster storm.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Already the Texas Senate has passed a bill that will completely rewrite the rules on reappraising homes after natural disasters to assure that any homeowner can apply for a reappraisal without local taxing jurisdictions standing in the way.

"Nothing makes home and business owners madder than paying full property taxes on a damaged or destroyed property," Bettencourt said.

His legislation, which has cleared the Senate and could be ready for a vote on the House floor next week, would essentially cut cities, counties and other governmental agencies out of disaster reappraisal decision-making.

In 2017, many of those governments said their decision not to rework the tax bills wasnt because they lacked sympathy for homeowners  rather, they worried about losing tax revenue as they faced an epic crisis. Some county officials warned that just the cost of doing reappraisals would cost millions in some cases, and then result in lost revenues to pay for police and fire protection.

But not everyone buys that argument.

All it was, was greed, Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl E. Johnson told Senators in a hearing on the issue last month.

She said local governments were more concerned about the revenues than the owners of 20,000 properties in Galveston County that were badly damaged. While governments can find other revenue sources, she said residents have much more limited options, especially after losing their homes.

But Bettencourts Senate Bill 1772 still has key hurdles to overcome. Even if the bill passes, a change the state constitution would be required to assure the change can be made. That means the Legislature would have to put a ballot item to the public this November.

Its a far different approach than efforts that have failed in the past. In 2017, the state lawmakers twice nearly passed legislation that would have forced all governments to reappraise after a natural disaster. State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, got that idea through the House, but the Senate passed a different bill that never lined up with her proposal, and it died.

Davis and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed similar legislation this year, but their bills have stalled.

While that approach would also assure homeowners get reappraised, local appraisal districts have warned that the time to get those appraisals done in large counties would be daunting and expensive.

In Harris County, where more than 70,000 properties were flooded during Harvey, Harris County Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said it would have cost taxpayers an estimated $2.7 million if all governments were required to redo appraisals. Bettencourts bill would require homeowners to apply for reappraisals of damaged property, which Altinger said would reduce the cost to less than $500,000.

He said after Harvey, when just 10 taxing jurisdictions asked for reappraisals, it cost those entities $543,000 and his appraisers struggled because of the volume of work. But if it has been a more targeted application process, he said the cost would have been less than $100,000, and the reappraisals would have taken a fraction of the time.

Bettencourt was among those who called for making all disaster-struck counties do mass re-appraisals, instead of making it optional. But he said as he talked to appraisal districts, it became clear that the practicality of that was an issue.

It wasnt going to be workable, Bettencourt said.

Bettencourts proposal does more than just create an application process. It also spells out guidelines of how the assessors must do the work. If the assessor declares a property between 15 percent to 29 percent damaged, the assessed value of the home would drop 15 percent. If the damage is between 30 percent and 60 percent, the assessed value drops 30 percent. If the damage is at least 60 percent, the assessed value drops 60 percent. And if a home is a total loss, the value drop would be 100 percent.

In any scenario, the reductions are pro-rated based on when a storm or other disaster hits.

For a home in Houston valued at $200,000 before the hurricane, but worth just $30,000 after, a property owner would have seen a $700 cut just in school taxes, according to a report by Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit tax advocacy group based in Austin.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said it was disappointing to see how few local governments stepped up and were willing to lower tax bills.

We should not be kicking the taxpayer when they are down and they need help, he said.

On Copano Cove Road after Harvey, homeowners instead paid their full tax bill on the first year, and did not see any break until 2018 when the tax bills of many of the homes dropped 30 to 40 percent to reflect the damage.
[Thumbs up] Its Dave Wards birthday Monday, but hes the one who has a gift for Houston. The longtime KTRK news anchor is holding a book launch for his memoir, Good Evening, Friends: A Broadcaster Shares His Life. The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Dave Ward Building at Crime Stoppers of Houston, 3001 Main St. The book covers his life from son of a Baptist preacher to a radio news guy to certified Guinness World Record-holder (no spoilers, but its TV-related). Over his storied career, Ward covered NASA, the opening of the Astrodome, hurricanes, and the energy biz boom and bust, all on the way to becoming, for many Houstonians, the most trusted voice in news. Congratulations on the book and a happy birthday from the Thumbs!

[Thumbs down] A U.S. district judge clearly doesnt understand the power of true crime series on basic cable. How else do you explain his audacity in requiring Kelly Siegler, former Harris County prosecutor and current star of Cold Justice, to appear at a hearing for a death row inmate who claims Siegler improperly used prison informants? When Siegler didnt show on Monday, the judge, who had threatened her with contempt, decided to give her another chance. A spokeswoman for the Oxygen network told the Chronicle that Siegler was on location shooting new episodes. Fortunately for all involved, Siegler agreed to testify via video link later in the week. The Thumbs wonder if her lawyers got through to her. Or maybe it was her agent, offering her a role on MSNBCs Lockup: Harris County that changed her mind?

[Thumbs down] The Thumbs are huge fans of The Simpsons, so when they hear the word paddling they cant help but picture substitute teacher Jasper threatening kids to a paddlin if they talk out of turn or look out the window. But theres nothing funny about hitting children or how H.B. 420  which would prohibit corporal punishment in Texas schools  has languished without a hearing in the Public Education committee. Hitting, spanking or slapping is ineffective and harmful to children, yet Texas ranks No. 2 nationally in the number of paddlings, according to a report from Education Week. Minorities, as usual, get the short end of the stick (or maybe the long end of the paddle?): They are more likely to be punished than non-Hispanic white students. While many school districts in the state already have bans against corporal punishment, why is this still a thing in Texas?

[Thumbs down] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a tweet this week that a recently passed House bill that would lower penalties for pot possession is dead in the Texas Senate. This came on the heels of the Senate approving the use of herbicides to fight Carrizo cane along the border, so maybe Patrick doesnt so much dislike pot as he just hates weed(s). Attitudes over putting people in jail over marijuana use are softening in Texas, and H.B. 63 reflects that. The bill would change possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor  basically like a traffic ticket. Patrick should reconsider his position and stop harshing the mellow on this bipartisan bill.

[Thumbs down] May 4 is Star Wars Day, but you must forgive the Thumbs and other fans of George Lucas space saga if our celebration is muted this year. Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and in 2015s The Force Awakens, died Tuesday in his North Texas home. At 7 feet 2 inches, Mayhew ably brought the ace Wookiee pilot, devoted companion and big walking carpet to life, becoming a beloved character in the series and one of the few to appear throughout (please save your arguments that the prequels dont exist for later). We were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him, said Harrison Ford. Hundreds of millions of fans around the world share that love.
Today we welcome author Amra Pajalic to share the inspiration behind her new book Things Nobody Knows But Me.

Amra Pajalic on the inspiration behind Things Nobody Knows But Me

I have been writing this book most of my life in different incarnations. I first began it when I was 20 and studying a writing course. I began a memoir in my non-fiction subject and titled it Sins of the Mother about being the daughter of a Bi Polar sufferer and about the hardship that my mother endured being from a Non-English Speaking Background while suffering from a mental illness. I was very judgemental about the decisions my mother made and the way these had impacted me. I completed enough chapters to submit for the subject, received a mediocre grade, and hid it in my (metaphorical) bottom drawer.

I turned away from non fictionit demanded an honesty and rawness I wasnt ready to bring.

Instead I concentrated on fiction and my debut novel was heavily inspired by my teenage experiences. When I had my daughter my childhood memories resurfaced and now that I was a mother myself I felt more compassion toward my own mum. I had every advantage possibleI was 31-years-old, my baby was from a much wanted and planned pregnancy, and I had an incredibly supportive husband that I had been married to for ten years at that pointand yet I flailed. When my baby was 10-months-old I was felled by post-natal depression.

My mother, on the other hand, had every disadvantage possible. When she was 15-years-old, my mother found herself in an arranged marriage. At 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. Her life was extraordinary because of her ability to survive all the upheavals that she faced.

I found myself compelled to tell her story because there was a need for a story about mental illness from the perspective of those from a Non-English Speaking Background.

Mental illness carries with it stigma and shame in any cultural context, however Bosnia which was once a part of Yugoslavia, was a communist country and people with mental illness were shunned and segregated. This led to a mistrust and misunderstandings about mental illness that affected my mothers access to treatment. For many years she called her illness nervous breakdowns and did not actually know the name of her disorder, Bi Polar, or understand the symptoms and treatment. It was only when she learnt about these things that she was able to take control of her illness and achieve a better quality of life.

While I writing Things Nobody Knows But Me I spent a year interviewing my mother and trying to recreate her perspective. She was very open and honest because she wanted this book to help others who are Bi Polar sufferers and to help readers understand this illness. I found the process of interviewing and writing about her experiences healing. All the judgement that I had carried about the ways my mother failed me as a child: the upheavals, the bad relationships, the changes in school, going into foster homes, being left to live my grandparents for two years in Bosniawere forgiven. In writing this book I came to understand she was a victim of her brain chemistry and she did the best she could with what she had. Thats all a daughter can ask for.

~

Disclosure: If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

Things Nobody Knows But Me Synopsis:

Brave, compassionate, searingly honest and funny, this is a memoir in a voice like no other. Amra Pajalics love letter to her mother is a book that grabs at your heart and doesnt let go until the final page.  Alice Pung

When she is four years old Amra Pajalic realises that her mother is different. Fatima is loving but sometimes hears strange voices that tell her to do bizarre things. She is frequently sent to hospital and Amra and her brother are passed around to family friends and foster homes, and for a time live with their grandparents in Bosnia.

At sixteen Amra ends up in the school counsellors office for wagging school. She finally learns the name for the malady that has dogged her mother and affected her own life: bipolar disorder. Amra becomes her mothers confidante and learns the extraordinary story of her life: when she was fifteen years old Fatima visited family friends only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At sixteen she was a migrant, a mother, and mental patient.

Surprisingly funny, Things Nobody Knows But Me is a tender portrait of family and migration, beautifully told. It captures a wonderful sense of bicultural place and life as it weaves between St Albans in suburban Australia and Bosanska Gradiska in Bosnia. Ultimately it is the heartrending story of a mother and daughter bond fractured and forged by illness and experience. Fatima emerges as a remarkable but wounded woman who learns that her daughter really loves her.

(Transit Lounge Publishing, 1 May 2019)

Get your copy of Things Nobody Knows But Me from:

Amazon | Booktopia(Aus/NZ) | Kobobooks | iBooks | Transit Lounge

About the Author, Amra Pajalic

Amra Pajalic is a Melbourne-based author of Bosnian background. Her debut novel The Good Daughter (Text Publishing, 2009) won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literatures Civic Choice Award, and was a finalist in the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award. Prior to publication it was shortlisted in the 2007 Victorian Premiers Awards for Best Unpublished Manuscript. She is also the author of a novel for children, Amir: Friend on Loan (Garratt Publishing, 2014).

Amra is co-editor of the anthology Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2019) that was shortlisted for the 2015 Childrens Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. She also wrote the teaching notes published by Allen & Unwin.

Amra has appeared on panels at conferences and literary festivals including at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Reading Matters Conference Panel, and the VicTESOL Conference. She has delivered workshops and presented at various library and community organisations, and was a judge and convenor of the Premiers Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript.

She was funded by Artists in Schools to be an Artist in Residence in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in high schools, and in 2014 received funding from Creative Victoria to be mentored by Alice Pung to work on her memoir.

She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
China expects to further optimize the investment and operating environment for foreign investors in its financial sector with new measures to open the field wider, according to the country's top banking and insurance regulator.

A total of 12 new rules will be released soon following profound research and evaluation, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said Wednesday.

"These measures will also encourage the stronger presence of foreign investment in the development of China's financial sector," spokesperson for CBIRC Xiao Yuanqi told Xinhua in an interview.

Detailed rules in regulations for foreign banks and foreign insurance companies have been revised in accordance with the new rules and will soon be released, Xiao said.

The playing field for foreign and domestic companies will be further leveled, said the spokesperson, citing the simultaneous removal of upper shareholding limits for a single Chinese-funded bank and a single foreign-funded bank in a Chinese commercial bank, as an example.

At present, the shares of foreign-funded banks and insurance companies' total assets have reached 1.64 percent and 6.36 percent, respectively, in China.

According to the new measures, asset requirement for foreign banks to set up foreign-funded legal person banks or branches will also be removed in a bid to further diversify the structure of banking institutions in China.

"This does not imply a lower standard of supervision, but rather an emphasis on the foreign banks' capability, quality and benefits," said Xiao.

The top regulator also expects to encourage quality firms with latecomer advantages into the Chinese market and increase global conversation and cooperation.

While allowing overseas financial institutions to hold stakes in foreign-funded insurance companies operating in China, the regulator also plans to remove requirements for foreign-funded insurance brokerage firms regarding business and total assets.

"We believe that this round of new measures will significantly enhance the openness and marketization of the banking and insurance sectors," Xiao said.




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 Flash

Egyptian Minister of Transportation Kamel Al-Wazir stressed the importance of implementing a new electric train line around Cairo which is financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) with 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The minister called for immediate start of the civil works of the project while activating investment cooperation with the China EXIM Bank, during a meeting with heads of companies executing the electric train late on Thursday, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Al-Wazir stressed that the companies should start immediately to provide the work sites with equipment in order to start the work on the ground as of next week.

The minister said that during his visit to China recently, he toured the factory that will manufacture the electric train, where he witnessed "the great potential of the factory."

With the new 66-km network line, Egypt hopes that it can redevelop its exhausted railway system that has witnessed deadly accidents in the past few years.
Imperial Valley News Center

President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini

Washington, DC - Joint Statement from the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini:

Thirty years ago, the Velvet Revolution inspired the world. The people of Czechoslovakia took destiny into their own hands and cast off decades of communist oppression. Seventy-five years ago, the Slovak resistance movement against Nazi occupation launched the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, and this movement contributed to the defeat of Nazism and fascism. This year, the United States and the Slovak Republic mark these notable anniversaries together along with 15 years of Slovak membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance.

These milestones reflect Slovakias determination to anchor itself firmly within the Western community of nations. Now, our two nations are bound together by shared and timeless valuesamong them individual liberty, prosperity, the rule of law, democracy, sovereignty, and a commitment to peace and security.

As leaders of the United States and the Slovak Republic, we recognize that safeguarding these values requires strength. We believe the NATO Alliance is the best guarantor of transatlantic and European security. We reaffirm that our collective security demands that each Ally meet the Wales Pledge to devote two percent of gross domestic product to defense and twenty percent of defense spending to investments in new equipment.

The United States recognizes the significant steps the Slovak Republic has taken in the past year to increase its defense spending and modernize its armed forces, including the historic purchase of United States F-16 aircraft. We seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement between our countries.

We praise the courage of American and Slovak troops serving together in Afghanistan and Iraq and as participants in NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups. We remain firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and energy security, including through Slovak reverse gas flow to Ukraine. Continued sanctions against Russia must remain in force until the Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.

Our countries also affirm that energy security is fundamental to national security. We reiterate our opposition to the use of energy projects as geopolitical weapons, including Nord Stream 2. We commit to deepening our cooperation in cybersecurity and to working to develop and implement telecommunications security principles.

The United States and Slovak Republic believe in fair and reciprocal trade. We support an approach to United States-European Union trade relations that will bring jobs and growth to both sides of the Atlantic. We commit to explore opportunities for increasing investment between our countries and to strengthen our trading relationship further. We will work together to unlock the inherent innovation potential of our two economies.
Imperial Valley News Center

Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Opelousas, Louisiana - Remarks by Vice President Pence During Visit to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here. I want to thank Reverend Jack and all the pastors from the churches impacted by the fires a little more than a month ago.

What happened here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys was evil. But these communities of faith have overcome evil with good.

And I wanted to be here today just simply to tell all of you, on behalf our President, on behalf of all of the American people, that were with you.

PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Were praying for you. And were standing with you. And we know these churches and this community will rebuild bigger and better than ever before.

PARTICIPANTS: Amen.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your resilience and your faith and your courage in the wake of this unspeakable evil has inspired the nation.

Now, I had to come here to express that to you. But not just me. Im honored to be joined by other public officials whove made time to be with us today and I know who have been standing with you from the very first day and the very first fire. And I want to thank Governor Edwards for being with us today, for the outstanding effort your law enforcement team at the state level did.

I want to thank Attorney General Landry, who is with us today. And I met the law enforcement officer today who brought the suspect to justice just a few short days after these horrific fires. And we commend the law enforcement community at the state and local level for the outstanding work that they did working in this community to bring that person to justice.

And I also want to thank Senator Cassidy and Congressman Scalise and the better part of the entire delegation in the Congress from Louisiana who are joining us today.

It blesses my heart to be with all of you today and to see the way this community has come together with a commitment to rebuild and to rebuild on a foundation of faith.

You know, sadly, we live in a time when attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent. The fires here at Mount Pleasant, at Greater Union, at Saint Marys are part of a story that continued last week in California at a synagogue; last fall, in Pittsburgh; at a mosque in New Zealand; and at churches on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

No one should ever fear for their safety in a house of worship anywhere in this country, anywhere in the world. And these attacks on communities of faith must stop.

Let me say to each and every one of you gathered here, though, that your example in the wake of this evil  and not just of the churches of Mount Pleasant and Saint Marys and Greater Union, but also, Reverend Jack, of all of the communities of faith in this area and all across Louisiana has truly been inspiring. To see the way people of faith responded not with anger but with charity.

And to think of churches burning one day after another, and how people might have responded, and to see the way people, here in these churches and this community and across Louisiana, responded is an inspiration to the nation.

After what happened at Saint Marys and here at Mount Pleasant and Greater Union, you overcame evil with good. And, Reverend Toussaint, I particularly was moved when you said, after the suspect was apprehended, that weve got to forgive him. You lived out your faith and had a testimony for Christ that echoed across the country. And I must tell you also: It was very inspirational to us to know that you still had Easter services right here at Mount Pleasant.

Theres a verse that says, If the foundation crumbles, how can the righteous stand? And as I arrived today, the pastors and I spoke about the fact that while these  the structure of these churches burned, what was evident to people all across the America is the foundation was firm  a foundation of faith and heart to charity.

And I know, in my heart of hearts, based on that witness of faith and the generous outpouring of people across this state and across this nation, with great leadership at the state and federal level, and with great leadership in the pulpits of not only these three churches but all the churches across this area, that the best days for these three churches, for faith in Louisiana and faith in America, are yet to come.

So thank you all very much. (Applause.)

Reverend Jack, did you want to say a word?

REVEREND JACKSON: Well, were more than thankful that the President and the Vice President of these United States of America thought well enough to come out and share, through way of expression, their love and concern for the wellbeing of these three families who have lost their places of worship.

And just, Vice President Pence, his presence of being here today lets us know that theres hope not only for today but also hope for tomorrow, and that we have the support of all of Gods children across the globe.

And so were just happy that he thought well enough to come out and share with us, even if just for a short moment. And we are very thankful for that. And we want to thank you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Jack. Were with you. Were with you.

Reverend Toussaint?

REVEREND TOUSSAINT: I just want to say thank you, Vice President Pence, for showing the love of God thats spread abroad in all of us. We have to know that there is something better for this country than hatred, envy, and strife. We are built  this country is built on God. We are one nation under God. And God is love.

If we dont continue to show each other love, why would you wake up in the morning to hate somebody? You should be making yourself a better person to wake up in the morning, to do whats best for your neighbor, do whats best for your fellow man, and then you will fulfill out the Scriptures, which is the  the fullness of Scripture is love. Thats the complete of the Commandments is love, the greatest of them all.

And I thank you for coming and taking your time out to come. Theres nothing better or more important than this visit because it shows me that God is in the White House. His presence is there, and we thank God for you. May God forever keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you peace. (Applause.)

REVEREND SYLVESTER: Vice President Pence, I want to thank you for just coming out and just showing your support. It speaks volumes. And I just want to tell everyone thats here, I want to tell you, I want to tell America, the world: Thank you.

The outpouring, the outreach  mind-blowing. And it just proves that we live in a world where people still care about each other.

And the people that do that  weve got to make sure that we dont lose heart, we dont get all hate  you know, all that hate in our heart. And remember that were here to help one another and be there for one another.

So, once again, I just cant say it enough  and I know I speak on behalf of the other pastors: Thank you, America. Thank you, the world. Thank you, Vice President Pence, for all that youve done to support us and to be there with us. And God is smiling down upon us (inaudible). God bless you. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

REVEREND RICHARD: Vice President Pence, I really appreciate the effort that you have taken to come and be with us during our times of trials. You know, the Bible is saying in this world we will have trials and tribulations. Its always good to know that that theres somebody there to help you. And we appreciate you taking out the time, as well as all of the other law enforcement and the governor, and all the help that you guys have given us. I cant express enough how the love of God has shown up in you guys.

You know, oftentimes, when we come to Christ, we say, We come to Christ, but we have to realize that God comes and uses us. Hes in control. And were just instruments. And if youre willing to be used by God, I know weve got great things ahead of us.

God bless you. God bless you, Mr. Vice President. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you again. These three pastors, their faith in the wake of this unspeakable act of evil, is in keeping with the best traditions of our faith. And, frankly, we have the best traditions of our country.

And Im deeply inspired, as people are all across this country, by the courage and the resilience of these communities of faith, these families of faith, but also by the generous support of the people of Louisiana and people all across the country.

I know you have a ways to go. I was told that were going to start hearing hammers pretty soon  (laughter)  at Saint Marys, and Greater Union, and here at Mount Pleasant.

And we have every confidence that with your continued testimony and leadership, with the generous strong support of your governor, your senator, your members of Congress, with an outpouring of support from people all across this state and this nation, I know that the best days for Mount Pleasant, Greater Union, Saint Marys, and Louisiana are yet to come.

So, thank you all very much, and God bless you.
Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

After more than 20 years, you'd think there'd be leaping for joy.

For so many of those years, Flight Attendants had been wondering whether their 8-hour rest periods between duty days were enough.

After all, if you still have to get to a hotel after a long day and then wake at the crack of dawn to get back to the airport and be on your next flight, you're not going to get eight hours' sleep, are you?

Seven fatigue studies ultimately declared in 2015 that the correct and safe amount of resting time should be 10 hours.

Pilots already had that privilege.

Finally, as my colleague Bill Murphy Jr. reported, last September at 2.52 a.m on a Saturday morning, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

Within it was a mandate to the airlines to institute the new, scientifically suggested rest period.

It hasn't yet happened.

First, the Department of Transportation didn't update the regulation, in which there were dozens of other safety initiatives embedded.

Then came the Government Shutdown and the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.

Yet many Flight Attendants are wondering whether one or more airlines are stalling on the hard-fought stipulation.

Because, oh, it can't be money behind this, can it?

Please forgive me, that was my own dry fear.

Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and in her spare time a United Airlines Flight Attendant, told me her members -- Flight Attendants at 20 airlines in all, including United, Alaska and Spirit -- are intensely frustrated.

She also intimates dark forces may be at play. She told me:

We have learned through multiple conversations with industry, regulators, and other sources all over Washington, Delta Air Lines has been pushing the the Department of Transportation and the FAA to slow down implementation.

Nelson told me she's heard Delta is telling the regulators it needs to hire 2,000 more Flight Attendants in order to comply. This could take two years.

Why would Delta want to hold back such an apparently sensible, science-based, safety-orientedf regulation?

A Delta spokesman denied the airline was doing any such thing. He told me:

We're preparing now by hiring flight attendants and making adjustments to our scheduling technology, so that we can support the change once it's implemented.

The airline refutes any suggestion that it would be against the new regulation at all.

Whispers from several thousand feet, however, suggest Delta doesn't necessarily view the new regulations with untrammeled joy.

Nelson is a touch skeptical too. She told me:

If you had a union on the property, you'd know scheduling systems can be a bear to update, but not simply changing a modifier like this.

Delta is alone in its Flight Attendants being non-unionized. Some, though, might find it odd that the airline wouldn't be a touch more gung-ho.

If you're renowned for your customer service, held in high esteem by all your rivals, wouldn't you want to be in the vanguard of such employee-friendly and safety-minded rules?

Safety is, after all, very much in passengers' minds currently, after two awful crashes involving the MAX 8. In one survey, more than half of Americans now say they don't want to fly it.

And when there is a safety issue or even an emergency, it's Flight Attendants who are most often at the forefront.

I asked the Federal Aviation Administration to explain what's going on. A spokeswoman told me:

We're in the process of initiating rulemaking on the Flight Attendant duty and rest rules. The change directed by Congress requires that we go through the traditional rulemaking process to revise the rules.

There's a tantalizing kink to all this. As the FAA spokeswoman told me:

Air carriers can adopt the new rest requirements on their own.

So American, Southwest and the rest can simply say Yup, Here We Go and it will be perfectly legal.

Why don't they?

An American Airlines spokesperson told me:

The FAA has not issued its final rule yet detailing the rest requirements. We are in compliance with the current FAA regulations.

But the FAA has said you can go ahead. It told me. It's OK.

Southwest offered a similar line to that of Delta:

Southwest is working to develop technology requirements to support the scheduling requirements of the new rest rule while also working with our Flight Attendants' union to review the implications to our collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, we are coordinating with the FAA to incorporate agency guidance and conform to the specific elements prescribed by the Reauthorization Act of 2018 as we develop and enhance our policies and procedures.

Then again, Nelson told me such procedures should have taken six months at the most.

Are you ready for a touch more irony?

United already has the 10-hour rule, negotiated as part of a 2016 agreement. Yet the airline still doesn't appear to be pushing for the dozens of other associated safety-minded regulations to speed through.

It all seems quite curious.

It could be that some of these airlines are being sincere, given the many trials they've undergone this year.

Oh, but this couldn't be about money, could it?

If you have to give Flight Attendants more rest, you might have to pay more Flight Attendants. That would hurt.

Given the decades-long gestation period, you'd think airlines might have created contingency plans for the day.

Perhaps they never thought it would happen. Or perhaps they always hoped it wouldn't happen.

Nelson told me her union will be organizing protests with a view to speeding up airlines' thinking:

We launched a petition on fightfor10.org to call on DOT and FAA to immediately implement the law, and to encourage members of Congress to hold them accountable. We will ramp up additional actions in the coming weeks and months to hold airlines and regulators responsible for complying with the law.

She explained that May 5 will represent six months since the regulation should have been updated.

Will Flight Attendants have to wait another six months? Or will it be more?

And will passengers be looking at them, wondering if they've had enough rest?

If I'm on a morning flight, I do.
Spreading its arches far and wide? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

McDonald's is very good at doing what it does best.

For so many years, customers knew what to expect and understood that the core of the brand lay in simple, familiar fare.

The Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder were known all over the world.

And no one seemed to mind if they were frozen.

Until the brand seemed frozen in time.

Suddenly, it lagged behind more innovative competitors. It's still catching up with essentials such as fresh beef.

There's more work to do.

Rumor has it, though, that the burger chain is changing its menu, too, in a way that few might expect.

And a certain few may not tolerate.

You see, Business Insider reports that McDonald's has resorted to going, gasp, overseas for new menu items.

It's one thing to feature overseas items in its flagship worldwide headquarters in Chicago.

It's quite another to turn to Spain and import one of that country's dishes in order to put them in U.S. restaurants.

Yet here we seem to be.

The Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger from Spain will join the Stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands in making the trip from Europe.

A shorter journey awaits the Tomato-Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Canada.

Yet it's Australia that might be contributing the most tantalizing item: Cheesy Bacon Fries.

How can America not have invented that?

This glorious quartet will allegedly adorn McDonald's menus from the very point that its Signature Crafted sandwiches shuffle away. Which would be in the first days of June.

It's an extremely curious strategic twist when the chain initially said it was removing the Signature Crafted delights in order to have fewer menu items.

I contacted McDonald's to ask for its thoughts. The deeply cryptic response from a spokeswoman was:

Geen commentaar.

Because Absurdly Driven is reserved for the erudite, you'll know this is Dutch for no comment and PR for Yeah, but we're not admitting it yet.

The chain did confess last year that it was testing one or two of its international favorites in South Florida.

It seems, then, that there were some winners.

I wonder, though, how much or how little the chain will laud the provenance of these fine dishes.

It will be fascinating as to whether the fact they're from foreign lands will be an additional attraction or whether our nation's current, slightly inward-looking penchant will prevail.

You might think that a mere four menu items is nothing so extraordinary.

But in a market as deeply competitive as fast food, it's a sign that the blinkered thinking of promotions and discounts isn't quite enough.

McDonald's, just like Starbucks and many others, has to prove its freshness all the time.
In Berlin, most of the Second World War bullet holes have been filled in, the legendary 1990s rave venues redeveloped. Rents are rising and so are block after block of luxury apartments. Tech startups are flourishing.

Berlin is no longer poor but sexy, as its mayor at the time said in 2003. But with an officially estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including international stars such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and Sean Scully, the city still has the reputation of being the creative capital of the European art world. How is that reputation shaping up to reality in todays troubled times?

Last week, some 45 dealerships participated in the 15th edition of Gallery Weekend Berlin, a slickly organised collaboration that gives collectors and curators a sense of the latest in the citys art scene. Equally important, it gives galleries a chance to make some sales.

Berlin is an uber-cool city. The economics of the city allow dealers to have really great spaces, says Danny Goldberg, a collector based in Sydney, Australia. Goldberg was viewing new canvases by Leipzig-based painter Matthias Weischer and a video and sculptures by French artist Camille Henrot in Konig Galeries converted brutalist church in a less gentrified part of the citys Kreuzberg district.

A regular visitor to Gallery Weekend Berlin for the past five years, Goldberg, like many visiting collectors, says he values the more considered process of viewing and discussing art in galleries, and in artists studios, rather than browsing booths at art fairs.

10 best European art galleries Show all 10 1 /10 10 best European art galleries 10 best European art galleries The Peggy Guggenheim, Venice The only gallery Ive ever visited by water taxi, this little canal-side museum is a tiny gem  and its ideal for ticking off your Venice to do list without having to head back to the hotel for a lie down after. Housed in famed art collector Peggy Guggenheims old gaffe, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, it comes complete with an adorable little sculpture garden and yes, of course theres a cafe. Expect to see lots of paintings you recognise including Picassos and Pollocks, Mondrians and Miros. All the big names in a bite-sized space: bliss. Getty 10 best European art galleries The Picasso Museum, Barcelona There is only one art gallery I have broken down and cried in, and this is it. I think it was just the sheer volume of work, the guy never stopped experimenting and making stuff. He might not have been the nicest person, but youve got to take your hat off to him: he could do anything and everything. And, it's central location makes it perfect for heading out to lunch after working up an appetite learning all about cubism. Getty 10 best European art galleries Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen This gallery is situated about 40km outside of Copenhagen which means you get to go on an exciting train ride through the posh suburbs of Copenhagen  all very Borgen. A 15-minute walk from the station, the gallery itself sits in stunning landscaped gardens slap bang on the Danish coast with a view over the Sound across to Sweden. Expect top class international art, both indoors and outdoors, plus the best open fishy sandwiches on pumpernickel you could hope for. Yum. Rex 10 best European art galleries Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo This is a smart little place on the edge of the freezing fjorde waters of Oslo. I visited in January and basically slid over from the hotel next door  which offered free entry along with our stay. Hugely more enjoyable than the Munch Museum, which I found slightly miserable. This is a light-filled modern gallery with ever-changing exhibitions as well as a permanent collection of names that even the most clueless of us have heard of. Hirst cows are in there for example, alongside Jeff Koons disturbing Michael Jackson with monkey sculpture. It also has a cafe and shop but prepare to choke slightly over the prices. Rex 10 best European art galleries Miro Museum, Palma A must for Miro fans, there are buses from the city centre but we cheated and got a cab. Essentially its a massive Miro fest with some lovely quirky architectural details  Miros studio for example is a primary colour 1960s design classic. Theres also a sculpture garden, coffee bar and obligatory shop where you can buy all things Miro: mugs; fridge magnets; tea towels etc. Rex 10 best European art galleries Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki This was a gallery the old man and I stumbled on whilst strolling around Helsinki, around a decade ago. We were over visiting a production of Grumpy Old Women Live which was being performed in Finnish in the city centre. And after perusing such delicacies as traditional bear pate in the market we needed something a bit more contemporary. Expect cutting-edge modern, colourful and fun, a mix of installation, photography and painting. The exhibitions change seasonally, as does the lunch menu in the cafe, good work Helsinki, though I'd give the bear pate a miss. Rex 10 best European art galleries The Black Horizon Art Pavilion, Lopud Island, Croatia OK this one is a bit off the beaten track, for starters youve got to get a ferry from Durbrovnik to the tiny island of Lopud, from there you either walk, cycle or golf cart it to this wonderful magical box which basically squats in the middle of nowhere. Basically its a wooden shed, designed by our very own David Adjaye, which houses a lighting installation by the artist Olafur Eliasson. It showcases the colour changes on Lopuds horizon over 24 hours on a repeating 15-minute loop. Expect to have your mind blown, but dont expect coffee or cake  there is no cafe. I repeat, there is no cafe. Zoran Marinovic 10 best European art galleries Museum der Dinge, Berlin This isnt strictly an art gallery, its a collection of things, displayed over 500 metres in a former workshop. Its one of my favourite back street hot spots, and features a beautifully curated collection of design and everyday objects from the 20th and 21st century. This might be anything from dolls house furniture to kitchen utensils. Imagine a modern day equivalent of the Victorian collector, where plastic and mass produced household items replace eggs and butterflies. No cafe, but there are lots of cool places to hang out locally. Its so Berlin it hurts. Rex 10 best European art galleries Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery, Croatia A second Croatian gallery, guess where I like to go on my hols? This one is in Dubrovnik and if its getting a bit hot out there on the beach, this is the idea place to take shelter. Fabulously cool and blissfully empty, the exhibitions change regularly, but I remember being mightily impressed when I visited a few years ago. I seem to remember some kind of refreshment facility but I dont think it ran to a decent light lunch menu, so bear that in mind when you visit (or smuggle in a sandwich). AFP/Getty Images 10 best European art galleries Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery, Berlin This is a massive gallery housed in an old train station. Its home to some of the worlds best contemporary art, so you can wander round and tick off all the big names. Its pretty exhausting but dont worry, if you need a pit stop theres a proper restaurant with fancy beers and a comprehensive menu which features the Berlin classic currywurst, chips and homemade ketchup. Oh God, I might just have to catch a plane. Rex

Im art-faired out, says Goldberg, vowing to kick the habit of visiting half a dozen such events a year. Its just more of the same, he adds.

While fair fatigue has become a common complaint among collectors, Berlins leading gallerists value events like Art Basel, FIAC and Frieze as a way of making contact with a global clientele. Unlike New York, London and Paris, Berlin doesnt host any major international art fairs or auctions.

There isnt the social structure or the mentality that supports a collector base here, says Barbara Huttrop, director of the Berlin galerie Kewenig, which exhibits at the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Theres no industry, adds Huttrop, whose gallery in a historic house has yet to attract significant collectors from Berlins tech sector.

Kewenigs The Palace of the Perfect, a presentation of 13 works from the 1980s from the estate of admired American conceptual artist James Lee Byars was, for many, the standout show of the weekend. Byars unique brand of magical minimalism was perhaps most powerfully represented by The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 that consists of an enormous gilded amphora lying in the gallerys red-painted hallway. It was priced at $5m (3.8m).

For us its the most important weekend, says Huttrop, who was hoping to greet at least 20 of the gallerys most important international clients.

Did they turn up? Top collectors such as Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Turin, Anita Zabludowicz from London and Uli Sigg from Switzerland were certainly in Berlin. But some Gallery Weekend regulars noticed a more general shortage of foreign visitors. American accents were rarely heard.

The Spinning Oracle of Delfi, a work from 1986 by James Lee Byars (Alamy) (Alamy Stock Photo)

I never saw so few international buyers, says Magnus Resch, the founder of Magnus, an app likened to Shazam for the art world, who is based in New York but has an apartment in Berlin.

The art world calendar is saturated with events, particularly with 2019 being a year of the Venice Biennale, which attracts droves of international collectors hoping to discover the next big names before the market does.

But the shock of the new was in short supply at Gallery Weekend. There was little in the way of performance, installation or digital art. Painting and sculpture by German artists predominated.

By Saturday afternoon, at least half a dozen of Weischers 16 enigmatic and painterly images of interiors had found buyers at Konig Galerie, priced from 24,000 to 175,000.

Similar works were popular with collectors in the late 2000s when Weischer, along with several other contemporary German painters, had been market darlings. Then, large canvases sold for as much as 450,000 at auction; more recently, they have been selling for between 40,000 and 77,000, according to the Artnet database of salesroom results.

Berlin has an estimated population of 20,000 professional artists, including Ai Weiwei (AFP/Getty)

Konrad Fischer Galerie formally inaugurated its spectacular new space in an old transformer station with a show of works by Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Long. Granite Crossing, a new and characteristic large-scale floor sculpture made of pale red rocks was priced at 250,000, and was not snapped up by Saturday.

More zeitgeisty works by young Brussels-based German painter Jana Euler were at least in demand at Galerie Neu in Mitte in a show titled Great White Fear.

Euler jokily incorporated her own features in eight 10-foot-high paintings of a breaching white shark that resembled an erect phallus. All subtly different in their expressionistic technique, these sold out, priced at between 40,000 to 75,000.

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For all Berlins reputation as a melting pot of artistic innovation, many visitors were disappointed by the amount of older works on display and the conservatism of the new presentations. I only saw known artists, no new discoveries, no disruption, no innovation. Where are the wild days gone? says Resch, the app founder.

With Hong Kong and Los Angeles both attracting growing attention as must-visit art world hubs, and the calendar getting ever more crowded, Berlins Gallery Weekend needs to embrace change. Just as the city itself has.

 New York Times
Renowned as the Eye of Istanbul, the work of late photojournalist Ara Guler has been on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London before embarking on a worldwide showing.

Guler, who passed away in October last year at the age of 90, was known by many as one of the greatest photojournalists of his time, working for Time Life magazine, Paris Match and Magnum Photos. He was awarded the title Master of Leica in 1962 and, in 1999, was honoured with the Turkish Photographer of the Century award.

Capturing the daily lives of Turkeys working class through the years, Guler also worked as a portrait photographer, intimately depicting the most famous and inuential individuals of the 20th century. I believe that photography is a form of magic by which a moment of experience is seized for transmission to future generations, he once said when asked to explain his art.

The exhibition not only places special emphasis on Gulers striking images of Istanbul, but also gives prominence to fascinating scenes from Anatolia and different parts of the world. It also offers a selection of signicant historical portraits, including Picasso, Dali, Ask Veysel and Nazm Hikmet. The London exhibition features portraits of John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the UKs history and cultural life.

Recommended The winners of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards have been reveal

The exhibition of Gulers works, hailed by the British Journal of Photography as one of the seven greatest photographers in the world, was established by the Turkish presidency. The Europe minister Alan Duncan and Turkish ambassador Umit Yalcn opened the exhibition at the famous art venue, and while underlining that Guler is one of the best photographers in the world, Duncan said Guler never thought of himself as an artist.

He saw himself as a visual historian, as a photojournalist. He put the plight of his fellow men at the heart of his visual histories, particularly in his evocative black and white portraits of Istanbul, hustling and bustling in the age before the nasty motor car.

Following the exhibition in London, Gulers work will move to Paris Polka Gallery in late May. The third exhibition will be beyond Europes borders, at Kyotos Tofukuji Temple. Late June will mark the opening of this exhibition, at the time when the G20 Summit is held in Japan. The fourth iteration is to be held in New York in late September, at the Smithsonian National American Indian Museum, and is expected to attract large crowds from different cultures and nations from across the world, who will visit New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly. The exhibition will then meet art lovers at Romes Trastevere Museum at the end of the year, and nally at the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu by 2020.

The Ara Guler Exhibition runs at the Saatchi until 5 May
 Flash

Thousands of voters in Britain punished the two main political parties on Friday over their failure to resolve the Brexit question by firing hundreds of councilors serving on city and town councils.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives suffered the brunt of public anger, but the main opposition Labour Party also paid the price for the ongoing impasse over Britain's departure from the European Union.

With the counting of votes at the half-way stage by daybreak Friday, results showed the Conservatives had so far lost more than 400 seats in council chambers, and Labour around 90 seats.

The big winners of Thursday's poll have so far been Britain's third political party, the Liberal Democrats, who have won over 300 seats, mainly at the expense of the two big parties.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis admitted it had been a tough night for his party.

"We always knew this would be a tough year for us," Lewis said, adding that he recognized there is huge frustration about Brexit from the British public.

"There's a very clear message to both parties that we have got to get on with getting Brexit done," he said.

The Liberal Democrats spokesman and Westminster Member of Parliament (MP) Ed Davey described the results as fantastic and added, "We are back in business."

His party was punished in 2015 for its part in its coalition with the Conservative Party, when it suffered a near wipe-out at the ballot box.

Davey told Sky News many voters had turned to the Liberal Democrats over their Brexit policy and demanded a second referendum.

The Conservatives MP Crispin Blunt said the Brexit mess in Westminster had hit his party in the local elections.

He warned the outlook for the European Parliament elections, which are planned for later this month, could be even worse as the focus will be on Europe.

"Plainly we are going to need to get a new leader at some point and get a clear strategy to get Brexit across the line," Blunt said in a breakfast radio interview in reference to May's days at 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Gwynne, national campaign coordinator for the Labour Party, said it had been a tough set of elections for his party, and while local factors were at play, Brexit had undoubtedly played a part in the results.

"The point is that for many people, it was their first opportunity to express that sense of frustration and I think the two main parties have borne the brunt of that," Gwynne, Labour Party's shadow communities secretary, told the BBC.

Approaching the half-way stage, the Conservatives had lost control at 16 town halls and Labour three, with leadership in more council chambers certain to change hands as counting resumed Friday morning.

The Green Party was also the beneficiary of public dissent as thousands of traditional Conservatives and Labour voters turned to it.

Elections expert Professor John Curtice from Strathclyde University said the Green Party has had its best ever results while the gains of the Liberal Democrats had restored it to the traditional party of so-called pavement politics, while independent candidates had gained major ground.

"The picture of local government is going to be different after these elections," Curtice said.

"This has been a night under which the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour over politics in Britain has come under substantial challenge. Very unusually both parties have seen their vote fall back and both are suffering loses," he added.

Curtice told the BBC there has been a north-south divide, with Conservatives shedding more seats in the south of England and Labour losing more in its traditional northern heartland.

Both the Conservatives and Labour were bracing themselves for more bad results as the counting continued, with the picture expected to be completed by early afternoon.
Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8

Game of Thrones fans rejoiced during last weeks episode, when Arya Stark killed the Night King and Westeross greatest threat  the White Walkers  was finally annihilated. Yet, the shows creators, David Benioff and DB Weiss, dont want you to get so comfortable.

The pair stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to answer a few questions about the finale season. The host began: A couple of questions  I dont know if youll be able to answer them. Are we for sure done with the White Walkers?

The duo paused and looked at each other, before Benioff replied: Were not gonna answer that. Could Benioff and Weiss be bluffing or is a major twist about to be unleashed on fans?

The next episode appears to move events to Kings Landing, as the survivors of the Night King battle prepare to take on Cersei Lannister, Euron Greyjoy and The Golden Company.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Show all 9 1 /9 Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4 - first look photos HBO / Helen Sloan

Photos show Jon, Daenerys, Tormund, Grey Worm and Samwell bearing torches in memory of Theon, Beric, Lyanna and Ser Jorah.

The creators also revealed that Mike Pence got a stealthy shout-out during the Battle of Winterfell. According to Weiss, director Miguel Sapochnik asked Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, to say something in Valyrian.

Jacob was so tired and so delirious and so out of it that all he could think to yell was Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Mike Pence, Weiss said.

The audio was later dubbed over, so the vice presidents name cannot actually be heard, but that is what Anderson was yelling, the co-creator added.

Game of Thrones is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK, and on HBO in the US.
The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earths plants and animals by people, leading scientists have warned in a dramatic report.

Loss of biodiversity threatens the human race just as much as climate change, the experts believe, with up to a million species facing extinction in the worlds sixth mass die-off.

The UNs global assessment on the state of nature  published on Monday, and the most comprehensive of its kind  says that without urgent action, the wellbeing of current and future generations of people will be at risk as life-support systems providing food, pollination and clean water collapse.

The 1,800-page report lays out a series of future scenarios based on decisions by governments and other policymakers, and recommends a rescue plan.

It highlights how man-made activity has destroyed nature, such as forests, wetlands and other wild landscapes, damaging Earths capacity to renew breathable air, productive soil and drinkable water.

Endangered and threatened species of Britain Show all 10 1 /10 Endangered and threatened species of Britain Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hedgehog In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million hedgehogs in the UK, there are now only one million Getty/iStock Endangered and threatened species of Britain Hazel dormouse The population of the hazel dormouse is thought to have declined by over one third since 2000. It is threatened by loss of habitat Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Red squirrel Famously ravaged by the North American grey squirrel, the red squirrel is nowadays very rare with a population of around 140,000 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Mountain hare The population in Scotland stands at 1% of its 1950 level and only one colony remains in England in the Peak District Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Natterjack toad Threatened by the disappearance of their coastal habitats, the natterjack toad is now only found at a handful of site across the UK Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Water vole Once found across Britain, the water vole is no longer anywhere to be seen in 90% of waterways Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Turtle dove On the Red List of conservation concern, the turtle dove population has declined by 97% since 1970 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Small tortoiseshell butterfly Amid a general decline in butterfly population since records began in the 1970s, the small tortoiseshell saw a 38% drop in population in 2018 Getty Endangered and threatened species of Britain Noble chafer beetle Classed as vulnerable, the noble chafer beetle became increasingly rare throughout the 20th century due to habitat loss. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species gbhone Endangered and threatened species of Britain Stag beetle Their population is not known but due to habitat loss and other threats they are a protected species. Members of the public are encouraged to report any sightings to the People's Trust for Endangered Species Getty

The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human wellbeing, said Sir Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in a paper previewing the report.

Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come. Policies, efforts and actions  at every level  will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence. This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides.

The report warns the destruction of nature threatens humanity at least as much as human-induced climate change.

Diplomats from 130 countries met in Paris to launch the report which has been in development for three years and has involved hundreds of experts.

Sir Robert told The Guardian: There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.

We are in trouble if we dont act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.

Many species will die out within decades, scientists say, while ocean fish are being plundered to the edge of sustainability.

The loss of pollinating insects, especially bees, will undermine supplies of food crops.

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Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years, WWFs Living Planet Report last year said.

The global assessment report comes at an opportune time when the world is waking up to dual threat of biodiversity loss and climate change, said Guenter Mitlacher, a biodiversity expert at WWF Germany.

This report will play a pivotal role in informing governments and policymakers of the risks of nature loss for future development of societies and economies.
Anna Wintour has revealed her dream guest list for the annual Met Gala would include two members of the British royal family.

During an interview with Todays Jenna Bush Hager, the Vogue editor-in-chief discussed details of the upcoming Met Gala, which takes place on Monday, including everything from the colour of the red carpet to the no selfie rule.

But, according to Wintour, who oversees every detail of the exclusive celebrity-studded event, there are two guests she wishes would attend - the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge.

In response to a question about her dream guest, Wintour said: I would love to have the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge together.

That would be my dream couple, she said, before adding: They could leave their husbands at home. Its the two of them I want.

10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Show all 10 1 /10 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Diana, 1996



Princess Diana attended the 1996 Met Gala alongside friend and former Harper's Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis. The royal wore a navy blue camisole dress from John Gallianos debut couture collection for Dior and a pearl, diamond and sapphire choker around her neck. AFP/Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Lee Radziwill, 2001



Lee Radziwil, the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, attended the Met Gala in 2001 wearing a flowy white gown with intricate embroidery. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Andrea Casiraghi, 2006



Andrea Casiraghi - the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the Met Gala in 2006 with his now wife, Tatiana Santo Domingo. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2007



Queen Rania of Jordan made an appearance at the Met Gala in 2007 wearing a navy silk gown featuring a wide black belt. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Charlotte Casiraghi, 2016



Charlotte Casiraghi - the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover - attended the event in 2016 wearing a tiered floor-length dress by Gucci. The colourful gown featured an ombre effect from canary yellow to fuschia pink and purple. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 2016



Socialite Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a cream strapless mini-dress by Balmain with pointed thigh-high boots. 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Queen Rania of Jordan, 2016



In 2016, Queen Rania of Jordan was the definition of elegance as she attended the Met Gala in a black and white feathered Valentino gown. Getty Images 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2016



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis - the daughter of Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis - attended the Met Gala in 2016 wearing a gold mini-dress by Mary Katrantzou. The royal accessorised her look with a metallic choker, matching handbag and feather ear piece. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis, 2017



Princess Elisabeth Von Thurn Und Taxis also attended the Met Gala the following year wearing a pale pink overcoat designed by Simone Rocha. The garment was covered in 3D floral embellishment and paired with red square toe heels. Rex Features 10 times the royals attending the Met Gala Princess Beatrice, 2018



For her first time attending the Met Gala in 2018, Princess Beatrice wore a purple floor-length gown designed by Alberta Ferretti. The dress featured sheer sleeves, a high neck and embellishments across the bodice. Beatrice accessorised the look with a beaded headband and gunmetal silver clutch bag. Getty Images

Although it is unlikely Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton will be in attendance this year, as the royal baby is expected any day, royalty have attended the fashion-focused event before.

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Last year, Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attended the gala in a Grecian-style gown by Alberta Ferretti.

And in 1996, Prince William and Prince Harrys mother Princess Diana was in attendance, dressed in a navy slip dress by John Galliano for Dior.

This years theme is Camp: Notes on Fashion - which Wintour confirmed is nothing about nature and instead about everything completely artificial and fake and not really what you think it means.

As for how she hopes guests will interpret the theme, Wintour said: We want them to take risks, to be fearless, to have fun with fashion.

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We all need to laugh at ourselves too.
The two old boys were having lunch. On the table was a bottle of wine. When they ordered a second, there was an audible ripple of admiration around the room. Fellow diners smiled in their direction.

This scene unfolded recently in a City restaurant. Indeed, the two men looked as if they had met for a bit of a stockbroker reunion, to reminisce about their share trading, and lunching, days.

Hardly anyone has a two bottler any more. Not at lunch on a work day. One bottle is rare, but a couple  that is going some.
Lynne Colston is reading out a postcard from the future.

Her descendants in the village of Aberfan, in Merthyr Vale, south Wales, have written to tell her that climate change has resulted in food shortages. But thanks to Colston, who started localised growing programmes in 2018, her descendants have survived. Her great-great-great-great granddaughter is sitting at a table made from oak grown from an acorn Colston planted, and harvested at a a sawmill established under Colstons watch, which has brought business back to the valley. Thank you for making change happen and thank you for our future, the descendant writes.

Its Wednesday lunchtime in an empty shopping unit in the Capitol Centre, Cardiff, and Colston is one of of a handful of residents presenting their vision for the future of the Welsh valleys. Nearly 100 people are gathered, including Welsh assembly members, local councillors, forestry authorities and community groups. The Skyline Project has spent nine months engaging artists to unlock residents ideas about their natural environment. The resulting maps and quotations are pasted all over the gallery walls, including dreams of swimming pools, walking routes, honeybees and wild birds.

Colstons postcard might be fantasy today, but Skyline sees this artistic reimagining as the first step to a community action plan for the land.

One man is here to show them whats possible. Alastair McIntosh was one of four founders of the Isle of Eigg Trust in 1991, which in the space of six years wrested the island in the Scottish Hebrides from rich owners and put it in the hands of the community. Its not about sloganising politics, its about figuring out things that are going to work, he says. You have to start digging with a teaspoon, then a spade, then a digger, and then political confidence to flow into those channels.

But Scotland has a very different tradition of land ownership. As well as positive examples of community ownership, Scotland has a history of crofting, or long term leases of private land to stewards, and momentum is growing for further reform. An investigation by the Scottish Land Commission found that concentrated land ownership in Scotland, where 1,125 people own 70 per cent of the land, has held back prospects for economic, housing and community development. The commission went so far as to describe the concentration of land ownership in Scotland as socially corrosive.

The situation in Wales is different. Wales has fewer private landowners. It also has much more public land. The question for the groups involved in Skyline is whether they can get public bodies to support their ideas. Being able to get land is a political thing, says Mark Walton, the co-director of Shared Assets. In Scotland it required legislation. Whats exciting is that Skyline is looking at what is already publicly owned land. It is in the gift of authorities to transfer ownership to communities or give them leases to allow the to manage productively. Thats a massive opportunity because it overcomes the main barrier to entry, which is the cost of buying the land.

Walton says that an ambitious programme of land transfer to communities in urban areas has the potential to revitalise areas still reeling from the death of traditional industry, particularly in Wales and the north of England. But he acknowledges that is it sometimes difficult for authorities to cede power: Authorities are afraid because this fundamentally changes the relationship between the state and the people. It changes the way the civil servants behave. It changes the dynamic  and that is scary.

Ian Thomas, runs Welcome to Our Woods, a community partnership in the upper Rhondda Fawr making local natural resources accessible to residents. In May, Welcome to Our Woods was awarded 90,000 in grants and loans from the Co-op Foundation, to put towards its project converting waste wood into furniture and biomass fuel, generating income. The money has been generated by the sale of 5p bags in the Co-ops Welsh supermarkets.

Project Skyline, which is exploring land ownership in the south Wales valleys, visited community forests in Scotland in October (Mike Erskine)

In October, Thomas, Colston and other volunteers from other valleys groups visited the Kilfinan Community Forest in Tighnabruaich, which manages ownership of 434 hectares of Acharossan Forest. Chris Blake, who started the Skyline Project, says that the trip proved the possibilities. To see for yourselves what the forest crofts has achieved in eight years was quite staggering, he says. At the end of the day we sat down and suddenly we realised it can be done.

Geraint Davies, the Plaid Cymru councillor for Treherbert ward, is among those at the event in the shopping centre. As visitors browse the exhibition, he remembers playing in the mountains as a child: We used to be up there making dams, but you dont see children up there now.

Would he support community ownership of the land? I think that would be wonderful, he says. Its very important to get people committed to the area through ownership. In the past people have come in, done things, and gone again.

Lee Waters, the deputy minister for economy and transport at the Welsh assembly, sees Skyline as part of a broader movement for the democratic ownership of land and the economy that is going on in places like Preston in Lancashire and Barcelona in Spain.

Recommended How South Wales is learning from community forests in Scotland

There has been a profound change going on in the valleys in just two generations. Theres been considerable depopulation and some areas are returning to semi-rural, which creates a range of policy challenges but also opens up a new way of doing things, Waters says. Might the Welsh government give Skyline funding for land? Theres absolutely no reason why we wouldnt. Wed have to see some detail but I think its got huge potential.

Thomas says the seeds of change have already been planted. When we looked at our land we found that 85 per cent is public estate, he says. So were not talking about ownership because as far as were concerned we already own the land. Its about what level of stewardship we get. What we are looking at is a micro-hydro scheme, a sawmill, solar farms and forest crofts. This land is opportunity for us.
Over 1,000 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the deadliest outbreaks of the disease in history.

With efforts to bring it under control hampered by civil war and mistrust, health minister Oly Ilunga said 1,008 lives have been claimed by the virus.

While the crisis is a long way off the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africas Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which killed more than 11,000, people experts warn its true extent in DRC is not clear.

There might be double this many cases in reality that were just not aware of, Tariq Riebl, emergency response director for the Ebola response crisis with the International Rescue Committee.

Despite the risk of spread across the highly porous borders with Uganda and Rwanda or further afield, in April the World Health Organisation (WHO) again opted not to declare a global health emergency.

Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Show all 27 1 /27 Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 During Ebola, they quarantined areas. My husband was at Kailahun and couldnt cross the boundary, so we were separated. They taught us how to wash our hands and we were all washing our hands every day; even my children were washing their hands. Haja is the mother of three surviving children, two of her children died from diarrhoea WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 This is the finished toilet that we have built in our compound, I am very happy to have my own toilet and I will be proud to use it WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 All the parents came together and built a school in the village, we have just opened the school. The children are at assembly with no uniforms. I am the teacher at the school so I took this photo to show how we have been working hard for our children to be educated WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Here is my son, Sessay (left), with his friends. I was happy to snap them. I have given birth to six children, but only three are still alive. The first one I lost was three years ago, and the second was two years ago. Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 Four months ago I lost Senior Lahai. He was six months old and was affected by a runny stomach and a rising body temperature. He was really, really sick, he wasn't even taking breast milk, and he died. My heart was broken. My baby used to be strong. He was able to sit by himself and was just starting to practise to crawl and reach for things. He laughed a lot when I played with him, Id clap and dance. I have a happy moment when he started sitting by himself and learning to crawl. Those are the happy moments that makes a mother most happy. The moment I remember most about Lahai was when he was breastfeeding and was playing with my neck and chin with his hand. I look to the future and hope that such things won't happen again, and that God will give me children that stay with me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna Bockarie, 24 My step brother Ibrahim is building our toilet with loamy soil because we dont have cement. WaterAid taught us about good sanitation and I want to show that we are now building our own toilets so that we will not go to the bush or use the stream as a toilet that is why I took this photo WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Aruna, 33 Washing in the stream: When we came here the water system was very bad. I know that when I drink dirty water I get sick. We are getting diarrhoea because we are drinking that type of water. If I am sick I am not able to earn money because I am not able to go to work, and I have to stay at home, which is very difficult for me WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah These are the contractors that came to build the water well, and they are mixing the stones and the cement to build the cover of the well WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah I started tree climbing when I was living with my grandmother and she was trying to get some palm kernels and process them to make the oil that we use. I didnt like doing the processing part so I decided to climb the trees to do the harvest instead. Tree climbing is very difficult. At times you can be confronted by a snake, as you are going up you just see one and it will hiss at you. If you are not strong you are going to fall out of the tree, and could die! I am just doing it for necessity sake. I dont want to do this job really, but at the moment I have no other means of making money, so I have no choice but to do this to manage my family WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 They killed my uncle during the war. I was not in this village during the war; I was in Guinea. Just after the war, my mother asked me to come back home. There were no houses when I returned; it had all been destroyed WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yajah This is my son Bockarie. He reminds me of his mother, who is not presently here with me, and he resembles me. Recently my son was very sick and we had to take him to the clinic to get treatment. Even getting to the clinic costs money. I didn't have any money, so I had to borrow money from the community people so I could take him to the hospital. Having very good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Tailu Yujah Sidique is 21 years old, he is my daughters husband and is drinking from the stream we use to fetch water. Our forefathers created this village, and the water was good. They covered it with a concrete box to keep it safe, but all of that fell down during the war, and afterwards no one could repair it. The water is not good here now and I have worms as a result. It will be very good to have clean water; it would give us a long life. If you have good drinking water, then your life is safe, but if you dont then your life is not secure. Having good drinking water would ease the issues with having to take people to the hospital because of illness, and the problem of finding the money to manage that WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 We the women of this village are experiencing the problems with lack of water and we pray that things will change. The rain washes everything, including faeces into the water. The children get diarrhoea from the water. With clean water, I would be clean and would not suffer from sickness WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 This is my brothers wife, she is holding both her daughter and my granddaughter WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Matu, 40 Matu is the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun. She is a traditional birth attendant and plays an important role within the womens society. Matu suffers from poor health; she has stomach problems caused by the dirty water WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 My name is Amadou Kokoyeh, but I am more familiar with Kokoyeh [Bush Chicken]. The name Kokoyeh was given to me by fathers older brother. Its meant to be a bird that is in the bush and mostly eats other peoples groundnuts when they plant them. WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my father helping to dig the water well, so that we will have clean water to drink. I am happy because we are going to have a well in my village. I dont think the water we currently collect from the muddy spring is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my family  my mother, father and younger brother. When Im not with them this picture will make me feel closer to them WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 Moserie Yajah was lying down in the grass, and asked me to get a shot of him. At the moment, every day people ask me to get a photo of them. I feel very happy when people ask for a picture. What I love most to get a shot of is people that are well dressed, sitting in a chair or in a very comfortable area that I can snap WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 We were going down to Matus place, and my friends and brother decided to cover themselves with that fishing net, and asked me to take a shot of them. The fishing net was taken from Ginnahs mother (Massah) and I think the picture is really good. I like the photo mainly because they are standing close to the wash yard, where people go to heat their water and wash. I love it because they are all my brothers, and we look out for each other WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 I love this picture. I took this photo of Bockarie when he was drinking water. The water was collected from the muddy spring where everyone collects water. I dont think it is good for drinking because it is exposed, and leaves and other things fall in it. I also get water down there with my mum, and sometimes I go with the other kids. Sometimes when I drink it, I have a stomach pain, and it also brings me headache. I have got sick from that, and I was taken to the health centre. If it rains, we harvest rainwater WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Amadou Kokoyeh (Bush Chicken), 8 This is my cousin Papay; we are very close  he lives nearby and we spend lots of time together. In this picture he is messing around. On his head is what our fathers make to catch fish in small streams. We then eat some fish and they sell the rest. It is important for our survival WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 The community people helping to build the water well, I was glad about this, that is why I took this photo. Kempah is a youth leader and mechanic from Tombohuaun WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Kempah Ginnah, 42 These children are our next of kin, my children and their friends. They are wonderful children WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Jeneba, 13 Here, my father, brothers and aunt are separating cocoa fruit from pods. By selling cocoa, my family earns enough to pay my school fees WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 We have now built a small school in our village. This is inside the class for my childrens first day in school. I took this picture to show them in the future so they will know that I want them to be educated and also free from diseases WaterAid Life after Ebola: a community rebuilds in Sierra Leone Haja Bobor, 31 This is my Aunt Mamie Ansumana. She is 40 and is a farmer. She loves going to the farm and likes to smile. She looked after me when my children died. The dirty water caused the death of two of my children; I dont want anything to happen to the others. She took me from the room where Senior Lahai died to her own room. I slept in her room for some time. I want to thank to her because she is still taking care of us WaterAid

Ebola treatment centres have come under repeated attack and many international aid agencies have pulled staff out of hotspots, like the towns of Katwa and Butembo, leaving government health workers struggling to cope.

Last month a Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the WHO was killed during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.

Insecurity has become a major impediment to controlling the Ebola outbreak, Michael Ryan, WHOs health emergencies chief, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

He said 119 attacks have been recorded since January, 42 of them directed at health facilities, while 85 health workers have been wounded or killed.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region, and political rivalries in part drives community rejection of health personnel.

Every time we have managed to regain control over the virus and contain its spread, we have suffered major, major security events, Mr Ryan said.

He added they were anticipating a scenario of continued intense transmission of the disease.

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WHO has said the most recent Ebola outbreak remained contained to eastern Congo even as the number of cases rises in a dense, highly mobile population near the border.

Many people fear going to Ebola treatment centres, choosing instead to stay at home and risk transmitting the disease from the virus to family and neighbours.

Residents of highly volatile Butembo believe Ebola was brought to the city on purpose, said Vianney Musavuli, 24, adding: I am deeply saddened to learn that the number of Ebola deaths has exceeded 1,000.

The problem is that people here in this area [people] believe Ebola is a political thing, and thats why residents are still attacking the teams in retaliation.

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Insecurity also has prevented vaccination teams from getting to some areas, further limiting the health response.

However, more than 109,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine.

Mr Ryan said authorities are looking at introducing another one. He called for more help from Congo and elsewhere to close an urgent, critical gap of some $54m in containment funding.

Additional reporting by AP
People who spread myths about the harms of vaccines have blood on their hands the health secretary has said as he refused to rule out compulsory immunisations.

While Matt Hancock downplayed suggestions that it would be made illegal not to vaccinate children, he said it could be considered if stalling immunisation rates are not addressed.

Vaccines are good for you, good for your children, and good for your neighbour who may have a medical condition that prevents them having the vaccine, he said.

Those who have promoted the anti-vaccination myth are morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible and have blood on their hands, he added.

His comments came in the wake of an investigation by The Times which found 40,000 UK parents are members of a single online group calling for children to be left unimmunised against life-threatening disease.

The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Show all 7 1 /7 The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Charlie Sheen Sheen fought a legal battle against ex-wife Denise Richards to try and block her from vaccinating their children. Richards of course won and Sheen was reportedly so bitter that he paid the paediatrician bill entirely in nickels Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow's "health and wellness" company Goop hosted a notorious anti-vaccine speaker at their 2018 Goop Summit Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Rob Schneider Schneider demanded the freedom to decline vaccination Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Jenny McCarthy McCarthy has claimed that "people are dying from vaccinations", believes that her son caught autism from a vaccine and has pushed her opinions on the topic publicly for many years AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Bill Maher Maher has long spoken against vaccines sating on Larry King live that "a flu shot is the worst thing you can do." His stance appears to stem from a distrust of government AFP/Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Alicia Silverstone In Silverstone's book The Kind Mama, she wrote that "there is increasing anecdotal evidence from doctors who have gotten distressed phone calls from parents claiming their child was never the same after receiving a vaccine." Getty The famous faces of the anti-vaccine movement Andrew Wakefield Godfather of the anti-vax movement, disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield famously published a report in the medical journal Lancet claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in 1998. The Lancet retracted the report in 2010 and Wakefield was struck off the medical register PA

Social media platforms like Facebook have been seen as key conduits for the spread of anti-vaxxer fake news which is having harmful consequences, according to UK health authorities.

However medical experts blamed government health reforms for falling immunisation rates, which have seen MMR uptake drop four years running.

Last month a Unicef report found half a million UK children went unvaccinated over the past seven years.

World Health Organisation figures show global measles cases rose 300 per cent in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The UK also saw its highest number of cases for a decade in 2018.

Mr Hancock said he was completely open to all options on bolstering vaccination rations, something which has previously been interpreted to mean banning unvaccinated children from schools.

Asked about the proposals on BBC Radio 4s Today programme Mr Hancock said: I dont want to reach the point of compulsory vaccination. I said Ill rule nothing out, but I dont want to reach that point, I dont think were near there.

Doctors were divided on the proposals, anaesthetist Dr Dave Jones backed compulsory vaccination.

But Dr Max Davie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said they first needed to undo the damage caused by underfunding and Conservative-led NHS reforms in 2012 which split responsibility for immunisation.

The difficulty is that the recent spike in UK cases does not appear to be due to a drop in public confidence, but in administrative and resource problems resulting from the split of public health to local authorities, he wrote on Twitter.
For Conservatives, there is no more salutary historical lesson of the consequences of leading a divided party than the experience of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850).

Elected with a governing majority of 76 in the general election of June 1841, the party was split for a generation after Peel insisted on pursuing a policy of free trade, through the repeal of the Corn Laws, five years later.

The party, created in the aftermath of the 1832 Reform Act, divided, with roughly one-third acting as Peelites until the 1860s and the other two-thirds continuing without them. Many leading Peelites joined the newly formed Liberal Party after 1859 and the Conservative Party did not form another majority government until Benjamin Disraelis triumph at the general election of 1874.
A police force has condemned people for making racist comments about offenders and assumptions about their backgrounds on its Facebook page.

The colour of someones skin or a name thats not traditional is usually a trigger for these assumptions, Gloucestershire Constabulary wrote. Despite commenters not knowing the citizenship of offenders or whether or not they have spent all, most or even just a small part of their lives living in the UK, we often get told to deport them.

It added that a small but vocal number of people were making assumptions.

Youre free to criticise us on our posts and we rarely remove comments, it said. What we wont accept you doing here is writing comments below our posts that encourage xenophobia; the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.

The force it will consider blocking regular commenters who make statements of a xenophobic nature.

Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Show all 10 1 /10 Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland is lead away in handcuffs to a prison van PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A photo of Geoffrey Crossland's property, which contained a secret bunker PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home Geoffrey Crossland (right) is lead away after being sentenced PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The pensioned (right) has been jailed for more than 12 years PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the weapons found at the pensioner's property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old had built a bunker complex beneath a outbuilding PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home A drawing of the bunker complex at the property of Geoffrey Crossland PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home One of the guns found at the property PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA Police discover underground bunker under pensioner's home The 70-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to possession of firearms and ammunition PA

The negative impact of prejudice and hate meant a number of incidents went unreported, it said.

It also added it would welcome support in challenging the comments from the majority of people who dont post such comments.

 Police take on protesters and neo-Nazis in clash during May Day riots in Sweden

A majority of the comments were positive and supportive of the post.

Thank you for addressing this difficult issue. There will always be a presence from this sector of the public, and my hope is that education and awareness might lead to better understanding and tolerance, one wrote.

Another said: This is the attitude I want to see from my police force, thank you! I do try to challenge racist and xenophobic statements, but Im not always mentally prepared for the inevitable backlash of abuse.

One person was surprised it had taken this long to impose, adding, better late than never!

While some questioned why people making xenophobic comments were not arrested and cautioned, others expressed empathy with people of colour by stating how the response of trolls being challenged gave a taste of being on the receiving end of hate crime.

Others were less positive and the force blocked a comment from a Tommy Robinson supporter who used the word Nazi.

Screen shot of a comment made by a Tommy Robinson supporter on the Facebook page of Gloucestershire Police (Gloucestershire Constabulary/Facebook)

Meanwhile, others said the police post was a threat to freedom of speech, with one person stating: Turning into communist state telling you what to think, say and do, gonna control what we see on the Internet, what is this China?

A spokesperson for the force said it had not prosecuted anyone for xenophobic comments on its page.

They added: We have noticed a number of comments that while not meeting the threshold of a criminal offence are prejudiced or xenophobic and that is why we have taken the decision to post this message.
Julian Assange was given a disproportionate sentence for a bail violation, the United Nations has said as it accused British authorities of breaching his human rights.

The WikiLeaks founder was handed a 50-week sentence earlier this week and is being held at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. He is fighting an extradition request made by the US over an alleged hacking conspiracy.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said it was deeply concerned about the disproportionate sentence and claimed that violating bail was only a minor violation.

The working group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence, it said.

This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.

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 panel added: It is worth recalling that the detention and the subsequent bail of Mr Assange in the UK were connected to preliminary investigations initiated in 2010 by a prosecutor in Sweden. It is equally worth noting that that prosecutor did not press any charges against Mr Assange and that, in 2017, after interviewing him in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, she discontinued investigations and brought an end to the case.

The same panel of legal experts previously stated that Assange was arbitrarily detained in the Ecuadorian embassy and should have had his liberty restored.

Mr Assange lived inside the embassy for almost seven years before being dragged out by police officers last month.

Pro-Assange protesters outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday (AP)

WikiLeaks has said Assange is now living in appalling conditions at the prison, spending 23 hours a day in his cell.

The activist told Westminster Magistrates Court that he does not consent to being extradited to the US.

Speaking via video link from Belmarsh prison at a 10-minute hearing, Assange said: I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.

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US authorities have charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the US at the Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, said there were computer room chats showing real-time discussions between Chelsea Manning and Assange over cracking a password to gain access to classified US documents and the public release of the information.

The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States, Mr Brandon said.
 Flash

Mosquito-borne diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe, and a record number of Europeans contracted West Nile Fever last summer, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Friday.

Climate change and globalization have led to an increase in tropical diseases that have previously been limited to warmer regions.

Cases were recorded in Italy, Greece, France and Croatia. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found as far north as northern Germany and France.

"Italy is now, at times, a tropical country. This benefits the spread of diseases that previously only existed in warmer climates," Jan Semenza of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told SVT.

Globalization is another major contributing factor. The transportation of people and goods facilitates the spread of disease and the mosquitoes that carry it. An Asian tiger mosquito carrying dengue can spread with products like plants and car tires. It can also be spread by travelers and gain a foothold in areas with favorable conditions.

"We travel to or trade with tropical countries where viruses are present, and thus we transport it home. If the climate is favorable at home, the virus can spread," Semenza told SVT.

Those considering travelling to the Mediterranean this summer have been warned to be careful.

"You should avoid mosquito bites. Use mosquito repellent and do not have the windows wide open," Semensa told SVT.

According to Lakartidningen, a Swedish medical journal, the virus that causes West Nile Fever is spread by the Culex mosquito, which in turn contracts it from infected birds. It can then be passed on to animals and people.

In 80 percent of cases, those who are infected may have no or only mild symptoms. In severe cases, coma, seizures, muscle weakness and paralysis can occur. About one in 150 of those infected become seriously ill.

The ECDC, headquartered in the Swedish capital since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases.




North Korea has slashed official food rations to just 300g per person per day after suffering its worst harvest in more than a decade, the United Nations (UN) has said.

The country could face famine within a matter of months, the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) warned.

A year of unexpected dry spells, heat waves and flooding, as well as well as ongoing international economic sanctions have all been blamed for the severe shortages.

The dire assessment comes after authorities in the secretive communist state asked the WFP to assess its food security.

It found the country was some 1.36m tonnes short of supplies and estimated 40 per cent of the population  about 10.1 million people  do not have enough to last until the next harvest in the autumn.

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

Mario Zappacosta, a senior economist at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, who worked on the assessment in April, said: It used to be they only reached this low level in July, August, and September. If the international community does not take action somehow, and quickly, there are some social groups who will suffer - the kids, the pregnant women, lactating mothers."

Speaking to the BBC, he added: "This year they have had a real series of weather shocks. They had everything. Low rains, then a heat wave, then floods."

The US blamed the North Korean government, saying its chronic mismanagement was responsible for the potential tragedy.

A spokeswoman for the state department said the "regime continues to exploit, starve, and neglect its own people in order to advance its unlawful nuclear and weapons programme."

North Korea has continually struggled with food production under the decades of its one-party rule.

A famine is estimated to have killed up to three million people in the mid-1990s, while, even at times of high production, most citizens live off just 500g of food a day, mainly consisting of rice and kimchi.
Buildings shook after the latest in a series of earthquakes struck Surrey in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Residents described fearing there had been an explosion after the 2.5 magnitude shaker hit at 1.19am.

It follows at least 20 similar quakes in the county in little more than a year  with many residents saying they fear the new seismic activity may be linked to oil and gas exploration being conducted at Horse Hill near Gatwick airport.

A spokeswoman for the British Geological Survey said: Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience. Typical reports described windows and doors shook, felt like some sort of explosion and a loud bang woke me up.

How fracking works and where it could happen Show all 2 1 /2 How fracking works and where it could happen How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingHowItWorks.jpg How fracking works and where it could happen 02-FrackingMapWeb.jpg

One Crawley resident, Samantha Ferguson, wrote on Twitter: My whole flat just shook underneath me.

Preliminary information indicated the quake centred on the village of Newdigate  also close to the Horse Hill drilling site  and had struck at a depth of 2.3km.

Speaking after the four previous tremors, Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said scientists were keeping an open mind on possible causes.

He said: It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural  due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean.

But Stuart Haszeldine, a professor with the University of Edinburghs geology department, told the BBC he believed the well  drilled by UK Oil and Gas  was responsible for the unprecedented seismic activity.

Whenever the oil and gas operators start preparing for some intervention, then there is a set of earthquakes, he said. Its pretty straightforward.

Previous quakes in the area  which included four in a single fortnight in February  have reached as high as 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Michael Gove has paved the way for overturning the curbs on shooting birds which triggered death threats against TV naturalist Chris Packham.

Natural England has been stripped of its power over the permits by the environment secretary  who has ordered his own investigation by officials with intensity and urgency.

The move follows calls by angry Tory MPs for Mr Gove to take back control from Natural Englands new chief Tony Juniper, a leading environmentalist and former head of Friends of The Earth.

In a letter to Mr Jupiter, Mr Gove said he was responding to concern that has been generated by the decision to revoke permits allowing farmers to cull pest species of birds, such as crows and wood pigeons.

My judgement is that the present situation needs to be considered with particular intensity and urgency, Mr Gove wrote.

I want to gain a clear understanding of the implications for the protection of wild birds, and the impacts on crops, livestock, wildlife, disease, human health and safety and wider nature conservation efforts.

Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal  effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord  agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe

The restrictions were introduced after legal action by Mr Packham, a BBC presenter  who then revealed death threats and parcels containing human faeces had been sent to his home.

Mr Gove intends to finish the investigation by the end of next weekend and to make a decision just one week later.

Mr Packham revealed the impact of his intervention on Tuesday, saying: Weve had packages sent containing human excrement. Last night, a much more serious thing  death threats of a very serious nature.

Ian Bell, president of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) welcomed Mr Goves decision, stating: BASC hopes this is the first step to resolving the current chaos in the countryside.

This shambles of the last week or so was created by Natural Englands ill-advised decision to withdraw all licences without consultation or notice and, in effect, remove pest control at a critical time of year.

James Cartlidge was among Conservative MPs who had held a private meeting with Mr Gove in the past few days, in an attempt to force his intervention.

People are incredibly angry, a lot of it is going back to how it happened, he told The Daily Telegraph.

He [Mr Gove] said Weve just got to get this sorted and get the new licensing regime up and running so people arent breaking the law when they do the usual things they do to protect livestock and crops.

Natural England had promised to rush out new permits to replace general licences, but Mr Juniper asked for that responsibility to be taken over by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Critics had argued the revocation of the licences means farmers risked prosecution if they shoot wild birds that attack livestock and decimate crops.
Jeremy Hunt has said that a royal yacht or a plane would be attractive options to promote post-Brexit Britain on the world stage.

The foreign secretary, who is regarded as a contender to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, said he is a big believer in flying the flag for Britain overseas but also acknowledged there are other ways of projecting the UKs national self-confidence.

His predecessor Boris Johnson first floated the idea of a Brexit plane during a trip to South America last year, when he complained that the RAF Voyager jet  shared with the prime minister and the royal family  never seems to be available.

Pressed on the idea during a week-long trip to Africa, Mr Hunt said: I think weve got other priorities that we would focus on long ahead of that, but whats important is the foreign secretary is out and about.

Im a big believer in flying the flag for Britain and projecting our national self-confidence. But I think real self-confidence comes from getting the fundamentals right.

And so, attractive though it is to have a royal yacht or a plane for the foreign secretary or whatever else, in the end much more important is that currently, despite all the predictions, the British economy is generating 1,000 jobs every single day.

But the move was criticised by anti-Brexit campaigners, who said Mr Hunt should be focused on solving the Brexit crisis rather than his job perks.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who supports the Best for Britain campaign, said: All this talk about a royal plane shows the foreign secretary has his head in the clouds.

Were in the midst of a national crisis, with thousands of businesses, and consequently, jobs at risk.

The utter shambles that Hunt has been so intimately involved in should be occupying all of his head space, not the chance of more job perks.

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Meanwhile, Mr Hunt also expressed his desire to reset the UKs links with Africa and move away from a relationship where the main motives are aid budgets.

He said: Our TV screens talk about the cyclones, the famines, the terrorism  but actually, what you see is skyscrapers, tech parks, young entrepreneurs, who are all part of a different narrative which, for much of Africa, is Africas future.

Africa has got the capitalist bug in the last 20 years since I started coming here and they look at Britain and they want Britain to be part of Africa.
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve will not face deselection proceedings despite losing a confidence motion at his Beaconsfield Constituency Association in March.

Jackson Ng, chair of the Conservative association, wrote a letter to Mr Grieve which was also sent to all association members.

The Executive Council has decided that this is not the moment to commence such procedures as it serves no constructive purpose, Mr Ng said in the letter.

The chair noted that Mr Grieve had served the constituency loyally for 22 years, but warned the MP that no one can take the loyalty and continued support of our members for granted.

Although Mr Grieve, a pro-Remain Conservative, has escaped deselection, it is clear that the association expects him to support Brexit.

Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage has spent his political career campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson's support for Brexit took many by surprise before the EU referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to agree on a withdrawal deal. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises This was taken from a 2012 speech delivered by Mr Davis. He does not currently support a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson now supports a hard Brexit and resigned from the cabinet in 2018 over Theresa May's strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The US recently issued trade negotiation objectives for future talks with the UK. The country made clear that it expects access to the UK's agriculture industry, reviving the debate about chlorinated chicken. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage does not support the current campaign for a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Despite this quote, in February 2019 Boris Johnson said a no deal Brexit "may yet be the best option for the UK". Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to begin negotiating a deal regarding their future relationship. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May announced that the UK would be leaving the Single Market in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Her withdrawal deal is yet to be passed. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises A classic from the 2015 general election campaign. David Cameron resigned on 24 June 2016, following the EU referendum result. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises David Davis resigned from his post as Brexit secretary in July 2018 after disagreeing with Theresa May's negotiation strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Michael Gove was one of the most influential Leave voices during the EU referendum campaign. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backbencher, does not support a second Brexit referendum. He has called the use of this quote "fundamentally dishonest" as it was taken from a 2011 speech discussing the option of referendum before David Cameron entered negotiations with the EU. Such a vote was never held. Twitter/Led By Donkeys

The overwhelming view of our membership is that the government must deliver Brexit and respect the views of the voters in the referendum, Mr Ng wrote.

The view of our association membership is that they profoundly wish for you to play a more positive role in the coming months on this matter.

We feel it is crucial that you should do so.

Video footage from the March confidence vote appeared to show some constituency members calling Mr Grieve a traitor and a liar.

Mr Grieve lost by 182 to 131 votes and later said he had faced an orchestrated campaign calling for his deselection.

When he tried to explain the political consequences of leaving the EU at the meeting, angry Brexiteers heckled him with calls of lies and rubbish.

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At the time Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis expressed his support and said the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

Boris Johnson and former chancellor George Osborne also voiced support for the embattled politician.

The South Buckinghamshire region, which includes Mr Grieves Beaconsfield constituency, narrowly voted to Leave in the 2016 referendum by a majority of just 570 votes.
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has attacked the investigation that led to his firing, labelling it a shabby and discredited witch hunt.

He has also called for a proper, full and impartial inquiry into the probe.

With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill, the politician said in a statement released on Saturday.

Mr Williamson was dismissed after Theresa May said there was compelling evidence he was behind a leak from the National Security Council (NSC).

He strongly denies the allegation.

Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Show all 5 1 /5 Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by Nigel Farage on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message to the EU on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter

The leaked reports from an NSC meeting last month suggested that Theresa May had cleared Chinese company Huawei to be involved in non-core elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Political insiders were taken aback by the leak and an investigation was swiftly launched, led by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.

Mr Williamsons fate was sealed after officials uncovered an 11-minute conversation with The Daily Telegraph reporter who revealed the Huawei decision.

A spokesperson for No 10 also criticised his lack of candour about the calls contents.

On Saturday the Metropolitan Police said it was unlikely a crime had been committed when the information was leaked.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that he was satisfied the details disclosed to the media did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Basu said he had made the assessment after speaking to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed at the top-secret meeting.

Any organisation has the right to conduct an internal investigation into conduct in the workplace. It is not a matter for the police unless a crime is alleged, he said.

At no time have the police been provided with evidence by the Cabinet Office that a crime has been committed nor has it been suggested that a Gateway process would be required to enable that determination to be made.

No crime has been alleged by the owner of the material and I am clear that the leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances.

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The former defence secretary has previously called for a full criminal investigation into the leak.

Mr Williamson earlier said that such an investigation would absolutely exonerate him.

I did take a difficult decision, Theresa May told ITV News on Friday.

This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from.

It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table.
Senior cabinet ministers have rallied around to save Theresa May ahead of a showdown meeting to decide her fate following the local elections massacre.

The prime minister will face fresh demands from Tory grandees on Tuesday to set a fast timetable for quitting, as a shocked Conservative party contemplated the loss of 1,334 local councillors.

The dire performance  the worst for a quarter of a century  has triggered further pressure for her to resign, including from former foreign office minister Hugo Swire, until now a loyalist, who said: We now urgently need a new leader.

Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, is expected to meet Ms May on Tuesday to again urge her to set a date for her departure.

If she refuses, they will consider rewriting the rules to allow a fresh vote of no confidence this summer  a move the 1922 stepped back from last month.

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

But three cabinet ministers, led by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said the party must continue to focus on passing a Brexit deal, not on a change of leader.

Taking on Tory Brexiteers, Mr Gove said: We have to face facts. At the moment, the arithmetic in the House of Commons is opposed to leaving without a deal.

He warned that whoever succeeds Theresa would inherit her difficulties, unless the Brexit crisis was resolved first.

David Gauke, the justice secretary, said: I am confident that Theresa May is the right person to lead us through this process.

We have got to deliver phase one of leaving the European Union and the idea we should be changing the leader before we do that is not something that I think would be sensible.

And Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said: I dont think changing the leadership would mean a change to the arithmetic.

The government had to find a majority that will work, either with Labour or by having talks with others and having further votes in the Commons.

But Sir Hugo said the Tories had no time to waste, after suffering their worst local elections day since the dog days of John Major's government in 1995.

These are challenging times for Conservatives and we now urgently need a new leader to reinvigorate the party if we are to prevent an extreme left-wing government that will bring this country to its knees, he tweeted.

Ms May is expected to renew her efforts to strike a cross-party deal with Jeremy Corbyn, hoping to force it through the Commons by the end of June.

It is too late to prevent the European elections taking place on 23 May but Brexit could still be delivered in time to prevent MEPs actually taking their seats in July.

However, there is huge opposition to such a deal  based on a form of customs union  in both main parties.
Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a trip to the US after facing a backlash from protesters and officials in New York City.

The 64-year-old was supposed to be honoured as person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) at a gala dinner on 14 May.

Mr Bolsonaros office sought to blame protesters and city officials for the trips cancellation.

His spokesperson said he would not be attending the event due to the resistance and deliberate attacks by the mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, described Mr Bolsonaro as a very dangerous human being in an interview with WNYC radio last month.

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Show all 20 1 /20 Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro waves as he drives past before his swear-in ceremony Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters wait in front of the Planalto Palace, where he will take office EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress before he is sworn AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Supporters take pictures as Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Flanked by first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro waves to the crowd, as he rides in an open car after his swearing-in ceremony AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro reacts as he drives past Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration The National Congress before Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is sworn in AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Jair Bolsonaro gestures at the Congress AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AP Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration EPA Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration Reuters Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader inauguration AFP/Getty

The choice of President Bolsonaro is a recognition of his strongly stated intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States and his firm commitment to building a strong and durable partnership between the two nations, BACC said on its website.

But the far-right politicians history of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks led to a series of venues refusing to host the event, including the American Museum of Natural History.

The museum had been urged by public figures, including Mr de Blasio, to withdraw from hosting the dinner.

Several companies, including Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co, also withdrew sponsorship funds from the dinner earlier this week.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, a Bain spokesperson said.

Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co all refused to comment on whether they would withdraw their support for the event.

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The dinner is still scheduled to go ahead, despite Mr Bolsonaros withdrawal.

The Chamber hereby affirms that the Gala Dinner will take place as scheduled, a BACC spokesperson said.

The organisation is also honouring US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as its US person of the year.

Additional reporting by agencies
An Afghan assembly to discuss peace with the Taliban has been criticised for making female delegates feel unwelcome, with one woman told she should be in the kitchen.

The assembly, known as a loyal jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organisers said that around 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalised or patronised. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries.

Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

On the second day of the assembly, a female delegate who rose to speak was ordered to be quiet by a male delegate.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! said Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under sharia, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which sharia law, the Taliban sharia law or Isis sharia law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to the Islamic State.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Male delegate Behnoh Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

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For many women, the jirga got off to a bad start when Ms Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights.

When a female delegate complained directly to Mr Sayyaf , she was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Mr Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator.

Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

On Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said delegate Taiyaba Khavari.

Ms Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with comments from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Mr Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off.

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The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Mr Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organisers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organisers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organised the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Mr Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

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Among other recommendations accepted by Mr Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

New York Times
The three-day coronation of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend includes a mixture of Buddhist and Brahmin traditions.

Thai royal practice reflects the traditions of ancient India, with the king transformed through ritual from a member of the royal family to a "Devaraja" or living god.

The king's new title will be revealed on the first day of the main coronation ceremony. It will be unveiled on a golden plaque where it has been inscribed, along with the king's horoscope, which is determined by a royal astrologer.

The king underwent a purification rite, the "Muratha Bhisek" earlier today. Dressed in white, he was showered in water gathered from nine sacred sources of water from around the country.

Scholars says this ceremony is a simplified version of a ritual performed in ancient Indian courts.

Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures REUTERS Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AP Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures AFP/Getty Images Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures EPA Coronation of Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn: In pictures Getty Images

The king then changed into full royal uniform and sat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne inside the Grand Palace where he received sacred water on his hands.

The water was poured by selected officials from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass.

It was collected from 108 sources from around the country and blessed in temples by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests.

After the purification and anointment, the king sat under a nine-tiered umbrella which signifies full kingship. He received the monarch's regalia, including five key objects: the great crown of victory, the sword of victory, the royal sceptre, the royal fan and fly whisk, and the royal slippers.

The king will later meet with royal family members, his privy council, and the cabinet, and senior officials at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

Recommended Thai king Vajiralongkorn marries bodyguard making her queen

In the afternoon he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to declare himself the patron of Buddhism, the religion followed by more than 90 per cent of Thais.

After the rituals, the king will attend a "housewarming" private ceremony at the Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace Complex, accompanied by the female members of the royal family.

On Sunday morning the king will grant new royal titles to members of the royal family at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall.

That afternoon, the king, seated in a palanquin, will be carried in a procession though Bangkok's old quarter, in a traditional display of the new monarch to the public.

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He will visit three temples, Wat Bovoranives, Wat Rajabopidh, and Wat Phra Chetuphon, to pay homage to the main Buddha images and give alms to monks.

On Monday afternoon, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida, who he married on Wednesday, will greet the public from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace before granting an audience with foreign diplomats.

Reuters
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The UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame on Friday said that Libyan journalists face rising threats and violence in the war-torn nation.

"I am reminded today of the risks Libyan journalists face while doing their job every day. We cannot let the truth become a casualty of the fighting. On this day, let us remember the journalists and media workers who sacrificed their lives over the past years while covering the events in Libya," Salame said on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.

"Journalists, like all civilians, must be protected. I remind all parties that the threats and violence against journalists are prohibited under Libyan law as well as International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws," Salame added.

Salame also called on Libyan officials and the international community to protect journalists and create proper work conditions.

According to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), journalists in Libya face "repeated harassment, including refusals to issue or recognize press cards, denials of visas, accusations of spying, discrimination, and threats of death or violence."

"Tragically, journalists have also been beaten, arrested and detained without charge, kidnapped and killed in the line of duty in Libya," the Mission said.




Turkish president Recept Tayyip Erdogan has officially inaugurated the countrys largest ever mosque, an elaborate Ottoman-style house of worship atop a storied Istanbul hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.

The Great Camlica Mosque is the most prominent of numerous Ottoman-style houses of worship built across Turkey under the 17-year rule of President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Its enormous dome and four 107-metre high minarets are visible across much of the city of 16 million people.

During a speech attended by several international leaders and other luminaries, Mr Erdogan described the structure as a monument befitting contemporary Turkey.

The mosque has many symbols that belong to our history, civilisation, and beliefs, he said.

People visit the Camlica mosque the day of its inauguration (AP//Lefteris Pitarakis)

He also spoke out against a recent spate of attacks targeting religious institutions across the world, including attacks on mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka.

Those who attack mosques and those who target churches have the same dark mentality, he said. Massacring the innocent and bombing houses of worship is not jihad. It is terror, atrocity and murder.

Camlica was built at an estimated cost of $100m (76m) over the last six years. Resting atop a storied Istanbul hill, it accommodates up to 63,000 worshippers. It includes an educational complex, museum, gallery, and a conference centre.

It has been criticised for its remote location, at the top of winding road hillside away from any of the citys neighbourhoods.

People attend the official opening ceremony of Camlica mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENCY HANDOUT) (EPA/TURKISH PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT)

"Whose idea was it to build a 60,000-person mosque on the top of Camlica Hill? Temel Karamollaoglu, leader of a small Islamist opposition party, quipped last month. If they fill it even once, I'll kiss their hands.

Turkey under Mr Erdogan has modestly expanded the number of mosques, building Ottoman-style houses of worship throughout the country and even abroad. His supporters say the country lacks sufficient numbers of mosques.

But critics point out that polls have shown Turks are becoming increasingly irreligious. The 3,400 or so mosques throughout Istanbul rarely fill up, except for Friday prayers.

The mosques, often using public funds, also are built by powerful and well-connected developers that are close to the AKP.

Turkey recently inaugurated a new airport, dubbed the worlds largest, and plans to build a new canal that cuts through far western Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Developers have also been trying to access publicly owned land to build luxury shopping malls and high rises in deals criticised as giveaways to political allies. But Camlica was reportedly funded by donations.
On paper, 1968 was a great time to be an American.

Young soldiers returning from Vietnam that June saw an economy which had just created 250,000 jobs. Middle class families saw an 8 per cent increase in their household income. GDP growth for the full year hit almost 5 per cent, an incredible number for a modern economy.

1968 was also the year a white supremacist murdered Martin Luther King. It was the year 125 cities across the United States burned in race riots. It was the year that shredded the social fabric of the United States in ways we have yet to fully recover from. And it was the year Senator Robert F Kennedy asked students at the University of Kansas what it really meant to foster a strong economy.

The gross national product .. .measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Even as President Trump celebrates a strong April jobs report, African Americans in Flint, Michigan face their fifth year without drinkable water. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, our core infrastructure  the roads, bridges and waterways that form the lifeblood of our economic vitality  is falling apart.

This is the same America where corporate profits are scraping record highs, and General Motors closing an Ohio manufacturing plant walks hand-in-hand with increases in executive-tier bonuses. The American economy is booming  for some. Dont expect it to trickle down.

Despite the flashy employment numbers and White House spin, only a sliver of Americans stand to gain from nearly a decade of post-Great Recession economic recovery. Here are just a few of the numbers President Trump wont be tweeting about tonight.

Unemployment among African Americans remains at a near-recession level 6.7 per cent, almost twice the unemployment rate of white Americans. Worsening the racial divide, African American families have on average only 10 cents for every dollar of white family net worth.

But what about people who already have jobs, you ask? Lets start with hourly workers  their wages remained flat in April, even as the basic cost of living expenses increased. Thats not so bad, you say? At the same time, employers also reduced the number of hours given to part-time and hourly employees, cutting their take-home pay even further.

 Trump claims that the US economy wasn't the biggest in the world when he became president

Those flat wages and declining hours arent new  wages have been stagnant since President Trump took office. Voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are already feeling the pinch and, despite the economy working out well for Silicon Valley tech founders and the Wall Street banks that fund them, most Americans saw no benefit from this stellar economic readout.

One of President Trumps key 2016 campaign promises boldly promised to bring back coal to states like West Virginia. But todays jobs report shows no evidence the Trump administration takes that pledge seriously: the mining sector lost jobs again in April, as it has nearly every month since President Trump took office.

President Trumps economy offers a look at two different Americas. For the Mar-a-Lago Brunch Buffet crowd that fills President Trumps world, profits are up and the markets are strong. The skies are darker for young workers facing a 13 per cent unemployment rate and a collapse in retail hiring. Or that Trump-supporting family in West Virginia whose water is poisoned by drilling chemicals.

Senator Kennedy was right: instead of celebrating a superficially positive jobs report, we must ask ourselves who the government has decided not to celebrate. An economy disproportionately benefiting wealthy, white business owners is not an economy working for the vast majority of the American people.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

In a circus campaign environment like 2020, its possible we wont even be talking about the April jobs report by the end of the day. But those families left behind by President Trumps lopsided economy will wake up tomorrow to the same poisoned water, the same crumbling bridges, and the same broken promise that President Trump is just about to lift them into the middle class.

On paper, 2019 is a great time to be an American.

Max Burns is a Democratic messaging strategist and Political Contributor for Millennial Politics. He is a past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia Technology Working Group
Scratch the surface of the current plans to decarbonise the economy and replace it with renewable energies and beneath it lays the same logic that has made the UK the 6th richest country in the world. Britain is planning to go green through a new phase of resource and wealth extraction of countries in the global south.

At the heart of our economic system fuelled by the City of London is a belief that the UK and other rich countries are entitled to a greater share of the worlds finite resources irrespective of who we impoverish in doing so, or the destruction we cause.

This green colonialism will be delivered by the very same entrenched economic interests, who have willingly sacrificed both people and the climate in the pursuit of profit. But this time, the mining giants and dirty energy companies will be waving the flag of climate emergency to justify the same deathly business model.

In this new energy revolution, it is cobalt, lithium, silver and copper that will replace oil, gas and coal as the new frontline of our corporate destruction. The metals and minerals needed to build our wind turbines, our solar panels and electric batteries will be ripped out of the earth so that the UK continues to enjoy lifeboat ethics: temporary sustainability to save us, but at the cost of the poor.

Extinction Rebellion supporters Show all 19 1 /19 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent

Reducing fossil fuel dependency by itself certainly doesnt solve the crisis of inequality and poverty faced by the majority of the worlds citizens, two billion of whom dont even have access to electricity or clean cooking.

The scale of new extraction needed will come to dwarf the current relentless drive for resources that capitalism is built upon. The OECDs Global Resources Outlook to 2060, modelled on an annual 2.8 per cent global growth in GDP, estimates that extracted resources would increase from 79 to 167 billion tonnes. This is a 111 per cent increase overall with a 150 per cent increase in metals and a 135 per cent increase in minerals.

Resource extraction is responsible for 50 per cent of global emissions, with minerals and metal mining responsible for 20 per cent of emissions even before the manufacturing stage.

And behind each tonne of extraction is a story of contamination and depletion of water, destruction of habitats, deforestation, poisoning of land, health impacts on workers and hundreds of environmental conflicts  including the murder of two environmental defenders each and every week.

In a final ironic twist the extraction of the very minerals needed for our new green technologies will result in a weakening of the resilience of eco-systems that crucial buffer us from and mitigate the impacts of irreversible climate change.

Much talk in the Labour Party and left sections of the Democrats in the US is of a just transition  transitioning from fossil fuel-intensive jobs to green jobs  and moving to 100 per cent renewable energy. Yet these movements fail to realise that these social democratic fixes would be disastrous for much of the worlds population. A green new deal in the mould of current thinking will lead to a new form of green colonialism that will continue to sacrifice the people of the global south to maintain our broken economic model.

The demand for renewable energy and storage technologies will far exceed the reserves for cobalt, lithium and nickel. In the case of cobalt, of which 58 per cent is currently mined in the DR of Congo, it has helped fuel a conflict that has blighted the lives of millions, led to the contamination of air, water and soil, and left the mining area as one of the top 10 most polluted places in the world.

Some studies estimate that the demand for cobalt by 2050 will be 423 per cent of existing reserves, with lithium at 280 per cent and nickel at 136 per cent of current reserves. Tellurium for solar panels could exceed current production rates by 2020. Rather than face up to the reality that capitalism requires relentless growth and is simply incompatible with tackling climate change, a new scramble for mineral extraction is already being planned with proposals for deep sea mining, that will wreck some of our most fragile ecosystems with more extraction planned across Brazil, China, India and the Philippines.

Last week Chilean community leader Marcela Mella warned that the plans of mining giant Anglo-American to extract 400,000 tonnes of copper per year for the next 40 years from Chiles Andean glaciers, could lead to the destruction of vital ecosystems which also supplies water to the 6 million people living in Chiles capital, Santiago. The mining executives told its AGM our products are essential to the transition to a low carbon economy. The new wave of green extraction promises to be as deadly and dirty as fossil fuel extraction.

Asad Rehman is executive director of global justice charity War on Want
Bank of Ireland reported an increase in customer lending in the three months to March 31, 2019 but its share of new mortgages slipped to 23pc.

The bank, headed by CEO Francesca McDonagh, said customer loans stood at 79.1bn at the end of March, an increase of 2.1bn since the end of December 2018.

The increase was primarily driven by corporate lending at home - including through acquisition - and retail loans in the UK. The overall rise was 600m on a constant currency basis.

Customer deposits were 79.7bn at the end of March - highlighting the extent to which the bank lending is financed from savers rather than the capital markets.

Meanwhile, operating expenses fell 3.5pc compared to the same period last year, according to a trading update from the bank.

Bank of Ireland's net interest margin for the period - a key barometer of a banks profitability - fell to 2.1pc from 2.2pc at the end of 2018. However, in a note analysts at Davy Stockbrokers said the bank's mortgage market share for the three month period was "weak" at 23pc.

"But activity levels on drawdowns and approvals increased as the quarter progressed, indicating that a recovery back to the target share range of 25-30pc should occur over the remainder of the year," analysts said.

Small business lending by the bank picked up despite a perception that nervous managers were waiting to see how Brexit played out before committing to new borrowing.

There was "activity, confidence and credit demand" among small businesses the bank said, with "positive momentum" continuing in the second quarter of 2019.

Since March 31, the bank has acquired KBC Bank Ireland's corporate loan portfolio of roughly 260m.

Bank of Ireland said last month that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming months, was consistent with its plans to grow its lending volumes.
Spanish coffee company Cafento has bought Irish coffee roaster and distributor Java Republic in a deal reckoned to be worth around 30m.

The Irish management team led by Grace O'Shaughnessy and Jeffrey Long will remain in place after the deal, while Cafento intends to oversee Java Republic's domestic and international expansion. Owner David McKernan put the Irish company up for sale last year having founded the business 20 years ago at the start of what has become an explosion in coffee drinking.

Mr McKernan has spoken publicly about the strain on the business during the crash, after borrowing in 2007 to fund a major 7m capital investment in its Ballycoolin, Co Dublin, coffee roastery But the firm is profitable. In 2017, profits came to 409,000, according to the most recently filed accounts. Last year the business invested 500,000 in reinvigorating its brand and has said 2018 was a record year. Java Republic has 80 staff and supplies more than 1,200 offices, hotel groups, cafes and catering services. Customers include Aer Lingus and its IAG sister British Airways. The 'Sunday Independent' first reported in December that Java Republic had been put up for sale. Musgrave Group had been tipped as a potential buyer. It is acquisitive and has its own Frank & Honest coffee brand and owns the La Rousse catering supply firm.
KINGSPAN has "moved on" from its failed attempts to buy some or all of Belgian rival Recticel.

Last week Recticel formally rejected Kingspan's 700m offer - made on April 16 for two of its units - and said the Irish company had also made an approach for the entire business.

A new approach is now unlikely, Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh told shareholders at the group's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

"I wouldn't hold out much hope on [the offers] being revived, it would have been a nice bolt-on, but that's it," he said.

The cost to Kingspan of its acquisition attempts was "not significant", he said.

"At the end of the day [Recticel's] insulation business has about 270m revenue, so ultimately we were going to end up there."

Kingspan has around 500m a year to spend on acquisitions, and has a "very healthy project pipeline when it comes to acquisitions, more than we are capable of executing", Mr Murtagh said.

At the AGM 16pc of Kingspan shareholders voted against the re-appointment of founder Eugene Murtagh as chairman - up from 9.9pc opposition last year.

Eugene Murtagh (76) founded Kingspan in 1965 and was chief executive of the group until 2005, when his son Gene took up that role.

Shareholder advisors ISS and Glass Lewis had recommended shareholders back the re-election of Eugene Murtagh.

Just over 23pc of shareholders voted against the company's remuneration policy.

CEO Gene Murtagh said the board would "absolutely" take shareholder concerns into consideration.

"That's not to say that we'll particularly change," he added.

The group reported a "positive" start to 2019, with sales up 18pc to 1.06bn in the three months to March 31. Sales increased 6pc on an organic basis.

In Ireland Kingspan reported a "strong" start to the year.

UK sales activity was positive, but order intake in insulated panels was relatively subdued, with people "obviously a bit nervous" about Brexit, Mr Murtagh said.

"We don't get absorbed by this [Brexit], it's so unknown, so unquantifiable, it's business as usual until it isn't."

Shares in Recticel fell and were down around 3pc in afternoon trading yesterday.
Question: Over the last couple of years my work set-up has migrated more to my home, so much so that I have agreed that by the end of the year I will be working almost 100pc from my home. I only go to the office intermittently for meetings and presentations. My employer is going to buy some work-related items, such as a new laptop and a phone, and has offered to pay something small towards my overheads. What does this change mean from a tax perspective?

Answer: Becoming an e-worker should not result in any increase in the amount of tax you pay, according to commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics (computer, print, office furniture, etc) you need for work, without you having to pay benefit in kind so long as they are used primarily for work purposes.

And your employer can pay you up to 3.20 tax-free for every working day, to assist with your utility costs. You don't mention how much you employer intends to pay in this regard but even if it does pay the full 3.20 and/or if your working from home costs exceed this, then you will be entitled to a refund of some sort on this money, Ms Devereux said.

Any claims made will need to be supported with evidence in the form of receipts and a letter from your employer stating that you do work from home and that it does not reimburse you for these expenses. You will also need to let Revenue know the number of rooms in your home and whether or not it is a house-share.

The allowance, or rebate, claimed must be reasonable, allowing for the fact that the utilities are for both personal and work and benefit everyone else in the home. This means the refund received will be based on only a portion of the overall expenses.

Question: I want to downsize my work van from my current 2.2 litre Ford Transit. Will buying a smaller van help to bring down my insurance costs? I have been driving for 15 years and have a full no-claims bonus, but I feel I am still paying over the odds.

Answer: In terms of lowering your insurance costs, when it comes to changing your van there are several consideration which will significantly impact your premiums.

These include vehicle specifications, model, and engine size and most importantly the carrying capacity of the van itself, according to Jonathan Hehir, the managing director of InsureMyVan.ie. Each van will have its own specific insurance risk and cost placed against it. Before making a purchase, work out what size van fits your needs best. There is no point getting a large van, which could add to your insurance costs, if you only need a small van to carry out your work.

The basics that apply to reducing car insurance also apply to van insurance so your age, your licence type (ie, full/provisional) and the number of years on your no-claims bonus will be key considerations. Van insurers also place significant emphasis on what the van is being used for, so you must be clear about the purpose of your new van. It is important to ring around and get cost comparisons as the insurer that was best on price for the big van, may be the worst for the smaller van.

Question: My employer has paid my health insurance premiums since I began working with them in 2013 and along with my company car, I pay benefit in kind on these subsidies every year. I recently read that PAYE workers get tax relief on health insurance premiums. So it seems that I am at a disadvantage because my employer pays mine, even though I pay benefit in kind on the premiums?

Answer: You are not at a disadvantage tax-wise, according to the commercial director of Taxback.com Eileen Devereux. She said that like thousands of other workers in your position, you have not been made aware that you can claim tax relief on the premiums paid by your employer. If you were to fund your private health insurance yourself, your relief would be deducted at source and you would not need to alert Revenue, but because your employer pays that means you have to take some action.

Contact Revenue directly and notify them of the gross premium paid on your behalf by your employer, on which you have been charged benefit in kind (BIK). Revenue will run the calculations and refund you any mony due.

While you can't claim as far back as when you first started working with your employer, you can go back four years when claiming your tax entitlements.

Under Revenue rules your employer can provide you with the basics you need for working at home without you having to pay benefit-in-kind tax.

Many people are not aware that they can claim tax relief from Revenue on health insurance premiums that are paid for by their employer.
The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles, his representative said (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The funeral for Oscar-nominated director John Singleton will be held in Los Angeles on Monday, his representative has said.

Singleton, best known for making 1991 drama Boyz N The Hood, died on April 29 almost two weeks after suffering a stroke.

The 51-year-old will be laid to rest in his home city of Los Angeles in a ceremony for family and close friends, his spokeswoman said.

Expand Close John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Singleton will be laid to rest on Monday, his representative said (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The funeral will be a very small, intimate goodbye to the filmmaker, a representative said, and will not be open to the press or public.

However, his family is planning a larger memorial in a few weeks to celebrate his life.

Singleton, a father of seven, died after being taken off life support. He suffered a stroke almost two weeks earlier.

Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute, saying he opened doors for filmmakers of colour to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.

Condolences to the family of John Singleton. His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth. He opened doors for filmmakers of color to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 30, 2019

Boyz N The Hood was based on Singletons upbringing and shot in his old neighbourhood.

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It starred Cuba Gooding Jr as a rebellious teen whose single mother sends him to live with his father in South Central Los Angeles.

Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination, and the youngest to do so, and also received a screenplay nomination.

His other films included Poetic Justice, Rosewood and Shaft.
Imagine if your college English paper was corrected by JRR Tolkien, one of the world's most famous authors. Such was the rare event confronting university students in 1949 and 1950, when the man who would go on to write Lord of the Rings was the external examiner to the English Department at what is now NUI Galway. As the Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford, Tolkien's summer job in Galway led him to becoming captivated by the West of Ireland - a region that would go on to have a direct impact upon his iconic novel, then in progress.

He became particularly fascinated by the Burren - a place whose topography bears a striking resemblance to the 'Misty Mountains' of Middle Earth. Tolkien became particularly taken by Poll na gColm cave - a location that may well have influenced the creation of one of the author's most famous characters, Gollum.

JRR Tolkien first came to Ireland in 1926 on a walking tour with his friend, CS Lewis, who would later author The Chronicles of Narnia - a visit that began a lifelong love of Ireland for Tolkien, and which would eventually have a direct influence on his own literary output.

In 1949, during his tenure as Professor of English at Merton College, Tolkien readily grasped the summer work opportunity as external examiner at what was then known as University College Galway - an annual task that would bring him back to Ireland on a number of occasions over the following decade.

During his time at the university, he lodged with Dr Florence Martyn at Gregans Castle, the Martyn ancestral home at the foot of Corkscrew Hill at Ballyvaughan, in the heart of the Burren. Peter Curtin, founder of the Burren Tolkien Society, has devoted much of his life to investigating the possible links of the area with the characters and places in Lord of the Rings. "From studying Tolkien's works and correspondences, as well as having spoken with people who knew the man, we are certain that his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings, was inspired, at least in part, by his experience of the Burren," he says.

Curtin believes that Tolkien denied the Burren links when his masterwork was published in 1954 as he might have feared that admitting to such Irish influences might have been unpalatable to his largely English audience at the time. "In the few years leading up to his death in 1973, however, Tolkien spoke more openly about how his writings were influenced by the themes and ideas of Irish and Celtic mythology," Curtin said.

Although Tolkien referred to Gaelic as "an unattractive language", he admitted that he had studied it and found it to be of great historical and philological interest. "In one of his letters, he said he was 'suffering from acute Eire-starvation', having not visited his favourite counties of Clare, Galway and Cork for a number of years."

Back in the 1970s, Curtin made the acquaintance of Miss Crowe, who was Dr Martyn's housekeeper when Tolkien was a guest during his university visits. "Miss Crowe believed that the rugged, mysterious landscape of the Burren, which was in sharp contrast to the idyllic English countryside familiar to Tolkien, inspired him in creating the journey from the Shire, which features prominently in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."

Tolkien published The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Rings trilogy, in 1954 - by which time he had visited the Burren on many occasions. The Burren is also home to the largest cave system in Ireland, compromising 15 miles of underground passages. The entrance is called Poll Na gColm, phonetically enunciated as 'Gollum'.

In The Book of the Burren, co-author Anne Korff notes the cave as a natural habitat of the rock dove - a bird that makes a distinctly guttural sound, also very similar to Tolkien's throaty Gollum. "I believe that Tolkien, in writing the way he did, demonstrated the necessity for us to keep the umbilical connection with our natural instincts, and our environment alive and healthy," Curtin believes.

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Yet another indicator that Tolkien might have found his inspiration for the Lord of the Rings there is the topography of the region, which bears some striking resemblances.

Dr Charles Travis, a geography research associate at Trinity College, compared the actual topography of the Burren - particularly around Gortaclare Mountain - with the Misty Mountains from Middle Earth's Rohan region in the foreground.

"Dr Travis confirmed that the curve of the Misty Mountain range in Tolkien's 'imaginary' map seems to fit the actual topography of the Burren, and could arguably support the case of it being one source of inspiration for Tolkien."

Yet, while Tolkien clearly held a great curiosity for the landscape and people of the West of Ireland, his comment to an academic colleague, George Sayer, Professor of English at Malvern College, Worcester, that Ireland was "a place full of evil that could be felt everywhere from the trees to the peat bogs to the cliffs" remained a source of some controversy.

"Rather than referring to any perceived evil in the Irish people, I believe Tolkien meant the evil that permeated the Irish landscape and mythology," says Dr Francis McCormack, lecturer at NUIG in medieval languages and literature.

"It is likely he was talking about those mischievous and malevolent spirits who dominated the Irish imagination, like the banshee, the fairies or the leprechaun."

Dr McCormack, who is also an MA in Old and Middle English Language, believes Tolkien wrote about Ireland and its landscape in a very affectionate way: "It does seem a possibility that those evocative places he visited so many times did influence his writings."

'Tolkien', starring Nicholas Hoult as the author, is in cinemas now

Tolkien: the gentle soul who thought out loud

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Rose MacNamara, daughter of Professor Diarmuid Murphy, with whom JRR Tolkien sometimes stayed during his West of Ireland visits, recalls the author as a kindly, sometimes eccentric, individual with an obvious love of nature, who frequently took afternoon naps in the open air amongst the crags and rocks of the Burren.

Aged just 16 when she met the author for the first time in 1949, she often accompanied Tolkien (above) and her father, who was head of the English Department at University College Galway, on their long drives around Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

"He loved nature, and would never allow us to pick a wild plant. 'It's just not done,' he would always say," she recalls.

"He was a very gentle man, tall with long grey hair, and was often inclined to think out loud and say what was on his mind. Sometimes I didn't know if he was addressing me or thinking things out," she remembers of a person completely at ease in a place that inspired him.

In later life, as a nun based in India, Rose received a letter from Tolkien following the death of her father, informing that his son, Father John, had said a Latin Mass for the repose of his old friend's soul, and at which he was the server. He finished the letter with a request: "Spare me a prayer, I have need of it."
It is the day after the killing in Derry of journalist Lyra McKee, and David Holmes is angry. The proud Belfast man abhors the violence that marred the daily lives for so many during the Troubles and he is desperate for all the bloodshed to be left in the past.

"That was absolutely horrendous," he says of McKee's death. "A human being is a human being but to find out how talented she was and it sounds like she was at the beginning of an incredible career. It's just so f***ing senseless. And for what?

"You look at who's in charge up here and you look at who's in charge in England and you think to yourself, 'Oh my God - are we potentially heading into another nightmare?' The person who killed that girl was probably not even born before the Good Friday Agreement. They've not one f***ing reason to be in a movement like - inverted commas - the Continuity IRA, the Real IRA or whatever the f*** they're called."

Like so many of his generation, the revered DJ and film composer - now 50 - has his own very personal memories of the heartache caused by the Troubles. Growing up in a Catholic family in a largely Protestant part of Belfast, he recalls how two of his brothers were essentially driven out of the province during the height of the conflict.

"I remember a young guy, a friend of my brother's, getting shot on our street in 1972. My family weren't political and a local UVF commander came to my father to warn him to get rid of my brother - who was 17 - because he was going to be shot.

"So he came home from work and when he saw the bags packed he asked, 'Who's home?' He was told then that he'd be going to Chicago. My father had a brother there."

Another sibling wound up in the Windy City, too. "He kept getting stopped and searched and beaten up by the British army. One day, he just went, 'F*** this' and he left."

Despite such tribulations, Holmes says he had an exceptionally happy childhood and, as the youngest of 10, he was given a rich cultural upbringing. His oldest sister, Maggie, was 19 when he was born and went to London to be a fashion designer. "She would come home at Christmas with an extra suitcase and in that case were clothes, records, books, magazines - all the stuff that we weren't exposed to. She had all this culture - it was a like a treasure chest.

"And my brother was a huge Jam and Clash fan. When I was eight, I was listening to the Pistols and the Clash and the Damned. I didn't even know how to spell 'anarchy' [in reference to the Sex Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK'] let alone tell you what it meant but it had an energy and emotion that did something to me."

His mother played her part, too. "She had a very open-minded attitude," he says, "and really loved music. She was a huge Gladys Knight fan. She loved Sinatra. She loved Elvis, The Kinks, Simon and Garfunkel. And when she'd go to see my brothers in Chicago, she'd bring me back all these amazing soul and rhythm 'n' blues records and then during the Acid House period, she would come home with all this really cool stuff - and it was perfect because Chicago is where house music began."

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And it was thanks to this middle-aged Irish mammy walking into Chicago record stores and asking staff for recommendations for her music-mad son back home that Holmes began embarking on what would be a magnificently esoteric career.

First, he blazed a trail in the early 1990s as one of the most in-demand DJs the island of Ireland has ever produced - comfortably playing to sell-out crowds in venues like the Point Depot.

Then, at the end of the decade, he was being lauded for cinematic sounding albums like Let's Get Killed. It wasn't long before Hollywood - in the shape of indie auteur Steven Soderbergh - came calling. The result of their first collaboration was the romantic crime caper, Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.

Twenty years on and Holmes and Soderbergh have a partnership every bit as enduring as that of Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock and John Williams and Steven Spielberg. "The man is a f***ing genius," he says of Soderbergh. "He's one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever met. He knows exactly what he wants and he can articulate what he wants amazingly well."

He has recently finished the score for Soderbergh's forthcoming film, The Laundromat, which is based on the Panama Papers scandal and stars Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman.

"He sent me the script and a note saying, 'I want you to embrace your inner unhip white man' and he sent me a playlist of the kind of world that the music should be in." He worked with Northern Irish composer Brian Irvine and a jazz quartet, and after four productive days in a London studio, he sent the finished product to Soderbergh.

"He got back to me and said, 'This is perfect' and the next time I heard the music, he had cut it into the finished film and I am thinking, 'This fits like a f***ing glove'. That's his genius - not mine. Some directors will micromanage stuff and they'll almost give you too much information, but he knows exactly what he needs to say to you and what he needs to give you. It's a classic case of less is more and being very articulate with very few words."

It's been a highly productive 12 months for Holmes. He has also scored a new Irish film, Normal People, a two-hander with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. "It's made by friends of mine [directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn who did [the Belfast-set] Good Vibrations and I think it's a gorgeous film." He says the central performances are "outstanding" and he is relieved that Neeson has weathered recent controversies, arguing that his words - deemed by some as racist - were taken out of context. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the kicking Neeson received, Holmes isn't keen to get into the nuts and bolts of the argument.

He's on much steadier ground when the subject of Killing Eve comes up. Holmes, along with his Unloved bandmates Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent, have supplied the music that's helped make the BBC spy series such a global TV hit. They soundtracked the first season and the second season features yet more of the sophisticated retro-inspired music that has become Unloved's stock-in-trade.

"I think it works very well," he says of the collaboration with Killing Eve, adapted for television by the much-lauded and newly named James Bond scriptwriter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. "And it's the fruits of the good fortune of being in LA working on a Steven Soderbergh film and meeting [by chance] Keefus and finding we not only got on, but worked very well in the studio together." Jade Vincent is Ciancia's partner in life and art, and once she was recruited to the Unloved cause, the band took off.

"A lot of the stuff that I was playing like Brigitte Fontaine, The Shangri-Las, people like Broadcast and Cat's Eyes became the foundation for Unloved," he says. "It's got this melange of West Coast girl groups, but it's also got this European psychedelic feeing, too.

"Unloved," he adds, "was a name I had in my mind for a while based on the Samantha Morton film."

The trio's second album, Heartbreak, was released to considerable acclaim earlier this year. And while he will support Ciancia and Vincent with a DJ set in Dublin next week, he is not part of the Unloved live show. Touring, he jokes, is not something that appeals to him. "There's not one part of me," he insists, "that wants to go on tour. I'm 50 years of age!"

For now, though, Holmes is enjoying the business of being at home in Belfast and slowing down a little. "I'm taking two months off," he says. "I just hit a brick wall where I was taking on too much stuff and you reach a point where you need to give your creative juices a chance to flow again."

The time-out is unlikely to stretch any longer, though. Holmes enjoys being creatively restless and working with like-minded people like Steven Soderbergh.

He laughs heartily at how his career has turned out. "I'm the luckiest f***er in the world," he says. "I really am."

Unloved play Whelan's, Dublin on May 9, and David Holmes plays a support DJ set
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Russia condemns Washington's recent decision to apply the full weight of an act to step up blockade on Cuba and urges the international community to pool efforts to terminate the blockade, Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Washington's move to tighten the anti-Cuba blockade in the spirit of "Monroe Doctrine" is "overt encroachment" on the sovereignty of Cuba as well as other states including U.S. allies, which violates the norms of international law.

The White House recently announced it was activating Title III of the Helms-Burton act, paving the way for U.S. lawsuits over properties nationalized or expropriated by Cuba's government, and potentially scaring away investors with the prospect of lengthy litigation.

"We emphasize again that the methods of blackmail and pressure used by Washington are absolutely illegal. We call on all responsible forces to defend the UN Charter and international law in order to jointly put an end to the anti-Cuba blockade," the ministry said.

It added that the Cuban leadership has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resolve existing contradictions with the U.S. side on a bilateral basis, which Moscow believes is the only way.

The Helms-Burton act, named after the legislators that sponsored the bill, contains a precept called Title III that would mire Cuba in the courts by allowing Cubans who fled the island following the 1959 Revolution and settled in the United States to claim rights to properties nationalized or confiscated decades ago.

After the U.S. Congress passed the law during the Bill Clinton administration, the Title III rule has been waived by every president ever since, including Clinton.
Court: Geraldine and Patrick Kriegel, parents of schoolgirl Ana Kriegel, arrive for the case yesterday. Photo: Collins Courts

A dog walker thought one of the boy's accused of murdering Ana Kriegel looked "rough" when he saw him in the park.

The witness told the Central Criminal Court that he first spotted a young lad from a distance, who appeared to be "walking with a funny gait".

When the boy got closer he realised it was Boy A, who he knew.

He said Boy A "looked like he'd been hit or something".

The witness said he was concerned for Boy A, possibly that he'd been attacked. The witness asked Boy A whether he was ok and he said he was.

Boy A "looked in rough shape", he said, and there appeared to be something that could be blood on his T-shirt.

The witness said Boy A told him that he took a fall and hit his knee.

Boy A also seemed "embarrassed" and the witness felt that someone had bullied him, and he just wanted to go home.

Earlier, a girl who saw Ana Kriegel in the park with Boy B said they were "laughing and talking" and "they seemed to be having a good time".

The girl gave evidence to the Central Criminal Court that she was out walking her dog when she saw Ana with Boy B, both of whom she knew.

She said the two were "having a brisk walk", were "laughing and jumping" and seemed to be having a good time.

In cross-examination, the teenager described it as a "sort of skip run".

"Ana seemed happy," she said. "She was laughing along with Boy B.

"They did a sort of a skip run, like the kind you'd do with your friend."

The teenager said she was too far away from Ana and Boy B to talk to them and she didn't think that they noticed her.

Another juvenile witness said he was friends with Boy A and Boy B.

On the day Ana disappeared, he answered the door to Boy A. It was shortly before 6pm, the court heard.

"He was limping and holding his chest. He had his arm up to it," the youth said.

He also gave evidence that he noticed blood on Boy A's T-shirt.

"Boy A looked scared," he said.

He asked Boy A what happened and he said he had been attacked by two older teenagers in the park.

The witness was asked by prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC if he remembered talking to Boy A or Boy B after Ana's body was found.

He said Boy B was "sad" and he didn't remember anything else specifically.

In relation to Boy A, he said he couldn't really remembering talking to him about Ana.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys, Boy A, has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana's naked body was found by gardai at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen leaving her home with Boy B at 5pm on the day she disappeared.

It is the prosecution's case that Boy B "lured" Ana to the derelict farmhouse and then watched as the other boy sexually assaulted and murdered her. The trial continues.
'The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.' Stock photo: Depositphotos

The President of the High Court will decide at a later date whether several parties are entitled to a copy of an interim report by inspectors investigating matters at Independent News & Media (INM).

The applications were each objected to by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), whose probe last year led to the appointment of the inspectors, barrister Sean Gillane SC and solicitor and corporate governance expert Richard Fleck.

Their interim report was provided to the court last month.

However, the only party who has an automatic entitlement to the report is the ODCE.

Applications were made yesterday by INM, former INM chief executives Robert Pitt and Vincent Crowley, former INM Ireland chief executive Joe Webb, former INM chairman Leslie Buckley, former INM non-executive director Allan Marshall, the Central Bank, Sunday Independent journalist Maeve Sheehan and public relations practitioner Rory Godson.

Applications were also made by DMZ IT Limited, Specialist Security Services Ltd, Reconnaissance Group Ltd, Resilient Defence Ltd, and four individuals linked to those firms.

The firms have been associated with an alleged interrogation of data taken from INM's premises.

Neil Steen SC, for the ODCE, said the report did not reach any findings or conclusions and its disclosure could adversely affect the progress of the investigation.

The court heard the report outlined progress made by the inspectors to date, how they intended to proceed, and certain evidential issues.

Mr Steen said that if the report was not released to any of the parties there would be no potential for reputational damage.

He said it had been a feature of the matter to date that information tended to percolate into the public sphere once it was outside the control of the ODCE.

The barrister said the investigation was in its early stages and akin to a police investigation. Nobody, he said, would be entitled to material from an ongoing police inquiry.

But Shane Murphy SC, for INM, said the company was in a unique position and its interests would be directly affected by any inspectors' report, whether interim or final.

He said past practice of the High Court was in favour of releasing the document.

Mr Justice Kelly said he would reserve his judgment on the various applications.

The inspectors are investigating a range of issues at the company, which owns flagship titles including the Irish Independent, 'Sunday Independent', the 'Herald', the 'Sunday World' and the 'Belfast Telegraph'.

These issues include the alleged data breach in 2014, when it is feared data tapes were taken off-site and searched for information relating to at least 19 people.

INM has said this exercise was carried out at the behest of its former chairman, Leslie Buckley, and that the rest of its then board did not know about it.

Mr Buckley has pledged to robustly defend himself.

According to the ODCE, the exercise was paid for by a company owned by INM shareholder Denis O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien has yet to comment on the matter.

The inspectors' terms of reference entitle them to investigate most of the issues raised by the ODCE, including the adequacy of the INM board's response to protected disclosures made by former chief executive Mr Pitt and former chief financial officer Ryan Preston.

Also being examined are concerns over the circumstances surrounding a proposed acquisition by INM of Newstalk, a radio station owned by Mr O'Brien.
A NEW mum who was given temporary release from prison to visit her baby went shoplifting within hours of getting out of jail, a court heard.

Sylvia Hickey (23) also hurled abuse at nurses in a maternity hospital on the same day.

She had intended to go to visit her child at home but ended up being arrested and refused bail.

Judge John Hughes said what she did flew in the face of justice and jailed her for six months.

Hickey, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to theft and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard that on the morning of April 10, Hickey was given temporary release from a prison sentence at Mountjoys Dochas Centre, subject to conditions with which she had to comply.

That afternoon, she went to Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and stole cosmetics worth 147.

On the same day she went to Holles Street hospital and began hurling abuse at nurses over a medical diagnosis she was unhappy with.

The court heard Hickey had 27 prior convictions for theft, prescription forgery and other offences.

The birth of her first child in November had been a wake-up call for Hickey, her lawyer said.

She had been doing well in prison and was granted temporary release, intending to travel to her mothers home to visit her child.

However, she had a drug addiction and suffered lapses.

Hickey was remorseful for what had happened and she had missed an opportunity to reconnect with her child.

She was very embarrassed and distressed to be in court, her lawyer said.

Judge Hughes said the accused had been unlawfully at large on the day as she broke the conditions of her release.

I am amazed that somebody who was granted temporary release, with so much to look forward to, would go and commit offences of this nature on the very same day of her release, Judge Hughes said.

He said he was satisfied Hickey was aware of the nature and terms of her release and what she did flies in the face of justice.

Hickey wept as the judge passed sentence.
Patrick Quirke left the body of Bobby Ryan (pictured) in a run-off tank after killing him

Patrick Quirke's wife Imelda outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial. Photo: Colin Keegan

Convicted killer Pat Quirke previously threatened murder victim Bobby Ryan and was charged with assaulting their love interest Mary Lowry.

Mr Ryan's former girlfriend Mary Glasheen has told how Quirke had threatened the part-time DJ. However, she was not able to mention this in court.

More details can be revealed today about the violent nature of the killer, who is beginning his life sentence in Mountjoy.

Ms Glasheen said Quirke "threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about".

Quirke (50) was convicted this week of the murder of Mr Ryan, a part-time DJ known as 'Mr Moonlight'.

The 15-week trial heard Quirke had an affair with Ms Lowry, the sister-in-law of his wife Imelda Quirke, after the death of Ms Lowry's husband.

But Quirke was also previously before the courts on a charge of assaulting Ms Lowry, who was the subject of intense jealousy when she started a relationship with Mr Ryan. The charges were later withdrawn by the DPP.

As Quirke begins life in jail, wife Imelda, who stood by him during the trial, is expected to visit him in Mountjoy today. He is likely to be moved, possibly to the Midlands Prison, in the near future.

Expand Close Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ex-girlfriend: Mary Glasheen (pictured) had a three-month relationship with murder victim Bobby Ryan before he went on to meet Mary Lowry

Ms Glasheen previously told the murder trial that she had a relationship with Mr Ryan but was delighted when he met Ms Lowry and could be happy, hopefully.

She had a three-month relationship with Mr Ryan starting in January 2008 after she separated from her husband, who subsequently passed away the following year. She described Mr Ryan as bubbly, kind, liked dancing, happy.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, Ms Glasheen said Mr Ryan told her about a threatening phone call he had received from Quirke in the months leading up to his death.

He threatened Bobby over the phone, which he later told me about, she said. However, I wasnt given a chance to use it as evidence in court because it was deemed as hearsay.

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Statements made by someone other than the witness themselves normally are ruled as inadmissable.

She added that the past two nights since Quirkes conviction had been very tough.

I had a rough night yesterday and didnt sleep too well. Its been very tough but thank God its all over.

However, she also expressed her dismay at the prospect of Quirke appealing his conviction. Hopefully, it wont happen. Fingers crossed.

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Further details of Quirkes previous court appearances can also be revealed now that the murder trial is dealt with.

In 2014, Quirke, of Breanshamore, Tipperary, was charged with assault causing harm to Ms Lowry at her home in Fawnagown, Tipperary town between August 1 and 31, 2012. Quirke was also charged with burglary at the same address and handling stolen goods on December 3, 2012. The charges followed a Garda investigation into complaints of burglary at Ms Lowrys home. She became so fearful for her safety at Fawnagown that she had an elaborate CCTV system installed.

At the time, Sergeant Cathal Godfrey told Tipperary District Court that the case file was submitted to the DPP in late March 2014.

The DPP has directed that all three charges now be withdrawn, Sgt Godfrey said.

According to sources, Quirke is showing no signs of stress or anxiety in Mountjoy prison as he begins his life sentence.

It is expected that his wife will visit him over the weekend having stood with him throughout the trial. He is now in a cell on the C1 landing in the main prison with around 25 inmates who are described as quiet and obedient.

Its like theres not a bother on him. He looks like hes taking it in his stride, said one source. Staff are unsure whether Quirke, now known as prisoner 107243, is genuinely unfazed by his new surroundings or if he is good at hiding his real feelings.

He has been assessed by medical and psychological staff after being incarcerated on Wednesday afternoon.

He would have been placed in a quiet environment within the prison deliberately, until he gets used to the prison life and regime.
'Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages' (stock photo)

Ambulance services face disruption during two 24-hour strikes this month and next due to a long-running paramedics' dispute.

Members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association (Nasra) are escalating a long-running campaign of industrial action by holding full-day stoppages.

They are planning a 24-hour strike at the end of this month and another one at the start of June, although the dates have not yet been set.

Previously, the 500 paramedics held shorter stoppages.

Army ambulance crews helped shore up services during six previous 12-hour strikes in the row over union recognition.

The members of Nasra, which is a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, want the HSE to recognise their union.

They claim the HSE is forcing them to be members of unions they do not want to join. The HSE has said it recognises Siptu as the main paramedic union.

Health Minister Simon Harris said it is regrettable that Nasra has decided to escalate the dispute.

"The HSE will continue to ensure patient safety through robust contingency planning," he said.

A HSE spokesperson said the national ambulance service recognises Siptu, Unite and Forsa for staff in the service.

"In particular, Siptu is the recognised trade union for front-line staff," they said.

"Recognition of other associations or unions would undermine the positive engagement that exists and would impair good industrial relations in the national ambulance service."

Meanwhile, psychiatric nurses who are also members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association are due to meet HSE officials next Tuesday in a bid to end a separate row over pay.
Two different families still have no idea what happened to an Irishman who vanished without trace in New Zealand more than a decade ago.

Matthew Alexander Hamill was leading a double life when he suddenly disappeared near Queenstown, a resort town in Otago in the south-west of the country's South Island.

The 59-year-old cost controller, who was originally from an unspecified location in Northern Ireland, was reported missing on October 29, 2008 when he failed to return home from work. It was thought he had taken his own life after his car was discovered with a suicide note inside.

Despite multiple searches, Mr Hamill's body has never been found and in 2016 police concluded that he had died.

This week a coroner reserved her decision following an inquest in Queenstown into his mystery disappearance.

The day after he was reported missing, Mr Hamill's unlocked car was found with his wallet and a handwritten note addressed to his Vietnamese wife, Tuyet Nguyen.

Ms Nguyen told the inquest that her husband was "normal" on the last morning she saw him, when he said goodbye to her, their 10-year-old son Adam and her 15-year-old son Micky from a previous relationship.

She said that at 10.25am she received a text from him that read "You OK?", noting that it was not out of the ordinary as he got worried about her being at home by herself during the day. She added: "That is the last time I had any contact with Matthew."

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Mr Hamill's daughter Ruth - one of five children from his first marriage to Ateca Hamill, who lives in Auckland - told the inquest that she didn't "remember hearing about the other family until October 2008".

Mr Hamill, who left Northern Ireland at a young age, met his first wife in Fiji in the 1960s, married her in the 1970s and moved to New Zealand where they raised their children.

Ateca Hamill told the inquest that her husband "announced" he was going to Vietnam in 1995 for a two-year contract, adding: "He made the decision and told me he was going... I didn't have any doubts about his motives."

After the contract ended, she said he announced he was returning to Vietnam to recoup money lost through bad investments. "I never saw or spoke to him again," she added.

In Vietnam, Mr Hamill was pursuing a relationship with Tuyet Nguyen, who he met in 1995 at a bar in Saigon where she worked. Mr Hamill told her he had a wife and daughter in Auckland and that he was separated but not divorced.

Hamill and Nguyen had a son together in 1998, moved to New Zealand in 2005 where he was trying to get residency, and married in May 2008.

Nguyen said Hamill did not have many friends and spent most of his time with his family. She also said he had been worried about getting New Zealand residency, his job and money.

Police said a border alert was placed on Mr Hamill, but there had been no signs of him trying to leave the country or apply for a passport in a different name since his disappearance.
Hammersons designs for OConnell St area include a proposed roof over a shopping shopping area by Moore Street

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson

BUSINESS leaders believe plans for a new shopping and cultural quarter for Dublin's OConnell and Moore Street have the potential to mark the start of a bright new era.

The scheme to rejuvenate the north side of the city centre has come from UK property group Hammerson.

Designed by German architect Friedrich Ludewig, it portrays a vision to restore historic streets, including the creation of a 1916 trail to commemorate the Easter Rising.

And a new 2,000sqm residential area has been proposed, with 23,500sqm of shopping space, 31,500sqm of office space and a 4,700sqm hotel.

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Dublin Chambers head of communications Graeme McQueen said: The north of OConnell Street has been lying idle for far too long.

He said OConnell Street should be the jewel in the crown of Dublin.

The plan from Hammerson to redevelop the entire area is very welcome and has the potential to be the start of a bright new era for both OConnell Street and the wider north city centre area.

This project, in combination with the redevelopment of the Clerys building and other developments, will breathe new life into an area of Dublin that has underwhelmed for too long.

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These moves are hugely exciting for Dublin and for Dubliners, he said.

Architect Ludewig, of the firm Acme, has designed a new pedestrian area running from OConnell to Moore Street, to include a large square at the centre and a smaller square at the junction of Moore Lane and Henry Place.

Mr Ludewig has previously worked on award-winning city schemes, including Victoria Gate in Leeds, Westquay South in Southampton, Highcross in Leicester and Melbournes shopping district Eastland.

It is also understood that the Carlton Cinema, closed in 1994, will have its facade restored.

But the iconic movie theatre will not be returned to its former use the proposals instead see it as a venue for retail outlets.

We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders on an ongoing basis regarding the future development of the Moore Street area, ahead of wider public consultation, a spokesperson for Hammerson said.

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Hammerson seeks to protect and enhance the Moore Street areas unique heritage, including its market and connections with 1916, while at the same time delivering clear economic benefits and employment opportunities locally, they said.

We have appointed Acme to look at options for the entire site, which stretches from Upper OConnell Street to Parnell Street to Moore Street and Henry Street.

The proposals will reinvigorate this part of Dublins north inner city.

The company also revealed how it had used local knowledge in making its plans.

Acme has been working with the DIT School of Architecture, commissioned by the Moore St Advisory Group,to develop a historically sensitive vision for the area acceptable to stakeholders.
THIS is the face of convicted killer Patrick Quirke photographed just minutes after he was arrested for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan.

The photo shows Quirke in early 2017 as he was processed by gardai who were preparing to question him about the murder of his love rival.

He could receive his first visitor today after being incarcerated in Mountjoy on Wednesday for the murder of Bobby Ryan.

Now known as prisoner number 107243, Quirke (50) has spent his first couple of nights getting used to his new surroundings.

Early indications are that he is keeping his head down and is probably in shock after the jury verdict.

Arriving in the committal unit of Mountjoy late on Wednesday afternoon, he would have had his first look at the prison menu.

He would then have received a standard prison tea, which would have included fruit and bread.

Because he is new to the system, and is older than most other inmates, he will initially be under constant watch.

He was seen by the prison doctor, governor and most likely a psychologist, as is standard

practice.

This is to ensure that his physical, mental and emotional health is assessed and recorded.

Quirke will be allowed to wear his own clothes, but will likely be kept on suicide watch,

when he will be checked every 15 minutes.

This is considered normal procedure and does not mean that Quirke is at any more of a threat of taking his own life

than any other inmate under the circumstances.

Quirke will spend a number of days, and possibly weeks, in the committal unit before he is

designated a cell in the regular prison system.

He may also be moved to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois, or Limerick Prison.

However, there is more space in the Midlands, so it is likely he will serve his sentence there.

Quirke will now also be getting used to the visiting regime, and his first visitor is due today or tomorrow.
'IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.' Stock photo: PA

Prison officers have expressed concern about handling Islamic State (Isil) radicals if they are ever convicted and imprisoned here.

The issue arose as Prison Officers' Association president Tony Power addressed delegates at its annual conference in Sligo this week.

He raised concerns that officers had not been trained in how to handle or treat prisoners involved with Isil.

"We have read recently of the possibility of some Irish citizens returning from involvement with IS and perhaps spending time in our prisons," said Mr Power.

"And if this happens, prison officers could be involved in a deradicalisation process.

"And are we trained to do this? No."

However, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has played down concerns of prison officers that they could be involved in the deradicalisation of Isil fighters.

IPS director-general Caron McCaffrey has said that Irish prisons do not have the same issues as prisons across Europe when it comes to extremism.

She also said the IPS is monitoring the situation in Ireland and is prepared for any changes that may occur.

Mr Power was speaking following speculation that Irish woman Lisa Smith, who went to live in an Isil camp in Syria, wants to come home to Ireland with her two-year-old daughter.

The former member of the Defence Forces has denied fighting for Isil, but her request for assistance to come back to Ireland has sparked debate.
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The UN envoy for Afghanistan met last month with Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, said a spokesman.

"I can confirm to you that Tadamichi Yamamoto, the (UN) secretary-general's special representative, had met in late April with Mullah Baradar Akhund and the Taliban negotiating team in Doha," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

The meeting was part of a regular dialogue between the United Nations and the Taliban on human rights, humanitarian assistance, and the peace process, he explained. "The UN mission conducts frequent meetings with all parties to the conflict as part of its good offices work to support the Afghan people and government to bring an end to the war."

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which is led by Yamamoto, has been engaged in regular meetings with the Taliban in Doha in the past several years, said Dujarric.

The UN mission advises all parties to the conflict of its regular contacts with the Taliban in key areas, he said.
Nineteenth-century Dublin was the whiskey powerhouse of the world. The city's half dozen distilleries produced 10 million gallons every year; one gallon in seven of all those produced in the British Isles. The top distilleries - both in quantity and quality - were the "Dublin Big Four": George Roe (established 1757), William Jameson (1779), John Jameson (1780), and John Power (1791). Pot still whiskey from these four distilleries was considered the finest in the world and the benchmark for all other whiskeys.

"Just as the names of Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini give Italian motor cars a cachet far beyond that of the bulk-selling Fiat saloons, so the great Dublin distillers of the mid-19th century bestowed on the whole Irish whiskey industry a reputation," writes Brian Townsend, author of The Lost Distilleries of Ireland, (1997-1999). "Scotch, at that time, tended to be the poor relation."

Of Dublin's Big Four, George Roe Whiskey was the oldest and eventually became the largest. It began in 1757, when Peter Roe bought a small distillery on Thomas Street. Between 1757 and 1832, the business passed through the hands of many family members, during which time Nicholas Roe founded another distillery on Pimlico Street. Then, in 1832, George Roe took over both distilleries and brought them together to form a larger complex.

By 1887, George Roe & Co Distillers of Thomas Street was the largest distillery in Europe. It covered 17 acres with eight pot stills, producing more than two million gallons of whiskey a year, and employed 200 workers of every skill and trade, including 18 coopers to make and repair barrels. George Roe whiskey was highly regarded, but not quite in the same league as that of the John Jameson or Power distilleries. Now, it's one of the rarest Irish whiskeys in the world.

"Unfortunately, these bottles were just drunk and not saved," says Bryan Mee, auctioneer. A bottle of whiskey made in the 1890s by George Roe whiskey of Thomas Street in Dublin (est 6,000 to 12,000) is coming up for auction at Victor Mee's Irish Connection sale of May 8 and 9. "It's been well cared for and kept out of sunlight so the bottle itself is in excellent condition. There's only a little bit of evaporation. The artwork on the bottle is fabulous - it shows the Thomas Street Distillery and it's a lovely thing to look at."

Mee has only been able to confirm the existence of two other bottles of its kind, one in Belfast and the other in the US. Both are owned by private collectors. This one comes from the Northern Irish collector, Des McCabe, and has been in private ownership for a very long time.

By the end of the 19th century, the Golden Age of Irish Whiskey was drawing to a close.

"The Scots - harnessing their legendary sense of thrift and efficiency - had found a way to make a palatable whiskey more cheaply and eventually elbowed the Irish whiskey distillers out of the market," Townsend writes. In 1889, George Roe & Co Distillers joined William Jameson & Co and the Dublin Whiskey Distillery (DWD) to form a trading unit called the Dublin Distilling Company Ltd. Each distillery continued to market its own whiskey under its own name. They continued to produce whiskey until 1926, leaving large quantities of unsold stock. In the mid-1940s, Geo Roe & Co Distillers dissolved and the site was taken over by Guinness. Now, the most visible reminder of the former Thomas Street distillery is Saint Patrick's Tower, a brick-built windmill that was constructed in 1757 and believed to be one of the oldest surviving smock windmills in Europe.

The sale will also include a 1940s JJ & S Liqueur Dublin Irish Whiskey, a blend of 100pc John Jameson whiskey, distilled and bottled by John Jameson & Son Ltd (est 800 to 1,200). It comes in a hexagonal bottle with a label that states "Not a Drop is Sold till it's Twelve Years Old". This particular bottle was imported into the United States by WA Taylor & Co, New York and was probably brought back to Ireland as a gift by a distant cousin of the vendor. Like the George Roe whiskey, this bottle also shows some evaporation due to age. Over the past two years, Bryan Mee has noticed a surge of interest in Irish whiskey at auction, with enquiries about the George Roe bottle coming in from as far away as China. "Collecting whiskey is a very male hobby," he says, "but there's also a lot of interest among publican and distilleries wanting to assume a collection for display in their visitor centre." Diageo is due to launch a new blended Irish whiskey, Roe & Co in June 2019. The whiskey is named in honour of George Roe and made at the new St James's Gate distillery, just a stone's throw from where George Roe & Co Distillers once stood.

The Irish Connections Collectors Sale will take place at Victor Mee Auctions, Cloverhill, Belturbet, Co Cavan. Viewing from tomorrow to Tuesday.

See victormeeauctions.ie.
How do you feel about being on your own - does the thought of a night in alone fill you with dread or joy?

What about being stranded on a desert island - would you be lonely or would you relish the time to yourself? Are you the kind of person who goes to the cinema on their own, enjoys eating dinner alone or even holidays solo?

For many people, time spent alone is essential to their mental well-being, while others regard it as a strange quirk of personality. Some people, typical extroverts, even have a word for people who don't seek out the company of others - loners.

But just how much alone time is healthy and how much is a sign that it might be time to seek help? The answer depends on the person, because one person's ideal quiet night in on their own is another person's depressing night of solitude.

"I recently booked a night away in a hotel on my own, and to be honest it was fantastic," says Thomas Crosse, also known as Crossy. With a demanding job as a DJ and presenter with the Dublin radio station FM104, where he produces the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Crossy says he is more than happy to spend time on his own. In fact, he craves it.

"My ideal night is to be home alone with some takeaway Thai food, some wine and some great TV. I talk all week and deal with people all week, so I need time to just turn off and not feel under pressure to perform for anyone," he says.

So what did he do on his night in a hotel? "I went to the gym and the pool, had a few beers in the bar and spent the evening watching TV. It was great not having to worry about what someone else wanted to do. I could do what I want and I highly recommend it."

He's planning a trip to Rome soon and has deliberately arranged to travel on his own.

"I've always wanted to go and I've said it to loads of people, but they're either going out with someone who doesn't want to go, or they don't have enough holidays left from work to take the time, so I'm going by myself," says Crosse.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and enjoy their company, but I have absolutely no problem booking a restaurant table for one and going out for dinner with myself. It can be difficult to coordinate schedules with friends when everyone is so busy, so if I want to try out a new restaurant, I'll happily go on my own with a newspaper or even just my phone to read."

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Emma Jane Leeson lives outside Prosperous in Co Kildare and works in the human resources department of the multinational Kerry Group. She writes children's fiction in her spare time and her series for kids, The Adventures of Johnny Magory, has been well received. Carving out time to be alone is a crucial part of her mental health routine.

"My job means I see people all day every day and it's extremely tiring. I run the social media accounts of the company I work for so, to be honest, I feel I've had enough of dealing with people quite quickly. I have to get out, be on my own with no humans around. I make an exception for the dog and my favourite thing to do is to walk on my own around Ballynafagh Lake near where I live," she says.

"If I don't do it, I become short-tempered and my mood is massively affected. I am drained by other people and need the release.

"Ironically, I know I'm an extrovert and do like being around people but I have this introverted tendency and once I've had enough, I've had enough."

Leeson says she's always been like this, but in her mid-20s the need for alone time started becoming more pronounced. "For me, it's correlated with being in a corporate and people-focused environment. I recently handed in my notice as I want to give full-time writing a shot and of course, it'll be heaven to be in my own company while I write. We'll see if it lasts though. Perhaps I'll get lonely," she says.

There's a fine line between voluntary solitude and the kind of loneliness that can impact on a person's mental health. Plenty of people experience loneliness and find it far from enjoyable. According to consultant psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy, while some people are naturally introverted and comfortable being alone, there are others who crave interactions with others and can become depressed if they don't have it.

"There are also other individuals who would like to be part of a group but who experience social anxiety and find being around people stressful and difficult. It's important to distinguish between the two. One group chooses solitude for healthy reasons and the other group make choices to be alone because it's the only way they know to cope with their distress," he says.

Loneliness is a big issue for the Irish public. Dr Murphy was part of the National Loneliness Taskforce which published a report that concluded that involuntary loneliness can take three years off a person's life.

"It has the equivalent effect on a person's health of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and affects around one in 10 people in Ireland. On the flipside, there are plenty of people who seek out being on their own and have no negative consequences as a result," he says.

According to Dr Murphy, it's a scientific fact that some people are extroverted and some are introverted - being one or the other has no great bearing on a person's overall level of happiness.

"Some people are happy doing their own thing and being on their own, while another person in the same situation might find themselves experiencing high degrees of loneliness. People have different ways of engaging with the world around them," he says.

Knowing what kind of person you are can be a valuable tool in making good life decisions that work well for you. For example, Dr Murphy suggests that a person's nature can make them more or less likely to be happy in certain jobs.

"One person might find the stress of dealing with the public too much, while an office job might be ideal. Conversely, there are people who might be bored silly at a desk and very happy interacting with people all day long. There's nothing wrong with either of those - it's a case by case thing," he says. "Social connection is important for everyone but it's the degree that differs."

There are some extreme cases of people shutting themselves away from daily life. In Japan, such people are known as hikikomori and an estimated half a million of them live as virtual hermits, rarely, if ever, leaving their homes. These people withdraw from life and the pressures they feel to be successful, hold down jobs and be functional members of a society that can expect a lot from its members.

A controversial theory about the cause of this condition is that it's brought on by the isolating influence of modern technology. Initially psychologists thought that Japanese society was uniquely susceptible to this condition, but a 2015 study by Japanese psychiatrists found cases of the condition in the US, South Korea and India, too.

Few people would argue this is a healthy reaction to stress and pressure, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of pressure on people to present a public face through social media that is often at odds with how they feel about themselves.

Roisin Connaughton is a 29-year-old student in her final year of a medical degree, and to say she leads a busy life would be an understatement. Her time is spent in hospitals dealing with patients, doctors, tutors and the public, in libraries studying, or at work trying to support herself.

"I really like spending time on my own, and I don't mean on my own in a coffee shop or in a shopping centre, I mean at home alone with nobody else around. I find that time almost impossible to get, but it's the one type of time that makes things slow down," she says.

"I need to get away from the expectations of others and the pressure to interact with others. I'm easily distracted and get drawn into thinking about what's going on around me. I'm very much an extrovert - I do like other people and I'm quite outgoing - but I really need time on my own to empty my brain and be myself."

Sleep is a particular challenge for Connaughton because her brain runs so fast that it can take quite a while for her to wind down enough to fall asleep: "My mind races and I need to calm it down with quiet and solitude to be able to really relax. I sleep much better when I've had time by myself to do nothing. I don't even read a book or watch TV - I just do nothing. And that can be hard to explain to people."

Connaughton says that her situation has arisen throughout her 20s and she doesn't put it down to the pressures of her studies.

"The funny thing is that as children, everyone has loads of time to themselves. You spend time being bored and finding things to do with your time, but as an adult your time is so heavily scheduled that you often don't have any free time at all unless you carve it out. Some adults are literally never alone and find it difficult to be on their own. I'm the opposite," she says.

The pressure of dealing with people is something that Colin Harmon well understands.

Harmon is well known on Dublin's coffee scene as the owner of the 3fe coffee shops and Gertrude restaurant, and despite having worked directly with the public for years, he describes himself as an introvert.

"I no longer work directly on the coffee bar but I did it for years, and while you have hundreds of interactions with people every day, they're not typical interactions. It's not like meeting your friends or meeting people on an equal footing - you're in the hospitality industry, so you have to be positive with everyone. That's not normal," he says.

"It's incredibly draining and you have to present a slightly fake gloss to the public. Even when you're talking to your colleagues behind the coffee bar, you're still slightly on display to customers, so you guard what you say and make sure you're being professional."

Harmon's favourite time of day is his hour-long commute home in the evening.

Driving his car, he can be alone and either sits in silence or listens to podcasts - either way, it's time he feels is absolutely crucial to staying centred.

"When I get home, I have kids and a wife who deserve my attention and who have their own worries and concerns that they want to communicate, and I need to be there for them too. And I love being there for them, but I also need time to be on my own and recuperate," he says.

"I go running as much as I can, despite being not very good at it. For me, it's about the silence and time alone... as much as it is about exercise. It's about headspace."

Harmon says he has old friends who find his 'coffee personality' entertaining as they know that he's not naturally an extroverted person. He says when he shops for clothes, he prefers to avoid busy periods and hates it when shop assistants ask if they can help.

"I can go up on a stage in front of thousands of people to speak publicly no problem, but in restaurants I get my wife to order the food to avoid the social interaction. I guess we're all a mix of these contradictions."

Picture: Frank McGrath

Picture: Steve Humphreys
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Billy Keane Opinion Incident of the woman who stayed in bed for 40 years brings pirates and Fine Thick Men to mind

This is some of the story of the woman from Taunton, in England, who stayed in bed for 40 years. The reason she stayed in bed for 40 years was because her doctor told her not to get up until he called back. She had the flu and the doctor never came back, so she stayed put. The woman was 34 at the time.
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Mary Kenny Opinion Aviation opened up the world to us, now it needs our support to get airborne again

My mother came of age in the early years of the Free State, and over the course of her lifetime two aspects of being Irish made her hugely proud. One was the little green passport with Eire embossed on the front cover. The other was the sight of an Aer Lingus aircraft flying the flag to international destinations.
Today the Irish Defence Forces family will once again parade, this time in Cork, to protest and highlight the continuing decline of conditions within our armed forces.

In support of my former comrades, I will attempt to explain to those not directly involved with defence issues why this matters.

Recently I encountered a foreign official with many years of experience in the Middle East and elsewhere. He spoke incisively about the role of the Irish Defence Forces on a variety of UN missions, especially the more recent one on the Golan Heights.

This individual was heavy in his praise about how their professionalism, capability and experience were well recognised in the upper echelons of international political circles as a game-changer in many conflict management spheres.

To show he wasn't just spoofing me with nice sentiments, this individual made references to certain specific skill sets and tradecraft of the Irish professional soldier, demonstrating real awareness of the work done by our troops on various missions.

It is ironic it took a foreigner to demonstrate this. Our own politicians, and indeed population, have rarely ever expressed such an awareness.

Most of us have encountered nurses and gardai in our daily lives, but many of you reading this will ask the perennial question: what does the Army do?

Many times you may have heard references to the work of the Naval Service or Air Corps or, indeed, the specialist work of the bomb disposal personnel or the Army Ranger Wing.

However, the very essence of any military force is embodied by a body of troops called the infantry. They are the combat arm of the army, the ones who must get close with the enemy and destroy them if required, or hold ground against heavy odds as the troops who fought at Jadotville did. This is also the body of troops most likely to be called out in support of civil powers during emergencies at home.

From rescuing Filipino peacekeepers under fire on the Golan Heights to clearing snow off roads in Ireland, that is the infantry. All arms, all adaptable, all weather.

What makes the infantry stand out compared with more hi-tech specialists is that it specialises in teamwork in adversity. Troops are taught at an early stage in their career to embrace hardship and develop physical robustness and mental resilience. These are not the skills acquired in institutes of technology or universities, they are learned in the winds of the Wicklow mountains, the rivers of the Glen of Imaal and the sands of South Lebanon.

Coupled with these old-school disciplines are the skills of physical command and leadership in the field from corporal to colonel. This type of stuff takes years upon years to develop to a high functioning level in any individual.

But to develop this year in, year out in a unit of 500 or 600 soldiers of all ranks to the point of it continuing to work in situations of life-threatening stress can take generations. The infantry is the team of teams of our Defence Forces. Imagine stripping away the club sides of the GAA or regional and town teams of the IRFU and then wondering why the county and national teams fail to perform.

This is why the retired veterans of the Defence Forces and their families and friends are marching today. To warn the country, the people, the politicians, that when you hollow out a force like the infantry, it cannot be rebuilt over a few years with regular recruiting.

The culture of leadership in adversity and the embracing of hardship are not easy skills to inculcate into an organisation. Once lost, they are hard to regain.

If others from beyond our shores, as I mentioned at the start, can see the value in our forces, then maybe it is time our politicians and people should place the same value on them.

Declan Power is a former career soldier and author of 'Siege at Jadotville'
Somehow, somewhere along the way, a click went off in his brain. We will never know when his first murderous thought took hold. In the cascading turmoil of his recent life the memory of that singular moment may be lost forever.

Murder since time immemorial has had many guises. It ranges from random instinctive killing to detailed pre-planning for the ending of human life. But always, always, demons within will have been in ferment. The likely cocktail of emotion, swarming in Pat Quirke's head propelling him to kill, has been well recounted. But it is all too easy to presume it was sexual jealousy that nudged him towards the cliff edge.

He may have had his moments brooding as a jilted lover battling rejection. But greed, a lust for cash, and a desire to become a really rich man are what lured Quirke into a space where human empathy deserted him.

His own holding of 67 acres had become far too modest for his money-making schemes. Over the years he had 'diversified' into various non-farming activities. He had shown himself to be especially well informed when pursuing sundry investments.

But a story as old as time itself is the mixed emotions of a man with limited acreage living near somebody with much more land at their disposal. In such a scenario, human nature - with its proclivity for endless comparison - can sow the seeds of seething jealousies and life-long resentments. Mary Lowry, with a much bigger farm and able to access substantial amounts of cash, made Quirke almost starry-eyed with money-making opportunities on his doorstep. This was the lever which would free him to indulge his more grandiose plans.

Financially speaking, he felt he was on a rollercoaster through his relationship with Ms Lowry. Under his instigation, her money became tied up in various financial schemes.

Even complicated 'contracts for difference', outside the ken of many Irish farmers, were part of his 'financial portfolio'.

The land she owned had become the golden ticket which could make Quirke the kind of wealth he craved. Even better times were on the horizon for a man whose mother claimed he had used sharp practice to seize control of the family home.

But when 'Mr Moonlight' came on the scene, Quirke's dream of a monied future collapsed overnight. His personal relationship with his near neighbour was the key to everything.

We don't fully know why Mary Lowry called time on what she termed their 'seedy' affair. But it is clear she had emotionally moved on. Despite some frantic efforts on his part, Quirke was out of her life. The nightmare, from his viewpoint, was that she planned to take back full control of her farm. It would be a major coming down in the world for her former lover.

What gave this case a special piquancy is that a saga of sex, land, and money was played out against the hinterland of rural Irish life. The key players were middle-aged farming folk.

Deeper psychologies of what prompted Quirke to murder are rooted in his own background and formative years. What made him so lustful for land and cash? He just could not let things lie. Living in the local agricultural bubble, he was reminded all the while of the Lowry acreage and the money he could be earning from it.

And so when he carried out the fateful deed, a deluded sense of injustice had overpowered him. He felt he had been wronged. It seemed something he regarded as rightfully his had been plucked from his grasp. His anger was all-consuming. Disposing of his victim's body so near the Lowry home was macabre; but there is no evidence he was tortured by any kind of haunting presence.

Many mysteries remain when murderers do not confess their guilt.

The pudgy, middle-aged Tipperary farmer strode in and out of court each day with his trademark cap and laptop. His face - despite a hint of menace - remained inscrutable all the while.

We will never know. Maybe he himself does not know. But the evidence suggests Pat Quirke murdered part-time DJ Bobby Ryan not over matters pertaining to sex.

He was motivated by something he considered much more important than affairs of the heart. Money.
Former Rose of Tralee and army crack-shot Maria Walsh has insisted she will not resort to force of arms in her election turf wars with party rival Mairead McGuinness.

In fact, both Fine Gael candidates agreed yesterday that their aim was to each win one of the four Euro seats in the 13-county Midlands North-West constituency, as they made light of the reported spat about campaign ground rules.

Ms Walsh, a political newcomer, downplayed reports that she was at loggerheads with Ms McGuinness, a European Parliament vice-president seeking election for the fourth time.

The Mayo woman, crowned Rose of Tralee in 2014, and also an active member of the Defence Forces Reserve (DFR), took issue with alleged encroachments into her designated territory. "As a 31-year-old woman, I have a crown and sash from the Rose of Tralee in one hand, and in the other hand my marksmanship is 37 out of 40 shots with a Steyr rifle. I'm not here to be pushed over," she had told the 'Sunday Independent'.

But at the Fine Gael campaign launch yesterday, in Moate, Co Westmeath, Ms Walsh said she had been merely answering media questions and was not responsible for headlines. She was proud of both her DFR membership and her Rose crown - but would shun negative campaigning and heartily endorsed Ms McGuinness's assertion that they can win two seats for the party.

A diktat issued by Fine Gael headquarters just three weeks ago stated that Ms McGuinness and her team were to canvass Louth, Meath, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan, while Ms Walsh was to focus on Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.

But Ms Walsh was concerned that Ms McGuinness was active in her territory before the divide was fixed - and more recent local ads in Galway and Mayo for Ms McGuinness neglected to mention her running mate.

Ms McGuinness got a round of applause and provoked much hilarity from party supporters at the campaign launch as she refused to take her rival's reported comments too seriously. "I did frisk her before she crossed the border into Westmeathwe will return the arms when they go back across the Shannon," she said to much laughter from colleagues.

The three-time MEP said she had fought many campaigns but avoided negativity in all of them.

She cited the 2004 Euro campaign battles with Avril Doyle of Wexford, where keen rivalry resulted in a surprise win of two out of three seats, boosting the battered fortunes of Fine Gael at the time.

In the 2004 campaign, Ms McGuinness was banned from canvassing in Ms Doyle's Wexford home base. On the other hand, Ms McGuinness was given sole campaign rights in her home base in Co Meath.

But there were several high-profile reports of boundary incursions on both sides.

One involved Ms Doyle's mobile electronic hoarding appearing at Fairyhouse race course, only to have the display covered with posters for Ms McGuinness.

On May 31, 2004, just as polling day approached, McGuinness posters appeared in Ms Doyle's Wexford base.

Fine Gael backroom operators had to intervene on many occasions to restore campaign order and discipline. Curiously, much of the details of these spats did make it into the public domain.

The friction led to publicity, which in turn led to votes.

Fifteen years on, Fine Gael strategists hope history can repeat itself.
Over 40 years ago, the modern Irish Independent changed hands for the first time since its foundation in 1905. When the young entrepreneur Tony O'Reilly acquired control in 1973 from the Murphy family, it was largely on the basis of his hunch that - as we entered the EEC - the domestic newspaper business was, of all Irish industries, probably one of the best protected from foreign ownership and competition. The wheel has now come full circle with the takeover offer from Belgian-Dutch media group Mediahuis, but in circumstances neither he nor anyone else could have predicted even as recently as five years ago.

One of the defining characteristics of the new owners is that they regard media, and newspapers in particular, as more than just businesses. Newspapers are, warts and all, institutions that have a huge public service remit and a public responsibility. One of the greatest and most permanent of those responsibilities is holding the feet of the powerful to the fire and, as a great US journalist once put it, comforting the afflicted as well as afflicting the comfortable.

The foundational Murphy era in Abbey Street was remarkable for its consolidation of the middle market at a time when social and even technological change was proceeding at a snail's pace. It was hardly coincidental that its 50th anniversary was marked by the publication of a congratulatory message from Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin, or that - on another famous occasion - newspaper vans were despatched at high speed in the middle of the night to successfully retrieve all early copies of the Independent from a town whose deceased and highly regarded parish priest, the type-setter had mistakenly recorded, was survived by two sisters and three brothels.

Newspapering has also, traditionally, been a fellowship as well as a competitive market-place. When the 'Irish Times' was replacing its presses, and enhancing its competitiveness, it was actually printed - at commercial rates, naturally - by its rival in Abbey Street.

When O'Reilly took over in 1973, it was not only at the dawn of an era of seismic social and economic change, but it was also an end to the days when the office managers in the Independent would economise by carefully cutting pencils in half before supplying reporters with these tools of their trade.

The eventual demise of the peculiarly managed 'Irish Press' group consolidated the Independent's position in the market-place, even though this was compromised from time to time by experiments with MMDS (multi-media distribution systems, a failed precursor of the internet), problematic experiments with radio stations in the US, and the high-profile but ultimately sacrificial adventure involving the London 'Independent'. Management, under the late Liam Healy in particular, seemed to have a Midas touch.

This was buttressed by conservative, commercially sensitive editorial policies and by an investment policy based on borrowing to buy assets rather than on weakening board control by broadening and increasing shareholder investment.

The O'Reilly era was marked by extraordinary and profitable expansion into Australia and New Zealand and South Africa, its role in South Africa in particular coinciding significantly with the end of apartheid and the support for Mandela.

Subsequent events, however, demonstrated that even major and apparently invulnerable institutions can sometimes develop weaknesses that few could have predicted. In the case of the Irish newspaper industry, two factors were involved.

One of them is the advent of the internet, and the inability or unwillingness of governments everywhere to realise that the lack of regulation and accountability of this new economic model posed a threat, not just to so-called 'legacy' media, but to public life and standards generally. There are, thankfully, some signs that the EU and national governments are now taking this threat seriously.

When external threats like these suddenly appeared contemporaneously with internal difficulties such as the boardroom battles which hobbled Independent News & Media in recent years, it is close to becoming a perfect storm in which only the fittest will survive. In this context, a major problem facing the Independent group has been its inability successfully to manage simultaneously both the new technological, commercial and editorial challenges, and the internal civil war which inevitably consumed huge swathes of everyone's time.

Many years ago, I was a member of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. So was David Palmer, then managing director of the Independent group. While David and I agreed on little, we achieved harmony on one issue: management always had the right to change an editor, but - if they had any sense - they should not interfere with editorial policy. That sums up the peculiar nexus of the newspaper industry: it is private enterprise, but with a public purpose, and its success depends not only on its management but on the skill, commitment, and values with which its journalists approach their societal role and responsibilities.

The media will always be a locus for contention and controversy - which is as it should be. Variety in ownership and control will enhance the growth of adaptability that will help ensure the success of newspapers into the future. We once thought, after all, that television heralded the end of the cinema! And public measures aimed at supporting the media's role in providing readers with essential information and opinions are what will enhance public debate, inform public and private decision-making, and support the endless disagreements that enliven, vivify and inform civil society.

John Horgan is emeritus Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University, and served as Ireland's first Press Ombudsman
The lesson from the North's local elections is unambiguous. It is that no matter what - if the flood waters are rising or the Last Trumpet is sounding - people there vote along tribal lines. That's just how it is. Depressing but true.

What could have signalled the potential for Armageddon more starkly than Brexit, with its threat to the open Border? But it made no difference - clearly, both Sinn Fein and the DUP read their electorates accurately because their voters haven't blamed them.

During the economic crash, Fianna Fail was punished by the public and its recovery on the national stage has been slow. But there's been no backlash against either Sinn Fein or the DUP. No payback for the former's absence from Westminster, no payback for the latter pushing a hard Brexit agenda.

From this, we can conclude something germane to the Good Friday Agreement. It delivered. But it fell short. Peace came but not reconciliation. Integration - of education and housing - was essential but slipped off the agenda.

In Britain, the local elections have delivered a frustration vote, a protest vote, an anti-stasis vote. The Brexit Backlash, it's called. Not so in Northern Ireland, where inertia has no repercussions.

Northern Ireland did not mirror the British trend, where the two dominant parties were punished for being unable to settle on a Brexit deal. The two largest parties in the North couldn't cut a much less complex agreement, to restore Stormont, but received no reprimand - perhaps because people are resigned to failure in the North.

In Britain, although the election was local, the issues were national. In Northern Ireland, everything stayed local. Consequently tribalism held its ground: for God and Ulster on one side, Our Day Will Come on the other. No Stormont Backlash then. No lending out your vote in hopes of sending a message to politicians.

A resurgent SDLP didn't materialise, despite the link-up with Fianna Fail, which is looking like an increasingly bad idea. As for the UUP, its message simply hasn't connected and unionism is becoming interchangeable with the DUP. Peadar Toibin's Aontu, a conservative religious party in its first electoral outing, hasn't made a significant impact on voters, which tells us people in the North are ahead of parties on social policy, as in the Republic.

Candidates had a better than one-in-two chance of getting elected in the locals because there are so many seats relative to the number of contenders. So if someone is left chosen, quite a strong message is being sent.

News that Bombardier was selling its Belfast operation broke as people went to the polls. The Canadian company is one of the region's largest employers with 3,600 working in plane-making activities; overall, some 12,000 jobs may be impacted because of the supply chain. In 2017, it was estimated the wages of the company's employees put 158m (185m) into the local economy annually.

Bombardier had already indicated the DUP stance on Brexit was a worry. Subtext: why would it continue to invest in a place so dysfunctional a government couldn't even be set up? The company is for sale and we don't yet know if some or all of those jobs are safe. What we do know is there's no functioning Stormont to fight for them.

In the last local government elections in 2014, the DUP and Sinn Fein emerged as the two largest parties. Five years on, there is no alteration to that position. Same old, same old. The upsurge for change in the wake of Lyra McKee's killing has not carried through to the ballot box. How to interpret that? Perhaps it is that people want the parties they have always voted for to shift the dynamic, as opposed to taking a chance on anything new?

Last Sunday at Arbour Hill in Dublin, Micheal Martin said Northern Ireland had normalised the abnormal idea that the existence of a government is negotiable: "What they don't seem to understand is that, for democrats, a parliament is a place you go to solve problems - not a place you refuse to go unless your problems are sorted in advance."

This acts as a rebuke. Chiding others is easy. Understanding their position, helping them to move on from it - that's harder. Mr Martin's criticism overlooks the reality that, for most of Northern Ireland's existence, nationalist people there have not felt adequately represented in either Stormont or Westminster.

The Good Friday Agreement transformed that, but the DUP didn't sign up to it. Perhaps that is why neither of the two largest parties was taken to task by electorates for failing to reach agreement and return to Stormont. Those outside attach more weight to Stormont than those in the North, who question its effectiveness.

Obviously, Sinn Fein and the DUP must compromise if Stormont is to be restored. But this vote does not incentivise concessions. It is bound to hamper the talks process due to start next week. Punishment at the ballot box is language which politicians hear loud and clear but they have not been reprimanded - on the contrary, both are likely to feel they have been delivered stronger negotiating hands.

A spirit of cooperation needs to be fostered in the North. 'Ni neart go cur le cheile' - no strength without combination. That was the motto of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, founded by reforming landlord Horace Plunkett. This pioneer of the co-operative movement, who understood the importance of co-operation, was a unionist MP in the House of Commons and later a senator in Dail Eireann. It is examples such as his which have to be invoked.

Unfortunately, the division between Sinn Fein and the DUP is not just political but social. Sinn Fein has evolved to become more socially liberal while the DUP remains conservative. Furthermore, Sinn Fein remains focused on a Border poll - and this will cause tensions within unionism.

Where are the moderates? They do exist but they aren't winning huge traction. Nevertheless, it was a good day for Alliance and the Greens. That represents some progress. Real progress, however, would be signalled by translating those gains into a European seat. One each is guaranteed for the DUP and Sinn Fein but seat number three is up for grabs. Could Alliance make a breakthrough?

Finally, let's look again at what happened in Britain. The Lib Dem tide is a reaction, not a trend. One Tory voter who switched told me he did it for the locals but wouldn't vote for them at national level. Two lifelong Labour voters who went Lib Dem said they did it to send a message that they want Brexit stopped.

British politicians are coming under pressure thanks to this election but their Northern counterparts aren't experiencing the same heat. Their voters aren't saying take Stormont out of cold storage, or else. Dublin and Westminster take note.
Sisters-in-law, once so close they used to go away on family holidays together.

Both slender, dark and fine-featured, their physical resemblance was close enough for it to be remarked on by several onlookers at the longest-running murder trial in the history of the State.

Mary Lowry outside the Central Courts of Justice in Dublin during the murder trial

Once secret rivals for the love of Patrick Quirke, now Mary Lowry and Imelda Quirke are privately, and in their own way, dealing with the devastating fall-out of his murder of Bobby Ryan.

The two women have not spoken since Ms Lowry, feeling guilty over her affair with Imelda's husband, sent her a blank card saying 'sorry' - much to Quirke's fury.

Asked during the trial why she had done it, she said she supposed sending the card had made her feel better.

"It took some of the guilt away," she explained.

The defence was more sceptical about her actions, with Bernard Condon SC claiming she had done it to "soothe herself, not Imelda".

"You must agree you sent it to make yourself feel better," he put it to her.

"I was very sorry and regretted the affair and I was ashamed about the affair," Ms Lowry insisted, repeating her answer several times.

Regardless of why she had done it, the gesture marked the end of their friendship.

Moments after her husband was found guilty of murder, Imelda rushed to be by his side, ushered into the holding cell at the side of courtroom 13, along with Quirke's sister.

Imelda's devastation was appallingly evident, her face ashen. She did not re-emerge.

And though the photographers waited hours for her to come out of the CCJ complex, mystifyingly, there was no sign of her.

Her life crashing around her, it was clear she had been compassionately spirited out of the building by the gardai.

Back to the dairy farm at Breanshamore, Co Tipperary.

And yet, the removal of her husband from her day to day existence may be the best thing that could possibly have happened to her.

A controlling individual on every level, Quirke's demeanour as he came and went from the trial every day showed demonstrable signs of unpleasantness.

He was seen snatching an object from his wife one day, while another, he was witnessed carelessly jostling her as they entered a door.

She catered to his every need, preparing a packed lunch for her husband every day and she readily supplied bottles of water to him when he gestured to her in court.

She was by his side faithfully, making the trip up and down on the train from Limerick Junction with him every day in a 14-week-long ordeal that was clearly exhausting - her dramatic weight loss throughout was testament to that.

There was nobody in the court who did not have sympathy for Imelda.

Right throughout the terrible events that transpired around the murder and discovery of Bobby Ryan's remains, Quirke seemed to rely heavily and unfairly on his wife's personal strength of character and ability to 'cope.'

He used her birthday as an excuse to flee the scene after the murder in June 2011, booking a weekend away to the Heritage in Portlaoise, which was unusual for them.

Imelda was the first person he called after "discovering" the remains of Bobby Ryan.

A garda later put it to him that if it had been his wife, he would not have liked her to have seen the body in the tank.

Quirke's reply was that Imelda would know what to do.

It was she who had alerted the authorities - in a panicked 55-second phone call to Garda Tom Neville, known to her through her sons' under-age GAA training.

He calculatedly used his wife's innocence to deflect from his own guilt in a most despicable way.

And even as gardai questioned him about his internet searches for the rate of human decomposition, urging him to own up to being at the computer in order to do the right thing by his wife and children, Quirke would not.

He claimed he loved his wife - but the evidence shows that he had roundly abused her just as much as he had Mary Lowry.

During the trial, Quirke and Imelda had gone for leisurely walks hand in hand through Tipperary town with their dog every day after getting off the train from Dublin.

"It was like he was trying to show people that he had nothing to worry about," said one local businessman.

A senior source claimed locals were "afraid" of Quirke and had feared he would not be convicted. They did not want him back amongst them.

But now, the domineering presence of Patrick Quirke has been removed from Breanshamore.

It will be amid some difficulty that Imelda and her two sons can move on with their lives. It was clear they still love and stand by him.

But the support of their extended family and their community will assist them greatly as they adjust to their new reality.

Read More

As for Mary Lowry, the sense of relief will be palpable and she will shed no tears at his predicament.

She had suffered at the hands of Pat Quirke, she had told the trial.

He had manipulated and used her - for sex and for cash, as well as for the magnificent lands of Fawnagown.

He had attempted to frame her for the causing the death of Bobby Ryan.

On the day that Bobby's remains were found on her farm, Mary Lowry upped sticks and left Fawnagown forever. She and her sons had moved in with her brother and then into a rented house in the locality.

She then built her own two-storey house in Bansha, described by one person as a "country dream house", surrounded by many potted plants and a long gravel driveway.

Mary's future is bright.

The man who had coldly snuffed out the life of Bobby Ryan, who had, chillingly, reported her to the social services claiming she had neglected the emotional well-being of her children, and secretly recorded her chatting with her then boyfriend, Flor Cantillon, is now behind bars for life.

She would not talk to media in the aftermath of the trial - stoically saying only: "I'm not too bad. Sure, we have to try and get on with it."

With her privacy stripped from her so comprehensively during the gruelling trial process, who could blame her for seeking it now?

But Mary Lowry is a survivor - her testimony was proof of that.

She was able to stoutly defend herself against the most vigorous efforts by the defence to discredit her.

Her natural good humour was evident on Quirke's secret recordings, when her peals of laughter rang out in court.

Despite the efforts made by Quirke to tarnish her reputation as a mother, her sons are a credit to her - polite, articulate and well able for the toughest of questioning.

As a family, they will blossom after this, the weight of the investigation and trial lifted from their shoulders.

Read More

And it is all thanks to Mary Lowry, who selflessly put her reputation on the line - willing to put everything on the table and to have her personal life mercilessly dissected.

She had "bared her soul" to get justice for Bobby, she told the trial.

It can not have been an easy thing to do - least of all when living in a small, tight-knit community.

But her sacrifice was not in vain.

And now she and Imelda can get on with their lives without the menacing shadow of Patrick Quirke looming large.
 Flash

The Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilot strike has ended after an agreement was reached late on Thursday night. All flights in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will resume as soon as possible, Swedish News SVT reported on Friday.







"It is with relief I now conclude that our customers soon will be flying again and that we will be able to pursue our commitment to travelers to, from and within Scandinavia," Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS, wrote in a press release issued by SAS shortly before midnight on Thursday.





The strike lasted for a week, resulting in 4,015 cancelled flights and affecting approximately 360,000 passengers.





SAS has been hit hard financially by the strike, with SVT reporting that it cost the airline an estimated 60-80 million Swedish krona a day. Gustafson told SVT on Friday that it is too early to calculate the total cost.





"I have to admit there is a great deal of talk about it," Gustafson said. "But I want to wait for an exact amount, because we have not yet been able to calculate everything."





According to Gustafson, SAS has no plans to raise airfares to cover losses incurred during the strike.





"It is clear that I would have preferred to use this money to invest in our future than to burn it up in a conflict," Gustafson told SVT. "But now we have ended up here and I deeply regret that we ended up in a conflict."





After over 30 hours of negotiations between SAS and the Swedish Air Line Pilots Association, a new three-year collective bargaining agreement is in place. The new agreement concerns predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries. In the press release issued on Thursday, SAS said the terms are "on par with the industrial benchmark for the Swedish labor market."





SAS traffic is expected to be fully operational again by Saturday morning. (1 U.S. dollar = 10.22 SEK)




Pat Quirke, Prisoner 107243, has become a member of a select group within the ranks of Ireland's most notorious murderers; people whose shocking crimes will be enshrined in the collective public memory and the annals of the Irish criminal justice system.

The 50-year-old farmer - convicted of murdering his love rival after the longest murder trial on record - joins a small gang of other prisoners who became household names for the worst of reasons. Names such as Joe O'Reilly, Graham Dwyer and Brian Kearney.

Like the others, Quirke is responsible for a particularly callous and cold-blooded murder that captivated the public during long and hard-fought courtroom battles to prove their guilt.

He shares many common traits with O'Reilly, Dwyer and Kearney including the fact none of them had ever been involved in crime before and were seen as respectable middle-class, law-abiding citizens.

All of them displayed narcissistic tendencies - as evidenced by a common belief that each one of them had carefully planned and executed the perfect murder.

In each case, the killer demonstrated the attitude that he was cleverer than the force and could easily outwit it, which in turn led to some of the best examples of detective work in the history of An Garda Siochana.

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One insight gleaned from Quirke's computer, which was not allowed into evidence, was an interest in the notorious case of wife killer O'Reilly.

O'Reilly bludgeoned his wife and mother of his two young children Rachel to death when he made a mid-morning visit to the couple's home in the Naul, north Dublin, in October 2004.

He had devised an elaborate plan to murder his wife and make it look like an intruder had attacked her. He built a false alibi that he was busy working in Dublin at the time of the crime.

O'Reilly even appeared on 'The Late Late Show' to appeal for information on the murder alongside Rachel's mother, who by then suspected he was the killer.

He was eventually convicted after a long and dramatic Garda investigation blew his alibi apart by tracking his movements through his mobile phone.

It is reasonable to assume that by searching the online blog "Why Joe O'Reilly thought he had committed the perfect murder", Quirke was trying to learn from O'Reilly's mistakes.

Another individual Quirke is likely to encounter is Brian Kearney, whose cold-blooded murder of his wife Siobhan in February 2006 earned him his place in the pantheon of notorious killers.

His motive for murder was that she intended leaving him causing him financial problems.

Kearney also put on a false face and attempted to brave it out, but came unstuck after another intensive Garda investigation.

Graham Dwyer is a household name who will always be synonymous with one of the most grotesque and depraved murders ever to come before the courts.

Elaine O'Hara, a vulnerable woman with a history of mental illness, had been groomed by Dwyer over a number of years during which they were involved in a BDSM relationship.

The Foxrock architect hid from the world his perverse fascination for piquerism, which involves inflicting pain on a victim using knives and drawing blood for the purpose of sexual gratification.

Dwyer probably reckoned that he had learned from the mistakes of O'Reilly and Kearney when he decided to finally fulfil his ultimate fantasy and murder Elaine O'Hara in August 2012.

Ireland's latest inductee to this notorious lifers' club will have plenty to discuss as they while away the slow passage of prison time.
The graffiti on some walls in Creggan in Derry shows Saoradh and its henchmen in the New IRA are nothing more than intimidating thugs who like to throw their weight around and sow fear wherever they go.

Their threat to "execute" informers takes us back to the bad old days when we saw bodies dumped along the Border or buried in shallow graves by the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.

Saoradh's attempt at distancing itself from the New IRA after the killing of Lyra McKee is like saying Sinn Fein was never the political mouthpiece for the Provisional IRA or that Gerry Adams was never a member of the Army Council.

Who are they trying to cod? Everyone, including the dogs on the street, knows who these terrorists and their supporters are.

We have seen them on display going to or coming from court in Derry or standing in front of Saoradh's former offices when red-painted hands were daubed on their offices after Lyra's murder.

What we need is the political will in Northern Ireland to deal with these terrorists and that everyone supports their police service in preventing further outrages.

Let us not forget Lyra's sacrifice and her will to have a more open and loving society. Not one filled with hate, but one where we all respected each other and had those difficult but vital conversations.

Christy Galligan

Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Abortion vote means children are still dying

I want to begin with a word of praise for John Lynch of Cork for his balanced, objective letter on April 24 and his positive acknowledgement of the work done by nuns in the mother and baby homes.

These homes were in poor condition and had very limited resources, but they did provide an open door for pregnant women who had no place to go at a very dark time in our history.

These women, of different ages and levels of maturity, would have surely been severely traumatised by the experience of being rejected by their own families before they ever set foot inside those institutions.

I cannot understand why the narrative around all of this continues to target and blame the Catholic Church for all the woes of that era. I acknowledge there was much scandalous abuse among some of its community, including priests, family members et al, and this has only surfaced gradually and in relatively recent times. It was covered up, put away and shrouded in secrecy.

At that time, poverty was widespread, housing was cramped and the family configuration was very different from today. A child born outside wedlock was clearly not wanted or welcomed, was described as illegitimate and ruled out of many life privileges.

The pregnant girl was excluded from the family and was not returning, not because of the fear of the Church's teaching nor the parish priest's Sunday sermon. No, this paled beside the fear of what the neighbours over the road would think of an otherwise respectable family. So the family disowned the girl and child.

But doesn't every child have a mother and father? The fathers got away. Where were they then and where are they now, when Catherine Corless is talking about exhuming the remains of infants buried in a chamber over a septic system in Tuam? Whose responsibility is this now, 50 or 100 years on? She talks about identifying these infants and giving them a dignified burial. How can she suggest this is even remotely possible?

What I find troubling is the inability of our politicians to connect with the past in a constructive manner and move on to a better way, with or without the Catholic Church.

In this context, let us briefly reflect on present reality - as a nation, we voted to legalise abortion, resulting in a two-thirds majority. It was sickening to see Government personnel, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, rejoicing that Ireland was entering a new dawn of modernity, enlightenment, speed of access to information and, above all, freedom to choose.

They just may have forgotten a third of us voted No and we are still around. They somehow expect us to accept the awful circumstances around the killing of human embryonic life in the womb. It has become for some children the most threatening and dangerous place to be, in spite of all the vetting and safeguarding courses for child protection. I hope and pray the medical profession will not contribute to this most violent assault on humankind, causing termination of life.

Of course, this is not to rule out medical intervention and ethical decisions in cases of illness and conditions which threaten the life of mother and/or child. There are two patients to be considered.

In the new Ireland, where everything can be open and accepted, what can we now expect when these little innocents have their lives violently snuffed out before they can see the light of day?

Both parents and possibly extended family can be present at an appropriate interment service, giving them the dignity and respect they deserve, just as much as the infants in the former mother and baby homes, and not discarded as clinical waste.

The children who died in Tuam, Cork, Sean Ross and elsewhere can rest in peace. This is not naive or fanciful thinking. We must all take responsibility for our behaviour. It is where I believe we need to go as a society if we are to pursue goals of truth, goodness, compassion and real freedom, and steer ourselves and others away from the darkness of cosmic proportions and individual and collective destruction.

Whatever God we believe in, we need a seismic shift in attitude, thinking and action. I remain hopeful there is enough goodness in human beings and an objective moral conscience to discover a way of seeing reality differently.

Sister Cristin Guerin

Ashbourne Avenue, Limerick

Is misdirected mail a data protection breach?

I read with interest that An Post had removed all bins from the GPO in case personal data falls into the wrong hands, in breach of GDPR.

I'm sure many of your readers have incorrectly received post which was addressed to one of their neighbours. Such letters may contain personal data which would be a breach of GDPR.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that An Post stops delivering post.

Niall McInerney

Malahide, Co Dublin

Be careful what you wish for in the polling booth

There are a lot of things to think about when someone asks you to vote for them in the upcoming elections.

Have they acted in your favour since the last election or interacted with you on what they are doing about the housing crisis, the patients on trolleys, plus funding for penny dinners, Fr Peter McVerry, Focus Ireland, and the Kinsale rescue service?

Does the candidate portray a sense they can do good for us or are they someone with too much time on their hands or ego seekers?

Always choose wisely when casting your vote.

Noel Harrington

Kinsale, Co Cork

Only stand for Europe if you mean to stick at it

With canvassers calling to your doors looking for votes the most important question, especially for the European candidates, is: "Will you, if elected, serve the full term as an MEP or will you be returning to national politics next spring when a general election is called?"

One of the most annoying and, in my opinion, undemocratic things that has been happening in recent years is the practice of an MEP stepping down after a year and being replaced by a party supporter who we have never heard of.

The best example of this was when Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party won the last European seat in the Dublin constituency and after a year or two he stepped down.

He was replaced by Paul Murphy, who went on to become a TD and cause mayhem during the water charges protests. Now that seat was held by Eoin Ryan, who was an excellent MEP. Now I ask you - is that fair?

If Clare Daly or Billy Kelleher gets elected to the European Parliament will either of them be returning to national politics when a general election is called?

I think candidates should be up front with the electorate and let us know their intentions.

Eamonn Kitt

Tuam, Co Galway
Twenty-two arts and community groups in Louth applied for funding for community projects under the Creative Ireland initiative with 13 groups being successful.

The grants which have been approved are: Ablevision,  5,000; Castlebellingham Environment Committee, 462; Drogheda Classical Music 5,000; Droichead Youth Theatre, 4,842; Drumshallon Forge Heritage Centre, 4,000; Dundalk Youth Centre, 5,000; Gathering Heritage, 2,746; Grow Music, 500 (Development Grant for 2020); MAD Youth Theatre 4,000; Oriel Traditional Orchestra

3,400; RehabCare Carroll Village Resource Centre, 4,050; Upstate Theatre Project/Cathal Thornton 500 (Development Grant for 2020); and Upstate Theatre Project/Declan Mallon (500, Development Grant for 2020).
On Saturday night I headed for the Windsor where a special 40th birthday party was being held for Brendan McArdle from Ard Easmuinn and there to make sure he had a great night was his wife Fiona, sons Oisin and Ciaran, parents Gerry and Elizabeth from Brid-a-crinn, brother Barry and Louise who were down from Belfast and a big collection of well wishers.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Brendan who is an engineer in Dublin and he was having a laugh with his old schoolmates Breffni Lynch from Beacon Court and Oliver Morgan and Brendan Byrne from Meadow Grove who were hot off the campaign trail for Oliver and were taking a rest from going door to door to celebrate with Brendan on his big night.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with cousin-in-law Bronagh Richardson who was with Sean Dillon both from Cooley who told me it was excellent night and wanted to wish Brendan a very happy birthday.

They were sitting with family friends Colman and Leona Burgess from Donaghmore who were delighted to be there (in the Windsor) but weren't sure if they wanted to be linked to the party though!

Seated close by were Claire and Neil Richardson from Kilkerley who were having a right old laugh with Gay and Josephine O'Loughlin from Carlingford and their delightful daughter Clare who wanted to wish Brendan a very happy 40th.

Not too long later I got a word with sister-in-law Louise McArdle who was down from Belfast with Brendan's brother Barry and told me the night was going to be great with everyone there to enjoy the party.

I then headed for the front bar in the Windsor where well known physio from Precision Sports, Paul Cheshire from Medebawn was also celebrating his 40th birthday party with a bit of a party and there to make sure he had an excellent night was wife Rosalynn and friends, kids Evan and Chloe were being babysat so the adults could have a bit of a night together.

I wasn't too long in when I got taking to Bobby and Eilish McCarthy from Old Muirhevna who have been friends for years and wanted to make sure Paul had a totally mad night.

Next, I got talking to neighbours David Hazzard, Marcus West, Michael McGee and Karl Cullen all from Medebawn who told me Paul is a really decent guy and they were going to make sure he had a totally mad night.

Also in their company were Daragh McKeown, Karl Lynch, Fra Martin and Vinny Rogers all from Medebawn who told me the crack was only getting going and it was going to be an epic night for sure.

After this I headed over to the ladies and met up with Lisa Rogers from Medebawn who was chatting to Ellie Biggs from outside Bandon in West Cork who had come up specially with husband Shane Beggs to be there and said they definitely weren't going to miss such a monumental occasion, the fact that they had got away without the kids had also turned it into a major bonus.

At an adjacent table I then caught up with Ciara Hazzard, Geraldine Lynch, Shirley McGee, Becky Cullen, Caroline Martin, Pamela McKeown and Laura West all from Medebawn and Louise Moran who had come from Slane specially for the party and the girls were already in party mode, having a brilliant night together and wanted to wish Paul all the best on his big night.
One party I certainly wasn't going to miss on Friday night was Charlie Fee from Ballybarrack's 80th and a huge crowd had turned out specially for the occasion. There to make sure he had an epic night were wife May, kids Maria, Kenneth, Martin, Anthony and Charlie and a special mention for daughter Carol over in New York along with a huge collection of family and friends.

Charlie, who worked for CRV and Ola Oils, also trained teams for St. Dominics in his day and is a huge Man Utd fan, but now he has become his grandchildren's chauffeur according to all his kids!

I then headed for one of the adjacent tables where I met up with Carmel Muckian from Mountain View Crescent who told me his son Joe is married to Charlie's daughter Maria. She was enjoying the evening along with Ann Carroll from Carol Meade who told me she has been a family friend for years, wanted to wish him a happy 80th, would be coming back in 20 year's time for his 100th and it won't be long coming around.

They were enjoying the company of Brigid and Raymond Grant and Maeve Holland all from Ballybarrack who wanted to make sure Charlie had a wonderful night.

Next, I met lifelong friend of May's, Brigid Quigley who was there with Mary Breen both from Upper Faughart and they said they couldn't have missed the party for anything.

Meanwhile up near the bar I got a quick word with Adrian and Carol Sheelan from Cooley who said they too are family friends and were up for a mad one with Charlie and his family.

Making my way through the crowds I then got talking to John and Susan Knipe from New Rath who were with Charlie and Anne Fee from Ballykelly who had kids Caitlin, Regina, Charlie and Dylan and were just abut ready for a major night of fun with the big man.

Heading for another Table I then caught up with Charlie's daughter-in-law Cathy Fee who was over from Long Island with Charlie's son Kenneth and grandson Conor and she was enjoying a laugh with Charlie's nieces Patricia O'Donoghue and Geraldine Hoey both from Carrickmacross and Mary McCarron from Monaghan and the ladies were already having an excellent night together.

At another table I then caught up with Pauline O'Kane from the Quay who told me she was there with her mum Carmel Muckian whom I'd met earlier and she wanted to wish Charlie a very happy 80th.

Next, I had the pleasure of meeting granddaughters Kellie Fee from Ballybarrack, Regina Fee from Inniskeen, Cara Roddy from Bay Estate and Lucymay Fee from Forkhill who all wanted to wish granda Charlie a very happy 80th and hoped he had a brilliant night.

Not too log later I then got talking to Catherine and Barry McKeown from Earl Place Mounthamilton who are family friends and looking forward to an exciting evening with Charlie and his family.

I then headed over for a chat with my old friend Beany Grant from Ballybarrack who was having a laugh with Clare Fee-Grant and Nicholas Hordnes from Norway who both live in Southampton and had come over specially for her granda's big night.

Meanwhile up near the bar I managed a quick word with sisters Audrey Mackin and Susan Fennell both from Ballybarrack who were with their mum Nuala Mackin who wanted to wish their next door neighbour a very happy 80th.
All roads lead south this week as the Drogheda Arts Festival gets underway today (Tuesday) and continues for seven days in venues across Drogheda with arts events for all ages and interests.

Co-Chair of the 2019 Festival Elaine Cronin explains 'We design the programme to bring something new and thought-provoking to local audiences. Each year, we work with local artists, writers, actors and musicians to develop new pieces of work for the Festival. We want to showcase the best of emerging and established professional local artists.'

The festival programme highlights the wealth of talent in all sectors of the arts that exists not just in Drogheda but the wider north east region.

Among the highlights of the programme is the world premiere of Canadian composer Nicole Lizee's Spielberg Etudes in St Peter's Church of Ireland on Saturday at 8pm.

It will be performed by fellow Canadian, Megumi Masaki, who has worked closely with the composer over the last decade.

The programme will also include two of her earlier compositions, Hitchcock Etudes and Kubrick Etudes. In all these pieces, her musicianship will be meshing with film excerpts shown on screen, the original soundtracks and other recorded material.

This concert is being promoted by Louth Contemporary Musical Society which was founded by Dundalk resident Eamonn Quinn.

Dundalk brothers and All-Ireland winning traditional musicians Saran (concertina) and Tadgh (fiddle and bouzouki) Mulligan will be playing with guest musicians in the wonderful space of Highlanes Gallery on Sunday at 4pm.

The Highlanes Gallery is also the venue for a new exhibition 'Disruptors' which opens on Friday with an artist's talk at 7.30pm.

'Borrowed Ground' at the Droichead Arts Centre is housing eight purpose built studios for eleven different artists from April until July 14.

Artists from Dundalk's Creative Spark and Art as Exchange will be in St Dominic's Park running workshops and demonstrations for the family fun day on the Bank Holiday Monday.

One of the theatrical highlights of the week will be the performance of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece', by the Gate Theatre Company, starring the wonderful Camille O'Sullivan. The Belfast Ensemble, will perform the world premiere of their re-imagining of 'Ten Plagues', a collaborative project with local artists Declan Kelly and Els Boghart,

Check out the full line-up and book your tickets now on www.DroghedaArtsFestival.ie. For those aged 18-25, discover the Youth Pass with entry to 3 events for just 20.
Dundalk is set to get a lot brighter thanks to the SeekDundalk, an exciting new visual arts festival set to take place in mid-June.

The festival will see three internationally acclaimed street artists creating striking murals which will tell the town's story.

Dundalk's own OMIN will be joined by Dublin artists James Early and Aches, for the four day event which runs from June 15 to 19.

Speaking on behalf of the Seek committee, Town Centre Commercial Manager, Martin McElligott, said he is delighted to announce the latest addition to their 2019 festival plan. 'The festival is centred around promoting visual arts in Dundalk over a five year period by commissioning established and emerging artists, locally, and nationally, to help promote the town culturally and artistically, repositioning the area as a vibrant hub for creativity'.

David Callan explained that Dundalk has a wealth of history, with many historical layers throughout the ages which are being forgotten.

'This year's programme highlights the importance influence art can have in the public domain, its role as a catalyst for change, helping reinvigorate and refresh some of our town centre spaces.'

The festival sees Dundalk following in the footsteps of other towns and cities in Ireland and across the world that have used street art to striking effect. Notably, Belfast, Derry, Limerick, and Waterford have paved the way in Ireland for facilitating street artists to create large scale works which have the power to transform the streetscape and provoke conversation.

Martin continued: 'We have been working with stakeholders and sponsors, which include Louth County Council, Dundalk Tidy Towns, Dundalk Museum, Creative Spark, Grandson Design Studio, Imperial Hotel, OHR Marketing, The Hairshop, Glengat House and Thinking Cap, to ensure that not only the people of Dundalk rediscover its heritage, but that visitors to the town will get a better sense of the area and its heritage over the many ages right up to the present day.

Colourtrend paint are the headline sponsor for the 2019 festival. Managing Director of Colourtrend, Kevin O'Connor said they were 'honoured to be sponsoring Seek Dundalk 2019. As an Irish family brand, it is important for us to celebrate and support local culture. We are delighted to be in a position to assist in bringing the colour of this wonderful festival to life, celebrating the culture of Dundalk through creative murals. We look forward to seeing what the incredible team of talented artists come up with this summer.

Sarah Daly from Creative Spark said: 'The Seek committee has been one of the most creative she has had the privilege of working on to date, drawing expertise from Killian Walsh, Grandson design and lead designer on the project, local artist Barry Finnegan(Thinking Cap design), Martin McElligott (Dundalk BIDs), and artistic curator, Dave Callan. Events are never easy and people give up a lot of their free time making them happen, but when you get this much creativity in one room, good things happen.'

The artists taking part are Dubliners Arches James Earley and Dundalk's own Omin. This year's festival is focused on figures associated with the town. Omin will create a piece on pioneering engineer Peter Rice, James Earle will produce a piece based on the mythology of Cuchalainn and Aches will focus on the story of the 'Last King of Ireland Edward Bruce who is buried in Faughart graveyard.
The ever popular annual Car Boot Sale and Coffee Morning will be held on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, from 11am - 3pm in the Presbyterian Church grounds in Jocelyn St., Dundalk. Admission 2, children free. If you wish to participate, vehicles will be admitted from 8.45am. Cars 15, Vans 20 (includes refreshments)

Quiz night

A table quiz in aid of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 611 takes place on Thursday May 9 in The Glyde Inn, Annagassan. Organised by St Finian's NS, Dillonstown, there will be prizes for top three teams and a raffle on the night. Admission 40 per table of four.
Local Fine Gael candidate Roisin Duffy has questioned the cost of the additional Garda support that was required in Carlingford on Easter Sunday to keep law and order on the streets of the village following several public order incidents in the previous 2 years.

Roisin said: 'I spent a good part of Easter Sunday afternoon with my husband and children in Carlingford and while there was no trouble or any sign of trouble there was a surreal atmosphere in the village. I counted 10 members of the Garda Public Order unit walking through the village some of whom had dogs under their control. In addition there was also a large presence of regular uniformed Garda patrolling the village'.

The pubs in Carlingford were full from early afternoon with many patrons queuing outside some premises for anything up to 2 hours despite the pubs charging for entry. A bye law regarding drinking in public places was adopted by Louth County Council on 16th July 2018 effective from 16th August 2018.

Roisin Duffy noted 'I walked around the village twice and did not see any signs on display confirming that it was unlawful to drink in public. This is not to say that such signs were not on display somewhere but they were most definitely not on prominent display in the centre of the village'.

Roisin requested that 'The cost of the Garda Public Order unit together with the cost of uniformed Garda should be disclosed so that a full analysis can be undertaken of alternatives. We need to work on the root cause of what attracts these young people to Carlingford for this particular weekend. They don't come to Carlingford to enjoy the scenery or make any positive contribution to the village. They come for a few hours and basically hold the village to ransom for a few hours before they clear off not to be seen until the same weekend the following year'.

Roisin said 'asking Louth County Council to work with Newry Mourne and Down council to highlight Louth County Council's bye laws on public drinking was pointless. Newry Mourne and Down twitter account had one retweet of a notice requesting that people respect local bye laws regarding the consumption of alcohol. Carlingford was not even mentioned in the twitter post. This would have had no effect on the number of buses and young people travelling from Northern Ireland to Carlingford on Easter Sunday'.

Roisin said that 'perhaps we need to be more innovative in our dealings with major influxes of buses from Northern Ireland on particular weekends'.

While acknowledging that the weekend had passed off without any major incidents Roisin Duffy said that this was only due to the huge cost that had been incurred in maintaining public order.
Dundalk resident Billy Byrne is turning to Argus readers to solve the mystery an old crucifix after museums in Ireland, the UK and Amsterdam were unable to cast light on its origins.

Billy says crucifix belonged to his aunt Elizabeth Duffy who lived in Channonrock. After she passed away 40 years ago, Billy found the crucifix when he was clearing the house where she had lived all her life.

As his aunt had never travelled, he is curious as to how the cross came into her possession and also about its origins. 'If she had gone to Dublin, that would be the height of it.'

'It's very unusual, not like anything I'd seen before,' says Billy. 'The figure of Christ is made from lead which was poured into a mould. The cross is 33cms in height and 18cms wide so it should have been quite inexpensive to make and thus quite common, yet no one can shed any light on it.'

He has looked through various books and has been in touch with the National Museum and the Hunt Museum in Limerick, which holds a large collection of religious objects, as well as museums in the UK, and none of them could give him any information about the cross or where it came from.

He also got in touch with a museum in Amsterdam, thinking that it might have been continental, but they hadn't seen anything like it either.

If any readers have any information or suggestions about the possible background to the cross, Billy would appreciate it if they contacted him by email at billyby7@gmail.com.
The son of an elderly woman who was locked in the bathroom of her Dundalk home for hours by masked burglars has spoken of the trauma she experienced.

The shocking incident which unfolded early on Thursday evening began when the 79 year old had been at home on St Alphonsus Road, after her husband had gone out around 5pm.

Her son told the Argus: 'She heard a noise in one of the rooms, and thought maybe it was my father back. When she went to look suddenly she was confronted by two men, one of them grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her down. She was terrified.'

The men then locked her in the bathroom before ransacking the house, stealing a quantity of jewellery.

'It was two hours before my dad came back. My mother was bruised along her arms, and just in a lot of shock. They couldn't face staying in the house that night.'

The alarm was raised and gardai arrived at the scene, along with forensics teams for a technical examination of the scene.

It is believed the burglars may have gained entry by forcing a door at the rear of the property.

'I just want to appeal to everyone to be vigilant,' added her concerned son.

'This happened in broad daylight, when my mum was at home. Elderly people especially should not open their door to anyone they don't know, and check that windows and doors are locked, even when they're at home during the day.'

The terrifying incident was the second in the last week, where elderly people have been targetted in their own home.

A couple in their 80's were hospitalised for shock after an aggravated burglary in Blackrock on Tuesday evening last. The couple, who live on the Rock Road, were tied up by two men, who wearing ski masks, at their home around 8pm.

It was reported that those involved in the break in were aged in their late teens to early 20s and were armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a knife.

After tying up the couple in an upstairs bedroom, the thieves ransacked the house before escaping with a small amount of cash and the couple's car, which was abandoned later in the Rathmount estate.

Gardai are reported to be investigating if the two incidents are linked as another similar incident was reported in Terenure, Dublin in the same week.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact gardai on 042 93 88400 or on the confidential garda line 1800 666 111.
Fledging Louth businesses have the chance to win 100,000 in the InterTradeIreland's Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition.

The largest business competition of its kind, Seedcorn offers a total cash prize fund of 280,000, with 100,000 earmarked for the overall winner. Since its inception in 2003, the total awarded to innovative companies stands at 4.5 million.

As well as the chance to win a substantial cash prize, entrants will benefit from guidance, advice and feedback from business experts, investors and other entrepreneurs through a series of business planning workshops and mentorship support throughout the competition.

Seedcorn entrants from Leinster have historically performed well at the competition with Nebula Innovations, a software and game development from Louth, through to last year's regional final.

Shane O'Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager, InterTradeIreland: 'Louth is a hub of innovative business talent and we are keen that local start-ups and up-and-coming companies take advantage of the Seedcorn competition, responsible for many of the biggest success stories we have seen at InterTradeIreland.

'The support Seedcorn has given to new start and early stage businesses goes beyond the 4.5 million cash funding. It includes the invaluable advice from industry experts and the wider investment community designed to help these young companies refine their business plans and improve their pitches to potential investors."

InterTradeIreland will host a free workshop in Dundalk on May 8 aimed at helping those who are considering applying for this year's Seedcorn competition to prepare their entries. The closing date for entries is Friday May 31 at 1pm.
Charlie Burke from Coillte, Minister For Mental Health Jim Daly, Joe Healy from the IFA and Hazel Brennan from See Change at the launch of the Green Ribbon Walk at Avondale Forest Park this Sunday

Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum will host a Green Ribbon Walk on Sunday, May 5 as part of a series of walks taking place at Coillte forest parks and trails to raise awareness to improve mental health.

Just like the pink ribbon became a symbol for breast cancer awareness the Green Ribbon has been established as the international symbol for mental health awareness and has been introduced to Ireland by See Change.

The Wicklow event is hosted by Coillte in collaboration with Wicklow IFA at Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum at 3 p.m., located two kilometres south of Rathdrum on the L2149.

The event provides an opportunity for friends, families and communities to connect with one another whilst being mindful of their own and others' mental health and wellbeing.

There are a variety of walks to suit everybody including a buggy friendly walk, mindfulness in the woods and a mental health talk, there is also playground and face painters for young and not so young to enjoy.

There will be refreshments after the walk. Car parking is free of charge and All are welcome to attend.
Wicklow's Climate Adaptation Strategy will go first go out on public display before coming back to the elected members to adopt at a future meeting due to take place after the elections.

A peaceful demonstration outside the county buildings from members of the public preceded the meeting, with many of the protesters also present in the Council chamber for the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy.

A notice of motion in the name of Cllr Tom Fortune and from Greystones Municipal District was also agreed, with Cllr Fortune thanking the action taken by local young people for helping to inspire the notice of motion.

Reading out the notice, Cllr Fortune said: 'That Wicklow County Council acknowledge and support recent Climate Strikes driven by the young people and families in Greystones, Bray, Arklow, Dublin and around the country.

'That Wicklow County Council have listened and understood the deadly urgency felt by the young people and their demand that all stakeholders and representatives act immediately to ensure that young people have a liveable future in Wicklow, in Ireland and on plant Earth.

'That Wicklow County Council agreed that the evidence is overwhelmingly from IPCC on Climate and from WWF LPR on Biodiversity. That Wicklow County Council agreed that, while relatively small in global terms, Wild Wicklow, previously acknowledged as the World's most liveable community, can and must step up and show visible leadership.'

He went on to outline steps which need to be taken by the local authority, such as declaring a climate emergency for Wicklow, publish a climate action plan, declare a biodiversity emergency for Wicklow, update and publish a biodiversity action plan and report regularly on progress on both action plans.

Jim Callery, Environment Awareness Officer for Wicklow County Council, made the presentation on the climate adaptation strategy, outlining actions which the local authority plan to take.

'There is a risk of increased event like Storm Emma which we need to plan for. Temperatures are rising and sea levels are rising. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are changing,' said Mr Callery.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore felt that Wicklow County Council urgently required the appointment of a climate change officer, along with an evaluating committee.

'This has been led by students and the youth. They spoke loudly and clear and we are listening. Now we have to show the leadership you are looking for because this hasn't just popped up. It has been going on for years now and we haven't been listening,' sad Cllr Whitmore.

Cllr Steven Matthews, Green Party, warned that 'unpopular decisions' would have to be made in order to reduce emissions but asked 'that the people stay with us.'

He added: 'This is the very reason I got involved in local politics, so we would have proper planning and environmental protection. We have been talking about it for 20 to 30 years with no action whatsoever. This needs to be followed by actions.'

However, he was disappointed with the contents of the draft document.

'It's 101 pages but only ten pages are about strategy, a lot of which isn't funded and a lot of which is aspirational.'

Cllr Gerry Walsh pointed out that Ireland has consistently lagged behind in reaching its emissions target.

'We haven't been meeting all of our emission targets and are bottom of the league. This provides a road map for a more sustainable future.'

Cllr Mary Kavanagh read out a list actions which she wanted Wicklow County Council to take in order to tackle climate change, such as the non use of pesticides which include glyphosate like Roundup, no cutting back verges, no felling of healthy trees and no hedge cutting during nesting season.

The draft will go out on public display this week and has to be adopted by September 30.
Two walkers out night hiking fell on steep ground in Glenmalure and had to be rescued, with one of the walkers receiving multiple injuries.

The alarm was raised at 1.34 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, as both the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to assist in the rescue operation.

Mountain rescue personnel located to the injured walkers in a wooded area, on very steep ground and below a small crag. It proved an extremely area to access and required the first mountain rescue members on the scene to cut through thick undergrowth so they could reach both patients.

One walker was treated by medics for multiple injuries and lacerations, while the other walker only sustained minor injuries.

Following assessment of the patients and possible evacuation routes, a request for air support was made to Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116.

The nature of the terrain meant an airlift wasn't possible from the incident site. A suitable airlift site was identified in a clearing approximately 70m uphill.

The patient with more serious injuries was packaged into a stretcher and, using a rope system, hauled uphill to the clearing. The other injured walker was assisted to the same clearing, using a rope for assistance and safety.

Rescue 116 arrived overhead at 5.45 a.m. and airlifted the first patient at 6.15 a.m.. The second patient was assisted to a waiting mountain rescue vehicle and transported to a waiting vehicle. The incident was stood down at 8.39 a.m..

Wicklow's mountain rescue teams would like to thank the Glenmalure Lodge for feeding their volunteers after a long, night-time rescue.
San Remo nursing home in Bray is expected to close as the cost of necessary renovations has become too high.

The nursing home wrote to families of residents this week to confirm what they had already been told by telephone.

San Remo has been operated in Bray by Willis Care Group for more than 35 years. The group has another facility, Ferndane, in Blackrock.

A HIQA inspection was completed at the Sidmonton Road facility in September 2018. The inspector found that the design and layout of the centre did not meet the needs of the residents in several areas.

'While we have submitted a plan to HIQA to bring the facilities up to the mark, recent increases in construction costs have made it impossible to implement,' wrote senior manager Patricia O'Reilly in the letter. 'Consequently, we have no choice but to close San Remo in the next six months. 'Obviously, our first concern is to make sure that all of our residents find somewhere new to live, ideally within the Bray area or closer to their own relatives,' wrote Ms O'Reilly.'With regret, we have to examine the viability of San Remo and with that in mind we have notified the residents (and their families) and the staff that its closure is likely,' said owners in a statement.

'We are now involved in the mandatory consultation period with staff to decide whether another course of action is possible. Until the mandatory consultation period is complete, we cannot speculate any further regarding the future of the home. We have been contacting other nursing homes in the area to see what capacity is available and whether groups of friends from San Remo could be accommodated together should San Remo close. Our priority throughout will be to ensure that our clients and our staff are treated well.'

The nursing home has nominated case workers to each resident to support and assist them and to help with any other issues that arise.

In a further report published early this year, the HIQA inspector found that planned building works needed to be completed to ensure that the premises would meet the needs of its residents. According to the report, works to redevelop San Remo were expected to begin in January 2019.

San Remo has a maximum occupancy of 51, and there were 39 in residence on the date of the last HIQA inspection in January.

Election candidate Grace McManus said that this is now a very vulnerable time for the residents and their families. 'It's an immediate need presenting in the community. We need an immediate response from the HSE,' said Ms McManus.

Deputy John Brady said that a number of families affected are troubled by facing finding alternative accommodation for their loved ones, any of whom have dementia.
Village life was the theme of Fermoy Camera Club's April monthly competition, which attracted an impressive 17 entries, giving judges a tough task in choosing the winners.

"Many miles were travelled and home towns revisited during April in order to catch that perfect image. All of the entries were of the highest quality and the judging was great fun and a wonderful learning experience for us all," said PRO Helen Arnold.

Grade one and overall winner Eimear Quigley travelled many miles before heading west to the Beara Peninsula and capturing a beautiful image in the village of Eyries.

Michael Walsh also travelled to Eyries, with his image taken from the other side of the village coming second overall.

Third overall and first in grade two was Deirdre Casolani's image captured during a recent visit to her home village of Birgu in Malta, while grade three winner Norma Brennan did not have to travel quite as far to capture the colourful image of the local butcher in her home village of Golden in Tipperary.

The next club meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 14, where, amongst other things, there will be a demonstration on camera cleaning with members welcome to bring along their camera. Entries for this months competition, the theme of which will be 'Shapes & Curves', will be accepted up until May 28.

Other upcoming competitions over the next few months include 'Action', 'All Creatures Great & Small' and a picture inspired by a poem.

"New members are always welcome, so come along to our fortnightly meetings at the Community Centre in Fermoy, meet our members and find out how to become part of this vibrant club," she said.

For more information about the club visit www.fermoycameraclub.ie.
Communities across north and mid-Cork have been urged to 'get their ducks in a row' and prepare applications for the 2019 round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

The initiative is a key element of the Government's Action Plan for Rural Development and is one of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural regions under the Project Ireland 2040 programme.

Launching the 2019 scheme Michael Ring, the Minister for Community and Rural Development, said it will support projects that enhance town and village centres environments.

"It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work," he said.

"Proposals seeking to develop projects the encourage town centre living will be particularly welcome, as will projects that stimulate activity between a town/village and its neighbouring townlands. I would also encourage proposals that have clear positive impact on a town or village in terms of regeneration," he added.

North Cork based Cllr John Paul O'Shea (FG) pointed out that since the introduction of the scheme in 2016 almost 53 million has been allocated to more than 670 projects across the country.

"These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs," said Cllr O'Shea.

He said the scheme is specifically targeted towards town and villages with a population of less than 10,000,

"To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages," said Cllr O'Shea.

"He encouraged communities to work with Cork County Council in preparing "innovative and well-thought-out projects" under the scheme.

"In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Cork County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department by the end of June," he added.

Full details of the scheme, along with the application form, are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website, at www.drcd.gov.ie.
Two north Cork based artisan food producers have been selected to represent the county at the inaugural Local Enterprise Office (LEO) 'Meet the Buyer' expose later on this month.

They are among a trio of Cork producers who will represent the Rebel county at the event, which will take place on 'The Street' at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) on Thursday, May 23.

Glanworth based Clotilde's Fruit Compote produces hand-made compotes without any added sugar, preservatives or additives and Bo Rua Farm Fermoy, is home to the Dineen family who use milk from their herd of Montbeliarde cows to make a range of mouthwatering natural cheddar cheeses.

They will be joined at the event by West Cork-based Schull and Crossbones, the only Irish producer of dairy and lactose free alternatives to yoghurts as well as their vegan-friendly Coconut Treasure range.

One of the largest food producer expositions of its kind in the country, it showcases produce from a carefully selected cohort of up-and-coming Irish food producers to key supermarket groups and retailers from across Ireland and the UK.

Deirdre O'Mahony of the Cork North and West LEO said the event would provide small and medium food enterprises with a wonderful opportunity to avail of new distribution channels for their produce and to get expert advice on how to succeed.

"The event is trade only, so it is open to buyers from across the food industry who will be able to sample a wide range of the finest new Irish produce and meet the passionate and talented artisans behind it," said Deirdre.

She emphasised the role that the LEO was playing in supporting local producers through financial assistance, training and development and providing these kinds of networking opportunities.

"The Meet The Buyer event will assist these producers to develop new markets and outlets for their produce and will enable them to benchmark their products against the best from all over Ireland," said Deirdre.

"I expect this event to grow in the coming years and to become a key annual event for not only producers but also for buyers," she added.

Buyers who are interested in attending this event can register their interest by emailing helen.lyons@emap.com.
According to a Lightstep Microservices Trends report, most IT professionals (86%) expect microservices to be the default by 2022, affirming the notion that we are well into the next significant transformation of digital architectural design.

On the trajectory from client-server to web to mobile and now to a world of extreme digital transformation, were now fully into the age of microservices.

But how will we secure data and protect applications from attacks in this more granular world? Given the agility of microservice applications, the value is undeniable. But if these services are rolled out with security  and the network  as an afterthought, we could be in for serious risk and the usual unanticipated consequences of racing to adopt better, new technologies without considering the dark side.

Microservices are truly disruptive, not only because of the architecture but because they are most likely to be deployed using containers, and concerns about protecting an even more fragmented and growing attack surface are keeping security and network operations professionals awake at night. Why? Because now they are responsible for delivering secure app endpoints.

This takes us to what an endpoint is, which itself is morphing especially as the IoT brings more and diverse things to enterprise, government and organizations connected environments. Microservices are enhancing edge applications, even as the edge of the network is taking on more compute responsibilities for all the right reasons.

And every endpoint needs to be secured against attack and exploitation as the attack surface grows, and this is slowing down, in some cases, adoption of highly valuable solutions given concerns about everything from direct attacks to pivot attacks.

We asked Rick Conklin, CTO of Dispersive Networks, what can be done to address security for microservices in as scalable as way as possible to make implementations viable long term.

Microservices rely on a loosely coupled and independently deployable model, Conklin explained. They can be spun-up anywhere and on-demand. Those services will require connectivity, and that connectivity must support that elastic deployment model, and it must be secure while leveraging the ubiquitous public Internet. Deploying microservices over the public Internet is best done using a virtual network overlay that supports microsegmentation, zero trust, and an elastic, on-demand model while providing the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and performance that the end user demands from those microservices.

Conklin also recommended a strategy for APIs which can be created to establish virtual application endpoints in the same way applications are spun up and scaled on bare metal virtual servers.

The legacy SD-WAN solution is optimized for site-to-site connectivity, not mobility, not IoT, not blockchain, and certainly not microservices, Conklin said. We need a better model for micro-services including software-defined perimeter and zero trust to ensure that every session can rely on the network to ensure integrity, confidentiality, availability, authentication, authorization, access, and performance while operating in a zero-trust environment with zero-touch provisioning. That includes confidentiality for sensitive data that is normally sent in the clear including TLS 1.2 headers, DNS requests, and key negotiation. Were in a completely different game with microservices, which is why weve been building networking software which includes security that can protect every endpoint and service.

Using a virtual endpoint can also be enhanced with software that defends against attacks, including rate limiting and bot detection. Rate limiting prevents microservices from being overwhelmed, and bot detection can prevent automated scanners from finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in microservices.

Microservices allow enterprises and governments to free themselves from expensive, complex, monolithic architectures when building and deploying applications, Conklin said. Microservices offer advantages and disadvantages when it comes to security; given the proliferation of separate APIs and ports per app, there are simply more doors for adversaries to access within an application.

While containers can serve as an excellent security perimeter for microservices, its important to take into consideration the full requirement for a software-defined perimeter.

Containers enable you to apply security to each individual service  making them ideal for microservices. And no matter the application, putting it in a container provides an added layer of security, said David Lawrence, a senior software engineer at Docker. We see a common trend across enterprises is to containerize legacy applications, and as a result, gain the immediate benefit of hardened security  in addition to cost-efficiencies and portability to hybrid cloud environments.

In summary, microservices security brings with it new challenges. The DevOps, network ops and security ops teams in every organization must be on high alert, even more, vigilant against unauthenticated access to data and weak policies and enforcement of policies which can lead to man-in-the-middle attacks, and the loss of sensitive and confidential information.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
The Mallow Integration Forum has issued an open invitation to join them for their fourth annual 'Africa Day' celebration, which will take place at the Mercy Centre on Fair Street from 1pm on Saturday, May 18.

Billed as a 'celebration of the diversity of Africa', the event will showcase the many different cultures and traditions of the vibrant African community now living in the wider Mallow area.

Designated by the African Union as an annual celebration of the continents unity, Africa Day is an opportunity for communities across the globe to celebrate the continents rich and diverse cultures.

Africa Day has been celebrated in Ireland since 2008, with events taking place at various locations across the country including Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny and Cork City.

Following on from the success of the previous three Mallow events, the 2019 Africa Day celebrations will feature slide shows about each of the countries represented and live music with visitors also invited to taste some sumptuous African cuisine.

Formed in 2014 by former local RAPID co-ordinator Margaret Desmond, the Mallow Integration Forum was established in order to bridge the gap in cultural diversity between Ireland and the expanding immigrant community.

The chairman of the forum, Nigerian native Emmanuel Adebesi, said she was able to do that by bringing together people from different cultures under a single unified umbrella group.

"Ireland is constantly changing and we are striving to let people know there is a thriving African community living in Mallow," said Emmanuel.

"Our vision is to strive for a society that respects multiculturalism, diversity, welcomes new arrivals and facilitates integration to Irish culture," he added. The forum meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Le Cheile Centre and has been proven a vitally important tool for helping promote integration through educational workshops and other inclusive events.

Admission to the Africa Day event in Mallow is free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about the Mallow Integration Forum contact Emmanuel on 022 20477.
The proposed design plans for Ballydesmond village will be on display until late May as part of the part eight week planning process.

The village renewal scheme for Ballydesmond includes a range of public realm works to improve pedestrian connectivity for vulnerable users with the urban environs in the village and to enhance the urban centre for leisure activities.

According to Cork County Council, there is a "significant residential population living in the environs of the urban area, with potential for further development. There is potential for walking to and from local amenities such as the park, playground, church and school. It is important that the required infrastrucutre is either in place or planning providing the framework for future development work to facilitate this."

The plans of the proposed development are available for inspection, or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, from now until Friday, May 24 and may be inspected during public opening hours at the Cork County Council office in Millstreet.

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O'Shea has welcomed Cork County Council's plans for a Village Renewal Scheme along the R577 in Ballydesmond.

He said such developments by Cork County Council are subject to the Part 8 planning process, which consists of a public consultation process, and he encouraged community members in Ballydesmond to engage in this process. Any submissions received by the Council are considered in the Part 8 Manager's Report which is prepared and presented to Councillors for adoption.

The proposed development in Ballydesmond includes: public realm works, new pedestrian footbridge, replacement footpaths, new footpaths/buildouts, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and public lighting upgrades.

The proposed project objective of the scheme is to increase the safety of vulnerable users within the speed limits of the village, which is proposed to be accomplished by a mixture of traffic calming within the centre of the village and the provision of uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

Furthermore, it is the objective to control vehicular speeds on approaches to the main street with a combination of wider footpaths and concrete buildouts combined with speed ramps/raised table.

Plans are also available for inspection and to print at www.corkcoco.ie.

Submissions or observations with respect to the proposed developments, dealing with proper planning and sustainable development of the area may be made on or before Friday, June 7.

Submissions and observations can be made in writing to: Senior Engineer, Cork County Council, Regional & Local Roads Design Office, Innishmore, Ballincollig, P31 WT69; or in email to: part8.rlrdo@corkcoco.ie.
A Slovakian man who died after becoming involved in a row with two Polish truck drivers at a filling station in North Cork was found to have a significant injury to the back of his head by paramedics called to treat him, a trial has heard this week.

Father of two Ludovit Pasztor (40) from Glencullen, Duntaheen Road, Fermoy was lying unconscious on his back between two trucks when local HSE paramedics Andrew McCrea and Gillian Kinahan arrived at the Amber Filling Station at Carrrignagroghera, Fermoy at 10.25pm on February 21, 2017. Mr McCrea said that there was blood coming from Mr Pasztor's ears and it was starting to congeal and they noticed "a significant injury to the back of the patient's head" while they also detected asystolic rhythm, suggesting he had suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest and they ceased CPR.

He was certified dead at 11.50pm.

Details of Mr Pasztor's injuries emerged on the second day of the trial of Polish truck drivers, Marcin Skrzypezyk (31) and Tomasz Wasowicz (45), who both denied murdering Mr Pasztor.

Witness, Marta Baranska testified on Tuesday that she was working at the filling station when the deceased came in around 9.45pm with his friend, Mariusz Osail (40) who was buying eight cans of Carlsberg. She said Mr Osail was in confident form having been drinking and he was joking as he bought the drink and left the premises with Mr Pasztor.

Ms Baranska said everything was quiet when she went to lock up the off-licence at 10pm ... but when an ambulance called to the shop shortly after 10.20pm to inquire about the incident she saw Mr Osail by the trucks at the rear of the filling station. She said Mr Pasztor was lying by the rear of one of the lorries.

Witness Niamh Dillon said she had been out walking with her friend, Marie O'Mahony, passing the filling station at around 9.55pm. "There were four men standing at the back of a truck. They were talking quite loudly and animatedly. It was getting rough. They were talking very loudly to each other. There was nothing physical, just hand gestures. I felt it was going to escalate into something more," she said.

Earlier, opening the state's case, prosecution counsel Siobhan Lankford SC told the jury that they would hear how the deceased and his Polish friend, Mariusz Osail, had been drinking on the night. The jury would hear the two men were leaving the filling station at 9.45pm when they heard Polish voices and engaged in conversation with Mr Skrzypezyk and Mr Wasowicz who were both working as drivers for Macroom Haulage, but who had arrived separately.

She said the jury would hear that they had been chatting in Mr Wasowicz's truck but they got out of the cab to go to the toilet when they encountered Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail but that the conversation turned sour and they began to engage in verbals before Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail left.

She said that the jury would hear that Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail returned to Mr Osail's house, nearby, where they picked up two bars from a dismantled trampoline before returning to the truck parking area at the rear of the filling station where they knocked on Mr Wasowicz's truck door.

The jury would hear that both Polish truck drivers got out of the truck and a physical altercation ensued with Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail, who both ended up on the ground, where, the state alleges, they were hit with the iron bars by the accused after they had disarmed them.

Ms Lankford said the jury would hear that Mr Osail rang 999 and gardai were alerted at 10.15pm and officers arrived at the scene at 10.22pm where they found Mr Pasztorz on the ground and an iron bar lying near him under a truck while they found the second iron bar in a field nearby.

The trial continued on Wednesday
At 8pm on the 4th May next, the Lord Mayor's Show, proudly reinstated by Mayor Frank Godfrey into the musical life of Drogheda, will take place in the Barbican Centre.

On stage on the night will be one of Ireland's most accomplished artists, acclaimed international soprano Celine Byrne, who will be joined by St. Peter's Male Voice Choir and its musical director, Edward Holly.

Choir PRO Anthony Moore said "We are really honoured to have been invited by Mayor Godfrey to perform on the night, which will be a superb treat for music lovers. We are particularly delighted to join with Celine Byrne, who has sung with us on a number of occasions in recent times. She is an outstanding talent and we are looking forward immensely to singing with her again. This is a show not to be missed."

Admission is  20 and tickets are available from the Barbican Centre, ph: 041 9807416 and and www.ticketweb.ie. All proceeds go to local charities: Alzheimers Drogheda, SOSAD Drogheda and the Deceased Musicians Memorial.
While on a walk down a country lane on one of the dry, warm, sunny and calm days that marked the Easter weekend, it was nice to see several species of butterflies on the wing in the space of a kilometre or two.

The Peacocks were particularly noticeable and are arguably the most colourful member of the 30 or so insects that comprise Ireland's butterfly fauna. With a global range that extends from Ireland to Japan, these common and widespread butterflies hibernate as adults and emerge of the first warm days of late spring heralding the changing of season. Their striking colours and their large eyespots are indeed spectacular.

Named after their eyespots reminiscent of those on the display feathers on the huge tails of the peacock bird, the purpose of the markings is a subject of debate. One interpretation of the eyespots on butterflies is that the insects may flash their wings when threatened by a predator to alarm or deceive it or to draw its attention away from the more vulnerable body parts.

Obviously, the purpose of eyespots on the display feathers on the extravagant tails of male Indian peafowl are unlikely to play a role in deceiving any potential predator of these turkey-sized birds. It is much more likely and is generally accepted that they are display aids in communication and courtship among other members of the same species.

With so many species under threat and with many wildlife populations in steep decline, it is nice to know that the Peacock butterfly is bucking the trend; its numbers are increasing, and its range is expanding.

The Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, organised by Tomas Murray at the Waterford-based National Biodiversity Data Centre, began in 2008 so the details of the scheme are now well established. The recently-published Newsletter No 11 reveals that last year, 110 volunteers walked 115 transects and recorded more than 46,000 butterflies. Peacock and Silver-washed Fritillary showed the strongest growth in populations, whereas the Small Heath experienced the strongest decline.

The overall trend in Irish butterfly populations since 2008 shows a decline of 6% but as a consequence of the dry and warm weather experienced in 2018, overall populations of our commoner and widespread species were up by 29% last year.

Full details, together with species by species fast fact files, are in Newsletter No 11 of the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme that can be accessed at http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/latest-news/.
Are election posters not just an insult to the electorate's intelligence? Like, what is it exactly they are supposed to achieve that a five-year track record in office hasn't? And if the candidate is new to the local hustings, how does knowing what they look like suggest a suitability for public office? Surely a vote based on a nice smile, or a twinkle in the eye, is a precarious one?

This week Ireland's unofficial election historian and archivist, Alan Kinsella, told The Irish Times that he believed the lampposts are an important part of democracy. They 'level the playing field' and inform people that there's an election on, because 'not everyone knows, you know', he is reported to have said.

Oh God.

Election posters are an attempt to subliminally brainwash the voter with face recognition, not so subliminally, plain and simple. They're saying to pen-poised voters in polling booths: remember me, you've seen me before, no matter when or where.

That's a Mad Men-esque way of doing business - establish a brand by saturation and ensure recognition by repetition, just like flashing cue cards to a three-year-old eventually teaches them to read.

Fortunately in Arklow, Aughrim and Avoca the Tidy Towns Committees have managed to clamp down on the practise in picturesque south Wicklow. In poor old Dalkey, the Tidy Towns committee actually had to threaten to remove legally erected posters in the salubrious south Dublin suburb, but after a bit of a kerfuffle they backed down.

It isn't that politicians aren't crucial to our society at both European and local level. They are the lynch-pin of the democratic process and, in the case of the local council's, definitely more requiring of people driven by a vocation rather than intent on a career move.

It's just that posters of airbrushed mugs in public places are not a million miles from the murals of despots in the Middle East; they're ego trips, symbols of who's who and who might be, in terms of standing in our society. Imagine the outcry if, as a result of Google analytics, they started invading a computer screen the way they do our streets (probably not a million miles away).

At a cost 5 each (not factoring the cable ties or the time of the person up the ladder), that's the same price as a McDonald's meal, which would be better spent feeding the people lying in the doorways of the streets they number.

Politicians should leave the lampposts to the canines when it comes to marking their turf.
Mid Louth election candidate Hugh D Conlon from Dunleer has been forced to resign from the Joint Policing Committee because he has declared he's running in the local elections.

'The" PPN Secretariat" rang me earlier this month to tell me that because I was running for the forthcoming local elections there was a requirement that I step down from my position as a member of the Policing Forum, but that I could remain as a member of the PPN,' he stated in a letter of resignation this weekend.

'He very kindly sent me a copy of the relevant guidelines which surprisingly seems to indicate clearly that I would need to step down from both bodies. He told me that he would send the matter to the Policing Forum Secretariat to let them handle the matter. To date, I have heard nothing from the Policing Forum,' he added, stating that he put in his nomination papers for the election on Saturday.

'If the copy of the regulation that I was sent is correct, and I take it that it is; then I have no other option but to tender my resignation from the Mid Louth PPN and also the Ardee & Mid Louth Joint Policing Forum. If I don't take this action I run the risk of possible challenges to the validation or not of my nomination, or fingers crossed my election in the future.'

He says he strongly protests with regard to the way that this requirement was introduced since 2014 and how it is impacting on him and other members of PPNs in the country in general.

'I have no doubt that this sneaky piece of regulation was contrived by councillors and TDs and has strong political considerations in its drafting. All the big parties funded by the tax payer of course have loads of money to spend on their back room boys to come up with their worst when it comes to the protection of their own empires.

' It is clear that during the drafting of this regulation the" Fianna Fail" " Confidence and Supply" arrangement is holding up nicely, and the silence of the so called opposition is unsurprising to.

Sinn Fein remaining silent when it suits their interests to do so because in this case they know that it is their support base that could firstly be eroded by the emergence of the PPN members into the Local Political Arena such as myself.'

He says all six Mid Louth councillors, two Fine Gael/ two Sinn Fein/ one Fianna Fail and one Independent on the Policing Forum are allowed retain their seats and still run for the council elections.

'However I as a Community Representative am being asked to step down under the new Legislation. This is not a level playing pitch scenario going into an election in four weeks time.

'It is very unfair and sends a negative message to the community bodies who participate on the PPN s. Also coming at a time when the people of Mid Louth are going through a very bad spate of drug related crimes which has brought further trauma to the community.'
A 9m high work of art, made by Cisco Engineering in Drogheda, and designed by renowned Rathmullen Road artist and sculptor Ronan Halpin, is now winging its way to Dallas, Texas to sit proudly by the lakeshide at a multi million dollar development.

'Icarus' is the focal point of the project and took some six weeks to put together.

And for Ronan, who is now based on Achill Island, it is certainly his biggest commission to date.

But how did the Drogheda man secure such a large scale project?

Last year, Lucy Billingsly, the head of the Billingsly Corporation, who are developing a major centre in Fort Worth, to include housing, schools and offices, was visiting Co Clare and spotted a piece of Ronan's work.

She was deeply impressed and asked about him.

She got in touch and asked for some ideas and 'Icarus' was born. Ultimately, he got the commission.

He got designing and when it needed to be constructed, he headed back home to Drogheda and Cisco Engineering.

'I have worked with them before and they've been very good to me,' he stated. 'They took on board what I wanted with this.'

For weeks, the team there worked on his idea and last week, the finished project was crated into a 40ft container, sent to Dublin and on to Rotterdam and is presently en route to Houston.

In late May, early June, Ronan and his wife, Amanda, will travel to Dallas to oversee the installation of his artwork.

'At the moment, we don't know if it's going to be placed in a lake or by the lakeside, but either way, given the scale of the development, we knew it had to be big and impressive,' he stated.

Stuart Carolan from Cisco said this was the fourth project they had worked on with Ronan and was pretty special.

'It was very much a bespoke project. We went through the ideas and sorted out the problems as they arose.

'We started on it in early February and spent about 1,000 hours working on it.

'At the end, we had 14 to 16 hour days and when we were finishing off , everything else stopped and we had 12 people involved to make the deadline,' Stuart remarked.

He says they'd certainly welcome doing more projects like this.

'We are 44 years here and this was something great to be involved in.'

Ronan Halpin's rise in the world of art design began in 1979 when he attended the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.

Son of Gavin and Aileen Halpin, he was later offered a scholarship to attend Yale School of Art, in New Haven, USA, where he received a Masters Degree in sculpture.

In 1985, he returned to Dublin where he worked for a number of years before moving back to Drogheda. He opened his studio in Fair Street and worked there for five years before moving outside the town to Fieldstown. In 1998 he moved, with his wife Amanda Mac Mahon and two children, to Achill Island in Co Mayo where he now lives, works and runs a gallery.

'Achill was always special to me,' he admits. 'My parents, Gavin and Aileen, met there in the mid 40s and 20 years later bought a cottage om the island and I spent my summers there.'

Ronan works mainly with steel, brass and bronze. Examples of his large scale works can be seen throughout the country, from the 'King & Queen' in Trim Co Meath, to the six metre high sculpture of 'Amergin' in Co Kerry.

In 2016, Ronan was commissioned by Westport Town Council to create a sculpture to celebrate The Irish Times 'Best place to live in Ireland award'. The bronze sculpture 'Sentinel', which stands at the bottom of Peter Street in Westport, was the result of this commission.

His work is well represented in Drogheda; 'The Shaft of Light' the 'Pinnacle' at Millmount and the 'Source at St Oliver's School on Rathmullen Rd, are among his better known works.

The 'Icarus' commission for Dallas is constructed in Corten steel, Bronze and stainless steel and stands nearly 9 metres high.

Like most artists, resting on laurels is not something Ronan can afford to do and really works from job to job.

'It is one job at a time as you don't know where your next commission will come from.

'We will be opening up the gallery on Achill again for the summer and it's near Keel,' he revealed. No doubt if any locals are heading west on their holidays, a visit is a must.

The past few weeks have allowed Ronan plenty of time to see his brothers and sisters still resident locally, with others having travelled far and wide.
The victim of an alleged IRA man who raped two teenage boys at a "republican safe house" two decades ago said his dream life was in "tatters" from the moment the man entered his house.

Seamus Marley (45) of Belfield Court, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of sexual assaulting and anally raping two boys in Co. Louth on dates in the early 1990's.

After a six day trial the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on a total of six counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape.

A character reference from Marley's pastor described him as "an excellent Christian" with a "charitable spirit".

During the trial Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, told the jury that the two complainants lived in a large home owned by a "dedicated republican" and that it began to be used as a "safe house".

Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Mr Gageby that Marley was one of these guests and that he was welcomed into the family.

The older of the two victims woke up one night to find Marley raping him. After the incident Marley warned him off telling anyone what had happened and said he "could be found dead on a border road".

The younger victim was given alcohol by Marley and was groped or masturbated by him on three or four occasions and raped in a tent nearby his house.

Marley has no previous convictions. The court heard that he is from a large family in Belfast and that his father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the older victim said he has spent the previous 27 years living in despair and looking over his shoulder. He said he had finally reached the end of the tunnel and was taking his life back.

The younger victim, who also read his victim impact statement, said that as the house was beside a graveyard they had "quiet neighbours, dead ones. He said that he had learned that it is "not the dead we should be afraid of, but the living".

He said that Marley "preyed on me, groomed me, abused me and raped me". He said the life he had dreamed of was in "tatters" from the moment Marley entered the house.

"Marley was always lurking in the back of my mind," the man said. He said that the "fabrication of stories" to discredit him made the trial so much harder.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded the man in custody and adjourned the matter for sentencing on Thursday, next.
The true spirit of Drogheda was never more evident when a supervisor at Starbucks in the Laurence Shopping Centre saved the life of a customer.

When Marion Walshe from Slane began to show signs of suffering a stroke while in the cafe, Platin Road man Jonathan Fitzpatrick immediately recognised the symptoms .

'I noticed her sitting down and she didn't seem right. She got sick and I was worried for her. 'My own mum suffered a stroke, so I knew a bit about it,' he stated.

He stayed with the woman and asked her to perform various tasks that can indicate a stroke and when she couldn't raise her arm or speak properly, he rushed to manager Niamh Madden and they rang for an ambulance.

'They were here within five minutes which was great,' Jonathan stated.

Speaking to the Drogheda Independent, Marion stated that doctors said that only for the action of the Starbucks workers, she would have died as she had suffered a bleed on the brain.

'I rang Jonathan to thank him and we both cried. He's a great guy,' she said. Marion revealed that she woke up that day with a dizzy head, feeling it was stress as her husband had just gone into hospital.

'I went into Drogheda but didn't feel good. I decided to go for tea in Starbucks but I couldn't order as the words wouldn't come out and I got sick.

'The man behind the counter saw me and he was very decent and came over. They rang an ambulance and the doctors said that saved my life.'

The incident took place some weeks ago and Marion has now recovered very well and now wants to recognise the efforts of the young man who saved her.

'I contacted him and we both broke down. I was in hospital for seven weeks in Drogheda and Dundalk. I was lucky, I was blessed,' she said.

Jonathan was very humble about the incident, just delighted that he could help Marion on the day.

'I asked her to look at me and could see the left side of her face was dropping and she couldn't raise her arms properly. I asked her had she ever had a stroke and she said she didn't, so that alarmed me further.'

As Marion got colder, Jonathan and Niamh decided to act and rang the emergency services who arrived very promptly.

Jonathan got a letter from his head office, commending him for his actions. They said it showed that Starbucks is not just about coffee, it's about looking after customers.

'I went into retail to try and make life good for others, so this was special,' he admits. Starbucks Manager Niamh Madden was proud of the team and their efforts that day.

'We are always told to look out for people and we are trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator, but this was different. It shows what can happen.'
The Return of Lightning Comedy to the Lord Mayor's Pub comes this Sunday on May 5.

Hosted by award winning local playwright, actor and comedian, David Gilna who says that a 'night of lightning and laughter always guaranteed' at these regular Lightning Comedy nights at the Lord Mayor's

There's a variety of top class International comedians and a few locals in the mix as always.

Making her debut to stand up is local Nadia Missaoui and there's the return of Dakota Mick, Christina McMahon (Ireland's Got Talent) John O'Keeffe (Bray Comedy Festival Best New Act) Emily Ashmore (Breakout Cherry Comedy Act of the Year) , Billy DeCourcy, Mustafa Saed and all the way from America, Alan Henderson.

The doors will open at 8pm and the laughing will start at 8.30pm when the show begins.

Tickets are 10 on the night or you can purchase tickets online at eventbrite.

David will be hosting a special night for Lightning Comedy in aid of AWARE this July 18 at Swords Castle to kick off the Swords Summer Festival and more details about that exciting event will be announced soon.

Until then there is another Lightning Comedy night to enjoy on Sunday night and the Lord Mayor's is the place to be if you want a fun night out in the company of a great host and a great-line up of top class comedy acts including some of the best of our own home-grown comedy talents.

It is not to be missed.
A Balbriggan man is encouraging everyone to get behind a special event to raise awareness about organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation.

Colin White from Balbriggan is this year's Race Manager for the Irish Kidney Association's 'Run for Life', a family fun run which takes place at Corkagh Park, Clondalkin on Saturday May 25 at 2pm.

'Run For Life' aims to raise awareness about the plight of people in organ failure and the life-saving importance of organ donation and transplantation.

Colin, Race Manager and National Projects Manager of the Irish Kidney Association said: 'This will be the 11th annual Run for a Life event, which has developed a loyal following over the years and has become a strong platform for the promotion of organ donor awareness.

'We are looking forward to another successful event on May 25, which offers a great day out for all the family.

'Over 500 participants from throughout Ireland took part in last year's event, and we are optimistic for another great turnout this year.'

Sam Kinahan (5), who is waiting for a kidney transplant, his older sister Ali (age 8), and their parents Chloe and Ivan from Baldoyle were joined by Susan Mulligan from Castlerea at the Phoenix Park for a photo call on April 23 in the run up to the event.

Chloe Kinahan, a native of Mullingar, said: 'In his short lifetime, my son Sam has been receiving dialysis treatment for four years and eight months, and that's almost as long as he has been alive.

'Sam is a patient at Temple Street Hospital and has soldiered through his illness as a happy little boy who seldom complains.

'A donor kidney will be the catalyst for transforming Sam's life, and a new kidney will be his transformer!

'Sam has attended the annual Run for a Life every year since his first as a baby, being pushed along in his buggy by his father.

'We look forward to attending the event again this year and hopefully by then we will have received welcome news that Ivan (Sam's father) can be Sam's donor.'

'Run For Life' is open to people of all ages and levels of fitness, who can choose to walk, jog or run in the chip-timed event, which offers prizes for winners of the 2.5km, 5km and 10km distances.

Broadcaster Ray D'Arcy, the National Ambassador for Organ Donor Awareness 2019 and an enthusiastic runner, will also take part in this year's event.

The 'Run For Life' entry fee is 20 (adult), 10 (child) and 45 per family of up to two adults and four children.

All finishers will receive a medal, and entry fee also includes a light lunch.

For more information on the event visit website www.runforlife.ie

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association at: 01-6205306 or free text 'DONOR' to 50050.

You can also obtain an Organ Donor Card by visiting the Irish Kidney Association's website: www.ika.ie
Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) members from Malahide were among over 1,000 members of the Society who gathered in Dublin's Convention Centre recently to celebrate SVP's 175 years in Ireland.

Some of the members of St. Sylvester's Conference, Malahide who attended included Sean Nugent, Bernadette Martin, Patsy McGuirk (president), Breeda Corrigan and Kathleen Morgan

SVP is the best known and most widely supported organisation of social concern and action in Ireland with over 11,500 volunteers active in every county in Ireland.

Since its foundation in 1844 it has been serving the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

For decades the Society has provided help and support to those most in need through the Famine in the 19th century, two World Wars, an Uprising, a Civil War and cycles of economic austerity.

'Sadly today we still see poverty in many different situations and circumstances' said SVP national president Kieran Stafford.

"There are nearly 800,000 living below the poverty line including 100,000 people at work; record numbers of homeless; 50% of lone parent families experiencing deprivation and 61% of families struggling with education costs.

'We know and meet the people behind the figures every week bringing friendship and support.' he said.

The anniversary event under the title 'Serving in Hope - Past, Present and Future' was formally opened by President Michael D. Higgins.

Speakers traced the history of SVP and outlined its role in social justice and education.

Members of Young SVP showed how its Youth Development Programme is shaping the volunteers of the future.

Regina Doherty, TD Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection also addressed the gathering.

Other speakers were Katriona O'Sullivan who shared her story from being a homeless, young mother, parenting on her own to being a university lecturer with a PhD and an advocate for equality and equity.

Brian Cody, Kilkenny Senior Hurling manager spoke about leadership.
A Fingal mum, Maeve McAuley ran her first ever 10 mile road race and organised a 12 hour marathon shopping-centre collection to thank staff at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles St. for saving the lives of her premature babies.

Maeve recently presented a cheque for 2789 to the NMH Foundation, Holles St to repay the hospital for all the care and kindness she received when her triplets Meadow, Madison and Morgan were born at just 25 weeks.

Maeve was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, four years before her triplets were born.

She said: 'By the time I was diagnosed in June 2009, it was stage 3. However, Hodgkin's lymphoma is a curable cancer so I was 'lucky' in that sense.

'I ended up having 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months. Before the treatment, the doctors warned me that I might not be able to conceive because of the chemotherapy.

'So I was delighted when I found out I was pregnant. But when I found out it was triplets I was astounded.'

She explained: 'My miracle babies were born at 25 weeks at the NMH, Holles St. Madison was born first weighing 660grams, Meadow was born next weighing just under a lb at 440grams,.

'Morgan was born last and was the biggest weighing 740 grams. Meadow was very sick and it was touch and go. Sadly after two days she had a massive pulmonary haemorrhage and passed away.

'Madison and Morgan ended up spending three and a half months in the Neonatal unit at the NMH, Holles St. I will be forever grateful to all the staff who worked so hard to save their lives.'
Funding of up to 200,000 is available for rural towns and villages across Fingal through the 2019 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme has become an integral part of the Government's drive to support rural Ireland. It provides funding of up to 200,000 for projects that make our towns more attractive places in which to live and work.

The scheme is specifically targeted at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000.

Senator James Reilly welcomed the funding opportunity and said: 'Balrothery and Balrothery Community Council are a great example of what this scheme can do for a village.

'Substantial grants were approved for this village, delivering village improvements in co-operation with the excellent active community council and Fingal County Council.

'Recently a MUGA Multi Use Games Area was opened in the Village substantially funded by this scheme.

He explained: 'Naul Village and other villages in rural Fingal could benefit substantially from this scheme and indeed any town below 10,000 population.'

Senator Reilly said: 'Fine Gael is delivering 'Project Ireland 2040' which will ensure sustainable growth over the next twenty years for all parts of Ireland.

'To ensure the vitality of our rural areas, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages and rural areas, with much of that happening by redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands inside small towns and villages.

'Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016, almost 53 million has been approved for over 670 projects across the country. These projects cover a range of activities, from improving the public realm, to job-creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and digital hubs.

'I strongly encourage towns and villages in Fingal to work with Fingal County Council in preparing innovative and well thought-out projects under the scheme and I look forward to the announcement of the successful recipients of funding in the coming months.'

He added: 'In order to avail of funding through the scheme, Fingal County Council will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns and villages and will select proposals for development into detailed applications.'
Calls for the council, in conjunction with other Dublin local authorities, to construct a purpose built dog rescue centre in Fingal were opposed by Fingal County Council's executive recently, despite councillors claiming an existing facility at Ashtown was not being run in a 'satisfactory' manner.

A motion at a recent council meeting heard that the operation of the rescue centre in Ashtown was an 'absolute disgrace.'

Through a number of emotive contributions from councillors, the council heard that conditions at the Fingal pound were 'unsatisfactory', and that either a purpose built rescue centre should be built in the county, or the operation of the existing pound assessed.

Cllr Jimmy Guerin (NP), noting the 'emotive' comments made from other councillors, said that, as a dog owner, he would 'not like to find my dog staying in such a place.'

Cllr Guerin added, however, that he would 'like to go to a place where I find that my dog has been rescued', and that, although conditions at the pound were 'not ideal', it was his understanding that there were regular veterinary inspections which had the approval of the DSPCA.

Stating he was 'willing to listen to experts' on the issue, Cllr Guerin said an 'honest debate' was needed before such a new facility was built.

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF), said that given the concerns raised by councillors, 'current arrangements' needed to be looked at.

The cost of such a facility would need to be determined, he said, and in the context of a three year capital programme.

Raising concerns about the Council's assertion that the current rescue centre was being run satisfactorily, Cllr Joe Newman (NP) said he would like to see the criteria against which the current assessment had been carried out.

A council official, responding to the councillors, noted that 'given the context of the meeting', 'I think people have made their minds up, right or wrong.'

The majority of dogs housed at the rescue centre, he said, were re-homed 'within a very short period', and only 'a very small percentage' were 'euthanised', which he said was 'a big change over the last 20 years.'

A report issued by the council in response to the call, stated: 'The current contracted service is operating satisfactorily and in a cost effective manner.'

The local authority report further stated: 'There are no plans at present by either Fingal or the other Dublin Local Authorities to develop and construct a purpose built centre.'
Building on the success of last summer's community dig at Drumanagh promontory fort, Fingal's Community Archaeologist Christine Baker is undertaking another excavation at Drumanagh promontory fort with a team of professional archaeologists and volunteers from the local community and beyond.

Drumanagh is a nationally important archaeological site and is of international significance in terms of Ireland's relationship with the Roman world. 'Community excavation is an objective of the Drumanagh Conservation Study and Management Plan, so it is fantastic to be undertaking another season of excavation at the site' said Christine.

She explained: 'Last year we concentrated our explorations near the Martello Tower and this year we will be investigating the original road to the tower, to the other end of the site.

'What we uncover will inform the future management of the site.

'It is also hugely exciting for the local community who have such a love for the site'.

At a recent talk to the Loughshinny & Rush Historical Society, Christine presented the results of the 2018 dig. The material uncovered relating to Martello Tower during the nineteenth century has shown just what life was like for the occupants. Animal bones retrieved shows there was eating of beef, pork and mutton as well as fish and seabirds.

Wine was being drunk, tobacco smoked and a number of marbles indicate how they passed the time.

Of even more significance was the uncovering of evidence for the Iron Age at the site, with pottery from Roman Spain that would have held olive oil found at the site.

Two decorated antler combs and a hilt from a small sword can all be dated to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Radiocarbon dating of two human bones and seeds reflect a similar date range.

'The people of the Iron Age were known as the invisible people. Here at Drumanagh we have evidence for settlement, trade, death and burial from two thousand years ago, all uncovered by the community of today' said archaeologist Christine Baker.

Season two of the community excavation Digging Drumanagh will take place between 15 May and 29 May 2019.

If you want like to take part or would like more information please contact Fingal County Council's Community Archaeologist, Christine Baker at christine.baker@fingal.ie
Barbecue for Hospice - North Wexford Hospice Nursing Trust is holding its annual barbecue on Saturday, May 11, in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey.

A delicious steak supper will be served from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. followed by dancing with music from Theresa and the Stars with supporting music from Tina Carter.

Tickets are 25 and are available from James Tomkins, Isuzu garage, Gorey 086 2604097. Dr Michael O'Doherty, 053 9421303 or any of our hospice committee members.

In the barbecues 27 years, there has been generous support coming from the people of north Wexford and beyond. The team are looking forward to seeing you all again this year.

Gorey Active Retirement

All booking, payment and inquiries should be made on Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Loch Garman Arms. Members are reminded that the 2019 membership is now overdue.

If you have forgotten please pay on Friday and ensure you are insured at any Active Retirement event nationwide. Non-members are invited to check out our activities by dropping into Loch Garman Arms, there is some activity on most days of the week.

Gorey Active Retirement is thinking Youghal for September break, please put name down ASAP if interested and the cost price will be advised shortly.

Please note the change of Date for Gowran Park Races to Sunday, June 16, NOT 23. Please book early with committee. Also be aware of the Trade and Tourism Show, taking place on June 5, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at Punchestown Events Arena. Admission is free and all ARA members welcome.

Courtown Lifeboat shop

The RNLI Shop on the North Pier in Courtown Harbour will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., all welcome to call in and browse the new stock of souvenirs, clothing etc for all occasions. Shop for gifts that help saves lives at sea.

Colour Run

Registration is now open for this year's Courtown Colour Run which takes place on Saturday, July 13.

There will be 3km and 6km distances. Register now for early bird rates, which can be done online popupraces.ie/race/courtown-colour-run-2019.

Gorey Musical Society

Calamity Jane was a great success and the Gorey Musical Society would like to extend its thanks to the prime sponsors, sponsors, patrons and associate members, without such generous support this production would not have been possible.

Thank you to the director Chris Currid, musical director Conor McCarthy, choreographer Clodagh Leacy and the fabulous cast and costume team. Thanks to the raffle organisers, make up artists, Paul, Frank and all of our back stage crew, front of house, ushers, Gorey Little Theatre and last but not least to the faithful audience.

Darkness into Light

The annual Darkness into Light Walk 5km will take place in Courtown again this year on Saturday, May 11, beginning at 4.15 a.m. from Flanagan's Wharf. Each year the community comes together to walk or run in support of Pieta House.

Last year over 1,000 people attended the Courtown walk and raised over 28,000, which goes to supporting the work of the charity such as one to one counselling services as well as the 24-hour suicide helpline. To register now for the event or find out more about the work of Pieta House, visit darknessintolight.ie/event/courtown.

Bridge club holiday

This year's bridge club holiday is to Spain, and the club members will jet off from September 17 to September 24. This year's' package, which costs 795 per person sharing, includes return flights from Dublin to Malaga with 10kg checked bag, airport transfers, a day trip to Granada with an English speaking guide, seven nights in the four star Plas Granada Club Resort on half board basis including wine with dinner and of course five nights of bridge. Phone Podge for more details at 053 9482740 or book direct with Killester Travel at 01 833693.

Choir Festival

The festival of choirs will take place over four days from Thursday, May 9, to Sunday, May 12, and will consist of 25 choral groups taking part of all ages and range. The largest event being organised will be a special celebration of a gala concert to mark Gorey 400, taking place at the Ashdown Park Hotel at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 10.

Other events will take place in Gorey Library, Ashdown Park hotel, Gorey courtrooms, St Michael's Church as well as Creagh School.

Primary and post primary school children will be taking part, as well as adults of all ages, and listeners can enjoy a lot of variety during the festival, from jazz music to acapella and light popular music.

No tickets will be required for any of the events but donations are welcome, with all funds raised going to Wexford Hospice Homecare Service. For more details visit Gorey Festival of Choirs' Facebook page or call 087 9890470.

Afternoon tea

On Sunday, May 5, Wexford Lavender Farm at Coolnagloose, Inch, is hosting afternoon tea from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to support breast cancer research. The cost is 14 per person, which includes refreshments, cakes and sandwiches.

There will be live music from the Cantabile choir. Booking is available online.

Gorey Youth Needs AGM

On Friday, May 3, at 11 a.m. Gorey Youth Needs will host its AGM in Gorey Youth Needs Centre, which is located on Mary Ward Lane, St Michael's Road beside Gorey Community School.

This open meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to get a snapshot of the services provided by Gorey Youth Needs, including Little Daisies Childcare as well as Gorey and Courtown youth training initiatives, and all are welcome to attend.

Gorey-Malawi presentation

The Gorey-Malawi Health Partnership will hold an information meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, at Gorey Library.

There will be presentations from staff and those involved in the locality, as well as people from Malawi visiting to discuss their work and association with the health partnership.

All are welcome to attend to learn more about the medical work of the organisation.

Druid Theatre

Druid Theatre will be performing at Gorey Little Theatre between April 30 and May 1. The theatre will perform Furniture, a selection of three one-act plays by Sonya Kelly and directed by Cathal Cleary.

Garrett Lombard, one of the stars of the show, hails from Gorey and began his acting life in Gorey Little Theatre.

His mum and dad are still prominent members of the group. The show is touring nationally and is long listed for the Irish Times award getting rave reviews. Tickets are 25 and available to purchase from goreytheatre.ie.

Author Visit

Irish author, Anne Griffin, will talk about her writing and her journey to publication at Gorey Library on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

Anne's critically acclaimed debut novel 'When All is Said' is topping the charts and has gotten her noticed by other authors, such as John Banville, calling her book a 'rare jewel'. Please phone Gorey Library at 053 9421481 to book a place.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill Gorey shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

The team are currently accepting donations of clothing, footwear, homewares, CD/DVD and furniture. To volunteer, please call into the shop for a form.

SVP shop

The St Vincent de Paul furniture shop in Gorey welcome donations of good clean furniture, bric-a-brac, etc. They will collect furniture if needs be.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For more information, call 086 3962260 or 089 4439667.

Shedfest

The annual Shed Fest at Buffers Alley will take place on Saturday, June 22.

Details will be announced at a later date.

Work Matters

Work Matters Start-Up business event will take place on the Tuesday, May 7, in Gorey Library, aimed at helping local entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs. The library are happy to welcome Dermot Casey, Venture Investment Leader with the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), which aims to build and invest in very young digital companies, or startups. It provides startup teams with supports such as cash investment, accelerator programmes, mentoring with industry experts, workshops, networking events and other opportunities to develop your business. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and for more information on the event call Gorey Library at 053 9421481.

Gorey ICA

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the Loch Garman Arms at 8 p.m., new members welcome. Congratulations to Nola Farrell Gorey ICA Guild on coming third in the Comortas Gael Linn.

400 reasons to love Gorey

The Gorey Polish Cultural Association are getting behind the '400 reasons to love Gorey' campaign. The group is inviting the public contribute and give a reason why they love living here in Gorey, visit the Facebook page or search gorey.pl/gorey400 to take part. On completion of the project, a mural will be created.

Coffee Time

Gorey Methodist Church invite all to Coffee Time a free coffee morning that occurs every Wednesday, from 10.30 a.m. till 12.30 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to come in for a tea or coffee and of course a chat on the day.

Thank you

Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club committee chairperson Monica Fallon would like to thank Cllr Robert Ireton and his wife Mary for their continuous support, and all the other ladies and gents as well as young children, who came along to the Easter bonnet parade which was held on the Easter bank holiday Monday.

Monica also extends her sincere thanks to those who donated prizes for the best in show, and altogether the club collected 257 during the parade.
Visual artist James Kirwan is from Gorey and he has been making a name for himself both around Ireland and on an international basis, and in autumn he brought his artistic talents back home when he completed a mural in spray paint entitled 'Albino baby Alligator' on the wall at Different Strokes art shop on St Michael's street in Gorey.

'When I completed that mural in Gorey, I just back from a trip to Canada, and that photo realism was something I haven't done in years. It was great to put those skills into practise but I surprised myself on how it turned out, it was so realistic,' said James.

He said that his murals 'all come about differently,' as sometimes he is invited to create one, it could be collaborative or else a spur of the moment.

James looks for reaction in his work, and he specialises in experimental work with form, abstraction, colour and subject through painting, drawing and digital work.

Enjoying the natural world, he took inspiration from the rural environment and landscape, growing up on the outskirts of Gorey, between the town and Carnew, and he spent his youth and his teenage years discovering his passion for art.

'Living in Gorey, where my parents still live, you walk in one direction you're in town and the other direction you're in fields, Gorey is small enough to be surrounded by nature, and my art was influenced by that,' he said.

'Art was something I loved doing in school, and I was good at it from an early age. I decided I wanted to go to art college early on and this direction for me really was a no brainer,' he said.

He took great inspiration particularly from his art teacher, Paul McCluskey at Gorey Community School.

James went to Gorey CBS national school and then Gorey Community School, before going on to study fine art at the National College of Art and Design until 2005.

After this, James lived and worked in Westport, County Mayo and from there went to Porto in Portugal to do an artist residency.

He currently lives and works in Dublin, being based from his own studio and is involved with creating work for exhibitions, commissioned pieces as well as his own solo ventures.

He explained that with his art, the wall comes first as the backdrop before an idea comes to him about what to put on the wall and he often does free styling from there.

'Dublin is keeping me busy and has been doing so for the last year or two,' said James, adding that he likes to come back to Gorey every few months.

'There's definitely more potential for art in Gorey, because there's so much creativity there between artists and musicians,' said James.

'As an artist, you're trying to better yourself and I look forward to experimenting new avenues and see where it'll lead me,' James explained.
Some of the attendance at the Easter Commemoration ceremony

Oulart is an area with a proud history and this history was well and truly reflected on Easter Sunday as locals gathered to mark 103 years since the 1916 Rising at the Mise Eire monument.

An ever-present, local historian Brian Cleary was master of ceremonies and spoke wonderfully about the contribution that young men from the area had made to Irish independence, linking the past with the present in typically articulate fashion.

The sun shone beautifully as Breda Jacob read aloud the Proclamation in front of the beautiful monument that was officially unveiled in October 2017.

With great reverence Brigid Mythen, whose father Luke and uncle Jim had been involved in the Rising as young men with the Oulart company of Irish Volunteers, listed off the names listed on the monument of local men who fought bravely for Irish freedom.

This was followed by a resounding performance of 'Amhran na bhFiann' while veteran 1798 pikepeople Maggie Furlong of Kilnamanagh and Jim Dunne of Moneyboe looked on in full costume.

The event saw a great attendance, among them Cllr Willie Kavanagh, Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, and James Browne TD.

'It was a simple and dignified event,' said Breda Jacob afterwards.

'We intend now for this to become an annual event. History is ongoing and it's important. We must remember where we are and where we've come from in order to understand where we are going so we're going to try and keep this tradition up.'
Experience life as a Norman at the Bannow 1169 Norman Festival this May Bank Holiday Weekend.

In May 1169 the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach in County Wexford and this weekend the village of Carrig on Bannow will hark back to life in Norman times for the Bannow 1169 Festival.

The festival will host battle re-enactments, and commemmorative ceremonies.
The sounds of North Connacht are to get the North Kerry toes a-tappin' at St John's shortly as Roscommon-based trad greats Gatehouse perform in Listowel on Thursday, May 9, next.

The concert comes as the group - comprised of well-known trad musicians John Wynne (on flute); John and Jacinta McEvoy (on fiddle and guitar/concertina respectively) and Rachel Garvey on vocals - releases its new album Heather Down the Moor.

St John's is the venue for a group that's been together for just the past few years, with the group posting their delight on social media at their imminent return to the intimate venue.

Gatehouse is steeped in the traditions of North Connaught, as well as the sean-nos traditions of Connemara in a repertoire drawing on the canon right back as far as another big Roscommon figure - Carolan. Former All-Ireland winner in both Irish and English singing Rachel meanwhile brings one of the most celebrated young voices in the trad scene to bear on proceedings.
Forty three people living in Kerry are among those who received Irish Citizenship at ceremonies in Killarney this week.

More people from the UK are seeking Irish citizenship because of the 'uncertainty' of Brexit according to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. 309 UK citizens were granted Irish Citizenship at citizenship ceremonies in Killarney on Monday.

In total 2,400 new Irish citizens were welcomed from 90 different countries.

409 Polish nationals were granted Irish citizenship along with 309 from the UK, 281 from Romania and 189 from India.

The presiding officers at the ceremony were Retired High Court Judge Byran McMahon and Retired District Court Judge Paddy McMahon. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan was also in attendance and he welcomed the new citizens. He said Ireland is a place of "openness and diversity".

"Today, you take an oath of fidelity to our nation and loyalty to our state. You will do so in the knowledge that this is a relatively young state - still less than a century since our independence was gained - is a place of culture where traditions are cherished and history is ever present. And to be sure, too, that this state is a place of diversity and openness," said Minister Flanagan.

Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, Ms Justice Tara Burns, addressed the three ceremonies at the INEC in Killarney and urged the new Irish citizens to vote in the upcoming referendum on divorce on May 24.

Voting rights in referendums and presidential elections are among the rights granted to the new Irish citizens.

In an interview with Radio Kerry, Minister Flanagan, said that people were not asked why they were seeking Irish citizenship but he said that Brexit had played a part in the increase in the number of UK residents seeking Irish citizenship.

"There has been an increase of people living in the UK of Irish descent and of UK citizens living here applying now to become Irish citizens...This is a trend following the uncertain discussion in Britain about their future relationship with Europe."
Campaigners against the encroachment of wind turbines around the village of Ballylongford are poised to fight what is effectively the same wind farm plan for a second time.

NMWT@Ballylongford group is now calling a public meeting in the parish hall for 11am on Sunday next to galvanise support ahead of a second campaign against efforts by firm Ballylongford Windfarm Group to erect 126.5m-high turbines outside the village.

The firm's plans for eight turbines were refused by the Council last year and An Bord Pleanala on appeal in January. But the firm is now submitting a fresh application for six turbines.

"We feel we are becoming locked in a permanent fight now against the plans to erect more and more turbines around our community," chairperson of the NMWT@Ballylongford (No More Wind Turbines) Tony Dowd told The Kerryman.

"There are now 31 turbines around Ballylongford with plans for forty more in train. It's a case now of 'welcome to wind farm alley' for people coming off the ferry."

Mr Dowd says the existing turbines are negatively affecting many, with people losing sleep.

"Decibel levels from a windfarm 700m from my home are equivalent to traffic from a major road. We need to start looking at off-shore wind power as is now happening in the UK, at a time when many of these windfarms here are being bought up by American investment funds."
The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme was officially opened by Minister Brendan Griffin and KCC Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley, pictured with KCC CEO Moira Murrell, CEO TII Michael Nolan, Ray OLeary of the Department of Transport and Director of Services at the Council Charlie OSullivan

More than 7,000 cars will use the new road between Milltown and Killorglin which was officially opened on Friday last.

The new route - already open to traffic for a number of weeks - has improved connectivity between north and south Kerry according to the local authority who were delighted to announce that the road was built in budget and on time.

The 11m project, one of the biggest road projects undertaken in the county in recent years, is a new 3.5km road between Milltown and Killorglin and one which allowed the removal of the dangerous Kilderry bends.

The N70 Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme, as the project was known as, was officially opened by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD and the Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley.

Contractors on the project were Sorensen Civil Engineering Limited. Planning approval for the scheme was granted in January 2014 and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the required lands was completed in June 2016.

The scheme was developed by the Kerry National Roads Office based in Castleisland. Friday's opening was attended by the Chief Executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Michael Nolan and the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell as well as local residents and many of the region's sitting councillors who have long campaigned for the necessary infrastructure for the local area and have welcomed the finalisation of the project for the region and all those who live and commute to the neigbouring towns.

Kerry County Council Chief Executive Moira Murrell thanked all 28 local landowners for their co-operation in providing the 42 acres of land required for the project. She added that the new scheme was vital for the mid-Kerry area and provided necessary infrastructure for the businesses located in the area as well as for local residents.

"This new road connects Milltown and Killorglin in the first instance. Milltown is a growing and vibrant town which has seen a huge increase in population over the past number of years and the development of two new schools, a new community centre and other facilities. Killorglin is a strategically important town which is home to a number of established industries including; Fujisawa Ireland Limited Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Temmler Ireland and Fexco Financial Services. It is crucial that those employers have improved access to their offices and factories," said Ms Murrell.

Minister Griffin said that he was thrilled to see this essential piece of infrastructure delivered for the benefit of residents, local businesses, tourists and all road users and he hoped that more such large-scale projects would come about in Kerry.

Mayor of Kerry County Council Cllr Norma Foley said the opening of a piece of infrastructure worth 11m represented a very good day for the county. Cllr Foley remarked that the road offers spectacular views of mid-Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.

"I think it is fair to say that it offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the county, if not the country. The view over Callinafercy, Killorglin, Cromane, the mouth of the River Laune and beyond to the Dingle Peninsula is a sight to behold."
A man who racially abused and attacked a taxi driver in a shocking incident that went viral after a video was shared on line is understood to be from Kerry.

Gardai have questioned a man after a shocking video of a racist attack on a taxi driver appeared on social media.

The footage shows the man racially and physically abusing a taxi driver, and has been shared widely on Twitter over recent days.

It is understood the incident was recorded on Easter Sunday night in Dublin.

The man - who is sitting in the front passenger seat - is seen shouting "what's your favourite position?" in the face of the driver, before referring to him using a racial slur numerous times.

The man then proceeds to attack the driver, referring to him as a "f***ing c***" and punching him on several occasions.

The passenger, who is believed to be from Kerry, can then be seen to remove his seatbelt and accost the driver, requesting that he gets out of the car while claiming to be "a police officer".

Gardai have since confirmed that the suspect in the case is not a member of the Garda.

Gardai later confirmed in a statement that they had interviewed a man who had presented himself for questioning.

"Gardai in Clontarf are investigating the alleged assault of a taxi driver that occurred at approximately 10pm on the Malahide Road, Donnycarney on April 21," the statement said.

"A suspect in the case has presented themselves at a north Dublin Garda station and gardai are following a definite line of enquiry.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Clontarf garda station 01 6664800 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111," said a Garda spokesman.

Gardai have said that as the investigation is ongoing, they would not be commenting further at this time.

Derek Devoy, who founded Taxi Watch, a suicide prevention service run by taxi drivers, said he had been in contact with the man who he believes was the passenger involved in the incident.

Vincent Kearns, a former vice president of the National Taxi Drivers Union said incidents like this were not uncommon.

"There are no statistics on how frequently this type of abuse happens, but I can tell you, it's frequent enough. I've certainly heard of many cases of it," he said.
An intergalactic celebration will take place in west Kerry this weekend as Star Wars from across the world will gather for the annual 'May the 4th Be With You' festivals.

The celebration of all things Star Wars will include a host of fun activities for all-ages in Ballyferriter close to where the latest film in the blockbuster movie franchise was filmed.

Celebrating May the 4th, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe, a host of fun activities for all-ages will take place including an epic lightsabre battle, Yoda Yoga and outdoor drive-in movie screenings, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the West Coast.

Similar events will also be taking place in Portmagee and Valentia where scenes from the franchise were also filmed.

At the Ballyferriter festival fun family events for all ages include Jedi Training to help you find your inner Jedi; guided walks to explore film locations; Jedi Training with Ludosport Ireland; a virtual reality experience and children's storytelling by torchlight.

Visitors can also take a cruise aboard the MPV 'North Star' cruiser with a local skipper who will share local knowledge of Smerwick Harbour and Star Wars filming locations. There will also be guided walks to film location sites for all to enjoy.

Also new this year, Dingle native and five time World Champion Dancer David Geaney will bring his hit Broadway show, Velocity, to Ballyferriter alongside a John Williams musical tribute to Princess Leia, performed by the Kerry School of Music Orchestra.

Failte Ireland's Head of Festivals and Events, Ciara Sugrue said the event will not only celebrate the Star Wars Universe but the history and natural landscape of Kerry. For full details visit www.wildatlanticway.com
At the presentation of the 25,000 cheque (from left) front: Sean Furlong, Major Gifts Manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Colm Dolan and Stacey OConnor, New Ross Credit Union; back: Peter Walsh, Nick Cashin and John Dreelan

New Ross Credit Union recently made a donation of 25,000 to Medecin Sans Frontiers (MSF), with money contributed from thousands of its members.

This donation was made from the local credit union's Third World Fund.

2 is donated to the fund from each member of New Ross Credit Union, and the chosen charity is decided at the company's yearly AGM. This money was donated to help Medecin Sans Frontiers with their works in Mozambique.

The impact of Cyclone Idai and flooding in parts of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe was devastating. Medecins Sans Frontieres teams were already on the ground when the cyclone hit, and once everyone was safely accounted for, they were able to assess the needs of affected communities, and rapidly deploy additional medical and logistical staff. Over 100 tons of emergency supplies were flown in. One month later, MSF has nearly 1,000 staff on the ground to respond to the disaster and they are supporting a massive cholera vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health in Mozambique to contain the spread of the outbreak.

So far, almost 750,000 people have received the vaccine.

A MSF spokesperson said: 'Many families are still struggling to find food, shelter, and healthcare services and it is critical that people in the areas hardest hit are not forgotten. People remain at risk of illnesses like malaria and malnutrition, which are common after natural disasters, and the local health system will take some time to recover. Thanks to MSF supporters, including the members of New Ross Credit Union, MSF teams will continue to provide medical care and other support to those affected by this disaster.'
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president, New Ross man Patrick Kent has rowed in behind Independent TD Mick Wallace, saying he has the bottle and ability to take on the big guns in the European Union, if elected in late May.

Having headed up the ICSA for almost three terms, Mr Kent stepped down from his position as leader of the body last week, to take up the role with Deputy Wallace, saying he left the organisation in a better shape than when he took on the role as its president in 2004. 'I was in the third quarter of my third term as president. It was an exit strategy.'

Mr Wallace is running for an MEP seat in the South constituency. Mr Kent will be advising him on agricultural policy. He is meeting Deputy Wallace this week to iron out the details of how he can assist him in his bid to get elected in Europe.

Mr Kent said the phone call from Mr Wallace had 'come out of the blue' and he has only met the candidate three times. He said he will take up the paid role and is focussed on getting Mr Wallace elected. He is second on a list of five replacements in the Dail named by Independents 4 Change MEP candidate Mick Wallace on his replacement list. Mr Kent has an in depth knowledge of Brussels, having bought cattle there since 30 years ago and lobbied for farmers in the city many times with the ICSA. 'We, in Ireland, are major food exporters. As lobbyists these are factors you have to take into consideration and Mick is aware of that and he will represent the farming sector in a very positive way.'

Although Mr Kent says he does not agree with Mr Wallace on everything, there are many synergies in how they view the importance of food and health in society. 'I think it's very important we have strong politicians in Europe. We need to fight in the place where the policies are made for Ireland Inc. Brussels can be a cold, austere city but Mick is well travelled and is not afraid to take on the big guns. We have elected people in the past who just don't have the bottle or ability.'

He said his time heading the ICSA has opened doors for him. 'I have no regrets. We have done a lot of lobbying and I will be pursuing different roles. Other options are appearing so we'll see what they offer.'
The quaint village of Carrig on Bannow will roar to life this weekend with an action packed 1169 Norman Festival.

It was exactly 850 years when the Normans first arrived in Ireland onto the shores of Bannow beach.

To mark the big anniversary of one of the most pivotal moments in Irish history, the village will host battle re-enactments, a living history tented village, historical lectures, a commemorative ceremony and concerts featuring local and French musicians.

Visitors can enjoy an entire Medieval Living History Tented Village with 14 different living history tents which will showcase life some 850 years ago, 15 living heritage craft displays will also be showcased along with a display of Norman cavalry warfare and fully trained warriors will host battle re-enactments twice per day on Saturday and Sunday during the festival weekend.

Warrior training will be on offer for younger visitors with a chance to enjoy archery and a free replica Norman coin will be offered to all children who take part.

A civic ceremony will take place at Bannow Church on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. with officials from New Ross Municipal District in attendance. There will also be historical lectures in the marquee in the village.

On Saturday historian Turtle Bunbury will take to the stage and on Sunday Emmet Stafford will be the guest speaker. Both evenings will conclude with a musical concert marquee at Colfer's pub.

On Saturday the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned piece of music for the occasion by composer Greg French will be performed by local artists and guests and Normandy based band 'Strand Hugg' will headline the concert. Sunday evening's concert will feature Strand Hugg along with well-known local band Green Road.

Further details on all of the events can be found at www.bannow1169.com. Tickets for the Living History Village are 5 per adult, U18s go free; concert tickets are 15 per person.

Speaking of the festival weekend, one of the organisers John Murphy said: 'Bannow is a hugely historical location in Irish history. It is pivotal to the ancient heritage of Ireland's Ancient East and we are looking forward to bringing this history to life over the May bank holiday weekend with professional historical re-enactment groups who will create a fun fully impressive medieval experience for festival-goers.'

The Bannow 1169 Norman Festival takes place as part of a year-long programme of events in Wexford to mark the 850th-anniversary of the arrival of the Normans to Ireland.

Throughout the year historical talks and demonstrations, music concerts, landing re-enactments, workshops, medieval games and a Viking Fire Festival with a Norman twist, are all set to take place in Bannow, New Ross, Wexford town, Ferns and Enniscorthy under the banner 'The Normans Are Here.'
New Ross youths are benefiting from a pilot project aimed at helping 'detached' vulnerable people by alerting them about services they can engage in to help their personal, social and educational growth.

New Ross is one of ten towns nationally to benefit from the Detached Youth Work Programme.

Run locally by youth workers, John Caulfield and Hayley Rochford in New Ross since January, the outreach programme has already yielded some success stories.

Wearing a distinctive black jacket and casual clothes, John and Hayley are clearly identifiable as youth workers on patrol.

John said: 'It's a whole new concept. We don't use a youth centre; we're out walking the streets. The aim is to provide people with information on every service available to them in the New Ross and district area.'

Workers like John and Hayley engage with young people on the street on Thursday and Friday nights. Hayley said some youths act a bit wary when they are first approached. 'They have a joke and a laugh. We explain to them that they might see us around in the evening time. Some thought we were social workers. Our first engagement is to introduce ourselves. Some young people are happy enough to chat with us about CAO forms and jobs interviews and we give them the right route to information.'

This can involve directing them to Wexford Local Development's offices in New Ross, for example. 'They do a range of courses in their offices near Lidl and there is also the adult learning centre in Butlersland.'

Originally developed by Youth Work Ireland to identify "hot spots" in a locality, the Detached Youth Workers routinely visit these areas and gain the trust of targeted young people by talking to them and explaining who they are and what they do. Hayley said: 'The aim is to go out and identify young people who are at risk and who may have fallen through the cracks in society, be it in school, employment or mental health services. It's all based on an individual's needs. We got to young people who are vulnerable and get to know them and refer them to services. They feel like there is no place for them in New Ross to just hang out; there isn't even a McDonald's.'

She said the lack of adequate mental health services is impacting on many young people; some of whom are struggling with substance misuse issues.

'A lot of young people have to go through a referral route as there is nowhere for them to go.'

Both Hayley and John record the information surrounding the needs of vulnerable New Ross youths to stakeholders, without ever identifying the people they have come in contact with.

As John explains, it's all about building up trust with the people they meet.

'The big aim is to speak to the young people and to empower them and ask them what they need in their local area. We go out on the streets on a Thursday or Friday evening. It's early intervention work. We judge the situation and we have information on us from Youthreach, Youth New Ross and about training and courses and the Community Based Drugs Initiative Project.

We are a friendly face they can turn to. Sometimes they mightn't engage the first time we meet them but it's about building a relationship. From my experience as a youth work when you go to them in their environment they respond really well.'

Both Hayley and John are trained in child protection so they operate under child safety guidelines.

Hayley said: 'Parents can approach us about their son or daughter at home who is never off the computer; and it's within our remit to help. They might be always on their XBox or Playstation and the parents might have concerns about the child's social skills. Just from talking to people there is a lot of anxiety out there. You won't meet some of the young people on the streets (so we can go to their homes if requested to do so by their parents).'

John said school attendance and substance misuse are among the problems teenagers and young adults are contending with on a daily basis.

'People need a place where they can be a teenager that is not on the street. They need a safe environment to socialise in.'

Working with children aged ten right through to adults in their early 20s, Hayley and John said they have had a positive response so far.

'They are positive and want to have their voices heard. Looking at the facilities in New Ross for young people; they have nowhere to go unless you are involved in sports.'

The effectiveness of the three year programme is primarily demonstrated by the numbers of young people engaged each night, how many hours are spent engaged with the youths, and how many youth are referred to other agencies that focus on the youth's needs.

The Detached Youth Worker's goal is to improve the outcomes of youth lives in the short term as well as the long term by focusing on their individual well-being and their social interactions in the community in which they reside. This includes working to improve the youth's self-esteem, self-awareness, and empowerment. Building individual confidence in the youth helps the youth in the future because they will then be more independent, less inclined to engage in high risk behaviour, and have better overall health. The social implications for the youth include more stable family life, improved well-being, and increased community cohesion.

In the long term, the individuals are more likely to stay in school, so they are more likely to have better jobs and the community overall will be safer.

The Detached Youth Work model can be applied to both rural and urban settings and John said there are plans to roll it out to Campile and surrounding villages.

Hayley and John also plan to give talks to 5th and 6th class schoolchildren alerting them to the service they provide and are liaising with local principals.

'Hopefully more and more local youths will start using the service. I think the older ones are easier to engage with,' John said. He said there are services youths can join in New Ross, including at The Shambles youth centre at the bottom of Barrack Lane, where a youth drop-in service is provided, along with a Traveller Girls group meeting, among other services.

'By going out on the streets it shows to vulnerable young people that someone is taking an interest in them. Many youths engaged with us on the youth forums, we are trying to create a positive environment in New Ross.'

Hayley said: 'I think young people are tarred with the one brush. The perception that (many) older people have of young people in New Ross is very negative and a lot of them aren't giving young people the benefit of the doubt. The youths are still responding and positive towards us even if they are behaving in an anti-social way.'

John agreed, saying: 'Out of the kids we have met on the streets about only 1 per cent of them have been disrespectful.

'Respect works both ways. If we see someone standing in a shop doorway we tell them "you can't do that; there is someone living upstairs in an apartment". Many are frustrated with the lack of facilities.'

Kieran Donohoe of FDYS said: 'Detached youth work is quite innovative in that it tries to meet young people where they are. Not all young people are engaging with youth services so this is a way of making them aware of what services are available for them in New Ross and we are hoping to try and form some form of link between them and the services that are there.'

Mr Donohoe said the programme has given the FDYS a real insight into the needs of local youths.

'As a result the FDYS are starting to tailoring our services to meet those needs.'

This includes funding being provided to refurbish The Shambles and for the drop-in service to be opened two evenings per week; (it is currently only open on Friday evenings).

New couches and a sound system are being purchased for The Shambles after funding was released following a youth forum meeting in New Ross recently.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to work with a youth worker at the centre can contact John Caulfield.

He can be reached at john.caulfield@fdys.ie or on 086 8152381 and Hayley can be reached at hayley.rochford@fdys.ie.
New Ross Drama Workshop is in the final stages of preparation for its production of 'The Anniversary' by Bill MacIlwraith.

Directed by Rojer Whieldon 'The Anniversary' is a hilarious comedy set in the 1960s, brimful with sharp wit, sarcasm and caustic one liners!

The central character in this play, is 'Mum'- played by Margaret Rossiter. Margaret has great fun with the mischievous character

As we meet this 'unorthodox' family at curtain up, two of three sons have something important to tell Mum. Terry, (Shane McDonald) the pensive middle son, wants to leave the family business to emigrate to Canada with his wife (Brid Moloney) and children.

Tom, the youngest, (Nicky Flynn) wants to marry the latest in a long line of girlfriends, Shirley played by Seona O' Connor. Their problem is how and when to deliver their news - that is, if they can muster the bravery needed to tell her at all - because Mum, evil, malevolent and fanatically domineering, is used to getting her own way and intends to keep her world intact at any cost.

Throw the eldest son Henry (Peter O' Connor) into the mix and the family soon learn that all is not as it should be.

Director Rojer Whieldon is delighted to be directing his first full-length production with New Ross Drama Workshop and is ably assisted in the venture by his right hand woman, Kitty Warren. Carmel Furlong is production assistant for 'The Anniversary' with Nancy Rochford Flynn leading the stage management team of Carmel Furlong, Ann Kissane and Annette Stacey.

Costumes are being looked after by Peggy Hussey and Brid Walsh with Paul Walsh and Brian Geoghegan taking charge of lighting and sound for this production. Fully authentic 1960s hair styles will be created for the cast by Jenny Murphy-O'Neill of Vibe Salon in Rosbercon and Kitty Warren is change of make-up. A host of well-known faces from the group will be looking after the front of house. Terry Brennan and Macdara Murray have been tasked with the job of recreating the beautiful drawing room of the dysfunctional family.

The play takes place on May 9, 10 and 11 in St Michael's Theatre. Tickets are now on sale at St. Michael's Theatre on 051-421255.
A childcare group has taken issue with local and EU election candidates for their failure to mention the issue of childcare as a priority.

Referencing the candidate profiles in The Sligo Champion recently, the Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee expressed their disappointment that no candidate took on the issue of childcare as a priority.

"Childcare costs for parents are one of the most expensive in Europe. Parents are paying from 1,000 to 1,400 a month on childcare fees.

"Early Years Educators are earning just above the minimum wage, and Providers are struggling to keep their doors open," outlined a statement from the group.

A statement from the committee went on to explain that the Government spends 0.2% of GDP on Early Childhood Care and Education.

The committee outlined that the average spend in Europe is 0.7% and cited that the Government's spend has resulted in high childcare fees and low wages for educators.

SIPTU's Big Start Campaign is campaigning for proper Government funding for decent pay for qualified early years practitioners and high-quality early years services for children.

Commenting on the lack of representation for the sector by candidates, SIPTU Big Start Activist Lucy Davey stated, "In last week's Sligo Champion, 26 candidates seeking election in upcoming local and European Elections, set out their priorities.

"Although they all raised important issues such as housing, health, and education from primary school to third level, not one candidate mentioned the Early Years sector, despite it being the most underfunded sector in Irish society."

She added: "It is children and parents who would benefit from a properly funded childcare system. The childcare sector has been ignored and made feel invisible for too long. This is changing because we are now building a strong union in the sector, however, we would like to see more of our local politicians supporting our cause."

A member of Sligo Early Years Managers Network, and Big Start Activist Michelle Maitland said the workforce within the sector have no decent quality of living because of poor wages, resulting in staffing issues.

She cited that 28% of staff are leaving their job every year. "Our children deserve quality childcare, our early years professionals deserve a decent wage," she concluded.

SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Co-ordinator Ann O'Reilly said: "The Early Years Sector has been ignored by successive governments and public representatives for years, however workers in the sector now have a voice through the Big Start Campaign, they are taking a stand and refusing to be ignored any longer."

The statement from the group acknowledged that a number of councillors expressed their support for the Big Start Campaign at a recent Big Start Tree Planting event in Sligo IT on April 5th to celebrate National Tree Week.

Following this, Sligo Early Years Big Start Committee will be advising its members of those candidates at an upcoming Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) Information Event hosted by Sligo Early Years Managers Network which will take place on Monday, May 20th in the Sligo Park Hotel at 7.30pm.

The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2017/2018 covers the first year since all families became entitled to some State subsidy when using full-time, registered care for children aged up to six.

In this report is showed the average cost of full time day care costs 153.48 in Sligo.

Figures from the 2016 census revealed the average cost per week per child for pre-school children was 118.00, while the average weekly cost per primary school child was 73.00.

The average weekly cost for a child aged zero to 12 was 96, while the average weekly cost for one pre-school child was 133, 118 per child for two pre-school children, and 103 per child for three or more pre-school children.

Census figures set out that the average household weekly expenditure on paid non-parental childcare is 155.60. This was an increase from 2007, when the corresponding figure was 123.20. However, it should be noted that the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme was introduced in January 2010.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney previously quoted figures that funding for childcare had risen from 265 million to 574 million in the last four budgets and 200,000 children were now in subsidised childcare.
The correct cancer diagnosis of a mother of two could have prevented her months of bleeding and discomfort, her husband has said.

Jonathan Costello's wife Charlotte is currently undergoing a second round of treatement for a rare and aggressive type of cancer called leiomyosarcoma, which Sligo University Hospital failed to look into fully when she was admitted with severe bleeding last October.

The 44-year-old from Cartron Estate but living with her husband and two daughters in Glencar, was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe bleeding.

Jonathan told The Sligo Champion that even though Charlotte was bleeding heavily and was 'very sick' she was discharged from Sligo University Hospital on the same day.

"They said it was just the fibroids that she had a history of, that this causes this type of bleeding, which it does."

Jonathan explained that a radiographer who performed a scan said Charlotte probably needed a more detailed one because one of the fibroids was 'very very big' as opposed to the others.

"When we met with the consultant's registrar they said he felt it was more than likely an enlarged fibroid and that we'd be called in due course."

Charlotte was not called by the hospital for a follow-up consultation until December.

"A couple of weeks later she was getting sicker and sicker and we couldn't be waiting for them [Sligo University Hospital] to come so then we had to go private," explained Jonathan.

With no health insurance, the couple privately paid for a biopsy at the Galway Clinic and soon costs began to mount.

On November 1st she was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb and just one week later they were told it had spread to her lungs.

Jonathan described the period between being discharged from Sligo University Hospital on October 1st, to having surgery on December 9th in Galway, as 'horrific'.

"Because they said it was just fibroids and didn't do anything about it, Charlotte was bleeding all the time, everyday. You think in a modern system this wouldn't happen."

He continued, "A few days we'd have to rush down the road to Galway, she was losing litres of blood."

Jonathan stated that he does not assume his wife's cancer would have been eradicated if diagnosed in October in Sligo, but does believe her treatment was impeded.

In Novemeber Charlotte's tumour was showing on her abdomen.

Jonathan highlighted that Charlotte could not be operated on in Galway for some time as the tumour was too big and had to be shrunk first.

"Whatever about questioining if it would have spread [if a diagnosis was reached quicker], they couldn't operate straight away because they had to shrink the tumour because it was too big."

He recalled that on December 9th last things came to a head.

"She nearly bled to death on a Sunday morning.

"They had to do this operation and she ended up in intensive care."

Charlotte had to have a hysterectomy,

"If she was dealt with earlier all that bleeding and discomfort she went through, for private health service, she could have been dealt with two months before that."

Jonathan believes that if Charlotte's bleeding was looked into enough in Sligo she would have been spared months of discomfort.

"I did say to them up there [Sligo University Hospital] that we have two young kids and we are very concerned, the bleed was so heavy, yet we were discharged."

Father to Julianna, aged six and Alicia aged four, Jonathan explained that Charlotte finally got a letter from the Sligo hospital for a follow-up consultation a week after her surgery in December.

"We finally got a letter after everything was done, diagnosed, tumour removed and into starting chemo. It's ridiculous. I was raging, I couldn't believe it. It's such a joke."

He went on to explain that though the situation is not good, if they had waited for a follow-up consultation in Sligo things could be a lot worse.

"As bad as it is, we could be dealing with a situation where it could have spread further and we could be looking at months to live. That's how bad it is."

After a scan last February doctors told the Costellos that although the cancer hadn't spread, the tumours remained unaffected, and further stronger chemotherapy would be necessary.

"We're waiting on results of her second line chemo that she's on at the moment. When we get that then we'll know more and if it's working to try and hold it at bay or shrink it," he explained.

Looking forward in terms of ongoing treatments, Jonathan admitted that his wife will need 'a miracle' but is positive that further medical avenues are available.

As Charlotte's cancer is one of the rarest of its kind, Jonathan explained that this is why alternatives abroad are being considered depending on the outcome of the current regime of chemotherapy.

"Ultimately Charlotte will need a miracle for it to stop altogether, there's not loads it has happened to, but it has happened to people, so we have to try and hope that she'll react longer."

Referring to other drugs and treatments, Jonathan said in some cases people have got a year or two years on one drug which has stopped the progress of the cancer.

Charlotte is down for clinical trials at St James Hospital if needed and it is hoped there will be more alternatives available to her as time goes on.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of a GoFundMe page raising funds for possible alternative treatments abroad, the family are considering every option.

"We're waiting to see how her chemo's going to go first here in Ireland before we go and get the advice abroad, but we will have to get advice abroad at some point.

"Treatment abroad would be into the hundreds of thousands. It was 90,000 for Charlotte's last treatment here that didn't work," explained Jonathan.
Sligo University Hospital is providing a weekly outreach antenatal and gynaecology service from the Ballymote Primary and Mental Health Care Centre.

Ballymote was chosen as the location to cater for the large catchment area of South Sligo which includes the towns and villages of Ballymote, Tubbercurry, Riverstown and Geevagh. Also in this catchment area are the towns of Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon and Charlestown in Mayo and many other towns and villages in between.

This is the fourth outreach antenatal and gynaecology service provided by Sligo University Hospital in addition to the existing clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon.

Dr Ravi Garrib, Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology at Sligo University Hospital will lead the clinic in Ballymote, supported by Midwife, Leona Mulvey and the medical team. He said: "The aim of the new clinic is to bring high quality care as close to where the women who will use the service live and to avoid unnecessary trips to outpatient appointments in the hospital.

The women availing of the service in Ballymote will be seen by me and my team and this is exactly as it would be if we were running a clinic in the hospital. The outreach clinic is in a comfortable, modern building which is easy to access. Once the clinic is established it will also offer midwifery-led care.

"The outreach clinics in Ballyshannon, Manorhamilton and Carrick on Shannon have proven to be very successful and we expect the same for Ballymote. Women living in the catchment area will automatically be offered an appointment at this clinic from now on."
'We're being treated like cattle'. That was the opinion of matriarch of the McGinley family on Tuesday last following the seizing of cars and the partitioning of the halting site in the Connaughton Road car park.

Speaking to The Sligo Champion, Tilda McGinley said Sligo County Council were at fault and said they were given no prior warning to Tuesday morning's activities, which saw approximately seven cars removed from the car park where four generations of the family live.

The operation has also resulted in the top part of the car park now being cordoned off with the McGinley families being sectioned off by fencing and concrete kerbing to the lower part.

Mrs McGinley said the saga at the car park has been ongoing now for 35 years with Sligo County Council refusing to meanfully engage with the families in relation to sourcing a suitable site to relocate to.

Currently there are four families living on the site which is owned by Sligo County Council.

"This has been going on 35 years. We just want a site where we can be what we are and live the way we live. They're pushing us further down, the young children can't live like this."

She added, "When I came here 35 years ago I didn't think we'd be here this long, we don't want to be here, but my late husband refused to move out to Finisklin years ago because it wasn't healthy."

Asked if they would leave the site, Mrs McGinley expressed doubt citing that the younger people of the family were in school locally. Referring to previous interactions with the council, Mrs McGinley said the council would not listen to the family.

"We're trying to tell them that there would be no trouble if we moved to a proper site." Mrs McGinley said the council have ample amount of lands on the Old Bundoran Road.

She told The Sligo Champion she had no issue with the gardai but did say she believed Tuesday's events were a result of the council, gardai and business people in Sligo town working together.

"Look around you, there's plenty of places left empty by rich people. And this is what is being done to us. We're being treated like cattle and being pushed"

She added, "We were given no warning, they arrived here at 9.30am and the rest of the town knew."

Another member of the McGinley family described the events as 'scandalous and unfair'. Asked how she felt about the events, Mrs McGinley said she was 'ashamed and embarrassed' by it all.

"I offered cups of tea to the gardai they're just doing their jobs, it's the council who are at fault. We don't cause trouble when they come up here."

When asked about the issue of scrap cars at the site, Mrs McGinley said the cars were brought in to highlight to the council the need for a suitable site for the families.

"They [cars] were put in here so the council would see this isn't right, that we're here living like this."

Barney McGinley said: 'They're trying to break up the family', referencing previous occasions when the families were offered relocation sites miles from each other.

Mrs McGinley went on to explain that other locations were simply not suitable for personal reasons regarding tragedy in the family and health risks to children.

"Where they wanted to put us before there would have been trouble. We tried to explain that to them but they won't listen. If they put us on the Old Bundoran Road there wouldn't be trouble."

The family were offered a place in Finisklin many years ago but refused it as they felt living beside the dump and industrial estate was not suitable for young children.

In a previous interview with The Sligo Champion, Barney McGinley had indicated that the family were not seeking compensation in order to relocate. The family took issue with the level of garda presence at the site during Tuesday's events and outlined a previous incident when gardai had visited the site.

"They would be better off trying to solve murders in the town than be here," said Mrs McGinley, whose own son was murdered in 2005.

"Look at the amount of gardai that are here today. If there was an ATM pulled out of a wall you'd only have one or two gardai there. It's madness," said a younger member of the family.

Mrs McGinley singled out Chief Executive Officer of Sligo County Council, Ciaran Hayes for his role in Tuesday's operations.

"Ciaran Hayes is behind this. Would you want your children living like this?," Mrs McGinley asked.

In a response to media queries in relation to works at the car park, Sligo County Council confirmed it was carrying out the works and set out what was being undertaken.

The response detailed that a 'clean up of the area' was being done, which would involve the removal of 'end of life vehicles, scrap, waste, containers, etc'.

The statement continued, "Numerous complaints have been made to the Council relating to the activity and behaviour of those resident in the car park and the manner in which activities in the car park detracts from the area." It outlined that repairs and improvements to the height control barrier were also being carried out.

"The barrier was the subject of an attack in which it was damaged and rendered ineffective. Today's work will restore height control to the car park."

According to the council, part of the car park that was cleared of waste will be restored and returned to its 'original condition'. Addressing the heavy garda presence, the statement detailed a 'risk assessment for the site'.

"As with all construction operations planning for the work includes a risk assessment. Given the history relating to the site which includes violence to Council staff, the Gardai are in attendance to ensure safety of the construction workers and maintenance of public order."

The Council said it was not in a position to comment in relation to discussions with the residents of the car park concerning 'provision of accommodation or offers of accommodation made to individual families.'
A new Customs Training Workshop to help companies with importing and exporting when the UK leave the European Union is being run by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow.

The course, which is free and is taking place on Monday, May 13 in Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew. It is open to all small businesses and business people in the region who may be directly or indirectly affected by Brexit.

The workshop, which is an initiative of the Government of Ireland being delivered by Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, will help businesses understand all elements of dealing with the UK as a 'third country' outside of the EU single market. This includes administration around imports and export, customs formalities at borders, tariffs and the possible knock on effect of these tariffs and import procedures such as Electronic Declaration process and Automated Entry Processing.

Vibeke Delahunt Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Wicklow said; 'The Local Enterprise Offices have been working closely with their 7,000 client companies ever since Brexit was announced in 2016. Each one of our companies has been contacted directly in relation to Brexit supports and in 2018 we had over 4,000 attendees at Local Enterprise Office Brexit information events. These Customs Training Workshops provide practical information to these businesses to ensure when the UK leaves the European Union, there are no shocks for them. We would say that any small business that has yet to plan for Brexit, it is not too late and the door of your Local Enterprise Office is open to help you plan for this year and beyond.'

The Customs Training Workshops are just one strand of the supports that the Local Enterprise Offices have supplied to their clients on behalf of Government across the country since Brexit was announced in 2016. This includes scorecards from Enterprise Ireland to evaluate exposure, financial support to trade online, Brexit loans, grants to support exporting into new markets and LEAN programmes to increase company performance, competitiveness and resilience.

The Customs Training Workshops were officially launched in February by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D., and Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., to aid all small businesses deal with customs procedures ahead of the UK leaving the EU single market.

To secure a place on the Customs Training Workshop head to Local Enterprise Office Wicklow's website www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said of people who protested at his home in Greystones on Sunday that their mask has slipped.

'Their mask slipped, we see now where their allegiances lie and it is not to our republic,' said Minster Harris on RTE Radio's News at One on Monday.

Around eight members of a group calling themselves 'Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group' protested outside the houses of Minister Harris and former banker Sean Fitzpatrick, also in Greystones.

A garda spokesperson said that gardai attended the scene of a protest at a Greystones House. 'Protesters have left the scene peacefully and enquiries will be carried out,' they said.

This was the second time the group targeted the house of Minister Harris, where his wife and baby daughter also reside.

'It's an attempt to intimidate,' said Mr Harris. 'This is the second time they have visited my home. It causes huge disruption to my family and neighbours.

'It's very important to send a message that as a people, as a Republic we don't support their actions. I know the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner are going to continue to monitor the situation. There is an obligation to make sure that these things are managed and that people's dignity is maintained.'

In a statement, the group wrote: 'On Sunday, the 29th of April [sic], we conducted a peaceful assembly at two of this states [sic] most notorious figures.

'To hold them accountable for their actions, which have directly affected the health and financial wellbeing of the nations [sic] people. The first was Simon Harris, who's [sic] actions or in some cases lack of actions have directly resulted in the death of our people. The second was Sean Fitzpatrick who's [sic] criminal actions directly affected the financial depth of our people.

'The state has failed once again to act in the interest of the people and hold their elite friends accountable for their actions.'
Selma Blair cannot imagine feeling okay again following her MS diagnosis.

The Cruel Intentions star - who has seven-year-old son Arthur Saint Bleick with former partner Jason Bleick - revealed in October she had been diagnosed with the illness, which affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

And she has now said her battle against the condition has left her feeling sick as all hell, and shes not sure if shes ever going to feel better.

Posting on Instagram, she wrote: Heres a truth. I feel sick as all hell. I am vomiting and all the things which are not polite to speak of. My son ran away. From me. I have to get him to school. The medical treatments take their toll. I am going to get through this. We do. This will pass. And to moms and dads who watch their kids sick on things we take to get better... I hold you. So glad this is me and not my child. I cannot imagine ever feeling ok again. #roughday. We get through. #realitycheck (sic)

Expand Close 91st Academy Awards  Vanity Fair  Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 24, 2019  Selma Blair. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok / Facebook

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The post comes just one day after she shared an image of herself getting a plasma infusion, as she said she was grateful to the universe for helping her cope with the illness.

She wrote: "This is not a sad post. Nor am I showing any tubing although I find it all curious. This is me grateful. Thank you universe. Thank you donors. Thank you my friends and all who aim to find their way to feeling their strongest. Whatever form that takes."

Selma, 46, revealed her MS diagnoses in another Instagram post thanking her Another Life costume designer Allisa Swanson for helping her to get dressed.

In October, she wrote: "She carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understand producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for direction from a broken gps. But we are doing it."
The administrators of the collapsed Orla Kiely fashion empire raised 75,000 from a sale of leftover designer goods.

Administrators organised direct sales of Ms Kiely's signature quirky print items via a pop-up shop in the run-up to Christmas and three auctions.

The details are in the first progress report filed to Companies House in the UK by the administrators of Kiely Rowan, which went out of business last September with debts of 7.25m (8.1m).

Joint administrator Chris Newell previously estimated the sell-off of stock would realise around 45,000 to 60,000 (53,000-70,000).

He also confirmed a further 30,000 (35,000) was raised from the sale of items in the US that was not anticipated in the firm's statement of affairs.

However, any gains made from the higher than expected realisation of stock have been almost wiped out, with Mr Newell writing off the prospect of recovering 26,000 (30,500) owed to the firm by debtors.

A connected entity, Killyon Stem LLP, held licensing agreements with manufacturers on behalf of the brand. Administrators for that firm are expected to receive a minimum of 73,000 (85,800) in royalties.

Mr Newell said he expected there to be a payment from the administration of Killyon Stem LLP into the Kiely Rowan plc administration but that the final amount was uncertain.

The firm's secured creditor, Metro Bank, is owed 2.15m (2.52m) and Mr Newell says "it is not anticipated the secured creditor will be paid in full".

Mr Newell's colleagues had to assist former Orla Kiely staff to obtain payments from the UK Redundancy Payments Office.

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He said 'preferential claims' relating to holiday pay and wage arrears were estimated to be at 97,412 (114,551) and to date preferential claims had received of 41,398 (48,684).

Unsecured creditors will be left empty-handed. The administrators currently estimate a deficiency in assets of 7.3m (8.58m).
Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2019 in London

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

(L-R) Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L), talks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (R) as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand by attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex waves after attending an engagement with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) at City, University Of London on January 31, 2019

They say the baby might be on its way! read my text to my mum the other night.

Hmmm, I think itll be a boy, came the swift reply. James, Arthur or Alexander do you reckon? I write back. No, this isnt me who is about to give birth, its not even a close friend or relative, but my mother and I instinctively know who were referring to: Meghan Markle.

Since the moment the 37-year-old shed her Suits star title and took on the mantle of Duchess of Sussex, speculation has been rife about when wed hear the pitter patter of tiny royal feet.

Since confirming the news last October, the royal pregnancy has been a veritable feeding frenzy: bump speculation, bump shaming, doula and home-birth shocks...and much like many others, Im slightly ashamed to admit that Ive been lapping it all up.

Expand Close Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends an event at Canada House, the offices of the High Commision of Canada in the United Kingdom, to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London, on March 11, 2019

Of course there will be plenty of people reading the royal baby headlines and rolling their eyes asking the inevitable question of commenters 'round the world, 'Why is this news?' But there's undeniable public interest in the workings of Meghan Markles womb, bizarre a construct as it is.

This however, begs the question - is her pregnancy one of those occasions where what constitutes public interest isn't actually in the public interest and do we really need to know everything about Baby Sussex's arrival?

I had a baby almost exactly a year ago so its fresh in my memory just how irksome speculation in ones unborn infant can be. People mean well, but particularly if youre a geriatric mother (something Meghan and I have in common) then carrying a baby and delivering one can come with a large dose of anxiety and you really dont need any added stress on your plate.

It was initially reported that the duchesss due date would be the end of April, now making her overdue, something fairly common with a first child. Both my boys went 16 and 12 days over respectively and I was ready to punch people in the face for texting and querying any baby yet?, I can only imagine what its like to have the worlds press doing the same.

Then theres all the judging. Every new parent just wants to do the best for their child and Harry and Meghan will be no different. Ive no doubt the parents-to-be will have done their research and if the home birth, doula route is what theyre hoping for then theyll have come to that decision themselves for the best reasons.

Again, I feel a kinship here having opted for a doula with my second-born, but while I just had the occasional elderly relative raise a confused eyebrow at the word doula, Harry and Meghan have had to deal with reams of press and online coverage dissecting and weighing their decisions.

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While its unlikely the Sussexes are wading through the comments section of every article written about them, but the establishment of their Instagram page (and the very clear voice of Meghan that one hears reading that page) suggests a certain level of media savvy and engagement with the online world. Who knows what shes read and how upsetting that might have been?

The lines of royal private life  and indeed all our lives  are increasingly blurred by the accessibility and intimacy of social media. Everything is content. I personally posted a snap to Twitter soon after I had my baby and the wave of likes only added to my post-birth, oxytocin high. I was in love with my little bundle of joy and had an overwhelming urge to share that. Perhaps Meghan will be the same.

Expand Close Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince William and Kate Middleton holding their third child outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on April 23, left, and Prince Charles with Princess Diana holding Prince Harry in 1984, right

Should she feel under pressure to share a newborn photo? No.

Should she, like her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, feel compelled to don high heels and blow dry to pose for a post-delivery photo just hours after delivery? Dear Lord no.

Should Meghan and Harry feel any duty to disclose the details of labour, cord-cutting and birth weight? Absolutely not.

As royals, their role is to show up for ribbon cuttings, champion good causes and try not to cause a scandal.

Theres something very uncomfortable about the tone of some of the royal baby watch coverage, that seems to suggest that just because Meghan and Harry are in the public eye and part of a family that receives publicly funded money, then the public is somehow entitled to ownership of them and their offspring.

No matter what your status and finances are, no one has the right to tell you what to do with your body or the little person that might come out of it. Everyone should have the right to personal autonomy, something I feel is especially pertinent when it comes matters around women and their bodies.

By choosing not to follow protocol and keep the public up to date on babys arrival (imminent or already past) Meghan is actually sending a much more powerful message that, regardless of who you are, youre entitled to privacy. No womans womb should be up for public debate.

So even though Im nosey and dying to hear all about the squishy newborn, keen to see who he or she looks like and curious to learn how the delivery went  I hope its only because the royal couple choose to share those details, not because they feel obligated to.

Until then, mum, myself and the rest of the world will just have to keep playing the guessing game and checking that Sussex instagram page.
Movie fans across the world have been marking Star Wars Day in style, donning costumes and posting to social media to show their appreciation for the sci-fi franchise.

Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 each year, with pun-making fans declaring May the fourth be with you in homage to the film series classic Jedi phrase.

Happy #StarWarsDay to all our fans around the world and #MayThe4thBeWithYou! pic.twitter.com/CzMsetw9IT  Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2019

With Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew passing away earlier this week, his family used the opportunity to share a special message.

May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You. #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Chewbacca pic.twitter.com/Z9XyeJDBTW  Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 4, 2019

A post on the actors Twitter account read: May the 4th is a tribute to the scale of Star Wars reach and as we process losing Peter we have been reading all of your posts, hearing your stories & seeing decades worth of fan photos and from the bottom of our hearts we wanted to say Thank You.

While many fans were tweeting, on Englands south coast, cosplay actors at Portsmouth Comic Con took to the streets in their finest outfits, with Mayhews own character Chewbacca, Darth Vader and many a stormtrooper on show.

Meanwhile in Ireland, members of the 501st Legion Ireland Garrison dressed as further characters including Rey and a snow trooper on a boat trip to Skellig Michael.

The most recent Star Wars trilogy was partially filmed on the small island.

In nearby Portmagee, as part of the towns May the 4th Festival, young children practised their skills with a lightsaber by duelling on the grass.

On Twitter, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill had his own twist on the celebrations shrewd slogan.

May The Fourth Bewitch You  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 4, 2019

Meanwhile Warwick Davis, who first appeared as an Ewok in the original Star Wars series and appeared again as the character Woollivan in The Force Awakens, shared a message with fans.

Happy #StarWarsDay to everyone throughout the galaxy! The Force is strong with you all. #YubNub! pic.twitter.com/lArzkpurP2  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) May 4, 2019

The United Nations Women Twitter account took the chance to pay their respect to Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, for her fierce portrayal of Princess Leia.

Happy #StarWarsDay! 



Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the  to never give up on their dreams. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUlkMZJUnC  UN Women (@UN_Women) May 4, 2019

Carrie Fishers fierce portrayal of Princess Leia, a leader in a male-dominated universe, continues to inspire girls all around the (world) to never give up on their dreams, it tweeted.

The National Library of Scotland decided there was space for a joke during the celebrations, offering a rather unique weather update.

This is your Scottish Libraries weather upd-



HANG ON



THAT'S NO MOON



WE HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS... #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #Talking1980s pic.twitter.com/D5pVUza537  National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) May 4, 2019

And finally in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party took things up a notch with a carefully edited photo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Mr Morrisons face edited onto the image of the Jedi character, a caption next to the politician reads the economy is strong with this one.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine attend the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, and his wife Anne attend the funeral service for their three children who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark May 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

The billionaire behind online clothing retailer Asos and one of the UKs largest private landowners bid farewell to three of his children at their funeral today.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, is Denmarks wealthiest man and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

They set up the company Wildland in 2007 with the stated aim of restoring and conserving landscapes for future generations.

They lost three of their four children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks on Easter Sunday.

Expand Close People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stand by caskets at the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Today, they bid a final farewell to their three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes at a funeral service. It was attended by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Denmark's Crown Princess Mary, princess Isabella, prince Vincent and princess Josephine.

Their daughter Astrid cut a bunch of balloons free from one of the coffins outside Aarhus Cathedral.

Expand Close Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen arrives for the funeral service for the three children of CEO of clothing brand Bestseller, Anders Holch Povlsen, who were victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, at the Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark Mat 4, 2019. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsens wholesale fashion business Bestseller, told the Press Association in the hours after the attacks that the couple had lost three children.

Mr Holch Povlsen has a net worth of 7.9 billion US dollars (6.1 billion), according to Forbes.

Expand Close The Bestseller company owner Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne in a file photo. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Jonas Olufson via REUTERS / Facebook

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The businessman owns the international clothing chain Bestseller and is the biggest single shareholder in fashion retailer Asos.

He and his wife have acquired several Highland estates over the years, including Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms, Strathmore in Sutherland and Braeroy in Fort William.

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On the Wildland website, Mr Holch Povlsen writes: "From our home at Glenfeshie, both Anne and myself  our children and our parents too  have long enjoyed a deep connection with this magnificent landscape."

He describes the couples responsibilities as landowners as a "labour of love", adding: "It is a project that we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands."
Well-wishers arrive for the first public appearance of Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's child population has declined for the 38th year in a row and is now at a record low, the government said.

The number of children younger than 15 stood at 15.22 million on April 1, down 180,000, or 1.2%, from last year, the Statistics Bureau said.

It is the lowest number since comparable data became available in 1950.

The figures were released ahead of Children's Day on May 5.

Japan's birthrate has remained low amid a lack of support for working women, who continue to face the burden of homemaking and other traditional roles, as well as excessively long working hours and high education costs.

With children making up just 12.1% of its population, Japan ranks lowest among countries with a population exceeding 40 million, followed by South Korea at 12.9% and Italy and Germany at 13.4%, according to the Statistics Bureau figures.

As of 2017, Japanese women on average gave birth to 1.43 children during their lifetimes. That compares with nearly 1.8 in the US and Britain.

According to the latest government statistics, the number of births in 2018 fell to 921,000, the lowest since Japan began recording such statistics in 1899.

Japan's total population fell by 448,000 people, a record decline, to 126 million.

The population is forecast to fall below 100 million by 2050, barring a huge influx of immigrants.

Japan last month started allowing more foreign workers to ease a labour crunch.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe has said ageing and the low birth rate are a national crisis. He has promised labour and other reforms to help alleviate the burden on families that discourage couples from having more children.

Longer life spans in Japan have added to rising costs for elderly care and social security.

Conservative legislators in Mr Abe's government have at times blamed the elderly or childless for long-term demographic trends.

Gaffe-prone finance minister Taro Aso earlier this year had to apologise for saying childless people are to blame for Japan's rising social security costs and declining population.
Indonesia made a stunning announcement this week that it will relocate its capital from Jakarta. The decision validates decades of warnings about the city's catastrophic flood risk due to sinking land and rising seas. While Jakarta is especially vulnerable to the threat of rising seas, it serves as a wake-up call for hundreds of major cities.

In making his decision, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the city can no longer support its massive population in the face of environmental threats, as well as concerns of traffic congestion and water shortages. Top of his concerns is surely the fact the city is subsiding. In the past 30 years, Jakarta sank more than three metres, a problem made only worse as the world's great ice sheets melt.

Jakarta is an extreme case, but by no means unique. Although Miami is often cited as the city most at risk, there are many highly vulnerable - and highly populous -cities around the world, including Mumbai and Calcutta in India, Shanghai, Lagos in Nigeria, Manila, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Tokyo, London, Houston and Tampa. In fact, thousands of coastal cities and rural communities globally are not only at risk, but already experience increased flooding during extreme high tides.

The swelling oceans demand we start designing for and investing in the future now. The latest projections for average global sea-level rise this century range from about one metre to as much as 2.5. Keeping it to the lower part of that range largely depends on extreme global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases far beyond current efforts. But even a 30cm rise in sea level can dramatically increase coastal flooding. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk.

Indonesia's decision to be proactive is something all coastal cities should do - what I call "intelligent adaptation". Instead of spending hundreds of millions on futile efforts to protect Jakarta from the dozen rivers which run through it - extending fragile walls never engineered to cope with the present threat - it will now start investing in a new capital city with a sustainable future.

Aggressively reducing carbon emissions could avert the worst scenarios, but sea-level rise probably cannot be stopped this century. The planet has already warmed 1C, meaning glaciers will go on melting for centuries.

Engineering for greater "resiliency" - the new buzzword - is a great idea to prepare for short-duration flood events such as from hurricanes. But preparing for rising sea level requires adapting to a new normal.

Coastal communities should be crafting 30-year masterplans to positively address the threat. For example, Washington is on the Potomac, a tidal river, and already experiences occasional flooding during extreme high tides and stormy weather. Rising seas will make that worse, but the city can probably protect itself with various forms of flood barriers.

Most vulnerable cities are not so fortunate. The sea is rising. We must rise with the tide.

 The Washington Post
Cyclone Fani is the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years (stock photo)

Three people died as the strongest cyclone to hit India in 20 years left a trail of destruction through the north-eastern coastal state of Odisha yesterday.

Cyclone Fani made landfall in the resort town of Puri with wind speeds exceeding 200kmh before moving inland, ripping through the state capital of Bhubaneswar and forcing more than a million people to take refuge.

Arun Bothra, inspector general of Odisha police, described the damage in Bhubaneswar as "massive".

Winds were so severe that they ripped roofs off buildings and toppled industrial cranes, trees and double-decker buses.

At least 160 people in the town were injured. In Puri, a teenager was reportedly killed when a tree collapsed on him, while in Nayagarh district a woman died when she was struck by flying concrete. The third casualty was a woman (65) who died of a suspected heart attack after seeking refuge at a cyclone shelter.
Authorities in Curacao have boarded a ship that arrived under quarantine to start vaccinating people to prevent a measles outbreak.

Health officials said only those who already have been vaccinated or have previously had measles will be free to leave the 440ft ship Freewinds, which belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Curacao epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth told the Associated Press that a small team is assessing more than 300 people aboard the ship, and that the process might take more than a day.

We will go on board and do our job, he said, adding that authorities have an international obligation to avoid spreading the disease.

If we allow that to happen, measles spreads in places where the risk of severe complications is much bigger, especially when were talking about poor countries where people have a lower level of resistance.

Expand Close The Freewinds docked in St Lucia (Bradley Lacan/AP) / Facebook

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Authorities are concerned that people aboard the ship might have been exposed after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles after coming back from Europe.

Dr Gerstenbluth said she arrived on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 17 and visited a doctor on April 22 for cold symptoms.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29, a day after the ship had departed for St Lucia. Curacao health officials then alerted authorities in St Lucia.

The Freewinds was under quarantine in St Lucia earlier this week before it returned to its home port of Curacao early on Saturday.

Dr Gerstenbluth said it would be easy to spread the disease given that it is a small ship.

This is what happens when we dont vaccinate, he said.

Symptoms include a runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in some cases.

Measles has affected more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines.

According to the Church of Scientology website, the ship is the home of a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling. It says religious conventions and seminars are also held aboard.
Candles are placed next to a photo of Madeleine McCann inside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2017, where a special service was held to mark the 10th anniversary of her disappearance. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Scotland Yard commissioned the last official age progression of Madeleine McCann in 2012.

MISSING: One of the last pictures taken of toddler Madeleine McCann

Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.

Scotland Yard passed information to Portuguese police about the apparent kidnap suspect, who was in Portugal in May 2007, the Lisbon-based Expresso newspaper reported.

The man had been investigated over alleged child sex offences at the time, according to the paper, which quoted a judicial source.

The reports come on the 12th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance as her mother Kate attended an emotional prayer vigil at her home village in Rothley, Leicestershire, marking the occasion.

Madeleine's father Gerry, a heart doctor, was reportedly in Italy on work business as Kate and her twins Sean and Amelie attended the service at a local Baptist church.

The girl was three when she vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz on the Algarve coast on May 3 2007.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Thursday the force was pursuing "active lines of inquiry" and has asked for more funding from the Home Office.

British police launched their own investigation, Operation Grange, in 2013 after a Portuguese inquiry failed to make progress.

Expand Close Her parents Kate and Gerry make an appeal for help Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire / Facebook

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Force bosses have been applying for funding from the Home Office every six months to continue the inquiry, which has cost about 11.75 million so far.

Ms Dick said: "We have active lines of inquiry and I think the public would expect us to see those through.

"A very small team continues to work on this case with Portuguese colleagues and we have put in an application to the Home Office for further funding."

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Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors and devout Catholics, have always pledged never to give up the search for their daughter.

In a statement on Friday, the 12th anniversary of her disappearance, they said: "The months and years roll by too quickly, Madeleine will be 16 this month.

"It's impossible to put into words just how that makes us feel. There is comfort and reassurance though in knowing that the investigation continues and many people around the world remain vigilant.

"Thank you to everyone who continues to support us and for your ongoing hope and belief."
Runaway Islamic State bride Shamima Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the UK's Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

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The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

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Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The British Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the UK government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
The Conservatives have suffered their worst local election result since Tony Blair's humiliation of John Major a quarter of a century ago after they lost almost 1,200 council seats.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a chorus of demands to quit as Tory leader from her own MPs and members after she was personally blamed for a voter backlash over Brexit.

On a night described as "brutal" by the Tory MP Vicky Ford, who appeared close to tears during a live television interview, thousands of voters spoilt their ballot papers to register personal protests while others expressed their dismay with the mainstream parties by backing independents.

Labour, which had expected to profit from the Tories' failure to deliver Brexit, ended up losing dozens of seats as Jeremy Corbyn became the least successful opposition leader of the past 40 years. Mrs May has been warned by her own ministers she must not now bow to Labour demands for a customs union with the EU ahead of fresh Brexit talks with Mr Corbyn, or she will face further electoral disaster.

In separate interviews, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt said the UK had to be in control of its own trade policy after it leaves the EU, rather than letting Brussels remain in charge.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the Tories faced an "existential threat" from Mr Corbyn, while Tory Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin said the party was "toast" unless it delivered Brexit.

As she addressed the Welsh Conservative Conference, Mrs May was heckled by a party member who shouted: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you!"

The Tory MP Michael Fabricant said "the cancer in the Conservative Party must now be excised" as he launched a vicious attack on Mrs May's leadership, saying "a new leader and a clean break from the EU" were needed.

With fewer than 10 councils still to declare last night, the Tories had lost control of more than 40 councils in a result that far outstripped their worst fears of an 800-seat reversal.

It was the party's poorest showing since 1995 when they lost more than 2,000 seats to a rejuvenated Labour Party that swept them from power in Westminster two years later and kept them out for 13 years.

The Tories were not alone in being punished for their Brexit failings, as Labour - which had predicted widespread gains - ended up with almost 70 fewer seats. Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, said the party had been "speaking with two voices" on Brexit and had been punished as a result.

The big winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained more than 600 seats, while the Greens won more than 160 extra seats on the back of recent climate change protests, and independents gained more than 200 seats.

If the results were replicated in a general election, Mr Corbyn would be prime minister if he could form a Labour-SNP-Lib Dem coalition, with neither of the two main parties coming close to winning a majority. Mr Corbyn hinted that a cross-party Brexit deal was in the offing as he said there was now a "huge impetus" on every MP to "get a deal done".

Downing Street has said it wants its Brexit talks with Labour to be wrapped up by the middle of next week, leading to speculation that Mrs May is about to cave in to Mr Corbyn's insistence on a customs union.

Mr Gove, the environment secretary, said a customs union was not "the best solution for Britain" because it was "critical" the UK maintained an independent trade policy.

Mr Hunt, the foreign secretary, said, "I am not a supporter of the customs union" and also said the UK had to be able to "negotiate our own trade deals".

At the Scottish Conservative Conference, Mr Javid said: "We are seen as a divided team. A divided party cannot unite a divided nation. The only winner from that is Corbyn."

 Daily Telegraph London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
After World War I and World War II, officials decided to dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of munitions into the oceans around Europe, which at the time appeared the most easily accessible disposal ground.

Some of the weapons - including mines containing mustard gas - were simply dropped into the Baltic and North Seas rather than being taken to faraway dump sites near the Arctic Circle.

But the hidden legacy of those world wars may come to haunt the continent for decades to come.

This week, Belgian newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported that officials have grown concerned one of the dump sites, close to the Belgian coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist, has started to leak. At the site, two out of 23 probed locations showed signs of contamination.

The revelation followed months of inquiries into what authorities fear could be a mounting public safety threat.

Used as a potentially deadly chemical agent during World War I, mustard gas can burn victims' skin, respiratory tract and eyes.

While mustard gas leaks from Europe's underwater weapons cemeteries were long considered a worst-case scenario, officials also are expressing alarm over leaks of explosives such as TNT from dumped land or sea mines.

While those substances have been contained inside metal cases for eight decades in the case of World War II, and about a century in the case of World War I, the metal has rusted and become porous.

Activists have blamed the leaks in part for decreasing biodiversity in the Baltic Sea.

More than 80,000 mines are believed to be lurking beneath the surface of the Baltic. Unlike the North Sea's mass dump sites, the locations of single mines are more difficult to track down. There are only vague maps of where the mines might be hidden, and most appear to be spread out across hundreds of miles.

Reminders of their potentially deadly impact have mounted. In 2005, three Dutch fishermen were killed after they accidentally caught an American-made World War II bomb in their fishing net.

Similar discoveries regularly trigger mass evacuations - last August in the Polish resort city of Kolobrzeg, for example, when three bombs were discovered in the nearby bay.

European navies help out with remote-controlled vehicles and clearance divers within their own territorial waters, but in some areas the density of explosives is believed to be so high that fishing is still prohibited there a century later.

Pipeline construction companies often hire private mine-clearance contractors to do the job if there is no way around it and when the explosives are found far out at sea, where European navies do not claim responsibility.

"It's unbelievable how many mines there still are," said Commander Peeter Ivask, the head of Estonia's navy. "Our mission here will last decades."

 The Washington Post
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired scores of rockets into southern Israel, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory air strikes and tank fire against militant targets and shattering a month-long lull in violence.

Israeli officials said a 50-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, while a teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Expand Close Israeli citizens look at the damage caused by a rocket fired from Gaza into the city of Ashkelon (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) / Facebook

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The outbreak of fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Egypt for talks with mediators aimed at restoring a fraying ceasefire.

Hamas leaders have hoped the recent calm would pave the way for a deeper, longer-term ceasefire.

Tensions have been rising in recent days amid allegations from Hamas that Israel has been delaying implementation of last months ceasefire understandings.

Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israeli throughout the day. By late afternoon, the military said 150 rockets had been fired into Israel. It said dozens of rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system and that roads near the Gaza border were closed to civilian traffic.

Israeli police said they had dispatched bomb disposal experts to the south to deal with projectiles that landed in open areas.

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The army said its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, convened an emergency session with senior security officials to discuss the situation.

Later, it said it had hit 30 targets in Gaza, including what it said were five Hamas military compounds and several Islamic Jihad compounds.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gazas coast and sealing Israels two land crossings with Gaza.

The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The European Unions ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticised the rocket attacks, saying firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Iranian-backed militant group that sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets towards Israels heartland.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The sides are bitter enemies and have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller flare-ups of violence.

Following heavy fighting in late March, Israel agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gazas coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza.

But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unravelling in recent days.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has said President Nicolas Maduro's generals are willing to defect from his regime imminently, as Spain vowed to protect the politician.

Speaking from the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, Mr Lopez said: "It's a crack that will become a bigger crack... that will end up breaking the dam."

Mr Lopez said he had spoken with senior members of the military who supported the end of Mr Maduro's socialist government amid a failing economy and nationwide blackouts.

Spain has refused to hand Mr Lopez, a leading figure in the country's opposition movement, over to Venezuelan authorities, saying: "Spain trusts that the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of the Spanish ambassador's residence."

The politician had been under house arrest for months but escaped to appear alongside his successor in the movement, Juan Guaido, on Tuesday as they called for a military uprising aimed at toppling Mr Maduro.

He later sought refuge in the Spanish embassy after the uprising stalled.

Mr Lopez claimed he had met generals who were committed to ending Mr Maduro's "usurpation" and helped him escape his house arrest.

"I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he said, adding he believed Mr Maduro's government would fall "in weeks".
A chartered jet carrying 143 people from the US military base in Cuba tried to land in a thunderstorm in north Florida and ended up in the river next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Authorities said everyone on board emerged without critical injuries, climbing on to the wings to be rescued.

The Boeing 737  arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew on board  came to a stop in shallow water in St Johns River.

Everyone on board was alive and accounted for, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said, with 21 adults taken to local hospitals in good condition.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

Marine units from the sheriffs department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue along with first responders from the naval air station helped passengers and crew to safety.

Captain Michael Connor, commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said those on board were a mix of civilian and military personnel, and that while some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Several pets were on the plane and their status was not immediately clear. A navy statement early on Saturday offered hearts and prayers to their owners, and said safety issues prevented rescuers from immediately retrieving the animals.

Many people are asking about the pets aboard the aircraft that skidded off the runway into the St. Johns River last night at NAS Jacksonvilee. Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety... https://t.co/iWh2irgkPs  NAS Jacksonville (@NASJax_) May 4, 2019

It was not clear what went wrong. Boeing said on Friday night that it was aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville. Air station officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been dispatched to determine what happened.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

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It was not known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Mr Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely that the aircraft would float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were also on the scene, the navy release said.
John Ruszczyk, father of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, speaks after the verdict was announced that Mohamed Noor former Minnesota policeman was found guilty for fatally shooting an Australian woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Craig Lassig

Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million for the family and $2 million to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

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Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia's prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defense after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by U.S. police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Boom: A missile is launched from a Chinese submarine during a military exercise in Chinas Shandong peninsula. Photo: Reuters

Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon has said.

The assessment is included in the US military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June.

In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a "Polar Silk Road" - building on President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative.

China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland, starting on Monday, which comes amid concerns over China's increased commercial interests in the Arctic.

The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining.

"Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said.

The Pentagon report noted that China's military has made modernising its submarine fleet a high priority. China's navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, the report said.

"The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020," the report predicted.

The report said China had built six Jin-class submarines, with four operational and two under construction at Huludao Shipyard.

In a January report, the Pentagon's Defence Intelligence Agency said the Chinese navy would need a minimum of five Jin-class submarines to maintain a continuous nuclear deterrence at sea.

The US and its allies, in turn, are expanding their anti-submarine naval deployments across East Asia.

The expansion of China's submarine forces is just one element of a broad, and costly $175bn (156.5bn), modernisation of its military, which US experts say is designed largely to deter any action by America's armed forces.
There are almost too many Democrats to count in the 2020 primaries - but any of the top five leading candidates would beat Donald Trump in a general election, according to the latest polling.

Despite the majority of those surveyed saying the president is doing a good job with the nation's economy (56pc), each of the five highest-polling Democrats on the campaign trail beat Mr Trump in CNN's head-to-head polling conducted by SSRS.

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Beto O'Rourke bests Mr Trump by the highest margin, with 52pc of voters saying they would vote for him compared to 42pc who said they would vote for the president in a race against the Texas Democrat.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each beat out Mr Trump as well with a 6pc and 7pc advantage respectively, while Kamala Harris leads the president by 4pc.

Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg - who has climbed in the polls in recent weeks and proved effective at national fundraising despite little name recognition - also would beat Mr Trump by 3pc, according to the poll.

Elizabeth Warren appears to be the only candidate polled in the SSRS survey who did not beat out Mr Trump, though the two politicians are effectively neck-and-neck.

While Mr Trump holds 48pc in a race against the liberal Massachusetts senator, Ms Warren maintains 47pc of support if she were to secure the Democratic nomination.

Mr Trump's acting chief of staff suggested voters would effectively return him to the Oval Office in the 2020 elections during a talk this week in California, where he foreshadowed the economy would serve as one of the top factors in his re-election victory.

"You hate to sound like a cliche, but are you better off than you were four years ago?

"It's pretty simple, right? It's the economy, stupid. I think that's easy. People will vote for somebody they don't like if they think it's good for them," Mick Mulvaney said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday passed their first climate change bill since regaining control of the House of Representatives, ordering Mr Trump to renege on his move to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accords at the end of his first term.

It also requires the president to meet US obligations agreed to by the Obama administration under the Paris Agreement of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28pc below 2005 levels by 2025.

The bill passed 231-190, with just three Republicans crossing the divide.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, however, warns it shall not pass, dismissing the gesture as "political theatre".

Even if it were to be allowed to reach the upper chamber for debate and went on to secure an unlikely Republican rebellion, Mr Trump would simply veto it as soon as it landed on his desk - as he did the recent motion of disapproval against his national emergency declaration - rather than row back on a campaign promise.

But that's not the point. The move allows the Democrats to capitalise on the urgency introduced to the subject by progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal, dragging global warming back into the national spotlight in time for 2020 and placing renewed pressure on the Trump White House to revise its view before the last grains of sand tumble through the hourglass.

Attorney General William Barr's snubbing of the House Democrats has ramped up the tensions between the White House and Congress, pushing the House closer to holding the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress and prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to liken Mr Trump to ex-president Richard Nixon.

The almost daily confrontations between the two branches of government increase the pressure on Ms Pelosi to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, a politically fraught move that she has resisted in the absence of strong public sentiment and bipartisan support. Many Democrats argue that the 2020 election is the best means to oust the president. But Democrats are infuriated with Mr Barr, who refused to testify on Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled hearing on his handling of Robert Mueller's report, and Mr Trump's defiance in the face of multiple congressional requests for documents and witnesses. ( Independent News Service)
Authorities work at the scene of a plane in the water in Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Sheriffs Office via AP}

A charter plane carrying 143 people has ended up in a Florida river at the end of a runway, though no critical injuries or deaths were reported.

The Boeing 737 slid off the runway and into the St Johns River after arriving at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office posted on Twitter that a marine unit responded to assist.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged. Everyone on the plane is alive and accounted for, the agency posted, with 21 adults transported to local hospitals in good condition.

A photo posted by deputies shows a Miami Air International logo on the plane.

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

While the crash certainly was not ideal, Capt Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

I think it is a miracle, he said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

It is not known how long it will take to remove the plane from the river, but Capt Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

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He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

Liz Torres told the Florida Times-Union that she heard what sounded like a gunshot on Friday night from her home in Orange Park, about five miles south of NAS Jacksonville. She then drove down to a Target car park where police and firefighters were staging to find out more.

Ive never seen anything like this, she said.

Ironically, our Special Operations team trained for an incident like this today with the marine units.  THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) May 4, 2019

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department posted on Twitter that approximately 90 personnel responded to the scene, adding that the departments special operations team had trained with marine units for a similar incident earlier on Friday.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene and monitoring the situation, with family members who were expecting the arrival of passengers instructed to stand by.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.

Capt Connor said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are already on their way.
A SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying a load of supplies lifts off from Cape Canaveral (Nasa/AP)

SpaceX has launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station following a pair of power delays.

A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500lbs (2,500 kilograms) of goods.

The recycled Dragon  which is making its second space trip  is due to arrive at the orbiting lab on Monday.

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The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceXs rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic.

Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.

Minutes after lift-off, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the launch site.

SpaceX could not resist the Star Wars Day connection  Saturday is May 4  with the phrase May the fourth be with you being a pun on the movie series famous line: May the force be with you.

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station! Capture by the @Space_Station crew set for early Monday morning pic.twitter.com/oGs4IrBW9h  SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 4, 2019

Dragon is now officially on the way to the space station, the SpaceX launch commentator announced once the capsule reached orbit and its solar wings unfurled.

Until next time, may the fourth be with you.

The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the accident on April 20 which destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.

Earlier this week, SpaceX vice president Hans Koenigsmann said the company still does not know what caused the empty capsule to burst apart in flames on a test stand.

The capsules SuperDraco launch-abort thrusters were just a half-second from firing when the blast occurred.

And we have LIFTOFF! @SpaceXs #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station. For updates, visit https://t.co/FRrjhINIvY. pic.twitter.com/GSNtBBEl9i  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This first crew capsule had completed a successful test flight, minus a crew, to the space station in March.

SpaceX intended to re-fly the capsule on a launch-abort test in June, ahead of the first flight with astronauts on a new crew Dragon. The schedule is now up in the air, as SpaceX scrambles to identify and correct whatever went wrong.

SpaceX has been restocking the station since 2012.

LIVE ROCKET LAUNCH! Tune in to see us send more than 5,500 pounds of cargo to the @Space_Station aboard @SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Watch the countdown to liftoff at 2:48am ET: https://t.co/w9kweKx0Tn  NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2019

This latest cargo Dragon  the companys 17th shipment  is carrying equipment and experiments for the six space station astronauts, including an instrument to monitor carbon dioxide in Earths atmosphere.

The California-based company is also under contract with Nasa, along with Boeing, to transport astronauts to the space station.

It is unclear whether these commercial crew flights will begin this year, given the Dragon accident and Boeings own delays with its Starliner capsule.

Astronauts have not launched from Cape Canaveral since the last space shuttle mission in 2011, instead riding Russian rockets at a steep cost to Nasa.
Donald Trump has criticised social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

The US president, who tweeted and retweeted complaints on Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.

He has previously claimed social media companies are biased against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

His comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals.

The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Mr Joness site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.

The latest bans apply to Facebooks main service and to Instagram, and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

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Facebooks move signalled new effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism.

The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Mr Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Mr Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said he will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Ms Rosborough said.

The president, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.
A man in jail after being charged with the murder of a young Davidson woman was found with a weapon this week.

Joshua Wade Kennedy, 35, was charged with felony possession of a dangerous weapon in prison on Wednesday, May 1. WBTV reported that deputies found a filed down toothbrush they said had been fashioned into a weapon.

Kennedy is in jail under no bond after being charged in the murder of Lakyn Jade Bailey in January. He is a registered sex offender in West Virginia and had been living in Iredell and Rowan counties.

Back in January it was determined that Baileys murder was a result of a meth drug deal that turned violent. She was found shot to death inside a car parked at the Country Cupboard Store on Statesville Road in Salisbury.

James Christopher Rife is also charged with murder and attempted robbery in the case.

The toothbrush was discovered inside Kennedys cell and he admitted it belonged to him.

WBTV reported that Kennedy told deputies he was using the toothbrush to pack paper into an abscessed tooth and he wasnt planning to use it as a weapon.
The Catawba Nation settled its land claim against the United States almost three decades ago but the tribe has yet to reclaim the territory promised by Congress.

When the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act became law in 1993, the tribe had a 1,017-acre reservation, Chief Bill Harris said in testimony on Wednesday. Only 317 acres have been acquired since then, far less than the 4,200 acres that were promised by Congress.

To help move closer to the goal, the tribe is hoping to add a mere 17 acres to its land base. S.790 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acquire the land, located in North Carolina, and ensures that gaming can be conducted there.

"We are staying in our heartland," Harris told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the hearing, The Shelby Star reported.

Chief Bill Harris of the Catawba Nation testifies before a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 1, 2019. Photo: SCIA

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for the site more than five years ago. But the BIA hasn't publicly issued a decision, which prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham R-South Carolina) to introduce S.790 in hopes of resolving any uncertainties regarding the 1993 settlement act.

"The tribe is locked in poverty and the tribe's understanding that it had negotiated to acquire land within its Congressionally-established service area in North Carolina has been disputed, largely due to poor drafting of the act," Graham said on Wednesday. He is not a member of the committee but was invited to present a statement during the hearing.

The 17-acre site is located in Cleveland County, which is within the service area defined by Congress. It's about 47 miles away from tribal headquarters in neighboring South Carolina.

"It's clear that the benefits that Congress intended for the tribe through the settlement act have not been realized and this has resulted in disparate treatment for this tribe, when compared to other federally recognized tribes," John Tahsuda , the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior , said at the hearing.

Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image: Catawba Nation Project Brief

Despite that favorable comment, Tahsuda did not outright commit the Trump administration's support for S.790. However, he did not present any major obstacles to passage of the bill and his written testimony merely offered technical suggestions that he said would ensure the land could be placed in trust for the tribe.

The committee did not hear from any opponents of the bill at the hearing. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has raised objections.

"The proposed casino off of I-85 in Cleveland County would encroach upon Cherokee aboriginal territory - territory ceded by the Cherokee by treaty, and territory recognized as Cherokee territory by the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. The Catawba have no valid aboriginal or historical claim to Cleveland County," Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement on Wednesday

Generally, land placed in trust after 1988 can't be used for a casino. But Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act contains an exception that applies for tribes with land claim settlements, such as the Catawba Nation.

The exception has only been utilized sparingly. Since 1988, only two tribes -- the Wyandotte Nation and the Tohono O'odham Nation -- have opened casinos in connection with land claim settlements and only after lengthy political, legal and regulatory battles.

S.790 seeks to avoid such uncertainty by outright confirming that the land acquired for the Catawba Nation in North Carolina can be used for a casino.

The tribe otherwise is barred from following IGRA on its lands in South Carolina. The 1993 settlement instead authorized bingo halls for the tribe, subject to a tax paid to the state.

The operation eventually closed in 2017 due to limited viability. In his written statement, Chief Harris said the state got $12 million in taxes.

"As a result, the tribe essentially paid for its own settlement," he said.

The Eastern Cherokees operate the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and the newer Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel . Both are in the far western part of North Carolina, more than 130 miles from the area in which the Catawba Nation is seeking to open its establishment.

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Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif share a sizzling chemistry on the big screen and the success rate of their films are proof. After Bharat, the on-screen pair might reunite again. Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar has confirmed that the story for the third installment of the Tiger franchise has been found and is being developed. He has also discussed the story with the producer Aditya Chopra.

The first installment of the franchise, Ek Tha Tiger was helmed by Kabir Khan while the second, Tiger Zinda Hai, was directed by Ali. Both the films featured superstar Salman Khan alongside Katrina Kaif.

The director says he is yet to put pen to paper and will only start working on the project once his upcoming Bharat is out of his system.

I will wait for Bharat to release first. But Ive discussed the idea with Salman and Aditya Chopra both. I think there is a great film there in the story.

The director, who is currently busy on his upcoming film Bharat, might just cast Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together in the third part of the film series. Just a few days ago, Katrina had the most dignified take on her friendship with him. She had said,

"The best thing about me and Salman coming together to work is that theres no sense of us taking it for granted. We dont go to the sets thinking, dekhte hai. He knows that Im going to come after putting 1000% of my time and effort behind finding the character, doing my prep. He has that confidence in me and I know when he comes, hes going to come up with something unique. However, well, I know him or whatever our equation is, when we come on a set, we both come respecting that this is the producer and directors place and not a playground. Its not about fun and games but a professional territory. We come and we do our scenes and rehearsals. Thats how we work well together. Theres no sense of taking anything easy or for granted."

Bharat, a remake of the 2014 Korean drama Ode to my Father is scheduled to release on 5 June.
Director said, Only Hulk was strong enough to do the snap without dying. We are still not sure whether Captain Marvel can also withstand all the power of Infinity Stones at once. Thor in this movie couldnt do it. The reason we choose to let Iron Man do it in the end was because he was the closest one to Thanos at the time. In all the futures Doctor Strange foresees, Iron Man was the only one who could get close to Thanos and do the snap. People usually think the death of a hero is a horrible tragedy. But we think this is different. When his death was able to bring back hope, to save half of the universe, then his death was powerful and meaningful. We shouldnt feel too sad or angry about it.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Producer Boney Kapoor still finds it tough to come to terms with the death of his wife and actress Sridevi, and says it is impossible to forget her. At a recent talk show, Boney is seen opening up about how he is still trying to cope up with the loss.

Seeing the terrible situation in the country, slew of Bollywood celebrities including Abhishek Bachchan, Tamannaah Bhatia and Riteish Deshmukh have prayed for the safety of those who have been affected by the cyclonic storm Fani. Here's what Bollywood celebrities have tweeted.

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport.
Years ago, he did a film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra that was a dramatic commentary on the socio political situation of the country. Actor Siddharth played a crucial role in Rang De Basanti that released in 2006, which is 13 years ago!

Screengra

Who would have thought that in 2019, he would be the one moral-policing and taking hilarious jibe at people? From taking a dig at PM Modi for his biopic to targeting Akshay Kumar for his so-called non-political interview with Modi, Siddharth is one actor who is using social media aptly!

People love him for his take on things around him and no wonder he has a large social media following.

After calling him the 'most underrated villain', Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his non-political interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Twitter

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi. Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

Hey @realDonaldTrump since you're getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality. I have an Indian passport. DM me please.  Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) May 3, 2019

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added, "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots. One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time." Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others." Here are some of the most funniest responses to Siddharth's tweet:

Obviously. One needs to pay tax amounting to trillions, serve in Army for 150 years, Donate billions in natural calamities to ask very crucial questions like whether The President of USA eats mango.   Jack (@RoflJack_) May 4, 2019

Sorry Sid! The #Canadian may beat you to it!

Shorter flying time   Shazia Bakshi  (@Shazia) May 4, 2019

But dont forget to ask him whether he brushes from RtoL or LtoR...  Praky (@Praky18cool) May 3, 2019

Just one day ago, Akshay Kumar had clarified every speculation that raised questions around his citizenship. "I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport,"Akshay had tweeted.
After witnessing continued set of allegations and speculations around his citizenship, actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said his aim is to make India a stronger nation even though he holds a Canadian passport.

The actor, who recently made headlines for his candid and completely non-political chat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the subject of intense speculation about his citizenship after he did not vote in Mumbai on April 29 in the fourth round of the seven-phase polls.

Agencies

In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the 51-year-old said he had never hidden or denied that he holds a Canadian passport. His statement reads:

"I really don't understand the unwarranted interest and negativity about my citizenship. I have never hidden or denied that I hold a Canadian passport. It is also equally true that I have not visited Canada in the last seven years. I work in India, and pay all my taxes in India. While all these years, I have never needed to prove my love for India to anyone, I find it disappointing that my citizenship issue is constantly dragged into needless controversy, a matter that is personal, legal, non-political, and of no consequence to others."

He also assured and added that he will continue contributing in his small way to causes he believes in and to "make India stronger and stronger".

Agencies

On Tuesday, a day after the elections, reporters tried to attack him during the special screening of the film "Blank"

Faced with questions on why he hadn't voted, the actor walked off, saying "Chaliye chaliye (let's go, let's go)."

Akshay is not the only one who has been in the spotlight for citizenship speculations as Deepika Padukone too was under a similar radar. But Padukone had cast her vote in Mumbai and shared a picture of her where she made her point loud and clear.

"Never has there been any doubt in my mind about who I am or where I'm from. So for those of you confused on my behalf... please don't be! Jai Hind! Proud to be an Indian go vote," Deepika wrote in her tweet.

In a video online, Deepika was also seen battling a tricky question on her citizenship at a press event. She said, "I hold an Indian passport... from where do you get this information anyway." Later, when she was cross-questioned about having been born in Denmark, Deepika said,

"But I still have an Indian passport. There's a lot of complication and I am very much an Indian, a proud Indian citizen."
Getting adequate sleep helps us lead a healthy life and now researchers claim to have figured out why lack of sleep increases susceptibility to heart diseases.

According to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Physiology, chronic short sleep is associated with increased risk of clogged arteries, heart disease, and thus increased morbidity and mortality.

Doctors have also identified the patients who might need to change their habits before they develop the disease. Heart diseases causes due to many reasons, but it is said that if you do not take adequate amount of sleep then it might affect your heart.

unsplash/representational image

In adults who regularly slept fewer than 7 hours per night, the levels of certain microRNAs (molecules that influence whether or not a gene is expressed) were lower.

These molecules play a key role in regulating vascular health and thus their levels are now recognised to be sensitive and specific biomarkers of cardiovascular health, inflammation and disease.

In other words, a lowered level of these molecules is associated with heart disease, so they could be used as a biomarker to determine who is more susceptible to disease.

unsplash/representational image

Researchers tested sedentary, middle-aged adults without heart disease then they were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to accurately estimate average nightly sleep and a small amount ofblood was taken from each subject after an overnight fast.You can always try new methods if you have a problem in sleeping like sleeping music.

Jamie Hijmans, one of the authors of the study, said: "The link between insufficient sleep and cardiovascular disease may be due to, in part, changes in microRNAs. These findings suggest there may be a "fingerprint" associated with a person's sleep habits, and that fluctuations in microRNA levels may serve as a warning or guide to disease stage and progression."

(With agency inputs)
Karishma Arora, 18, student of a Muzaffarnagar school, topped the country in the recently declared CBSE results by scoring 499 marks out of 500.

But she is the topper with a difference. Fond of dancing, Karishma travels to Delhi along with her father every week to receive training in Kathak from famous Kathak dancer Gitanjali Lal.

During spare time, she has also been training specially-abled children in the dance form. She aspires to become a psychologist in future.

facebook

Karishma, who topped the exam with humanities stream, has also joined a unique school where she is trying to learn how to communicate with hearing impaired and mentally challenged kids as she teaches them Kathak.

The Arora family lives in an apartment in the citys New Mandi area and her father Manoj Arora runs a business.

Karishma said she would study for 20 hours on a few days but she never expected to be the topper. However, she said if she had scored just one mark in economics, her result would have been cent percent.

facebook

An avid reader, Arora likes reading autobiographies of renowned people and says that her favourites are those of Malala Yousafzai and APJ Abdul Kalam. Reading autobiographies of successful people helps me get an insight into their lives which motivates me, Karishma said.

Her father, Manoj Arora, said, I got the information when I was out for some work. As I rushed back home, I was crying all along. I have got no words to express how much she has done me proud.
A 10-year-old, Mohammed Abrar from Pakistan is the worlds heaviest boy weighing 196 kg, and needs a life-saving surgery before it's too late. He is unable to stand after meals, that can be served to four people, his parents said.

His doctors claim that he is the heaviest boy in the world and weighs even more than Indonesias Arya Permana. Abrars mother, Zareena said that she couldnt change his nappies alone and had to get a specially-made bed to take his weight.

Caters News Agency

According to LadBible, Zareena said, "He weighed eight pounds (3.6 kg) at birth but his weight never stopped growing. He used to drink two litres of milk when he was only two years old. It was like his stomach never filled up. He always cried for more food."

"It was very difficult for me to even carry him. We had to make a special swing and a bed for him to change nappies," she added.

Due to his size, Abrar is unable to play with his siblings and has never been to school. The operation that he will undergo will reduce the size of his stomach and will involve the insertion of a gastric band.

Caters News Agency

Zareena said, "We struggled a lot finding the right treatment for him. We never lost hope of getting medical help. I am happy that finally Abrar will get the operation he needs to help him live a normal life."

Dr Maaz - Abrars doctor - said that he has an 'endless appetite'. Dr Maaz said, "When he came to us he could not even take three steps at a time. He is an obese child although there is no history of obesity in his family. His parents and the two siblings are perfectly normal. He has an endless appetite and his parents said he ate a lot for his age."

Caters News Agency

The doctor added, "We are going to perform a laparoscopic sleeve surgery on him as it is best for people under 25 years of age. Although I usually take 30-40 mins to carry out the surgery on him we are expecting it to last for an hour."

We wish a healthy life to Abrar!
Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha Coast on May 3 and it is being considered extremely severe. Locals along with the Indian Armed forces and police force are helping people who are stuck or need to be rescued.

It made landfall in Puri after Odisha received heavy rain and storm that started around 8 am, said the Indian Meteorological Department. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are on stand-by and more than 11 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in less than 24 hours.

In these hard times, local police forces have shown utmost courage and dedication towards their work. One such lady police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara is making headlines for her commitment towards work. Her picture is going viral on social media, where she can be seen evacuating people to safety.

In action: Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara !!

Braving all odds and adversaries, our officers are making all the possible efforts to evacuate each single person to the safety. #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/jbHRUYauRy  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 2, 2019

After this, people started lauding the lady police officer:

1.

Hats off to this Lady Police officer of Talchua Police Station, Kendrapara. Helping the Locals just before the Extreme Severe Cyclone, Fani. The women in Odisha are strong enough.

#MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani pic.twitter.com/gTicdvZGjo    (@Th3Snehasish) May 2, 2019

2.

Salaaaam! Thats our officers work and dedication to save every life. We are with you.  #MissionZeroCasualty#CycloneFani #OdishaPrepared4Fani https://t.co/Z5DsqKhmiw  Nila Madhab Panda (@nilamadhabpanda) May 2, 2019

3.

Many of time we fight, argue, blame with police personnel but when there is any tragic they stand with us each and every time. They have also families but duty comes first for them. I salute all police personnel. Without you we are nothing. Be with us always. Jai Hind.  Deba Prasad RTI Activist (@DPS_RTI) May 2, 2019

4.

Respect  CA Binod Parida    (@B1nodP) May 4, 2019

5.

Good job odisha police  sanjib subudhi (@sanjibsbdh4) May 3, 2019

6.

Salute Her  Tushar Kranti (@Tushar__Kranti) May 3, 2019

7.

good job sister  Rajesh (@Rajesh_490) May 3, 2019

8.

Inspirational... made my day  Sushree (@spriyadarshin10) May 3, 2019

9.

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming pic  Ratikant Satpathy   (@Ratikant70) May 3, 2019

10.

Salute to your brave Team .#FaniCyclone  Laxmi (@LAXMIPRADHAN3) May 3, 2019

There are more such pictures where local police officers can be seen helping people out, making sure they are able to evacuate safely.

Carrying few injured people in #Cuttack to the nearest medical facility where doctors are attending them with required medical care. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/HrS6N6z04S  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Moving people to safety, sensitizing people in cyclone shelters and clearing out the roads @spkendrapara and his team is putting in all possible efforts to help and calm people in this difficult time. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/247GBdCrfo  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals from Kendrapara where our officers are carrying infants and guiding children, women, and other locals to safety.

Nothing deters our personnel's determination! #DutyAvoveElse #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/Uo2GTIZ0lR  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Relocating people to safe zones, clearing roads and providing drinking water and essential food items to the needy. @DCP_CUTTACK and his team under the guidance of @DGPOdisha carry-on its sincere efforts in helping and assisting people at this crucial hour. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/75yU0gt6ne  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Visuals of our officers in Balasore making all possible efforts to move elderly people and children to safe designated cyclone shelters! pic.twitter.com/Dxfjxknitn  Odisha Police (@odisha_police) May 3, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Odisha on May 6 to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

Till now three people have lost their lives in the cyclone. A teenager was killed when a tree came crashing down on him at a place within Sakhigopal police station area limits in Puri district. Flying debris from a concrete structure hit a woman in Nayagarh district when she had gone to fetch water, killing her. In Debendranarayanpur village in Kendrapara district, a 65-year-old woman died after a suspected heart attack at a cyclone shelter.
Remember the ugly naked guy from FRIENDS? He used to be naked all-day in his apartment where there were windows and people could obviously see him. Dont know if this man was ugly or not but he was definitely, naked.

A bizarre photo from the pre-wedding photoshoot of a couple from San Diego is doing rounds on the Internet. The couple was getting some pictures clicked at a beach for their wedding invite, when an elderly man, butt naked, walked into the frame.

Amy Sefton and her fiance Jake, visited the San Elijo State Beach with their photographer Austin Whitesell on March 14 to get some candid photographs clicked. As the couple started posing on the beach, the photographer suddenly noticed that an elderly naked man with his back facing the camera had photobombed their picture.

While speaking to the People Magazine, Sefton said, I was shocked at first glance. But then I found the moment hilarious and began to laugh.

What is more interesting is that the beach was a family-friendly beach and the couple had not expected the naked old man to be there.

Any other photographer would have waited for the old man to move, but Whitesell found it amusing. Describing it as "comical, random and very California", the photographer said that he asked the couple to lean back to capture the moment.

He captured their photo as it is - the couple holding hands and looking at the old man who is photobombing.

The couple further said that the photo added to the major milestones in their relationship that happened at the beach.

That lifeguard tower in the back of the photo with the naked dude is actually where I asked her to be my girlfriend, says Jake, and then also where I proposed.
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Indian American actor Vinny Chhibber, currently seen as Liam Bhatt, an openly gay Muslim high school teacher in the new CBS show, The Red Line, has also booked a recurring role in the TNT drama, Animal Kingdom. (Sela Shiloni photo)
Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is  well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star...
Abdulrauf Modibbo, the APC member elected to represent Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State at the National Assembly has been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to reports, Justice Inyang Ekwo nullified Modibbos victory, over certificate forgery.

Modibbo was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress primaries that was held back on October 7, 2018, in Yola and went on to represent APC in the 2019 general elections, where he also won the election.

However, Mustapha Usman dragged Modibbo to court after the elections, on grounds that the latter forged his age making him not qualified to contest the APC primaries.

Usman asked that the court disqualifies Modibbo as the APC candidate for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency.

Justice Ekwo in his judgement declared that Modibbo was not qualified to contest the APC primaries, as well as the 2019 National Assembly election while declaring Usman as the lawful winner of the October 7, 2018, APC primaries.

The judge further held that Usman also proved that Modibbo did falsify his age in order to contest the election by submitting forged certificates so he could contest in the partys primaries.

It was also revealed in court that Modibbo was still a Corps member when he contested the primaries, saying this action breached Section 4 of the NYSC Act, 2004.

A person who is a lawbreaker cannot be a lawmaker. This illegality is one that cannot be wished away.

Justice Ekwo then declared that Usman, who polled the second highest number of votes in the October 7, 2018 primaries, be declared the winner of the Yola South/Yola North/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State and ordered that his name be replaced with Modibbos as the lawful candidate of the APC and winner of the election.
Popular social media commentator and media personality, Dr Joe Abah, has joined millions of Nigerians in reacting to the now-viral news that police boss, Abayomi Shogunle, has been transferred to Nkalagu, Ebonyi state.

Dr Joe Abah in his reaction advised Yomi Shogunle to note the following when he gets to Ebonyi state.

Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi in Ebonyi state.

He added that he would not be posted to the state capital.

Also, he would be busy with serious issues and wont have time for controversy on Twitter.

And lastly, younger boys in his new work station would address him as punish and not police.

What he said:

https://twitter.com/DrJoeAbah/status/1124438409005686785
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has come for Prince Ifeanyi Dike, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, after the body threatened her with a sanction following her outburst on social media with her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Tonto Dikeh who spoke through her Instagram page labelled the Chairman of the body a stupid fool who has not sanctioned actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside.

Her post;
Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has fired heavy shots at fellow Nollywood colleague, Anita Joseph, for supporting Tonto Dikehs media outrage on ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Uche who spoke through his Instagram page said it is unimaginable that Anita Joseph would support Tonto Dikeh for coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child.

His words:

If you cant advise your friend to GROW up spiritually, keep quiet @anitajoseph8 is it possible to give something you dont have? Please, which Counsellor or psychologist told you that people can HEAL emotionally or psychologically by coming out on social media to INSULT, ridicule, and mock the father of their only child? Is that healing process only exclusive to radical for Jesus actresses? Because Ive never seen where someone can RISE or heal by pulling down another. Can you imagine, youre allegedly saying if your FRIEND wants to talk from now till next 2 years, let her talk, wait, is that the kind of advice you two give yourselves? @anitajoseph8 Even a primary school girl has enough wisdom to know that such kind of attitude is only causing more harm to her child in FUTURE, by constantly mocking the father, let us fear God oh @anitajoseph8 Listen, Ive gotten the attention of @chrissyteigen an A-List American celebrity, my dear, before you or your friend gets such international attention, it would take more hard work and years, but my only advice to you is this, King will grow up, and definitely ask you this same question, if you dont advice his mother correctly.

His words:
A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has decried the state of security in Nigeria especially banditry and kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Speaking on Saturday at a conference on migration, themed Action against irregular migration of Nigerians in Abuja, Cardinal Onaiyekan asked those without any knowledge in education and security not to go into politics.

If you have no idea of how to develop Nigeria through education, security, amongst others then, do not go into politics, he said.

This same kidnapping issue happened along Lokoja-Kabba road some years back; I could not travel then. I could not understand that 30km of the road cannot be policed. It just gives you a very sad impression that we are really at the mercy of the criminals. So you get ready to pay them, this is not the way to live.
The Sharia police (Hisbah) has announced that people who eat outside during the Muslim fasting period (Ramadan) would be arrested and prosecuted according to Islamic law.

This was made known by the commander-general of the security operative, Nabahani Usman, who stated that people would only be released if they can provide proof that they are ill and present a medical report from a government hospital.

He added that these are the only categories of people exempted from participating in fasting.

His words:
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle has earned himself the mockery of Nigerians on Twitter after it was announced that he has been posted to Nkalagu in Ebonyi state.

Nkalagu is in Ishielu Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, Nigeria. It is the town where the defunct Nigerian cement company (NIGERCEM) is located.

Nkalagu is known to have a large deposit of limestone which provided the raw material for the large cement plant of the Nigerian Cement Company (Nigercem).

After making countless insensitive remarks on Twitter, earning the wrath of Nigerians severally  Most recently was his statement on the Abuja women raid  which caused them to sign a petition against the police officer.

The satisfaction from Shogunles redeployment couldnt be missed in several tweets by Nigerians since his transfer to Nkalagu was announced.

See reactions

We might all rejoice at yomi Shogunle's transfer to Nkalagu(and it's a small victory to be celebrated especially if it'll make him shut up) but the truth is public officers need to know that they can loose their jobs when they make statements like that. He should have been fired  Dr. Anita Mudiaga (@fav_eyedoctor) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Omobaadewunmi/status/1124417428564389888?s=19

https://twitter.com/harvardsport/status/1124636962630008832?s=19

I wish the redeployment of @YomiShogunle was to Zamfara state. The Criminals in Nkalagu have human face and understand English but in the other end, only God will help him do interrogation  Mike Jonah (@mikejonah247) May 4, 2019

Ebonyi welcomes @YomiShogunle to Nkalagu. Please note:

1. Nobody will call you Buoda Yomi here.

2. You will not be in the state capital.

3. You will be busy with serious issues and should not have time to mis-yarn on Twitter.

4. Small boys will call you Punish, not Police.  Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) May 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Adeola0503/status/1124428753633972224?s=19
An incoming member of the House of Representatives, Akin Akabi says he doesnt know why Nigerians on Twitter are celebrating Yomi Shogunles transfer.

The Nairabet owner in a few tweets on Saturday afternoon said if the Assistant Commissioner of Police, did badly in his position in Abuja  a transfer wouldnt stop him.

Yomi Shogunle had sexually earned the backlash of Nigerians over some insensitive statements he makes on Twitter concerning the plight of Nigerians.

From the #EndSars campaign and recently to the #AbujaWomenRaid, Shogunles statements seem to always up Nigerians in a bad mood.

Therefore his transfer yo Nkalagu in Ebonyi state was a sort of victory for many.

He tweeted: I dont understand the celebration over @YomiShogunles transfer to Nkalagu. Looks like some people think life starts and ends on twitter.

I dont know what his new positions are all about. Maybe its even a promotion, I dont know. My problem is if he is as bad as Twitter says, will he stop being bad now that he is in Nkalagu?

Or are we saying? now he can no longer do anything to us on Twitter. He can go ahead and do nonsense in Nkalagu? Isnt that being a typical Nigerian? As long as my people & I are safe, the rest can go to hell. We are happy because those of us on twitter is no longer affected.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched "#MoreFunForever," a campaign aimed at promoting sustainable tourism for the present and future generations.

What use is growth and progress if it doesnt trickle down to the grassroots? Tourism Assistant Secretary Howard Uyking said during the campaign's launch in Boracay on April 29.

It makes sense to launch the initiative in the birthplace of its framework, seeing as just last year, Boracay was shut down amidst apprehensions of escalating degradation in its water quality, waste management, and general environmental impact. Its annual Labor Day celebration brought in a whopping 1.7 million tourists on an island whose carrying capacity is well below 100,000 people. A decision was made to close off the islands to tourists entirely for six months. The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) was formed, comprised of the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DOT among others. The BIATF was designed to create solutions for the current problems within the island, from long-heeded infrastructural improvements from the locals to managing the excessive influx of tourists and their succeeding noise pollution and material waste.

Local business owner Victor Sacdalan recounts his personal experience as both a businessman and a resident during the closure, saying, I could not imagine closing our business for six months because our employees are the soul of our business. Rebuilding Boracay was really a struggle for the stakeholders, residents, workers, and families. A lot of struggles, financially and emotionally. But I think the idea of the rehabilitation was to prepare us to be stronger and better stakeholders. He adds that seeing the island fully cleared of tourists reminded him of what Boracay could be. As a businessman, I forgot what the island has given me. Boracay needed intervention.

Rebuilding Boracay

Boracay reopened in October of 2018 with a slew of new regulations. The Labor Day parties had officially become extinct. A 25+5 easement had been established, where a previously established 25-meter no-build zone had been extended with an additional 5 meters where establishments and roving vendors were not allowed to block with stalls or any sort of materials. Ordinances had been put in place, allowing local enforcers to penalize guests and locals for smoking or drinking within the easement as well. Fines run anywhere from 1,000 pesos to 2,500 pesos per violation. The Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG, formerly BIATF) notes that DPWH has reported a significant progressive decrease in violations over the last few months, which not only determines compliance, but a possible greater understanding among both tourists and residents of what the regulations serve to protect.

The ocean clean up also saw a decrease in algal bloom, and a cleaner shoreline has been aesthetically pleasing to many who come to the island. The movement in waste management has been manifold, educating locals and business owners on the need to decrease the use of single-use plastics and investing in eco-friendly solutions. BIARMG Deputy Commander Al Orolfo says, We are bringing in big suppliers of green technology so that businesses here will have access to the supplies.

In terms of infrastructure, there is still much work to be done, which is part and parcel of the #MoreFunForever campaign. Whereas Rome wasnt built in a day, the task of rehabilitation also takes time, and BIARMG is setting its sights on the islands interior.

Theyre optimistically looking at finishing the road work by the end of the year or early 2020. Parallel to that, the drainage system which the DOT, through its infrastructure arm TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority), is investing in," DOT Undersecretary Art Boncato said, "In addition to completing the roads, theyre laying down the drainage system to accompany that so that the whole island is covered. Thats where we are in this phase of development and we are continuing what we started.

Boncato adds that ensuring the progress isnt just in material improvements, but in the alignment of all concerned. Were ensuring that local communities are integrated in the tourism sector, tourists are following our regulations, and the government agenciesthe task force here, the local government in the province, the national government agenciesare on the same page each time so were able to move the development forward faster and more efficiently.

Forever Fun

With all these changes in mind, the DOT aims to move forward with its #MoreFunForever campaign holding up Boracay as its standard bearer. The agency may have launched the campaign in Boracay, but its scope goes at scale; a nationwide rally that encourages Filipinos, from businesses to tourists down to communities, to put forward and choose sustainability wherever they are.

The department has since established three tenets for sustainable tourism as seen from the islands progress in rehabilitation. First is responsible tourism, which relies on the ordinances put forth by the DOT to secure the natural environment, creating a culture of accountability among residents and guests. Second is environmental compliance, where local businesses are subject to a no accreditation, no operations policy following an assessment of sustainable and environmentally sound business practices.

Last but not least is inclusive growth, which encourages the hiring of locals, especially with the assistance of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). DOT hopes to adopt this framework towards the rehabilitation and preservation of other local destinations, starting with El Nido, Panglao, and Manila Bay.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explains the true depth of #MoreFunForever, saying, Were privileged because we have many natural wonders like those here in the Philippines. And as the globe learns more about our other attractions and makes us a top-of-mind destination, its opened up a host of opportunities. As people, weve been recognized as hospitable, friendly, and warm still, its a great and serious responsibility that we share as stewards of these special, wonderful destinations. Its on us to ensure all our natural wonders stay more fun, forever.
Washington's move is expected to face pushback from major importers

The initial 180-day waivers that the United States granted to buyers of Iranian oil expired on Thursday. Experts argued that Washington's intention to cut off Iranian oil exports completely might backfire both at home and abroad, Xinhua News Agency said in an analysis.

The White House announced on April 22 the US sanctions would be reimposed on all countries that import oil from Iran from Thursday on.
Brazil Court - Large

Brazils Federal Revenue Office published normative instruction No. 1862 on December 28 2018, addressing the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax responsibility, the situation where a taxpayer and third party may be jointly and severally liable for a tax obligation.

Among the novelties addressed, those related to the moment and procedure deserve more attention. According to the normative text, the tax authorities may now establish liability of third parties before judgment by the first instance and once the administrative proceeding is concluded, as well as in cases discussing tax compensation claims.

In this scenario, according to the text of the normative instruction, when the establishment of liability occurs during the tax administrative proceeding (before the first instance decision), and in cases of tax offsetting, the third parties may present their defenses according to the procedure established in Decree No. 70.235/72. In these cases, it is also possible to appeal to the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF).

In cases where such an establishment takes place after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, the third party shall file a request for reconsideration to the same tax auditor who made the establishment. In case it is not upheld, the request may also be considered by the officer of the Internal Revenue Service unit and by the Regional Superintendent.

It is important to observe that these new procedures brought by the normative instruction challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, which is express in assigning the tax authority to identify the taxpayer and the parties jointly and severally liable for the tax obligation through tax assessment notice (i.e not along or upon conclusion of the tax administrative procedure).

In cases where the establishment of liability is made after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, and there is a clear violation of the right to contest, they will have to defend themselves through an internal procedure of the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service, and are not granted access to the procedure of Decree No. 70.235/72 (and to the judgment by the CARF, which is a technical and joint body council).

Notwithstanding the considerations, normative instruction No. 1862/2018 also set forth provisions aimed at assigning more transparency to the taxpayers and to the administrative and judging authorities regarding the procedure for the establishment of joint and several tax liability.

As noted in Article 1, the Brazilian Internal Revenue Service explains that the tax liability established to a third party, who is not a taxpayer nor a tax substitute, presupposes the existence of a specific rule, and is different from the one that gives rise to the tax.

Furthermore, the normative opinion clarifies the requirements that must be included in the tax assessment notice in order to establish tax liability. These are qualification of the third party, description of the facts that give rise to the establishment of liability, and the legal classification and the delimitation of the tax credit to be ascribed to the responsible party.

In conclusion, the new rules regarding the establishment of joint and several tax liability after the issuance of the tax assessment notice, especially after the conclusion of the tax administrative proceeding, deserve attention since they challenge Article 142 of the Brazilian National Tax Code, and the right to contestation and a full defense of the responsible third parties.

On the other hand, it has also brought new rules that should assign more certainty regarding the procedure of establishing tax liability.



Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto

Leonardo Fernandes Rebello

This article was written by Ana Paula S. Lui Barreto and Leonardo Fernandes Rebello of Mattos Filho.

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So thats Friday nearly wrapped up. Heres some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

TO INFORM

Ana Kriegel: A dog walker has told the trial of two teenagers, charged with murdering Anastasia Kriegel, that he saw a schoolboy make a beeline for the abandoned farmhouse where shes alleged to have been murdered half an hour later.

An order restricting the reportage of Ana Kriegels murder trial until its conclusion has been lifted for all but one publisher.

Ruth Morrissey: Terminally ill Ruth Morrissey may have won her landmark High Court action and been awarded a total of 2.1m against the HSE and two US laboratories over the testing of her CervicalCheck smear slides, but there was little to celebrate as she left the Four Courts.

NI elections: The Democratic Unionist Partys first openly gay election candidate has been elected.

Theresa May: British Prime Minister Theresa May was confronted with anger from her own party after local election results which she admitted were very difficult for the Conservatives.

Sterling: Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Munster fan banned: Munster Rugby have banned the supporter who appeared to confront Saracens player Billy Vunipola after the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at Coventrys Ricoh Arena.

TO ENGAGE

Mary-Lou McDonald: You dont need much self-awareness to realise that if youre making the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, sound reasonable, youre in trouble.

Cork on the Rise: The prioritisation of the car and poor land use have polluted and ghettoised our cities, but a sustainable approach can change all that, says Abhas K Jha.

TO ENTERTAIN

Eco-friendly bathrooms: Just a little thought is all it takes to make a big  and almost effortless  improvement in bathroom eco-friendliness without compromising personal hygiene and housecleaning.

Chewbacca: Star Wars fans have paid tribute to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew as they gathered in Ireland for the annual celebration of the film franchise.

Most read story today

Madeleine McCann: Scotland Yard apply for more funding as local police reportedly have 'new suspect'.
A man who found sensitive patient data on a city centre street and who highlighted his concerns in the media has been accused by the HSE of a data breach.

Luke Field, who found data containing patient names and details of surgical procedures on the pavement of South Terrace, Cork City on Friday, April 26, attempted to report his find to the appropriate data protection officer in the HSE South the following day. However, the office was closed over the weekend.

He then contacted Cork University Hospital (CUH) as the data related to patients attending its plastic surgery department, and was advised by a staff member to return the data to reception in a sealed envelope, and that it would be processed after the weekend.

Mr Field, a Labour candidate for Cork City South Central in the upcoming local elections, said he held off on returning the data as he wanted to hand it back to someone with direct data protection responsibility. He decided to contact the media to highlight the delay he encountered when trying to report his find to the appropriate official, as there was no out-of-hours contact service.

However, the HSE said because Mr Field voluntarily disclosed the data to a third party  the Irish Examiner  this constituted an unauthorised disclosure of personal data and that Mr Field is now obliged to report his own disclosure as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Irish Examiner contacted the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to inquire if a breach had occurred, as there is an exemption when processing personal data for the purpose of exercising the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes.

The commission said it understands that there are data protection issues in relation to this, however we cannot comment further as we would need to examine the details in full.

Mr Field said that as far as he is concerned, he doesnt believe there is any merit in the suggestion that he has committed a data breach, but he is happy to co-operate with the Data Protection Commission in their investigation of the HSE breach.

He said he is disappointed with the HSE response because the real story is that there have been two major HSE breaches in patient data in the space of a week [the other related to patients attending Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda] and this seems like an unfair attempt to divert attention away from that.

The HSE said CUH is taking the data breach very seriously and is currently investigating the incident.

The breach was reported to the Data Protection Commission and all data subjects will be contacted in line with HSE policy, the statement said.

The statement also said the deputy data protection officer was subsequently made aware that the data was shared with a third party (journalist), either prior to or after returning the data to the HSE.

The person who discovered the data and voluntarily disclosed it to the third party has been advised by the HSE that as this constitutes an unauthorised disclosure of the personal data, there is now an obligation on that person to report this as a further data breach to the Data Protection Commission.
The passenger jet that crashed into a river in the US last night is leased from an Irish company and visited Shannon earlier this year.

The Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 jet ran off the end of the runway at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida while trying to land in a thunderstorm.

There were 143 passengers and crew on board the flight which was arriving from Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station in Cuba, when it slid off the runway into the St. Johns River at 9.42pm local time (2.42am Irish time).

All 136 passengers and seven crew members were rescued during a massive operation and while 21 people were transported to hospital, their injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening.

It has emerged that Miami Air International leases some of its 8-strong fleet of aircraft from two Irish leasing companies including the jet at the centre of this incident.

#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

The aircraft, (registration N732MA) listed as being leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon, also visited Shannon Airport on March 12 this year.

The airline is one of a number of civilian carriers that undertake charter flights for the US Department of Defence and use Shannon Airport for refuelling stops.

On March 12, the same jet landed at Shannon while en route from Athens to the US while other aircraft in the fleet have also visited Shannon in the past and as recently as last month.

According to records, the incident jet is leased from Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon which lists Miami Air International as one of its 150 customers worldwide.

The airline has leased at least two aircraft from Avolon along with two others from another Irish company, AerCap.
Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire at a house in Blanchardstown in Dublin this morning.

The two people in the home managed to escape unharmed.
Victims of the CervicalCheck scandal are pleading for other women to be spared the ordeal that a terminally-ill cancer patient was put through, to win her landmark compensation case.

They called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to honour his promise that no woman would be dragged through the courts, and urged him to reconsider the terms of a planned compensation tribunal which they say will operate just like a court, but behind closed doors.

Their calls came after Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul, of Monaleen, Co Limerick, were awarded 2.1m in damages against the HSE and two laboratories that failed to spot problems with her smear tests in 2009 and 2012.

The 37-year-old mother of a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and has been told she is unlikely to survive beyond two years.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Kevin Cross said her life had been ruined.

The HSE, which runs the CervicalCheck screening programme, and the two companies, MedLab and Quest Diagnostics, which analysed her smear tests, denied responsibility and fought Ms Morrissey for 37 days in the High Court, but Mr Justice Cross held them jointly and equally liable for what happened.

A relieved and emotional Ms Morrissey left court saying: I just want to move on and spend whatever quality time Ive left with my daughter.

Yet just hours later, MedLab issued a statement welcoming the determination that its lab was not negligent in its review and interpretation of Ms Morrisseys 2012 slide, and said it would be reviewing the judgment in full with a view to appeal.

Solicitor for the Morrisseys, Cian OCarroll, said the companys statement was poorly judged.

Its amazing how they can be so delighted when the court said that they are equally responsible with the HSE and Quest Diagnostics for the full value of 2.16m in damages for costing a woman her life, he said.

If an appeal is lodged, it need not necessarily delay the payout of damages.

Mr OCarroll said it would be at the judges discretion to direct full or partial payment or a stay on payment when the court resumes to consider the matter next week.

Ms Morrisseys case is the first to go to full hearing since screening blunders emerged when Vicky Phelan took her case last year, followed by the late Emma Mhic Mhathuna.

Both of their cases were settled, so the significance of Ruth Morrisseys win is that it establishes firmly that the HSE bears responsibility for the failings of the companies it contracts to carry out work, so that in future, women should only have to take on the State instead of preparing cases against multiple defendants.

Ms Morrissey, standing with the aid of a crutch, held back tears as she thanked her extended family, medical and legal team, and especially her husband Paul, my rock.

The couple kissed to mark the end of their long legal battle which began last summer, but Ms Morrisseys thoughts were with the other women whose fight is only beginning.

I did not think I would be in this position because our Taoiseach told us none of us would have to go through this, but unfortunately I am the one who had to do it, she said.

I hope thats a positive thing, so the women who are left, they dont need to do this and fight for their right to have a good life of what theyve left.

She also encouraged all women to continue getting smear tests. Its very important. Even though it failed me, it does save many many lives.

More than 200 women developed cancer after CervicalCheck failings, and dozens have lodged papers with the High Court, though they may opt for the tribunal whenever it begins.

Reminded of his pledge last year that women would be spared court trials, Mr Varadkar said he had genuinely hoped that no woman would have to go to court, but it was clear that not all cases could be resolved without litigation.

He said he was working with Health Minister Simon Harris and the attorney general to finalise the arrangements for the tribunal as soon as possible.

Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died after her tests were misread, urged them to hurry, describing what Ms Morrissey had been put through as inhumane.

The 221 Plus advocacy group also criticised the court process.

Cases like this are a no-win situation for all involved. It highlights our deepest concerns about the raw and needless cruelty of forcing women, who it is accepted have already been wronged by the State, into an adversarial public legal process that makes them feel like they are on trial just to establish the profile or the extent of that wrong and how it happened. This is simply unacceptable, it said.

A better and more compassionate mechanism is required as a priority to enable those involved establish the basis of the wrong done to them in private, without being put through that adversity.

Reservations have also been expressed about the planned tribunal, which will also be an adversarial forum. The tribunal is not to settle cases  it is the High Court behind closed doors, said Mr OCarroll.

Vicky Phelan said she was also concerned that women opting for the tribunal would still be required to take a stand and argue their case, just without publicity.

The State can do something here, she said. The State can go ahead and intervene so that these cases can be settled faster, in a more conciliatory way.

She pointed out that the State did not have to be at a financial loss, as under an indemnity clause, it could pursue the laboratories for losses due to their failings.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed the Taoiseach's apology for his comments about the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford.

Leo Varadkar issued a statement earlier saying 'this is one he got wrong'.

He said there were conflicting accounts about the mortuary last week and he didn't want to jump to conclusions - but he now accepts subsequent statements support the consultants' claims about conditions.

Deputy McDonald said the consultants deserved an apology - but it should now be followed by action.

She said: "The Taoiseach now, having apologised, needs to make absolutely sure, as head of Government, that the full facts surrounding the complaints made by the pathologists are set out in a clear fashion.

"I think it's also necessary for the hospitals to come before the Oireachtas and for elected representatives to have an opportunity to ask questions."

Leo Varadkar issues apology over mortuary claims

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologised unreservedly for failing to treat seriously the concerns about mortuary services at University Hospital Waterford.

Mr Varadkar admitted he got it wrong after claiming there was no evidence to back up allegations that dead bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys at the hospital.

Four consultant pathologists wrote to the Health Service Executive (HSE) last year stating the pressing need to have inadequate facilities at the hospital mortuary addressed.

The consultants said bodies had been left to decompose on trolleys and that it had led to closed-coffin funerals in some instances.

It also emerged last week that dead bodies had been stored on the floor of the mortuary at the hospital.

In a letter dated March 26 to the South/South-West Hospital Group, the four consultant pathologists reiterated their concerns about unacceptable mortuary conditions at the hospital.

They described body storage on the floor of the mortuary following a surge in activity.

Earlier this week, the Taoiseach claimed there was no evidence to back up the claims.

However, in a statement issued on Saturday the Fine Gael leader said he made the comments because of conflicting accounts.

He said: On the one hand, a letter from four consultants making deeply disturbing claims about conditions in the mortuary and on the other hand, a statement from hospital management saying there was no evidence or supporting complaints to back up the claims.

I did not want to jump to conclusions or to side with one group of staff against another without knowing facts or before an investigation was carried out.

Thats why I said that I did not know if the claims were true or not.

Over the course of the week, corroborating statements have come to light and complaints have been made that I believe support the views expressed by the four consultants. This is one I got wrong.

I want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who feels that I did not treat this issue with the seriousness or sensitivity it deserved.

As I have said before, my over-riding concern is for the dignity of patients in life and in death.

It has never been in dispute that the mortuary is sub-standard and needs to be replaced.

He added that planning permission has been granted for a new mortuary at the hospital while temporary measures are being put in place in the interim. - Press Association
Two Irishmen arrested in Melbourne over an Irish roof scam spent the cash on high-end Rolex watches and designer clothing, police allege.

The pair were arrested as part of Operation Gentium, an investigation into travelling conmen who are operating such alleged scams in Melbourne.

It is alleged the two Irish nationals illegally obtained AUD$260,000 (162,000) from one of their victims.

A police statement alleges the funds were used to purchase luxury Rolex watches and expensive designer clothes.

One of the men, 28, was arrested and charged with ten counts of obtaining property by deception.

The second man, 29, was charged with six offences against the Migration Act.

The pair were arrested after a series of raids were carried out by the Eastern Region Crime Squad, with assistance from the Australian Border Force across Melbourne on Thursday.

Both men have appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court and will re-appear at later dates.

Acting Inspector Scott Dwyer said the alleged scam targets the most vulnerable members of society with pensioners often the victims.

He said: This investigation demonstrates the lengths police will go to find the people involved in these types of crimes and the partnerships that we have with other law enforcement agencies.

These strong relationships allow us to apprehend people even when they are outside Victoria.

He urged people to make sure tradesmen are legitimate before engaging them for work.

He said: We know that travelling conmen predominantly doorknock or letter-drop homes and businesses offering to do maintenance and repair work, such as asphalting, roof cleaning/tiling, painting or tree lopping.

If you want work done on your property, we ask that you don't just use a flyer to make a decision, make sure you shop around for more than one written quote.

These types of deception offences can have a significant impact on peoples lives and are often targeted at more vulnerable members of our community. We dont want to see anyone else fall victim to travelling con men.

We strongly encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of travelling conmen or fake tradies to report it to their local police as soon as possible.

Investigators believe a number of people may have been affected by the alleged scams and further enquiries are still being made by police.

In March, police were forced to issue a warning about a group of conmen with Irish accents who said they were from a business called First Choice Home Solutions, which was a fake company.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Conor Kane, and Elaine Loughlin

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must apologise directly to families whose dead relatives were treated appallingly at University Hospital Waterford after it emerged that two families have made formal complaints.

Opposition parties demanded Mr Varadkar meet with anyone affected after he twice rejected calls to apologise for his dismissive approach to four doctors who first raised the concerns.

Despite a week of denials from the Government and the HSE, the hospital confirmed yesterday that two families have made formal complaints  including relatives of one person who, the Irish Examiner understands, was buried in a closed-casket funeral.

While declining to comment on specific cases, a UHW spokesperson said the facility is currently engaging with the families concerned, that it will always take complaints very seriously, and treats deceased patients with respect and dignity.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, Labour health spokesman Alan Kelly said despite the hospitals claim, the fact that two families have made complaints over the treatment of deceased relatives means Mr Varadkar must now apologise to anyone affected.

The Taoiseach has either lost the plot on this or been sold a pup by the HSE. He is being very badly advised on this. I dont care what he has said, he should meet with and apologise to the families involved, said Mr Kelly.

Asked about the issue yesterday, Mr Varadkar twice declined to fully apologise for his response to date.

While accepting he regrets the tone of his comments questioning if the doctors who first raised the concerns are right, he stopped short of a full apology, saying:

I didnt question what they said, I just pointed out that there are different accounts from different members of staff at the hospital and I dont think its for me to adjudicate on that.

I have always encouraged people to raise issues and if people have issues about the services they work in, bringing them to the attention of management is absolutely the appropriate and right thing to do.

It has separately emerged that the four consultants who first raised the mortuary concerns warned management in March they may remove their services after being left to wait for six months for any response to their concerns.

Sinn Feins Waterford TD David Cullinane released a letter outlining the warning yesterday, alongside a separate letter from a senior HSE official warning HSE financial officials of the appalling standards at the morgue last July.

David Cullinane.

The Government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry, saying the hospital and the Health Information Quality Authority could examine the case.

However, Hiqa said last night that the morgue concerns are outside its remit.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people have turned out for a parade in Cork city to show support for the Defence Forces.

The 'Respect and Loyalty Parade' has ended for the day - the aim was to highlight dissatisfaction over pay and conditions.
There are many simple steps to help green tourism without limiting your horizons, says Thomas Breathnach

Green tourism, eco-friendly, carbon-footprints. Theyre the travel buzzwords of our generation.

However, while many cultural campaigns tend to trend and fade, theres a real stand-out factor when it comes to the sustainable travel movement. The truth is: its here to stay. Today, global tourism accounts for almost 10% of all carbon emissions, meaning the planet has never needed its globetrotters to be more green when they travel. And just like with the food and fashion industries, slow-tourism is now starting to emerge as a strong sector  with immersive travel in one area in, country-ticking for Instagram bragging rights out. Thats not to say you need to staycation in Ireland for life  but whether youre holidaying in Bantry or Bora Bora, little choices can make a big impact.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles

As islanders, we need to get places but once you do get to your base, consider train travel. While the industry may have gone off the rails with the advent of low-fare airlines, trains are making a comeback  allowing travellers to engage with a world better than flying at 30,000 feet. Need inspiration? Interrail (interrail.eu) offer myriad packages for over 30 countries across Europe  think a month pass for Italy from 95 or for Turkey from 46.

Once in your destination, shared bike schemes like Citi Bike in New York or Bycyklen in Copenhagen make a fun way to feel the pulse of a city without fumbling for underground fares. And if you are hiring a motor, Hertz (hertz.ie) now offer a green fleet of hybrid and electric cars  perhaps a good way to take a test-drive on your next holiday?

Choose your Airline

Theres no escaping the impact flying has on the environment, and while the airline industry is largely embracing the green-race, electric jets are not predicted to emerge from the hangars for another decade. For Irish consumers, thanks to its modern fleet of Dreamliners and 737s, Norwegian has been voted most fuel-efficient long-haul airline by the International Council of Clean Transport, with Aer Lingus sitting mid-table and BA almost brexiting the standings. There is good news for the majority who fly economy, however  youre actually flying more efficiently than those sipping prosecco in business.

Support a greener Ireland

According to a 2019 survey by travelcounsellors.ie, 57% of Irish consumers dont consider sustainability when booking a trip  but that pendulum swings when it comes to our younger travellers.

The point? Irish tourism needs to tap into emerging green trends as much as the consumer needs to support those who do. Fortunately, many Irish regions and businesses are already going the extra (carbon-reduced) mile to protect the environment.

The Burren (burren.ie) has positioned itself as perhaps the leading sustainable destination in the country with its own eco-network of tourism businesses. And elsewhere, there are scores of pioneering outfits going green: Ard Nahoo (ardnahoo.com) is a yoga retreat in Leitrim created with locally salvaged wood, Cool Planet Experience (coolplanetexperience.org) in Wicklow is a new climate change museum for kids, while in Wexford, the stunning Hook Lighthouse attraction (hookheritage.ie) run a zero-plastic policy.

Theres immense opportunity for Ireland to harness its potential as the leading eco-friendly destination. After all, we already have the green branding down  we just need to own it.

Location, location.

When travelling overseas, you should support countries and destinations with strong sustainability game. Norway, for example, is the first country to ban deforestation, Namibia is the only nation in Africa which protects the environment in its constitution, while Costa Rica has almost built its entire tourism industry on the eco-travel niche.

But amid all the recent cloud bursts of eco-friendliness, do be aware of greenwashing when it comes to businesses marketing as green with token gestures: sometimes it takes more than not washing your bath towels to really make a difference. Take the Bali Diving Academy in Indonesia who add an genuine element of conservation to their tours by leading underwater and beach plastic clean-ups. (scubali.com).

Pack Light

Heres a way to save the planet  and your coffers too. Extra baggage increases fuel consumption massively, which explains why we pay for it so handsomely nowadays. And while only MEPs might be expected to get by with emerging laptop bag allowances, perfecting your carry-on technique for European and even long haul getaways is a smart and surprisingly adaptable move.

Need the gear? Samsonite (samsonite.ie) now offer a new eco-range of carry-ons and backpacks made from 100% recycled water bottles.

For toiletries, soap is your friend. Kilkenny company myskin.ie creates all-natural, durable bars which save you dipping into your hotels micro-bead toiletries when you land. For on the go, invest in the likes of food-containers, bamboo sporks (thats a spoon/fork hybrid) and a re-useable water bottle from thelittlegreenshop.ie. Both Dublin and Cork airports offer hydration stations or water fountains beyond security, so you no longer have to purchase water on the fly.

Fair Food

From finding a farm-to-table restaurant in New York to opting for meat-free Montag in Berlin, making mindful decisions with your food when travelling can make a world of difference. So whats the recipe? Opting for organic produce, supporting artisan traders and yes, reducing meat, are all effective ways to reduce your footprint. As is shopping local  after all, what better way to immerse yourself in a new area than with a visit to a public market (note: dont forget that tote bag).

Vegans need to take stock too. While avocado toast looks great on Instagram, try to opt for fair trade options which are kinder to farmers in what is often a sinister industry. Going dairy-free? Be aware of water-guzzling milk alternatives like almond and soya while at the breakfast buffet  so use oat milk for your granola where possible.

The demand for local is even taking off in the skies. Aer Lingus are currently reviewing their menus to increase sustainability, Singapore Airlines launched a new a farm-to-plane agreement with the Aero-Farms company this month while Virgin Atlantic have removed unsustainable ingredients like beef and palm oil from their inflight menus.

Love Nature

Biodiversity is vital to Mother Natures natural balance, so the planet needs flora and fauna as much as you need a reusable coffee mug. And theres ways to protect that when travelling. Rule of thumb is if youre riding or kissing a creature youre likely to see on National Geographic, youve inched too close. When overseas, avoid buying animal products like sea-shells or exotic feathers, resist the likes of camel-riding and exotic monkey selfies, and dont be that guy on Facebook posing with a tranquillised tiger in India. These practices often have unsavoury back-stories and can fuel an illegal animal trade. They aint cool.

If you really want to get up close with animals in an impactful way, consider activities like walking rescue dogs in the BARC shelter in Brooklyn (barcshelter.org) or volunteering at an ethical elephant orphanage in Thailand (elephantvalleys.com). If the elephant is painting, chances are youve gone to the wrong one.

Go Camping: Leave no trace!

When it comes to going green, theres no more sustainable holiday than a camping trip  particularly when it comes to pitching up in Ireland.

For camping overseas, remember that most airport security wont permit tent poles in your hand- luggage, so youll need to purchase check-in luggage beforehand. But just think what youll save once on terra firma! Camping in Europe opens up a catalogue of otherwise pricey destinations - from sleeping on the foothills of the Swiss Alps (campingjungfrau.ch 18pp) to a cool summer in Scandinavia? Sweden  famous for its right-to-roam freedoms  has such a liberal camping policy, theyve even listed their entire country on Airbnb.

You can drop your price filter for the USA, too. Overnighting in epic locations like Yellowstone National Park (nps.gov) costs as little as $15 per night, while new start-up Hipcamp (hipcamp.com) allows you to book dream tenting spots across America from back yards to vineyards. Sustainable travel might not limit your horizons  it could just broaden them.
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Nama is 10 years old. Brian Lenihans brainchild to fix our collapsed banking system is about to reach its due completion date, but does so under a cloud of controversy which has dogged it since day-one.

It also bears a highly mixed legacy, to say the least, with calls this week that Nama more than anything else is responsible for the countrys housing crisis.

Nama and its defenders will say it will return a profit of 3.5bn back to the State; that it has been a success in cleaning up bad loans and distressed property assets; and it has done it efficiently and well.

Established in April 2009 by Lenihan as a means of stripping all of the bad debts from the bailed-out banks and restoring credit back into the system, Nama has been engulfed in mystery and treated with suspicion from many quarters.

Nama has destroyed the property market. The minister should call the people from Nama into his office and tell them to put 2bn or 3bn of property on the market at fire sale prices.

"These may be sold too cheaply but at least that would establish a floor in the property market and people would start again.

"Currently, everybody is watching prices continually falling and nobody will get into the market. They believe prices will fall further and are waiting for the bottom, is how Michael Noonan viewed Nama in 2010 just months before he would become finance minister.

As leading Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, put it: Namas structure and objectives create negative value, destroying incentives that can hurt... the economy.

Namas plan was to take loans, good and bad, with a book value of more than 72bn off the bailed out banks, paying just 32bn for them. It was given 10 years to work out those loans in order to return as much money as possible to the taxpayer.

We will chase developers to the ends of the earth, was Namas rallying cry in its early days.

Its job was to rid the busted banks of their toxic development loans and recapitalise them so they could lend again. Secondly, to restore a functioning property market.

Nama will ensure that credit flows again to viable businesses and households by cleansing the balance sheets of Irish banks. This is essential for economic recovery and the generation of employment.

"It will ensure that we avoid the Japanese outcome of zombie banks that are just ticking over and not making a vibrant contribution to economic growth, Lenihan said.

Its own mission statement read: Nama will conduct its activities in a way which assists the property market to operate efficiently and in a way which achieves longer-term sustainability.

Certainly, in the first five years of its existence, Namas record on both fronts was extremely dubious, and the availability of credit within the system has only fairly recently returned to a more normalised situation.

Bank lending remained unnaturally low, the property market went from a moribund wasteland to one where chronic shortages of adequate housing exist, particularly in the greater Dublin region.

Having said it would chase the reckless developers to the ends of the earth, Nama became engulfed in controversy when it was revealed that it was, in fact, working with same said developers and allowing them salaries of up to 200,000 a year.

Then along the way, it was decided that rather than chase and seek to recoup as much of the 72bn book value of the assets taken over by Nama, its remit was to merely break even on what it spent on the loans, ie the 32bn.

By doing so, Nama was crystalising a whopping 40bn loss to the taxpayer.

But it was not couched in terms of a loss  we have been told repeatedly by Namas bosses Frank Daly and Brendan McDonagh, the Department of Finance and even the Comptroller and Auditor General that it will make a profit.

Even Michael Noonan, who had demonised Nama in opposition, came to be one of its strongest supporters in Government and fell into line on the profit spin.

This very topic was the subject of pertinent questioning by Fine Gaels Michael Darcy of NUI Galway economics professor Alan Ahearne at the Oireachtas banking inquiry in 2015.

As Mr Lenihans special adviser from March 2009, Mr Ahearne was a key player in Namas development.

Here is how the exchange proceeded.

Mr DArcy: Would it be fair, then, to say, according to the Nama numbers, that therell be a loss of 41bn in the entire figure, on the 74bn?

Mr Ahearne: The banks would have lost 41bn on the loans that they made during the bubble, yes on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Yeah. So the conversation about Nama making a 1bn loss can I ask you your view on that? Is it a 1m  sorry, a 1bn profit, or is it a 41bn loss?

Mr Ahearne: The banks have made losses of 40bn off it  on those particular loans.

Mr DArcy: Which is the fairest? Is it Nama making a 1bn profit or the banks losing 41bn?

Mr Ahearne: Well, you can say both of them.

Mr DArcy: Well, Im asking you. Mr Ahearne: Because theyll both be true.

Mr DArcy: Im asking you which is yours.

Mr Ahearne: Id say both.

As Nama looks to the end of its original projected lifespan and its legacy will be examined, it must start being honest with itself and the public about the basic facts of its

existence.

I am not saying it lost this money. The idiot greedy bankers, along with their Fianna Fail cheerleaders and their developer clients, did the damage.

Namas job was to clean up the mess and it has managed to make progress.

But given how secretive Nama is about its dealings, it is difficult to make a considered judgement on its work as of now.

Aside from its secretive modus operandi, Nama has been engulfed in various controversies.

In 2016, ex Nama official, Enda Farrell, pleaded guilty to eight charges of leaking potentially commercially sensitive information to third parties between May and July 2012, some months after leaving Nama.

Reports from the time state that Farrell sat stony-faced in the dock as the sorry tale of his misdeeds dating from 2012 was explained to Judge Karen OConnor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

These actions breached two sections of the Nama Act 2009 which underpinned the establishment of the agency, gave it extensive powers, and made Farrells actions a criminal offence.

More serious than that, is the still yet to be concluded Commission of Investigation into the sale of Namas Northern Ireland loan book, given the title Project Eagle, following months of controversy.

The Commission of Investigation into Project Eagle has asked the Government for a six-month extension to the end of June for a final report to be completed.

The Government appointed retired High Court judge John Cooke in June 2017 to investigate Namas 1.24bn (1.38bn) sale in 2014 of the portfolio to US distressed-debt firm Cerberus.

Independent TD, Mick Wallace, had alleged in the Dail that 7m in fees related to the transaction had been lodged in a bank account in the Isle of Man that was reportedly earmarked for a Northern Ireland politician or party following the transaction.

It is also under investigation by British authorities.

Former Cabinet minister-turned-broadcaster, Ivan Yates, has accused Nama of continuously licking themselves in terms of their public relations machine.

He added bluntly that its holding of so many properties, making it, at one time, the largest property portfolio in the world, has precipitated the housing crisis.

Nama are responsible for the housing crisis because they got all this land and turned development land into a commodity, they sat on the land.

"They were asleep at the wheel and they should have been building houses, said Yates.

So, as we reach this 10-year milestone, it might be noted that it has had some success, but Namas bib is far from clean.
For the journalist Gauri Lankesh, railing against Indias right-wing nationalism was a birthright and a calling. In an increasingly intolerant country, it was also a death sentence, writes Rollo Romig.

Gauri Lankesh usually worked late on Tuesday nights. The exuberantly leftist weekly newspaper she edited, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, went to press on Wednesdays, and she had to finalise the articles.

However, on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, she drove home early, around 7:45 pm; she had an evening appointment with a repairmen to fix her TV. The last person she spoke to before leaving the office was Satish, the papers information-technology manager (who goes by a single name).

At its peak, Gauri Lankesh Patrikes circulation numbered only in the high four digits, and Lankesh mostly wrote in Kannada, a regional language understood by only 3.6% of Indians (though in hyper-populous India, that is 48 million people, more than the population of Spain).

However, her political activism and her lively social media presence extended her reach far beyond the papers print run.

At a time of intense vitriol against the press in India, she was a fearless, sometimes reckless critic of the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which has held power in India since 2014.

Her paper was a tabloid in every sense, gleefully sensational and indifferent to decorum.

However, the vehemence and humour of her polemics in defence of pluralism and minority rights had made her a beloved figure to an increasingly embattled opposition.

She was more vulnerable than she sounded on the page. She reminded one friend of a sparrow: her head topped with a feathery whorl of short gray hair, bursting with noisy argument but fundamentally gentle.

At 55, she was 5ft and a half-inch tall  she always insisted on the half-inch, her ex-husband, the journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, said  and skinny, possibly because of her heavy smoking and her tendency to work through mealtimes.

She lived alone in an unusually quiet pocket of Bangalore, the capital city of the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Her lone concession to friends and family concerned about her safety was a few closed-circuit TV cameras she installed half a year earlier  cameras that captured some of what happened on the night of September 5.

Just after 8pm she parked her car, a compact white Toyota, at an indifferent angle, then jumped out to open the gate. From the camera footage, it appeared that she hadnt noticed the motorcycle with two riders that had followed her home.

The moment she got her gate open, the motorcycles passenger rushed up and shot her with a crude pistol. Two bullets hit her in the abdomen, one passing through her liver.

Lankesh turned to run, and the third shot missed her and struck a wall. A fourth bullet hit her in the back, passing through a lung and grazing her heart before exiting through the left cup of her bra.

The whole encounter lasted about five seconds. Within a minute, the repairmen pulled up and found her splayed across the entryway to her house in a pool of blood.

About 20,000 people attended a Bangalore rally in her honour a week later. Her friends marvelled not only at the number of supporters but at their variety: writers, students,

activists, members of the marginalised Dalit and Adivasi communities, transgender women, rickshaw drivers, landless farmers, Muslims, Christians.

Large I Am Gauri demonstrations arose nationwide in outrage at the increasing attacks, rhetorical and physical, on Indian journalists.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, routinely tweets condolences after aeroplane crashes in foreign countries but made no comment about Lankeshs murder.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has been keeping track of 35 cases of Indian journalists murdered specifically for their work since 1992, and only two of these cases have resulted in a successful conviction.

Indias newspaper culture has long been among the most varied and vigorous in the world, which the countrys free-speech laws help enable.

However, India has no explicit constitutional protection of freedom of the press, and the laws that do exist are easily curtailable in the interest of security, public decency or religious sentiment.

The situation has unquestionably deteriorated over the past several years  a fact that owes much to the ascent of the BJP. In the 2014 elections, the party won 282 of the 545 seats in the lower house of Indias Parliament, which determines the prime ministership.

The Congress Party, which has led nearly every Indian government since independence, won only 44. Political pressure on journalists is nothing new in India, but the current government is the first in many years to treat them as an ideological enemy. Since he took office in 2014, Modi has not held a single news conference in India.

Among BJP politicians, a popular term for journalists is presstitutes. A dispatch on Indian journalism last year by the Committee to Protect Journalists described an unprecedented climate of self censorship and fear, reporting, the media is in the worst state India has ever seen.

By the end of May, national elections will determine if Modi and the BJP are elected to another five years. Hostility toward journalists and opposition figures is intensifying as voting day approaches.

The investigative journalist Rana Ayyub, best known for her investigation into BJP complicity in religious riots (which Lankesh had published in a Kannada translation), wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year that she has been the target of an unrelenting online assault by right-wing activists: Her face was grafted on a pornographic video; her home address and phone number were circulated; there were threats of gang rape.

Lankeshs murder seemed to fit what was by then an unmistakable pattern of assassinations of intellectuals who opposed the fundamentalist-Hindu ideology that animates the BJP, all of which remained unsolved.

Between 2013 and 2015, three religiously freethinking Indian writers and activists were shot dead near their homes by assailants who escaped on motorcycles: the doctor Narendra Dabholkar, in Pune; the politician Govind Pansare, in Kolhapur; and the scholar MM Kalburgi, in Dharwad.

After Kalburgis murder, scores of Indian writers returned their awards from the National Academy of Letters to protest both the lack of progress in the murder investigations and the BJPs silence over rising intolerance,

to no effect.

There was much anxious speculation over who might be the next writer to die. However, few thought it would be Lankesh, in part simply because she lived in Bangalore.

Situated on a plateau at the centre of Indias southern triangle, Bangalore has a reputation as an easygoing, tolerant place. It reflects Indias diversity  its melange of cultures, languages, religions and histories  more than most places.

It is a city that attracts migrants from all over the country. Indias science-research efforts have centred on Bangalore for more than a century as has, in recent decades, its information-technology industry, and the city consequently has one of the worlds most educated workforces.

According to the Karnataka Police, a year can pass in Bangalore without a single instance of a gun used in a crime. To many Bangaloreans,

Lankeshs murder felt like the violent announcement of the end of an era  an era that had arguably sprung from the imagination of Lankeshs father, P Lankesh.

A commanding figure with huge eyeglasses and a generous moustache, Lankesh was a compulsively productive, endlessly quarrelsome English professor, fiction writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker, essayist and journalist.

He dominated the cultural and political discourse in Karnataka for the 20 years in which he edited Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid he founded in 1980.

Gauri Lankesh grew up in her fathers shadow. When he died in 2000, it was unthinkable that anyone could fill his shoes  least of all his daughter, who was then barely literate in Kannada. However, her family legacy proved irresistible, and she moved back to Bangalore to serve as the papers editor.

Lankesh found she loved it. She never approached her fathers literary talents in Kannada but was his equal in pluck. Her immersion in Karnatakas problems transformed her into a leftist and an activist, and Lankesh Patrike transformed with her.

Its new direction led to an ideological rift with the papers owner and publisher, her brother Indrajit. In 2005, she left the paper, and the next week she started a new tabloid of her own: Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

There are two main rival ideas of India. One idea is the pluralist, multi- religious, multicultural vision on which the country was founded in 1947. The other is known as Hindutva: a fundamentalist, majoritarian movement that seeks to codify and enforce orthodox Hinduism and to define India as an explicitly Hindu country (despite the fact that India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world).

The most important Hindutva organisation is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a powerful Hindu-nationalist paramilitary group that was founded in 1925 and reportedly has millions of members.

The Hindutva groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are known collectively as the Sangh Parivar. One of them is the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress Party, whose politics are generally secular and social democratic, has undoubtedly been guilty at times of suppressing the press and of condoning the mass slaughter of religious minorities.

However, many Indian liberals fear that the BJPs overwhelming victory in 2014 marks the most profound threat to Indias democracy and pluralism since its founding.

The BJP had controlled the prime ministership before, for six years, after breaking the Congress Partys longtime hold on the office in the 1998 elections, but only as part of a coalition government that required it to tamp down its hardline positions.

A BJP re-election this year would be seen as a mandate to fully implement the partys ideology. In the BJPs rhetoric, being Indian is equated with being Hindu, and religious minorities are spoken of as if they were foreigners. Critics are branded as anti-national.

Advocates of a secular Indian state  which the Indian constitution calls for in its very first sentence  are called sickulars.

Such talk has already emboldened a surge of vigilantism. Since the BJP took power, what is known as cow protection has become increasingly a matter of national politics  the cow holds religious importance to many Hindus  and lynch mobs have murdered scores of people, largely Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or selling cattle.

In July last year, a BJP minister invited to his home eight men who had been convicted in such a lynching and presented them with garlands and sweets.

By the time the BJP won in 2014, Lankesh had, for nearly a decade, been using her own newspaper to thrust herself into the centre of local debates over Hindu nationalism. She sometimes got death threats at the office, either by phone or by mail. She would ignore it, her colleague Satish said.

She would say, who will shoot me? We didnt take it seriously. Like her father, she often treated political argument like sport.

She loved it, Lankeshs sister, Kavitha Lankesh, said.

She loved fighting, she loved voicing her views, she took great pleasure in standing up for people. She would make a joke, saying, I am on the hitlist, and she felt proud to say that.

More than once, her subjects reported her to the police for criminal defamation and libel.

Such charges rarely hold up in Indian courts, but they are effective in harassing journalists because the accused must show up in court wherever the charge is filed. Lankeshs opponents would file cases all over the state.

Her lawyer, Venkatesh Bubberjung, would advise Lankesh to be more careful in her words.

Shed say: I am going to call a scoundrel a scoundrel! Its your job to defend me, he said.

In November 2016 she was finally convicted in a criminal defamation case over a story she published eight years earlier claiming that several BJP leaders had defrauded a jeweller and was sentenced to six months in jail. (The sentence was immediately suspended, and when she was killed, she was awaiting appeal.)

I asked Venkatesh if Lankeshs rhetoric went overboard at times.

Frequently, not at times! he said.

In one example that particularly offended her opponents, in response to a campaign to mail sanitary napkins to Modi to protest a new tax on menstrual hygiene products, she suggested on Twitter that women mail napkins that had already been used.

However, Lankesh had defenders among mainstream Indian liberals too, like the historian Ramachandra Guha.

There is no such thing as overboard, he insisted, pointedly paraphrasing an adage that had been a favourite of the former BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

The answer to a piece of writing is another piece of writing. Its not murdering someone.

For nearly six months after Lankeshs murder, there were no arrests. However, in May, the Karnataka Polices special investigation team filed a charge sheet against a Hindutva activist named KT Naveen Kumar.

Fifteen more suspects have been arrested and charged in the months since then; all are in jail awaiting trial and are expected to plead not guilty. Police are still searching for two more.

The accused include a young utensil salesman named Parashuram Waghmare, who the police say confessed to pulling the trigger. The police also say that Waghmare wasnt familiar with Lankesh when the conspirators asked him to kill her, so they showed him YouTube videos of her speeches to persuade him to commit the murder.

They gave him 10,000 rupees, or around 140. The police suspect that the accused are part of an apparently nameless, multi-state right-wing assassination network with at least 60 members.

Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has kept his silence. He has never publicly mentioned Lankeshs name or referred to her case.

In the months since Lankesh was shot, some of her friends and colleagues have grown more cautious about what they write and say and post to social media, even as this years unusually fraught and uncertain Election Day approaches.

Others have found themselves speaking out where they wouldnt have before. Prakash Raj, a popular film actor and friend of Lankeshs who had previously been quiet on politics, is now running for office on what could be called the Gauri platform.

When we buried Gauri, we were actually sowing her, he said at a literary festival in January.

They thought she could be silenced, but she lives through us. And if I end up in the parliament, it will be Gauris voice that will be heard there.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared in The New York Times Magazine 2019 The New York Times
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 (12:01 am) - Score 2,110

Broadband is no longer a luxury good, but flows through households and businesses as freely as running water. Quality broadband allows us to live better and more fulfilling lives, and it is a lifeline for businesses to connect with the rest of the world.

In the thirty years since the launch of the world wide web, the world has gone from sceptically regarding the internet as a niche invention to being totally dependent on it. If you look at how broadband speeds have become faster and faster over the last few years, it is clear that technology is improving at a quicker rate than ever. This makes you think, if broadband already plays such a big part in our lives, then how much more dependent are we going to be on broadband over the next thirty years?

NOTE: This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( This article is a special Guest Editorial for ISPreview.co.uk, which has been written by Andrew Glover  Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ). The views of this author are their own and may not represent those of this website.

Encouragingly, the UK Government understands the positive economic value of broadband, and has rightly set out its ambitions to provide full fibre broadband nationwide by 2033. ISPA fully supports this ambition, and our members have been working tirelessly to design, build and fund broadband rollout to make this vision a reality.

However, the simple truth is that unless the Government takes a more active role in facilitating the rollout of broadband, it runs the risk of not achieving its ambition of full fibre availability by 2033. As I will outline, this vision is still achievable, but it will require direct action from the Government to mitigate a series of barriers prohibiting the efficient rollout and delivery of broadband.

Government Funding

The first hurdle the Government ought to look at is whether its commitment to funding this project actually matches the lofty ambitions it has set out for itself? To be clear, broadband investment is primarily funded through private investment with some public support through the various Government initiatives (e.g. Digital Investment Fund and LFFN).

In order to be cost effective, the focus of ISPs is often on prioritising the rollout and delivery of broadband in areas where it is economically viable. This conflicts with the Governments ambition, which is to provide nationwide full fibre access. There are firms willing to address these areas, but they need to have a regulatory framework that is both light touch and supportive.

ISPs are constantly criticised by rural communities and their MPs about insufficient broadband access in these areas. Considering it is the Governments ambition to provide nationwide access to full fibre broadband, surely it is right that they put their hand in their pocket to do more to fund the rollout and delivery of broadband in these rural areas?

Of all the projects that the Government has committed to in recent years, which will deliver the most benefits for greater connectivity and for the UK economy in the long term? It is not hard to come to the conclusion that nationwide broadband rollout tops this list. So, the Government should be far more willing to match its lofty ambitions with the necessary funding to provide broadband access for these hardest to reach areas.

Barriers to broadband rollout

Although insufficient Government funding will impact the long-term vision of broadband availability, there are a set of immediate challenges that are preventing ISPs from rolling out broadband effectively, and urgently need addressing. These barriers divert resources, waste time and ultimately hinder the progress of delivering broadband infrastructure.

Burdensome business rates are a significant barrier because they limit how much ISPs can invest into rollout and takes away the very funding that Government provides elsewhere. ISPA believes that if these rates are relaxed  or at the very least reformed to be equitable, transparent and simpler  then ISPs would be allowed to focus more of their funds and attention on delivering broadband infrastructure.

Additionally, there are several more physical barriers that have proven detrimental to our mission. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, ISPs are often forced to devote time and resources to navigating layers of red tape. Whilst the Government have begun work to ease these pressures with upcoming legislation around granting access to buildings, there is a still a need to engage with and upskill local authorities to ensure that these infrastructure projects are properly prioritised, and implemented consistently, across the country. The administrative burden of complying with these barriers inevitably causes delays, impacts operational efficiency and increases costs. ISPs should be building networks, not jumping through hoops.

There is also an unnecessary obsession from Ofcom and consumer groups such as Which? about the price of broadband. This culture of price obsession has encouraged a race to the bottom for the broadband market, where value for money takes precedence over the quality of service, and the provider who offers the lowest prices is often seen as the most appealing. This is counterproductive to the rollout and delivery of broadband, as it simply means that ISPs have less revenue to invest in our mission.

Online Safety

It is important to highlight that in addition to rolling out and delivering broadband, ISPs also have a responsibility to ensure online safety. This is a responsibility that ISPs take extremely seriously, and our members have continually worked with Government and other stakeholders to help make the internet a safer place. There are also technical changes such as DNS over HTTPS that could bind the hands of ISPs to tackle online safety effectively.

The recently published Online Harms White Paper was significant because the only proposal relevant to our members was for ISPs to block non-compliant websites and apps. The Government has recognised the good work that our members are doing in this area, and it is clear that the onus is now on social media sites and other parts of the internet value chain to step up and take more responsibility for the content on their platforms.

We believe that this is a positive step to combat online harms, but one that should be handled carefully. ISPs already have to divert enough resources and funding to tackle the administrative burden that is created by the regulatory spaghetti of multiple regulators and government departments making demands of our members.

By highlighting that additional measures to tackle online safety must be implemented by online platforms instead of ISPs, it allows ISPs to focus on the rollout and deliver of broadband nationwide.

Conclusion

To conclude, the message here is simple. If the Government wants to achieve its ambition of providing nationwide full fibre coverage by 2033, then ISPs desperately need a more accommodating framework to work under. The challenges that we face are serious, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the barriers that prevent the nationwide rollout of full fibre broadband. It is encouraging that the Government did not target ISPs for extensive further responsibilities in the Online Harms White Paper, but it needs to go much further to create a regulatory and practical framework that will unleash broadband rollout.

We should not underestimate the value of this project. It is perhaps the single most important infrastructure project that the UK will undertake in our lifetime to guarantee the long-term economic health of the UK. Failure to achieve this vision risks the UK falling behind other countries that have prioritised innovation and technology as the foundation of their economies. Our industry is united in our call to the Government to work with us to get on with the job of rolling out full fibre and 5G for all.

 Andrew Glover, Chair of UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
May 4, 2019



POCATELLO  Idaho State University graduates were encouraged to continue their Bengal roar as they head out into the world at ISU spring commencement ceremonies May 4 in Holt Arena.

After graduation you will have the right to forever to call yourself a Bengal. The right to tell the world, proudly, that you are a graduate of Idaho State University. That is your right, said Kevin Satterlee, ISU president. Now, here is your responsibility, and I charge and task you with this, right here and right now  go out in the world and make us proud. Live that better life and never forget your roar.

Graduate and Associated Students of ISU President Logan Schmidt, spoke about the challenges he and other students met on the way to earning their degrees and thanked those who supported them.

I want to challenge all of you to continue your roar, and be a mentor, a leader or a hero for someone else now, Schmidt said. Give them the love and support your family did. Show them the possibilities a college degree can provide for them. Show them the path of excellence and bring as many individuals up in this world as you can, because that is what Bengals do.

A total of 2,553 graduates received 2,714 degrees and certificates. One hundred fifty-nine students received multiple certificates and/or degrees.

The breakdown of graduates included 38 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 11 Doctor of Education degrees, four Doctor of Arts degrees, six Doctor of Audiology degrees, 14 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 25 Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, 78 Doctor of Pharmacy degrees, 11 Educational Specialist degrees, 508 masters degrees, 53 academic certificates, 1,259 bachelors degrees, 472 associate degrees, and 235 certificates from the College of Technology.

ISU student Tara Cluff performed the national anthem. The faculty mace was placed by the 2019 Distinguished Teacher, Marco Schoen.

Satterlee greeted the audience and conferred the degrees.

ISU Executive Vice President and Provost for academic affairs Laura Woodworth-Ney recognized the distinguished faculty who are Schoen, Distinguished Service Cindy Seiger and Distinguished Researcher Kathleen Lohse.

Presentation of graduates was by the University deans.

Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipients for 2019 are: Doug Butler, Dallas, Texas, College of Arts and Letters - Social and Behavioral Sciences; Stefanie Pemper, Annapolis, Maryland, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Brent J. Stacey, Idaho Falls, College of Science and Engineering; Rick K. Eskelson, Pocatello, College of Technology; Dan and Barbara Fuchs, Twin Falls, College of Pharmacy; Kelly Rae, Reno, Nevada, College of Education; Dan Mills, Salt Lake City, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Heidi Halverson, Missoula, Montana, College of Health Professions; Joan Agee, Nampa, College of Nursing; Larry Bird, Boise, College of Business; and Bruce Kusch, Salt Lake City, Graduate School.

Outstanding Student Award recipients for 2019 are Kirby Kinghorn, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions; Cassandra Smith, Idaho Falls, College of Health Professions  Dental Hygiene; Trager Hintze, Purcell, Oklahoma, College of Pharmacy; Jenna Strop, Boise, College of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences; Whitney Heuer, Idaho Falls, College of Nursing; Eighdi Aung, Yangon, Burma (Myanmar), College of Science and Engineering  Engineering; McKenzie Mangun, Caldwell, College of Science and Engineering  Natural and Physical Science; Brittany Garrett, Riverton, Utah, College of Education; Logan Schmidt, Pocatello, College of Business; Jessica Hamway, Boston, Massachusetts, College of Technology; Rachel Godin, Eagle, College of Arts and Letters  Social and Behavioral Sciences; William Veloso, Meridian and Gold Beach, Oregon, College of Arts and Letters  Fine Arts and Humanities; Alyssa Millard, Merrill, Wisconsin, Graduate School  Masters Recipient; and Omid Heidari, Ghaenshahr, Iran, Graduate School  Doctoral Recipient.

Graduates are encouraged to share their memories on social media at #isugrads.

Photo information: ISU President Kevin Sattterlee addressing graduates and guests at commencement.
The company is conducting its own review and has taken remedial and improvement measures based upon this review, including replacement of a number of employees in China and enhancements of company policies and procedures in China.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey called the two legal and regulatory issues significant overhangs following Herbalife successfully fending off in 2018 the multiyear attack of billionaire hedge-fund activist Bill Ackman.

It would be super nice to put these matters to rest and would make the next debt deal much easier, Ramey said.

Yet, one has to say that the risk profile of Herbalife is perhaps the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Ramey said Herbalife may be preparing for another Dutch auction of its stocks after Aug. 19, which could allow its largest investor, billionaire hedge-fund activist Carl Icahn, to sell off more shares.

Companies use the Dutch auction method to repurchase a predetermined value of shares within a set price range in a relatively short amount of time, typically one to two months, according to analysts with SeekingAlpha.com.
The next day, he filled out another Healthcare Request where he wrote I have Asthma and I take steroids. They have ran out and its really affecting my breathing.

That same day, he filled out a grievance form: I feel that my life is in jeopardy because I have severe asthma and I cant get my inhaler when needed. I have asked over and over that something be done to no response. My next step is to bring someone of a higher power... He told jail staff to call his doctor to explain his condition and repeats his need for steroids.

Please someone respond, Coley said, according to the lawsuit.

Surratt, a licensed practicing nurse, saw Coley the next day at 2 a.m.

He was audibly wheezing, with crackles in both lungs, grunting, using accessory muscles to breathe, and leaning forward to breathe, commonly referred to by medical providers as tripodding, the lawsuit said.
UNCSA awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 246 students. More than 1,000 people, including their parents, friends, children and spouses, attended Saturdays ceremony.

John Russell of Greensboro was among the students who received a masters degree in filmmaking. Russell pursued his graduate degree while he worked full time as a library specialist at Winston-Salem State University.

This means everything to me, Russell said of his diploma. It took a long time and a lot of energy.

During her speech, Campbell advised the students to keep a realistic outlook on life as she congratulated them.

There is no person, no relationship, no job, no reward, no outfit, no body type, no material possession and no amount of money that will make you happy forever, Campbell said. So stop looking outside yourself for it because it does not exist.

Set goals, dream big, make improvements upon yourself, she said. Work hard, be kind, show up, love yourself and what makes you different and amazing things can happen for you. ... Now get out there and make the world a better place for all of us.
President Trump last week tried to justify his defense of the 2017 white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville by invoking the memory of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. The demonstrators, argued the president, doubling down, were indeed very fine people because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.

Lee was indeed a great general. But so what?

For more than 100 years, Lee and other generals of the Confederacy have been invoked to justify the cause of segregation and Jim Crow bigotry. Their statues  including the one of Lee in Charlottesville  were erected in the South when the federal government abandoned Reconstruction and allowed Southern whites to disenfranchise, and then terrorize, the newly freed African Americans living among them. Those statues, and the romanticized memory of the Confederate cause that they are intended to evoke, serve a bad cause. Last week, Trump again identified himself with that bad cause.

We already have a better way to look at Robert E. Lee. Not an angry way, but a just one.
Sasses bill  recently blocked by Senate Democrats  does precisely what its unwieldy name implies. It deals only with the case of an abortion or attempted abortion that results in a child born alive. And it does not mandate medical care even in these cases. Instead, it requires doctors to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Cases in this category are admittedly tiny in number. The only remotely authoritative figures I have seen come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (by way of FactCheck.Org). In the period from 2003 to 2014, the CDC recorded 143 cases in which children were born alive after attempted abortions. (Because it is sometimes difficult for the CDC to distinguish induced from spontaneous terminations, the overall number is probably a bit higher.) In 2017, for example, Minnesota had three reported cases of attempted abortions that produced infants born alive. In one case, according to the state Department of Health, the infant was given comfort care until it died.
Part of our history

Our Dixie fairgrounds are at issue. I think our thinking should be fair! Slavery was horrible, but that was then. We live in the South and we have our traditions and history.

I was not upset with Silent Sam being on the UNC Chapel Hill campus because it was a part of our history. I was not upset with our statue at the old courthouse. This was a part of our history. Should we move the Washington and Jefferson memorials in Washington, D.C. because George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? How can we erase part of our history? We can learn from it, however.

Bob Matthews

Winston-Salem

Negotiations

It doesnt bother me that the U.S. pledged to pay North Korea $2 million to free American hostage Otto Warmbier. Nor does it bother me that we wont pay North Korea (though considering President Trumps habit of lying, its not going to surprise me if we learn that we did pay North Korea).


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Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.

The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the states governor Hashim Khalid.

About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp but it they soon unleashed violence on a unit of armed forces, in Nyala, Khalid said.

Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left critically wounded, he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.

After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the regions military headquarters and organised by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.

The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.

It called to reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala.

Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum since weeks.

Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the countrys army rulers hand over power to civilians.

A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudans western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoums Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.

Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.

In recent years Darfur has seen an overall fall in violence, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
Ankara on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for the bombing of a building housing the Turkish state news agency Anadolu in Gaza.

We condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms for targeting a building in Gaza, in which the @anadoluagency office was located, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidencys chief communications director, said on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added: Targeting of @AnadoluAgency #Gaza office is new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty. Will keep defending #Palestinian cause, even if alone, he said.

Anadolu reported that the building collapsed after being hit.

Staff had been evacuated shortly before the strike which was preceded by a warning shot, the agency said, adding that none of its journalists had been hurt.

Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed four Palestinians including a baby and her pregnant mother, according to officials, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

The destruction of the Anadolu offices risks a new surge of tension between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Israeli policies even though the two countries in 2016 ended a six-year rift triggered by the Israeli storming of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

Erdogan, an ardent defender of the Palestinian cause, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu frequently exchange barbs, notably during election campaigns.

Last month, Erdogan called the Israeli leader a tyrant after Netanyahu called him a dictator and a joke.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  A mother from Grants Pass accused of eluding police as she absconded with her kids during a custody dispute was later tracked down in Las Vegas, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS).

On April 12, police officers visited 33-year-old Tiffany Gallego in an attempt to serve her with a court order. Her 4-year-old son's father had been granted full custody of the child. Instead, GPDPS said that Gallego fled in her vehicle with three of her children in the car, leading officers on a short car chase.

"Officers terminated the pursuit due to the reckless driving behavior of Gallego and the risk of harm to the children and the public," the agency said.

Detectives came to believe that Gallego was trying to leave the state with the 4-year-old child. It took cooperation from a number of agencies between the Rogue Valley and Nevada, but Gallego was eventually located in Las Vegas on May 2.

According to GPDPS, officers took Gallego into custody without incident, finding the 4-year-old in the motel room "safe and sound." The 4-year-old is being returned to his father, and officers found one other of Gallego's children in the room who is now in the care of the Department of Human Services. GPDPS did not mention the third child that was supposedly with Gallego at the outset.

Gallego has been charged with two counts of Custodial Interference 1, three counts of Reckless Endangering, Felony Elude, Reckless Driving, and Interfering with a Police Officer.

"An AMBER Alert was not utilized in this investigation as it did not meet the requirements, as there were no facts to indicate the child was in any danger of harm," the agency said. "Amber Alerts have specific criteria in place to prevent overuse of the system. Detectives utilized several other resources and partner agencies in order to attempt to locate Gallego and ensure the safety for all involved."

GPDPS was aided by the Pacific Northwest Violent Task Force (Medford), Las Vegas Metro Police, Henderson Police, and the Las Vegas Sex Offender Predator Apprehension Team and Vigilant Solutions.

"Grants Pass Department of Public Safety want to express their appreciation to the agencies that assisted in the safe recovery of the child and the apprehension of Gallego," the agency said.
MEDFORD, Ore.  For decades, the nonprofit Sparrow Clubs has seen burgeoning participation and popularity with their programs in Oregon, making heart-warming pairings between kids in medical need and young students who become their biggest champions. Now the organization is spreading its wings and bringing the same programs to other states.

Sparrow Clubs announced that it had established a new chapter at Boise High School in Idaho on Thursday, sponsored by Black Rock Coffee Bar. A post from Sparrow Clubs showed the students of Boise High welcoming their first Sparrow, Jorge.

"Jorge is 16 and is fighting bone cancer now for the third time. This show of support was just what this courageous teen and his family needed today in the midst of this battle," the organization said.

Meanwhile, Sparrow Clubs has been making inroads in Arizona since 2018. The nonprofit recently received support from Black Rock and the Arizona Diamondbacks to establish more programs in the Phoenix area, and there have been several Arizona Sparrows already.

The Sparrow Clubs programs have become deeply rooted in the Southern Oregon community. Every Sparrow sponsored represents a partnership between a child who might otherwise be considered an outsider, the students of a local school, and community partners looking to make a difference. While the partners commit funds to help pay for a Sparrow's medical bills, the students commit to acts of service as a way of showing their support.

For more stories on Sparrow Clubs from NewsWatch 12 from past and in the future, you can visit our Sparrow Clubs page here.
The prosecution noted that the mens cooperation in the investigation and testifying at Quinns trial was valuable. The prosecution stated that these men did make terrible decisions, but each of the men had minimal criminal history before this case and were at low risk to offend again.
You stride purposefully into the living room and then, your mind goes blank. You cant remember what you planned to do. Or you memorize a short grocery list. But when you arrive at the supermarket all you can recall is yogurt. What else were you supposed to buy?

Then there are those times you bump into whats-his-name at work. Or struggle to dredge up the title of that book you wanted to buy or movie you saw last week.

Such lapses are presumed to be a normal feature of the aging brain. They cant be helped.

Or can they? Researchers at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine and Boston University report tantalizing progress in related experiments to boost short- and longer-term memory. The first type is working memory. Thats whats used to remind yourself of a phone number you just heard, or to take your medication. Then theres longer-term memory that helps you recall something that happened weeks or years ago.
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions, which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out, and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic Cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send all questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Father Tom Hartman.

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All throughout Kenosha County, you may begin to notice a blue, plastic shopping bag delivered to homes soon.

This signifies that the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is almost upon us.

Food will be collected Saturday, May 11, at the time your mail is delivered.

This food drive allows all of us in the county the ability to contribute to our very own community without needing to leave the comfort of our homes ... or rather I should say only having to go as far as the mailbox.

NALC Food Drive

Many years before the official start of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive in the early 1990s, a number of mail carriers at branches throughout the nation collected food for those in need as part of community service efforts.

A coordinated event was initially piloted in 1991, with such success that bringing the food drive nationwide came soon after.

The event was tweaked after consultation with food banks and pantries, ultimately bringing the food drive to its home on the second Saturday in May.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive continues to be present in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam and is the United States largest single-day food drive. Stamp Out Hunger is carrying out its 27th annual event this year.

Kenosha Countys Stamp Out Hunger

This year, the food collected will be distributed by local food pantries: 1Hope, Salvation Army, Shalom Center and Sharing Center.

This four-legged network of pantries has worked together to acquire the donation bags, coordinate advertising, assemble volunteers and ensure distribution.

Kenosha County post offices participating in the event include Bristol, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Salem, Silver Lake, Trevor and Wilmot.

Good news: If you forget to place your donations by your mailbox on May 11, they can be dropped off at the local participating post offices or food pantries by May 13.

Even better news: If you misplace the official bag between now and then, you can place donations in any bag and place it near your mailbox on May 11.

Food donation tips

Barbara Ingham and Jennifer Park-Mroch of UW-Madison Division of Extension offer guidelines in ensuring safety and quality of food donations:

Avoid donating items with high amounts of sugars, salt or that would be difficult to incorporate into a nutritious meal.

Inspect the package to ensure products are not opened, damaged or leaking.

Check the Better if used by/expiration/pull by date on food.

Preferred donations:

Canned vegetables (ideally without added salt).

Canned fruits in juice or unsweetened applesauce.

100 percent fruit juice.

Dried fruit.

Canned meats and fish.

Whole grain pasta, rice, crackers or popcorn.

Canned beans.

Peanut butter.

Whole gran, low sugar cereal or oatmeal.

Soup or broth (reduced sodium).

For more information about the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive visit https://nalc.org/food and for information about Kenosha Countys efforts visit https://www.facebook.com/events/565959597235635/.

Mary Metten is health and well-being educator for Kenosha County University of Wisconsin-Extension.

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Tremper High School will be adding more staff to monitor doors during arrival and dismissal, according to district officials, after a former student entered the school earlier this week and made threats to kill people.

Tanya Ruder, Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman, said the decision was made after a debriefing with school officials and Trempers school resource officer from the Kenosha Police Department.

Student and staff safety is a top priority of the district, and we are confident that things were handled very well by our staff and students in this situation. In addition, we greatly appreciate the support and prompt response of our local law enforcement, Ruder said Thursday.

According to Ruder, protocols and procedures were correctly followed in the incident and that the increased staff presence would bring added security.

On Monday, the former student showed up at the high school and walked into the building, speaking with other students in the commons area, according to a Kenosha Police Department report.

Witnesses said the former student began talking about committing homicide, pulling a Confederate-flag bandana over his face and announcing he was ready.

Students reported the incident around 7:30 a.m. Officials reviewed video surveillance which showed the former student leaving the campus at 7:22 a.m.

The student was expelled in December and was not supposed to be on campus. He was referred to police for trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. He was placed in juvenile detention.

According to police, he had already been on an ankle monitor for other pending charges. No weapons were found in his home.

It is important to note Wisconsin Act 143 requires that any exterior door left unlocked during the school day, from student arrival to dismissal, must be monitored by a dedicated staff member, Ruder said in a statement.

Accessible doors

In fall of 2018, all KUSD schools underwent a safety assessment led by our facilities team and building leadership to determine any gaps in safety protocols. At this time, it was discovered that Tremper had more doors accessible than necessary, and they immediately adjusted their procedures and protocols to allow only two doors near the commons area to be open for arrival and dismissal periods. These doors are monitored by dedicated staff members during this time, she said.

In addition, one or two other doors may be utilized as needed for students with special needs, but they also are monitored by dedicated staff. After the arrival period ends, all visitors are required to enter through the locked and monitored main entrance.

We are extremely proud of our students who immediately reported the incident and concerns to administration and the swiftness in which the administration and the Kenosha Police Department handled the incident, she said.

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Its not typical for us, as elected officials, to make public recommendations for or against the release of a prison inmate.

But given the crime he committed, premediated and without a real motive, we do not believe Eric S. Nelson is a typical prison inmate.

Last month, we joined the family of the late Joseph Vite in calling for the Wisconsin Parole Commission to deny Nelsons release. Now, as the commissions May 14 hearing date is nearing, we would like to reiterate our request that the community join us in signing a petition opposing parole for Nelson.

Nelson is the man who fired the shot to the head that killed Vite, after lying in wait to attack in Vites Bristol home, on Jan. 16, 1985. Nelson was acting alongside Daniel Dower, Vites foster son, who spent months planning the murder.

On the evening of Vites murder, Nelson was in violation of a court-ordered curfew, set just two days before the murder, for a separate case in which he was charged with the armed burglary of another victims private residence.

Its important to note that Nelson had apparently never met Joseph Vite before committing his murder. And thats why we believe it is imperative that he remain in prison.

Most people who commit murder have an ax to grind with the victim, or theyre in it for significant personal gain, monetary or otherwise. Nelson does not fit that profile.

Nelson was willing to adopt someone elses feud, just for a few guns and a small amount of money. He was willing to end someones life for little more than a thrill and a road trip in a stolen car.

We believe in rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Kenosha County demonstrates that principle through our commitment to programs such as the criminal diversion treatment courts, which place an emphasis on turning over a new leaf and starting a new life, rather than spending a life behind bars.

Nelsons actions years ago give us pause. His brutal slaying of Joseph Vite devastated a family, and demonstrated a character that cannot be trusted to be free in our community.

If Nelson and Dower had committed this crime a few years later, Wisconsins Truth in Sentencing Law may likely have precluded their release from prison. But under the law in place when they were convicted in 1985, they are eligible to apply for parole. Nelson has made numerous attempts at release, but only recently came as close as he is today, in a minimum-security, pre-release facility near Green Bay.

The Vite family, which has fought for years to keep Nelson in prison, are not taking this lying down.

Last month, they launched an online petition drive that the public can sign at http://bit.ly/NelsonParolePetition. Theres also a blog with more information about the case at https://keepamurdererbehindbars.home.blog.

We strongly encourage you to read up on the case, and sign the petition in advance of the Parole Commissions hearing on May 14. This is about keeping our community safe.

Jim Kreuser is Kenosha County executive. Michael Graveley is Kenosha County district attorney.

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Attorney General Josh Kaul wants to strengthen Wisconsins efforts to combat human trafficking, calling for six new positions at the Department of Justice to help with investigations.

Theres both sex trafficking and forced labor, Kaul told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ... Its in my view an outrage that this is a crime that still exists. Its important we raise awareness of it.

Kauls remarks came just a few days before our stories today about a community effort to open a safe house in Kenosha County. It would be the largest house operated by Selah Freedom, a Florida-based nonprofit with a mission to end sex trafficking.

The house will be staffed 24 hours a day and provide a safe residential program for survivors. Kenosha County was chosen as the location because of its proximity between Chicago and Milwaukee.

When the girls walk through our house, we want them to feel valued, Jennifer Skanron, a Selah Freedom board member and Pleasant Prairie resident, told reporter Jeffrey Zampanti. Their lives were not made to be trafficked. They are a person of value and theyre important. All of this is for them. There are people here who are ready to help them transform their lives.

Sex trafficking is the second-largest organized crime behind drug trafficking. Every year, over 300,000 American children are trafficked.

Its everywhere, said Neal Lofy, a nationally recognized investigator of the Racine Police Department, told Zampanti. These are people that live in our community that were either thrown away by their families or stuck in a lifestyle that theyve been groomed by a trafficker. Theres not a shiny sign on them that says Im a human trafficking victim ...

The state Department of Justice holds training for law enforcement, both in how to conduct human trafficking investigations and teaching about the signs of trafficking. One of the problems with this issue is its been under-reported, Kaul said. We dont think theres as much awareness as there should be, and so making sure that people in law enforcement know what to look for  and know the signs of trafficking  is an important part of combating it.

Kaul said four of the positions hes requesting would join the DOJs digital forensics unit, which focuses on recovering evidence from electronic devices. They would assist law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin.

People involved in all sorts of crimes use electronic devices, just like everybody else, Kaul told the Journal Sentinel Being able to recover evidence from those devices helps with all sorts of investigations, including human trafficking investigations.

The other two positions would join the Internal Crimes Against Children Task Force and help ensure prompt referral and investigation of tips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He said they would help with case follow-ups.

Gov. Tony Evers has included the new positions in his budget plan. Heres an area where the Democratic governor and the majority Republicans in the legislature should agree.

Our community, by rallying to help get the Selah Freedom home open, has shown the urgency required. Legislators on both sides should too.

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Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

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The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Childrens Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day.

Its an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your childrens lives with all of us. Speaking for the staff of the childrens hospital, thank you for letting us care for your family.

Im awestruck to be in the company of all of you today. Because its always a little bit intimidating to meet your heroes, and when I think of our patients and their families, the word that fits is just that: heroes.

In medicine, it is always our greatest hope that patients who come to us for treatment leave better  cured of their disease, recovered from their trauma, grown large enough to feed themselves and breathe on their own.

But as you know too well, sometimes our patients dont respond to treatment. Some have injuries that are too severe to survive, some are too young or fragile for medical technology to support. Too often, the medicine we need to help a child get better hasnt been invented yet.

As a doctor, helping children get well means everything to me. When we lose a child, all of us who have supported your child and family along the way  doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers, therapists, environmental services  feel that loss, remember that child, and recommit to making medicine better in their memory.

In those memories and that recommitment, your child has left a profound legacy. Because its the children we cant save who push us to develop new therapies and try new techniques. They are the patients who do the most to make medicine better, who make it more likely that the next child will survive.

It wasnt so long ago that medical care looked pretty barbaric. Your barber was your surgeon, and your internist was prone to cover you in leeches! I like to tell my residents that if we do our jobs right, our grandchildren will think we were barbarians, just the way we look back on the medicine of 100 years ago and wonder, What were they thinking?

But really, I think we know what they were thinking, which is the same thing I think when I see a patient for whom we have no good answers: were going to do our best. Were going to try everything we know, then were going to push the boundaries, and were going to honor our patients and families by learning from their experience to make care better for the next kid.

Ive been interested in medicine and surgery for as long as I can remember. And its remarkable to think about how far weve come in what I still like to think is a pretty short lifetime.

I remember learning as a kid that there was simply no way for babies to survive before a gestational age of 26 or 27 weeks. As I progressed through my training, that number dropped. 25 weeks. 24 weeks. 23. 22. Now, 26 weeks isnt even considered extremely preterm.

In the 1970s, less than one in ten kids with acute myeloid leukemia survived. 80 percent of patients with brain tumors or neuroblastoma died. We have a long way to go, but those numbers keep getting better.

When I was a kid, children born with common congenital anomalies like esophageal or duodenal atresia almost all died. Now surgery on newborns is routine and death is rare.

That happened because of a lot of hard work in labs and hospitals, and because of new technologies and techniques. But fundamentally, it happened because those children that exceeded our abilities at the time  and their families  pushed us to get better.

The reason we go to work every day committed to making medicine better is because we have the faces of your children  the kids we couldnt save  in our heads every day when we walk into work in the morning to try something new, and every night as we go to sleep  or dont go to sleep  thinking of what to try tomorrow.

Im so sorry that your childrens journeys were cut short. Im so sorry that we havent yet found a way to fix all the bad things that can happen to kids. Its the extraordinary honor and privilege of medicine that we get to care for every child and family that comes through our doors. But its a special honor to care for a patient who dies, because they and their families are the ones who do the most get us closer to the day when we can find a cure. They are the heroes who have created the medicine we have today, and who make the world better for children tomorrow.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your childs life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

Jonathan Kohler is a pediatric surgeon.and founder, RxCreative.com. He can be reached on Twitter @jekohler.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3)  The 2018 Bar topnotcher is not shy about his sexuality.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, 2018 Bar Exams topnotcher Sean Borja said that he is a proud member of the LGBT community.

"I'm a very proud member of the LGBT Community," said the Ateneo Law School graduate.

And while the patriarchal society might provide a lot of challenges, Borja said that the LGBT community can be a source of greatness.

"I want to show through my accomplishments that people like me, people from my community can also be great if given a chance to do so," he said.

Borja currently works in a law firm that handles public-private partnerships in government infrastructure. He also has his sights set on litigation.

Meanwhile, the De La Salle University College of Law finally has a bar topnotcher in Kathrine Ting, who ranked 8th in the 2018 exams.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Ting said that she wants to be a great lawyer.

The law has often been quoted as having the role of the "great equalizer." And perhaps that can be more than just a quoted statement with these two new lawyers.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 51F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
RTHK: Thais await first coronation since 1950

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be crowned Saturday in an elaborate show of pageantry, marbled by Hindu and Buddhist ritual, two years after ascending the throne following his father's death.

At the auspicious time of 10.09 am the public will be given a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation begin.

King Vajiralongkorn is known as Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

Saturday's ceremony will begin with sacred water from across Thailand anointing the white-robed king inside the Grand Palace.

Hindu Brahmins and Buddhist monks will attend the ceremony which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to divine figure.

Then he will take his seat under the nine-tiered umbrella of state where he will be handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3 kilogram headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

For most Thais it will be the first time they have witnessed a coronation  the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Late on Friday, the new king arrived at a hall in the Grand Palace in his favoured cream Rolls-Royce along with his new wife  now Queen Suthida  a former air hostess turned royal bodyguard.

Their marriage was unexpectedly announced on Wednesday.

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible.

Thailand's normally hyperactive social media has been subdued in the days leading up to the coronation.

But enthusiasm bubbled on the streets around the Grand Palace where hundreds bedded down for the night on Friday to get a prime spot for the weekend's royal event. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Canadian government has offered to ship back to its country tons of decaying garbage that have been staying in Philippine ports since 2013.

This was confirmed by the Canada's environment department in a statement sent to CNN Philippines on Saturday.

"The Government of Canada remains committed to working with the Government of the Philippines and has made an offer to repatriate this Canadian waste," Environment and Climate Change Canada said. "Canada hopes to finalize an agreement with the Philippines shortly to return the waste to Canada for appropriate disposal."

There is no official statement from the Philippine government yet, but Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. on Friday said the two countries are in "delicate negotiations."

When asked by a reporter for an interview on the Canadian waste, Locsin tweeted, "Let me ask the Canadian ambassador; we're in delicate negotiations."

Meanwhile, Malacanang has been mum since reports of Canada's offer made headlines on Friday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he has "no info" on it yet.

On Wednesday, Locsin said the garbage "will be on ship in 15 days," but did not elaborate on how this would happen.

The illegally dumped garbage was brought back to the spotlight as President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go to war against Canada if it would not take the trash back. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quick to clarify that the President did not really mean war, but was just expressing his "extreme displeasure." The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines responded that Ottawa is "strongly committed to shipping the trash back. Malacanang was not satisfied with Canada's statement and warned that further delay in the repatriation of trash could result in severed diplomatic ties.

Benny Antiporda, Environment Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns, told CNN Philippines the only thing blocking the return of the garbage to Canada was the expenses. The Manila Regional Trial Court in May 2017 already ordered the return of 50 container vans carrying Canadian garbage, to be paid for by the Canadian private company that had it shipped.

A total of 103 container vans containing trash weighing over 2,000 tons were shipped to the Philippines in several batches from 2013 to 2014. Canadian-based firm Chronic Plastics, Inc., which exported the vans, declared their contents as plastic scrap materials. The Environment department in 2014 found that the shipments contained municipal solid wastes, which should be immediately disposed and cannot be recycled. In 2015, some of the garbage were dumped in a private landfill in Tarlac while the remaining wastes stayed at the country's ports.
The Taste of Lake Geneva festival is coming to an end after 10 years of showcasing Lake Geneva's local eating establishments.

Organizers at the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District have announced that they will not be bringing the outdoor food festival back in 2019.

Bridget Leech, executive director of the downtown business district, said the Taste of Lake Geneva no longer meet her organization's mission.

"The event was always a great day, and we appreciate every restaurant that has taken part in it," Leech said. "This event is not one that brought the greatest value to the organization."

Started about 10 years ago, the food festival was held in September for many years, but organizers last year moved it to June to coincide with the kickoff for Lake Geneva's Restaurant Week. Last year's festival included about a dozen restaurants along with live music in the city's downtown Flat Iron Park.

Leech said she hopes another organization will bring back the food festival in the future.

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The Hilal committees in various countries and across the globe are on the lookout for the crescent moon on the final day of lunar calendar month, which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Namibia and other places have been told to testify if they spot the Crescent moon on Saturday. The month is also known as Ramazan in the Indian subcontinent. Stay tuned above for the live news updates on Ramadan 2019 moon sighting.

The sighting of the crescent moon will mark the beginning of the Holy Ramadan across the globe and in Southern African countries. The Holy Ramadan would begin as and when the Hilal committees testifies or the citizens and individuals confirm that they have spotted the moon. The Holy Ramadan would begin and fasts will be observed from tomorrow, Sunday, May 5. Muslims all over the world are duty bound to abstain from food and water between dawn to dusk throughout the next 29 or 30 days.

In the Western Hemisphere, it is expected that the crescent moon will be cited today on Saturday or tomorrow, Sunday. In the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes the Indian Subcontinent, the crescent moon marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan or Ramazan is expected to be spotted tomorrow, Sunday, or day after on Monday.
Chuck Kinder, the novelist who became known for inspiring the central character in Michael Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys, has died. He was 76.

Kinder, whose death was confirmed by friends and associates, died Friday of heart failure in Miami.

A literary force with a larger-than-life personality, Kinder published his first novel, Snakehunter, in 1973, followed by 1979s The Silver Ghost, 2001s Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale and 2004s Last Mountain Dancer: Hard-Earned Lessons in Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life.

Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale, set mainly in the Bay Area in the 1970s, was perhaps his most famous work and became something of a myth to those who knew him, as the author is believed to have struggled with it for more than a decade. It tells the story of two bad-boy American writers and is based on Kinders real-life friendship with short-story author and poet Raymond Carver.

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"[Kinders] work was and remains outstanding and fresh. He was a born storyteller with an instinct for myth, which was not exactly in favor compared to pared-down modernists like John Updike, said novelist and screenwriter April Smith via email.

Smith first met Kinder in 1972 as a graduate student in Stanford Universitys creative writing program and added that his work is important for its bold original voice and synthesis of elegant literary style with genuine feeling and down home observation.

The novelist was known for creating a safe harbor for other writers, and often threw parties for fellow writers and other creatives with his wife of more than 40 years, Diane Cecily, at their home. As a teacher and mentor, Kinder fostered the writing careers of authors including Chuck Rosenthal and Gretchen Moran Laskas.

Kinders most famous writing student is Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author whom Kinder taught as an undergraduate in the 1980s. Kinder is thought to have inspired the fictional Grady Tripp, the disheveled, pot-addicted writer and professor at the center of Chabons 1995 novel Wonder Boys. The novel was adapted into the 2000 film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Michael Douglas as Tripp.

Born in 1942 in West Virginia, Kinder grew up writing poetry and listening to the great storytellers in his family  his grandmother and his aunts. He began honing his craft at West Virginia University, where he earned a masters degree in English and wrote the schools first creative writing thesis. In the 1970s, Kinder lived in San Francisco and was awarded a fellowship followed by lectureship in fiction writing at Stanford University.

Kinder took positions as the writer-in-residence at UC Davis, and the University of Alabama, before settling in Pittsburgh, a city he called the Paris of Appalachia. For more than 30 years he taught at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a reputation as a generous, gregarious professor.

On Saturday, former students paid tribute to Kinder on social media.

When I first came back to Pittsburgh for what I thought would be a one year Hollywood sabbatical, I met a great teacher/writer/human being named Chuck Kinder who embraced me so warmly, it was one of the reasons I felt like staying, wrote Carl Kurlander in a blog post.

He gathered together people who loved words and storytelling and by his very nature, weeded out the pretentious and those of self-importance, Kurlander continued.

After suffering several health challenges in recent years including two strokes, a heart attack and triple-bypass surgery, Kinder retired as director of the creative writing program in 2014 and settled in Key Largo, Fla., with Cecily.

There he returned to his early love of poetry, publishing several collections including last years Hot Jewels.

He is survived by Cecily.

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster
Stirring photography, music inspired by the Silk Road and everything you needed to know about the Tony Award nominations but were afraid to ask. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks essential culture news, plus some words about the unexpected death of former art and music reporter Mike Boehm.

Poetry in ordinary life

At the Underground Museum, a new exhibition by the late Roy DeCarava, writes Times contributor Leah Ollman, dwells in photography as any everyday act  a ritual not that different from prayer in its assertion of purposeful connect between individual and wider world.

Ollman also reviews Arlene Shechets recent sculptures at Susanne Vielmetters new downtown L.A. space  an absolute jawbreaker of a show, she reports  and the stark photos of Simon Norfolk at Gallery Luisotti, which show the feeble ways humans are attempting to keep Switzerlands Rhone Glacier from melting.

A detail from Simon Norfolks Shroud (8), 2018, at Gallery Luisotti. (Simon Norfolk)

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Tony, Tony, Tony!

The Tony Award nominations have landed! Musicals Hadestown, Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations and Tootsie are in first, second and third place respectively, with 14, 12 and 11 nominations. Times culture reporter Ashley Lee breaks down who got what, who got snubbed (a lot of high-profile names) and what industry peeps have to say about it.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty analyzes what the nominations mean in an eclectic and erratic season. Old formulas proved unreliable and a few long-shot experiments yielded unexpected rewards, he writes. The nominations sent a message of support to artists with fresh and forward-leaning sensibilities, no matter if these endorsements occasionally came at the expense of recognizing worthier work.

Andre De Shields in a memorable, Tony-nominated performance in Hadestown. (Matthew Murphy / DKC O&M Co.)

Contributor Josh Getlin looks at how Tootsie adapted a 1982 movie for the post-#MeToo age. Reporter Ashley Lee talked with featured actress nominee Amber Gray about her Hadestown audition from hell. And contributor Stuart Miller chatted with Laurie Metcalf, who nabbed her sixth nomination for playing Hillary Clinton in Lucas Hnaths Hillary and Clinton. I have no interest, frankly, in doing Shakespeare, she tells him. Im interested in contemporary pieces.

Plus, McNulty sat down with Aaron Sorkin, whose adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird was conspicuously snubbed in the best play category, but nevertheless received nine Tony nominations, including one for star Jeff Daniels. McNulty turned his Sorkin conversation into a screenplay: Zoom out as Critic asks how our divisive political environment has affected the cultural reception of this new Mockingbird. Sorkin, squinting at the hazy question, says he could write a 5,000 word essay on the subject. Paging CAA. I think Charlie is ready to option

Aaron Sorkin, writer of the adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. (Marc J. Franklin)

Because we are handy that way, The Times has the full list of Tony noms.

And if youre looking for some local Tonys action, Jessica Gelt reports that Heidi Schrecks What the Constitution Means to Me  nominated for best play and lead actress for Schreck  will land at the Mark Taper Forum, as part of the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere on the Stage

F. Kathleey Foley reviews Gay Walshs The End of Sex  a nuanced comedy-drama about the battle between the sexes  at the Big Victory Theatre in Burbank.

Contributor Lisa Fung looks at the ways in which the public setting of theater can instigate the private act of crying in connection with Nia Vardaloss Tiny Beautiful Things, currently at the Pasadena Playhouse.

At REDCAT, Margaret Gray checked out performance artist John Kellys autobiographical one-man show Time No Line, rich in biographical detail  a bit too rich, she notes. But as a survivor of the AIDS pandemic, he has taken on the responsibility of representing his lost generation.

John Kelly in Time No Line at REDCAT. (Steve Gunther)

Your support helps us deliver the news on the culture stories that matter most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

Classical notes

Yo-Yo Mas Silkroad Ensemble performed at Santa Barbaras Granada Theatre, the Soraya in Northridge and Costa Mesas Segerstrom. After 20 years, the cross-cultural ensemble is at a thematic and professional crossroads, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Yet there were seductive moments, like the natural way of using instruments and musical techniques from one culture to express something about another one.

Silkroad Ensemble performs Kayhan Kalhor and Hamid Rahmanians The Prince of Sorrows. (David Bazemore / UCSB Arts & Lectures)

Swed also checks in with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, soon to be led by Spanish conductor Jaime Martin. Swed says a rousing program at UCLAs Royce Hall bodes well for the orchestras future.

The Times Makeda Easter reports on the Long Beach Operas adaptation of Philip Glasss 2000 opera, In the Penal Colony, featuring formerly incarcerated Cal State Long Beach students in starring roles. For some of the actors, it was a role so deeply familiar, writes Easter, that things got surreal.

In the Penal Colony director Jeff Janisheski, center, with Irene Sotelo and John Pizzini. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Essential Image

When the late Paul R. Williams designed a botany building for UCLA in the 1950s, it included plans for a 285-square foot mosaic lobby mural echoing the banana leaf print wallpaper the architect had installed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. When L.A.-based firm CO Architects undertook a remodel of the La Kretz Botany Buildings lobby last year, they came across Williams remarkable drawing (see below) for the never-built mural and decided to install it. See the final results on the firms online journal.

A 1957 drawing of a mosaic mural for UCLAs Botany Hall by architect Paul R. Williams. (UCLA)

Egg-cellent

Little Tokyo is home to a gallery in a kiosk: the artist-run 123 Astronaut has been around for five months. I spent some quality time with the current exhibition, which features a hypnotic video about a cultish, corporate egg, courtesy of the mysterious Wong Group.

Spectators check out The Auspicious Egg, by the Wong Group at 123 Astronaut (Collin LaFleche)

Ready for the Weekend

Margaret Gray rounds up whats doing in L.A.s 99-Seat theaters, including Nilo Cruzs Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Anna in the Tropics.

Ive got all the latest art happenings in my weekly Datebook, including a show by Daniel Gerwin that puts parenting on canvas.

Plus, Matt Cooper has the week ahead in art, dance, theater and classical music, as well as his weekend picks, including the Los Angeles Master Chorales Great Opera & Film Choruses.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Grant Gershon. (Marie Noorbergen / Tao Ruspoli)

In other news

 San Diegos Cassirer family has spent a decade trying to secure the return of a Nazi-looted painting that once belonged to their family. On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ruled against them.

 Venice Beach may lose a landmark sculpture by Mark di Suvero.

 ArtCenter College of Design is taking over the downtown L.A. space once occupied by the Main Museum, which shut down abruptly last year.

 Why cant we have passports as cool as Norways? Or currency as cool as Canadas?

 A trove of historic assessors photos of San Francisco has been made available to the public.

 A new documentary examines how and why, in the 70s, the Bronx burned.

 Union Station is turning 80. There is reason to celebrate, but the buildings history  well, its complicated, writes David Ulin.

 A great long read: Sam Bloch on how Los Angeles isnt providing equitable access to shade.

 The Instagram aesthetic is getting messier.

 As Sarah Whiting becomes the first woman to lead Harvards Graduate School of Design, Mimi Zeiger examines the womens expanding role in architectural academia.

Last but not least...

This week, I got the news that former Times art and music reporter Mike Boehm had died unexpectedly from a cardiac condition.

Mike and I only intersected for two years, but in that short time, he was a tremendously generous and good-natured colleague. He was also a dogged reporter, writing up major stories about MOCAs financial troubles in 2008, and turning the 990 tax forms of various L.A. nonprofits into his bedtime reading. (There probably isnt a culture publicist in SoCal who hasnt been on the receiving end of a late-deadline call from Mike, asking about finances.)

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Boehm in 2013. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Even after he left The Times in 2015, Mike remained engaged, sending me notes about some of my stories and offering tips on others he thought I should be pursuing. He remained engaged with other subjects too. Last month, he took issue with The Times criticism of rock music (which he loved) and fired off a tart letter to the editor on the subject: If your critics think rock is a pox on todays musical landscape, and needs to be ignored and forgotten, it would be far more interesting and useful to see them argue the case in full-length commentaries backed by examples and evidence.

The world will be a less-informed place without Mike. In his honor, I may have to download some 990s  and start making calls.

carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah
Pastry chef Shelly Acuna Barbera has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York and now bakes at Little Bread Pedlar in London, but her sweets are rooted in her Los Angeles upbringing.

Barberas parents came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, and her mom used cooking, baking and eating as ways to share stories of her heritage with her children. As Barbera and her brother grew older, her mom realized that many of the Mexican celebrations in California, most notably Cinco de Mayo, bore little resemblance to what she knew from her own upbringing. Cinco de Mayo is an important date  its when the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862  but its not considered as significant as is the countrys independence day on Sept. 16.

Rather than ignore Cinco de Mayo, Barberas mom used it as an opportunity to teach her kids more about it. Barberas mom remembered traveling to Puebla as a small child and enjoying the tortitas, which originated in that citys Santa Clara convent. Barbera said, My mom knew Cinco de Mayo was more than just tacos and margaritas  even though theres nothing wrong with that!  so she started to make tortitas de Santa Clara so we could experience a traditional food from Puebla to commemorate Mexicos victory in that city. The confections are a cross between cookie and candy with a small buttery shortbread shell and a chewy candy-like pepita filling.

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Barbera remembered, I love this cookie because it reminds me of growing up in L.A. and baking with my mom. Tortitas de Santa Clara are not commonly found in L.A.  or at least they werent while I was growing up  so we came up with our own version. Every time my mom and I made them together, we adjusted the recipe. First, we swapped lard out for salted butter and then we changed the shape. The tart reminded me of a large thumbprint cookie, so we eventually started shaping them as thumbprints.

Barbera carries on her family tradition of tortitas de Santa Clara now that shes on the other side of the Atlantic  a remembrance of her roots in each batch.

Tortitas de Santa Clara

View this recipe and more in our California Cookbook 

1 hour plus chilling and cooling. Makes 2 dozen.

1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

12 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Spread the pepitas on an unlined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool completely on the sheet. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl and turn the speed to low. Gradually add the flour and beat just until incorporated, then beat in 1 tablespoon milk until smooth.

4. Divide the dough into 24 even pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using your thumb or the handle end of a wooden spoon, make a round indentation in the center of each ball. Press the tines of a fork against the edges of each round to imprint decorative lines. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, puree the cooled pepitas in a food processor until they become a soft, smooth paste, about 5 minutes. While the pepitas are processing, combine the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally to evenly cook the sugar, until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees, about 5 minutes. (Tilt the pan if needed for the thermometer to register the temperature.) Remove from the heat and carefully add the pepita paste. Stir until smooth. When the mixture stops steaming, stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons milk. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. Put a tablespoon of the pepita filling in the thumbprint center of each cookie and spread into an even round. Let stand until the tops of the filling are dry to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Make Ahead: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Here we go again, tumbling down the shaft and into a bizarro world in which school libraries lock out students who need them most.

L.A. Unified elementary school libraries are on the chopping block once again, and library aides, many of whom could lose their jobs, are screaming for justice.



For the record: Pacoima was misspelled Pacioma in a previous version of this column.

Some L.A. Unified board members, meanwhile, have made passionate pleas to keep the doors open.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, said board member Scott Schmerelson, who has introduced a resolution calling for the district to come up with the necessary funding.

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But just a few months after the L.A. Unified teachers strike drew strong public support for better pay and more resources for the struggling district, budget woes are forcing miserable choices that will hit students hard.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, said Meredith Kadlec, a second-grade parent who has been writing letters in the campaign to ward off cuts. Imagination is born from books, and what about the kids who dont get that enrichment at home? I feel like were going the wrong way in America when libraries are at risk.

Theyve been at risk for years now in L.A. Unified. Many years ago, every school had a fully funded librarian. But as budget problems became more severe, teacher-librarians gave way to library aides, who then got laid off by the hundreds before being rehired. In the recent past, some libraries have been locked up despite the district having spent millions on new books. Typically, elementary school libraries are open only every other week as it is, and aides split their time between two schools.

If youre not reading by grade level by third grade, youre going to struggle for the rest of your life, Scott Schmerelson, L.A. school board member

The strike settlement earlier this year resulted in teacher raises and promises of eventual reduced class size, nurses on every campus, and a commitment to have a teacher-librarian on every middle and high school campus.

But elementary schools got no commitment on library aides. In recent years, those positions  which used to be directly funded by the district  became optional expenses made at the discretion of principals. But those principals have to make gut-wrenching decisions with limited discretionary funds at their disposal. And the needs, in a district in which 80% of the roughly 600,000 students live in poverty and 90% are minorities, always exceed the available money.

At Pacoimas Telfair Elementary School, where nearly one-quarter of the students have been categorized as homeless in recent years, Principal Jose Razo said he has decided to fund a library aide on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Tuesday. To do so, he has cut two teacher aide positions from six hours daily to three hours.

Thats typical of the Sophies Choice decisions made by principals who need social workers, janitors, office aides, tech support, assistant principals and other positions, but cant afford to pay for everything.

L.A. Unified officials say there is no less money budgeted for elementary schools in the coming year. But the district recently indicated it would no longer cover the health and welfare benefits of teacher aides, as it had in the past. That was seen as an added expense for principals as they drew up their budgets, and they also had to factor in the cost of small raises given teacher aides in the current contract.

By the time complaints led to the reinstatement of district coverage of benefits for the coming year, some principals had already eliminated those positions. Library aide Franny Parrish, union rep for the California School Employees Assn., said a districtwide survey indicated that 132 elementary schools have not budgeted for a library aide in the coming year, although most elementary schools would still have at least part-time aides.

Im in [the library] every day and I know what the students want, Parrish told me at Dixie Canyon Community Charter in Sherman Oaks.

A first-grade teacher joined the conversation to plug Parrishs contribution.

Miss Franny reads expressively and brings story time to life, he said. She has her own special touch, and the library cant function if its left to other staff. You need someone whos qualified, and trained, and loves the library.

Not long ago, in the endless funding uncertainty, Parrish was laid off four times before building up her seniority. You establish relationships with the students, she said, and learn how to nurture individual curiosities. And then youre gone. She said shes been in touch with library aides sure to lose their jobs because of low seniority.

It just makes me want to cry that 10 years later were still fighting the same stinking battle, Parrish told board members at the April 23 board meeting.

L.A. Unified has a $7-billion budget. Library aides make about $11,500 a year, plus benefits, and cost somewhere in the $15-million range.

An elementary school library is one of the more magical places in a childs life, Meredith Kadlec, parent

District Supt. Austin Beutner told me that with limited funds available, he wants local school communities rather than the central bureaucracy to make decisions on what will best serve their students.

All of us believe we should have teacher-librarians and teacher aides in all the schools. All of us. Theres nobody in the community that doesnt want that, he said. But with money in short supply, he said, awful choices have to be made.

Beutner said the parcel tax measure on the June ballot, which would help fill part of the budget gap, is a chance for those who spoke up in favor of public education to weigh in again.

I believe its time we joined the ranks of Oakland, San Francisco, Torrance, Burbank and Santa Monica, where communities have  provided a measure of local funding for schools, Beutner said. Not more money to Sacramento. More money to fund local schools. If we have that funding, we will not be left with a series of poor choices.

Board chair Monica Garcia spoke to that very issue at the April 23 meeting.

I appreciate your frustration and your tears, she told library aides, but she added that compelling arguments could be made by advocates for every job classification thats underfunded.

Adequacy is not available in L.A. Unified, Garcia said, noting that Californias national ranking in per student funding is near the bottom.

For me, said board member Richard Vladovic, a library is a core unit of any educational facility. We need to have libraries. Thats where kids dream.

The choices are tough, for sure, and they may get even tougher.

But the mere possibility of locking up books in a state that ranks as the sixth-largest economy in the world is an obscenity and a gross disservice to students whose potential we cant afford to fritter away.

That is the first and last chapter on school libraries, and keeping them open is not an option, but a moral responsibility.

@LATstevelopez

steve.lopez@latimes.com
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent to John Sanders, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.

This has led to catastrophic and unwarranted results, she wrote.

Feinstein (D-Calif.) cited the fact that Border Patrol chases have resulted in 22 deaths and 250 injuries from 2015 to 2018, figures first revealed as part of an analysis published by ProPublica and The Times on April 4.

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Reporters from both publications mined more than 9,000 federal criminal complaints filed against suspected human smugglers from 2015 to 2018 to build a database about Border Patrol pursuits and tactics. The documents described agents reasons for initiating a pursuit, whether there was a crash and how it happened. The database is almost certainly an undercount, as it does not include cases in which the driver got away or died, because the complaints are filed only after arrests.

In those four years, Border Patrol agents engaged in more than 500 pursuits in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Of those, 1 in 3 ended in a crash. The number of people hurt in Border Patrol chases increased by 42% during President Trumps first two years in office, compared with the final two years of the Obama administration.

The deadly trend has continued into 2019. Two people died and six others were injured in a pair of Border Patrol chases that took place on the same night near San Diego in February. Last week, another Border Patrol chase left one person dead and four others hospitalized near Chula Vista, authorities said.

In her letter, Feinstein cited three chases that left seven people, including a child, dead in San Diego County in 2017 and 2018. She also asked Sanders whether Border Patrols pursuit policies are in line with what the U.S. Department of Justice considers to be best practices regarding car chases.

Many major American policing agencies have tightened restrictions on when their officers can engage in pursuits, while some have invested in technology that is likely to reduce the risk of injury during a chase.

ProPublica and The Times reviewed the pursuit policies of police departments in the five largest cities in the U.S., as well as a dozen jurisdictions in the states that touch the border. All but one policy were more restrictive than the Border Patrols.

The analysis found agents repeatedly deployed spike strips against vehicles fleeing at extremely high speeds, a tactic heavily criticized by experts on high-speed pursuits. Geoff Alpert, a criminal justice professor at the University of South Carolina who has authored national reports on pursuit tactics, previously said he was asked to help reform the agencys pursuit policies during the Obama administration, but his warnings went unheeded. He has questioned the agencys habit of engaging in potentially deadly car chases solely on the basis of a suspected immigration violation.

The Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Times spoke earlier this year with Border Patrol agents in El Centro who said agents feel compelled to chase vehicles suspected of smuggling for fear of what those vehicles might contain.

But in the cases examined as part of the analysis, agents never recovered caches of weapons and only rarely found drugs. In 504 pursuits over four years, agents found drugs in nine cases and personal guns in four.

Surana is a former ProPublica staff writer.
An Orange County infant too young to have been vaccinated and a Long Beach man are the latest confirmed cases of measles in Southern California, officials said Saturday.

The baby, who is younger than 1, is being treated at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a statement. The child has no history of international travel. It was Orange Countys second reported measles case this year.

The Long Beach man, a graduate student at UC Irvine, had been vaccinated and also had no recent history of travel outside the country, said Emily Holman, a spokeswoman with the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

The man had been on campus on three days while suffering from the measles, exposing others there to the highly contagious disease, authorities said. Health officials are investigating how he contracted it.

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The two incidents come as cities across the nation grapple with the largest outbreak since 1994 of a disease that was declared eradicated in the U.S. as recently as 2000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 704 cases in 22 states this year, according to the most recent statistics ending April 26.

In Los Angeles County, seven residents have been afflicted with the illness as well as five nonresidents traveling through the region, according to a May 2 statement from the countys public health department.

UC Irvine is not the only Southland college campus affected. The disease has touched students and staffers at UCLA and Cal State L.A. as well.

Orange County officials warned Wednesday that a woman with measles had exposed a Fullerton theater full of moviegoers.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing, but the virus can linger in the air for two hours after the sick person leaves the room. People can spread measles for four days before they develop a rash.

About 90% of people who have never been immunized against measles will become ill seven to 21 days after exposure, according to the Long Beach Department of Health.

Most cases of measles in the U.S. begin with people who have traveled to countries where the disease is prevalent.

A small percentage of vaccinated people can still become affected, as was the case with the UCI student, Holman said. Their symptoms are usually milder, and they tend to experience fewer complications from the measles, she said.

The UCI student attended classes Monday and Tuesday before seeking medical care at the Student Health Center on Thursday. A day later, he was confirmed as Long Beachs first reported case of measles since 2015 and the third known exposure this year in Orange County.

The man visited multiple locations in Orange and L.A. counties, including restaurants, shops and the AMC theater in Long Beach, where he most likely saw Avengers: Endgame, according to showtimes and length of stay. Coincidentally, the audience in the Fullerton theater saw the same film.

Hes now recovering at home, officials said.

On Saturday, in an open letter, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman identified four buildings the student visited: the Humanities Instructional Building 100, Krieger Hall, Humanities Hall 112 and the health center.

Those who were in the affected areas described above are encouraged to determine their measles immunity through their health records or medical provider, Gillman said.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.
A new investigation into how the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Californias 11 other Roman Catholic dioceses handled sex abuse cases could uncover more disturbing details of misconduct and institutional failures. But its an open question whether it would lead to more criminal charges.

News of the statewide investigation brought new hope for some victims of abuse, along with caution.

The California attorney generals office this week asked church officials at each of the dioceses to preserve an array of documents related to clergy abuse allegations. Among other things, prosecutors are examining whether church officials adequately reported allegations of sexual misconduct, as required under Californias Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act,

Former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who as the countys top prosecutor charged two dozen priests and used a grand jury to extract records from the archdiocese, said the probe may generate more information, but criminal charges are much harder to lodge against the church hierarchy.

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Cooley said that because the Los Angeles Archdiocese delayed and blocked disclosure, the efforts to hold church officials accountable have been stymied.

Conspiracy charges are based on the last overt act. The statute for conspiracy is based on the underlying crime, Cooley said. Here that could be obstruction of justice, and that is just a few years.

The L.A. Archdiocese has paid a record $740 million in various settlements to victims and pledged to better protect its members. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez succeeded longtime Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who faced strong criticism for his handling of the scandal that undercut his moral authority as one of Americas most important Catholic leaders. In the wake of the settlement, the church imposed a series of reforms.

For nearly two decades, the archdiocese has been roiled by allegations that church leaders mishandled abuse cases, sometimes moving clergy suspected of wrongdoing to other parishes rather than punishing them and informing law enforcement. Individual priests have been criminally prosecuted, but investigations of church leaders ended without charges.

Attorney Anthony De Marco, who helped secure the $740 million in settlements, said its encouraging that the attorney general is investigating but too soon to tell what will come of it.

I am a little more measured, as time and time again law enforcement agencies have talked of actions and nothing has come of it in terms of the churchs higher-up figures and their behavior, he said.

The people I represent and survivors in general are just thrilled, added another victims attorney, Joseph George of Sacramento. I love the idea that law enforcement would come in with warrants and subpoena power and really get things done.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in a letter to the dioceses requested records that include all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors received from 1996 to the present, regardless of when the misconduct took place, along with any actions taken against any individual who was accused or who failed to report allegations to law enforcement.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said the Los Angeles Archdiocese had not yet received the letter but planned to respond cooperatively as we have with the past three Grand Jury investigations of the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is committed to transparency and has established reporting and prevention policies and programs to protect minors and support victim-survivors in our parishes, schools and ministries, the statement said. The Archdiocese was one of the first dioceses in the nation to publish a comprehensive report in 2004 listing accused clergy both living and deceased, and released clergy files as part of a 2007 global settlement.
Dr. Eric Scott Sills, a successful Orange County fertility specialist, told investigators he awoke early on a November morning in 2016 to find his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs of their $1-million San Clemente home.

Initially, it appeared that 45-year-old Susann Sills had fallen to her death, but prosecutors say an investigation that has spanned more than two years suggests more sinister circumstances.

Orange County prosecutors on Friday charged Eric Sills, 54, her husband and business partner, with murder in connection with her death. Authorities have not released how the woman died or how they connected her husband to her demise. He has not yet entered a plea.

Sills defense attorney declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

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Orange County sheriffs deputies began investigating Susann Sills death after they were called to the couples home on Via Cancion on Nov. 13, 2016. The Sheriffs Departments homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unknown nature of the death, prosecutors said this week.

Based on the investigation and autopsy, authorities determined in 2017 that she had been killed. Over the next year, homicide detectives and the district attorneys office continued to investigate, and last month, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for the physician.

The warrant, filed in Orange County Superior Court, is sealed, which shields it from public view.

Eric Sills was arrested April 25 on his way to work. He was booked into the Orange County Jail and released four days later after posting $1-million bail, according to jail records.

Sills graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1992 and received a doctorate from the University of Westminster in London in 2013, according to his online resume.

The couple had been married for more than a decade and had two children. They also went into business together, according to public records.

Susann Sills, who earned an MBA from the University of Miami in 2000, was the co-founder of Center for Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic in Carlsbad, according to an obituary published in the Los Angeles Times. Eric Sills serves as medical director at the clinic.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet. Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, however, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families stay in the workforce. So as the economy improved, lawmakers and former Gov. Jerry Brown slowly pieced the states safety net back together again.

But some important benefits have yet to be restored, a full decade after the recession ended. A good example is the subsidy Medi-Cal eliminated for eyeglasses. The program will pay when poor Californians visit an optometrist to find out how bad their vision is, but wont help cover the cost of the glasses or contact lenses they may need to drive a car, operate a machine or read a manual  in other words, things they may need to do in order to hold a job.

Similarly, Medi-Cal no longer covers speech therapy, audiology, podiatry or incontinence supplies  the sort of treatments and supplies that can enable people living at or below the poverty line to be more productive and, potentially, start climbing up the income ladder.

Many of those cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish, especially the ones in safety-net programs like subsidized child-care that helped low-income families.

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In the big scheme of the state budget, these are not expensive programs. Plus, if they were added back, the federal government would cover roughly two-thirds of the tab. Restoring vision coverage would cost the state about $22 million a year, and restoring all of the lost benefits would be about $34 million.

On the other hand, those are annual expenses, not one-time costs. And the state has other, expensive healthcare needs and wants. Two of the biggest are proposals aimed at achieving universal coverage in California by making health insurance more affordable for moderate-income Californians and extending Medi-Cal to immigrants living in the state illegally.

Make no mistake  universal coverage would be good for all Californians, including those who already have insurance. Beyond the strong moral argument for providing treatment to everyone who needs it, there are good economic and public health reasons for bringing every resident under the insurance umbrella and providing timely, efficient care.

The steps required to make coverage available and affordable to all Californians, however, would cost the state $6 billion or more per year. And while Sacramento has been riding a wave of budget surpluses, the state cant afford to have its obligations grow faster than its economy. Thats a recipe for disaster in the next downturn. As Gov. Gavin Newsom warned on Wednesday about the current extended economic expansion: What were experiencing right now is simply without precedent in modern American history and it is not a new normal. Any time people talk about the new normal, thats when things collapse.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

So it makes sense for the state to continue to advance cautiously on the healthcare front, restoring cuts before offering new benefits and looking for ways to pay for expanded coverage. One good idea on the revenue front is Newsoms proposal to impose new state tax penalties on adult Americans who dont sign up for health coverage, replacing the federal penalties that Congress eliminated in 2017.

Thats a twofer: The penalties would encourage younger, healthier Californians not to go uninsured, and they would raise money to help pay for premium subsidies to moderate-income families who would otherwise have to spend too high a percentage of their monthly income on insurance. Its not clear, however, that Newsoms proposal would generate enough money to cover the full cost of the subsidies.

One possible answer is to renew the tax on managed-care organizations that is set to expire at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1. The tax, which generates money for Medi-Cal that the federal government then matches, raises about $1.5 billion a year. When combined with the state funds Newsom has proposed to spend, that would be more than enough to cover the subsidies cost and help extend Medi-Cal to more Californians. The Trump administration had pushed back on such taxes, and Newsom didnt seek to renew the states version for fear of jeopardizing other healthcare-related assistance the state is seeking from the feds. But with the administration approving Michigans proposal for a tax similar to Californias, the door seems open for the state to continue the levy, as it should.

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If this country is ever going to disentangle from the Trumpism thats choking the life out of it, were going to need escape routes.

Weve heard plenty from self-congratulatory Democrats, cerebral #NeverTrumpers and aloof European historians who warn about the perils of authoritarianism in our naive nation.

What we need is advice from people who have been fully enchanted by President Trumps racism, corruption and assault on the rule of law.

People like Atty. Gen. William Barr, Trumps latest fixer, though Barr seems prepared to go to his grave in Trumps harness.

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But really, we dont have to wait for Barrs white-light conversion. We have three extraordinary examples of figures who broke free of Trumpism and the man himself. Trumpism is such a totalizing belief system that the country is going to require a thorough, even spiritual, metamorphosis.

Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

The first heretic is Michael Cohen, Trumps formerly slavish Guy Friday. The second is James Comey, the self-righteous former director of the FBI, who wrote an op-ed this week that probed Barrs and former Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosensteins appalling submission to Trump  as well as his own.

The third is Katie McHugh, a former avatar of the alt-right and suck-up to the Trump family. According to a riveting profile by Rosie Gray in BuzzFeed News, McHugh has renounced what she now sees, in a rigorous religious framework, as her sins.

Two months ago, Cohens testimony to Congress about his fall into Trumps clutches also had a religious note. Swept up in Trumps nonstop bellowing, Cohen felt complicit, intoxicated; he began to lie for him. Now hes especially ashamed of enabling Trumps florid racism, which he sees as an affront to his father, who escaped the racist genocide in Nazi Germany.

Reaffirming his commitment to the values he shares with his family  and facing prison  Cohen had to hit bottom to clear his mind.

Comey had to just about bottom out too before he caught himself. After he lost Trumps support and was dramatically fired as FBI director two years ago, he discovered that he had bent his carefully cultivated Methodist rectitude to the pressure to back-slap with the president.

According to his op-ed, when Trump raved to him about his fever dreams  largest inauguration crowd in history  Comey stayed silent, too cowed to challenge him.

Trump eats your soul, said Comey, and you end up making various deals with yourself and the devil. You cant say this out loud  maybe not even to your family, he wrote.

Like Cohen, Comey felt that in standing by Trump he was betraying not just his conscience but his family.

The far-right blogger McHugh, a onetime protege of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon, has a more tragic story than either Cohen or Comey, but shes also the one who has done the most to make amends.

Lost and isolated at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, the conservative McHugh, according to Grays profile, moved from supply-side economics and family values to hotter niches, like, say, Holocaust denial. Her undergraduate antics drew the attention of the alt-right godfathers, including Bannon, who gave her a job at Breitbart News.

While boosting Trump, her posts helped pioneer a scrappy, reckless new kind of Twitter-optimized racism. Then she went too far even for Breitbart in a tweet about Muslims and had to ply her wares at seedier and seedier joints, pushing the far-far-far-right boundaries of white supremacy.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Finally, without health insurance and suffering from diabetes, McHugh found that her strategy of moving further right to get attention and jobs failed her. It was the 5th century works of St. Augustine that brought her back. If she renounced her misdeeds and recommitted herself to a dignified life, she, too, could be forgiven.

McHugh did more than that, though. She turned over to Gray emails showing former Department of Homeland Security official Ian Smiths ties to white nationalists, and Grays resulting article helped get Smith fired.

This is how escapees from Trumpism can help break its spell for the more casual devotees: Expose what the high-ranking Trumpers espouse in order to enlighten the members of the fabled base about their mistakes.

At the very least, Trumpites seem to recognize that they will need to atone. Even Trumps mouthpiece lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani may see the writing on the wall. He told a reporter, I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.

To all Trumpites  rank-and-file or highly public  who likewise may be starting to grapple with what will happen to them when they meet their makers, Cohen, Comey and McHugh offer guidance: Remember who you were and what you stood for  before Donald and before its too late. For you and the nation.

Twitter:@page88

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To the editor: As a 95-year-old Jew, I would love to accept the upbeat assessment about the support Jews have in America despite the April 27 attack on the synagogue in Poway, Calif. But the vicious attacks on minorities lately, including Jews, bring back memories of the not-too-distant past.

When I read about President Trumps edicts on those fleeing their home countries so they can make a better life for them and their children in the United States, I am reminded of the 1930s, when a boatload of German Jews seeking safety in our country were turned away. All of the passengers were returned to Europe, where many of them were murdered in the Holocaust.

People who are ready to kill others out of hate are empowered by the likes of Trump and the groups that support him. Its not just Jews who are at risk; just about anyone who has a different view of the world, people of different colors or ethnic backgrounds and even journalists also face danger.

We must all speak out against hate. When one minority suffers, all minorities are at risk.

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June Sale, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Although Eshman paints an optimistic portrait of Jewish life in America, he fails to mention two of the greatest threats facing Jews, one internal, the other external.

The internal threat is Jewish secularism. According to a Pew Research Center study, 62% of American Jews say that being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture. With that, 79% of married Jews of no religion have a spouse who is not Jewish, and nearly 40% of intermarried Jews who are raising children say they are not raising those children Jewish at all.

An external danger is the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel permeating our universities. A 2016 study by the AMCHA Initiative found a strong correlation between anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses and the following: the presence of anti-Zionist student groups, the presence of faculty who have expressed public support for an academic boycott of Israel, and BDS activity on campus.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spewing historically anti-Semitic tropes and the New York Times publishing an admittedly anti-Semitic cartoon post greater dangers than a few fringe neo-Nazis.

Jack Saltzberg, Valley Village

The writer is founder and president of the Israel Group.

..

To the editor: My neighborhood is home to a well-known Jewish temple. The complex is on a large property enclosed by a tall iron fence that, although attractive, serves an obvious purpose.

Eshman may be correct that Jews have more allies than enemies in standing up to hate, but the sight in my neighborhood of a security guard carrying a conspicuous firearm is heartrending.

Babette Wilk, Valley Village

..

To the editor: As a professor and student of Jewish history, I can list the many differences between the recent attacks on Jews in this country and the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the Holocaust. The number and ferocity of these attacks do not approach the heinousness of previous, systematic and institutional acts of anti-Semitism  except, of course, to the individual victims.

We have a saying in Judaism that can be paraphrased as this: If you save one life, its as if youve saved the entire world. Similarly, for the family and friends of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who died in Poway, all historical comparisons are irrelevant.

Circumstances change, but Jews continue to be hunted down, even here, even now.

Michael Davidson, Altadena

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To the editor: Nadra Widatalla is right that the term people of color erases black people, but I would retire it for a different but related reason: It privileges whiteness.

Obviously, the terms black and white are metaphorical when applied to human skin, whose actual color range is more like pale peach to dark greyish-brown. (And, of course, black and white are loaded words with deeply ingrained negative and positive connotations, at least in Western languages).

Calling non-Caucasians people of color posits Caucasians as colorless, as a default from which other colors are a variation, like the white canvas that other colors are applied to. It does not locate Caucasian skin colors as equal points along the continuum of humanity.

We need to change our thinking and our language to reflect reality, which is why its time to retire people of color.

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Kay Gilbert, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: I was about to be persuaded by the authors eloquent plea to get rid of the term people of color, but then I noticed on the same days op-ed page a piece by columnist Virginia Heffernan, who uses that exact phrase to end her evaluation of former Vice President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign kickoff: His savior complex, in particular, is in danger from the women and people of color who are his rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Then I saw a photograph, also in Sundays newspaper, of Trump supporters greeting him at an April 27 rally in Green Bay, Wis., none of whom appeared to be, well, people of color.

Apparently, the term people of color still has some value and is not ready to be retired yet.

Dienyih Chen, Redondo Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
During his short career in the California Assembly, Joaquin Arambula has worked to persuade Fresno voters to believe in him. Now the Democrats political fate could hinge on whether his legal team can convince a jury that his 7-year-old daughter didnt tell authorities the truth.

In an unusual case that has dominated news in the Central Valley, the Democratic legislator is standing trial on a misdemeanor count of willful cruelty to a child after his daughter told police in December that Arambula struck her in the face. Photos showing a 1-inch bruise on the childs right temple were shared with jurors this week.

The girl, at times clutching a stuffed animal, told a packed Fresno courtroom on the first day of the trial Friday that the assemblyman pinned her down on her bed and grasped her head, his ring hitting her by accident. She said she remembered telling authorities that he slapped her face, but now believes the appropriate word is grasp.

Fresno County Assistant Dist. Atty. Steven Wright told the jury that Arambulas children have alleged a history of abuse at the hands of their father.

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Youll hear the other instances of him being upset, losing his temper and committing other acts of violence against his children, such as squeezing, such as kicking, such as hitting, such as elbowing, Wright said.

The 7-year-old girl later said on the stand that her father had also squeezed her to the point where she struggled to breathe.

Arambula, who maintains his innocence, has offered no explanation for his daughters bruised face. According to court records, the girl originally told her teacher that she fell when she was playing with her sister but later walked into the campus administrative office, asked for an ice pack for the bruise and said her dad slapped her on the face.

Arambulas defense attorney said in opening statements that evidence would show inconsistencies in the girls statements and an inclination toward fantastical details.

You will see that [Arambulas daughter] has an answer for everything, said Margarita Martinez-Baly, Arambulas defense attorney. Those are the kind of things we ask you to look at. Does it all make sense? Is she credible?

Fresno police arrested the assemblyman Dec. 10 at his daughters elementary school after Child Protective Services reported that the girl said her father struck her on the face. In the four months since, Arambula and his attorneys have publicly sparred with the police chief and the county district attorney as the case unfolded.

Arambula defended himself in a round of interviews with reporters two days after police took him into custody. The politician and his defense attorneys have sought to cast Arambula as a devoted father who acted within his legal right to spank his child and as the victim of a politically motivated attack by local officials.

After Arambulas media interviews, Police Chief Jerry Dyer publicly disputed the legislators account and told local news outlets that the girls injury was not consistent with a spanking.

When Fresno County Dist. Atty. Lisa Smittcamp filed the charge against Arambula in March, the assemblyman responded in a statement that said politics may have motivated the decision and called the allegation false and unthinkable. Arambula didnt elaborate on the alleged political motivation.

Smittcamp, who typically refrains from commenting on open cases, disputed Arambulas assertion in an interview with the Fresno Bee and said she based her decision on facts alone.

Arambula, a 41-year-old physician and member of a prominent Fresno political family, won a special election in 2016 to represent the western part of the city in the 31st Assembly District, a seat held by Democrats for more than a quarter of a century. He has headed a budget subcommittee on health and human services for the last three years. Some political supporters in Fresno have mentioned Arambula as someone who could eventually rise to become Assembly speaker like Cruz Bustamante, a former lieutenant governor who held Arambulas seat in the 1990s, or run for Congress.

Arambulas father, Juan, started his political career on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees in the late 1980s before winning an election for county supervisor and later the same Assembly seat his son now holds. A Democrat often at odds with leadership, the senior Arambula famously renounced his party membership the year before he termed out of the lower house.

But the younger Arambulas decision to blame local officials and evidence of the bruise have led some political observers to question whether the familys time in politics could end with the misdemeanor trial.

Democratic legislators from the region declined interview requests about the case, and none has publicly come to Arambulas defense. The sensitive nature of the case, involving a young child and a family, has made it a delicate subject across the political spectrum.

Youve seen cases of politicians in Fresno with DUIs, maybe even some accusations of spousal abuse, or bar fights, said Thomas Holyoke, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I cant remember anything like this.

Local politicians are already eyeing a run at Arambulas seat, should the lawmaker be unable to return to his post in Sacramento. Arambula took a voluntary leave of absence from the Legislature in March, a move Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said at the time he supported.

If it turns out that [a jury finds] he genuinely hit his child, hes probably politically dead at that point, Holyoke said.

Arambula and his daughter tell two different versions of what took place in the familys home on a Sunday evening when his wife was out of town.

In separate interviews, the girl told a social worker and a police officer that her father hit her on both sides of her face in her bedroom after she made her 6-year-old sister cry. She said his ring caused the bruise, according to court documents.

In a later conversation with a specialist trained to interview child witnesses, Arambulas daughter said her fathers ring finger hit her twice, describing one of the blows as an accident after he slipped on a toy. According to court documents, the child also alleged that her father had kicked, squeezed and struck her in the past, and said her mother sometimes spanked her with a stick.

Two days after his arrest, Arambula told The Times that he spanked his daughter with his hand to discipline her for acting out. He denied that he hit the childs face and said he saw no physical marks on her body.

Ive never hit someone in the face  man, woman or child, Arambula said in December. Im literally struggling to figure out how to reconcile the situation that were in now.

Spanking a child is generally legal under California law unless the act is considered excessive or unjustified. This week, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense grilled potential jurors about their beliefs on corporal punishment.

Arambulas attorneys offered a more detailed version of the events in a motion filed with the court last week. The lawyers assert that he tripped on a toy on the floor that night as he entered a dimly lighted room shared by his daughters. He said his daughter jumped off the bed to get away from him and he caught her, turned her over and spanked her twice on her bottom.

The assemblyman has said his daughter was angry that evening and the next day when she went to school.

Defense attorneys say Arambula does not know how the injury to his daughters head occurred. The lawyers have focused their attention on what they say are inconsistencies in the childs statements, saying the child is embellishing, making up stories and not a reliable witness.

I think shes a really smart kid and she wants her way, Arambula attorney Martinez-Baly said in an interview Thursday. She was angry that she was spanked. She was angry that she felt that her dad wouldnt listen to her side of the story and they always side with her sister.

Regardless of the trials outcome, political experts say the allegation alone has damaged Arambulas political prospects, and future opponents could raise questions about Arambulas decision to allow his attorney to cross-examine his daughter at trial.

I think thats definitely a line of attack in the future, said Jeffrey Cummins, professor of political science at Cal State Fresno. I think it does permanent damage to his reputation.

Martinez-Baly acknowledged that Arambula is in a no-win situation. She said he feels strongly that hes innocent and wants to clear his name.

Its going to be his word against hers, she said. Im sure some people out there wont like that and think he should have taken a deal to spare his daughter. It was his decision, and I cant say I blame him. I would want to defend myself.

Arambulas three daughters were taken from his home by Child Protective Services the evening after the incident and were placed in the care of his parents for two days. After conducting an investigation, CPS allowed the girls to return home and closed the case in March, citing insufficient evidence of physical abuse, according to the defense.

Smittcamp, who declined an interview request, decided to charge Arambula with a misdemeanor. The prosecution has argued that striking a 7-year-olds head hard enough to leave a mark is excessive and unreasonable.

John Myers, an expert on child abuse cases and a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, said the decision to prosecute in such a case is uncommon.

In a case like this where you dont have very serious physical injuries, it would be more common for CPS to get involved and work with the family to help them, and for the D.A. to decline to press charges, Myers said. But he noted that prosecutors and Child Protective Services have different roles in such cases; district attorneys focus on whether a crime has been committed, while CPS bases its decisions on whether a child would be in danger if allowed to remain in the home.

More stories from Taryn Luna 

taryn.luna@latimes.com

Follow @tarynluna on Twitter.
The 53rd annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition will bring together 135 artists who will display 245 works of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Newport Beach Civic Center on 100 Civic Center Drive.

The variety of works, which will be for sale, come from people ages 18 to 85 who responded to the exhibitions call for artists earlier this spring.

We typically have regional artists who participate but also artists from all over Southern California and afar, said Arlene Greer, a Newport Beach City Arts Commissioner. One year, we had an artist from as far away as the south of France.

The free one-day show is organized by an exhibition committee and members of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, which consults with the City Council on artistic and cultural matters within the city.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from art sales will contribute to the citys Arts Commission programming.

Cow sculptures in the Civic Centers Cows4Camp exhibit will also be up for a silent auction during the event, with a majority of those proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House and a small amount going toward Newport Beach arts programming.

The bids for Cows4Camp Saturday will coincide with online bids for the works on biddingforgood.com, which will close July 13.

Curator and art advisor Dana Yarger will lead tours of the sculptures on Saturday.

The event at the Civic Center will also include live music and $9 box lunches from The Bungalow in Newport Beach.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. will honor participating artists with awards presented by Newport Beach Mayor Kevin Muldoon.

This years juror David Kiddie, a faculty member from the Wilkinson College of Arts at Chapman University in Orange, will determine the winners for categories in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and the jurors choice.

Visitors will also be able to submit ballots for a peoples choice winner at the exhibition.

[The exhibition] is a great opportunity for artists who have exhibited elsewhere or artists who have never exhibited before, Greer said. The most significant benefit of this is that it brings people from all seven districts and afar to the Civic Center to enjoy a one-day exhibit where they can meet, mingle and make new friends.

For more information on the Newport Beach Art Exhibition, call the Cultural Arts Office at (949) 717-3802.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Pete Truxaw, founder and owner of Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach and Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails in Los Alamitos, has opened his third Mamas eatery in Newport Beach.

Newports Mamas Comfort Food & Cocktails is a casual restaurant and bar offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with Thrifty ice cream served by the scoop.

After a three-month renovation of the former Pizza Nova/Josh Slocums restaurant building at 2601 W. Coast Hwy. along Newports Mariners Mile, Truxaw and partner Robert Corrigan opened Mamas doors last weekend. The restaurant has 250 feet of exclusive docks available for guests who visit by boat.

We are thrilled to bring Mamas to such a historic Newport Beach restaurant location, Truxaw said in a statement.

The restaurants interior decor features beach-style colors, exposed brick walls and a photo wall featuring hundreds of pictures of local moms.

Truxaw founded Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach in 2011. Mamas Comfort Food opened in Los Alamitos last year.

Tony Hawk and former Playmate open GuacAmigos in Newport Beach

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk recently opened Mexican restaurant GuacAmigos in Newport Beach with former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

GuacAmigos, a new restaurant by pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and former Playboy Playmate Nicole Dahm Kelly, opened recently in Newport Beach.

The restaurant at 2607 W. Coast Hwy. replaces a Joes Crab Shack.

GuacAmigos features Mexican fare, tequila drinks and local seafood with a spicy twist.

Its April 27 ribbon-cutting featured Hawk and guests doing a skateboarding demonstration that raised money for Hawks foundation.

GuacAmigos also displays several action-sports artifacts: a surfboard from Kelly Slater, a snowboard from Shaun White, a skateboard from Lizzie Armanto and the BMX bike that Mat Hoffman used to break a high-air record, according to a news release.

H.B. businessman named California Small Business Person of the Year

The Orange County/Inland Empire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration will honor Jeff Perry, president of All Industrial Tool Supply in Huntington Beach, as California Small Business Person of the Year in the agencys annual Small Business Week awards program.

Perry and other honorees will receive their awards June 7 during a program at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Were celebrating manufacturers, young entrepreneurs, technology firms, businesses that help build our infrastructure, not to mention critical collaborators such as cities and chambers of commerce, because they all play a role in the success of the region, Christopher Lorenzana, the SBA Orange County/Inland Empire districts deputy director, said in a statement.

Hoag debuts new 7D surgical technology

The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach recently added a 7D surgical system used in spinal procedures, making it the first West Coast hospital to do so.

The system contains the same technology found in self-driving cars, according to a news release, enabling a surgeon to have an unprecedented level of surgical navigation for radiation-free placement of spinal implants.

The technology allows for faster, safer surgery with a reduced recovery time for patients, according to Hoag.

H.B. man recognized with womens advocacy award

A Huntington Beach man recently won the Catalyst for Change Award presented by the Orange County chapter of Connected Women of Influence.

Kevin Walton, a Boeing systems engineer, was recognized for his advocacy, mentorship and recruiting efforts for women at Boeing.

Walton, an Air Force veteran, also is an ambassador for the Foundation for Women Warriors, advocating for women veterans in their transition to corporate America, according to a news release.

Digital marketing to be topic of Costa Mesa event

Small Business Sales Intelligence and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a presentation Thursday covering the details of a digital marketing campaign, including costs, how to determine whether a campaign is working and tips for cutting costs.

The event, featuring guest lecturer Matt Zimmer, creator of StackTek, will run from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at CrashLabs, 234 E. 17th St., Suite 117, Costa Mesa.

Registration is required. To sign up or for more information, visit meetup.com/salesintelligence/events/260945018.

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In the Christian Era, Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not Moses 5/04/2019 Christianity , Jesus Christ 12 Comments





It is quite frustrating that even if we are already in the Christian dispensation lots of people are still affected by the laws of Moses, to the point that if they find the said law to be inconsistent with the state of things, in reality, their tendency is to question the authenticity of the Bible.

For example, under the law of Moses, the hare had been classified as unclean and, therefore, should not be eaten because it ruminates and it is not cloven-footed. In line with that prohibition, somebody asked me if such a pronouncement would not jeopardize the authenticity of the Bible inasmuch as, in reality, hares are cloven-footed and they do not ruminate.

First of all, allow me to give you an insight about the laws given by God, through Moses, to the Israelites  they being the first people who served God.

In the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, one of the important things he wrote concerned the prohibitions on what they should and should not eat or ingest.

HEBREWS 9:10 says,

Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

There were ordinances regarding meats, drinks, and diverse washing, or cleansing of the body that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, implying that there was an appointed time that these laws would be reformed. There was an appointed time set by God that these laws would be superseded by another set of laws. And that appointed time had come, according to the Apostle Paul in HEBREWS 7:12 , which says,

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

So, it was necessary for the law to be changed because there had been a change in the priesthood. HEBREWS 3:1-3 says,

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

The verses clearly tell us that the high priest that had been replaced was Moses, and his replacement was the Lord Jesus Christ. In those verses, the Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews who were converted to Christianity during the first century of our era, and not to the Hebrews who remained in their Jewish religion. He was telling them that our Apostle and High Priest of our profession is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was found to be more glorious than Moses as a priest. So, He was called the High Priest of our profession.

When the priesthood was changed, there was a necessity to also change the law. And the law that was replaced was the law that was administered by Moses. It had been replaced by another law.

ACTS 13:39 says,

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

The law of Moses was found to be insufficient for the justification of believers in the Christian era because, in the Christian era, justification rests on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the faith of Christians must be based on the law of Christ, and not on the law of Moses.

Let us be definite. What is being referred to as the law of Moses?

MALACHI 4:4 says,

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

So, it was the law given by God to Moses in the mountain. Specifically, what was that law?

EXODUS 31:18 says,

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

They were the laws that were contained in the two tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God. And those laws included statutes and judgments.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13 says,

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Therefore, the law of Moses being referred to was the ten commandments. And these laws, together with the statutes and judgments, were meant for the Israelites. For instance, there were statutes regarding what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink which the Israelites had to observe.

But in our dispensation, we do not have problems about what to eat and what not to eat. In the New Testament, there is another law that was explained by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In MARK 7:19, it says,

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the type of food that the Israelites had been forbidden to eat did not go to the heart, but only to the belly. And He had purged, or cleansed, all of those. The Apostle Paul explained in 1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5 ,

4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

So, even if it is pork, which was regarded as unclean during the time of the Israelites, in the Christian dispensation, when the priesthood had been changed from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, those meats that had been declared as unclean had been purged, or cleansed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sanctified by the word of God, by the decree of God, and by prayer. Through the power of prayer and by the word of God, those things which had been considered abominable then are cleansed. Therefore, there is no longer any problem with eating pork, or any meat from those that do not chew the cud, or from those that have no cloven feet.

Bear in mind that we are in the Christian era. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, and not Moses. If we are truly Christians and we believe that we are living in the Christian dispensation, we have to refer to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not of Moses. Moses is no longer our high priest but the Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation that the Lord Jesus Christ carries with Him is the revelation that we must receive now.

HEBREWS 1:1-2 says,

1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

God had spoken to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son. So, if we want to know about Gods words and teachings we will learn them through His Son, not through Moses. But if you keep on observing the laws of Moses, you are at the wrong track. You are out of time; you are out of place.

LEVITICUS 11:1-7 says,

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

If you are a meticulous reader of the Bible, as early as verse 2 , you will realize that, if you are an American or a Filipino, you are not a concerned party because those words were only meant for the Israelites.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

At this point, allow me to give some clarifications concerning verse 6 because this is the part being questioned by one reader of the Bible. According to him, what the verse states is a challenge to the authenticity of the Bible because what it said is contrary to reality. It stated that the hare should not be eaten because it chews the cud and is not cloven-footed when in truth, hares have cloven feet and they do not ruminate or chew the cud.

Let me make it clear that what the Israelites were forbidden to eat were animals, or beasts, that ruminate and are cloven-footed. Those two characteristics must be present in one particular beast. If one characteristic is absent, then, it should not be eaten. In the case of a hare, its hooves are divided but they do not ruminate, so the Israelites were forbidden from eating it.

But, granting that Leviticus 11:6 should have described the hare the other way around, that is, it does not chew the cud and it has cloven feet, still, that would not make the prohibition wrong. It, still, should not be eaten because one of the characteristics of a beast or animal that should be eaten is absent.

Indeed, there are people who challenge the authenticity of the Bible. They are those who do not consider human error. They always blame the Bible for errors which could have been committed by the people who did its translation.

Actually, people who question the authenticity of the Bible would never run out of issues to raise against the Bible. Let me cite an example. The Bible classified bats as birds because birds fly by their wings, and bats fly because they are also winged. So now, people who try to discredit the Bible accuse the Bible as speaking of lies because, according to them, bats are not birds but mammals. Let us accept that a bat is classified as a mammal, the question is, who did the classification and when was the classification made?

Remember that when the Bible was written there were no classifications yet as to whether a creature is a mammal, or a reptile, or a bird. The classification happened only very recently, specifically, thousands of years after the Bible was written. And the classification was made by man only. Who knew about mammals during the time of Moses? The word mammal was coined by Linnaeus only in the 18 th century, whereas the book of Leviticus was written more than 3,000 years ago (1512) by Moses at the wilderness of Sinai. So how would you expect the Bible to classify bat as a mammal when the word mammal was coined only in 1758? So, that time, the Bible was absolutely correct when it classified bat as a bird because it flies.

But whether or not there were pronouncements in the law of Moses which do not jive with the actual characteristics of certain animals in reality, like the case of hare, for me they are immaterial. Still, the hare was rightfully included among the animals that the Israelites should not eat because its characteristics fail to meet the qualities of a beast or animal that they could eat. Although the hare is cloven-footed, yet, it does not chew the cud, so the Israelites should not eat it.

But inasmuch as we are not under the law of Moses but of the law of Christ, there is practically no need for us to be troubled about the kinds of food that the Israelites had been prohibited from eating. First, we are not among the Israelites that Moses led so the prohibition does not concern us; second, Christ had cleansed all that were regarded unclean during the time of the Israelites; and third, through the power of prayer, our food could be sanctified.
The Costa Mesa City Council will consider adopting a new policy Tuesday that would potentially clear the way to fly commemorative flags such as the pride flag at City Hall.

Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds asked city staff last month to draft a resolution for council consideration that would authorize displaying the rainbow banner at the seat of local government.

As proposed, the pride flag would be unfurled at City Hall annually from May 22 to June 30.

May 22 is Harvey Milk Day, which honors the man who became the first openly gay elected official in state history when he took his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated in 1978, less than a year after taking office, and is widely recognized as a pioneering gay-rights activist.

June is LGBT Pride Month  an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and commemoration of the history, contributions and sacrifices of those who comprise them.

While Costa Mesa has traditionally raised city, California and American flags, as well as the POW-MIA flag, at municipal facilities, there is currently no formal policy on the books regarding such displays.

The proposed language up for the councils review outlines the procedures and standards for the display of flags at city facilities, including the display of commemorative flags at City Hall, according to a staff report included in Tuesdays council agenda.

Commemorative flags would only be flown if the council authorizes them as an expression of the citys official sentiments, that report continues. So, should council members adopt the overall flag policy, they would still need to specifically sign off on displaying the pride flag.

The citys flagpoles are to be used exclusively by the city, where the City Council may display a commemorative flag as a form of government expression, the staff report states. The city will not display a commemorative flag based on a request from a third party, nor will the city use its flagpoles to sponsor the expression of a third party.

Additionally, the city could not place a pennant that shows religious preference or encourages a specific vote in a particular election, according to the staff report.

As our community has re-engaged in human relations efforts and honest conversations about inclusion and diversity, Ive been heartbroken to hear the experiences of people who are afraid to express who they are or who feel unwelcome by their peers, Reynolds said Friday. Honoring Pride is an important and valuable expression from our city to let our LGBT community members, especially our young adults, know: we care about you, and we welcome you.

However, Councilman Allan Mansoor expressed some concerns in a public Facebook post Friday, writing that the pride flag may mean different things to different people.

To some, it may mean that we should treat everyone with respect  which, if that were the sole symbolism of the flag, I would support it, he wrote. To some, however, it may mean intolerance or hostility to anyone who morally or due to religious conviction does not support some of the things in the LGBTQ agenda, even though they do not support harassment or violence.

Do we want to play into division on such a controversial issue? he added.

Tuesdays council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St.

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A street dog from Thailand has found her fur-ever home in Huntington Beach.

Dr. Lisa Chong and Tara Austin spotted the year-old Thai Bangkaew dog dragging its body on its two front legs across a busy street while they were there last December to volunteer at Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai.

The tale began to unfold after dinner one night during their stay. During the meal, Austin shared with Chong her admiration for Frida Kahlo, an artist who remained dedicated to her art despite becoming bedridden after a bus accident.

On their way back to their hotel following dinner, the two childhood friends spotted the dog. Without consulting each other, they both walked onto the street to stop traffic and to shepherd the dog to safety. While Chong used dog treats to gauge the dogs friendliness toward humans, Austin flagged down a cab to take them back to their hotel.

Austin also asked people at nearby businesses if they knew the dog, but no one claimed her. Austin and Chong, who gave the dog the name Frida after the famed Mexican artist, believe she might have been dropped off at a nearby temple where other stray dogs congregate.

She had this fighter spirit, Austin said, referring to Fridas attitude on the drive back to their hotel. The dog, she said, calmly sat in the car and looked out the window.

Chong, an OB-GYN, said they didnt realize the extent of Fridas poor condition until they took her back to their hotel room. Ticks covered the dogs body and her paws were covered in dirt as a result of dragging her body, she said.

An X-ray at a 24-hour hospital just outside Chiang Mai later revealed Frida had a lumbar fracture and is missing several bones in her paws. She didnt have any fur on her paws at the time.

23. Lisa Chong poses for a photo with Frida in her kennel cage while boarded at the vet. Tara Austin created a watercolor painting for Frida, which is placed above her kennel. (Photo courtesy of Tara Austin)

She was really infected, Chong said. You could just feel the heat coming out of her legs, thats why she was panting. She didnt even know how to drink water. She had been a street dog for so long she only understood how to drink water off the pavement. She didnt understand the concept of a cup of water.

Chong said hospital staff recommended amputating Fridas hind legs, but Chong wanted that option to be the last resort. She said they had hoped Frida would one day walk again.

The two visited Frida in the hospital for several hours every day during their trip. They noticed a slow shift in the canines behavior. It was apparent to them she was gaining more confidence. Fur started to grow on her two injured paws.

Chong said the decision to formally adopt Frida was gradual. They realized the dog likely wouldnt be the first choice for adoption by a family. They also didnt want to financially burden the animal sanctuary by lodging Frida there, she said.

Before they left Thailand to head home, they purchased a dog collar with a tag embossed with Fridas name as a promise they would soon return for their four-legged friend.

Chong brought Frida home on a first-class flight from Thailand to Los Angeles last week. Frida is currently lodged at the Two Hands Four Paws Foundation, a animal rehabilitation facility in L.A. where shell learn how to walk again before moving into Chongs home in downtown Huntington Beach.

Chong and Austins shared love for animals has led them to spend more than $13,000 to give Frida a second chance at life. Fundraisers are being planned to pay for medical costs as they see if doctors can help Frida use her two hind legs to walk again.

They created an Instagram account to document Fridas journey and a GoFundMe page to gather donations.

Part of me is sad knowing [Frida] is leaving her homeland and shes leaving everything shes ever known but I think she has a bright future ahead of her, Chong said.

To help Frida, visit gofundme.com/meet-frida-our-paralyzed-thai-street-pup.

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Superheroes will be busting out of a telephone booth and geometric shapes will be casting dancing shadows on the City Hall lawn in Laguna Beachs latest round of temporary art installations.

On Monday, the red telephone booth on Forest Avenue will transform into a Super Hero Changing Station under the hand of local artist Robert Holton of Drizzle Art. Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman costumes will drape from clothes hangers inside the booth, above a replica of Captain Americas shield and Thors hammer.

One side of the booth will be lined with superhero quotes, such as Flashs Life doesnt give you purpose, you give life purpose and Batmans Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

Holton said he hopes the installation will inspire small acts of kindness and an overall awareness that you dont need superpowers to be a superhero, as one of the quotes reads.

A giant gloved fist punching through the top of the booth in superhero-like triumph is meant to represent all superheroes, heroes in all of us, the artist said.

What Im trying to say is, normal people can be heroes, said Holton, a six-year resident of Laguna Beach and a presenter at the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival. In a minute way, whether its helping somebody through the door, walking the dog. I think we need more of that in the world.

The city Arts Commission will hold a dedication for the new installation at the phone booth at 5 p.m. May 14. Holton said he plans to invite children and families to show up in their favorite superhero costumes.

Im hoping people will step up and be a superhero, Holton said. You dont have to do something death-defying or something to be a hero.

Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl said the tradition of putting an art display in the red phone booth dates to 2013, a year after the public phone was deactivated.

Poeschl said the city chose Holtons work, which will be on display for two years, from among 25 proposals.

The exhibits are part of the Arts Commissions temporary sculpture program, which is funded by lodging establishments and the city of Laguna Beach.

This past Monday, an exhibition called The Shape of Light appeared on the lawn outside City Hall from Oakland-based artists Yelena Filipchuck and Serge Beaulieu, who make up the married art duo Hybycozo. The couple designed the trio of geometric sculptures from laser-cut metal and LED lights that cast shadows on the lawn at night.

Filipchuck said each piece has a distinct shape, but together they celebrate the universality of math and the beauty of proportion.

The hexagonal sculpture was inspired by physicist Garrett Lisis TED talk about E8, a theoretical mathematical explanation of everything. The way Lisi mapped the mathematical concept onto particle physics made for beautiful visualizations, Filipchuck said.

It was this resonant feeling, like, of course the structure that makes up the universe would feel beautiful to us, she said. Its an innate beauty.

The two quadrilateral sculptures in the exhibit also stem from mathematical concepts, Filipchuck said, such as ancient Islamic geometry and the way math emerged from intricate drawings.

Back then, there was not really a distinction between an artist, an artisan and a mathematician because they were kind of the same thing, she said. The way that they represented like a higher kind of understanding of the universe was through proportion and through what they thought were rules sent from beyond. When you divide a 9 by a 3 and it creates these amazing proportions, they thought that was divine intervention.

To us, that is what is harmonious and beautiful about this type of art  it is almost meant to be created in these rules.

The polyhedrons will be on display in front of City Hall through July 31, Poeschl said.

In March, the city brought Michigan-based artist David Zinn to scatter chalk art in various rocks and crevices around the city. Artist Scott Froschauers The Word on the Street exhibit of five road signs offering affirmative messages will be on display until May 15.

We have really diverse programming and installations in process and reflects the commitment of the Arts Commission and City Council in elevating and evolving the public art experience, Poeschl said.

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The last night of Wendi Millers life was spent doing things she loved.

On April 19, Miller went with a friend and her son to a Dana Point church to celebrate Good Friday. She sat with the friend, Dayna Camarena, who was struggling with a personal crisis, and held her hand throughout the service and prayed for her and Camarenas son.

They went out for a pasta dinner before spending the evening dancing to 80s music.

We did three things Wendi loved all in one night, Camarena said. Usually we only have the energy to do one.

Camarena spoke as an overflow crowd gathered at Mariners Church in Irvine on Friday to remember Miller, 48, who was found slain the night of Easter Sunday in a Newport Beach condominium.

Man and woman found dead in Newport Beach condo are identified; police conduct homicide investigation 

Friends said they last saw the Costa Mesa resident at about 1:45 a.m. April 20 before leaving the Sandpiper bar in Laguna Beach. She was giving Darren Partch, whom she had met that night, a ride home to the Newport condo.

When Miller didnt show for Easter festivities, friends and family members launched a search for her on social media. Just after 9:30 p.m. April 21, the owner of the condominium returned home after being away for the weekend and found Miller and Partch, 38, dead inside. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, the Newport Beach Police Department said. Authorities believe they died April 20.

A Huntington Beach man was arrested April 25 and has been charged with their murders.

H.B. personal trainer charged with special-circumstances murder in Newport Beach slayings 

If Wendi were here, she would have invited all of us on a bike ride to the beach, friend Niki Wetzel said Friday.

Miller was the kind of joyful person who made friends with everyone, friends and family said.

We were strangers for about 90 seconds, Wetzel said, recalling their introduction.

Joy is a gift  remember, its the foundational emotion that leads to contentment, peace, fulfillment and happiness, Wetzel said. And my sincere hope is that whenever we remember Wendi we remember joy.

Eric Boogie Rose, a college classmate of Millers and a leader at Branches Church in Huntington Beach, described her as fearless and too big for one church, noting that she was involved in many churches in the area.

There werent enough people for her to pour into, Rose said. He didnt realize how widespread her involvement in his congregation was until the community was mourning her loss.

She jumped in and impacted everyone, and because of that, everyone is mourning, Rose said. If you knew her, you would know she would want you to have this life, and this life to the full.

Neighbors and friends memorialize Costa Mesa woman found dead in Newport Beach condo 

Millers daughter, Cambria Carpenter, said her mom would have loved the gathering held in her honor because she loved talking to people.

She was the light of my life completely, she said.

Mourners throughout the room wiped tears from their eyes as Carpenter sang Carrie Underwoods See You Again in remembrance of her mom.

The week she learned of her mothers death, Carpenter was set to perform in a school musical, she said. Despite her director and family urging her to consider withdrawing from the show in light of the tragedy, she remembered that her mom had bought tickets, and she decided she had to perform.

Performing was a way to heal, Carpenter said. The director dedicated the show to Miller.

She changed so many peoples lives, her daughter said.

Miller was born in Long Beach and grew up in Cerritos. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She lived in Michigan, Colorado and Texas before returning to California.

Miller was a vibrant, bubbly person who always made you feel like you were her best friend, said her mother, Mary Lu Miller.

Wendi Miller was chief executive of the Newport Beach-based nonprofit Wings of Justice, which advocates for children and parents in the family court system. She also was an advocate for people who have experienced domestic violence.

To you, no one was a stranger, just a new friend in waiting, Millers son, Luke Carpenter, said as he read a letter addressed to his mom, whom he credited for inspiring him with her amazing spirit of light and positivity.

The huge turnout at the afternoon service overwhelmed the venue, which was prepared for 600 guests. Extra seating was arranged around the perimeter of the multipurpose hall, which was filled with banquet tables and flower arrangements prepared by Millers family.

Its a testimony to her, Millers sister Tracy Dawson said of the large crowd.

Relatives organized an online fundraiser titled Wendi Miller Celebration of Life Memorial Fund that has brought in more than $17,000 since it was established April 23.

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In case Crescenta Valley High School student Lyron Co Ting Keh needed validation he was, indeed, young and innovative, the senior will soon receive more than his share of confirmation.

Co Ting Keh, 17, was named one of five Young Innovators to Watch from the United States and Canada by technology and lifestyle event producers Living in Digital Times, and is heading to Las Vegas to be honored at a giant consumer electronics show produced by Living in Digital Times on Thursday.

Im honored, humbled and I didnt expect any recognition for my work, in general, Co Ting Keh said. Its surprising.

Co Ting Keh and his mother, Rowena, father, Edmundo, and older sister, Lace, are all flying to Las Vegas for the honor.

Along with airfare and a hotel stay, theres $500 in prize money, Lenovo computer equipment, a tour of the show, which is closed to minors, and three minutes to pitch his product to industry professionals.

Im looking forward to seeing what other innovators and other peoples opinion of my work is, Co Ting Keh said.

The teen created a machine-learning algorithm model called HICCUP, which stands for Hierarchical Classification of Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Cancer of Unknown Primary, or CUP, is defined by the American Cancer Society when, cancer is found in one or more metastatic sites but the primary site cannot be determined.

The American Cancer Society estimates 31,810 cases were diagnosed in 2018, which accounts for 2% of all cancer cases.

Co Ting Keh has calculated that his model is roughly 18% more accurate than industry standards in diagnosing CUP.

HICCUP requires a blood sample to track DNA released by a cancerous tumor into the bloodstream, a test he contends is considerably cheaper and less invasive than other industry procedures.

Current methods to carry out the diagnosis, like MRI and biopsies, are often costly, inaccurate or harmful, Co Ting Keh said. Thats what drove me to develop HICCUP.

Co Ting Keh created HICCUP while at Stanford Universitys Alizadeh Lab, where hes been working on and off the last two years in between attending Crescenta Valley High.

Every summer, I go up there and work there pretty much full-time, Co Ting Keh said. I go up there for Thanksgiving break and winter break and fly up and work whenever I can.

Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, said the selection of Co Ting Keh was a no-brainer after committee members who eventually chose him did a little research.

What kind of kid works at a lab at Stanford? Raskin said. We thought, Well, maybe hes just regurgitating what theyre teaching or talking about at the lab? We called up the lab, and they said he was the brains behind many of the algorithms they were using. We were amazed.

Co Ting Keh was selected out of a pool of 100 candidates and is one of two winners from California, joining Cupertino Highs Kumaran Akilan.

While Co Ting Keh has already been accepted to Yale University, hes still waiting to make an official collegiate decision until hes received word from all prospective schools.

Until graduation, hell continue his work at the lab during breaks and also via remote access.

The recognition is nice, Co Ting Keh said, but the work continues.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
The Arcadia Unified School District family offers our deepest condolences to the Lin family, their friends and loved ones. We are beyond saddened to learn of the death of the Lin brothers, William and Anthony, who attended Arcadia High School. The loss of William and Anthony will be felt by the thousands of students, staff, friends and family that loved and knew them well in our tight-knit community. We know our community will stand united as we go through this unthinkable tragedy together. We ask everyone to please respect the Lin familys privacy during this extremely difficult time.

While this tragedy did not happen on campus, it will undoubtedly have an enormous impact throughout all our schools. We will provide additional counselors and support services this week when students return to school, and for as long as they are needed. Arcadia Unified prides itself as being a positive leader in this great community, and will continue to make the well-being of our students and staff a priority. We appreciate the many condolences and support for the Lin Family. We know this will continue, and we thank you all.

Ryan Foran

Public Information Officer, Arcadia Unified School District
This years Kentucky Derby, at least on paper, is one of the most competitive in many years.

Youve got Bob Bafferts trio of Game Winner, Roadster and Improbable, all within half-a-tick of each other on the morning line.

Youve got undefeated Florida Derby winner Maximum Security and Wood Memorial winner Tacitus, who jumped to first and second in early betting.

Youve got the always present buzz horse, who this year is By My Standards, winner of the Louisiana Derby.

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And, youve got Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor getting some second looks after Mike Smith replaced Corey Lanerie as the jockey.

But the real deciding factor of who wins the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday could be, to steal a line from the Masters, a tradition unlike any other: lots of rain on Derby Day.

A vicious torrent of rain soaked Churchill Downs on Friday morning, subsided in the afternoon, but is expected to return just in time for the races Saturday.

Last year was the wettest Derby in history with around three inches of rain falling during the day. While it doesnt appear as if Saturdays totals will be record worthy, the past few years have had their share of precipitation.

Justify (2018) won over a sloppy track, Always Dreaming (2017) over a wet fast surface and Orb (2013) also over a sloppy track. Historically 44 Derbies have been run over a surface that was not listed as fast, leaving the other 100 on a fast track. Of course, when determining how to label a surface, most tracks tend to err on the side of making things sound better.

A track is labeled muddy if the water seeps into the dirt to create a mixture, which most people know as mud. A sloppy track is one that has usually been sealed  pressed down hard to keep the water from entering the dirt  keeping the water on top of the surface.

I think Ive got three nice horses, but its still a very wide-open race, Baffert said. There are 10 horses that I think are within a length of each other. Its whoever gets the trip. And especially now that its going to rain, we dont know what is going to happen. Its too bad the weather is not going to work with us. Well just have to deal with it.

Most trainers can figure a way to make it sound as if their horse would be undeterred by a wet track. But the bettors tend not to listen.

Game Winner, who was the 9-2 early morning-line favorite, slipped to the fourth-most bet horse in early wagering, no doubt because he has never run on an off surface.

Tacitus and Maximum Security were one-two in early betting, probably because they have won on a wet track. Maximum Security won by 6  lengths on a muddy track under a hand ride.

He won on an off-track, trainer Jason Servis said of Maximum Security. Hes checked a lot of boxes. He won a major prep  the Florida Derby. He won in the mud. He lay third and came off the pace. Hes undefeated. His mare is a half to Flat Out, who won the Jockey Gold Cup twice at a mile-and-a-quarter.

It doesnt matter what you like or dont like, hes checking a lot of boxes.

Vekoma, whose pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, trains in the rain Friday morning. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

An almost all-the-box-checker is Vekoma, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. If you throw out a third in the Fountain of Youth, losing to Code Of Honor, hes undefeated, winning at three different tracks. But he hasnt run on an off surface.

He is bred to handle it, trainer George Weaver said. I always thought [Churchill Downs] is one of the best when it was wet. He should be forwardly placed and hope he doesnt have to eat too much mud.

Vekomas pedigree shows parentage that won in the mud 21% of the time, which along with Game Winner is the highest in the field. Vekomas mother, Mona De Momma, won the Humana Distaff at Churchill in 2010 in the mud.

I told him that his momma liked it, Weaver said.

In a neglected cemetery lie black jockeys who helped create the Kentucky Derby 

During Fridays exercise, Plus Que Parfait, winner of the UAE Derby in Dubai, seemed to have an easier time over the slop than many of the other horses.

I barely asked him to do anything, said Tom Molloy, an assistant to trainer Brendan Walsh. He didnt mind the mud one bit as all.

As difficult as it to predict how a horse will do on off tracks, there seems to be some compelling evidence on how horses do when they ship from Dubai to run in the Kentucky Derby. In 13 tries, the best a Dubai runner has finished was a fifth by Master Of Hounds in 2011.

I would think that running any after Dubai on just 35 days is a little quick, but sometimes they surprise you, Peter Miller said of his colt Gray Magician, who finished second in the UAE Derby. I thought initially he would need 60 days because Ive had some that even needed 90 days off, but with him I think it felt like a trip up the 405.

If that is correct, then you can expect the race to be run in a very, very slow time.
I broke my own cardinal rule by asking Josie out during the holidays. (In college I had determined that any guy who asks a girl out in November comes across as desperate for someone to spend Christmas with.)

But this was different. I was coming out of a crumbling, 10-year relationship, and adjusting to life back in the U.S. after a tour of duty in Iraq and three deployments to South Korea. I had no plans on making a new love connection. My single objective was to get her on the back of my chopper and take her to an annual spring motorcycle rally in La Puente. I had attended the same rally earlier that year with friends. I had decreed right then and there that if I came back the following year, I would have a date on my arm. Josie was perfect.

She wasnt some groupie who worshiped guys with immaculate bikes. She was from the Midwest and had moved into my northeast Los Angeles neighborhood to make it as an actor. Id met her at my American Legion club room. She was a hasher  you know, a member of that drinking club with a running problem. They were having drinks in our bar after a run. I was the post commander and offered a tour. By the end of it, I asked to add her on Facebook, rascal that I am. My date to the rally was nearly secured.

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

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Even though it was the middle of November, I messaged Josie to ask if shed like to go out to dinner. The rally was still months away, but I figured if I didnt act fast, I ran the risk of being forgotten by the time the rally rolled around. She agreed, so long as it was platonic. I assured her that it was. Came to find she lived not far from me in Highland Park.

I picked her up just two days before Thanksgiving on my fully-customized 2005 Harley-Davidson Softail, raked and stretched with a purple metal flake paint job and an all-chrome torqued out S&S engine. We rode to Little Tokyo to a sushi spot I knew. The trees at Tokyo Village were already adorned with holiday lights and we took two empty seats at the bar. After a shared rainbow plate, we were hitting it off quite handily.

I explained my situation. I was just ending one relationship, and faced with starting all over again, not sure of my next step. She was receptive, understanding and gorgeous. Toward the end of dinner I admitted that my only goal that night was to not fall on my face. She assured me I hadnt.

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The next day she invited me to join her as she checked out a new drinking-and-running route for her club. We plotted a trail, visited a few watering holes, and high-fived our success when we were done.

Soon, we were spending nearly every day together, at my place or hers. We would walk to Maximiliano for pastas and red wine. We caught up with GLOW on her iPad. She traveled home for Christmas, but upon her return I made her tacos. She made meatball sandwiches for us a few days later.

I had been daunted at facing reentry back into the dating scene, but she was making the transition easy for me. That is, until she told me she was worried things were getting too serious. For me, it was still too early to say that. So when she said she needed more room to spread her wings, I gave it to her and told her I was OK with just being friends. Truth be told I felt accomplished. Like I had nothing more to prove.

A few weeks later, when her theater troupe needed someone to do tech in L.A. for a play she was in, I volunteered. It meant I got to see her every Thursday for the shows run. For the first show, we drove over together in my car and sang along to the Smiths How Soon Is Now? By the second show, Josie drove herself. She said we could still hang out, but that she still had feelings for her ex. Dutifully, I completed my volunteer tech work but cringed on the nights she departed without me. She was beautiful in her part in an adaptation of Reservoir Dogs. By the fourth show she was applying dramatic pauses at key scenes, capturing my heart.

A few weeks after the last show, I texted Josie and reminded her about the rally, which was then just a few days away. She admitted that she had forgotten about it but was still willing to go. I was proud to have her on my arm. There, she pulled me out to the dance floor and we freaked like high school kids until the music ended. We came back to my place and cuddled, but that was all. Josie said we could only be friends and neighbors. I walked her home.

You already know the end of the story. Despite my own insistence to not let it happen, I had developed feelings for that girl.

The contest of love is the only one where it doesnt matter who comes in first. What matters is who finishes last.

I cant be unhappy over the outcome, however.

I overcame my expectations, and got myself back out there. She reminded me of all that was good about being back in the United States. And she got me through the holidays after a bad breakup.

A couple weeks later, I left good-bye flowers on her doorstep.

All in all, not a bad run.

The author is a writer and Army reservist. His website is la1news.com.

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: 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.

MORE L.A. LOVE STORIES 

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North Korea has apparently fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast, in what could mark its first missile launch in nearly a year and half, according to the South Korean military.

North Korea last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017 and has since refrained from launches amid unprecedented diplomatic talks between President Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

There is a possibility North Korea has fired multiple short-range missiles, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency quoted a military source as saying.

The South Korean militarys joint chiefs of staff later adjusted their wording from missiles to projectiles, saying they were still working to determine what exactly was fired. The shift in wording may reflect South Koreas concern over how news of the test is received by Washington.

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The launch, if verified, would probably mark a continued return to low-level provocations from North Korea, expressing its displeasure at the stalled talks with the U.S. since a summit between Trump and Kim over the Norths nuclear program ended without a deal in February.

Saturdays launch comes after Kim last month oversaw a test of a new unspecified tactical guided weapon capable of carrying a powerful warhead.

Kim said in April 2018 that North Korea had completed its missile program and no longer needed to conduct nuclear or ballistic missile tests. Recent military actions by the North stop short of violating that self-imposed ban but nonetheless are a reminder of what a North Korean official has warned would be undesired consequences should nuclear talks collapse.

Trump has touted the missile moratorium as a sign that his engagement with North Korea was working, saying Kim pledged to him in Hanoi that the moratorium would stand.

North Korea test-fires new tactical guided weapon, with Kim Jong Un there to observe 

In a speech before the North Korean legislative body last month, Kim said he was willing to wait until the years end for a breakthrough in talks with the U.S.

As blowing winds create waves, the more explicit the U.S.s hostile policies toward North Korea become, we will act accordingly, he said in the speech.

Trump administration officials have said the ball is in North Koreas court after the talks in Vietnam fell apart because Kim was willing to discuss only a portion of the nations nuclear arsenal while seeking large-scale sanctions relief.

Representatives for Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they were monitoring the situation.
This month ushers in an era of new beginnings for royal families in Japan and Thailand.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, Thailand is crowning a new king. Maha Vajiralongkorn took the throne when his father died 2 years ago. On Saturday he was officially installed as king as part of a three-day ceremony drawing on Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

In Japan, Crown Prince Naruhito became the countrys 126th emperor on Tuesday, after his 85-year-old father, Emperor Akihito, stepped down.

Dozens of countries still have royal families. Some monarchs go by the title of king or queen while others are referred to as emperor, sultan or emir.

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The level of power they exert depends on the country.

In Norway, Spain, Britain and Sweden, the royal positions are purely ceremonial. Several countries in Africa and Asia have similar figurehead monarchs, among them Lesotho, Cambodia and Malaysia.

In Thailand, the king has the power to pardon criminals and is viewed as a force for helping unite a deeply divided nation.

Then there are royals who continue to rule like monarchs of old.

Saudi Arabias King Salman also serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power. (Fethi Belaid / Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, a kingdom ruled by one person. In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud took on that role. In addition to being the king, he serves as prime minister, holding supreme executive, legislative and judicial power.

Key support positions, such as the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, are given to members of the royal family.

King Salmans son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is next in line to the throne.

Since taking power, Salman and others in the royal family have taken measures to tighten their grip over their subjects. Once seen as a reformer, Crown Prince Mohammed has faced international condemnation after Octobers grisly murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

In April, King Salman ratified a royal decree to behead 37 Saudi citizens, most of them Shiite Muslims  a minority in a country ruled by Sunni Muslims. Officials said those condemned had engaged in terrorism-related offenses, allegations questioned by human rights advocates.

The monarchy has also ordered the arrest of womens rights activists, including protesters of the nations since-lifted ban on women driving.

Swazilands King Mswati III rules Africas last absolute monarchy. (Paballo Thekiso / AFP/Getty Images)

Swaziland

Swaziland, home to 1.3 million people, is Africas last absolute monarchy. The small country in southern Africa has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.

A majority of the population in Swaziland live in poverty in rural areas.

In 2006, the ruling family introduced a new constitution that included a bill of rights. But human rights activists say the monarchy has continued to restrict freedom of expression, assembly and association.

In 2018, Mswati announced that he was renaming the country the Kingdom of eSwatini, meaning the land of Swazis, though the name change has not been embraced by most of the rest of the world. The announcement was made on the countrys 50th anniversary of independence from British rule.

Monacos leader, Prince Albert II, shares legislative power with the National Council. (Julien Warnand / EPA/Shutterstock)

Monaco

Monaco is a hereditary constitutional monarchy led by Prince Albert II. It was established in 1911.

Tourism drives the economy in the postage stamp-sized nation of 39,000 people.

In 1962, the countrys constitution was reformed to provide independence to portions of its judicial and legislative bodies.

For instance, legislative power is now shared by the prince and the National Council  a group of 24 members elected by popular vote every five years. The prince proposes laws and the National Council votes on them.

The prince also appoints a president to the seven-member Crown Council, which advises the prince on domestic and international issues, such as ratification of treaties and the granting of amnesty and citizenship.

In 2002, Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa changed Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom and gave himself the title of king. (Ludovic Marin / AFP/Getty Images)

Bahrain

The small Persian Gulf island has been ruled by the Khalifa family since 1783. Members of the royal family control the ministries of Defense, Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

The countrys political system has undergone shifts over the last three decades.

Sheik Hamed bin Isa Khalifa, who took power in 1999, turned the emirate into a kingdom three years later and gave himself the title of king.

Human rights groups have criticized the monarchy for its clampdown on dissent. According to a 2018 Amnesty International report, authorities arrested activists and political opponents who criticized the monarchy ahead of parliamentary elections in November 2018.

Bruneis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, right, shown with Malaysian Sultan Syed Sirajuddin in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, has ruled the tiny oil-rich Asian kingdom for more than five decades. (Jimin Lai / AFP/Getty Images)

Brunei

For more than five decades, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has reigned over the tiny, oil-rich Asian kingdom.

The monarchy, which has been around for hundreds of years, has endured turbulent times. In the late 19th century, Britain intervened in the countrys affairs, and Brunei became a British protectorate in 1906 under a treaty that allowed the ruling dynasty and its line of succession to remain intact.

During World War II, between 1941 and 1945, Japan occupied the country.

As head of state, Bolkiah also serves as prime minister, in charge of the countrys armed forces and Finance Ministry.

The monarchy sparked international outrage when it announced in April that it would begin stoning those charged with adultery or homosexuality under a new penal code based on sharia law.

Celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John quickly condemned the crackdown and called for a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and seven other hotels in Europe owned by the sultan.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
Palestinian militias launched more than 250 rockets into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, in the latest escalation of violence in the long-simmering conflict.

An Israeli man in Ashkelon died in the bombardment when his apartment suffered a direct hit. Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that five Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Saturday, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The circumstances under which they died remained unclear.

The Israeli army said its retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire struck more than 120 targets belonging to Hamas, the Islamist paramilitary group that controls Gaza, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or PIJ, a rival group that joined Hamas in the cross-border attacks.

The army also said it destroyed a PIJ tunnel connecting southern Gaza and Israel that was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack inside Israel.

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Air raid sirens blared in the city of Beer Sheva, a major Israeli metropolitan hub in northern Negev. The spread of violence to the city represented a significant escalation in the conflict.

The latest round of violence began with gunfire during Fridays Gaza border protests, in which two Israeli troops were wounded by a PIJ sniper, the Israeli army said.

According to the army, several dozen rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Israel killed two Hamas operatives in airstrikes Friday, and two Palestinian protesters died in the border clashes.

An army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said that five or six Hamas and PIJ terrorists were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

The renewed fighting threw the south of the country onto war footing, sending Saturday beachgoers into shelters and marring weekend plans for some 2 million people. School was canceled across all of southern Israel Sunday.

Conricus condemned the reckless and coordinated rocket fire effort.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Qanou said the militant group will continue to respond to the crimes of the occupation, and will not allow Israel to shed the blood of our people. He said Hamas was committed to defending and protecting the Palestinians in Gaza.

The escalation between Israel and armed factions in Gaza comes at a delicate moment  less than a week ahead of Israels memorial and independence days, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who retained his post after a close race last month, tries to form a coalition for his next government.

In addition, Israel has been gearing up for the Eurovision Song Contest, a marquee event that will be broadcast around the world.

Former army chief Benny Gantz, Netanyahus principal rival in the elections, blasted the prime minister.

When a lack of policy and consistency meets acquiescence to Hamas blackmail over the past year, we are met on a Saturday morning by heavy barrages on Israel and another round of extortion [by Palestinian terror groups], he said, at a public event.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Saturday called on Hamas and PIJ to end the attacks.

The United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel, Ortagus said. We call on those responsible for the violence to cease this aggression immediately. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks.

Before the latest intensification of clashes with Gaza, the city of Tel Aviv had heightened security preparations in anticipation of thousands of incoming Eurovision fans.

According to Israeli analysts, Hamas may hope that the pressure of the upcoming public events will improve the chances that the escalation will lead to a compromise and greater concessions for the Palestinian factions.

While the fighting was underway, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and PIJ leader Ziad Nahala were in Cairo, where Egyptian intelligence officials have spent months attempting to negotiate a long-term cease-fire with Israel.

Criticizing Israels tacit participation in the negotiations, Gantz said the Israeli government must reassert deterrence and only then seek a long-term agreement, without security compromises and without extortion.

More than a year after the regular Friday border protests began, with close to 200 Palestinians killed and with few tangible benefits, Hamas is eager to show Palestinians it made some strides against Israel ahead of Sunday night, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of family gatherings, festivities and spending.

Instead, the Israeli army announced the return to a stricter blockade of Gaza, which has been isolated by Egypt and Israel since 2007, when Hamas, which Western countries have listed as a terrorist organization, took power.

In a joint statement, Hamas and PIJ warned Israel that its response would be stronger and more widespread if Israel continued its strikes on Gaza.

Special correspondent Abu Alouf reported from Gaza City and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem.
- Atiku Abubakar has again condemned the claim by APC that he is not a Nigerian

- The PDP presidential candidate for the 2019 general election said the ruling APC is full og hypocrites

- Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the home to hypocrites who speak from both sides of the mouth.

Atiku said the APC rather than providing evidence to support Buharis supposed victory at the poll are busy chasing trivialities to hoodwink innocent Nigerians.

Vanguard reports that Atiku's spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, in reaction to the claim that the PDP candidate is a Cameroonian said the APC is chasing shadow instead of substance in an election they massively rigged to profit themselves.

Afegbua said: "At first, they said Atiku Abubakar was not a Nigerian. Again, they said we hacked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC server.

When Atiku Abubakar was donating money to them in the APC, they decorated him with golden ornaments; when he was providing logistics, they were all swarming around him, calling him the great Waziri," Afegbua said.

READ ALSO: Countries with the lowest minimum wage in 2019

He also said that those who preached integrity suddenly joined the hypocritical chorus, sheer double standards and a character profiling that exposes the dubiety of those APC chieftains.

Suddenly they remembered that Atiku is no longer a Nigerian, a former Vice President at that, a business tycoon whose productivity is not in doubt. A man who has impacted positively on thousands of Nigerians by way of employment.

But we will not be distracted by their double speak. Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar won the election and even the APC knows that in the hearts of Nigerians, they didnt win the election, but we will shock them with further proofs at the tribunal.," he noted.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Atiku had commended the appointment of Kaycee Madu as the first Nigerian elected member of the Parliament in Alberta, Canada.

Atiku Abubakar said upward mobility and local and international successes, of the type displayed by Madu who was appointed minister of municipal affairs in Alberta go a long way in changing the international narrative of Nigeria.

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In a statement released on Thursday, May 2, Atiku said seeing Nigerians prosper in Nigeria, and around the world, has always been the cornerstone of his vision.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
- A Nigerian student schooling in Canada has cried out over racist experience

- The student revealed that she has been a victim of racism and discrimination

- Ife also revealed that many of the black students in her school have also been victims

Legit.ng has come across the sad story of a Nigerian graduate schooling in Canada. The lady identified as Ife had taken to popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter, to share her experience of racism and discrimination.

The young lady explained that she is a student at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she claimed to be a victim of racism and discrimination.

Ife called on Nigerians and the world to come to her aid. She also explained that many of the black students in the school also experience the same racist attacks.

READ ALSO: Student, 22, overcomes struggles, obtains 21 distinctions at DUT

According to the chemistry student, some people in the school who discriminate against them are working together. She also claimed that they all work on covering their tracks.

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Nigerians had replied to her tweet, sharing options on how she can solve the problem. They also showed support to her, praying that God continue to keep her safe and protect her from any threat.

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READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a Nigerian man had accused University of Nigeria, Nsukka of bribery. The man claimed that the university normally collects N800k bribery for acceptance to study medicine in the school.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Top 3 World Universities And Their African Students - on Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We cant leave; this is our home. We cant express an opinion with some family members because wed get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didnt think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; its a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where were coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter dont mind and those who mind dont matter.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
A comprehensive plan is underway concerning 10 municipalities in the Nazareth area.

Members of the Nazareth Area Council of Governments have agreed to update their multi-municipal comprehensive plan.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission will work with the Nazareth Area COG to create the plan, which will focus on strategies to address growth, infrastructure and community needs.

Funding comes from a $40,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant.

Nazareth Area COG members include, Bath Borough, Bushkill Township, Chapman Borough, Hanover Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Moore Township, Nazareth Borough, Stockertown Borough, Tatamy Borough and Upper Nazareth Township.

Among the members, there is a combined population of about 49,900 people living in an area totaling 96 square miles.

The beauty and the benefit of having communities work together is they can coordinate transportation, identify where to share, and govern things like land use, housing and jobs, LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said.

The current Nazareth Area COG multi-municipal plan was completed about 10 years ago. Bradley said the new plan will consider the increased development and other changes that have occurred in the last decade.

In most cases, state law requires every municipality to allow for every type of legal zoning use. However, Lower Nazareth Township Manager Lori Stauffer said, with a multi-municipal plan, those zoning uses can be distributed across all participant municipalities.

Instead of each municipality providing every type of use, we can plan regionally, Stauffer said. A certain type of use can go wherever it is most appropriate.

Stauffer said a Nazareth Area COG committee consisting of elected and other municipal officials will begin meeting on the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at the Upper Nazareth Township municipal building to draft goals and create the plan.

Meetings are open to the public. The goal is to complete the plan by the spring of 2020, Stauffer said.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com.
The trial of a woman who lives in Laois and is accused of murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him in the chest has heard that a garda found the deceased lying on his back with blood around his left armpit when he arrived at the scene.

The jury was also shown CCTV footage of the accused, who was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, arriving at a garda station at 2.30am on the morning of the incident.

Sergeant Tony Hanrahan was giving evidence on Friday in the Central Criminal Court trial of Inga Ozolina (48), who is charged with murdering her boyfriend Audrius Pukas (43) over two years ago in her Co Tipperary home.

Ms Ozolina, originally from Latvia, but with an address at Old Court Church, Mountrath, Co Laois has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Pukas at The Malthouse, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on November 20, 2016.

The trial has previously heard that the accused and deceased were in a tempestuous and volatile relationship which was violent at times and the prosecution contends there is no question of self-defence in the case.

Giving evidence today, Sgt Hanrahan told prosecution counsel Paul Murray SC that he was on duty in Roscrea Garda Station on the night in question when Ms Ozolina came to the door.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that his colleague spoke to the accused. Following this, Sgt Hanrahan and two other gardai went to Ms Ozolinas home in Roscrea.

The witness said he was brought by the accused to the rear door of her apartment at The Malthouse, where Ms Ozolina gave him her keys. The witness unlocked the door and entered the property while the accused stayed outside.

Sgt Hanrahan testified that he saw Mr Pukas lying on his back on the floor of a downstairs bedroom when he opened the door. He was wearing only underwear and there was no movement, he explained.

The witness said he approached Mr Pukas body and felt for a pulse but could not detect one.

There was blood around his left armpit as well as on the bed sheets, he said, adding that his body was still warm.

Following this, Sgt Hanrahan went outside the apartment and noticed blood on Ms Ozolinas calf muscle on her lower leg. The witness asked his colleague to bring the accused to the patrol car.

Paramedics later arrived and advised Sgt Hanrahan that the injuries sustained by Mr Pukas were incompatible with life, the court heard.

Ms Ozolina was arrested on suspicion of murder at 3.43am that morning and brought to Nenagh Garda Station.

Under cross-examination by Caroline Biggs SC, defending, Sgt Hanrahan agreed that he had previously made a statement that Ms Ozolina was in a very distressed state at the time.

The witness further agreed that a yellow blood-stained t-shirt and dressing robe were located adjacent to Mr Pukas body in the bedroom.

Paramedic Ronan Wall gave evidence that he arrived at the scene at 2.50am and found a male lying in the bedroom of the apartment. No pulse was found and he noted a wound to his left armpit, the court heard.

Mr Wall said he asked Ms Ozolina if she required medical assistance and she replied no.

Earlier, CCTV footage was shown to the jury of Ms Ozolina arriving at Roscrea Garda Station on November 20 at 2.30am.

Sgt Hanrahan agreed with Mr Murray that Ms Ozolina can be seen alighting from her car and making her way in a hurried fashion to the front door of the garda station.

Ms Ozolina is wearing a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, the court heard.

The witness pointed out in the footage that Ms Ozolina speaks with Gda Diarmaid OConnor before she followed him and another garda outside.

Sgt Hanrahan said that Ms Ozolina got into her car and drove in the direction of The Malthouse. She is followed by two gardai in their patrol car, the court heard.

The trial continues on Tuesday before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury of seven men and five women.
A High Court judge has ordered the extradition a man who absconded to Ireland after spending 31 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was a child.

Roy Norman Kenyon came to Ireland in 2003 while serving his sentence for the murder of Margaret Potts, an elderly shopkeeper, whom he beat to death with a poker in 1971. Having lived in Ireland under an alias for 15 years, the 64-year-old will now be returned to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The court has previously heard that Kenyon lived in Tullamore under the alias Alan McPherson, before being arrested in the village of Eyeries, Co. Cork on May 2, 2018. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly today rejected Mr Kenyon's points of objection and made an order to surrender him to the UK authorities within 25 days.

Outlining the facts of the original trial, Ronan Kennedy BL for the State told the court earlier this year that Kenyon was 16 years old and had been drinking alcohol on the night of his crime. He left the pub to purchase more alcohol from Mrs Potts, got into an argument with her and hit her two times in the head with a poker while she sat in an armchair.

Opposing the application for his surrender to the UK last month Sean Guerin SC said his client is not a risk to society. The barrister said his client is now an adult but was sentenced as a child and was considered to be at greater risk to society than the average prisoner because he had spent a longer time in custody. The lawyer said this logic was "fallacious" and unsupported by the evidence placed before the court.

Counsel said Kenyon has been at liberty for a long period of time and did not appear to have exhibited a risk to the public.

Mr Guerin pointed out that his client was eligible for release in the 1980s when he completed the punitive portion of his sentence. However, he will now serve an "indeterminate" sentence if he is surrendered to the UK. There is no evidence in terms of his behaviour to suggest that he poses an "unacceptable risk" to the public, he added.

Mr Guerin also submitted that there is no commitment from the UK authorities that Kenyon's case will be reviewed at anytime before 2021. He said that his client is likely to find himself "back in the twilight zone" of having his life sentence reviewed every two years and further conditions being imposed.

Ms Justice Donnelly said it is not "egregious" for a person sentenced to life as a child for murder to be held in prison and pointed out that his continued detention in the UK was a result of parole hearings which assessed the risk to the public of granting his freedom.

On surrendering him, she said, he will be entitled to seek release and his case will be reviewed within two years. This, she said, complies with his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. She added: "It cannot be egregious as a matter of law to require a person who has absconded while serving a life sentence to return to the issuing state where they will have the full panoply of the European Convention on Human Rights available to them."

Justice Donnelly further noted that this was not Mr Kenyon's first time absconding from custody after being placed in open prisons. On previous occasions, he was caught trying to leave the country and when returned to prison he was put "at the bottom of the penal ladder". This behaviour, she said, shows he does not want to be monitored and raises concern about his risk to the public. Justice Donnelly said it has not been established that he is no longer a risk or danger to the public.

She also noted that there was no "professional evidence" of his rehabilitation and said the Court does not accept his claim that he forgot about a previous time when he absconded from custody for some months. She also rejected his claim that he had not engaged in the use of controlled drugs.

The Court further rejected a claim that Brexit posed a risk that he would no longer be able to rely on the rights and entitlements guaranteed by EU law.
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Newly published research carried out by RedC Research, Irelands premier provider of research-based consultancy services in Ireland, has highlighted the critically important role the airport plays in delivering visitors to the counties who are now shareholders in the airport.

The research was carried out to establish the behaviour of incoming tourists to the region from overseas with the main aim to establish the benefits that the airport brings to the region and the counties within the catchment region. In order to achieve these research aims, RED C interviewers interviewed departing passengers from Ireland West Airport between the months of May and September 2018. All passengers were overseas visitors who had travelled to the West of Ireland on services into Ireland West Airport.

The research findings reinforced the airports position as a critically important economic driver for the region and in particular for County Leitrim. Key findings from the report from a Leitrim perspective included:

-27% of overseas visitors who visit Leitrim are holidaymakers-

- Overseas visitors spend an average of 7 nights in Leitrim when visiting the region

- Those who visit and stay in Leitrim spend the most time there and the most money there on their trip to the region

- Natural landscape and the outdoors the most popular reasons for visiting Leitrim

Hiking, Cross Country walking and visiting National parks and forests were the most popular activities that people engaged in while visiting Leitrim with over 75% of overseas visitors surveyed partaking in these activities

Visitors to Leitrim through the airport also provided a boost for local accommodation providers with 45% of respondents indicating they stayed in either a Hotel or B&B during their stay in Leitrim whilst visitors to Leitrim estimated they spent on average 708 during their stay in the region.

In July 2016 investment was approved by seven local authorities to invest 7.3m in the airport for a 17.5% shareholding. Last week a delegation from each of the seven local authorities visited the airport for an update on progress and developments since 2016. At the meeting the airport provided an update which included:

 Increase in passenger numbers of 5% since 2016 with 2018 being the third consecutive year of passenger growth at the airport with passenger numbers increasing by 3% to a record high of 771,619.

 Increase in capacity on UK services by +20% since 2016

 Introduction of new twice weekly service from Cologne starting June 1st 2019

 Work commenced on a 15m airport transformation plan to modernise and enhance the airport to ensure the facility will meet the future needs of both our airline customers and passengers.

 Opening of a new state of the art Visitor Discovery Centre to promote Leitrim and the entire region

 Introduction of new state of the art digital platforms throughout the airport to promote the counties of the West and North West of Ireland

Commenting on the RedC Findings and the ongoing collaboration with the seven local authorities, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said The investment by the local authorities into the airport has been a very welcome and positive development for the airport and indeed the entire region. The RedC research demonstrates the significant benefit the airport is bringing to the entire region and its very positive to see the direct spin off benefits that the Leitrim economy is enjoying as highlighted in the RedC report. The collaboration with the local authorities is a very positive example of what can be achieved when resources are combined for the objective of regional development and inbound tourism.

Speaking at the airport during last weeks local authority update, Joseph Gilhooly, Deputy Chief Executive, Leitrim County Council, said Leitrim County Council are very happy to be involved in the Local Authority partnership with Ireland West Airport. The Airport provides a key piece of infrastructure for the continued development of the region. Leitrim County Council would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the Airport Board, Directors, Management and Staff in continuing to grow the business of the airport and to secure investment for the continuous programme of development of the airport facility
THE PROBLEM with drink driving is the mourning after say Limerick Macra who have been praised by the CEO of the Road Safety Authority.

On the morning after their Easter Ball, attended by over 300, they took the innovative approach of setting up a breathalyser stand.

Limerick Macra PRO Brian OShaughnessy said they did it so people could ensure that it was safe to begin the journey home.

It was very popular and weve got a lot of positive feedback. We took 140 readings that morning in the Woodlands House Hotel. Everybody wanted to check themselves and see. Even people who werent driving wanted to see out of curiosity, said Brian, who came up with the idea with Limerick Macra chairperson Vanessa Crean.

Brian has his own breathalyser so they purchased two more. They ran the stand from 9.30am to 1pm.

There was a couple of people who thought they should be all right but they were told, No, youve another hour to wait. Everybody gave themselves an extra hour after what the breathalyser said to be on the safe side, said Brian.

One man wasnt allowed to drive until 6pm.

He knew he was going to be well over. He wasnt driving anyway, he had someone coming to pick him up, said Brian.

It is the first Macra event or, indeed, event of any kind that has had a dedicated breathalyser station that he is aware of.

As well as saving lives, the Limerick Macra PRO said it is in response to the drink driving law change. Since the end of October anyone caught with 50-80 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of blood will be disqualified from driving for three months and receive a 200 fine. Previously, they would have received three penalty points and a fine for a first offence rather than an automatic ban.

It is mainly rural people we are dealing with and if you get put off the road in rural Ireland there are no buses around for you, said Brian, who is from Kilcornan.

The breathalyser stand didnt take from the Easter Ball which he said was a fantastic night. Coincidentally the band was called Traffic.

Brian says they will bring the breathalysers to every future Macra overnight event to promote their message of, Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Caption above: Louise Crowley and Vanessa Crean, Limerick Macra Chairperson, promoting the initiative

Moyagh Murdock, CEO in the RSA, said she welcomes any initiative which aims to promote or further the interests of road safety.

The use of breath alcohol testing devices is of value once alcohol consumption has ceased for several hours, such as in a morning after situation, remembering that even very low levels of alcohol can impair driving, said Ms Murdock.

Investigation files for fatal collisions, by the RSA, shows that 11% of fatal collisions in which a driver had consumed alcohol, occurred between the hours of 7am and 11am.

Read also: County Limerick farmer over the limit on the morning after Munster final

Drink driving at any time of the day or day of the week is drink driving, which is why you must take extra care the following morning if you have been drinking the night before.

While many people accept the dangers associated with drink driving, some people often overlook the potential dangers of driving the morning after drinking the night before. Its important to remember that if youve been drinking the night before, there could still be alcohol in your system the morning after, said Ms Murdock.
A GROUP of women who have devoted countless hours to making clothes and other items for the less fortunate in Limerick and around the world, have been honoured with the Limerick Person of the Month award.

Crafty Angels, a group of 30 ladies, meet every Monday in the Millennium Centre in Caherconlish for two and a half hours. They combine a chat, a cuppa, and an interest in all forms of craft with charity work.

Liz Stanley, from Caherline, set up the Crafty Angels with the late and much missed Maureen Kenny towards the end of 2013.

We had a group there previously and that was coming to an end and we wanted to keep the people together. Its more of a social group than anything else - its like Mens Shed for women, Liz explained.

One of the charities to benefit greatly from their work is KidzCare which provides care, education and love to underprivileged and orphaned children in Tanzania. The group made the connection with the charity through their friend Imelda O'Riordan who lives in Bruff.

The first time we joined up with Imelda we learned of little children who couldnt go to school because they didnt have a uniform, Liz explained. One of our members had died and her husband had given me a bale of black fabric - 25 yards of black fabric. He handed it to me and said, you might be able to do something with that.

About three weeks later Theresa Riordan from Meanus rang me up asking if we still had the black fabric and she told me about Imeldas girls needing skirts.

The Crafty Angels, around 17 of them, gathered together one Monday with their sewing machines. Theresa had made patterns in three sizes for them to follow.

We cut and we sewed and in three hours we made 65 skirts. Imelda then packed them up and took them off with her and she brought back pictures of the little girls. It was lovely.

Imelda, who joined a number of the Crafty Angels, at the Person of the Month presentation in the Clayton hotel this Monday, transports the items to Tanzania in huge suitcases.

 I take a lot of things out each year so Im taking six 23 kilo bags of baby clothes, school supplies and things the group make, Imelda explained.

The group also made around 220 toiletry bags this year for secondary school students in Tanzania who lost everything in a fire and had to go to the river to wash.

Another charity to benefit from their selfless deeds is ACER in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

A friend of ours, Rose Little from Castleconnell, goes out there and she started up, with a friend of hers, a project for women who had no way of making extra money for themselves. She taught them to sew cushion covers and things to sell and now they help to pay for their children to go to school.

Incubator covers, tiny little caps and snuggle blankets were given by the group to the neonatal ward in University Maternity Hospital Limerick and therapy dolls and Freddy bags for the Ark Unit in University Hospital Limerick.

The Crafty Angels hail from Kildimo, Murroe, Doon, Caherconlish and Mitchelstown.

Speaking on behalf of the entire group, some of whom couldn't attend the presentation, Liz said it was a real honour to receive the person of the month award. Its tremendously exciting, she smiled. When I heard the news I couldnt gather my thoughts. I sat down and realised I was shaking. We are absolutely delighted to be recognised.
A CROWD estimated to be around 300 people marched on the local HSE offices in protest at the overcrowding crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The march, organised by Solidarity, drew widespread support, as frustration and anger at the dozens of people waiting on trolleys in the emergency department at UHL boiled over.

The trolley figures, published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reached a 63 in the last week. But last month, a new high of 81 patients on trolleys was recorded.

And the Limerick Leader this week revealed how a 92-year-old woman had been left waiting on a trolley in the emergency department for 105 hours.

Addressing a rally held at City Hall immediately prior to the march, Derek Cromwell, who works as a nurse in the emergency department said: Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures, and it destined to get worse. This isnt just now. Its been consistent over the last five years. Absolutely nothing has been done. The senior management dont seem to care, the government dont care. All they are worried about is their pensions, their next job and making themselves look good.

'University Hospital Limerick is consistently top of the trolley watch figures. These numbers are just going to rise and rise': Staff nurse Derek Cromwell addresses the #EnoughisEnough hospital protest in the city. pic.twitter.com/ZtFIfFQuOb  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

'Healthcare is a human right, give it back or we will fight': A crowd of around 300 people are marching on the @HSELive offices at Catherine Street in protest at the UHL overcrowding crisis. #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/rxRyKDZVHL  Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) May 4, 2019

There was criticism of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over his decision not to visit UHL and see the overcrowding for himself when he was in the city on Thursday, with members of the crowd chanting Leo, Leo, time to go.

Solidarity councillor Mary Cahillane, who organised the demonstration through Facebook, said: Leo Varadkar with his full complement of spin doctors has visited Limerick not once, but twice in the last two months. The first time he came he had the cheek to tell Fintan Walsh of the Limerick Leader that we need a different approach. Nothing happened. Seventeen beds had been closed by then, not once did Leo Varadkar say open them up. On Thursday, he took part in the most cringeworthy street busking event and at the end proclaimed he doesnt do bullshit.

Well Leo, all I can say to you is you are not fooling us and we call bullshit on your spin, your arrogance and your lifes, she added to cheers.

After the rally, the protestors marched around the city streets up to the HSEs offices in Catherine Street.

The Limerick Leader is running a major campaign to highlight the continuing overcrowding crisis in University Hospital Limerick. For more information, click here.
SENATOR Maria Byrne has been appointed as Fine Gaels director of elections ahead of the plebiscite on proposals for a directly elected mayor.

Senator Byrne, who served as Mayor of Limerick in 2010/11 will oversee the partys campaign ahead of the vote on Friday, May 24  the same day as the Local and European Elections.

As a former Mayor of Limerick, I believe cities can benefit from strong, visible leadership and international standing that a mayor, elected with a clear mandate, can bring, she said.

Around the world, including in London, a mayor has become a vital part in ensuring that a great city has a strong voice and can attract investment from home and aboard. We need a strong voice in Limerick to create a strong city to drive the region, she added.

Senator Byrne will be one of a number of speakers who will address a town hall meeting at Thomond Park this Thursday.

The Fine Gael event will be hosted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Rose Hynes, chair of the Shannon Group and John Moran of Liveable Limerick will also speak on the night.

Mr Varadkar will canvass members of the public for a yes vote in Limerick ahead of the town hall event. Senator Byrne, who will contest the next general election in the Limerick city constituency, says shes in favour of the proposals for a directly elected mayor.

This plebiscite is about the people of Limerick giving a mandate to a political leader, enabling them to create a new vibrant Limerick.

All the key ingredients will soon be in place  a deep sea port, an international airport on our doorstep, and a motorway link to Dublin and Cork.

Having previously served as a councillor I know how fundamentally important it is for joined up thinking at local government level, she continued.

The mayor will be paid an annual salary of around 130,000 and will be entitled to hire two advisors.
A Twitter user has shared her first chat with a man on LinkedIn and where it ...




Former Mr Nigeria, Bryan Okwara has made a joke out of an interview that Tonto Dikeh recently granted to address her failed marriage to Churchill.

During the interview, Tonto alleged that her ex-husband suffers premature ejaculation and only lasts "40 seconds".

Web users quickly turned this into a joke and Bryan Okwara has now joined in.

Sharing a photo of himself getting out of a car, he wrote: "She called me and I came in 40 seconds. She was shocked i keep to time."
Later in his career, Leonardo da Vinci's ability to use his right hand appeared to be hampered  a problem long thought to have been caused by a stroke. But a new analysis suggests that it was nerve damage to his hand that instead caused this paralysis.

In the paper, published today (May 3) in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, two Italian doctors argued that Leonardo's hand paralysis may resulted from traumatic nerve damage that occurred after the artist fainted. Their conclusion is based on an analysis of a 16th century portrait of Leonardo.

Leonardo was left-handed, but previous studies, including a new handwriting analysis, have suggested that he was also adept at using his right hand. Though he mostly wrote and drew with his left hand, evidence suggests that he typically painted with his right, according to the paper. [5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Leonardo da Vinci]

The portrait at the center of the new analysis, drawn in red chalk sometime in the 16th century by Italian artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino, depicts an older Leonardo. In the drawing, the famous polymath's right arm is wrapped up in a bandage-like cloth and his right hand is "suspended in a stiff, contracted position," the authors wrote in the paper. In other words, his fingers are slightly bent inward.

But the hand drawn in the portrait doesn't depict the "clenched hand" typical of patients with muscle contractions caused by stroke, they wrote. Rather, "the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand," co-author Dr. Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, said in a statement.

Ulnar palsy is a condition in which fingers become bent like an animal's claw due to damage to the ulnar nerve  a major nerve that runs from the neck down to the fingers and gives the lower arm and hand sensation and the ability to move.

Lazzeri and his co-author Dr. Carlo Rossi, a neurologist at the Hospital of Pontedera in Italy, suggested that his ulnar palsy could have resulted from a trauma, such as fainting and falling down.

What's more, because Leonardo didn't also experience cognitive decline or any other movement issues, a stroke was not likely the cause, Lazzeri said.

Ulnar palsy "may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter, while he continued teaching and drawing," Lazzeri said.

Originally published on Live Science.
In 1980, The New York Times featured a full-page ad from an animal rights group, which lambasted a prominent cosmetics company for testing its products on the eyes of rabbits. The campaign was so effective, it led to several beauty companies pledging hundreds of thousands of dollars toward research to find alternative testing methods that didn't involve animals.

Almost 40 years later, what are some of these alternatives, and how much progress have we made?

Before we delve into the answer, there's one important distinction to make: although "animal testing" usually conjures up the image of defenseless rabbits being prodded and poked in the name of beauty, the use of animals in research  and the search for alternatives  stretches far beyond the cosmetics industry. Animals like mice and rats are widely used in toxicology, the study of chemicals and their effects on us. Animals are also a crucial to drug discovery and testing. In biomedical research, animal models are the foundation of many experiments that help researchers investigate everything from the functioning of circuits in the brain to the progression of disease in cells. [Do Animals Get Seasick?]

Despite their importance in these fields, there are now efforts to reduce the number of animals used in testing. That's due, in part, to ethical concerns that are driving new legislation in different countries. But it also comes down to money and time.

"In theory, non-animal tests could be much cheaper and much faster," said Warren Casey, the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, which analyzes alternatives to animal use for chemical- safety testing.

Another concern is that in some types of research, animals are too different from humans to successfully predict the effects that certain products will have on our bodies. "So we've got ethics, efficiency and human relevance," Casey told Live Science, the three main factors driving the hunt for alternatives.

So, what are the most promising options so far?

Data, data, everywhere

One approach is to replace animals with algorithms. Researchers are developing computational models that crunch huge quantities of research data to predict the effects of certain products on an organism.

"This is a very applicable approach. It's very cheap," said Hao Zhu, an associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Zhu is part of a research team that has developed a high-speed algorithm that extracts reams of information from online chemical databases, to compare thousands of tested chemical compounds with new, untested ones by identifying structural similarities between them. Then, it uses what we know about the toxicity of the tested compounds to make reliable predictions about the toxicity of the untested varieties with a similar structure (assuming that this shared structure means the compound will have similar effects).

Typically, identifying the effects of a new compound would require scores of expensive, time-consuming animal tests. But computational predictions like this could help to lessen the amount of animal research required. "If we can show that the compound we want to put onto the market is safe, then I think these kinds of studies could be a replacement for current animal studies," Zhu said. A similar study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland showed that algorithms could even be better than animal tests at predicting toxicity in various compounds. [How Psychedelic Drugs Create Such Weird Hallucinations]

Miniature organs

In recent years, scientists have started growing cultured human cells on scaffolds embedded on plastic chips, forming tiny structures that mimic the functioning of our heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. Known as organs-on-a-chip, these could provide a novel way to test the effects of new compounds or drugs on human cells.

Testing on these simplified, miniaturized versions of our physiology could deliver more human-relevant results than animal experiments. Crucially, the tests could also replace the use of whole animals in the exploratory stages of early research, when scientists don't necessarily need to test on whole systems. Organs-on-a-chip "for the most part address a single output or endpoint," Casey said  because all that may be required at this early stage is to test the behavior of one cell type in response to a drug or a disease, as a way to guide future research.

This could "help in most cases to reduce the amount of animal tests researchers are planning within ongoing projects," said Florian Schmieder, a researcher who is working on that goal by developing miniature kidney and heart models at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, in Germany. As well as lungs, livers and hearts, some companies are developing artificial 3D structures that replicate human skin. That's particularly important in toxicology, where animal skin tests have long been a baseline for understanding the effects of new, untested compounds.

Replacing this with a harm-free model is now a reality, Casey said: "Skin tissue models have really proven to be pretty effective. They can provide insight on the acute changes  whether something's going to be corrosive and damage skin."

Human studies

One idea that's frequently raised as a counter to animal testing is that if humans want to benefit from new treatments, drugs and research, we should instead offer ourselves as the test subjects. That's quite a simplified and extreme view  and in most countries animal tests are required by law before drugs are given to humans, for instance. So it isn't necessarily practical, either.

But, there are carefully controlled forms of human testing that do have the potential to reduce animal use, without endangering human health. One such method is microdosing, where humans receive a new drug in such tiny quantities that it doesn't have broad physiological impacts, yet there's just enough circulating in the system to measure its impact on individual cells.

The idea is that this cautious approach could help eliminate nonviable drugs at an early stage, instead of using thousands of animals in studies that may only establish that a drug doesn't work. The approach has proved safe and effective enough that many major pharmaceutical companies now use microdosing to streamline drug development. [Why Do Medical Researchers Use Mice?]

"There will of course be ethical concerns, but these could easily be outweighed by the potential gains in bringing safer and more effective medicines to market more efficiently," Casey said.

Where are we now?

So, what do these alternatives mean for the future of animal testing? In some areas of research like cosmetics testing  where so many existing products have already been proved safe through animal studies  there's a growing recognition that testing new products is something we really don't need to advance this industry. That's borne out by regulations like the one put forward by the European Union, which now bans animal testing on any cosmetic products that are produced and sold within the EU.

We're also seeing advances in toxicology research. Toxicologists have long relied on six core animal-based tests that screen new products for acute toxicity  checking whether a product causes skin irritation, eye damage or death if consumed. But in the next two years, these baseline tests will likely be replaced with non-animal alternatives in the United States, Casey said. The reason for this progress is that the "biology underlying these types of toxicity is much simpler than other safety concerns that can arise after [an animal is] exposed to a chemical for an extended period of time, such as cancer or reproductive toxicity," Casey said.

But in other areas of research, where the questions being investigated are more complex, animal models still provide the only way we currently have of fully understanding the varied, widespread, long-term effects of a compound, drug or disease. "Physiology is really, really complex and we still don't have a handle on it"  nor anything that legitimately mimics it aside from animal models, Casey said.

Even despite the most promising advances like the development of organs-on-a-chip, that's still a long way from anything representing a connected human body. "The major problem in developing artificial organ systems is to gain the whole complexity of a living organism in vitro," Schmieder said. "The problem here is to emulate the kinetics and dynamics of the human body in a really predictive way."

While organs-on-a-chip and other inventions might help answer simpler questions, right now whole-animal models are the only way to study more complex effects  such as how circuit functions in the brain are linked to visible behaviors. These are the types of questions that help us understand human disease, and ultimately lead to lifesaving treatments and therapies. So, the animal experiments that underlie those discoveries remain crucial. [Do Animals Have Feelings?]

It's also worth noting that some of the most promising non-animal tests we have today  like algorithms  work only because they can draw on decades of animal research. And to advance in the future, we will need to continue this research, Zhu said.

"We can't use computers to totally replace animal testing. We still need some low-level animal testing to generate the necessary data," Zhu said. "If you asked me to vote for a promising approach, I would vote for a combination of computational and experimental methods."

So, are there alternatives to animal testing? The short answer is yes  and no. While we have several options, for now they're not sophisticated enough to eradicate animal testing. Crucially, however, they can reduce the number of animals we use in research. And with new regulations, and ever-smarter alternatives, we can at least be hopeful that in the future, the number of animals will continue to decline.

Originally published on Live Science.
Ramadan, which lasts a month and requires Muslims to fast all day, begins this year at sundown Sunday. Thousands of observant Muslims in the Capital Region will fast along with millions around the world with the aim of cleansing their bodies and spirits.

Fasting is mentioned in the Quran. "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so you may learn self-restraint." (Chapter 2, verse 183) The Quran was revealed in Ramadan. Muslims consider it the word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad by means of the angel Gabriel.

Charity is encouraged during Ramadan and Muslims donate generously believing their reward will be manifold. They also focus on prayer and self-accountability.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five "pillars" of Islam, the other four being faith in one God, daily prayer, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are physically and financially able.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This is year 1440. Since it is a lunar calendar, Ramadan starts about 11 days earlier each year. Those observing the fast get up early to take a pre-dawn meal called suhoor. Once the sun rises, a complete fast begins, with no food or drink, not even water until after sundown. The evening meal is called iftar.

Shakira Baig and Zarina Chaudhry are both longtime congregants at the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. They are involved in volunteer and interfaith activities and are part of the team that organizes the annual ICCD interfaith community iftar.

Shakira Baig was born in Chennai, India, and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in botany from Karachi University.

She emigrated in 1979 to New Orleans with her husband. They moved six months later to Houston where she worked at Eckerd, raised two children and then owned and managed a Pakistani restaurant for five years.

Her husband's employer eventually transferred him to Albany in 2001. He has worked mostly in Hyatt and Hilton hotels.

She worked at Albany Med as a phlebotomist for eight years. She and her husband, Mirza, live in Guilderland. They have two grown daughters, Sadaf and Shazia.

Zarina Chaudhry was born and raised in Hyderabad, Pakistan. She has a master's degree in botany from Hyderabad University. There was no girls school in her area then, but her father was a staunch believer in education for girls, so he sent Zarina and her sisters to a school where she and her sisters were the only girls in their classrooms.

She came to New York City in 1973, where she was married and had three children. The family moved to Albany in 1979. She was a substitute teacher for 14 years in the Cohoes School District, teaching classes from elementary through high school. She retired in 1999 and then worked in the former Caldor's store in Latham for 10 years. She and her husband, Ashraf, live in Niskayuna and have three grown children, Sofia, Saadia and Amir.

You are both active members of the Islamic Center of the Capital District.

Baig: We joined ICCD when we moved here 18 years ago. Our younger daughter attended the weekend school there and I began to do some volunteer work with the children. Then I arranged for Friday fundraiser lunches by getting meals from local restaurants or asked people to cook. Volunteers helped sell the boxed meals after the Friday prayers to benefit the AnNur Islamic School.

For the last two years, I have been involved with the food pantry at the Islamic center  shelving, cleaning, organizing, arranging, distribution.

During Ramadan for four years, I also arranged for daily evening meals for 25 people, mostly students and newcomers to this region. Now we serve about 60. I still help but am not in charge.

Chaudhry: I have also been involved with the food pantry since it began in February 2017. It is held the second Saturday of every month. I go a day earlier to help set up. On that Saturday, I am there most of day.

I am a member of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady and attend meetings and events.

How would you describe the observance of Ramadan?

Chaudhry: The prophet said, "Fasting is a shield against the fire of hell." We fast from dawn to sunset. We give a lot of charity, pray more and try to get close to Allah. It is a month of building patience.

In the evening, we break fast together with friends or family. Our Islamic center hosts Saturday dinners during Ramadan, as do most Islamic centers in North America.

Almost 400 people attend our community iftar on Saturdays. We do it on a smaller scale daily and arrange the evening meal for about 50 people.

During Ramadan, we sleep less and try to eat less too but often we eat more.

Baig: We give generously of charity, including zakat (an annual payment made, compulsory for Muslims, on some property. Zakat is used for charity or and religious needs). We get more reward for charity during Ramadan.

We have special nightly prayers, called taraveeh. They start after the nightly isha prayers, which will start at 9:30 on the first night of Ramadan and will start at about 10:15 on the last night of Ramadan.

So, after attending them, we reach home after midnight.

How different is Ramadan in the Capital Region compared to how you experienced it growing up?

Chaudhry: I enjoy Ramadan here. Growing up, women didn't go in the mosque.

Baig: We used to cook food at home in Pakistan and send it to the mosques. There are lot of poor people there who deserved the homecooked meals.

At most offices in Pakistan and in many Islamic countries, workdays are shortened. During the last week of Ramadan, school and colleges are closed so people can go home and enjoy the holiday with their families.

Here, there are no shorter days, neither for school nor work. Also, we use personal time here for religious holidays.

School calendars, including ones in the Capital Region, have been acknowledging Ramadan and Islamic holidays for many years now.

Muslim kids who are fasting during school can be excused from gym and can go and rest in the library or do some reading.

For several years, the ICCD has been hosting an interfaith community iftar.

Baig: About 50 to 60 people from different faiths attend our annual event, even though it is rather late in the evening. They are Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian. We save a table for our Hindu friends and order vegetarian for them. We start with a program, then break our fast with sweet dates, which is how Prophet Muhammad used to. The Muslims pray maghreb, the sunset prayers, and our guests watch us. Some join us. After that, we all sit down and enjoy dinner. Our guests love the food. It is a popular event and many people like to be invited again.

ahaqqie@timesunion.com  518-454-5651
WHARTON - Wharton resident Alicia Flores couldnt be happier about her daughter Juliet being accepted into the Realizing Our Academic Reward (ROAR) Academy. After all, Juliets older sibling, Jazmine, was in the inaugural program and is now studying at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Coming through ROAR really helped her focus on her studies and helped her stand out when it came to getting scholarships, Flores said. This is a great program.

Through ROAR, Juliet and 24 other Wharton High School freshmen this fall will get the opportunity to begin earning college credit while seeking their high school diploma. A collaborative effort of Wharton Independent School District and Wharton County Junior College, ROAR enables students to earn up to 60 college credit hours during high school. The program begins freshman year and is offered free of charge to participating students. Books, supplies, and an electronic device like a laptop or a tablet are provided at no cost.

On March 28, Wharton ISD officials held a lottery at WCJCs Wharton campus to determine the newest ROAR Academy class, which is the fifth one since the programs inception. Chosen by random selection were 25 students. The ROAR Academys Class of 2023 includes Venicio Aguilar, Christian Avalos, Melanie Callejas, Cherish Evans, Juliet Flores, Lucy Garcia, Jazir Guajardo, Jason Guzman, Zarion Jones, Kateria Knight, Trayvion Levatino, Shaylynn Longoria, Litzy Martinez, Kameron Mitchell, Ali Pabani, Evelyn Pereyra, Bobbie Richards, Angel Riojas, Alaija Sanders, Janaesia Sanders, Ariana Thompson, Isabell Vargas, Leilani Veazey, Seth Velasquez and Miguel Zarate.

Wharton ISD Superintendent Tina Herrington expressed her thanks to WCJC for helping the district offer such a rewarding program. The inaugural class was launched in 2014.

I want to begin by thanking WCJC for beginning this partnership, she said. WCJC is such a valuable resource and its really exciting for the students to have this opportunity.

Herrington noted that last summer seven students from the ROAR class of 2018 graduated with their high school diploma and an associates degree at the same time. Many others such as Jazmine Flores completed enough college hours to transfer to a university as a sophomore or junior.

The point of ROAR is to provide students - some of whom are the first generation in their family to go to college - with the resources and support needed to further their education.

Its going to be hard. Its going to be tough. But with our support and with your parents support, we have no doubt you will succeed, Wharton High School Principal Olatunji Oduwole told the new class.

I congratulate you on taking on this endeavor, added Bryce Kocian, WCJCs vice-president of administrative services.

Wharton students Ariana Thompson, Janaesia Sanders and Kateria Knight admitted after the lottery ceremony that they are nervous about taking college classes. But they each recognize the unique opportunity they - and their families - have been provided.

I feel like this is going to be a great experience, said Knight, who plans to become a pediatrician.

Im looking forward to seeing how it feels to take college classes, added Sanders, who wants to go into business.

Thompson has intentions of being a lawyer and said she was most nervous that her name would not be called and she would miss out on the program.

I am so happy that I feel like Im going to cry when I get home, she said.
Tammy Jackson was ushered into an empty jail cell by sheriffs. Then one morning, she was there with someone else: her newborn baby.

According to a letter dated May 3, written by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein, the full-term, mentally ill 34-year-old began complaining to officers about contractions around 3 a.m., April 10, the Miami Herald first reported.

More than four hours later, members of the sheriff's office spoke to the on-call doctor, who said "he would check when he arrived," according to Finkelstein. And when the physician clocked in, he did.

That was around 10 a.m.

For the seven preceding hours, Jackson was locked in a jail cell, alone. She was bleeding, in labor, and then forced to birth her baby on her own - conduct which Finkelstein called "outrageous" and "inhumane" treatment.

"It is unconscionable that any woman, particularly a mentally ill woman, would be abandoned in her cell to deliver her own baby," he wrote in the scathing letter, excoriating the Sheriff's Office. Although Jackson and the baby are both healthy, he wrote, "Not only was Ms. Jackson's health callously ignored, the life of her child was also put at grave risk."

Finkelstein says Jackson was obviously pregnant and the child came at-term - something the Sheriff's office would have known, given they placed her in infirmary care specifically so she could receive proper medical attention. After her arrest a month earlier, Jackson was placed on medical monitoring for the pregnancy, precluding the possibility that those charged with her custody - employees of the Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Jail - were unaware.

When Jackson began contractions and called for help, guards did not take her to a hospital, where she could have given birth safely. Instead, they attempted to contact an on-call doctor. It took four hours for guards to reach the doctor, Finkelstein said, and then it took the doctor another hour and a half to get to the jail. In all, it took 6 hours and 45 minutes for Jackson and her newborn to receive care after initially asking for help.

"Medical records indicate her baby was born at term; the birth was not premature or unexpected," Finkelstein wrote. "Yet in her time of extreme need and vulnerability, [Broward Sheriff's Office] neglected to provide Ms. Jackson with the assistance and medical care all mothers need and deserve."

The North Broward Bureau, where Jackson was held, is a "special needs detention facility" that houses "mentally ill, medically infirm and special needs" inmates among its 1,200 person population, according to its website.

Prison births have been scrutinized in recent months. The First Step Act, the criminal-justice-reform bill that Congress approved in December, addresses the use of restraints on prisoners during birth. Several states have similarly begun revising their policies surrounding the use of solitary confinement and handcuffs during pregnancy and labor.

Finkelstein demanded an "immediate review of the medical and isolation practices in place in all detention facilities."

The Post could not independently reach a spokesperson from the Sheriff's Office or North Broward Bureau for comment, however the Herald reported that the Sheriff's Office's internal affairs unit launched an investigation into Jackson's treatment.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The kaleidoscope of Kentucky Derby weekend escaped year-long closets again Friday and flooded the Kentucky Oaks racing day long adored by Louisvillians. Women wore shoes of daredevil heights. Churchill Downs brimmed with attire of the greenest greens, the yellowest yellows and the pinkest of that official color, pinks. Some dudes wore horse hats.

Soldiers and police patrolled here and there. Dogs sniffed beneath vehicles. An announcement near the gate prohibited bringing in a drone. (OK.) People outside sold flip-flops and ponchos for $10 in case the rain returned - it didn't - while others sold tickets and religion.

Everything seemed as ever.

Yet the 145th Kentucky Derby, the biggest annual event for a niche sport that takes its national attention in fleeting bites, might carry a tad more importance than usual. Saturday's edition will be horse racing's first nationally spotlighted event since the dreadful winter at Santa Anita Park, the California track where 23 horses died between Dec. 26 and March 30 before the track shut down for eight days to investigate and make adjustments to the course's dirt racing surface.

"You bet, yeah," trainer Wayne Lukas, the 83-year-old winner of 14 Triple Crown races, said in the paddock Friday. "Nobody here is worried about that now. That's history. This is the one that picks everybody up every year."

"For the sport, period," said Mike Smith, the jockey who won the Triple Crown last year aboard Justify for trainer Bob Baffert and who on Friday rode McKinzie to victory for Baffert in the Alysheba Stakes. "It's always good for the sport. You know, good Lord willing, we'll have a great, clean and safe day, all the horses will return happy and healthy and sound, and then our sport will thrive after that."

As to whether this weekend constitutes something of a recovery, Smith said, "I think it will, definitely. Without a doubt. I know it will."

It matters a tad more.

"It was so unusual and horrible, what happened at Santa Anita," said Kenny Rice, in his 20th year broadcasting horse racing for NBC. "I don't know anyone who remembers anything like it."

Rice noted the number of contenders at Saturday's Derby who race at California's most famous track. "What's interesting, even with all the problems Santa Anita had, Omaha Beach has scratched now, but coming into this Derby, probably the top four horses were all based in Santa Anita: Baffert's three (Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster), and Omaha Beach," he said. "Probably the best filly, Bellafina, running in the Oaks today, was based at Santa Anita. How strange is it for the catastrophe that they had out there with the fatalities, that they would have five horses of this crop come out of Santa Anita? And that's kind of the interesting part about it all that really isn't mentioned all that much."

Rice considered the various factors that might have contributed to the horse deaths, including a dirt track that some theorized suffered during unusually rainy winter weather, increasing stress on the animals' legs.

"It's important because there's so much confusion about what all went on. And it's easy to say it was just the track," he continued. "I think there's other things involved, not in a cryptic way, but maybe some of it's medication, maybe some of it's breeding. A lot of the horses that broke down were in the morning during training, so it really isn't an issue about using the whip or about race conditions. So there's still that cloud of getting exactly what happened and trying to pinpoint that. Santa Anita and all of racing needs to know, if they can find out exactly."

The ongoing mystery at Santa Anita and scrutiny from lawmakers and animal rights advocates appeared to nudge the sport toward a new, transitional paradigm.

Yet nobody protested Friday at Churchill Downs, if two walks around the edges of the giant premises were any indication.

David Peele, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in an email that the organization held off on protesting this year because its senior vice president, Kathy Guillermo, "spoke at the recent Churchill Downs shareholder meeting and the company agreed to look at all the issues that she raised, so we are giving them a chance to take appropriate action."

As Tim Sullivan of the Louisville Courier-Journal reported, Churchill Downs has lost 43 thoroughbreds to racing injuries since 2016, or 2.42 per 1,000 starts, 50 percent higher than the national average. Some of the proposed changes at both Santa Anita and Churchill Downs involve a phasing-out of Lasix, the diuretic and anti-bleeding medication long used in horse racing. Others wondered if the sport needed to change anything other than the Santa Anita track surface.

"Well, Santa Anita, they lost the racetrack, and they blamed everything - motherhood, apple pie, whips, Lasix - but the blame was [on] what they were standing on," Lukas said. "You know, they just had to fix it. They got bad weather. To their credit, they tried to Band-Aid it, I think, a little bit, and if they had just taken a stand and said, 'Look, we're going to fix it, and racing will be back to normal, I think it will be all right.' Instead, we got a lot of bad publicity, and we tried to, like with anything like that, throw the blame somewhere else."

In the run-up to the ninth race Friday, a few hours before the feature Kentucky Oaks with its 2-year-old fillies, Baffert, 66, the trainer of the moment, came over to Lukas, who previously had a long turn as trainer of the moment. The friends, titans of the sport, chatted. Each had a horse in the race. Lukas would say he still gets excited about his 2-year-old crop, still gets a little pit in the stomach in pre-race.

Neither titan's horse won that one, but the scene of the two of them here did have its unmistakable normalcy.
CARACAS, Venezuela - In the intoxicating early hours of Tuesday morning, Venezuela's opposition saw a historic goal within reach: President Nicolas Maduro, they were certain, was about to step down. But by noon, a dull panic began to surface. A plan rife with intrigue and betrayal had begun to go south.

Leopoldo Lopez - the country's most famous political prisoner and mentor of opposition leader Juan Guaido - helped broker a deal. While still under house arrest, he'd met in secret with top Maduro loyalists - including the defense minister - inside Lopez's cement compound in eastern Caracas. The agreement: The loyalists would give Maduro up, and retain their positions inside a new interim government headed by Guaido.

"We moved forward out of trust that the top ranks [of the government] would make announcements against Maduro," said Freddy Superlano, a senior opposition lawmaker and the architect of Guaido's Operation Freedom to "liberate" the nation. "Maduro was going to respond by leaving. We agreed, because he depended on them, nothing else but them sustained him."

The plan was rushed into action a day early, opposition officials say, after chatter surfaced of Guaido's possible arrest. Just hours after Guaido's call for an uprising of the military, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.

This account provides previously undisclosed details of the plan to oust Maduro and is based on interviews with seven opposition officials with direct knowledge of the developments. Most spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Promised declarations of support from Maduro's inner circle never came. Instead, Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Maduro's defense minister and one of the key loyalists meeting with the opposition - went on national television to denounce what he called a "coup." Suddenly, the dashing Leopoldo Lopez - who had escaped house arrest with help from Maduro's own intelligence police - was forced to scramble to the Chilean, and then the Spanish embassy, to seek protection. For hours, Guaido disappeared. Maduro's spy chief - a senior conspirator - fled the country.

U.S. officials have claimed that Maduro was en route to the airport to flee to Havana, before being stopped by the Russians. Senior opposition officials say they never received that information.

A plan meant to end two decades of Venezuelan socialism had collapsed, signaling a pivotal twist in the campaign to oust Maduro.

But if the failed plot illustrated the lack of a tipping point in Guaido's military support, it also underscored Maduro's fundamental weakness. While Maduro has called Guaido an outlaw, his forces have yet to attempt to arrest Guaido.

On Saturday, the opposition is poised to push again, calling a large-scale march toward military instillations even as it seeks to pick up the pieces of the most pivotal week in their effort to oust Maduro

"It's not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out," said Superlano. "We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesn't it make sense to take it, especially if you don't have another tangible plan?"

"If that's naive," he said, "then let critics crucify us."

- - -

At 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Superlano, a senior lawmaker at Guaido's National Assembly, arose early and sped in his beige Toyota to the military base where Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez had already arrived.

In a country teetering on economic collapse and suffering from fast-spreading hunger, Guaido, Venezuela's self-declared interim president, has called Maduro an "usurper" for claiming to have won elections last year that were widely discredited. That morning, Guaido stood with members of the armed forces and Lopez.

"Guaido was serene, as always. Leopoldo tends to be more effusive, but he was calm that morning," Superlano said. "The environment was tense. But at that point, I think they both expected the bid to succeed."

Lopez, outside the residence of the Spanish ambassador on Thursday, said that he had met with senior generals to hatch a plan. But, Superlano said, Lopez and other senior opposition operatives had also been negotiating with Defense Minister Padrino Lopez and high court head Maikel Moreno.

At first, the talks were exploratory. But eventually, the opposition began to see "trustworthy" signs that the Maduro loyalists were ready to turn. In fact, they were showing passive support.

Guaido was being permitted to move freely across the country, and no effort was made to arrest him even though he violated a travel ban by going to Colombia in February to help lead an effort to bring in humanitarian aid.

To close the deal with senior Maduro officials, Lopez offered to let them stay on as part of a transitional government, and guaranteed they would not be prosecuted.

One key mystery remains why Padrino Lopez and two others senior loyalists backed out at the last moment. Some have suggested that Leopoldo Lopez's public appearance may have spooked them, describing his arrival in front of the cameras immediately after being freed as an act of grandstanding. Still others suggest they were double agents who remained loyal to Maduro.

Superlano insisted they had not backed out because the plan was launched a day early. "Padrino knew it would happen on the 30th," he said.

Yet in a country where security forces have used violence to put down street protests - leading to four deaths just this week - keeping former Maduro officials in a transition government could be highly unpalatable to a significant segment of the population. But opposition officials say they have to remain focused on a single goal: to get Maduro out.

"We have to offer them a role in the transition, and give them more than just amnesty or guarantees," said Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's designated "ambassador" to the United States. "The discussions are centered on ousting Maduro, and calling for elections to achieve progress."

But within a few hours after their arrival at the La Carlota air base, the expectations of the opposition leaders sank, especially after Padrino Lopez and the other top Maduro officials did not come forward.

At that point, key opposition figures left the La Carlota base and headed to the city's eastern Plaza Altamira. Guaido spoke from the roof of a car before leading a march to the west, in which protesters encountered security forces wielding tear gas and rubber bullets.

"It was around noon that we decided that [Leopoldo] Lopez had to seek protection at the Chilean embassy," Superlano said. Manuel Figuera, Maduro's spy chief who had aided in Lopez's liberation, had fled - Superlano believes to the United States.

Both he and Vecchio pushed back against the narrative of a bungled opportunity. What some hoped would happen in one day, would still be achieved, opposition officials insist. Superlano said negotiations with members of Maduro's inner circle "are still happening," and claimed that the regime is "collapsing" from within.

It may simply take longer than hoped.

"Maduro will not sleep calmly a single night of his life," Vecchio said. "He knows he can trust no one."
SEBEWAING  Strides continue to move forward to revitalize downtown Sebewaing.

The village of Sebewaing will host a community meeting 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sebewaing Township Library, located at 41 N. Center St.

During the meeting, there will be a presentation on the progress that has been made and information on some of the future projects being planned.

Special guest speakers during the event will be Christopher Germain and Charles Donaldson from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Carl Osentoski, director for the Huron Economic Development Corporation.

Since the effort began, several of the empty storefronts in the downtown area have been filled with businesses, and some others are works in progress.

The community has done a variety of things to generate interest in business development.

Village leaders worked with the Michigan State University do to a study. For the study, representatives from Michigan State University visit a community and do an assessment of their first impression of a community as a first-time visitor. Their assessment helps a community learn about their strengths and weaknesses.

Sebewaing also gained broadband Internet service.

The village will host a spring clean-up week from May 6-10.

Village residents may haul their own grass clippings and leaves to the compost pit at 145 W. Main St. at the DPW garage. Brush may be hauled to the village brush pile south of town on Liken Road, but building materials are not allowed there.

Brush must be placed in separate piles along the street. Grass and leaves may be placed together on the edge of the street, but no vines or brush can be in the grass and leaf piles. The DPW will pick up those items.
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar police had two Reuters journalists behind bars, but they wanted more.

The reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were lured into a meeting with police in December 2017 and arrested on claims of violating state secrecy laws as they reported on atrocities against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The journalists' detention was quickly condemned by media-freedom groups and rights activists around the world. Myanmar authorities, meanwhile, were not swayed by international pressure. As a next step, they wanted to comb the reporters' cellphones, according to court documents and an attorney for the journalists.

Authorities turned to a cellphone-breaching technology from an Israeli company, Cellebrite, according to the documents and a defense lawyer's account.

Cellebrite - which has since left the Myanmar market - was one of numerous technology companies that rushed into Myanmar as the country opened to greater foreign investment in recent years.

The deals made at the time did not bring any complaints of violations of international laws.

But the case against the journalists laid bare the potential risks of making deals with governments that could use the foreign forensic and surveillance technology in hard-line crackdowns and prosecutions.

In the case of the journalists, the files pulled from the phones later became a core element of Myanmar's accusations.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting last month - were found guilty in September of possessing state secrets and intending to share them and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The two journalists were left out of a mass prisoner amnesty held annually during Myanmar's traditional new-year celebrations in April. Of the thousands of people freed, just a handful were political prisoners, rights groups said.

Later that month, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the two journalists, effectively ending their bids to overturn their sentences through the legal system.

Last year, Cellebrite halted new sales in the country and stopped servicing equipment that was already sold, its Myanmar distributor said in an interview.

Cellebrite does not comment on "specific incidents, customers or territories," the company said in a statement.

"Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements," the statement added. "We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrite's values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements."

Myanmar has received substantial third-party assistance to train and equip its police in recent years.Activists say that companies and donor countries are providing advanced tools to help police further repress perceived dissent. Proponents argue the work is needed to help professionalize the police force.

The police worked alongside the armed forces during its August 2017 crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, according to U.N. investigators who say the minority group was targeted by security forces with "genocidal intent."

The Myanmar military and the civilian government lead by Aung San Suu Kyi have dismissed evidence of abuses as biased and unfounded.

Other than journalists, the police continue to detain peaceful protesters and critics, including a prominent filmmaker, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was recently arrested for criticizing the military on Facebook.

Cellebrite's technology is widely used by law enforcement around the world. The company began selling its products in Myanmar in 2016 through MySpace International, a Yangon-based cybersecurity and digital forensics firm, MySpace officials said. The company has no relation to the U.S. social media website Myspace.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, MySpace's chief executive, said Cellebrite stopped its dealings with the country late last year.

Police in Myanmar, however, still have the technology at their disposal, said the MySpace CEO.

In a July motion to dismiss charges against the two Reuters journalists, attorneys for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo noted the police officer who carried out the search of the reporters' phones had an expired training certification from Cellebrite.

"They said that he was a technical expert, that he is well trained by Cellebrite, but his Cellebrite certificate was out of date," said Than Zaw Aung, an attorney for the journalists.

Thandar Moe, an officer in the commercial and information section of Israel's embassy in Yangon, said the embassy was unaware of Cellebrite's business in the country and declined to comment further.

Cellebrite equipment pulled documents from the reporters' phones including itineraries for Pope Francis' visit to the country and the vice president's travels, as well as details of the military's campaign in Rakhine, according to the court documents and the defense lawyer.

A judge deemed the information to be secret. Defense lawyers argued that the information was already widely available to the public and that the reporters were set up by police.

Kyaw Kyaw Htun, who served in the military, said the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military-controlled ministry overseeing the police, is a major customer.

The company had a "very close" relationship with Cellebrite but was informed four or five months ago by the company that it would stop business in Myanmar, he said.

In a statement, Interpol, the international police organization, said it also provided digital forensic equipment manufactured by Cellebrite and three other unnamed companies to the police. The software licenses for the tools provided by Interpol ended in early 2018.

Two PowerPoint presentations by the Myanmar Police Force showing crime data from 2016 and 2017, reviewed by The Washington Post last month, said authorities acquired a range of Cellebrite's Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) equipment used to hack smartphones. This included the UFED Chinex Kit, used to extract data from Chinese mobile phones, and UFED 4PC, a software system that Cellebrite promotes as "flexible and convenient."

A spokesperson for the police did not respond to requests for comment.

Reseda, California-based MediaClone, which produces data collection and cellphone extraction tools, confirmed that it did a deal with MySpace in 2016. Company CEO Ezra Kohavi said that he did not know which ministry received its equipment, but Kyaw Kyaw Htun said it was being used by the police.

Business, however, has slowed considerably in recent months because of "the Rakhine state situation," Kyaw Kyaw Htun said, a reference to the Myanmar military's August 2017 campaign against the Rohingya, which sent some 730, 000 people fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh after militants claiming to represent the minority attacked police posts.

"It's very tough for us, you know," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Aung Naing Soe in Yangon and Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced a program Friday that deploys state-licensed volunteer reserve deputies to protect worshipers in churches, synagogues and mosques in Bexar County.

Salazar recalled the scene of the 2017 shooting at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs that claimed 26 lives in neighboring Wilson County, and said he never wants to see a repeat of that in his career.

Providing extra security will enable clergy and church members to focus on worship, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Sheriffs Office to provide reserve deputies at schools

You want people to feel comfortable concentrating on that, and not have to worry about watching the exits, Salazar said.

Since September, a similar program has put reserves at schools in the East Central and Southwest independent school districts, providing 1,700 hours of additional security, valued at roughly $51,000, at no cost to taxpayers, Salazar said.

Churches, school officials and prospective reserve trainees can call Deputy Fred Feliciano at 210-372-5879 about the programs. To help sponsor reserve training, call San Antonio College, 210-486-1692.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
What a jerk you were to let me dump you.

Thats the message the Trump administration is sending to some of our closest allies and most important economic partners. The most recent target is Japan, whom our U.S. ambassador berated last week for not giving us a favorable deal that Japan actually did give us  before we abruptly ripped it up.

The United States spent eight years negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This 12-country Pacific Rim trade pact was partly designed to build an economic and diplomatic alliance that would keep China, which had been excluded from the deal, in check.

But the United States objective was also to open up new markets for U.S.-made products, especially U.S. agricultural goods. A 2016 analysis from the International Trade Commission found that agriculture and food would be the U.S. sector that saw the greatest percentage gain in output growth as a result of the TPP.

Greater access to the Japanese market was particularly enticing to U.S. farmers and ranchers. Japan is a wealthy, mature economy  where high-income consumers can afford high-end U.S. beef and high-quality U.S. grains  but its also an economy that has had high barriers to agricultural trade.

And so, as part of the TPP talks, the U.S. trade team spent about a year negotiating one-on-one with Japan about agriculture, with the understanding that whatever concessions the United States won would be granted to the other TPP member countries as well.

This allowed us to design the shape of a package that catered to U.S. priorities, explains Darci Vetter, then the chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Of course, some of those priorities overlapped with those of other TPP countries. Both the United States and New Zealand were eager to sell more dairy and wine to Japan, for instance. Both the United States and Canada wanted Japan to lower tariffs on wheat. Which is why other countries were more than happy to let us push for as many concessions as we could.

Japan determined that the overall pact would be so valuable that it made the politically contentious choice of agreeing to our requests. Incidentally, the agricultural terms wed negotiated in the TPP also became the template for a trade deal that Japan would separately negotiate with the European Union.

President Barack Obama signed the TPP in 2016. But Congress dragged its feet in ratifying it. Among President Trumps first actions after his inauguration was to pull us out of the deal, with generally incoherent reasons for doing so.

Disappointed that wed reneged, the remaining 11 TPP countries nonetheless decided to continue without us. Their new deal, sometimes called TPP 2.0, formally went into effect on Dec. 30, 2018. Just over a month later, Japans new trade deal with the European Union became effective.

This means that dozens of other countries now benefit from changes we persuaded Japan to make. And our farmers are about to lose out, big time.

Japans beef imports were already up 25% in the first two months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported. The biggest beneficiaries were Canada and New Zealand. This makes sense: As members of TPP 2.0, they have a huge price advantage. U.S. beef is tariffed at 38.5%, and TPP 2.0 countries beef is now at 26.6%, with further reductions slated for coming years.

Even before then, these other countries advantages will widen. If frozen beef imports surpass a certain threshold, as is expected soon, a safeguard tariff will automatically kick in and raise tariffs on our products  but not TPP 2.0s members  to 50%.

With U.S. farmers quietly freaking out, pressure is mounting to seal a new bilateral trade deal with Japan. But rather than coming to Japan hat in hand, were scolding it for keeping its word when we could not be bothered to do the same.

By implementing these agreements before addressing our bilateral trade relationship, Japan is effectively redistributing market share away from its strongest ally, the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, told Nikkei.

I asked Vetter what she made of Hagertys remarks. She noted that the whole point of the TPP was to deepen member countries economic and diplomatic ties. From that perspective, then, the Trump administration is just angry that its working.

Frankly, she said, you cant leave someone at the altar and then be surprised or upset that theyve moved on.

crampell@washpost.com
Since the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump has insisted on the need for a border wall in the face of a crisis at our southern border. Until recently, the numbers indicated we were nowhere near a crisis; the number of immigrants crossing the border was quite low compared to previous years.

Recently, the numbers have spiked, including the number of families. However, even at the current levels, they do not approach those seen in the early 2000s. In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, changed course from detaining as many families as possible to releasing families at the border to appear in court in the future.

As we recently learned, the president has advocated for busing recently arrived migrants to sanctuary cities, those deemed to be welcoming to immigrants and/or hostile to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It certainly raises the possibility that the release of large numbers of families on the border is intended to provoke backlash from the communities that have fought the crisis narrative.

Those striving daily to help the migrants provide a vital dose of hope during trying times.

It is important to note that numbers dont tell the whole story. The families entering the United States are not trying to evade detection. They are entering in plain sight of CBP and turning themselves in because that is the only alternative to waiting for days, weeks or even months in Mexico to be processed at the port of entry for asylum.

With the recent departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security and Ron Vitiello from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we are braced for another crackdown as both reportedly left because they were not tough enough on immigration and border enforcement.

Being an immigration lawyer in the age of Trump is challenging. It is filled with uncertainty, frustration, injustice and rapid change. While I know that more bad policy awaits, I have managed to find hope because my fellow immigration lawyers and activists are not fighting these policies alone. The reactions of average Americans give me hope because I see that they value the contributions immigrants make in our country. No matter the rhetoric or who is in power, the response to harsh policies and inhumane treatment shows that there is little support for these policies outside the minority of the presidents base.

When the travel ban was enacted and travelers were stuck in airports or prohibited from boarding U.S.-bound flights, protesters and lawyers showed up at airports, courts intervened and the president was forced to revise the ban, greatly diminishing the number of those impacted. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a revised version of the travel ban, Congress introduced legislation seeking to repeal it.

When children were ripped from their parents arms, the outcry was immediate and sustained by lawyers, physicians, mental health professionals and, most important, Americans with no unique knowledge or experience, driven by the sheer inhumanity of the actions. Nearly a year later, grassroots efforts to support reunited families with travel funds, housing and legal representation continue across the country.

When asylum-seekers were illegally made to wait in Mexico, sometimes for months, to apply for asylum, again Americans (and many Mexicans) responded by organizing, gathering donations and providing the humanitarian aid that should be the responsibility of the government or the international aid community, like the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

From San Diego to Brownsville, Americans from all walks of life have responded with open arms and so much more. From the Angry Tias & Abuelas group organizing at bus stations in the Rio Grande Valley to the underground network of volunteers who provide food and shelter to released migrants in Arizona, Americans are demonstrating that we are still a nation of immigrants, a nation that embraces your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free  those who seek safety here.

We are the people who will step up to provide help where it is needed when our government fails to do so. Citizens have donated millions of dollars to support bond funds to help people leave detention and to organizations fighting anti-immigrant policies in court.

Should it be this way? Should it fall on the rest of us to make up for the cruelty of our elected officials? Certainly not, but the fact that at each turn there is resistance, sometimes outspoken and other times peaceful and almost unnoticed, suggests that this cruelty, too, shall pass.

Where immigration officials bring inhumanity, San Antonio shines. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition, San Antonio Sanctuary Network, Catholic Charities, American Gateways, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, San Antonio Mennonite Church, Travis Park Church and, most important, people from all walks of life have shown over and over again that we will not be complacent in the face of injustice.

We will find ways, formal and informal, to help. Students from elementary school to law school have organized blanket and backpack drives to make sure that migrant families have some comforts for their long journeys.

As border cities and even San Antonio have seen large numbers of families released from CBP custody, they have stepped up to provide emergency services. San Antonios resource center is just one example of city officials providing support to local nonprofits whose capacities have been stretched to the limits.

Despite the Trump administrations efforts to find new ways to limit immigration, each initiative has been met with resistance that demonstrates that most Americans want us to be that beacon of hope for those fleeing harm. The restrictionists are vocal, but they are not the majority.

There will be countless challenges ahead as new political appointees seek to implement the presidents anti-immigration agenda, but I believe the actions of the American people will speak louder than the words of those who demonize immigrants.

The recently arrived migrants have long and difficult roads ahead. Navigating the bureaucracy that is stacked against them is daunting. Attaining their American dream will be fraught with hardship. But for a moment, when they were weary, strangers welcomed them. Strangers fed them. Strangers sheltered them.

Most important, these unsung heroes living among us treated them with the dignity and respect that all people deserve. That is what makes American great.

Erica B. Schommer, J.D., is a clinical associate professor of law and immigration law expert at the St. Marys University School of Law. The views presented are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of St. Marys University.
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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After many years of dedication to the Irish League of Credit Unions and to the local Credit Union network, Gerry Thompson of Ballyleague has been elected the new president of the Irish League of Credit Unions.

Gerry was formally elected at the AGM in the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Sunday, April 28, having previously served as chairman of Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union.

Gerry is the son of Pete Thompson, who was a founding member of the Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union in 1965.

Gerry takes on the role from outgoing president, Charles Murphy, and will be helped out by newly elected vice president, Mr Eamonn his late father Pete Thompson and he also acknowledged the support of his wife Martha and his family.



Speaking of his new role, Mr Thompson said: I am proud and humbled to be elected to this position and very much look forward to working with all our affiliated credit unions, and the broader credit union movement, as they continue to engage in the further development and diversification of services.

As a firm believer in the massive potential of credit cooperation to improve peoples lives worldwide, I will work to ensure the unique credit union model of cooperative financial services continues to prosper across Ireland. I am proud of the ILCUs all-island remit, and aspire to see credit union services ultimately become the first financial choice for all our citizens, both North and South.



Mr Thompson will now lead a board of 12 other directors over the course of a two year term.
Cavan Older Peoples Council take a new play entitled The Best Years of Our Lives Are Yet to Come to the Corn Mill Theatre stage on Friday, May 10.

This moving and hilarious play is co-written by the members and theatre practitioner Maura Williamson who also directs the play.

This drama captures the richness of older peoples experiences and allows the audience to understand the issues they face in negotiating a range of everyday situations.

The performance takes us through several scenes, giving us an insight into their perspective on life as an older person in todays society.

The age-friendly social commentary uses humour to point out instances of older peoples unique perspective on the world.

Bob Gilbert, Chair of the Older Peoples Council said, I believe that drama is one of the most effective vehicles for exploring and raising awareness of issues affecting our society.

This drama project explores several issues encountered by older people in their daily lives. The issues raised were suggested by the participants and the scenarios were created by them.

This is proof of the enormous contribution that older people are making to our society.

The end product was all made possible by our marvellous Maura Williamson who encouraged our creativity and collated the various contributions into a cohesive final script.

Catriona O'Reilly, arts officer complimented the group for their commitment to the project and the work over the past months with the guidance of Maura Williamson, which has culminated in a really successful production.



This theatre project is an initiative of Cavan County Council Social Inclusion Office and the Arts Office and is supported by the Arts Council.

This Older Peoples drama project won the 2019 All Ireland Community and Council award for Best Community Initiative and is on tour also to Ramor Theatre Virginia on May 17 the Civic Centre Belturbet on May 24.

Doors at 8pm at Corn Mill and booking at 0872570363 bookings@cornmilltheatre .com.
The saga of what the media has dubbed the fall of the taikun", or the "the fall of the titan", began on November 19, 2018. On that day, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, was arrested as he disembarked from his private jet at Tokyo airport. Since his arrest, a successive series of charges and legal cases have been brought against him. Ghosn was released on a $ 9 million bail on March 6, 2019 after serving 108 days at Kosuge Detention Center (north of Tokyo), only to be re-arrested on April 4. He was later released from jail on April 25 after posting a multimillion-dollar bond for the second time in two months. Already facing three charges for underreporting his pay and on aggravated breach of trust, the former chairman was indicted for allegedly misappropriating Nissan company money.

Carlos Ghosn was presented as guilty from the very first moment said Francois Zimeray, the Ghosn familys French lawyer, in an interview with LOrient- Le Jour.

Zimeray specifically denounced Ghosns April 4 arrest on additional legally dubious charges, saying he was previously detained for more than 100 days under unfair, cruel, and unjust conditions in an effort to coerce a confession before ultimately being released on strict bail conditions, with which he has scrupulously complied.

The conditions under which he was re-arrested, at dawn, with twenty agents rushing in[to] his home, [and] the media informed ahead of the re-arrest, clearly show a desire to humiliate him Zimeray added.





"Wrongly accused"

Upon his re-arrest, 65-year-old Ghosn was questioned about money transfers made by Nissan to an auto dealer in Oman. In total, Ghosn allegedly used $5 million of the transferred funds for personal enrichment, according to the Japanese prosecutors office.

The former Renault-Nissan boss is suspected of having used a Lebanese company, Good Faith Investments, to divert some of the money paid by Nissan to Suhail Bahwan Automobile, the Renault-Nissan dealership in the Sultanate of Oman, between 2012 and 2018. According to excerpts from Nissan's internal investigation as reported by news agencies, a portion of these funds ended up in the accounts of a company called Beauty Yachts headed by Ghosn's wife, Carole Ghosn, and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Based on sources close to the case cited by AFP, the allegedly misappropriated sum was deposited through a company in Lebanon into a fund called Shogun Investments LLC controlled by his son Anthony in the United States.

Asked to comment on these new accusations, Zimeray simply responded Mr. Ghosn has said that he is innocent of all the charges held against him. He is adamant, he is wrongly accused and unfairly detained on unfounded charges. We will therefore concentrate our efforts for Mr. Ghosn to have a fair trial.





"Treason"



In a video recorded before his second arrest and broadcast a few days later, Mr. Ghosn stated that he was innocent of all charges brought against him, claiming to be a victim of "a plot, conspiracy and treason".

Emails reveal the true story (...). Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was working with Nissan executives to block the formal merger of Nissan and Renault favored by Carlos and to preserve Nissans autonomy at all costs, Carole Ghosn claimed in a column published in mid-April in the Washington Post, adding What should have been settled in the Nissan boardroom has been turned into a criminal affair.

Last week, The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan Motor Co. will reject a management integration proposal from their French partner Renault and will call for an equal capital relationship.

Nissan's management feels that the Japanese company has not been treated as Renaults equal under existing capital ties, and that a merger would make this inequality permanent, the Nikkei quoted sources as saying.

In its proposal, Renault has argued that integration would maximize synergies within the French-Japanese alliance, according to the Nikkei.

Asked about a possible plot by high ranking Nissan officials, Zimeray replied that media outlets had reported that Ghosns plan to merge Renault and Nissan before his arrest was a deal that Nissan and the Japanese government were looking for ways to block.

Moreover, the lawyer said it has been reported that Mr. Ghosn reflected on the Nissan dismal performance, recent profit warnings and emissions scandals.

Knowing that they were in danger of losing their jobs because of Nissan's declining performance, he believes that some Nissan executives collaborated to prepare a case against him, under the cover of an internal investigation, Zimeray remarked.

In his video, Ghosn named those who, according to him, were behind the "plot", but his lawyers decided to edit the information out "due to legal repercussions" in case the identities of the people in question were made public.

Mr. Ghosn is committed to revealing the truth. We are confident that if tried fairly, he will be vindicated, Zimeray told lOLJ.





"hostage justice"

Zimeray, who was a Human Rights Ambassador under former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2008 to 2013, and then became the Ambassador of France to Denmark, said that, for him, this case is not only a fight for one man, but a fight to defend universal principles: the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right for dignity in all circumstances.

The detention of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, which appears neither necessary nor reasonable and which occurs under harsh conditions, illustrates the Japanese hostage justice system for the purpose of obtaining forced confessions, Zimeray noted. He further revealed that a petition has been initiated by renowned figures of the legal world, academics and practitioners in Japan to end this hostage justice system.

In March, the Ghosn family, represented by Zimeray, decided to appeal to the United Nations, claiming that Ghosns "fundamental rights" were not respected.

According to Zimeray, Mr. Ghosn was interrogated for hours each day without the presence of his attorneys during his detention. The interrogations used to go until 10:00pm, and his access to counsel was limited, according to Zimeray. He was confined to an unheated cell with three meals of mainly rice and given 30 minutes to exercise daily excluding weekends and bank holidays. His visits were limited to 15 minutes of conversation with the presence of a guard and separated from him by a glass window.

He further added that while in detention, Ghosn was denied his medication and did not receive appropriate medical care for his chronic health issues, warning that these health issues were exacerbated by the deliberately harsh conditions of his detention.

Carlos Ghosn suffers from high cholesterol levels and the treatment he is following has caused both chronic kidney failure and rhabdomyolysis, a disease that causes muscle cells to break down, his lawyers said in a document seen by Reuters.





(This article was originally published in frenc in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 25th of April. The interview was done before Ghosn was freed and the article has been consequently slightly modified in its english version?)




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was unfair for an independent poll watcher to claim the upcoming midterm elections was vulnerable to attack.

This, after the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has withdrawn its accreditation as the citizens' arm of the Comelec, after the government poll body declined to provide voters' data.

In a manifestation submitted to the Comelec on April 30, Namfrel said, "Without open access to information and data, Petitioner (Namfrel) is unable to participate in the RMA (random manual audit) because the inaccessibility diminishes the verifiability of data separately provided during the RMA."

Speaking to CNN Philippines Saturday, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said, "Medyo harsh naman yata 'yon. Just because sila hindi nabigyan, vulnerable na 'yung elections? Samatalang, up to the point na humihingi sila niyan, bahagi sila ng proseso sa paghahanda para sa random manual audit  isang proseso na sinalihan nila nung nakaraang halalan at naging bahagi sila ng paghahanda para doon. So ngayon sasabihin nila, just because hindi nila nakuha yung gusto nila, medyo vulnerable na. That's a little unfair, I think."

[Translation: That seems to be a bit harsh. Just because they weren't given what they want, the elections are automatically vulnerable? But up to that point, they were involved in the preparations for the random manual audit  a process they were part of during the last elections. And now they will say, just because they didn't get what they want, they say it's vulnerable. That's a little unfair, I think.]

Jimenez added the Namfrel's claim was "a stretch," and that it was "inappropriate" to say those things at this point in time.

The Comelec spokesperson said the Namfrel submitted two documents: one for accreditation as a poll watcher, and another for access to the data.

Jimenez said he has not seen a denial of Namfrel's request for data access.

"It's simply at this point, all I can say really, is that it hasn't been granted," he told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.

Jimenez said there was no danger of the elections being compromised, as an extensive source code review was conducted "internationally and locally" where political parties participated, as well as representatives from the joint oversight committee.

Namfrel said it would continue to "perform its mandate to endure free and honest elections."
Imagine the dread that took a hold of Cherie Scalf after learning that her husband, Master Sgt. Bill Scalf, had suffered two strokes while serving with the military in Afghanistan and was being airlifted to a hospital somewhere in Germany.

She had no passport, it was late on a Friday, and most of the government offices that could help her get to her husband were already closed for the weekend.

Add to that the fact that dealing with the United States military can involve a lot of red tape and hoop jumping.

Yet, before it all sunk in, she was on a plane headed for Germany to be with her husband.

Obviously this was a situation where we werent going to sit around on our hands for a weekend, said Brig. Gen. John Slocum, who transferred the command and care for the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base this Saturday to Col. Rolf Mammen in a news release from SANG. Fortunately, we knew who to call.

Answering his call for help was U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, whose district includes the Harrison Township base. After Slocum called Mitchell, the Congressman called the White House, and by Sunday, he had an appointment at the U.S. State Department office in Chicago. There, a passport was issued for Cherie so she could travel abroad to be with Bill.

This is one of the most important things we do, Mitchell said, shortly after a visit he had with the Scalfs at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where Bill continues his recovery. Our servicemen and women give their all for this country and it is our highest duty to support them and their families in a time of need.

Slocum said he wasnt surprised by the Congressmans quick response.

Part of what makes the 127th Wing such a special organization is the support we have from our elected leaders at the local state and federal levels, Slocum said.

Also no surprise was the quick action of Bills squadron.

He and several hundred Selfridge Airmen and their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft were deployed to a base in Afghanistan. On Jan. 30, after he and his fellow crew chiefs from the 191st Aircraft Maintenance had been there for about a month, Bill suffered the first of two strokes.

He was out working on the aircraft, said Cherie. I guess he was getting it ready for the next days mission. One of the other guys, Mike Campbell, saw Bills flashlight moving around in a way that wasnt normal and went to check on him.

Bill, who has been a crew chief on Air Force aircraft for about 30 years, is very dedicated and when Campbell suggested he take Bill to the base hospital immediately to get checked, Bill said he wanted to get the aircraft ready to go first.

But the guys insisted that he get checked. If they hadnt, I really dont know if he would be here today, Cherie said. Each of the people in his unit, they were just amazing at making sure he got the help he needed.

Hospital staff immediately administered a drug known as the clot-buster used to treat stroke patients. After that he appeared to be fine and back to his normal self. But the military doctors in Afghanistan decided he needed to be airlifted to a major U.S. military hospital in Germany for further care. Once he arrived, he was able to reassure Cherie, who was still at home in Warren, in a Facetime chat that he was fine.

But he wasnt fine. Shortly after his arrival he had a second, larger stroke. It was then that doctors in Germany decided to quickly transport him to a local civilian hospital staffed with specialists who were better equipped to deal with his condition, and things really got serious.

Thats when Selfridge kicked into high gear in support of Bill, Cherie and their three children Rebecca, Emily and William.

One of his commanders called me, Cherie said. The next thing I know, Im at Selfridge and having a meeting, and I counted and there were 14 people in the room. It was Gen. Slocum and all the top people. I dont even know who everyone was. But they, each one, were there to help.

Historically, the Air National Guard is known for its Citizen-Airman concept. That means that people in the local community are the ones who also serve in uniforms. Bill as with many members of the Guard enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school but after being discharged and home for a few years missed it. So, he joined the Air National Guard, which allowed him to stay in Michigan with his family and still serve his country. Eventually, he was hired on as a civilian technician at Selfridge.

I have to admit that I really didnt know how the military system worked, but thats where everyone has been so helpful, Cherie said.

After Bills second stroke Slocum appointed another 191st crew chief, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Wolford, to serve as the familys advocate including having him travel to Germany to help Cherie navigate her way through the militarys red tape and other processes along the way.

Honestly, without Erik, I think I would still be stranded at the airport in Frankfort (Germany) trying to figure out what to do next, Cherie said.

After spending about a month at the hospital in Germany, Bill was transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital near Washington D.C. In April he was moved to U-M, where his recovery is supported by his medical team along with his military team and family.

It has been a long road, but they are a great family. Everyone who knows Bill, like him, so we are all in his corner, said Wolford, who has remained as the familys chief liaison. The deployed Selfridge Airmen have all since returned home, and are among the many members of the military who check in on Bill regularly.

This kids and I know what kind of guy Bill is. But to witness his co-workers have rallied behind him, it has really been something to see, Cherie said.

So much for red tape and hurdles  according to Slocum taking care of airmen and their family is a foundational element of service in the 127th Wing.

We count on our Airmen to do their part in a very important mission, being a part of the defense of this great country, said Slocum. To be able to do that, we want their families to know they can also count on us. Master Sgt. Scalf is an important part of our family, so we are doing all we can to let his family know we are there for them.-It is believed that after his recovery Bill will retire from the military, although he recently told his commanding officer that hes anxious to get back to Selfridge, check in with his co-workers, and, most importantly, give his aircraft a thorough check-up.

Im still a crew chief. Im not retired yet, Bill said, to his recent visitors who included Slocum and Mitchell.

 Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily
Torc Robotics CEO Michael Fleming appreciates Southwest Virginia modesty as much as the next guy, but he says that can have drawbacks for a technology scene making a name for itself.

He listed some of the local technology industry wins over the past year ahead of his keynote address at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Councils 20th annual TechNite awards ceremony Friday night. 1901 Group is adding 580 workers. Block.one has planted its flag in Blacksburg. Auto giant Daimler Trucks acquired a majority stake in his own company.

I dont think we do as good of a job as we should do in celebrating and promoting these wins, Fleming said. The downside of being humble is sometimes its a little challenging to promote yourself. Humility is not being passive.

Fleming spent his time on stage at the Hotel Roanoke highlighting his companys story, from the time a group of Virginia Tech students decided to start an autonomous vehicle company in 2005.

Torc Robotics grew over the next decade to around 100 employees as it built an international reputation. And then in April a subsidiary of Daimler, the German company behind brands like Mercedes-Benz, acquired a majority stake in Torc.

The news marked one of the biggest acquisitions for a local technology company in years, and also the entrance of a billion-dollar industry giant to the burgeoning technology hub in Southwest Virginia.

But Fleming said its not a coincidence that this happened in Blacksburg. Torcs story couldnt have happened anywhere, as he said the companys hometown has been a key ingredient all along.

Employees in this region stick with the companies for the long term, he said before the event began. They dont job hop. Great things are just not accomplished in short order.

Flemings remarks kicked off the RBTCs annual award ceremony, an event designed to serve as the kind of celebration he said he would like to see happen more often.

The 2019 TechNite Award Recipients:

The Rising Star award was presented to Block.one, a blockchain software company that launched one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in 2018 and raised over $1 billion. The companys growing Blacksburg office is led by Dan Larimer, a Virginia Tech alum considered a cryptocurrency thought leader.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is Michael Fleming, CEO of Torc Robotics.

The Innovator of the Year is Luna Innovations, a publicly traded company with offices both in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Luna struggled for years, but the companys stock price climbed through 2018 as it returned to consistent profitability and completed several acquisitions.

Two Regional Leadership awards were presented to Carilion Clinic CEO Nany Agee and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. The pair have been instrumental in the growth of a medical school and research institute in Roanoke.

The Company of the Year is 1901 Group, a Reston-based IT services company that is building a new operations center in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. That office will employ 580 new workers, the company has said.

The Ruby Award went to Heywood Fralin, who gave a record $50 million gift to Virginia Tech to expand research at the recently named Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke.

In addition to the awards, the RBTC inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame Kenneth Ferris, President of Brookewood Management Advisors and member of the RBTC advisory board, and Marty Muscatello, President and CEO of FoxGuard Solutions and previous member of the RBTC board of directors.
Authorities have identified the Allston man killed in a quadruple shooting in Dorchester Wednesday evening as 33-year-old Kevin Brewington.

Brewington and three other men were shot in the area of 32 Windermere Road around 6:26 p.m., police said. Three of the men were taken to local hospitals with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening while Brewington was pronounced dead at the scene.

Boston police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
A mans body was found following a three-alarm fire in Chelsea Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes tweeted that the deceased man in his early 30s was found in a small room at the back of 48 Watt St., where a three-alarm fire had broken out earlier in the evening.

The fire, which began in the two-family home around 5 p.m., quickly spread to a neighboring house at 109 Highland St. About 30 people were displaced and damages were estimated at $150,000.

Authorities told The Boston Globe that the mans body, which was found on a rear enclosed porch, was only discovered after the fire was knocked down and crews began opening up ceilings to check for additional hot spots.

Residents of the house told the newspaper that they had not seen the man in several days.

He has not been publicly identified.

The fire remains under investigation by fire investigators and state and local police.
Authorities have identified the 43-year-old woman allegedly stabbed to death by her husband in an attempted murder-suicide in Stoughton Friday night as Telma Bras.

Police forced their way into the couples apartment on Bennett Drive after receiving a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found Bras dead of an apparent stabbing in the living room, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said.

Her husband, 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues, was laying nearby and suffering from self-inflicted cuts consistent with a suicide attempt, authorities said.

Mr. Rodrigues was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries, Morrissey said.

Authorities said the couples children, a 17-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy, were home at the time of the stabbing.

Morrissey said the teenager called a relative after hearing the commotion, who in turn called 911.

Both this children at this hour are safe, he said. They have a significant bit of trauma to overcome.

Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned from his hospital bed or in Stoughton District Court as soon as possible, the district attorney said. He is expected to face a murder charge.

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said her department has no history of calls from the couples apartment and Rodrigues does not have a criminal record.

She commended the police officers who responded to the call, saying they did not know what they would face on the other side of the door.

They showed both bravery and extreme compassion last night on that scene, she said.
Very likely qualifying as "the greatest restaurant show on earth," the National Restaurant Association Show 2019 will open on May 18 and run through May 21. Held at Chicago's McCormick Place exposition center, the Show offers something for everyone interested the restaurant industry.

The show floor itself at the 2019 Show will be featuring some 2,300 exhibitors. The layout will be so vast that show organizers suggest two days minimum will be required to adequately explore the entire exhibit space.

Supplementing those displays of food, equipment, and supplies is an extensive program of seminars, demonstrations, and themed exhibit pavilions.

This year marks the shows 100th anniversary, a milestone that will be marked by an evening gala on Monday, May 20 as well as by daily celebrations on the show floor itself.

Among the many presentations at the this year's show will be a panel discussion focusing on "The Future of Dining," which will take place on Sunday, May 19. Another high-profile presentation, "The Future of Restaurants" will offer an in-depth focus on how technology and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the dining out experience.

Information on the National Restaurant Association Show 2019, including details about show registration, lodging, and transportation arrangements, can be found at nationalrestaurantshow.com. The Show's customer service number is (800) 439-2968.

Side dishes

Its commencement season in the Pioneer Valley, a happy time when restaurateurs find their reservation books full and their dining rooms populated by newly minted graduates and their proud families.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst will be holding its Undergraduate Commencement on Friday evening, May 10, with the Graduate Commencement to follow on Saturday morning.

Coupled with Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12, restaurants in Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton will most likely be running at capacity all weekend, and the traffic in all three communities will be, to put it charitably, "challenging."

It's thus a good opportunity to expand one's gastronomic horizons by seeking out restaurants in other locales, where a less frenetic dining experience will most likely be on offer.

Smith College in Northampton and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley will be observing their Commencement Weekends on May 18 and 19, making those two days into "reservations a must" occasions in the host communities of those two institutions.

Belle Rita Novak, the manager of the Farmers' Market at Forest Park, sent along a reminder to all those who crave "locally grown."

The Market begins its 2019 summer season on May 7 and will continue weekly through the month of October. She says that many long-time vendors will be returning; several new growers and producers are also joining the line-up.

With the Sumner Avenue access to Forest Park closed for culvert repairs, Novak reminds all that the Farmers' Market can be accessed through the Park's Trafton Road entrance.

May is National Burger Month, and b Restaurants (formerly known as Plan B Burger Bars) in Massachusetts and Connecticut will be celebrating with a number of promotional events.

A "Build-a-Better-Burger" contest is already underway; last month b Restaurant locations solicited burger recipe ideas from guests. Each restaurant subsequently picked their two favorite recipes and posted them on Facebook, where they will be visible starting May 7. Fans of b Restaurants can vote for their favorite recipe until May 13, at which time a "fan favorite" will be chosen.

In order to make the voting more interesting, some b Restaurant locations will be giving away samples of the burger recipes they are sponsoring in the contest.

The winning "better-burger" will be featured on the menus of all b Restaurants for the rest of the month of May, and the customer who originally submitted the winning idea will be awarded a free burger a week for the rest of 2019.

"Free Mini Mondays" will be another part of the National Burger Month celebration, with b locations giving away free mini burgers on specific Mondays throughout the month.

For the b Restaurant location in Springfield, May 27 will be "Free Mini Monday." To register for the event, go to Facebook and download a "free mini" coupon via email. The printed-out coupon can then be used at the b Restaurant at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue.

For more details on these promotions, go to burgersbeerbourbon.com/burgermonth.

Three Franklin County restaurateurs are being honored with Franklin County Community Development Corporation's 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year award. Jim Zaccara, Maggie Zaccara, and Evelyn Wulfkuhle, who operate Hope & Olive in Greenfield, will be honored on May 9. The ceremony, which will be held at Hawks & Reed in downtown Greenfield, will begin at 5 p.m. Drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be served, and live music will be featured.

To mark the occasion, Jim Zaccara has created a special cocktail he's dubbed the "Franklin No. Nine"; the drink will be served by the occasion's celebrity bartender John Howland, whose "day job" is President of Greenfield Savings Banks.

Suggested donation for the event is $10; those planning to attend can RSVP at bit.ly/May09_5pm.

The Franklin County Community Development Corporation answers at (413) 774-7204.

On Sunday, May 19 Figaro Restaurant in Enfield, CT will be hosting "Wild Heart," a tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. Seating for the evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner of Italian-American classics will be offered. The show will begin at 7 p.m.

Charge for the buffet is $21.95 and tickets for the "Wild Heart" performance go for $25. Reservations for this event can be made by calling Figaro Restaurant at (860) 745-2414.

In celebration of the chain's 50th anniversary, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations have introduced Southern Fried Chicken to their menus. Authentically prepared and served as a dinner-style entree, the portion of chicken includes breast, thigh, leg, and wing, all a double-breaded with a custom blend of spices. Two sides and biscuits or cornbread are included; the suggested menu price is $10.79.

Starting May 20, the fried chicken will additionally be available as a "Picnic Box" 12-piece family meal, a package deal that can be supplemented, for an additional charge, with iced tea, lemonade, banana pudding, or cookies.

There are Cracker Barrel locations on Whiting Farms Road in Holyoke, on Route 20 in Sturbridge, and in East Windsor, CT.

IHOP locations have introduced two new International Pancake offerings as a limited-time only menu additions.

Italian Cannoli pancakes come three to an order; they're made by rolling and filling the chain's signature buttermilk pancakes with ricotta cream and chocolate morsels. Cannoli shell crunch, chocolate morsels, and whipped topping garnish the creation.

IHOP's Mexican Churro pancakes are stacked with cinnamon spread, decorated with crunchy mini-churros, and drizzles with cream cheese icing.

There are IHOP locations at 270 Cooley Street and 640 Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community Colleges hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
Two Boston men have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to working with nine other men to transport large quantities of methamphetamine to Greater Boston for distribution, then laundering the cash proceeds from the sales.

Mario Castro, 50, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston to 57 months in federal prison. Jorge Grandon, 49, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months.

The two were part of a group of 11 people indicted following a two-year investigation into trafficking of methamphetamine from California to Massachusetts. Once the drugs were sold on the Eastern Seaboard, the proceeds were shipped back to California, where the cash was laundered.

Prosecutors said agents in December 2015 seized about 75 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine that was hidden in Castros pants. The drugs had been ordered by Grandon, prosecutors said.

Castro and Grandon appeared before Judge George A. OToole Jr. He sentenced each on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The two were also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

All of the group have pleaded guilty to charges. One other defendant has been sentenced. Christopher Halford appeared before OToole on April 29 and was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison.
HOLYOKE  A drug raid resulted in seizures of approximately 5,000 bags of heroin, $7,000 in cash and the arrest of a city man.

Members of the Hampden County Narcotics and the Holyoke Police Department executed search warrants at three separate locations in Holyoke, resulting in seizures and the arrest of Kenneth Torres, 23, of Holyoke, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gullini.

Police raided an apartment at 140 Essex St. at about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and found approximately 500 bags of heroin, a quantity of cocaine and about $7,000 in cash. At simultaneous raids at 125 and 127 Beech St. authorities seized 4,500 bags of heroin, 100 grams of cocaine and an untraceable 9mm firearm with an extended magazine.

It was the second large confiscation on Wednesday, Gullini said. Several addresses in Holyoke were raided late Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after a trafficking arrest had been announced at another Holyoke site.

Torres was arraigned in Holyoke District Court Thursday on charges of possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute and possession of a Class B substance with the intent to distribute. He was released on $300 cash bail pending a July 9 court date.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, authorities announced a raid on an Essex Street location where some 5,000 bags of heroin and about $112,000 in cash was confiscated and another Holyoke man, 25-year-old Tahge Pedrosa was arrested and charged with trafficking in heroin. He was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.
Two verification pharmacists were found guilty in the last trial of employees and owners of New England Compounding Center, the epicenter of a fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 that sickened hundreds of patients and killed over 100.

Kathy Chin, 47, of Canton And Michelle Thomas, 35, of Cumberland R.I., were each found guilty by a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Boston Thursday of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription with the intent to defraud or mislead government regulators. Chin was found guilty of two counts while Thomas was convicted of four counts.

The two will be sentenced on Aug. 8 and 9 respectively.

At the end of Thursdays trial, 13 former NECC employees, including Chin and Thomas, have been convicted of 178 charges.

New England Compounding Center was shut down after regulators found it was the source of fungal meningitis among patients who used its medications. Reuters reported that hundreds of people were sickened and prosecutors said more than 100 died.

In addition to unsanitary conditions in the prescription compounding areas, regulators found widespread fraud and company-wide steps to prevent the FDA from conducting effective oversight.

Chin and Thomas were accused of issuing bulk prescriptions to accounts in the names of various celebrities as well as fictitious names such as LL Bean, Filet OFish, Rug Doctor, Squeaky Wheel, Coco Puff and Harry Potter among others.

Prosecutors said the fake prescriptions approved by Chin and Thomas allowed the company to operate as an unregulated drug manufacturer.

At the same time Chin and Thomas were convicted, another verification pharmacist was sentenced for her part in the fraud.

Alla Stepanets, 38, of Framingham was sentenced to one year of probation. She was convicted of six counts of dispensing drugs without a valid prescription.
An adult male was found shot and stabbed on High Street early Saturday morning, Springfield police said.

Department spokesman Ryan Walsh said Springfield police officers located a man on High Street at about 1 a.m. who was seriously injured with one gunshot and several stab wounds.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Walsh said the departments Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Major Crimes detectives responded to the scene of an afternoon shooting that sent a Springfield man to the Baystate Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound.

Authorities were called to 192-194 Dickinson St. at about 3:40 p.m. There they apparently the victim, reportedly a male in his late 20s or early 30s. Neighbors said the man lives on the first floor of the two-family home located at the intersection of Dickinson St. and Crystal Avenue.

The victim was transported to the Baystate Medical Center where his exact condition is unknown. However, police at the scene said they believe his injuries are non-life-threatening.

Investigators believe the man was shot inside the home but are dealing with conflicting information from some witnesses.

A Massachusetts State Police ballistics technician arrived at the scene to aid the city investigation, police said.
Jack Nicholsons famous line in A Few Good Men, still echoes at movie trivia contests today. You cant handle the truth! his character bellowed from the witness stand.

The real truth today is that Americans cant handle the misinformation and sort out whats real. The acclaimed Information Highway, which was supposed to put access to unprecedented news and knowledge at our fingertips, is instead littered with lies, half-baked theories and disingenuous campaigns that batter us daily - threatening our outlook on politics, institutions and each other, and now our very health.

At a time our technology is hurtling forward, we seem to be hurtling backward and revisiting demons we thought we had beaten for good. The latest is measles, which are being reported at their highest clip in 25 years - in large part by unfounded fears being peddled by self-appointed authorities, who say the vaccine leads to autism.

This alarmist claim has been disproven and debunked by medical science, over and over. So whats the problem? Its that we dont trust the scientists or medical people, because we no longer trust anybody.

When respected scientists warn about climate change, citizens who wouldnt know a neutron from an electron laugh at them. We dont trust educators, politicians, business executives and certainly not clergy. The only people whose word is treated as fact seem to be entertainers, whose qualification to analyze complicated things is usually limited not to informed insight but to their access to a public platform and well, how much they care.

Much of this mistrust of qualified advice is the result of abuse of that trust. Medical people urging families to take the simple step of getting a shot are not among the guilty. Our ability to control or eradicate frightening diseases is one of our proudest 20th Century accomplishments, and should be among the most unquestioned.

Until just recently, it was. Only a small number on the fringes protested. But today, the fringes control the dialogue on most issues, increasingly including this one.

The measles outbreak is not so much a questioning of expertise but a protest against all expertise. If Jonas Salk were around today, he wouldnt be accepting honors and gratitude, hed have to endure public ridicule.

There were 704 reported measles cases as of May 1, the most since the official removal of its designation as a contagious disease in the United States in 2000. It looks certain the 1994 total of 963 will be passed, possibly before 2019 is half done.

About 75 percent have come in the state of New York, primarily in two Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities and most involving non-vaccinated people. Religion has always been a factor (and often an obstacle) in promoting mass vaccinations, as it was in 2014, when 383 cases were reported in the Amish communities of Ohio.

Center for Disease Control officials say the incidence of non-vaccination is spreading, though. Its not just an Orthodox Jewish issue: most Ultra-Orthodox rabbis do not oppose the vaccine and urge inoculation, but there is pushback from individuals both inside and outside those communities as social media, hotlines and material from outcast sources pepper parents with fear.

Reported cases in Massachusetts have tripled from 21 to more than 60 in the comparable time period.

If you want to believe your kid doesnt need that many shots, theres plenty of places to find people who agree with you. Its not so easy to discern what is real and what is not, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, former head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Its easier to disbelieve, because in modern America, thats what we do. Alternately bombarded by untruths and crestfallen upon learning weve been duped and deceived by people we trusted, we are turning into a culture that not only doesnt know whom to trust, but chooses not to try.

Since the measles vaccine was made available to the general population in the 1960s, there has never been any sound reason to dispute its effect or fear the consequences. If mistrust and misinformation are turning people away from this vaccine, its only a matter of time before chickenpox, rubella and bacterial meningitis make a comeback, too.

That would be a frightening price for misguided mistrust by selfish people who think my own decision has no effect on the health and lives of those around them. We dont have to trust everybody in a world where hallowed institutions have abused that trust. But medical officials urging families to get the vaccine are not among those people. We should trust them, the way we once did.
CHICAGO  Eduardo Nunez will be activated from the injured list Saturday (tomorrow). Tzu-Wei Lin is headed to the IL.

Lin suffered a sprained knee sliding into second base during Fridays game against the White Sox here at Guaranteed Rate Field. Lin will undergo testing back in Boston.

Hopefully its nothing that serious, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. Well see what happens.

Cora said head trainer Brad Pearson said its too soon to tell how serious.

Early it was bothering him on the outside, Cora said. Now its bothering him on the inside. So unplug him, send him to Boston and see what weve got.

The Red Sox initially placed Nunez on the injured list April 19 because of mid-back strain. He has gone 2-for-15 in four rehab games for Pawtucket.
The Red Sox have signed infielder/outfielder Cody Asche to a minor-league contract, according to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Boston purchased Asches contract from Sugar Land and assigned him to Portland.

Another day, another contract purchased.



Congrats to Cody Asche, who is heading to the Red Sox! He becomes our third player in 2019 to have his contract purchased by an @MLB organization!



FULL STORY: https://t.co/xNPwp20hye pic.twitter.com/IQbVfD41H0  Sugar Land Skeeters (@SL_Skeeters) May 3, 2019

Asche was Philadelphias fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft and hit .240/.298/.385 with 31 homers over four seasons with the Phillies from 2013-16. He has bounced around since hitting free agency after the 2016 season, appearing in 19 games for the White Sox in 2017 before short minor-league stints with the Royals, Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.

Asche, who turns 29 next month, hit .220/.304/.399 with 11 homers in 105 games at Triple-A last season and signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early February. He was released in late March and started the regular season with Sugar Land.

Asche has played both corner infield positions and left field in the majors, so hell provide an option in the high minors for the depleted Sox. Tzu-Wei Lin will join Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt on the injured list Saturday with a left knee sprain while Eduardo Nunez is being activated.
SPRINGFIELD  State legislators toured the Springfield Science Museum on Friday and learned of plans to update, refurbish, and add more interactive exhibits to the popular destination.

The museum has adapted in order to meet the interests of contemporary and diverse audiences, said Springfield Museums President and CEO Kay Simpson. We have been incorporating new technologies and experiences that complement the many curiosities and old favorites cared for in the museum.

Plans are currently underway for more positive changes, especially in our outreach to children and youth, she said.

The greatest impact of a revitalized Springfield Science Museum is as a vibrant, adaptable resource which will inspire generations of youth," said Dave Stier, director of the museum.

The hope is that new interactive exhibits and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, programing will help nurture interest at a young age and steer more people toward the helpful and lucrative STEM workforce.

Curator of Astronomy, Michael Kerr, told the legislators about hoped for updates to the planetarium, which houses the oldest starball in the United States.

We will retain the starball for its historic significance, Kerr said, And we will add digital machinery that will greatly increase the planetariums programming capabilities.

Kerr also noted the addition of an International Space Station exhibit with live-feed from the International Space Station and a hands-on STEM maker space where visitors can solve challenges with inventive solutions they dream up and assemble.
The American Antiquarian Society, a national research library for pre-20th Century American history and culture, recently completed a significant renovation to its 109-year-old Antiquarian Hall in Worcester.

On Saturday, the organization held an open house to celebrate the opening of the three-story, 7,000-square-foot addition that includes a new Learning Lab and state-of-the-art conservation studio.

The society boasts an impressive collection of documents, photographs, books and cartoons that includes the first book printed in British North America, the only surviving copy of the first modern novel published in America and the first Bible published in this country.

All but two of Paul Reveres engravings are among 200,000 graphic arts and ephemera items in the organizations collection, which also includes political cartoons, maps, lithographs, portraits, photographs and paintings.

Visitors to the Antiquarian Societys open house Saturday learned about its preservation efforts and enjoyed a number of exhibits, including historic childrens books, the Isaiah Thomas printing press, marbled paper displays and more.
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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 3, 2019

Microsoft Advertising may have purged several businesses in the past few years, only to regroup and rebuild, using the latest technology based on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For the past four years, Microsoft has been increasingly building intelligence into the Microsoft Advertising platform, formerly known as Bing Ads, said Steve Sirich, general manager at Microsoft.

Everything were doing around predictions and matching, we now have the capabilities and sophistication to bring back our ability to monetize a lot of the supply previously transitioned to AOL, he said. Much of that supply manifests in the Microsoft Audience Network.

In 2015, Microsoft sold its display inventory to AOL, allowing it to drive a more programmatic approach. The company transitioned the selling model for display. The move let Microsoft rebuild many of its platform on artificial intelligence.

Now, the Microsoft Audience Network allows the company to use the intelligence behind the Microsoft Advertising platform and the search signal to serve native ads in domains outside of a search-engine results page, such as MSN Outlook and the Edge browser.

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Microsoft now offers search through Bing, as well as native advertising and image ads through the Microsoft Advertising Network, which operates like a programmatic auction.

It is part of the reason were moving past a search-engine results page, he said.

Microsoft Advertising is testing video extensions, with a thumbnail that displays in the corner, but is not generally available.

Sirich said Microsoft continues to keep an eye on ecommerce ad products and the way Amazon monetizes Sponsored Products. Theres a lot of unmet opportunities in retail, he said.

Microsoft is rebuilding its Edge browser on Google Chromium, For advertisers, Sirich said it unhooks the browser innovation from Windows 10 innovation, making it easier to release more frequent browser updates.

It will allow us to innovate more quickly and drive demand for Edge around privacy and secure browsing, he said. We have a strong precedence and history in browsing, and on Chromium can build a very competitive product.
According to a new study, intensive treatment for high blood pressure may reduce the risk of death from any cause, including cardiovascular disease, in people with type 2 diabetes.

Share on Pinterest New research suggests that intensive blood pressure treatment may help those with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the most common and costly chronic conditions in the United States. Over 100 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the 2017 report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body processes glucose. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease, reduces the production of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When this occurs, blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of [the] arteries as the heart pumps blood. Hypertension happens when this force against the artery walls is too high.

Doctors measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The first number, or the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. The second number measures the diastolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart rests between beats.

Doctors define prehypertension as 120139 mm Hg for systolic pressure and between 8089 mmHg for diastolic pressure. They consider a pressure of 140/90 mmHg as high.
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The microfluidic device is an automated and small chip with a highly sensitive fluorescence sensing unit embedded into the device. Physicians take patient samples and add them into the device where Ebola RNA can be seen by activating the CRISPR mechanism. Du is also developing a device that could detect multiple virus strains from Ebola to influenza and zika, for example.The article "Rapid and Fully Microfluidic Ebola Virus Detection with CRISPR-Cas13a," features an international and multidisciplinary team assessing the use of CRISPR technology gene editing technology--to improve virus detection. The group members are from University of California, Berkeley; Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (China); Dong-A University (Korea); Texas Biomedical Research Institute; and Boston University."For this work, we are trying to develop a low-cost device that is easy to use especially for medical personnel working in developing countries or areas where there are outbreaks. They'd be able to bring hundreds of these devices with them for testing, not just one virus or bacteria at one time, but many different kinds," he explained.Researchers have tried for the past 40 years to develop an effective Ebola vaccine. Early detection remains an important strategy for controlling outbreaks, the most recent in the Congo, where more than 1,000 individuals have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control."If you look at this like influenza, and people don't look at it as a virus which also can kill people each year. Some strains may not be as deadly as Ebola, but we know that infectious diseases, regardless of the type, are problems that can threaten the public," Du said. "I grew up in China and experienced the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. I have seen many people lose their relatives and friends because of infectious diseases. If we can have early detection systems to help screen for all types of diseases and patterns, this can be very useful because it can provide information to medical doctors and microbiologists to help develop the vaccines, and early detection and identification can control and even prevent outbreaks."Source: Eurekalert
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The team used a combination of machine learning and a whole blood assay known as qPCR - a relatively simple tool used in NHS labs across the country - to identify genetic signatures that re-created the two subgroups from their previous study.The researchers then validated their findings in 123 IBD patients recruited from clinics in Cambridge, Nottingham, Exeter and London."This is important as it could enable doctors to personalise the treatment that they give to each patient. If an individual is likely to have only mild disease, they don't want to be taking strong drugs with unpleasant side-effects. But similarly, if someone is likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease, then the evidence suggests that the sooner we can start them on the best available treatments, the better we can manage their condition." The accuracy of the test is comparable to similar biomarkers used in cancer, which have helped transform treatment, say the researchers. They found the new test was 90-100% accurate in correctly identifying patients who did not require multiple treatments."IBD can be a very debilitating disease, but this new test could help us transform treatment options, moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach to a personalised approach to treating patients," says Professor Ken Smith, senior author and Head of the Department of Medicine. The test is now being developed further by PredictImmune, a spinout company co-founded by Professor Smith with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer arm. The team is involved in a 4.2 million trial to see whether using the biomarker to guide treatment at the time of diagnosis can lead to better outcomes for patients.The findings have been welcomed by Helen Terry, Director of Research at Crohn's & Colitis UK, which helps fund the research. "It's really exciting that we are moving away from a 'one size fits all' approach for people with Crohn's or Colitis. Dr Lee and his team's latest study is the accumulation of 10 years' worth of research and we're now at the stage where this test will be available in the NHS. This could drastically change the lives of people with Crohn's or Colitis as it means they can be started on the best medication for them sooner."Additional funding for the research came from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.Later this year, Professor Smith and his team are due to move into the new Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, to be based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.Case study: Kate Gray, aged 31, Amersham, living with Crohn's Kate was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 14 years old having been unwell with symptoms for quite some time.This meant she needed surgery. "I was told by my consultant I would only need a little bit of a resection and that it's unlikely I would be bothered by symptoms for decades, giving me the impression that was probably the end of it."Within 9 months of her bowel resection, Kate's symptoms had returned. She tried various medications, including immunosuppressants and steroids but nothing worked, and she kept getting more unwell. She also had some nasty side effects from the drug mercaptopurine, becoming neutropaenic (low on neutrophils), leading to two admissions to hospital.This pathway continued throughout Kate's secondary education and once on the drug infliximab, it reached the point where Kate couldn't eat solid foods. Her bowel was so strictured and damaged that she was told she needed an ileostomy at the age of 20. In the lead-up to this Kate had a nasal-gastric feeding tube which involved long stints in hospital.When Kate woke up from her operation, she was told that the damage was much more extensive than thought and she would have a permanent stoma.Following surgery, Kate was started on the biologic drug, Humira and has been on this weekly ever since. "My stoma's been amazing and bowel wise, my symptoms have been good for the past decade."Kate could have benefited hugely from a prognostic test, making her more aware of disease course and allowing her to try stronger treatments earlier."I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I knew my disease was going to be more severe and not mild, as I was told. It's likely I would have opted for my ileostomy sooner and would have been keen to try stronger drugs earlier as this might have halted to progression of my Crohn's. It would also have been good to have known what other symptoms I could have expected with more severe Crohn's, including issues with my joints, uveitis and Crohn's on the skin at the site of my surgery scars."Source: Eurekalert
UPPER THUMB  Mid Michigan College is expanding access to educational opportunities in Huron and Tuscola counties.

Were excited to increase the number of courses, programs and training opportunities available to the residents of Michigans Thumb region, said Scott Mertes, Vice President of Community Outreach & Advancement at Mid. Students are now able to launch their higher educations with dual enrollment or short-term training and complete associate degrees. From start to finish, the ability to begin and complete an affordable education is now possible in the thumb.

For the fall 2019 semester, Huron Intermediate School District (ISD) is offering Mid Michigans medical assistant associate degree program along with Phlebotomy and CDL-A Truck Driving Short-Term Training. Both Huron and Tuscola ISDs will offer online and face-to-face courses, along with dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.

Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses  giving them a jump start on their college careers and equipping them with skills that help them succeed as they continue their educations, said Mertes.

Parents who want to learn more about dual enrollment can attend a free informational meeting from 6 to 7 p.m., Monday, May 6 at the Tuscola ISD. In just one hour, parents and students can learn how dual enrollment works, how students benefit, and how to get started.

Registration for all fall semester offerings is currently open and complete information, including courses and schedules, can be found online.

At Mid, we strongly believe in increasing access to educational opportunities that develop knowledge and ability within individuals and communities, shared Mertes.

Mids main campuses are located in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant, with satellite locations in Alpena, Huron, Mecosta, Osceola and Tuscola counties.

For more information about Mid offerings in the Thumb region, visit midmich.edu/thumb or contact Scott Mertes at smertes@midmich.edu or 989-386-6614.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4)  A photo of President Rodrigo Duterte watching a show on Netflix at home on Saturday broke what would have been a six-day absence from the public eye that fuelled speculation about his health.

In the photo sent to CNN Philippines by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, the President is seen on his bed, watching a movie from streaming service provider Netflix with a bunch of today's newspapers on his side. The photo was sent to her by someone from Duterte's team.

Puyat is in Fiji for the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors. The President has called her to ask about her recent meeting with the Civil Aeronautics Board regarding the carrying capacity of Boracay Island.

She then told the President that some journalists who were with her wanted to know his whereabouts, and was sent the photo in response. The President's prolonged absence, like in the past, revived speculation that he is gravely ill. Duterte has refused to allow the Palace to issue medical bulletins on his health.

In another photo sent to Malacanang reporters, the President is seen reading the April 30 issue of a national broadsheet.

The President was last seen last Sunday at the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa in Davao City. He had come home last April 27 from his trip to China where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the Second Belt and Road Forum. During that trip, the 74-year-old President reportedly skipped a gala dinner due to a migraine.

Before he left for China, Duterte had attended major campaign sorties of the ruling PDP-Laban party. Administration candidates have dominated senatorial surveys weeks ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.
HARBOR BEACH  When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health concern, sometimes its a lot to handle.

Its important to remember that mental health is essential to everyones overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.

May is Mental Health Month was started 70 years ago by national organization, Mental Health America (MHA). Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is joining this years national campaign to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone.

A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health.

That is why in 2019 the hospital is expanding upon last years theme of 4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level, as it explores the topics of animal companionship, humor, work-life balance and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

It is important to really look at your overall health, both physically and mentally, to achieve wellness, said Susan Rochefort, RN and program director of Senior Life Solutions. Finding a reason to laugh, going for a walk with a friend, meditating, playing with a pet or working from home once a week can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy  its all about finding the right balance to benefit both the mind and body.

MHA has developed a series of fact sheets  available at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may  to help people understand how their lifestyle affects their health.

We know that living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy, but it can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes, said Rochefort. Finding the balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both 4Mind4Body.

Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program is an intensive outpatient group therapy program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression often related to aging.

For more information, call the Harbor Beach Community Hospitals Senior Life Solutions program at 989-479-0200.
ELKTON  Comcast and The Village of Elkton Parks and Recreation recently assembled volunteers made up of employees, their families, friends and other community members, to assist in the beautification of Ackerman Park on Mullen Street.

The project was one of 28 service opportunities across Michigan during the 18th Comcast Cares Day. Projects began on April 18 and culminate on May 11.
PIGEON  Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker seniors Andrew Smith and Clara Tait will soon be figuring out what to take with them to Michigan State University this fall, but they already know they'll be bringing something very special with them that no other incoming student will have  the Gordon W. and Loyse B. Hueschen Science Scholarship.

This scholarship, available only to qualifying Laker seniors who are going into a science program at MSU, covers full tuition and board for four years. Seven seniors interviewed for the scholarship this year, and Smith and Tait feel very fortunate to have been selected for the prestigious award.

It was a big shock to me. I started shaking and crying, Tait said about finding out she was selected. It was a very happy time. I'm excited.

Smith also said he was shocked when he heard the news.

(Im now) able to progress toward the dream Ive had ever since I first stepped foot on the MSU campus in 8th grade for the FFA state convention, he said. As soon as I saw that huge open campus and all the FFA members and the energy I witnessed there, it was engrained into my head that this is where I want to be in my future. It's a huge honor to finally be able to live that dream.

Smith, son of Jeff and Sandy Smith, is the 2019 valedictorian. At MSU, he will major in agriculture, food and natural resource education. He plans to go into a career in agriculture policy, working with an agricultural-based organization in policy advising. He also has aspirations to run for state office someday and represent the agriculture industry.

Smith said multiple experiences have inspired him to go into the agriculture policy field. His family has been in agriculture for generations, and his FFA involvement has opened his eyes to the many facets of agriculture. He said government courses in high school and his involvement with the World Food Prize competition through FFA piqued his interest in the policy-making side of agriculture.

While at Lakers, Smith has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. Hes in FFA and has served in various leadership positions, such as president of the Laker chapter, regional secretary and treasurer for the state FFA association. He is the president of the Laker National Honor Society. Hes been involved in cross-country, track, Science Olympiad, Michigan Youth Leadership Conference and Rotary Interact. Smith also has served in many community service activities.

Smith said his experiences at Lakers have prepared him for college. Through the FFA, hes tried new things and taken on various challenges, such as leadership roles, which have all boosted his confidence.

Teachers have encouraged me along the way, he added. (Lakers has provided) an environment to facilitate my academic growth throughout the years. It's been really influential and very inspiring and it helped me get to where I am today.

Smith named ag teacher/FFA adviser Haley Schulz and former ag teacher/FFA adviser Don Wheeler as two very important inspirational teachers in his life.

They've pushed me to try new things over and over again, he said. They've both facilitated the growth I've had as a leader and an individual.

He also named English teacher Julie Stoyka as a great inspiration.

She's always believed in me so much, and it helps to have someone on the academic side of things to see my potential and stimulate that growth throughout the years, he said.

Tait, daughter of Michael and Mary Tait, will major in biochemistry at MSU. Her plans are to be a pharmacist. She said some of her science classes at Lakers inspired her to go into this field.

I really enjoyed Mrs. Hasselschwert's chemistry class, and before that, I enjoyed Mr. Lebsack's bio class, she said. I wanted to find a good happy medium. I did some soul searching, and that led me to biochemistry.

Tait has been involved in FFA and has served as a region officer and local chapter officer. Shes a co-captain of the Science Olympiad team and Laker Media chief editor. Shes also been in band, Academic Games, Rotary Interact, National Honor Society, VEX Robotics and the MDOT Bridge Challenge. Tait also has served in a variety of community service activities.

All of her extracurricular involvement will help her adjust well to college life, Tait said.

It has taught me very good time management, she said.

Tait said science teacher Deb Hasselschwert has been a big inspiration.

(Mrs. Hasselschwert) is not afraid to show her inner love for science and geek out about things, she said. That inspired me to show my love for science and not be ashamed of it.

Both Smith and Tait have been involved in the Mid-Michigan Community College dual enrollment program, which is offered at the Huron Area Technical Center. Smith was in the program for two years and will graduate high school with 42 college credits. Tait was in the program for one year and will have 20 college credits.

Tait and Smith have advice for underclassmen that aspire to be future Hueschen recipients.

Before you get to your senior year, do community service. Other than that, in the interview, be true and be passionate in your answers, Tait said. Don't make up some silly story about why you love science. Be honest.

Smith said students should try every opportunity they come across and not shy away from new experiences. He said this has truly helped him be successful.

You get so much growth by trying new things and going out of your comfort zone, he said. It also will help you set yourself apart from other (Hueschen) candidates.

The Hueschen Scholarship is awarded each year to one or more Laker seniors. The recipients are chosen based on academic performance, test scores, awards and honors, the number of science classes taken and the difficulty of all classes taken. Recipients need to be accepted into a science program at MSU.

The scholarship has been awarded since the mid-1990s.
MIDDLETOWN  Tracy Heather Strain and Randall MacLowry, the duo behind the Boston-based documentary film company The Film Posse, will join Wesleyan Universitys renowned film studies faculty this fall and will launch the Wesleyan Documentary Project, an initiative to teach, support and produce non-fiction film and video.

MacLowry, a 1986 Wesleyan alumnus, and Strain will also relocate their production company to Middletown, where they will continue to produce films for PBS and other outlets. Together, The Film Posse and Wesleyan Documentary Project will support filmmaking on campus, according to a press release.

Strain, a two-time Peabody Award winner, and MacLowry, a Peabody Award winner and two-time WGA Award winner, have produced over 20 documentaries, many through The Film Posse. Strain most recently produced, wrote and directed, and MacLowry produced and edited, Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017), the first feature documentary about African-American author and activist Lorraine Hansberry.

Sighted Eyes received the prestigious John E. Connor Film award from the American Historical Association, an NAACP Image Award for Strains directing, and a 2018 Peabody Award. MacLowrys recent film The Swamp, a riveting history of the Everglades, aired on PBS American Experience in January, the release said.

Through the Wesleyan Documentary Project, we aim to expand opportunities on campus for non-fiction filmmaking and study. Our world needs creative and diverse documentary storytellers more than ever. We are committed to helping them find their voices, Strain said in a prepared statement.

The Film Posse has a long history of selecting Wesleyan students as interns. Were excited to further integrate students into our professional activities, and aim to provide students with real-world professional experience tailored to a liberal arts setting. Our projects are well-suited to students intellectual interests and strengths, MacLowry said in the release.

In addition, the Wesleyan Documentary Project will institute a documentary hotline, a mechanism through which graduates can seek advice about writing grants, and producing and distributing their work. It will also host an annual event centered on fact-based storytelling with new works by leading artists.

We are thrilled to welcome Tracy and Randy to Wesleyan. They bring the professional excellence and teaching strength to reinvigorate the film departments already robust offerings in documentary filmmaking and study, Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image, the Charles W. Fries Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives, said in the statement.

Wesleyan has offered instruction in documentary making and study from the earliest days of its film program. In recent years, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Sadia Shepard has taught a popular documentary course in which students delve into the lives of ordinary local residents, and screen the resulting short films at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown.
"War Chief of the Crow Indians" isn't a title that's just randomly thrown around to any jackass who happens to own a gigantic, awesome-looking headdress and a really awesome traditional-style wooden bow made out of the bark of dead Treants.

You don't become a War Chief just because you're the oldest dude in the tribe, or the most badass hunter, or the only guy in your zip code capable of bench-pressing an automobile. It's an ancient, prestigious honorific bestowed only upon the bravest, the strongest, and the most hardcore asskickers around, and the only way to attain this hallowed title is by proving yourself in combat and unlocking the four achievements the Crow believed to be the most insanely-difficult things a warrior can attempt in battle -- leading a successful war party on a raid, capturing an enemy's weapon, touching an enemy without killing him, and stealing an enemy's horse.

None of this s--- is easy, and pretty much all of it requires you put your life on the line by voluntarily bringing yourself face-to-face with at least one warrior who is presumably in the process of actively trying to rip you limb from limb with a bowie knife and then splatter your corpse across the countryside with a well-placed headbutt. It's like the Crow Indians' way of making sure they don't have any suckass weaklings leading their tribe into combat.

Related:

At 102 years old, Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was the last surviving War Chief of the Crow Indians when he died in 2016. He is a hardcore, fearless, neck-snapping warrior who has accomplished all of these tremendous feats of bravery in combat and has proven himself a step above the majority of humanity on the badassitude scale.

And he did it in World War II.

Joe Medicine Crow was born on a reservation near Lodge Grass, Montana in 1913. Raised in the illustrious warrior tradition of the Crow, this dude had some pretty hardcore badasses to look up to as a young man -- his step-grandfather had been a scout for Custer at the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn (the Crow had a generations-long blood feud with the Lakota Sioux), and his paternal grandfather was a dude named Chief Medicine Crow who was like the Michael Jordan of Crow war heroes.

So, naturally, young Joseph was drilled into a tough warrior capable of handling himself in any situation. The majority of this young warrior's childhood was spent undergoing hardcore Spartan-style feats of strength, piledriving buffalo, riding horses bareback, swimming through mighty rivers, punching things, and running barefoot through snow-covered plains uphill both ways. He was taught to control his fear in the face of imminent peril, learned to hunt dangerous animals by himself, and trained his body to survive prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures.

He was also taught the war history of his tribe, and in addition to honing his body to the ultimate wilderness survival machine he also became the first member of his tribe to graduate with an advanced college degree, receiving his MA in Anthropology from USC in 1939.

Medicine Crow was in the process of working on his PhD when the United States entered World War II. Never one to back down from the opportunity to put his powers of mass destruction to good use, Crow enlisted as a scout in the 103rd Infantry and was sent to the beaches of Normandy to wreak havoc on the forces of European Fascism. Despite serving in a war dominated by automatic weapons, heavy artillery, and gigantic tanks armed with 88mm cannons, Medicine Crow held on to the time-honored practices of his tribe -- he always wore bright red war paint into combat, and he strapped a sacred yellow-painted eagle feather to his helmet for good luck.

He also counted the four coups required to distinguish himself as a Crow war chief, which is no small f------ task when one of those tasks involves stealing a horse from the enemy.

As an infantry scout, you probably don't get too many opportunities to lead a group of men into combat, but Pvt. Medicine Crow got the opportunity to do just that in snow-covered battlefields of Western France while the Allies made their push from Paris towards Berlin.

The border to Germany was a heavily-fortified wall of impenetrable machine gun bunkers, tank traps, trenches, moats and artillery positions known as the Siegfried Line, which was basically like a functional, not-worthless version of France's Maginot Line.

Well, during one particularly nasty portion of the battle for the Rhine, Medicine Crow's commanding officer ordered the Native American warrior to take a team of seven soldiers and lead them across an field of barbed wire, bullets, and artillery fire, grab some dynamite from an American position that had been utterly annihilated, and then assault the German bunkers and blow the ass out of them with TNT. This was basically a suicide mission, but, according to Medicine Crow, when he got the mission his CO's exact words were, "if anyone can do this, it's probably you."

That's not exactly a phrase that inspires tremendous confidence, but Joe Medicine Crow didn't give a s---. He charged out, evaded an endless rain of fireballs, shrapnel, and misery, grabbed the TNT from a supply crate while tracer rounds zipped past his head, and then charged balls-out towards some German machine gun nests while carrying an armload of ultra-high explosives. He somehow reached the wall in one piece and blasted a hole in the Siegfried Line so the infantry could advance. Medicine Crow received a Bronze Star for this action, and his squad did not lose a single man in the battle. I'd call that a win.

Shortly after moving through the Siegfried Line (I read in one source that Joe was photographed leading the charge and leaping through the breach he'd created in the wall, thus making him the first American soldier to set foot on German soil, though I wasn't able to verify this fact or locate the photo), the 103rd was ordered to capture a nearby town that was being staunchly defended by the enemy.

While the main elements of the 103rd moved into the well-defended main street of the village, Joe Medicine Crow's scouts were ordered to flank around through a back alley and get behind the German fortifications. Well, as this s--- was going down, Medicine Crow got separated from his unit, and while he was in the process of sprinting through some German family's backyard a random Nazi jackass stepped out from behind the wall with his rifle at the ready.

Joe didn't see this dude until the last second, and ended up running right into the guy

like the Juggernaut from the X-Men.

The two guys smashed helmet-to-helmet in a maneuver that would probably have netted Medicine Crow a 15-yard penalty in the NFL, and the force of the running mega Indian flying headbutt sent that Nazi jackass (and his rifle) sprawling across the lawn.

Joseph Medicine Crow, however, still had his rifle firmly wedged in his kung fu grip.

Joseph Medicine Crow now found himself standing rifle-to-face with an unarmed German soldier, but gunning down an unarmed man wasn't this guy's style -- he was much more of an "honorable combat" sort of badass, and he wasn't about to let this Nazi douchebag feel the sweet release of death without getting a nice red, white, and blue knuckle sandwich or two beforehand.

So Joe Medicine Crow threw down his rifle and hit him in the face Batman-style.

The two guys started going at it, and at one point the Nazi almost flipped the tables and pinned Joe, but the Native American warrior freaked out, grabbed the German dude by the throat, and started squeezing. Just as he was ready to choke the life out of his enemy, the German, sensing imminent death, started calling out for his Mom.

That kind of put the kibosh on Joseph's kill buzz. So he let the guy live, taking the German (and his rifle) as a prisoner of war and knocking out two War Chief prerequisites with one well-placed face-punch.

Of all the s--- on this borderline-impossible list, this is the one that seems like it would trip up the most people these days. But in early 1945 Joseph Medicine Crow stole 50 horses from a group of German officers.

The story starts with Joe and his men on a scouting mission deep behind enemy lines. While surveying the landscape for enemy troop movements, Medicine Crow's small team of recon experts just happened to come across a small farm where some senior members of the German officer staff were holed up -- along with a group of awesome thoroughbred race horses.

So, naturally, Joe had to steal them.

In the early hours of the morning, Joseph Medicine Crow, dressed in his U.S. Army uniform, snuck past the sleeping guards armed only with a rope and his Colt 1911 .45-caliber service pistol. He found the best horse in the group, tied the rope into a makeshift bridle, mounted the horse bareback, and then gave a super loud Crow war cry as he tried to herd as many goddamned horses out of the corral as possible before the Nazis started firing bullets at him. Hauling ass through though the German countryside in the dead of night, Joseph Medicine Crow sang a Crow war song while German officers ran outside in their underwear taking potshots at him with their Lugers.

This s--- is so crazy you couldn't even make it up.

In the last days of the war, Joseph Medicine Crow helped liberate a concentration camp in Poland (he and his commanding officer drove a jeep through the front gates and the SS guards immediately dropped their s--- and ran away without a fight) before finally heading home to his tribe in Montana. When the Crow elders heard about his through-the-roof Gamerscore they made Joe an official War Chief in the Tribe -- a post he now holds by himself. He was also made a Knight in the French Legion of Honor, received three honorary PhDs, authored nearly a dozen books on military history, stayed married to the same woman for over 60 years, and has been the official historian for his tribe for the last fifty years.

In August of 2009 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor awarded to American civilians -- for his combined military service and all the work he has done to help improve the lives of the people of the Crow people. The 95 year-old Medicine Crow personally led the ceremonial dance after the ceremony.

Links:

Billings Gazette

Joe Medicine Crow

Crow Nominated for Congressional Gold Medal

Wikipedia

Sources:

Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony. Penguin, 1999.

Robinson, Gary and Phil Lucas. From Warriors to Soldiers. iUniverse, 2010.

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Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier...
A second Marine commanding officer has been fired for allegedly driving drunk, just two weeks after another senior leader was also arrested and ousted from his job for the same reason.

Col. Douglas Lemott Jr., commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group, was relieved of his duties on Friday, five days after he was arrested in Virginia for allegedly driving under the influence.

Lemott, who could not be reached for comment, is at least the second commanding officer to be picked up in Virginia on drunk driving charges in the last month.

Maj. Gen. Matthew Glavy, head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, carried out the latest relief after losing trust and confidence in Lemott's ability to command, Capt. Amanda Anderson, a Marine spokeswoman told Military.com.

"Underlying allegations are being investigated by the appropriate authorities," she said, referring additional questions to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office, where Lemott was arrested.

Lemott, 49, will head back to Fauquier General District Court on June 21, according to court records. He was released on bail following his arrest.

It's Lemott's first alleged drunk driving offense. If found guilty, he could have his driver's license revoked for a year and face a fine of at least $250.

Col. John Atkinson, commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion based in Quantico, Virginia, was relieved on April 26, two weeks after he was picked up for allegedly driving under the influence in Prince William County.

Atkinson is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Commandant Gen. Robert Neller earlier this week called out Marines' alcohol use as it relates to another crime: sexual assault. Neller has pushed long pushed for Marines to curb their alcohol use, launching a campaign encouraging them to protect the career they've worked hard to build.

"Marines ... know that alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to a significant number of these incidents and other aberrant behaviors," Neller wrote on Twitter.

Col. Wendy Goyette, the former commanding officer of Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group has taken over for Lemott.

The unit, based in Fort Meade, Maryland, falls under Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command, whose mission it is to protect the service's critical infrastructure from attacks. The command includes about 800 personnel.

In February, Lemott received the 2019 Stars and Stripes United States Marine Corps Award. He was recognized as a leader shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and math, and for "serving with distinction while supporting the Marine Corps' efforts in mentorship, diversity and value-based service to the nation," according to a Marine Corps news release.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
The creator of "Terminal Lance" is back to writing about the heavier side of military life with a new graphic novel that follows Marines in Afghanistan's frigid mountain ranges.

Max Uriarte is taking an all-new cast of Marine characters to Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province in his upcoming graphic novel "Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli." The full-color, feature-length story follows Sgt. King as he leads his Marines in a fight against the Taliban in the province's cold, snowy mountains.

Uriarte, who served as an infantry Marine in Iraq, wanted to do something different from his last book, "The White Donkey," which follows the main "Terminal Lance" comic strip character to Iraq and back. Sgt. King, a young black infantryman, and the rest of the "Battle Born" characters are all new.

"I had never really seen a military infantry story with a black main character and thought that would be really cool," Uriarte told Military.com. "They would say you should make the story that you want to see, so I had decided to just go for it."

Uriarte also wanted to take Marines out of the desert. When he read about the Taliban illegally mining lapis lazuli, the blindingly blue, sought-after gemstone once popular with Egyptian pharaohs, he got the idea to send Sgt. King and his Marines into the valley where the group had taken hold.

Afghanistan has been one of the main sources for lapis lazuli for thousands of years, and the Taliban saw an opportunity in the gem. The group took over a mine once used for generations by an Afghan family in the import-export business, The New York Times reported. In 2014, the lapis trade was valued at about $125 million a year, according to the Times.

"I thought that was super fascinating stuff and a really cool setting for the story," Uriarte said. "And I found that the whole story, much like how I centered 'The White Donkey' around the donkey that sort of becomes a theme, I've centered it around the lapis lazuli, which is where the title comes from."

With an all-new location and set of characters, Uriarte set out to do his research. He was familiar with how Marines operated in the desert, but not the cold. So he embedded with an infantry battalion at the Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

"It was honestly so much worse than Camp Pendleton or Twentynine Palms. Everybody was miserable," Uriarte said. "... It gave me a good refresher on why I left the Marine Corps because you get really nostalgic, right? Then you get back into it, and you're in the field eating [tray rations] for a few days."

"Battle Born" is a more visual story than "The White Donkey," he said, with about a third more pages but half the dialogue. It's also illustrated in full color, a change from the "Terminal Lance" black-and-white style.

"I wanted it to be a beautiful book," Uriarte said. "One that you'll open, and it will kind of take you in, so I went full color. ... And I just wanted a story that was less dialogue, less talky and more, just sort of beautiful to look at.

"I really just wanted to make a war story that was beautiful because I hadn't really seen one."

"Battle Born" touches on serious topics such as colonialism and racism, which Uriarte describes as a very personal journey for Sgt. King. Its not without some of that salty "Terminal Lance" humor though.

"You'll find all your favorite Marine Corps staples like standing post and other bull---t," Uriarte said.

Overall, however, it's about a well-functioning small unit hard at work downrange. Given the author's longstanding tradition of celebrating junior Marines, it's perhaps only fitting the story doesn't include any pesky gunnys or first sergeants yelling at Sgt. King and his Marines.

"I didn't put a single staff NCO in the story," Uriarte said. "Sgt. King is the highest-ranking enlisted guy, and there's background to why that is in the story. But he basically just talks directly to the lieutenant, the only officer around and it's great. You take all the staff NCOs out, and everything works great."

"Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli" will be published by Little, Brown and Company this winter. It will be available in hardcover and in the Kindle Store.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
Per a team release, the Nationals have placed OF Juan Soto on the 10-Day IL with back spasms. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was recalled to take his place.

Though the injury isnt said to be serious, its a tough blow for a Nats lineup already down Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Soto, 20, set the league ablaze last season, rocketing in two months from Low-A to the big leagues, where he posted an astounding .292/.406/.517 mark with the leagues third-highest walk rate, arguably the best ever season from a teenage bat. The lefty was off to a slower start this year, though his 15.2% walk rate still ranked among the leagues best.
The Boston Red Sox activated infielder Eduardo Nunez from the 10-day IL today, per an official team release. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin heads to the injured list in the corresponding move.

Nunez went down on April 18th with a mid-back strain after a rough start to the year. The 31-year-old was hitting only .159/.178/.182 at the time of the injury. He was primarily utilized at second base to start the year, but top prospect Michael Chavis has staked a claim to the keystone in the interim. With Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt all on the injured list, Chavis, 23, took full advantage by hitting .310/.442/.619 with four home runs and ten RBIs. Nunez will have to fight to take back playing time coming off a disappointing .265/.289/.388 in 2018, his first full season in Boston. Nunez makes $5MM this season, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year, so its not inconceivable to think the Red Sox could cut bait if Nunez doesnt start producing  though injuries to other Boston infielders and his pedigree as a useful .277/.312/.406 career hitter likely grants Nunez a fairly long leash.

Lin, 25, becomes the latest Boston infielder to occupy the injured list in 2019. He sprained his knee in Chicago on Friday and now heads back to Boston to undergo testing. Lin is primarily a middle infielder, though he has played all over the diamond during his Boston tenure. He was 4-20 so far this season as one of the many Boston infielders to sample second base.

In a related depth move, former Phillie prospect Cody Asche joins Triple-A Pawtucket after having his contract purchased from the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Independent League, per the Skeeters. Asche made good use of his time in Sugar Land, hitting .250/.375/.400 in six games with the Skeeters since signing in mid-April. Last appearing in the majors in 2017 for the White Sox, Asche, 28, spent time with both New York organizations in 2018.
FLINT, MI -- A Genesee Circuit Court judge has given prosecutors a little more time to review what they say could be new information related to the Flint water crisis --- but not as much time as they requested.

Judge Joseph Farah on Friday, May 3, denied a request from prosecutors to wait six months until issuing his decision on whether the case against former state Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon can move closer to a jury trial, but said he would wait until June 14 before ruling on the most serious charges that are pending.

Its time for the midnight pizzas and Coca-Colas, Farah told Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud in making his ruling. It is time ... for everybody to roll up their sleeves (and) redouble their efforts ... Its time for that.

Before Hammoud filed a motion requesting a stay in court proceedings in the Lyon case, Farah had been expecting to rule by May 17 on a separate request from Lyons attorneys that the four criminal charges against him be dismissed because of errors during his preliminary examination in Genesee District Court.

The judge said Friday that his only consideration in deciding the motion to quash -- or dismiss -- the charges against Lyon is determining whether District Court Judge David Goggins abused his discretion in binding Lyon over for trial.

Farah said if prosecutors find information that helps or hurts their case against Lyon, it wont effect his decision on the dismissal question but could result in the case being sent back to district court.

Hammoud asked for a six-month delay after the discovery of what prosecutors described as a trove Flint water documents -- amounting to millions of pages earlier this year in the basement of a state-owned building.

That discovery, the solicitor general told the judge, led to the detection of a deeply flawed system for reviewing records turned over by state agencies in response to investigative subpoenas issued by former special prosecutor Todd Flood, who Hammoud fired just last month.

Flood agreed to a procedure for how those records would be reviewed that was deeply flawed, Hammoud said, resulting in prosecutors reviewing themselves only about 1.5 million of about 20 million discovery documents.

Among the problems, she said, was the involvement of a law firm that has been paid to represent former Gov. Rick Snyder in the record review.

We dont know what we dont know, Hammoud said of the need to do more work the records. We have an obligation to investigate."

Attorneys for Lyon argued against Farah delaying his decision, contending Hammoud was stalling as a new group of prosecutors acclimate themselves to eight criminal cases related to Flint water that are still pending.

They are simply saying, Give us time to figure out what (this) case is about, said Lyon attorney Chip Chamberlain. Thats something they can do on their own time -- not on Mr. Lyons time."

Lyon, 50, was arraigned on Flint water charges nearly two years ago.

As a member of Snyders cabinet, he was the highest-ranking figure in state government to have been charged with crimes related to the water crisis and was bound over to stand trial by 67th District Court Judge David Goggins on two counts of involuntary manslaughter, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office.

Farah said he will still make a decision whether to dismiss the misdemeanor charge against Lyon -- neglect of duty -- within two weeks.

Prosecutors have claimed Lyon is responsible for the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder, two Genesee County men whom prosecution experts say likely died of Legionnaires disease, which spiked throughout Genesee County while the city used the Flint River as its water source in parts of 2014 and 2015.

The former director, who has pleaded not guilty of the charges, was among city, county and state officials who were aware of outbreaks of Legionnaires here and suspicions that Flints water was connected to them a full year before residents were told.

Lyon had a duty under state law to warn citizens of the outbreaks and to protect their health, according to the charges against him.

Water prosecutors claims of a flawed discovery process in the Flint water cases hasnt just caused fallout in the Lyon case.

Hammoud said shes spoken to attorneys for the seven other current and former city and state government employees also facing charges and is requesting delays in those cases as well.

Even though the un-reviewed water documents came from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the records or review process could still be relevant to those cases, Hammoud said Friday.

Court records show Genesee District Court Judge Nathaniel Perry has already agreed to delay preliminary examinations for former emergency manager Darnell Earley and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft until November.
SCIO TOWNSHIP, MI  Special needs education leaders in Washtenaw County are proposing a 0.37-mill tax increase to demolish and rebuild a school just outside Ann Arbor.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District is considering putting the $53.2 million bond proposal before voters to fund the project at High Point School, 1735 S. Wagner Road in Scio Township. The special needs school shares a campus with Honey Creek Community School and serves students across the county.

The school board will consider the proposal in a 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 meeting at 1819 S. Wagner Road.

If OKed by the board, residents would vote on the ballot measure Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Maneuvering through a maze of narrow hallways and tight corners on the campus has been difficult for staff and students, many who use mobility devices that need extra hallway space, Superintendent Scott Menzel said.

The building is almost 50 years old. It opened in 1975. There are significant limitations in terms of the infrastructure, Menzel said. (There are) a lot of exterior doors, which from an exit standpoint  makes sense. From a school safety and security point in the 21st century, thats not a really good model at all.

Here are five things to know about the proposal:

1. Conceptual plan

The proposed school would be 27,000-square-feet larger than the current building.

It would include 30 to 35 classrooms on one side of the building; additional rooms for use by physical therapists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other special needs workers; new equipment and furniture; storage space, technological improvements and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Classrooms would be nearly 1,000 square feet with individual bathrooms.

Supplemental rooms would be added for meetings or future classrooms, and ramps would be built across the campus. The plan is to create a structure that would accommodate the programs growth for the next 30 years, Menzel said.

The schools bus drop-off area is currently uncovered and stretches away from the main entrance, causing difficulties for staff to assist wheelchair users during rain and snow. The district wants to add heated sidewalks with an overhead shield.

The school would accommodate students ages three to 26, with fenced-off playgrounds for different age groups. Every classroom would have windows for daylight.

Update: an earlier version of this story reported the school would accommodate K-8. It was changed to reflect the accurate age group.

A life skills area, cafeteria, media center, music room and art room are also planned.

2. How much it would cost homeowners

The 10-year, 0.37-mill tax increase would cover the demolition and new construction, costing the owner of a $300,000 home about $55.50 annually, or about $4.63 a month.

The district could set aside funds from a special education millage as an alternative, but it would not fully cover the costs needed, Menzel said.

3. How the money would be spent

The proposed $53.2 million in bond funding would pay to demolish the current structure and construct a new building, while keeping the gymnasium and pool in place.

Mechanical, electrical, technological and infrastructure development alone would cost $18 million, Menzel said.

The funds would also purchase new equipment and furniture, new information technology systems, refurbishment of the pool and gym, new playgrounds and landscaping.

4. Who can vote

The proposal would not appear on every Washtenaw County ballot, Menzel said. Rather, its a constituent district vote of (Washtenaw Intermediate School District).

Residents in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake and Ypsilanti school districts would vote for it on Aug. 6.

5) How long it will take

Moving staff and students out and beginning work by January 2020 is the goal, which would involve relocating programs.

The ideal scenario would be to move back in fall 2021, Menzel said.

Options for relocation include using empty school buildings the district may lease for an 18-month period, possibly in Ypsilanti.

Gretchens House, a private childcare center that uses a few classrooms in the same building, would not move with the High Point and Honey Creek schools during the temporary period. It would operate in an alternate facility, Menzel said.
HILLSDALE, MI -- A part of Hillsdale history is being restored, as renovations to the century-old Dawn Theater are set to begin later this year.

A $1.4 million Michigan Economic Development Corporation Community Development Block Grant is helping to restore the currently vacant building at 97 N. Broad St., according to a news release.

The old theater will become a new venue for movies, special events and private rentals.

Given its history and what it means to the community now -- and 100 years ago -- it was important for us to try restore it, Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie said.

Planned repairs in the $1.7 million project include restoration of the original brick facade and windows, floor replacement, roof work and making the theater handicap accessible, the release said.

Expected to open in fall 2020, the new venue will create 27 new jobs, Mackie said.

The building is owned by the Hillsdale Tax Increment Finance Authority, Mackie said. The project is receiving $400,000 for the rehabilitation and $200,000 in TIFA funds for building acquisition and pre-development project costs, the release said.

The district and city administration are working together to improve the community, which the grant allows us to do, Mackie said. We are reinvesting in the structure, and hopefully secure it for another century.

The Dawn Theater has become a key fixture of downtown Hillsdale since opening as a single-screen theater in 1919, Mackie said.

The theater struggled with the rise of multiplexes and was turned into a nightclub in the 1990s. The nightclub closed in 2004 and the building was vacant until 2010, when it began hosting events until closing again in 2013.

Re-opening the theater will provide the town a much needed community space, Mackie said. State Rep. Eric Leutheuser. R-Hillsdale, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, praised the grant allocation and the restoration of the theater.

This is a tremendous opportunity to honor and preserve our rich local history while starting a whole new chapter in the story of our town, Leutheuser said.
JACKSON, MI  A city workshop held earlier this week to discuss Jacksons 2019-2020 budget proposal fell within a gray area of Michigans Open Meetings Act, according to a legal expert.

During workshops, city council members cannot deliberate toward or make decisions on future agenda items, said Jennifer Dukarski, deputy general counsel for the Michigan Press Association. Its up for debate as to whether Jackson City Councils Thursday, May 2 workshop fell within those perimeters.

The council invited the public to attend the workshop, but did not allow for public comment, angering many of the nine residents in attendance.

Cities arent required to have public comment during workshops, Dukarski said. The question is whether Thursdays get-together can be considered a workshop, rather than a meeting  in which public comment is required by law. The event was initially billed as a special meeting with public comment.

"This gets into a gray area, when the full board is there and they start asking questions," Dukarski said. "There's a very fine line between education and asking questions that will help you deliberate and make a decision on public policy."

Wheres the agenda and whens the citizen comment? resident John King said, interrupting the workshop. By law there has to be.

Officials didnt explain why public comment was being barred.

Mayor Derek Dobies and Councilman Jeromy Alexander agreed Thursdays gathering helped inform their decision on the budget vote, but both said they dont believe the talks could be considered deliberations.

A second budget workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 will include deliberations, Dobies said, and therefore will also include time for public comment. Theres also a public hearing scheduled for May 14 before the council votes on the budget May 28, Dobies said.

Whether public comment was necessary or not, Alexander said they absolutely should have had it during the first workshop.

"Even if public comment wasn't required, there's nothing that can stop us from having additional public comment," Alexander said. "I'd always rather have more input, more feedback from constituents."

Public comment was skipped because the workshop was purely informative, Dobies said Friday. Its the same way the council has done budget workshops in past years, he added.

We wanted to make sure we had time to be able to have that presentation, Dobies said.

The workshop ran about two-and-a-half hours.

Penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act are minimal, Dukarski said. Decisions made during the meeting could be invalidated  although there were no votes during Thursdays workshop. If taken to court, the act says an official intentionally in violation can be charged with a misdemeanor and $1,000 fine.

Jackson City Council typically allows for three minutes of public comment per person near the beginning of all meetings. Council efforts to alter the policy last spring were tabled, after citizens rebuked the new plan during public comment.
MUSKEGON, MI  After 73 years, World War II hero William Naill finally got his medal.

At age 91, Naill had essentially given up on the idea he would ever get a medal recognizing his service. He was just 16 when he signed up to fight, winding up on the island of Guam in the South Pacific struggling to stay alive even though the war was technically over.

He returned to his home in 1946 and carried on with life, working a variety of jobs, settling down and having a family.

On Friday, May 3, Naill finally got the overdue recognition he deserved. The U.S. Navy Occupation Service Medal was presented to Naill during a ceremony at the SKLD nursing facility in Muskegon, where his wife Betty now resides.

Im kind of overwhelmed by it, Naill said. I havent had this much attention since my mother had me.

Humor is second nature to Naill, who peppers his memories of war with quips.

Naill tried three times to enlist in the U.S. Navy, but couldnt because he was under age. Finally, he convinced his parents to vouch for him so he could follow in the footsteps of his older brother who had already joined the war effort.

They said I was born in September, and my brother was born in January, Naill said, a grin spreading across his face. Its possible -- thats nine months  though it would have been tough on my mother.

His reason for joining was simple: I wanted to win the war.

In 1945, he was sent to the Atlantic on a destroyer escort and soon, the European conflict ended following Adolf Hitlers suicide. Naill then was sent to the Pacific, and soon after Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered. That was on Aug. 15, 1945.

But fighting continued on Guam even after the surrender. Naill, who had been a fireman 2nd class and a gunner onboard ship, was one of two crew members dropped off at Guam, according to Naills son, Ed Naill of Muskegon. It was on the island where Naill switched from being a sailor to being a combat solider.

I served on ship and on land, Naill said. I couldve been an amphibian.

For the most part, he glosses over the horrors of war, saying he simply was doing his duty. But he provides glimpses of what he encountered fighting the Japanese when he was just a teenager.

They were killing us, he said. And we were killing them.

When he arrived back in the United States in 1946, Naill first went to work as a sign painter, later driving big rigs and working other jobs.

He was from Maryland, but his son was in Michigan and Naill followed, finding churches to pastor in Eaton Rapids and Ionia, later settling in Muskegon. He continues to preach at the Church of The Brethren in Muskegon.

When his wife fell ill and moved to SKLD, Naill began spending his days at her side. Hes at the nursing facility every day for seven to eight hours.

That was where he met Stephanie Jenkins, who works as a cook for the nursing facility. One day, noticing the veterans hat Naill was wearing, Jenkins thanked him for his service. He expressed surprise that anyone actually remembered the war that was fought so long ago.

That set the wheels in motion, and Jenkins reached out to her pastor, the Rev. Wesley Spyke, for help getting Naill the Occupation Service Medal he never received. Spyke and Jenkins husband are among a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who provide escorts for the remains of soldiers who die overseas. They show up at other veterans events as well, and four rode to the nursing facility on Friday to show their respects to Naill.

Spyke read excerpts from a letter of thanks Naills commander had written him so many years ago.

As family, friends, residents and SKLD staff watched, members of the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs gave him a certificate and pinned the medal Naill waited 75 years to receive onto the lapel of his suit.

I havent the faintest idea, Naill said when asked why it took so long for him to get the recognition.

His son, Ed Naill, said he thinks it was simply an oversight brought about by the chaos of the wars end and the return of thousands of the nations heroes.

Its just the way bureaucracies go, Ed Naill said. There were thousands and thousands of men coming out of service  and this was at the end of the war.
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SAGINAW, MI - Both Heritage High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA) hosted their proms at The Horizon Conference Center on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Around 400 Heritage juniors and seniors attended their prom, which was themed fiesta toda la noche which means party all night long in Spanish. They were set up in a large conference room, and pinatas, Mexican flavored sodas, and several different themed backdrops were some of the highlights. They also played a highlight video for the seniors that displayed photos of the class of 2019 and their four years at school.

SASAs prom was in a more intimate space, and their students dressed up to a Masquerade theme for the evening. Their DJ was a hit, getting almost every student on his or her feet to dance. They also had a miniature studio set up where a photographer took their photos with a themed backdrop.
ESSEXVILLE, MI - Bay City All Saints High School celebrated the school year with their prom at The Grand Banquet and Conference Center in Essexville on Friday, May 3, 2019.

A Masquerade theme had some of the 41 students who attended to bring along their masks and even their Crocs.

Senior Caitlyn McDonell brought her bright yellow Crocs and switched out her heels to show them off. She said that they wear them each day to school and they actually began a trend.

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Family members flooded the backyard of the venue to snap all the photographs possible of the students. Inside offered them dinner, professional photographs, soft drinks, desserts and of course dancing.

All Saints took fifth place in the Bay City, Midland and Saginaw 2019 Prom of the Week poll.
Months of insistence in Washington that the people of Venezuela stood by the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido basically went up in smoke when his Operation Liberty fizzled. The question now is whom to blame.

Senior US officials like National Security Advisor John Bolton and special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams expressed confidence in regime change in Caracas on Tuesday, named top Venezuelan officials ready to defect, and even spoke of signed documents to that effect.

Yet literally none of this happened, and by the early evening on Tuesday, the handful of Guaidos armed supporters were seeking sanctuary in foreign embassies.

Also on rt.com Coup fizzles? Guaidos mentor takes refuge in Chilean embassy as 25 military seek asylum in Brazils

Then came the spin. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on CNN and Fox News to claim that Maduro was getting ready to flee to Cuba, but the Russians talked him out of it. Bolton claimed Maduro was hiding in a bunker even as video evidence from Caracas showed him addressing supporters numbering in the thousands on May Day. The truth was inescapable, though: Guaido had failed.

The opposition took a step backward with the military, Rocio San Miguel, president of the Colombian NGO Control Ciudadano, told Bloomberg on Thursday. Guaido appearing with [his mentor Leopoldo] Lopez at a single point in the city with a few dozen soldiers and no major firepower showed their weakness.

So what happened? Several US media outlets have since sought to explain, citing anonymous sources allegedly privy to US government plots. These sources told Bloomberg they believe Maduro got wind of the coup on April 29, and Guaido rushed it ahead of schedule or it would all collapse.

Lopez was released from house arrest because the head of the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, General Manuel Christopher Figuera, had defected to Guaido, the anonymous and entirely unverifiable sources claimed, adding that it was Lopez resurfacing that might have spooked other senior officials  defense minister Vladimir Padrino, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno, and military intelligence and presidential guard head General Ivan Hernandez.

According to these sources, Figueras wife left Venezuela on Sunday for the safety of the US, and the general left the country as well after he was sacked on Tuesday night, though his whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, AP published a long speculative piece about missed opportunities to turn senior Venezuelan officials, from Hernandez being denied a visa in 2017 for his 3-year-old sons brain surgery, to Padrino reaching out to the US government in early 2016, after a troubled Venezuelan election.

Padrino in particular has been seen as a potential white knight, being a graduate of the School of the Americas. Apparently, very little US influence in the Venezuelan army had survived what the AP described as thorough scrubbing by Former President Hugo Chavez.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

Theres a theory thats gaining ground, and I think theres some credence to it, that it was all part of a big rope-a-dope operation, whereby the Maduro officials pretended to go along with this coup to smoke out the opposition, Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, told RT.

Thats one possibility, the other is that Pompeos lying about Maduros attempted flight to Cuba, McAdams said, adding that neither reflects well on the US.

Whatever the truth, there is no escaping the fact that Washington has pushing for regime change in Caracas for months with sanctions and other forms of pressure, and openly since recognizing Guaido in January, to absolutely no avail. All the hot air coming from Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams and other high officials pushing the regime change narrative has had far more effect in the US than in Venezuela.

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President Trump took to Twitter to declare his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula, after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea, meanwhile, test-fired short-range missiles.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted on Saturday. But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Trumps tweet came after he spoke with Putin by phone on Friday. The two leaders discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including nuclear arms control and the Korean peace process.

The president touted the success of the call on Saturday, heralding the tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media. After the phone call, certain media outlets chided Trump for not pressing Putin on supposed Russian election meddling.

Despite Trumps insistence that a deal will happen with North Korea, results thus far have been lacking. A much-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year ended with a vague promise from Kim to work towards denuclearization, while a follow-up summit in Hanoi, Vietnam this year collapsed with no agreement when Trump found Kims demands untenable.

Kim has since broadened his horizons, meeting with Putin in Vladivostok last month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also reportedly considering a meeting with Kim, according to a Friday report in the Shankei newspaper.

Also on rt.com North Korea fires short-range projectiles eastward  S. Korea

Diplomacy aside, Pyongyang has reportedly reversed its dismantling of missile and rocket test sites in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit, and on Saturday morning fired a salvo of short-range projectiles out to sea from the city of Wonsan, on its east coast.

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Julian Assanges father John Shipton has blasted the US for seeking vindictive revenge on his son for WikiLeaks exposing the US destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria and the millions killed in wars.

Assange is being punished for exposing the grand narrative of every heinous crime of the late 20th century, Lipton told protesters at a rally in Sydney, Australia, on Friday.

Also on rt.com UN rights experts lambast Assanges disproportionate prison sentence in UK

The consequence of WikiLeaks revealing these crimes, the destruction of Iraq, the destruction of Afghanistan, the destruction of Syria, the destruction of Libya, millions killed, they want their vindictive revenge, he said.

Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison on Wednesday for breaching bail when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London seven years ago. He faces extradition to the US where he is accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for allegedly trying to help whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The war logs and cables leaked by Manning in 2010 revealed potential US war crimes and shocking details about foreign policy and civilian casualties.

Also on rt.com 'A testimony of evil': How Mannings 'Collateral Murder' revelation changed history

Part of this resentment against Julian revealing these crimes is manifested by the English magistrate judiciary," Lipton said, pointing to bizarre statements being made against Assange in court, like that he is a narcissist.

Lipton also took aim at Ecuador, telling the crowd that in order to get a loan, they sold an Australian citizen for money, referring to the recent $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan Ecuador secured before Assange was removed from the embassy.

He called on the Australian people to give the government the courage to stop assisting this by doing nothing, and help to bring Assange home to his family.

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Palestinian health officials said that at least one person was killed and several injured after Israeli military responded with force to a barrage of rockets coming from Gaza Strip this Saturday.

Four Palestinians have been injured in an Israeli airstrike around the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Palestines health ministry, was quoted by RIA Novosti. Later in the day, AFP reported that the Israeli strikes had killed at least one person in the area.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli armed forces said as many as 90 rockets were fired from inside Gaza Strip into Israel. Dozens of them were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense system. There were no immediate reports on casualties.

Also on rt.com Heavy barrage of rockets: IDF says 90 missiles launched from Gaza, dozens intercepted

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
The only gold ingot Estonias central bank has in storage is not pure enough for financial operations and is more suitable as a museum piece, the bank has revealed.

The piece of gold weights 11 kilograms and is valued at around 500,000, the head of the financial market division of the Bank of Estonia, Fabio Filipozzi, told Terevisioon, according to Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). The gold bar is 97 years old  three years younger than the bank, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Friday.

Also on rt.com Russia tops global gold buyers list as it turns away from US dollar

The rest of the countrys gold reserves amount to 256 kilograms, but it is stored in foreign banks, and in the US in particular. The tradition stems from the first half of the last century, before World War II began, when the country decided to transfer the precious metal to keep it safe.

Tallinn sold most of its gold reserves in the 1990s and invested money in other liquid assets, such as bonds and equities, according to the bank official.

Estonias gold reserves are the second lowest among European countries, behind Albania by 1.35 tons, according to Trading Economics website data.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Europe would not enjoy the same level of peace and security that it does today if it werent for Turkeys willingness to host waves of refugees pouring in from numerous countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed.

If European countries are living in peace today, it is thanks to Turkey for hosting 4 million refugees, Erdogan said on Friday, as quoted by Anadolu.

In 2015, the EU agreed to pay Turkey 3 billion ($3.3 billion) in exchange for housing refugees and preventing them from entering the bloc. A year later, a formal deal was reached between Ankara and Brussels, stipulating that all migrants arriving illegally on European shores would be returned to transit country Turkey.

In exchange, the EU promised to speed up deliberations over Turkeys bid to join the bloc. As part of the deal, Ankara requested an additional 3bn to help cope with the humanitarian crisis.

Also on rt.com Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE owe their existence to Iran  Rouhani

The two sides have squabbled over exactly how many refugees Turkey hosts  and how much money Ankara needs to care for them. For example, last year the EU claimed that Turkey was holding less than 2 million refugees, while the Turkish government insisted the number was closer to 4 million.

Despite Turkeys best efforts, in the last few years Europe has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks, with some attributed to extremists who entered the bloc posing as asylum seekers.

While Ankara and Brussels have locked horns over issues ranging from visa-free travel to press freedoms, some European states have expressed gratitude to Turkey for its role in containing the influx of refugees trying to enter the bloc.

Also on rt.com Macron suggests shrinking Schengen zone because EU migration policies 'do not work'

Europes security today begins in Turkey, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto acknowledged at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday.

More than 1 million migrants poured into Europe in 2015. Although the influx has slowed considerably, the crisis has strained relations within the bloc and breathed new life into right-wing and anti-establishment parties across Europe, which are poised to make gains in the upcoming EU elections.

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A heavy barrage of rockets has been launched at the territory of southern Israel, the countrys defense forces (IDF) said in a tweet, claiming the projectiles were fired from Gaza.

Warning sirens blared in Israeli border communities on Saturday morning amid reports of multiple projectiles being launched from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack lasted for 10 minutes.

Residents in the towns of Ashkelon and Ashdod reported hearing blasts in the area. Meanwhile, several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome above Ashkelon, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing local authorities. The IDF also posted footage apparently showing the incoming missiles.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Indias space agency wants to touch down its rover on the Moons south pole, an area on the Earths natural satellite where no one has gone before. The launch is scheduled for July.

All the [ISRO] missions, whatever we have had till now [to the moon], have all landed near the moons equator. This is a place where nobody has gone, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, told the Hindu.

Indias second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, seeks to gain access to some new science and information, the chairman said. For example, one of the goals of the probe is to find water on the Moon.

Also on rt.com Greetings, Earthlings! 20,000 Russians snatch up land plots on the Moon

The space agency earlier said all three modules of the mission, Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyan), are set to lift off aboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket between July 9 and 16, with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The launch was initially expected last year, but it was delayed several times to conduct further tests.

India is not the only country attempting to reach the uncharted south pole of the Moon. China has recently announced plans to build a lunar research station in the same area. However, it will not happen in the near future, as Beijings mission is to be launched in about 10 years, according to Xinhua.

What they [China] are going to do, we dont know. The main reason [why India is going there] is nobody has gone [to] that side till now, Sivan said.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for resistance against US restrictions on its energy sector by boosting production and exports, as Washington tightens its sanctions grip on Tehran.

America is trying to decrease our foreign reserves... We have to increase our foreign exchange earnings and cut our currency expenditures, the Iranian leader stated on Saturday as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Rouhani said Iran has managed to reduce some imports and become self-sufficient with products and commodities, like wheat gasoline, and now can export them. Last year, the countrys non-oil exports stood at $43 billion, according to the president.

Also on rt.com OPEC likely to collapse thanks to some members unilateralism  Irans oil minister

We should increase production and raise our (non-oil) exports and resist Americas plots against the sale of our oil, he added.

The statement came shortly after the US announced sanctions against Irans nuclear power plant at Bushehr and a ban on exports of heavy water and any further uranium enrichment.

In April, the Trump administration said it would not renew exemptions granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil in line with its plan to bring the Islamic Republics crude exports to zero. Tehran said the mission will fail, with its oil minister stating that Washington made a bad mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon in the fragile state of the market.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Hamas has vowed retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, that killed two people and injured two others. The strikes are seen as payback for two Israeli soldiers being wounded by sniper fire during clashes on Friday.

Although each Israeli serviceman suffered non-threatening injuries and was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital, the Israeli Air Force then attacked a Hamas outpost in the Gaza strip.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions remain at an all-time high, amid the ongoing weekly Great March of Return protests that erupted in late March last year. The protests have claimed more than 200 Gazan lives as Israel continues to use live fire to quell the Palestinian discontent.

At least four Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded, including 10 children, during the latest Friday protest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Three paramedics and a journalist are among the wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Israel strikes Gaza Strip, killing 2, after tense border clashes during Great March of Return

Source : RT - Daily news
Cuba vowed to protect its property and international business ties just as ExxonMobil began suing two Cuban companies for $280 million over assets seized after the revolution.

Cuba will protect Cubans and foreign entities operating in the country and will render void any claim filed under this law which is a miscarriage of justice, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted after the American oil giant became the first US company to take legal action against Havana.

Cimex Corporation SA, a Cuban state-owned business group, and the Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) are being sued over their use of an oil refinery, gasoline stations, and other properties that once belonged to the American multinational.

Also on rt.com Trump threatens Cuba with 'full embargo and highest-level sanctions' over Venezuela

The lawsuits, which seek $280 million in damages, were filed after Washington started enforcing a provision of a 1996 law known as the Helms-Burton Act that allows so-called victims of the Castro regime to sue companies that have used their previously held property on the island.

The Helms-Burton Act is illegal and in violation of international law, Rodriguez noted, stressing that it is inapplicable and has no juridical value or effect for Cuba.

Also on rt.com Contrary to intl law: Mogherini slams US full activation of Cuba embargo law, vows counter steps

This week, Canada and the EU agreed with Havanas assessment, claiming that the Helms-Burton Act has no jurisdiction over them and vowing to take up the issue with the World Trade Organization.

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America's most trusted talking heads are in meltdown mode, once again accusing Donald Trump of taking orders from Vladimir Putin, after the US leader was seemingly too soft with the Russian president in a recent phone call.

Rachel Maddow, Jake Tapper, and other spirited Russiagate promoters suffered full-on meltdowns upon learning that Trump apparently hadnt properly' discussed the issue of election meddling in his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since the Mueller report's release.

Rather, the two leaders spoke about "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, nuclear arms control" and "the Russian hoax" during the hour-long call, according to Trump's tweet.

Scandalously, the US president failed to press Putin about the most critical, life-and-death issue facing the United States  a massive flub-up that did not go unnoticed by the intrepid Washington press corps.

"Did you tell [Putin] not to meddle in the next election?" an unseen reporter asked the president during a Friday press conference.

"We had a good conversation about many different things," Trump replied. "We didn't discuss that."

As for Venezuela, Trump had the audacity to suggest that the Russian president "is not looking to get involved at all, other than that he'd like to see something positive happen" in the South American nation. Trump then showed his true collusion colors, admitting that he "feels the same away" about the ongoing political crisis in Caracas.

His comments were received with predictable hysteria.

CNN's Erin Burnett expertly deduced that Trump was "kowtowing" to Putin  on both "election meddling" and Venezuela.

"'Not looking to get involved' is just blatantly false  according to Trump's own top team," she sniffed, incredulous that Trump would contradict his more hawkish secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Earlier this week, Pompeo claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee to Cuba and was only persuaded to remain in Caracas because Russia allegedly convinced him to stay.

Also on rt.com We lied, we cheated, we stole: Pompeo offers honest, if disturbing admission about CIA activity

Burnett's colleague, Jake Tapper, was inconsolable as he attempted to wrap his head around the apparently unforgivable contents of a routine telephone conversation.

"He is giving Putin's point of view, almost as if he is the spokesman for the Kremlin!" the CNN anchor fumed, referring to the Russian president as "the man who led and continues to lead cyberattacks on the US." Not missing a beat, Tapper then proceeded to accuse Trump of "continuing to say things about the Mueller investigation that weren't true."

True to form, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow came close to suffering an on-air stroke over the phone call. Still reeling from her post-Russiagate ratings slump, Maddow looked at Bolton and Pompeo as similarly unmoored kindred spirits.

The MSNBC host addressed them directly during her broadcast: "Hey, John Bolton, hey, Mike Pompeo, are you guys enjoying your jobs right now?"

"How do you come to work anymore if you're John Bolton?" she added.

Also on rt.com Fixated on collusion, Dems seeking (again) to subpoena interpreter present at Trump-Putin meeting

Western media outlets have repeatedly expressed indignation over any attempt by the world's two largest nuclear powers to engage in dialogue. A meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, Finland was described as constructive by both parties, but the US president was still hounded for not excoriating Putin to the media's liking.

Likely anticipating similar hysteria over the phone call, Trump stated on Friday morning that "as I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing."

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President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked nuclear arms control in a phone call Friday. But what can be achieved when the US shreds treaties and Washington stays hostile to any communication with Russia?

Discussing disarmament is a step in the right direction, but the US recently pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, an arms-reduction pact signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The pullout stoked fear of a nuclear buildup in Europe, unseen since the Cold War, and is one of several international arms treaties shredded by the Trump administration.

Gorbachev himself penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late last month, lamenting the return of nuclear deterrence between the two great powers, and calling for increased communication between Moscow and Washington.

Also on rt.com Anything is possible: Trump talks North Korea peace after phone call with Putin

Gorbachev is exactly right, journalist Chris Hedges told RTs Rick Sanchez. This inability on behalf of the worlds two largest nuclear powers to speak and negotiate rationally is very, very dangerous.

There are various flashpoints, Syria being one, where this conflict could go wrong really quickly, so you want communication, you want discussion, Hedges continued.

However, detente, which was negotiated so successfully by the Republican administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, seems an alien concept when Trumps cabinet is staffed by war hawks like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and security adviser John Bolton.

Even post-Mueller, the current climate of hostility to Russia in American discourse only hinders disarmament efforts further.

Now the very word detente, as soon as Trump utters it the national security state goes berserk, Hedges said.

Nobody has to love Vladimir Putin or love Russia or anything else, he told Sanchez, but whats kept the world from committing acts of massive self annihilation has been forms of communication, which figures like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have no interest in doing. I think theyre probably incapable of speaking to anyone but themselves.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Trump said on Friday that himself and Putin discussed entering into a new nuclear arms treaty, this time a three-way deal with China. However, with an arms industry making billions of dollars refitting former Eastern Bloc countries with NATO gear, with a cabinet of war hawks, and with a Democratic party choosing to blame Russia instead of tackling the social issues that gave rise to Trump, Hedges concluded that a new age of detente is a long way off.

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Journalists covering the standoff at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC have been harassed by a group of Juan Guaido supporters, who demand that the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective vacate the diplomatic building.

Members of a Telesur crew covering tensions outside the diplomatic compound were verbally assaulted on Friday afternoon by a member of the Venezuelan opposition, who, in a tirade of perfect Spanish, insulted their looks.

Harassment, taunts, banging in their ears, [and] blocking cameras, appears to be an acceptable way to treat the media they do not think is on their side, the anti-war A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition pointed out.

Ive covered lots of protests over the years. Never seen more racism vocalized than what Im seeing from the Venezuelan opposition in DC. Not even in Charlottesville, independent journalist Alex Rubinstein, who has been living in the embassy, tweeted on Friday, in response to a harassment incident.

The US recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela in February and told the diplomats representing Maduros government to leave the country. Activists opposing US interventionism in the Latin America have occupied the diplomatic compound for weeks, refusing to surrender the property to Guaido's supporters.

On Tuesday, at the height of Guaidos failed attempted coup in Venezuela, opposition supporters gathered en masse in front of the diplomatic compound. Chanting and waving Venezuelan flags, protesters immediately verbally engaged a group of anti-war activists being led by Code Pink.

Also on rt.com Guaido supporters confront anti-intervention activists at Venezuelan Embassy in DC (VIDEO)

That group is one of the organizations of the Embassy Civilian Protection Collective who have been holed up inside the Venezuelan compound in order to prevent diplomats loyal to Guaido from taking control of the building. The activists say they were invited in by embassy staff.

Amid the tense standoff Secret Service and police officers stood between the Maduro and Guaido protesters.

Unable to force the activists to leave the premises, the pro-Guaido protesters began to stop people, food, and supplies from getting into the building. Three activists, including Code Pink's national co-director Ariel Gold, were briefly detained on Thursday. Gold was charged with throwing missiles, after trying to throw bread, salad boxes, and tampons at those inside the embassy.

On Friday afternoon, Gold streamed a video showing an elderly gentleman getting booked by police for delivering food brushes to the activists. Venezuelan Embassy in DC is more wild, violent, racist, unlawful than my times in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine," she tweeted.

Video of the contraband consisting of basic necessities was shared by Alex Rubinstein online.

While the State Department on Thursday called on the trespassers to leave, claiming that Guaido has legal authority over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC, the anti-war lobby is committed to holding the fortress, even if it means arrests.

On Friday, Republican Congressman from Colorado Scott Tipton wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking him to intervene to kick out the Collective from the embassy.



The opposition, meanwhile, continues their efforts to penetrate the compound.

Opposition continuing their aggressive & potentially deadly tactics, Rubinstein tweeted late on Friday evening, after the pro-Guaido crowd began flashing strobe lights, considered extremely dangerous to people with epilepsy and spectrum disorders. A man was arrested in the US for sending a GIF to an epileptic reporter yet cops do nothing to stop this. Its increasingly clear they are on State Dept. orders to let the oppo escalate.

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Rocket attacks on Israel continue into the night, even after the Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes and tank bombardments against Hamas and Islamic Jihad Targets in the Gaza Strip.

Sirens wailed and a rocket barrage rained down on the city of Beer Sheva just after 11pm local time on Saturday. The largest city in southern Israel, Beer Sheva is usually out of range of all but Hamas longest-range projectiles. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Sirens ring out & explosions heard as rockets from Gaza target Israeli city of Beer Sheva

Source : RT - Daily news
Russias Federal Agency for Tourism has issued a special warning to tourists traveling to Mongolia after two fatal cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in the country.

Two Russians have died of the highly contagious disease, and reportedly became infected after eating contaminated marmot organs. The married couple from Siberia are believed to have come into contact with at least 158 people before they died. These people have been quarantined.

Also on rt.com BUBONIC PLAGUE scare puts Mongolia on high alert

The tourism agency said the deaths were recorded in the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ulgii, according to the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).

The agency asked tourists to take this information into account when planning trips to the region.

Rospotrebnadzor has taken steps to prevent infection at the border areas, including quarantine control and more than 90 percent of the population has been vaccinated. The agency is also in communication with health institutes in Mongolia.

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The phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was very important as Russia and US must maintain dialogue, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president and one of the signatories of the INF treaty, has said.

The two leaders talked on the phone of Friday, discussing nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine and bilateral trade among other things.

This isnt yet how relations between such powers as Russia and the US must be shaped like. But its important. Its dialogue, Gorbachev told RIA Novosti, as Moscow and Washington are going through the roughest period in their relations since the fall of the USSR.

In 1987, then-Soviet President Gorbachev and his US counterpart, Ronald Reagan, signed the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned the two countries from having ground-based missiles with a range between 500km and 5,500km.

The deal remained one of the cornerstones of international security for decades, until the Trump administration announced the unilateral withdrawal by the US from it in early February. The Kremlin said that one of the things that Putin and Trump discussed on the phone was the possibility of reaching a new version of the INF agreement that would also incorporate China.

Also on rt.com Three-way deal: Trump says China wants to join nuclear pact with US, Russia

Gorbachev markedly pointed out that the phone conversation had been initiated by the US.

Whats also important is the public statement made by Trump that relations between our countries have great potential. This is certainly the case.

Trump was very positive in his comments about the phone call with Putin, which he described as long and very good.

Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media, the US leader tweeted.

Also on rt.com Putin to Trump: Foreign meddling undermines chances of political settlement in Venezuela

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, Gorbachev has been internationally praised for his liberal reforms and for his efforts to end the Cold War and improve relations with the US. Reagan acknowledged that his Soviet counterpart deserves most of the credit" for the drastic changes that happened in the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Also on rt.com US is going to trade a lot with Russia, Trump says, after long & very good phone call with Putin

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the Israeli military of targeting a building housing the Turkish Andalou news agency in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The agency shared a video on Saturday purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building. Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Israeli violence against innocent people w/out distinction is a crime against humanity. Those who encourage Israel are also guilty, the minister added.

Israel launched air strikes and tank bombardments against the Gaza strip earlier on Saturday, after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants fired 200 rockets into Israeli territory.

The Israel Defense Forces did not admit to targeting the Andalou Agency building, claiming instead to have struck 120 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, including an underground Hamas rocket factory, military intelligence and security offices, and other weapons manufacturing sites. The IDF also said it destroyed a terror tunnel used to smuggle Islamic Jihad fighters into Israel.

Also on rt.com 2 killed, including infant, several injured as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza - officials

Although the IDF claims it struck military targets, the Palestinian health ministry reported a pregnant woman and her one-year-old child among the deaths. A 22-year-old man was also killed, although it is unknown whether he was a Hamas operative or a civilian.

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel for hitting the office of Anadolu Agency during its airstrikes in Gaza, saying that it wont prevent Turkey from reporting on atrocities committed by the Jewish state.

Turkey and the Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine, despite such attacks, Erdogan vowed on Twitter.

The Turkish news agency shared a video on Saturday, purportedly showing rescuers combing through the rubble of the ruined building which had hosted its bureau.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the alleged attack as a new example of Israels unrestrained aggression.

Also on rt.com Turkey FM accuses Israel of targeting Anadolu Agency news bureau building in Gaza (VIDEO)

The ministry called on the international community to to act swiftly in order to reduce the tension in the region with Israel's disproportionate actions.

Also on rt.com 3 killed, including infant & pregnant woman, as IDF unleash retaliatory strikes on Gaza  officials

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The Washington Posts lengthy examination of Bernie Sanders much reported-on trip to the Soviet Union 31 years ago is being mocked online for repeating old news and attempting a new Red Scare.

The WaPo details a trip Sanders took to the then-Soviet Union in 1988, and starts describing the then-mayor being bare-chested, towel-draped, sitting at a table lined with vodka bottles, as he sang This Land Is Your Land.

The trip was made to establish Yaroslavl as a sister city for his hometown of Burlington soon after Sanders wedding and he joked it was a very strange honeymoon.

Also on rt.com Bernie Sanders stuns establishment with Fox News town hall success

Sanders apparently stood on Soviet soil and criticized the cost of healthcare and housing in the US, then stunned someone at a banquet by criticizing US foreign intervention. I got really upset and walked out, the delicately dispositioned David F. Kelley recalled. He admits later in the article that Sanders was right.

Sanders told a press conference upon his return to the US that he thought his criticism of the US made the Russians more appreciative of our criticisms we made of their own society.

Social media users were quick to mock the Post for its article, with many claiming it was a sign that the socialist smears against Sanders were being employed once again.

Sanders trip to the Soviet Union is old news, and was trotted out during the 2016 primaries to cast an ominous communist shadow on the Vermont senator, with many mediaoutlets, including the Post, reporting on it. Sanders was smeared as a dangerous socialist by a number of Democratic operatives.

He was questioned by CNNs Anderson Cooper about his honeymoon in Russia, and Lindsey Graham mentioned it in the Republican debates.

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Lawmakers had plenty of questions for US Attorney General William Barr about his assessment of Robert Muellers report on the 'Russia collusion' probe, but some seemed at a loss as to how to address him.

Thus, he was often called General Barr during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the special counsels Russiagate investigation and about his release of a redacted version of Muellers report.

Also on rt.com Mind-bendingly bizarre: Barr hearing shows Russiagate still has hold on US politics

Who is general Barr? And what army does the attorney command? One might ask. If he is not a commanding officer, which he is not, then what is the proper way to address an individual of such stature? A simple Google search would tell you that the correct way of calling a person holding the office is simply Mister or just as Attorney General.

RT Americas news host Rick Sanchez offers his take.

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Three days after clashing with police at May Day demonstrations, Yellow Vests protesters marched in Paris and across France, in the 25th straight weekend of anti-government anger.

According to the Interior Ministry, 18,900 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, the lowest turnout since the movement began as a protest against a planned fuel tax hike in November. However, the Yellow Vests have regularly disputed the figures released by the ministry, accusing officials of downplaying the scale of the protests.

In Paris, protesters demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Castaner had accused Yellow Vests protesters of staging an attack on a hospital in the city during Wednesdays May Day protests. Social media footage told a different story, with the protesters seeking refuge in the hospital to avoid police batons and tear gas.

Droves of protesters beat drums and chanted Liar Castaner.

Protesters in Toulouse also jeered at Castaner and demanded his resignation. The march in Toulouse quickly became violent, however, and clashes broke out between the Yellow Vests and police. Tear gas was deployed, and riot police at one point violently charged protesters.

Tear gas was also used by police in La Roche-sur-Yon, while protesters in Lyon joined a more peaceful youth march against global warming.

Although turnout on the streets was lower than on previous weekends, many Yellow Vests have not been pacified by President Macrons promise of tax breaks, with one dismissing the presidents offering as rubbish last week.

In the wake of Castaners hospital attack claim, 1,400 French artists, celebrities and creatives including movie stars Juliette Binoche and Emmanuelle Beart signed an open letter of support for the Yellow Vests, printed in left-wing newspaper Liberation on Saturday. In it, they slammed the French government and media for attempting to discredit the citizens movement.

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the complete review - fiction

Bellini and the Sphinx



by

Tony Bellotto



general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

Portuguese title: Bellini e a esfinge

Translated by Clifford E. Landers

Bellini e a esfinge was made into a film in 2002, directed by Roberto Santucci

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Our Assessment:



B : fine, light PI tale

See our review for fuller assessment.

Review Summaries Source Rating Date Reviewer Publishers Weekly . 26/11/2018 .

From the Reviews :

"(S)tarts off strong but falls flat in its overly familiar execution. (...) (T)he dialogue lacks the sharp grittiness of the hardboiled fiction of Hammett or Chandler -- Bellottos obvious influences -- and the ending feels pulled out of thin air." - Publishers Weekly

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review 's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.



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The complete review 's Review :

Bellini and the Sphinx is the first in a series of novels narrated by Remo Bellini. In his early thirties -- he celebrates his thirty-third birthday over the course of the novel --, he had initially followed in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer but abandoned that field and is now a private eye in Sao Paulo, working for Dora Lobo for the past year. He's also been married, but that, too, didn't work out and he's now been divorced for a couple of years. Among his other baggage is his name, which he detests, and the story behind it, his father having named him and his twin brother after the mythical Rome-founding twins, Romulus and Remus -- only for Romulo to die after just two days.

Each chapter in Bellini and the Sphinx covers one day, from 17 May through 7 June. The case he is presented with by his boss seems fairly straightforward: a pediatric surgeon, Dr.Rafidjian, is desperate to find a young woman, Ana Cintia Lopes, a dancer at a nightclub who apparently disappeared a few weeks earlier. But there's no trace of her -- indeed, no one recalls anyone by that name. Bellini and a colleague follow up with dancers who left the club around the time in question who might be the missing woman, under a different name -- but things take a turn when Dr.Rafidjian is found brutally murdered.

With their client dead there's nothing left to investigate -- for a while. But when his widow hires Dora Lobo they're back on the now expanded case again -- still looking for the mystery woman, and wondering what straight-laced family-man Rafidjian might have been up to.

Dora Lobo is particularly pleased to get a chance to investigate this puzzling case -- it's the sort of thing that is right up her alley:

"You're going to hit the street looking for hidden connections in Rafidjian's life. Start by finding out what the police learned. Boris will be glad to know we're back. He and I have solved some lovely cases. Difficult, intricate, magnificent case --"

"What makes a case magnificent ?" I cut in.

"A case that can't be solved by either logic or science. A case solved almost by accident."

I don't have any problem with sex. Just the opposite, I love sex. My pain is more serious. Deeper.

- M.A.Orthofer, 26 April 2019

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:

See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers

See Index of Latin and South American literature

See Index of Portuguese literature

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About the Author :

Brazilian author Tony Bellotto was born in 1960.

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Within two weeks of the Class 12 board examination results being declared by the board of intermediate education in Telangana, 20 students have taken their lives. The board officials have admitted to a 'technical glitch' that lead to erroneous marks being awarded to students. One student reportedly got 0 in a subject which was later corrected to 99 marks.

Though there has been a huge public outcry in the state over the matter, the board authorities seem lax in the investigation process, blaming the external examination partner instead. Due to the error, thousands of students have been failed as per the score-card. The board has now begun the process of revaluation.

As per government statistics, 9,474 students committed suicide in India in 2016. This was compared to 8,068 in 2014 and 8,934 in 2015. In 2016, a total of 2,413 students committed suicide after failing in an examination.

Board examinations in India are no less than a period of panic for both parents and students. Since future career choices, as well as the choice of the higher education institute, is purely dependent on the marks scored in the board examinations of classes 10 and 12, there is immense pressure on students.

No doubt that parents want the best education for the child. However, this is no excuse to push the child to score above a certain percentage, which depends on multiple factors. In the Telangana case, for instance, students who had topped in the past examinations ended up scoring less than 40 percent in subjects which was a software error.

Higher educational institutions like the Delhi University (DU) end up having unattainable cut-offs for admission. Those scoring below 90 percent don't even stand a chance to make it to the first list at some of the colleges under DU.

Schools are now going to the other extreme by ensuring that students literally slog it out last year. Uma Dhatre, whose son has just been promoted to Class 10 is upset that he does not have any summer vacations this year.

His school will be open all Saturdays and will conduct classes even in the humid summers of May. The reason? Board examinations are important.

Examinations are important, no doubt. They help analyse the knowledge of the student so that he/she is prepared for their future careers. But an often repeated fact needs to be drilled down; marks are not the only criteria. Former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had also tried to make Class 10 board examinations optional, however, that system was scrapped later.

Top corporate houses have stated that students passing out of institutes with the highest marks are not skilled enough for the job. Rote learning and aiming only for the highest marks will not surely get you the corner office role.

While all board examination results are being declared, it is time to sit back and introspect. If you have scored very well, congratulations. If not, do not worry. Life will present many more opportunities.
Here's a peek into the life of a successful trader. His work is over by 10 am, after which he sits and reads a journal or a book or watches the TV series  Billions. At the end of the day, the trader goes to the gym. Fridays are compulsorily meant for friends, and he takes about 2-3 road trips with his family and friends in a year. Not to mention watching most of the movies as soon as they are released.

Meet Kirubakaran Rajendran from Chennai who designed Trading Bots  An automated program which trades using a given set of rules  to do his trading. His current lifestyle was achieved after years of back-breaking work and learning from every possible mistake one can do and probably more.

However, Rajendran is not a conventional trader. He is among the few option traders who trade on an intra-day basis, more so without looking at option Greeks or technical charts. A student of statistics, Rajendran is in his 'zone' when surrounded by numbers. He has not only broken the code of successful trading, but also automated it with bots, which can be used by retail traders.

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Kirubakaran Rajendran talks about his humble beginnings, his years of struggle to become a successful trader and his various trading strategies.

Q: Can you walk us through your journey to the market.

A: It was my inquisitiveness that brought me to the market. It was during the 2007 boom when I just glanced through the news that Mukesh Ambani was among the richest person in the world because of his stake in the Reliance Group of companies. The news somehow stuck with me and got me thinking that if the owner of the company is among the richest persons in the world, surely his shareholders would also be rich. That got me started in looking for ways to participate in the market.

My humble beginnings only helped me in my resolve to chase my dream. I come from a middle-class family from Chennai. My father, a government office clerk and my mother, a tailor, had a tough time in providing for my basic education. After my schooling, I joined Loyola College for a graduation course in Statistics.

It was a good 30 minutes bus ride from my home to college. I utilised this travel time reading. This was in 2007 and all the papers were talking about was the wealth generated in the markets.

In South India, there was not much of an investor awareness in 2007. No one in my family knew anything about the market, there were no workshops back then, no Quora to help with information. The only way I could manage to get some help in my education on the market was through a small Indian community group on Orkut.

After reading a bit about the market, I decided to take the plunge at the beginning of January 2008. But just before this, I had noticed that the stocks that were in news used to go up for a few days. This was my 'strategy' of making money in my earlier days. I started off with a small Rs 5,000 account, money that I managed to save from my scholarship. But then by January 21, 2008, in less than a month, I was back to square one, thanks to the lower circuit in the market.

Q: How did you come back to the market?

A: My next tryst with the market was after I got a campus placement in Infosys with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. I used to work in the night shift in those days. I did not have an IT background and was tasked with doing a routine job.

I decided to automate the work so that I can get more time to read on markets. But in order to automate, I had to learn to compute, as my background was in statistics, and I had very little computing knowledge. I looked up ways to learn to code and automate my office work. As a result, a work which would take two hours was completed in 10 minutes giving me enough time to read.

In the beginning, my boss did not know about it, but when he did, he appreciated the work and got me transferred to mainstream computing.

Nonetheless, I kept on gaining as much knowledge as I could on the market from books, sites, and forums. I also started trading again. In those days I continued to trade in the way I did in early January 2008  on the news.

Buying stock on news and then holding it for a few days and selling it. I was making money in some trades and losing in others. This was when I was lured by options. I heard people say that it was the fastest way of making money. You put in Rs 100 and make Rs 1,000 in a few days.

I read a bit on options and then decided to trade long strangles  buying both Calls and Puts. I had seen and read that stocks generally move sharply after results, so I decided to take such a trade. Ironically, I decided to take a long strangle trade in the company I worked, Infosys.

A day before the result, I had built a position of Rs 1.5 lakh in Infosys strangles. I remember that I couldn't sleep that day with such a huge position. The next day, results were announced before market hours and when Infosys opened that morning, the value of my strangles had come down to Rs 20,000. I had lost more than three months of my salary in a single day.

This was a big lesson. Rather than running away from the market, I dove deeper into reading and researching what makes a successful trader click. This is when I decided to move from news-based trade to rule-based trade.

This was also the time when I read the book 'How I made $2 million in the stock market' written by one Nicolas Darvas, who was a ballet dancer by profession. It acted as a trigger that set me off into the fascinating world of trading. I realised that if a person with no background can make a good amount of money, then even I can. There is no closely guarded secret to trading success.

Q: How did you move after this enlightenment?

A: I put my computing knowledge to use and started building rules-based trading systems and testing them. Over the years, I may have tried and tested hundreds of trading systems. I have automated these strategies which would eliminate emotional decision making. If I found that they were working well in back-testing, I tested them in the market.

This was when I made my next big mistake. I borrowed money to trade in the market.

When my trades were profitable, there was no issue. But, even when there was a single loss, I would relate it to some day-to-day expenditure and weaken myself psychologically. So high was the positional leverage, that a single day fluctuation in my trading account was equivalent to a month's salary. It was taxing to trade in those days. I was trading Nifty futures but the lot size was more than what one would call comfortable.

In such a case, if there were three to four consecutive losses, I would change the strategy. It is said that algo trading takes emotions out of your trading, but with consecutive losses on a leveraged position, you start doubting yourself and your trading system. You will bring back discretion in your trading and move around in circles.

I somehow traded this way with bouts of profits and losses for a few years until I read a story which changed me from a normal trader to a consistent trader.

It was about a Greek wrestler named Milo who lived many years back. He was one of the greatest wrestlers from Greece who had won six consecutive Olympic medals. Everyone wanted to know what his secret was and how he managed to be so strong and successful.

The story takes us to his village where Milo started his training by lifting a newborn calf while his competitors were trying to lift bulls in their practice sessions. Now anyone can lift a calf, even you and I can do that, there is nothing great in it. So how did Milo become great by doing that?

Milo used to carry his calf everywhere he went. Over time, the calf put on weight but Milo was still carrying him around. Milo's body and mind were getting used to lifting the calf even as it slowly grew. By the time the calf became a bull, Milo could lift it effortlessly, while his competitors were still struggling to lift the bull.

This story opened the concept of position sizing for me.

I realised that it was not only the trading system but the trader who, by putting in various checks and balances in his trading system, makes money.

I realised that instead of putting all my capital or more specifically the borrowed capital, I should have started by trading with one lot. This way I would get used to the trading system without letting the daily market fluctuations affect my mental peace.

I followed this and progressively increased my lot size, as a result, I stuck to my system. After that, everything started falling in place.

Q: What are the strategies you trade?

A: I trade multiple strategies, all of which are automated. I trade in the weekly Bank Nifty in the options market and stocks in the cash market.

Many traders approach a strategy as trend following or one that is a reversal to the mean and then try to fit the back-tested data to the strategy. I, because of my statistics background am more comfortable dealing with data and deriving a strategy based on the output.

In Bank Nifty, I trade by selling options. It is known that selling options lead to money making two out of three times. So, I decided to work around options because of this bias.

I downloaded around 14 years of data from the NSE site and got down to designing my strategy. I am basically a day-trader, so I was looking to design a system where I would make money in most days and lose only a small amount in days where I am wrong.

I looked at the daily range but slightly different than how it is conventionally viewed. Rather than looking at the difference between high and low of the day, I looked at the difference between open and low and open and high. I plotted the data to get a normal distribution curve.

What I found out was that in most cases, Bank Nifty does not move beyond 1 percent from their open. The data corroborated with the conventional wisdom that says that the market stays in a range 70 percent of the time. Using this information as the basis I designed my options strategy around it.

I also found out that I will make money by selling call and put options if I select strike prices beyond these one percent range. However, there was a problem. If the Bank Nifty goes in one direction and beyond the range, the strategy would lose 2-3 months of profit in one day.

I looked for other data points to protect myself. I looked at open interest data to see where there is a position build-up and sell my options around them.

In this strategy, which I currently trade, I have three stop losses conditions which take me out of the trade if I lose around 1.5 percent of the capital. Using these stop losses, the strategy is now posting around 30-35 percent annualized return. Drawdown has never extended beyond 15 percent. Irrespective of the volatility level, the strategy has made money.

The period when this strategy is making losses is when there is a volatility shift from a low volatility phase to high volatility.

I start off the week with strangles but as the week progresses I take short straddle trades  selling call and put options at the same strike price. I do not use option Greeks for my entry or exits, nor do I do any adjustments to my original position as that would require me to sit in front of the screen. What I have observed is that when Bank Nifty moves beyond one of my extremes, it can continue to move in the same direction. It is better to accept it and exit rather than firefight it.

In the case of stocks, I trade in stocks which are in the derivative list. This way I do not have to worry about circuit filters preventing my exits.

Here, my data analysis has gone against conventional wisdom. What I have found is that if a stock gaps up at the opening, irrespective of the trend, the price tends to come down. Similarly, if there is a gap down, its price tends to go up, irrespective of the trend.

There is, however, a caveat here. I optimize the gaps  for example, I will weed out stocks where the gap opening is only 0.5 percent or if it is too large  say 4-5 percent.

Another strategy that I trade is by looking at the volatility file that is updated by NSE on its site during trading hours. I look for stocks where the volatility has gained the most but the stock is among the top losers. Such stocks tend to give explosive moves the next day or within a few days. It is better to trade in these stocks than a fixed set of stocks.

In positional trades in the cash market, I trade by buying high and selling higher. Here I look for stocks that are touching new all-time highs or 52-week highs.

I run a query at the end of the month to check out for such stocks. I then rank them based on the distance between the month end close and the 52 high levels. Suppose a stock made a high of 520 but closed at 500, I divide the two to get a ratio of 1.04. I calculate the ratio of all such stocks and buy the five strongest ones and balance them on a quarterly basis giving them enough room to perform.

This strategy is similar to the ones where relative momentum is used but here I enter a stock only when they were making 52-week highs. When the market crashed in 2008, there were no stocks touching 52-week highs from February 2008 to April 2009. Relative momentum would have given some whipsaw trades.

Q: And how are the returns?

A: The Bank Nifty option strategies I trade have generated an average return of 30-35 percent, without including the liquid bees which I use as margin. Including Liquid Bees, the return moves up to 40 percent. In positional stocks also, the return is between 30-35 percent. The trades are generally profitable 55 percent of the time and the average loss to win ratio is between 1:1.5 to 2. The gap based strategy has a slightly higher return.

Q: Can you tell us about your Trading Bots

A: My team and I have automated trading using the mobile app  Telegram. This way it becomes simpler to use for a retail trader. My site www.squareoff.in has multiple trading strategies that a retail trader can use.

When you subscribe, you get a trading bot which essentially does the trading for you. These are Black Box strategies. Rather than following the advisory method, we decided to use the trading bot route. When you buy an advisory service and get trading advice, by the time you enter the trade along with many others, you notice that price has already moved up.

In the case of trading bots, you will get a link at 09:30 am which you have to click, and enter your login and password. Then, one needs to enter his trading capital, risk percent, and profit percent and send the message to the broker. Say if someone has a trading capital of Rs 1 lakh, he can enter that and mention a risk or stop loss level of 1 percent and a profit target of say 1 percent. The trade will be executed and if any of the two levels are hit, the trade is closed. Our trading bot is presently connected to two brokers  Zerodha and Upstox.

The Bots are available at a nominal one-time charge, plus there are many free trading bots available on the site.

We have a team of five members who support the site. Subash Hundi, who heads the technology part of the business, used to be a branch manager with Karnataka Bank, which is just across the road from our office. A BITS-Pilani graduate, he is very strong technically and offered to work for free in order to learn the market. That's the level of passion in our team which works on something new continuously.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: We are working beyond price and volume by using alternate data sets. In a developed market, some large funds are using satellite images of the car parks outside Walmart to get an idea of how the company is doing.

We have started using machine learning in our trading. Presently, we scan the stock exchange announcements. A company in India has to first notify the stock exchange before it is released to the media.

Recently, we saw that the breakup between Amararaja Batteries and Johnson Controls put up on the exchange and was covered by media after a lag. The stock plummeted only after the news was flashed on TV channels. If you are attentive and manage to do it faster than when it is made public there is a good opportunity to trade profitably.

Q: You are among the few traders who use Quora more often than Twitter, why so?

A: I prefer Quora over Twitter because it helps in explaining a concept clearly without having word count restrictions. Further, the Twitter world is too crowded and noisy.

In Quora, I get the benefit of the experience of other traders and experts. There are occasions when famous authors have come and corrected me or helped in clarifying my doubts.

On Quora, I post strategies that I have back-tested. Even the ones that do not work have been posted so no one wastes their time behind it. I have posted over 700 articles on Quora which has seen 5 million views.

Q: Any words of advice to an aspiring trader?

A: For an aspiring trader, I would say always have a clear set of simple rules. Do not trade if you cannot explain in two lines. The more you complicate, the less likely the strategy would work.

People generally go for strategies which give higher returns without looking at the drawdowns. For example, if a strategy gives a return of 40 percent per annum with a drawdown of 15 percent, it is certainly better than a strategy giving 90 percent returns but having drawdowns of 40-45 percent. Chose the ones where risk is lower.
Rushabh Maru

The crude-oil market has turned quite uncertain and vulnerable. On the one hand, OPEC is committed to tightening the crude oil market. US President Donald Trump's unpredictable behaviour and ambivalent attitude, however, have led to sharp volatility in crude-oil prices. With his latest action, crude oil has entered uncharted territory.

The Trump administration recently announced that it would not renew the exemption granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil. Earlier, expectations were that the US would extend the waivers. Trump wants to bring down Iran's crude-oil exports to zero. As a result, crude-oil prices have been rising sharply.

However, Trump has now asked OPEC to raise crude-oil production in order to bring prices down. With the recent Trump googly, the crude-oil market has been plunged into a dicey situation. On the one hand, Trump is eager to cut out Iran's crude-oil production from the global oil market. Simultaneously, since the US presidential election is scheduled next year, Trump wants lower crude-oil prices in order to maintain his popularity.

The latest update shows that OPEC's crude-oil production in March further declined to 30.02 million barrels a day, from 30.56 million b/d the previous month. Steep declines in production in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iraq led to the price drop.

Saudi Arabia has signaled that it is determined to do whatever it takes to rebalance the market. It has cut production by more than it agreed to under the pact. According to the IEA, OPEC's compliance jumped from 94 percent in February to 153 percent in March. Venezuela's crude-oil production continues to fall due to US sanctions and a string of blackouts.

The IEA put Venezuela's crude-oil output as having fallen to 870,000 b/d. The US may impose additional sanctions in the future. The Trump administration has been pressurizing India and China to cut out oil purchases from both Iran and Venezuela. Hence, the situation in Venezuela is becoming even more difficult.

Renewed militant activity in Libya is a matter of concern for the market. Escalating tension might have an impact on crude-oil production. The situation is much worse than it was in 2011 during the civil war. Fears of a global economic slowdown persist.

The European countries' manufacturing PMI is declining sharply. In the US, the Treasury yield curve inverted in March, for the first time since 2007. This indicates an imminent threat of a recession. The US and China have shown tremendous progress in trade talks. However, given the nature of Trump, there are doubts about the sustainability of the deal, if it comes through.

The market expects OPEC to extend its production-cut deal till this year-end. OPEC's bi-annual meeting is scheduled for 25-26th June, at which it may decide to extend the deal or not. Since January, OPEC and its allies have been cutting production (by 1.2 million b/d) for six months to tighten the market.

The EIA has raised its Brent crude-oil price forecast for 2019 to $65 a barrel, up from its earlier projected $63 due to the tighter global oil market. Overall, much uncertainty prevails in the market. Hence crude oil is likely to be volatile in coming sessions.

The Author is Research Analyst, Currency and Commodity at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
E-commerce in India is growing at a rapid pace owing to the convenience it offers. Sellers sitting in a smaller towns are now able to sell their products across India and globally through these platforms.

Amazon India on April 30 said that it saw 56 percent rise in the number of local merchants selling to international markets through its global sellers programme. The export sales from India have hit $1 billion, the company said during a media interaction.

With over 140 million products on its platform and 50,000 sellers, mostly from small and medium sized vendors since the launch of the programme in 2015, the company is confident of reaching the $5 billion by 2023.

Gopal Pillai, Vice President of seller services, said that more than 80 percent of the company's current export vendors were from small towns and cities.

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal on April 30 told media persons that the platform gives sellers from across the country, including tier II and III cities, and access to the global market for their products. Agarwal pointed out that small sellers from smaller towns such as Namakkal, Tamil Nadu were able to sell their product in Amazon and increase their reach. He gave an example of the tea brand Vadham that Opera Winfrey has said she loves.

As rosy as its sounds, the story is far from that for sellers, say trader bodies and other media reports. Even in India, which is one of the key markets for the company, sellers have not been a happy lot and have raised issues in the past.

The e-commerce giant was criticised by associations such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an association for small traders and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an RSS affiliate organisation. The backlash is primarily for promoting the fulfillment platform Cloudtail and Appario, which it partially owns through a joint venture and is know for deep discounting. A few have claimed that they do not provide its sellers a level playing field.

As per industry estimates, Cloudtail and Appario make nearly 50 percent of the daily volumes on the site. However the company has made some restructuring by selling its stake in Cloudtail over a revision of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules. Some reports said that the company is doing similar restructuring in Appario as well.

Though Flipkart is the market leader with revenues up to $3.8 billion as opposed to Amazon India's $3.2 billion, the latter is catching up faster.

Praveen Khandewal, General Secretary, CAIT, said, the platform lacks transparency. So far the company has not divulged their business model in India like the business figures here. But at the global level they are doing it at a large scale.

While selling products that are made in India globally is good, Khandelwal pointed out that there is no regulation in place to scrutinise what kind of products they are promoting in the global sellers initiative. Responding to this reporters question of sellers claim, Agarwal, Amazon India head, did not respond directly. He said that while there will always be a section of sellers who will complain, there are many others who have been benefitted and that is where the focus should be.

at a recent seller conference held in India, Pillai, Amazon India's VP for seller services further added that the company has not gotten any complaints from sellers so far.

Despite this assurance, there have been concerns from sellers globally . Roomy Khan in her article in Forbes, said, While the growing Amazon Marketplace is attracting new sellers every day, it is also creating an unruly, frenzied out of control e-commerce environment. The bigger the marketplace gets, the harder it is to monitor the sellers and the products they sell.

Khan argues that while the opportunities are huge, Amazon has become a cesspool of unvetted merchants and unqualified products from all over the world, with fake products and paid reviews leading consumers astray.

Though there are guidelines in place, Khan said that it is unclear whether Amazon has any mechanism to enforce, verify or audit compliance with the published guidelines. The company mostly relies on the sellers to comply with the rules and has a laissez-faire approach towards enlisting new sellers, it added.

Another issue is the profitability for sellers. While Amazon provides a platform to sell products, Spencer Soper from Bloomberg said in a media report that Amazon has evolved from being a partner to competitor. That means that sellers have to shell out more to sell their products.

Citing the story of one merchant Jason Boyce, Soper explains how Amazon is making money at this merchants expense. The company now makes products similar to that his but is placed prominently and is less expensive.
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Cyclone 'Fani' has caused extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure in Puri, Bhubaneswar and some other areas of Odisha, while rail and air connectivity to the state is getting restored Saturday, the Centre said.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, reviewed rescue and relief operations in cyclone-hit areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, a day after the 'extremely severe cyclone' made a landfall in Odisha.

"Odisha informed that extensive damage to telecommunications and power infrastructure had been caused in Puri, Bhubaneswar and other areas. However, due to advance precautionary measures taken and large scale evacuation, the loss of human lives was minimal," an official statement said.

The West Bengal government has reported mild impact of the cyclone, while the Andhra Pradesh government informed about heavy rainfall and some damage to crops and roads in Srikakulam district.

The railways has cleared the mainline and would start part of operations using diesel operated locomotives by Saturday. Flights to Bhubaneswar also resumed operations this afternoon, according to the statement.

The cabinet secretary directed the Ministry of Power and Department of Telecommunications to immediately assist the Odisha government by providing electrical poles, gang workmen and diesel generator sets of varying capacities for quick restoration of power supply. The transmission line supplying power to Bhubaneswar is expected to be restored by Saturday.

The Department of Telecommunications indicated that mobile services would also be restored partially. No damage to ports and refinery installations was reported, the statement said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has moved 16 additional teams, comprising about 45 personnel in each, for rescue and relief work in Odisha and has removed fallen trees and other obstacles on most of the roads.

The Union Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET exam in Odisha scheduled for May 5 based on the advice of Odisha government. It is also moving teams of public health experts to assist the state government in preventing outbreak of any epidemic.

Reviewing the relief efforts, the cabinet secretary directed that officials of central ministries and agencies should remain in close touch with the Odisha government and provide all required assistance expeditiously.

Enough supplies of food, medicines, drinking water and other essential supplies have been kept in readiness to be airlifted as per the requirements projected by the states.

The Railways and Civil Aviation ministries have made arrangements for free transportation of relief material to the cyclone affected areas, the statement said.

The chief secretaries and principal secretaries of the Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal governments participated in the NCMC meeting through video conference.

Senior officials from the PMO, ministries of home, defence, shipping, civil aviation, railways, petroleum, power, telecommunications, steel, drinking water and sanitation, food processing, health, fisheries, IMD, NDMA and the NDRF also attended the meeting.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was reportedly slapped on May 4 during a roadshow in the national capital.

According to multiple media reports, a man dressed in a maroon coloured shirt climbed on top of the AAP chieftain's car and slapped him while he was carrying out a roadshow ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls in the Moti Nagar area of New Delhi.

The man has since been taken into custody by Delhi Police, reported CNN-News18.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park.

Since entering politics, Kejriwal has been attacked several times.

He was previously attacked on November 20, by a man identified as Anil Kumar Hindustani, who was armed with chilli powder outside the Chief Minister's Office in the Delhi secretariat.

In October 2016, two ABVP activists threw ink at Kejriwal after his comments on surgical strikes by the army on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Another incident took place in April 2016, when a man identified as Ved Sharma threw a shoe at the Chief Minister while he was addressing a press conference.

A month before the shoe incident, Kejriwal's car was pelted with stones by protesters in Ludhiana. The attack broke Kejriwal's car windshield.

While the AAP has already declared its seven candidates in the state, they had not filed their nominations.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Delhi on May 12 , in a single phase.
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The Jharkhand government issued an advisory on May 3, asking all district deputy commissioners to set up control rooms to meet any exigency in the wake of the cyclonic storm 'Fani'.

An official release, quoting the regional meteorological department, said from the afternoon of May 3 to May 4, widespread rains accompanied by strong winds will occur in all the 24 districts of the state.

Several districts are already experiencing rains, officials said.

Meanwhile, a woman died after a wall of her house collapsed, following a sudden storm at Sajwan village in Palamau district, they said.

The woman, identified as Muni Kumari, died on the spot after the mud wall fell on her, the officials said.

The storm was not under the impact of 'Fani', they added.

All educational institutions in Palamau district will remain closed on Saturday, the release said.

Earlier on May 3, cyclone 'Fani' barrelled through Odisha, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people.
In a scathing criticism of the Election Commission (EC), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on May 4 said when it comes to matters related to the opposition, the poll watchdog is "completely biased".

His remarks come in the wake of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on various complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations.

Asked about questions being raised over the EC's impartiality, Gandhi, at a press conference here, said, "When it comes to issues of the BJP, the EC is absolutely on the straight line, when it comes to the opposition's issues, it is completely biased."

The working style of Modi, the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is to put pressure on institutions, he alleged.

"This is evident everywhere -- SC, EC, Planning Commission, RBI. That is their approach. We do not expect that the EC will not be affected by that pressure," Gandhi said.

However, he asserted that the EC has to commit to its responsibility and carry it out.

"All this institutional capture that is taking place and all the negative effects of it will have consequences in the future. We are not going to allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled, crushed and anybody who colludes, anybody who falls to this pressure, is committing a crime," the Congress chief said.

The EC concluded on May 3 that Modi did not violate the model code or its advisory on the armed forces in his campaign speech in Varanasi.

The poll panel also found nothing wrong in the prime minister's comments made in Maharashtra's Nanded, where he reportedly dubbed the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

With this, the EC has decided on five complaints against Modi and gave him a clean chit in all the matters.

The poll watchdog has also given a clean chit to Shah over his speeches at Maharashtra's Nagpur and West Bengal's Nadia.

Citing his speech at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the commission had, on May 1, issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents.

Earlier, the EC had held that Gandhi had not violated the Model Code of Conduct during another campaign speech in Madhya Pradesh.
Union minister Mahesh Sharma was on May 3 issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission for allegedly referring to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as "pappu" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as "pappu ki pappi". While giving the BJP MP 24 hours to respond, the commission reminded him of a provision in the Model Code of Conduct which states that politicians must refrain from making remarks on private lives of rivals.

A portion of the remark was reproduced in the notice. Sharma had allegedly said on March 19 in Sikandrabad, "Now that Pappu says that he wants to be the prime minister. Now, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Pappu ki pappi have also come...whether that Priyanka was not the daughter of the country ... what new has she brought..."

The Congress had moved the Election Commission with a complaint against Sharma.
Intensifying his attack on the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) will give rise to 'mahabhrashtachar' (grand corruption)'. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party and it will soon witness its "downfall".

"See its (Congress) downfall," he said, as he made a no-holds barred attack against party president Rahul Gandhi, warning him that he will succumb to "ahankaar" (self pride).

Modi said while a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the Samajwadi Party, an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi who was present at an SP meeting in Raebareli this week, the BSP is attacking the grand old party.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the grand old party," he said at an election meeting here, apparently to drive a wedge between the two allies.

Attacking the Congress, Modi said the "Mr Clean" image of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi became "corrupt number one".

He also recalled how the Congress had withdrawn support from governments at the Centre in the past leading to political instability.

"Only the BJP can give a stable government," he said, as he led the gathering chanting "phir ek baar ...Modi sarkar (once again, Modi government)".
Britain's two main parties suffered a drubbing on May 3 in English local elections, with Prime Minister Theresa May's governing Conservatives bearing the brunt of voter frustration over the prolonged Brexit deadlock. May's Conservatives lost control of several local authorities and well over a thousand seats, performing far worse than even the gloomiest predictions.

But the main opposition Labour Party also lost ground, with voters instead turning to smaller parties and independents in Thursday's polls.

"There was a simple message from yesterday's elections to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit," May said.

Britain's bitterly-divided MPs have been unable to agree on a divorce deal with the EU, with the two main parties in talks on breaking the impasse that have produced little fruit so far.

"This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that," May told the Welsh Conservative Conference, having faced down a heckler calling for her to quit.

The results raise the pressure on May and Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn to strike a deal and avoid having to hold European Parliament elections on May 23, where they face being wiped out by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which did not compete in Thursday's vote.

Corbyn said that he was "very sorry" for the party's losses, adding there was now "a huge impetus" for the talks to succeed.

May later said that her government and Labour were locked in "constructive talks".

After voting in June 2016 to leave the European Union, Britain was meant to depart on March 29 this year. However, its exit date has been postponed until October 31 due to the wrangling.

According to figures reported by the Press Association, the Tories lost over 1,269 seats, while Labour had lost 63.

Labour was expected to pick up seats as voters typically give the sitting government a kicking in such elections.

It will also be concerned about losing seats in its traditional heartlands, which voted heavily to leave the EU and which it would need to win in order to beat the Tories in a general election.

The party's Brexit position is described by some commentators as constructive ambiguity.

It is also losing support over the issue of anti-Semitism, which flared again this week when it emerged leader Corbyn had written the foreword to a book containing what the party called "offensive references".

If results were replicated nationwide, pollster John Curtice calculated that both the Conservatives and Labour would each get only 28 percent of the total vote, saying the days of two-party domination "may be over".

The centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens -- both anti-Brexit -- were the big winners, along with independent candidates.

Voters went to the polls in mainly rural and suburban areas of England, with more than 8,000 seats up for grabs.

All 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland were also contested among the province's own parties.

"The key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is 'a plague on both of your houses'," Curtice told the BBC.

They lost votes most heavily in the wards where they were strongest, he noted.

The council elections decide who sets local tax rates and runs community services but are often swayed by the national picture.

The Greens appear to have been boosted by the recent climate protests in London, which brought environmental issues to the front-pages.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said voters "no longer have confidence in the Conservatives, but they are also refusing to reward Labour while the party prevaricates on the big issue of the day." The problems for the two main parties could worsen at the European elections when they will also face two newly-formed forces: the Brexit Party -- which leads in the opinion polls -- and pro-EU centrists Change UK.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told BBC radio that if the centre-right party "doesn't mend its ways pretty quickly, the Conservative Party is going to be toast".
The Election Commission on May 4 gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Patna speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot. This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the EC's decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said that Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturday's decision, the EC said, "...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted."

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of "consequences" if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said that the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.
Taking umbrage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that the Congress is lying about surgical strikes under the UPA government, the party on May 3 said it has never used the strikes as election fodder and the statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers.

"Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party.

"The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said.

"I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters, "My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?"

He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

"In the Congress, we have always said that such operations were conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added.

The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure.

"The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces. The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told the reporters, "Fifteen commandos died in Gadchiroli. Will the PM and Maharashtra CM answer why they are not giving funds, which forces asked for in 2014, to purchase special equipment that could have stopped the IED blasts?"

Fifteen policemen and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicle in Jambhurkheda area of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Talking about the 11 complaints filed by the Congress against the PM and BJP president Amit Shah, Sharma said that the Election Commission is ignoring even the reports filed by the chief electoral officers of the states where the speeches were made.

"These decisions in the EC are not unanimous. There are two opinions even in the EC itself," he said.

According to a media report on Friday, the EC's decision to give a clean chit to PM for his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes in Latur on April 9 and his "minority-majority" speech at Wardha on April 1 was not a unanimous one.

"The prime minister and the ruling party's president are continuously violating the code of conduct. No action is being taken and because of this, it can be said that the EC is not capable of fulfilling its constitutional responsibility," Sharma alleged.
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As the latest, greatest election in the world rolls along, we have now completed 5 out of 7 phases, I think. Were almost at the playoff stage where teams...wait, thats the IPL. Theyve both been on for so long that Ive lost track.

Anyway, the 2019 election. Protracted as it is, this years election allows us the opportunity to examine our political landscape in a bit more detail. In todays podcast, we will examine the role that women are expected to play in this years lok sabha election - as voters, and as the leaders.

Women voters

Okay, Ill admit that the phrase women voters is more than a little ungainly. Because women dont vote en masse. In fact, they average over 65% in voting percentage for parliamentary elections, compared to 67% for men. Almost neck-and-neck there. If the recurring promises by politicians to declare prohibition in their states are any indication, women voters are even addressed directly by leaders across the spectrum. One gentleman by the name Nitish Kumar did so not too long ago. What Im getting at is, women tend to vote differently than men. And in 2019, estimates claim that around 430 million women are eligible to vote in India. Women voters have, over the course of years, taken an increasingly active part in the electoral process.

Women in India were granted voting rights in 1950 by universal suffrage, which is enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian constitution. Remarkably, women in the United States had been allowed to vote for just 30 years at the time, following a landmark ruling that granted women citizens of the US the right to vote in 1920, after a gap of 113 years. Given the literacy levels in India in the 50s and 60s, its probably doesnt come as a surprise that there was a big gap in the voting percentages between the two genders. A Times of India report claimed that the gap in turnout between men and women was 16.7% in 1962, but that gap fell to around 4.4% in 2009, and just 1.79% in the 2014 lok sabha polls. According to the book The Verdict, which is written by Indias veteran news anchor, and head of NDTV, Prannoy Roy along with election researcher Dorab Sopariwala, In 1962, womens turnout was 15% lower than mens turnout; but by 2014 womens turnout had almost reached parity with men, short by only 1.5%. In a rough estimate, if earlier it was three women to every 10 male voters, now the numbers are up to seven women voters for every 10 men.

That progress notwithstanding, Roy and Sopariwala speculate that 21 million women did not get to vote in 2014 because they were not registered. They said Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar ranked the worst in terms of women turnout while West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha were among the best, as were smaller regions like Lakshadweep, Nagaland, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

An analysis in Scroll put forward an interesting conjecture, that is perhaps not unfounded - There are a variety of reasons for women going out and exercising their franchise in bigger numbers than ever before...political fortunes can swing on the basis of just a single percentage point increase in vote share(that) appears to have encouraged parties to focus more specifically on appealing to women voters and ensuring they make their way to the polling stations. That analysis claims that in 2019, Indias female voting-age population is expected to be around 97.2% of the total male population. One would expect the same proportion for voters, except women voters are just 92.7% of the male electorate. That is a 4.5% shortfall, or 21 million people.

Roy and Sopariwalas book claims that the 21 million number is equivalent to every single woman in any one of the states like Jharkhand, Haryana, Telangana, Kerala or Chhattisgarh not being allowed to vote at all. Alright, hyperbole aside, the NDTV analysts claim, 21 million missing women translates to 38,000 missing women voters in every constituency in India, on average. There are a large number of Lok Sabha constituencies  more than one in every five seats  that are won or lost by a margin of less than 38,000 votes.

Kill your stereotypes

According to Business Insider, the proportion of women who stepped out to vote surpassed that of men in the assembly elections held in 2017 and 2018. It was as high as 70% for women in the last two years, compared to 43% among men. That data set addresses the six states that went to polls in the last two years - Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In fact, several districts in Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Sikkim have closed the gender gap and, in some of them, more women are voting than men. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, women voters outnumbered their male counterparts. About 63.26 per cent of women voters in the politically crucial state went to the polling booths as against 59.43 per cent of the men. In Karnataka, the number of women voters increased by 13% following the revision of electoral rolls in 2018. In Kerala, women voters outnumber the men and no political party can afford to ignore their preferences.

All political parties are paying attention to this change on the ground. Theyre tweaking their political messaging campaign strategies to appeal to women voters since there is enough empirical evidence to suggest that women voters can swing elections. India Today claimed that In December 2018, the Congress carried out a survey of approximately 40,000 women in Karauli, Rajasthan, to understand their voting behaviour. The survey asked about their access to information, political choices (were they different from those of their husbands, brothers or fathers). The findings were striking - nearly 75% of the respondents said they get information independently of the men and are independent in their political choices, a near complete reversal of their responses after the 2008 assembly election, when most said they voted for whoever the family voted. Karauli, incidentally, has a lower literacy rate than the national average and is classified as an under-developed district.

Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, whose research focus is the political economy of India, believes this moment belongs to the ladies. He said, "For the first time in history, we are seeing the gender gap close. Women are coming out to exercise their franchise, which makes them swing voters. These are people you can convince to join your side. We have seen it in 2014, in places where women's turnout increased, the BJP benefitted more." Roy and Sopariwala claim the BJP-led NDA had a lead of 9% among women voters, compared to a lead of 19% among men.

An analysis in India Today claimed that women vote on very different issues compared to men. While more men are likely to vote on the lines of caste, religion, nationalism and identity, women are more likely to focus on economic issues which have a direct bearing on the quality of their life. A congress party analysts observed that "For the female voter, it is about the present and future, while for the male voter it's about identity." Women are likely to vote over job opportunities for themselves or their children, as well safety and security.

And politicians are paying close attention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech recently, Our country is moving from women's development to women-led development. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal said, I want to give 10 crore toilets to my sisters and mothers so that they get dignity of life. That programme cannot wait even if it means I have to borrow a little more. Platitudes aside, as per an analysis by India Today, The importance of the Indian woman voter is reflected in the political rhetoric across parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship schemes-whether it be Ujjwala or the sanitation campaign of building toilets or prioritising ASHA (centred around maternal health)-are all focussed on women as key beneficiaries. Politicians are also extolling the virtues of women as better money managers and homemakers.

The opposition isnt far behind. The India Today piece also noted that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made a fervent poll pitch, saying if voted to power his party would ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, which proposes to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Bringing Priyanka Gandhi to a crucial, strategic position in the party is also a move to directly reach out to women voters. Praveen Chakravarty, chairman, data analytics department of the Congress party, explained that the old concept of a 'household vote' is all but gone. He said, "I think in a household now, there could be four different votes...The year 2019 will be an information election. There's been a dramatic change in the way political parties are viewing this election."

Much of this change is owed to the increasing ease of access to information. While we wince over what our mothers and fathers receive and forward on WhatsApp, the fact is that with over a billion mobile connections cutting across social sectors, access to information has become easier than ever before and Indian women are consume it fervently. Shamika Ravi, director of research at Brookings India, cited a study she conducted on Bihar's two assembly elections in 2005. With no clear winner in February, president's rule was declared, with re-elections eight months later in October-November. Her comparative analysis of electoral outcomes for the 243 constituencies showed that the winning party changed in 87 constituencies, meaning 36% of the previous winners were voted out. She explained, That brought an end to the RJD rule of 15 years and led to the emergence of JD(U) as the single largest party. There were no new policies in these eight months. The explanation for the changed result was the voter turnout of women in Bihar. More women came out and voted against the previous winners the second time. The beneficiary of that increased turnout by women voters, current CM Nitish Kumar, paid heed to the winds of change in his state. Ever since, many of his programmes, from the bicycle scheme to liquor prohibition in the state, seem to suggest that he recognises the power of those voters.

Here is another interesting observation by Shamika Ravi that I must include here. She explains that the results of her study indicated that a spurt in female voter turnout reduced the re-election chances of a party, while the rise in the number of male voters improved it. When women exercise their vote independently, they show that their interests are distinct from the other half of society.

Women and political leadership

Women, who vote for different reasons, require representatives who reflect their own ideas and aspirations. But that change has been slow to come about. The current union cabinet has 9 ministers, the most in independent Indias history.

A recent analysis by Narayan Ramachandran of InKlude Labs in Mint explained that India ranks 153 out of 190 nations in the percentage of women in the lower house of world parliaments. India had 65 women out of 545 members of Parliament elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014, for a 12% representation. According to a list compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Rwanda ranks first with 61% of its lower house representatives being women. Nordic countries, as a region, are the leaders in this regard, with an average of about 40%. The UK and the US are relative laggards with 32% and 23%, respectively. Pakistan, with 20% participation from women, is also ahead of India. Prior to the 15th Lok Sabha, that number was stagnant at 9% for decades.

But the tide is turning. Women now account for 46% of elected representatives at the various levels of panchayati raj institutions, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Bidyut Mohanty, who heads the Womens Studies division at Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences, told Scroll, Nearly a million women have gone through the panchayat system as elected leaders and another two million have contested the elections and lost. They are very aware voters, aware of development and other issues of their villages.

This change at the grassroots is heading upwards as well. Two political parties - Naveen Patnaiks Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress in West Bengal - announced they will be fielding a significant number of women for the 2019 elections. That is a welcome change in a country where women comprise 48.1% of the population but hold only 12.1% of Lok Sabha seats. Patnaik famously announced he will earmark 33% (or 7 out of 21) of the BJDs parliamentary election tickets for women. As of now, only 3 out of the 21 MPs representing Odisha are women. In the 147-strong state assembly, women account for just 8% of all legislators, less than the national average of 9%. Another surprise here: Haryana has the highest proportion of women MLAs at 15% of the total Assembly strength. In Kerala, womens representation peaked at 9.3% in the 2001 election but has steadfastly remained below 6% ever since.

In Odishas neighbouring state West bengal, TMCs firebrand chief Mamata Banerjee released a list of party candidates to Parliament for 2019. Of these, 41% are women, which is unprecedented for any election ever in the history of Indian democracy. Womens voter turnout in Bengal exceeded that of men even in the 2011 assembly election - the election that saw Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress end 34 years of uninterrupted Marxist rule in a communist bastion. Scroll noted that In the next assembly election, while womens voter turnout remained higher than that of men, more women also contested the election as candidates. The results were proof Mamatas popularity was unparalleled in Bengal. The Communist Party of India-Marxist was relegated to number three in the state while the BJP emerged as the principal opposition, signalling a new era in the states politics.

However, the two national parties are yet to fully throw their weight behind this change. Of the 184 candidates announced in the first list by the BJP, only 23 were women, making that 12.5%. In the Congresss list, 17 of 143 candidates, or 11.9%, were women. Shaina NC, party spokesperson and treasurer of the Maharashtra BJP, has been vocal about her disappointment with this state of affairs. She said, The BJP has already earmarked 33% to women within the organisation. But that is not sufficient. Fighting elections is most important. She also tweeted, Upset and appalled to know that other than @MamataOfficial...and @Naveen_Odisha...all other parties only pay lip service to our cause...What is worrisome is that we are still having dialogues and discussions on the most basic rights that any human being should be entitled to. That's why a 33 per cent reservation must be a collective, concerted, conscious effort of all women in public life...Here on, I will champion the cause of reservation even if I have to fight the male chauvinistic mindset in my part(y)...(and) in all other parties too.

That said, lets not forget that this is the year Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra enters the fray as a game changer, and Smriti Irani is expected to upset Rahul Gandhi in the constituency of Amethi. The final world on this subject goes to the trenchant analysis by India Today: The 2019 election promises to be one in which the rules of engagement will change further as will the political discourse. As women come out in greater numbers, they will seek more accountability and are more likely to vote for development than caste and identity. If that happens, the country will be (so much) the better for it.
As Congress turncoat and BJP candidate from Rae Bareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, prepares to take on UPA chairperson and four-time MP, Sonia Gandhi, voters say they are convinced that she will retain the seat.

While the BJP is trying to project the polls in Rae Bareli -- one of the country's most high-profile constituencies, as a contest between 'parivarvaad' (dynastic politics) of the Congress and development, people say they can't trust a man who "betrayed" the Gandhis.

Singh, a local strongman, was chosen by the BJP over Ajay Agarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, who had contested from the seat in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region in the 2014 general election.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned to garner support for Singh, trying to convince voters to switch from "the family" to usher in growth.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, who joined the BJP last month, will also hold a roadshow in Rae Bareli, which goes to polls on May 6, on May 4.

Once a confidante of the Gandhis, Singh dubbed the Congress a "private limited company" of the first family.

"I quit the Congress because it was serving only the interests of one family and not the nation. It has become a private limited company of the Gandhis," Singh, who joined the BJP last year, told PTI.

"Despite the segment repeatedly electing Gandhis from here, there has been no development and 3.29 lakh families, which is about 13.5 lakh people, here are still below the poverty line," he said.

However, the voters are unimpressed with the "son of the soil" and only want Gandhi, who has held the seat since 2004, to represent Rae Bareli.

A tea stall owner, Kishore Nandan, said it is a one-sided contest in the constituency.

"How can you trust a person who was once a close aide of the Gandhi family and has now switched sides?" he asked.

Kamlesh, who runs a sweet shop and a restaurant said, "This town is known because of the Gandhi family."

Recalling a visit to Mumbai, he said people there told him "you come from the place of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi".

Former prime minister and the UPA chairperson's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, had represented Rae Bareli from 1967 to 1977.

"We want that Sonia ji should represent us as MP throughout her lifetime," Kamlesh said, adding that Gandhi's defeat would earn Rae Bareli a bad name across the country.

Gandhi has only visited Rae Bareli twice this polling season -- first to file her nomination papers and second on Thursday, when she addressed a rally and attacked the BJP for making false promises.

However, the voters are unperturbed.

A labourer, Ram Asre said, "She may only come here occasionally as she is unwell, but she will surely win."

Much of the UPA chairperson's poll campaign is being handled by her daughter and Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has held public meetings and a roadshow here.

During the campaigning, the Congress leader accused the BJP of stalling development and described Singh as a "renegade".

"Dinesh Pratap Singh was part of our party and used to touch our feet. He has now changed sides. But Rae Bareli will teach him a lesson," she said.

Voters in Rae Bareli said they feel an emotional connection with the Gandhi family.

Though a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deepak Tripathi, a businessman, said, "It will be an insult to Rae Bareli if Sonia Gandhi loses."

Another labourer, Ram Narain, said Gandhi has done a lot for the region, which is home to one AIIMS, a flying institute, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and a footwear design centre.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government on Saturday of compromising in dealing with the challenge of terrorism and cited the release Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar during the NDA rule.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, he said, if voted to power, his party will adopt a more stern approach in combatting terrorism than what the Narendra Modi government's approach has been.

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist, he must be punished. But who sent him to Pakistan?," the Congress chief asked, adding that his party had never sent a terrorist back to Pakistan.

Accusing the BJP-led government of destroying the country's economy, he said, "I see a scared prime minister these days, who is unable to face the opposition onslaught."

Alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition, Gandhi said according to an internal survey of the Congress, the BJP is losing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as cyclonic storm 'Fani' barrelled into Bangladesh on May 4, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, media reports said.

However, Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry officially confirmed four deaths -- two in Barguna and one each in Bhola and Noakhali -- on the basis of "initial reports" from the three coastal districts and said it was yet to compile the details of the casualties and damages caused by the cyclone.

"The detailed information from all the affected districts is yet to reach us," State minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman told reporters here.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the sky in several parts of Bangladesh remained overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds continued to lash the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.

Disruption of electricity and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started.

The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel 12 flights, the report said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.
In the aftermath of the devastation caused by severe cyclone 'Fani', the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy has launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation effort in Odisha.

Two Maritime Recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy revealing widespread destruction localised around the temple town of Puri, according to an official statement.

The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command personally undertook aerial survey of the cyclone affected area Saturday morning and visited INS Chilka to review the relief efforts, it said.

The 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, officials said.

Based on the aerial surveys, the Eastern Naval Command is undertaking a three-pronged rescue and rehabilitation effort centred around Puri and its suburbs in coordination with the state government and the district administration.

"Relief and rehabilitation 'bricks' and 'pallets' (Naval parlance for containerised relief stores) comprising food material, essential medical supplies, clothing items, disinfectants, repair material, chain saws for removing damaged trees, torches and batteries, etc have been sent to the INS Chilka, a naval establishment at Odisha, closest to Puri," it said.

The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) is centrally coordinating distribution of these relief materials and a community kitchen is being planned to be set up.

Simultaneously, three eastern fleet ships are undertaking rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Indian Navy ships Ranvijay, Kadmatt and Airavat with three helicopters are presently operating off Puri and coordinating aerial survey and immediate response through their integral helicopters.

As the first responders, helicopters from the ships have been able to provide immediate support. In order to coordinate the relief efforts, the Eastern Naval Command has pre-positioned Liaison teams in the cyclone affected areas around Puri, who in turn are directing the rescue and relief efforts being undertaken by the ships, the statement added.

"With the likely opening of the Bhubaneswar airport today, Chetak and UH3H helicopters are being positioned there by the Navy to launch rescue efforts and air-dropping of relief material to the inaccessible and remote areas.

"The deployment of the helicopters at Bhubaneswar would enable aerial rescue of stranded personnel to safer areas as well as access to areas without road connectivity," it said.

The statement said in order to sustain the rescue and relief work over the next few days, the Eastern Naval Command has additional ships with standby relief material.

The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding that detailed information from many areas was still awaited.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command made an urgent Disaster Assesment and On site Review in the wee hours of 04 May 19, post striking of Extremely Severe Cyclone FANI' at Indian Naval Base, INS Chilka, the premier training establishment of the Indian Navy, said Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma

"The Flag Officer took an on ground stock of the situation and damage to the assets, men and material during his approximately one-hour long visit to the location. The Admiral commended the Staff for their proactive preparatory activities to mitigate effects of the cyclone. He was happy to take note of the various Relief Operations and Medical Assistance being rendered by the unit to the neighbouring villages such as Gadadwar, Amritpur, Kharibandh and Athrawati," he said .

Singh also expressed confidence that the Naval Base would make an early come back to normalcy in the next few days.

"He also hoped that the Indian Navy's efforts in providing assistance would augment the efforts of other government agencies to bring solace to the affected people of Odisha. He also shared that Naval Ships were already at sea off Puri to render any Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Assistance, as necessary," Sharma said.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of Indian Navy. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) East, will be the first helicopter pilot of the Indian Navy to become Chief Naval Staff.
Indonesia and Egypt have been making the headlines over their decision to shift their respective capital cities to a new location. However, this is not an unprecedented trend. Read on to know which countries have shifted their capital cities. (Image: Reuters)

Indonesia | The government had announced its decision to relocate its capital outside of the main island of Java as it is one of the fastest sinking cities in the world. It is also Southeast Asia's most polluted city, with snarling traffic jams being the norm on its streets. (Image: Reuters)

The Philippines | The capital city Manilla has seen its fair share of flooding, which prompted the central government to build another city named as New Clark City as a back-up in the event of Manila being destroyed by a natural disaster. (Image: Reuters)

Nigeria | The Nigerian government shifted the capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 due to overcrowding and public safety issues. (Image: Reuters)

South Korea | In 2012, it was announced that the capital of South Korea would be shifted from Seoul to Sejong City. Fertility rates in the country's new administrative capital shot through the roof after the announcement, making it the city with the highest fertility rate among 17 Korean provinces and cities. The country is known for having some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. (Image: Reuters)

Egypt | Congestion and overcrowding have plagued Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is why the foundation stone of the new capital city was laid in 2015. The new administrative capital will cover 700 square kilometers and is modeled to be a smart city in the desert with high-rises, luxury housing, wide roads and lush greenery. (Image: Reuters)

Russia | The former superpower's capital city, for close to 200 years, was St Petersburg. The year World War I ended in 1918, the new Bolshevik government, led by Vladimir Lenin, shifted base to Moscow. (Image: Reuters)

Brazil | Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, was designed by Lucio Costa, who planned it out in the shape of a bird with its wings spread out. The city officially took its mantle from Rio de Janeiro in 1960, with Oscar Nimeyer, its head architect, having designed several of its iconic administrative and civic buildings. (Image of Brasilia: Reuters)

Pakistan | After its partition from India, the government of Pakistan decided to change its administrative capital from Karachi to Islamabad in 1959. It was a new planned city, and work began only in 1961, taking many decades to finish. (Image of Islamabad: Reuters)
Facebook is taking stern action against those propagating violence and hatred on its social media platform. The company is also banning pages, groups and events associated with the banned individuals, from its core social media network and photo-sharing app Instagram. Take a look at a few prominent people who have been banned by Mark Zuckerberg's company. (Image: Reuters)

Louis Farrakhan | The leader of US-based Nation of Islam was banned for preaching black separatism and making anti-Semitic remarks. (Image: Reuters)

Milo Yiannopoulos | A far-right British public speaker, political commentator, and writer who is known for talking against Islam, atheism, feminism, social justice, and political correctness was banned by Facebook. (Image: Reuters)

Paul Joseph Watson | Known to promote conspiracy theories on YouTube as a radio host, Watson describes himself as part of the "New Right". He has been accused of spreading fake news and conspiracy theories such as the claim that 9/11 was an inside job. (Image: Paul Joseph Watson Youtube image)

Paul Nehlen | An American politician who is an avowed white supremacist. He ran for Congress in 2018. (Image: The Rebel Media Youtube)

Alex Jones | An American radio show host and far-right conspiracy theorist, Jones runs the website, Infowars.com. He has been accused of circulating fake news and conspiracy theories including accusing the US government of planning September 11 attacks, and falsifying some details regarding the first moon landing. (Image: Reuters)

Laura Loomer | A far-right American political activist who was previously a reporter for Canadian far-right website The Rebel Media, has been banned by the social media platform. (Image: The Rebel Media YouTube)
Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that your phone is eavesdropping on you?

Perhaps you were talking about a holiday you want to take, or a pair of jeans youve been looking at buying, only to receive oddly specific advertisements for the rest of the week.

Sure, sometimes it can be useful. The product youve been considering buying is now right at your fingertips, following you around digitally and teasing you to purchase it. Aside from the fact its mildly psychologically manipulative, it can be very convenient.

However, most of us have had that disconcerting feeling that our privacy was being invaded. And that our phones, instead of sitting idly in our pockets like theyre supposed to, are perhaps the stealthiest spies to ever exist.

In fact, if you actually take the time to read your mobiles user agreements, youll find that your suspicions arent completely unfounded.

Most modern smartphones are equipped with AI assistants that are responsive to voice commands like Hey Siri and OK Google. And unless you disable those functions, the reality is that theyll always be switched on, waiting with bated breath for you to mention a product like a seagull waits for you to drop a hot chip.

If you have the right permissions enabled, third party apps like Instagram and Facebook can then take that information and target you with a level of nuance that was never before possible.

Although Facebook and other applications deny exploiting the microphone feature, cyber security consultant Dr Peter Henway believes otherwise:

Whether its timing or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically.

However when it comes to your privacy, the sneaky marketing techniques used by media conglomerates are the least of your worries.

As weve learned recently, the most powerful spy you need to watch out for is the government.

Aussie government taking notes from the Chinese

According to an article recently published by the ABC, both the Labor and Liberal parties, the Greens, and lobby groups like GetUp and Advance Australia had tracking devices in the campaign emails they sent out to the public.

The tracker is in the form of a tiny pixel image, which upon opening the email is downloaded and has the potential to compile an array of details about the recipient.

According to data law expert David Vaile, in the past emailing was a relatively safe system that wasnt crawling with surveillance and tracking tools. And tracking devices remained confined to the real of online marketers and news organisations. But for this federal election, the government is stepping up its game.

The tracking pixels allow the sender to see if youve opened the email, and what links youve clicked on. And as such, theyre able to discern what marketing techniques are effective on you personally.

As James McDonald, head of digital marketing firm Audience Group explains, the intention behind this technique is to create more nuanced political campaign strategies:

If youve got your base divided by swinging voter, by issue, by seat or by polling booth, all of a sudden, if you analyse that correctly, youve got talking points for the local member when he turns up at the bowls club, which will be different from when you go to the shopping centre.

This extra data could be the difference between an election victory and loss. But thats not the governments only method of gathering data on the public

Lets say, for example, youre an undecided voter who wants to make an informed decision with the federal election coming up later this month.

With all of the propaganda coming from all sides, and innumerable policies to consider, most people find it hard to garner to motivation and time to sort through all the information. As an undecided voter myself, I can attest to that.

Which is why services like the ABCs Vote Compass are so popular. Essentially, through a series of 30 questions which discern your opinion on topics ranging from refugees to economic policy, the compass places you on a political scale and suggests which party would best align with your views.

At time of writing, Vote Compass has 861,392 responses  belying how popular the service is. However as Sam wrote in Money Morning earlier this week, the compass may have a more sinister agenda:

After all this the survey asks about your voting preferences, who you voted for previously, your gender, year of birth, if youve been a student, your occupation, religion, language, whether youre Australian or not, your cultural background, how many people live in your house, your income, if youre politically left or right, and a few more very detailed personal questions.

The compass now has almost one million responses, which all potentially contain information that was completely irrelevant to the original service being offered. And considering the ABC is government-owned, who knows what that information, along with your IP address and your email data, could be used for

Of course, the election process is just one example of an area that is becoming increasingly more data-driven year after year. The sheer mass of data floating around the interwebs (2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every single day to be exact) is only going to keep growing to numbers which exceed human comprehension.

This absolutely has implications for privacy. But a more pressing issue is bandwidth and internet speed. A problem which 5G technology promises to solve.

Already this technology is being rolled out across the globe and our own nation. And the wealth of opportunities for investors are sitting there waiting to be pounced on.

This week in Money Morning

There is a lot of media attention on the water buybacks by the government in the MurrayDarling Basin over the last few years. Which is why on Monday, Murray decided to cover the state of water markets in Australia and whether there was a way to invest in the rising value of water. His findings could be of interest to you.

To read his full article, click here.

If you have ever traded any positions in the past you probably know the mental anguish that can arise as prices fly around. Whether you are in the money or out of the money, there are plenty of things to worry about. Which is why on Tuesday, Murray outlined his strategy for keeping your emotions out of your trades.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Wednesday, Murray covered the latest from the US Fed. After 10 years of pumping the markets higher to escape the GFC, Murray honestly thought that we had finally reached the point where the powers that be would attempt to normalise rates. If only in fear of creating a larger monster down the track if they didnt act. But as weve seen recently, thats not the case. And the repercussions could be sweeping

To learn more, click here.

Are you socially conservative or socially progressive? Are you economically left or economically right? Do you see yourself as left leaning, far right or are you centrist? Well, with the ABCs Vote Compass tool you can find out easily. But as Sam wrote on Thursday, the data being collected to determine your political position could be doing more harm than its worth.

To read the full article, click here.

Then on Friday, Phil wrote about the birth of reality television. Or to be more exact, the reality-style show that is currently occurring in the White House. If you pay enough attention, you can see the tactics Trump is using to stay on the air and in favour with his fans.

But for how long will this be effective? Click here to find out.

Until next week,

Katie Johnson,

Editor, Money Weekend
(Bloomberg) -- As oil workers struggle to find affordable housing in the booming Permian Basin of West Texas, thousands of abandoned pets are also in need of new homes.

An animal rescue group in Midland, the fastest-growing U.S. city, is in the process of raising $3 million to build additional shelter facilities as the region struggles with a large number of pets left without owners.
After months of speculation about her political future, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has decided to stay local.

Gaspar put to rest rumors she may mount a second bid for Congress when she announced late Thursday, May 2, that she will seek a second term on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Its never an easy decision, but San Diego is a place Ive grown up and Ive always said from the outset I appreciated the opportunity to serve here, she said, "...and having the opportunity to really dig into the work over the past year made the decision to run for re-election a lot easier.

Her supervisorial district, District 3, includes part of San Diego and the cities of Encinitas, Escondido, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Gaspars announcement positions Republicans to unify behind a single candidate ahead of what is expected to be a competition that will shape the Board Supervisors future with the boards majority at stake.

New Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Jim Desmond, a Democrat and Republican respectively, will have two years left on their first terms after 2020, but San Diegos two longest serving Supervisors, Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, both Republicans, will leave office at the end of 2020 due to term limits.

Coxs seat representing the South Bay is a safe bet to flip for Democrats, given that partys more than 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration in the district. Jacobs East County seat is likely to remain in Republican hands because there is a Republican advantage in her district by about 17,000 voters, although Democratic registrations are trending upward there while Republican registrations are trending down.

That leaves the District 3 seat, which Gaspar currently holds, as the swing seat in 2020 and a battleground for a serious fight.

Gaspar, who lives in Encinitas with her husband and three children, has a few things working to her advantage as she mounts her re-election bid.

Shes an incumbent, and prior to last year it was rare for incumbents to lose any office in San Diego barring a serious scandal. She also can point to her experience on the board and time as chair, advancing such programs as The Other Side Academy, which is planned as a rehabilitation center for ex-convicts.

Gaspar said the program is an example of a proactive community solution.

Im excited about where that work is heading and this new approach to homelessness and incarceration, she said in an interview Friday, May 3.

However, the former mayor of Encinitas also faces several obstacles that didnt exist when she unseated scandal-plagued incumbent Dave Roberts in 2016.

When Gaspar won there were about 2,500 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. Today that Democratic edge has grown to more than 17,000.

Gaspar will also face off against more formidable Democratic opponents this time, including Terra Lawson-Remer, an economist and attorney who was a former senior adviser in the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration; Olga Diaz, an Escondido City Council member and interim Dean of Counseling at Palomar Community College; and Jeff Griffith, a fire captain and member of the Palomar Health Board of Directors.

I always have the philosophy that I always run like Im running from behind and as always Ill give this race everything Ive got, Gaspar said.

Gaspars biggest challenge may lie in her connection to President Donald Trump, who is unpopular with many in the district and lost it to Hillary Clinton by 20 points in 2016.

Some of her opponents already are fundraising and enlisting volunteers based on her Trump connection. The county Democratic party immediately pushed a news release labeling her a Trump Republican in the wake of her announcement.

Gaspar was a big supporter of the county joining the lawsuit the Trump Administration filed against California over so called Sanctuary policies. She also has met with the president at the White House and was the lone supervisor to oppose the countys decision in February to sue the Trump Administration over its handling of asylum seekers.
James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Crude futures dipped Friday but ended the week with a 1.8 percent gain. Concerns about the deepening U.S.-China trade war impacting economic growth outweighed concerns about heightened tensions in the Middle East impacting supplies.

West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 11 cents to close the week at $62.76 a barrel, up $1.10 from last Friday's close. The posted price ended the week at $59.25 a barrel.
Midland Crime Stoppers

Midland Crime Stoppers needs help identifying two suspects involved in an aggravated robbery.

Two people walked into a business -- Burrito El Aguaje -- located at 700 E. Florida. Ave. at about 3 a.m. April 27. The subjects were armed with guns and made the employee lie on the floor while they searched him for his wallet or anything else of value. The suspects took his wallet, pistol-whipped him in the head and kicked him while he was on the floor. A customer walked into the business, saw the robbery and ran out of the business. The suspects caught up with the customer and also assaulted him.
Muhlenberg Joins Liberal Arts Diversity Officers Consortium

The College is the newest member of the consortium, which promotes best practices and innovative strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro Friday, May 3, 2019 01:48 PM

Muhlenberg is now one of 32 institutional members of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers (LADO) consortium nationwide. LADO provides opportunities for chief diversity officers at liberal arts colleges to collaborate and provide leadership in implementing and publicizing effective diversity strategies at their home institutions.

Founded in 2007, LADO member institutions are private, selective colleges with a focus on undergraduates. They must also have a staff member serving in a diversity leadership role.

This is an opportunity that came with the creation of Muhlenbergs diversity leadership position, says Vick, (pictured left), who joined the College last fall in the new administrative role of associate provost for faculty and diversity initiatives.

I was impressed with LADOs goals, and this will be a great partnership for us as we continue to develop our capacity to recruit, retain and support underrepresented faculty, staff and students, she added.

As a member of LADO, Muhlenberg will also now partner with the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), which is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. C3 develops, disseminates and promotes new strategies for fostering the full participation of diverse students and faculty. In doing so, it serves as an incubator of innovation for institutional diversity and equity.

The C3 Undergraduate Fellowships program, for example, provides underrepresented students from LADO colleges the opportunity to do paid and mentored graduate-level research, plus helps open doors to graduate schools and internships. This includes training about applying to and succeeding in graduate school.

LADO and C3 representatives also make over a dozen visits to top research universities a year to meet with underrepresented graduate students and encourage them to consider faculty positions at liberal arts colleges. This includes providing information about specific teaching opportunities and the faculty job search process at liberal arts institutions.

Citing the benefits of an effective consortium, Vick says, There are things we can do better together than alone, including developing collaborative solutions to shared challenges. LADO will help us do this.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Anti-smoking advocates with the American Cancer Society want Illinois lawmakers to hike the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

It is a proposal backed by Democratic senators who pushed to raise the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, and comes as legislators are seeking sources of revenue in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker initially introduced a 32-cent tax increase in his February budget proposal, which would change the current rate from $1.98 to $2.30 a pack.

The Governors Office of Management and Budget estimated that increase would generate an additional $55 million to be used toward Illinois Medicaid program and schools.

But Shana Crews, government relations director for the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, said bumping up the Democratic governors idea by 68 cents would be a win-win solution for the state.

Not only would a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase prevent 28,700 Illinois youth from becoming adults who smoke and help 48,700 adults who smoke quit, but its also expected to generate more than $159 million in new annual revenue, Crews said. Thats money that could be put toward public health programs and help Illinois pay down its high deficit.

Language for the tax bump has not yet been filed but is expected to appear in the Senate next week.

Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, sponsored legislation in 2007 to ban public smoking and was a proponent of the Tobacco 21 initiative. He said Illinois is a long way from ending its campaign to end smoking.

We know that were saving lives by stopping people from smoking and stopping e-cigarette [use] in the state of Illinois, Link said. If this $1 a pack doesnt start sending [smokers] another message, I dont know whats going to, but weve got to make sure that people do not start smoking.

Crews said lawmakers should consider implementing a tax on all other tobacco products to avoid pushing people toward those goods when the price of cigarettes increases.

The Cancer Society recommended hiking the tax on cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco by 64 percent of the wholesale price.
The governor made a disaster proclamation for dozens of counties Friday as flood fighting efforts continue and more rain is forecast to arrive before the Illinois River is expected to crest next week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation Friday afternoon for 34 counties, including Brown, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler and Scott.

River levels are rapidly rising and with more precipitation in the forecast, many communities will need additional assistance, Pritzker said in a statement. The state of Illinois is ready to help our communities as they work to protect our residents and critical infrastructure.

Flood fighting operations started late this week and will continue through the weekend in Meredosia and in Scott County, while Cass County has been making preparations.

Major flooding is expected along the Illinois River into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

At Meredosia the river is expected to crest by Thursday morning, reaching 27.5 feet, and at Beardstown its expected to crest by Wednesday evening, reaching 28.5 feet. The water was over 21 feet Friday morning at both points on the river.

The National Weather Service is predicting more rain is on its way, with the chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday through Thursday of next week.

More Information VOLUNTEERS Scott County  To help at Big Swan Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 395 Big Swan Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday.  To help at Bloomfield Drainage and Levy District, volunteers should report to 496 Bloomfield Road in Winchester at 9 a.m. Saturday. Morgan County  To help in Meredosia, volunteers should go to the sandbagging location on the south side of the Meredosia Boat Dock. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and bring gloves if possible. See More Collapse

The state is already reporting record river crests, residential evacuations and flood-related infrastructure damage are already affecting some areas along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

Among the state agencies and organizations that have been directed to assist in flood fighting efforts, the Illinois Department of Corrections has activated around-the-clock work crews to help with sand bags, according to the governors office.

Corrections crews arrived in Meredosia Friday morning and were hard at work all day.

With the help of the inmates and volunteers with at least a half dozen utility vehicles, layers of sand bags were laid along the north levee in Meredosia.

Village Trustee Ernie Gregory was moving sand bags to where the inmates and volunteers needed them. He said they would work all day and get as far as they could.

Its going really well. These inmates are doing a really good job. Without them, wed be in trouble, he said.  And weve got a pretty good crew of volunteers. Weve all done it before.

William Smith used to live in the area  both before and after the levee was built  and was helping move sand bags Friday.

Well, its a civic duty, man, he said over the sound of his vehicles motor. Its a small town. Youre supposed to help.

Morgan County Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty said the predictions on the rivers crest would put it 1.5 to 2 feet above the top of the levee the crews and volunteers were working on Friday. The river is already above the National Weather Service flood stage in Meredosia, but McCarty said when the river reaches 24 feet, that is when officials become concerned and the water begins to put pressure on the levees.

The sand bags should reinforce the levee and hold back the water to protect about 75% of the town.

The 75% number is not an exact science, but we know that it would critically impact the community if it flooded, he said, adding efforts to protect the town have been successful over the years.

McCarty said they will work through the weekend and hope to be done on Monday  and stay ahead of when the river is expected to crest.

Flood fighting is also ongoing at the Big Swan and Bloomfield drainage and levy districts in Scott County and emergency management staff was evaluating the river in Naples on Friday evening, Scott County Emergency Management Director Justin Daws said.

Cass County sent out a meeting notice Friday for the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District, which is set to meet every day next week.

Scott and Morgan counties were seeking volunteers to help with flood fighting efforts over the weekend and McCarty said donations can be sent to the Praireland United Way and American Red Cross. People and local retailers have also donated water bottles and supplies to support volunteers.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is reminding people in affected areas to be prepared to evacuate if floodwaters reach their homes by packing essentials and planning for all family members, including pets.
It's not every day you see one of the world's biggest rock stars hanging out right near where you're out to eat.

But Daniel Poe was in that position on Wednesday night when he spotted Dave Grohl at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler.

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"It's always a pleasure to meet people you admire, especially someone of Dave's caliber. He was just as warm and friendly as you would hope him to be," Poe, a Tyler resident, told Chron.com.

Grohl was the drummer for the legendary Seattle grunge band Nirvana, later forming his own group, Foo Fighters.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston Barbecue Festival wows smoked meat lovers

"It was surreal to have such casual conversation with someone who has shaped the face of rock and roll the way he has. This man has had his hand in several of my favorite records, from the Foos, to QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age), to McCartney. All the better to visit with him at my favorite BBQ joint."

Grohl is in East Texas to film a documentary about mothers of musicians, Stanley's owner Nick Pencis told KLTV.

Round two: Find out which international music sensation is already returning to Houston on HoustonChronicle.com

The multi-talented artist told the station he is planning to interview the mother of award-winning musician Miranda Lambert. the country music legend grew up in Lindale, a town located just north of Tyler.

Of course, much like her son, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, isn't afraid to let people know what's on her mind.

In 2017, she published "From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars."

So what does a rock legend at at Stanley's? "He had a whole tray of ribs in front of him at one point ha ha," said Poe.

It's unknown how long they lasted.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | 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.
A 10-year-old boy is dead and his 12-year-old sibling has been charged with murder after a shooting Saturday in Conroe, authorities said.

Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constable's deputies were the first to respond to an emergency call at about 2:40 p.m. in the 10700 block of Stidham Road near Fenley Road, followed by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, Lt. Scott Spencer said in a statement on Twitter.
Converse police arrested Eduardo Gonzalez, 61, Thursday on suspicion of indecency with a child stemming from an alleged groping incident of two girls at a family Mother's Day celebration in 2017.

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No one enjoys getting impeached, and if it happens to him, Donald Trump will be no exception.

On the other hand, its hard to imagine any potential target of impeachment in Anglo-American history relishing the fight more than Trump. Hed rather be done with the Mueller investigation in all its permutations, but theres no one better suited to being at the center of a harshly partisan, deeply personal political and legal donnybrook that will ultimately be just for show.

Trump famously told top aides at the beginning of his administration that he wanted them to view each day as a TV episode. Impeachment would be a helluva season, matching a momentous process of American government with low political melodrama.

This may feel like a devolution from the buttoned-up Mueller probe, but the House should have been the locus of the Trump investigation in the first place.

Because Justice Department policy says a president cant be indicted, Robert Mueller was never going to reach a legal conclusion about alleged obstruction. The question was whether the presidents conduct constituted an abuse of power that Congress would deem impeachable; in other words, it was a political question.

Congress, then, was always the most appropriate venue for the investigation and disposition of this matter, not the office of the special counsel.

But our habit of transmuting broad political questions into narrow legal ones and Rod Rosensteins panicked appointment of Mueller  after the firing of FBI Director James Comey that he participated in  ensconced the probe within the Department of Justice.

Instead of being out in the open, it was behind closed doors. Instead of being nakedly political, it was clothed in thick legal analysis. Instead of being a struggle between the branches, it was a struggle within the executive branch.

Trump was deeply conflicted. He hated the investigation and came up with schemes to crimp it, all of which came to nothing. At the same time, the White House cooperated with Mueller. It was a twilight struggle between the president and the special counsel, with Trump not able to fully fight what was, in effect, an impeachment inquiry because any wrong move would be interpreted as yet another alleged act of obstruction.

Now, the battle is truly joined. The body that is going to make the ultimate decision of what to do about Trumps conduct, if anything, is on the hook. It has to decide what goes too far and not far enough. Should it subpoena Trumps children? How much time should it devote to investigations as opposed to its policy agenda? And, of course, should it impeach?

For his part, Trump is liberated to fight like a caged animal, asserting executive prerogatives vis-a-vis the legislature and engaging in flat-out partisan combat.

Trump would prefer a world in which hes universally praised, but short of that, this is his element. Despite all the press coverage over the past two years saying hes on the verge of some sort of breakdown, hes handled every controversy or fight  no matter how personal or treacherous  with the same straight-ahead aggression.

Trump is almost certainly better prepared and temperamentally suited for thermonuclear war with a Democratic House than he was to get substantive achievements out of a Republican House. He obviously hadnt thought through an actionable populist-conservative policy synthesis, but he has a lifetimes experience resisting and belittling enemies and extemporizing his way from one crisis to the next.

It may be impossible for him to stop impeachment, certainly not if Nancy Pelosi supports it. But hell be the focus of a historic drama that will rate  or at least be remembered and analyzed  for a very long time. He will have succeeded in making the Democratic House majority all about him, and if not getting convicted by the Senate counts as a victory, he will win in the end.

The post-trial tweetstorm will be something to behold.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The basis for congressional oversight of the executive branch is in the implied powers the Constitution grants Congress. But dont let that word implied throw you. The Supreme Court has upheld House and Senate oversight powers  deeming them guaranteed by the Constitutions necessary and proper clause. This means Congress is empowered to do what is necessary and proper to execute the express powers spelled out in the Constitution.

Congressional oversight of U.S. presidents is part of a broader system of checks and balances.

President Donald Trump, however, says he intends to resist all subpoenas from Congress.

As if on cue, Attorney General William Barr  after appearing before a Senate Committee the day before  refused to testify before a House committee on Thursday, objecting to the format because it will include questioning from a committee lawyer  as Christine Ford was interviewed during the Kavanaugh hearings. He now is subject to being held in contempt.

Consider the sweeping nature of Trumps refusal. Hes not saying  as past presidents have  that he will challenge each request individually on their merits (usually invoking executive privilege) or that he will negotiate whether aides will testify or whether requested documents will be provided. Were fighting all the subpoenas, he said last week. Period. No negotiation. A simple stone wall, though he did relent in one case after a plea from a fellow Republican.

This is dangerous, even with the single partisan accommodation. No matter how you feel about impeachment, this refusal threatens a system of checks and balances necessary for a functioning democracy.

Yes, other presidents have challenged congressional oversight  and have generally been slapped down by the courts.

President Barack Obama resisted congressional oversight of his administrations Operation Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation. The courts said the administration had to comply, and it did.

But presidents  in accordance with the Constitution  have generally complied with requests in other instances. Thats because oversight authority of Congress has been acknowledged as early as George Washingtons administration.

And then theres Trump, who has claimed an exoneration that doesnt exist in the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Congress is fully empowered to investigate any and all allegations contained in that report, which didnt rule out obstruction of justice. And while saying there was no coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, it also laid out many contacts between the two and campaign eagerness to receive and benefit from any information provided by the Russians. And no one in the Trump campaign picked up the phone to report a foreign effort to subvert the election for Trumps benefit.

This is troubling.

We have counseled against immediate impeachment proceedings. And we continue to. But the House still has a responsibility to investigate possible presidential wrongdoing. This is true even if the special counsel didnt recommend criminal prosecution  especially because the Justice Department said he couldnt seek the indictment of a sitting president in any case.

Congress cannot ignore the Mueller report and must exercise its oversight powers if the public is ever to have any confidence in the investigation or in Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

There will certainly be legal challenges to the presidents refusals. And this could run out the clock before Election Day in 2020. The rationale for the presidents refusals go something like this: House Democrats are acting purely out of partisan spite or seeking partisan advantage.

Well, we would not be a bit surprised by partisan motivations from Democrats, though there is, in fact, a split in the party on impeachment  and still there is that Mueller report full of items worth investigating and the congressional responsibility to do so, even if impeachment is ultimately off the table.

But the charge of partisanship is hollow coming from folks who cheered the incessant investigations of Hillary Clinton. The offenses alleged in the Mueller report are at least as bad as what Clinton allegedly did (those investigations substantively coming up empty). And we note that Barr appeared before a GOP led Senate committee but refused to appear before a Democratic controlled House committee. So, whos partisan?

The president should relent. A stone wall has all the signs of merely being a convenient hiding place. The public is ill-served by lack of knowledge. Texas congressional delegation should buck the president on this.
I was recently running in Monte Vista and noticed a police car go by, then circle back around twice. I waved, kind of puzzled, then I rounded the corner to Temple Beth-El and realized that it was Passover, and because of the recent attack in Poway, Calif., there was a heightened police presence.

I still thought it was odd how the officer circled around me three times, then I realized that as a white male of a certain age, I fit the profile of the recent attackers on Jewish Americans.

It was a chilling thought, but unlike other groups who shout to the rooftops about being profiled, I had zero issue with it. As a police officer, why wouldnt you have a heightened awareness of certain groups who are committing certain crimes? Profiling is just intelligent police work.

My deepest condolences to members of the Jewish faith, who have given so much to American culture and deserve our love, not our hate.

Shannon Deason

How much better?

Re: The future of Pre-K 4 SA rests with voters in 2020 election, by columnist Gilbert Garcia, Metro, Sunday:

Mr. Garcia tells us taxpayers spent $47.6 million on 2,000 children. That is $23,800 per child. By how much have the attendeesperformed better than their peers? Guess that metric doesnt matter. How much of the money went to staff salaries versus teacher compensation? Guess it doesnt matter either.

Steve Weakley

No powdered booze

Re: Push Legislature to keep powdered alcohol out of Texas, by Nelson Wolff, Another View, Tuesday:

For once I have to agree with County Judge Nelson Wolff. We already have enough serious traffic accidents caused by overindulgence in alcohol.

While I don't drink now, I used to. I am not anti-alcohol, just against overdoing it and then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The last thing we need in Bexar County or Texas is concentrated powdered booze. While I am not in favor of legislating morality in broad-brush fashion, I believe that this is an instance where our Legislature needs to act appropriately.

William Barone
A powerful cyclone has slammed into Indias eastern coastline, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 200 km/h (125mph).

Cyclone Fani, one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent years, made landfall at 08:00 local time (02:30 GMT) on Friday.

More than one million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha.

A state official said two people had been killed.

Flooding has also been reported in several areas, and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m (5ft) could threaten low-lying homes.

The cyclone made landfall in the tourist town of Puri, which is home to the 858-year-old Jagannath temple.

It is expected to hit 15 districts in Orissa, one of Indias poorest states, before weakening on Saturday.

Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said $140m (106m) was being allocated for emergency relief.

Numerous flights and train services in and out of the state have been cancelled, while schools and government offices are shut. Operations at three ports on Indias eastern coast have also been shut down.

Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The countrys National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.

Indias National Disaster Management Authority has warned people along the east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are phenomenal.

The agency said the total destruction of thatched houses was possible, as well as extensive damage to other structures.

I can confirm two deaths for now, Orissa special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told AFP news agency.

[A] man in one of the shelters died because of a heart attack. Another person went out in the storm despite our warnings and died because a tree fell on him, he said.

The cyclone is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

It coincides with high tides in the country, which may exacerbate potential flooding issues there.

 BBC

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Jacob Ngarivhumes Transform Zimbabwe dumps MDC Alliance.

TRANSFORM Zimbabwe (TZ) has pulled out of the MDC Alliance pact, choosing to go it alone than to dissolve and be part of the grand MDC, whose congress is to be held later this month.

Seven political parties came together on August 5, 2017 to form an electoral pact for the 2018 harmonised elections with an understanding that they would continue with the partnership in forming a government in the event that they won the elections.

An amalgamation process of the political parties is underway and two parties, Peoples Democratic Party formerly led any Tendai Biti and the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, have since dissolved and integrated into the Nelson Chamisa-led mainstream MDC.

We are leaving the alliance. We met as the executive and decided to make this decision. said Ngarivhume.

The party urged its members not to participate in the upcoming MDC congress.

During the alliance tenure, many TZ officials were left disappointed after some of their allocated seats in the agreement were taken up by the mainstream MDC on the basis that the party had no numbers.

Its leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, and another official in Harare South were left competing with their alliance partners in the fight for parliamentary seats.

Analysts have since indicated that the alliance was more of a reunion of the MDC which has seen those that have never been connected to the party sidelined.

Ncube and Biti left the party in 2005 and 2014 respectively following acrimonious fallouts with then party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume refused to discuss the issue.

I do not speak for him you might have to verify with him issues that deal with his status, he said.

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How vanishing lizards in Madagascar led to a troubling discovery about deforestation and climate change Yale Climate Connection

How a Lone Norwegian Trader Shook the Worlds Financial System NYT. Interesting article systemic issues with central counterparties (see Auerback today), despite the finger-pointing clickbait headline. Also a carbon emissions permits debacle.

If This Is a Tech Bubble in Stocks, Its the Expansionary Phase Bloomberg

Why Tesla is taking a different approach to self-driving cars FT

The smart diaper is coming. Who actually wants it? Vox

Could a popular food ingredient raise the risk for diabetes and obesity? Harvard School of Public Health

Brexit

Devolution at 20 Institute for Government

Venezuela

China

North Korea

RussiaGate

2020

Why Universal Health Care, Higher Wages, and Free Public Education Are Crucial Issues for Black Women Vogue

Health Care

Boeing 737 MAX

Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe USA Today. A ***cough*** civilian charter ***cough***.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

None of Your Business The Nation

Everything Was Done To Make Julian Assanges Life Miserable (interview) Der Spiegel (GlennF).

The Racistand High TechOrigins of Americas Modern Census Yasha Levine, OneZero. A must-read.

Class Warfare

Make Debt Service You Jacob Bacharach, Hmm Daily

Hiring surge pushes US jobless rate to 49-year low FT

With a Simple Twist, a Magic Material Is Now the Big Thing in Physics Quanta. A new type of superconductivity.

Between Worlds Orion Magazine

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here
Lambert here: Dont look back. Something might be gaining on you. Satchel Paige

By Franck Portier, Professor, University College London and CEPR Research Fellow. Originally published at VoxEU.

Business economists argue that the length of an expansion is a good indicator of when a recession will hit. Using both parametric and non-parametric measures, this column finds strong support for the theory from post-WWII data on the US economy. The findings suggest there is good reason to expect a US recession in the next two years.

This summer, the current US expansion, which started in June 2009, is likely to break the historical post-WWII record of 120 months long, which is currently held by the March 1991-March 2001 expansion. It is already longer than the post-WWII average of 58 months. Should we be worried? Is the next recession around the corner?

Yes, according to business economists. For example, according to the semi-annual National Association for Business Economics survey released last February, three-quarters of the panellists expect an economic recession by the end of 2021. While only 10% of panellists expect a recession in 2019, 42% say a recession will happen in 2020, and 25% expect one in 2021.

No, according to the conventional wisdom among more academic-oriented economists, who believe that expansions, like Peter Pan, endure but never seem to grow old, as Rudebusch (2016) recently argued. As he wrote, based only on age, an 80-month-old expansion has effectively the same chance of ending as a 40-month-old expansion. This view was also forcefully expressed last December by the (now ex-) Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen, who said  I think its a myth that expansions die of old age. I do not think they die of old age. So the fact that this has been quite a long expansion doesnt lead me to believe that  its days are numbered.

My research with Paul Beaudry and Dana Galizia tends to favour the former view, that we should be worried about a recession hitting the US economy in the next 18 months.

There are two reasons why we reach this conclusion. The first relies on a statistical analysis that uses only the age of an expansion to predict the probability of a recession. The second digs deeper into the very functioning of market economies.

First, we estimate in Beaudry and Portier (2019) the probability of the US economy entering a recession in the following year (or following two years), conditional on the expansion having lasted q quarters. This can be done in a parametric way based on the Weibull distribution, or non-parametrically using Kaplan and Meiers estimator of the survival function. Regardless of the method, and using post-WW2 US data, there is consistent evidence of age-dependence, as shown in Figure 1. For an expansion that has lasted only five quarters, the probability of entering a recession in the next year is around 10%, while this increases to 30-40% if the expansion has lasted over 35 quarters. Similarly, if looking at a two years window, we find the probability of entering a recession in the next two years raises from 25-30% to around 50-80% as the expansion extends from five quarters to 32 quarters (the exact probability depends on whether we use a parametric or a non-parametric approach).

Figure 1 Probability of an expansion ending in the next year, next year and a half, or next two years (parametric and non-parametric approach)

Notes: the dots are the non-parametric estimates. The thick lines are smoothed version of the dots. The dashed lines are the parametric estimates. Estimation is done using quarterly NBER data for expansions and recessions for the post-war sample (September 1945 to January 2019). The age of the expansion is in quarters.

The non-parametric estimates suggest that duration dependence is minimal for expansions lasting up to 25 quarters. But after 25 quarters, the duration becomes very apparent. For example, when an expansion ages from six years to nine years, the non-parametric estimates suggest that the probability of a recession within a year almost triples. If one looks in more detail at the initial phase of an expansion  up to eight quarters  there is also some evidence of positive duration dependence, reflecting the possible occurrence of double-dip recessions. Then from eight to 25 quarters, there appears instead to be negative duration dependence as the expansion takes hold, that is, during this phase the probability of entering a recession appears to decrease as the expansion ages. Finally, after 25 quarters the probability of entering a recession increases rapidly as the expansion gets old. This suggests that, when they are older than six years, expansions may be favouring the growth of certain vulnerabilities that may make the onset of a recession more likely. In other work (Beaudry et al. 2016), we have shown that US real and financial series tend to follow a cycle of length about ten years. Of course, this does not mean that there are deterministic cycles of ten years, but such a statistical regularity makes a recession all the more probable when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Obviously, we recognise that all our calculations are based on a small sample of data since recessions are rather rare. Our results are the best inference possible given this limited data.

Second, our recent work (Beaudry et al. 2016, 2017) has shown that a market economy, by its very nature, may create recurrent boom and bust independently of outside disturbances. This idea is well captured by the statement that a bust sows the seed of the next boom. Although, such an idea has a long tradition in the economics literature (e.g. Kalecki 1937 or Hicks 1950), it is not present in most modern macro-models. According to this view, the economy builds up sources of vulnerabilities in expansions. Those vulnerabilities could be of a financial nature (for example the accumulation of debt/leverage or the concentration of risk or collateral among small sets of agents) or of a real nature (for example the excessive accumulation of durable goods or investment in housing). Because of such a build-up, one need not expect a bad shock to trigger a recession. Such a mechanism creates the type of duration dependence we have seen in the data, namely that as an expansion grows old, eventually the probability of a recession should increase.

To conclude, let us emphasise that the evidence and theory we are bringing forward do not imply a deterministic view of the business cycle. We shall not expect a recession to happen with probability one when the expansion reaches ten years of age. Analysts might find reasons to be concerned (Chinese slowdown, yield curve inversion, etc.). What we suggest is that, even in the absence of a sudden adverse shock, a recession is most likely to happen in the next one to two years, and that this risk is higher than what it was two years ago.

References available at original.
Yves here. To add to Marshalls tally of ticking time bombs in finance-land: another source of systemic risk is central counterparties for derivatives. They were supposed to reduce risk by shifting clearing and settlement of many types of derivatives out of banks and over to entities that would be well capitalized and at arms length to the banks. Weve written how the central counterparties are new TBTF entities, since charging high enough margin and other loss reserves to provide for enough liquidity to handle a serious shock would make many derivatives uneconomical.

We summarized some of the failings in a 2018 post, which included key points from a recent Bloomberg op-ed by derivative maven Satyajit Das:

First, oversight is fragmented. Second, the system assumes traders can meet margin calls at short noticeIn practice, volatile market conditions require higher margins, which exacerbate systemic cash needs, force mass liquidation of positions and increase the central counterpartys risk. Third, initial margin-setting relies on risk models  based on assumed price behaviors and historical volatility and correlation data  that have repeatedly failed in the real world.the ability of non-defaulting members to bear losses may be lower than expected. Even single counterparty limits, designed to avoid concentrated exposure, are imperfect, as Norways case highlights. Fourth, central counterparties have adverse incentives. To gain market share, they might undercut each other on margins or default fund contributions, thus undermining the stability of the system itself. The default waterfall also entails moral hazard: Strong firms, forced to bear the liabilities of the weak, have little motivation to become clearing members.

By Marshall Auerback, a market analyst and commentator. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute

Judging from the public conversation were having as we head into the early stages of the 2020 presidential election, bankers no longer appear to be public enemy number one. Big tech appears to have that title.

Still, lets not forget that the actions of several large financial institutions in the run-up to 2008 were largely responsible for catastrophic job losses of millions of households, the repossession of their houses, the destruction of their retirement savings, the collapse of a multitude of businesses, an ongoing stranglehold into myriad forms of debt, and a relentless lobbying machine that exonerates it from any kind of oversight with real teeth.

The legislative response to this fiasco, the Dodd-Frank Act, is being undermined every which way, and wasnt all that strong to start with. It was passed in order to promote financial stability, lift our economy, and end too big to fail, argued financial observer Tyler ONeil, and the bill has achieved none of those goals. In fact, it created a host of perverse incentives that have likely made our problems a whole lot worse. Financial reform might be yesterdays news, but we are inching closer to another economic crisis, in which the old news might very well become new and relevant again.

Why is that? For one thing, Dodd-Frank did not structurally alter the banking system (in contrast to the aftermath of the Great Depression via Glass-Steagall). The big too big to fail (TBTF) banks got bigger. And by bigger, were talking about a sizable ownership stake over 60 percent of GDP.

One prominent example is the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPBan Elizabeth Warren proposal that actually initially proved to be one of the few effective reforms introduced by the new banking legislation). The CFPB has been largely gutted by acting head, Mick Mulvaney. Likewise, the oversight provisions for big banks have been watered down by the appropriately named Crapo Bill, and Dodd-Franks detailed rule-making injunctions have largely been left to the discretion of bank-friendly executive agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all of which have historically shown themselves to be prone to regulatory capture.

Even one of Dodds contributing architects, Lawrence Summers, in a piece co-authored with Harvard Ph.D. candidate Natasha Sarin, found no evidence that markets regard banks as substantially safer today than they were in the pre-crisis period. Many of the same practices that led to the collapse of the financial system in 2008 are as prevalent today as they were in 2007. These include the revival of some of the most toxic products that contributed to the last crash, such as the synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and the related collateralized loan obligation (CLO), along with an ongoing regulatory culture that still expresses itself in policy preferences that favor industry interests over those of ordinary citizens.

Given the Democrats renewed enthusiasm for antitrust (at least as it applies to big tech), the question is whether break em up to foster greater competition is the way to go with banks, or whether a more function-centric approach to regulation makes more sense going forward. On big tech, Ive written beforethat size per se may not be the best benchmark to establish optimal regulation. The same might be true for banks.

Simply mandating a breakup in the sector, married to free market competition and other market-based reforms, is unlikely to do the trick (that criticism applies as much to GOPers as it does to Democrats). As professors Marc Lavoie and Mario Seccareccia have observed, greater competition could be a good thing in industries producing, say, widgets, since the lower the price that could potentially ensue as a result of lower profits and greater productivity that would be impacted by the competition would have positive welfare benefits for the community at large. But Lavoie and Seccareccia also recognize that banking is not only about profit for profits sake or competitive free markets; therefore, applying these principles of competition to the banking sector, where there exists tremendous externalities, could be disastrous.

One of those externalities arises from the fact that the banking sector has a unique social dimension that in many respects does not readily lend itself to all of the dictates of a competitive free market system. There is a reason why our government made a conscious policy decision after the Great Depression to guarantee the liabilities of the banking system via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It was to protect the integrity of the payments system, the lifeblood of an economy, as well as the businesses and consumers who relied on the provision of credit provided by the banks.

A controlled oligopoly that disincentivizes banks from embracing risky speculation is one way to go (it works reasonably well in Canada, for example) because it focuses the regulatory thrust on function and outcome, rather than size alone. However, the U.S. banks are much bigger in asset size. Too big to fail (TBTF) is relevant here because Dodd-Frank has done nothing to stop the banks from getting bigger, even though they pursue many of the same reckless policies that caused their banks to blow up in the last cycle. In fact, the implicit TBTF safety net has virtually guaranteed that bankers would continue to take on excessive tail risk (i.e., too high a risk of ruin), argues Professor Edward Kane.

It is in that sense that size matters: much as the costs of a massive environmental cleanup increase in proportion to size, so too are the social and economic externalities much higher when associated with a big bank. But at the core, it is function married to TBTF that creates the root problem; simply using antitrust to foster competition is unhelpful if all such competition does is to drive banks, regardless of size, to embrace increasingly reckless activities that augment their respective bottom lines, and do so in a way that ultimately compromises the integrity of the payments system. There are some things banks should not be allowed to do, period.

So whats the right approach: do high levels of concentration in the banking sector promote greater financial instability, or is it a question of function? In truth, they are interrelated, but function matters more.

Ask any neutral observer today whether Goldman Sachs or the Japan Post Bank (the worlds biggest deposit holder) poses a greater threat to financial stability and virtually all will agree that it is the former. That is because systemic risk is largely engendered via function, and interconnectedness, rather than asset size. In contrast to Goldman Sachs (or virtually any large American commercial or investment bank), the range of activities of the Japan Post Bank is limited to a fairly mundane roster of traditional banking functionsit is primarily a savings institution. As its Wikipedia page notes, its only loan products are overdraft lines secured by time deposits and Japanese government bonds on deposit with the bank. This makes it highly stable, despite its massive size.

Nobody is realistically suggesting that we restrict our banks functionality to the degree of the Japan Post Bank. We cant turn back the clock that far. But the Japan Post Bank example is an important illustration that a simplistic focus on size isnt enough.

The corollary also applies: a group of relatively small institutions that act in a correlated fashion can be just as dangerous to the payments system as one large entity if the underlying activity in which they engage collectively is unsafe. Lehman Brothers activities were being replicated elsewhere (the interconnectedness problem), by others. Had it just been one small bank, the problem could have been better contained. Again, function supersedes size in terms of regulatory priority.

By the same token, its too pat a conclusion to argue that the collapse of a small institution such as Lehman Brothers somehow absolves the big banks. The root cause of Lehmans failure was that it was a relatively small institution struggling to compete with the TBTF banks, whose massive balance sheets gave them a built-in advantage over the smaller competitor. Working to match the returns of the bigger banks, Lehmans smaller balance sheet forced management to undertake further riskier activities (as well deploying dangerous levels of leverage). The resultant toxicity of their balance sheet made Lehman unsalvageable, leading the government to let it go bust.

Let it go bust is harder to do with a bigger bank. The externalities can be catastrophic. At the same time, the public instinctively understands the benefits of the implicit TBTF backstop accorded to big banks and hence continues to vote with its deposits. Which is to say that banking customers have increasingly migrated to these very same behemoth institutions precisely because the government has repeatedly shown that it will not let them go under (in contrast to smaller institutions like Lehman). Americas three largest banks by assetsJPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargohave added more than $2.4 trillion in domestic deposits over the past 10 years, a 180% increase, according to an analysis of the regulatory data conducted by the Wall Street Journal in 2018. (In the case of Wells Fargo, this ongoing deposit growth is truly incredible, given that the bank has seen its already low reputation decline further, in light of the scandalsthat have recently been uncovered.)

The same WSJ report goes on to note that this deposit growth represents an increase from 20% of the countrys total deposit base in 2007 to 32%, an amount [that] exceeds what the top eight banks had in such deposits combined in 2007. Add Citi to this group, and you have four banks holding almost half of Americas total deposit base.

The WSJ article also points out that 45% of new checking accounts were opened at the three national banks, even though those lenders had only 24% of U.S. branches [whereas] regional and community banks had 76% of branches but got only 48% of new accounts. That matters because new checking customers, who tend to be younger, are valuable to banks because they often provide more business later on by, for instance, taking out a mortgage or opening a brokerage account. Rapid, unchecked business expansion, combined with regulatory laxity and TBTF bailouts, has therefore given banks an enormous incentive to get as big as possible. Dodd-Frank hasnt changed that. In fact, a working paper commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia by authors Elijah Brewer III and Julapa Jagtiani has furnished multiple examples of banks paying significant premiums to ensure that they would be over the asset sizes commonly viewed as the requisite thresholds to become too big to fail.

But TBTF is even worse than that, because in many cases, it can actually sustain the lifespan of an otherwise insolvent bank, what Professor Ed Kane calls zombie banks: Insolvent Living-Dead firms whose creditors would force them into bankruptcy were it not for various governments implicit TBTF guarantees (Deutsche Bank is one example that immediately springs to mind). That matters because if youre a bank CEO and you know that in reality your bank is already insolvent, whats the disincentive from continuing to speculate with the banks balance sheet? TBTF enhances reckless moral hazard.

Although banks consistently lobby the government when an attack is made on their profit-making activities, the focus of those lobbying efforts obviously shifts to bailouts, the minute they are about to blow up. All of a sudden government-led socialism doesnt seem so pernicious. It is not unreasonable to restrict the banks activities, especially when deposit-taking institutions are in a position unique to virtually any other business. The government underwrites their main liabilitiesi.e., their deposit basevia the FDIC. No other business is afforded this level of protection.

Likewise, regulation has become increasingly complex and cumbersome in direct proportion to the complexity of the activities undertaken by the banks themselves. Thats often used as an excuse to minimize regulation, when in fact it should provoke a different response: namely, restricting the range of systemically dangerous activities/financial innovations, so that the regulation accordingly can be simplified, and easier to enforce. (Parenthetically, a function-centric approach is better here than simply focusing on boosting capital buffers, which many bank reformers have advocated. To be sure, capital buffers do constitute an important insurance policy for a bank in the event of a financial calamity, but regulation optimally should tackle the activities that give rise to the need for the insurance policy in the first place.)

If banks persist in undertaking a proscribed activity via regulatory arbitrage, or some other form of legerdemain, the challenge for policy makers/regulators is to contain the resultant fallout so that it does not endanger the financial system as a whole (as well as jailing the offending bankers so that too big to fail doesnt morph into too big to jail, as clearly occurred in the 2008 crisis aftermath). At a bare minimum, the goal should be, as Keynes argued in Chapter 12 of the General Theory, for finance to act as a handmaiden of industry (or productive enterprise) rather than the other way around, since the latter condition results in an overly financialized system that is dominated by largely unfettered rentier speculative activity.

Unfortunately, Keynes aspirations remain unfulfilled. Banks dominate industry and work in ways that derogate from broader public purpose. The tolerance of TBTF doctrine illustrates that we dont yet have the political will to curb the speculative activities of the large deposit-taking institutions (again, another byproduct of their size, as it gives the banks more lobbying muscle to resist such changes). But if we dont come to grips with this problem, there will inevitably be another crisis. In fact, its almost certainly too late to avoid that eventuality. But at a minimum, lets hope we do better when the next banking crisis hits, as it surely will, much as night follows day.
(Natural News) Without warning, Facebook on Thursday unilaterally banned several people from its platform that the speech Nazi has deemed controversial and, as such, not worthy of being heard.

In an effort to make it seem as though the lifetime bans were bipartisan, Facebook booted conservative pundit Alex Jones along with well-known anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan in what can only be described as the most draconian measure yet taken by a social media behemoth.

In addition to Jones and Farrakhan, former Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson, former Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, conservative Jewish activist Laura Loomer, and others were also shown the virtual door by Facebook after the platform labeled them extremists and dangerous.

Few people were fooled by the appearance that Facebook was banning Left and Right. (Related: President Trump must seize and shut down the techno-fascists, journo-terrorists and domestic enemies who are censoring conservatives and patriots.)

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more, writes senior Breitbart News tech correspondent Allum Bokhari on Twitter  before he, too, gets banned.

The geniuses at Facebook really believe they wont get accused of bias if they ban Farrakhan as well. But the fact that they consider a brazen anti-Semite and racist in any way comparable to classical liberals and populists like @PrisonPlanet just shows their bias even more.  Allum Bokhari (@LibertarianBlue) May 2, 2019

The deplatforming of Jones goes much further, however. Facebook says its censors will remove any Infowars content and could even move to ban/deplatform people who share it.

Journalist Nick Monroe noted: Read my lips. This is WORSE than the usual sorts of bans. Facebook/Instagram: will remove ANY content containing Infowars videos, radio segments, or articles, and Facebook will remove any Groups set up to share Infowars content Thats TOO MUCH power to give Facebook.

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/1124075733859688453

For his part, Watson, who recently launched his own website, Summit News, lamented that Facebook did not give him any reason as to why he was banned nor did he break any of the companys rules.

Can government fix this?

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit Summit.news while it still exists, he tweeted.

Reports are true. I have been banned by Facebook. Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules. In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged. Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Naturally, authoritarian Leftists are celebrating the deplatforming of Jones and others because they are of like mind and agree that censorship ought to be employed against anyone with whom they disagree. What they cant understand and dont yet see is that when an entity is allowed to wield the kind of power Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been given, they almost always wield it tyrannically. Allies today who somehow fall out of favor with the gods at a later date will eventually be victimized as well.

But conservatives believe the banning of anyone is harmful to our country and a major insult to our Constitution.

Mike Tokes, CEO of YukoSocial, tweeted, Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries [sp] PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.

Facebook banned a lot of very well known conservatives today. They are stifling free speech and banning all your supporters. Social media is this centuries PUBLIC SQUARE. Something needs to be done about this.  Mike Tokes (@MikeTokes) May 3, 2019

As in, Congress and/or the Trump administration will have to step in at some point and impose new regulations on the the social media behemoths to ensure that people cannot be persecuted for their ideas and their speech, even if such speech or such ideas are not mainstream or offend even a majority of Americans.

The solution to this problem isnt going to come from government, however. It will have to come from the free market. The Facebook disaffected and banned will simply have to find a social media platform of their own that they can build into an entity just as large and influential  but without the political persecution.

Read more bout how the tech giants are practicing widespread censorship at TechGiants.news and Censorship.news.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) Blocking payments to individuals or groups by financial service firms impedes freedom of speech in a free society, journalist Ben Swann has told RT, following reports that MasterCard is allegedly on course to censor the far-right.

(Article republished from RT.com)

The New York-based firm is reportedly being forced by left-leaning liberal activists to set up an internal human rights committee that would monitor payments to white supremacist groups and anti-Islam activists.

The problem is that everyone has their own views and, in a free society, the idea of a free society is that you are free to have your belief systems, as long as youre not harming anyone else physically, Swann told RT America. But your belief system belongs to you and you have the right be wrong. White supremacists have the right to be wrong.

MasterCard is not the only holder of purse-strings that is mulling the selective banning of individuals from their services and funds. Patreon and PayPal have previously barred individuals from receiving payments using their platforms, due to their extreme views.

But unlike crowdfunding platforms, being cut off from one of the leading American multinational financial services corporations will, most likely, have a much greater impact on the financial stability of an individual or a group, especially after the US Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly blessed MasterCards undertaking. By doing this, Swann believes the government granted big corporations the ability to control what voices are heard.

The issue with such an approach, the investigative journalist argues, would lead to a wider crackdown on financial payments to anyone who the government would see as unfavorable.

The fact that the SEC has given a green light to this essentially says the SEC supports the idea of censoring these groups in order to freeze out essentially anyone you dont agree with, the journalist said.

It is such a dystopian 1984 world view and yet were living through it right now, the journalist observed.

Watch the entire interview.

Read more at: RT.com or Orwellian.news.
(Natural News) When it comes to milk, you generally have two choices: You can get fresh milk and consume it quickly before it goes bad, or you could get UHT milk that can stay on the shelf unopened for months on end and accept the compromise in flavor and potential digestion problems this option brings.

Soon, however, consumers may not have to make this choice as an Australian company has announced a new technique that can extend the shelf life of fresh milk to more than 60 days.

The company, Naturo, doesnt rely on the high heat used in pasteurization, and the resulting milk is said to retain its natural color and taste just like it came right from a cow.

Although the company hasnt released a lot of details, likely due to confidentiality reasons, they have said they based their process on existing technologies and it does not involve the addition of additives or preservatives. The companys CEO told ABC Australia that they dont use the aggressive pasteurization process of heating to 162 degrees Fahrenheit followed by homogenization.

The treatment has already gotten the stamp of approval from Australias Dairy Food Safety Victoria, and it meets the standards for killing any pathogenic microorganisms that could be present in the milk. In fact, they say it kills off even more pathogens than pasteurization does, including Bacillus cereus, which isnt always removed in pasteurization. Best of all, it does this while retaining vitamins and enzymes.

The same company also came up with an air pressure process that can preserve avocados and prevent browning, and it is possible the milk procedure works on a similar principle. Naturo CEO Jeff Hastings said: It is safer, better for you and lasts longer. The primary difference between our milk and pasteurized milk is the fact that we dont cook the milk to make it safe for human consumption. Our milk is much closer to milk in its original state and is independently proven to be nutritionally superior.

New possibilities for more environmentally-friendly milk

The process could help dairy farmers expand their reach dramatically as theyll be able to export milk to more far-flung locations without having to deal with the possibility of it going bad in the meantime. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also means that more environmentally-friendly and slower methods of transportation can be used to distribute the milk.

The Queensland government is fully onboard, committing $250,000 to scale their operation, and sites are being scouted for a production facility. Theyre hoping to be able to produce 10 million liters of milk a year using the new process, which they say can be applied to milk from goats, sheep and camels in addition to that of cows.

The plan is to find export opportunities to places in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, China and Singapore that havent historically had good access to fresh milk.

The new process, which took five years to develop, could be the biggest breakthrough in the dairy industry since pasteurization came about in 1864. Although considered groundbreaking in its time, pasteurization is believed to destroy vital nutrients in milk that protect people from certain sicknesses and allergies. This invention could help people around the world gain access to healthier, longer-lasting milk.

Read FoodScience.news for more daily coverage of breakthroughs in the realm of food science.

Sources for this article include:

ABC.net.au

ScienceAlert.com
A woman is still looking for answers after her 13-pound poodle was lost while she flew American Airlines from the San Francisco International Airport to Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this week.

Amber Dalton said that though the pup is alive and well, it took the airline a while to figure out where they sent her.

"I was pulled out of line at boarding and told that the flight that was going through Chicago, was not safe for pets," she said.

Dalton had checked her poodle Beast into the cargo hold because he was too big to fly with her at her seat. So instead of flying through Chicago, they would have to fly through Dallas.

However, Beast and the rest of her luggage went through Chicago anyway and the pup didnt get to Raleigh that night.

It took gate agents a few hours to track him down.

"They actually did not know where he went," Dalton said. "Then at about 10:30 they let me know that he had been put on a flight to Philadelphia."

American Airlines has since apologized for the mishap, issuing a statement that read, "A conflict in our customers routing and policies caused us to keep their pet overnight in Philadelphia at a local pet hotel."

Dalton had to leave Raleigh and head to Roanoke, Virginia so American Airlines flew the dog to Raleigh then drove him to Roanoke where they were finally reunited a day and a half after they left San Francisco.

Dalton said she appreciates the airline gave her a free flight voucher and waived her luggage fees.

"Thank you, but how did you do this?" she said. "And what are you going to do to make sure this doesnt happen to another dog?"
Teslas security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.

The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who will do anything to see us fail are targeting employees for information via social networks and other methods.

It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.

The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists.

It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.

In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:

-Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.

-A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.

-Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.

-Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.

-Teslas beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.

These stories can overshadow some of the companys recent accomplishments including:

-Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.

-The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.

-Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.

-CEO Elon Musks promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.

So its not surprising that Teslas security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.

---

Heres the full e-mail:

Subj. Please Read - Confidentiality Reminder

If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges.

As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day.

When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish any of Teslas confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted].

If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted].

The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary.

We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization.

Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information.

If youre unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences:

* This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day.

* A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information.

* A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets.

* Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations.

* In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Teslas Communications policy.

Its every employees responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Teslas mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com More from CNBC:

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Chickens, moon cycles, herbal tea and a bulls horn. What might sound like the ingredients in a witchs brew is the newest trend in winemaking as Bay Area vintners embrace biodynamics as a way to ween off pesticides in favor of natural methods for grape growing.

It seems like there can be a lot of hocus pocus, said Griffin Beemiller, winemaker at Nella Terra vineyards in the Livermore Valley, but I think theres a lot of factual evidence behind some of these things.

On a recent day, Beemiller stirred up a batch of horsetail tea on the bed of his pickup truck, even taking a sip to demonstrate it was in fact  regular tea. He dumped the brew into a sprayer and began dusting his vines with the concoction.

That essentially acts as a fungicide, Beemiller said, as well as other things in the vineyard.

Biodynamic winemakers such as Beemiller have also recently turned to teas such as chamomile and nettles to control weeds and pests in their vineyards. Its a trend that is sweeping across the winemaking world as farmers seek natural ways of improving soil quality and wine quality.

Biodynamic winemaking expert Tommy Vanhoutte, who serves as a consultant to a number of Bay Areas wineries, said another tenement of the practice is farming according to cycles of the moon and stars.

According to this configuration of the moon phases, Vanhoutte said in a thick French accent, some days would be preferable to plow, some days would be preferable to work on the trunk or on the vines, or on the fruit itself.

Dane Stark, owner of Livermores Page Mill Winery said it makes sense that moon and sun cycles would impact grapes since their polarity also affects ocean tides and other bodies of water.

They also have an effect on the lifecycles of the plants and the mildew and everything thats growing in the soil, Stark said.

Another implement of biodynamics seemed to tip the scale even further toward science fiction as Vanhoutte picked up a bulls horn to demonstrate how he makes fertilizer. He described filling the horn with manure and burying it in the ground for six months. Once dug up, he said, the horn contains a concentrated fertilizer so potent it can cover multiple acres of vineyards.

Vanhoutte said hes tried replicating the experiment with ceramic vessels but according to scientific analysis on the final product, has yet to to find something that works as well as the horn.

So the horns matter, Vanhoutte said. We dont know why very honestly, theres something that happens in this horn that science cant explain.

Vanhoutte acknowledged skeptics might find his methods a bit of new age theatrics  and once counted himself among their ranks .

And then you start speaking about the horn and then the people like me about 15 years ago, he said, Im just like, ok Ive got to go.

Now approaching his thirty-first vintage, Stark is all-in on biodynamics, enlisting chicken and sheep to live among his vines to eat weeds and bugs while providing their own method of fertilizing. Stark said he covers the ground beneath his vines with plants to infuse more nutrients into the soil.

Rather than treating the vineyard like it provides us with what we need, Stark said, we treat it as an organism.

Stark said the winery, which his parents founded in 1976 originally in the Santa Cruz mountains, recently made the shift from organic farming to biodynamic means. Since making the switch, he said last years crop was the cleanest hed ever seen. While his first batch of biodynamic wine is still a couple years from the shelf, he has tasted other makers products.

So when you taste this biodynamic wine, Stark said, the difference is they bring this longevity, this extra balance, and this ethereal nature.

The techniques of biodynamics are already well entrenched in other parts of the world. Hundreds of wineries, including many prestigious French wineries, are now certified biodynamic.

Beemiller said hes experimenting by growing a biodynamic plot of grapes astride one that uses more conventional methods. The true test, he said, will come in a few years when he can compare the Pinot Noir wines made with each technique.

Were constantly striving to make our wine better, Beemiller said standing among his hillside of vines. So anything that can help us in that well give it a shot.
Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.

Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.

Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.

The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.

The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.
On Wednesday, the High Speed Rail Authority released its latest project update which scales back the original route going from San Francisco to Los Angeles, in favor of building a 171-mile stretch of regular speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. As the estimated price tag to connect the Bay Area and Southern California balloons north of $80-billion, the Authority believes this new "building block" approach will give the state more time to raise funds and expand the system. But critics and even supporters of high speed rail are less convinced, saying this isnt what the public signed up for.

HIGH SPEED RAIL AND PROP 1A

Environmental attorney Stuart Flashman has litigated several cases against the High Speed Rail Authority on behalf of municipalities, preservationists, and rail industry professionals. He believes the Authoritys latest proposal violates both the spirit and the letter of Prop. 1A, the $10-billion high speed rail bond measure approved by voters in 2008.

"[In 2008] voters were very skeptical and the legislature knew they were very skeptical. So [the legislature] said here's what we're going to do, we're going to put in a lot of protections to make sure this isn't a boondoggle," Flashman said.

One such protection in the bill authorizing Prop. 1A states, "The planned passenger service by the authority in the corridor or usable segment thereof will not require a local, state, or federal operating subsidy."

According to the Authoritys report, rail service from Merced to Bakersfield would not have enough riders to cover operating costs, requiring a monthly subsidy to the tune of millions. Flashman believes this is a clear violation of Prop. 1a and potentially illegal if the state goes through with the plan.

"Its certainly not what the voters thought they were voting for," Flashman said. "Theres very strong legal exposure here and I dont think the legislature can get [the High Speed Rail Authority] out of this."

Flashman said he and government watchdog groups will be watching closely to see if the state proceeds as planned.

"We have to talk to the clients. Its worth [filing another lawsuit] but we have a case thats currently pending."

BRINGING HIGH SPEED RAIL TO THE BAY AREA

State Senator Jim Beall [D-San Jose] serves as an Ex-Offio board member at the High Speed Rail Authority. Beall disagrees that the new plan violates Prop. 1A, but he still calls the proposal unacceptable because it leaves out Silicon Valley.

"I'm not too happy with [the update]. They're going to build from Merced to Bakersfield and I think that's what the Governor wants to do. But I want him to do this stuff in Silicon Valley too, Beall said. I think if we do that, we'll make the project closer to reality."

Beall believes he can still salvage the project and bring high speed rail to the Bay Area by 2030. He wants to extend the state cap and trade program through 2050 and apply for additional federal grants to help finish the job.

But getting more money from the feds could be a challenge. In February, the Federal Rail Authority revoked a $900-million grant to help lay rail in the Central Valley due to the Authoritys inability to build on schedule.

 Bullet Train Delays Jeopardize Funding for Other Projects

Longtime critic Assemblyman Jim Patterson [R-Fresno] is calling for Californias Attorney General to investigate how this massive project got derailed.

"The problem I have with the way high speed rail goes about this is that they change definitions. This is a shell game," Patterson said. "The final nail in the coffin here was [NBC Bay Areas] exhaustive investigative reporting."

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-8477, or you can reach us via email at TheUnit@nbcbayarea.com
Former Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes died early Saturday morning at age 80, officials said.

Hynes serves as president of the Illinois Senate and served as county assessor for 19 years starting in 1978.

"Due to his 18 years as Cook County Assessor, his 8 years as Illinois State Senator and 25 years as 19th Ward committeeman, there can be no overestimating the influence of Tom Hynes on city, county, and state politics," read a Cook County Assessor's Office Facebook post. "His impact was felt even decades after he held office."

With his passing, Tom Hynes leaves behind an outsized legacy for the people of Illinois, issued Governor Pritzker in a statement.

On top of his many accomplishments, including his early support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Tom raised a family of committed public servants who are making a difference that will endure for generations. Every parent hopes that will be the mark they leave. Im proud to call two of his sons, Dan and Matt, my dear friends, and the values of service, decency and hard work that they learned from their father live on in them.

Similarly, Mayor Emanuel also released a statement Saturday.

From his earliest days in the Illinois State Senate, including serving as Senate President, through his years as Cook County Assessor, Tom Hynes was a dedicated public servant and a true gentleman who represented his constituents and residents across Illinois with consummate class and dignity. A lifelong Chicagoan, his personal life exhibited a devotion to his cherished friends and family, in whom he instilled the same recognition of the value and promise of public service.

Tom leaves a special mark on our city. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hynes family during this difficult time.
A "ground shaking" explosion that occurred in Waukegan, Illinois, Friday night has resulted in at least two deaths, and two more workers at a cosmetics plant are missing and presumed dead.

On Saturday night, the Lake County coroner confirmed that rescue workers have recovered one body at the scene, and that another person who was transported to a local hospital in the aftermath of the explosion has died.

Two more individuals are missing in the building, and are presumed dead, according to authorities.

Authorities said early Saturday morning at a press conference that they found the structure too unstable and thus unsafe for crews to continue the search, though three missing bodies were unaccounted for at the time.

Nine people were inside the building at the time of the incident, the company's spokesperson Anthony Madonia said.

Authorities held a press conference early Saturday morning to release new details on the Waukegan explosion that took place at an industrial plant on Friday night.

The identities of the individuals affected have yet to be released, police said.

A Twitter user posted video of what appeared to be the massive blast which occurred in the 3700 block of Sunset Avenue in Waukegan shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.

A fire official said the decimated structure was home to a business called AB Specialty Silicones. Waukegan fire Chief Steven Lenzi said four people were sent to the hospital but did not provide their conditions. Two were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center and the other two were taken to Vista Medical Center-East, he said.

Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said a search and rescue operation was underway for other second-shift workers who may have been in the plant. There is no hazardous material concern for the debris scattered across the streets and in the air, officials said.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

"If you have first-hand knowledge of the incident please call your local law-enforcement," the Lake County Sheriffs Department said. "If youre not in danger and dont have info, please dont call 911."

STAY OUT of the area of Sunset Avenue from Green Bay to Delany, Waukegan!! Please allow first-responders to conduct operations!! Area first-responders are on the scene of an explosion/building fire.  Lake County Sheriff (@LakeCoILSheriff) May 4, 2019

Before official information trickled out, Twitter users from all over the Lake County area were vexed by the "sonic boom," as one person described it. Users from as far away as southern Wisconsin reported feeling the shockwave.

Emily Laughlin, who lives in the area, snapped photos of the large emergency response near the Waukgean/Gurnee border. She said authorities near Northwestern and Sunset avenues were telling cars to turn away from the burning husk of the silicone facility.

"Something exploded," she said in a phone interview. "It looked like it was a building but they stopped everyone from getting closer."

Nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were without power and viewers calling NBC 5 said windows in homes were shattered throuhgout the area.

No other information was immediately available.
Power utilities around the world are supersizing their solar farms, with a collection of more than 5 million photovoltaic panels in southern Egypt set to be globe's largest, NBC News reported. The $4 billion Benban solar park near Aswan will cover an area 10 times bigger than New Yorks Central Park when completed next year and generate the equivalent output of two nuclear power plants combined.

There are huge savings for larger projects, said Benjamin Attia, a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Logistics, transport, construction and installation all benefit from scale economies."

A challenge with solar farms is that typically they are located in remote locations. The grid around new solar or wind farms will not be very strong," Daniel Kirschen, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, said. "So youre going to need to reinforce the grid, and that can get quite expensive.

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share, NBC News reported.
A Bridgeport veterinarian is accused of animal abuse and theft after police say he performed an unnecessary procedure on a dog and then left the dog without proper feeding for days.

Dr. Amr Wasfi, who worked at the Black Rock Animal Hospital, faces charges of animal cruelty and third-degree larceny.

The arrest warrant shows that police received at least two complaints about Wasfi.

The arrest warrant details one complaint regarding the treatment of a dog named Monster. According to the warrant, Monsters owner brought his pet to Black Rock Animal Hospital on February 14 with a limp. The owner said he was told that Monster had a sprained knee and was sent home with pain medication. One week later Monster was still limping and so they returned to see Wasfi.

According to the arrest warrant, on March 2 Wasfi told the owner that Monster had a fractured pelvis and needed surgery. The owner was told Monster would need to stay until March 7.

The owner told police that he contacted the vet on March 7 and was told Monster had to stay a few more days for monitoring. The victim began trying to visit his dog and was refused. According to the warrant, he finally contacted Animal Control and got Monster back on March 25.

According to the document, Monster went in originally weighting 63 pounds, and when he was released to his owner, he weighed only 46 pounds.

The owner took Monster to the emergency room at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. The veterinarians there determined Monster never had a fracture and that the surgery, which included putting a screw in his pelvis, had been unnecessary. One of those veterinarians also told police that Monster was being treated for refeeding syndrome and dehydration, which happens when an animal is without proper food or water for at least 10 days.

The owner told police Wasfi charged him $3,330 for the surgery.

In another complaint, a former Black Rock employee reported that she witnessed Wasfi hit a kitten that was under anesthesia so hard that the kittens intestines popped out of an incision. She also said that Wasfi was agitated and threw surgical tools around the room, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, the complainant said she raised her concerns to another employee and said she was going to file a complaint. She told police she planned to resign the next day, but when she showed up for work the employee she confided in met her at the door and handed her a box of her belongings, telling her she had been fired.

Wasfi was arrested Wednesday and released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 8.

Ernest C. LaFollette, who is representing Wasfi, told NBC Connecticut that Wasfi has been in business since at least the 1980s.

"Many people speak highly of him as having been their veterinarian for many years. All kinds of peoples bring animals with many different problems," LaFollette wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut.
A Connecticut mayor is seeking community input in the search for a new police chief amid controversy over a shooting involving two police officers who opened fire on an unarmed couple.

Hamden Mayor Curt Leng announced late Friday that he has formed a committee to see what residents want in a new chief.

Deputy Chief John Cappiello has served as acting chief since Chief Thomas Wydra left the department last fall to take a state job.

The April 16 shooting in New Haven sparked several protests and remains under investigation.

Authorities say a Hamden officer and Yale University officer fired at a car when the driver got out abruptly during a traffic stop related to a reported attempted robbery in Hamden. A woman in the car was shot but survived.
A Bristol credit union employees harrowing experience was detailed on Dateline.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt.

NBC Connecticuts Caitlin Burchill sat down with him Friday to check in.

Four years ago, Matt Yussman was taken hostage in his home before a fake bomb was strapped on to him in a botched robbery attempt. He sat down with NBC Connecticut's Caitlin Burchill to reflect on the experience and how it's changed his life.

Yussman said things will never be quite the same for him since the events of Feb. 23, 2015, but he chooses to talk about what happened to heal, and the help other people.

They picked the perfect house because you know my neighbors house right there have no windows there, Yussman said.

There was no way anyone was going to see anything and that year was so much snow.

Four years ago February, Yussmans home was a crime scene. Two masked men held him and his mom hostage in her attached in-law apartment.

I literally spent that whole night in her apartment, blindfolded, zip tied, he told NBC Connecticut.

In the morning, police said Yussman was tasked with robbing the bank where he worked in New Britain with what he thought was a bomb strapped to him.

Longest minute of my life is when Im sitting there and Im staring at my phone and its saying 10:59 and you think youve got one minute to live. That was pretty awful, he said.

In a moment that played out like a movie, police intercepted Yussman, and the suspects left the state.

Yussman said while he knows police had a job to do, it was the months following that fateful day that were the worst.

The 12 hours were just awful, being held at gun point, seeing my mom held at gun point going through all the trauma was just intense, but it was over in 12 hours. For the next nine months I was considered a suspect, Yussman said.

Two men were eventually convicted and connected with an extortion and robbery spree spanning several other states.

They had told me kiss my mother goodbye and I refused to do so, he said.

You know four years later and I still dont want to give in to them. Im not giving them the satisfaction of making me scared.

The suspects sought out his daily routine by stalking him on social media. While hes not scared, Yussman says hes more careful now, and tries to stay aware of his surroundings.

While he still works at the same credit union, he now also speaks to folks around the country about safety after his experience.
A Cedar Hill pastor whose body was found inside his burning home last February died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. The pastor's two daughters and wife died in the fire, whose origin remains unclear.



At about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28, a Cedar Hill police officer was the first to arrive outside a burning home at 705 Lovern Street. The officer spotted several people on the second floor trying to escape the flames and drove his squad car onto the lawn to use as a makeshift ladder to help pull them to safety.



Firefighters arrived a short time later and began attacking the fire. Once the fire was out, the bodies of three people were found inside -- Pastor Eugene Keahey, his wife Deanna Keahey and their 15-year-old daughter Camryn Keahey. Keahey's 17-year-old daughter, Darryn Keahey, was hospitalized after the fire and died of her injuries more than a month later, on April 1.



The Keahey's lived in the home with two other family members, both of whom escaped the fire without serious injury.



On Friday, the medical examiner said Eugene Keahey died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while his daughters and wife died of burns and smoke inhalation.

For neighbors here on Lavon street, news of the medical examiner's report is difficult to accept.

I was shocked, I really was, I didn't know what to think I was shocked, said King.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's report paints a clearer picture of what happened inside of the home by revealing that Eugene Keahy died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

I think it is going to answer a lot of questions for a lot of our community members who were trying to determine why or what happened. and now we have another piece of the puzzle, said Chief Eli Reyes, Cedar Hill Police.

Neighbors say the Keahy family kept to themselves but news of their death hit the community hard...

I still look at it and think people lost their lives in there, and they could have had a well long life if they had just reached out, said neighbor Chihauna Hunter.

The cause of the fire, considered suspicious, is also still unknown. The Cedar Hill Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office are waiting on laboratory results from samples submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory to determine how the fire started. Meanwhile, the Dallas County Medical Examiner has classified the deaths of the pastor's teenage daughters and wife as homicides.



The pastor's cause of death being ruled a suicide by gun gives credibility to reports from neighbors who said they heard gunfire before seeing smoke and flames coming from the home. Cedar Hill police initially discounted those reports suggesting neighbors may have heard aerosol cans exploding or windows breaking.
A transgender woman said she was assaulted in downtown Denver last week by two men who targeted her because of her identity. The Denver Police Department is investigating the attack, NBC News reports.

Amber Nicole, 23, said she had gone out to enjoy Denver's nightlife and drink and dance with friends last Saturday, when she was assaulted outside her friend's car after leaving a downtown bar.

A Denver Police Department report said that an unidentified male suspect struck "the victim three (3) times in the face with a closed fist causing a suspected broken jaw." "We're still investigating it as a normal assault, but our bias-motivated crime unit is involved in the investigation," Carlos Montoya, public information officer for the Denver Police Department, told NBC News.

Nicole said she woke up the next morning with her jaw resting on her neck because it had been dislocated. It had also been broken in three different places, requiring it to be wired shut, she said. Blood vessels burst in her left eye, she said, adding that doctors told her she may not recover from the nerve damage on the right side of her face.
One convicted killer has been accused of beheading another in what authorities call an exceptionally sadistic torture slaying at a California prison.

Corcoran State Prison inmate Jaime Osuna removed several body parts from his cellmate, Luis Romero, Assistant Kings County District Attorney Phil Esbenshade said Friday. Charges accuse Osuna, 31, of repeatedly cutting Romero last month using what the prosecutor called a sharp metal object wrapped in string and attached to a handle.

It's not clear how much happened while Romero, 44, was still alive or whether anyone heard the overnight assault, but "we do believe that the victim was conscious during at least a portion of the time," Esbenshade said in an email. "This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying."

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is conducting an internal investigation, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Officials wouldn't provide more details on how prisoners are overseen overnight.

Osuna pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at his first court appearance Thursday. They include several special circumstances that could bring the death penalty, including that the slaying "was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity."

Defense attorney Melina Benninghoff was appointed to represent him but was home sick Friday and did not respond to telephone and email requests to comment on his behalf.

Osuna also is charged with torture, mayhem and weapons possession. The torture charge alleges that he acted "with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose."

The state corrections department said guards found Romero dead in his cell about 7:30 a.m. March 9 at the prison, which houses more than 3,300 inmates about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of Sacramento.

Romero bled to death from "multiple sharp force trauma injuries," and his body was mutilated, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Osuna was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty in 2017 to killing Yvette Pena, 37, at a Bakersfield motel in 2011, according to media reports at the time.

Romero also was serving a life term for a Los Angeles County slaying, but with the possibility of parole.

Osuna has been transferred to a Stockton prison for inmates needing medical or mental health care, though officials wouldn't say why, citing privacy laws.
An Illinois judge set bail at $5 million each for the parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund one day after the Crystal Lake couple was charged with murder in the death of their 5-year-old son.

Joann Cunningham, 36, and Andrew Freund Sr., 60, appeared separately on Thursday morning at the McHenry County Jail during a hearing in which a prosecutor told Judge Mark Gerhardt that Freund allegedly beat Andrew "AJ" Freund and forced him into a cold shower.

Read the full complaints against them (Warning: disturbing details)

Authorities dug up a body Wednesday later confirmed to be that of AJ, who was reported missing a week ago. The McHenry County Coroner's office on Thursday identified the body as AJ's and said the cause of death was "craniocerebral trauma as a consequence of multiple blunt force injuries."

Cunningham cried as the judge read the charges against her while Freund Sr. sat silent. Prosecutors initially called for $10 million bonds for each parent.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

The judge's order means the parents would each have to post 10%, or $528,000, to be released from jail and would be subject to electronic monitoring. They were told they cannot contact each other or anyone under the age of 17 and must surrender any firearms and consent to random drug testing, should they post bond.

Prosecutors had originally asked for a bond of $10 million. The two were next expected to appear in court April 29.

Crystal Lake police said Wednesday that investigators located a body wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave in a remote area of Woodstock, just a few miles from the family's Crystal Lake home.

The discovery came a week to the day since AJ's parents said they last saw the child after putting him to bed around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report AJ missing, telling a dispatcher they'd checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere,"in the house to no avail, according to the 911 call released Tuesday. But investigators quickly knocked down the possibility of a kidnapping.

LISTEN TO THE 911 AUDIO HERE

Police said both parents were questioned overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. After investigators confronted them with cell phone data evidence "both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," said Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.

Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's Dolve Avenue home.

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.

"To AJs family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said Wednesday. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heavens playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."

Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was removed from the family home following AJ's disappearance and is in custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Democrats are splintered by calls to impeach President Donald Trump. But they have found another common enemy and an alternate political foil in Attorney General William Barr.

Calls for Barr's resignation erupted across the Democratic Party this week after he testified before the Senate and rebuffed the House twice, first by denying Democrats a full, unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, and then by skipping a hearing to review it. In response, Democrats threatened to hold Barr in criminal contempt of Congress  a lengthy legal process that could go on for months.

The feud with Barr has animated Democrats and temporarily shifted attention away from impeachment  and by extension, the party's divisions over whether to pursue it. But with Trump resisting other congressional investigations, and testimony from Mueller likely on the horizon, the impeachment question seems unlikely to subside for long.

For now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead impeachment proceedings, are putting their emphasis on investigating Trump, his business dealings and his administration. If Democrats do decide to impeach the president, they will have already made part of the case through oversight. Trump's refusal to comply with their requests  with Barr just the latest example  will only strengthen the case.

"Impeachment is never off the table, but should we start there? I don't agree with that," Pelosi said Friday at an event in Medford, Massachusetts.

Pelosi hasn't held back in her criticism of Barr, accusing him of committing a crime by lying to Congress about his communications with Mueller. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called Pelosi's accusation "reckless, irresponsible and false."

Other members of Pelosi's caucus are going after the attorney general in even stronger terms.

"This is serious misconduct, this is a serious effort by the administration to prevent Congress from doing its oversight, and in fact could form the basis by itself of articles of impeachment," said Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, a member of the Judiciary panel, after Barr skipped the hearing Thursday.

Republicans say the Democrats are focusing on Barr as a substitute for impeachment, to avoid the political backlash that would come with official proceedings against Trump.

Nadler "can't try to pacify his liberal base by pretending to do impeachment without actually taking the plunge," said Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called the strategy "impeachment in drag."

The Barr saga appears destined to end up in court. Nadler threatened Friday to hold Barr in contempt if he did not comply with a final request to turn over the Mueller report and the relevant investigative materials. The Justice Department is unlikely to comply, likely prompting a vote of contempt in committee and then the full House.

"The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the department," Nadler wrote to Barr. "But if the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse."

The Justice Department declined to comment on Nadler's latest threat of contempt. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that she believes "at no point will it ever be enough" for Democrats.

While a contempt vote would send a message, it wouldn't force the Justice Department to hand over the report. Nor would it guarantee criminal charges against Barr: House approval of the contempt citation would send a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department official who is likely to defend the attorney general.

But if the U.S. attorney declines to prosecute, Democrats have other methods to force compliance with witnesses, like hefty fines for witnesses who fail to appear.

Even as Democrats struggle with Barr, they are in hot pursuit of Mueller's testimony. Nadler said the panel was "firming up the date" for Mueller's testimony and hoped it would be May 15. Trump signaled he won't try to stop it. During a brief Oval Office session with reporters Friday, Trump deferred to Barr, saying, "I don't know. That's up to the attorney general, who I think has done a fantastic job."

It's possible that Barr could block Mueller from appearing, since the special counsel is still a Justice Department employee. But Barr has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says he doesn't need Mueller to testify to his panel. But he is willing to hear Mueller out on one, narrow matter. On Friday, he offered to let Mueller provide testimony "if you would like" as to whether he felt Barr misrepresented Mueller's views at the Senate hearing.

Barr testified Wednesday that Mueller didn't challenge the accuracy of his memo summarizing the principal conclusions of the special counsel's report, including when they spoke on the phone. Barr made that assertion despite a letter he received in March from Mueller complaining Barr's summary didn't fully capture the "context, nature and substance" of his nearly 400-page report.

Graham invited Mueller to provide testimony "regarding any misrepresentation by the attorney general of the substance of that phone call." He did not specify whether he wanted Mueller to appear in person.
While candidates were focused on campaigning in 2016, Russians were carrying out a devastating cyber-operation that changed the landscape of American politics, with aftershocks continuing well into Donald Trump's presidency.

And it all started with the click of a tempting email and a typed-in password.

Whether presidential campaigns have learned from the cyberattacks is a critical question ahead as the 2020 election approaches. Preventing the attacks won't be easy or cheap.

"If you are the Pentagon or the NSA, you have the most skilled adversaries in the world trying to get in but you also have some of the most skilled people working defense," said Robby Mook, who ran Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. "Campaigns are facing similar adversaries, and they don't have similar resources and virtually no expertise."

Traditionally, cybersecurity has been a lower priority for candidates, especially at the early stages of a campaign. They need to raise money, hire staff, pay office rents, lobby for endorsements and travel repeatedly to early voting states.

Particularly during primary season, campaign managers face difficult spending decisions: Air a TV ad targeting a key voting demographic or invest in a more robust security system for computer networks?

"You shouldn't have to choose between getting your message out to voters and keeping the Chinese from reading your emails," said Mook, now a senior fellow with the Defending Digital Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.

Mook has been helping develop a plan for a nonprofit to provide cybersecurity support and resources directly to campaigns.

The Department of Homeland Security's cyber agency is offering help, and there are signs that some Democratic campaigns are willing to take the uncomfortable step of working with an administration they are trying to unseat.

DHS has had about a dozen initial discussions with campaigns so far, officials said.

Its focus has been on establishing trust so DHS can share intelligence about possible threats and receive information from the campaigns in return, said Matt Masterson, a senior DHS cybersecurity adviser. The department also will test a campaign's or party's networks for vulnerabilities to cyberattack.

"The challenge for a campaign is they really are a pop-up," Masterson said. "They have people coming in and coming out, and they have to manage access."

It's unclear how much campaigns are spending on cybersecurity. From January to March, 12 Democratic campaigns and Trump spent at least $960,000 total on technology-related items, but that also includes technology not related to security, such as database or website services.

Former congressman John Delaney, the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for president , said he viewed cybersecurity as a fixed expense.

"It's not supercomputers cracking through your firewalls," he said. "It's really tempting emails that people respond to and give away information."

Candidates can get some advice from the Republican and Democratic national committees, which are in regular contact with Homeland Security and focus on implementing basic security protocols.

Republican National Committee press secretary Blair Ellis said the group also works with state Republican parties and emphasizes training. The organization is also developing an internal platform to share real-time threat information with state parties.

"Data security remains a top priority for the RNC," she said.

The Democratic National Committee last year hired Bob Lord, formerly head of Yahoo's information security. He has created a checklist that focuses on basics: password security, web encryption and social media privacy. This is a bigger priority than talking about the latest network protection gadget.

"What's new and interesting is fine, but it's really just about being incredibly single-minded about the basics," Lord said. "It's not glamorous, but neither is the advice for staying fit."

The 2016 attacks were low-tech, with Russian agents sending hundreds of spearfishing emails to the personal and work emails of Clinton campaign staffers and volunteers, along with people working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

After an employee clicked and gave up password information, the Russians gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's networks and eventually exploited that to gain entry to the Democratic National Committee.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, fell for the same trick on his personal email account, which allowed Russians to steal thousands of messages about the inner workings of the campaign.

But it wasn't as if the Clinton campaign ignored cybersecurity. Mook said training was extensive on cyber threats, two-factor authentication was mandatory, and multiple fake emails were sent to test staffers' ability to detect phishing attempts.

The relative ease with which Russian agents penetrated computers underscores the perilous situation facing campaigns. Clinton has been talking about this with Democratic presidential candidates.

"Unless we know how to protect our election from what happened before and what could happen again ... you could lose," Clinton said in a MSNBC interview. "I don't mean it to scare everybody. But I do want every candidate to understand this remains a threat."

California Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign said it also was preaching the basics of cybersecurity with staff, such as requiring two-factor authentication and using encrypted messaging.

"All staff is being trained on threats and ways to avoid being a target," Harris spokesman Ian Sams said.

Others running in the Democratic primary avoided discussing the topic. Some campaigns, including those for Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, would not comment. The campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trump's re-election campaign wouldn't talk either.

The president has often downplayed Russia's interference in 2016. And his staff told former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen not to bring up election security during her meetings with him  saying she should focus on border security, his signature issue, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Administration officials insist election security is a priority.

"We're all in in protecting 2020," Chris Krebs, head of DHS' cyber efforts, told lawmakers Tuesday at a House committee hearing-. "I'd ask, each of you: Do you know if your campaign is working with us?"

Associated Press writers Chad Day, Zeke Miller, Juana Summers, Will Weissert, Meg Kinnard and Sara Burnett contributed to this report.
A Vista, California, Fire Department captain and lifelong Star Wars fan who famously dresses up as Chewbacca on his days off was hit hard by the death of actor Peter Mayhew, a man he said was everything, for everyone.

"It's hard to put into words what Chewbacca meant to the ['Star Wars'] community, Vista Fire Dept. Capt. Samuel Craig told NBC 7 earlier this week. He was the passion; the teddy bear; the loyalty. He was everything, for everyone."

"When something bad happened on screen, you got the visceral reaction from him, Craig added. You got to see the raw passion and he really reflected what you saw.

Mayhew, 74  best known for his iconic role as Chewbacca in the Star Wars series  died April 30 at his home in Boyd, Texas. The 7-foot-2 actor was the man inside the Wookiees furry suit in five Star Wars films beginning with the original trilogy released from 1977 to 1983.

Mayhew put the Chewbacca suit on again in 2005 for Revenge of the Sith, and in 2018 for The Force Awakens. The actor also voiced the character in cartoons and video games, and attended countless conventions, meeting fans at every turn.

One time, one of those fans was Craig.

Everywhere he goes at Comic-Con, a Vista Fire Department captain turns head with his huge Chewbacca costume and impersonations. NBC 7s Steven Luke has more on the costumes surprising origins.

For the fire captain, it was one of those moments in life that never leaves your heart.

Craig was wearing a life-size Chewbacca costume when he met his hero. Mayhew was impressed by the get-up and humbled to see the impact of his character on Craigs life. They took a few photos together.

He was so gracious, Craig recounted. It was a really great moment.

Craig said he was raised on the magic of Star Wars. In fact, it was the very first movie he ever saw in a theater.

My dad took me when I was young, on opening day, in 1977, he said. I still dont know why he took someone that young to see the movie. Growing up, my entire life was about Star Wars and Chewbacca was just always a favorite. He stands out; he was everything  he was the friend.

Craig passed down his love of Chewbacca and Star Wars to his own son. He was able to take his son to the movies in 2015 to see The Force Awakens.

He also involved his son and wife in the making of his Chewbacca costume, which he has famously worn to San Diego Comic-Con International.

In 2015, the costume was a showstopper among Comic-Con fans who lined up to take pictures with Craig.

Our whole family has a connection to the character, he added.

The costume took the Craig family 18 months to make. His son was only 5 and 6 years old at the time of the crafty undertaking. Each strand of hair was painstakingly placed on the costume and colored to match Chewbaccas appearance.

When Craig donned the costume at Comic-Con, he walked on 15-inch stilts, making him 7-foot-8  pretty close to the height of the real Chewie.

"[My] Chewbacca costume is as close to screen-accurate as my family and I were able to make it," Craig explained.

Today, when hes not wearing his fire captain uniform, Craig continues to suit up in his Chewbacca costume, wearing it to community and charity events around San Diegos North County.

In fact, he was on the phone setting up his next gig as Chewbacca earlier this week  for May the 4th, of course  when he heard news of Mayhews death.

He was crushed.

His son, knowing Craigs love for Chewbacca, was worried about his dads feelings.

[NATL] In Memoriam: Influential People We've Lost in 2019

Although Mayhew is gone, Craig finds solace in the fact that the actors legacy and all that Chewbacca stands for will never fade.

All fans need to do is turn on a Star Wars movie to feel the powers of Chewie.

Peter Mayhew was this wonderful man, and that really comes out in the character of Chewbacca. If you watch the performances carefully, you can occasionally see when its a stunt person in the costume. Peter Mayhews personality really came out, Craig explained. That couldve so easily been a character in a furry costume. So many of the mannerisms  so much of the heart  he really created a character where I dont really even know if it was meant to be.

Thats what made it an endearing character, he added. It wasnt the costume, it was the man inside the costume. For me, he was loyalty. He was this friend who stuck with Han Solo through everything. He really showed the best of what that world could be, which really had a lot to do with the actor that was inside that costume.

Craig is far from alone in his love for Mayhew. The "Star Wars" universe is grieving.

Earlier this week, Star Wars cast members and devoted fans of the franchise mourned the loss of the gentle giant, and the joy his footprint left on their lives forever.
The body found in a car in El Segundo was identified Thursday as that of a 19-year-old woman from Guatemala.

Karla Cristina Morales-Escobar was found dead at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of California and East Elm streets, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An autopsy was pending.

Famiy members in Los Angeles said she had been in the United States for about a month. They are making plans to bring her body back to Guatemala.

Someone had called to report an abandoned car, and when officers arrived, they found her body.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were assisting El Segundo police in the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
The family of a Claremont man who was murdered in Mexico have recently found a new clue in the case.

Almost exactly 6 months to the day since he was murdered in Mexico, Taylor Meyer's father, Kris, says he stumbled upon a lead during a trip to the bank and it took this investigation to Oklahoma City.

For months, Kris Meyer feared the investigation into his son Taylor's murder was going nowhere.

"I don't wish this on anyone, it's absolutely horrific," Kris Meyer said.

Now, nearly six months later, detectives release security photos of a man and a woman at an atm drive through trying to use his son's credit card in Oklahoma City.

Kris Meyer talked to NBC4 describing the moment he saw the footage.

"Seeing the person that could potentially either he could have been involved in the murder or has connections to the people who were involved in the murder, it gave me a very eerie feeling," Kris Meyer said.

Authorities say Taylor was murdered while vacationing with friends in Playa del Carmen in November.

His father believes he was killed shortly after he withdrew money from an atm there. Months later, as Meyer was closing out his son's bank account back home he noticed something suspicious.

"It also showed 2 other transactions on December 7th, from banks in Oklahoma City," Kris said. "The bad guys may have forced him to give up his pin number."

It's unclear how the two seen in the security footage are connected to Taylor's murder, but this break could be what investigators need to solve the case.

"I think it was a cruel thing obviously, I would like justice, but i really don't want anyone else murdered in mexico," Kris said.

Kris says he forgives his son's killer, or killers, but does want them to be brought to justice.
A stretch of road in Los Angeles has been renamed after former President Barack Obama.

A concert and ceremony Saturday unveiled Obama Boulevard. The street replaced Rodeo Road, a 3 -mile street that runs across the city's historic black neighborhood. It also intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and further establishes a "presidential row" that includes Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti noted at Saturday's ceremony that Obama Boulevard is in a section of the city that has a number of other streets named after presidents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"As we drive through this city and we see past presidents on Adams, on Washington, on Jefferson, now we'll have one that was in our lifetime, who was a president for everybody: Barack Hussein Obama," Garcetti said.

A couple who proposed the name change told the Times they wanted to raise the profile of the road, attract more funding for the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood and honor the 44th president.

"With this change, we are publicly documenting what Obama's legacy as our nation's first black President means to our city and our South Los Angeles community," City Council President Herb Wesson said in a statement.

"For every child who will drive down this street and see the President's name, this will serve as a physical reminder that no goal is out of reach and that no dream is too big."

While residents were receptive to having a street named after Obama, some believed organizers should have chosen a more prominent street. Wesson argued Rodeo Road was symbolically important: The road is home to Rancho Cienega Sports Complex, where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president in 2007.

For decades, discriminatory practices, including the use of racially restrictive covenants on deeds to keep people of color from buying homes, kept the area off-limits to non-whites.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed housing discrimination, and segregation was scaled back, black residents moved into the formerly white enclave of Baldwin Hills and established the first of L.A.'s black middle- and upper-class neighborhoods.

Black-owned businesses and cultural activities once thrived on Crenshaw Boulevard. But over the years, they struggled and there are ongoing efforts to revitalize the commercial corridor.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and author who has lived in the area for 50 years, said he hopes the name change will lead to more investments in the neighborhood.

"The area needs not just street name change, but also fresh programs, initiatives and spending on jobs, education, and housing programs for the mostly black and Hispanic low-income residents that live on or near Obama Boulevard," Hutchinson said. "This will truly be the greatest way to pay tribute to Obama."
Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travelers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was traveling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defense against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defense system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
What to Know After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead.

The estranged husband of the Weston mother of three, who was found murdered inside her home earlier this week, killed himself following a standoff with police in Central Florida, officials confirmed.

Broward Sheriffs Office officials said that 39-year-old Angel Sanchez was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an incident inside his home in Highlands County on Thursday evening.

According to their report, SWAT officials from the county went to the home of Sanchez  who 34-year-old Carolyn Espinosa had begun the process of filing for divorce from  shortly after Espinosa was found dead inside her San Simeon Circle home on Wednesday.

After officers could not make contact with Sanchez, officials went inside the home and found him dead. Officials did not release additional details on that portion of the case.

Neighbors told NBC 6 Espinosa was a mother of two boys and one girl and had moved to Weston from New Jersey. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay several bills, including funeral expenses.

Anyone with additional information in either case is asked to call Broward CrimeStoppers.
Florida's U.S. senators are increasing pressure on the Trump administration to act on the crisis in Venezuela, calling it a national security matter.

After a Friday discussion with Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan exiles, Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio chastised Cuba for aiding socialist president Nicolas Maduro in a standoff with U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Cuban government denies accusations that it has troops in Venezuela.

The U.S. and more than 50 nations view Maduro's re-election last year as illegitimate because of fraud.

Rubio mocked reports that Maduro was defeating Guaido three days after the opposition leader called for a military uprising on Tuesday that failed to push Venezuela's military into rebellion.

"This notion that Maduro is winning is ridiculous," he said. "This is a peaceful movement of civil disobedience."

Rubio said there are no questions there's a real threat to the U.S. Rubio said the U.S. government must be prepared to face Venezuela, and suggested the militant Hezbollah group is present in the South American nation. The leader of Lebanon's militant group has denied the claim.

Scott said the U.S. military must deliver humanitarian aid to stop what he called a "genocide," caused by shortages of food and medicine. He warned Venezuela could become the next Syria.

"You look at all the bad players and see what happened there. You got Russia, you got Iran, you got Hezbollah. They are all there," Scott said. "To think that we are not going to have Syria in this hemisphere if we don't deal with this now. It's going to happen, it's just when it happens."

The lawmakers met with Romy Moreno, the wife of Guaido's chief of staff Roberto Marrero. Marrero was jailed last month by Venezuelan authorities, who accuse him of being involved in a scheme to overthrow Maduro.

Also on Friday, the Trump administration ended a week of pointed but vague threats of a military response to the Venezuelan political crisis with a meeting at the Pentagon to consider its options, though there was still no sign any action was on the horizon.




By Town Hall, May 01, 2019





A number of Democratic lawmakers are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign from office over his handling of the Mueller report's release, and his answers before Congressional committees on the subject. These demands are baseless, partisan nonsense. Barr has comported himself properly and honorably, fulfilling the two core promises he relayed to Senators during his confirmation hearings: First, that the Russia probe would be permitted to play out without interference, and second, that he would make Mueller's findings available to the public in the most transparent way possible. He's betrayed neither of these promises. Mueller completed his work without any limitations, and 92 percent of his final report has been accessible to the American public for weeks. The balance of the document is blacked out with uncontroversial redactions, made in concert with Mueller's team, with certain members of Congress having access to an even less-censored copy.
North Korea insisted the U.S. agree to pay $2 million in medical costs in 2017 before it released detained American college student Otto Warmbier while he was in a coma, a former U.S. official said Thursday.

An envoy sent to North Korea to retrieve the 21-year-old student signed an agreement to pay the $2 million on instructions passed down from President Donald Trump, the former official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter.

The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the situation, first reported the demand and that the envoy signed the agreement.

The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained  unpaid  throughout 2017, the newspaper said. It is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump's two summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump on Friday said on Twitter that "No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else." He went on to criticize the Obama administration for its $1.7 billion payment cash payment of Iranian assets that had been unfrozen. That January 2016 payment came on the day Iran released four American prisoners.

Trump also criticized the Obama administration for the 2014 prisoner trade with the Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had deserted his post in Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said the administration does not comment on hostage negotiations. U.S. policy is to refuse to pay ransom for the release of Americans detained abroad.

While the majority of Americans detained by North Korea have been released in relatively good condition, Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, died in June last year shortly after he was flown home comatose after 17 months in captivity.

Warmbier was seized from a tour group while visiting North Korea in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

North Korea, which has denied accusations by relatives that it tortured Warmbier, has said he was provided "medical treatments and care with all sincerity."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the United States doesn't owe North Korea anything.

"Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused," Portman said. "No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything."

Parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier are from suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robert Lewis, a spokesman for the law firm that filed suit against North Korea on behalf of the Warmbier family, declined comment.

Yun told CNN on Thursday that he could not discuss details of his diplomatic discussions. He said his orders from Trump were to "do whatever" he could to get Warmbier back.

Asked if it would be unusual for the U.S. to pay medical costs of detainees, Yun said: "There was some expectation the North Koreans might raise hospital costs." He said that in past instances not involving Warmbier "some money could have been handed over, yes."

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
It looks like Keira Knightley will soon become a mother for the second time.

On Thursday, the British actress appeared to debut her baby bump while stepping out for a Chanel-hosted cocktail party in Paris, France. Keira, 34, was joined by husband James Righton.

Dressed in a Grecian-inspired, empire waist gown and chunky gold heels, the A-lister lovingly placed her hand on her belly as she made her way past photographers.

In 2015, the notoriously private couple welcomed their first child together, a baby girl Edie Knightley Righton. Two years prior, Keira and James tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the South of France.

Last year, the Pirates of the Caribbean star spoke candidly about the impact motherhood has had on her acting career.

Celebrities Who Managed to Hide Their Pregnancies

"There's that sense of, like, I don't give a f--k," Knightley joked to Harper's Bazaar.

She continued, "Once you've had that whole experience of leaking breasts everywhere and the messiness of it--there's no control, it's animalistic. I feel that in a funny way with acting it sort of helps; there is no embarrassment any more."

Knightley also penned a controversial essay about her childbirth experience, in which she critiqued Kate Middleton's postpartum actions and compared them to her own. The actress would later clarify her remarks.

She's already instilling her feminist beliefs within 3-year-old Edie, recently revealing to Ellen DeGeneres that there are a few Disney films that the toddler is "banned" from watching.

[NATL] Celebrity Baby Boom: Christian Slater u0026 Wife Welcome Daughter

As Keira described, "Cinderalla" is a big no-no "because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don't! Rescue yourself. Obviously! And this is the one that I'm quite annoyed about because I really like the film, but 'Little Mermaid' [is banned, too]. I mean, the songs are great, but do not give your voice up for a man. Hello! But the problem with 'The Little Mermaid' is I love 'The Little Mermaid!' That one's a little tricky--but I'm keeping to it."

E! News has reached out to her rep for comment.
A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lover's wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News.

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victim's husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victim's home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus' first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-caliber handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, "We are indeed pleased that release has been granted." He said Warmus' legal team would be busy putting "the particulars of her future" in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus' parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
Employees at a New Jersey White Castle are credited with helping to save a man who staggered into the restaurant with stab wounds.

The 34-year-old victim sat down in a booth in the White Castle in Clifton early Saturday and workers saw he was bleeding badly. A pool of blood was forming at his feet.

"It was very bad there was a lot of blood," said Romie Foster, who works at the restaurant.

Employees called 911 and first responders arrived minutes later.

"Most times people turn their heads and walk away but there are good people," customer John Richard told NBC 4 New York.

The victim, who lives in Passaic, was hospitalized in critical condition, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

It's not clear where he was stabbed, Valdes said. No one has been arrested.

Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutors at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Clifton Police Department at 973-470-5900.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchy's power after the October 2016 death at age 88 of Vajiralongkorn's revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued his post-coronation royal command, which is supposed to set the tone for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father's first command.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said, according to an unofficial translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since assuming the throne. On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed the crown atop his head. The "Great Crown of Victory," said to date from 1782, is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high, weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces of royal regalia, including the Royal Sword of Victory and the Royal Fan and Fly Whisk, presented in homage to his power.

Absolute rule by kings ended with a 1932 revolution in Thailand that ushered in a constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, Thai kings are regarded as almost divine and have been seen as a unifying presence in a country that has seen regular bouts of political instability as it rotates between elected governments and military rule.

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has tightened control over royal institutions and acted to increase his influence in his country's administration. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Like kings before him, Vajiralongkorn is protected by one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, which makes criticism of him and other top royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison and has dampened open debate about the monarchy's role in society.

Vajiralongkorn began Saturday's coronation proceedings wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony, completed the consecration portion of his coronation, giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king. Vajiralongkorn  having changed into gold-embroidered royal vestments  was seated on an octagonal throne, with the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass, and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy water over the king's hand, along with a ninth representing the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his full consecration.

"This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation," said Naowarat Buakluan, a civil servant. "If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, it's because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king."

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, "doesn't like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper." When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn "insisted that everything had to be done properly."

"Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesn't mind the expense, but it has to be done properly," Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country's queen. His father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just a week before his own coronation, at which he named her his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the 2  hours of ceremonies ended, Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person, civil servants in uniform and members of the public wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside the Grand Palace to pay their respects.

"I feel glad and hopeful that the king ascends the throne after his father, King Rama IX, to be a guardian and the hope of the Thai people," said onlooker Amornrat Wangpan from Uttaradit province, 433 kilometers (269 miles) north of Bangkok. "It will be a civilized era having many things. I feel that Thailand is now opened to the light and now civilized."

Later Saturday, the king held an audience for members of the royal family, the Privy Council and the Cabinet, among other senior officials, where they vowed their allegiance to king and country, and he promised to work with them for the nation's benefit.

Some carefully vetted members of the public admitted to the palace grounds got a thrill later when Vajiralongkorn was carried on an ornately decorated palanquin to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha  usually considered Thai Buddhism's holiest site site  by a specially trained contingent of soldiers dressed in colorful ceremonial uniforms who marched in strict precision. The king, like his predecessors, made the short journey to vow to defend the Buddhist faith, the religion of more than 90% of Thailand's people.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, in which the king will again be carried on his palanquin through nearby city streets to visit four important temples and allow the public to pay homage to him.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.

Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Tens of thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders return to Omaha every year to learn from Warren Buffett and celebrate the company he built through acquisitions and investments.

But with the 88-year-old Buffett and 95-year-old Charlie Munger leading the company, it's hard for shareholders not to wonder how much longer the revered investors will be in place. And the fact that Berkshire is holding more than $114 billion in cash and short-term investments raises questions about what Buffett might buy next.

Shareholder Stephen Teenois, 30, made his first trip to this year's meeting on Saturday after owning the stock for several years because he wanted to experience the event where Buffett and Munger spend hours answering questions.

"I just want to soak in everything I can and learn from him," said Teenois, who is from Houston.

Buffett has said that Berkshire has a succession plan in place for whenever it is needed. Neither Buffett nor Munger has any plans to retire. Two longtime executives, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, have been promoted to vice chairmen to help oversee Berkshire's businesses. One of them will likely eventually be Berkshire's next CEO.

Buffett said Saturday that both Abel and Jain have done a great job since they were promoted into the new roles in early 2018, and both earned about $18 million last year. Jain oversees the conglomerate's insurance businesses while Abel oversees non-insurance business operations.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit," Buffett said.

Jim Weber, CEO of Berkshire company Brooks Running, said the transition from reporting directly to Buffett to reporting to Abel has gone smoothly.

"I've enjoyed working with him. He's incredibly smart," Weber said about Abel.

Berkshire's eclectic collection of more than 90 businesses includes a variety of industries. Previously, Abel oversaw Berkshire utility businesses.

Shareholder Bill Laub, 67, of Moline, Illinois, said he wasn't worried about Buffett's successor or the future of the company because he has faith in the team behind him.

"If something happened to Warren, there would be the shock and the blip, and then it will all be over," Laub said.

Laub said he hopes there is another big acquisition in Buffett and Berkshire's future. Buffett has said that he has had a hard time finding acquisitions selling for reasonable prices in recent years because the market has soared.

"I hope he finds something good to buy," Laub said.

Buffett faced several questions about whether relatively recent deals, including Kraft Heinz, were paying off for Berkshire:

Buffett said he's happy with Berkshire Hathaway's partnership with the Brazilian firm of 3G Capital. The companies worked together to buy Kraft and Heinz, but recently the combined food giant had to write down the value of its brands by $15 billion.

"I'm pleased that we are partners, and it's conceivable that something else could come up," Buffett said.

Buffett said the main problem with the Kraft investment is that Berkshire and 3G overpaid for it. Buffett also said that he and 3G underestimated the challenges branded foods face from retailers and the growth of private label products.
What to Know A bill in Pennsylvania would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary race.

Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years,.

Pennsylvania: Land of Disenfranchisement?

It's not the state slogan, but Pennsylvania is in the minority of states with closed primary elections as the number of independent voters grows quickly and sparks a debate in Pennsylvania's Legislature for the first time in memory about opening up party primaries.

It helps that it is led by a high-profile backer, the top Republican in the GOP-controlled state Senate, Joe Scarnati, who has his own story about switching his registration to independent in 2000 to get elected.

"As I look at extremism that takes place in primaries today and lack of participation, I want to increase that participation in the primary process," Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said in an interview Wednesday. "And I think it is a start, it's not a solution, but it is a start to start getting some moderation in our primary process."

Scarnati's bill, which would let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in a party's primary, received a hearing this past week in the Senate State Government Committee as part of a broader election reform package.

It has the support of the committee chairman, Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, as well as backing from the Senate's ranking Democrat, Jay Costa, Gov. Tom Wolf and good-government groups Common Cause and the Committee of Seventy.

Costa, of Allegheny County, said he sees the bill as a way to get more voters engaged.

In Pennsylvania, about 786,000 of the state's 8.5 million voters are unaffiliated, up 75% in eight years, reflecting national trends that are fueling activism around the cause of opening up primaries.

Here's the catch: researchers don't find that open primaries have much, if any, effect on increasing turnout or moderating politics.

One paper, published in 2011 by researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California, Princeton University and the universities of Denver and Chicago, found that "we should expect little from open primary reform in the modern political age."

"In fact, most of the effects we have found tend to be the opposite of those that are typically expected: the more open the primary system, the more liberal the Democrat and the more conservative the Republican," it said.

Many independent voters don't pay close attention to politics and are among the least likely to vote, researchers say. Meanwhile, independent voters are not necessarily moderate, and are just as likely to have party-aligned ideologies as party-registered voters, researchers say.

"Most people who call themselves independent or unaffiliated actually vote pretty consistently with one of the major parties," said Seth Masket, who chairs the University of Denver's political science department and helped author the paper. "They just prefer not to call themselves a member of that party or be identified that way."

States have a hodge-podge of primary election laws, and Pennsylvania is among the most closed states, along with heavily populated New York and Florida, analysts say.

There is movement, albeit slow, among states to open up primaries, say researchers from the National Conference on State Legislatures.

Pennsylvania, since at least 1937, has had closed primaries, and researchers say primary elections were originally created as a way to smash the influence of party brass over picking nominees.

Now, a constellation of advocacy groups want to open primaries for a similar reason: to smash the influence of parties over the political process.

Jen Bullock, a Montgomery County psychotherapist and registered independent, said this is the most traction she's seen 15 years after founding the group Independent Pennsylvanians.

An open primary system can erode the outsized influence of political parties over a system of elected government that doesn't address issues of concern to ordinary citizens anymore, Bullock said.

"I don't think the parties should be gatekeepers to our voting rights," Bullock said.

Party officials are keeping a low-profile on the issue. Democratic Party chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills said she would leave the matter to the party's elected officials, while Scarnati said Republican Party officials have told him "they're not happy about it."

But, he said, he has come to the conclusion after 19 years in office that he is right, and that willingness to compromise is badly needed in the state Capitol.

"The upside for political parties," Scarnati said, "is far greater than the downside."
President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed what Trump again dismissed as the "Russian Hoax" in their first known phone call since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election meddling. Putin chuckled about Mueller's findings, Trump said.

During their conversation on Friday, which the White House and Kremlin said lasted more than an hour, they also discussed a possible three-party arms control pact with China, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Ukraine and the crisis in Venezuela, where Moscow is propping up the current government over the U.S.-backed opposition.

"We had a good conversation about many things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump said the two leaders were considering a new nuclear agreement "where we make less and they make less. And maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now." He said they had discussed the possibility of including China in the deal and that China would "very much would like to be a part of" it.

But more interesting, perhaps, was what was left unsaid.

Trump said that, at no point, did he warn Putin not to meddle in the next election. And while he and Putin did discuss Mueller's findings, they appeared to gloss over Mueller's description of the extensive efforts Russia took to interfere in the 2016 election, including the 25 Russians indicted for that effort.

"We discussed it," Trump said of the report. "He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that, 'It started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse,'" Trump said of Putin. "But he knew that because he knew there was no collusion whatsoever. So pretty much that's what it was."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said Trump didn't tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election because he's made that clear in the past. "He doesn't need to do that every two seconds," she said.

Mueller's report concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "sweeping and systematic." Ultimately, Mueller's investigators did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign, but they found multiple contacts. Indeed, the report concluded that "the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."

Trump tweeted after the call that the two had discussed topics including the "Russian Hoax."

"As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing," he wrote.

Trump said he and Putin had instead focused on other topics, including the possibility of the new nuclear arms deal between the U.S., Russia and China. He said U.S. officials had broached the idea with the Chinese during ongoing trade talks and that China was "excited about that, maybe even more excited than about trade." Discussions on a new nuclear deal, he said, would likely begin shortly between the U.S. and Russia, with China potentially added "down the road."

Trump did not say which arms control agreement he and Putin had discussed, but the Russian state news agency Tass reported that they talked about the New START treaty, the last major arms-control treaty remaining between the U.S. and Russia.

The treaty, which was signed in 2010 and expires in 2021, restricts both the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on a maximum of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

"There was a discussion about having  extending the current nuclear agreement  as well as discussions about potentially starting a new one that could include China as well," Sanders said.

Trump earlier this year announced that he was pulling the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Trump accused Moscow of violating its terms with "impunity" by deploying missiles banned by the pact. Moscow denies violating it and has accused Washington of being in non-compliance.

Trump's decision to exit the INF treaty reflected his administration's view that it was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. China's military has grown mightily since that treaty was signed, and the pact had prevented the U.S. from deploying weapons to counter some of those being developed by Beijing.

"The world has moved on from the Cold War and its bilateral arms control treaties that cover limited types of nuclear weapons or only certain ranges of adversary missiles," national security adviser John Bolton told The Associated Press last week. "Russia and China must be brought to the table."

A Kremlin readout of the call said the two presidents confirmed their mutual desire "to intensify dialogue in various fields, including on issues of strategic stability," but gave no details about a possible arms deal.

Trump said the two also spoke extensively about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia last week to meet with Putin. Sanders said Trump said several times that it was important for Russia to continue to help put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

The statement released by the Kremlin after Friday's call said Putin stressed that "Pyongyang's conscientious fulfillment of its obligations should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce sanctions pressure on North Korea."

On Venezuela, Trump insisted that Putin "is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela." That's despite the fact that Russia has forged a political, military and economic alliance with Venezuela over many years and is helping to support President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.

The U.S. and about 50 other nations take the position that Maduro's re-election last year was irrevocably marred by fraud and he is not the legitimate president. In January, the administration took the unusual step of recognizing Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, as interim president.

The Kremlin said that during the call, Putin stressed that only the Venezuelan people have the right to determine the future of their country. The statement said that outside interference in internal affairs and attempts at forceful regime change in Caracas undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis.
A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.

John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy after 15 days of jury deliberations. Four ex-employees of the Chandler, Arizona-based company, including the former exotic dancer, were also convicted.

Some of the most sensational evidence in the months-long federal trial included a video of employees dancing and rapping around an executive dressed as a giant bottle of the powerful opioid spray Subsys, and testimony about how the company made a habit of hiring attractive women as sales representatives.

The case threw a spotlight on the federal government's efforts to go after those it views as responsible for fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.

Opioid overdoses claimed nearly 400,000 lives in the U.S. between 1999 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illegal drugs such as heroin.

Kapoor and the others were accused of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys and misleading insurers in order to get payment approved for the costly drug, which is meant for cancer patients in severe pain. The bribes were paid in the form of fees for sham speaking engagements that were billed as educational opportunities for other doctors.

The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.

"We will continue the fight to clear Dr. Kapoor's name," defense attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. She said the long deliberations prove it was "far from an open-and-shut case."

A former sales representative testified that regional sales manager Sunrise Lee once gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to a doctor whom Insys was pushing to write more prescriptions. Lee's lawyer said she will challenge the verdict.

Jurors also watched the rap video meant to motivate sales reps to push doctors to prescribe higher doses of the drug.

The company's former CEO, Michael Babich, pleaded guilty and testified against his colleagues. He said Insys recruited sales reps who were "easy on the eyes" because doctors didn't want an "unattractive person to walk in their door."

Kapoor's attorney sought to shift the blame onto the company's former vice president of sales, Alec Burlakoff, who also pleaded guilty.




By Israel Hayom, May 01, 2019





It turns out that the Islamist terrorists who slaughtered more than 350 people in Sri Lanka came from one of that countrys wealthiest families. This news will surely come as a surprise to those who have become accustomed to hearing political leaders and pundits claim that poverty is what drives young Muslims to become terrorists.





The whole premise behind the more than $10 billion that the United States gave to the Palestinian Authority from 1994 to 2017 was that Palestinian unemployment will lead to Palestinian terrorism  so we better give them money, and lots of it.
A vigil was held for a 13-year-old boy who died Friday night after getting hit by a car in a tragic accident in Lemon Grove.

The boy has since been identified as Trevon Harris, by his mother, Tanya Harris, who spoke to NBC 7.

Dozens of people attended the vigil held Saturday night, including Mayor of Lemon Grove Racquel Vasquez. Many brought balloons, flowers, and even stuffed animals to leave at the scene.

Trevons mother said she wants the community to remember her sons love for life, his love for his little brother, and his dreams of becoming a basketball player.

We ought to celebrate his life today, said Tanya.

Tanya shared that Trevon dreamed of making it to the NBA as he was a big Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry fan. He was on The Lemon Groves recreational team called, The Young Bulls.

Tanya Harris/NBC 7

She shared the last moment she spent with him at the hospital saying that when she held his hand, she felt his spirit saying, Mom, Im ok.

The tragic accident happened in front of San Miguel Elementary School at around 6:19 p.m. Friday night, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department.

Witnesses told NBC 7 Trevon ran from his front yard between two parked cars, slid on loose gravel, and fell forward into the street as a car was coming by.

Tanya was turning the car around to pick him up when the collision happened, witnesses said.

Trevon was then taken to Rady Childrens Hospital with severe head injuries. He was pronounced dead a short time later, said SDSO.

On Saturday, the Lemon Grove School District released a statement saying:

"On Friday evening, a 7th grade Lemon Grove Middle School student was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Lemon Grove. On behalf of the Lemon Grove School District, we want to extend our deepest and most profound sympathy to the family, friends, and community during this most difficult time.

"The mental health and well-being of our staff and students will be at the forefront for the foreseeable future. District staff will have counseling support in place at Lemon Grove Middle School and San Miguel Elementary School Monday morning. Please contact your school principal if your child is in need of additional support. Over the coming days, in particular, we ask staff, students, and the Lemon Grove community alike to seek support if needed."

Trevons family has organized a Go Fund Me page to help pay for funeral expenses.

The accident is under investigation but officials do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors. The driver remained at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators. Witnesses said the driver knelt on the side of the road and prayed for the victim.

Anyone with information on this incident can call the Lemon Grove Station at (619) 337-2000.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the boy was 14 years old. NBC 7 has since spoken with the boy's mother, who told NBC 7 the boy had just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago.
Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wife's ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called "marital rape exemption" or "spousal defense" still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

"No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books," Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. "The concept of a pre-existing relationship defense should have never been part of our criminal statutes."

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as "appalling and archaic."

"Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force," she said. "You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and it's not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and it's not a crime. It was really troubling."

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by women's rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states' marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victim's capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for "smacking the other's behind" during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

"If your religion believes if you're married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption?" he asked.

"No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment," replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But that's no place for the General Assembly."

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hale's premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses can't be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isn't serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the state's marital rape exemption.

"I was beside myself," she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

"I thought if I can't have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it," she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teeson's advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

"She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story," Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. "Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Let's do the right thing. Let's right this wrong."

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said she's not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

"In the past, I know that there's been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth," Tobin said. "But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for."

Boggs' bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohio's criminal code. Her argument in favor of it is straightforward.

"Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldn't give you permission to rape them," she said.

Associated Press writer Brian Witte and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.
Washington, D.C. has a well-known rat problem. Rodent complaints to the citys 311 line have been steadily increasing over the last few years and the citys mayor has now led two rat walks in an effort to track the growing rodent infestation. The District is even trying birth control on rats.

But for the last few years, the Humane Rescue Alliance has been spearheading a creative, though not exactly unheard of, way to fight the rat kings and queens of the District of Columbia: pairing local businesses and communities with feral, unsocialized cats to hunt and kill their natural prey.

First developed in 2017, the HRAs Blue Collar Cats program takes stray, feral cats that end up in its care, spays and neuters them, and then matches them to businesses or homes to catch and deter unwanted rodents, HRA Vice President Lauren Lipsey told News4.

Our original goal was to do a handful in the first year, but we didnt recognize the number of property owners that would be interested, Lipsey said.

The program started off with a bang, with 20 feline placements around the city and a waiting list more than 40 people long, Lipsey said.

We had an initial boost with great publicity, Lipsey said. It became attractive to cat aficionados and people who previously did not have an interest in cats.

Now, Blue Collar Cats are at work in the most populous area of the city, prowling the streets of Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Petworth and Shaw for those squirmy tails and furry shadows that haunt D.C. residents.

Lipsey also said that she and the HRA were surprised to see how many homeowners were interested in sponsoring a Blue Collar Cat in their neighborhood, given that they marketed the program as a way for businesses to deal with pests.

We anticipated mostly businesses, and then homeowners contacted us, which was not necessarily how we marketed the program, Lipsey said. But there was also excitement to see properties accept pairs of cats together.

To assign a pair of cats together is a big accomplishment, Lipsey said, because their feral nature makes them fearful of humans and other animals. By definition, feral cats are unsocialized, usually wandering cities lonelily and scavenging for food.

If we get two cats and we can match them together, they can be social with each other, Lipsey said. It works with cats because unsocial cats can wander alone when they are spayed and neutered.

And 2018 was another year of success for the program, Lipsey said. The HRA was able to place 110 cats around the city, with 17 businesses taking 25 cats and 62 homes taking 85 cats.

One of those businesses is D.C.s own Right Proper Brewing Company in Northeast Washington.

At this Brookland facility, co-owner Thor Cheston said his feline staff member does his fair share in keeping the barley and hops fermenting.

There is a theory that links the domestication of cats to the development of brewing, that the reason why cats were domesticated in the first place was to guard grain, Cheston said. Cats were following the food source, rodents, and the rodents were following their food source, grain.

Cheston said this history drew him to want to recruit a Blue Collar Cat.

Breweries having or employing a cat or multiple cats goes back centuries, Cheston said. So when I learned about the Blue Collar Cat program, I jumped all over it. It just seemed so natural.

Right Proper Brewing has had two rat-hunting cats, Cheston said. Their first employee, named Barley, worked for the brewery for six months before running off in 2017. The brewery now has a younger cat, named Oats, who joined the team in 2018.

Barley was great. He was a little bit older so he didnt grow as attached to us as our current cat is now, so eventually he did run away, Cheston told News4. But he was very effective at his job.

Still, though Oats, is more energetic and relatively more friendly, he still keeps his distance, Cheston said.

He still doesnt let us touch him, we cant pet him, he does not care too much for that interaction but its almost like we have an understanding, Cheston said. We have a professional courtesy I would say.

Lipsey said Right Proper is a perfect example of the kind of relationship between cat and partner that succeeds.

Theyve been huge supporters and they are a good member of the community, Lipsey said. They really serve as an example to other businesses.

And Cheston said the presence of a cat is often enough to scare away rats.

We had an issue with this one rat that was eating through installation and working his way through drywall and barley and he nixed that. I think the word got out very quickly, Cheston said.

And Cheston said he has no intention of letting Oats go.

We havent seen any activity since hes been here, Cheston said. Hes our guy.

Learn more about the Blue Collar Cats program here.
A Maryland man faces a felony charge for attempting to have sex with a horse and has been ordered to stay away from all animals while he awaits his day in court, authorities said on Friday.

Officials say 67-year-old James Von Dundas from North Potomac, Maryland, was charged with attempted carnal knowledge of an animal after soliciting an undercover Loudoun County Animal Services officer on Thursday for the opportunity to have sexual relations with a horse.

Police arrested Von Dundas at Balls Bluff Park in Leesburg, Virginia, where he "indicated his intent to engage in the illegal activity" to the animal services officer, police said.

He has been charged and was released on $2,500 bond.

April is "prevention of cruelty to animals month." News4's Sheena Parveen talked to Chris Schindler from Humane Rescue Alliance to find out how the organization handles animal cruelty.

Loudoun County has zero tolerance for criminal acts that include cruel and heinous behavior towards animals, Animal Control Chief Chris Brosan said in a news release. We routinely conduct investigations to protect all animals in Loudoun.

Von Dundas is also prohibited from being in contact with any animal species before his court appearance on May 6, officials said.

Under Virginia law, crimes against animals are a Class 6 felony, which can lead to a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In January, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld Virginia's ban on bestiality, saying that animals are not able to provide consent.

We recognize that proactive investigations are one of the best ways to ensure the community is safe, said Department of Animal Services Director Nina Stively in a news release. We do not want to wait for crimes against animals to happen, we want to prevent them.
If ever there was a topic that might easily lend itself to bipartisan agreement in Massachusetts it would be lobster, the tasty crustacean that's long been both a staple of New England cuisine and a vital part of the region's economy.

Democratic and Republican leaders on Beacon Hill are moving toward consensus on legislation that seeks to expand lobster processing, in turn growing markets and giving consumers a wider selection of lobster products at restaurants and local supermarkets. The plan received a major boost from the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, which in a recent report concluded it would deliver "economic benefits throughout the state's seafood supply chain," along with "greater access to desirable seafood products."

Pending final approval from the lawmakers, the state's lobster regulations would change to allow for in-state processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell _ claws and tails, for example _ and permit seafood dealers to import shell-on lobster parts for further processing.

Current law is more limited. You can, of course, sell whole lobsters cooked or uncooked, and the meat can be sold canned or at restaurants; think lobster rolls. In 2013, the Legislature amended the statute to allow frozen shell-on tails that weigh at least 3 ounces to be sold, as well.

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has for several years pushed to further expand legal lobster processing in Massachusetts, citing figures that show about 80% of the state's lobster catch now being shipped to Maine or Canada for processing.

"This legislation modernizes those lobster laws to bolster the fishing industry and give consumers, including local restaurants and food stores, more choices while sustainably supporting coastal fishing communities," Tarr said in a statement.

The Republican represents the coastal city of Gloucester, the state's No. 1 lobstering port. Massachusetts as a whole boasts the nation's second-largest lobster harvest, about 11% of the U.S. total. Maine, which liberalized its processing laws about a decade ago, is far and away the largest catcher, with 83% of the domestic haul.

Relaxing the current regulations would create new business opportunities in Massachusetts, Tarr and other supporters contend. One company, Topsfield-based East Coast Seafood, has already told state officials it would look to expand its processing facilities and create new jobs if the bill becomes law.

The measure easily cleared the Senate last year with support from key Democrats in coastal districts, including Sens. Mark Montigny, of New Bedford, and Michael Rodrigues, of Westport. But the House wasn't quite ready to fully embrace the idea.

First, House lawmakers sought assurances from the Division of Marine Fisheries that easing current restrictions wouldn't harm lobster conservation efforts and that regulators would be able to prevent the illegal breaking apart of juvenile lobsters that are below minimum state and federal size limits.

The agency's report, issued in December, foresaw no negative effects on Massachusetts' largest fishery.

"This is because the existing regulations and processing requirements provide multiple opportunities for law enforcement to monitor and enforce against violations of lobster conservation regulations," the report said, citing Maine's experience among other factors.

As for consumers, the availability of shell-on lobster parts such as tails and claws fits a trend toward foods that are quicker and easier to prepare and eat, the study noted. Anyone who has wrestled a live lobster into a pot of boiling water and struggled to crack shells or pry meat out with tiny forks might agree.

Encouraged by the report, House backers including Democratic Rep. Sarah Peake, of Provincetown, successfully attached language similar to Tarr's bill to a state budget that cleared the chamber last month, boosting chances of it eventually becoming law either through the budget process or separate legislation.

Peake pointed to potential benefits in coastal communities, where restaurants and seafood markets do booming business selling live lobsters during the summer tourism months, only to struggle the rest of the year.

"As the fall starts to roll in and the lobsters are still abundant, you have fewer of those clam shacks that are open and you have an overabundance of lobsters that are being landed and not enough consumers still interested in consuming the whole lobster," Peake told House colleagues. "This bill will help stabilize that and provide markets for Massachusetts lobstermen that currently don't exist today," she added.
Saturday is Green Up Day in Vermont  one of the state's longest-running and most iconic annual traditions.

For 49 years now, volunteers have fanned out across the state on the first Saturday in May, picking up litter across some 13,000 miles of roadway.

Friday, some Vermonters got a head-start on the work.

Employees of the Winooski soap manufacturer TwinCraft Skincare picked up litter on streets surrounding their headquarters.

Participant Jason Smith found an old vacuum dumped in the woods and hauled it out.

"I've done these [clean-up efforts] before in other areas, but it's amazing just across the street in the woods there how much trash we pulled out," Smith told necn. "There was probably four bags, just across the street!"

Last year, the effort reached 240 towns statewide, with 23,000 people collecting 225 tons of trash, according to Green Up Day organizers.

"That's a lot," Twincraft's Lisa Ashley said. "I think when the snow melts, everyone's a little surprised at what's hiding underneath."

Gov. Phil Scott did his part Friday, along with members of his administration, by picking up litter along Route 2 in Middlesex.

The governor calls Green Up Day key to Vermont's reputation as a good place to enjoy the outdoors.

"To have our roadsides cleaned up is really a statement about who are, and I think it's inviting to a lot of our tourists that come to the state," Scott said at a press conference Thursday promoting Green Up Day.

This year, Green Up Day is going high-tech, with a new app available to help volunteer groups figure out which parts of their cities and towns need attention.

Lisa Ashley said she hopes the spirit of Green Up Day lasts throughout the year in Vermont.

"I feel like we can all do our part, and if you walk by something, just pick it up so it's not just once a year," she said. "Everyone has to go out and be cleaning this up."
Massachusetts State Police diverted traffic on Route 1 in Chelsea after a tractor-trailer jackknifed Saturday morning. Officials cleared the scene around 10 a.m. and reopened traffic.

Police said the incident occurred on the northbound side and traffic was temporarily diverted onto Route 16 in Chelsea.

Chelsea firefighters responded to the area, assisted by MassDOT, when the fuel tanks ruptured.

Initial reports did not indicate any injuries in the crash, which was reported about 7:20 a.m. Reporter Nia Hamm said the highway reopened at 10:09 a.m.
Results and reaction as they come in

ELECTION results for Newbury and Thatcham town councils, plus some parish councils, will be announced today (Saturday).

Yesterday saw the Conservatives maintain control of West Berkshire Council with 24 councillors, holding on with a majority of five.

It was a historic day for the Green Party, who saw three of their candidates elected to the district council for the first time.

The Liberal Democrats took the 16 remaining seats, including six of Thatcham's seven and seven of Newbury's 12.

There are 23 seats up for election on Newbury Town Council, split between five wards  Clay Hill, East Fields, Speenhamland, Wash Common and West Fields.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 17 councillors to the Lib Dems six.

The Conservatives are fielding 22 candidates, the Lib Dems 21, Labour five, Greens two, UKIP one, while one independent candidate is standing.

In Thatcham, there are 18 seats up for grabs on the town council, split between four wards  Thatcham Central, Thatcham Crookham, Thatcham North East and Thatcham West.

Five candidates each will be elected to represent Central, North East and West, and three to Crookham.

The Conservatives gained control of the town council from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and currently have 14 councillors to the Lib Dems four.

The Conservatives are fielding 18 candidates, the Lib Dems 15, Greens two, UKIP two and Labour one.

Elections for a number of other town and parish councils across the district will also be held today. These include Burghfield, Inkpen, Stratfield Mortimer, Theale, and Woolhampton.

4pm

Thank you for following our live blog. Don't forget to pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News next Thursday for all the results, in-depth reaction and photos from a dramatic couple of days.

Theale Parish Council results, elected were Clint Rolfe, Becky Williams, Alan Clark, Zoe Fenwick, Paul Clifford, Stuart Coker, Dan Baker, Lisa Cox, Iain Hopcroft, Jan Richardson, and Katie Leanne Gash

3.50pm

An incredible day for the Lib Dems, who have won 19 out of the 23 seats on Newbury Town Council and 15 of the 18 seats on Thatcham Town Council.

The party also took 16 seats on West Berkshire Council yesterday (a gain of 11).

Lib Dem Jeff Brooks said that a "yellow tide had swept away the blues".

3.05pm

The full results for Newbury East Fields are as follows:

Billy Drummond Liberal Democrats 896 Elected

Olivia Marie Elizabeth Lewis Liberal Democrats 820 Elected

Erik Pattenden Liberal Democrats 819 Elected

Jon Gage Liberal Democrats 809 Elected

Vaughan John Miller Liberal Democrats 794 Elected

John Henry Bennett Conservative Party 362 Not elected

Norma Murray Conservative Party 359 Not elected

George Paterson Conservative Party 337 Not elected

Archie William Denison-Smith Conservative Party 332 Not elected

Dave Joseph Mbawa Conservative Party 300 Not elected

Malik Kamail Pasha Azam UK Independence (UKIP) 179 Not elected

2.59pm

What a day for the Lib Dems. They have taken five more seats on Newbury Town Council after a clean sweep of the Newbury East Fields ward.

2.55pm

A flurry of results as three wards come in quick succession.

The Lib Dems have taken back control of Thatcham Town Council with 15 of the 18 seats. Stark contrast to four years ago when the Lib Dems had three seats to the Conservative's 15.

The Tories have been reduced to two seats, while the Green Party have their first councillor on Thatcham Town Council.

Deputy mayor Richard Crumly loses his seat, while his wife Ellen Crumly retains her seat in Thatcham Central. Steve Ardagh Walter is the other surviving Tory.

Former headteacher Paul Field is elected for the Greens.

Elected to Thatcham Central were: Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, 1050), Jennifer Walker (Lib Dem, 971), Nassar Kessell (Lib Dem, 951), Paul Field (Green, 695), Ellen Crumly (Con, 585).

Not elected: Janet Cover (Con, 577), Richard Crumly (Con, 564), Robert Denton-Powell (Con, 522), Marigold Jaques (Con, 480), David McMahon (UKIP, 321).

Elected to Thatcham West were: Jeff Brooks (990), Keith Woodhams (869), Mark Lillycrop (811), Simon Pike (808), and David Lister (755).

Not elected Helen Picken (Con, 435), Ian Causer (Con, 430), Karen Manley (Con, 427), Gary Clarke (Con, 417), Jane Livermore (Green, 366), William Russell (Con, 325), Gary Johnson (UKIP, 290), George Rattray (90)

2.10pm

Some big name casualties for the Conservatives in Wash Common, with Newbury Town Council leader Adrian Edwards and three former mayors - Howard Bairstow, Anthony Pick and David Fenn - all losing their seats.

The results in full are as follows:

Roger Hunneman Liberal Democrats 1828 Elected

Chris Foster Liberal Democrats 1809 Elected

David Ralph Marsh Green Party 1779 Elected

Sarah Collette Slack Liberal Democrats 1773 Elected

Tony Vickers Liberal Democrats 1749 Elected

Gary Arthur Norman Liberal Democrats 1697 Elected

Adrian Arthur Walter Edwards Conservative Party 1112 Not elected

David Robert Fenn Conservative Party 1061 Not elected

Howard Martin Bairstow Conservative Party 1010 Not elected

Lorna Holmes Conservative Party 918 Not elected

Anthony Corbett Pick Conservative Party 879 Not elected

Mark Anthony Jones Conservative Party 817 Not elected

Andy Wallace Labour Party 306 Not elected

Peter Charles Tullett Labour Party 257 Not elected

2.05pm

The Lib Dems take five of the six available seats on Newbury Wash Common ward, with the Green Party taking the other.

After taking 14 seats, the Lib Dems have now regained control of Newbury Town Council.

Full results to follow.

1.45pm

The results are in for Newbury West Fields ward and the Lib Dems have taken all five seats.

Mary Martha Vickers Liberal Democrats 1268 Elected

Andy Moore Liberal Democrats 1263 Elected

Martin Eric Colston Liberal Democrats 1244 Elected

Elizabeth Rosemary O'Keeffe Liberal Democrats 1219 Elected

Nigel Peter Foot Liberal Democrats 1178 Elected

Richard Gordon Willis Conservative Party 620 Not elected

Edward John McDonald Amies Conservative Party 567 Not elected

Joseph Alvin Clarke Conservative Party 547 Not elected

Philip Charles Gilbart Witheridge Conservative Party 514 Not elected

Mark Andrew Wilson Conservative Party 488 Not elected

1.30pm

Green councillor Steve Masters tells us: "As a student of history Speenhamland was a very attractive area ward to stand in. It's a great privilege to represent it. I'm looking forward to it, we have got some fabulous green spaces in Newbury like Victoria Park and the allotments and part of the tenure of the town council is to maintain this for the public, and I look forward to being involved in that."

The results in full for Newbury Speenhamland are as follows:

Stephen Michael Masters Green Party 513 Elected

Jo Day Liberal Democrats 354 Elected

Jeanette Clifford Conservative Party 309 Not elected

Mauline Lucy Akins Conservative Party 274 Not elected

Bert Clough Labour Party 95 Not elected

Paul Pugh Labour Party 73 Not elected

1.23pm

The results for Newbury Speenhamland are in and its another historic moment as the Green Party gain their first ever seat on Newbury Town Council after Steve Masters is elected.

Lib Dem Jo Day has taken the other seat.

Its been an unbelievable 24 hours for Steve Masters after being elected to West Berkshire Council yesterday.

Conservative Jeanette Clifford has just lost her town council seat having also lost her district council seat yesterday.

1.21pm

The results for Burghfield Parish Council are in. 22 candidates battled it out for the 19 available seats.

Elected

Royce Longton, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Margaret Gallagher, Jane Ansell, Tim Ansell, Nick Morse, Ian Morrin, Ian MacFarlane, Bill Neilson, Alison May, Graham Harris, Tricia Hipwell, Libby Sharp, David Godwin, Daniel Kellaway, Maureen Cresser, Andrea Hales, Paul Lawrence, Christopher Greaves, Duncan Godding





191

Not elected

1.13pm

The Lib Dems take two of the three seats in Thatcham Crookham. Conservatives take the other.

John Boyd (Lib Dem, 471), Richard Foster (Lib Dem, 452) and Steve Ardagh Walter (Con, 489) are elected.

Julie Goode (Con, 389) and Paul Mather (Con, 425) miss out.

12.51pm

The Lib Dems have taken all five seats in Thatcham North East.

Lee Dillon (1046 votes), Mike Cole (1041), Jeremy Cottam (990), Christine Rice (930), and Lourdes Cottam (916) all elected.

Town council leader Jason Collis loses his seat along with former mayor Sheila Ellison.

Jason Collis (673), Simon Carr (Con) (652), Carla Denton-Powell (Con, 603), Sheila Ellison (Con) (594), Iain Murphy (Con) (487), Lou Coulson (Lab) (208)

12.35pm

Here are the results for Newbury Clay Hill in full:

Jeff Beck Conservative Party 594 Elected

Pam Lusby Taylor Liberal Democrats 579 Elected

Phil Barnett Liberal Democrats 574 Elected

Sue Farrant Liberal Democrats 533 Elected

Jeffrey Graham Cant Conservative Party 505 Elected

George Kenneth Charles Davis Liberal Democrats 496 Not elected

Margo Payne Conservative Party 492 Not elected

Sarah Elizabeth Lowes Liberal Democrats 484 Not elected

Anthony Vincent Stretton Conservative Party 459 Not elected

David Goff Conservative Party 423 Not elected

Gemma Elizabeth Lowe Labour Party 272 Not elected

12.32pm

The results are in for Newbury Clay Hill and the big news is Newbury mayor Margo Payne has lost her seat. So has the council's former Conservative leader Tony Stretton.

The Lib Dems took three of the five seats, with the Conservatives taking the other two.

12.09pm

Green councillor David Marsh, who was elected in Wash Common ward yesterday, said: "We have only got two candidates standing in each of the town councils, but I am pretty confident about Newbury if you look at what happened in Wash Common and Speen yesterday we ought to get those two seats."

Mr Marsh and Steve Masters, who won a seat in Speen yesterday, are both standing for Newbury Town Council. The party is fielding Paul Field in Thatcham Central and Jane Livermore in Thatcham West.

11.50am

The results for Inkpen Parish Council are in. A total of 13 candidates battled it out for seven seats.

Claire Jane Jones 212 Elected

Simon David Hanna 181 Elected

Bob May 177 Elected

Mark Christopher Bates 165 Elected

David Hamilton Thomas 163 Elected

Jennifer Lou Edwards 145 Elected

Moira Ghislaine Eileen Marriott 145 Elected

David Peter Lester 142 Not elected

Alex Popplewell 122 Not elected

Andrew Christopher Mario Zollo 118 Not elected

Vanessa Maria Philomena Tomlinson 115 Not elected

Anna Bidwell 107 Not elected

James William Ashley Jones 89 Not elected

11.33am

UKIP candidate for Thatcham West Gary Johnson says he was feeling confident last night of being elected to the town council.

Mr Johnson beat Green candidate Jane Livermore by one vote in yesterday's district council result. Both seats were taken by the Lib Dems.

Mr Johnson, a former Lib Dem mayor for the town, said: "It's a little bit difficult to know whether I will have the opportunity but I'm looking forward to the result anyway, and I hope that I will qualify to be a councillor for Thatcham West."

11.07am

Thatcham's deputy mayor Richard Crumly, who lost his seat on West Berkshire Council yesterday, said he was "disappointed that we weren't able to get our message across. The Brexit blues have served to undermine us on the doorstep along with the green bin, that's still floating around, and we tried to say 'this is not about Brexit or the chaos at Westminster', this is about local services and local people.

"We think we Tories have been doing a good job since 2005, please give us another four years, but in challenging times to rearrange local government finances."

11am

There's optimism in the Liberal Democrat camp. Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) tells us: "We had a very good day yesterday and we expect to take both the town councils today. That will give us the ability to employ some of our policies and show people how we can be ready to run West Berkshire Council in four years' time."

On the Lib Dem surge yesterday he said: "Clearly there's a national issue but we worked very hard locally and there was a sense among the population that it was time for a change."

10.13am

Counting is underway
The Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business Scene May 16 in New Milford and a seminar, How to Grow Your Business, May 21 at the Apple Store in Danbury.

The Business Scene, an informal networking opportunity, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cookhouse at 31 Danbury Road.
Cervical cancer is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of adequate screening such as routine Pap smear testing. These countries have high incidences of cervical cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Due to lack of resources for cancer screenings, these countries account for 85% of all cervical cancer cases.

A group of researchers from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, have introduced an inexpensive DNA-based testing protocol for HPV in Honduras. The team found that of 1,732 women screened, 28% were positive for a high-risk HPV type and of those, 26% had more than one HPV infection. Results also showed that the most common HPV genotypes detected during testing were different than those commonly found in the United States. Their findings, "Screening for Human Papillomavirus in a Low- and Middle-Income Country" are newly published in ASCO's Journal of Global Oncology.

"We have shown that cervical cancer screening can be implemented in low-resource settings using this method, and that women are very interested and engaged in testing and follow-up clinic visits when necessary," says Tsongalis. "This study also identified something we were not expecting and that is a very significant difference in the types of high-risk HPV that we were detecting."

Such findings could mean profound implications for vaccination programs. "The causes of cervical cancer, while viral in nature, are not always the same type of virus and that could impact aggressiveness of disease, vaccinations and therapies," says Tsongalis.

The team would like to use their findings to guide studies of actual cervical cancer tissue and also to formulate therapeutic vaccine trials. "Being able to screen individuals who have never been tested before and studying the impact of the testing on their healthcare as well as our understanding of the biology of the disease is most exciting," says Tsongalis.

Gregory Tsongalis, PhD, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, as well as Director of Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology and member of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Research Program at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. His research interests include development of advanced diagnostic technologies and disease biomarker discovery.
To model human health and disease, organ-on-a-chip technology mimics the human body's organ structure, functionality and physiology in a controlled environment. These miniature systems, which serve as accurate models of various organs from the heart and lungs to the gut and the kidneys, can use a patient's own cells to test drugs and understand disease processes to help determine the right treatment for the right patient.

For 10 years, Hyun Jung Kim, a biomedical engineering assistant professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and assistant professor in the Department of Oncology in UT's Dell Medical School, has been developing organs-on-chips, specifically examining inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer. In 2018, Kim led the first study to determine how an intestinal disease develops using human organ-on-a-chip technology, confirming with his "gut inflammation-on-a-chip" system that intestinal barrier disruption is the upstream initiator of gut inflammation.

Now, thanks to a new $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Kim will apply his technology to better understand Crohn's disease -- an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe adnominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and malnutrition. He and his research team will develop their Crohn's disease-on-a-chip system to gain greater insight into what can cause and exacerbate the disease, with the goal of developing new treatments.

"I am humbled by the generosity of the Helmsley Charitable Trust," Kim said. "I am also excited by the opportunity to help find answers to the root cause of a disease where much more research is needed."

It is estimated that half of the 3 million Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease have Crohn's disease. While the cause of the disease is currently unknown, doctors and researchers believe that genetic, immune and environmental factors contribute to disease onset and progression.

"Crohn's disease is an extraordinarily complicated disease to figure out," said Declan Fleming, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at the Dell Medical School who will work with Kim on this project. "We believe this research can lead to a new tool to help us address the complexity of this disease. This could lead to improved treatments or possibly even to reverse the progression of Crohn's disease altogether."

Helmsley has made Crohn's disease one of the top priorities in their focus on developing programs that improve life in the U.S. and around the world. With the number of people around the world affected by Crohn's disease steadily rising, the organization sees an urgent need to prevent, diagnose early and reconcile the most effective and appropriate treatments for patients.

"There is a pressing need for more effective treatments for Crohn's disease, and Helmsley is committed to finding more personalized options for patients," said Garabet Yeretssian, director of Helmsley's Crohn's Disease Program. "This innovative 'gut-on-a-chip' technology has the potential to uncover triggers of Crohn's disease, which will lead to improved therapies and ultimately better health outcomes."

Source: https://www.engr.utexas.edu/news/archive/8801-gut-on-a-chip-research-aims-to-find-personalized-treatment-for-crohn-s-disease
American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

The i-HOPE Study, led by Luci Leykum, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., of UT Health San Antonio, sought to give patients, families and other stakeholders a voice in setting priorities for improving hospital care. Eight hospitalist researchers and their patient partners conducted the study, in which 499 patients, caregivers, health care providers and researchers stated their priority unanswered questions to improve hospital care. Respondents included 244 patients and caregivers. Forty-seven organizations partnered with the Society of Hospital Medicine to conduct the study.

Out of nearly 800 submitted questions, 11 were identified as top priorities. Topics included shared decision-making, patient-provider communication, care transitions, telemedicine and confusion about medications. "If answered, these questions could lead to significant improvements in hospitalization," Dr. Leykum said.

Two-way communication

The top-ranked question is, "What interventions ensure that patients share in decision making regarding their goals and plans of care?" Studies before i-HOPE showed that while physicians were skilled at providing health information, they were less skillful at seeking feedback from patients, assessing patients' level of understanding, or meaningfully incorporating patient preferences into treatment plans.

Communication between physician and patient is crucial throughout a patient's hospital stay, from discussing treatment options to making joint decisions to knowing who to call after discharge, the study authors wrote. "Relationships between patients, caregivers and providers are critical for effective solutions and represent an important area for improvement," Dr. Leykum said. "i-HOPE showed this."

Committed team of diverse voices

The study has limitations. For example, although patients, caregivers and patient and family advisory councils were included from across the country, they may not be representative of all patients because the i-HOPE group of investigators is already engaged in improving health care delivery.

The study also has strengths. Questions were identified and prioritized by "a diverse group of voices and perspectives that typically are not included when prioritizing hospital research and improvement efforts," the authors wrote. The innovative partnership between researchers, patients, caregivers and stakeholders ensures the relevance of the results.

Driving the national conversation

"We hope that patients and caregivers will use our results to advocate for research and improvement in areas that matter the most to them," the authors noted. They also hope the results will drive a national conversation about how best to address the priority areas. Details on how the study was conducted are available at i-HOPE Study. The Twitter handle is @iHOPEstudy. The 11 priority questions are listed here.

"We invite patients and caregivers to have their seat at the table," Dr. Leykum said.
Author Meredith Battle revives the layered history and traditions of the Blue Ridges forcibly displaced population in her recently published debut novel, Go Down the Mountain.

The 224-page book is believed to be the first fictionalized version based on the true story of the people whose land was taken by the state and federal governments in the 1930s to make way for Shenandoah National Park, formed from eight counties, including Greene, Madison and Rappahannock.

I thought the most exciting part about writing this novel would be getting to hold the book in my hand, but it was actually hearing from descendants of the displaced, said the 46-year-old writer, who lives in Loudoun County. I have received so many messages thanking me for writing this story and photos of their family members from back in the 1930s before they left the park. It has been very moving.

Though fictional, Go Down the Mountain is very much rooted in documented truth. It is set in mythical Lovingston Hollow, inspired by the real-life Corbin Hollow of Madison County. The books main character is a nervy mountain teen named Bee, whose father suddenly dies in a snake-charming accident, leaving her to live with an abusive mother.

In the books first chapter, A Deal that Would Make the Devil Flinch, they get a visit from a government agent intending to take their land.

A state man called Rowler was the cause of it. He came by our place and said the state had given our land to Uncle Sam for a park. We were to be out in five months or be considered at odds with the law. Mama told him wed sell. Our land was worth fifteen dollars an acre, she said. She made a big speech about how we wouldnt take any less for it.

While she talked, Rowler looked me up and down and licked his lips like I was a slice of scrapple fresh from the frying pan. He was the kind of husky white man who had a layer of pasty fat on him from sitting on his ass in a desk chair, his cheeks flushed pink from sneaking sips of whiskey. His brown mustache twitched even when he wasnt talking, until I thought it might jump off his face and scurry into a hole in the floorboards.

He told Mama we wouldnt get squat since Daddys people never filed papers with the county courthouse. I figured as much. Daddy always said the Livingstons didnt need papers when a handshake and a mans word would do. Seems like we didnt need a deed when the whole goddamned Hollow was named for us, Battle writes.

As a girl growing up in Fairfax, the author regularly visited Shenandoah NP and the mountains, calling it her happy place. Battle said she never once learned in school about the thousands of people who were displaced from its storied hollows or the hard path ahead they faced. As an adult, she came across stone walls and a bit of a chimney in her Shenandoah hikes.

I was just shocked. I had no idea people had lived there. When I started to look into the story, I just couldnt let it go, Battle said.

The more she learned, the more she had to know. The author started digging into the history while living in California two years ago, when her husband was stationed there with the military. The research helped her feel closer to home and it was eye-opening, she said.

The more I researched, the more I found these people could have been my people, Battle said, mentioning her own father grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama. They look like my dads family, they lived like his family, I felt like I knew them and understood their stories.

Digging deeper, the author was shocked at the notion of how the government took their land or purchased it for meager Depression-era prices. Some of the poorest hollow folks, Battle recounted, were taken to an asylum, and in some cases, medically sterilized without their consent, based in part on filmmaker Richard Knox Robinsons first-person interviews.

The Charlottesville area filmmaker said in an email nearly a dozen Corbins were taken after they were moved from the Park (and later forcibly sterilized) to Amherst County, outside of Lynchburg, to a place known as The Colony or Central Virginia Training Center.

More than his interviews, Robinson said, it was court documents unearthed in the Madison County Courthouse that revealed the institutionalization of the Corbins.

"Aside from my interview of Mary Francis Corbin who was born in the Park, this was largely unknown even by former residents of the Park," the filmmaker stated. "The commitments and sterilizations have been confirmed by recently released documents at the Virginia Library and the 1940 US Census."

The sociologists and journalists who arrived to see the mountain people for themselves seemed singularly focused on the dirt-poor residents of Corbin Hollow, writes Battle in her afterword.

In their book, Hollow Folk, sociologist Mandel Sherman and journalist Thomas Henry referred to unlettered folk, living in mud-plastered log cabins. They described them as almost entirely cut off from the current of American life.

A letter from a visiting social worker was equally ill-informed, describing hollow folk as steeped in ignorance and possessed of little or no ambition, little sense of citizenship, little comprehension of law, or respect for law, these people present a problem that demands and challenges the attention of thinking men and women.

The misrepresentations helped the government market the proposed assimilation of these people into modern society as a humanitarian effort, Battle writes.

Rejecting this mischaracterization, the author got to know the real mountain people in her research, including listening to hours and hours of recorded interviews done in the 1970s through James Madison University. They talked about things like hog killing day and picking apples and all their traditions and way of life, Battle said.

These people were intelligent, successful business peoplesome had large orchards earning thousands of dollars. They were tenacious people, beautiful storytellers with such a strong culture and families, she said. With this book, I hope I have been able to reclaim some of that for all of those who lost their homes.

About 500 familiesmore than 2,000 peoplewere removed by the state of Virginia from counties spanning the future national park over a period of 10 years. In 2013, the Blue Ridge Heritage Project formed with a mission of establishing stone chimney monument sites in each of the counties where people were displaced. To date, seven have been established, including the first in Madison County in 2015. A committee is now being formed in Augusta County complete the last monument, according to Project Founder Bill Henry.

At the time the Shenandoah National Park was proposed in the 1920s, more than 3,000 people lived in this part of the Blue Ridge. The mountains were alive with small communitieshouses, farms, churches, schools dotted the landscape. Some of the families had resided in these mountains for over a hundred years, according to Blue Ridge Heritage Project.

In addition to establishing chimney monuments, the Project aims to preserve the history and culture of the people of the Blue Ridge, Henry wrote in an email to the Culpeper Star-Exponent.

"We are beginning to organize and sponsor events that help the public learn the human history of SNP. Our Mountain Homecomings - annual pot luck lunches open to anyone - feature traditional music and displays of storyboards of family histories and photographs,: he stated. "Our monument sites, when completed, will have interpretive displays telling visitors unfamiliar with the formation of the Park how the land was acquired and will help give context to the chimney and the names."

In addition, a Mountain Heritage Book Discussion Group formed in Rockingham County focused on books related to the people who once lived in the Blue Ridge, an idea Henry said he hoped would spread to communities around the park. He punctuated the importance of preserving the stories of the mountain folk.

"If this story does not continue to be told it will very soon die out as those who learned it from their parents and grandparents pass on," Henry said. "The rich culture of the mountain people could quickly be lost as younger generations lose interest in the stories."

Knowing the backstory of Shenandoah National Park, he added, will give visitors from around the world a deeper understanding and appreciation of the park and its past, as well as providing some context for the artifacts, foundations, cemeteries, etc. that hikers find while walking the park trails.

Released Tuesday through publisher Mascot Books, Go Down the Mountain is also available at Amazon.com.
Thumbs up to Bryan Baine, who announced hed be opening a third location of the popular Baines Books and Coffee in the Second Stage building in the town of Amherst. It will be his third shop  the original location is in the town of Appomattox and the second is in Scottsville in southern Albemarle County.

Second Stage is a nonprofit arts and community center that operates out of the old Amherst Baptist Church facility on Second Street. It hosts numerous events throughout the year, rents studio space to artists and small businesses. Theres also a farmers market every Thursday from May through October.

Baine told our sister newspaper, the New Era-Progress in Amherst, that he had been scouting locations in the town for several years. The Second Stage location was just perfect for what he wants to do with the business.

The shop, obviously, will sell coffee along with a wide selection of books, but there will also be bagels, baked goods and sandwiches on the menu, too. It will be a smaller version of what we do in Appomattox, Baine said. The Appomattox location opened 15 years ago, while theyve been in Scottsville for seven years.

Congratulations to one and all.

* * *

Thumbs up to the folks in Nelson County who have successfully launched the countys second craft beverage trail for locals and tourists alike.

Nelson 29 Craft Beverage Trail is modeled on a similar trail on Virginia 151 in the western half of the county in the Rockfish Valley. Known as Nelson 151, it includes six wineries, threw breweries and two cideries. Its been up and running for about 10 years, growing in popularity and recognition throughout the state.

Nelson 29 traverses about 20 miles from Blue Mountain Barrel House in Arrington all the way up U.S. 29 to DelFosse Vineyards and Winery in Faber. In between are Lovingston Winery, Virginia Distillery Co., Brent Manor Vineyards and Wood Ridge Farm Brewery.

Sarah Craun, an employee at the Virginia Distillery Co., broached the idea to Maureen Kelley, the director of the Nelson County Tourism and Economic Development Office, and the two ran with the idea from there.

On Sept. 7, Nelson 29 will hold a festival to officially introduce itself to the community and celebrate the launch of the countys second craft beverage trail. Mark your calendars now!
(Newser)  David Green was out of sick days when he learned just how much his colleagues cared, CNN reports. The Alabama history teacher's daughter, Kinsley, is receiving cancer treatments 100 miles away from their Huntsville homebut he had no more sick days to visit her. So his wife went on Facebook and asked if other teachers would donate one day each. All the Greens needed were 40; little did they know. "I could not imagine having a child and being away from the child," says Wilma DeYampert, an elementary-school assistant principal who has breast cancer. "So, I just thought it was the right thing to do. My mom always said, 'You don't have to be rich to bless someone.'" DeYampert is undergoing chemo herself but still gave two sick days, per WHNT.

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Before the Greens knew it, they had 100 extra days. "We were blown away with the response that we received with the sick days." says Kinsley's mother, Megan Green. "It is a huge blessing and we can't wait until we are in the position to give back and help others." The story highlights American teachers' low pay, which keeps them from dealing with emergencies, and lack of paid leaveusually just one sick day a month. It's also about a 16-month-old daughter's lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis, which entails months of inpatient treatment and two more years of treatment after that. The Greens have started a GoFundMe page to pay for medical costs and other needs, per People. (Another teacher posted her salary. Then came the Amazon boxes.)
(Newser)  An early weekend surprise emerged out of North Korea on Saturday: the launch of a "barrage" of short-range "projectiles," which flew for up to 125 miles before landing in the East Sea, per the Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the "multiple rounds" originated in the eastern coastal town of Wonsan between 9:06am and 9:27am local time. Fox News notes that South Korea initially said the North fired short-range "missiles," but then changed that simply to "projectiles." If confirmed they were missiles, it would be the first such launch out of North Korea since November 2017, though ABC News notes that was a long-range Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. "Korea and the United States are working closely together to maintain their ready preparedness," the JCS said in its statement.

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The White House weighed in as well. "We are aware of North Korea's actions ... [and] will continue to monitor as necessary," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. The AP notes that the launch is "a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington." The fact that the projectiles fired were short-range ones has kept concern somewhat tamped down. "I don't think we should get too excited about a short-range test unless someone can tell us that it was a long-range test that failed," ex-State Department official Stephen Ganyard tells ABC. "A short-range test is Kim demanding attention, not making a statement." (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  A Washington state man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and charged with making interstate threats, including against President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Seattle Times and Washington Post report that 27-year-old Chase Bliss Colasurdo of Kent was detained six weeks after federal agents were first alerted on March 16 to threatening posts he apparently made online. On Feb. 27, a pic on Instagram from Colasurdo's account appeared to show him holding a handgun, along with the caption, "I made a death threat against [J.K] yesterday and have not been arrested yet." That threat he seemed to have been citing was found in a cyberstalking investigation of his Gmail by the Los Angeles Police Department, turning up a Feb. 26 email that read: "I'm going to personally execute [White House Senior Advisor JK] for his countless treasonous crimes."

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That email was sent to five different media outlets. Another online post, on March 4, took aim at Donald Trump Jr., noting, "I would like to let the secret service know that I am going to Execute this [expletive]." His social media also contained anti-Semitic posts. Someone from the public contacted authorities after seeing one or more of the threats, and for six weeks the FBI says it kept tabs on Colasurdo. An affidavit notes that during that time, he started accumulating ammo, bulletproof attire, and a concealable gun holster; he also tried to get his hands on a semiautomatic pistol but was rejected because he'd been flagged in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. "When [federal agents] became aware of his attempts to purchase firearms, they quickly moved to arrest him," a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle said. If convicted, Colasurdo could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  At least four people were sent to the hospital after what police are calling a "catastrophic" explosion at a factory in Waukegan, Ill. CNN reports the blast at AB Specialty Silicones, which authorities say happened around 9:30pm local time, also left others unaccounted for. Waukegan's fire marshal, Steven Lenzi, says at least three people are missing, with rescuers sifting through the rubble at the Lake County factory to see if they can find other victims, per NBC News. It's been reported those who were hurt suffered moderate to serious injuries.

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The Lake County Sheriff, which initially received reports of "a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area," asked locals to stay away from the scene while firefighters, cops, and paramedics tended to it. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all involved in this horrific incident," Lenzi said in a statement. "Our personnel worked tirelessly through the night to control this scene with help from many neighboring agencies. This was a very large-scale team effort." After assessing the scene, authorities say they don't believe locals need to worry about air quality issues. (Read more explosion stories.)
(Newser)  Florida police were surprised to find a couple having sex on the sidewalk outside the station Monday night, the Smoking Gun reports. "I'm horny," alleged copulator Gary Hill told an officer when confronted outside the Key West Police Station, per a police report. "She was giving it up to me right then and there." His pants still down, Hill described it as "a Key West moment." The 46-year-old was charged with indecent exposure and held on $7,500 bond, while companion Crystal Frances was taken to a hospital for over-intoxication. She was also angry and unwilling to comply with police, NBC Miami reports. Seems the pair downed a pint of vodka before following nature's call. (Read more police stories.)
(Newser)  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with a white nationalist rally in Virginia and political rallies in California, the AP reports. Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot. Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques. Two other members of the groupCole White and Thomas Gilleneach previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

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All four men admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. Prosecutors said photos and video footage showed the men attacking counterprotesters in Charlottesville and also participating in violence at political rallies the same year in Huntington Beach and Berkeley, Calif. Each man faces up to five years in prison on the charge, but defendants often get less than the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.

(Read more white supremacist stories.)
(Newser)  Angry pilots have prompted the US Navy to draft new guidelines about UFO sightingsbut it seems that information will be kept from the public, Newsweek reports. "There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air spaces in recent years," says the Navy in a statement, per Politico. "The Navy is updating and formalizing the process by which reports of any such suspected incursions can be made to the cognizant authorities." Until now, an official says, possible UFO sightings were "treated as anomalies to be ignored." But in the future pilots will have a formal procedure for documenting unexplained encounters, per the Washington Post.

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Intrusions have been spotted several times per month since 2014, with pilots describing spherical or Tic Tac-shaped objects that move quickly and have no exhaust, wind, or air intake. For example, a 2017 New York Times article included Navy video of unknown objects that reportedly appeared at 80,000 feet, plunged to 20,000 feet, hovered, then either vanished from radar range or flew back up. "At a certain point there ended up being multiple objects that we were tracking," said a petty officer stationed on the nearby USS Princeton, per Slate. "That was towards the end of the encounter and they all generally zoomed around at ridiculous speeds, and angles, and trajectories and then eventually they all bugged out faster than our radars." (Pilots spotted UFOs over Ireland.)
(Newser)  They're talking about jailing people at the Capitol. Imposing steep fines. All sorts of extraordinary, if long-shot measures to force the White House to comply with Democratic lawmakers' request for information about President Trump stemming from the special counsel's Russia investigation, the AP reports. This is the remarkable state of affairs between the executive and legislative branches, unseen in recent times, as Democrats try to break through Trump's blockade of investigations and exert congressional oversight of the administration. Trump's blanket refusal to engage in oversightand Democrats' unrelenting demand that he do sois testing the system of checks and balances with a deepening standoff in the aftermath of Robert Mueller's investigation.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has given Attorney General William Barr a Monday deadline to comply with a subpoena demanding an unredacted version of Mueller's report, along with its underlying evidence, or face a contempt charge. Nancy Pelosi noted this week that obstructing Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against President Nixon. Short of that, lawmakers are considering options for Barr and others. There's a long history of lawmakers holding officials in contempt. They can sue for compliance with the threat of fines. Some lawmakers are suggesting censuring the attorney general or impeaching him. Others have called for Barr to resign. And then there's talk of jailing people on Capitol Hill, but the House and Senate say stories of jail facilities existing on the Hill are innacurate.

(Read more Capitol Hill stories.)
(Newser)  A helicopter plunged into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and triggered a desperate search for survivors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Per eyewitnesses and officials, the two-seater hovered over a nearby farm before turning toward the bay and crashing about 3/4 of a mile out. The Maryland Natural Resources Police arrived at roughly 12:30pm at Bloody Point, known as the "The Hole," the bay's deepest area at 174 feet. The Coast Guard has sent out search boats from its Annapolis station, per CNN, while WBAL-TV notes that fire officials are joining Queen Anne County authorities with a dive team and boats. Two people were said to be on board. (Read more helicopter crash stories.)
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New Delhi:

A 32-year-old man and his 33-year-old childhood sweetheart were arrested for allegedly killing the formers wife and trying to project it as a suicide in southwest Delhis Kishangarh, the police said. The accused, Rahul Kumar Mishra is a mechanical engineer and Padma Tiwari, who works at an MNC in Gurugran, were arrested on Wednesday, they said. On March 16, the Kishangarh police station was informed by Fortis Hospital that one Pooja Rai was brought to the hospital by her husband and she was declared dead there, police said.

Since Pooja died within seven years of marriage, the Mehrauli executive magistrate was informed an enquiry was initiated. Her autopsy was conducted at the Safdurjung Hospital and the reports showed that her death was homicidal. Pooja was found to be strangulated and had injury marks on her occipital bone. Her fathers statement was recorded and a probe initiated to ascertain the cause of death. Her husband, other family members and his friend Padma, who was said to have visited Rai on the day of her death, were kept on technical surveillance, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

On Wednesday, the accused were interrogated and confronted with the discrepancies in their statements. During inquiry, it was revealed that the childhood lovers had hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Pooja in order to re-unite, he added. The accused told the police that they were schoolmates in Padma and Rahul had studied together in Jharkhands Sindri Dhanbad and were in a relationship but eventually lost touch.

They reunited in 2015 and wanted to get married, however, their parents opposed the relationship citing different castes. Rahuls marriage was fixed to Pooja, who also belonged to Sindri, Jharkhand, in January 2017. Rahul told Pooja about their relationship with the hope that she would refuse to get married to him but she didnt and they got married in April that year.

Meanwhile, Rahul and Padma continued their relationship. Eight months ago, Rahul asked Pooja to take Padmas help in securing a job. Pooja allegedly taunted Padma over her relationship with Rahul. They then hatched a plan to kill Pooja, the officer said.

On the day of the killing, Padma went to meet Pooja at her house in Kishangarh as per plan. They had breakfast together, but Padma had to wait to execute the plan as the domestic help was still present there, he said.

Later, Padma overpowered Pooja and hit her head on the ground several times and smothered her. Then, she kept a letter close to the body to mislead the police. In the evening, she told Rahul on phone that she had murdered Pooja, the police said.

In the four-page fake suicide note, Padma mentioned that a man had committed suicide because of Pooja, which is why she was committing suicide. "The fake suicide note written by Padma spoke about how Pooja had 'cheated' a man, which led to him committing suicide. The note mentioned how this has affected her badly and prompted her to take the extreme step, the police said. The accused wanted to make it seem like Pooja had committed suicide out of guilt and wanted to defame her.

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New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted something that most people have been missing so far  the difference in the approach of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its Uttar Pradesh ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Congress. Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh, the prime minister said that while the Samajwadi Party uses soft approach when it comes to the Congress, the BSP takes on the Grand Old Party in a more blistering way.

Congress leaders are happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in their rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend, Modi said during the rally.

While both the Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party and Maywatis BSP are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance, their approach against the Congress, who could not be part of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance despite several efforts, has been a little different and it was quite evident.

During their joint rallies, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav centres his attack around the BJP and PM Modi, the BSP chief equally takes on the Congress as well as the BJP. Mayawati has even threatened the Congress of pulling out her partys support from its government in Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks of the prime minister are also significant in view of recent statement from some of the BJP leaders praising Mayawati. BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy had recently said that in case the BJP-led NDA fails to get full majority, Mayawati could become the prime minister and wont support the Congress.

Mayawati has been in alliance with the BJP in 1995, 1997 and 2002. And experts believe that there are chances that the BSP, despite their anti-BJP alliance with the SP and the RLD, could again go with the saffron party.

During his rally, the prime minister also said that the Congress party, which was staking claim to the PM post before the first round of polling has now become a Vote Katua (vote cutter) party.

He was referring to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis remark that the Congress has carefully chosen its candidates to eat up the votes on the BJP where the party thinks its chances of winning are bleak.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during an election roadshow in Moti Nagar area on Saturday. The attacker, identified as Suresh who is a resident of Delhi's Kailash Park, has been arrested. He being interrogated at a police station. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when the man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

The AAP quickly condemned the incident, calling it the aOpposition-sponsored attacka.

aAnother negligence in the security of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi,a AAP tweeted.

Another negligence in the security of CM @ArvindKejriwal.



Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal got attacked during the roadshow. We condemned this cowardly act. This opposition sponsored attack cannot stop the Aam Aadmi in Delhi. a AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 4, 2019

Kejriwal has frequently been the target of attacks ever since he entered public life. In February,A the Delhi government claimed that Kejriwalas vehicle was attacked by BJP workers in the presence of police personnel in Narela. Kejriwal had gone to Narela to attend an event when BJP workers gathered in front of his vehicle and held a protest.

In April 2016, a man, who identified himself as a member of a breakaway faction of the Aam Aadmi Party threw a shoe at Kejriwal while he was addressing a press conference inside the Secretariat.A The man shouted something about a sting operation on a CNG scam before he hurled the shoe which fell on the table in front of Kejriwal. The attacker was whisked away by Secretariat officials before being detained by police.A

In November 2013, while the AAP was holding a press conference in Delhi, Nachiketa Vaghrekar, who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, attacked Kejriwal with black ink.



In March 2014, a similar attack took place in March 2014, when Kejriwal was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi, some unidentified people threw ink at him. The agitated people even threw eggs at the open vehicle in which Kejriwal was travelling.

In the same year, Kejriwal was heckled and attacked physically. He was attacked during his roadshow in south Delhias Dakshinpuri area. While Kejriwal was shaking hands with his supporters, a person punched him on his back and even tried to slap him.



In April 2014, four days after Dakshinpuri incident, Kejriwal was slapped by an auto driver, Lali, during his roadshow in Sultanpuri area of Delhi.




New Delhi:

Congress leader Sam Pitroda on party president Rahul Gandhis citizenship issue said how can someone sit in parliament for 15 years if he is not an Indian citizen. He has been member of parliament for 15 years, you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament. Why did you wake up today with lies? You think people are stupid? Dont underestimate intelligence of Indian people, news agency ANI quoted Pitroda as saying.



Chief of Indian Overseas Congress Pitroda said the Congress party is winning the elections. Based on our assessment we believe we are winning. We are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi Govt did not deliver, he said.



Reacting to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati speech where they slammed Congress, Pitroda said that there is nothing to worry about. I dont think there anything to worry, they will all come together at the right time, I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal, they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace, he said.



Pitroda had earlier Rahul Gandhi has experienced the trauma of terrorism and those questioning him in the matter should feel ashamed. The remarks come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders had often attacked the Congress president on the issue of terrorism and national security in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.

In an interview to PTI, Pitroda had said Rahul Gandhi lost his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) and father (Rajiv Gandhi) to terrorism and that the leader understands the trauma and suffering associated with it. He said those doubting Rahul Gandhi's nationalism should be ashamed of themselves.

Seven-phase elections, which began on April 11, will end on May 19. Results will be declared on May 23.
New Delhi:

Ahead of the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Polls on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh and Basti and at Valmikinagar in Bihar today. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today. Today is the last day for campaigning before the fifth phase of polling.

Here are the latest updates:

21:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our policy is clear, if Pakistan hurls bricks, we will throw mortar: BJP chief Amit Shah at Delhi rally

21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

#WATCH Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Akhilesh Yadav in Gonda says, "Mukhyamantri ji ne (UP CM Yogi Adityanath) aur unke kuchh adhikariyo ne Pradhan Mantri ji ko bhi chillam sikha diya....Jo log humein keh rahe hain tonti-tonti, vahi hain chillam wale" pic.twitter.com/4rVeAwAWxU

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul baba says, Kejriwal doesn't say but has the wish to scrap Sedition Law. Why should it be scrapped? If someone spies for Pakistan later, on what charges will you put them in jail?: Amit Shah

17:38 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

CM Yogi Adityanath: 2017 mein Uttar Pradesh ke iss mahan janata ne pradesh ke do ladko ke jodi ko khariz kiya tha. Kaha tha ki do ladko ki jodi nahi hoti, jodi toh bailo ki hoti hai. pic.twitter.com/sAZvHr84OD

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 4, 2019



17:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person: P Chidambaram

17:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We started the process in 2009 to name Masood Azhar as global terrorist, 10 years later process is complete. Mr Modi is only talking about last scene of the story, it's like going to a movie & only looking at the last scene, what about the earlier scenes?: P Chidambaram

16:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Nitish Ji removed 'Lalten' (RJD's symbol) with hard work & provided electricity to every household. They are trying to push you back in the 'lalten' era but Nitish ji & his team is working to illuminate every household with the light of LED bulbs: PM Modi in Valmiki Nagar, Bihar.

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In But people with the mentality to separate the country divided Andhra and Telangana. It has been 5 years since the separation of both the states. Although Andhra and Telangana speak Telugu they can't see each other eye to eye: PM Modi in Bihar's Ramnagar

16:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In During Atal Ji's tenure three states were formed. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh&Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. These three states were separated cordially: PM Modi in Ramnagar

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Everyone is hopeful. The massive crowd is an evidence that people of Amethi have faith in Modi ji and BJP is winning here in this elections. Opposition will stop making any claims after the result, BJP will form govt with massive majority: Amit Shah

16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In For the first time Amethi is feeling that development is possible here as well. Even after making members of Gandhi family their representative for so many years, there were villages which didn't have electricity. They received electricity only after Modi ji came: Amit Shah in Amethi.

14:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda on Congress's claim '6 surgical strikes were carried out during UPA tenure: Call it surgical strikes, call it cross border operations, they have been carried out in the past by the Army. I'm not aware of exact dates & areas that have been brought out.

14:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Our work culture is to decide a goal and work towards fulfilling that. The working culture of the "Mahamalivati aacoalition" and NDA is quite different from each other. We want to take the government out of Delhi, while the Mahamalivatis are desperate to come to Delhi in the greed of the power: PM Modi

14:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chandigarh Nodal Officer has issued show-cause notice to BJP's Kirron Kher, stating'you have shared video on Twitter account which shows children being used for campaign through slogans 'Vote for Kirron Kher'&'Abki baar Modi sarkar.' Admin has demanded reply within 24 hrs.

14:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In I want to thank you for supporting us in 2014 and now we want your blessings for the next 5 years, says PM Modi in Basti.

12:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Narendra Modi in Pratapgarh: Na main gira aur na meri ummeedon ke minar gire, par kuch log mujhe girane mein kayi baar gire. (neither i fall, nor the minrates of my hopes but some people fell in their attempt to fall me.)

12:54 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Modi accuses Rahul Gandhi of favouring his former business partner in getting defence offshore contracts.

"Today I read that during UPA one of naamdar's business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha."

12:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

12:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

PM in Pratapgarh: Congress leaders happily sharing stage with Samajwadi Party in rallies,these people have betrayed Behenji so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter.



12:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot: Congress campaign has been very good and well managed. Due to which PM Modi and Amit Shah are focusing on Rajasthan and campaigning continuously. PM is doing three meetings in a day which means they are nervous now.

10:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In As per our internal assessment, BJP losing in LS polls: Rahul Gandhi.

10:14 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul Gandhi: The Army,Air Force or Navy are not personal properties of Narendra Modi ji like he thinks. When he says that surgical strikes during UPA were done in video games then he is not insulting Congress but the Army.



10:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The biggest issue right now is unemployment and the way Modi ji has destroyed the economy. Country is asking that Modi ji you promised us 2 crore jobs,what about that? He doesn't speak a word on jobs or farmers as he has nothing to say, says Rahul Gandhi in press meet.

07:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi adityanath will address several rallies in the state.

07:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sunny Deol to hold roadshows in Allahabad, Rae Bareli and Phulpur.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP president expected to participate in a roadshow in Amethi to garner support for Smriti Irani.

07:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at HUDA ground in Gurugram today.
New Delhi:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday cornered Congress chief Rahul Gandhi over a media report claiming that the latters former business partner got defence offset contracts under the UPA regime.

Addressing a press conference, Jaitley alleged that Rahul and his sister Priyanka were directors in the UK firm Backops Private Limited, which associated with Congress chiefs former business partner Ulrik Mcknight and received defence contracts during the UPA regime.

Jaitley said Ulrik Mcknight, at Backops Ltd in the UK, had got offset defence contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011 during the UPA rule.

"It's story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India's PM. It's a serious charge and I think it's my responsibility to make good discharge," said Jaitley, referring to Rahul Gandhi.

Jaitley's reference was to a Business Today report on how his former business partner at Backops Limited in the UK -- the same company that in its documents for incorporation had said that Rahul Gandhi was a British citizen -- had got offset defence contracts during UPA rule.

Ulrik Mcknight was 35 per cent co-owner of Backops UK, in which Rahul Gandhi owned a majority 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. Mcknight later went on to acquire offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011.

The report claimed that subsidiaries associated with Rahul Gandhi's former business partner received defence contract as an offset partner of a French firm in 2011.

"On May 28, 2002, a company is formed in India named Backops Private Limited. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka become companys director. In 2003, a company with the same name is formed in Britain. Rahul, along with a US citizen, become companys directors," he said.

"This company, Backops Pvt Ltd, doesnt have any manufacturing unit. This is kind of a liasoning firm. This means we will get your work done and will charge you for it," the Finance Minister added.

Jaitley further alleged that Rahul "became part of a corporate group which had no business except pushing transactions."

"Now Rahul Gandhi is going to be judged by the standards and level of proof he's laid down," he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP chief Amit Shah too cited the media report to launch a scathing attack on Rahul and Congress.

"With Rahul Gandhis Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesnt matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga," he tweeted.

On the other hand, Rahul, refuting the charges, said that he was ready for any kind of investigation. "Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale," he said.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's had allaeged links with the Scorpene deal and stated reports that mentioned how Gandhi's former business partner benefited from the deal. The PM was addressing an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. PM Modi was referring to a report which stated that the co-promoter of UK firm Backops Limited acquired defence offsets during the UPA regime. According to filings made by the Backops UK, Rahul Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. Ulrik McKnight was the 35% owner of Backops UK, in which Gandhi owned a 65% equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up. McKnight was later director in a company ythat acquired offset contracts from French defence supplier Naval Group against Scorpene submarines in 2011, the report stated.

Rahul Gandhi has also been associated with a company with similar name Backops Services Private Limited where his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra served as a co-director.

On April 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the Congress president over his citizenship after receiving a complaint from Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. "Ministry has received a representation from MP Dr Subramanian Swamy in which it has been brought out that a Company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in the year 2003 and that you were one of the Directors and Secretary of the said Company," the notice read. The company in question was Backops Limited. A firm called Backops Services Private Limited was opened in India with Priyanka and Rahul as directors in 2002. In 2003, it a firm called Backops Limited was incorporated in the UK by Rahul Gandhi and one Ulrik McKnight. Gandhi had 65% stake while McKnight had 35%.

In 2004, in his election affidavit, Gandhi had declared moveable assets belonging to Backops UK. The company was subsequently dissolved in February 2009 along with the Indian entity Backops Services Private Limited.
Dehradun:

Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday lodged a complaint against CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in Haridwar for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence. In his complaint, Ramdev said by linking Hinduism with violence, Yechury has hurt Hindu sentiments all over the country, SSP Haridwar Janmaijai Khanduri told PTI on phone.

"It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said. An FIR was registered in the case, the SSP said, adding that officials concerned were asked to look into the matter.

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.
New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped by a man during his roadshow in Delhis Moti Nagar area. Ever since he entered politics, this Aam Aadmi Party chief has been a target of public attacks. Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister.

Kejriwal, who now has a Z-plus security, has been attacked several times since 2013. Here is a look at the previous incidents:

February 2019: Kejriwals car was allegedly attacked by a mob armed with sticks in Delhis Narela. A group of about 100 men tried to stop Kejriwal's car and attacked it with sticks. The incident occurred when Kejriwal had gone to the outer Delhi locality to inaugurate development works in 25 unauthorised colonies.

November 2018: A man flung chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. The accused was targeting the bespectacled chief ministers eyes, according to police. After throwing red chilli powder on the Delhi CM, the accused threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail.

April 2016: An Aam Aadmi Sena member hurled a shoe at Kejriwal while he was announcing details of the second phase of the odd and even road rationing scheme.

Barely a minute after the CM began reading details, man identified as Ved Prakash shouted that an odd even scam was being done by giving away CNG stickers through illegitimate means, following which he hurled a show towards Kejriwal but failed to hit him.

March 2016: A mob pelted Kejriwals vehicle with stones and broke its widnscreen at Punjabs Hassanour village. Kejriwal escaped without injury though the shattered glass fell on him.

January 2016: In first attack on him since he became the chief minister of Delhi, Kejriwal was attacked by a woman who threw ink on him alleging a CNG scam in the national capital.

April 2014: During his roadshow in Delhis Sultanpuri area, Kejriwal was attacked by an auto rickshaw driver who slapped him twice after garlanding him.

Delhi Assembly elections 2014: Holding a roadshow in Delhis Dakshinpuri area, Kejriwal was punched on his back by a man while the former was shaking hands with his supporters.

March 2014: Some people threw ink at Kejriwal and even threw eggs at his open vehicle when he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi.

November 2013: A man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare, threw ink at Kejriwal when he was holding a press conference in Delhi.
New Delhi:

Game of Thrones fans is yet to recover from the shock of the last episode, the one which fans loved for its unexpected turn of events and hated for its gloomy scenes that were hard to decipher.

As the rest of the world prepares to witness some mind-numbing war strategies, plotting and unmasking, end moment revelation of characters in the final game of earning the Iron throne, creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss spilt some beans on the HBO's popular fantasy drama's future episodes.

The duo recently made an appearance on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live and answered three most pertinent questions that gives birth to fan theories and unending debates about the state of the final season.

Without digressing, here are the three questions asked and their answers .

Will someone take the Iron Throne? Answer: "Possibly."

Did Bran know that Arya was going to kill the Night King? Answer: "Possibly."

Have we seen the last of the White Walkers? Answer: "Yeah, we're not going to answer that."

Meanwhile, Vladimir Furdik, the man behind the mysterious and terrifying character of Night King, who was killed by Arya, has spoken out for the first time about his death.

"It was a very emotional day and night," Furdik told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was so strong. I spent all my energy playing it, and (Williams) as well. It was not an easy day. It was cold. There was rain. She was on a wire, in a harness, jumping many times. It wasn't just the one time; it was maybe 15 times. When I have to hold her under the jaw and it looks like she dies, we had to spend a lot of energy on that particular scene. It was very, very difficult. We are very good friends. We know each other. It wasn't easy for me to (pretend to) hurt her. When I grabbed her under the jaw, it wasn't easy (on a practical level). If you make a bad move -- if you don't grab her well -- she could have an injury. So I was under pressure and she was under pressure. It was not an easy day."

Jason Momoa aka Khal Drogo also made a brief playful appearance on Kimmel as he announced that he doesnt care that his character was killed off in GoT anymore as he is Aquaman now.

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New Delhi:

After much speculation about who will play the female lead in Irrfan Khan starrer Angrezi Medium, it was confirmed that Kareena Kapoor has been finalised for the project. The actress will reportedly start the shooting from May 15 and then fly to London in June where a major part of the film will be shot.

Mumbai Mirror quoted a source saying, ''Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative.''

On Kareena Kapoor joining the cast of Angrezi Medium, film's producer Dinesh Vijan had said in a statement, "Kareena is a great addition to our franchise. Angrezi Medium is a very special film and I'm excited that she's going to be a part of it. We wanted to introduce this character who would be taken forward in the franchises to come and she's perfect for it," reported news agency IANS.

Kareena and Irrfan are coming together for the first time in Angrezi Medium. However, Kareena will not be romantically paired opposite Irrfan. The film, directed by Homi Adajania, went on floors recently and also stars Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal, among others. Irrfan plays Champak from Udaipur who is in the mithai business for 'Angrezi Medium'. Radhika Madan will play the role of Irrfan's daughter who wants to go to abroad for studying. Kareena will be seen playing the role of a cop in Angrezi Medium.



Soon after Angrezi Medium, Kareena will begin shooting for Karan Johars Takht.

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New Delhi:

Asaram Bapu was much in news after he was convicted for rape in April 2018. A year after his conviction, the author of a book investigating the case announced a movie adaptation of it.

Ushinor Majumdar has penned "God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu" -- which will be cinematically adapted by filmmaker Sunil Bohra for his latest biopic on the disgraced godman and the women who took him down reported IANS.

"We've seen a lot on the godman both in print and television. This is the first book of its kind reporting on every aspect of the criminal empire of a bogus godman.

"I hope that the world now gets to see the story of three courageous women who fought for justice -- the gutsy survivor who was a minor when she took on the larger-than-life godman, and two efficient women police officers who exposed father and son for what they are," Majumdar said in a statement released by the book's publisher Penguin India.

The film will be made by the producer of "Gangs of Wasseypur" and "Tanu Weds Manu" will not tell the story of his rise to stradom and becoming a popular 'godman' but and will focus on people who played significant roles in the fight for justice against the self-styled godman and facts as relayed in the book.

The book introduces Asaram Bapu as someone who presided over a politically influential empire built on blind faith for decades.

"Along with his son and heir, Narayan Sai, he has now become an example of everything that is wrong with self-styled godmen and the cults they spawn.

"The two stand accused of sexual assaults on vulnerable devotees, land grabbing, money laundering, intimidation, exploitative black magic rituals and the horrific murder of witnesses who testified against them," it says.

The publisher, while maintaining that the book is a stellar example of investigative journalism, looked forward to its movie adaptation.





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New Delhi:

Sophie Turner aka Sansa Stark of Game of Thrones fame surprised all her fans with her private wedding at a Las Vegas Chapel without any lavish ceremony, elaborate wedding list and official announcement. Heads turned not because the 23-year-old actress married secretly but how low profile it was considering the extravagance of her sister and brother-in-laws, Priyanka and Nick Jonas wedding in December last year.

Well, with every passing minute, more and more information about the close-knit ceremony is coming to light. According to a report in E Online, the newly married couple like any other regular couple opted for $675 package deal. The wedding package includes 36 digital photos, a bouquet, boutonniere, complete footage of the ceremony and a limo service before 10 p.m.

What looks like a last minute decision, was actually planned much ahead, as a source close to the couple spilt beans To People magazine that they had planned for a Europe wedding but had to be officiated in the States first.

Sophie ditched the traditional white wedding gown for a silk white Bevza jumpsuit for the ceremony. Now with deets pouring in, its being said that the jumpsuit along with the Loeffler Randall mules cost $650 and $395 respectively. So if you tally it all then her outfit costed more than the entire wedding combine. Groom Joe Jonas, on the other hand, stuck to a sober light grey suit.

According to People, the two after the wedding returned to Los Angeles in a private jet and spent a honeymoon night at the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood.

As their fans wait for an official announcement, photos and wedding footage, it would take some time to sink in that at the times of lavish wedding a high profile couple whose love story was always on the limelight choose to be a part of such an intimate, pocket-friendly affair.

However, according to sources, the newly married couple that got engaged back in 2017 with a whopping $30,000 engagement ring will host a lavish ceremony in Paris later this summer.

On work front, the Jonas Brothers  Happiness Begins has been set for a June 7 release while Sophie is gearing for the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on the same date after from the finaal episode of Game of Thrones that airs on May 19.

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New Delhi:

A BJP worker, identified as Gul Mohammed Mir, was on Saturday shot dead by terrorists in Verinag area of South Kashmir's Nowgam village. The official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries.

Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and a search operations is underway to locate the terrorists.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

This comes two days after a former BJP worker was shot at and injured by unidentified gunmen in Tral area of south kashmirs Pulwama district. The injured was identified as 40-year-old Abdul Rashid Bhat alias Madan Lal, son of Ghulam Ahmad of Kuchmulla village in Tral.

On April 9, two days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected militants killed a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader and his personal security officer (PSO) inside a hospital in the Chenab Valleys Kishtwar district.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version.

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New Delhi:

After killing at least 16 people in Odisha on Friday and leaving a trail of destruction in eastern Indian coastlines, the "rarest of rare" summer cyclone Fani on Saturday claimed another 14 lives while leaving 63 others injured in Bangladesh.

According to Dhaka Tribune, 14 deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur, which were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone. The dead also included a two-year old boy and four women.

The severe cyclone, which entered Bangladesh through the southwestern region earlier this morning, also wounded several people though it weakened strength while barrelling into Bangladesh overland.

The deadly storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and damaged more than 500 houses.

Bangladesh authorities said over 1.6 million people were shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in the country's coastal areas.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing on Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas.

The storm unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal.

Around 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and one lakh officials, were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, spoke to Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of Fani's landfall, is likely to visit the affected areas either on Sunday or Monday, CMO sources said.

The prime minister has assured continuous support from the Centre.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.

The districts of Puri and Khurda were the worst-affected, the chief minister said, adding that Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh were also hit by the cyclone.

West Bengal heaved a sigh of relief as Fani weakened on Saturday morning before moving towards Bangladesh. There was no report of any casualty or major damage in the districts through which the cyclone passed.

With the cyclonic storm moving away, flight operations resumed at Kolkata and Bhubaneswar Airport on Saturday. On Friday, the equipment and infrastructure at the Bhubaneswar airport was considerably damaged due to the cyclone 'Fani'.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified 'Fani' as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". As per the IMD, Fani is also the first cyclonic storm of such severity to have formed in April in India's oceanic neighbourhood in 43 years.

Fani is the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal since the tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 that hit Myanmar with winds over 200 kph, bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths in the country.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. According to the Meteorological department, the extremely severe cyclonic storm relatively weakened after entering coastal Odisha and transformed into avery severea as it approached Bengal.A The cyclone has weakened and is heading towards Bangladesh.

aThe severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishaas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph,a Regional Meteorological Centreas Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

aIt is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains,a Bandyopadhyay said. The storm is now lying close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

SCS aFANI over Coastal Odisha at 2330 hrs IST of 03rd May, 2019 about 45 km north-northeast of Balasore (Odisha), 60 km southwest of Midnapore (West Bengal) and 140 km west-southwest of Kolkata . It is very likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/cIxcNpKaNH a India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 3, 2019

Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai. Parts of Kolkata and the suburbs also received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The effects of the storm could also be felt in cities like Kharagpur and Burdwan as trees were uprooted and metal hoardings collapsed.A The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad where the cyclone passed through has experienced rainfall since Friday night with light winds.A

The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph. A aThe rains will continue till early morning on Saturday, and the weather will start improving by evening,a he said.

The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts.A Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am.

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New Delhi:

Cyclone Fani entered Bangladesh at noon on Saturday after hitting West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha. The worst cyclonic storm in decades, Fani uprooted trees and triggered rains as it entered West Bengal through Kharagpur. No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far. It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon. The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. The Indian Railways will run special trains for helping stranded passengers.

The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, Regional Meteorological Centres Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, said as quoted by news agencies.

Catch all the LATEST updates here:

17:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India (AAI), North Eastern Regional Headquarters, today announced that 81 flights have been cancelled across parts of Northeast India because of Cyclone Fani.

17:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In

IMD: MeT analysis&numerical model guidance suggests widespread rainfall activity across NE states on 4 May, fairly widespread rainfall activity over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, widespread rainfall activity over Arunachal on 5 May & reduction thereafter pic.twitter.com/aqELQr57vH

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



16:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In NDRF: 65 rescue and relief teams of the NDRF are pre-positioned in various parts of the vulnerable states. Odisha (44 teams), West Bengal (nine teams), Andhra Pradesh (three teams), one team each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and two teams each in Jharkhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

16:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Airports Authority of India, North Eastern Regional Headquarters: 59 flights cancelled in Guwahati, 8 in Agartala, 2 in Dimapur, 2 in Lilabari, 4 in Dibrugarh, 6 in Imphal.

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik: A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers. According to our latest reports, deaths are in single digit.



A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers: #Odisha CM @Naveen_Odisha

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



12:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India has announced an additional flight for passengers stranded due to Fani in Odisha. A flight for Delhi from Bhuwaneswar will be operated at 3 pm and another one at 5.45 pm. Passengers who have valid Air India tickets may reach the airport, the airlines said.

12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Pradeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations,NDRF: Cyclone Fani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of NDRF are present in West Bengal.



#CycloneFani has weakened & is covering areas of West Bengal in the form of cyclone. It is further moving towards Bangladesh. The situation is under control and there is not much damaging effect. 9 teams of @NDRFHQ are present in Bengal: Randeep Kumar Rana, DIG Operations



(ANI) pic.twitter.com/Mpn5DZeQyz

 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 4, 2019



10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani," PM Modi said in a tweet.

10:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.



Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani.

 Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

10:15 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the governor of the state, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centres readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm. Also conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani, Modi said in a tweet.

10:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Air India: To re commence operations at Kolkata airport at 09.45 am.

08:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In IMD: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 5.30 am of May 4. It will weaken into a deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.



IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza

 ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019



08:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear.



08:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Metro trains in Kolkata still running at half capacity as mentioned on Friday.

08:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Trains are still being tied to railway tracks. Other train services like local trains have resumed (some trains only).

08:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Flights from Kolkata airport is expected to resume at 8 am. Airport authorities will have to bear the backlog of cancelled and rescheduled flights for the next 24 hours of flights.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The West Bengal electricity board disconnected power lines to prevent any untoward situation as the storm passed through the coastal districts. (Photo: PTI)



08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In the sea resort town of Digha, the win speed reached 70 kmph in some areas, in Frazerganj the wind velocity was between 60 and 70 kmph.

08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The epicentre of the storm is expected to hit the city in the early on Saturday and rains are expected to continue till Saturday.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani lashed cities and towns in coastal Bengal including Digha, Mandarmani, Tajpur, Sandehskhali and Contai.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 am through Odishas Balasore.

08:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The districts of Nadia, Murshidabad --- where the cyclone passed through --- has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night with light winds. (Photo: PTI)



08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It has been raining in Kolkata since early morning and will continue till Sunday afternoon.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In No loss of life or any injury has been reported so far.

08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Cyclone Fani hit West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday, hours after making a landfall in Puri wreaking havoc in the coastal districts of Odisha.

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New Delhi:

Earthquake in Assam: A moderate intensity earthquake tremors measuring 5.4 magnitude jolted Guwahati, other parts of Assam and Northeastern states on Saturday evening. The epicentre of the quake was Sagaing region in Myanmar. There has been no reports of any casualty or damage to property so far. Many users took to social media to express their concern over the tremors.

According to reports, the tremors were felt around 4.32 pm in Assam and several parts of the Northeast.

On April 24, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck Assam region, the US Geological Survey said. The quake's epicentre was located 114 kilometres northwest of the town of Dibrugarh, at a very shallow depth of 9 kilometres, the USGS said. The quake struck at 1.45 am on and could also be felt across the border in Tibet, the USGS said. The Assam tea-growing area near the Brahmaputra river is close to the border with China and is sparsely populated.

Aarthquake 'forecasting' website Ditrianum had recently reported that a huge earthquake with potentially a high 7 to 8+ magnitude could strike the Earth on Friday and if it does then the massive destruction was inevitable. Described as critical geometry in the solar system could cause widespread destruction on Earth, a conspiracy theorist has warned. According to Ditrianum, Neptune, Venus, Mercury and the Sun were all positions in specific places in the solar system which could effect Earth.

This was because a gravitational tug of war could build tension in the tectonic plates of Earth, which could be unleashed in a devastating fashion. In last week, Frank Hoogerbeets, who runs Ditrianum, had predicted that a potentially civilisation ending tremor can strike Earth between April 30 to May 3.

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New Delhi:

In the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take stock of the situation that claimed at least 10 lives across the state.A The PM spoke to the Odisha Chief Minister and assured all necessary assistance from the Centre in restoring normalcy across the cyclone-hit state.

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts of the state," the PM said. PM Modi also said he will visit Odisha on Monday to take stock of the situation.

Day after tomorrow, on the 6th morning, I will be going to Odisha to take stock of the situation arising in the wake of Cyclone Fani. a Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 4, 2019

He also spoke to the governor of Odisha Professor Ganeshi Lal on the situation in the state. The PM assured all possible help from the Centre to the people of Odisha, who are showing exemplary courage in the face of a natural disaster.

Puri, where the cyclone made landfall, was the most hit by the severe cyclonic storm, which enteredA West Bengal post-midnight and unleashed heavy rainfall in the state.

The Prime Minister also spoke to the governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on Saturday about the ground situation after Cyclone Fani. During his conversation with Tripathi, the prime minister reiterated the Centreas readiness to provide all help needed to cope with the extremely severe cyclonic storm.

aAlso conveyed my solidarity with the people of Bengal in the wake of Cyclone Fani,a Modi said in a tweet.

Fani barrelled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, killing at least eight people, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, officials said.

Several districts of West Bengal, including East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Pargana, besides Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, Kolkata and the Sundarbans are likely to be hit by the storm that would then move towards Bangladesh and taper off.

CM Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state on Friday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Patnaik said that in the past 24 hours, over 12 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable districts to safer locations.

"Just now, I reviewed the cyclone situation with the state's Chief Secretary and other senior officers. Our first priority is to evacuate people living in vulnerable areas, including kutcha houses. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters. As we speak, Fani is still passing through Odisha, and an assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state," he said.A

"Restoration of electricity is a challenge. Electricity supply will be restored in Ganjam by Saturday. Restoration of communication has been completed in Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Patnaik added.A

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New Delhi:

Consumer Electronics maker Sony India expects audio segment to be one of its growth driver, which will contribute around 20 per cent of revenue in next 3-4 years, said a top company official. Sony India is encouraged with the growth in segments such as headphones, sound bars and party speakers.

The audio market is growing very fast. We can expect around 18-20 per contribution coming from the audio segment, Sony India Managing Director Sunil Nayyar told PTI Friday.

When asked about the time frame, he said: It could happen in next 3-4 years.

Presently, Sony India gets its 65 per cent revenue from TV segment, 15 per cent from audio, 10 per cent from camera and rest 10 per cent from other verticals.

According to Nayyar, Sony India had registered around 50 per cent growth in the fast-emerging headphone categories.

Besides, it also has plans to introduce some more products in the segment to maintain its lead.

Strengthening its portfolio in the segment, Sony India Friday introduced new outdoor party speaker GTK-PG10.

Priced at Rs 19,990 the company is targeting the young and millenial segment with features like wireless connectivity and a long battery life.
New Delhi :

The attackers involved in the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka had travelled to Kashmir, Kerala and Bangalore in India possibly to receive training, the Island nations Army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said. In an interview with the BBC published on Friday, Senanayake said, "They had gone to India, travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala state, (according to) information available with us. It would have been for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country."

As many as 257 people, including foreign tourists, were killed and over 500 others sustained injuries in the April 21 serial blasts in three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. The ISIS took the responsibility for the worst attack in the history of Sri Lanka.

India had warned the Sri Lankan authorities through diplomatic channels about the attacks well in advance but due to the lack of coordination between the countrys security agencies, the attacks could not be stopped.

So far, there was no immediate response from India on the Sri Lankan Army chiefs claims but a Union Home Ministry source, on the condition of anonymity told the The Hindustan Times: "Sri Lanka hasnt shared any such information with us. Importantly, Sri Lankan security agencies themselves have ruled this out after investigation."

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New Delhi:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has now been engaged to her long-time partner Clarke Gayford, her spokesman said on Friday. Ardern was seen at a ceremony on Friday wearing a diamond ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Her spokesman then confirmed that the pair got engaged over Easter. Last year, Ardern and Clarke gave birth to a daughter named Neve Te Aroha. "I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility because he's a parent too, he's not a babysitter," Jacinda Ardern had told this to told Radio NZ.



Jacinda Ardern is the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.





Ardern and Gayford became a couple after he approached her about a constituency issue in her Auckland electorate of Mount Albert about five years ago. Gayford's television show, "Fish of the Day," has been sold to 20 countries.



The 38-year-old Ardern was widely praised for the compassion and leadership she showed after a gunman killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.

Time magazine last month included Ardern on its list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.

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Washington:

Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist groups that launched deadly attacks in India. It has paid no price for its perfidy," Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing early this week. "We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan," he added.

Referring to Pakistans unwavering support to Taliban, much to the detriment of the US in Afghanistan, Roggio also disapproved the US move to withdraw troops from there.

Its support for the Taliban has been unwavering and is leading us to defeat in Afghanistan. I would argue that we have already lost Afghanistan. We are merely attempting to negotiate as team per the terms of our exit, he told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism.

The United States disengaging itself from the battle fronts would lead to an easy victory of its enemies, he cautioned.

As our enemies have expanded their base of operations and remain committed to the fight, our will has faltered, he said.

This is a long war and commitment is key. If we hope to end this threat, we must renew our commitment and to present a united front, he asserted. In his deposition to the panel, Roggio called for hard decisions by the US.

We must rethink our goals and strategy and recognise our enemies goals and strategy. We have to figure out a way to effectively fight our enemies both in the military sphere and the sphere of ideas, he said.

We must continue to combat state sponsors of terror and make hard decisions about countries such as Pakistan, he added. Roggio also accused Iran of trying to establish an Islamic state.

Iran, which alongside Pakistan, is amongst the biggest state sponsors of terrorism, also seeks to establish an Islamic state, he said.

It backs loyal militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. These militias are organised and trained along the same lines as has been law. The long-term impact of these militias is still not fully understood, said the anti-terror strategy and security expert.

While Iran primarily backs Shia groups, it has openly battled the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is not opposed to forming alliances with Sunni jihadists, said Roggio.

This secret deal was documented by the US Treasury Department in 2011 and several times since. Pakistan also continues to harbor numerous terrorist groups and uses them as a tool of its foreign policy, Roggio said.

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Washington :

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence on Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not break his promise, following what if confirmed would be North Koreas first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it, he added.

He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last months test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making foolish and dangerous comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the Norths demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the USs insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.

North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturdays launch does not violate Kim Jong Uns self-imposed missile-testing moratorium, which only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles. But a statement from South Koreas presidential Blue House said it was greatly concerned, calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea fired a number of short-range projectiles from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show visible, concrete and substantial denuclearization action if it wants sanctions reliefthe issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an unwanted outcome if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturdays firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles, according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-inwho brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leadershas tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyangs state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase, criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturdays launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seouls nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyangs latest launch, the Souths foreign ministry said.

Chairman Kim has decided to remind the worldand specifically the United Statesthat his weapons capabilities are growing by the day, said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs.

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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday called for moves to strengthen the national front by deepening the international partnership and enhancing cooperation among media, educational, cultural, religious and human rights institutions.

This is necessary amid the ongoing regional and global upheavals, increasing attempts to fuel sedition, sow division and incite hatred, enmity and terrorism, said HM the King adding: Especially in light of the current digital era and rapidly growing social media networks.

HM the King was speaking on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and 80 years since the issuance of the first newspaper in Bahrain. HM the King stressed that the Bahraini national media has throughout its long history, promoted noble principles, raised awareness and played its cultural and cognitive enlightenment role.

It is a source of pride that our celebrations of this international event, this year themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation coincide with the success of the Kingdoms democratic march to a new phase of progress, HM the King said. HM King Hamad affirmed that the national media has proved its outstanding ability in supporting the reform and modernisation process and pushing the nation-building and sustainable development march forward.

We extend our thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Information Affairs and all its affiliates for the efforts they are exerting to develop the sector. HM the King further expressed his pride in womens participation in the media work. We strongly believe that journalists and media personnel are the cornerstone for building and promoting a democratic society in which security, peace and justice prevail, HM the King said.
A Bangladeshi man agreed to smuggle around 2,400 narcotic pills in return for a free trip to Bahrain, the court heard. This was unveiled during the trial of the man before the First High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to five years of imprisonment, to pay BD3,000 and permanent deportation.

According to court files, the defendant was arrested on December 22, 2018, upon his arrival at the Bahrain International Airport, coming from Dhaka. At the airport and while at the airport security check queue, an officer of the Customs Department turned suspicious about the defendants luggage, as the officer reportedly noticed unusual objects in the pull handle and bars of the mans suitcase.

Further inspection of the handlebar of the suitcase showed that the defendant had concealed 2,379 narcotic pills. Laboratory examination of the pills proved that the pills consisted of Methamphetamine. He was immediately referred to interrogation and later to the Public Prosecution.

He told the interrogators that he smuggled the pills for a fellow Bangladeshi man, who allegedly paid for the mans flight tickets and gave him an amount in cash (not specified).
The Kingdom yesterday hailed its press strides in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as it marked the World Press Day in great fervor.

Media experts and journalists highlighted the successful role of the media in taking the Kingdom forward. Article 23 of Bahrains constitution guarantees the right of opinion and expression. Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused, the article says.

The National Institution of Human Rights (NIHR) yesterday acknowledged the prosperous media strides as the Kingdom joined other nations, in celebrating the freedom of the press. This year, the day was marked under the theme Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

The World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCOs General Conference to endorse the Declaration of Windhoek. Speaking to Tribune, Ahdeya Ahmed, President of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), said: On May 17, the BJA will host an event to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Our role as journalists is to see what is wrong and criticize. Its also our responsibility to maintain the security and stability of our nation.

Moreover, our leaders have always encouraged us to have a free press, which means that we are strongly supported by the leadership of the country and it also means our leadership is entrusting the journalist with a very important tool.
Batelco yesterday announced several executive appointments in line with the separation requirements and the companys strategic vision. The 4th National Telecoms Plan requires turning Batelco into two main entities, one for the Retail and Enterprise operation and the other for the New National Broadband Infrastructure. Batelco named Mikkel Vinter as the CEO for Batelco Bahrain, which will be responsible for the retail and enterprise operation.

Among his previous roles, Vinter founded Virgin Mobile, Middle East & Africa in 2006 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. Before setting up Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa, he held senior roles with Nawras in Oman, TDC in Denmark and Singtel in Singapore. The newly formed National Broadband Network entity will be responsible for the Kingdoms broadband network and providing telecom services to all licensed operators.

Mohamed Bubashait takes on the role as CEO of the National Broadband Network. He lead the separation programme since he joined Batelco as CEO of the Bahrain operation in October 2017, to implement plans for the legal separation of the Company. Ihab Hinnawi was named as the CEO of the Companys International investments and will assume new responsibilities. He will oversee the restructuring of Batelcos international operations. Hinnawi held the role of Group CEO since December 2015.
The United Nations is celebrating World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 under the theme Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. World Press Day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The UN position is that media freedom and access to information feed into the wider developmental objective of empowering people.

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain control over their own lives. This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby participating in the active life of the community. The United Nations also believes that the media plays a critical role in supporting public dialogue and enhancing knowledge on ways to support sustainable development and achieve the SDGs.

Taking this into consideration, the UN launched the SDG Media Compact to raise awareness of the Goals, to help galvanize further action, and to help support governments to achieve the Agenda 2030. The United Nations considers media as one of the effective tools to disseminate and raise awareness about development concepts, particularly regarding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their main pillars: People, planet, prosperity, peace, partnership. The focus of peace is what the media can support and strengthen; Media can mobilize the international community to end conflicts and wars. Development cannot be achieved without peace, and vice versa.

This is underlined by SDG 16, which aims to promote universal access to justice; and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and to ensure that the public has access to the right information which is instrumental in protecting their fundamental freedoms. The press corps - with all its institutions and journalists - has a major role to play in delivering information or news to all of us. It is required to provide the community, local and national government, the private sector and civil society and parliaments with sound and accurate information and analysis.

Any misinformation will have a negative impact. As we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, the world is still facing two main persisting challenges exists: first, the freedom of speech to reveal the facts and the right to access information, and second, journalists safety and protection. According to UNESCO, almost one hundred journalists were killed in 2018, while hundreds more are imprisoned. When media workers are targeted, societies pay a price. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed his deep concerns at the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity.

The role of the press cannot be carried out without the support of governments, in line with national legislations and international conventions. In this context, we in Bahrain witnessed the great role of the media during the 2018 elections in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the governmental facilities provided to the workers in this field; the wide coverage of the events locally, regionally and internationally, especially as it recorded a historic achievement for Bahrain where 6 women secured seats in the Parliament. Social Media also played a great role because of the popular interest in the event, and the candidates social media platforms were used very effectively to provide all needed information to all.

Sharing of information in Bahrain during the election period has been characterized by equal and balanced media coverage for female and male candidates, as well as sharing of information and analysis which helped the electorate to identify their candidates in a transparent and fair manner and to give the electoral the ability to choose. Here we quote the UN Secretary-Generals when he said: No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information.

It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power. On this day I would like thanks the journalist and media personal in Bahrain for their work and dedication and wish them and their families a blessed Ramadan.
Hillsborough couple Bruce and Davina Isackson are the first parents to plead guilty in taking part in a college admissions bribery scheme  and their plea could signal more indictments are on the way.

The Isacksons pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson also pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States for deducting those bribes from their taxes as charitable donations.

The couple left the courthouse without commenting. They are the only parents who have agreed to cooperate with investigators, and it was recently revealed they will testify against others if asked.

Former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon says their cooperation also likely means there will be a new wave of indictments, as the pair may name other people who participated in the scheme.

12 other parents have made agreements with prosecutors to plead guilty, including Felicity Huffman, however, they are awaiting court dates.

ALSO: Lori Loughlin reportedly wants to stand trial, sees it as a path to 'redemption'

The Isacksons are accused of paying $600,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. Authorities say the Isacksons paid to rig the entrance exam score for one of their daughters and get both girls admitted to school as fake athletic recruits.

Among their falsified accolades, one daughter's athletic profile touted her as a "Varsity 8 stroke" for the Redwood Scullers. Another daughter, Lauren, was identified by the Los Angeles Times as a former UCLA women's soccer player, despite never playing competitive soccer before. The Times reported she did play on the practice squad in 2016, but a school spokesperson said she was no longer on the team.

Bruce Isackson, who works as a real estate developer, transferred over 2,100 Facebook shares to pay for his daughters' guaranteed college admission, according to the Department of Justice. In a conversation with scam coordinator Rick Singer transcribed in the affidavit, Isackson allegedly said, "I think we'll definitely pay cash this time, and not, not  not run it through the other way."

"No words can express how profoundly sorry we are for what we have done," the Isacksons wrote in a statement earlier in the month. "Our duty as parents was to set a good example for our children and instead we have harmed and embarrassed them by our misguided decisions. We have also let down our family, friends, colleagues and our entire community. We have worked cooperatively with the prosecutors and will continue to do so as we take full responsibility for our bad judgment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday acknowledged errors made in attempting to stir a military uprising, and he did not discard a U.S. military option in Venezuela alongside domestic forces - saying he would take any such offer from Washington to a vote in the country's National Assembly.

After a dramatic week that saw a clandestine plan to oust President Nicolas Maduro fall apart on Tuesday, Guaido conceded that the opposition had miscalculated its support within the military.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Guaido suggested that he expected Maduro to step down amid a groundswell of defectors within the military. Instead, Guaido's call for the rank and file and senior brass to abandon Maduro did not produce mass defections. Maduro's security forces then quelled street protests and left Guaido's U.S.-backed opposition on its heels.

"Maybe because we still need more soldiers, and maybe we need more officials of the regime to be willing to support it, to back the constitution," Guaido said. "I think the variables are obvious at this point."

Guaido - the head of the National Assembly who in January declared Maduro a usurper and claimed the legitimate mantle of national leadership - did not back unilateral U.S. military intervention. He made clear that any American military support must be alongside Venezuelan forces who have turned against Maduro, but gave no further specifics on what would be acceptable.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table, and its hawks have pressed the Pentagon for possible military involvement. But the administration has not clearly signaled whether it would favor intervention against Maduro.

Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: "Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If it's necessary, maybe we will approve it."

The remarks were among the strongest Guaido has issued yet on the delicate subject of U.S. military assistance - an option that remains largely unpopular even among Venezuelans opposed to Maduro.

Guaido said he welcomed recent deliberations on military options in Washington, calling them "great news."

"That's great news to Venezuela because we are evaluating all options. It's good to know that important allies like the U.S. are also evaluating the option. That gives us the possibility that if we need cooperation, we know we can get it."

He added: "I think today there are many Venezuelan soldiers that want to put an end to [leftist guerrillas], and help humanitarian aid get in, who would be happy to receive cooperation to end usurpation. And if that includes the cooperation of honorable countries like the United States, I think that would be an option."

Yet after Tuesday's failed uprising, Guaido may now be fighting a two-front battle: both to oust Maduro and keep the opposition united.

Guaido, a 35-year-old industrial engineer and former student leader from Venezuela's Caribbean coast, has ignited new hope in the opposition's ranks since he emerged as the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly - a body stripped of its powers by Maduro in 2017 but widely recognized internationally as the country's only democratic institution.

Guaido's claim to be Venezuela's rightful interim president has been recognized by more than 50 nations and strongly backed by the Trump administration. Guaido said he had been in contact with U.S. officials during the week.

Yet the unraveling of a carefully laid plan to oust Maduro, including negotiations with his senior loyalists, has generated rifts within the opposition. Some of its senior leaders have issued recriminations over what went wrong. The sniping risks robbing the opposition of what became its single strongest asset in recent months: unity.

Some frustrated opposition members are blaming Leopoldo Lopez, Guaido's mentor, who escaped house arrest and appeared with Guaido on Tuesday morning, for upending the plan.

Lopez was one of the key architects of secret negotiations with government loyalists who were supposed to turn against Maduro on Tuesday. But his triumphant public appearance after escaping a military base, insiders say, was not expected. Some argue that it may have disrupted a carefully laid plan in which some of Maduro's senior loyalists were poised to force him out.

What actually persuaded Maduro's inner circle to close ranks instead remains a mystery. And Guaido would not discuss the negotiations nor the specifics of the opposition's plan. But the internal sniping poses a new challenge for an opposition that before Guaido's rise in January was largely seen as ineffectual and divided.

"The event shook Venezuelan politics," said Carlos Romero, a Venezuelan political analyst. "People are confused, wounded, unmotivated."

"I have heard some politicians call it a "Leopoldada," he continued, using a word that in Spanish suggests a maverick act by one person. "And the most affected one is Guaido, who has been selling himself as a unitary leader. To appear with Leopoldo in a position like that one may have reduced some leaders' trust in him."

Guaido offered a brief and lukewarm defense of the actions of Lopez, his political mentor.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I don't have information of that."

Guaido sought to downplay internal divisions in the opposition, however, saying "there's absolute unity. As always there are some differences in specific things. But I think a single cause unites us, not only as opposition but civil society too."

Asked if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had damaged opposition negotiations by mentioning the names of the alleged conspirators who were willing to turn against Maduro - including his defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez - Guaido said Pompeo had not. Rather, he called Pompeo's move a demonstration of "important support."

The plan moving forward, he said, remains a combination of international pressure, attempts to woo Maduro loyalists, and street action. But Guaido is confronting the additional challenge of exhaustion and frustration in the Venezuelan street.

Corruption, mismanagement and failed policies have brought Venezuela to its knees, sparking hunger, a mass exodus of migrants and the collapse of the public health system as well as the electricity and water grids In addition, anti-government protesters have confronted violent repression from Maduro's security forces - including four deaths during the past week.

A march on Wednesday - immediately after the failed uprising - drew many thousands. But by Saturday, a march called by Guaido to military installations largely fizzled, drawing nowhere near the crowds of previous protests.

"We have been doing this for 20 years," Guaido said, referring to the rise of the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 after naming Maduro as his anointed successor. "Getting frustrated and tired is part of it, but Venezuelans have demonstrated that they always take the fight again when they have to."

He tacitly acknowledged that the plan put in place by the opposition did not work, and said that his camp was seeking to do outreach with Maduro's military and senior civilian backers. But he did not suggest that the opposition was close to another breakthrough.

"Because the fact that we did what we did and it didn't succeed on the first time, doesn't mean it's not valid," he said. "We are confronting a wall that is an absolute dictatorship. . . . We have recognized our mistakes - what we didn't do, and [what] we did too much of."

International calls are rising for the opposition to sit down in official talks with Maduro's camp. But Guaido reiterated his opposition to talks without the precondition of negotiating Maduro's departure.

"Sitting down with Maduro is not an option," he said. "That happened in 2014, in 2016, in 2017. . . . The end of usurpation is a precondition to any possible dialogue."

Yet if the week's events underscored that the opposition's hand is not yet quite as strong as it hoped, he said it also showed that Maduro is weaker than many had anticipated. He suggested that Maduro's spy chief - who disappeared on Tuesday - had defected, though he would not elaborate. And despite Tuesday's call for a peaceful uprising, Maduro has not ordered Guaido's arrest.

Why?

Because Maduro, he insisted, "is scared."
What seems to us more important, more painful, and more unendurable is really not what is more important, more painful and more unendurable, but merely that which is closer to home. Everything distant which for all its moans and muffled cries, its ruined lives and millions of victims, that does not threaten to come rolling up to our threshold today, we consider endurable and of tolerable dimensions.

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One of the great challenges to living a religious life is feeling the pain of others.

This is the meaning of compassion, to feel with. As Solzhenitsyn observed, it is easy to feel the pain of those closest to you or of those who are your coreligionists. Their pain is your pain. Their tears are your tears. No, the type of compassion we need now was needed by all non-Muslims a few weeks ago for the Muslim victims in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the type of compassion that is needed now by all non-Christians for the Christian victims in Sri Lanka, and it is the type of compassion that was needed by all non-Jews after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of six months ago and the Poway, Calif., synagogue shooting of just a few days ago.

I am devastated by all these attacks as a Jew. I pray for the souls of the dead and for the recovery of the injured and for the trauma of the survivors. May the God who created us all help us to heal the anger that tears at our souls and leads some of us to distort, and to debase the true teachings of our faith traditions which is the teaching of love and peace.

Because of the goodness of our core teachings and their ability to surface and assert themselves over time, I refuse to believe that religion is the source of the problems in our world. However, reality brings me tearfully to admit that distorted, perverted religion is indeed a growing problem in our world. There is a strain of perverted religion that has emerged in our time that must be stamped out and this cannot be done through force of military might or even through diplomatic negotiations. The defeat of perverted religion can only be accomplished by people of faith who are not perverted themselves. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by those who know that murdering in the name of religion is a violation of the most sacred teaching of all religions. The defeat of perverted religion can only be done by us, and the beginning of our movement is the simple ability to feel the pain of others. The next step is to shout to the world, They do not speak for me. Their murderous perversions are not the faith I know.

I am often asked by readers who are not Jewish why Jews have suffered so much at the hands of anti-Semites over the centuries and especially during the Holocaust, when one out of every three Jews who were alive on the planet in 1938 (6 million) were murdered by 1945. I try to explain to them that Jew hating is an ancient cancer in the life of Western civilization, but I cannot fully explain why that cancer cannot be cut out totally.

It is enough for me to see my questioners cry for my people. Today it must be enough  dear God I hope it is enough  for those of us who have been shaken by the vicious attacks in New Zealand and in Sri Lanka and in Pittsburgh and now Poway to cry for the Muslims, Christians and Jews who were murdered by those who thought it was Gods will. During the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Jews were murdered by Crusaders carrying crosses and shouting as they slashed, Deus vult, which in Latin means, God wills this. Then and now the cries of the murderers were false, and the cries of the victims were true. God does not will murder. God cries with us and the victims when Gods words are twisted and profaned.

I must also add in this unusually sad post-Easter week my sadness at the fires inside Notre Dame de Paris, where an 800-year-old Gothic cathedral went up in flames. There is a spiritual magnificence to Gothic cathedrals that is not merely the consequence of their size but has to do with the awesome fact that they were built to glorify God. Yes, they were also built to glorify kings, but if kings were their only reason, they would surely not move us the way they do. They move us because they remind us that sacred space is as important as sacred time.

May next Easter/Passover/Ramadan bring us more peace, far fewer fires and far fewer tears.

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.
WALLINGFORD  Two town residents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on I-691 West in Meriden Saturday morning, according to state police.

The two residents, one a 42-year-old man, the other a 41-year-old woman, were traveling down the highway on a motorcycle at approximately 6:48 a.m. when the man lost control of the vehicle, state police said in a release.
NEW HAVEN  Cooperative Arts and Humanities sophomore Lihame Arouna, 15, was elected Friday to a two-year term as a nonvoting student member of the Board of Education.

Lihame won 64 percent of the vote in a race against New Haven Academy sophomore Sofia Morales. In total, 2,389 votes were cast.

Id like to thank the student body for advocating for me, and Id like to advocate for them, Lihame said after the votes were counted.

Lihame said one of her key issues will be improving communication between the Board of Education and students. Throughout the year, she said, many students have been unclear about whether their teachers will stay in their classrooms and whether their schools will stay open, as the district continues to battle a budget deficit, considering several cost-saving options.

This weeks election nearly did not happen, as one of the two candidates initially came one signature short of making the ballot, before the Student Elections Committee decided that an initially discounted signature from a local charter school could be counted, as there is a petitioning process for charter school students to run for the position.

Lihame will join Nico Rivera, a rising senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, on the board.

Fridays election marks the fourth student election for a seat on the Board of Education since the citys charter was revised.

The student elections committee has spent months trying to drum up student interest in the race after Rivera was the lone declared candidate in 2018. After a majority of school board members voted to hire current Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks in late 2017 against the wishes of many in the community including student board members Jacob Spell and Makayla Dawkins, students in the Citywide Student Council began to express their concerns that the adults on the school board use student board members as window dressing.

In the last competitive race in 2017, Dawkins  who graduates from James Hillhouse High School this year won 48 percent of the 3,287 cast ballots for four candidates.
NEW HAVEN  The administrator of the Democracy Fund has decided to follow earlier protocols and match all qualifying funds 2-to-1 for Justin Elickers mayoral campaign.

Elicker is challenging Mayor Toni Harp for the Democratic nomination for mayor as she seeks a fourth term in office.

Alyson Heimer, who runs the Democracy Fund, had excluded the first 200 donations of at least $10 from New Haven residents from the match.

But she said she researched the actions of her two predecessors in the administrative post and said she would follow their lead. I didnt want to break with their protocol, she said.

The overall purpose of the fund is to help candidates who show broad support be competitive against opponents who take donations up to $1,000 from individuals, as well as money from PACs and lobbyists.

The goal is to limit the influence of bigger donors.

Aaron Goode, one of the members of the board of the Democracy Fund, said both Robert Wechsler and Kenneth Krayeske agreed that all the qualifying donations to candidates participating in the fund should be matched.

Wechsler was in charge from 2008 to 2009, while Krayeske administered the funds for years afterward.

Elicker is participating in the publicly financed fund that provides for a 2-to-1 match for donations between $10 and $30, with top contributions capped at $370 per individual. He submitted 609 donations from New Haven residents to Heimer to review.

He already has received $16,180 from the fund and qualifies for a $19,000 grant, which he can collect once he has obtained ballot access. Heimer said Elicker will pick up just about $11,000 now that all his qualified donations can be matched.

Whoever loses the Democratic Town Committee nomination in July will have two weeks to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot.

Before the 2020 election, Heimer would like to see the Democracy Fund ordinance amended so campaign finance filings could be done electronically, as well as clarify some provisions. She said the section on matching the first 200 donors  needed to get the basic $19,000 grant  is really vague. It is gray.

Goode said the board gave Heimer the ability to check future donations to Elicker as he turns in the paperwork and then submit it to the citys finance office for the matching money. She will present a report to the board monthly.

At its May meeting, Goode said there will be a discussion on the decision to match all qualifying donations as it was not clear at the April meeting that it would become an issue.

Elicker had raised $117,692 in the first quarter through March 30, to $26,392 taken in by the Harp campaign in the same period.

The mayors campaign still has to update its 2017 election filings to show who made between $80,000 and $100,000 in contributions to that race. The State Elections Enforcement Commission voted to investigate a complaint made by Elicker about the missing information.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
Mary Anne Hardy is carrying on what she calls a family legacy by hiking, researching and writing to compile the new, sixth edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut.

The cover of this 320-page paperback guide (The Countryman Press, $21.95) lists only Mary Anne Hardy as the writer. But when you turn to the main title page within, the credit goes to: Mary Anne, David, Gerry and Sue Hardy.

Mary Anne is the daughter of Gerry and Sue Hardy, and is Davids sister. The dedication page makes it wistfully clear two of them have died: In memory of Gerry and David Hardy, who so loved the woods and contributed richly to its preservation and enjoyment.

Her parents wrote the first edition of 50 Hikes in Connecticut in the mid-1970s. Four subsequent editions were published through the efforts of Gerry and Sue Hardy and their son.

Now the mantle has been passed on to me, Mary Anne wrote on the acknowledgments page of the new edition. She said its a privilege to celebrate my family and love of the outdoors.

When I came upon Hardys book at the Barnes & Noble in North Haven (where she will give a talk May 18 at 1 p.m.), I looked through the (revised) 50 choices, especially those in the New Haven area. I was surprised to see a write-up on Peters Rock in North Haven.

Peters Rock? I recalled only hearing the name once in a passing reference from somebody. I had never been there.

Well, as Hardys book showed me, Peters Rock is only about a mile from the New Haven Register office: directly north up Route 17 (Middletown Avenue), shortly after you cross from New Haven into North Haven. Yet, virtually none of my work colleagues I consulted nor, I would bet, the general public know about this pleasurable public expanse of nature.

This is a real hidden gem, Hardy said when we met at the gazebo marking the entrance to the park last Wednesday afternoon. Its an odd little tucked-away place. But were only minutes from downtown New Haven.

In her book, Hardy provides directions to each of the 50 sites. But if youre seeking an address for Peters Rock, you could use the one for First Fuel Oil, 133 Middletown Ave., which has an adjacent driveway to this park.

Hardy begins each of her 50 chapters with a brief history of the site. She wrote that Peters Rock has had many names over the centuries. During colonial times it was called Indian Rock, as it was reported to be a Native American look-out post. She noted it has also been called Rabbit Rock because there were so many hopping around the property.

Hardys history includes much of what you can read in an account by the Peters Rock Association posted near the gazebo. It tells us: Peters Rock was named for Peter Brockett, a crippled Revolutionary War veteran who lived on the north slope of the summit.

The associations history continues: In the late 1800s a group of young businessmen leased the land from North Haven and used it for outings and recreation. They built a one-room building called the Hermitage, with an observation deck.

Those lucky businessmen enjoyed a panoramic view from the summit, where they had erected their lodge. But the association account adds: The Hermitage was destroyed in the early 1900s by a fire caused by a cooking accident.

Informational write-ups near the gazebo state the park is owned and maintained by a small land trust in North Haven, which is the association. There is also this heads up for hikers: Peters Rock offers several trails of varying difficulties. All are under one mile in length but can be walked in different combinations to create longer hikes. The red trail to the summit is steep and difficult but rewards the hiker with serene views.

This summit is 373 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in North Haven, Hardys book tells us. Peters Rock contains 22 acres, the largest parcel of open space in the town.

Hardy lives in North Haven and teaches math at North Haven High School. This park is only five minutes from my house, she said as we began our hike up to the summit.

During our outing up there and back, which took about 90 minutes, we encountered only two people, each of them walking a dog. Jordan Brandon of New Haven, who was walking his dog Loki, said: I love it. I can take my dog for a walk and we can be in nature.

A few minutes into our hike, we heard a woodpecker; Hardy perked up at the sound of it drumming into a tree. Shortly afterward, she pointed out the lush leaves in a collection of skunk cabbage. When I was a kid, wed stomp on it and release the skunky smell. I love the green of that cabbage because its the first green you see coming up in the spring.

As we followed the red blazes (painted markers) on the trees, we came upon a footbridge spanning the Little River, a bubbling treat. Eagle Scouts built the bridge in 2008.

While we walked, I asked Hardy why East Rock and West Rock parks didnt make it into her book. She said East Rock is not well-marked as to where to go. She said West Rock was included in an earlier edition but my understanding from my parents was it became not all that safe. There was a lot of vandalism.

Because Hardy will bump a site out of her book if the trails arent maintained, she is able to replace them with new places. The new edition includes Peters Rock for the first time as well as Osbornedale State Park in Derby. Another one in our area is Westwoods in Guilford.

Sleeping Giant State Park is among the books 50 hikes but Hardy told me in advance we could not meet there for our hike. The devastation caused by last Mays tornado was so severe that the park remains closed. Hardy quoted a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official who said Sleeping Giant will open sometime before the summer. Until then, Hardy said, you could be arrested if you try to hike there.

Hardy said she likes Peters Rock because, unlike Sleeping Giant before the tornado, You dont see a lot of people here, which is refreshing.

On our way upward, Hardy paused to take a photo of mushrooms growing out of a tree. At another point, she called out: Oh look! Violets!

Soon afterward, following a tough patch where we scrambled up a rocky trail, we reached our destination, an area of flat rocks overlooking miles and miles. This is the summit! Hardy announced. We beheld Sleeping Giant, East Rock, the Quinnipiac River, wetlands and the traffic on State Street.

As we headed back down on the same trail, Hardy said, Its great to be out in the woods. Its healthy and its beautiful nature. It settles your mind. Its stress-reducing.

She said re-doing the book took her about seven months because she re-hiked every site. Its not a money-maker; its a family legacy.

Hardy said her brother became too ill to help with the latest edition. She added, My dad died last year but I was able to talk with him about this new one. He was very excited it was coming out and staying in the family. And my mom went to my first book talk.

When I asked Hardy if shell be willing to do a seventh edition, she replied: Oh yeah! Probably every four years. I think my (three) kids would be interested in doing it. They all love to hike.

When we made it back to the gazebo, she showed me the first edition of the book. It had an inscription from her parents, saying they were glad she had rejoined their hikes. In the early years, you were always out in front.

Contact Randall Beach at 203-680-9345 or randall.beach@hearstmediact.com.
It was a night to remember for Buena Regional High School students as they celebrated their prom at Massos Crystal Manor in Glassboro on Friday night.

Prom-goers arrived dressed to the nines as they socialized, posed for photos and danced the night away.

Check back at nj.com/south for other local high school prom coverage. And be sure to check out our complete prom coverage at nj.com/prom.

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Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Lori on Instagram at @photog_lori and Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Once he understood what a doctor does, Timothy Malone knew thats what he wanted to do with his life.

The kid from Mahwah was only 5, maybe 6-years-old when he made that decision.

Malones thinking wasnt challenged -- until his health tilted out of control in 2010.

Constant headaches came out of nowhere in high school. He lost 30 pounds, thinking that was normal for a 16-year-old teen getting in shape. He had a pale complexion and itchy skin that bled from his scratching. Doctors thought he had allergies. A chest x-ray saw something else.

Thats when they found the tumors," Malone said.

He had Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymph system, turning his life upside down.

I wanted nothing to do with hospitals," Malone said. It made me want to run in the opposite direction."

But Malone, now 25, is sprinting back toward his childhood dream. Hes a first-year medical student in Grenada at St. Georges University, which has a teaching partnership with the Bergen County hospital that helped him beat cancer.

Meridian Healths Hackensack University Medical Center has been in Malones life ever since. After nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2010, Malone stayed in touch with the medical center through the Tomorrow Childrens Fund, a program started by parents to help their children and others like them with cancer and serious blood disorders.

Timothy Malone, left, a cancer survivor is with staff at Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center. To his right are Jill Brooks, Judy Solomon, Hope Castoria and Dr. Michael Harris. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media

Malone volunteered in fundraisers, participating with tricky trays and 5K runs. His involvement, however, didnt lead him back to the profession, not even on follow-up visits.

Malone was tired of the hospital and treatment regimens, even though he had a positive attitude about ridding cancer from his body. He willingly signed up for clinical trials and new drug combinations, anything that was available to treat his disease.

Whatever God has in store for me, it must be some reason why he gave it to me to overcome," he said.

With a new outlook, Malone returned to high school after he was cancer free. He focused on perfecting his percussion skills as the drum line captain in the high school band. Instead of becoming a physician, Malone figured hed be a music teacher, or so he thought when he majored in music education at William Paterson University.

But Malone missed the sciences and math classes, and traditional academia. Music was great, just not satisfying. The bug to be a doctor was surfacing, and the desire was sealed when Malone became an emergency medical technician in Mahwah.

That steered me into medicine again," he said. I loved it." His family did, too. Theyve been in the emergency services field for 50 years either as firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

Malone shadowed a physician, then sat in meeting rooms with other doctors who treated him at HackensackUMC. On his checkup visits, he talked about his goals with Dr. Michael Harris, who is chief of the Cure and Beyond Program, for childhood cancers survivors.

Harris said Malone is an intelligent young man with compassion and empathy, character traits that that will help him treat patients.

I think the experience of going through Hodgkins gives him a unique perspective on what patients go through," Harris said. He wants to learn what it is to be a doctor, and (will) continue to go into that direction, but will always be a physician I believe, who will do good by his patients."

In January, Malone started medical school on a full-tuition City Doctors scholarship that he received from St. Georges University on behalf of Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center.

Malone will spend two years in Grenada, then return to HackensackUMC, where hell train to see what area of medicine he would like to pursue. Hell do rotations in different specialties from internal medicine and surgery, pediatrics and psychiatry, obstetrics and family practice. Malone would love to practice pediatric oncology, considering his personal experience with cancer.

After the rotational tour, his residency follows for another two years. That assignment, ironically, could be at HackensackUMC if he gets accepted.

There are no guarantees. Malone has to apply, but he is excited about the unique possibility. The hospital in which he was treated for cancer will teach him how to be a physician, and it could be the place where he works one day.

Its one thing to have a dream as a child that you want to be a doctor, but how many of them actually make that happen?" said Dr. Fred Jacobs, who is also executive vice president of St. Georges University. When you actually see someone doing it and getting it done, its an inspirational story."

The disease that made him turn away from medicine has brought him back to where he wants to be in life.

If had to do it again, Ill accept and beat it (cancer) again."

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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A 26-year-old man was found stabbed to death Friday morning in Camden, authorities said.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office said Gloucester City resident Ryan Harter was found by police unconscious with multiple stab wounds shortly before 11 a.m. near the 1000 block of South 5th Street in Camden.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made at this time, authorities said, and no additional information about the incident was immediately available.

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Michael Cohen, former fixer for President Donald Trump, will report to prison on Monday. When he arrives, two New Jersey celebrities will already be there.

The Associated Press confirms that Cohen, 52, will start his sentence on May 6 at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, where both Mike The Situation Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame and Billy McFarland, a co-founder of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, are incarcerated.

In December, Trumps former lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to not paying $1.4 million in taxes and admitted to lying to Congress about Trumps business ties in Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen also admitted to breaking campaign finance laws when he set up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Sorrentino, 37, graduated from high school in Manalapan and lived in Long Branch before he reported to prison in January. In October, the reality TV star, who shot to fame in 2009 on MTVs Jersey Shore, was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. His sentencing and the fallout will be a part of the upcoming third season of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

McFarland, 27, is from Short Hills. In 2017, his canceled music festival left concertgoers stranded in FEMA tents in the Bahamas. In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for Fyre Festival fraud and selling fake tickets to other events. According to a recent report from New York Magazine, McFarland, who is writing (and plans to self-publish) a memoir about the music festival and his other ventures, plans to organize a second Fyre Festival, despite his fraud convictions.

The reality TV personality and the Fyre guy have gotten friendly during their time living in the low-security area of the prison, located in Orange County, New York, about 20 minutes from the New Jersey border.

They play Scrabble together, Sorrentinos Jersey Shore Family Vacation" castmate, Paul DJ Pauly D DelVecchio, told Jenny McCarthy in April.

In the same interview, another of Sorrentinos Jersey Shore friends, Vinny Guadagnino, pointed out that the two New Jersey-connected celebrities also share space in the prison with George Garofano. He was one of four hackers implicated in a 2014 phishing scheme that leaked nude photos from various celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and McCarthy herself.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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Some New Jersey school officials are kicking out students who commute into their town to attend their public schools.

Woodbridge Township announced last month that it caught dozens of students illegally attending its 25 schools. The township has sought to expel the students and fine their parents  and so far, they have recouped $100,540 in unpaid tuition, township officials announced.

A joint task force of the Office of School Security team and the Woodbridge Police Department reviewed over 1,800 cases, finding that 89 students were illegally enrolled in its schools, which educate nearly 13,600 kids, officials said.

After school, some students would walk straight to the train station or catch a cab, Mayor John E. McCormac said.

That is pretty much a dead giveaway, he said.

While many of the students were older, they seemed to live in several surrounding towns, officials said. One parent lived an hour away but worked in Woodbridge and would drop the child off on the way to work, he added.

Tuition costs about $1,300 per student a year, said John Hagerty a township spokesperson. In some cases, the township has taken their parents to court in an effort to get tuition dollars back.

Hagerty said no extra employees were hired by the school district or the town for the investigation, officers were just re-routed from other tasks. An estimated cost of those employees hours, or court costs associated with recuperating the money from parents, was not immediately available.

The township, officials said, started the crackdown to protect Woodbridge taxpayers money, and they are continuing to investigate cases.

It is unclear how often districts crack down on out-of-town students, Janet Bamford, director of communications and publications for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said. But, she added, most districts have discretionary policies that allow them to kick non-resident students out.

Some districts allow non-resident students to attend their schools if their parents work for the district, or if they choose to foot the tuition bill, she said.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom . Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips .

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Dear Annie: I just turned 39 and am freaking out about my next birthday, when I will go from being a young person to a middle-aged person. I remember when I was a child everyone making such a fuss over my parents turning 40. And now here I am turning 40. Do you have any suggestions for coping with this monumental change of life? -- Scared of Aging

Dear Scared: Its as monumental as you make it, and try not to make a molehill into a mountain. Your actual age is nothing but a number, and, as they say, 60 is the new 40. And if you keep a good mental attitude and take care of yourself physically, you could feel even better at 60 than you do at 40.

Dear Readers: Many of you wrote in about Deeply Hurt in Florida, who was offended by the way she was addressed on the invitation to her grandsons wedding. Here is a sampling of comments and advice:

Dear Annie: My husband and I enlisted the help of friends to address our wedding invitations nearly 17 years ago. I remember that day making last-minute changes to names, and Im sure we made some mistakes. I also remember feeling stress because it was the first big project my fiance and I had ever tried to manage together.

I hope Deeply Hurt in Florida will offer grace, much grace, to her grandson and his fiancee. Many weddings are needlessly stressful times for the bride- and groom-to-be. -- Offering Perspective to Deeply Hurt

Dear Offering Perspective: Thank you for sharing your story. The fact that your fiance is still your husband is what really counts when it comes to wedding planning, and I agree that much of the stress involved is needless. Brides and grooms frequently will have other people write the invitations. Whatever the cause, it is nothing to be alarmed about, as the next letter, from a grandmother and great-grandmother, points out.

Dear Annie: I could not believe the grandma in Florida was so upset by her correct name being on the invitation. It could be that others were helping write the invitations and did not know her preferred name.

As a grandmother of 21 and great-grandmother of seven, I would not let anything so minor affect my going to a family wedding. You were right. Ask that the placecard be corrected and enjoy the occasion.

I have not written to a columnist before but could not believe the grandmother could be making such a mountain out of a molehill. Isnt she fortunate to see a grandson married? -- Grandmother and Great Grandmother

Dear Grandmother and Great Grandmother: Youre the best! I love your attitude, which, as you can see, is shared by a reader from New Hampshire who wants nothing more than to have grandchildren.

Dear Annie: Regarding Deeply Hurt in Florida, I find it sad that she may not attend her grandsons wedding over such a minor detail as being addressed as Judy instead of Chris.

Does she know how fortunate she is to have her grandson in her life? Many of us dont have the pleasure of having grandchildren or great-grandchildren in our lives, and how heartbreaking that is. We have so much love that we cannot share with them. --Heartbroken in New Hampshire.

Dear Heartbroken: You address the real issue, which is love.

Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie is out now! Annie Lanes debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

Annie Lane grew up in California and headed east to graduate with honors from New York University, where she majored in English literature and specialized in psychology. She earned her Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

Since July 2016, Annie has offered common-sense solutions to everyday problems in her column, Dear Annie. Her advice is unusually perceptive. She is firm, funny and sympathetic, echoing the style of her biggest inspiration, Ann Landers.

Annie lives outside Manhattan with her husband, two kids and two dogs. When not writing, she devotes her time to play dates and Play-Doh.

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A New Jersey native admitted in court Friday he duped the U.S. government out of millions of dollars by taking federal rebates for solar panels he never installed.

Charles E. Kartsaklis, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden to one count of wire fraud.

Kartsaklis, who previously lived in Erial but now resides in Davenport, Florida, was the president of now-defunct Code Green Solar LLC. He falsely claimed Code Green installed solar panels at five different New Jersey businesses and obtained more than $3 million in federally funded rebates, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Kartsaklis submitted proposals to the five businesses in 2011 and 2012, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Those businesses rejected the proposals, but Kartsaklis applied for the rebates anyway, authorities said.

Authorities allege he created phony documents and sent them to the U.S. Treasury Department, including applications for the money, Solar Power Purchase Agreements" emails verifying the installation of the panels and five annual reports, which claimed the panels were still generating electricity.

Kartsaklis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kartsaklis agreed to make full restitution by paying $3,081,938.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, 2019.
A former YMCA employee was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a sleeping girl and filming a boy who was using the bathroom.

Jermaine Ward, who worked in after school programs for the YMCA of Burlington and Camden counties, was arrested in June 2018 and pleaded guilty in December to aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a release.

Wards crimes occurred between the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018.

The girl was asleep during the assault, which happened in Maple Shade, and the boy was not aware that he was being recorded when the crime occurred in Pennsauken, Coffina said.

Ward knew the girl he assaulted and her family, as well as the boy he filmed, officials said.

The names of the young victims and other details about the incidents were withheld by the prosecutors office to protect their identities.

Childhood is supposed to be a happy, carefree time, but this defendants heinous actions threatened to destroy that oasis for these young kids, Coffina said. Our Office will continue to do everything within its power to make sure that anyone who harms a child is brought to justice.

Ward will serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, a facility which houses sex offenders.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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By Tom Malinowski

When I visit a synagogue or Jewish community center in my congressional district, I usually pass by armed security. Inside, people sometimes share heartfelt concerns about boycotts of Israel or the controversy over remarks about Israel by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. But those aren't the reasons for the guard at the gate.

From time to time, I also attend Friday prayers at local mosques. Recently, there have been state police officers standing watch outside.

Political debates in the United States can be untethered from facts, but threats to life focus minds on reality. The reality today is that when it comes to organized violence, Jewish and Muslim Americans, as well as members of other minority groups, face the same threat: white-supremacist terrorism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the overwhelming majority of terrorist killings in the United States since 2009 have been committed by white people motivated by a specific ideology: the belief that America belongs to them, and must be protected from "globalist" (read: Jewish) elites and immigrants of all kinds.

Over the past two years, white supremacists have plainly been emboldened. The evidence can be seen in the crackpot conspiracy theories spreading virally on social media, the Unite the Right marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and swastikas suddenly appearing in schools. (Summit, New Jersey, a city inside my district, has had six such incidents in the past five months). Anti-Semitic incidents, including bomb threats, assaults and cemetery desecrations, rose by 60 percent from 2016 to 2017.

If the threat came from outside the United States, these facts would be enough to galvanize Americans around a plan of action. But this threat comes from within. And because it originates on the political right, describing it accurately can be difficult to do without sounding partisan, without making one side feel uncomfortable. So we blame the violence on vague boogeymen of intolerance and hate - which we acknowledge exist on the left as well as the right.

Anti-Semitism does, indeed, come from both sides. But this new wave of terrorism does not. The accused killers have clearly announced who they are, and we have to understand their inspirations and motivations to know how to stop them. The alleged shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last October was obsessed with migrant caravans from Central America, and blamed a Jewish aid organization for bringing "invaders that kill our people." The alleged shooter who gunned down Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March also said he acted to stop immigrant "invaders." The suspected gunman in San Diego last month said in a manifesto that he was inspired by the terrorists in both Pittsburgh and Christchurch, and that he had tried to torch a mosque before attacking a synagogue.

In the past, every authoritative voice in the country would be communicating to these people that they are isolated in their crazy beliefs. Now, they find validation in the president of the United States, who, on the day of the New Zealand attacks, referred to an immigrant "invasion" of the United States, and who seems incapable of calling white-supremacist attacks terrorism. These bigots hear politicians and cable-news hosts attacking the FBI, alleging "deep state" coups and calling fact-based journalism "fake news," reinforcing their mistrust of authority and conspiratorial thinking.

What would we do if we could forget politics and just focus on keeping people safe?

Congress would be considering a domestic-terrorism statute, which would make it easier to arrest suspects before they can carry out murderous plots. Democrats and Republicans would be working urgently together to elevate the offices at the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security that combat domestic terrorism, and to give them more resources. Given white supremacists' transnational links, we'd be encouraging U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share information about them with allies around the world, as they do with information about backers of the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Wed be telling social media companies not just to put out fires by banning extremists from their sites, but to make their product less flammable by changing the algorithms that suck users into extremist bubbles.

We in Congress would also react with bipartisan revulsion when an American leader employs words and ideas that mirror those used by terrorists.

That doesn't mean Americans can't respectfully debate immigration policy, or support Trump's border wall. But talk of immigrant "invasions" or of immigrants as killers and rapists - reinforcing the delusions of the people responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks against Americans today - should be intolerable. I recently introduced a resolution in the House that condemns this language, while embracing President Ronald Reagan's belief that "if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." Surely, we can still agree on that.

Tom Malinowski, a Democrat, represents New Jerseys 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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By Salaam Ismial

Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgroves resignation doesnt come close to addressing the departments racist history and current approach to policing the community..

Cosgrove came into the city with a hard line approach and refused to institute community policing, which would have required officers to use more understanding and to work with the community and not against it.

Black people were brutalized and more than twice as likely to be shot in Elizabeth, according to NJ Advance Medias police use of force data. Of the more than 4,600 cases where force was used against people under 18, slightly more than half the subjects were black, though they represent only 14.5 percent of the child population in New Jersey.

Ive lived here for decades and know that Elizabeth has a racist past. In 1967, then-Mayor Tom Dunn ordered police officers to shoot anyone who attempted to riot the summer that Newark and other cities rebelled. In the 1980s, Dunn once ordered that all city businesses must Speak English Only, and angered many in the Hispanic community.

Cosgrove had to go after he used the n-word to refer to black officers and the c-word to refer to women. He resigned only after constant community protest, 1,000 signers on a petition and calls by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for him to resign.

Other blatant forms of racism exist in the staffing of the Elizabeth Police Department. Currently, there are approximately 340 officers, of which only 28 are black. Of the only supervisors, there are only five black sergeants, and three of them came by way of a discrimination lawsuit.

The departments Juvenile Division is comprised of six detectives who concentrate on the gang problem, and yet not one of those officers is black. The departments swat team/emergency services division has about 30 officers, yet not one is black. There are zero blacks in the departments special narcotics division.

The DARE Division, which comprises of three officers who focus on elementary school children regarding drug awareness, has no black officers. In the Community Policing Division, which purposes to build ties and work closely with members of the communities, only two of about 25 officers are black. But mostly the department fails when it targets and arrests mostly black people.

The city of Elizabeth paid out hundreds of thousand of dollars in police brutality cases including a 2018 payout of $250,000 to Jerome Wright, who was beaten by a number of cops after a traffic stop. Wright was sprayed with Mace, kicked and punched by as many as four police officers. The city of Elizabeth paid Sharif Tankard $750,000 in 2017 after he was shot and critically injured by a police officer at Oakwood plaza apartment complex. Police say they were there to investigate an incident at the location but the grand jury rejected charges against Tankard and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

While Cosgroves offenses are clear and blatant he wasnt the only person to let racism fester in the department, which is why the Union County Prosecutor has taken over the departments internal affairs division and is reviewing the departments policies and practices.

While Chief John Brennan, the top cop responsible for the day-to-day operations, was quick to file a complaint about Cosgrove's racism, he did nothing to stop constant abuse by his rank and file officers. The Internal Affairs Department is widely known in the black community for its lack of investigation into police abuse. In addition, patrol officers with the Union County Sheriff Department carried out their abusive "Stop and frisk" policy on innocent young black men and had confrontations that ended in unwarranted arrests.

The initial investigation by former Union County Prosecutor Michael Monahan was seen by many in the black community as not trustworthy and lacked transparency. Some believe Monahan was too close to the local and county Democratic Party. Also, the Union County Prosecutors Office has its own problem with diversity, where out 70 prosecutors none are black men. Yet, they arrest and prosecute a large number of black males in the county.

The only way to resolve this racist system is to completely overhaul the department. We must identify all the problems and ills and move fast to move racist staff and policies out and move reform in. All the divisions, departments and special units should be reviewed by the State Attorney General and Union County Prosecutor offices.

The community must be a major part in advising Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and law enforcement officials about what the community needs. There must be transparency and trust, and we must move fast, because the citizens are fed up.

Salaam Ismial lives in Elizabeth and is the founder of the National United Youth Inc.

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It has been established that William Barr has a snitty relationship with the truth, and that his misrepresentation of the Mueller Report was an insult to the author himself.

We know this because Robert Mueller said so, though this was already plain to anyone who had read the Special Counsels magnum opus. Where the country sought elucidation on potential criminal behavior by the president, the Attorney General offered mostly obfuscation, legal mush and sophistry washed down with weak tea.

So hours before Barr played dodgeball with the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Mueller released a letter from March 27 that disclosed how he felt about Barrs whitewashed interpretation of the report last month: The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Offices work and conclusions, Mueller wrote to his boss.

He was especially concerned that Barrs mischaracterization threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

After that, anything out of Barrs mouth required a laugh track.

Garrett Graff, who authored a book about the FBI under Muellers magisterial leadership, said his jaw became unhinged when he read the rebuke.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published, Graff said. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison.

In other words, Mueller expresses contempt only for the jailers of the Lockerbie bomber and the Attorney General of the United States.

So it hardly mattered what Barr said during his duplicitous performance Wednesday. It only matters that the country hears Mueller speak for himself before Congress, which thankfully is under negotiation, because he didnt dedicate 22 months on an investigation just so an operative like Barr can repackage it as a political cudgel for Donald Trump.

In earlier testimony, Barr also misrepresented Muellers assessment about the AGs four-page summary. He told Congress he had no knowledge of how Mueller felt about it, even though Muellers snitty missive had landed on his desk weeks earlier. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasnt wrong when she called Barr a liar for that.

We can agree that hes a master of the Q-and-non-A format, a champion at parsing words such as suggest and summary.

Time would be better spent reviewing the substantial evidence in the report that detailed the presidents habitual obstructive behavior. The problem is that Barr is ill-equipped to discuss it: Sen. Kamala Harris got Barr to admit he never looked at the underlying evidence before exonerating Trump of obstruction. He did that despite Mueller affirming it does not exonerate the president.

An objective reading of the report shows obstruction is prima facie. Mueller needs to testify and speak plainly about whether charges are warranted. At least we know he read the report.

Ive read just about every word Bob Mueller has ever said publicly or published. Hes written precisely one letter like the angry one he sent to Barr: It excoriated Scotland for letting the Pan Am 103 bomber out of prison. https://t.co/DorCXEgzIG  Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) May 1, 2019

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A LaPlace woman is accused of forging insurance documents for her driving school and creating a fake email address to support the fraud, Louisiana State Police say.

Detectives discovered that the policy listed by Gemyra Williams, 37, for her Safe Driving Academy LLC was cancelled, police said. When asked for an updated policy, Williams created a fake email address purporting to be a legitimate insurance company and emailed ... a fraudulent certificate of insurance in an attempt to show coverage. Detectives determined that Williams created the fake information on a computer belonging to her, police said.

Williams was booked Wednesday (May 1) at the St. John the Baptist Parish jail with forgery of a certificate of insurance and computer fraud
Police are searching for a man suspected of fatally shooting the father of his girlfriends children as he waited for the children to return from school Friday afternoon (May 3) in Kenner.

Lyndell Alford, 34, of Kenner is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing, reported about 4:30 p.m. on Phoenix Street, according to the Kenner Police Department.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the victim, identified as 30-year-old Remus Lambert of New Orleans, seated in his vehicle in the 2600 block. He had been shot more than once and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lt. Michael Cunningham said in a news release.

Alford and Lambert have had an ongoing dispute involving Alfords girlfriend, with whom Lambert has children, Cunningham said.

Man shot dead in Kenner Friday afternoon

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Lambert was parked near the home of Alford and his girlfriend when the shooting occurred. Investigators believe he was waiting for his children to return home from school, officials said.

According to Kenner police, Alford and the girlfriend drove past Lambert and parked in front of their home. Alford got out of the vehicle and walked into the home  but then, minutes later, came back outside and confronted Lambert. Investigators believe Alford then took out a handgun and shot Lambert before fleeing the scene in a green Infiniti G35 with Louisiana license 290BZI.

Alford has a criminal history and is currently on parole for illegal use of a weapon, distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Anyone with information about the homicide or the whereabouts of Lyndell Alford is asked to call the Kenner Police at 504-712-2222 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The Vermilion Parish public school system, ranked fourth of 71 in Louisiana, is the latest to consider going to a four-day academic week. The School Board plans to debate the idea Wednesday (May 8), according to public records.

Vermilion would hold classes Tuesdays through Fridays under the proposal. Proponents say it might help save money.

The school system received a 90.2 performance score on the states 150-point scale in 2018. That gave it an A grade, one of only four in the state. By Louisiana standards, its an average-sized system with 9,676 students across 20 schools.

Four-day school week? Avoyelles Parish is trying it

More than 500 U.S. school systems have switched to four-day weeks, with some in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico and South Dakota making up the vanguard, according to a June report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education. They drop one day and lengthen the instructional time on the others. Research into the effect on academic performance has been mixed.

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In March, the Avoyelles Parish School Board voted 7-2 to switch its C-graded system to a four-day week, eliminating Monday classes for students beginning in August. The Caldwell Parish school system, graded B in 2018, already operates on a four-day week.

4-day school week? Denver area system goes there in cost-cutting move

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1.
As a scientist at LSU, Dr. Catherine O'Neal knew the COVID-19 vaccines had undergone rigorous safety testing before they were made available for children. But when the time came to sign her own kids up for the jab, the mother of three experienced 
OMAHA  Online retailer Hayneedle is laying off 239 workers in Omaha as part of a restructuring, company officials said Thursday.

The jobs being eliminated are in the Omaha-based companys corporate office as well as its call center, and they represent a sizable portion of Hayneedles workforce in the city. The company has recently employed nearly 700 workers in Omaha at three sites, including its corporate office near 90th Street and West Dodge Road.

According to the Nebraska Department of Labors layoff notification web site, 180 workers were in the firms call center in Sarpy County and 59 in its headquarters building.

This is a difficult decision in a business, and were focused on taking care of the people who are affected, said Tiffany Wilson, a spokesperson for Hayneedles parent company, Walmart. And we remain committed to our hometown of Omaha and our vision to be the best specialty online home retailer.

Hayneedle was founded in Omaha in 2002 merely selling hammocks online. But it expanded into a wide range of home furnishings and housewares, posting sales in 2016 of more than $500 million.

The company is now an affiliate of Walmart, having been bought by another online retailer in 2016 that was subsequently purchased by Walmart. But Hayneedle has continued to operate as an independent business unit with its own president.

Wilson, the director of communications for Walmart, said that the layoffs in Omaha on Thursday were due to changes specific to the Hayneedle brand and that the decisions were made at the Hayneedle level.

This was not a Walmart decision; it was a decision made by Hayneedle, she said.

Wilson said both companies do share the same approach of evaluating strategy, structure and operating costs to find ways to grow. Hayneedle, she said, decided to invest in some new areas, create new roles and restructure in ways that help the company move faster.

Hayneedles parent company has been known for paying close attention to costs. Walmart uses a zero-based budgeting strategy, asking managers to justify costs regardless of previous spending levels.

Workers said they began being notified of the layoffs with 9 a.m. phone calls and group meetings. Some workers were terminated immediately, while others will still have jobs until May 17.

Hayneedle is offering assistance to the workers who lost their jobs, Wilson said.

Each worker will get a 60-day paid period to search for new work. If they do not find work in that time, they may be eligible for severance based on years of service. Employees are also being offered help in finding new work inside or outside the company.
After a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant lost out on a new Audi due to a technicality -- even though she answered the puzzle correctly -- the car company said it would gift her the vehicle instead.
Jesse Shea, project manager of Titan Roofing and Exteriors in western Iowa, has an opportunity to for the public to support a local veteran as he introduces his company to the area.

Sponsored by Titan Roofing and GAF, which is a roofing materials company, a local veteran will be chosen to receive a new roof with their choice of GAF Timberline HD shingles.

Based in Des Moines and operated by veterans, Titan Roofing and Exteriors mission is to provide superior customer service and honesty through the restoration process  which includes philanthropic contributions to veterans in need through the Titan Project, a nonprofit organization that provides support to veterans and their families.

The partnership is giving away a free roof to a Pottawattamie County veteran in need. The winner will be announced around Memorial Day and the roof installed in June.

Nominations can be submitted by a veteran or someone else and should include a paragraph on why the award is deserved. Titan Roofing will inspect all the houses submitted and a nonpartisan group will grade each applicant on the condition of the house and story submitted. Being a veteran who lives in Pottawattamie County is the only requirement to be eligible for the award.

Having a new roof provides the veteran with a piece of mind and protects all that is important to them, just like how their service protected all of us, Shea said.

The free roof work will be done by soldiers from the 168th Infantry Regiment.

Applications are due by May 22. Shea said they are willing to extend the deadline if needed. Applications can be submitted online at https://bit.ly/2DMiWx6.

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Hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges is a tradition that dates back to the early 1900s. Today, more than 370 refuges are open to the public for hunting and more than 310 are open to sportfishing.

Here in the Midwest, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas are a huge part of this tradition. Both Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges are proposing to update their hunting programs. Refuge staff are seeking public comment on the changes.

Area residents are invited to review draft documents related to these changes, including the draft hunting plans, draft environmental assessments and draft compatibility determinations for each refuge.

The documents are available through May 31.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, near Missouri Valley is proposing to expand turkey hunting to include the fall archery season.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 14 at the refuge headquarters, 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide your comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, is proposing to open up portions of the refuge to archery spring and fall turkey hunting and archery deer hunting opportunities.

Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 15 at the Fort Calhoun Library. This is an opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with refuge staff and to provide comments on the draft plans.

Interested area residents can also submit comments to the refuge by mail to 1434 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, Iowa 51555 or email peter_rea@fws.gov.

Draft documents are available from the refuge office. You can contact the refuge at 712-388-4803 or peter_rea@fws.gov to request either printed or electronic copies. Alternative formats are also available.

For more information, contact 712/388-4800 or email the refuge at desoto@fws.gov. Go online to fws.gov/refuge/desoto or fws.gov/refuge/boyer_chute for refuge updates.
The new ThinkBook S models may replace the 13 and 14-inch Ideapad S-series models, at least in China. They appear to have updated designs with improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table, while the specs include Intel Core i7-8565U CPUs, up to 16 HB RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs. The more expensive variants may integrate discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPUs.

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The EEC just issued certificates for ThinkBook 13S-IWL and 14S-IWL models, so the new brand is essentially confirmed to be official in Europe.

Lenovo may be preparing to launch a new brand of laptops, as Notebook Italia spotted a pair of 13 and 14-inch models going by the ThinkBook S moniker at a recent trade show in China. These models are also mentioned in a few European online retailer listings, and it looks like they could be shipping by late May for around 1,000 Euros.



According to a video posted by Notebook Italia, the new ThinkBook S-series might replace the 13 / 14-inch models from the Ideapad series, but it is unclear if regions outside of China will be getting these models under the new moniker. The new models also come with updated designs, including improved metal chassis, slim lateral bezels and displays that can unfold flat on the table. The only difference between the two models is the screen size, as both come with a 1080p IPS displays, shuttered 720p webcams, and backlit keyboards featuring a fingerprint sensor on the power button.



Spec-wise, both models feature the Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake CPUs coupled with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB NVMe SSD storage. The more expensive variants will also include a discrete AMD Radeon 540X GPU. The battery should last for around 11 hours and the connector suite includes 3 x USB-A + 1 x USB-C, and HDMI out and an audio jack.
The wet, snowy weather over late winter and early spring kept LCCDC from holding a formal groundbreaking for its latest duplexes, Bodeen said while contractor John Lee pushed dirt with a small bulldozer behind two recently prepared foundations.

They sit behind the first pair of North Sheridan Estates duplexes finished and rented out in 2017. Site preparation has begun on the third pair of duplexes, which will be built just north of the second pair now being built.

The third pair has not yet been funded, and a timetable for building that pair is not known, Bodeen said.

Regarding the second pair, we have people calling (and) wanting to know when these are going to be done, she told onlookers including LCCDC board members, Nebraska Department of Economic Development staff members and leaders of the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corp.

Bodeen said grants of $177,160 from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and $159,750 from the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund helped make possible the North Sheridan redevelopments four-duplex second phase. LCCDC, Great Western Bank and First National Bank of North Platte also have provided funds.
The United States Steel Corporation announced on May 2 that it will invest more than $1 billion in constructing cutting edge facilities in western Pennsylvania, drawing praise from President Donald Trump.

The company said the new investment will improve its environmental performance and energy conservation with a new sustainable endless casting and rolling facility at its Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock and a cogeneration facility at its Clairton Plant. Both facilities will be part of the companys Mon Valley Works.

Trumps tariffs on imported steel and other efforts to boost American manufacturing have helped to revitalize a steel industry that has been in decline for decades. The billion dollar investment comes as the White House on May 3 touted a number of positive economic indicators, including a strong jobs report for April with the addition of 263,000 new hires and a declining 3.6% unemployment rate.

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working, Trump wrote in a May 2 Twitter post. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING!

Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in Americas most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING! https://t.co/XPXjxli6uc  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

The new technology will make Mon Valley Works the first facility of this type in the United States, and one of only a handful in the world, the company said.

This is a truly transformational investment for U. S. Steel, said David B. Burritt, president and CEO of U. S. Steel. We are combining our integrated steelmaking process with industry-leading endless casting and rolling to reinvest in steelmaking and secure the future for a new generation of steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania and the Mon Valley.

The steelmakers cogeneration facility will feature an emissions control system that can convert some of the coke oven gas generated there into electricity to power other parts of the plant.

Tens of thousands of American workers have faced layoffs and dozens of factories have been shut since 2000 due to imports, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a nonprofit organization formed by manufacturers and United Steelworkers. With the recent tariffs on imports, the steel industry is starting to seeing some positive signs.

Over the past few decade, steel imports have steadily increased, comprising nearly 33 percent of the U.S. steel market in 2017. The majority of U.S. steel producers have been taking losses since 2009, losing their ability to invest in new technologies and labor.

The Pittsburgh-based company expects the first coil production facility to be operational in 2022. Its the second major operational upgrade U.S. Steel has announced this year.

In February, the company announced it was restarting construction on an idled manufacturing facility in Alabama, crediting Trumps trade policies. U.S. Steel said Trumps strong trade actions were partly responsible for the resumption of work at a plant near Birmingham.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports last year. The company reported adjusted earnings of $957 million in 2018.

The United Steelworkers trade union said in a statement that they welcomed the new investment. The unions international vice president Tom Conway said the proposed improvements will not negatively impact employment, but will instead bolster the long-term job security of the employees at the companys new facilities.

Together, these projects will reduce U.S. Steels carbon footprint significantly and improve regional air quality by reducing emissions of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, Conway said. Just as importantly, these investments will provide much-needed job security for current employees and future generations of Steelworkers at this historic and soon-to-be much more modern integrated steelmaking complex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

From The Epoch Times
The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), a San Fraancisco, CA-based sustainability-focused early growth stage investment firm, closed its third fund, at $100m.

EIF III has made six investments towards Series-A and B rounds for high-growth, early-stage cleantech, electric vehicle and other sustainability-focused companies and has a signed term sheet for a seventh.

Investments include:

 EV Connect (EV charging);

 eMotorWerks (EV charging demand management, acquired by Enel);

 Pegasus Solar (solar mounting);

 Opti (water management);

 Flying Embers (probiotic adult beverages) and

 Bluon Energy (efficient HVAC).

Fund III will make up to eight investments targeting companies with proven technology and commercial traction.

Led by Managing Partners James Everett and Devin Whatley, and Partners Geoff Eisenberg and Sasha Brown, EIF is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. The firm has raised over $175 M for sustainability-focused investment.

The firm is responsible for five of the most successful venture exits in sustainability-related companies, led by ZepSolar in 2013. EIF Fund I launched in early 2011, manages $19.6M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies. It has had two exits to date. As of September 30th, 2018, Fund I had a net to LP IRR of 34.4% and a DPI of 1.84x, placing Fund I as the #1 ranked 2011 venture fund Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Benchmark Index, Q3 2018).

EIF Fund II launched in 2014, manages $57M, and is fully invested/allocated to six portfolio companies.

FinSMEs

04/05/2019
"U.S Steel is special and you know this," Burritt said during the conference call. "U.S. Steel is the most recognizable steel brand in the U.S and the only U.S.-headquartered steel company that can mine, melt and make steel in USA. Thats the fact. We have world-class safety performance, you all know that. Thats the fact. And here's what's been changing. Our last few years have allowed us to build the balance sheet with no major debt payments until 2025, a nice runway to keep us nimble. We also have the best cash conversion cycle time in the industry. We understand cash is king. Thats the fact."
The board unanimously approved a motion to send a cease and desist letter to Sips & Stones and look into whether the restaurants promotion violated campaign law.

Were happy to be rightfully exonerated, Panczuk said of the outcome. We look forward to getting on with the campaign.

Blazak said the Barenie groups complaint was a late attempt by the St. John Republican Party to undermine the campaigns of disfavored candidates.

We did nothing wrong, Blazak said of the Facebook posts. This is them just trying to give us a hard time.

Lake County Councilman Christian Jorgensen, who doubles as the chair of the St. John Republican organization, had a different take on the outcome. He noted that the boards decision to probe the origins of the Sips & Stones promotion could reveal the restaurant did not come up with the idea for the promotion on its own.

The owner of Sips & Stones is going to get an order to appear before the elections board, and they are going to ask if these candidates had anything to do with it, Jorgensen, who is backing Barenie and the other petitioners for re-election, told The Times.
WOODSTOCK, Ill.  Video that police recovered from an Illinois woman's cellphone showing her bruised 5-year-old son prompted the boy's father to lead investigators to the child's body, according to newly released court records.

JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. of Crystal Lake are charged with murder in Andrew "AJ" Freund's death. Investigators found his body April 24. The court records offer details about the investigation into the boy's disappearance and death.

The video, dated March 4, shows AJ lying naked on a mattress, covered in bruises and bandages, according to an affidavit from McHenry County Sheriff's Detective Edwin Maldonado. Freund told investigators his role in AJ's death when they confronted him with the video, which police recovered after it had been deleted from Cunningham's phone. Maldonado wrote that a female voice "consistent with Joann's is holding the phone and videotaping. She is berating AJ for urinating his bed."

Freund led police to the boy's body near Woodstock, wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave covered with straw, records show. Cunningham and Freund had reported AJ missing April 18, three days after he died.
INDIANAPOLIS  Part of a nearly $1.3 million state grant will go toward converting an old railroad bridge into pedestrian use along a northern Indiana city's recreational trail where two teenage girls were hiking when they were killed two years ago.

The project will include the addition of decking and safety rails for Delphi's Monon High Bridge, which rises more than 60 feet over Deer Creek.

It was among $25 million in grants for 17 trail projects across the state announced Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Most go toward new paved trails, with the largest grant of $4.9 million going to the Marion County town of Speedway.

The grant money comes from a $1 billion payment from the Indiana Toll Road operator in a deal allowing fee increases for large trucks.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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INDIANAPOLIS  Indianapolis police say they have two suspects they're searching for in connection with the shootings of two southern Indiana judges attending a judicial conference in Indiana's capital.

Police on Friday released surveillance video showing the two suspects getting out of an SUV outside a downtown restaurant where the shootings of Clark Circuit Judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams occurred early Wednesday. Police asked for the public's help in identifying the two suspects.

Police say an argument between the suspects and the judges escalated to the shootings. They say they've found no evidence to suggest the judges were targeted because they're judges.

Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael says both Jacobs and Adams remain hospitalized in stable condition.
Rafael Hernandez Colon, a three-term governor of Puerto Rico who argued for the preservation of the islands commonwealth status while others were calling for either statehood or independence, died on Thursday at his home there. He was 82.

Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Ricos current governor, announced the death and declared a 30-day mourning period. Mr. Hernandez Colon had been undergoing treatment for leukemia.

Mr. Hernandez Colon had led the Popular Democratic Party, assuming the mantle from its founder, Luis Munoz Marin, in the early 1970s. He was governor from 1973 to 1977 and, in two consecutive terms, from 1985 to 1993.

He made some bold decisions in his first term, seeking to increase the islands autonomy in its complex relationship with the United States.
In the 1930s, when students, supported by underground operatives of the C.C.P. (which was illegal then), took to the streets to demand that Chiang Kai-sheks ruling Nationalist Party do more to protect China from Japan, they invoked the May Fourth spirit. The Nationalist Party also claimed that it best exemplified that spirit. The contest to appropriate the legacy of Wusi was on.

Come 1989, it was the leaders of the C.C.P. themselves  by then long in power  who were targeted by a fresh generation of students calling for a New May Fourth Movement.

Once again, the most important site of protests was Tiananmen. In the 1950s, the area in front of the gate had been turned into a square filled with monuments, including one at the center honoring Chinas revolutionary heroes. A frieze at the foot of that central structure depicts young men and women taking to the streets in 1919. It was in front of it that the students of 1989 set up their main base of operations.

On May 4 of that year, as the C.C.P. commemorated the 70th anniversary of Wusi inside The Great Hall of the People, to one side of Tiananmen Square, the protesters held a competing event on the plaza. Once again, two opposing political camps were both claiming the mantle of the 1919 movement. Exactly one month later, the Peoples Liberation Army rolled in, killing hundreds, probably several thousands, of demonstrators and residents.

What are widely known in the West as the Tiananmen Square protests are called Liusi Yundong, or the June Fourth Movement, in Chinese  a reference to the day of the massacre in 1989, of course, but also an echo of the uprising of 1919.

And yet today, while Wusi appears in many online and print publications across the Chinese mainland, Liusi is taboo.

Under President Xi Jinping, the C.C.P.s efforts to control the meaning of the Wusi protests have continued unabated. The movement holds a revered place in official chronologies, as a turning point and the start of modern times in China. The party, playing on the kind of national pride extolled back in 1919, boasts today that China no longer appeases, but leads, on the international scene.
In other words, its a cynical exercise in abdication dressed as an act of responsibility. Knock a few high-profile bigots down. Throw a thick carpet over much of the rest. Then figure out how to extract a profit from your new model.

Assuming thats Facebooks deeper calculation  its hard to think of another  then it may wind up solving the companys short-term problems. But it might also produce two equally dismal results.

On the one hand, Facebook will be hosting the worst kinds of online behavior. In a public note in March, Zuckerberg admitted that encryption will help facilitate truly terrible things like child exploitation, terrorism, and extortion. (For that, he promised to work with law enforcement. Great.)

On the other hand, Facebook is completing its transition from being a simple platform, broadly indifferent to the content it hosts, to being a publisher that curates and is responsible for content. Getting rid of Farrakhan, Jones and the others are the easy calls for now, because they are such manifestly odious figures and they have no real political power.

But what happens with the harder calls, the ones who want to be seen publicly and cant be swept under: alleged Islamophobes, militant anti-immigration types, the people who call for the elimination of Israel? Facebook has training documents governing hate speech, and is now set to deploy the latest generation of artificial intelligence to detect it.

But the decision to absolutely ban certain individuals will always be a human one. It will inevitably be subjective. And as these things generally go, it will wind up leading to bans on people whose views are hateful mainly in the eyes of those doing the banning. Recall how the Southern Poverty Law Center, until recently an arbiter of moral hygiene in matters of hate speech, wound up smearing Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz, both champions of political moderation, as anti-Muslim extremists.

Facebook probably cant imagine that its elaborate systems and processes would lead to perverse results. And not everything needs to be a slippery slope.
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Is Donald Trump an aberration? If he is, Joe Biden is the perfect Democratic candidate to defeat him next year, the steady hand that can restore decency, steer a middle course between Wall Street and Main Street, and reinvigorate the shaken liberal democratic order.

I dont think Trump is an aberration. On the contrary, hes the face, however duplicitous, of a revolution against the Party of Davos, the network of elites whose economic and cultural prescriptions came to be seen by myriad voters across the United States and Europe as camouflage for a self-serving heist. Biden has been a regular attendee at Davos.

Trumps brilliance lay in seeing that he could become the perfect impostor, the wealthy and highly visible figurehead of a 21st-century movement of the dispossessed and the invisible. He could be their voice. He could say the unsayable. He could disrupt. He could restore violence to a wan political stage of PowerPoint slides. He could take on the China that had put millions of people to work on the cheap in its factories and so, from the Midwest to the British Midlands, de-industrialized much of the West.

If people felt like nobodies, felt abandoned, felt there was not only growing inequality in wealth but inequality of recognition, felt their very language had been anesthetized by all-knowing elites more at home in global capitals than in the provinces of their own countries, then somebody could speak for liberalisms disappeared  and maybe even win. Steve Bannon saw this. Trump grasped this and did win, not as the creator of a movement but as the media-savvy messenger of a groundswell.
MAGAZINE

An article on Page 64 about the acquisition of Remington by Cerberus misstates the birthplace of Stephen Feinberg, a founder of Cerberus. He was born in the Bronx, not Spring Valley, N.Y., which is where he grew up.



An article on Page 54 about Meow Wolf, an art collective that creates immersive and interactive experiences, refers imprecisely to Creative Startups. It is a start-up accelerator, not a business incubator.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Monday about the former United States senator Richard G. Lugar referred incorrectly in part to his service in the Navy. He enlisted in 1956, not 1957, and he was commissioned an ensign, not a second lieutenant. It also misstated when he married Charlene Smeltzer. It was after he studied at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, not before. In addition, the obituary referred incorrectly to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, a program to help destroy surplus stocks of nuclear weapons. Congress passed it shortly after it was proposed by Mr. Lugar and Senator Sam Nunn in 1991; it did not take almost a decade to persuade Congress of the need for the program. The obituary also mistakenly included one item on a list of issues addressed by the Lugar Center, which Mr. Lugar established after leaving office. The center has not sponsored studies of education.



A picture caption with an obituary on Friday about the fashion designer Corinne Cobson misstated where she was in the photograph. She was in the center, not second from the right.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.


How did your family react to the news that you would be out in the bush without any guns or weapons?

My husband was very positive about this. He said, You are going to make a change in our communities and in our kids and in our future generations.

My mother was scared. She said, These people are going to kill you! I explained that its not only for me but for future generations. They need to see wildlife in real life, not in postcards.

She is not scared anymore because she realized how great a job we are doing. My life is not in danger. These poachers are not in the reserve for the human beings, they are there for the animals. If they see us they dont come after us. They just run away.

I know how to interact in the bush. So, I dont feel in danger when Im in the bush. I dont go alone. We work in a group.

What was your scariest moment?

In 2014, I was with two of my colleagues patrolling the fence. There was a car parked next to the fence. They were outside the reserve and we were inside. If we see cars we greet them with smiles, but these people did not want to speak to us. They were poachers. I was scared. But we were not going to leave them there. We needed to show them that we are here with pride and we know what we are doing. They saw us try to take their number plate. We managed to scare them. They drove away.
Even Mr. Schumer conceded that Ms. Abramss decision came as a blow, though he tried to put a positive spin on it.

Stacey Abrams would have been a great candidate, and shed be a great senator, he said. But the good news is twofold: We have other good candidates, the polling data shows that Georgia is very winnable and Stacey is going to go all out in terms of registering voters, so that we can win in 2020.

Just who those other candidates are, however, is unclear. After Ms. Abrams bowed out, Teresa Tomlinson, a former mayor of Columbus, jumped in. Chuck Clay, a former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, called Ms. Tomlinson a strong and viable candidate. But the national party has not embraced her, and Mr. Schumer is said to be looking for other contenders.

Still, many strategists say the outlook for the party is not all bad. Democrats have had strong success in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is challenging the Republican incumbent, Senator Martha McSally. Ms. McSallys hold is tenuous; she lost to Senator Kyrsten Sinema last year but was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Senator John McCain. And Mr. Kelly already has an advantage of $1 million cash on hand.

Democrats are extremely enthusiastic about the candidacy of M. J. Hegar, a motorcycle-riding, Purple Heart-winning woman who is a former Air Force helicopter pilot and who is challenging Senator John Cornyn in Texas. Ms. Hegar narrowly lost a House race in November, and some party strategists say Democrats can coalesce around Ms. Hegar now that Mr. Castro has decided not to run.

This is a really great environment for Democrats, and in key races we have really strong candidates, said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster whose firm advises Senate candidates. How can you argue with Mark Kelly and Ben Ray and Hegar? he added, referring to Representative Ben Ray Lujan, who is seeking to succeed Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, who is retiring.

And while the map, as Ms. Duffy said, may not be as friendly to Democrats as the numbers suggest, it does look better for them in 2020 than it did in 2018, when the party was defending 10 seats in states won by Mr. Trump. This election cycle, Democrats are defending only two seats in those states: Alabama and Michigan, where Senator Gary Peters so far has no credible Republican challenger.
More than a year has passed since the resignation of Jorge Dominguez, a Harvard government professor who was accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen female students and junior faculty members over decades.

But his case has continued to prompt soul-searching and angry questions from students about a university culture that allowed him to stay employed and even get promoted, despite repeated complaints about his behavior.

Now a committee formed by the government department has joined a growing number of students and faculty members calling for an external review of Harvards response to complaints against Dr. Dominguez. The committee issued a 52-page report detailing recommended changes  including hiring more female professors and creating an anonymous reporting system for harassment  to ensure that such a case does not happen again.

Generations of students warned one another about Dominguezs behavior and developed coping strategies for interactions with him, the committee wrote in a letter delivered on Wednesday to the university president, Lawrence Bacow. Some students changed the focus of their research  at great cost  in order to avoid such interactions. This deplorable situation went on for more than 20 years.
Experts thought the settlement was necessary for the city. A jury could give $100 million, so they wanted to avoid that, said Walter Signorelli, a lawyer who represents clients suing the police, who is also a former deputy inspector of the New York City Police Department.

But social justice advocates, who have already noted what they see as troubling racial dimensions of the case, said the unusually large settlement further illuminates the difference between white and black victims of police violence.

[Read more about reactions to the Noor verdict and its racial components.]

The fact that this is the largest known case of a police abuse settlement in the history of Minneapolis, and that its on behalf of an affluent white woman, reinforces that there are two systems, said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and activist in Minneapolis. There are many people of color who have not received a dime from the city in the aftermath of their loved one being shot by the police.

Ms. Levy Armstrong said that government leaders were sending a signal that a white life is more valuable than a black life. She pointed to the $3 million settlement for the family of Philando Castile, a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in a suburb of St. Paul during a traffic stop in 2016, as a prime example of the inequity. (The officer in that case was Latino; he was acquitted of manslaughter charges but left the police department.)

Chicago has paid two of the largest previous settlements in police shooting cases: $16 million to the family of Bettie R. Jones in 2018, and an $18 million settlement with the family of LaTanya Haggerty in 1999. The latter was believed to be the highest settlement in a fatal police shooting until Friday. Both of those victims were African-Americans.

But nationwide, the vast majority of families who lose someone in a questionable police shooting get nothing, experts said, and many cases are dismissed before trial. Last year, a Florida jury awarded $4 to the family of a man who was killed when the police fired through his closed garage door after a dispute in which they said he was holding a gun.

Another expert said the attention on the Noor case and on the large settlement reflected how significant police shootings have become in the public eye.
Cynthia Warmbier, the mother of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died in 2017 after being imprisoned for months in North Korea, said on Friday that diplomacy with its leader, Kim Jong-un, was a charade and likened Mr. Kims regime to absolute evil.

Its obvious to the world that were on to him, she said of Mr. Kim. But unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change, and Im very afraid that we are going to let up on this pressure.

She added: Theres a charade going on right now. Its called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? Thats what I want to know. Im all for it, but Im very skeptical.

She made the comments at the Hudson Institute in Washington, where she sat on a panel during a seminar on the abduction of Japanese, South Korean, American and nationals of other countries by North Korea, according to the institute.
RIO DE JANEIRO  President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil decided on Friday to cancel a trip to New York this month following weeks of controversy over the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerces decision to honor the far-right leader at its gala this year.

The chamber has been scrambling to keep the event on track since it announced last month that Mr. Bolsonaro had been selected to receive its person of the year award.

The honor set off outrage among environmental groups, gay activists and New York politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called Mr. Bolsonaro a dangerous man whose overt racism, homophobia and destructive decisions will have a devastating impact on the future of our planet.

The pushback began when the American Museum of Natural History, which had agreed to host the event before the honoree had been announced, reacted with dismay to Mr. Bolsonaros selection.
His work with these exceptionally talented musicians, who receive coveted fellowships lasting up to three years, has already had a lasting impact on classical music: Many alumni now play with major professional orchestras and ensembles.

That the current roster is inspired by Mr. Thomas was evident on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall, when he led the first of two New World programs to conclude his Perspectives series this season. The concert opened with the New York premiere of Julia Wolfes Fountain of Youth, all rumbling percussion, spiraling riffs and eerily cresting sustained sonorities, swirling in a musical melange with hints of indie rock and Minimalism.

Then the pianist Yuja Wang, also concluding her Perspectives series at Carnegie, was a fearless soloist in Prokofievs seldom-heard Piano Concerto No. 5. Completed in 1932, this compact, five-movement piece shows Prokofiev in his neo-Classical vein, though doing everything possible to disrupt the musics neo-Classical niceties. A stretch will start out sounding like some jovial toccata, then break into fractured phrases, brutal rhythms and gnashing harmonies.

The program ended with a freshly imaginative performance of Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. Mr. Thomas and his players conveyed the voluptuous colors and wildness of the music, but also, and more unusually, its refinement and delicacy, as in this excerpt from the waltzing second movement. (The video begins with the smoldering conclusion of the Prokofiev concerto, and the entire concert is available for viewing on medici.tv for three months.) ANTHONY TOMMASINI
BAKHITA

A Novel of the Saint of Sudan

By Veronique Olmi

Translated by Adriana Hunter

Veronique Olmis novel retells the story of a strong young woman who was exploited and dehumanized before finding herself in more merciful and hopeful circumstances. In Bakhita, fraught personal experiences intersect with historical and political events and time-honored religious practices, all encompassed within the span of the protagonists own life  which moves from a village in late-19th-century Sudan to a convent in post-World-War-II Italy, and from slavery to sainthood.

Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter into clear and affecting prose, Bakhita unfolds a distinctive array of timely concerns  the subjugation of women of color, human trafficking, female solidarity, personal and institutional conflicts that knot together issues of race, class, gender and religion  and explores them through the suffering, willpower and undiminished dignity of a small frightened girl turned resolute young woman turned gentle old nun. The novel also joins a much larger tradition of accounts of holy women and men that have been compiled over the centuries, including the Storia Meravigliosa (marvelous or wonderful story), a 1931 chronicle of Sister Josephine Bakhitas life that was disseminated by the Italian religious order she had joined.

To be sure, there is nothing wonderful in the first half of the novel, never mind the evidence for the meaning of Bakhitas name, lucky one in Arabic, which she is caustically assigned by one of the slave traders who sell and resell her and subject her to unspeakable barbarity. She never replaces it because she cant remember her real name or that of her village and family, all destroyed when she was first captured at about the age of 7, in the mid-1870s.

Image

Olmi traces out the childs successive captivities and introduces us to the fellow slaves she befriends and loses while being marched in chains from Darfur to Khartoum. In excruciating detail, Olmi describes whats done to Bakhita and what she sees done to others  women, children and babies  along a vulture-shadowed slave route and as an urban house slave. This could come across as gratuitously lurid, not least because the narrative is focused on and through Bakhita, whose psychological scarring is outpaced only by her physical scarring. On occasion, however, Olmi shifts into a cooler, more documentarian perspective that emphasizes the factual basis of both the individual story and its larger historical events. This prevents us from becoming either desensitized or cheaply fascinated by the otherwise relentless chronicling of Bakhitas misery-filled Sudan days.
Flowing next to and around these security and economic crises, Kershaw traces several positive, long-term trends in European history from 1950 to 2017 that are downright miraculous. Most important, most of the Continent lived in peace during the Global Age, a sharp contrast to the horrific atrocities chronicled in Kershaws previous volume in this series, To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949. Second, partly as a consequence of this first achievement, Europeans on average became richer than at any time before. In Kershaws estimation, the period between 1950 and 1973 was especially prosperous  a golden age or an economic miracle for the western part of the Continent, and even a silver age for the Communist bloc. Eventually, as Kershaw celebrates, almost every European country embraced democracy, starting with transitions from authoritarian rule in Greece, Portugal and Spain, and following with an explosion of new democracies in Eastern Europe after the collapse of Communism in 1989. As Kershaw sums up, Europe is more peaceful, more prosperous and more free than at any time in its long history. Alongside these three positive trends of peace, prosperity and democracy, cooperation among European countries expanded dramatically, culminating in the creation of the European Union and the euro.

To be sure, all of these amazing trends have slowed or stalled. Europe has yet to fully recover from the 2008 financial crisis; autocratic restoration looms threateningly on the E.U.s borders in Turkey and Russia, and even inside the union in Hungary, while liberal democracy has yet to consolidate in several countries in the post-Communist world. With the departure of Britain, the European Union is, for the first time, retracting in size. And war returned to Europe in 2014 in Ukraine, where Russian annexation and intervention have sparked a military conflict that has already led to 10,000 lives lost and millions displaced. It would be premature, however, to predict a new negative trajectory. Peace, prosperity and democracy in Europe still have serious momentum.

Europes future is especially hard to predict, as Kershaw emphasizes, because it is easy to underestimate the role of contingency in historical change. Refreshingly, and against the grain of some current intellectual fads, Kershaw allows for the possibility that individuals  not just innate structural forces  can shape history. For instance, Kershaw assigns a pivotal role to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in transforming Germany from a Continental menace to an anchor of stability and prosperity. Khrushchev gets a big role in Kershaws narrative, too, for reducing repression in the Communist world. And Kershaw reminds us that Prime Minister David Camerons decision to hold a referendum on Brexit underscores how the tactical decisions of individual leaders can have strategic consequences. Kershaw ascribes the greatest agency of all to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The magnitude of Gorbachevs personal contributions to the dramatic change, not just in the Soviet Union itself but throughout Eastern Europe, can scarcely be exaggerated. This is not to say that Kershaw highlights only the role of political leaders  for good and for ill  in his narrative. He also brings in the masses, recounting how mobilized citizens destroyed Communism; an entire chapter is devoted to Power of the People.

Kershaws theory of agency in the making of history allows for a range of possibilities about the Continents future. European leaders should read The Global Age to be reminded of the incredible progress of the last 70 years  and told that such progress is something they have the power to sustain through their individual actions. American leaders should also read this book to learn how much better off we have been and could continue to be in concert with a continent of free, secure and prosperous allies.
Dr. Bridget Catherine Dowd and Dr. Samuel Joseph Kiernan were married May 4 at the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, N.J. The Rev. James J. Grogan, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony.

The couple met at Georgetown, from which each graduated cum laude.

The bride, 31, who is taking her husbands name, is a fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. In July, she is to begin an advanced clinical and research fellowship in nutrition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She received a medical degree from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

She is the daughter of Susan Clark Dowd and Charles J. Dowd of Fair Haven, N.J.

The groom, 32, is a resident in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He completed his premedical post-baccalaureate program at Columbia, and received a medical degree from Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

He is a son of Lisa Edmondson Kiernan and John S. Kiernan of Pelham, N.Y.

The groom is a paternal great-great-great-grandson of Thomas F. Gilroy, the mayor of New York City from 1893 to 1894.
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If the questions that were asked of prospective jurors are any indication, the racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Keith Raniere, founder of the cultlike group Nxivm, may require not only stamina from the jury, but also the ability to listen to potentially uncomfortable testimony.

Before choosing a jury on Monday morning, a judge in federal court in Brooklyn winnowed the pool of possible jurors with a questionnaire appeared to ask, among other things, whether they can be fair to someone with multiple sexual partners and how they feel about sexually explicit images and possibly skin modifications (such as tattoos and branding).

They also may have been asked if they had ever taken Scientology courses or participated in self-help groups like the Landmark Forum or EST, according to a draft of the juror questionnaire.

Mr. Raniere stands accused of running Nxivm, which billed itself as a self-help group, like a cult, subjugating and abusing women who joined, and former members said, punishing those whose disobeyed his orders to have sex only with him.
Richard A. Brown, the Queens County district attorney who in almost three decades in that office prosecuted police officers accused of committing unjustified killings, robbery defendants who executed potential witnesses and a doctor convicted of murder for fatally botching an abortion, died on Saturday in a hospice care facility in Redding, Conn. He was 86.

The cause was complications of Parkinsons disease, his son, Todd Brown, said.

In January, after seven terms in office, Mr. Brown announced that he would not seek re-election. In March, with his seventh term in office scheduled to end on Dec. 31, Mr. Brown announced that he would step down on June 1, the 28th anniversary of my first assuming this office.

He said he had hoped to finish out the term, but given his health issues, it had become increasingly difficult to fully perform the powers and duties of my office in the manner in which I have done since 1991.

Mr. Brown, a former judge who left the calm of an appellate court for the pressures of a big-city prosecutors office, was known in his early years on the job for showing up at crime scenes, an unusual practice for the citys district attorneys.
But his efforts had caught the attention of San Diegos city attorney at the time, John Witt. Mr. Witt called Mr. Gwinn to his office and told him it was going to be difficult, but he understood what Mr. Gwinn had tried to do. He told me to go out and figure out how to win these cases, Mr. Gwinn said.

Mr. Gwinn began ordering 911 tapes in all domestic violence cases. He asked the police to take pictures of everything: the crime scene, the victims, even the perpetrators raging in the backs of police vehicles. Any possible shred of evidence that existed, Mr. Gwinn wanted. He began to go out to local police departments to enlist them in his mission. When one sergeant told Mr. Gwinn that he was never going to prosecute these cases successfully, Mr. Gwinn created a messaging system to let the police know how their cases were resolved. It gave the officers a sense of agency, learning their efforts could actually make a difference.

Mr. Gwinn tried 21 cases in a row, all domestic violence misdemeanors. All without the victim testifying.

He won 17 of them.

By the mid-1990s, Mr. Gwinn had become a national leader in evidence-based prosecution; he and a colleague trained thousands of lawyers around the country. He believed fervently that if we could prosecute murderers without a victims cooperation, we could prosecute batterers.

The movement gained momentum across the country, particularly in left-leaning states and states with stricter domestic violence laws. Still, there were many rural and conservative areas where it hadnt gained much traction  places like Montana.

Could evidence-based prosecution have saved Michelle Monson Mosure and her children? In addition to her affidavit, had anyone investigated further after she recanted, they might have learned how Rocky had threatened his family once with Michelles grandfathers gun, or how hed sometimes take the children as leverage to coerce Michelle into obeying him. They might have learned he was stalking his wife when she left the house, isolating her from friends and family  all of which could have come together to paint a picture of a family in serious danger.

In the end, its impossible to say whether Michelle could have been saved. But three years after her death came Crawford v. Washington, the case that nearly crushed two decades of progress.
After searing investigations by journalists and patient advocates, the F.D.A. has promised to make transformative changes to medical device regulation. But so far, the agencys suggestions have been meager at best. And in the meantime, regulators have accelerated the device approval process, not slowed it down.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, head of the agency office in charge of device regulation, has suggested that the benefits of bringing innovative products to market quickly are worth the increased risks.

Its true that devices have restored hearing, vision and the ability to walk and have provided many other benefits to millions of people. But the drive to innovate does not justify the growing catalog of medical device disasters. Patients should not have to wonder whether devices will save their lives or destroy them. Reasonable changes could greatly improve the current system.

Image Credit... Sofia Pashaei

Tighten approval standards. Regulatory loopholes  some of which date to the dawn of device regulation and were not meant to be permanent  enable companies to bring new or updated medical devices to market without testing them in human trials first. Companies need only to convince regulators that their products are similar to ones that are already approved, even if the other products are decades old or were subsequently pulled from the market. Eight years ago the Institute of Medicine advised the F.D.A. to abolish at least one of these loopholes, whats known as the 510(k) pathway. Its past time for the agency to heed that advice, and to ensure that no medical device intended for permanent residence inside a human body is used on patients without first being rigorously tested.

Fix post-market surveillance: Industry proponents say that medical devices can be brought to market quickly and safely by having companies conduct rigorous testing after products go to market instead of beforehand. But companies often fail to complete such studies, even when theyre ordered by regulators. Whats more, device makers frequently skirt rules requiring them to report publicly all incidents of malfunction, injury or illness  often through mechanisms that the F.D.A. itself created. And after years of wrangling, the industry and its regulators have still not fully put a system in place to better notify patients of product recalls and other safety issues.

The F.D.A. has vowed to fix some of these lapses. Theyve promised to abolish reporting exemptions  as detailed by Kaiser Health News  that keep safety issues hidden from the public and to promote breast implant registries that monitor patient outcomes.
The second explanation involved forgetting or obliviousness. A mother in Illinois said: My husband is a participatory and willing partner. Hes not traditional in terms of I dont change diapers. But his attention is limited. She added, I cant trust him to do anything, to actually remember.

A dad in San Francisco said that many of the tasks of parenting werent important enough to remember: I just dont think these things are worth attending to. A certain percentage of parental involvement that my wife does, I would see as valuable but unnecessary. A lot of disparity in our participation is that.

Finally, some men blamed their wives personalities. A San Diego dad said his wife did more because she was so uptight. She wakes up on a Saturday morning and has a list. I dont keep lists. I think theres a belief that if shes not going to do it, then it wont get done. (His wife agreed that this was true, but emphasized that her belief was based on experience: We fell into this easy pattern where he learned to be oblivious and I learned to resent him.)

A father in Portland , Ore., confirmed that his wife takes on more but said: It has to do with her personality. She always has to stay busy. No matter what day of the week it is, she has a need to be engaged, to be doing something.

Many mothers told me they had tried to change this and had aired their grievances with their partners, only to watch as nothing changed. A mother in Queens said she spent three years trying to get her husband to do more before coming to terms with the fact that maybe it was never going to happen. He notices the unfairness, but he just accepts it as something we have a disagreement about, she said. How much convincing of the other person can you do?

All this comes at a cost to womens well-being, as mothers forgo leisure time, professional ambitions and sleep. Wives who view their household responsibilities as unjust are more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not, one study says. When their children are young, employed women (but not men) take a hit to their health as well as to their earnings  and the latter never recovers. Child-care imbalances also tank relationship happiness, especially in the early years of parenthood.

Division of labor in the home is one of the most important gender-equity issues of our time. Yet at the current rate of change, MenCare, a group that promotes equal involvement in caregiving, estimates that it will be about 75 more years before men worldwide assume half of the unpaid work that domesticity requires.
They calumniated the dignified professor in front of her parents, calling her a liar, a fantasist, an erotomaniac and a vengeful scorned woman. I remember chasing Arlen Specter, the usually moderate Republican from Pennsylvania, down the hall of the Russell Senate Office Building after he slandered Hill as a perjurer.

Priding himself on his comity with his Republican colleagues, Biden set up the rules to favor Thomas.

First, Hill says, he reneged on a promise to let her testify first. Then he agreed to go along with Republicans contention that the judges behavior outside work was not relevant, which prevented testimony about Thomass taste for porn.

Yet Biden let Orrin Hatch, the Republican Savonarola from Utah, imply that Thomas could not possibly know the vocabulary of porn and suggest that Hill had gotten the pubic hair line from The Exorcist, which she had never read. (This, even though reporters had Thomass list of porn rentals from a local video store.)

Biden was striving to be fair to his vicious, duplicitous Republican colleagues who were jamming an arch-conservative liar onto the Supreme Court.

Comey also got tangled up on the issue of fairness, with disastrous results. Afraid that he would be blamed if it was discovered that the F.B.I. had been secretly investigating the woman expected to be the next president, the then-F. B.I. chief violated his own agencys norms to announce that he was reopening the inquiry into Hillary Clintons emails on the cusp of the election.

But he did not tell the public that the F.B.I. was also looking into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. As The Times has now revealed, the F.B.I. was worried enough to set up a honey trap, sending a comely government investigator posing as a research assistant to draw out George Papadopoulos , a Trump campaign adviser, in a London bar.
Over the last week, weve been focused on Attorney General William Barrs distortions of the Mueller Report, but many years ago he did something even more damaging. In his first stint as attorney general, Barr in 1992 issued a report called The Case for More Incarceration. He was one of many politicians and officeholders, Democrats as well as Republicans, who led the United States, with 5 percent of the worlds population, to hold almost 25 percent of the worlds prisoners.

Finally, America is beginning to unravel this historic mistake.

The best thing the Trump administration has done so far is its backing of the bipartisan First Step Act on criminal justice reform. The act, signed into law by Trump in December, marked a turning point away from mass incarceration, and small numbers of federal offenders have been released early since then.

I saw the new mood on criminal justice while moderating a panel the other day at the Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles. Beside me was Republican Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi, a conservative with whom I agree on nothing else, but he has worked heroically since 2014 to reduce Mississippis prison population by 11 percent. This has saved the state $46 million, he said.

Bryant also argued in the panel discussion for ending Americas system of de facto debtor prisons, in which poor people end up jailed because of an inability to pay fines. This is a problem in many states: One day when I visited the Tulsa county jail, 23 people were locked up simply for failure to pay government fines and fees.

Another conservative on the panel, Mark Holden of Koch Industries, spoke eloquently about how our criminal justice system traps people in poverty when they need second chances. He said that the system is so flawed that it needs to be blown up, quite frankly  in a nonviolent way.
When Dr. Courtwright met with the patients wife to recommend another procedure, she surprised him with her response: You need to look me in the eye and tell me youre recommending that because you think he is going to get better, not just because you want to keep him alive for another three months. Dr. Courtwright did believe that his patient could ultimately improve, but he could understand her worry. Thats where the one-year mortality metrics really create some paradoxical incentives, and the impression of paradoxical incentives, he said.

In response to these concerns, the Department of Health and Human Services called for comments on a proposal to do away with the one-year metric for transplant program C.M.S. reaccreditation, though the metric will remain in the initial accreditation process. And we continue to know relatively little about how patients are doing beyond whether they are alive or dead. I could get anyone to a year, said Dr. Formica.  But do you get back to work? Do you get back to being with your family? We dont know.

Indeed, despite all the clinical data that transplant programs are required to report to regulatory bodies, there is no similarly rigorous tracking of health-related quality of life. One reason is that mortality is easier to measure; the level of functioning that is important to an individual varies from person to person and changes over time.

Perhaps there is no single metric that defines success, said Dr. Hilary Goldberg, who heads the lung transplant program at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Sitting with patients in the transplant clinic, trying to help them imagine life after this momentous surgery, she hopes for a more fluid system of reporting that is able to weigh factors based on what different people need.

The question for me becomes, Who is the audience we are trying to satisfy with these metrics? she said. Patients, regulators and doctors might all value slightly different measures, which is challenging. But if we wanted to define the perfect system, it has to be more malleable.

Its been almost a year and a half since Ms. Favazzas transplant. She said it seemed as though she spent all her time returning to the hospital for a clinic visit, a new scan or a procedure. But she can run her daily errands without carting around her oxygen. She no longer needs to worry when she cant find a parking spot near a store entrance. After years without travel, she is planning a trip to Florida.

Her surgery is a success story by any metric, not just by the one-year mortality measure.

Its about being able to breathe and to do what you need to do, she told me. Then she paused. No  not just what you need to do, but what you want to do. Being able to do the little things, kids birthday parties, Easter. For me, its being able to do all of that again.

Daniela J. Lamas is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

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Q: I rent a market-rate apartment on the Upper West Side. About two months ago, moths started appearing in my closet, destroying my sweaters. The building has sent an exterminator twice, but the problem persists. Do I have grounds to break my lease?

A: Your landlord must provide you with a habitable apartment, one that does not endanger your health, safety or well-being. However, it is unlikely that a judge would let you out of your lease because of moths, even if they are decimating your wardrobe.

While certainly an annoyance, Im not seeing how this particular situation adversely impacts the units habitability, said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate attorney and adjunct professor at New York Law School.

If you simply break the lease and move out, you could be on the hook for the balance of the lease and any legal fees the landlord assumes  a sum that could be quite substantial, Mr. Ferrara said.
James: When he talks about the past, he looks at me.

Charles: Im just so relieved. I thought that I was the oldest one here, but then I saw you and, thought, Oh, thank God.

Jack: I was rereading the Sontag essay in preparation for this, and I do think that camp is a sensibility, an aesthetic sensibility. I would imagine it really derived from gay culture, gay male culture initially, and then has widened through every different group. Sontag starts with Oscar Wilde, which is a reasonable place to start because he was such a funny commentator on the unnatural.

At the time, people wouldnt have necessarily expressed their antipathy to same-sex sexuality through what we call homophobia, but they would have said, This is unnatural. And so, you could say that one of the foundational gestures of camp is to say, Its unnatural? Absolutely.

Zaldy: The term was in black and white in the dictionary in the last century, but camp and its queer roots have been there as far back as it goes. Its just  camp. I mean, imagine Roman orgies  thats camp! That is full-on camp.

Charles: If we were back at the Roman orgy, itd be our perception of it as opposed to somebody elses. Maybe a heterosexual person at the Roman orgy might just be going at it from purely the sex angle, but if we were there, wed be amused at the look of it, or the person whos posing and looks foolish because they want to be something that they actually are not. I think an element of camp is what the truth is and what the perception is, when theyre two different things. Thats where often the humor comes in.

Carmelita: I also think that its really important to put women in. I came from the 80s, but women were also dressing up and were also acting out in cabaret around that time. Maybe they were not as visible.
Any settlement will also be looked at as a measure of the Trump administrations willingness to penalize one of the countrys most valuable and influential companies. The administration has whittled away regulations in many industries, but President Trump has repeatedly said tech giants like Facebook and Amazon have too much power.

Many Democrats have led efforts to rein in Silicon Valleys power.

This is a hugely important decision because it will be watched by all these big companies to see if there is actually going to be a new day on the enforcement front, said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed for Mr. Zuckerberg to be held personally liable in any settlement.

Rohit Chopra, one of the two Democrats on the commission, has publicly urged stronger punishment of repeated offenders of F.T.C. rules.

But Mr. Simons has appeared unwilling to force the issue and drag the case to court, which could be a risky move. He has recently intensified his efforts to get at least one of the two Democrats on his side, according to one of the people with knowledge of the talks. But the internal disagreements have held up a final agreement.

In addition to the fine, Facebook has agreed, as part of a proposed settlement, to create new positions that would be focused on privacy policies and compliance, two of the people said. The agency, in coordination with the company, would set up an independent committee to oversee Facebooks privacy efforts. That committee and the F.T.C. would appoint an outside assessor to monitor the companys handling of data.

The company has also agreed to assign an executive as a privacy compliance officer, making privacy oversight a job within the top ranks, the people said. Mr. Zuckerberg could be given the job, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, although another person expressed doubts.
MIAMI  For Darwing Silva, the first sign that something was amiss when his flight landed in Jacksonville, Fla., during a thunderstorm late on Friday was that it seemed the jet did not brake after hitting the runway.

Lights zoomed by the window. He traded worried glances with other passengers.

Then came the jolt.

It was just the biggest impact Ive ever felt in my life, Mr. Silva said on Saturday. Like an explosion, almost.

He lurched forward in his seat  14B, the middle seat in an exit row  and hit his head on the seatback in front of him.

Seconds later, Mr. Silva felt water. Up to my ankles, he said. And there was water coming in from above the roof of the plane.
It seemed no accident that Mr. Biden quickly took his deal-making case from the swing state of Pennsylvania to Dubuque County, which flipped from the Democratic column to Mr. Trump in 2016, and sits in the middle of the densest stretch of counties in the nation that made the same shift to Mr. Trump.

Yet many on the left believe that Mr. Bidens nostalgia for a bygone era of comity, compromise and civility  while appealing  is misplaced, or even naive. They question whether historic pragmatism can even be considered pragmatic anymore in an era of norm-busting hyperpartisanship.

Joe Biden knows better, said Brian Fallon, a former top spokesman for Hillary Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer, because Joe Biden was the wingman for Barack Obama, who in his first year in his presidency had Mitch McConnell say his No. 1 objective was that Barack Obama wasnt re-elected.

Mr. Fallon acknowledged the political temptation to be less partisan sounding, by condemning only Mr. Trump in an attempt to appeal to disaffected Republicans. Im not saying a candidate needs to go around preaching doom and gloom, he said. But for the good of the country  beyond the short-term political calculus  we need someone who is cleareyed about the situation they will be inheriting if they win the White House.

Some Democratic strategists point to Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a candidate who grasps the challenges to bipartisan deal-making. While he has offered rhetorical gestures to Republicans  casting himself as a consensus-seeking executive in a red state, Indiana  he has embraced more radical ideas that would help Democrats bypass the opposition party, such as eliminating the filibuster and stacking the Supreme Court with additional justices.

It took Ms. Warren only two days after the 2016 election to cast Mr. Trump as an outgrowth of an electorate demanding change. The final results may have divided us  but the entire electorate embraced deep, fundamental reform of our economic system and our political system, she said then.
WASHINGTON  Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said on Saturday that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term, the third Republican senator to do so ahead of the 2020 campaign.



Mr. Enzi, 75, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, has held his seat since 1997, making him the longest-serving Wyoming senator in modern times. Speaking at a news conference in his home state, he said he planned to spend the rest of his tenure focusing on budget overhaul.

I have much to get done in the next year and a half, Mr. Enzi said. I want to focus on budget reform to get control of our national debt.

I dont want to be burdened by the distractions of another campaign, he added.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, praised Mr. Enzis time in the Senate, calling him a respected moral leader.
Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling author who challenged conservative Christianity and gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith, died on Saturday at a hospital in Nashville. She was 37.

Her husband, Daniel Evans, said in a statement on her website that the cause was extensive brain swelling. During treatment for an infection last month, Ms. Evans began experiencing brain seizures and had been placed in a medically induced coma.

I keep hoping its a nightmare from which Ill awake, Mr. Evans said in a statement. Rachels presence in this world was a gift to us all, and her work will long survive her.

An Episcopalian, Ms. Evans left the evangelical church in 2014 because, she said, she was done trying to end the churchs culture wars and wanted to focus instead on building a new community among the churchs refugees: women who wanted to become ministers, gay Christians and those who refuse to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith.
KINSHASA, Congo  More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the countrys health minister said on Friday, the second-worst outbreak of the disease in history behind the West African one in 2014-16 that killed more than 11,300.

The toll came as hostility toward health workers continued to hamper efforts to contain the virus.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga said that four deaths in the outbreaks center, Katwa, had helped push the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths were reported in the city of Butembo. The outbreak was declared almost nine months ago.

A volatile security situation and deep community mistrust have hampered efforts to control the spread of the disease in eastern Congo. Ebola treatment centers have been repeatedly attacked, leaving government health officials to run clinics in the hot spots like Butembo and Katwa.

International aid organizations stopped working in the two communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working with the World Health Organization was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
JOHANNESBURG  The war room for the African National Congress candidates running in local elections three years ago was an elaborate operation with new computers, wall monitors, lodging for volunteers and catered food three times a day.

But the A.N.C., the party in power for the 25 years since the end of apartheid, did not fund its own war room. A South African company named Bosasa paid for everything, including the wages of the so-called volunteers, according to recent testimony at a government inquiry on corruption.

Now as South Africans prepare to vote in a pivotal general election on May 8, the public does not know where the A.N.C. and the opposition parties raised the tens of millions of dollars needed to run rallies, print posters, buy television ads and perform myriad other tasks as part of their campaigns across a vast land of 57 million people.

Though South Africa has long been held up as a model of democratization, revelations at the inquiry indicate that the financing of its elections appears to be riddled with the same kind of corrupt practices that have consumed the nation in recent years.
Campaign for European elections : Demonstrations at AfD event in Bonn

Bonn On Friday, a hundred police officers secured an AfD event at the Haus der Bildung in Bonn and counter-demonstrations. Employees of the Volkshochschule protested against the use of their rooms by the political party.

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According to the German Constitution, everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinion freely. All Germans have the right to assemble peacefully without permission. Two opposing camps made use of those two fundamental rights on Friday. The police showed a strong presence and reported in the evening: No violence, no special incidents.

The municipal House of Education used the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for an election campaign event for the European elections on May 26, almost 80 listeners accepted the invitation of the opponents of the Euro and immigration. Outside, on two sides of the completely closed Mulheimer Platz, several hundred people gathered for a counter-demonstration called by various left-wing groups, church organisations and trade unions.

It was necessary to "oppose the racist party at every point", but also to talk to those who, out of pure dissatisfaction, were looking for a political alternative, said Diakonie chief Ulrich Hamacher, one of the speakers on the stage of the group "Bonn crosses the line". In the passage between Karstadt and Cassiusbastei, mainly young counter-demonstrators chanted slogans against the AfD. Their visitors were led by the police via Munsterstrae to the Haus der Bildung.

Compared to the outside scenes, the atmosphere was quite calm and concentrated inside the hall. Hans Neuhoff, deputy AfD district chairman, spoke about the "construction errors of the EU" before the external guests, Christian Loose and Sven Tritschler, members of the state parliament, also had the opportunity to speak. In the beginning, Neuhoff thanked the Haus der Bildung and the city for making the event possible.

As reported, there had already been discussions in the run-up to the event about the young right-wing party, which represents the largest opposition faction in the German Bundestag and hopes for a two-digit election result in the European elections. At first, the AfD criticised the city administration because of alleged unequal treatment with the letting of urban areas. Mayor Ashok Sridharan (CDU) rejected the accusations: "Of course the city of Bonn treats the AfD like all other admitted parties", the Mayor told the General-Anzeiger.

While the case seemed solved for the time being for the administration due to the neutrality obligation, the controversy went on. Still, on Friday a group of lecturers of the adult education center expressed their protest against the AfD meeting in the rooms in which they teach regularly German and which they use themselves with much commitment for tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and integration. Values which the AfD stands programmatically against. They expressed their concern in a letter to the VHS management. But there were also other voices in the debate about the event. CDU Council member Nikolaus Kircher, for example, clearly rejected the call for the closure of municipal buildings to selected parties: "The dispute should be conducted politically and not by denying rights", said the Christian Democrat.
SHANCHONG, China  China has made your iPhone, your Nikes and, chances are, the lights on your Christmas tree. Now, it wants to grow your cannabis.

Two of Chinas 34 regions are quietly leading a boom in cultivating cannabis to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating compound that has become a consumer health and beauty craze in the United States and beyond.

They are doing so even though cannabidiol has not been authorized for consumption in China, a country with some of the strictest drug-enforcement policies in the world.

It has huge potential, said Tan Xin, the chairman of Hanma Investment Group, which in 2017 became the first company to receive permission to extract cannabidiol here in southern China. The chemical is marketed abroad  in oils, sprays and balms as treatment for insomnia, acne and even diseases like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. (The science, so far, is not conclusive.)
They agreed that the partys attempt to rout out black money by invalidating most of Indias currency, known as demonetization, had not really worked.

But the question of whether Mr. Modi was responsible for his governments more polarizing moments divided them.

Ms. Khichi, a senior who plans to work for the consulting company Deloitte after graduating, said bad people in Mr. Modis party were taking advantage of his popularity to insert religion into politics.

It is not Modi who is promoting Hinduism, she said. It is the people behind him.

Mr. Parmar raised the case of Gauri Lankesh, an Indian journalist and critic of the government, who was murdered in 2017 by members of a militant Hindu group.

After her death, a man who described himself on Twitter as a Hindu nationalist wrote: One bitch dies a dogs death all the puppies cry in the same tune. Mr. Parmar pointed out that Mr. Modi was following that person.

It means Modi is supporting him, he said.

The third person in the classroom, Mr. Kirar, 23, said he was still undecided. Choosing between the B.J.P. and the Indian National Congress, he said, was like picking one of two snakes.

Regardless of which gets chosen, he said, they are both going to bite you anyway.
JEJU, South Korea  When North Korea launched a volley of projectiles off its east coast on Saturday, it sought to escalate the pressure on President Trump to return to the negotiating table with a compromise on easing sanctions, analysts said, by signaling that it could scuttle his biggest diplomatic achievement with the North.

Saturdays weapons tests were the most serious by the North since the country launched its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missiles in November 2017. Although North Korea has not gone so far as to renege on its moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests, which its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced last year, the Saturday launch indicated that Mr. Kim was toying with the idea of lifting the moratorium, analysts said.

[Update: North Korea fired a projectile on Thursday. The launch was its second weapons test in less than a week.]

Mr. Trump has repeatedly described the moratorium as his biggest achievement on North Korea, citing it as proof that his diplomacy with Mr. Kim has been working. The leaders have met twice: first in Singapore in June and again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February.
After Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China talked over a steak dinner in December at a Group of 20 meeting in Argentina, the administration decided to shelve the proposed sanctions, according to the American officials. The two leaders had set a deadline of March 1 to reach a broad trade agreement, and American officials decided the sanctions could wait until after that deadline. But trade negotiators failed to reach a deal by that date, and talks are still continuing.

China has cracked down on ethnic minorities like the Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking group of mostly Sunni Muslims, who form the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang. For decades, many Uighurs have resented Communist Party rule, saying Chinese officials suppress their culture and religion and practice widespread discrimination.

Officials in Beijing say they fear terrorist ideas have taken root among the Uighurs and point to outbursts of violence in recent years, particularly a deadly riot in the capital of Xinjiang in 2009. A vast internment program began soon after, largely under the orders of Chen Quanguo, who became party chief of Xinjiang in August 2016, after a stint in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Of the majority-Muslim nations, only Turkey has strongly denounced the recent mass detentions and surveillance in Xinjiang, though Ankara maintains strong economic ties to Beijing.

Beijing hasnt significantly changed its policies in Xinjiang, said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch. So its still appropriate the United States go ahead with the sanctions.

As a last-ditch effort, activists are now pushing American officials to insert the humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang into the trade talks, which may wrap up next week in Washington, or to impose sanctions to pressure China to end persecution in the region.

On Friday, a group of about a dozen demonstrators, many of whom are Uighurs living in the United States, gathered in Washington outside of a conference focused on sanctions policy to pressure Treasury Department officials to take action against Chinese officials involved in the Xinjiang abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act.
In the weeks before North Korea fired rockets and guided weapons on Saturday, President Trump countermanded the Treasury Department, reversing an announcement that it was tightening economic sanctions against the country.

The reason, his press secretary declared, was that President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

Now, nearly a year after beginning a bold experiment in the power of personal diplomacy, Mr. Trump has run headlong into its limits. He has discovered that friendship between leaders of bitter nuclear rivals may produce good television, but that it is not a counterproliferation strategy.

After gaining few tangible economic benefits from two summit meetings, the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, is now turning to a well-worn playbook written by his father and grandfather. On Saturday, the North fired a volley of projectiles off its eastern coast in a move that analysts said was intended to escalate the pressure on Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table. And as Mr. Trump heads into the 2020 election, that strategy may threaten what the president has trumpeted as a signature diplomatic initiative, depriving him of the stump-speech moments to declare he brought peace where his predecessors failed.
Empty beer cans found : Police stop drunken bus driver in Bonn

Bonn A bus driver apparently drove under the influence of alcohol on a scheduled route from Rheinbach to Bonn on Thursday evening. A passenger had reported the 51-year-old. Police found three empty beer cans in his pocket.

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A passenger called the police late on Thursday evening at 11 pm on his way from Rheinbach to Bonn because of the unsafe driving style of a bus driver. The officers then stopped the bus on Rochusstrae in Duisdorf, according to the report. A breathalyser alcohol test showed that the 51-year-old driver was behind the wheel with a 0.5 alcohol level per mille in his breath.

Three empty beer cans were also found in the man's pocket. Because of the special responsibility for passenger transport, bus drivers are subject to an absolute ban on alcohol. The driver had to leave the bus and accompany the officers to the station. There, a blood sample was taken from him because of the suspicion of the endangerment of the road traffic by driving under the influence of alcohol. His driving licence was seized.
Jain suggests researching where you are going by checking for travel warnings and outbreaks in the area. Other factors to take into consideration are whether your baby was born full-term and is healthy.

"I think you have to think very, very hard about it," Jain said. "Common sense would be critical." Jain has a 6-week-old and has decided to not travel outside the United States this summer.

If a child has not been vaccinated, is older than 12 months and international travel is planned, the initial MMR shot and a booster can be given within 28 days of each other. Traces of immunity are detectable within a few days, according to the CDC, and a person can be fully protected within two to three weeks.

If a child cannot be vaccinated due to an immunosuppression, the CDC says, travel should be delayed because the child is more likely to experience severe complications if they get the measles.

Protecting your child when travel is necessary

Vaccination is the easiest way to protect your child before traveling, but if the baby is too young to receive the vaccination or wasn't able to as an infant, there are a few things you can do to help minimize the risk of infection.
Its almost summer, and that means one special thing in my house  traveling!

I think the best education comes from travel. As a kid, I learned the importance of seeing and experiencing the world around me. I swam in the ocean, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate giant hamburgers in Pittsburgh, drove through the Midwest pretending I was in a covered wagon, spent the 4th of July on the levy in Louisiana, road a ferry in Seattle, saw the beauty of Oregon's Crater Lake and the history of South Dakota's Mount Rushmore. As an adult, I have been fortunate to add many others to that list.

My travels throughout the years created a lot of enjoyment and memories, but they also taught me extraordinarily important lessons I couldnt have gotten anywhere else. That's something I think is imperative for my kids, as well. I am passionate about the role travel can play in the educational development of children. Here are 7 reasons why its important for kids to travel.

1. Youll learn about other cultures. Whether here in the U.S. or abroad, traveling is the best way to get to know what other cultures are all about. What people wear, how they speak, their customs and cultural norms, hobbies, manners and etiquette.
A shareholder asserted that Berkshire would have expanded its cash pile to $155 billion from $118 billion if it had kept the cash in a stock index fund versus U.S. Treasury bills.

Its a perfectly rational observation, Buffett said.

Buffett expressed a willingness for Berkshire to change its investment strategy around its excess cash in the future. He said the change would be something his successor might wish to employ.

Buffett said he and Munger have liked having a lot of money to be able to make big moves fast. Opportunities tend to come in clumps when other people dont want to deploy cash, Buffett said. The two believe the capital on hand will be well-deployed and be better than an index fund.

Munger said its not a sin for such a large company to be strong on cash. Were not going to change.

Online competition for Berkshire retailers

Buffett said the jury is still out on how rapidly growing online retailers will do over time. Investors so far, he said, seem willing to look at losses as OK as long as sales are increasing, hoping better days are ahead.
The Bookworm bookstore in Omaha has a booth at the annual meeting displaying books approved by Warren Buffett for sale at the meeting.

More than 45 books are on the approved list, including many about Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway and investing as well as more general-interest books.

The two new books Buffett requested to be sold this year are:

Letters to Doris  One Womans Quest to Help Those with Nowhere Else to Turn. Doris Buffetts vision sounds simple: Provide people and families who have fallen on hard times with a place to be heard and match them with resources to help address whatever challenge they face. This effort is difficult, sometimes messy, and a constant reminder of the limitations to truly changing someone elses circumstances. At the same time, the stories contained in this book present a slice of the community that Doris created with the Letters Foundation.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

For the last 20 years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. Melindas unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention. She writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world  and ourselves.
A Douglas County jury on Friday ordered the Elkhorn Public Schools to pay a developer $4.6 million for land it acquired for a new high school near 180th Street and West Maple Road.

Jurors found that a board of appraisers $2.6 million award to the developer was not a fair market value for the 43.6 acres along the heavily traveled road.

The school district seized the land through a condemnation proceeding.

The extra $2 million takes into account the value of the land and the decrease in value of the adjacent 30 acres that the developer is left to work with, according to the jurys verdict.

The school district chose the land as the location of Elkhorn North High School. The school is slated to open in August 2020.

According to court documents, the land was owned by Tribedo, a Nebraska limited liability company. Arun Agarwal, a real estate developer with White Lotus Group, is listed as Tribedos registered agent in state government documents.

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Members of a Hamburg, Iowa, family returned to their flood-damaged home on Easter morning to discover that it had been looted.

After almost two weeks of investigating, police have arrested two suspects from Omaha.

A joint investigation by the Omaha Police Department and the Fremont (Iowa) County Sheriffs Office led to a man and woman in Omaha.

The pair were arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief.

When the family returned to the home to gather belongings on April 21, they discovered that it had been forcibly entered and that thousands of dollars worth of property was missing, police said. The driveway and yard were also damaged.

Both suspects were arrested in Omaha and are being held at the Douglas County Jail.
The writer is the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants and author of The Capitalist Comeback. This appeared in the Washington Post.

Some may question the economic acumen of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination is clearly no slouch when it comes to the art of politics. So, when Sanders says, as he did during an April 15 Fox News town hall, that illegal immigration has become a serious problem that merits government action, Democratic legislators should listen. Or pay attention to a Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday indicating that Democratic voters concern about a crisis at the southern border has jumped 17 points since January.

Maybe Democrats in Congress should work with Republicans to resolve the crisis before the 2020 election.

The recent surge of Central American migrants  more than 100,000 were apprehended or denied entry in March, the most in one month in a dozen years, according to the Washington Post  is beginning to play right into President Donald Trumps hands, and experienced politicians such as Sanders know it. Thats why he called for sensible immigration reform to accommodate an overflowing immigration system.
Personal finance decisions can have a far-ranging impact on ones life. Able management can provide long-term security or, at a minimum, help one cope with short-term financial stresses.

Draft standards for Nebraskas social studies curriculum call for helping young people develop financial literacy. Its a worthy goal the State Board of Education should include.

Nationally, most of the U.S. students participating in an annual financial literacy test by the National Financial Educators Council dont fare well. The average score was 66% last year for the 5,647 students nationwide, ages 15-18, who participated. The figure for Nebraskas 213 participating students was 66%; for Iowas 372 participants, it was 61%.

About 210 of Nebraskas 244 school districts offer a personal finance class. Of these, 95 districts, representing about 60% of the states students, require completion of a personal finance class for graduation.
Winning chances of crorepatis and candidates with criminal background in Delhi elections

SC tells political parties to upload on website, why tickets were given to criminal candidates

West Bengal elections: 35 constituencies to go to polls in final phase, fate of 283 candidates to be sealed

189 with pending criminal cases, 311 crorepatis contesting 6th phase of Lok Sabha polls

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: 189 candidates with pending criminal cases and 311 crorepatis will battle it out in the 6th phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms states that 189(20%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.

146(15%) out of 967 candidates analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

4 candidates have declared convicted cases against themselves. 6 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section -302) against themselves.

25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves.

5 candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping (IPC Section-363) and Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364), against themselves.

21 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354), husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A) etc and Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509) against themselves. Among these 21 candidates, 2 have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376) against themselves.

11 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

Among the major parties, 26(48%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 20 (44%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 19(39%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 34(11%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 18(33%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 12 (26%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 17(35%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 5(31%) out of 16 candidates analysed from SHS, and 27(9%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Just 12 per cent of candidates are women in 5th phase of LS polls

34 out of 59 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those constituencies where 3 or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Financial:

There are 311(32%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more.

Among the major parties 46(85%) out of 54 candidates from BJP, 37(80%) out of 46 candidates from INC, 31(63%) out of 49 candidates from BSP, 6(50%) out of 12 candidates from AAP and 71(23%) out of 307 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 election is Rs. 3.41 crores.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 54 BJP candidates is Rs. 12.70 crores, 46 INC candidates is Rs 22.37 crores, 49 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 6.93 crores, and 12 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 3.01 crores.

Other details:

340(35%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 40 years while 465(48%) candidates have declared their age to be between 41 to 60 years. There are 153(16%) candidates who have declared their age to be between 61 to 80 years. 7 candidates have not given their age. 2 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years.

83(9%) female candidates are contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 6 elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:32 [IST]
AgustaWestland: Court pulls up ED for chargesheet leak

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: A Delhi Court pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged leak of a supplementary chargesheet in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case to the media, saying the denial given by the agency did not inspire any confidence and was not worthy of reliance.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar further directed ED's Director to ensure that no such incident like the leak of the documents is repeated in future in any matter.

The court was hearing a plea by Christian Michel, alleged middleman arrested in the case, seeking an enquiry into the leak in the money laundering case.

Michel had accused ED of politicising the case by passing the documents to the media.

AgustaWestland case: Advocate Gautam Khaitan granted bail by court

The ED had refuted the allegations of handing over the documents to the journalists and had filed a status report claiming there was no leakage of the chargesheet on its part and "most likely" the leak to the media was caused from an extra copy that was left with the court staff.

The court staff had denied receiving any extra copy from the ED.

In the order, the judge said the status report was "not worthy of reliance" as he noted that there was no direction from the court to the ED to file any additional copy, neither did the agency mention earlier that it had submitted an extra copy.

"Even if the version of ED is believed, it was totally uncalled for and negligent on the ED official to leave a copy with the Ahlmad (court staff)."

"The allegations made by the ED, on face of it, appears incorrect. The version of the ED is not inspiring any confidence and is not worthy of reliance," the court said.

The court refused to go into the issue regarding the media getting the access of the supplementary of the chargesheet and whether giving it to the scribes was a deliberate act or a result of negligence or carelessness.

"However, I deem it fit to direct the Director, ED, to take necessary steps to ensure that no such incident is repeated in future in any matter whatsoever. Further, this court does not find any contempt of court being committed (on part of ED)," the court said.

Earlier during the arguments, the ED had told the court that there was nothing wrong if the media published or broadcast its contents as the court has already taken cognisance of the case and only the fresh accused had to be summoned.

The agency had told the court that the charge sheet was a public document and there was nothing wrong if someone accessed it.

Michel's lawyer had told the court that there was a media trial due to the leakage of the chargesheet.

Michel, currently in judicial custody, was arrested by the ED on December 22 last year after his extradition from Dubai.

He is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the chopper scam by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

Production warrant issues in AgustaWestland chopper case

The agency had earlier told the court that Michel received 24.25 million euros and 1,60,96,245 pounds from the AgustaWestland deal.

The ED told the court that it had identified Michel's properties purchased with the proceeds of the crime.

The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:04 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

BJP leader shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir: Report

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 05: Gul Muhammad Mir, a BJP worker, was on Saturday shot dead by suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The party has alleged that his security was recently withdrawn by the state administration, currently run by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Mir, who was BJP's vice district president of Anantnag district, was hit by bullets on chest and abdomen. He had unsuccessfully contested Assembly Elections for Dooru assembly segment in 2008 and 2014.

Unidentified terrorists fired at the BJP leader at Nowgam Verinag, a police official told PTI.

Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

He was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he died of his injuries.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the attack.

"Ghulam Mohd office bearer of the BJP in South Kashmir has been shot & killed in Nowgam, Verinag. I condemn this dastardly act of violence & pray for the soul of the departed. May his soul rest in peace," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has also condemned the killing.

"I strongly condemn the killing of BJP leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

The area has been cordoned off.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:59 [IST]
Can you party on New Years in Karnataka? Here is what you should know

BJP will try to 'destabilise' Karnataka govt if it replicates 2014 LS feat: Minister

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, May 04: Karnataka Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Saturday alleged the BJP would try to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state if it repeats its 2014 Lok Sabha polls performance.

Noting that everything will depend on the performance of the BJP, he said it might indulge in "Operation Kamala" if the performance is better than last time.

"...let's wait for the results on May 23, after that we will get to know who is where, who will hold what position...Every thing is dependent on what will happen at the Centre," Jarkiholi said.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, "If they (BJP) get more seats, they will try (to dislodge the government)... If they get similar to 2014, they will try. As of now it looks like they will get less, in such a case they will not indulge in Operation Kamala."

"Operation Kamala" (Operation Lotus) refers to the successful attempt of the BJP to engineer the defection of opposition legislators to ensure the stability of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka in 2008.

There are talks in political circles that any adverse results for the coalition in the Lok Sabha polls, which they fought in alliance, will have its implications on the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in 'Operation Lotus' everywhere, Jarkiholi said they are trying to destabalise the governments in different parts of the country by going against the spirit of democracy.

"The Prime Minister himself is claiming about 40 MLAs (of TMC in West Bengal) being in touch with him. He has made claims at various places. They have made AAP MLA in Delhi to join BJP. Under Modi rule all these things are going on," he added.

He hit out at his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi for his statement predicting the fall of the coalition government.

Ramesh, a rebel Congress MLA, who had recently indulged in a public spat with his brother Satish Jarkiholi, and had threatened to quit the party along with some MLAs, has predicted that there would be a "big political change" in the state after May 25.

"All those who are in power now will lose power and I will get power," he had claimed recently.

Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for sometime now, has threatened that he along with other MLAs would resign from Congress soon in bulk, which has caused fear among the ruling coalition leaders as it would trigger the number game in the assembly.

Though it was said that Ramesh was deserted in his attempt to mobilise Congress MLAs to resign, with legislators close to him like Shrimant Patil of Kagawad, Mahesh Kumtalli of Athani and B Nagendra of Bellary having pledged their loyalty to the party, reports have now emerged about him holding talks with some MLAs.

According to reports, Ramesh Saturday met Mahesh Kumtalli and Independent MLA R Shankar.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 19:14 [IST]
Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet

Congress, Samajwadi Party betrayed Mayawati: PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on the opposition parties and said that though the Samajwadi Party was evidently going soft on the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was openly opposing the grand old party.

"Congress leaders happily share stage with the Samajwadi Party in the rallies, these people have betrayed Behenji (Mayawati) so cunningly that even she is not able to comprehend. Party which was staking claim to PM post before 1st round of voting now admits to being a vote cutter," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati is attacking the Congress, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP, Modi said.

The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at a Samajwadi Party meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," he said.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of 'vote katwa' party for cutting the votes of other parties and it will soon witness its downfall.

Attempting to draw a wedge in the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Modi claimed that BSP chief Mayawati has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a "big game" with her.

"Now, this is clear that the SP has derived mileage from Mayawati through the gathbandhan. She was kept in dark. There were talks about respect. It was said that you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now Behenji has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said.

Modi said there are dangers of corruption, opportunism, casteism, dynastic politics and non-governance from this alliance.

"During the BSP regime, neither ambulances were safe nor the Taj Mahal was safe. During SP's tenure, sand, and even household taps were not spared," he said.

"The panja (hand) of mahamilaawat is very dangerous," he added.
EC clears Shah of Wayanad-Pak remark but the decision was not unanimous

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president, Amit Shah were cleared in four complaints of alleged poll code violation by the Election Commission of India.

Of the four decisions, one was not unanimous and there was disagreement within the poll panel. The complaint related to Amit Shah's speech in Nagpur on April 9 where he likened Wayanad to Pakistan. This is the second seat on which Congress president, Rahul Gandhi is contesting the elections.

The final decision on this complaint was taken by a 2:1 majority. Shah had said Rahul baba for the sake of an alliance had gone to such a seat in Kerala, where when a procession is taken you cannot make out if it is India or a Pakistan procession. He made the comment in an apparent reference to the Indian Union Muslim League flags that were seen during the procession.

More clean chits to Modi: Does EC have a different set of rules

In its reply to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, the EC said that the matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and after examination of complete transcript of speech of six pages sent by DEO, Nagpur, Commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of MCC or ECI's instructions is made out.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:06 [IST]
Mamata to join hands with BJP again in case of hung assembly in Bengal: Sitaram Yechury

Yechury says India now an electoral autocracy

Yechury raises suspicion over EC decision to put on hold poll to RS seats in Kerala

Sitaram Yechury's son Ashish dies of Covid-19 at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram

Decision to bring in new faces in LDF cabinet taken in CPI(M)'s long term interest: Sitaram Yechury

This is daylight highway robbery of national assets, Sitaram Yechury on Air India returning to Tatas

FIR against Sitaram Yechury for hurting hindu sentiments

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 04: Police in Hairdwar booked Communist Party of India-Marxist, general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday for allegedly linking Hinduism with violence.

Ramdev lodged his complaint after Yechury's statement on Thursday in Bhopal stating "Hindus can be violent which is evident by Hindu mythologies Ramayana and Mahabharata."

It is an attempt by Yechury to defame the religion which must be condemned," Ramdev said.

Sitaram Yechury lashes out at EC over clean chit to PM Modi

Referring to claims by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Hindus cannot indulge in violence, Yechury had on Friday said Hindu mythological books like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were replete with instances of violence.

"It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

"What is the logic behind saying there is a religion which engages in violence and we Hindus don't," Yechury said.

Yechury also attacked the BJP for fragmenting the society for votes through its divisive policies.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 23:14 [IST]
Foni, Mala, Nargis: How are cyclones named

Feature

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, May 04: Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer are some of the biggest names in Bollywood. However these are also names of cyclones, most of which have been lethal.

As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as 'Foni', means a snake's hood. But how are cyclones named? The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its twenty-seventh session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.

Cyclone Fani that killed 8 hits West Bengal with wind speed of 90 kmph

The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically -- Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested 'Onil' the first in the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named 'Vayu', suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised. Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

"A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly.

"If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria," a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

Baby born amid fury of the storm named after Cyclone Fani

"The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning," it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD. According to the IMD, in the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily.

Laxman Singh Rathore, a former director general of the IMD, said the practice of naming the storm first started in the United States. This helped identify it and also aided the researchers. Earlier, the storm was named after the coast it hit, Rathore added.

"Then the mid-1900s saw the start of practice of using feminine names for storms. In the pursuit of a more organised and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alphabetically," the IMD said explaining the genesis of the naming process. "Before the end of 1900s, forecasters started using male names for those forming in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Centre. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation," the IMD added. Storms over South Pacific and Indian Ocean are known as cyclones. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used.

The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon, according to the National Ocean Service of the US' National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Has the Islamic State tied up with PFI? NIA probe on

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The raids conducted at 20 different locations in Tamil Nadu in a PFI related case could paint a larger picture.

The National Investigation Agency is now examining the possible links to the Islamic State. The NIA is questioning several persons in connection with the case and is trying to ascertain if there were links between some members of the PFI and the ISIS.

NIA officials say probing this link is necessary as the ISIS is known to tie up with regional outfits. This was seen during the Sri Lanka blasts, where the ISIS had aligned with the National Towheed Jamath.

On Thursday the National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became India's most radical outfit

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:49 [IST]
It slipped out says Jiten Manjhi after Masood Azhar saheb remark

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Patna, May 04: Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi courted controversy by addressing Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar as Saheb, drawing sharp criticism from BJP.

Later, Manjhi retracted and termed the remark as "slip of tongue."

Manjhi, an important leader of mahagathbandhan in Bihar which comprises Congress and the RJD, made the comment Thursday while replying to mediapersons query on United Nations declaring the Pakistan based terror mastermind Masood Azhar as global terrorist.

PM does branding of everything which is wrong the efforts were on to get Masood Azhar Saheb designated as global terrorist since Manmohan Singh's time but it was just a coincidence that the decision has been taken now. I think that this is not correct for BJP or Narendra Modi to take credit of the issue", Manjhi said.

Video of the Manjhi's comment that has gone viral showed him saying that "Had Vajpayee government not taken Masood Azhar Saheb to Kandhar in plane his game was over then only."

The HAM chief is the second grand alliance leader to address Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief as Masood 'saheb'.

Earlier, in the first week of April, RJD Baisi (Purnia) MLA Abdus Subhan, while addressing an election rally at Kishanganj had addressed Masood Azhar as Saheb.

Not returning to NDA says Manjhi

Manjhi, a BJP ally in 2014 general election as well 2015 Bihar polls, had switched sides to mahagathbandhan on the eve of the ongoing Parliamentary election.

While, BJP pounced on Manjhi's use of honour for the Pakistani terrorist, leaders of his party as well some from alliance partner RJD came in his defence.

By addressing Masood Azhar as Saheb, Jitan Ram Manjhi has proved that Congress and its allies have soft corners and special honour for terrorists. Is it in their political agenda to glorify those who bleed our innocent people of the country. Please reply Manjhi Saheb," Bihar BJP leader and states health minister Mangal Pandey said in a tweet in hindi.

HAM spokesman Danish Rizwan,however, made a defence of Manjhi in a release issued on behalf of the party.

Jitan Ram Manjhi ji always addresses people with respect but he has clarified his position before the media with regard to his comment on Masood Azhar. Jitan Ram Manjhi ji has clearly said that it was a 'slip of tongue'. He also said that probity and dignity in politics also does not warrant anyone to abuse anyone which the BJP has been doing, Rizwan said in the release.

Rizwan said that NDA leaders were trying to flare up the issue witnessing their imminent defeat in the four phases of polls held in the state so far.

RJD leader and MLA Vijay Prakash said that the issue has nothing to do with Bihar.

This is an international issue. It has nothing to do with Bihar, rather it has to be dealt on international level. The issues which are related to Bihar are corruption, jumlebazi, unemployment, price rise etc. Why BJP does not offer any reply on these issues, Prakash said.
JNU situation is "disaster" by VC: Former faculty member

Parliament panel 'anguished' at shortage of faculty in IITs, IIMs

Faculty cannot pursue full time course while teaching says HC

Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President gets death threat for banning veils

India

oi-Vikas SV

Thiruvananthapuram, May 04: Kerala's Muslim Educational Society's President Dr PA Fazal Gafoor has reportedly filed a police complaint stating that received a death threat for a circular issued him which banned female students and faculty on its campuses from wearing niqab, the face veil.

The decision to ban the face veil had invited condemnation from some Muslim groups. Some fundamentalists accused the MES of interfering in the religious practices of students and faculty.

Even within the MES, Gafoor faced a backlash for circular disallowing veils. The Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoor's father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

Muslim education body in Kerala bars female students from wearing face veil

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses.

From 2019-20 academic year, heads of institutions and local managements must ensure that female students do not come to classes with their faces covered, the circular said.

We must discourage all undesirable tendencies in campuses the circular signed by Dr P A Fazal Gafoor said.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 13:39 [IST]
Maha govt challenges HC order saying no to EBC, Maratha quotas in PG courses

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: The Maharashtra Government on Saturday challenged the order by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay Court which had ruled out reservation for the Educationally Backward Classes and Marathas in some Post Graduate courses.

The Maharashtra Government reportedly filed a Special Leave Petitions before the Supreme Court today.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court had held that the decision of implementing 16 percent Maratha quota to PG medical admission process this year as "arbitrary". The HC noted that the PG medical admission process had already commenced at the time when the quota came into force.

Maharashtra approves 16% Maratha quota in jobs and education

The division bench of honourable Justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had ruled in their order that the March 8 notification about the implementation of the new 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community, under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) quota; shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier, reported PTI.

On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra Legislature had passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs. In November last year, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed bill giving 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in jobs and education. This was separate reservation from existing OBC and SC ST reservations already in place.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 14:04 [IST]
Going slow on Hafiz Saeed, looking up to Azhar, Pak is only worsening its case at FATF

Did Pakistan ever act against Azhar? Intel reports show, he remained protected always

Masood Azhars life in danger, ISI shifts him to a safe house in Rawalpindi

After hearing an October 2018 Azhar speech, Dar offered himself as Pulwama bomber

From plotting a hijack to creating the JeM, why Pakistan guards Masood Azhar so much

Masood Azhar: How additional evidence led China to cave in

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: China was given a set of additional evidence about Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's involvement in terrorist activities, days after it blocked a fresh proposal at the UN on March 13 to designate him as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council declared him as a global terrorist after China removed its technical hold on a proposal moved by the UK, France and the US. Following the UN announcement of Azhar's listing, China said it took the decision after carefully studying the "revised materials".

Sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on Azhar's involvement in terror strikes in India including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack in the UN notification banning Azhar.

With Azhar banned, Pak will use Mohammad Rauf, Athar Ibrahim to run JeM

France, the UK and the US had moved the fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, China put a technical hold on the proposal on March 13, blocking it for a fourth time to designate Azhar.

Initially, China felt it was not provided with sufficient evidence about Azhar's involvement in terror activities, sources said, adding additional evidence was given to Beijing after it put a technical hold on the proposal to list him as global terrorist.

Asked about the impact of India's strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, sources said there was no reason to doubt it.

The diplomatic sources also said that the European Union is likely to conclude the process soon to designate Azhar as a terrorist although the UN ban on him will cover member countries of the grouping.

Germany initiated the move at the European Union, days after China blocked the proposal at the UN to ban him in March.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.

An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

Behind the scenes: How India's relentless push ensured Masood Azhar was banned

In 2009, India first moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar a global terrorist.

In 2016 again, India moved the proposal with the P3 -- the US, the UK and France -- in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again.

However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked India's proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee.
Mehbooba Mufti appeals Centre to declare ceasefire in J&K during Ramadan

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 04: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed to the Centre to declare a ceasefire in the state like last year in view of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Sunday.

"Request GoI to cease crackdowns, & search operations during Ramzan this year so that people aren't subjected to harassment & can observe the holy month in peace. Last year's ceasefire helped in providing a huge sense of relief. Hope electoral compulsions are put aside," Mufti wrote on Twitter.

The PDP chief also asked militants to stop attacks on security forces. "I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repentance and so they should not carry out any attack in this month," PTI quoted her as saying.

Last year, the Centre had directed security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". At that time, Mehbooba was heading a PDP-BJPcoalition government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Centre exactly after a month as militant attacks continued during the period. Soon after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 21:04 [IST]
#MeToo: Court likely to pronounce verdict today in MJ Akbar's defamation case against Ramani

#Metoo: Feel vindicated on behalf women who spoke against sexual harassment, says Priya Ramani

Me Too: Timeline of events in Priya Ramani-MJ Akbar case

MJ Akbar cross examined in Priya Ramani case

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Former Union Minister MJ Akbar who appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in connection with his defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, was on Saturday cross examined by Ramani's lawyer.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John appeared for Priya Ramani while Akbar was represented by senior Advocate Geeta Luthra. MJ Akbar's cross examination will continue on May 20.

Court had in April framed defamation charge against journalist Priya Ramani in a case filed by ex-Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Ramani, who appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

MJ Akbar's statement disappointing, ready to fight defamation complaint: Journalist Priya Ramani

Akbar, who resigned as Union minister on October 17 last year, filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct, a charge denied by him. The court listed the matter for hearing on May 4 and also granted permanent exemption to Ramani from personal appearance.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 12:20 [IST]
Modi has abused bravery of soldiers: Congress comeback on Modis surgical strike jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Congress party hit back after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the party was lying about the surgical strikes carried out under the UPA government.

In a statement, the Congress said that Modi's statement is an abuse to the bravery of soldiers and it has never used the strikes as election fodder.

The Congress said Modi's "shameless utterances" that surgical strikes were only on "paper" and Congress leaders thought of them like video games were a direct abuse to the indomitable courage and bravery of the soldiers."Tragically, Modiji has even faulted the statement of the then Army chief, General Bikram Singh on the surgical strike dated December 23, 2013. This reflects political bankruptcy of a prime minister when faced with an imminent defeat in the 2019 elections," the party claimed in a statement.

At the rally in Rajasthan's Sikar, Modi said a Congress leader had claimed four months back that three surgical strikes were conducted during the Congress' term and now another leader is saying six surgical strikes were carried out by the party."The number increased from three to six in four months. By the time elections are over, this number would increase to 600. What does it matter when the strike is on paper! The Congress only speaks lies," the prime minister said. "I think such leaders play video games and perhaps enjoy surgical strikes thinking of it as some game," he said.

In New Delhi, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel told reporters,"My blood is blood. Your blood is water. The strike that has been done by this government is genuine, but the strike that was done during the previous government, by soldiers and our air force, was it a surgical strike on paper only?" He said that this is an insult of the soldiers who conducted air strikes under previous governments.

EC gives clean chit to Modi for Nanded, Varanasi speeches

"In Congress, we have always said that such operations have been conducted by the armed forces. We have never tried to take credit. We have never used such strikes as election fodder. The way our soldiers' martyrdom is being used currently, nothing can be more shameful than that," he added. The party said in the statement that after the surgical strike of September 28-29, 2016, and the air strike of February 25-26, 2019, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had hailed the armed forces for demolishing the terror infrastructure. "The Congress has always stood resolutely with our brave armed forces.

The great wars of 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 are testimony of the heroism of our armed forces," the party added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:22 [IST]
Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media

Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh

'Do you work for govt?' Rahul Gandhi asks reporter; BJP calls him entitled brat

Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi

Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi

Nurse who witnessed Rahul Gandhis birth questions Swamys nationality jibe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Kochi, May 04: Rajamma Vavathil, a retired nurse and a voter in Wayanad, says forcefully that no one should contest Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's citizenship status -- after all she was one of those on duty at Delhi's Holy Family Hospital on June 19, 1970 when he was born.

The 72-year-old, who was still in training to be a nurse at the time, said she was among the first to take the infant Rahul in her hands.

I was lucky as I was first among the few who took the newborn baby in my hands. He was so cute. I was witness to his birth. I was thrilled... we all were thrilled to see the grandson of prime minister Indira Gandhi, Vavathil told PTI over phone from Wayanad.

Rahul takes offence to 'videogame jibe', hits back saying Modi insulted Army

Forty-nine years later, the "cute baby" is Congress president and a contestant from Wayanad. And Vavathil, who now describes herself as "nearly a housewife", said she couldn't be happier.

She remembers the day well.

Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi and uncle Sanjay Gandhi were waiting outside the labour room of the hospital when Sonia Gandhi was taken for delivery, Vavathil recounted.

It's a story she has often told her family.

The retired nurse said she is saddened by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's complaint questioning the Congress president's citizenship status.

According to Vavathil, no one can question Rahul Gandhi's identity as an Indian citizen and Swamy's complaint about his citizenship is baseless .

All records about Rahul Gandhi's birth would be there at the hospital, she said.

Vavathil, who completed her nursing course from Delhi's Holy Family Hospital, later joined the Indian military as a nurse.

A Wayanad voter is a retired nurse who witnessed Rahul's birth; says he was "cute baby"

After taking VRS from service, she returned to Kerala in 1987 and is now settled in Kalloor near Sulthan Bathery.

Vavathil expressed the hope that she would be able to meet Rahul Gandhi when he visits Wayanad next time.

Wayanad, which came into national prominence after Congress chief's Rahul Gandhi's candidature, registered record polling of 80.31 per cent in the polls held on April 23.

The votes will be counted on May 23.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 11:56 [IST]
Govt schools in Punjab are in bad shape, seek people's support for improving them: Arvind Kejriwal

Uttarakhand polls 2022: Kejriwal promises Rs 1k to women, Rs 5k to jobless youths monthly if voted to power

Kejriwal to launch AAP's UP poll campaign from Lucknow on Jan 2

Opposition leaders condemn attack on Arvind Kejriwal

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 05: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Several opposition party leaders also tweeted to condemn the "attack".

Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu denounced it as a dastardly act.

Taking to twitter Naidu wrote: "After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy.  N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a Twitter post wrote, "Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point".

Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point. https://t.co/9oFmcpcq3j  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien also came out with a scathing remark directed at the BJP in which he said that the act only goes to prove the saffron party's defeat in Delhi.

"They are desperately creating incidents to try and find 'game-changer'....Modi is OUT," he said while referring to a separate controversy around a "doctored" video of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Former BJP leader and a vocal critic of the Modi government, Yashwant Sinha, also condemned the "cowardly attack" on the Delhi CM.

Condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack on CM Delhi.  Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) May 4, 2019

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:46 [IST]
Shatrughan Sinha likely to join TMC, may be sent to Rajya Sabha

Stood by wife Poonam, done my 'pati dharma': Shatrughan Sinha

India

pti-PTI

Patna, May 04: Patna Sahib's Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said just as he stood by his wife and rival Samajwadi Party nominee from Lucknow, Poonam Sinha will discharge her 'patni dharma' (duty as a wife) and accompany him to his constituency later this month.

"I have done my pati dharma (duty as a husband), she will also play her patni dharma once polling in Lucknow is over," the actor-turned-politician known for his one-liners told PTI in an interview.

While polling in Lucknow is on May 6, it will take place in Patna Sahib on May 19, the last phase of the elections.

Though contesting from a rival party, Shatrughan Sinha was present along with Poonam Sinha when she filed her nomination papers as an SP candidate and held a roadshow in Lucknow.

This did not gone down well with Congress candidate Pramod Krishnan, who took strong exception to a leader from his own party canvassing for a rival.

Pramod Krishnan tweeted his displeasure after Sinha attended an election meeting here on Thursday with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

"From Shatrughan Sinha's behaviour, it appears that though he has joined the Congress he has not yet resigned from the RSS."

When asked about this, Sinha said he was never part of that organisation.

"Only I and Yashwant Sinha have never been in the RSS," he said, referring to another leader, also seen once as a rebel within the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Lok Sabha 5th phase election 2019: Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha richest candidate

"It is another thing that I was brought into the BJP by Nanaji Deskhmukh which is just as important," he said.

Sinha quit the party recently and joined the Congress to contest from Bihar's Patna Sahib, the seat he held as a BJP MP. He faces Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as his BJP rival this time.

On the possible outcome of these elections, Sinha said the "one-man show" and the "two-man army" will not return.

PTI
Top naxal with Rs 16 lakh reward behind Gadchiroli attack

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, May 04: The police have named a top naxal leaders among others in its FIR that was filed in the aftermath of the Gadchiroli attack which claimed 16 lives on Wednesday.

The police said that it has named Bhaskar, the North Commander of the CPI (Maoist) and 40 others in its FIR. They have been booked for murder and conspiracy, the police also said. The police have also invoked the provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the naxalites.

Bhaskar is a top naxal and is on the most wanted list. He has been active now for 15 years and also carries a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head. He was behind both the planning and the logistics relating to the attack.

Lack of intel led to Gadchiroli naxal attack

Investigations show that after a lull of three years, the naxalites were aiming to make a comeback in Gadchiroli. The police say that the explosive material recovered from the site has been sent for forensic examination.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:28 [IST]
BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

Why is Ladakh seat important for BJP?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 04: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made history in strategically important Ladakh parliamentary seat in 2014 general elections by winning it for the first time.

In 2014, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang had defeated an Independent Ghulam Raza by a margin of only 36 votes. Chhewang had also won the seat in 2004 as an Independent. However, Chhewang had resigned from both the BJP and the Parliament last year.

The BJP is also worried because it performed very poorly in the Kargil and Leh civic body elections in October 2018 when it failed to win even a single seat.

Phase 5 elections: The seven seats that the BJP would be worried about

The BJP had promised in 2014 to grant Ladakh the status of Union Territory, but didn't fulfil it. It's notable that the demand of UT status to Ladakh predates the Telangana movement.

After sensing the discontent in Ladakh and its repercussions on the electoral politics, the Narendra Modi government made Ladakh a separate Division in February with Leh as its headquarters.

The leaders from Kargil district opposed the decision of Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik tooth and nail.

Muslim-majority Kargil fears that the decision to make Buddhist-majority Leh the seat of governance for the new division would give the Buddhists the upper hand in administration.

Kargil continues to oppose the Buddhist demand for Union territory status for Ladakh.

According to 2011 census, Ladakh's population is 2.73 lakh, including 1.26 lakh Muslims, 1.07 lakh Buddhists and 0.36 lakh Hindus, mostly soldiers and their families from other states.

According to the sources, Ladakh is more than a parliamentary seat for the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"The saffron leadership wants to have political control over Ladakh because of its strategic importance as well as to counter alleged Love Jihad, " says a source.

It is notable that Ladakh Buddhist Association's president PT Kunzang in an interview to a news portal had claimed that a systematic Love Jihad is being carried out in Ladakh to change the religious data of the area.

He had said in 2017 that around 97 Buddhist girls have been converted to Islam in the last four decades.

Reports suggest that as many as 45 Buddhist girls married Muslim men in Ladakh since 2003.

The BJP hopes that making of Leh as headquarters of Ladakh division will help its candidate in the upcoming polls.

BJP has fielded 33-year-old Jamying Tsering Namgayal, who is the current Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.

Congress candidate Rigzin Spalbar is the former Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC, Leh.

The two main regional political parties, National Conference and People's Democratic Party, did not field their candidates and decided to extend support to Independent Sajad Kargili, who also enjoys the support of the influential Islamic School, Kargil.

Another Independent Asghar Ali Karbali, a former Congress party lawmaker, has also served twice as the CEC of LAHDC, Kargil.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 18:44 [IST]
In Rohtak, PM warns voters, asks them to take note of Sam Pitroda's 'Hua So Hua' remark

Why talk about Rahul's citizenship now, he has been MP for 15 years: Sam Pitroda

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 04: Exuding confidence that the Congress is going to win the elections, Sam Pitroda asked why the BJP is raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi's citizenship now when he has been ' member of parliament for 15 years'.

"Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he added, and further said that the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Pitroda said there has been a substantive change in Rahul Gandhi in the last two-three years.

"Based on our assessment we believe we are winning , we are winning because at the ground level reality is very different from what the media is portraying. People at the bottom have figured this out that Modi government did not deliver," he said.

Pitroda, Gandhi family confidante and Indian Overseas Congress Chief, made headlines last month when he questioned death toll in Balakot air strike

On being asked if Congress is going to pitch for Gandhi as Prime Minister if voted to power, he emphasised, "Sam Pitroda is going to pitch him (Rahul) as the Prime Minister."

Sam Pitroda questions death toll in Balakot air strike

When asked about BJP's Subramanian Swamy approaching the court over Rahul Gandhi's citizen ship, Pitroda questioned its timing.

He has been member of parliament for 15 years ,you sat with him in the parliament. You worked with him in parliament.Why did you wake up today with lies?You think people are stupid? Don't underestimate intelligence of Indian people," he told ANI.

Swamy had reportedly alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 and that Gandhi was one of the directors of the company.

On asked if the opposition which seems scattered would come together after polls, Pitroda said all are clear on the common goal.

"No, do not think there anything to worry ,they will all come together at the right time , I can assure you. All are clear on the common goal ,they all want democracy, they all want inclusion, they all want peace," he added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10:12 [IST]
'Will thrash them like dogs': BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh threatens TMC workers

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, May 05: BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bharati Ghosh, who used to call Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "mother" on Saturday courted controversy after threatening TMC workers saying that she would pull them out of their houses and "thrash them like dogs".

Ghosh said this while campaigning at Ghatal constituency shortly after the Trinamool Congress supremo warned her not to cross the limit of decency.

"Get inside your houses and do not try to show your smartness here. There will be no place to hide. I will drag you out of your house and kill you like a dog.... I will bring over 1,000 men from UP, put them inside your residence and teach you a lesson," the BJP nominee said while campaigning in Ghatal constituency.

Cyclone Fani: Mamata Banerjee cancels rallies, asks people to stay indoors

Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said in Kolkata that the party will move the EC to complaint against Ghosh, who was once the superintendent of police in West Midnapore district in which Ghatal falls, for this comment.

The Election Commission sought a report from the district administration after taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, officials said in Kolkata.

Shortly before this incident, the chief minister warned Ghosh, without naming her, not to cross the limit of decency, otherwise she will be arrested.

Ghosh was accused of abusing police personnel and rival party workers earlier also.

"The BJP has nominated two candidates here - one man and a woman. The woman is accused of money laundering. Both of them are abusing our candidates. I will tell her not to force me to open my mouth. If I share the texts you (Bharati) had sent me while you were in the police service, I will not have to tell people anything more," Banerjee said during a road show in Ghatal in West Midnapore district.

"We could have lodged cases against you (Bharati) If we wanted to get you arrested. There is a Supreme Court order in one case that you cannot be arrested. But There are several other cases against you. Despite that we have not done anything and let you contest the poll because we have not forgotten deceny. Do not talk anything which crosses the limit of decency," she said.

Ghosh joined the BJP in February 4 and was nominated for Ghatal seat which will go to polls on May 12.

She was the West Midnapore SP for more than six years. The officer was transferred as commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police, considered a less

important post, on December 26, 2017 and she resigned from service two days later.

Winner of a service medal on August 15, 2014, Ghosh was transferred by the Election Commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She was, however, reinstated as West Midnapore SP as soon as the elections got over.

An arrest warrant was issued against Ghosh in February, 2018 in connection with an extortion case registered at Daspur police station in West Midnapore district, following her resignation.

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Story first published: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 0:29 [IST]
With sole agenda of eliminating Right Wing how PFI became Indias most radical outfit

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 04: The National Investigation Agency during a raid conducted in 20 places has seized incriminating material relating to the Popular Front of India.

During searches, a number of digital devices including 16 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, 3 Laptops, 9 Hard Discs, 7 Memory cards, 118 CDs/DVDs, 1 Tab, 7 Diaries,, 2 PFI Banners, 1 DVR have been seized. Besides 1 Sword, 1 Sharp edged knife and Cash of Rs 2 Lakhs were recovered from 3 different houses and about 100 Incriminating documents have also been seized.

The raids relate to the murder of PMK member Ramalingam in which the PFI is the accused. The NIA also searched offices of the PFI and the SDPI in Trichy, Kumbakonam and Karaikal, an NIA release said.

NIA officials speak about the radical nature of the group. The NIA had in fact written to the Ministry for Home Affairs detailing the activities of the PFI. Let us take a look at the journey of the PFI from when it was set up and how it turned out to be one India's most radical outfits.

PFI as an organisation came into existence in 2006. However, it dates back to 1993 when an organisation called the National Development Front was formed to protect the interests of Muslims in Kerala following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.

Sword, knife, documents among incriminating material seized by NIA in PFI related raid

The activities of the NDF were restricted to Kerala alone. There was a decision that was later on taken to unify like-minded outfits from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The PFI then was born in 2006 with the merger of NDF, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu. By 2009 more organisations merged with the PFI.

They were Goa Citizen's Forum, Rajasthan's Community Social and Educational Society, West Bengal's Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samithi, Manipur's Lilong Social Forum and Association of Social Justice, Andhra Pradesh.

The PFI has often been accused of associating with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India. Most of the office bearers of the PFI have been associated with the SIMI in the past. They have held positions in the SIMI before it had been banned.

The Intelligence Bureau has said that the PFI is violent in nature. They one point agenda is to attack the Right Wing. They preach to their cadres that attacking those who oppose Islam would earn them religious rewards. the PFI has been accused of chopping off a professor's hand who had allegedly hurt religious sentiments in Kerala. 37 PFI cadres were arrested. In an affidavit before the Kerala High Court, it was submitted that the PFI was involved in 27 murders. In another report, the Kerala government said that there was 87 attempt to murder cases against PFI cadres.

The NIA speaks about the killing of RSS worker Rudresh in Bengaluru. Further, it details the professor's hand chopping case at Idukki. While giving details about a Kannur training camp from where country-made bombs and swords were seized, the NIA report to the Home Ministry also speaks about an Islamic State module case.

The NIA says that the approach of the PFI is radical in nature. It speaks about recruiting only committed Muslims into its fold. It also states that the cadres train with clips of the Babri Masjid demolition and this is clearly a sign that it is trying to radicalise its cadres. It is trying to run a parallel administration the NIA states.

It speaks about the Darul Khada an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. This was set up in 2009, by SDPI national chief E Aboobacker.

The NIA says that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a host of issues. The NIA dossier also states that in July 2009, a Kerala level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Malappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but get all issues sorted out by it.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 5:44 [IST]
Romance fraudster of Indian origin jailed for 6 years

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

London, May 04: A 32-year-old Indian-origin man, dubbed as a "romance fraudster" by UK police, has been jailed for six years and one month after he was found guilty of conning six women he met online and luring them to invest huge amounts in non-existent companies.

Keyur Vyas, from east London, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, marking the conclusion of a four-year-long investigation by Scotland Yard into his fraudulent activities.

The recruitment agent would befriend women online with the pretense of building a relationship with them by wining and dining them. The Metropolitan Police investigation found he had committed fraud against six different women, with his overall fraud estimated at over 800,000 pounds.

Indian origin habitual prank caller sentenced to 3 years prison in Singapore

"Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies," said Detective Constable Andy Chapman, from the Met Police's Central Specialist Command.

"He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money. Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them," he said.

The Met Police began an investigation into Keyur Vyas' activities in October 2014. They found that between 2014 and 2017, he was employed as a recruitment agent who would befriend women online under false pretenses.

The court was told that he would romance them and trick them into believing he was an affluent man working in finance. He would use commonalities with the victims, such as religion and his wish to start a family, to build trust with them.

Once he had gained their trust, Vyas would encourage them to invest in various business ventures for a large return. However, these ventures did not actually exist and he would use the money to gamble.

Vyas would also put pressure and be abusive to the victims to continue to invest more money in order to get the promised returns. He also used fear tactics and warned his victims that if they went to the police, they would lose all their money.

Man sentenced for 10 years for attempting to murder a teenage girl

"Unfortunately, we see cases like this fairly often and my advice to anyone in an online relationship whatever the nature is never to send personal details or money to someone who you have never met in person," said Detective Chapman.

It was only when they did not receive their money back that the women began to report their concerns to the police.

Vyas pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation in March this year, while the remaining two charges will lie on his file. The total loss for all the charges is approximately logged at 808,942 pounds.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 6:17 [IST]
Sri Lanka won't be allowed to be used for 'any activity' against India: President Rajapaksa

Sri Lankas Easter bombers travelled to Bangalore, Kerala and Kashmir

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 04: The Sri Lankan bombers had travelled to various parts of India, the chief of Sri Lanka's army said. The comments were made by Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayke in an interview to the BBC.

They had gone travelling to Bangalore, Kashmir and Kerala according to the information available, he said. When asked about the purpose of the visit, he said it was for some sort of a training or to establish links with other organisations outside the country.

Indian agencies are hot on the trail of several Islamic State linked operatives since the past few weeks. The agencies are trying to ascertain the Indian connection to the Easter bombings. Indian officials have learnt that at least two of the suicide bombers had travelled to India in 2017.

Colombo bombings: Photographs of suspects released

An Indian intelligence official tells OneIndia that there is not much information on the travels by the Sri Lanka bombers. The information shared with us by Sri Lanka is not much as of now. We are conducting our independent investigations and will have more information soon, he also added.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:52 [IST]
BMC decides to reopen schools in Mumbai from this date

Mumbai schools to reopen for Classes 1 to 7 from December 15

Maharashtra: Fire at a Thane building

Mumbai

oi-Vikas SV

Mumbai, May 04: A massive fire broke out at a building in Maharashtra's Thane this morning. The flames engulfed a building in Patlipada area, said reports.

No injuries or casualties have been reported as yet. The fire fighting operations are underway.

On April 22, a massive fire broke out at a factory in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtras Thane district and the firefighters managed to control the blaze after five and a half hours. The fire had broken out at a paintbrush and colour manufacturing factory-godown in Jai Mata Di compound in Kalher. At least 40 workers were asleep on the terrace of a nearby under construction building when the building caught fire.

[Massive fire at chemical factory in Delhi's Naraina]

On April 30, a fire broke out in housing in Big Bazaar outlet in the Mumbais Matunga West area. Five fire engines, a Quick Response Vehicle, one ambulance, and several Fire Brigade personnel were rushed to the site for operations.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 9:01 [IST]
+17% CAGR will Achived By Closed System Transfer Device Industry by 2025 | Major Market Players: Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc

Closed System Transfer Device Industry

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The Closed System Transfer Device Market is expected to reach USD 2,432.4 Million by 2025 from USD 921.2 Million in 2018, at a CAGR of 17.57% from 2019 to 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of 17.57% amid the gauge time of 2019-2025. The market development is predominantly determined by the rising number of patients requiring medicinal treatment and particularly developing therapeutic research exercises. Expanding medications production, better accessibility of cytotoxic medications at the work environment or at the clinic, along with progressions in the field of restorative devices are additionally responsible for the exponential development in the market. Further, as of late rising instances of malignant growth, to endorsement for the oncology drugs is additionally anticipated to drive the demand for such Closed System Transfer Device.Ask for Sample of Closed System Transfer Device Industry:The market is examined crosswise over four geographical regions, in particular, North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and RoW (Latin America, Middle East and Africa). North America region holds the most elevated market about 85% of absolute market share in 2018. Further, Asia Pacific market is considered as one of the quickest developing regions with the CAGR of 28.8%. Increment in the frequency rate of disease, implementation of better administrative rules is the key elements energizing the development of the Closed System Transfer Devices (CSTD) market amid the anticipated period crosswise over the globe. It is normal that at a national level, the U.S represents the biggest offer of income by 2025. The Closed System Transfer Device Market is segmented on the basis of Component, End Users, By Types and by Region. The two Component types in this Market are, Vial Access Devices, Syringe Safety Devices, Bag/Line Access Devices, and Accessories. In which Vial Access Devices holds the %% of market share. And is relied upon to develop at a CAGR of %% in the anticipated period.Key companies profiled in the report are Becton, Dickinson and Company, Equashield LLC, B. Braun Melsungen AG, JMS Co. Ltd., Yukon Medical, Victus Inc, Caragen Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Corvida Medical, ICU Medical, Inc. The continuous research & development activities to address changing demand of the industry companies spend heavy on the R&D expenses.Directly Purchase this Report USD 2990 atClosed System Transfer Device Market Segmentation:Closed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By ComponentVial Access DevicesSyringe Safety DevicesBag/Line Access DevicesAccessoriesClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By TypesMembrane-To-Membrane SystemsNeedleless SystemsClosed System Transfer Device Market Overview, By End UsersHospitalsOncology Centers & ClinicsOthersClosed System Transfer Device Industry Overview, By RegionNorth America USA CanadaEurope Germany U.K. France Italy Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW Latin America Middle East & AfricaAsk for Customized Report As per Your Business Requirement:Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction1.1 Industry Vision1.2 Limitations1.3 StakeholdersChapter 2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Process2.1.1. Secondary Research2.1.1.1. Key Data from Secondary Research2.1.2. Primary Research2.1.2.1. Key Data from Primary Research2.1.2.2. Breakdowns of Primary Interviews2.2. Industry Size Estimation2.2.1. Bottoms-Up Approach2.2.2. Top-Down Approach2.2.3. Annual Revenue Process2.3. Data Triangulation2.4. Research Assumptions2.4.1. Assumption3. Executive Summary4. Industry Overview4.1. Introduction4.2. Strength4.3. Weakness4.4. Opportunities4.5. Threats4.6. Regulations4.7. Supply Chain/Value Chain Analysis4.8. Patent & Standards5. Industry Trends5.1. Introduction5.2. Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2.1. Threat of New Entrants5.2.2. Threat of Substitutes5.2.3. Bargaining Power of Buyers5.2.4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers5.2.5. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry6. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Component6.1. Vial Access Devices6.2. Syringe Safety Devices6.3. Bag/Line Access Devices6.4. Accessories7. Closed System Transfer Device Market, By End Users7.1. Hospitals7.2. Oncology Centers & Clinics7.3. Others8. Global Closed System Transfer Device Market, By Type8.1. Membrane-To-Membrane Systems8.2. Needleless Systems9. Geographical Analysis9.1. Introduction9.2. North America9.2.1. U.S.9.2.2. Canada9.2.3. Mexico9.3. Europe9.3.1. Germany9.3.2. France9.3.3. U.K.9.3.4. RoE9.4. Asia Pacific9.4.1. China9.4.2. Japan9.4.3. India9.4.4. RoAPAC9.5. RoW9.5.1. Latin America9.5.1.1. Brazil9.5.1.2. Argentina9.5.1.3. Rest of Latin America9.5.2. Middle East and Africa10. Company Profiles10.1. Becton10.1.1 Company Overview10.1.2 Financial Overview10.1.3 Product Overview10.1.4 Current Development10.2. Dickinson and Company10.3. Equashield, LLC10.4. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd10.5. Corvida Medical10.6. ICU Medical Inc.10.7. B. Braun Melsungen AG10.8. JMS Co. Ltd.10.9. Yukon Medical10.10. Victus Inc10.11 Caragen Ltd.11. Competitive Analysis11.1. Introduction11.2. Industry Positioning of Key Players11.3 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading Players11.3.1. Investments & Expansions11.3.2. New Product Launches11.3.3. Mergers & Acquisitions11.3.4. Agreements, Joint Ventures, and Partnerships12. Appendix12.1. Questionnaire12.2. Available Customizations12.3. Upcoming Events (Trade Fair, Exhibitions, Conferences)About Global Reports StoreGlobal Reports Store firm produces its customers equation for growth, whether you need to determine potential opportunities, understand the market dynamics or proliferate your profitability. We give the most recent altered and syndicated explore alongside counseling administrations. Our immense extent of administrations helps you in arranging your development in the predefined showcase industry, as well as the system and innovation required for the predictable achievement.Contact Us:JonManager [Business Development]Global Reports Storesales@globalreportsstore.comMob: +91-739-102-4425
Ureteroscopes Market Development Industry 2019 Featuring with Major Players Medical Industry & Trade, AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM , Prosurg, SOPRO-COMEG

Ureteroscopes

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Ureteroscope is a device, which is used for examining upper urinary tract and the technique is called ureteroscopy. Ureteroscope works similar to a cytoscope, however, it is longer and thinner than cytoscope, and is passed through the urethra to the bladder and then into the ureter (the tubes, which carry urine from kidneys to bladder). Ureteroscope has illuminating light and lens for capturing images of urinary tract organs for presence of tumors and calculi. This device helps to find the position of stone in ureter and is also used for the removal of kidney stone. Ureteroscopy is less harmful and less time consuming procedure to remove kidney stone and shows high accuracy and less complications than conventional methods such as percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).Ureteroscopes Market DriversIncreasing approvals and launches of new ureteroscopes devices is expected to be a major factor for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. For instance, in 2016, Boston Scientific Corporation launched its new LithoVue single-use digital flexible ureteroscope in the U.S. and Europe market. LithoVue is used in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of kidney stones and other conditions of the kidney, ureter, and bladder.Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel the market growth. For instance, according to the data published by National Kidney Foundation in 2016, globally, over half a billion people suffer from kidney stone annually. According to data published by National Institute of Health, in 2016, globally, total prevalence of chronic kidney disease is around 14.0% of the general population.Request For Sample Copy:Moreover, prevalence of kidney stones also increases with increasing age. According to the data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2017, in Mainland China the prevalence of kidney stone was 5.96% in the people aged between 30-39 years, while the prevalence was around 9.68% in people above 60 years of age. Hence, rise in geriatric population is also expected to increase incidence of kidney stone, which in turn is expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes and fuel market growth in the near future. For instance, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2016, around 547 million people were aged above 60 years in Asia Pacific and the number is projected to reach around 1.3 billion by 2050.Ureteroscopes Market Regional AnalysisNorth America is expected to hold the dominant position in global ureteroscopes market, due to presence of key players in the region and high success rates of ureteroscopy. For instance, according to data published by Department of Urology, New York Medical College, in 2016, after a single procedure, around 37% of patients who had undergone flexible ureteroscopy were stone free as compare to only 21% of the patients who were treated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Moreover, Boston Scientific Corporation and Stryker Corporation are the two U.S.-based major players in this market. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of kidney stone in the U.S. is also expected to increase demand for ureteroscopes, which is turn is driving the market growth in North America. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information, in 2014, according to survey done by National Health and Nutrition Examination in 2012, around 10.6% of men and 7.1% of women in the U.S. are affected from renal stone disease and there is a rapid increase in prevalence of urinary tract stone disease. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit significant growth in the global ureteroscopes market, owing to increasing incidence of kidney stone disease in population in India and China. For instance, according to data published in National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2017, the prevalence of kidney stone in Mainland China was estimated to be around 10.34% in males and 6.62% in females.Ureteroscopes Market RestraintHigh cost of ureteroscopy procedure is expected to be a major restrain for growth of the global ureteroscopes market. The average cost of ureteroscopy in the U.S. can go up to around US$ 3,000. Such high cost procedures are not easily affordable by everyone and hence it restrain the market growth.Ureteroscopes Market Key PlayersKey players operating in ureteroscopes market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Stryker Corporation, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, Richard Wolf GmbH, PENTAX Medical, Elmed Electronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM Inc., Prosurg, Inc., SOPRO-COMEG GmbH, and others.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didnt see the lurking snake  until it bit a toe on her right foot.

I was really scared, Oakley said. I thought that I could either get paralyzed or could actually die.

Her camp counselors suspected it was a copperhead and knew they needed to get her medical attention as soon as they could. They had to keep her as calm and motionless as possible  the venom could circulate more quickly if her heart raced from activity or fear.

One counselor gave her a piggyback ride to a van. Others distracted her with Taylor Swift songs and candy as the van sped from their location in a beautiful but remote part of the Shawnee National Forest toward help.

First responders met them and recommended Oakley be taken by air ambulance to a hospital.

The helicopter flight transported Oakley 80 miles from a school parking lot just outside the forest to St. Vincent Evansville hospital in Indiana, where she received four vials of antivenin and was then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for observation.

Her parents, Josh Perry and Shelli Yoder, were already in bed that night when they got the call about what had happened to Oakley. They jumped in the car and arrived at Riley about two hours before their daughter. Once she made it, doctors closely observed her condition, her toe still oozing and bruised. By lunchtime, Perry said, physicians reassured the parents that Oakley would be OK.

It was a major comfort for me to realize, OK, were getting the best care possible, said Perry, who is a health care ethics professor at the business school at Indiana University Bloomington. Less than 24 hours after the bite, Oakley left the hospital with her grateful parents.

Then the bills came.

Patient: Oakley Yoder, now 10, of Bloomington, Ind. Insured through Indiana University Bloomington, where her father and mother work as faculty.

Total Bill: $142,938, including $67,957 for four vials of antivenin. ($55,577.64 was charged for air ambulance transport.) The balance included a ground ambulance charge and additional hospital and physician charges, according to the familys insurer, IU Health Plans.

Service Providers: St. Vincent Evansville hospital, part of Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic health system. Riley Hospital for Children, part of Indiana University Health, a nonprofit health system. Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance provider.

Medical Service: The essential part of Oakleys treatment involved giving her four vials of snake antivenin called CroFab.

What Gives: When someone is bitten by a venomous snake, there is no time to waste. If left untreated, a venomous bite can cause tissue damage, hemorrhaging and respiratory arrest. Children tend to experience more severe effects because of their relatively small size.

CroFab has dominated the U.S. market for snake antivenin since its approval in 2000. When Oakley was bitten, it was the only drug available to treat venomous bites from pit vipers. (Oakley probably was bitten by a copperhead snake, a type of pit viper, the camp directors told her parents.)

In short, the drugmaker, London-based BTG Plc, essentially had a monopoly.

The average list price for CroFab is $3,198 per vial, according to the health care information tech company Connecture. Manufacturing costs, product improvements and research all factor into the drugs price, said Chris Sampson, spokesman for BTG.

A Mexican version of snake antivenin can cost roughly $200. But it couldnt be sold in the U.S. (More about that in a moment.)

Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute, a venom research center at the University of Arizona, acknowledges that some of the price in the U.S. can be attributed to strict Food and Drug Administration requirements for testing and monitoring.

But more than that, she added: Its a profitable drug, and everyone wants a piece of it.

She should know: Funded by government grants and at times working with colleagues over the border in Mexico, her group was instrumental in developing CroFab.

Antivenins were first developed more than a century ago. Although CroFab is safer and purer than antivenins of the past, the process  while labor-intensive  remains fundamentally the same. Snakes, spiders and other creatures are milked for their venom, then a small amount of the toxin is injected into animals like horses or sheep. They then make antibodies without falling ill, and the protective molecules are extracted from their blood and processed to make antivenin.

Despite the longtime use of antivenins, CroFab and other such products remain a lucrative prospect for manufacturers. Who wouldnt pay top dollar for an antivenin when their child has been bitten by a venomous snake?

What patients pay for CroFab can widely vary. Treatment may require a few vials or dozens of them  it depends on factors like the size of the patient, the potency of venom in the bite and how quickly the patient is treated. The more antivenin needed, the higher the cost.

But hospitals also jack up the price, even though some of these facilities purchase the drug at a discount, said Dr. Merrit Quarum, chief executive officer of WellRithms, a health care cost containment company.

In Oakleys case, St. Vincent Evansville hospital charged $16,989.25 for each unit of CroFab, according to the facilitys bill. Thats more than five times as high as the average list price.

WellRithms analyzed Oakleys bill from St. Vincent Evansville at Kaiser Health News request and found providers generally accept $16,159.70 for all four vials of the drug.

In a statement, St. Vincent Evansville noted that the family was not responsible for that full tab and instead was expected to pay less than $3,500. But the facility appears to have since lowered its price for CroFab. According to its price list  posted online to satisfy a recent federal requirement  the drug now costs $5,096.76 per vial.

And the snake antivenin market now has another drug competing for patients: Anavip. The Mexican product  launched in October  has a list price of $1,220 a vial in the U.S, a fraction of what Latin Americans pay for it, according to Rare Disease Therapeutics, which distributes the drug in the U.S.

Anavips arrival was stalled by a lawsuit filed by BTG in 2013 that claimed the drug infringed on its patent.

The drugs true effect on the market remains unclear. CroFab and Anavip are not entirely interchangeable. (The FDA hasnt approved Anavip for copperhead bites, for instance.) And, as part of the legal settlement, Anavip makers must pay royalties to BTG until the CroFab patent expires in 2028.

Resolution: The insurer, IU Health Plans, negotiated down the antivenin and air ambulance charges and ended up paying $44,092.87 and $55,543.20, respectively. After adjustments to additional bills, IU Health Plans paid a total of $107,863.33. Oakleys family did not pay a dime out of pocket for her emergency care, but such high outlays contribute to rising premiums.

Secondary insurance offered through the summer camp covered $7,286.34 in additional costs that otherwise would have come out of Perry and Yoders pockets for their deductible and coinsurance. The policy covers up to $25,000 in damages.

Oakleys foot is healed, but her toe bends slightly downward and is sensitive to pressure. She intends to return to the same camp this summer.

Perry teaches a course on the ethics of the health care industry, and yet he said the cost of Oakleys care shocked him. But he is aware of how rarely a patient ends up paying nothing for health care. I know that in this country, in this system, he said, that is a miracle.

Takeaway: Hospitals and insurers can negotiate; snakes dont. If youve been bitten by a snake, take care of your injury, said Boyer. Dont wait while you worry about the cost.

When you get a bill, compare what the facility charged against other health care providers prices using their public charge lists online. Cost estimation tools like Fair Health Consumer or Healthcare Bluebook allow you to see how your bill compares with the average.

Momentum is growing for government action on drug prices. In states and in Congress, various proposals have been floated, which include: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, tying the U.S. price of expensive drugs to the average price in other developed countries and allowing the government to inject competition into the market when there is none  such as by speeding generic drug approvals or allowing imports.

Consumers should keep an eye on these proposals as they move through the political process.

NPR produced and edited the interview with Kaiser Health News Elisabeth Rosenthal for broadcast. Jake Harper of WFYI in Indianapolis provided audio reporting.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPRthat dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!
The owner of Portland bar Cider Riot is suing Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson for $1 million, claiming Gibson and several other right-wing protesters showed up at the business on Wednesday and fought with customers, causing mayhem and physical injury to at least one person.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong, who owns Cider Riot, is suing the Patriot Prayer organization as well as Gibson, Ian Kramer and 25 others who he says were involved in the incident. The claims include negligence, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On Wednesday, Cider Riot hosted a May Day celebration, at which people who had participated in demonstrations earlier in the day gathered to listen to live music. About 20 right-wing protesters, including Gibson, arrived at the business, and a clash between them and patrons of Cider Riot ensued. Video of the incident shows people deploying pepper spray, and several people fighting. According to the lawsuit, Kramer, a frequent Patriot Prayer rally participant, hit a female patron of Cider Riot on the head with a baton and knocked her unconscious.

On Friday, Goldman-Armstrong said he couldnt comment further on the lawsuit. The organization representing him, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, issued a statement saying that Goldman-Armstrong had the right to operate his business in peace, and that Portland residents had been terrorized by Gibson and his associates for too long.

Our community is suffering and we must respond to the seriousness of the threat posed by the actions and words of white nationalists, white supremacists and the alt-right, the group said. We need to send a message that their brand of hate is not welcome in Portland.

In response to the suit, Gibson said he was the one who was assaulted while standing on a public sidewalk.

I walk into dangerous situations, I never fight back, he told the Oregonian/OregonLive. He said his intention in going to Cider Riot that day was to take video and show the event that Cider Riot was hosting. He said the event was co-hosted by Rose City antifa.

To me its very odd that a place serving alcohol has 80 people masked up, he said.

He said when he got there, people were drinking on the patio and wearing masks, and several had cans of bear spray. He says neither he nor the people he came with had spray or any sort of weapons, although video footage shows people from both groups deploying bear spray, and members of the group that came with Gibson throwing projectiles at the bar patrons.

Warning: Video contains graphic language.

breaking: far-right protesters and Proud Boys have arrived at Cider Riot. Cider Riot has done benefits for antifa and has also been vandalized in the past. RIOOOT. huge fight! pic.twitter.com/PKeRdYCF6d  Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) May 2, 2019

Goldman-Armstrong said this is not the first time Gibson and Patriot Prayer have targeted his business. He said they have sprayed graffiti on his building and stolen a flag that hung in front of the business.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Portland police are looking into reports of a shooting near Northeast Portlands Gateway shopping center on Friday afternoon, but so far have not found any victims.

Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 10000 block of Northeast Halsey Street around 4:15 p.m. Friday. They found shell casings at the scene but have not found any victims.

According to a Portland Police Bureau news release, several parked cars had bullet strikes, and witnesses reported seeing multiple males, including at least one with a gun, running after another group of males.

The area is also near the Gateway Transit Center. Officers are investigating the incident, and asked anyone with information or video of the shooting to call 503-823-3333.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Oregon softball rallied to tie but Utah took the series opener in walk-off fashion and put the Ducks in must-win mode for their remaining five games.

BreOnna Castaneda went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including the walk-off RBI single to give Utah a 4-3 win over Oregon in Salt Lake City Friday night.

In desperate need of wins and run support for ace Jordan Dail, Oregon couldnt score with the bases loaded and no outs in the first.

In the bottom of the inning, Utah (16-32, 5-14 Pac-12) loaded the bases and scored on a hit by pitch and Castaneda singled to make it 2-0.

A passed ball made it 3-0 after three innings.

The Ducks (21-26, 4-15 Pac-12) rallied with four straight one-out hits in the fifth.

Allee Bunker and Shaye Bowden hit back-to-back singled and after a pitching change Rachel Cid singled to put Oregon on the board and April Utecht tied at with a two-run home run. Bunker, Bowden, Cid and Utecht each had two hits for Oregon, which must win its last five games to finish .500 and be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Dail got the Utes to strand the bases loaded in the fifth and two more in the sixth but couldnt get out of the seventh as Castaneda hit a two-out single up the middle to score Alyssa Barrera.

Dail (17-14) allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and five walks and struck out seven over 6.2 innings.

Sydney Sandez (9-8) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings while earning the win for Utah.

The teams will play game 2 of their series at 11 a.m. PT Saturday.
When Oregon voters approved a 2016 measure to bolster funding for programs that prepare students for life after high school, the millions of dollars doled out by the state Department of Education were meant to come with strings attached.

School districts would apply for Measure 98 grants and outline how theyd use the money to accomplish the laws three mandates. The Oregon Secretary of States office would then perform audits to ensure the cash was properly used.

Toya Fick, one of the measures authors and executive director of education nonprofit Stand for Children, said those steps were meant to hold districts accountable for funding they received.

What we really wanted to see was a new way of doing education funding in Oregon, she said. We wanted to make sure the programs that schools are adding and the resources theyre adding are moving the needle on student success.

Her determination to make sure the money delivered the biggest possible payoff for students sounds similar to speeches lawmakers have made during debate over a much bigger cash infusion from a $2 billion corporate tax package making its way through Salem.

It would put more than $500 million a year in the hands of school boards who would have wide latitude to choose how its spent.

Measure 98 and the $2 billion tax package both include accountability provisions. Rather than give school districts carte blanche to spend state money, there are guidelines for how the money is to be used. Both include an auditing component meant to determine whether districts are using the cash to produce the desired outcomes.

But in the case of the measure passed by voters in 2016, state oversight has so far been so light that district spending has been almost entirely self-policed.

Districts identify their own goals, explained Laura Foley, director of the states high school success team. They are also left to decide whether to raise their own red flags if their schools are struggling to comply.

The Education Department disbursed the first batch of the Measure 98 money  $83 million split across 193 districts  just before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Portland Public Schools, the states largest district, received $6 million.

The state handed out $86 million more for this school year.

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, center, chats with Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, during a House floor session in 2016. Smith Warner is one of the architects of the $2 billion corporate tax package for K-12 funding making its way through the legislature.Oregonian file photo by Denis Theriault

But state auditors are unlikely to release their findings on how those funds were spent until late 2020, nearly 3  years after districts first received Measure 98 money. In fact, officials in the Secretary of States audit division told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they havent even begun drafting plans to comprehensively check how the money was used.

Thats the way the law was written.

The measure as passed by voters requires the Secretary of States office to audit initial spending by Dec. 31, 2020. The Measure 98 audit is one of 13 performance audits the agency aims to launch by June 2020.

That means financial reports on money intended to raise graduation rates by expanding career-tech offerings, college-level courses and anti-dropout efforts may not be published until after districts receive the much bigger cash infusion from the $2 billion corporate tax deal.

If its approved, districts that apply for the first round of that cash will likely get the money in July 2020.

That huge bump-up in funding for Oregons 1,300 schools is not just school advocates pipe dream. Oregon lawmakers struck a surprise deal with the states largest business group Monday to pass the tax plan to do just that, House Bill 3427, out of committee. The House approved it on a party-line vote Wednesday, and the Senate could vote on it as soon as Tuesday.

The legislation would impose a so-called gross receipts tax equal to 0.57 percent of sales for Oregon businesses with at least $1 million in sales.

It would raise more than $1 billion a year, and more than half of it would go to school districts to double Measure 98 spending, reduce class sizes, add instructional time, broaden course offerings and improve student safety and well-being.

The way House Bill 3427 is written, the state Department of Education would be responsible for assessing whether districts used their share of corporate tax money properly, the step the Secretary of States audits division is charged with for Measure 98 funds.

The Education Departments oversight of Measure 98 suggests it is a soft-touch money monitor. It mostly relies on district officials to contact their regional point person if they struggle to implement their plans. And site visits have yet to occur.

There are reasons to think some school districts dont always make smart choices about how to deploy their money. In 2018, the audits division dispatched four officials to Portland Public Schools for one year to audit the districts spending and render an opinion on its equity work.

The resulting report, released in January, described inefficiencies in the way educators used spending cards and concluded Portland students of color were routinely short-changed by a district that did not take sensible steps to place excellent principals in high-need schools or work to retain them.

But auditors with that agency wont know how long it will take them to audit Measure 98 spending until they begin an evaluation of the projects scope, always their first step when performing an audit.

Then, auditors will request information from the states many school districts.

At that point, were giant sponges trying to gather as much information as we can in a quick manner, Jamie Ralls, an audit manager in the Secretary of States office, said.

The simplest type of audit the agency performs are financial checks that require little else than an auditor cross-checking contracts and spending reports. Did a district or contractor spend money on the things they claimed they would?

Even those relatively simple audits take three weeks, possibly more, Ralls said. A staffer works under the direction of a lead auditor, who then reports to a manager in the Secretary of States office.

Thats because the math needs to be checked and double checked nearly constantly as auditors compile their reports.

We want to be right. We want to be accurate. Thats our bread and butter, Ralls said.

Oregon high schools are currently spending the second dose of Measure 98 funding they received in summer 2018 and can expect a third dose later this year. The money has strict spending requirements.

All but the smallest districts must spend it on three separate initiatives: career-tech offerings, anti-dropout efforts and college-credit-level courses. And each school must have added those offerings, not merely maintained classes or programs it offered prior to 2017.

There are signs around the state that districts are using those cash infusions to great effect. In Lincoln County, district officials used a portion of $750,000 received in grant funding to open a daycare center in one high school and raise the percentage of freshmen who are on track to graduate from 55 percent to 75 percent. In John Day, the local school district applied for and received grant money to set up an automotive shop at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School that has students revved up to learn more.

A fraction of the money can be spent to bolster services to eighth-graders, but that cant exceed 15 percent of a districts windfall. Another 4 percent can be spent on what Education Department officials call indirect costs, like equipment or software necessary to implement the new programs.

But no one in state government has checked schools spending yet.

Fick said the audit timeline for Measure 98 was constructed with the idea that districts would have time to implement the plans laid out in their applications for funding.

It would allow the Secretary of States office to publish a report on the first three years worth of program funding in time for the Legislature to consider those findings as lawmakers discuss funding and program rules for the 2021-23 biennium, she said.

We wanted to make sure there was a cycle of full funding, Fick said. We wanted to make sure there was a little bit of time for the measure to be fully implemented.

Meanwhile, Education Department officials intermittently check in with school districts as they build out those programs, Foley said. Most of those check-ins have so far been initiated by the districts themselves.

She oversees six people who review Measure 98 grant applications and also act as regional ambassadors to the districts awarded that funding. Every request is reviewed by at least three employees in the Education Department, she said.

The state hasnt rejected a single application outright, Foley said. Instead, if team members arent certain a proposal meets requirements, they work with districts to refine their plans and ensure they meet the spending requirements set forth by state law, she said.

Districts decide which outcomes they want to chase and report back to the Education Department if they need help reaching their goals, she said. The agencys regional ambassadors will begin doing site visits in the coming school year.

The timelines are meant to ensure districts have time to evaluate their own programs and check in with the Education Department as they tinker with them in response to students needs. And the more data the state has to work with, department officials say, the better.

We want to make sure every student has the opportunities to succeed as they look forward to their next phase of life, whether thats going into the workforce or a post-secondary education, Foley said.
Dear Annie: We raised our children in church, and then lost our religion. There were so many reasons for that, but theres no going back to any church in the future. Part of our family, a very small part, accepts this. But most have a problem with it. Adding insult to injury, we live in the Bible Belt, and having no religion is very suspect here. The political climate makes all of this even more unbearable.

We can't leave; this is our home. We can't express an opinion with some family members because we'd get disowned or shunned or both. Some of our relationships with close family members have never been the same since we left church, which was many years ago.

All of this only reinforces our decision. Who wants anything to do with this type of closed-mindedness? But we have tremendous guilt over raising our children in this way, and then walking away from it. Our only defense is that we were young and dumb and didn't think for ourselves until much later. We were obedient children. We did what we were told, and this is where we ended up.

Religion in the Bible Belt is more than belief; it's a cultural inheritance. How do we move on and keep our roots, too? One child is distant toward us, but the others are forgiving. It seems like so much of our energy is focused on the distant child, rather than enjoying the others who get where we're coming from and feel as we do. We feel emotionally blackmailed by this child.

I hope you can shed some light on this for me. I love life and feel connected to the universe in so many ways. I just want to spend the remainder of my time enjoying the journey, seeking ways to help others and being truly present in the moment.

Thank you, Annie! I love your column and your thoughtful advice. -- Ironically Blessed

Dear Ironically Blessed: You sound too blessed to be stressed about what other people are thinking about you.

When you raised your children, you did the best you could with what you thought was right at the time. Then you changed your mind about what you thought was right for yourself and your family. The issue is not whether it was right or wrong to raise your children in a church. The issue how to let go of this guilt and to give yourself a break about the choices you made in the past and instead focus on the choices you are making right now.

Guilt and shame will not lead you to your goal of wanting to love the life you live.

If you want to spend your time enjoying the journey and living in the present moment, then continue focusing on the positive and all the beauty of life. No matter what your religion, your goal of wanting to help others is commendable.

Even though it is painful that one of your children is distant from you now, continue to show your child compassion and love. Hopefully, he or she will come around.

In the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."

"Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie" is out now! Annie Lane's debut book -- featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette -- is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM
The family of a 32-year-old climber who died in 2017 after falling hundreds of feet down Mount Hood and then waiting hours for a helicopter rescue has settled a lawsuit against Clackamas County for $25,000.

The family of John Thornton Jenkins had originally sought $10 million -- faulting the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and Clackamas County 911 for a series of missteps that the familys lawsuit says contributed to a more than four-hour wait before Jenkins was rescued off the mountain.

The suit had been scheduled to start trial Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court, but a settlement was reached in recent weeks.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a written statement this week that he hadnt wanted the county to settle even if it was for a nominal sum to avoid the costs of litigation.

Death is an inherent risk any climber takes, especially in an environment as dangerous as Mt. Hood, Roberts wrote. I was surprised and deeply disappointed to be sued by the deceaseds family after our search and rescue teams made every effort to save Mr. Jenkins' life. Tragedy can happen without fault.

Roberts said the settlement sets a troubling precedent for all Sheriffs Offices required by law to conduct search-and-rescue operations in their counties.

Roberts offered his condolences to Jenkins family.

The county, through its spokesman, also offered condolences.

This was a tragic accident and a reminder of the dangers of climbing Mount Hood or any of our iconic Cascade peaks, said county spokesman Tim Heider.

Jenkins, an experienced climber, tumbled about 600 feet from the area near the mountains summit at about 10:40 a.m. on May 7, 2017, according to the lawsuit and news reports at the time.

The lawsuit states that eight minutes later, another climber reached Jenkins and called 911 for help, but an Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter didnt arrive until 3:11 p.m. As rescuers tried to secure Jenkins in a basket to lift him off the mountain, he stopped breathing, lost his pulse and ultimately was pronounced dead at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, according to the suit and news reports.

The lawsuit described an alleged bungled response to repeat calls for help -- stating that the first 911 caller was transferred by a dispatcher to the Sheriffs Office, which told the caller to contact Timberlines ski patrol. Thats even after being told Jenkins wasnt a skier and had fallen outside the ski area, according to the lawsuit.

The ski patrol called the countys 911 center, which again transferred the call to the sheriffs office, the suit states.

The helicopter was requested about 1 hour and 40 minutes after the initial 911 call, and arrived 2 hours and 40 minutes later, according to a timeline laid out in the lawsuit.

At approximately 11,239 feet, Mount Hood is Oregons most attempted climbing peak.

The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote extensively about the fall and rescue attempt.

Under the terms of the settlement, the county will make a $5,000 donation to Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer nonprofit search-and-rescue organization that responded to Jenkins fall. A team leader from the organization was by Jenkins side as he was loaded into the helicopter.

The settlement agreement also calls for more training and refined communication procedures for the countys emergency responders. Among those changes:

-- Sometime in the next year, the sheriffs office will hold a mountain search-and-rescue training conference dedicated to the memory of Jenkins. The conference will train the countys team members, along with other groups that respond to calls for rescue on Mount Hood.

-- Search and rescue coordinators with the sheriffs office shall be promptly notified of all search and rescue calls for help in their service area.

-- County officials will meet with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Portland Mountain Rescue, Timberline ski patrol and other groups to make sure everyone is familiar with best practices for requesting helicopter rescues on the mountain.

-- The county will create a plaque in memory of Jenkins and place it somewhere on county property.

Jenkins lived in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. He is survived by his two parents, who live in Kansas.

Jane Paulson, the Portland attorney representing Jenkins estate, said Jenkins family sued to determine what caused the delays and to prompt changes in the system.

This case has never been about money for the family, Paulson said in an email. Now that the county has agreed to make the necessary changes regarding how search and rescue operations are conducted, the familys goal of making Mt. Hood safer for others is complete and is the best method for the family to honor the memory of their son.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Menlo Park, CA, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young women in high school, community leaders and Silicon Valley executives had a lively discussion today about gender inequity in tech and how to inspire the next generation of women to lead the industry. The third annual Girls @ The Tech Luncheon by The Tech Museum of Innovation featured a lively discussion with Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo and Autodesk, and PlanGrid CEO Tracy Young, recently named one of Americas Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.



"Intelligence and hard work and talent are widely distributed, but (the tech industry) only looks like one type of person, Young said, encouraging young women to persist in their path to leadership. We are literally missing out on some of the smartest people in the world solving these problems. It is our responsibility to make sure more people pursue these careers.



"You have to get them started early and not be afraid of failure, Bartz told the parents in the room. What's a failure? A failure in one person's mind is success in another. Get rid of that criticism and fear.



Students from high schools across Silicon Valley attended the luncheon, a key event supporting The Techs initiatives to build a pipeline of young women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Many were grateful to hear about some of the challenges and opportunities women encounter in these professional fields. Leonela Villalobos, a sophomore at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, said she felt inspired by the event to pursue a career in more male-dominated fields.



The best piece of advice was not to take criticism from people you wouldnt take advice from, Villalobos said. I think thats so important and hadnt thought about that before.



Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil also spoke about how young girls are leading the way in creating technology that will help humanity solve some its biggest challenges.



"The people who are going to solve these problems are the next generation, Patil told the young women in the room. We can set the framework. But you're going to be the ones developing genomic therapies, using data in dynamic ways and figuring out creative ways to make AI work for everyone."



The event also featured remarks from Jessica Garrison, technical marketing engineer at Juniper Networks; Gretchen Walker, vice president of learning at The Tech; and Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech.



I hope The Tech can be a place where young women can be inspired to look for problems to solve, be irreverent, be courageous, risk failure and be OK with asking for help, Ritchie said.



The Girls @ The Tech initiative launched in 2015 to build a pipeline of opportunities for girls that nurture their interest, boost their skills and solidify their confidence in STEM. The initiative supports a series of Girls Days @ The Tech that engage girls and their families in STEM activities and mentor them to pursue STEM careers; girls participation in the annual youth engineering program The Tech Challenge, which has a high percentage of female participants; and professional development for educators focused on inclusion and engineering design.



Girls @ The Tech is made possible by the generous support of The Junior League of Palo Alto - Mid Peninsula, Gilead, eBay, KLA Foundation, Milligan Family Foundation, NetApp, Arm, EY, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Hitachi Vantara, Intel, Trine Sorensen & Mike Jacobson, PayPal, United Airlines, Cisco Systems, Cooley, Dr. Myriam Curet, Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, Gregory P. Luth & Associates, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Marvell Semiconductor, Mayfield, Qualcomm, Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Silicon Valley Bank, Zoom, and additional assistance from Cushman Family Foundation, Mauria Finley and Greg Yap, Fossil Group, Bev Huss, Janie and Wayne Lambert and Cindy and Randy Pond.





About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum  located in the Capital of Silicon Valley  is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech for Global Good, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

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Controversial Judge Charles Bailey sent a blistering email lambasting a colleague that touched off what sources described as a courthouse investigation before he stepped down as Washington County Circuit Courts presiding judge.

Bailey criticized the character of Judge Eric Butterfield and copied the email to all 13 other Washington County judges.

A day earlier, Butterfield had put his name in the running to become the next presiding judge  an administrative leader whose duties include assigning cases to other judges.

In his email, Bailey implied that Butterfield was vindictive, lazy and shirked his workload in favor of riding his motorcycle. Bailey said he planned to tell the chief justice why you would be an absolute disaster as a presiding judge.

The Oregon Judicial Department released the email Friday after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The email illustrates what players in the justice system say is yearslong infighting and disagreement among members of the Washington County bench.

The email also depicts what many lawyers who have practiced in Baileys courtroom say is his abrasive style.

Two sources with knowledge of the inquiry told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Baileys email led at least one judge and possibly others to contact Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Lee Walters with concerns about Bailey. They said Walters in turn launched an investigation into Bailey. One source said every judge in the courthouse was questioned.

Bailey announced a week ago that he would resign as presiding judge, even though his term wasnt supposed to end for another eight months. His resignation from the leadership position becomes effective May 10. Bailey will remain a judge for the court and continue to hear cases.

In the email, sent in December, Bailey wrote he doubted Butterfield would be selected as his successor.

Even if you got it you wouldnt last more than a month before you would quit or make life difficult for everyone around you like you have done many times in the past, Bailey wrote.

Butterfield declined to comment on the email.

The history of what led Bailey to write the email isnt clear but he appeared to reference history with Butterfield.

You cant start something and quit it after a short period because it is too hard or too much work, Bailey wrote. ...You cant tell another judge to F off. ...You cant get to work just before your docket begins.

Bailey wouldnt comment publicly about why hes resigning from his presiding judge position, but the Judicial Department released his resignation letter Friday in response to the public records request. Bailey wrote in that letter that he believed the chief justice and other judges were discontent with him.

Although my time as the Presiding Judge in Washington County has been, for the most part, satisfying and productive during the last four plus years, over the last few months I have become unsatisfied with the work situation, Bailey wrote.

More importantly, I believe you and a few judges in Washington County are also not satisfied and have lost confidence in my ability to run the Washington County Court, he continued.

Bailey also implied that he felt closely watched by Walters, who appoints presiding judges in her role as chief justice.

(Y)ou deserve to have a Presiding judge that you have faith in and will not feel the need to micro-manage, Bailey wrote to her.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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UPDATED Nov. 8, 2019: Gerald Bruce Newman was convicted Thursday of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records. KPTV reports he was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

***

Clackamas County Sheriffs deputies have arrested a 59-year-old man on accusations that he tried to kill another man by shooting him in the chest in the parking lot of a bar in Boring on Friday night.

Deputies booked Gerald Bruce Newman into jail under accusations of attempted murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon at the Not So Boring Bar & Grill at 28014 S.E. Wally Road.

The victim was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for treatment, and his current condition isnt known, said a sheriffs spokesman in a news release Saturday morning. He is expected to survive his injuries. Authorities identified him as Dustin Schaffer.

Gerald Bruce Newman, 59, is accused of attempted murder stemming from a shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019, at a bar in Boring. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office).

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting on Friday, May 3, 2019. (CCSO)

Deputies were called to respond to a possible fight at the bar at about 11 p.m. Deputies then received more information that a man had been shot.

Upon arrival, deputies detained Newman without incident, according to the news release. They also confiscated a pistol as evidence.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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Police on Friday said they no longer consider the death of a man found collapsed in the doorway of his Northwest Portland home to be suspicious.

They received the results of an autopsy and would release nothing further, they said in a statement. They didnt disclose what the autopsy revealed and a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiners Office referred questions to police.

Police responded Saturday morning to reports of a person stabbed with a weapon in the 9900 block of Northwest Hoge Avenue in the Linnton neighborhood, dispatch records show.

A pair of mail carriers found the man unconscious and covered in blood in the doorway of his home just before 10 a.m., neighbor Catherine Magasich told KATU News.

Homicide detectives completed an on-scene investigation that day. Police provided no additional information afterward, leaving those living in the area rattled and wondering how their neighbor died and whether there was an ongoing public safety threat.

Neighbors and the deceased mans employer identified him as 53-year-old Jon Kennith Ford. He had worked at Bridge City Steel on Northwest St. Helens Road since 2006, owner Chris Gaylord said.

He was our best employee ever, Gaylord said. He never missed a day of work. Never once.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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The Oregonian/OregonLives examination of medical decisions for Derrick Dahl led the newsroom to compile basic background material on Alternative Services-Oregon, the nonprofit operating the group home where Dahl receives care.

The search revealed an interweaving of family and financial interests within a nonprofit that gets $17 million a year from the state to care for adults with developmental disabilities.

Five relatives of Alternative Services executive director have worked for or contracted with the nonprofit, publicly available records show. Two board members personally own properties that they lease to the nonprofit.

The arrangements are not illegal, according to an expert in nonprofit tax law. But they do sound like potential conflicts of interest to me, said Sen. Sara Gelser, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Human Services.

Alternative Services officials said the nonprofits board ensured all individuals who benefited from hiring or rental decisions were walled off from participating in them. Company officials said all family members were highly qualified for their jobs.

Gelser predicated her comments by saying she doesnt know full details about Alternative Services. Gelser also said its common for family members to become passionate about developmental disability causes.

But Gelser said the amount of money flowing from Alternative Services to the same family raises a number of questions. Gelser added that board members ethically should not financially benefit from their own nonprofits by decisions that were made when they were on the board, even if they recused themselves from a vote.

Gelser said she believes the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section should review the matter.

The information is very concerning, said Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat. I think somebody should be looking into it.

After this story published online Saturday, state officials announced that the Department of Justice had recently taken an informal look into the nonprofits arrangements and did not indicate any specific concerns.

Alternative Services operates 37 adult group homes statewide under its contract with Oregons Department of Human Services. Their capacity is about 150 residents. The state pays Alternative Services for the cost of providing care to individuals. But it does not not cover room and board, which is typically paid to a group home through an individuals supplemental security income.

Tax filings for 2012 through 2016 cumulatively show Alternative Services paid a total of $2.4 million to family members of Pat Allen-Sleeman, the nonprofits longtime executive director. Her husband Scott, the clinical director, received compensation averaging $200,000 annually. Two daughters and a son worked in roles with compensation ranging from about $45,000 to $90,000 a year. A company run by Allen-Sleemans son-in-law was awarded $825,000 in construction contracts over the five years.

Thomas DLuge, Alternative Services board secretary since 1989, said the construction work was board-approved and covered major renovations. DLuge said Scott Sleeman worked at the nonprofit before the couple married and his salary is set by the board. Neither played roles hiring their children, reviewing their performance or setting their compensation, DLuge said.

All have college degrees, and a relative has a developmental disability, DLuge said. Family is held to a higher standard than other employees, he said, adding: It is unlikely that any candidate for any position held by one of Pat or Scotts family is more qualified.

DLuge and his wife, meanwhile, purchased a Portland home that the nonprofit leases for its clients who are developmentally disabled.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services approached the nonprofit two decades ago to see if it could buy homes to expand services, DLuge said.

But Alternative Services had trouble finding landlords willing to lease suitable properties for use as group homes, DLuge said. The nonprofit also found itself unable to secure financing in those years, DLuge said.

In 1998, the people who owned one of the homes Alternative Services leased wanted to sell. DLuge said he and his wife bought it to keep residents from having to move.

Alternative Services board approved the new lease with DLuge without his involvement, Allen-Sleeman said. DLuge said hes never increased Alternative Services rent.

Records show DLuge received $25,005 from Alternative Services in lease payments for the 2012 tax year. DLuge said he didnt know why subsequent tax filings dont disclose the payments.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services, also bought property in Portland between 1997 and 1999 that the nonprofit leases.

DLuge said that like him, Mack has never raised the rent on the three homes and Alternative Services board approved the leases without Macks involvement.

Arthur Mack, the board president of Alternative Services-Oregon, personally owns three homes that he leases to the nonprofit. This is one in east Portland. Mack reported receiving $76,800 from the nonprofit for the leases in the 2012 tax year.

Records show Mack received $76,800 from Alternative Services in lease payments for three homes for the 2012 tax year. Payments are not disclosed in subsequent tax years.

DLuge said his mortgage is paid off, and property records say Macks were scheduled to be paid off last year.

DLuges property is now worth $438,000, or about $228,000 more than its purchase price, property records show. Macks three properties are valued at nearly $1.4 million combined, or about $805,000 above their purchase prices, according to records.

DLuge said he has spoken with a board member about offering the home he and his wife own to Alternative Services at a significantly reduced price when they decide to sell. Mack declined to respond to written questions.

The nonprofits board has a conflict of interest policy, according to tax filings. The policy says that when board members do business with people affiliated with the nonprofit, they should exercise due diligence and see if a better deal is available. If its not, the policy says, members should vote on whether the arrangement is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Alternative Services.

As long as Alternative Services followed its conflict of interest policy at the time and paid fair market rent, Mack, DLuge and the rest of the board have likely satisfied their legal fiduciary duties and met relevant tax law requirements, said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at Notre Dame and an expert in nonprofit tax requirements.

Officials for Oregons Department of Human Services say they are not concerned by Alternative Services hiring practices or lease arrangements. In fact, property records show the state long ago gave Mack forgivable loans to make safety improvements at some properties.

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt
A Portland State University Board of Trustees committee voted Friday to consider increasing student tuition by 11 percent and cut about $10 million from its academic and student support budgets.

The full university board is scheduled to vote May 13 on the proposal.

The university outlined the proposal Friday in a news release, which stated the moves would be necessary unless state lawmakers set aside more funding for higher education. The proposals would be necessary to address cost increases totaling $18.6 million, according to Kevin Reynolds the universitys vice president of finance and administration

We need a commitment of additional revenue support from the state to cover significant cost increases, particularly those that arise as a result of the underfunded Public Employee Retirement System, Reynolds said. Otherwise, we will need to make another painful round of reductions and require that PSU students  58 percent of whom are on financial aid  will have to face a double-digit tuition increase.

Even if the PSU board approves the proposal, it would need the nod from Oregons Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The commission must approve any public university tuition increase of more than 5 percent.

Oregon lawmakers proposed to fund universities at roughly 5 percent above the governors flat-line budget as part of a broad spending outline released in early March. But university leaders from across the state have said that $777 million proposal wont be enough.

Oregon State Universitys board of trustees voted in early April to increase tuition by 4.29 percent for full-time Oregon resident undergraduates. The tuition hike also could be paired with a decrease in spending.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill said in early March that he plans $11 million in budget cuts to address a $12.9 million budget shortfall next year. He said he would also consider layoffs and a tuition increase if state lawmakers dont come through with more funding.
A Salem man was sentenced to more than six years in prison and a permanent revocation of his drivers license Thursday after driving drunk last July in Beaverton and causing a crash that killed his passenger.

Jonathan Guzman, 22, pleaded guilty April 19 in Washington County Circuit Court to second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants related to a July 2018 crash that killed 36-year-old Ariana Salgado-Guadarrama.

A judge sentenced Guzman on Thursday to six years and three months in prison, ordered his license be revoked for life and that he pay nearly $16,000 in restitution and fines. Guzman had no prior criminal history, according to Oregon court records.

A 2018 photo shows the aftermath of a crash in Beaverton which led to the death of a car passenger and the arrest of the driver. (Beaverton Police Department)

Prosecutors said Guzman was driving about 100 mph around 2:50 a.m. when he crashed into a light pole and tree along Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Several beer cans were found near the crash, and Guzmans blood alcohol level was found to be 0.16 percent, twice the state legal limit.

Beaverton police said at the time of the crash that the impact caused the engine of Guzmans Mazda M3 to be separated from the rest of the car and slide across several traffic lanes.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

TORONTO, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MTC Growth Fund-I Inc. (MTC or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding letter agreements (collectively, the Letter Agreements) with: (i) shareholders of Medic Plast S.A. (Medic Plast or MP), a Uruguayan entity engaged in the pharmaceutical and medical device business, and Yurelan S.A. (Y), a Uruguayan entity engaged in an agricultural related business, to acquire MP and Y in exchange for common shares of MTC (the Resulting Issuer Shares) as it exists after the completion of the RTO (as hereinafter defined) (the Resulting Issuer); and (ii) Ramm Pharma Corp. (Ramm), a private Ontario company, and creditor to MP and Y, pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTC (Subco) will amalgamate with Ramm (the Amalgamation) on the terms and conditions of an amalgamation agreement to be entered into among MTC, Subco and Ramm.

Medic Plast is a leader in the field of cannabinoid pharmacology and product formulation for cannabis-based pharmaceuticals and other cannabis-based products. Founded in 1988 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Medic Plast is a well established pharmaceutical and medical product business and amongst the first and only companies in the world to have developed medically registered and approved plant derived cannabinoid pharmaceutical products. Medic Plast currently has multiple approved and registered products that have been authorized for sale in several Latin American countries, as well as a robust pipeline of new products in various stages of approval and development. Medic Plast is also in the process of finalizing a state of the art GMP certified cannabis extraction and formulation facility. With Yurelans large scale cultivation facility, the combined operations are expected to provide for complete vertical integration. Further to its industry leading activities in the cannabis sector, Medic Plast operates a successful pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical product development and medical services business which has been servicing the local market for 30 years.

We are very pleased to announce our plans to go public which marks an important milestone for our company. Years of global research, drug development, and physician education have positioned Medic Plast as a leader in the field of cannabis-derived prescription drugs and products, stated Armando Blankleider, President of Medic Plast. The company is comprised of industry leading experts and is backed by some of the most successful pioneers in the cannabis sector. The public listing and capital raised will help to accelerate our growth strategy as we continue to expand our distribution to meet the extensive and growing demand for cannabinoid-based prescription drugs and products globally.

The Letter Agreements outline the general terms and conditions pursuant to which the Corporation, MP, Y, and Ramm have agreed to complete a series of transactions (collectively, the RTO) that will result in a reverse take-over of the Corporation by the shareholders of MP and Y, and the shareholders Ramm, and holders of convertible debentures of Ramm (the Convertible Debentures). On completion of the RTO, each of MP, Y, and the entity resulting from the Amalgamation will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Resulting Issuer, and the Resulting Issuer will focus on the current business and affairs of MP and Y. The Letter Agreements were negotiated at arms length.

Completion of the RTO is conditional on the Corporation reorganizing from an investment fund issuer to a corporate issuer, effecting a subdivision (the Stock Split) of its issued and outstanding shares on the basis of 4.76648 new Resulting Issuer Shares for each one (1) MTC Share (as hereinafter defined), and the filing of articles of amendment to: (a) change the Corporations authorized capital to an unlimited number of common shares; and (b) change and reclassify all of its issued and outstanding redeemable shares into common shares (collectively, the Corporate Reorganization). The Corporate Reorganization must be approved by not less than 66% of the votes cast by holders of redeemable shares of MTC at a meeting of shareholders. It is expected that the Corporation will call and convene an annual and special meeting of the holders of its redeemable shares to approve, among other items, the Corporate Reorganization.

Concurrent Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that Ramm will complete a non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$1.35 per Subscription Receipt (the Issue Price). Each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder to receive, without payment of additional consideration, one (1) common share of Ramm (an Underlying Share) upon satisfaction or waiver of the Escrow Release Conditions (as hereinafter defined), with each Underlying Share to be exchanged, without further consideration, for one Resulting Issuer Share upon the completion of the RTO. MTC may sell subscription receipts having similar economic terms to the Subscription Receipts except that on conversion a holder will receive Resulting Issuer Shares (the MTC Subscription Receipts) in connection with the RTO. The sale of Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts are anticipated to raise aggregate gross proceeds of at least C$24,000,000 (collectively, the Offering).

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts and the MTC Subscription Receipts will be held in escrow (the Escrowed Proceeds) by an escrow agent acceptable to Ramm and MTC (the Escrow Agent) (the Escrowed Proceeds, together with any interest and other income earned pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, are referred to as the Escrowed Funds). The Escrowed Funds will be released from escrow to Ramm or MTC, respectively, upon the satisfaction of conditions which include the following (the Escrow Release Conditions) on or prior to September 30, 2019 (subject to extension to no later than October 31, 2019) (the Escrow Deadline): (a) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the completion of the RTO, including, without limitation, the conditional approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the Exchange) for the RTO; (b) shareholder approval of the Corporate Reorganization; and (c) Ramm or MTC, as applicable, having delivered a direction to the Escrow Agent confirming that the conditions set forth above have been met or waived.

If (i) the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before the Escrow Deadline, or (ii) prior to the Escrow Deadline Ramm or MTC, as applicable, announces to the public that it does not intend to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, the Escrowed Funds shall be returned to the holders of the Subscription Receipts or MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, on a pro rata basis and the Subscription Receipts and MTC Subscription Receipts, as applicable, will be cancelled without any further action on the part of the holders.

In connection with the Offering, a cash finders fee of 6.0% of the gross proceeds sold by each finder may be paid, and common share purchase warrants (the Finder Warrants) representing 6.0% of the number of Underlying Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Subscription Receipts (or Resulting Issuer Shares issuable upon conversion of the MTC Subscription Receipts) sold by each finder may be issued, to qualified finders. Each Finder Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Underlying Share or one (1) Resulting Issuer Share, as applicable, at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months after the completion of the RTO.

Terms of the RTO

In connection with the RTO, MTC will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of MP and Y in exchange for an aggregate of 59,820,000 common shares of MTC (the MTC Shares) on a post-Stock Split basis, and then complete the Amalgamation. Under the Amalgamation, the name of MTC will be changed to Ramm Pharma Corp..

Following the RTO, an aggregate of 750,000 Resulting Issuer Shares will be held by the former holders of MTC Shares. After conversion of Convertible Debentures, Ramm will have an aggregate of 14,000,000 common shares outstanding which will be exchanged for Resulting Issuer Shares in connection with completion of the Amalgamation on a one-for-one basis.

Upon completion of the RTO, and assuming that the Offering results in the issuance of C$24,000,000 of Subscription Receipts, it is expected that, on a non-diluted basis, the current shareholders of MTC will hold approximately 0.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, purchasers in the Offering and holders of common shares of Ramm and Convertible Debentures will hold, in the aggregate, approximately 34.4% of the Resulting Issuer Shares, and the former shareholders of MP and Y will hold, collectively, approximately 64.8% of the Resulting Issuer Shares.

Insiders, Officers and Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer

Upon completion of the RTO, it is anticipated that the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of five directors. It is expected that Jack Burnett will serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Resulting Issuer.

Set out below are the names and backgrounds of all persons who are currently expected to be considered insiders of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the RTO.

Jack Burnett  Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a Director

Mr. Burnett is a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years experience in capital markets and international corporate leadership roles. Mr. Burnett has led companies from inception to acquisition in multiple industries including real estate, insurance and telecom. His deep global business relationships span both private and public markets where he has been a director, officer and majority shareholder of successful multinational companies.

Dr. Armando Blankleider  Director

Dr. Blankleider is a Medical Doctor and the founder and President of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider has directly led Medic Plasts initiatives for the design and introduction of new products, as well as the design and monitoring of teams for the development of production processes and the general management of Medic Plast. Dr. Blankleider also has a depth of experience in Quality Management ISO Standards, has acted as a delegate to develop the Rules of Good Manufacturing Practices for medical products for the private sector within the MERCOSUR and is an active participant in international conferences for the medical and pharmaceutical products industry globally.

Daniel Augereau  Director

Mr. Augereau is a seasoned executive who has held senior leadership and board-level positions at companies spanning a diverse mix of industries over a 50+ year career. Since 2005, Mr. Augereau has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Synergie SA (Euronext: SDG), the French leader of temporary work and human resources management services for the industrial, tertiary, logistics, medical, building and public works sectors.

Conditions to RTO

The RTO is subject to receipt of the required regulatory approvals, including, but not limited to, the approval of the Exchange, the execution of definitive documents giving effect to the RTO, and standard closing conditions. In addition, the RTO is subject to customary conditions including, without limitation, the following:

Each of MTC, MP, Y, Ramm and Subco will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the RTO.



MTC will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving, among other matters: (i) the Corporate Reorganization; and (ii) the approval of the RTO, if required by the Exchange.



Minimum gross proceeds of C$24,000,000 are raised pursuant to the Offering.

The ultimate legal structure for the RTO will be determined after the parties have considered all applicable tax, securities law, and accounting efficiencies and may change from what is described in this news release.

About MTC

The Corporation is an un-listed Canadian mutual fund corporation that was established under the laws of the Province of Ontario by a declaration of trust dated October 1988, with its registered and head office in Toronto, Ontario. MTC and is a reporting issuer within the meaning of the Securities Act (Alberta), Securities Act (Ontario) and Securities Act (Quebec).

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the proposed RTO; the terms and conditions of the proposed Offering; the ability of MTC to complete the RTO and the ability of Ramm to complete the Offering, respectively, on the terms described herein or at all; use of funds; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed RTO. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, neither MTC, MP, Y nor Ramm assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

For further information please contact:

MTC Growth Fund-I Inc.

Joseph Chiummiento

Tel: 905.851.8180
The Kirtland's warbler -- one of the rarest nesting migratory songbirds in the United States and Canada -- now has additional support, thanks to the establishment of an avian ecologist position geared to executing conservation activities on the bird's wintering grounds in The Bahamas. Scientist Bradley Watson has been hired by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) as part of the plan to keep the Kirtland's warbler population growing after its expected removal from the U.S. endangered species list this spring.

Watson, who is Bahamian, holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, along with a bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston. Prior to accepting the new position, Watson worked with the Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation. He has contributed to multiple studies on terrestrial ecology, while his graduate research focused on carbon sequestration in prairie systems.
McLaren Bay Region on Thursday recognized several nurses for exemplifying excellence in nursing during the 14th Annual McLaren Bay Region Nursing Excellence Awards.

"The Nursing Excellence recipients are nominated by their peers based on professionalism, excellence in nursing practice, education, leadership and community involvement," said Sandy Garzell, McLaren Bay Region director of Quality Improvement and Organizational Excellence. "They advocate for patients and families to provide a holistic plan of care."

Awards are given to individuals who regularly assist with process changes, education and teamwork within their departments to continually improve the care provided to patients.

The 2019 award recipients are:

 Brooke Getty, RN - Nursing Excellence. Getty has been a registered nurse for 12 years, and has earned her Clinical Ladder IV achievement. She works in the emergency department and is a member of the Nursing Practice Council and serves as a member of the stroke workgroup at McLaren Bay Region. Getty is known as a team leader within her department as she works to provide evidence-based care to her patients.

 Lisa Kukla, RN - Nursing Excellence. Kukla has worked at McLaren Bay Region for over 27 years after obtaining her BSN degree in 1993, and has achieved Clinical Ladder IV status. She works in the OB/women's health department, and her commitment to quality care is evident by her active participation in Michigan Hospital Association/Keystone Obstetrics. Kukla is known for her passion for nursing care changes that lead to improved patient care outcomes.

 Charlene Mayotte, RN - Nursing Excellence. Mayotte has been with McLaren Bay Region for over 40 years, where she has worked in neurology/urology, inpatient rehab and as a case manager. She is the first person nurses go to for the latest evidence-based information and is well respected by the medical staff. Mayotte is known as a caring, compassionate nurse who regularly advocates on behalf of her patients.

 Adam Kusz, Certified Surgical Tech - Nursing Support Excellence. Kusz has been on the McLaren Bay Region team since 2007 and works in the operating room. As a member of a unit-based team, he gives regular input on work flows to improve efficiency. Kusz is known for being a knowledgeable team player with a solid work ethic who is well respected by physicians and staff.

"We have a team of exceptional nurses and nursing support staff, and we celebrate their dedication all year long," said McLaren Bay Region Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Talbott. "We are proud to host this special event during Nurses' Week to highlight a few individuals who were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond."
Just as ripples may start small, but continue to expand, the Midland 100 Club has positively affected the community for the past decade. The group's generosity has helped students, the arts community, those with disabilities, foster kids, shelter animals and countless other lives. The club celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday night at Midland Center for the Arts.

"It's not a social club. It's a get-it-done club," stated member Julie Nunn, also the executive director of Cancer Services.

Midlander Bobbie Arnold developed the idea in 2009 after attending a party in Albion. At that time, societies were still dealing with the effects of the Great Recession in 2008.

"All the women were talking about the ability to get together as a community and put together 100 women, each willing to give $100 four times a year. The impact on the community would be amazing if we could do that," Arnold said.

The first meeting of the Midland 100 Club was held at Emerson Park. Since then, membership has expanded from 10 to 476 ladies. The group moved its location to Midland Center for the Arts, initially meeting in the Lecture Room, then moving to the Founder's Room and now to the Auditorium lobby due to the ever-increasing membership. Its next meeting will take place in the Little Theater.

"Here's the challenge: let's outgrow that. And then we have the 1,500 seat auditorium," Volunteer Chair Tina Van Dam addressed the club.

Membership is open to any woman who is able to give $300 annually. The club meets three times a year, in January, May and September. Each meeting is run like clockwork due to the efforts of Van Dam, and lasts only an hour.

"The very best thing that happened to the club was Tina Van Dam. She is truly the heart and soul of the Midland 100 Club," Arnold said.

Six local organizations get a chance to speak at the meetings, each for no more than five minutes. The first four are nominated by members to present while the other two are those who received funds from the last meeting. Over the past 10 years, the Midland 100 Club has given $835,420 in cash contributions, including matching grants, to 47 organizations, according to Van Dam.

"One of the things that's hard is there are so many great organizations in this community that you can't go wrong pulling any name," observed member Jennifer Heronema, president and CEO of the Legacy Center for Community Success.

To be eligible to receive funding, an organization is required to have a current and valid 501(c)3 designation, be located in the Great Lakes Bay Region and benefit Midland County. No political or religious groups are eligible. A group may be qualified to receive additional funding after three years; there have been a handful of local groups who have received support more than once.

One of those groups is Cancer Services. Started in 1948, its goal is to provide support to cancer patients and caregivers in terms of their physical, financial, emotional and spiritual needs.

"Most of our clients are with us for about a year. Some stay and just do monthly support groups," Nunn said. "We don't take a penny for anything that we do."

The Midland 100 Club first helped Cancer Services in May 2014 by giving $12,250, which helped provide over 41,000 miles of transportation for cancer patients. Cancer Services then received $18,500 in September 2017. This time, the finances purchased wood, propane and covered Consumers Energy heating bills for 63 families.

"We were fortunate. It felt like we were just eligible and then we were picked again," Nunn said.

The following May, the Midland 100 Club gave $19,700 to Fostering Hope in Michigan, formerly known as Royal Family Kids and Teen Reach of Mid-Michigan. Founded in 1995, the organization serves foster children through camps and mentoring services. Fostering Hope used the donation to fund a year of monthly Teen Mentoring Club meetings as well as two Teen Reach Adventure Camps where teenagers learn how to respond to life's challenges in a positive way.

"All of our campers and mentees attend our programs free of charge to the child/teen, their families, and the Department of Health and Human Services," explained Fostering Hope Board Chair Bill Clarkson. "The funds provided 'camperships' (scholarships for room, board and supplies), and funded activities such as our challenge course, zip line, and climbing wall experiences."

Clarkson has seen the camps' attendance double as well as the individual growth in campers; one camper with unique needs transformed into a positive role model for the rest of the participants.

At the following Midland 100 Club meeting in September 2018, one of the recipient organizations was the Legacy Center, which received $23,000 to support the Barton Reading and Spelling System. With Barton, pupils with dyslexia who are at least one grade level below where they should be receive one-on-one tutoring.

"Just being honored by that group with that much money at one time, you're just in awe for two or three days," stated Director of Student Reading Programs Kristi Kline.

"It was like we won the lottery," Heronema added.

Unlike most of the Legacy Center's programs, the Barton System doesn't have a steady funding source and must raise its own money. Due to the financial contribution, Barton served 140 to 150 people -- a record breaker for the Legacy Center -- and the staff was able to concentrate on other matters that needed attention.

"It just takes a lot of the pressure off," Kline said.

On Wednesday night, the Midland 100 Club met for its May meeting, but time was allowed to celebrate the group's accomplishments and acknowledge Midland's continuous support.

"If it's a good project, they find a way to get it done. It's an incredible community," Arnold said.

Both Arnold and Van Dam hope to see more growth in the club's future -- including younger members -- and are eager to increase their impact in Midland. Van Dam gave a virtual toast to the members at the end of the meeting before they withdrew to the reception.

"May your generous and kind heart reflect the better community we continue to build together," she said.

Those interested in joining Midland 100 Club can email midland100club@hotmail.com.
HUDSON, N.H., May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GT Advanced Technologies Inc., the parent of GTAT Corporation (collectively, Company), has entered into a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to an investigation into events leading up to the Companys bankruptcy filing in 2014. The Company welcomes the conclusion of this matter which allows it to focus its efforts on its ongoing business.



Michele Rayos, who became the Companys Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in November of 2017, said that the Company is committed to operating its business with the upmost integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those relating to record keeping and financial reporting. We have implemented and continue to review our internal controls to ensure best practices in this area. Greg Knight, who became the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer in September of 2016 after its emergence from bankruptcy earlier that year, stated that we are pleased to have the investigation behind us, allowing us to focus all our efforts into expanding the availability and use of silicon carbide and sapphire into current and future markets. Our technical expertise in crystal growth technologies enables us to be a game changer in advanced materials and we are dedicated to continually improving our products while exploring new opportunities. We believe that we will make a difference in the markets that we serve.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is a privately held company. Its current shareholders are private equity firms and financial institutions, most of which were former creditors in the bankruptcy.



About GTAT Corporation
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sunday, May 5, the Fraser Institute will release the Report Card on Ontarios Secondary Schools 2019, the go-to source for measuring school improvement.



It offers parents information they cant easily get anywhere else by showing which Ontario secondary schools have improved or fallen behind, based on indicators derived from provincewide test results.

A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on May 5 at 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

The complete results for all 738 secondary schools will also be available at www.compareschoolrankings.org .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela MacLeod

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
TORONTO, May 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duncan Park Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (TSXV: DPH) announced today that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") has approved its previously announced application to voluntarily delist (the "Delisting") its common shares from the TSXV. Delisting will be effective at the close of business on May 10, 2019 with trading on the TSXV to end as of the close of trading on that day.



Shareholders should refer to the Company's press release dated April 29, 2019 for an explanation of certain consequences of the Delisting and other related matters.

For further information, please contact:

David Shaddrick

Acting President and CEO

Duncan Park Holdings Corporation

Tel: (775) 746-2071

david@duncanpark.com

www.duncanpark.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 release.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Thursday, May 2

10:37 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 7000 block of Eastman Avenue.

9:53 p.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to Lee Township for a cow in the roadway. Deputies made contact with a man who said he was the owner of the cow. He transported the cow back onto his property, and refused to give any further information.

9:23 p.m. -- A 43-year-old Colorado man was arrested for a child support warrant following a traffic stop conducted in Jerome Township.

3:15 p.m. -- Officers responded to a vehicle crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and West Wackerly Street.

2:31 p.m. -- Officers responded to a retail fraud in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard.

1:41 p.m. -- A Larkin Township homeowner discovered an injured deer on their property and called 9-1-1. A deputy arrived and determined the injury was related to a car crash. The deer was put down, and Central Dispatch located an individual who would come pick up the deer.

12:12 p.m. -- A 38-year-old Shepherd man was arrested for driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop in Geneva Township. The man was stopped for a driving violation. He was cited for no insurance. The man's vehicle was towed by Coles Towing. The passenger was released to a friend who arrived on scene.

11:21 a.m. -- A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Mount Haley Township.

10:05 p.m. -- Officers responded to a crash resulting in property damage in the area of East Park Street and Sayre Street.

9:36 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to a possible drug overdose at a location in Warren Township. Deputies made contact with a 48-year-old man and his 41-year-old wife at MidMichigan Medical Center in reference to their 18-year-old son who had overdosed. Deputies made contact with the son and completed a mental health petition. His parents planned on staying with him at MidMichigan Medical Center.

8:37 a.m. -- Deputies responded to a failure to pay for $53 in gas from a Warren Township service station. No license plate information was obtained. The vehicle was identified as dark SUV last seen heading west.

2:36 a.m. -- Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of Eastman Avenue and Oakhaven Court.

12:40 a.m. -- A deputy struck a deer with his vehicle in Larkin Township.

12:09 a.m. -- Deputies were dispatched to an Ingersoll Township home for a possible breaking and entering in progress. The 22- and 27-year-old female residents said they heard some odd noises outside, and thought someone was attempting to gain entry. The deputies checked the area and the home, but did not find any evidence of an intruder or trespasser.
To the editor:

Noah Webster said in 1832, "The principles of all genuine liberty and wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man or woman who weakens or destroys the divine authority may be accessory to all public disorder which society is doomed to suffer."

George Washington said, " It is impossible to rightly govern the world without the Bible and God."

Our nation is reaping the consequences of ignoring their wise counsel and principles. Today religion, especially Christianity, is viewed as anathema by government, most of the media and the courts. Legislation seeks to isolate and cripple Christian influence. The result is moral chaos.

For example, about 50-60 years ago, when the Bible and prayer were still welcome in our education system, the major problems in school were: talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of line, wearing improper clothing.

But our government took a stance against the Word of God, and took the Bible and prayer out of schools. As a result, today's problems in our schools, and society in general, are: profanity, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, assault, murder, rape, suicide.

At Colorado Mesa University, Karissa Langner planned to tell classmates a humorous story about her nursing school experience, then briefly talk about overcoming adversity and acknowledge the role faith plays in her life. One school official said that speeches should be free of any one religious slant, and another threatened her with "repercussions" if she refused to change her speech. Karissa contacted Alliance Defending Freedom, and they took swift action, making sure that the school knew that censoring her speech was unconstitutional. As a result, the university changed its stance.

This issue was recently highlighted by President Trump, when he signed an executive order stating that public colleges and universities will lose federal research funds if they violate students' rights to free speech.

Taxpayer-funded colleges and universities will, without consequences, continue to trample on Christian students' rights, unless we all join together to fight the censorship and persecution.

LARRY ADAMCIK

Midland
To the editor:

The Midland Daily News website published an article called Social media: How good is this really for us? on March 17. It is wonderful to see mental health and the impact technology can have on us being talked about.

Tatiana Flowers brought up multiple important points, such as how there is a correlation between anxiety and social media, how people arent gaining valuable social skills, and also how technology may be becoming an addiction. There has even been talk about adding a form of technology/internet addiction to an updated Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM).

It is important to raise awareness about mental health and work to erase the stigmas associated with mental illness. Our community can create a positive change by talking about mental health and illnesses. People can also take steps to improve their own mental health by exercising, eating right, getting enough sleep, having a positive cognitive mindset, and promoting a good self-care routine.

Many people do not realize how seriously we should take our mental health, as it can have an even stronger impact on our lives than some physical ailments. We need to be more aware of who is vulnerable to the negative impacts of technology. Teachers, parents, and guidance counselors can help children by discussing how to use social media positively. By teaching humankind to care about their mental health, we give it value and can help break down some of the stigmas associated with mental illnesses.

MEGAN HERRON

Midland
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy. High 66F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA)  The terrorist organisation, Daesh, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a barrack that accommodates the Battalion 160 under the general commandment of the Libyan National Army in the city of Sebha (800 kilometers south of Tripoli), which left 9 dead
Paris, France (PANA) - The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored the violence that engulfed Benin's political circle after the parliamentary elections and regretted that the vote, which took place last Sunday, was not "inclusive and competitive "
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Deadlock seems to prevail in this deadly war that broke out since 4 April to conquer Tripoli, getting stuck as significant progress has not been made on the ground while the differences between countries involved in the Libyan issue have increased this blockade, whose double military and political effect reveals the tragedy suffered by civilians, the first victims of these clashes
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegal's Minister of Culture and Communication Abdoulaye Diop on Friday highlighted the harm caused by social networks, and urged journalists to be vigilant and rigorous to safeguard the image of their profession
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - A three-day workshop to Validate Report on the Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming and Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the ECOWAS region, ended in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, with the validation of the Report and wide ranging recommendations, including a call on all EMBs to set up Gender Units
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington cellphone store was robbed at gunpoint Friday night, police said. No one was injured.

Officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to Boost Mobile, 603 S. Center St., just south of downtown Bloomington.

An employee described the robbers as three men wearing masks and said two of them displayed guns.

An undisclosed number of phones were taken from the store and the suspects fled in an unknown vehicle, police said Saturday.

No injuries were reported. Further details, including descriptions of the suspects, were not available Saturday.

This was the third armed robbery reported in Bloomington in the last month and the eighth in the Twin Cities this year.

In the two most recent business robberies, which involved Six Points Food and Liquor and Subway, two suspects were reported. Fridays was the first to involve three people.

Bloomington police have not indicated the robberies were connected, but after Six Points was robbed Monday, Public Affairs Officer John Fermon said the department is considering all possibilities in the investigations.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BLOOMINGTON  A newly-formed jury in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial went home without reaching a verdict Friday four hours after they were forced to restart deliberations because a juror was dismissed for violating a court rule.

Zimmerman is accused of killing his ex-wife, Pam Zimmerman, who was found dead with four gunshot wounds in her east-side Bloomington office on Nov. 4, 2014.

A woman was removed from the panel before lunch after she admitted she read a story in The Pantagraph two days ago. Jurors are barred from reading or viewing media accounts of the proceedings.

A male juror reported unspecified misconduct in a note to Judge Scott Drazewski. When called into the courtroom, the juror said the woman had disclosed reading the paper during a discussion of the spelling of a witness name.

Every day since the trial opened April 1, Drazewski has required jurors to sign a statement confirming their compliance with the order. All jurors have signed the form.

In her meeting with the judge and lawyers, the woman said she reads The Pantagraph daily for obituaries and the Dear Abby column. The woman acknowledged she read a story two days ago in The Pantagraph to determine the spelling of the name of witness Merrie Seip, who testified she heard what she thought was gunfire on Nov. 3 as she sat with a client in her counseling office near Pam Zimmerman's office at 2103 E. Washington St., Bloomington.

The article, she said, was the only time she strayed from the judges order.

The jurors admission spurred a request for a mistrial from defense lawyer John Rogers who argued the juror may have shared with other jurors additional information from Pantagraph coverage of the trial. The stories, he said, have included material from pre-trial hearings.

The judge denied the motion.

The first alternate juror, also a woman, became part of the jury before talks started over at 2 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, jurors requested video and documents to review during their second day of deliberations.

Drazewski granted their requests to see three video clips of Zimmermans visit to the Four Seasons health club on Nov. 3, 2014.

The judge also allowed jurors to see cell tower mapping from an expert who traced Zimmermans travel around Bloomington, and a trip he allegedly made to Indiana. A digital timeline of the defendants use of electronic devices also was provided. The exhibits were removed from the jury room when the deliberations started over but returned after the jury made a second request after all 12 jurors were involved in deliberations.

The new jury also asked to see the phone records of Scott Baldwin, the victim's fiance, and several satellite images of the parking lots area outside the victim's office and the location of several items from the victim's office located by police near Robinson Street.

The jury will not see a sample kit police use to collect gunshot residue from the potential evidence.

The jury deliberated about two hours late Thursday afternoon before going home and returning Friday morning to the Law and Justice Center in downtown Bloomington. The panel will resume talks Monday morning.

Photos: Closing arguments in the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial
BLOOMINGTON  Several Central Illinois residents approved to use medical marijuana favor legalization of adult recreational cannabis, arguing it would give people another way to deal with diagnosed or un-diagnosed health problems.

But the medical community urges caution.

"It's about giving people another option in addition to pharmaceuticals," said Tyler Jon Hargis, 27, of Bloomington, a marijuana advocate and member of the Central Illinois Cannabis Community (CICC). "If cannabis can provide people with a helping hand, it's worth it."

Legalization of recreational marijuana is being considered by state legislators and has support from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It would allow legal access for people with un-diagnosed issues  such as sleepless nights or anxiety  who could benefit from marijuana, said Eric Chance of East Peoria, also a CICC member.

"We don't view cannabis as a cure-all," said Chance, 36. "But it definitely helps alleviate some symptoms. People need to find out what works for them."

But Dr. Paul Pedersen, vice president and chief medical officer of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center and an internal medicine physician in Bloomington, is concerned about reports of increases in traffic crashes in Colorado related to marijuanas use and reports of people with psychosis (disconnection from reality) coming to emergency departments after ingesting the drug.

He also is concerned about legalization of recreational marijuana exposing more children and teens to cannabis. "Certainly, nobody in our state is interested in having our children exposed," Pedersen said.

Illinois allows patients diagnosed with 40 debilitating conditions to be eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card. Conditions include HIV/AIDS, cancer, Crohn's disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), rheumatoid arthritis and seizures.

From Sept. 2, 2014, when the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications for the registry, through April 9, IDPH had approved 61,231 patients.

Hargis  who has suffered from anxiety, depression and migraines since age 13  began having seizures at age 22; fear of seizures resulted in PTSD.

He was approved for a medical marijuana card and takes different forms of cannabis along with pharmaceutical medicine. He believes the combination, along with exercise, have helped to reduce the intensity of his seizures, anxiety and PTSD.

Health systems' statements The Pantagraph asked several health systems for their position on potential marijuana legalization in Illinois. Here are their statements:

Chance injured his neck in a fall with a knife when he was 10 years old, resulting in 30 stitches, neck numbness and in night terrors and anxiety. He was diagnosed with PTSD in 2017 and approved for medical cannabis. He uses a variety of ingestion methods.

"It has helped me to reduce anxiety and it has dulled my dreams and reduced my night terrors so I can sleep through the night," Chance said.

Kelley Theisen, 31, of Bloomington, was diagnosed in 2016 with autoimmune hepatitis, meaning her body started attacking her healthy liver cells.

She was placed on an immune-suppressing drug that caused her anxiety and stomach issues. She lost 70 pounds.

She was approved for medical marijuana that has helped to reduce anxiety and nausea, meaning her appetite has returned.

"We Americans like to talk about freedom," Hargis said. "Well, decriminalizing would help some people to find a better future. It would help to build community."

"Cannabis increases empathy," Chance said. "I think the world needs that right now."

"You would be getting it from a trusted dispensary who would get it from a trusted growth facility," Theisen said. "You would know what you're getting."

But Pedersen, in his role as president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said "This is a delicate issue within our state, to balance the potential financial gain from taxation with the potential substance abuse issues."

Dr. R. Scott Hamilton, a psychiatrist with OSF HealthCare Medical Group Behavioral Health in Normal, said he has certified 10 to 20 patients with PTSD for a cannabis card after they tried conventional treatments.

"Several have reported their overall levels of anxiety are better," Hamilton said. "A few did not have a good experience so they quit using it."

"I do think it helps in some of the conditions." he said. "It's not a panacea. Some patients do feel better using it. It is something useful to have. It's safer than opioids."

But Hamilton also opposes legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use because that would make it more accessible for children and teens.

Brains are developing to age 25 and regular marijuana use by adolescents could impair their memory and result in learning problems and psychosis, he said.

"Their brain will look for artificial rewards, which can result in bad things happening," Hamilton said.

"I hope there will be more research," he added. "There are hundreds of chemicals in marijuana. Some may be of benefit. Some may not. If we can isolate the ones that help, that could be good."

Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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Educators at Bloomington-Normals three nursing programs had to improvise and get creative when a worldwide pandemic shut down not only classrooms but the clinical sites. But they see some silver linings.
CHICAGO  The Crystal Lake father accused of murder and concealment in the death of his 5-year-old son, Andrew "AJ" Freund, was assigned a public defender Friday morning, hours before AJ's wake.

Andrew Freund, 60, a former local attorney, entered the McHenry County courtroom in jail-issued clothing and handcuffs attached to a leather waist belt. He told Judge Robert Wilbrandt he had $50,000 in credit card debt and owes $2,200 on a Chrysler. He also said his home on Dole Avenue is in foreclosure.

Wilbrandt assigned Henry Sugden as special public defender to represent him. He set Tuesday for the attorney to file motions.

A special public defender is often assigned to a case when there is a possible conflict within the county public defender's office.

Freund and the boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, who also is charged with murder and other crimes related to her son's death, are due in court May 10. Both are being held in the county jail with bail set at $5 million each.

Cunningham, 36, is being represented by Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof.

On the morning of April 18 Freund reported his son missing. After nearly a week of searching and questioning, the boy's parents were charged with murder and the boy's body was found in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic in a field near Woodstock.

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CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday he's reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce.

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldn't be issued until May and July 2020, the governor's office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal "starts righting some historic wrongs" against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

"This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for "social equity applicants." Those applicants would include people who have lived in a "disproportionately impacted area"  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

"The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth," said Kevin Samet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state."

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. He's said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governor's office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the state's general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that "have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies."

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

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Theres a passage in a new book about Holocaust scholar and survivor Elie Wiesel that is at once frustrating and satisfying in its ambiguity and anger. It happens when the author, Howard Reich, amid many conversations with Wiesel, asks Wiesel the inevitable suite of questions: Why? Why is human history in part a story of anti-Semitism? Why did the Holocaust happen? Why are Jewish houses of worship targeted for violence today?

Why do they hate us? Why? Wiesel replies. So I know all the answers. In the beginning it was religious reasons. Other times, it was social reasons. They hate us either because we are too rich or too poor, either because we are too ignorant or too learned, too successful or too failing. All the contradictions merge in the anti-Semite. And yet, one thing he knows: He hates Jews. He doesnt even know who Jews are. In general, I say, the anti-Semite  let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Wiesels answer glides quickly past the obvious historical and cultural antecedents, and avoids the pat, poetic explanations a lay reader craves, to make a point the lay reader must confront: There is no rational reason for hating the Jewish people, or any people, because they exist. And no justification for the Holocaust or countless other acts of violence and bigotry against Jews, stretching from enslavement in ancient Egypt to last Saturdays mass shooting at a synagogue in Poway, Calif. In short, Wiesel provides both no answer and the right answer: Let him tell me why he hates me. Why should I answer for him?

Reich, a Tribune critic whose parents survived the Holocaust, wrote The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel, as part of his own exploration of a dark past he didnt experience personally. Reichs parents were deeply scarred by their suffering under Nazi persecution yet sought to shield him from the details. They couldnt, of course. Reichs paranoid mother would spend nights in their Skokie home peering out the living room window, scouting for enemies who werent there. His father would his share happy, violent nightmares of revenge. I was killing Nazis good, he told young Howard. I was shooting them down.

Reich interviewed Wiesel for a 2012 Tribune event, which led to hours and hours of taped conversations over four years. As Reich says, the book is about two generations of Holocaust survivors speaking to each other from opposite perspectives of this cataclysmic event. One experienced the horror, the second was raised amid the active memory of its terror. The significance is that, even if there are no easy explanations to genocide, or solutions, the topic of the Holocaust must be broached, studied and passed down or it risks being forgotten, or refuted.

Wiesel, who died in 2016, wrote more than 60 books, including the acclaimed memoir, Night. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Reich tells us that Wiesels interest in cooperating with Reich  Wiesel was an eager interviewee  reflected his commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Wiesel said the Holocaust was about the Nazi desire to kill the past and future. What they really wanted to kill was the children because they carry the Jewish identity forward, Reich tells us.

Wiesels life is a testament to his defiance of the Nazi aim. He wrote about the Holocaust so future generations will understand what happened. In Wiesels words, To hear a witness is to become a witness.

Anyone who reads Reichs book will become a witness too.

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In 2008, when Sarah Palin entered the stage to debate her fellow vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, she asked him first thing: "Hey, can I call you Joe?"

It was a charming moment. In Palin's aw-shucks manner, she not only neutralized Biden as a formidable foe but reminded folks watching at home that she was just a gal from Wasilla, Alaska, who liked to keep things simple and personal. It may have been the only brilliant line to come from the then-governor of Alaska that night.

In reality, the reason she asked to call him Joe was because during debate preparations, according to her memoirs, she had called him "O'Biden." Obama, O'Biden, get it? Finally, her team advised her to just call him Joe.

A couple of years later, I asked Biden how much he had held back during the debate, figuring he had been instructed to treat her gingerly, to avoid appearing the bully or a show off.

He laughed and said, "A lot!"

But the truth is, Biden wouldn't have had to try very hard to be generous with Palin. Notwithstanding his handling of the 1991 interrogation of Anita Hill while chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Hill testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, Biden is naturally kind. And, as we've recently been reminded, affectionate.

Most important, in contrast to President Trump, Biden is freighted with copious supplies of empathy. While Biden's well-known personal losses have made him a fuller man capable of great compassion, Trump seems to have been born without the capacity to feel anything for others beyond their utilitarian value. Following his annual physical in February, the surprise wasn't that he has a strong heart but that he has one at all.

The question for Biden, who became the 21st Democrat to toss his hat in the ring, is whether he is tough enough to be president. And, given the youthful fervor of the Democratic Party these days, is he, at age 76, too old?

I'd never say someone is too old for a given job, assuming qualifications and good health. I might question why anyone would want to be president at any age, but Biden's explanation rings true. He is viewed by many as the candidate most likely to take Trump down. To kill him with kindness, as it were, as well as with experience, knowledge and a remarkable personal history.

That Biden isn't a cauldron of raging hormones, or shouting slogans of radical change, is likely more comforting than not to many Americans, including baby boomers who aren't dead yet and who tend to vote. Moreover, he's a longtime populist and activist for America's working class, thus perfectly positioned to woo back some of the almost 40 million white working-class Americans who voted for Trump.

Unlike Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders  72 and 77, respectively  Biden isn't a grumpy old man. He's got a mega-watt smile and doesn't hide it behind a pout. He's imperfect, yes. But his malaprops and his too-affectionate ways are endearing compared with the boasts and bloody bombast of The Current Occupant.

Finally, age confers some privileges: Joe won't have to chop wood, shoot a gun or perform any of the other "manly" stunts male candidates often do, presumably to convey strength, stamina, virility or whatever. Really, hasn't this gimmick run its course? The presidency hardly requires that one mount a rough steed and spear an antelope for din-din. Besides, we've all witnessed Biden's suffering and profound grief. He doesn't have to prove a thing.

Come primary season, Biden may well be the only Democrat for whom Republicans could vote and, later, the only one who could graciously show Trump out. But all factors considered, he's not otherwise the obvious candidate. That person is a male veteran, a former Navy intelligence officer, who studied at Harvard and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Well-rounded, in other words. At 37, he's very young, but he speaks engagingly in ways that wouldn't strike fear in the elder heart.

Pete Buttigieg, who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, is the Barack Obama of his generation  a composite of opposites generated by an anti-Trump algorithm  and today's quintessential candidate. The country may not yet be ready for a gay man and his husband in the White House, but Buttigieg is in my view the most significant voice in the presidential race.

And, hey, you can call him Mayor Pete.

Contact Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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A new report by Law360, that came to light late last month by the Sophos news site called Naked Security, reveals that Massachusetts federal district judge Judith Dein gave agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the right to press a suspects fingers on any iPhone found in his apartment in Cambridge that law enforcement believes that hes used, in order to unlock the devices with iPhone Touch ID.

The ATF agent wrote in the requested warrant that "The suspect, Robert Brito-Pina, is suspected of gun trafficking. Hes a convict, which makes gun possession illegal. The phone is likely to contain a lot of evidence. In fact, the investigation that led agents to Brito-Pina was in large part enabled by information gleaned from other peoples phones, including text messages, drop-off locations stored in the Waze navigation app, and photos of illegal guns taken by people on their own phones  often featuring them posing with the guns.

In addition, ATF special agent Robert Jacobsen added that a web of illegal, interstate gun trafficking led to Brito-Pina. ATF agents have to get into any phones that he may have used, he said, given that theres a window of time to use to unlock iPhones with Touch ID before they require the passcode.

Attempting to unlock the relevant Apple device[s] is necessary because the government may not otherwise be able to access the data contained on those devices for the purpose of executing the requested search warrants. For more on this, read the full report here.

Last October Patently Apple posted a report titled "With a legally obtained Warrant, the FBI Forced a Suspected Child Pornographer to Open his iPhone X using his Face," based on a Forbes report.

The report noted that "The case marks another significant moment in the ongoing battle between law enforcement and tech providers, with the former trying to break the myriad security protections put in place by the latter. Since the fight between the world's most valuable company and the FBI in San Bernardino over access to an iPhone in 2016, Forbes has been tracking the various ways cops have been trying to break Apple's protections." The report goes into some depth about the ongoing battle between law enforcement and Apple. You could review that report here.

On the flip side, many liberal judges have denied warrants requesting the search of an iPhone using Face or Touch ID. The legal battle of law enforcement being able to override security features on smartphones via warrants will continue to be an issue for many years to come.





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 driver of a van involved in a reported child luring attempt at a Mechanicsburg school bus stop has been identified, according to local police.

On Saturday afternoon, a Mechanicsburg officer said he could not confirm whether an arrest had been made.

The reported attempted child luring took place about 7:40 a.m. Thursday at a school bus stop near the area of West Simpson and South Frederick streets, police said.

There, a gray or silver full-sized van approached the stop, where a group of middle-school aged children was waiting, police said.

Police said the vans driver  a gray-haired white man with a larger build  told a group of middle school students that he was working with the Mechanicsburg Area School District, and he was there to pick them up.

The man eventually drove away from the stop, police said, adding that none of the students got into his vehicle.

On Saturday, police announced in a news release that the driver had been identified, adding that an investigation is ongoing.

In the release, police also thanked members of the public for providing information that led to the identification.

A message left Friday afternoon with school district officials was not returned.
Our pattern of above-average rainfall shows no sign of slackening.

For the sixth straight month and the 14th month in the last 16, precipitation for Harrisburg finished above normal. Judging by the forecast for the next couple days, it doesnt appear that the trend since 2017 is close to ending.

Precipitation for April 2019 was 3.24 inches, only slightly above the norm of 3.10 inches. Still, it topped the average, maintaining a series of months that began with the rainiest November ever in 2018 and a stretch that goes back almost a year before that.

While AccuWeather is predicting hot temperatures and below-normal rain for the next three months, the National Weather Service (NWS) isnt fully ready to commit to the overhead spigot turning off. Meteorologist John Banghoff, talking from the State College office of the NWS, said Thursday that a look at the Climate Prediction Centers short-term forecast calls for a higher probability of above-average precipitation at least for the next couple weeks. Certainly, Friday nights cluster of storms that moved through much of central Pennsylvania with torrential rains gave some support to that prediction. More rain fell throughout the region Sunday.

He said that longer-range forecasts that stretch through July hint at average to above-average rainfall. At the same time, he said that summer rains can be so much more unpredictable because they bubble up as compared to the more organized systems that are commonplace fall through spring.

Banghoff noted that the amount of precipitation recorded through much of the first half of last year was not significantly above average until really mid- to late July. Thats really when the rains started and didnt stop, he said. So, you know, we were above average for the early part of last year, but not by a significant margin, as we were in the second half. . . . So far, 2019 is a very similar pattern to what the first half of 2018 was. Certainly were hoping it doesnt end up the way 2018 did, but right now its pretty comparable.

Pa. Governor Tom Wolf tours the heavily damaged section of River Road in York that was hit hard by flash flooding last September. Ten inches of rain fell in a little over 2 hours causing 1/4 mile of the road to be washed away. Above-average rainfall has continued into 2019. September 05, 2018 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

Heres a look at the monthly totals vs. average since the start of 2017, along with the day the most rain fell each of those months.

April 2019

Rainfall: 3.24 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 0.71 inches, 4/14

March 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

February 2019

Rainfall: 4.77 inches

Normal amount: 3.37 inches

Most on single day: 2.07 inches, 3/21

January 2019

Rainfall: 3.56 inches

Normal amount: 2.88 inches

Most on single day: 1.13 inches, 1/24

December 2018

Rainfall: 5.70 inches

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.16 inches, 12/28

November 2018

Rainfall: 8.56 inches, record

Normal amount: 3.23 inches

Most on single day: 1.96 inches, 11/02

October 2018

Rainfall: 2.39 inches

Normal amount: 3.27 inches

Most on single day: 0.95 inches, 10/27

The flooding Yellow Breeches Creek causes the closure of Zion Road in South Middleton Township in September 2018. A stretch of above-average rainfall that began in 2018 has continued into the new year. September 10, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

September 2018

Rainfall: 6.91 inches

Normal amount: 4.07 inches

Most on single day: 2.54 inches, 09/09

August 2018

Rainfall: 5.28 inches

Normal amount: 3.20 inches

Most on single day: 0.96 inches, 08/01

July 2018

Rainfall: 12.09 inches, record

Normal amount: 4.61 inches

Most on single day: 3.26 inches, 07/23

June 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 3.60 inches

Most on single day: 0.88 inches, 06/10

May 2018

Rainfall: 5.71 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

April 2018

Rainfall: 3.98 inches

Normal amount: 3.10 inches

Most on single day: 1.59 inches, 04/16

March 2018

Rainfall: 2.97 inches

Normal amount: 3.39 inches

Most on single day: 1.73 inches, 05/13

February 2018

Rainfall: 5.44 inches

Normal amount: 2.39 inches

Most on single day: 0.87 inches, 02/07

January 2018

Rainfall: 4.00 inches

Normal amount: 2,88 inches

Most on single day: 2.06 inches, 12/23

Heavy rains flood Route 772 near Colebrook Road in Manheim. Above-average rainfall began in 2018 and has stretched four months into 2019.

Over the long haul

Average precipitation for the Harrisburg area has been 40.74 inches. Heres a year-by-year look at precipitation since 1990, to give you an idea of just how plentiful last years total was.

2019: 14.90 inches (11.86 is normal through April)

2018: 67.03 inches

2017: 44.52 inches

2016: 40.97 inches

2015: 42.05 inches

2014: 43.65 inches

2013: 42.63 inches

2012: 45.22 inches

2011: 73.73 inches

2010: 39.32 inches

2009: 45.33 inches

Swatara Creek covers part of Rt. 743 at the intersection with Lingle Avenue in Derry Township. Rainfall this year is about the same through April as it was last year. That all changed last July. July 25, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

2008: 46.26 inches

2007: 42.63 inches

2006: 46.08 inches

2005: 38.78 inches

2004: 53.34 inches

2003: 54.63 inches

2002: 40.84 inches

2001: 25.76 inches

2000: 42.23 inches

1999: 38.32 inches

1998: 45.96 inches

1997: 32.32 inches

1996: 52.43 inches

1995: 35.51 inches

1994: 46.16 inches

1993: 48.40 inches

1992: 35.52 inches

1991: 31.12 inches

1990: 44.12 inches
FRACKVILLE, Pa.  Ask Steven Blazer what kind of employee hes looking for, and the staffing agency manager rattles off a list:

Someone who will show up on time with a positive attitude. Someone who's physically fit. Someone who can work full time.

In today's tight job market, fueled by Pennsylvania's lowest unemployment rate in almost two decades, Blazer, of Surge Staffing in Schuylkill County, is having a difficult time finding workers who fit his list. With hundreds of warehouse positions to fill, he's looking in an unusual place for new hires: behind bars.

"We understand that people deserve a second chance," said Blazer, one of more than a dozen vendors at the Frackville state prison's recent career and reentry fair. "If a person wants to work, we want to talk to them."

The fair, held last week at the maximum security facility in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, about 60 miles northwest of Allentown, is part of a state Department of Corrections push to get inmates ready to return to their communities. More than 90 percent of the estimated 46,000 people in state correctional facilities return home after serving their sentences.

The job fairs, which began last year and are held annually at each of Pennsylvania's 24 state prisons, give inmates nearing their release date a chance to talk face-to-face with potential employers, as well as representatives from community colleges, religious organizations and self-help groups.

Gathering handfuls of flyers from companies such as Walmart, FedEx, Hershey and Lowe's, prisoners walked from table to table, chatting with sales reps and each other.

"I'm looking for something different," said Pete, a 49-year-old Philadelphia resident who worked in construction before coming to prison in 2004. Citing protocols, prison officials declined to release the last names of inmates interviewed for this story.

"I've looked at quite a few brochures today, and when I get out, I'm going to call quite a few people and see where it leads," Pete said.

A job fair inside a prison would have been unheard of just five years ago, said Jeff Cutler, a teacher at the prison. But a combination of criminal justice reforms and a shrinking labor pool has made employers more willing to consider former inmates.

"It used to be very hard for an ex-offender to get a job," Cutler said. "Everything has changed now."

Nationwide, nearly 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Pennsylvania's state prisons release about 19,000 people annually.

FBI statistics show that about 73.5 million people ? nearly 30% of the adult U.S. population ? have some kind of criminal record.

People who've been in prison are about five times more likely to face unemployment than the general public, according to the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative. But a raft of new laws in the past two years, mostly aimed at sealing old criminal records or requiring employers to interview potential hires before asking about criminal records, is chipping away at that statistic.

As they give more former felons a chance, employers are learning that many have learned things in prison that make them an asset to companies, Cutler said.

"A lot of the people on the streets don't want to work hard, and don't have any skills, while these guys are eager to work and have had training. They know they're on their second chance and they have something to prove," he said.

Like more than 80 percent of the people who enter Pennsylvania's prisons, Andre, 28, of Wilkes-Barre, did not have a high school diploma when he was sentenced nearly five years ago. He'd also never held a job.

During his prison stay, Andre earned his GED and OSHA certification, and completed training to work as a flagger, directing traffic around road construction crews. He came to the job fair hoping to talk to companies hiring near his hometown.

"It makes me feel better about myself, knowing that I did something to get ready for the future," Andre said.

Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons can earn certifications for a range of vocations, including barbering and cosmetology, truck driving, welding, Microsoft computer applications and eyeglass manufacturing.

They can also earn a high school diploma and some college credits. Leslie Bartholomew, director of returning adult and veteran services at Lehigh Carbon Community College, was at the fair to talk to inmates about enrolling in classes before and after their release.

"If they have a desire to learn, we can help them become a valuable member of society," she said.

One of the most popular tables at the job fair was a demonstration of new virtual reality goggles that allow inmates to "visit" places on the outside to prepare for release. Through the devices, prisoners headed to halfway houses can take a virtual visit to those facilities. Soon, the views will be expanded to include neighborhoods and places inmates who have been behind bars for decades may soon have to navigate for the first time.

"Walking into a place like a Walmart (Supercenter) can be very disorienting for someone who has been incarcerated for most of their life," said Lacosta Mussoline, a re-entry administrator.

A majority of the companies represented at the fair were from Schuylkill County. That's something organizers hope to change, Cutler said, because more than half of the inmates at Frackville come from urban areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Businesses from those areas sent flyers and brochures to the prison job fair, but few managers were willing to drive into coal country to attend.

Kathy Brittain, the prison's superintendent, said she was pleased that businesses near the prison were getting involved.

"It's excellent that, with the community's help, we're able to provide more resources," she said.

If the economy stays strong, Pennsylvania employers will likely continue to struggle to fill positions. The state's unemployment rate dropped in March to the lowest rate on record, as payrolls hit a record high and the number of people unemployed shrank to its lowest level since 2000, the state Department of Labor and Industry said.

Blazer, the staffing agency manager, thinks former inmates could help a lot of businesses keep up with production.

"So far, I have been really pleased with the people who've come up to talk to me today," he said. "They seem like they have a real desire to work."

___

Laurie Mason Schroeder, of The (Allentown) Morning Call, wrote this story.

Online:

https://bit.ly/2WbWZyz

___

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com
It took more than half a century, but one Steelton veteran finally received the honor his family has been seeking after he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Reuben Garnett Jr. was killed on March 4, 1966, when trying to help his platoon leader who was shot in combat, WITF reported.

Now, 53 years after his death, a bridge was dedicated to Garnett on Friday, in front of his family and fellow veterans.

Pennsylvania Rep. Patty Kim helped with the dedication, saying in a Facebook post that Garnett was never properly honored for his sacrifice.

This was long overdue, and a wonderful moment for his family to finally see him recognized, Kim wrote to the page.

I was grateful to be able to help dedicate a bridge in honor of Reuben Louis Garnett Jr., a Steelton native who was... Posted by Rep. Patty Kim on Thursday, May 2, 2019

Garnetts family spoke to how it has been minority veterans who are often overlooked by dedications and appreciation ceremonies, WITF reported. Army representatives at the ceremony spoke to how hard Garnetts family worked to have the dedication happen.

Reuben Garnett Jr., 23, was killed in action while trying to help a fellow soldier during the Vietnam War.

The sign stays Specialist 4 Reuben Garnett, Jr. Memorial Bridge and will be placed on a bridge at the northern tip of Wildwood Lake, WITF reports.
Akeem Davis (left) and Anthony Lawton in "The Christians," through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre. Read more

Bristol Riverside Theatre closes its season with Lucas Hnaths The Christians, on stage through May 19. Area theatergoers will be familiar with the young playwrights oeuvre, which includes productions at the Arden (A Dolls House, Part 2), Theatre Exile (Red Speedo), and Philadelphia Theatre Company (Hillary and Clinton, now on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow). The Wilma staged The Christians in 2016.

Throughout his still-young but prolific career, Hnath has shown a keen interest in disrupting theatrical expectations. The Christians is no exception. Set in an unnamed megachurch (rendered authentically by set designer Paige Hathaway), it features a full choir that punctuates the action with spiritual songs and shouts. Hnath also has his characters speak nearly all of their dialogue, including private asides, into handheld microphones, resulting in a disquieting dissonance.

The play addresses how people handle challenges to their deeply held beliefs. Hnath depicts a church where congregants adore their leader, Pastor Paul (Anthony Lawton), and uphold his principles without question. So when Paul announces his newfound conviction that Hell doesnt exist, he effectively renders it doctrine  a move that forces his flock uncomfortably to abandon its core theology.

Paul holds a direct line to God, and, as Hnath presents it, he comes to hear a new note of mercy in the Lords voice. The bounty of His love envelops all; even Hitler could be saved by it. Paul no longer conceives Hell as a literal place, but rather as a metaphor for a soul in torment.

If the question of faith rests on a schism between the sinners and the saved, this radical view of Gods clemency surely unsettles many believers. Under Matt Pfeiffers precise direction, it even seems to subsume the man who professes it.

Lawton communicates the inner turmoil that causes Pastor Paul to cleave his congregation  his sunken, searching eyes burn with the assurance of his righteousness, but they also brim with vulnerability. He presents a person who understands the risk he takes in speaking his truth, and who maybe regrets putting himself on the line, but he acts in the only way he feels can align with Gods plan.

A sense of absolute clarity comes in the form of associate pastor Joshua, played with rock-ribbed rectitude by Akeem Davis. He belongs to the fire-and-brimstone tradition, the kind of faith that cannot abide wishy-washy concessions to doubt. He believes, with total conviction, that his backsliding mother suffers eternal damnation due to her rigid refusal to accept Christ.

Hnath allows enough backstory to suggest that unyielding faith is a life raft for Joshua, and it is a testament to Davis talent that this character never feels like a cartoonish caricature of dogmatic pomposity.

Paul faces challenges from all sides, including his wife (an affecting Susan McKey) and a well-meaning parishioner (K. ORourke) who clings to the church for a sense of purpose in her troubled life. Ultimately, The Christians introduces more questions than it answers, leaving its audience many avenues for extended dialogue about spiritual sustenance. Bristols fine production starts a conversation that should continue long after everyone leaves the theater.

THEATER REVIEW

The Christians

Through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol. Tickets: $10-50. Information: 215-785-0100, brtstage.org.
Stock image showing how tiny needles are used in acupuncture, an alternative medicine prevalent in China. Read more

Back pain. Headaches. Allergies. Arthritis. Anxiety. Morning sickness. Acupuncture practitioners claim their centuries-old school of alternative medicine can treat dozens of medical problems  with few side effects or risk of complications.

Some health-care providers see acupuncture as a possible tool to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic, which largely was brought about by legal prescriptions of painkillers. Recently, the American College of Physicians released a recommendation to use acupuncture as one of the first treatments for low-back pain. The Pain Management Standards from the Joint Commission  a nationwide nonprofit that accredits health-care organizations  now includes acupuncture as a non-pharmacological strategy for managing pain.

Western medicine proposes several theories on how acupuncture works. One premise: It releases the bodys own painkillers, or endorphins. Research finds that needle insertion prompts the flow of adenosine, a chemical that reduces inflammation. Another hypothesis, the Gate Control Theory of Pain, argues that the body shuts down pain receptors in response to acupunctures needling.

In Eastern medical lingo, ailments are described in terms of an excess of or deficiency in yin or yang, forces that are connected and interdependent. Energy, or qi (pronounced chee in Chinese), flows through the meridians or pathways of the body. These pathways connect via acupuncture points that relate to internal organs; acupunctures specialized needle placements restore the balance of yin and yang by reducing disruptions along the meridians, improving the flow of qi and promoting healing.

Although theres much evidence that acupuncture often alleviates pain and successfully treats a range of symptoms and diseases, theres no clear answer as to acupunctures true value. Clinical studies aimed at measuring its effectiveness are limited. Many skeptics argue that any benefits of getting stuck probably derive from a placebo effect.

Thats because its difficult to test the efficacy of acupuncture. In double-blind studies, the gold standard for testing effectiveness of drugs or treatments, neither participants nor experimenters know which group is getting which treatment. Typically, one group receives the conventional drug or treatment while another group receives a placebo. The problem is, there are no good placebo substitutes for acupuncture  even when testers use sham needles, patients typically know they arent really being poked.

Another problem in assessing acupuncture (and other treatments) is that ailments often simply resolve themselves. Back pain, Bells palsy, or insomnia may go away during a course of acupuncture treatment, but these problems might also have healed or disappeared on their own.

But because it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks, and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldnt overthink it.

After all, thousands of drugs and procedures are prescribed to treat conditions at enormous cost every day, often without a precise understanding of why they work, or whether they are effective compared with other approaches or doing nothing. Unlike acupuncture, these approved treatments often pose serious risks to patients.

And its clear that patients who try acupuncture love it. A recent study by American Specialty Health Inc. surveyed 89,000 patients who received treatment for chronic pain. It found a vast majority (87 percent) of patients rated their acupuncturists favorably (9 or 10 on a 0-to-10 scale), somewhat more favorably than patients rated conventional health-care providers (76 percent to 80 percent). Nearly all (99 percent) of the surveyed acupuncture patients rated their providers good or excellent, and almost none reported minor or serious adverse effects.

If youre looking for an acupuncturist, talk with your friends and physician for recommendations. The nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook regularly surveys local patients on their experiences with health-care providers, including acupuncturists. Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of acupuncturists to Inquirer readers through this link: Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Acupuncture. Ratings are available free of charge until June 8.

If the acupuncturist is a physician, look for certification by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (www.dabma.org). Alternatively, consider a physician who is a member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (www.medicalacupuncture.org).

If the acupuncturist is not a physician, check for certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (www.nccaom.org). NCCAOM-certified acupuncturists can add Dipl. Ac. after their names.

Here are some questions to ask:

How long has the acupuncturist been in practice?

What training, licensing, and certifications does the acupuncturist have?

Does the acupuncturist have experience treating your type of condition or problem?

What techniques does the acupuncturist use? Some acupuncturists use a wide range of complementary techniques such as tu nai massage, moxibustion, and cupping; Others use just one approach.

Is the treatment covered by your health insurance plan? Do you need a referral from your physician?

As there are many qualified acupuncturists, and other consumers tend to be satisfied with them, pay attention to prices. Checkbooks undercover shoppers called a sample of area acupuncturists for private treatment of arthritic knee pain and were quoted prices ranging from $60 to $260 for an initial session.

Checkbooks shoppers also asked about prices for community acupuncture, which is a growing trend  acupuncturists treating multiple patients in the same room. Prices quoted to its undercover shoppers for community acupuncture were far lower than those for private sessions, ranging from $15 to about $60 per session.

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Delaware Valley Consumers Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates.
A 26-year-old Gloucester City man was found stabbed to death in Camden, Camden County police said Saturday.

Officers responding to reports of an unconscious male near the 1000 block of South Fifth Street in Camden shortly before 11 a.m. Friday found Ryan Harter lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests had been made, police said Saturday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Kevin Courtney at 856-225-8632 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042, or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
When it launched in New York three years ago, the smartphone app called Vigilante quickly sparked controversy. Its creators lauded it as a way for users to get and receive real-time notifications about crimes in their neighborhood.

Critics were wary, not just about the aggressive-sounding name but aspects like its report incident" feature that encouraged users to alert authorities to crimes in progress and a record button enabling them to upload photos or videos. The New York Police Department panned it, issuing a statement pointing out that crimes in progress should be handled by the NYPD and not a vigilante with a cellphone.

Apple removed it from its app store.

So its creators rebranded it in 2017  as Citizen  and tried again. And now its come to Philadelphia.

Citizen sends users real-time alerts intended to keep everyday people informed with real-time notifications about nearby crime, emergencies, and ongoing incidents," according to J. Peter Donald, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who now serves as Citizens director of policy and communications.

He acknowledged the early struggles but said: Now we have a new name and a new mission.

Philadelphia is the companys fifth market, joining New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. It claims to have more than 600,000 users.

Heres how it works: A group of 50 employees  including former journalists, former first responders, and an ex-English professor  monitors 911 calls and dispatcher responses, mainly public-safety issues, and translates them in real time for its users. They send out about two million notifications per day across the five cities. Each alert is marked with a corresponding dot tacked onto a localized map.

The company says it instructs its app users to avoid these marked areas, but the app also includes a Record button, which would enable users to upload a live video or photos of an active crime scene. It says users have uploaded more than 100,000 videos, which the company wont sell but has shared with news organizations.

Donald said the company has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department, as well as local anti-crime groups and neighborhood watchers, but has not heard back from Commissioner Richard Ross. (The Inquirer also reached out to the Police Department for comment but messages were not returned.)

Despite the rebranding, its not clear that Citizen will receive a warm reception in the City of Brotherly Love. John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the officers union, wasnt convinced of the apps usefulness.

We have one already, its called the 911 app, he said. We got a police department that is very good at what they do, and for people to get into taking matters into their own hands, that could be a disaster. Somebody is trying to make money off people getting hurt and people being victimized, and its crazy."

Hans Menos, executive director of the Police Advisory Commission, cited issues that have cropped up with other apps such as Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused gossip forum, which encountered blowback when messages were labeled as racist.

One of the things that concerns me about these citizen-involved apps or platforms is they have a high potential for misuse, he said. But, in general, I like the idea that people can be more aware of whats going on in their neighborhood.

In San Francisco, where the app debuted in fall 2017, the reviews have been mixed.

Users have reported issues with its sources of information. The app developers do not have access to the 911 radio channel, but rather monitor scanner chatter. And the chatter is based on civilians who call 911 and their initial reactions to incidents, which are subject to interpretation.

But there have not been any reports of overeager app enthusiasts intervening in crimes in progress.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said police officials met with representatives of the app in 2017, but the department is not directly involved with the App or its developers. Officers dont need the video; they already have their own body cams, he noted.

We are still evaluating the pros and cons of the product, Andraychak said, but it doesnt factor into our day-to-day operations.
A teacher at a Burlington County middle school can keep his job despite having fathered a child with a teen when he was a Catholic priest decades ago in Connecticut, according to a labor arbitrator appointed by New Jersey.

Joseph M. DeShan, 59, faced the same controversy early in his career with the Cinnaminson Township School District, when it was revealed in 2002 that he made a 16-year-old girl pregnant while he served as a priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

DeShan was suspended for three weeks, but reinstated after the district concluded that he had violated no rules or laws as a teacher.

His past resurfaced last year when parents complained to the board of education.

A parent told the board, This man should not be here. Please protect our children, the Cinnaminson Sun reported in November.

In December, the district filed charges against DeShan with the New Jersey commissioner of education seeking his removal as a sixth-grade reading teacher at Cinnaminson Middle School for conduct unbecoming a staff member.

The district cited DeShans record as a priest and a recent incident in which he allegedly told a female student, Look at me. Let me see your pretty green eyes. You dont see them too much anymore.

The student said the comment made her uncomfortable and that he said it in a weird voice, according to the district.

In his April 2 decision, Walt De Treux, the arbitrator, ruled that the alleged comment was unsupported hearsay. He also ruled that the district, barring any new evidence of inappropriate conduct, must live with its 2002 decision.

The fact that some parents now demand his removal from the classroom does not give the [board of education] a second opportunity to revisit pre-employment conduct of which it has been long aware, De Treux wrote.

De Treux ordered the district to reinstate DeShan to his position with full back pay and benefits.

DeShan could not be reached for comment Friday.

Stephen Cappello, Cinnaminsons superintendent of schools, said Friday night in an emailed statement: Our district policy limits my capacity to comment about ongoing personnel and legal matters. We are certainly disappointed by the ruling, and we are currently working with counsel to determine our next steps. We will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and educational community.

The revelation that DeShan had gotten a teen pregnant while he served as a priest was first reported by the Hartford Courant in 2002, and gained national attention because it involved Edward M. Egan, who had been the bishop of Bridgeport and later became the archbishop of New York. Egan died in March 2015.

The newspaper reported that Egan failed to notify police when he learned about DeShans sexual relationship with the girl.

Egan allowed him to leave the priesthood and begin a new life as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey  with no record of sexual misconduct, according to the article.

The teen became pregnant in September 1989, two months after her 16th birthday, the newspaper reported. That same month, DeShan revealed his relationship to church officials and requested a leave of absence.

It was a consensual relationship that didnt work out, DeShan told the newspaper in a brief interview outside the school where he was then teaching fifth grade. He had since married a doctor, and they had two children.

The teen went on to raise their daughter as a struggling single mother, the Courant reported.

DeShan started his new career as a teacher in 1997.

The 2002 article led to DeShans suspension, but he enjoyed popularity in Cinnaminson and that made his return easier, the New York Times reported.

He did come back today," then-superintendent Salvatore J. Illuzi told the Times, and he was very positively received by his students and colleagues.
A screenshot of the video uploaded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Read more

A national Muslim group says it will conduct an investigation into an event at a Philadelphia Islamic center last month during which a group of youngsters sang songs it said were not properly vetted, calling that an unintended mistake and an oversight.

Youngsters at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in North Philadelphia are shown in video footage speaking in Arabic during a celebration of Ummah Day, said the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Middle East monitoring organization. One girl says "we will chop off their heads to liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to the MEMRI.

An English translation of the Arabic is included on the video. The Inquirer has not independently verified the translation.

Ummah is an Arabic word that can mean community or nation.

While we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and languages, not all songs were properly vetted, the Muslim American Society, based in Washington, said in a statement issued Friday. This was an unintended mistake and an oversight in which the center and the students are remorseful. MAS will conduct an internal investigation to ensure this does not occur again.

The statement was also posted on the Facebook page of MAS-Philadelphia Center late Friday night.

MAS has more than 50 chapters throughout the United States, according to its website.

As a faith-based organization dedicated to moving people to strive for God-consciousness and a just and virtuous society, we affirm our long-standing position on our shared values of humanity. We stand resolutely in our condemnation of hate, bigotry, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and all the illnesses of hate that plague our society, MAS said in its statement.

In a subsequent statement late Saturday night, MAS said it has been informed that the person in charge of the April 17 event has been dismissed and that the organization in charge of it will form a local commission to aid in sensitivity training and proper oversight for future programs. MAS said it owns the property where the program was held and leases it to the schools operator.

According to MEMRI, one girl reads: We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture."

In other videos, students sing songs about the blood of martyrs and Rebels, rebels, rebels. The videos were posted on the centers Facebook page, the media monitoring group said, but the videos included in the MEMRI report appear to have been taken down from the centers page.

The Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia called the incident extremely disturbing.

Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace, the statement read.

The ADL called another report about the event misleading. An Arutz Sheva/Israel National News story includes a photo of children in front of what the ADL describes as a bazooka-wielding extremist, an image that does not appear to have been taken at the Philadelphia event, the ADL statement read. The article also implies that the event occurred at a Philadelphia school when it occurred at a private religious institution.

Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article.
Medics and protestors move a serious wounded girl, who was shot in her head by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, into the treatment room of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. Read more

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt.

The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.

Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.

The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.

The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator aged 31 had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.

Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.

Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Smoke rises from buildings after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants launched about 200 rockets and mortars into southern Israel from Gaza on Saturday, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian coastal territory. Read more

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired more than 250 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, and Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire, ending weeks of relative calm and threatening efforts to forge a long-term truce.

Palestinians said at least four people, including a pregnant woman and a baby, were killed by Israeli strikes.

In Israel, rocket sirens blared, and thousands of Israeli civilians - as far as 30 miles from Gaza - spent the day in or close to bomb shelters. Rocket fire and airstrikes continued into the night.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its Iron Dome air-defense batteries intercepted dozens of the rockets. Israeli emergency services said an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel during the rocket barrage and a 50-year-old man was treated for moderate wounds.

In Gaza, health authorities said two men, aged 22 and 25, a 37-year-old pregnant woman and her 14-month-old daughter were killed as Israeli jets carried out airstrikes. An additional 18 people were injured. Israeli officials said they hit dozens of "terror targets" inside the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Saturday's violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.

However, the Israeli military said Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second-largest militant group, which is also involved in the negotiations, was responsible for the rocket fire.

It also said tanks and military jets targeted sites in the northern and eastern sections of Gaza, including an Islamic Jihad tunnel and Hamas military intelligence and general security buildings. The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, met with senior security officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to be briefed.

The Turkish news agency Anadolu said its Gaza office had been hit in an Israeli strike.

U.N. peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov called for calm.

"Continuing down the current path of escalation will quickly undo what has been achieved and destroy the chances for long time solutions to the crisis," he said in a statement. "This endless cycle of violence must end, and efforts must accelerate to realize a political solution to the crisis in Gaza."

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Israel would "respond forcefully and swiftly to any attack on the security of our people."

Israeli authorities said schools in the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod would be closed Sunday.

In a joint statement, Gaza's militant factions said the rocket fire was in response to the "targeting and assassination" of their militants a day earlier. "Our response will be tougher and larger and broader in the face of aggression," they said in a statement.

The Israeli military reported on Friday that two soldiers were lightly wounded in a shooting incident along its border with Gaza. In response, Israel struck sites belonging to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, killing two fighters.

Also on Friday, two Palestinian protesters were killed taking part in ongoing weekly demonstrations at the border fence with Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

"It's a reply to the Israeli targeting of peaceful civilians yesterday by Israeli snipers during the 58th Friday of Great March of Return," said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's bureau for international relations, referring to the weekly protests staged in Gaza since last year. "Also, to the procrastination policies of the occupation toward lifting the siege on Gaza."

Gazans have been holding weekly demonstrations along the border, protesting the dire humanitarian situation in the strip that worsens daily and the ongoing land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas forcibly took power in 2007. Egypt opens its border with Gaza only sporadically.

Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Qanoua said the group would continue to "respond to the crimes of the occupation" and "not allow the blood of our people to be shed."

Musab al-Buraim, spokesman of Islamic Jihad, said in a short statement that it too was committed to "resistance."

Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad visited Egypt this past week to discuss the understandings reached with Israel to reduce tensions. The Egyptians have spent months trying to forge a long-term truce between the sides in an effort to bring calm and ease the dire humanitarian situation for 2 million Gazans.

But Saturday's unrest, disrupting the lives of so many Israeli citizens, could impact attempts by Netanyahu to form a coalition after being reelected for a fifth term. His last government began to unravel after a similar flare-up with Gaza, when then-Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned after calling for a tougher approach to the rocket fire.

Standing down from his post in November, Liberman, head of the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that agreeing to the cease-fire with Hamas was "surrendering to terror." He proposed firmer military action against Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza, even if that risked a wider conflict.

In March, Netanyahu's trip to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and speak at the annual AIPAC policy conference was cut short after a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a house in central Israel.

Rocket fire and airstrikes similar to Saturday's happens periodically.

In 2014, a 50-day deadly war between Israel and Hamas saw hundreds of rockets being fired into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv, and massive Israeli aerial bombardments, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians. More than 70 Israelis and one foreign national were also killed.

There were worries in Israel that unrest could disrupt preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, an international singing event taking place in Tel Aviv this month. Contestants from across Europe are already in Israel to prepare for the event.

- - -

Balousha reported from Gaza. Morris reported from Tel Aviv.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 4, 2019. North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. The signs read: " North Korea fired short-range missiles." Read more

(Bloomberg)  President Donald Trump brushed off news of a possible weapons test by North Korea  confirmed Sunday by state media in Pyongyang  and vowed that his long-sought denuclearization deal with leader Kim Jong Un will happen.

KCNA said in a statement early Sunday local time that Kim had supervised a strike drill  essentially, a test of combat readiness  of defense units in direction of the the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. The tests were done to assess the accuracy of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, the state media agency said.

South Korean authorities on Saturday flagged numerous short-range projectiles fired off North Koreas eastern coast. The move was seen as Kims most provocative signal of frustration over talks with Trump following the pairs failed summit in Vietnam in February.

The significance of the test was difficult to assess as South Korea revised its account of the nature and scale of the weapons discharged from the eastern port of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. Saturday local time. After first calling them missiles, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff later changed its description to projectiles, saying greater clarity would require more analysis.

The details are key since Trump has cited Kims self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue negotiations with the North Korean leader. South Koreas descriptions of the incident suggested shorter-range rockets or artillery that would be less likely for the U.S. to interpret as a violation of Kims pledge to refrain from testing.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. National Security Adviser John Bolton briefed the president about the launch, according to a senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter.

The weapons were fired from the Hodo Peninsula, which has been the site of past live-fire artillery exercises, and traveled 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles), the joint chiefs said earlier Saturday. The Yonhap News Agency later reported that the weapons fired were not missiles, citing unidentified lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials.

Missiles are projectiles, but South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff might be using projectile to imply an unguided rocket, like one of North Koreas older rocket artillery systems, said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. This could also be a politicized attempt to make the word missile not so prominent, in case that creates the kind of news cycle that Trump doesnt want.

The weapons test was nonetheless Kims most significant provocation since he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, declared his nuclear weapons program complete and opened talks. South Korea President Moon Jae-ins spokeswoman condemned the incident, saying in a statement that they go against a military agreement the two Koreas reached in September to halt hostile activities.

Kim has expressed increasing frustration since Trump refused his demands for sanctions relief and walked out of their second summit in Hanoi in February. After a year of talks, Kim has made only a pledge to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without defining the phrase.

The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of bad faith during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok last week. He had earlier told North Koreas Supreme Peoples Assembly that he would wait with patience till the end of this year for the U.S. to make a better offer.

A shorter-range test could also signal displeasure with South Koreas participation in joint military drills with the U.S., despite Trumps decision to scale down those exercises. North Korean state media has repeatedly complained about the drills in recent weeks and Kim pledged corresponding acts during his speech last month to the rubber-stamp parliament.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed Saturdays incident with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone, the ministry said in a statement. Nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon made a separate call to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Japans defense ministry said Saturday that the country had not detected any missiles entering its exclusive economic zone and as such there was no immediate impact to its national security.

Although Saturdays launch was the most significant since Kims detente with Trump, North Korea has announced more limited weapons tests in recent months. Kim personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon last month, which South Korea later said appeared to be a system intended for ground combat and not a ballistic missile.

Descriptions of the current incident suggested weapons ranging from rocket-propelled artillery to multiple rockets fired from launchers, analysts said. Firing such a weapon could serve a range of goals from pushing back against South Korea, to reassuring Kims domestic audience of his leadership.

The range they have would only be really good for hitting targets across the border in South Korea, said Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher. It could be seen that this was a signal to the ROK that the DPRK is losing patience, referring to South Koreas and North Koreas formal names.

With assistance from John Harney, Justin Sink and Natnicha Chuwiruch.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE - In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. Read more

(Bloomberg)  North Korea fired at least one short-range missile toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea said, the countrys first major weapons test since November 2017.

The test occurred around 9:06 a.m. local time from North Koreas eastern port of Wonsan, according to South Koreas defense ministry. The weapon was fired toward the East Sea, the ministry said, describing the water body also known as the Sea of Japan.

The test involved numerous missiles traveling 70-200 kilometers (45-125 miles), the Yonhap News Agency said, citing South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It was the first major weapons test since November 2017, when Kim Jong Un successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the entire U.S. Kims subsequent pledge to halt tests of nuclear-capable weapons has underpinned his negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

While a short-range missile wouldnt necessarily violate that pledge, it signals Kims frustration with talks since Trumps decision to walk away from the last summit in Hanoi in February. Top U.S. nuclear enjoy Stephen Biegun is slated to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

This is an expected move from North Korea  not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one, said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. This seems like a message for Stephen Bieguns planned trip to the peninsula.

Last month, Kim also personally oversaw the test-firing of a new-type tactical guided weapon. That test was the first announced by North Korea since Kims February summit with Trump ended abruptly ended without a deal.

Last week, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, and accused the U.S. of bad faith in nuclear talks.

Saturdays launch took place on Wonsans Hodo Peninsula, home to a live-fire training site for artillery exercises, according to a description by 38 North.

With assistance from Justin Sink and John Harney.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Hong Kong at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net;Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net
Black Horse Pike Regional Board of Education School Board President Bill Murray (2nd from right) speaks during a board meeting at Triton High School in Runnemede, NJ on May 3, 2019. Kevin Bucceroni, vice-president is to his left. South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned whether the two men had recruited a "phantom freeholder candidate" to clutter the ballot and confuse voters in the Camden County Democratic primary on June 4. Read more

Progressive Democrats who are trying to beat the entrenched Camden County Democratic Committee in the June primaries  under the hashtag of unplug the machine  are not just running against the endorsed candidates who have been in office as long as a decade.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats say they must also compete against phantom candidates who dont campaign but were recruited by the party establishment to clutter the ballot and confuse voters.

I dont know who they are, said William Tambussi, an attorney who represents the Democratic Committee and its unofficial leader, George E. Norcross III, when asked about the six so-called phantoms who filed petitions to run for two open seats on the freeholder board.

He apparently isnt alone, though the progressives say these candidates have ties to several elected members of the Democratic Committee. Democratic Committee Chairman Jim Beach did not respond to numerous calls for comment.

None of these freeholder candidates has a website or a Facebook page to tout accomplishments and make campaign pledges. None replied to numerous phone messages, texts, and emails when The Inquirer reached out to each of them to find out about their platforms and why they are running.

Two of the six candidates were Republicans until days before their petition to run for office was due last month, and two had never voted before in New Jersey.

Randall McGinnis Jr., the only candidate The Inquirer could reach for comment, said during a brief phone call: OK, no problem, but Im driving right now and can I give you a ring back? I dont want to get pulled over, so please call me back. He then hung up and didnt respond to further calls.

McGinnis, 50, of Clementon, was a Republican who switched parties a few days before he submitted his petition to the clerks office. His running mate, Steven Panarello, 28, of Gloucester Township, had never voted before and hastily registered around the same time, in late March.

Dori Larm, 58, of Gloucester Township, took an extra measure to stay in the background. She scrawled Do not publish phone # or email" on her petition. A few weeks later, her phone was disconnected.

Larm and her running mate, William Etymow, 26, of Mount Ephraim, were later disqualified because their petition fell short of the 100 signatures of registered voters a candidate must gather to run. Larm last voted in 2004, in a school board election. Etymow was a registered Republican until late March.

The partys picks for local, county, and state office  including incumbent Freeholders Ed McDonnell and Carmen Rodriguez  appear on Column One of the ballot. They are running together in a solid line.

Column Two and Three each contain the names of a pair of so-called phantom freeholder candidates. They are not aligned with any other candidates. McGinnis and Panarello are in Column Two, while Jason Witte, 60, of Bellmawr, and Amanda Semple, 26, of Glendora are in Column Three.

The South Jersey Progressive Democrats, who are fielding an unprecedented 100 challengers for seats in all levels of government and in the party, all appear in Column Four, on the far right edge of the ballot.

The group could not participate in a drawing for a favorable spot on the ballot because only slates with freeholder candidates are eligible. The progressives two freeholder candidates were knocked off the ballot in April after Tambussi challenged their petitions, saying about 11 signatures that one of the candidates gathered were forged. He also argued that both candidates should be disqualified along with a proposed replacement candidate after one resigned.

Judy Amorosa, a lawyer and founder of the progressive group, which was organized in Cherry Hill two years ago, also challenged some petitions  those filed by the little-known freeholders in Column Two and Three. One petition didnt have the candidates names filled in, and just had signatures of voters who support them. Another contained signatures that also appeared to be forged.

But the County Clerks Office, run by Democrat Joseph Ripa, who is running for reelection as an endorsed candidate, dismissed the complaint as having no merit. Ripas office asked the county prosecutor to investigate Tambussis claim of forgery, but not Amorosas claim.

Ripa did not respond to calls for comment. Amorosa declined to comment.

Matt Friedman, a reporter with Politico New Jersey, reached Witte a couple of weeks ago, and asked what he would do if he was elected. Just stuff like parks and stuff like that, how kids dont really have anywhere to go or anything like that. ... I dont know, I didnt really think it was going to be taken as seriously as its being taken," he said. Witte also did not know his running mates name.

Then, Witte explained that Bill Murray, president of the Black Horse Pike Board of Education, recruited him and said he would put him in touch with his buddy, Kevin.

Murray and Kevin Bucceroni, the boards vice president, have both signed petitions of the so-called phantom freeholder candidates. And Bucceroni is an elected member of the Camden County Democratic Committee.

On Thursday, several members of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats questioned Bucceroni and Murray during the public portion of a school board meeting in Runnemede.

Does this have anything to do with the school district? Bucceroni asked after Chris Emrich questioned his role with the phantom candidates. When pressed by Emrich, a Collingswood lawyer who is working with the progressives, Bucceroni said: Im allowed to have personal business.

Bucceroni, whos been on the Democratic Committee for years, has signed the petitions of several so-called phantom candidates, including the one filed by Larm and Etymow, though they were challenging the partys endorsed candidates. He also has received thousands of dollars for election work" and BBQ expenses" from the party organization in recent years, according to state election records.

After the meeting, he told The Inquirer: Obviously if you see my name on a petition and it matches my signature, I must have signed it. ... Someone asked me to sign a petition and I signed it.

Murray, the board president, told Emrich that Witte was bending my ear and I said, Then run for office and make the changes. I didnt recruit him, because he was complaining to me about these things and I said, Well run for office.  Afterward, he declined further comment.

Kate Delany, who accompanied Emrich and who is running as a progressive for the Democratic Committee in Collingswood, said she attended the meeting to follow up on the phantom candidates and find out why this was occurring. ... We were shut down and got no answers.

One reason phantom candidates are used by parties is to create clutter and mislead voters, said Yael Niv, a Princeton University professor who heads the nonpartisan Good Government Coalition of New Jersey. The solid party line of endorsed candidates on a ballot gives the appearance that these are serious candidates, Niv said. The rest of the candidates are strewn around the ballot and they look like kooks, not a person running a serious campaign.

The phantom candidates are often "family members or cronies of the political machine. ... They dont intend on winning, theyre just there to pad the ballot with names, so the contestors are just one out of 10 or more people running against the party, Niv said.

Rena Margulis, a founder of the South Jersey Progressive Democrats and a candidate running for county clerk, said another problem is the phantoms use the word progressive in their slogans and voters cant distinguish them from the candidates affiliated with the progressive group. So, this year the progressives are running together under the banner of Democrats of Camden County.

The Camden County Democratic Committee has been using phantom freeholders in order to prevent local candidates who are running against the machine from having a chance and a fair ballot position, she said.

(The story was updated to correct the spelling of the last name of Yael Niv.)
A MAJOR NEWS STORY in the international press this week concerned Thursdays announcement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be heading to Finland to participate in the 22nd annual meeting of the Arctic Council on May 7.

Some fear that the Council, which is largely planning to discuss issues relating to global warming, will have these concerns dismissed by the US delegation, who would rather discuss military strategy in the region in the light of a looming threat from Russia.

In other news, Finland is about to become one of the first countries in the world to have an official governing body regulating cryptocurrency transactions. The Act on Virtual Currency Providers comes into force next week and will force coin exchanges to submit to strict regulatory standards.

Meanwhile, the BBC has released a short documentary on a group of schoolchildren from the town of Ii in northern Finland, who they have dubbed the next generation of climate heroes.

Pompeo headed to Finland, Greenland to discuss Arctic policy

Axios

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit two places in the Arctic in the coming days, where it could be extremely difficult to ignore or downplay the reality and consequences of human-caused global warming.

Why it matters: The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the globe, setting in motion a transformation of a once-frozen region into a new state. Melting sea ice is quickly making the Far North more accessible, and marine traffic from container ships and cruise vessels is becoming more common, particularly in Russian and Canadian waters. As one of 8 Arctic nations, the U.S. plays a key role in setting policy for the region.

The big picture: On May 7, Pompeo will be in Rovaniemi, Finland where he will join foreign ministers from other Arctic nations to discuss issues of concern in the region within a forum known as the Arctic Council. Finland, which is hosting the meeting, has set an agenda that puts climate change high on the list of priorities.

But, but, but: Pompeo is likely to be more interested in regional security issues, given a recent Russian military buildup and growing interest in Arctic oil and gas resources. China, too, has been increasingly eyeing the Arctic.

"There has been a sustained effort by US military and Coast Guard officials to re-frame the issue of climate change in the Arctic as a security challenge," says Malte Humpert, the founder and senior scholar at The Arctic Institute.

"This avoids the political pitfalls of having to talk about climate change and jumps straight to talking about security implications."

The U.S., Humpert says, wants to demonstrate that it will "not surrender control over the region to Russia and China," as sea ice melts and the world heads toward a newly accessible Arctic Ocean each summer, and much thinner ice cover at other times.

The context: The U.S. under President Trump has vowed to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and has been pursuing policies aimed at boosting its production of fossil fuels that lead to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. has also deemphasized Arctic diplomacy by eliminating the position of a special envoy for the region, while also seeking to boost its military presence in the region.

Original article appeared in Axios on 02/05/19 and can be found here.

Finland begins regulating crypto service providers

Bitcoin News

Finlands president has approved a law to regulate cryptocurrency service providers including exchanges, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of cryptocurrencies. The law will enter into force next week. Crypto service providers will need to register with the countrys Financial Supervisory Authority and meet statutory requirements.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA), responsible for regulating Finlands financial markets, independently announced Friday:

The Act on Virtual Currency Providers enters into force on 1 May. In accordance with the act, the Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) will act as the registration authority and supervisory authority for virtual currency providers.

The Fin-FSA explained that registration is required for virtual currency exchange services, custodian wallet providers, and issuers of virtual currencies. These providers must comply with statutory requirements. For example, they must be reliable and able to hold and protect client money. They must also segregate client money from their own funds and comply with AML and CFT regulations

The Fin-FSA noted that these new requirements are based on the May 2018 amendments to the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the Fifth Money Laundering Directive), adding:

All EU member states must include services related to virtual currencies within the scope of AML/CFT legislation by 10 January 2020.

Further, registration with the Fin-FSA does not allow the service provider to operate in another EU country as each member state has its own law that must be followed.

Prior to the president approving the law, Helsinki-based crypto marketplace Localbitcoins announced that it had been working on improvement measures to conform to the new regulation and had launched a new account registration process where users can verify basic information already during sign-up.

Original article appeared in Bitcoin News on 28/04/19 and can be found here.

Finlands new generation of climate heroes

BBC

The town of Ii in northern Finland wants to be the world's first zero-waste community.

They stopped using fossil fuels - and the municipality is reducing CO2 emissions faster than any other community in Finland.

Their target is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2020, which is 30 years ahead of the EU's target.

Since 2012 they've invested heavily in geothermal, solar and wind energy projects that have paid off: they now generate a profit of half a million euros a year.

They believe the key to successful climate action is education from a very young age. So how is Ii raising an environmentally conscious generation?

Original article appeared on BBC on 28/04/19. You can watch the full documentary video here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@HelsinkiTimes)

Image Credit: Lehtikuva
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts for children in struggling families,...
Curtis

"Yo dawg, I heard you like brazing."

It's no secret the Brits have a penchant for anodized bits and the blue co-ordination on this bike is super satisfying.

Mawis Bikes

Starling

400 [Failed to load instagram embed]https://instagr.am/p/BuqJpSUlsv2&maxwidth=1000&hidecaption=1

Prova Hardtail

The purple to raw fade is gorgeous

Vywokrs Sequence Downhill Bike

I forgot to get a picture of the full bike so here's one from Crankworx last year.

That link will soon be matching the rest of the frame in carbon too.

Moulds ready to go for round 2.

Push Suspension

Butcombe

Craft beers are no strangers to events like Bespoked. Cheers!

The Curtis Thumpercross seemed to go down so well we thought we'd include the XR-650 in here too. It's fairly similar in design but the execution is what makes these bikes so special.Germany's Mawis Bikes turned up with this wild titanium hardtail. Up front is an old Cannondale Fatty fork that has been tinkered with to provide 80mm of travel and fit 29 inch wheels.Starling showed up with more than just the Spur prototype that found a spot on the homepage earlier. Not wanting to be left out in a show largely filled with road bikes, Joe has built himself up a commuter klunker.Ben Boxer, a student at Bristol University, has been working with Starling on his dissertation project and this is the result. His aim was to refine the yoke and upright region of the swingarm using generative design software from Autodesk. It's a pretty funky final result and you can see what it would look like on a bike in the Instagram post below:The Prova hardtail was flown around the world from the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia to the UK just for Bespoked and it's going to be flown right back around the world again afterwards. Now that's commitment.Vlad Yordanov was at the show with his Sequence Downhill bike. This is still the first generation model but apparently some updates are on the way including a carbon linkage and a new layup to reduce the weight. He was battling to get it ready for the show but unfortunately just missed out, so expect to see an update soon - probably Fort William.Push suspension are now distributed by Saddleback in the UK and had brought some cutaways along to show off.
Six Remain in 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event; Riess, Loeser Still in Contention

May 03, 2019 Yori Epskamp

The penultimate day of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino European Poker Tour 5,300 Main Event saw a field of 30 hopefuls being reduced to the final six. Each of these six will look fondly back after all is said and done, with 152,800 already locked up for their efforts, but the grand prize of 827,700 and the title of EPT Champion awaits the eventual winner to be crowned on Saturday, May 4.

Starting from pole position is Nicola Grieco from Italy. Grieco is looking to become the first Italian EPT winner since Antonio Buonnamo in 2014 and with 7,160,000 in chips, he's the odds-on favorite to do so. The passionate Italian will certainly be hugging the spotlights tomorrow and isn't afraid of a personal vendetta at the tables. Conor Beresford was one of the players to fall to Grieco after some personal back and forths, and the Italian also pulled off a bold three-barrel bluff on German pro Manig Loeser to help him secure the overnight chip lead.

Big Names Chasing EPT Main Event Title

Loeser and Ryan Riess are the two biggest names that will return at noon to the Salle des Etoiles in the Monte-Carlo Sporting. Loeser jumped into the chip lead in the middle levels of the day, courtesy of a big cooler against Nicolas Chouity. Loeser turned a straight while Chouity turned a set, and the former EPT Monte Carlo champ wasn't able to get away from it. From there on out, it was smooth sailing for the German high staker, who will return fourth in chips with 4,005,000.

2013 WSOP Main Event champion Riess could become the first-ever player to win both the WSOP Main Event and an EPT Main Event, and he has a shot to accomplish the improbable coming into the final day with 3,585,000 in chips. While that places him fifth out of six, it's still sixty big blinds, plenty to work with.

Rounding out the final table are Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000), a 27-year old Maltese transplant from Hungary whose bread and butter are normally cash games, recreational player Wei Huang (5,690,000) who spun it up from the shortest stack at the start of the day, and Luis Medina (1,105,000), the only real short stack at the final table. One of them will walk away with the coveted prize and will be nearly a million USD richer.

2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Ryan Riess United States 3,585,000 60 2 Wei Huang China 5,690,000 95 3 Nicola Grieco Italy 7,160,000 119 4 Viktor Katzenberger Hungary 6,070,000 101 5 Manig Loeser Germany 4,005,000 67 6 Luis Medina Portugal 1,105,000 18

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 4 Action

While the aforementioned six made it to the final table, 24 others fell along the wayside and missed out on the opportunity for EPT glory on Day 4. One of the most notable to drop was Iranian beauty queen Melika Razavi, who had been tearing it up in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for two days straight.

After a strong start to the day, Razavi's bid came to a screeching halt when she flopped flush-under-flush against Huang, one of the few players in the field that had her covered. With no time banks left, there was no escape and Razavi bowed out before the final two tables.

Iranian star Melika Razavi had to settle for 17th place in the EPT Main Event.

Several of poker's greatest tournament stars, such as Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford (11th - 50,930), Sam Greenwood (12th - 45,570), Christoph Vogelsang (18th - 32,150), James Romero (21st - 27,680), and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (22nd - 27,680) all busted on the penultimate day, as did former EPT champs Nicolas Chouity (16th - 36,620), Paul Michaelis (25th - 23,210) and Remi Castaignon (26th - 23,210).

Another high stakes phenom, Timothy Adams, did make the final table but ended up busting in eight place (78,030) after running his pocket queens into a turned flush of Katzenberger. Last to bust out on the day was Rustam Hajiyev (7th - 109,510), who shoved ace-ten into Loeser's pocket queens and didn't improve.

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Payouts

Place Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 827,700 $925,949 2 503,960 $563,780 3 353,880 $395,886 4 265,620 $297,149 5 206,590 $231,112 6 152,800 $170,937

The animated Nicola Grieco leads the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo final table.

Be sure to check back regularly to PokerNews on Saturday, May 5, the final day of the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo as the Main Event plays down to a winner. Action will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and coverage will follow along with the live stream.
After ten quick levels of 30 minutes each, Day 1 of the 25,000 No-Limit Holdem has come to an end with 17 players bagging up chips out of 39 entries. The tournament clock showed 41 entries in total with 11 reentries even though two of those entries didnt take their seats during the day. So at least 19 players will return for Day 2 tomorrow, Saturday, May 4 as the registration period is open until the start. Claiming the Day 1 chip lead is Spains Adrian Mateos with 186,500.

Mateos hasnt had much luck in the events here during the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-CarloCasino EPT as he hasnt cashed yet and this might be the last chance for the Spaniard to save the week. Trailing Mateos is Seth Davies with 176,000. Davies has cashed three times already over the past days, two of them were earned while reaching a final table, the biggest for finishing in eighth place in the 50,000 Single-Day High Roller. Third on the podium is Jean-Noel Thorel with 165,000. The Frenchman has already reached two final tables this week and will be looking to add a third to his results here in the Monte Carlo Bay Resort & Hotel.

Ivan Leow, Isaac Haxton, Steve ODywer, and Joao Simao all used three bullets with the latter the only one to not survive in the end. Foxen, Kazuhiko Yotsushika and PokerStars Ambassador Andre Akkari were responsible for the other reentries in the tournament. Both Foxen and Akkari have made it through to the final day of the event and the festival.

Sam Greenwood was eliminated from both the Main Event and this tournament

Sam Greenwood joined the field after beingeliminated from the Main Event in 12th place for 45,570 and spent some of his prize money buying into this tournament. Unfortunately for him, he was eliminated during the night but might be back before the start of Day 2. Kristen Bicknell and Hideki Izutsu both min-cashed the 25,000 EPT High Roller earlier on the night and decided to jump into the tournament too. They both made it through but with a below average stack, there is some work left for them to do to make the money stages in this event.

Some of the players who were eliminated during the evening who might return to the felt included Andras Nemeth, Chin Wei Lim, and Mikita Badziakouski. If they return, Day 2 will resume at 12:30 PM local time in the Salle des Etoiles with Level 11 which features a small blind of 1,000, big blind of 2,500, and a big blind ante of 2,500. Play will continue until a winner has been crowned so make sure to return for the final day of the live coverage by the PokerNews live reporting team.

Day 2 Seat Draw
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Rep. Gregory Meeks who serves on the Financial Services Committee said that Democrats could subpoena Deutsche Bank employees who have seen Trumps tax returns.

Rep. Meeks responded to Bloomberg report that Deutsche Bank had seen Trumps tax returns on MSNBCs The Beat with Ari Melber,  My reaction has been the Congress along with the ways and means committee, as we know, that our chair there has subpoenaed the IRS for those records. And what we have done on the committee, subpoenaed the banks for those records. If it comes to it, we could subpoena individuals with the bank who have seen the records to come testify.

Video:

Congress will follow the money and get Trumps tax returns

There is too much information in too many places for Donald Trump to be able to keep it all hidden. The power of the presidency is immense, but Trump cant stop witnesses from testifying about what they saw in his tax returns. The president is scared because Deutsche Bank is complying with subpoenas. Congress will eventually get Trumps tax returns. The efforts to get the tax returns are too vast to be stopped. Someone is going to get Trumps tax returns to Congress, and when they do, those Deutsche Bank witnesses will be able to testify to the potential fraud and crimes of Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Donald Trump continued to praise brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Saturday, saying, I am with him hours after it was reported that the country fired more test missiles.

In a bizarre tweet, the president said, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea & will do nothing to interfere or end it.

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

As CNN noted on Saturday, If confirmed, the test is understood to be the first missile launch from North Korea since late 2017  and the first since US President Donald Trump began meeting the countrys leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump had previously bragged that North Korea was no longer firing test missiles because of him, even going as far as saying he prevented a nuclear war.

Trump is being played by dictators

Trumps praise of Kim Jong Un on Saturday, even after the North Korean dictator is starting to show more aggression, is just the latest example in recent days of the president bowing down to an authoritarian.

The president has also returned to his habit of publicly conspiring with Vladimir Putin, speaking by telephone with the Russian leader on Friday and agreeing with each other that Robert Muellers investigation was a hoax.

As PoliticusUSAs Sarah Jones also pointed out, President Trump failed to bring up Russian President Vladimir Putins meddling in our elections when they spoke for an hour. He also failed to tell Putin not to meddle in the upcoming election.

Throughout his two years in office, Trump has repeatedly elevated Kim Jong Un on the world stage while simultaneously checking off Russias wishlist and bowing down to Vladimir Putin  all while straining relationships with American allies.

Americas adversaries have the United States exactly where they want it.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
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Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance blasted Donald Trump on Saturday for licking Vladimir Putins boots during a phone call this week.

Nance compared Trumps behavior on the phone call  from attacking the special counsel investigation to letting Putin off the hook for Russian election meddling  to a famous movie villain.

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor, he said. What we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump.

Video:

Nance said:

My first thought reminded me of a classic film called Star Wars where Darth Vader kneels at the foot of the emperor and you know Darth Vader is evil, but so the emperor is a higher evil power. And what we saw was a classic example of utter obsequiousness, slavish devotion and bootlicking by Donald Trump. It was a disgraceful display that he would go on there and literally talk to the person who attacked the United States and the fundamentals of our democracy and praise him and work with him to call this a hoax. Worse than that, he dropped a hint that very soon Russian sanctions will be lifted.

Trump is completely owned by Russia

As Robert Muellers Russia investigation has concluded and Trump and attorney general William Barr push the false narrative that there was no collusion, the president is once again returning to his usual habit of heaping praise on Vladimir Putin.

But as Malcolm Nance pointed out last week, the special counsel probe investigated criminal conspiracy and obstruction of justice, but it largely overlooked the question of whether Trump is compromised by Russia.

Through his behavior, and his refusal to release documents that show his financial conflicts, Trump is answering that question for us. He appears to be completely owned by Russia and he feels as emboldened than ever to show that publicly.

And as Nance has said, each day Trump remains in the White House bowing down to foreign adversaries, America will be in a national security nightmare.

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Trump called for MSNBC and other outlets to be banned from social media after some of his biggest alt-right supporters were banned for hate speech.

Trump called for MSNBC to be banned

Trump responded to some of his biggest alt-right supporters being banned by tweeting:

When will the Radical Left Wing Media apologize to me for knowingly getting the Russia Collusion Delusion story so wrong? The real story is about to happen! Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

Trump wants some of the most prominent free press outlets banned from Twitter and Facebook, but pro-Trump propagandists, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech peddlers should have an amplified platform. The presidents demand is in line with an authoritarian view of the press. Trump does not believe in press freedom. He wants a media does not challenge or investigate him.

The media is supposed to push his propaganda, brainwash the citizens, and glorify him.

Trump wants the United States to become North Korea.

The free press is democracys weapon against Trump

Trump conflated hate speech, conspiracy theories, and propaganda getting peddled by the banned alt-right Trump supporters, with the role of the free press in investigating his administration. The press did not get the collusion story wrong. The president lied in his tweet.

The notion that Trump was cleared of collusion which isnt a crime that exists in the criminal code is a falsehood that has been pushed by Trumps attorney general, the president and his defenders.

The Mueller report found lots of conspiracy between Trump and the Russians, but as the report noted, key witnesses suddenly developed memory problems when it was time to provide essential details to Mueller.

Trump is trying to destroy the free press because this nation needs the Fourth Estate to save the country from his endless pit of lies.

Donald Trump is losing. His hate speech spewing supporters are being banned, and the institutions that safeguard freedoms are prevailing over this president.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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[Editors note: Correction and clarification. This version of the story corrects the reference to B92, the fact that in functions today mostly as a web portal. We also clarify that the publication Nedeljnik carries a Russian state media advertising insert that runs in many media outlets].

Sputnik Srbija leads the ratings for political disinformation among Serbian-language foreign media operating in the Balkans, according to an upcoming report by the fact-checking organization Raskrinkavanje.ba, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The report, which will be released on May 13, found that the Belgrade-based Russian government-owned international broadcaster is part of a disinformation hub that targets Serbian language audiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje.ba (Disclosures). In contrast, the Serbian language services of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and the BBC did not even show up in the disinformation algorithm.

According to President Vladimir Putin, when the Russian government designed its foreign broadcast media project back in 2005, it intended to try to break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.

In the Serbian-speaking part of the Balkans, Putins strategy seems to have succeeded.

Few people in the Balkans appear to know that Sputnik and Russia Today are Russian government-owned broadcasters, as their information is widely republished by local news outlets. Sputnik Srbija presents itself as a local media outlet that claims to cover topics others do not. In addition to producing original stories, it transmits content from RT, which does not broadcast in the Serbian language.

As Polygraph.info has frequently noted, Russia Today and Sputnik are far from being regular media outlets. According to media watchdog organizations, they were created to serve as the Kremlins information arm abroad.

Polygraph.info video by Nik Yarst.

More problematic, however, are the means these two organizations use to serve Moscows goalsnot through independent journalistic reporting, but mainly through disinformation. By mixing fact and fiction, playing on popular sentiments among foreign audiences and trying to sway public opinion in a particular direction that serves Moscows interests, these two organizations systematically pursue the Kremlins geopolitical goals, while discrediting journalistic principles in the process, according to Precious Chatterje-doody of Manchester University in the U.K.

Sputnik in Serbia

Sputnik set up a sizeable operation in Serbia in 2015, which continues to expand. It just moved to bigger premises in Belgrade, hiring more journalists  allegedly, even reporters who used to work for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Its editor-in-chief, Ljubinka Milincic, served as Serbias cultural attache in Moscow in the early 2000s, where she developed a fascination with President Vladimir Putin and subsequently dedicated several books to him. One of them, titled Vladimir Putin - Moja Bitka za Kosovo (Vladimir Putin  My Fight for Kosovo) was published in Serbian in 2007, while another, titled Fenomen Putin - Covek Koji Je Stvorio Sam Sebe (The Phenomenon of Putin - the Man Who Created Himself), was published in 2011.

Under the slogan Sputnik Tells the Untold, the Moscow-launched news portal and radio program reaches large Serbian-speaking audiences as well as people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo, who understand Serbian.

The well-funded Kremlin media effort benefits from the predicament of Serbias cash-strapped news outlets, which are ready to republish free content to save money. And Sputniks stories, though widely seen as biased and misleading, are readily available for free distribution through numerous radio and TV stations throughout the Balkans, according to Jelena Milic, director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies (CEAS) in Belgrade.

Serbia has too many media outlets that are not financially viable, Milic told Polygraph.info. Some of them serve as fronts for political influence and it suits them to have free-of-charge media production that favors Russia. Others simply dont pay attention to the accuracy of Sputniks stories. This allows the content of Sputnik and RT to proliferate in all Serbian media, turning it into a disinformation hub.

Disinformation Proliferation

Milic said that the most underestimated problem with Russian influence and disinformation in the region is the high-level of penetration of Sputnik Srbija in the local media environment, especially through popular radio stations. Sputniks news production has replaced all news broadcasts at the top of the hour as well as the main daily news and analysis broadcast of Radio Novosti and other stations in Serbia. In reality, there is no original news reporting by these stationsit is outsourced to Sputnik Srbija.

One of Sputniks main platforms is the B92 web portal, the successor of once-legendary Serbian radio station that earned awards for independent broadcasting during the final years of the Milosevic regime. RTV B92 today functions mostly as a web portal and operates Play Radio and O2.TV.

Another one is Studio B, which found itself in a difficult financial position after Western media assistance dried up. The radio station re-broadcasts Sputnik programs, along with those of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Germanys Deutsche Welle. This creates confusion among Studio Bs listeners: they can receive two completely different versions of the same event depending on the hour of the day they listen to the radio.

You have two diametrically opposed points of view, said Ivana Vucicevic, editor-in-chief of Studio B, in a May 2017 Reuters article. That way we can satisfy the broad spectrum of people who listen to us.

For example, on the 20th anniversary of NATOs military operation in Yugoslavia to prevent Slobodan Milosevics regime from killing and ethnically cleansing the Kosovo Albanians, Sputnik portrayed NATOS intervention as an act of aggression against the Serbian people. Sputnik is currently running a 79-days campaign to commemorate each day of NATOs intervention, under the slogan Serbia Remembers. The production uses a multimedia platform, combining online writing and graphics with audio and visual materials for a stronger effect.

This content has been widely broadcast by many local news outlets, amplifying Sputniks influence on the Serbian public. As a result, even if the countrys leadership wanted to move on from the painful spring of 1999, improve relations with Kosovo and join the European Union, the popular opinion shaped by the local outlets transmitting Sputniks content could become an obstacle, according to Milic.

Ready to Rectify

The media in Serbia and Republika Srpska have been compromised by political and economic pressure and they have become susceptible to Sputniks influence, said Ivana Cvetkovic Bajrovic, Associate Director for Europe at the National Endowment for Democracy. The political environment created by the leaders is not conducive to critical thinking about what that influence might mean.

Bajrovic told Polygraph.info that on the other side is the economic pressure -- the need to drive traffic to media websites. It is all about attracting visitors to the websites, often by packaging fake news to increase traffic and revenues. But when confronted about publishing disinformation, many news outlets seem ready to rectify the situation and take down the post. This has been the experience of the Bosnian fact check website Raskrinkavanje.ba https://raskrinkavanje.ba/, Bajrovic said.

The study by Raskrinkavanje.ba has identified a disinformation hub that targets the Serbian-speaking populations in the Balkans and covers Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, according to Darko Brkan, director of Raskrinkavanje (Disclosures). The group has identified 30 outlets, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as sources and carriers of disinformation. One of them  Sputnik Srbija  is foreign, but two of the key local sources of disinformation are funded by the government of the BiH entity Republika Srpskathe Radio Television of Republika Srpska and the News Agency of Republika Srpska (SRNA). Moscow has long supported the government in Banja Luka, with the cooperation intensifying lately in the defense sector as well.

Apart from direct disinformation practices, Sputnik has had a clearly biased reporting of BiH politics, our analysis showed,Brkan told Polygraph.info. It is mostly demonstrated through a positive attitude toward the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), the ruling party in Republika Srpska, and its president, Milorad Dodik. Sputnik was also one of the media outlets advocating for the SNSD party during the election campaign in 2018.

Sputnik Narratives

According to Jelena Milic, the Russian broadcasters key mission in Serbia is to deconstruct the established narratives concerning Serbias responsibility for war crimes committed during the Yugoslav conflicts, and thus negate the rulings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It also aims to deepen the sense of victimhood that is deeply rooted in the Serbian society with the purpose of alienating it from the West.

The narratives offered by Sputnik and multiplied in the local media include:

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians.

Sputnik plays heavily on the anti-Western sentiments of the Serbian public that peaked during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, while omitting the crimes Milosevic committed against the Kosovo Albanians. Depleted Uranium Pollution. Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002.

Russian officials and Sputnik Srbija have repeatedly claimed that the use of depleted uranium munitions during the 1999 NATO intervention has led to contaminated soil and water and caused a surge in cancer rates, despite the claim being refuted by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2001 and 2002. Kosovo is Serbian Land. This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction.

This topic is a staple in Sputniks programs, which frequently quote commentators as saying that Kosovo should be returned to Serbias jurisdiction. Denying the Rulings of The Hague . Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague.

. Another tactic of Sputnik Srbija is to call into question verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. It often provides a forum for convicted war criminals such as Vladimir Lazarevic, the former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, and Nikola Sainovic, a close Milosevic ally, both of whom have served their sentences in The Hague. Anti-EU Rhetoric. Sputniks anti-EU rhetoric is more careful, as Belgrade has repeatedly stated that it intends to join the EU while remaining Russias partner.

Moscows Influence - an Advertising Insert

The Russian government also spreads its influence in the print media in Serbia, as it does elsewhere in the world, by placing paid supplements or inserts in local media. One of them is R Magazin, is an 8-page paid insert, included in the widely-read weekly Nedeljnik ten times a year.

The supplement is funded by the Russian government and prepared by Russia Beyond the Headlines, a multilingual resource on Russian politics and culture sponsored by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia's state newspaper.

The insert, or similar ones, appear in other newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post as RT noted, at time in 2006. More recently, Western publications, including the New York Times, have faced criticism for publishing the broadsheet inserts published by the same entite

The operation ultimately failed. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport.

New York-based journalist Marija Sajkas reported for the Committee to Protect Journalists that all material appearing in R Magazin, including Serbian language articles and photographs, are delivered from Moscow and that the management of Nedeljnik has no influence over the supplements content.

Nedeljnik Managing Editor Marko Prelevic stated that, in the print edition, the supplement is clearly identified as sponsored content and so his editors do not verify the R Magazine content, but that most of the issues of R Magazine have almost no political content.

However, an insert featured a March 29 interview with Russian paratrooper Alexei Dogadin from the 2nd Russian peacekeeping battalion stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Kosovo crisis in 1999, who participated in the famous march on Pristina in June 1999 when his battalion made its way from Tuzla to Kosovo in an attempt to seize the Pristina airport.

The attempt ultimately failed, because Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria closed their airspace for Russian airplanes heading to Pristina to complete the takeover. This critical fact is omitted in the article. Yet, R Magazin praises Dogadin for standing with a grenade launcher in front of a column of British tanks when NATO forces approached the airport in Pristina.

The article was visible in the online version of the newspaper, initially, but appeared later to have been taken offline. Prevelic said R Magazine articles "are seldom published on our website."

Prevelic said he believes the insert was actually promoting the popular Russian movie that featured some Serbian actors. He said that (Russia Beyond) offers the most interesting reading materials on Russia and its rich history, the science breakthroughs and technology, the culture and the reportage from the largest country in the world.

However, Sajkas said the March 2016 issue included analysis about why Russia is the winner in the Syrian war and a memoir by a Russian war correspondent on the 1999 NATO bombing campaign that hit civilian targets in Serbia.

The Responsibility

Russian disinformation is burgeoning in the Serbian-language media space because of the lack of critical thinking among many politicians and some of the Serbian-language audiences about the sources of news and the implications of false narratives, according to Bajrovic.

Adnan Huskic, president of the Center for Election Studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says that the absence of a strong media makes it easier for political elites to use disinformation in order to maintain control. When you dont have properly developed media systems in your country that are supposed to provide an unbiased and professionally ethical journalism then we have a huge problem, he said at a recent Atlantic Council event.

Milic argues that Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are particularly vulnerable to fake online information as their democratic systems are still fragile, including the rule of law and independent media.
The Carroll Building at the corner of North Market and East Bay street downtown is up for sale. Before Hooked Seafood opened in the building's corner storefront earlier this year, the Noisy Oyster had its downtown restaurant there. File/Wade Spees.
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The bones were to return to the ground. But not before they made one last journey.

They were the skeletal remains of six people. Two women, two men and two children. Held in white boxes, wrapped in indigo-colored blankets and riding in a horse-drawn hearse.

The bones were headed to what is now the site of Charleston's performing arts building, the Gaillard Center. It was near that same dirt, six years ago, that workers found them, more than 250 years after they were first buried. Saturday's solemn ceremony wasn't just for them: It also served as a civic act of remembrance for many, many like them.

The 36 whose remains were uncovered mostly had roots in west and central Africa. Others were from the Caribbean and South Carolina.

Coins found in graves Long-held traditions apparently followed at Gaillard burial site Copper pennies meant to cover the eyes of the dead were discovered with two individuals at the Gaillard grave site, an indication that one of 

Led by the hearse, dozens of followers crossed George and King streets in downtown Charleston. Many wore flowing robes, shirts and pants of golds and purples. Whites and yellows. Browns, oranges and greens. Onlookers gathered as the swell of people, some children and others up in years, passed by.

For a city still grappling with its dark and unequal racial history, the celebration of the remains presented a moment. The walkers' clothing, the metronomic drumming that guided them and the chanting that lifted them was purposefully rooted in Africa, in honor of the enslaved ancestors forced to toil its land.

In death, those same people were often forgotten in grave sites that were later covered up, forgotten or destroyed. The 36 people were found in what was another of those unmarked burying places.

As the walkers crossed Anson Street to join the 30 other remains already inside an open burial vault, a hundred or so people packed in close under towering oak trees. Crowding around the vault, they took pictures of the remains inside and the top that was about to seal them.

The rectangular top featured the names given, at an earlier ceremony a week ago, to each of the people found in the burial ground.

Each name was a nod to their African heritage. Written above them, on the top, were the words: "Into heaven your spirits we now release, we bless you and we thank you and pray your souls may know peace."

One by one, pallbearers clutching white wooden carriers moved the remaining boxes from the hearse toward the vault, near a freshly opened grave.

Dr. Ade Ajani Ofunniyin, founder and director of the Gullah Society, helped bring them through an opening in the crowd, placing each of the boxes inside the vault with the others. Ofunniyin followed by placing cards on top of the indigo blankets that covered the boxes, with messages written for the dead.

"To my beloved ancestors, thank you for life and making your journey to Charleston, SC," offered one person. "You are honored and may God bless your souls." It was signed "with love."

The drumming paused as the Rev. Willie Hill, from the nearby St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, gave a brief sermon. The bones of the people in the boxes in front of them were free, he said. Nothing could set them in bondage again.

Ofunniyin, followed by reading each of their names listed on the vault, which people repeated in response.

Coosaw. Risu. Kwabena. Kuto. Talata. Nina. Lisa. Pele. Ganda. Kidzera. Ajana. Nana. Rere. Juba. Kiana. Jode. Anika. Daba. Babatunde. Zimbu. Welela. Fumu. Amina. Leke. Lima. Tima. Pita. Banza. Ola. Omo. Mbangi. Isi. Wuta. Ulume. Yawo. Ori.

The drumbeat, singing voices in unison and swaying bodies continued as the final clods of dirt later thumped on the sealed vault, after it was lowered into the earth.

With names anew, they were returning to the Charleston soil once again.
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.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
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.
Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune.
St. Marks resumes community suppers

St. Marks Episcopal Church in Lake City, will resume its community suppers on May 8. The suppers run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Beginning this season, everyone is invited to join St. Marks for a special program, an organ presentation by Coleen Fowler, beginning at 4:15 p.m. in the church sanctuary. Enjoy a John Phillip Sousa march and, with audience participation, several patriotic anthems or American folk songs with improvisations in the accompaniment.

At the end of the performance the audience will write a song! The program is free; however, donations are accepted to start a music fund for future events. Please enter at the historic red door or handicap side entrance into the sanctuary. Everyone is welcome to join the community supper in McNairy Hall following the organ program.

The supper will include Tri Hotdish  tater tot, Italian or chicken rice  salad, dinner rolls, desserts and beverages. Coleen will provide piano selections during the supper. Audience participation is welcome. The Lake City Girl Scouts will be there to help prepare, serve and clean up to earn their community service badges. Please enter McNairy Hall at the parking lot side entrance for the supper.

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St. Marks is located across from Patton Park at 110 S. Oak St., Lake City.

Sunday-morning church services are at 10 a.m. The first four Sundays of the month, the service is held at St. Marks. The fifth Sunday of the month, service is held at the Mayo Clinic Health Care Center and everyone is welcome to join us there, as well. The Episcopal church invites everyone to receive Holy Communion.

Womens Connection hosts May luncheon

A May Flowers luncheon will be put on by Rochester Christian Womens Connection, 11:45 a.m. May 14 at the Rochester Eagles Club, 917 15th Ave. SE.

Dress Barn of Rochester will present the special feature, a spring fashion show. Nancy Bridges, of White Bear Lake, will speak on "The Challenges of New Beginnings," how to cope with lifes changes.

Cost to attend is $15 per person. Reservations are required by May 11. Call Jan, 507-288-1144, or email mploetz@hbcsc.net.

Cowboy Church is May 5 at Cherry Grove

Cherry Grove Cowboy Church will be held at Cherry Grove United Methodist Church starting at 6 p.m. May 5. Singing starts at 5:45 p.m. Jim Pries will be providing special music.

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Cowboy Church is nondenominational and another way of spreading Gods message through music. The service includes a mix of country, Christian country, cowboy and Southern gospel, and bluegrass music.

Musicians are welcome, and should contact Cindy Seabright at seabright.cindy@gmail.com or 507-272-1682 one week prior to the service. Cowboy Church services are held the first Sunday each month.

Cherry Grove United Methodist Church is at 18183 160th St. in the small community of Cherry Grove, rural Spring Valley. The church is handicap accessible.

You dont have to be a cowboy to visit!

Artists will share lives, work

Artist Ann Riggott will be speaking at Autumn Ridge Church, Rochester, for A Time for Women, 6:30 p.m. May 9.

Her devotion is titled "Life as an Artist." Also on the program is a demo by Ardis Souhrada called "Stitches in Time." Souhrada is well known for her beautifully embroidered and quilted creations, which she will be talking about and showing.

Refreshments will be served. All women are welcome to attend.

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For questions or more information call or text 507-269-7653. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/a.time.for.women .

Calvary hosts six-week yoga event

Join a yoga and meditation event for six weeks this spring at Calvary Episcopal Church.

The series, "Sacred Circle Yoga and Meditation Spring Series: The Yamas of Yoga," begins May 21 and continues each Tuesday through June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the churchs Crawford Hall.

The yamas are the ethical principles that guide the physical practice of yoga and encourage a "right way of living." Patricia Barrier, a Rochester registered yoga teacher, will begin each class with instruction on a yama that will inform our gentle yoga practice and end with a short meditation helping us to apply that principle to our daily life. In this way, we move from the physical practice to a living yoga that informs our actions and helps us live compassionately and in harmony with all other people, creatures and our environment.

The class is suitable for beginners as well as those experienced in yoga who wish to deepen their practice. All aspects of the practice are adaptable to a chair or can be done with assistive devices. Yoga equipment is provided or bring your own mat.

The cost of the entire series is $90, payable upon registration. Please register by calling Linda in the church office, 507-282-9429. Payment accepted by cash/check, credit card or PayPal.

Calvary Episcopal Church is at 111 Third Ave. SW.

Program compares Luther, St. Francis

A program at Assisi Heights in Rochester, "Francis of Assisi and Luther of Wittenberg," has been rescheduled to 6:30 p.m. May 13.

The program compares the lives of two Christian historical figures.

Francis of Assisi preceded Martin Luther by 300 years. Both were shaped by the monastic life and both were concerned with bringing the "Good News" to the people in ways they could understand. This presentation will explore some of the things that Francis and Luther shared, as each left an indelible mark on the life of the Church.

Our presenters participated in the pilgrimage programs to Assisi, Italy. Dr. Phil Quanbeck II, Professor of Religion at Augsburg University in Minneapolis Minnesota, gives this presentation with Dr. Ruth Johnson, Consultant in Internal Medicine, who also serves in the Executive Health Program and in Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine.

Admission is $10 preregistered/prepaid, or $15 at the door.

Register online, tinyurl.com/y6eqrrfe , or call 507-280-2195.

Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW.
DENVER

Jerry Burton has lived in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood here for the past few months, in an orange tent pitched on a sidewalk. He and the other homeless campers on the block  Burton proudly calls the encampment "Jerr-E-Ville," and has declared himself the unofficial mayor  are defying the citys urban camping ban, which means they are always bracing for a visit from the police.

A caseworker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to find permanent housing for the 57-year-old Marine Corps veteran whose tent is surrounded by his belongings neatly arranged in small plastic bags. In the meantime, Burton is hoping that Denver voters next week will overturn the citys camping ban, thanks to an initiative he and others petitioned to get on the ballot.

The ballot question, dubbed the "Right to Survive," would declare that everyone has the right to rest, eat and shelter in public places without being harassed. Supporters say it would shield people experiencing homelessness from unfair citations and arrests.

But business, environmental and social service organizations fear it would proliferate dangerous encampments in parks and on sidewalks without helping to house people.

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"I find Initiative 300 to be one of the most frightening and heinous initiatives that Ive witnessed in my career," said Jeff Shoemaker, a former Republican state representative and executive director of the Greenway Foundation, a nonprofit that works to revitalize the South Platte River and its tributaries.

First of its kind

The Denver initiative is the latest front in a campaign advocates for homeless people have been waging at the state level for years. Lawmakers in California, Oregon and Colorado have repeatedly introduced bills that, by articulating a "right to rest," would override local ordinances that penalize people for living in public spaces. Lawmakers in Washington state proposed similar legislation this year. None of the bills passed.

So Denver Homeless Out Loud, an advocacy group that backed the Colorado legislation, decided to take the issue to voters. If the first-of-its-kind "Right to Survive" ballot initiative is successful  a late January/early February poll taken by the opposition campaign suggested it could be approved  its supporters are likely to try to pass similar initiatives elsewhere in Colorado and across the West.

"If it passes, we hopefully may not have to run another statewide initiative," said Democratic Rep. Jovan Melton, sponsor of the Colorado Right to Rest bill. "We may be able to go just city by city to deal with this."

About 552,000 people in the United States are living on the street, in emergency shelters or in transitional housing, according to the latest count from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most people experiencing homelessness are clustered in expensive cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.

In Rochester, attention has come recently to an emerging issue of homeless people living and sleeping in public skyways. First-year Mayor Kim Norton convened a group of advocates, public officials and other citizens to find permanent housing for those homeless people.

Laws against lying down

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Cities nationwide have laws on the books intended to keep destitute people moving and out of sight. One-third of 187 cities surveyed by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, prohibit camping in public. About a quarter of cities surveyed prohibit sleeping in certain public places, and almost half prohibit sitting or lying down in public.

Even if a person is just sitting outside or sleeping in a clean tent, they can be told to either move on or be issued a fine, said Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney at the law center. "Even those activities are treated as public health and safety threats, when they are not."

The Denver City Council in 2012 passed an urban camping ordinance that prohibits people from pitching tarps and tents or even covering themselves with a blanket in public places. Other city ordinances ban aggressive panhandling, public urination, and sitting or lying down in a public right of way, among other activities.

Other Colorado cities have passed similar laws, said Nantiya Ruan, a law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. "In our largest cities, we disproportionately cite and jail those who are homeless for these types of ordinances, and it costs the city a lot of money to do so," she said.

A lot of sleep deprivation

But enforcement is spotty. Denver police officers typically tell people violating the camping ban to move rather than throwing them in jail. Under the ordinance, police officers are required to give offenders a warning and try to connect them to assistance, such as addiction treatment, before making an arrest.

The camping ban still has an effect, said Terese Howard, an organizer for Denver Homeless Out Loud.

"The impact is a lot of sleep deprivation, its a lot of stress and mental health struggle, for constantly not knowing where you can go; its physical health problems," she said. "Its safety risks, people being raped and assaulted after being forced to move into unsafe areas."

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Many people have no choice but to sleep outside, Howard said, because the city of Denver doesnt have enough shelter beds for the estimated 3,445 people who need them.

Even when beds are available, theyre not open to everyone. People cant enter shelters when they have alcohol or drugs with them. And some people dont want to stay in a noisy, crowded shelter, separated from their partner and their pets.

Julie Smith, director of marketing and community services for the Denver Human Services Department, said theres sufficient space in city shelters to handle demand. The Denver Animal Shelter can temporarily shelter pets and at least one city shelter will take people regardless of substance abuse, she said.

Some prefer it

Sitting in the sunshine outside Impact Humanity, a Denver store that gives away clothes, a young man with sandy hair who declined to share his name said hes been homeless for two years and prefers to sleep outside in good weather.

On winter nights, he said, homeless people may have to trespass to curl up in a sheltered place, such as an abandoned stairwell. "I notice a lot of people who freeze to death  you cant just throw up a tent and all the gear it takes to stay warm," he said.

Debbie Hyatt, 67, was also waiting for her turn to enter the store. She sat under an awning that cast a cool shadow on the pavement, shaping her nails with a pink nail file. She said she sleeps in a shelter now but slept on the sidewalk for a while after getting bedbugs from a shelter mattress.

Sleeping outside isnt ideal for anybody, she said. And it could be safer. "There needs to be a designated ground area," she said, protected from dangers such as cars skidding off the curb.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and other legal aid groups have successfully sued various cities to change policies that disproportionately affect people experiencing homelessness.

For instance, Denver recently pledged to give homeless people more notice prior to cleaning up camps and to offer more storage lockers, toilets and trash cans as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the citys homeless population.

Fierce fights

But when advocates take their civil rights arguments to state lawmakers, they face serious opposition. The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a San Francisco-based organization, has tried and failed for almost a decade to get "right to rest" legislation passed.

City leaders, law enforcement and business groups have pushed back every time, said Paul Boden, WRAPs executive director. In Colorado, Rep. Melton said, his Right to Rest bill was opposed by city leaders who didnt want the state to interfere with their ordinances.

The political fight in Denver, if anything, has been fiercer than the state battles that preceded it. The campaign against Initiative 300 has raised over $1.5 million, about 19 times the amount raised by the campaign backing the initiative.

The opposing campaign, funded primarily by business groups such as the National Association of Realtors and the Downtown Denver Partnership, says the initiative would stop the city from enforcing laws that protect public safety without helping people access housing.

"We do not believe this policy helps support those experiencing homelessness  or the broader community," said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, in an emailed statement. "We know that we can do better and believe we must work to expand upon services that support the dignity of people who are experiencing homelessness in our community."

The measure would supersede a host of local ordinances, including park curfews, according to city officials interpretation of the broadly worded measure. The city says it could make police officers, park rangers and outreach workers reluctant to help people living on the street, as doing so could be considered harassment.

The ordinance also could make it more difficult for city staff to address health threats such as hepatitis A, rodents, feces, urine and discarded needles, the city said.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has said he doesnt support either the Right to Survive initiative, or the state Right to Rest bill.

Trash, sanitation problems

Trash discarded by homeless people is already a problem along the South Platte River, said Shoemaker of the Greenway Foundation. Before taking kids on outdoor excursions, he said, members of his education team scour the area for drug paraphernalia and human waste. An explosion of encampments in the city would further threaten the rivers health, he said.

Denvers Right to Survive initiative has even been criticized by groups that supported the Colorado Right to Rest bill.

"I wouldnt necessarily say that were opposed to the measure, because we understand the need for this conversation," said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, a housing, health care and supportive services provider.

But her organization worries that the initiatives language is vague, and that it doesnt allocate resources to address homelessness. "If it does pass  theres still no additional resources put into the system to make sure we dont have the need for something like Right to Survive," she said.

Ruan, the law professor, said courts would decide how to interpret the statute and noted that after six months the city council could step in to modify it. "It can be corrected by the city council, but it will force them to do something about this issue," Ruan said of the councilmembers.

Howard, of Denver Homeless Out Loud, said concerns about human waste and trash are distinct from the camping ban. "Absolutely, theres a desperate need for porta-potties, for trash services, and so on," she said. "But thats true regardless of whether we have the right to sleep or not."

People who live on the streets dont want the city to be overwhelmed with trash, either. "I dont know how comfortable I feel about the parks turning into wastelands and dumps and stuff," said the sandy-haired young man outside Impact Humanity. Maybe the city could do more to clean things up, he suggested.

They also want permanent solutions. "Hopefully, they will build housing that people can afford," Burton said.

Regardless of the May 7 election result, the people behind the initiative and the state bills like it say theyll keep fighting. "We understand that were going to hear no. And were really good at getting our asses kicked," WRAPs Boden said. "But were going to keep coming back."

Voters in Denver will cast ballots on Ordinance 300, the so-called "Right to Survive" initiative.

This is the text of the ballot question:

"Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt a measure that secures and enforces basic rights for all people within the jurisdiction of the City and County of Denver, including the right to rest and shelter oneself from the elements in a non-obstructive manner in outdoor public spaces, to eat, share accept or give free food in any public space where food is not prohibited, to occupy one's own legally parked motor vehicle, or occupy a legally parked motor vehicle belonging to another, with the owner's permission, and to have a right and expectation of privacy and safety of or in one's person and property?"
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 1, 2019 - Back in 2013, Timothy Koeth, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland, received a rather extraordinary birthday gift: a little cloth lunch pouch containing a small object wrapped in brown paper towels. As Koeth peeled back the layers, his eyes grew wide with astonishment. He immediately asked, "Where did you get that?"

Inside he found a heavy metal cube and a crumpled message, a provocative note wrapped around a stone that came crashing through the window of history. It read, "Taken from Germany, from the nuclear reactor Hitler tried to build. Gift of Ninninger."

Koeth's friend grinned, picked up the 5-pound block of uranium metal and handed it to him. Though modest in size, the cube was heavy, dense and steeped in lost history. Koeth accepted the cube and its note as an invitation to the adventure of a lifetime.

In the May 2019 issue of Physics Today, Koeth and Miriam Hiebert, a doctoral candidate working with him on this project at UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, describe what they've discovered while exploring the German quest and failure to build a working nuclear reactor during World War II.

Uranium is weakly radioactive, and this particular cube measures about 2 inches on each side. "It's surprisingly heavy, given its size, and it's always a lot of fun to watch people's reaction when they pick it up for the first time," said Hiebert.

A Chandelier of Nuclear Elements

This cube represents one of 664 uranium metal components that were strung together in a form reminiscent of a chandelier to comprise the core of a nuclear reactor experiment that a team of German scientists attempted to build toward the end of the World War II, including Werner Heisenberg -- a theoretical physicist and one of the key visionaries of quantum mechanics. The chandelier was submerged in heavy water to regulate the rate of fission.

The Germans' experimental lab was small and located underground in the town of Haigerloch -- it's now the Atomkeller Museum, which the public can visit. "This experiment was their final and closest attempt to create a self-sustaining nuclear reactor, but there wasn't enough uranium present in the core to achieve this goal," said Koeth.

One of the most surprising things Koeth and Hiebert have discovered so far is that while the 664 uranium cubes at Haigerloch weren't enough to build a self-sustaining reactor, an additional 400 cubes were located within Germany at the time.

"If the Germans had pooled their resources, rather than keeping them divided among separate, rival experiments, they may have been able to build a working nuclear reactor," said Hiebert. "This highlights perhaps the biggest difference between the German and American nuclear research programs. The German program was divided and competitive; whereas, under the leadership of General Leslie Groves, the American Manhattan Project was centralized and collaborative."

How Close Did the Germans Get?

How close did the Germans get to a working nuclear reactor? This is difficult to answer, but "it's been calculated that the reactor experiment in Haigerloch would have needed about 50% more uranium to run," said Koeth. "Even if the 400 additional cubes had been brought to Haigerloch to use within that reactor experiment, the German scientists would have still needed more heavy water to make the reactor work. Despite being the birthplace of nuclear physics and having nearly a two-year head start on American efforts, there was no imminent threat of a nuclear Germany by the end of the war."

Another important aspect of Koeth and Hiebert's work is an effort to track down the cubes recovered from Haigerloch that ended up being shipped to the U.S. "Cubes were distributed to various individuals around the country," Hiebert explained. "We don't know how many were handed out or what happened to the rest, but there are likely more cubes hiding in basements and offices around the country, and we'd like to find them!"

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

"We hope to speak to as many people as possible who've had contact with these cubes," said Hiebert. "As much as we've learned about our cube and others like it, we still don't have an answer about how exactly it ended up in Maryland 70 years after being captured by Allied forces in southern Germany."

Koeth and Hiebert are also trying to learn more about the fate of the other 400 cubes that ended up on the black market in Europe after the war.

Many questions remain unanswered, and chief among them are: How many of these cubes still exist, and what has happened to them?

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MIAMI  Why let the rising sea sink your Miami lifestyle when you can go with the flow aboard the Arkup houseboat?

Arkup features the ingenious engineering feature of four hydraulic pilings that stabilize the vessel on the sea bottom or allow it to lift like a house on stilts above floodwaters, king tides and hurricane-whipped storm surges.

South Florida sea levels are projected to rise 6 to 12 inches by 2030, 14 inches to nearly three feet by 2060, and 31 inches to nearly seven feet by 2100, according to the Southeast Florida Climate Change Regional Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group. Miami Beach and the Keys may be inundated first, but the entire region is recognized as one of the most vulnerable on the planet.

In this brave new waterworld, Arkup wants to keep you high and dry on your floating home.

Noah, who constructed his ark to withstand 40 days and 40 nights of apocalyptic rain and Biblical flooding, would approve. He probably could not afford the modern version, which has a sticker price of $5.5 million, but he would like the comfort, spacious bathrooms and retractable swimming platform.

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Arkup, solar-powered and equipped with a rainwater-collecting-and-purifying system, is a self-sustaining home, a green adaptation for our blue future.

"Its more like a house than a boat, but you never lose the unmistakable feeling that youre on the water," said Nicolas Derouin, managing director of Arkup.

Arkup was designed and built in Miami by Derouin and Arnaud Luguet, two French engineers who live here and have a passion for the oceans and environmental preservation.

They have witnessed the impact of climate change and sea level rise in their adopted hometown and around the world. On Monday, Indonesia announced it will move its capital out of Jakarta, a swampy, flood-prone and drowning metropolis of 30 million people.

"It is happening before our eyes," Derouin said. "Coastal areas are the most desirable but also the most at risk. Miami is implementing resiliency measures. We hope Arkup can be a small part of the solution."

Derouin and Luguet were inspired by the Dutch floating communities of IJburg and Schoonschip.

"In the Netherlands, one third of the country is below sea level," Derouin said. "They want to develop housing alternatives. Instead of fighting the water, live on it."

Lake Union in Seattle has 500 permanently docked houseboats. Paris has restaurants, a hotel and is building a 2024 Olympic venue on the River Seine. Dubai has floating vacation homes. In San Francisco, where Sausalito has a houseboat community, the Danish firm BIG has proposed building an archipelago of floating villages connected by ferries on the bay. The Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club in Weehawken, N.J., which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, may reinvent its marina as a houseboat haven.

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"We decided to design a boat that looks and feels like Miami, is compatible with a subtropical climate and gives the owner the freedom and flexibility to move," Derouin said.

Their ultimate goal is to create an affordable model, develop floating neighborhoods and partner with island hotels to build eco-bungalows on surrounding waters.

"We want to design small apartments on the water for students, townhouses for families," Derouin said. "We want to create housing solutions for a broader audience. Thats the vision behind Arkup."

Derouin and Luguet collaborated with Dutch firm Waterstudio and pioneering aqua-tect Koen Olthuis, who has designed a floating mosque, floating prison, floating spa and floating resort and helped conceptualize a proposed development of 29 private islands with lavish sustainable homes  a villa flotilla  on Maule Lake in North Miami Beach.

"He is an advocate of urban planning on the water," Derouin said.

Fom the outside, Arkup looks like a glass box. On board, it doesnt look or feel like a boat. No rocking, for one thing. It has two air-conditioned levels, with 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and 8-foot ceilings on the second. There are three bedrooms upstairs with three full and roomy bathrooms  no cramped and tilting heads on this boat  and two balconies.

Downstairs, theres an inviting living room, kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and a small room with a Murphy bed that could be an office or guest quarters. Interior design is by Brazilian company Artefacto. A sliding outdoor deck adds 500 square feet of floor space when fully extended.

At the stern, the swim platform can be lowered into the water to create a mini pool. Theres a boat lift for your kayak or amphibious vehicle.

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The bow deck has an outdoor kitchen and console controls for navigation and operating the 136-hp rotating electric thrusters, which emit no noise and require no diesel fuel, and the anchoring system, which allows adjustments of each piling to level the boat.

Arkup has a maximum speed of 7 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles that can be increased with additional battery banks or a backup generator.

"We cant match the navigational capacity and speed of a yacht," Derouin said. "You couldnt cruise around the world, but you could use Arkup in the Bahamas or British Virgin Islands, for example.

"Our vessel is 75 feet long and 32 feet wide and we have the same livable space as a yacht that is 110 feet long. Arkup is for people who prioritize space and comfort over speed and range."

Arkups steel hull and superstructure is built to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds (up to 156 mph). The 40-foot long pilings, or spuds, enable the boat to anchor in up to 25 feet of water and elevate above the waves. The draft is five feet. Its got a 4,000-gallon freshwater tank and an equal-sized tank for waste water. The 2,400-square-foot roof is covered with 36-kilowatt capacity solar panels that recharge the battery.

"A motor yacht is the opposite of sustainable," Derouin said, pointing to a gigantic yacht parked behind Arkup and to passing motorboats that pause while curious passengers take a look at Arkup. "Large engines. Massive fuel consumption. Pollution. On Arkup you can live completely off the grid with no bills for energy or water. It is zero emission, carbon neutral. In this house, you dont need to rebuild your seawalls or move your air conditioner to higher ground. Compared to the costs of a waterfront home, Arkup is competitive."

Plus its got panoramic views of the downtown skyline and dolphins swimming by the side deck.

So far, the partners have one buyer and a waiting list of potential buyers who want to take the boat for a test drive.

"Weve had an amazing response," Derouin said. "Our clientele includes owners of private Caribbean islands who think Arkup is better than building a beach house. Or people who live full or part time in Miami and want a toy for the weekends, to take friends out on the bay. We have people who live elsewhere and Arkup would be their second or vacation home. And people who see it as their primary home, docked at a marina. Its a luxury product for a niche market but our dream is to develop affordable versions with the same principles."

Miamians who dont want to flee could take to the sea. As oceans swell and coastlines shrink, trade house for houseboat.

"We need more entrepreneurs and scientists developing innovative ideas because climate change is not slowing down," Derouin said. "Heres one new way to live in harmony with the water."
The newest addition to the Med City restaurant scene started serving dinner this week.

Le Petit Cafestarted serving dinner on Thursday in the under-renovation historic Avalon building at 301 N. Broadway.

The European-style restaurant is the creation of Chef Deirdre Conroy, known locally for her food cart of the same name at the Rochester Farmers Market.

When asked to describe Le Petit, Conroy said, "We call it elegant dining. No TVs. Open and simple. Never rushed. I want people to feel as they would as guests in my house sitting by the fireplace."

Dinner, which includes two courses, costs $31. Diners have five entree choices as well as five starters and five desserts from which to choose.

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After selling food and drinks at the Farmers Market for the past two years, Conroy has a lot of contacts with local farmers to source pork, vegetables and milk. Eggs and other ingredients will come from her own farm.

"Everything will be as regional as possible," she said.

In addition to serving dinner, Le Petit also has a coffee and pastry counter thats open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Le Petit is ramping up to its full vision due to the ongoing construction as part of owner Angela Martins renovation of the 100-year-old building. The partially complete dining area now seats 50. That will grow to 73 once the sunroom addition to the southwest corner is complete.

On May 11, Conroy will add lunch from noon to 2 p.m. to Le Petits offerings. On Mothers Day, she will introduce a three-course Sunday afternoon tea.

"I hear some people are already buying hats for it," said Conroy with a grin.

Eventually, Le Petit will add an 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily breakfast into the mix.

Conroy feels the old brick building, arguably the most historic Rochester building without a direct Mayo connection, is the perfect setting for her restaurant.

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It was built in 1919 by a Jewish man named Sam Sternbergas the Northwestern Hotel, a place where Jews could stay at a time when most Minnesota hotels refused them.

Verne Manningbought the building in 1944 and changed the name to the Avalon.

It was the first hotel in Rochester to accept black guests, as well as white. Well-known people, such as Duke Ellington, stayed at the Avalon Hotel.

By the 1980s, the building was unused and run down. Myrna Hamiltonpurchased it in 1987 and renovated it to house her Hamilton Musicstore.

When Hamilton retired in 2008, Stephen Lalamabought it and moved in his Rochester Pro Music.He changed the name to Avalon Music, to honor the buildings history.

"Shes a dear of a building, bless her," said Conroy of it.
Three years ago, Craig Nelson was so close to graduating from Crossroads College that he had already lined up a pastors position at a Black River Falls, Wis., church.

But then the Rochester Christian college closed, and Nelsons employment situation looked as bleak as Crossroads future. When Nelson explained his predicament to the leaders of the church, they asked him to stay on as pastor anyway.

"Please, stay on as our pastor," Nelson recalled the leaders saying. "We dont want you to leave just because you dont have a degree on the wall."

Now, a happier ending may be beginning to unfold for Crossroads College as well.

Three years after suspending its operations, the college is being resurrected as a satellite of Hope International University, a private Christian university based in Fullerton, Calif.

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It is a modest beginning for the new entity, now called Hope International UniversityMinnesota, compared to what it once was. Unlike the plush, pastoral, 37-acre campus the college once occupied in southwest Rochester, its new home will be rented space at Rochester Community and Technical College.

And its first class, which started earlier this year, is made up of a mere three students. It has one faculty member.

Still, the opening of the Hope satellite is seen as the restoration of Christian, nondenominational education in the region, an official said.

Hope plans to grow enrollment to 20 students when the school officially launches this August  and then to between 50 and 100 students in the years ahead, says Todd Looney, the schools director of admissions and marketing. The school is also opening a satellite in Las Vegas.

Crossroads and Hope had earlier tried to work out a deal that would put Hope in charge of the campus, but Crossroads debt proved to be a stumbling block too big to overcome. Last year, Crossroads agreed to sell the campus to Bear Creek Christian Church for $3.95 million to clear its debt.

Yet hope for a rebirth of Crossroads never died, Looney said. Even after Crossroads closed its doors, the board of trustees never disbanded, ever hopeful of the possibility of a partnership with Hope, Looney said.

"This relationship goes back 20 some years. We were probably talking to Hope about partnering in 1998-99, but it never came to fruition," he said.

There is no reference to Crossroads in either the new schools name or logo. And new students may not be aware of the back story. But Hope is seen as carrying on the work and legacy of Crossroads and will benefit from the relationships and network of churches that has supported Crossroads over the years, Looney said.

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Crossroads started as Minnesota Bible College in 1913, and its first campus was in the Twin Cities. It moved to Rochester in 1971, where it later changed its name to Crossroads.

Hope offers a two-year Associate of Arts degree, which includes a certificate of Christian ministry. The program is a mix of online learning and traditional classroom work. Once completed, students can pursue Christian-based bachelor degree programs online via Hope or transfer to a secular four-year institution, Looney said.

Nelson, the pastor whose plans were almost upended when Crossroads closed, has a unique perspective on the schools history. He was one of its students when the school closed. He is now one of Hopes first three students.

Nelson said he was heartbroken when Crossroads closed. Family members had been attending the school back when it was a Bible college in the Twin Cities. So when he was offered a chance to complete his degree at the new school, he seized the opportunity.

"When I was approached, I said, Oh, absolutely. Sign me up," Nelson said.
Want to know whats being done to protect water in Rochester?

Troy Erickson, the citys water resources manager, will discuss the latest efforts in stormwater management at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Marys University of Minnesota  Cascade Meadow, 2900 19th St. NW

The 90-minute presentation is part of the citys Stormwater Presents Speaker Series, which presents free quarterly programs on topics related to stormwater management.

On Tuesday, Erickson will discuss the basics of the citys stormwater management program, as well as action taken in 2018 to meet Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements. He will also discussion plans for future efforts aimed at improving stormwater quality throughout the city.
BYRON  A pungent odor coming from a barrel on a rural Byron property resulted in an investigation Thursday by public safety officials.

A property owner called the Olmsted County Sheriffs Office Thursday afternoon to say a strong odor was coming from a barrel that had been on his property for several years. He noticed the odor after moving the barrel, which had caused a small amount of liquid to leak out.

The Rochester Fire Department Chemical Assessment Team assisted the Byron Fire Department in analyzing the liquid. It was determined that the substance is baling acid, which is used by farmers to reduce the potential for spontaneous combustion in hay. It is not a hazardous substance in its current state.

Also assisting at the scene were Byron First Responders and the Minnesota State Duty Officer. There were no injuries.
A Rochester man was arrested and will likely be charged with assault following an altercation Thursday afternoon.

The case began when an 18-year-old Rochester man went to the apartment of 49-year-old Gene Johnson in the 1900 block of 8-1/2 Street Southeast to collect a debt of $30, according to Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

The suspect had allegedly been "too high" on the first visit, Moilanen said, so the victim returned later. At that point, Johnson allegedly confronted the victim with a knife and chased him around the parking lot threatening to kill him.

When police arrived, Johnson was inside his apartment, where he was arrested. A knife was found in the residence, Moilanen said.

Johnson is expected to face charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats.

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The victim was not injured.
Without a new pretrial services program offered through Olmsted County Community Corrections, Douglas Ray Howard says he would have likely sat in jail, unable to make bail, awaiting trial on drug charges.

"It would have been majorly different outcome because I wouldnt have had a chance to take care of anything," he said. "A man who has nothing takes care of things differently than a man who has something, and this is a result of this program."

In the four months that the program has been an option, judges have referred more than 200 people to it. The program is for people who have been charged with a crime, but are assessed as not posing any public safety threat. Program participants are assigned a pretrial services agent who, at a minimum, reminds them of upcoming court dates but can also do required check-ins and help a person connect with the services they need. It gives judges a non-monetary option to better ensure a defendant will return to court.

Howard, with another program participant, Anne Marie Jessen-Ford, both spoke highly of it in a recent interview. On that day, Jessen-Ford officially finished her time with the program after being convicted and sentenced on the charge for which she was arrested.

Jessen-Ford said that without pretrial services agent Niles and one of her colleagues, she doesnt know where the couple would have been.

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Howard said: "It gives people a chance to show they are not all about what they have been charged with."

Knock on wood

While it is still too early to tell how successful the program is, many stakeholders have had positive things to say about it.

Cautious not to jinx the program, Travis W. Gransee, director of Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted Community Corrections, knocked on wood before saying that, overall, the program is going well.

"There are certainly people that have been returned to the community that have then struggled with some of their release conditions and that have been returned to custody, so I dont want to give the impression that things have gone super, super," Gransee said.

For those low- and moderate-risk clients and even high-risk clients who would have previously sat in jail, unable to make bail, Gransee said the program has been able to manage them in the community.

"The percentage of those that have been returned to custody is still pretty small," Gransee said.

There has been some anecdotal feedback from clients who have been through the criminal justice system before but this time recognize the program as something different, Gransee said.

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The pretrial program was created to address multiple issues  including a jail nearing capacity and a push nationally for pretrial reform.

"There should be another alternative for folks who cant afford to make bail," Gransee said. "We had a problem, we had a solution and, oh, by the way, the solution is also a solution for about three or four other things."

How it works

On Monday morning, Nikki Niles and her colleague Jamie Gascho went through the days arraignment list in advance of heading down to the Adult Detention Centers gym to meet with individuals who had been arrested over the weekend.

A few red lines crossed out the names and charges of those would be ineligible for the pretrial services program. If the person is in custody on a probation or family matter, they would be ineligible. The same is true if its a child support issue or a criminal charge that is low enough to not warrant any sort of monetary bail/bond amount.

As Niles and Gascho arrive to the gym at the ADC, a stack of completed pretrial assessment forms await them. One by one, the men and women waiting in the gym are called to sit with Niles or Gascho and go over the questionnaire. If one hasnt been done, they fill it in for the person as they ask each question. If the person has filled out the form, they still get asked each question again and are given a chance to expand on their yes or no answers. Notes are written on the sheet that will help Niles or Gascho once they go back to their offices to input the assessments.

Sitting with a client, Niles introduces herself and explains briefly what will happen in the coming hours.

"You will go to court," she said. "Recommendations will be made about your release."

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That could mean monetary bail/bond is set or the person could be released to the pretrial services program without monetary bond.

The Pretrial Services Program, Niles continued, is not probation and has two goals  making sure a person appears in court and ensuring public safety.

The questionnaire is used to create a report that is then given to the defendants attorney, prosecutors and the court, and it can be used to make arguments over the persons release.

Heading back up to her office, Niles will use the assessment in addition to information on the persons criminal history, conversations with someones probation officer if they are currently on probation and details from the brief conversation with the person that dont fit in a yes or no checked box.

The end of bail?

Lawsuits have been filed across the country alleging that setting cash bail unattainably high is unconstitutional. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union would prefer to entirely do away with a cash bail system.

"We abolished debtors prisons in this country decades ago, and the notion that somebody would sit in jail because they do not have financial resources is just anathema to our sense of justice in this country," said Teresa Nelson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

Historically, the only tool prosecutors have had to ensure a defendant returns to court is bail, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. But bail, he said, can sometimes be onerous.

"The idea behind this whole pretrial services program is really to try and remove that monetary condition and still give the court and all the participants some satisfaction that the defendant will be back and we can monitor their public safety," Ostrem said. "We are not trying to supervise these people but we are trying to, lets say, use some gentle reminders that they are supposed to be back in court. There are other tools we can use to ensure their public safety but we dont need to force some sort of a monetary condition on them to ensure that they come back."

Steps have been taken to make Minnesotas court system more uniform. The Minnesota Pretrial Assessment, which is modeled on an assessment created in Hennepin County and has been "statistically validated," is now required to be completed in all jurisdictions. The assessments goal is to look at an individuals risk factors through a series of questions. But some find the questionnaire problematic.

"The idea of having a tool that is statistically validated is a good instinct, but unless you are cognitive about the limits of data and the limits of algorithms in eliminating racial biases, you are going to be replicating systems of oppression for people of color," Nelson said.

Individual circumstances

She said it was important to look at the individual circumstances of a person.

Olmsted County commissioners approved approximately $290,000 to fund three employees to run the pretrial services program. All three pretrial services agents have been with Olmsted County Community Corrections for a number of years.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said the hard costs to house one detainee is $200 per day. If a detainee is being housed in Olmsted County for another county or for the Department of Corrections, they are invoiced for $55 per day, Torgerson said. The vast majority of those at the Olmsted County Jail are there pre-trial, meaning they have not been convicted of a crime and are therefore, not serving a sentence.

The daily average number of people has gone down since it spiked in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to 155 people per day, Torgerson said it was too soon to say how big of an impact the program has had on jail population numbers.

The conversation about alternatives to incarcerating people who cant afford bail began more than five years ago when the jail noticed a spike in numbers, according to Torgerson.

Getting some people out during pretrial might allow them to keep their jobs, Torgerson said.

"The charge doesnt go away but at least being able to get them out, maintain some sort of lifestyle, hopefully it would be a positive one," he said. "Get them out, get them home and yet still keep track of them and make sure they arent causing more trouble out there, we are all better for it."

The program doesnt just benefit those charged with crimes but also benefits the wider community.

"Any time people are in the community, working on their sobriety, working on gainful employment," said Lauri Traub, managing attorney for the Rochester office of the Public Defender Third Judicial District, "those are good things for the community."
Thumbs up to Soldiers Field track plan

Initial plans to pave the running track at Soldiers Field with asphalt met with resistance from local runners. Rather than push ahead anyway, Rochester city officials wisely held off on their plans and waited for the Save the Track citizens group to offer an alternative.

As a result, the track will be paved with a more comfortable running surface, and in turn, the Save the Track group will help fund upkeep of the track.

That qualifies as a win-win for everyone involved. Credit goes to city officials who took into consideration input from the community. It preserves a valuable resource in the hart of the city.

Now, the hope is we'll see more people make use of the track when all work is completed next summer.

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Thumbs down to winter driving

It's getting closer, whether we like it or not. This week's dusting of snow is a reminder that with November comes the need to refresh ourselves on safe winter driving practices.

First and foremost, of course, is to reduce your speed on icy and snowy roads. Along with that, increase the distance between your vehicle and the one you're following. Accelerate and decelerate gradually. Make sure your windshield wipers are in good working order, and that your windshield washer reservoir is full.

All of this is second-nature to most Minnesotans, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that winter driving is as much an art as it is a science.

By the way, don't forget to familiarize yourself with Rochester's new even-odd street parking plan for winter.

Thumbs up to Minnesota's ACT scores

Minnesota students have maintained their best-in-nation average score on the ACT college entrance exam -- at least among those states where the majority of graduating seniors take the test.

Minnesota's graduating seniors achieved an average score of 21.4, a slight improvement from last year's average score of 21.3, according to results released this week. By comparison, the national average is 20.7.

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In most states, a majority of students take the SAT college entrance test. In the Upper Midwest, though, the ACT is more popular. Wisconsin's average score was 20.3 and North Dakota's was 19.9

While improvement should always be a goal, Minnesota's schools are obviously doing a good job of preparing graduates for college success.
Every now and then we get the itch to travel. We want to leave Guam and see the world. Read more
With only 51 known reef manta rays off Guams shores, the death of a male ray named Streaker in Tumon is impactful, said Julie Hartup, executive director of the Micronesian Conservation Coalition.

He is one of our main males, Hartup said. So to have him gone is definitely going to be felt within the population.

Streaker was found dead in April after it appeared he had been hit by a Jet Ski or boat, according to Hartup, who was able to identify him from video taken by divers in the area. Hartup said that unfortunately, Streaker's remains could not be located.

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Hartup said while the reef manta ray is not on the endangered species list, MCC is working to change that because of their micropopulation.

The value of Streaker could be priceless, according to Hartup, who said studies have shown a single ray is worth about $5 million in ecotourism or potential tourism.

Rays such as Streaker, who Hartup estimates was at least 10 years old, can live for up to 30 or even 40 years and reach a length of up to 3 meters long. Female reef manta rays give birth to an offspring every three to five years, she said.

The rays are targeted in Asia and Indonesia for their gills, which are used for medicinal purposes in some cultures.

Hartup said the community can help keep the rays safe by not chasing them. Let them come to you, she said.

The reef manta rays are found primarily on the leeward side of the island, she said.

For those looking to do more to help the plight of the manta ray locally, the Micronesian Conservation Coalition offers an Adopt a Manta program where individuals or businesses can pledge money to help support and fund the study of the animal. More information on the program can be found on the MCC website at micronesianconservation.org.
Milan, Italy - 4 May 2019: Two-thirds of patients with heart failure have cognitive problems, according to research presented today at EuroHeartCare 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

Heart failure patients who walked further in a six-minute test, which shows better fitness, as well as those who were younger and more highly educated, were significantly less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results suggest that fitter patients have healthier brain function.

Study author Professor Ercole Vellone, of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy, said: "The message for patients with heart failure is to exercise. We don't have direct evidence yet that physical activity improves cognition in heart failure patients, but we know it improves their quality and length of life. In addition, studies in older adults have shown that exercise is associated with improved cognition - we hope to show the same for heart failure patients in future studies."

The cognitive abilities that are particularly damaged in heart failure patients are memory, processing speed (time it takes to understand and react to information), and executive functions (paying attention, planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks).

"These areas are important for memorising healthcare information and having the correct understanding and response to the disease process," said Professor Vellone. "For example, heart failure patients with mild cognitive impairment may forget to take medicines and may not comprehend that weight gain is an alarming situation that requires prompt intervention."

The study highlights that cognitive dysfunction is a common problem in patients with heart failure - 67% had at least mild impairment. "Clinicians might need to adapt their educational approach with heart failure patients - for example involving a family caregiver to oversee patient adherence to the prescribed treatment," said Professor Vellone.

The study used data from the HF-Wii study, which enrolled 605 patients with heart failure from six countries. The average age was 67 and 71% were male. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment test was used to measure cognitive function and exercise capacity was measured with the six-minute walk test.

Professor Vellone said: "There is a misconception that patients with heart failure should not exercise. That is clearly not the case. Find an activity you enjoy that you can do regularly. It could be walking, swimming, or any number of activities. There is good evidence that it will improve your health and your memory, and make you feel better."

The HF-Wii study was led by Professor Tiny Jaarsma and Professor Anna Stromberg from Linkoping University, Sweden.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
POTTSTOWN  Pottstown Police held a community meeting Thursday night to address the recent wave of violent crime in the borough.

Concerned residents were spilling out of the meeting room at borough hall looking for seats at the forum. A table outside offered handouts on this years crime statistics as well as pamphlets on making the community a safer place.

Im not trying to make Pottstown sound like its a crime-ridden town but I want you to know what the statistics are, said Pottstown Police Chief Michael Markovich holding a graph illustrating calls for service and crimes for Pottstown Police Department. The sky is not falling in Pottstown. This has been occurring in Pottstown my entire career.

To say violent crime has gone down over the past five years is just not true. Violent crime has gradually been going up in Pottstown over the past five years, specifically firearms, said Markovich.

Markovich noted that a majority of the crimes listed on the handout were thefts and that over the last five years, thefts have gone down, explaining the decrease.

He added that those numbers are likely related to incidents about five years ago in which he said the borough experienced a rash of thefts by young teenagers.

Markovich linked those incidents to current gun violence, stating:

About five years ago we had a bunch of young kids breaking into cars, breaking into houses and garages and sheds. We would come in in the morning and find out that 20 vehicles were broken into  what we had was a gang of 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds breaking into cars and houses for thefts. Fast forward five more years, now we have a problem with 17-year-old, 18-year-old and 19-year-old kids shooting people.

The discussion sparked a lot of responses from the community.

While some stated that there needs to be some accountability for the parents of these children, others noted that the problems are multifaceted.

While few younger people were present at the meeting, one 14-year-old addressed the group, reminding attendees that many children struggle at home with parents who are dealing with their own issues and, as a result, may resort to crime as a means of survival or for other reasons.

A lot of us are talking a bout helping the kids and everything but once they go back home, theyre in situations with parents who are addicts or cant read, they cant write. Im not saying they get an excuse for everything but some of them dont know how to come to a meeting or get support for their kid or get their kid the help that they need, said one attendee.

Everyone has said very similar things. We know that there are problems but unfortunately, you cant pinpoint all of the issues and name it as this is the reason, said Katina Bearden, Pottstown School Board vice president. Its a summation of several factors, including mental health, including family issues, including peer pressure. You can have five kids from the same family and not all five are going to turn out the same way.

A few in attendance had suggestions for how police could improve their relationship with residents in the community. While one resident suggested more contact with patrolling officers, such as a knock on the door to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, another posed questions about how to make citizens more aware of positive events happening in the borough.

Markovich added that they will be adding more officers to patrols over the next few months.

One of the common ideas shared among many of the attendees at Thursdays meeting was the need for developing a community relationship with youth.

We as a community have an opportunity right now to engage with the young people in the middle school. Young people need to know that you care about them, look in their eyes and talk to them, said David Charles. Theres students in the middle school that need you to connect with them. They are the now, theyre not the future.

To help kickstart community efforts, several attendees mentioned meetings planned to help improve Pottstown.

For all of you here this evening who are feeling encouraged to become more involved in the community, I want to invite you to our PCA meeting. It stands for Pottstown Community Action. It is being held this upcoming Monday the 6th at 6 p.m. at the Victory Christian Life Center on Washington Avenue. We are working really hard at getting involved at making this community our community, said resident Wendy Cangialosi.

Mayor Stephanie Hendricks also added that they are currently working on implementing a block captain program. The program would designate a person on a neighborhood block who will field issues, questions and help with communication in the borough. The hope is to help the community unite and to provide a person on each block that neighbors can trust.
NEWLIN  To environmentalists, preserving open space from development makes good sense. To economists, doing so makes good dollars and cents.

That is the message that a study commissioned by Chester County officials and completed, with input from a myriad of sources, concluded. That finding was highlighted during Thursdays event here marking the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the countys open space preservation program.

As part of the summit held at the Lenfest Center at the ChesLen Land Preserve, the county commissioners unveiled the results of the study, Return on Environment: The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Chester County.

The detailed report closely followed a similar survey conducted in 2011 by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Both studies argue that saving land from development has economic, environmental, and public health benefits. Its all not just maintaining pretty views for the tourists, the message is.

A video shown to those attending the event Thursday highlighted those benefits, illustrating that open space preservation has provided the county not only environmental but also financial benefits for the past three decades.

Chester County was the first in the region to formally set aside funds for a rigorous open space preservation program, and has now determined the economic value of the existing open space, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline while speaking to the crowd. Green fields, preserved farms and community parks are more than just pretty places that contribute to our quality of life  they are true assets that generate significant economic value for the county.

According to a county press release about the report, homes in the county are valued at over $11,000 more when they are located within a half-mile of preserved open space, according to the study. In total, its a gain of more than $1.65 billion for the countys homeowners and economy.

Protected open space is a major factor in planned growth of a community and contributes to the positive health of those who live there, Kichline said in the release. In fact, recreational activities on open space account for over $170 million in avoided medical costs every year.

There are also environmental benefits associated with open space preservation. If protected lands were lost to development, the county would need to spend about $97 million a year to replicate vital services such as flood control and air and water pollution mitigation through costly alternative methods, according to the report.

Open space is a big part of the cultural character of Chester County, stated commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone. Chester County conservancies are respected and strong  historically and in numbers. We appreciate all the work that the 11 land trusts in Chester County do to maintain the high quality of life here.

The study also notes that it is less expensive to preserve land than to develop it. Residential development often costs more through community services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance, sewer systems, and new schools. In contrast, farms and protected open space provide more tax revenue for local governments and school districts than they require back in service expenditures.

Open space creates jobs and attracts people who spend in the community. Each year open space accounts for $238 million in spending and $69 million in salaries. Protected farmland puts about $135 million back into the economy each year, and preserved open space accounts for roughly 1,800 jobs in the county, according to the report.

Steps taken by Chester County 30 years ago have more than paid off, noted Commissioner Terence Farrell. The investment is providing a great return and one that is unique to Southeastern Pennsylvania. Its impressive that nearly half  or 45 percent  of all conserved land in this region is in Chester County.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Alex Acosta, still somehow the Secretary of Labor, apparently wants us to believe that, if anything, he pushed too hard in prosecuting sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. This matter was appealed all the way up to the deputy attorney generals office, and not because we werent doing enough, but because the contention was that we were too aggressive, Acosta told the House Education and Labor Committee in response to questions from Rep. Frederica Wilson.

Really? A federal investigation of Epstein revealed that he had engaged in sex-trafficking and the abuse of dozens of women, many underage. Yet, Acosta, then the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, allowed Epstein to plead to only two state prostitution charges, one involving a minor.

Consequently, Epstein served just 13 months in state prison. He was housed in a private wing at the Palm Beach County jail and allowed work release privileges. Epsteins year of incarceration reportedly included trips to New York and the Virgin Islands.

In addition, a federal judge found that the Epstein plea deal violated the Crime Victims Rights Act because of the decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility. The Department of Justice is currently investigating whether Acostas actions as U.S. attorney amounted to professional misconduct.

If the Epstein prosecution was too aggressive, what would an appropriate prosecution have yielded? An apology from the government and payment of Epsteins attorneys fees?
Advocates of abolishing the death penalty claim that innocent defendants have often been executed. Im not sure whether these advocates have been able to show that this has ever happened in modern times, but a New York Times piece by Nicholas Kristof makes a pretty good case that Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate, is innocent of the murders he was convicted of committing.

Cooper, an African-American, was convicted of murdering four people in 1983. The victims, all White, were a couple, their daughter, and a boy who was sleeping over at the couples house.

The couples son, who survived the attack, told police that the assailants were White. Hairs found in the victims hands seemed to confirm this account. In addition, a woman told police that her White boyfriend, a convicted murderer, was probably involved in the attack. To support this statement, she gave deputies his bloody overalls.

The deputies, says Kristof, threw away the overalls and arrested Cooper. He awaits execution.

Kristofs lengthy article is worth reading in full. I want to focus on the role of Sen. Kamala Harris, a candidate for her Partys presidential nomination, in the long legal battle that followed Coopers conviction.

Readers will recall that Harris was Californias Attorney General before she became a Senator. By the time of her involvement in the Cooper saga, DNA testing had become available for use in cases like this one. The availability of such testing is part of what gives supporters of the death penalty a high degree of confidence that the innocent wont be executed

Harris, though, refused to allow the use of DNA testing in Coopers case. Indeed, according to Kristof, she showed no interest in the case.

Its almost as if Black lives dont matter to Kamala Harris.

Harris did become interested in the case after the online version of Kristofs article appeared. She emailed him to say I feel awful about this.

Harris also put out a statement saying:

My career as a prosecutor was marked by fierce opposition to the death penalty while still upholding the law and a commitment to fixing a broken criminal justice system. Ive long been an advocate for measures to improve and make our system more fair and just. As a firm believer in DNA testing, I hope the governor and the state will allow for such testing in the case of Kevin Cooper.

Harris did not explain why, as a firm believer in DNA testing, she refused to allow it in Coopers case. Nor did she explain why, if shes a fierce opponent of the death penalty, she couldnt be bothered to look into whether a man who faced that penalty was innocent.

As for fixing a broken criminal justice system, a good start would be not electing grandstanding opportunists like Harris to positions as prosecutors.

Harris should feel awful. She is a hypocrite and a disgrace.
Justines family filed a civil lawsuit against former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor, Minneapolis Police Officer Matthew Harrity, the Minneapolis Police Chief and the City of Minneapolis in federal court here this past July. On Thursday evening the city settled the case for $20 million, $2 million of which the family will donate to a Minneapolis Foundation fund to fight gun violence in the city, as the Star Tribune puts it in its article on the settlement. The MPR story is here.

The family retained Robert Bennett to bring the civil lawsuit. Bob is Minnesotas go-to attorney in police misconduct and excessive force cases. When I spoke with Bob after he filed the lawsuit this past July for Notes on the Damond Complaint, he told me the use of deadly force in this case was the worst [hes] seen since he took his first such a case in 1980. He paused to do the arithmetic for me: Thats 38 years. That remains true now that its 39 years.

As one might have anticipated from Bobs evaluation of the case, the settlement sets a new city record for the settlement of such cases. It is over four times as large as the citys previous record ($4.5 million). Bob also represented the plaintiff in that case.

Minneapoliss race hustlers are having another field day with the settlement. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could not bring himself to contradict them or say that the size of the settlement reflected the egregious facts of the case. He could not bring himself to deny that race and institutionalized racism in the police department had anything to do with it. At his press conference after the guilty verdict Frey yammered on about historical and ongoing racialized trauma.

Mayor Frey would only allow that the circumstances of this case were unique. He asserted that he could not say whether this was the worst [case] or not. If that is true, however, it is true only in a political sense. See Bob Bennetts July 2018 evaluation of the case quoted above.

The civil case had been stayed on the motion of the city while the criminal case against Noor was pending. It was settled at a previously scheduled mediation. Now that the case has been settled when the stay might have been lifted  I dont know whether it would have continued pending appeal  I think one can reasonably infer the city did not want Bob to conduct discovery in this case. At his own press conference following the settlement, Bob alluded to the policies that had allowed Noor to make it onto the force in the first place.

It occurred to me during the Noors trial that the price the city would pay in the civil case regardless of the outcome in the criminal case represented an especially appropriate form of justice. The citys taxpayers should rightly pay the piper for putting former Mayor Betsy Hodges and her handpicked police chief in positions of authority. That is one way of looking at the resolution of the civil case.
Frances Yellow Vest movement began as a grassroots protest movement with legitimate grievances, especially one over a government tax on fuel. For quite some time, though, the movement has been dominated by assorted thugs, including political extremists and anarchists, who get high on smashing windows and damaging property.

On Wednesday, May Day, the thugs once again took to the street, and not peaceably. In one incident, demonstrators entered the Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital. About 50 of them forced open a locked metal gate at the rear of the hospital and entered the grounds. Some ran up a stairway and tried to enter the intensive care department. Medical staff blocked the door.

Demonstrators claimed they were just trying to escape from the tear gas the police force had used to disperse them. Maybe. But I doubt that anyone needed to burst into the intensive care unit to avoid tear gas. Moreover, if the protesters hadnt thrown chunks of pavement at the police, they wouldnt have had to worry about tear gas and the hospital wouldnt have had to worry about an invasion.

When it was all over, Christophe Castaner, the French Interior Minister, said that protesters had attacked the hospital. The protesters called this fake news, saying that there was no attack, just an attempt to escape from tear gas. They demanded that Castaner resign.

Castaner is a crony of President Macron. Before the Yellow Vest street protests began, I wrote that he is not qualified to be in charge of French internal security. His failure to come to grips with the violent protests has confirmed my view.

However, the controversy over Castaners characterization of events at the hospital seems overblown. Attack or not, the protesters had no business disrupting a hospital. And they have been attacking shops and setting fires for months. If Castaner hurt their feelings, thats tough. They deserve no sympathy.

Castaner, while insisting that the demonstrators are generating fake controversy, has backed off from the word attack. He now describes what happened at the hospital as an intrusion, which it certainly was.

Can everybody go home now?
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Bone Marrow Processing System Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy are usually performed on the back of the hipbone, or posterior iliac crest. An aspirate can also be obtained from the sternum (breastbone). For the sternal aspirate, the patient lies on their back, with a pillow under the shoulder to raise the chest. A trephine biopsy should never be performed on the sternum, due to the risk of injury to blood vessels, lungs or the heart.The need to selectively isolate and concentrate selective cells, such as mononuclear cells, allogeneic cancer cells, T cells and others, is driving the market. Over 30,000 bone marrow transplants occur every year. The explosive growth of stem cells therapies represents the largest growth opportunity for bone marrow processing systems.Europe and North America spearheaded the market as of 2016, by contributing over 74.0% to the overall revenue. Majority of stem cell transplants are conducted in Europe, and it is one of the major factors contributing to the lucrative share in the cell harvesting system market.Get More Information About Bone Marrow Processing System Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3184 In 2016, North America dominated the research landscape as more than 54.0% of stem cell clinical trials were conducted in this region. The region also accounts for the second largest number of stem cell transplantation, which is further driving the demand for harvesting in the region.Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period, owing to rising incidence of chronic diseases and increasing demand for stem cell transplantation along with stem cell-based therapy.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3184 Japan and China are the biggest markets for harvesting systems in Asia Pacific. Emerging countries such as Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa are also expected to report lucrative growth over the forecast period. Growing investment by government bodies on stem cell-based research and increase in aging population can be attributed to the increasing demand for these therapies in these countries.Major players operating in the global bone marrow processing systems market are ThermoGenesis (Cesca Therapeutics inc.), RegenMed Systems Inc., MK Alliance Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG, Harvest Technologies (Terumo BCT), Arthrex, Inc. and othersReport Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/bone-marrow-processing-system-market View More: HEALTHCARE, PHARMACEUTICALS & MEDICAL DEVICESAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
Trends Market Research (TMR) has launched the report titled, Forage Seed Market : Research Analysis, Trends, Competitive Share and Forecasts 2018 - 2025: Trends Market Research.

Forage Seed Market

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The global forage seed market is expected to witness a stable growth during the forecast period. Owing to, increasing demand for forage feed from various agricultural farms and livestock farms the demand for forage seed is expected to increase throughout the forecast period. In addition, increasing number of poultry birds and cattle is also expected to boost the demand for forage feed. Increasing global meat consumption and demand for dairy products are also fueling the demand for forage seed. Livestock farmers in order to improve productivity are focusing on good quality of forage goods in order to meet changing customer requirements. The scope of the global forage seed market also provides an insight into value (USD Million) and volume (Kilo Tons) of forage seeds across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world.Forage feed manufacturers use legumes and grass seeds to plant pastures and hayfields. Based on product types, the forage seed market is categorized into alfalfa, clover, chicory, ryegrass, lablab, and fescue among others. Increasing meat consumption is one of the major factors driving the demand for forage seeds globally. Nowadays, consumers are very health conscious, and they prefer to consume organic food and meat products. To meet consumer requirements, producers are focusing on using high-yielding forage crops for feeding livestock instead of using additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Forage feed producers prefer to avoid additives and crop protection chemical products in forage crop production. Owing to these factors, the demand for forage seeds is expected to boost the demand for forage seed in the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3589 In addition, high yielding, forage seeds also help agricultural producers in crop rotation and risk diversification by enhancing the soil quality. These forage seeds are used for feeding livestock including poultry, cattle, swine, and aquaculture animals. Farmers prefer to use forage seeds for feeding purpose, as these are available at lower prices and cultivation of these seeds generates some economic benefits such as crop rotation, risk diversification, and improve soil structure and prevention of soil erosion.The global forage seed market, by livestock type is segmented into  poultry farms, cattle farms, pork or swine farms among others. Due to increasing demand for poultry meat and eggs, poultry farms are focusing on providing good forages to the poultry birds that increases the demand for forage seeds. In addition, the growing dairy industry is further contributing to the growth of forage crops that helps to increase the demand for forage seeds. Increasing livestock size helps to increase the demand for forage seed that are used for animal feeding.Request For Report Table of Contents@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3589 In this report, the market has been segmented into by product type, by livestock type and by geography. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), and supply chain of the forage seed market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2018 - 2025. We have also covered the current market scenario for forage seeds and highlighted its future trends that will affect the demand for forage seed.By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. The present market size and forecast till 2025 have been provided in the report.Geographically, the U.S. in North America is expected to experience robust growth in the coming years followed by France and China in Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. Currently, the market for forage seed in India and China are comparatively smaller as compared to other countries, but the forage seed market is expected to witness a decent growth in forecast period with a high CAGR growth rate.The report also analyzes different factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the forage seed market. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help the agricultural and livestock farmers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their business strategies accordingly.Report Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/forage-seed-market
As per a recent report launches by TRENDS MARKET RESEARCH the''Liquid Applied Membranes Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018 to 2025''

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Liquid Applied Membrane (LAM) is a lowly thickness waterproofing film that is employed in the form of a liquid covering to vertical along with horizontal surfaces. The LAM is, in addition, believed as a cutting-edge waterproofing chemical as well as its solid, consistent property, in addition to the ability to comply with each setup is making its need increase in the worldwide construction industry. Utilization of terrible value construction material before, trailed by poor support of the building construction is making a solid market for restoration as well as the repair that may possibly be settled by liquid applied membranes. Around 40-45% of the requirement for LAM originates from restoration and repair ventures. LAMs are additionally effective in lessening splits in the concrete, as a result driving its requirement all over the world.Governments of several emerging and emerged nations have covered the dual requirement for infrastructure evolution together with sustainability and durability. This is boosting the need for green buildings, subsequently bringing forth a strong market prospect for liquid applied membranes. The requirement for enlargement of the infrastructure industry in the emerging economies together with the high center on investment is likely to enhance the expansion of the market all through the years to come. The government is likely to take various activities relating to the sector that is likely to emphatically influence the market. All-inclusive research is being led by the makers with the end goal to create innovative products.The market players have been concentrating on item separation that is probably going to fuel the development over the approaching years.Get More Information About Liquid Applied Membranes Market - https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3186 Expanding usage of bio-based and eco-friendly products is considered to boost the demand all over the years to come.Its properties, for example, environment-friendly nature, low viscosity, as well as low odor are probably going to encourage an expansion in the use of the product in the infrastructure industry. In addition, these have simple application over complex surfaces and are financially savvy when contrasted with waterproofing sheets. The product has a long time span of usability and is anything but difficult to re-apply which is foreseen to fuel the development throughout the following years. Also, LAMs are being favored for enhancing the general structure of industrial, residential as well as commercial buildings. They could be utilized related to high-performance polymers and materials with the end goal to improve their waterproofing properties.In terms of region, Europe and North America were the foremost markets for the product during 2016 on account of encouraging government policies in addition to recovery of the construction sector. Enhancing infrastructure in addition to expanding infrastructural expending combined with increasing disposable income of normal buyers is likely to fuel the market for the liquid applied membrane in North America.Request For Table of Contents- https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3186 The Asia Pacific regional market is considered to be a standalone of the most attractive markets for liquid applied membrane because of higher economic expansion in China & India. Because of developing urbanization as well as industrialization in emerging nations, for example, China and India, development in the Asia Pacific are likely to be the most noteworthy in the following couple of years.The foremost worldwide market players active in this market comprise Pidilite Industries, Sika AG, BASF SE, Chembond Chemicals, The Dow Chemical Company and Fosroc International. During February 2013, Paul Bauder brought in BauderTEC SPRINT DUO, a novel bitumen waterproofing product with a self-adhesive coating. Likewise, several market players are incorporated all over the value chain that alleviates uninterrupted raw material supply in addition to less production expenditure.Report Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/liquid-applied-membranes-market View More:CHEMICALS & MATERIALSAbout Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K.. We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO , Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals . We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com
The MTN Group has announced that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, will resume as a member of its board on July 1.

A statement released by the group also said another Nigerian, Aisha Abdulahi, was also appointed as a member of the International Advisory Board whose operations will commence in July.

While Mr Sanusi served as the governor of Nigerias Central Bank, Ms Abdullahi was the former African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs.

According to the statement, the IAB would be chaired by a former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, while a Kenyan national, Vincent Rague, will also join the board.

The Board has resolved to establish an international advisory board of prominent persons of considerable and wide-ranging experience, the group said in the statement.

The primary purpose of the IAB will be to counsel, guide and support the MTN Group from time to time in fulfilling its vision and objective of being one of the premier African corporations with a global footprint in telecommunications, contributing to increased digital inclusion in Africa and the Middle East, a pivotal aspect of the fourth industrial revolution, the statement added.

The group said the restructuring had become necessary in view of recent challenging regulatory environments and competitive trading conditions.

Meanwhile, over the next 12 months, the company said a significant change will see to the stepping down of the Chairman of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, from his position on December 15, 2019. He is expected to facilitate a smooth operation of the board and the establishment of the IAB.

In the meantime, the group said Mcebisi Jonas has been appointed Chairman-designate and would assume the position of Chairman of MTN Group effective December 15.

Similarly, the group said Khotso Mokhele would assume the responsibilities of Lead Independent Director while Alan Harper, Jeff Van Rooyen and Koosum Kaylan would step down from the Board after an orderly transition and handover to incoming directors.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Saturday gave reasons why a civil society group has called for the immediate removal from office of its deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy Directorate, Joseph Nnanna.

The CBN said the call was part of a thicker plot by the immediate past management of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) to get even with Mr Nnanna over his order for a probe of allegations of fraud.

The immediate past management of the bank led by Robert Orya was in office till February 2016.

Since Mr Oryas exit, there have been reports of fraud linked to his management.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently confirm the allegations, as it has not been able to reach the former NEXIM Boss since he left office.

On Thursday, media reports credited to the Awareness for Good Governance Group (AGGG) called for the removal of the CBN deputy governor over allegations of fraud at NEXIM.

The group did not give details of the allegation.

Corruption fighting back

But the CBN, which described the group as faceless, said its call for the removal of Mr Nnanna was nothing, but corruption fighting back.

Mr Nnanna is the Chairman of the Board of NEXIM.

The CBN said in a statement that the call for Mr Nnannas removal might not be unconnected with the forensic audit commissioned by the new Board under his Chairman.

According to the CBN, the audit exposed different levels of procedural abuses by the former management of NEXIM fraught with high level of fraud in the disbursement of the loans.

Findings from sources within the Bank and those close to the audit firm, Price Waterhouse and Coopers (PwC), which conducted the audit, indicated there were several violations of laid down procedures the CBN said.

The CBN said such abuse of procedures increased the risk burden of NEXIM to the extent that its non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to about 91 per cent of loans it granted.

Prior to Mr Nnannas assumption of office as chairman of NEXIM Board in March 2018, the CBN said NPLs of the bank stood at about N48.9 billion out of a total loan portfolio of N53 billion.

This, the CBN noted, negated the corporate governance pursuit of the bank to have NPLs at a maximum level of 10 per cent.

The CBN said following alleged wrong doings by the former company secretary of NEXIM, the audit revealed that about 181 of the 191 loans granted before the assumption of the Nnanna-led Board were non-performing.

The CBN said as many as a third of the documents tendered in respect of the loans did not have supporting or verifiable evidence to justify the loan applications and subsequent disbursements.

That level of fraud within the NEXIM system is perhaps why the CBN is yet to activate the N500 billion Export Stimulation Fund set up to promote non-oil exports in Nigeria, the CBN said.

On its part, the management of NEXIM, in a statement, said allegations of corruption and fraudulent against the Chairman of its Board by protesters last Monday were not only false and misleading, but a mischievous attempt at tarnishing his good reputation.

The allegations are designed to divert attention from an on-going efforts by the Board to address a case of gross mismanagement and poor state of affairs of the Bank under the old management which had since been sacked by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, NEXIM said.

According to NEXIM, prior to the appointment of a new management for NEXIM in April, 2017, it had become almost insolvent with huge non-performing loans.

It said the situation was exacerbated by gross abuse of process, insider related loans and lack of professionalism in loan administration, amongst other issues.

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This led the Bank to commission a forensic audit to establish the true state of affairs before the new management came on board.

With two years of the new management, NEXIM said its fortunes under Mr Nnanna-led Board has changed remarkably for the better, with significant improvement in key prudential ratios.

The Bank is honouring its obligations and is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage two intervention funds, amounting to N550 billion, towards increased support to the non-oil export sector, it said.
Popular Kannywood film actress, Binta Kofar Soro, is dead.

Kofar Soro usually played motherly roles in Kannywood movies. She died on Saturday and has since been buried in Kano.

Kannywood actor and a close ally to the deceased, Nuhu Abdullahi, confirmed the death of the actress to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Abdullah said the Kannywood movie industry is shocked over the demise of the actress.

Hajiya Binta Soron Dinki is one actress that we all like to work with. Her role has always been motherly. Apart from just acting, she is always there to correct you as a mother. The whole Kannywood is mourning, Mr Abdullahi said.

Nigerian actors have changed their social media profile pictures, replacing them with the late actress picture, especially on their Instagram pages.

Rahama Sadau, Ali Nuhu, Fati Mohammed and others wrote short tributes praying for the repose of her soul.
Tonto Dikeh has reacted after the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threatened to sanction her over her continuous outbursts on social media.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga. If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA, Tonto said in response to the threats.

Ifeanyi Dike, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria threatened to sanction the controversial actress if she continues to exhibit bad behaviour, portraying the motion picture industry in a bad light.

This comes as the actress vowed to continue to fight dirty with her ex-husband and father of her son, Olakunle Churchill, because she has no shame.

Speaking to Newstimes Africa on Saturday, Mr Dike was quoted as saying, Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.

Issues like that is private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in a bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions do not speak well of the industry.

We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.

Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.

Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.

Meanwhile Tonto on Friday also revealed the only reason why she might consider getting back with her husband.

She said, Am I hurt? F*ck yes! (dont use me then come out to the world and lie on me. Use me and keep walking. Do I want him back? Even he knows the answer, Only maybe to KILL him( which I will never DO cause my baby gonno Holdup on me + Im better than Murder).
Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has formally declared his intention to vie for the presidency of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Mr Muhammad-Bande made the declaration at a cocktail party attended by world diplomats and delegates in New York on Friday evening.

This came barely eight days after the current UNGA president, Maria Espinosa, announced him as the first candidate for the position.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that election of the president of the 74th UNGA will hold at the UN headquarters on June 4.

In a statement on its website, UNGA said the presidency of the 74th session was zoned to Africa in full respect of the established principle of geographical rotation, among other reasons.

The current president, who is the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, was elected on June 5 and assumed duty on September 18, 2018.

Thus she will step aside on September 17 as the UNGA presidency runs on a one-year tenure

According to the statement, an informal interactive dialogue with Mr Muhammad-Bande is scheduled for May 13, in line with UNGAs resolution 71/323 titled Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly.

At the session, the Nigerian permanent representative will have the opportunity to respond to questions from other stakeholders.

Addressing guests at Fridays event, the candidate pledged to make the organisation stronger and work better for its member states and their citizens.

He said as president of the 74th Session, he would focus on the effective implementation of existing mandates, and make a contribution in all defined follow-up areas.

The candidate promised to promote international peace and security, prevent conflict, strengthen global action to tackle climate change, ensure inclusion, human rights, and the empowerment of youth and women.

He also pledged to ensure that the decisions reached and resolutions passed at the general assembly were implemented for the benefits of citizens.

Mr Muhammad-Bande, who hails from Zagga in present-day Kebbi State, has had an outstanding career as a scholar and diplomat.

He holds M.A in Political Science from Boston University, USA, in 1981 and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1987.

Between January 2000 and February 2004, he was the Director-General of the Centre African de Formation et de Recherche Administrative pour le Development (CAFRAD) in Tangier, Morocco.

CAFRAD is Africas premier institution with responsibility for training and research in public administration and management.

Besides other positions both locally and internationally, he was the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) between 2010 and 2016.

He served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during the 71st session and remains active in several fora, including as Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34); Member, Advisory Board of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, and Chair of the ECOWAS Group (2018-2019).

Mr Muhammad-Bande has also been an assessor for the National Merit Award (Nigeria) and for professorial positions in universities.

He has won merit awards and honours from institutions and governments, including the United States and China.

Most notably, he is a recipient of Nigerias Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of the countrys highest national awards.

(NAN)

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Three separate queries bordering on allegations of travelling without permission, financial impropriety, among others, have been issued to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by the institutions Registrar, Oladejo Azeez.

The registrar acted on the instruction of the chairman of the universitys governing council, Wale Babalakin.

The universitys former Registrar, Taiwo Ipaye, also received three letters of query bordering on similar allegations, while the immediate past vice-chancellor, Rahamon Bello, was also issued one. The immediate past bursar of the university, Lateef Odekunle, and his successor, Lekan Lawal, was also queried.

Others affected in what some stakeholders in the university have tagged; harvest of queries, also include two incumbent deputy vice-chancellors- Folasade Ogunsola and Oluwole Familoni; a former deputy vice-chancellor, Duro Oni; former directors of works, Niyi Ayeye and Adelere Adeniran; head of the universitys procurement unit, James Akanmu; dean of students affairs, Ademola Adeleke; director of academic planning, L.O Chukwu and the director of the institutions foundation programme, Timothy Nubi.

The quartet of Ogundipe, Ogunsola, Familoni and Chukwu are also members of the governing council like the registrar and Mr Babalakin.

But the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has kicked against what it described as the dictatorial action of the council chairman, accusing him of flouting laid down procedures.

ASUU, in its letter to the affected union members, signed by its chairman, Dele Ashiru, said a purported report the council chairman is acting upon is yet to be submitted to the council for deliberation.

This arbitrariness and one man show is repulsive and unacceptable to our union as it smacks of vindictiveness, ASUU said.

Registrar Accuses ASUU Of Double Standard

In his reaction, the registrar, Oladejo Azeez, condemned ASUUs position, saying it shows dishonesty and inconsistency on the part of the union.

Titled; The Need to Tell the Truth, Mr Azeez, in his statement, challenged ASUU to cite specific sections of the institutions law that is flouted by the councils action. It accused the union of telling lies about various issues in the past, saying the union had always been defeated with logical argument and facts of history.

The statement is reproduced below:

The attention of the Registry has been drawn to the circular issued by Dr Dele Ashiru, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Branch, on 2nd May 2019. In the said release, the Union accused the Council of the University of tyranny because Council sought explanation of certain activities and expenditure in the university.

The notice did not identify any specific laws or regulation of the university that was violated by the Council. The office of the Registrar would be glad to receive the specific law or rule of the university that was breached to enable us pass it to Council.

It is noteworthy that on previous occasions within the tenure of this Council, ASUU has issued notices criticizing the Council for taking certain steps, and all these occasions ASUU was not right. For example, when ASUU issued a statement that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. It turned out to be wrong because previous Councils under Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Deacon Gamaliel Onosode had also had similar meetings with the Senate.

Similarly, ASUU issued a statement condemning the non-confirmation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a Distinguished Professor as an unprecedented violation of the academic autonomy of the university. Again, the statement turned out to be very wrong as it is clearly provided in the University of Lagos Act 1967 that the Council is the approving authority for all honours to be conferred by the university.

Wale Babalakin

It is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached/and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council had taken a decision to step down his appointment in plenary is now making a case that the Chairman of Council cannot act for Council outside plenary. A paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency.

We urge ASUU to remember that the University of Lagos is a centre of learning where the pursuit of knowledge is very paramount. There is nothing worse than the tyranny of ignorance.

Vice-Chancellor Queries Registrar

In a swift response and what looks like supremacy battle, the university Vice-Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has queried the authority of the registrar, to issue such a statement without his consent.

Mr Ogundipe, in his internal memo titled; Re: The Need to Tell the Truth: Request for Explanation, accused the registrar of usurping his power, and asked him to provide reasons behind his action.

According to the vice-chancellor, the communication unit of the institutions corporate affairs directorate, through which the information was disseminated, is under the office of the vice-chancellor.

The statement reads in part; In light of the foregoing, you are expected to explain the reason for the publication, bearing in mind Section 3 (1), 6 (1) of the University of Lagos Act (1961), as amended, which states inter alia- There shall be a registrar, who shall be the administrative officer of the university and shall be responsible to the vice-chancellor for the day-to-day administrative work of the university

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The VC also requested the registrar to provide approval for his released memo alongside his response to the query within the next 24 hours.

ASUU Fires Back At Council Chair, Registrar

In a scathing reply to the registrars statement, ASUU attacked both the council chairman and the registrar, describing them as liars.

ASUU said it had never attacked or condemned the council but that it would not allow an individual to usurp the power of the council.

The unions statement is also reproduced below:

The attention of our Union has been drawn to a most disparaging circular titled The Need to Tell the Truth signed by Oladejo Azeez, Esq. the University Registrar. Ordinarily, our Union would not have dignified the voice of the Pro-Chancellor in the handwriting of Oladejo Azeez Esq but for the barefaced lies and falsehood characteristic of the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin. For the avoidance of doubt, the said circular indicated that our Union did not identify any specific laws or regulations of the University that was violated by Council. The correct position is that our Union has no problem with the University Council and has never accused it of any wrongdoing. Our grouse is the crude usurpation of Councils powers by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin.

The Registrar also claimed that at previous occasions, ASUU claimed that the meeting between Council and the Senate was unprecedented in the history of our University. The Registrar should be reminded that Council is not the same as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. Our contention has always been that the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin cannot approximate the Council of the University of Lagos. Furthermore, the mere fact that an illegality has occurred in the past does not mean that it cannot be corrected when such is pointed out. All the fears expressed by this same Dr Ashiru as the said Senate meeting which the Pro-Chancellor shamelessly denied are now manifesting.

For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU is not bothered about whether the stepping down of Professor Olowokudejos appointment was unprecedented. Our unequivocal position is that Councils decision to step down Senate recommendation of Prof. Olowokudejo as a distinguished Professor is obnoxious, draconian and vindictive. It is shocking that the Pro-Chancellor and his puppet Oladejo Azeez Esq can assert that it is unbelievable that the same ASUU that approached and appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to confirm Olowokudejos appointment as a Distinguished Professor outside plenary after Council has taken a decision.. a paramount cornerstone for proper learning is intellectual honesty and consistency. This assertion of Oladejo Azeez begs for some questions; was Oladejo Azeez at the meeting where ASUU made this request? What were the circumstances surrounding ASUUs appeal to the Leviathan and tyrannical Pro-Chancellor? What eventually happened to Professor Olowokudejos appointment? At which plenary meeting of Council was Prof, Olowokudejos appointment ratified? Our Union wishes to state categorically that we shall continue to stand against the Pro-Chancellors tyranny and recklessness.

For the incompetent and willing inconsequential tool called Oladejo Azeez, who was smuggled into the office as lame duck Registrar and Secretary to the Pro-Chancellor, he should be reminded that there is a limit to sycophancy and flunkey bootlicking. Oladejo Azeez should get familiar with the function(s) of a seasoned University Registrar and stop deploying the paraphernalia of his esteemed office in the service of a brutish leviathan.

Other Governing Council Members Keep Mum

PREMIUM TIMES Efforts to get the reaction of other members of the universitys governing council have been unsuccessful.

When our reporter called on phone the representative of the Federal Ministry of Education in the council, Anne Haruna, she declined to comment.

She said as a civil servant, she is not expected to speak to journalists.

You know I report to the permanent secretary. So the permanent secretary is in the best position to talk to you, she said.

In a similar development, another council member, Alli Hussein from Katsina State neither picked calls to his mobile line nor replied a text message sent to him as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, on the part of another council member, who was identified simply as Soyombo, a professor, the matter is too sensitive to be discussed on phone.

He said; You know I dont know the identity of who am talking to. So I cannot speak to you on this matter except I see you physically. Thank you.

When PREMIUM TIMES spoke to those who have received copies of their queries too, including the former registrar, former vice-chancellor, among others, they also declined comment. They said they would talk at a time they consider appropriate.
The Nigeria Police have sacked the head of its public complaints unit, a senior official told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Yomi Shogunle, a controversial officer who at times rattled social media users with his posts, was removed from the Police Complaints Response Unit and posted to Ebonyi State.

The assistant commissioner of police was transferred on Friday morning to head the police area command in Nkalagu, Ebonyi State.

He was transferred on Friday morning after the Force Headquarters received too much complaints about his conduct, a police chief told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday afternoon.

Messages about the transfer first spread on social media Saturday morning, eliciting reactions. Many of his critics, however, suggested that only an outright dismissal would be sufficient for Mr Shogunles alleged misconduct.

Mr Shogunle was named as the pioneer head of PCRU after it was created to receive complaints against police officers in late 2015.

The department achieved initial credits by following up on allegations of misconduct against officers.

Social media also played a heavy role in amplifying the units activities and response time. But Mr Shogunle soon found himself consumed by social media distraction. He began to exchange regular insults with citizens online, especially on Twitter.

Some commentators said Mr Shogunles conduct undermined his units successes, and demanded his removal. Several petitions were filed online for his removal, but it seemed the latest one was what eventually did him in.

Amidst outrage over police clampdown on women in Abuja, Mr Shogunle justified the discriminatory arrests in a manner many considered too objectionable.

Since 2017, Mr Shogunle had also faced online scorn for his frequent ridiculing of #ENDSARS, a nationwide campaign to end police brutality. He described the movement, which has helped many citizens obtain justice against errant police officers, as a scam.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Saturday that the Force Headquarters had been observing the controversies being courted by Mr Shogunle, who has been based in Lagos.

We decided it was time to take him out of that important office because he had become an embarrassment, a police chief said. We wish him good luck in Ebonyi.

The senior official, who spoke under anonymity because he was not the polices spokesperson, said Mr Shogunles transfer signal was dispatched on Friday morning.

Police spokesperson Frank Mba could not be reached for comments Saturday afternoon.

Ebonyi police commissioner, Awosola Awotunde, told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday he had not received the signal. Depending on its urgency, a police signal usually take three to four days to reach recipients.

Mr Shogunle, too, did not respond to calls.
The Nigerian Army has said some unpatriotic elements, in collusion with their foreign collaborators, are planning to derail the swearing in of newly elected government on May 29 in order to scuttle the nations democratic process.

Some of these mischievous elements thought that we would not have a safe and successful general elections but were proved wrong, hence they want to derail the scheduled handing over later this month and to scuttle the democratic process in the country, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr Musa alleged that the unpatriotic elements plan to do that by causing mischief and exacerbating the security situation in the country in particular and West African sub-region.

He further alleged that the group is making concerted efforts to further induce ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists and bandits with funds and other logistic supports.

Their body language and unguarded utterances seem to be in tandem with above and imply tacit support for the criminals.

For example, credible source has shown that some individuals are hobnobbing with Boko Haram terrorists, while others are deliberately churning falsehood against the security agencies with a view to set the military against the people and the government.

They are also demoralising troops and security agencies through false accusations and fake news, Mr Musa said.

He warned them to desist as the consequences of their intended actions would be calamitous to themselves.

We also noted that foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group, to resurrect, he said.

He, however, expressed confidence in the Federal Governments efforts at sustaining and reinvigorating the MNJTF to continue its good work.

Mr Musa also restated that the Nigerian army would not relent in clearing the visages and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers.

The Nigerian army is a stakeholder in our national security and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

Additionally, we are making this statement because the military, particularly the Nigerian army has always been called upon to intervene in conflict situations in order to resolve crises in most cases when they get worse, while the public expect miracles.

We will like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we are determined more than ever before, to continue to uphold the constitution and defend the territorial integrity of this nation from both external and internal aggression.

Nigeria is a sovereign country with clearly established judicial system, therefore all aggrieved persons and groups should take advantage of that and resolve their differences amicably, he said.

(NAN)
The need for protection of freedom of the press and opinion dominated speeches at an event to mark the 2019 World Press Freedom Day at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Various speakers took turns to decry the growing dangers to press freedom around the world, calling for action against those responsible.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply troubled by the growing number of attacks and the culture of impunity targeted at media workers around the world.

Almost 100 journalists were killed in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned, says the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),

This brings to a total of 1,307 the number of journalists killed between 1994 and 2018, according to the organisation.

The UN chief noted that when journalists and other media workers are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price.

Mr Guterres emphasised that a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights.

On the theme of this years commemoration, Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation, he stated that democracy was incomplete without access to transparent and reliable information.

At a time when disinformation and mistrust of the news media is growing, a free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights, he said.

In her statement, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), Maria Espinosa, said she was marking the day with a heavy heart, citing the UNESCOs statistics.

Ms Espinosa noted that the media space was shrinking across the world, as restrictive laws and policies are enacted, and media workers and their families are subjected to threats and reprisals.

Women are disproportionately affected, contending with sexist abuse and sexual harassment online, as well as physical sexual violence, including rape. Too often, these attacks go unpunished, she said.

The PGA said that high-quality journalism and diverse media was needed more than ever at a time when extremism, hate speech and lies spread like wildfire.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, said it was important that freedom of opinion was guaranteed through free exchange of ideas and information based on factual truths.

Ms Azoulay said societies that valued a free press needed to be constantly vigilant, adding that nations must act together to protect the freedom of expression and safety of journalists.

The Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists also noted that freedom of expression was indispensable for good governance, informed decision-making, democracy, free and fair electoral processes and accountability of governments.

The event, which featured a panel discussion on the theme of the day, was organised by the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO. (NAN)
An assistant professor at Howard University, Jennifer Thomas, has said the need for focused fact-checking and balanced story-telling with great accuracy has become very important for journalists around the world.

Ms Thomas spoke Friday at a World Press Freedom Day event organised by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Lagos.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Day was themed Media for Democracy: Journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

My basic advice: be sceptical, consider the source, check the URL, look at the byline and quotes, review the photo. Be a curious journalist  question everything, said Ms Thomas, who teaches at the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film.

Today, there are websites dedicated to separating fact from fiction and even quizzing readers to see how savvy they are at detecting such information.

Even with these measures in place, we know that a tweet can become world headlines before a spellcheck is even conducted and a rant on a blog post may be repeated as a lead story on a newscast, without the news outlet doing its due diligence.

Ms Thomas said disinformation or fake news and the subsequent demonising of the media have created a climate for the news industry synonymous to a thunderstorm.

Add the unpredictability of social media and it becomes the perfect storm. In order to quell this tempest, journalists must ride out the storm and steady the ship through adhering to the fundamental principles of the profession.

In turn, journalism professors must be vigilant at teaching media history, literacy, and ethics while underscoring excitement for the profession. It is a daunting, yet surmountable task.

Ms Thomas noted that while the relationship between the U.S president and the American media had traditionally been a frosty one, the recent verbal attacks had led to increased incidents of intimidation and, sometimes, even violence against journalists by citizens.

Let me be clear  journalists are not the enemy of the people; we are the advocates for the people. Yet, the constant barrage of the term fake news is apparently having an impact on the publics perception of the industry, she said.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Russell Brooks, the U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, said the goal of the U.S. Mission is to promote democracy, to strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria and all over the world.

We believe, as it has been said many times, that the media represents the fourth estate of any democracy. It is crucial that the media play a significant role in holding the other three branches accountable, Mr Brooks said.

Its also been said that the most important element of any democracy is the citizens themselves and their right to vote. And while that is true, for citizens to exercise their votes in a responsible way, in an informed way they need the media to provide them with accurate information that will allow them to do so, to vote in a responsible fashion and ensure that their representatives are serving their needs in the fashion that they wish.

Mr Brooks said the media in Nigeria, the United States, and around the world is under enormous pressure around the world.

Whether its a matter of economic pressure, physical intimidation, violence  some cases have resulted in the media paying the ultimate price, for that reason we deserve to honour them at least once every year.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has begun a 28-million-euro project, sponsored by the Netherlands, to accelerate the fight against child labour in Nigeria and four other African countries.

This was announced by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, on the sideline of a two-day workshop on the project in Abuja on Friday.

The project, Acceleration of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL), was also being carried out in Mali, Malawi, Cote dIvoire, Egypt and Uganda.

The ambassador said the project was a long term one which focuses on the causes of child labour.

Netherlands is financing this project; it is actually a project that is going to be undertaken in five different countries in Africa; Nigeria is one of them.

The total funding for this project from the Netherlands for these five countries is 28 million euros.

It is a long-term project and is expected to take at least five years to reach the results that are expected.

We think that a child should have the opportunity to go to school, to be a child but we also understand, we had the same situation in Europe two centuries ago, that it is not just child labour.

It has to do with the whole of the economy, with the social situation, the economic situation of the parents and so forth, she said.

She said that ILO was trusted by the government of Netherlands to facilitate the project in African countries.

It is a complicated project; that is why we are happy that the ILO is taking this up. They have a good track record on joining employers, employees and state authorities to work together, she said.

Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, said the organisation had been working with the federal government to develop a policy on child labour.

Mr Zulu explained that the project would focus on the supply chains in cocoa and mining in the country and work with local authorities to facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Now this project which is kindly being supported with funding from the Netherlands government will be looking at the supply chain in cocoa and artisanal mining.

This is because those are some of the supply chains where there is quite a high level of child labour.

So basically, the project will work with the local communities and support the provision of alternative livelihoods.

It will also withdraw children from child labour and support them by placement in schools.

So we will be working with local authorities and local governments to see how the children who are withdrawn from child labour can be placed in schools, providing some means of support to the families.

It is really working in a number of areas to ensure that Nigeria works towards the achievement of the SDG goals by 2030, he said.

The director added that the ILO was working with stakeholders to ensure opportunities of child labour in the cocoa and mining production processes were reduced or possibly eliminated.

We are trying to work with the communities to educate them but also to ensure that those who depend on child labour families are given alternative livelihoods so that they do not rely on children.

We are working with different stakeholders from the local communities we are working in and we will build the capacities of these stakeholders including law enforcement agencies and the communities where the children come from.

Addressing journalists, ILO Chief Technical Adviser, ACCEL Africa, Minoru Agasawara, said the project would work with stakeholders according to the priorities identified in the different countries.

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We are looking at legal framework, policy framework, capacity building, awareness raising, community mobilisation and also working with employers.

In addition to the employers and workers organisation, we also have the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ministry of Mines because they are working in the artisanal mine area in Niger State and Ministry of Agriculture because they are working in the supply chain of the cocoa in Ondo, she said.

The project is a four-year one, starting from November 2018 and would end in October 2022.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has released the statement below, detailing modalities for the sighting of the new moon to signal the commencement of this years Ramadan fast.

The statement also detailed the contact telephone and email addresses of 30 personalities across the country that should be contacted by anyone who sights the new crescent.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General (Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad) enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH.

If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

See full statement and contact details of the personalities below

FELICITATION AND MOONSIGHTING FOR RAMADAN 1440 A.H.

The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. present at his home), he must observe fasting that month (Q. Al-Baqarah 2:185)

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, felicitates with the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming Ramadan, 1440 A.H. The Council prays that Allah spare our lives to this and many more Ramadan on the surface of the earth and give us the ability to carry out good deeds as much as possible in the Month because of the multiple abilities of its virtues and the blessings of Allah.

In the same vein the Council hereby beseeches all Muslims to be prayerful unto Allah, especially in the Month (Ramadan), to help our Nation in general and our leaders in particular to be able to overcome, once and for all, the seemingly intractable security challenges as epitomized in the Boko Haram insurgency and the upsurge of armed banditry, kidnapping and related crimes.

Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1440 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, May 5, 2019 equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1440 AH. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Monday, May 6, 2019, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1440 AH.

The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the Country to be on the lookout for the announcement of His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1440 AH Ramadan fast.

In addition to the established and traditional Islamic leaders in each locality, members of the (NMSC) who can be contacted for information and clarification are as follows:

S/N NAME PHONE NO. E-MAIL 1 Sheikh Dahir Bauchi 08036121311 Sayyadibashir26@yahoo.com 2 Sheikh Karibullah Kabara 08035537382 malamkabara@yahoo.com 3 Mal. Simwal Usman Jibrin 08033140010 simwaljibril@yahoo.com 4 Sheikh Salihu Yaaqub 07032558231 Salihumy11@hotmail.com.com 5 Mal. Jafar Abubakar 08020878075 Jaafaraa1434@gmail.com 6 Alh. Abdullahi Umar 08037020607 waziringwandu@yahoo.com 7 Prof. J.M. Kaura 08067050641 Jmkaura56@yahoo.com 8 Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar 08036509363 Baumar277@gmail.com 9 Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Al-Ilory 08023126335 habibelilory@ymail.com 10 Malam Nurudeen Ibrahim 08027091623 Nurudeen.a.o.ibrahim@gmail.com 11 Muhammad Rabiu Salahudeen 08035740333 muhammadrabiusalahudeen@gmail.com 12 Sheikh Abdur-Razzaq Ishola 08023864448 08051111063 hustaz@yahoo.com sheikh@al@abrartravels.com 13 Sheikh Abdur Rasheed Mayaleke 08035050804 jentleasad@yahoo.com 14 Dr. Ganiy I. Agbaje 08028327463 08057752980 Ganiy.agbaje@nasrda.gov.ng gagbaje@yahoo.co.uk 15 Gafar M. Kuforiji 08033545208 kuforijiabdulwasiu@gmail.com 16 Prof. Usman El-Nafaty 08062870892 elnafaty@gmail.com 17 Mal. Ibrahim Zubairu Salisu 08038522693 zubairusalisu@yahoo.com 18 Dr. Usman Hayatu Dukku 0805 7041968 udukku@yahoo.com 19 Imam Manu Muhammad 08036999841 limaminmisau@gmail.com 20 Qadee Ahamad Bobboy 08035914285 adamawaemiratecouncil@yahoo.com 21 Prof. Z. I. Oboh Oseni 08033574431 oseni@unilorin.edu.ng wazzioseni@gmail.com 22 Nurudeen Asunogie D. 08033533012 hamdallah1999@yahoo.com 23 Sheikh Bala Lau 08037008805 08052426880 balalaujibwisnigeria@gmail.com 24 Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir 08065687545 ustaznasirabdulmuhyi@yahoo.com 25 Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad 08023141752 aahmadimam@yahoo.co.uk 26 Muhammad Yaseen Qamarud-Deen 08055322087 crescentgroup2000@gmail.com 27 Sheikh Lukman Abdallah 08052242252 abuyatamaa@gmail.com 28 Sheikh Sulaiman Gumi 08033139153 ssgummi@gmail.com 29 Sheikh Adam Idoko 08036759892 imamidoko@gmail.com 30 Alh. Yusuf Nwoha 08030966956 08026032997 yusufnwoha@gmail.com

We wish all Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts all over the world happy Ramadan in advance.

Allahuma Baligna Ramadan! Amin

Signed

Prof. Salisu Shehu

Deputy Secretary-General

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
Days after his return from vacation, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has not been seen in public, sparking a heated debate over his health status.

The governor has avoided public appearances, and people were reportedly barred from taking his pictures at the airport when he arrived on Tuesday after many weeks of holiday. Up till now, no picture of the governor returning to the state has been made public.

The governor has also cancelled many public engagements since he arrived.

Rumours

There are rumours that the governor is ill. This could not be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES.

The governor has been avoiding public appearances and engagements since his controversial return to the state. We wanted to receive him at the airport but we were barred, but nevertheless, we wish him quick recovery, said a senior public servant, who requested not to be named.

Hundreds of workers who converged on the Jolly Nyame stadium for the workers day celebration were disappointed as the governor did not show up.

The governor is also yet to meet with the striking lecturers of the state university, though his aides had earlier assured that the governor would ensure university students return to the classroom, 24 hours after his return from vacation.

Our hope is dashed, because we were assured by the governors aides sometime last week, that as soon he arrived, His Excellency Governor Darius will meet with our leaders but we are yet to hear anything, said a lecturer who does not want to be named as well.

Sources said a traditional chief, who sought an audience with the governor, was not allowed after waiting for hours at the government house, Wednesday evening.

An online newspaper in the state, Taraba Truth and Facts had earlier reported that even the deputy governor, Haruna Manu, is yet to meet his boss since his arrival.

Manu has been making several calls to some of the governors aides and top members of his kitchen cabinet who told him the governor needs some rest after a long flight back to the country.

Another close watcher of event in the government house Jalingo told our reporter that the governors return from vacation was shrouded in secrecy, only few politicians were carried along, in fact his deputy was informed of his coming, but was not at the airport to receive him, the medium quoted a source.

The deputy governor did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone seeking comments.

But, an aide of the deputy governor, who did not want to be quoted as he did not have the permission of his principal to speak, said his boss met the governor yesterday. He did not disclose further details.

Governor full of life

The governors aide on political matters, Abubakar Bawa, dismissed rumours of his principals ill-health.

There is no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds in the state and beyond that Gov. Ishaku is either sick or dead, Mr Bawa said.

His Excellency is healthy, energetic and full of life, going about his official duties for the betterment of the state. I wonder why political detractors and enemies of progress would want him dead.

It is obvious that the Almighty God will give the Governor long life and good health to continue to serve as a pillar of support to his people, he said.

But when pressed further on the governors absence from public functions, he said: Must he be at all events? He is being represented by his deputy. During the workers day, he was represented by the deputy, so why must you people ask for his public appearance? I think some are out for mischief, he said.

Abigel Tor, a resident in the statem said it is unfortunate that politicians forget that holding public office means you are the peoples servant.

We are all human and can be sick, there is nothing to hide about it. If he is not feeling fine, we wish quick recovery but the people should be carried along so that they can all join in praying for him, he is our governor, she said.

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A public commentator, Musa Maraneyo, recalled how former Governor Suntais associates held Taraba to ransom for three years while he was sick.

On August 25, 2013, 10 months after his medical trip abroad, Suntai returned amidst reports that he could not talk, he said.

He was carried out of the plane by his aides because he clearly could not walk at the time. Umar, his deputy, was blocked from receiving him in Jalingo. Still, the people around him all claimed he was fit to return to his duty post. In fact, one even said at the airport that Suntai was mentally alert and lucid.

While we pray for his speedy recovery, we should also avoid a repeat of Suntais saga, he said.
The management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report which detailed the complaints of students on a shortage of toilets.

This newspaper reported how students decried the absence of clean and adequate toilets on their campus.

Many of them said they now resort to open defecation and in places where there are toilets, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that these are not well managed.

Some female students also narrated the difficulties they face during their menstrual circles.

Last week, the universitys Dean of Students Affairs, Wole Adebayo told PREMIUM TIMES he could not confirm whether there are toilets or not on campus for students use except he reaches out to the work department of the institution.

University Officially Reacts

Following the report, the Head of Information & Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, in a statement on Friday said there are seven blocks of toilets constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use.

For the information of the general public, seven blocks of toilets had been constructed on campus and five are being put into optimal use. One block of toilet contains ten toilets each, with five allocated to male students, while the other five were allocated to female students.

These toilets are strategically located for easy access by the students and measures put in place for their regular maintenance. For the avoidance of doubt, these toilets are located in the Faculty of Engineering, Directorate of GST (beside the main library), Directorate of Continuing Education Programme and the University Health Centre.

Mr Olofinmuagun also said that the University, under the present leadership of the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Olubunmi Ajayi, takes the welfare of both staff and students as priority and would ensure that nothing erodes its enviable track records that it has over the years.

Students Kick

Reacting to the university defence, a student of the university, Israel Paul told our correspondent the toilets are locked down and not in use.

Another student in the Faculty of Engineering, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that dysfunctional toilets cannot be count(Ed) as toilets.

Seven dysfunctional toilets! I could recall, as a fresher, that every fresh student who went for Urinalysis was given a test-tube for urine and asked to go to the back of the building (bush) and do their thing. A toilet is a decent and reasonable place to carry out such an act.

Also, Durotimi Aribisala, the President of Association of Campus Journalists, in EKSU said: The one opposite the security operations unit is not working. They just built it and abandoned. I pass through that side every day but I have never seen anyone making use of it. As far as I could remember, those toilets had been built during the time of the former VC, Prof Oye Bamidele and since then we havent seen or heard anything about again.
MAYS LANDING  An Egg Harbor Township man linked to the April Kauffman murder trial may face a year less one day in prison after pleading guilty to witness tampering, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced Friday.

John Kachbalian, 55, exchanged his plea for a recommended sentence of probation conditioned upon a 364-day sentence in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, a statement said.

Kachbalian, a retired Pagans motorcycle club member known as Egyptian, was arrested Aug. 30, 2018, following an investigation by the Prosecutors Office Major Crime Unit and a search warrant executed at his Spray Avenue home. He was charged with witness tampering, invasion of privacy and cyberharassment after posting on social media a seminude photo of one of the witnesses, purported to be Beverly Augello, and calling her a lying rat, as previously reported by The Press.

Kachbalian was held in the jail but granted release in October due to health issues. He was ordered by Judge Bernard DeLury to return to his home in Egg Harbor Township with a 24-hour curfew.
As the primaries approached, one Democrat after another announced campaigns for president. Most were senators. Some were governors. One came from a university town in Indiana. They spoke of a need to clean up an executive branch they said was riddled with corruption.

No, this isn't a description of the 2020 campaign. It was 1976 - the most crowded Democratic presidential field in modern American history, until the current election cycle, which boasts 21.

And, despite worries about a bruising intraparty battle, the little-known peanut farmer who won the primaries also won the White House. His name was Jimmy Carter.

How many Democratic candidates were there in 1976? One historian put the number at 17, though it depends on how you count them. Let's just say the race was remarkably fluid right up until to the last primary.

The first to announce was Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona in late November of 1974, almost a full two years before the election. The longtime congressman came from a famous political dynasty. (Four generations of Udalls have served in various elected offices across the American West.)
ATLANTIC CITY  Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White grew up here, rented his first apartment and bought his first home here.

But in 1998, he moved his family to Galloway Township, he said.

It was nothing to do with the city. Thats a part of me, said White, who still has many family members here, thinks highly of Atlantic City High School and spends virtually every day of the week here. We wanted a bigger home and yard, when the kids were little.

You can get more house and property for your money on the mainland, he said.

Two of his three grown sons have purchased homes in the city and live there. One is a teacher, the other a police officer, White said.

He would like to see more home ownership in the city because of the stability it brings.

Any time you can bring more middle class families back to the city, it helps, said White.

Low home ownership rates are associated with poverty, social problems and a lack of engagement with the community. In Atlantic City, where only one out of four homes are owner-occupied, increasing the level of home ownership is vital to the success of both the city and the county.

One of the fatal flaws is Atlantic Citys atrociously low percentage of people living in a unit they own, said 6th Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, a Republican who grew up and still lives in Chelsea.

A healthy neighborhood should have a mean of about 65 percent owner- occupied housing, Kurtz said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2013 to 2017, only 26 percent of homes in Atlantic City were owner-occupied, compared with 67 percent countywide and 64 percent statewide and nationwide.

Kurtz, a member of the citys Housing Authority board, would like to see the city increase its home ownership program and set a goal to get the city up to 40 percent owner-occupied housing in the next 10 years and 50 percent longer term.

Such an effort could go hand-in-hand with raising the number of residents here from the current 39,000 to about 50,000 over the next decade, as suggested by Mayor Frank Gilliam and others.

When people dont own where they live, there is a lack of investment in the city, Kurtz said.

That has played out in Atlantic City, where residents have not cared over the years about how public money has been spent.

Fiscal responsibility is the new hobby in town, whereas it should just be a part of the life of the town, said Kurtz.

The simple fact that some people prefer a more suburban lifestyle, like Chief White, has meant many successful people have left the city.

That has left a disproportionate number of poor living here, leaving the prospects of owning a home remote.

More than 40 percent of the citys population is poor, compared to 14.4 percent in Atlantic County and 10 percent statewide, according to 2018 U.S. Census figures.

A rate of 40 percent or above puts it into the category of extreme poverty, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Communities where poverty is so highly concentrated are associated with disadvantages for households living there over and above those disadvantages that might be expected because of the households limited resources, according to a 2009 Federal Reserve study on Atlantic City.

Those disadvantages include growing up with few positive role models, a poor quality of public services, and more.

The federal government defines poverty as an income of $25,465 for a family of four; or $17,242 for a single person under age 65.

A lot of (poor or modest income) people have problems it will take time to work out, said Mosheh Math of Home Initiatives Inc., a nonprofit that runs home ownership classes in Atlantic City. They need to get their credit score up, and do all the things to qualify for home ownership.

James Sonny McCullough recently moved back to the Chelsea section of the city from the Seaview Harbor section of Egg Harbor Township. He had a large home on the bay overlooking Longport, along with a $34,000 property tax bill.

Now, he has a bedroom condo high up at the Ocean Club, pays $7,000 a year in property taxes, plus a condo fee of $850 a month.

His southeast-facing balcony looks out at the ocean, the shuttered Atlantic Club and over to Bader Field. His unit is so high, he can read the faint outline of the name of Atlantic Clubs earlier incarnation as the Hilton casino at its very top.

But McCullough, a longtime mayor of Egg Harbor Township before stepping down last year, has no illusions about the difficulties ahead for the city and how that may discourage people from choosing to live here.

His reasons were varied. His wife Georgene (McCabe) grew up in Chelsea, he said, and wanted to be close to the beach and Boardwalk. His roots are deep here. His grandfather Anthony Ruffu was mayor when Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall opened in 1929.

I moved back because I care for city, said McCullough.

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Press Meteorologist Joe Martucci will be the featured guest at the New Jersey Coastal Coalitions weekly Tidal Flooding Talk broadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.

The Facebook Live event will take place at the Irish Pub on St. James Place in Atlantic City. Previous Press Meteorologist and current meteorologist for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dan Skeldon will host the talk alongside Palma Accardi, technical assistant construction official in Margate.

As Fall weather settles into South Jersey, Joe will answer any weather questions on your mind and talk with Dan and Palma about the upcoming winter.

The New Jersey Coastal Coalition is a nonprofit that seeks to build more resilient communities at the Jersey Shore by developing policies and practices that will anticipate future concerns and to create solutions to be shared by all participants. The group includes county offices of emergency management and local governments.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




PHNOM PENH, April 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - "The rule of law and human rights are two sides of the same principle: the freedom to live in dignity" (United Nations). It is with dignity and with respect for the rule of law that the Asian Vision Institute invites you to take note of how Cambodia continues to evolve in the area of human rights.

In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords brought an end to decades of strife and ushered in what is referred to as a "negative peace" - the absence of armed struggle. In 1998, a full and lasting positive peace came to pass under the "win-win" policy of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia has since sought to focus on the future, to build state institutions and social cohesion and to adopt alternatives to violence based on the culture of dialogue and national reconciliation. Landmine and weapons reduction campaigns and conflict resolution programs are prime examples of these efforts. In addition to being one of the founders of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre, Cambodia has actively participated in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and demining operations. Some 6,000 Cambodian peacekeepers have been deployed in many parts of the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Cambodia's liberation from the brutal genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge. This came in the wake of several years of brinkmanship by foreign powers. Forces once hailed as heroes became enemies overnight and a battered nation sought peace and stability. In 1979, it was with an unshakable resolve that the government of this nation committed to protecting its citizens from armed struggles and crimes against humanity.

Respect for this most basic of human rights and all others, remains a priority for Cambodia. Our nation is a party to eight core UN human rights treaties and is the only country in Asia to host a field office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nearly 80 percent of recommendations from the "Universal Periodic Review" of human rights records were accepted by Cambodia, following its most recent review cycle. The Cambodian Human Rights Committee disseminated these recommendations among relevant ministries and institutions and prepared an implementation report for the next review cycle.

With respect to labour and trade union rights and freedom of assembly and association, Cambodian garment workers, for example, are very well represented via some 2,500 unions present in about 1,000 factories. A national committee for review of international labour conventions and the Ministry of Labour have consulted with stakeholders to improve trade union laws. More than 80 percent of Cambodian exports originate with the textile, garment and footwear industries, where wages have more than doubled since 2013. These wages are untaxed, as are non-salary allowances and benefits. Employers contribute to the National Social Security Fund which provides for maternity leave benefits, workplace insurance and health care. A pension for workers in the garment sector will come into effect later this year and a similar program will be expanded to other sectors.

With respect to freedom of the press, Cambodians have access to 439 newspapers, 194 magazines, 20 bulletins, 171 news websites, 48 online TV channels, 40 press associations, 21 foreign news agencies, 83 radio stations, 137 provincial radio stations, 19 analogue TV stations, 8 digital TV stations and 210 provincial cable TV stations. Cambodians also enjoy freedom of expression via a variety of social media.

With respect to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Cambodia hosts one of the higher numbers of aid organizations per capita in the world. More than 5,000 NGOs operate in the country and provide social and economic development and environmental protection aid in accordance with applicable rules and norms. These NGOs operate freely and exercise their rights to play a complementary role in national socio-economic development, climate change adaptation and environmental governance.

Cambodia is home to the largest youth and adolescent population in Southeast Asia; "bamboo shoots" as they are called. "Youth for Peace" and the "Alliance for Conflict Transformation" are examples of initiatives that are designed to help a new generation to move forward.

The national election in July of 2018 was conducted in a free, fair, peaceful and transparent manner. Twenty political parties were in the running. Despite a call for boycott, a significant majority of registered voters expressed their will to see this nation remain on a staunch path of peace, stability and progress. As in any democracy, those who would violate the rule of law are subject to prosecution and they may defend themselves in keeping with their rights as guaranteed under the constitution.

Private land governance in Cambodia is in gradual recovery. Policy and legal frameworks are being refined in accordance with individual rights and land use guidelines. Efforts are being made to curb illegal occupation of land by those who would seek to pervert regulations for their gain. Pending disputes are being reviewed and addressed. Nationwide land registration procedures are to be completed by 2021. Concession procedures are in place to allocate acreage to the land poor for residential settlement and / or family farming. Communal land registration programs for indigenous communities and affordable housing projects are underway.

This is but a sampling of the measures that the Royal Government of Cambodia has put in place to promote and to improve human rights on its soil. These achievements derive from mutual respect for authority, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We firmly believe that concerted constructive engagement among stakeholders and government is the most viable option for strengthening and sustaining a foundation for peace, harmony, democracy and prosperity.

The Asian Vision Institute (AVI) https://www.asianvision.org/ is an independent think tank based in Cambodia.

SOURCE The Asian Vision Institute (AVI)

Related Links

https://www.asianvision.org/


HOUSTON, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), today announced that KIPIC has awarded McDermott a technology contract for the basic engineering, technology license and catalyst for an integrated Low Pressure Recovery (LPR) and Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) unit at KIPIC's Petrochemical Refinery Integration Project (PRIZe) in Al Zour, Kuwait. Once complete, this unit will produce 330,000 metric tons per annum of polymer grade propylene using refinery by-product streams.

"This award marks the 50th OCT unit that Lummus Technology has licensed, and we are honored to celebrate this milestone with KIPIC," said Leon de Bruyn, Senior Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "This is a significant achievement that highlights the trust that our customers have in our industry-leading technologies."

The Petrochemical Refinery Integration project (PRIZe) will add a gasoline block, an aromatics block, OCT unit, polypropylene units, associated utility and offsite facilities to the existing refinery site. The new units will be closely integrated with the ZOR Refinery and LNGI projects which will be operated as an integrated facility once complete.

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

About KIPIC

Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) is responsible for operating and managing the integrated complex for refining, petrochemicals manufacture businesses and liquefied natural gas import facilities at Al-Zour complex which is located about 70km south of Kuwait City. KIPIC planning to implement a world scale petrochemicals and gasoline manufacturing facility adjacent to the Al Zour refinery and LNG import facilities which are currently under construction.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 32,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about backlog, to the extent backlog may be viewed as an indicator of future revenues or profitability, and the expected value and scope of the award discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit markets, our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog, changes in project design or schedules, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties, changes in industry norms and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Scott Lamb

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 832 513 1068

[email protected]

Global Media Relations

Gentry Brann

Global Vice President, Communications

+1 281 870 5269

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.mcdermott.com/


Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent. Funds raised through the event support PanCAN's critical pancreatic cancer research as well as its services and resources for patients and caregivers.

Trebek, who announced his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis in early March, inspired the crowd of survivors, caregivers and advocates when he took the stage during the event's opening ceremonies. "What we have heard from today's speakers is that there is always hope. I have now been a cancer survivor for sixty days and my hope is that I get to match their accomplishments."

Trebek was joined by a contingency of close to 200 family, friends and staff from his TV game show "Jeopardy!" as well as "Wheel of Fortune." Editorial Supervisor Michele Loud of "Jeopardy!", along with Supervising Producer Rocky Schmidt and Executive Producer Harry Friedman, created "Team Alex" for PurpleStride Los Angeles to raise money for PanCAN and to support their friend Trebek. "Team Alex" quickly became the No. 1 friends & family fundraising team for PurpleStride Los Angeles. To date, "Team Alex" has raised nearly $60,000.

"Alex is family to us," Friedman said. "Our goal was to raise $35,000 to symbolize the 35 years that Alex has been the greatest host of the greatest quiz show on television. And to quote him again, 'We will get it done!' Please help us continue to raise money to fight this disease."

Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN, praised Trebek's positive attitude and his decision to be on hand to personally address the crowd. "Pancreatic cancer does not discriminate. Having Alex here today gives survivors so much strength and positivity and will undoubtedly greatly amplify our urgent call to raise money for critical research on early detection and for better treatment options."

Since 2003, PanCAN has invested more than $56 million in research, led the effort to pass the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, created a grassroots army with 60 affiliates across the country, and is on track to launch its own clinical trial that will more quickly and more efficiently improve treatment options for patients.

"We have made tremendous progress since my own father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 20 years ago," Fleshman added. "There is hope for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."

PurpleStride Los Angeles participants enjoyed the 2.2-mile walk throughout the Los Angeles Zoo. CBS2 This Morning co-anchor Suzanne Marques and Los Angeles Kings Radio Commentator Daryl Evans served as co-emcees for the event.

PurpleStride Los Angeles was supported by national presenting sponsor Celgene , presenting sponsor Kathryn Naficy Pancreatic Foundation, national gold sponsors AbbVie and Ipsen , gold sponsors Cedars-Sinai, Halozyme, Harry's Berries and Pom & Associates, gold media sponsor CBS2/KCAL9, and silver sponsors Crescent Capital Group and Cancer Care Institute.

To make a donation, visit pancan.org/teamalex.

To learn more about PanCAN and its signature walk PurpleStride, watch the PurpleStride PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgfqCmz_4uY&feature=youtu.beand the History of PanCAN. Follow PanCAN on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is dedicated to fighting the world's toughest cancer. In our urgent mission to save lives, we attack pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy. Our effort is amplified by a nationwide network of grassroots support. We are determined to improve patient outcomes today and to double pancreatic cancer survival.

Media Contact:

Julie Vasquez

Public Relations Manager

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Direct: 310-706-3311

Cell: 310-697-9129

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Related Links

http://www.pancan.org


SAO PAULO, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, a corporation (sociedade anonima) duly organized under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), today announced the expiration and results of its offer to purchase for cash (the " Tender Offer ") any and all of its outstanding 4.750% Notes due 2024 (the " Notes "), guaranteed by Votorantim S.A. (f/k/a Votorantim Industrial S.A.).

As set forth in the Company's Offer to Purchase, dated April 26, 2019 (the " Offer to Purchase ") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (together, the " Offer Documents "), the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2019 (the " Expiration Deadline ").

According to information received by D.F. King, the information and tender agent for the Tender Offer, as of the Expiration Deadline, holders of the Notes had validly tendered and not validly withdrawn $263,021,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes (representing approximately 65.8% of the outstanding Notes).

Holders who (i) validly tendered their Notes and did not validly withdraw on or before the Expiration Deadline or (ii) delivered a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and all of the other required documents on or before the Expiration Deadline and tender their Notes prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 7, 2019, will receive for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted by the Company, a cash payment of U.S.$1,040.00 (the " Tender Offer Consideration "). The Tender Offer Consideration and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes accepted for purchase (including those tendered through the guaranteed delivery procedures) from the last interest payment date of the Notes up to but excluding the settlement date will be paid in cash on the settlement date, which is currently anticipated to be May 10, 2019.

The Company retained Banco Bradesco BBI S.A. (" Bradesco BBI "), HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (" HSBC ") and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (" J.P. Morgan ") to act as dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") in connection with the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to Bradesco BBI at +1 (646) 432-6643 (collect); HSBC at +1 (212) 525-5552 (collect) and +1 (888) 478-8456 (toll free); and J.P. Morgan at +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect) and +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll free).

Neither the Offer Documents nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer Documents or any related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase. The Tender Offer was made solely pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Company made the Tender Offer only in those jurisdictions where it was legal to do so. The Tender Offer was not made to, nor did the Company accept tenders of Notes from holders in any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdiction.

NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company and its affiliates that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to the Company's management, the Company cannot guarantee future results or events. The Company expressly disclaims a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
"Chris has a lot of talent, and he looks great the past two competitions that I've seen him at. I saw him at the Governor's Cup and again at the LA Grand Prix, and I could see how much a competitor he was, and that he had what it takes to make it big in this field," said Whitaker following a recent photoshoot outside Boston. "I am definitely looking forward to his next competition in San Antonio this summer."
Washington, May 4 : US President Donald Trump has said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an hour-long call, covering issues including the "Russian Hoax".

"Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin," the US President tweeted, the BBC reported on Friday.

Trump rebuked a reporter who asked whether he had warned Putin against meddling in the 2020 elections.

It was their first conversation since the Mueller report cleared Trump of colluding with Russia on the 2016 vote.

The Kremlin confirmed in a statement the two had spoken, saying the call had been initiated by the White House.

Trump and Putin last spoke informally at last December's G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, after Trump cancelled the two leaders' official meeting.

Trump tweeted on Friday about their latest conversation: "As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing not a bad thing."

When asked in the White House on Friday whether he had warned Putin that Moscow should not interfere in the next US presidential election, Trump told the reporter she was "very rude".

"We didn't discuss that," he said.

"Getting along with countries is a good thing and we want to have good relations with everybody."

But the White House said the matter of alleged Russian meddling had been broached in the call.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Very, very briefly it was discussed, essentially in the context of that it's over and there was no collusion, which I'm pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place."

Sanders also said Trump and Putin had briefly discussed the investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The White House press secretary described the call as an "overall positive conversation".

A redacted version of the special counsel's report was made public last month. It did not determine that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, but it detailed repeated efforts by Trump to thwart an investigation he feared would end his presidency.

Mueller concluded his inquiry could not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice, noting Department of Justice guidance that a sitting president cannot be criminally charged.
Seoul, May 4 : North Korea on Saturday launched several short-range missiles into the East Sea, according to a statement released by South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).

The JCS said the unidentified missiles had been launched between 9.06 and 9.27 a.m., from a site near Wonsan, on the Hodo peninsula, located along North Korea's eastern coast, reports Efe news.

"Our military has been closely watching North Korea's movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US," the JCS added.

The missiles flew a distance of between 70-100 km into the East Sea, according to the JCS.

This test comes amid ongoing international negotiations on the Korean Peninsula's denuclarization.

On April 18, Pyongyang said that leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test of a new tactical weapon, without providing further details.

South Korea later said that the weapon in question was a projectile system for terrestrial combat, while the Pentagon said it was not a ballistic missile.
Bangkok, May 4 : Thailand will on Saturday crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years since the last coronation.

The coronation of 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will kick-off more than two years after he ascended the throne following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely beloved and revered, CNN reported.

During the three-day celebration, King Vajiralongkorn will be be presented with a gold 7.3-kg crown, circle parts of the city on a royal palanquin and will undergo a royal purification ceremony using sacred water gathered from Thailand's 76 provinces, according to the Thai Government's public relations department.

The crucial moment, where King Vajiralongkorn becomes a consecrated king, will be on Saturday, when he receives a sacred, nine-tiered umbrella. Only a consecrated king is allowed to sit on a throne under a nine-tiered umbrella which represents the King's connection with heaven.

For the majority of Thai people, this weekend's coronation of the 10th Thai King will be the first they have witnessed. The late King Bhumibol was crowned on May 5, 1950.

Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, which made him the world's longest reigning monarch at the time of his death.

Authorities have confirmed to CNN that one billion Thai baht ($31 million) was set aside for the coronation, about one third of the cost of the late King's funeral in 2017.

King Vajiralongkorn studied in Australia and the United Kingdom and has fathered two daughters and five sons.

On Wednesday, the King announced he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, who became his fourth wife.

Although Thailand's monarchy hasn't held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.

Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country's strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent.

The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two coups in 13 years.

In March, Thailand held a national election but its results remain unclear, with both major political parties claiming they are able to form a government.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Watch Cyclone Fani hits West Bengal to continue further north east:

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and then ripped through Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, left more than 1,000 people dead. Six weeks later, Kenneth hit Comoros on April 24 and tore into Mozambique the next day. The death toll in the second cyclone is about 40.

The head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa, Gemma Connell, told reporters via teleconference: "We are operating two operations on shoe-string budget We desperately need more money to come in."

Food assistance has been provided to 27,000 people affected by Kenneth despite the torrential rains that followed impacting relief efforts.

Mozambique has not had cyclones before and the two that have devastated it are the result of climate change, she said.

"What is absolutely tragic is that these weather events are impacting the people who have had the least contribution to climate change in the world."

UN agencies are also trying to stop an outbreak of cholera in Mozambique in the aftermath of the flooding, she added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

-- With inputs from IANS
Mohali, May 4 : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chasing 184, KKR rode on the unbeaten half century from Shubhman Gill as they easily crossed the line with 12 balls to spare at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night.

Gill, who opened the batting with Chris Lynn, remained unbeaten on 65 off 49 balls, his innings laced with five fours and two sixes.

After the match, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik praised the 19-year-old, saying the Punjab batsman, who has been promoted to open in the innings in place of Sunil Narine in recent matches, has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting the country's armed forces by comparing surgical strikes to video games.

Addressing a perss conference at the party office here, Gandhi said: "The Army is not a personal property of Modiji. Modi thinks the Indian Air Force, Navy and the Army are his personal properties.

"These surgical strikes were not carried out by Modiji, it was carried out by our forces. And if Modiji says that the earlier surgical strikes were not real surgical strikes and a video game, then he is not demeaning the Congress but he is disrespecting the armed forces."

Gandhi also said that if the media needs record then its written here. General Vikram Singh has said the UPA government had carried out six surgical strikes between 2008 and 2014 and given out the dates of the surgical strikes.

"This has been done by the Amry and we don't want to politicise it. And the Prime Minister must have respect for the armed forces," he said.

The Congress President's remarks comes a day after the Prime Minister while addressing a public meeting said that the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too". Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game".

The Congress leader also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was losing in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"More than half of the elections are over and there is clear cut feeling that Modiji is losing. Main issues in this elections are unemployment, corruption of Prime Minister. Our general assessment is clearly saying that BJP is losing the elections.

"The biggest issue in front of the people is unemployment and the economy ruined by Modi government is the biggest issue and the country and Rahul Gandhi wants to understand it. Rahul Gandhi is nothing. Country is the biggest thing.

"Modiji had said that he shall give employment to over two crore youths every year. While in Congress manifesto an entire chapter is about jobs. In this we have listed how we will do and what we will do," he said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "Modiji's entire system is to distract. We have fought four to five elections with him. We have fought against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh. Soon he realises that he is not going to win then he shall bring sometyhing new like he brought sea plane in Gujarat.

"Reality is Modiji is losing the elections and its visible on his face," he added.
History has always been an indispensable part of Indian society. People across India daily begin their day with chants that have their origin in the Bronze Age and pepper their conversation with epics that have been told and re-told since the Iron Age.

Indian politics is no different. From tinkering with city names to making grandiose claims of past achievements, revisiting the past has become a common practice. The exercise, in a sense, has become about finding glory in the past.

The most recent brushes with history on the political front have been in the form of attempts to magnify or diminish the stature of personalities of the past. An apparent effort on similar lines with regards to Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy has generated impassioned conversations in the media during this election season. Nehru has often been at the receiving end of historical reproval. During such times it is instructive to revisit American moral and political philosopher John Rawls, who had crucial insights to offer on how to assess historical figures.

An important argument that Rawls makes is that the giants of the past should be understood in the context of their times rather than ours. The benefit of hindsight is usually an unfair vantage point to pass judgements on the actions made by people in the past. Nehru is an appropriate case in point. His posthumous legacy has often taken a hit for a wide variety of reasons. Most recently, in the case of Masood Azhar, the blame for China's initial stance to block the UN resolution to designate him as a global terrorist was alluded to him. The "original sin" on Nehru's part has been his support for China's membership into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite India being seemingly offered the position twice.

It would, however, be a more objective to look at Nehru's position in the context of his times. The idea of India being a permanent member of UNSC was first floated in 1950 by the US. The UNSC had been formed a few years ago after the end of the Second World War with the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, China and France as its permanent members. However, things became complicated after the communist revolution in China in 1949. The old leadership escaped to modern-day Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (RoC). Meanwhile, a new communist leadership established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China. As US foreign policy was driven by curbing the spread of communism, it did not recognise the legitimacy of the PRC and ROC continued to represent China at the UNSC.

In January 1950, the USSR even walked out of the UN in protest against the US refusal to recognise the PRC. It was in this backdrop that the US approached Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister and diplomat, with the idea of unseating China from the UNSC and putting India in her place. India was seeming to be a potential ally for the US in an Asia that was rapidly becoming red. This seemed even more plausible after India supported a few US-backed resolutions in the UNSC to thwart North Korean aggression in the Korean War.

But to the US offer, Nehru responded to Pandit saying: "India because of many factors, is certainly entitled to a permanent seat in the Security Council. But we are not going in at the cost of China." Nehru held the UN to be a robust forum for conflict resolution and its sound functioning required it to be truly representative of the world's nation states. So, the representation of PRC at the UN was a vital component of his foreign policy. He also did not wish to build any animosity with India's biggest neighbour by delving into Cold War politics. Moreover, by the time the idea was put forward, USSR was back in the UNSC and even if India would have responded positively, the Soviets would have vetoed it. So, the matter ended there.

In 1955, Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin brought up the same issue on Nehru's visit to Moscow. Their exchange has been recorded in verbatim. It has not been reproduced here for the sake of brevity but when Bulganin indicated that Soviets have considered proposing India's place in the Security Council, Nehru responded by saying that this would only create tensions between India and China, and it should not be done until China's admission into the body. In response, Bulganin agreed that it was not the right time to push for India's membership. The exchange gives the impression that the Soviets were only testing India's views on the matter and the offer was not sincere. Even if it was, the US would have vetoed it since India's relations with them had deteriorated by then.

Thus, India was seemingly offered the UNSC membership twice but in both cases the offer could not have materialised since multiple forces were at play. History can, therefore, be a tough taskmaster if inferred without context. The history wars that are increasingly taking place in the current political arena should be wary of such limited outlook. It is crucial that through these dialogues, Rawls' reasoning be followed and sweeping judgements with the benefit of hindsight be avoided. When history is distorted to be used for partisan battles, the people risk losing their touch with the past and with it a sense of commonality and belonging.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute for Competitiveness, India. Chirag Yadav is senior researcher, Institute for Competitiveness who has contributed to the article. They have recently published a book The Age of Awakening that talks about economic history of India post independence)
Brasilia, May 4 : Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abruptly cancelled a US trip to receive a prestigious award following a storm of protest over his history of homophobic, racist and misogynist remarks and plans to erode environmental protections in the Amazon.

The cancellation, announced suddenly on Friday, came after the original venue ditched the event, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio attacked his presence and major corporate sponsors pulled out, the Guardian reported.

In a statement on Friday, Bolsonaro's spokesman, General Otavio do Rego Barros blamed "resistance and deliberate attacks from the mayor of New York and pressure from groups of interest". The general said these attacks had been "ideological".

The annual Person of the Year award ceremony was due to be hosted on May 14 by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Bolsonaro was to be honoured for "fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the US" and his "commitment to building a strong and durable partnership" between both countries, the chamber said.

The gala event was originally due to be hosted at the American Museum of Natural History - but the museum pulled the event after criticism from LGBT and environmental groups.

Last month, Bolsonaro said Brazil could not become a "gay tourism" paradise and his government has come under fire for plans to dismantle Amazon protections and develop protected indigenous reserves.

"Jair Bolsonaro is a dangerous man," tweeted de Blasio as he thanked the museum for its decision.

The gala event was moved to the Marriott Marquis hotel but then Delta Airlines and Bain & Company, a management consulting company, pulled out.
Mohali, May 4 : Nineteen-year-old Shubman Gill, who played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab, has said it felt great to get his first Man of the Match award at his home ground.

"It feels great, my first Man of the Match award at my home ground. It can't get better than this," said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.

KKR rode on a brilliant half century from Gill as they defeated Kings XI by seven wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday night to keep their chances alive of making it to the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

While chasing 184, Gill laid the foundation alongside Chris Lynn and played an unbeaten 49-ball 65 run-knock which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

After Lynn (46) was dismissed, Robin Uthappa and Gill continued the carnage before the former picked out Mayank Agarwal at long off off R. Ashwin. Uthappa looked good for his 22 off 14 deliveries.

But the day belonged to Gill, who showed superb timing to milk boundaries at will even as Andre Russell, batting at number 4, failed to produce his usual spark with a 14-ball 24, with Mohammed Shami removing him with a well directed bouncer which Tye caught at deep square leg.

Gill then stitched an unbeaten 35-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik to seal the deal for KKR.

"It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that's when I decided I had to stay in there," he added.

After the win, Gill's father, who had also come to watch the match, was seen dancing and enjoying his son's performance among the crowd.

"Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it's great to play in front of everyone," said the right-handed batsman.

He also said it would be nice if they register win against Mumbai Indians and finish in the top four.

"We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs," signed off Gill.
Mumbai, May 4 : "Rang De Basanti" fame actor Siddharth has taken a dig at actor Akshay Kumar over his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After getting trolled for not casting his vote in Mumbai on April 29, Akshay issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship. He accepted that he is a Canadian citizen. Before that Akshay grabbed headlines for his "candid and completely non-political" conversation with Modi.

Taking a dig at this, Siddharth expressed his wish to interview US President Donald Trump, and ask him about his sleep pattern and work habits.

"Hey Donald Trump, since you are getting ready to be re-elected soon, might I suggest an interview with me during your elections? I have crucial questions about how you eat fruit, your sleep and work habits and also your cute personality," he tweeted on Friday night.

The 40-year-old actor added: "I have an Indian passport. Direct message me please."

Though Siddharth did not mention Akshay's name, several social media users connected the dots.

One commented: "Sorry Sid! The Canadian may beat you to it! Shorter flying time."

Another wrote: "Wow Sid ji. What a hard hitting dig at Akshay Kumar. Good that everybody should stick to their role and not in others."
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared of his defeat in the elections and the BJP was running a panicky campaign.

"I see a scared Prime Minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition. I see a Prime Minister who is absolutely convinced that he is trapped and not going to win. I see a panicky campaign," Gandhi said at a press conference here.

He said that the Congress will easily defeat the BJP this time.

Gandhi said that he did not see a strategic campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "They started with national security but half way through they realised it was not good enough and came up with Vikas (development).

"When the Prime Minister is asked why we have a highest unemployment rate in last 45 years or why 37,000 youths are losing jobs every 24 hours, he diverts the issue and takes them to the sea plane model in Gujarat.

"It is his (Modi's) nature to run away when pressurised," Gandhi said. He claimed to have information about two-three more new scams.

"The Congress has now demolished Modi. The structure that is standing is hollow and it shall fall in next 15-20 days," Gandhi said.

"The economy has been destroyed... We are trying to defend it by speaking to people of the country. The voice of people cannot be suppressed. Leave Rahul Gandhi, Modi also cannot stand in front of the voice of lakhs of people of the country," he said.

The Congress chief also accused the Modi government of demonetising the Indian economy and said that the Congress will remonetise the economy through the NYAY scheme.

"We will remonetise the economy as the middle class will be allowed to start their businesses for three years, which will create jobs, business," he added.
Miami, May 4 : At least 21 people were injured after a Boeing 737 charter jet arriving at a naval air station in Florida from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off the runway into a river, authorities said.

All of the 136 passengers and seven crew members had been rescued by early Saturday morning, a Navy spokeswoman said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the plane had never been submerged. Photos showed it floating on the St. Johns River, The New York Times reported.

The accident occurred at about 9.40 p.m. on Friday as the pilot attempted to land the jet at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville amid thunder and heavy rains.

"I think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael P. Connor, the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at a news conference early Saturday. "We could be talking about a different story."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the White House had called to offer its assistance.

The flight was operated by Miami Air International, a charter company that shuttles military service members from the base in Guantanamo Bay to naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia.

The flights run every Friday and every other Tuesday, said Susan Brink, a Navy spokeswoman.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to start an inquiry. Boeing said it also was investigating, but did not provide any other details.

Friday night's accident comes as Boeing has been under intense scrutiny following two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX jet within months of each other: Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March of this year.

The two accidents killed a total of 346 people and led to a global grounding of the aircraft.
Washington, May 4 : After several attempts earlier, SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Dragon spacecraft for its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"@SpaceX's #Dragon spacecraft launched at 2:48am ET on a mission to deliver more than 5,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the @Space_Station," NASA said in a tweet.

Loaded with about 2,500 kg of research, supplies and hardware for crew members living and working on the orbiting laboratory, the spacecraft launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on May 6, NASA said.

The spacecraft will remain at the space station for about four weeks before returning to Earth with more than 1,900 kg of research and return cargo.

This mission comes after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was destroyed during an engine test last month, possibly causing a drag on the company's plan to bring astronauts into space this year.

On April 20, an anomaly occurred during a testing of the Crew Dragon's abort engines at a landing zone of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the private space company had not clarified whether the capsule, launched successfully into space in an unmanned mission in March, was destroyed or not, until Thursday.
San Francisco, May 4 : Hackers have hit open source software development platform GitHub, removing code repositories and asking ransom from developers in order to restore their source codes.

According to a report in ZDnet late on Friday, hundreds of developers have had their source code repositories wiped and replaced with a ransom demand on Microsoft-owned GitHub.

"What is known is that the hacker removes all source code and recent commits from victims' Git repositories, and leaves a ransom note behind that asks for a payment in Bitcoins," the report added.

The hackers claim all source code has been downloaded and stored on one of their servers.

"To recover your lost code and avoid leaking it: Send us 0.1 Bitcoin (BTC) to our Bitcoin address and contact us by email at admin@gitsbackup.com with your Git login and a proof of payment," read the ransom message.

"If you are unsure if we have your data, contact us and we will send you a proof. Your code is downloaded and backed up on our servers.

"If we don't receive your payment in the next 10 days, we will make your code public or use them otherwise," the hackers' message read.

A GitHub search revealed that at least 392 GitHub repositories have been compromised.

Kathy Wang, Director of Security for GitLab, was quoted as saying that they immediately began investigation into the issue.

"We have identified affected user accounts and all of those users have been notified. As a result of our investigation, we have strong evidence that the compromised accounts have account passwords being stored in plaintext on a deployment of a related repository," Wang told ZDnet.

Jeremy Galloway, a security researcher at Atlassian, which owns BitBucket, told Motherboard that the company has seen a lot of users' repositories getting hit by these hackers.
United Nations, May 4 : The Indian government's "zero casualty" policy for cyclones and the pinpoint accuracy of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) early warning system have helped reduce the possibility of deaths from cyclone Fani, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR).

"They seem to have done a very good job in terms of minimising the possibility for loss of life," Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the ODRR said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

"The almost pinpoint accuracy of the warnings, the early warnings from the IMD, allows them to conduct a very well targeted evacuation plan which resulted in 1.1 million people mainly moving to about 900 cyclone shelters."

As of Saturday morning, less than 10 deaths were reported from the 175-kmph cyclone that made landfall in Odisha on Friday.

India's policy of minimising fatalities from cyclones has been proven by past performances as in cyclone Phailin in 2013, when "famously the casualty rate was kept to as low as 45 despite the intensity of the storm", McClean said.

Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said that as a result of the lessons learned from the super cyclonic storm BOB06 that caused more than 10,000 deaths, intensive precautions are being taken to protect the people. She also mentioned how as a result, Phailin's fatalities were far less than in 1999.

UN's humanitarian agencies had met ahead of cyclone Fani to take stock of preparedness measures, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in New York.

The UN's relief organisations' resources are already stretched bringing aid to countries in East Africa reeling from a double punch delivered by cyclones Idai and Kenneth in the past two months.

Idai, which struck Mozambique on March 14 and thpportunity with both hands.

"It's fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands," said Karthik in the post-match presentation ceremony.

The KKR skipper further said he was not happy with his bowlers and fielders during the first innings and that's why he decided to show his anger.

When Punjab were batting, there were moments when Karthik was seen shouting and screaming at his bowlers.

"I wasn't too happy with what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time," said Karthik. "It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe."

Earlier, England all-rounder Sam Curran (55 off 24 balls not out) notched up his maiden IPL half-century with the help of seven fours and two sixes as Kings XI posted 183/6, plundering 58 runs in the last five overs after being put in to bat.

"The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there's that balance," said Karthik while praising Curran.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said they lost the plot after the first three overs in the second innings.

"It's been a par total. We have defended 175-180 before but we knew very well that there's gonna be dew in the second half and I thought they batted really well. Starting with Lynny and then Gill played superbly," he said while heaping praise on Gill and Lynn.

"We bowled well in the first three overs and then it just got a little away from us and obviously that edges didn't help," he added.

With 10 points from 13 games, Kings XI Punjab will host table toppers Chennai Super Kings on Sunday while KKR--- with 12 points from 13 games---will face Mumbai Indians later on the same day.
Mumbai, May 4 : A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The "Khiladi" star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement. It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?"

His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as "Kesari", "Baby", "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" and "Airlift", with patriotism as the theme.
San Francisco, May 4 : Suggesting that the soon-to-open Apple Store at Washington DC's Carnegie Library will do much more than just selling iPhones and other products, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the outlet will focus on community and creativity, the media reported.

Due to open on May 11, Apple has spent an estimated $30 million in renovating the 116-year-old Carnegie Library into an Apple Store, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Carnegie Library store will utilise Apple's "town square" concept, making it one of the company's 13 high-profile locations across the world where each local staff offers a bevy of classes to help users to maximise their Apple products for photography, video editing or producing music.

"Probably one of the least done things in an Apple Store is to buy something," Cook told the Post in an interview.

People come to explore new products, but also get training and services for iPhones or iPads they already own, he said.

"We should probably come up with a name other than 'store,'" he said, "because it's more of a place for the community to use in a much broader way."

Reconstituting the Carnegie Library according to its original design standards was Apple's "most historic, ambitious restoration by far in the world", Cook claimed in the interview.
New Delhi, May 4 : The Centre on Saturday filed a fresh affidavit in Rafale deal in the Supreme Court seeking the application of review of the deal "ought to be dismissed with exemplary costs" as it signifies "complete misuse and abuse of the legal process".

The Centre expressed its commitment to provide the top court any document, which is required to read in detail.

The Centre informed the apex court that it had submitted access to all files, notings, letters etc., related to procurement "including the full pricing details" to the Comptroller an Auditor General (CAG).

The affidavit cited the CAG report on the deal, "...the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits, which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

The Centre also told the court that monitoring of the progress by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of this -- government to government process -- "cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations".

The Centre expressed its commitment on the transparency regarding the deal.

"The government remains committed to provide to this court any document or file, which it desires to peruse," said the Centre in the affidavit.

It also slammed the review petitioners' attempt "to call for production of the documents and in the process try and attempt to get a roving or fishing enquiry ordered" as gross abuse of the legal process.

The Centre also informed the court that "the Government of India has no role in selection of Indian Offset partner, which is a commercial decision of OEM."

The Centre said that the top court judgment passed on December 14, 2018, was well-reasoned, wherein the court gave a clean chit to the government on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and it could not be re-examined merely on the ground of stolen documents, revealing incomplete file notings.

This affidavit was filed, after court issued a formal notice to the Centre on the review petitions filed on its December 2018 judgement.

The Centre said the information submitted before the top court in terms of various orders passed from time to time while hearing the main writ petition "was based on contents of official documents and produced before this court with the approval of competent authority".

The Centre said the submissions of the applicants -- Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie, and Yashwant Sinha -- were bereft of any "particulars much less particulars; they are scandalous and false and baseless to say the least".

Earlier, the top court had said that it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the pricing of the fighter jets.

The Centre contended in the affidavit that "statements by the applicants (review petitioners) that the judgement being a fruit of poisonous tree must be recalled, brings this court to disrepute and lowers its image and majesty of law".

The Centre buttressed it is decision on the deal, and stated the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) -- the highest decision making body in defence matters -- and also Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) -- the highest decision making body in Ministry of Defence --, have made the decision "keeping in view all the facts of the case and the critical operational necessity of Indian Air Force".
Amethi, May 4 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of giving Rs 20,000 bribes to people in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

While addressing a gathering here, Gandhi said: "This is wrong... While the Congress is distributing its election manifesto, the BJP is sending Rs 20,000 each to the village heads."

She said that the BJP is under the misconception that it can buy the people's love and the practice of truthful politics in Amethi.

She said: "The BJP's intentions are bad and their policies are limited to benefitting some industrialists. They don't waive off farmers' debt, but in five years the party has waived off the Rs 5.50 lakh crore debt of these industrialists."
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against a Saudi Arabia-based businessman in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed the Enforcement Directorate's (EC) plea seeking issuing of the open-ended non-bailable warrant against Omar Al Balsharaf.

The ED told the court that it issued Balsharaf multiple summons to join the probe, but neither did he appear before it, nor provide it the information sought of him.

According to the agency, Balsharaf's questioning was required to unearth the conspiracy related to some suspected transactions.

The ED said its investigation revealed that Interstellar Technologies Ltd Mauritius transferred $5,303,471 to the account of Rawasi Al Khaleej General Trading LLC, Dubai, but the amount was maintained under the ledger head Balsharaf.

This transaction raised many questions and it needs clarification, the agency told the court.

The ED said that Balsharaf was evading the process of law and therefore a non-bailable warrant should be issued against him to secure his presence immediately.
Washington, May 4 : Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said that there will be no negative repercussions of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's designation as it only "reinforces" Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism.

After a decade of resistance and four vetoes by China against the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions committee's attempts to declare Pakistan-based Azhar an international terrorist, it finally reached a consensus on Wednesday on designating him and imposing sanctions that freeze his assets and ban travel.

Azhar's JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in February which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

"I see no reason why this designation should have a negative impact on our relations with the US or China," said Khan while talking to the media after addressing the World Affairs Council in Houston, Texas, on Thursday.

"It reinforces our commitment to fight terrorism."

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in "promoting" the US-Taliban talks in Doha. Islamabad, he claimed, helped in the formation of a powerful Taliban delegation for the talks, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

"Without this, there could not be a significant progress in the talks."

The Ambassador added that while PakAisAtan's role was "important" in the peace dialogue, other regional actors "must also play their parts".

Pakistan, Khan said, also supported Washington's efforts for a broad-based intra-Afghan dialogue, which should include the Afghan government and the Taliban.
New Delhi, May 4 : A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to lawyer Gautam Khaitan's wife Ritu Khaitan in a money laundering and black money case.

Ritu Khaitan appeared before Special Judge Arvind Kumar in pursuance of summons issued against her.

The court asked her to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

Meanwhile, the court issued fresh summons to two companies -- Ismax and Windfor -- to appear before it as accused in the case through authorised representives on August 7.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed the money laundering case against Gautam Khaitan and others based on a case lodged by the Income Tax Department.

He was arrested on January 25, a week after the I-T Department searched his offices and other properties in Delhi and the National Capital Region. He was later granted bail on April 16.

Gautam Khaitan was earlier arrested in September 2014 for his alleged involvement in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

He received bail in January 2015 and was re-arrested along with Sanjeev Tyagi, another accused in the case, on December 9, 2016, by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He later secured bail.

The CBI chargesheet had described Khaitan as the brain behind the AgustaWestland deal.
Kolkata, May 4 : Shantanu Thakur, the BJP candidate from West Bengal's Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency, sustained head injury after his car collided head on with a vehicle bearing a police sticker on Saturday, party officials said.

The saffron party termed it a "staged accident" and claimed that there might be a conspiracy to kill Thakur ahead of the elections.

"Shantanu Thakur suffered serious head injury while on his way from Jagulia to Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district after his car was hit by a police vehicle coming from the opposite direction. He has been hospitalised," state BJP Vice President Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

"We suspect there is a conspiracy behind this accident. The way a government vehicle with just the driver collided with Thakur's car, it seems that the car was waiting for Thakur's arrival. It is possible that the accident was staged to kill him," Majumdar added.

The police said the car which collided with the BJP candidate's vehicle was hired by the state administration for ferrying central force personnel within the constituency. They also said the injury sustained by Thakur was "not severe".

"The vehicle was hired for ferrying central force personnel. However, only the driver was present in the car during the accident. The BJP candidate suffered head injury as he was on the front seat. The drivers of both the cars also sustained minor injuries," an officer from Gaighata police station told IANS.

He also alleged that Thakur's supporters agitated and vandalised a police vehicle when it reached the spot.

"His (Thakur's) injury was apparently a minor one. No stitches were required. However, when our officers reached the spot, the BJP supporters attacked us and vandalised a police car. We have lodge a case against them," he said.

The Bongaon parliamentary constituency will go to the polls on May 6. Thakur, the grandson of the late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakur, is locking horns with his aunt and sitting Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur.
Srinagar, May 4 : Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants here on Saturday implored External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help them obtain travel documents.

Dozens of Pakistani spouses of Kashmiri militants who came to Kashmir encouraged by the Jammu and Kashmir government's rehabilitation policy addressed a press conference.

Scores of these women who came with their surrendered militant husbands told the media their demand to get travel documents to see their parents (in Pakistan) were genuine and this should not be treated as part of politics.

They requested Swaraj and Governor Satya Pal Malik to help them get the necessary travel documents.

They claimed to have been running from pillar to post during the last decade to get travel documents for visiting Pakistan.
Chandigarh, May 4 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former state unit Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into the party.

The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, Amarinder Singh said.

Natt, who joined the Congress along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards Amarinder Singh for this opportunity.

A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga assembly constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and from Maur in 2017.
Gurdaspur : , May 4 (IANS) Amid blistering heat, a sea of people thronged actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol's roadshows vying for a selfie with their favourite candidate. True to star gesture, the Gadar star is also not missing an opportunity to get off from his vehicle to meet children.

It's star power in Punjab Lok Sabha elections again, literally.

The BJP-Akali Dal has fielded the 62-year-old from Gurdaspur, the seat represented four times by yesteryear actor Vinod Khanna, who died in April 2017 due to cancer.

Khanna, a native of Punjab, was a sitting MP at that time of his death.

Son of veteran actor Dharmendra, Deol, who does not have any direct connection with Gurdaspur city -- though his father hails from Sahnewal town near Punjab's industrial town Ludhiana, has a strong Punjabi appeal. He is a Jat Sikh.

Deol, whose main priority is creating employment for the youth, entered the Hindi film industry with "Betaab" in 1983 and his best hits include "Border", "Damini" and "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha".

Deol's unforgettable dialogue from 1990's Hindi film "Ghayal": "Jab yeh dhai kilo ka haath kisi pe padta hai na, toh aadmi uthta nahi... utth jata hai" (When this hand weighing 2.5 kg is kept on some person, they don't get up, they go up (they will die) echoes through out his meandering campaign trail here.

One of his fans handed him a hand-pump at a roadshow, a scene in his 2001 blockbuster movie "Gadar..." in which Deol uproots a similar pump to fight off a crowd, who were trying to attack a woman.

Deol is unfazed by the criticism and despite being dubbed an "outsider" by the Congress, the actor says: "I'm Punjab da puttar (son of Punjab) and farming is in my blood."

Landing here on Wednesday straight from Mumbai, Deol met families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation at a border village in Dinanagar area.

"I am not a hero as I only acted as a soldier. The real heroes are those who sacrificed their lives for the country," he told a family.

Gurdaspur lies in the north of Punjab, sharing an international border with Pakistan and the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is not as developed as other areas in Punjab.

Deol, who is not missing an opportunity to pay obeisance to Sikh shrines and Hindu temples during his campaigning, is pitted against Congress state unit President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election with a margin of 1.92 lakh votes.

The bypoll was necessitated with sitting MP Vinod Khanna's death.

The BJP did not give the ticket for the bye-election to Khanna's widow, Kavita Khanna, a strong claimant for the seat.

With the fielding of Deol, Kavita Khanna expressed her disappointment, saying she felt "betrayed" by the party.

The Gurdaspur constituency, which has 14,68,972 voters, including 72,6363 women, has nine assembly constituencies. It has a high number of serving and retired defence personnel and the BJP is trying to woo them by using the 'fauzi' image of Deol.

The former members of Parliament from Gurdaspur are Sukhbuns Kaur Binder of the Congress, who won the seat five times in a row till 1996 when she faced her defeat from BJP's Jagdish Sawhney; from BJP's Khanna (1998 to 2009) and Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa from 2009 to 2014.

Khanna got elected for the first time in 1998, followed by wins in 1999, 2004 and 2014.

He lost the poll in the 2009 general election to Congress leader Bajwa with a slender margin.

In 2014, Khanna had again won by a thumping margin of over 1.38 lakh votes. A local BJP leader told IANS: "Khanna won his last election not due to his stardom but because of Modi wave. This time too his magic will work here. Moreover, Deol is known for playing nationalist."

Locals believe the Modi wave might work for Deol, too. "Deol, who is a Jat Sikh, will help winning the state as the constituency is dominated by the Jat Sikhs," a senior BJP leader said.

A confident Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, though, said: "I have been a Dharmendra fan. I like Sunny Deol as an actor. The people will prefer a local than an outsider (Deol). I wish him all the best."

"He is unaware of the issues of Punjab and Gurdaspur. He should share his vision for Gurdaspur. What is his agenda for the people here?" asked Jakhar.

The Gurdaspur constituency has seen two major militant attacks by Pakistan-backed militant outfits in the recent past.

It is believed by the BJP that terror attacks and Deol's stardom will trigger the BJP magic.

"As Modi has sent the air force to destroy terror camps in Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, so is Deol who has thrashed militants with iron hands in movies. So people in Gurdaspur like both Modi and Deol. His stardom will catch votes for BJP," a local BJP leader said.

Tough road for Congress Hindu candidate Jakhar to retain the seat.

Jakhar, who started his campaigning well ahead of Deol, won the seat when the Congress government in the state just came at the helm. Now after two years, the government has anti-incumbency. This factor will make Jakhar's victory tough, admitted a senior Congress leader.

In 2017, most of the state ministers had campaigned for him. Now, even Jakhar doesn't enjoy a good relation with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The BJP in the state has an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. It is contesting three Lok Sabha seats (Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur), while the Akali Dal is contesting the remaining 10 seats.

Punjab will vote on May 19.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Mumbai, May 4 : Akshay Kumar, who said he has Canadian citizenship, was questioned on social media about winning the National Award. However, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia supported the actor and said that "foreign nationals can get National Awards"

On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.

Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."

However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."

Watch Akshay Kumar breaks silence over Canadian citizenship, issues statement:

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."

Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.

Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.

On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

-- With inputs from IANS
Pune, May 4 : An Indian family, including a set of 10-year old twin boys, have set a new record for family skydiving, as they jumped out of a plane over Amsterdam.

They are Shital Mahajan-Rane, her husband Vaibhav Rane, both professional skydivers, and their twins Vrushabh and Vaibhav.

"We have set two new records - first time ever an Indian civilian family has skydived together, and our two sons becoming the youngest twins doing their first tandem jump," Shital, a recipient of the Padma Shri, told IANS from Amsterdam on Saturday.

They accomplished the feat on Friday from a Super Caravan 206 aircraft flying at a height of around 13,000 feet above The Netherlands, she added.

"Our sons celebrated their 10th birthday on April 26 and it was their desire to make their first skydiving jump. So we came to Amsterdam last week and fulfilled their birthday wish," Shital said.

Shital has notched some 750 jumps all over the world while Vaibhav has 57 skydives till date.

To mark the 389th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shital performed skydiving jumps over the Great Pyramids of Giza on February 19.

First she jumped in a traditional Maharashtrian ;nau-vari' sari and then went for a repeat jump sporting the royal costume of the legendary ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, who ruled around 3,700 years ago, earning accolades from the Egyptian authorities.

She shot to global fame on April 18, 2004 when she became the first woman in the world to make her maiden jump - without practice dives - on the North Pole from a Russian MI-8 helicopter from 2,700 feet in minus 37 degrees.

On December 15, 2006, she made the world's first Accelerated Free Fall Parachute Jump on the South Pole in Antarctica, jumping out of a Twin Otter aircraft from a height of 11,600 feet on the icy continent.

That made her the first - and youngest (at 23) - woman in the world to accomplish successful skydives on both the poles.

She has now set her sight on two targets - skydiving over Mount Everest and above Agra skies, home to the monument of love, the Taj Mahal.
Gaza, May 4 : Israeli Army warplanes, drones and artillery continued striking militants' facilities in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to the firing of barrages of rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel, the media reported.

One Palestinian was killed and seven were wounded in the Israeli airstrikes on various military facilities all over the Gaza Strip, said the Gaza Health Ministry.

It was unclear if the casualties were militants or civilians.

An Israeli Army spokesman said in a statement that their warplanes struck with missiles over 10 targets that belong to the Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Chamber of Military Operations -- comprising the armed wings of Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- fired dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Firing the rockets from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, according to the Joint Chamber of Military Operations, was a response to Israeli killing of four Palestinians on Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said that the Israeli Army shot and killed two Palestinian demonstrators and injured 51 others during their participation in the weekly anti-Israel rallies and protests, better known as the "Great March of Return" and "Breaking the Israeli Siege".

Two other Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, he added.

The Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military training facility on Friday was a response to an attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen in which two Israeli soldiers were injured.

The escalation between Israel and the Palestinians has been taking place as two delegations representing Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are holding talks in Cairo since Thursday over restoring calm in the Gaza Strip.
New Delhi, May 4 : Amid concerns over low recovery in many insolvency cases, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) said on Saturday that haircuts for the creditors in the resolution process could be due to the delay in starting the process and that the matter has to be seen in comparison with the liquidation value.

"What can be done if you have started the process very late...Today about 380 companies have been ordered into liquidation and 80 per cent of them are either in BIFR or defunct companies and there is nothing to recover as the liquidation value is almost zero. Who will give the value? That's why there have been haircuts," IBBI Chairperson M.S. Sahoo said at an Assocham event on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Sahoo was responding to a query on higher haircuts becoming an issue with the lenders and policy makers.

He further said, "How much does one get in comparison to its claim and the liquidation value of the company? As per data up to March, the creditors have got up to 195 per cent of the liquidation value, which means the company has been rescued as anything above the liquidation value is a bonus."

There have been various figures of haircuts ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent, and concerns have been raised over the amount of haircut being taken by the banks.

The other key issue in insolvency resolution has been the share of operational creditors who feel they do not get their dues in the resolution process as the financial creditors take away the maximum receivables.

In the recent ArcelorMittal-Essar Steel case, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) called for rework of payout of dues after hearing an application moved by the Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of Essar Steel.

Sahoo said, "As per data up to December, both operational creditors and financial creditors on an average got about 48 per cent of their claims each. But now the figures are expected to change, particularly since we are waiting for the resolution of Essar Steel which will change the ratios."

He also said all efforts should be made to rescue a viable company and liquidation should be the last option.

In the Arcelor-Essar deal, Standard Chartered is getting only 1.7 per cent of its total dues to Essar Steel, while other financial creditors, which are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), are receiving over 85 per cent of their dues.

ArcelorMittal's resolution proposal provides the financial creditors Rs 41,987 crore out of their total dues of Rs 49,395 crore. Operational creditors, under the plan, would get just Rs 214 crore against the outstanding amount of Rs 4,976 crore. If the ArcelorMittal plan is implemented, Standard Chartered will only get Rs 60 crore against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore from Essar Steel.

Last month, the State Bank of India (SBI) moved the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT suggestion to give more money to Standard Chartered Bank in the Essar Steel case. Earlier, the CoC for Essar Steel had voted in favour of not giving more than Rs 60 crore to Standard Chartered against its claims of Rs 3,487 crore, as it is an unsecured lender. The CoC, however, had agreed to give another Rs 1,000 crore to the operational creditors, over and above the Rs 196 crore repayment decided earlier.
New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) As curtains came down for the fifth phase of voting for 51 parliamentary constituencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in a TV interview slammed the principal Opposition party Congress and said that the people who commit irregularities must fear.

'Yeh dar achhe ke liye hai. Yeh dar achhon ke liye hai ((This fear is for the good. This fear is good for those who are innocent), Mr Modi said on being asked why he was creating fear in the minds of the likes of Robert Vadra, P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi.

In his interaction with senior television anchor Rajat Sharma, who is also Editor in Chief of India TV, the Prime Minister said: "You may remember, I had said in 2014 in Aap Ki Adalat show that people who commit irregularities must fear. 'Darna chahiye' . Yeh dar achha hai (When wrong doers fear, it is good).'

Mr Modi ridiculed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his tweets on government of India's China policy.

"Kya aap Kapil Sharma ke show ke script likhtey haen (Do you write for script for Kapil Sharma show)," , Mr Modi suggested that it was for the Congress party to see why such statements or tweets come from their leader.

Asked what he 'thought' on such missives on the micro blogging sites wherein Rahul Gandhi had taken potshot on Mr Modi for being over friendly to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister shot back in his irreplaceable style : "oos party ko sochne chahiye (This is an issue best left for the Congress party)".

Asked how India persuaded China to agree to the UNSC resolution declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist', the Prime Minister replied: "I think experts should slightly correct their analysis. What is the reality today? What was the situation earlier? Whenever Pakistan's terrorism issue cropped up, Kashmir used to become a stumbling block. Russia used to be the only country that used to support us, and the rest of the world used to side with Pakistan.'

This is the record of last 40 years, he said and pointed out - 'In the last five years, you might have noticed, only China supports Pakistan, and the entire world is with us. This is a very big change".

Mr Modi further said: "On terrorism, we had a consistent policy and there was no world forum where India did not raise the issue of humanity and terrorism".

'Experts will say that the force of this victory is greater than that of the surgical strike or air strike. The UNSC resolution will have a lasting impact."

Asked why the Opposition is seeking evidence of damages caused by IAF air strike on Balakot, the Prime Minister replied: "Any citizen of India has the right to demand evidence, political leaders also have the right to demand evidence, but then, accepting those evidences is also their responsibility. The problem (with Opposition) is they demand and demand, but do not accept. The biggest evidence (of Balakot air strike) is Pakistan itself".

Had there been no elections in India and bickering among leaders, Balakot air strike would have ranked among one of the major military operations of the world, Mr Modi said.

Asked about former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh claiming that Indian army had carried out several surgical strikes in the past, Mr Modi replied: "The Congress has only one ex-PM left. Earlier, they used to run the government through remote control, and now they are using remote control in order to make them such statements."

The Prime Minister said that he had made friendly gestures to both the incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan and one former PM Nawaz Sharif but the biggest problem in dealing with Islamabad is that nobody knows who is running that country.

"The biggest problem with Pakistan is that nobody knows who is running that country and whom we should talk to," said the Prime Minister in the freewheeling interview in a packed audience of nearly 2,500 people at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come on the backdrop of the Pakistan Prime Minister's letter to Mr Modi, in which he had written that "resumption of bilateral dialogue is important to resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir."

Mr Modi said he has struck a good personal rapport with the Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada. The latter had served him tea in special teaware when they visited India.

Similarly, he said, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife took him to an Indian restaurant in the city where they had South Indian dishes.

During the interaction, he said described at length how US President Donald Trump spent nine hours with him in the White House.


New Delhi, May 4 : India has raised its concerns with Pakistan over harassment of two of its diplomats by intelligence personnel last month and asked it to conduct an inquiry and prevent recurrence of such incidents, sources said here on Saturday.

It also conveyed its concerns regarding security of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Sources said that the concerns about the security of the mission were conveyed to Islamabad in a demarche.

India also sent a note verbale last month protesting about the harassment of two of its diplomats and their being locked up in a room for over 20 minutes at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Gurdwara near Lahore on April 17.

The two Indian diplomats, who were at the gurdwara to facilitate Indian pilgrims, were also threatened and asked never come to the area again.

They were locked up in a room by about 15 Pakistani intelligence personnel, their bags were searched and they were questioned.

India had earlier this year also raised concern over harassment of its diplomats with Pakistan.
New Delhi, May 4 : Yet another speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got clearance from the Election Commision, which said on Saturday that it did not violate the model code of conduct.

Modi in his speech in Gujarat's Patan on April 21 had said that his government kept Pakistan on its toes to secure safe release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

This is the sixth speech of the Prime minister, which has been cleared by the poll body. The EC has found nothing wrong in Modi's speech in Nanded, Maharashtra, in which he reportedly referred to the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

In his Nanded speech, Modi reportedly likened the current status of the Congress to the sinking Titanic ship. He reportedly said that people on the ship are either sinking or jumping off to escape.

Referring to Modi's Varanasi speech on April 25, where he had gone to file his nomination for Lok Sabha elections, the poll body said a detailed report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, has been obtained.

Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi and reportedly said that he had a selected a seat using a microscope to take on the BJP. Modi was apparently referring to the Wayanad seat in Kerala which Gandhi is contesting, besides Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi had reportedly said that the seat in Wayanad is a constituency where the country's majority is in a minority.

Earlier, the poll body had not found anything wrong in the Modi's speech at Wardha on April 1. He attacked Gandhi for selectively contesting from minority-dominated seat in Kerala.

The EC also cleared him for the appeal to first-time voters where he raised the Balakot air strikes; and Pulwama martyrs in Latur on April 9.
Gurugram, May 4 : In an attempt to dent the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote bank, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, here on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false promises, like depositing Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of people and creating over 2 crore jobs.

"In last Lok Sabha elections, Modi had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people and bring 'ache din'. What happened to them," he asked.

Ridiculing Modi's claim on development, he said was the BJP responsible for growth of cities like Gurugram? "It's the people of the country who are responsible for this development," he said.

He also raised the issue of Rafeal jet purchase deal, demonetisation and the goods and services tax GST fiasco. Gandhi was addressing an election rally in support of Congress candidate Ajay Singh Yadav.

In his 30-minute speech, Gandhi said, "He is 'chowkidar' but not for the poor. He is the 'chowkidar' of his corporate friends, like Anil Ambani, Mehul Chowksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya."

The Congress President also criticised the Modi government for helping Anil Ambani's company secure a deal with the France-based Dassault Aviation and the French government in the purchase of Rafale jets, ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. "The entire exercise was done to benefit Anil Ambani," he said.

The Congress President said the NYAY scheme would definitely do justice to the people.
New Delhi, May 4 : Congress has filed 10 complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the party says it is the highest number of complaints faced by any Prime Minister in a Lok Sabha election.

The Election Commission has given a decision on six of these complaints so far, giving a clean chit to the Prime Minister in all the cases. Sources said in two of these cases the decision was not unanimous with one of the two election commissioners registering his verbal dissent with the matter having been decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The complaints, which cover a period from March 20 to April 30, relate to several speeches of Modi including those in Maharshtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There is also a complaint about "illegal" roadshow in Gujarat on April 23.

On Saturday the poll panel gave Modi clean chit on compliant concerning his election speech at Patan in Gujarat on April 21.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said Modi has made history in terms of complaints filed against him with the Election commission and no other prime minister from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru has "violated" the election norms in this manner.

"No other prime minister has shown this disregard to constitutional authorities whether it is CBI, RBI or Election Commission. That shows his mindset. A Prime Minister should lead by example, should be a role model. But here we have a person who is acting worse than a commoner. If he had fulfilled one of his promises, he would not have needed to do this," she said.

Varun K, Chopra, an advocate representing the party before the commission, said the poll panel has taken decision in some cases. "For the remaining indecision is also a decision. Being watchdog of free and fair elections in the country, ECI should prudently exercise parity and level-playing field," he said.

He said only about 180 of 543 Lok Sabha seats are left to vote.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi had on Saturday morning accused the poll panel of being "biased" against the opposition and said that "capturing" of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," he said.

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and every where else," Gandhi said.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday directed the Election Commission to decide on the remaining complaints made by the Congress against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah for allegedly making hate speeches or violating the Model Code of Conduct.
Kolkata, May 5 : Former IPS officer and now BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency, Bharati Ghosh on Saturday courted controversy as she allegedly threatened some Trinamool supporters that they would be "beaten like dogs".

Countering Ghosh, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee warned her not to cross the limit.

"You are frightening people... You won't allow proper conduct of vote. Do not terrify people. (You) will be pulled out of homes and beaten like dog.

"I will pay them back with principal and interest what they did. I will bringring 1,000 men from UP (Uttar Pradesh) and you can't do anything. No one will be able to trace you," said Ghosh, who was recently accused of threatening the Officer-in-Charge of Keshpur police station.

But Banerjee hit back at Ghosh soon after while holding a road show on Chandrakona Road.

"Do not make me open my mouth. If I make public the SMSes that you had sent to me as a police office, I won't have to say anything more against you. You must remember, there are so many cases against you.

"Had we wished to keep you behind bars, we could have arrested you. There is Supreme Court bar on arresting you only in one case," said Banerjee who was campaigning in Ghatal constituency for the party's nominee and Bengali fimstar Dev Adhikari.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the former IPS officer to appear for questioning before the West Bengal CID on May 14, two days after polling takes place in Ghatal.

In fact, West Bengal CID had recently interrogated the former IPS officer in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur area.

"We have shown a nice gesture and so you are contesting elections. Do not cross the Laxman rekha (limit). You do not have the power to even fight in Gram sabha elections," Banerjee said.

Condemning Ghosh's comments, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee warned his party would lodge a complaint before the Election Commission against her, seeking cancellation of her nomination.

He accused the BJP candidate of "using her former police uniform" to threaten people and voters.

"Is she a candidate? Does an former IPS officer know how to behave," Chatterjee said.

The Election Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and sought a report from the district administration.
Washington, May 5 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday praised his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there is "tremendous potential" for US-Russia ties.

"Very good call yesterday with President Putin of Russia," Trump tweeted. "Tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia, despite what you read and see in the Fake News Media."

"Look how they have misled you on 'Russia Collusion.' The World can be a better and safer place. Nice!" Trump said, Xinhua reported.

Trump tweeted on Friday that he has had a "very productive" talk with Putin on "trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the 'Russian Hoax'."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump and Putin had spoken for more than an hour.

For its part, the Kremlin said on the same day that Putin and Trump had also discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, saying that Pyongyang's "good-faith fulfillment of its commitments" should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on North Korea.
Lee Spirits Company, a leading distiller of gin, fine liqueurs and blended North American whiskey, is pleased to announce its Co-Founder Ian Lee traveled to Hong Kong this week as part of a collective with the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association who is led by the US Department of Agriculture.

The envoy traveling to Hong Kong will spend five days meeting with regional distributors and manufacturers during Asias leading food and hospitality tradeshow HOFEX. Each attendee will work in conjunction with the United States Embassy in Hong Kong. Lee Spirits mission during the five-day event is to meet with importers to help increase dialogue around importing and exporting between the two nations.

This is a great honor for Lee Spirits Company to join the US Department of Agriculture, the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association, the US Embassy in Hong Kong and several US-based manufacturers on this trip, said Ian Lee. We are proud to join this effort for the second year in a row as a representative of the United States spirit marketplace. We are hopeful this effort will lead to increased trade between our two nations while opening advanced dialogue for Lee Spirits products to be distributed internationally. I am proud to say that we uncovered many distribution options in Singapore from last years envoy trip and look to make a significant announcement by the end of 2019 on this front. I am very confident the same results will develop from this years visit to China.

Lee Spirits Companys products are available throughout five states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

About Lee Spirits Company:

Lee Spirits Company is an award-winning Colorado-based distillery whose mission is to create the finest gin, liqueurs and blended North American whiskey to empower spirit-lovers to make authentic pre-prohibition classic cocktails.

In 2013, Lee Spirits Company founders and cousins Ian and Nick Lee had an idea to develop and manufacture the finest Gin in Colorado and the United States along with accompanying liqueurs that would fit into classic cocktail recipes exactly as originally written. To connect with Lee Spirits, visit their website or social media page.
This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members." said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. "I look forward to our continued partnership."

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has announced the promotion of Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan to the role of President. Daniel A. Nissenbaum will retain the CEO role, working with LIIFs board of directors to develop the vision, industry leadership and strategic direction that will achieve LIIFs mission. This change will enable LIIF, which has invested more than $2.5 billion to serve more than two million people, to achieve further growth and continued success.

Kims vision and drive over the past 11 years have spurred much of LIIFs programmatic and geographic growth, including launching our fresh foods, health, and housing initiatives, as well as the opening of our offices in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, said LIIF CEO Daniel A. Nissenbaum. This promotion recognizes Kims value to the organization and her span of responsibility, and creates more opportunities for our team members. Our recent investment grade rating from S&P was driven in large part by the strong performance by Kims teams. I look forward to our continued partnership.

Kim has been a strong leader at LIIF, with a remarkably entrepreneurial spirit, which will position LIIF for success in its next phase of growth, said Derek R. B. Douglas, LIIFs board chair and vice president for civic engagement and external affairs at the University of Chicago. The Board is thrilled to have Kim in this role to build on her track record of success and commitment to LIIFs mission.

As CEO, Mr. Nissenbaum will continue to lead LIIFs strategy, sustainability and people. As President, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan will implement LIIFs strategy and grow its business, including continuing to oversee LIIFs lending activities and programmatic growth and developing new lines of business.

Ms. Latimer-Nelligan joined LIIF in 2008 and previously served as its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Community Investment Programs. Ms. Latimer-Nelligans background in community development is extensive. Prior to LIIF, she worked with Citibank for more than 20 years, most recently as the Managing Director of National Lending and Investments, overseeing a $3 billion business within Citibank Community Development. During Ms. Latimer-Nelligans tenure at Citibank, Citis national lending, structured finance and equity investments for community development were consolidated under her leadership.

While at LIIF, Ms. Latimer-Nelligan has overseen lending activities that reached a high watermark of $300 million deployed in underserved communities last year. She has also led the expansion of lending programs in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S., and has worked to expand LIIFs national early care and education work, which has created 271,000 spaces in childcare facilities. Ms. Latimer-Nelligan received her B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her M.B.A. from Columbia University. She serves as the board chair of the Community Reinvestment Fund and on the boards of Raza Development Fund and the National Affordable Housing Trust.

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) invests capital to support healthy families and communities. Since 1984, LIIF has served more than two million people by providing $2.5 billion in financing and technical assistance. Over its history, LIIF has supported efforts to create and preserve 78,000 units of affordable housing; 271,000 child care spaces; 98,000 spaces in schools; and 36 million square feet of community facilities and commercial space. LIIFs work has generated $65.1 billion in family income and societal benefits. LIIF has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. http://www.liifund.org
We are thrilled to celebrate nurses week by recognizing health care professionals and educators. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care.

In celebration of the proclamation of Utah Nurses Week, Nightingale College invites the public to join them in thanking nurses on Monday, May 6 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the west side of the Salt Lake City and County Building's Washington Square. Thank you cards and notes will be provided for anyone wishing to express gratitude for nurses in the community or a specific nurse who has made a positive difference in their life.

We are excited to celebrate Nurses Week by recognizing health care professionals and educators," said Blake Halladay, Senior Manager of Partnerships. Please join me in thanking nurses who have made all the difference by providing outstanding care."

National Nurses Week was established by the American Nurses Association and proclaimed a national celebration by President Regan in 1982. Nurses Week remains a permanent celebration of the dedicated professionals who have become nurses or are pursuing a career in nursing.

The theme of this years National Nurses Week is 4 million Reasons to Celebrate, commemorating more than 4 million nursing professionals nationwide. The College has partnered with Compass Outdoor, Saunders Outdoor and Lamar to post billboards raising awareness for Utah Nurses Week. Nightingale College will also provide Thank You cards at Hub locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, for patients and family members to express gratitude for nurses who have made a positive difference in their life through compassionate care.

Each year, Nurses Week begins with Student Nurses Day on May 6 and concludes on May 12 to honor the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. As the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale is commemorated by those who carry her flame through to the next generation of nurses.

For more information about Nurses Week, please visit nightingale.edu/nurses-week/.

Nightingale College improves access to professional nursing education with its fully accredited distance education associate and bachelors degree nursing programs. Supporting the growing need for nurses and providing strategies to combat the nursing shortage, the Colleges programs work to not only grow but maintain homegrown nurses with the help of local health care systems. Nightingale College emphasizes graduating future nurses who are confident, competent and compassionate. Since its establishment in 2010 in Ogden, Utah, the College has graduated learners and contributed to strengthening the registered nurse workforce in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. To learn more about the College, its mission and programs, please visit nightingale.edu.
Oral Surgeons Near Me in San Francisco Oral Surgery San Francisco has announced a post for residents entering oral surgeons near me' on search sites. The post cautions that proximity should not be the only factor in selecting the best oral surgeon.

Oral Surgery San Francisco, led by oral surgeon Dr. Alex Rabinovich, is proud to announce a blog post concerning how to choose the best oral surgeon near me' during an online search. Bay Area residents might desire to find a top-notch oral surgeon, yet be concerned about proximity. Oral surgery can require beyond-average skills to fix a broken mouth. Meeting with an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon could be worth traveling a few more miles.

"When planning any surgery in the Bay Area, people normally consider how long it will take to drive to, and park near, a facility. It can add extra time and money to a person's day, and we understand that," commented Dr. Rabinovich. "Our new post talks about weighing the benefits of driving a little further for a first-class oral surgeon vs. settling for just an average oral surgeon."

Bay Area residents can review the new post at the following URL: https://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/2019/03/some-of-the-best-oral-surgeons-in-the-world-are-in-san-francisco/. Surgical procedures for the mouth including maxillofacial, jaw repair or dental implants can require a first-rate surgeon to manage it successfully. A Bay Area local might find driving a few extra miles to meet an A-1 oral surgeon worth the extra effort. To learn more about oral procedures including dental implant surgery, please go to https://www.sfdentalimplants.com/. Dr. Rabinovich and staff are committed to a no-obligation consultation for patients.

LOCALS FIND ABOVE AVERAGE RESULTS FOR ORAL SURGEONS NEAR ME' IN SAN FRANCISCO

Here is the background for this release. San Francisco is a densely populated area, and people can consider travel time if deciding on a service. Choosing a great pizza place based on proximity to home might be the right decision for a local. If a Bay Area commuter needs to drop off dry cleaning, choosing a business close to the office can be significant. Proximity to home and work can play a part in selecting common services. If a San Francisco resident searches online for oral surgeons near me' the best choice might require driving a few extra miles.

For these reasons, San Francisco Oral Surgery has announced a new blog post. A few miles can make the difference between mediocre' and first-class' if a person searches online for oral surgeons near me.' A person suffering from a broken jaw or missing, unhealthy teeth might consider picking the best vs. the closest oral surgeon. Choosing a skilled, highly-trained surgeon to fix painful mouth problems can be key to a successful surgery. Planning to drive a few extra miles for first-rate oral surgery could result in a lifetime of oral health.

Bay Area locals searching for oral surgeons near me' are urged to read the new post and reach out to Dr. Rabinovich for a consultation.

ABOUT ORAL SURGERY SAN FRANCISCO

Oral Surgery San Francisco (http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/) is located in the Financial District of the City. Under the direction of Dr. Alex Rabinovich, a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon specializing in the field of oral surgery. This additional training, along with his years of experience, sets Alex Rabinovich MD DDS apart from the growing number of general dentists offering oral surgery and other dental procedures. Procedures include wisdom teeth extraction, Orthognathic or jaw surgery, sleep apnea mouth appliances, and dental implants. Dr. Rabinovich can be available as an emergency oral surgeon in San Francisco also. Oral Surgery San Francisco serves all neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco including Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Noe Valley.

Contact: Media Relations

Tel. (415) 817-9991
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller IIIs two-volume Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is not an easy readnot unlike those manuals that come boxed with easy to assemble multipart childrens toys on Christmas Eve. Nonetheless, considering the exceedingly damaging effects Russiagate has had on America at home and abroad for nearly three years, the report will long be studied for what it reveals and does not reveal, what it includes and does not include.

Because of my own special interest in Russia, I read carefully the first volume, which focuses on that countrys purported role in the scandal. I came away with as many questions about the report as about the role of Moscow and that of candidate and then President Donald Trump. To note a few:

 Mueller begins, on Page 1, with this assertion: The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Maybe so, but Mueller, who is not averse to editorializing and contextualizing elsewhere in the report, gives readers no historical background or context for this large generalization. In particular, was the interferenceor meddling, as media accounts characterize itmore or less sweeping and systematic than was Washingtons military intervention in the Russian civil war in 1918 or its very intrusive campaign to reelect Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996or, on the other side of the ledger, the role of the Soviet-backed American Communist Party in US politics in the 20th century? That is, what warranted a special investigation of this episode in a century of mutual American-Russian interference in the others politics? Put somewhat differently: Readers might wonder if, had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election, there even would have been a Russiagate and Mueller investigation.

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 It has occasionally been suggested that Russiagate was originated by high-level US officials who disliked candidate Trumps pledge to cooperate with Russia. This suspicion remains unproven, but throughout, Mueller repeatedly attributes to Trump campaign members and Russians who interacted in 2016, potentially in sinister or even criminal ways, a desire for improved U.S.-Russian relations, for bringing the end of the new Cold War, for a new beginning with Russia. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have wanted reconciliation between the United States and Russia. (See, for example, pp. 5, 98, 105, 124, 157.) The result is, of course, to discredit Americas once-mainstream advocacy of detente. Mueller even brands American pro-detente viewsas Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan held in the 20th centuryas pro-Russia foreign policy positions (p. 102). Does this mean that Americans who hold pro-detente views today, as I and quite a few others do, are to be investigated for their contacts with Russians in pursuit of better relations? Mueller seems to say nothing to offset this implication, which has already adversely affected a few Americans mentioned and not mentioned in his report.

 As reflected in the text and footnotes, Mueller relies heavily on reports by US intelligence agencies, but without treating the recorded misdeeds of those agencies, particularly the CIA under John Brennan, in promoting the Russiagate saga. He also relies heavily on contemporary media accounts of Russiagate as it unfolded, but without taking into account their journalistic malpractices, as abundantly documented by Matt Taibbi, who equates the malpractice with news reports leading up to the US invasion of Iraq.

 Nor does Mueller consider alternative scenarios and explanations, as any good historical or judicial investigation must do. For example, he accepts uncritically the Clinton/Democratic National Committee allegation that Russian agents hacked and disseminated their emails in 2016. Again, maybe so, but why did he not do his own forensic examination or even mention the alternative finding by VIPS that they were stolen and leaked by an insider? Why did he not question Julian Assange, who claimed to know how and through whom the emails reached WikiLeaks? And how to explain Muellers minimal interest in the shadowy professor Joseph Mifsud, who helped entrap George Papadopoulos in London? Mueller reports that Mifsud had connections to Russia (p. 5), although a simple Google search suggests that Mifsud was indeed an agent but not a Russian one, as widely alleged in media accounts.

 Though he may do so in the second volume of the report, Mueller oddly does not focus in the first volume on the Steele dossier, where it surely belongs as a foundational Russiagate document and whose anti-Trump information is now widely acknowledged to have been salacious and unverified. At one point, however, Mueller delivers a telling report: Trump would not pay for opposition research (p. 61). Can this be anything other than a damning, if oblique, judgment on the Clinton campaign, which is known to have paid for the Steele dossier?

 Toward the end of the first volume (pp. 144, 146), Mueller produces a truly stunning revelation, though he seems unaware of it. After the 2016 US presidential election, the Kremlin appeared not to have preexisting contactswith senior officials around the President-Elect. Even more, Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.

So much for all the shameful Russiagate allegations of Trump-Putin collusion, conspiracy, even treason. Surely it means the United States needs another, different investigation, one into the actual origins and meaning of this fraudulent, corrosive, exceedingly dangerous, and still unending American political scandal.

Stephen Frand Cohen is an American scholar and professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University. His academic work concentrates on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and the country's relationship with the United States.

This commentary is based on Stephen F. Cohens most recent weekly discussion with the host of

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Vasily Grossmans novel Stalingrad, newly translated from the Russian by husband and wife Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and publishing in June from New York Review Books, is a book of three parts and 959 pages. It has an introduction, an afterword, and a pleasant forest-green spine. These markers of being are all the more remarkable given the fact that an original Russian edition of this translation of Stalingrad doesnt exist.

In truth, the Chandlers translation of Stalingrad draws on three published Russian editions of Grossmans novel, which are all different from one another, plus several typed drafts and handwritten notes. The new translation is the result of the Chandlers detailed comparison of the three versions, and of their determination to prove that the novel can stand up to its better-known sequel, Life and Fate, which has long been recognized as Grossmans masterpiece.

The idea that Stalingrad must be Grossmans lesser book is a legacy of Soviet censorship, Robert says. Grossman wrote the novel in the late 1940s and early 50s, when all literature in the Soviet Union had to follow the tenets of socialist realism. Official doctrine demanded a historically specific depiction of reality, in which characters would undergo ideological rework... in the spirit of socialism.

Writing that was judged insufficiently socialist realist by censors would remain unpublished, and its author might be sent to a labor camp or killed. Given these possibilities, Robert explains, no writer in the Soviet Union ever wrote without an awareness of how the authorities would react, and every editor was, in effect, a censor.

For Grossman, a sense of danger seems not to have been intuitive. Born in Ukraine in 1905, he studied chemistry in Moscow and then worked in a Donbass mine as an engineer. But writing drew him, and he returned to Moscow and published two novels and a short story praised by Maxim Gorky, then the Communist partys favored writer. During Stalins purges, Grossmans second wife was arrested by the NKVD, a forerunner of the KGB. Daringly, Grossman wrote a letter arguing for her innocence, and she was released. And when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, Grossmana 35-year-old Jewish intellectual who couldnt shootvolunteered for the Red Army. He was sent to the front as a journalist for the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

Elizabeth speaks of the emotional balance and steadiness of imagination characteristic to Grossmans prose. It was perhaps this equanimity, and his knack for getting a good interview, that made Grossmans articles the newspapers most popular pieces. In August 1942, he went to Stalingrad.

Grossmans evocation of the inner life of young men who know they are certain to die within the next 24 hours is remarkably convincing, Robert notes in his introduction to the novel. For much of the five-month Battle of Stalingrad, in which two million people died, Grossman lived alongside the Soviet soldiers fighting to take back Stalingrad from Axis forces. He spent hours talking with snipers, nurses, and divisional commanders; he saw them crossing the Volga under fire to enter the bombed-out city. Sometimes he traveled with them.

Writing of this wartime crossing in his novel, Grossman describes a sublime steppe landscape that becomes riddled with the corporealwith corpses: Millions of stars gazed down at the city and the river, listening to the murmur of water against the shore.... Some dark object slid down the river, painfully slowly, and there was no way of knowing whether it was a boat without oars, the swollen corpse of a horse or part of a barge destroyed by a bomb. Grossmans characters also embody this strange wartime synthesis: some are terrified while others sit calmly in their fired-upon barges and boats, making plans to read the days paper.

Like Grossman, the Chandlers also became interviewers as they worked on Stalingrad. Specialists and scholars, including Yury Bit-Yunan, Brandon Schechter, and Pietro Tosco, were particularly helpful, and there are dozens of other peopletranslators, writers, friends, military historians, historians of the coal mining industrywho have read drafts, Robert says. These readers helped the Chandlers accurately render details of life in the Soviet Union in the 1940s.

Under the title For a Just Cause, Grossmans novel was finally published in 1952 in a heavily censored version, Robert says. Two somewhat less censored editions followed in 1954 and 1956. The English translation of Stalingrad restores Grossmans preferred title and follows the third edition for the general plot and the ordering of the chapters.

It also includes, as the Chandlers often emphasize, several hundred of the vivid, comic, and surprising passages that were published in only some of the Russian editions, and passages that were never published, such as those describing a Red Army commander reminiscing about making his wife a dress, a doctor complaining about overcrowding at a hospital, a roach scuttling across a map of military operations, mentions of a postwar future, and a woman with a tomato.

The censors struck out anything that wasnt politically on-message, as well as any details that werent elevated enough, Robert says, to be mentioned in connection with the venerated Red Army. Men sewing, crowded hospitals, bugs, the future, and errant vegetables were, inconveniently, just realnot socialist realism.

In Grossmans reality, people were struck out too. He was one of the first journalists to write about the Holocaust, in which his mother was killed. But after the war, he signed a document giving credence to Stalins anti-Semitic purges. Its possible that Grossmans momentary lapse came because he feared that his next novel, Life and Fate, would be censored. He was right: Life and Fate, the sequel to Stalingrad, was clearly no longer bound by the strictures of socialist realism. The KGB confiscated the manuscript in 1961. Grossman died in 1964, and the book remained unknown until it was published in Switzerland in 1980.

It was through this Swiss, Russian-language edition, 40 years ago, that Robert Chandler first encountered Grossman. The art historian Igor Golomstock suggested that Robert take it on as a translation project. At the time, Robert was just starting out as a translator, and his immediate reply was that he did not read books as long as Life and Fate in Russian, let alone translate them.

The chapter that Robert eventually translated interested the British publisher Collins Harvill, who bought the book and published it in 1985. And the Chandlers collaboration began when Elizabeth retyped several chapters of Roberts full translation of Life and Fate and then offered to type his translation of Andrey Platonovs novel Happy Moscow. We gradually got into discussing, and improving, more and more passages, she says. Theyve continued this way of working through subsequent translations of Grossman, Platonov, and Pushkin.

Robert, who is the fluent Russian speaker, prepares drafts he reads aloud to Elizabeth. Whenever either of us feels that something is unclear or that the tone is wrong, we discuss that sentence, batting different versions between us, until we feel we have got it right, he says.

If translations fail, this is very often not because they are inaccurate but because they fail to convey an authors voice, Elizabeth says. With time, one gets a sense of what words a particular writer would or wouldnt use. Grossman, for example, is often extremely funny, but he is seldom mocking.

Life and Fate is the achievement of the broad, lucid view of Soviet life toward which Grossman had been working, and in which both humor and deep pathos have a place. But this view was already apparent in Stalingrad. In the novel, even Grossmans worst-tempered characters are afforded moments of insight and clarityand, Elizabeth says, unlike nearly all his Soviet contemporaries, he treats even his German characters with respect.
Deal of the Week: Montlake Pays Seven Figures for Sylvia Day Anh Schluep, editorial director of Amazon Publishings Montlake imprint, gave a big welcome to Sylvia Day with a seven-figure deal for Butterfly in Frost, Days first new book since 2016. It will be released this August. The deal for world rights was brokered by Kimberly Whalen of the Whalen Agency. Sister imprint Amazon Crossing will publish the book in translation in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to the publisher, the 203-page novella follows Dr. Teagan Ransom and artist Garrett Frost on their passionate journey to find redemption, hope, and, ultimately, each other. We are so pleased to welcome Sylvia Day into the Montlake Romance family, Schluep said. Sylvia is a powerhouse author with legions of worldwide fans, and were excited to bring Butterfly in Frost to them.

FROM THE U.S.

Atria Dons Another Pair of Jewells

Atria couldnt wait for more from Lisa Jewell. Ahead of the August paperback publication of Watching You and the October publication of The Family Upstairs,editorial director Lindsay Sagnette bought Jewells next two novels, which are not yet titled. In what the publisher described as a major deal, Sagnette picked up U.S., Canada, and open market rights, along with audio and first serial from Deborah Schneider of Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners.

Public Affairs Buys Impact

Colleen Lawrie, executive editor at Public Affairs, preempted Impact: What to Do When You Want to Change the World but Dont Know Where to Start by Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts, founders of the nonprofit Shes the First, which provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries. It is one of the organizations with which Michelle Obamas Global Girls Alliance collaborates. Kathy Schneider of the Jane Rotrosen Agency sold world rights to the book, which will pub in fall 2020.

Abi Dares Debut Goes to Dutton

In her second deal since she joined Dutton earlier this year, executive editor Lindsey Rose preempted Abi Dares debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, inspired by the authors childhood in Lagos. Set for a spring 2020 release, the book follows a Nigerian girl who fights to get an education in the face of many obstacles, according to the publisher. The North American rights were brokered by Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown.

Post Hill Takes Bill Boggss Humor Novel

Anthony Ziccardi, publisher of Post Hill, picked up comic novel The Adventures of Spike the Wonder Dog from Bill Boggs, a four-time Emmy Awardwinning TV host of shows including Midday Live, NBCs Weekend Today in New York, and the Food Networks Bill Boggss Corner Table. The story, the publisher said, follows the exploits of Spike, an English bull terrier and TV and social media sensation with a heart of gold and a wickedly politically incorrect sense of humor. The deal was unagented. Publication is planned for May 2020.

Atria Battles Fatigue with Amy Shah

In an exclusive submission from Heather Jackson of her eponymous agency, Sarah Peltz at Atria bought world rights to Amy Shahs Why Am I So F*cking Tired? Shah is a medical doctor who received her training from three of the top schools in the country: Cornell for nutrition,

Harvard for internal medicine, and Columbia for allergy immunology. The publisher said that in Tired, she offers a solution to unexplained fatigue and explores other issues related to womens health. The book is scheduled for spring 2021.

Citadel Picks Up Fertility Nutrition Title

Denise Silvestro, executive editor at Citadel, won an auction for What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant by Nicole Avena, assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton. According to Linda Konner, who has an eponymous agency and brokered the deal, Silvestro paid high five figures for U.S., Canada, open market, and audio rights to the book, which offers a four-week science-based program to boost fertilityin women and menthrough nutrition.

GCP Signs Feminist Debut

Millicent Bennett at Grand Central preempted North American rights to A.E. Osworths 80085, a debut about a self-taught female video game coder who reports a workplace sexual harassment incident only to find herself fighting for her life in a game of cat and mouse against a violent stalker, according to the publisher. Christopher Hermelin of the Fischer-Harbage Agency, who negotiated the deal, described it as a feminist page-turnerThe Virgin Suicides meets Ready Player One.

Behind the Deal

Penguin editor Sam Raim won at auction world English rights to Rollo Romigs Two or Three Murders in South India, a true crime narrative that Raim said is centered on the 2017 murder of activist/journalist Gauri Lankesh in the South Indian city of Bangalore. Romig also touches upon other murders that share what Raim described as the irresistible elements of the criminal underworld, corrupt police, political controversy, shadowy religious groups.

But what is even more compelling, he added, is Romigs complex, empathetic portraits of Gauri Lankesh and the way he uses this story to illuminate a larger, urgent question: will India remain a country for all Indians, or will it come to be dominated by Hindu nationalism? Raim noted that through Lankeshs story, Romig explores many pressing global issues, including the decline of democracy and the attendant threats journalists face.

Romig is a journalist, critic, and essayist whose works have appeared in New York magazine, the New Yorker, the New York Times magazine, and Travel + Leisure, among other publications. Im so excited we could land this brilliant journalist, who has been drawing wide accolades for his reporting on South India, Raim said. Sarah Burnes of the Gernert Company brokered the deal.

MOVIE DEALS

 Netflix has optioned feature rights to Jason Rekulaks YA novel The Impossible Fortress, according to Deadline. The author will adapt the novel, which was published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Aggregate Films and GoldDay will produce.

 TaleFlick, an online service that provides authors with a direct way to showcase their works to movie and television studios, announced two new deals via the platform: Robert Gatelys South of Main Street and Michael Bowkers French Affair: A Paris Love Story. The former was optioned by the Traveling Picture Show Company, the latter by Passage Pictures.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS

 According to the Bookseller, Democratic mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigiegs memoir, Shortest Way Home, found a home across the pond at John Murray, where it will be published in June. Joe Zigmond, who acquired the U.K. and

Commonweath rights, told the Bookseller, At a time when global politics have become so chaotic and negative, this book genuinely appeals to our shared wisdom and humanity.

 In another deal reported by the Bookseller, Hodder & Stoughton picked up U.K. and Commonwealth rights to Amy Engels second adult novel, The Familiar Dark, from Dutton. The book will be published by both houses in March 2020.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.

Correction: This article initially identified Sylvia Day's new book as a novel. It is a novella.
Report from the Field

The #2 book in the country is Scribners edition of The Mueller Report, which includes an introduction by Washington Post reporters Rosalind S. Helerman and Matt Zapotosky; other editions include Melville Houses mass market paperback and Skyhorses trade paperback, introduced by Alan Dershowitz. Though the report was an East Coast favorite, other titles fared better elsewhere. Jeff Kinney continued his reign across much of the country; E.L. James was on top in the East South Central U.S., and pastor Mark Driscoll did well in the region that includes his native North Dakota.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Sleeper Hit

Economist Emily Oster lands at #5 in hardcover nonfiction with her second book, Cribsheet, a data-driven take on parenting. Our review said, Parents new and old will find reassurance in this commonsense approach; in an interview with PW, Oster reinforced that sentiment by explaining her books big takeaway: Not everyone is going to make the same decisionsand thats okay. The book sold almost twice the number of print units in its first week as her debut, Expecting Better, sold in its entire hardcover run. The trade paper edition of that title has sold 62K copies.

New & Notable

The Moment of Lift

Melinda Gates

#2 Hardcover Nonfiction

Gates delivers a thoughtful and empathetic treatise that demonstrates how empowering women can change the world and lift families from poverty, according to our review. Among those whose work she cites: Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai, Dutch human rights activist Mabel van Oranje, and Gatess husband, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Machines Like Me

Ian McEwan

#14 Hardcover Fiction

Set in an alternate 1982 London, McEwans thought-provoking novel, our review said, is about the increasingly fraught relationship between a man, a woman, and a synthetic human. For a look at the real-world influence of AI on business and finance, see  Alexa, Balance My Portfolio. 

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid Jeff Kinney Amulet 46,928 2 The Mueller Report  Scribner 41,987 3 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 37,852 4 Neon Prey John Sandford Putnam 35,878 5 The Mister E.L. James Vintage 32,035 6 Redemption David Baldacci Grand Central 26,329 7 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 21,641 8 Oh, the Places Youll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 19,204 9 Educated Tara Westover Random House 16,751 10 The Moment of Lift Melinda Gates Flatiron 15,882

All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.
This years BISG annual meeting, held April 26 at the Harvard Club in New York City, surveyed a range of trends across the publishing supply chain. A daylong series of panels examined printing and paper capacity, the rights market, workflow and workforce issues, and book sales, and it featured an entertaining and thoughtful keynote address by Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn.

Tamblyns address, titled Leaving Money on the Table, combined wit and wisdom for a lively presentation focused on increasing book sales. Rakuten Kobo, he said, has focused on a global strategy, and the company has more than 35 million customers outside the U.S. He challenged the conventional wisdom that e-book sales are declining, saying that 25% of e-book sales are outside of traditional publishing. Publishers are in competition with platforms such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube for consumer attention, he stressed, adding, It is a war of books vs. everything else.

Tamblyn advised publishers to localize the timing of book releases overseas (Use a sensible local time); localize prices (Straight currency conversion doesnt work); test price elasticity (Pricing matters; indie authors tweak prices constantly); offer e-book rights aggressively (English sells everywhere); and use consistent and accurate book series data (Series are 52% of our sales).

Janet McCarthy Grimm, a v-p at Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, and Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturing Institute, kicked off the meeting with an update on challenges related to paper and printing capacity. McCarthy said 2018 was a perfect storm, combining a resurgence in demand for print books with a dramatic decline in paper capacity that caught the industry by surprise.

Grimm described a domestic paper market in transition, as mills shift production away from paper for books to growing demand for paper for packaging. And the business is facing a general shortage of labor that prevents expansion.

Baehr identified similar challenges in printing capacity, pointing to a lack of investment in new facilities and a labor shortfall.

Grimm and Baehr called on the publishing industry to begin a group dialoguewith participation from BISG and the Book Industry Guild of New Yorkon ways to address ongoing challenges facing printing and paper supply.

In a discussion on the rights market, panelist Debbie Engel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt v-p, director of sub rights, said that the biggest changes in the field relate to audio rights. At one time, she noted, audio rights were no big deal, but interest in audio has spiked.

Ginger Clark, a literary agent at Curtis Brown, cited the popularity of podcasts and the rise of podcast deals as evidence that consumers are moving from reading books to listening to books. Theres growth in demand for audio rights from foreign markets as well, she added, pointing to China and Poland as examples.

Technology hasnt necessarily created new kinds of rights, but it has changed how rights work is done, according to panelist Lance Fitzgerald, v-p and director of sub rights at Penguin Random House. We can get materials out quickly, and its easy to access every book ever published.

Clark emphasized the continuing need for face-to-face relationships among rights market players, despite the impact of technology. We need to go to book fairs and connectnot everyone has docuSign, she said.

The rights panelists all expressed a general wariness about the subscription access model. We dont understand the financial model, Fitzgerald said. The panel also called for a better way to share rights data, suggesting a UN or BISG for data sharing and alluding to the need to develop an industrywide rights platform.

On the panel examining workflow efficiencies, Michelle Yu, HMH director of business operations, gave a presentation on the houses use of robotics process automation, AI-driven technology, such as Automation Anywhere, aimed at automating repeatable mundane tasks. Yu emphasized that HMHs use of RPA is not trying to get rid of jobs; its purpose is to save employees time and allow them to do more with less, freeing people up to do more interesting tasks. HMH began using the software last year to scrape online data about production shipment schedules and to automatically generate emails about scheduling and delivery.

Dennis Abboud Jr., senior director of sales at Readerlink, was part of a panel focused on sales that featured Margaret Harrison, director of digital services at Ingram Content Group, and Bradley Metrock, executive director of Digital Book World. Abboud pointed to a reemphasis on books by the distributor and cited data showing that the demand for physical books is strong.

The panel emphasized the continuing importance of good metadata and the growing popularity of audio and voice technology, such as Alexa. Voice technology, Metrock said, is not a fad, though he acknowledged consumer concerns over privacy issues and data breaches.
At the beginning of the decade, American law enforcement received repeated warnings of how the improvised explosive devices (IED) employed by al Qaeda affiliates might soon make their way to the United States. The IED warnings proved correct. On January 17, 2011, police officers in Spokane, Washington, narrowly averted a disaster by re-directing a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march away from a remote detonated, shape charge loaded with shrapnel coated with a substance meant to keep blood from clotting in wounds. It wasnt al Qaeda or even an al Qaeda supporter that planted the most sophisticated IED to then appear in the United States. Instead of finding an international terrorism connection, the FBI, on March 9, 2011, arrested Kevin Harpham, a former member of the U.S. Army who was affiliated with a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.

Not long after the election of President Barack Obama, all indicators pointed to a dramatic rise in domestic terrorism in the U.S. White supremacist threats mounted after America elected its first African-American president. Online conspiracy theories regarding the presidents citizenship and religion helped fuel a rise in racism intertwined with domestic politics. Alongside race-based groups, anti-government groups rose as well, powered by erroneous beliefs about abortion, repealing of the Second Amendment, or declaration of martial law.

Still, the U.S. focused its counter-terrorism efforts on al Qaeda and its spawn, the Islamic State. Homegrown extremists inspired by the groups were a more vexing problem at that moment. The Obama administration crafted policy and programs to develop community-oriented approaches to counter hateful extremist ideologies . . . including domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists in the United States. Years of conferences and outreach sessions commenced, but the focus remained on preventing jihadist terrorism and not domestic terrorism. Muslim communities saw law enforcement-led interventions, and Id spoil these discussions by asking, Where is the outreach to domestic extremists? Id point out that Kevin Harpham arose from Eastern Washington, not far from where FBI Agents in 1992 became embroiled in a disastrous standoff at Ruby Ridge with an alleged, anti-government group. Why dont we send some teams out to northern Idaho and eastern Washington to counter domestic terrorism? Id ask. No one responded, and the conversation would die because we all knew the answers. Domestic extremists have guns; al Qaeda wannabes generally dont. Domestic terrorists vote; international terrorists dont.

A decade of neglect and turning a blind eye to the rising current of white supremacist movements, combined with the rise of political divisiveness built on racial, religious, and ethnic divides, has brought an unprecedented modern wave of domestic terrorism. An African-American church became the scene of a horrible atrocity in South Carolina, and others recently burned in Louisiana. Mosques are attacked abroad and desecrated in the States. American synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego have become the site of mass shootings. White nationalist terrorism has long been on the rise. Why doesnt America do something about it?

A Big White Nationalist Terrorism Problem

The summer of 2016 brought an unprecedented global wave of Islamic State terrorist attacks. My commentary consisted of several articles and interviews describing how the Islamic State directed foreign terrorist attacks, relied on its network of affiliates and former foreign fighters to conduct others, and spawned as a result a contagion of inspired attacks as their successes rippled through global media. Cascading terrorism, as I referred to it, resulted in one attack begetting another attack, where the frequency and scale of each incident reflected the power of a global jihadi extremist movement.

While the Islamic State stole the headlines, behind the scenes though, my colleagues and I watched Russias disinformation storm build heading into the 2016 presidential election. Advancing anti-government conspiracies and amplifying racially charged divides in America represented one of the Kremlins principal avenues for infiltrating the electorate. Having stumbled onto the Russian trolls in early 2014, I only became convinced of Russias effectiveness in undermining American democracy after watching them elevate the Jade Helm military exercise conspiracy alleging the U.S. military would take over Texas.

After publishing our assessment of Russian influence headed into the election, I did not worry much about the outcome of the vote, but instead worried about domestic extremist groups turning to violence at polling places based on conspiracy theories of election rigging and voter fraud. Shortly after the election, such a scenario occurred when an armed man fired shots at a pizza place in the nations capital. The PizzaGate incident showed the power of online conspiracies to propel violence in right-wing circles.

For the last decade, Ive concluded counter-terrorism courses with a forecast comparing and contrasting the threat of international and domestic terrorism in the U.S. Four variables offer perspective as to where each category of extremist group might be headed. (Figure 1)

Similarities and Differences between International Terrorists and White Nationalist Terrorists

From 2001 to the summer of 2016, the threat of international jihadists far outpaced domestic extremists. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their legions of inspired supporters knew who they wanted to attack and why. They were highly motivated to commit violence to advance their agendas. The challenge for jihadists came down to whether they could gain access to high-profile targets and whether they had the weapons, bombs, skills, and experience to pull off an attack. For domestic extremists in America, nearly all had or could acquire weapons; some even had training, but few were focused on who and where to attackand almost none were willing to commit violence.

Today, domestic extremist violence outpaces Islamist extremism, and the character of the threat has changed dramatically in the last three years. Right-wing extremists and international jihadists from the last decade have many parallels and some differences. Al Qaeda networked its supporters on websites, YouTube, and in web forums. The Islamic State followed suit on Facebook and Twitter before being kicked off those platforms, and then descended on the lesser-policed app Telegram. Today, white supremacistshaving been largely pushed off mainstream social media platformsuse obscure sites like Gab and 8Chan to network, radicalize, share philosophies, and celebrate attacks. At the groups height, the Islamic States social media posts traveled widely and were empowered by global legions of supporters who further distributed the groups message. Today, white supremacists have grown so highly networked online that the Facebook Live video posted by New Zealand mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant was removed 1.2 million times at upload, and then another 300,000 copies were removed after posting. The Islamic State never achieved such an intense and capable network of online support.

Al Qaeda and Islamic State supporters looked to group leaders such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for targeting guidance, and to jihadi clerics such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Anwar al-Awlaki for religious justifications of violence. The global white nationalist terrorist movement today has its own heroes in Anders Behring Breivik, Dylann Roof, and now Brenton Tarrant, who inspire others to commit violence and establish their ideological direction through terrorist manifestos.

Both extremist movements have advanced through the inspirational contagion of successful attacks, which raise the respective ideologys profile, garner media attention, attract recruits, and inspire further plots. The difference between the inspired attacks of international jihadists and white nationalist extremists comes in the direction by which they coalesce.

Al Qaeda and the Islamic State formed as named groups that directed terrorist attacks on specified targets. Each group then used violence to recruit, train, and indoctrinate international foreign fighterscreating a global web of supporters and affiliates and launching networked attacks in coordination and under their banners. Directed attacks and networked attacks then cascaded into waves of inspired attacks by those believing in jihadi ideology, but often having no direct connection to the international group. The strength of al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the global movement that the two groups inspired could be felt by the breadth and frequency of this full spectrum of directed, networked, and inspired attacks under the banner of jihadreaching its violent zenith in the summer of 2016. (For reference, see, Inspired, Networked & Directed  The Muddled Jihad of ISIS & al Qaeda post Hebdo and Figure 2.)

White supremacist terrorism appears to be following the inverse model of international jihadists by forming from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. White supremacists live and operate largely in Western countries hosting substantial law enforcement. Adequate policing prevents the formation of named groups and squelches the organizing, training, planning, and preparation jihadist groups enjoyed in failing states like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or the Sahel.

Lacking a central core leadership, white supremacists emerge from grass roots, online organizing. Each attack inspires another one leading to a global network of online supporters spreading the ideology and offering technical and tactical assistance when possible to further additional attacks. Whereas jihadists needed money, training, weapons, and access to targets, white supremacists have easy access to African-American, Jewish, Muslim, LGBT, and other minority group targets; enough money to self-finance attacks; and plenty of weapons at their disposal. Continued successful attacks and online networking, if not addressed holistically by Western law enforcement, will likely lead to further in-person networking at rallies, movement to compounds domestically, or even regional or international white supremacist enclaves that could lead to the formation of named, global white supremacist groups. If left unabated, the pattern of jihadists (Top-down, Directed-Networked-Inspired) will reverse itself for white nationalist terrorists as they grow in strength (Bottom-up, Inspired-Networked-Directed). A good current example of this right-wing terrorist formation is Atomwaffena Neo-Nazi group linked to multiple murders in the U.S.

The West should now worry equally about the global networking, state sponsorship, and facilitation of right-wing extremists. Russias state-sponsored disinformation system amplifies racial divides in America, boosts anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment globally, and helps act as connective tissue linking like-minded white nationalist movements across the West. In Sweden, two of three bombers from the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement received military training in Russia before returning home to attack left-wing activists and a refugee home in Gothenburg. The Balkans and in particular Serbia, home to a long history of ethnic strife, surface regularly in white nationalist terrorism discussions, appear routinely in extremist circles, and may become an attractive hub for like-minded extremists seeking a new home abroad over time. A reminder, the Christchurch mosque attacker, Brenton Tarrant, was not from New Zealand, but Australia.

Signs already suggest the spike in white nationalist violence will likely lead to reprisal terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists and left-wing movements. Sri Lankas defence minister said that a preliminary investigation into the Islamic State-linked Easter bombings found the attacks to be in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch. New Zealands foreign minister later disagreed with this assessment and noted the Islamic States claim of responsibility didnt mention the Christchurch attack. But even the suggestion of such a reprisal attack points to the growing risk of reciprocal Islamic extremist attacks and left-wing inspired attacks in response to right-wing aggression. Literally, the name Antifa comes from anti-fascists, as a countermovement to right-wing extremists. This past week, the FBI disrupted a plot by a U.S. Army combat veteran to bomb a white nationalist rally. In sum, unchecked violence begets more violence.

Why the U.S. is hamstrung in the Fight against White Nationalist Terrorism

Americanswhether its the government or the mediatreat domestic terrorism different than international terrorism. Inside the FBI, international and domestic terrorism investigations employ different rulebooks. Cases against international jihadists generally follow the National Security Guidelines and if a nexus to a foreign power, foreign terrorist organization, or designated foreign terrorist surfaces, investigators can request searches via the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to preempt impending violence.

Domestic terrorism investigators use the U.S. Criminal Code to guide their investigations, and have a higher bar to hurdle for investigative approvals, far fewer resources at their disposal, and no formal domestic terrorist organization designation to power preemptive looks into extremist networks. There is a definition of domestic terrorism in U.S. code, but there is no specific criminal statute for domestic terrorism tied to that code. Domestic terrorism investigations thus often result in what appear to be one-off, reactive pursuits after violent attacks, as no legal avenue for upending domestic terrorism exists. As former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Gomez has explained over the years and in discussions with me, Absent a fully approved investigation into a designated domestic terrorism group, FBI agents are left with investigating dozens or even hundreds of individuals for conspiracy to commit a specific crime.

Short of violence or a full FBI-designated domestic terrorism investigation, preventing white nationalist attacks becomes nearly impossible for investigators. The First Amendment protects their speech, and the Second Amendment protects their access to weapons. The FBI, however, despite these challenges, should be applauded for successfully thwarting several domestic extremist plots in recent months suggesting those inside the federal law enforcement agency recognize the threat and currently pursue them to the best of their ability despite so many constraints.

The White House and Capitol Hill stymie aggressive policing of domestic extremists. Whether it is Richard Spencers rallies in Charlottesville, Congressman Steve Kings comments and actions, or even this past weekends white nationalist demonstration at a Washington, D.C. book talk, white supremacists and their law-abiding supporters represent a constituency, and Congress doesnt like to talk about them. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried in 2009 to warn of military veterans becoming right-wing extremists, Congressional Republicans admonished the agency, and the assessment was withdrawn. (Reminder, Kevin Harpham in 2011 was a military veteran). A decade later, DHS disbanded its domestic terrorism intelligence unit as part of a reorganization to eliminate federal redundancy.

What Can Policymakers Do to Fight White Nationalist Terrorism?

Elected leaders could do something more than offer their thoughts and prayers to challenge the growing threat of white nationalist terrorism. Our nations legislators could and should enact a federal crime for domestic terrorism (explained best by Mary B. McCord here at Lawfare). Another option for Congress would be to create a law for designating domestic terrorism organizations and domestic terrorists equivalent to the process conducted by the U.S. State Department for international terrorism. However, I have no confidence in our Congress during this time to enact such legislation and then fairly conduct oversight of such a designation process. Current legislative debates place equal emphasis on Black Identity Extremism and anarchists. There have been remarkably few violent incidents by Black Identity Extremists; according to the FBIs estimate, Violence has been rare over the past 20 years and there is sparse evidence of any convergence. The FBI and DHS assess that anarchists and Antifa principally target property, not people. FBI Director Wray has publicly called white nationalist terrorism a persistent, pervasive threat, and America has watched white supremacists kill and wound hundreds of its citizens. To place Black Identity Extremism and Antifa/anarchists on equal footing is simply silly, and shows gross negligence by our elected leaders and great weakness by our institutions.

Since our lawmakers cant pass laws designed to deal with the most pressing threats to American security, their committees could start by informing themselves and the public through a series of public hearings on domestic terrorism requesting the following information from the FBI and DHS:

Homeland Security & Judiciary Committees: The deaths, crimes, incidents, and estimated number of adherents for each category of domestic terrorism Summary of each incident resulting in casualties at the hands of a domestic terrorist Assessment of each domestic extremist ideologys threat to people and property A breakdown of resources dedicated to international and domestic terrorism by category An outline of how investigators will handle fringe social media platforms (8Chan, Gab) acting as hubs for domestic terrorists

Foreign Affairs & Intelligence Committees: Threat of foreign countries working to coordinate, infiltrate, and influence domestic extremist movements Summary of foreign intelligence collection related to: U.S. persons traveling abroad for ideological indoctrination and training in support of all extremist ideologies Suspected foreign agents inside the U.S. connecting with extremist groups

Armed Services Committees: The prevalence of domestic extremism, by type, in the ranks of the Armed Forces Foreign influence operations targeting current and former U.S. military personnel



White nationalist terrorism arises from individuals in a loose network, and the FBI can do something about it. The U.S. just went through a similar period with al Qaeda and Islamic States homegrown violent extremists. The FBI Director, ideally with the public support of the Attorney General and the president, should open a nationwide domestic terrorism case for White Nationalist Inspired Terrorism. Designating this case would allow for investigators and analysts to conduct assessments for detecting violent plots before they occur. In recent years, a similar case designation for al Qaeda and Islamic State-inspired, homegrown violent extremists helped the FBI catch up to the international jihadist threat.[1] In short, the designation will help the FBI dedicate more resources and personnel to white nationalist terrorism, may help them detect violent plots earlier, and increase the amount of information for sharing with state and local partners who may be better informed and positioned for thwarting extremist violence.

These small, simple steps can help stem the rising tide of white nationalist terrorism, but one thing above all could dramatically reduce domestic extremism: leadership. Offering thoughts and prayers via tweets accomplishes nothing. Elected leaders must acknowledge white nationalist terrorism now, publicly refute the divisive ideology, and affirm their commitment to protect all Americans against threats foreign and domestic. Until this happens, these elected leaders fail in their duty to lead our country, and all Americans will remain vulnerable to the violence of a growing strain of white nationalist terrorism.

Clint Watts is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News. @selectedwisdom

Notes:

[1] See, the FBIs Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) for the difference between Assessments, Preliminary Inquiries, and Full Field Investigations.

This article appeared originally at Foreign Policy Research Insitutute (FPRI).
The trade negotiations with China provide an opportunity to advance human rights in China. A key strategy to do so is to free the Chinese internet market. Unfortunately, the current trade negotiations with China are missing this critical component. We argue that this must change. U.S. internet companies must have equal access to China that they are now denied. This is only fair based on the principle of reciprocity. Additionally, it will provide the United States with invaluable political and economic opportunities. There are three reasons why this is so.

First, the internet has changed not only how people buy things and entertain themselves, but also how they obtain information and communicate with each other. The free flow of information can promote Chinas democratic transition. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is well aware of this threat to its power, as Xi Jinping's expressed in his January 2019 speech to the Politburo's 12th Study Group meeting. Xi argued, "Without cybersecurity, there is no national security. If we cannot overcome the internet barrier, we won't be able to hold power for a long period of time. The internet is a double-edged sword: a photograph and a video can become viral and spread explosively through all media outlets in a few hours." Moreover, he recognized that "It has a great impact on public opinion. If correctly used, this power of influence can benefit the country and the people; otherwise, it will bring unimaginable harm." Xi wants the CCP to have absolute control over the internet to win this invisible war on "the battlefield without guns." The U.S. should not let him get away with it.

The Chinese regime fully comprehends the double-edged sword of the internet. China wants the internet to promote economic growth. China's digital economy has experienced massive growth over the last decade under the regime's protectionist policy. According to a McKinsey report, ten years ago China accounted for less than one percent of the global e-commerce market; today its share is 42%. In comparison, the United States' share of the market is 24%, down from 35% in 2005. Furthermore, the Party leadership views suppression of internet freedom as the key to its perpetual totalitarian rule over China and its people, so it uses its vast state apparatus to censor, block, and restrict the ability of Chinese citizens to get or share information and opinions. According to internet NGO GreatFire, China currently has blocked over 10,000 domain names and 80,000 URLs under the country's internet censorship policy, which prevents users from accessing proscribed websites from within the country. China's vast censorship apparatus is also using a new technique for rooting out banned contents, phrases and words. At the same time, its immense and potent propaganda machine uses fake news and spreads lies to incite ultra-nationalism and hatred towards the U.S.

China is not content with controlling information within its own borders. Under Chinas policy of cyber sovereignty, China has used technology to censor content on non-Chinese websites, including many attacks on American websites for content it dislikes. China also exports its digital totalitarianism, destroying democracy and the free world as we know it.

Second, while asserting tight control over the internets ideological and political sphere, the Chinese regime has used the pretense of national security to protect its internet market and block companies such as American competitors. It sets insurmountable barriers for the American internet companies to enter the Chinese market as equals, thus creating a de facto ban on American companies such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Chinese Wikipedia, Mobile Wikipedia, Pinterest, Dropbox, Reddit, Bloomberg, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Twitter, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Blogspot, Flickr, Tumblr, and many others. Some American internet companies have gained limited access to the Chinese market, but only after they submit to demands such as back doors on their technology to permit access by the Chinese government. As a result, China's denial of its internet market costs trillions of dollars to the American advertisers, bankers, manufacturers, farmers and service providers. For example, the Chinese mobile payment market has grown many folds to today's $30 trillion in the past decade and is projected to grow to $97 trillion in 2023 according to Frost & Sullivan, but none of the American companies benefit from this growth, and Tencent and Alibaba have monopolized the market.

Third, while China hinders access by U.S. firms to their market, Chinese internet companies have been taking extraordinary advantage of the free U.S. market. The Chinese internet company giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, all came to the U.S. and were given full and unrestricted access to the American markets, including capital markets. In 2018, thirty-three Chinese companies went public in the U.S. and in 2018 raised over $9 billion, most of the companies are internet tech companies. China refuses to grant the U.S. any true reciprocity in the internet arena. This unfair and detrimental trade practice should be a priority in the current trade negotiations with China.

Ensuring internet freedom and the free flow of information must be a core component of U.S. foreign policy and trade policy concerning China. Washington must use the leverage it possesses to foster a genuine opening of the Chinese internet market. If there is a free internet market in China, it will become an open political space that inevitably will undermine Xi's rule. The Communist Party leadership understands this, and it is time the U.S. did as well.

Bradley A. Thayer is the coauthor of How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics.



Lianchao Han is a human rights activist, Vice President of Initiatives for China, and Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute.




Ray McGovern calls out the void of evidence at the heart of the Senate hearing with Attorney General Barr on Wednesday.



By Ray McGovern

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - G

eorge Orwell would have been in stitches Wednesday watching Attorney General William Barr and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spar on Russia-gate. The hearing had the hallmarks of the intentionally or naively blind leading the blind with political shamelessness.

From time to time the discussion turned to the absence of a legal predicate to investigate President Donald Trump for colluding with Russia. That is, of course, important; and we can expect to hear a lot more about that in coming months.

More important: what remains unacknowledged is the absence of an evidence-based major premise that should have been in place to anchor the rhetoric and accusations about Russia-gate over the past three years. With a lack of evidence sufficient to support a major premise, any syllogism falls of its own weight.

The major premise that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee and gave WikiLeaks highly embarrassing emails cannot bear close scrutiny. Yes, former CIA Director John Brennan has told Congress he does not do evidence. In the same odd vein, Brennans former FBI counterpart James Comey chose not to do evidence when he failed to seize and inspect the DNC computers that a contractor-of-ill-repute working for the DNC claimed were hacked by Russia.

Call us old fashioned, but we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) still do evidence  and, in the case at hand, forensic investigation. For those who can handle the truth, the two former NSA technical directors in VIPS can readily explain how the DNC emails were not hacked  by Russia or anyone else  but rather were copied and leaked by someone with physical access to the DNC computers.

We first reported hard forensic evidence to support that judgment in a July 2017 memorandum for the president. Substantial evidence that has accumulated since then strengthens our confidence in that and in related conclusions. Our conclusions are not based on squishy assessments, but rather on empirical, forensic investigations  evidence based on fundamental principles of science and the scientific method.

Bizarre, Medieval

All serious members of the establishment, including Barr, his Senate interrogators, and the mainstream media feel required to accept as dogma the evidence-free conventional wisdom that Russia hacked into the DNC. If you question it, you are, ipso facto, a heretic  and a conspiracy theorist, to boot.

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Again, shades of Orwell and his famous two plus two equals five. Orwells protagonist in 1984, Winston Smith, imagines that the State might proclaim that two plus two equals five is fact. Smith wonders whether, if everybody believes it, does that make it true?

Actually, the end goal is not to get you to parrot that two plus two equals five. The end goal is to make it so youd never even consider that two plus two could equal anything other than five.

During the entire Barr testimony Wednesday, no one departed from the safe, conventional wisdom about Russian hacking. We in VIPS, at least, resist the notion that this makes it true. We shall continue to insist that two and two is four, and point out the flaws in any squishy Intelligence Community Assessment that concludes, even with high confidence, that the required answer is five.

Doubtful Dogma

Wednesdays Senate hearing brought a painful flashback to a similarly widely-held, but evidence-free dogma  that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. attacked that country. It gets worse: Many of the same people who promoted the spurious claims about WMD are responsible for developing and proclaiming the dogma about Russian hacking into the DNC. The Oscar for his performance in the role of misleader goes, once again, to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whose credits go back to the WMD fiasco in which he played a central role.

Before the war on Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put Clapper in charge of analysis of satellite imagery, the most definitive collection system for information on WMD. In his memoir, Clapper admits, with stomach-churning nonchalance, that intelligence officers, including me, were so eager to help [spread the Cheney/Bush claim that Iraq had a rogue WMD program] that we found what wasnt really there. [Emphasis added]

Last November as Clapper was hawking his memoir at the Carnegie Endowment I had a chance during the Q and A to

on that and on Russia-gate. I began:

You confess [in Clappers book] to having been shocked that no weapons of mass destruction were found. And then, to your credit, you admit, as you say here [quoting from the book], the blame is due to intelligence officers, including me, who were so eager to help [the administration make war on Iraq] that we found what wasnt really there.

Now fast forward to two years ago. Your superiors were hell bent on finding ways to blame Trumps victory on the Russians. Do you think that your efforts were guilty of the same sin here? Do you think that you found a lot of things that werent really there? Because thats what our conclusion is, especially from the technical end. There was no hacking of the DNC; it was leaked, and you know that because you talked to NSA.

Evidence

Back to the Senate hearing on Wednesday: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), during a line of questioning about evidence of obstruction of justice, asked the attorney general if he personally reviewed the underlying evidence in the Mueller report.

No, said Barr, We accepted the statements in the report as factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate.

Harris: You accepted the report as evidence? You did not question or look at the underlying evidence?

Barr: We accepted the statements in the report and the characterization of the evidence as true.

Harris: You have made it clear that you did not look at the evidence.

It was crystal clear on Wednesday that Barr had bigger fish to fry, as well as protective nets to deflect incoming shells. He is likely to be preoccupied for weeks answering endless questions about his handling of the Mueller report. It is altogether possible, though, that in due course he plans to look into the origins of Russia-gate and the role of Clapper, Brennan and Comey in creating and promoting the evidence-free dogma that Russia hacked into the DNC  and, more broadly, that, absent Russias support, Trump would not be president.

For the moment, however, we shall have to live with The Russians Still Did It, Whether Trump Colluded or Not. There remains an outside chance, however, that the truth will emerge, perhaps even before November 2020, and that, this time, the Democrats will be shown to have shot themselves in both feet.

For further background, please see:

VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal to Interview Assange

VIPS: Muellers Forensics-Free Findings

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years, with special expertise on Russia, and prepared The Presidents Daily Brieffor Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

This article was originally published by " Consortium News " -

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It is hardly an auspicious time for geostrategic adventures for Turkey. The governance mess after the country's transition to an executive presidency system, a worsening economic downturn and mounting political tensions since the March 31 local polls require Turkey to focus on its domestic woes. Yet, on top of its Syrian stalemate and soon after landing in the losers' club in Sudan, Ankara is cruising into another regional crisis  the one in Libya.

Turkey came back into the spotlight in Libya's conflict after Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive on Tripoli April 4, having taken control of two-thirds of the country, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj and backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, has pinned high hopes on Turkey. Sarraj, who has mounted a counter-operation to defend Tripoli, asked Ankara for support in an April 28 phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/turkey-russia-ankara-double-down-in-libya-game.html#ixzz5mxe7vAjO
(FPRI)  After three days of talks in Turkey, representatives from Washington and Ankara failed to reach agreement on the terms of a proposed safe zone in northeastern Syria. The two sides, treaty allies since 1952, share such widely divergent interests in Syria that compromise appears exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The reasons for these divergent interests are often described as an outcome of a half-hearted American intervention in Syria, where a small and limited military operation to oust the Islamic State resulted in a military partnership with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliate in Syria, the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is the core component of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the militia that Washington depends on to hold the territory taken from Islamic State. This is only half the story and does not capture the nuance of the slow and painful deterioration of Turkish-American relations.
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By Brett Wilkins

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - As is all too often the case when the United States sets its sights on its next target for war or regime change, the corporate mainstream media  which supposedly exists to speak truth to power  is once again marching in lockstep with the government as it beats the drums of war, this time against Venezuela.

The media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has just released a survey of US opinion journalism on the Venezuela crisis which found that in the three-month period between January 15 and April 15, not a single voice in what it called the "elite corporate media" opposed regime change or supported Venezuelas democratically elected government. FAIR analyzed coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour and the Sunday morning talk shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. Of the 76 articles, opinion pieces and TV commentator segments focusing on Venezuela, 54, or 72 percent, explicitly supported removing President Nicolas Maduro from power. Only 11 pieces took no position on the matter.

The Times published 22 pro-regime change commentaries, three ambiguous ones and only five that took no position. The nations paper of record published a January 30, 2019 opinion piece by coup leader Juan Guaido calling on the entire world to stand behind his effort to usurp the Venezuelan presidency. The Post also ran 22 pieces supporting Maduros ouster and only four that were neutral. Not to be outdone by its main competitor, the Jeff Bezos-owned paper also ran an opinion article by Guaido in which he had the temerity to call Maduro "a usurper." Even the normally measured PBS NewsHour got in on the act, featuring a lengthy interview with Guaido in which he called the possibility of violent confrontation "worth it" and dismissed the possibility of negotiating with Maduro.

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FAIR called corporate news coverage of Venezuela nothing short of "a full-scale marketing campaign for regime change." Indeed, it noted that the Times produced an April 1, 2019 opinion video featuring Joanna Hausmann, a Venezuelan-American writer and comedian, which praises Guaido without disclosing that her father, Ricardo Hausmann, is his envoy to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a Washington, DC-based international financial institution dominated by the interests of banks and corporations in the US and other wealthy nations. Hausmann is a neoliberal economist who played a key role in devising policies that enabled the exploitation of Venezuelas economy in the late 20th century. These policies, while friendly to multinational corporations and international capital, devastated and impoverished millions of Venezuelans, sowing the seeds for the backlash manifested in the Bolivarian Revolution.

Despite the glaring breach of the papers own editorial standards, Times video producer Adam Ellick shrugged off criticism of his failure to disclose Hausmanns ties to the coup regime. We were aware of her fathers biography before publication, Ellick said, but Ms. Hausmann is an independent adult woman who has built a popular following on her own, by producing a portfolio of argued videos about Venezuela via her own YouTube channel.

FAIR has previously noted what it called the "corporate medias willful erasure of vast improvements to Venezuelan life" since the Bolivarian Revolution began with the election of former president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The watchdog also took the media to task for ignoring US-imposed sanctions, which according to economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have caused tens of thousands of premature deaths in 2017 and 2018.

"Its obvious that the corporate media has been following US policy," Venezuelan sociologist Edgardo Lander told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! during a Thursday morning interview. Lander, who is a member of the Citizens Platform in Defense of the Constitution, a leftist group opposing US intervention and calling for a popular referendum to decide Venezuelas future, added that "this isnt new."

"I mean, it happened during the Iraq War. Its happened in Libya. Its happened in all over the place," he said. "Papers like the New York Times turn to be critical after the facts. Maybe 10 years from now, theyll be critical of their position in relation to whats happening in Venezuela."

Indeed, while the Times did reflect critically upon its reporting during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion  which too often consisted of little more than parroting Bush administration talking points and even outright lies  and also in 2017 lamented "Americas forever wars," the paper has never acknowledged the role it has played in building and maintaining support for those wars.

In one 2017 opinion article, the Times editorial board repeated that most commonly-heard myth, deeply rooted in the notion of American exceptionalism, that "at least in recent decades, American presidents who took military action have been driven by the desire to promote freedom and democracy." Even the most cursory examination of events unfolding in Venezuela instantly belies this claim, which comes from a country whose government has supported nearly every right-wing dictatorship in the world over the past 75 years, and which has waged or backed wars costing millions of lives in order to crush popular liberation movements around the globe.

Brett Wilkins

This article was originally published by " AntiWar " -

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==See Also==

Venezuelan Coup Fails & So Does CNN - Jimmy Dore Show

Rick Sanchez & Chris Hedges explain media decay

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Glen Greenwald reams media for Collusion coverage Watch



May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Tucker Carlson, Its been a bewildering couple of months for Bill Barr. Barr first served as attorney general in the George HW Bush administration. That was 1991. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just turned two years old at the time. Thats how long ago it was. Then, this February, by process of elimination, Barr became attorney general again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job.



Barr probably didnt expect to become a major figure in the Russia story. He had nothing to do with it. As far as we know, Barr never met with secret agents in Prague. He never texted Vladimir Putin on his blackberry. He never managed a Macedonian content farm. If Barr betrayed his country for a sack or rubles and a case of vodka, nobody has ever proved it. But it doesnt matter. The Russia story cannot die. CNN, The Washington Post, and the Democratic Party have too much invested in it.



The fact its been proved a hoax is irrelevant to them. Bill Barr is a handy way to keep the Russia in the news. Watch todays talking point in action. Somewhere in the basement of the DNC, some a messaging consultant has decided that credibility is the most effective line of attack: Greenwald Reacts to "Rage" against AG Barr after Senate Hearing Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter ==See Also== What Are The Stakes Of Russia Sensationalism? Glenn Greenwald and Sam Seder discuss Russiagate. Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Every week, we select the best police reports from Athens and the University of Georgia for our website and newspaper. Today, were selecting the best of this year so far. From alien abductions to a nude dude, here are our favorite blotters from January to now.
The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market.

Demand for pre-owned cars remained strong in the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), crossing the 4-million unit mark, even as sales of new cars were in slow lane, according to a report.

The used cars segment is expected reach 6.7 to 7.2 million cars per year and be valued at Rs 50,000 crore by FY22, according to IndianBlue Book, the pricing and valuation arm of Mahindra FirstChoice Wheels (MFCW), the pre-owned unit of Mahindra and Mahindra.

The used car market is now 1.2 times the size of the new car market, according to the third edition of the report on IndianBlue Book.

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India advanced by a mere 2.7 per cent to 3.3 million units in FY19 - the slowest in five years as buyers deferred purchase amid high finance costs and uncertainty.

Encouraged by the growth prospect in the used car space, MFCW envisages selling 350,000 PVs in FY20, against 250,000 units in FY19.

It is also hoping to become a profitable company by the end of FY20 on the back of volume growth, Ashutosh Pandey, managing director and chief executive officer officer at MFCW, told Business Standard.

To tap into the growth opportunity, the company plans to step up the number of dealerships from the current 1,100 to 1,700 by FY20-end.

What drives the used car market is the migration up from the two-wheelers, said Pandey.

The pool of people willing to migrate from a two-wheeler is significantly large, he said, pointing out that the trend is being fuelled by the second-hand market getting increasingly organised, which in turn gives greater confidence to the buyers to opt for used cars.

The report said the number of consumers paying for an expert evaluation has jumped three times from 10 per cent to 29 per cent between FY09 and FY19, indicating the opportunities for the organised certified pre-owned market.

Some of the other trends, which the report highlights, include a strong preference for entry-level hatchbacks and sedans.

Seven of every ten cars bought comprise hatchbacks and sedans, similar to the new car market.

Typically, the cars bought are pre-dominantly from first owners, with 72 per cent of them being less than five years old.

The report also highlights the buying behaviour unique to pre-owned car buyers.

A pre-owned car buyer tends to be steadfast, with over 40 buyers sticking to a preferred model from research to purchase.

Hence, availability of the preferred model becomes the key enabler to choose the purchase channel.

A similar unwavering persistence is seen in the budget-to-purchase segment, with over 55 per cent buyers tending to stick to and limit the options within the budget.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

Calling for an "unconditional" withdrawal of its legal case, sued potato growers in Gujarat on Friday said that they have sought compensation from PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd (PIH) for harassment caused to them due to the lawsuit.

In a press briefing on Friday, three of the potato farmers sued by PepsiCo along with farmer union leaders and farmers rights activists asserted that Indian farmers' seed freedoms were non-negotiable.

With support from other farmer organisations and activists, including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the potato growers have not only sought compensation but also called for boycott of the food giant's products.

"PepsiCo should withdraw the cases unconditionally. The also company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through even though the law is clear on the subject," said Bipin Patel in a media briefing on Friday. Patel is one of the four potato growers against whom PepsiCo had filed a suit.

"We would like the state government to reveal the full details of the ongoing discussions with the company since we are demanding an unconditional withdrawal based on a reiteration of Sec. 39 (1) (iv) of PPV&FR Act 2001, and anything else is not acceptable," the sued potato growers said.

PepsiCo had earlier on Thursday said that it has agreed to withdraw cases against potato growers in Gujarat after discussions with the government.

The company had sued nine potato farmers in Gujarat, including five last year and four this year, for allegedly buying seeds and selling potato of the FL 2027 variety registered by PepsiCo.

The said variety is used by PepsiCo for making 'Lays' chips.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers.

"We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection.

"The company remains deeply committed to the thousands of farmers we work with across the country and towards ensuring adoption of best farming practices," the PepsiCo India spokesperson had stated.

The sued potato farmers also called for increased awareness of the legislation around plant varieties among farmers across the country.

"The court proceedings came as a shock to us, including the amount of damages that the company was claiming.

"It was clearly trying to intimidate and harass us. Its real intention might have been to wipe out competitors from the market, but it chose to harass farmers.

"The company has to pay us compensation for all the harassment we were put through," they said.

On the other hand, Maganbhai Patel of BKS said that it was possible to get a large multinational company to back out very quickly, given that the PPV&FR Act 2001 was clearly on the farmers' side.

The potato growers and farmer activists also sought support from the government for pressuring PepsiCo to agree to their demands for compensation.

"We are not going to approach courts for compensation but shall take a call as and when PepsiCo files for withdrawal of cases in the courts," the farmers said.

On Friday, farmers and activists also announced forming of a new outfit called Bij Adhikar Manch (Rights for Seeds Forum). A meeting of 30 members under the new entity, comprising farmers, farm leaders, civil right representatives, lawyers and scientists, was also held on Friday in Ahmedabad where the forum decided to call for a nation-wide boycott of PepsiCo products.

The forum will now continue to fight for farmers' sovereign rights seeds, said its co-ordinator Kapil Shah.

Friday also saw PepsiCo India officials hold a meeting with Gujarat government officials including chief secretary of the state and additional chief secretary for agriculture, Government of Gujarat in the state capital Gandhinagar.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting in Gandhinagar, Jagrut Kotecha, vice president snacks, PepsiCo India said, "We had come to update the state government about the statement we had issued earlier on Thursday and are looking forward to an amicable solution for everyone."

When asked about withdrawal of cases against the potato growers, Kotecha told mediapersons that PepsiCo India would withdraw the cases as and when the matter came up for hearing before the court.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for June 12 at a commercial court in Ahmedabad.

Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Narendra Damodardas Modi has upset the comfort zone of the secular cartel that represented a precipitated hate for the assertive Indian.

Still, the highly politicised and opinionated 'secular' media is able to speak falsehoods and hit hard at newly emerging assertive Indians and their spokespersons.

Their last battle to shield the 'bachaa-khucha' -- whatever is left -- of their empire is climaxing in mocking missiles on right-wing followers.

Their practice of ideological apartheid was so strong and overpowering that a journalist in her arrogance tweeted from her pedestal, 'We donated land to Yogi Adityanath's ancestors to build the Gorkahdham temple'!

Some cheek they have. They donated to us. Who are they? They align with the invaders. Who are we? They say we are the beggars, the vanquished people who received donations from the conquistadors. And then the same discredited Aryan invasion theory is projected.

Like the political Opposition, they believe if a blatant lie is spoken a thousand times, it gets registered as the truth in public perception.

The Yeti episode and the loud laugh by the chatterati 'secular class' at the Indian Army and my reply underline a mindset that is resisting the change. I saluted the Indian Army, felt proud about its achievement.

The Yeti has been an area of my study since my college days and I undertook two journeys to Tibet, that included visiting Yogi Milarepa's cave in the Ngari prefecture in my pursuit to gain more knowledge about the Abominable Snowman. But that's another story.

The falsification of my tweet is not a new thing -- the seculars are past masters in the Stalinised transformation of the truth into their convenient versions.

A clear divide is to be seen in the media, like in pre-Partition days. The secular class, against Ayodhya, Article 370 removal, common civil code, cow protection and Ram Setu is a consolidated, organised, sector in the media.

They must write against the armed forces, assertive Indians, celebrate Kashmir insurgents, befriend jihadis, publish columns by pronounced beef-eaters, and fulfill secular obligations by hitting us, whatever the occasion, whatever the time or matter.

They must raise their voice against assertive Indians, seeing absolutely nothing positive in us even if a larger part of the nation supports us and votes us.

They think all those supporters are wrong till they convert to the secular class's faith.

Proselytisers of another hue, these seculars have become more venomous and harsher than the Portuguese Jesuit harvesters of faith who used excruciatingly painful inquisition methods to convert Hindus in Goa.

They are the secular extra space leg people, whose daily life depends on doles from foreign agencies and NGOs, and have been spoilt by the likes of Nurul Hassan to Arjun Singh.

They have convinced themselves that they are the lone torch-bearers of Indian voices, whom the India desk on Capitol Hill and the European parliament, Amnesty, Unesco, and public diplomacy department of the MEA and Alliance Francaise de Delhi gave shelter, fat fees for new books and video films -- which none read or saw -- and invites.

With Modi's rise, their space has shrunk, their Siberias and Gulags on news desks are questioned, fellowships gone. Hence the hurt.

The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing. Nothing new.

The abuses and use of choicest bad words, against us, our leaders, was a creation of this left-Congress gang. They are now getting it back with interest added and that's shocking them -- oh, they know some English also?

Their eyes would squirm, their lips stiffen and eyes show an unmistakable charge of intense hate whenever they saw us in the holy precincts of their monopolised domination like the India International Centre or the Editors Guild.

Once I had lunch at the IIC and saw a known left journalist. I went to his table to greet him. He was shocked, and for a second looked frozen in disbelief. And the first sentence he uttered was, 'Arre, you are a member here? Who gave you membership?'

I returned to my table with sadness. We were supposed to eat in a dhaba, speak against reforms, against Muslims and Christians, against social amity and wear a shikhaa -- which they called head-tail.

To get their approval and acceptance we must support the invaders -- or at least show them as economic reformers who came from Ghazni to Somnath in pursuit to increase employment opportunities for poor, enterprising Afghans and free Hindus from the shackles of the priests.

For secular baptism, we must read Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, attend Sahmat meetings, buy Audrey Truschke's books and show them off to friends too, and write columns on how as god's special messenger in academics Wendy Doniger is once again civilising the Hindus through her masterpiece.

This was considered to be the first signature of a civilised, cultured, secular Indian.

The armed forces too have received their contempt and an unusual dose of verbal missiles. Never would we see a rally, a Jantar Mantar candlelight vigil, a jhola chhaap silent march in support of the Gadchiroli or Pulwama martyrs, or against the terrorist gangs of Naxals, and Kashmir jihadis.

These well-fed and well-paid mediapersons find it easy to hit us, but would not find the time to report on polling in Tawang and the fear enveloping Changlang. Or a report from Hebron, for obvious reasons.

They will never even try their investigative skills to report how the Church is openly funding and supporting the NSCN-IM and K and their idea of a greater Nagaland for religious expansionism.

For the Indian media, specially the secular class, anything that corrodes the boundaries of Hindu faith, and hurts the people who profess an assertive Indian dharma -- through the tricolour and the Constitution -- must be welcomed and if Islamists, the PFI, Jesuits or any section of the proselytisers hit at us collectively, that is secular tehzeeb and well within their rights.

Modi has punctured their fraud, their tirade of lies and falsification.

One must never forget that just before the 2014 election came to an end, an influential magazine published a cover story with the title, 'God of Hate', with a Modi picture.

Modi must not stop, and decimate this gang.

The only fear is that assertive Indians often fall prey to the same old Prithviraj Chauhan syndrome.

Not this time, please.

Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP, was the chief editor of the RSS weekly, Panchjanya, for 20 years.
Retired Lieutenant General D S Hooda said on Saturday that cross-border operations had happened in the past too but disapproved of politicising the matter.

Responding to a question on the Congress party's claim that six surgical strikes had been carried out during its rule too, Hooda told reporters in Jaipur, "Certainly cross-border operations have been carried out by the Indian Army in the past too. I am not aware of exact dates and areas."

The Congress on Thursday came out with a list of six anti-terror surgical strikes carried out during the United Progressive Alliance rule, asserting that it never tried to take political advantage from military operations as was being done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress released the list at a press conference after BJP leader Arun Jaitley took a jibe at the opposition party, saying its surgical strikes were "invisible and unknown".

The former chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command said it was not good to politicise the army.

"It is not a good thing to bring the Army in poll campaign by political parties. The Election Commission too has said this. Ultimately, it's the institution which suffers damage in long term," he said.

Hooda was in Jaipur to attend a dialogue on India's national security.

"Protecting our people is one of the most important aspects in the national security strategy we prepare," he said in the function.

Hooda, who recently headed a Congress panel on national security and submitted a report, also said that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is an important challenge being faced today.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.

Ajai Shukla reports.

The Indian Air Force has been told to keep on hold the findings of a court of inquiry that has conclusively determined that an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter was shot down by an Indian missile battery that was guarding the Srinagar air base.

A senior helicopter pilot, of the rank of air commodore, heads the CoI.

Six IAF personnel and a civilian on the ground died in that 'friendly fire' incident on February 27.

Top IAF sources say the incident occurred after officers from the ground missile battery misidentified the IAF chopper as a Pakistani aircraft on a mission to attack Srinagar.

The disaster took place the day after IAF fighters had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Pakistan to retaliate against a JeM suicide bomb attack 12 days earlier, which killed over 40 Indian troopers in Pulwama, near Srinagar.

The CoI has found that, with IAF and army units across Jammu and Kashmir in a state of hair-trigger alert against expected Pakistani retaliation, two crucial omissions led to the missile battery opening fire and downing their own helicopter.

First, to guard against misidentification of aircraft in the prevailing state of alert, all IAF aircraft coming in to land in Srinagar were required to approach the air base only through a designated air corridor.

Ground missile units would know that the aircraft approaching through the narrow 'funnel' was a friendly aircraft.

For reasons that remain unclear, the Mi-17V5 helicopter was not in the safe corridor as it approached from the direction of Budgam, to the south of Srinagar.

The ground missile units assumed the radar track they picked was that of a hostile aircraft.

Second, IAF aircraft are equipped with an electronic device called an Identification Friend or Foe system, which beams out a coded signal that identifies the aircraft as a friendly one to all IAF radars and IFF receivers.

The IFF system is required to be switched on, especially in a situation where ground missile units are on high alert.

For unclear reasons, the CoI has found that the ill-fated helicopter's IFF system was not switched on that day.

IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses. However, they are held back by a 'go-slow' order.

On February 27, the downing of the helicopter was obscured by the media attention on the downing of an IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's capture.

The IAF has declined to comment, stating: 'The CoI is still in progress.'

Asked specifically about the delay in finalising the findings of the CoI, the IAF said: 'The time line of any CoI cannot be predicted.'

It is learnt that the missile that was fired was an Israeli short-range surface to air missile (SR-SAM), which can engage incoming targets at ranges out to 20 kilometres.

While engaging targets at those ranges, there is no scope for visual identification. Aircraft are merely a blip on a radar.

The incoming helicopter was engaged with the permission of the base air defence officer at Srinagar, who was required to satisfy himself that a target being engaged is indeed hostile.
The BJP is contesting 437 seats this election, the Congress 423.

IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate an election victory. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

For the first time in the history of Indian elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting more seats than the Congress.

The BJP is contesting elections in 437 constituencies this election while the Congress is contesting 14 seats -- 423 -- fewer.

1984 was the first Lok Sabha election the BJP contested after it was born in 1980.

The BJP fielded 224 candidates in 1984 and won just 2 seats! The party won only 7.74% of the votes polled.

The Congress won 404 seats -- its highest ever -- and 49.10% of the vote in an election held weeks after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The two BJP MPs elected were Dr A K Patel, who won from Mehsana in Gujarat, and Chandupatla Janga Reddy, who won from Hanamkonda in Andhra Pradesh.

IMAGE: Lal Kishenchand Advani who rebuilt the Bharatiya Janata Party as a formidable election winning machine. Photograph: PTI Photo

In 1986, Lal Kishenchand Advani took over as BJP president from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a lot changed for the party when Advani was at the helm from 1986 to 1996.

The BJP won 85 of the 225 seats it contested in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.

Its vote share rose to 11.36%. The Congress won 39.53% of the vote, a nearly 10% drop from the election five years earlier.

The Congress won only 197 of the 510 seats it contested and lost power at the Centre.

In the 1991 Lok Sabha election, the BJP contested 468 seats -- the second highest it has fought since its founding -- and won 120 seats.

It also increased its vote share to 20.11%.

The Congress won 232 of the 487 seats it contested -- recovering ground after its leader Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during the election campaign.

But its vote share dipped further -- the Congress won 36.26% of the votes.

1991 was the last election the Congress won a vote share of 30% and above.

The election to the 11th Lok Sabha were held in 1996. The BJP contested 471 seats -- its highest ever till date -- and won 161 of them.

The party vote share was intact at 20.29%.

The Congress won 140 of the 529 seats it contested, getting 28.80% of the vote share.

The mid-term 1998 election again produced a fractured mandate with the BJP winning 182 of the 388 seats it contested.

The Congress saw its seats decline to 141 seats.

The BJP equalled the Congress vote share for the first time.

While the BJP won 25.59% of the vote, the Congress vote share declined to 25.82% per cent.

Another mid-term election was called after Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government lost a vote of confidence -- when the AIADMK withdrew support -- by just 1 vote.

The 1999 general election saw the BJP making further inroads in the Congress support base.

The BJP won 182 of the 339 seats it contested though its vote share saw a marginal drop to 23.75%.

The Congress won just 114 of the 453 seats it contested, but its vote share saw a marginal rise to 28.30%.

The BJP cobbled up a coalition with regional parties and the National Democratic Alliance was born with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister.

The 2004 general election was a contest between the NDA and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

Despite its India Shining campaign, the BJP won only 138 of the 364 seats it contested.

The Congress won 145 of the 400 seats it contested.

The BJP vote share declined to 22.16%; the Congress vote share declined to 26.53%.

The Left -- which supported the UPA from outside -- made substantial gains, winning 60 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress formed the government for the first time since May 1991 with Dr Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 116 of the 433 seats it contested.

The Congress managed its best showing in the new century, winning 206 of the 440 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

The Congress increased its vote share to 28.55% while the BJP's vote share declined to 18.80%.

IMAGE: Narendra Damodardas Modi, who has restored and enhanced the BJP's electoral glory. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

For the first time since the 1984 Lok Sabha election, a party won an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha with the BJP winning 282 of the 428 seats it contested.

The BJP's vote share crossed the 30% mark for the first time -- under Narendra Damodardas Modi's leadership, it won 31.34% of the vote.

The Congress suffered its worst election defeat, winning a mere 44 of the 464 seats it contested.

The Congress vote share shrunk to 19.52%, its worst till date.

How many of the 437 constituencies will the BJP win this Lok Sabha election?

Can the Congress improve its dismal 2014 tally in the 423 seats it is contesting this time?

Text: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com. Graphics: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com. Data Source: Election Commission of India.
Some 1,100 years ago, Uthiramerur had an election system similar to what India has today.

T E Narasimhan reports.

IMAGE: The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Tucked away in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, 90 km from Chennai, is the small temple town of Uthiramerur.

It is located along national highway 45, running south-west of Chennai. A tight right straightens out on to the road that leads to this busy small-town market.

The 25-km road runs in the middle of the dry agriculture land on both sides slightly dotted by industrial establishments and education institutions

There are three famous temples in Uthiramerur -- The Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple, dedicated to Vishnu; the Subramanya temple, for Muruga, and the Kailasanatha temple, for Shiva.

Besides, Uthiramerur has another rich institution it prays to, and that is 'democracy'.

Some 1,100 years ago, this town had an election system similar to what India has today -- including references to how elected members must be subjected to the right of recall.

Around the Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple there are about ten traditional houses. 82-year old Srinivasan lives here, as does Sridhar.

Their families have lived in Uthiramerur for many decades now, and they have many stories to tell.

Image: Tamil inscriptions, dating back to the 10th century AD, on qualifications required of candidates standing for election, at Uttaramerur.

The Paranthaka Cholas ruled this area and introduced systems of governance that were the precursors of today's governance.

There is also evidence of a perfect electoral system and a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections in the forms of inscriptions on the walls of the village assembly hall (grama sabha mandapa), which is a rectangular structure made of granite slabs.

"This inscription, dated to 920 AD during the reign of Parantaka Chola is an outstanding document in the history of India," says a representative from the Archaeological Survey of India at the site.

The inscription gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates contesting elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of elections, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of the committees and the power to remove the wrong-doers.

"On the walls of the mandapa are inscribed a variety of secular transactions of the village, dealing with administrative, judicial, commercial, agricultural, transportation and irrigation regulations, as administered by the then village assembly, giving a vivid picture of the efficient administration of the village society in the bygone era," the ASI official says.

As per the inscriptions, a huge mud pot (kudam) was placed at a central location of the town or village, which served as the ballot box.

The voters wrote the name of their desired candidate on the palm leaf (panai olai) and dropped it in the pot.

The leaves were taken out from the pot and counted. Whoever got the highest number of votes was selected the member of the village assembly, notes Ganesan, a former MLA.

The entire village, including the infants, had to be present at the village assembly mandapa at Uthiramerur when the elections were held. Only the sick and those who had gone on a pilgrimage were exempt.

According to the inscriptions, the village was divided into 30 families, and one representative was elected for each family.

Specific qualifications were prescribed for those who wanted to contest. The essential criteria were age limit, possession of immovable property and minimum educational qualification.

Only those who owned land, that attracted tax, could contest. Another interesting stipulation was that such owners should have a house built on a legally-owned site.

A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the three terms, each term lasting a year.

Elected members, who suffered disqualification, were those who accepted bribes, misappropriated others' property, committed incest or acted against public interest.

If one was proved corrupt during his tenure, he, his family members and even his blood relatives could not contest elections for the next seven generations.

A 10th century record, which was in the form of inscriptions at this site also reveals how the fines imposed on the wrong-doers of the village were administered.

Those who were fined for wrong deeds were called 'dhushtargal' (criminal).

The fines were imposed on them by the village assembly and the sitting elected members.

The fines imposed were to be collected from the 'dhushtargal' and settled by the village administrators through the assembly within the same financial year, failing which the assembly would intervene and get the matter settled.

Delayed payment of penalties had late fee attached to them.

Measures in place ensured that elected members of the village assembly do not escape fine or punishment using their influence. They were dealt with severely, if found guilty.

T Venkatesan from this panchayat town says even today candidates from the political parties visit this temple during election time to seek blessings.

The deity in the Vaikunta Perumal temple is referred to as 'Election Perumal' or the god for elections.

A DMK follower Kamala Kannan, a resident, points out another interesting factor -- whichever political party wins this constituency comes to power in the state.

Today, the temple town remains largely decrepit, dependent on sugar cane and rice farming, with just a few industries producing steel, cement and sugar.

When then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was touring Tamil Nadu, along with his wife Sonia Gandhi, he visited the temple and enquired about the history and how democracy was practised here.

Seshadri, who knew some English, was to do the explanation. However, before he could do so, Sonia Gandhi interrupted and explained, for about 10 minutes to Rajiv Gandhi, the significance of the place, recalls Seshadri.
Hong Kong: James Lau attends ADB meeting

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau today continued attending the Asian Development Banks 52nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji.

At the Business Session which closed this years annual meeting, he said uncertainties over international trade and economic prospects over the past year had rendered reliable partnerships all the more important at this juncture.

Mr Lau called on the banks members to work together to get the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time, adding it would be the key to sustainable growth in Asia.

As an international financial centre with deep and liquid financial markets in the region, Hong Kong would continue to play an active role in supporting and promoting infrastructure investment in Asia, he said.

Mr Lau also met Director General of the Department of International Financial & Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance Zhang Wencai, and Executive Director for China to the Asian Development Bank Cheng Zhijun to discuss Hong Kongs contribution to the banks long-term development.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - A new report provides information on which corporations are profiting from the private prison industry.

The report (pdf), which was released by criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, is based on a database run by the organization that lists a total 3,900 companies in 12 sectors that make money off of the prison industrial complex.

The scope of the income taken in by these companies, the report says, is in the tens of billions.

Today, more than half of the $80 billion spent annually on incarceration by government agencies is used to pay the thousands of vendors that serve the criminal legal system. They are healthcare providers, food suppliers, and commissary merchants, among others. And many have devised strategies to extract billions more from the directly impacted communities supporting their incarcerated loved ones.

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The database was first published last year, with 3,100 companies. Tuesday's update adds another 800 corporations to the list.

Bianca Tylek, the executive director for Worth Rises, said in a statement that the report will make it harder for prison profiteers to operate without scrutiny.

"Before this report, many of the companies involved in the prison industrial complex flew below the radar, often intentionally to avoid the headline risk that comes with profiting off mass incarceration today," said Tylek. "This data brings these companies to light and equips advocates with the information needed to challenge them."

The report presents the data mostly in raw form as a research service. The download link is in the report.

Adding more corporations to the list is part of a push to expose the predatory practices of the for-profit prison industry, Tylek said.

"This year's edition expands on our original report with the addition of more than 800 companies," said Tylek. "In publishing this report, we continue to expose the multi-billion-dollar industry built off the vulnerable communitiesdisproportionately black, brown, and cash poortargeted by the criminal legal system."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

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China and Russia: Whoopin' Uncle Sam at His Own Game

By Mike Whitney

May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Your Geopolitical Quiz for the Day:

Two countries are embroiled in a ferocious rivalry. One countrys meteoric growth has put it on a path to become the worlds biggest economic superpower while the other country appears to be slipping into irreversible decline. Which country will lead the world into the future?

Country A builds factories and plants, it employees zillions of people who manufacture things, it launches massive infrastructure programs, paves millions of miles of highways and roads, opens new sea lanes, vastly expands its high-speed rail network, and pumps profits back into productive operations that turbo-charge its economy and bolster its stature among the nations of the world.

Country B has the finest military in the world, it has more than 800 bases scattered across the planet, and spends more on weapons systems and war-making than all the other nations combined. Country B has gutted its industrial core, hollowed out its factory base, allowed its vital infrastructure to crumble, outsourced millions of jobs, off-shored thousands of businesses, plunged the center of the country into permanent recession, delivered control of its economy to the Central Bank, and recycled 96 percent of its corporate and financial profits into a stock buyback scam that sucks critical capital out of the economy and into the pockets of corrupt Wall Street plutocrats whose voracious greed is pushing the world towards another catastrophic meltdown.

Which of these two countries is going to lead the world into the future? Which of these two countries offers a path to security and prosperity that doesnt involve black sites, extraordinary rendition, extrajudicial assassinations, color-coded revolutions, waterboarding, strategic disinformation, false-flag provocations, regime change and perennial war?

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Chinas Belt and Road Initiative: A Tectonic Shift in the Geopolitical Balance of Power

Over the weekend, more than 5,000 delegates from across the world met in Beijing for The Second Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation. The conference provided an opportunity for public and private investors to learn more about Xi Jinpings signature infrastructure project that is reshaping trade relations across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. According to journalist Pepe Escobar, The BRI is now supported by no less than 126 states and territories, plus a host of international organizations and will involve six major connectivity corridors spanning Eurasia. The massive development project is one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, .including 65% of the worlds population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. (Wikipedia) The improvements to road, rail and sea routes will vastly increase connectivity, lower shipping costs, boost productivity, and enhance widespread prosperity. The BRI is Chinas attempt to replace the crumbling post-WW2 liberal order with a system that respects the rights of sovereign nations, rejects unilateralism, and relies on market-based principles to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth. The Belt and Road Initiative is Chinas blueprint for a New World Order. It is the face of 21st century capitalism.

The prestigious event in Beijing was barely covered by the western media which sees the project as a looming threat to US plans to pivot to Asia and become the dominant player in the most prosperous and populous region in the world. Growing international support for the Chinese roadmap suggests that Washingtons hegemonic ambitions are likely to be short-circuited by an aggressive development agenda that eclipses anything the US is currently doing or plans to do in the foreseeable future.

The Chinese plan will funnel trillions of dollars into state of the art transportation projects that draw the continents closer together in a webbing of high-speed rail and energy pipelines (Russia). Far-flung locations in Central Asia will be modernized while standards of living will steadily rise. By creating an integrated economic space, in which low tariffs and the free flow of capital help to promote investment, the BRI initiative will produce the worlds biggest free trade zone, a common market in which business is transacted in Chinese or EU currency. There will be no need to trade in USDs despite the dollars historic role as the worlds reserve currency. The shift in currencies will inevitably increase the flow of dollars back to the United States increasing the already-ginormous $22 trillion dollar National Debt while precipitating an excruciating period of adjustment.

Chinese and Russian leaders are taking steps to harmonize their two economic initiatives, the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This will be a challenging task as the expansion of infrastructure implies compatibility between leaders, mutual security guarantees, new rules and regulations for the common economic space, and supranational political structures to oversee trade, tariffs, foreign investment and immigration. Despite the hurtles, both Putin and Xi appear to be fully committed to their vision of economic integration which they see as based on the unconditional adherence to the primacy of national sovereignty and the central role of the United Nations.

It comes at no surprise that US powerbrokers see Putins plan as a significant threat to their regional ambitions, in fact, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted as much in 2012 when she said, Its going to be called a customs union, it will be called the Eurasian Union and all of that, but lets make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it. Washington opposes any free trade project in which it is excluded or cannot control. Both the EEU and the BRI fall into that category.

The United States continues to demonize countries that simply want to use the market to improve the lives of their people and increase their prospects for prosperity. Washingtons hostile approach is both misguided and counterproductive. Competition should be seen as a way to improve productivity and lower costs, not as a threat to over-bloated, inefficient industries that have outlived their usefulness. Heres an excerpt from an article that Putin wrote in 2011. It helps to show that Putin is not the scheming tyrant he is made out to be in the western media, but a free market capitalist who enthusiastically supports globalization:

For the first time in the history of humanity, the world is becoming truly global, in both politics and economics. A central part of this globalization is the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region as compared to the EuroAtlantic world in the global economy. Asias rise is lifting with it the economies of countries outside Asia that have managed to latch onto the Asian economic engine.The US has also effectively hitched itself to this engine, creating an economic and financial network with China and other countries in the region The supercontinent of Eurasia is home to two-thirds of the worlds population and produces over 60 percent of its economic output. Because of the dramatic opening of China and the former Soviet Union to the world, almost all the countries in Eurasia are becoming more economically, politically, and culturally interdependent.  There is huge potential for development in infrastructure, in spite of some formidable bottlenecks. A unified and homogeneous common power market stretching from Lisbon to Hanoi via Vladivostok is not necessary, because electric power markets do not function in that way. But the creation of infrastructure that could support a number of regional and sub-regional common markets would do much for the economic development of Greater Eurasia. (Russian newspaper, Izvestia, 2011)

Keep in mind, the article was written back in 2011 long before Xi had even conjured up his grand pan-Asia infrastructure scheme. Putin was already a committed capitalist looking for ways to put the Soviet era behind him and skillfully use the markets to build his nations power and prosperity. Regrettably, he has been blocked at every turn. Washington does not want others to effectively use the markets. Washington wants to threaten, bully, sanction and harass its competitors so that outcomes can be controlled and more of the worlds wealth can be skimmed off the top by the noncompetitive, monopolistic corporate behemoths that diktat foreign policy to their political underlings (in congress and the White House) and who see rivals as blood enemies that must be ground into dust.

Is it any wonder why Russia and China have emerged as Washingtons biggest enemies? It has nothing to do with the fictitious claims of election meddling or so-called hostile behavior in the South China Sea. Thats nonsense. Washington is terrified that the Russo-Chinese economic integration plan will replace the US-dominated liberal world order, that cutting edge infrastructure will create an Asia-Europe super-continent that no longer trades in dollars or recirculates profits into US debt instruments. They are afraid that an expansive free trade zone that extends from Lisbon to Vladivostok will inevitably lead to new institutions for lending, oversight and governance. They are afraid that a revamped 21st century capitalism will result in more ferocious competition for their clunker corporations, less opportunity for unilateralism and meddling, and a rules-based system where the playing field is painstakingly kept level. Thats what scares Washington.

The Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union represent the changing of the guard. The US-backed neoliberal model of globalisation is being rejected everywhere, from the streets of Paris, to Brexit, to the rise of right wings groups across Europe, to the unexpected election of Donald Trump in 2016. The Russo-Chinese model is built on a more solid, and less extractive, foundation. This new vision anticipates an interconnected multipolar world where the rules governing commerce are decided by the participants, where the rights of every state are respected equally, and where the new guarantors for regional security scrupulously keep the peace. It is this vision of revitalized capitalism that Washington sees as its mortal enemy.
United Nations Special Rapporteur David Kaye speaks to the media about the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016.

Governments and state media in Southeast Asia touted improving media liberty on World Press Freedom Day Friday, but critics were swift to point out limits on expression and the jailing of many journalists across the region.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye said in a statement that celebration alone to mark the day would be an insufficient way to observe a day created by the UN General Assembly in 1993 to assess the state of press freedom worldwide, defend the media from attacks on independence and pay tribute to journalists who have died in the line of duty.

Autocrats and demagogues too often denigrate the press, with dire consequences for safety, for democracy, and for the publics right to know, Kaye said in the statement.

Today more than ever, we need not just generic celebrations, but concrete steps to improve press freedom worldwide, he said.

The UN statement highlighted the case of two Reuters reporters in Myanmar, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who last month were denied their final appeals and must serve the remainder of their seven-year-sentences.

They were arrested in December 2017 while pursuing a story about the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during a brutal military-led crackdown in western Myanmars Rakhine state. Authorities detained them shortly after two policemen with whom they had dinner in Yangon handed them state documents related to the atrocities, in what was widely viewed as a police setup.

The statement indicated that press freedom in many parts of Asia is severely lacking, including in China where basic rights to seek, receive and impart information hardly exist.

The theme for this years World Press Freedom Day is Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

Cambodia

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, currently in the midst of an 11-day visit to the country, posted her thoughts about the state of press freedom under Hun Sens regime.

I am concerned that Cambodia has slipped further one point to 143 over the last year, after falling 10 points from 132 the previous year in the Reporters without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedoms Index, she wrote.

She also gave advice to Cambodias government on ways to improve.

I encourage the Government to provide the space for a free media, both offline and online, including through the adoption and implementation of the draft Law on Access to Information, she wrote.

I also repeat my encouragement to lift the charges against the two former RFA journalists, she added, referring to Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta, who were arrested in November 2017 on suspicion of continuing to provide news about Cambodia to RFA after the U.S.-funded media outlet closed its office in Cambodia that September.

Cambodias fall one spot in the RSF index to 143, was matched by those of neighbor Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, which each fell one step. In a year-on-year comparison for 2018, Laos fell one spot from 170 to 171, Vietnam fell one spot from 175 to 176, and Myanmar fell one spot from 137 to 138.

Meas Sophorn, a spokesman for the countrys Ministry of Information told RFAs Khmer Service that Information Minister Khieu Kanharith held a press conference to mark the day where he said that press freedom is getting better each day within the kingdom.

The spokesman added that broadcast and print media are on the rise, and the country is showing how it respects human rights and press freedom, offering the press conference itself as an indication that press freedom is important to the regime.

But Long Kimmaryta, a journalist for a bilingual newspaper in Phnom Penh disagreed, saying that reporters and the press must now self-censor, after the government arrested reporters.

She said writing criticism about the government is risky in the current climate.

If we were to write positive stories about the government, then sources within the government are happier to talk to us, she said, adding that journalists in Cambodia can only write stories if they feel their safety isnt threatened.

Laos

Meanwhile in neighboring Laos, the deputy editor of the government-published Vientiane Times told RFAs Lao Service, I think we have all kinds of freedoms because we have media laws guaranteeing those freedoms, including the freedom to write news and freedom of expression.

We want to improve and upgrade our reporters knowledge and skills and we also need to diversify the way we [source] content for our news stories, said Deputy Editor Phonekeo Vorlakoun.

Of course, as reporters, we want to respond to the needs of our people, he said.

The deputy editors comments were contradicted by a local reporter stationed in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province who is covering the lasting damage caused by last years disaster at a nearby dam which claimed the lives of hundreds and has been described as Laos worst flooding in decades.

All news stories, even those on technical matters, must be approved by the leadership of the district and the province before we can publish anything, said the reporter.

An official of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism agreed with the reporter saying, The government will never force us to do anything, or order us how to do this or that, but if they say we cant publish the story, we cant publish it.

A citizen of Vientiane gave insight on how the people gain access to reliable news in the country.

If we need to speak out or want to know whats going on, we use Facebook. We cant rely on state TV, radio or newspapers because its too slow, inaccurate and restricted, said the citizen.

Facebook in Vietnam

But Facebook has also been the target of criticism, particularly for bowing to the whims of governments looking to restrict the publics access to information, such as in Vietnam.

According to an open letter to Facebook from 10 free expression and human rights organizations in Vietnam, the social networking behemoth has been blocking access to content on the request of the Vietnamese government.

The letter said that Vietnams 64 million Facebook users use Facebook as their primary news source, citing the absence of independent media within the country.

On January 1, a restrictive cybersecurity law went into effect in Vietnam but the desire of Vietnamese to stay connected and build community has not changed, said the rights groups in the letter, signed by Reporters Without Borders, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Viet Tan and other groups.

The Vietnamese government may want foreign companies to set up local data servers, censor content, and turn over private user data  but its up to Facebook to ultimately decide whether it will uphold human rights or not, they said.

The letter cited Facebook as saying that blocked content was based on local legal restrictions, but urged the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg to not become complicit in the human rights violations of authoritarian governments such as Vietnams.

Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur, States must move beyond words, beyond resolutions and take immediate and sustainable action to ensure safety of journalists, the independence of the media, the plurality of voices.

That is the challenge of the coming year: translating celebration into action, stigmatizing and penalizing those that attack journalism, and devoting resources to the great project of media freedom.

Additional reporting and translation by RFAs Lao and Khmer Services.
Myanmar military medics attend to a civilian wounded in an shooting this week in Rakhine state, May 3, 2019.

Injured survivors from a shooting this week in western Myanmars turbulent Rakhine state on Friday rejected the Myanmar armys account of the incident that killed six detained civilians and wounded eight others.

Four witnesses from Kyauktan village interviewed Friday by RFAs Myanmar Service rejected the account presented a day earlier by Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, who said villagers attacked security forces who were interrogating them and tried to take their weapons and the troops fired as a last resort.

Government forces had been holding 275 civilians in a school compound Rathedaung townships Kyauktan village since Tuesday to interrogate them about possible links to an alleged training camp of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine group that is battling Myanmar forces for greater autonomy.

A 48-year-old man who was injured in the shooting told RFA that the incident was sparked when a mentally disabled detainee started yelling loudly at 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

There was a mentally disabled man among the detainees. We asked the security forces to take care of him separately, he told RFA. They said, He is not mentally disabled. He is fine. He is just pretending.

The man started yelling run, run, run in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. The security forces didnt shoot at him. Instead, they shot at the crowd of other people. So, many people sleeping at the time died, the witness said.

A second witness who was present near the school supported the statement.

Some people tried to run at that time. But most people were lying on their chest. People who run away were not shot. But those who were sleeping got shot, the witness said.

No food or bathing

Another injured patient said the shooting lasted around 20 minutes.

A fourth injured witness said the military did not feed the 275 detainees or allow them to bathe.

We were not allowed take a bath. They didnt give any food the first two days. They only gave us a meal for dinner Tuesday. They said they would shoot and kill us if we tried to leave the school.

RFA has confirmed the identities of the witnesses but has withheld their names to protect them from possible reprisals by the military.

RFA asked Colonel Win Zaw Oo, commander of the Myanmar military's Western Command, about inconsistencies between the militarys announcements and the witnesses accounts.

What we have announced so far is the truth. We said it yesterday. The crowd was aroused to a dangerous situation. We responded with necessary measures to control the situation, he said.

They have their own accounts. But we have plenty of evidence to back up our accounts, Win Zaw Oo said.

At a military news conference at the Military History Museum in the capital Naypyidaw, army spokesman Zaw Min Tun denied the allegation that the security forces withheld food and drinking water from detainees at the school.

We have been interrogating 275 villagers in Kyauktan village. This morning, we have released 126 villagers who were found to have no connection with AA, he told the news conference. He said the others deemed to be associated with the AA would be charged under the law, but did not elaborate.

Some villagers were killed in the 2 a.m. incident, added Zaw Min Tun.

We have returned the bodies of the deceased villagers to the families at 9 a.m. this morning, he said, adding that family members of the dead villagers were given 300,000 kyats (about $200).

Campaign to 'instill fear' in Rakhines

AA spokesman Khine Thukha repeated his rejection of the militarys account of the shooting.

We can give a very clear answer: All the villagers they detained in Kyauktan village are just local civilians. They have no connection with AA, he told RFA.

We think it is the militarys strategy to instill fear among the Rakhine population by terrorizing a previously peaceful Rakhine village with violent detention and interrogations. Besides, their detention of the civilians is unlawful, said Khine Thukha.

They give an excuse that the detained villagers tried to attack them, cheering and taking the guns. This is unacceptable excuse, added the AA spokesman.

Political analyst Maung Maung Soe said the government should form an independent commission to probe the case.

In order to reveal the truth, the government should form an independent commission to investigate the case, he said. If such a committee is assigned to do investigations to find out the truth, I think we will have an account acceptable to all of us.

Win Zaw Oo, however, said the military would investigate its own.

Whenever there is an incident, we, the military, always have investigations as regular procedure. If it is necessary, we are going to conduct our own investigations, he told RFA.

AA spokesman Khine Thukha said allowing media access to Rakhine would shed light on the dispute.

If the Burmese military genuinely believes that they are doing the right thing for Rakhine people, they should be giving full media access to Rakhine state. We welcome the media and guarantee the security of the reporters in AAs controlled areas, he said.

If the government is confident in their actions, give open access to media. Then, people will know what they have done and what we have done.

The eight injured villagers were receiving medical treatments at Sittwe General Hospital in the Rakhine state capital, while the six slain detainees were buried at Kyauktan cemetery on Friday.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Human rights activist Bach Hong Quyen arrived in Canada from Thailand On May 3, after narrow escape in Bangkok from being extradited to Vietnam for his role in helping a dissident blogger apply for asylum in Bangkok before he was abducted by Vietnamese agents. Truong Duy Nhat, an RFA contributor, disappeared in Bangkok in late January, and two months later was revealed to be in a Hanoi jail, a secret rendition that legal experts said was a violation by Vietnam's police of the country's criminal procedure laws. Quyen had fled to Thailand in May 2017 after Vietnamese police issued a warrant for his arrest for organizing a protest march on the anniversary of a 2016 waste spill that that polluted the coast of central Vietnam. Quyen, his wife Bui Huong Giang and the couples two daughters are in Canada under a refugee program funded by the Canadian government. He spoke to RFAs Vietnamese Service about avoiding the fate of blogger Nhat, who is in Prison T16 in Hanoi and as of late April had not been allowed visits from his wife. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: During your two weeks in the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok, who came to see you?

Quyen: On the third day, the Vietnamese embassy asked IDC for my information: When I went there as well as my IDC number. A week later, last Tuesday, a Vietnamese embassy representative met me in the IDC for about one minute, then a U.N. High Commission for Refugees at the IDC took me to the UNHCR office. A UNHCR staffer asked me why the Vietnamese Embassy representative came and what questions he asked. He asked me how I lived in that cell and when I would go to the West.

RFA: When you were in the IDC, the Vietnamese government asked Thailand to extradite you to Vietnam. What do you think about this?

Quyen: It was not only when I entered the IDC that the Vietnamese side wanted to cooperate with the Thai side to take me back to Vietnam. Friends, staff at human rights organizations had already told me that before. When I came to the IDC, I was really worried about being extradited to Vietnam. I knew in advance that when you enter the IDC, the chance of immigration to a third country versus extradition to Vietnam is 50/50. By the time I got there, I learned that the Vietnamese embassy had asked the police at IDC about my information and after the meeting, I felt like I was even in more danger of being extradited to Vietnam. I was really worried. The UN gave me a notice from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on May 2 that I was scheduled to leave Thailand announced on May 29. Fortunately, due to the concern about my being extradited to Vietnam, IOM as well as the UN pushed hard my case for emigrating to a third countryCanada--and I am now in Canada.

RFA: Before going to the IDC, did you have to hide, especially after publicizing the urgent call for helping Nhat in that letter?

Quyen: I had to escape on March 1, after Thai police came to my house to ask for my information, not when the letter for help was issued on March 8. I had to constantly change the condos I rented to avoid Vietnamese security searches as well as some corrupt police in Thailand. When youre in hiding like that, the situation is really difficult. I had to find ways to disguise myself. Luckily I am now in Canada and I have been able to come to this country freely, and I don't have to worry like that anymore.

RFA: At the time of blogger Nhat's detention at T16 camp was confirmed by his family and friends in Vietnam, what did you think about how he was taken back to Vietnam?

Quyen: There has been a history of Vietnamese secret agents doing things like kidnapping (former head of PetroVietnam Construction) Trinh Xuan Thanh in the center of Berlin. So it is no surprise that secret Vietnamese agents would come to an ASEAN nation to abduct Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who revealed social injustices and internal information on the Vietnamese government. Such abductions will affect the reputation as well as the face of a police state, a dictatorial country. I see the Vietnamese government is willing to defy everything to achieve its goals. I found my escaping abduction and being safe today is a matter of me being luckier than Truong Duy Nhat. Truong Duy Nhat was unlucky. He ran to Thailand to seek asylum and while waiting for resettlement in a third country, he was abducted by the Vietnamese government.

Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen.
At least seven Afghan policemen were killed when suspected Taliban militants stormed checkpoints overnight in western Badghis Province, officials said.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said on May 4 that three other security personnel were wounded during the attack in the Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

Elsewhere, the Afghan Defense Ministry said two separate coalition air strikes on May 3 killed at least 43 suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern Kunar Province.

In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted suspected IS militants in Chapara district. It said an unspecified number of Uzbek and Pakistani nationals were among those killed.

Analysts say both the Taliban and IS are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan.

The reports of fresh violence come a day after an Afghan grand council convened by President Ashraf Ghani ended with a demand for an immediate cease-fire.

The council -- known as the Loya Jirga -- brought together more than 3,200 politicians, tribal elders, prominent figures and others to hammer out a shared strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban.

"I want to say to the Taliban that the choice is now in your hands," Ghani said at the closing ceremony in Kabul. "Now it is your turn to show what you want to do."

Ghani said the message of the five-day gathering was clear: "Afghans want peace" and offered a cease-fire, though he stressed it would not be unilateral.

Ghani also vowed to free 175 Taliban prisoners ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, which starts next week.

In a statement on May 3, the Taliban rejected a cease-fire, saying attacks will continue during Ramadan but said "fighters are very careful of civilians during any operation."

The group has rejected cease-fire proposals saying U.S. and NATO troops must withdraw from the country first.

The grand council produced a 23-point list for peace-talks with the Taliban, including a truce for Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn till dusk.

The Loya Jirga also urged the government to form a strong negotiating team and said at least 50 of its members should represent victims of wars.

The council also backed women's rights, in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters
An Iranian newspaper says one of its reporters was arrested by police earlier this week while covering a May Day protest, during which dozens of activists were detained.

The pro-reform Shargh newspaper said on May 4 that Marzieh Amiri was detained at a demonstration outside the Iranian parliament in Tehran.

The paper said authorities detained some 30 protesting workers, including two workers' leaders, Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reports that the detainees will be released soon, citing the general prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

Iran has witnessed protests over the past two years sparked by the country's worsening economic situation.

In 2018, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran after pulling out a 2015 nuclear deal that provided Tehran with sanctions relief in return for curbs on its atomic program.

Nationwide protests in 2017 led to 25 deaths.

Based on reporting by AP and Mehr
Stevo Pendarovski, backed by North Macedonia's ruling party, appears headed for victory in a presidential runoff vote that will be ruled valid after the minimum participation threshold was reached.

With just over 95 percent of the votes counted in the May 5 election, Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, had 52 percent to 44.4 percent for his challenger, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Just as important, the Central Election Commission said that turnout was 46.2 percent, erasing fears that the 40 percent participation threshold needed to make the balloting official would not be met.

Pendarovski and Siljanovska-Davkova battled to a virtual draw -- 42.8 percent to 42.2 percent respectively -- in the first round on April 21.

That close outcome has put a spotlight on the Balkan nations ethnic Albanian minority, who strongly supported Blerim Reka in the first round, giving him 10.6 percent of the vote.

WATCH: Presidential Candidates Vote In North Macedonia's Runoff

With Reka out of the runoff race, many feared his supporters would boycott the runoff, which could have kept turnout below 40 percent. About one-quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, and overall turnout in the first round was just 41.8 percent.

The campaign itself was rather low key by Macedonian standards, with virtually none of the violence, dirty tricks, and sharp nationalist rhetoric that has marked previous votes.

While the president has a largely ceremonial role, the position does have some powers to veto legislation and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had warned the outcome of the runoff could trigger early parliamentary elections.

The race between the two academics was dominated by debate on issues such as integration into Western structures and a struggling economy, plagued by stubbornly high unemployment at more than 20 percent.

Pendarovski, a 55-year-old former political-science professor, has strongly supported the so-called Prespa deal signed with Greece last year to change the country's name, while Siljanovska-Davkova, the country's first female candidate and a university professor, has been critical of it, though the opposition has said it will not cancel the accord.

"I expect a massive victory in the run-off," Pendarovski told reporters after casting his ballot. "I expect the election day to be calm and that we -- the country which is expecting to get the date to start the EU membership talks -- are capable of organizing free and fair elections," he said.

Siljanovska-Davkova, who unlike her opponent opposes the name change, instead has tried to focus on the government's failure to implement much-needed economic reforms.

"I expect big turnout and I expect to win," she said after voting, adding that she will respect the fact that the country has a new name, "but I will never use it."

The signing of the historic agreement with Greece changed the country's name to North Macedonia and ended a decades-long dispute that had blocked the Balkan state's path to NATO and the European Union.



Pro-Western Pendarovski is supported by the ruling Social Democrats. Siljanovska-Davkova, 63, ran as an independent but is now backed by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Voter apathy has been fueled by a lack of jobs, which has forced many Macedonians to move abroad to find work.

One of the poorest countries in Europe with an average monthly salary of about $470, many voters say they're fed up with politicians on both sides of the legislature and voting for a president won't change their situation.

"I'm not going to vote because my ID is in my wallet and my wallet is empty. So when I look at it, it reminds me that I shouldn't vote," one voter said wryly.

If turnout fails to reach the minimum requirement, constitutional experts say a completely new vote must be called within 40 days.

During the interim period, the head of the National Assembly, Talat Xhaferi, would assume the function of president.



Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive five-year term.

Once a part of Yugoslavia, North Macedonia left Belgrade's umbrella when it seceded peacefully in 1991.



But it veered close to civil war in 2001 when ethnic Albanians launched an armed insurgency seeking greater autonomy, and subsequent elections have been stormy.

The election commission said that voting on May 5 went without any major incidents.

With reporting by AP and AFP
May 03, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg.

Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice Department.

"To the extent there was overreach, what we have to be concerned about is a few people at the top getting it into their heads that they know better than the American people," said Barr.

Barr will also review whether the infamous Steele dossier - a collection of salacious and unverified claims against Donald Trump, assembled by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign - was fabricated by the Russian government to trick the FBI and other US agencies. (Will Barr investigate whether Steele made the whole thing up for his client, Fusion GPS?)

"We now know that he was being falsely accused," Barr said of Trump. "We have to stop using the criminal justice process as a political weapon."

Muellers report didnt say there were false accusations against Trump. It said the evidence of cooperation between the campaign and Russia was not sufficient to support criminal charges. Investigators were unable to get a complete picture of the activities of some relevant people, the special counsel found. Although Barrs review has only begun, its helping to fuel a narrative long embraced by Trump and some of his Republican supporters: that the Russia investigation was politically motivated and concocted from false allegations in order to spy on Trumps campaign and ultimately undermine his presidency. -Bloomberg

As Bloomberg notes, Barr's review could receive a boost by a Thursday New York Times article acknowledging that the FBI sent a 'honeypot' spy to London in 2016 to pose as a research assistant and gather intelligence from Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos over possible Trump campaign links to Russia.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

The Trump re-election campaign immediately seized on the Times report as evidence that improper spying did occur. "As President Trump has said, it is high time to investigate the investigators," said Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale in a statement.

During Barr's Wednesday testimony, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told Barr "It appears to me that the Obama administration, Justice Department and FBI decided to place their bets on Hillary Clinton and focus their efforts" when it came to investigating the Trump campaign.

Depending on what Barr finds, his review of the Russia probe could give Trump ammunition to defend himself in continuing congressional inquiries -- and in a potential impeachment for obstructing justice. Barr told senators that Trumps actions cant be seen as obstruction if he was exercising his constitutional authority as president to put an end to an illegitimate investigation. Barrs efforts follow two years of work by a group of House Republicans who have been conducting dozens of interviews regarding the FBIs and Justice Departments conduct in the early stages of investigation of Trump and his campaign. -Bloomberg

On Thursday, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) issued a criminal referral for Nellie Ohr - a former Fusion GPS contractor who passed anti-Trump research to her husband, then the #4 official at the DOJ.

On Thursday, Meadows said that Barr's "willingness to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation is the first step in putting the questionable practices of the past behind us," and that the AG's "tenacity is sure to be rewarded."

The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign after a self-professed member of the Clinton Foundation, Joseph Mifsud, fed Papadopoulos the rumor that Russia had "dirt" on Clinton. That rumor would be coaxed out of the former Trump aide by another Clinton-connected individual - Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, who would notify authorities of Papadopoulos' admission, officially launching the investigation.

Barr says he wants to get to the bottom of it.

His review will examine the above chain of events that set the investigation into motion, and whether any US agencies were engaged in spying on or investigating the Trump campaign before the probe was officially launched.

Barr said hes working with FBI Director Christopher Wray to reconstruct exactly what went down. He said he has people in the department helping me review the activities over the summer of 2016. Notably, Barr said his aides will be working very closely with the Justice Departments inspector general, Michael Horowitz. Horowitz is conducting his own investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation and whether there were abuses when the FBI obtained a secret warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October 2016 to spy on another foreign policy adviser to the campaign, Carter Page. -Bloomberg

Barr will also investigate when the DOJ and FBI knew that the Democratic Party and Clinton was Steele.

More subterfuge, or is this really happening?

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Wildlife officials are investigating poisonings from a toxic pesticide that has killed seven bald eagles and a great horned owl along Marylands Eastern Shore  incidents similar to an unsolved case three years ago that left 13 bald eagles dead.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Natural Resources Police announced Wednesday a $10,000 reward for information about the latest incidents in Kent and Talbot counties.

Investigators said last week that on March 1, they found several dead or sick bald eagles and a dead great horned owl in Chestertown, Md. Officials initially had found three dead bald eagles at the location, then returned to find three more dead eagles.

About a month later, authorities said they found three more bald eagles that showed signs of being poisoned at a Talbot County farm. One died at the scene, and two were taken to a rehabilitation center and eventually released.

The birds all showed signs of having ingested carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide used on farms to get rid of insects until its granular form was banned in the 1990s.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Two members of a white supremacist group pleaded guilty Friday to federal rioting charges in connection with the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and political rallies in California.

Benjamin Drake Daley, 26, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael Paul Miselis, 30, of Lawndale, Calif., each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to riot.

Daley and Miselis are the last of four members of the Rise Above Movement indicted in Virginia to plead guilty. The militant white supremacist group was known for having members who train in mixed martial arts street-fighting techniques.

Two other members  Cole White and Thomas Gillen  each had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

All four admitted they punched and kicked demonstrators who showed up to protest against white nationalists during a torch-lit march at the University of Virginia and the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. The men were indicted in October on two charges: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 704 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. between Jan.1 and April 26. Thats the largest measles outbreak in this country since 1984. Most cases  88%  originated in small, close-knit communities with low vaccination rates. This is unacceptable. The CDC declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. On top of ensuring that every child who can be vaccinated is, doctors now are recommending that adults who were vaccinated between 1958 and 1986 speak to their doctors about receiving a booster shot. The protections of one of the measles vaccines administered during that period might have waned over time. Only a blood test can confirm your immunity. While youre at it, please make sure all of your vaccinations are up to date.

Human-borne illnesses arent the only diseases threatening Americans this summer. According to a news story by Cathy Dyson in The Free Lance-Star, health and pest-control officials are predicting that this summer is going to be doozy for ticks. Not only are the regular homegrown varieties, such as deer ticks and American dog ticks, going to be out in force, there is a new menace in town. According to Dyson, Last fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started warning about a new invasive species called an Asian longhorned tick. It first surfaced on a New Jersey sheep in 2017. In just two years since that discovery, it has been found eight other states. Yes, Virginia, we are one of those. Here are some creepy statistics about the ugly little bugger: It can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time and is capable of reproducing without a mate. Imagine stepping on a nest full of newly hatched, hungry young ticks.
McDonald, who is African American, said voters here worry about health care and education. That is what is important to me as well, he said. That is why I am supporting Biden already.

The same goes for 22-year-old Hannah OToole, who sang the national anthem at the Workers Memorial Day celebration in Pittsburgh ahead of Bidens visit along with her father, 60-year-old Marty OToole, who is the business manager for Plumbers Local 27. Joe Bidens been a big part of the way we think and want to go and he has always been a front-runner for us here in Pennsylvania, said Marty OToole, who is personally supporting the former vice president.

Hannah OToole also is leaning toward Biden. Ive liked him since Obama, she said.

Darrin Kelly, president of the powerful local labor council here in western Pennsylvania and a city firefighter, said the party has drifted too far left. And this is the state where, not just in the general but mostly in the primary, that will be decided.

Today is an important reminder of what is important to voters in Pennsylvania in a Democratic primary and we expect the Democratic Party to truly start listening to what our message is, stop polarizing us and start welcoming us back, we want FDR-style politics, Kelly said. If our strength is truly our diversity, then the party has to start listening to the working class, they have to welcome us back and our voice will be heard in the primary in this state and that the message we want about job creation, health care and pension security is what will bring us out in a general.
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Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue.

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Column Policy

Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Cancun airport set to land one of its largest planes

Cancun, Q.R.  Air control personnel at the Cancun International Airport are set to land one of its largest clients, an A350.

The large evelop! plane is set to land at the Cancun airport May 6 from its origin city of Madrid. The plane, which has a seating capacity of 432, is covering the new Madrid-Cancun route. Although the route has been in operation already, this is the first time an A350 from that city will be landing at Cancun.

The Spanish charter Evelop Airlines took possession of their first A350 plane March 28 of this year and anticipate an A350-900 wide-body aircraft next year. The company, which is based in Madrid, uses the planes for routes to various Caribbean destinations.

Dario Flota Ocampo, director of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo, explained that the aircraft will cover the Madrid-Cancun route, and although this route is already operating, the significance of the occasion is the size of the plane, adding that a reception is being prepared at the Cancun airport.

Evelop belongs to the Barcelo group which allows us a greater number of seats arriving at the destination from Europe, he said. The Spanish market into Cancun has grown by 4 percent year-over-year for the last three, with nearly 184,000 Spanish tourists landing in Cancun last year.

Evelop Airlines are a subsidiary of Barcelo Group and operates short and long-haul flights on behalf of tour operators, mainly out of Spain and Portugal. They make two flights per week into Cancun.
New Colombian Consulate opens in Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  A new consular headquarters has been opened in the city of Cancun where immigrants of Colombian nationality can go for assistance.

The new Colombian Consular office was inaugurated in Cancun, adding another facility to those already existing in the the region.

Margarita Manjarrez, Director of Migratorios Consulares y Servicio said that this new headquarters is added to the consular offices in Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as the honorary consulates in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

In these five states we have a very high rate of transient populations that need analysis. Cancun was identified as a gap that needed to be filled and fortunately was achieved with of the ministry of foreign relations who opened the consulate in Cancun, she explained.

Manjarrez said that the Colombian population figures throughout these five states are quite modest, totaling around 6,000 Colombians who reside legally or regularly, although they have evidence that there are many more, approaching the 25,000 mark.

However, the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Patricia Cardenas Santa Maria, says that Colombians are not illegally entering Cancun because since 2012, Colombians do not need a visa to enter Mexico.

Colombians cannot enter undocumented because we do not need a visa to enter Mexico since in 2012, the visa was abolished. We are working with the authorities and with the governments of Mexico to try and see how we can reduce the presence of that community that stay in Mexico illegally, she said.
The rom-com has officially been revived, and with new releases hitting theaters and flooding Netflix, the best ones always seem to turn out to be a twist on the genre. Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, puts the rom into the com of Machiavellian, Washington, D.C., political machinations. Its Veep, but less absurdly acid-tongued, and a lot more swoony. Still, the incisive cultural and political commentary cuts deep, and Theron and Rogen turn out to be a winning pair.

Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, the film follows a journalist for a Brooklyn alt weekly, Fred Flarsky (Rogen), who reconnects with his middle school babysitter, Charlotte Field (Theron), who has become the youngest secretary of state ever  and an eligible, workaholic bachelorette. She taps the newly unemployed Fred to punch up her speeches as she embarks on a worldwide tour touting a new environmental initiative and embellishing her public image for a future presidential run. The unlikeliest  or perhaps likeliest, considering the context  of flings blossoms along the way.

There is of course, pop nostalgia, and a whole lot of drug humor, because, well, Seth Rogen, but its a treat to see him back as the unlikely romantic lead, and to see the softer side of Theron, even as she remains in a powerful role. Sterling and Hannah put this particular gender dynamic  with a powerful female politician and a male Marilyn (as Fred dubs himself)  to work, upending regressive beliefs about politicians and sex. Why should sex be shameful? Politicians are people, too. The film also carefully threads the needle on the ways in which Charlottes gender informs her work (and her compromises), and unpacks the sexist beliefs that permeate society and systems of power.

What makes Long Shot work is the writing, which takes place in a heightened, almost fantastical reality, but always feels character-driven and grounded. This on-screen relationship is #goals, not because of grand gestures (though there are those) or steamy sex scenes (those are more funny than anything else), but because its clear the two characters know and like each other so well just as people. Astonishingly, one of the most romantic scenes of the year could be the two pogoing in a Parisian club, high out of their minds, yelling, I really like you!

Its just fun to spend time with these characters, and there a few incredible supporting turns by Ravi Patel as Charlottes bag man Tom, OShea Jackson Jr. as Freds bestie Lance and a deliciously witchy turn from June Diane Raphael as Charlottes aide Maggie, delivering lines and reactions so icily it makes one lament that she didnt have a meatier role on Veep.

But, speaking of TV, director Jonathan Levine for some reason has chosen an aesthetic for the film that can only be described as a very beige episode of some forgettable prestige drama. Long Shot is dim, dark and visually bland. Would it have killed cinematographer Yves Belanger to switch on a light or two? It just seems a shame, because this delightful comedy deserves a brighter style to match its undeniable romantic fireworks.
Virginia Tech is dedicating $400,000 to improving accessibility on campus, the university announced last week.

The university will make a number of improvements around campus, including around the April 16 Memorial on the Drillfield.

Its important to make all of Virginia Tech accessible, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said. This is a commitment we have in terms of accessibility. We cant be an open campus if we dont remove these barriers.

Tech will add points of entry around the memorial, widening them. The university will also add a new accessible bench, relocate handicap parking spaces and install curb cuts for people approaching the memorial.

The memorial improvements will be made in the next two to four weeks, Owczarski said.

Techs master plan calls for the accessibility improvements at the memorial as well enlarging the plaza in the coming years. However, there are no immediate plans to enlarge the plaza, Owczarski said.

Over the course of the summer of 2019, the university will also improve the entrance to Patton Hall by adding handrails and ramps, add a fully accessible path from the veterinary school and animal hospital to its nearby parking lot, and provide an accessible pathway to a Goodwin Hall courtyard, which offers picnic tables.

Improved signage pointing toward accessible routes around campus will also be added to the projects and across Tech, Owczarski said.

This is our effort to be mindful of accessibility issues that people are bringing to our attention, he said.

Ashley Shew, a Tech professor of science and technology in society and co-founder of Techs Disability and Alliance Caucus, said shes pleased with the moves. Theyre a lot of the changes that she and the rest of the caucus have called for in the past.

Im happy about this, Shew said. A lot of these things are things weve pushed for.

Shew said theres more work to do, though. She said she hopes that Techs leaders will listen to the needs of disabled people as the university continues its planned expansion. She and the rest of the alliance have pushed Tech to add more signs for three years, she said.

Signage is incredibly important for disabled visitors to campus who dont know how to get around hilly Blacksburg, Shew said.

Better planning in the past wouldve made these changes unnecessary and less expensive now. So better planning in the future for disabled people will be important, she said.

Shew, her colleagues and allies will continue to be vocal in pushing for awareness of the difficulties disabled people face around campus, both in the present and in the future.

Im happy that theyre listening to disabled people, she said. But theres more work to do.
CULPEPER  The Virginia Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from a landowner in his multiyear battle over the 2013 condemnation his land for a new road.

In its decision, the court said Richard Dwyers legal appeal of this ongoing fight with the town of Culpeper was not filed in a timely fashion.

The local circuit court jury awarded Richard Dwyer $762,240 in just compensation for the property in 2017 through eminent domain to build a new commuter route, called Col. Jameson Boulevard, in an area Dwyer envisioned for a 344-unit apartment complex.

A Culpeper native and landlord, Dwyer asked the jury to award him $4.5 million for the land, his estimate for its development potential as part of a larger 25-acre tract. The town has spent an estimated $1.1 to $1.2 million in legal fees defending itself in the civil case.

In February 2018, Dwyer filed an appeal of the compensation amount with the Virginia Supreme Court, and in September the states high court issued notice it would hear the appeal.

After considering arguments, the court issued a notice of dismissal in the case in March, agreeing with the towns position that Dwyer filed his appeal after a legal deadline to do so.

Lawyers for Dwyer, meanwhile, argued the 2017 order was not final for purposes of appeal because it contained the language, the court shall retain jurisdiction.

We find Dwyers argument unpersuasive, the states high court found, according to the three-page dismissal order, citing legalese and state code related to condemnation actions being two-stage proceedings.

The court continued, The first stage addresses the confirmation, alteration, or modification of the report of just compensation  The second stage deals with the distribution of the funds paid into the circuit court, and any controversy pertaining thereto 

In addition, The Sept. 11, 2017 order confirming  the report of just compensation was the final order for purposes of appeal. Dywer did not make a timely appeal from that order. Accordingly, the Court dismisses the appeal in the case.

Dwyer said Wednesday he would rather hold my comments. Generally speaking, he added, I think it is a bunch of incompetent people in this world making a lot of decisions.

Asked why the appeal was not filed in time, the landowner said, Thats a good question, referring it to his attorney Steve Clarke with the Norfolk eminent domain firm of Waldo & Lyle.

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Clarke said the Virginia Supreme Court order in the matter was the final say, concluding many years of conflict in the land grab.

I dont think there is anything more we can really do, the lawyer said. The high court of Virginia has ruled on the issue. There is nowhere we could go from here.

Clarke said he disagreed with the court that the appeal was not filed in a timely fashion, referencing a new rule for eminent domain cases related to the final order, which sets the clock ticking for appeal. Inclusion of the phrase the court shall retain jurisdiction in the 2017 order was not enough to stop that clock, he said.

That phrase formerly meant it was not the final order, Clarke said, and therefore did not start the time-frame.

In dismissing the case for not meeting the appeal deadline, the Virginia Supreme Court did not reach any substance of the issue related to eminent domain and property values, the lawyer said.

Instead, Clarke added, the court punted on the procedural issue. Mentioning that the court did hear legal arguments in the matter, he said, it seemed like there was initial interest to hear the legal issues.

Eminent domain is a really difficult piece of law, Clarke said, noting the town of Culpeper spent considerably more than it wanted to defending itself in the suit.

Richard Dwyer feels like he was not made whole and he wasnt, he said.

Culpeper Public Services Director Jim Hoy was lead executive for the town throughout the long proceedings.

An important part of the story for people to understand is we dont go into right-of-way acquisition with the intention of having conflict with landowners, Hoy said. We do our best to reach a reasonable agreement and a lot of times we will go to extraordinary efforts to do that. But in spite of all of our efforts, we were not able to reach an agreement with Mr. Dwyer  thats why we went to court.

Hoy, acknowledging high legal fees to the town in the case, said it could have been worse, mentioning Dwyer wanted a jury award of $4.5 million for the land, far less than the more than the towns legal expenses.

The towns litigation expenses will be covered as part of the $10.1 million budget for Col. Jameson Boulevard  a joint project between the town and VDOT  and the rest from the general fund, Hoy said.

Because it was a jointly funded project, he added, the town was bound by state standards in offering compensation for Dwyers land based on an appraisal of fair market value.

At one point early on as the apartment project was progressing, Hoy said, Dwyer felt the land was worth $8 million. There are limits as to what we can offer a landowner, he said.

Did the town and VDOT get a fair deal? I think we did, Hoy said .

He added town motorists got a good deal with Col. Jameson Boulevard as well in that it has effectively alleviated traffic at the junction of East Evans and Main streets. It also provides an easier route for the many commuters living on the towns west side.

Dwyer said Wednesday he had no immediate development plans for the rest of his land in the area.

He previously stated the town took the prime part with development potential when they built the road through it.

Bottom line is I just got to deal with whats left, he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Yes, yes, we realize thats like saying President Trump said something ridiculous and perhaps even a little dangerous the other day.

Whats new, right? Peas. Pod. Two. Peggy Noonan, the former Republican speechwriter who is now a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote recently that Ocasio-Cortez is simply modeling behavior shes learned from another New Yorker  Donald Trump. Both are contributing to the coarsening of our civil discourse.

Usually, we try to tune all that out. If we wanted to hear white noise, wed buy an ocean machine to help us sleep at night. But Ocasio-Cortez has some local connection, at least indirectly, so lets parse it.

Heres what she said. It came in the form of a Twitter exchange over various policies. At one point she tweeted: True. Its been GOP vs. the people of the United States for almost my entire life.

Really? Really?? We flag this because this is a curious  but often popular use, misuse actually, of the phrase the people.

If its really been Republicans vs. the people for the past 29 years, how have Republicans been able to win any elections during that time?

Who have been voting for Republicans all that time? Aliens? Animals? Potted plants? Or is she saying that Republicans arent really people? OK, were being intentionally obtuse, of course, to make a point. The Ocasio-Cortez use of the people reflects a very specific mindset of just who the people are and what they want.

In some ways, this is just harmless rhetoric. What politician hasnt claimed to be for the people? Just about all of them at some point, both left and right. A quick run through websites of the 2020 presidential contenders (thats the year, by the way, not a count of how many candidates there are) shows Kamala Harris: For The People and Tulsi Gabbard  Fighting For The People. Theres a Facebook page called The People For Bernie Sanders. The people seem to be a very sought-after constituency.

John Lennon sang Power To The People. In some states, criminal cases are styled The People vs. . . . on the theory that the people, embodied as the state, were the victim of whatever crime is alleged. Our own Constitution begins with the grand words: We the People . . . In legal terms, thats been defined to mean all citizens of the United States. The candidates who claim to speak for the people may claim that all-encompassing rhetoric but are really referring to their preferred subset of the people.

Ocasio-Cortez won election in her New York City district with 78 percent of the vote, so perhaps it can be fairly said she represents the people there  although that raises the question of what the other 22 percent are, if not people. But what about Bland County, Virginia, which in 2016 gave Trump 82 percent of its vote, the highest percentage of any locality in the state? Who are the people there, in Ocasio-Cortez view of the world? If its really the GOP vs. the people, how can we explain the overwhelming numbers that the same GOP wins throughout most of rural America?

The Marxist answer is that those voters have been deluded by false class consciousness and dont realize they really should be on the side of their fellow proletariat and not the side of their capitalist oppressors. Communist regimes have often styled themselves The Peoples Republic, which made it awfully inconvenient for those rulers to explain why the people were rising up against their Peoples Republic  in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and all of eastern Europe in 1989. Simply saying you are for the people does not make it so.

This is one of many reasons we wish Ocasio-Cortez would accept the proffered invitation to speak at Liberty University, and use that as a springboard to visit rural Virginia. Shes unlikely to win many converts at Liberty but she might find a side trip to Bland County, or anywhere else in Southwest Virginia, educational. The world is more complex  dare we say, more diverse  than she realizes. Of course, shes not the only one who wrongly claims to speak for the people. Trump darkly refers to the news media as the enemy of the people, an ominous phrase because it was also a favorite of Nazis and Soviets alike. Ocasio-Cortez hasnt used that frightening formulation but may as well have if shes going to claim that its the GOP vs. the people  sort of the same thing. She and Trump surely cant be talking about the same people because theyre so politically different, but in some ways they are: Both portray the people as some virtuous, aggrieved underclass fighting against some malign and powerful other. And thats where harmless words become something more dangerous. When politicians claim to be for the people, they are effectively dehumanizing and delegitimizing the other side. We know what happened when the Nazis and the Soviets started branding people as enemies of the people.

So did Shakespeare, even long before the gas chambers and the gulags. Coriolanus tells the story of the Roman general-turned-politician Caius Marcius Coriolanus. The opening scene sets the dark tone:

First Citizen: First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people.

All: We knowt, we knowt.

First Citizen: Let us kill him, and well have corn at our own price. Ist a verdict?

Spoiler alert: That story does not end well for anyone.

In 2008, Sarah Palin  John McCains worst political mistake  went to Greensboro, North Carolina, and extolled small towns as the real America. On the one hand, a nice shout-out to rural voters. On the other hand, that was also effectively a declaration that everyone else may not be a real American. Umm, thats not the way it works. Were partial to small towns and rural areas because of where we live. But were all real Americans, no matter who we are or where we live. Were all the people, and sometimes we disagree. Even in Bland County, nearly 1 in 5 voters did not vote for Trump; in Ocasio-Cortezs district, more than 1 in 5 voters didnt cast a ballot for her. The people dont all speak with one voice, so perhaps politicians should refrain from trying to speak of them in the singular, when really the people are plural.
The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said. Only minor injuries were reported. Fire and rescue crews were at the scene. Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation, NAS Jacksonville said in the statement. 21 people were transported from the scene and taken to local hospitals in good condition. There were military personnel and civilians connected to the military in some way on board and there were families with young children on the plane.



Boeing in the St. Johns River

The plane is owned by Miami Air International, which operates charter flights from Guantanamo to Naval air stations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Virginia. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said authorities were working to control jet fuel that had leaked into the water and that his office received a call from the White House. The plane landed during a rainstorm with low visibility. An investigation is underway.
Captain Amarinder Singh welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt

Chandigarh, May 4: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed former PPCC Secretary Sukhraj Singh Natt back into Indian National Congress (INC) family here. The mass re-entry of leaders like Natt exemplifies massive support at grassroots for Congress party's secular and inclusive agenda, said Captain Amarinder while urging him to put in his best towards completion of Mission 13.

Natt, who joined Congress alongwith his supporters expressed his gratitude towards Captain Amarinder Singh and thanked the Chief Minister for this opportunity. A former Chairman of WEAVCO, Natt had contested from Joga MLA Constituency on Congress ticket in 2002 before fighting as Independent candidate from Joga in 2007 and 2017.
Exxon Mobils first-quarter profit fell by half to $2.35 billion, its worst quarter since late 2016, as the company spent more on oil production and was hit by lower margins in its refinery business.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell in afternoon trading Friday.

The refinery side of the business posted a loss of $256 million after earning $940 million a year earlier. The company blamed lower margins due to high gasoline inventories, and an increase in refinery maintenance.

It was a tough market environment for us this quarter, Senior Vice President Jack Williams said on a call with analysts. Refining margins were the lowest Exxon has seen in a decade  historically low levels, and our results were in line with that margin environment, he said.

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Citi analysts said Exxons complex refining network was a disadvantage, as was the pace of maintenance activity. The refining and chemicals businesses are lagging the 2019 potential that Exxon laid out just a year ago, they wrote in a note to clients.

Earnings also fell by half in the chemicals business on weaker prices due to an increase in industry capacity.

Exxons exploration and production business was less profitable than a year ago both in the U.S. and overseas.

During the quarter, Exxon continued to build its operation in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico. That helped drive a 42% spike in spending on exploration and production, to $6.89 billion.

Production rose 2% to the equivalent of 4 million barrels of oil a day, with a contribution from higher output in the Permian.

Oil prices increased during the first quarter following an agreement by OPEC and allies including Russia to limit production. More recently, prices also rose after the U.S. announced it will end waivers from sanctions for countries that import oil from Iran, including China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Prices for natural gas, however, were hurt by warmer winter weather.

Exxons profit for the first three months of the year worked out to 55 cents per share, well below the 70 cents per share average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Exxon Mobil Corp. does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales, and in last years first quarter the company posted a gain from the $744 million sale of its 50% stake in a gas field off the coast of Australia.

Revenue fell to $63.63 billion from $68.21 billion a year, compared with the FactSet estimate of $63 billion.

Shares of the Irving-based oil and natural gas giant were down $2.48, or 3%, to $79.74 in afternoon trading.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A onetime Palmdale resident who had been couch-surfing in Sunland before camping in Griffith Park the past few weeks has been arrested and charged in the Jan. 16 fatal shooting of three men and the wounding of another on a remote, unlit road in Palmdale.

Jonathan Paul Misirli, 35, was arrested on the afternoon of April 30 as he walked out of Griffith Park on North Vermont Avenue near Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz, said Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Misirli was arrested without incident, Alfred said.

Investigators found the gun they believe was involved in the shooting inside Misirlis abandoned car in the Sunland area about two months ago, he said. Detectives believe Misirli had contacts in the Sunland area and had been hiding out, couch-surfing in their homes, until he left for Griffith Park sometime in April, Alfred said.

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Misirli had been camping in Griffith Park for at least the last two weeks, but he often walked into town to charge his phone or buy food, Alfred said.

Alfred said he couldnt reveal the suspected motive for the shooting that killed three Los Angeles-area men that cold, rainy night of Jan. 16 on Ranch Center Drive and 40th Street West in Palmdale.

The dead men were identified as Olukayode A. Owolabi, 27, of the South Bay community of Westchester; Sean B. Cowen, 24, of Van Nuys; and David Adalberto Hernandez-Licona, 24, of Boyle Heights. Investigators wont say why the men were together or whether they knew one another.

A fourth man was shot in the face but survived his injuries and was able to call 911 for help. That man has provided information that was helpful in identifying the suspect, Alfred said.

Misirli was charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery May 2. He is being held in lieu of $3,040,000 bail.

The shooting wasnt random, Alfred said, but he wouldnt say whether the five men drove to the location together that night, or what was taken in the suspected robbery.

Misirli is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Lancaster.

The case is still under investigation, but Misirli remains the only suspect in the shooting, Alfred said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

jeanette.marantos@latimes.com

@jmarantos
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said Friday that it is investigating a series of overtly racist messages shared in a private Instagram group chat that included students from Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.

In a statement sent to parents and the Newport Harbor community, the district stated that though these online interactions are not school-related, we address them as they come to our attention and when they impact the school. We are in the process of gathering information.

In a screenshot of one exchange that a student shared with the Daily Pilot, a participant in the conversation asked others if they wanted anything from alabama/mississippi? Ill get you a real confederate flag.

One person wrote back, Omfg yes plz, while another wrote, What do you want? Do they still sell black people down there?

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The first participant replied, If they do, Ill get everyone a new plantation worker.

One person who saw the exchange wrote on social media that Newport Harbor is really the home of some sketchy ... people. [T]hese are Newport students.

Another responded to criticism of the posts by writing, First of all, we are not racist people at all; the people who posted this literally dont like us and are trying to make us look bad for everything. Im tired of people always attacking us.

The incident comes two months after a highly publicized incident in which students from Newport Harbor, Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools were pictured on social media at an off-campus party gathered around a swastika made from plastic cups with their their arms outstretched in a Nazi salute.
The last of 24 bodies was pulled from the wreckage in the early hours of Easter morning.

Firefighters and soldiers had searched for more than 200 hours through what was left of the two Muzema neighborhood apartment buildings that collapsed on April 12, the end of a work week that saw Rio de Janeiro pummeled by torrential storms and severe flooding.

As the number of bodies continued to mount, so did the questions. Why did the buildings, home to blue-collar families thrilled to finally own their own apartments, come down? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy? And did the faceless paramilitary groups which have largely taken armed control of Rios working-class west end communities, known as favelas, bear responsibility?

Since first cropping up in the late 1990s as an antidote to drug gang violence and government corruption, the shadowy militias, said to be run mainly by current and former police officers, soldiers and prison guards, have charged residents and businesses on the periphery of the city for pirated TV and Internet connections, as well as water, gas and electricity  all under the guise of providing security services.

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Some are also believed to have a hold on housing in the communities where they operate, clearing land through evictions for construction companies they control, experts say. They also are thought to collect payments through agents who sell or rent out units in newly erected buildings, many of which have not been properly inspected because of threats made to authorities.

Arrest warrants have been issued for three men suspected of taking part in the construction and sale of the apartments in the buildings that collapsed last month. The organized crime unit of Rios civil police is investigating their possible involvement with the militia operating in Muzema, according to the municipal government.

Rios municipal government knew the buildings were unsafe long before they crumbled. The lot where they were located, part of a condominium complex called Figueiras do Itanhanga, is on a designated Environmentally Protected Area and was first embargoed by the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism (SMU) in October 2005. At the time, it was noted that the complex did not have proper drainage, sewage and water systems, and that the area was unpaved and without curbs.

Before the collapse, the SMU had issued 17 infraction notices for irregular construction and the Municipal Civil Defense condemned the buildings on Feb. 8 because of a risk of landslides and falling rocks caused by improper excavation. According to the citys Geotechnical Institute Foundation Slip Susceptibility Map, the area is classified as mid-high risk for landslides and mudslides.

Since the tragedy, Rios mayor Marcelo Crivella has announced that another 16 buildings in Muzema will be demolished because of the risk theyll collapse. The action, he said, follows an edict to identify buildings with structural problems.

Since 2017, when I signed this decree, we have run the entire city of Rio de Janeiro, handing out notifications to several construction sites, he said. There are embargoes, there are notifications of demolitions. Many of them were suspended by court decisions. Now, after this tragic accident that we had with the victims of Muzema, the justice system has ordered the demolition of several buildings.

The first of the 16 buildings came down on April 24, and work has begun on another that neighbored the two that collapsed.

The demolition process is slow. Because the buildings are close to others that still house tenants, explosives cant be used. Instead, technicians from the Municipal Secretariat of Conservation are manually disassembling the imperiled building.

In an unusual show of authority, police are providing security as the crews work, with military officers stationed at the communitys access roads and civil police surrounding the work site. Because of their presence, city workers have been also able to enter Muzema and do proper clean up and repairs that were needed after the storms.

Little remains clear, however, about the identity or size of the militia that has controlled Muzema or other favelas in recent years. Any data authorities do have on militias is kept tightly under wraps, which some view as a means for city officials to save face for having lost control of Rio neighborhoods.

Rare arrests and prosecutions of militia members became front-page news in May 2008 when a team of local journalists was kidnapped and tortured by the militia running Batan, another favela in the west end of Rio. That event led the states legislative assembly to create a parliamentary inquiry commission, which resulted in the indictment of 226 militia members, as well as affiliated politicians and businesspeople.

The commissions recommendations to dismantle Rios militias, however, were largely ignored. The focus on the paramilitary groups faded, only to reemerge last year after the assassination of City Councilwoman Marielle Franco, a vocal opponent of violence carried out by the militias in her community.

In March, two suspected militia members arrested for Francos murder were linked to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. One of the men lived in the same gated community as the president, and police also confirmed that Bolsonaros son had dated the suspects daughter.

Bolsonaro has played down the connection, saying he didnt remember either of the men, and tried to justify previous statements he made in support of the vigilante groups.

Back then, people applauded [militias], he told reporters.

Some did. In the beginning, the paramilitary groups sold themselves as a positive alternative, promising safety to the families who lived in favelas.

But according to Ignacio Cano, a sociologist and coordinator of Rio de Janeiro State Universitys Violence Analysis Laboratory, militias ended up being more similar to drug trafficking gangs than not. And because of the positions of power that members have often held in politics and on police forces, dismantling the organizations has proven even more difficult.

As members of the state, as police officers, they know how the state operates, can protect themselves, and sometimes they know when a police operation is going to happen, Cano said. The state has to  not return, because it was never there  but become the main actor in those areas for those groups to disappear.

Langlois is a special correspondent.

In Brazils slums, residents band together to protest police shootings 
Installed on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The long awaited coronation  the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades  melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a scepter, gold-embroidered slippers, a sword that belonged to his 18th century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

The daylong spectacle  the start of three days of ceremonies  was aimed at reasserting the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life.

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Far from a figurehead, the Thai king has veto power over key government decisions, such as executive appointments and constitutional changes, and is legally protected from criticism. Since taking over for his late father 2 years ago, Vajiralongkorn has sought to exert greater royal authority during a period of deep political and social divisions.

Five days from now, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of the gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

1 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn is transported on the royal palanquin by royal bearers Saturday in Bangkok. (AP) 2 / 13 Royal Guards attend the coronation in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 3 / 13 King Maha Vajiralongkorn, front right, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during the annointment ceremony Saturday in Bangkok. (Thai Royal Household Bureau / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida at the Grand Palace for his coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 13 People hold portraits of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn as they wait near the Grand Palace during the royal coronation in Bangkok. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn sits on the throne and performs rituals as Queen Suthida pays homage at the Grand Palace. (AP) 7 / 13 People pray near the Grand Palace during the coronation. (Linh Pham / Getty Images) 8 / 13 People watch a large screen outside the Grand Palace showing the coronation ceremony of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun in Bangkok. (DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX / DIEGO AZUBEL/EPA-EFE/REX) 9 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (HANDOUT / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 13 Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, center, performing a ritual during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Thai people watch the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on a large screen outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 12 / 13 Thai royal guards march outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (Diego Azubel / EPA-EFE/REX ) 13 / 13 Royal Guards march during the coronation of King Rama X in Bangkok. (Linh Pham / Getty Images)

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile to the royal establishment. On the eve of the election, Vajiralongkorn issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people  which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist Buddhists [who] revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signaled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide sat together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

Ubolratana, meanwhile, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony with another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Ubolratana pose for a photo in the Grand Palace on Friday. #coronation



nichax Instagram account pic.twitter.com/IxNVAUfPB9  Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) May 4, 2019

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity  it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The death of Vajiralongkorns father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seven decades, drew masses of tearful Thais into the streets of Bangkok and prompted weeks of official mourning. Vajiralongkorn, who lives much of the year in Germany, is a much more private and mysterious figure and far less well known to Thais despite efforts by the palace to portray him as a benevolent, youthful ruler keen on education and bicycling.

Crowds were sparse in the streets surrounding the palace, with few Thais braving security checkpoints to show their support for the new monarch. Police sources said only a few thousand people had come out, though they declined to be named lest they be seen as criticizing the king, a criminal offense.

Kittipawan Noenyai, 54, waited four hours to catch a glimpse of the kings vehicle arriving at the Grand Palace, carrying a portrait of him in military uniform as she stood along the route his car would take.

Finally, the car appeared shortly before 10 a.m., a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number 1. As Vajiralongkorn rode past, Kittipawan saw him waving from the back seat.

I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long live the king, hoping he would hear me, she said.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn waves as he arrives with Queen Suthida for his coronation. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

Arriving at the cream-colored palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. Uniformed men knelt as he strode past along a red carpet, his new wife, Queen Suthida, following close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn performs a ritual with sacred water during his coronation in Bangkok. (AFP/Getty Images)

Back inside the palace, the king changed into his royal vestments  an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches  and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, the king was handed the crown, created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him  just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son and presumed heir, Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

As the king walked out of the room, the royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet, an announcer said on Thai television.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The scale and pageantry reflected not only time-honored rituals but also the growing wealth of the monarchy, which controls tens of billions of dollars in banking and real estate assets that the king brought under his personal control after his father died. The government said the coronation would cost about $30 million.

The lavishness of the coronation indicates the association of the monarchy with material wealth that has become so pronounced during the past 30 or 40 years, said Michael Montesano, coordinator of the Thailand Studies Program at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Modern Thailand is a wealthy country, and in that sense there is little contradiction between Thai visions of modernity and the extremely lavish re-creation of putatively ancient rites.

The three-day coronation ceremonies of Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn are estimated to cost $30 million, according to the government. (Associated Press)

Much of Bangkok, however, ignored the proceedings. A 28-year-old sales representative, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

On Sunday, in temperatures forecast to approach 100 degrees, soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin along a nearly four-mile route to a series of Buddhist temples. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

Special correspondent Wilawan Watcharasakwet contributed to this report.
I cant anymore, its too heavy.

Those were the chilling last words of a beautiful Canadian bride who drowned in a river during a photo shoot last week after her wedding dress became soaked and dragged her under, a friend told a Canadian news agency.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, was having a photographer take shots for a trash the dress photo series when she waded into a river near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon, Quebec, at around 2 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Maria Pantazopoulos via Facebook

Meant to evoke high-glamor fashion shoots, trash the dress photos feature brides posing in gritty or natural settings like beaches, forests or city streets.

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Pantazopoulos was married on June 9, but wanted to immortalize the moment with a collection of playful snapshots, a friend said.

Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, who was swept away in the current near Dorwin Falls in Rawdon. (Maria Pantazopoulos Via Facebook)

Her husband, Billy, wasnt there for the shoot.

Shes a really fun girl, and she just didnt want her wedding dress sitting in a box in the closet, family friend Leeza Pousoulidis told the Montreal Gazette.

She said I want to have fun with my wedding dress. I want to have great pictures and memories of me in my wedding dress.

Louis Pagakis, her photographer, was taking some shots near the edge of the river when Pantazopoulos said she wanted to go in.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her wedding dress got soaked and she was dragged into the river near a rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

At one point, she told him, I want you to take some photos of me floating in the water, Anouk Benzacar, the photographers wife and a friend of the bride, told Canadas QMI Agency.

CTV

The garment quickly became soaked, and the deceptively quick tides swept the young bride downstream.

Pagakis jumped in to try to save her, but the water-logged garments pull was like an anvil and pulled them both under, local police told QMI.

She was screaming and scratching and trying to stay above water, Benzacar told the agency. "[Louis] tried to swim with her, but she was pulling him down.

Real estate agent Maria Pantazopoulos, 30, drowned after her dress got wet and she was dragged into the river near a violently rushing waterfall in Canada. (Ctv)

She was too heavy. He couldnt breathe anymore, she said.

Pantazopoulos body was found four hours later by a local scuba diver, who joined rescuers after hearing about the incident, CBC News reported.

Pagakis and his assistant were treated at a local hospital for shock.

Family members didnt speak to the media after the accident, but Pousoulidis, the friend, told the Montreal Gazette they were destroyed.

Trash the dress photo shoots are intended to look like high-fashion magazine spreads. (Robert Vos/Afp/Getty Images)

Pantazopoulos was a real estate agent and had recently bought a house with her husband in Laval, near Montreal, The Gazette reported.

The two were looking forward to starting a family.

Local authorities told QMI that swimming was forbidden at the spot where Pantazopoulos drowned because the tides were too strong.

Mario Michaud, a wedding photographer in Montreal, told CTV that a bride he photographed at the river in May nearly suffered the same fate.

Brides think they are going to get a beautiful picture, but they dont realize how heavy a wet wedding dress can be, he said.

ROBERT VOS/AFP/Getty Images

pcaulfield@nydailynews.com
In a story May 4 about Illinois marijuana legalization efforts, The Associated Press erroneously reported the last name of the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Illinois governor announces plan to legalize marijuana

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year

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By

Associated Press

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Saturday hes reached an agreement with key lawmakers on a plan to legalize recreational marijuana in the state starting next year.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally buy cannabis for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. Illinois residents could possess up to about an ounce (30 grams) of marijuana, while non-residents could possess about half an ounce (15 grams).

The measure also would automatically expunge some marijuana convictions.

If it passes, Illinois would join 10 other states, including neighboring Michigan, in legalizing recreational marijuana. While the Illinois law would take effect Jan. 1, the first licenses for Illinois growers, processors and dispensaries wouldnt be issued until May and July 2020, the governors office said.

Pritzker was joined by fellow Democratic lawmakers in Chicago to announce the deal, which comes after years of discussion among state legislators. They said the measure will be introduced Monday, kicking off debate at the Legislature, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers.

The proposal starts righting some historic wrongs against minority communities that have suffered from discriminatory drug policies and enforcement, the new governor said.

This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed war on drugs, said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who is black.

The measure includes a $20 million low-interest loan program to help defray the costs of starting a licensed cannabis business for social equity applicants. Those applicants would include people who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area  or communities with high rates of poverty and high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses  or been arrested or convicted of offenses eligible for expungement.

Critics of legalization, including law enforcement and the Illinois NAACP, have said it would lead to more addiction and mental health issues and would harm rather than help black communities.

The consequences of this bill are far reaching and will have devastating impacts on citizens, communities and youth, said Kevin Sabet, founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Illinois lawmakers must take a smart, commonsense approach, and not welcome in another addiction-for-profit industry into the state.

Medical cannabis is already legal in Illinois. Pritzker campaigned on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana and is counting on $170 million from licensing fees in his proposed state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Hes said future revenue from legal marijuana will help Illinois address some of its deep financial problems.

The governors office said 35% of revenue from legal cannabis would go to the states general operating fund, while an additional 25% would go into a new Restoring Our Communities fund. That money would be distributed as grants to communities that have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies.

Illinois would use 10% of revenue to pay a backlog of unpaid bills. The rest of the money would support mental health and substance abuse treatment, law enforcement grants and public education and awareness.

___

Follow APs complete marijuana coverage: https://apnews.com/Marijuana

___

This story has corrected the last name of the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. His name is Kevin Sabet, not Samet.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Physicist Tracy Northup is currently researching the development of quantum internet at the University of Innsbruck. The American citizen builds interfaces with which quantum information can be transferred from matter to light and vice versa.

Over such interfaces, it is anticipated that quantum computers all over the world will be able to communicate with each other via fiber optic lines in the future. In their research, Northup and her team at the Department of Experimental Physics have now demonstrated a method with which visible light can be measured non-destructively. The development follows the work of Serge Haroche, who characterized the quantum properties of microwave fields with the help of neutral atoms in the 1990s and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012.

In work led by postdoc Moonjoo Lee and PhD student Konstantin Friebe, the researchers place an ionized calcium atom between two hollow mirrors through which visible laser light is guided. "The ion has only a weak influence on the light," explains Tracy Northup. "Quantum measurements of the ion allow us to make statistical predictions about the number of light particles in the chamber." The physicists were supported in their interpretation of the measurement results by the research group led by Helmut Ritsch, a Innsbruck quantum optician from the Department of Theoretical Physics. "One can speak in this context of a quantum sensor for light particles", sums up Northup, who has held an Ingeborg Hochmair professorship at the University of Innsbruck since 2017. One application of the new method would be to generate special tailored light fields by feeding the measurement results back into the system via a feedback loop, thus establishing the desired states.

In the current work in Physical Review Letters, the researchers have limited themselves to classical states. In the future, this method could also be used to measure quantum states of light. The work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and the European Union, among others.
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Those who have visited the Sahara Desert is struck by how vast, sunny and hot it is and just how clear everything can be. There is little vegetation and it is said that the Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide significant solar energy on Earth.

Statistically speaking, if Sahara Desert is a country it would be the fifth biggest in the whole world. It is larger than Brazil and it is a bit smaller than the United States and China. Each square meter gets between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy every year, according to NASA. Sahara covers 9m km2, that is the total energy available, but that is only if every inch of the desert uses every single sun energy, then it will be more than 22 billion gigawatt hours every year.

This estimation means that a hypothetical solar farm that will cover the entire Sahara Desert would produce at least 2,000 times more energy than the largest power stations could in the world, as they only generate 100,000 GWh a year. The output of this hypothetical solar system is equivalent to 36 billion barrels of oil per day, that is five barrels a day per person. In this situation, the Sahara Desert could produce more than 7,000 times the electricity that is required in Europe with little to no carbon emissions.

Over the past few years, scientists have looked at how a solar system in a desert could help meet the increasing local energy demand and power Europe as well, and how this might work in the long run. There have been academic insights made to provide plans for this project. The closest attempt was Desertec, a project that was announced in 2009 that needed a lot of funding from numerous banks and energy firms before collapsing after investors pulled out after five years. Projects like these are held back by different commercial, political and social factors, including the lack of fast development in the region.

There were recent proposals for this project, the TuNur project in Tunisia which aims to give power to more than 2m European homes, and the Noor Complex Solar Power Plant located in Morocco which also aims to provide energy to Europe.

Just a small part of the whole Sahara Desert is enough to produce energy that could support an entire continent. As the solar technology improves through time, it will get cheaper and it will be more efficient. The Sahara Desert may be inhospitable for animals and most plants, but it could provide sustainable energy to people across North Africa.
Coxe said as things stand, he just about runs out of product before the next year's crop come in, and he likes it that way.

"We don't store years' and years worth of rice and sell rice that's years old," Campbell told those in attendance at the tour. "It's all news, fresh  it's all that year's crop. When it runs out, the next year's crop comes in within a month of the old."

"I like to say we sell smell," Coxe said. "It's the tasty aroma that makes this rice so special, and it starts to wane after about a year. Just like Cinderella, it turns back into white rice, and you can't have anything special about white rice."

Coxe grows five varieties of rice on the farm with most of the heirloom varieties that were bred to grow in this area. A new variety, Charleston Gold, was bred through the heirlooms, he said.

Rice is a water-intensive crop, and Coxe said he has no lack of water for his field.

"We're very fortunate to be on a huge water source, the Great Pee Dee River. It's the same water they used in Georgetown," Coxe said. "We've had it tested. We're very fortunate to have an abundant, good supply of water."
FLORENCE, S.C.  In its first year competing, the city of Florence has been named one of South Carolinas top workplaces.

On Thursday evening, the leadership of the city of Florence traveled to Greenville to receive an award for being the fourth-best large company to work for in the Palmetto State. The city also received a direction award.

Among those traveling were Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, City Manager Drew Griffin, General Services department director Scotty Davis, utilities director Michael Hemingway, Fire Chief Randy Osterman, public works director Chuck Pope, planning director Jerry Dudley, development director Clint Moore, and office administration manager Amanda Pope.

It doesnt stop here, an email to city employees said. City staff is appreciative of each of you who took the time to complete the survey and provide comments. The information you provided will help staff focus on areas of refinement as we strive to continually improve and be a model workplace. Thank you for demonstrating collaboration, professionalism and ownership as you serve the Florence community and advance it Full Life. Full Forward.  FLORENCE!
Designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps  which Middle East expert James Phillips describes as the sword and shield of Irans Islamic revolution  as a terrorist organization is entirely appropriate. The Guard not only crushes political opposition to the revolution at home, it supports Irans wide network of foreign terrorist proxies.

More than 600 American servicemen in Iraq have died at the hands of proxy forces enabled by the Revolutionary Guard, which also controls Irans ballistic missile program.

In short, the Guard is a dangerous and destabilizing organization that specializes in murder and mayhem. Designating it a terrorist group is more than just a fitting moniker, though: It gives the U.S. government additional tools for applying sanctions against the Guard and all foreign entities that do business with it, its subsidiaries and its front companies.

These added sanctions will drain away resources that could be used to export terrorism, thus helping bolster the security of the U.S. and its allies, Phillips writes. This will also benefit the Iranian people, who are the chief victims of the Revolutionary Guard.
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Northwestern Universitys successful free college access program for underserved, high-achieving students at Evanston Township High School has been renamed Northwestern Academy  Evanston.

Formerly the Project Excite high-school initiative, Northwestern Academy  Evanston is a four-year high school program that helps academically-motivated students from low- to modest middle-income backgrounds at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) successfully enroll in  and graduate from  a college or university that best meets their needs and interests.

A sister college access program, Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools, began in 2013 and was built around the same mission. The Chicago program serves students from homes with limited financial means who dont attend one of CPSs selective enrollment schools.

Both programs are offered at no cost to participating families and are "aligned around the same objectives, design, and the students we are trying to support, said School of Education and Social Policy Dean David Figlio.

Using a comprehensive approach, the program offers personal academic advising, college test preparation, college visits, summer classes and enrichment programs, one-on-one tutoring with Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students, and opportunities for personal development. Northwestern Academy  Evanston also supports families during transitions from middle to high school and high school to college.

To be eligible for Northwestern Academy  Evanston, students must be willing to participate in formal and informal learning experiences, take advantage of academic supports, and meet program criteria.

The first group of students that received four years of support from Northwestern Academy  Evanston graduated in 2018. The eight students all went to four-year private or public colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the University of Redlands (two students), Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Holy Cross, the University of Arizona, and the University of Iowa.

For more information, visit the Northwestern Academy - Evanston website.
The heated competition between two Bay Area school lunch companies allegedly took a criminal turn after authorities say a top executive at one company hacked into the others website in an attempt to expose flaws in online security.

Keith Wesley Cosbey, the chief financial officer of Choicelunch in Danville, was arrested in April on two felony counts related to illegal acquisition of student data on the website of The LunchMaster, a San Carlos company.

If convicted of the charges  identity theft and unauthorized computer access  Cosbey, 40, would face more than three years in prison. He is accused of accessing information about hundreds of students from his competitors online site, including names, meal preferences, allergy information, academic grades and more, said Vishal Jangla, San Mateo Coun ty deputy district attorney.

Jangla said Cosbey anonymously sent the data to the California Department of Education and claimed LunchMaster wasnt doing enough to protect student privacy in an apparent attempt to discredit or disparage the company.

Someone whos an executive, thats surprising, Jangla said. Its a first for me.

Cosbey did not respond to a request for comment, but a company representative responded to the allegations in an emailed statement.

Choicelunch is aware of the allegations and is awaiting more information before we can make a substantive comment, the statement said. In its 15-year history serving California schools, Choicelunch has always endeavored to provide excellent service to its school lunch customers and will continue to do so while we await resolution of this matter.

The case highlights the cutthroat world of feeding students, a nearly $14 billion-a-year industry across the country, with 30 million children served daily.

Competition can be fierce, with businesses bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts to provide the school meals.

The two Bay Area companies have tangled in the past, with Choicelunch suing LunchMasters parent company, Nob Hill Catering, in 2014 over alleged copyright infringement in its online ordering system.

Then Choicelunch got Amazon Web Services to take down LunchMasters website, and tried to get its replacement site pulled, as well.

A federal judge intervened and chastised Choicelunch for broad interpretation of copyright laws. The judge ordered that LunchMasters second website remain active.

We try to serve school lunches, but its so complicated sometimes, said Ted Giouzelis, founder of LunchMaster.

But with the alleged hacking, Giouzelis said, the competition went too far.

He learned of the problem after the Department of Education confronted the company about the security concerns.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Giouzelis said his staff investigated and traced the breach back to an IP address in Danville, among other locations.

Giouzelis son Michael, who works with the company, said he believed the breach occurred after the hacker ran an automated program that bombarded the site and revealed the student information at one Peninsula school.

LunchMaster contacted the FBI and county sheriff in April 2018. A yearlong investigation resulted in the arrest of Cosbey, who is out on $125,000 bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in court on May 22.

This week, investigators allowed LunchMaster to notify families affected by the breach, which the company has been doing, Giouzelis said.

He went to the extreme this time, Giouzelis said of the competition. Its ruthless.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
A rally to denounce the perceived censorship of politically conservative views and speech by social media drew dozens of right-wing demonstrators and counterprotesters to San Francisco City Hall on Friday.

Dubbed the Demand Free Speech rally, the event was intended to underscore the belief among many conservatives that companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter discriminate against right-wing viewpoints. Big tech companies have shown a clear bias against conservatives, they argue, as evidenced by the suspension or outright banning of right-wing users accounts.

The rally marked the end of a 48-hour social media blackout protest, that began on April 30, during which conservatives were encouraged to stay away from their social media apps for everyone who has been silenced and censored by big tech companies, according to the organizers website.

In recent months, right-wing media personalities and provocateurs have been banned from numerous social media sites for using their sometimes massive followings to encourage violence, for exhibiting bullying behavior or for using hate speech.

Now Playing: Inside the Demand Free Speech rally in San Francisco Video: San Francisco Chronicle

On Thursday, Facebook removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, among others, from its platform for violating its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations.

Companies are wielding those policies, conservatives argue, to tamp down right-wing voices and amplify those of liberals.

You cannot shut me up. Youre so weak, you cant even have civil discourse, Bernadine Barber screamed to a crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall, eliciting waves of supportive cheers. Barber posts a range of conservative political and lifestyle videos on YouTube and other social media channels.

Hate speech is still free speech! Barber said. Hate speech could mean a million different things to a million different people. Ban it all, why dont you?

Marco Gutierrez, a right-wing activist and a co-founder of the group Latinos for Trump, said tech companies behavior has gotten to the tyrannical side. This is about freedom of speech. Theyre telling me what I can say and what people can hear. Theyre burning books, basically.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The conservative rally brought about an equally vocal backlash.

Across Polk Street in Civic Center Plaza, a scrum of bitterly opposed demonstrators sneered at one another, called each other fascists and racists, waved signs and jammed smartphones and cameras in one anothers faces.

Chants of Build the wall! and Its OK to be white! were met with No border, no wall, this regime has got to fall!

Reiko Redmonde led a group of counterprotesters, urging them to stand against this fascist regime led by Donald Trump, which she said was unleashing these street thugs.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
California Sen. Kamala Harris got to be a prosecutor again during her grilling of Attorney General William Barr, winning the day in Congress and acquiring a nasty label that no amount of presidential campaign money could buy.

Theres no debate that Barr misrepresented the contents of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether Donald Trumps campaign conspired to help and whether the president himself obstructed the investigation. The question for Democrats was how to get that message across to the public.

When Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, none of the Democrats could lay a glove on him  until it was Harris turn.

Harris opened by asking how Barr had concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that the president had obstructed justice. Rather than debate the merits of his decision, Harris zeroed in on whether the attorney general or his staff had actually read the underlying evidence in the report before making his decision.

Barr said no, and that we accepted (Muellers report) as accurate.

Harris then ended the line of questioning by saying, I think youve made it clear, sir, that youve not looked at the evidence and we can move on.

While Barr has every reason to accept Muellers report without reading every interview transcript and underlying email, Harris direct up-or-down question was a great theatrical gotcha moment.

And it was a moment that Harris presidential campaign needed. Since her highly orchestrated rollout in January, shes made missteps on everything from universal health care to voting rights for people in prison.

She needed to re-establish her serious credentials as a prosecutor for the people, and Barr gave her the opportunity to do just that. Her campaign wasted no time using the confrontation as a fundraising ad.

But the real reward came when Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Harris had been probably very nasty to Barr  and thus gave us Nasty Kamala.

That could well be a huge boost for Harris among the Democratic base. Of course, you need more than the base to get elected  just ask Hillary Such a Nasty Woman Clinton.

When Irish eyes: Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke came to town and packed the United Irish Cultural Center out in the Sunset. They came from all over California to see the progressive phenom from Texas.

But if you can find a single member of the Irish cultural community who attended the rally, have them give me a call.

Flintstone fun: Coming back from George and Judy Marcus annual Greek Easter party in Los Altos Hills, I decided to hop off Interstate 280 at Hillsborough and swing by the Flintstone house.

The hilltop house is owned by my longtime friend Florence Fang, who is about as prim and proper a person as you will find. But her creation is a riot of color and nonsense, complete with dinosaur statues.

I loved it.

Yes, its right out of a comic book, but its not offensive at all.

There were no crowds or long lines of cars, a la Lombard Street. In fact, nothing that I saw rose to the level of the public nuisance Hillsborough officials claimed the place to be. Its just a bit of fun for people to look at.

And these days, we need all the fun we can get.

Movie time: Avengers: Endgame. It took in $1.8 gazillion in its first five minutes of release, including my $12.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Actually, I waited till the 7:30 a.m. Sunday show, at a theater in the Westfield mall. The place was packed. I did not know people could munch on a bucket of popcorn for breakfast.

This movie was so intense that in the three hours of running time, I saw only two people head out to the bathroom.

They say this is the end of the Avengers franchise. If you believe that, you probably believe William Barr is telling the truth.

Muni madness: A letter to the editor published in The Chronicle touted me as a candidate to run Muni.

For all of you who have gone on social media to lament such a possibility  forget it.

Mayor London Breed is looking for competence, and I have already proved, with my ill-fated vow as a mayoral candidate to fix Muni in 100 days, that I am grossly unqualified to run anything that involves wheels.

Wedding bells: Overheard at the Vault restaurant in the Financial District:

Man: Will you marry me?

Woman: Yes. You name the date, and Ill name the year.

Thats one way to say no and still enjoy the meal.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Blame it on Rosie.

The Jetsons robot housekeeper was witty, adroit, useful and very human-like. As she rolled around the sci-fi familys home in Orbit City, she effortlessly tidied up, dispensed bons mots, helped the kids with homework and cooked dinners.

Rosie set too high a bar for real-life robots. Many startups have tried to create a robot that Americans would welcome into their homes, but so far the only success has come for Roomba and similar robotic vacuum cleaners.

The biggest challenge is unrealistic expectations driven by movies and television, said Ken Goldberg, a robotics expert and professor of engineering at UC Berkeley. A lot of jobs around the house are actually very, very subtle and require a dexterity level far beyond what robots can achieve. Its important to let people know that Rosie is not just around the corner.

The latest failure was San Franciscos Anki, which abruptly shut down last week, sounding the death knell for its home robots Cozmo and Vector. Thats despite having raised more than $200 million in funding and generating about $100 million in revenue in both 2017 and 2018.

Ankis gerbil-size, cloud-connected roaming robots offer similar features to countertop devices such as Amazons Alexa and smartphone assistants like Apples Siri, but with an extra serving of personality. (Alexa and Siri are considered bots, not robots, because they dont move.) Vector exhibited more than 1,500 animations to express emotions, programmed by former film animators from Pixar and DreamWorks.

Ankis demise follows those of several other consumer robotics companies: Jibo, which made a social robot; Frances Keecker, whose multimedia robot facilitated watching moves and listening to music; Tokyos Seven Dreamers, whose cabinet-size Laundroid folded laundry; Boschs Mayfield Robotics, whose Kuri was part smart pet (it could sing and dance), part robot butler.

All not only fell short of the lofty expectations set by Rosie, but also failed to prove their usefulness.

Americans have lots of ways to entertain themselves, said technology forecaster Paul Saffo. A robot has to be blazingly essential or to do one thing really, really well.

While home robots have yet to take off, industrial robots are flourishing, accounting for more than $2 billion in North American sales last year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation.

At auto assembly plants, electronics factories, Amazon warehouses and elsewhere, robots designed to handle defined tasks over and over offer a quick return on investment, said Bob Doyle, a spokesman for the trade group. Industrial robotics sales continue to break new records. Robots are also making new inroads in retail  restocking Walmart shelves, for instance  and as security guards.

But homes remain the last frontier.

Were still a long way away from one robot that can do everything for you from clean your house to cook to help an elderly person, Doyle said. Before we get there, we may have many robots in the home each geared to do one specific thing like Roomba.

While early adopters will always pounce on fun new ideas, thats a far cry from mass acceptance. Our goal is working toward a robot in every home, Anki co-founder Mark Palatucci told The Chronicle last year.

And although various pet-like robots have found acceptance at some times Hasbros Furby, Sonys Aibo, the handheld Tamagotchi, the Paro therapeutic seal  they were more novelty items than indispensable helpmates.

Unlike U.S. consumers, Japanese audiences are more willing to open their homes to robots, which some experts ascribe to cultural differences.

Japan is fascinated by robots, Saffo said. Japanese live in much smaller homes and its harder to have pets, so theyre more used to the idea of a virtual pet. Conferring a lifelike personality onto objects is deep in Japanese culture, back to Shinto and the idea that the whole world is enchanted and there is spirit chi in everything.

So what will it take to get robots into U.S. homes?

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

One first step might be acclimatizing Americans to robots that come to their doorsteps  via the new generation of cooler-size delivery robots that bring restaurant meals and e-commerce orders.

For instance, Kiwi Campus, a startup based at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, has dozens of robots delivering food from local restaurants on the Berkeley campus. Weve seen that people have adopted the Kiwibot as part of their community, said Sasha Iatsenia, head of product. The robots have expressive faces that can wink and smile, plus were fulfilling a basic human need: to eat, he said.

(Still, at least one local resident resented the robots so much that he kidnapped one. Berkeley police rescued it when Kiwi gave them its GPS coordinates and then turned it on remotely so it could be heard banging against the thiefs car trunk, he said.)

Another possible use for home robots is helping elderly people.

Seattles Hoaloha Robotics is building a robotic companion for seniors. The embodied personal assistant, which is at least a year off, will go far beyond the likes of Alexa in carrying on conversations  not just reporting the weather but commenting on it, for instance, said CEO Tandy Trower. It will be able to carry items and help people manage and plan daily activities. To reduce up-front costs, Hoaloha will offer it on a subscription basis.

Despite its closure, robotics experts said that Anki still helped blaze trails.

Anki helped demonstrate how appealing imbuing an embodied agent with the right level of social characteristics can be, bringing us one step closer to personal robots, Trower said. Where it failed was in delivering a sufficient value proposition, which is also essential for success. However, like the Commodore PET and Apple II, it clearly points the way for what is to come.

Anki had passion and commitment to bring robotics out of research labs and into living rooms, said Peter Nguyen, an Anki spokesman, in an email after its closure: We tried our best to move the consumer robotics industry forward and give people a glimpse into a life where we can peacefully coexist with robots.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Pacific Gas & Electrics accounting for its losses related to three years of wildfires in Northern California, the utility reported to shareholders Thursday.

PG&E told investors that it learned in March that investigators from the SECs San Francisco regional office had begun the review of public disclosures and accounting by the utility and its parent corporation for the 2015 Butte Fire as well as wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The fires killed scores of people, and the Camp Fire, which ravaged the town of Paradise last year, was the most destructive wildfire in California history.
The band U2 might want to live Where the Streets Have No Name, but for some residents of an unnamed street smack in the middle of San Francisco, its been hell getting an Uber, a pizza delivery or an ambulance. And its especially hard trying to sell a home that potential buyers can barely find.

Thats why some residents  and one enterprising real estate agent  have been trying to get Google, Apple and the city to get their street, informally named Johns Way, on the map. Theyve had some luck with Google and Apple, but you know what they say about fighting City Hall.

The street is really a private dead-end alley in between Market Street and Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. The alley has garages and parking spots for residents.

The six residents on the Market side of the alley have Market Street addresses and front doors facing Market. But finding and getting to them is extremely difficult because of a unique set of circumstances. Theres no parking or sidewalks beneath them, and they sit atop a giant retaining wall accessed by a steep zigzag ramp.

Tam Duong Jr./The Chronicle

Its much easier to access the homes from the alley, so they use their back doors as front doors. Visitors, delivery people and house hunters would have an easier time finding them if they had a Johns Way address, but they cant get one because its not on city maps.

The homes on the other side of the alley have Corbett Avenue addresses and most of their homes face Corbett, which is easy to find and relatively accessible. But there are two apartment complexes and one home on the alley that have Corbett Avenue addresses but no direct access to either Corbett or Market. Their only access is Johns Way.

Greg Tarbox lives in that home. It was awkward at first, Tarbox said. He has found ways to direct delivery people to his home, although some still get lost. Whenever he needed an Uber, hed give an address on nearby Clayton Street and wait there.

Its a unique setting, Tarbox said. Its a little like Barbary Lane, the fictional street in Armistead Maupins Tales of the City, he said. Its that spirit. People cooperate.

The alley is jointly owned and maintained by 17 property owners whose land touches it. Each year the city sends one property tax bill for the alley and the owners divvy it up. Unlike the owners of the infamous Presidio Terrace, an upscale private street that was auctioned off by the city for nonpayment of property taxes but later returned to owners, the owners have never been seriously delinquent.

In 1985, John Pletz, an owner who has since died, asked a deputy in the tax collectors office what would happen if the taxes werent paid. In a letter to neighbors he wrote, As unbelievable as this sounds, he replied, The property will be sold at auction and probably a developer will buy the property and build an apartment or condominium units.

In 2015, his wife, Barbara Pletz, called the San Francisco Fire Department to discuss getting emergency services to homes on the alley. On two occasions, ambulances called for Pletz and her husband had trouble finding their Market Street address. Before retiring, she was director of San Mateo Countys emergency medical services.

The Fire Department had no idea the alley was there. They were happy to find out about it, Pletz said. They had each shift come down the alley, see how it was laid out, howd they get a hose to it. They thought it was a really good idea to give it a name.

On behalf of residents, Pletz asked the city how they could get the alley named and put on the map. She was told it would cost $2,500 to apply for a name and the Board of Supervisors would have to approve it. Installing a street sign would cost extra.

However, even if you go through the trouble of naming this alley it will not appear on our maps since it is a private lot, and only the fronting property owners have easement access rights, Javier Rivera of the Department of Public Works wrote in a 2015 letter to Pletz. He added, How these two landlocked parcels (the apartment complexes) were allowed to be developed is beyond me.

Taking matters into their own hands, the residents named the alley Johns Way in memory of John Baumann, San Francisco architect who developed the two apartment complexes and lived there for more than 50 years. They had two signs made that say Johns Way and posted them on a house and a retaining wall at the top of the alley, but the entrance is still easy to miss.

In November, Greg and Wendy Antipa put their home on the Market Street side up for sale. But their open houses attracted a sparse crowd. People would get there and say, I couldnt find it, or I almost got hit by a car walking up Market Street, said their agent, Jennifer Rosdail of Keller Williams.

You can drive right to the house from Johns Way, where the Antipas own a one-car garage and parking pad. But she couldnt put it into the Multiple Listing Service with an address on Johns Way because its not on city maps. Rosdail decided it would help if she could get the street on the map.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

We put it in as a trouble ticket through Google Maps a whole bunch of times, she said. We did it with Apple Maps too. Rosdails assistant had a friend whose boyfriend works at Google on the Maps product, and they talked to him. Rosdail checked the maps every day and, one day in March, found Johns Way labeled on Google Maps with a single red marker in the middle of the alley. A little later, Apple had one too.

Asked what led to that appearance, a Google spokeswoman said the company used a number of different sources to accurately model the constantly changing real world, including contributions from users.

Although residents still dont have addresses on Johns Way, they can now tell visitors to put that name into Google or Apple maps and then look for their house numbers, which some have displayed on their back entrances. Having it identified on Google Maps was wonderful, Pletz said. I had a Lyft come. That was the first time.

Rosdail also contacted San Francisco Public Works about getting the street on the city map.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the department said it cant put the alley on the map because the city has not declared it a private street, which requires a minimum of 20 feet. Our initial review shows that the width is 14 feet. There also is a tight turn on the stretch, which we believe would be difficult at best for emergency vehicle access.

She said the residents could hire a private surveyor to provide detailed information about the site, prove there is no problem with flooding and install a new fire hydrant. Then theyd have to submit an application for review, pay $2,500 and we would circulate the proposal to other city agencies, with police and fire paramount. If there are no concerns and it meets the minimum requirements, it could become a designated private street and put on the official map.

Meanwhile the Antipas, who have moved to a retirement community in Oakland, are still waiting for a buyer for their home at 3352 Market. Now listed at $2.1 million, the home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and spectacular city views. The websites Redfin and Zillow estimate its worth about $2.7 million. But they dont know the unique story of Johns Way.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The investigative arm of Oaklands Police Commission has exonerated four officers accused of using improper lethal force in the 2018 shooting of an armed homeless man who was killed just after waking up.

The Community Police Review Agencys findings, released Friday afternoon, contradict those of Oakland Police Compliance Director Robert Warshaw, who found that the four officers had violated lethal use-of-force policy. Warshaws report additionally blasted the departments use-of-force board and Chief Anne Kirkpatricks review after both cleared the officers of wrongdoing.

In short, the CPRA sided with the Oakland Police Department over Warshaw.

But because Warshaws findings override Kirkpatricks, the CPRAs report sets up a scenario never seen before in Oakland. Per City Charter, when the CPRAs disciplinary decision differs from that of the department, a three-member committee of Oaklands Police Commission is tasked with making the final call on whether to clear the officers.

Officers William Berger, Brandon Hraiz, Craig Tanaka and Sgt. Francisco Negrete, who all fired their weapons, were placed on leave after Warshaws report was released in March.

The CPRA also cleared Officer Josef Phillips of wrongdoing, after accusations that he used improper nonlethal force by deploying a beanbag gun. Warshaw had sustained the violation against Phillips.

The CPRA report did find fault in the supervisors overseeing the incident, saying that Negrete failed to properly supervise and that Lt. Alan Yu failed in his command role.

On March 11, 2018, 32-year-old Joshua Pawlik, a homeless man with mental health issues, was found unconscious with a gun between two houses in West Oakland. Pawlik woke up after officers were on the scene for roughly 45 minutes, but failed to respond to officers repeated commands that he take his hand off the gun. Police said he raised the gun and pointed it at them just before they opened fire.

Warshaw said video evidence contradicted these claims.

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The Oakland Police Commission was created in 2017 to help restore trust between the community and the Police Department. The civilian commission is tasked with shaping policy, and has the authority to discipline officers. Its companion, the Community Police Review Agency  also comprised of civilians  probes incidents involving use of force, in-custody deaths, racial profiling and demonstrations.

The Oakland Police Department declined to comment.

Mayor Libby Schaafs spokesman Justin Berton said it is critical for the community to have a voice in this process.

Were grateful the civilian police commission will play an important role in this issue, he said.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A man was fatally shot by San Jose police Saturday after he drove into an officer while trying to flee in a stolen car, police said.

Officers were responding to reports of a stolen vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. near Kollmar Drive and Story Road. When they arrived, they found a man inside a car in the rear carport area of an apartment complex, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department, in a statement.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
I first chatted with Ellen Tauscher over lunch at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was impressive: thoughtful, substantive, determined. She was taking on a two-term Republican congressman, Bill Baker, in her first race for elective office. She was a decided underdog, but her center-left politics proved in sync with the changing dynamics of a suburban district that covered central Contra Costa County and stretched south into the Livermore Valley.

We endorsed her, she won, and thus began a succession of interviews with her over the years. They were always enlightening, always civil and always laced with good humor  even when the subject was uncomfortable, such as her support of Steny Hoyer over Nancy Pelosi for the No. 2 position in the House Democratic leadership in 2001. At the end of that interview  which led to an editorial critical of her position  she thanked me again for the 1996 endorsement. I keep it framed on my office wall, she said. We both laughed at her obvious attempt at a tension breaker to close the conversation. That interview was classic Tauscher: impassioned in her viewpoint, eager to defend it against challenge and ever aware that there will always be another day when combatants of the moment will be allies.

She visited our editorial board in 2010 to talk about her new job as an arms-control negotiator for the Obama administration. My last exchange with her was two years ago at the City Club of San Francisco, when I moderated a discussion with Tauscher and Democratic strategist Katie Merrill on how their party could take back the House of Representatives in the midterms. Her analysis was detailed, upbeat and spot-on. Sadly, Tauscher died Tuesday at 67, the nations loss.

American politics and policy would be so much better off if more folks of Tauschers uncommon intellect and determination to find common ground were willing to apply their skills and values to public service.

She will be missed.

 John Diaz, editorial page editor
Toronado is known to attract many beer fans the world over, but there's one very famous patron who returns regularly: Academy Award-winning actor Sam Rockwell.

Rockwell, who was born in the Bay Area and grew up in San Francisco, is a serious craft beer fan, as the New York Times noted in 2015. At the time, he was living in New York, and in an interview with the newspaper, he said that on his trips to California, "I run to the nearest place where there's a Pliny the Elder (double IPA)."
Investing in companies or organizations that make a positive change on society can be a bit like indulging in a vice: A lot of people might enjoy it privately, but theyre not comfortable talking about it publicly.

When asked about this strategy, known as impact investing, investors typically give a lukewarm response or sidestep the topic altogether, researchers have found. A common refrain is to raise concerns about an investments influence and how any trade-offs with returns are measured.

But recent research geared toward individual investors, financial advisers and fund managers has found that impact investing is more broadly popular than advisers believed and that this may be a golden age for measuring the financial and social returns on such investments.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans have moderate to high interest in sustainable investing, according to new research by the financial services firm Morningstar. That interest, the study found, is broad and deep. It also runs contrary to a common belief among advisers that interest in this type of investing is confined to Millennials and women.

The study used a technique from experimental economics called revealed preferences, said Ray Sin, a senior behavioral scientist at Morningstar who conducted the study with Ryan Murphy, head of decision sciences at the firm. Most surveys that study impact investing rely on stated preferences: You answer the question youre asked. The Morningstar survey gave people either/or choices between two stocks with varying differences of the financial returns and sustainability ratings of each stock.

Youre inferring their preferences through trade-offs, Sin said. In doing that, were able to tell how much theyre willing to trade off, and then we tied it back to the question: Do people care about sustainable investing?

The answer, overwhelmingly, was yes. That opened up a second line of inquiry: Are the investments having an impact and still generating a solid return?

That is a difficult question to answer in a meaningful way. Many organizations offer metrics for measuring an investments impact, but they are generally not all measuring the same thing. The best ones, though, are at least evaluating all the investments using the same criteria.

Theres been a pretty significant proliferation of metrics and data in the last 20 years, said Lily Trager, director of investing with impact at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She said that what had started as a way of avoiding risk caused by the actions of companies had evolved into a more complicated assessment of positive performance.

Yet putting that information together in a meaningful way has proved to be complicated. Youre seeking to define the most useful of material factors, Trager said. That is nuanced and challenging for clients to understand.

Here is a look at four metrics that either are being introduced or have been overhauled in an effort to simplify the process for investors.

The Global Impact Investment Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, has operated the IRIS rating system for the past decade. It has contributed to metrics that evaluate impact investments, with the intention of creating a commonly used method, similar to the generally accepted accounting principles used by the Securities and Exchange Commission. IRIS is set to be reintroduced this month.

The new version, IRIS Plus, is meant to translate impact investing goals like gender equity, climate change and affordable housing into results, said Amit Bouri, the chief executive of GIIN. He said the new system would help investors know exactly which metrics to track if they hoped, for example, to bring clean energy to rural areas.

The revised IRIS system is also an acknowledgment that impact investors want more ratings they can act on, he said.

Before, the people doing impact investing were do-gooder organizations by design, Bouri said. When I fast-forward to today, and I have a conversation with the chief investment officer of an investment fund or the chief executive of an asset manager, they all want to talk about impact investing. But they want to know how they can best understand their performance.

Bouri hopes that IRIS Plus can serve as a one-stop shop for investors seeking to understand how a particular goal can, or cannot, be accomplished through a particular investment.

The Global Impact Investment Rating System was created a decade ago to apply sustainability criteria to private investments made through venture capital and private equity funds. It was the brainchild of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that strives to redefine business success and administers the B Corp certification.

GIIRS (pronounced gears) was meant to evaluate both the investments themselves and the overall quality of the funds. It focused on the impact of a business model, the impact of a companys policies and the intent of the fund to make an impact.

The system is now being retooled to bring it more in line with the B Corp system of rating companies themselves. That system measures a company on social and environmental metrics as they relate to its business and employees, and then assigns a score from 0 to 200 points. A company needs a score of at least 80 to receive the B Corp designation.

As GIIRS has evolved, the organizations leaders realized that investors were interested in analytical data, said Andrew Kassoy, managing partner of GIIRS and a co-founder of B Lab. So impact investments will now be put through an analytical screening process and assigned a series of scores in areas like the affect on the environment or treatment of workers as well as a total score, the way companies seeking B Corp certification are scored.

Kassoy said that applying this methodology to impact investments would help them strive for constant improvement.

The whole idea of the 200-point scale is aspirational, he said. Its easy to identify things that can be done quickly and easily as well as things that would take more time with a plan for improvement. That leads to really important conversations with investors.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board was modeled on the Financial Accounting Standards Board with the goal of doing for sustainable investing what FASB has done for accounting.

Last fall, after seven years of work, the organization released its framework for analyzing 77 industries along a consistent range of environmental, social and governance metrics.

The groups overarching goal is to focus on sustainabilitys financial impact on a company and what that means to investors.

General financial information for most companies is available online, but the same cannot be said for a companys approach to using environmental, social and governance measurements, said Bryan Esterly, the sustainability boards director of standards research. Even companies that provide their own sustainability reports do not do so in a standardized way as they do with accounting measures.

What we produce are standards, Esterly said. We dont produce ratings. Our view is, the ratings could be more accurate and robust if there was a market standard out there.

One drawback: So far, only about 60 companies have used the boards standards.

Erika Karp, the chief executive of Cornerstone Capital, which manages money for wealthy people, came to impact investing through equity research at top global investment banks. She said she saw environmental, social and governance analysis as a critical investment discipline, akin to quantitative or fundamental research.

But assessing an investments impact has been difficult to do in a way that is meaningful and understandable to the high-net-worth clients she serves. Using the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals, Cornerstone created the Access Impact Framework to apply those goals to companies in different sectors.

The end result for investors is a heat map that shows in colors from pale to deep blue how their money measures up to their goals, whether it is invested in individual companies, funds or the portfolio overall.

Were sorting through a lot of data and noise and getting to a signal for regular human beings  not quants, not financial experts, Karp said.

With the heat map, clients who want to improve access to education in the world can see if their investments are actually doing that. They can also screen managers to see, for example, which ones are invested in opportunities that provide access to clean water.

Karp said the company purposely avoided using a numerical scale because she hoped the heat map would reach people on a more human level.

Its so easy to be bummed out when you think of the damage thats been baked into the climate, she said. We really have to get going now, and if youre going to get going now it has to be visceral. Numbers dont let things be visceral.

Paul Sullivan is a New York Times writer.
Dara Khosrowshahi had a problem. His name was Travis Kalanick.

That, of course, was nothing new. When Khosrowshahi took over as Uber CEO in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in the Bay Area, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the San Francisco companys exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future.

Uber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a $91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would become wealthy and the public could buy a piece of an indisputably world-changing company. The problem for Khosrowshahi, according to two people briefed on the matter, was that Kalanick wanted to be there.

As a former CEO and current board member, Kalanick had asked to take part in the hallowed New York Stock Exchange tradition of ringing the opening bell on May 10, the day Uber shares are due to begin trading. He also wanted to bring his father, Donald Kalanick. It would be close to the second anniversary of the accidental death of Travis Kalanicks mother and of the dramatic boardroom coup that ousted him as boss. His presence on the exchanges balcony could make both Kalanick and the corporation appear resilient.

Khosrowshahi wasnt having it. The original plan was to fill the rafters with Ubers earliest employees and longest tenured drivers. Moreover, some people at the top of the company felt that Kalanick was still a toxic liability and that Uber should keep him at maximum distance as it tried to convince constituents that employees truly abided by a new motto: Do the right thing. Period. Kalanicks appearance would unavoidably rekindle public memories of just how much of a disaster his final year was.

Besides, Khosrowshahi had bigger things to worry about than IPO pageantry. Uber is losing billions of dollars annually, and he needs to convince investors that it is a promising, long-term company  even if it wont be turning a profit anytime soon. He didnt need the distraction at Ubers financial coming-out party. For now, according to the two sources, Khosrowshahi has asked Kalanick to stick to the floor of the exchange.

Khosrowshahi is still mulling the matter, the people say. The CEO wants to prove that the startup has evolved past Kalanicks raucous, tech-bro culture  and his strategy of setting barrels of money aflame in the pursuit of growth above all else. But Ubers past, to state the obvious about a company that is only a decade old, is simply not that far gone. Almost every instance of Kalanicks bare-knuckled approach to capitalism illuminates something about Ubers viability as a business today. (Citing the quiet period before an IPO, representatives for Uber, Khosrowshahi and Kalanick all declined to comment.)

The company has little good will with consumers or regulators in multiple jurisdictions. And Uber still loses money on nearly every fare, using venture capital to subsidize rides, invest in new areas and beat back a set of global competitors that offer an essentially identical service.

Kalanicks heavy reliance on venture funding could be problematic for a public Uber in at least two ways. Arguably, it instilled habits of indiscipline, because executives could simply ask for more money whenever they wanted it, like rich kids with no cap on their allowance.

Second, and more troubling for retail investors, the bulk of investment returns might have already been realized. Uber acknowledged in a recent filing that its growth is slowing, fueling concern that venture firms, private equity shops, sovereign-wealth funds and other elite insiders have not left much upside for mom-and-pop investors.

The last big beneficiary of Ubers private-market gains might have been SoftBank. The Japanese mega-conglomerate bought existing shares from Uber investors at a nadir, when the company was valued at roughly $42 billion. Just months later, as Uber recovered from its string of scandals, those shares had nearly doubled in value.

All IPOs are by nature unpredictable, but with Uber the possible outcomes seem especially extreme. Is it a juggernaut that, like Amazon before it, will someday flip the switch to profitability? Or is it something more like eBay, a well-known but puttering giant with its best growth long since behind it?

For now, Khosrowshahis job is to execute a drama-free public offering. He was able to use the chaotic events of Kalanicks departure and his own hiring to secure a lucrative incentive. If he is able to attain a valuation of more than $120 billion for Uber over a period of 90 consecutive days, according to two people familiar with the matter and language included in Ubers IPO prospectus, Khosrowshahi will personally net stock bonuses of more than $100 million.

After parachuting into a profoundly fractured board, the CEO has managed to make a kind of peace among the companys directors, a group that includes Kalanick. Leaks about internal issues have largely stopped flowing to the press. Backbiting among executives has subsided. And Khosrowshahi has refrained from the kinds of extravagances Kalanick was known for.

Khosrowshahis admirers say the calm is a result of his long experience with corporate distress. After years of running InterActive Corp.s mergers, acquisitions and finance divisions, Khosrowshahi was tapped to lead Expedia as chief executive in 2012  a time of intense political drama inside the online travel company. Khosrowshahi stabilized some of the internal tumult, according to Neha Parikh, the president of Hotwire, who worked alongside Khosrowshahi at the time. No matter who you are, she said, Dara makes you feel heard.

At Uber, Khosrowshahi hired a slew of lawyers to plumb and correct years of the companys legal deficiencies. He also edited Kalanicks list of 14 cultural values. Ranging from Always Be Hustlin to Super Pumped, they read like Amazons leadership principles run through a bro-speak translation engine; now they have been made into a blander set of eight platitudes. (Among them: We persevere.) Investors who had billions riding on Ubers success have been happy to see a constant stream of negative headlines shrink to a trickle.

While Khosrowshahi has seemed to successfully reform many of Ubers cultural issues, skeptics note that the companys business fundamentals remain much the same. Uber lost nearly $2 billion in 2018, the first full year under his leadership. That comes even after a retreat from a number of costly battles with ride-hailing competitors in China, Russia and Southeast Asia.

On Ubers roadshow to pitch itself to institutional investors (theres no homeshow this time around), Khosrowshahi has broken with Kalanicks worldview that Uber is competing in a winner-take-all market. Ride-sharing will be a winner-take-most game, as Khosrowshahi puts it, according to people familiar with his presentation.

He has also embraced the idea that his company is like Amazon  a logistics giant in the making. His pitch casts Ubers sustained losses as both an attempt to defend its existing market share from competitors and an investment in Ubers growth.

That story seeks to frame Uber as a technology platform. Ride-hailing, the thinking goes, is a mere jumping-off point for other markets, like bikes and scooters, food delivery, long-haul trucking  even flying cars. Just like Amazon sells third-party goods, we are going to also offer third-party transportation services, Khosrowshahi said in an interview last year.

Still, Uber has no clear path to turning a profit in the next few years, and the risks section of its registration statement runs to 48 pages, out of 285 total. Shares of Lyft, its nearest competitor, have fallen about 13 percent from their offering price.

Ubers bankers seem to have internalized the doubts. After initially targeting an IPO opening range of roughly $48 to $55 per share, Uber reduced expectations to roughly $44 to $50 per share at a valuation of $80 billion to $91 billion  significantly lower than the $90 billion to $100 billion range it originally sought.

Despite all Khosrowshahi has done to distance Uber from its founder, Kalanick remains intimately connected to the company he built. He remains on Ubers board, and Khosrowshahi has shown no signs of agitating for a shake-up of the group in the months following an IPO, as some had expected he would.

Friends of Kalanick say that he feels unfairly targeted by Ubers IPO paperwork and its implicit criticisms of his leadership. According to people briefed on his thinking, Kalanick hopes that his successor will use the IPO to bury the hatchet between the two men and mark a new chapter in Ubers history. Even former enemies on the board, like Matt Cohler of Benchmark, have spoken in favor of Kalanicks involvement, according to a report from Axios.

No matter where he stands when Uber shares begin to trade, Kalanick will have the consolation of making on paper several billion dollars. That is 600 times what Khosrowshahis stake will be worth. Not that hes one to let that bother him.

Hes like Teflon. You cant scratch him, said Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Khosrowshahis cousin and the chief operating officer of Kobalt, a music startup. But its a positive way, not robotic. Thats why hes such a good choice for this role, because you have to be  especially from where he started.

Mike Isaac is a New York Times writer.
HARTFORD  Connecticut schools have one of the highest immunization rates in the country, but according to the state Department of Public Health, 116 public schools reported immunization rates for measles, mumps, and rubella that were below 95 percent last year.

That included six schools in which less than 80 percent of the kindergartners were vaccinated.

The vaccination data, which was for the 2017-18 school year, was released following a series of requests by CTNewsJunkie as well as members of the General Assembly. The state DPH updated its data over the course of the afternoon Friday, including removing from the lists that they originally uploaded all the schools with enrollments of less than 30 students. The DPHs original data also reported vaccination rates for kindergartners and seventh-graders separately for the same schools in some cases.

Measles outbreaks, like the nine in New York, California, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia and New Jersey, are less likely to occur at schools in which a large number of students are immunized to achieve herd immunity.

Herd immunity is described as a vaccination rate high enough to protect unvaccinated children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number is 95 percent.

Dr. Jody L. Terranova, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a vaccine advocate for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the data will help the academy reach out to schools with low numbers to see what education they can provide to improve vaccination rates in order to protect students who cannot be vaccinated based on medical conditions. Terranova said the data may be eye-opening for parents whose children have compromised immune systems, because if their school falls below 95 percent then there is no herd immunity and they face an increased risk of an outbreak.

We clearly have a false sense of security when using the overall state vaccination rate and can now see areas throughout the state where our residents are vulnerable to preventable diseases, Terranova said.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Connecticut State Medical Society said they were alarmed by the startling Department of Public Health School Immunization Report released Friday.

The facts dont lie, Connecticut State Medical Society President Claudia Gruss said. We know that immunizations are proven to be safe and effective, they are one of our best lines of defense to protect the publics health.

The lowest percentages of Connecticut kindergartners immunized with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were at schools in Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford and East Hartford last year. At least six schools in those towns had kindergarten immunization rates below 80 percent.

There were at least 36 schools where the MMR vaccine rate for kindergarteners was under 90 percent. Those schools were in Groton, Norwich, New Haven, Bloomfield, Hartford, Bridgeport, South Windsor, New Canaan, Waterbury, Redding, Mansfield, Milford, Westport, Canterbury, Stafford, and Stamford.

The DPH also provided vaccination data for seventh-graders across the state. Five schools had MMR vaccine rates under 90 percent, including schools in Norwich, Newtown, New Haven, Hartford, and Killingly.

Seventh-grade immunization rates between 90 percent and 92 percent were recorded at schools in Greenwich, Guilford, Stamford, and Bridgeport.

The overall number of schools with MMR vaccine rates under 95 percent was 116 when kindergarteners and seventh-graders were included, but there are still many unanswered questions about the data released Friday morning.

Why did some schools with low immunization rates report zero exemptions?

Kathy Kudish, head of the Connecticut Department of Healths Immunization Program, said that children without the required number of doses of vaccines do not necessarily have an exemption on file.

She said all data was reported by the schools, and a handful of schools had reached out Friday following the publication of the data to let the DPH know there may have been errors.

Kudish said the DPH is addressing those issues and will correct the database as the updates come in, with plans to release the updated information in about a week.

She admitted its possible that updated information could change the immunization rates at a handful of schools.

The information released included the percentages of children in kindergarten and seventh grade who are vaccinated against measles and other diseases as recommended. The DPH also includes the percentage of children in any grade who have an immunization exemption, which is based on what the schools report to the state.

Democratic legislative leadership in the House and the Senate said the data proves what they feared.

The immunization level is dangerously low in a significant number of schools and communities, putting the publics health at risk. This is a matter of grave public health concern, Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, who has not been shy about his desire to end the religious exemption for vaccines, said the numbers were shocking.

The release of the data provided ammunition for lawmakers who are advocating to end the religious exemption for vaccinations for students who want to attend public schools in the face of a vocal group of parents who have been lobbying hard to keep it.

Public health is always top priority, and when there are signs it is being compromised, it cant be ignored, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said.

LeeAnn Ducat, founder of Informed Choice USA, said she believes some of the information DPH released is inaccurate.

Recently, Matt Ritter clearly said that releasing this data will identify hot spots likely for infection and that hopefully releasing this data will increase immunization rates. The only way I can see for that to happen is by harassment, peer pressure and pressure on those towns/districts to create an unfavorable environment to exemption users, Ducat said.

She said the state violated its own law by releasing the data.

Sec. 10-204a-4(c) states that all immunization information collected by the department shall be confidential. So we believe that DPH is violating the law and we are looking into possible legal action, Ducat said.

This is the first time the department has released the information about the immunization rates for various vaccines on a school by school basis. Schools with low immunization rates also have higher rates of religious and medical exemptions. The corrected data provided by the DPH does not include schools with fewer than 30 students and it does not include childcare centers or preschools.

DPH Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who moved back to Connecticut from the state of Washington  which had with a measles outbreak  wrote to to school superintendents earlier this week to let them know she was releasing the information.

While Connecticuts immunization rate for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination of kindergarteners remained high last year at 96.5 percent the number of fully immunized students, upon kindergarten and seventh-grade entry, is trending lower, Coleman-Mitchell wrote. A disease outbreak is less likely to occur at schools where high numbers of students are immunized.

Coleman-Mitchell said Friday that the goal in releasing immunization data for each school is to increase public awareness of vaccination rates in local communities. Hopefully, this will lead to more engagement and focus on increasing immunization rates to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

At a Capitol news conference Friday, Ritter said they had expected a handful of schools to be at risk for an outbreak, but they didnt expect as many schools to report immunization rates under 95 percent.

The magnitude of this problem is why youve seen the comments youve seen, Ritter said. Nobody saw this coming.

Ritter said he expects the public to start asking lawmakers what they plan to do about it.

But Ritter said they want to wait until Attorney General William Tong releases his opinion on the constitutionality of the religious exemption and then decide where to go from there.

We have literally dozens of schools that are not one point below but double digits below the CDC recommended level, Ritter said.

Tom McMorran, superintendent for Easton, Redding and Region 9, said the states exemption rate data was inaccurate for Redding Elementary School. The states data showed the school had an exemption rate of more than 41 percent.

However, McMorran said the school has a 4.7 percent exemption rate with 22 of the 469 students claiming an exemption.
LOS ANGELES  Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agencys pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

In a letter sent Friday to John Sanders, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Feinstein, D-Calif., said the agencys policy offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle.
John Starks / Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald

WAUKEGAN, Ill.  An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory claimed a second victim Saturday when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed, and the official death toll is expected to rise to four as authorities suspended the search for two other bodies believed to be in the rubble.

Crews suspended their search amid concerns about the stability of the structure, and Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said they would not resume searching until what remains of the plant is torn down.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 59F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 28F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Lest We Forget, a large-scale exhibition of 80 or so portraits of Holocaust survivors by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano, is in the Civic Center concourse, where I stopped one morning last week on my way to work. There wereceremonies scheduled at City Hall on Thursday, May 2, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Id decided I didnt want to hear speeches or absorb anyone elses emotion.

It was early in the day; no one else was around. Standing there alone, I felt foolish to find my eyes full of tears, and at the same time, particularly with statistics for hate crimes rising, so glad to have glimpsed those lined faces and to have had the opportunity to consider their lives. I took a few smartphone photos, not doing justice, of course, to the photographers skill.

Many of the cards accompanying each portrait tell harrowing stories of surviving camps. Its a much more complicated tale, but German-born Robert Behr was 22 years old when he was assigned, at Theresienstadt, to help transport bodies for burial. Near the end of the war, volunteering to help build a new SS headquarters enabled him to survive. In 1947, he came to the United States, became a citizen and enlisted in the Army, which sent him back to Berlin to interrogate former Nazis.

It was the card on another survivors portrait that struck me most. The woman, Anastasija Tschernikowa, was born in 1924 in a place of unknown origin, says her card. Then, Can hardly remember. Does not want to speak about the terrible experiences anymore.

The exhibition  on view until May 19  has been traveling around the world, and it was brought to San Francisco by the Goethe Institute and the German Consulate, with support from Barbro and Bernard Osher and the Consulates General of Israel and Italy.

P.S. The night before, Id attended a screening of Ask Dr. Ruth, Ryan Whites documentary about sex expert Ruth Westheimer. She, too, was a Holocaust survivor, sent by her parents from Germany to Switzerland, so as to protect her during World War II. She was 10 years old when her mother put her on a train that was packed with other kids being rescued. She never saw either parent again. The good doctor, 91 years old, is indomitable.

Press release heading that might be useful if you feel yourself tongue-tied at a cocktail party: Lets talk about hazelnuts.

As to other conversations, aboard a flight to Boston, James Brzezinski and his seat mate discussed whether the Yiddish (by now Yinglish) word tchotchke (meaning ornamental object) was the origin of the word for the beer-opening tool, church key. (Id vote no.)

Meanwhile, Michael Vogel says he keeps getting the same prerecorded telephone call: Hi, Im Grace, a hearing administrator on a recorded line. Can you hear me? Can anyone make sense of this? Oh, the heck with it, lets talk about hazelnuts.

 Adda Dada, who keeps track of the Facebook group San Francisco Remembered, said theres been discussion there of erecting a statue of the late twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, fashion plates of the Nob Hill/downtown areas.

 Teacher Anthony Barcellos notes that the asymmetric look is all the rage these days. ... It doesnt matter whether its your shirt or jacket or even pants. The side where you carry your smartphone sags from the weight of the device. Of course, I have to admit that many of my students cleverly avoid the asymmetric look by never putting their phones away.

 Youve probably been to a show where, during the curtain call, someone steps forward and asks members of the audience to contribute to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At an annual Easter Bonnet contest, performed onstage, results of a fundraising competition among every Broadway show and touring company are announced. This year, And Peggy, the Hamilton company thats been performing in San Francisco, won the competition, having raised $513,734. This is $183,000 more than the amount raised by the Broadway version of Hamilton.

 Help is at hand for everyone, no matter what religion: Matt Regan has found a holy card on which is depicted San Judas Tadeo, who may be petitioned that the situation does not get worse. Well, thats something.

 Letter received from my periodontist (and friend) Kirk Pasquinelli last week: Im sad to see the column go, but I rejoice at all the additional time you will have for flossing.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

What impressed me about him was he said, It was profoundly impressive, he didnt say awesome.

Woman to companion, overheard on the 41-Union bus by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
SAN JOSE (BCN)



San Jose city officials will host a memorial on Saturday evening for Ly Tong, a South Vietnamese Air Force veteran who escaped Communist labor camps and participated in local activism.



Tong died on April 5 at 74 years old and is known for his work battling communism during and after the Vietnam War. He famously hijacked a plane and dropped leaflets over Vietnam calling for democracy in 1992.



"For millions of Vietnamese around the world, Ly Tong is always the 'Eagle Hero' in their hearts," former councilmember Tam Nguyen said in a news release.



Tong also participated in a 28-day hunger strike in 2008 when San Jose city officials attempted to rename "Little Saigon" as the "Saigon Business District."



A banner will be flown over Little Saigon on Story Road for 10 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. and City Hall at 4:41 p.m., weather permitting. The memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the San Jose City Hall rotunda at 200 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose.





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SAN CARLOS (BCN)



State officials on Friday partially catalogued and removed radioactive material found in a shed behind a vacant San Carlos home, fire officials said.



The California Department of Public Health and other agencies were at the home in the 1000 block of Cedar Street, where the material was discovered Thursday afternoon in the backyard shed, said Redwood City Fire Chief Stan Maupin, whose department serves the city of San Carlos.



The home was formerly occupied by Ronald Seefred, a retired scientist who had worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Menlo Park.



Seefred died in January at age 82. The radioactive materials were discovered while the home was being prepared for sale, Maupin said.



Fire officials said the materials discovered include Cobalt 57 and Radium 226, and were in several small vials in very small quantities. But Ephrime Mekuria, a physicist with the state public health department, said they found Radium but not Cobalt.



Friday afternoon the materials were being taken to a lab in Richmond where Mekuria said they'll determine exactly what was found. Then the materials will be stored in a radioactive storage facility in the city.



The material is not considered to be a threat to the community, and the challenge is sorting through the material and cataloguing it, in order to remove it to the proper locations for disposal, Maupin said.



It's not known how it came to be at the property, or why it was brought there.



Mekuria said, "A lot of scientists like to tinker" and added that this is not the first time radioactive material has been found in someone's home.



Cedar Street from Brittan to Arroyo avenues has reopened, San Mateo County sheriff's officials said. No evacuations were ordered.



City officials said on Friday that no radiation has been detected outside the shed and there is no threat to residents in the immediate vicinity.



Mekuria said the material "was stored appropriately."



"The containment was good," he said.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



An attorney for Ghost Ship warehouse creative director Max Harris filed a motion on Friday asking a judge not to allow the prosecution's first witness to testify in the trial for the deadly fire at the warehouse in Oakland in 2016.



Harris, 29, and Ghost Ship warehouse master tenant Derick Almena, 49, are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the warehouse at 1309 31st Ave. on the night of Dec. 2, 2016, that killed 36 people.



Alameda County prosecutors and lawyers for Harris and Almena presented their opening statements in the high-profile case on Tuesday and Wednesday and testimony is scheduled to begin on Monday.



Prosecutor Casey Bates told Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson at the end of Wednesday's session that the first witness he plans to call to the stand is Carol Cidlik, the mother of fire victim Nicole Siegrist, 29, of Oakland.



Bates said in his opening statement that at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2016, Siegrist sent a text message to her mother saying, "I'm going to die."



Tyler Smith, one of two lawyers for Harris, wrote in his motion, "The testimony of Ms. Cidlik is inadmissible because it does not tend to prove or disprove any fact that is in question" in the trial.



Smith said, "The danger of undue prejudice (against Harris and Almena in jurors' minds) is extremely high and vastly outweighs any probative value that Ms. Cidlik's testimony might provide."



The defense attorney wrote, "The fact that they (the prosecution) want to call Ms. Cidlik as their very first witness betrays their true motive of having her testify: they wish to use a grieving mother's testimony to tug at the jurors' heartstrings in the hopes that jurors will look at Mr. Harris and Mr. Almena to seek retribution for Ms. Cidlik's heartbreak."



Smith also asked Judge Thompson not to allow fire survivor Samuel Maxwell to testify.



Smith said Maxwell was in a coma for five weeks after the fire, spent four more months in the hospital, is now confined to a wheelchair, requires care around the clock and relies on his mother to interpret what he is saying. Maxwell is scheduled to testify later this month.



Smith wrote, "The prosecution clearly wants to use Mr. Maxwell as a demonstrative exhibit to the jury, to appeal to their emotions with the hopes they will misdirect those feelings with a guilty verdict" against Harris and Almena.



Smith said, "To have Mr. Maxwell's mother act as an interpreter would be highly inappropriate and prejudicial. On top of not being a certified interpreter, she is undoubtedly prejudiced against both defendants because she will want retribution for her son's condition and will see the trial as her opportunity to help her son."



Bates said in his opening statement that Almena and Harris are criminally liable for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at the party to escape since the warehouse didn't have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs.



Bates also said Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse's lease by turning it into a living space and hosting underground music parties there.



But Harris's lead attorney Curtis Briggs and Almena's lawyer Tony Serra alleged in their opening statements that the fire was an act of arson that Harris and Almena couldn't have prevented.



They also alleged that the warehouse's owners and Oakland firefighters and police officers are responsible for the fire because they say they knew about the safety issues at the warehouse and didn't take action to remedy them.





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SAN RAFAEL (BCN)



More than 200 residents and a dozen agencies in Marin County will gather Saturday at the Marin County Wildfire Forum.



The free public education event on fire prevention in the county's neighborhoods is from 10 a.m. to noon at the ballroom of Embassy Suites at 101 McInnis Parkway in San Rafael.



Paradise resident Shannamar Dewey will share her first-hand account of the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County in November.



Fire chiefs and other experts will address the importance of vegetation management projects on open space lands and emergency preparedness in communities.



Fire chiefs and other officials in Marin County developed a "Lessons Learned" report in late 2017 after the North Bay wildfires, and county residents cited emergency preparedness as their most important priority in a recent survey.



The Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, the Marin County Fire Chief's Association, County of Marin and Firewise USA are hosting the forum.



This is the first coordinated event that takes a countywide approach and includes stakeholder agencies from all over Marin County.



"A wildfire knows no boundaries," Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber said.





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A high-speed chase on Interstate Highway 680 in Contra Costa County on Friday morning ended with the arrest of four suspects, Danville police said.



The incident began around 10:24 a.m. when the California Highway Patrol reported that it was pursuing a red 2019 Dodge Challenger, according to Danville police Lt. Doug Muse.



A witness reported to police that, after the CHP lost contact with the Challenger, the vehicle had exited the freeway at El Cerro Boulevard in Danville and parked on the side of the road. Four individuals abandoned the vehicle and fled into the neighborhood at Adobe Drive, according to a police news release.



Officers from the Danville and San Ramon police departments and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office located and arrested the suspects following a search of the area.



Tyreon Lang, 20, of Oakland and Jamont Baldwin, 19, of Oakland, were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, probation violation and resisting arrest. Tyetiana Radford-Chandler, 18, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle and probation violation, and Saree Lindhurst, 18, of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.



The four were booked at the Martinez Detention Facility. They may face further charges once the Berkeley and San Leandro police departments complete their investigations, police said.





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SAN JOSE (BCN)



Burnett Middle School in San Jose will vote to change its name next week following a controversy over its current namesake, Peter Burnett, who championed racist policies as the first governor of California from 1849 to 1851.



Community members began the process of removing Burnett's name from the school in February, citing his efforts while in office to remove black and Native American citizens from the state, and later support for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.



Students, faculty and parents will vote for one of seven names reflecting influential historical figures in San Jose. The options were whittled down from polls by the San Jose Unified School District's name change committee this week.



Among the list are Jose Manuel Gonzales, the city's second mayor and member of the Apache Nation; John Heinlen, who rebuilt the city's Chinatown after a suspected racist arson attack in 1887; Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought against Japanese internment during World War II; and Sofia Mendoza, a Mexican-American activist who confronted inequality for Latinos in San Jose.



The school could also be renamed Ohlone Middle School in honor of the Native American tribe that originally inhabited the Bay Area. Other possible names include Guadalupe River Middle School or San Jose Middle School.



The names will appear in random order for voters in an online voting link from May 6-10. Students and staff will vote in classrooms during the same time period.





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BERKELEY (BCN)



A person was robbed of his laptop Thursday night in a University of California at Berkeley parking garage, university police said Friday.



The victim told police that at about 9:45 p.m. he was walking in the Ellsworth Parking Structure when he touched the hood of a Toyota sedan.



Police said three men got out of the car and confronted him. One man pushed him against the vehicle and took his laptop from his backpack. All three men were in their early 20s and drove away in the Toyota, which was mint green in color, police said.



Several more robberies or attempted robberies have occurred in the UC Berkeley area in the last two weeks. Last week three robberies occurred over about four hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Two involved a gun.



Then two more armed robberies occurred Thursday morning near campus. City of Berkeley police said Thursday that it's too early to say whether the robberies last week and Thursday are related.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



A man who was fatally shot in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon was identified by police on Friday as 21-year-old Anthony Nhep of Oakland.



Nhep was shot multiple times in the 1900 block of 17th Avenue, near San Antonio Park, at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and was pronounced dead at the scene.



No one has been arrested for the fatal shooting and police haven't disclosed a motive.



A GoFundMe site seeking to raise $10,000 to pay for Nhep's funeral and burial expenses had raised $1,740 as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday.



The site says Nhep is survived by his mother, sister and 3-year-old son.



The website says Nhep's mother fled from Cambodia to the U.S. in the 1980s "to escape the devastation, tortures and torments of the Khmer Rouge" regime.



The site is at www.gofundme.com/f/AnthonyNhep.





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Google Maps

A police cadet accidentally shot two other cadets when his loaded handgun went off in the middle of their law enforcement class Thursday night in Texas City, according to authorities.

The cadets were attending a class at the College of the Mainland Law Enforcement Training Academy when the weapon fired around 7:40 p.m., Texas City police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said in a written statement.
There is major movement at the top of the betting markets for who will win the 2020 presidential election, with Joe Biden emerging as the betting favorite to win the Democratic Party primaries.

OddsShark, a betting resource that tracks odds across a number of online betting sites, still gives Trump the best odds at +115 to win the election (meaning a $100 bet would win $115), since it is all-but-assured he will be leading the Republican ticket in 2020, and it is still unclear who will lead the Democratic ticket.

Trump's odds are noticeably better than the +175 odds he received last month, likely due to special counsel Robert Mueller finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government during the 2016 election.

MORE 2020: Biden to test appeal among black voters in South Carolina

Last month, California Senator Kamala Harris, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden were tied at +650 apiece to be the next president of the United States, and were followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke at +900.

Biden is now the frontrunner among Democrats at +450, and is followed closely by Sanders at +500. The former vice president officially announced his candidacy in late April, and has seen a substantial polling bounce as a result.

In third place among Democrats and fourth place overall is South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at +900. This is a massive surge, since Buttigieg was sitting at +2800 at this time last month.

ALSO: Biden's rise tests Trump plan of casting foes as socialists

Harris has tumbled down to +1300 behind Buttigieg, and O'Rourke is now tied with entrepreneur Andrew Yang at +2000 behind Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence previously had odds of +4500 to win the 2020 election, but following the release and fallout out the Mueller report, he's dipped all the way down to +6600.

Click through the slideshow above to see updated betting odds for the 2020 election.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eric.ting@sfgate.com and follow him on Twitter

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In route news, El Al paints a plane in honor of its new SFO flights; Southwest Airlines kicks off a new Hawaii route from San Jose this weekend; Thomas Cook adds seasonal SFO-Manchester service; Delta will join United in offering non-stop service to India; American, Lufthansa, Alitalia and Norwegian begin new Europe routes; and American starts a new California Corridor flight along with several other domestic routes.

May 5 is the launch date for Southwest Airlines' newest Hawaii route, from Mineta San Jose to Honolulu. The SJC-HNL service will be followed on May 26 by new Southwest service from San Jose to Kahului, Maui. Southwest's new San Jose-Honolulu flight departs SJC at 8:20 a.m.; the return leaves Honolulu at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at SJC at 8:40 p.m. (San Jose also has Hawaii service from Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu and Maui, and Alaska Airlines to Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Kona.)

The airline is also going inter-island in Hawaii for easy connections from Honolulu; it recently started Honolulu-Maui flights and on May 12 will begin flights from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. In March and April, Southwest started Oakland-Honolulu and OAK-Maui service.

On Monday, May 13, El Al launches new nonstops between San Francisco SFO and Tel Aviv using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In honor of its inaugural flight the carrier had artists Shay Vadal and Amir Assayag create a special livery that includes images of the Golden Gate Bridge. (See more photos in the slide show.) Las Vegas, another new El Al destination, is featured on the other side. Stay tuned for more about this historic flight in coming weeks.

Fiji Airways announced this week that it would be getting two new Airbus A350 jets to serve its long haul routes. It currently flies from SFO and LAX using an Airbus A330. The new jets are expected to enter service in November and December, each with with 33 fully lie-flat business class seats, all with direct aisle access and 301 economy seats.

The Bay to the U.K.: On May 4, Thomas Cook Airlines resumes seasonal service from San Francisco International to Manchester in the U.K., with A330-200 departures on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays.

Last winter, United announced plans to start seasonal service from San Francisco to New Delhi, India, on December 5, 2019, and now Delta will launch a new route to India as well. The carrier plans a December 22 start for year-round, non-stop daily flights from New York JFK to Mumbai with a 777-200LR. "Demand for flights between the U.S. and India has increased significantly in the last decade, and New York is the largest U.S. market to India with the largest base of corporate customers," Delta said. Another likely factor in the route choice: India's Jet Airways, which recently stopped flying, had code-sharing agreements with Delta and its partners Air France and KLM. The grounding of Jet ended the option for customers to book a Delta-coded flight from the U.S. to India via connections in Europe.

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Several airlines are kicking off new transatlantic service this week and next as the peak summer travel season approaches. On May 2, Alitalia started flying from Washington Dulles to Rome five days a week, and Norwegian Air introduced Boston-Madrid service three days a week. May 3 was the launch date for Lufthansa's new Frankfurt-Austin route, which will use an A330-300 to operate five days a week. Also on May 3, American Airlines began seasonal Chicago-Athens service with a 787-8, continuing through September 28.

American Airlines also introduced intra-California seasonal service on May 3, with daily E175 flights between Santa Rosa's Charles Schulz Airport in Sonoma County and Los Angeles. Other AA routes that started May 3 include daily Miami-Santiago, Cuba service; daily seasonal flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; year-round daily E145 service from New York LaGuardia to Columbia, South Carolina; and daily year-round service from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to Phoenix. And on May 4, American begins twice-weekly seasonal E175 flights from Washington Reagan National to Melbourne, Florida, and from LaGuardia to Asheville, North Carolina and Daytona Beach, Florida.

We're not sure why it's only for a month, but Routesonline.com reports that Southwest Airlines plans to operate six flights a week from Sacramento to Nashville from May 5 through June 7. We suspect that this might have to do with 737 MAX issues.





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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.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Palestinian militants fired more than 200 rockets into Israel on Saturday, drawing dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies.

Four Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire.

The fighting came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israels existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flareups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza.

Gazas Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. The ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was also killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile in northern Gaza.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was lightly hurt as he ran for cover.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not coordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territorys ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel.

Fares Akram is an Associated Press writer.
CARACAS, Venezuela  The critical role of the Venezuelan military in the countrys crisis was on display Saturday as President Nicolas Maduro sought to keep its support and opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to woo the armed forces to his side.

Days after Guaido called in vain for a military uprising, national television showed Maduro as he shook hands and exchanged fist bumps with security forces during a visit to a military base. Loyal forever, Maduro bellowed to a crowd of cadets in green uniforms.
BEIRUT  Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the countrys northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the rebels.
ISLAMABAD  The Taliban said Saturday that the gap is narrowing in talks with Washingtons special peace envoy over a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The two sides are continuing to meet in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.

The Taliban spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, said both sides have offered new proposals for drawing down U.S. and NATO forces. This would be a significant initial step toward a deal to end nearly 18 years of war and Americas longest military engagement.
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In this April 24, 2019, file photo released by the Press office of the administration of Primorsky Krai region, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talks with Russian officials upon his arrival at the border station of Khasan, Primorsky Krai region, Russia. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has fired an unidentified short-range missile from its eastern coast. The firing Saturday, May 4, comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the North's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal that can target the U.S. mainland. AP-Yonhap



North Korea fired several short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's military said, the first missile launch since 2017 as it steps up pressure against Washington after a failed nuclear summit.



The North fired an unidentified short-range missile from the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The Office said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States.



Several missiles flew 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles), the Joint Chiefs of Staff said later.



The launch is the first since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017,before declaring the building of its nuclear force complete and extending an olive branch to the South and the United States.






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The Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) individual mandate is unconstitutional now that there is no penalty against those who don't get health insurance, the Justice Department argued in a brief submitted to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 in support of a lower court's finding. The department said the rest of the law should be struck down.

The case will be heard this summer.

The Justice Department noted that when the Supreme Court upheld the ACA's individual mandate in 2012, the high court ruled that the requirement was a valid exercise of Congress' taxing power. In reaching this determination, the high court relied on the law's penalty on those who do not buy health insurance, characterizing the penalty as a tax. But Congress reduced the penalty to zero in the 2017 tax reform legislation.

Last December, a federal district court in Texas decided that the individual mandate is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' authority now that the mandate no longer raises any revenue. The district court also struck down the entire law, reasoning that the individual mandate is essential to the rest of the ACA. Democratic state attorneys general, led by California, appealed the ruling to the 5th Circuit. We've rounded up articles from SHRM Online and other trusted news sources on the litigation.

Hearings Expected This Summer

The 5th Circuit is expected to hear arguments in the case in July. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has defended the individual mandate as constitutional and said that even if it isn't, the rest of the law should be upheld. He has called the district court ruling an "assault on 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions." The U.S. House of Representatives also is now defending the law in court.

(CNN)

Texas Files Its Own Brief

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, led the Republican state attorneys general challenge against the ACA. The Justice Department had said some portions of the law should be upheld prior to changing its mind in March. Paxton filed a brief on May 1, saying, "Congress meant for the individual mandate to be the centerpiece of Obamacare. Without the constitutional justification for the centerpiece, the law must go down."

(The New York Times)

Millions Could Be Affected

Approximately 20 million Americans get health insurance through the ACA. The law's protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions covers millions more. If the 5th Circuit issues a decision before January, the Supreme Court might choose to review the case and publish a decision in the middle of the 2020 presidential election.

(USA Today)

Who Else Does the Law Benefit?

A ruling that the ACA is unconstitutional would affect more than those who get insurance through exchanges and individuals with pre-existing conditions. The law lowers the costs of Medicare coverage and prescription drugs for the elderly, lets children remain on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26 years old, and allows many Americans to get birth control, mammograms and cholesterol tests for free. President Donald Trump has asked Republican senators to develop a new Republican health care bill but has said that congressional Republicans will wait until after the 2020 election to vote on an ACA replacement.

(Fortune)

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with and Leveraging the Affordable Care Act]

ACA Still Applies

In the meantime, all ACA coverage and reporting obligations for employers remain in place. Employers still have to offer health care coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees and properly report offers of coverage, so they are not penalized.

(SHRM Online)


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When is overtime pay owed to part-time employees in Europe? In some countries, such as Germany, overtime is now due as soon as part-timers work any extra hours beyond those set out in their contracts. This is true, regardless of whether they have worked as much as full-time employees, because of a so-called principle of equal treatment between full- and part-time workers. Elsewhere, such as in the United Kingdom (U.K.), part-time employees don't earn overtime just because the employer extended their schedule.



A recent German Federal Labor Court decision clarified how employers should pay overtime compensation to part-time workers to avoid treatment that would be unequal to treatment shown to full-time employees. Austria and Hungary prohibit unequal treatment as well, but the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland give employers more leeway.

What's Unequal Treatment?

What is meant by unequal treatment in the payment of overtime?

Assume there is a collective bargaining agreement that provides for the mandatory payment of a 20 percent bonus for overtime hours exceeding the work-time limit for full-time workers. So a full-time employee who works 40 hours a week and 10 hours of overtime receives, in addition to normal pay for the 10 hours of overtime worked, an overtime premium of 20 percent for those hours. In contrast, a part-time employee who works 25 hours per week according to his or her employment contract and 10 hours of overtime per week is paid for the additional hours worked but does not receive overtime pay at an enhanced rate.

Until recently, the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court had always denied that this constitutes unequal treatment because the same total compensation was paid for the same number of work hours.

But on Dec. 19, 2018, the 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court issued a decision abandoning its long-standing case law: There will be equal treatment only if an employer pays the enhanced overtime rate for work time that exceeds the worker's contractually agreed work hours. This means that in the example above, the employer must pay the part-time employee for all 10 hours of overtime worked at the enhanced rate.

Austria

Under Austrian law, part-time workers must not be placed in a worse position than full-time employees because of their part-time employment. Part-time workers who work more than their contractual hours must be paid a 25 percent premium.

Hungary

In Hungary, part-time employees cannot be excluded from their employer's pay and benefits system and cannot be denied benefits that would otherwise be due to a full-time worker performing equal work. This means that employers must pay overtime pay rates to part-time employees in compliance with the principle of equal treatment. But employers can reduce the amount in proportion to part-time work hours.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

United Kingdom

U.K. employment law has taken the position opposite to the German Federal Labor Court's. The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations [of] 2000 provide that part-time workers are not considered to be treated less favorably with respect to overtime pay if they are entitled to overtime only after they have worked the same number of hours a full-time worker would have to work to receive such pay.

This means that, for example, if a full-time worker normally works 35 hours per week and gets premium rates for hours in excess of this, and a part-time worker normally works 21 hours per week, the part-time worker would have to work at least 14 hours of overtime before he or she is entitled to the same premium rates as the full-timer.

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the position on overtime pay for part-time workers is similar to that in the U.K. So overtime compensation is not immediately payable to part-time employees for additional hours that exceed the individual's work hours.

Finland

Finnish law requires that less-favorable employment conditions must not be applied to part-time employment relationships without a proper and justified reason. But the former case law of the German 10th Senate of the Federal Labor Court reflects current Finnish practice.

Ius Laboris is the world's largest global HR and employment law firm alliance. Contributing members to this article include Dr. Elke Platzhoff from German firm Kliemt in Dusseldorf, Germany; Natalie Hahn and Lisa Hittinger from Austrian firm Schima Mayer Starlinger Rechtanswalte GmbH in Vienna; Dr. Nora Ovary-Papp from Hungarian firm CLV Partners in Budapest, Hungary; Colin Leckey from U.K. firm Lewis Silkin in London; Erik Deur from the Dutch firm Bronsgeest Deur in Amsterdam; and Laura Parkkisenniemi from Finnish firm Dittmar & Indrenius in Helsinki.
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A former employee who was not rehired when a position became available following her layoff could not pursue her family and medical leave discrimination lawsuit because the company hired a better-qualified candidate, a California appellate court ruled.

The plaintiff, who claimed that she was not rehired because of her prior use of family and medical leave, failed to show that her qualifications were "substantially superior" to those of the person hired, the court found.

The plaintiff worked for Abbott Laboratories from 2004 until 2013 as a specialist in diabetic supplies. In September 2013, she was let go, and in March 2014, the same specialist position became available.

The plaintiff applied for the role, but it was offered to another candidate. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit claiming that Abbott refused her the job because of medically related leaves of absence she had taken while employed.

[SHRM members-only resource: Managing Medical Leave in California]

The trial court granted Abbott's motion to dismiss the lawsuit before trial, and the plaintiff appealed.

No Evidence of Pretext

To establish a discrimination lawsuit, a job candidate must first show that he or she is a member of a protected class, is qualified for the position, and was not hired or promoted into the position. The plaintiff must also show "some other circumstance suggesting discriminatory motive," according to the court. The employer then has the opportunity to show that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for choosing another candidate. Then, the plaintiff may demonstrate that the employer's asserted reason was actually a pretext for discrimination.

In this case, even if the plaintiff met her initial burden of proof, the court said, Abbott had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for not hiring her, because it chose to hire a better-qualified candidate.

And, the court said, to show pretext in this case, the plaintiff needed to show that her qualifications were at least substantially superior to those of the applicant who was hired.

Evidence of the plaintiff's competing qualifications "does not constitute evidence of pretext unless those differences are so favorable to the plaintiff that there can be no dispute among reasonable persons of impartial judgment that the plaintiff was clearly better qualified for the position at issue," the court said.

In this case, the plaintiff had several things going for her, the court noted: She was a registered nurse, she had a master's degree, and she was certified as a diabetes educator. However, the applicant who was hired had worked for another big pharmaceutical firm for the same length of time as the plaintiff worked for Abbott, and during that time, she won an international sales champion award and five regional champion awards.

In a job involving sales, the hired applicant "brought a proven track record of what any objective observer would have to conclude was a series of stellar sales performances," the court said.

This sank the plaintiff's pretext claim, the court ruled, affirming the trial court's dismissal of the complaint.

Villacreses v. Abbott Laboratories, Calif. Ct. App., No. G054983 (April 18, 2019).

Professional Pointer: Courts generally defer to the legitimate business decisions of employers in deciding which applicant is best qualified for a job. However, employers should carefully evaluate the qualifications of the candidates for a position and document the reasons for the successful applicant's selection.

Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island leaders lauded Richard A. Brown, 86, who died on Friday after a long and distinguished career as a Queens district attorney, justice of the Appellate and Supreme courts and advisor to a governor.

The native New Yorker served as district attorney of Queens for nearly 28 years after he was appointed to that post by then Gov. Mario Cuomo on June 1, 1991.

During several decades of public service, Brown had the ear of governors and legislators from New York City to Albany and this judicial influence was felt throughout the state.

In January, Brown announced that he would not seek re-election and planned to step down in June due to increasing health problems associated with Parkinsons Disease, according to a statement from Chief Queens Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan.

Together with his law enforcement colleagues throughout New York City, Judge Brown contributed greatly to making this city the safest big city in the nation, Ryan said in the statement. His district attorneys office created one of the states first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court - all very successful over the years and their models duplicated across the country."

"Many programs followed - a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and most recently the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP) created to address the scourge of opioid addiction by providing a second chance for addicts to avoid criminal prosecution and to literally save lives, he added.

Judge Brown was one of the most brilliant, ethical and dynamic public servants I ever met," said Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. "But he was also approachable, humble and sincere. He was my role model, a prosecutors prosecutor, a visionary and problem solving justice innovator, and a wonderful family man. They dont make them like him anymore. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Brown earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hobart College before graduating from New York University School of Law in June 1956 and being admitted to the bar by the Appellate Division in October of that same year, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Brown spent much of the 1960s and early 1970s in various administrative positions for leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly. He served four years as New York Citys legislative representative in Albany where he managed the citys Albany office and supervised its legislative program, according to the Queens District Attorneys website.

Becoming a member of the judiciary in September 1973, he served as a judge of the Criminal Court for less than two years before being appointed supervising judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court and then acting justice of the Supreme Court.

In November 1977, Brown was elected a justice of the Supreme Court in Queens County. At the end of the following year, he returned to Albany as counsel to then Gov. Hugh L. Carey.

On March 3, 1981, Judge Brown returned to the Supreme Court and the following year was appointed by Gov. Carey as an associate justice to the Appellate Division. Carey designated Brown to the court two more times before he assumed the top post at the Queens District Attorneys Office.

His many professional affiliations included: past president of the New York State District Attorneys Association; member of the New York State Bar Association; member of the New York City Bar Association; member of the Queens County Bar Association; chairman of the Albany-based New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

He is survived by his wife, Rhoda, their three children Karen, Todd and his wife Monica, and Lynn and her husband Bruce. Funeral arrangements are pending.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island charter school is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond, including a church built in 1853, from the Archdiocese of New York for $3.75 million, according to school officials and court documents.

New World Preparatory Charter School -- which has been leasing two school buildings from the Archdiocese since the school opened in 2010 -- is in contract to buy the property, according to Eugene Foley, the schools president.

It will enable us to have personal responsibility for the property rather than having to go through a landlord, said New World Prep President Eugene Foley. This way, we can make the improvements that we want to make and do it directly through our board of trustees making the decisions.

New World Prep has been leasing its school building located on 26 Sharpe Ave. and a separate gym/cafeteria building.

Along with those two buildings, New World Prep would acquire the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church, a former convent and a former rectory that is being used as an administrative building.

Below is a photo that shows the five buildings that New World Prep is in contract to purchase.

New World Preparatory Charter School is in contract to buy property in Port Richmond from the Archdiocese of New York, including the former St. Mary of the Assumption Church. (Courtesy of Google Maps)

The St. Mary of the Assumption Church -- located at 2230 Richmond Terrace -- was established in 1853 and closed in 2015, as part of the Archdioceses initiative to merge Staten Island parishes.

The parish was merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta -- now known as St. Mary of the Assumption-Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta R.C. Church.

The Archdiocese for New York declined to comment on the purchase.

While the school has not finalized any plans with what it will do with the property, Foley said it was looking to upgrade some of the aged buildings.

We havent finalized any plans, Foley said. We want to upgrade some of the buildings since theyre elderly in terms of electricity and plumbing.

The school -- which currently serves fifth- through eighth-graders -- announced in February that it would expand to become a kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

Kindergarten and first grade will be added in September, located off-campus at Moore Catholic High School, Graniteville. By 2021, the transition to include kindergarten through eighth grade will be complete.

Students are chosen by lottery, with special allowances for siblings of current students, and students who come from homes where English isnt the primary language.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio was in the backseat of his official SUV when the vehicle was involved in a collision back in 2015, according to reports.

The perfect teaching moment for the architect of New York Citys Vision Zero program, right?

Wrong.

According to the Daily News, the mayors NYPD security detail hushed up the accident. They hustled the mayor from the scene. There is no record of the accident with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The NYPD has yet to release the police accident report about the incident.

The police apparently thought that publicizing the accident would be bad optics given the mayors Vision Zero policies. The NYPD has denied that there was any coverup of the collision.

Well cut de Blasio some slack here. He wasnt involved in the actual hushing up of the accident, according to reports.

But de Blasio loses that credit because he punted when asked about the collision, telling reporters that he wasnt familiar with how the crash had been handled. He said he didnt know enough about his security details protocols to speak to any of it.

This from a mayor who has demonstrated such a deep interest in the minutiae of crashes all over the city. Hes got nothing to say about a collision involving his own vehicle?

And since when is a public figure of de Blasios stature unfamiliar with how his personal security detail operates? He wont have that excuse if he actually does become president of the United States.

When the story broke, de Blasio should have just come clean. Mistakes were made in how this was handled, he should have said, well make sure those mistakes are never made again. Heres that police report youve been asking for.

Dont hold your breath.

But were familiar with the mayor saying one thing and doing another.

This is the same mayor who takes an 11-mile drive to the gym just about every day, security detail in tow, while at the same time admonishing the rest of us to cut carbon emissions.

Do as I say, not as I do.

The citys approach to the homeless shelter proposed for Tompkinsville is another example of the administration talking out of both sides of its mouth.

The city decided that the shelter would go at 44 Victory Blvd. without consulting anybody here.

When the predictable blowback came, City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services said that they were willing to work with elected officials and community members to discuss alternate sites. A piece of land in Clifton that was once part of the Bayley Seton Hospital campus was in play.

On second thought, the city said, forget about it. Were going with Victory Boulevard.

So much for consultation. The whole thing has been top-down from the beginning.

And the city so much wants the community to be involved that the administration wont put the project through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Not needed, according to de Blasio. This is an emergency facility. That means the shelter project can do an end-run around ULURP.

De Blasio knows best. Weve seen this all before.

He shrugs off fundraising controversies and accusations of pay-to-play. De Blasio has never been charged with any wrongdoing, but theres been plenty of smoke. Were just supposed to ignore it when people whove donated to de Blasios campaigns or PACs appear to get a leg up in their dealings with the city. Nothing to see here. City & State recently had a good roundup if youve forgotten the highlights.

I cant decide if this makes him more qualified to be president of less. But its going to stick to him if he really does take the expected plunge and run for the White House.

De Blasio says he never talks with lobbyists, then he acknowledges that he does. Just not about whatever the lobbyists are lobbying for. Then again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo the other day said he doesnt know whos a lobbyist and who isnt when he sits down with people. So maybe this is a common thing for elected officials.

Maybe its our fault for expecting too much of them.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers a reporter's question during a meeting with members of foreign media in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2019. AP-Yonhap





In this file photo taken on July 25, 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies during a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC. AFP-Yonhap



The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed Saturday to "prudently" handle North Korea's launch of short-range projectiles during their telephone talks, Seoul's foreign ministry said.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone hours after the North fired the projectiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of growing impatience over stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington.



"Regarding today's launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch)," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.




A major network of bars on the high-profile Chapel Street strip has been significantly underpaying staff, leaked documents and pay records show.

La La Bar Group - which runs popular bars on the inner south-east Melbourne strip including Wonderland, Electric Ladyland, Lucky Liquor, Blue Bar and Holy Grail - has been paying workers in envelopes stuffed with cash.

Payslips, documents and interviews with workers show that staff and supervisors have been regularly paid a flat rate below the minimum rates of the award, the wages safety net.

Current and former staff said the practice has been going on since at least the start of the decade. They were regularly not paid penalty rates or even superannuation, they allege.
Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The mother of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained in North Korea, made a plea Friday for continued pressure on the regime.



Cindy Warmbier spoke at a seminar alongside family members of South Korean, Japanese and U.S. citizens who are believed to have been abducted by North Korea in past decades.



"Unless we keep the pressure on North Korea, they are not going to change," she said at the event co-hosted by the Hudson Institute, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, and the Japanese government.



"I am very afraid that we're going to let up on this pressure. So I need everyone here to keep the pressure on everybody you can. There are still a lot of families here that deserve to see their family members," she said.





Cindy Warmbier, mother of late US prisoner in North Korea Otto Warmbier, speaks at a seminar on North Korean abductees in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2019. AFP-Yonhap



The Warmbier case has received renewed attention since The Washington Post reported last week that the North Koreans had demanded US$2 million from the U.S. government to cover his hospital fees.



The University of Virginia student fell into a coma shortly after he was detained in Pyongyang in early 2016 for allegedly trying to take down a political poster.



He spent the next year and a half hospitalized there before he was released and returned to the U.S. in June 2017, only to die several days later.



"North Korea to me is a cancer on the earth," Cindy Warmbier said. "And if we ignore this cancer, it's not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us. We don't even know we have this cancer, so that's why I talk. There is a cancer, I can tell you."



U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that any money was paid to North Korea for Warmbier's release.





Otto Frederick Warmbier, center, a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Reuters-Yonhap
This year, Dan Wilson added roasted chickpeas and fava beans to the snack menu at his network of North Shore primary school canteens. These healthy options have not proved popular with his pint-sized customers, who prefer to buy sweets at the petrol station after school.

Since Mr Wilson complied with the new healthy canteen guidelines, which require "everyday foods" to make up 75 per cent of the menu, his revenue has dropped by 20 per cent. "If it doesn't turn out to be viable, I am probably not going to continue doing it," he said.

Karin Von Specht, right, and Nina Wilson serve healthy food at the St Mary's Primary School Canteen in North Sydney. Credit:James Brickwood

He would not be alone. The industry expects higher costs and lower sales will cause many small operators to leave the business after the new guidelines become compulsory next year, forcing some schools to close their canteens.

Since the 2017 launch, only a quarter of the state's 1800 canteens have been accredited. The deadline for mandatory compliance across the public system is December, but insiders privately believe many of canteens will not meet it.
Daniel Taylor with his father John Ibrahim. Credit:Instagram According to friends the 28-year-old is trying to distance himself from his headline-making family and travelled to Peru, seeking out ayahuasca as a tool for personal growth. Traditional healers have been using ayahuasca for centuries as a medicine and the tea is also used in religious ceremonies in South America where the drug is legal. The drug has become more popular with Westerners who are seeking to expand their consciousness. Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Emerald City. In December Taylor was cleared of charges that he illegally handled $2.25 million. The cash was connected to an illegal tobacco smuggling ring. His father was back in the news again last week when a heavily-tattooed man stood outside the Ibrahim Dover Heights mansion filming himself yelling abuse. Daniel Taylor, son of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim. Credit:AAP Harrolds' celebrity loan crackdown

Loading High-end fashion retailer Harrolds has set tongues wagging amongst Sydney celebrities and influencers after cracking down on the loan of designer garments for media events. Emerald City was told by a television personality that the store accused them of returning a faulty garment days after the personality sent the item back. "They called me five days later and accused me of wrecking the dress and requested it be paid for, the personality confided at a recent race day. It was dry cleaned and returned in the same condition I received it. If there was an issue, it should have been addressed upon return. However, a publicity manager for Harrolds said that while they do limit their loans to influential party-goers there is no ban in place. As it's coming to the end of the SS19 season, we always limit the amount of PR loans we facilitate due to our communications strategy," the PR said. Radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson and her former husband Lee and daughter Catalina. Credit:Instagram

Jackie O's man-ban It's been six months since KIIS breakfast co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson announced she was separating from her photographer husband Lee Henderson and next Sunday will be her first Mothers Day as a single mum. Speaking to Emerald City at Westfield Parramatta's Mother's Day high tea on Friday Henderson said that while she and Kitty, 7, have no plans as yet, they will do something special together. Henderson is currently renting in South Bondi while her ex-husband remains in the family home in Vaucluse. However, she insists dating is not on her agenda at the moment. "No, I'm not dating, definitely not," she said, adding that her KIIS co-host Kyle Sandilands has been a constant support since her marriage broke down. "He's incredibly protective of me and sometimes when listeners phone to ask if I'm dating he tells them to get lost," she said. Roll call of heavyweights at STC's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Any Sydney Theatre Company opening night begins with a traditional welcome to Gretel Packer and Cat on Hot Tin Roof was no exception. Artistic director Kip Williams was on hand at pre-show drinks to pay his respects to the donors present, including Packer, and investment bank UBS, which was represented by marketing boss Caroline Gurney. Theatre lover Gretel Packer is one of the STC's biggest donors. Credit:Paul Jeffers Packer is one of the companys biggest donors at a time when the cost of putting on large productions is rising steeply. Its not called the Roslyn Packer Theatre for nothing. The Sydney Theatre Company's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof stars Pamela Rabe, Zahra Newman and Hugo Weaving. Credit:Rene Vaile Fellow board member and former Liberal premier Mike Baird was there along with ANZ chairman David Gonski and recently-demoted state member Gabrielle Upton to see Hugo Big Daddy Weaving, Pamela Big Mamma Rabe and the cast knock it out of the park.
There was no pouty duck-face, Instagram, hair extensions world when I was at school, says radio host Jane Kennnedy.

We werent stereotypically feminine; we wore v-neck jumpers and cords and we loved comedy movies. There was a natural bent towards humour and itd be great to see more of that with girls now.

Telling jokes might have gotten Kennedy in strife at as a teenager but today, this skill attracts more than 1 million listeners across Australia.

Were in the Triple M studio she shares with on-air partner Mick Molloy; the decor a suitably rock n roll mix of black walls and exposed brick.
But the mood in Australia was quite different - it turns out we were relatively relaxed about political disagreement. Only 20 per cent said political divisions were dangerous for society, one of the lowest shares among the nations surveyed. Double that proportion - 40 per cent - said political differences were actually healthy for society. Another 19 per cent said that, while political differences were present, they were not having a significant impact. When international public opinion surveys are conducted Australia's results are often quite similar to those in the US and Britain. But that's not the case when in comes to attitudes to political divisions. Loading

In the US, where the political success of Donald Trump has roiled politics and stoked partisan rivalry, more than half of respondents said political divisions were a danger to society. In Brexit-riven Britain the share was almost a third. Ipsos pollster Jessica Elgood said voters in Australia were much less ruffled by political disagreements than in those two English-speaking nations we are so often compared with. "We're not feeling nearly as torn," she said. "There's an element of political calm in Australia." In another sign that Australians are relatively comfortable with a diversity of opinions only a third said the majority of their friends had similar views to them on climate change (31 per cent), immigration (32 per cent) and feminism (33 per cent). A quarter said their friends had similar views on religion.

Australia also had an above average share who considered it important to listen to people who have different views from themselves. "The data suggests we are comfortable with a breadth of opinions in our society," Elgood said. "There's a real tolerance for those differences." Four in 10 Australians (43 per cent) said they had a conversation at least once a month with someone with opposing views to their own on issues such as politics, climate change, immigration or feminism. One in five said they had a weekly conversation with someone holding different political views. But overall, politics remains a thorny subject for Australians. We seem less inclined to discuss it than people in many other parts of the world.

The share of Australian respondents who said they feel comfortable sharing their political opinions with those who might disagree was well below the international average. "There are various points in the data that suggest there's an element in Australian society where it's not quite polite to ask people about their politics in a way that's not the case in Europe, for example, or North America," Elgood said. "We don't necessarily know our friends' political views or how they vote  you may never have asked because it's not a socially acceptable thing to ask about and also because we don't use it to define each other." This trait was underscored by a survey question about attitudes to immigration, which is a controversial issue in many nations. In Australia, 36 per cent said they did not know their friends' views on immigration, the highest proportion among the 27 nations in the survey. (Australia also stands out for its positive attitude towards immigration - 46 per cent said it had a "generally positive" impact on the country, which was nearly double the international average and the third highest share among the nations surveyed.) Will Australia's tolerance for political differences last?
Malcolm Turnbulls son Alex, who went rogue on twitter shortly after the political coup that took down his father, and has continued since  mostly criticising hard-right Liberal politics  was particularly engaged last week.

The issue has been whether, as reported, he has or has not donated money to independents Zali Steggall and Kerryn Phelps. Alex Turnbull denied that he had donated a cent to either, but makes no bones about where his political sympathies lie  and they are not with the right wing of the Libs.

Malcolm and Alex Turnbull. Credit:AAP

When I asked him what his hope was for this election, he said: My hope is for a Labor minority government with moderate independents holding the balance. And Id like [Gosford rector] Father Rod Bower and [ACT independent candidate] Anthony Pesec to get seats in the Senate.

How much have you donated in this election? Six figures.
It was Peter*, a 41-year-old married dad of three, who works in construction and admires Clive Palmer, who really encapsulated the election campaign in a sentence. Education, health and all that, the big picture stuff... he said of the politicians election pledges thereof. Its white noise.

Peter (not his real name), who was one of the participants in a Parramatta focus group I observed this week, said what I have been subversively suspecting for much of the campaign. That is, that the giant funding figures the parties are throwing around like confetti, not to mention the economic modelling on those figures, and the brain-boggle of the various tax thresholds the parties are going to fiddle with, are not absorbed by many voters.

This is always the case, and experienced politicians know it, but it is particularly so in this election, where so many voters are disengaged, bored or too jacked off with politics to tune in with any conscientiousness.

There is much speculation about whether the large numbers of voters who have turned out to pre-polling booths is a good sign for Labor, or a good sign for the Coalition. Thats asking the wrong question: the only solid conclusion to be drawn from the avid pre-polling is that many Australians see voting as a nuisance task they would rather dispose of quickly so they can get on with their real lives, out of the shadow of politicking.
Activist group GetUp will spend up to $4 million intensifying its election advertising over the next two weeks as it officially endorses key independents on 800,000 how-to-vote cards.

Escalating a clash with the Coalition in the final fortnight of the campaign, GetUp will this weekend confirm it will throw its support behind independents, Labor and the Greens in the closest races at the May 18 election.

The group will mobilise 1750 members at 335 polling booths in 29 electorates to urge Australians to vote for candidates who will act on climate change, relegating the Liberals and Nationals to lower positions on ballot papers.

GetUp chief Paul Oosting defended the strategy in the face of Coalition accusations that the group is only an arm of Labor and the Greens and should be treated like a political party rather than an independent movement.

In terms of our advertising the big spend will be coming in the next few weeks, which is the key period when well be handing out these how-to-vote cards, Mr Oosting said.
Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words "right wing facist (sic)" have appeared on posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong.

Textas were used to deface a number of posters of the Jewish MP in Hawthorn overnight.

Prime minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Saturday the vandalism was "appalling", and called for anyone with information about the matter to cooperate with authorities.

"This is about crimes and hate ... this should have no place in our elections, absolutely no place," Mr Morrison said.
Bill Shorten will offer workers a $1500 wage gain from a tax plan designed to help employers grow, as he intensifies his pitch to voters on the economy in the final fortnight of the election campaign.

The Opposition Leader will outline an economic plan that could also create thousands of jobs from a $3.4 billion policy to give companies stronger incentives to invest in expansion and hire new staff.

Jobs: Bill Shorten with a worker at Direct Edge Manufacturing in Burnie. Credit:AAP

As the election race tightens, Mr Shorten will also pledge $500 million to fix waiting times at hospital emergency departments while accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of starving the health sector of federal funds.

Global companies such as Facebook will also face a crackdown by tax authorities in a Labor policy to curb the use of licensing agreements to shift profits offshore.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has nominated Japanese leader Shinzo Abe as a guiding light who he would continue to turn to for counsel on foreign policy should he remain in government after May 18.

And he has promised to "manage carefully" the relationship with China, given its economic significance for Australia, and the fact that more than a million people living in Australia have Chinese heritage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:AAP

Speaking exclusively to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on a flight from Darwin, Mr Morrison recalled having dinner with Mr Abe and his wife the last time he was in the Northern Territory capital.

"It's probably the most interesting and insightful discussions I have had ...and I have had many meetings now with other world leaders in what has been a relatively brief period, because I became Prime Minister and went pretty much into the summit season" he said.
This combination of file photos created on January 16, 2017, shows US President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida and Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2016 in Berlin. AFP-Yonhap



U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to help keep pressure on North Korea until it dismantles its nuclear weapons program, Trump's spokeswoman said.



The two leaders spoke by phone and discussed nuclear agreements, trade, and the political situations in North Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.



"They spoke about North Korea for a good bit of time on the call and reiterated both the commitment and the need for denuclearization," Sanders told reporters at the White House.



"And the president said several times on this front as well the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to help and put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize," she said. "And that was again the focus of the president's comment on that front."



Putin held his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Russia's Vladivostok last month.









The meeting was widely regarded as part of North Korea's push to secure sanctions relief from other major powers following the breakdown of the second Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam in February.





Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, greet North Korea's delegation prior to their talks in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. AP-Yonhap
Samantha Flores was having a tough time getting through the airport. The signs were hard to see, the announcements were hard to hear, and the people rushing by made her feel unsteady on her stiffened knees. Finally, with relief, she made her way to a bench to sit down, catch her breath and take off her "age simulation suit."

Flores is director for experiential design for architecture firm Corgan, and the nearly 14-kilogram suit was meant to help her, a 32-year-old, experience the physical challenges of navigating the world as an older person. Goggles and headphones "impaired" her sight and hearing. Gloves reduced feeling and simulated hand tremors. Weighted shoes, along with neck, elbow and knee movement restrictors, approximated mobility limitations.

The percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050. Credit:Peter Braig

Using the suits is one way designers who work with airports and the travel industry in general are starting to look at creating spaces for different groups of people. And older people are one group whose numbers are growing.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of the world's population over 60 will nearly double by 2050, rising to 22 per cent from 12 per cent.
After enthusiastically walking to work each morning, Tommy impatiently waits for the office door to open as smiles break out on the faces of his co-workers.

Tommy is the director of first impressions at Kidney Health Australia and part of a growing group: office dogs.

Tommy, the English springer spaniel, is the office dog at Kidney Health Australia. Credit:Eddie Jim

Dogs have always played a significant role in human life, from hunting in fields to service dogs. Therapy dogs are found in nursing homes, hospitals, universities and courts. Now dogs are entering the office with increasing frequency.

This growing trend is based on the belief that dogs improve human wellbeing and productivity. And it is not hard to find evidence to verify the claim that dogs reduce stress. A Harvard Medical School special health report found that just petting a dog can reduce the petter's blood pressure and heart rate.
There's no menu. Regulars  and that's most people here  know to come in, choose a soft roll or crusty ciabatta from one of the baskets on the floor and use tongs to put the roll on the counter. There it will be taken in hand by Louise McQueen or one of her trusty sandwich sidekicks to turn from mere roll into a Rocco Roll, a legendary western suburbs lunch.

There is an art to making a sandwich. Anyone who thinks it's just slapping stuff between bits of bread should come to Rocco's, an Italian deli in the backblocks of Yarraville. Rolls are made to order with care and flair, every element added with judicious attention, like a painter lovingly daubing a canvas.

Let the ladies decide for you (recommended, they nail it) or create your own combination of antipasto, cheese and meat. Most of the deli goods are made here: roasted capsicum, pickled olives, chunky basil pesto and tomato tapenade, grilled eggplants, maybe some artichokes. The cheese is usually Dutch maasdam and the meats celebrate the pig in prosciutto, capocollo, hot salami, ham and pancetta, a quality selection from Australia, Italy and Spain.

Rocco's cannoli. Credit:Jason South

You won't be surprised to learn that the quality of all these ingredients is key to the rolls' success. A less obvious factor is the way the cheese and meat are sliced: they're cut to order and shaved very thin. Paper-thin slices allow the cheese and meat to be furled over the vegetable elements, giving each roll such height and lightness that the bread lid fairly floats on the fillings. It's a beautiful thing, a terrific example of the simple turned into the sublime. And this magnificence costs $6.50. Six dollars fifty!

Rocco's has been serving the community since 1977. Founder Rocco Ida still comes into the deli every day but the business is now owned by Christopher McQueen, who bought the deli for his mother, Louise, born Louisa Torresin in San Marco di Treviso in the Veneto. Needless to say, this Italian woman has strong views on good food. In the two years they've owned Rocco's, they've been building the business  grazing boxes (order ahead) are going great guns, Louise's cannoli fly out the door, and there's a new lunchtime offshoot in Seddon  while maintaining a charmingly old-school operation for customers, many of whom are greeted like friends.

Most people take their rolls away but you can sit down at one of a few little tables with a copy of the local paper and a chinotto. This is no cafe: they'll stretch to an espresso but you'll need to take your caffe latte desires elsewhere.
In my last column, I looked at how low-means aged care residents can pay more for their accommodation than those who are market-price payers, which led one reader to ask but what if you were Australias richest person?" What a great question!

The cost of aged care is split into the amount you pay for accommodation and the amount you pay for your care.

Paying the market price for retirement accommodation can be expensive. The highest Refundable Accommodation Deposit at the exclusive Mark Moran Vaucluse is $2.2 million.

The majority of residents are not eligible for government funding towards their accommodation and pay the advertised price  or an amount up to this.

All residents, regardless of means, pay a basic fee of $51 a day towards their cost of care and, beyond that, a means-tested care fee, based on their assets and income.
The state government has ditched plans to retire Sydney's nine First Fleet ferries, instead deciding to upgrade them and extend their working life for at least another decade.

While the city's renowned Freshwater-class Manly ferries face retirement, the First Fleet vessels  perhaps best known for their Australia Day race on Sydney Harbour  will each undergo a $1.3 million refit, including work to improve passenger accessibility.

The First Fleet ferries race on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day. Credit:Rick Rycroft

The decision to upgrade the First Fleet ferries is a U-turn on the strategy detailed in internal government documents obtained by the Herald under freedom-of-information laws.

They reveal a four-stage "ferry fleet replacement" plan 18 months ago was to retire the First Fleet ferries as part of "tranche three", as well as seven RiverCat and two HarbourCat vessels.
After months of uncertainty, the Wangchuk family of Queanbeyan in the state's south-east has been told they will not be deported and can stay in Australia.

Immigration Minister David Coleman intervened on Friday and the family was granted permanent residency.

The family's visa had expired in mid-April after an application for permanent residency was rejected because their son Kinley, who is deaf, did not meet the health requirements set out by immigration laws.

Jangchu Pelden, Tenzin Jungney, Kinley Wangchuk and Tshering can now remain in Australia. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

A petition urging Mr Coleman to allow the family to stay was signed by more than 51,000 people.
Sydney's first driverless metro train line is expected to be opened to passengers on May 26, a week after the federal election.

Starting passenger services almost five years after construction started, the $7 billion Metro Northwest line from Rouse Hill to Chatswood will be the city's first privately operated suburban line, along which single-deck trains will run every four minutes.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Andrew Constance on a driverless metro train undergoing testing in March. Credit:Nick Moir

May 26 is understood to be the most likely date for the start of regular passenger services  to be operated by Hong Kong's MTR  partly because of time needed to inform commuters ahead of the resulting changes to rail and bus services in the city's north west.

The 36-kilometre line is the first stage of the Berejiklian government's plans for multiple metro train lines in Sydney. The second stage under construction comprises a line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and onto Sydenham and Bankstown, which is scheduled to be opened by 2024.
World-renowned conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall passed the baton onto the next generation of conservationists at Taronga Zoo on Saturday.

Speaking to Taronga Zoo Sydneys Youth at the Zoo (YATZ) and the Jane Goodall Institute Australias Roots and Shoots youth volunteers, she told them that "every single one of you can make a difference".

Dr Jane Goodall has passed the baton over to the next generation of conservationists. Credit:Steven Siewert

"Every day you get to make a decision on how the world can be better."

She said it was important to involve young people in conservation because otherwise "its a pretty grim outlook for the future".
A One Nation candidate in a key marginal seat used a member of the anti-immigrant extremist group True Blue Crew as a volunteer organiser while praising the nationalistic ideology at one of the groups events.

The right-wing group True Blue Crew marching on the streets of Melbourne during an Australia Pride March in 2017. Credit:Chris Hopkins

One Nation has now forbidden candidates from associating with True Blue Crew, which was banned from Facebook after posting Islamophobic messages in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.

But a former state secretary of the party is acting as a spokesman for the group, orchestrating events with a range of right-wing politicians.

The Brisbane seat of Petrie, one of the federal elections tighter contests, is held by a 1.6 per cent margin by the Liberal National Partys Luke Howarth, who has admitted he needs One Nation preferences.
Queenslands corruption watchdog has urged public sector organisations to make sure their officers know there are serious consequences for inappropriately accessing restricted information.

Following a number of incidents of public officers, including police and corrective services officers, accessing information inappropriately, the Crime and Corruption Commission has highlighted one case which it says illustrates the scope of the problem.

The CCC has urged all public sector departments to lift their game when it comes to information security.

Lan Phuong Le was a case manager with Queensland Corrective Services, in charge of supervising people subject to court orders.

She had access to two restricted databases - the QCS Integrated Offender Management System and the Queensland-Wide Interlinked Court System.
President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, April 15. Moon's right is National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong. Yonhap



South Korea's presidential office said Saturday that North Korea's firing of short-range projectiles is contrary to the purpose of inter-Korean military accords last year.



It urged Pyongyang to stop acts of escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, briefing media on the results of an emergency meeting of top security officials held hours after North Korea fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea.



Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, presided over the session, according to presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung.



Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon joined the meeting, along with some other officials in charge of national security.




The coffee and lunch was good too. And then I learnt that for $10 ($8 concessions) there is a bus tour to hear the full story  and its fascinating. It's worth getting the full story. Credit:Brismania. As Peter, the guide, who has worked there for so long he has an excited sense of ownership, recommends, come and look at your own backyard. The facts and figures are staggering.

Firstly, there are new cars, lot and lots of them  250,000 a year in fact  fresh from the production lines of China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe. Toyota is No.1 followed by Hyundai and Mazda and the average stay here is one month. They are picked up by trucks and delivered all over Queensland as well as to northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory. The port hosts 250,000 cars a year. Credit:Brismania. The ships, which Peter describes as ugly but functional, discharges 500 vehicles in eight hours, and two arrive each day. This big floating car park will be gone by tonight, Peter says.

There are 30,000 brand new cars in the port as he speaks. Brisbane also has Australias smallest export coal terminal - Newcastle is the biggest. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Ten coal trains a day, each with two locomotives hauling 41 graffiti-covered carriages, come in from Ipswich and Oakey. The black thermal steaming coal is export-only and used for electricity generation, mainly in Japan. Each carriage opens up to drop 3000 tonnes of coal an hour on to conveyor belts that take it straight to the ships hold.

Nearby is the woodchip terminal. Pine plantation timber from south-east Queensland and northern NSW is cut into 12-metre poles to fit into containers bound for China. The offcuts go into a woodchipper and the bulk loaded into ships to make cardboard in Japan. There are round containers for oil, gas and fuel. An oil tanker that arrived full yesterday will leave tonight empty, its crude deposited at the Caltex Refinery at nearby Lytton. The grain terminal at the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. The grain wharf is a temporary cruise passenger facility until the new terminal opens. It is used by only about 40-50 cruise ships a year. These are the ships that cant get under the Gateway Bridge, are longer than 270m so they cant turn in the river, or if two arrive the same day and theres no room upstream at Hamilton.

For the second time since its opening in 1987, the grain terminal is importing grain. Loading Rather than wheat and barley going out, 100,000 tonnes of grain a month is coming in from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria to rescue drought-stricken farmers. Sitting in various allotments around the port are components for 123 wind turbines from Malaysia, China and Europe as AGL builds Australias biggest wind farm at Coopers Gap north of Dalby. Each turbine has three 65-metre carbon fibre blades and it takes one cargo truck to carry each. They have to be hauled up the Toowoomba Range in the early hours of the morning, so it will be a while before they are all gone.

Containers are used for things that wont fit on a conveyor belt or pipeline. In one yard, three huge tyres for mining equipment stick out the top of a container. Giant cranes in the white, red or black livery of their owners line the wharves. Cranes dot the skyline. Credit:Brismania. The mind boggles at the logistics that so many containers can be so carefully monitored to see them move around the world and a small shipment will still arrive at the right place to find its owner. Brisbane is leading the way here too. When Patricks opened its Brisbane AutoStrad Terminal in 2007 it was the first automated container terminal in Australia.

It uses microwave radar from Finland to move its containers. They are like robots running around almost one kilometre of quayline. Brismania explores the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Brismania. Nearby DP World has 16 automated container stackers, two in each of eight working bays with 500 metres of rail line. They glide up and down rails, lifting containers between the coming and going trucks and ships. Among all this industry, the Port of Brisbane has left 12 hectares for a roosting lake where there are viewing points for birdwatchers to observe the pelicans, ducks and migratory birds. With 3000 employees, this is a busy world of its own.
Curtin researcher Adam Cross dropped down to his hands and knees, yelling in excitement, as he realised he had just discovered a population of thousands of extremely rare carnivorous plants in the Kimberley.

The finding was the largest Australian population of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, an aquatic venus flytrap, ever discovered and the first one found in the Kimberley in 20 years.

Dr Cross said he was still pinching himself.

Curtin researcher Adam Cross holding a sample of the rare carnivorous plant at the site of the discovery.

An eager botanist from the age of six, he had spent the last decade unsuccessfully searching for the plant in swamps and billabongs across northern Australia.
The states first Public Spaces Minister plans to create half a billion dollars of public value from his $150 million budget to increase open space in Sydney.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes told The Sun-Herald he would buy up forgotten land across Sydney to create new parks and playgrounds, linkages between green space, and cycleways to meet the needs of the growing population.

Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said planning for open space had been "ad hoc" in the past. Credit:Wolter Peeters

I effectively have $150 million dollars in capital that I've been given as part of this portfolio, Dr Stokes said. I'm keen to turn that into more than half a billion dollars worth of value to the community by working with councils and collaborating with landowners to make sure I eke every last little bit of value out of that money in the interests of current and future generations. Its a lot of money, but I know that if we're smart about it, we can make it go a lot further.

He plans to reclaim bits of land choked with morning glory and lantana such as gaps between development sites and riparian corridors set aside for drainage and find an interim use for public land set aside for utilities like water pipelines or future motorways. Most of that land was already owned publicly and the priority for acquisition would be sites that connect areas of green space.
College Park, Maryland: A Florida man is facing up to 20 years in jail on charges of defrauding Australians and other clients who hoped to become parents, via a company that offered to locate and financially support pregnancy surrogates.

Gregory Ray Blosser, 37, was arrested on Monday in Florida on a wire fraud charge, according to federal prosecutors.

Blosser has operated The Surrogacy Group since 2012, with offices in Annapolis, Maryland, and Tampa, Florida. Clients paid Blosser tens of thousands of dollars to find surrogates and support them during pregnancies.

A British couple's baby born to a surrogate mother in Anan, India. Credit:AP

Blosser failed to either locate suitable surrogates or pay for their fees or medical expenses after clients deposited money into escrow accounts, a criminal complaint says.
Minneapolis: The City of Minneapolis will pay $US20 million ($28.5 million) to the family of Australian Justine Damond Ruszczyk , who was unarmed when she was shot and killed by a police officer after calling to report a possible crime, city leaders have announced.

The civil settlement comes comes just three days after the former officer was convicted of Damond's murder.

Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Ruszczyk Damond at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis in 2017. Credit:Start Tribune/AP

The settlement reached with the family is believed to be the largest stemming from police violence in the state of Minnesota. It's believed that Mohamed Noor is the first Minnesota officer to be convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting.

Asked about the amount and speed of the settlement, Mayor Jacob Frey cited Noor's unprecedented conviction, as well as the officer's failure to identify a threat before he used deadly force.
POND ISLAND:---Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day. Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.



The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation. With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the cornerstone of democracy for any functioning society.



Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.



Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.



I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.



In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.



According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
A week ago a report on the lack of governance and integrity of the Prosecutors Office in the Netherlands which was requested by Het College van Procureurs Generaal has been completed and published by Commission J.W. Fokkens. This rapport was sent on 25th April 2019 ref: 2579192 by Minister of Justice and Safety Ferd Grapperhaus to the Chair of the Second Chamber in the Netherlands for further debate and handling, expect serious consequences. Not surprising Chapter 4 from the report was excluded due to confidentiality and sensitivity findings of the Prosecutors leadership.

Based on the rapport of ANP (Algemeen Nederlands Pers Bureau) on the 25th April 2019 Minister of Justice Fred Grapperhuis mentioned that the findings of the Commission revealed a conclusion which was very critical not only breaches of integrity behavior of two senior officials of the OM but also the way in which the top of the organization has dealt with the issues  was stated.

As a follow up however more alarming reports are now surfacing on Prosecutors work methods and ethics surrounding high profile and complex cases. Both the magistrates and judges in the Netherlands have already warned Prosecutors arm of Justice to tackle the breaches of integrity and clean up its mess internally which was published by Marcel Haenen on 24th April 2019 in the NRC.

In Curacao and St.Maarten certain prosecutors have been identified in cases and much has been published in the past

Mink Case (source: report Volkskrant 20 July 2007 ANP)

Prosecutor Saskia de Vries carried witnesses whose reliability and hardly found to be ascertained. The court discussed all of the witness statements as having no relevance. The dossier was 120 ring binders with possible new evidence provided by De Vries however the court declined all.

The witness statements, which were deliberated in the courtroom for many hours, did not prove to be useful as evidence. The suspect was acquitted after 10 years investigating work. She was also the prosecutor on the Saffier case of the former president of the CBCS (Central Bank) Tromp who was also acquitted.

Report VU (source : Klaagschrift Vrij Nederland published 22 September 2009 ; report included)

A complaint was launched by 5 prosecutors to the Board of Journalism in Netherlands against VU for publishing their wrongdoings which wrote about the behavior of several prosecutors including Mevr.mr Saskia.Devries. The klaagschrift strongly disagreed again with the two journalists who wrote the articles, and not applying hoor weder hoor (listening to both sides) principle. The findings from Commission Fokkens however challenges that VU findings become relevant and more credible. In the article on page 10 it explains the dispute of the accusation was about changing and converting information ,pre- lying to judges, manipulation of information and withholding vital evidence. In 2009 de Board of Journalism concluded that accusations were not accurately publicised and that the integrity could not be questioned, however Independent Commission Fokkens report now concludes differently about the integrity of the OM-organization .

Holleerder Case and Yugoslav murder Case (source page 5 of 11 : Sjoemelen Loont ; fiddling rewarded Harry Lensink en Marian Husken, August 2009)

As published Prosecutor Saskia de Vries withheld important evidence from the defense. She lied in an appeal, the court judged. De Vries is still a prosecutor on behalf of the National Parquet. In 2006, she made the case against drug trader Mink Kok and lost due to manipulation with witness files. They also withheld information from them. In Two Recent cases  Holleeder and a Yugoslav murder case  again the lawyers complained about the manipulation of the evidence.

The fact is that lawyers should take these breaches seriously and once these are exposed during a trial it will lead them to the Inadmissibility of the case by the court. Consequence the waarheidsvinding (truth finding) principle of a case is lost and a costly police investigation is wasted. The state/country sometimes ends up in millions-damage claims because of this behavior especially withholding of valuable (ontlastend; unburden)information.

The process which is currently taking place in the Netherlands with independent Commission Fokkens deserves some credit which is just the beginning to expose noncompliance by the prosecutor's organization not only in the Netherlands but in Kingdom. Any further feedback for any relevant information the independent Commission can be reached This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact BIOM (Bureau Integrity OM) online or call +31-(0)6-11 03 11 32) if closed call +31-(0)88-3713033 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Having an example function and upholding democratic law with integrity is vital for any country. End of the day no one is above the law, not even the prosecutors. Even though the findings from the Commission Fokkens report (identifying a lack of proper governance and integrity by the OM-organisation) is worrisome it eventually will force Prosecutors to be more transparent or face consequences. The question now is should critical OM-functions be mandatory screened by an independent body?

Click here to view original articles used as sources.




South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has met with Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and agreed to work together to expedite their economic exchanges and cooperation, Lee's office said Saturday.







During the meeting held in Lisbon on Friday (local time), the two officials discussed ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields including the economy, energy and science, according to the prime minister's secretariat in Seoul.







Pointing to Portugal's stable economic situation and marked growth, Lee called for "the continued expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries by boosting corporate investment in each other."







Expressing high interest in South Korea's auto industry, Costa asked for Korean firms' active investment in its auto parts technologies.







Moving on to geopolitical issues, Lee expressed gratitude for Portugal's "constant support for peace of the Korean Peninsula," and Costa reaffirmed his country's constant backing for such peace initiatives, according to Lee's office.







The Portuguese prime minister also expressed his president's willingness to invite President Moon Jae-in to his country, the officials said, while noting that Costa is scheduled to visit South Korea in July.







Lee was in the European country on his way to Colombia from Kuwait. He embarked on the overseas trip on Tuesday, which will also take him to Ecuador before he returns home on May 10. (Yonhap)


The black fragment of Almahata Sitta meteorite number 15 shows up black against the lighter colored rocks of the Nubian desert in northern Sudan.

How do I spot thee, asteroid? Let me count the ways.

in a series of presentations Monday (April 29), the first day of the 6th International Academy of Astronautics Planetary Defense Conference, scientists from different Near-Earth Object (NEO) monitoring systems discussed their successes and what the future might bring.

First up, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Davide Farnocchia talked about a system that holds information about potential space-rock candidates. During his presentation, Farnocchia said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Scout Hazard Assessment system had worked well when the boulder-size, near-Earth asteroid called 2018 LA entered Earth's atmosphere as a bright fireball over the Botswana-South Africa border in June 2018.

Related: Diamonds in Meteorite May Hail from Our Ancient Solar System

Space rocks are designated with the year they are first spotted. This asteroid was spotted not only the same year it descended toward Earth, but also just 8.5 hours before it hit Earth's atmosphere.

Scout's goal is to continually monitor the objects listed on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCRP). This webpage lists unconfirmed objects, keeps tabs on details like an object's trajectory (called the ephemeris) and gathers information related to the object's hazard potential. Instead of providing a rigorous probability assessment, Farnocchia said, Scout's automated system produces impact ratings and scores to identify interesting objects to stay ahead of an object's sometimes short observation arc, or the time between an object's first observation and its most recent one.

An object gets removed from the system when the Minor Planet Center gives it an alphanumeric classification after more observations pour in. Eventually, if time passes and an object remains unclassified, it, too, is removed from NEOCRP and Scout.

3122 Florence is a triple-asteroid system. The radar capabilities of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico were able to detect the small satellites around the larger object. (Image credit: IAA/Patrick Taylor/Arecibo Observatory/NSF)

In space and on the ground, there are other projects dedicated to watching for big rocks in the sky.

Next came a presentation on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently in progress. From the Cerro Pachon ridge in north-central Chile, the LSST mission plans to spend 10 years surveying the sky to achieve ''achieve astronomical catalogs thousands of times larger than have ever previously been compiled,'' according to the LSST website . Las Cumbres Observatory in California also has something in the works: presenter Tim Lister brought up a software tool kit called Target and Observation Manager (TOM) , which is designed to facilitate astronomical observing projects. As of January, this software toolkit now contains a module for importing targets from the Scout NEOCP Hazard Assessment system.

Astronomer Joseph Masiero shared recent results from the NEOWISE mission, the asteroid-hunting portion of the polar bear-sized Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. NEOWISE has spotted over 190,000 small bodies in space by collecting infrared information as it orbits Earth, and the mission's most recent release of data went public on April 11, 2019.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico offers a powerful method for scientists to narrow down how an asteroid moves in space, and what size and shape it is. Researcher Patrick Taylor said during the conference that by making radar observations, the observatory can determine properties about small bodies. For instance, Arecibo's radar revealed that there are in fact two small moons orbiting the asteroid 3122 Florence , the last object observed before Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017, said Taylor, adding that optical instruments would not have been able to make that detection.

Hurricane Maria damaged Arecibo and the island at large, but the facility is back up and running. In addition to facility repairs, staff at the observatory worked with the local community to support their recovery process, too.
The many faces of Lego Luke Skywalker. (Image credit: Lego)

20 Years of Lego Star Wars Minifigures

The annual "Star Wars Day" holiday, May the Fourth, is a wonderful time to look back at the 40-plus years of franchise history that has inspired fans throughout the world. We now have three sets of Hollywood movies, several television shows, and countless comic books, costumes and other merchandise to inspire us.

And of course, there are the Lego Star Wars building sets and minifigures  dozens upon dozens of them. Just like the Lego Millennium Falcon has changed with time, so have the minifigures that represent Luke Skywalker and his fellow characters from a galaxy far, far away.

Click through this gallery to see how some of the most iconic Lego Star Wars minifigures have evolved over the last 20 years.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline
It may not be the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but a SpaceX "Falcon" launched into space today just in time for Star Wars Day.

The Falcon 9 rocket (which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk named in honor of the fictional Millennium Falcon from "Star Wars") launched a Dragon resupply ship filled with NASA cargo from Florida's Cape Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning. By coincidence, the mission launched on May 4, or May the Fourth, as fans of the "Star Wars" film franchise call it.

"May the Fourth be with you," SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said while signing off the company's live launch commentary, a callback to the "May the Force be with you" phrase of the Jedi in the "Star Wars" films. NASA spokesperson Jennifer Wolfinger also echoed those words in the space agency's own broadcast.

Related: The Best 'Star Wars Day' Deals for May the Fourth!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA lifts off from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

SpaceX has developed three types of Falcon rockets over the years: the small Falcon 1, the workhorse Falcon 9 and the heavy-lift Falcon Heavy. And while they don't look anything like the iconic Millennium Falcon flown by Han Solo and his Wookie pal Chewbacca in "Star Wars," there are some striking similarities between the two space vehicles.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo ship for NASA streaks into the predawn sky after launching from Space Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 4, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

A Reusable Cargo Freighter

Just as the Millennium Falcon is a Corellian freighter haul payloads (and sometimes passengers) across the galaxy, SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters are built haul payloads into orbit. (SpaceX no longer flies Falcon 1 rockets. The last one flew in 2009.)

The first stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are also reusable, just like the Millennium Falcon. In the "Star Wars" universe, Han Solo and other characters regularly refuel and fly their Falcon over and over again.

Related: The History of Lego's Millennium Falcon: A Photo Timeline

During today's Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX returned the booster's first stage to Earth with a pinpoint landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast of Florida. The booster will eventually fly again, launching more NASA cargo to the station on at least one more mission, and possibly a third, said Kenny Todd, NASA's manager for international Space Station operations and integration, after the successful launch.

Elon Musk has said that eventually, SpaceX hopes to fly a Falcon 9 rocket twice within 24 hours. That would put SpaceX's rockets on par with the Millennium Falcon, which appears to have made the trip from Tatooine to the Death Star (near the former site of Alderaan), only to escape the Empire and reach the Rebel base on Yavin 4 all in the same day in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope."

Related: Our Favorite 'Star Wars' Ships from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Millennium Falcon isn't the only fictional object SpaceX has named its vehicles after. The Dragon spacecraft, for example, are named after Puff the Magic Dragon, Elon Musk has said. The company's drone ship landing pads, "Of Course I Still Love You" and "Just Read The Instructions," are named after the giant sentient starships of "The Culture" series by science fiction author Iain M. Banks.

It's only sheer coincidence that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the Dragon cargo mission for NASA on "Star Wars Day."

The mission was originally scheduled to launch April 26, but was delayed several times to allow time for extra vehicle checks, await optimal orbital mechanics conditions for flight, as well as fix a minor helium leak at the launchpad and electrical issue on the drone ship.

Dragon is carrying more than 5,500 lbs. (2,495 kilograms) of experiments and supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station. It will arrive at the orbiting lab early Monday (May 6).

You can watch Dragon's arrival live here, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Monday.




Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il called for thorough protection of the basic rights of the people on Saturday, reaffirming his clear opposition to government-led judiciary reform bills.







He made the remarks upon arriving at Incheon International Airport after cutting short his four-country trip, as he caused controversy earlier this week by openly criticizing the bills that call for the expansion of the independent investigative authority of police.







"I also agree with voices for changes in the prosecution's way of carrying out its duties ... But the fundamental rights of the people cannot be compromised at any cost, and there should not be any confusion in executing the investigative rights," Moon said.







Speaking of simmering discontent from the prosecution over the bills and its growing confrontation with police, Moon said he will "assess (the situation) and respond accordingly" after full consideration.







The bills, which were among President Moon Jae-in's key election promises, are designed to curb prosecutors' authority by establishing a special agency to be tasked with looking into allegations of corruption by senior public officials and redistributing investigative powers between the prosecution and police.







Prosecutors have said the envisioned arrangement, where the police would be empowered to initiate and close cases without approval from the prosecution, may end up giving the police excessive power without any measures to keep them in check.







A package of the bills has been fast-tracked in the National Assembly after a brawl among rival parties.







The top prosecutor had been on a tour through Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Ecuador since Sunday for talks on extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance treaties. (Yonhap)


NEW HAVEN  If the city police union had accepted the most recent contract offer by the city, its officers would have been the lowest paid among a group of 12 departments in lower-income municipalities, union President Florencio Cotto Jr. said Friday at anews conference, standing in front of dozens of plainclothes officers outside police headquarters.

According to information distributed at the event at 1 Union Ave., the citys April 18 offer of 2 percent increases this year and next, with no retroactive pay, would mean the top salary would be $71,056 in 2020. The officers have worked without a contract since 2015. The starting salary now is $44,400. The cost of health insurance also has been a point of contention in negotiations.

Well be the lowest of the lowest of the lowest in the state of Connecticut, Cotto said. He said the union had asked Mayor Toni Harp for the citys last, best offer before it would trigger arbitration. Before we go to arbitration, give us the best you can do, Cotto said the mayor was told. The union then overwhelmingly rejected the 4 percent increase through 2020.

We took her at her word, when our membership rejected that offer ... we were in arbitration, Cotto said. The union voted to go into arbitration in July 2018.

Contrary to the mayors suggestion, the union is again willing to sit down and settle this contract as it always has been, Cotto said.

Mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Friday, As far as the city is concerned, the Elm City Local can pursue one of two strategies. Either they can continue with the arbitration process, which has been going on now for over a year, will take several more months, and seems to be frustrating union leadership, or they can return to the table with a counteroffer that is more than a year overdue.

At a news conference Thursday, Harp said the union had not made a counteroffer to the citys April 18 offer and asked for a reasonable proposal. She said the union, Elm City Local Inc., would have done better negotiating with the city directly rather than going before an arbitration panel.

This years top base salary is $68,297 in New Haven. Of the 12 lower-income towns and cities with populations above 45,000, top pay ranges from $71,480 in Hartford to $87,316 in Hamden.

All of the offers made to settle this case were off the record because the two sides are in arbitration, said Stephen McEleney of Manchester, attorney for Elm City Local. There is a hard and fast rule in negotiations that you do not discuss  what are termed off-the-record proposals.

McEleney did not provide the unions last pre-arbitration offer but said it included retroactive pay.

Cotto also disputed the mayors contention that the department is not losing minority officers for better-paying departments at a rate that reduces the diversity of New Haven police. Harp, responding to a union statement that black and Hispanic officers were leaving the city in higher numbers than white police officers, said those who have left in the last five years mirror the percentage of those that have been recruited, hired and trained during that time. She said 60 percent of those who have retired since 2014 have been white.

McEleney provided a list of officers who this year have retired or resigned to take jobs with other departments, including the FBI, Torrington, Hamden, Meriden, Clinton, Stamford and Danbury. He said seven of the 10 were black and Hispanic. However, according to the printout provided, it appears that five were white, three were black and two were Hispanic. One is a woman.

Three of the resignations take effect Saturday and one on Tuesday.

Cotto said he called the news conference in response to Harps, which he called a personal attack on myself [and] union leadership.

He said the union was preparing a new offer Thursday and that negotiators would attend the next session with Harp.

Cotto said the mayor invited us back to the table on Thursday.

Both sides in previous statements asked the other to follow the example of Bridgeport, where police and the city agreed last month to a five-year settlement, with retroactive increases of 1 percent for 2016, 2.5 percent for 2017 and 2 percent in each year through 2020. That will bring the top base salary in Bridgeport to $75,163 in the last year.

According to policeapp.com, starting salaries in other Connecticut towns range higher than in New Haven, Hartford or Bridgeport, including $63,375 in Torrington, $68,944 in Norwalk and $67,184 in West Hartford.

As of early February, there were 377 officers on New Havens force, which is budgeted for 495 sworn positions.

According to information provided by the union Friday, 28 officers have left the force this year or will next week through resignation or retirement. Seventeen of them are white, six black and four Hispanic. All but one is a male.

Justin Elicker, who is challenging Harp in this years Democratic primary for mayor, attended the news conference and said that when he talks to police, Universally, officers say to me that they love their job but they havent had a contract in three years and that creates uncertainty thats led to the loss of so many officers to the suburbs. Morale in the police force is at a low.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
NORWALK  A tractor trailer car carrier fire Saturday afternoon on Interstate 95 caused a traffic nightmare when the highways northbound lanes were shut down for an hour and a half while crews battled the blaze.

Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to Interstate 95 north for a reported car carrier fire just before 2:30 p.m.

The first fire unit on scene reported a tractor trailer car carrier with a cab on fire, as well as three vehicles on the carrier fully involved with fire and a fire in the passenger compartment of a fourth vehicle, officials said.

Once firefighters realized the extent of the fire, Norwalk firefighters called on Darien Fire Department to help. Then police and fire units shut down I-95 north between Exit 13 and Exit 14.

The highway was shut down while crews battled the heavy blaze, allowing firefighters to have unobstructed access to the fire and to allow units ease with shuttle water to the tankers from the nearest available hydrants.

The I-95 north on-ramp from Scribner Avenue in Norwalk had been closed while crews worked to put out the fire. Police officials said the ramp reopened at 3:43 p.m.

As drivers realized the traffic build up, scores of vehicles exited the highway, crowing local roads  mainly Route 1 in Norwalk.

Just before 4 p.m., the left lane of travel on the highway was reopened while the center and right lanes remained closed. At that point, the DOT reported that traffic was congested for about 7 miles leading up to the area of the fire.

Fire units cleared from the site of the fire at 4 p.m. and all highway lanes were reopened soon after.

There were no injuries reported, fire officials said.

The Norwalk Fire Marshal Division is investigating the cause of the fire.
President Donald Trump has shown a disturbing willingness to adopt measures pushed on him by his favorite Arab dictators, even when they contradict standing U.S. policies and the judgment of seasoned national security professionals. At the urging of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, he tweeted his backing in 2017 for a boycott of Qatar, a key U.S. ally that hosts a huge U.S. air base. More recently, he signaled support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli - and was opposed by the United States until Trump was lobbied by Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Now the White House has disclosed that it is seeking to implement another one of Sissi's asks: the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sissi, who in 2013 led a coup against a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood government, has been seeking such a U.S. action for years. He has been rebuffed until now for good reason: Such a designation, especially if broadly cast, probably would be found illegal by U.S. courts and would greatly complicate relations with half a dozen countries where Brotherhood groups participate in parliaments or government.
Is the Met Gala 2019 the most extravagant yet? At Monday night's Met Gala, guests embraced the ball's camp theme - based on the Met Costume Institutes Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition.

While the event always brings in donations worth millions for the Costume Institute, the amount of hours, money and people it takes to pull it off is eye-watering.

It's a process Sylvana Durrett, the planner of numerous Met Galas, has finessed over the years. Speaking in 2017 to Fast Company on how the event has changed, she said, We do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests, so in the past few years, weve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people. We also wanted to be mindful of budgets. We are constantly evolving and learning from all sort of things.

Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

You cant please everybody. We always like to think theres not a bad [seat] in the house, which really there isnt. You have to come away confident in the notion that you are doing your best, and that inevitably not everyone will be happy. But we have a pretty good track record, she continued.

Weve broken down all the key numbers, from how much a ticket costs through to how many people will be on the Met Gala's guest list this year.

Beyonce and Jay-Z at the 2014 Met Gala / Getty Images

$35,000

The price of a single ticket to this year's Met Gala.

$200,000 - $300,000

The price of a table at this year's Met Gala.

$0

How much it costs to attend the Met Gala if youre a celebrity being dressed by a fashion brand with its own table.

$3 million

How much Yahoo reportedly paid for two Met Gala tables in 2015.

$3.5 million

How much it costs to put on the Met Gala.

$13 million

The amount raised at last years Met Gala for the Institute.

500,000

The number of real roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase

250,000

The number of silk roses used in 2015 in the Great Hall and Grand Staircase.

71

The number of times the Met Gala has been held.

Zendaya at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

1946

The year the first Met Gala took place, held by publicist Eleanor Lambert - though it wasn't called the Met Gala, back then it was a fundraiser for the Costume Institute that was held each year in a smart New York location outside of the museum.

Gucci's Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto at 2018's Met Gala / Getty Images

May 6, 2019

The date the 2019 Met Gala will take place. It is always held on the first Monday in May.

7pm

The time that red carpet arrivals to the Met Gala begin.

George and Amal Clooney at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

1.6 million

The number of people that attended the last years Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit at the Met Costume Institute.

24

The number of years Anna Wintour has been chairwoman of the Met Gala.

1995

The first year Anna Wintour hosted the Met Gala as chairwoman.

Anna Wintour at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

18

The minimum age you have to be to attend the Met Gala, which is deemed not an appropriate event for people under 18.

600 - 700

The number of guests who typically attend the Met Gala.

5

The number of co-chairs for this year's event, including Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Harry Styles and Gucci's Alessandro Michele (whose brand is also sponsoring the accompanying exhibit).

Lena Waithe at the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

183

The number of A-listers on the hosting committee.

48%

The percentage of actors on the benefit committee, including Blake Lively, Lupita Nyongo, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe and Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at the Met Gala in 2017 / Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

32%

The percentage of fashion designers on the benefit committee, including Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, Valentinos Pierpaolo Piccioli, Givenchys Claire Waight Keller and Tom Ford.

20%

The percentage of guests from miscellaneous backgrounds on the benefit committee, including philanthropists Wendi Murdoch, Annette De la Renta and athletes Venus Williams and Cam Newton.

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala / Getty Images

$820 - $910

The price of a hotel room at the Carlyle, where stars frequently get ready for the Met Gala.

Tracee Ellis Ross leaving The Mark for the 2018 Met Gala / Getty Images

3

The number of courses served at the Met Gala.

P. Diddy at the 2017 Met Gala / Getty Images

70,000 square yards

The length of the Met Galas carpet in 2016.

200

The number of photographers and media people approved to cover the event.

Getty Images

325

The number of bottles of champagne that 2016s guests drank (there were 610 attending that year).

50,000

The total number of hours that go into preparing for the Met Gala.

Cara Delevingne at the 2013 Met Gala (Splash News)

200

The number of items in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit.

1964

The year that Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag - the essay that inspired this years exhibit - was published.
W hen Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett met at primary school, something instantly clicked.

Rachel taught me about Manet, Picasso, and Kruger, while I taught her an appreciation for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Mobb Deep. The first time I saw her she was wearing a Winnie the Pooh tee shirt and bike shorts - so weve been through a lot together, Burnett recently told the Standard.

Burnett went on to study art while Rachel studied fashion, and the pair launched their fashion label Twenty-Seven Names soon after.

Those early days were all hustle - Rach and I did everything, Burnett said. Over the years weve built a small but dedicated team to help us, but our vision is still the same. We make beautiful clothing, and we put our heart and soul into it. Whats important to us now and for the future is that were contributing in a positive way to the lives of the people who make, sell and wear our clothes.

The result for the New Zealand-based brand is a luxury label made both ethically and sustainably  on each garments page you can find where the item was cut and made along with the provenance of the fabric, lining and trims.

Twenty-Seven Name designers Rachel Easting and Anjali Burnett / Twenty-Seven Names

We recently spoke to Burnett about her travels below.

All-time favourite holiday

The first time I went overseas I was 25, and Rachel and I went together. We went to London, Paris and Japan. It was before the internet was a thing - definitely pre-Instagram. My mind was completely blown. I had a spiritual experience at Musee Dorsay in front of Manets Olympia. I dont think anything will ever compare to the first time I left New Zealand.

Favourite country to visit

Japan. It is such an easy place to travel. Everyone is so kind, and the food is amazing.

Anjali and Rachel in Japan in 2012 / Supplied

Favourite city

Ive only been to Rome once, but I would love to go back there, I think its such a cool city. Its so trippy - you walk around the corner and theres the Pantheon! Theres such a wealth of history there. And well, pasta.

Favourite beach

I live at the beach - Lyall Bay in Wellington. The water is a bit brisk but youll find me there most weekends.

Favourite restaurant

Rita, a small but perfectly formed restaurant in Aro Valley, Wellington. The food is perfect. Its a set menu, so theres no faffing around with what to order, and it feels like youre in someones home. Its my favourite place to eat in the world.

Packing essentials

Jeans, sneakers and stripy tees. Silk yoryu is a great fabric to pack for a trip - you never need to iron it and it always delivers.

Carry-on beauty essentials

I run a pretty simple ship on that front - but lip balm and moisturiser are essentials.

Anjalis top picks from the Twenty-Seven Names collection:

Twenty-Seven Names

Cannonball jacket, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Balloon skirt, 315. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Mana dress, 402. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Ngahuia dress, 240. Shop here.

Twenty-Seven Names

Tidal dress, 240. Shop here.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in a north London hair salon.

In February, 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was chased into the salon, in Wood Green, where he was cornered and stabbed to death.

Sheareem Cookhorn, of Park Lane, Tottenham, has now been charged with murdering Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the attempted murder of a 20-year-old man.

He appeared in custody at Highbury Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Police in Wood Green after the stabbing / PA

It comes after Tyrell Graham, 18, of St Helens Place, Leyton, was charged on Monday with the murder of Mr Gabbidon-Lynck as well as attempted murder and robbery.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on July 11.

Police were first called to reports of a group of people fighting in Vincent Road on the evening of February 22.

Mr Gabbidon-Lynck and the 20-year-old were found suffering from stab wounds. Mr Gabbidon-Lynck died in the hospital in the early hours of the next day.

The 20-year-olds condition is no longer life-threatening.
Two Australians carry an ROK soldier to safety. Tolkien wrote: "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness  nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



By Amanda Price



On April 25 every year, silence surrounds almost every Australian city and town. It is profound silence that articulates a collective grief words cannot express. In the silence, we remember and are thankful for the men and women who defended us and those who defend us today.



In some strange way, the wars that tear us apart evolve into recollections that unite us. This is not an Australian phenomenon. Around the world, nations scorched by the fierce injustices of war find solace in collective grief and gratitude.



Despite these moments of solidarity, the ugliness, cruelty and depravity of war remain unchanged.



There is no glory in war. There are no moments that outshine the carnage, the brutality and the deaths of innocents; no redemptive events that make the killing less horrific, or the destruction less devastating.



Those who have lived through wars, who fought in wars, or lost loved ones during wars, are consoled only by fleeting moments of humanity; occasions in which individuals were not conquered by the evil that surrounded them.



When the North Korean Army poured over the 38th Parallel into South Korea, no one was prepared for the sheer scope and force of the evil that would engulf the Korean Peninsula. No one anticipated that cities and villages on both sides would be razed, or that millions would lose everything they had, including their lives.



The war demonstrated that ideologies can be excuses for wanton bloodshed, that political agendas could justify all manner of horrors, and that innocent men, women and children could be executed on nothing more than a suspicion.



More than a territorial struggle, the Korean War grew to resemble an utterly chaotic genocide where no one knew who to kill or who to save.



To find even a faint silhouette of goodness during the Korean War was, understandably, beyond the grasp of many. Yet, amid the sulfurous clouds and charcoal smoke, such moments did exist.



None of these moments, even collectively, have the power to expunge atrocities and erase fears, but that does not mean they should be forgotten.



Remembrance, after all, is not our attempt to justify or make sense of war, but our attempt to uphold the value of life, and remember those who did the same.





"Many children have forgotten how to smile," wrote a young nurse during the Korean War. Two officers from the RAAF's 77th squadron visit the Children's Hospital in Seoul (1951). Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



A British war correspondent in Incheon wrote about Chung Ha-joon, a young man he had shared a shelter with during a storm. Chung was an elementary school teacher who resisted the Japanese occupation. As Kim Il-sung's troops sought to occupy South Korea, Chung decided to resist by gathering children and continuing classes, albeit in bombed-out buildings. As enemy forces pressed southward, Chung abandoned his classes but not his pupils. Chung saved over 60 children from ransacked villages, before being caught himself.



Song Ji-won volunteered to become a nurse when she was 12 years old. At the time, she was an orphan living in a church-run orphanage. When children her age were outside, she was shadowing Korean doctors watching how they treated the sick and wounded. She had an aunt somewhere, and sent letters with soldiers in the unlikely case they found her. She wrote with wisdom beyond her years: "Many of the younger children have forgotten how to smile, they don't remember anything before the war. I help feed them, clean them, play with them but to make them smile again, that is what brings the greatest joy."



Near the end of the war, Ji-won was informally adopted by a German medical unit in Seoul, where she trained as a nurse. According to the clinic's records, Ji-won later became a pediatric nurse and continued to work in orphanages.



George Drake, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, arrived at Incheon and, within weeks, had volunteered with a dozen other U.S. soldiers to work in the few orphanages that could be found. Many were run by courageous Korean doctors, nurses and ministers, many of whom had lost family themselves.



When Drake and others saw the desperate situation of the children and their carers, they realized they had to do more than give up their time and rations. Almost immediately, Drake and other soldiers began writing home to their families, to churches and Rotary clubs, asking them to send clothes, food, books and as many supplies as possible.





U.N. war correspondent Douglas Bushby and the director of the Hope Orphanage.? Bushby worked side by side with Korean aid workers and leaders to help orphans, refugees and POWs. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



As donations for the children began to pour in from individuals and organizations, the U.S. Army was compelled to hire a freighter to ship all the supplies to Incheon. In just over s year, 12 tons of supplies had been shipped in and handed out to Korean orphans.



Assisting with the work of war orphans and protecting children became a secondary role for many Korean, U.S. and Allied soldiers. Nationality was irrelevant and soldiers took on a new sense of duty to those whose lives were inextricably changed because soldiers were there.



At a battle in Chongju, Ian Robertson, an Australian sniper, recalled that he and a mate spotted five terrified children. "I called to them in Japanese, 'Come here!' and they ran over to where our mortarmen were. The mortarmen got them to hop into our gun pits and gave them their own helmets to protect them. There wasn't enough room for all of them so two of the mortarmen jumped out and took their chance in the open without protection."



William Chrysler, from the Canadian light infantry, tearfully explained: "We'd get our rations but nearly everybody would go over and give it to the kids. You wouldn't eat and watch those little wee kids there without any food  they had nothing, we had to do something."





Sergeant Suleyman and Ayla (Turkish for Halo). The Turkish soldiers found 20 orphans on the battlefield and built a makeshift orphanage out of tents until the Ankara Turkish orphanage was built for them. Photo from The Australian War Memorial Collection



Sergeant Suleyman, a 25-year-old Turkish soldier, was in a fire battle when he found a five-year-old girl huddled in the bushes. Her family had been killed and her whole village destroyed. Unable to get her to an orphanage, Suleyman became her surrogate father and cared for her for a year and a half. Though he was forced to leave her with a Turkish-sponsored orphanage when the war was over, they found each other years later.



Chaplain Terence Finnigan reported that many soldiers, seeing orphans near starvation point, simply picked them up wherever they were found and brought them to barracks, orphanages, churches or army chaplains.



It became quickly apparent that the need for more orphanages was critical, so military headquarters in Korea issued a request for funds. "The response was extraordinary," Finnigan wrote. Korean and Allied soldiers from almost every unit and force sent in donations. Because of the soldier's actions, literally thousands of orphaned children were saved from death.



William Asbury, director of field operations during the war for the Christian Children's Fund, described the soldiers as "an army of compassion" and calculated that of the 400 orphanages in Korea, over 90 percent operated with the financial and practical support of soldiers and military officials.?



In an interview with British media, light infantryman Reginald Bentley explained: "The faces of those Korean kiddies were like a healing balm after we'd returned from a bloody battle. Spending time with them, giving them what we could was the least we could when homes were bombed by our side  it didn't soothe our conscience, but it helped our souls."



Though caring for children is a basic human responsibility, never in previous history have thousands of soldiers united with such resolve and open-handedness to save and protect the lives of thousands of children. Never have soldiers worked so cohesively alongside Korean doctors and nurses to build, support and sustain orphanages and medical clinics specifically for children.



With the support of Korean nationals, many military units bought rice paddies and established small businesses that would help fund orphanages after soldiers withdrew.



William Asbury explained: "The soldiers involved in this support were not exceptions, they were examples."



Compassion, however, could be found even among the enemy lines.



Col. Hess worked with Korean pilots and air force officers to evacuate 1,000 war orphans from Seoul using 15 transport aircraft. He also worked with Korean doctors to build an orphanage in Seoul. Yonhap
T raders at the historic Smithfield Market believe there will be a profound impact on their businesses if plans to move the site to east London go ahead.

The centuries-old meat market is expected to leave its Farringdon site after plans were put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporations main decision-making body.

Under the new proposal Billingsgate Market and New Spitalfields Market would also move to the Barking Reach site.

There has been a livestock market at the Farringdon site for over 800 years but the redeveloped Victorian buildings where Smithfield now resides were officially opened in 1868.

The redeveloped market, which celebrated its 150th birthday almost a year ago, is the only one of the three to remain at its original site in the heart of the City.

The City of London Corporation said the move will allow for more modern facilities and space for traders to grow.

The market is 800 years old. / Associated Newspapers

One independent trader, who did not want to be named, said tenants have been told there are no concrete plans but if there eventually is a move, it will have a big impact.

I think it will have profound impact on all the businesses once Smithfield is moved to a site like that, he said.

I don't think we're going to have the room to do what we do as wholesalers now.

Oliver Absalom of Absalom & Tribe said the company has been trading at Smithfield since 1976 and new regulations brought in by Transport for London is making things complicated for customers.

Smithfield still works very well, he said.

But he conceded there will be some benefits to the move.

If and when we move we would benefit from being with the fish and the fruit and veg companies in one big market - that we're interested in.

But as it stands right now it still works right now what we're doing.

Cathy Calkine, who trades with Abbijoe, said she is likely to retire if the move goes ahead.

Ive been here for 32 years so I wont go when it goes, (the location) is a long way away for me now, she said.

It is sad because it is taking a little bit of London away really isnt it.

Smithfield Market is currently located in a Grade II listed building in Farringdon by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones who also designed Tower Bridge.

It opens at 2am every weekday morning, with most of the trading completed by 7am.

After the announcement of the new plans to move the site, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, said the City is committed to keeping the historic markets in London.

She said: The City's three world-leading wholesale food markets at Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield have been serving our citizens for hundreds of years, and we are committed to their future for London.

In order to secure their continued success, and after careful consideration of a number of options, Barking Reach has been agreed as the preferred site for consolidating the City Corporations wholesale markets. We intend to use this new site to offer more modern facilities and space for traders to grow so that they can continue to support the capitals food economy.

We will soon be launching a public consultation on our preferred option. As part of this process, we will continue to engage with market tenants, traders and their customers, and other key stakeholders across London.
T heresa May has told MPs that the disastrous local elections give a "fresh urgency" to breaking the Brexit deadlock.

The PM made the rallying call for breaching the impasse as the Tories reeled from losing more than 1,300 council seats.

"We have to find a way to break the deadlock - and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this," she wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

It comes as both main parties attributed their struggles in the elections to Brexit.

TODO: define component type apester

Labour also lost more than 80 seats and party figureheads said a resolution needed to be found for Britain's departure from the European Union.

Cross-party talks on the matter so far appear to have delivered little results, though the PM vowed these will continue.

"We will keep negotiating, and keep trying to find a way through. Because the real thing that matters now is delivering Brexit and moving on to all the other issues people care about," she wrote.

"The longer that takes, the greater the risk we will not leave at all. We need to get out of the EU and get a deal over the line."

Theresa May is negotiating with her Labour counterpart Jeremy Corbyn / Getty Images

She had previously said the elections as a whole carried a "simple message" for both the Conservative and Labour parties: "Just get on and deliver Brexit."

Commenting on the discussions with Labour she said: "I understand many of my colleagues find this decision uncomfortable. Frankly, it is not what I wanted, either."

Mrs May also took the opportunity to promote the deal she had already agreed with the EU, though admitted she sees no sign of it being passed by the Commons.

TODO: define component type apester

"I negotiated with the EU what I believe is a very good deal for the UK - a deal which allows us to genuinely take back control of our money and our laws," Mrs May wrote.

"The free movement of people will end - giving us control of our own borders for the first time in decades.

"However, I could not persuade enough of my colleagues to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and, regrettably, I have to accept there is no sign of that position changing."

Prime Minister Theresa May said the local elections showed a need to move on with Brexit / Getty Images

However, earlier in the day environment secretary Michael Gove issued a renewed plea for MPs to back Mrs May's deal.

In a speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference, Mr Gove said: "(Mrs May's deal) enables us to leave the EU while safeguarding essential interests and liberating us to enjoy new opportunities."

The call from the PM comes after shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer claimed Cabinet ministers place more importance on the next Tory leadership contest than Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer the shadow Brexit secretary / EPA

He made the comments in a swipe at foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt's warning that a customs union would not be a "long-term solution".

The Labour frontbencher tweeted: "This is yet more evidence that for many in the Cabinet the most important thing right now is the next Tory leadership contest."

Despite there appearing to be disagreements, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said a deal between Labour and the Tories could be done in the new few days.

She told reporters at her party's conference in Aberdeen: "We are getting closer and closer.

"There's not that much between the two parties as I understand it from people in the room."

While Mr Hunt also spoke of his desire to get a Brexit resolution, warning that if politicians do not resolve the issue then they will have "failed as a political class" in doing what Labour and the Tories promised at the last general election.

Following the poor local election showing, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith earlier said Mrs May must set an "immediate date for departure" following the party's disastrous performance at the local elections.

Mr Smith said she appears to be a "caretaker" Prime Minister, urging her to either set a date for her exit or for senior Tories to do so.

With talks between Labour and the Tories expected to resume early next week, the Sunday Times reported Mrs May was prepared to give ground in three areas.

These were customs, goods alignment and workers' rights.

The paper said the Prime Minister would put forward plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU.
H ardline Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois today predicted Theresa Mays time as Prime Minister will be up if the Conservatives suffer a dreadful night in the upcoming European elections.

Mr Francois, Jacob Rees-Moggs deputy for the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs, said the patience of the partys 1922 Committee could finally snap if  as has been forecast in polls  it is humiliated in the May 23 elections.

It comes after the Conservatives suffered significant losses in Thursdays local elections.

Labour also lost seats, while the Lib Dems, Greens and independents make gains.

In an interview with the Standard in his Westminster office, the former minister, who has so far been part of two attempts to oust Mrs May, also refused to sympathise with her on a personal level: Her heart has never been in leaving the EU no, I dont feel sorry for her.

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And asked about his partys European prospects later this month, Mr Francois was just as forthright: Let me be very clear: I am going to vote Conservative in the European elections. Let there be no confusion about that. But if we believe the bookies, they say we are going to have a pretty dreadful night.

Self and Francois in TV stare-off

"The door knocking I did for the local elections seems to confirm that. We are going to have a very tough night on May 23.

If the Conservatives do have a very bad night, that will increase the pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.

Mark Francois in conversation with anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray in Westminster last month / Yui Mok/PA

Last month, Mr Francis wrote a letter entitled enough is enough to 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady, calling for an indicative vote of confidence in Mrs Mays leadership. It ultimately failed after the committee voted by nine votes to seven against this.

But he insisted: It was extremely close, and I believe the committee might well review that decision after the European elections.

Mr Francois, though, didnt raise the Prime Ministers Brexit woes when he last spoke to her in the lobbies a few weeks ago: We just had some pleasant chit-chat. I dont think we spoke about Europe.

There has even been chatter about the Rayleigh and Wickford MP taking over Mrs Mays job after he bet 10 on himself taking over as Tory leader.

Mr Francois at the 'March to Leave' protest in Parliament Square on March 29: the original scheduled Brexit date / Kirsty O'Connor/PA

I did it as a joke with a friend," he said. "I got 200/1. But another friend of mine put a bet on this week, where my odds had been slashed to 100/1.

I think there might well be an ERG candidate in the leadership election, but realistically its unlikely to be me.

Pressed on whether he would like to stand, he would only say: Well, I did it [the bet] for a laugh.

Lets see who emerges. But I suspect somebody might. You may not have long to wait to find out.

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Francois Brexiteer standing is such that a new brewery in his constituency named a beer after him. It is called Special Place in Hell, mocking European Council president Donald Tusks inflammatory tirade against Brexiteers in February.

Proudly producing a bottle of the four per cent ale in his office, he beamed that its going absolute gangbusters in the brewerys taproom.

But he said he was deeply unhappy at how the ERG has been portrayed in the Brexit debate: We have had all sorts of name-calling. David Lammy said we were Nazis. The Chancellor called us extremists, Chris Patten [former Tory chair] called us vermin and Donald Tusk sent us all to hell.

Davids comments were utterly ridiculous and he demeaned himself by making them. At the end of the day, we want Britain to leave the EU, and thats what 17.4 million UK citizens voted for. Does that make me a Nazi? No, of course it doesnt.

I think there are many people in the establishment  and I would count David Lammy as part of that  who cant stand the ERG because they desperately want to remain in the EU and we want to leave. Because we are so determined to fight for that, they dont like us."
G avin Williamson branded the enquiry into a leak that led to his firing "shabby" and a "witch hunt" as he criticised the PM's handling of the situation.

His comments come after Scotland Yard deemed the disclosure of information from the National Security Council meeting was not sufficiently serious to warrant a criminal investigation.

In a new statement, former defence secretary Mr Williamson said: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do an criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the Prime Minister and Mark Sedwill."

Mr Williamson was fired earlier this week after being linked to the leak of information regarding Huawei's potential involvement in building the UK's 5G infrastructure.

Signage at the Huawei offices in Britain / REUTERS

Reports last month suggested Theresa May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the PM overruled five ministers who expressed concern the company's involvement might provide a route for Chinese spying.

They also said it could undermine allies' confidence in the security of UK communications.

Prime Minister Theresa May previously insisted sacking Gavin Williamson was the right decision / Getty Images

Gavin Williamson was later sacked as defence secretary and the PM said there was "compelling evidence" he was behind the leak.

He strenuously denies any involvement in the information being shared.

Earlier on Saturday, the Met Police's assistant commissioner Neil Basu said he had spoken to the Cabinet Office regarding the nature of the material discussed in the meeting.

However, he was "satisfied" that the details disclosed to the media did not "contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He said: "I have considered all the information available to me and I have taken legal advice.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or Misconduct in a Public Office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police."

Mr Williamson previously said he would welcome a police probe, believing it would "absolutely exonerate" him.

Theresa May previously said firing Mr Williamson had been the right decision.

Mrs May told ITV News: "I did take a difficult decision.

"This was not about what was leaked, it was about where it was leaked from. It was the importance of the question of trust around that National Security Council table."
A Cabinet minister has branded crushing local election losses a "punishment" for the Tory's response to Brexit as senior ministers called for unity within the party.

Calling the outcome disappointing, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the result would have been different had the Government succeeded in getting its Brexit deal through the Commons.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the party needed to listen to the results and "be in a mood for compromise"

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said "purists" in the party were putting the Brexit "in peril".

AFP/Getty Images

Mr Gauke said it was time to address the "big issue" of Brexit.

He told BBC Breakfast: "What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue in front of us, which is Brexit. We would have had a much better set of election results had we managed to get the Prime Minister's meaningful vote through earlier this year and we left the European Union on March 29.

"I think we can look at those local election results as a punishment for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party for failing to find a way through that situation."

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said that the message from voters was to get on, deliver Brexit and then move on as he said MPs need to be in a mood for compromise.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The electorate... right across the country want us to get on with Brexit and move on to all the other things they care about. I share that frustration."

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock / AFP/Getty Images

He indicated that he was prepared to back compromise with Labour's call for a post-Brexit customs union arrangement with the EU.

"I think the Prime Minister's deal is a better arrangement than a permanent customs union, but I think we need to be in a mood for compromise," said Mr Hancock.

TODO: define component type apester

"We need to be listening to these results from these local elections which are about 'deliver Brexit', not 'deliver this particular form of Brexit'."

He suggested both sides in cross-party talks would have to shift on their Brexit stance: "I think we do need a mood for compromise, but compromise often involves looking at the different positions of different groups and coming up with something in-between."

The Foreign Secretary pointed the finger at "purist" Brexiteers in his party who he said were partially to blame for the Tories' drubbing.

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Asked who was responsible for the losses, Mr Hunt told reporters in Africa: "You can look at lots of different groups of people - you can look at Brexit purists in my party who have consistently refused to compromise and put Brexit in peril.

"You can for sure look at Government - I'm sure that there are things we could have done differently in the course of the negotiations. And you can look at the Labour Party who have played politics consistently."

Conservatives dropped more than 1,300 seats

In a speech to Scottish Conservatives, Mr Javid emphasised his "one nation" credentials and warned delegates a divided Tory party would usher Mr Corbyn into Downing Street with the support of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

He added: "It's clear our union, our country and our party are all at a crossroads. And we know that it's in times of uncertainty that the seeds of radicalism are sown.

"There are three different revolutions seeking to exploit this situation: Corbyn's socialism. SNP-style separatism and far-right populism."

Anger at the mounting scale of losses saw Tory leader Theresa May heckled as she gave a speech in Wales, with a man shouting: "Why don't you resign? We don't want you."

Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis said he will not run to replace Mrs May as Prime Minister and declared his support for Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader.

He said Mr Raab, 45, was "the best-placed Brexit candidate to win the necessary support among MPs and party members and, above all, broaden our appeal to voters".

The Prime Minister appeared to put the future of her party in the hands of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by welcoming his offer to help her resolve the Brexit deadlock.

As counts terminated, Mrs May could only claim the election was "always going to be difficult" at a speech in Grimsby, one of the few areas in which the Conservatives enjoyed success.

She said: "Because we haven't delivered the Brexit deal through Parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties."

Labour lost 82 seats when the party had expected to make gains, losing out to a surge in support for Lib Dems and Greens campaigning on an explicitly anti-Brexit ticket, as well as independent candidates.

Mr Corbyn left no doubt he saw the results as a demand for resolution of the Brexit impasse three years after the 2016 vote for EU withdrawal.
M uslims across the world are welcoming the holy month of Ramadan.

Observed as the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan sees Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset in order to devote themselves further to their faith and ultimately bring them closer to Allah.

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, the presence of a new moon signals the start of a new month.

Ramadan began on the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that Monday May 6 is the first official day of fasting.

Heres everything you need to know:

When is Ramadan 2019 in the UK?

Why does a moon sighting committee signal the start of Ramadan?

Muslims observe the start of the new moon / Getty

The moon sighting committee is responsible for watching the moon and announcing the start of Ramadan.

The committee will be searching for the moon after Maghrib prayers on the 29th day of Shaban, the month preceding Ramadan.

If adverse weather conditions make it difficult to see the moon on this day, sightings can also be considered on the 30th day.

But if the moon is spotted, then the process is repeated at the end of the holy month and the start of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan.

When will Ramadan start in the UK?

The UK follows guidelines set by the UAE committee to determine the start of Ramadan.

This year, the moon was spotted the evening of Sunday May 5, which means that fasting has been confirmed to start on Monday May 6. It will continue for 30 days until June 4.

Does Ramadan start on the same day in all Muslim countries?

All adult Muslims are expected to fast over the month of Ramadan / Getty Images

No. Some Muslim countries such as Oman opts to call Ramadan independently of the rest of the Gulf, with the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia celebrating the holy month on the same dates.
A n earthquake hit Surrey overnight with residents reporting how an "explosion" shook local homes.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) received dozens of reports from people disturbed by the quake, which hit the region at 1.19am on Saturday.

It is the latest in a series of tremors in the area.

Preliminary information indicated a 2.5-magnitude quake, centred on Newdigate near Gatwick, had struck at a depth of 2.3km (1.4 miles), the BGS said.

"Around 100 reports from members of the public in the epicentral area have been received so far and many others have taken to social media to report their experience," a BGS spokeswoman said.

"Typical reports described 'windows and doors shook', 'felt like some sort of explosion' and 'a loud bang woke me up'."

The BGS is asking residents to fill in a questionnaire on its website to record what they experienced.

Several people commented on social media that they had felt the tremor in the Crawley area.

One Twitter user said: "Did an earthquake just happen in Crawley? My whole flat just shook underneath me!", while another added: "Just looked at the sensors around the Gatwick area on BGS's website and it confirms we did have an earthquake at 1:19. Lasted about a second or 2 but woke me up..."

The quake hit after a sequence of seismic events in the Surrey area in February, when four tremors were recorded in the space of a fortnight.

Concerns were raised that the quakes were the result of nearby oil and gas exploration.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said at the time that while scientists were "keeping an open mind", there was "still no available evidence which points towards the triggering by man-made activities".

He said: "It is most likely that these earthquakes are natural - due to small tectonic stresses occurring on old geological faults caused by stresses from our nearest plate boundaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Mediterranean."

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake hit Newdigate, Surrey, on February 27, which followed a 2.0-magnitude tremor on February 19 and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.
B rits are braced for a wintry Bank Holiday weekend with temperatures set to plummet to -4C.

Parts of the country will see temperatures almost ten degrees lower than average for this time of year as forecasters warned of widespread frosts and hail during the weekend.

It will also be much colder than the same time last year, when the mercury hit 28.7C in Northolt, west London, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday weekend since records began.

Forecasters warned some parts of the UK will only reach highs of 2C on Saturday.

The UK will experience widespread frost over the Bank Holiday weekend / Jeremy Selwyn

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said there will be "plenty of sunny spells for the majority of the country on Saturday but the further east you go the more likely you are to see showers, with hail quite likely."

He told the Standard: "Temperatures to start the weekend could reach 13C maximum, most likely in south and south-west of the UK but if youre exposed it will feel like 2C, with a very cold feel down the east coast.

"Overnight it will be cold with clear skies, showers in the east gradually easing off. Widespread frost is likely, we could see as low as -4C in western parts of the UK."

Temperatures will be slightly warmer on Sunday, with dry spells and temperatures of up to 14C after a frosty evening.

"For Sunday it's a fairly similar picture, much of the UK will be dry with sunny spells. Late showers are possible but very few and far between," Mr Partridge said.

"Overnight into Monday the forecast remains largely the same, light winds with clear skies, showers continuing in the far northeast but plenty of clear skies mean it will be another frosty night to come."

Forecaster Richard Miles added: "Saturday will be the worst day of the Bank Holiday weekend in terms of chilly showers and possible hail on the east coast, though Sunday and Monday will be a lot more settled.

Frosts are expected across the UK next week / PA

"Sheltered, hilly areas in the north and Scotland could see colder and wintry weather in the evening from a northerly direction.

"The west should escape most of the colder weather, in Wales it could actually be quite nice, normal weather and the same in parts of Northern Ireland, as most places go to double figures during the day."
I slamic State bride Shamima Begum would face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she went to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister has said.

Abdul Momen said Bangladesh had "nothing to do" with Ms Begum, and warned she could be "hanged".

Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State (IS) in 2015.

In February, the now 19-year-old was stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Secretary after she resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria.

Under international law it is illegal to revoke someone's citizenship if it leaves them stateless.

It was thought Ms Begum had a claim to Bangladeshi citizenship through her family, but Bangladeshi officials have denied this.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Momen said: "We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen.

"She never applied for Bangladeshi citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

"If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule: there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

"She would be put in prison and immediately the rule is she should be hanged."

The issue of Ms Begum's citizenship arose when she declared she wanted to return home from the Syrian refugee camp, ahead of the fall of IS's self-proclaimed territorial caliphate.

Ms Begum gave birth to a baby boy, Jarrah, in the camp, who died aged less than three weeks.

The Home Secretary faced criticism in the wake of the child's death, who was a British citizen regardless of his mother's status.

Sajid Javid defended his decision to remove Ms Begum's citizenship and said the Government could not assist British nationals in Syria as there is no consular presence there.

In March, it was reported that Ms Begum's family have begun legal proceedings to challenge the Home Secretary's move.

Ms Begum's family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said Dr Momen pointed out "what is obvious to all".

"Shamima Begum was born here, raised here and radicalised here, in no way is she Bangladesh's problem," he said.

"What Sajid Javid did in stripping Shamima Begum of her citizenship is human fly-tipping - taking our problems and illegally dumping them on our innocent neighbours.

"The Home Secretary is open at any time to change his mind and reverse his decision regarding stripping Shamima's citizenship.

"This would have the added benefit of saving the British taxpayer all the costs of having a long trial where it is fairly clear what the outcome is going to be."

The Government has said it would not comment on individual cases and that decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on "all available evidence" and are "not taken lightly".
N orth Korea has fired several short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, according to reports from South Korea.

South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and US authorities are analysing the details.

If it is confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

That year saw a string of increasingly powerful weapons tests from the North and a belligerent response from US president Donald Trump that had many in the region fearing war.

The South initially reported on Saturday that a single missile was fired, but later issued a statement that said "several projectiles" had been launched and that they flew up to 125 miles before splashing into the sea toward the north-east.

An intermediate range Hwasong-12 launched by North Korea in 2017 / AP

Experts say the North may increase these sorts of low-level provocations to apply pressure on the United States to agree to reduce crushing international sanctions.

The launch comes amid a diplomatic breakdown that has followed the failed summit earlier this year between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the North's pursuit of nuclear bombs that can accurately target the US mainland.

The North probably has viable shorter-range nuclear-armed missiles but still needs more tests to perfect its longer-range weapons, according to outside analysts.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the United States was aware of North Korea's actions and would continue to monitor the situation.

North Korea wants widespread sanctions relief in return for disarmament moves that the United States has rejected as insufficient.

In a sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration, it has recently demanded that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from nuclear negotiations and criticised national security adviser John Bolton.

North Korea said last month that it had tested a new type of unspecified "tactical guided weapon".

During the diplomacy that followed the North's weapons tests of 2017, Mr Kim said that the North would not test nuclear devices or ICBMs.

These short-range projectiles do not appear to violate that self-imposed moratorium, and may instead be a way to register Mr Kim's displeasure with Washington without having the diplomacy collapse.

The South's presidential Blue House had no immediate comment on the launches.

The country's liberal president, Moon Jae-in, has doggedly pursued engagement with the North and is seen as a driving force behind the two summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.

Japan's Defence Ministry said the projectiles were not a security threat and did not reach anywhere near the country's coast.

Japan will likely avoid any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure his own summit with Mr Kim.
Seonkyoung Longest



This is the first in a series of interviews telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned into social media success stories. -- ED.



By Jane Han



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- When Seonkyoung Longest began cooking Korean food out of her small Mississippi kitchen with little to no fresh Korean ingredients, she didn't dare to dream that, in just a few years, she would become a YouTube celebrity chef.



''I still remember the first day I stood in front of the camera,'' Longest said in an interview with The Korea Times. ''It was a very cheap digital camera that my husband owned and I had it awkwardly propped on top of a salt container."



That was 2010 and the beginning of her wild journey on social media that now brings her more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million followers on Facebook as well as 250,000 followers on Instagram.





Bulgogi



Since debuting her first video on YouTube, Longest has cooked up everything from traditional Korean bibimbap and bulgogi to the staple American Chinese dish chicken chow mein and popular Vietnamese pho noodles.



Her humorous and upbeat YouTube show ''Asian at Home'' began with a focus on Korean cuisine, but quickly expanded to cover a full range of Asian dishes.



''I think that was the turning point for me,'' Longest said, as she recalled her expansion four years ago. ''It was leaving my comfort zone and experimenting with and embracing other cuisines, and that alone enabled me to reach a much bigger audience.''



For the 35-year-old, this wasn't the first time to leave her comfort zone.



Fresh from Korea in 2009, starting a new life in Mississippi after marrying her husband who was, and still is, in the U.S. military was already a life-changing event.



''I was lonely and depressed. I didn't have a job, friends or family and all I did was wait for my husband all day,'' Longest shared of her past. ''I thought I spoke decent English, but the southern accent was a whole new level for me. All in all, I was struggling.''









She remembers watching the Food Network most of the day, getting inspired by famous chefs and TV personalities like Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray and trying to replicate some of their dishes in her own way.



''Believe it or not, I only started cooking after I moved to the U.S.,'' said Longest. ''Because if I didn't cook, I didn't get to eat any Korean food. We didn't have much money to eat out so cooking at home was a necessity.''



And being creative with her ingredients was also a necessity.







''There was only one other Korean person in the entire town I lived in and the closest Korean grocery store was a five-hour drive away. You get the picture,'' she said. ''So I was able to shop for fresh Korean ingredients maybe only once or twice a year.''



That was for more than five years, which gave her plenty of time to get acquainted to and learn to use everyday ingredients in American grocery stores.



The self-taught chef's experience and flexibility show in her 10- to 20-minute videos as she is generous in allowing ingredient substitutes.



But before taking any of her recipes public, Longest makes sure she experiments it in her own kitchen a countless number of times.



''There's a reason why people trust my recipes,'' she said. ''I don't share a recipe just to fill up posts on social media. If I don't have one ready to share, I just don't because I'd rather not share than share a bad recipe. I have very high expectations.''





Wasabi Shrimp Spaghetti
F our Palestinians including a pregnant woman and her baby daughter have been killed while three Israelis have been wounded amid rocket fire.

Palestinian militants have fired more than 200 rockets into Israel and this has drawn dozens of retaliatory air strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip.

The round of intense fighting has broken a month-long lull and the Israeli military said it struck 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit her home.

Smoke and flames rise after an Israeli airstrike / EPA

Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded in east Gaza City and died later in hospital, while another child was injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door.

Another Palestinian was killed in the northern Gaza Strip and officials identified the victim Saturday as Khaled Abu Qlaiq, 25.

Southern Israeli village of Netiv Haasara / AFP/Getty Images

Local media reports said he was travelling on a motorbike when a drone missile hit him.

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire and a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel.

A teenage boy was slightly hurt as he ran for cover.

Previously, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli air strike, and 13 other Palestinians were wounded.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip / AFP/Getty Images

Air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired.

Retaliatory air strikes caused large explosions across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air.

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence.

It said this was done by the shooting and wounding of two Israeli soldiers on Friday.

Meanwhile, leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators.

These were aimed at preventing a fraying ceasefire from collapsing.

It is a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week.

It will also be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in the middle of the month.
A funeral has been held for three children of Denmark's wealthiest man, after they were killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.

Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, was seen comforting his wife and their surviving daughter at the service.

The coffins of his three children, named Alfred, Alma and Agnes, were seen covered in flowers outside Aarhus Cathedral on Sunday.

It has previously been suggested Mr Povlsen was hurt in the blast, at the Shangri La Hotel in Colmbo, himself but it is not clear to what extent.

A funeral service for the three children of Anders Holch Povlsen (R) and his wife Anne (C) is held at Aarhus Catherdral in Aarhus / EPA

Denmark's prime minister and members of the Danish royal family were in attendance at Saturday's service.

Povlsen, 46, is behind the fashion brand Asos and with his wife Anne holds more than 200,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands.

eDanish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (r) arrives for the funeral service / AP

Jesper Stubkier, a spokesman for Mr Holch Povlsen's wholesale fashion business Bestseller, previously confirmed the couple lost three children in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Nine bombers co-ordinated blasts targeting churches and hotels frequented by foreign tourists.

One suicide bomber reportedly educated in the UK was radicalised after leaving Britain, his sister said.

It is believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals and the group has claimed responsibility.

In an update on investigations into the attack, Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena said: "There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers."

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks, which shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.
T housands of yellow vest protesters took to the streets of France for the 25th weekend in a row.

The activists, who began by speaking out against a fuel tax and have since taken wider issue with President Emmanuel Macron's policies, demonstrated in Paris and elsewhere across the country.

Some 18,900 protesters took part in the latest marches nationally, the Interior Ministry said.

This figure, compared with 23,600 a week earlier, was the lowest turnout since the action began.

Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures 1 /28 Yellow vests on March 16 - In pictures A Yellow Vest protester gestures behind flames rising from a barricade AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester wearing a mask depicting the French President on which is written 'psycho' AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protester walk past flames rising from a barricade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on March 16 AFP/Getty Images A Yellow Vest protester destroys a shop window during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters gather near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest protesters hit by a water cannon during clashes with riot police forces AFP/Getty Images A news stand burns during a yellow vests demonstration on the Champs Elysees AP Protesters next to a burning barricade during a demonstration REUTERS A Yellow Vest protester writes a graffiti on the wooden fence outside of the restaurant "Le Fouquet's" AFP/Getty Images A yellow vest protester walks past a fire on the Champs Elysees avenue AP Yellow Vest protesters look at the destroyed window of a Hugo Boss shop AFP/Getty Images Flames rise from a newsagent set alight by protesters during clashes with riot police AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces stand behind a burning barricade AFP/Getty Images French riot police forces walk past a scooter seen in a broken store window AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest holds a flag during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS protester wearing a yellow vest attends a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest shouts at police as he attends a demonstration REUTERS A protester wearing a yellow vest holds up a flare during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 16, 2019 REUTERS There were chaotic scenes in the French capital REUTERS A man blasted by water from a water cannon in Paris AFP/Getty Images A protester wearing a yellow vest throws a stone AFP/Getty Images

In Paris three protests had a turnout of 1,460 against 2,600 last week.

The weekend protests came days after a wider May Day rally was marked by violent clashes in Paris.

"Many of them were shocked by the behaviour and repression of last Wednesday," Herve, a protester in Paris, told Reuters.

"So it's not surprising to see that it's lagging behind a bit regarding the turnout."

The decrease in numbers will be a relief to President Macron, who last week made a series of policy proposals to address the issues raised.

In addition some yellow vests joined a rally against climate change in the northern city of Metz.

They gathered in the city as G7 environment ministers were meeting and the demonstration gathered 3,000 participants, the ministry said.

In contrast, tens of thousands of labour union and yellow vest protesters had taken to the streets across the country on Wednesday.

Those demonstrations that saw clashes between anarchists and police, especially in Paris.

The protests, named after motorists' high-visibility jackets, have been marred by violence, in what is seen as a revolt against politicians and a government they feel are out of touch.
H ollywood star Vince Vaughn has been convicted of reckless driving.

This comes after after his arrest for failing a drunken driving test last year.

On Friday an attorney for the 49-year-old "Wedding Crashers" star entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor count in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Vaughn was arrested June 10 at a sobriety checkpoint, in the upscale community of Manhattan Beach.

Police say the Dodgeball actor repeatedly refused to get out of his car.

He then failed a field sobriety test and a blood alcohol test.

Vaughn was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation while also being ordered to complete a three-month alcohol program.

He has been told that if he drives drunk and kills someone he could be charged with murder.
The faculty at Yonhee University, circa 1956.



By Robert Neff





Fred Dustin and some of his students, circa 1957.

In 1955, Fred Dustin, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, returned to Korea after completing his degree in the United States. He had been recruited by The Asia Foundation and was the first English teacher to arrive.



Dustin was assigned a teaching position at Yonhee (now Yonsei) University but, in the beginning, there was no housing available on campus, so he was forced to stay the first couple of weeks at the Bando Hotel.



Seoul at this time was a shattered city and ruined buildings were the norm. The Bando Hotel was the tallest building and, as Dustin recalled, was the center of sophistication. It was a popular place for the foreign community to live and was equally popular with Koreans wanting to learn or practice their English.



"It was almost impossible to sit down for a cup of coffee or a meal, especially without an elderly Korean gentleman suddenly materializing seemingly from out of nowhere and introduce himself."



Dustin was later given quarters on campus at a building commonly known as the White Russian House. One of his roommates, for a short time, was Edward Wagoner  the founder of the Korea Institute at Harvard University. They both joined a group of expats who formed the Koryo Club where they shared ideas and experiences over beers. Very little scholastic work was accomplished but a lot of beer was consumed.





Fred Dustin and his class at Yonhee University in July 1957.



Like the rest of Seoul, the university had suffered during the war. Dustin recalled:



"The school had returned from Busan a year or so before and there was so much damage. The first fall of 1955 was difficult. Many of the classrooms still had no windows and some were missing doors so it was terribly drafty."



Dustin, however, soon found the lack of windows to be a blessing as they provided "enough ventilation to keep the smell of kimchi in continuous agitation." He later complained of the smell to Horace Underwood who, with the wisdom of a sage, suggested the only solution was to eat kimchi. Dustin followed his advice and soon found himself to be a fan of the spicy Korean dish.





Looking out from the campus, circa 1957.



Dustin was impressed with his students. They studied diligently, despite the cold and the hardships. Supplies and teaching materials were scarce and the teachers often had to make do with whatever was on hand or they could create. The students had a "real fervor for education" and would "sit bundled up in those frozen classrooms" all day with nary a complaint.



Perhaps the most difficult obstacle was love.



Two students in his class  a male and female  soon found themselves in trouble. "They were the famous 'campus couple' and earlier in the spring had almost been kicked out of school for openly smooching on campus [and] holding hands  even in class."





Fred Dustin and two of his students.





Edward Wagner and Fred Dustin in front of the White Russian House, circa 1957.

Most of the students from his classes graduated and rose to high positions in the government. "I remember reading The Korea Times and seeing names I knew," recalled Dustin. "[They] would rise up and then tumble down." Some were victims of politics while others suffered from their own greed.



Dustin went on to teach at several universities. He was an entrepreneur who dabbled in many different businesses  many failed but a few were successful and prospered. The most successful is, undoubtedly, the Kimnyoung Maze on Jeju Island.



He was a caring man with a weakness for cats  the maze is filled with them. He believed in helping those around him and actively supported the Jeju community both financially and in spirit.

Dustin died on May 5, 2018. Jeju and Korea lost a great supporter and I lost a great friend. I like to think that his spirit lives on within the maze  nourished by the sound of children's laughter, the lazy purrs of cats and the recollections of those who knew him, as they munch popcorn and drink grape juice in his memory.



Rest in peace my old friend.





The guard's hut near the White Russian House. It was there to guard the Underwoods' berry patch.





Looking west toward the Han River, circa 1955.





Dustin's teaching assistant, circa 1957.
It is a supportive learning environment, Cherry said.

She, too, was not to fond of the exams. She thought they were tough and the overall atmosphere in class was high pressure.

It is high pressure, but it should be because peoples lives are in your hands, Cherry said.

The sisters never set out to have 4.0s. Their goal was to be as good as possible. Once they neared graduation, they couldnt believe they had done it.

It was something that just happened, Paula said. It was nice to have Cherry with me because it made us a little more competitive, but we were also there to encourage each other.

Helping one another

Paula said she couldnt have done it all without Cherry. She was up for the adventure, but she began right after she was divorced. There were days she thought she could not do it.

Cherry was there to carry me through those times and boosted my morale, Paula said. She was there saying, You got this and Its going to be amazing.
On Friday morning, as the students enjoyed 15 minutes of recess, they waived at Benzel and Wright while asking them how they got up on the roof and how they were going to get down.

Several students thought they were not going to sleep on the roof all night.

I was thinking they were telling us lies and werent going to stay up there, DeSantos said.

Student Owen Lathan echoed DeSantos comment.

At first, I didnt think they were going to sleep on the roof because nobody actually thought they were going to go up on the roof, he said. When I did see them on the roof and saw their flashlights when I was driving around the school just to see where they were, I was surprised.

During a morning assembly Friday, Wright and Benzel entered wearing their robes and slippers. While Benzel shared that he did not feel well-rested, it was worth it to celebrate the students achievements.
SCOTTSBLUFF  The Scottsbluff City Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 6, at 6 p.m., at the Scottsbluff City Hall Council Chambers, 2525 Circle Dr.

Items on the agenda include an acknowledgment of a contract offer from Riverside Discovery Center and an update from the City Manager on collective bargaining negotiations with fire, police and public works employees with a brief explanation of the negotiation process.
What changed? Asking that question -- especially in an era of scandal and pain -- leads to doctrinal questions that are just as troubling as the hellish puzzles linked to decades of reports about sexual abuse among Catholic clergy.

Here is one reality that must be discussed, according to Lawler. Many parishes began shrinking when Catholic families began shrinking. At the same time, many Catholic schools began to decline. Smaller families produced fewer priests and nuns.

The general appreciation of our Catholic heritage began to lag at roughly the same time that the American birth rate went into a steep decline, he wrote. Is it surprising that we, as a people, stopped thinking so much about what we would pass along to our children, during the same years that we stopped having so many children?

While many Catholic leaders focus on Mass attendance, Lawler said he thinks that its just as important to note how many Catholics are going to confession -- ever. Courageous bishops may even want to ask how often their priests go to confession.
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By Hwang Jae-ho





Nishino Junya
It just seemed like for the most part, they didnt want to have a conversation with us, they wanted to inform us more of things that were already pretty informed about, so they were just telling us things that we already know, and lecturing at us, to an extent, instead of having a conversation with us, Megan Skouby, South Iredell High School teacher and ISAE building representative said. We were hoping to go in with an ideal of being able to sit down and have a conversation. We brought a good base of representatives from the school district to try and cover all the bases, and not everyone was able to speak due to some of the time constraints, but also because they (representatives) sort of took over that conversation.
A new coffee shop in Statesville is making sure it strictly sticks to the idea of being local.

See more photos at the bottom of this article

The Coffee Lodge, which had a soft opening April 27, is working to be a place for locals to embrace their community. It embraces its customers with a rustic, log-cabin feel by using wood throughout the interior and exterior designs of the building, an electronic fireplace and deer heads mounted on the wall.

This homey shop is catering to the country at heart with a modern twist thanks to the unique style of the owners. Chris London and Heidi Goodheart, a couple whose love brought them to Statesville, came up with the idea of a coffee shop after being at Cedar Stump Pub in Troutman during a snowstorm. The couple didnt want to leave, not because of the snow but because of the community.

Later, they stumbled upon the location of what is now the coffee shop and they thought it would be a great spot to make their mark on the town.

I always fancied having a coffee shop, Goodheart said.

The rest is history.
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Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, accompanied by Health Minister Sorina Pintea, Labour Minister Marius Budai and Public Finance Eugen Teodorovici went to the city of Hunedoara on Saturday, where they visited the Municipal Hospital, the Corvin Castle and the pedestrian area of the city, investment objectives on governmental and European funds.

At the Municipal Hospital in Hunedoara, the government delegation visited the Intensive Care ward. The hospital's management requested support for the rehabilitation of the Emergency war, a context in which Health Minister Sorina Pintea said that this ward can benefit from a 5-million-lei funding for modernization, agerpres.ro informs.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the accompanying ministers visited several departments of Deva County Hospital on Saturday, the new building benefiting from government financing worth 8 million lei.

The official delegation continues its visit to Hunedoara County in the Brad area, on the Mintia-Brad gas pipeline construction site, an objective also financed from government funds.
The international conference "Future of Europe. Perspectives of Contemporary Developments" will be held in Sibiu from Wednesday to Friday, organized in the context of the EU Summit of 9 May.

The event is organized by "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, in collaboration with the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Bucharest, agerpres.ro informs.

According to the program posted on the conference's website, President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Ambassador of Lithuania to Romania, Arvydas Pocius and the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering were invited to participate in the event.

Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba, Minister of National Defense Gabriel Les, Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca, as well as political leaders such as Victor Ponta, Dacian Ciolos, Dan Barna and Eugen Tomac are also expected to attend the conference.

According to a release of the organizers, the panel that prepares the opening of this event is dedicated to education and research and is titled "Education and Research Where to?" This panel will be attended by representatives of Romanian academic education, researchers and students.

The event will take place under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union.
President Klaus Iohannis, currently in Florence, on Saturday morning laid a wreath at the commemorative plaque dedicated to Alexandru Ioan Cuza, located next to the residence where the ruler spent the last years of his life.

The event was attended, among others, by the Romanian Ambassador to Italy George Bologan, Vicar Bishop Atanasie de Bogdania of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy and members of the Romanian community in the Tuscany region, agerpres.ro informs.

The head of state was accompanied by his wife, Carmen Iohannis.

On this occasion, the Romanian priests officiated a prayer of thanks in the memory of Ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Representatives of the local government in Florence were present at the event, telling the head of state that there are about 8,000 Romanians in this city - the largest community of foreigners in the area.

''I think that this meeting is an emotional one, even if my visit here in Florence is a short one. Maybe you know that I was yesterday at the European University where we had a very beautiful event. We wanted to give a sign to our Romanian community in Florence (...), and in this respect I am very glad that you have come with me to this wreath laying," Iohannis told those present at the event.
PMP senator Traian Basescu, the former president of Romania, said on Saturday that Premier Viorica Dancila would not be invited to attend the European Council Summit in Sibiu, taking into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, but she can be invited to the reception and presented by President Klaus Iohannis, with a brief laudatio, to the other members of the European Council, agerpres.ro informs.

"There is lack of knowledge about the European Union in the public space. Journalists and politicians are lamenting that Ms. Dancila has not yet been invited to Sibiu. Folks, she will not be invited either to the works of the European Council for the following reasons:

1. During each rotating presidency, an informal European Council is organized in the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This time it is Romania - Sibiu (I participated in 19 such informal Councils during the 10 years of activity in the European Council).

2. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, each member state has one seat in the European Council, a place reserved for the one that, under the national Constitution, has the mandate of representing the country, in this case President Iohannis. The European Council also includes the President of the European Commission and the Permanent President of the European Council," Traian Basescu wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He points out that in this case, Premier Dancila and President Iohannis preside over two European institutions with completely different attributions, and the prime minister cannot be invited to the European Council works at the informal Summit in Sibiu, but she can be invited to the reception organized on its sidelines and presented to the other members of the European Council.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the summit of 9 May, dedicated to the future of the European Union and the future strategic agenda of the leaders for the period 2019-2024, will bring together the heads of state and Government of the EU member states in Sibiu, 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking guests, about 900 journalists and 100 translators.
He asked me one blunt question  I forget what it was  but I know I could only give a terse and unnuanced response, Marty said by email. I recall that he regularly quoted that unmemorable sentence or two.

From my distance, he added, I observed him enjoying too much the polemics of church fighting. He went out of his way to pick fights, always battling toward what seemed to me to be destructive ends.

The all-by-itself-condemning feature of Ottenism, Marty said, was its anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Christian News, the current name of Ottens newspaper, has been on the radar of the Anti-Defamation League for decades.

I feel confident in saying that Herman Otten was an unrepentant anti-Semite and Holocaust denier until the end of his life, and his beliefs are prevalent in Christian News, both in his own writings and in the works of other authors he reprinted, Aryeh Tuchman, associate director of the leagues Center on Extremism, said Friday by email.

He said recent content supported his comment, including a March 25 reprint in Christian News of Charles E. Carlson, which claimed that Israeli Zionists were among those responsible for the terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
ST. LOUIS  Last year, the citys top prosecutor hand-picked a former FBI agent to investigate the loftiest of targets: a Missouri governor.

That investigator, William Don Tisaby, interviewed the woman whose accusations of sexual misconduct and blackmail led to Gov. Eric Greitens downfall.

But the transcript of a six-hour deposition recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch reveals deep questions about Tisabys work. Under examination by Greitens defense team, Tisaby changed his testimony numerous times, stumbled over basic questions and seemed confused about major pieces of evidence.

Tisabys conduct now leaves Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office under investigation by a special prosecutor and a grand jury. It puts her law license and her political future at risk.

What happened during the Tisaby deposition is absolutely critical for the grand jury to see, the special prosecutor, Gerard Jerry Carmody, told a judge on Monday.

Greitens lawyers have long claimed that Tisaby lied in that March 2018 deposition, covering up inconsistencies in witness statements and crippling Greitens defense. Two months later, charges were dropped and Greitens resigned.

Greitens lawyers have said that Tisaby committed perjury and that Gardner allowed him to do it. Worse, they said, she encouraged it by asking Tisaby questions that elicited answers she knew were false.

The governors lawyers filed an ethical complaint against Gardner with the agency that investigates and disciplines lawyers. They also filed a complaint with police that led to the special prosecutors investigation.

Tisaby did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer said his client would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called by the special prosecutor to testify.

Gardner has called the investigation a fishing expedition and shameful overreach. She and her staff have repeatedly denied the perjury claims in court and in court filings. A spokeswoman did not make Gardner available to discuss the Tisaby deposition, citing a judges gag order that prevents lawyers on both sides from discussing the investigation.

Gardners supporters have called for the removal of the judge and special prosecutor in the grand jury probe, calling it a racist and sexist witch hunt meant to destroy the citys first elected black circuit attorney.

Its the intent of the special prosecutor to produce something similar to the (Robert) Mueller report that will do as much damage as possible to the credibility of the Circuit Attorneys Office and the circuit attorney herself, said Adolphus Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP. I firmly believe that all of this is retribution for the circuit attorneys unwillingness to turn her back on the Greitens investigation.

This spring, black religious leaders held several rallies to support Gardner. At one in March, Gardner said, No matter how much disdain they have for me, I refuse to kneel down and kiss the ring of the good ol boy system.

No questions, no notes

In January 2018, the same day Greitens gave his second State of the State address, news broke that he had an affair with his hairdresser as he was preparing to run for office. The womans ex-husband claimed Greitens threatened to release a nude or semi-nude photo of her if she exposed their affair. Greitens denied that.

Gardner began an investigation that month. On Jan. 18, Gardner hired Tisaby. On Jan. 24, Gardner interviewed Greitens accuser without Tisaby. Five days later, Tisaby interviewed the woman, with Gardner present. In February, a grand jury indicted Greitens.

One month later, Greitens defense team deposed Tisaby, seeking to attack his investigation. Gardner, who was present at the deposition, frequently interrupted to head off questions about Tisabys investigation of matters unrelated to the invasion of privacy charge. The defense team deposed Tisaby again in April, but he refused to answer questions.

During jury selection for Greitens trial, defense lawyers sought to question Gardner. That same day, Gardner dismissed the invasion of privacy charge against Greitens.

Greitens lawyers then went to police to ask for a perjury investigation, and St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Mullen granted the police departments request for a special prosecutor. Mullen picked Carmody to lead the investigation in June. A grand jury was convened six months ago.

At the heart of the investigation is whether Tisaby deliberately lied during his deposition. Defense lawyer Jim Martin repeatedly asked Tisaby whether hed taken notes during the two interviews at issue. Tisaby said he didnt and also claimed he asked no questions  he wanted her to tell the story  and had no advance knowledge of Greitens accusers claims, because he wanted to conduct an independent review.

Tisaby told Martin in the deposition that during his FBI career, he never took notes and committed the details, including direct quotes in the Greitens case, to memory. He said he was able to recall nearly every detail of the interview weeks or months later.

I have no handwritten notes for the interview itself, he told Martin.

Changing answers and confusion

Martin repeatedly challenged Tisabys answers. He asked Tisaby if he was embarrassed with the number of omissions defense lawyers had identified in his report.

As best  as best as I can recall Im not embarrassed, Tisaby responded. Thats as best as I can recall  .

Tisabys deposition also reveals inconsistencies in the writing of his report: Tisaby first said he started typing the report on his laptop. Then he said he didnt have the laptop with him when he wrote the report.

I might have at the time as I think back, Tisaby replied to Martins inquiries.

Do  do you see that youre changing your story again, Mr. Tisaby? Martin asked.

Tisaby told defense attorneys he went back to his hotel room at a lunch break during the deposition to check his laptop for notes. Later, he later admitted that he didnt bring it with him to St. Louis and had his wife check their home computer instead.

Tisaby stumbled repeatedly when asked if Gardner had told him that defense lawyers filed a motion seeking all his notes and reports from the case, saying late in the deposition that he missed telling defense lawyers that he and Gardner had discussed it.

You missed a lot of things during this deposition, didnt you? Martin asked.

Yeah, Tisaby replied. And we can come back and talk about them again now  now that I recall and I can gather my facts again.

A video surfaces

Gardner and Tisaby recorded their interview with Greitens accuser. But Tisaby told the defense in the deposition that the video camera hadnt worked.

Gardners office later turned over a copy of that video. Not only did it show Tisaby taking notes, but it also revealed an outline Gardner had prepared for Tisaby, defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum said. The outline hadnt been mentioned by Tisaby or Gardner previously and hadnt been turned over to defense attorneys.

A transcript of the interview shows Tisaby repeatedly asking the woman questions.

Moreover, Rosenblum said, Tisaby left out details from the interview that would have helped Greitens defense, including the womans belief that Greitens had feelings for her; their continued relationship after she said Greitens took the explicit photo; and her ex-husbands attempt to out Greitens alleged actions.

During Tisabys deposition, Gardner for whatever reason, chooses not to say anything, Rosenblum said. She could have stopped the deposition and counseled Tisaby or revealed the errors, Rosenblum said.

Martin told St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison during one pre-trial hearing, We have a multitude of lies, straight-out perjury, lies under oath by Mr. Tisaby. After the lawyers allegations, Burlison cautioned Gardner that he considered her answers to the defense allegations to be under oath and told her that she had a right to an attorney.

Gardner later admitted that Tisaby was wrong when he testified that he took no notes but said his error, along with defense claims of perjury and withholding evidence, failed to undermine the case. She also said she hadnt seen Tisaby taking notes.

Gardners chief trial assistant at the time, Robert Dierker, said in a court filing that Tisaby testified untruthfully, but agreed with Gardner that it didnt matter.

Perjury prosecutions rare

Gardners office now faces an aggressive grand jury investigation into Tisabys actions.

Still, prosecution of perjury during a deposition is rare, legal experts say. Several lawyers and judges contacted by the Post-Dispatch could not recall any similar cases.

For the most part, that never gets reported to anyone, Peter Joy, a professor at the Washington University School of Law, said of lies told during depositions. A lie in a civil case more likely would be used to impeach that lying witness at trial.

In criminal cases, its often a defense lawyer deposing a witness for the prosecution team, Joy said. Even if a lawyer thinks they caught a witness lying, there is typically little interest by the government to pursue perjury charges.

Moreover, false testimony is not perjury without someone having the intent to deceive, Joy said. And when it comes to someones faulty memory? Thats an absolute defense, he said.

The lie also has to be material, he said, meaning that it could influence the outcome of a case.

Lying about your age would not necessarily be important to a case, for example, unless it was a sex case that turned on the age of the victim, Joy said.

Gardner remains locked in a bitter fight with the special prosecutor, her political future on the line.

On Monday, a judge ordered Gardner to comply with a search warrant, and police seized a computer server from her office. The special prosecutor believes the truth of his investigation may be found there.

But he may only have this week to make his case. The grand jurys term ends on Thursday.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Robert Patrick Robert Patrick is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Robert Patrick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
May 10, 2016  The St. Louis County Port Authority awards Rallo a sham $100,000 marketing contract to promote the region in the wake of the Ferguson unrest. A month later, Sweeney tacks on $30,000 without board approval in order to pay off political operative John Cross, a close associate of Rep. William Lacy Clay, for his work on Stengers 2014 election. The Post-Dispatch reports on the contract in February 2018.

June 21, 2016  St. Louis County Council introduces legislation to move several county offices to Northwest Plaza, which the Stenger administration says will save $10 million over the term of the 20-year lease. It is one of the first deals to raise eyebrows about Stengers relationship with his donors and one of the biggest in his tenure. The owners of Northwest Plaza, Robert and David Glarner, have given at least $365,000 to Stengers campaign account. A Post-Dispatch investigation in February 2018 shows that the lease deal could end up costing money, and council members say they were misled about the deal.
(A police department spokeswoman later clarified that the year-to-date homicide rate is down 22 percent in 2019, not overall crime.)

Hayden said the city would have ended 2018 with nearly 30 fewer homicides than the previous year except for a two-day burst of violence that saw 11 people killed.

Last year, we went 363 days with 29 fewer homicides but for two days; one in which there were six homicides within a 24-hour period and another when there were five, Hayden noted.At the same time, he said, crime incidents of one day can affect peoples perception, so we cant let our guard down for the rest of the year.

Hayden noted that Chicago, a city with a land area thats about 3 times the size of St. Louis, has 30,000 cameras monitoring its streets that police can use. By comparison, St. Louis has fewer than 1,000.

Nobody knowingly buys or sells drugs on camera, he said. It would be great if we could have a high visibility camera and an LPR (license plate reader) at every major intersection. But people dont want the police to have cameras. Everyone has a camera on their doorbells, but dont want the police to have them.
DR. SAM PAGE

Age: 53

Family: Married to Dr. Jennifer Page; three children

Medical degree: University of Missouri-Kansas City

Medical experience: Past President of the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists and the Missouri Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

Political career: City councilman, Creve Coeur, 1999-2002; Missouri House of Representatives 2003-08; Elected to St. Louis County Council in August 2014 after death of Kathleen Kelly Burkett. Served as chairman, 2017-2019.

Of interest: Served as the Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 499, and currently is a Merit Badge Counselor for Citizenship in the Community for the Greater St. Louis Areas Boy Scouts.
Mayor Rick Eberlin of Grafton, Ill., said he was surprised by the speed of the flooding.

Were seeing some things weve not seen before. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we witnessed a three-foot raise. I had a gentleman come into City Hall  85 years old  hes been through it all. He shook his head, he said, Mayor, Ive never seen anything like whats going to happen today.

And it happened. Kind of caught us off guard. As a matter of fact, the prediction graph was a couple days out. We thought we had more time to vacate the businesses along the river side of Main Street.

Eberlin said most of the roads to Grafton are now closed, with the only accessibility from the north, from Route 3.

Mayor Phil Stang of Kimmswick, which is on the Mississippi near the confluence with the Meramec River, said the town is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water.

On Friday morning, trucks carrying clay, rock and sand were rumbling past his home.

We've closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub, Stang said.
In the funeral book, the top Lao leader wrote that with the passing away of comrade Le Duc Anh, not only the Vietnamese Party, State and people lost a beloved leader, but the Lao Party, State and people also lost a close friend and comrade.

Former Vietnamese President Gen. Le Duc Anh (second from right) visited Souphanouvong, advisor to the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee (third from right) during his friendship official visit to Laos in November 1993 (Source: VNA)

Comrade Le Duc Anh had rendered outstanding services to Vietnams past struggle for national liberation and national building and defence cause over the past more than 80 years, and also made important contributions to strengthening and developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam over the past times, he wrote.

A representative from the Lao National Assembly described Gen. Le Duc Anh as an exemplary leader who played an important role in leading Vietnam from success to success when writing in the funeral book.

Delegations from the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations, and several ministries of the country also paid tribute to the late Vietnamese leader.

Representatives from several embassies in Laos came to the Vietnamese Embassy to paid homage to him and write in the funeral book.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th. A State funeral was held for the former President on May 3rd./.
(CNN) -- Mount Everest is covered in trash.

Decades of climbing on the world's highest mountain have turned it into a very tall garbage dump, strewn with rubbish, human waste and even bodies.

But a dedicated -- and impressively fit -- team of volunteers are tackling the problem by carrying out one of the world's most ambitious clean-ups, and it's seeing immediate results.

Three metric tons (6,613 pounds) of garbage have been collected from the mountain in just the first two weeks of the scheme, according to AFP. That's about the weight of two SUVs, or a large male hippo.

The task is being carried out by a 14-member team, which has been set the task of recovering 10 metric tons within 45 days, the agency reported.

Waste recovered on the Everest Cleaning Campaign includes empty cans, bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear. An army helicopter has assisted in removing the garbage, and the team is set to ascend to higher camps to collect more.

Four bodies have also been located on the 8,848-meter (29,028 feet) mountain, officials said.
Innovation holds the promise of improving our lives in many respects and has been a defining feature of St. Louis for generations. This characteristic remains just as strong today as the city stands as a model for transforming from an older, industrial city into one driven by a new tech economy and a demonstrated openness to innovation.

It is this history of innovation that has led a national organization that advocates for autonomous vehicles as a way of reducing U.S. oil dependence to select St. Louis to launch an important national discussion on how this new technology might impact communities in the Midwest.

For generations, American prosperity relied on the industrial foundations of our nations heartland. Embracing cutting-edge technology, the Midwest powered growth on the domestic front and exported products worldwide. Yet, in the absence of competition, some of the very companies that led St. Louis growth in the last century ceased to innovate or increase productivity  and are no longer growth engines for our region.
Missouri Senate Bill 293 is an unnecessary proposal to further criminalize nonviolent civil disobedience at facilities deemed critical infrastructure. Under the proposal, a person could be charged with a Class C felony for applying graffiti to a telephone pole, egging an above-ground pipeline, or putting a sticker on a water intake facility  offenses that could carry up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The increased penalties apply to critical infrastructure that is operational or under construction.

The bill also establishes conspiracy charges for organizations that assist individuals in nonviolent civil disobedience. If enacted, an organization could be fined 10 times the amount charged to someone found guilty under this law. An organization like Missouri Coalition for the Environment could organize a legal protest where a person engages in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Even if the coalition did not know this act would occur, that may not stop a business or prosecutor from filing conspiracy charges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dave Brady

Title: VP of Sales

Phone: 937.415.1715

Date: May 1, 2019

ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS HONORS DAYTON FREIGHT AS A PLATINUM AWARD WINNER

DAYTON, Ohio  Dayton Freight Lines, Inc., a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, was recently honored with the Regional LTL Carrier Platinum Award from Echo Global Logistics, Inc.

This is the second consecutive year Dayton Freight has received this award which honors superior performance in on-time service, claims ratio, and customer service metrics such as communication and technology. Echo Global Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Echo offers freight brokerage and managed transportation solutions for all major modes.
Sam Meech's ambition at the start of each regatta is to put himself in contention to finish on the podium going into the medal race and invariably he achieves that which is why he's the world's top-ranked Laser sailor.

The 28-year-old will once again race for a medal tonight (NZ time) and goes into the top 10 medal race at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres in second.

He can't win gold, with Australia's Matthew Wearn having established an unassailable 23-point lead over Meech, but the New Zealander has a handy five-point buffer over another Australian, Luke Elliott, in third. Olympic champion Tom Burton (yes, he's Australian, too) is another five points back in fourth.

Two other Kiwis will be in the medal race, with George Gautrey presently in ninth and Tom Saunders 10th to round out a good week for the New Zealand Laser squad.

The fifth day of racing saw plenty of action as winds in excess of 20 knots hit the coast off Hyeres which tested the sailors, especially as the Laser fleet got in three races. Meech banked scores of second, second and third to move up from fourth overall at the start of the day.

"It was good, fun racing," Meech said. "It was pretty exciting [in the strong winds] and there were definitely times when we were holding on downwind with a very short chop.

"I was in the top three in all of the races, so that was quite nice. Unfortunately, Matt Wearn was going really fast and it kind of sucks so he ended up winning the last two races fairly convincingly. By the last race I was really just hanging off the side of the boat trying to get around the course. The body is pretty tired now."

Medal races are much shorter and sharper than regular racing and feature only the top 10 sailors in a double points format.

No New Zealanders will feature in the Laser Radial medal race but Olivia Christie and Annabelle Rennie-Younger are showing good progress early in the new Radial programme.

The pair competed in both Palma and Genoa before Hyeres and will round out this block by competing at the Laser European championships in Portugal.

Laser Radial coach Rosie Chapman has been encouraged by the development of the youngsters.

"It has been great to see their progression," Chapman said. "There is a really good team ethic between them and they are working really hard.

"They are focusing on process goals and really going into every day with a goal they are trying to achieve on the water and this is really showing with some promising results. Both of them are regularly placing inside the top 10, top 15 in races, so not only are the results improving but, most importantly, they are improving all round."

Christie was 12th in two of her three races overnight to finish the regatta in 16th overall and Rennie-Younger achieved her third top-10 result of the event to finish 23rd.

Results and standings after the fifth day of the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres:

Laser (69 boats)

1st: Matthew Wearn (AUS) (7) 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 - 14 points

2nd: Sam Meech (NZL) 1 1 9 3 2 1 (13) 13 2 2 3 - 37 pts

3rd: Luke Elliott (AUS) 3 8 3 1 1 2 1 6 4 13 (17) - 42 pts

9th: George Gautrey (NZL) (22) 3 10 2 4 3 9 9 9 18 12 - 79 pts

10th: Tom Saunders (NZL) 21 2 11 6 12 5 3 11 (36 UFD) 6 5 - 82 pts

24th: Josh Armit (NZL) 19 18 4 16 9 7 24 27 10 (29) 25 - 159 pts

Silver fleet

60th: Luke Deegan (NZL) 26 30 28 25 30 24 21 16 (35 UFD) 12 - 212 pts

Laser Radial (50 boats)

1st: Maria Erdi (HUN) 1 4 (11) 5 5 1 8 (15) 2 1 4 - 42 pts

2nd: Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) 17 6 1 1 1 3 (19) 7 5 5 5 - 51 pts

3rd: Emma Plasschaert (BEL) 5 22 (26) 2 4 4 22 6 1 2 2 - 70 pts

16th: Olivia Christie (NZL) 31 11 21 9 12 37 (45) 28 12 12 17 - 190 pts
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Waihi Gold Mine operator, OceanaGold, has expressed extreme disappointment at the decision by the Minister of Land Information to not allow the company to purchase two farms on the outskirts of Waihi.

Waihis Senior Community Advisor, Kit Wilson, said the company had only just received notification at the same time the media release went out.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Eugenie Sage, Minister of Land Information, announced on May 3 that Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Ltds application under the Overseas Investment Act to purchase 178 ha of rural land for a new tailings reservoir near Waihi in Coromandel has been declined.

The minister and Associate Finance Minister David Clark considered the application and formed different views as to whether the substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand test in the Act was met.

The Overseas Investment Act determines that when Ministers form different views on an application it is declined.

Minister Sage does not believe using productive rural farmland to establish a long term tailings reservoir of mining waste creates substantial and identifiable benefits.

Associate Minister Clark believes that the proposed investment is likely to create substantial and identifiable benefits.

We are disappointed by what we have heard but have not had the opportunity to read the decision in full. We will review the decision and consider our next steps, says Kit.

The purchase of these properties would allow us to plan for the future and extend our investment in Waihi beyond the current life of the mine and our significant economic contribution locally, in the Hauraki region and nationally.

We operate in New Zealand in a responsible way and in line with community expectations and believe we have done that for thirty years at the Waihi, Reefton, and Macraes gold mines.

Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki welcomes the decision by Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage to decline an application by Oceana Gold to purchase an area of rural land for a new tailings dam.

"We agree with Minister Sage that there are far better uses for our productive land than to be used as a dump for toxic waste," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "The existing dam was built on productive farmland, that's more than enough area dedicated to storing this toxic sludge."

Coromandel Watchdog has always argued that one of the most negative elements of industrial gold mining is the toxic legacy left, including the vast stores of toxic waste from the extraction process.

"Many of the most toxic sites in Aotearoa have been mining tailings dams that have been abandoned or failed, says Augusta. This is not the sort of legacy that we should be leaving future generations, and it is not the sort of this we should be allowing multinational companies to create and then leave in our country.

The Waihi area also sits on a significant fault and the ongoing storage of toxic tailings in the area is of real concern from that perspective also.

"Another reason not to allow such a purchase for this purpose, the risks far outweigh the benefit."

OceanaGold Corporation is a multinational gold producer with operations in New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. OceanaGold has been operating in New Zealand for 29 years with mining operations at Waihi in the North Island and New Zealands largest gold-producing operation, Macraes, in the South Island. The company is also rehabilitating the former Globe Progress Mine at Reefton. The company say they account for around 1 per cent of the countrys exports, with gold in the top three exports to Australia.

OceanaGolds assets also include the Didipio Operation on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, the Haile Gold Mine, in South Carolina in the United States and a significant pipeline of organic growth and exploration opportunities in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2019, the Company expects to produce between 500,000 to 550,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper at All-In Sustaining Costs ranging between US$850 and US$900 per ounce sold.

On Friday the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved a separate application from Oceana Golds application to buy four residential properties in central Waihi. The residential land is being acquired for purposes incidental to mining activities.

Oceana Gold is considered to be a significant employer in the Waihi region and has undertaken a number of previous investments that are of benefit to New Zealand.

The OIO is satisfied that the investment is likely to benefit NZ.

Further information about this will be published next week. The OIO has proactively released information about the decision on the LINZ website.
Doreen McNeill opened her latest exhibition called XCbition on the same day as her 90th birthday.

Artists, friends and family turned out to wish Doreen a big happy birthday, with her cake decorated in a truly abstract style. The exhibition launch and party, held at The Incubator Gallery, was abuzz with music and conversation as people enjoyed the atmosphere.

After speeches and the cake cutting, the curtains were pulled back to reveal Doreens works hanging on walls. An excited rush of people quickly moved to apply red dots, signifying a sold painting.

The Roman numerals XC are for 90, so XCbition is a play on exhibition and highlights her 90th year  a rather clever combination of letters and numbers.

Im having a lovely day, says Doreen. Its lovely having so many friends here, all the artist friends from the art community of Tauranga.

With the collection of new works, she hasnt painted to any particular theme.

I was just painting, says Dorren. I love painting. Ive just been enjoying myself. I dont feel like doing any housework, I just paint and let them accumulate. I dont paint to any theme or end result, I just wait until I have a collection then put them together.

At the opening of the exhibition Doreen had about ten original works hanging, and about 20 unframed works on paper for people to cash and carry.

Doreen has been painting seriously for about 30 years.

She started her artist career draughting navigational charts for aircraft in the 1950s, which included time spent in Venezuela, the USA, Canada and Australia.

She lived in Bermuda from 1961-64 working as a surveyors assistant, and then from 1965-84 in the Bahamas doing architectural draughting. This is where she began to take painting seriously.

Her paintings have been exhibited in Hong Kong, where five works were selected to hang in the VIP Lounge of Cathay Pacfic; Taiwan, and in many exhibitions and collections in NZ.

Her friend and artist Jimi Colzato has filmed a documentary about her work titled Beyond Boundaries  a meeting with Doreen McNeill. This can be viewed on her website https://www.doreenmcneill.co.nz/documentry

The XCbition exhibition runs at The Incubator Gallery at the Tauranga Historic Village until May 15.
Fish & Game says theres been a healthy start to the new game bird hunting season, with the rosiest reports so far from the South Island.

Thousands of the more than 40,000 people licensed to hunt birds like mallards and paradise shelduck turned out early this morning for the start of the season.

On the West Coast, hunting conditions were ideal with low cloud, a moderate breeze and rain holding off, says Fish & Game Officer Baylee Kersten.

"Hunters had good success with the experienced getting close to their bag limits and novice hunters managing to bag a few."

Mr Kersten says hunters bag were very diversified with plenty of paradise shelduck harvested alongside greylards (hybrids from mallards and grey ducks), and the occasional shoveler and swan.

No compliance issues were detected by rangers on duty, he says.

Fish & Game officers in mid Canterbury say there were lots of birds around along with plenty of hunters in the fine clear conditions.

Up north, in Taranaki hunters spoken to had been happy with their morning although the number of mallards harvested had not been large.

However in the north of the region hunters on maize paddocks had done quite well with paradise shelduck, says Fish & Game Officer Allen Stancliff.

A Fish & Game spokesman says SAFE claims about the number of birds left injured are completely false, "fake news in the extreme."

"Most hunters use dogs to recover birds and wounding rates are low in New Zealand," he says.

"It is pleasing that so far there have been no reports of any firearm incidents and "we hope that things stay this way - it appears at this stage at least, that hunters have taken safety messages to heart."
Any move to rationalise port ownership in the Upper North Island is not likely to be welcomed by business says the EMA.

EMA Chief Executive Brett ORiley says suggestions coming out of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy that perhaps the three main ports Auckland, Tauranga and Northland could be rationalise their ownership to create a monopoly in the region are misguided.

Our members like the competitive tension between the ports and benefit from it, says Brett.

For some reason we seem to like creating monopolies in New Zealand when the best result for customers usually results from at least three competitive players in a market  look at the telcos.

The EMA is the largest business membership organisation in New Zealand and its base covers the region from Taupo to the Far North. Both major ports are members of the EMA.

Brett acknowledged that the issues around moving large volumes of empty containers created by the imbalance between imports and exports at the two main ports were a concern.

"But the ports and the freight distribution sector in general are already working on ways to minimise this issue. Collaboration between the ports and the freight sector, including coastal shipping, is the likely answer here, not forced amalgamation of ownership, says Brett.

Those distribution issues are exacerbated by the lack of investment in road and rail infrastructure, particularly around access to the Auckland and Tauranga ports."

As the report notes lack of infrastructure investment also hampers the case for greater volumes of freight or a dedicated car import hub at Northport.

"There is a strong political push to invest massively in rail from Northport to South Auckland to address this lack of infrastructure but we have to be very careful to ensure there is a strong business case to support this massive investment - especially when there is already a four-lane highway that goes almost half-way to Northport.

"Perhaps that is something the about to be formed National Infrastructure Commission could investigate before committing to massive investment in either or both the road and rail options."

Port of Tauranga has responded to the interim progress report on the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy released.

The Chief Executive of New Zealands largest port (handling 43 per cent of New Zealands total export volumes), Mark Cairns, says the progress report raised a number of themes and issues in the port industry and New Zealand freight network.

The progress report identifies well-known issues such as the need for increased investment in road and rail networks and the historic financial under-performance and inconsistent reporting by some ports, he says.

We challenge some of the facts, assumptions and implications in the interim report, and were hopeful these will be addressed before the next report due in June. For example, the report states that the Bay of Plenty and Waikato have benefitted from rail infrastructure and investment provided by the Government at no capital cost to the end user. This ignores the $267 million in rail costs paid by Port of Tauranga since 2010.

We look forward to hosting the working group on their first visit to Port of Tauranga in the coming months, says Mark.
ONONDAGA NATION -- Two people were taken into custody Saturday after a car linked to an armed robbery at the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop was stopped on Interstate 81.

The robbery at the 3951 Route 11 store was reported at 7:44 a.m.

Two masked men dressed in dark clothing walked into the smoke shop and threatened an employee, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman. The robbers -- one of whom was armed with a handgun -- demanded money from the stores safe, he said.

After stealing cash, the men climbed into a white Volkswagen and fled south on Route 11, Seeber said.

The amount of money stolen was not disclosed. No one was hurt.

Deputies and New York State Police troopers found the Volkswagen on Interstate 81 south near the LaFayette weigh station, Seeber said.

Two people were taken into custody. Their names have not been released.

This is still an active investigation, Seeber said.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Veteran Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury he suffered in spring training, will cap off his recovery with a short stay in Syracuse.

Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco confirmed that Lowrie, 35, will be in the lineup at least Saturday and Sunday when the Mets host Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at NBT Bank Stadium. Lowrie has played 1,109 with Boston, Houston and Oakland. New York signed Lowrie as a free agent in the off-season.

DeFrancesco managed Lowrie with the Astros in 2012.

"(Hes a) professional hitter. (Can) play all over the infield, a switch-hitter. Had some great numbers over the last couple of years. A great addition to the Mets. Once he gets healthy I think hell definitely lengthen out their lineup,'' DeFrancesco said.
Students of John C. Birdlebough High School in Phoenix celebrated at their junior-senior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Embassy Suites by Hilton on Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

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Students of Nottingham High School in Syracuse celebrated at their junior prom Friday evening, May 3, 2019. The event was held at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

More prom photos

See all photo galleries from proms, senior balls, and other formals around Central New York.

Want to buy a photo?

As youre browsing the gallery, look for the BUY IMAGE link to order high-quality reprints and other products.
This week, the news broke that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had been identified as the source of a leak from the National Security Council, and had been fired from the government.

The BBC reported on Theresa Mays decision to axe her Defense Secretary of 18 months having found compelling evidence suggesting [his] responsibility for the unauthorized disclosure. Subsequent to his sacking, and facing calls for a full inquiry into what happened, the Prime Ministers de facto deputy, David Lidington, has said the PM considered the matter closed.

But this matter is far from closed.

Mr Williamson denies that he leaked anything, and said in his response letter to the PM, I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position. He continued, I have always trusted my civil servants, military advisers and staff. I believe the assurances they have given me.

This is a situation that needs some close examination. The first thing to note is the difference between the accusation and the defense. May says there is compelling evidence suggesting Williamson did it. Williamson says hes confident neither he nor his staff did it. Why is Williamson mentioning his staff, when May does not?

Then theres also Mays use of the word suggesting Williamson was responsible. She was not so bold as to say she had definitive proof, and so this is not a move based on facts beyond reasonable doubt. Now, it would be incorrect to say that removing someone from Government should require the same standard of proof that a court would need, but its interesting nonetheless.

But this situation is far bigger than a single leaked sentence from a National Security Council (NSC) meeting. This situation is part of an extraordinary series of events that show a deeply concerning pattern of behavior from the British government, as they seek to court favor from the totalitarian and authoritarian Chinese regime.

Gavin Williamson

Mr Williamson has been an MP since 2010 and served as Secretary of State for Defense since November 2017. His voting record is largely in line with the Tory party as a whole. Heres an outline of his voting record to give you a sense of who Gavin Williamson is:

He has almost always voted against equality, human rights, and particularly gay rights. Hes against the right-to-die movement. He voted against investigations into the Iraq War. He voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in the UK. He voted consistently for more bombing of ISIS. Hes voted for the bedroom tax, for reduced welfare and disability benefits. Hes voted for increasing taxes on alcohol, not taxing bankers bonuses, restricting trade union activity and increasing university tuition fees.

This piece is not really about Williamson or an attempt to exonerate him. I have no idea whether or not Williamson was the source of the leak. This is about the UK Government cosying up to a despotic regime, ignoring security services across the Western world and prioritising its relationship with China above national security. Its a grim irony that its a leak from the NSC that confirms all this.

Alarm bells ringing

What should tell you that something fishy has happened is the fact that Williamson was just dismissed. If he shared information from the NSC, he has breached the Official Secrets Act, which is a criminal offense. If he didnt do it, he should keep his job.

Put another way, either hes committed a very serious crime and losing his job isnt enough, or hes innocent and should have the chance to clear his name. Firing him and saying thats the end of it isnt enough in either case.

What seems instead to be the case is that the Prime Minister doesnt like Gavin Williamson. In her letter she states that the other NSC attendees have all answered questions, engaged properly, provided as much information as possible to assist with the investigation, and encouraged their staff to do the same. Your conduct has not been of the same standard as others. (emphasis my own).

If this sounds vaguely sinister its because it is. Im reminded of the enforced clapping culture of North Korea, and the news that shortly after ascending to power, Kim Jong-Un had his uncle assassinated in order to shore up his own position. Strong and stable May has certainly looked in recent months like shes in need of some shoring up, and a move to rid herself of a half-hearted cheerleader may well simply be theatrics to show shes a tough leader.

We had a Defense Secretary who had never really broken ranks, who was well liked by the armed forces, who vehemently denied being the source of the leak and backed his whole team (unprompted), but didnt throw his heart into the investigation with the fervor required  and so has gotten the chop.

The leaked information and why it matters

The thing is, this whole Williamson sham is distracting the country from the much more important point. Lets remember what was actually leaked. The leak all-but confirmed that Huawei will play an integral role in providing telecommunications infrastructure for the U.K., most notably in delivering new 5G networks. According to the BBC, a decision on this matter was due at the end of spring.

Our 5G network will be a big deal. Smartphones have become ubiquitous. For the vast majority of people, their smartphone is hardly ever out of arms reach and is always connected, whether by Wi-Fi or 4G. These networks are powerful. Your 4G connection sends and receives data at incredible speed  every call, text, web visit, app download, everything is handled by encoded data being sent back and forth between your phone and your network provider. But more than that, using methods like triangulation from phone masts, your wireless carrier can track your location even when your GPS is turned off. 5G will be even more capable than current 4G infrastructure, and is therefore an even greater risk.

This leak and the confirmation of Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G infrastructure are therefore big news, and for two main reasons. First, the decision flies in the face of advise from allied governments across the Western world, including the US which is lobbying the world to ditch the Chinese phone-maker from any upcoming infrastructure projects. Given President Trumps current schlong-off with China and the trade war/vanity project hes implemented, you may take that with a grain of salt. But its not just the US that is against Huaweis involvement. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Australia and more  the list of countries banning the companys involvement in projects is ever growing.

But secondly, and more importantly, its the latest confirmatory piece of evidence that shows just how far the UK is willing to go to cosy up to China.

China has been a major investor in the UK for the last decade. Did you know, for instance, that Heathrow, Thames Water, Harvey Nichols, Pizza Express, Hamleys, House of Fraser and even the National Grid  all ostensibly British operations  are owned or part-owned by Chinese investors?

China between 2005 and 2015 invested 30 billion into the UK. In 2017 it invested another 30 billion in a single year.

Former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne famously sought Chinese investment for just about everything going, and that trend has only continued under the present Conservative government.

Enough context, whats the problem

This all matters because the issue at hand is an actual issue of national security. Many of Britains allies have raised concerns that Huawei is, behind the scenes, putting countries at risk of spying and sabotage. The allegation is that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government. Huawei denies this, but realistically in China everything is controlled by the government.

Lets not lose focus on what China is. China is the nation of the ill-fated Tiananmen Square protests. It has strict censorship on information with the Great Firewall of China. It has the largest network of facial recognition technology on the planet, and is using it to implement a social scoring system to automatically punish citizens for non-criminal offenses. Most egregiously, China currently has tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims held in internment  sorry, re-education  camps. People in China can go missing for referring to President Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh.

This is not normal. This is not the behavior of the kind of regime we want to be inviting to build crucial infrastructure in the UK, especially against the advice of allies like the US and Canada.

Cyber warfare, whether its direct hacking or more indirect tactics like election meddling, is commonplace in the modern world. Its the main form of antagonism between super powers in the modern era. So allowing a foreign power with a history of egregious human rights violations to build vital infrastructure is like handing over the keys to businesses and citizens data.

This is all information that the National Security Council of all entities will be very aware of. The public should be demanding answers over and above the veracity of the allegations against Gavin Williamson. We should be demanding a full and independent inquiry into the depths of the UK governments relationship with China. Are we allowing Huawei unfettered access to the UKs personal and commercially sensitive information so as to appease their government and continue to generate investment? Is this a reactionary panic move to try and keep foreign investment in the UK buoyant in the face of Brexits already damaging effects?

The public need answers. Sadly, this government seems less than willing to give them.
After decades of extensive research, scientists have finally discovered a way to observe neural electricity in an actual living creature.

Adam Cohen, professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics at Harvard, first author Dr. Yoav Adam, and their cross-disciplinary research team have managed to transform neural electrical signals into sparks visible through a microscope by shedding light on the brain.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday, May 1.

Busy Brain

According to scientists, observing a real live session of neural electricity is just like watching a live broadcast of the brain. Since neurons are responsible for every thought and sensation living creatures feel, they send and receive massive amounts of information, which is still mostly incomprehensible to scientists until recently.

Electrical signals can travel from cell to cell at up to 270 miles per hour. At that kind of speed, trying to see neural electricity inside a busy brain is just like trying to see the electricity inside a telephone wire, which no naked eye can achieve.

So for scientists to observe firsthand how neurons turn information into behaviors, emotions, and thoughts, they created a particular procedure for them to see.

Talented Protein

Cohen got the inspiration from another study made by the researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. In the study, the MIT researchers introduced the protein Archaerhodopsin 3 to a brain and caused it to light up using a special tool. The tool then converted the light into electricity.

Archaerhodopsin 3 and its host organism was discovered by an Israeli ecologist in an ecological survey in 1980s. The organism is able to convert sunlight into electrical energy in a primitive form of photosynthesis because of the protein.

After years of studying, Cohen and his team found a way to reverse the organism's trick and use the protein to convert the electrical activity of neurons into observable flashes of light.

Red And Blue Light

Cohen and his team were able to manipulate Archaerhodopsin 3 to turn voltage into light when illuminated by a red light. According to the study, in that way, the protein will act as an ultra-sensitive voltmeter that changes with an electric jolt.

The team then paired Archaerhodopsin 3 with a similar protein that sparks electrical impulses in the neurons when illuminated with blue light. According to Adam, that particular process is vital for recording and controlling the cells' activities.

The red light is responsible for recording, and the blue light is responsible for controlling. Although the paired proteins work well in a dish, it was a real challenge for Cohen and his team to make the process work inside a living brain.

Making A Little Movie

It was five years of intensive research and interdisciplinary collaboration between statisticians, physicists, biochemists, computer scientists, molecular biologists, and 24 neuroscientists before the whole team managed to perform the experiment successfully in the brain of a living mouse.

By tweaking the proteins to work in a mouse brain, positioning the proteins carefully with genetic manipulation, and making a new microscope with a video projector specific for the whole process, they were able to glean positive results.

"You basically make a little movie," says Cohen.

The study is just the first step of many, according to Cohen and his team.

"A mouse brain has 75 million cells in it. So depending on your perspective, we've either done a lot or we still have quite a long way to go," added Cohen. The rest of the team is working on improving their software and tools to record the process clearer and on a broader scope.

According to Adam, he's positive that further study could help them reach maximum results.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a landmark move, FDA announces their first approval of a dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, which is produced by French pharmaceutical Sanofi Pasteur.

Dengvaxia is the first dengue vaccine approved to prevent all the virus serotypes of the mosquito-borne virus.

While FDA has given the go signal for the use of Dengvaxia, the agency stressed in a news release that the vaccine should only be used on individuals aged 9 to 16 years who have previously had dengue infections and live in endemic areas.

The virus is endemic in the following United States territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dengvaxia Provides Protection Against Severe Dengue

The first infection of the dengue virus is typically harmless with no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms. Subsequent infections could be much more serious, possibly leading to severe dengue, such as the potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Ninety-five percent of all severe or hospitalized cases of dengue are already a second infection.

According to Peter Marks, M.D., the director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, getting infected by one serotype of the dengue virus will give an individual immunity against that specific serotype. However, if an individual gets a subsequent infection by any of the remaining three virus serotypes, he or she is at increased risk of developing severe dengue disease.

"As the second infection with dengue is often much more severe than the first, the FDA's approval of this vaccine will help protect people previously infected with dengue virus from subsequent development of dengue disease," Marks continued.

Dengvaxia Effectivity, Controversy

Sanofi's vaccine has already been approved for use in 19 countries and the European Union.

Previous studies have determined the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, with researchers finding Dengvaxia is approximately 76 percent effective in preventing dengue disease in people 9 to 16 years old who have already previously contracted a first dengue disease.

However, the vaccine is not without controversy. In the Philippines, which is the first country to approve the vaccine back in 2016, Dengvaxia has also been banned over safety concerns.

FDA says that Dengvaxia acts like a first infection in people who have not been previously infected by any senotype of the virus. Thus, if people who have never been infected by any type of dengue are given the vaccine, a subsequent infection can lead to severe dengue disease.

About Dengue

CDC reveals that over one-third of the global population lives in areas vulnerable to the dengue virus with 400 million cases annually. The virus causes dengue fever, which is a leading cause of illness in populations living in the tropics and subtropics.

"Dengue disease is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world and global incidence has increased in recent decades," said Anna Abram, FDA deputy commissioner for policy, legislation, and international affairs. "While there is no cure for dengue disease, today's approval is an important step toward helping to reduce the impact of this virus in endemic regions of the United States."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung no doubt championed the curved display tend, and although there have been complaints about these screens being more prone to damage than their flat-screened siblings, the company might go all out and unveil an even more aggressively curved variant.

According to noted tech insider Ice Universe, Samsung will be using a curved display on its next phone that's far more curved than past Galaxy handsets.

"[E]specially in the second half of the year, you'll see a very superb curved design, a more aggressive curved display than Note7 will appear," Ice Universe tweeted. Apparently, other manufacturers might also release a handset with this type of screen, not just Samsung.

Curved Displays

The Galaxy Note 9, S9, and S9+ all have curved displays, but they're subtle and serve more to accentuate their extremely thin side bezels. Years ago, curved screens wowed many consumers, but nowadays that initial luster is gone, replaced with frustration over these displays not lending particularly well to screen protectors or cases.

Given that, it's interesting to see what Samsung will do with the Galaxy Note 10. Perhaps that device's curved factor will have more going for it instead of just aesthetic value. If it's going to make the display more curved, hopefully Samsung has a clearer idea of how to enrich the user experience. When it first launched the Galaxy Note Edge, the phone was entirely different from anything else on the market, but excitement over curved screens has largely waned in favor of more straightforward bezel-less designs.

Centered Selfie Camera

Apart from a more aggressively curved display, the Galaxy Note 10 will apparently rock a centered selfie shooter. That's also courtesy of Ice Universe, who tweeted somewhat cryptically last month that "Da Vinci is symmetrical." The Galaxy Note 10 is codenamed Da Vinci. His tweet could be hinting that the phone will get a symmetrical design, which would mean the selfie camera being at the center, unlike the Galaxy S10 lineup's design.

Consider everything mentioned above as still rumors, though, so take them with a grain of salt. One thing is confirmed, at least  Verizon said Samsung will launch a 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 this year. The carrier failed to share any more details beyond that. Samsung is expected to launch two different Galaxy Note 10 models, including a smaller variant. Recent rumors also suggest that each version will be 5G-capable.

As always, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more. If you have any thoughts, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cocaine and other illegal drugs and even banned pesticides were found in shrimps in British waterways, according to a study.

Cocaine-laced Shrimps

Freshwater shrimps across 15 sites in the Suffolk River were found contaminated with various micropollutants such as cocaine, recreational drug ketamine, banned pesticide fenuron, and other chemicals. This is a cause for concern as these pollutants may pose risks to wildlife in rivers.

Even the researchers from King's College London and the University of Suffolk were astonished at the occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife in a rural county.

"We might expect to see these in urban areas such as London, but not in smaller and more rural catchments," said Leon Barron, a forensic science lecturer at King's College London and the study's coauthor.

A hundred percent of the Gammarus pulex shrimp samples tested positive for the presence of cocaine. The samples came from the Alde, Box, Deben, Gipping, and Waveney rivers.

Impacts Of Invisible Pollution

A total of 107 compounds of contaminant classes were found in the shrimps. Out of this, 67 compounds belong to pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs, and drugs of abuse while 56 compounds were detected with traces of cocaine and lidocaine. In addition, some banned pesticides also were present in the samples.

The concentration of the said substances are low and the potential effects on creatures were also likely minimal.

"Environmental health has attracted much attention from the public due to challenges associated with climate change and microplastic pollution," said Professor Nic Bury from the University of Suffolk.

The researchers said that the impact of "invisible" chemical pollution, such as drugs, on wildlife health needs further probing in the UK because studies such as these can often inform and influence the crafting of policies.

Water contamination is a rising problem as residue from insecticides, and recreational drugs are finding their way into rivers and water system. As to how the pollutants reached the bodies of water, still, remain unclear.

Water Pollution Affecting River Health

River health is said to be one of the UK's most pressing environmental crises. In 2017, at least 55 percent of the rivers in the UK are polluted by sewage or wastewater. There are more than 18,000 sewer overflows across England and Wales. Out of these, an estimated 90 percent discharge raw sewage or wastewater mixed with rainwater directly into the rivers.

Other river pollutants include wastes from agricultural pollution, oil pollution, loss from storage facilities, and spillage during delivery and deliberate disposal of waste oil to drainage systems. Radioactive substance is also polluting rivers. River dumping and marine dumping are also significant causes of water pollution.

The study is published in the journal Environment International.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google will hold its I/O Conference next week, May 7, where it is expected to make a few announcements, one of which are the two Pixel 3a smartphones: the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL.

While avid fans are excited about the alleged midrange price tags, nothing has been made official just yet.

However, a tipster may have just spotted the first units of the Pixel 3a XL in a Best Buy store. According to reports, the man was passing by a Best Buy store in Springfield, Ohio when he came across the packaged smartphone.

Just Waiting For It To Be Official

While the Pixel 3a XL was enclosed in a glass, it was left out there in the open for everyone to see. The two rumored color variations were both confirmed: one comes with a purplish tint while the other is the standard black.

Looking at close-up pictures of the merchandise, some of the earlier leaked specifications have been somewhat proven to be true. The Pixel 3a XL has a 6-inch screen and 64GB of internal memory. Other leaks say it will pack a 2,220 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 710 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and the famed Pixel Visual Core cameras.

On the other hand, the smaller Pixel 3a boasts a 5.6-inch display with 2,160 x 1080 resolution, and a Snapdragon 670.

Further leaks have gone as far as giving the two Pixel 3a smartphones their price tags at $399 for the regular Pixel 3a, and $479 for the XL.

Google Goes Midrange

Google's path to the midrange market is mainly attributed to the current models subpar performance against other top-tier mobile devices. Nevertheless, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he is confident that the company will regain its composure in the hardware department of smartphones. He also said Google is committed for the long term in its hardware efforts.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The second man to walk on the surface of the Moon is urging the human race to journey to Mars and stay there.

In an op-ed published on The Washington Post, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin commended the current administration for committing to send a manned mission to the Moon 50 years after he and colleague Neil Armstrong made that historic first time.

Buzz Aldrin Talks Mars

He is also urging the United States to make launching humans to the Red Planet a priority to ensure the ultimate survival of the species.

"Americans are good at writing fantasy, and incomparable at making the fantastic a reality," he said. "We did it with Mercury, Gemini, Apollo  and in thousands of other ways. It is time we get down to blueprints, architecture and implementation, and to take the next step  a sustainable international return to the moon, directly charting a pathway to Mars."

Moreover, the 89-year-old added that the goal should be to open the door for the "great migration of humankind" to Earth's neighboring planet and, eventually, farther into the universe.

"All of this is within reach for humans alive now, but it stars with a unified next step in space," he stated. "The nation best poised to make it happen is the United States."

This is not the first time that Aldrin has spoken about setting up a permanent human settlement on the surface of Mars. In an interview with Fox News last year, he discussed ideas to make the barren Red Planet more hospitable to human. He said that there is feasibility to the plans put forward by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson.

NASA's Mars Plans

NASA is already on its way to Mars, but it would take a bit more time before the first human makes the first step on a different planet. The U.S. space agency's current plans have a focus on getting American astronauts back to the moon and then setting up a base on Earth's natural satellite.

However, farther into the future, NASA also wants to send a manned mission to the Red Planet by 2030s.

In the meantime, a new rover that will study the Martian environment and identify the challenges that future human expeditions might face will be launched in July 2020. It is expected to arrive in Mars by February 2021.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is renewable energy on track to dethrone coal energy as the main source of energy for Americans? This Aprils energy production shows that it might be, but the battle for cleaner energy is still ongoing.

April 2019 Energy Production

Last April, for the first time ever, the production of renewable energy in the United States surpassed the production of energy from coal. This is bad news for the coal industry, but good news for the planet as energy production moves toward cleaner sources of energy.

According to the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the trend will likely continue in May, sporadically throughout the year, and in 2020 as well. This is despite the many setbacks experienced by the renewable energy sector, with politicians calling for more investments in coal and Federal subsidies for renewable energy being cut in half.

However, it is also important to consider that coal plants do tend to shut down during springtime for repairs, at the same time when hydrogeneration is at its peak. That said, this is still a momentous achievement in the cause to move toward renewable energy.

Road To Cleaner Energy

Does this mean that the United States is on the way to transitioning from coal to renewable energy? The road is still long on the journey toward renewable energy, but the movement is constant. In fact, in Texas, renewable energy sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar are steadily pushing coal out, with wind and solar energy topping coal energy production in the first quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, states such as Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and many others have also pledged to make aggressive clean energy plans, which will likely push the clean energy movement even faster.

Evidently, the coal sector does not find these movements to be important, but it does indicate the steady movement toward cleaner energy and away from coal. Whats more, the changes are said to be happening even faster than forecast. In fact, according to IEEFA research analyst Dennis Wamstead, this transition was not close to occurring five years ago.

Carbon Emissions

That said, the battle toward reducing carbon emissions is still under way. Last year, the United States carbon emissions rose instead of declined, primarily due to the carbon emissions of the transport sector rather than power plants.

This shows perhaps that apart from making the transition to clean energy, there are also many other aspects that need to be dealt with if we are to truly cut down on carbon emissions.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Meat

Short Story

Sagar ki lehare utthee hein, girti hein; Baat beeti raat beeti, Kehat lokvaasi, abhi raat baaki.

It was a job and I was lucky to have one. My father had been a peasant and toiled for rupees five a day. Most days the zamindar gave him wheat with the chaff and chafed if my father pleaded with his hands folded,Hazoor! Some cash...

What for? he would scoff, the scorn curling his upper lip and invading the look in his eyes as he puffed at his hookah.

Gaihu is enough, he spat.

Then my father would beg with hands folded, Hazoor, I have a wife, four children and need to cook with some oil and spices on firewood.

Firewood? spluttered the zamindar between his hookah, Bewakoof! and spitting on the ground he ordered: Use uppalas.

That is why my mother always called the cow our mother; as she gathered the cow pats and shaped them with her hands into oblong sheaves, drying them on the roof of our hut and then using them on the fire to cook, all the while coughing and spluttering over the fumes, she would exclaim, Our cow gives us everything! Milk for all of you and my teaor else I would have to drink it blackand look at her she is so benign and giving, that is why she is called gaumata. And I swear, they both had a look of understanding in their eyes, which can be called love.

Watching my father sweat by his brow, his shirt soaked in perspiration and then meted out daily humiliation for his wages between smoke and spit while my mother cooked over a fire on uppalas, I figured I would be free if I had a joba real jobwith the Sarkar which would give me wages without pleading and an uniform that would clothe me and my family with respect, removing the shroud of uncertainty and indignity.

I wanted to be unlike my father; no one feared my father, they just pitied himI have seen the look in my mothers eyesbut everyone feared the zamindar when he was around they lowered their eyes to the ground and called him Mi Baap and Hazoor.

If I wore the police uniform the people would respect me and wipe out the centuries of degradation that my family had lived under: toil, spit, dung and smell, all the while paying obeisance to the tehsildars under the British and then the zamindars. I hated the way he eyed my adolescent sisterwhose blouse was bursting at the seamswith impunity. I wanted to smash his hookah and have him hand over my father his wages with due respect.

When my father was born, India had just got her freedom, the people were learning that if someone folded their hands you did the same, in return. The condescending nod of the burra sahib, his colonial mansion overlooking a flight of steps, their memsahibs twirling their fine gowns over polished wooden dancing floors resting on the upholstered arms of a sahibwho complained of ruling the bloody natives in the heathad gone at the stroke of the midnight hour. Gone was the barking of their dogs accompanying them for a shikar with servants carrying them in palkis, as they assumed valour in shooting a tiger that had been set up for them.We had to carry the white man andhis burden! They left only after tearing us asunder into two countriesthey called it a double dealbut we were free at last.

I dont know how free my parents were, though my father still toiled under the zamindar and borrowed money at rates that made Shylock look generous. While my mother always looked patient and long sufferinga milked cowserving her in-laws and family, supplying and catering to our needs, never her own.

One day she told me, Sukhdev. I was lying on the charpoy half asleep and mumbled Haan.

I am getting old. How long will I go on milking the cow, making uppalas, cooking for all of you? she coughed, Trying to make do with the little your father earns? I listened feeling ashamed and helpless.

I want you to get a pucci naukria permanent jobnot something on the whims and fancies of anyone. I agreed with her fervently but didnt say anything. Nothing, they say in our part of the world, is in our hands, its all with the upparwala. So I studied, passed my school and college and then sat for the entrance exams to be a policeman and got shortlisted for the interview.

My mother prayed, my sister went to the temple, how fervently everyone wanted me to get the job. They asked me at the interview why I wanted to be a policeman and I replied, I want to serve my country. This amused the board member who raised his eyebrows at the chairman, who smiled, Lets see, he said, noting something down.

When the results were announced my mother was so proud she made besan ke ladoos and despatched them to the entire village with a declaration: Voh vardi pahenega and as I donned my uniform and left for the training she engaged me in absentia to a girl from another village. When I protested, I dont even know her, what to speak of love, she responded, Oh, but you will grow to love her. Just look at her photograph, she is so fair, like our cow. Revathi was indeed fair and beauteous and after the whirlwind of our marriage, we lived as we have always livedlike millions of couples before us.

I was conscientious in my job and rose to be an investigating officer. One day I got a call from my boss. A man has been killed. Go and check, he ordered.

I drove down in the police vehicle with the red light flashing. AsI reached the village, I saw a group of people that dispersed as soon as they saw the police vehicle approaching, but I put that down to the standard apprehension people have of the police, they now see us as oppressorsthe new Raj.

The man as I entered his kitchen was bleeding profusely. He had been hit on several places and as I felt his pulse, I realised he was already dead. He had obviously been eating as I saw the half-eaten food on his thalilentils, chapattis and some meat andan overturned glass of waterthen I noticed a strange light shining on his face. I looked around for the source and saw the refrigerator door open. I walked towards it and looked in. It had the usual stuff: eggs, vegetables, butter and in the freezer some thanda gosht.

I took photographs of the dead man from different angles, but I still could not figure out the angle behind the murder, for this was not a murder but a lynching. A mob had entered as I could see from the commotion inside, many people had attacked the man and several things in his kitchen had been smashed: the matka that kept the water, utensilswhich one by one had been thrown at him and the refrigerator door had been wrenched open with such force that its handle had come off. Village enmity I had reasonedhad his son run off with someones daughterbut even then this was too extreme, it didnt warrant so much violence.

I asked my colleagues to take his body for a post-mortem. The post-mortem revealed death by injuries which were several: on his head, arms, legsbut most were mainly on his stomach. It was there that he had been dealt severe blows. In his stomach they had found some food, not unusual as he had been eating when the crowd entered.

Then my boss called me, Go to the refrigerator and get the gosht he ordered. I thought he had gone off his rocker, with the stress of this job it is quite normal. Then he asked me to get the gosht sent for forensic examination. I did. After a few days I got a yellow envelope from the lab, with the words:

Meat. Putrified. Foul smelling.

Meanwhile the press was rocked with the lynching. They reported that a cow had gone missing in the neighbourhood and the priest of the local temple had announced over a loudspeaker that the missing cow was being eaten in the mans kitchen. The villagers were incensed and as they invaded the mans kitchen he had leapt up in alarm - which explained the half-eaten food in the thali and the overturned glass of water - and had been beaten.

The forensic report did not state what meat it was. So I asked.

They sent me a terse reply:

Mutton

I told the intrepid reporter doing her beat that it was just that and she quoted me in the daily. I got a whiplash from my boss, Bewakoof! he yelled, you mutton-headed fool! I was used to the zamindar mouthing abuses at my father, but didnt expect this in my line of duty.

Who told you, it was mutton?

The lab, Sir, I replied dutifully.

Its beef.

But...

Dont but me, he said, from now on you say, its beef.

I noted down that my superior said it was beef and I did not tamper with the lab report; I was not going tobe part of a rebuttal controversyI took my job seriouslyafter all I was the investigating officer.

Then a strange thing happened, the murdered mans daughter made a statement to the press, If the meat in our fridge is proved not to be beef, will you get my father back? I felt as if a cow had butted my stomach as I realised with a wrench,I knew what that beef really was. The case soon turned from a beefy story to the nations headlines and the village became a stop where politicians of every hue came and exhorted the youth to stand for unity with the cow or otherwise, depending on their political affiliation.

Meanwhile I arrested the main accused, Nathuram along with a few other known offenders. They were largely unemployed vagabonds who made it a point to stop any vehicle carrying goods and search it. If it contained cattle - whether it was a milch cow or not - thetravellers were dealt blowsall in the name of gaurakhsha. Then Nathuram died in the lock-up. I admit the police do get a trifle feisty but when they draped his body in the tricolour and asked the people to pay homage to a hero, I was stunned; if they had taken his urine sample they would have known he was a confirmed alcoholic who had a bout of jaundice.No one bothers about erstwhile deaths in police custody but mine is not to question why, but to go on with my duty.

Then they asked Zabardast Zohra to step down from a movieshe was PakistaniI was desultorily watching her desi substitute, who just didnt have the breast- shaking, hip-swiggling oomph of Zabardast. The film ended with the national anthem which was now mandatory and I saw an old man who remained seated. A bunch of young men yanked him up, you got no respect for the flag they yelled. He kept protesting he had a problem with his knees and they kicked him on his knee caps! I kept pretending I was not there; it was dark and easy to exit but I was wondering if the law was to be maintained by the derelict and the unemployed was my uniform even worth its laundry?

Outside a woman threw her shoe at a man who was selling biryani. He kept pleading Buffallo only, maam, but we were all moving in a herd, so no one quite heard his piteous cries. The poor fellow did not realise thatnamaz could not be offered in a public park and if a cow strayed before a bullet train, it was the driver who would be mowed down. You had to now cow down before a blinkered, manoeuvred people; someone was driving the cattleus.

Once upon a time we used to argue till the cows came home, but now we spoke in one voice. One day I dared to ask for leave for my silver anniversary, but my boss responded with a terse No; I always knew he was thick-skinned but he had now developed a hide. My bushy moustache quivered with rage, but I was silent. Then he explained, There is a build-up of tension over the temple issue, just in case reinforcements are needed... Had they seen the delivery of Ram to call thatspot his precise birthplace thousands of years later? Oh! How I wish someone would deliver me from the banalities I was condemned to serve under.

Revathi had said she wanted a washing machine and a dryer, the last was what dried my juices. Whats wrong with the clothes line? I had asked rather dryly.

Why should everyone in the village know the colour of my underwear and bras? Am I not entitled to my privacy? she had interrogated me. Privacy! Had she forgotten that when we had got married she and I had shared the one room we had and my old parents had slept out in the cold with an extra quilt for cover? Then she said if I bought her one set of cultured pearls she could get two for the price of one and when I raised my eyebrows, she explained with a flourish ofhands around her neck, it was the Deck Her Sale.

I was numb with the cold consumerism and the ease to do business that had swept my land while most were still doing their morning business by the roadside, as the trees had been felled for the malls and public toilets if any,were kept locked. I felt my country had become a roadside rodeo show with the cows having mounted; but I kept my feelings close to my heart, its the way of us men in uniform, we maintain a starched silence.

Tension bahut rakhte homy colleague had said, when I confided in him that on an honest policemans salary, this was not possible.

You should learn to compromise and everything will flow.

Compromise?

Han bhai, become a word-changer.

Whats that? I asked curiously.

His voice dipped, Take out mutton and insert b...

His words chilled me to the marrow. I did not become a police officer to be a word-changer. I was the son of a peasant and loved my job because it gave me respect, I was not going to trade that for anything.

Then my wireless buzzed.

I.O, I answered.

Car, spluttered the other side remotely and trailed off. Ever since the wireless tender went to the company that paved the middle ground for jets, both our planes and words take flight and get grounded in mid-air.

Car crashes, I deciphered helpfully.

Where?

Burrashahr district.

Village?

Durbudhi. And then he went off.

Burrashahr was located near the place they wanted to build the temple and had got every child in the surrounding area to send a brick, with the slogan:

Bacha Bacha Ram ka Janmboomi ke kaam ka -- every child is of Ram of use to his birthplace.

But why should there be car crashes in Durbudhi village, I wondered. I got into my vehicle and drove. Driving by the desolate countryside at night I did not feel forlorn; I had the stars overhead for company and felt I was on a chariot going to do my righteous duty; I felt like the God Ram himself.

When I reached the police station a mob surrounded my vehiclethey were displaying cow carcasses and stoning my jeep as if I had done it. I stayed calm; there were a hundred mouths screaming and they were hurling bricks, notstones. I steadied myself as one hurledthrough the windshield. I took out my revolver, I knew one shot in the air and this crowd of carcass waving derelicts would scatter  I summoned the courage of my uniform and its long line of duty.

Then in the melee something whizzed past and lodged itself in my chest. I was frozen; just then my phone rang. I knew it was my boss calling. Bewakoof! he would say. I tried my best to take the call but my hand would not obey my command. I wanted to say, Sir, situation under control. There will be no riot but no word came out of my mouth.

Then the door was wrenched open and I heard a quiet, dangerous snarl, Is he thanda gosht?

The other shoved a slab under my nose, roughly. I recognised thesmell; I swear it was putrified beef. I passed out; then he placed very carefully, the beef on the nape of my neck and said, Double-decker.

Sagari Chhabra is an award-winning author and film-director.
Sprint may start selling the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, and Pixel 3 XL in the foreseeable future.

Pixel phones have been an exclusive to Verizon ever since they were released back in 2016, though the unlocked version has always been available at the Google Store too. Now it seems things are changing up a bit as more carriers seem to be getting the green light to carry the devices.

Pixel Phones On Sprint

Android Police obtained an image that's alleged to be Sprint's plans to put at least three Pixel phones on display in one of its stores. If this turns out to be the real deal, then the Pixel 3 XL is guaranteed to be available from the carrier soon. At that, it's not a stretch to think that the smaller Pixel 3 is going to be included in the mix.

As for the other two, they're listed down as "Google S4" and "Google B4." These could be referring to the Pixel 3a's and Pixel 3a XL's code names "sargo" and "bonito," respectively. There's a good chance that these are just a coincidence, though.

Google is scheduled to officially unveil the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL on May 7 at its 2019 I/O developer conference. The event is just a few days away, and that makes the timing of the image outlining Sprint's Pixel display plans turning up all the more believable.

Expanding Availability Of Pixel Phones

Back in April, a report said that T-Mobile will be carrying Pixel phones soon. According to the source who divulged the info, the carrier is adding not only the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL to its lineup but also the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. It's even said to have plans to support Google's next-generation smartphone, which will presumably be called Pixel 4.

Assuming the reports are all accurate, then the only major carrier in the United States that's left is AT&T. On that note, it won't be surprising to see a report pop up out of nowhere, saying that the carrier will sell Pixel phones too.

Recently, Google admitted that sales of its Pixel hardware were slow, saying it was because of "year over year headwinds." The introduction of a more affordable midrange phone and wider availability could turn the tide. The word in town is the Pixel 3a will start at $399, while the Pixel 3a XL at $479, though those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Eddie and Ann Palmer, owners of Antiques on the Avenue in Rayne, were named Business Person of the Year by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce. The Mississippi natives have been married for 52 years.

Ann and I met when we were both in grammar school in Tremont, Mississippi. We were childhood friends then (beginning in 1951), dated in high school (classes of 62 and 63) and were married in 1967, just after I finished a bachelors degree at Mississippi State and just before entering a masters program there. Ann and I began picking during that time in order to supplement meager wages and also began going to nighttime and weekend auctions where we would buy furniture and collectibles, take those items to another auction and sell them through that auction on consignment.

After finishing a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, we moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 1975 where I began teaching sociology at Texas Tech. Ann enrolled in and finished a bachelors program in housing and interiors and then opened a draperies and interiors business in Lubbock. We appreciate the smooth surfaces, curves, lines and moderne features of streamlined art deco furniture and continue to collect these pieces for ourselves and for our shop in Rayne. We joke about bonding with the inventory when we locate pieces we fall in love with and occasionally ask for visiting rights to a clients home to see the piece when it is moved from our shop.

We moved to Lafayette in 1985 when I was offered a job at (then) USL. Ann closed her business in Lubbock, and we moved many of our favorite pieces to Lafayette, having to store many pieces because we had too much to fit into our town house. Even after moving into a larger house, we were still cramped and eventually decided to sell off excess pieces. Ann outlined a plan to downsize by taking pieces to antique stores and outdoor markets and quickly found buyers for some of our pieces. Deciding to go back in business, the move to Lafayette allowed us to continue our passion for collecting, refinishing, stocking and selling on a part-time basis. It is hard to get treasure hunting out of ones blood.

Periodically making good finds is what motivates much of our treasure hunting behavior. One of our finds happened a few years ago, after I had retired from UL and after we bought and opened our antique business in Rayne, when we bought a warehouse filled with hundreds of old foundry mold patterns, some about 100 years old. These patterns are often rough, dirty and scarred but are beautiful and attractive after sanding several times, hand waxing and being staged in attractive settings (many are used for center pieces on tables or for wall hangings). Many customers are seeking unique decorative pieces, and these are perfect for their tables, rooms and offices.

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We found a vacant building in Rayne in 2007 that met our needs. We bought the old Peoples Drug Store building, which dates back to 1884. It is on a corner lot across the street from the famous Mervine Kahn building and is adjacent to The Warehouse, another building of historical significance. The Peoples Drug Store was a gathering place for many of Raynes citizens for years, and we love being regaled with things that happened in and around the store in the past. We encourage people to visit with us, sit around the table for coffee and reminisce.

I chair and serve along with Ann and 12 others on the Rayne Old Spanish Trail Committee, a group sponsored by the City of Rayne and The Rayne Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway (U.S. 90) is considered by many to be the Route 66 of the South. The roadway runs from Saint Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California. Under the auspices of the OST100 organization located in San Antonio, Texas, Rayne became the first Official OST City in the nation in 2016. Crowleys annual car show contains an OST component with an OST motorcade.

When we were informed by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce that we had been selected as Business of the Year and Business Persons of the Year for 2019, we were totally surprised and completely humbled. We are so appreciative of this honor, especially because we are much smaller than many other businesses in Acadia Parish. The award validates some of our activities and provides an incentive for us to continue to work through our business to make more friends, satisfy more customers and network through the parish to increase commercial activity where possible.
Before the first shovel of dirt has been dug, the future $29.6 million Ascension Parish courthouse proposed for Gonzales is already $4.6 million over budget.

The cost estimate for design, engineering and construction of the three-story courthouse is at least 18 percent higher than what parish officials had hoped two years ago. The judges, Clerk of Court's Office and Sheriff's Office have agreed to cover the difference out of their own funds.

Clerk of Court Bridget Hanna, who relies on self-generated fees, is covering the bulk of the cost overrun at $3.2 million.

The parish originally incurred $25 million in bonded debt for the project, to be repaid from a $150 increase in fees for lawsuits and $30 increase for other civil court filings.

The Legislature approved the fee increases in 2017, but court officials said this week that as they got into the design of the building, the cost was much higher than the $20 million to $25 million an initial feasibility study estimated. That study was the basis of the project's financing.

Safety, space prompt plan for $25 million courthouse in Gonzales; civil filings fees would go up GONZALES  The judges of the 23rd Judicial District and other court officials are eyeing a new Ascension Parish Courthouse, saying overcrowdin

The more than 90,000-square foot building will have eight courtrooms and cost an estimated $27.4 million to build. As a cost-saving measure, only seven courtrooms will be fully finished and trimmed out, Hanna said.

Parish government won't pay for the building's construction, court officials said, but will take ownership responsibility after it is built on East Worthey Street next to the parish Governmental Complex.

At the urging of the judges, the clerk of court and the sheriff, parish government agreed to pursue $25 million in new debt in 2017 to finance the building. Court officials said then that demands from an increasing docket and troubling security concerns at the 16-year-old Courthouse Annex in Gonzales required a new building.

One of the major worries has been that the Courthouse Annex on South Irma Boulevard doesn't have a way to sequester prisoners easily and separate them from the judges and other court personnel, all of whom must use the same back hallways to enter the courtrooms.

+2 Ascension courthouse project inching forward GONZALES  After Ascension Parish and judicial officials spent last year gathering support and lining up funding for a new parish courthouse, 

Judge Jason Verdigets said court officials tried to model the Ascension courthouse on Livingston's and it is actually smaller than the courthouse in the town of Livingston.

"It was just total building prices as things go up," Verdigets said.

The latest construction estimate of $27.4 million came after trimming about $1 million in costs off the bid from builder The Lemoine Co., but another $2.1 million in engineering, architectural, testing and management fees bring the total cost to $29.6 million.

Long-term financing for new Ascension courthouse annex in Gonzales inches forward; court fees may increase GONZALES  Jason Verdigets, senior judge of the 23rd Judicial District Court, said Tuesday the court's judges and other local officials are se

Gasper Chifici, the courthouse project manager, suggested the early estimate was too low, noting that architect GraceHebert, which has experience designing courthouses, told parish officials from the start that the building couldn't be built for $25 million.

"I think had the original price been reasonably correct, I think it would be about where we are," said Chifici, who became project manager after the feasibility study and finance deal were completed.

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Mike Rice, vice-president of The Lemoine Co., said he could not speak to the past feasibility study but noted all owners start with a number.

"I would think through the final design of everything, they found some things that they need to have and found ways to pay for it and the final budget was ($27.4 million)," Rice said.

+6 Ten-plus years in the works, new $20M Livingston Parish courthouse almost ready to open After more than a decade of planning and nearly two years of construction, the new Livingston Parish courthouse soon will open its doors for b

Earlier this decade, parish officials in Livingston ran into similar problems with the total cost of their 110,000-square foot courthouse north of Interstate 12. The building came in about $3.2 million more than the $17.2 million debt that parish had taken out for the new courthouse. The local government agencies involved in that project also had to split the overage but also made up some of the extra cost with sales tax savings on materials purchases.

Judge recuses himself from Matassa's bribery case, cites work with him on new courthouse GONZALES  Judge Jason Verdigets recused himself Thursday from presiding over the election bribery case against Ascension Parish President Ken

The significantly higher cost for the Ascension courthouse only emerged in public Thursday as court officials were before the Parish Council seeking approval for a maximum construction price of $27.9 million.

The courthouse project has been designed and will be built through a process known as "construction management at risk," in which the architect and contractor work together from the start. The builder agrees to a maximum price upfront.

The $27.9 million maximum price has a built-in contingency that could be returned to the government agencies if it isn't needed.

Parish Council members had few questions about the increased costs but were in a more congratulatory mood as their vote to back the maximum construction price and for a related agreement with the court officials set the stage for construction to start.

Later, after the necessary votes, the court officials and council members posed for a photograph in front of the new courthouse renderings, which rested on an easel in the council chambers at the historic red brick Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville, Ascension's west bank courthouse.

One area of focus from the council Thursday were the future east bank courthouse's drainage impacts in Gonzales. The building will go up near East Ascension High School, an existing Clerk of Court building, the parish Governmental Complex and medical offices.

Chifici, the project manager, explained to Councilmen Bill Dawson and Daniel "Doc" Satterlee that a drainage study found that the fill used to raise the bottom floor of the courthouse will be offset by a large, existing pond that is part of the future courthouse property.

Chifici said the pond will be excavated to hold more water. The pond and other drainage works have been shown to improve drainage in the area up through a 100-year rainstorm, he said.

Drainage around the courthouse has been a point of concern since last summer. East Ascension Drainage Chairman Dempsey Lambert, who is also a parish councilman, had linked the future courthouse with a delay in new rules that would limit how much dirt can be used to raise homes and businesses, even when the flooding-effects of added dirt is counteracted with detention ponds.

Lambert said then that the courthouse, which will be near a small ditch, may have to be raised up on dirt more than 3 feet high.

But Chifici said Thursday the studies now show the courthouse will need dirt piled, on average, no more than 1.8 feet high, though some lower areas could require more.

At that height, he said, the courthouse will be level with East Worthey and the adjacent parish Governmental Complex. Chifici said that after agreements are signed and some initial planning happens, demolition and dirt work could begin soon.
An attorney for one of the teachers seen restraining a student in a video that went viral from Ponchatoula Junior High School in March said the school superintendent capitulated to pressure from public opinion when she fired him earlier this week.

My client got fired because he happened to be a white teacher breaking up a fight between two black kids. Period, attorney Tony Clayton said in an interview Friday.

Clayton is representing English teacher and school disciplinarian Rusty Barrilleaux.

Both teachers seen in the video were dismissed, Mona Icamina, a representative from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, confirmed Friday.

Report: Video of teachers restraining student is 'disturbing,' Tangipahoa schools leader says The Tangipahoa Parish schools superintendent said the video that circulated on social media last week showing two teachers physically restrain

Superintendent Melissa Stilley declined to speak on the issue, saying in an email, "We cant comment on any specific personnel actions for our employees at this time. She previously called the video disturbing but said a full investigation needed to be done.

"Anyone that watched that video, if they're honest, would say it was very disturbing and upsetting to see that and the things that were said to the student," Stilley told Action News 17, a local television station in the Florida Parishes in a video posted April 2.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The school system had been conducting an investigation since March 28 when the students mother posted the video to Facebook. It shows two teachers trying to pin down the girl on the concrete, with one of the teachers cursing the student as the other teacher drags her by the leg.

The video sparked outrage across social media.

Authorities said the video shows the aftermath of a fight between two students that the teachers were trying to break up.

In defense of his client, Clayton pointed to a video he says captures the moments before the two teachers intervened. That video shows two girls grabbing at the others shirts and punching each other in the head as more students stand by in the courtyard. At the end of the 11-second clip, a teacher Clayton identified as Brett Chatelain can be seen pulling one of the girls away from the fight.

The other kid let her go, and she and Mr. Chatelain went down to the ground, which put Mr. Chatelain on top of her torso, Clayton said.

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Barrilleaux can be seen in the widely shared video pulling the girl by the leg on the concrete. Clayton said he grabbed the girls leg to keep her from kicking Chatelain.

Rusty Barrilleaux merely came in to help control the situation, Clayton said, adding later, Any man worth his salt wouldve stopped those kids from hurting one another.

Efforts to reach Chatelain, a physical education teacher, were unsuccessful Friday.

Clayton said Barrilleaux was vindicated by an evaluation of the incident from Bruce Chapman, president of Handle With Care, a company hired by the school system to train school staff on appropriate discipline.

In an email shared by Clayton, Chapman says his opinion based on the two videos is that the two teachers used a minimal degree of force to control this student; in a manner consistent with a reasonable person standard.

Be also advised that training in effective physical intervention strategies and methods prior to this incident would have allowed them to use even less force, Chapman wrote.

Clayton is also claiming that Barrilleaux was tenured and thus should have had a due process hearing before he could have been terminated. In an April interview with ActionNews17, Stilley said both teachers were tenured, although Clayton said Stilley later denied that Barrilleaux had tenure.

In the weeks since the incident, Barrilleaux has received threats and had to move his family to an undisclosed area for safety, Clayton said. But Barrilleaux stands by his actions, Clayton said.

Ponchatoula Police investigated the fight and submitted their findings to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who has not yet said whether he'll seek charges against the teachers or the students. Clayton said police wanted to arrest the student who had been restrained but Barrilleaux told officers "he didn't want her to endure this."

John Williams, an attorney for the family of the girl seen in the viral video, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Three weeks after the incident, the girl seen restrained on the ground and her mother, Althea Abron, were both arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office on an unrelated investigation. Authorities searched the house regarding burglaries allegedly committed by the girls older brother. The girl was arrested for interfering in a police investigation and held for six days at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. Abron was arrested on an outstanding warrant for identity theft, as well as new counts of child endangerment and drug possession after deputies found some marijuana in a Pringles chip can.

Williams previously said he believed the arrests were retaliatory.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Tagore and Gandhi

by Jayanta Kumar Ghosal

The following article is being published before Rabindranath Tagores 158th birth anniversary which falls on May 9, 2019.

This year being the sesquicentenary of Mohadas Karamchand Gandhi, it is important to have a focus on the two great personalities like Tagore and Gandhi. It is now very much pertinent to have an account of their relation-ship in a nutshell. Because it is really amazing to observe that India with her many back-wardness produced two such mighty men in the period of one generation.

Gandhi was younger to Tagore by eight years and when he first met Tagore, he was yet to attain a national stature in the country, though he was widely known to Indians for his great work in South Africa. And actually for this work Tagore came to know Gandhi. C.F. Andrews and W.W. Pearson acted as the catalytic agents here. And the relationship between the two deepened.

As early as on February 1915, we observe Tagore referring to Gandhi as Mahatma and Gandhi immediately adopted the form of addressing Tagore as Gurudev. But theirs was not a friendship based on just mutual admiration. They differed on fundamental philosophical questions which led to differences about many political, social and economic matters. Both were unsparing in their debate and it must be remembered that neither of them succeeded to convince fully the other. Each accepted cordially the others right to differ.

There were many striking contrasts between the two personalities and, as Romain Rolland wrote his observations in a letter to Tagore in 1923 on the noble debate between the two, that it embraces the whole earth, and the whole humanity joins in this august dispute. Yet the two found some common chord and there began a friendship which lasted till Tagores death in 1941.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was close to both of them, with great astonishment commented on the relationship of the twoThe surprising thing is that both of these men with so much in common and drawing inspiration from the same wells of wisdom and thought and culture, could differ so greatly. No two persons could probably differ so much as Gandhi and Tagore in their make up or temperament. Tagore even raising a question on the honesty of the works of Gandhi saidI wonder whether you are being quite fair to our people, Gandhiji or quite honest with them?(Quoted in Poet and Plowman by Leonad Elmhirst)

To compare and contrast them is very interesting. Tagore, basically an artist, was of strong democratic temperament with great sympathies to proletariats, represented the cultural tradition of India in the truest sense, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness and going through it with songs and dance.

Gandhi was more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant. In Gandhi we see the other side of the ancient Indian tradition which was of renunciation and asceticism. Tagore was primarily an intellectual, a man of thought while Gandhi put great emphasis on concentrated and ceaseless activity.

Both Tagore and Gandhi took much from the West and also from the East. This was more so in the case of Tagore. The two at the same time refuted narrow nationalism. Their thoughts and messages were for the whole world towards achieving the emancipation of global mankind. At the same time both were cent per cent Indias sons. They have inherited and represented the age-old culture of Indiatheir motherland.

Tagore looked upon Gandhi as a liberated soul who according to him .... is a great man, a great soul and ... wields tremendous power over the teeming million of India. And the secret of Gandhis success, as Tagore observed, lies in his dynamic spiritual strength and incessant self-sacrifice. He also said that Not because of his political prudence, but for his spiritual influence the people believe in him and they are ready to die for their faith and always ready to suffer. And to Tagore, It is a miracle that these people, downtrodden for centuries, are coming out; and without doing any injury to others they suffer and through suffering, conquer. And Gandhi, as Tagore observed, also greatly influenced Indian women folk who only the other day ....were secluded in their own inner apartments. They, too, have come out to follow this man, this leader.

Analysing Gandhi, Tagore wrote on February 28, 1939when Mahatma Gandhi came and opened up the path of freedom for India, he had no obvious medium of power in his hand, no overwhelming authority of coercion. The influence which emanated from his personality was ineffable, like music, like beauty. Its claim upon others was great because of its revelation of a spontaneous self-giving.

Prior to this Tagore, on December 1, 1930, wrote: We have been waiting for the Person, such a personality as we see in Mahatma Gandhi.

And Gandhi after Tagores demise wrote in the obituary on August 7, 1941In the death of Rabindranath Tagore, we have not only lost the greatest poet of the age, but an ardent nationalist who was also a humanitarian. There was hardly any public activity on which he has not left the impress of his powerful personality.

Refrences

1. Mahatma Gandhi : Rabindranath Tagore.

2. The Mahatma And the Poetedited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya.

3. Gandhi number : The Visvabharati Querterly, Vol-35, No. 1-3.

The author is a social activist associated with literacy movement.
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In 1979, 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. was in manufacturing, the backbone of the American economy. But as technology advanced, manufacturing evol
The year was 1991, and the only way to enter Louisiana's Old State Capitol was by climbing a tower of scaffolding and going through a second f
After a pipe burst today caused heavy flooding and a boil water advisory in parts of Uptown New Orleans, City Councilwoman At-Large Helena Moreno made a renewed call for New Orleans to review all of its tax dedications.

A water main break in the Freret neighborhood resulted in flooding that led at least a dozen Uptown schools to close. The pipe was more than a century old, according to the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB).

A cautionary boil water advisory was then announced for parts of Uptown from Carrollton to Napoleon and Claiborne to the Mississippi River and is still in effect.

This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

The break came at the end of a week of tangled negotiations between Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Gov. John Bel Edwards and hospitality industry leaders over increased funding to the S&WB from new hotel and short-term rental taxes.

Cantrell and Edwards were scheduled to give a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the deal but the Cantrell administration abruptly cancelled it Tuesday night.

The deal  which is contingent on a package of bills in the state legislature  would give New Orleans $27 million a year for infrastructure and $48 million upfront to the S&WB. Those totals are down from the initial $40 million a year and one-time payment of $75 million Cantrell sought.

New Orleans tourism and infrastructure deal back in negotiations after tumultuous 24 hours A deal to raise hotel taxes to help fund infrastructure repairs in New Orleans saw a tumultuous 24 hours, with Mayor LaToya Cantrell agreeing 

Moreno said that the agreement alone would not be enough to fix the citys pressing infrastructure problems.

I am hopeful that negotiations in Baton Rouge will lead to a boost in funds, but unfortunately, much more is needed and we must act quickly, Moreno said.

Moreno said she plans to bring a motion before City Council May 9 to create a committee to review all dedicated taxes in New Orleans, in hopes that funds can potentially be freed from other areas and used to improve the citys infrastructure. The goal is to complete a full report by early 2020, she said.

"We can not live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure," Moreno said.
As if to re-emphasize Mayor LaToya Cantrell's continuing call for more money to upgrade the city's aging infrastructure, torrents of water from a broken main on South Claiborne Avenue gushed into the area near Soniat Street for hours Friday, leaving much of Uptown New Orleans with weak or no water pressure before Sewerage & Water Board crews were able to plug the leak.

The broken pipe, which was installed in 1905, placed a wide swath of Uptown under a boil-water advisory until at least Saturday, swamped cars and threatened homes.

It cut off the water supply needed for necessary medical procedures at Childrens Hospital and caused problems at other medical facilities in the area.

+2 New Orleans boil water advisory might be lifted Saturday as repairs to broken water main begin The broken water main that was gushed water onto Claiborne Avenue and neighborhoods near Soniat Street for more than 12 hours is being repaire

Broken pipes and boil-water advisories are nothing new in New Orleans. But the length and severity of Fridays leak  which left many places with such little water pressure that their taps were dry  and its impact on medical treatments highlighted the potentially dangerous effects of the citys long-standing problems with its ancient infrastructure.

The pipe burst sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Friday, spewing water into the streets nearby. By 4:30 a.m., pressure in the pipes had dropped below the threshold that triggers a boil-water advisory, which is called when there is too little pressure to ensure the water delivered to homes and businesses is not contaminated.

Emergency repair crews from across the city were dispatched immediately, S&WB spokesman Rich Rainey said. But they struggled throughout the day to get the leak under control.

The water from the pipe flooded into the streets for several blocks around the break, deep enough in some areas to flood cars that had been parked or whose drivers tried to drive through the water.

One driver, T.J. Bush, found himself stuck after driving to Isidore Newman School, only to find that, like many others in the area, the low pressure had forced it to close for the day.

+2 While trying to get to school, New Orleans student gets stranded in floodwaters from busted water main T.J. Bush thought he was taking just a quick detour, cutting through a neighborhood to get around the Sewerage & Water Board roadblocks su

Verna Ellzey, who was driving through the neighborhood, said she had seen water everyplace and cars just floating on the water.

The city needs to do better by their residents, she said.

One reason the leak could not be closed quickly was the difficulty crews encountered in determining which of two pipes that run alongside each other was leaking, Rainey said. In addition, many of their shut-off valves were so old that they didnt work properly, keeping the workers from fully cutting off the water supply and forcing them to move onto the next valve in hopes that it would work, Rainey said.

Because of those issues, the water pressure could not be restored and the actual repairs could not begin until late afternoon. At that point, the S&WB collected samples to be sent to Baton Rouge for testing  a process that normally takes 24 hours.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The boil-water advisory remained in effect overnight for the area from South Carrollton Avenue to Napoleon Avenue and from South Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River. Residents and others in that area were advised not to ingest unboiled water  from drinking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing food  until they receive an all-clear. Water should be boiled for a full minute to ensure its safety.

Residents in the affected area whose immune systems are compromised were advised not to wash hands, shower or bathe with tap water.

Beyond the normal annoyances brought by boil-water advisories, this one affected hospitals including Childrens and Ochsner Baptist.

The problems at Childrens were particularly serious: Water pressure that is normally at 40 pounds per square inch dropped to 3 psi, too low to feed pediatric hemodialysis equipment that for some children is their only option for treatment in the state.

Going too long without treatment, which must be done on specialized machines that are different from those used for adults, can have life-threatening consequences, said Dr. Diego Aviles, chief of pediatric nephrology at Childrens.

Children who were supposed to come in for dialysis on Friday had to be rescheduled for Saturday, and officials began making contingent plans for more serious steps, such as moving the large machines to another hospital where they could be hooked into its water supply, said Evie Freiberg, senior director for patient care services at Childrens.

Fortunately, pressure was restored to the hospital at mid-morning and such steps were not necessary.

Its so important to try to make the community and the city aware that when theres a loss in our water pressure, it has a tremendous impact on our patients and can put them in a really bad place, Aviles said.

The problems on Friday led to renewed calls for more infrastructure funding in New Orleans, something Cantrell has made a priority of her first year in office.

The bottom line is we have pipes that are over 100 years old, City Councilman Joe Giarrusso said. Those pipes continue to function, but we have to be mindful that at a certain point even the best of infrastructure thats over 100 years old is going to have issues. We need to have a constant eye on fixing that and replacing that, and the way we do that is through having adequate funding sources.

The S&WB wont know what caused the rupture until repairs are complete and engineers get a chance to examine the broken pipe.

+6 As New Orleans streets flood, a second pipe, ancient valves could be to blame, S&WB says The Sewerage & Water Board is still trying to fix a water main that broke on Claiborne Avenue early Friday morning, leaving streets floode

A major factor, however, likely was the age of the water main; such pipes are supposed to last only 30 to 50 years before they need to be replaced.

Its a 114-year-old pipe. Its amazing it lasted that long, Rainey said. It should have been replaced two or three times over by now.

The utility repaired other sections of the main in the same area last week.

Asked whether Fridays break could have been related to the previous work, Rainey said that was possible. When a pipe is repaired and leaks are plugged or compromised sections are reinforced, it can put more pressure on other weak points, causing new leaks to spring up.

Its not clear yet whether that contributed to Fridays problems, however.

Cantrells administration is currently negotiating with the hospitality industry for more infrastructure money, largely from increased hotel and short-term rental taxes. Bills that are part of that effort, which could raise an additional $27 million a year for infrastructure repairs, are expected to move forward in the Legislature next week.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno responded to Fridays flooding and pressure drop by commending Cantrell for the effort but saying the city needs to go further.

In a statement, Moreno called for the creation of a special committee to review what entities in the city are now getting tax money and make recommendations about possibly changing how the money is distributed.

Moreno calls for review of New Orleans' dedicated taxes after pipe burst causes floods This mornings water main break is another clear signal of the desperate need for improvements to the citys infrastructure, Moreno said in a statement Friday.

We cannot live in a city where lives are interrupted and possibly even put in jeopardy because of failing infrastructure, Moreno said. Let's have a serious conversation about where our money should go."
Sydney's popular northern beaches pub, Hotel Steyne at Manly, has been sold by John Singleton and his business partners for a price understood to be in the mid-$60 millions to private hotel group Iris Capital.

Along with ad man Mr Singleton, the imposing three-level hotel, on almost 2000 square metres at 75 The Corso, was owned by investment banker Mark Carnegie, well-known investor Robert Whyte and hotelier Arthur Laundy.

Manly's Hotel Steyne.

The high-powered consortium paid a reported $27 million for the 160-year-old hospitality venue when they bought it from Sydney bookmaker Bruce McHugh and his family in 2010. At the time, the group included retail billionaire Gerry Harvey.

Iris Capital founder Sam Arnaout said he was "delighted" to have bought the pub.
The first gig Little May ever played was in 2012 at a pizza restaurant in Bathurst called Church Bar.

Guitarist-vocalist Liz Drummond recalls using a percussion instrument called a stomp box and thinks that former guitarist Annie Hamilton may have been playing a banjo.

Little May's Liz Drummond and Hannah Field have adopted a more full-bodied, indie-rock sound.

"It was in the phase of Mumford and Sons. That was the vibe."

Fast forward to 2015 and Little May were onstage in New Jersey supporting  wait for it  Mumford and Sons, having been invited on their Gentlemen of the Road touring festival.
If the craft beer drinkers of Sydneys Inner West had their way, Australia would be a few short weeks away from replacing prime minister ScoMo with Albo.

Anthony Albanese, Labors spokesman for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, was given a rousing cheer by the large crowd as he cut the ribbon on the renovated premises of Willie the Boatman Brewery on Saturday.

Anthony Albanese received a warm welcome from drinkers at Willie the Boatman Brewery in his electorate of Grayndler in Sydney's Inner West. Credit:Steven Siewert

Many drinkers including Ben Suggate, who was celebrating his bucks party, were drinking the Albo Corn Ale, named after Mr Albanese, who has been the member for Grayndler in Sydneys Inner West since 1996.

Its not too heavy. Its easy to drink. Its quite pleasant, Mr Suggate said. Its actually a pretty good beer. Id drink it again.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Nato 70 Years and Expanding  Differences with Russia Aggravating

by R.G. Gidadhubli

On April 4, 2019 the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) celebrated the historic occasion of the 70th anniversary of its existence in Washington, when Foreign Ministers of 29 member-states attended the function. US President Donald Trump and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg addressed the delegates highlighting the achievements, issues and challenges facing the organisation. The NATO was formed on April 4, 1949 in Washington with 12 members of the USA and European states in the aftermath of the Second World War to counter the military power of the former Soviet Union and other communist states which had formed a military bloc known as the Warsaw Pact. Hence the major objective of NATO countries was to come to each others defence if any of them was attacked. Subsequent to that prevailing scenario, most unexpected major changes have taken place in that region during the last few decades that were not visualised when the NATO was formed.

Hence several questions arise. What is the relevance of the NATO considering the fact that the USSR disintegrated in 1991 and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1989? Why has the NATO expanded from the original 12 to 29 members? What is the NATOs approach towards Russia? What are the major tasks and objectives of the NATO? An effort has been made to analyse some of the issues.

Firstly, looking back into history there was a short period in the early 1990s when there were formal cordial contacts and cooperation between Russia and the NATO in the prevailing context of the end of superpower rivalry, no ideological conflict and evolution of the concept of Partnership for Peace. Hence in June 1994 both Russia and the NATO signed a Founding Act on Mutual Relations. It was significant that a roadmap was also laid on lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Fall of Berlin Wall further added to the end of the threat perception of the Cold War era. But this era of cordiality, cooperation and hope between Russia and the NATO did not last long.

Secondly, much to the disenchantment of Russian leaders who expected that the NATO might also cease to exist as there was no threat from Moscow and the Warsaw Pact bloc was dissolved, the NATO leaders pursued the policy of Eastward Expansion with the admission of several East European countries after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Apart from that it is a matter of reality that primarily due to the strained relations between Russia and some former Soviet Republics, namely, Georgia and the Baltic States and the impact of Coloured Revolutions which made them to seek support of the West the relations between Russia and the NATO were affected and the latter took advantage of increasing its membership, relevance and strength.

Thirdly, the United States has been a dominant player and is by far the largest contributor of funding to the NATO, followed by Germany, Britain, and France. Being the largest contributor of defence expenses of the NATO for decades and hence to reduce its own burden, US President Donald Trump has urged all members to contribute their share of military spending. In fact during the previous NATO meeting held in 2018 Donald Trump chided the NATO leaders for failing to meet their commitments of spending two per cent of the GDP on defence. He was candid in stating We are protecting countries that have taken advantage of the United States, since the United States pays for a disproportionate share of NATO, and we just want fairness. In fact the issue of defence expenses has become quite serious and hence this has also been reiterated by the NATO chief, Stoltenberg, when he was addressing delegates during the occasion. At the same time he was fair in stating that there is some progress in members stepping up their spending but added there is more work to be done.

Fourthly, during the last over a decade apart from defence issues, it is appreciable that the NATO has been involved in other global social and economic issues concerning the interest of member-countries. For instance, as opined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the world has entered a new era of great power competition. He was specific in stating: We must adapt our alliance to confront emerging threats whether thats Russian aggression, uncontrolled migration, cyber attacks, threats to energy security, Chinese strategic competition, including technology and 5G, and many other issues. But these are complex and complicated global issues which are challenges the NATO will face in the years to come.

Fifthly, as opined by some Western analysts, Trump has openly questioned the most important aspect of Article 5 of the NATO alliance as to whether an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. This is a crucial issue and might assume significance in the context of, say, growing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. But notwithstanding these issues it is appreciable that the NATO chief has stated that the organisation has made progress in its objectives and vision to ensure Freedom and Peace in the world.

Nato-Russia Differences Persisting

Notwithstanding several positive developments, differences between the NATO and Russia persist. These are evident from the contentions made at the Washington meeting. Firstly, there is an allegation made by the NATO that Russia had violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as a part of a pattern of destabilising behaviour. The INF Treaty was signed by the United States and Soviet Union in the last years of the Cold War. Russia has denied this allegation. Moreover, Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman was highly critical and hence reiterated in stating that the two-day gathering in Washington on April 4 showed that the NATO had no intention of abandoning its plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Secondly, issues concerning Russias ongoing conflict with Ukraine and allegation of annexation of Crimea in 2014 assumed significance at the NATO meeting. The NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned the Black Sea situation and urged Russia to release Ukrainian vessels and their crews. But Russia is bent on contending that due process of law was being followed. Russias response was candid and Russias Foreign Ministry said on April 4 that the two-day gathering in Washington shows that the NATO has no intention of abandoning plans to step up military and political confrontation with Russia.

Thirdly, at the NATO meeting, some members insisted that Germany should not import oil and natural gas from Russia and not enter into a deal of Russias pipeline project from the Adriatic Sea to Germany. But this does not seem to be rational and not in compliance with the basic principles of international trade; and it is against WTO rules which promote global trade. Hence it will not be fair on the part of the NATO to restrict economic relations between Russia and Germany which are close and cordial for several years. Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to Germany and to many European countries and for Russia this has been a major source of earning petrodollars. Hence the argument and contention that Germany should not enter into a deal with Russia on the energy pipeline issue amount to hitting Russia below the belt. In fact this Nord Stream 2 project is scheduled to be completed in 2019, and this pipeline would run directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing several European transit countries including Ukraine. While this will help Russia to avoid transit-fee payment and other disputes, there is contention that it will also increase Western Europes dependence on Russian natural gas and give Moscow more negotiating leverage over unrelated political issues.

Fourthly, Turkey is a member of the NATO and it has also cordial political and economic relations with Russia which is also helping the country to face problems of terrorism and security issues in the region. Hence Turkeys President has entered into an agreement with Moscow to purchase surface-to- air missile S-400 which is cheap and effective. But the USA is critical of Turkey. Now the USA and other NATO countries have demanded that Turkey should cancel its deal with Russia, which is not compatible with the NATO systems and is considered a threat to the US F-35 aircraft. In fact the US Vice President, Mike Pence, was candid in stating: Turkey must choose. Does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?. In fact the Pentagon spokesperson has stated that it has suspended dialogue with Turkey for selling F-35 even as the United States and other NATO countries have demanded that Ankara should call off its deal with Russia to purchase the S-400. The issue persists since Ankara is keen on going ahead with the deal.

Thus in lieu of conclusion it may be stated that the NATO has emerged as a successful global organisation and has diversified its activities apart from security issues even as problems of funding need to be considered. The USA has been a dominant player in funding. The NATO chief,Jens Stoltenberg, has every reason to be content in stating: We have experienced an unprecedented period of peace. So the NATO alliance is not only the longest-lasting alliance in history, it is the most successful alliance in history. But as stated above, problems persist and hence there is need for the NATO to have a fair deal with Russia rather than aggravating differences.

Dr Gidadhubli is a Profesor and former Director, Centre for Central Eurasian Studies, University of Mumbai.
Childcare workers with university degrees could be paid more than school teachers under Bill Shorten's plan to use a taxpayer funds to boost wages, with Labor refusing to rule out applying its subsidy on top of any Fair Work Commission increase.

Such a two-stepped increase would push some childcare workers' salaries as high as $122,120 if the Independent Education Union, which represents those with teaching qualifications, wins its long-running pay equity case in the commission in June.

The union demands pay increases of up to 49 per cent to set salaries for its most experienced members at $101,767, arguing they should be paid similarly to primary school teachers.

Bill Shorten has refused to rule out giving child care workers seeking $122,120 salaries a taxpayer wage subsidy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A Shorten campaign spokeswoman would not say whether Labor's promised 20 per cent increase would come on top of any wage hike won by childcare workers in the case, saying only: "We will not pre-empt the Fair Work Commission".
To have one child with an eating disorder would be hard enough, but Kim Coffey has spent nine "heartbreaking" years caring for three daughters with anorexia nervosa.

"I was always a pretty laid-back sort of person and now Im more stressed now than I used to be. I get more anxious, some of these days I feel like I'm not coping, sometimes I cry a lot, it's just been a whole gamut of emotions," said Ms Coffey, from East Killara on Sydneys upper north shore.

Kim Coffey with her daughters Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Ms Coffey is one of an estimated two million carers in Australia of people with eating disorders, who are described by Butterfly Foundation chief executive Kevin Barrow as "unsung heroes". Her eldest two daughters, Jessica, 25, and Laura, 21, are now in recovery while the youngest, Nicola, 20, is still sick.

"I remember being in the psychiatrist's office in tears because we had just realised our third daughter was unwell and the psychiatrist explained that she thought we had just been terribly unlucky that we obviously had a strong genetic predisposition for eating disorders. I, however, was asking myself 'how did we let this happen?' We were initially so focused on one daughter and it just snuck under our radar and hit the other daughters."
A nurse and elderly woman were stabbed when a female patient allegedly attacked staff with a pair of scissors at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Saturday night.

Police say the nurse called for help after the patient, 29, grew agitated and began hitting the walls of her room on the Camperdown hospital's renal ward shortly before 8.30pm.

The patient allegedly grabbed hold of the nurse and ripped the scissors from her pocket. She stabbed the nurse twice in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.

Two other nurses rushed to help their colleague before the woman slashed at their arms with the scissors.

She then went into another room where she stabbed a female patient, 77, in the face, police say.
A rider has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a two-vehicle crash in Brisbane's north-west.

Emergency services were called just after 1pm on Saturday after a motorbike and vehicle crashed near the corner of Inverness Street and Canvey Road in Upper Kedron.

The patient was taken to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital after being treated by a high acuity response unit and critical care paramedics.

A police spokesman said the forensic crash unit was on scene investigating whether speed could have been a factor.
Residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night as suspicious fire engulfed a community hall in Melbourne's south-east.

The blaze began around 3.15am in Whatley Street, Carrum. While police do not believe anyone was inside the building at the time, surrounding houses have been evacuated due to flying embers coming from the fire.

The smoke billowing from the hall caused the CFA to issue a community warning during the night.
An off-road motorbike rider is fighting for life after a crash in Lancelin on Saturday morning.

The rider, a man in his 20s, was riding in the sand dunes when he came off, receiving life-threatening injuries, according to a St John Ambulance spokesman.

The man was found unconscious at the scene.

An RAC rescue helicopter was dispatched to Lancelin oval just before 11.30am to take the man to Royal Perth Hospital.

More to come
One participant, Kenneth, a director of a milk company, said he felt Shorten had a few strong policies - "I don't really like him, but I appreciate his policies" - and added that he'd brought leadership stability to the Labor Party. Jennifer, an architect from Albert Park, thought Shorten seemed "quite approachable", and from what she'd seen and heard on TV and radio, he seemed to have a sense of humour. "He's not necessarily charismatic, but I think he's quite strong," said Richard, an archivist of Elsternwick, who had remained quiet for most of the evening. But then a man we'll call Stewart, a pharmaceutical manager, chimed in. "He's someone you'd like to punch in the head, really," he said.

The comment was greeted with knowing laughter and nodding. "I think he fits the bill as a union leader better," said Kenneth. Clive Palmer scored worse. "He'd send the country broke and take all the money," said Carol, who owns a hairdressing business. Geoffrey, who works in apprenticeship training, had some sympathy for Pauline Hanson, because "she sticks to her guns and stays true to her word". Ursula, a designer, was less forgiving. "She wants to print money," she declared of Hanson.

The group was gentler on The Greens. Ursula and Kenneth felt they would be happy to listen to Greens candidates, and Susan felt Greens were more approachable than representatives of the big parties. Loading All but one of the participants were from inner Melbourne suburbs: East St Kilda, Fitzroy, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Pascoe Vale: the sort of places that aren't particularly happy territory for conservative parties. Only Bentleigh East, where Kenneth the milk company man lives, could be described as anything further out than "inner". All but Geoffrey will vote in the new electorate of Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports). It will be a tight battleground between Labor, the Greens and Liberals. Geoffrey is from Wills, a traditional Labor seat once held by Bob Hawke and now by Peter Kahlil, who is under pressure from the Greens.

All participants of our focus group had voted Labor at the last election. All now described themselves as undecided about the coming election. Only Geoffrey, however, declared outright that he was considering voting Liberal. Carol was grappling with Shorten's policy to cap negative gearing, though this - along with franking credits for retirees, which attracted little criticism - turned out to be among the few policies raised by any of the participants. The big promises of the campaign had not yet made an impression. Annoying campaign advertising got an airing, with Jennifer furious that candidates would interrupt her "catch-up" television viewing to try to tell her how to vote. And where did most of the group encounter campaign advertising? Facebook and billboards, they agreed.

Apart from their views about the current leaders' attributes - or lack of them - the group displayed a distinct nostalgia for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. "I'm very angry what they did to Malcolm Turnbull," said Ursula. Stewart also condemned the "far right influence in the Liberal Party" declaring "the religious right is starting to scare me". Most of the eight made clear they liked and missed Turnbull. He was described variously as "well-credentialled (Geoffrey)", "progressive" (Stewart) and "better-looking" (Susan) than the current leaders, though two of the women, Jennifer and Carol, weren't so impressed with Turnbull criticising those in his old party, "even when he's been overseas". Most of the focus group participants were nostalgic for Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Geoffrey and Carol agreed former Julie Bishop was "very smart" and would be missed, leading to nods around the table.

This yearning for former Liberal luminaries seemed odd among those who had voted Labor when Turnbull led the Liberal-National Coalition and Bishop was his deputy. Puzzling, too, was the initial response when the group was asked whether they felt there was a mood for change. No, they agreed: they couldn't detect real need for change. Loading This, at first blush, appeared to be good news for the Morrison government and poor bodings for Shorten's Labor. It was not clear, however, what these voters perceived to be the "change" under discussion : they had earlier agreed the regular change of prime ministers seen in Australia over the past decade had to stop. Carol described both parties' willingness to ditch leaders as "disgraceful", and the word "shambles" was used.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's handpicked cybersecurity tsar Alastair MacGibbon is quitting his role and has declared cyber attacks "the greatest existential threat we face".

Mr MacGibbon has been the face of cybersecurity for federal authorities for the past three years, handling the public response to the cyberattack on the national census in 2016 and the hacking earlier this year of the Parliament and the major political parties.

Outgoing head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alastair MacGibbon, speaks to the media at Parliament House in February. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The announcement of Mr MacGibbon's resignation from the role of national cyber security adviser comes just two weeks before the federal election, but he stressed he was not stepping down because of any possible change of government.

While saying he didn't downplay the seriousness of threats such as terrorism or long-term challenges such as climate change, Mr MacGibbon said the sheer scale and rising likelihood of major cyber attacks made them the most pressing threat a country like Australia faces.
London: A paedophile wanted by police in Australia for almost 10 years was free to commit a series of crimes against teenage boys in the UK, it has emerged.

Barry Radford, 53, a spray painter based in Northumberland, north-east England, was jailed for 12 years on Friday for a series of grooming offences, taking indecent images of one of his victims, and possessing more than 1000 images of other children.

Paedophile Barry Radford has been jailed for 12 years in the UK.

His offending came to light last year when one of the boys came forward to police.

It later emerged Radford had been wanted by NSW Police in Australia for sexual offences said to have been committed in 1999.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Chowkidar allowed Hate Crimes under his Watch

by Neha Dabhade

In the build-up to the general elections, the BJP has intensified its campaign to seek support for the elections. One such step is the campaign, main bhi chowkidar. This campaign has seen the Prime Minister prefixing the word chowkidar to his name in his Twitter profile. The trend caught on with many of his Cabinet and party colleagues following suit. This is a PR manoeuvre to promote the narrative/impression amongst the general public that the BJP Government is fighting against social evils and corruption.

Your Chowkidar is standing firm and serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying#MainBhiChowkidar, he wrote on Twitter. (Sharma, 2019) The claim of this campaign translates into the impression that the PM is a shining example of someone who is meticulously and diligently guarding the countryprotecting the law and order and rule of law in the country as expected of the highest authority in the country. This campaign is critiqued from many quarters due to the poor state of Indian economy, rising unemployment, the easy escape of defaulting businessmen like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi who were allowed to leave the country after defaulting on loans worth hundreds of crores. The picture on the social front is not encouraging either. Though the campaign has soared in the public imagination and boosted the popularity of PM Modi, this exalted self- proclaimed righteous chowkidar was silent when the law of the land was violated. He failed to check the hatred spewed by his own colleagues and party members through the rising instances of hate speeches.

The focus on hate speeches is urgent given the rise in the number of hate speeches. NDTV reported that as compared to the UPA II period (2009-2014), the NDA Government (2014 to April 2018) witnessed a rise of hate speeches by 490 times. During the NDA period, a total of 45 political leaders made hateful comments. Of them, 35 politicians, or 78 per cent, are from the BJP. 10 leaders, or 22 per cent of the offenders, are from other political parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Lalu Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal. (Jaiswal, Jain, and Singh, 2018)

While this jump in the quantum of the hate speeches is alarming, what makes it more menacing is that most of these hate speeches are made by high-ranking officials who have sworn by the Constitution to protect all citizens equally. Thus its a matter of deep concern that under the leadership which swears by vigilance to rid the country of social evils, its own party members who are high-ranking officials like Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers of States, Ministers at State level etc. are violating the law and the chowkidar is found napping! No action or little action was taken against them when they blatantly violated the law by indulging in hate speeches to demonise the Muslims and incite enmity and hatred along religious lines. Under the Indian Penal Code, there are definitions and punishments mentioned for those who promote enmity based on religion.

153 A of the IPC states, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities is a punishable offence.

Initially, at the beginning of the NDA rule, hate speeches were trivialised by dismissing them as banter made by fringe elements non-state actors who didnt enjoy political authority. But the hate speeches made by the elected representatives and persons enjoying political power and equal measure of responsi-bility mark a new low in the political discourse of the country and also significantly in the law and order situation where they enjoy immunity to openly indulge into hatemongering. These hate speeches now dont come from the so-called fringe elements but the mainstream setting a new normal in the socio-political landscape of the country. These speeches have spelled out further polarisation and strengthening of prejudices against the Muslims. This has culminated in fuelling the process of their othering and marginalisation. Below are some such statements though these are only a few examples. There are many such statements reported but for the limitation of space only the very glaring speeches, which clearly violate the law, are stated below.

Starting with Union Ministers, there were speeches made by Ministers which sought to entrench the prejudice that Muslims are terrorists in the social imagination. Referring to Deoband, which is a Muslim-majority city, Giriraj Singh, who is the Union Minister of State for Small and Medium Enterprises, said, Earlier Deobands name was Deovrant. I dont know what is it about this place that it produces people similar to (Islamic State founder) Baghdadi and (Pakistan terror ideologue) Hafiz Saeed. This place is not a temple of knowledge. It is a hub of terrorism. (Rai, 2018) Extending this argument, in another speech he also encouraged the myth and almost a hysteria that the Muslim population is increasing at a faster pace than that of Hindus in India thereby aiming at fanning the fear of the minority overtaking the majority and deepening this binary. In the same breath he associated Muslims in India with Pakistan, insinuating that their loyalty and affection lies with Pakistan. He said: Hindu ka do beta ho aur Musalmaan ko bhi do hi beta hona chahiye. Hamaari aabadi ghat rahi hai. Bihar mein saat zila aisa hai jahan hamaari jansankhya ghat rahi hai. Jansankhya niyantran ke niyam ko badalna hoga, tabhi hamaari betiyaan surakshit rahengi. Nahi toh hamein bhi Pakistan ki tarah apni betiyon ko parde mein band karna hoga.(Singh, 2016)

Similarly, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also strengthened this misplaced connection which implies Muslims are not natural citizens of India by saying, "Those who are dying without eating beef, can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available. (Hindustan Times, 2015) Cow, as suggested by Naqvi, is enforced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Meneka Gandhi as a sacred symbol of nationalism. The people indulging in cattle trade are thus targets of hate and violence. She went on to say: Money earned is going into terrorism, it is going into bomb making. (India Today, 2014)

These narratives about Muslims being terrorists, beef-eaters, anti-nationalists, growing at a fast pace are on the one hand demonising the Muslim community and on the other hand used as a justification for the agenda of establishment of a Hindu Rashtra which in essence is steeped in exclusion and hierarchies. The officials, who are sworn to protect a secular India as enshrined in the Constitution, are openly and stridently espousing for a Hindu Rashtra. Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Paras Jain said: Whoever was living in India, irrespective of their religion, should consider it a Hindu Rashtra because a majority of people follow Hinduism here. (The Indian Express, 2015) On being asked about saffronisation of education, the MP from Agra and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ram Shankar Katheria said: Yes, there will be saffronisation of education and of the country. Jo acha hoga, woh hoga (Whatever is good for the country will certainly happen) be it saffronisation or sanghwaad (propagation of the RSS ideology.) (Rashid, 2016).

The most alarming implication of Hindu Rashtra is also the secondary citizenship of non-Hindus. The message is always that other religious communities will be inferior to Hindus and Hindu symbols, and as Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister for State for Food Processing Industries, suggested even illegitimate. During campaigning for BJP before Delhi polls she said, Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (You must decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately). (The Indian Express, 2014) Such speeches have altered the whole discourse of citizenship in India that is now linked to religion. Shiv Sena leader (ally of BJP) and MP while advocating for disenfrancement of Muslims said: Balasaheb had said 15 years ago that if the voting rights of Muslims is taken away for a few years, then the lobbying for their votes will stop. (Gupta and Mehta, 2015)

The Constitution vests immense power in the post of the Governor who is expected to be non-partisan and protect equality enshrined in the Constitution. The Governor of Assam, P.B. Acharya, violated this norm utterly when he said: They (Indian Muslims) are free to go anywhere. They can stay here (in India). If they want to go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, they are free to go. Many of them have gone to Pakistan. But if they are persecuted there.. Taslima Nasreen was persecuted there, she came here. If they come, we will give them shelter. (Kashyap, 2015)

The Chief Ministers of States were not to be left behind in their hatemongering. Some people raise slogans about breaking the country into pieces. Political parties should refrain from making heroes of them. If people are unwilling to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, they have no right to stay in India, said Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. (Sonawane, 2016) Mr Fadnavis knows fully well that chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai is not demanded in the Constitution and not legally enforceable. But there is insistence on chanting it since Muslims consider the slogan offending the essence of monotheistic Islam that forbids the deification of anything, including God or Muhammad, the Prophet. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, in response to the Dadri lynching said: Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau. (Subramanian and Bhatia, 2015) He justified the gory lynching by upholding cow as a scared national symbol.

The BJP, which is the ruling party, as a political party, is indulging in hate-mongering by deepening the idea that Muslims naturally belong to Pakistan and India is the country for Hindus. The BJP chief leads by example here. He said: Agar BJP galti se bhi Bihar me haarti hai to jay-parajay to Bihar me hogi, pataake Pakistan me chhutenge (If BJP loses in Bihar by mistake, then victory-defeat will be in Bihar but crackers will be burst in Pakistan) (The Indian Express, 2015) Another BJP member, Aseervatham Acharya, said: I will tell you this, Indian Muslims have their bodies in Tamil Nadu, but their hearts are in Pakistan. (The News Minute, 2015) This is a new low in the trend of jingoistic under-standing of nationalism.

Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act makes canvassing for votes in the name of religion a punishable offence. During the Assembly election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, local BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg said: You will have to fire bullets, you will have to take up rifles, you will have to wield knives. Elections are approaching in 2017, begin showing your strength from now onwards. The crowds chanted, Jis Hindu ka khoon na khaule, khoon nahin wo pani hai (The Hindu who doesnt get angry isnt Hindu enough). (Bharadwaj, 2016) The party candidate, former RSS Pracharak Rampal Singh Pundhir, asserts his agenda: restoration of Hindu pride vis-a-vis Muslims. This election has become a fight between Hindus and Muslims because Hindus are unsafe. The honour of mothers and daughters is threatened. Hindu traders face theft, dacoity. They are murdered. Deoband mein kisi Hindu ki himmat nahi hai ki kuch bol jaye (No Hindu has guts in Deoband to speak out), says Pundhir (Bhardwaj, 2016). Local BJP leader Kundanika Sharma called other parties jackals for seeking votes of traitors. But we want the heads of these traitors. This is not the time to sit quiet. Chhapa maaro, burqa pehno, lekin inhen gher-gher kar le aao. Ek sar ke badle dus sar kaat lo (Raid them, wear burqas, but corner them. Behead ten heads for one head). (Bhardwaj, The Indian Express, 2016)

It cant be a mere coincidence or a weakness of the PM who is otherwise toxically masculine in his rhetoric about national issues cant check his own party members violating law and setting his house in order. The Prime Minister was deliberate in his silence and lack of action though he is portraying himself as a chowkidar. In his silence, the hate spewed and impunity with which laws were broken got normalised. The Constitution and constitutional values, which he should have protected, were delibe-rately trampled upon while the PM chose to turn a blind eye. This silence amply demons-trates that main bhi chowkidar is a mere election campaign gimmick devoid of any sincerity and in fact the chowdikar has allowed social evils and lawlessness to perpetrate.

(Courtesy: Secular Perspective)

The author is the Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has cancelled part of his trip to the Netherlands next week, as the world awaits the arrival of Baby Sussex.

Harry will stay in England in the coming days, amid "logistical challenges" surrounding the trip.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watch children playing football at a school in the town of Asni, in the Atlas mountains, Morocco, in February. Credit:EPA

Despite announcing the visit just 48 hours beforehand, Buckingham Palace has cancelled the first day of the two-day trip scheduled for May 8 and 9, leaving observers wondering.

The decision will allow the Duke to remain at home with his wife Meghan a little longer while she is either significantly overdue or enjoying her first few days with their newborn baby.
Prague: Security officials from 30 countries have hammered out a common approach to wireless network safety, responding to concerns over equipment made by Chinese company Huawei Technologies.

The non-binding proposal warns governments against relying on suppliers of fifth-generation networks that could be susceptible to state influence or based in countries that haven't signed international agreements on cyber security and data protection.

An employee walks past a logo in the reception area of the Huawei Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels, Belgium. Credit:Bloomberg

"The customer - whether the government, operator, or manufacturer - must be able to be informed about the origin and pedigree of components and software that affect the security level of the product or service," read the Prague Proposal document handed out at the end of the conference in the Czech capital.

Representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea attended the meeting to hash out an outline of practices that could form a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures.
A Boeing 737 commercial charter jet with 136 people on board slid into the St Johns River near Jacksonville in Florida after landing on Friday, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville says.

There were no reports of fatalities but local television station WOKV-TV said that at least two people suffered minor injuries and that the plane was attempting to land during a heavy thunderstorm.

The office of the sheriff said 21 adults were transported to local hospitals and all were listed "in good condition, no critical injuries". Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officers attended.

The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9.40 pm local time (11.40am AEST), the air station said.
Three people missing after an overnight explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone plant are believed dead, authorities said on Saturday.

Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said crews suspended their search for three employees due to concerns about the stability of the structure.

Lenzi said it's "not likely" that the three survived the Friday night explosion at AB Specialty Silicones in the Waukegan, about 80 kilometres north of Chicago. The coroner was on scene and crews are classifying the search as a recovery, he said.

"The conditions are really rough in there," Lenzi said. "There's a lot of damage. There was a lot of fire throughout."

Nine employees were inside the plant when the explosion occurred. Four were taken to hospitals and two declined treatment. Authorities have not identified the employees.
2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid Limited Review by David COLMAN - It's E15 Approved +VIDEO

A Green-vehicle review for car shoppers concerned with fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and gasoline and diesel exhaust emissions

A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

By David Colman

Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

Hyundai offers three distinct versions of their Prius beater, the Ioniq. At the lower end of the price range, the Hybrid retails for $21,400. Moving up to a Plug-In Hybrid Ioniq will cost you $25,350. The Limited version of the Plug-In that we spent a week driving carries a base price of $29,350. Here's the equipment the Limited adds over and above the base model Plug-In: auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, smart cruise control and driver attention warning - which has been added for 2019. If you desire a completely electric Ioniq, Hyundai offers one with a base price of $30,315. All versions of the Ioniq qualify for a federal tax credit of $4,453 plus additional state tax breaks. It's worth noting that the lithium ion polymer battery pack of the Ioniq carries a lifetime warranty. The powertrain comes with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, and the rest of this vehicle carries a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. It's encouraging to note that Hyundai also provides free roadside assistance for 5 years as well.

The two Hybrid versions of the Ionic carry identical horsepower (139hp) and torque ratings (125lb.-ft.). The all electric model offers less horsepower (118hp) but much greater torque (218lb.-ft.). The bottom line here is whether you can live with the all electric's limited range of just 124 miles on a full charge. The Ioniq Limited we drove offered a stupendous full tank range of 630 miles. After driving the Limited on many missions during our week, we still managed to return the car to Hyundai with 230 miles showing on the range estimate. For green buffs, the downside of the Plug-In we drove is its limited pure electric range: a full charge yields just 29 miles of travel. Replenishing the battery of the Plug-In requires 9 hours at 120 volts (Level 1) or 2 hours and 15 minutes at Level 2 (240 volts).

Our test vehicle rated 52 MPG overall rating from the EPA. With its 10 out of 10 EPA rating on fuel economy and greenhouse gas, the Ioniq will save you $3,750 in fuel costs over 5 years when compared to the average new vehicle. Best of all, this exceptional frugality does not require you to make concessions to outlandish green lifestyle design cues. About the only idiosyncratic styling feature of the Ioniq is the horizontally split rear window of the hatchback. In every other respect, the Ioniq is delightfully free of the bizarre flourishes other manufacturers use to distinguish their green cars. In fact, the classically proportioned Ioniq is one of the best looking small sedans on the market today in any price range. Ditto for its interior treatment, which utilizes recycled material to create a waffle-weave dash that is clean, different, and visually appealing.

the Ioniq is something of a surprise in the operation department. Instead of the usual unpredictable Hybrid brake feedback, the regenerative 4 wheel discs of the Ioniq offer firm pedal feel. There's a baby deer in my neighborhood who will testify to the stopping power of this Hyundai. When the deer jumped in front of the Ioniq, which was travelling 40mph, the disc brakes helped me do a great job of keeping avoiding a collision. Very impressive stopping power, indeed. Credit should also go to the Ioniq's Michelin Green X Energy saver radials (205/55R16). Mounted on Oh-So-80's looking white "Eco-Spoke" alloys, the Michelins provided decent cornering power and very good braking traction. You'll also appreciate their TW 480 tread life longevity.

I wish I could lavish the same high praise on the performance of the 1.6 liter inline 4 cylinder engine. Even with the 125lb.-ft. torque boost from the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, acceleration from a stop is less than scintillating. It takes a little longer than you would like to get this 3,070 pound sedan motivated. To help in the cause, Hyundai provides the Ioniq with a very useful 6 speed sequential gearbox which can be manipulated manually via the provided paddles behind the steering wheel. At low cruising speeds, snatching 2nd or 3rd gear with these paddles will provide the kind of immediate propulsion you crave in heavy traffic.

The Ioniq, with 119 cubic feet of cabin space, and 23 cubic feet of cargo volume, is decidedly larger inside than the Toyota Prius Prime, Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf. In addition to this abundance of interior space, Hyundai has chosen to equip the control panel with easy to use buttons and switches that will see to your every need without forcing you to remove your eyes from the road. Thankfully, Hyundai engineers have eliminated all traces of Buck Rogers from the interior as well as the exterior.

2019 HYUNDA IONIQ PLUG-IN HYBRID LIMITED



ENGINE: 1.6 liter Gas Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Inline plus 44.5kH Electric Motor

HORSEPOWER: 139hp

TORQUE: 125lb.-ft.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 119MPGe/52MPG Gas Only

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,335

HYPES: A Hybrid for Owners Who Enjoy Anonymity

GRIPES: Needs More Power

STAR RATING: 8.5 Stars out of 10
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Winding up the End-game in Afghanistan

by Apratim Mukarji

The Great Game in Afghanistan, in which the United States has acted as the leader of the team and involves mutually adversarial players like Pakistan and Iran as well as consensually competitive Russia and China, is now converted into an end-game under President Donald Trump. The President has repeatedly declared his firm resolve to get out of the country as quickly as he can manage, and the course of events over the last two years or so confirms this reading of his words.

The reason why the US is in such a hurry is clear to all.To quote an American analysis, by any reasonable estimate, the monetary and human costs of the US-led war on terror has been considerable. As found out by political scientists at Brown University, the numbers have been astronomical. The universitys Cost of War Project calculates that Washington will be spending approximately $ 5.9 trillion between 2001 (when the Al-Qaeda-Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan) and 2019, the current year.A break-up of the expenditure includes over $ 2 tn. in overseas contingency operations, $ 924 billion in homeland security spending, and $ 353 bn. in medical and disability care for American troops serving overseas conflict zones. The conclusion is that when the interest to be paid on the borrowed funds is taken into account, the American people will be shouldering the cumulative debt for decades to come.(Daniel R. DePetris, The War on Terrors Total Cost : $ 5,900,000,000,000, The National Interest, January 12, 2019)

The world knows only too well that this massive expenditure is being borne by the US Administration not because the worlds most powerful nation has lost sleep over the Afghans continuing tale of horror at the hands of the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) plus a plethora of splinter terrorist groups but because the Americans were living in terror in their home country. Thus, the test of the enormous and frightfully expensive exercise lies in making the United States homeland security fool-proof.

And what is the score on that account? Taking a hard look at the terrorism problem over many decades, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Transnational Threats Project discovered that the number of Salafi-jihadist fighters has increased by 270 per cent since 2001 (the year the Al-Qaeda-Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan). In 2018, there were sixty-seven jihadist groups operating around the world, a 180 per cent hike since 2001. The number of fighters could be as high as 280,000, the highest in forty years. Moreover, quashing the claim of many authorities in the US claiming success for the anti-terror operations, many of these jihadists reside in countries, such as, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, which have been invaded by the US and/or bombed over the last seventeen years.

Are the Americans feeling safer than before? Not by a long shot. An October 2017-dated Charles Koch Institute/ Real Clear Defence survey found that a plurality of American (43 per cent) and war veterans (41 per cent) believe that the US foreign policy over the last twenty years has actually made the counry less safea result not really conducive to what US policy-makers are looking for.

There is no other way to describe the American decision (followed by haste) to vacate Afghanistan than by reemphasising a virtual and unacknolwedged defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But the United States internal assess-ments have been quite candid. For example, the US Defense Departments own metrics suggest that Afghanistans insurgents are nowhere near losing. The percentage of the countrys 407 districts under government control has declined from 66 per cent in May, 2016, to 53.8 per cent by by the end of March, 2019. (Al Jazeera, Explosion, Taliban attack kill dozens across Afghanistan, March 30, 2019)

It is important to note that control of territory in the prevailing Afghan military environment does not connote a complete and unshakable authority, for control switches quickly, some-times as swiftly as the following day or week. There have been scores of instances when Afghan soldiers, trained and armed and, sometimes led by, American and (earlier NATO officers) have displayed exemplary courage and strength and won back lost territories. It should also be acknowledhed that a major boost for the Afghan Army and police is the massive air support the Americans provide to government operations.

Nevertheless, it is now beyond debate that the Taliban have achieved an overall military dominance,a position of strength from which it cannot be easily dislodged. When one reads this conclusion in conjunction with the other, that the cost of waging the war has become prohibitive, one can begin to appreciate the logic behind the American decision. This has been put succinctly in the following comment, Districts have been retaken (by both the sides) only to be lost shortly thereafter,largely resulting in the conflicts current relative stalemate. However,since the US drawdown of peak forces in 2011, the Taliban (have) unquestionably been resurgent. (FDDs Long War Journal, Mapping Taliban Control in Afghanistan, created by Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowsky, www.longwar-journal.org/) Another way of understanding the methodology of this assessment is the term coined for the purpose, contested. A contested district is one the centre of which is controlled by government forces and the fringes by the Taliban or it may be one which is taken by one side and then re-taken by the rival and the process continues, putting the lives of the civilians to extreme peril in the process. But this also helps us realise the cardinal truth of the present-day Afghanistan, that there is a stalemate in the military situation with the Taliban on the ascendance, and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Reading the situation correctly nearly a year ago, Gen. Joseph Votel, leading the US Central Command, said that the Taliban cannot win militarily despite an uptick in attacks. The message I would send to the Taliban is that they cannot win militarily. The international coalition, led by the United States, is focussed on providing the military pressure,in conjunction with social pressure and diplomatic pressure, that will force them to come to the table. He also urged the militants to accept the very generous offer made by the Afghan President Ashraff Ghani who offered unconditional peace talks accom-panied by a cease-fire, recognition of the Taliban as a political party and the release of some prisoners, among other incentives. However, when the preliminary negotiations bagan later in the year, the Taliban did not care for the ceasefire offer (implying their confidence) and attacks on government forces and civilians, including foreigners, have continued well into the current year. In the midst of all these disruptions and negativity by the insurgents, the talks between the Taliban and the Americans have continued,with the telling absence of the Afghan Government on the insistence of the winning side.

Perhaps the most significant statement issued since the talks began came from the Taliban, who said on March 8, 2019, that Everyone is aware that detailed discussions are taking place in the Qutari capital of Doha between the negotiation team of (the) Islamic Emirate (Taliban) and the United States regarding the complete indepen-dence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland Afghanistan. Since the issue of Afghanistan has two aspects with one being foreign and the other internal, the current negotiations concern the foreign aspect which is related to the United States. This phase is about fleshing out the details of the two issues which were agreed upon in the last round of talks in January, the withdrawal of all occupying forces from Afghanistan and not allowing Afghanistan to harm others. Comprehensive discussions are taking place about these two subjects. Other issues that have an internal aspect and are not tied to the United States have not been held under discussions. As some individuals and circles are trying to connect other topics to these discussions, they are either unaware or are pursuing an agenda. No one should pay any heed to the rumours of these self-interested circles.

As we have already noted, the present negotiations have the backing of a number of countries that hold high stakes in the future of Afghanistan, such as, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, and the Central Asian republics, apart from other global investors in the country like Australia and Japan. The situation is so much conditioned by the Talibans undisputed ascendancy in the last few years that nobody is questioning the legitimacy of the talks despite the forced absence of the Afghan Government, which is recognised by the international community and elected democratically. Even though unspoken, there are deep concerns over the future of the massive, far-reaching political, economic, social reforms and development already functional and also in the pipeline if and when the Taliban join in the governance. But the consensus is that peace has become imperative before other necessities and once peace is achieved, these can be addressed in a conducive atmosphere.

In these developments, the Taliban are the clear winner irrespective of what transpires eventually. But there is another winner as well, Pakistan, which is playing its hand expertly. Current reports say that after ensuring that the United States is forced to enter talks with the Taliban on an equal footing, Islamabad is now so subtly guiding the rebels in negotiating with American diplomats that its imprint is not visible to the outsider. A Reuters report said that while Pakistan is keen to avoid any overt display of influence on them, the Taliban are also careful to avoid any sign of such a connection. But, perhaps the truth was spoken by a US diplomat who commented that the talks would not have been possible without Pakistans help.

Apratim Mukarji is an analyst of South and Central Asian affairs.
College Station police are searching for a woman who is wanted on three felony burglary charges.

According to police, Lisa Kathryn Salazar, 23, was arrested with a man on March 31 on charges the two broke into Hobby Lobby on Texas Avenue. She has made bail and is now wanted on additional charges of burglary of a building. CSPD posted notices to social media on Friday afternoon, urging the public to provide information on her whereabouts.

Anyone who harbors or conceals Salazar, provides Salazar any means of avoiding arrest, or warns Salazar of an impending arrest commits the offense of hindering apprehension, the official statement reads.

Burglary of a building is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and $10,000 in fines. Those with information are asked to call CSPD at 764-3600.
The Brazos Valley received a significant amount of rain throughout the day Friday, causing some roads to flood.

According to KBTX-TV meteorologist Shel Winkley, between Monday and Friday evening, Bryan-College Station had received more than 3.3 inches of rainfall, while some areas of the Brazos Valley received up to 6 inches. Late Friday, more rain continued to drench the area, adding to the numbers. Rains today will probably be measured at 1 to 3 inches, though in spots some residents of the Brazos Valley could see as much as

5 inches of rain, Winkley said.

Though rain is not unusual for this area during May, Winkley noted that rain does not usually fall in such a high quantity at once this time of year. The storms seen over the weekend likely will affect Austin and San Antonio more than the B-CS area, he said.

According to the National Weather Service, while there is a 40% chance of heavy rain today, tonight is expected to be mostly clear. Sundays forecast is a high of 85 and mostly sunny skies. Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Washington counties were placed under a flash flood watch through 1 p.m. today.
Air Force Col. Bea M. Marin, a Bryan native, is remembered for her valor while serving in the Vietnam War and for her molding of minds as a faculty member with Tarleton State Universitys School of Nursing.

Her image has now been immortalized in bronze with a near life-sized statue unveiled recently at the nursing building on the Tarleton campus in Stephenville.

Born in Bryan in 1939, she attended Ibarra Elementary School, Lamar Junior High School and was a 1957 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School. She was raised in a time when women were not allowed to attend Texas A&M, despite her dreams to become an Aggie. According to her cousin, Dora Moncivais-Garcia, who spoke at the statues unveiling on April 26, Marins father told her not to give up on an education.

She elected to attend Texas Womans University in Denton and earned a nursing degree and registered nursing license before eventually receiving a masters degree. She eventually was inspired by her male relatives World War II service to join the military, and she was accepted into the Air Force as a lieutenant.
Surely everyone is familiar with the saga of George Bailey, who think he doesnt matter to the residents of Bedford Falls, New York. An angel  Clarence  takes Bailey on a look at the difference he has made in the town and finally convinces him that life is good and that Bailey should embrace it. A small cast will re-create the story on stage, as it would be during a live radio broadcast.

 Little Women adapted by Thomas Hischak, directed by Micaela Eagle, Feb. 6-22.

Louisa May Alcott wrote the novel of the four Marsh sisters: Meg, Jo  based on Alcott herself  Beth and Amy. The lives of the sisters has captured the heart of generations of women since it first was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Although there are many stage versions of Little Women available, Hischaks take on the classic story is considered by many to be the best.

 Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrew Roblyer, April 2-18.
April 29, 2019 - April 29, 2019

Beautiful Hannah Victoria Palasota was born in love on April 29, 2019 at 3:25 am. She was baptized into the Church at 4:00 pm and entered Heaven's gates at 6:00 pm. Never leaving her side, Hannah's parents, Corey Anthony Palasota and Ashley Deatherage Palasota, held her little tiny hand and encouraged her to be strong as she underwent the most critical care treatments.

While her parents had many plans for Hannah, God's plans were different. Hannah's spirit lives in the warm hearts of her parents, grandparents, James and Bec Deatherage of Bryan, TX and Joe and Diane Palasota, of San Antonio, TX, aunts, uncles, cousins and large extended family. Hannah reminds us of the fragility of life, the immediate loving bond of parent and child, and the enigma of God's divine providence.
The raw gender gap by itself doesnt tell us much about the amount or type of discrimination against women in our economy.

Rather, it simply tells us that women, on the whole, earn less money than men. It doesnt tell us why.

Its just a comparison of averages, not a comparison of women and men in the same jobs with the same experience, education, hours and labor-market conditions.

Often, these factors  education, hours worked, etc.  are the result of personal choices that workers have made and they often break down along gender lines.

Men simply are more likely to value higher pay, while women  particularly mothers  are more willing to trade high pay for other benefits, such as flexibility.

A recent Harvard Business School survey shows that 64 percent of highly qualified women value flexibility as extremely or very important compared to 42 percent who value its role in earning a lot of money.

If lawmakers really want to combat pay discrimination further, they should look for ways to do so that dont unnecessarily burden employers  many of whom are women  by removing disincentives to the flexible careers that women workers want.
Many employers require applicants to provide current salary information and then can use that information to lowball lower-paid applicants  typically women and people of color. Or even more insidiously, they may justify paying a male employee more, if his previous salary was higher. Banning salary history questions forces employers to determine what the job is worth, not the person.

 It prevents employers from banning salary conversations with coworkers.

Pay discrimination can flourish in workplaces where salaries are a highly confidential secret and known only to a handful of people.

Without transparent salary information, you may have no idea about salary differences among people doing the same job. Some companies even threaten to punish employees who discuss this information. While having an explicit policy can violate federal labor laws, employers now count on workers being too intimidated to risk discipline or termination. Its hard to fight unequal pay without knowing what others are making, so the he Paycheck Fairness Act clarifies that companies cant ban these conversations or punish employees who have them.

 It fixes current problems with how the Equal Pay Act has been interpreted in court.
New Delhi : In a shocking report, the Sri Lanka Army chief has revealed that some of the suicide bombers who carried out a series of blasts in Sri Lanka had traveled to Indian cities o train in terrorism activities.

"They had gone to India, Kashmir, Bangalore, Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said in an interview to BBC World.

At least nine suicide bombers were responsible for the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka in a decase on April 21. The National Investigation Agency ( NIA) had carried out several raids in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to unearth Indian links with the Sri Lanka blast.
11 Million Pounds of Chicken Strips Recalled Over Possible Contamination

Tyson Foods issued a nationwide recall of over 11 million pounds of chicken strips.

The Arkansas-based company produced chicken strips that could be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The chicken strips were shipped to retail and Department of Defense locations nationwide. They were also being used in institutions across the country.

Two consumers found pieces of metal in their Tyson chicken strips and alerted the service, which said that its now aware of six complaints and three injuries from the issue. The health risk for the alert is listed as high.

The products were produced from Oct. 1, 2018, to March 8, 2019, and have Use By Dates on the packages of Oct. 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020. All of the products bear the establishment number P-7221 on the back of the package.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Tyson Foods Consumer Relations at 1-866-886-8456. In a statement, the company said it was issuing the recall in the interest of public health even though the vast majority of the products have already been consumed without any reported incidents. It wasnt clear whether the company had been informed of the three illnesses.

We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plants existing metal-detection system. We will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification, said Barbara Masters vice president of regulatory food policy, food, and agriculture for Tyson Foods, in a statement.

The products recalled include the following:

Tyson Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Strips, Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat, frozen in 40-ounce plastic bags.

Tyson Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Flavored Chicken Strips Chicken Breast Strip Fritters With Rib Meat and Honey BBQ Style Sauce Smoke Flavor Added, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Food Lion crispy chicken strips fully cooked chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken fully cooked microwaveable, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Giant Eagle Crispy Fully Cooked chicken strips chicken breast strip fritters with rib meat made with white meat chicken, frozen in 25-ounce plastic bags.

Other brand names include Meijer, Publix, and Kirkwood. For a full list, (pdf).
Picacho Peak Park in Arizona, where a boy scout died on April 27, 2019. (CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

16-Year-Old Boy Scout Dies After Troop Runs out of Water in Arizona Desert

A 16-year-old boy scout died when his troop ran out of the water while hiking in the Arizona desert on April 27.

According to Pinal County sheriffs officials, a Scouts BSA group was hiking at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday when the boy had no water and fell unconscious, reported KGUN-TV.

The troop had water but by the time they reached the top of the peak they ran out and on their way back, the boy started showing signs of dehydration.

A member of the hiking group called 911 for help but by the time the responders reached them he had fallen unconscious.

PCSO: 16-year-old dies during hike at Picacho Peak Park on Saturday.https://t.co/GiiPEhlblh pic.twitter.com/7aTYyLSETM  KGUN9 On Your Side (@kgun9) May 2, 2019

A team from Avra Fire Department and a park ranger tried to revive him but he was declared dead on the scene.

Its not yet clear if his death was caused by dehydration and officials are now investigating the possible causes.

In another hiking-related death at a coastal park near Big Sur, an 18-year-old teen who fell into a blowhole was presumed dead after a four-day rescue ended in January this year.

The victim was identified as Braxton Cooper Stuntz of Carmel, Calif. Stuntz and his friends had been hiking at Garrapata State Park Beach on Jan. 12 when they found a blowhole near the cliffs along the Pacific Coast, according to the Monterey County Sheriffs Office.

View this post on Instagram the 1 A post shared by @ braxtnn on Jan 10, 2019 at 9:55pm PST

Stuntz slipped and fell through the hole down to the rocky beach inside while exploring the marine geyser and trying to have a closer look.

The blowhole is flooded with waves measuring 14 feet high every nine seconds.

Sgt. Dave Murray told KSBW Stuntzs friends saw the teen making a thumbs up signal right after the fall. However, after a few waves, his friends were not able to see Stuntz anymore.

Authorities said the waves filled the blowhole, dragged Stuntz out, and pushed him underwater into the sea.

Stuntzs friend immediately sought help from a passerby, who called the police. First responders were not able to find Stuntz. As a result, members of the MCSO Search and Rescue, Mid-Coast Fire, Cal-Fire, California State Park Rangers/Lifeguards, and CHP Helicopter all joined the search effort for Stuntz.

California Teen Presumed Dead After Falling Through Monterey Beach Blowholehttps://t.co/b64Ohg8JOy pic.twitter.com/ZE2CnVMNXG  Pam Wright (@pamwrightmedia) January 16, 2019

The United States Coast Guard boat from Monterey sector and helicopter from San Francisco sector arrived and conducted search patterns well into the night, Monterey County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

MCSO drone operators returned the next day to continue the search for Stuntz and attempted an underwater search. No sign of Stuntz was detected in the following days.

At this time the young adult is classified as a missing person. However, operations have shifted into a recovery mode, sheriff officials said.

Although warning signs can be seen across the area, concerned citizens say signage is far from adequate.

Its shocking how dangerous it can be out here. For people who dont know the risks, it can be really alarming. You can slip and fall and be in big trouble, local resident Jared Sandman told KION.

The Garrapata State Beach Park is 15 miles north of Big Sur, which is one of the most popular destinations in California, connected by the iconic Highway 1.

Epoch Times reporter Zach Li contributed to this article.
JT Borofka, 7 months old, of Salinas, Calif., was diagnosed with triosephosphate isomerase deficiency just 2 months after birth. (Help JT Beat TPI Deficiency/GoFundMe)

7-Month-Old Baby Diagnosed With Rare Disease With No Known Cure

A California baby has been diagnosed with a rare disease that only 59 others around the world are known to have.

Doctors havent been able to find a cure or treatment for the disease, triosephosphate isomerase deficiency (TPI).

According to the Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center at the National Institutes of Health, the deficiency is a severe disorder characterized by a shortage of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), neurological problems, infections, and muscle weakness that can affect breathing and heart function.

TPI deficiency is the most severe form of a group of diseases known as glycolytic enzymopathies, which are rare genetic diseases that lead to the degeneration of the red blood cells. Signs and symptoms include anemia, fatigue, pallor, yellowing of the skin and the white of the eyes (jaundice), and shortness of breath, it stated.

Other symptoms are muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy), movement problems (such as involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), tremors and weak muscle tone), seizures, cardiomyopathy, and diaphragm weakness which may cause breathing problems and lead to respiratory failure, it added.

JT Borofka of Salinas, 7 months old, was diagnosed with the rare disease shortly after birth, his parents told KSBW.

We believe, and the doctors believe, that hes the first person to be detected with this very rare disease before the neurological and major symptoms start, Jason Borofka, JTs father, told the broadcaster.

The boy is Jason and Tara Borofkas only child. When he was 2 months old, he was sent to Stanford Childrens Hospital after his pediatrician detected low iron and oxygen levels. It was the first TPI case ever documented in California.

Our doctors at Stanford and their team are scrambling to come up with a cure or some type of treatment for our son, Jason Borofka said. The doctors gave him 2 to 5 years to live, and he said its going to be very tough on us and that it was going to be horrible. We cried for a solid week, for sure, but now were holding on tight and were going to try and beat this.

The couple wanted to share the babys story in the hopes of raising awareness about the rare disease. They hope that doctors will be able to find a cure.

In addition to TPI, the parents said on a GoFundMe fundraising page that the infant also has the hemolytic anemia disorder.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, hemolytic anemia is a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be made. The destruction of red blood cells is called hemolysis.

Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. If you have a lower than normal amount of red blood cells, you have anemia. When you have anemia, your blood cant bring enough oxygen to all your tissues and organs. Without enough oxygen, your body cant work as well as it should, it added.

Hemolytic anemia can be inherited or acquired: Inherited hemolytic anemia happens when parents pass the gene for the condition on to their children. Acquired hemolytic anemia is not something you are born with. You develop the condition later.
Amazon employee Heather Redman works to pack products for shipment at an Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky on June 10, 2009. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

Amazon Dismisses Idea Automation Will Eliminate All Its Warehouse Jobs Soon

BALTIMOREAmazon.com Inc. dismissed the idea of running a fully automated warehouse in the near future, citing the superior cognitive ability of humans and the limitations of current technology.

Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, said technology is at least 10 years away from fully automating the processing of a single order picked by a worker inside a warehouse.

There is a misperception that Amazon will run fully automated warehouses soon, Anderson said during a tour of Amazons Baltimore warehouse for reporters on April 30.

The technology for a robot to pick a single product from a bin without damaging other products or picking multiple products at the same time in a way that could benefit the e-commerce retailer is years away.

Amazon is exploring a variety of technologies to automate the various steps needed to get a package to shoppers, Anderson said.

In the current form, the technology is very limited. The technology is very far from the fully automated workstation that we would need, Anderson said.

The tour came at a time when the company has come under fire from labor groups and other Amazon critics for allegedly poor working conditions in its warehouses and for increasingly automating jobs and reducing its dependence on human labor.

The largest online retailer is also not employing robots in its warehouses that handle fresh food, said Derek Jones, global director of environment, health and safety, who oversees Amazons fresh food offerings like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry.

Just imagine if you want bananas. I want my bananas to be firm, others like their bananas to be ripe. How do you get a robot to choose that? he said.

Amazon runs 110 warehouses in the United States, 45 sorting centers and about 50 delivery stations. It employs 125,000 full-time warehouse workers in the country.

The warehouses that employ robots mostly handle general merchandise, which includes everything from lamps and clothing to kayaks and bikes.

The company said it is not changing the level of productivity at its warehouses to catch up with its recent one-day shipping announcement. It is instead making changes to the transportation and delivery process.

Last month, Amazon said it plans to deliver packages to members of its loyalty club, Prime, in just one day instead of two.

Anderson said Amazons current target is four hours from the time a product is ordered to the time it leaves the warehouse, and the company is sticking with that.

The e-commerce company did not share details on how the decision to raise its minimum wage to $15 had impacted workforce turnover.

However, it said applications for seasonal jobs doubled to 850,000 at the end of October last year from the record number of applications the company received in August 2017, when it held a national job fair.

Amazon raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour for U.S. employees in November, giving in to critics of what they said was poor pay and working conditions.

By Nandita Bose
Bear Spotted in Tennessee Cabins Hot Tub

A bear was captured on camera taking a bath in a Tennessee rental cabins hot tub.

Elizabeth Strickland posted photos of the bear on the back porch of their cabin in Gatlinburg, WBIR reported.

I just had to share with yall. I was in that same seat 14 hours ago! she said of the bear in the hot tub.

There were also three bear cubs, she told the station.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency warns that bears might be cute or friendly, but people should be cautious.

They have been called a charismatic mega-fauna and for good reasoneveryone from non-hunters, to hunters, to wildlife watcherswe all love bears in our own special ways, the website says. For these reasons, it is everyones responsibility to keep them wild and keep them alive.

PHOTOS: Couple vacationing in Gatlinburg spots bear relaxing in their hot tub https://t.co/NIGlbdqqYo pic.twitter.com/q0Jm7QiOBQ  WKRN (@WKRN) May 3, 2019

According to the agency, there are several ways to deal with bears, which applies to black bears in any state:

-Never feed or approach bears!

-If a bear approaches you in the wild, it is probably trying to assess your presence.

-If you see a black bear from a distance, alter your route of travel, return the way you came, or wait until it leaves the area.

-Make your presence known by yelling and shouting at the bear in an attempt to scare it away.

-If approached by a bear, stand your ground, raise your arms to appear larger, yell and throw rocks or sticks until it leaves the area.

-When camping in bear country, keep all food stored in a vehicle and away from tents.

-Never run from a black bear! This will often trigger its natural instinct to chase.

-If a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively and do not play dead! Use pepper spray, sticks, rocks, or anything you can find to defend yourself. If cornered or threatened, bears may slap the ground, pop their jaws, or huff as a warning. If you see these behaviors, you are too close! Slowly back away while facing the bear at all times.

Bears Rescued

In another part of the country, in Arizona, three bear cubs were rescued after their mother died.

Arizona Highway Patrol troopers were responding to the crash near Dudleyville on April 29 when they stumbled on the cubs, and managed to load two into the back of their patrol car.

Pictures released by the Department of Public Safety show the 4-month-old cubs clambering on the seats in the back of the vehicle, while an officer from Arizona Game and Fish Department tracked down and caught the third cub.

AZGFD Tucson & Mesa responded today to three bear cubs orphaned and recovered by the AZ Hwy Patrol after a rare auto-on-bear accident on State Road 77 south of Winkleman. Their mother was likely killed instantly. The cubs are en route to the SW Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale. One first responder rescuing the cubs was scratched on the forearm by one, is seeking treatment at Oro Valley Hospital and likely will be released. Posted by Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson on Monday, April 29, 2019

Sergeants Tarango and Marquez, with assistance from DPS and a concerned citizen, arrested these three bandits, charged with raiding picnic baskets! wrote the Hayden Police department in a statement on Facebook.

Bears are incredibly smart animals, he said. They need to be challenged. Our bears here are given games to play and puzzles to do.

Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
Beluga Whale Allegedly From a Russian Military Facility Appears in Norway and Refuses to Leave

A beluga whale allegedly from a Russian military facility has mysteriously appeared on the coast of Norway. While the marine experts hope that it will swim away to where it has come from, it has till the last reportsrefused to leave.

The last days the whale has still been observed in the same area. Hopefully, it will swim away further north in the Arctic where it belongs and join a pod of white whales, Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine expert and an inspector for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement.

A few fishermen saw the beluga whale and sent pictures to Norways Institute of Marine Research. These photos were shared with three inspectors sailing in a Sea Surveillance Service patrol vessel.

To our surprise, we saw that the whale had a harness around his body clearly put there on purpose, said Wiig.

The team arrived with its disentangling gear and lured the whale with a cod filet. The whale was totally habituated to humans and we could touch it, he said.

The team had to work together to free the whale from the harness. First we thought that the rope had been ripped apart, but then we saw the most enjoyable thing in the water: The whale was free from the harness. It was a cheerful moment to see the whale going his own way free from the harness as we turned back to our regular assignment, said Wiig.

He told ABC News that it is very unlikely for the whale to have been trained by the Russian military.

Maybe [he] was trained to recover things people lose in the sea, as he is always looking for a boat to come close to, Wiig said.

We are in discussions with the Norwegian government about options for the beluga. He could just stay here, he could wait for other belugas when they make their summer migration through Norwegian waters and continue on with them [or] he could get transported to a whale sanctuary in Iceland.

Since being freed from its harness, the whale has moved only 30 nautical miles and Wiig said that they are looking for whatever best suits the young adults survival.

Its appearance, however, continues to be a mystery and Martin Biuw, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, told ABC News that the whale looks trained.

One of the videos shows the whale bobbing its head out of the water and opening its mouth. This is a clear sign that the animal is trained, as this behavior is usually associated with begging for food from the trainer, Biuw said.

There are speculations that the beluga is from a Russian Military facility. Biuw said that both Russian and American militaries had active marine mammal programs earlier but he had no detailed knowledge about it.

I would assume that harnesses are generally only used for short-term deployments, as they may cause chafing and other discomfort over longer time periods. What I can say for almost certain is that no researchers in Norway, and almost certainly not in Denmark/Greenland, use this method of attachment for any research-related work. Whether scientists in Russia do, I have no idea, he said.

The Russian military has denied running a sea mammal special operations program, reported the Guardian.

The investigations are done by Norways special police security agency (PST) and it has yet not given any conclusions.

The beluga whale is an Arctic and a sub-Arctic species.
Can Media Be Prosecuted for Being Unregistered Foreign Agents?

Jesse Liu, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and John Demers, head of the Department of Justices (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), unsealed a grand jury indictment of Gregory Craig, who served as White House counsel to Barack Obama, on April 11.

Its the NSD that is tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law passed by Congress that requires all persons working on behalf of a foreign government or entity to disclose that by registering and affirming they are representing foreign and not U.S. interests in their influencing activities.

Written by Brian Cates @drawandstrike

Hosted by Gina Shakespeare

Produced by @EpochTimes
Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canadian Lawmaker Condemns Pro-Communism Rally

Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper has a personal connection to the horrors of communism: His maternal grandparents escaped Soviet-occupied Lithuania, and his great grandparents died in the gulags of Siberia.

Thats why the St. AlbertEdmonton member of Parliament says he felt compelled to speak out in the House of Commons against a communist rally held on May 1 on the grounds of the Alberta legislature.

Disturbing to see people protesting with the Communist hammer and sickle in front of the Legislature. This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is the home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology. https://t.co/YciQn8F764  Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 2, 2019

One might say well, this is just a small fringe group, but the fact is that this is an incredibly dangerous ideology that has resulted in more bloodshed around the world than any other ideology, Cooper said in a phone interview. Its a movement, an ideology that has led to the deaths of more than 100 million people.

On May 2, Cooper said in a statement in the House of Commons that the disturbing pro-communist rally should shock the conscience of all Canadians of goodwill, and that the promotion of this evil and murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly.

The legacy of communism includes mass violence, oppression, the dislocation of hundreds of millions, and the deaths of more than 100 million people. Its legacy is an ocean of blood, he said.

My statement on the disturbing pro-Communist rally at AB Legislature. The promotion of this evil & murderous ideology must be condemned unreservedly #cdnpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/fqE6wK2jdS  Michael Cooper, MP (@Cooper4SAE) May 3, 2019

Cooper wasnt the only politician speaking out against the protest. Albertas new premier, Jason Kenney, also tweeted about the rally, saying he found it disturbing to see people protesting with the communist hammer and sickle in front of the Alberta legislature.

This is the symbol of totalitarian regimes that murdered tens of millions of innocent people. Alberta is home to many refugees who fled this violent, oppressive ideology, Kenney said.

According to Stephane Courtoiss The Black Book of Communism, communist regimes are responsible for close to 100 million deaths: 65 million in China, 20 million in the Soviet Union, 2 million in North Korea, 2 million in Cambodia, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, 1.5 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Vietnam, 1 million in Eastern Europe, 0.15 million in Latin America (mainly Cuba), and 10,000 due to the international communist movement and communist parties not in power.

The Epoch Times special series How the Spectre of Communism Is Ruling Our World states that communist regimes force the general population into obedience by killing their victims openly and deliberately.

In just one century, since the rise of the first communist regime in Russia, the evil spectre of communism has murdered more people in the nations under its rule than the combined death toll of both world wars, the series states.

The remaining officially communist countries in the world today are China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos.

According to another special series by The Epoch Times, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which focuses more specifically on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the primary belief of the communist party is struggle, which is used as a tool to gain and maintain political control.

For instance, a famous quote from MaoWith 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?reveals the logic of survival of the fittest, the series says. Repetitive use of force is an important means for the CCP to maintain its rule in China.

The series adds that the goal of using force is to create terror, so that people become afraid and submit to the terror, and gradually become enslaved under the CCPs control.

Cooper says the fact that there are still communist countries in the world suppressing human rights, and the fact that such pro-communist rallies are being held in Canada and other parts of the world, demonstrate that while in Canada communism is a fringe movement, it hasnt been completely stomped out, and it must not be allowed to gain any momentum.

He says Canada is a free country and people are free to hold rallies, but if they do, they need to be called out, and they should be made a little bit uncomfortable.

Its important to unequivocally condemn [communisms] promotion, Cooper says.
HOLLYWOODEric Le Van enjoys transmitting and learning about traditions. Being a classical concert pianist who has performed internationally and is currently teaching students, he understands the importance and beauty of preserving traditions.

Theres something about a tradition that is timeless, Le Van said. So it can be very relevant to our culture.

Le Van was invited to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on May 3 by one of his music students. New York-based Shen Yun tours the world with the aim to bring back Chinas 5,000 years of semi-divine culture through performing arts, something the pianist was able to appreciate.

I got, overall, from the show this desire to reach back to the spiritual roots of Chinese culture, going back thousands of years, Le Van said. And I was actually very happy and since delighted to see that theres that effort by others in exile to revive what was unique to the culture, because I know a lot of it had been suppressedthat was an interesting message.

Le Van, who is based in Los Angeles, is known for his performances of the music of Brahms and Scriabin. He has performed as a guest soloist and recitalist in many major venues and festivals in the United States and Europe like the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany and Fetes Romantiques de Nohant Festival in France. He has also released several recordings of his performances, which have been well-received.

He said he was particularly touched by the last piece, The Final Moment, which is a story-based dance depicting modern Chinese society and real-life human rights abuses under the communist regime.

The final dance I think was touching on that theme of how modern culture can clash with these traditional ones. I think we [need to] become better people and we become in touch with that culture. So in that respect, I thought it was a very compelling moment, he said.

Shen Yun performances are comprised of about 20 vignettes of dance, solo music performance, and stories. Many of these stories are based on historical events, inspired by myths and legends passed down generation after generation, and reflect modern-day China under the communist regime.

Some of these stories that portray traditional themes and values that encourage self-reflection and inspire audience members to observe the world around them.

Interesting Combination

Le Van said he was surprised to see a Western orchestra playing Chinese music. He said, That was an interesting combination, adding that they blended quite well.

I was not that familiar with the traditional Chinese instrument.  The [erhu] is quite intriguing. I think Ive heard it before, but it is the first time I had actually heard it in person in concert, he said, referring to the Chinese two-string violin.

Along with dance, Shen Yun performances are accompanied by a live orchestra that combines Eastern and Western classical instruments that create a distinct yet harmonious sound. A Western orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies, according to Shen Yun.

The erhu, also known as the Chinese violin, is just one of the many Chinese instruments that play in the orchestra. This year, audience members were fortunate to experience it in its own solo piece.

Le Van said he commends the effort of [Shen Yun] to really bring back traditions, which is so vital.

Especially in a time when I think pop music and Western pop music has become so widespread everywhere in the world and its almost drowning out diversity and its like a generalized youth culture and I think it can become basically a business. So I think that its so important to preserve these things that had lived with us for so many thousands of years, Le Van said.

We dont want to get lost in the wave of pop culture, and especially for young people, if they can somehow experience and see [the traditional culture] that is part of a heritage, and its beautiful, he added.

With reporting by Michael Ye.

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.
A Congolese health worker prepares to administer Ebola vaccine, outside the house of a victim who died from Ebola in the village of Mangina in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 18, 2018. (Olivia Acland/Reuters)

Congo Ebola Deaths Surpass 1,000

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo/GENEVAThe death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, April 3.

The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved.

Congos Health Ministry said on Friday that 14 new Ebola deaths had been recorded, taking the toll to 1,008 deaths from confirmed and probable cases.

Only the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa has been deadlier. More than 11,000 people died then out of 28,000 who were infected.

Despite significant medical advances since then, health officials have struggled to control the current outbreak because of the violence and community mistrust in eastern Congo, where dozens of militias are active.

Militiamen attacked a hospital treating Ebola patients two weeks ago, killing a senior WHO epidemiologist and wounding two others.

The numbers are nothing short of terrifying, said Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease specialist and director of the global health charity the Wellcome Trust.

This epidemic will not be brought under control without a really significant shift in the response, he said. Community trust and safety, as well as community engagement and ownership of the response is critical.

There was an attempted assault on an Ebola treatment facility in the city of Butembo on Thursday, but nobody was injured and the assailants were captured, the WHOs Ryan said.

By Fiston Mahamba and Stephanie Nebehay
At the respect-paying ceremony held for former President, General Le Duc Anh (Photo: VNA)



Foreign leaders and friends have also sent of condolences to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and the bereaved family.

The mourners expressed their respect to the former leader who had devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Representatives from general consulates of Laos, Cambodia, Russia, China, the US, Thailand, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Cuba, along with international friends in HCM City came to the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Conference Hall in the city to pay their last respects to the deceased.

General Le Duc Anh, who served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997, passed away on April 22nd at the age of 99.

Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3rd and 4th./.
Trump Trade War Is Widening, Not Ending

Almost every day brings comforting news on the trade front. Theyre talking! Someone went to Beijing! Someone else is optimistic!



The problem is, thats just talk. The longer it goes on, the more tariffs damage the economy.



Lets call tariffs what they are: import taxes. Maybe then the people who oppose all other taxes will stop thinking tariffs are somehow helpful.



There are better and less harmful ways to achieve our goals. But what you or I think doesnt really matter.



President Trump likes tariffs, and current law lets him use a national security pretext to impose them.



So they will continue until he changes his mind, and theres no sign he will.

Caught in the Middle

One thing even President Trump cant stop is the calendar. The days keep ticking by, each one bringing the end of his term closer.



That matters because Trump cant make any permanent trade agreements unless Congress agrees. Thats a long process he hasnt even started.



Instead, Trump is using executive authority, which lasts only as long as he is president. Any promise he makes to China will expire on January 20, 2021, just 21 months from now, unless he is reelected.



The Chinese know this.



Thats why they are in no hurry to make the kind of deals Trump wants. He might encourage them with threats and maybe even higher tariffs. But then he risks crashing the markets.



So, Chinas best negotiating strategy is to wait, which they do very well.



They may think Trump will get more flexible if the economy weakens next year, which is likely. Or possibly, theyre betting his successor will be friendlier to them.



In either case, Beijing has little incentive to give Trump what he wants unless he wins reelection, and maybe not even then.



The US agriculture and technology sectors are caught in the middle. Farmers are losing real money. Time isnt on their side.



But politically, Trump needs Midwest support. So if China keeps rejecting him, look for the rhetoric to turn ugly again.

We Will Reciprocate!

One problem with trade disputes is they escalate so easily. Country A raises tariffs on Country B, which then fires back.



If it stops there, everybody adapts and moves on. Trade wars happen when one side ups the ante, forcing a greater response from the other one. Then it spirals and gets much worse.



With that in mind, consider this April 23 presidential tweet.







Note that closing threat: We will Reciprocate! Thats funny because the tariff that so upsets the president is reciprocation for the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed on the EU last year.



Did Trump really think they would let him put European workers out of their jobs and do nothing at all? That was never a possibility. Yet hes surprised the EU is not surrendering.

Everyone Loses

Now, we dont know if Trump will actually do anything.



He often makes threats without following through. But if he does add more tariffs, the EU will respond again. Thats how trade wars pick up.



This one shouldnt happening in the first place. It springs from the Trump administrations contrived conclusion that EU-made steel somehow threatens US national security.



Thats obviously false, but World Trade Organization (WTO) rules give countries a lot of latitude in defense matters or used to.



Last week, a WTO tribunal ruled that the security clause applies only to actual armed conflicts. The particular case involved Russia and Ukraine, but its logic would seem to cover the Trump tariffs too.



Trump will likely ignore this decision and even try to withdraw the US from WTO membership. But it may give other countries a legal justification to raise tariffs on US goodsand get worse from there.



The president is right on one thing: the US has legitimate trade grievances with China and others. We need to resolve them. He would have a much better chance if he involved Congress instead of relying on contrived national security threats.



For whatever reason, he chose to go it alone, even when his party controlled both sides of Capitol Hill. And with the WTO possibly letting other countries retaliate more aggressively than they have thus far, the odds favor more tariffs.



That wont be good for US companies that depend on imported supplies, or US consumers who buy them, or US workers who produce goods for export including those Midwest farmers.



In other words, pretty much everyone will lose.



So dont believe the spin. The trade war isnt ending. It may only be beginning. Beware if your investment strategy presumes otherwise.

The Great Reset: The Collapse of the Biggest Bubble in History

New York Times best-seller and renowned financial expert John Mauldin predicts an unprecedented financial crisis that could trigger in the next five years. Most investors seem completely unaware of the relentless pressure thats building right now. Learn more here.

By Patrick_Watson

 2019 Copyright Patrick_Watson - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory near la Rumorosa town in Tecate, Baja California state, Mexico, on Aug. 28, 2018. (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

Elderly Couple Were Stunned to Receive $7,000,000 Worth of Meth in the Mail

An elderly Australian couple Wednesday signed for a package containing 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million) worth of methamphetamine, which had accidentally been shipped to their house, police said.

The couple, who live outside Melbourne, called police after opening the parcel and discovering it contained bags of white substance.

They asked each other if they had ordered anything, and it was quite clear that they hadnt, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Matthew Kershaw told reporters on Thursday.

The authorities determined the substance to be 20 kilograms of the illegal drug.

(Its) quite incredible to comprehend that someone could be that sloppy, Kershaw added.

Hours after the couples alarming discovery, a 21-year-old man was arrested in the nearby town of Bundoora.

A further 20 kilograms of methamphetamine were found at the address where he was arrested.

Zhiling Ma, who appeared Thursday in Melbourne court, was charged with trafficking and importing a marketable quantity of a border patrol drug, CNN affiliate Nine News reports.

Its quite a large find to take off the streets, really, Kershaw said of the drug haul. Thats 800,000 hits off the street that weve intercepted yesterday which is quite significant.

Breaking Bad for Real for Self-Taught Chianese Meth Maker

A real-life version of Breaking Bad that was playing out in China has witnessed its own series finale. A self-taught man, with only a middle-school education, was described by police as surpassing the skills of some organized gangs in manufacturing methamphetamine.

A man surnamed Lei was arrested Jan. 5 after establishing a methamphetamine laboratory under the stairs of his first-floor apartment in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, according to the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Leis method was perfected through trial and error, including by sampling his own drug. Just as his production hit high levels of purity, the police found him.

Lei told a court hearing that, after being laid off from his leather factory job, he found that he could make easy money cooking meth; he taught himself chemistry over a four- to five-year period.

The operation was discovered when the anti-drug division of the districts public security bureau noticed chemicals being delivered to Leis residential districtchemicals that could be specifically used for drug production.

The police described a pungent odor emanating from the room as they prepared for an arrest. Meth labs have a variety of odors, including that of cat urine or rotten eggs.

What they discovered inside Leis apartment was a fully functional lab, over 180 grams (6.3 oz.) of methamphetamine, and more than five liters (1.4 gallons) of liquid that was reported to contain drugs. Police also found 20 notebooks filled with notes from his self-taught education process, and 10 chemistry-related books.

The police described the earliest notes as relatively rudimentary, but his later methods were advanced, with knowledge of five different ways to produce the drug.

In China, drug-related charges often carry heavy sentences. A Canadian citizen was sentenced to death on Jan. 14 for charges of smuggling 222 kilograms (490 pounds) of methamphetamine to Australia from China.

While illegal drugs from China, including precursor chemicals used in Mexican meth, have been finding their way into the United States, the drug thats currently devastating U.S. communities is the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Chinas export of fentanyl to the United States a form of undeclared warfare, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to crack down on fentanyl production, a drug similar to, but much more potent than, heroin.

In August last year, two Chinese citizens from Shanghai were charged in the United States with operating a fentanyl production ring. The drug was responsible for the deaths of two people in Ohio, according to prosecutors. On Jan. 13, one individual died from an overdose of fentanyl, with more than 10 others hospitalized in Chico, California.

Chinese companies have also made minor modifications to fentanyl recipes, likely to dodge legal implications within China.
A helicopter crashed near Kent Island, Md., on May 4, 2019. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Helicopter Crashes in Maryland, 2 People Reported Missing

A helicopter crashed into Chesapeake Bay off Kent Island, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, May 4.

The authorities responded to a report at around 12:30 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed, Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert told the Baltimore Sun.

The brother of an onboard passenger was boating in the area and saw the incident happening, and notified authorities CNN reported.

The Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that volunteers were currently responding to a helicopter down in Chesapeake Bay and asked drivers to move over for responding units.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department sent a dive team to the scene to locate the missing passengers.

BREAKING: There are reports of a helicopter down in the Chesapeake Bay off of Kent Island, Md., more specifically Bloody Point. Private boats report seeing wreckage floating in the water. The U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders are currently scrambling to the scene. pic.twitter.com/QPTMHznDeu  Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) May 4, 2019

Brandi Colbert, a witness who works in the Kent Point Marina, told the Baltimore Sun that the helicopter went over the marina and disappeared.

Volunteers are currently responding to a helicopter down in the Chesapeake bay. (9-62 Box). Please move over for responding units. Posted by Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, May 4, 2019

Its not clear by the time of the publication if anyone was hurt in the crash.

This is a developing story, please check back for more information.
The moment of an explosion in the the suburb of Chicago is captured on camera. (Lake County Sheriff)

Industrial Plant Explosion Rocks Chicago Suburbs, 4 Injured

A massive explosion leveled an industrial plant, shook houses over 15 miles away, and left a fire raging in a Chicago suburb.

Four people have been hospitalized, according to the Chicago Tribune, after an explosion at a silicone factory in Gurnee, a suburb to the north of Chicago.

We have fire and structural damage indicative of an explosion, Steve Lenzi, spokesman for the Waukegan Fire Department, told the Tribune. There is very heavy damage.

The blast went off on May 3 at AB Specialty Silicones, a silicone plant in an industrial facility, according to Waukegan fire and police officials, reported WGNTV.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

The explosion was felt and heard in many neighboring towns and suburbs, according to reports and videos on social media which captured the moment of the explosion at around 9:30 p.m.

Around 10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriffs Office issued an alert via Twitter: We are aware of a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area. We are working to determine the cause.

Sir Please find the footage from my outdoor cam pic.twitter.com/YgIdWPaeTG  Bhushan (@ibhushanjoshi) May 4, 2019

Even many miles from the scene, the explosion was loud enough for residents to believe there had been a crash or explosion in their neighborhood.

I live in Antioch, 17.1 miles away and it shook my entire house, wrote one person on social media. I called police

Eyewitness Megan Hener told the Tribune she went down to the scene of the explosion and posted pictures on social media of the plant was now flattened.

It was leveled. Its right across from the emission testing station, she said, in reference to a state of Illinois facility.

The site of #explosion in #gurnee that shook homes across lake county is near Subset Ave and Northwestern in Waukegan. pic.twitter.com/X8njzjBbq3  Dilip Sapra (@sapradx) May 4, 2019

According to NBC, nearly 1,000 Lake County residents were left without power.

Many pictures on social media show the fire burning, and the moment of the explosion was caught on various cameras, such as porch cams, and posted to social media.

What was that massive explosion? Ive never heard anything so loud, wrote Lori Taylor on Twitter. Our house shook in Wadsworth.

One on-the-spot witness told Chicagos WLS-TV that she saw debris and sparks flying everywhere after hearing a large boom.

She saw a building engulfed in flames and heard another large boom.

The fire department said that they do not believe there is cause for concern about air quality or need for a shelter-in-place order, according to Local State Representative Joyce Mason.

According to WGNTV, police said late on May 3 that an active search and rescue operation was still underway at the site.
MS-13 Believed to Be Behind Body Found in Washington

The infamous MS-13 gang is believed to be behind the murder of a male who was found in Washington with one hand severed and the other barely attached.

Detectives believe the body found on April 27 is Eberson Guerra Sanchez, a ninth-grader who attended Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland, law enforcement sources told WUSA on May 3.

The body, found beneath the Chain Bridge near the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, was badly beaten and hacked with what detectives believe was a machete.

One hand was completely severed while the other was barely attached.

MS-13 suspected in body found with severed hand, believed to be Frederick teen https://t.co/4BBjPM72e5 pic.twitter.com/iGZ29Eu7VI  WUSA9 (@wusa9) May 4, 2019

Tuscarora High School Principal Christopher Berry said in a letter (pdf) to students and parents on May 2 that Sanchez had died. The Metro Police Department, though, said that the identification of the body hasnt been completed yet.

I know what theyre saying, but its too early to make a positive identification, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham told NBC 4. The victims face was so badly beaten, a positive identification will take more time.

Blue and white bags were tied to trees marking a trail to an enclave in the woods where the body was found. The colors are used by the transnational gang, which is known to favor beheadings and other brutal execution methods to send messages to the families of victims and others. Investigators removed the bags as forensic evidence.

A student who chose to stay anonymous told NBC 4 that Sanchez had only attended the school for a few months and believed the teen was from El Salvador.

Eberson Guerra Sanchez, un alumno de Tuscarora High School, fue reportado desaparecido la semana pasada y hallado muerto durante el fin de semana https://t.co/l8PYBZwcks  Telemundo 44 DC (@Telemundo44) May 2, 2019

Berry said in the letter that officials didnt think there was a threat to other students. We have no reason at this time to believe the circumstances are connected to Tuscarora High School or other students who attend here, he wrote.

The suspected MS-13 murder of Sanchez came just three days before three men believed to be members of the MS-13 gang were indicted for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a rival gang member in Nevada. The three men, all illegal aliens, allegedly restrained the victim and stabbed him while holding a gun to his head. When he tried to run, they shot him. The men then chopped up his body.

The gang, also known as Mara Salva 13, originated in Los Angeles but spread to El Salvador as members were deported from the United States. The transnational criminal organization is believed to have more than 10,000 members and regularly conducts gang activities in at least 10 states, including Maryland, and across Central America and Mexico.

In late March, six MS-13 members in New York, including two from Maryland, were indicted for allegedly conspiring to murder a fellow gang member who they thought was cooperating with law enforcement.

Our intelligence shows that their plan was to kill him by shooting him with a firearm they planned on purchasing, butchering him with a machete, or by burning him to death, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a press release.

This goes to show how ruthless this gang is and is part of their [modus operandi]: They conspire to kill rival gang members but they also conspire to kill their own when they allegedly violate the rules of the gang.
People watch a TV showing a file footage of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea Fires Short-Range Projectiles: South Korea

South Koreas military said that North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on May 4 local time. It initially described it as a missile launch but later gave a more vague description.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

A Pentagon press officer said in response to a Reuters request for comment: We arent able to confirm anything at the moment, we are looking in to it.

South Koreas presidential Blue House is analyzing the situation, a Blue House official said without elaborating.

The South Korean military said it will, together with the United States, analyze the latest launches.

Japans Defense Ministry says North Korean missiles have not reached anywhere near the countrys coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat.

A Missile?

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to no longer test nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), but the North has conducted other weapons tests since then.

If North Korea really did fire banned ballistic missiles, it will be the first launch since it fired a test of ICBM back in November 2017.

Analysts said that no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Koreas action would send a message to the United States.

It is an expression of the Norths frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure, said Harry Kazianis at the Center for the National Interest, a think-tank.

Kim has held two summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, the second in February in Vietnam, but the two failed to make progress on ending the Norths nuclear program due to disagreement on weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.

The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts, Sanders said in a statement back on Feb. 28. No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.

Trump said at a press conference later that North Koreas insistence on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return proved to be the sticking point.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee. Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Steve Holland and Tim Kelly. With reporting by AP, and The Epoch Times staff.
An injured demonstrator is helped during a May Day rally in Paris, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (Francois Mori/AP)

Paris Officials Question 30 Over May Day Ruckus at Hospital

PARIS (AP)  Authorities in Paris questioned 32 people May 2 about May Day marchers who scaled a fence and tried to enter a hospital, while questions remained over whether the group intended trouble or was trying to flee police tear gas.

By the end of the day, there was still no answer. The suspects detained for questioning were let go, an official with the Paris prosecutors office said.

The director of the Paris public hospital system had said he planned to file a complaint with police about the intrusion at Pitie Salpetriere University Hospital during an annual International Workers Day march organized by labor unions.

Dozens of people scaled the fence leading to a courtyard and tried to storm an emergency exit in a post-surgery ward on the afternoon of May 1, Martin Hirsch, the Paris public hospital system director, said. Doctors and nurses kept the door closed before police arrived, Hirsch said.

Computer equipment in another part of the hospital was damaged, and the consequences could have been very serious, Hirsch said.

Confusion surrounds the alleged actions of the May Day marchers.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called the incident an attack. But activists with the yellow vest movement, a left-wing politician and some news outlets suggested march participants were trying to escape tear gas fired by riot police.

The questioning of the 32 suspects brought no clarity, and they were released.

The investigation is continuing to shed light on the circumstances of the intrusion within the health facility, the official in the prosecutors office said. The official wasnt authorized to speak publicly about ongoing investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Paris May Day rally was disrupted several times by clusters of anarchists, supporters of the anti-government yellow vest movement and troublemakers who threw rocks at officers and set vehicles and trash cans on fire.

French officials deployed 7,400 officers to police the event.

French broadcaster BFMTV aired a video that showed dozens of people clamoring up steps that led to a glass door leading to the post-surgery unit and nurses and other staff members blocking the door from the inside.

BFMTV said the video was recorded by a nurses aide.

During a 2016 demonstration against labor reforms, another Paris hospital sustained damage after troublemakers hurled paving stones and other objects at the building.

By Elaine Ganley
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, May 2, 2019, in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Pelosi Calling Barr a Liar Is Beneath Her Office, White House Says

The White House on May 3 issued a rebuke against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for accusing Attorney General William Barr of lying during a hearing over special counsel Robert Muellers report earlier this week.

The fact that the speaker would take it upon herself to call him a liar is really, really inappropriate and beneath her office, deputy press secretary Steven Groves said on MSNBC.

Mueller wrote a letter to Barr complaining about his summary of the Russia investigation dated March 27. During testimony in April, Barr was asked whether he knew about the frustrations from Muellers team over his summary. Barr said No I dont and suspected they wanted more put out from the full report.

Although Mueller wrote that Barrs interpretation of his report did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions a Department of Justice representative told The Washington Post Mueller did not believe Barrs conclusions were inaccurate. Instead, Mueller was worried about the medias coverage of Barrs summary.

The special counsel emphasized that nothing in the attorney generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading, the spokeswoman told The Washington Post. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the special counsels obstruction analysis.

The Washington Post also reported that Mueller told Barr in a phone call that the concern of his summary was not about the accuracy of his letter.

Barr later confirmed the existence of the letter and phone call and clarified that Mueller didnt think his letter to Congress was inaccurate in testimony on May 1. Barr also said he believed Muellers letter was not written by him, stating that it was a bit snitty, and I think it was probably written by one of his staff people.

On Thursday morning I received a letter from Bob, the letter thats just put into the record, and I called Bob and said, Whats the issue here? and I asked him if he was suggesting the March 24 letter was inaccurate? And he said no, but that the press reporting had been inaccurate, and that the press was reading too much into it, he testified.

A number of top Democrats have since called for Barr to resign, claiming he was not truthful during testimony before House and Senate panels recently.

What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. Thats a crime, Pelosi told reporters previously at a press conference. He lied to Congress.

After Pelosi made the accusations the Department of Justice (DOJ) slammed Pelosis comments as baseless.

Speaker Pelosis baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible and false, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told Fox News.

Groves on May 3 defended Barrs comments, arguing the attorney general may have not wanted to reveal the private exchange he had with Mueller.

In that moment, that was private correspondence between Attorney General Barr and special counsel Mueller, Groves said. I mean, I dont know what was going through his head, but one of the things might have been, Hey that was a private exchange, maybe Im not going to reveal that on national television. 

He continued, The idea that he would be called a liar or accused of perjury is just so outrageous that I dont even know how to react to it.

Others have also defended the attorney general, pointing out that Mueller had admitted Barrs summary was accurate.

Rep. Mark Meadows said, 1) Mueller criticized Barrs letterexcept Mueller admitted letter was accurate. Pathetic spin. 2) Barr made the full report public 2 weeks agowhy in the world is his letter even relevant? Its like complaining about a movie trailer 2 weeks after the full movie comes out.

Liz Wheeler, the host of Tipping Point, made similar comments.

The article literally says Mueller CONFIRMED that Barr told the truth in his letter, she wrote.

Janita Kan contributed to this report
A woman during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 23, 2019. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

Persecution of Christians Worldwide Near Genocide Levels, Says Report for British Government

The persecution of Christians around the world is a near genocide levels, according to a report for the British government.

Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world, according to the report for the British Foreign Office, with acts of violence and intimidation becoming more widespread.

The British foreign secretary said he was shocked by the findings, and that a culture of political correctness in Western nations had left them asleep on the watch.

Christianity faces extinction in parts of the Middle East where it first blossomed, according to the report findings.

Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution but also its increasing severity, said the report, which was commissioned before the suicide bombings targeting Christians in Sri Lanka that left more than 250 dead last month.

The report author, Bishop Philip Mounstephen, said in a statement, Through my previous experience of the global church in Asia and Africa I was aware of the terrible reality of persecution, but to be honest in preparing this report Ive been truly shocked by the severity, scale, and scope of the problem. It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?

It is also ironic that many Western secularists, Islamic extremists, and authoritarian regimes share a common erroneous assumptionthat the Christian faith is primarily an expression of white Western privilege. In fact, Christianity is primarily a phenomenon of the global south and the global poor.

The report notes that in some regions, the level and nature of the persecution is close to meeting the United Nations definition of genocide.

The main impact of those genocidal acts is an exodus, according to the report.

Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria, the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today. Christianity is at risk of disappearing, representing a massive setback for plurality in the region.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt noted that the persecution of Christians happens for different reasons in various parts of the world, but said that they had gone unchallenged due to a broader culture of political correctness.

I think weve all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians, he told reporters in Addis Ababa, reported ITV. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into to as colonizers.

That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issuethe role of missionaries was always a controversial one and that has, I think, also led some people to shy away from this topic, continued Hunt. What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.

The report states that Christian women are more likely to suffer persecution.

The full findings of the report will be published in the summer.
Invited guests for the world premiere of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are reflected in the fuselage of the aircraft at the 787 assembly plant in Everett, Washington, on July 8, 2007. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)

Pilot Forced to Call Police on Disruptive Passenger, Drags Him Out of Bathroom

Seventy-five minutes into its 11-hour flight from New Zealand to Chile, a LATAM Airlines plane had to turn back because of a disruptive passenger.

The flight was 466 miles in the air on the night of May 3 when the decision to turn around was made in an effort to protect the people on board, Stuff reported.

The troublesome passenger was detained by using the Immigration Act, according to the news outlet. Police stated that there was an incident during the flight involving only the passenger in question.

A LATAM spokesperson said that no one on the plane was harmed.

He did not want to say what it was that the disruptive passenger did to make the pilots call the police and make the decision to go back.

The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it left Auckland about 6:30 p.m. and returned three hours later.

Flight LA800 from Auckland to Santiagohttps://t.co/yRxdpfcswl Inbound from Auckland to Santiago delayed ETA2242Z pic.twitter.com/veXQEy87Z2  Kenneth Brown (@spotter_scl) March 7, 2019

Airways spokeswoman Emma Lee said that the pilot had requested police approach the plane upon arrival. She said it would not be appropriate to comment further on the occurrence.

Some passengers were complaining of the delay and lack of communication So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? said one Twitter user who seemed to have been on the 787 Dreamliner.

So will our bags still be left in the same spot in Auckland Airport customs? @AKL_Airport Coming up to four hours since landing on flight LA800. #aucklandairport needs to learn communucation skills. pic.twitter.com/unAdTJb7GN  Anthony (@workingnomad) December 8, 2018

Andrea Bastos was also on the flight. Her son, Fabrizio Farra, spoke to The Herald on behalf of his mother.

He said that the passenger was out of his mind. He didnt want to go, then he said he did. Flight attendants had to break into the bathroom, then they dragged him to the kitchen area and tried to calm him down.

Farra said his mother felt they could have been informed better. She felt the airline could have been more honest., he said. The flight was already late two hours so she was really tired of the whole situation by the time she got to Auckland.

Media have published updates as they have become apparent or more information has come to light.
This picture taken on June 26, 2017 shows a policeman gesturing as Muslims arrive at the Id Kah Mosque for the morning prayer on Eid al-Fitr in the old town of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

Police Surveillance App in Xinjiang Targets 36 Types of Problematic People, Report Says

A surveillance app used by Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang designates 36 types of people who may be tagged for investigation and sent to internment camps as part of the regimes suppression of Turkic Muslims in the region, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

In a report published May 1, Human Rights Watch analyzed a mobile app used by Xinjiang authorities to collect personal information from Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities, file reports on activities they find suspicious, and carry out investigations on people the system flags as problematic.

The app is linked to the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), one of the main systems the regime uses for mass surveillance in the region. According to the report, the IJOP system surveils and collects data on the millions of Xinjiang residents through CCTV cameras, some of which have facial recognition or night-vision capabilities, a vast network of checkpoints, and through Wi-Fi sniffers, which collect unique identifying addresses of computers, and smartphones.

With data mined in this system, the IJOP can then identify problematic people for investigation and detention in the regions sprawling network of internment camps, the report said.

The U.S. State Department and rights groups estimate that more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being detained in such camps, where they are forced to undergo political indoctrination and renounce their faith. Former detainees have recounted torture, abuse, and rape in the facilities.

The Chinese regime has justified the detention and mass surveillance using the pretext of combating terrorism.

IJOP App

The rights organization said it was able to reverse-engineer the IJOP app to allow it to examine the type of personal information it collects, and identify the kinds of behavior and people the authorities target.

The app collects a wide range of personal information, including a persons blood type, height down to the precise centimeter, and the color and make of their car, the report said. The information then is fed into the IJOP system and linked to the persons national identification card number.

The report also found that the app identifies 36 types of people considered suspicious. These include seemingly innocuous behavior such as returned from abroad, does not socialize with neighbors, seldom uses front door, collected money or materials for mosques with enthusiasm, or household uses an abnormal amount of electricity.

The app also alerts authorities to carry out investigative missions into people flagged as problematic, which involves gathering even more personal information.

During one such mission, an official may be required, for example, to check the persons phone and log whether they use any of the 51 suspicious internet tools, including Virtual Private Networks, and foreign messaging apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

In Xinjiang, authorities have created a system that considers individuals suspicious based on broad and dubious criteria, and then generates lists of people to be evaluated by officials for detention, the report said.

Cases

Human Rights Watch interviewed several Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities who shared their experience being monitored by the IJOP platform.

A former detainee identified only as Ehmet was released in 2017, but soon found out that he was banned from leaving his local area. When I tried going out of the region, my ID would [make a sound] at police checkpoints.I was blacklisted.

Alim was released from a police detention center after spending several weeks there on charges of disturbing social order. Alim told Human Rights Watch that while visiting a mall, a nearby alarm went off. The police escorted him to the local police station right away. The police told me: Just dont go to any public places.

For Nur, his status as a foreign national upon fleeing Xinjiang means his family members back home are also implicated: [My family] said their ID cards have been making noise when going through the checkpoints ever since I was taken away [by police].

The IJOP platform is itself against the Chinese constitution and laws. The constitution guarantees peoples privacy of correspondence, while laws stipulate that only criminal investigators can collect suspects DNA samples and phone numbers upon obtaining a search warrant.
Public Prosecutor Takes Aim at SNC-Lavalins Court Bid for Remediation Deal

OTTAWACanadas director of public prosecutions is firing a new volley at SNC-Lavalin that could hobble the companys ongoing legal fight for a special settlement agreement over alleged corruption in Libya.

The prosecutor wants the Federal Court of Appeal to strike out a key element of the construction and engineering firms challenge of a ruling that went against the company.

Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin faces corruption and fraud charges related to business deals in Libya from 2001 to 2011. A conviction could bar the company from receiving federal contracts for 10 years.

SNC-Lavalin unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement, an alternative means of holding an organization accountable for wrongdoing without a formal finding of guilt.

In a March ruling, a judge tossed out the firms plea for judicial review of the 2018 decision.

SNC-Lavalin is appealing the judges ruling, pointing to recent revelations from parliamentary committee testimony from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and others to bolster its arguments.

The company says new and deeply troubling facts that came to light in the political saga show that checks and balances intended to ensure accountability was critically circumvented, amounting to a clear abuse of process.

However, the director of prosecutions is asking the appeal court to prevent SNC-Lavalin from ever supplementing its original arguments with the new information. If the directors motion succeeds, it would represent another legal setback to the companys bid for a remediation agreement.

SNC-Lavalin has been embroiled in a high-profile political storm since February when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that prime ministerial aides leaned on Wilson-Raybould to ensure a remediation agreement for the company. She resigned from cabinet days later.

Wilson-Raybould told the House of Commons justice committee in late February she faced a campaign of relentless pressure to secure an agreement for SNC-Lavalin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies officials acted inappropriately.

The director of prosecutions formally told SNC-Lavalin on Oct. 9, 2018, that negotiating an agreement would be inappropriate in this particular case, prompting the company to ask the Federal Court for an order requiring talks.

In its March ruling, the Federal Court said prosecutorial discretion is not subject to judicial review, except for cases where there is an abuse of process.

In its filing with the Court of Appeal, SNC-Lavalin contends the process of determining whether to pursue a remediation agreement was completely flawed.

The company says testimony before the justice committee made it clear that on Sept. 4, 2018, director of prosecutions Kathleen Roussel provided Wilson-Raybould with a memo that apparently outlined the prosecutors case against a remediation agreement.

By Sept. 16, Wilson-Raybould told the committee, she had formed the view it was unnecessary to intervene in the prosecutors decision.

However, SNC-Lavalin stresses in its filing that a dialogue with the prosecutors office was still unfolding.

In early September 2018, the public prosecutor agreed to receive additional SNC-Lavalin information addressing concerns, the company says. Its subsequent submissions came in letters to the prosecutor Sept. 7 and Sept. 17.

SNC-Lavalin notes Wilson-Raybould made no mention of these developments and was likely not aware of them. As a result, her conclusion not to intervene was based on incomplete information, the company says.

SNC-Lavalin argues Roussel failed to advise Wilson-Raybould that she had agreed to receive additional information from the company and neglected to update her Sept. 4 memo to the then-attorney general.
Rolls-Royce May Power Boeing `797 If Max Crisis Delays Jet

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. could re-enter the competition to power a medium-sized jetliner under development at Boeing Co. if the U.S. planemaker pushes the project back to help cope with the 737 Max crisis.

Rolls, which exited the New Midsize Aircraft program earlier this year saying a new engine wont be ready for the plane to enter service in 2025, may return to the contest if the timetable slips, Chief Executive Officer Warren East said May 2 at the companys annual shareholder meeting in Bristol, England.

We said to Boeing, we cant produce something that we are confident will be sufficiently mature, East said. If Boeing change their timescales then obviously we can reassess. We think technically we have a good solution.

Rolls had initially regarded the NMA, also dubbed the 797, as a potential launch platform for the new Ultrafan engine that will form the basis of its turbine offerings for the foreseeable future. That was before East said in February that it would be wiser to withdraw than screw up the launch of the plane and create service issues for customers.

Boeing put back a decision to select an engine for the NMA even before the fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airways Max on March 10. The subsequent worldwide grounding of the 737 has led some analysts to suggest that the company may need to suspend work on the new plane to focus its full attention to getting the narrow-body workhorse flying again.

Milestone

Whatever the decision on the NMA, East said Rolls intends to bid to power the next generation of single-aisle planes expected to succeed both the Max and Airbus SEs A320neo jets from 2030. That would represent a milestone for the company after it quit the narrow-body market in 2011 to focus solely on bigger planes, leaving the sector to General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney.

The cautious approach on the mid-size Boeing has been motivated by a desire to avoid any glitches with the Ultrafan that could color the view of airlines and planemakers on the engine. Thats especially so given the issues Rolls has had with its Trent 1000 turbines that power the American firms 787 Dreamliner.

The NMA aside, the first available application for the Ultrafan could be a re-engined version of the Airbus A350 that the European company is studying for introduction toward the end of the 2020s.

A330, 787 Engines

East said that the company had caught up delays on Airbuss newest widebody, the A330neo, after falling behind last year, adding that the low number of deliveries of that aircraft in the first quarter was unrelated to engines.

The company has also managed to draw a box around the Trent 1000 issues that have affected some 787 operators, which has helped it secure new orders this year after a sales drought in 2018. Rolls has finalized claims with effectively all operators of the engine, with more than half of the 1.5 billion pounds ($1.95 billion) in costs associated with fixing the program earmarked for compensation payments.

By Benjamin Katz
A Scandanavian Airlines, known as SAS, Airbus A320-200 aeroplane takes off from the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, July 29, 2018. (Paul Hanna/Reuters)

SAS, Unions Close to Deal to End Pilot Strike: Reports

OSLOScandinavian airline SAS and unions are close to reaching a deal to end a pilot strike that has grounded 380,000 passengers over the past week, Norwegian media reported on May 2.

The airline, the Norwegian and Danish pilot unions, and the Norwegian employer organization were not immediately available for comment. The Danish and Swedish employer organizations and the Swedish union declined to comment.

Since pilots went on strike on April 26 over wages and conditions, SAS has canceled more than 4,000 flights.

Parties involved in the dispute have been negotiating in Oslo since May 1 to try to resolve it.

The will is there to solve the situation, Norwegian Pilots Union President Yngve Carlsen told reporters earlier in the day on his way into the Norwegian state mediators office, where the parties talked overnight.

I am more optimistic now than I was yesterday, Carlsen added but declined to offer a timeline as to when the strike could end.

Close to bankruptcy in 2012, SAS sold assets and cut wages and thousands of jobs in return for a life-saving credit facility. It has been profitable in the last four years but fuel costs are rising and overcapacity is still squeezing the sector.

The Swedish union has said pilots were seeking around a 13 percent pay hike, to make up for the 2012 wage cuts.

SAS, which is part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said that would entail significant cost increases that would seriously damage competitiveness.

The aviation industrys employer body in Sweden says pilots already have high wages, averaging 93,000 crowns last year. The Swedish pilots union disputes the figure, saying salaries start at 34,000 crowns, rising over 25 years to 98,000.

Analysts estimate the stand-off over wages and other demands by pilots in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark could cost SAS as much as $10.5 million a day, threatening to wipe out the airlines annual profit in short order.

By Gwladys Fouche
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to media about the Mueller report at the Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Lindsey Graham Invites Robert Mueller to Testify About Phone Call With Barr

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) invited special counsel Robert Mueller to testify about any potential discrepancies between responses Attorney General William Barr provided during a recent Senate hearing and the contents of a phone call between the two men.

In a letter (pdf) dated May 3, Graham offered Mueller the opportunity to provide testimony regarding any misrepresentation by the Attorney general of the substance of that phone call if the special counsel disagreed with Barrs account of the exchange.

Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC writes to Special Counsel Mueller regarding Attorney General Barrs testimony:https://t.co/B8eaSaOhTC pic.twitter.com/bHhQMUIoOj  Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) May 3, 2019

The phone call in question came days after Barr sent a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 containing the bottom-line conclusions of Muellers report.

The special counsel initially complained to Barr in a private letter sent on March 27 about the characterization of the reports findings in Barrs memo, saying it did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of the probe. Barr subsequently called the special counsel to ask him about the March 27 letter.

During the call, Mueller told Barr that he did not think the attorney generals summary was inaccurate, but that the media coverage surrounding the investigation was misleading.

At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 1, Barr told lawmakers that he thought Muellers letter was a bit snitty, adding that he thought it was written by one of Muellers staff members.

He also refused a request by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to turn over the notes of the phone conversation with Mueller about the letter, reported the Washington Examiner.

Graham wrote in his letter to Mueller that, In response to questions by Senator Blumenthal, the Attorney General testified in essence that you told him in a phone call that you did not challenge the accuracy of the Attorney Generals summary of your reports principal conclusions, but rather you wanted more of the report, particularly the executive summaries concerning obstruction of justice, to be released promptly. In particular, Attorney General Barr testified that you believed media coverage of your investigation was unfair without the public release of those summaries.

During a press conference on May 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said he was going write to Mueller and give him a chance to correct the record if he thought Attorney General Barr in any way misrepresented the findings of his report but has no plans to bring in Mueller to testify about his investigation, telling reporters, Enough already. Its over.

Muellers Letter to Barr

The existence of the March 27 letter was leaked to the Washington Post and reported on a day before Barr was scheduled to appear at the Senate hearing.

The letter outlined Muellers concerns about the content of Barrs memo:

The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this offices work and conclusions.  There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.

BREAKING: Letter from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Attorney General Barr. pic.twitter.com/oDJm6coP8G  House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) May 1, 2019

Mueller also requested Barr to release the introductions and executive summaries of each volume of the report, according to the letter.

Sources familiar with the discussions told the Post that Muellers letter had shocked senior Justice Department officials because the officials believed the special counsel was in agreement about the process of reviewing the report and the need for redactions.

After the Attorney General received Special Counsel Muellers letter, he called him to discuss it, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. In a cordial and professional conversation, the Special Counsel emphasized that nothing in the Attorney Generals March 24 letter was inaccurate or misleading. But, he expressed frustration over the lack of context and the resulting media coverage regarding the Special Counsels obstruction analysis. They then discussed whether additional context from the report would be helpful and could be quickly released.

House Committee in Negotiation with Muellers Team

According to multiple reports, members of the House Judiciary Committee are currently negotiating with Muellers team about whether he would appear before the committee to provide testimony about his Russia probe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony, according to NBC News Alex Moe.

A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Muellers team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Muellers testimony  Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) May 2, 2019

An ABC News reporter and producer also reported similar details about the talks.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized, ABC reporter Ben Siegel wrote.

The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Muellers team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized.  Ben Siegel (@benyc) May 2, 2019

Barr was scheduled to testify at a House hearing on the Mueller report on May 2 but canceled as he did not accept the questioning format proposed by the committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). In particular, Barr was strongly opposed to allowing staff lawyers to participate in the questioning.

Barr said questioning witnesses before congressional committees is the responsibility of elected senators and representatives.
The top of a replica Crew Dragon spacecraft is show at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2018. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test Accident

CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaNearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap.

Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp, known as SpaceX, continued to refer to the accident simply as an anomalyscience jargon for when something goes wrong.

The April 20 accident occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as SpaceX was about to test eight emergency thrusters designed to propel the capsule, dubbed Crew Dragon, to safety from atop the rocket in the event of a launch failure.

Just prior, before we wanted to fire the (thrusters), there was an anomaly and the vehicle was destroyed, Koenigsmann told reporters on Thursday at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. There were no injuries. SpaceX had taken all safety measures prior to this test, as we always do.

The news conference was called ahead of Fridays scheduled launch of an unmanned resupply mission to the International Space Station using a cargo-only capsule built by SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Leaked Video

When pressed about the accident, Koenigsmann declined to say whether an explosion or fire was involved. NASA has likewise declined to describe the mishap.

A leaked video of the accident, which a NASA contractor has acknowledged as authentic in an internal memo obtained by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, showed the capsule blasting into smithereens. A pall of smoke was also widely observed from a distance at the time of the ill-fated test.

SpaceXs reluctance to describe in plain terms what happened to the capsule was at odds with NASAs long history of transparency surrounding accidents involving its human spaceflight program.

The Crew Dragon had been scheduled to carry U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station in a test mission in July, although Aprils accident, as well as some vehicle design hitches, are likely to push that launch to later in the year or into 2020.

Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover, Koenigsmann said.

The destroyed vehicle was one of six such capsules built or in late production by SpaceX, and the first flown into space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched it without a crew to the space station in March for a six-day visit before returning to Earth, splashing down safely in the Atlantic for retrieval.

Koenigsmann said initial data from the accident showed the mishap occurred during activation of the emergency thrusters, which SpaceX calls the SuperDraco system.

We have no reason to believe there is an issue with the SuperDracos themselves, Koenigsmann said, adding that the engines have been tested nearly 600 times in the past.

NASA has been awarded $6.8 billion to SpaceX and rival Boeing Co to develop separate capsule systems to fly astronauts to space, but both companies have faced technical challenges and delays.

By Joey Roulette
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is hoisted onto a ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast after it returned from a mission to the International Space Station on March 8, 2019. (NASA via AP, File)

SpaceX Confirms Crew Capsule Destroyed in Ground Test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX finally confirmed on May 2 its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago and conceded that the accident is not great news for the companys effort to launch astronauts this year.

Hans Koenigsmann, a company vice president, told reporters its too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the crew Dragon capsules test flight in Marchminus astronautscontributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the testing area at Cape Canaveral for safety reasons, according to Koenigsmann. The company does not want to disturb any evidence that could provide clues to the failure, he noted.

The company has concluded, meanwhile, that the smaller, simpler cargo version of the Dragon capsule is safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX was on track to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early April 26, although approaching storms threatened yet another delay. Earlier in the week, the flight was postponed by a major power shortage at the space station.

Because the April 20 accident occurred so close to SpaceXs landing site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the booster for the cargo launch cannot return there following liftoff. Instead, the first-stage booster was aiming for a barge stationed about 12 miles offshore, much closer than usual.

The cargo and crew versions of the Dragon capsule are considerably different. The cargo Dragon does not have the SuperDraco thrusters that are embedded into the side of the crew Dragon. Those thrusters would be used to push a capsule off a just-launched rocket in an emergency. They werent used during the test flight to the space station in March.

Koenigsmann said he does not believe the thrusters themselves caused the accident. The system had been activatedwhich involves opening and closing valves, and pressurizing systemswhen flames erupted.

SpaceX was going to launch the newly returned crew Dragon in another test this summer, to see how the SuperDraco thrusters work in an aborted flight. More crew Dragons are being built and can be used for this test, according to Koenigsmann.

Koenigsmann remains hopeful SpaceX can launch two NASA astronauts to the space station this year. The impact to the schedule will depend on the results of the accident investigation, he said.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX and also Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, instead of having them hitch expensive rides on Russian rockets.

Before the accident, SpaceX had been shooting for a summertime crew launch.

I dont want to completely preclude the current schedule, he said. Its certainly not great news for the schedule overall, but I hope we can recover.

Koenigsmann said the company has been in touch with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnkenwho will be on board for the crew Dragons next test flight to the space stationand that the two have offered encouragement and motivation.

Boeing also has encountered recent delays with its Starliner crew capsules. The company is striving to launch a Starliner without astronauts to the space station in August.

By Marcia Dunn
An empty Tesla showroom stands in Brooklyn on April 25, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tesla Expects Global Shortage of Electric Vehicle Battery Minerals: Sources

WASHINGTONTesla Inc. expects global shortages of nickel, copper and other electric-vehicle battery minerals in the near future due to underinvestment in the mining sector, the companys head of minerals procurement told an industry conference on May 2, according to two sources.

The company, a major minerals consumer, has rarely talked publicly about its views on the metals industry. Copper, nickel, lithium, and related minerals are key components used to make electric-vehicle batteries and other parts.

Sarah Maryssael, Teslas global supply manager for battery metals, told a closed-door Washington conference of miners, regulators, and lawmakers that the automaker sees a shortage of key EV minerals coming in the near future, according to the sources.

Tesla did not immediately comment.

The copper industry has suffered from years of underinvestment, and it is now working feverishly to develop new mines and bring fresh supply online as the electrification trend envelops the global economy. Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the worlds largest publicly traded copper producer, is expanding in the United States and Indonesia.

Electric cars use twice as much copper as internal combustion engines. So-called smart-home systemssuch as Alphabet Incs Nest thermostat and Amazon.com Inc.s Alexa personal assistantwill consume about 1.5 million tonnes of copper by 2030, up from 38,000 tonnes today, according to data from consultancy BSRIA.

All that will make the red metaland other mineralsscarcer commodities, which worries Tesla.

Maryssael added, according to the sources, that Tesla will continue to focus more on nickel, part of a plan by Chief Executive Elon Musk to use less cobalt in battery cathodes. Cobalt is primarily mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and some extraction techniquesespecially those using child laborhave made its use deeply unpopular across the battery industry, especially with Musk.

Maryssael told the conference, hosted by commodity pricing tracker Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, that there is huge potential for Tesla to partner with mines in Australia or the United States, according to the sources.

The conference, attended by more than 100 people, featured speakers from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy, as well as Standard Lithium Ltd., ioneer Ltd. and other companies working to develop U.S. lithium mines.

By Ernest Scheyder
Trucker in Deadly Colorado Crash Charged With 40 Criminal Counts

DENVERA Texas truck driver who police say caused a fiery multi-vehicle crash near Denver last week that killed four people and injured four was charged on Friday with 40 criminal counts including vehicular homicide, prosecutors said.

Police in Lakewood, Colorado said they arrested 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos after he lost control of his tractor-trailer truck during the evening rush hour on April 25 and caused a crash on Interstate 70 that involved at least 28 vehicles.

The district attorney for Jefferson County, where the crash took place, charged Aguilera-Mederos with 40 counts on Friday, including four counts of vehicular homicide, six of first-degree assault and 24 of attempted first-degree assault.

A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 11. Aguilera-Mederos is being held on a $400,000 bond.

The tractor-trailer, which was carrying lumber, rammed into several cars, causing a pile-up that became a raging inferno, authorities said. The four men who died were all single occupants in their vehicles, according to a local TV station.

The carnage was significant, police spokesman Ty Countryman said at the time. Just unbelievable.

Lakewood police spokesman John Romero described it as a chain reaction of crashes and explosions from ruptured gas tanks. It was crash, crash, crash and explosion, explosion, explosion, he said.

There was no initial indication that Aguilera-Mederos intentionally caused the crash, or that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Countryman said.

Aguilera-Mederos told police his brakes had failed, but cell phone video from a witness showed his truck veering across several lanes of traffic and forcing another vehicle off the road before the crash, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

I-70 is Colorados vital east-west highway that connects the mountains with the plains and traffic has grown worse as the states population has boomed. The crash happened just after the highway descends from the mountains, where signs warn drivers to check to make sure their brakes are cool and working after traveling down the steep grades.

Rob Corry, a lawyer for Aguilera-Mederos, said last week that the crash was an accident caused by an equipment malfunction.

This is a massive unprecedented overreach by the prosecution  on a vehicle accident, Corry told reporters on Friday.

Footage from the Crash

Video footage from a news helicopter showed flames whipping off the vehicles and what appeared to be lumber spilled across the interstate.

Local YouTuber Joshua McCutchen, who goes by the name Burger Planet, captured the moment the semi sped by him moments before crashing into stationary traffic ahead.

He also captured footage from the scene of the crash and interviewed an eyewitness.

Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. greets supporters of US President Donald Trump before he speaks at a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Trump Jr. Takes to Twitter to Criticize Social Media Censorship

Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. criticized big techs censorship and is asking people to realize its seriousness and take a stand against it.

On May 3, he wrote on Twitter, The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone, he stated, It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level, he wrote, adding, Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.

The purposeful & calculated silencing of conservatives by @facebook & the rest of the Big Tech monopoly men should terrify everyone. It appears theyre taking their censorship campaign to the next level. Ask yourself, how long before they come to purge you? We must fight back.  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 3, 2019

A conservative African-American woman with a MAGA hat on her avatar picture responded, Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.

Please tell President Trump to do something about this ASAP. He can write an executive order revoking Tech Giants section 230 protection so we can sue them as publisher not a platform. They are monopolies & must be regulated as utilities.  Melissa A. (@TheRightMelissa) May 3, 2019

Both President Trump and his son on Friday sent Maria Bartiromos post again that had a screenshot of Breitbart article titled Facebook Blacklists Prominent Conservatives Including Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, she said she thinks that the topic of silencing conservatives will be bigger and bigger as the 2020 election approaches.

President Donald Trump also sent Paul Joseph Watsons tweet and video again where he talks about the censorship he and other commenters that had been crucial for Trumps campaign have been subjected to.

Dangerous. My opinions? Or giving a handful of giant partisan corporations the power to decide who has free speech? You decide.https://t.co/cTCoLs0Op2  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019

Paul Watson mentions in the video that the Big Tech also banned Louis Farrakhan along with people with conservative leanings obviously to give the excuse that this wasnt political, Watson said It was totally political, he said, This is nothing less than election meddling.

Platform access should be a civil right! Retweet if you agree.https://t.co/RYblEBfUyj@realDonaldTrump  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 4, 2019

Donald Jr.s tweet on Saturday afternoon seems to indicate that Google is kowtowing to leftwingers and blacklisting hunters from advertising on their platform.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump Still Confident Deal Will Happen After North Korea Launches Short-Range Projectiles

President Trump expressed confidence that North Koreas leadership will not jeopardize the economic prosperity of their nation and that a denuclearization deal will be struck, after several short-range projectiles were launched from its east coast.

North Korea is currently under strict economic sanctions imposed by the international communitylead by the United Statesafter Kim Jong Un ramped up a nuclear weapons program in 2017.

Those sanctions brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table for a historic meeting with President Trump last year, when the North Korean leader promised to pause the nuclear weapons development program and stop testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

On May 4, South Korean officials said that missiles had been fired 40-125 miles out to sea from the coast of North Korea. It later downgraded the description to projectiles.

President Trump responded on May 4, writing on Twitter, Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, and will do nothing to interfere or end it.

He also knows that I am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!

Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 4, 2019

The projectiles fired on May 4 do not appear in violation of North Koreas promises and are a far cry from the long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that North Korea was test-firing before sanctions were tightened.

However, according to some analysts they are something of a warning shot.

Clearly, Pyongyang is frustrated with the conclusion of the recent summit with Washington in Vietnam that did not produce any breakthrough, Harry J. Kazianis, the director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said in a statement Friday night, reported The Hill.

It also seems clear that North Korea is angry over what appears to be a lack of flexibility in the Trump administrations position on relieving sanctions, sticking to a policy of maximum pressure.

In February, President Trump walked away from the second talks without a deal, after North Korea insisted on lifting sanctions without offering enough denuclearization in return.

It was about the sanctions, Trump said. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas we wanted, but we couldnt give up all of the sanctions for that.

While the two leaders failed to reach a consensus, Trump said the summit was very productive. The president added he had a proposed agreement that was ready to be signed, but said he didnt want to rush into a bad deal.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that several unidentified short-range projectiles flew some 70 to 200 kilometers (about 44 to 125 miles) from the north of the city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. local time before they landed in the water.

Surveillance and vigilance have been stepped up to prepare for any further launches by North Korea, and the South Korean military maintains readiness and is cooperating with the United States, the JCS added.

Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the U.S., the JCS said in a statement quoted by South Koreas Yonhap news agency.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump walk out of the Oval Office during a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 2, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump: The Power of Prayer. Its the Most Powerful Thing There Is

Speaking to about 100 religious leaders and Trump administration officials, President Donald Trump said prayer is the most powerful thing there is in which many Americans still believe.

America will be a nation that believes forever, and we certainly believe, more than anyone, the power of prayerits the most powerful thing there is, Trump said at a White House dinner on May 1, the eve of the National Day of Prayer.

In attendance at the dinner were representatives from various faithsChristians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus. There, Trump stressed the importance of protecting religious freedoms.

Tonight we break bread together united by our love of God, and we renew our resolve to protect the sacred freedom of religionall of us, he said, according to Life Site News.

In a proclamation on National Day of Prayer 2019, the president stated that The United States steadfast commitment to upholding religious freedom has ensured that people of different faiths can pray together and live in peace as fellow American citizens. We have no tolerance for those who disrupt this peace, and we condemn all hate and violence, particularly in our places of worship.

Trump also condemned the recent anti-religious hate crimes that occurred in America and abroad, including the recent shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego.

All of us in this room send our love and prayers to the Jewish Americans wounded at the Chabad of Poway shooting in California. And our hearts break for the life of Laurie Gilbert-Kaye who was so wickedly taken from us, Trump said at the dinner, according to CBN.

We mourn for the Christians murdered in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday and grieve for the Muslims murdered at their mosques in New Zealand, he added. Here at home, we also remember the three historically black churches burned recently in Louisiana and the horrific shooting last year at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Trump then reiterated the importance of prayer in his speech at the National Day of Prayer Service on May 2.

He began his speech by sending a prayer to the people of Venezuela. The socialist South American country has spiraled into humanitarian, economic, and political chaos after illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro refused to step down despite mounting international pressure.

In mid-January, Venezuelas duly elected National Assembly declared Maduros presidency illegitimate due to a fraudulent election, and swore in Juan Guaido as interim president. But Maduro has refused to give up control.

Id like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom. The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end and it must end soon. People are starving. They have no food. They have no water. And this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So we wish them well. Well be there to help, and we are there to help, Trump said.

Later in his speech, Trump said he will be doing everything he can to make it better than ever before for the American peopleand especially for people of faith.

On this Day of Prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. And we give thanks for those wondrous lands of liberty. And this is truly the greatest of all lands of libertyour country. Our country is special. It will always be special. It will be greater than ever before, he said.

On this day of prayer, we once again place our hopes in the hands of our Creator. We give thanks for this wondrous land of liberty, & we pray that THIS nation  OUR home  these United States  will forever be strengthened by the Goodness and the Grace & the eternal GLORY OF GOD! pic.twitter.com/RtSI3j1GWH  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019

Were doing things that will make it better than ever before, and especially for churches and synagogues and mosques and everyone elsepeople of faith. We pray that this nationour home, these United Stateswill forever be strengthened by the goodness and the grace and the eternal glory of God, he added.

Protecting Conscience Rights for Health Care Groups and Individuals

During his May 2 speech, Trump also announced his new rule that would protect health care groups and individuals from mandatory provision or participation in services they object to for religious or moral reasons.

And just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities. Theyve been wanting to do that for a long time, he said. Together, we are building a culture that cherishes the dignity and worth of human life. Every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule promises to promote and protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious liberty. It specifically protects providers, individuals, and other health care entities from having to provide, participate in, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for, services such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide, according to the statement.
Volkswagen Earnings Upbeat Despite Diesel Scandal Charges

FRANKFURT, GermanyGerman automaker Volkswagen saw its profit slip in the first quarter as the company set aside 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for legal risks related to its 2015 diesel scandal.

The company nevertheless showed that it was holding its own against the headwinds buffeting the global auto industry, reporting improved earnings at its main Volkswagen unit and stronger profit margins across the groups 12 brands. A strong sales mix, with more-profitable vehicles taking a bigger slice, boosted earnings.

After-tax profit fell to 3.05 billion euros ($3.41 billion) from 3.30 billion euros in the same quarter a year ago. Group sales revenue rose 3.1% to 60 billion euros even though the total number of vehicles sold declined.

A key measure of profitabilitythe profit margin on salesrose to 8.1% from 7.2% in the year-earlier period. The figure exceeds the companys targeted margin range of 6.5% to 7.5%.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said it was a very strong first quarter and to an extent better actually better than we expected.

I think the key drivers were obviously the operational performance even though volume declined, but we were able to offset that with price and mix effects, Witter told The Associated Press.

Shares in Volkswagen rose almost 4% in Frankfurt as investors seemed to welcome the figures.

Auto companies are facing multiple challenges, including slowing sales in China, the worlds largest auto market, tougher emissions requirements and trade disputes. They are also under pressure to invest in new technologies to compete against tech companies pushing into auto-related areas such as ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles.

Witter said that earnings were under pressure from high outlays for the companys future lineup of battery vehicles, but said that was without alternatives. The company is pivoting to vehicles that produce no emissions locally to meet lower EU limits on greenhouse gases. Volkswagen expects to begin production this year of the battery-powered ID hatchback at its plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany.

The Volkswagen brand saw operating profit rise 5% to 921 million euros as cost control and a more profitable model mix compensated for lower volumes.

Earnings fell at two of the companys chief moneymakers, its luxury Audi and Porsche divisions. Audi saw profits fall to 1.1 billion euros from 1.3 billion euros because of model changes and higher spending on new products and technologies. Porsches operating profit fell 12% to 829 million euros.

Volkswagen faces legal risks from its 2015 scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions test, including pending suits from investors who say the company didnt inform them of the emissions issue in time. The company says it met its disclosure requirements. It didnt specify May 2 which diesel legal matter led to the new set-asides. The deduction brings total costs for the diesel scandal to 30 billion euros.

Last year Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, was the worlds largest carmaker by volume, selling 10.8 billion vehicles.

It said May 2 it was sticking to its forecasts for sales and profits this year, predicting that sales revenue could increase by as much as 5% over the prior year and that returns on sales would be between 6.5% and 7.5%.

By David McHugh & Pietro DeCristofaro
We Will Chop Off Their Heads for Allah, Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society Say: Reports

Disturbing footage has emerged from an Islamic Center in Philadelphia, showing children reportedly lip-syncing to songs and reading poems saying they would sacrifice themselves and kill for Allah.

The Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) uploaded videos on April 22 to its Facebook page. The videos show children singing lyrics that appear to call on the next generation of Palestinian youth to embrace terrorism and glorify suicide bombers, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The boys were shown to be lip-syncing a song, during which several of them held up a copy of the Quran.

The blood of the martyrs is calling us. Paradise, men desire it, they mouthed to the song, according to IPT. Revolutionaries, Revolutionaries  Sword and Text, oh free men.

The song continues: Until we liberate our lands, until we reach our anchorages, and we crush the traitor  Oh, the winds of Paradise. Oh rivers of the martyrs, lads. My Islam calls whoever responds. Stand up, O righteous ones.

IPT Exclusive Video: Children at a Muslim school run by @mas_national in #Philadelphia sing about the "Blood of Martyrs" and fighting #Israel pic.twitter.com/Rw9dTEfaqm  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The videos were shot on April 17, when MAS Philly held an annual Ummah Day. The theme of the event was advertised as focusing on the Golden age of Islamic science.

But IPT commented that instead of focusing on the scientific achievements of the Islamic world, part of the day was instead showcasing children forced to embrace radical Islamist culture.

Imam Mohammad Tawhidi shared a video of the incident online and wrote on Twitter: We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation.

We warn the West from what we fled from in the Middle East, but the West doesnt want to listen. This is your next generation: https://t.co/3zeU2PFSfa  Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 3, 2019

Tawhidi is a Muslim who lives between Washington D.C. and Australia. He uses social platforms like Twitter and Facebook to warn about the dangers that radical Islam can bring to the world.

We Will Chop Off Their Heads

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a watchdog group, translated a poem a young girl was reading that praised martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Palestine.

Our martyrs sacrificed their lives without hesitation. They attained Paradise, and the scent of musk emanates from their bodies. They compete with one another to reach Paradise. Will Jerusalem be their capital city, or will it be a hotbed for cowards? she said, according to MEMRIs translation.

Children in Philadelphia Muslim Society: We Will Sacrifice Ourselves for Al-Aqsa; Will Chop off Their Heads, Subject Them to Eternal Torture pic.twitter.com/6ySfz0Ylel  MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 3, 2019

Another girl read a violence-filled poem that appeared to encourage violence to remove Israels presence around Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque.

We will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies, and we will sacrifice our souls without hesitation, she said, according to MEMRI. We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling His promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture.

Earlier, the kids reportedly sang: The land of the Prophet Muhammads Night Journey is calling us. Our Palestine must return to us.

MEMRI told Fox News in a statement that such occurrences are not isolated incidents; they are happening in major centers of the countryincluding in Pennsylvania.

Fox News reported that MAS had not responded to a request for comment about the video.

MAS Philly belongs to the Muslim American Society (MAS), which has 42 chapters in the United States and one chapter in the United Kingdom.

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated MAS as a terrorist organization mainly because of their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. According to IPT, several MAS leaders have been linked to the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in northern Virginia, which serves as [an] incubator of hate and [has a] long track-record of radical and terrorist associations.

Read More The Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization With Socialist Roots

The MAS website says that its mission is to move people to strive for God-consciousness, liberty and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity, and that its vision is a virtuous and just American society. MAS did condemn the recent anti-Semitic white nationalist terror attack against the synagogue in San Diego, California, and the organization also condemned the Islamic terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Christian churches on Easter day.

Anti-Israel Songs

The Israel National News called the songs anti-Israel, and noted how one song had promised to liberate the Temple Mount from Zionists and to crush the traitor.

Israel controls security on the Temple Mount, but while Muslims have full and constant access to the mount, Jews are rarely allowed to ascend and banned from praying at the site. The Jordanian Waqf manages the site, the Israel National News reported.

IPT Exclusive Video: Philadelphia #Muslim school students sing song with violent anti-Semitic pro-terrorist lyrics pic.twitter.com/5tPSqypd2V  InvestigativeProject (@TheIPT) May 1, 2019

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based international Jewish NGO that is against anti-Semitism, released a statement condemning the apparent indoctrination.

If the translation is accurate, this incident is extremely disturbing. Children should not be indoctrinated to hate. These young people should never have been asked to make speeches and dance and lip-sync to songs that glorify violence against Jews and the State of Israel, the statement read.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is deeply complex and painful on all sides, and the only chance for a peaceful future is to teach our children to pursue peace. In a time of elevated anti-Jewish hate, all people must forcefully reject anti-Semitism wherever and whenever they see it.

From NTD.com
Terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi is seated in an FBI vehicle after being arrested by the FBI in Aurora, Colo. on Sept. 19, 2009. (Chris Schneider/The Denver Post via AP, File)

Would-Be NYC Bomber Gets 10 Years in Foiled Al-Qaida Plot

NEW YORKA man who plotted to bomb New York Citys subways, then switched sides after his arrest and spent nearly a decade helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists, was rewarded for his help May 2 with a sentence of 10 years in prison, effectively time he has already served.

Najibullah Zazi, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who became radicalized and received explosives training from al-Qaeda after traveling to Pakistan in 2008, faced up to life in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges.

The subway plot sent shockwaves through New York and the federal law enforcement community, underscoring the continuing threat of terrorism years after 9/11. But federal prosecutors said Zazi, after his 2009 arrest, provided extraordinary assistance to U.S. counterterrorism authorities, implicating his closest friends and offering a window into the inner-workings of al-Qaeda.

U.S. District Raymond J. Dearie described Zazis cooperation as unprecedented, referring in part to federal investigations that remain ongoing. Details of those cases were blacked out of a court filing that prosecutors made public this week in light of concerns for national security.

I have no doubt you saved a life, Dearie said, adding he believed Zazi had undergone a compelling transformation during his years in custody. Your obvious intelligence served you well.

Zazi apologized and asked for forgiveness. He said he is not the same person he was more than a decade ago, when he became radicalized in part by listening to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda propagandist.

Im sorry for all the harm I have caused, Zazi said, referring to the subway plot as a horrific mistake.

Zazi will remain on supervised releasefederal probationfor the rest of his life. The sentence also requires he continue to cooperate with federal authorities.

The 10-year sentence means Zazi could be released from prison within days, said his defense attorney, William J. Stampur. Zazi has been in custody for nearly a decade.

Justice was definitely served, Stampur said. He has unequivocally disavowed radical Islam in no uncertain terms.

Stampur declined to comment on where Zazi plans to live after his release.

Zazi spent his teenage years and young adulthood living in Queens. Al-Qaeda recruited him and two of his best friends to carry out a martyrdom operation on U.S. soil after the three traveled to Pakistan in 2008.

The mission called for rush-hour suicide bombings on packed subway lines, timed to occur during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The plot, foiled by federal authorities, represented one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation since 9/11, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Zazi to spend the rest of his life behind bars after his 2010 guilty plea. But prosecutors credited Zazi for cooperation that included implicating his co-conspirators in the subway plot and providing critical intelligence and unique insight regarding al-Qaeda and its members.

Zazis cooperation included meeting with the government more than 100 times, viewing hundreds of photographs and providing information that assisted law enforcement officials in a number of different investigations, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Zazi testified at the 2015 trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani national convicted of leading an al-Qaeda plot to bomb a shopping mall in Manchester, England, and against one of his co-conspirators in the thwarted subway plot, Adis Medunjanin, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Zazis assistance came in the face of substantial potential danger to himself and his family, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Pravda wrote in the court filing. By aligning himself with the government against al-Qaeda, Zazi assumed such a risk.

The third man charged in the subway plot, Zarein Ahmedzay, offered similar assistance to federal authorities and was sentenced in December to 10 yearsessentially time served.

By Jim Mustian
Millennials can be a fickle group to market to. While many companies manage admirably to market to this age cohort, others try to pry open millennial wallets -- and fail catastrophically.

Related: 4 Strategies to Use When Marketing to Millennials

Include McDonalds in the latter group. The fast food giant's Create Your Taste campaign failed when the company decided that young people would jump at the opportunity to create their own sandwiches online. That assumption was oh, so wrong, and the result was that many millennials lambasted the very notion of sharing their failed creations with their friends.

Some of those deliberately bad creations included The Nihilist, containing no food at all, and The Bag of Lettuce, containing only ... lettuce.

With that failure in mind, lets take a look at the marketing channels that are available, and examples of some (mostly) bootstrapped successes.

Social media

Social media channels arent going anywhere. The average U.S. resident spends about 142 minutes per day on social media. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities for you to promote your products/services. However, being too direct can often be counter-productive.

Take a look at the Lokai brand's campaign for its bracelets. The company heavily targeted millennials, encouraging them to send in content from around the world, and posting their pictures of Lokai bracelets in far-flung locations. Combined with a socially responsible message, this campaign caught the imaginations of young people, and they flooded social media with hash-tagged pictures.

If youre on a tight budget, you may find it worthwhile to join appropriate groups and pages before launching a campaign. Get involved with conversations as they occur, by regularly checking your feeds. By having a primed group of friends, not followers, you will be better positioned to launch a campaign like Lokai's.

Related: 3 Essential Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an area where companies are less vulnerable to the millennial ridicule other channels sometimes inspire. Simply put, if people actually like the person who is promoting a certain product or service, they are unlikely to make fun of the promotion.

While influencer marketing is not something you're likely to wade into if you are a bootstrapped startup, assigning any budget you do have to this strategy will be a sensible first move for the right kind of product. For example, look at Daniel Willington. This Swedish watch company has been around only since 2011 (often, longevity is a good sign for watchmakers); but with help from influencer Kendall Jenner, the company offered discount codes for a limited period, providing a big spike in both its sales and brand awareness.

Another good example: Samsung's launch of its new Note 7 product, with the help of CyreneQ. That artist used her Snapchat account to document the launch event, and using its 10-second video format, showcased some of the new device's features.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a great way to reach niche audiences. A company that has successfully targeted millennials via podcasting is MeUndies. It targeted a multitude of smaller podcasts like My Favorite Murder and Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast and paid the presenters to actively pitch the "world's most comfortable underwear" at the start of their shows.

Having a podcast host actively promote your product is one thing, but offering your services as a guest is another. As an entrepreneur, you likely have unique business insights that could be worth sharing with a wider audience. So, look out for podcasts that you could potentially be featured on, and make yourself the selling point. Not only is this cost-effective, but it can also provide great exposure to your business, as podcasts often turn up in Google search results and can help improve trust in your business.

If you dont have time to devote to outreach to podcasts, companies like Task Drive can do the outreach for you, building up lists of potential targets. You can also use sites like Fiverr to find part-time outreach specialists.

Native advertising

If you're determined to avoid the potential ire of millennials in the first place, you might wish to try native advertising. This is a form of paid ads, where your ads are designed to match the style of the host content. Native ads are common in social media and blog feeds or as recommended content on certain webpages. In contrast to other types of web advertisements, native ads are designed to look more natural and not be overly sales-y.

A good example is the native advertisement that Altran engineering did by producing a video on the Financial Times. The video told the story of university students competing in a competition run by Elon Musks company SpaceX. The students are helped by Altran staff, which is how the company gets to advertise itself. What is ingenious about this effort is the way the video is presented. It's more of a news story with a compelling narrative than a direct advertisement. The viewer might actually mistake who is being promoted: Altran or SpaceX?

Sponsoring YouTube videos

Video is some of the most heavily consumed content online, and in this context YouTube has become an advertising behemoth. Running a YouTube channel isnt easy, however; and recently, YouTube has made it harder for content creators to earn a substantial income from their advertisements on the site.

Therefore, creators are looking toward corporate sponsorship to generate revenues. LootBox is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous YouTube video sponsors (although not without controversy).

YouTube video sponsorship is a one-off commitment and you can find willing partners on sites like Collabspace. By finding a video creator that suits your niche, you can grow awareness of your brand and target people who fall into a very specific age band.

Conclusion

Selling your products or services to millennials comes with a unique set of hazards. By being sincere with your message, and experimenting with different channels, until you can dig into one that works, you just may find yourself growing your business without the need for vast marketing budgets.

Related: Hitting the Marketing Email Sweet Spot With Millennials (Infographic)

And those millennials? They'll be more than happy to help promote your product if they think its worth their time.

Related:

5 Ways to Market to That Fickle Group Called Millennials

Indian Hospitality Woos Destination Wedding Industry

Managing a Team of Millennials? The Top 5 Things You Must Know



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
He makes Donald Trump's stance on immigration seem moderate and has been dubbed a "professional troublemaker" by Marine Le Pen. In Denmark, he's just passed the threshold to become an official candidate for elections due to be held by mid-June.

Rasmus Paludan is a convicted racist who has spent months provoking local adherents of Islam by marching into their neighborhoods and burning the Quran. He says he's exercising his freedom of expression.

He had been largely ignored by the Danish media until Easter, when his antics sparked riots in the streets of Copenhagen. Since then, local newspapers, celebrities and political commentators have all weighed in to figure out how the development has altered the political landscape in Denmark.

Paludan, who's appealed his conviction, says it's not about race.

"I reject the whole concept of putting people into race categories. There's nothing in our politics based on race or the color of your skin. Most of our politics is based on the behavior of people," Paludan said in a phone interview in Copenhagen. "If they behave in ways that are not compliant with Danish values, we detest that."

Almost 15 years after grappling with the Muhammad cartoon crisis (in which Denmark's biggest newspaper became the target of Muslim anger across the globe for publishing caricatures of the Prophet), the home of Lego and Lurpak again finds itself caught in a tense debate about how to weigh religious dignity against freedom of speech. This time, the international context has grown far more populist, with anti-immigration agendas dominating elections across much of the world.

Paludan, a well-spoken lawyer, is now exploiting his newfound notoriety to gain a foothold in national elections. He got the requisite 20,000 signatures after taking advantage of a legal loophole to get his group, Hard Line (Stram Kurs), onto the official list of parties up for election. He declines to reveal his age beyond saying he's in his "mid-to-late-30s." His goal is a government that supports "a mass exodus where we send hundreds of thousands of people back to their home countries."

Support for Hard Line was estimated at 2.7 percent in a poll published on Thursday. That's above the 2 percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. The newspaper that published the survey, Politiken, emphasized that the Megafon poll carries a margin of error of 1.1 percentage point and noted there was greater uncertainty than usual because it was the first poll to include the party. But history offers a cautionary tale against underestimating such anti-establishment outsiders. From the Brexit movement in the U.K., to Matteo Salvini's League in Italy and Trump in the U.S., the list of affronts to conventional wisdom in political forecasting is long.

There's much to embolden Paludan in the current climate. And with the aid of social media, his message is making its way to a broader group. Salvini and Le Pen have been reaching out to like-minded politicians ahead of the European Union's May 23-26 elections, which could see the far right challenge make significant gains in Brussels and Strasbourg.

In Denmark, the fact that Paludan will be guaranteed a podium during the country's televised election debates is forcing voters to confront some uncomfortable truths about their society. His Hard Line group is now one of two that have overtaken the anti-immigration Danish People's Party from the right. Many policies of the DPP, on which the current center-right government has relied to stay in power, have been adopted by the biggest opposition party, the Social Democrats.

"What's happened over the last 20 years is that anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant views have become almost mainstream," says Carina Bischoff, an associate professor of politics at Roskilde University. "We now see plenty of public figures who agree more and more with these points of view, and that opens the ground for extremists."

Denmark's shift in attitudes toward foreigners can be traced back to the start of the millennium, when then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who later became NATO secretary general) put an end to the pariah status of the nationalist DPP by accepting its support in parliament. Since then, the DPP has played a crucial role in toughening Denmark's immigration policy, rising to become the second-biggest political presence in the process.

The DPP has capitalized on the refugee crisis of 2015, when more than one million asylum seekers and illegal migrants, mostly from the Middle East, made their way into Europe. Professor Kasper Moller Hansen of Copenhagen University says the turning point came with televised images of Syrians walking along the country's western motorway, which shocked many Danes.

The center-right government of Lars Lokke Rasmussen has since made international headlines because of its treatment of foreigners, including confiscating their jewelry and imposing draconian family re-unification laws that drew criticism from the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Denmark is suffering from a shortage of labor that many business leaders have argued could be addressed by allowing more skilled immigrants into the country.

Paludan has been disavowed by his family and has exasperated the police, who have imposed restrictions on his provocations to avoid exposing the public to the risk of riots. His Youtube channel is up again after being temporarily banned, and Paludan continues to have thousands of followers on Facebook.

Back in 2005, most Danes rushed to the defense of Jyllands-Posten after the paper published its controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, politicians and media operators are less sure.

"Paludan is an extreme phenomenon that successfully exploits today's digital media," said Michael Dyrby, the editor in chief of B.T., Denmark's best-selling tabloid. But "Danish democracy is strong and will probably survive Hard Line and its crazy leader."

- - -

Bloomberg's Christian Wienberg contributed.7
NORWALK  School administrators say a new schedule for Kendall Elementary School could improve test scores and help to close the achievement gap. But many parents and teachers are wondering at what costs those developments might come.

The year-round school model, the concept for which was first discussed by the Board of Education in August 2018, was presented to Kendall parents Thursday night in the schools cafeteria by Superintendent of Schools Steven J. Adamowski, Chief of Digital Learning and Development Ralph Valenzisi and Kendall Principal Zakiyyah Baker.

Over the course of two sessions  the first in Spanish  the administrators sought to explain the rationale behind the schedule change, which would add five days of schooling, shift the timing of school breaks and limit their duration to no more than three weeks and extend the school day. The result would be an additional 300 hours of educational time per year.

We have a couple pieces of research that we made this decision off of. One is specifically if students are in school for an additional 300 hours a year, just in school, actually aligned to their academics, with those additional 300 hours, we actually see an increase in their academic achievement, Valensizi told the crowd, which seemed to oscillate between genuine intrigue, confusion and anger during the course of the roughly 45-minute presentation.

Aside from concerns about how their elementary-aged students would handle an extra hour of school, or how the new configuration of time off might impact child care, family vacations and summer camp attendance, several parents alleged that the process of implementation was opaque.

We shouldve been told about this and parents shouldve had a little more input before its implemented and (then) thats just the way its going to be, said Dana Ross, whose daughter is in third grade.

If approved, the schedule change would go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year. But Ross and other parents were expressing a sense that they were being invited to join the conversation too far along in the process.

Adamowski first informed the Board of Education last summer that investors were interested in funding the year-round model. In December, Adamowski named Kendall, Jefferson and Brookside as three finalists for the model, based on their large number of high-needs and free- and reduced-lunch students. He named the Grossman Foundation of Greenwich and the Heidenreich Family Foundation of Stamford as interested donors willing to fit the bill, which Adamowski said would cost roughly $5 million over a three-year rollout. After the three-year period, the cost would shift back to the city.

On Thursday, parents were told that Kendall was now the sole finalist for the year-round model, though many didnt realize they had been competing for the distinction.

This is an unusual situation for our school system, because normally when we do something, we involve everybody, we ask their opinion, and people come up with something thats very close to their comfort zone, because they know what they know and theyre used to doing what theyre doing, Adamowski said. This is a more significant change and it is not about adult involvement or adult convenience, its really about raising student achievement to a much higher level that would ever occur if we dont do these things.

I would expect, like any change issue, that there are going to be adults who are not going to like this, or are going to see themselves in a more traditional setting which they would have the option to pursue, Adamowski added, referring to teachers who feel the year-round mode would not work with their schedules. Hes said they will have an option to transfer elsewhere in the district.

In fact, a vast majority of teachers have weighed in on the issue and have confirmed Adamowskis expectation. According to Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, more than 80 percent of teachers responded that they had reservations about the shift on a survey administered by the union. Yordon said the survey was presented to Adamowski in March.

This has not been a collaborative process, Yordon said. There are many teachers who have arranged their personal lives and their careers around this schedule that currently exists and it appears about ready to be changed. So it is upsetting to have to find a new job if your circumstances dont allow you to work year round.

Some in the crowd Thursday felt Adamowski was evasive when pressed about teachers opinions.

The question was asked, what do the teachers think of it, and you didnt give us an answer. The teachers are the ones who teach our children. Whats their input? said Scott Mccoy, whose grandson is in fourth grade, prompting a response from Baker.

Right now, as a team were mixed in our thoughts, not just with certified staff, with our non certified staff. Change is hard. I think thats why our superintendent went to, What do the kids need first, Baker began, before Mccoy interjected.

But the students you talk about are our children. We should have a say from the start, not when its just about implemented. And that didnt happen. We got informed yesterday, Mccoy said.

Several parents expressed having only found out about the meeting by chance. Ross said she happened to run into a Kendall parent at the grocery store earlier this week, who informed her of the meeting and proposed change. Tory Ferrara, who has a son in kindergarten and two younger children who she expects will attend Kendall and whose husband, Tony, is a member of the School Governance Council, complained that the meeting was hidden in a Kendall newsletter under the heading Above the Bar Grant  the name given to the pledged investment  and that many missed it.

Tony Ferrera said the School Governance Council was never given an opportunity to vote on the plan and expressed similarly that the school and district has been slow to provide information. Valenzisi said a parent survey would be distributed by the end of May.

The whole tone is, Yes, were doing this, no matter what the input is, Ferrara said, following the meeting. It almost feels like theyre doing an experiment with the school. Weve already shown improvement. If its not broke, dont fix it.

We love this school. We live a quarter mile away. Our son loves it, Ferrara said. We would be very sad to transfer.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
This year's Homefront Day campaign made life-changing repairs to the homes of 60 older adults on fixed incomes, single-parent households, persons with disabilities and families in transitional crisis due to illness or job loss. More than 2,000 volunteers from 50 faith groups, civic organizations and corporations joined in this hands on celebration of true community.

Area statistics underscore the increasing importance of this effort with more than 40% of older adults today still burdened with a mortgage balance. Hundreds of thousands of local residents live paycheck to paycheck, a demographic described by the United Way as A.L.I.C.E.: Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed.
Herzberg said that when Botts and Cornelius first approached him about the idea of an outdoor classroom, he did not hesitate to say yes.

I said, Lets do this. The next step was figuring out a good place for it, he said. I think we have a good location for it on the west side of our building. It is easy access in and out and protected by the tree line and the school building itself. We found a spot for it, went for it and it was the boys who made it all happen.

Botts and Cornelius said they had to draw up a plan, turn it in and get it approved. Once it was approved, they began working to construct the outdoor classroom.

The two began building the outdoor classroom last school year. They said it took them until last month to complete it. Botts said the long winter caused some delays in completing the project. His part of the project was setting up poles, painting them and setting up the sails around it. Cornelius said he helped pour the cement foundation and worked on the landscaping.

Cindy Johnson, president of the chamber, said she was impressed with the Boy Scouts efforts.
A hearty Saturday Salute goes this week to all those who helped make this years Go Big Give successful.

Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties came together to raise $1,065,354 by the end of the 24-hour Go Big Give event Thursday.

The proceeds of this online fund drive benefit 131 nonprofit organizations in the four-county area served by the Heartland United Way. This was the sixth annual Go Big Give organized by United Way and the Grand Island Community Foundation.

Each year, the amount raised and the number of organizations benefiting have increased. But this year the organizers went big in setting a goal of raising $1 million. And the people of Central Nebraska came through, surpassing that goal.

In addition to raising money, the event also helps its participating organizations get their names and their missions out in front of the public. Many of them have been quietly providing services without much publicity, but Go Big Give provides a means to increase community awareness.

In addition, Go Big Give organizers have been working with the nonprofits on their techniques, such as social media skills and donor engagement.
ALTON  Despite a brutal winter and soggy spring, construction is moving along on the Moeller Cancer Center on the OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys Health Center campus in Alton.

OSF Project Manager Charles Miller says construction is 75 percent toward completion and despite the weather, the new state-of-the-art cancer center will open in early October. The building will allow patients to receive comprehensive cancer care from the regions only full-time oncology team in the Riverbend/Alton area.

New, cutting edge equipment will provide individualized treatment for an expanded variety of cancers and new cancer specialists will enhance services and targeted treatment options. Among the new providers is Dr. Raman Kumar, a surgeon with specialized training in colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States for both men and women combined. Colon and rectal surgeons are experts in the surgical and non-surgical treatment and Dr. Kumar can offer community screening for early detection, treatment, and follow-up care.

Impact of Weather

Winter came early in November and rain has been an issue according to Miller. But, he says the building will be substantially complete in July, allowing for installation of high-tech equipment, artwork, furniture, and supplies. However, Miller adds River City Construction has been working overtime, including adding weekend crews to meet deadlines.

Youre starting to see what the building is going to look like, Miller offered. He points out brick work is complete on the 2,000-foot long walkway connecting the free-standing center to the hospital. The connection will make for easy access to therapy, treatment and support services. Structural steel is in place for the front entry facing Central Avenue. Inside, there are areas with completed drywall and painting where fixtures have already been installed.

OSF Saint Anthonys Health Center CEO and President Ajay Pathak is excited the community is so close to having expanded capacity for the highest quality care and outcomes. The new center will offer convenient access clinical expertise and support services all under one roof.

Its a blessing to have dedicated physicians and Mission Partners embedded here in the care and journey of our patients from detection and diagnosis through survivorship. We look forward to advance this as we approach our opening this fall, said Pathak.

New Space for Collaboration and Education

The 15,500-square-foot building will have new spaces, including conference rooms for collaboration between medical staff along with opportunities for prevention screenings and education. Patient consultation rooms will offer a place for in-depth, confidential communication involving personalized care teams, patients and their families.

Medical Oncologist and Chief of Staff for OSF Saint Anthonys Dr. Manpreet Sandhu, believes a lot of oncology work is communication. We focus on how we communicate with the patient  how were able to give hope to a person who may not have hope. Her approach emphasizes making a connection with the patient and instilling confidence about the care they are receiving.

If the patient needs radiation and medical oncology, we are going to be able keep them in the same area for direct communication between doctors in front of the patient.

Community Support is Strong

The Riverbend has already responded in a way that convinces OSF HealthCare Saint Anthonys leaders the community is eager to help re-imagine how to defeat the most relentless enemy of this generation. With its connection to OSF Innovation and one of the Top 10 Simulation and Education Centers in the U.S., the new Moeller Cancer Center will be able to utilize new tools, techniques, and devices for oncologists and others on the care team for treatment that improves outcomes.

OSF HealthCare has committed $11.5 million toward the $14 million cancer center. As evidence of the strong community support, the $2.5 million capital campaign is already at 80 percent of its goal.

I believe the communitys dedication and commitment to the Moeller Cancer Center campaign demonstrates the Riverbends belief in the need for a unique, patient-centered facility to provide the highest level of care, said Mark Kratschmer, former OSF Saint Anthonys Foundation Board member and is current Chair of the Community Board.

Healing Art Flows In

The local artist community responded overwhelmingly to a request for submissions of photography, paintings and three-dimensional art to add to the healing environment. The pieces will reflect the beauty of the Riverbend and will feature themes of hope, renewal and re-birth. The review committee received an astounding 522 submissions.

Most were in the form of photographs but artists put forward 81 paintings and 17 works in the 3D category.

We are very excited about the engagement, talent, and heart shown by members of the Riverbend community in all of the submissions, said Sister M. Anselma, chief operating officer for OSF Saint Anthonys.

It gives me great joy and peace to know that we will create an environment that is not just generic in form, and is created by the community, for the community, and reflects the community. This is home, and the OSF Healthcare Moeller Cancer Center will have the comfort and familiarity of home and family!

There is an online donation option to take cancer care to the next level in the Riverbend or donations by phone are available at (618) 463-5168.
Godfrey  A select group of women dedicated to their community and improving the lives of others was honored Thursday at the Alton YWCAs Women of Distinction Award event, now in its 29th year.

Selected by a volunteer panel of judges from who the names of each years nominees are withheld, the 10 honorees represent a diversity of achievements and include business owners, mentors, teachers, school administrators, caregivers and community leaders, among others.
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Linkedin Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019 09:56 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360d44a 1 Lifestyle #fashion,#fashion-designers,#FashionShow,#Muslim,#Jakarta,#Malang,#Muffest Free

Eight designers from Malang, East Java, have joined the countrys top Muslim fashion designers to present their collections at the fourth Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST) in Jakarta.

The eight designers, who are members of the Malang chapter of the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, presented four pieces each in a showcase event ahead of their main presentations at the fashion festival, which runs until Saturday.

Agus Sunandar said their collections used the theme nerdypan". "Nerdy is said to represent the freedom and simplicity of their designs, while pan is taken from Jodipan, a kampung in Malang where the roofs of houses and walls are painted with a myriad of colors.

In designing his collection, Agus, one of the eight designers, was inspired by fashion trends among punk youngsters who hang out in and around the streets of Malang.

He created red-and-black tops with checkered motifs mixed with black leather accessories. The hats are designed to resemble the Mohawk hair style to complete the overall look, he said.

Designer Alfatir Muhammad, who was the first designer to showcase his designs in the catwalk during the showcase in Malang, took inspiration from the vibrant colors found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with models strutting the catwalk in stylish sunglasses. He also accentuated his designs with embroidery.

Designer Noor Umer came up with burka-like pieces, with edgy cutting dominated by white and stripped skirts or pants, while Ajeng Cahya took inspiration from Jodipans colorful and geometric-shaped murals.

Agus said it had taken the eight designers around two months to prepare their new collections for MUFFEST, with each scheduled to present eight pieces at the festival.

We require [the designers] to work together with batik and tenun makers in Malang to create their designs, in the hopes that Malang can become an important player in Indonesias fashion industry," he said.
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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Sat, May 4, 2019

Visiting outlying islands in this sprawling archipelago reveals an unease felt about Java, the denominator of Indonesia. From Aceh to West Papua live citizens who see the nations largest ethnic group as oppressive colonialists.

First President Sukarno used a common language, universal education and the non-denominational Pancasila philosophy to create the unitary state.

When these did not work, persuasion turned to force.
A recent field survey conducted by environmental organization Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, in collaboration with the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) and supported by Chevron, has spotted 10 endangered Javan leopards in Guntur Papandayan conservation forest, West Java.

The leopard sightings were caught on 60 camera traps previously set up by CI Indonesia for a two-year field survey, from 2016 to 2018.

Eighty-three images captured by the cameras show that the leopards roam the conservation forest in the morning from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and at night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Read also: How you can help conserve Indonesia's endangered species

CI Indonesias terrestrial program division senior manager, Anton Ario, said his organization and the BBKSDA had spent a considerable amount of time monitoring the Javan leopards to accurately record the number of the animals left in Guntur Papandayan.

Each individual leopard can be identified based on its distinctive body size, sex and pattern, Anton said in a statement, adding that the field survey had identified three male adults and seven female adults around Guntur Papandayan.

He went on to say that images from the field survey had shown Guntur Papandayan as a passable habitat for Javan leopards, despite recent reports of illegal logging.

In addition to Javan leopards, Guntur Papandayan is also home to other endangered species such as the Javan gibbon, the Javan surili (grizzled leaf monkey), the Javan hawk-eagle and the Javan slow loris. (rfa/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sat, May 4, 2019 12:04 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873610488 2 Art & Culture Arc-de-Triomphe,Paris,monument,restoration Free

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was ransacked during a "yellow vest" protest last year, will be entirely restored for next week's VE Day celebrations, the French government said Friday.

The monument, which contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier, was vandalized during an anti-government demonstration in December that ended in rioting and looting.

Culture Minister Franck Riester said 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) was spent restoring damaged statues and equipment inside the landmark at the top of the Champs-Elysees.

As well as spraying its walls with graffiti and breaking equipment, rioters smashed artworks, including a 1930s copy of a famous sculpture of "The Marseillaise" by Francois Rude representing Victory, which was molded from the 19th-century original.

The mould of the 'Genie de la patrie', which was damaged by protestors on the sidelines of the 'yellow vest' (gilets jaunes) demonstrations on December 1, 2018, is seen in a gallery of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on May 3, 2019, following renovation works. The Arc de Triomphe, ransacked and vandalised in December during a demonstration of the 'Yellow Vests', has been completely restored just in time for the May 8 ceremonies that mark the end of the Second World War in France, the French government announced on May 3. Martin BUREAU / AFP (AFP/Martin Bureau)

"The restoration has been done in only a few months, which is very fast," said Riester, while praising the work.

He said everything would be ready Wednesday when VE Day celebrations mark the 74th anniversary of Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies on May 8, 1945.

Read also: Arc de Triomphe to reopen after Paris protest damage

The monument, which was built by Napoleon to commemorate his many military victories, reopened less than a fortnight after rioters broke into it on December 1, though some areas remained cordoned off.

Each year, more than 1.5 tourists visit the Arc de Triomphe, mostly to take in the view down the Champs-Elysees.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo last month announced that he had received permission to wrap the world-famous landmark next April in the signature style he developed with his late French wife Jeanne-Claude.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873613e69 4 Entertainment Chrissy-Teigen,David-Chang,Hulu Free

Model-cookbook author Chrissy Teigen is to team up with American restaurateur David Chang, who is famous for establishing Momofuku restaurant group, to host a cooking show that marks the birth of streaming platform Hulus first food-focused program.

Independent reports that the content of the show will be co-created by Vox Media Studios, Changs Majordomo Media and Teigens Suit and Thai Productions.

Chang was quoted by Independent as saying that he hoped to keep integrating new perspectives into the content, sharing stories about culture and bringing change to the current idea of a food television shows capability.

Since opening his first Momofuku Noodle Bar in a no-frills East Village storefront in 2004, David Chang has become renowned as a chef who shakes things up. (Bloomberg/-)

I think theres an audience out there that understands and celebrates the world through food, and theyre hungry for shows that feed their sense of curiosity in new ways, said Chang.

Hulu is reportedly confident about securing a multi-year deal with the model and the restaurateur.

Read also: Anthony Bourdain wins posthumous Emmy for 'Parts Unknown'

The first show to be produced will be named Family Style, which will revolve around the ways in which people express their love for friends and family by cooking and eating together, Glamour reported from a media release.

Besides the cooking show, Teigen curates and produces original programming from scripted drama series to talk shows, Hollywood Reporter wrote. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, May 5, 2019 03:34 964 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873619e29 4 Parents lying,children,children-development Free

Almost all children invent lies for some inexplicable reasons. According to a study, this behavior is absolutely normal and is even an important and healthy step in their development, Parents reported. The research revealed why and how lying becomes a social skill.

The study, led by Kang Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, examined the "lying skills" of young children.

Read also: Being born poor affects a childs brain activity

According to the study, the tendency to lie starts quite early and increases over the years. In the study, 30 percent of 2-year-old toddlers started inventing lies. Later at age 3, half of all analyzed children lied, while even more children at the age of 4, about 80 percent of them, told lies. Moreover, almost all of those between the age of 5 and 7 lied.

However, Lee said that this behavior was normal and an important milestone in a childs development.

He conducted a study in which a group of pre-school children in China were divided into two groups. The first group of children were given theory-of-mind training, while the remaining half were taught skills for number and spatial problem-solving.

In theory-of-mind training, children are taught to understand what goes on in somebody elses head, to know what they know and what they dont know. The better a child is at theory-of-mind, the more sophisticated their lies. Subsequently, the child will develop executive function abilities, which is the power to plan ahead and curb unwanted actions.

Lee told Parents that the 30 percent of toddlers who could lie had higher executive function abilities. This was a sign of cognitive sophistication he said, adding that the young liars would utilize it to gain more success in school and in their interactions with other children during playtime. (sop/mut)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Chicago, United States  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:05 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873617dfd 2 People YouTube,child-porn,child-pornography,YouTubers,sexual-harassment Free

A YouTube musical celebrity was sentenced Friday in a Chicago courtroom to 10 years in prison for enticing girls as young as 14 to produce sexually explicit videos of themselves.

Austin Jones, who posted online videos of himself performing songs for a fan base of primarily teenage girls, was arrested in 2017 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of child pornography.

As part of his plea, Jones admitted to a total of six identified victims and approximately 30 attempts to persuade other girls to send him child pornography, according to prosecutors.

A federal judge on Friday imposed a 10-year prison sentence on the 26-year-old, who could have gotten as little as five years or as many as 20, according to sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors, pointing to text messages, alleged in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court that Jones targeted young girls under the pretense of "auditions" for modeling and other opportunities.

Read also: Indonesia a haven for child pornography

"I'm just trying to help you! I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else," Jones told one 14-year-old victim via Facebook messenger, according to the court filing.

Prosecutors said Facebook tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Jones's conversations with 14- and 15-year-old girls using the social media service's private messaging feature.

Jones's defense lawyers had asked that he be sentenced to five years on the basis of mitigating circumstances having to do with the man's childhood.

"Austin was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse by his father from age six until age 10. He was young, helpless and scared," his attorney's wrote in a court filing.

They claimed Jones suffered from severe depression and other mental health problems.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019

Amid heightened competition, news media companies must find new business models if they want to thrive without neglecting their responsibilities as the press, a Press Council member has said.

The idea was conveyed by Press Council member Imam Wahyudi during a panel discussion held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day -- which falls on May 3 -- in Jakarta on Friday.

"This is not only a challenge for news media companies themselves, but also for the academics to help find new business models so the press can survive," Imam said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 15:12 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361372d 1 Business Angkasa-Pura-II,Airport,soekarno-hatta-airport,Terminal-3,Indonesia,Hotel Free

Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (APII) signed on Thursday an agreement with construction company PT Wijaya Karya Tbk and Wika Gedung to build a second hotel at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

The new hotel will be constructed in the domestic area of Terminal 3, right next to the parking lot. The three-star hotel will consist of 150 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2020.

AP II director Muhammad Awaluddin said the operator had allocated Rp 300 billion (US$21 million) to construct the hotel, which is part of a wider strategy to boost income.

The world-class airport operator should be able to take advantage of its business potential. We target to generate Rp 500 billion in income from our [non-traditional] business area, Muhammad said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Aside from a planned hotel at Soekarno-Hattas domestic terminal, construction for a four-star hotel at the international area of Terminal 3 is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in November. (dpk/swd)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali  Sat, May 4, 2019 11:27 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360fca6 1 National NgurahRaiAirport,shuttle-buses Free

Travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali can now ride on a public shuttle bus connecting the airport and other parts of the resort island, after the service was previously suspended for months.

The Trans Sarbagita public bus service was relaunched on Thursday, after a one-week trial.

"This is a good thing. [Affordable] public transportation is extremely needed nowadays," airport general manager Haruman Sulaksono said during the relaunch.

The bus will serve two routes, the airport to Nusa Dua via Jimbaran and the airport to Batubulan in Gianyar via Kuta and Denpasar. The bus stops are located in the pick-up zones of both the domestic and international terminals.

As there are currently only six buses serving the two routes, the shuttle service will run three times a day. The route to Nusa Dua departs at 9.15 a.m., 1.15 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. local time, while buses to Batubulan will depart at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. Buses depart according to the same schedule from Batubulan and Nusa Dua to the airport.

The cost of a trip is just Rp 3,500 (25 US Cents), while students with a valid student ID can use the service for free.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster welcomed the relaunch of the service, promising more transportation innovation.

"In the future, we should build and expand transportation [infrastructure] in innovative ways," he said.

The Sarbagita public bus service was first launched in 2011 by then-governor Made Mangku Pastika. Then, Sarbagita connected Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan. However, the service was suspended due to the low number of passengers. (swd)
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Sat, May 4, 2019 20:24 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87361696d 1 National KPK,judge,corruption,bribery Free

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested on Friday five people in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, as part of a bribery case related to a trial that involved businessmen Sudarman as the defendant and Balikpapan District Court judge Kayat.

In addition to Sudarman and Kayat, the three others arrested were Balikpapan District Court clerk Facrul Azami, lawyer Jhonson Siburian and Jhonsons staff member Rosa Isabela.

"The operation was conducted at the Balikpapan court on Jl. Sudirman at around 5 p.m.," said East Kalimantan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ade Yaya Suryana on Friday night.

The antigraft body said it had caught Jhonson and Rosa red-handed giving Kayat bribe money inside the Balikpapan District Court compound in exchange for clearing Sudarman in a case Kayat presided in 2018.

KPK investigators confiscated a total of Rp 227.5 million (US$16,018) from different places, including Kayats car and Jhonsons office.

"The judge was bribed to release the defendant, said KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif.

According to the KPK, Kayat offered to release Sudarman, a defendant in a document forgery case, in exchange for Rp 500 million. Sudarman, through his lawyer, agreed but delayed the payment until after he was declared not guilty and released.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah suggested that investigators had been watching Kayat for some time.

"[The arrest] was not based on one case only," Febri said without elaborating.

Kayat was also a judge in the trial of an oil spill in Balikpapan Bay last year.

He sentenced MV Ever Judger captain Zhang Deyi to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 15 billion in February for causing an oil pipe leak that triggered a massive fire and led to the death of five people.

Meanwhile, Jhonson is also known as an activist and chairman of the National Corruption Watch (NCW), which also advocates land issues in Balikpapan. (ggq/swd)

Topics : KPK judge corruption bribery
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, May 4, 2019 19:32 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8736160c4 1 National electric-pushbike,Medan,North-Sumatra,HKBP-Nommensen-University Free

State-owned electricity firm PLN in cooperation with HKBP Nommensen University (UHN) in Medan, North Sumatra, launched on Thursday its first becak motor or betor (electric tricycle) during a National Education Day celebration.

The electric tricycles can travel at high speeds with 2,000 watts of electricity, said Parulian Siagian, head of the UHN School of Technologys electric pushbike innovation team.

He added that they can reach up to 40 kilometers per hour with a passenger, and 50 km to 60 km per hour without a passenger.

The becak motor has been thoroughly tested, so it is ready to be operated, Parulian said.

Development on the vehicles began in December 2018 and was inspired by the need for green transportation.

UHN rector Haposan Siallagan said the tricycles were designed to be energy efficient and promote the unique cultural characteristics of North Sumatra.

According to North Sumatra PLN finance manager Jhon Horas Tobing, electric charging stations have been established across the province, so that users would not have to worry about running out of power.

PLN has built 15 public electric charging stations [SPLU] in North Sumatra, so [users] shouldnt worry, he said. (swd)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4 2019

Political bigwigs supporting incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo may be getting ready to welcome the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) into the ruling coalition.

That does not mean, however, that the two will find it easy to get strategic positions in the upcoming Cabinet.

The possibility of the Democrats and PAN joining the incumbents camp became the talk of the town after the President met with Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at Merdeka Palace on Thursday.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 22:08 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873618365 1 National correctional-facility,Nusakambangan-prison,NusakambanganPrisonIsland,Indonesia,prisoners,prison-officers Free

Human rights activists have slammed the correctional officers of Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java after a video of them mistreating inmates went viral on social media.

The footage was posted on Instagram account @lambe_turah and showed prison guards dragging bound and handcuffed inmates across the dirt, some of whom could be seen with wounds across their back.

According to Kerobokan Prison warden Tony Nainggolan, some of the inmates in the video had been transferred from Kerobokan in Bali to Nusakambangan on March 28.

They were healthy when we handed them over to the [Bali] police, who then took charge of their transfer to the Nusakambangan Police, Tony said as quoted by tribunnews.com. I can make no further comments on this matter.

In response to the video, the Law and Human Rights Ministrys corrections directorate general has removed the Nusakambangan Narcotics Prison warden.

We are condemning the violent act [and] inhumane treatment of inmates, as per the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [UNCAT], which has been ratified by Indonesia, Anggara, executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), said in a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The institute encouraged the Law and Human Rights Ministry, as well as its corrections directorate general, to launch an investigation to address the issue.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 4, 2019 10:45 965 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87360e861 1 City suicide,suicidal,death,North-Jakarta,police,depression Free

A woman, identified as CV, died after allegedly jumping from the fourth floor of a mall in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.

"The woman allegedly committed suicide. Her body was rushed to the RSCM Hospital [Central Jakarta]," head of Penjaringan Police Reskrim, Comr. Mustakim said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Mustakim revealed that CV was eating with her family at a fast food restaurant in the mall before she reportedly excused herself to go to the toilet.

"But after 30 minutes, she still had not come back, Mustakim said.

A witness reportedly saw her step on the railing on the fourth floor and then jump.

[Her family] became aware after seeing the crowd," Mustakim said.

Mustakim said that CV allegedly committed suicide because of private matters.

The police are currently questioning witnesses and the parents, although CCTV footage shows the victim jumping from the mall's fourth floor. (das)
HIV and Aids was first discovered in 1981 when an unusual outbreak of pneumonia in gay men was announced in the US.

101,600 people living with HIV in the UK' There are now an estimated '(2017). However, science is fighting back and the second person in the world has recently been reported as cured from the disease.

Image Credit: CDC and PHIL on Wikimedia Commons



This breakthrough came in 1996 when ART was first introduced to HIV patients. Now science is taking an even bigger step, with the second person in 12 years recently being cured. The man known only as the London patient was, like Timothy Ray Brown (the first man to be cured from HIV), suffering from cancer at the time of treatment. The New York Times spoke to the London Patient, who said that it was surreal" and "overwhelming" learning that he could be cured of both HIV and cancer.

Image Credit: Greta Hughson on Flickr

Unfortunately this cure is still very much a trial. Predictably, it causes a huge strain on its patients, with Mr Brown nearly dying in the process.

mutation in a protein called CCR5 which rests on the surface of certain immune cells. HIV uses the protein to enter those cells but cannot latch on to the mutated version, The process involves undergoing a bone marrow transfer to cure the cancer. The transfer has to be from a donor with athe New York Times said. This is then followed by harsh immunosuppressive drugs which can cause some long-term effects. The transfer, in both these cases, cures the cancer and the transplanted immune cells now resist HIV and have replaced the old cells. Thankfully the drugs that are currently being used are less intense than when the 'Berlin Patient' was undergoing his transplant.

virus-free After having his transfer in May 2016, the London Patient stopped taking his anti-HIV drugs in September 2017 and is the first person since the Berlin Patient to remain '' over a year down the line.

Image Credit: Rick on Wikimedia Commons

Princess Diana made the real change Not only has the science changed but the stigma surrounding the disease is also rapidly shifting. HIV is very much present in the media now.when she was seen touching a patient, something that people once believed could give you the disease. She abolished a lot of fear and stigma surrounding AIDS and HIV through the endless amount of charity work she took part in, and her sons continued this after her.

History is currently being made through these changes. The fact that there have been two people to be cured from a disease that has been around for 38 years and was once fatal to most is quite frankly ground-breaking. This research is giving people hope that not only can they live with HIV but they can now be free from it completely. There is still a long way to go before this is a common occurrence and the process is still very difficult and comes with complications. However the fact that it has now been done twice stands people in good stead. Hopefully there will be many more people who can join the Berlin and London patient in being cured in the near future.
His Majesty the King grants royal pardon to categories of convicts ahead of coronation

THAILAND: To mark the coronation and allow convicts the chance to be good citizens for the national interest, His Majesty the King has granted pardons and commuted sentences for many categories of prisoners, including some on death row and offenders on probation.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:50AM

Convicts attending a religious ceremony before their release in 2015. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

The Royal Gazette published a royal decree on the royal pardons on Friday (May 3), effective today (May 4). Those who receive pardons include convicts in confinement, offenders performing public service instead of fines, those on probation, inmates with a year or less remaining on their sentence, or with serious disabilities and illnesses, such as terminal cancer and Aids.

The royal amnesty also applies to women jailed for the first time who have served at least half their sentence, those aged 60 years and over with remaining terms up to three years and prisoners aged 70 and above.

Other beneficiaries include first-time prisoners younger than 20 years who have served at least half their sentence and model prisoners with up to two years of their sentence remaining.

Those on death row face life imprisonment instead.

Jail terms were commuted for those sentenced to life imprisonment and drug offenders sentenced to eight years or longer, or life imprisonment, or who are aged 70 years or more.

Recidivists and inmates who are not model prisoners or have been badly behaved are not entitled to the pardon.
His Majesty the King performs first royal function, promises prosperity

THAILAND: His Majesty performed his first royal function this afternoon (May 4) after being crowned by granting an audience for royal family members and other dignitaries.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 05:59PM

His Majesty the King grants an audience to royal family members and other distinguished guests at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. Photo: TV Pool/Public Relations Department

The King hosted the audience in what was his first function at the Amarindra Vinicchaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace hours after he was formally crowned. (Read more here).

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn represented the royal family members in delivering a speech on their behalf. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public. Privy councillors also attended the function.

Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative branch and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon spoke for the judicial branch. All paid homage to the King on the occasion of his coronation.

Diplomats and other foreign dignitaries were invited to the audience.

HRH Princess Sirindhorn commended the King for his kingship and promised loyalty to His Majesty: On behalf of the royal family members, we are determined to show loyalty and perform our best for the Chakri Dynasty, she said.

The King, in his return message, invited all people to perform to the best of their ability to help the country and pledged further prosperity for Thailand.

His Majesty formally designated Queen Suthida as Her Majesty the Queen after he completed the coronation rites on Saturday morning.
History preserved: Rare footage gives glimpse into the royal coronation of King Rama VII

Before the reign of King Rama VII of the Chakri Dynasty, royal coronation ceremonies had never been filmed. As of now, the footage from the ceremonies of King Rama VII and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are the only two existing coronation motion pictures available in Thailand.

HistoryCulture

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 4 May 2019, 08:00AM

In light of the coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on May 4, the rare historical footage of King Rama VIIs coronation was recently screened by the Thai Film Archive whose experts did a marvellous job preserving the film shot almost 100 years ago. The oldest surviving motion picture of the age-old royal ceremony, the footage is of great historical significance not just among historians but also all Thai citizens.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation is an extremely valuable historical asset especially when it comes to the study of the history of the Rattanakosin period as it is the unprecedented detailed filming of coronation rites and rituals. The ceremonies of King Rama I up to King Rama V were recorded but only in written chronicles and archives and only in summary, said historian Asst Prof Dinar Boontharm from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. Dinar specialises in royal coronation ceremonies and sacred rituals in the royal court.

According to Dinar, filming coronation rites was first done during the reign of King Rama VII or around 1925. Prior to that, the ceremony was first photographed during the reign of King Rama V. Even so, only the post-ceremony coronation portrait was captured  rather than the entire process  with the new king dressed in full. Such a coronation portrait was to be distributed to newspapers as well as heads of state in foreign countries.

The footage of King Rama VIIs coronation recently screened at the Thai Film Archive was shot by the Film Department of the State Railway of Thailand on 35mm nitrate film, an antique format that still preserves the detail and quality of the images even after nearly a century. After being digitalised by the Film Archive, it was made accessible to the public so that they could see those rare historical moments ahead of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkuns coronation, which will be held, according to Dinar, based on the ceremony of the late King Bhumibol.

Former director of the Thai Film Archive and film historian Dome Sukhawong recalled his discovery of the coronation footage in an old building in Bangkoks Rong Muang Road in 1981. Back then, Dome was in search of footage of Nang Sao Suwan (Miss Suwanna Of Siam), thought to be the first Thai feature film, made with support from the State Railway of Thailand.

During his quest, he ended up at a residence previously owned by a railway staffer. There he found over 500 rolls of old films, most in decayed condition. All the films were later found to be events during King Rama VIIs period, along with deleted and edited scenes from the full version of the coronation footage.

That [King Rama VII period] was the first time all detailed processes of the coronation ceremony were allowed to be filmed from inside the palace, explained Dome. Although filming could be practised too during the time of King Rama VI, the King did not give royal permission for the coronation to be shot from inside the palace. Private filming crew or locals who then owned 16mm cameras could film the coronation events but only from outside.

King Rama VII, on the contrary, allowed the Film Department under the State Railway to shoot the entire coronation.

The then Film Department functioned just like the Government Public Relations Department of today, Dome added. In the past, movies were the only means mostly accessible by the general public regardless of gender, age and social status. Newspapers were available only in big cities and were read only by the upper- and middle-class. Broadcast radio wasnt available. So when there were important events, people saw them through public cinemas, which served as a television for the neighbourhood.

As with other momentous events, King Rama VIIs coronation was filmed and screened before the public. This outdoor theatre screened the 35mm full-version of the coronation footage, which was over an hour long. The audience had to pay a fee to see the film.

An abridged version was later created by the Film Department to sell to any Thais who wished to purchase the footage as a meaningful memorabilia. The 500 film rolls Dome discovered were neither of these two versions, but outtakes out of the full, final version. The official hour-long footage was lost to time. Even though they are just segments edited out of the final version, the footage provides significant, in-depth knowledge of the royal ancient rite.

The footage was also an inspiration for the late British archaeologist Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, a state officer in the reign of King Rama VII, to complete his thesis  with much of the material obtained while serving his post in Siam. In 1931, Wales  a professor in archaeology and Southeast Asia history at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  published a book titled Siamese State Ceremonies, which was later translated into Thai and is now available for purchase at leading bookstores.

At the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama I ordered that all details and knowledge about the coronation be revised and recorded in a coronation reference book, which compiled all the coronation rites and processes as practised during the Ayutthaya period. Information in the book was obtained from conversations with royal family members and state officers that lived during the Ayutthaya period.

Several elements and practices adopted from the West were added to the coronation of King Rama IV. The United Kingdom was the country that most influenced the coronation given that the coronation of Queen Victoria was held only 13 years before King Rama IV.

Thailand and Western countries have different coronation concepts. As influenced by Indian civilisation together with Brahmin and Buddhist beliefs, coronation in Thailand puts more emphasis on a water-related process such as purification and anointment. In the West, the crowning ceremony is the highlight.

Before the reign of King Rama IV, the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut or the Great Crown of Victory  one of the royal regalia  wasnt worn by the King at the coronation. Adopting coronation concepts from the West, King Rama IV was the first to change this and had the King actually wear the crown at the coronation. He also sent a court officer to purchase the diamond from Calcutta, India, and put the crown jewel at the top of the Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut, just like Queen Victorias crown.

The coronation of the late King Bhumibol in 1950 followed the practice of King Rama VII after the country survived World War II and the Siamese revolution of 1932. However, certain steps of the ceremony were removed.

To see the footage of King Rama VIIs coronation, visit https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/1662792/king-rama-7-coronation-ceremony

 Arusa Pisuthipan
Merit-making ceremony held at Wat Phra Thong to pay respect to His Majesty the King

PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung led a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phra Thong in Thalang today (May 4) to pay respect to His Majesty the King ahead of the Royal Coronation.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 04:09PM

Government officials, civil servants and local residents gathered at 7am to pay respect to the Kings image and take part in alms-giving ceremonies  donating food and other goods to the 99 monks who also attended, and receiving blessings from them in return.

Attendees were dressed in yellow, the Kings heraldic colour. The government has urged the public to wear yellow until the Kings birthday in July.

From 9am, attendees watched a live broadcast of the coronation ceremony as the King took part in a purification bathing rite with consecrated water, was presented with the royal regalia and was crowned the King of Thailand. (Read more here).

A live stream of the ceremony is available to watch here.
Royal Coronation: Ancient ceremony steeped in tradition

The Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun will be conducted today, witnessed by millions of people either present in person attending the historic event or through the live broadcasts to 170 countries worldwide. The ceremonies to be witnessed today are steeped in Thai tradition and history, as explained in this article provided by the Thai Ministry of Culture.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 09:00AM

The Primary Royal Ceremonies

Preliminary ceremonies to the Primary Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of the chanting of prayers by monks, the arrangement of sacred water within the circle of holy thread, and the lighting of auspicious candles.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I), the Preliminary Ceremony started on the eve of the previous day when His Majesty lit the candle to pay homage to the Threefold Refuge as monks chanted prayers. On the next morning, His Majesty offered morning food alms to monks, the first of three days of offerings.

The custom has been practiced to the present. Although the Brahman ceremonies may have been practiced since the early period of Rattanakosin, there is little evidence to confirm it.

In the reign of King Rama V, there was a mention of the ceremony of raising the royal seven-tiered umbrella onto the Atha Disa and the Bhadrapitha Royal Thrones inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

Also, ablation offerings to deities were generally conducted at the Brahman shrines in Bangkok. Furthermore, there was an additional ceremony of offering a sacred ceremonial object to His Majesty the King, such as, the conch shell used for pouring water of blessing, the bael leaf to be worn behind his ear, the bundle of auspicious of leaves called Samit, composed of three kinds of leaves: mango, Bai thong and Indian plum. These leaves are believed to prevent harmful things from approaching the King. His Majesty ritually brushed himself with Samit, on the head and hair, to symbolize purification.

When finished, he gave them back to the Chief Brahmin, who then ceremonially burned each of the leaves in a Brahman ceremony of purification by fire. After that, the King went to his residential bed to listen to the chanting of Paritra prayers that continued for three days.

The preliminary ceremonies from King Rama V continued to be practiced in the reigns of King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), there were some practical changes in the ceremony. It limited the religious ceremony in the Preliminary session to only one evening of the previous day of the Royal Coronation Ceremony, held on Thursday, May 4, 1950.

The process included the chanting of prayers by monks seated on a pedestal. For the Brahman ceremony, three dais are placed in descending order. Each is enshrined with wooden icons of deities for use in the royal Augurs prayers. The ceremony is completed on that day and the pedestals are removed on the next day.

An offering is given to pay homage to the great royal tiered umbrella of the five Halls: the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall, the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall, the Chakri Maha Prasad Throne Hall, the Ananta Samagom Throne Hall and the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall. Offerings were given to another 13 monuments and important places in Bangkok also.*

On Thursday, May 4, 1950, at 10:00 am, the scribe moved the ceremonial tray of the Royal Golden Plaque, the Royal Horoscope and the Royal Seal of State from the ubosot of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram. These were placed on a royal palanquin that was waiting on the pavilion platform behind the temple. Then the royal palanquin moved slowly in a procession to the ceremonial stage at Baisal Daksin Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is composed of:

the Ablution or Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek,

the Anointment Ceremony or the Offering of the Abhisek Water from the eight representatives of the eight cardinal directions of the compass, at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, and

the Presentation of the Royal Throne and the Royal Regalia in the Crowning and Investiture Ceremonies, at the Bhadrapitha Throne inside the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

The Royal Purification Ceremony or Song Phra Muratha Bhisek

Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the king, called Ablution. This holy water is called the Muratha Bhisek Water. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person.

According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution. The water used for ablution in the Purification Ceremony will flow out from under a canopied shower head.

The sacred water is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand. In Thailand, they were collected from the five important rivers, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, and from the four Sacred Ponds. They were combined with purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom. Also added was the prepared holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session from the day before.

For the Purification or the Song Muratha Bhisek Ceremony in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty sat in the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne at the pavilion constructed for the Purification Ceremony. Then the presiding official turned on the shower sending water of purification over His Majesty for the Ablution.

After that, the Supreme Patriarch came forth to bestow benediction by sprinkling water onto His Majesty the Kings back. He then presented the Nophakhun Yantra into the hands of His Majesty. This was followed by Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Rangsit Prayurasakdi Krom Khun Jainad Narendra, offering His Majesty holy water from Phra Tao Bencha Khap, or the water vessel, into His Majestys hands.

Then, the royal Augur presented the holy water from the nine deities to His Majesty, who upon receiving them, poured them onto his left and right shoulders.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni (Sawat Rangsibrahmanakul), presented His Majesty with holy water from the great conch shell, the deity-blessed holy water from the Phra Tao Bencha Khap or water vessel, and the bronze water container.

Later, His Majesty was presented with the bael leaf, which he put behind his ear and the Kathin leaf, which he held in his hand. Then, Phraya Anurak Ratcha Mondhien (Kat Wacharothai) presented His Majesty with the sacred conch or chank shell (Turbinella pyrum.)

During the ceremonial procedure, while monks chanted prayers of benediction, officials played music from conch shells with music from a bugle, bronze drums and a Thai musical ensemble.

The guards of honor stood in salutation and the brass band played the royal anthem of Thailand. The artillerymen shot cannons for an auspicious victory to honor His Majesty the King.

The Royal Anointment Ceremony or Abhisek

After His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) performed the Purification ceremony, he changed into the Regal Vestments. He left the Ablution ceremonial pavilion to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

There, he sat on the Atha Disa Throne, with the seven-tiered umbrella or Saweta Chatra placed above it. A representative of the Parliament presented His Majesty with the Anointment Water.

The chief Brahmin presented him with eight vessels of the Brahmin holy water from each of the eight cardinal directions of the compass. As he was presented with each vessel, the King turned to its corresponding direction, and ended sitting in the direction facing east once again.

The ceremony proceeded with Chao Phraya Si Dhamadhibes (Chit Na Songkhla), the Chairman of the Senate, presenting the honorarium address to His Majesty in the Bihari language, and then, he also presented the Water of Anointment to him.

Formerly, the King was presented with the Water for Anointment from the Royal Pandit and the Chief Brahmin. However, for the Anointment Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX), His Majesty was the first King to receive the Anointment Water from members of Congress who were representing the eight cardinal directions of the compass. This was to signify that he was the first King in the democratic system.

After that, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, gave his address of benediction to His Majesty in the Bihari and Thai languages. Then he presented His Majesty with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State, Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra. During this procedure, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, officials shook small drums used in Brahmin rites, gongs were struck, bugles blown, and Thai musical ensembles were playing throughout the ceremonial area.

After His Majesty the King received the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State from the Chief Brahmin and gave officials, he left the Atha Disa Throne for the Bhadrapitha Throne in a royal procession, led ceremonially by the Buddha image, Phra Chai Nava Loha, and the Lord Ganesh Image, followed by the officials bringing the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra (Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State.)

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) donned the official Regal Costume for the Royal Coronation Ceremony and left the Sulalai Biman Chapel to go to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This ceremony took place on May 5, 1950.

The Crowning and Investiture Ceremony

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra proceeded to another throne, called the Bhadrapitha Throne, which is on the opposite side of the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall. This throne is under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella, or the Nophapadol Maha Saweta Chatra. There, the chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, chanted the prayer to pay homage to the Kailasa Heaven.

He then presented the King with the Royal Golden Plaque or Phra Suphannabat, upon which is inscribed the Royal Official Title of His Majesty the King. He also presented the Royal Regalia, the Ancient and Auspicious Orders, the Royal Utensils, and the Weapons of Sovereignty.

After this moment, His Majesty the King crowned himself with the Great Crown of Victory. It is the most important procedure in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. However, what is considered the most important part of the ceremony may vary from one reign to another, depending on differing conditions.

In the ancient times, the most important part of the whole ceremony was considered to be the Anointment Ceremony. It denoted accession to power throughout the eight cardinal directions of the compass and by extension, to reign over all regions of the land.

At present, the Crowning is accepted as the highest ceremony, according to the example set in the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV). Throughout the process of the Crowning, all monks are chanting prayers of benediction, the official ensemble are blowing conch shells, beating drums, gongs and other instruments and every temple bell in the area is ringing loudly.

After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony at the Bhadrapitha Throne, the Brahmins offered blessings to His Majesty the King, and the newly crowned King presented the First Royal Command in the Thai language.

In 1873, at the time of the Second Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), His Majesty gave an instruction that the First Royal Command be spoken in the Bihari language too. From then on, it was a tradition that the First Royal Command be issued in both the Thai and Bihari languages, and continued during the reigns of King Rama V, King Rama VI and King Rama VII.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Borommanathbobitra (Rama IX) the practice was adjusted. After the Brahmins recited the prayer of benediction to His Majesty the King, the Chief Brahmin, Phra Ratcha Khru Vamadeb Muni, recited his prayer of benediction in the Bihari language, after which he addressed His Majesty in Thai.

His Majesty responded by issuing his First Royal Command in Thai vowing to provide righteous protection to the people of Thailand. The Chief Brahmin accepted the First Royal Command in the Bihari language, followed by the Thai language. Next, His Majesty the King performed the gesture of pouring water as an offering to the Goddess of the Earth to ratify his responsibility of ruling righteously over the Royal Kingdom.

The Final Royal Ceremonies

The final procedures of the Royal Coronation Ceremony are composed of these ceremonies: the Granting of an Audience, the Installation of the Queen, the Formal Declaration of Faith, demonstrating his willingness to become the Royal Patron of Buddhism, and by Paying Homage to the Royal Relics of previous Kings and Queens.

In addition, there is the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, and the Procession of Circumambulation around the city, Phra Nakhon, which symbolically represents the entire realm of the Kingdom.

The details of the final session of the Royal Coronation Ceremony have been adjusted to be appropriate for circumstances in each reign. The previous procedure of Granting an Audience was to allow the royal families and high officials, both military and civilian, to pay homage to the new King.

After that, the King would proceed to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall to have another audience with the royal ladies of the court, whereupon he would have been presented with twelve maidens, but this detail was revoked by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV).

Therefore, there remained only the procedure to grant an audience to civilian and military high officials and royal courtiers to pay homage to His Majesty. King Rama VI added a ceremony, the Declaration of the Royal Patronage of Buddhism into the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its addition continued in the reigns of King Rama VII and King Rama IX. Under these kings, the ceremony of the Installation of the Queen was included into the complete Royal Coronation Ceremony too.

The Assumption of the Royal Residence is another important part of the Royal Coronation Ceremony. Its explanation was given by Somdetch Phra Chao Borommawongse Ther Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab (Prince Damrong). The full Royal Coronation Ceremony is divided into two main sections: first, the Coronation Ceremony, for the glorification of the royal official title, and secondly, the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony, for the King to reside in the palace. These two ceremonies do not need to be conducted together, as it was reported in some chronicles they were sometimes conducted on two separate occasions.

The royal accessories taken for the Assumption of the Royal Residence at Chakrapat Biman Royal Residence are the Royal Auspicious Items and the Royal Utensils.

The Royal Auspicious Items are the cat or Wila, the mortar stone, auspicious seeds, green gourd, golden key and a gold blossom of the betel palm. More objects were later added such as the whisk, which is made of the tail of a male white elephant and white rooster. It is carried into the ceremony by the person who bears the sacred royal staff, and is one item of the royal regalia.

Traditionally, only persons belonging to the royal family could be responsible for the bearing of the Royal Auspicious Items. In the old days, the bearers of these auspicious articles for the Assumption of the Royal Residence Ceremony are only the women of royal families. In the Rattanakosin period, only women from royal families who held the rank of Mom Chao participated.

After the Ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, the next ritual to be held was for monks to preach to the new King at the Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall.

This ceremony is not the ordinary religious service of listening to a recitation of a discourse by monks. Instead, the Supreme Patriarch and a group of Phra Racha Khana monks are invited to preach the sermon while they are seated on a special pedestal with the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella overhead, and not on an ordinary pulpit.

The content of the sermon has varied from one reign to another, and first took place in the reign of King Rama V. The ceremony where the King listens to a discourse of monks is the finale of the procedures for the Royal Coronation Ceremony that take place inside the Grand Palace.

The final ceremony is outside the Grand Palace in the form of a Royal Procession to encircle the city, both by land and by water, affording people the opportunity to attend and pay homage to their new King.

During the reigns of King Rama I to King Rama III, the Royal Procession only took place by land, but in the reign of King Rama IV, the Royal Procession was conducted both by royal palanquin and by royal barge. In the reign of King Rama V, the Royal Procession was conducted only by land.

The Royal Procession was conducted again both by land and by water in the reign of King Rama VI and King Rama VII. However, the royal procession did not take place in the reign of King Rama IX. The Royal Procession on the royal palanquin or royal barge marks the conclusion of the Royal Coronation Ceremony as it was traditionally practiced in the Rattanakosin period.

The Royal Coronation Ceremony is an immensely important event in countries where the monarchy remains as the core institution, and this is especially true in the Royal Kingdom of Thailand.

In Thailand, the institution of the monarchy holds all the hearts and souls of the people together. The Royal Coronation Ceremony is the formality that reveals the glory of the ascending King to the throne, assures that he holds love for all his people and accords recognition from international countries.

Most importantly, it is the ceremony that shows the stability and unity of the people as the nation.

All materials for this article are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by Ministry of Culture.
Royal Coronation: Sacred waters

The historic ceremonies of the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun that will unfold today began months ago. The earliest process in the preparation for the Royal Coronation Ceremony was to collect waters from different important sources and then consecrate and combine them for use in the Royal Purification and Anointment Ceremonies during the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 10:00AM

Governor Phakaphong carries the Kan Tor royal ceramic urn containing the sacred water, which was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong on April 6.

On April 6, 2019, across the nation was the gathering of waters to be blessed and used for the sacred water in the Royal Coronation Ceremony. This process took place in all 76 provinces, with consecration rites for the collected waters held at major temples in respective provinces for the following two days.

In Phuket, sacred water was drawn from the well at Wat Chalong, officially called Wat Chaiyathararam, because the temple well was dug during the time when the deeply revered Phra Visutthiwongsajarn Yanmunee (better known as the historical figure Luang Por Chaem) was abbot.

Many local people believe that the well is sacred and that its water is able to heal people. This same well was also used for the Royal Coronation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

At 11:52am that day, Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana led the ceremony by drawing water from the well and pouring it into a five-litre golden bowl called a Kan Sakon.

The Kan Sakon lid was then closed and covered with a blessed white cloth tied with a white ribbon. The water was then carried by procession to Wat Prathong in Thalang.

The water remained at Wat Prathong for two days of blessing ceremonies, until 1pm on April 9. During the ceremonies, the Governor decanted water from the Kan Sakon into a Kan Tor  a royal ceramic urn handmade especially for the Royal Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

At 5pm that day, the Governor and his entourage and police escort departed the temple by motorcade, accompanying the water all the way to Royal Palace in Bangkok. Governors in other provinces performed the same rituals and departed their respective revered temples at the same time, though arriving in the capital over the next two days (April 10-11).

On April 12, from 1pm to 2:09pm, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration performed a water consecration rite at Ho Sattrakhom in the Grand Palace and transferred the consecrated water to the Ministry of Interior to combine it with waters from the provinces.

On April 18 at 5:30pm, the waters from 76 provinces and Bangkok were combined and taken from the Ministry of Interior to be blessed through another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkoks oldest and most important temples.

On April 19, at 7:30am, the sacred water was taken by procession from Wat Suthat to be kept at the ubosot of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, awaiting its use in the performing of Royal Ablutions

The Royal Purification Ceremony is called the Song Phra Muratha Bhisek. Muratha Bhisek refers to the action of pouring holy water over the head of the King, called Ablution. The whole terminology of Song Phra Muratha Bhisek means to offer the sovereignty to a person. According to Brahmanism, before the beginning of any other ritual procedures of the coronation ceremony, the person must be purified through the Ablution.

The water used for Ablution is a mixture of many sacred waters. These waters come from the five main rivers in India and also from Thailand, called the Bencha Suttha Khongkha, as well as water drawn from four Sacred Ponds, or Sa in Thai: Sa Ket, Sa Kaeo, Sa Khongkha and Sa Yamuna from Suphanburi.

The Bencha Suttha Khongkha river waters, or the Five Pure Streams of Ganga, are used so as to follow the belief in the use of the sacred water from the five main streams from South Asia or Chomphu Thawip in Thai.

The five rivers in Thailand from which water is drawn are the Bang Pakong River in Nakhon Nayok, the Pasak River in Saraburi, the Chao Phraya River, Ratchaburi River in Samut Songkram and the Phetchaburi River.

They are combined purified water taken from various sacred places within the Royal Kingdom, including Phuket, for use in the ceremony.

Also now used in the Ablution Ceremony is the holy water from the Buddhist Chanting Ceremony of the Phra Paritra Suttas session prepared yesterday (May 3).
Royal Coronation: The Royal Regalia

The offering of the Royal Regalia to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony today carries with it deep significance unto itself as part of the Royal Coronation ceremony.

Culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 4 May 2019, 12:00PM

The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The offering of the Royal Regalia to the King as performed in the Royal Coronation Ceremony is a traditional practice from Brahmanism. The chief Brahmin, or Phra Maha Ratcha Khru, gives the address offering the Royal Regalia to the King. The Royal Regalia is considered the most important symbol of the Kingship, and it is essential that it be offered to the King in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

According to the book of protocol concerning the Royal Coronation Ceremony of the King, it states the ceremonial articles to be used consist of: the Great Crown, the Royal Clothes made of red wool, the Sword, the Tiered Umbrella and the Golden Slippers.

Each item holds a symbolic meaning. The Great Crown refers to the high heavenly abode of Indra; the Red-wool Cloth represents the Khanthamat Mountain of the Sumerumat Range; the Sword represents the wisdom to cut through misunderstanding; the Six-tiered Umbrella refers to the sixth level of heaven; and the Golden Slippers are a reference of royal support to all subjects living in the royal kingdom, just as the earth is a support to the Sumerumat Mountain.

The Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella of State

or the Nophapadon Maha Saweta Chatra

The nine layers of the tiered umbrella are made of white cloth; each tier hangs into three layers trimmed with gold bands. The umbrella is topped with a finial. King Rama IV ordered the Great Tiered Umbrella to be covered with white cloth, instead of tash cloth (silk woven with threads wrapped in gold or silver thread.) It is the most important article of the whole set of Royal Regalia. His Majesty King Rama IX ordered it to be presented while he was at the Atha Disa Udumbara Raja Asana Throne, after the Anointment Ceremony.

The Royal Scepter

or Than Phra Kon

The original scepter was made during the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I). Its staff was made of Javanese Cassia wood. The finial was in the form of a trident and was gilded with gold, as was its iron hilt inlaid with gold. The scepter itself was named Than Phra Kon, but originally was named Than Phra Kon Ratchaphruek, or Royal Staff made of Javanese Cassia wood.

In the reign of His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV), His Majesty ordered a new scepter to be made of pure gold. The staff was designed to hide a sword within and it had the figure of a deity on its finial. The scepter was called Phra Saeng Sanao, and also called Than Phra Kon Thewarup or The Royal Staff with a Deity. This scepter is more a sword than royal staff, and His Majesty preferred using this new scepter than the old one.

However, His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), due to his royal admiration of heritage objects, brought back the original scepter for use again in the Royal Coronation Ceremony, and the Than Phra Kon Thewarup was not included in the ceremony of that period.

The Great Crown of Victory

or Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut

The crown was made by the royal command of King Rama I and ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. The whole crown is 66 centimetres high and weighs 7.3 kilograms. King Rama IV later ordered the Phum Khao Bin tip of the crown replaced with a large diamond, bought from Kolkata, India. The diamond was named Phra Maha Wichian Mani.

In previous days, the crown was considered the next most important item in the whole set of Royal Regalia, following the Nine-tiered Umbrella in importance.

Upon receiving the crown, the King only placed the crown next to himself. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries and reviewed their royal procedures, Siam changed the status of the crown.

In Europe, the status of Kingship is bestowed when the King puts on the crown. Therefore, when King Rama IV was coronated and presented with the crown, His Majesty placed the crown upon his head and gave an audience to the foreign diplomatic corps while wearing it.

From then on, the Great Crown of Victory was reconsidered as the most important article of all the Royal Regalia and every King will wear this crown in the Royal Coronation Ceremony.

The Royal Fan and Fly Whisk

or Walawichani

The Walawichani made in the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) was the form of a fan made of a palm leaf, and was so-called a palm-leaf fan. The rim of the fan was trimmed with gold and the rod was made of enamelled gold.

Originally it was called Phatchani Fak Makham or the Fan in the shape of a tamarind-pod.

The meaning of its name was reconsidered by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) who recognised that for the name Walawichani, taken from the Pali language, use of a palm leaf fan may not be the correct interpretation. It referred more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, as the word Wala meant the hair of one type of a cow, an animal that Thais called Chammari.

Hence, His Majesty King Rama IV ordered a fly whisk to be made with the hair of a yak and to be included in the Royal Regalia. In a later period, yak hair was replaced with the hair from the white elephants tail, and the name was changed to the White Elephant Fly Whisk. But as it would be deemed inappropriate not to use the original royal Palm-Leaf Fan, His Majesty ordered the use of both the Palm-Leaf Fan and the Chammari Fly Whisk, and together had them called the Walawichani.

The Sword of Victory

or Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri

This sword was presented to His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) from Chao Phraya Abhai Bhubes (Ban) brought by an official sent from Battambang, then a vassal state to the Kingdom of Thailand, in 1784.

His Majesty King Rama I ordered a cover to be made for it. The hilt and sheath were ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems. It became part of the Royal Regalia in the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 1785.

The length of the blade itself is 64.5 centimetres, and 89.8 centimetres when it includes the hilt. It weighs 1.3 kilograms. When enclosed with the sheath, it is 101 centimetres in length and weighs 1.9 kilograms.

The Royal Slippers

or Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon

King Rama I ordered the making of a pair of gold slippers as a part of the Royal Regalia, following an ancient Indian belief. They were made of colourful enamelled gold and inlaid with diamonds.

In the Royal Coronation Ceremony, they are offered by the Chief Brahmin who puts them directly onto the feet of the King.

* All materials for this publication are from The Royal Coronation Ceremony published by the Ministry of Culture.
In a little more than two weeks, Pennsylvanians will once again go to the polls.

Or at least some of us will.

Actually, the majority of us will not.

There are several reasons for that. None of them good enough to throw away our most basic and prized constitutional right, the right to vote.

May 21 is the statewide Primary Election, when residents exercise their franchise to nominate candidates for a variety of local elected positions. In this region, seats are u[ for grabs on county commissioner councils, township boards of supervisors, school boards and borough councils.

Voters in suburban counties also will select candidates for district attorney, as well as seats on Courts of Common Pleas.

Locally, a slew of jobs are up for grabs among local borough and township ruling bodies, as well as your local school board. You know, those folks who set the hated property tax.

And yet with all this on the line, the public will stay away in droves. Just as they routinely do in nearly every primary election. They conjecture that no one is actually elected on Primary Day (except in Philadelphia where winning the Democratic Primary is akin to winning in November in a city where Dems hold a massive, unchallenged edge in voter registration). They say they will cast their vote in November, when it really counts.

They could not be more wrong. In fact, the decision on who will appear on the ballot  in effect who you will vote for  is made in the Primary, when nominations are secured.

If you forfeit your vote in May, you are in effect surrendering the ability to decide who you will vote for in November.

But there is another reason why some people stay away in droves come the Primary Election.

Some voters dont have a choice.

That would be the states Independent voters. They dont get a say on Primary Day.

Pennsylvania has what is referred to as a closed primary. That is, its closed to anyone who is not registered as either a Republican or Democrat. Democrats nominate Democrats; Republicans nominiate Republicans. Voters are limited to voting for those in the same party.

And if youre registered Independent? You dont get to vote for either partys candidates. In fact, you are for the most part limited to casting a vote in any special election that may be on the ballot, as well as referendums.

How many people does this affect? By the last count from the Pennsylvania Department of State just a few weeks ago there were 785,579 registered voters on the rolls in Pennsylvania who were not aligned with either party. Thats out of a total of 8.4 million registered voters.

More than 785,000 voters with no voice.

But that may be about to change.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, has proposed legislation that would throw open the doors on Primary Day. Scarnatis measure would allow registered voters not aligned with either party to simply make the choice of what ballot they would like when they report to their polling place. The legislation has bipartisan support from a group of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa.

The winds of change of starting to rattle the dark, musty halls of the Capitol in Harrisburg.

Maybe, just maybe, our elected representatives are getting the message that Pennsylvanians want change. And changing the archaic way we vote sits fairly high on the list of the to-do list.

Scarnatis bill was part of a major flurry of bills pushing election reform that blew through the Capitol Tuesday. Just the day before, a group backing election reform, appropriately named Open Primaries PA, put down roots in Harrisburg. The coalition is made up of some familiar names. Micah Sims is executive director of Common Cause PA. The Committee of Seventy also is represented. Its a veritable whos who of good government groups.

Sims pointed out one of the basic ironies of state election law when it comes to independent voters. They pay taxes to support primary elections, but they cant vote for most of the candidates.

Scarnati is taking a bit more pragmatic view. He knows numbers, and when it comes to Primary Elections, the numbers dont lie. They dont exactly paint a picture of an engaged electorate, either.

People are staying away in droves.

In our most recent primary election, only 18 percent of Pennsylvanias registered voters went to the ballot box to cast a vote, Scarnati said in a statement. The low turnout can be in part attributed to voters feeling disenfranchised by both major parties, who have taken control of our primary process. Allowing more people the opportunity to have a voice in their representation is an important step toward ensuring democracy.

We have become accustomed to waiting in long lines during Presidential races in November.

And then taking a rain check until four years later and then next run for the White House.

But the truth is the people on the ballot in a few weeks seeking to hold local offices very likely have more direct effect on the everyday lives of residents. They are the people who set your taxes, make sure your trash gets picked up, your street gets plowed in the winter, and your kids educational needs are met.

The state cant make people vote. Those who stay away from the polls have to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are fulfilling the basic responsibilities of citizenship and forfeiting the right to complain about the results.

Any move to increase voter participation is a good one.

Open Primaries? Bring em on. Its not like there isnt room at our local polling places.
Environmental groups were cheering a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling on carbon pricing that legal experts say strongly affirms the federal governments essential role in the fight against climate change.

I cannot hide my joy, Isabelle Turcotte of the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank. This is such great news for climate action in Canada.

Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation, which intervened in the case, said the 3-2 decision is a step toward a consistent national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its a historic day. This decision helps pave the way for a really strong, fair and unified approach to tackling climate change across the country.

Legal scholars says that despite the two dissenting opinions, the majority ruling is a powerful endorsement of the notion that the provinces and the federal government share jurisdiction over environmental issues. Ottawa has the right to set national standards, while giving the provinces leeway to decide how to meet them.

The federal government can assert jurisdiction over a consistent federal price for carbon and then the provinces can still do a ton of work within their own jurisdictions if they want, said Martin Olszynski of the University of Calgary.

He said the court sidestepped the issue of federal intrusion into provincial spheres by limiting the federal role to setting a minimum national standard.

That approach is consistent with how other aspects of Canadian federalism operate, said Stewart Elgie of the University of Ottawa.

This is essentially the approach Canada has taken to health care and social programs. Provinces are free to flesh out and apply their own legislation to meet their own needs provided they meet the minimum standards.

It recognizes that greenhouse gases, while theyre an international problem, also have significant provincial and local impacts, as were seeing with the (Ottawa) flooding right now.

Joshua Ginsburg, an Ecojustice lawyer who argued in the case, pointed out the rulings strong language indicates the court took the urgency of the issue seriously.

They agreed with us that climate change is an emergency, he said. They said Climate change is doubtless an emergency in the sense that it presents a genuine threat to Canada.

Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University, said that whatever the legal arguments, climate change is an issue that has to be addressed at levels above the municipal or provincial.

Its a global problem. You want the most senior level of government to solve it, he said.

You need national governments around the planet to be able to contribute to a global governance effort.

All agreed that the Saskatchewan ruling isnt the end of the game. Ontario has argued a challenge before its Court of Appeal and Manitoba has done the same in Federal Court.

But Olszynski said the arguments in Ontario were similar to those used in Saskatchewan.

The issue is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court.

Until it does  months if not years down the road  environmental groups hope Fridays ruling will quicken Canadas response to climate change.

There is no time to be wasted in fights to fight climate action, Turcotte said. This is a call to unity and working together because we cant delay action.

 Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to Cuba to help resolve the crisis in Venezuela, calling for free elections as President Nicolas Maduro holds tight against a U.S. campaign to replace him.

With U.S. President Donald Trumps administration leaving the option of military force on the table, Trudeau joined a group of 14 Latin American countries in turning to Venezuelas closest ally to try to move forward from a standoff thats also drawing in Russia.

Trudeau underscored the desire to see free and fair elections and the constitution upheld in Venezuela in a call with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel late Friday, according to a Canadian statement. They discussed ways they could work together to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Tension is running high after a failed attempt this week to overthrow Maduro. The so-called Lima Group, meeting Friday in Perus capital, decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to turmoil that has pitted Maduro against Juan Guaido, whom more than 50 countries recognize as Venezuelas interim president.

Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, is signalling deepening concern. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to meet his Venezuelan counterpart in Moscow on Sunday, a day before planned talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Europe. Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton were briefed on Friday on a wide range of military options for Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.

Cubas Many Roles

The U.S. blames Cuba for propping up Maduro, whose re-election in a rigged presidential ballot last year prompted a backlash in and outside Venezuela. Cuban agents are alleged to run Maduros security apparatus.

While Cuba has previously rejected the Lima Groups support for Guaido and its allegations of Cuban interference in Venezuela, a senior diplomat recently cited Cubas mediation in past regional conflicts.

Dialogue is what will help, Josefina Vidal, Cubas ambassador to Canada, said in an interview. If there is willingness, solutions can be found.

Vidal was the key liaison to the U.S. for the normalization of relations under the Obama administration. Canada hosted some of the secret talks that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana.

Read more about:
EDMONTONPolice Chief Dale McFee apologized to Edmontons LGBTQ community Friday for a history marked with discrimination and marginalization by police.

Addressing a crowd gathered at police headquarters, McFee said the apology was part of a reconciliation process with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Edmontonians.

Many people in this room will immediately recall the raids, the mistreatment during arrests, and even public shaming  these are just a few known and visceral examples, he said.

We know there is much more in the history of our service that is unnamed, unheard and underground. That we dont fully understand the full extent of our impact on this community is a statement in itself.

McFee said instances where police were indifferent or ignorant to harassment, discrimination, bullying or violence were also greatly damaging, and acknowledged the Edmonton Police Services own members have been affected.

He said discriminatory actions have caused pain, eroded trust and created fear, leading members of the public and the police service to feel unsafe on the streets, in their workplaces, and in their homes.

Read more:

Former Edmonton police commissioner calls on police to apologize to LGBTQ community

Calgary police chief apologizes for services history of LGBTQ discrimination

Edmonton Queer History App aims to fill gap left by textbooks

This is not just a history. It is a legacy, McFee said.

We know this is still happening today. Perhaps not as actively or intentionally as in the past, but it is a systemic part of our structure and practices that demands our vigilance to address.

As we try to understand our biases toward sexual and gender minorities, we need to be mindful of the compounding impact of factors such as race, economic status, mental health or ability in this communitys experiences with the police.

In July, Calgarys police chief at the time, Roger Chaffin, formally apologized for the Calgary Police Services role in the marginalization of and discrimination against LGBTQ Calgarians.

Edmonton police have had a similarly complicated history with the LGBTQ community, but former chief Rod Knecht had declined to follow Calgarys lead on an apology before McFee was sworn in as chief in February.

Former police commissioner Murray Billett, who co-founded the EPS Sexual and Gender Minorities Community Liaison Committee in 1992 after police arrested gay men in a river valley park and released their names to the media in what he characterized as a sting operation, has called on EPS in the past to make an apology.

On Friday, he said he was brought to tears.

Im disappointed it took this long, but it was worth waiting for, Billett said.

He said the apology was clear and inclusive and will set an important tone, not only for LGBTQ Edmontonians, but for the city and province at large.

The most infamous example of police discrimination against Edmontons LGBTQ community was the Pisces bathhouse raid in 1981, when officers arrested dozens of gay men who were outed when their names were published in newspapers, sparking the citys early Pride movement.

Shelley Miller represented most of the men in court as a young lawyer, and said the way they were treated shook her faith in her profession.

It was heartbreaking. Their lives were completely upended, their privacy was completely eradicated, their names were ran on television, which is something Id never seen or heard of before anywhere, Miller said Friday.

Some of them lost their jobs, some of their families were very upset because they hadnt known that they had this quality in their lives. And Im not sure if any of them have ever recovered from the pain of being treated like a serious criminal.

Miller said McFees speech was comprehensive, heartfelt and meaningful.

I was completely gratified and consoled, she said.

McFee said EPS has already selected consultants to organize meetings with LGBTQ community members and intends to start the work immediately.

He wants to hear from community members to better understand the impact of past discrimination and get advice on moving forward. McFee said the success metrics of that work will be developed by community members  not by police.

He said the apology is not an accomplishment in itself, but the beginning of a continuous journey.

We will listen intently, he said. We cannot just rely on institutional knowledge.

But the citys LGBTQ community is divided in the wake of recent controversies, and some are skeptical police can repair eroded trust.

At the Pride parade in June, a group billing itself as a coalition of queer and trans people of colour blocked the floats on Whyte Ave. to make a series of demands, including halting all police and military from marching in future parades.

Festival organizers agreed to comply and launched a series of community consultations that grew heated, and ultimately ended up cancelling the 2019 festival.

Shay Lewis, who identifies as non-binary, was one of the 2018 protesters. They said the apology seems like a positive step, but whether it means anything will depend on what programs come out of it and how consistent those programs are.

While Lewis is tentatively hopeful about the promise to reach out to the community, they pointed out that its not necessarily that simple.

The folks who run queer organizations in this city are traditionally the folks who support the police force, just because those individuals tend to be part of institutions that have positive relationships  or are part of groups and communities that have better relationships  with the police force. So they can find those organizations to pair with, Lewis said.

The issue is the communities that directly feel affected, and more often than not dont trust the police force, have no real incentive to engage with them, because theyre being welcomed into a bureaucratic system that doesnt seem to offer much change.

Activist groups RaricaNow and Shades of Colour brought a list of seven demands to the Pride Festival Society in March, including $20,000 for each of their organizations to create well-funded QTIBPOC specific spaces at Pride.

The festival society invited representatives from the two groups to its April 4 board meeting, but the groups brought at least 20 more people with them for support, and when they refused to leave, police were called.

Days later, festival organizers announced the cancellation.

Adebayo Katiiti with RaricaNow, a group representing LGBTQ refugees, said his group accepts the chiefs apology but needs urgent action to address social justice issues.

He said RaricaNow is eager to work with EPS to discuss advocating for changes to federal policies that are hurting community members, some of whom are facing deportation.

Katiiti, a transgender man from Uganda, said he does not personally trust police, but other RaricaNow members are optimistic that change is coming.

We are looking for actions, Katiiti said. Because weve seen people apologizing and nothing happened.

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HALIFAXHome can be a place of comfort and refuge, but it can also be used as a tool for exploitation.

Perpetrators of human trafficking often control their victims by controlling their access to shelter and other basic survival needs.

Thats why, according Charlene Gagnon, offering victims and survivors a safe place to live is an essential part of supporting their exit from the exploitive cycle, and its why the YWCA Halifaxs latest program will be a milestone in the fight against human trafficking in Nova Scotia.

Gagnon manages anti-trafficking initiatives at the YWCA Halifax and says human trafficking is not a new issue to Nova Scotia, but the attention afforded to it has been gradually changing, both locally and across Canada.

In 2005, a trio of amendments to the Criminal Code prohibited human trafficking, specifically, for the first time. Further legislative changes have continued to trickle in since then, and Gagnon says that as laws have emerged to address human trafficking, public awareness has grown.

By shedding more light on the issue, front line workers  like social workers, police, school guidance counsellors  are better able to identify victims. A few years ago, YWCA staff started identifying more and more human trafficking victims, but Gagnon said there was no real system in place to fully respond.

Particularly when it came to safe housing.

We kind of knew it right from the very beginning, there has been a lack of housing that is specific to this kind of victimization.

In 2016, the non-profit applied for and was granted federal funding to take a closer look at the issue in Nova Scotia and develop a plan for filling the service gaps. That research wrapped in March 2019 with a plan for a pilot program called Safe Spaces.

The YWCA is aiming for a fall 2019 launch of the program, which will offer emergency housing to youth between 13 and 24 who are fleeing trafficking. As with other trafficking services at the YWCA, police, community agencies and child welfare services anywhere in the province will be able to refer to Safe Spaces.

Its pretty critical in those first three to six months of making that transition out for their housing to be really safe and secure, Gagnon said.

The program will be non-gender-specific, although most trafficking victims are girls and women.

Safe Spaces has funding for four years, part of which was secured earlier this month when Ottawa committed $4.7 million to the Nova Scotia government through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund.

Despite the name, more than half of the funds for the first two years of the investment are going to human trafficking initiatives. Of more than $820,000, YWCA is receiving more than $183,000 and Nova Scotia RCMP are receiving $243,000 for seconding officers to human trafficking work.

When making the funding announcement in Halifax, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey acknowledged that gun violence has been declining in Nova Scotia, and federal Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said gangs are less common in Nova Scotia than elsewhere in Canada.

Human trafficking, on the other hand, has been on the rise, according to Furey, and in 2016, Nova Scotia recorded the highest number of trafficking incidents of any Canadian province or territory.

Simultaneous to the research and preparation for the safe housing program, Gagnon and her YWCA colleagues have been leading the Nova Scotia Trafficking Elimination Partnership (NSTEP) with more than a dozen other non-profits, police and the local and provincial governments.

NSTEP started in 2016 and is slated to continue until 2021. Gagnon said that at the end of the partnership, the collaborators intend to table a strategy for addressing human trafficking for the province. In the meantime, support programs have already stemmed from of NSTEPs work.

Since 2018, the YWCA has added front line workers to directly support youth who are either at risk of being exploited or who are exiting trafficking situations, and a family outreach worker.

Gagnon said collaboration  like the kind seen in NSTEP  is an important part of addressing human trafficking, as theres a wide variety of perspectives and experiences. When in conflict, they can stymy progress.

Human trafficking and sex work are often conflated, and some members of NSTEP support complete abolition of sex work while others support it as a means of independence and survival.

Consensus on a definition for human trafficking poses a problem for fighting it. A 2018 federal justice committee report on human trafficking recognized the absence of a common and consistent definition among stakeholders, and said it can contribute to under-reporting and challenges in collecting evidence for court.

The members of NSTEP, however, did arrive at an eight-point common definition of sexualized human trafficking and exploitation. It acknowledges a spectrum of opinion when it comes to the concept of choice, but unequivocally calls trafficking a form of slavery and a human rights violation.

Gagnon said isolation and control are the hallmarks of trafficking that everyone in the partnership agrees on.

She said the definition is important because perpetrators have their playbook, and members of the partnership have to know what theyre targeting.

Correction - May 5, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the name of the YWCA program was Safe Landings. In fact, it is called Safe Spaces.

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MONTREALQuebecs order of social workers says its members need more time and less pressure to properly do their jobs.

Order president Guylaine Ouimette held a press conference Friday in reaction to the death of a seven-year-old girl who had a long history with the provinces youth protection system.

Local police found the girl shortly before noon Monday at a home in Granby, Que., about 80 kilometres east of Montreal. She died a day later in hospital.

Two adults  identified by people close to the family as the girls father, 30, and his partner, 35  were arrested in connection with the death.

Ouimette did not want to comment directly on the girls case because it involved members of the order.

But she says social workers are often in conflict between fulfilling their job descriptions and properly caring for young people and families.

She says her members work in an industrial-like atmosphere where sometimes half their time is spent on bureaucratic tasks.

News of the girls death prompted swift reaction from the public and Quebecs political class, who immediately demanded to know how the girl was seemingly failed by a system designed to protect her.

Ouimette is calling for a public commission that will look into systemic problems in the social services system.

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Torstar took home three prizes at the 70th National Newspaper Awards, one of the highest honours in Canadian journalism. The Toronto Star received one award and sister papers the St. Catharines Standard and Waterloo Region Record won one each.

Daniel Dale, the Stars Washington bureau chief, won the Norman Webster Award for International Reporting for his exhaustive coverage and fact-checking of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Grant LaFleche, a reporter and columnist with the St. Catharines Standard, won the George Brown Award for Investigations for his yearlong probe that uncovered a political conspiracy to manipulate the hiring of Niagara Regions top bureaucrat and a secret contract worth more than a million dollars.

Greg Mercer of the Waterloo Region Record won the award for Local Reporting for his coverage of the health problems that afflicted workers from the regions once-booming rubber industry, and the apparent reluctance of safety officials to accept compensation claims.

Celebrating the importance of journalism is something we rarely pause to do, said Irene Gentle, Editor of the Toronto Star. The work of the winners and nominees across Torstar is deep, meaningful and made a difference. It is a privilege to work in newsrooms with such talented and committed journalists. Congratulations to them and all the journalists honoured tonight.

In total, Torstar received 12 National Newspaper Award nominations, including six for the Toronto Star.

The other nominees included Rachel Mendleson, Diana Zlomislic, Robert Cribb, Marco Chown Oved, Andrew Bailey and Emma Jarratt in the Project of the Year category for the Medical Disorder series, an 18-month investigation on the discipline records of doctors permitted to practise on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

A team of 42 journalists were nominated in Breaking News for the Stars coverage of last years Yonge St. van attack, which left 10 dead and 16 injured.

Cameron Tulk, David Schnitman, Tania Pereira and Fadi Yaacoub were nominated in the Presentation category for a project in which the Star fact-checked every question and answer over five days of question period in Parliament.

Feature writer Mary Ormsby was nominated in the Sports category for her reporting on new information about Ben Johnsons positive drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and for another story about boxing legend George Chuvalo.

Photojournalist Carlos Osorio was nominated for his photo essay accompanying a story about a senior forced to move out of her longtime home in a public housing building when it was deemed unsafe.

The Globe and Mail won 10 awards, the most of any publication. Other winners on Friday included the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and The Canadian Press for their coverage of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and its aftermath.

It was also announced Friday that Karyn Pugliese, executive director of news and current affairs at APTN, was awarded the 25th Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

The fellowship is funded by an endowment in memory of Martin Wise Goodman, the late president of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

Pugliese will join 26 other journalists in the 82nd class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard. The fellowship covers a stipend for living expenses and payment of fees to Harvard.
MONTREALWater levels remained high but the flooding situation was largely stable in Quebec on Saturday with officials keeping close tabs on the weather in the coming days.

Quebec public security officials reported more than 5,300 residences in Quebec remain flooded and more than 10,400 people are as yet unable to return to their homes.

The Laurentians and Outaouais regions west of Montreal remain the hardest hit floods.

The vast majority of those forced from their homes  more than 5,500  are located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, northwest of Montreal in the Lower Laurentians, where the Lake of Two Mountains overflowed its banks just one week ago and breached a dike that was expected to be repaired later this year.

Read more:

Health and safety inspection teams head to flood-affected zones in New Brunswick

Health Canada warns victims of spring flooding about mould dangers

Water to stay high in Ottawa but second round of floods not expected, says Goodale

In Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, more than 1,900 people remained cut off from their residences.

But in a sign that things were improving, Canadian military personnel on the ground in Quebec reported a significant decrease in their assigned tasks in recent days.

They shifted operations to specific regions still facing flooding threats on Saturday.

Groups of military personnel will remain in location in Montreal, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau, ready to intervene should any critical tasks be identified by our partners, they said in a statement.

Numerous regions of the province have been hit hard by spring flooding in the last few weeks, including Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City and the Mauricie area in central Quebec.

In Montreal, councillors voted Friday to extend its state of emergency for five more days.

Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters while the situation remains stable, water levels havent dropped enough to lift the emergency declaration.

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Sylvia Consuelo, a slight 34-year-old woman with long, dark hair, was found dead on the floor of her Etobicoke apartment in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2016. A bunch of unopened condoms had been scattered over her body and she had been sexually assaulted with an object.

Three years later, a jury is set to decide whether Najib Amin, 31, murdered Consuelo because he believed  wrongly  that she was HIV-positive and had given HIV to three people through unprotected sex.

There is no DNA evidence in the case, no fingerprints or an eyewitness to the murder.

In closing arguments on Thursday, the case against Amin was described as entirely circumstantial and based mainly on two pieces of evidence: security footage from Consuelos building that shows Amin and the alleged murderer on different days wearing apparently identical clothing and secretly recorded conversations between Amin and undercover police officers during a months-long operation to see whether Amin would confess to killing Consuelo.

Amin was captured on surveillance cameras entering the Kendleton Dr. apartment complex  three Toronto Community Housing buildings joined together by basement tunnels  on Jan. 24, 2016.

On Jan. 30, 2016, three hours before Consuelo was found dead, a man enters the complex wearing what appear to be the same grey shoes, jeans, black leather jacket, black hat with white writing on it, and same striped shirt as Amin days before. Before entering the building the man pulls a scarf up over his face that the Crown argues is remarkably similar to one worn by a woman who was with Amin on Jan. 24. The man left the building just over an hour later, his face still covered.

Did someone break into Mr. Amins residence and raid his closet that day and just happen to steal and choose to wear these five, specific, distinctive pieces of clothing and then that person just happened to walk over to Sylvia Consuelos apartment, said prosecutor Scott Arnold in his closing address. It defies any coincidence.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Penman argued the clothing Amin was wearing  including the blue jeans with a white seagull-like pattern on the back pockets  are extremely common and that, as Amin told the undercover officers, his friends often borrowed his clothes.

Penman also argued there is no way to know the masked man is the same person who murdered Consuelo. There are no cameras in the building hallways or elevator and therefore no video showing whether the man went up to Consuelos floor or entered Consuelos unit. The jury heard about plenty of illegal activity occurring at the Kendleton Dr. complex, she said, suggesting the masked man could have been concealing his identity for another reason other than murder.

Once police identified Amin as a suspect, an undercover police operation was launched in April 2016. The plan was to have an officer befriend Amin and for them to become business partners with another officer posing as a wealthy businessman with the ability to make legal problems  even murder  go away.

The identities of the two undercover officers are covered by a publication ban.

The operation began when police arranged for Amin to win a $100 shopping spree at Square One mall after filling out a marketing survey about a shisha bar. An officer known to Amin as Ryan was made a fellow winner and the two men struck up a friendship after spending the day together. After the shopping spree, Amin, his girlfriend and Ryan were treated to a free meal by the marketing company at a nearby shisha bar where Amin was introduced to an undercover officer posing as Raz, a big-shot businessman hoping to open a shisha bar in London.

On one occasion Amin, his girlfriend and some other undercover officers went to Ripleys Aquarium to look at the sharks because Raz wanted to install a shark tank at his cottage, court heard.

Ryan and Amin continued to spend time together including at various strip clubs and Ryan began complaining about an ex-girlfriend called Jessie who had taken a gun he was keeping for his cousin.

While sitting in the parking lot of Albion Mall, Ryan asked Amin how he would kill a woman, hypothetically.

Amin said he would do it by jumping on top of her and using his hands to smother her mouth.

Like how long you leave it there for? Ryan asked about the hands.

Until she stops moving and after she stops moving keep holding it forfor another two minutes just to like confirm it, Amin responded.

The Crown argues this description is consistent with Consuelos cause of death  manual asphyxiation  and the internal injuries she suffered. The defence said the scenario described by Amin was generic and pointed out that he suggested other murder methods as well.

At one point the officer and Amin discuss Consuelos murder. Amin said Consuelo was a sex worker and that she had been strangled to death, beat up and brutally raped because she was f-king guys and shes not telling them to wear a condom, so she was spreading the disease.

Consuelo did not have HIV, the jury heard, and the close friend Amin named as having been diagnosed HIV-positive testified that hed been tested twice and did not have HIV.

As the police operation progressed Amin was told that Ryan killed his ex-girlfriend Jessie and that Raz was going to get rid of a witness by sending him to Florida.

By June, Ryan and Amin were planning to become business partners with Raz and they set up a meeting.

During the meeting Raz presented Amin with faked police documents that made it appear Amin was a suspect in Consuelos murder and that police were offering a $50,000 reward for information.

Raz offered to help Amin using his connections in the police force but said he needed to know what really happened first.

This is the circle of trust. OK, honesty, trust, loyalty, we move forward, he said.

Amin responded that he could not remember what happened that night.

I dont know everything was a blur like I wasI was s-t-faced that day, he said. I cant really recall nothing to be honest.

He said his friends had found out they had HIV.

I was just wrong place, wrong time, Amin said. He said again that he was blacked out I dont know what happened but I know they had to do something you know.

He said he needed to talk to the four other men with him that night, two of whom were now in jail, and that he doesnt know the true story.

Amin never did confess and eventually denied killing Consuelo.

He was arrested in November 2016 and charged with first-degree murder.

In her closing argument, defence lawyer Jennifer Penman, said that he fell completely for the police plan and would have confessed if hed done it. Amin did not testify during the trial.

Prosecutor Scott Arnold argued Amins answers revealed his motive to murder Consuelo. He said the jury should consider that Amin did not immediately deny he killed Consuelo when the officers presented him with the faked police information  instead replying that he didnt know what happened that night.

Penman said another man who lived in the same building as Consuelo was seen threatening her in the days prior to the murder over money that she owed him  a fact she said should give the jury enough basis for reasonable doubt about Amins guilt. One witness said she saw the man yell at Consuelo: Wheres my f-king moneyIf you dont give me that money now I will kill you.

The man, Lawrence Hibbard, was investigated by police as a potential suspect but was never charged. He testified Consuelo had owed him $250 but said she paid him back $150 the day before she was killed. He said he was friends with Consuelo and often fed her when she couldnt afford food.

Hi, this is Sylvia, said a handwritten note dated Jan. 29 that Hibbard said Consuelo left for him. This is what I can just afford for what you know that I owe you OK!!! So so next month will be a hundred dollars okiely.

In the note she offered to buy some stew meat the following Friday that Hibbard could cook for them.

Hibbard admitted that he could not recall where he was the night Consuelo died, exactly who he was with or if he had gone to her apartment that night. Everything was a blur, he said noting his addiction to crack cocaine at the time. But Hibbard said he was absolutely certain he did not kill Consuelo and repeatedly expressed shock at the brutality of her murder.

Likewhat kind of monster, he exclaimed during cross-examination before being interrupted by the judge.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Monday.
Toronto police have arrested a 41-year-old man for allegedly accessing, possessing and making available child pornography.

On Wednesday, April 24, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Bloor St. W. and Bathurst St., police said in a news release on Friday.

Jose Lopez Reyna, 41, of Toronto, has charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of access child pornography, one count of making child pornography available.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Thursday, April 25.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers in anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
Toronto police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly possessing and accessing child pornography.

On Tuesday, officers executed a search warrant in the area of Richmond St. and Spadina Ave., police said in a news release on Friday.

Mehdy Chaillou, 29, of Toronto was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of access to child pornography.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent to Canadas National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at www.cybertip.ca.
BANGKOKInstalled on a golden throne under a nine-tiered, white-and-gold umbrella resembling a wedding cake, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday as ruler of one of the worlds most enduring monarchies in solemn, elaborate ceremonies that sought to unite a fractured nation under gilded pageantry and centuries-old ritual.

The coronation the first in Thailand in nearly seven decades melded ancient spirituality with imperial traditions as the 66-year-old king was anointed with water consecrated by Hindu Brahmin priests and blessed by the incantations of saffron-clad Buddhist monks.

Then, inside a long hall lined with murals at Bangkoks Grand Palace, Vajiralongkorn was handed a collection of royal regalia: a sceptre, gold-embroidered slippers, a legendary sword that belonged to his 18th-century ancestors and a 16-pound pointed crown encrusted with diamonds that he fastened at his chin like a bike helmet.

In his first royal command, Vajiralongkorn, who will rule as King Rama X, the 10th monarch of the 237-year-old Chakri dynasty, pledged to forever reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the people.

The daylong spectacle the start of three days of ceremonies that have closed streets, snarled traffic and festooned one of Asias most frenetic capitals with yellow bunting, the colour of the king was marked by an extravagance rarely seen in the modern age.

Its purpose was clear: To reassert the monarchy as the guiding force of Thai public life at a time of deep political and social divisions.

Read more:

Thai king is officially crowned, boosting his regal power

As coronation begins, Thai kings future plans still unclear

Thai king appoints consort as queen ahead of coronation

In five days, Thailand is scheduled to release the official results of the March 24 elections, the first since a 2014 military coup. An army-backed party and opposition groups are each claiming the right to form the next government, threatening to unleash another period of gridlock and street protests that have gripped Thailand for more than a decade.

Although the king has ruled since shortly after the death of his long-serving and much loved father 21/2 years ago, the coronation was seen as an attempt to end the political crisis and help move the country forward under a democratically elected government.

The monarchy and the military have traditionally protected each other in Thailand, the army regularly intervening to depose elected governments it views as hostile. On the eve of the election, the king issued a statement calling on Thais to vote for good people which was interpreted to mean fervent nationalist, royalist, Buddhists (who) revere the king, according to Eugenie Merieau, a Thailand expert at the University of Gottingen in Germany.

Weeks earlier, the king had forbidden his elder sister, Ubolratana Mahidol, from running for prime minister for a party aligned with Thailands most powerful opposition figure. While the king said that it would be extremely inappropriate for a member of the royal family to enter politics, his statements signalled his plans to be a very interventionist king, Merieau said.

On Saturday, for a few hours, both sides of the political divide were together under the same red-painted ceiling at the palace.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling junta who is bidding to keep power, was one of eight male dignitaries, including palace religious scholars and senior members of the royal family, who poured sacred water on the kings hands in a ritual meant to show that the monarch had the support of all corners of the country.

The kings sister and ex-candidate, Ubolratana Mahidol, posted an Instagram selfie from the ceremony showing her alongside another royal sibling, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

These ceremonies confer sacredness to the king, Merieau said. Royal ceremonies provide a sense of continuity beyond questions of tradition and modernity, it embodies the principle of the Thai monarchy being the core of the Thai nation.

The rites broadcast nationwide began shortly before 10 a.m. when Vajiralongkorn, riding in the back of a pale yellow vintage limousine bearing the license plate number one, arrived at the Grand Palace, perched on a bend of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok.

Some Thais had gathered along the route wearing yellow, a few holding portraits of the king, others displaying bank notes with his face on them.

The king an intensely private monarch who rarely appears in public and lives much of the year in Germany waved as he drove past.

Im so delighted and impressed, said Kittipawan Noenyai, a 54-year-old woman who had been waiting four hours. I started weeping and then I raised his portrait and shouted, Long Live the King, hoping he would hear me.

I cant believe I saw him with my own eyes.

Arriving at the cream-coloured palace topped by golden spires, the king stepped out of the car wearing a white military-style jacket and gold sash. He walked along a red carpet, shielded from the piercing sun by an umbrella carried by a burly uniformed attendant in silk pants.

Men in military uniforms knelt as the king passed. His new wife, Queen Suthida, followed close behind in a pink silk dress and matching high heels.

Changing into a white toga-style garment with gold trim and plush white slippers, the king walked into a courtyard and sat under a white pavilion, where he was doused with water from a canopied shower head in what was called a purification bath.

Collected from across Bangkoks 76 provinces and consecrated by Brahmin priests at temples across the country, the holy water reflected the Hindu traditions that course through spiritual life in Thailand, where most people identify as Buddhist. The water dripped from the kings eyes and chin, the ablutions lasting several minutes as horns played in the background.

The king was then handed a white bathrobe and walked back into the palace trailed by the white-robed priests, many of whom were visibly sweating in the 97-degree heat. Inside the long hall, statuettes of Buddha and Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god who symbolizes auspicious beginnings, were placed side by side on a gilded stand.

Nearly half an hour passed before the king re-entered the ornate hall, now dressed in his royal vestments an embroidered golden robe, medallions and patterned silk breeches and sat on an octagonal throne made of fig wood. After receiving the sacred water from eight men including the prime minister, it was time for the key moment of the ceremony.

Sitting under the nine-tiered umbrella, his polished black shoes resting on a golden footstool, Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned by a priest kneeling before him. The priest handed the king the crown created in the late 18th century at the start of the Chakri dynasty and inspired by European royalty and the other royal paraphernalia.

Cannons sounded on the palace grounds, and bells clanged at temples.

The king then placed a yellow sash around the queen, who lay on the floor before him just as she had done during their surprise wedding ceremony days earlier. When it was over he stood up and scattered flower petals on the carpet in front of members of his family who also prostrated and bowed, including his 14-year-old son Dipangkorn. (The king has been married four times and has seven children.)

The royal family members got to their knees and picked the bits of flower out of the carpet as the king left the room, an announcer said on Thai television.

Criticizing the royal family is a criminal offense in Thailand some international news channels have been partially blocked in recent days to prevent the airing of potentially critical stories but not everyone was interested in the proceedings.

A 28-year-old sales representative in Bangkok, who gave his name only as Bon, said he didnt watch the ceremony because he had to work.

I have no time to sit in front of TV. I think its boring and its complicated to understand, he said.

The ceremonies would continue Sunday with a procession to a series of Buddhist temples, in which soldiers were to carry the king in a palanquin in temperatures that could approach 100 degrees. The king was also expected to confer titles on members of the royal families and other aides.

The coronation promotes the illusion of a united nation, Merieau said, but Thailand is as divided now as it was when the military seized power five years ago.

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BENGHAZI, Libya - Islamic State militants on Saturday killed at least nine soldiers in an attack on a training camp for the self-styled Libyan National Army in the countrys southwestern desert, officials said.

The militants drove their vehicles into the recently established training camp and clashed with guards near an air base seized earlier this year by the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, in the town of Sabha, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The medical centre in Sabha confirmed the death toll.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying at least 16 soldiers were killed or wounded.

Sabha is 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli, where Hifters forces are currently fighting to take control of the city from militias affiliated with a weak U.N.-supported government.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Friday that the month-long assault on Tripoli has displaced nearly 55,000 people.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said that at least 23 civilians have been killed since the LNA launched the offensive to take Tripoli on April 5.

The World Health Organization said the toll as of Thursday was 392 dead, including combatants and civilians. It said at least 1,936 were wounded.

The battle for Tripoli could ignite a civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Since Gahdafis ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

Hifter, who in recent years has been battling Islamic extremists and other militias across eastern Libya, says he is determined to restore stability to the North African country. His opponents view him as an aspiring autocrat and fear a return to one-man rule.
JOHANNESBURG - At 24, Abetse Mashigo was born a year after South Africas brutal apartheid system was dismantled. Yet she still feels frustrated by what she sees as continued economic inequality for its people.

And that will be on her mind as she and others vote May 8 to elect a president and parliament.

South Africa is a great country, but it has many shortfalls, Mashigo said, flicking her dreadlocks back with a flourish . Seeing the spectrum of both wealthy and poor, its a constant everyday struggle.

Many of the countrys young voters never directly experienced apartheids racial oppression and segregation that was ended in 1994 under South Africas first black president, Nelson Mandela, and his African National Congress. But they and others say they want to see more drastic change, and leaders of opposition parties are hoping to win their support.

Mashigo said she is angered by apartheids legacy, which keeps many blacks in poverty. She said shes impatient for change, and thats why she backs the Economic Freedom Fighters, known as the EFF, one of the three main parties among dozens vying for power in the election.

Im part of the Red Sea, she said, jokingly referring to the bright red clothing worn by supporters of the opposition party. I like the EFF because it is radical and different. Its rebellious, and I like that.

The party has pledged to seize white-owned land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks.

Mashigos 59-year-old father, Thamsanqa, watches with pride as his daughter voices her outspoken opinions. He shares many of her beliefs but has a more cautious approach, saying he is still undecided which party will get his vote.

Many older South Africans among the 26 million eligible voters still support for the ANC, which has governed for a quarter-century. But they also say they are disgusted by widespread corruption blamed on the party. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to root out corruption in the country. A former trade union representative, he came to power in February 2018 after Jacob Zuma resigned amid mounting scandals.

The elections are taking place amid growing pessimism. About 64% of South Africans are dissatisfied with the countrys democracy, an increase from 34% who described themselves as unhappy in 2013, according to a Pew Research poll released Friday.

I have voted in every election (since blacks could vote) and Im not going to miss this one, Thamsanqa Mashigo said. Ive never had doubts in my mind about who to vote for, but this time ... Im still deciding. ... There is doubt in my mind.

He described a frightening life under apartheid, when people disappeared. I think some families even today dont know what happened to their loved ones.

When apartheid ended, we were really excited about that. ... We had a black government and Mandela was president. That was progress! ... We said freedom at last was arriving in our lifetime!

Mashigo, who works in information technology, said he is now disappointed with the ANC.

The gap between black and white has just grown bigger and bigger. And by 25 years, I expect it to be much better. The gap should have closed, not totally, but at least be on the right track, he said, adding that the ANC should have focused on education and health care.

Like his daughter, he complained about rampant corruption and the high unemployment rate of 27%.

Unemployment is an even more pressing among the young, with nearly 40% of those under 34 without jobs, according to the governments Stats SA.

Although disillusioned with the ANC, Mashigo is suspicious of the Economic Freedom Fighters that his daughter supports.

He said he doesnt trust the EFFs firebrand leader Julius Malema because he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Malema was kicked out of the ANC after allegations of corruption surfaced.

These guys are disgruntled, thats all, Mashigo added.

Nor is he convinced by the other major opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It was started by white liberals but has attracted considerable black support, winning control of city councils in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It now has a black leader, Mmusi Maimane.

I dont think he controls the party the way a leader should control his party, Mashigo said, leaving him still undecided about how to vote.

There are 5.6 million registered voters between the ages of 18 to 29, nearly one-fifth of those eligible to cast ballots.

They could boost support for the Economic Freedom Fighters, which got about 6% of the vote in the 2014 election and is widely expected to improve on that number.

These elections are exciting for young voters, said Lwazi Khoza, a 22-year-old university student and project manager for YouthLab, a youth advocacy group.

The EFF are appealing to many young voters. The EFF leaders present themselves as rebellious and non-conformist, she said.

Khoza, who will be finishing her degree this year, said many young voters want change.

As a young black woman living in post-apartheid South Africa, I am frustrated by the slow pace of change. Yes, things have improved since the apartheid days, but not enough. Things have become stagnant, she said.

Are we free? Really? Or are we still being held down because of the past? she said. We cannot say we are on an equal playing field, educationally or economically. Thats why many young voters want to see change.

Makhumo Kwathi, an unemployed 25-year-old who lives with her parents in Soweto, Johannesburgs largest black township, said she is looking forward to voting.

I want my voice to be heard, Kwathi said. To be quite honest, Im not going to vote for the ANC, because the ANC has been giving us all these false hopes till now. ... All these scandals ... Now we can see where our money is going. The ANC is promising us the opposite of what they have been doing.

Kwathi, a high school graduate who is looking for work as a bank teller, would not say which party she will vote for but said she wants a new government that will create more jobs.

I want to see change. More youth need to be employed, she said. How can we, the youth, be the future of the country when we are unemployed? How can we go forward as a country?

___

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A slow-simmering political crisis that has gripped Venezuela for months appeared to be coming to a head this week as opposition politicians issued a direct challenge to the authority of President Nicolas Maduro.

The leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido, called for a military and popular uprising to oust Maduro from office, triggering a day of protest that turned violent but later fizzled. Maduro characterized the action as unconstitutional, while Guaido maintained it was a necessary move to restore legitimacy to the presidency.

Both sides now seem to be scrambling for control, with Maduro appearing alongside troops Thursday to reaffirm his status and Guaido admitting he does not have the necessary support.

This weeks attempted uprising failed to change the status quo. But the confrontation has been years in the making, driven by an economic downturn and political discontent. Heres what you need to know to understand how Venezuela came to this moment.

Venezuela is a country made rich by oil, and has seen that wealth evaporate.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and the countrys economy is largely tied to its oil wealth. This oil wealth once made the nation one of the richest in Latin America and helped stabilize its democracy, although the riches were not equally shared. But the past few years have seen the economy spiral toward collapse.

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The International Monetary Fund predicts that Venezuelas inflation rate will reach 10 million per cent in 2019, becoming one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in modern history. Experts say government mismanagement and corruption is the source of the countrys economic woes; Maduro blames damaging U.S. sanctions.

The legacy of Hugo Chavez looms large in Venezuela.

The legacy of President Hugo Chavez  Venezuelas former leader and founder of the countrys modern socialist system  still hangs over the nation more than six years after his death.

Chavez came to power in 1998, elected after a failed coup. He quickly rose from political outsider to popular figurehead, bringing in a socialist ideology that redistributed the countrys oil wealth and created a robust social welfare program.

His government seized private factories, mines and fields, and founded state companies and co-operatives. High oil prices contributed to a short-term reduction in inequality and poverty as social programs made food, housing and health care more widely available.

Within the country, the notoriously charismatic leader proved popular, but not universally so. During his years in office  he was re-elected in 2006  his leftist ideology and bombastic approach to foreign relations proved polarizing.

While his programs drew broad support from poor Venezuelans, they also alienated some of the countrys wealthy elites.

Maduro is Chavezs chosen heir.

Before his death from cancer in 2013, Chavez hand-selected his heir  Maduro, the current president. Adherents of his left-wing political ideology are known as Chavistas, and the group makes up the majority of Maduros current support base.

Like his predecessor, Maduro increased the executive branchs control of the country.

He has made strides to dismantle the countrys opposition-led legislature. And he oversaw a redrafting of the constitution that consolidated power under the presidency, steering the country toward autocracy, and moved to quash all dissenting voices through violence and intimidation.

The move drew reprimands from opposition politicians at home and from leaders internationally.

Two men  Maduro and Guaido  are now vying for control.

In January, Maduro was sworn in for a second term in office after an election that was widely denounced as fraudulent.

Two weeks after the inauguration, Guaido, then a little-known 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself the interim president, pointing to the constitution to declare Maduros presidency illegitimate. He vowed to hold new national elections.

The announcement brought tens of thousands of supporters to the streets, catapulted him to the international stage and saw the United States, Canada, and many Latin American and European countries recognize him as the legitimate head of state.

As a result, Maduro cut off the few remaining diplomatic ties with the United States.

The months since have been a tug of war between the two sides for popular support and control of the military.

Maduro still has the backing of the countrys top generals, a loyalty that Guaido may have underestimated as he called for the military to throw their support behind him. Maduro believes Guaidos effort to oust him is part of a coup engineered by the Trump administration.

The power struggle has played out in competing street demonstrations and with dual messaging to the population.

Last month, Guaido and his foreign allies tried to bring large amounts of aid into Venezuela from neighbouring countries, but Maduros forces sealed off the borders with Colombia and Brazil, saying the country didnt need the support.

His government later agreed to allow Red Cross aid into the country, which is suffering from a widespread humanitarian crisis triggered by the economic downturn.

The countrys humanitarian situation is dire.

While the political confrontation continues to play out, Venezuelans are struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis unseen in the countrys modern history.

In the once prosperous nation, people now find themselves unable to provide for their most basic needs. Hunger is widespread, and children are dying of malnutrition. The countrys public health care system has collapsed, and prolonged electricity outages are common.

The crisis has also triggered a vast regional migration as Venezuelans flee the countrys dire conditions, straining the resources of neighbouring nations.

Some 3.4 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations immigration authority, the majority settling in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. And as the political stalemate continues, little has been done to rectify the situation for everyday Venezuelans.

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BHUBANESWAR, INDIAFlights were cancelled.

Train service was out.

And one of the biggest storms in years was bearing down on Odisha, one of Indias poorest states, where millions of people live cheek by jowl in a low-lying coastal area in mud-and-stick shacks.

But government authorities in Odisha, along Indias eastern flank, hardly stood still. To warn people of what was coming, they deployed everything they had: 2.6 million text messages, 43,000 volunteers, nearly 1,000 emergency workers, television commercials, coastal sirens, buses, police officers, and public address systems blaring the same message on a loop, in local language, in very clear terms: A cyclone is coming. Get to the shelters.

It seems to have largely worked. Cyclone Fani slammed into Odisha on Friday morning with the force of a major hurricane, packing 120 mph (193 kph) winds. Trees were ripped from the ground and many coastal shacks smashed. It could have been catastrophic.

But as of early Saturday, mass casualties seemed to have been averted. While the full extent of the destruction remained unclear, only a few deaths had been reported, in what appeared to be an early-warning success story.

The most vulnerable people, it seemed, had gotten out of the way.

Experts say this is a remarkable achievement, especially in a poor state in a developing country, the product of a meticulous evacuation plan in which the authorities, sobered by past tragedies, moved 1 million people to safety, really fast.

Few would have expected this kind of organizational efficiency, said Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer and head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, a research organization. It is a major success.

The storm also hit neighbouring Bangladesh, but there, too, large numbers of casualties were avoided by evacuating more than 1 million people to shelters.

This is so different from 20 years ago, when a fearsome cyclone blasted into this same area and obliterated villages, killing thousands. Many people were caught flat-footed in their homes. Some of the dead were found miles from where they had lived, dragged away by raging cascades.

After that, the Odisha authorities vowed to ensure a disaster like that never felled them again.

We have a very serious commitment on this  there should not be any loss of life, said Bishnupada Sethi, the states special relief commissioner, who has been supervising the operation. This is not the work of a day or a month but of 20 years.

One of the first steps taken after the 1999 disaster was the construction of hundreds of cyclone shelters up and down the coast. The shelters were built up to a few miles from the shore.

They arent picturesque  picture a bare, two-story, peeling paint cement block rectangular building on stilts, almost resembling a crab. But the structures, designed by the faculty at one of Indias elite universities, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, have proved storm-worthy.

Over the past week, even when Fani was hundreds of miles away, Indian authorities had been closely watching. They had first picked up a large swirl on meteorological radar screens barrelling up from the equator, deep in the ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It was not yet a cyclone, but rather what meteorologists call a deep depression  a spiralling low-pressure storm that sucks in warm air. As it moves across warm waters, like those in the Bay of Bengal, the storm strengthens.

By mid-week, Fani had become a cyclone. Meteorologists accurately predicted its path. For days, they had been saying it would head straight up the Bay of Bengal and make landfall in Odisha.

The state of Odisha has around 46 million people, about the population of Spain, but many times poorer. The average income is less than $5 a day. The majority of people are farmers.

Along the coast, many men work on wooden fishing boats. As Fani approached, the boats were ordered ashore.

On Thursday morning, Odisha government officials released a five-page plan. They seemed to have left nothing uncovered. The most important part was to get people to the shelters. Since Odisha has been hit by many killer storms, state emergency officers said, they had drilled on their evacuation plans many times.

All emergency personnel were ordered to district operation centres. Government workers drafted lists of people in vulnerable houses, particularly the elderly and children.

Tourists at coastal hotels were advised to leave, and an enormous amount of equipment was readied to deal with the storms aftermath, including 300 power boats, two helicopters and many chain saws, to cut downed trees.

At the same time, truckloads of food and bottled water were delivered to the shelters.

As the sea turned frothy Thursday afternoon and the rain began to fall, the loudspeakers blared messages telling people to go to the nearest shelter as soon as possible.

In some areas, there was no choice. Police officers escorted the emergency workers who moved through the coastal towns, exhorting people to leave. Packed buses chugged up and down the roads around Puri, a coastal town that was predicted to get walloped. Each shelter could hold several hundred people. They quickly filled.

We moved here because it is safe, said Sabakali Mason, a man in his 50s who waited inside a shelter with his wife. Our house may collapse.

By Thursday night, most shelters were bustling concentrations of humanity, full of men, women and slightly dazed children. Some people had walked there; others had been scooped up by the free government buses. Families sat on the floors, eating together, listening to Fanis winds pick up speed.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, Fani screamed ashore, the eye passing near Puri, as predicted. In Bhubaneswar, Odishas state capital, about 40 miles north, huge tree limbs snapped in the lashing rain. No one ventured outside.

In Puri, the winds wrecked just about all the roadside kiosks. Officials said the gusts reached at least 100 mph (161 kph). They will never know, they said, because the gusts knocked down the machine that measures the wind.

The Odisha authorities said more than 100 people were injured. Indian news media reported several people had died, including some killed by flying debris.

But as the storm weakened and the worst seemed over, there was little doubt that the high level of preparedness had saved lives.

The government is usually dysfunctional in cases like this but the whole mobilization was quite impressive, said Singh, the former naval officer. Evacuating a million people in three or four days and providing them with not just shelter but also food is a big achievement in such a short time.

Krishan Kumar, an officer in the Khordha district of the Odisha government, said the governments success reflected an accumulated wisdom.

Every small cyclone or tsunami teaches you how to deal with the bigger ones, he said. If you dont learn from the past experiences, you will drown.

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KABULTaliban insurgents killed seven Afghan policemen after storming security checkpoints overnight in western Badghis province, a provincial official said Saturday.

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial councilman, said three other security forces were wounded late Friday during the attack in Qadis district.

The Taliban did not comment on the attack.

The Afghan defence ministry also said Saturday that 43 militants from the Daesh group, including foreign fighters, were killed in two separate coalition airstrikes during the night in co-ordination with Afghan forces. The statement said the airstrikes targeted Daesh in eastern Kunar provinces Chapadara district and killed several Pakistani and Uzbek nationals.

Among those killed was a prominent Uzbek militant leader identified in the statement as Ismail, who had previously co-operated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network but had recently joined Daesh.

Both the Taliban and Daesh are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces, which border Pakistan.

In eastern Ghani province, dozens of people carried eight bodies to the governors office in a protest Saturday, saying the dead were civilians killed during military operations.

The governors spokesperson, Arif Noori, confirmed that at least five civilians had been killed Friday night by Afghan and international forces, which were conducting operations against the Taliban in three areas in the province. Noori said 22 Taliban fighters were killed, including their group leader.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports the groups fighters were killed. He said several civilians were killed and wounded during the operations by Afghan and coalition forces in Ghazni.

The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, and despite ongoing peace talks with the U.S., the insurgent group refuses to stop fighting until U.S. and NATO troops withdraw.

In August last year the insurgents overran parts of Ghazni, leading to days of intense fighting before they were driven out.

Ghazni was the only one of Afghanistans 34 provinces where parliamentary elections did not take place in October. Voting there has been postponed for a year, according to the Election commission plan both presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on September 28 in the province.
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Far-right party leaders have accused the European Union of promoting migration policies that aim to destroy the values of EU member nations.

Marine Le Pen, leader of Frances National Rally, and Gerolf Annemans, president of the EU parliaments Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom alliance, attended a populist Bulgarian partys rally in Sofia on Friday.

Le Pen said the alliance expects elections this month to increase its presence in the European Parliament from 37 lawmakers to between 80 and 120.

She said: Nobody can ignore the dynamics of more and more parties joining us.

Le Pen also dismissed suggestions of a rift with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who as League party leader is recruiting members for the EU group.

She said: There is no competition between us; there is only solidarity.
LONDON - Britains Metropolitan Police force says a leak of details from a secret government discussion about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei does not amount to a crime.

Counterterrorism head Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Saturday he was satisfied the disclosure did not breach the Official Secrets Act. He said no crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police.

The government launched an investigation after media reports that a National Security Council meeting had agreed, against the advice of the United States, to let Huawei participate in some aspects of Britains new 5G wireless communications network.

Prime Minister Theresa May fired Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, saying there was compelling evidence he was to blame. He strongly denies responsibility.

Opposition politicians have called for police to investigate the leak.
KABUL, AFGHANISTANOn the second day of a traditional Afghan assembly this week, a delegate rose to speak on the topic at hand, peace in Afghanistan.

A bearded man from Kandahar ordered her to shut up.

He told her: Peace has nothing to do with you. Sit down, you should be in the kitchen cooking! recalled Behnoh Benod, 31, a male delegate who witnessed the put-down.

The assembly, known as a loya jirga, was convened by President Ashraf Ghani to debate Afghanistans path to peace. Organizers proudly pointed out that 30 per cent of the 3,200 delegates were women.

But several female delegates said they felt ignored, marginalized or patronized. They were told that men should lead the jirgas 51 committees and women should serve as secretaries. Some women complained that they were groped and fondled  not by men, but by women who patted them down during security checks.

Other women said they had been confronted by male delegates who claimed to support womens rights, but only under Shariah, or Islamic law  a view shared by the Taliban.

I asked them which Shariah law, the Taliban Shariah law or ISIS Shariah law, said a delegate, Sakina Hussaini, referring to Daesh.

Some men didnt accept women as human beings and I had to scream at them, she said.

Benod said just 16 of the delegates on his 108-member committee were women. A male delegate was selected as committee chair. Of the 51 committees, 13 were headed by women, and 28 elected women as committee secretaries.

For many women, the jirga got off to a dismaying start when Ghani appointed as chairman Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a combative former warlord known for his harsh views on womens rights. Things quickly went downhill when a female delegate complained directly to Sayyaf and was hustled out by security guards. Other delegates hooted and clapped to drown out her protest.

State-run television, RTA, which broadcast the proceedings, posted a banner on Twitter showing images of Ghani and Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban peace negotiator. Beside them were photos of two women with their faces covered  one by a niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes visible, and the other by a burqa, the all-encompassing garment forced upon women under the Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.

After a torrent of complaints on social media, a new banner appeared. Ghani and Stanekzai were still depicted, but four smiling women wearing head scarves that left their faces uncovered were added to the two with their faces concealed.

And on Monday, as the jirga opened, some female delegates arrived dressed in burqas.

Most of these women have come from provinces and they have no idea why they are here, said a delegate, Taiyaba Khavari.

Khavari and other women said they grew disillusioned as they were insulted or interrupted by male delegates.

Torpekai, 45, a delegate who goes by one name, said she had been pleased to be among war victims invited to Kabul. She said her 18-year-old son, a police officer, had been killed by the Taliban.

Torpekai said she had planned to tell delegates that she wanted the Taliban punished if a peace deal gave them a role in a postwar government. But the men who dominated the jirga did not bother to listen.

No one would hear me out, Torpekai said. They said women shouldnt be here  this isnt a discussion for women.

It was not just women who felt disillusioned by the jirga. Social media lit up with arch commentary from Afghans who dismissed the assembly as a patronage tool for Ghani. Some critics said the jirga usurped Afghanistans parliament.

The government shut down the capital for five days, giving government workers the week off while other Afghans fumed over blocked roads and security sweeps. Taxi drivers complained that they were cut off from fares. Shopkeepers moaned that customers could not reach them.

The jirga was caught up in a bruising presidential election campaign, in which Ghani is struggling to stay relevant while his government is excluded from peace talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Taliban and the United States. The militants refuse to meet with the government, calling it illegitimate.

Jirga organizers said it was an effective exercise in grassroots democracy that incorporated a wide range of Afghan society. Among the delegates were urban and rural residents, victims of war and terrorism, young people, traditional elders, and ulema, or Islamic religious scholars.

Organizers said that with the government sidelined at the peace talks, the jirga produced a national consensus on conditions for peace with the Taliban. The assemblys recommendations are not legally binding.

Its our sacred tradition, said Mohammed Umer Daudzai, who organized the gathering. I doubt that anybody will say consensus-building or dialogue is a bad idea.

At the close of the jirga on Friday, Ghani accepted its recommendation to seek a ceasefire, a goal of the Doha peace negotiations. He urged the Taliban to negotiate within Afghanistan and said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners.

Among other recommendations accepted by Ghani was a demand that any postwar government honour the Afghan constitution and protect the rights of women and children. He thanked the delegates, especially the women.

One delegate, Wazhma Tukhi, 25, said she was satisfied. The constitution protects our rights, and thats all Afghan women want, she said.

But another, Masuma Bahar, 24, said the jirga should have made a stronger case for preserving womens gains over the past 18 years. There were women on the board and they should have raised their voices, but they havent done anything, she said.

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The MOU was signed by ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites. Under the agreement, Indonesia and Timor-Leste will take actions to reduce barriers to cross-border land and air transportation and harmonize procedures at border crossing points. It also seeks to reduce animal health barriers to livestock trade and bolster tourism promotion in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Timor-Leste through joint marketing and itineraries. ADB will provide USD1 million in grant resources to support implementation of the MOU.

ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao, Indonesia Minister of Finance Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left), and Timor-Leste Minister (Acting) of Finance Ms. Sara Lobo Brites (right) at the signing in Nadi, Fiji, on May 4th 2019. (Source: ADB)

Regional cooperation and integration is critical for sustained and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific, said Mr. Nakao. This MOU represents a small but important step in our support for cross-border cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Supporting livelihoods in lagging border areas is critical to tackling inequality and ensuring our regions growing prosperity is shared by all.

The MOU builds on a Scoping Study on Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which ADB conducted at the request of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments. The study identified a variety of challenges and opportunities for cross-border cooperation and identified tourism and livestock as key sectors for short-term benefits through cooperation.

The Indonesian government is committed to reducing regional disparities in Indonesia, and Nusa Tenggara Timur is among the countrys lesser developed regions. This is being done through improvements in connectivity, accessibility, and capacity as well as cross-border economic collaboration. Ms. Indrawati signed the MOU as a complement to their existing national strategies and welcomed it as the next step in their relationship with ADB for support to border areas, and an additional collaboration with friends and colleagues in Timor-Leste.

Ms. Brites said, Timor-Leste has made significant strides since independence but if this is to continue, we must integrate more closely into ASEAN and the world economy as well as diversify our economy. Reducing barriers to trade and cooperation with our closest neighbors is an essential step in achieving this goal. We welcome the MOU with ADB and Indonesia as the start of an enduring and mutually beneficial partnership for growth./.
CAIRO - The Sudanese protesters who succeeded in driving President Omar al-Bashir from power say their revolution wont be complete until they have dismantled what many describe as an Islamist-dominated deep state that underpinned his 30-year rule.

That has already escalated tensions with the transitional military council, leading to the resignation of three Islamist members last month after the protesters refused to meet with them. An Islamist political party said protesters attacked one of its meetings , wounding more than 60 members in clashes, and a hard-line preacher cancelled a march in support of Islamic law over fears of violence.

The conflict between the pro-democracy protesters and Islamists could further stall the transition to civilian rule, already the subject of tense negotiations between the protesters and the military. It could also draw in regional powers as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look to counter Islamist factions across the region and Qatar and Turkey lend them support.

The 1989 military coup that brought al-Bashir to power was orchestrated by Hassan al-Turabi, a charismatic intellectual who founded the countrys modern Islamist movement. Fearing a Western backlash, al-Turabi disguised his Islamic revolution as a military coup, even having himself briefly detained in an effort to conceal his role.

Under al-Turabis guidance, the government imposed a harsh version of Islamic law in the 1990s that included amputations and stoning as punishment for some crimes, and which heavily restricted womens rights. It conscripted self-styled mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to battle rebels in Christian and animist south Sudan, and created an array of Islamist militias to impose its edicts. The government also welcomed Islamic militants from around the world, including Osama bin Laden, before expelling him in 1996 under international pressure.

Al-Bashir and al-Turabi later had a falling out, but even as al-Bashir adopted a more pragmatic stance in the 2000s, he remained committed to political Islam.

Al-Bashir and the Islamic movement went to great lengths to create an Islamist deep state, by establishing multiple security forces and shadow party militias, said Rosalind Marsden, an expert on Sudan at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank .

They politicized the army and other state institutions and enabled regime insiders to take control of key sectors and companies within the economy, she said. This Islamist deep state constitutes a formidable barrier to real change.

Its unclear how much support Islamists have outside the government. The last time Sudan held free elections, in 1986, al-Turabis National Islamic Front came in a distant third behind two long-established mainstream parties. The poor showing may have been behind al-Turabis decision to embark on a top-down Islamic revolution three years later.

The Popular Congress Party, established by al-Turabi after his falling out with al-Bashir in 1999, was part of the opposition for years before joining al-Bashirs government in 2017, a year after al-Turabis death. It did not officially support the protests against al-Bashir but criticized the crackdown against the protesters, which killed nearly 100 people. Abu Bakr Abdel Razek, a senior member of the PCP, said the group had martyrs among the protesters killed in the crackdown, and had threatened to withdraw from the government if al-Bashir forcibly dispersed the main sit-in.

The party held a meeting last week that it said was attacked by protesters. Both the military council and the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir, condemned the violence. But the protesters often chant slogans against Islamists at their rallies, referring to them by the slang word keizan.

The PCP and other Islamists have gravitated toward the military council in the weeks since al-Bashirs April 11 ouster.

Most of the Islamist groups have been supporting a strong role for the military in the transitional period, probably because they see them as a potential shield against secularists in the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change, said Willow Berridge, a professor at Newcastle University who has written a book about al-Turabi and Sudans Islamists.

In a Friday sermon in late April, Abdel-Hay Youssef, an ultraconservative preacher in Khartoum with a wide following, accused the protest movement of seeking to dictate their own will on the people.

Did you take to the streets to impose laws that contradict peoples identity and to divorce Gods Shariah (Islamic law) from the government? he asked. Youssef rejected the blueprint for transition to civilian rule suggested by protesters and called upon the military to protect the role of Islam in the government. He later called for a mass rally in support of Shariah, but cancelled it after saying he had received assurances from the military council that Islamic laws would not be abolished.

The military council is led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, a rare non-Islamist among the top military brass. Three Islamist members of the council resigned last month after the protesters complained that they were too close to al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum along with several other top officials.

The two sides have yet to agree on a blueprint for the transition, and the protesters have vowed to stay in the streets until the military hands power to civilians. At a mass rally on Thursday, protesters chanted: Dirty Burhan, who brought him? It is the Islamists.

Any clean break (with the former regime) would require dismantling the shadow Islamist militias and comprehensive security sector reform under civilian oversight, said Marsden, the Sudan expert. This process is likely to take some time as the deep state has been created over a period of 30 years.

___

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A former New York schoolteacher who was convicted of killing her lovers wife in a sensational case dubbed the Fatal Attraction murder has been granted parole.

Carolyn Warmus will be released from Bedford Hills prison as early as June 10 after a three-member panel of the state Parole Board granted her release. The decision was first reported in the Journal News .

Warmus, now 55, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 1992 for the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon.

Prosecutors said Warmus was having an affair with the victims husband, fellow teacher Paul Solomon, when she fired nine gunshots at Betty Jeanne Solomon in the victims home in Greenburgh, New York on Jan. 15, 1989.

Warmus first trial ended in a hung jury in 1991 with the jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favour of conviction. She was found guilty of second-degree murder a year later.

A key witness in the trial was New York City private investigator Vincent Parco, who testified that he had sold Warmus a .25-calibre handgun with a silencer days before the killing.

Warmus, the daughter of a wealthy Michigan insurance executive, has always maintained her innocence. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2017.

Mayer Morganroth, an attorney for Warmus, said in an email, We are indeed pleased that release has been granted. He said Warmus legal team would be busy putting the particulars of her future in place.

Paul Solomon declined to comment to the Journal News about Warmus parole.

The case was dubbed the Fatal Attraction killing after the 1987 movie starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas.
HUGO, Okla. - Authorities in Oklahoma on Friday identified two police officers present when at least one of them shot into a pickup truck last week and wounded three children and a man suspected in a robbery.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman confirmed that Hugo police detectives Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were placed on paid leave after the April 26 shooting that hurt 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith and the children, ages 5, 4 and 1. All have been released from the hospital.

Smith is suspected in an April 11 armed robbery of a Pizza Hut in Hugo, about 180 miles (290 kilometres) southeast of Oklahoma City and near the Texas state line. He is being held in the Choctaw County Jail on a pending robbery charge.

OSBI says Smith and the children were in a truck outside a Hugo community centre that serves food when police fired. Its unclear whether Smith had a gun.

Local police have not said how they connected Smith to the restaurant robbery. Calls to the Hugo Police Department went unanswered Friday, and the department Facebook page was no longer available.

Residents and others have demonstrated in Hugo as they await more information. State Rep. Justin Humphrey, whose district includes Hugo, said he has met with community leaders is pushing authorities to be open about the investigation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

It meant chaos and terror for passengers in the Boeing 737 as the plane jolted back and forth and oxygen masks deployed, then overhead bins opened, sending contents spilling out.

But authorities said all the people onboard emerged without critical injuries Friday night, lining up on the wings as they waited to be rescued. Only a 3-month-old baby was hospitalized, and that was done out of an abundance of caution, officials said.

I think it is a miracle, said Capt. Michael Connor, the bases commanding officer, hours after the plane landed. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators Saturday to the crash site in the St. Johns River in north Florida, where the aircraft was still partially submerged in shallow water and its nose cone was sliced off, apparently from the impact. Two pet cats and a dog were still on the plane as well, and their status wasnt immediately clear.

Rescuers looked in the cargo area after the plane ended up in the river but saw no crates and heard no animal noises. When they returned later, they didnt see any pet carriers above water, Connor said.

Members of the 16-person NTSB team recovered the planes flight data recorder Saturday.

Investigators will examine the aircraft, the environment and human factors in trying to discover why the plane rolled into the river. The pavement on the runway wasnt grooved, and Landsberg said grooves can help the water flow off the pavement more quickly. He said investigators will examine what role that may have, with reported heavy rain during the landing.

The flight took off Friday from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven crew members. It was a regular charter run by Miami Air International, which has many military contracts, including weekly flights between Guantanamo Bay and the Jacksonville air station as well as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The company didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

The aircraft had no prior history of accidents, said NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg.

Among those onboard was Cheryl Bormann, a defence attorney, who described the chaotic landing.

The plane literally hit the ground and then it bounced. It was clear that the pilot did not have complete control of the plane because it bounced some more, it swerved and tilted left and right, she told CNN. The pilot was trying to control it but couldnt, and then all of a sudden it smashed into something.

Bormann said people werent screaming because the flight staff worked quickly to give direction. Everyone onboard helped one another to put on their life vests and then evacuated to safety.

A veteran death penalty attorney from Chicago, Bormann has been defending Walid bin Attash, who is charged with helping to train some of the 9-11 hijackers. The U.S. holds 40 men at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. It has been prosecuting some of them by military commissions, including five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Their cases have been in the pretrial stage since May 2012 and no trial has been scheduled.

Authorities say everyone onboard the flight was alive and accounted for, but nearly two dozen people sought medical attention.

The passengers were a mix of military personnel and families, and a few civilians. While some were staying in the area, others planned to fly on to other parts of the country, Connor said.

It wasnt immediately clear what went wrong. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information.

Connor said he didnt know what impact the weather had on the flight. I was at home when this happened and there were thunderstorms and lightning, he said.

The plane had been expected to return to Cuba on Saturday to carry other members of the military, lawyers and others to Andrews after this weeks military commission hearings of people charged with war crimes.

It wasnt immediately clear how long it would take to remove the plane from the river.

We have challenges because bottom half of fuselage is covered with water, Landsberg said.

Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the riverbed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away. He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers safety.

The smell of fuel and oil was pungent as AP journalists went by boat for a closer look. The bottom of the plane was under water, making it difficult to access the cargo hold.

Were obviously very concerned about the environment and were doing everything we can to contain it, Connor said about the fuel. Once we were assured that personnel were safe, our next priority effort was to ... contain any type of fuel.

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Schneider reported from Orlando. Other Associated Press contributors include Ben Fox in Washington, David Fischer in Miami and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES - The Latest on California reviewing how Catholic dioceses handled sex-abuse allegations (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how all 12 Roman Catholic dioceses in the state handled allegations of child sex abuse.

A spokesman for the Sacramento diocese tells the Sacramento Bee that Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent letters out Thursday asking the dioceses to preserve documents relating to clergy sex abuse. One letter indicated the disclosure would be voluntary.

The Sacramento diocese and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles indicated that they will co-operate.

Dioceses around the country have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.

The LA archdiocese alone has paid out about $740 million in settlements to victims. Several dioceses around the state have released lists naming dozens of priests that over the years and decades had been credibly accused of sex abuse.

Last November, Becerra urged victims to submit complaints of clerical sex abuse to his office.

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4:34 p.m.

The California attorney generals office will review how the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled allegations of child sex abuse.

The Los Angeles Times says Attorney General Xavier Becerra notified Archbishop Jose Gomez of the review in a letter Thursday asking the archdiocese to preserve documents relating to clergy abuse allegations.

In a statement, the archdiocese says it continues to fully co-operate with all civil authorities.

The archdiocese has paid $740 million in settlements to victims. Last year, it raised its tally of accused priests to 323.

Its one of many around the country that have faced lawsuits and accusations that officials ignored clerical sex abuse or swept it under the rug.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pences visits to Louisiana and Kentucky:

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8:20 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence has made a stop in Kentucky, speaking to employees at an equine feed company where Gov. Matt Bevin also appeared.

WKYT-TV reports Pence stopped at Hallway Feeds in Lexington on Friday on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Pence campaigned earlier this year for Bevin in Lexington, supporting Bevins re-election race. The primary in May 21.

Pence was also expected to attend a gala in Frankfort.

The White House said earlier that Pence would meet with employees at the small business to talk about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. Trade policies are a big issue for Kentuckys business sector. The states renowned bourbon industry has been hit with retaliatory tariffs in some key markets as part of broader trade disputes.

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2:50 p.m.

Speaking in front of the remains of an African American church in Louisiana torched by an arsonist, Vice-President Mike Pence says attacks on communities of faith have become all too frequent.

Pence was meeting with parishioners and pastors of the three churches that were burned in March and April. He spoke Friday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

He praised the church members for their response to the blazes  particularly the forgiveness offered to the man accused of setting the blazes  and said their faith and courage has inspired the nation.

A local sheriffs deputys 21-year-old son, Holden Matthews, has been charged with offences including arson in burnings. He has pleaded not guilty.

A crowdfunding campaign for the churches restoration has raised more than $2.1 million.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, received an honorary doctorate degree Friday from the university where her presence brought mobs of protesters in 1956.

The Tuscaloosa News reported that Foster, 89 received the degree during graduation ceremonies. She enrolled at the all-white university in 1956. However, she was expelled three days later after her presence brought protests and threats against her life.

Foster received a standing ovation Friday, news outlets report.

Before receiving the honour, she remarked on the difference in seeing smiling faces instead of frowning and displeased at my being here.

I sat down last night, and when I thought about it, I was crying. The tears were just rolling down my eyes because it is so different and so unique for me to be able to come to such a university as this. That is a wonderful campus out there, Foster told the newspaper.

Her brief enrolment came after a lengthy court battle. She had first applied to the university in 1952 after earning a degree in English from Miles College, but her acceptance was rescinded because she was not white.

African American students did not return to the campus until 1963 when Gov. George Wallace made his infamous stand in the school house door.

Foster earned a masters degree in education from the university in 1991, more than 35 years after attending her first class. She waited until 1992 to graduate to share the moment with her daughter, who is also a UA alumna.

The university recognized Foster in 2017 with a historic marker in front of Graves Hall which houses the college of education. The university also named the clock tower at Malone Hood Plaza after Foster.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - When Jean Tsigonis leaves Tanana Valley Clinic after nearly 38 years of working as a family physician, she doesnt think of it as retiring. She is just repurposing.

This has been my ideal job, said the lifelong Fairbanks resident. I want to leave it while Im still loving it.

A family practice physician, Tsigonis grew up in Fairbanks, and attended schools here, including Lathrop High School. She thought maybe shed like to be a veterinarian, then changed that goal to physical therapy. She wound up graduating from Stanford with a degree in micro-biology and applied to med school, enrolling as a students in the first year-round WWAMI program at the University of Washington.

WWAMI is a medical school program that allows students to train in their home states, through collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine and University of Alaska.

All those years ago, she and her classmates pondered what medical specialties they might pursue.

I dont know, she recalled thinking, but Im sure I dont want to be a psychiatrist.

Of course 30% of our practice is psychiatry. She laughed. I love every aspect of medicine. Every rotation I loved. But the only one where you can do everything in is family practice.

As her schooling continued, she accepted a residency at Dartmouth in Maine but was able to come home to Fairbanks to complete some of her medical electives. During one of those visits, she accepted an unexpected job offer and sealed the deal with a handshake.

She loaded up her old Datsun and headed back to Alaska, from Maine. She has been here ever since, providing medical services for friends and family and many new friends.

I just cant describe it, Tsigonis said. I am leaving at a high point. I was Doctor of the Year last year. Im chairman of the Physician Wellness Program and that is my new passion.

After turning 60, Tsigonis went back to school and earned a masters degree in public health.

At some point, I thought individual practice would lose its pizazz, and at some point, I want to take care of the greater good, she said.

Plus, new positions were added to the hospital called hospitalists. These are people whose sole job is to take care of patients who are hospitalized. Physicians still can visit patients, but their care is the prime responsibility of hospitalists.

Tsigonis needed a new passion to get through that change. So it made sense to go back to college. She chose the University of Alaska Anchorage.

My thesis was Physician Burnout: Did We Have It? I proved we had it, Tsigonis said.

College today is totally different from the last time she attended college.

I hadnt written a paper in 40 years, she said. It was extremely difficult for me, as far as anxiety.

Online classes were challenging because they were so depersonalized.

I would turn stuff in, and I didnt know if they could feel my passion for the subject, Tsigonis said.

As for the math? Tsigonis was used to using a slide rule, not a calculator.

Now, with her new degree in hand, Tsigonis wants to put what she has learned into action and has already produced a power point of solutions for physician burnout, which she considers a public health problem.

Other than that, she has no specific plans for the next stage of her life. She figures it will just become obvious as the days go by.

My son, my daughter and my daughter-in-law are all in medicine, so I feel like Ive passed a baton, Tsigonis said. I have five kids, theyre all gainfully employed. Its a good time to retire.

Her family is more excited than she is, she said. She plans to spend lots of time with her four grandchildren.

Instead of fitting them into my schedule, theyll be my schedule, Tsigonis said.

Her future repurposing will likely include community service work to foreign lands and maybe filling in for local physicians. Her license remains current, she said. She hopes to help mentor new physicians.

One thing is for sure, she wont be binge watching any television shows. She got rid of the family television set about 10 years ago.

She has already signed up to teach a class at OLLI and to take a photography class.

For her retirement party, she has invited all of her patients to the event from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Birch Hill Ski Area.

She wanted a chance to tell them what they mean to her.

I have several four-generation families, and theyre going to hear what I have to say, Tsigonis said.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
ATLANTA - The University of Georgia has barred a longtime math professor from campus as investigators review several sexual misconduct complaints against him.

The university confirmed in a statement Friday that its Equal Opportunity Office is investigating the professor, William Kazez, whos been a faculty member at UGA for about three decades, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

At least seven women  students and faculty  have come forward recently with complaints of unwanted touching, groping and sex acts by Kazez, said Decatur attorney Lisa Anderson, who represents two of the women who filed the complaints.

Anderson said the accusations from the women go back at least to 2014.

The university statement says Kazez has been banned from campus and isnt teaching while the investigation is underway.

The university said it would not discuss the specifics of its probe, but stressed it will vigorously investigate and impose sanctions on faculty and employees found to have engaged in sexual misconduct.

An attorney representing Kazez told the newspaper Kazez denies acting unlawfully toward the students. He also said Kazez had not had any prior Equal Opportunity Office complaints against him in his UGA career.

Dr. Kazez has empathy for the accusers, however, some of their assertions have changed over time, and others could not have happened as alleged, said his attorney, Janet E. Hill. At this point, no violations have been proven. The University of Georgia has a process to investigate allegations such as these which is designed to protect the rights of the accusers and the accused. Dr. Kazez looks forward to resolving this matter through the established legal processes rather than in the court of public opinion.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Witches were still being burned at the stake when Sir Matthew Hale came up with his legal theory that rape could not happen within marriage. The 17th century English jurist declared it legally impossible because wedding vows implied a wifes ongoing consent to sex.

Three and a half centuries later, vestiges of the so-called marital rape exemption or spousal defence still exist in most states  remnants of the English common law that helped inform American legal traditions. Legislative attempts to end or modify those exemptions have a mixed record but have received renewed attention in the #MeToo era.

The most recent efforts to roll back protections for spouses focus on rapes that happen when a partner is drugged, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Minnesota is the latest to take action. The state Legislature this week voted to eliminate the exemption, which had prevented prosecutions in those cases.

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Gov. Tim Walz said as he signed the bill into law on Thursday. The concept of a pre-existing relationship defence should have never been part of our criminal statutes.

In Ohio, determined opponents plan to re-introduce a marital rape bill this month, after two earlier attempts failed.

Former lawmaker and prosecutor Greta Johnson was the first to introduce the Ohio legislation in 2015. She said having to address whether a woman was married to her attacker as part of sexual assault prosecutions struck her as appalling and archaic.

Certainly, there was a marital exemption lifted years ago, but it was just for what in the prosecutorial world we call the force element  by force or threat of force, she said. You could still drug your spouse and have sex with them, and its not rape. You could commit sexual imposition against your spouse, and its not a crime. It was really troubling.

All 50 states had laws making marital rape a crime by 1993, whether as a result of the two preceding decades of activism by womens rights groups or because of a pivotal court ruling. Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men have been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National surveys have placed the percentage of women raped within marriage between 10% and 14%.

Still, many states marital rape laws have loopholes  not only involving the victims capacity to consent, but related to age, relationship, use of force or the nature of the penetration. Some impose short timeframes for victims to report spousal rape.

A recent Maryland bill sought to erase the marital exemption for all sex crimes.

During discussion of the bill, one skeptical male lawmaker wondered whether a spouse might be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind during an argument. Maryland Del. Frank Conaway Jr., a Baltimore Democrat, raised religious concerns.

If your religion believes if youre married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? he asked.

No, I would actually say that the First Amendment would prevent the state from getting entangled in that sort of judgment, replied Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. So you would have to rely on your faith and your commitment to that to not bring those charges. But thats no place for the General Assembly.

The bill died in March.

Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of the Law said the Maryland debate touched on some of the common rationales for the marital rape exemption over the centuries.

One is Hales premise from the 1670s that marriage implies irrevocable consent and even property rights by the husband over his wife and her body. Those ideas have never truly disappeared, said Weisberg, author of a new reference book on domestic violence law.

She said other arguments for such laws are that marital privacy is a constitutional right, as when spouses cant be forced to testify against one another in court, that marital rape isnt serious enough to criminalize and that it would be difficult to prove.

For those and other reasons, Weisberg said marital rape laws have not kept pace with other domestic violence laws. That means in some cases an unmarried domestic partner has more legal protections against attack than a spouse.

Changing attitudes  and laws  about marital rape is what drove Jenny Teeson to go public this year with her story.

The 39-year-old from Andover, Minnesota, was going through a divorce in 2017 when she discovered a flash drive with videos taken by her husband. They showed him penetrating her with an object while she lay drugged and unconscious. In one, their 4-year-old lay next to her on the bed.

Teeson turned the videos over to the police. After an investigation, her husband was charged with third-degree criminal sexual assault against an incapacitated victim. Charges were brought in the morning  but dropped by afternoon because of the states marital rape exemption.

I was beside myself, she told The Associated Press.

Her ex-husband ultimately pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanour charge of invading her privacy and served 30 days in the county jail. Still shocked that he could not be charged with a felony because of the state law, Teeson decided to take action.

I thought if I cant have the law be in place to keep myself, my kids and my community safe, I could wallow in it, or I could do something about it, she said.

The AP does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Teeson has shared her story publicly, including during testimony before legislative committees. Democratic state Sen. Karla Bigham credited Teesons advocacy for persuading lawmakers to pass the bill.

She had to relive the trauma every time she shared her story, Bigham told her colleagues during a debate in the Senate chamber this past week. Her voice speaks loudly to those women who deserve justice. Lets do the right thing. Lets right this wrong.

AEquitas, a resource for prosecutors, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of the exemption for spouses who rape partners when they are drugged or otherwise incapacitated: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming.

In Ohio, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, a Democrat, said shes not optimistic the upcoming version of the marital rape bill will be any more successful in the Republican-controlled Legislature than it has been in the past.

But at least one past opponent  the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association  has evolved on the issue. Executive Director Lou Tobin said he expects the group will support a bill that seeks to eliminate the exemption.

In the past, I know that theres been some concern that these cases are difficult to prove; they can be a lot of he-said, she-said back and forth, Tobin said. But sorting through those things is what prosecutors are for.

Boggs bill would again call for removing references to the marital exemption throughout Ohios criminal code. Her argument in favour of it is straightforward.

Our rationale for introducing this legislation is simply that your legal relationship to another human being shouldnt give you permission to rape them, she said.

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Karnowski reported from St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth and Steve Karnowski at https://twitter.com/skarnowski
STOUGHTON, Mass. - Police in Massachusetts say a man stabbed his wife to death and tried to kill himself while their two children were in the familys home.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara identified the woman Saturday as 43-year-old Telma Bras and the man as 48-year-old Ilton Rodrigues.

Authorities responded to their home in Stoughton late Friday after their high school-age daughter called a relative, who contacted police. Officers say they found Bras dead with apparent stab wounds and Rodrigues with life-threatening injuries consistent with a suicide attempt.

Police say Rodrigues is expected to survive and will be arraigned on a murder charge when doctors clear him for the proceeding.

Officials say arrangements have been made for the care of the daughter and an elementary school-age son.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Latest on the Democratic candidates running for president (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Joe Biden is emphasizing voting rights in his first presidential campaign stop in South Carolina.

He told supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, that Republican laws making it harder to vote amount to a new era of segregation laws. You see it, he said Saturday. You got Jim Crow sneaking back in.

The former vice-president added that the Justice Department in a Biden administration would be aggressive in making sure it doesnt happen. Biden said nearly half of U.S. states in recent years have considered or adopted stricter voting laws that Biden said target mostly ... people of colour.

Many GOP-run states have enacted strict voter identification laws and curbed early voting hours. Some Republican secretaries of state have aggressively removed some voters from rolls.

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5:15 p.m.

Joe and Jill Biden are emphasizing their long ties to South Carolina as the former vice-president makes his first presidential campaign stop in the Souths first primary state.

At a rally in Columbia, South Carolina, Jill Biden said the couple came to South Carolina to grieve after Bidens son, Beau, died of cancer in 2015. Joe and I love South Carolina, she said.

The former vice-president credited the late South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings for convincing him not to abandon public office after Bidens first wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident weeks after his election to the Senate in 1972.

Biden also noted his friendship with the local congressman, Jim Clyburn, one of the top-ranking House Democrats. Clyburn, who typically doesnt endorse before the South Carolina presidential primary, is not attending Bidens event, but Biden noted one of Clyburns daughters was at the rally.

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2:25 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is warning that the nation remains at risk for further foreign interference in its elections and that President Donald Trump puts us squarely in trouble with his public warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is running for president, says special counsel Robert Muellers report demonstrated conclusively that Russia attacked our electoral system with the purpose of helping Donald Trump.

She says Trump then turns around two weeks later and says were all good on this? Were not all good on this.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that his call with Putin the previous day was a sign of tremendous potential for a good/great relationship with Russia.

Warren spoke to reporters after a campaign stop in Iowa.

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2:10 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and former Marine, is calling for more funding for the State Department.

His remarks Saturday while campaigning in New Hampshire evoked former U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who said if funding for the State Department is cut, then I need to buy more ammunition.

Moulton talked about how his own experience serving in the Middle East showed the importance of diplomacy.

He said, When the State Department goes in first to these conflicts they prevent having to send American troops. So the more money that we invest in the State Department, it doesnt just save ammunition. It saves American lives.

Under his presidency, Moulton said, we will see a lot less money in the military compared to the State Department.

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1:45 p.m.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is knocking President Donald Trump as being too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent phone call.

Trump and Putin on Friday had their first known call since the release of the special counsels report on Russian election meddling, and Trump said he didnt warn the Russian president against interfering in future elections.

Klobuchar, a Democratic presidential candidate, said her message would be very different. What I would say when Im president to Vladimir Putin is that weve got your number, Ive got the FBI after you, Ive got the CIA looking at all of this, Ive figured out what you guys are up to and were going to protect our elections and were going to put increasing sanctions on against you.

Klobuchar also said she was frustrated congressional investigators havent been able to question special counsel Robert Mueller, whom she described as the witness we need to go after Russia so that they dont attack our elections again.

She spoke to reporters after an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.

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1:20 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke says the legacies of slavery, of segregation, of Jim Crow, of suppression are alive and well today.

The former Texas congressman has given the commencement address at historically black Paul Quinn College in Dallas. Hes spoken about overcoming past institutional racism but says the work is far from over.

Hes previously expressed support for creating a commission to study economic reparations for black Americans.

ORourke plans to campaign later Saturday in Iowa.

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1:30 a.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is focusing his 2020 White House campaign on South Carolina while several other candidates are spending time in Iowa, another early-voting state.

Biden is making his debut visit in the first-in-the-South primary state with a stop in Columbia, the capital. Biden is trying to see whether his message will resonate among black voters whose support will be crucial.

Iowa is the focus for many others in the race. That includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Beto ORourke, a former Texas congressman.

Scheduled to be in New Hampshire are Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman, and John Hickenlooper, a former Colorado governor.
STERLING, Va. - President Donald Trump criticized social media companies after Facebook banned a number of extremist figures, declaring that he was monitoring and watching, closely!!

Trump, who tweeted and re-tweeted complaints Friday and Saturday, said he would monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.  He has previously asserted that social media companies exhibit bias against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.

The presidents comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on dangerous individuals. The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories. The latest bans apply both to Facebooks main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts.

Facebooks move signalled renewed effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism. The company said it has always banned people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.

On Twitter, Trump cited a number of individuals he said were being unfairly treated by social media companies, including Watson and actor James Woods. He insisted it was getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

Woods, one of Hollywoods most outspoken conservatives, has had his Twitter account locked. Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said Woods will need to delete a tweet that violated Twitter rules before he can be reinstated.

We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, Rosborough said.

Trump, who uses Twitter extensively to push his message, recently met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the White House after attacking the company and complaining that it was not treating him well because he was a Republican. He later described it as a great meeting.

The president had more than social media on his mind Saturday. Trump also tweeted that he was holding out hopes for a deal with North Korea on its nuclear program, as well as improved relations with Russia, now that he feels the special counsel investigation is behind him.
Its a little hard to remember now, but there was a time when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple of school lunch bags, not cause to dial 911.

That was back when the student with asthma that everyone worried about in gym class might well have been the only kid in school with asthma. Playground equipment was designed for fun, not just safety, kids played in the dirt with their grubby siblings and even grubbier dog, and office buildings and malls werent littered with vats of antibacterial hand-sanitizing gel.

Now, by and large, kids are kept clean and safe, our houses are sparking with special products for every room, and hygiene-related marketing urges us to sanitize anything and everything we can. Along with all that, though, its now estimated that one Canadian in 13 is allergic to at least one type of food.

Thats about two children in every classroom. Other types of allergies are also rising, along with autoimmune conditions such as asthma and eczema.

It seems our obsession with cleanliness and health is actually making us less healthy.

How ironic is that?

Now we seem to be having second thoughts. Scientists are conducting research that (sort of) revives that old five-second rule for how long food can be dropped and still acceptably consumed. Others are contemplating the possibility of developing a barnyard dust vaccine to give urban kids some of the stuff that results in their farming counterparts lower allergy rates. And Canadian microbiologists are published authors under the catchy title, Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Our Children from an Oversanitized World.

As with anything, all this comes with the usual caveats: its complicated, there are multiple factors for everything, and research is still ongoing.

But its increasingly clear that being exposed to microbes, especially in childhood, makes for a healthier immune system.

Humans evolved to survive our environment. Now were sanitizing it. And our bodies just dont seem to be handling that well.

When the immune system isnt properly trained it can overreact to normally harmless things. Cue the rise in allergies.

This phenomenon is getting an increasing amount of attention  nut bans and EpiPen shortages have a way of doing that. But its not new. A British physician studying the rise of hay fever as long ago as the 1880s wryly noted: Summer sneezing goes hand-in-hand with culture, we may, perhaps, infer that the higher we rise in the intellectual scale, the more is the tendency developed.

Certainly the medical and scientific community is not suggesting we abandon modern progress. Water treatment is great; so too are vaccines for once deadly and debilitating diseases. In lots of ways, were far better off than we used to be.

But our push for health and cleanliness and perfection in all things is giving rise to a different, more modern kind of unhealthiness.

Antibiotics kill bacteria, both the good and the bad, leaving us with less of the beneficial stuff in our gastrointestinal tracts and increasing our susceptibility to allergies and illness.

And the dangerous bacteria thats not killed with the inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics is rebounding with a vengeance.

The United Nations has declared antibiotic-resistant superbugs to be one of the biggest threats to global health. Britain's chief medical officer, Sally Davies, has called these superbugs a threat as serious as terrorism and natural disasters.

Thats awfully scary and drives people to pump the hand sanitizer like their life depended on it. Which, of course, is the opposite of what were now learning is good for us and the environment.

We became so scared of germs that we raced to embrace products full of chemical compounds we cant even pronounce. How does that make any sense?

But amid all this doom and gloom there was a spot of good news this past month.

A new Canadian study, by the University of British Columbia and B.C. Childrens Hospital, suggests most preschoolers who are allergic to peanuts can be safely treated with small amounts of peanut protein.

While oral immunotheraphy  where patients are directed to eat small amounts of an allergenic food to gradually build up tolerance to it  isnt new, this study led by pediatric allergist Dr. Edmond Chan is the first to show it can safely be offered as a practical, routine treatment.

That, along with a recent recommendation by pediatricians urging parents to introduce common allergy-causing foods to high-risk babies as soon as they are ready to eat solids, may help roll back the dramatic increase in food allergies.

So theres new hope for kids who already have food allergies, and hope for reducing the number who develop them. And possibly, someday, even hope that well get back to a place where a PB&J sandwich can again be a lunchtime favourite.

Economist and journalist Tim Harford argues for the power of messiness. Disorder, he says, is good for our brains. When conditions arent perfect it forces us to be more resilient and creative in problem-solving.

But messiness isnt just good for the soul; its good for the body, too.

We cant all grow up on family farms surrounded by elder siblings, livestock and big hairy dogs. But we can pet them when we see them, go easier on the hand sanitizer, and generally embrace a little dirt.
Canada has a new disruptor  with a difference.

Move over, Doug Ford!

Jason Kenney is back. First stop, Ontario.

Days after being sworn in as Albertas new premier Tuesday, sweeping to power with a 55-per-cent majority unrivalled by any politician in Canada today, Kenney wants to win over Ontarians.

Direct and in person.

Best known as a savvy Harper-era federal minister, officially responsible for immigration and multiculturalism, but unofficially assigned to wooing and winning the 905 vote, Kenney has reinvented himself as a fiery prairie populist.

Read more:

Premier Doug Ford hosts Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in love-in for carbon crusaders

Albertas Jason Kenney warns of separatist angst in first visit to Ottawa

Ottawa can impose carbon pricing on provinces, Saskatchewan court rules

All these years later, the Oakville-born Alberta premier still has an eye, and an ear, for the GTA.

Now he wants to be heard.

Not just by the Bay Street crowd who rewarded him with standing ovations during a lunchtime speech on Albertas energy woes, or from the smiling Ontario premier who pledged his support Friday (after bearing a private grudge against him for years  more on that later).

The new premier is getting his message out any way he can, not least in the pages of the Toronto Star. Which is why he sat down for a wide-ranging interview about Albertas plight, his political fight, and his plan to disrupt Canada even if it means talking up disunity in a country that still frets about national unity.

Ontarians, he says, should hear him out.

Obviously, Ontario is sort of the elder brother of the federation, and I think it can play a role, he tells me. The response at Fridays business lunch showed they get what Alberta is going through.

Many politicians lay claim to a 100-day plan of action. Kenney, however, has unveiled a 100-hour agenda of disruption that he has spent years mapping out.

And he is just getting started  threatening B.C. with a fuel blockade and confronting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a constitutional challenge over control of energy resources.

Never mind that the first provincial legal challenge against a federal carbon tax, led by Saskatchewan, but emulated by Ontario and promised by Alberta, fizzled on Friday with a court decision backing Ottawas authority.

Like Ford, Kenney isnt giving up: We want to coordinate our legal strategy on this.

While the premiers of Alberta and Ontario can both be described as disruptors, there is a difference.

Kenney is a populist with a plan.

Unlike Fords follies, there is method to Kenneys madness. He knows how to pick fights, but he also has the political smarts to win an audience, whether in the press or the public service.

He wants all Ontarians to know how bad it is: Albertans are so frustrated that they are flirting with separatism as Quebecers once did.

A country that once worried about Two Solitudes is now facing several solitudes squabbling on multiple fronts, with Kenney at the locus of loquaciousness  confronting British Columbia, countering Quebec, and condemning Ottawa for either standing in the way of Albertas interests, or not standing up for them.

Alberta feels politically landlocked, and will do what it must to break out.

My message today is, Lets be partners in prosperity in responsible resource development, which means pipelines and market access. 

How can he get Ontario onside?

By working with your government, which does want to help us, he says.

Yet Ford is today less popular than Kenneys predecessor as premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, and hardly has the hammerlock on public opinion that Kenney has at home. Ford Nation cannot deliver the province.

Which is why Kenney wants to speak directly to Ontarians by being here and communicating the message  its not a coincidence, here I am, in downtown Toronto, three days into being premier of Alberta, he says. And youll be seeing a lot more of me . I look forward to my first editorial board meeting (as premier) with the Toronto Star. Im not kidding.

Kenney is at home in Ontario, as if he never left. He worked the banquet circuit hard as minister of multiculturalism, turning up at public events across the 905, and at party fundraisers in most ridings.

Ive been away, but I do understand the 905, I think, and the GTA and Ontario pretty well, he muses.

Now he wants to be sure Ford understands what Alberta is up against: I wasnt sure the degree to which he was aware of that.

They emerged earlier Friday with Ford beaming about their bond in the fight against a carbon tax. Even if their populist play may soon peter out, they cast themselves as comrades in a shared battle.

I cant even wipe the smile off my face, Ford said in his Queens Park office as he posed with his Alberta visitor. What a great ally!

But as Kenney acknowledged in our interview, it wasnt always smiles between the two politicians.

Yes, you recall, Kenney mused, when asked about his public denunciation of Fords late brother Rob in 2013, in which he called on the younger Ford to step aside as then-mayor of Toronto as he became increasingly erratic in his public antics: I think there is a dignity in public service and elected office and he is doing, regrettably, dishonour to that high office, Kenney told reporters at the time. I personally think he should step aside and stop dragging the city of Toronto through this terrible embarrassment.

He was the first Harper minister to speak out, clearly disturbed and offended by the then-mayors behaviour.

It left the mayors defenders furious, not least Ontarios present-day premier.

We had a tense . He had some choice words for me six years ago, Kenney said Friday, choosing his words carefully. But I think both of us implicitly just allowed bygones to be bygones, and there was no discussion Friday of that unfortunate incident.

Kenneys decision to speak out at the time was a reflection of how seriously he takes Canadas governing institutions, notwithstanding his populist rhetoric and partisan cloak. Perhaps its because he has seen politics from different perspectives and provinces; he was born in Ontario, raised in Manitoba, settled in Saskatchewan, moved to Alberta, all the while shifting from the Liberal Party to Reform, the Canadian Alliance, the federal Conservatives, and now Albertas United Conservative Party.

It underscores how he cultivates the bureaucracy, rather than bulldozing it, as Fords Progressive Conservatives do in Ontario.

In Ottawa, Kenney tapped into the civil service expertise to undertake major immigration reforms, a point he stressed after his new cabinet was sworn in by inviting his former federal deputy to an orientation session in Alberta: I expect our ministers to work collaboratively with the public servants, and I walked them through my very productive, symbiotic relationship  to do good policy.

While some populist premiers tout the unrivalled power of social media in bypassing mass media, Kenney prefers to reach the biggest audience.

Its still important to communicate through the mainstream media; most people still get most of their information, I think, from it, he says.

I try to be accessible, probably more than most in my walk of life.

Read more about:
ORESTE P. DARCONTE is a former publisher of The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.
GODFREY  A womans house just off Great River Road was saved from rising floodwaters Saturday morning when a Facebook post seeking help attracted a brigade of volunteers.

It took them just 90 minutes to pack and stack 1,000 sandbags around the home of 86-year-old Stevie Salas, a woman most of the volunteers had never met.

It all started Saturday morning when Salas Clifton Terrace home appeared to be in peril. The river had covered Great River Road and was lapping up mere feet from her back porch.

Mark Ellebracht, News Director at WBGZ radio in Alton, heard of her situation and sent out a Facebook post early in the morning that read:

Foot of Clifton Terrace Road in Godfrey. Home of a soon to be 86-year-old lady. Trying to keep water out of her lower level. Just had her house painted by Bucket Brigade last week. Bring a shovel, gloves, bottle of water and old shoes, boots and clothes. Parking limited so carpool if possible. Whoever can help, were starting at 10:30 am today till 1,000 bags are filled. DONT DRIVE INTO THE WATER! Thanks in advancesee you there! Please share!

By 9:30 a.m., 40 or so people showed up at her door  many of them youngsters from Alton and Marquette High Schools, Alton Middle School, St. Marys Youth Group, the St. Ambrose Youth Group and the Encounter Youth Choir.

Tyler Atkins said he was helping out at the Methodist Village flea market with a friend when they heard the news, and decided to answer the call.

Olivia Ellebracht, 14, also showed up to help.

I needed to do it, she said. Something tugged at me.

A large showing of area church representatives also heeded the call. There were Tim Anderson, Elder Wright and Elder Seeley from the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ in Godfrey, the Oblate Fathers, who Salas cook for, and Father Paul from St. Marys, wearing his collar and dressed in black shirt, pants and rubber boots.

Alton Memorial physical therapist Sue Heinz came to support her former patient. As did firefighter Lieutenant Ben Hamburg and Selina Hamburg,

Stevie had a host of family members come to help, as well, including grandsons Tim Carbol of St. Charles and Dan Preston, a first responder from St. Louis.

Its the power of social media, Sharon Godfrey, of Godfrey, said.

She had seen the Facebook post just as she was starting laundry and cleaning house. Flood fighting, so she reasoned, trumped household chores.

Christopher Sichra. Godfrey Public Safety and Emergency employee, said that when the State of Illinois declared a state of emergency, he ordered the sand and 1,000 bags to be delivered to Salas house, knowing there was potential for trouble.

In less than two hours, the sand pile went from five feet high to a mere inch of leftover.

Salas addressed the crowd afterward, calling the volunteers a godsend. There was applause and hugs all around then the volunteers were gone, a tearful Salas waved as they drove off.
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man who was arrested wearing a clown suit Sept. 11 on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to time served in custody.

Ron Singleton, 55, was pleaded guilty after spending 216 days in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Singleton had been declared unfit to stand trial after an examination by a court psychologist, but Circuit Judge Kyle Napp declared him fit Friday after a report from IDHS and after speaking with him briefly.

Authorities said Singleton appeared intoxicated Sept. 8 when he dressed in his clown suit and went to the rear of a home in the 1800 block of Central Avenue and took a bat to the property of the resident.

The day before that, he entered a vacant house Friday in the 2500 block of Washington Avenue, a witness told The Telegraph.

Once inside, Singleton put on a colorful red, white, blue and yellow clown costume he found inside, came outside and began kicking the door of a second empty building that formerly housed a law office, the witness said. He also carried a complementing, multi-colored umbrella.

The witness, an employee of a nearby business, called police and they arrested Singleton about a half block south on Washington Avenue, still dressed in the costume. Singleton had left the umbrella behind on the steps of the second building, which is just north of James H. Killion Park at Salu.

He has convictions for 98 previous misdemeanors, including several disorderly conduct charges.
In his first days as an official candidate, former vice president Joe Biden has opened a significant lead in national polls, posted the top one-day fundraising total and showcased his ability to rattle President Donald Trump.

His surprisingly strong debut has set off alarms in opposing camps, prompting his rivals to recalibrate their strategies for the next phase of the primary fight.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has taken the most dramatic action, making a personal decision to contrast his policy record with Biden's. Sanders' advisers said he plans to continue that thrust, and his campaign manager is calling out candidates standing on the sidelines.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised money off Biden's entrance by whacking him for soliciting checks from wealthy benefactors and separately noted under questioning that he sided with credit card companies in a key legislative battle.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., seized on Trump calling her "nasty" by turning it into a rallying cry in social media ads that sought to demonstrate that Biden is not the only candidate who can provoke the president.

"He's had a gravitational effect on the other candidates," said James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign.

Biden has benefited from the dynamic of the 2020 primary season: Democrats have put forth the most diverse slate of candidates in history, generating excitement across the party, as measured by crowds massing at their events and donations flowing to their campaigns. But no standout has emerged with staying power, creating the vacuum into which Biden, who is well known and attached to the last Democrat to win the White House, has slipped.

Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William Barr. Warren's suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.

It is not yet clear whether Biden himself will be able to maintain his tentative hold on the race; statewide polls in early states show him in a weaker position than national surveys, and his first events demonstrated his limitations as a candidate. His speeches were often meandering and his aides sharply limited access to him - he took no questions from voters - a style of campaigning that can backfire in states where people are accustomed to taking the measure of their options up close.

"People know him and there's a comfort level with him," said Rob Hogg, an Iowa state senator. "But I don't think it's a done deal for Joe Biden." He added, "There's a lot of interest in somebody new, in the next generation."

The candidates fresh to the national stage have been blunted to some extent by the presence of Sanders, the second-place finisher to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic contest and, like Biden, a septuagenarian. For reasons both strategic and ideological, he has become Biden's sharpest critic.

Sanders jumped at the chance in recent days to compare himself with Biden on far-reaching free trade agreements and the Iraq War - which he opposed and Biden supported. The strategy is similar to the approach he took against Clinton in 2016, when he mercilessly pounded the establishment front-runner on their policy differences and exposed the leftward turn of many Democratic voters.

Sanders' advisers say he is just getting started.

"Senator Sanders has had a lifetime of consistency around the issues that he's raising," said Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir. "And quite frankly, on many of those issues . . . Biden has been wrong on the first instance."

When it comes to the rest of the field, Shakir said, "I'm not sure many of them are all that different" from Biden. He added, "If you're not interested in drawing the contrast, right, it certainly makes it less clear to us that there is any distinction."

The Biden-Sanders split embodies a broader Democratic divide. While some believe the path back to power lies in the political revolution Sanders is urging, others feel a better bet for defeating Trump is Biden's pitch for a restoration of more conventional Obama-era politics.

Biden and Sanders represent the same side of another Democratic divide - both are running against a crop of younger candidates who are newer to elective office and whose racial and gender diversity better reflects the changing country. Yet despite coming from different ideological tracks, the two are competing for some of the same voters - white, working-class people in upper Midwestern states Trump won.

After an impressive start of his own, Sanders has dipped a bit in public polls. His crowds have diminished in recent weeks. He's had some trouble attracting nonwhite voters. And a sizable chunk of the Democratic Party does not like him or doubts he would beat Trump.

"He's an old, angry guy running against Donald Trump, who's an old, angry guy," said Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina. "That's not a contrast."

The added pressure of having Biden in the race was apparent at a rally Sanders held at Iowa State University on Saturday. Ron Craig, 62, an undecided voter there, said he was leaning toward Biden.

"He might be able to get more of the swing voters, you know, that might be leery of voting for somebody who's really far left," he said. Craig's main goal? "To beat Trump."

All of the candidates besides Sanders are taking a lower profile in the post-Biden period, wagering that if he falters they will be well-positioned to inherit voters up for grabs.

Sanders's allies are watching Warren, whose similar platform makes her a competitor for the mantle of a more liberal alternative to Biden.

Pressed by a reporter after Biden's entrance whether he was "too cozy" with Wall Street to regulate it as president, Warren said she had defended struggling families in past battles over bankruptcy matters, whereas "Joe Biden was on the side of credit card companies."

Since then, however, she has been judicious about taking him on.

Asked about Biden in a brief interview, Warren declined to speak about him or his record. "I can't speak to anyone else's campaign," she said.

Warren is focused on outlining policy proposals; her mantra is "I have a plan" and T-shirts with the phrase have become her campaign's fastest-selling new item.

Part of what appears to be propelling Biden in his campaign's early days is his strength among different sets of voters, including not only white, blue-collar voters but also African-Americans. Multiple candidates are also competing for that support.

Harris, who is making a vigorous push to win black voters, will address the Detroit chapter of the NAACP on Sunday.

"I adore Joe Biden," Harris said when he joined the race.

Buttigieg began the past week by lunching with the Rev. Al Sharpton and ended it on the cover of Time magazine with his husband, Chasten.

Buttigieg's campaign believes it needs to establish deeper relationships - and policy credentials - with voters who know little about the South Bend mayor. His team is also working to scale up its presence in early states including South Carolina, where he is campaigning Sunday and Monday, immediately after Biden's own visit there.

While the other candidates for the Democratic nomination have taken on Biden in differing measures, the former vice president has focused solely on a contrast with Trump. He announced his run in a video highlighting the president's remarks about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, prompting Trump to rehash his comments.

"I understand the president's been tweeting a lot about me this morning. I wonder why the hell he's doing that!" Biden said on recent swing through Iowa, practically giddy. "I'm going to be the object of his attention for a while, folks."

He has also worked to appear in step with the current electorate. On Wednesday night, during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, a half dozen protesters in penguin masks raised signs that read, "Climate is a crisis."

"Don't worry, I'll get to climate change, I promise," he said. "And by the way, I got there before any of the other candidates did, I might add." Perhaps unintentionally dating himself, he noted, "I'm one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in '87, OK?"

Biden is also seeking to expand his financial advantage over many in the field. While some of his opponents have sworn off wooing big donors amid rising Democratic concerns about the influence of the wealthy, Biden is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Wednesday where donations range from $2,800 to $10,000, according to the invitation.

He also is delivering constant reminders of perhaps his biggest selling point: his connection to the 44th president, who remains popular among many Democratic voters.

"I think there is a lot of excitement about him simply because he has served under President Obama," said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who represents a swing distinct in the suburbs of Atlanta and has not made an endorsement. "People kind of believe, you know, he's probably one of the more experienced presidential candidates."

That sentiment so far is echoed by many voters. While they acknowledge he is not a perfect candidate, voters say he seems authentic and represents what they crave: a return to normalcy.

"As soon as he announced, I thought: Yes. Someone is coming to our rescue," said Hope Phillips, a 52-year-old financial industry worker from Des Moines.

Andrew Lietzow, a 67-year-old from Des Moines who is executive director of the Iowa Landlord Association, is the kind of voter Biden's rivals need to worry about. If Biden weren't in the race, Lietzow might be supporting one of them.

"Cory Booker is strong. Elizabeth Warren is strong. So is Kamala Harris. But compared to Joe? Not even in the hunt," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Annie Linskey, Chelsea Janes, Amy B Wang and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
EDWARDSVILLE  With the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing coming up on July 20, a new student organization at SIUE is doing its part to honor the spirit of Apollo 11.

Cougar Rockets, which was formed last fall, is dedicated to designing, building and flying rockets.

On Nov. 8, the group successfully launched its first high-powered rocket on SIUEs campus near Korte Stadium.

Another SIUE organization, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), collaborated with Cougar Rockets on the launch.

Last summer, a few of the students got together because they felt a rocket club at SIUE was something that was really lacking, said Dr. Michael Denn, an instructor of mechanical engineering at SIUE and the faculty advisor for Cougar Rockets. They approached me because I have had experience in the aerospace industry prior to being an instructor here.

The long-term goal for Cougar Rockets is to participate in the 2020 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), which is held every year in New Mexico. It is also known as the Spaceport America Cup.

Rockets are interesting, but there the students were a little uncertain as to what they wanted to do, said Denn, who worked for Boeing for 18 years. You are usually most successful if you have a goal and we found out about the intercollegiate rocket competition. For at least the next couple of years, thats our primary goal for our organization. The rocket launch that we had last semester was the first step.

The November launch for Cougar Rockets was a 63-inch rocket that reached 5,000 feet before its parachute deployed and it landed safely.

The IREC competition consists of launching a rocket with an 8.8-pound payload and target altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet above ground level.

That is considered high-powered rocketry (HPR), which is defined by the size and the thrust of the rockets. Some of the Cougar Rocket team members will earn National Association of Rocketry certifications in order to purchase HPR motors and ensure they are complying with safety codes.

Our objective is to make our own rocket and engineer our own rocket, Denn said. The first rocket was a large kit, but it was still a kit, Denn said. The objective is to pick up more and more of our own technology to take to the competition.

Charter members of Cougar Rockets included 33 students studying mechanical engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering and physics. The organization is open to all SIUE students.

This year we also have somebody from chemistry as well, and when we start doing things with fuels, were going to want people like that to be part of the club, Denn said. It really has a broad appeal and thats the objective.

Egemen Erten, the founding president of Cougar Rockets, obtained a bachelors degree in industrial engineering last year and is now working on a masters degree in mechanical engineering.

Aviation and the aerospace industry have always been my passion and I felt there was something missing regarding that field at SIUE, Erten said. We made our first high-powered launch last semester in November, which was a really short time period. All of our members have great passion and theyre really dedicated.

The practical experience gained by the members of Cougar Rockets goes beyond designing and launching rockets.

Ive always said that Cougar Rockets is kind of like a start-up, but the only difference is I dont invest any money into it, Erten said. Its more than an engineering organization because were learning management organization skills, finance, marketing and other things.

Denn currently has some students in his senior design class who are working on a modular rocket concept with solid-fuel or liquid-fuel engines that can be swapped in and out of the same rocket.

A diagram on the board in Denns office depicts the path that Cougar Rockets will take to prepare for the IREC event in 2020.

What we did in November was a demonstration launch, so the next step for this semester is to take the same rocket and put a little oomph to it with bigger engine charges, and get certification so we can go to the competition.

Meanwhile, the group wants to test some of the smaller rockets with altimetry (measurement of altitude), GoPro (action cameras) and high-altitude parachute deployment, telemetry (measurement transmission of data) and other technologies.

Instead of risking a big rocket, well use a little rocket, and then when you demonstrate on that, we want to roll it the technologies into a rocket with what we call a modular engine for the senior design project, Denn said. Well test that with a couple levels of technology and take those lessons to the next step, which is the competitive rocket.

Andrew Patterson, who will graduate this spring with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, is the lead designer for Cougar Rockets.

The large red rocket was our first step and we needed to test the waters in terms of our design philosophies, Patterson said. We took a high-powered rocket thats capable of flying up to two miles with the appropriate hardware, but we scaled that down a little bit because were not going to launch that high yet.

We have to get certified to launch that high by the FAA and a couple other external organizations. They dont like people launching that high that dont know what theyre doing. Theres a different safety protocol for large rockets like this compared to the smaller rockets you can get at a hobby store.

Pattersons senior design group likes the versatility that is offered by a modular rocket.

The way rockets are usually built is that the engineers develop a motor and then they build the rocket around it, Patterson said. By having a modular rocket engine bay, it adds a constraint to the design process, but you dont have to build a new rocket every time and that saves money.

The scale of the Cougars Rockets first high-powered launch, or even the IREC rockets, is tiny compared to a NASA mission, but the dedication of its participants is much the same.

Since Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 and the final lunar landing, Apollo 17 on Dec. 11, 1972, there has been an ebb and flow of interest in the U.S. space program.

Denn hopes that some students involved in Cougar Rockets could help provide the spark that leads to a resurgence of interest in space.

Were seeing a transition from an exclusively government-run space program where everybody is subcontracted (to NASA) to having companies like SpaceX who are doing a lot more on their own, Denn said. I think that can only help the space industry because it broadens the base and its not quite so tied to government policy or NASAs budget allocations.

For the second straight semester, Denn is teaching an engineering course with a recurring theme  the Apollo project.

The reason is that Apollo is an exemplary example of systems engineering, Denn said. Its big, its bold and its complex and it was done on a schedule.

Back in 1961, President Kennedy said were going to the moon by the end of the decade and we did it. I was young then, but I was alive and remember it generated so much excitement. The Apollo program still resonates and its still an outstanding example of engineering that can be perpetuated for generations to come.

For Denn and his students, it doesnt take too big a leap of imagination to picture a rocket launch on the SIUE campus as a small step toward a future mission to Mars or a return to the moon.

If you look back over the past several presidential administrations, almost all of them at some point have tried to reignite the space program to go to Mars, but and it really hasnt gone anywhere, Denn said. As soon as we as a society decide we want to go to Mars, 10 years later, we will be there.

We clearly had the will to do that back in the 1960s and the consensus with Apollo to go to the Moon. We can do that again, but we have to get to that point.

Reach reporter Scott Marion at smarion@edwpub.net
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected Friday to announce a sweeping plan to cut down on carbon pollution coming from America's cars, buildings and utilities - a major policy rollout for the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has made combating climate change the centerpiece of his campaign.

Inslee, 68, one of the lesser-known candidates in a crowded Democratic field, will sketch out a vision for using the federal government's regulatory power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, according to a version of the plan reviewed by The Washington Post.

The plan calls for zero-emission futures in three sectors of the economy - transportation, electricity, and residential and commercial buildings - that in 2017 accounted for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

By 2030, Inslee wants all new cars, trucks and buses to be "zero-emissions," relying instead on battery power or renewable fuels. He also wants utilities to be weaned off coal - which produced 28 percent of American energy last year - and for new buildings to be built in a more energy-efficient way.

"Those goals are scientifically necessary and are absolutely required if we're going to protect our families and country from the ravages of climate change," Inslee said in an interview. "These are concrete actions. They're not ephemeral. These are not unicorns and rainbows."

During Inslee's campaign, he has toured flood damage in the Midwest and visited wildfire survivors in California, as well as made stops to highlight solar power and electric cars. He's expected to announce the climate policy in Los Angeles.

The eight-page plan is aimed at raising Inslee's profile and setting him apart from his rivals with a point-by-point plan that draws on his success passing climate legislation in his home state.

In the past presidential election, climate change received little attention. This time, amid worsening wildfires and floods, the issue has gained more traction, energizing Democrats and young voters, such as those who call for the Green New Deal.

Inslee's team hopes that enthusiasm, as well as momentum from the climate bills, could help lift his polling numbers early in the campaign. So far, he has lagged behind at about 1 percent in national polls in a crowded Democratic field.

But in a sign of the difficulty he faces, Inslee was preempted by former congressman Beto O'Rourke, another Democratic presidential hopeful. On Monday, O'Rourke declared climate change "the greatest threat we face" and put out his own climate plan as he toured Yosemite National Park.

O'Rourke proposed spending $5 trillion over the next decade and set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero over the next 30 years.

Inslee has described O'Rourke as a newcomer to the issue and someone who once allied with oil companies in his native Texas.

"I welcome anybody following my leadership," Inslee said. "Even if you discover climate change late, it's better late than never."

His plan, he said, has "much more specificity. It is much more robust. It is much more comprehensive. And I'll get it done."

O'Rourke said Wednesday he will not accept campaign donations of more than $200 from executives of fossil fuel companies, joining a pledge signed by Inslee and other Democratic candidates.

Inslee has spent much of his long political career - 15 years in Congress, starting in the early 1990s, before becoming governor six years ago - talking about the dangers of climate change and urging a transition of the U.S. economy to cleaner sources of energy. He co-wrote a book on the topic, "Apollo's Fire," more than a decade ago.

Washington state relies heavily on hydroelectric power; coal accounts for about 15 percent of the state's energy, much of it imported. The state's lone coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close in coming years.

Many note that meeting these clean-energy goals will be more difficult in other parts of the country. Although coal-powered electricity has declined steadily over the past decade, it still produces the second-most electricity of any source, behind natural gas.

Inslee's political opponents in Washington state who have opposed his pro-climate push warn of rising gas prices and lost jobs.

"A lot of these policies they push will simply drive the means of manufacturing out of state or offshore," said state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R), a Trump supporter. "We're still going to use gasoline. We're still going to use many of these products, but if you make it too expensive to manufacture them, you create a tax structure that forces them out, that just means you're going to import them from China, India, Taiwan."

Supporters, however, say the goals and timelines Inslee set are ambitious but not unrealistic. The movement to more energy-efficient buildings, electric cars and utility companies is taking place in many states across the country.

"These are in some ways the things we have the highest confidence we're able to do because we're already doing them," said KC Golden, a longtime climate and energy advocate in the Pacific Northwest who has known Inslee for many years.

"The governor obviously has made a very strong commitment to responding to what climate scientists say we have to do to avert catastrophic climate change," Golden added. "Those timelines are not negotiable. If we think that it's unrealistic to live on a planet that is in constant cascading climate chaos, then we have to accelerate our timelines for making this green energy transition."

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, said the economic transition that Inslee is calling for is "both realistic and necessary, and it will save money and create jobs."
Jacksonvilles El Rancherito restaurant recently closed its doors without warning.

The restaurant, in the Lincoln Square shopping center on West Morton Avenue, did not have a sign on the door but has been closed and no longer can be reached by its listed phone number.

Linda Day, food coordinator at Morgan County Health Department, said the restaurant did not close because of a health inspection.

The restaurant had received poor inspection scores in the past, but more recently had received high scores from the health department. The restaurant failed under-age alcohol checks in 2017 and 2015.

The restaurant underwent a major renovation in 2015 to give the space a facelift.

An owner of the restaurant could not be reached for comment.

According to Illinois Secretary of State records, the business was incorporated in 1997 and is not in good standing with the state for 2019.
HARTFORD  Captain Meriwether Lewis wrote on May 14, 1804 that The Mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered the Point of Departure. The 215th anniversary of the Departure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Illinois Country, thus beginning their historic 2 1/2-year journey to the Pacific Ocean and back.

The Riviere a Dubois, or Wood River Creek, located today near Wood River and East Alton, marks the approximate location of where Lewis and Clark built their first winter encampment, Camp River Dubois. It is here where Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark selected the 40-plus men that would comprise the Corps of Discovery. Here they gathered the remaining supplies and information necessary for their voyage to the Western Ocean.

Illinois was the westernmost territory in the United States in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson changed that with the purchase of the Mississippi River and Louisiana Territory from Napoleons France for $15 million dollars. The western border pushed across the continent and the United States more than doubled in size. The Louisiana Purchase stretched the U.S. boundaries north into Canada, south into the future states of Louisiana and Arkansas, and west all the way to the Rockies.

Yet much of it remained completely unexplored by American or European travelers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition received a mission to explore and map this vast expanse of land. They were charged with meeting and establishing trade with the numerous American Indian nations that occupied the region. Finally, the captains were ordered to describe and catalog the hundreds of species of yet unknown flora and fauna that lived within the bounds of the western lands.

The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on Dec 12, 1803. Upon being denied permission by the Spanish lieutenant governor in St. Louis to move any farther west, the expedition established their winter camp across from the mouth of the Missouri River, along the Wood River Creek.

While Meriwether Lewis spent much of the winter in Cahokia and St. Louis, it was up to William Clark to assemble a team that was capable of making the arduous journey ahead. Despite early issues of discipline and conflict, the captains and soldiers came together, and they soon grew anxious to begin in the early spring. The Day of Departure finally arrived on May 14, 1804, when Captain Clark wrote Set out from Camp River a Dubois at 4 oClock P.M. and proceded up the Misouris under sail  men in high Spirits. [sic]. The expedition would not return to Illinois until September 23, 1806, having covered over 6,000 miles and losing only one soldier, Sergeant Charles Floyd.

Though often associated with St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark expedition in fact began their journey from the eastern banks of the Mississippi in the Illinois Country. It is in Illinois where they recruited many of the members of the expedition at Fort Massac on the Ohio River and Fort Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River.

Illinois is where the men came together for the first time as the Corps of Discovery. It is in Illinois where they gathered the final supplies that would carry them through their journey.

Most importantly, Illinois is where the men came to learn trust for each other and the leadership of their captains that ultimately led to their incredibly successful expedition. Illinois is the Point of the Departure for the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford celebrates the Lewis and Clark Expeditions monumental expedition each year with the Point of Departure Weekend. Dozens of re-enactors and artisans in period dress demonstrate the various craftsmanship and lifeways of the Corps of Discovery and early Illinois settlers.

This free event includes artisans exhibiting historic basket making, fiber spinning, leatherwork, woodworking, and candle making. Military life is shown through artillery demonstrations, musket displays, and encampments of soldiers. The event is put on by the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Lewis and Clark Society of America.

Anyone interested in the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and early Illinois can enjoy the Point of Departure Weekend on May 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information, call 618-251-5811.
EDWARDSVILLE  A license plate reader camera system installed on the Clark Bridge in 2018 has been quietly expanded throughout Madison County.

The system alerts police when specific vehicles pass by and was set up because of concerns about criminals coming over from Missouri, and stolen vehicles being taken across the river.

Since then additional cameras have been quietly installed at several locations around the county and more are planned, according to Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons.

Gibbons mentioned the expansion of the system at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday.

We are participating with local police agencies and in coordination with the DEA to expand the network of license plate readers around Madison County, he said after the meeting. Weve targeted and identified major corridors for drug trafficking and other crimi9nal activity, and are strategically working to place those cameras on bridges and on major thoroughfares where we think those things are happening.

He said the States Attorneys Office is budgeting $50,000 from drug forfeiture funds this year for the expansion.

Were using that money to support construction efforts, he said. The DEA is donating the cameras and IT infrastructure.

The goal is to eventually have all the bridges and major highways covered.

It allows to track flow of drug traffickers across state lines, through our county and on our interstates, he said. It gives us a better tool to push back on the tide of drugs that are flowing through Madison County. We have a heroin highway, but now it carries methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

The St. Louis region has long been known as a major intersection in drug trafficking, and over the years local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have routinely found drugs and cash being transported through the area.

Gibbons noted that the cameras on the Clark Bridge have been very successful.

We found in several of our murder cases the ability to pinpoint a specific vehicle and a person in a specific vehicle at a specific time on the bridge has allowed us to create a timeline and weve used that in trials, he said. Its been extremely helpful.

Part of the expanded system is in place.

We have two of the bridges covered, we have multiple truck stops covered already, he said. There are a whole bunch of projects in different stages of planning.

He declined to go into specifics about locations.

We want the public to know this is something were doing to help protect them, but we dont want to be too specific because we dont want to tell the criminals everything, Gibbons said. When our goal is reached it will be virtually impossible to mule drugs and drug cash through Madison county without being spotted.

He also noted that the same restrictions in place for use of the Clark Bridge cameras will apply to the others.

It doesnt tie in to registrations, it doesnt observe traffic violations, he said. These are for your high-end, serious crimes. But it does trigger on stolen vehicle alerts.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
ST. LOUIS (AP)  The latest round of Midwestern flooding claimed at least four lives, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of river towns to shore up threatened levees with sandbags as waters rose to and near record levels in some communities.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Friday along a large swath of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood watches for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after recent rounds of heavy rain.

Grafton Mayor Rick Eberlin said in a conference call that included the leaders of other river towns that roads are closing around the town and that its working to get businesses to move out as waters rise. The town, which is 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of St. Louis, has no flood walls or levees. He said water is beginning to encroach upon city hall.

We are at our wits end, Eberlin said. We are totally unprotected.

In Alton, the Argosy Casino Alton was forced to close on Friday as floodwaters crept higher into downtown. Altons mayor, Brant Walker, complained that the city is doing flood control every eight months and that the frequent business closures are hurting the citys finances.

We are barely keeping our head above water, he said.

In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch remains open, even as floodwaters pour over the road beneath it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday closed the Mississippi for a 5-mile stretch at St. Louis, citing both the high water and the swift current.

The Mississippi isnt the only river bulging out of its banks. Moderate flooding at Missouri River towns like Washington and St. Charles in Missouri was causing headaches like road closures, but few homes were impacted.

The Meramec River in suburban St. Louis is rising fast and will crest Sunday and Monday around 15 feet (4.5 meters) above flood stage in towns like Arnold and Valley Park, threatening several homes and businesses.

Historic flooding was happening elsewhere along the river, too. The National Weather Service is now projecting flood levels to reach the second- or third-highest ever at several Mississippi River towns in northeast Missouri  Hannibal, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield.

Kimmswick, Missouri, Mayor Phil Stang said the community is building atop a permanent levee in hopes of holding back the water. Weve closed off the city completely. As soon as it rains, we are a bathtub.

Sandbagging efforts began Friday in Winfield, where the Pin Oak Levee was threatened. Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, was among many towns where volunteers were racing the clock to add sandbags to the tops of levees and around homes and businesses.

The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday afternoon in a swollen southwest Missouri creek. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff identified the man as 35-year-old Scott M. Puckett of Forsyth, Missouri. The body of his friend, Alex Ekern, 23, was found Thursday.

Puckett and Ekern were among three men who began paddling Wednesday afternoon in Bull Creek near the small town of Walnut Shade. The patrol said they were swept over a low-water bridge and caught in what is called a hydraulic, which creates a washing-machine effect that is hard to escape. One of the men survived.

Flooding also claimed the life of a camper found Wednesday after he was caught in waters from an overflowed creek near the town of Ava, also in southwest Missouri. And in northern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother drove onto a flooded road.

In Davenport, Iowa, concerns were that even after the Mississippi River reached a record height, the worst was far from over.

The crest inched above the 1993 record on Thursday, and forecasters are calling for up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of additional rain next week, meaning the high water will likely stick around and potentially get even higher.

Several blocks of downtown Davenport were flooded this week when a flood barrier succumbed to the onslaught of water. The river at the Quad Cities has been at major flood stage or higher for 41 consecutive days.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds visited Davenport Friday.
The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to tax and regulate adult use of recreational cannabis is answering some of the concerns raised by critics.

Some observers speculated that an amendment to Senate Bill 7 would be filed this week, finally revealing how exactly the state might go about making recreational cannabis legal for adult use. With the end of the session set for May 31, such an amendment has yet to be filed.

State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said she has concerns for her community.

I dont see where the community is going to benefit and quite frankly I dont see where the state is going to benefit, Flowers said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzkers budget proposal relies on $170 million from recreational cannabis licensing fees.

Flowers said shes worried about the possible social costs.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said Flowers concerns are legitimate. However, she said legalization isnt an endorsement.

What it does do is say, We know that people are getting a safe product and you know that theyre now going to card people or to make sure that theyre not under 21 [years old], so youre really limiting it, Steans said.

Pritzker said he wants to ensure that the industry is open to communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs.

One of my No. 1 focus areas for this has been equity and making sure that were addressing the fact that the war on drugs most ill-affected communities of color, we want to make sure that this bill addresses the historical discrimination thats existed and also give people a new opportunity to create new businesses, Pritzker said Monday.

Flowers said she doubted minorities would be able to secure a spot in the industry. She also said she doubted the black community would benefit at all.

Their lives have not been made better, nor have their families lives been made better, Flowers said. We havent even had that discussion.

Steans said there will be new license categories with cheaper licenses and certain funding mechanisms to help social equity applicants get both reduced application fees, but also to help get grants and loans to help to start up  and then we want to do expungement to help people expunge records that relate to cannabis.

Lawmakers are finding common ground on all of these issues and others with stakeholders, Steans said. However, the issue of whether to allow recreational marijuana to be grown in homes remains a point of contention.

Generally speaking, home grow is important, Steans said. Its going to be very expensive. We want people to have access at lower amounts, so were going to see if we can make home grow work at a very limited fashion.

Pritzker has said he supports limited home cultivation.

The law enforcement community has been opposed to any home-grow provision. Some ideas proposed include only allowing home grow for medical cannabis patients.

Lawmakers are back to session Tuesday.
MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho, Girls Track, Senior; Weeden won two events for the Chargers in the first meet of the season. Weeden was first in the high jump (5-0) and the long jump 15-1.

ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago scored 39 points in three games as Stonington started the season 1-2. Drago had 16 in a loss to Fitch, 12 in a win against Griswold and 11 in a defeat to Ledyard.

SYDNEY HAIK, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Haik scored 14 points as the Bulldogs opened the season with a victory over Cumberland. Haik had three 3-pointers, five assists and five steals.

ZANE BREWER, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Freshman; Brewer scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Lions season-opening win over Grasso Tech. Brewer followed that with 18 points and five rebounds in a loss to Hale-Ray.

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'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years but while some providers, such as Bulb and Ecotricity do provide renewable energy, others are accused of buying the right to slap a label on their deals at a cut price - and then charging customers more.

Nothing is quite straightforward when it comes to finding the right supplier and deal for your household energy.

Although switching is easier than ever before  helped in big part by the advent of companies happy to do all the hard work for you  and competition remains fierce (despite the demise of some small suppliers), the cards are still stacked heavily in favour of the energy companies. Profits uber alles.

Pay by direct debit for your energy  and invariably the best deals demand that you do  and it is highly likely you will end up handing over too much to your supplier.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas

Experts claim energy companies are currently holding on to some 1billion of our money as a result of direct debit payments being set too high.

A scandal. Plain and simple.

It is our money  and cash the suppliers should return without prompting or households having to go a proverbial six rounds with customer services in order to get it put back into their bank account.

Even measures seemingly designed to help customers fight rising bills end up enabling already profit-fattened suppliers to milk more out of the consumer.

This is the case with the energy price cap introduced early this year to protect some ten million customers from expensive standard variable tariffs  the default payment rate households end up on if they are not savvy and do not continually chase down competitively fixed priced deals.

According to website comparethemarket, last month's increase in the price cap  sanctioned by regulator Ofgem  has already allowed energy companies to generate an extra 148million of revenue at the expense of customers.

'The energy price cap has had the curious impact of providing an official licence to energy companies to hike their prices,' comparethemarket explained two days ago. 'It has potentially boosted energy companies' profits by millions.'

Bizarre. So much for pro-consumer intervention in the energy supply market by the Government whose idea the price cap was. Mad. Bad.

There is more  ineffective regulation that allows many energy suppliers to continually get away with unacceptable levels of customer service without fear of reproach or sanction. Third world.

Yet there is one area of the energy market where the current levels of confusion, deception and customer exploitation are stratospheric. It is in the supply of 'green' energy.

'Green' energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in recent years as householders seek to do their bit for the planet.

In theory, such eco-friendly deals dovetail perfectly with Government ambitions spelt out last week to make Britain the first major world economy to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2050.

The Government was responding to a report from the influential Committee on Climate Change, an organisation set up to advise it on how to respond to ever rising global temperatures. The committee said the country would have to stop using fossil fuels  oil, gas and coal  and quadruple the current number of offshore wind turbines.

One million homes are now supplied with so- called 'green' gas  an astonishing increase of 150 per cent in just one year  with most energy companies providing at least one green option. Customers have also seized on green electricity deals.

Yet the more you dig under the skin of many of these green tariffs, the less green (climate-friendly) they become. Indeed, the energy you are supplied with under such an eco-friendly deal is often anything but green. It's called smoke and mirrors  classic energy company deception.

As if that was not enough, many consumers are paying a heavy price for going green through higher energy bills. Surprise, surprise. Yet more unchecked profiteering from suppliers, often owned by overseas conglomerates.

Some of the gas sold by small supplier Bulb is biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure

THERE ARE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN

Anyone taking out a green energy deal would assume that the gas or electricity piped into their home would be derived from renewable sources  essentially energy generated by wind, water or the sun.

In some instances this is the case. Suppliers such as Bulb, Ecotricity (which bills itself as 'Britain's greenest energy company') and Green Energy ('100 per cent green gas, 100 per cent renewable electricity') have set themselves up to do exactly this.

Small supplier Bulb buys energy from independent renewable generators across the UK. It says 100 per cent of its gas is carbon neutral as a result of supporting carbon-neutral projects around the world.

Some 10 per cent of its gas is also biomethane produced from food or farm waste  a truly green measure.

Green Energy chief executive Doug Stewart says: 'Our energy is green because it is gas derived fully from biomethane that comes from organic waste. So not only is the gas green but it uses waste that would otherwise rot and release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more toxic than CO2, into the atmosphere.'

But it means their tariffs are expensive. The annual average energy bill for a household using a truly green tariff from either Green Energy or Ecotricity is as least 50 per cent higher than the cheapest 'green' deal available in the market.

Yet these companies, in terms of green purity, are the exception, not the norm. Most other providers of 'green' tariffs  everyone from Centrica-owned British Gas through to German-owned Npower and eco-friendly brands such as Pure Planet  derive little or no energy directly from renewable sources.

Is your tariff really better for planet? All electricity customers contribute to Government subsidies for renewable energy through their energy bills. So to some degree all tariffs have a green element. But some suppliers go further than others in trying to change the composition of energy production in the UK. Thomas Rogers, of energy firm Switchd, says: Every supplier must state what percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. If youre really keen on going green, go for a supplier whose fuel mix is 100 per cent renewable, not just one using the word green in its tariff name. Fuel mix disclosures can be found on a suppliers website and will help customers find environmentally friendly energy tariffs. Rogers adds: This ensures the money youre spending on your energy goes to a company that at least believes in renewables, not one thats chucked in a green tariff at a premium. The Energy Savings Trust emphasises that signing up for a green tariff is no substitute for reducing individual energy use.

They simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a complex 'certificated' system. It's head-scratchingly complicated so clear your head and concentrate.

In very simple terms, companies that generate renewable energy  not supply it  are awarded so called 'Regos', certificates from regulator Ofgem.

Rego stands for Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin. These certificates can then be purchased by electricity suppliers, allowing them in turn to badge tariffs as 'green'.

One certificate represents one megawatt hour of renewable energy generated and costs a supplier anything between 10p and 30p (peanuts).

To put this into context, an average home uses about three megawatts hours worth of energy a year.

So the purchase of three certificates per household is enough for an electricity company to claim the tariff it is offering customers is green.

Just sit back and think about the maths. For the cost of less than 1, a supplier can stick a green label on a tariff and charge annual prices at least 100 more than the most competitive energy deal available in the market.

There are similar certificated systems in place for gas.

A single certificate costs from 7.50 and offsets one ton of carbon dioxide. For the average household, which emits about four tons of carbon dioxide a year, this would cost a supplier wanting to bolster their 'greenness' about 30.

For example, the Energy Plus Protection Green May 2020 tariff from British Gas matches electricity through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Gas is carbon-offset through the purchase of certificates relating to projects in developing countries.

Npower's Go Green Energy Fix April 2021 matches 100 per cent of electricity consumption and 15 per cent of gas consumption through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

Small supplier Yorkshire Energy, which provides a 'Green Bunny' deal, offers 100 per cent renewable electricity also through the purchase of certificates.

How to save money and help the planet The way we spend our money can be a powerful driver in helping the environment. From buying products that create less plastic waste, to supporting companies that aim to improve working practices, or choosing those that try to reduce their environmental impact, consumer pressure works. So what are the big and small changes you can make - and can they save you money as well. Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look on the This is Money podcast. Press play above or listen (and please subscribe if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify and Audioboom or visit our This is Money Podcast page.

WHY THE EXPERTS ARE DEEPLY UNIMPRESSED

Not surprisingly, some energy experts are singularly unimpressed with the abuse of the green label.

Dustin Benton, of environmental think-tank Green Alliance, says: 'There is no environmental definition of what green actually means. Energy companies exploit this by using the label as a sales tool without having to do any real environmental good.' Damning.

Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy

Johnny Gowdy, of energy expert Regen, says: 'Some of the marketing that accompanies green energy tariffs is misleading.'

He adds: 'Companies selling green energy make the claim they are supplying 100 per cent green energy when in reality they are still mainly buying and selling carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy.'

He concludes: 'There ought to be a clear distinction made to consumers between the energy that is directly sourced from renewable generation and energy labelled green through the purchase of renewable energy certificates.' Absolutely.

Many companies simply buy the right to label tariffs as 'green' through a 'certificated' system

A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS ON TARIFFS

The greener the supplier or tariff, the more expensive it will be. But there are signs that things are changing for the better.

Until recently the difference between the cheapest tariff and the lowest green tariff from British Gas was 230 a year. That has now been eliminated with all British Gas tariffs for new customers having a green component.

Rival suppliers npower and EDF Energy charge an annual green 'premium' of 70 and 35 respectively. E.On charges 2 a month for a 'Clean Energy' upgrade while ScottishPower's 'Go Green' bolt-on is 36 a year. Big Six supplier SSE does not offer a green tariff.

Research by energy regulator Ofgem suggests consumers can pay up to 300 a year more for a deal with a supplier that invests in renewable technology innovation, compared to one where the supplier simply buys certificates.

Do you think green energy deals are a rip-off? Email laura.shannon@mailonsunday.co.uk
Greening the economy is one of those transformations that we have to make. So lets try to do it well.

Over the next 30 years, every country will be moving to a lower carbon economy. The driving force, of course, is concern about the impact of carbon emissions on the climate, as last weeks report from the Committee on Climate Change highlighted.

But quite apart from political pressure, we will move in that direction because that is the way technology is developing.

By 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS

Part of this will be using less energy; part will be getting our energy from sources that do not emit carbon. The first part is obvious. All of us who have switched to LED light bulbs or turned down the central heating have cut our energy consumption.

Getting energy from non-carbon sources is trickier, because at a personal level we have very little control as to how power is generated. We can put solar panels on our roofs, but electricity drawn from the grid is drawn from whatever the power stations are feeding into it at that moment. So if this country wants to go truly green, we have to figure out ways of generating more power from renewable sources. That is not easy.

A cautionary tale. Those of us with long memories will recall our politicians heralding Britains nuclear power programme as the global leader.

When the worlds first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, was switched on by the Queen in 1956, the overseeing Minister, Rab Butler, said: It may be that after 1965 every new power station being built will be an atomic power station.

Wrong. Calder Hall closed in 2003. By then the fire at nearby Sellafield, plus the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl had destroyed public faith. The UK is struggling to build new nuclear stations now, and can only do so with foreign help. As for our own supposedly world-beating programme, we abandoned it after a huge cost to taxpayers.

Being measured means taking lots of steps that together make a difference

Whenever you hear a politician boasting that the UK will lead the world to a carbon-free future, think of Calder Hall.

Two thoughts. We have to be honest, and we have to be measured. Being honest means being open about the reality of going green. Just focusing on what we do in the UK isnt enough.

Manufacturing uses a lot of raw materials and a lot of energy. So if we import a car from abroad instead of assembling it here, that cuts our carbon emissions. But it does not cut global emissions, and we achieve nothing overall.

Being measured means taking lots of modest steps that cumulatively make a difference. At a personal level, a cooler home seems to have health benefits  better sleep, clearer thinking  which is much more convincing than some expert urging us to set the thermostat at 19 degrees. Ditto, driving a bit less and walking a bit more.

At a national level? Well, a report last autumn by the Swiss bank UBS suggested that by 2030 the costs of solar and wind power will have fallen so much as to be practically free. If that is right, and we have found a cheap way to store electricity, then economic reality will reinforce political will.

Meanwhile, a lot can be achieved by applying existing good practice more widely, rather than having expensive ambitions. What about the environmental cost of cutting half an hour off the time it takes to get a train from London to Birmingham, huh?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaways famed annual shareholders meeting was taking place yesterday in Omaha, Nebraska, with the usual folk-wisdom. But I am more intrigued by what chairman Warren Buffett does than what he says.

So as we report here, the UK grid companies are clearly a smart investment  arguably too smart a one for those of us who pay the bills. The whole ethos of Berkshire Hathaway is that you invest for the long term in solid, well-managed businesses.

Over the past 40 years this value-investing approach has been very successful. But more recently performance has slipped. This year the S&P 500 index is up 17 per cent, but Berkshire Hathaway stock up only 6 per cent. For the moment fashion beats value. But fashion is fickle, so will it flip this year? I think it may.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

J.B. writes: I bought two car parking spaces at Gatwick Airport in 2016, as an investment offered by Park First Limited, and I am wishing I had not done so. In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority decided Park First was operating a Collective Investment Scheme which should have been regulated. The regulator instructed Park First to offer investors a different arrangement or their money back. I decided I wanted my money back, but getting it is a nightmare and the watchdog is of little help.

Return: Investors in spaces at airports make money through the charges

Park First sold car park spaces as an investment, with more than 6,500 investors promised a return on their money based on charges paid by people parking their car.

The only snag was that the scheme was illegal. In effect, this was like a unit trust. That meant the company and its bosses should have been vetted and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, but instead they were breaking the law and it took the watchdog three or four years to spot this.

The regulator's eventual response was not to shut down Park First, but to open negotiations with the offenders instead. At the end of 2017, the watchdog announced: 'Park First has agreed to stop operating and promoting the original schemes.

'They are now offering investors in the Gatwick and Glasgow car parks the choice of getting their initial investment back, or moving into a new lifetime leaseback scheme.'

The watchdog did not regard the leaseback scheme as a regulated investment, which meant it could wash its hands of the whole affair.

Mystery calls were to your voicemail Ms G.G. writes: Noticing that my mobile phone bill was higher than normal, I checked and saw that 07782 090091 appeared frequently and at odd times, so I rang it and a message said the number was unrecognised. However, Three Mobile insists that I made the calls and must pay. My first thought was that this was just another mobile phone scam. However, the answer is more technical. Your calls were actually to voicemail, which would normally show up as number 123, but a glitch meant the number on your bill was an internal one that is only used by Three to route voicemails and which cannot be called back. Officials at Three say the glitch lasted several months, which is why the number kept reappearing, but it has now been corrected and you have agreed the calls were yours.

You decided to reclaim the 50,000 you had invested in two parking spaces at Gatwick. But Park First was not keen to hand it over.

It seems the regulator had allowed the company to delay refunds, while the alternative leaseback scheme meant investors could lose parking space rental income yet have to pay ground rent. Why did the watchdog not simply shut the company down and prosecute its bosses? The regulator told me: 'Had we brought proceedings, there would have been a greater risk of loss to investors as substantial resources would have been expended on litigation.'

In other words, the watchdog did not try to close down Park First, because Park First would then have spent investors' money defending itself.

Park First offered you various options and I have the impression that you were under growing pressure to accept. After I contacted both the regulator and Park First, you were offered 10,000 now and a further 5,000 after 12 months.

You would keep the parking spaces and the company would guarantee you an annual yield of 10 per cent for three years. You have accepted this and received the initial 10,000. I can only say that I hope things work out well in the long term.

Park First itself has always argued that the watchdog is wrong and that it was never running an illegal investment scheme. I have been dealing with two of its bosses, Toby Whittaker and Ruth Almond, who were involved in negotiating the deal with the regulator. It would be nice to know exactly what that deal says, but Ms Almond told me: 'I will be very clear  the watchdog has required us to keep our agreement with them confidential. We are under a legal obligation to do so.'

But I do wonder how closely the regulator has investigated Park First, which is part of a much larger group. If the watchdog's representatives visit the group's headquarters at Padiham in Lancashire, they may come across Carl Baker.

Baker's role is vague. Ruth Almond told me: 'He has just provided ad hoc services to the group from time to time.'

She explained that he does not have a fixed job title, adding: 'Mr Baker will have used different titles, depending on the work he was doing for us at the time.'

But one title he is unlikely to have used is his real name, which is Carl Anthony Ballard. Under this name he was a major player in the land banking scandals of almost a decade ago.

The Mail on Sunday warned against his companies in 2011 and in 2014 he was banned from acting as a company director for the next 14 years after investigators found he was selling house-size plots of agricultural land as an investment, with false claims about development prospects.

The Financial Conduct Authority took years to decide that land banking came under its umbrella and that it should be regulated. By then it was too late and thousands of investors lost millions. Let's hope history is not repeating itself.

Sister firm Store First is wound up...but lives on

Court proceedings brought by the Government to wind up Store First Limited  a sister company to Park First  have ended prematurely in a messy deal which effectively allows the business to continue. Store First operates self-storage warehouses and sells units in them as an investment.

Warning: Motoring writer Quentin Willson fronted a video for the firm

I warned in 2013 that sales agents were making false claims, including in a promotional video fronted by motoring writer Quentin Willson.

Many of Store First's salesmen had previously been involved in mis-selling land, wine and carbon credits as investments. They raked in more than 200million for Store First, much of it from investors' pension savings. But complaints flooded in, with claims that promises of rental income and a guaranteed buy-back scheme were hollow.

In 2017, Business Secretary Greg Clark petitioned the High Court to wind up Store First. But last Tuesday, the court hearing in Manchester ended unexpectedly, with an out-of-court agreement. It means the company will be wound up, but its existing storage business will continue, with operations managed by a separate company, Pay Store Limited.

Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Office is investigating pension companies that poured cash into Store First, allegedly with false claims and with a huge slice of investors' cash disappearing as sales commission. Store First itself is not under investigation.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
UK water companies have long been tasked with fixing leaky pipes but more than 650million gallons of water is still lost through leaks every single day  enough to supply a quarter of households in England and Wales.

The problem is even worse in America, where trillions of gallons are lost through leaks in underground pipes, homes and commercial buildings. Leakages are not just wasteful, they are also incredibly expensive. In the US, for example, water-damage claims amount to $13billion a year (10billion).

Water Intelligence was set up to tackle this issue, using state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks with maximum efficiency and minimum fuss.

Water Intelligence uses state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint and repair leaks

The shares are 3.76 and should increase in value, as the business is growing fast and chairman Patrick de Souza is committed to delivering results for investors.

De Souza, 60, has an impressive pedigree. A graduate of Yale Law School, he completed a PhD at Stanford University and worked at the White House as a director on the National Security Council.

Today Water Intelligence is based across the road from Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, and de Souza uses his relationship with the Ivy League college to develop cutting-edge acoustic and infrared techniques for detecting and repairing leaks.

The collaboration has enabled Water Intelligence to earn a reputation for speed and success.

Most of the companys sales are generated in America, where it works with up to 250,000 households a year, finding and fixing leaks in and around the home. Swimming pool leaks are a strong source of income too, particularly in the southern States.

Originally, Water Intelligence derived most of its business from worried homeowners contacting the firm directly.

Recently though, de Souza has signed agreements with large insurance firms, who use his company whenever their customers make a water leak claim. Two such contracts were signed in the past two years and, last week, the company announced a third.

These deals have a meaningful impact on Water Intelligences business, generating 50,000 pieces of new leak detection work in 2018 alone. Insurers also help Water Intelligence to spread its wings to the corporate market, finding leaks in offices, factories and other large buildings.

Over time, de Souza is expected to gain more insurance-related business, as Water Intelligence establishes a name for itself among the top firms in the sector.

De Souza founded Water Intelligence when he bought the franchise operation American Leak Detection. Franchisees still generate around most of the companys sales but de Souza has been acquiring non-performing franchises from their owners and expanding into other areas of the water leakage sector.

The company works with utilities, for example, including Thames, Southern and Northumbrian in the UK.

Over the years, de Souza and his colleagues have developed clever kit that allows these water firms to pinpoint underground leaks faster and more accurately than rivals, a system that can save serious amounts of time and money.

The business is also working on techniques to fix spillage from sewerage pipes, a sanitation problem both here and in America.

Water Intelligence publishes 2018 results this week and brokers expect a 44 per cent increase in sales to $25.3million, with profits up 47 per cent to $2.5million.

Further strong growth is predicted this year and next, as the company adds new customers, boosts sales from former franchise operations and gradually expands internationally.

Midas verdict: Water shortages are a growing problem and leakages do nothing to help. Water Intelligence is at the forefront of its field and the opportunities for growth are substantial. At 3.76, the shares should gain ground. De Souza is a significant shareholder too, so he is highly motivated to deliver the goods.
Every week we give the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust in your attic.

A new Caledonian Sleeper train service made its inaugural trip between London and Scotland last week as part of a 150million carriage revamp.

Although it suffered teething problems  from a broken coffee machine to blocked toilets  it aims to capture the imagination of a bygone era of hotel on wheels travel as advertised on collectable posters.

This poster, illustrated by Robert Bartlett, sold for 12,000 last month

Last month, a 1932 London North Eastern Railway Scotland poster  The Night Scotsman, illustrated by Robert Bartlett  sold for 12,000.

Popular British holiday destination posters advertised by railway companies are always in demand.

Those illustrated with colourful art deco styles are most sought after.

A 1930s Come To Old World Cornwall poster by Great Western Railway  illustrated by SI Veale  can go for as much as 1,750.

And a 1950s Weston-super-Mare, The Smile In Smiling Somerset British Railways Western Region poster by the popular artist Harry Riley can sell for as much as 1,000.
The British whistleblower behind a legal action that could leave Standard Chartered facing a 1.5billion fine claims that he was ousted from the bank after he warned senior staff of a major loophole in its money laundering checks.

The former Standard Chartered executive filed a report in 2011, seen by The Mail on Sunday, which alleges that the way foreign exchange transactions were processed meant the bank could not tell who its clients were.

In the document, he alleges that the way the banks systems operated meant that there is no line of sight on the client.

Money laundering checks: The whistleblower claims he warned two managing directors

The whistleblower, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims he warned two managing directors in the Singapore arm of Standard Chartered, where he was working at the time, that it was possible to mis-spell the name of a client and still process a transaction.

He alleges that this meant there was no way of carrying out money laundering checks or working out whether a client was on an official blacklist of people or countries with whom the bank was forbidden from doing business.

Banking regulations typically state that firms must carry out strict identity checks to ensure that they are not offering services to criminals or fraudsters who wish to launder money.

In 2012, Standard Chartered was hit with a 415million fine for breaking US sanctions by working with clients linked to Iran. Then in April this year, the bank received a $1.1billion (835million) fine for continuing to conduct business with people linked to Iran and other nations, including Sudan and Cuba.

When the April fine was announced, chief executive Bill Winters said it marked the end of the saga and pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions. But The Mail on Sunday revealed last weekend that Standard Chartered could face a new 1.5billion fine after whistleblowers  including the Briton who raised the alarm in 2011  filed a civil case in America.

The British whistleblower alleges that after he alerted senior management, he was summoned to a meeting with an executive at Standard Chartered, where it became clear that he had to leave the bank.

[The executive] said, I heard you wanted to leave the bank. I said that was news to me and he said, I think its in the best interests of all that we part company, the whistleblower said.

He subsequently left the firm and alerted the US authorities. Under the US False Claims Act, which is designed to encourage people to expose corporate wrongdoing, whistleblowers in the US can receive up to 25 per cent of any penalties awarded against a company.

Chief executive Bill Winters pointed blame at two junior employees for breaking the sanctions

The Standard Chartered whistleblowers have not received any money from the previous fines, but would benefit if they are successful with the civil lawsuit.

The Mail on Sunday understands that documents outlining the new case  which is being revived after the whistleblowers withdrew it in 2017  will be publicly available within days.

A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: We still have not been served with the lawsuit described, therefore we cannot comment on the specifics provided but they sound similar to claims made in a case that was filed against us by a private company and then dismissed in 2017.

If this case is the same or similar to the one previously dismissed, we believe it lacks merit.

The US authorities have been aware of the claims for several years and did not see fit to join the previous suit or include the claims as part of our resolution of historical sanctions compliance issues on April 9, 2019. Should we be served with the lawsuit described we will defend ourselves vigorously.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner could pocket 55m

Ocado boss Tim Steiner might feel slightly aggrieved by the shareholder revolt last week at his bonuses worth up to 100million over five years.

The Goldman Sachs banker-turned-tech-tycoon has made his investors several times their money in less than two years after striking partnerships with supermarkets abroad and signing a breakthrough deal with Marks & Spencer.

The grocery delivery firm has hurtled into the FTSE 100 and is on the verge of a 10billion valuation.

Ocado's chief executive probably won't be feeling too down about the broadside from shareholders at the annual meeting.

That's because from Wednesday he can cash in on a bonus scheme put in place in 2014 when the shares were worth a fraction of their current value. So he could pocket 55million.

Other executive directors will also be in the money. Finance chief Duncan Tatton-Brown and chief operations officer Mark Richardson are in line for 13.7million each.

Luke Jensen  in charge of its tech platform Ocado Solutions  will make 6.4million.

BT's new boss faces grilling

New boss Philip Jansen is likely to face a grilling this week over BT's Italian accounting scandal after it emerged that London-based managers may have been more closely involved than previously suggested.

That aside, Thursday's annual results are expected to show little improvement on last year. An anticipated 1.3 per cent fall in turnover to 23.4billion and adjusted profit down 2.1 per cent to 7.4billion underline the task facing Jansen to return BT to growth.

Intriguingly, Deutsche Telekom, BT's largest shareholder, reports results the same day.

No word yet about its intentions for BT, now that it is free to launch a takeover of the British telecoms firm.

Sainsbury's not in the money after all

Embattled Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe is probably best known for his vocal talents  namely singing We're In The Money after unveiling plans for the supermarket mega-merger with Asda last year.

Last week, he stumped up 230,000 to buy Sainsbury's shares as a show of faith after the Asda deal was officially blocked.

The shares have tumbled around 35 per cent since last August as the deal unravelled. Not including share options, it means the value of his stake in the company has fallen by about 1.8million in that time. So not in the money after all.

Imperial Brands to benefit from vaping

Wednesday could see relatively weak first-half results from Imperial Brands. Thats according to number-crunchers at Swiss bank UBS, who say the tobacco giant could take a 140million hit on operating profits, largely down to a 100million investment in so-called next-generation products  or vaping.

The tobacco giants are ploughing billions into these new products to counter slowing cigar and cigarette sales. That investment for Imperial could lead to a 4 per cent fall in first-half profit, UBS predicts.

A difficult first six months could put pressure on the FTSE 100 company to pick up steam in the second half.
The corporate raider targeting Barclays faces a fresh humiliation as his own shareholders prepare to grill him over a 27 per cent fall in the value of their investments.

Edward Bramson, who owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through his Sherborne Investors fund, suffered a hefty defeat last week in his bid to win a seat on the banks board.

He won support from just 3.9 per cent of Barclays shareholders, leaving him a long way short of the 50 per cent he needed, so he was unable to force Barclays to curtail its investment banking arm.

Corporate raider: Edward Bramson owns 5.5 per cent of Barclays through Sherborne Investors

Now the New York financier is braced for a backlash from his own shareholders  many of whom did not back his bid for a board seat  at Sherbornes annual meeting on June 4.

The value of Bramsons fund, Sherborne Investors Guernsey C, has plunged 27 per cent since 2017, from 695.9million to 502.3million. In that time, the FTSE 100 has fallen 3.3 per cent.

The funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays.

The fall in the funds value has affected major institutions including Aviva, Schroders, Fidelity and Columbia Threadneedle  all of which own shares in Sherborne.

City commentator David Buik, of trading firm Core Spreads, said: Its all very well having a good track record, but when you slip up people are not loyal and they tend to leave these funds.

I suspect Bramsons going to plead with his shareholders to give him time.

At the meeting of Barclays investors, Bramson vowed to fight on in his bid to boost the banks ailing share price, which has fallen 20 per cent over the year, compared to a 2 per cent fall for the FTSE 100.

He said investors wanted to give the banks incoming chairman Nigel Higgins a chance to fix problems before putting an activist on the board.

If Higgins wants to take a shot at it himself, thats fine with us, Bramson said. The only thing wed say is having been given a chance to do that, were expecting to see results.

Bramson was not the only item on the agenda for Barclays shareholders. Many had expressed dismay at the high level of pay for its bankers and ongoing litigation issues.

Bramson's funds fortunes are directly tied to the share price of Barclays

One shareholder said at the meeting: The reports of misbehaviour or excess are many and diverse.

And by excess, I mean wild overpayments of the staff and the board. Your annual report shows executive directors were paid about 7million. Theres another 3.5million for non-executive directors.

I put it to you that shareholders are not getting value for money, and the bank is repeatedly promising improvements in the future which are, to say the least, very slow in coming.

Responding to shareholder concerns at last weeks meeting, outgoing chairman John McFarlane said: Many of these go back a long time. PPI goes back a long time. Some of the larger litigation and conduct issues started in 2010 and its taken some time for these to come through the system.

I can assure you were not trying to deliberately create these any more. These are mistakes that do get made, and hopefully that we can draw a line under.

Sherborne declined to comment.
A company that counts Tory MP Priti Patel as a director is plotting a float on Londons stock exchange.

Accounting software firm Accloud, which targets firms in India, last week received a pledge for $30million (23million).

The finance from Australia-based fund manager Mayfair 101 in exchange for a larger stake paves the way for a listing on AIM, Londons junior stock market, which could value Accloud at tens of millions of pounds.

Deal: Software firm Accloud is paying Priti Patel 45,000 a year to work for 20 hours per month

Patel, a pro-Brexit former Minister whose parents are from India, was appointed a director of Accloud this year. She receives 45,000 a year for about 20 hours of work a month.

The MP for Witham in Essex is not listed by Companies House as a shareholder. But she could receive shares before the float, as is often the case. Patel was forced to quit as International Development Secretary in 2017 after revelations of unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers.

Mayfair 101 said Patels deep connections throughout India and other developing nations align with Acclouds go-to-market strategy.

The firm made an $18.8 million loss after tax for the year ending March 2018. However, its auditors BDO quit in December saying it could not conduct a proper audit. It said Accloud PLC, a shell company set up in 2015 to buy an operating company, Accloud Ltd, had not included financial statements for the firm it bought. BDO said in its resignation letter the issue had not been addressed.

Accloud did not respond to a request for a comment. Patel said: All declarations are with the Commons register.
It's been a landmark week for John Holland-Kaye  in more ways than one. On Thursday, the chief executive of Heathrow celebrated his tenth anniversary at the airport.

As is customary for long-serving employees, the company prepared a letter to congratulate him on his tenure. Usually, the chief executive signs them off  but not on this occasion, for obvious reasons.

There was a letter I was supposed to sign saying: Dear John. Congratulations. Signed, John. I havent signed it. I thought it was a bit weird.

Threat: John Holland-Kaye says expansion is urgent

But that came after a far more significant milestone for the boss of Britains biggest airport. On Wednesday, Heathrows ambitious expansion plans cleared another major hurdle as the High Court quashed a challenge from campaigners to halt the move. I think it will now go ahead, says Holland-Kaye. And I also think it needs to go ahead.

Under the plans, a third runway will be built at Heathrow that would boost passenger numbers from 78 million a year to 130 million.

Holland-Kaye, who took up the top job in 2014 after joining as commercial director in 2009, believes Brexit has added several degrees of importance to the expansion drive.

We cannot take for granted that the UK will be able to enjoy the same economic success we have done for the last decade, he says. Weve got to fight for our place in the world. It is incompatible to have Brexit and no expanded Heathrow.

This is now urgent, he adds, explaining that with Heathrow at full capacity, Paris and Amsterdam are sucking up new passengers as well as company headquarters ahead of the UKs departure from the European Union.

This is real competition happening, and the longer we delay expanding Heathrow, the more were handing competitive advantage to our rivals in Europe.

If the Heathrow expansion debate was about economic prosperity alone, it may have been won decades ago.

It is incompatible to have Brexit  and then not expand Heathrow

Unfortunately for Holland-Kaye, he has many other issues to contend with  not least growing concern about carbon emissions from air travel. Last week, former Labour leader and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband said Heathrow should not go ahead, while Justin Francis  the chief executive of holiday firm Responsible Travel  warned that a larger airport would be bad for the environment and called on the Government to divert expansion funds instead towards decarbonisation investment.

But Holland-Kaye insists that Heathrows growth  which will increase its capacity from 473,000 to 740,000 flights per year  can benefit the environment as well as the economy.

According to his theory, a bigger Heathrow means a better economy  and a better economy means more resources to invest in environmentally friendly technology.

The 54-year-old admits he does not currently possess all of the answers, but says he has already started decarbonising the airport, including by incentivising low-carbon planes and investing in the restoration of peatlands, which help offset emissions.

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to Heathrow expansion plans

The next step, which will require co-operation from the airlines, is to reduce carbon emissions from flights using new technologies  like electric planes  and biofuels.

I see this as being just a transitional phase until we get to net zero carbon, which is the next goal, says Holland-Kaye. Thats what we are now campaigning for. The solution will be a combination of electric flight, particularly for short-haul.

Electric planes will be able to serve distances of up to 500km, so large parts of Europe will be accessible by electric plane. And for long-haul, its probably some sort of hybrid solution  it will certainly involve some kind of biofuel or synthetic fuel. Those solutions are being tested at the moment. Its technology that exists, although it is not at scale and its not cheap enough yet to be economic.

Heathrow will play a big role, he says, by creating infrastructure for electric planes. We need to come up with a solution because I dont think its conceivable to any economy to not have flights, he says. [Without flights] wed have a much smaller economy, and we wouldnt be able to fund the kind of decarbonisation we want to have.

Despite Holland-Kayes optimism after the court victory, there remain several other obstacles ahead and naysayers believe the decades-long battle to expand Heathrow is far from won.

Were seven years from the runway but weve started training people

Boris Johnson, MP for nearby Uxbridge, is opposed to the plans  and is tipped by some as a future Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion.

Theyre going to need a healthy economy [if Labour wins power], Holland-Kaye hits back, claiming that Heathrow expansion will create up to 180,000 jobs. Some of these, he says as an example, will be for apprentices fitting insulated windows around Heathrow to block out flight noise.

Heathrow Airport Holdings office is already insulated, with barely any take-off and landing sound seeping through. And Holland-Kaye says the company is planning to spend 700million to offer the same treatment to its neighbours.

He says: Even though we are still seven years from opening the runway, weve started training people up and started installing double-glazing. So what that helps to do is not just show just what a prize there is to expanding Heathrow, but also what the price is.

Turning around to the apprentices whove started training up to do a job and saying, Actually, weve changed our mind, youre going to be out of work  that is the real price you pay for trying to turn things back.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the Labour leader and shadow chancellor, are also against the expansion

Other groups less likely to be supportive of expansion include residents of boroughs in South-West London  Holland-Kaye himself lived in Fulham but moved to Oxfordshire a year before joining Heathrow  and those even closer to Heathrow, some of whom will be forced to sell their houses to the airport so it can build the runway.

In his decade at Heathrow, Holland-Kaye has helped his company overcome challenges from local politicians, a rival expansion bid from Gatwick and many other opponents.

But, even if nothing can now stop a third runway, Heathrow Airport Holdings still faces a stern challenge from a noisy neighbour.

Surinder Arora, a property investor who owns a large amount of land in the Heathrow area, is putting the finishing touches to a rival plan to expand the airport, which he claims will be far cheaper.

Aroras plan has drawn support from British Airways owner IAG, which is based in Heathrow and is unhappy about costs racked up by the airport and its foreign owners who have been paid dividends totalling 3.5billion since 2012.

Im not paying very close attention [to Aroras plans], says Holland-Kaye dismissively.

Weve got our plan, weve got a lot of work to do to make sure we deliver it successfully  so Im just focused on getting the expanded Heathrow open as quickly as possible. Because this country needs it  and we cant be distracted by anything else.
Polina Montano launched Job Today with co founder Eugene Mizin after needing to make a quick hire for one of the garages she managed in Luxembourg.

Polina Montano doesn't have any specific recruitment industry experience.

But, despite this, around six million people now make use of her employment app, Job Today.

It specialises in bringing together job seekers and employers in the retail and hospitality sector.

Polina is an unlikely candidate to have backed such a venture - she describes herself as a technophobe and says launching a technology company 'just happened'.

Before starting up Job Today with co-founder Eugene Mizin, she was managing six petrol stations in Luxembourg.

The successful entrepreneur says the Job Today app idea was borne at a time when she was in the midst of having dinner with friends and cooking.

She told This is Money: 'And just then my mobile phone rang that needed a replacement urgently for one of the petrol stations.

'And I said I wish there was mobile tech to connect employees with would-be employers.'

The app was initially launched in Barcelona, Spain, in 2015. Since then, the Luxembourg-based company has managed to gain respectable amounts in financial backing.

It raised $20million (15.39million) in November 2016 and topped it up with $16million (12.31million) extension in September 2018.

There are no plans to raise any further money for the business with Polina explaining that they're now focusing on executing on strategy, effectively doing the job and building the business.

Job Today launched in Britain three years ago and now has over six million registered users across both Spain and the UK.

Around 600,000 businesses make use of the app to advertise positions.

What makes the app different is that instead of making companies post an advert on a website, or asking prospective candidates for CVs, it connects employers with future staff, allowing them to message back and forth to discuss roles and speed up the hiring process.

This way of conducting a straightforward, instantaneous connection with a future employer has made it become a particularly attractive proposition for millennials.

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app, which can be downloaded, printed or shared easily

Polina says: 'Young people are early adopters of this technology. Around 70 per cent of our users are aged between 16 and 35.

'It's all about connecting millennials who want everything online and mobile and businesses who traditionally don't use online solutions that are either to slow, cumbersome or expensive.

'It also reduces time for those who don't have time to sit in front of the laptop.

'You can have instant communication and interaction rather than the traditional model of sending a CV. We decided to make it as fast and as easy as we can.'

Job Today is gaining in momentum. It says it is overtaking industry stalwarts like Gumtree in certain categories.

Instead of emailing your CV, you can contact prospective employers through the Job Today app and they, in turn, can view your profile

Polina says: 'We've been in the UK for three years and before we came to the market, people used Gumtree.'

She claims: 'We are now 170 per cent bigger than Gumtree's hospitality classified section.

'Another competitor is obviously Indeed and in London our hospitality section is also bigger than Indeed.'

The business uses a classified model and Polina reveals that it's only recently that the business has begun to monetise its offering.

British firms can trial the app for free for seven days but thereafter a 24.99 monthly fee applies.

Polina says: 'It's the business that pays to post the job and promote it and make listing more visible.

'For users it's a freemium model  charges only apply once you've exhausted your free options.'

Unemployment figures in Spain and the UK are about 14.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively according to reports -but Polina insists that unemployment rates have nothing to do with the company's success.

She explains: 'This proves the problem is universal. In the service industry there is a high churn of staff so just the rotation of staff itself fuels the need for hiring solutions for jobseeker and business owner.'

The Job Today app also helps job seekers by enabling them to create a bespoke CV on the app.

Polina explains: 'You can download your profile and use it on other platforms if you need to.

'Job Today takes the whole agony [out of creating a CV] out entirely and you can create a beautiful curriculum vitae.

'You simply answer questions and the app puts it all together.

'It's called a digital professional identity and it's bespoke for the world of casual workers out there.'

For entrepreneurs trying to burst onto the tech scene, she advises: 'Whatever solution you are developing you have to have a clear understanding of who you are doing it for.

'Your idea has to provide value and that's what it amounts to at the end of the day.'

She adds that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to try different things  even if they don't have experience in their chosen industry pointing out that her journey has taken her from fashion, to retail and then technology.

'If you are passionate about something and curious about it, don't let other people stop you. Or if you feel you don't have the experience or knowledge of a particular industry don't let it stop you.

'I know it sounds crazy but fear makes us stop great ideas and projects  it's a shame.'
By Giulio Piovaccari and Nick Carey

MILAN/DETROIT, May 3 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) said on Friday that new U.S. pickup truck models would help the automaker achieve its 2019 profit targets and offset a weak performance in the first quarter.

That renewed forecast sent FCA's shares up 4 percent.

Nearly all - 98 percent - of the Italo-American automaker's first-quarter profit was powered by its Ram pickup truck. FCA's U.S. sales were down 3.1 percent in the quarter, but Ram sales were up more than 20 percent and outsold rival General Motor Co's Chevrolet Silverado.

"The whole quarter was powered by Ram (pickup trucks) while the rest of the company was lagging," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Cox Automotive, adding that FCA spent heavily on consumer discounts to outsell the Silverado.

"The question is whether the strong performance by Ram is going to be enough to give FCA a push moving forward," Krebs said.

Analysts and investors have worried about FCA's over-reliance on the U.S. market, given its loss-making operations in both Asia and Europe.

FCA expects new models such as the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck and all-new Ram heavy-duty trucks to help it meet full-year targets.

Chief Executive Mike Manley told analysts on a conference call most of the profit improvement would come in the second half of 2019.

The automaker posted a higher profit for the quarter in Latin America and Manley said the region's strong performance should continue. He said FCA's European region, which lost money in the quarter, would return to a profit with margins of around 3 percent by the end of 2019.

The carmaker has pledged to spend 5 billion euros ($5.58 billion) on new models and engines in Italy over the next three years to better use factories, plus boost jobs and margins in Europe.

Asked about potential partnerships, Manley said he expected the next two to three years to yield "significant opportunities" and FCA to play an "active role" in that environment.

FCA has been at the center of renewed merger speculation in recent months.

Chairman John Elkann - a scion of Italy's Agnelli family that is FCA's biggest shareholder - reiterated last month the family was prepared to take "bold and creative decisions" to help build a solid and attractive future for the carmaker.

FCA's North American margin fell to 6.5 percent from 7.4 percent a year earlier, below the first-quarter margins posted by Detroit rivals GM and Ford Motor Co.

The company's first-quarter operating profit fell 29 percent to 1.07 billion euros, below analyst expectations of 1.31 billion euros.

The operating profit at Maserati fell 87 percent, hurt by weakness in the Chinese market. CEO Manley said the performance of the luxury brand should improve in the second half of 2019.

FCA stuck to its full-year 2019 adjusted operating profit forecast of more than 6.7 billion euros.

"The numbers are pretty weak, but what's good is that they confirmed their guidance, and this is giving support to FCA shares," a Milan based analyst told Reuters.

In late trade in Milan, FCA shares were 4.2 percent at 14.11 euros.

($1 = 0.8965 euros)

(Additional reporting by Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for C5ISR systems and enterprise IT networks; and solutions and services to enhance the collection, analysis, and processing of data across the US civilian and military intelligence communities. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Farnborough, the United Kingdom.

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Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC is an investment company. The Company aims to maximize total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio of smaller quoted companies in the economies of Asia and Australasia, excluding Japan. The Company's assets are invested in a diversified portfolio of securities (including equity shares, preference shares, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities) in quoted smaller companies spread across a range of industries and economies in the investment region, including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand, together with such other countries in Asia (the investment region). It may also invest in collective investment schemes and in companies traded on stock markets outside the investment region. The Company's investment manager is Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited.

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China Green Agriculture, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, Yuxing, and Sales Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment comprises of compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly-concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The Sales VIEs segment comprises of subsidiary companies sales. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi'an, China.

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WASHINGTON  In its planning stages, the Erie Canal was derided as Clintons Big Ditch  a hopeless vision of a hapless governor, DeWitt Clinton, to build what was then about the boldest, most ambitious infrastructure project of its time.

But after it opened in 1825, the Erie Canal spawned a wave of commercial and business opportunity that helped put Albany and Buffalo  and the 363 miles of points in between  on the map.

In much the same way, the rebirth of the canal as a federal National Heritage Corridor has generated $1.5 billion in economic impact in a line of upstate towns  including places like Waterford, Schenectady and Cohoes  that had been in decline for decades. New apartments, kayak rentals, restaurants, trail markers, historic preservation, bike paths  all these are positive signs in the longed-for resurrection of upstate New Yorks once-thriving economy.

In addition to the economic impact, the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor supports 3,240 jobs and generates $34.9 million in tax revenue.

It's bringing a sense of pride back to these communities, said Paul Comstock, a kayaker and native of a canal town, Newark in Wayne County.

His grandfather was a Hoggee guiding horses along the towpath in the 1890s. When I paddle down the canal, people are jogging, riding bikes, walking," he said. "Its been a transforming experience, spiritually.

The Erie Canal heritage corridor is one of 55 such sites nationwide overseen by the National Park Service. It encompasses not one but four canals, connecting Albany by water to such far-flung locations as Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Oswego and Whitehall (in addition to Buffalo).

Generations grew up on the folk song 15 Miles on the Erie Canal, which recalls life on the waterway: We know every inch of the way, from Albany to Buffalo, and You'll always know your neighbor, and you'll always know your pal, if you ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

Now the canal is less about hard work and more about having fun. The Erie corridor is sponsoring a Canalway Challenge that lets walkers, runners, cyclists and paddlers set mileage goals, including the 360-mile End-to-Ender.

Last year, more than 6,000 children from 85 schools went on class trips to learn about the canal and its history.

Federal money for the corridor stems from Congressional legislation that envisioned the U.S. planting seed money that would allow the corridors to grow and attract further investment from state, local and private sources. The Erie Canal is under a federal cap of $12 million  with $757,414 spent in fiscal 2018 and the balance of its $1.3 billion budget for the year made up by state and local funding, plus grants, contributions and sponsorships.

Federal support for the Erie Canal was set at $10 million, but raised to $12 million in 2017.

The Senate recently raised the caps for every site except the Erie Canal, in what Rep. Paul Tonko and 19 other House members called an oversight.

In a March 12 letter, the New York delegation  including Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck  asked that the cap be lifted to $14 million.

Tonko, who spoke out at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, said continuing a federal presence on the corridor is more than a matter of funding.

The federal designation is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, said Tonko.

The National Park Service signs along the trail lets visitors know the U.S. government stands behind the nations important history, he said.

Heritage areas around the country have proven that, with limited federal investments, we can do great things, said Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund inc., who testified at the hearing. It attracts visitors, gives to the community, and makes residents proud to be in (the) corridor.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Radliff added that it also gives him and other canal advocates the ability to leverage money from state, local and private sources.

Republicans at the hearing said the caps were put in there for a reason, and that the original legislation did not anticipate federal funding in perpetuity.

Tonko responded that federal funding for these corridors is an example of worthy stimulus for economic growth and revitalization.

If the president says 'Im for job creation,' well  this is job creation, Tonko said. This is a shot in the arm.

Tonko is sponsoring two bills: One would lift the cap for the Erie Canal to $14 million. The other would end caps altogether and essentially make federal participation a permanent feature of all the sites.

Those who live and work along the waterway say that without the rehabilitation, the historically shaky upstate economy would be in much worse shape than it is.

It would be a sad, sad circumstance, said Erin Tobin of the Preservation League of New York State. What theyve done is thread together historic and economic development, tourism, and boosting the main streets of the canal communities.

State Assemblyman John McDonald, who calls himself the river guy because his district winds through Cohoes  where he was mayor  as well as Albany, Troy and Watervliet, argued that funding historic heritage sites transcends political ideology.

You cant be far left or far right in running a business or government, said McDonald, a Democrat. You need use government assistance where it is appropriate. If government can prime the pump, it can inspire developer to take a chance.

Donna Larkin, who left a career as a paralegal to start Upstate Kayak Rentals, said the canal attracts visitors from Europe, Chicago, Florida  all over the place.

Without the resources and funding, people wouldnt be having this experience, she said.
ALBANY  A Rensselaer County man was arrested Friday on a charge of possessing unregistered firearms.

Thomas E. Ozga, 30, of East Nassau, is accused of possessing multiple, unregistered firearm silencers, according to a news release from United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Buffalo Field Office.

Ozga appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered Ozga released with conditions, the U.S. attorney's office stated.

If convicted, Ozga faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Jaquith's office.

This case is being investigated by HSI Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Albany, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily C. Powers.
Miami

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of the conglomerate that operates the largest facility for migrant children in the country.

Caliburn International's CEO James Van Dusen confirmed the appointment of the former Trump cabinet member Friday in a news release.

Some members of Congress have described "prison-like" conditions in the facility in Homestead, Florida.

"With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team," said Van Dusen.

An executive order on ethics issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 doesn't appear to prevent Kelly and other White House officials from joining boards, but it does ban lobbying activities.

The facility is undergoing a massive expansion, saying the dramatic spike in migrants' arrivals has increased the demand for space. It has added hundreds of beds in the past few weeks. About 2,500 children are detained there now, ages 13-17, after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Kelly first revealed the U.S. government was considering separating migrant families when he was Homeland Security secretary, saying it would be a deterrent for others considering migrating north. Kelly stepped down as chief of staff in January.

The Florida facility housed as many as 140 children who were separated from their parents last year.

Before joining the White House, Kelly was affiliated with DC Capital Partners, the Washington private equity firm that formed the umbrella corporation behind the detention camp operator.
FINANCIAL

ALLIANT INSURANCE SERVICES INC.

Justin Riccio joined as senior vice president. Riccio, who previously served as senior vice president at a multinational insurance and consulting firm, has nearly 20 years of experience in claims, underwriting, brokerage, risk management and consulting.

HEALTH CARE

MVP HEALTH CARE

Bruce Himelstein was appointed chief medical officer. Himelstein has more than 25 years of leadership experience in clinical medicine, education, research and strategic program design, most recently serving as the senior executive medical director for government solutions at the Health Care Service Corp., a privately-held nonprofit Blue Cross plan in Chicago.

HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK

Ephraim Back joined the medical staff at Ticonderoga Health Center. Back is an experienced family physician and family physician educator whose clinical interests include full-spectrum primary care, maternity care and women's health, public health and opioid use disorder treatment.

NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Kevin Kerwin joined as vice president for public policy. Kerwin previously served as the New York State Bar Association's associate director of government relations and as its deputy general counsel.

NONPROFITS

THE FRIENDS OF RECOVERY  NEW YORK

Angelia Smith-Wilson joined as executive director, effective May 20. Smith-Wilson, who serves as assistant director of local program operations at the New York State Office for the Aging, has more than 20 years of human service and addiction experience.

PROFESSIONS

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

CIOFFI, SLEZAK WILDGRUBE PC (CSW)

Cristine Cioffi has become of counsel. Cioffi, a founder of the law firm who has practiced for 40 years, will continue to maintain an active practice of trust and estate law and elder law, serving multiple generations of clients.

SERVICES

MVP RESULTS

Lissa D'Aquanni founded the community development consulting company. D'Aquanni previously served as director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region.

BOATS BY GEORGE

Tyler Moseman joined as marketing manager. Moseman is responsible for all company marketing initiatives.

 Jennifer Patterson
SARAH SILBIGER

Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that is just the start of it.

Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released Thursday.
Albany

The third and final person to be sentenced for contributing to the March 2018 overdose death of 24-year-old Keisha Richards was sentenced Friday, according to Albany District Attorney P. David Soares' office.

Jodi Noisseau was sentenced to one to four years for her part in the case before Judge Roger D. McDonough in Albany County Supreme Court. She had pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to manslaughter in the second degree.

On April 26, Tamale Harris, 44, who was convicted of manslaughter and concealing a corpse, was sentenced to nine and a half to 19 years in state prison for his role in Richards' death. A third defendant, Christopher Kondracki, 53, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor drug possession charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

On March 14, 2018, the lifeless body of Keisha Richards, 24, was found on a Kent Street sidewalk. Police determined she had overdosed and that she hadn't been alone.

Instead, those she was with neglected to call emergency services, leaving her without medical attention, before bleaching and dumping her body in a snowbank, officials said.

The trial involved one of the most high-profile deaths to occur since the Capital Region began to confront an ongoing opioid epidemic where deaths often go unnoticed to anyone beyond the families and friends of the victims. according to Soares' office, which noted that such deaths rarely lead to criminal charges.

During Harris' March trial, prosecutors said the Albany man had brought Richards, a Vermont resident, and Noisseau to the Capital Inn and Suites in Rensselaer for a party on March 13, 2018.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

According to prosecutors, the group drank, did drugs and had sex. Prosecutors said they believe believe Richards took heroin and laid down in the room while Harris and Noisseau continued their night.

Surveillance video from the next morning showed Harris carrying Richards' limp body to a car. The group drove to Noisseau's apartment and Harris left.

Prosecutors said that rather than drop Richards off at a hospital or call 911, the group left her alone for hours. Later, Noisseau noticed that Richards' pulse was slowing and that she was barely breathing so Noisseau called Harris, telling him they should call an ambulance, but he said no, prosecutors said.

Noisseau, who testified at the trial, said Harris directed her to clean Richards' body with bleach in an attempt to hide any evidence. Harris then borrowed a truck and dumped Richards' body.

"With the resolution of this case, it is our hope that community members understand the tragic consequences that can occur if we do not call for help," Soares said in a statement. "If you witness a friend, a loved one, or anyone in the community overdosing, do not hesitate to call 911. The New York State 911 Good Samaritan Law protects you. Make the call and save a life."
[May 03, 2019] FUSION CONNECT SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Fusion Connect, Inc. - FSNN

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until June 17, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Fusion Connect, Inc. (Other OTC: FSNN), if they purchased the Company's shares between August 14, 2018 and April 2, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Fusion and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/otc-fsnn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by June 17, 2019.



About the Lawsuit Fusion and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On April 2, 2019, the Company disclosed that it had identified accounting errors that caused a material understatement of expenses, and as a result, its Q2 and Q3 2018 financial statements could no longer be relied upon and would have to be restated, and that it would not be able to file its 2018 annual report timely. On this news, the price of Fusion's shares plummeted. The case is Satarzadeh v. Fusion Connect (News - Alert), Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-3391. 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/20190503005540/en/

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[May 03, 2019] AT&T SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against AT&T, Inc. - T

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 (News - Alert), Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Company's 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 (News - Alert). 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. awyers 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&T's 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 (News - Alert) and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential. On this news, the price of AT&T's 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. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190503005545/en/

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[May 03, 2019] CONDUENT 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Approximately 96 Hours Remain; Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. - CNDT

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with large financial interests that they have only until May 7, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Conduent, Inc. (NYSE: CNDT). Investor losses must relate to purchases of the Company's shares between February 21, 2018 and November 6, 2018. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Conduent and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cndt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 7, 2019.



About the Lawsuit On November 7, 2018, the Company disclosed negative Q3 and Q4 projected operating results due to "continued suboptimal performance from an inherited legacy technology vendorstem[ming] from the vendor's inability to deliver on service level agreements, lack of responsiveness to Conduent's needs, and poorly structured contract which we inherited" Further, an "outdated and historically under-invested legacy IT infrastructure has caused major disruptions to our operations and impacted clients and delivery performance."

On this news, the price of Conduent's shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include 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/20190503005546/en/

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Six consecutive quarters. Thats how long the smartphone market has been in decline so far. And market leaders like Apple and Samsung are really feeling the pain. But not Huawei.

(Image credit: Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group at the P30 Pro launch event. Credit: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

On a tear in China but also coming on strong in Europe, Huawei saw 50 percent growth in smartphone sales in Q1 year over year, while Apple plummeted 30 percent, according to IDC. Samsung didnt struggle as much, but shipments were still down 8 percent, and that was before the Galaxy Fold debacle.

The scary part? Huawei phones arent even sold officially in the U.S. This is largely due to security concerns and reported links between Huawei and the Chinese government. Huawei has denied those claims and is suing the U.S. government. And yet Huawei is thriving anyway.

Huawei doesnt necessarily need to have a position in the U.S., said Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research. Working with the U.S. carriers can be expensive due to the need for extensive testing and then marketing support.

Huawei on a roll

Despite the political controversy, Huawei has been one of the most innovative smartphone makers over the past few years. For example, in 2016, the Huawei P9 was the first phone co-engineered with Leica with a dual-lens shooter. The Huawei Mate 10 in 2017 was the first phone with an embedded AI chip. And last years Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the worlds first phone to offer reverse wireless charging (way before the Galaxy S10).



(Image credit: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro was the first phone to offer wireless reverse charging. Credit: Tom's Guide)

For its most recent Huawei P30 Pro, the company literally reinvented the smartphone camera, delivering not only a 5x periscope zoom but a super spectrum sensor that delivers incredible low light performance with a crazy-high ISO of 409,600. As a result, the P30 Pro edged out Googles mighty Pixel 3 in a photo face-off, which has been our best camera phone.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried, said Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst for Techsponential. The perception that a flagship phone has market-leading advances is crucial to the value proposition.

Of course, it helps that Huawei is strongest in the Chinese market, which is not nearly as saturated as the U.S. or Europe, where more and more consumers are holding onto their phones longer. In Q1 2019, the company shipped 30 million of its 59.1 million smartphones in its home country, or about 50 percent, according to IHS Markit. The research firm said in its report that Huawei is competing on even footing with Samsung and Apple in the high-end, while expanding into other price segments.

Huawei vs. Samsung vs. Apple

If Huawei keeps this pace up, it wont be long before it surpasses Samsung, which has been the No. 1 smartphone maker for years. IHS Markit says that Huaweis market share worldwide was 18 percent in Q2, compared to 22 percent for Samsung. So if Huaweis growth rate continues, it could knock Samsung from its pedestal as soon as this year.



(Image credit: The Huawei P30 Pro's camera offers a 5x periscope zoom and 50x digital zoom. Credit: Tom's Guide)

In April, Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis consumer business group, said the company expects to be the worlds largest smartphone brand by 2020. And right now, its phones look quite favorable compared to Samsungs. For instance, the Huawei P30 Pro has a superior camera to the Galaxy S10, and the foldable Huawei Mate X has garnered more positive early reaction from critics than the troubled Galaxy Fold.

Apple and Samsung should definitely be worried. - Avi Greengart, founder and lead analyst, Techsponential

Huawei also has its Honor brand, which offers more aggressively priced devices targeted toward younger audiences. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro will be introduced at a press event in London May 21. In addition to sporting a Galaxy S10-like, hole-punch display up front, the Honor 20 is rumored to offer Alexa integration and periscope camera thats very similar to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Add it all up and Samsung could be in trouble.

Huawei has invested a lot of money into its brand to help them grow presence on a global basis, said Tuong H. Nguyen, senior principal analyst at Gartner. Its also improved its quality on smartphones to be able to compete with tier 1 vendors like Samsung.

Where Apple and Samsung still win

While Huawei may have overtaken Apple as the worlds second biggest smartphone maker, it still trails Apple when it comes to ecosystems. Yes, Huawei phones offer Huaweis own EMUI interface, and the company offers a Mobile Cloud storage service. Huawei also has a music service in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as well as a video service in China, Italy and Spain. But it doesnt provide the breadth of services that Apple does  and thats unlikely to change given Apples push to beef up the services side of its business.



(Image credit: The foldable Mate X demonstrates Huawei's innovative design, but the company is behind on services. Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Samsung is ahead of Huawei in services, too, but also when it comes to offering a wide range of devices that work together, such as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds, smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch Active and also the way Samsungs phones can work with its TVs and other appliances.

If you think about Samsung, theyre traditionally very good at tech and hardware, but theyre also looking to deliver a holistic experience in terms of providing features and functionality to drive these experiences as well, said Nguyen. Think about Samsung Pay, Bixby, and the spectrum of consumer electronics devices offered by the company.

Of course, Samsung is not standing still on the phone front. The Galaxy Note 10 will launch this summer, and the company will be bringing its lower cost Galaxy A Series hitting the U.S. this year. Plus, Samsung is launching one of the first 5G phones on multiple carriers in the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung is building 5G launch phones at multiple carriers in multiple geographies - an astonishing feat of engineering and logistical innovation, said Greengart.

Nevertheless, it looks as though Samsungs reign as the king of smartphones could be coming to an end.
Warning: This story contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame isn't just the grand finale to the past 11 years of Marvel Studios films  it's also a celebration of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The time-travel heist that comprises most of the film quite literally goes back to previous MCU movies, allowing you to see iconic moments from new perspectives as Cap and crew try to acquire the Infinity Stones.

Plus, there are tons of callbacks and cameos that even the most die-hard MCU fans may have missed. If you're suffering from Endgame withdrawal or just want to dive deeper into the film's biggest references, here are the key Marvel movies you need to rewatch. Trying to figure out the best sequences to watch them? Check out our guide for how to watch the Marvel movies in order, which covers both release dates and storyline chronology.

Iron Man

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

After the heartbreaking ending to Endgame, the only way to pay your respects to Tony Stark is by rewatching the original Iron Man. The 2008 origin story got the Marvel movie franchise on the right footing and remains one of the best superhero movies to date. Iron Man shows how Tony Stark evolved from a cocky business magnate to a complex leader of superheroes and even introduces us to Pepper, who plays a larger role in Endgame than in previous Avengers movies. Not to mention, Stark's final words in Endgame are a callback to a key scene in the first film, and the first memorable moment in the franchise.

Iron Man kicked off the Marvel franchise with an exhilarating plot, wherein Stark is captured by prisoners in the Middle East. That's right, the first enemies in this franchise weren't supervillains, but terrorists. Stark, a genius engineer, crafts an arc reactor that would later become the heart of his superhero suit and the savior of many beloved characters over the last decade. If you can stomach it, Iron Man serves as a beautiful ode to our fallen hero. - Phillip Tracy

Captain America: The First Avenger

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

Captain America's arc comes to a pretty definitive ending in Avengers: Endgame. The team leader finally gets his hard-won happy ending, thanks to a judicious application of time travel. Yes, Cap decides to settle down in the past along with his S.H.I.E.L.D.-pioneering sweetheart, Peggy Carter, which means that it's worth revisiting Captain America: The First Avenger to see how their relationship began. (You can also rewatch the Agent Carter TV series, but it's a lot of investment for not much return.)

MORE: Upcoming Marvel Movies: Watch the new Spider-Man Trailer



Refreshing your memory of Cap and Peggy's relationship is the primary reason to rewatch The First Avenger, but not the only one. The Red Skull makes a cameo in Endgame as the guardian of the Soul Stone, and while it's not quite as memorable (or as shocking) as his appearance in Infinity War, it's still worth knowing where the villain-turned-guardian is coming from. There's also a small appearance from Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), who shows up again in Endgame, albeit in John Slattery form. - Marshall Honorof

The Avengers

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

There are so many reasons to rewatch The Avengers. For one thing, it's a really good film, chock-full of action and story. Joss Whedon, for all his faults, understands team dynamics and witty banter in a way that no other Marvel director has even approached. But if you've finished watching Endgame, The Avengers is especially worth rewatching, since a big chunk of the plot hearkens back to the MCU's very first team-up film.

If you've seen Endgame, you know the drill: The Avengers split into three different teams and revisit important events from the past. The most pivotal of these locations is 2012 NYC, mere minutes after the Chitauri attack. If you need a refresher on Loki's scepter, the Tesseract and a much, much angrier take on the Hulk, the first Avengers film is worth two and a half hours of your time. (Remember, too, that the post-credits scene is where we got our first-ever peek at the MCU's take on Thanos.) - Marshall Honorof



Iron Man 3

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

While Endgame is too big to focus on any one character's arc in particular, Iron Man is probably the closest thing the movie has to a single protagonist. In particular, Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) takes center stage. From Pepper's daughter, Morgan, to her surprise excursion in the Rescue armor, this is easily the most important role in a Marvel film since Iron Man 3.

But if you don't remember, Iron Man 3 is when Pepper started coming into her own as a character. In addition to fleshing out her romantic relationship with Tony, Iron Man 3 also saw Pepper taking superpowers for a test run  and she didn't do too badly, considering that she ultimately used them to defeat the film's main villain.

MORE: Avengers Endgame Spoiler-Free Review Roundup



Oh, and Iron Man 3 also introduces Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins): a tween who helps Iron Man rebuild his armor  and his life. He's the mystery teenager who shows up at the funeral in Endgame. You're welcome. - Marshall Honorof

Thor: The Dark World

(Image credit: Jay Maidment)

I'm not sure why Marvel wanted to highlight Thor: The Dark World  generally considered one of the weakest entries in the MCU  but it plays a pretty key role in Endgame, so you may as well strap in for a rewatch. In Thor's second outing, the Dark Elves lay siege to Asgard, which ultimately results in the death of Thor's mother. This winds up being an important plot point in Endgame, as does the reality gem embedding itself inside of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

If you're already dreading another run through Thor: The Dark World, it's not all bad. This is the last film with eminently enjoyable sidekicks Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), both of whom are as funny here as ever. You may also have forgotten, but Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd) has a welcome cameo role, and the Ninth Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston, plays the villainous Malekith. - Marshall Honorof

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

One of Endgame's most hilarious gags is its tribute to the iconic elevator scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While revisiting the events of The Avengers, Cap once again finds himself in an elevator surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D." (aka Hydra) agents. But armed with his knowledge of the future, Steve Rogers simply whispers a quick "Hail Hydra" to secure Loki's staff and avoid another elevator brawl. Endgame also serves up a major character moment for Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, so it's worth rewatching The Winter Soldier to see why he's worthy of taking up Cap's shield. - Mike Andronico

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Guardians of the Galaxy still holds up as one of the funniest and most heart-filled MCU movies, and it's one of three films directly revisited in Endgame. In this film, Star-Lord, Gamora and crew defeat Ronan the Accuser and secure the Power Stone in Xandar, which is exactly why Endgame's Avengers need to travel back to 2014 to grab it. It's also the first film in which we see Josh Brolin's Thanos up close.

MORE: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Avengers: Endgame



Endgame delivers some great twists on classic Guardians of the Galaxy scenes, such as War Machine knocking out Peter Quill during his iconic opening dance bit. And given the circumstances of Infinity War and Endgame, we have a feeling 2014 Gamora is the one that'll be sticking around for future Marvel films. So you might want to refresh yourself on what the deadly daughter of Thanos was like before she developed a soft spot for Quill, classic rock and Kevin Bacon. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Endgame is packed with references to the second Avengers movie. As soon as he returns to Earth at the beginning of the film, a distraught Tony Stark insists to Steve Rogers that Thanos' wrath could have been avoided if Stark had gotten to build his "suit of armor around the world"  a direct reference to a conversation the two had in Age of Ultron. Also in Age of Ultron, Stark says, "We can bust arms dealers all the live-long day, but  that up there? That's the endgame, referring to his desire to protect Earth from interstellar threats while also unintentionally teasing the name of the fourth Avengers film.

But perhaps more important is that Cap's big moment during Endgame's finale  when he calls upon and wields Mjolnir  can be traced all the way back to this movie. When all of the Avengers try unsuccessfully to lift Thor's hammer during Ultron's party scene, Cap manages to nudge the weapon just a bit (much to Thor's unease). Was Cap intentionally not lifting the hammer on purpose to not make his buddy look bad, or was the nudge a tease of his growing worthiness? Either way, Cap does indeed eventually lift Mjolnir, and the results are glorious. - Mike Andronico

Ant-Man and the Wasp

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Scott Lang is the unwitting hero of Endgame, devising the time-travel plan that saved the universe, thanks to his time spent wandering the quantum realm. This microuniverse is first introduced in the Ant-Man films, and Ant-Man and the Wasp is the movie that really dives deep into how it all works within the MCU. Plus, the post credits to Ant-Man and the Wasp explain why Scott emerges from a strange quantum-tunnel van at the beginning of Endgame. - Mike Andronico

Avengers: Endgame

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Yes, that's right, now that I finally saw Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel movie I want to see the most is  Avengers: Endgame. This is, primarily, to notice and enjoy all of the things and tidbits that I missed when I was too busy tearing up or ugly-crying through it the first time, as well as all of the lines in that epic final battle that I couldn't hear over the applause in the theater. Lastly, I need to see Endgame to prepare for all of the emotions that Tom Holland will be putting us through in the coming years (including in Spider-Man: Far From Home), as he comes to grips with the death of his mentor, Tony Stark. Oh, and Disney's announced that Endgame will be a streaming exclusive on Disney Plus.  Henry T. Casey
Never heard of RHA? Then it's time to get acquainted. This independent, Glasgow, Scotland-based company has released a string of highly regarded IEMs (in-ear monitors) in the past few years. Now, with the truly wireless TrueConnect ($169), RHA enters a space dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. Fortunately, in the TrueConnect, you get a compelling pair of earbuds that offer great audio quality and long battery life, all in a premium housing that you won't mind wearing in public.

While the TrueConnect buds lack certain features and struggle with treble-focused music, they still give the best wireless earbuds  the Jabra Elite 65t ($169) and Apple AirPods ($159)  a run for their money.

Design

The TrueConnect buds are some of the most stylish truly wireless earbuds on the market, even with the stems that hang below their lollipop-shaped housings. You've seen this design before, but it looks far less offensive on the TrueConnect than on the AirPods.

The TrueConnect's stealthy matte-black finish gives the earbuds a sleek, understated appearance, and their warm, soft-touch rubberized material feels comfortable in the ear.

Unfortunately, the matte coating on these buds collects fingerprints, and their dark-gray right and left indicators and RHA logo are practically invisible. I had to hold the TrueConnect up to the light to see these hidden markings on the earbud's stem and large, circular side buttons. A red dot on the right earbud is the only helpful marker to differentiate the two buds.

The TrueConnect's charging case is sleek, sophisticated and functional. The U-shaped case doesn't have a lid; it instead opens by rotating around a center hinge. A gray aluminum frame borders the top and sides of the soft-touch black case. The same plush finish on the outside coats the interior of the case, where the earbuds dock. On the exterior are a USB-C port and three small LED battery-life indicators.

At 2.9 x 1.7 x 1 inches, the TrueConnect's charging case is longer than the cases for the Elite 65t (2.8 x 2 x 1 inches) and the AirPods (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.8 inches).

Comfort

I didn't need to readjust the TrueConnect earbuds once I got a snug fit, at least, while I was stationary. I wore them at work from fully charged until they powered down, about 5 hours, and never felt any discomfort.

I couldn't maintain the same fit when I used the TrueConnect at the gym; the medium-sized rubber tips slid out once I worked up a sweat on the elliptical. One of the earbuds even popped out at one point, but I luckily plucked it from midair before it tumbled to the ground. Constantly readjusting the earbuds during my run was so frustrating that I removed them entirely and endured the pop music blasting in my gym. On the bright side, the TrueConnect earbuds are IPX5 sweat- and splash-resistant, so they can withstand a lengthy gym session at least.

I had fewer problems jamming and working out with the Jabra Elite 65t. Not only did these earbuds stay in my ears, but they were also so secure that I needed to readjust them only twice during a 30-minute cardio session.

MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music

In case the TrueConnect earbuds don't fit out of the box, RHA includes nine additional eartips at various shapes and sizes, including three pairs of Comply foam tips. If those don't work, then try inserting the TrueConnect earbuds at an angle and twist them so the stems go from a rear position to facing downward. I also suggest using the foam tips, but just remember to roll them between your fingers before you insert them into your ear canal.

At 0.5 ounces, the TrueConnect felt weightless in my ears, although competing earbuds, like the Apple AirPods (0.1 ounces) and Elite 65t (0.2 ounces), are even lighter. RHA ships the TrueConnect with an industry-leading three-year warranty.

Setup and Controls

Pairing the RHA TrueConnect to my OnePlus 6 smartphone was straightforward. To turn the earbuds on and initiate pairing, just press and hold the large circular button on either earbud for 5 seconds. A gong sound will indicate when they're discoverable. Then, open up your device's Bluetooth settings, select the RHA TrueConnect and follow on-screen prompts.

Once connected, I pressed both left and right buttons down for 1.5 seconds to wake up Google Assistant. After a brief pause, I was able to use voice commands to shuffle through one of my favorite albums: Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism." I then tapped the right earbud button once to pause "Tiny Vessels" when I saw my co-worker turn to speak to me. After our conversation, I pressed the right earbud again to continue with the music.

Once the album closed out, with the tender track "Lack of Color," I switched over to Thrice's "Beggars" album. I wasn't in the mood for the first few heavier songs, so I pressed on the left earbud twice to skip to the next track. When I needed to go back to the previous song, I pressed on the left earbud three times. The right earbud controls volume in the same manner, with two presses increasing volume and three lowering it.

The controls work well overall, but there's room for improvement. Since there aren't any voice guides, I had to remember each of these button controls, which took a couple of days and lots of frustrating trial and error. And while I appreciate tactile feedback, tapping and pressing the round buttons into my ears caused discomfort. For this reason, I prefer touch-capacitive controls, like those on the Samsung Gear IconX.

MORE: Buying Headphones in: Pros and Cons of Every Type

There's no accompanying app for the TrueConnect, which is something we've come to expect from premium, truly wireless earbuds. While not mandatory, it's nice to have a hub for monitoring battery life, customizing controls and fine-tuning audio via a digital equalizer.

Audio Performance

The TrueConnect buds have a fairly neutral sound signature, though an emphasis in the lower frequencies gives these earbuds a fun, dynamic sound. Conversely, the treble ranges could use some smoothing out, as cymbal-heavy songs sound raspy. Also, the TrueConnect earbuds don't support LDAC or aptX codecs, the latest audio-compression technology found on some of the very best Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

It's crucial that you get a tight seal in your ear; otherwise, music will sound hollow and thin. Once you get that tight fit, the TrueConnect will block most ambient sounds. In fact, I could barely hear the screeching of a New York subway car during my morning commute to work.

When I listened to Frightened Rabbit's "State Hospital," the TrueConnect started out strong, punching my ears with a thick, rich bass. The late Scott Hutchison's gentle vocals pierced through the drums with plenty of detail and clarity. But things took a downward turn once the hi-hats surfaced and I heard a graininess with each cymbal clash.

High frequencies weren't as harsh on the AirPods, but Apple's wireless earbuds didn't sound as forward and engaging as the TrueConnect. Bass hits were weaker and felt more artificial on Apple's earbuds. The Elite 65t has the best sound of the three. The Elite 65t generally pump out rich, crisp sound, like that on the TrueConnect, but without the metallic treble.

I recorded similar results when I listened to Hozier's song "Movement." On the TrueConnect, the thumping bass line at the top of the song sounded like a heart was beating in my head. Hozier's smooth vocals were so rich that I when I closed my eyes, it felt like I was at a concern. But again, high notes sounded sharp, so you might want to avoid these buds if you're sensitive to sibilance. I, unfortunately, fall into that group and was forced to turn down the volume when Hozier belted, "It's not the song, it is the singin'" on "Nina Cried Power," the opening track of the new "Wasteland, Baby!" album.

MORE: Best Music Apps for Rocking Out

While the TrueConnect brought me to a Hozier concert, the Elite 65t gave me VIP seats. Vocals sounded punchy and alive on the Jabras, while the pulsing drum rhythm gave new energy to the track. The AirPods didn't offer that same intimate, upfront listening experience, but they still sounded airy and clean.

All three headphones did a good job with Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower," but the TrueConnect and Elite 65t were the most fun to listen to, thanks to their slight bass bump.

Overall, the TrueConnect earbuds sound very good for most music, but songs with lots of cymbals or high-pitched vocals can be hard to listen to.

Battery Life and Bluetooth

RHA rates the TrueConnect's battery life at 5 hours, which is about what I got in everyday use.

I played a Frightened Rabbit radio station on Google Play Music at 11:15 a.m. When I checked back in at 1:15 pm, the earbuds were at 50%, according to the Bluetooth settings on my Android phone. The earbuds finally powered down at around 4:32 p.m., which adds up to a runtime of 5 hours and 17 minutes. It didn't take long to power these buds back up. The USB-C charging case uses fast charging to provide a 50% charge in just 15 minutes.

Speaking of which, the charging case carries an extra 20 hours of battery life, bringing the TrueConnect's total runtime up to 25 hours. Leading competitors offer around the same endurance. For example, the AirPods also last for 5 hours on a charge and gain another 24 hours from their floss-box-shaped charging case. The Elite 65t matches its rivals, with 5 hours of runtime, but its case can recharge the buds only twice, for a total of 15 hours of endurance.

The TrueConnect support Bluetooth 5.0, the latest connectivity standard, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy to improve battery life. While the wireless range is rated at a standard 33 feet, the TrueConnect held a stable connection when my smartphone was on the other side of my apartment, around 50 feet away. The TrueConnect stuttered slightly when there were multiple walls impeding the signal between the buds and my phone.

Microphone/Call Quality

The stems on the bottom of these earbuds may look goofy, but they do a great job improving call quality. When I called my fiancee, she told me my voice sounded just as good, if not better through the TrueConnect compared to my smartphone's microphone. She could make out everything I said, even as she waited for her flight in a crowded LaGuardia Airport.

MORE: I Spent More Than $200 on Headphones: You Should Too

The earbuds also effectively isolated my voice. My fiancee said she couldn't hear any wind noise even though I sat inches away from a space heater in fan mode. There was a brief breeze as I positioned myself in front of the fan, but that sound was quickly swallowed as I settled in. Without an app, I had no way of monitoring my voice. Fortunately, my fiancee said I came in loud and clear.

Bottom Line

The RHA TrueConnect earbuds make up for their underwhelming feature set with a premium design and reliable Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Battery life is also very good, at 5 hours plus an additional 20 hours provided by the earbud's sleek case. I was also impressed by the TrueConnect's audio quality, although a biting treble keeps them from rising above competitors.

If you want the best-sounding truly wireless earbuds on the market, then check out the Jabra Elite 65t. These earbuds get you comparable clarity and bass without the sharp high notes of the TrueConnect. Not only do the Elite 65t offer strong battery life, but they also come with a useful smartphone companion app.

Then there are the Apple AirPods, the most popular truly wireless earbuds on the market. While they don't sound quite as good as the TrueConnect, Apple's lightweight earbuds are extremely comfortable and offer a reliable connection.

Overall, if you're looking for premium, truly wireless earbuds with good sound quality and long battery life in a stylish package, then the TrueConnect buds are an excellent option.



Credit: Tom's Guide


KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) - The family of a veteran who died after an altercation with Veterans Affairs police at the Kansas City VA Medical Center has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The three children of Dale Farhner sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
KCMO Foodie Jobs Coming Sooon???

Kansas City named finalist for pair of new USDA facilities KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After months of lobbying by legislative leaders, Kansas City made the short list Friday to become the home for two United States Department of Agriculture agencies. The two agencies are the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service. USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue made the announcement Friday.

Downtown Swagger Jacking Crossroads

P&L District launches new First Friday street fest KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Power and Light District is now joining the Kansas City, Missouri, neighborhoods hosting events on the first Friday of the month. P & L will host a street fest called "Urbana" from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. near 14th and Walnut streets.

Nice Nod Across State Line

KCK school ranked one of the best in the country KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- U.S. News & World Report has listed Sumner Academy of Arts and Science as one of the best high schools in the nation and the best in Kansas. The organization released the list on Friday. It ranks Sumner as the 55th best high school in the country and 17th among magnet high schools.

Naughty Time Fear In Kansas

Kansas health dept. warns of prankster using number for fake STD notifications A health department in southwest Kansas says a prankster spoofed its number to falsely notify people that they may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease.The Finney County Health Department said in a Facebook post that the calls are "NOT FROM US!"

Kansas City Weather Flashback

KMBC Remembers: F-4 tornado took 2 lives, did millions worth of damage 16 years ago Saturday marks the 16th anniversary of one of the most violent tornado outbreaks in Kansas City history.It was May 4, 2003.KMBC 9 First Alert chief meteorologist Bryan Busby, First Alert meteorologist Pete Grigsby and NewChopper 9 pilot Johnny Rowlands look back at the day 77 tornadoes touched down in nine states, with four of those tornadoes leaving massive destruction in the metro.Rowlands and NewsChopper 9 started tracking the storm as it formed by the Legends in Kansas City, Kansas.

Nearby City College Winning

Soon, Students At Donnelly College In Kansas City, Kansas, Will Have Up To Date Classrooms A $30 million investment at Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, will mean more classroom space and state-of-the-art technology for students. "What we're doing now is creating the first-rate education that our students are getting because we've always been in hand me downs," Donnelly College President Monsignor Stuart Swetland said.

Weekend Science Reveals Forecast

Leftover rain showers tonight; weekend looks mostly dry We'll see leftover rain showers Friday night. The low will drop down to 45 degrees. After a foggy start, sunshine will rule the day. Look for a high near 70. Te...

McTavish List Offers Weekend Good Times

8 Cool Things To Help You Enjoy The May Weather In Kansas City It's time to lose that jacket and explore some of the cool outdoor activities that May has to offer. The alfresco action ranges from art browsing to Maypole fun to a "Star Wars" lightsaber battle royal - and that's only this weekend. If May were any cooler, you might have to find that jacket!

In more glamorous news, here's just a bit of pop culture info as we work our way to the weekend, take a peek:Closer to home, here are the news items that have our attention:And this is thefor right now . . .
Overview On New Jackson County Policy

Jackson County sheriff adopts 'restrictive' pursuit policy KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte announced changes to the department's pursuit policy Thursday, one day after a for injuring an innocent bystander . Forte posted on Facebook that he began reviewing the policy shortly after taking office, which also happened in May 2018.

Kansas City Code Of Silence Upheld

Victims of double shooting in Kansas City tell police they didn't know who shot them Victims of a double shooting late Wednesday told police that they didn't know the people who shot them. The victims were injured in the shooting about 11 p.m. in the 3500 block of Independence Avenue in Kansas City. Police are investigating.

Local Dude Gives Back

Blue Springs electrician builds beds for children in need BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - After seeing children's rooms without beds during visits to customers' homes, a longtime electrician decided to take action and began building handmade beds for kids in need. Scott Foster has made his living as an electrician for over 20 years, but he spends his free time during carpentry after seeing children in tough living conditions touched his heart.

Kansas City Survivor Story

Ahead of pancreatic cancer walk, local man celebrates 4 years cancer-free KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- As the Purple Stride Kansas City Walk gets ready to kick off Saturday morning, a local survivor who wasn't given much of a chance to survive his own pancreatic cancer wants people to take notice of the deadly disease. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers.

Kansas City Booze News Serving

Tom's Town adds new whiskey to fuel its growth plans - Kansas City Business Journal Tom's Town Distilling Co. has been expanding into new states. But to really get in the mix in these new markets, the Kansas City-based company added a high-quality, but less-expensive, whiskey that bars and restaurants can use for cocktails. Tom's Town already offers Pendergast Royal Gold Bourbon, a premium sipping whiskey.

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Independence store continues to deal with recurrent flooding INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- With more rain on the way, an Independence business owner fears it's a matter of time before water rushes into her store once again. The owner believes the problem is man-made and needs to be fixed.

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Chiefs cut three, sign one, plus other roster notes ahead of rookie minicamp The Kansas City Chiefs released three players and signed one ahead of rookie minicamp, which begins on Saturday, May 4. The Chiefs released wide receiver Josh Crockett, defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux and fullback Aaron Ripkowski and signed Old Dominion defensive end Tim Ward.

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River Town Mayors Nervously Watch Rising Water, Want More Funding For Flood Prevention Civic leaders along the Mississippi River are bracing for near-record flood levels in the coming days and weeks. Mayors in Missouri and Illinois say federal programs that aim to prevent flood damage need more funding to adequately support river towns that face evacuation and income loss.

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Kansas Democrats join other states in scrapping presidential caucuses The Kansas Democratic Party is eliminating the caucus process and will switch to a presidential primary election method in May of 2020. Primaries are much simpler and more convenient for voters, said Ethan Corson, Kansas Democratic Party executive director.

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Hope Faith Ministries to host benefit ball Saturday to help homeless Hope Faith Ministries, which helps the homeless get back on their feet, will host a benefit ball on Saturday.

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After 75 years, KCK World War II hero's remains returned Hide Transcript Show Transcript SAVING A FELLOW MARINE. NOW HE IS FINALLY HOME. AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS, THEY NEVER KNEW, IN FACT NOBODY KNEW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. WHERE WAS UNCLE NICK? IN THIS DAY AND AGE WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A HERO. HE WAS A HERO.

Kansas City Sasquatch Celebration

With respect to Jenny McCarthy's most iconic media moment, we share this smattering of local news that's worth a peek but maybe not debate. Take a look . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Source: Reuters



In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned USD167.9 million from banana exports. The figure dipped to USD112 million in 2018, but is expected to rise to USD168 million in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.





The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand.

The commercialisation policy on banana production benefits rural people. The most notable outcome of this policy has been the influx of investors to assist Lao banana growers in the country's northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Oudomxay which led to an increase in banana exports from USD46.6 million in 2015 to over USD197.8 million in 2016.

Other major agricultural exports of the country are expected to include cassava with sales reaching USD129 million, raw coffee at USD143 million, rubber at USD105 million, maize at USD34 million, and rice at USD25 million./.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 3

A fun trip turned tragic for 12 natives of Nepal when two of them drowned in the Ghaggar near Thapli village in Morni this afternoon.

The victims have been identified as Raj Kumar (28) and Chander (27), both residents of Daria opposite the Chandigarh railway station. Raj Kumar is survived by his wife and two daughters  one aged seven and the other three months old. Chander is survived by his wife and two sons, aged 12 and eight.

Inder Kumar, a survivor and elder brother of one of the victims, Raj Kumar, said he, along with 11 other persons, had gone to the banks of the Ghaggar near Thapli village this morning. He said all of them were related to each other and were natives of Nepal. They were working as cooks at eateries in Panchkula and Chandigarh.

He said they were carrying lunch with them as they had planned to hold a picnic at the spot. Around 2.30, six of them jumped into river to have a bath, but within minutes, they started drowning despite being good swimmers.

Raj Kumars elder brother was also among those who had jumped into the river. When he saw others drowning, he raised the alarm and managed to save the lives of four of them. However, by the time he pulled out Raj Kumar and Chander, they had fallen unconscious, but were breathing.

Inder Kumar said he called up the ambulance number, but it got connected to Himachal Pradesh as the village falls on the border with the neighbouring state. He again tried the number and finally an ambulance arrived at the site and they took the two to the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 where they were declared brought dead.

Chandimandir SHO Naveen Kumar said inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC had been initiated into the matter.
Shiv Visvanathan

Shiv Visvanathan

Academic associated with Compost Heap

THE media reports were stark, bare and skeletal, claiming that PepsiCo had sued farmers in Gujarat for growing a variety of potato without its permission. The multinational sought damages up to Rs 1 crore from each of them and later decided to withdraw the cases. The narrative gets immediately caught in a stereotype which loses its deeper layers.

It is presented as a typical David vs Goliath story. One has to challenge the very makings of the story. The language is all wrong, the morality is worse as the very idea of law turns ownership and exclusive ownership into an obscenity. The fact that law schools speak this language emphasises its acceptability while banalising evil. Hannah Arendt used it as a concept to explain Adolf Eichmanns behaviour.

In a moral world, seed and food are part of the sacred. They embody life and define life. The modern market turns seed into a commodity. Science destroys the sacred to create idolatry around innovation. One sees it in a standard book of economics where Joseph Schumpeter praises innovation as a creative act of destruction. In cultural terms, the Schumpeterian innovator, especially in the world of food, was a cultural idiot, illiterate about traditional innovation. Before one considers the innovation of modern corporations, one has to be clear that even today all food we consume, from maize to rice and wheat, is a result of traditional innovation. Modern agriculture has not added any major staple to this collection.

The first bias we have to counter is the bias of modernity and science about agriculture, which sees traditional agriculture as static and modern agriculture as innovative. The second bias is that of law which fails to realise that in most societies, food and nature were part of the commons. Food was a gift sustained by myth and ritual, by traditional diversity. Food was also a form of trusteeship. One of the most brilliant examples of such a trusteeship is the Potato Park in the Andes. The park, as a micro centre for diversity, protects over 40 varieties of potato based on traditional philosophies of agriculture. One needs such a background to understand that the very language and format of media narratives forestall the possibility of justice.

Our law and media pay little attention to history, law, ethics or philosophy. It is not just the asymmetry of the battle that makes it amoral. It is the nature of law which allows for a certain form of intellectual property and patenting regarding food. The multinational realises it is right in law but wrong in publicity. It decides to withdraw the civil suit and settle the matter out of court, provided the farmers become exclusive sellers to the company. It this is corporate humanitarianism, the very idea of CSR (corporate social responsibility), which is an ethical oxymoron, needs to be reassessed.

The language is precise. The farmers are illegal dealers of a registered variety of plant which belongs exclusively to the multinational. The obscenity of language and ethics mars the entire case and the law in its technicalities deodorises it. The obscenity extends to the politicians who, without challenging the validity of the law, threaten the company amid the elections. There is no evidence that they have any understanding of the political economy and epistemology of food. Cheap populism meets bad political economy throughout this narrative. We have a mangled text which hides a deeper history and a complex context. One has to resume the real narrative by going back to Peru, to the Andean mountains, a great gene pool of diversity on the potato. One goes back to an organisation like PRATEC, a project on peasant technologies in the Andes. Anthropologist Fredique Marglin is one of its finest storytellers, a scholar and an activist as knowledgeable about the Chau dance as of Andean potatoes.

Marglin shows that the leaders of PRATEC realised that development as ontology, economy and epistemology had failed. They sensed that native agriculture was more adequate for the environment. The Andes had grown 3,500 varieties of potato, a part of the intellectual commons of the area. It would be obscene to patent such a living heritage. PRATEC leaders realised that to keep the potato with its stunning diversity alive one had to become trustees  in the Gandhian sense  of the world of the potato. One cannot imagine a multinational like PepsiCo or Monsanto engage in such an act of trusteeship as an act of cultural celebration. One has to realise what PRATEC is doing is not preservationist, museumising the potato, but the best of innovation within a cultural commons.

The Potato Park is another variant of this dream of diversity. Central to all these experiments is the way memory and wisdom about the potato is passed on to the next generation. From storytelling to dialogue, orality expands to create a different kind of expertise. While dealing with the PepsiCo case, we forget this broader cultural background of debate. The limits of our radicalism are seen in the illiteracy of our protests. We talk of politics stripped of cognitive justice, of epistemology and ethics. One has to go back to a Gandhian model of Satyagraha and boycott the multinational food company. One is not arguing this from a mere Left ideology but as an academic anthropologist, a citizen who wishes to create a dialogue between knowledge and democracy and feels food needs its sense of the sacred to stay food. One should be grateful that at least one of the lawyers of the farmers, Anand Yagnik, is conversant with such as tradition.

One needs to capture this narrative within a wider culture of storytelling. In doing so, we have to locate the bare-boned idea of law within a political economy which, in turn, has to be located within a wider history of science and ethics. The impoverishment of storytelling is part of the current impoverishment of democracy. By reaching into the unconscious of culture, into the folklore of diversity, India might create a more effective answer to the obscenity of intellectual property. Merely boycotting the multinational will not do. We need the scholarship to challenge it ethically and civilisationally and create new links between modern science and traditional agriculture.
harinder@tribunemail.com

The Class XII results declared by the CBSE on Thursday saw the highest percentages shooting through the roof, with two toppers scoring nearly full marks in the humanities stream  an astonishing 499 on 500; and an all-India joint second ranking with 498! All girls. For years now, girls have consistently defended their place in the sun. This year, too, they performed better than boys by 9 per cent. The pass percentage of girls is 88.70 per cent as against 79.4 per cent of boys. Of 13 lakh students who appeared in the board examination, 18 have scored 497 to claim the third pride of place.

Nowadays, 98-99 per cent marks are common in all streams. With these marks, the toppers will cut the queue to pursue a course of their choice. Some wish to study an honours course, while others have set their sights on civil services or higher studies abroad. But numbers are not always markers of success. This is just one battle won. The still bigger ones are entrance examinations for various colleges, or for professional courses like law, medicine and engineering. The constant pressure to keep up, either from parents or students themselves, does carry a real threat of a burnout.

There is another concern. While the incredible scores are inspiring and, indubitably, a consequence of immense hard work, they establish an unrealistic bar. Cut-offs across colleges will shoot up disproportionately. Full marks in languages and subjects like history were unheard of until not so long ago. A topper regretted losing one mark in English! The above-average student doesnt stand a fair chance in this high-stakes ruthless competition. Those out of the race should not be dejected, for success is the sum total of life, with all its facets. Albeit crucial, academics is only one part. A large number of global achievers were not toppers. Since the super-bright are a fraction of the total number, the education system, on its part, needs to figure out if the inflated marks are a real indicator of its own score.
shalender@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 3

The Haryana State Commission for Women today sought police action against a middle-aged woman allegedly instigating men to rape women in short dresses after a video of the incident went viral on the social media.

In a letter to the Haryana DGP, the commission sought details of the case and asked the police to book the woman under relevant sections as soon as possible.

The woman is apparently thrashing and using demeaning language against regular customers of a restaurant and commenting on their (group of girls) attire. She is seen inciting a sense of hatred towards those girls and specifically referring to men present there that these women who wear short clothes deserved to be raped, the letter read.

This is against the human spirit. The indecent remarks in public spaces outrage the modesty of not only the girls present at the restaurant but the entire community, it further read.

Meanwhile, after being trolled, the woman has uploaded an unconditional apology on Instagram after the video got 1.8 million views.

On April 30, she had asked seven men at a restaurant to rape the six girls as they were wearing short dresses. The group accosted the woman at a nearby store and demanded an apology. However, the woman refused to apologise and told the girl filming the video to go to hell.
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 3

Norms for meeting the Dalai Lama at his residence in McLeodganj would be changed. A decision to this affect was taken at a high level meeting held today keeping in view the age and health of the Dalai Lama. The meeting was attended, among others, by former PM of Tibetan government in exile and close aide of the Dalai Lama Samdhong Rinpoche and various secretaries of the office of the Tibetan spiritual head.

Sources here said that, henceforth, there would not be any receiving lines for meeting the Dalai Lama. Instead, the Dalai Lama would be giving group audience. In this new practice those seeking audience would gather in group and made to sit in hall. The Dalai Lama would come, sit on chair and give a small talk to the group.

The personal touch with the Dalai Lama and the photos clicked with him would be curtailed. However, limited personal one to one audiences as deemed fit by the mission of the Dalai Lama would be allowed.

Earlier, the Dalai Lama used to meet people seeking audience with in open terrace of his residence at McLeodganj. The people, who were cleared for getting audience by the personal security of the Dalai Lama as well as the Himachal police which provides security to the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj, were made to stand in lines. The Dalai Lama used to come and stand in porch of his guest room and meet the people. Generally, he used to hold hands of the people coming to meet him and deliver them a spiritual message. Everyone seeking audience used to get a chance to get a photo click with the Dalai Lama. The photos were clicked by the office of the Dalai Lama and were later soft copies were given to the people.

Sources here said that the decision has been taken keeping in view the health and age of the Dalai Lama.

In the recent past reports went around media regarding ill health of the Dalai Lama. Reports claimed that the Dalai Lama had been suffering from prostate cancer causing concerns among the Tibetans across the world.

The personal physician of the Dalai Lama Dr Tseten Dorjee had trashed the reports that the Tibetan spiritual icon was suffering from prostate cancer in last stage was terminally ill.
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 3

Even as Tashigang at 15,256 feet has the distinction of being the highest polling station in the world with 49 voters, truant weather and fresh spells of snow in May are giving anxious moments to the election officialsto ensure glitch-free poling on May 19.

The worries of the Election Department are not without reason. The higher reaches of the tribal districts in Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur received fresh spell of snow on May 1, two days earlier. Though the weather has cleared but a backup plan to ensure that all voters can cast their votes has to be in place.

We have been assured that the Rohtang Pass will be thrown open by May 10 and much to our relief the 22 polling booths, located along the peripheral roads on the Pangi-Killar road, have all become accessible, said a relieved Chief Electoral Officer, Devesh Kumar.

All the Deputy Commissioners have been asked to be in regular contact with the Border Roads Organization and the Public Works Department to ensure that all roads are connected, he said. We have been assured that road linking Miar Valley in Spiti will be cleared within the next two to three days, he stated.

The Election Department has back up plans and the state government helicopter will remain at its disposal but the officials are hoping and praying that there will be no more snow. Seven auxiliary polling stations will be set up, especially for the old and invalid. This includes the one at Bara Bhagal in Baijnath area of Kangra where a majority of the population moves to Bir but the elderly stay back.

The other auxiliary stations are at the old age homes at Dari in Dharamsala, Kee in Lahaul Spiti, Sundernagar, Bhangrotu in Balh (Mandi) and Basantpur (Shimla) and leprosy hospital at Dharampur in Solan.

It is on account of most tribal and high-altitude areas in the state being inaccessible due to heavy snow and snow clearance operation still being underway that Election Commission of India (ECI) has fixed the polling date in Himachal on May 19, the last phase of polls in the country. Earlier, the polling in the three tribal districts of Kinnaur, Bharmour in Chamba and Lahaul Spiti used to take place separately after the assembly or parliamentary polls in case polling took place in the winters.

DCs to remain in touch with BRO, PWD
editorial@tribune.com

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

China had given a curt message to Pakistan that the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar had become more of a liability than asset for Pakistan as early as March before acquiescing in with other members of the UNSC to declare him as a global terrorist on Wednesday.

Highly placed sources, well informed about the Chinese leaderships working due to their frequent visits to Beijing for diplomatic assignments, told The Tribune that China was quite uneasy after the Pulwama attack in which 44 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.

China convinced Pakistan that Azhar is now more of a liability than asset, the sources said.

There were a series of telephone calls and meetings at quite a high level between the two sides. The issue was discussed threadbare many a time, but the diplomatic wrinkles were ironed out during Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshis visit to Beijing to attend the first Pakistan-China strategic dialogue on March 18  four days after China had blocked the blacklisting of Azhar as global terrorist and had advocated wider consultations and consensus before taking a call on the sensitive issue.

With Pakistan facing international heat over its soil being used for the terror activities against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, China was also drawing flak from the Western powers, USA, UK and France, for siding with Pakistan in defending the terrorist who was the brain behind so many acts of terror in India. Azhar had a tailor-made profile of the global terrorist that the UNSC Sanctions Committee 1267 had prescribed for the terrorists who spread hate and terror in the world.

Qureshi and other Pakistani delegates accompanying him were told that China could not risk its international credibility for the sake of a terrorist whose position, the sources said, China believed had become indefensible.

Sources also revealed that Delhi was in touch with Beijing all through and did not get provoked when Beijing did not allow the resolution moved jointly by the US, the UK and France to blacklist Masood Azhar to be passed on March 14. Its back- channel diplomacy and Chinas growing impatience with Pakistans terror activities yielded result in May. Things were made clear to Qureshi during his March 18-20 visit of China.

And, the message was finally delivered to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited China on April 25 apparently to renew the strategic relationship with Beijing. Imran Khan could not say no to Beijing.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

Even as only two days are left for polling, top leaders of all major political parties, barring the BJP, gave a miss to poll campaign in the countrys geographically largest parliamentary seat, Ladakh.

On the penultimate day of campaigning too, no top leader of the Congress, National Conference (NC) and PDP canvassed for their respective candidates. There are four candidates in fray from Ladakh seat, which will go to the polls on May 6.

The BJP, on the other hand, launched a spirited campaign in Ladakh with all senior leaders of the state unit and some top central leaders canvassing for candidate and incumbent Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Leh Council Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, a senior Buddhist leader, will address the Progressive Ladakh rally at Polo Ground in Leh on Saturday while winding up the campaign.

The factionalism-ridden Congress did not invite any central or state leader for campaigning as insiders said it would create more trouble for the party, given the religious differences between Kargil and Leh districts.

Like the 2014 parliamentary polls, no senior Congress leader visited Ladakh because he or she would have to hold rallies in both districts. The party posed trust in local leadership, a senior leader from Ladakh said.

Congress has given its mandate to senior Buddhist leader Rigzin Spalbar from Leh, which led to resentment in Kargil, where the partys former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai, who has been supported by powerful religious group Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Kargil, announced that he would contest as an Independent.

The NC, PDP and the influential Islamia School Kargil have jointly backed a consensus candidate, Sajjad Hussain Kargili, who organised an impressive rally in Kargil on Friday as a show of strength. NC leader Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have also skipped the election campaign, though they visited Ladakh several times before the polls. PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too avoided campaigning in favour of the consensus candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress unit organised a 20-km cycle rally from Leh to Thiksay and a 40-km bike rally from Leh to Kharu in support of the party candidate.

BJP still uses Chhewangs photos on posters

Jammu: Even as prominent Buddhist leader and former MP Thupstan Chhewang resigned from the BJP to protest the partys failure in granting the UT status to Ladakh, the BJP has been using his photographs on posters and hoardings to woo voters in the region. Chhewang recently refused to meet any leader of the party, but his photographs on the BJPs hoardings and posters remained visible during the poll campaign. He (Chhewang) has dissociated himself from all political activities, but the BJP is still exploiting his name for political gains, a senior Buddhist leader said. On April 16, Avinash Rai Khanna, BJP in charge J&K affairs, had claimed that the BJP had not accepted Chhewangs resignation.
editorial@tribune.com

ina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Jammu and Kashmir has topped the Panchkula region once again with the highest pass percentage of 95.16 in the Class XII results released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday.

The Panchkula region of the CBSE comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UTChandigarh.

However, there has been a slight dip of 0.31 per cent in the pass percentage of the state in contrast to the last years result, as the state recorded a pass percentage of 95.47 in the 2017-18 session.

In Jammu and Kashmir, 6,593 students appeared in Class XII examination exams and 6,274 students fared in the exam. In Jammu and Kashmir, girls outshone boys by recording a higher pass percentage.

As many as 2,901 girls appeared in the exam in the J&K region, out of which 2,812 passed. The pass percentage is 96.93, which is lower than the last years 97.09.

A total of 3,692 boys appeared in the Class XII exam in this region, of which 3,462 got through. Their pass percentage is 93.77, slightly less than last years 94.22.
shalender@tribune.com

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, May 3

Lateef Ahmad Dar, alias Lateef Tiger, the last of the militants still unaccounted for from the Burhan Wani group photo taken a few years ago, was among three militants killed in an early morning gunfight in Shopian district of south Kashmir today.

Several civilians were injured in clashes that erupted near the site in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district.

Dar belonged to Dogripora in Awantipora police district, while the other two slain militants were identified as Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, alias Tariq Molvi, of Moolu Chitragam in Shopian and Shariq Ahmad Nengroo, alias Shaheen Bhai, a resident of Chotigam village also in Shopian.

Dar, a carpenter by profession before he joined militant ranks, had been active since 2014. He was part of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanis 11-member group seen in the picture that went viral in 2015. The picture was described by many as the poster of the new-age militancy in the Valley.

While 10 of them, including Dar, have now been eliminated, the 11th, Tariq Pandith, is currently lodged at Srinagars Central Jail.

While Dar was one of the longest surviving militants in the area, Sheikh was instrumental in recruiting new militants, said IGP IG Pani.

He said there was no collateral damage during the operation. A senior police official said the operation was launched in Aadkhara village around 6 am. The exchange of fire continued for several hours before all three militants were killed, he said.

Clashes broke out near the site as protesters pelted security forces with stones. At least two dozen protesters were injured after security forces fired pellets, bullets and tear smoke shells. The bodies of the militants were handed over to the families.
editorial@tribune.com

Srinagar May 3

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the financing of secessionist activities in Kashmir, on Friday issued a fresh summons to the grandson of Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani.

Anees-ul-Islam has been asked to appear before the probe agency in New Delhi on May 6. He was earlier summoned on April 29.

Anees is the son of Altaf Ahmad Shah, who along with nearly a dozen separatists, is currently undergoing detention at Tihar jail in New Delhi in an alleged funding case.

The NIA is investigating the separatist funding case in Kashmir since May 30, 2017. It had carried out raids in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi in June 2017 to probe the chain of players behind the financing of secessionist activities.  TNS

Has to appear before probe agency on May 6
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, May 4

Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, on Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them.

The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us, one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families, another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace caravan) bus service runs between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PoK. The bus service was started in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.

The distressed women also appealed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisations to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 announced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Pakistan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training, returned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was discontinued by the Centre.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Pulwama, May 3

No banners, no buntings, not a trace of political activity just three days ahead of the election  Pulwama is living up to its image of a militancy stronghold. Activities related to the May 6 third-phase polling for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat are restricted to offices and residences of politicians, where security guards outnumber political activists.

The February 14 bombing, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of a war, still plays on the minds of people here.

Though the Pulwama attack has taken centrestage in the countrys politics, at ground zero, the focus is on peace, not the poll turnout.

Political workers feel the voting percentage may dip further as compared to Anantnag and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.

People are indifferent. Politicians know this and dont expect even a double-digit turnout We have seen the worst violence here. There is no question of voting. Pulwama may be a national issue, but for us, Kashmir is an issue that needs a solution, said Tariq Ahmed, a local resident.

Anantnag is the only seat where polling is being conducted in three phases owing to security concerns. The authorities have already made a string of arrests ahead of Mondays polling.

The twin south Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama are the epicentre of Kashmirs new-age militancy where 100 native militants are reportedly active. Two active operational commanders  Riyaz Naikoo and Zakir Musa  belong to Pulwama district. It was home to Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 triggered unrest. Pulwama district comprises four Assembly segments of Tral, Pampore, Pulwama and Rajpora, while Shopian district has two Assembly segments of Shopian and Wachi. These two districts have been a stronghold of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the party is facing immense anger. The little political activity visible in Pulwama is inside offices of PDP and National Conference in Pulwama town in a high-security zone. At PDP office, over a dozen party workers were seen busy with preparing a list of polling agents. There is a lot of fear, but as a party worker, I am ready to take any risk, said an elderly worker at the office.

PDP youth president Waheed Parra, who hails from Pulwama, too does not expect any impressive turnout.

We dont expect much turnout. It may be less than 20,000 votes (less than 5%) in both Shopian and Pulwama, Parra said, adding that majority here felt that vote is against the sentiment.

Though PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is the Anantnag candidate, launched her campaign from Pulwama by leading a protest against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, she never returned to canvass.

A senior government official said holding polls was challenging due to the volatile situation. Militant threat is looming large and we are ready for this challenge. Our concern is not the turnout, but peaceful polls, he said, adding that law and order was also a concern.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

The recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka on the day of Easter left the entire world shocked. Recently, Jacqueline Fernandez, who is a Sri Lankan by birth, took to her social media and expressed her shock regarding the entire incident.

In a recent video which she shared on her Instagram, Jacqueline asked her fans to come together for Sri Lanka and help the victims.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, May 4

A day after Akshay Kumar issued a statement regarding the controversy over his citizenship, an old video of the Bollywood actor went viral on social media where he is calling Toronto as his home.

The Khiladi star, who was roped in as the brand ambassador for Canadian tourism in India in 2010, on May 3 had released a statement on his official Twitter account about his Canadian citizenship and had said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.

The old video, which had also surfaced last year following films on patriotic and social themes he had starred in, was shared by a user against the backdrop of Akshay's statement.

"Toronto is my home, after I retire from this industry I will settle in Canada" pic.twitter.com/Ypet1U0oBJ  Tarique Anwer (@tanwer_m) May 3, 2019

It showed him addressing the crowd at an event in Canada: "I must tell you one thing; this is my home. Toronto is my home. After I retire from the film industry, I'm going to come back and stay here."

While some social media users defended the actor, some branded him a "hypocrite" and a "fake nationalist".

Some even questioned him holding a Canadian passport.

A user tweeted: "You live in India, work in India, earn in India, wear in India and swear by in India. What made you not want to have an Indian passport?" His absence from the polling booth made netizens think that it was due to his alleged Canadian citizenship.

In 2017, Akshay had told a Tv channnel that he has been given an honorary citizenship by the Canadian Government, and hence, he carries the Canadian citizenship. He has said in interviews that he will split time between India and Canada after he retires.

Akshay, who recently grabbed headlines for his "non-political" interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was widely trolled for not casting his vote this year.

The actor has featured in many films such as Kesari, Baby, Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty and Airlift, with patriotism as the theme.  IANS
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

CONGRESS veteran, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and member of the Congress alliances committee Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to The Tribune reporter Aditi Tandon about issues confronting the nation ahead of the conclusion of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Congress prospects in Haryana, where he is AICC general secretary incharge. Excerpts:

Four phases of Lok Sabha polls are over, your assessment?

I am 100 per cent sure that the BJP or NDA is not forming the government because not a single section of society is happy with them. This government is run by few TV channels and not with peoples support.

Do you anticipate a Congress PM later this month?

I wont say that. Our target is a non-BJP, non-NDA government.

Are you concerned about BJPs focus on nationalism?

No. It is rather strange that a party with no role in the freedom struggle is talking of nationalism. Naye naye mullah bane hain zyada pyaaz khaate hain. We dont talk about nationalism because we are nationalists and we dont need to prove this. Post-independence, Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh sacrificed their lives for national unity. BJP people are neo-nationalists. This is a party without any history or geography of nationalism. Naturally, they have to create new history and geography with their utterances.

Masood Azhar has been designated a global terrorist after years. Will this help the BJP in elections?

Well, if the advantage on Azhar goes to the BJP, the disadvantage should also go to them. At the outset I am the happiest person about Azhar being listed a global terrorist because my state Jammu and Kashmir has suffered the most due to terror acts he perpetrated since the NDA released him in 1999. If people are now giving the BJP the credit for Azhars listing, they should also give the BJP the discredit for releasing him. He was captured during the Narasimha Rao-led Congress regime and released during the Vajpayee-led NDA rule.

Why is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not contesting from Varanasi?

Why should she contest at all? After all, who is going to campaign? She is doing more service to the party by not contesting herself. She can come to Parliament any time she wants. I am a very strong votary that top leaders who are the most sought after during elections should never contest Lok Sabha polls and should come to Parliament through Rajya Sabha. They should be kept free for canvassing during elections.

You are in the alliance committee of the Congress. Would a grand anti-BJP alliance not have been better?

Yes it would have been better, but it could not happen. We are blamed for being insensitive. But we have been more than sensitive in alliances. Over three-and-a-half decades since I became general secretary, I have been instrumental in striking many alliances. But with each passing year, new regional parties are emerging and they want to become national parties overnight. Look at UP with 80 Lok Sabha seats. The BSP had zero MPs in 2014 and got 40 seats to contest this time; SP with five MPs in 2014 got 38 seats and Congress with two MPs got just two seats. Can any mathematician in the world tell me how this distribution can work? In Tamil Nadu, Congress has nine seats and DMK 30; In Bihar, the Congress has nine seats and regional players have 31. See the proportion of seats with the national party and the regional parties. If we keep distributing seats, regional parties will become national parties and we will become a regional party.

Isnt your strategy of fielding candidates in UP damaging the anti-BJP BSP-SP front?

Again, why should the BSP and SP want us to contest only two seats? Do they want us to win only two seats? Why did they not accommodate us? Why did they form an alliance unilaterally without talking to us? No discussions were held. We were taken by total surprise.

AAP says Congress will be responsible if the BJP wins. Your take.

We also want to defeat the BJP but we have to be pragmatic. Others have to be pragmatic too. If AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was so responsible, why should he have ventured outside Delhi? Why should he have bothered about Parliament if he was so concerned about defeating the BJP? He should have supported the bigger party. But AAP wanted three seats in Punjab where it later gave up. It kept on insisting on four seats in Haryana where it has no presence. AAP is not a national party and Kejriwal is not a PM candidate. AAP should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing the Congress. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?

Haryana poll is on May 12, your expectations?

We are doing extremely well. In the beginning there was a perception that the Congress is a divided house in Haryana. But ever since we had a bus yatra with all the leaders over six days covering 10 Lok Sabha segments and 68 assembly segments out of 90, things changed. Also, our candidates are much more powerful than those of the other parties. They are all far ahead in experience and standing.

Why did you feel the need to field top guns BS Hooda and Kumari Selja in Haryana?

When I assumed the Haryana charge, I met over 500 leaders who were not ordinary leaders but those that had contested Assembly or LS poll since 1972. Since there were no block and district Congress committees in the state, I had to engage top leaders to understand who the most suitable candidates will be.

In Haryana, theres palpable Jat and non-Jat division. Is it harming you?

There was a division, but no longer. In my tour of Haryana I did not sense such a feeling. Among the 500 leaders I met, non-Jats gave names of Jat candidates and vice versa. This division is BJPs creation because the BJP, with nothing else to sell, continues to bank on social, religious and caste divisions.

What are the poll issues in Haryana?

Main issues in Haryana elections are the national issues. The first is agrarian distress and the second is unemployment.

AAP is 4, we are 134 years old

AAP is not a national party. It is a four-year-old party. It should think on the basis of its age. You are a four-year-old party and want the share of a 134-year-old party? And yet you are abusing us. Why do you want us to retreat? Why dont you retreat?
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The CBI on Friday told the Supreme Court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case prime accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a bundle of bones has been recovered from a burial ground in the north Bihar town.

In an affidavit, the CBI also denied allegations of shielding the rich and mighty and asserted that it has carried out a thorough, fair, impartial probe into the case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday asked the agency to respond in four weeks to allegations of being soft on the accused and not invoking stringent provisions.

On behalf of the petitioner, advocate Shoeb Alam alleged that the CBI had not done proper investigation into the larger conspiracy and had not chargesheeted the accused under stringent provisions of law.

On behalf of the probe agency, Attorney General KK Venugopal denied the allegations and submitted that the CBI had already filed a reply to the petitioners application. The Bench said it will take up the matter on May 6.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur. The horrific incidents came to light after a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was made public. The top court last year transferred the probe of the cases from the Bihar Police to the CBI and decided to monitor it as well. The probe agency has chargesheeted 21 persons, including Thakur.

In an affidavit filed in response to allegations leveled by the petitioners, the CBI said statements of victims recorded during the probe threw up names of 11 girls who were allegedly murdered by Thakur and other accused. At the instance of one of the accused, a particular spot in a burial ground was excavated from where a bundle of bones was recovered, it said.

During investigation, from the statement of victims recorded by investigating officers and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences team, names of 11 girls emerged who were said to be allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices, the agency said.

Based on the facts revealed by one accused, namely Guddu Patel, during his interrogation, a particular spot in burial ground as identified by him was excavated and a bundle of bones were recovered from the spot, CBI said. Its expected to file a supplementary chargesheet after the probe.

Says probe fair, not protecting anyone

It is specifically denied that the investigating agency failed to conduct a thorough investigation or has left out any crucial leads... it is denied that the CBI is trying to shield the real perpetrators.  CBI in SC
gspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 4

Three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested in Delhi for their alleged involvement in several cases of dacoity and robbery across India, police said on Saturday.

They have been identified as Kamrul, Sahidul Islam and Nazrul, all residents of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, officials said.

With their arrest, police claimed to have cracked six cases of dacoity committed in Karnataka, Orissa, Goa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

The accused were arrested following a tip off that they would be coming near Sarai Kale Khan bus terminus. Two country made-pistols and four live cartridges were seized from them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said, adding that the gang used to target posh colonies.

They usually used to enter the houses late night through windows after cutting grills and looted valuables at gun point. When any of their targets resisted, they did not hesitate to kill, the officer said.

They used to live in and around railway stations or in forested areas of cities, he added.

After committing the crime, the gang members used to immediately return to Bangladesh. After reaching Bangladesh, they used to distribute the stolen property, the DCP said.

Some gang members entered India with valid passports and some entered illegally.

Accused Nazrul entered illegally through a broker in Bangladesh after paying Rs 5,000. As per their passports, Kamrul visited India eight times from July 2017 and Sahidul visited India three times, police said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Indore, May 3

It is close to midnight, but Indores famous Sarafa Bazaar (jewellery market) is bustling. However, at this time of the night, people are not here to buy gold or silver, but tickle their taste buds with the culinary flavours of the financial city of Madhya Pradesh, also the cleanest city of India.

Though a couple of jewellery shops are still open. Who knows when someone, after relishing the food delights, may feel like spending a couple of lakhs on jewellery. The food street comes to life around 9 pm, when the jewellery market behind the Rajwada Palace of the Holkar dynasty, which is also now being restored, closes down.

No one is clear about the exact origin of this unique Sarafa Bazaar. But frequent visitors say it was encouraged by jewellery shop owners so that the hustle and bustle around food joints in the night would keep their shops secure even after they close down. Therefore, they willingly offered space in front of their shops to food vendors to set up their business in the night.

The late-night food street, a visit to which is a must if one is here in Indore, is the example of far-sightedness of smart business community who has made the city its home, turning it into an active hub of different trades, be it precious metals, cloth or grain.

Over the time new businesses have come up and the traditional city is as modern as any of the cosmopolitan cities like Pune, Hyderabad or Chandigarh with multi-brand top-end showrooms.

Largely the habitat of traders and business community, the city is known for its affluence. The mini-Mumbai as it is also called, Indore is home to traditional business Gujarati, Sindhi and Marwari communities and they are not happy with the Narendra Modi governments double whammy of demonitisation and GST.

Nitin Jain, a young professional in the field, calls the GST an excellent move but because it was not implemented properly, together with notebandi, it proved ghatak (deadly) for business here. While businesses are suffering, ruling the roost are tax consultants and chartered accountants.

This and the fact that these are the first elections in 30 years being fought without the favourite tai, Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan. Indore is seeing for the first time in many years a fight among equals. In the words of Arvind Tiwari, president of Indore Press Club: It is the first time in several years that the Congress is giving the BJP a good fight in the Malwa-Nimar region, and which makes the elections in Indore, if not as electrifying as Bhopal, but equally important.

The two main contestants, BJPs Shankar Lalwani and Congress Pankaj Sanghvi, are both local and belong to business community. Whether Singhvi gets the advantage of the prevailing anger among traders remains to be seen, but local BJP leaders here classify him as a habitual loser. He has fought many elections unsuccessfully, the only time he ever won was when he was in the BJP, says DN Tiwari, a local BJP leader

But then with Mahajan being benched, the saffron party is also struggling with a handicap. Over the years she has built her own group of supporters, who are feeling let-down over the way she has been treated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief Amit Shah, say Congress supporters. Singhvi, they say, is in a position to give Lalwani a scare.

In spite of many losses, Sanghvi cannot be taken lightly. He also contested against Sumitra Mahajan but lost with around 45,000 votes. She too acknowledged that Singhvi had given her a good fight, says Tiwari.

In 2014, Sumitra Mahajan got a whooping 8,54,972 votes against Satyanarayan Patel of the Congress, who polled 3,88, 071. There was also a BSP candidate then like there is one now. He, however, could manage just 7,422 votes.

Clearly the fight was and is between the BJP and the Congress. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won four of the eight Assembly constituencies here making it a more equal fight than any other elections in past three decade. Lalwani is also the only one from the Sindhi community contesting these elections

Indore will poll in the last phase. So there are still 15 days to go and many things can happen that can change the mood of the city that sleeps late, enjoys good food and believes in making money.

Its Shankar Lalwani vs Pankaj Sanghvi in mini-Mumbai
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4



Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP would not return to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha election and taunted the PM saying the Army is not his personal property.

The Army is not the personal property of PM Modi. The Army, Navy, Air Force are of the country and not of one person. The Congress never politicised the armed forces. Surgical strikes happened before and the Army did those, Gandhi said addressing a press conference.

He said more than half the election is over and there is now a clear sense that PM Modi is not returning to power.

We also want to ask the PM what his delivery on the 2014 poll promises is. Where are the two crore jobs? Where is Rs 15 lakh? Its is all well to talk of nationalism but he should also answer development questions, Gandhi said.

He said the Congress and other parties were one in fighting against terrorism, but he wanted to ask the PM as to who sent terrorist Masood Azhar to Pakistan. The Congress government did not release Azhar. Who released him from the Indian jail? The BJP government released him. The Congress will do a much better job with national security because we have a history, the Congress chief said, adding that the Army had won every war it had fought and it is unfortunate for the PM to politicise it.

Our Army has won all the wars. Its terrific. So the BJP should stop politicising the Army, Gandhi said, adding that the Congress had delivered on its poll promises in the states where it is in power and would also deliver on its Lok Sabha manifesto promises.

Nyay will be implemented and we will show how to implement it. It has percolated down. We will give 22 lakh jobs. I wont promise two crore jobs a year but we will give 22 lakh youth government jobs and ten lakh people jobs in the gram panchayats, he said targeting Modi on the Rafale deal and daring him to hold a debate with him.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 4

The Maharashtra police on Saturday said they have identified the brain behind the IED blast at Gadchiroli which claimed the lives of 15 security personnel and one civilian driver on May 1.

According to the police, the attack was masterminded by one Girdhar, 44, who is allegedly the chief commander of the North Gadchiroli unit of the Peoples Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). He already has a reward of Rs 16 lakh on his head and has been underground for the last 15 years.

Girdhar is known to use a number of aliases including Nagsu, Mansu and Tumreti.

Police said Girdhar is a native of Gadchiroli and hails from the Javeli village under the Kasansur police station area. Girdhar is known to have risen fast in the Maoist hierarchy is part of the State Military Commission of the Maoists. He is also part of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Maoist which administers the liberated zone which falls across Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, according to police here.

Citing intelligence reports, police said Wednesdays attack was carried out by one of the two companies under Girdhar. In all, some 60 men from six dalams may have participated in setting several vehicles belonging to a private road building company in order to lure the State Reserve Police personnel to the blasts site, officials said.

State government officials here admitted that the Maoists may have infiltrated the local units of the police in Gadchiroli and the attack may have been carried out using inside information.

Girdhar and his close associates may have already moved out of Maharashtra and may be even holed deep in the jungles, a state government official said.

Meanwhile, the police said they have named top naxal leaders in the FIR in connection with the Gadchiroli attack.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 4

A day after cyclone Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 16 persons, a massive restoration-and-relief work was launched on war-footing today across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas.

The Eastern Naval Command of the Navy launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation process. Two maritime recce sorties were undertaken by the Dornier aircraft of the Navy, revealing widespread destruction localised around Puri.

Nearly 2,000 emergency workers, along with civil society organisations, personnel of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 1 lakh officials were engaged in the restoration work, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik said, before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The NDRF deployed 44 teams in the worst-affected parts of Odisha and nine teams in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, two each in Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The teams are working in collaboration with other state agencies to restore power supply, communication set up and clear roads by removing the uprooted trees, poles and debris. They are also assisting the local authorities in distributing relief material. The toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16. (With PTI inputs)

Barring Patkura, polls in state over

Barring the Patkura Assembly constituency under the Kendrapara LS seat, which is scheduled to go to the polls on May 19 following the death of the BJD candidate, polling in all 21 LS and 146 Assembly constituencies has been completed

NEET postponed in state: HRD ministry

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled for May 5 has been postponed in Odisha due to Fani, the HRD Ministry announced on Saturday. The decision was taken following a request from the Odisha administration
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 4

The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Gujarat speech in which he had claimed that the Indian government had kept Pakistan on its toes to ensure the safe return of its pilot.

This is the sixth clean chit to Modi by the poll watchdog.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision on the April 21 Patan speech was unanimous.

One of the election commissioners, according to sources, gave a dissenting view in the ECs decision to give a clean chit to Modi with regard to his speech at Wardha on April 1, where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the minority-dominated Wayanad seat in Kerala, and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrike and the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack on April 9.

He had also reportedly given dissent in the clean chit to BJP president Amit Shah for his Nagpur speech in which he had reportedly said Wayand constituency of Kerala is where majority is minority.

In its Saturdays decision, the EC said, ...detailed report of the chief electoral officer, Gujarat was obtained. The matter has been examined in detail in accordance with the extant advisories, provisions of the model code of conduct. After examination, commission is of the view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted.

In his Patan speech, Modi had reportedly said that he had warned Pakistan of consequences if it did not return Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured after an aerial dogfight with Pakistani F-16s that had violated Indian airspace and targeted military installations in February.

Pakistan released Varthaman on the night of March 1. Modi also spoke of a US claim that India had kept 12 missiles ready.

So far, the EC has cleared six speeches of Modi, two of Shah and one of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi had been issued a show-cause notice for his Madhya Pradesh speech in which he had reportedly said the government enacted a new law which allows tribals to be shot.

On March 19, the EC had issued an advisory asking parties not to invoke armed forces in their political campaign.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler today said more trouble was in store for the globally blacklisted Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as his blacklisting by the European Union was in the works.

Azhars blacklisting by the EU will mount more pressure on Pakistan to undertake visible and verifiable action of freezing his funds flow as well as limiting his public appearances. The EU blacklisting is a much more arduous process after a European court nullified the implementation of the sanctions regime against a similarly UNSC-blacklisted terrorist for violation of constitutionally protected rights.

To the UNSC blacklisting of Azhar, Zeigler said: Its very good news for the world community and India as well that the world reached a consensus.

France has been in the forefront of a push by three global powers, including the US and the UK, to arraign Azhar in the face of a determined pushback by China, a close Pakistani ally. France had adopted national sanctions much before the UNSC consensus to blacklist Azhar.

For many years, French diplomacy has been pleading for sanctioning Azhar, head of the terrorist group responsible, notably, for the Pulwama attack, Zeigler had said after news broke on May 1 about China relinquishing its hold on Azhars blacklisting. France would be hoping to build on political proximity with India to advance strategic ties.
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 3

The Supreme Court on Friday appointed retired Justice AK Sikri to look into the evaluation process of the main examination for 107 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Haryana, in which only nine candidates were shortlisted out of more than 1,100.

A total of 14,301 students took the preliminary examination on December 22 last year for 107 vacancies and 1,282 were declared successful to take part in the main examination held on March 15 and 17 this year. More than 1,100 candidates appeared, but only nine qualified.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to submit answersheets to Justice Sikri, who will examine if the evaluation was acceptable.

On Monday, the Bench had directed the HC Registry not to appoint any civil judge without its nod and summoned the Registrar General with the selection records.

The order came on a petition by 92 aspirants, seeking quashing of result of the main examination which was declared on April 11. They have challenged the selection process and evaluation method adopted, terming the entire exercise unreasonable, arbitrary and mala fide.

They alleged that RTI applications seeking disclosure of marks, copies of answer scripts, model answers and marking criteria were not answered and interviews were scheduled.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Jaipur, May 4

Not farmers income but their debt doubled in the last five years of the Modi government, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram alleged on Saturday.

The Congress leader also expressed confidence that his party and its alliance partners will maintain lead over the BJP at the end of the fifth phase of polling on Monday.

Farmers income will be doubled (if the Congress comes to power). In the last five years, farmers income has not doubled but their debt has doubled, Chidambaram told reporters here.

Jobs is the number one issue in the country and 4 lakh vacant posts in the government will be filled when the Congress comes to power, he said.

Chidambaram said another issue is farmers distress.

I cannot find a single farmer in the country today who can say that his life is better today than the life in 2014, the Congress leader said.

He alleged that the government had written off huge amounts of industrialists, but has no money for farm loan waiver.

On the prospects of his party in the general elections, Chidambaram said the Congress and its alliance partners are ahead of the BJP in the country.

Congress and its alliances are ahead of the BJP. At the end of the fifth phase of election, we are confident that our alliance will maintain a lead over the BJPs alliances, he said.

The BJP won all the seats in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and nearly all seats in Madhya Pradesh in the last elections, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil any of the promises he had made to the people of these states, the former Union minister alleged.

Claiming that Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of every citizen and two crore jobs, he said these along with other promises remain unfulfilled.

Highlighting the Congresss election manifesto, he said it was prepared after discussion with people.

Our manifesto is the voice of the people. This is not written by a person sitting in a room, Chidambaram said.

People are not discussing the BJPs manifesto, they are discussing the Congresss, he said.

On his partys proposed minimum income guarantee NYAY scheme, Chidambaram said it will revolutionise Indias economy and states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh will be among the top beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Congress has always given new ideas and has implemented them. Some of these are Right to Education, Right to Information and Food Security, he said.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, May 3

Mala, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer may sound like the names of yesteryear Bollywood actors, but they are, in fact, lethal cyclones that have brought violent winds, heavy rains and wreaked destruction. As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as Foni, means a snakes hood. But how are cyclones named?

The World Meteorological Organisation/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its

27th session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of

Bengal and Arabian Sea.

The naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004. The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations suggest names alphabetically  Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list.

So, for instance, Bangladesh suggested Onil the first on the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Gujarat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but impacted both India and Pakistan. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, ravaging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named Vayu, suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised.

Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. These lists are used sequentially and they are not rotated every few years, unlike the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.

A storm causes so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly. If the public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria, a circular on naming the cyclones over the North Indian Ocean said.

The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and must not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning, it added. The name can be communicated to the director general of the IMD.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Lucknow, May 4

Actor-turned-politician and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha has said that he has done no wrong in campaigning for his wife Poonam Sinha, who is the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

Sinha, who has been facing flak for not campaigning for the Congress in Lucknow, told IANS in an exclusive interview here on Saturday, clarifying for the first time, I do not understand why this controversy is being unnecessarily stoked.

When I joined the Congress last month, I had told the party leadership that I would support and campaign for my wife and they had agreed.

He said he had been hearing about protests from Lucknow Congress candidate Acharya Pramod Krishnam but no one from the senior rank in the party has spoken to me on this issue because they all know the facts.

Even the Samajwadi Party has been informed that once the Lucknow polling is over on May 6, my wife Poonam will be campaigning for me in Patna and they have no objection. For me, it has always been family first, he added.

Moreover, he said: I have completed the pati-dharam; by campaigning in Lucknow and Poonam will undertake her patni-dharam by campaigning for me in Patna.

Sinha said he had been offered the Lucknow seat several months ago by the Samajwadi Party. But I had already made a commitment to the people that I would not change the location of my election which is Patna, he explained.

In Patna, Sinha is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the competition is said to be tough.

I will now be stationed in Patna which is my home. Even when I joined films in Mumbai five decades ago, I maintained my relations with Patna. I would visit the place regularly and people there treat me as family. For them I am the Bihari Babu, he said.

Asked whether he would campaign for the Congress too, the actor-turned-politician said: I have been campaigning across the length and breadth of the country for the Congress and will be available whenever and wherever required.

Talking about the tone and tenor of his campaign, Sinha said: Of course, I will place my side of the story about why I left the BJP after almost three decades because a lot of rubbish is on the propaganda machine.

I will also underline the need for change and the importance of my party Congress. I have never indulged in negative campaigning but if others throw mud at me, I have the right to wipe it off. IANS
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Khunti (Jharkhand), May 4

A tribal woman dances in frenzy while a man intones mantras in what seems like an age-old ritual to a pagan god, but then this is a Pathalgadi area and she is leading the villagers in worshipping a stone plaque inscribed with tenets governing their everyday lives.

The high notes of electioneering dont strike a chord in Jharkhands Maoist strongholds where a huge stone plaque, or Pathalgadi, declares at the village entrance itself that residents are governed by their own rules and all outsiders are banned, regardless of whether they are politicians or just casual visitors.

Unlike the rest of the country, villages, particularly under Pathalgadi, are governed by a separate set of rules where gram sabhas, or village panchayats, reign supreme.

There are over 100 Pathalgadi villages in Khunti district, barely 50 km from the state capital Ranchi, where the tribes dont recognise any authority and dont owe allegiance to the Constitution.

This is the land of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda, who waged a fierce battle against the British in the 19th century and is worshipped as god.

Khunti, one of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand that is reserved, is preparing for a clash of two Mundas on May 6  BJPs former chief minister Arjun Munda and Congress Kalicharan Munda.

But the electoral silence is almost eerie with the tribals saying they will boycott the polls, celebrated as the festival of democracy elsewhere in the country.

Our rights have been seized by (Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. No rights, no votes, proclaimed Maki Tuti, 42, after worshipping the stone plaque at the entrance of village Bhandra, a ritual the villagers follow every Thursday.

Dikus, or outsiders, are strictly forbidden but this correspondent managed to enter the villages through Pathalgadi leaders to talk to the villagers.

With just two days to go before elections on May 6, none of the 11 contenders has reached the interior areas.

There is no faith in the government or the electoral system but the fact that the villages in Khunti lack even the most basic amenities widens the gulf.

We have no amenities in our village. The government has done nothing for usWe just want peaceful living with no interference, Ratan Tuti, 50, told PTI.

Those younger echo the same disillusionment.

Bindi Nag, 27, said her only wish is that the government stops harassing the youth.

The story is the same in village after village. Be it Hashatu or Chamidih, Siladone or Kumkuma, plaques warning that outsiders are banned and the tribals reject any authority of the state or the Central government are the first thing visitors encounter when they approach village.

The plaques mention Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA.

Questioned on the Pathalgadi villagers outright rejection of the polls, Khunti MLA and state minister Neelkanth Singh Munda said, It is no subject.

There is no question of infringing upon the rights of the villagers. There has been enough development work. The roads are better than Ranchi and that is why you could reach here, he added.

He is also the brother of Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda.

But the facts state otherwise, said the villagers.

At Kumkuma village, 70-year-old Sheonath Munda said, No one has reached us. The Khunti Lok Sabha seat covers the districts of Khunti and Simdega and portions of the Ranchi and Seraikela Kharsawan districts. The constituency has six assembly segments, Kharsawan, Tamar, Topa, Khunti, Kolebira and Simdega.

It is one of most backward regions of the eastern state and is also hit by Maoist violence.

The constituency has become one of Jharkhands high-profile parliamentary constituencies after the BJP fielded Arjun Munda by dropping its eight-term MP Kariya Munda.

Asked about Kariya Munda, villagers in some Pathalgadi areas used expletives, saying he had done nothing for the development of the constituency.

Some villagers said they have sent a list of demands to all higher ups, including to President Ram Nath Kovind. The demands include withdrawal of all law enforcing machinery, earmarking of funds under tribal sub-plans to the gram sabhas.

They also want that tribals should not be branded extremists and sent to jail.

Wearying of fighting the system, some of the villagers said nobody understands them and all they want is a peaceful life with full control over their jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land).

Said one villager in Kumkuma who did not want to be identified, We do not want to vote as the outside world is alien to us.

Which Bharat sarkar? Our sarkar is the gram panchayat, added an elderly man. We cannot allow our water, forest and land to be snatched away. It is our birthright.

To Birsa Munda goes the credit for the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) in 1908 which prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. In 1949, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT) maintained the same position.

The attempts to make amendments in both the laws by the BJP government in the state, headed by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, has met with vociferous protests.

Khunti was in the headlines last June when Pathalgudi supporters barged into MP Kariya Mundas home at Anigada-Chandidih and abducted three policemen.

In another incident, five women from an NGO were allegedly abducted and gangraped by armed men associated with Pathalgadi while staging street plays at a school.

Among its multiple problems is the one of tribal women being lured by touts into becoming domestic workers and bonded labourers.

The narrative of migration and bonded labour is repeated in village after village. The list is long, the characters different and the story same.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Theni, May 4

A priest was killed and another injured allegedly by a masked robber gang for preventing it from looting a temple hundial at Suruli, near here, police said on Saturday.

The priests of Bootha Narayana Swamy temple, sleeping in the temple on Friday midnight, woke up to a loud noise and saw two masked men trying to break the hundial, the police said.

Malayan (70) and Balasubramani (59) tried to prevent the gang from looting the money when the robbers attacked them with a steel rod and fled the scene, they said.

Malayan died on the spot while Balasubramani sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised, they said.

A case was registered and a hunt was on to catch the culprits. A sniffer dog was pressed into service. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Failure to pick their passports before fleeing landed the two Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the police net after remaining fugitives for 33 days in the Rs 6.65 crore missing cash scandal that rocked Punjab Police and a Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

A team headed by IG PK Sinha tracked them down with the help of Kerala Police.

Sinha said the duo took away the money thinking it was part of a larger illegal amount and if they siphoned off some, there would not be any complaint. When the money was recovered during a raid, senior officers told the two to deposit it at the Khanna police headquarters, but the duo hatched a plan midway. They initially thought of taking a few lakhs from Rs 6.65 crore, but later thought of pocketing the whole amount, the IG said.

He said the duo thought it was ill-gotten money. But, the priests complained the next day, forcing the ASIs to flee. They later thought of leaving the country and tried to get their passports picked from their houses. It was then that our intelligence network caught them.

The ASIs stayed in Uttarakhand, New Delhi, Jaipur, Meerut and Mumbai.

Sent to five-day police remand
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Ropar/Chandigarh, May 4

Ending speculation over his desertion of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa finally joined the Congress in Chandigarh on Saturday. Sandoa was welcomed to the party by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the latters residence in Chandigarh.

Though CM Amarinder Singh has denied poaching AAP MLAs, this is the second legislator who had joined the Congress in the last 10 days. AAP MLA from Mansa Nazar Singh Mashahia had left the party for the Congress on April 25.

Welcoming Sandoa into the party fold, Captain Amarinder said the Congress had got a major boost as a result of the wave of exodus from members of various opposition parties in the state.

Sandoa who was a taxi driver in Delhi was fielded by AAP from his native place Ropar. After defeating SAD stalwart Daljit Singh Cheema and Congress candidate Brinder Singh Dhillon, he entered the state assembly after 2017 elections.

Sandoa, however, courted controversies when a woman in Ropar levelled allegations of molestation against him and later some locals roughed him up when he went to stop illegal mining near Nurpur Bedi in June last year.

Later, the alleged attacker had charged the MLA with pressuring them to give money in lieu of continuing the mining in area.

Though it was already in the air that the Congress was in talks with Sandoa to get him in party fold, he kept denying it and even continued to attend AAPs meetings at Chandigarh as well as in Delhi regarding the Lok Sabha election strategy.

Today, he left for Chandigarh in the morning along with Anandpur Sahib MLA and Punjab Speaker Rana KP Singh and with few of his confidants making it clear for the locals that he was set to join the Punjabs ruling party.

Sandoas joining would further bolster the Congress prospects in Ropar, where Manish Tewari was already making waves as the partys candidate, Capt Amarinder said. Exhorting Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary elections in the state, Amarinder asked him to help Tewari at the grassroots level in the constituency.

Sandoa, who joined along with his supporters, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister and assured him that of his best efforts. He said he was feeling disenchanted in the AAP due to the top leaderships high-handed approach towards Punjab and had decided to join Congress as he felt aligned with the democratic and inclusive philosophy of the party.
editorial@tribune.com

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 3

In a jolt to two Mansa widows who took political plunge to highlight the deepening agrarian crisis in the state, one of them, Manjeet Kaur, who intended to withdraw her nomination in support of Veerpal Kaur, failed to do so apparently due to communication gap. Both had filed their nomination on April 29.

Talking to The Tribune outside the Deputy Commissioners office here today, Manjeet said, It has come as a setback to us as we had thought we would get back the security deposit (Rs 25,000) of one of us. We planned to use it in our campaign, but all our hopes have been dashed.

The Committee for Farmers and Families of Agrarian Suicide Victims convener, Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir, who is leading these widows in their battle, attributed their failure to withdraw Manjeets nomination to a phone call from the DC office in Bathinda. She claimed they were asked to reach Bathinda at 3.30 pm on May 2 for withdrawal as well as a meeting with poll officials. She said as they reached the office around 3.15 pm, they were told the withdrawal time was over.

She said they resorted to a dharna, which they lifted following an assurance from the staff to resolve their issue the next day. But when they reached the office today, no official was ready to meet them, she alleged. They again sat on a dharna after which Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan met them and told nothing could be done now as their hands were tied, claimed Kiranjit.

Not ready to give up, she said they would focus all their energies on Veerpals campaign. About managing the expenses, she said they would again bank on crowd-funding.

Came post deadline

They came after the 3 pm deadline. We had called them for a meeting of candidates with poll officials at 3.30 pm, but they mistook it as the time for withdrawal of nominations. Candidates were clearly told they could withdraw only by 3 pm on May 2. B Srinivasan, Bathinda DC
editorial@tribune.com

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi (Muktsar), May 3

Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today formally started canvassing in favour of his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Lambi Assembly segment in the Bathinda constituency.

His first public meeting was held at Burj Sidhwan village. Badal was earlier almost daily touring one or two villages to express grief with families in Lambi who have lost someone in the recent past. Even today he visited two villages for the same purpose, but held a public meeting that was organised by partys former district chief Dyal Singh Kolianwali.

In his first public address this election, Badal criticised the Congress terming it an anti-Punjab party.

I have seen a number of PMs in the last 90 years and those belonging to the Congress snatched the rights over our river waters and state capital. First Jawaharlal Nehru discriminated with Punjab, his daughter Indira Gandhi attacked Harmandar Sahib and later her son (Rajiv Gandhi) was responsible for the anti-Sikh riots. This Gandhi family is against Punjab, he said.

Praising NDAs Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, he said, Vajpayee gave us multi-crore petroleum refinery. Modi formed a SIT and sent former Union minister Sajjan Kumar behind bars in the anti-Sikh riots case. He also sanctioned the Kartarpur corridor.

Again striking a personal chord with the public, Badal said, I have visited your villages hundreds of times, even during my tenure as the CM. My effort has always remained to solve your problems. My bonding with you is not political, but we have familiar ties. However, Congress people always think that Badal family is a barrier for them to rule in Punjab and how to sideline us. Now, the Parliament elections are approaching and you have to decide whom to give the reigns of your fortune. However, he did not make direct comment on any of Harsimrats rival candidates.

Went to jail for opposing Emergency: Chandumajra

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal candidate from the Anandpur Sahib constituency Prem Singh Chandumajra on Friday said he had been fighting against anti-democratic and fascist policies of the Congress. He said he went to jail also for opposing Emergency which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

In all, 278 candidates are left in the fray for 13 parliamentary constituencies of Punjab as 12 nominees took back their nomination papers on the last day of withdrawal on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, S Karuna Raju said 385 candidates had filed their nomination papers for 13 parliamentary constituencies of the state. During scrutiny, 297 nominations were found valid.

He said after the withdrawal of papers, 15 candidates are left in the fray for the Gurdaspur seat. A total of 30 candidates are in the fray for Amritsar while 19 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Khadoor Sahib. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray for the Jalandhar (SC) seat as none of the candidates withdrew their nomination.

He said eight candidates were left in the fray for Hoshiarpur (SC) seat. After withdrawal of one candidate, 26 candidates are left in the fray for Anandpur Sahib. After withdrawal of one candidate, 22 are left in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ludhiana while 20 are left in the fray for the Fatehgarh Sahib seat after withdrawal of one candidate. Further, after withdrawal of two candidates, 20 are left in the fray for the Faridkot (SC) seat and 22 candidates were in the fray for the parliamentary constituency of Ferozepur.

After the withdrawal of three candidates, 27 are left in the fray for Bathinda and after withdrawal of one candidate, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Sangrur. After withdrawal of three candidates, 25 candidates are left in the fray for Patiala, Raju added. The voting will be held on May 19 from 7 am to 6 pm.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 4

The SIT of Punjab Police on Saturday recovered more than Rs 2 crore in Patiala from two Assistant Sub-Inspectors who had fled with Rs 6.65 crore cash that belonged to Jalandhar-based group of Christian priests.

With this recovery, the total amount recovered from the duo has reached Rs 4.38 crore.

ASIs Joginder Singh and Rajpreet Singh had hid in many states and eventually reached Kochi, planning to strike a deal with the priests, who belonged to Kerala and allegedly owned the cash, to return the money and get the complaint withdrawn.

SIT head PK Sinha, who camped in Patiala for the whole day, headed the operation to recover the cash. What is interesting is that the recoveries came after disclosures from the already arrested accused in the case.

Sources confirm that the police grilled the accused and followed their entire trail from the day the cash went missing to their arrests. The two ASIs have confirmed that they transferred some part of the cash out of country but are tight lipped on the channel they used for that.

Their questioning is still on, said an officer.

Interestingly Rajpreet had paid Rs 2 lakh cash to an immigration firm in Patiala to ensure IELTS and foreign visa for his wife. The immigration firm owner, Gurmant Singh, later approached police and told them about the payment made by Rajpreet.

The SIT also suspects that part of the missing cash was given as a reward to the informer, Surinder Singhwho is already under arrest in the case.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Sangrur, May 4

AAPs Punjab chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday rejected the claims that there was no AAP wave this time and said the party would perform better than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

He said those who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would repent their decision on May 23 when the election results would be out.

In less than a week, the AAP in Punjab suffered another major jolt today as its sitting MLA from Ropar, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Earlier AAP MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia had joined the Congress on April 29.

About his chances of re-election from Sangrur, Mann said he was confident of winning by a huge margin this time.

Addressing people at a village in Lehra, he reminded them of his efforts in securing the return of Punjabi youths stuck in foreign countries and issues raised by him in Parliament.

Every day, parents approached me for securing the return of their children stuck abroad. I helped them in securing their return, said Mann, drawing applause from the voters.

Mann asked them to press the EVM button against the symbol of jhadoo to keep the Congress and the SAD-BJP away from power.

He also highlighted the unparalleled work carried out by the AAP government in Delhi, especially in education and health sectors, and slammed both SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress for ruining Punjab.

In Punjab, you have seen divisive politics in the past five years. They are not bothered about employment, farm crisis and other issues, he alleged.

At another public meeting in Malerkotla, the AAP leader flayed the state governments Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme, saying it had completely failed to provide employment to the youth in Punjab.

The comedian-turned-politician also blamed the local Congress MLAs for the dilapidated condition of roads.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Mann said the saffron party was forced to field two outsidersHardeep Puri and Sunny Deolfrom Amritsar and Gurdaspur , respectively.

Sunny Deol had campaigned for the SAD candidate from Sangrur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and he lost the elections, he said.  PTI
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

WASHINGTON

A therapy-based website can help people struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, a study has found.

Mental health researchers behind the website 'nowmattersnow.org' asked over 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website.

Nearly one-third were significantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to a research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Ursula Whiteside, a clinical psychologist at the University of Washington (UW) in the US, said the results offer hope for people struggling to cope.

The site, developed by UW psychology professor Marsha Linehan, exposes visitors to dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a form of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science and Buddhist principles on mindfulness and acceptance.

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced suicidal thoughts," Whiteside said in a statement.

"We wanted clinicians to feel empowered to help those who are struggling," she said.

The survey of users was conducted from March 5, 2015 to December 3, 2017.

Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most suicidal or negative). More than 70 per cent of survey respondents recalled having some suicidal thoughts when they arrived at the website.

Of those who reported suicidal thoughts (2,644) at baseline, 29 per cent reported a reduction of one point or more in suicidal thoughts during the site visit.  PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

THE following press communique dated Ist May has been issued by the Punjab Government:In the Kasur case in which 11 accused were sentenced to death, the Commission made a recommendation to mercy as regards two of the accused, Chuni Lal and Kamal Din. These two men were among the leaders and the Commission in their judgment observed that so far as the actual offence of waging war is concerned nothing less than the capital sentence would be justified in the case of each of these accused. They were, however, they add, prevailed upon to spare Mr. and Mrs. Sherbourne and their children and eventually even assisted them to escape to a place of safety. For this reason and also on the ground of their youth (Chuni Lal is a contractor of 21 and Kamal Din is a student of 18) they recommend that the extreme sentence of this law should not be carried out. In view of the recommendation the Lieutenant Governor has commuted the sentence of the death case of Chuni Lal to one of ten years rigorous imprisonment and in the cause of Kamal Din to one of 7 years.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Dr Chiranjit Parmar

A few days ago, I happened to read an article about the plight of Jogindernagar-Barot tramway. I also travelled in the trolleys plying on this route about 7-8 years ago. This tramway is really in a much neglected state.

The trolleys running there were procured in 1930 during the construction of Shanan Hydroelectric Power Project. These are still in operation. But sitting and travelling in these is no different from travelling in a bullock cart. There is a small cabin in front with a wooden bench which can accommodate four persons. In the back, there is an open space for carrying material and passengers if required.

The trolleys are hooked to a metallic rope. Two trolleys are hooked on each end. This rope is moved by an electric motor and trolleys start going up and down on the railway line. This line gets bifurcated for a small distance in the middle to enable trolleys to cross. It is very interesting to watch the two trolleys cross each other, one going upwards and other going downwards.

There is no engine, no steering wheel, no gears or brakes. But of course, a driver is there. This driver has a long copper stick. Two wires fixed on poles like old time telephone lines, run all along the way. When the driver touches these lines with his copper rod one time, a bell rings once at the control room and the operator switches the motor off to stop the tram. To start it again, the driver touches the wires two times and the bell at the control tower rings twice, meaning the trolley should now move. The entire system, though working on 90-year-old technology, is very interesting and perfect.

Trolley starts from Jogindar Nagar. There are four stations up to Barot. One has to shift to another trolley at the second station, after which you reach Winch Camp, which is at the top of a hill at 9,000 ft. From there, one has to walk about 2 km to reach the third station called Head Gear. There is also a railway line connecting both stations, but is defunct at present. From Head Gear, you start going down and again change trolley at Kaphyadu to reach Barot. Between Head Gear and Kaphyadu, the slope at one point is 75 degrees. This stretch is called Khoonee Ghatee.

This entire journey is very exciting, enjoyable and I would say an unforgettable experience. There are steep climbs on the way. One passes through jungles, too! If this tramway is opened for tourists and promoted well, it will surely be a big hit. Tourists wont hesitate to pay even Rs 1,000 for a round-trip ride to Barot from Jogindernagar.

During my travels, I have seen such trolleys only at three places and everywhere these were very popular among tourists. The first was at Hong Kong, second at San Francisco, and third at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In Hong Kong, it runs on a straight climb to the hill called Victoria Hill. One gets a beautiful view of Hong Kong city and the harbour from there. People spend time, have something in restaurants and come back. But this experience is nothing in comparison to Jogindernagar Tramway.

The San Francisco trolley is called cable car. These go over the small hill from the Market Street and descend to the other side at Fishermans Wharf, which they have developed as an amusement area for tourists. There are many shops there that sell seafood and other eatables. These cable cars are a major attraction of San Francisco and are also promoted as a logo for that city.

The trolley that takes people to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer at one of the hill tops around Rio de Janeiro is also called cable car. Its route is a bit longer. It also passes through a jungle. From the top, one can get a breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro city and its beaches. As this statue is now included among the seven wonders of the world (modern), so thousands of people visit it every day. Though this drive is little longer than those at Hong Kong and San Francisco, yet travel on this route is still not as exciting as that on Jogindernagar-Barot route.

Our government must exploit the Jogindernagar-Barot tramway for tourism purposes. It will not require much effort. Infrastructure already exists. Only new cable cars are required. If done, it will be a great tourist attraction. A beginning can be made even with existing trolleys by sprucing these a bit.

(The writer is a senior fruit scientist based in Mandi)
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Kabul, May 3

A five-day summit on peace in Afghanistan ended on Friday with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

The Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, set out its recommendations and urged the government and the Taliban to announce an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the arrival of Ramadan, reports Efe news.

Asking the Taliban to shun violence, the council called on the warring groups to begin intra-Afghan talks.

President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the meeting on Monday. It saw about 3,200 ethnic, religious and tribal representatives and politicians from across the country gather in the capital city under heavy security cover.

At the end of the five-day consultations, the participants issued a 23-article resolution to Ghani and called on the government, the Taliban, the international community and regional countries to respect the recommendations of the peace jirga.

They said the constitution and the current political structure of the government should be maintained and protected and, if necessary, amendments be brought in only through legal ways.  IANS

Goodwill gesture: To set free 175 Taliban prisoners

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday announced the release of 175 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture as a five-day summit on peace ended here with a call for an urgent ceasefire and a schedule for a proposed withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country

30 militants, seven security personnel killed in clash

At least 30 militants were killed as the Taliban offensive to overrun Afghanistans Burka district in Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, officials said. A provincial government spokesman said a group of Taliban insurgents launched an offensive to overrun Burka district but the security forces killed 30 insurgents
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in concentration camps, in some of the strongest US condemnation to date of what it calls Beijings mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups.

The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the US Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centres aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

Former detainees have described to Reuters being tortured during interrogation at the camps, living in crowded cells and being subjected to a brutal daily regimen of party indoctrination that drove some people to suicide.

Some of the sprawling facilities are ringed with razor wire and watch towers.

The (Chinese) Communist Party is using the security forces for mass imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps, Schriver told a Pentagon briefing during a broader discussion about Chinas military, estimating that the number of detained Muslims could be closer to 3 million citizens. Schriver, an assistant secretary of defense, defended his use of a term normally associated with Nazi Germany as appropriate, under the circumstances.

When asked by a reporter why he used the term, Schriver said that it was justified given what we understand to be the magnitude of the detention, at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens out of a population of about 10 million. So a very significant portion of the population, (given) whats happening there, what the goals are of the Chinese government and their own public comments make that a very, I think, appropriate description, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday used the term re-education camps to describe the sites and said Chinese activity was reminiscent of the 1930s.

The US government has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, a vast region bordering central Asia that is home to millions of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities. China has warned that it would retaliate in proportion against any US sanctions.

The governor of Xinjiang in March directly dismissed comparisons to concentration camps, saying they were the same as boarding schools.

US officials have said China has made criminal many aspects of religious practice and culture in Xinjiang, including punishment for teaching Muslim texts to children and bans on parents giving their children Uighur names.

Academics and journalists have documented grid-style police checkpoints across Xinjiang and mass DNA collection, and human rights advocates have decried martial law-type conditions there. Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were discussing a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China.

During his interaction with reporters following almost an hour-long conversation with Putin on Friday on various matters, majorly Venezuela, Trump said the talks would first start between the US and Russia and China would join later.



Were talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe even where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now. ... And China is frankly alsowe discussed the possibility of a three-way deal instead of a two-way deal, the CNN reported Trump as saying.

Trump said that he has already spoken to China.

And China, Ive already spoken to them. They very much would like to be a part of that deal. In fact, during the trade talks, we started talking about that, Trump said.

The US President stated that the talks would first start between the US and Russia and would be later joined by China.

Were going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves, maybe to start off. And I think China will be added down the road. Well be talking about nonproliferation. Well be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind. And I think it will be a very comprehensive one, he said. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, May 4

A 35-year-old Pakistani-American national has been arrested by the FBI on his arrival from Pakistan for being in contact with two UN-proscribed terror groups--the Islamic State and the JeM.

Waqar Ul-Hassan, a naturalised US citizen who moved to America at the age of 15, was arrested at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist by the UN on May 1.

Hassan was arrested on two counts of making false statements in 2015 about his contacts with terrorist groups.

If convicted, he faces up to eight years of imprisonment.

According to court documents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2014 received information that he was in contact with terrorist organisations.

During an interview with the FBI, he denied having any contacts with the terrorist groups or helping them.

Later in November 2015, Hassan during another interview with the FBI admitted that he had lied and was in contact with two terrorist groups--the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and JeM.

He acknowledged being untruthful in previous FBI interviews regarding his knowledge of persons associated with foreign terrorist organisations.

The FBI said Hassan admitted to extensive contacts with a JeM recruiter, who he identified by name. He also admitted to exchanging phone numbers with the recruiter and having several conversations about extremism with him.

Hassan further admitted he traveled to--and stayed with--JeM extremists for two or three days in 2014, travelled in Pakistan in 2013 and 2014 to collect money and food for JeM extremists, and passed out recruiting newspapers for JeM in Pakistan in 2014, the FBI said.

Hassan admitted he had not been truthful because he knew JeM was a terrorist group.

Between 2013 and 2014 I travelled...around the city of Gujrat (in Pakistan) and surrounding area collecting money and food for Jaish Mujahideen two or three times. In 2014, while staying with Jaish Mujahideen they told me about an attack on Indian soldier they conducted the previous year. They showed me a news video of the attack, Hassan said in a written statement to the FBI, according to court documents.

Hassan was born on February 10, 1984 in Uttam Gujrat, Pakistan. He moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, in 1999 at the age of 15. He became a naturalised United States citizen in 2002, but retained citizenship in Pakistan.

Hassan told investigators that he was in contact with ISIS as well.

The complaint said because he was angry about what was happening to Muslims around the world, he was serious about sending USD 175 to Jihadists in Syria.

Hassan said he did not send the money because he did not have a way to get the money there. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Colombo, May 4

Four foreign nationals, including one from Pakistan who violated immigration regulations were arrested by the police in Sri Lanka during search operations.

The arrested are two Nigerians and one each from Pakistan and Bangladesh, News 1st reported.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and the 24-year-old Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Grandpass for residing in the country without a valid visa.

The Nigerians, aged 26 and 31, who were residing without a valid visa, were arrested in Ukwatte, Avissawella.

The foreigners will be produced before courts.

The country suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings.

Authorities are on a high alert in the country after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath for the attacks. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, May 4

President Donald Trump said he held very positive talks Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela, where Washington is pushing to oust the Moscow-backed president.

The US leader adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone following a more than hour-long conversation with Putin, coming days after an abortive military uprising in support of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader seeking to drive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

It was a very positive conversation, Trump said. He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela.

And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving.

Trumps tone came in stark contrast to that of his top advisors, in particular Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who charged this week that the socialist Maduro had been poised to flee to Cuba, but was talked out of it by the Russians.

Recognised as interim leader by more than 50 countries including the United States, Guaido has vowed to keep the pressure up on Maduro, urging his supporters to stage peaceful demonstrations at military bases Saturday in a fresh bid to rally the armed forces behind him.

US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, and the Kremlins assessment of the Trump-Putin call differed substantially from that coming from the White House.

Interference in internal affairs, attempts to change the leadership in Caracas through force, undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said a Russian statement.

Vladimir Putin stated that only the Venezuelan people have the right to decide the future of their country, it added.

The United States has imposed tough sanctions and Trump has refused to take the threat of military action off the table, in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power.

Washington is insisting Maduros days are numberedbut experts say US options for breaking the stalemate are limited, and that Washington may have overestimated the opposition leaders strength.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan hosted Pompeo at the Pentagon Friday along with National Security Advisor John Bolton and Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the US Southern Command.

Reiterating Trumps positionthat all options are on the tableShanahan declined to provide any details on a possible military intervention.

Im trying to avoid walking into We could do this or we could do that, he said.

What people should feel confident about is we have... theres depth to these plans.

We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions and Im just going to leave it at that.

Guaido plans to have his supporters mass outside military bases on Saturday, and deliver a proclamation to those inside, pleading with them to break with Maduro.

Peacefully, civically... we are going to deliver a simple document, a proclamation to the Armed Forces to listen to the Venezuelan call, that a rapid transition is possible to produce free elections, Guaido told a press conference in Caracas.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate.

On Tuesday the opposition leader called on the military to rise up against Maduro, and a small group heeded his call.

But the movement petered outwith 25 rebel soldiers seeking asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracassparking two days of protests during which four people were killed and some 200 injured.

The influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopezwho made a dramatic appearance alongside Guaido after being freed from house arresthas since taken refuge at the Spanish embassy.

Venezuelas military leadership has since reiterated its support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground.

In Lima, ministers from Latin American nations and Canada held an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesdays failed effort.

The lack of progress left nations backing Guaido facing a very confusion situation, a diplomatic source told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting.

The reality is that the military leadership resisted the attack and are united, he said.

There are cracks, but not in the military leadership, said the source. International pressure via economic sanctions is the way to weaken the Chavist regime. AFP
The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) says it intends to take action if Government fails to have proper consultation and come to an agreement regarding the jab or no job Covid policy for public sector workers.

The union has not disclosed what form of action it intends to take, but said it would come in early January.
Leaders make a difference to a vaccination drive. When they take a public vaccination, they send a message to their followers or employees that the vaccine is safe and the compassionate thing to do.

When leaders act responsibly in this way, others will follow. This behaviour modelling fits into a broader study that demonstrated that leading by example is effective (Tai Yaffe, et al, 2011).
Nothing is as entertaining as online beefs, especially between celebrities. These past few weeks have been filled with lots of tea and drama from the boss lady Zari and Mange Kimambi, a socialite from Tanzania. The two took to their Instagram pages to attack each other. This is not the first time the two ladies are at each others throats.

Image: Instagram.com, @mangekimambi, @zarithebosslady

Source: UGC

Zari and Mange Kimambi tore each other after Mange made it public that the boss lady was turning forty years old and not thirty-eight as she claimed. Kimambi went ahead to accuse Zari of having photoshopped her flat stomach, calling her an attention seeker who was only thirsty for celebrity status. The boss lady did not take this lying down as she retorted back at Kimambi, labelling her a gorilla tracker.

READ ALSO: Tanzania activist Mange Kimambi sensationally suggests Diamond's son Nillan was sired by the late Ivan Ssemwanga

Who is Mange Kimambi?

Kimambi is a Tanzanian socialite based in the US. Before her fame as an activist, she was a famous blogger, known for sharing little known gossips and details about celebrities. She would mostly write gossip about Tanzanian and diaspora celebrities.

Zari and Mange beef

The beef started last year when the boss lady shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram page dedicated to her late ex-husband Ivan Semwanga. In the message, she thanked him for supporting and providing for the family while he was alive. The boss lady completely snubbed Diamond Platnumz, an act that elicited mixed reactions from the online followers including Mange Kimambi. Kimambi inquired why Zari was ignoring Diamond, yet she was living in his house back in South Africa. She went on to challenge her to leave the house if she could not recognise the father of her two kids.

Kimambi's accusation irked Zari so much that she responded by saying that she lives in Diamond's house by choice. She also added that she owns four homes in South Africa and she could live wherever she felt like.

Kimambi has also been going in on the boss lady over her age and now her new flame. She recently accused her of sending flowers to herself and indicating that they were from a man.

How can a flower seller know your name, unless you are the one buying and sending the flowers to yourself?

She advised Zari instead of wasting the money on flowers, to save and buy herself a home.

Previously, Kimambi also had an ugly beef with Hassan and even claimed that Zari's children with Diamond were sired by her ex-husband Ivan. She even took to social media to tear apart Mobettos mum claiming that shes the one misleading her daughter.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan struggles to clear name again after raunchy bedroom video resurfaces

The leaked tape

The vicious online war did not end there; Mange decided to feed the netizens with an old tape of the boss lady pleasuring herself. This was after Diamond went on air, revealing that his ex-wife had been having extramarital affairs with a famous musician from Nigeria. Kimambi took advantage of this and rekindled her beef with Zari Hassan. Through several Instagram accounts, Kimambi managed to distribute the old tape to as many online fans as possible before pulling it down.

In her response to the leaked tape, Hassan shared beautiful scenery taken from the balcony of her beautiful home with a caption saying,

Where to watch a beautiful sunset, sio ghetto za Trump na usaidizi wa food stamps.

In an interview, the boss lady disclosed that the tape made its way online after her ex-lover recorded their intimate session. He then decided to leak it after Zari refused his blackmail. She accepts that the tape is real and she is not ashamed of her past. Zari and Mange Kimambi fight over the past few days came about when Kimambi accused Hassan of living a fake life and hiring cars to stunt for the gram. Zari Hassan, on the other hand, accused Mange of being a prostitute in the United States of America while still living in a slum. Mange decided to pull a fast one by leaking the video online before being forced to pull it down by Vanessa Mdee.

READ ALSO: Zari Hassan in online shouting match Tanzania activist who claimed she was arrested for faking her age

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Margret Kamande was operating a chain of burglary operations within and without the country

- Detectives said she was wanted by Interpol and Zimbabwean authorities for similar charges

- Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was responding to an insecurity call at Blue Hut hotel

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have arrested a notorious female house breaker after she was captured on several CCTV cameras illegally gaining access into apartments and offices within Nairobi.

Margret Waithira Kamande was nabbed on Thursday, May 2, while trying to board a flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

READ ALSO: Kitale: Abducted 70-year-old woman rescued from pit latrine after 6 days of searching

READ ALSO: Uhuru's housing project receives KSh 25 billion boost from World Bank

According to DCI, the suspect was operating a network of burglary activities within and without the county, and was on the list of Interpol's most wanted persons.

She was reported to have jumped bail in Zimbabwe after being arrested and arraigned for charges relating to house breaking, burglary and stealing.

Police also linked her to the killing of an Administration Police officer who was shot at Blue Hut hotel while responding to an insecurity call.

READ ALSO: Betting board bans celebrities from advertising gambling

On Friday, Mach 22, sleuths arrested another notorious burglar identified as Michael Joseph Otieno whose burglary skills were compared to Spiderman, a popular movie character.

The suspect was reported to have carried his operations in Nairobi's posh estates of Kileleshwa and Kilimani.

He was arrested after being captured on CCTV cameras.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Untold Story of Wamama. The King of Kilimani Mums I Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Legendary Congolese musician Mose Fan Fan is dead.

The rhumba star died on the night of Friday, May 3, at the age of 75 of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment on Thika Superhighway, Nairobi.

READ ALSO: Man complains of girlfriend's demand for marriage after dating for 7 years

The rhumba star died of what is suspected to be a heart attack in his apartment along Thika Superhighway in Nairobi. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenyan family re-unites on Ellen Degeneres' show, wins KSh 5 million

He is reported to have been on a recording tour in Nairobi when he collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Kasarani.

Mose's death was confirmed by his producer Tabu Osusa who noted he was to record a new song with vocalists based in Nairobi including Paddy Makani and Disco Longwa.

READ ALSO: Actress Omotola Jalade warns couples against sharing in-house issues on social media

"I regard him as one of Africa's finest guitarist and music writers," said award-winning Cartoonist Paul Kelemba porpularly known as Maddo

"He has been a frequent visitor to Nairobi from 2015 collaborating with Ketebul Music and Tabu Osusa," he added.

READ ALSO: Explosive investigative documentary Jicho Pevu to make comeback on TV

Mose played guitar on Dje Melasie with Franco's OK Jazz in 1972.

"We are still in shock and we are making arrangements to have him taken to a decent morgue as we reach out to relations," said Osusa.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Follow us on Telegram: Tuko news

The Young Girl Surviving on an Oxygen Tank

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- The two had attended the funeral of Mombasa deputy governor's father in Malindi

- Area MP Aisha Jumwa was the MC who invited Edwin Sifuna to address mourners

- Hell broke loose when Sifuna started talking about ODM matters including ejection of Jumwa from the party

- The Irate Malindi MP snatched the microphone from him as mourners booed

- Those who talked later condemned the incident and Sifuna was given a chance to talk

Embattled Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa caused drama in a funeral at Jilore village in Malindi sub-county after she snatched a microphone from Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna who was addressing mourners.

Sifuna was conveying a condolence message to hundreds of mourners on behalf of his party leader Raila Odinga at the burial of Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingis father when the incident happened.

READ ALSO: Boeing 737 slides into river with 136 people on board

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi (right and in black cap) and Mombasa County Deputy Governor William Kingi (left) having a chat at the funeral. Photo: Onesmus Baraka

Source: Original

READ ALSO: The lavish lifestyle of Kisumu US-based woman who claimed she learned English by watching Ellen's show

While addressing the mourners, Sifuna begun to speak matters concerning ODM party and before he finished, Jumwa who was given the official duty of being an MC moved in and snatched the microphone from him.

The angry lawmaker started yelling at Sifuna while looking for the support from other leaders but she could not get it.

Stop bringing politics SG, we have come here for one reason, to mourn and condole with the family of the late, yelled Jumwa.

This is a funeral and we do not want politics around. If you want politics look for an ODM platform to talk on behalf of that party, she added.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna was left stranded and wordless as Aisha Jumwa snatched the microphone from him. Photo: K 24

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Vihiga: Gavana Ottichilo aanza kazi ya ujenzi wa viwanja 5 katika kila kaunti ndogo

Mourners immediately booed Jumwa after the incident and shouted her down but she could hear none of it.

Things seemed to turn against her when Mombasa Deputy Governor Kingi after making his final remarks invited Sifuna to speak.

William said the former prime minister had called him and informed him that he would wish to attend his fathers burial but unfortunately, he went to another burial in Siaya county but he sent the secretary general to represent him.

Sifuna stated ODM was still strong and would only reward those loyal to it, warning Jumwa that her days were numbered in the party.

READ ALSO: Papa Lolo composer Mose Fan Fan dies in Nairobi

Walk around but your days are very few, we need leaders who will respect their political parties despite their political views, he said

Sifuna said Raila had sent him to grieve with the family of the late Edward Kingi adding that the party leader was together with them.

You are among the people who have stood with the party and obeyed its principles and we shall reward you when that time comes, he said in reference to Kingis loyalty to ODM.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi wrapped up the whole drama with the native Mijikenda language expressing his anger.

The county chief said it was a big shame for visitors to be embarrassed and urged coastal leaders to respect mourners.

This is shameful, we have displayed our dirty linen in public and what should we expect our people to say about us out there? he posed.

He said lack of unity among local leaders had made people disrespect them saying that it was sad that such an incident occurred before his eyes.

Some of us have joined groupings and travel in upcountry areas shouting politics but when others come here, we are the very first to block them from talking. We should first of all work for our people and politic later, said Kingi in reference to Jumwa who has been doing rounds with team Tanga Tanga supporting Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential ambitions.

Among those present were Likon MP Mishi Mboko, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire, Lands CAS Gideon Mung'aro among other top leaders.

Story by Onesmus Baraka, TUKO correspondent - Kilifi county

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Source: TUKO.co.ke
Alta Ben Pollard had a simple response to a reporters question: What is the secret to living to 100 years old?

I didnt die, Pollard said clearly and without hesitation.

Anyone who knows the newest centenarian would not be surprised.

I can tell you why, said Pollards daughter, Tomi Parisotto. Orneriness.

Whatever the reason, Pollard has seen a lot in her 100 years. From the birth of the auto to cell phones and air travel, Pollard has witnessed it.

Pollard was born April 30, 1919 in Utica, Okla., near Durant to Oscar and Ona Nancy Bush. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a homemaker. Pollard had two siblings who are both deceased.

She met Granville Pollard, Sr., and they married on Aug. 19, 1938 in Denison, Texas. They had 58 years together before Granville died in 1997.

Pollard has two children, Terry and Tomi; six grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
On the video, Lee is shown confronting Ring and wrestling her for control of her handgun.

After taking the gun from Ring, Lee is depicted on the video as pointing it at Rings daughter and pulling the trigger as she crouched behind the stores counter. Ring and her daughter then managed to flee to safety.

Ring described to Frizzell how she purposely emptied the six-shot revolver at Lee while trying to keep him from wrestling the gun away from her.

The whole time he was taking my gun, I was pulling and pulling (the trigger) because I knew he was going to kill my daughter, Ring said. All I could think of was, He is going to kill Ashley. He is going to kill my daughter.

Ring said the ordeal has affected her and her entire family. He took a part of us, she said.

Frizzell denied the governments request for a longer sentencing range, instead opting for a range between that recommended by the U.S. Probation Office and prosecutors, or 121 months to 151 months in prison.
The message is to know your surroundings and what kinds of snakes might live nearby and to realize almost every area in Oklahoma is home to some kind of snake. In April and May snakes are more active not only because of the weather but also because its mating season, he said. Snakes are out looking for each other and that also can explain why people might see several in one area.

Just watch where youre walking, Goodwin said. Wear shoes that cover your toes, not flip-flops. Watch where you put your hands if youre doing things like moving debris or other things around your yard.

Of all the snake species in our state, most should be welcomed visitors as controllers of mouse and rat and insect populations. They will steal eggs, however, and some can take up residence in attics or under porches.

Only 5% of the snake species in Oklahoma are venomous, Goodwin said.

Venomous snakes in Tulsa County include the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and western pygmy rattlesnake. Western massasauga rattlesnakes have been found as near as Washington County and southern Osage County to the north; western diamondback rattlers are in rocky areas of southern Muskogee and Okmulgee counties.
The sewage samples in Tulsa were collected Friday. The Oklahoma State Department of Health didnt identify an omicron case until the agency announced it Tuesday afternoon, among the last states to detect the latest variant through genomic sequencing.
The Attorney General says he does not understand the position of the leader of the Joint Trade Union Movement who says he supports being vaccinated against Covid 19 but is not supporting the Government's plan for all public sector workers to be vaccinated or face being furloughed from mid- January.
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Hundreds of thousands of refugee youth in Kenya do not attend school because of lack of funding, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) cautioned today. UNHCR and SUPKEM are working together for the first time ever to launch a campaign during Ramadan calling on members of the public, including individuals, companies, and foundations to contribute funds to increase access to education for refugees in Kenya.

Kenya is host to more than 450,000 refugees, 77 percent of whom are women and children. The majority of refugee children living in Kenyas Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps only have access to primary education. Less than one third of refugee school-age children are able to attend secondary school and only 13 per cent of refugee youth have access to tertiary education.

These are distressing statistics revealing the disparagingly low number of refugees accessing education in Kenya. Behind these statistics are children and youth, boys and girls, aspiring to be teachers, doctors, business owners  but instead, they are sitting in limbo, waiting for a chance to fulfil their dreams, said Fathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR Representative in Kenya.

A funding shortfall for UNHCRs education programmes has resulted in the lack of basic infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teaching personnel essential to provide quality education to refugee children and youth in Kenya.

By joining efforts with SUPKEM in this holy month of Ramadan, our hope is that we can draw attention and support to this growing crisis. Members of the public, community and business leaders have an opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of refugees and the host communities in Kakuma and Dadaab camp by improving their access to education, said Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.

UNHCR and SUPKEM will be hosting an Iftar fundraising dinner for leaders from the Muslim community, business community, government representatives and members of the diplomatic corps.

The holy month of Ramadan is a time where Muslims embark on a path of spiritual self-reflection and intensify our response to alleviate the suffering of others. Many refugees in Kenya have lived in forced displacement for over 20 years. With this campaign, we can help alleviate some of their suffering, said Yusuf A. Nzibo, SUPKEM Chairman.

The campaign will run during the entire month of Ramadan. To support this campaign, please visit: donate.unhcr.org/education

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Ukraine reduces trade in goods with Russia to US$2.3 bln in Q1

01:59, 04.05.19 1343

Meanwhile, trade with the EU grew to US$9.5 billion.
Kurz had a phone conversation with Zelensky.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has pledged support to Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky in the reform process and the fight against corruption.

Kurz said on Twitter on Friday, May 3, that he had held a friendly telephone conversation with Zelensky.

Read alsoZelensky's adviser Danyliuk, U.S. Energy Secretary Perry discuss Ukraine's energy independence

"Ukraine remains an important partner for Austria and the EU. We will continue to actively support reforms and the fight against corruption," Kurz said.

"It is important to finally get progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements with respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," he added.
Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting.

Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Ukraine's parliamentary factions and President-elect Volodmyr Zelensky have discussed his inauguration, foreign and domestic policy, including the possibility of disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and the adoption of new election laws.

The meeting took place in the parliament's building on Saturday, May 4, leader of the Samopomich parliamentary faction Oleh Berezyuk told journalists after the event, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's President-elect: Date for presidential inauguration to be known on May 14

He outlined the issues discussed at the meeting with Zelensky, namely the newly elected president's vision of foreign and domestic policy, relations with parliament, in particular, "the possibility of disbanding parliament," as well as the adoption of new election legislation and the abolition of [parliamentary] immunity."

The lawmaker recalled that Zelensky had proposed his inauguration date for May 19.

"I personally do not see any problems in this. The sooner the president starts working, the sooner he takes responsibility for what he has promised," Berezyuk said, adding that the parliament "will formalize this proposal next plenary week."

"The faction will also formally take a decision," he added.

He expressed the hope that during the next plenary week lawmakers would decide on the date of inauguration.

"The fact that the newly elected president personally came to parliament and met with the leaders of the factions, discussing issues, is new in the history of the Ukrainian parliament and the leadership of the Ukrainian state," Berezyuk said.

Berezyuk said that outgoing President Petro Poroshenko was absent at the meeting, while the parliamentary factions were represented in part by the chairmen of the factions, and in part by their representatives.
Horbatiuk says the Prosecutor General's Office needs to be reformed.

Chief of the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine Serhiy Horbatiuk says he is ready to head the PGO under Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency.

When asked on Espreso TV whether he is ready to become chief prosecutor, as he previously announced, he confirmed he is ready "if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide so."

Read alsoProsecutor snaps back at Poroshenko following criticism, says president "created problems" in Maidan probe

"The beginning of the answer will be the following: the Prosecutor General's Office needs changes. Because there are many instances of the violation of the law committed by the prosecutor general himself," he said. "This, in particular, is interference in criminal proceedings carried out by our department. And in view of ensuring law in the cases that our department has been investigating, I answered I would like these principles to be observed both by the PGO and all prosecutor's offices across Ukraine. And if there is trust, if the Verkhovna Rada and the president decide, I'm ready to take on this."

When asked if any job offers came from President-elect Zelensky's headquarters, Horbatiuk answered in the negative. "There have been no offers from any political force during my work," he said.
The full list is available on the group's website.

Some 86 Ukrainians were behind bars in Russia-occupied Crimea for political or religious reasons as of May 2, 2019.

Sixty of them are Crimean Tatars, the Crimean Human Rights Group said.

The full list is available on the group's website.

Human rights activists profile them according to 13 criminal cases.

There are seven groups in the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case: the Yalta group (six people), the first Bakhchisaray group (four people), the first Simferopol group (five people), the second Bakhchisaray group (nine people), the second Simferopol group (24 people), the Krasnohvardiiske group (three people), and the Sevastopol group (four people).

Read alsoRFE/RL: HRW blasts Russia over 'escalating pressure' on Crimean Tatars

Thirteen people are in custody in the case of the so-called "Ukrainian saboteurs," three prisoners belong to the Sentsov group, three are on trial for involvement in the Noman Celebicihan Battalion, two persons have been brought to trial for involvement in Maidan [the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine], one for involvement in Tablighi Jamaat, a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement. Another nine people have been convicted in single criminal cases listed as one group.

The number of political prisoners in Russia has reached above 230 as President Vladimir Putin's government implements an "ever-increasing array of laws specifically designed to criminalize acts of everyday life," according to a new report created with input from the Moscow-based rights group Memorial, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

According to Ukrainian parliamentary commissioner for human rights Liudmyla Denisova, more than 80 citizens of Ukraine are held in Russian prisons for their political views. Among them are film director Oleh Sentsov, Stanislav Klykh, Pavlo Hryb, Roman Sushchenko, Kiazim Ametov, Mykola Karpyuk, and others.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded on May 3, there were no casualties on May 4.

There has been escalation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, as the number of Russia-led forces' attacks on Ukrainian positions grew to 21 instances on May 3; proscribed weapons  120mm and 82mm mortars  were used in nine attacks.

The enemy also opened fire from weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and small arms, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook in a morning update on May 4.

Read alsoUkraine's Defense Minister: Russian passportization could be used as pretext for large-scale war

Hot spots were the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, the villages of Novotroyitske, Berezove, Pavlopil, Pyshchevyk, Lebedynske, Mykolaivka, Zolote-4, Novoluhanske, Mayorsk, and Shumy.

"Two members of the Joint Forces have been wounded in shelling," the press center said.

Ukrainian troops fired back in every attack. "According to Joint Forces' intelligence, one invader was killed and another four were wounded on May 3," it said.

Since Saturday midnight, the enemy has already attacked Ukrainian positions near the town of Maryinka in the Skhid (Easter) sector twice, using various types of grenade launchers, larger-caliber machine guns, and small arms. They also shelled Ukrainian troops deployed near the village of Lebedynske, using large-caliber machine guns and small arms.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties on May 4.
The meeting is scheduled for the beginning of July.

The Holy See's Press Office said that the Pope has called the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in July, as a sign of his closeness to the community and his efforts to build peace in the troubled nation.

"Pope Francis is once more reaching out to the troubled spots of the world in his effort to bring about peace and harmony. This time, on the eve of his visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the Holy Father turned his attention to Ukraine," Vatican News said.

In his New Year address to the Diplomatic Corps in January, Pope Francis mentioned the "humanitarian initiative in Ukraine on behalf of those suffering, particularly in the eastern areas of the country."

Read alsoHoly See recognizes Orthodox Church of Ukraine  Kyiv Patriarchate

The Holy See Press Office released a statement on Saturday, May 4, saying the Pope has invited the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church for a meeting in Rome, July 5-6. The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

"In the delicate and complex situation in which Ukraine finds itself, the Holy Father Francis has decided to invite to Rome, July 5 to 6, 2019, the Major Archbishop, the members of the permanent Synod and the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The meeting will also be attended by the Superiors of the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia responsible for the country," the statement said.

"With this meeting, the Holy Father wishes to give a sign of his closeness to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that carries out pastoral service both at home and in various places in the world," it said.

According to the statement, this meeting will also offer a further opportunity to deepen the analysis of the life and needs of Ukraine, with the aim of identifying the ways in which the Catholic Church, and in particular the Greek-Catholic Church, can dedicate itself ever more effectively to preaching the Gospel, contributing to the support of those who suffer and promoting peace, in agreement, as far as possible, with the Catholic Church of the Latin rite and with other Churches and Christian communities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a gathering marking the centenary of the May Fourth Movement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2019. Xi Jinping called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the country's young people to be patriotic and strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering held at the Great Hall of the People to mark the centenary of the May Fourth Movement.

The May Fourth Movement started with mass student protests on May 4, 1919 against the government's response to the Treaty of Versailles that imposed unfair treaties on China and undermined the country's sovereignty after the World War I. It then triggered a national campaign to overthrow the old society and promote new ideas, including science, democracy and Marxism.

Wang Huning presided over the gathering. Other Chinese leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng, and Wang Qishan were also present.

Xi said the May Fourth Movement was a great patriotic and revolutionary campaign pioneered by advanced young intellectuals and joined by the people from all walks of life to resolutely fight imperialism and feudalism.

With its mighty force, the movement inspired the ambition and confidence of the Chinese people and nation to realize national rejuvenation, Xi added.

PATRIOTISM

Xi said the May Fourth Movement gave birth to the great spirit centered on patriotism, progress, democracy and science, with patriotism at the core.

"As long as the banner of patriotism is being held high, the Chinese people can unleash great powers in the endeavors to transform China and the world," Xi said.

The essence of patriotism is having unified love for the country, the Party and socialism, Xi added, urging young Chinese to follow the instructions and guidance of the Party, and remain dedicated to the country and the people.

Young people are also urged to establish belief in Marxism, faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as confidence in the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

NATIONAL REJUVENATION

Xi said young people always play a vanguard role in realizing national rejuvenation.

In the new era, the theme and direction of Chinese youth movement and the mission of Chinese young people, Xi said, are to uphold the leadership of the CPC, and work along with the people to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Xi said Chinese youth of the new era should bear their responsibilities of the times and carry on the spirit of arduous struggle.

He urged them to hone abilities and nurture fine morality.

Xi also encouraged young people to not only care about their family and country, but also have concerns for humanity.

YOUTH WORK

Xi said nurturing the young generation is the whole Party's political responsibility.

"We should listen to young people's views on social issues and phenomena, as well as their opinions and advices on the work of the Party and the government," Xi said.

"Even if they express harsh or partial criticism, we should correct our mistakes when we have made any and guard against them when we have not," he added.

Xi called on the Party to address young people's concerns and asked the Communist Youth League of China to unite and lead the young people to strive for the national rejuvenation.

"Young friends," Xi said near the end of his speech. "Let your youth shine even more in the sacrifice for the country, the people, the Chinese nation and humanity."

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[ Editor: WPY ]
New Statistical Technique Finds La Nina Years More Favorable for Mountain Snowpack Than El Nino Years

When there are multiple factors at play in a situation that is itself changing, such as an El Nino winter in a changing climate, how can scientists figure out what is causing what? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an advanced statistical method for quantifying and visualizing changes in environmental systems and easily picking out the driving factor.

In a new study published in the journal Climate Dynamics, they used their new technique to look at California winters. "A lot of people will describe a winter by how rainy or how cold it was," said lead author John P. O'Brien, a graduate student research assistant at Berkeley Lab. "Instead of asking each question individually, what we're doing is interrogating both at the same time as a function of some large-scale climate forcing, such as El Nino."

The new method allows researchers to account for variables whose statistics change over time - in this case, changes caused by El Nino/La Nina. They found that in northern California, La Nina and El Nino conditions result in nearly equivalent amounts of winter precipitation. However, La Nina winters tend to be much colder, resulting in conditions more favorable for increased mountain snowpack. So from a summer water supply perspective, contrary to common belief, La Nina winters may in fact be preferable to El Nino winters. The same, however, did not hold true for southern California.

Unique Synthetic Antibodies Show Promise for Improved Disease and Toxin Detection

Scientists have invented a new "synthetic antibody" that could make screening for diseases easier and less expensive than current go-to methods. Writing in the journal Nano Letters, a team led by Markita Landry of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley describes how peptoids - synthetically produced molecules, first created by Ron Zuckermann at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, that are similar to protein-building peptides - and tiny cylinders of carbon atoms known as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be combined to selectively bind a target protein.

The resulting nanoparticle assembly fluoresces under near-infrared fluorescence microscopy, thus allowing for target protein quantification just like a biologically derived antibody.

The researchers demonstrated that their peptoid-SWNT assemblies remain stably bound to their target when tested in samples with a wide range of pH, salt concentrations, and temperatures; and when exposed to various protein-digesting enzymes - conditions no conventional antibodies could be expected to function in.

"This new platform encourages us to look to synthetic chemistry and nanomaterials science to create molecules that bind biological markers for diseases like cancer or viral infections," said Landry. "The stability of purely synthetic recognition elements could facilitate easier disease diagnosis. They could also have safety applications by detecting hazardous chemicals in water or food."

Exploring New Ways to Control Thermal Radiation

Planck's Law, which describes electromagnetic radiation from heated bodies, forms the basis of quantum theory. However, with the advent of micro- and nanotechnology, it is easy to fabricate materials where Planck's Law will not hold.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Berkeley Lab set out to explore how deviations from Planck's Law could impact energy-related technologies based on nano- and micro-structured geometries.

"Nobody has explored the relative behavior of nano-geometries, particularly anisotropic nano-geometries--nanostructures that are rectangular in cross-section--in this way," said Ravi Prasher, one of the authors.

Imagine a thermal storage material that converts electricity to heat and then radiates it to a photovoltaic cell to get the electricity back when desired. The radiative emitter from the thermal storage could be made from nanostructures to maximize the performance.

The team of researchers from Berkeley Lab and UC San Diego used the radiation models available at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry to model the thermal radiation from rectangular nanoribbons of silica glass, a polar dielectric material. Practical applications for this early-stage energy conversion are important for many renewable energy applications, such as concentrated solar electricity production, water desalination, thermochemical reactions, water heating, and thermal storage.
A fainting episode causing traumatic nerve damage affecting his right hand could be why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills were hampered in his late career. While the impairment affected his ability to hold palettes and brushes to paint with his right hand, he was able to continue teaching and drawing with his left hand. According to most authors, the origin of da Vinci's right hand palsy was related to a stroke.

Doctors writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reached a different conclusion after analysing a 16th-century drawing of an elderly da Vinci, together with a biography and an engraving of the Renaissance polymath artist and inventor in earlier years.

The authors, Dr Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, and Dr Carlo Rossi, a specialist in neurology at the Hospital of Pontedera, focused on a portrait of da Vinci drawn with red chalk attributed to 16th-century Lombard artist Giovan Ambrogio Figino*. The drawing is a rare rendering of da Vinci's right arm in folds of clothing as if it was a bandage, with his right hand suspended in a stiff, contracted position.

Dr Lazzeri said: Rather than depicting the typical clenched hand seen in post-stroke muscular spasticity, the picture suggests an alternative diagnosis such as ulnar palsy, commonly known as claw hand."

He suggests that a syncope, or faint, is more likely to have taken place than a stroke, during which da Vinci might have sustained acute trauma of his right upper limb, developing ulnar palsy. The ulnar nerve runs from the shoulder to little finger and manages almost all the intrinsic hand muscles that allow fine motor movements.

While an acute cardiovascular event may have been the cause of da Vinci's death, his hand impairment was not associated with cognitive decline or further motor impairment, meaning a stroke was unlikely. Dr Lazzeri said: "This may explain why he left numerous paintings incomplete, including the Mona Lisa, during the last five years of his career as a painter while he continued teaching and drawing."
Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men in the United States and the second most common cancer in Turkey. The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in industrialized countries.

The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge about prostate cancer, its diagnosis, and treatment among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

This study was performed from January to April 2015 with the patients applied to our clinic. A questionnaire that includes 10 questions was administered to the participants.

One hundred fifty-nine participants were included in this study. The participants' ages were between 40 and 82 with a mean age of 61.5  7.9 years. Patient awareness of prostate biopsy and prostate cancer were 21.37 and 71.06%. The main origin awareness of PSA testing is family and friends. On the other hand, if the doctor advises acout prostate biopsy, 47.16% of the patients would accept and 11.31% of them would refuse this invasive procedure.

Prostate cancer is one of the important health-related problem among men in the world. Additional researches are needed to investigate the knowledge of prostate cancer among men and the Ministry of Health may take preventive methods to increase the cancer knowledge level of people.

The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male. 2019 Apr 22 [Epub ahead of print]

Mustafa Sungur, Selahattin Caliskan

a Department of Urology , Hitit University Erol Olcok Education and Research Hospital , Corum , Turkey., b Department of Urology , Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Education and Research Hospital , Istanbul , Turkey.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31007118
Sometimes, timing really is everything. As a worldwide pandemic increased economic and food insecurity, Operation Holiday was already in the midst of scaling up its operation to help more people in more ways  and just in time for the holidays. Over the past two years, Operation Holiday, which provides a holiday meal and gifts []
A commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka was held at the United Nations in New York on May 3. Among several speakers who addressed the gathering was the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza.

By Robin Gomes

While reiterating its sincerest condolences to Sri Lankans for horrific terrorist attacks out against the innocent on April 21, the Holy See called for actions to eliminate terrorism, saying words of mere condemnation are not enough.

Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the UN in New York, Archbishop Bernadito Auza, denounced Easter Sundays suicide bomb attacks on 3 churches and 4 hotels in the island nation and assured prayers for the victims and their families.

More than 250 people were killed, including foreigners, and over 500 were injured.

Listen to our report

Actions, not words

Words of condemnation, however sincere, are not enough, the Holy Sees diplomat told a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks held at the United Nations in New York on Friday. Actions, he stressed, are required to eliminate this scourge at its roots.

The Filipino archbishop reiterated Pope Francis words of profound human and spiritual closeness to the people of Sri Lanka as well as the assurance of his continued prayers for those who perished, those who survived the trauma, and all those who are grieving.

Christianophobia

Archbishop Auza pointed out that what happened in Sri Lanka is a deliberate attack against Christians.

To overlook the explicitly anti-Christian aspect of these attacks, he said, would do an injustice to the victims, the survivors and their families. He said that the international community is very forthright, and rightly so, in decrying rising anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. The same standard must be applied to attacks against Christians, he demanded.

He said that the recent General Assembly Resolution of April 2 was right when it condemned all terrorist attacks against places of worship that are motivated by religious hatred, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia.

Terrorist attacks are always and everywhere deplorable, but attacks on religious believers at worship, he stressed, are the most shameful and cowardly attack against peace imaginable. Thats what happened in Sri Lanka. And the whole world justly mourns, Archbishop Auza added.



Fear continues



Nearly 2 weeks after the terror attacks, Sri Lanka is still living in fear. Police Sri Lanka have requested members of the public hand over swords or other large knives to the nearest police stations after hundreds of such blades were discovered in Mosques and homes during searches in the aftermath of suicide bomb attacks.

Police have asked people to hand over camouflaged materials similar to those worn by the military after large amounts of such material were uncovered in raids.

Sunday Masses and services in Catholic churches are being cancelled for a second weekend in Sri Lanka's capital after the government warned of more possible attacks by the same Islamic State-linked group that carried out the Easter suicide bombings.

The Associated Press reported Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, as saying he has received "foreign information" that attempts would be made this week to attack a church and another church institution.

Fr. Edmund Tillakaratne, spokesman for Colombo Archdiocese, said on Thursday that the cardinal had cancelled all Sunday services in the archdiocese.

Last week, all of Sri Lanka's Catholic churches were closed. The faithful followed a Mass and homily on television, celebrated by Card. Ranjith. Present at the televised service at his residence were the clergy and national leaders.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka has criticized the government for failing to act after security forces are said to have received warnings ahead of Easter Sundays attacks.
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State looks ahead to Pope Francis 29th Apostolic Journey abroad, which takes him to Bulgaria and to North Macedonia from 5 to 7 May.

By Linda Bordoni

During Pope Francis Apostolic Visit to the Balkan nations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says the Pope will be highlighting that which unites.

Speaking to Vatican News on the eve of the Popes departure, Cardinal Parolin pointed to the logo and motto of the trip to Bulgaria, which is Pacem in Terris - Peace on Earth - the title of an encyclical by Pope St. John XXIII, the first visitor and Apostolic Delegate to the country.

The Pope will be a bearer of peace, a witness to the Risen Christ, the Cardinal explained, and since we are in Easter time, we remember the apparitions of the Risen Jesus to his disciples when his first greeting was Peace be with you. Peace I leave you; my peace give you.

Parolin added that the theme of peace, which was central to John XXIIIs pontificate, will be built upon by Pope Francis with those attitudes of which John XXIII was a witness: the search for friendship, gentleness, amiability, encounter with the other, and the capacity to highlight what unites more than what divides.

These great features of the figure and the Pontificate of John XXIII had already emerged at the time when he was Papal Nuncio in Bulgaria; I believe that it is along these lines that the contribution of Pope Francis during this journey will be placed," he said.

Ecumenism

With an eye to the Popes schedule in Bulgaria that lists a moment of prayer before the Throne of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a meeting with representatives of different religious denominations, and a visit to Patriarch Neophyte - the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - the Cardinal noted that the visit shines the spotlight on some particularly significant figures of the present and past, such as those of the two Saints: the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

They were saints of the Church of the first millennium, the Cardinal said, a Church that was still undivided but where tensions were already being experienced and which would ultimately lead to fracture and division.

The witness they provide in their search for unity, in their desire to evangelize new peoples using new methods and new languages, Parolin said, adds meaning to the Popes encounter with the people of Bulgaria that is to take place in a dimension of ecumenical fraternity, recognizing each other as brothers in the one Lord, and at the same time striving to overcome the divisions and the tensions that still exist.

It speaks, he said, of the desire to pursue the Christian mission to bring the Gospel to the world, certain that the effect of this evangelization will be all the more profound and incisive the more united we are, proclaiming together the Word of salvation that the Lord has entrusted to us.

Migrants and refugees

Pope Francis is also scheduled to visit a refugee camp during his journey. Cardinal Parolin recalled the four verbs chosen by the Pope in calling for solidarity and action regarding migrants and refugees: Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate.

He pointed out that Pope Francis carries forward this teaching with concrete gestures and never tires of bearing witness to this important issue during almost all of his journeys and in many other situations and occasions as well.

Here, too, he wants to underline this aspect, taking into account that protecting also means defending and protecting the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a situation of vulnerability and often of marginalization, he said.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

In North Macedonia, the Pope will visit the city of Skopje, birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, focusing attention on the poor.

Together with John XXIII and Saints Cyril and Methodius, Cardinal Parolin said Mother Teresa is clearly a dominant figure of this journey.

When I was in Macedonia a few years ago, I was able to see how much affection and devotion there is towards Mother Teresa. Naturally, this attention towards the poor, the marginalized, towards those who find themselves in need, translates into something very concrete, he said.

Mother Teresa, he recalled, compared herself to just a drop in the ocean, noting however, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Cardinal Parolin said the Pope is bound to make that teaching his own and insist on asking the faithful to put charity into action.

Challenges and opportunities

I believe, Cardinal Parolin said, there are no challenges, but opportunities in this journey, especially taking into account the geographical and historical reality of Bulgaria, which, he said, is a crossroads of meetings and peoples, and the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in North Macedonia.

Once again, he concluded, it is an occasion to launch the theme of the culture of encounter and of the mutual richness provided by diversity.


Delmonico Steakhouse will commemorate the 20th anniversary of its opening at The Venetian with menu specials from May 3-12 and other surprises throughout the year.

The anniversary specials will highlight some of the restaurants most beloved dishes throughout the years, including house cured tasso and smoked mushroom cream over angel hair pasta with fresh chives; crab mirliton stuffed Gulf oysters with bearnaise sauce; BBQ salmon with andouille potato hash homemade Worcestershire sauce and fried onion crust; bananas foster ice cream pie; and lemon icebox pie with strawberry coulis.

Delmonico Steakhouse has also designed a special commemorative logo which will appear on menus throughout the rest of the year, as well as on the lapels of all service staff.

I opened Delmonico Steakhouse 20 years ago with the hopes of sharing the flavors of New Orleans with Las Vegas and to celebrate the art of dining, said Chef Emeril Lagasse. Im grateful for the ongoing support of our customers, the Las Vegas community and The Venetian, who share and support these intentions. We look forward to continuing to share our traditions, cuisine and service with all our guests for many years to come.

Delmonico Steakhouse is Chef Emeril Lagasses take on the classic American steakhouse with Creole influences. The restaurant brings back a time when cocktail hour was not to be missed and dinner with friends was a celebration. Located in Restaurant Row at The Venetian, Delmonico Steakhouse takes its name from the legendary, century-old New Orleans institution, Delmonico Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant has been a Grand Award recipient of Wine Spectator magazine since 2004, and named a four-star restaurant by Forbes Travel and a Top 5 Steakhouse in the Nation by National CitySearch. Chef de Cuisine Ronnie Rainwater has also been with the restaurant since shortly after its debut in 1999.

The anniversary celebrations will augment Delmonico Steakhouses current popular offerings, including Creekstone Farms steak selections, a rotating weekly chefs menu with original inspirations from the kitchen, the one-of-a-kind Kitchen Table experience, an award-winning wine list and the unparalleled whiskey library featuring over 700 whiskey bottlings from countries, including Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and India.
Most people are only familiar with the inconceivable, sinful nature of Las Vegas from the movies, and there are a lot of them. From Connerys Diamonds are Forever, Depps Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the now infamous The Hangover and countless others.

(Pictured: The Hangover Suite at Caesars Palace)

The irony is that while there is a wild element to many of these movies, the truth of Sin City is actually much more interesting and holds many more tales  most of which have been lost to the sands of the Mojave Desert.

More than Just a City

Anyway, it goes without saying that although Las Vegas is a gambling Mecca, its a lot more than that. There are a myriad of attractions both in and outside the city to cater to people of all levels of crazy. After all, the modern area as we know it has seen the likes mobsters like Bugsy Siegel (who died in a flail of bullets), the eccentric Howard Hughes (who reportedly spent more than $300 million buying up real estate), and many more. Here youll be able to do almost anything (including smoking the now state legal cannabis) your heart desires  unless it croaks of course. Here are a few fun facts for you:

Nuclear Sightseeing

In the decade spanning 1952-1962 there were more than 100 nuclear bombs detonated north of Las Vegas. This prompted a rise in atomic-themed tourism which even featured restaurants and other establishments adopting the theme. While the show was no doubt stupendous with always reliable sunny weather all year, the fallout is estimated to be responsible for around 11,000 deaths.

Lucky Travelers to Las Vegas

Those who have been fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas know exactly what we are talking about and have no doubt been somewhat dumbstruck by the sheer architectural audacity and magnificence of certain casinos. These include and are certainly not limited to the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, Delano Las Vegas, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, Wynn Las Vegas, or even the brilliantly designed Venice themed Venetian.

If youve yet to have the luxury or simply want to hold on to your bank balance a little longer before you visit, try out the prominent Canadian online casino Jackpot City with all new for 2019 exclusive bonuses and offers to play Vegas-style games but without leaving the comfort of your home.

Prostitution Actual Isnt Legal

Many people believe that prostitution is a given in the city of Las Vegas, but its actually illegal. However, any county in the state of Nevada with a population of less than 700,000 is allowed to license a brothel. Even so, illegal prostitution still thrives and what happens in Vegas

The Highest Jackpot Winner

Following on from the last veterans run of good luck, the highest ever jackpot won by someone in Las Vegas was $39.7 million by a 25 year old software engineer from Los Angeles. Its said he chose to be paid $1.5 million yearly instead of taking the lump sum.

No Income Tax

This might be reason enough to move there, let alone visit. Residents in the state of Nevada dont have to pay a single cent of personal income tax. There also isnt any corporation tax, although at present there is a 6.85% sales tax. By avoiding income tax on huge casino jackpots combined with so many competitive offers for legal NV online casinos and Las Vegas casinos, this factor is yet another solid justification.

Taking Betting Too Far

As if there was such a thing, back in 1980 betting went a little over the top when nurses from a Las Vegas hospital had to fire workers who were gambling on when patients would die. Its said one even tried to up the ante  if you catch our drift.

WW2 Veteran Elmer Sherwin Won the Jackpot Twice

Back in 1986 (at the age of 76), Sherwin won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot shortly after the Mirage opened. Even though he used his new found fortune to travel, he was determined to be the first man to win it twice and continued playing the slot often. When he was 92 he hit the same jackpot and won around $21 million  this time giving most of it away to charity. The odds of hitting that particular jackpot are reportedly in the region of 10 million to one.

The Rescue of FedEx

Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO of FedEx, was on the verge of losing his company after initially inheriting $4 million and taking out a further $80 million in loans and investments to start the venture. Due to rising fuel costs, he was heavily in debt and almost sunk the company just two years later. After taking $5,000 to Las Vegas in a last ditch effort, he turned it into $27,000 playing blackjack. While this wasnt enough to get the company back up in the air, it was the spark that got the flame burning again.

Las Vegas was Originally a Trade Route

The name Las Vegas was given to the area by a Mexican merchant by the name of Antonio Armijo who was establishing a trade route to Los Angeles in 1829. The name is actually Spanish for The Meadows which might not seem appropriate, but his caravan was following a tributary of the Colorado river at the time. You might be more than surprised to find out what there is to see.

If Las Vegas wasnt on your bucket list before and youre still not 100%  the facts above are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In the meantime, enjoy the best online slots, of which we have put together the most lucrative bonuses for you to take advantage of, which often include free spins on top games. Who knows? Maybe youll be the next person to win a jackpot with your bonus and be on the next first class flight out to Nevada.


California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) will celebrate moms all Mothers Day weekend long, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas May 9-12* and a nationwide fundraiser Thursday, May 9** to benefit March of Dimes, the nonprofit organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies (Photo credit: California Pizza Kitchen).

To support the fundraiser on May 9, CPK guests can present the fundraiser flyer or mention to their server that theyre dining to support March of Dimes, and CPK will donate 20 percent of food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases from dine-in, takeout, curbside, catering and delivery orders placed directly with CPK.

Making a positive impact in our communities is an important part of what we do at California Pizza Kitchen. This Mothers Day weekend, we look forward to honoring moms, from our guests to our employees, and are grateful to partner with March of Dimes to support the care of moms and babies everywhere, said Adam Tabachnikoff, senior vice president of marketing at CPK.

Were grateful to California Pizza Kitchen for supporting the work of March of Dimes in communities across the country this Mothers Day, said Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Hampton. This campaign will go a long way to help us improve health outcomes and pave a healthier future for moms and babies.

In addition to the national fundraiser, CPK invites guests to share a delicious meal and a loving slice of pizza with mom, with the return of its popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas. Available Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12, guests can order any of their favorite CPK pizza varieties, like the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza or Spinach + Artichoke Pizza, on special heart-shaped crispy thin crust at no additional charge.
The press conference on Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Vietnam Advertisement & Fair Exhibition JSC (Vietfair) and related units held a press conference on May 2 to introduce Vietnam Medi-Pharm 2019.

Vietnam Medi-Pharm is an important annual event where advanced technologies and products in the industry are showcased. With continuous success over the past 25 years, I hope that the 26th edition continues to provide good opportunities for participants to share experience, seek partners, and boost business and technology co-operation, thus contributing to the development of the healthcare market, said Nguyen Dinh Anh, head of the Ministry of Healths Communications and Reward Department.

During the four-day event, a number of activities such as seminars and conferences on the latest regulations on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as businesses networking and advisory events will be organised.

Vietnams healthcare market is now a magnet to multinational corporations. Looking forwards, the market is expected to become even more attractive when the landmark Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

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Fresh policies take effect since May 2019, illustration photo

False denunciations

Under Decree 31/2019/ND-CP, dated April 10, 2019, providing detailed regulations and measures for implementing the Law on Denunciations, civil servants shall be subjected to criminal charges if they make false denunciations.

The Decree shall take effect since May 28.

Support for human resources development of SMEs

Decree 05/2019/BKHDT of the Ministry of Planning and Investment on support for the human resources development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shall take effect since May 12.

Accordingly, the State budget will sponsor 100% of expenditures for students of the SMEs located at disadvantaged areas and owned by women.

Laborers and managers of the SMEs will be provided with accounts to join the online training courses on websites or smart phones.

New emission standards for second-hand vehicle imports

Decision No. 16/2019/QD-TTg prescribes the schedule of application of emission standards for vehicles used on roads and second-hand vehicle imports and shall take effect since May 15.

Secondhand vehicle imports with forced induction engines or compression ignition engines will be subject to the Tier-4 emission standard from the entry into force of this Decision.

If the date of registration of second-hand vehicle import declaration is the same as specified in the Law on Customs or second-hand vehicle imports have arrived at Viet Nam's ports or border gates before May 15, 2019, the schedule specified in the Decision No. 249/2005/QD-TTg dated October 10, 2005 will continue to be applied.

In particular, second-hand vehicle imports with forced induction engines and those with compression ignition engines will apply the Tier-3 and Tier-2 emission standards, respectively.

New regulations on border gates of import of passenger cars with less than 16 seats

Circular 06/2019/TT-BCT dated March 25, 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on border gates of importation of passenger cars with less than 16 seats.

Accordingly, passenger cars with less than 16 seats, including new-brand and second-hand ones, shall be imported into Vietnam only through the seaport border gates of Cai Lan -Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

This Circular shall take effect from May 8, 2019.

Expanding labor outsourcing activities

Decree 29/2019/ND-CP, dated March 20, 2019 detailing and guiding the implementation of Article 58 of the Labor Code on licensing labor outsourcing activities, payment of escrow deposits and the list of jobs in which labor outsourcing is allowed.

Accordingly, since May 5, enterprises shall be able to sublease labor if they meet the following requirements: (1) Being the manager of the enterprise; (2) Having no criminal records; (3) Having working experience in the field of outsourcing or labor supply of at least full 36 months during the last 05 years preceding the date of submission of the license application dossier.
"The Cell Door, Robben Island"  completed in 2002 by Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela  sold for $112,575.-AFP Photo

The Cell Door, Robben Island  completed in 2002 by the Nobel peace laureate  exceeded the top end of the estimated range provided by Bonhams, which put its value at $60,000 to $90,000.

The wax pastel crayon drawing shows a few bars of the cell door and a key in the lock, sketched in purple.

The work is one of the few that Mandela  who was jailed for 27 years in total and inspired the struggle against apartheid  kept until his death in 2013.

Mandela's daughter Pumla Makaziwe Mandela previously had the work in her possession.

South Africa's first black president did a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Giles Peppiatt, the auction house's director of modern African art. Some were reproduced as lithographs to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was jailed from 1962 to 1990. He was held at Robben Island off Cape Town from 1964 to 1982. Mandela served as South African president from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela's drawing was one of six works that surpassed $100,000 at the sale of African art on Thursday.

Another South African artist, Irma Stern (1894-1966), earned the highest price of the auction  $312,575  for Malay Girl, a portrait from 1946.
POR14 result causes difficult to Hung Vuong Corporation

According to the latest news from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), the US DOC has announced the final anti-dumping duties of POR14 for HVG at $3.87 per kilogramme.

Previously, under the DOCs preliminary results published on September 10, 2018, HVG was to be applied 0 per cent anti-dumping tariff.

The bad news pushed HVGs stock down to only VND5,570 ($0.24), and liquidity on the stock market was about 830,000 units. HVG fell for four consecutive sessions, decreasing 31 per cent compared to the peak in the last three months (VND8,150  $0.35 per share).

Beside HVG, Nha Trang Seafood will still have to pay $1.37 per kilogramme in antidumping tax. The other four tra fish exporters are C.P Vietnam, Cuu Long Fish, Green Farms Seafood, and Vinh Quang Corp., with a tax rate of $1.37 per kilogramme, an increase of 0.96 cents compared to the preliminary tax rate.

The national export tax of $2.39 per kilogramme still applies.

According to VASEP, in February and March 2019, the value of Vietnam's tra fish exports to the US decreased by 22.8 and 44.4 per cent, respectively. Vietnam has dropped to the third position (after the EU) as the US' tra fish import markets with $71.16 million of export turnover, down 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2018, accounting for 15.1 per cent of the total tra fish export value in the first quarter of 2019.

Tra fish exports to the US may continue to decrease in the second quarter.

Speaking at the 2019 annual general shareholders meeting (AGM), chairman Duong Ngoc Minhwas confident when talking about the company preparing for a long journey to take the crown back.

Minh plans to retire from HVG in 2021, giving way for the new generation. HVGs chairman also predicted that the corporation would reach the revenue of VND20 trillion ($869.57 million) in 2020.

The unexpected blow from POR14 may be a throwback to HVG's ambitions and could cause further difficulties in repaying the looming debts that VIR previously reported HVG has accumulated.
Russia has backed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro (centre) against the US as analysts say Moscow aims to turn the crisis to its advantage in its global tug-of-war with Washington. (Photo: AFP/HO)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay".

Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Moscow has its reasons for standing behind Maduro - he's a rare ally in Latin America and Russia has poured billions into the Venezuelan economy.

But analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is also playing the long game, hoping to use Venezuela as leverage in his global tug-of-war with Washington.

"Russia is seeking to translate its influence over Maduro - which is in fact not absolute - into an opportunity to have dialogue with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a Paris-based analysis firm, told AFP.

"Maduro is a bargaining chip."

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido declared himself acting president in January, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

More than 50 countries led by the United States lined up behind the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, but Russia and China have backed Maduro.

Reeling from Western sanctions, Moscow has quickly sensed an opportunity, even if it meant locking horns with the United States in Latin America, Washington's traditional sphere of influence.

In a highly publicised move in March, Moscow sent two planes with around 100 soldiers and equipment to Caracas, where Russian mercenaries are also believed to be operating.

'CUTTING A DEAL WITH TRUMP'

Ties between Russia and the West plummeted over Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, its backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine and military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

But the audacity with which the Kremlin inserted itself into the Venezuela crisis has drawn gasps in Washington.

"Russia is making the next play in our hemisphere," Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, wrote last month.

"Vladimir Putin may be laying the ground for making Venezuela the defining foreign policy debacle for President Trump in the same way Syria became that for the Obama administration."

Russia and Venezuela enjoy a long history of ties and Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, known for his passionate tirades against the United States, was a welcome guest at the Kremlin.

After Chavez's death in 2013 the relationship with a country that boasts the world's largest proven oil reserves has continued to thrive.

Russia is the second largest lender to Caracas after China, with Moscow heavily investing in Venezuela's oil resources and Caracas acquiring Russian arms worth billions of dollars.

However that also means, analysts say, that Russia has a lot to lose from a change in leadership. But what it stands to gain from a possible deal with Washington may be more important for the Kremlin.

"Putin would cut a deal, if in agreeing to let Maduro leave he got something really big from Trump in exchange," said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.

He suggested that Moscow wanted Washington to lift the damaging sanctions, to allow Russian oil companies to freely operate in Venezuela and agree on "spheres of influence".

"I think they (the Trump administration) would be happy to cut a deal with Putin, where he gets his troops out of Venezuela, in return for the US turning a blind eye to developments in Ukraine," Ash said.

HIGH-STAKES MEETING

Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to discuss the Venezuela crisis on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting starting Monday in Finland.

In duelling statements this week, Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilising" Venezuela while Lavrov said Washington was a "destructive influence" in the country.

Analysts say both sides appear reluctant to consider military options and are likely looking to make backroom deals.

Events on the ground may matter more. After the military uprising in support of his bid fizzled out this week, Guaido has called for demonstrations at army bases.

Other experts doubt Russia's real ability to influence the crisis.

The Trump administration is "greatly exaggerating the role of Russia and China. I don't think that's a decisive factor at all," said Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington

"Maduro's base of power remains reasonably intact. The military will be the key power."
The Hanoi Peoples Court yesterday re-opened a trial involving 15 people who were charged with the falsification of stock trading documents, stock price manipulation and fraudulent asset transfers.-VNA/VNS Photo

The trial was suspended last March due to the absence of lawyers for defendant Vu Thi Hoa and a number of witnesses.

It was the first time the Peoples Court had opened a trial on stock price manipulation.

The accused include 35-year-old Tran Huu Tiep  former management board chairman of the Central Mining and Mineral Import Export JSC (MTM), 53-year-old Nguyen Van Dinh  former director of the mining firm Nari Hamico, and former officials of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Tien Phong Bank (TPBank).

Tiep, Vu Thi Hoa and Nguyen Le Truong were accused of fraudulent asset transfers.

Defendants Bui Thien Ly and Do Huu Tai were accused of manipulating stock prices.

Dinh and four other defendants were accused of falsification of stock trading documents.

Five other defendants were accused of forgery in the course of employment.

According to the courts indictment, Dinh bought the legal documents for MTM in 2010. The company had no charter capital and no business operation.

Dinh and Tiep collaborated with bank officials to falsify the companys portfolio, which showed MTM had 103 shareholders with 31 million shares  equal to VND310 billion (US$13.8 million)  in 2014 to meet listing requirements.

Bank officials in 2013-15 helped the two defendants counterfeit financial invoices worth VND485 billion to validate shareholders capital contributions and the firms business results.

While completing requirements to list MTM shares on the stock market, Dinh was put into custody and accused of counterfeiting business stamps and documents to avoid taxes and violating lending rules in another case.

Tiep and his partners continued to put MTM shares on the stock market in mid-April 2016 and he owned half of the companys total post-listing shares, worth VND155 billion of charter capital.

In June 2016, when the false trading of MTM shares was discovered, the company had had more than 1,150 investors, 71 per cent of whom had reported the case to the police for investigation.

MTM shares were immediately de-listed from the stock market.

According to the court, the accused caused a VND56 billion loss to the stock market, including VND53 billion worth of revenue from selling MTM shares to other investors.

The court summoned 1.065 victims, 107 people with rights and obligations related to the case and 10 witnesses. However, few showed up.

Some 20 lawyers participated in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the 15 defendants at the trial.

The trial will last until May 7.
Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday coalition airstrikes in an eastern province have killed up to 50 Islamic State militants, while Taliban insurgents have killed at least seven government forces in a western district.

The Defense Ministry said the overnight airstrikes were carried out in coordination with Afghan ground forces and they struck IS training centers in the troubled Chapa Darah district of Kunar province. It asserted foreigners, including Uzbeks and Pakistanis were among the slain militants.

The deputy provincial governor, Gul Mohammad Baidar, told VOA that a key IS commander of Uzbek ethnicity also was among the dead. He confirmed there was no letup in clashes in the district involving Taliban insurgents and IS militants.

U.N. humanitarian agencies have reported the fighting in Chapa Darah has forced thousands of Afghan families in recent weeks to flee to safety.

The Taliban and IS routinely attack each others positions in Kunar and parts of neighboring Nangarhar province in their bid to expand their influence. Both of the Afghan provinces border Pakistan.

Separately, officials in the western Afghan province of Badghis confirmed Saturday the Taliban late night stormed security check points in the Qadis district, killing seven police officers and injuring several others.

Authorities in the eastern Ghanzi province said airstrikes by Afghan forces and their international partners Friday night killed eight civilians, and the incident is being investigated.

US-Taliban talks

Meanwhile, American and Taliban negotiators resumed peace talks Saturday in the Qatari capital of Doha after a one-day break, although neither side has reported whether the discussions are making any headway.

Officials said the talks remain focused on when U.S.-led foreign troops will withdraw in return for Taliban assurances that Afghanistan will not be used by transnational militant groups, including al-Qaida and IS.

U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, emphasized the need for all parties involved in the Afghan conflict to reduce violence in order to support efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement.

All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process. All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready, Khalilzad tweeted Saturday.

In a statement Friday, though, the Taliban again refused to cease hostilities or engage in intra-Afghan peace talks until their ongoing dialogue with Washington produces an agreement on withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

Khalilzad repeatedly has stated that a final deal with the Taliban on troop withdrawal and counterterrorism assurances would require the insurgent group to engage in intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire.
Azerbaijan is a small country, yet it makes a large footprint on the world stage in two areas: oil, of which it has much, and media freedom, of which it has little.



Azerbaijan's oil wealth gives the nation's president, Ilham Aliyev, an unusual amount of power on the world stage. World leaders such as Germany and the United States have protested the state of media freedom in Azerbaijan, but they also strive to keep good relations with the Caucasus nation on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Germany, in particular, has been discussing importing oil from Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian resources.



Khadija Ismayilova can tell you about media freedom in Azerbaijan from firsthand experience.



The 42-year-old journalist rose to international fame when she was jailed in 2015 for tax evasion and abuse of power. Since being freed after the Supreme Court amended her sentence, she remains on probation, which means she can't leave the country.



That has prevented her from accepting a job in Lithuania and an award in Sweden, and visiting her mother before she died in a hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Her assets have been frozen by the government to pay the taxes it says she owes.

Ismayilova says she has been subjected to government harassment because of the subject matter she covers: Her corruption investigations have exposed far-reaching illegal financial dealings in the Aliyev family.



Yet Ismayilova continues to investigate corruption through an international organization known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It is an investigative reporting platform that involves a number of nonprofit entities and major news organizations worldwide.



She also compiles records on political arrests and jailings in Azerbaijan  a practice that involves not just journalists but also political activists and human rights advocates. Lawyers, too, are in danger of retaliation from the government. Ismayilova says many lawyers have been disbarred because they defended people against the accusations of the government.



Convictions



Ismayilova has worked for Voice of America, and for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which closed its Baku bureau in 2014. That's where the tax evasion charges began.



"Right now my legal problem is that the government announced I have to pay the tax on behalf of Radio Free Europe. It's absurd," she says. "Radio Free Europe is nonprofit and should not pay any taxes. But the government demands it."



RFE has participated in her defense, but she says its response has been too slow and bureaucratic to do her any good. And tax evasion is not the only roadblock to her work.



"Another conviction that I have is illegal entrepreneurship. The government says that because I don't have international accreditation in Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, all the money I earn from foreign media is illegal." She says she even has been fighting to obtain the honorarium from a UNESCO award she won in 2016.



Her work today involves teaching young journalists to do investigative work. But she does not teach in a traditional setting.



"I'm not allowed in classrooms," she says, because universities must be licensed by the government. She works with nongovernmental organizations to find young journalists interested in investigative work, and then trains them in small groups in private settings.

Restrictive situation



Human Rights Watch says "the space for independent activism, critical journalism and opposition political activity in Azerbaijan has been virtually extinguished." RSF ranks Azerbaijan 166th out of 183 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.



Today, she says, the country has more than a dozen journalists who are banned from leaving the country. There also are five journalists in prison.



When asked what would be a marker of change in her country of 10 million, Ismayilova's answer is instant.



"Independent judiciary. When the judge will be able to say no to the political regime when he's being ordered to rule against [a defendant] for political reasons. That will be a solution for many things."



Still, Ismayilova says she wouldn't want to move elsewhere.



"I don't want to leave the country for good," she says. "I love my country. But ... when you know that you are trapped here, they make you feel that the country is not just motherland, it's also a prison."
Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday in an elaborate centuries-old royal tradition that last happened seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchys power after the October 2016 death of Vajiralongkorns revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since he assumed the throne. On Saturday, he took the crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who has played a guiding part in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, during a televised ritual from the Grand Palace.

The 200-year-old, 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) heavy crown was handed to the king, known as Rama X, as part of the third and final rite of the coronation ceremony, the presentation of royal regalia.

The right moment

Earlier, the king wore a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation, said Naowarat Buakluan, a 41-year-old civil servant. If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, its because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king.

A nation in political turmoil

Vajiralongkorn inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn has tightened control over royal institutions and what amounts to political privileges. He surprised the countrys ruling junta when, to ensure his royal powers, he requested changes to a new constitution that had already been approved in a referendum. They acquiesced. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual and social critic, said he doesnt expect Vajiralongkorns coronation to differ much in style from his fathers _ though Thailand did not have television broadcasts in 1950, and this weekends events will have blanket coverage across all channels, with looks inside the palace that ordinary people could only have dreamed of 69 years ago.

Vajiralongkorn, said Sulak, doesnt like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper. When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn insisted that everything had to be done properly.

Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesnt mind the expense, but it has to be done properly, Sulak said.

High point of coronation

A book on the history of Thai coronations vividly described the high point of what was just one of the ceremonies in preparation for Bhumibols 1950 coronation.

When the auspicious time arrived, the royal astrologer hit the Gong of Victory, the scribe and the royal augur began inscribing on the Royal Golden Plaques the official title of the King and the Kings Horoscope. At the same moment, the artisan also began to engrave the Royal Seal of State. During the whole period, monks were chanting auspicious prayer, Brahmins were blowing conch shells, while the royal officers of the Thai musical ensemble played their instruments.

After the coronation, the king will receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The days events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.
This story originated in VOA's Amharic service, with Salem Solomon contributing.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA  Ethiopias historic strides toward democracy and openness have given journalists in the country hope for greater freedom to report the news.

In a speech Thursday at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged journalists to seize the moment.

But he also cautioned restraint.

We need to ensure that the opening up of the media space does not facilitate misinformation, the spread of hate speech and fake news, Abiy said. The pivotal moment that Ethiopia is in right now to help into its true potential can only be realized when those who are tasked with a duty to inform are aware of the responsibilities that come with such freedoms.

Abiy spoke in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Events organized by UNESCO also unfolded at the United Nations Conference Center and the headquarters of the African Union, both in Addis Ababa, the capital.

A delicate balance

Last year, Abiy made worldwide news when he released all journalists held in Ethiopian jails. It marked the first time in 14 years that no journalists were behind bars in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.

Ethiopia also opened up internet access and unblocked about 260 websites.

Ethiopian journalists attending the event, organized by UNESCO, said working for more press freedom while dealing with the threat posed by irresponsible media is a difficult balancing act.

Tsedale Lemma, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent magazine Addis Standard, said the press must meet high standards and report with integrity in the wake of newfound freedoms.

For far too long, weve been asking the government to liberalize the media, to lift its pressure on the media, its suppression on the media. A lot of sacrifices have been paid by many, many journalists throughout the past many years, and now that that time arrived, it sort of caught us unprepared, she said.

Tsedale worries about the rise of what she calls populist media that sensationalize news and stir up ethnic hatred in the country. She said it is the job of the press to police itself, with government assistance.

It is a delicate balance that we need to diligently thread through, and the government needs to pay attention not in a way of bringing back its suppression but in a way of supporting genuine journalists who are trying hard to do professional journalism, she said.

Ethiopia offers hope

Worldwide, about 100 journalists were killed in the past year, and more than 300 remain in prison.

But some international attendees at the conference found hope in Ethiopias achievements.

Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist, told VOAs Amharic service that he did not expect to find Ethiopia hosting an event to commemorate press freedom.

It was a great surprise for me that, in just one year, in 2018, Ethiopia was a country where lots of journalists were behind the bars, he said. When the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into power, he liberalized the media. He released all political prisoners, and many journalists they were also released.
Violence erupted Saturday when crowds of protesters from a camp for displaced people in Darfur clashed with soldiers and paramilitary forces, wounding four security personnel, state media reported.



The incident occurred in Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur state, the official SUNA news agency said, quoting the state's governor, Hashim Khalid.



About 5,000 people staged a peaceful march from Attash camp, but they soon unleashed "violence on a unit of armed forces" in Nyala, Khalid said.



Four members from the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force were left "critically wounded," he said, adding that there were no casualties among the protesters.



After attacking the armed forces, protesters tried to seize vehicles belonging to the armed forces, Khalid said.

He said the protesters had come out to join an ongoing sit-in held outside the region's military headquarters and organized by the group spearheading the nationwide protest movement that has rocked Sudan for months.



The umbrella group leading the protests, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, gave a different version of events and called for nationwide protests and marches to condemn what it said was an attack by the army on protesters.



It called on supporters to "reject the acts of the regime in its new version, its security apparatus and its militia, and condemn the attack on peaceful protesters in Nyala."



Protest leaders have regularly called for sit-ins outside regional military headquarters, similar to the one held at the main army headquarters in central Khartoum for weeks.



Thousands remain camped outside the Khartoum army complex, demanding that the country's army rulers hand over power to civilians.



A 10-member military council took power after the army toppled longtime leader Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of protests.

Sudan's western region of Darfur was torn by years of conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.



The United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people displaced.



Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide charges in Darfur. He denies the charges.



In recent years violence has dropped in Darfur, but on April 13 there were clashes reported in Camp Kalma that left 14 people dead, according to state media.
A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see whether he is still fit to rule.



The court in Libreville rejected the request as "inadmissible," according to the ruling seen Saturday by AFP.



Only the government or the two chambers of parliament had the power to go to the Constitutional Court to get a ruling removing the president from power, it said.



But the activists behind the legal bid denounced the ruling.



"This judgment reinforces our doubt about the capacity of Ali Bongo to still carry out his presidential duties," activist Marc Ona, who leads one of the groups behind the bid, said.



Bongo spent five months abroad in Morocco, recovering from a stroke he suffered Oct. 24 while visiting Saudi Arabia.



During that period, he returned to Gabon twice, his long absence stoking concern about a power vacuum. A brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers in January was quickly ended.



But on his return to Gabon at the end of March, some opponents of the president called for a judicial inquiry into his state of health.



Thursday's court decision appears to have blocked that bid.



Ali Bongo has ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967.
Militants fired a barrage of rockets Saturday from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into southern Israel, the Israeli military said.

Israel retaliated with air strikes from Israeli aircraft and tanks. The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians died, including a pregnant woman and an infant.

One airstrike Saturday struck a building housing the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Turkey strongly condemned the strike.

Israel said at least 250 rockets were lobbed into Israeli territory and that dozens were intercepted by Israels air defense systems.

Four Israelis were wounded by the rockets.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, while two Israelis soldiers were wounded in weekly protests near the border.

The flare-up comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders are in Cairo trying to finalize a fragile agreement that was hoped to lead to a long-term cease-fire in Gaza.

The latest violent outbreak, the most intense along the Gaza in weeks, also comes days before Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

The Eurovision song contest is also to be held in Israel at the middle of the month.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
Nearly three months into his second tenure at the helm of the U.S Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr finds himself in a hornet's nest he once sought to avoid.

In June 2017, just as special counsel Robert Mueller was widening his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, Barr, then a lawyer in private practice in Washington, was ushered into the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump was beefing up his legal defense team amid allegations that his campaign had colluded with Russia. Trump wanted to know whether the semiretired Barr was "envisioning some role here," but Barr said he wasn't.

"I didn't want to stick my head into that meat grinder," Barr recalled during his confirmation hearing in January.

The Republican attorney general faces a barrage of criticism and a possible contempt vote by House Democrats over his characterizations of Mueller's final report, including charges that he's acted more like Trump's personal lawyer than an independent broker.

Trump had a famously fraught relationship with his first attorney general, former Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom he publicly belittled for allowing the Justice Department to investigate him.

Critics say that in Barr, who first served as attorney general in the administration of former President George H. W. Bush, Trump has finally found a partisan willing to stick up for him.

"We have a chief law enforcement officer who is definitely the defense lawyer for the president," Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, one of Trump's staunchest critics in Congress, said during an acrimonious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report on Wednesday.

Hirono and some other Democrats have been calling on the attorney general to resign for failing to divulge, in earlier congressional appearances, that Mueller had complained that Barr had not fully conveyed the findings of his report critical of Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr had lied to Congress and called it a "crime."

Justice Department officials have called the allegations scurrilous and say the attorney general has no intention of stepping down.

The controversy gripping Washington started after Mueller submitted a 448-page report on his investigation to Barr on March 22. The report concluded that there was insufficient evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to support charges, but it left unanswered the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice despite citing 11 instances of potential obstruction.

Barr said he was puzzled by Mueller's indecision, so he and his No. 2, Rod Rosenstein, examined the evidence and concluded there weren't sufficient grounds to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.

Barr's legal determination, first outlined in a March 24 summary letter to Congress, outraged Democrats. Many worried that it enabled Trump to claim "total vindication" before the full report was released.

The attacks on the attorney general's actions reached a crescendo this week after it emerged that Mueller had complained in a letter to Barr that his summary to Congress "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance" of his conclusions.

Barr's defenders say the attorney general followed Justice Department regulations and had no choice but to make a legal determination about a question Mueller had left unanswered.

"He and he alone as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States was left with the burden and the responsibility to do something after he got that report," said Charles Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "I don't think Attorney General Barr was necessarily saying, 'I approve of the president's conduct here.' "

The attorney general, Stimson said, had made good on a pledge he made at his January confirmation that he would not interfere with the Mueller investigation and that he'd release as much information as possible to Congress and the public.

"I think what's really undergirding all of the angst and anger on the side of the Democrats is that the Mueller report did not find collusion," Stimson said.

Tim Flanigan, a former assistant attorney general under Barr in the early 1990s, rejected the Democrats' depiction of Barr as Trump's defense lawyer.

"I can understand why they're making that characterization for political purposes, but it has no basis in fact," said Flanigan, who is now the chief legal officer for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. "I'm very familiar with the way the independent counsel regulations function, and it seems to me that Bill has, in every step of the way, performed exactly the duties that he was required to do."
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he thought more troops would turn against President Nicolas Maduro during Tuesday's attempt to oust the embattled leader.



In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido said he expected Maduro to step down following major defections of members of the military. But, as Maduro and Guaido were vying for military support, there were no mass breakaways in the ranks.



Tension continues to run high in Venezuela since the failed effort to oust Maduro. The Lima Group, a 12-nation body formed in 2017 to help establish a peaceful end to the Venezuelan crisis, met Friday in Peru's capital and decided to enlist Cuba in brokering a solution to the turmoil.



On Saturday, Maduro appealed to the military on state television.



"We're not a weak country but one with strong armed forces that has to show itself as united and cohesive as ever. Say no to traitors! Out, traitors! Unity and supreme loyalty to the constitution, the fatherland, the revolution and to its legitimate commander-in-chief!" he said, asking soldiers to raise their weapons in the air.

Later, Maduro visited a military base for a third straight day, hoping to garner support from troops. State television showed him walking with hundreds of uniformed soldiers after commanders briefed him on military issues. There were 3,500 soldiers at the site, according to state television.



Maduro wrote on Twitter Friday night that he'd met with generals and admirals who vowed to defend "national sovereignty with loyalty and patriotism."



Guaido is considered Venezuela's legitimate leader by the U.S. and 50 other countries. On Friday, he said supporters would hand out a letter to members of the military at a nationwide protest on Saturday, calling on them to support Maduro's ouster. But that did not appear to be a successful effort. One soldier took the memo handed to him and burned it.



A plot for some of Maduro's top aides to defect this week to the opposition appeared to have come apart at the last minute, according to several news reports.



Weeks of secret talks between the top aides and opposition leaders  including recently freed Leopoldo Lopez  culminated in a document that guaranteed Maduro loyalists like Gen. Ivan Hernandez, chief of military counterintelligence; Defense Minister Vladamir Padrino Lopez; and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno places in a post-Maduro interim government and a promise that they wouldn't be prosecuted, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

All three officials have remained publicly loyal to Maduro. A fourth top aide, who heads Venezuela's intelligence agency, Gen. Manuel Figuera, did break ranks and has since disappeared, according to the AP.



Lopez, a Guaido mentor who had been detained since 2014 and under house arrest since 2017 for organizing marches against Maduro, told the AP that he had been secretly speaking with top Maduro loyalists about their possible defection to the opposition for weeks.



One former U.S. official who spoke to the AP on background suggested that distrust between Trump administration officials and Maduro's inner circle contributed to top Maduro aides' reluctance to abandon the embattled Venezuelan leader.
Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed in an Israeli airstrike and protests Friday as gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a monthlong easing of hostilities that Egypt had mediated.



The calm along the Gaza-Israel frontier was in exchange for Israel's scaling back restrictions on the territory. However, Gaza's Hamas rulers accused Israel of not honoring the deal.



Leaders from the Islamic militant group were in Egypt on Friday for further talks. Cairo has hoped negotiations could lead to a long-term cease-fire.



The Israeli army said the soldiers who were shot were moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas militant site in response, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding three others, Gaza's health ministry and Hamas' armed wing said.



The escalation in violence came as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gaza's perimeter fence with Israel on Friday.

50-plus injured



The health ministry said a 19-year-old Palestinian protester died shortly after he was injured in southern Gaza Strip. Early Saturday, the ministry added that second demonstrator, 31, had succumbed to his wounds. More than 50 Palestinians suffered various injuries during protests at several sections of the frontier.



Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could alleviate the blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after it violently seized full control of Gaza in 2007 from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.



More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests that Hamas has led since March last year.



Last month, Israel allowed Gaza fishermen to sail up to 15 nautical miles off the enclave's coast, but retracted the decision this week, scaling it down to the longtime previous limit of nine miles after rockets were fired from Gaza.



Hamas also says Israel delayed the transfer of Qatari money for cash-strapped public institutions in the territory of 2 million people and did not take more measures to ease the grinding power shortage in Gaza.
Brazils far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled a trip to the United States, his office announced Friday, after sharp protests against his being honored as the person of the year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Because of Bolsonaros past racist, homophobic and misogynist remarks, organizers saw multiple venues in New York refuse to host the gala dinner, including the American Museum of Natural History.

Major sponsors such as Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co this week yanked their support for the event.

Bolsonaro spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros said in a statement the president would not be attending the dinner because of the resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups on its organizers and sponsors.

Delta said it would no longer be sponsoring the event, but declined to give further details.

The Financial Times also said it would no longer be a sponsor of the event while declining to give further details.

We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, Bain said. Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle.

The cancellation is seen as a blow for Bolsonaro, who has actively courted closer ties with the United States and particularly President Donald Trump, whom he has praised.

Bolsonaros rejection by corporate heavyweights also hurts his vow to grow foreign investment in Brazil.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all declined to comment on whether they would abandon the event.

On its website, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce said it had chosen Bolsonaro as its person of the year because of his intention of fostering closer commercial and diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States.

Bolsonaro is loved by his supporters for his outspoken views on guns, family values and the military. But his critics accuse him of racism, homophobia and misogyny. He once said a female lawmaker was too ugly to rape, and said he would not be able to love a gay son.
Russia appears to be shifting its stance on Chinas Belt and Road development initiative in Eurasia, envisioning a bigger role for itself in the process, in what could be a sign that Moscow is worried about waning influence among its neighbors.

When Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing last month for Chinas Belt and Road Forum, he described Russia-China relations now as the best they have been in their entire history. He also said the Belt and Road initiative is intended to strengthen the creative cooperation of the states of Eurasia.

But Putins enthusiasm for participating came with a polite demand, asking China to accommodate Russias Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was originally meant to be a Russia-led alliance on political, trade and infrastructure construction issues in Eurasian countries. But the plan has suffered because of Moscows paucity of funds.

From Russia with love

In his speech, Putin indicated that Russian cooperation is essential to overcome challenges to BRI in the Eurasian region.

(Furthermore,) it is necessary to eliminate infrastructure restrictions for integration mainly by creating a system of modern and well-connected transport corridors. Russia with its unique geographic location is willing to engage in this joint activity, Putin said in his speech.

Putin proposed an integration between different programs and institutions like EAEU, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and One Belt, One Road (old name of Belt and Road Initiative).

Mohan Malik, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at Honolulu, said Putin insists on calling the Chinese plan by the old name to expose Chinas attempt to show that all roads lead to Beijing.

By drawing attention to Moscows own EAEU initiative and stressing the need for OBOR to partner with the EAEU, the SCO and the ASEAN, Putin is indirectly criticizing Beijings go it alone approach which is already facing global backlash, he said.

It is also a reminder from Putin that Russia still has a significant presence in Central Asia, especially on security issues but also in trade and investment, said Zach Witlin, senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

Analysts said Putin is engaged in political posturing and some amount of bargaining for Chinese investments, but he does not have the deep pockets to match Beijings clout and implement Moscows Eurasian initiative.

Bargaining game

It is a sign of just how little bargaining leverage he has that he has to make such a plea in public and lump Russia together with all the rest as supplicants, said Stephen Blank, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Implicitly he is also trying to induce China to invest in the Arctic and other major infrastructure and transportation projects in Asia, he said.

China included a road link passing through Russia when Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced the Belt and Road plan in 2013. It took six years of wrangling before Russia recently agreed to implement the project, which is the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway. The road is meant to link Chinas western neighbor Kazakhstan with Belarus.

But Putin did not mention the project in public discussions during his Beijing visit last month.

In Russia, the project has been given least importance with just one line being mentioned in the 110-page blueprint on National Projects published last February: By the end of 2024, the Russian section of the Meridian toll highway will be built.

The Chinese have been patient with Moscow for their own reasons.

Russia is very important for the Belt and Road, you need its cooperation to achieve success with Eurasian countries, Bloomberg quoted Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat and now professor at Renmin University in Beijing. You cannot bypass Russia.

But bargaining with Beijing for collaboration in other parts of Eurasia and South East Asia would not yield much result.

China will not cede primacy to Russia anywhere in the BRI, Blank said.

US role

The U.S. sent a relatively low-ranking delegation to the Belt and Road Forum meeting and issued a press release criticizing the BRI on several counts. Some analyst believe Washington is making a tactical mistake by allowing high-powered growth of the Chinese program in crucial areas like Eurasia.

Malik said the Obama administration had outlined its New Silk Road vision for joint investment projects and regional trade in the region.

However, Washington dropped the New Silk Road plan under pressure from Beijing, he said adding that the Obama administration largely ignored Chinas growing outreach in Central Asia.

In contrast, the Trump administration has reassessed the challenge that OBOR poses and turned extremely critical and hostile to it, Malik said.

U.S. officials routinely warn countries that Chinas infrastructure deals can carry long-term financial costs that countries can struggle to repay.

When Italy signed on to Beijings development plan in March, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told U.S. lawmakers that such deals with China ultimately hurt the country signing onto them.

It may feel good in the moment: You think you got a cheap product or a low-cost bridge or road built. And in the end there will be a political cost attached to that which will greatly exceed the economic value of what you were provided, he said.
North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyangs latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Koreas east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Koreas missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Japans Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Testing the moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile might skirt the line on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly, Narang says. Its enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was fully briefed by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.

We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Measured escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Reports from Iran say a correspondent for a state-approved newspaper has been detained in a Tehran prison ward run by intelligence agents after she attended a rally by labor activists outside parliament.

In a series of tweets posted Thursday and Friday, colleagues of Marzieh Amiri at Irans Shargh Daily newspaper, which labels itself reformist, said she had been detained at Evin Prisons Ward 209. The ward is run by Irans intelligence ministry.

Shargh Daily correspondent Sudabeh Rakhsh posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri, whom she described as a friend, was arrested Wednesday at a rally held by thousands of labor activists outside Irans parliament to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day.

In a Wednesday report, VOA sister network RFE/RLs Radio Farda cited eyewitnesses as saying Iranian security forces arrested at least 35 people as they broke up the rally, beating some of those detained. Radio Farda said most of those detained were labor rights activists who had gathered peacefully to demand better working and living conditions.

In a report published Thursday, Irans Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) named Amiri as one of those who had been detained at the rally and transferred to Evin Prisons Ward 209.

The Shargh Dailys official Twitter account confirmed Amiris detention at the May Day rally in a Friday tweet, but said the newspaper still was trying to determine her location.

A reporter with another Iranian state-approved news outlet, Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Shahrvand newspaper, posted a Thursday tweet saying Amiri had been arrested for doing her job as a journalist.

There did not appear to be any comments from Iranian officials about Amiris case in state media by late Friday.

In its annual report published last month, media rights group Reporters Without Borders said Iran slipped further toward the bottom of its World Press Freedom index because of an increase in arrests of Iranian journalists and citizen-journalists.

This article originated in VOAs Persian service.
South Korea called on North Korea to stop raising military tensions, after the North fired a barrage of projectiles into the sea off the east coast of Korea.



In a statement, a South Korean presidential spokesperson said the tests go against a September military agreement it signed with North Korea. Seoul said it expects Pyongyang to resume dialogue as soon as possible.



North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9:00 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.



It is North Korea's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the United States.



President Donald Trump said Saturday he still believes a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will happen. Taking to Twitter, Trump said Kim "fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it." Trump added about Kim, "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen."



Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program.



North Korea has not commented on the test.

Skirting his moratorium

Since November 2017, Kim has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.



Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



"Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."



After the launch, President Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.



"We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.



Measured escalation



North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.



Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.



Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.


Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, returns to politics on Saturday with a vow to resist any new referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.

The Conservatives in pro-EU Scotland have seen their poll support slip over their handling of Brexit, coinciding with Davidson's six-month maternity leave, while support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party has risen.

On Friday the results of elections for seats on local councils in England, the biggest of the UK's four nations, provided stark evidence of how the fallout from Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has undermined the two biggest parties, Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

Meanwhile, support for Scottish independence has risen to its highest point in the past four years, largely driven by voters who want to remain in the European Union, according to a YouGov poll published in the Times last week.

"I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We've had enough to last a lifetime," Davidson will tell delegates at the Scottish Conservative conference, according to advance comments.

Scotland, England's political partner for more than 300 years and part of the United Kingdom, rejected independence by 10 percentage points in a 2014 referendum. But differences over Brexit have strained relations with the government in London.

Davidson's straight-talking politics has made her a favorite of moderate Conservatives and given her high public approval ratings, while infighting has whittled away the authority of the prime minister and the standing of some of her rivals.

May addressed the conference in Aberdeen on Friday.

On returning to work this week after giving birth to baby Finn, Davidson, 40, again said she does not want to be prime minister but speculation continues to swirl  despite her currently not having a seat in the Westminster parliament but sitting as a member of Scotland's devolved assembly.

In an interview with Scottish politics magazine Holyrood, she was characteristically candid about the impact of motherhood and the kind of changes it has meant to her life, describing the effects of "bone-crushing" sleep-deprivation.

She said she had put her job before family and friends in the past, but being a mother had changed her priorities. "I don't think for one second (my job) will come before Finn."
Yulia Savchenko of VOA's Russian Service contributed reporting.



WASHINGTON  U.S. President Donald Trump applauded Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's announcement that his country plans to increase its military spending to 2% of its GDP in the next three years, as well as purchase U.S.-made F-16 war planes.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders after their White House meeting Friday said the U.S. and Slovakia "seek to build on this and deepen our defense cooperation by concluding a mutually beneficial Defense Cooperation Agreement."

Earlier, speculation about terms of a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, had stirred controversy in the Central European country. The Slovak foreign ministry described as lacking in knowledge and short on facts allegations that a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. would lead to encroachment upon Slovakias sovereignty.

In contrast to protests heard in certain quarters in Slovakia, a number of nations in Central Europe have shown an eagerness to enter into defense cooperation agreements with the U.S.

Last month, a bilateral agreement was signed between the U.S. and Hungary on the sidelines of events marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO, after more than a year and a half of negotiations.

In an interview with VOA, Laszlo Szabo, Hungarys ambassador to the U.S., described the agreement as both strategic and tactical in nature and as one that sets the terms under which American forces and other foreign troops can operate in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is negotiating an agreement that is quite similar, according to Hynek Kmonicek, the countrys chief diplomat in the U.S. Czechs regard the U.S. as the backbone of NATO, he told VOA, adding if you ask people how they feel about [the] 2% of GDP spent [on military expenditures], it usually has 80% [popular] support, which is quite extraordinary.

Among Central European countries, Poland is seen as the most enthusiastic when it comes to building ever-closer ties with the United States in military and security affairs.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in an interview with VOAs Russian Service that Poland realizes relying on its own defense forces will not be sufficient when it comes to a security guarantee, even as the Polish government is working to strengthen its military forces, including increasing the number of soldiers. The minister said the military presence of our allies on our soil is crucially important.

Not that Poland feels a direct military threat from Russia at the moment, said Czaputowicz, but from what Poland can see, Russia is prone to taking advantage of situations when it senses a weakness; like in Donbas, like in Crimea, referring to Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine. Poland, he said, plans to increase its defense spending to up to 2.5% of its GDP. The relative absence of an imminent military threat that Poland currently feels, as Czaputowicz sees it, is precisely due to Russias calculation of both how the country itself and its allies will react.

As negotiations between the U.S. and Slovakia on a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement unfold, Rachel Ellehuus, a former Pentagon official and current deputy director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), cautions that the U.S. Congress has signaled that it will not allow funds from the European Deterrence Initiative to be spent in countries that have not signed a defense cooperation agreement with the U.S. She also points out that the guarantee of assured access by U.S. military to signatory countries facilities could be a sticking point with certain allies.

That said, Ellehuus describes bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreements as pragmatic measures to enhance NATO deterrence and defense, while also ensuring needed protections for U.S. troops.

Think of them as legal agreements that strengthen the provisions in the NATO SOFA, she said, referring to Status of Forces Agreements among NATO member states.

From an operational angle, mitigating Russias time-distance advantages over the U.S. and allies, should conflict break out, is crucial to deterrence and defense, according to Billy Fabian, a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA).
Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.



Gen. Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years, and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.



The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.



There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.



Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.



The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.



He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.



Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Plot allegation



Algeria's army chief, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.



In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief, whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.



Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state."

Tartag  described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother  was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.



Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."



According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.



Mediene said, "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudomeeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.



Algeria's former defense minister, Khaled Nezzar, meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.



Demonstrations continue in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.
It's going to be a colorful election in the Rainbow Nation.

Whether you're a Leninite, a free-market capitalist, a right-winger, an outspoken lefty, a Shariah-law fundamentalist or just a dedicated pot smoker, South Africa's May 8 ballot spans the entire political spectrum, offering something for nearly every type of voter.

Forty-eight political parties are contesting this years national election, leaving voters spoiled for choice beyond the top three: the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters parties.

The smaller, newer parties have wildly different aims -- some, like the African Transformation Movement, are church-based and say their platform revolves around human rights. Others are aligned with more traditional political views, or have niche issues to push in national government.

But they all seem to share one thing: dissatisfaction with the political status quo. The head the ATM party, Vuyo Zungula, says they couldnt get the change they wanted through partnership with the ruling ANC. So they started their own party, through the South African Council of Messianic Churches in Christ.

The party, Zungula says, is pro-gay-rights and doesn't want to change existing laws that allow abortion. Instead, he says, the party wants to show South Africans the meaning of service.

We believe that what the people of South Africa truly need now, they need people who will genuinely serve them," the 31-year-old presidential candidate told VOA as about 100 of his followers packed into a hall in Soweto for the party's final rally.

While its likely the large, powerful ANC will dominate this election, analysts say the small parties play a valuable role in government. South Africas system of proportional representation means small parties dont need a large number of votes - as few as 50,000 are all it takes - to get one of 400 parliamentary seats.

That may include the scrappy Dagga Party - dagga is local slang for marijuana. The pro-legalization party was behind a widely celebrated, headline-grabbing Supreme Court ruling last year that saw the decriminalization of cannabis in South Africa. But the party missed the election registration deadline this year, so it instead joined forces with the brand-new African Democratic Change party, which is on the ballot.

Professor and analyst Ivor Sarakinsky says its this diversity that makes South Africas parliament great.

Those parties might be springboards to ask tough questions to the new parliament and the new administration after the election," he told VOA. "If they get support, they wont necessarily get big numbers, but their presence will add some real spice to the parliament thats going to be formed shortly.

Thats exactly what the tiny, six-week-old Capitalist Party hopes to do. The party is only fielding 10 candidates -- not enough to dictate terms on their own, but enough, their leader, Kanthan Pillay, believes, to play a valuable role in government because of their candidates' wealth of business experience.

All of the political parties out there are offering variations on the same recipe," he said. "Theyre all promising that government is going to create more jobs, theyre all promising that theyre going to cut back on government spending, and theyre all promising better levels of education. We dont believe that they have the capability to deliver on any of those things, simply because they lack the expertise to do so.

On the opposite side of that spectrum is another new entrant, the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party, which is part of the nation's largest single trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. Unions have traditionally backed the ANC, but spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says this party was born of frustration with the ruling party.

We are the only political party in South Africa that is fighting for the destruction of the capitalist system," she told VOA. "We believe that we represent the aspirations of the 23 million members of the working class of South Africa whose aspirations have, frankly, been ignored by the capitalist ANC government for the last 25 years.



At the end of the day, says analyst Angelo Fick, the ANC will win more seats than any other party. But the varied opposition, he says, is a reflection of a healthy democracy.

The plethora of choices in front of the South African electorate is not, for me, a sign of too much, too soon," he said. "It is, in fact, a sign of the vibrancy of the contestation around ideas."
Syrian government bombardment of rebel-held areas in the country's northwest has killed and wounded dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes, further endangering an eight-month truce in the last major rebel stronghold, opposition activists said Saturday.

The recent escalation of violence is the most serious in Idlib province and nearby areas since Russia and Turkey negotiated a cease-fire in September. The shaky truce had averted a major government offensive on the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

On Saturday, government forces were sending new reinforcements toward Idlib, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of troops.

Over the past weeks, government forces have bombarded rebel-held areas while al-Qaida-linked militants attacked army positions around Idlib killing more than two dozen troops and pro-government gunmen over the past week.

The command's orders were given to bring these big reinforcements to respond to violations, a Syrian officer who asked that his name not be made public told The Associated Press. We are waiting for orders to begin a military operation, God willing, soon.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said 22 civilians have been killed and more than 60 wounded in airstrikes and shelling since Friday morning.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported more than 115 strikes against rebel-held areas on Saturday alone. It said six civilians were killed on Saturday raising to 67 the number of civilians and insurgents killed since Tuesday when the government began its new campaign.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that government forces targeted positions of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the most powerful group in Idlib.

In violence in other parts of northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry announced one Turkish soldier was killed and one lightly wounded in northwestern village of Tel Rifaat when Syrian Kurdish fighters shot at Turkish troops. The ministry said Turkish troops launched a counter-attack.

The attack was believed to have been carried out by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization with links to Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

The attack came days after YPG militants carried out an attack in a Turkish-controlled region in northern Syria killing a soldier and wounding three others.
Top U.S. and Pentagon officials are considering options for Venezuela after calls for an uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaido apparently failed. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate interim president, called for members of the military to defect and for massive street protests. But Nicolas Maduro continues to cling to power, and some analysts say America's options are narrowing. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more.
Members of an Arlington, Virginia, mosque are being trained on how to respond to an active shooter. Worshippers are learning how to take security measures to protect themselves and save the lives of others. The training follows mass shooting at houses of worship around the world, including one in New Zealand that killed 51 people at a mosque, and another one at a Pittsburgh Synagogue that claimed 11 lives. VOA's Nilofar Mughal has more from Arlington.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa is promising a new dawn for Zimbabwe's media landscape. To mark World Press Freedom Day Friday, Mutsvangwa told VOA's Blessing Zulu that the govt is "working hard on the reforms, we certainly mean what we are talking about," referring to AIPPA and other laws.
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VOA Africa Division's Linord Moudou spoke to Melinda Gates about women's empowerment, work in Africa, the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and how men can benefit from women's empowerment.
SOUTHINGTON  A committee of town department leaders and residents tasked with reviewing town policies for inclusivity plans to meet for the first time next week.

The town policy diversity committee was formed by Town Council chairman Chris Palmieri following concerns from residents about minority inclusion and hiring.

Race issues came to prominence after a social media video last year in which a Southington High School student threatened black classmates. That led to residents and the NAACP urging the Board of Education to address a lack of teachers and administrators, as well as higher discipline rates for minority students.

Superintendent Tim Connellan formed a social justice coalition to propose solutions to those issues. Palmieri said he wanted a group that would look at what the town could do to improve inclusion.

Town Manager Mark Sciota will lead the committee. In addition to department heads, including Police Chief Jack Daly and Recreation Director David Lapreay, town employees were also encouraged to apply for a spot on the committee.

Town Council member Victoria Triano had originally suggested the idea for the committee and some of her picks for the group included First Congregational Church Rev. Ronald Brown and Southington Women for Progress member Dorie Conlon Perugini. Palmieri appointed them both to the committee.

Sciota said hell distribute policies for three departments: police, human resources and recreation. Members will then discuss them and any proposed changes then or at the following meeting.

The committee will also set goals and complete other organizational tasks.

Were going to introduce ourselves, get to know each other, Sciota said.

Conlon Perugini said she hopes that committee members can listen to and value diverse voices in town. Theres a collective responsibility to improve the town, she said.

Working towards equity isnt easy and is often times uncomfortable, but my hope for this group is that we commit to working together through the uncomfortable feelings so that we can achieve our goals, Conlon Perugini said. There are systems and processes that have been perpetuated for generations that continue to marginalize individuals and groups in our town.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m, Town Hall, 75 Main St.

Southington Town Policy Diversity Committee members

Mark Sciota, town manager and committee chairman

Ronald Brown, reverend of First Congregational Church

Elizabeth Chubet, Southington Public Library

Jack Daly, Police Chief

David Lapreay, Recreation Director

Jason Marquez, police dispatcher

Michelle Passamano, town and Board of Education human resources manager

Dorie Conlon Perugini, Southington Women for Progress

Jacqueline Santos-Villegas, town accountant

O.J. Shaw, Bristol NAACP

Christina Simms, Youth Services director
International

N Korea fires short-range missiles into Sea

Seoul, May 4 (IANS) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 12:04:59 PM IST

North Korea fired a barrage of unidentified short-range missiles in the direction of the East Sea on Saturday, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The North fired multiple rounds of unidentified missiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9.06 a.m. and 9.27 a.m. on Saturday, Yonhap News Agency quoted the JCS as saying in a statement.

The missiles flew for a range of about 70 to 200 km, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and US authorities were analysing details. Our military has been closely watching North Koreas movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the US, it added.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary, reports CNN.

Japans Defence Ministry said there was no evidence the projectiles had landed in its territorial waters. Saturdays launch comes a few weeks after North Korea said it conducted a tactical guided weapons firing test, according to state media. In a report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong-un praised that test as a great historic event in strengthening the combat capability of the Peoples Army. North Koreas missile programme made major strides in 2017, when Pyongyang claimed it had successfully test fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles. Rising international tension over Pyongyangs weapons programme eased in 2018 when Kim indicated his willingness to negotiate, and later met South Koreas President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.

After making some progress in 2018, talks appeared to stall this year when Kim and Trumps second meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, abruptly ended with no agreement as Pyongyang pushed for more sanctions relief in exchange for denuclearization, while the US demanded greater evidence that the country is prepared to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
Central Texas radio talk show host Lynn Woolley will bring his The Lynn Woolley Show back to the air beginning Monday, with the show being carried by M&M Broadcasting stations from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.

The conservative talk show hosts afternoon show will appear locally on sports-talk KLRK-AM (1590) and -FM (99.3). In the Killeen-Temple-Belton listening area, The Lynn Woolley Show will be carried on KTON-AM (1330) and -FM (93.9). A livestream can be heard at www.listencentraltexassports.com.

The talk show, which ran 23 years from Temple until last October, will feature news from Central Texas and across the nation with commentary and an audience call-in line.

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Waco attorney David Schleicher, Behrghundis attorney, said he will address the motion to dismiss.

This is the sort of response we expected and to which we will fully respond with citations to the pleadings and the law, Schleicher said.

The motion states the individuals named in the lawsuit, all current city council members, do not have standing to be sued under the claims. The motion claims the SOC group is a name of a Facebook page and is not an actual entity.

As shown on the site itself, the Save Our City Facebook page is used to promote community, city, school and church events, the motion states in part. The remainder of plaintiffs complaint amounts to political arguments between one citizen, other citizens and some elected and former elected leaders.

Witt, who now lives in Robinson but serves as chief planning officer and a consultant for Mart on a major overhaul of its water system, said Save Our City is meant to encourage a promising future for Mart. He said the group does endorse candidates in local elections but has chosen not to endorse Behrghundi.
MCAD officials are required to have 95 percent of the tax roll completed before they can certify the roll and give the numbers to taxing entities for budget preparations.

According to MCAD figures, the average homeowner saw a median increase in appraised market value of 4.8 percent this year, down from about 12 percent last year.

But its the accumulative effect over the last few years that have taxpayers flocking to MCADs office and galvanizing on social media in constant debate of MCADs methods.

MCAD has a $300,000 budget for legal matters this year, down from $450,000 the year before when MCAD officials thought they would be battling Sandy Creek in court again. MCAD also has a reserve fund of $400,000 to $600,000 set aside for litigation, Bobbitt said.

In 2018, MCAD spent $220,000 for legal costs, he said.

Most of the lawsuits are filed by businesses. If they sue MCAD, they are required to pay taxes on the undisputed amount. If they want to pay the entire amount, they get a refund if they prevail. If they just pay the undisputed amount and lose, they have to pay the remainder of the taxes, possibly with interest, Bobbitt said.
Police were told that the mother and a man had been in the home when the mother had fallen asleep around 1 p.m. She woke at 11 p.m., and the man and her children were gone, prompting her to call in the kidnapping report.

Law enforcement stated the day care reported that attempts were made to contact (the mother), but (were) unsuccessful and that an employee took the children home to be cared for, the CPS report states. Law enforcement stated the day care reported that this was the third time the day care had not been able to locate (the mother) at the end of the day.

The mother told police that she had been falling in and out of sleep and believed the children arrived home, the report states. She said she thought the man who was at the home at the time with her had her children, but she did not know him well.

(The mother) could not recall what happened on May 1, 2019 in regards to her children and could only remember the children being dropped off at day care that morning, the report states. (The mother) reported she informed the day care that she would not be able to pick the children up at the end of the day. However, the day care staff stated (she) did not notify them or provide alternative arrangements to have the children picked up.
Work crews with Webber LLC will begin removing the southbound exit ramp from Interstate 35 onto Fourth-Fifth streets Saturday, prompting the closure of University Parks Drive in both directions.

The work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. and University Parks will remain closed at I-35 all day.

Traffic on University Parks traveling west from Baylor toward downtown Waco will be redirected to Martin Luther King Boulevard. Eastbound traffic will be directed to 18th Street, according to a Texas Department of Transportation release.

The start of this work was postponed from Wednesday due to rain.

Only one lane on the southbound access road will be open Saturday, to provide a buffer zone between the demolition and the traffic in that area. The left and center lanes will be closed.

Demolition of the ramp will continue nightly through May 11.
One of the many hazards to look out for was sappers, who would often float down the river and attempt to attach lipid mines to a ship. As the Tutuila was permanently anchored, it made an easy target. Sentries were posted 24 hours a day, firing about 48 percussion grenades per watch, totaling more than 4,000 grenades a month, he said. A motor whale boat provided additional security, also firing grenades.

After two years, the Tutuila left Vietnam on New Years Eve in 1971. The ship would be turned over to the Chinese Navy at Keelung, Taiwan, later in the month. Fell was bound for another station in Japan, which would be his last ship: the USS Ajax.

Fell spent the next four years on her, coming aboard in Japan, and soon to be underway for San Diego. Fell, who was promoted to lieutenant commander during this time, went on the familiar WESTPAC tour. In January 1976, Fell married his sweetheart, Carol Evans, and she and her two sons joined him in July of 1976 at the Naval Magazine in the Philippines, where he was an ordnance officer.

They visited Korea several times and even went briefly to Hong Kong.
Following is the full Cambodian Government leaders message of homage to former President Le Duc Anh.

Since the first meeting at the Thong Nhat (United) Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in early 1978, he and the Vietnamese army and people have paid great help to the Cambodian people. Cambodia's United Armed Forces for National Salvation was formed with the direct support from him, the Commander of Military Zone 7 under the Vietnam People's Army at that time.

The Cambodian peoples liberation from the genocidal Pol Pot regime, the prevention of the return of the regime, and the national construction of Cambodia witnessed his contributions.

During the course of his mission in Cambodia, on behalf of the Vietnamese Party, Government and the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, he fully implemented the policy of respecting the independence and sovereignty of Cambodia as well as respecting Cambodian peoples choice on the political, economic and social system of the country.

In his capacity as President of Vietnam, he were one of the people, together with the Party, Government, the Army and people of Vietnam, enhancing the rapid development of the relations between the two countries in all fields.

From the first meeting until separation, he always paid attention to me and my wife and children, like father and son and like grandfather and grandchildren. I remember that when I faced the greatest difficulties in building the first army, he gave great support in any way possible so that the Cambodian army could grow up quickly.

He did not smoke, but never forget to send me cigarettes because he knew I smoked a lot. He always told me to take care of my health.

As a politician and Army Commander, I always regarded he as a genius military and political strategist, the likes of which I have never met in other countries.

Bidding farewell to General Le Duc Anh with great compassion.
State

Nagas are blessed with talents: Acharya

P.B. Acharya (DIPR)

DIMAPUR, MAY (NPN) | Publish Date: 5/4/2019 11:34:09 AM IST

Nagaland Governor, P.B. Acharya said Naga people were blessed in every discipline, with talents and the ability to excel in whatever field they choose to embark on, a DIPR report stated.

Addressing the inter government college concert Constellation Music with the Stars organized by Higher Education department in collaboration with Music Task Force as part of the 1st Inter Government College Olympics 2019 at Kohima as principal guest, Acharya however expressed concern about the educational system in the state, and emphasized the need to change the system in order to encourage youths to pursue their academics in the state instead of pursuing outside the state.

He lamented that large number of educated Naga youths were serving outside the state due to lack of avenues and employment opportunities. For this, he urged the educated youths to be a job givers rather than job seekers in order to develop a strong and stable economy.

On resources, Acharya said Nagaland has enough natural resources both biotic and non-abiotic, besides rich in mineral deposits. Therefore, he urged the educated youths to give more importance on such untapped natural resources in order to develop a strong and vibrant society.

Higher & Technical Education minister, TemjenImna Along in his address welcomed and acknowledged the guests and invitees who had come from different parts of the country. He said Nagas are Indians and Nagas are proud to be part of this great country. Along expressed joy to introduce the reunion of the young youths in such a single platform, who one day will strive for the people of Nagaland and this great country with a vision to build a united India.

Special invitee, advisor for Skill Development, Labour & Employment, CAWD, Kazheto Kinimi in his address said though the state had high literacy rate, employment opportunity has become a major concern. Therefore, Kinimi encouraged the youths to avail various Central flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana for skill development. He also informed that the state was focused on skilling the youths to find gainful employment either as entrepreneurs or employees in the organized private and public sector.

Higher Education director, Dr. I. Anungla delivered the welcome note while director, Music Task Force, Dr. Hovithal Sothu proposed vote of thanks.

Artists likeMengu Suokhrie, Ayim Longchar, Alobo Naga & the band, Eastory and Kohima College choir also enthralled audience. Altogether, 13 government colleges took part in the event.
In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified.

Every year April 25th is Anzac Day which commemorates Australian and New Zealand troops that were lost in wars during the 20th century. The date commemorates the April 25, 1915 landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at what is known as Anzac Cove in modern day Turkey.

The name for the holiday is an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day was originally created in 1916 to recognize the casualties suffered by the Anzac troops during the Gallipoli campaign.

The day has since evolved into a holiday remembering the sacrifices of servicemen and women in all wars and conflicts that the two countries have been involved in.

Many New Zealanders gather in Central Otago on Anzac Day. This year, thousands of people attended services across the Otago Region, despite the close proximity to Easter and the school holiday which meant that attendance was lower than usual.

Most of the annual ceremonies in Otago take place at the many war memorials in the area to honor the dead whose names are inscribed onto them.

The memorials often contain the names of the soldiers that died in the war or the battle that the monument commemorates. But many of the names on the First World War memorials are incorrect, and no one has taken responsibility for making the necessary changes.

Gerald Cunningham worked as a volunteer for the Imperial War Museum in London. In 2018 Cunningham visited the Central Otago memorials with the task of cross-referencing the names on the monuments with locals who were known to have lost their lives during the First World War.

Once confirmed, the names were then added to the Lives of the First World War, the museums online database.

Cunningham discovered several name errors during his research. For example, he says that there is the name of a person who did not exist on the Clyde War Memorial, while incorrect names have also been found on a number of other monuments.

The authorities, including the mayor of Central Otago, the Central Otago District Council, and the local RSA were all notified of these inaccuracies over a year ago, yet no action has yet been taken.

With todays technology, the entire war records of Kiwi soldiers are now available online. The two major websites with this information are the Online Cenotaph (managed by the Auckland War Memorial Museum) and the New Zealand Army Service Records, which also includes copies of the original enlistment forms signed by the soldiers.

Cunningham says that the period of the First World War was a different time. Thousands of young men were conscripted in New Zealand and sent to Europe to fight in the war. The majority of those young men were single, poor, and had limited educated.

In total, 16,697 New Zealand soldiers were lost during the First World War, and a great many of them have never been found or identified. A further 41,317 young men were wounded during the war, and many more still suffered from mental health issues and were sent back home to try and survive as damaged civilians.

Read another story from us: ANZACS: The Australians & New Zealanders at Gallipoli, 1915

Erika Biddle, a representative of the Australian High Commission, spoke at the Memorial Gates during one of this years ceremonies. She said that recent events in New Zealand only further underlined the need for people to pause and spend a few moments reflecting on the sacrifices made by others so that the country could live in peace.

Central Otago was home to hundreds of those soldiers, with Cunningham continuing to state that they should be honored properly by accurately inscribing their names on the memorials.
Mexican security forces oversee the destruction of an illegal establishment used by drug dealers on the outskirts of Cancun. (Kevin Sieff/The Post)

The government, sensitive to several recent high-profile incidents, has deployed a Tourist Security Battalion to patrol Cancun, Tulum and the Mexican Riviera.
The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell (Oxygen at 7) This investigation into the case offers new insights and details.
The U.S. Secret Service arrested an individual at the Cameroon Embassy on Saturday. The agency did not release the persons name but said they were arrested around 4 p.m. for unlawful entry, simple assault and destruction of property.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington has set a May 30 hearing to decide the question, but in a 44-page brief, prosecutors said that Muellers appointment was valid and noted that the Justice Department has repeatedly paid other special counsels under the statute. The text, history, and long-standing practice, as approved by Congress, confirms that view, prosecutors for Justice argued in the brief.
By Express News Service

The quest to acquire the broadest possible user data is driving e-commerce and technology firms into strange waters. Early last month, one of the worlds largest technology companies -- Apple -- announced that it was launching a credit card in association with Goldman Sachs. A few months earlier, e-commerce giant Amazon had entered into a similar partnership with ICICI Bank in India to launch a co-branded credit. Now, reports say that Indian e-commerce players like Flipkart and Ola are likely to follow suit.

The diversification of consumer-focused internet platforms into financial services might seem strange, but experts and analysts like Ankur Pahwa of Ernst & Young say it is fairly intuitive and logical. Such associations give these companies access to one of the most valuable resources in modern milieu: data on customer spending behaviour.

E-commerce firms and technology platforms already have some of the largest repositories of such information, which they use to offer personalised offers to their users. What venturing into hard financial products like credit cards does, however, is open the door to acquire and use a wider range of information that is not limited to just their own respective ecosystems. If I have a credit card, Im not going to restrict myself to spending on just one platform. This gives the company insight they did not previously have: customer spending behaviour outside their ecosystems, adds Pahwa.

This insight is an invaluable resource because it enables them to maximise spending inside their own ecosystems. For instance, if someone purchases a holiday package on some other platform but uses this credit card, then the company can push associated products like travel insurance, car rentals etc from within its own, or its partners, portfolios.

Such products offer a platform for understanding user behaviour, which becomes a way to more effectively push your products to customers, Anand Ramanathan, partner, Deloitte says. Pahwa adds that this increases customer retention by increasing spending inside platforms.

Ramanathan also notes that financial services have become an important part of the product proposition and branching out into the segment offers natural synergies companies can exploit. You are reducing the total cost of ownership of your products with solutions like this, and therefore the number of people who can afford your product also goes up, he points out. Offering finance solutions is also one of the ways in which you are able stave off a potential customer being diverted to some other channel, thereby increasing the e-commerce pie itself, he concludes.
Brandi Colbert, assistant manager of the nearby Kent Point Marina, said she heard the helicopter fly over about noon. It did circle the farm behind us twice, she said. Then shortly thereafter it was gone.
The state filed the document with many of the passages and the chart blacked out. But in a subsequent response, Teva accidentally reproduced it without those redactions. The documents have since been put back under seal in the court file, along with tens of millions of other pages produced by the companies in the case.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has urged countries to "get real" on meeting the commitment of Paris Agreement on climate change, highlighting the need for effective carbon pricing.

At a panel discussion held by the Centre for Global Development, Lagarde on Friday said that global warming is an "existential threat", and called on countries not to waste the "small window of opportunity" to take the measures needed to combat the problem.

The IMF chief said that carbon pricing, charging for the carbon content of fossil fuels or their emissions, is "the most effective mitigation instrument" for climate change and it provides incentives to reduce energy consumption, use cleaner fuels, mobilize private finance and provide revenues to support sustainable and inclusive growth, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ | Book brings harsh reality of climate change closer

In 2015, nearly 200 countries agreed on the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a way to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2017, prompting a strong backlash domestically and abroad.

The goal of the Paris Agreement would require cutting emissions by roughly a third by 2030 and a global carbon price of around 70 dollars per tonne, whereas the current global average carbon price is only 2 dollars per tonne, according to a newly-released IMF paper.

ALSO READ | Climate change: Emperor penguins breeding ground destroyed, thousands of chicks die

Noting that carbon pricing can be politically difficult, the IMF chief encouraged countries to gradually phase in carbon pricing and smartly communicate policies.

Another panelist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Finance Minister, also stressed the importance of communicating with the people.

Okonjo-Iweala said that governments should explain policies clearly so that people at the bottom end of the ladder understand that they are not going to get hurt and resources will be used for their benefit.

"It is difficult to understate the urgency of this task as the window for containing global warming to manageable levels is closing rapidly," Lagarde said in a blog that she co-authored.

"Action is required by everyone, every institution, every country. Everyone can make a difference!"
Fiercely protected by the members of Congress through whose districts they run, the long-distance routes should have been trimmed long ago; unfortunately, Amtrak will once again face a difficult fight to trim them now. Perhaps even more significant, though, may be objections from the nations freight rail carriers, which own most of the tracks (outside the Northeast Corridor) over which Amtrak would have to run the passenger trains in its proposed more efficient, consumer-friendly system. Though legally bound to provide Amtrak preferential access to their track, freight companies have historically interpreted that mandate very narrowly, arguing that the passenger trains dont pay the true full cost of their track usage and interfere with the equally pressing needs of shipping and commerce. They have a point; even if its ridership were to double, Amtrak would barely dent congestion and carbon output, whereas freight rail takes the place of countless trucks that would otherwise spew diesel fumes into the atmosphere.
It is important to understand that transit agencies maintain complete and final control over all material aspects and operations of their rail cars. Regardless of the manufacturer, rail cars are designed and built to meet specific technical requirements. Once rail cars are delivered to a transit agency, the agency has exclusive operational control and rights over the rail cars.
The results are chilling. The system is tracking the movement of people by monitoring the trajectory and location data of their phones, ID cards and vehicles; it is also monitoring the use of electricity and gas stations by everybody in the region, the report says, adding: When the IJOP system detects irregularities or deviations from what it considers normal, such as when people are using a phone that is not registered to them, when they use more electricity than normal, or when they leave the area where they are registered to live without police permission, the system flags these micro-clues to the authorities as suspicious and prompts an investigation.
The juxtaposition of two Metro articles on April 28 was brilliant. William & Mary to memorialize enslaved people described the colleges honest effort to confront its past sins of slavery by remembering those enslaved people, many by name, and to honor them in a meaningful, heartbreaking and powerful memorial on campus. This is what we should be doing throughout the country, on all ground built on the shame of the enslaved labor of human beings. It left me feeling hopeful and moved me to tears. Just above this article appeared White nationalists interrupt authors book talk  a gut punch of the reality of how white supremacy flourishes still, poisoning the landscape of our nation. The two articles together presented the stark conflict that has arisen from the politics of today. We have the encouragement of white supremacy from the highest office in the country at the same time that many are making honest efforts to reconcile with the shame of enslavement on which this country was built.
Thats some reward for Mueller: Republican, former platoon commander in Vietnam, President George W. Bushs choice to run the FBI and one of our most honorable public servants. He was scrupulous and fair (the administration is now attacking him for failing to decide on whether Trump should be charged, even though Justice Department rules say a sitting president cant be charged), and his report was easier on Trump than many expected.
Attorney General William P. Barrs characterization of the Mueller letter criticizing his summary of the special counsels conclusions as snitty (meaning disagreeable, ill-tempered) was indeed curious [Barr denies accusations of deception, front page, May 2]. Even curiouser was the comment that it was likely drafted by a member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs staff, the implication being that it didnt reflect Mr. Muellers view. Someone, perhaps a member of Mr. Barrs staff, should inform the attorney general that when the person in charge signs a letter, regardless of who drafted it, it becomes that persons letter. If my letter to The Post is deemed snitty, that was my intent.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday informed Supreme Court that it will abide by the norms of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before fully launching its payments service in the country. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, appearing for WhatsApp, told the bench that they are only having a trial run, which is likely to be completed by July and that it wont launch payments services without complying with norms.

The companys statement came before the court when the bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, was hearing a petition seeking directions for the messaging platform to follow RBI norms for its payments service. In 2018, WhatsApp began piloting its payments service in India; it claims that almost one million people in the country are currently testing the feature.

But the formal launch, which was expected to happen at the start of June, has been repeatedly pushed back, pending regulatory approvals and over confusion on data protection laws. India is the largest market for WhatsApp, accounting for over 200 million user base. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that WhatsApp was not complying with data localisation norms, which is evident from the affidavit filed by the RBI.

To this, the bench said that if norms laid down by the RBI are not followed by WhatsApp, then it can be prosecuted. Dont worry our arms are long enough. They cannot escape the law, it said, adding that the issue requires detailed hearing. The matter was listed for July.RBI already had issued a circular directing the global payments service to store transaction data of Indian customers in the country itself. The idea was to have unfettered access to all payments data for supervisory purposes.

RBI slaps fine on Vodafone m-pesa, PhonePe

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India Friday said it has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, including Vodafone m-pesa and PhonePe, for violation of regulatory norms. Also, penalties have been imposed on Western Union Financial Services Inc and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, both US firms, for non-compliance of guidelines.
Electability is an elusive concept. It is not one of those that fits into the category of, I know it when I see it. It is born of individual biases and the conventions of history, often the search for something that seems to replicate something that was successful before. But a look back at presidential campaigns of the past suggests something else has been more powerful in determining who wins the White House.
After two years of [investigations] and being vindicated, and now in fact the tables are turning in that the investigators will be investigated, theres a certain amount of righteous indignation thats warranted, said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trumps reelection bid. The president has already shown that he wants to talk about it. Hes been tweeting about it. Im sure hell talk about it at rallies. Its something that the campaign will continue to point to.
Sanders has proved he still has a loyal following from 2016, but he has struggled to expand his base. Harris drew 20,000 people to her launch but has been unable to maintain lasting momentum before her well-received, televised questioning of Attorney General William P. Barr. Warrens suite of detailed policy proposals has impressed activists, but it so far has not translated to a big bump in the polls. Former Texas representative Beto ORourke raised heaps of cash on his first day but has yet to revive the viral excitement created in his 2018 Senate run. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., has risen from obscurity but is untested and has yet to expand his campaign deeply in early states. All of the candidates are looking to the debates that begin in June to offer what they hope will be a breakout moment.
Kelly, a retired four-star general, joined the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the first half of 2017. In that role, Kelly said he considered family separations as a way to deter mass migration to the United States. The policy was implemented once Kelly joined the White House team. A federal judge has ordered the government to reunite more than 2,700 separated children with their families.
The Friday request, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that the injunction is needed to stave off the deadlines the committees set for the two banks to produce the requested documents.
Voters tend to see big funding proposals, or large tax cuts, as a giveaway to powerful interests, things that benefit others. It would take years for the new highway exchanges, bridges and refurbished dams to get approved by federal agencies, and by then constituents wont connect the dots to understand those projects came about because of congressional action a few years back.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: It was a step towards achieving her dreams for 23-year-old Jyothi, after a reputed degree college in the city accepted her application to pursue graduation recently.

It was after five years of giving up studies and working as a domestic help that this young woman completed her pre-university college education with 90.5 per cent marks and secured a seat in a degree college.

Aided by a BTM Layout resident and her employer Reetu Singh, Jyothi has been admitted to Jyoti Nivas College to pursue B Com, a first first step towards achieving her dream of becoming a banker.

It was in 2012 that Jyothi was forced to discontinue her education to cover the wedding expenses of her older sibling. She told The New Indian Express: I approached the owner of the house where I worked and she offered to put me through pre-university. Now, I am waiting to join college in a month.

For two years, she pursued her PUC in the Government PU College in Agrahara and will, for the first time, study in an English medium college, which was a challenge she took up.
Cellebrite continually reviews its policies to enforce compliance with our user agreements, the statement added. We require that agencies and governments that use our technology uphold the standards of international human rights law. In the extremely rare case when our technology is used in a manner that does not meet international law or does not comply with Cellebrites values, we take swift and appropriate action, including terminating agreements.
Saturdays violence comes in the midst of negotiations over a longer-term truce between Hamas and Israel, during which the militant group has tried to assert pressure with rocket fire and incendiary balloons. Hamas is attempting to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement, in return for a lull in violence.
Asked what he would do if national security adviser John Bolton called him up with an offer of U.S. intervention, Guaido said he would reply: Dear friend, ambassador John Bolton, thank you for all the help you have given to the just cause here. Thank you for the option, we will evaluate it, and will probably consider it in parliament to solve this crisis. If its necessary, maybe we will approve it.
Its not that we were naive. We are just trying to find a peaceful way out, said Superlano. We have no weapons. And then, we had this opportunity. If you have an opportunity to exit a stalemate without blood and for the benefit of the people, doesnt it make sense to take it, especially if you dont have another tangible plan?
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Tripti Das (35), a public relations officer, had been planning her Sri Lanka trip along with her family of three for over a year. Post the attack, she immediately re-scheduled her tickets to Bhutan. Sri Lanka and Bhutan had been on our list since it was within our budget. So when the Lankan trip got cancelled, there was no question about our alternative plan. We checked the tickets, and with agencies giving us some concession, we made a quick turn, she said.

Das isnt the only one making last-minute changes to her trip. Bhutan, Thailand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam and Darjeeling are destinations that have emerged as new hotspots for those who have deferred or cancelled their travel to Sri Lanka. As mercury soars throughout central, western and southern India, the eastern destinations come as a respite owing to their pleasant climate. In addition, Indian tourists are attracted to the vibrant wildlife, intrinsic culture and delectable cuisine. Paro, Punakha, Thimpu, Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Kalimpong are the most preferred tourist sites at these destinations this season.

The postponement/cancellation also comes in the wake of special advisory released by the Government of India asking citizens to only undertake essential travels.

Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings, a travel agency, said, Travellers are shifting their choice of destination due to the situation in Sri Lanka. The travel advisory by the Indian government adds to the anxiety of the travellers.

Similar cost bracket is one of the significant factors influencing tourists in the city to choose Bhutan and North-East India destinations. Tourists can avail a five-night package to Bhutan for about `42,000 per person inclusive of airfare, and Sikkim along with Darjeeling for `38,000 per person for a six-night package that includes airfare. Cost to Sri Lanka is almost the same, said Anand.

We have received 10 per cent cancellations on pre-bookings from travellers who were planning to visit Sri Lanka. On the other hand, we also received around 15 new inquiries from the people who were already in Lanka when the attack happened, in order to look for secure ground transportation in Colombo, said Aditya Loomba, Jt Managing Director, Eco Rent A Car-EuropCar.

Increased accessibility via air and improved infrastructure are other factors encouraging tourists to opt for eastern destinations. While the land cost remains unchanged, many tourists seeking a last-minute change may have to shell out more due to the increase in airfare.

Several Indian tourists travel to island nations for its pristine beaches, a portion of whom can be seen flying to Maldives at a higher cost to ensure no compromise on the experience.
The president's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the United States had entered "a very strong and durable prosperity cycle". He gave all the credit to his boss: "He is president of the whole economy." By most measures, the US economy is in solid shape. It is expanding at a roughly 3 per cent pace, businesses are posting more jobs than there are unemployed workers and wage growth, long the economy's weak spot, has picked up. All these trends are helping lift a broader swath of the population than in the first five years or so after the Great Recession. Low-income workers are actually seeing healthy wage gains - larger than everyone else's. In March, the poorest one-quarter of workers were earning 4.4 per cent more than a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The richest one-quarter were up 3 per cent.

Lower-income workers had started to outpace their higher-paid counterparts in 2015, so it's not a Trump phenomenon. And part of the increase has occurred because of minimum wage hikes by more than two-dozen states. Loading The news isn't good for everyone. Workers in metro areas are still getting larger pay increases than those in smaller towns or rural areas, according to the Atlanta Fed's data. In fact, that gap that has widened since Mr Trump was elected. And overall income inequality hasn't narrowed. The richest 5 per cent of Americans earned 3.4 times a median worker's pay in 2018, according to the left- leaning Economic Policy Institute. That's up from 3.3 times as much in 2016.

Amid the largely positive news for Mr Trump, friends and foes alike question whether he can stay focused on the economy as the 2020 contest plays out. Blessed with similarly positive news in the past, he has veered into more controversial topics like immigration, the Russia investigation and personal attacks against his rivals. Democrats, in fact, are counting on him to change the subject. At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest. "The economic indicators would normally be incredibly positive for an incumbent president," said Jefrey Pollock, the pollster for Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand's presidential campaign. However, the pollster said hopefully and somewhat rudely, "He can't shut his mouth." At this point, 18 months before Election Day, Mr Trump's political standing is far weaker than the economic numbers would suggest.

The latest CNN poll finds 43 per cent of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job as president. That's even as 56 per cent say they approve of his handling of the economy, marking a high for the President since he took office. He receives lower marks for other issues, including health care, immigration and foreign policy. Specific candidates aside, the General Social Survey, a respected nationwide survey, has found that the share of Americans feeling satisfied with their finances has returned to pre-recession levels. In 2018, about a third expressed satisfaction with their financial situation, up from 23 per cent in 2010. About 4 in 10 said their finances had been improving over the previous few years, while just 15 per cent felt them worsening. In 2010, more than twice as many said their financial situations were getting worse.

Last month, the government report said, the African American unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, up from a record-low 5.9 per cent last May. That's more than double the rate for whites. And in 2017, according to the latest data available, the black-white income gap widened, with the typical African American household earning $US40,258, while the equivalent white figure was $US68,145. Still, the Asian and Latino unemployment rates hit or matched record lows in April. By some measures, the job market has been better in the past. A much smaller proportion of Americans are working than in the late 1990s, the last time unemployment was nearly this low. Part of that is because the United States is aging and baby boomers are retiring. But even among workers aged 25 through 54, which filters out the impact of retirement and increased college attendance, a smaller percentage of people are working: in April 79.7 per cent had jobs. That figure peaked at 81.9 per cent back in 2000.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Gold smugglers have a new modus operandi  exploit unsuspecting domestic airlines operating on international routes to smuggle the yellow metal in and out of India. They also use the aircraft as a conduit or a channel to transfer gold and illegally hoarded US dollar transactions to bypass the customs.

A Mumbai-based syndicate, running an international network, has been found to be involved in this new modus operandi. Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have confirmed that the syndicate operates from all international airports in India, including Kempegowda International Airport.

On April 13, DRI officials intercepted two passengers, K Motwani and D Bhambani, arriving at KIA from Ahmedabad by Indigo airline, and recovered 2.5 kg of gold from them.

Their interrogation revealed a shocker: They told us that the flight - 6E58 - had originally come from Singapore to Ahmedabad before it came to Bengaluru, from where it was scheduled to return to Singapore. Their counterpart in Singapore had handed over the parcel of contraband gold to a passenger who had secreted it in the toilet cavity of the aircraft before he got off at Ahmedabad.

Motwani, Bhambani and their associate Pankaj got into the same aircraft at Ahmedabad, which was to return to Singapore via Bengaluru with $ 2 lakh (equivalent to `1.4 cr), which was meant to be paid to the handler at Singapore for the gold he had supplied.

At KIA, while Motwani and Bhambani got off the aircraft with the smuggled gold, Pankaj was supposed to continue with the same flight to Singapore on Indigo 6E73 with $2 lakh, which he would have retrieved from the aircraft before getting off at Singapore, said an official source.

The officer said the new modus operandi is used on other airlines operating international routes as well. The case also exposes the lacuna in foreign exchange rules, strictly governed by the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI). In the last one year DRI Bengaluru has detected 15 such cases and seized 36.569 kgs of gold worth over Rs.11.30 crore.

Over 4 kg gold seized at KIA from Gulf returnees

In one of the largest seizures of gold at Kempegowda International Airport, customs officials on Thursday seized over 4 kg of gold worth T1.31 crore from two passengers coming from Muscat and Dubai. Both hail from Karnataka. In the first seizure, 3.678 kg of gold was recovered from a passenger hailing from Chamrajanagar, who was coming to the city by Emirates flight No EK-358 from Dubai. The gold was recovered from his check-in luggage after customs officials found his body language and response to queries suspicious, and decided to closely examine his baggage.

He was carrying a bench vice (a device used to hold a workpiece which is used in many woodwork and metalwork) inside which the gold was concealed. Two gold bars weighing 1 kg each and four cut pieces of gold bars were covered with black insulation tape and were packed inside a small compartment made of thick iron sheets inside the bench vice. In the second incident, a passenger travelling to Bengaluru from Muscat via AI-978 was found carrying 358.44 gm of gold valued at T11.75 lakh in his hand baggage. Gold was concealed in the handle of the trolley bag.
In McCredden's mind, Murray is irreplaceable. However, that doesn't mean his legacy won't live on. She points to young poets like Lachlan Brown, as well as more established ones such as Judith Beveridge, as Australians writing about sacredness. "In Beveridge's case [it's] Buddhism. Which was not Les' forte, of course, but I think they compare in the context of, 'What do we hold as sacred? What is beyond the material, capitalist present?' "Samuel Wagan Watson has also got a wonderful poem called Kangaroo Crossing which is about ... modernity but also Indigenous ancientness coming together in one, flashing moment." Beveridge, who was born in London, cemented herself as one of Australia's leading poets after winning a NSW Premier's Literary Award in the late 1980s for her collection The Domesticity of Giraffes. She has been a poetry editor for the prestigious literary journal Meanjin and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Sydney. Wagan Watson  a Bundjalung and Birri Gubba man based in Queensland  has several collections of poetry under his belt and last year won the prestigious Patrick White Award. His latest collection, Love Poems and Death Threats, explores songlines as well as ideas of injustice and resilience.

Neither Beveridge nor Wagan Watson disputed the idea that their work shares themes with Murray's. However, both were hesitant to compare themselves directly. "My spirituality is part of the fabric behind my lines," says Wagan Watson. "Whether something is perceived as sacred or not ... that's something else." Beveridge, meanwhile, describes Murray as an "intimidating" master of language. "What he gave me was a benchmark for really trying to get some intensity ... in one's own poetic language," she says. "I write about nature and the environment and human interactions with the environment. I think they're essentially sacred activities. If we don't open ourselves up to the beauty and wonder of the world, then we're not going to want to save it." One of the up-and-coming writers Murray helped inspire was Omar Sakr. Like Murray, the Sydney-based poet's work explores the downtrodden  but with a particular focus on Western Sydney.

Poet Omar Sakr at the Sydney Writers Festival. Credit:James Alcock Sakr says Murray had a "huge impact" on his writing, especially in the pieces exploring the gulfs and hollows of mental ill health. And just as Murray did several decades ago, Sakr is seeing the first glimmers of international success: his publisher, University of Queensland Press, recently sold the international rights to his second book, The Lost Arabs, to US-based publisher Andrews McMeel. So what other voices should people turn to now that Murray is gone? Beveridge's answer is simple: whatever catches your eye or ear. "Go to the anthologies, pick out the poets you find interesting," she said. "Anthologies are always a good place to start if you're not familiar with poetry. It's all done for you, more or less. Go out and explore." A fitting piece of advice given Murray's well-documented love of pluralism. "I have a very wide taste and I don't figure that any particular period should be dominated by any particular period of poetry," he told The Age in 2002. "'Let a thousand flowers bloom.' Mao didn't mean that when he said it."

Loading Indeed, award-winning poet David McCooey says it's possible to name "any number of poets" interested in the Australian landscape or what it means to be Australian. "There's a great diversity of voices in contemporary Australian poetry," he says. "They are working against national and transnational boundaries in interesting ways." The Age's former poetry editor, Gig Ryan, agrees. She says the proliferation of online publishing, the rise of creative writing programs and identity politics have all played a part in shaping the current Australian poetry landscape. "Poetry is now far more pluralist and inclusive, and has moved from that war between a conservative or internationalist stance."

Five of Les Murray's most beloved poems The Cows on Killing Day A chilling account of animals being slaughtered from the perspective of a cow. "Standing on wet rock, being milked, assuages the calf-sorrow in me." Corniche

A poem about the intersection between masculinity and mental health. "Back when God made me, I had no script. It was better. / For all the death, we also die unrehearsed." The Meaning of Existence As the title suggests, a meditation on life and the natural world. "Everything except language / knows the meaning of existence. Trees, planets, rivers, time/ know nothing else. They express it / moment by moment as the universe."

The Widower in the Country A piece about how grief stays with you. Nick Cave has said this is one of his favourite Murray poems. "I'll drive my axe in the log and come back in / With my armful of wood, and pause to look across / The Christmas paddocks aching in the heat." Equanimity One of Murray's finest, sprawling nature poems.
PS also hears Hadley's media chums have been valiantly trying - but without much success - to drum up some positive press lately. Indeed, the "good news" campaign appears to have been sparked by this column's on-going coverage of the Hadley sagas, not in the least last week's revelations that Andrew Moore was "filthy" over News Corp columnist and staunch Hadley supporter Phil "Buzz" Rothfield's glowing account of Hadley shaking Moore's hand during the first game at Parramatta's new stadium. Broadcast blue: ABC sport's Andrew Moore (right) believes Ray Hadley (centre), who he accused of bullying at 2GB, exchanged pleasantries for the benefit of Phil Rothfield's column. As Moore told PS, he felt "sick" by the report, and did not portray his true feelings about his former colleague. "Rothfield has been, as far as Im aware, the only one trying to find a positive story about the bloke," Moore told PS.

Fever pitch in Wentworth There's enough finger pointing going on between supporters of Liberal aspirant David Sharma and Independent Federal member Kerryn Phelps around the seat of Wentworth to rival The Saturday Night Fever show currently on at The Star. Things are getting personal on the campaign trail for Federal Member for Wentworth, Independent Kerryn Phelps,(centre), and her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps (left). Credit:AAP Campaign posters being ripped down, a candidate's wife taking on a political opponent at a public event, hateful and defamatory emails going viral, claims of anti-semitism and homophobia, unflattering social media posts mysteriously vanishing and embarrassing "blind" items about smelly artworks appearing - somewhat miraculously - in gossip columns. PS can hardly keep up, but on these pages we prefer to name names.

Phelps' wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps confirmed to PS she had approached Dave Sharma after a Holocaust memorial at the University of NSW last Sunday but denied Sharma's claims she was "angry and aggressive" when she spoke to him. She had joined around 500 others at the event and was there "honouring my own murdered Jewish family members". Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma hopes to win as a "modern Liberal". Credit:James Alcock Stricker-Phelps, a same-sex marriage campaigner and former school teacher, describes herself as a "public figure". She has been in the news ever since her calamitous departure from the exclusive Ascham girls school 20 years ago, when she quit after complaints were received when she revealed she was in a relationship with Phelps, a celebrity GP on national television at the time. Stricker-Phelps told PS she was upset with Sharma and "after the ceremony had ended, I went over to him and let him know we knew what he had done". Stricker-Phelps was referring to Phelps being approached last week by a reporter from The Australian to seek a response after Sharma had commented on a post in Phelps' Twitter feed.

Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, told The Australian: I was very concerned to see that my opponent has been retweeting endorsements from a prominent supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, one who has called on Australians to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Israel this month." However Phelps, who converted to Judaism in 1998 before she married Stricker at New York City Hall in 2011, had already deleted her retweet after being alerted to the author @Saints_Dragons' anti-Israel history. There was no mention of BDS or Israel in the Tweet, an endorsement of her re-election campaign by @Saints_Dragons, which Phelps had initially retweeted. Phelps pointed this out to The Australian, confirmed she was a supporter of Israel and made it clear she did not condone the BDS movement. The story, and Sharma's comments, were then binned. When asked about the story that never was, Phelps told PS: "It was a shameful attempt by Dave Sharma to discredit me and destroy my reputation within the Jewish community." Further fanning the flames was a ''Guess who don't sue'' item in The Australian's Rupert Murdoch-owned stablemate, The Sunday Telegraph, asking readers: "Which famously precious partner of one of our best-known politicians caused a scene at Potts Point restaurant Bar Rex on Tuesday night. First the airconditioning was too cool, then she complained that someone had brought a painting into the venue and the smell was making her feel sick."

The item was gleefully reproduced on the Potts Pointer's Facebook page, leading to a barrage of unflattering comments naming Stricker-Phelps, much of it from Sharma's staunchest supporters, before it was mysteriously taken down. Stricker-Phelps has labelled the story "fake news". For starter's the venue is called Bistro Rex. Bistro Rex owner Peter Curcuruto supported Stricker-Phelp's account, adding he had asked the artist if he could move the freshly painted work because of the fumes. "There was no issue, it was completely fine as far as I'm concerned ... I was just as shocked to see the item published. Absolute nonsense," he said. Stricker-Phelps told PS: "This is clearly an attempt to discredit me as Kerryn's wife," adding this was just the latest in an increasingly personal and toxic campaign, something with which Sharma is in agreement.

"I would be mortified if my wife approached another candidate. It was neither the place nor the time, though I actually did not hear what Jackie was saying to me," Sharma said, who also confirmed his comments to The Australian about Phelps' Tweet. Caped crusader to the rescue Chris Hemsworth's canteen duty days would appear to be numbered following the alarming events at Byron Bay Public School when a teacher was stabbed on Tuesday. Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky during the 2018 Australian Open. Credit:AAP While it has been widely reported that God Of Thunder Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky "came to the rescue" following the drama, PS has been informed that Hemsworth and his wife were actually on the grounds during the lock-down as police searched for the attacker.

Neither the school principal nor the NSW Department of Education would comment on Hemsworth's whereabouts on Tuesday, however within the school community talk has focussed on the big name Hollywood star being caught up in the ugly events that led to the school going into lock-down for four hours. Pataky later uploaded video footage of her hubby helping with the sushi rolls for that day's lunch on Instagram. The mood among the parents within the school canteen appeared pretty upbeat given the events which had occurred just hours earlier. Chris Hemsworth reports for canteen duty with wife Elsa Pataky. Credit:Nine The video is no longer on Pataky's social media feed. No doubt Hemsworth's Hollywood agents would be rather nervous about their big star being so close to danger, however the actor, his wife and their three children, have become deeply ingrained in the local community. Hemsworth is big property in Tinsel Town. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week Hemsworth was being paid between $21 to $28 million for playing Thor in each of the final two Avengers movies. That means movie studios fork out serious dough for "artist liability" insurance to help protect a production's bankrollers from financial damage in the event that the star, ie Hemsworth, is not able to complete his role. Meanwhile, Byron Bay Public School teacher Zane Vockler, 28, is on the mend after receiving cuts to his face and arms after a female parent allegedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors at 7.20am on Tuesday.

Birthday bash like no other Skye Leckie had her name up in lights for her two-day 60th birthday party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye in full flight as she serenaded husband David Leckie last Saturday night. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova She had been rehearsing her rendition of Gladys Knight and the Pips' You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me for months, but it was the dastardly smoke machine that Skye Leckie had not counted on last Saturday night during her grand soiree for her 60th birthday. As Leckie took to the microphone to sing:"I've had my share of life's ups and downs", the huge marquee began to fill with thick smoke.

Indeed it was a real "pea souper", and some of the 400-plus guests found themselves fumbling in the fog trying to work out where Leckie was. Who wore it best? Portia Turbo turned up in the same dress as Skye Leckie. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Skye Leckie in a rare quiet moment with her sons Harry and Ben. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova But once the ventilation kicked in, the tireless charity queen and doyenne of Sydney society was seen serenading her husband David, who appeared to grimace at the attention he was attracting, as "Skyzie" carried on, supported by her cheering sons Harry and Ben. However, former Channel Seven and Nine boss David Leckie could have been simply reeling from the size of the crowd that had descended on his Mulberry Farm for the evening, where a Versailles-sized marquee had been erected to create their own private country club.

Julie Bishop and David Panton at the Town & Country themed party. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova PS hears Leckie had been told to expect around 150, but his wife has a lot of pals, and nearly three times that number managed to get into the joint. No wonder she had four outfit changes. Samantha Armytage and style blogger Melissa Penfold giving their own interpretation on the party theme. Credit:Vassi Dyulgerova Pol Roger poured all night and party pies fuelled the crowd, who mostly hit the dance floor. A New Year's Eve-sized fireworks display went off, and so did Skye. The likes of Graham Richardson (under a blanket and firmly seated), artist Tim Storrier, former model Deborah Hutton, Dial-A-Dump millionaire Ian Malouf, lovebirds Julie Bishop and David Panton, human headlines Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic, PR queens Deeta Colvin, Judi Hausmann, Naomi Parry and Sally Burleigh, newsmen Mark Ferguson and Michael Usher, a very single Anthony Bell, a very loved-up Samantha Armytage with her new man Paul O'Brien, billionaire Gretel Packer, fashion designer Jonathan Ward, Joh "Stretch and Burn" Bailey, Gai Waterhouse and comic Vince Sorrenti led the Southern Highlands charge.
We've heard barely a whisper about arts policy during the federal election campaign but that hasnt stopped one group of writers raising their voices in a novel way.

Inspired by Suzan-Lori Parks 100 Plays for the First Hundred Days, which was written during Donald Trumps first months as US president, seven Melbourne playwrights are collectively posting a play a day online as the Australian election unfolds.

"I thought it would be great  to offer a different take from the usual froth of politics  to try and get into the humanity of it and the drama of it," says Ben Ellis, who launched the project The Campaign & After Plays at voteplays.home.blog.

The parameters were simple: write a minimum of six lines, and ensure that some kind of change takes place.
Scott Morrison has secured a major statement of support from one-time rival Peter Dutton to ensure the Prime Minister keeps his position as Liberal Party leader whether he wins or loses the federal election.

The senior conservative MP, who is locked in a battle to keep his marginal Brisbane seat, also denied lying to voters about the arrival of sex offenders from Manus Island and Nauru and said the $180 million cost of reopening Christmas Island was worth it.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has represented the Brisbane seat of Dickson since 2001. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In a significant move to end years of leadership strife within the government, the Home Affairs Minister praised Mr Morrison for running a great campaign and dismissed the idea of another leadership contest after the May 18 election.

Scott Morrison should stay leader, win or lose, but my only focus is on him winning because weve got to save our country from Bill Shorten, Mr Dutton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Dark clouds threatened rain as schoolkids gathered outside the Sydney electorate offices of both Labor and Liberal politicians on Friday, but it didn't dampen their message on climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, former prime minister Tony Abbott and Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese were among those targeted as part of the nationwide protest against climate change inaction by federal MPs.

School children at a climate change protest near the office of Tony Abbott in Manly. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The protest held extra potency in Manly, where Mr Abbott's 25-year grip on the seat of Warringah is under threat from independent candidate Zali Steggall in a campaign centred on climate change.

Armed with homemade signs, about a hundred students, parents and grandparents marched on Mr Abbott's Manly office, chanting the slogan favoured by Steggall supporters: "Time's up Tony".
(We do know of one amorous boyfriend who sent the object of his affection a picture of his object of affection. Sadly his fingers were as clumsy as his thought process as he sent it to her mother, whose number was next on his contact list. With Mother's Day just around the corner, this could be awkward.) When did private parts become public property? Under Section 19 of the Summary Offences Act, it states: A person must not wilfully and obscenely expose the genital area of his or her body in, or within the view of, a public place. Penalty: Two years' imprisonment. Another woman we know has been hit on by strangers through a professional online networking group - an activity she simply finds tiring rather than flattering. These sorts of events are annoying rather than threatening, but the dark underbelly of social media requires its own vocabulary. There is "swatting" - convincing emergency services to storm a persons home by faking a critical incident; "doxing" - publishing personal details of a target to place them in danger; and "revenge porn" - posting explicit images without consent to embarrass and humiliate. Tortoises know when to stick their necks out and when to withdraw to safety. Credit:AP

This reporter has been treated quite kindly as a rule by social media but as an old and slightly rancid-looking male I am probably not worth the effort to troll. It is rather like challenging a 100-year-old tortoise to a fist fight - the ancient combatant simply goes into the shell until the idiot loses interest. Female colleagues tell a different story, with one wisely refusing to have an online presence for she sees there is no benefit in reading bile. On May 17, as part of Law Week, the Victorian Law Foundation is to run a fascinating panel called "Stalking, Trolling and Bullying" with three expert authors: Rachel Cassidy, Ginger Gorman and Dr Emma Jane. They have discovered that the internet, designed to free us by providing instant communication and endless knowledge at the touch of a button, is being used to imprison by those who choose to live in a sewer of their own making. Those who justify their hate with the cloak of free speech do not address the problem that their end game is to intimidate and silence those who disagree.

Ginger Gorman, author of Troll Hunting. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos In her book Troll Hunting, Gorman reports on stalker/trolls who appear to encourage their perceived enemies to self-harm and use relentless harassment, including stealing people's identities, to destroy them personally and professionally. Women have disappeared from the internet, moved homes, changed jobs, altered lifestyles, lost friends or ultimately taken their own lives due to being stalked day and night by ex-partners, former workmates and total strangers. In her book Stalked: The Human Target, Cassidy talks to stalker James, who targeted a woman he met at a barbecue. She made it clear at the start that she had a partner, but I just didnt want to hear that, says James. He tracked her online and in person, learnt her movements and sent emails to her work colleagues: I thought if they sacked her she would come running to me.

His aim was to make her feel unbalanced so he could be the hero who rescued her. At one point he tricked a friend of his victim's into giving him his target's phone number and then rang her up to 60 times a day. It only stopped when he fronted and threatened her, leading to his arrest and incarceration, but even then the woman was forced to move to reclaim her life. Journalist and academic Jane is an expert in gender-based cyber hate and has been able to track how the online world has sent some off their rockers. Dr Emma Jane, cyberhate expert. She observes that her published opinions have always excited a response, often negative, but when she received feedback via posted letters the writers would criticise her views while sticking to the issue. Some threatened to cancel their subscription but none threatened her physical welfare. Since 1998 she has monitored how internet responses have become filled with hate and violence, with female commentators routinely told they are ugly, fat and/or sluts.

As she puts it in her book Misogyny Online: A Short (and Brutish) History, the tipping point in civility was the internet: The takeaway point here is that while many readers dislike me and my work very much, not once did any of them propose corrective gang rape as an intervention. She publishes a series of online posts sent to women that shakes your confidence in people and makes you wonder if humanity is heading at breakneck speed to some form of cliff. How could anyone not in need of immediate electro-shock therapy post something like "all feminists should be gang raped to set them right"? And that is tame compared to some of the posts she has received. She says British activist Caroline Criado-Perez received 50 rape threats an hour after having the audacity to campaign for more female representation on banknotes. The question with no answer is: how does an online dispute degenerate into an online sexual threat? Under Section 43 of the Crimes Act, a threat to rape is punishable by five years' imprisonment, and yet hundreds of these online attacks go unreported and uninvestigated. If you want to align the online world with the so-called real world, then we need to start locking up these offenders. Jane quotes the 2015 UN Broadband Commission's statement that 73 per cent of women have been exposed to some form of online violence and that women are 27 times more likely to be abused online than men.

One cancelled a speaking engagement when a harasser threatened "the deadliest school shooting in American history" and that she would "die screaming like the craven little whore she is". Jane is a perfectly reasonable person who spoke to us while trying to juggle parenting and professional obligations, which makes her matter-of-fact comments harder to comprehend. I had my first rape threat in 1998 and virtually nothing has been done since. I left journalism when the rape threats spread to my kid. Penalties for threatening people online need to be brought into line with stalking on the streets. Credit:Dominic O'Brien As part of her research she interviewed 52 women who have an online presence. Every one I spoke to said they had cut back on what they had said because of the backlash. There are topics that are just off-limits because of the reaction. She found a group online that was crowd-sourcing to look for plagiarism in her PhD thesis. She points out that increasingly employees are expected to engage online to promote their business and that if women are forced to withdraw, it impacts on their earning capacity: Organisations who want their workers to have an online presence have a duty to protect them from what is workplace harassment.
New polling commissioned by GetUp suggests former prime minister Tony Abbott is on track for a defeat by independent candidate Zali Steggall in his blue ribbon Sydney seat of Warringah.

A Lonergan poll of 805 Warringah voters shows Mr Abbott trailing Ms Steggall 56-44 on a two party-preferred basis. GetUp is campaigning against Mr Abbott in Warringah.

The poll also showed climate change and the environment is a top-order issue for Warringah voters.

Ms Steggall, an Olympic skier-turned-barrister, has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign and says the Morrison government has failed to act on emissions reduction or encouraging the renewable energy transition.
Bangkok: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn completed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn adjusts his crown at his coronation on Saturday. Credit:Thai TV

The king was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married again.

His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.
London: It's chaos out there in Brexitland, formerly known as England, which has just finished counting the casualties of a local election bloodbath.

Well over a thousand local councillors lost their jobs as voters punished the Tories for their hapless, rudderless state.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after casting her vote at a polling station near her home in the Thames Valley. Credit:AP

And instead of reaping the spoils Labour was ruing its own losses: significantly fewer, but unexpected and humiliating.

Take it from plain-spoken Labour MP Jess Phillips, who complained on Friday: "Let the Tories play with the Brexit ball and let it wreck them. Why on earth are we allowing it to do the same thing to us that it's done to the Tories for 40 years?"
Gaza/Jerusalem: Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets into Israeli towns and villages through Saturday, while Israel hit back with tank shelling and air strikes that Palestinian officials said killed four people.

Cross-border hostilities which broke out on Friday flared into a second day, with Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes in Gaza and air-raid sirens sending Israelis running to shelters as interceptor missiles blew up rockets in the sky.

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Credit:AP

The escalation, which comes just ahead of both the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Israel's Independence Day holiday, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene security chiefs.

Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering ceasefires in previous rounds of violence, were working to prevent further hostilities.
Jayanthi Pawar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two persons, including a woman, died after they were hit by a car at Villivakkam here on Friday morning. Police suspect the car driver, a realtor who also rents his car to travel agencies, was under influence of alcohol.Police identified the deceased as Mohanagopal and Sarasa. Eyewitnesses said a victim was dragged to nearly 100 metres. The driver got off the vehicle when he reached a street that had been blocked for Metrowater pipeline laying work.

daughter of victim Sarasa breaks down at the

accident site | DEBADATTA MALLICK

Police said the accident occurred around 7.30am. Deivendran was headed to his house at Villivakkam. Since, the service lane at Padi flyover was blocked, he took another route through Annai Sathya Nagar. As he entered the street, he lost control of the vehicle and first rammed a junction box. When he tried to reverse the vehicle, he knocked down a woman- Adhilakshmi, 55 and ran over her legs, said a police officer.

She was rushed to a government hospital.

Muthu, an autoricksaw driver, said Deivendran immediately took left and entered a narrow street, in which he first knocked down Mohanagopal and Sarasa who was caught under the car and was dragged for about 100 metres and fell off near her house on the same street, he said.The officer said that since Metrowater work was on, the stretch had been closed which was when Deivendran got off the car and tried to escape, but he was nabbed by the residents.

We handed him over to police and he was drunk, said Muthu.The accident was recorded on CCTV cameras installed on the street.A relative of Sarasa said the latter was heading to the shop when the car knocked her down and her body was found in front of her house. She is survived by three children who are all married and stay close by.Thirumangalam traffic investigation wing registered a case and arrested Deivendran.
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe's top three atomic powers.

Trump and Putin also discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour.

The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on December 1, briefly talked about the report by special counsel Robert Mueller that concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The report detailed widespread, persistant efforts by the Russian government to meddle in the US election by posting fake politicial advertisements on social media and organising political rallies.
Hilma Aysha By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The shock waves of the blasts that rocked Sri Lanka are being felt by the hospitality industry at Fort Kochi too. Due to the alerts and checks carried out by the Police, a lot of hotels and homestays in the region are seeing a drop in customer arrivals. According to Vineetha Willie, manager, Old Harbor Hotel, the reason might be the confusion among the public. She said, I live close by. The level of fear can be gauged by the instructions given by the priest of the nearby church. Because the attacks took place in the churches in Sri Lanka, we, as Christians, are especially scared. Last week marked the beginning of the Edappally church feast, but I was too scared to send my mother.

She added, "Though it is not the peak season, there has been definitely a drop in the tourist, both domestic and foreigners, arrivals. The hotels would have been fully booked by now for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram but the bookings are minimal this year. Many of the tourists, she says, arent aware of the situation. Some people keep themselves updated via media and other means. They regularly check with us about the current status.

The manager of the Park Avenue Hotel, Mohammed Jishad, claims the alerts have hit the hospitality sector drastically. He said, "both local and foreign crowds are afraid and dont want to take the risk. He goes on to say that the police should have carried out their searches in mufti and the media should have been kept out of it. On the whole, it is a divided house. However, the general consensus remains that the police in the region are efficient. The close proximity of the station and the goodwill of the police officers has been praised by most hotels and resorts.

Fleur Bernard, a citizen of France, vacationing in Fort Kochi said, The police of the region are very helpful. We didnt know about the alert and theyve been helping us with security and such throughout our trip. Their mere presence makes us feel safe, in spite of the apparent threat.

However, some of the hoteliers said they have not been particularly affected. According to Jerin Joseph, front desk manager, Hotel Forte Kochi, they havent been particularly affected by the alert, because the month of April is usually the off-season. "Also, the protocols enforced are not something new to our hotel. We used to carry these out even before the police notice them. There is not much change. However, he said, Of course, some people are scared. Theyd rather not risk their lives by coming to threatened zones.
Hong Kong: Michael Wong to visit Beijing

Secretary for Development Michael Wong will depart for Beijing tomorrow to meet officials of Mainland ministries.

On May 6, Mr Wong will call on the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources.

He will visit the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the following day.

He will return to Hong Kong on the evening of May 7.

Under Secretary for Development Liu Chun-san will be Acting Secretary during Mr Wongs absence.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
>>> State funeral held for former President, General Le Duc Anh



>>> Cambodian PM Samdech Techo Hunsen pays respects to General Le Duc Anh

Freshnews - one of the websites with the largest readership in Cambodia - in its Khmer version, reported that former President of Vietnam Le Duc Anh died at the age of 99, stating that the former president was the commander of the Vietnamese army which helped Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot regime. The website also mentioned the contributions of former President General Le Duc Anh in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam and unify the country.

The daily English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post published an article about the passing away of former President, General Le Duc Anh, emphasising that the former Vietnamese leader was a prominent figure with a legacy in Cambodia. He was recognised for his role as the commander of the Vietnamese volunteer army in Cambodia, helping the Cambodian people to escape the 1979 Khmer Rouge genocidal regime.

According to the newspaper, during the 1980s, he played a major role in formulating the five key points for the defence of Cambodia against Khmer Rouge re-infiltration and assisted in the development of the K5 Plan that attempted to seal guerrilla infiltration routes along the Thailand-Cambodia border between 1985 and 1989.

Meanwhile, Rasmei Kampuchea, Cambodia's largest daily newspaper, also published a biography on the life and revolutionary activities of former President, General Le Duc Anh.

In the US, the Washington Post also published an article about former President Le Duc Anh as a commander of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as a witness of the US and Vietnam establishing diplomatic relations.

According to the article, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in the struggle to liberate the South of Vietnam as a deputy commander and chief of staff of the Peoples Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam. In 1974, he became deputy commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, contributing to the launch of the General Offensive and Uprising of the Spring 1975, completely liberating the South and unifying the country.

The article reiterated that General Le Duc Anh is best known for his role in supporting Cambodia to overthrow the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, the "architect" of the offensive that ended nearly four years of Pol Pots administration, and preventing the genocide from returning to Cambodia.

The Washington Post recalled that, during the period of General Le Duc Anh serving as President of Vietnam from 1992-1997, Vietnam and the US officially established diplomatic relations in 1995. In the same year, he became the first head of state from Vietnam to visit the US when he travelled to New York to attend the United Nations 50th anniversary.

The article affirmed that, as President, General Le Duc Anh played an important role in normalising the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US.
Steena Das By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever since the break of dawn, 76-year-old Martin has been on a tireless search along the coast; occasionally brightening up when sees a coin. Under the blazing sun, he doesn't stop unless he comes across something worth. With incessant cyclone warnings making life miserable for them, some fishermen at Shankumugham have become treasure hunters.

The rough seas pose an obstacle for fishing. The women fish vendors remain idle waiting for fishing rafts to bring fish to Vizhinjam. Despite the withdrawal of Cyclone Fani warning, the rough sea prevents fishermen to go fishing. "Therefore we collect valuables lost by tourists in the sea. If we are lucky enough we might get any valuables," says Martin.

Few fishermen, however, continue to fish despite warnings, to supplement their life.

In the absence of fishing, our families remain in poverty. The schools will reopen in a month. Funds are required for our children, said Joseph Jhonson, a fisherman at Shankumugham."Fishing is all I know. I'm unable to find another job but Im ready to struggle to let my children study as I do not want them to take up fishing, he said.

The Vizhinjam coast is usually crowded with fish vendors. But with less fishermen going fishing the coast remains deserted. With lesser fish available, fish vendors hope to receive at least a basket of fish. "Ill have to give C1,000 per day to the finance people from whom I took a loan of C1, 00,000. Im unable to pay the same as there is no fish available," said Victoria, a fish vendor at Vizhinjam.

After cyclone Ockhi the regulations on fishing have strengthened. Moreover, the memories of the same do not let us venture into the deep sea. We have no profit during most days. I have already borrowed a lot of money which I'm unable to pay back," said fisherman Bellarmin Kurishayya from Poonthura. He has two registered boats among which he uses one for fishing.

The boat I used during cyclone Ockhi to find fishermen was severely destructed. But Im yet to receive compensation from the government, he added.Fish prices have increased tremendously within two weeks. Mackerel that cost C 4,000 to 5,000 per basket two weeks ago has risen to C6,500 to 7,000 on Friday. Anchovy that cost C15,000 to 2,000 became C 3,800, said Lalamma, a fish vendor at Valiyathura.

However, fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said, Currently, we are providing ration to the fishermen family." Besides, she spoke on the sea erosion issue at Valiyathura. We have submitted a detailed project report to Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) regarding the of shore breakwater project. The works of the same will began as soon as we get approval from KIIFB," she added.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Some 1,200 tonne of garbage was removed from canals in Vijayawada and its outlying villages in the two-day cleaning drive Nenu Saitham Krishnamma Suddhi Sevalo, that concluded on Friday. Some 800 tonne of garbage was disposed on the second day of the drive. The drive, which saw the participation of officials of various departments, NGOs and students, ended with the formation of a human chain at Eluru Locks. They pledged to keep river Krishna free from plastic and garbage.

District officials commenced the second day of the programme with an awareness rally from Alankar Centre in the morning. District Collector Md Imtiaz, Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao, Joint Collector Kritika Shukla and Joint Collector-2 P Babu Rao took part in the rally along with other officials, citizens and students.

The second day cleaning drive took place at Eluru Lakulu on the banks of Eluru canal and areas such as Ramalingeswaranagar. The irrigation department cleared up 400 tonne of waste, whereas Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) disposed 350 tonne of waste. As much as 50 tonne of waste was removed in the gram panchayat areas.

Some 25,000 people took part in the drive in which 22 heavy load vehicles, 65 tractors, 11 earthmovers were used to clean the canals and dispose the waste in the dump yard. Addressing the public, Imtiaz said that such drives would be conducted every month in the future keeping in view public health and to restore the environmental balance.This is not just a two-day affair. We will organise such drives every month and involve people, officials, students, NGOs in this campaign. The goal of the campaign is not only cleanliness but also create awareness among the public about the need to keep the canals clean, he said.

Municipal Commissioner M Rama Rao requested the people to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, in the canals and also completely stop the use of plastic. The garbage we removed today accumulated not only due to the negligence of the officials but also due to callousness of the public which resulted in transformation of Eluru, Bandar and Ryves Canals into dumping grounds. VMC has installed separate dry and wet garbage dustbins and people should segregate and dump the waste accordingly, he said.
By IANS

GUWAHATI: The authorities in Assam on Saturday deported 20 illegal immigrants to Bangladesh through Karimganj in Barak Valley.



They had illegally trespassed into Assam over a period of time from 2014. Nineteen of them were lodged in a detention centre in Barak Valleys Silchar Central Jail while another was lodged in a similar cell for the immigrants in Lower Assams Kokrajhar Central Jail.



The immigrants, including 14 Muslims and six Hindus, are from Sylhet and Noakhali districts of Bangladesh. The police said the pushback took place at 1:30 pm via Sutarkandi border checkpoint in Karimganj.



There was a woman among the 20 immigrants who were received by Bangladeshi authorities on the border. They had no complaints whatsoever, Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Manabendra Dev Roy who was at the site, told this newspaper over the phone. He said the Bangladeshi nationals had illegally entered Assam since 2014.

ALSO READ | Assam deportations: SC junks plea seeking recusal of Chief Justice

Some had entered in 2014. The others had entered from 2015 to 2018. Usually, after six months since the arrest of Illegal immigrants, they are sent to detention centres, the SP added.



Prior to their deportation, some of the immigrants told journalists that they had illegally entered Assam as they were too poor to spend money on travel documents including passport and visa. They said they had come to meet their relatives who live in India.



One of the immigrants, Ikbal Hussain Talukdar who spent five years in the Silchar detention centre, said he was delighted that he would go back to his motherland. I am very happy. I had come to meet my relatives who live in Barak Valley. As I am poor, I could not afford to arrange proper travel documents, he said.



Similarly, Alorani Das, who spent two and half years in captivity, said she had come to meet her sister. The next time I come to meet her, I will ensure that I am armed with proper travel documents, she asserted. In January this year, 17 other immigrants were deported to Bangladesh.
WESTPORT  A Bridgeport teen was charged Wednesday for his role in two overnight burglaries in town late last year, police said Friday.

Xavier Medel, 19, of Bridgeport, was charged on two different warrants Wednesday, stemming from two separate burglaries.

Police said on Dec. 18, 2018, officers responded to Oak Ridge Park for a reported overnight burglary. The victim woke up to several text messages from the fraud division of her credit card company, which told her her card was possibly used fraudulently at three places in Norwalk. The charges totaled up to about $170.

When the victim checked her house, she found that her laptop and purse  with multiple credit cards in it  had been taken from the family room of her home.

For that incident, Medel was charged him with first-degree burglary, third-degree larceny and two counts of credit card theft.

Two days later, officers were sent to a Brooklawn Drive home for another reported overnight burglary. The victim and his family had been asleep when two suspects went into their home and stole a key fob and a home surveillance camera from the kitchen.

The homeowner was able to remotely access the video and provide it to police.

The suspects used the key fob to steal an Audi from the driveway. They also went into and rummaged through two other unlocked vehicles in the driveway, taking two credit cards and other miscellaneous items, police said.

For this burglary, police charged Medel with first-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary from a motor vehicle, first-degree motor vehicle theft and third-degree larceny. Police said two juveniles were also identified. Their charges were not provided.

On Dec. 28, police responded to the home of one of the juvenile suspects and Medel was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for previous burglaries. At the home, investigators found the stolen Audi key fob and later recovered the vehicle.

While in custody for these crimes, a family member of Medel returned the other victims stolen laptop to police headquarters, police said.

Through the investigation, including a forensic check of Medels cellphone and the recovery of the victims items, detectives were able to secure an additional arrest warrant for Medel.

On Wednesday, he was arrested in Norwalk Superior Court by Westport detectives. Hes being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

Including the Westport case, court records show Medel has five criminal cases currently pending in the Connecticut court system. The other four cases also include burglary and larceny charges from Stamford in Novemeber and December of last year.

Medel is expected to appear in Norwalk Superior Court to answer to these recent charges from Westport police on May 13 at 10 a.m.
WESTPORT  A piece of leather, apparently from the back seat of the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, has been pulled from an auction in Dallas because of the sensitivity of the item, but remains for sale on a Westport companys website.

John Reznikoff, of Westports University Archives, is auctioning a piece of the limo seat from when Kennedy was killed in 1963.

Reznikoff has sold parts of the seat before, according to News 12 Connecticut, but this specific piece was set to be an item up for auction at a site in Dallas  where Kennedy was killed.

The piece can be viewed on the companys website. The description says its a small swatch of blood-stained blue leather upholstery removed from JFKs presidential limo after he was killed.

The piece was supposed to be auctioned through Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Out of concern for the sensitivity of the subject matter, Heritage Auctions decided to withdraw the lot from this weekend's Americana and Political Auction, Eric Bradley, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions, told News 12.

At Dealey Plaza earlier this week, some visitors told one local news station that the call to remove it from the Dallas auction was the right one.

It's kind of sad that someone's still trying to make a buck off of that, Dealey Plaza visitor Keith Fowler told KXAS-TV.

Still, the item remains up for purchase on Reznikoffs site.

There are rosy things that occur in history, and there are more macabre things that occur in history, but they're both part of history, Reznikoff told News 12. And history needs to be preserved.
News

Wherever you throw me, I will stand  an inspiring motto for those who feel tossed about by the uncertainties, fears and pain associated with two years of Covid
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

RAJASTHAN: The BSPs presence in the electoral contest could spoil the Congress prospects in many seats in Rajasthan, particularly in the eastern belt where Scheduled Castes, BSPs core vote base, have a significant presence. Political experts say candidature of the BSP in Dausa, Bharatpur, Alwar and Karauli-Dholpur will lead to a division of votes of Congresss traditional votebank.

Of the four seats in the region, three are reserved  Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur and Bharatpur (both SC) . The only unreserved seat is the communally senstive Alwar where the BSP has fielded Imran Khan. Muslims, a traditional vote bank of the Congress in the state, are in sizeable numbers in Alwar.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth says, Even if the BSP gets a single vote in these areas, it will be from Congresss vote share. Rajasthan is the only state in north India where SCs are considered closer to the Congress in comparision to the BJP. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also enjoys huge popularity among SCs.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The Dalits are upset with the BJP government over the alleged diluteion of the SC/ST Act. In Alwar, one Dalit was allegedly killed by police during a protest over the issue. Experts say another factor that makes BSPs presence felt in eastern Rajasthan is proximity of these areas with Uttar Pradesh which is the base of Mayawati. Sunil Mathur, a political expert based in Rajathan says, The BSP fielding candidates in Rajasthan is mere tokenism, except in the eastern belt. It has been campaigning dedicatedly in the region and its efforts reflected in the Assembly polls. Its vote share in the region increased and also translated into seats.

Of the six seats BSP won in the 2018 Assembly polls, five were from this region. It won two seats each from Bharatpur and Alwar districts, and one each from Karauli and Jhunjhunu. The only places in Rajasthan where Mayawati has been campaigning are in the eastern region.

In Bharatpur and Dholpur, Jatavs, the core vote bank of Mayawati, are a sizeable community. Both Bareth and Mathur say that because of polarisation by the BJP in Rajasthan, Muslims will largely stick with the Congress but Dalit votes may get split between the BSP and the Congress. Roughly, there are 4.13 lakh, 3.8 lakh and 3.27 lakh Dalits in Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Alwar constituencies, respectively.
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

DAUSA/BHARATPUR/ALWAR/KARAULI-DHOLPUR : It is 3:24 pm and a group of old men are playing choupad pasa (ancient chess), unmindful of the blazing 41 degrees outside in Ganeshpura village of Rajasthans Dausa constituency. Its a largely upper caste gathering, but there are three SC/ST men, too. The reference to politics suddenly changes the mood and an animated argument on the Modi governments promises and performance ensues. The upper caste men swear by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commendable work and cite Ujjwala and Swacch Bharat schemes. They also point to the cemented roads and electricity poles outside as examples of the development work done in Rajasthan.

But 70-year-old Bhagirath Mal, a Dalit, strongly protests. He believes the BJP has pushed the country back by decades and that caste hatred towards Dalits and minorities have increased. Mal, who holds a BSc. degree and was once a public servant, is not allowed to finish his argument. He is labelled a Pakistani and junglee by his fellow players. He finds no support but claims that had a farmer been around, he would have exposed the BJPs lies.

Mal lives in a Dalit colony, 10 minutes walk away, where broken roads and open drainage are telltale signs that the Swachh scheme hasnt reached.In the eastern belt of Rajasthan which comprises the reserved seats of Dausa (ST), Karauli-Dholpur (SC), Bharatpur (SC) and the communally sensitive constituency of Alwar, Mals sentiments are shared by many from the SC, ST and Muslim communities.

Caste dynamics is crucial in the eastern belt. With SC/ST people angry with the BJP government and farmers dissatisfied over crop insurance and demonetisation, the Congress seems to have an edge. Not all from these communities are disgruntled, though. Some, especially youths, are in awe of the PM for teaching Pakistan a lesson with the Balakot airstrikes. However, most are upset that the government did not react in time when the Supreme Court diluted The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The caste equation seems to be working in favour of the Congress. In Dausa, people still recall the work done by Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, which he and his family represented for years in Parliament. In Khuri Kalan, Ram Krishan Gujjar, a farmer says, I voted for BJP in 2014, but Modi is a jumlebaaz. Rajesh Pilot and his family built roads, schools and colleges here. The BJP did nothing; Modi ruined our lives with demonetisation.

Both BJP and Congress candidates are women and from the ST Meena community. Infighting in the BJP, with Kirodi Lal Meena opposing the party candidate, could also benefit the rival candidate. Meena is upset that his wife was denied a BJP ticket. Many say he is working to defeat the party not only in Dausa, but also in adjacent Karauli-Dholpur.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

In Bari town of Dholpur, a gathering at a tea stall discusses GST, demonetization and price rise, but at the same time wonders if there is any better candidate for PMs post than Modi. Unemployment has increased in five years. We should vote on the basis of our candidate. Our MP Manoj Rajoria never did anything for the constituency. Modi destroyed the economy and is now seeking votes by dividing the nation, says government school teacher Hari Singh Meena. How can you forget that it is Modi who taught Pakistan a lesson? counters 27-year-old bank employee Sanjay Sahdawa.

The constituency where the BJP seems to have an edge is Bharatpur, where the Modi factor has played out well and BJPs nationalism plank has impressed people, irrespective of their backgrounds. There appears to be no mobilisation of SC-ST either, unlike the other seats. In Deeg village, Bhima Devi, a Dalit, says, Modi ji built toilets and gave gas connections in the village. Unemployment has increased but there is no better option.

In Alwar, there is a triangular contest between, with the BSP, which has fielded a Muslim candidate, also in the race. Polarisation seems to be the main factor here which has seen a lot of cow-related violence targeting Muslims, who are in sizeable numbers.
Associate Secretariat Officer, Manila

Organization: ADB - Asian Development Bank

Country: Philippines

City: Manila, Philippines

Office: ADB Manila

Closing date: Friday, 10 May 2019

Reference Number: 190279

Position Level: NS 1

Department: Office of the Secretary

Division: The Secretarys Office

Location: Asian Development Bank Headquarters

Date Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2019

Closing Date: Friday, May 10, 2019 11:59 p.m. (2359 Manila Time, 0800 GMT)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Close relatives (spouse, children, mother, father, brother and sister, niece, nephew, aunt and uncle) of ADB staff, except spouses of international staff, are not eligible for recruitment and appointment to staff positions. Applicants are expected to disclose if they have any relative/s by consanguinity/blood, by adoption and/or affinity/marriage presently employed in ADB.

Overview

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Manila, Philippines and is composed of 68 members, 49 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. ADB combines finance, knowledge, and partnerships to fulfill its expanded vision under its Strategy 2030.

ADB only hires nationals of its 68 members.

The position is assigned in the Office of the Secretary (SEC). SEC is responsible for providing strategic and operational support to the ADB, the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors.

Job Purpose

The Associate Secretariat Officer manages the administrative arrangements and procedural matters on management services, membership, and voting of governors resolutions. The incumbent reports to the Assistant Secretary and designated International Staff.

Responsibilities

Oversee the preparation for the Remuneration Committee meetings, including reports, statistical analysis, logistical arrangements.

Review reports, records and other documents relating to the election process and remuneration of the Management to ensure accuracy, clarity, and completeness of information; and conformance to the ADB established rules.

Work closely with the technical team handling the voting to make sure that Board resolutions are carried out.

Review requirements and other pertinent documents in relation to processing of ADB membership applications.

Evaluate procedures for Board committees and working groups, formulate recommendations and measures for administrative and procedural improvements; and monitor the implementation and conduct periodic reminders.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: Displacement is the word that polarizes voters in Hazaribagh, which is one-and-half -hour drive from Jharkhand capital Ranchi. The rich forests with natural hilly formations and lakes make it one of the most beautiful terrain. But there is turmoil within. Represented by Union Minister Jayant Sinha, Hazaribagh and its environs have witnessed several protests against the alleged forceful land acquisition for mining purposes and power projects. Four people died and 40 others were injured in police firing at Chirudih during a protest against land acquisition in October 2016.

While the issue dominates, the seat is shaping up for a triangular contest as besides BJPs Jayant Sinha and Congress Gopal Sahu, former MP of CPI Bhuvneshwar Prasad Mehta, who represented Hazaribagh in 1991 and 2004, is also in the fray. The Left party had been demanding Hazaribagh as its share from the Mahagathbandhan, but failed.

Jayant, son of three-time MP Yashwant Sinha, does face criticism for his lack of political connect with the people of his constituency. But, he is largely banking on the government achievements and the projects worth Rs 25,000 crore which were brought on his initiative.Jayant is also seeking votes for being number 1 in implementing the centrally funded schemes properly in Hazaribagh and also promises to provide employment opportunities, better health facilities, double farmers income and preserve rights of locals.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Congress candidate Gopal Sahu is banking on elder brother Shiv Prasad Sahus reputation over two terms as MP of Ranchi in 1980 and 1984. Sahu is dwarfed by the BJP candidate. The contest could have come alive if it was a direct fight between Jayant and Mehta, said a local. Even Opposition leaders claim, that fielding Sahu is like to give a walkover to Jayant on a platter. We are still not able to understand why the Congress did this, said a JMM leader. Jayant, who won by 1.5 lakh votes in 2014, enjoys the support of AJSU party this time.
STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STORIES surrounding urban and rural landscapes  many with a focus on Indigenous issues  dominated the list of winners of the 2019 Manitoba Book Awards.

Presented Friday night at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the awards featured a cross-section of new and established authors exploring themes involving life in the city as well as decaying landscapes throughout the province.

The evenings top prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year award, went to Gordon Goldsboroughs More Abandoned Manitoba: Rivers, Rails and Ruins, published by Great Plains Publications.

The illustrated volume is a followup to Goldsboroughs 2016 book Abandoned Manitoba: From Residential Schools to Bank Vaults to Grain Elevators.

The slim graphic novel Surviving the City  written by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and published by Highwater Press  took home the most awards, nabbing three.

Spillett won Manitoba Indigenous author of the year, and the book won the Ellen Mactavish Sykes award for best first book by a Manitoba author as well as the best graphic novel award.

This years Margaret Laurence award for best fiction went to Jennifer Ilse Blacks Small Predators, published by Winnipeg publisher ARP Books. Blacks book also took home the award for best book design.

On the non-fiction side, Mary Jane Logan McCallum and Adele Perrys Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City (published by University of Manitoba Press) took top honours.

Owen Toews Stolen City: Racial Capital and the Making of Winnipeg, also published by ARP Books, nabbed two prizes  the Carol Shields Winnipeg book award as well as the Mary Scorer Award for best book by a Manitoba publisher.

Toews is the son of Governor Generals Award-winning novelist Miriam Toews.

Other winners on Friday night included David A. Robertson, who nabbed the McNally Robinson Book for Young People award for Monsters; Jackie Traverses IKWE: Honouring Women, Life Givers, and Water Protectors in the book design/illustration award category; Ginny Collins The Flats for best play by a Manitoba playwright; and Bertrand Nayets Lenfant rouge, which picked up the prix litteraire Rue-Deschambault.

books@freepress.mb.ca
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA:Josh is high perhaps still in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his high level and never-exhausting of energy. He has set a record of attending 200 programmes including rallies in last

four and a half months across 27 states and union territories included Bihar. On May 4, the Prime Minister would be addressing his fifth poll rally in Bihar's Valmikinagar besides attending other schedule poll rallies in UP and other states.

According to the website of Narendra Modi, PM Narendra Modi joined 30 programmes in Delhi itself, 14 in cabinet meetings since the start of the year.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

These numbers speak for themselves. They also offer a unique glimpse into the working style and multi-tasking abilities if PM Mdi, the website elucidates.

The website has brilliantly stated how PM Narendra Modi had toured in states and union territories and held a wide-ranging dialogue with the people of Valley in J&K also.

Through these programmes, PM Modi would have touched base with almost every Indian in 125 days, Modis website claimed. Meanwhile, BJP sources said PM Narendra Modi and the leaders of his party BJP would be doing at least 1000 rallies across the country for 2019 election rallies with the fifth rally scheduled to be held in Bihar on May 4 at Valmikinagar.

The PM has so far addressed rallies in Jamui, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Araria, and Valmikinagar on May 4.The BJP sources said that at least 8 to 10 rallies in total would be held by PM

Narendra Modi in Bihar throughout all the seven phases of elections.
For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For two decades, coal has been pulled from a Bent Mountain mine in eastern Kentucky. But in a startling move in the heart of coal country, a rival  solar  is preparing to move onto the land.

From Appalachia in the U.S. to Queensland in Australia and Chornobyl in Ukraine, solar and wind farms are being developed or built in places not normally associated with clean energy, and in some regions long resistant to it.

Slapping solar panels atop so-called brownfield sites, land that housed mines, emissions-belching power plants or were tarnished by nuclear disaster, can be cheaper than decontaminating the ground and turning it into parkland. At the same time, theres the prospect of turning environmental foes into friends.

"Were essentially turning these drains on a community into an asset," said Chad Farrell, chief executive officer of Encore Renewable Energy, a Vermont-based developer thats contemplating installing solar arrays at coal-ash ponds across Appalachia. "Youre not going to get a large revenue-generating asset on a former landfill."

Solar is already established within the nuclear zone of Chornobyl, at a massive former coal-fired power plant in Canada, and at landfills and other brownfield sites throughout New England, where renewables are popular but land is at a premium. Meanwhile, BHP Group, the worlds biggest mining company, is working on permits and engineering plans to turn legacy sites in Arizona and New Mexico into solar and storage facilities.

"Its emblematic of the transition from old forms of energy to new," said Jacob Susman, a vice-president at developer EDF.

Regions long dependent on traditional energy sources for jobs and tax revenue are increasingly turning to solar and wind power, cementing their push into the mainstream at a time when the coal industry is ailing. U.S. power produced from burning coal shrank by 6.3 per cent in 2018, as almost 13 gigawatts of coal plants were closed, according to BloombergNEF. Thats second only to 2015, when 15 gigawatts of coal-fired plants were shuttered.

"Its land no one else wants." said Jenny Chase, a Zurich-based analyst at BloombergNEF.

In Queensland, Genex Power is already producing enough energy for almost 26,500 homes from a 50-megawatt solar farm at the disused Kidston gold mine, where metal was discovered in the early 1900s and operations finally shuttered in 2001. Genex, which acquired the site from Barrick Gold Corp., plans to add a second, 270-megawatt solar array, a 250-megawatt pumped-hydro facility and a 150-megawatt wind operation.

The pumped-hydro plant will utilize two existing mine pits, using off-peak solar or grid power to move water from a lower reservoir to a second, higher-storage pool, and then release it during periods of peak demand to cascade over two turbines to produce power. During periods of generation, the site will provide enough power for about 280,000 homes, Genex executive director Simon Kidston said.

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In eastern Kentucky, active mining at the Bent Mountain site is slated to conclude in late summer, said Ian Krygowski, a development director at EDF Renewables, which is developing a 100-megawatt solar farm there. The site, tucked among wooded mountains, will undergo reclamation work to make it a series of plateaus hospitable for solar.

Next year, a modest 3.5-megawatt solar farm in southwest Virginia is slated to replace a mine that closed in 1957. Developer Sun Tribe Solar is collaborating with several groups, including regional environmental group Appalachian Voices, on the project in Wise County.

"The land is so scarred from the extractive industries that have been the primary economic driver," said Chelsea Barnes, a new economy program manager at Appalachian Voices. "Its an important visual to show the region that it can still be energy-producing, but in a way that doesnt degrade the land and pollute the air."

For the solar industry, building at sites of former power plants and some legacy mines is an opportunity to tap into existing grid infrastructure. But its also an acknowledgment of land limitations. Some places have limits on how much solar can be built in agricultural areas, said Chase of BNEF.

"The narrative has been that those green jobs are going someplace else," Krygowski said. "It doesnt have to be that way. We can bring good renewable-energy jobs across the country."

 Bloomberg
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In January, people were talking about Ariana Grandes tattoo.

The pop star got a pair of Japanese characters inked on her palm. They were supposed to read "7 Rings," after her hit single, but they actually read: "small charcoal grill."

TWITTER / ARIANA_JAPAN Ariana Grande's tattoo was meant to read 7 Rings, after her hit single, but actually reads: small charcoal grill.

Look, it happens.

We all know someone who knows someone who has a mistranslation, or a vague "tribal" symbol, or an unfortunate typo, or the name of someone they are no longer married to inked, forever, on their body. Tattoo regret is real.

Mary Wilson, 38, is an extremely good sport who was willing to talk to the newspaper about a decision she made on her 21st birthday.

"I decided I would get this, um, lower-back tattoo," she says, pausing. Ah yes, the lower-back tattoo, which has a very unfortunate nickname.

"I had honestly never heard it called a tramp stamp before," Wilson says. "I would like to think that even my 21-year-old self, had I heard that, would have known much, much better. Anyway, I was dating a guy at the time who had nicknamed me Foxy.

"So thats what I got tattooed," she says, pausing for emphasis. "On my back."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The coolness factor of Mary Wilsons lower-back tattoo hasnt been as permanent as the ink.

But wait, it used to be worse! "It used to be really orange and yellow Starburst colours, but theyve faded. Its pretty big. Its not a tiny little word. I remember going home and showing my mom, and she looked at it and laughed and went, Youre going to regret that one day. And of course, when youre 21 youre like, No I wont! This is who I am!

"Now that I am not the wife of the guy who gave me the nickname, and a mother, and Im 38 years old, yeah, I regret it."

My college friend Robyn Brown also has a regret story involving a lower-back tattoo (Im sensing a theme, here). Ill allow her to set the scene.

"Picture this: its 2002. To celebrate your 18th birthday, your boyfriend buys you a gift certificate for that tattoo youve been talking about. Your mother doesnt like it but you invite her along hoping shell come around and she begrudgingly picks a star on the wall that looks kinda nice. Knowing itll look supa-fly on your lower back, you book it in."

Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo. Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of.

And Brown was feeling supa-fly until two years later, when she showed up to work at her server job one day and the kitchen staff had trouble meeting her gaze.

Turns out the very same tattoo, in the very same location, was on the bikini-clad backside of that days Sunshine girl. As she points out, it was the era of painfully low-rise jeans. "So, yep, they knew it was the same one," she says.

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The sheer permanence of a tattoo increases the probability of regret. But there are ways to mitigate ink remorse.

"Most people who know they want a tattoo know they want a tattoo," says Tesia Rhind, a Winnipeg tattoo artist who specializes in illustrative, fine-line, realism and florals. "Its a matter of finding the right artist for what youre thinking of."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind

Doing your research, she says, is key. Instagram is a useful tool that allows you to see an artists work (Rhind is @tesiacoil, by the way). If you find an artist you like but theyre booked for months, Rhind advises waiting it out or finding another artist who can execute what you want.

"Dont just walk into a shop that has availability and ask, Who can do this? without looking at their work," she says. "Thats what people often regret."

The consultation process can involve managing a clients expectations and providing design solutions.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rhind won't give teenagers tattoos of band logos.

"A lot of people have this vision that you can fit a lot of things into one small space," Rhind says. "But you have to tell them about how tattoos age, what its going to look like later, doing finer line tattoos  which is some of the stuff I do  some of it may fade faster in a few years than thick lines, but thick lines may blur out," Rhind says.

"People need to know that. People also need to know what looks good on certain parts of the body."

With that in mind, there are a few tattoos Rhind simply will not do.

"I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos," she says. "I have some 18 year olds come in and they want a rose on their hand and they have nothing else  I wont do that and dont think a lot of tattoo artists will do that. I dont like to do fingers because they dont age well and theyre basically a waste of money, but I will do them."

"Obviously, I wont tattoo any hate symbols," she says. "And I wont tattoo band logos on 18 year olds."

I wont tattoo hands or necks of people if they are under 26 and have no other tattoos."

This is probably a good time to bring up the skin I have in this game. I have a Pearl Jam tramp stamp. Its the stickman logo from the cover of the Alive single. I got it when I was 19. What Im saying is, we all have our Foxy.

While I definitely wouldnt get that tattoo now, I dont necessarily regret it. In fact, I usually forget I even have it, until I am reminded about it by a particularly chatty massage therapist. Regret and dislike are different.

We all have our Foxy.

"I have tattoos I dont like, but I dont regret them," Rhind says. "Cover-ups are usually always possible unless its super, super dark, then your only option is to cover it up very dark, or get it removed slightly so it can be gone over. If you regret your tattoo, theres ways around it. You just have to be more covered, basically, or pay for removal, which hurts and costs a lot of money."

Wilson has considered removal. "And Ive considered getting it covered up with something else thats more reflective of who I am," she says.

After all, it is possible to get a tattoo you love  whether the image is deeply symbolic, or only skin-deep. And even if you fall out of love, a tattoo can become something as immutable as your hands, or your knees, or your feet. Its part of you.

"Once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body."

"Its hard, because you say, Sit on something for a while  but Ive tattooed people who are in their 40s and theyll say, Ive wanted a tattoo for 20 years and I keep changing my mind," Rhind says.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tattoo artist Tesia Rhind works at Red Ronin on McPhillips Street.

"But I find once you get a tattoo that you like and think is really beautiful or speaks to you and its done well, it just becomes part of your body you dont change your mind on because you know its there and its another way to love your body. Its another extension of yourself."

Wilson has two other tattoos she doesnt regret. One is of her initials on the back of her neck, and wants to add those of her children.

The other is a tiny ladybug on her hip. Theres a story about that one: when she was 18, Wilson asked her mother what shed get if she ever got a tattoo, and her mother decided that a little ladybug might be OK. So thats what Wilson got.

"I wanted to get something she wouldnt be too mad about," she says, laughing. "I never regretted that one."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For IGM Financial Inc., 2018 was a year of transformation.

The Winnipeg financial services company made its commitment to change obvious to the market by rebranding its largest operating entity, Investors Group, to IG Wealth Management last fall.

The fact that global equity markets were rocked by widespread trade tensions, political uncertainty and concerns about a market slowdown proved to be challenging conditions for the company to embark on such change.

At its annual meeting in Winnipeg on Friday, company CEO Jeff Carney said, "Those conditions tested investor confidence. Yet during those challenging times, the strength of IGM was most evident. While the industry experienced net redemptions in long-term mutual funds of $7.4 billion, in 2018, IGM had net sales of $1.4 billion, the second-best in a decade, and the $20 billion in gross sales was the highest in the history of the company."

Its first-quarter results were released on Friday and Carney noted that the growth that took place in 2018 has carried into the first quarter of 2019, with record-high quarter-end assets under management of $160.5 billion, an increase of 7.7 per cent in the quarter and 3.2 per cent from the prior year.

That also took place under tough market conditions. The companys IG Wealth Management division  it also owns Mackenzie Financial  posted its own all-time high for assets under management of $89.4 billion. But its investment fund net sales came out far below last years first quarter, posting net redemptions of $14 million, compared to net sales of $784 million a year ago. But Carney said more than $100 million has been parked in savings accounts.

The company transformation has a number of elements to it. Among other things, IG Wealth Management is looking to pick up market share in the high-net-worth segment of the market.

The company currently has two per cent of the of the Canadian mass-savings market (homes with less than $100,000 invested), five per cent of the mass-affluent market (between $100,000 and $1 million) and less than one per cent of the high-net-worth market (more than $1 million).

Carney said three per cent of Canadian households have more than $1 million to invest, and they represent two-thirds of all the savings in the country.

"Its the single most important market segment," he said. "We do a good job serving that segment."

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Assets under management for that segment have grown by more than $4 billion per year over the past two years.

Whereas in the past the company took great pride in continually growing its adviser network, those numbers are now coming down and the quality of the advisers is coming up (all IGM advisers must now obtain the certified financial planner, or CFP, designation).

The company has also been making significant investments in robo-advisers  companies that can address the needs of the mass-savings market more efficiently  like WealthSimple in Canada and Personal Capital in the U.S. Earlier this year, IGM Financial made another $67-million investment in Personal Capital and is its largest shareholder with a 25 per cent equity stake.

Carney said that despite the volatile markets in 2018, the volume of savings being accumulated in Canada  a total of $4.5 trillion in 2017, expected to grow to $7.4 trillion by 2026  clearly shows it is in a growth industry.

"That increase of $2.9 trillion has to go somewhere," he said. "The question is, which firm is best positioned to receive those funds? We think its IGM Financial."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg police K9 unit helped nab a woman who drove a stolen SUV into two houses in the 600 block of Talbot Avenue on Friday night.

A patrol officer was travelling on Talbot when he heard a series of loud noises at about 9 p.m. and shortly after came across a vehicle that had collided with two houses.

At the same time, Gordon Buell was in the back yard of his mother's place having a smoke when he heard the same loud bangs. Buell ran into the front yard and saw the lone occupant, a woman, getting out of the car.

"She got out of the vehicle and in a panic just started running," he said.

One of the houses was unoccupied and there were no injuries to residents of the other.

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Buell and a few guys on the street gave chase but lost her. They gave a description to police who, led by A police dog, tracked the woman down within 20 minutes, Buell said.

"I think she was under the influence of something. I deal with kids all day. It was something," he said.

The K9 unit found the female in the 500 block of nearby Herbert Ave. where she was arrested. She was later transported to hospital for treatment of injuries.

The vehicle was determined to have been stolen from the Fort Frances, Ont., area on or about April 30, 2019.

The female faces charges for possession of stolen property under $5,000, operation of a vehicle while prohibited, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. She remains in hospital.
At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the clinic, Jonas Watson reaches down to ruffle the furry ears of his last patient, explains a few medications, removes his lab coat and heads out into the late-afternoon light. It was a typical sort of day at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, other than the camera crew that followed him into the surgery room to catch a glimpse of his working life.

There is a lot on his mind. In a few days, he will catch a flight to Central America, where he will stand on a stage and be honoured by some of the top global minds in his profession. So he has been thinking about what he wants to say, and as he settles into a chair at a coffee shop near the clinic, he seems a man on a mission.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson works at Tuxedo Animal Hospital, but has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations in Winnipeg.

Or maybe, to put it simply, hes just a veterinarian with a vision.

"My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care," Watson says. "Thats what we should all be trying to work towards. Its easy for cynics to say, Well, if you cant afford a pet, you shouldnt have one. Easy to say, but its not at all reflective of how things work in the world in which we live."

Thats a lofty goal, he agrees, with a knowing chuckle. As president of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, he understands the barriers. It costs a lot to operate a veterinary clinic. It costs a lot to get medical care of any kind to the people and places that most need it. But oh, imagine if you could find a way to reach everyone?

'My ambition, over the course of my career, has been to aspire towards universal access to veterinary care'

"Im not expecting to achieve it by the end of my career," he says. "But its certainly gratifying to work towards it."

Now, the global veterinary profession has taken notice. On April 29, at the World Veterinary Association Congress in Costa Rica, Watson was honoured with the WVAs Animal Welfare Award, one of six vets and one student to be so honoured; in the three-year history of the award, he is the second Canadian to win.

The prize, for which his name was put forth by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, recognizes, in part, Watsons larger vision. For years, he has helped spearhead a series of mobile pet clinics that reach some of the remote parts of Manitoba and underserved populations right here in the city.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Veterinarian Jonas Watson  seen with rescue dog Karma, a five-year-old he saved from the meat trade in Thailand  recently received the Animal Welfare Award from the World Veterinary Association.

In collaboration with non-profit animal rescues, such as Save a Dog Network Canada, he has travelled to fly-in First Nations such as York Factory and Red Sucker Lake. He has set up temporary shop in Churchill, where the crew jokingly dubbed the mobile clinic "Tuxedo at the Treeline."

In the early days, he made the trips north as the lone veterinarian, hauling saline and gauze and surgical tools on cigar-box planes. The travelling clinics can be exhausting, a non-stop grind of snips and incisions, injections and treatments; Watsons all-time record was 60 dogs spayed and neutered in one deliriously long day.

"There may have been a couple 5-Hour Energy drinks consumed in the course of that day," he says with his customary dry humour. "Im not sure I even have it in me to try and beat that record."

'It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources. You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking'

Sometimes, this mission takes him even farther afield. In 2015, Watson joined a group of vets and technicians that flew to Madagascar, where wildlife biologists were worried about how domesticated animals were affecting highly endangered wildlife; on that trip, they neutered dogs and cats under tents and in rickety wooden shacks.

Come back home to your high-tech, "Mayo Clinic-style" urban animal hospital after that, he jokes, and you realize how spoiled you are. But it was eye-opening to see how you can adapt, with the right know-how and basic tools.

"It is very rewarding to see what you can actually do with very few resources," he says. "You can accomplish a lot. The conditions may not be perfect, but you dont actually need perfect conditions to make meaningful change in situations where veterinary care may be lacking."

That includes right here at home, where Watson has also helped grow the innovative One Health Clinic series. The concept, which originated in Ontario, aims to connect vulnerable people to medicine for both themselves and their pets; a way of getting past barriers to health care, whether patients arrive on two legs or four.

"The human-animal bond is very strong, and is as alive and well as its ever been," he says. "Theres not as much educating we have to do around why its important to get veterinary care. Its more the case that there are large populations that just dont have access to it, but wish they did."

In May 2017, a team hosted the first One Health Clinic at Resource Assistance for Youth in West Broadway; 17 vulnerable youths came out, along with 23 pets. For the furry or scaly patients, there were medical exams and vaccinations; the humans received dental checkups and help connecting to other health services.

'Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the wellbeing of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them'

The formula was a hit. Organizers have since held several more, including at the Indigenous Family Centre on Selkirk Avenue. What Watson sees in those clinics is humbling: to many housing-insecure people, he says, pets are a "lifeline, their entire reason for existence." They often put their pets well-being before their own.

But they struggle to access veterinary care, and thats where Watsons broader vision  that dream of universal access  grew clearer. Because its not only about pets and their well-being; its also about understanding our fundamental relationship with animals as one of shared fates, and deeply woven interdependence.

"Animal welfare and human wellness are so intimately linked, in so many ways, that by ensuring the well-being of our patients, we are also helping the people who love and depend on them," he says. "So this notion of one welfare really resonates with me, and really supports the elevation of veterinary medicine as a vital social service.

"We need animals just as much, and probably more, than they need us."

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With that in mind, Watson says, he sees animal welfare as being one of the biggest emerging social justice issues of the 21st century. Theres no doubt that awareness has been evolving; people are far more sensitive now to how animals live and thrive than they were even in very recent decades, he notes.

Still, there is a long way to go. And maybe it starts with just finding ways to honour and tend to the human-animal bond, in every place that it flourishes. Wherever humans are, they are, too. What happens to them affects us, too.

"In the same way we are stewards of the planet, we are stewards of the animals that live at our mercy, regardless of species," he says.

"And weve made some mistakes in the past, in terms of how we treat them, and there are still corrections yet to be made. But veterinarians are at the forefront of helping to make those changes.

"Hopefully an award like this one can serve as a way to highlight that important work. If we can raise awareness about this, thats as useful a thing as the World Veterinary Association can do."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At a time when politics is mean, racism is on the rise, the economy is uncertain and climate change threatens the future of the planet, how can anyone be grateful?

"Gratitude is profoundly counter-cultural," said Diana Butler Bass, author of the book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks.

For her, its when things are so tough that gratitude makes sense and is badly needed.

"Anyone can be grateful when things seem all right," she said. "Gratitudes real power is when you are up against a wall."

A self-described liberal Democrat, Butler Bass said she wrote her book on gratitude in the first hundred days of U.S. President Donald Trumps presidency.

"I was literally miserable when I started the project," she said. But by "living with a heart inclined toward generosity, abundance and gratitude," she was able to change the way she sees and experiences the world.

"I converted myself!" she exclaimed.

Butler Bass, an author, speaker and scholar specializing in American religion and culture, will be giving a free public lecture on the power and importance of gratitude on May 7, 7 p.m. at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall, University of Winnipeg.

Her presentation is part of Emerging Perspectives in Ministry II, a May 7-8 ecumenical event sponsored by Charleswood United Church, St. Johns College, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.

Butler Bass acknowledged being grateful isnt easy due to being "brainwashed by the myth of scarcity."

"We continually act as if there isnt enough, and that we have to get ours before someone else takes it from us," she stated.

The result of this lack of gratitude is an "unjust economic system, broken politics, social and religious divides, fear and a wounded earth. We gave in to the myth and betrayed the fundamental generosity of creation. It is a really sad."

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Gratitude, however, "literally undoes the myth of scarcity," she said. And the path to be grateful is by understanding and accepting the grace of God.

"Gods world is completely pro bono, gifts for free for the good for everybody," she said. "Thats grace... all are called to the table. All are seated. All are fed. Our only job is to pull up more chairs and pass the overflowing plates."

Emerging Perspectives II runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 7 and will feature TED Talk-style presentations by 12 ministry practitioners sharing what is exciting about their work. It concludes on May 8 with a followup workshop with Butler Bass from 9 a.m. to noon.

Cost for the event is $40.

For more information, or to register, visit cmu.ca/emergingperspectives.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Facebook is staring down massive privacy breaches, criticism over allowing the spread of extremist content, and a looming court challenge from Parliament.

But dont expect Canadian politicians to quit the social media platform any time soon. Because, like Facebook relationship statuses, its complicated.

The platform is one of the strongest tools MPs have for keeping in touch with their ridings, and Ottawa now spends more on social-media advertisements than those placed in television, radio and newspapers.

The company itself says Canadians are "among the most engaged Facebook populations in the world," with 24 million residents using the site monthly  some 98 per cent of smartphone users in the country.

Facebook will undoubtedly play a role in the looming federal election, even as political parties call for beefed-up rules around privacy and propaganda.

"We are reliant on them," said Natasha Tusikov, a York University professor who studies technology regulation. "We're a big country. It's great to reach out to people, but it's come with a very high price."

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien wants to take Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files)

A changing tone

Last week, Canada's privacy watchdog announced hed be taking Facebook to court for breaching numerous federal laws in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In March 2018, a whistleblower revealed the firm harvested personal data from millions of Facebook accounts without their consent, including more than 600,000 Canadians, and used it for political purposes.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty," privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said.

A Facebook spokeswoman wrote "there's no evidence that Canadians' data was shared with Cambridge Analytica," and argued the U.S.-based firm has taken strides to secure personal information. Yet, Therrien insists the company broke the law.

The Trudeau government has pledged some sort of action, and is slowly changing its tone.

Existing rules not enforced, advocate says OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. click to read more OTTAWA  Public-media advocate Daniel Bernhard argues Ottawa has enough rules on the books to regulate Facebook and other tech companies. This is about enforcement and applying the law where it exists, said Bernhard, head of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. The government seems terrified of governing when it comes to Facebook, Google, Netflix, Amazon (and) YouTube. To Bernhard, Facebook carries content like news outlets do, but avoids fines and sanctions a newspaper would face for allowing hate speech. Facebook claims absurdly not to be a publisher, and we seem to be letting them set the definition, he said. Meanwhile, Bernhard argues the privacy watchdogs probe into data leaks shows the federal Liberals arent interested in cracking down on violations of Canadian law. If they were really serious about dealing with this stuff, theyd find a way. The fact that the privacy commissioner seems to be going it alone suggest to me that the government has decided it's not interested in any form of confrontation, he said. People are pointing fingers at Facebook (but) the government is condoning this bad behaviour by allowing it to continue unpunished. Bernhard, who advocates for greater CBC funding, is critical of the Liberals getting Netflix to voluntarily fund Canadian content, instead of applying a tax and mandatory contributions to Canadian programming, both of which apply to television channels. "Netflix is Canadas largest private broadcaster and it has no such responsibility, he said. He noted Quebec managed to implement a provincial sales tax on Spotify accounts, Facebook advertisements and Netflix subscriptions, with none of those companies suing the government. This week, that province revealed the tax has brought in double the amount projected since coming into force in January. Quebec now expects to bring in $62 million this year. If the little government of Quebec  a subnational, minority-language government  can get Facebook and Netflix and Amazon, to follow its laws, then come on; surely the government of Canada would not have a problem, Bernhard said.  Dylan Robertson Close

Just two years ago, Ottawa worked with Facebook to craft its cultural policy, and an election-integrity initiative. But a month ago, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould suggested that had gone off the rails, with Facebook and other platforms not being upfront about how they plan to weed out disinformation during this falls vote.

"We're continuing to have conversations. They're not going as well as we would have hoped," Gould told the Free Press on Thursday. "That being said, we continue to look at the full range of options on the table. In order to ensure Canadians that we're taking a holistic approach to this."

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the Liberals have waited far too long to respond, but he admits Facebook is a lifeline for his job.

"We have a company telling a Canadian regulator, 'Yeah, well, too bad so sad, it will cost us a lot of money if we actually listen to the law of Canada.' So how is it possible we can have a government not say this unacceptable?"

Hes been part of a team of Canadian MPs meeting with counterparts from five other countries in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

"Theres been a real turnaround in how the world sees these companies since 2015," said Angus.

He notes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau built his brand on social media, and Facebooks top Canadian lobbyist, Kevin Chan, was a senior Liberal staffer. (Chan was not available Friday for an interview.)

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms have similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago. (David Vincent / The Canadian Press files)

"I don't think the government has recognized the need to change this comfy, cozy lobbying relationship," Angus said. "Its unhealthy for our economy, or for democracy."

Still, in Angus Northern Ontario riding, Facebook connects disparate towns and reserves, and he uses it to keep abreast of their concerns.

"Facebook has become the essential tool for communication, and Facebook can do extraordinarily good things," he said. "It shouldn't be take it or leave it."

Tusikov compares Facebook to a public utility, with small businesses depending on the platform for visibility. A sudden, unexplained change to what content Facebook or Instagram allows can make artists revenue source disappear overnight, she said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."  Conservative MP Bob Zimmer

Regulation elsewhere

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said tech firms had "eerie" similarities to monopolies that were broken up a century ago, when oil barons and communication firms held vast sways over society.

Without promising any specific policy, Freeland noted moves in the United States toward anti-trust legislation that would break up social-media giants.

Tusikov says its hard for politicians to exert that kind of change.

"Political parties are deeply embedded with social media, especially Facebook. They rely on Facebook to reach these targeted, key demographics to figure out how people might vote; to even float policy proposals by these key groups," she said.

"It makes it very difficult for politicians to then say 'we'll vote to restrict Facebook.' This is something where there's going to have to be a great deal of public pressure put on them."

Tusikov said the problem seems particularly bad in Canada.

"We're behind the ball," she said in an interview from Germany, where shes looking at how companies form their own rules.

In February, the country blocked Facebook from pooling data collected on numerous websites, saying the firm coerced users to give up too much data. Germany's hate-speech laws have also compelled Facebook to delete hundreds of posts, or face fines of up to $75 million.

Louis Farrakhan (left), the leader of the Nation of Islam, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were banned by Facebook this week for violating its ban against hate and violence. (The Associated Press files)

This week, Facebook platform banned American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but Tusikov said the platforms "incredibly opaque" process means its unclear what rules the platform used to justify that decision, how it interpreted them and whether Jones will be back on the website.

"The fine-grained nature of that makes people in North America very nervous, because they see it as a slippery slope. But at least this is put in legislation  it went through a process, it's public, it's transparent. We know exactly what's being blocked," she said.

"Canadians are at risk because the protections offered by Facebook are essentially empty."  Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien

A month ago, the British government issued its Online Harms White Paper, which asking the public how the United Kingdom should regulate everything from targeted advertisements to taxes to hate speech and harassment. Britons have until July to weigh in on large themes that will shape the governments regulations.

Tusikov argues its time Canada had a similar thought-out debate.

She fears Canada will instead follow Australia, where a hastily drafted bill to regulate Facebook was passed ahead of this months election, in the wake of the New Zealand mosque shooting.

The bill  tabled and made law in just three days  threatens companies with jail time and fines if they dont remove violent content promptly, but experts say the criteria are so strict companies will likely rely on algorithms to indiscriminately remove content because they dont have enough time to vet between legitimate expression and threats.

'The new public square'

Gould, the minister in charge of ensuring the integrity of Canada's elections, admitted the thought of leaving the platform is daunting.

"When it first came out I was in my first year of university, and it was a very different platform than it is today," the 31-year-old said. "But we want to assure that whatever is happening today  or in the future  respects the values, the norms and the traditions that we've established for really important reasons here in Canada."

Facebook has become an essential communication tool, says NDP MP Charlie Angus. (Johannes Berg / Bloomberg files)

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer believes the Liberals arent taking social-media regulation seriously, but he admits its not easy to balance regulating against "a massive scale of surveillance" while keeping enough openness for digital innovation.

"Were all trying to get a handle on this," said Zimmer, who chairs the House committee investigating Facebook. "Every time we seems to catch up a little bit, (tech firms) are another five miles down the road."

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On May 28, Canada will host the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and "Fake News," which Angus said represents the best hope for some sort of co-ordinated, multi-national solution for Facebook. "In lieu of that, there may be a whole series of one-off decisions."

Like Angus, Zimmer said the platform is often the main way many of his northern British Columbia constituents reach him, but hes concerned about the platform breaching their privacy rights, and selling their data to advertisers.

Zimmers Facebook page is one of the first Google results. A single click allows users to send his office a message. He posts videos of visit to far-flung communities, and the comments have helped him shape how he votes in Parliament.

"Its the new public square; thats the reality for a lot of us. Do we want it to go away? No," he said.

"They just cant be given the keys to the entire kingdom."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kaylie Tran demonstrates the work she and other research technicians do at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Halth.

Jerry Caluag had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift and was hoping his son wasn't up yet when he got home.

No such luck. Six-year-old Kaleb was bouncing off the walls raring to go to the open house of the national virology lab.

"I want to be a scientist," explained Kaleb, in his element among the microscopes, glove boxes and simulated disease cultures at the open house Saturday morning.

"He's always watching the Discovery Channel," said mom, Melody.

The open house marked the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg  the National Microbiology Laboratory is the better known human disease component.

It was a massive hit. The last open house five years ago attracted 1,700 people. This one had 500 people in the first hour.

Almost 3,200 passed through the doors Saturday. The Caluag family had to wait in line 20 minutes to get in, although the line dissipated later in the day.

It's a large undertaking by the laboratory. About 120 staff volunteered to oversee the event that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A committee of about 20 staff spent many months making preparations.

About 560 employees work in the lab.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ethan Olson, 8, peers into a petri dish during an open house Saturday marking the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health.

Inside, people got to see what bio-security looks like, including the equipment and uniforms of the people inside. In the kid zone, the little ones looked adorable in goggles and miniature lab coats.

"We've always known the lab holds a special place here in Winnipeg," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, senior medical advisor at the National Microbiology Laboratory.

"It has a bit of a mystique and to be able to open our doors and to see this many people here this early in the morning is great."

A Health Canada exhibit with information sign boards was on display to further people's understanding.

Poliquin said one of the highlights for the lab's first 20 years includes developing the Ebola vaccine that is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa. In newer work, teams of staff are going to Nunavut to combat tuberculosis.

Another highlight was its response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010. New technology allows the lab to find the entire genetic blueprint of a bacteria within hours, versus months previously. The lab was able to figure out how cholera started, where it was heading and how to control it.

Poliquin said that new technology will rapidly transform the lab's work in the years ahead.

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The centre has four levels of microbiologic security, with Level 4 the highest security level. Level 4 is the House of Horrors of pathogens, storing diseases dating back a century ago to the Spanish flu virus and more recent terrors like Ebola and H1N1. Others include Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever.

"Certainly some of the world's most dangerous pathogens are here," said Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director of the National Microbiology Lab.

"We try to understand how these organisms are causing disease. It gives us a lot of information on how things like influenza evolve."

A demonstrator glovebox from Level 4 was on hand for kids to pluck the pathogens off a Minion cartoon character. Staff were also on hand to demonstrate donning and removing the big and bulky Level 4 suits. It takes about five minutes to put on the yellow neoprene suit with a full body zipper and double gloves.

There are lots of showers afterwards, it was explained, including a chemical shower of the suit on the person. Then the clothes worn beneath the suit are heat sterilized and finally, the person takes a regular shower that is required to be at least three minutes in duration.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can parents talk to children about using cannabis? What does it mean for a parent to use cannabis responsibly? Will parents who use cannabis ever overcome the rampant stereotype of the shiftless stoner?

Such thorny questions will be on the table for discussion today in downtown Winnipeg at Flora & Mama, a free event put on by female-oriented cannabis-lifestyle brand Van der Pop. (The discussion will be capped off by a flower-arranging workshop with local florists Oak & Lily.)

Event host Ashleigh Brown  founder and chief executive officer of SheCann, an online community for Canadian women who use medical cannabis  is a Winnipeg mother of two who uses cannabis to help manage a seizure disorder. She says she is no stranger to exploring parental perspectives on cannabis in the era of legalization.

"One of the biggest things that we hear people talk about is, from a medical patients perspective: how do I talk to my kids about this and explain to them how I use (cannabis) as medicine?" Brown said in an interview.

Saturdays dialogue will be about more than medical cannabis  she expects parents will want to trade notes on how to have the dreaded "drug talk" with teens and adolescents.

Brown favours an approach known as harm reduction, and endorses a youth education toolkit designed by the non-profit group Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

"Instead of taking a, Dont use it at all, dont touch it until youre of age in your province (approach), it takes a little bit more of a respectful approach to where the youth is coming from," she said.

"It encourages it to be a dialogue, instead of the talk  so, its an ongoing conversation that isnt just going to be sitting your kid down, slapping some information in front of them, and saying, Dont ever use this or touch it."

Even though the event  2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kinship Studio (70 Albert St.)  is aimed at mothers, Brown said fathers are also welcome. (No cannabis will be provided, but the event is for adults only.)

Brown anticipates participants will also discuss the image of cannabis users often presented in popular culture and the media, which she sums up as the "lazy stoner stereotype."

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"Because of the years, decades-long narrative around prohibition, this is something that were still working to overcome," Brown said.

"And I think that for women especially, that lazy stoner stereotype is right in striking contradiction to the idea of the super-mom, superhuman, ultra-productive, buttoned-up version of motherhood that we tend to present as being the ideal."

Talking openly about parental cannabis use "is something that really is fraught with a lot of emotion for people," Brown said.

"I think because anything that calls into question the integrity or intent of a parent is always going to be an emotional conversation. And when were talking about choice and personal freedom, those are things that sometimes women, especially as mothers, feel theyre not being afforded."

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sol_israel
Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red Cross Manitoba is flying 14,000 litres of bottled water into Shamattawa First Nation after issues arose with the communitys water treatment plant.

The northern Manitoba community  located 744 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the banks of Gods River  has a population of roughly 1,400 people.

Jason Small, Red Cross communications manager for Manitoba and Nunavut, said the non-profit agency hired a pilot to fly the bottled water into the community from Thompson on Friday.

The bottled water is believed to be enough for drinking and cooking for three days.

It remains unclear what led to the issues with the communitys water treatment plant or what exactly has gone wrong with it.

Small directed all questions related to the water treatment plant  including how long it has been out of service  to the First Nations tribal council.

Chief Eric Redhead, as well as the band office, did not answer or respond to multiple requests for comments on Friday.

It remains unclear if the water treatment plant is expected to be up and running again within three days.

When asked if there were plans to send a second shipment of bottled water to the northern community if need be, Small said no such plans were in place.

"At this time, the 14,000 litres is what weve sent," Small said.

Shamattawa First Nation is a remote, isolated community. Its only connections to the rest of Manitoba are by winter and ice roads, as well as its local airport.

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The community has faced significant, publicized hardships in recent years, including a teacher shortage in 2018 that resulted in hundreds of children going to school without proper instructors.

In addition, the community declared a state of emergency in 2016 after a fire burned down the local band office and store.

The community is also facing a serious housing shortage. It has a population of 1,400 people, but there are only 180 privately owned homes in the community, according to Indigenous Services of Canada statistics. Of the 180 privately owned homes, 40 of them are multi-family dwellings.

The assistance provided to the community from Red Cross Manitoba is part of an ongoing agreement between the federal government and the non-profit to provide disaster assistance to First Nations in Manitoba. The costs of the effort are covered by the federal government.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

AYODHYA/FAIZABAD: The eyes of Sripriya, 50, suddenly glitter with excitement when she is told by Ved Prakash, a vendor at the bookstall near Mandir Nirman Karyashala, that she can get Ram Mandir ka Sampoorna Itihas, the booklet she was flipping through, in Telugu also.

Sripriya, part of a group of pilgrims from Vijayawada, buys the book and turns towards the workshop housing stones, some raw and some chiselled with exquisite patterns, for the construction of the much-awaited Ram temple. The workshop, which is a prominent part of the visitors Ayodhya itinerary, evokes curiosity among them as it also has a model of the proposed grand Ram temple.

Even as the sculptors from Gujarat and Rajasthan are busy carving out motifs on huge shilas, undeterred by the soaring summer heat, the temple issue seems to have been drowned out in the poll cacophony in the land of Lord Ram.

Overpowered by the narrative of nationalism and caste arithmetic, the issue that catapulted the BJP to the pole position in Indian politics in the 90s is now discussed only when it's raked up by a scribe from outside in the town, which is going to the polls on May 6.

Have the VHP and RSS, who have been demanding an ordinance on the temple issue after the Supreme Court refused to take up the case on priority, been swayed by Modis discourse on nationalism? No, its not so. Temple can never be on the back burner for us. Since the Supreme Court has set up a panel for mediation and the process is on, its better to have a little patience. Moreover, Modiji is busy securing and building the nation. It is equally important. If the nation is secured, only then other issues will be addressed. Temple can wait for a while, says Sharad Sharma, regional spokesman of the VHP.

On the other hand, pained by Modi giving the makeshift temple a miss during his visit to Ayodhya for a rally on May 1, former BJP MP and Babri demolition accused Ram Vilas Vedanti feels that if at all any government could build a temple, it will be the BJP. Modi is going to be the PM again. Among all other political players, it is only the BJP and Modi who will facilitate temple construction in Ayodhya. People of Ayodhya will bat for a second term for him, he says.

Not only Vedanti, but also other saints and seers, including Nritya Gopal Das of Ramjanma Bhoomi Nyas, Dharam Das of Nirmohi Akhada and Satyendra Das, the head priest of the makeshift temple, all believe that PM should have had darshan at the makeshift temple.

He goes to every temple. Then why did he miss Ram Lalas janmabhoomi, wonders a seemingly miffed Vedanti but swears to be with the BJP all his life.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the litigants from the Muslim side in the Ayodhya title suit, feels the Modi government has followed the motto of sabka saath sabka vikas for the last five years. The Congress has betrayed Muslims for 60-70 years. Even the shrine was unlocked during the Congress regime and the mosque was also demolished when the Congress was at the Centre, says Ansari.

Modi might not have visited the temple because it would have sent a wrong message among Muslims, says Ansari.

His claim, however, is rejected by another litigant Haji Mehboob who feels that it was Kalyan Singhs government which facilitated the demolition. Kalyan Singh did not honour the affidavit he had submitted before the Supreme Court to safeguard the structure, says Mehboob.

Meanwhile, locals feel that only PM Modi can take effective measures to facilitate a temple in Ayodhya. He is the only leader who has the grit to build a temple. If he can allow the defence forces to finish terror camps deep inside Pakistan, he can bring a temple on the ground in Ayodhya as well. He will be voted back for a second term, says Ajay Arya, a grocery shop owner in Amaniganj area of the temple town.

However, other issues like development and unemployment have equal traction, besides the caste factor on which the SP-BSP alliance is relying heavily. Anurag Vaishya, a member of Spic Macay, feels that the coming government should focus on the development of Ayodhya, which is being projected as a major destination for religious tourism.

Though the proposed airport in Ayodhya will increase its connectivity with the world, industry, especially hospitality, institutions of higher education and other avenues should also be developed in Faizabad parliamentary constituency to improve the employment scenario for youth here, says Anurag, associated with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi who works against child labour.

Trader Giridhar Agarwal denies that demonetisation or GST had any adverse impact on businessmen. Even a new pair of shoes pinches initially. With time, it gets fixed on its own. Initially, there were some glitches as people were learning the nuances of GST, but now everything is streamlined and for honest traders, its a better option, says Agarwal, sitting in his footwear showroom in Chowk area of the temple town.

Refusing to divulge his choice, Ramesh Kumar, who supplies flowers to temples  over 4000 of them in the city -- believes that whoever is elected should pay attention to the restoration of dilapidated temples, the heritage of Ayodhya. He is backed by many others who are standing at his shop.

The temple town is part of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The district of Faizabad has ceased to exist, after being renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath government. With five assembly constituencies of Rudauli, Milkipur, Dariyabad, Bikapur and Ayodhya, the seat has not been a BJP bastion, though in the 90s, it elected firebrand saffron leader Vinay Katiyar thrice in the wake of the Ram Temple movement.

The present MP is BJPs Lallu Singh, kar sewak during the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, who has won the Ayodhya Vidhan Sabha seat five times in the past. He has been fielded against SPs Anand Sen  son of Mitra Sen Yadav, former Faizabad MP, and Congresss Nirmal Khatri, who has also won the seat twice, the first time as early as 1984.

Although Anand Sen has the support of the Yadavs and Muslims of Faizabad, and also the goodwill of his father, who became an MP on a CPI ticket for the first time in 1989, an old rape and murder case in which Sen was an accused keeps haunting him.

As one moves towards the famous Guptar Ghat along the banks of Saryu, around 50 labourers are busy restoring the place where Lord Ram is believed to have met his end by taking Jal Samadhi (watery grave).

People know Ayodhya only for being the birthplace of Lord Rama. Very few are aware that Ayodhya is also the place where he met his end. Guptar Ghat is that place. No earlier government paid attention to its maintenance and beautification. Only the Yogi government is working on it, says Anshul Tiwari, 28, a Faizabad university graduate, who runs a dhaba at Guptar Ghat.

Yahan log Modiji ko hi vote karenge sivay unke jo jaati adhar par vote karte hain. Modi rashtra ka nirman kar rahe hain. Jo rashtra premi hai woh kahin aur vote nahi karega. (Here people will vote for Modi as he is busy in nation building except those who vote on caste lines. Those who love the country will vote for him), says Ravindra Singh, who also owns a food joint at Guptar Ghat.

Ravindra is contradicted by Arshad, who has come to visit Guptar Ghat with his family. Those who dont vote for the BJP are also desh bhakts. During the Modi regime, the communal divide has increased, feels Arshad, saying the gathbandhan has brighter prospects.

As one moves towards Faizabad city, other voices start emanating from the ground. Where are the jobs? After completing our education from Faizabad university, if we have to look for a job, we are bound to leave our city owing to dearth of avenues. Nothing has been done in this direction during the last five years, says Santosh Yadav, who works in Noida and has come to vote for the gathbandhan, although he and many more gathbandhan supporters sounded unhappy with the criminal credentials of the candidate.

If the Modi factor seems to have a little edge on the ground in Ayodhya and Faizabad, the gathbandhan appears to be supported by the caste calculus. Yadavs constitute around 13% of the total voters - almost half of the total OBC voters in the constituency.

Muslims constitute around 15% and dalit voters are around 4%. Upper caste Hindu voters are around 29%. To counter the gathbandhan equation, BJP will eye the upper caste votes and also a chunk of the remaining around 13 per cent of other castes  non-Yadav OBCs and around 10% of the most backward caste voters.

The Congress, however, hopes that caste calculations will fail in front of its candidates image and the partys commitment to the NYAY scheme. We dont seek votes along caste lines. In 2009, people voted for Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri for the good work of the UPA government. This time again they will vote for the Congress to end the Modi governments misrule, says Ved Singh Kamal, general secretary, district Congress committee.

However, when asked how much traction NYAY has on the ground, Pratyush Pandey rejects it as another gimmick in the poll season. Where was the Congress for the last seven decades? Why are they worried about the poor now, he asks while opening his cloth shop in Faizabad. Modis welfare schemes can be seen on the ground. Congress candidate is always elusive. He is inaccessible. Why will anyone vote for him, asks Pandey.

While leaving Faizabad as the sun sets, one can find farmers in fields along NH 28 cutting and collecting wheat crop. They claim that politicians remember them only when elections are around. BJP walon ne vikas kiya. Gas, awas, shauchalaya diya. Pradhan mantri ne 2000 khate mein dale hain (BJP has done development. We have got gas connection, house, toilet. PM has transferred Rs 2000 into account) , says Ramadin, 50, of Baraspur village.

Asked if stray animals are destroying crops, the villagers of Baraspur say the problem is not as big in

Faizabad-Ayodhya as it is in other eastern districts because there are a number of cow shelters in the twin cities.
Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

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This article was published 3/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister has a list, and he's checking it twice, but unlike Santa Claus, he's not trying to determine who's naughty or nice; he's trying to eliminate all impediments to an early election call.

For several months now, Pallister has unleashed a series of half-cooked half-measures that are strategically, if not a little awkwardly, aimed at plugging the chinks in his political armour.

To ensure no one could accuse him of ignoring the plight of impoverished Manitobans, Pallister released in March a hastily prepared, threadbare anti-poverty strategy. Entitled Pathways to a Better Future, the document was 15 months overdue and clearly out of date. Anti-poverty activists and social service providers were unimpressed.

"It's a strategy without its essential bones," said Sid Frankel, a University of Manitoba social work professor.

Then, in early April came the vaunted launch of the province's new Economic Development Office. The EDO is supposed to breathe life into the premier's Economic Growth Action Plan which, like the anti-poverty strategy, has been lauded repeatedly by the premier but has no concrete elements.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives have reduced the deficit and cut the provincial sales tax to seven per cent, fulfilling promises from the 2016 campaign. (David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press files)

This past week, we saw efforts made to check off two more boxes on the premier's list of things he must do before launching an election that almost nobody wants.

First, it was the release of a report by Winnipeg lawyer Michael Green, who was retained to study changes to laws on government advertising. In a surprise turn of events, we discovered Green was allowed to review a new and previously unseen bill that would completely change the rules for how and when a government can advertise, including in the sensitive pre-writ period.

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Right now, one of the biggest hurdles standing in Pallister's way of an early election is the 90-day blackout on government advertising before an election. The current law does include a loophole that allows a government to ignore the blackout period if an early election is called; however, that provision has never been tested and Pallister is vulnerable to attack for ignoring a law meant to ensure fairness in provincial general elections.

The proposed bill tucked into the appendix of the Green report on government advertising has no blackout period prior to an election. Given that the original 90-day blackout was a Tory creation  adopted by the NDP in 2006 as a concession to the opposition to ensure timely passage of legislation  this is a backhanded way of going about a major change in the laws governing fair elections in this province.

The next box to be checked on Pallister's list  perhaps the final box?  was the surprising announcement late this week that his government is re-thinking the closure of the Concordia Hospital emergency department.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen's sudden decision to reconsider  at least temporarily  the timing of the closure of Concordia Hospital's ER is yet another sign the Pallister government is in election-prep mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced on Thursday he will take a step back and re-assess the closure of Concordia ER. Dr. David Peachy, the consultant who first proposed the plan to cut the number of ERs in Winnipeg from six to three, will conduct a "quality assurance assessment" before any action is taken.

Friesen wouldn't commit to keeping the ER open, but neither would he fully commit to closing it as scheduled. He also suggested that at the very least, the closure could be delayed.

In the context of an early election, Friesen's strategy is transparent. One need only look at the dozens of Keep Concordia Open signs that line Henderson Highway to understand that it's a top-of-mind issue for voters there.

How surprising was this announcement? Earlier in the same week, the WRHA confirmed to the Free Press that the plan to close Concordia ER was on track for late June, and work at the St. Boniface Hospital to expand its ER, in large part to handle increased patient volumes created by the closure of ERs at Concordia and (in September) Seven Oaks hospitals, was "on time and under budget."

Given that the WRHA made no mention of a possible delay, Friesen's announcement has the appearance of a last-minute, last-ditch effort to defuse Concordia as an election issue. The decision to delay or reverse the closure may not make re-election any more difficult, but this announcement is certainly not going to make it easier, either.

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote half-measures as solutions to complex problems.

The possible closure of the Concordia Hospial ER is top of mind for people in the area. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

When you add all these things together, what becomes apparent is a troubling propensity by the current government to promote halfmeasures as solutions to complex problems.

The government does have significant accomplishments to celebrate, the kinds of things that can theoretically form the foundation of a solid re-election campaign. The deficit has gone down significantly under their watch, the result of a rigorous oversight on expenditures, and the provincial sales tax has been reduced to seven per cent, fulfilling Pallister's principal pledge from the 2016 campaign.

Beyond that, the results are mixed. Provincial civil servants are angry about a wage freeze imposed on them by sheer force of will. The construction industry is fuming about a dramatic reduction in government investment in infrastructure. Social services, health and education have all had to tighten their belts to deal with Pallister's austerity, and frontline services are suffering.

If he calls an early election, Pallister will be telling both his own party and voters in general that he sees no immediate threat to a second mandate; however, a comparison of the political landscape in 2016, when Pallister won a thunderous majority, with the one that faces him now should be cause for concern.

In the 2016 election, voters were more motivated to reject and punish the NDP than to embrace the Tories. The PC platform featured few signature pledges outside of Pallister's long-standing promise to cut the PST. He promised to slow the growth in government spending with no impact on front-line services.

Pallister knew he didn't have to promise much because the NDP had suffered a fatal, self-inflicted wound from the 2015 civil war that saw five cabinet ministers resign over then-premier Greg Selinger's refusal to step down.

The 2016 election was one Brian Pallister could not lose, and it's hard to see his party losing the next one with both the NDP and Liberals in rebuilding mode. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

As for the Liberals, their leader at the time, Rana Bokhari, had started strong but ultimately succumbed to her party's tradition of underperformance.

In other words, it was an election Pallister could not lose.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to reelection  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

In 2019, it remains hard to see the Tories losing. Still in rebuilding mode and poorly resourced, neither the NDP or the Liberals are poised to form government; however, both parties are starting to believe they can inflict some meaningful damage to the Tory juggernaut.

Their growing confidence can be attributed to problems Pallister cannot shed with hasty, empty promises or a hollow studies: the hospital reorganization, growing waiting lists for elective surgeries, the imposed wage freeze on civil servants, the gutting of infrastructure spending and the willingness to ignore legal provisions designed to ensure fair elections.

The irony is that every time Pallister tries to remove an impediment to re-election  the things that would make an early election call somewhat perilous  he actually ratchets up the level of risk.

If Pallister follows the precedent set by successful political leaders facing the same decision, the final box on his pre-election list should be a no-brainer: "Whatever you do, don't screw this up."

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

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This article was published 4/5/2019 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Mourners gather over the body of Hamas militant of Alla Boubali, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike at Hamas militants post central Gaza Strip, at the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 250 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of heavy fighting that broke a month-long lull between the enemies. Six Palestinians, including a pregnant mother and her baby, were killed, while four Israelis were wounded, including an elderly man who was in a critical condition.

The fighting, the most intense between the sides in months, came as leaders from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the smaller armed faction Islamic Jihad, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at preventing a fraying cease-fire from collapsing altogether.

It also comes at a sensitive time for Israel, which is to mark its Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday this week, before hosting the Eurovision song contest in the middle of the month. Prolonged fighting could overshadow the Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event. For Gazans, the violence continued as they prepare to begin the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan on Monday.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel's existence, have fought three wars and dozens of smaller flare-ups of violence since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. They engaged in several days of heavy fighting in March before Egypt brokered a truce in which Israel agreed to ease a crippling blockade on Gaza in exchange for a halt in rocket fire. In recent days, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on its pledges as militants began to fire rockets into Israel.

In a familiar scene, air raid sirens wailed across southern Israel throughout the day and into the evening as barrages of rockets were repeatedly fired. Retaliatory airstrikes caused large explosions to thunder across Gaza, as plumes of smoke rose into the air. Outgoing Palestinian rockets left long trails of smoke behind them.

Israeli soldiers walk by a house hit by a rocket fired from Gaza in a moshav in Israel near the border with Gaza, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Gaza's Health Ministry said a 14-month-old girl, Seba Abu Arar, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their home in east Gaza City. Her pregnant mother, 37, was severely wounded and died later at the hospital, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured.

"They were sitting at the yard in their house with their mother. They were shocked by a missile landing on them," said Abu Nidal Abu Arar, a relative living next door. "This occupation is criminal."

In the morning, Gaza's Health Ministry said a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and 40 other Palestinians were wounded. Late Saturday, health officials said a 25-year-old man was killed by an Israeli drone missile as he was travelling on a motorbike in northern Gaza. At dawn, two Islamic Jihad militants were killed by an airstrike in central Gaza Strip, the group said.

Relatives mourn Palestinian Raid Abu Tair, who was killed by Israeli troops during Friday's protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during his funeral in town of Khan Younis, Saturday, May. 4, 2019. Three Palestinians, including two militants, were killed by Israeli fire Friday after gunshots from the Gaza Strip wounded two Israeli soldiers, officials said, in a new flare-up that shattered a month-long easing of hostilities that was mediated by Egypt. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In Israel, medical officials said an 80-year-old woman was severely wounded by rocket fire, a 50-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel and a teenage boy was mildly hurt as he ran for cover. Israeli police said a house in the coastal city of Ashkelon was damaged.

Early Sunday, Israeli police said a rocket landed in a courtyard in Ashkelon, about 10 kilometres north of Gaza, causing damage to several buildings. As a result, an Israeli man suffered "heavy injuries and was in a grave condition."

The Israeli military accused the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad of instigating the latest round of violence by shooting and wounding two Israeli soldiers Friday. It said the shooting was not co-ordinated with Hamas, but said it holds Hamas, as the territory's ruling power, responsible for all fire emanating from Gaza.

Israeli air defense system Iron Dome takes out rockets fired from Gaza near the town of Ashkelon, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 90 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the blockaded enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said "the United States strongly condemns the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza upon innocent civilians and their communities across Israel."

"We stand with Israel and fully support its right to self defence against these abhorrent attacks," she said in a statement.

By nightfall, the army said militants had fired well over 200 rockets into Israel. It said dozens of the rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket-defence system. But it closed roads near the Gaza border to civilian traffic and closed a popular beach as a security precaution.

Owners of stores at the building inspect the damage of their destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The military said it struck some 120 targets in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, a Hamas rocket-manufacturing site and a "high-end Islamic Jihad tunnel" that it said stretched into Israel for use in attacks.

Late on Saturday, Israel struck a building that it said housed Hamas military intelligence offices in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a six-story commercial and residential building. Journalists said the building housed the office of Turkey's news agency Anadolu. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said it was closing the fishing zone off Gaza's coast altogether and sealing Israel's two land crossings with Gaza. The crossings are used by Palestinian medical patients to enter and exit the territory, and provide the main entry for cargo into the blockaded territory.

Residents inspect the damage of the destroyed multi-story building in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Palestinian militants on Saturday fired over 200 rockets into Israel, drawing dozens of retaliatory airstrikes on targets across the Gaza Strip in a round of intense fighting that broke a monthlong lull between the bitter enemies. Three Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, were killed, while three Israelis, including an 80-year-old woman, were wounded by rocket fire. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The U.N.'s Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said the United Nations was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on all sides to "de-escalate" and restore recent understandings.

"Those who seek to destroy them will bear responsibility for a conflict that will have grave consequences for all," he said in a statement.

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The European Union's ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, sharply criticized the rocket attacks on Twitter, saying "firing indiscriminately against civilians (is) unacceptable."

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The body of Seba Abu Arar, 14-month-old, lies at the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 4, 2019. Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian infant was killed when Israeli airstrike hit near their house. Abu Arar died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry added. Another child was moderately injured. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, threatened to fire longer range rockets toward Israel's heartland. In a video that also was seen an implicit claim of responsibility, it showed archived footage of militants attaching warheads to rockets.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

Under the recent understandings, Israel agreed to expand a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increased imports into Gaza and allow the Gulf state of Qatar to deliver aid to cash-strapped Gaza. But like previous Egyptian-mediated agreements, those understandings have shown signs of unraveling in recent days.

On Friday, two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces during the weekly protests along Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. Palestinian militants also shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers along the border fence. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting. In response, Israeli aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, killing two Hamas militants.

Hamas has hoped that Egyptian mediators could further ease the blockade, which has ravaged Gaza's economy. For over a year, the Islamic group has orchestrated mass demonstrations each week along the Israeli frontier to draw attention to Gaza's plight. More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the border protests.
Trina Justman Reichert

Engagement Lead

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Extensive data from research proves that incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your daily eating habits can result in the above positive results. Eating with a plant slant is one of the Blue Zones Power 9 Principles, based on the habits of people who live the longest.

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Americans are bombarded by unhealthy food choices at almost every turn. Think about the last time you were inside a pharmacy, a place that could be viewed as a resource for wellness. Chances are, you walked by options of quick grab candy bars, sodas, and bags of chips before leaving.
JUNEAU  A local strip club will bring something a touch more G-rated to the stage Sunday.

Solomon, an exotic dance club at 112 E. Oak St. in Juneau, will host a Christian music concert sponsored by the Christian Leaders Coalition of Dodge County. The Siegmann Family, a band that originated in the Dodge County town of Rubicon, will perform.

The band describes its sound as a mix of bluegrass, Southern gospel, a capella and acoustic. Gene and Anne Schmidt will also perform at the concert.

Gene Schmidt, of the Christian Leaders Coalition, has lobbied for Dodge County or the city of Juneau to buy the Solomon building and convert it into a performing arts center. The building has been on the market for months and Schmidt said his goal is to prevent another strip club owner from buying it.

He said the purpose of the concert is to make the public aware of an alternative use for the space if another organization took it over.

We had the idea that it would be good to do something on a large scale with performing arts and music because thats the idea behind bringing people in, he said.
One man was taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation following a house fire in Fox Lake Thursday night.

Fox Lake Fire Chief Aaron Paul said in an email that the Fox Lake Fire Department was paged to the house fire at 208 E. Cherry St. at 8:48 p.m. Upon firefighters arrival, flames were coming out of two downstairs windows.

The two downstairs rooms are a complete loss and there is severe smoke damage in the rest of the house, Paul said. The cause is under investigation.

The man transported to the hospital was the only person inside.

The fire department was able to retrieve two containers of ashes belonging two recently deceased family members of the current occupant.

The Fox Lake Fire Department was assisted by Beaver Dam Fire Department, Horicon Fire Department, Randolph Fire Department and Waupun Fire Department. The Fox Lake Fire Department was on scene for about three hours.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.
Columbus chamber of commerce is hoping fun, new events will help breathe life into an annual celebration.

Redbud Days will return with a few new twists Friday, May 10 through Saturday, May 11. While the event features staples such as the city-wide garage sales and Redbud Prince and Princess Contest, this years celebration will have live music and Beer on the Boulevard. The band Funky Chunky, playing lively R&B hits, will perform from 11 a.m.  2 p.m. Funky Chunky has been hailed as Madisons finest R&B group.

Attendees will be able to sip craft beer from 11 a.m.  3 p.m. while listening to the band and exploring other events downtown. Cercis Brewing Company is working on a redbud beer, a hazy pale ale with pinkish coloring, an ode to the tree that provided Columbus moniker, The Redbud City.

There will also be a chalk walk art contest from 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Badger Antique Auto Show, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., Kiwanis Brat Stand, 10 a.m.  2 p.m., and the Redbud Prince and Princess coronation beginning at 10 a.m. In addition, May 1-12, local businesses will be giving away red bud trees. Residents in Columbus and Fall River will have a chance to win one of 10 trees and five trees will be sold for spring planting.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Militants shot dead BJP's district vice-president Gul Mohammed Mir in his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday night, police said.

Giving details, the police said three militants came to his house in Nowgam Verinag area and asked for the keys for his car. While driving the vehicle away, they pumped bullets into Mir, who was popular in the area as 'Atal', they said.

A police official said Mir was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition where he succumbed to injuries. The area has been cordoned off to nab the suspects, the official said.

I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir

in Verinag, South Kashmir.

My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul.  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 4, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP, in a statement, expressed deepest condolences to Mir's family and demanded strict action against "ill elements who are spoiling peace in valley and killing innocent people".

NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned Mir's killing.

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"I condemn this dastardly act of violence and pray for the soul of the departed, Allah Jannat naseeb karey (May God grant him a place in heaven). Gul Mohd Mir was the district vice president of the BJP state unit. May his family and loved ones find strength at this difficult time," Abdullah tweeted.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the killing of @BJP4India leader Gul Muhammad Mir in Verinag, South Kashmir. My condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul."

Gul Mohd Mir was the District Vice President of the BJP state unit. May his family & loved ones find strength at this difficult time.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir also condemned Mir's killing and described the incident as "mindless, cowardice and shameful act".

He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, a party spokesman said.
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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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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: New factual evidence of Masood Azhars activities was provided by some countries which made China relent on the Jaish-e-Mohammad chiefs designation as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said on Friday. The sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on the JeM chiefs involvement in terror strikes in India, including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere.

There was no reference to the Pulwama attack or Jammu and Kashmir in the UN notification banning Azhar, though the original resolution mentioned them. French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler described the listing of Azhar by the UN Security Council as a very important political decision and said France has been an unconditional partner of India in dealing with the challenge of terrorism. For the first time the world has reached a consensus and it will have concrete consequences, Ziegler said.

France was a prime mover in pushing the last resolution on Azhar in March and escalating it with the US and the UK to the UN Sanctions Committee and bringing China to the table to lift its technical hold against declaring Azhar a global terrorist. Terming it very good news for India and the world community, Ziegler said, It was a bit absurd that the JeM was banned by the UN but not its chief.

The heightened Indo-French cooperation also reflected in the unprecedented scope of this years joint naval exercise Varuna that started last Wednesday. The exercises, which will extend to Djibouti at the Horn of Africa, close to a Chinese base, is significant in scale and size, involving the best ships in both navies.

Ban on travel

Pakistan on Friday issued orders to freeze assets of Azhar and impose a travel ban. An official of Interior Ministry said Azhar was already on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorist Act and could not travel without police permission.
Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft engages in the manufacture and distribution of consumer goods in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Consumer Business and Tesa Business. The Consumer Business Segment offers skin and body care products. The Tesa Business segment provides self-adhesive system and product solutions for industries, craft businesses, and consumers. This segment offers its system solutions to the automotive, electronics, printing and paper, and building and construction industries. The company offers its products under the NIVEA, Eucerin, La Prairie, Elastoplast, Labello, Hansaplast, 8x4, FLORENA, Coppertone, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, SKIN STORIES, FLORENA FERMENTED SKINCARE, STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME, CHAUL, and TESA brands. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of maxingvest ag.

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Le Duc Anh served as President of Vietnam from September 1992 to December 1997. He passed away on April 22, 2019 at the age of 99.



Indian President Ram Nath Covind sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, stating that former President Le Duc Anh is an excellent leader of Vietnam and a good friend of India.



The passing of the former leader is a great loss to the Government and people of Vietnam, he said.



In his letter sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Choe Ryong Hae, President of the Presidium of the DPRKs Supreme Peoples Assembly showed his deep sympathy over the death of former President Le Duc Anh, and spoke highly of the deceaseds important contributions to the national construction and development of Vietnam.



President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent their condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.



Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also received a message of condolences from Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said.



Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He showed his respect to the late President and spoke highly of his immense contributions to Vietnams nation-building.



Chairman of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Japan Central Committee Kazuo Shii has sent a message of condolences to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.



Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended their condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh over the loss.



On May 3, many foreign high-ranking delegations, including those from Cambodia, Laos, Cuba and Japan, along with ambassadors and representatives from international organisations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City paid their last respect to former President General Le Duc Anh at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi and Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.



A memorial service for former President General Le Duc Anh was held at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi at 10:45 am on May 3, and a burial service for him took place at 5pm the same day at Ho Chi Minh Cemetery.



Vietnam has declared two days of national mourning for him on May 3 and 4.
By PTI

PULWAMA: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating agrarian distress.

The former chief minister said while Kashmir was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment generation and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an election rally in this militancy-infested town in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the National Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Addressing the rally, Abdullah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official campaign period," he said in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Conference rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference leader reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Articles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the fractured mandate in the 2014 Assembly elections for government formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encounters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president appealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."

Abdullah highlighted that some leaders from other parties were using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Article 35-A guarantees that the land and government jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party workers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensuring Masoodi's victory.

The twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments -- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian.

As many as 695 polling stations have been established across the districts for smooth conduct of elections.

These south Kashmir districts have 5,22,530 electors -- 2,71,127 males, 2,50,735 females, 657 service electors and 11 transgender voters.

The polling in the constituency is being held in three phases in view of law and order situation.

On February 14, a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker struck a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, killing 40 jawans.

In response, India carried out air strikes on terrorists camps in Balakot in Pakistan.
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. Since then, FXI stock has decreased by 5.6% and is now trading at $36.63.

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Agilent Technologies, Inc. engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets; Diagnostics and Genomics; and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that enable to identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment consists of activity providing active pharmaceutical ingredients for oligo-based therapeutics, as well as solutions that include reagents, instruments, software and consumables. The Agilent CrossLab segment includes startup, operational, training and compliance support, software as a service, and asset management and consultative services. The company was founded in May 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Ohio. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis, with bottom-up stock picking approach, to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor's Ohio Municipal Bond Index and Standard & Poor's National Municipal Bond Index. The fund was formerly known as Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund. Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund was formed on October 17, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address at least one press conference before the elections conclude saying it was looking terrible on the international level.

"Please tell the Prime Minister to do a couple of press conferences also. Its really looking very bad," Gandhi told reporters at the party headquarters here.

"It is looking shameful out there. He is looking terrible on the international stage, Indian Prime Minister does not have the guts to stand in front of the Indian media leave the international media," he said.

"Its looking bad, so please tell him to do at least one before the elections are over," he said.

The Congress chief has been demanding a presser from Modi and keeps repeating it every time he meets the press.

'EC biased against opposition'

Rahul accused the Election Commission (EC) of being "biased" against the opposition and said that capturing of institutions will have a negative effect in the future.

"Where there are matters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Election Commission is on a straight line and on the matters of the opposition, it is completely biased," the Congress leader said at a press conference here.

READ | 'Chowkidar chor hai' remark stands, apologised to SC, not to Modi: Rahul Gandhi

He was responding to a question on the poll panel giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Varanasi speech on armed forces and dubbing Congress as sinking Titanic ship in Maharashtra's Nanded.

"The style of functioning of Modi and the RSS is to hold the institutions. It is visible on the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India and everywhere else," Gandhi said.

He added that he does not expect the poll panel to be not affected by that pressure.

"All these institutional capture that has been taking place will have negative consequences in the future.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"We cannot allow Indian institutions to be disturbed, controlled and crushed. And anybody who colludes and falls to this pressure is committing a crime," Gandhi said.

'Who let Masood Azhar out?'

Pointing fingers at the BJP for being the one who allowed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to return to Pakistan and carry out terror activities over the years, Rahul Gandhi asserted his party will deal with terrorism sternly and strictly.

"Who sent him there (in Pakistan)? How he went there? Which government sent him? The BJP negotiates with terrorists and buckles under pressure. They bowed down before terror.

READ | Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of disrespecting armed forces

"Masood Azhar is a terrorist and strict action should be taken against him. Terrorism has to be dealt with sternly", he said while asserting that the Congress will never negotiate with terrorists.

The Modi government, while taking credit for getting Azhar blacklisted, should also tell the citizens that it was during a BJP regime that the JeM chief was released and he transformed into an even bigger threat to India, the Congress had said earlier on Thursday following the UN action.

Azhar was released from a prison in India in 1999, in exchange for 155 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The terror lord then created a base for himself in Pakistan for two decades.


CSS Industries, Inc., a consumer products company, designs, manufactures, procures, distributes, and sells seasonal, gift, and craft products principally to mass market retailers in the United States and Canada. Its craft and gift consumer products include craft ribbons and bows, trims, buttons, sewing patterns, knitting needles, needle arts, kids' crafts, infant products, journals, gift card holders, all occasion boxed greeting cards, memory books, scrapbooks, stationery, stickers, and other gift and craft items, as well as floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags, and other paper and film products. The company's seasonal consumer products comprise Christmas products, such as packaging ribbon and bows, boxed greeting cards, gift wraps, gift bags, gift boxes, gift tags, gift card holders, tissue papers, and decorations; Valentine products consisting of classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valentine products; Easter products, including Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products; and back-to-school products, such as teachers' aids and other learning oriented products. CSS Industries, Inc. offers its products principally under the Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, McCall's, Butterick, Kwik Sew, Vogue Patterns, Markings, Stepping Stones, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley's, Eureka, Stickerfitti, Favorite Findings, La Mode, Simplicity, Wrights, Boye, Dimensions, and Perler brand names. The company sells its products to mass market retailers, discount department stores, specialty chains, warehouse clubs, drug and food chains, dollar stores, office supply stores, and retail teachers' stores, as well as to independent card, gift, and floral shops through account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists, and a network of independent manufacturers' representatives. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

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Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: Taking the BJP's nationalism narrative head-on, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Indian Army is not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal property" and accused the saffron party of compromising in dealing with terrorism, citing JeM chief Masood Azhar's release during the previous NDA rule.

Asserting that terrorism is a huge issue, he said the Congress will deal with it "more sternly" than Modi and alleged that the BJP was using the armed forces for political mileage.

Gandhi, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said Modi insulted the Army by saying UPA's surgical strikes were video games.

ALSO READ | PM Modi has insulted armed forces by comparing surgical strikes with video game: Congress

His attack on Modi came a day after the prime minister said the Congress conducted surgical strikes only "on paper" and the leaders of the opposition party thought those were akin to video games. It was a BJP government that had released Azhar and sent him to Pakistan, Gandhi said.

"Who had sent him to Pakistan? He is being designated, but who sent him there in the first place? How did he reach Pakistan? Has the Congress party sent him to Pakistan? Which government had negotiated with terrorism, bowed in front of terrorism, who sent him back?," he asked, alluding to Azhar's release in the Kandahar hijacking case during the NDA rule in 1999.

"The Congress did not send him (Azhar) back. The reality is that the BJP compromises (with terrorism). The Congress has never done such a thing. The Congress party has never sent a terrorist to Pakistan and will never do so," Gandhi, who was flanked by senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala, said.

Azhar and two other terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh -- were released by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in exchange for the passengers held hostage on board Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had accompanied Azhar in a special aircraft and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, then a top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, was in Kandahar as part of India's negotiating team when the terrorists were handed over.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

On the prime minister invoking Masood Azhar's designation as a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at a poll rally soon after the decision was announced, the Congress president said the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief is a terrorist and the strictest action should be taken against him.

Gandhi also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of taking credit for the Army's actions and ignoring key issues such as unemployment and agrarian distress. "Modi thinks the Army, Navy and Air Force are his personal property," he said.

Referring to the six surgical strikes the Congress had listed as carried out under the UPA rule, he said those were not conducted by his party, but by the Army.

"When he (Modi) says the Indian Army's surgical strikes were video games, he does not insult the Congress, but the Indian Army.

"The Army had done this (surgical strikes). It is their job. We do not politicise the Army. It is the Indian Army, not a particular person's Army. The prime minister should have that much of respect and not insult the Army," the Congress chief said.

He said the Army was doing its job for 70 years and had won every battle. "It is a terrific record. What does Modi have to do with it as it is the Army's job. Modi should tell the country what is he doing for the youth, what is he going to do for farmers, for women," he said.

Gandhi also said there was a clear-cut feeling after four phases of the Lok Sabha polls that the BJP was losing the electoral battle.

The main issues in the ongoing polls are employment, farmers' problems, prime minister's corruption and attacks on institutions, he said.

"Our internal assessment is clearly telling us that the BJP is losing the election," he added. Gandhi claimed that there were signs of panic in the BJP's poll campaign.

"I see a scared prime minister, unable to face the onslaught of the opposition and absolutely convinced in his mind that he is trapped. It is a panicky campaign," he said.

The Congress chief once again challenged Modi to debate him on issues such as employment and corruption.

"I can debate him anywhere apart from Anil Ambani's home," he said to peals of laughter.

Gandhi also slammed the prime minister over the Rafale agreement and said if Modi agrees to a debate, he will ask him to explain why parallel negotiations were carried out in the deal.

"In the Rafale deal, the 'chowkidar' (watchman) has stolen Rs 30,000 crore," he alleged.

Gandhi also accused the prime minister of harming the country's economy big time by carrying out demonetisation and implementing a "flawed" Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"He demonetised the economy, we will remonetise it through (minimum income guarantee scheme) NYAY," he said.

On the issue of his apology to the Supreme Court for attributing the 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief) slogan to it, Gandhi said he apologised as there was a process on in the court and he had commented on that.

However, he added that he stands by his slogan against the BJP and the prime minister for corruption in the Rafale deal.

Gandhi also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) is "completely biased" towards the opposition.
A Boeing 737 plane arriving from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went off the runway into the St. Johns River in Florida on Friday night, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said.

"I've been briefed that all lives have been accounted for," the mayor tweeted.

The plane is in shallow water and not submerged, and everyone is alive, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

The plane slid off a runway into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m. ET, a spokesman from the Naval Air Station Jacksonville said. It appears to have skidded off the airport runway while trying to land and ended up in the river, CNN affiliate WJXT reported.

The plane was arriving "from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville " and crashed into the river at the end of the runway, Naval Air Station Jacksonville

"Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation," it said.

David Soucie, a former inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, described it as a private jet charter. Curry had initially called it a commercial flight.

"The fact that they were all brought out of the aircraft safely and no one was hurt says a lot about how the crew reacted to this situation," he said.

Curry said fire and rescue crews were on the scene. "While they work please pray," he wrote.

President Donald Trump's White House called to offer help as the situation was developing, the mayor said.

Developing story -- more to come.
Utica, N.Y. - What a Friday night in Utica for a few hundred local residents who turned out to sample some of the finest foods our area has to offer.

From Utica Greens to Chicken Riggies, to Tomato Pie, all were on the menu at the annual Taste of The Mohawk Valley held at the Saranac Brewery.

Many local restaurants took part in the annual event put on by The Genesis Group.

Tickets were $25 and all of the proceeds will go to help the Genesis Group put on one its other big events of the year, the annual 4th of July Parade and Festival in Utica.

At the Taste of the Mohawk Valley, this year's 4th of July Grand Marshal was unveiled. Barry Sinnott, Assistant Vice President at Bank of Utica will lead the way.

Sinnott says he is proud to represent the city he and his family love so much, "It means a lot. Anyone who knows me, knows I focus on the positives. There's still a lot of challenges that every community has everywhere, especially in Utica, So we would really like to focus on the positives, and that's one of the things that has driven us business-wise and so it's really a great honor and I feel this is a great privilege to do this."

News Channel 2's Kristen Copeland was last year's Grand Marshal, so she passed the torch to Sinnott.
The same Herkimer County students who petitioned NASA for artifacts for a local memorial for 1962 Mohawk High School graduate, Gregory B. Jarvis, unveiled the flight suit NASA sent to be part of the memorial. Hundreds came to Herkimer College Friday for a moving ceremony, honoring Jarvis. NASA Astronaut, Dr. Stanley Love, Ph.D., spoke about Jarvis, and, exploration.

"Humans have an innate drive to explore. It's in our blood. We want to know what's over that next hill," said Love, hinting, too, at the inherent dangers of exploration. "There are unexpected events and conditions. By definition, explorers are far from help and unforunately, some explorers don't make it back."

Such was the fate met by Jarvis, a payload specialist, and six others, when the Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, on January 28, 1986. Love wanted local students to know that, no matter how small or rural their launch pad, they could still use it to reach for the stars.

"Even a kid who grows up out here in central New York and thinks that the rest of the world has never heard of him or doesn't care about him can grow up to fly in space," said Love.

Also honoring Jarvis during Friday's unveiling-1984 Frankfort High School graduate, Scott Wilson, who is currently building the Orion Spacecraft for NASA, Kennedy Space Center.

"When I was a little kid, I would write letters to NASA. I was kind of a geeky little kid. I would write letters, and to my amazement, they sent back patches or sent back pictures and I remember how excited I got and I never dreamed I'd be able to work there," said Wilson, adding that it's thrilling and rewarding to come home and inspire young students to reach great heights.

The flight suit revealed on Friday, along with other artifacts, including some from Jarvis' widow, will form a memorial that will be displayed in the Herkimer County Office Building.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  You can expect more construction in West Lafayette as Purdue prepares to begin work on the next phase of its $1 billion west campus project.

Purdue Research Foundation recently unveiled plans for a mixed use neighborhood Provenance. It's just one of many developments happening in the heart of Discovery Park.

"We're working to build a live-able, build-able, walk-able kind of community," said Director Jeremy Slater.

Provenance is the district's fifth major project announced in the past two years.

"We're looking at roughly 500 units of town homes, multi-family homes, single-family, condos," said Slater. The community will also have a fitness center, restaurants, retail, a day care and a preschool all in the heart of discovery park.

"It's about 400 acres -- it's about a 1.2 billion dollar development over the next 20 to 30 years."

Slater said as existing industries grow and new ones move in, the project becomes more important.

"A number of different corporate tenants who want to be apart of the community with them moving into the community to work now they have a place to live."

Living in Provenance won't be their only option though, Slater said 250 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of street-level commercial space along State Street is also in the works.

That's along with Aspire at Discovery Park, an $86 million, 835-bed apartment complex set to open in August.

"The moment that you turn onto State Street from 231 the entire frontage along state street is going to be under construction," said Slater adding those roadblocks will eventually lead to a more accessible community.

"Walk to work and drop your kids off at a daycare or pre-school and then for dinner walk and grab food or a coffee and just spend time with a community."

Work on the Luxury Apartments is set to begin this fall and will take roughly two years to complete. Provenance has a slightly different time line, developers are meeting with Tippecanoe County area planners to get through zoning regulations.

Following that, the plan is to begin infrastructure work including roads and landscape in the fall. Once that is in place, houses can start going up.

More information on Discovery Park as well as the master plan for the area can be found here.

Provenance is being developed by Old Town Design Group of Carmel. The group has developed a number of award-winning neighborhoods like this throughout central Indiana.
By PTI

The UN agency for disaster reduction has commended the Indian Meteorological Department's "almost pinpoint accuracy" of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri.

The powerful cyclone, strongest to hit India in 20 years, made landfall at around 8 AM in India's eastern state of Odisha, killing at least eight people.

Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rains battered the entire coastal belt of the state affecting about 11 lakh people.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has classified Fani as an "extremely severe cyclonic storm".

UN agencies are monitoring Fani's movements closely and taking measures to protect families living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which is on alert.

The Cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm.

"India's zero casualty approach to managing extreme weather events is a major contribution to the implementation of the #SendaiFramework and the reduction of loss of life from such events," Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the Geneva-based UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said.

Mizutori was referring to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.

It is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including the local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Highlighting the zero-casualty cyclone preparedness policy of the Indian government, a spokesperson for UNISDR, Denis McClean said: "the almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters".

UNISDR also tweeted about the advisory distributed by India's National Disaster Management Authority and local authorities days before Fani made landfall in an effort to minimise loss of life and injury.

Local authorities are accommodating evacuees in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed to withstand cyclones.

"Schools were shut, airports closed and transport suspended, and although damage to infrastructure was expected to be severe, there were no reports of any deaths," McClean said.

According to preliminary reports, eight people have been killed due to the cyclone, which has the potential to cause widespread loss of life.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN humanitarian agencies in India have met ahead of the storm's arrival to take stock of preparedness measures.

With Fani threatening devastation in India and Mozambique still reeling from Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones, UNICEF raised alarm about impact of climate change on children.

The UN children's agency said the cyclone currently hammering India and the back-to-back cyclones that tore through Mozambique in March and April have caused serious damage to the lives of thousands of children.

They should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders on the serious risks that extreme weather events pose to the lives of children.

In Odisha, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani, UNICEF said.

"Children will bear the brunt of these disasters," said Gautam Narasimhan, UNICEF Senior Adviser on Climate Change.

He said climate change is linked to rising sea levels and the increase in rainfall associated with cyclones, causing more devastation in coastal but also inland areas.

"In the short term, the most vulnerable children are at the risk of drowning and landslides, deadly diseases including cholera and malaria, malnutrition from reduced agricultural production, and psychological trauma  all of which are compounded when health centers and schools are impacted," he said.

Narasimhan warned that in the long term, cycles of poverty can linger for years and limit the capacity of families and communities to adapt to climate change and to reduce the risk of disasters.

According to the World Metereological Organization (WMO), the forecast on Friday was that Cyclone Fani "would move north-northeast towards Bangladesh where there were concerns about the effects of potential coastal flooding".

World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said the impact the cyclone is expected to be less severe in areas such as Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar which is home to the world's largest refugee camp, populated mainly by Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, said its India arm Americares India is preparing to deliver medicine and relief supplies to assist survivors, including tarps, water cans and water purification tablets for up to 3,000 families.

Americares India Managing Director Shripad Desai said: "We anticipate thousands of families will need shelter and medical care in the coming days".
Political and legal conflicts between the Trump White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are escalating in the wake of the decision by Attorney General William Barr not to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Barrs refusal to testify, as well as his declaration that he will not turn over an unredacted copy of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, led to numerous calls by congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential candidates for Barr to resign or be impeached.

In a formal letter to Barr on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a 9:00 am Monday deadline for the Justice Department to comply with a committee subpoena for the unredacted report as well as the underlying documents supporting Muellers 448-page narrative.

After that, the letter warns, the committee will cite Barr for contempt of Congress for failing to meet the committees May 1 deadline for delivery of the various documents.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to Nadler earlier in the week declaring that Congress was not entitled to the information because the committees request was not legitimate oversight.

The Trump administration has rejected a range of congressional subpoenas and document requests over the past two weeks, complaining that they were not related to a genuine legislative purpose or to congressional oversight of the executive branch, but were rather intended to expose Trumps private business dealings or the operations of his election campaignboth nongovernmental activitiesto public scrutiny.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was uncharacteristically blunt in a press statement Thursday, in which she said that Barr lied to Congress last month in appearances before the House and Senate to discuss the release of the Mueller report. In both hearings he made no mention of a March 27 letter from Mueller objecting to Barrs own letter notifying Congress of the completion of the report.

He lied to Congress, Pelosi said during her weekly news conference Thursday. Thats a crime.

Pelosi also appeared to soften in her opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Trump, telling a private meeting of House members, in remarks noted down and then leaked to the press, as she clearly intended, Ignoring subpoenas of Congress, not honoring subpoenas of Congressthat was Article III of the Nixon impeachment. Referring to Trump, she continued, This person has not only ignored subpoenas, he has said hes not going to honor any subpoenas. What more do we want?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler said the stonewalling by the Trump administration threatened democracy. The challenge we face is that the president of the United States wants desperately to prevent Congress, a coequal branch of government, from providing any check whatsoever to his most reckless decisions, he said. The very system of government of the United States, the system of limited power, the system of not having a president as a dictator, is very much at stake.

Another top House Democrat spoke in the same vein. What we are witnessing is the slow loss of our democratic republic and we can either allow it to happen or we can stand up against it, said Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. We are not going to allow the notion of a presidential dictatorship to take hold.

Trump has fired back against the Democrats, both in his Twitter rants and in legal motions filed in federal court. The House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Democrat Elijah Cummings, has subpoenaed business records of two lenders to the Trump Organization, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Group, and Trumps accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trumps personal lawyers filed lawsuits this week opposing all three subpoenas.

Attorneys for the committee responded with a court filing Wednesday declaring that Trumps lawsuit would directly impede ongoing congressional investigations of national importance and threaten the constitutional system that separates and divides power between the branches of government The result would be to block probes into numerous and serious constitutional, conflict of interest, and ethical questions raised by the personal financial holdings of the president.

The first court proceeding in these cases will come May 14 on the subpoena of Mazars, which prepared unaudited financial reports for the Trump Organization that were used in obtaining bank loans.

In a partial climbdown, the White House permitted former security director Carl Kline to testify before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Kline discussed the general procedures for reviewing and approving security clearances for White House staff, but refused to discuss particular cases, such as Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, when asked by Democrats. Kline awarded a top-level clearance to Kushner over the objections of lower-ranking officials, but he denied that any White House official had asked him to award a security clearance to any individual.

Trump also declared Thursday that he would not allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify, claiming executive privilege, although he previously waived privilege in allowing McGahn to testify before the Mueller investigation for nearly 30 hours. White House attorney Emmett Flood wrote, in a letter made public Thursday, that Trumps decision to waive privilege for the Mueller investigation did not prevent him from invoking privilege in relation to a congressional investigation.

Flood sent a separate letter, dated April 19, to the Justice Department objecting in broad strokes to much of the Mueller report, claiming that it had provided far too much detail about the Trump 2016 campaign and about Trumps various responses to the launching of the Russia investigation. Ten separate episodes are examined in the report as possible instances of obstruction of justice.

The most confrontational response to the battery of Democratic investigations came from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Appearing at a Washington Post live event on Thursday morning, McCarthy declared that the FBIs launching of an investigation into the Trump campaign during the 2016 campaign was motivated by political hostility to Trump, citing email exchanges between FBI investigation leader Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, FBI attorney Lisa Page. Their actions are a coup, McCarthy said. I do not believe they were abiding by the rule of law.

Despite the rival claims of fighting against a would-be dictator and opposing a coup by the security agencies against an elected president, neither side in the conflict in Washington is defending democratic rights or constitutional principles. Both sides, the congressional Democrats, who are allied with the intelligence agencies, and the White House, supported by sections of the military, the police and fascist elements, are profoundly antidemocratic and politically reactionary.

The Democrats have not sought to remove Trump over his racist attacks on immigrants, his lavishing of favors on the corporate elite through deregulation and tax cuts, or his open consorting with fascistic elements, making him a political sponsor of such atrocities as the attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego and on mosques in New Zealand.

The political axis of the Democratic campaign against Trump is opposition to any relaxation of the ferociously anti-Russian foreign policy adopted during the second term of the Obama administration, inaugurated with the 2014 US-backed ultra-right political coup in Ukraine.

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A Chinese negotiating team led by Vice Premier Liu He will return to Washington next week for what could be make-or-break talks on a trade agreement.

The upcoming talks follow a brief trip to Beijing this week by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that failed to come up with any significant advances towards a deal.

One of the main sticking points is agreement on the procedure by which US tariffs imposed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted if a trade agreement is reached. The Chinese position is that if a deal is done the tariffs should then be removed.

However, the US has insisted that at least some tariffs should remain. They would only start to be removed once it considers that China is complying with any agreement. From the outset, the US has made clear that there will be no agreement without an enforcement mechanism. It has also claimed the right to reimpose tariffs, without retaliation by China, if it deems the agreement is being abrogated.

Chinese negotiators have made it clear that any deal in which the US has the unilateral right to impose tariff sanctions is not acceptable. It would be akin to the unequal treaties imposed in the 19th and 20th centuries by the imperialist powers. Any enforcement mechanism must operate in both directions.

It appears at this stage that the Trump administration may be prepared to remove the 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but retain the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods that were its first shot in the trade war. China responded to these tariffs by imposts on $50 billion worth of goods, mainly agricultural products, that the US is demanding be removed.

This is a key question for the Trump presidency which depends on political support from agricultural regions that have been hit by the Chinese tariffs.

One option that has been explored, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, is a proportional reduction in tariffs. The argument is that the $50 billion represents about 10 percent of Chinese goods to the US. As China imports less from the US, it should leave in place tariffs covering 10 percent of its imports. This means China would reduce its tariffs so that they covered $13 billion worth of goods, rather than $50 billion.

Another point of contention is the issue of allegations of Chinese cyber theft and intrusion into commercial networks which the US insists must cease. A report in the Financial Times suggested the US has softened its initial position and that the Trump administration, anxious to secure a deal, is likely to accept a watered-down commitment from Beijing as an alternative.

Beijing maintains the accusations of state-sponsored cyber theft are baseless. It says that it has complied with an agreement reached with the Obama administration that neither government would engage in or knowingly support the theft of online intellectual property.

If the Trump administration does accept a verbal commitment from Beijing, this is likely to be opposed by key sections of the military-intelligence establishment, as well as anti-China hawks in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a speech delivered on April 26, reported by the Financial Times, FBI director Christopher Wray said: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation.  We have economic espionage investigations that almost invariably lead back to China in all 56 [FBI] field offices, spanning almost every industry.

The issue of intellectual property forms part of US demands for sweeping structural reforms in the Chinese economy, including an end to the state subsidies to key industries under the Made in China 2025 program.

Reporting on the discussions, the Wall Street Journal said the likelihood of China giving much ground on the contentious issue of subsidies to its state-owned enterprises is diminishing. This is because it sees government support as vital to helping Chinese firms move up the value chain and become leaders in next-generation manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other fields.

The article cited people close to the talks as saying Beijing would likely pledge to ensure that companies compete fairly, but not commit to provide the details of state subsidies being demanded by the US.

It is now five months since Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to negotiations on a trade deal, initiating a process that has involved countless hours of discussions and the production of thousands of pages of documents. However, this process will not continue indefinitely.

Speaking at a financial conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps acting chief-of-staff, indicated that the outcome would soon be determined.

It wont go on forever, he said. At some point in any negotiation you go were getting close to getting something done so were going to keep going. On the other hand, at some point you throw up your hands and say this is never going anywhere. Youll know one way or the other in the next couple of weeks.

Even if a deal is reached it will not bring about an end to trade conflicts. The Financial Times columnist Edward Luce published a comment this week entitled China, the US and trade in a dog-eat-dog world. He noted that any deal would trigger a rally in the markets with the spectre of a nosedive in China-US relations averted, but it would come at the expense of future stability.

This is because any agreement will be outside the framework of the World Trade Organisation, which has been the key mechanism for settling disputes carried out in a process at arms-length from the countries involved. That would no longer apply.

The coming deals enforcement mechanism will offer Democratic and Republican presidents an irresistible set of punitive tools to use against China. There will be no WTO to keep them honest. Nor will there be any natural breaks between trade policy and diplomacy. Mr Trump has cited US national security as grounds for tariffs on European and Canadian metal imports. Pretty much any Chinese activity can also be blocked on those grounds.

He also pointed to the weaponisation of the rule of law as exemplified in Canadas arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant last year, and the continued detention by China of two Canadian nationals.

At face value, Luce concluded, the looming trade deal will probably look like a victory for Mr Trump. Further reflection reveals how much damage the deal would do to the rules-based order that America created.
On Tuesday, several dozen students and workers gathered at Humboldt University in Berlin to protest the persecution of Julian Assange and discuss the political and historical background to the attack on the courageous journalist. The meeting was convened by the University Group of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).

The audience at Humboldt university

Christoph Vandreier, deputy chairman of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP), introduced the event with an in-depth contribution, which was eagerly followed by the audience. He began by detailing the crimes WikiLeaks had revealed since its founding in 2006.

They range from evidence of torture in Guantanamo, to the uncovering of massive tax evasion by the super-rich and illegal surveillance measures, to comprehensive leaks of the war crimes of the NATO states in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Iraq war alone, WikiLeaks had evidenced 15,000 civilian killings previously hushed up by the US military. There were also countless details exposed about the armys brutal actions against men, women and children.

These revelations not only revealed the brutal nature of these colonial wars, Vandreier said, but also exposed the so-called journalists who first spread the lie about alleged weapons of mass destruction to justify the war, and then glorified it as a liberation with their embedded journalism. He added that the same hacks were now attacking Assange.

Christoph Vandreier

As a result of these revelations, the US Department of Defense had already stated in 2008 that WikiLeaks had to be discredited and its protagonists jailed. Consequently, the Wikileaks servers were attacked and blocked, the web address withdrawn and numerous ways to make donations cut off, Vandreier said.

The ruling elites had been particularly aggressive in their pursuit of Assange. Vandreier detailed how long-completed investigations were resumed because of alleged sexual offences in Sweden in order to create a pretext for his onward extradition to the United States. Even the United Nations Human Rights Council has stated that Assange was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom for a disproportionately long time.

Now he has been arrested under new pretexts and is threatened with extradition to the US, where, in secret, further charges under the espionage act are being prepared against him, which are punishable by death.

If Assange were delivered up to the US, that would not be a legal transfer, but an illegal rendition. He would not face a fair trial in the US, but a show trial, whose verdict is already fixed, Vandreier said, summing up the threat to Assange. If that comes about, it means the end of press freedom and basic democratic rights. It would be directed against all those who oppose illegal wars, mass surveillance and the enrichment of the super-rich.

Even more striking was the smear campaign now being conducted in the media against Assange, ranging from resurrecting the rape allegations, accusations of being a Russian agent, to ridiculing his physical condition after his ordeal at the Ecuadorian embassy. Vandreier also named many German media outlets which had either expressed their pleasure at Assanges arrest or legitimized it.

This showed there was no basis for the defence of democratic rights in the ruling elite, but the encouragement of authoritarian and fascist tendencies. This development should be taken very seriously, Vandreier explained, underlining this with the historical example of Carl von Ossietzky. The journalist had been imprisoned in the Weimar Republic for betrayal of secrets because he had uncovered the illegal rearmament of the Reichswehr [Imperial Army]. Two months after his release in December 1932, he was again imprisoned by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp, where he was tortured and mistreated.

Today, the actions against Assange show that those in power are heading back in the same direction, Vandreier said, adding that this was also happening at Humboldt University, where militarists like Herfried Munkler and right-wing professor Jorg Baberowski were teaching and were protected by the university management against any criticism.

The shift to the right this expressed, and the campaign against Assange, was a fundamental international development, Vandreier said. In the US, Trumps administration was increasingly taking on openly fascistic forms, and in Europe, far-right parties were already involved in government in 10 countries. The reason for this lies in the deep crisis of capitalism, which, as in the 20th century, leads to fascism and war, Vandreier explained.

He concluded saying, The only way to defend Assange and democratic rights is to mobilize the international working class on the basis of a socialist programme. That is the only social force that can oppose the campaign of the ruling elites.

Following Vandreiers contribution, a lively discussion developed, focusing primarily on this perspective and the significance of a Marxist understanding and socialist programme. At the conclusion of the meeting, the following resolution was unanimously approved by those present:

This meeting at Humboldt University Berlin condemns the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Assange, the whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and all the brave journalists who have revealed the extent of the brutal wars and crimes of those in power. We agree to support the international struggle for the freedom of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning with all our strength!
Japans Emperor Akihito abdicated his throne on Tuesday and his son Naruhito was installed as emperor the following day. Akihitos abdication has been interpreted as a rebuke to the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his far-right supporters. The imperial transition, however, will not alter the extreme right-wing trajectory of the Japanese government or the attacks taking place on the working class.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Naruhito gave his first address as emperor. As his father had previously, Naruhito referred to his position as the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan and pledged to act according to the constitution. He added, I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.

The media seizes on such remarks to portray Akihito and Naruhito as liberal and pacifist opponents of the Abe governments push for constitutional revision and remilitarization. By referring to the emperor as the symbol of the state and unity of the people, Naruhito adheres to the present constitution, which bans the emperor from intervening in politics.

Abe intends to revise Article 9 of the constitution, known as the pacifist clause, to specifically recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the formal name of Japans armed forces. This is not the only change the far-right has its eyes on.

In 2012, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a draft constitution that returns political power to the emperor by making him head of state, while also exempting him or a regent from obeying the constitution. This would pave the way for the emperor to assume the dictatorial role that he held prior to the end of World War II as the linchpin of the state apparatus that waged imperialist war abroad and suppressed the working class at home.

Abe paid lip service to Naruhito at Wednesdays ceremony, saying, Emperor, we are looking up to you as a symbol of Japan and the Japanese people, and we are filled with hope for peace and prosperity, a bright future of Japan. He then added, Everybody is uniting together in heart and building up our new culture in the future.

By a new culture, Abe means a thorough going revision of history to cover-up the crimes of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s and a rejection of the nominal pacifism of post-war Japan.

Japans ultra-nationalists, including Abe, desire a break with the current 1947 constitution, which was written by United States occupation forces following the war. These layers complain that the constitution is filled with too many Western concepts, including democracy and individual rights. They also complain that the constitution handcuffs their ability to pursue Japans imperialist interests by military force if necessary.

In writing the post-war constitution, the US hoped to eliminate competition in Asia. It was meant to gut the militarist components of the 1889 Meiji constitution. The maintenance of the emperor system, however, was a key part of the preservation of the capitalist state in Japan, as even before the war ended the US saw Japan as an ally against the Soviet Union.

Abe made similar statements about a new culture after the government announced April 1 the name of Naruhitos reign, Reiwa, saying the name meant a culture born and nurtured as peoples hearts are beautifully drawn together. While meaning beautiful harmony, Reiwa has drawn criticism. The character rei can mean cold or austere, as well as being found in words like meirei, meaning order or command. Wa, while meaning peace, is also part of Showa, the name of the wartime Emperor Hirohitos reign.

Reiwa is also the first name to be drawn from Japanese sources, rather than Chinese classics. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan, commented in the South China Morning Post, In explaining the choice and meaning of the  gengo (reign), Abe engaged in some dog-whistling to his conservative constituency, extolling Japans glorious cultural heritage, natural beauty and proud history.

The transition took place over nearly three years. In 2016, Akihito, then 82, first hinted at his desire to abdicate. His decision was not simply due to old age. Every move and word the emperor makes is carefully weighed. Because Japans legal system does not allow the emperor to step down, a special, one-off law had to be passed in 2017. Akihito exercised caution, lest he be accused of demanding such a law and thereby interfering in politics.

However, the emperor is not a neutral arbiter standing above classes or the state. He is a key component of the capitalist state apparatus, maintaining its unity even as contending factions of the ruling class disagree on tactical issues. Whatever Akihitos immediate desire, his intrusion into politics, both in requesting a new law be passed and over constitutional revision, objectively lays the precedent for an emperor taking on more of a political role in the future.

While more liberal elements of the political establishment look towards the emperor for support in their disputes with Abe, all factions agree on two points: First, Japan should, in one way or another, be able to send its military overseas to fight for its imperialist interests. Second, that the capitalist state must have the power to suppress the struggles of the working class for its social and democratic rights.

The disputes in ruling circles have centered on secondary issues such as whether or not women should be allowed to become emperor. Far-right organizations like Nippon Kaigi, which count Abe, most of his cabinet, and numerous lawmakers as members, demand adherence to traditional positions. These include eliminating equal rights for women and dragooning men into military service.

The so-called liberals and left in Japan have postured as progressive on the status of women and royalty, and opposed any substantive revision of Article 9the so-called pacifist clause of the constitutionin a bid to contain growing anger in Japan over widening social inequality and the dangers of war. None of this, however, has halted the growing gulf between rich and poor, nor the build-up of the Japanese armed forces and their dispatch to US-led wars.
One hundred years ago on May 4, 1919, thousands of students from 13 colleges and universities gathered in what is today Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to protest the outcome of the peace talks in Versailles following the end of World War I. They were outraged at the horse-trading between the major powers that handed Shandong Province to Japan and kept in place the unequal treaties forced on China. These had created British, French and International concessions, or enclaves, in cities like Shanghai.

The demonstration was the outcome of intense discussions and meetings throughout the previous day and night. These brought forward an already planned protest, following news about the complicity of the warlord government in Beijing in the outcome of the talks. Students handed out copies of a passionate Manifesto of All Students of Peking that called on the nation to rise up to secure our sovereignty in foreign affairs and to get rid of the traitors at home:

This is the last chance for China in her life and death struggle. Today we swear two solemn oaths with all our fellow countrymen: (1) Chinas territory may be conquered but it cannot be given away; (2) the Chinese people may be massacred but they will not surrender. Our country is about to be annihilated. Up brethren! [1]

The students marched through the streets chanting anti-imperialist slogans such as China has been sentenced to death [at the Paris Conference], Refuse to sign the Peace Treaty, Boycott Japanese goods and China belongs to the Chinese. They denounced pro-Japanese traitors who were government ministers.

Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles on May 4

One account described the public reaction:

The people of Beijing were deeply impressed by the demonstrators. Many spectators were so touched that they wept as they stood silently on the streets and listened carefully to the students shout their slogans. Many Western spectators greeted them with ovations and by taking off or waving their hats Boy scouts and students from elementary schools joined in and distributed leaflets. [2]

Prevented by police from entering the Legation Quarter to appeal to foreign representatives for justice for China, the students proceeded to the residence of one of the three pro-Japanese traitors. Students broke into the house and beat up several occupants. Clashes broke out with police. A number of students were injured, one later dying in hospital, and 32 were arrested and imprisoned in police headquarters.

The protest triggered a broad anti-imperialist movement, initially of students, which also drew in the working class and layers of intellectuals, merchants and the urban poor, triggering strikes, protests and a boycott of Japanese goods. Police repression and arrests only provoked greater resistance.

In early June, the government launched a massive crackdown on groups of students campaigning in the streets, handing out leaflets and urging people to buy Chinese rather than Japanese goods. After the first arrests on June 2, thousands of students took to the streets on the following days, some with bedding strapped to their back in preparation for jail. By the end of June 4, over a thousand were being held in makeshift prisons in the buildings of Peking University, surrounded by troops.

Protesters on May 4

The mass arrests in early June provoked indignation throughout China. On June 5, a commercial strike paralysed Chinas main industrial centreShanghaiin support of some 13,000 striking students. Strikes by workers spread throughout the city over the next days, with estimates of up to 90,000 workers involved. From Shanghai, the protests and strikes extended to other major cities.

Brought to its knees by the strike movement, the Beijing government first tried to conciliate with the students. The police and troops were withdrawn from the campuses, but the students refused to leave their campus prisons until their demands were met. The government and the police were compelled to apologise. Finally, students marched out of their prisons on June 8 amid firecrackers and cheers to a fervent mass meeting and parade of welcome given by their fellow students and the citizenry. [3]

On June 10, as the strikes and protests continued, the government announced the resignation of the three pro-Japanese ministers. However, the key demandthat China not sign the Versailles Treatyremained unmet. On June 24, the government instructed the Chinese delegation, even if its protestations to the major powers failed, to sign the document regardless. Faced with an outpouring of angry protest, the president was compelled to reverse the decision the following day. On June 28, Chinas representatives refused to join the major powers in signing the peace treaty with Germany.

May 4 demonstrators after their release from prison

The demonstrations and strikes were part of a broader intellectual and political ferment. The students who came onto the streets on May 4 had been influenced by the ideas of the New Culture movement, which asserted that ending Chinas subjugation required the modernisation of all aspects of society on the basis of democratic ideals and the scientific advances in Europe and the United States.

What was involved was a revolt against traditional Chinese ethics, customs, literary forms, philosophy and social and political institutions. The chief target was ossified Confucianism, which had the status of a quasi-state religion. It provided the ideological underpinning for Chinas elites by insisting on the unquestioning obedience of the ruled to the rulers, women to their husbands and sons to their fathers.

The New Culture movement had many diverse strands. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, a layer of intellectuals and youth turned decisively toward socialism, and, under the impact of the October Revolution in Russia, to Marxism and Bolshevism.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in July 1921, little more than two years after the first Beijing protest. Many of the founding members were youth who had been radicalised by the May 4 movement. The CCPs first chairman, Chen Duxiu, was a man in his early 40s who commanded respect inside and outside the party as a revolutionary and the chief intellectual leader of the New Culture movement.

One hundred years on, the CCP has long abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles on which it was founded and is resurrecting the stifling Chinese traditions against which the intellectuals and students had rebelled in the early 20th century. Today the CCP bureaucracy uses its police state apparatus to suppress any criticism or independent thought in schools and on university campuses, and is locking up students from Peking University and other campuses for the crime of supporting workers struggles.

Whatever ceremonies are organised by the CCP to mark May 4 will, above all, be designed to cover up and deny the crucial political lessons the anniversary holds for youth and workers today.

The roots of the May 4 movement

The roots of the May 4 movement lay in the failure of the 1911 Chinese Revolution, led by Sun Yat-sen. The movement overthrew the decrepit Manchu dynasty but could not implement its own aimsnational unity and independence, a democratic republic and social welfare for the people, including land for the peasants.

Sun Yat-sen

The outcome demonstrated the organic inability of the class that Sun representedthe emerging Chinese bourgeoisieto fulfil its historic tasks, tied as it was to the landlords in the countryside and subordinated to the imperialist powers on the world arena.

Chinese society had been wracked by crisis for well over a century, compounded by the corrosive influence of foreign invasions. Britain and France fought two Opium Wars, in 1842 and 1858, against the waning Manchu dynasty, which had attempted to block their huge sales of opium into China that were designed to ensure a permanent trade surplus in their favour. The European powers also established the treaty ports and the concessions, where extraterritoriality applied and foreigners were exempt from Chinese law and the payment of Chinese taxes.

The response of the Manchu court to these defeats and foreign exactions was to impose new burdens, chiefly on the peasantry that formed the vast bulk of the population and underpinned Chinas economy. The ruination of the countryside was compounded by a flood of cheap foreign goods, which all but destroyed the local handicraft industries. Oppressive conditions sparked rural revolts, including the Taiping Rebellion, which grew out of an obscure neo-Christian cult in 1850 into a storm that swept the country and was only finally crushed in 1865 with the assistance of foreign troops.

The defeat of China at the hands of Japanese imperialism in 1895 came as a shock. It intensified the debate over how to resist the foreign carve-up and subjugation of the country. However, attempts to reform the decrepit Manchu dynasty and transform the archaic machinery of government came to nothing. The so-called Hundred Days of reform in 1898, under the young Emperor Guangxu, was abruptly ended by the Dowager Empress Cixi. She imprisoned her nephew and executed or jailed his reformist advisers.

Boxer rebels in 1900

The days of the Manchu dynasty were numbered. At the turn of the century, the dowager empress attempted to manipulate a new revolt by a Chinese secret organisation, known as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, that erupted in northern China, and direct it against the foreign powers. The Boxer Rebellion was suppressed by foreign troops and new impositions were made on China by the victors.

Sun Yat-sen came to prominence in the wake of the failure of all attempts to reform the Manchu dynasty. While advocating revolution, however, he made no attempt to build a mass political movement, and engaged in conspiratorial activities involving small armed putsches or terrorist actions against individual Manchu officials.

In 1911, the Manchu dynasty virtually imploded. The imperial government was on the brink of bankruptcy after decades of plundering by the major powers. Politically, it was thoroughly discredited, as a result of the foreign annexation of Chinese territory in the form of colonies, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the extra-territorial concessions.

When the Manchu dynasty finally promised constitutional reform, it was too late. Significant sections of the Chinese bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and military had turned to Sun Yat-sen. On October 10, 1911, thousands of troops in Wuchang in Hubei province staged a rebellion and proclaimed a republic. The revolt rapidly spread across many Chinese provinces, but the lack of any genuine mass movement left vested interests untouched.

Sun was proclaimed the provisional president of a loosely federated Republic of China but, lacking any significant social base of his own, compromised with the old military-bureaucratic apparatus. Under pressure from the imperialist powers, he handed the presidency to the last prime minister of the Manchu dynasty, Yuan Shikai, who scrapped the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

The New Culture movement

In May 1915, Yuan provoked a wave of protests and opposition when his government accepted Japans humiliating 21 demands that gave it effective control of large swathes of China, including Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Public hostility only intensified when, in December 1915, he had himself elected as emperor of China by his puppet National Peoples Assembly.

Most of Chinas southern provinces under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen declared their independence from the Beijing government and, as his supporters deserted, Yuan expressed his intention of abandoning monarchism. He died in June 1916, leaving a fractured China ruled by rival warlords, each backed by competing foreign powers.

Chen Duxiu (left)

In 1915, amid the political turmoil, Chen Duxiu, who had been active in the 1911 revolution and in a revolt in 1913 against Yuans regime, returned to Shanghai from exile in Japan. He established the New Youth magazine, which proved to be a powerful magnet for the new generation of students. It was one of the pioneer publications in vernacular Chinese, rather than in the scholarly classical Chinese that was largely inaccessible to the population.

New Youth sounded a clarion call. Chen proclaimed that the task of the new generation was to fight Confucianism, the old tradition of virtue and rituals, the old ethics and the old politics the old learning and the old literature. Mr Confucius, Chen declared, had to be replaced by Mr Democracy and Mr Science.

The extensive rural revolts in Chinaincluding the Taiping and Boxer rebellionshad been based largely on superstition, religious cults and secret societies. Sun Yat-sen espoused the ideals of a democratic republic, but exploited Han Chinese racialism against the Manchu, or Manchurian rulers.

However, Chen drew his intellectual inspiration from the European Enlightenment and the democratic traditions embodied in the 18th century revolutions in France and the United States. He wrote in New Youth in 1915:

We must break down the old prejudices, the old way of believing in things as they are, before we can begin to hope for social progress. We must discard our old ways. We must merge the ideas of the great thinkers of history, old and new, with our own experience, build up new ideas in politics, morality, and economic life. [4]

In his seminal work, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Harold Isaacs described Chens appeal to youth as the opening manifesto of the era of the second Chinese revolutionthe political upheavals and ferment that began with the protest and strike movement of 1919 and led to the nation-wide revolutionary upsurge in 1925, only to be tragically betrayed in 1927. Isaacs explained the impact of New Youth:

Chens magazine was eagerly snatched up by students in every school and college in the country. When it was published, wrote one student, it came to us like a clap of thunder which awakened us in the midst of a restless dream I dont know how many times this first issue was reprinted, but I am sure that more than 200,000 copies were sold. It nourished the impulsive iconoclasm of the young people. It gave direction to the mood of unease and unsettlement that pervaded all classes in the population. It was a call to action that awakened an immediate response. [5]

Li Dazhao

In late 1916, facing growing popular opposition, the government appointed the noted liberal educator, Cai Yuanpei, as chancellor of Peking University. Cai transformed the university from a bastion of conservative tradition into a hotbed of progressive intellectual thought and debate. Early the following year, he brought Chen to the university as dean of the School of Letters. Other intellectual leaders joined him, including Li Dazhao, who was appointed chief librarian in February 1918 and became a close collaborator of Chen. Mao Zedong, 25, was one of Lis assistants.

Chen and Li helped to foster a group of students who produced their own monthly magazine, New Tide, which first appeared in January 1919. Many were to become prominent student leaders in the protests that erupted on May 4. New Tide groups were influenced by many intellectual currents, but the Russian Revolution was already making its presence felt. One contributor to the first issue, Lo Chia-lun, declared that the October 1917 Revolution was the new world tide of the 20th century.

With the end of World War I in November 1918, all eyes were on the Versailles Peace Conference, which would decide the terms of the peace with Germany. In the first year of the war, Japan had seized Shandong Province from Germany, which had held the area since 1898 on a 99-year lease. Japans representatives in Paris made clear that Tokyo not only wanted to retain Shandong indefinitely but to extend its presence, as outlined in the 21 Demands that had been accepted by the Beijing government in May 1915.

China had a seat at the table as one of the victorious allies. At least 140,000 Chinese labourers had supported the British and French war efforts, as part of the Chinese Labour Corps, with estimates of the number of deaths as high as 20,000.

On November 17, 1918, a huge demonstration in Beijing of some 60,000 people had celebrated the end of the war. The speeches reflected the widespread optimism that the Allies represented democracy over despotism and would restore Shandong to China. When the Versailles Peace conference opened in January 1919, however, those illusions were shattered. Japan announced that Britain, France and Italy had signed secret treaties with Japan that supported its claims to Shandong.

Woodrow Wilson

Great hopes remained, however, that the United States would prevail. In his speech to the US Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson had outlined, in 14 points, the aims of the US in entering the war against Germany. The speech was, above all, aimed at countering the appeals of the Bolshevik leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, to the international working class to put an end to the war through socialist revolution.

Wilson called for the abolition of secret treaties, an adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of the native peoples, as well as of the colonial powers, and, most significantly from the standpoint of China, a League of Nations that would guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike.

The outcome of the Peace Conference in May 1919 came as a huge blow to Chinese intellectuals, students and the broader population. Their anger was not only directed against Japan and its immediate alliesBritain, France and Italyand pro-Japanese ministers in the Beijing government, but also against the US and its president. A graduate at Peking University later recalled:

When the news of the Paris Peace Conference finally reached us, we were greatly shocked. We at once awoke to the fact that foreign nations were still selfish and militaristic and they were all great liars We had nothing to do with our government, that we knew very well, and at the same time we could no longer depend on the principles of any so-called great leader like Woodrow Wilson, for example. Looking at our people and at the pitiful ignorant masses, we couldnt help but feel we must struggle.[6]

The protests and strikes that began on May 4, 1919 were accompanied by a feverish intellectual and political debate over the way forward. It included a multitude of contendersliberals and anarchists, democrats, syndicalists and socialists of different types. The American philosopher John Dewey arrived in China, literally on the eve of the May 4 protest, and developed a following, through his lectures and articles, over the next two years. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell also won followers after he was invited to lecture in China and remained for nearly a year from October 1920.

John Dewey (front right) in Shanghai, 1919

Marxism, however, had no strong established presence in China. It was identified with the Second International, which had been divided over the preoccupation of Chinese intellectualshow to end colonial domination. At the Internationals 1907 Stuttgart congress, which discussed the issue at length, some delegates openly expressed chauvinist attitudes, including toward the yellow race. The outbreak of World War I, an imperialist war for the division and revision of the world, precipitated the collapse of the Second International, as most parties and leaders sided with their own bourgeois governments and their predatory war aims.

Lenin and Trotsky, who had both opposed the betrayal of the Second International, expressed unambiguous opposition to colonialism and support for the struggles of the oppressed peoples of the colonies. In the wake of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, that message reverberated around the world. The manifesto of the founding congress of the Third International in March 1919 declared: Colonial slaves of Africa and Asia: the hour of proletarian dictatorship will also be the hour of your liberation.

In one of his first actions as Peoples Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Trotsky seized and published the secret treaties and papers of the Tsarist and Provisional governments, in order to expose the intrigues of the major powers. In July 1919, Leo Karakhan, acting for the Peoples Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, issued a declaration abrogating all previous secret and unequal treaties between the Tsarist regime and China, and relinquishing Russian claims in China, without seeking compensation.

When news of that declaration finally reached China in March 1920, it had a profound impact. It stood in stark contrast to the determination of the imperialist powers to maintain their colonial possessions and enclaves in China. Some 30 major organisations publicly expressed their gratitude to the Soviet government. Most newspapers demanded that the Beijing government, which had continued to recognise the Tsarist officials of the Russian legation, establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet government.

One of the first Chinese intellectuals to recognise the significance of the Russian Revolution was Chen Duxius close collaborator, Li Dazhao. In an essay published in New Youth in 1918, entitled The Victory of Bolshevism, he hailed the October Revolution as the beginning of a new era:

Although the word Bolshevism was created by the Russians, its spirit expresses the common sentiments of 20th century mankind. Thus, the victory of Bolshevism is the victory of the spirit of all mankind. [7]

Inspired by Trotskys work, War and the International, Li declared that World War I marked the beginning of the class war between the world proletarian masses and the world capitalists. The Bolshevik revolution was only the first step toward the destruction of the presently existing national boundaries which are barriers to socialism and the destruction of the capitalist monopoly-profit system of production. [8]

Societies for the Study of Socialism had proliferated following the protest movement of MayJune 1919. However, in March 1919, inspired by Li, students from Peking University established a Society for the Study of Marxist Theory. Early in 1920, the Third International or Comintern, which had closely followed the events of 1919 in China, sent Gregori Voitinsky from the Far Eastern Secretariat to Beijing to make contacts. He met with Li, who sent him to meet Chen in Shanghai.

Representatives of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Paris in 1924

Chen, who had been influenced by the philosophical pragmatism and democratic idealism of Dewey, was slower to embrace Marxism than Li. However, in the wake of the MayJune protest movement, his political attitudes shifted rapidly. He had been arrested for his activities during the protests, and following his release, later in 1919, left for Shanghai, where he found layers of workers and youth who had been radicalised. By one account:

When Chen returned there, he immediately attracted a group of active intellectuals who joined him in Marxist study and activities Chen himself became active in promoting the labour movement, often making fiery speeches to the workers that reflected his Marxist thinking. [9]

When Voitinsky met with Chen in Shanghai the result was a decision to amalgamate a number of groups, which would form the basis for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, initially created in secret in May 1920. A draft party constitution was passed and a provisional central organisation based in Shanghai. Chen was elected as its first secretary. The party was formally established in July 1921, which is usually taken as the official date. [10]

The Chinese Communist Party today

A hundred years on, the Chinese Communist Party completely distorts the significance of the May 4, 1919 events. It has long repudiated the democratic principles of the New Culture movement and the socialist internationalism upon which the party was founded. The last thing that the CCP bureaucrats in Beijing want is for young workers and students today to draw inspiration from the youthful rebellion of 1919 by mounting their own revolt against the CCPs police-state apparatus and the stultifying intellectual climate it engenders.

Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his speech this week to mark the May 4 movement to hail the virtues of nationalism and patriotism. Xi, who rests on a vast repressive apparatus, insisted that young people must avoid mistaken thoughts and obey the party.

Significantly, students from Peking University and other elite institutions have been detained since last year for the crime of assisting workers from Jasic Technology, in Shenzhen, in their struggle to form an independent trade union. The Marxist Society on the campus was threatened with closure, then taken over by CCP stooges. And this took place at the university that was at the very centre of the intellectual ferment of the New Culture movement, and whose students initiated the protest of May 4, 1919.

The CCP cannot tolerate the study of genuine Marxism because it raises far too many questions about its own history and practices. Its socialism with Chinese characteristics is an absurd formula, used to justify the processes of capitalist restoration, over which it has presided since 1978. The result has led to staggering disparities between the wealth and privileges of the CCP leaders and the super-rich oligarchs they represent, and the vast majority of working people. Incapable of making any appeal based on socialist principles, the regime has relied on whipping up Chinese nationalism and resurrecting backward Chinese traditions and superstitions.

This is epitomised by the CCPs revival of Confucianismthe chief target of the New Culture movement. It is promoted in schools, universities and through the fostering of Confucius Institutes in countries around the world. In a speech to an international conference in 2014, marking the 2,565th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, President Xi declared that the Chinese Communist Party is the successor to and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. Undoubtedly, the rigid hierarchical view of society to be found in Confucianism dovetails with the bureaucratic outlook of the CCP apparatus.

The CCP long ago abandoned the socialist and internationalist principles embodied in Marxism and in the October 1917 Russian Revolution. The CCP bureaucrats today are not heirs of that tradition, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Moscow that usurped power from the working class under the reactionary nationalist banner of Socialism in One Country. Shortly after the CCPs formation, Stalin shackled it to the bourgeois Kuomintang (KMT), leading to a disastrous series of defeats of the Chinese working class in the revolutionary upheavals of 192527.

Mao with Stalin

Once again, the figure of Chen Duxiu looms large. He opposed the betrayal of the Chinese revolution in the 1920s, and sided with Leon Trotsky, who had warned that Stalins policies in China would lead to a catastrophe for the working class. Chen became the first chairman of the unified Chinese Left Opposition. Formed in 1931, it waged a courageous struggle for the founding principles of the CCP, despite being hounded and persecuted on all sides, including by the Stalinists.

In China, as internationally, the first stirrings of the working class are emerging in opposition to the oppressive conditions of work and life, and to the CCPs police-state apparatus, which seeks to suppress any form of opposition and independent thought. As in 1919, the main question that confronts Chinese workers and youth is on what basis a political fight can be waged against the CCP and the oligarchs that it represents.

The chief lesson from the May 4 movement is that the answers to these questions are not to be found in Chinain particular, in reviving the Chinese variant of Stalinism represented by Mao Zedong. In 1969, on the 50th anniversary of the May 4 events, Mao exploited and perverted the memories of that movement to justify the unleashing of gangs of Red Guards against the so-called capitalist roaders in the misnamed Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

In fact, Mao proved to be the capitalist roader in chief. No sooner had he set the Red Guards against his factional opponents, than the working class appeared on the scene, with the establishment of the Shanghai Peoples Commune in 1967. Maos response was to call out the army to bring the situation under control. By 1969, the disoriented youth in the Red Guards had become simply pawns in the factional struggles in Beijing.

Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon, 1972

The Cultural Revolution, however, could not and did not resolve the underlying economic and strategic crisis produced by the reactionary nationalist perspective of socialism in one country. There was no national solution: the only choices were world socialist revolution or reintegration in world capitalism. Having abandoned the former decades before, Mao reached a rapprochement with US imperialism in 1972 that opened the door for wholesale capitalist restoration.

Today, workers and youth in China confront the social catastrophe created by capitalist restoration, and the danger of war with the US, for which the CCP has no answer, other than an arms race that will inevitably end in catastrophe. As in 1919, the way out, again, is to be found on the international political and theoretical plane.

What is necessary is a return to the strategy of world socialist revolution and to build a Chinese section of the international party that fights for itthe world Trotskyist movement, today represented by the International Committee of the Fourth International. It alone embodies the necessary political lessons of the strategic experiences of the 20th century in the fight against Stalinism, including the courageous struggles of Chen Duxiu and the Chinese Trotskyists.

Footnotes

1. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China, Stanford University Press, 1967, pp 1067.

2. ibid, pp 109.

3. ibid, p 160.

4. Harold R. Isaacs, The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution, Stanford University Press, second revised edition, 1961, p 53.

5. ibid, p 54.

6. Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement (Intellectual Revolution in Modern China), Stanford University Press, 1967, p 93.

7. Benjamin I. Schwartz, Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao, Harper & Row, 1967, p 14.

8. Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism , Harvard University Press, 1967, p 68.

9. Thomas C. Kuo, Chen Tu-hsiu (1879-1942) and the Chinese Com munist Movement, Seton Hall University Press, 1975, p 79.

10. Chow, op cit, p 248.
There is growing sentiment among Mississippi teachers for strike action against poverty wages, according to the results of a Survey on Teacher Action released by the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE).

The statewide poll of teachers reflects escalating anger among educators across the state. Of the 1,765 respondents to the survey, almost 80 percent identified themselves as classroom teachers. Sixty-three percent stated they would participate in a one-day statewide sickout; 61 percent stated they would rally at the state capitol on a Saturday before the end of this school year; and nearly 40 percent stated they would walk out on a specific day and refuse to return for an indefinite amount of time.

The results are significant and mark an increasing desire by Mississippi educators to oppose low wages and terrible working conditions, leading to low retention rates. There has been no strike in the southern state of Mississippi since 1985, after which state lawmakers passed punitive regulations against striking teacher groups, including massive fines and jail time. Mississippi teachers make the second-lowest salaries in the country, ahead of South Dakota.

The growing militancy, even in the face of draconian anti-strike laws, is developing within the context of teachers struggles across the globe which are increasing in quantity and scope. From Poland to Brazil, from India to North and South Carolina, teachers are waging a historic battle against decades-long reactionary measures imposed by all factions of the ruling elite to deprive the working class of the basic social right to a high-quality education.

On April 16, Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill purporting to provide teachers and assistant teachers a $1,500 pay raise, to go into effect at the beginning of the next school year. Both Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves praised the derisory raise as an achievement. According to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the current average salary for teachers in Mississippi is $44,459, more than $10,000 less than the national average, and $7,000 less than the regional average in the southeast. The minimum salary for assistant teachers is currently $12,500.

Adding insult to injury, it has since been learned that certain categories of teachers are excluded from the deal, including special education teachers, teachers for gifted learners, and some assistant teachers, although Bryant claims he will rectify this error.

Some school districts, such as Lee County and Clarksdale Municipal, have, in fact, confirmed that some teachers and assistant teachers in their schools have been excluded from the raise. Dennis Dupree, superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District, in the river delta county of Coahoma, stated that the raises allotted to some teachers are less than $1,500, with some being as low as $300.

In a state with the highest paid superintendent of education in the countryCarey Wright, whose salary is $300,000the legislature is dismissing the dire economic conditions of teachers.

The Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), the state chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), sponsored the Survey on Teacher Action. However, this was not in order to lead a struggle in response the growing mandate from its members, but is part of its effort to lobby the state legislature. In its statement released with the survey results, the MAE says: Actions such as informational picketing or having a rally are not the endgame.

An April 5 survey by WJTV News in Jackson reported an even higher proportion of teachers supporting strike action that in the MAE survey, with 79 percent of 981 teachers polled answering in the affirmative. Yet the union is opposed to even mild protests such as informational pickets and rallies.

The organizers behind the Facebook group Pay Raise for Mississippi pointed to the reasoning behind the MAEs strategy, stating in a post: Folks, if nothing else we have shaped the conversation. The media is questioning the candidates on our issues. We have made them hear us... The candidates know that going into this election the needs of educators cannot be ignored. We need to take this energy through the summer and into the fall and get the votes we need to elect the leaders we need. (Emphasis added).

While the legislature was running down the legislative clock, the union was stalling, working to exhaust the opposition of teachers and their supporters.

This was the intent all along. The MAE underscored the fact that it never advocate[d] or encourage[d] survey respondents to select any specific action, and said the options were listed only because they were being strongly considered by educators.

In other words, teachers are demanding a strike, but are being blocked by the MAE, which seeks to the use the anger of teachers as a bargaining chip in its relations with Democratic and Republican politicians. The union admitted as much, stating that the surveys findings will guide the drafting of an organizing plan that will be implemented now through the 2020 legislative session.

But teachers have different thoughts on the matter. As part of the WJTV poll, the media stated: [B]y state law, if teachers strike they will be breaking the law, which prompted one commenter to reply: Whats worse? Breaking a tyrannical law to hopefully improve our situation or sitting back and doing nothing while politicians continue to make our jobs more and more impossible?

Another educator, responding to the MAE survey results, stated: They cant get rid of or fire EVERY educator in the state. If EVERYONE joins, locks arms, protests, and marches we can be heard. We can make a change. Everyone can. Another said: Dont expect to see a change if you dont make one. For any positive outcome, it requires the MAJORITY of educators to stand united and unwavering. We cant expect positive change while cowering in the corner. To which another responded, Just look at SOUTH CAROLINA.

The record of the state legislature is more than clear. Mississippis education budget has declined over the course of the entire past decade, with a recurring shortfall of $2.3 billion. This has produced a drastic shortage in certified teachers, especially in more rural areas. In a paper published in the 2017 Mississippi Economic Review, Understanding the Nature of the Teacher Shortage in Mississippi, the authors state that among the economic hindrances to recruiting teachers in rural areas are low salary and benefits, state and national requirements for highly qualified educators, entrance requirements into teacher education, geographic isolation, and poor or limited housing options.

Some counties have been forced to lay off teachers to avoid budget shortfalls in their school districts. These cuts to the states school system have exacerbated the states overall population decline since the last census.

Expressing the general frustration, one commenter on the Pay Raise Facebook page stated, This is why the Legislature continues to do as they wish, because educators will not unite. This lack of unity, however, has nothing to do with teacherswho are demanding action from coast to coastand everything to do with the policy of the unions.

The Mississippi union, like the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers nationally, are doing everything they can to block strikes and prevent the unity of educators and all sections of the working class seeking to defend public education. In the service of their unholy alliance with the big business politicians responsible for the de-funding of public education and their defense of the capitalist profit system, there is no line the unions will not cross.
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Over the past two months investigations published by Unicorn Riot and the Huffington Post have exposed eleven members of Identity Evropa, an American neo-Nazi organization, operating freely within the US military. The latest exposure reveals the extent to which reactionary forces are allowed to cultivate, fester and recruit within the United States armed forces across all branches and ranks.

US snipers pose in front of Nazi SS flag in 2012 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

In March 2019, independent media outlet Unicorn Riot published more than 770,000 Discord chat messages from chat servers associated with Identity Evropa. Discord is a messaging service popular with computer video game players. Combing through the chat logs, Huffington Post reporters have so far been able to identify 11 members from the white supremacist organization who are currently serving in the US military.

The chat logs reveal that all of the participants are well versed in fascist ideology and are actively recruiting throughout the United States. Members of the group frequently shared anti-Semitic memes and glorified Adolf Hitler. Photos posted in the chat logs and on Twitter show members postering on college campuses with racist slogans, proclaiming to potential recruits, Its OK to be white.

One fascist exposed in the logs is currently a master sergeant in the Air Force named Cory Allen Reeve. Reeve lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was outed by anti-fascist activists in a flyer that was distributed throughout the community. Reeve frequently posted in the chat, encouraging members to pay more than the $10 monthly membership dues. He also shared photographs of himself at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center & Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, where he posted signs thanking the Gestapo-like border police for all that you do for our country.

Two Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) college students were also exposed in the chat. Jay C. Harrison, 20, is currently enrolled at Montana State University at Bozeman and is a member of the Army National Guard. In the logs, he espoused anti-Semitic lies, discrediting the veracity of the Holocaust, and commenting, I wish the Holocaust was real. Another ROTC recruit, 23-year-old University of Rochester student and Army reservist Christopher Hodgman, was identified as a member of the group. In the fall of 2018, Hodgman was responsible for posting Identity Evropa flyers and stickers throughout Brighton, New York, including on the Brighton Memorial Library and Town Hall.

Identity Evropa was founded in 2016 by Nathan Damigo, a former Marine who participated in two tours in Iraq. The Marines are the least racially diverse branch of the military, with over 80 percent of its recruits identifying themselves as white.

During Damigos two tours in Iraq, he became radicalized and suffered from PTSD following the loss of three close friends. In October 2007, one month after completing his second tour, Damigo, severely inebriated after celebrating the anniversary of the death of one of his fellow soldiers, robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint of $43 for looking Iraqi. Damigo was discharged from the military and convicted of armed robbery. He was then sentenced to five years in prison, where he was introduced to white supremacist literature, including Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes My Awakening.

Upon his release from prison in 2014, Damigo began attending classes at California State University at Stanislaus. While in college, he affiliated with various white supremacist groups before forming his own organization, dubbed Identity Evropa, in 2016.

Borrowing the reactionary language and methods of identity politics promoted on campuses by post-modernist professors and the pseudo-left, Damigo was able to cultivate a following with a small membership. He also began to affiliate with prominent racists, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer.

This relationship bore its terrible fruits in the culmination of the fascist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, during which 32-year-old Heather Heyer was murdered by a 20-year-old Hitler admirer who rammed his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators.

Following the fascist rampage in Virginia, Damigo stepped down from his leadership position within the group, which has since passed on to current leader Patrick Casey. In a rebranding attempt following the disclosure of the chat logs, the group is calling itself the American Identity Movement.

The exposure of this latest group of fascists within the military exemplifies a wider trend.

In November 2018, Pro Publica, in conjunction with PBS, exposed another neo-Nazi network, with members who are either active in the military or who previously served. This militant fascist organization calls itself the Atomwaffen Division and has focused its recruitment on college campuses and online message boards. The group gained prominence in 2016 by distributing flyers urging students to Join Your Local Nazis!

The Atomwaffen Division has been implicated in five murders dating back to 2017. Its members have also been tied to plots to bomb synagogues and nuclear power plants.

This week saw the Marines open another investigationthe second this yearregarding Marines posting Nazi iconography and slogans. Private First Class Anthony D. Schroader posted a picture on Instagram of himself and at least four other soldiers forming a swastika with their combat boots. Earlier this year, Lance Corporal Mason Mead was put under investigation by the corps after he posted images of himself in blackface along with a swastika he had formed with C-4 plastic explosives.

It is unknown exactly how many of the 2.1 million soldiers currently in the US military and reserves have fascist sympathies or are active members of a far-right organization. However, a 2017 poll conducted by the Military Times found that nearly 25 percent of service members surveyed stated they had encountered white supremacists within their ranks. That same poll found that 30 percent of those surveyed viewed white nationalism as a bigger threat to the United States than the wars in Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq.

The abundance of fascists within the US military verifies what white supremacist terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who carried the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, alleged earlier this year in his now censored manifesto. Tarrant travelled throughout Europe and Asia, openly meeting with neo-Nazis. Tarrant estimates that there are hundreds of thousands who hold similar views as he throughout the police and armed forces.

The cultivation and promotion of far-right forces within American society by President Trump, who hailed the rampaging white supremacists in Charlottesville as good people, marks a conscious and violent shift of the ruling elite to the right. Similar to disaffected German soldiers following World War I, American veterans and active duty soldiers returning from war who are physically and psychologically broken are being cultivated from the top to serve fascistic interests in the name of preserving bourgeois class rule.

The multi-billion-dollar US spy apparatus is more than capable of identifying and rooting out public and private communications. The fact that so many of these fascists have been outed by independent reporters speaks to the complicity of the US government in shielding these forces from exposure.

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By ANI

NEW DELHI: A Special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to Ritu Khaitan, wife of lawyer-cum-businessman Gautam Khaitan in connection with a money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar while granting regular bail to Ritu directed her to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs. 25 lakhs and two sureties of like amount and posted the matter for hearing on August 7.

Enforcement Directorate through its counsel opposed the Ritu's bail plea. Advocate Naveen Kumar Matta was representing the agency and advocate Pramod Dubey was appearing for Ritu Khaitan.

Special Judge Kumar also issued fresh summons to two firms - Windsor and Ismax Fresh Service after Gautam Khaitan who refused to accept the summons for it.

Last month, the court granted the bail to Khaitan in the case. The court also directed him not to influence the witness or hamper the evidence.

The ED on March 25 filed a 1500-page charge sheet (prosecution complaint) against Khaitan. The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Kumar under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In the charge sheet, the ED alleged that Khaitan deposited a huge amount of money in offshore accounts. He has also been accused of holding bank accounts abroad and having Rs 6000 crore which he didn't disclose in his income tax return.

The document was filed in connection with a fresh case lodged against Khaitan on the complaint of the Income Tax (I-T) Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
It took less than 24 hours for the Macron governments fabricated story about yellow vest protesters attacking the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital on May Day in Paris to collapse like a house of cards. It has been exposed as yet another lie to cast the protests against social inequality as criminal riots and promote Macrons build-up of a French police state against the working class.

The events in question occurred slightly after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, on the Boulevard de lHopital in Paris 13th arrondissement. The street was filled with thousands of protesters, a portion of the more than 40,000 people demonstrating in the city that day, when riot police fired tear gas into the densely-packed crowd and triggered a wave of panic.

A reporter for the right-wing daily Le Figaro, Wladimir Garcin-Berson, who was present at the scene, tweeted that there was a wave of tear gas, the air became unbreathable. Videos posted subsequently on social media show that protesters who were fleeing the choking gas forced open the metal gate of the hospital compound. Several dozen people attempted to take refuge inside one of the hospital buildings, but were turned away by staff, and then arrested.

Within a few hours, the incident had been transformed, in the words of French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, into an attack on the hospital by rioters. In a press conference on Wednesday evening, in which he sought to conflate the mass protests with small groups of black bloc anarchists, Castaner declared that people have attacked a hospital. The nurses were forced to defend the urgent care area. Our police forces immediately intervened to save the urgent care area.

An hour later, Castaner tweeted, Here at Pitie-Salpetriere, a hospital has been attacked. The health care staff have been assaulted. And a police officer sent to protect them has been injured. The tweet was accompanied by wide-angle and close-up pictures of a resolute Castaner shaking hands with riot police and walking through the hospital ward with health staff.

Photos Tweeted by Interior Minister Castaner on Wednesday night (Credit Christopher Castaner)

Macrons Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn called the event unspeakable and undignified.

Maybe there were people who wanted to take refuge, and others who wanted to steal, she said, without providing any evidence for the latter claim. As if to emphasize the alleged blood lust of the protesters, news reports emerged that a police officer was being treated at the same time in the same hospital for an injuryimplying that he or she could have been the target of a coordinated revenge attack.

Media in France and internationally immediately repeated and amplified the Macron governments lies.

The French edition of The Local published a report headlined: Unspeakable: Why did dozens of protesters burst into a Paris hospital during May 1st demonstrations? The Murdoch-owned Sun in Britain reported DANGER TO LIFE: Fury as Yellow Vest protesters storm Paris hospital where Princess Diana died. Le Figaro declared that dozens of black blocs had broken into the hospital.

The medias role as a mouthpiece for state propaganda was best exemplified by the public news channel France Info. Its report, headlined Intrusion at Pitie-Salpetriere: Discussion was not possible, hospital director says, featured a banner photo of a hooded man attacking a gate with a metal pole.

Banner photo published by France Info

Within hours of the articles publication, the photographer who took the picture, Geoffrey VdH, tweeted that the photo was taken the same day in a completely different location, outside a Paris police headquarters.

France Info subsequently removed the picture and replaced it with an image of a man threateningly brandishing a hammer outside a hospitalat a different building from where the incident occurred.

The updated picture published by France Info

As documented by Liberations CheckNews segment, the picture had been cropped at the bottom to remove dozens of yellow vest protesters who were angrily confronting the individual with the hammer and telling him they would not allow such a provocation. The original picture had been published by Le Parisien the same day.

The original image published in Le Parisien

The Macron governments lies had well and truly collapsed by Thursday, with the publication of numerous videos of the incident on social media. A video shot by one of the hospital workers shows a group of protesters running away from a column of riot police down a thoroughfare of the hospital compound, climbing the stairway to a building entrance, and standing on the upper platform, visibly terrified of being attacked by the police.

The staff inform the group that it is an urgent care area and contains ill patients, and refuse to let them in. The hospital workers can be heard speaking with one another inside the building. Theyre scared, theyre just afraid, one says, to which another responds: Yes, they [the police] have chased them. Another states: They didnt know [that it was the urgent care unit], they were just looking for a way out. Hospital workers have also given interviews adamantly insisting that they were never threatened.

The entire incident on the video is over within a few minutes. Police arrive and arrest the protesters without any clashes. With the collapse of the governments story, all 32 were released yesterday, the majority of them reportedly young university students. Castaner has angrily denounced all those who accused him of lying, absurdly declaring he may have misspoken and not used the word attack. Multiple parties have called for his resignation.

The affair underscores an essential political reality. The Macron government, like its counterparts and bourgeois parties internationally, led by the Democratic Party in the United States, utilizes the banner of fighting fake news to censor the internet and social media and prevent workers from accessing alternative news sources which the government and corporations do not control. The real purveyors of fake news, however, are the government and its mouthpieces in the corporate media.

The Macron governments lies about a non-existent hospital attack serve a definite purpose: to slander all left-wing opposition to the government as criminal and morally reprehensible and justify the ongoing unleashing of police state violence against the working class.

In February, a murky verbal confrontation between a yellow vest and right-wing Jewish commentator and Zionist Alain Finkielkraut was similarly used to slander the entire yellow vest movement as anti-Semitic.

Police were filmed looting stores during violent clashes on the Champs-Elysees in March, to which Macron reacted by blaming all the looting on the yellow vests and banning protests on the avenue. The government then ordered soldiers of the Operation Sentinel anti-terrorism mission deployed against the yellow vests, with authorization to shoot.

The collapse of this brazenly fabricated story about an attack on the Pitie-Salpetriere discredits not only the corporate media that peddled this story, but all the unproven allegations the Macron government has used to justify intensifying repression against the yellow vests.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, sponsored annually by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UNESCO holds the event, it avows, to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

Those claims are hollow and duplicitous, as the facts demonstrate.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains locked up in a high-security prison in London and faces the threat of rendition to the US. Why? Because he and his organization took seriously the fundamental principles of press freedom and actively shed light on both the daily corruption and criminality of governments and corporations internationally and the murderous activities of the American military in particular. As one of Assanges lawyers has observed, Washington is seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information.

Meanwhile, another UN body, its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, registered its disapproval Friday of the disproportionate sentence of 50 weeks imprisonment meted out to Assange for violating bail, which it noted was a minor violation. In 2015, the Working Group, part of the UN Human Rights system, expressed its opinion that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK and that he was entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation. That opinion was ignored by the British government, as Fridays will be.

In any event, no one associated with UNESCO or World Press Freedom Day made mention of Assange during this weeks events. Indeed, remarkably, one of the keynote speakers at the main celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia hosted by the African Union was the British foreign secretary, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt.

The right honourable Mr. Hunt was one of the British government officials responsible for the brutal seizure and incarceration of Assange on April 11. Following the WikiLeaks publishers arrest, Hunt said in a statement, What weve shown today is that no one is above the law. Julian Assange is no hero. He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.

In his address in Addis Ababa, Hunt, according to a press release, set out his vision to improve media freedom. We might be forgiven for suggesting that the foreign secretary, in presiding over the vindictive persecution of the globes most prominent investigative journalist, had already set out his vision, not with prepared remarks but with the rude violence of the Metropolitan Police Service.

In the course of his speech, a tissue of outright falsehoods and empty platitudes, Hunt told his audience in Ethiopia that the progress of humanity clearly shows that wisdom arises from the open competition between ideas when different viewpoints are given the oxygen to contend freely and fairly. Hunt might have added, As long as those different viewpoints sustain the official one. Otherwise, the supply of oxygen will be cut off.

The presentations in Addis Ababa were dominated by the fears of all the participants, imperialist and African bourgeois politicians alike, of growing popular discontent and the perceived need to suppress oppositional voices.

This gave the speeches by Hunt and othersand the general approach at present of authorities all over the world to the question of press freedomtheir contorted and dishonest doublespeak character. What governments actually want is freedom from press freedom. The ruling elites themselves want to be able to operate freely, that is, without the interference of dissenting and disruptive voices.

These concerns lie behind the systematic effort to censor and neuter the internet, justified by pious references to the dangers of hate speech, xenophobia, online harassment, concocted statistics, misleading media reports, the alleged manipulation of elections and populist" rhetoric. Of course, misinformation, deceit and the fomenting of every form of backwardness and prejudice have been the bourgeois medias stock-in-trade everywhere since time immemorial, about which no one in a position of authority has ever thought to complain. It is precisely the breakdown of the hitherto effective mechanisms of misinformation and deceit that has the powers-that-be up in arms and fuels the ferocity of Assanges persecution.

Along these lines, UNESCOs Journalism, Fake News & Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (2018) argues that authoritative sources and credible journalism have been damaged by what it terms, in an imperishable phrase, the current information disorder.

The authors argue that social media are undermining democracy by creating echo chambers, polarisation and hyper-partisanship, by converting popularity into legitimacy, and by allowing manipulation by populist leaders, governments and fringe actors.

The Handbook points anxiously to the phenomenon of news publishers struggling to hold onto audiences as barriers to publication are removed, empowering any person or entity to produce content, bypass traditional gatekeepers, and compete for attention. And it furthermore warns that in the high-speed information free-for-all on social media platforms and the internet, everyone can be a publisher. As a result, citizens struggle to discern what is true and what is false. Cynicism and distrust rule. Extreme views, conspiracy theories and populism flourish and once-accepted truths and institutions are questioned.

The vehemence of their conservative, antidemocratic and pro-establishment views and the depth of their desire to protect once-accepted truths and institutions help explain why the very respectable, well-spoken organizers of World Press Freedom Day hope that Assange and everyone like him rot in jail until the end of time.

If UNESCO and the rest of this crowd were serious about disinformation and misinformation, in any case, they would present as Exhibit No. 1 the American medias mendacious and calamitous campaign over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the greatest fake news operation of modern times by far, which has led to the death of more than one million people and the devastation of an entire region.

Leon Trotsky once observed that Every historical epoch has not only its own technique and its own political form, but also a hypocrisy peculiar to itself.

How is it possible for Hunt, on the one hand, to announce that he and other officials are launching a global campaign to protect journalists doing their job and promote the benefits of a free media, and, on the other, to do his utmost to muzzle and, if possible, silence Assange forever?

In fact, this goes beyond mere hypocrisy. English economist and social scientist John A. Hobson, in his valuable Imperialism: A Study (1902), argued that such official compartmentalizing, this genius of inconsistency, of holding conflicting ideas or feelings in the mind simultaneously, was no case of hypocrisy, or of deliberate conscious simulation of false motives. He contended rather that this was the condition which Plato terms the lie in the soula lie which does not know itself to be a lie. This, Hobson maintained, was the ethics and sociology of the imperialist stage of development, with its elaborate weaving of intellectual and moral defences.

The controlling and directing agent of the whole process, he wrote, is the pressure of financial and industrial motives, operated for the direct, short-range, material interests of small, able, and well-organised groups in a nation.

Assange is a class-war prisoner, being held on behalf of the wealthy and powerful, that small, able, and well-organised group, because he exposed some of their crimes against the oppressed.

Jeremy Hunt was right about one thing in Addis Ababa. If problems and tensions are bottled up then they are far more likely to boil over, he cautioned. Stopping journalists from reporting a problem does not make it go away The truth is that when governments start closing newspapers and suppressing the media, they are more likely to be storing up trouble for the future than preserving harmony.

He simply has no idea.

All over the world, workers are engaged in a growing strike movement in defense of their jobs, wages and social rights. It is this social force, not the corrupt representatives of the capitalist oligarchy, that form the real social basis for the defense of democratic rights.

On Saturday, the International Committee of the Fourth International will hold its sixth annual online May Day celebration. A central focus of the event will be the organization of the working class in defense of Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. We urge all readers of the WSWS and all those seeking to defend freedom of expression to register and participate.
Portuguese fuel tanker drivers have threatened further action, less than two weeks after a three-day strike over low wages and poor working conditions brought the country to a virtual standstill. Half of the countrys petrol stations ran dry, factories halted production, public transport routes were suspended and flights cancelled.

On Monday, following a meeting with the National Association of Freight Carriers (ANTRAM), Pedro Pardal Henriques, the vice president of the Union of Dangerous Goods Drivers (SNMMP)formed just over a year agodeclared that a new strike is most likely. ANTRAM had been given a deadline of one week to concretely pronounce on two main issues ... official recognition of the category of driver of dangerous substances and that the basic salary of these people should be equal to twice the national minimum wage. Miniumum wage is 700 ($780) a month.

At the end of this week we will see what forms of fighting we will use, Henriques added.

ANTRAM President Pedro Polonio, retorted, ANTRAM does not work with threats of strike and that it would stick to the calendar of negotiations [that] had been established until the end this year.

The calendar was one of the Socialist Party (PS) governments civil requisition measures, which also allowed it to impose minimum service operations, call in scab trucking companies and mobilise military personnel and security forces to secure supplies.

PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa, seeking to justify the emergency power, declared, The great lesson we have to draw is that, in the face of social conflicts, any kind of political exploitation is absolutely intolerable.

I also give a strong thanks to the security forces who were absolutely extraordinary, both in ensuring peace and tranquillity in all of this conflict, in the performance of the missions entrusted to them, and also in the replacement of civilians.

The fuel tankers dispute is the latest manifestation in Portugal of the eruption of the class struggle internationally. This year has seen an intensification of the strike wave that erupted last year, protesting the PSs failure to reverse 12 years of austerity that saw wages and pensions cut, careers frozen and a huge increase in precarious working. The number of pre-strike warnings issued in 2018 totalled 733, up 120 on 2017 and 245 on 2016.

Virtually all areas of the public sector have been involved, including nurses, teachers, firefighters, postal workers, court officials, judges, prison guards, oil refinery workers and dockers.

Half of all strikes have taken place in private sector companies including the Efacec Group, the Navigator paper mill in Setubal, Beralt Tin and Wolfram mines and Cerealto Sintra Foods, Petrogal Ferreira da Silva, Volvos Auto-Sueco subsidiary, Cinca, Hanon, Schmitt + Sohn, Randstad, Bosch, Delphi, Visteon, Meo and Carl Zeiss.

On May 1, workers from Portugals largest supermarket chain Pingo Doce went on strike.

Many of the strikes have been called by newly created unions such as the SNMMP, formed in response to the betrayals of the PS aligned General Workers Union (UGT) federation and the PCP-led General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP). Since the beginning of 2017, 24 new unions have appeared, with only two joining the UGT and none the CGTP.

Last year dockworkers organised in the Stevedoring and Logistics Activity Union (SEAL) at Setubal went on strike for a month in protest at the large number of casual workers. They paralyzed the port and prevented export of cars from the huge Volkswagen Autoeuropa plant. The Portuguese Association of Nurses (ASPE) has organised a series of militant strikes over the last two years over poor pay and job recognition.

The UGT attacked the new aggressive and uncontrolled unions. On May 1, UGT Secretary General Carlos Silva warned, It is necessary that the emergence of these more aggressive and uncontrolled processes make employers aware of the need to value traditional unions, which seek negotiation and dialogue. Lets hope that these new developments do not overwhelm parliament to restrict the rights of workers.

He warned the government, If in the last years the economic climate was of growth and recovery of confidence, and there was no condescension on the part of the government, what can we expect in the future in the face of a tendency for the economy to cool down?

In its commentary on the continuing strike wave, Portugals leading financial paper O Jornal Economico noted the duplicitous role of the Left Bloc (BE) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), which support the Socialist government [but] now have to distance themselves from it in order to capitalise on all the discontent at the ballot box.

Following the 2015 general election, the BE and PCP channelled mass disaffectionexpressed in a record low 57 percent turnout and the ousting of the pro-austerity right-wing coalitionbehind the PS and its claims that it would reverse austerity. Four years later, few of the promises have come to fruition.

Last month, the Financial Times questioned the claims, parroted by sections of the pseudo-left, that the PS government has created an alternative progressive economic model. In Portugal: a European path out of austerity? former Italian trade minister Ivan Scalfarotto, told the FT , Public spending has stayed under control, unit labour costs have been reduced, hence they have been able to attract more foreign direct investment and increase their exports. He added, Costa, also, is a good communicator: he stressed the idea that sacrifice was over and has been effective at keeping his left-wing coalition together.

Antonio Barroso, a director at risk analysts Teneo Intelligence, said, While Costas political acumen cannot be denied, it should not be forgotten that his government has faced very favourable macroeconomic conditions over the past three years, referring to the tide of a global recovery, falling oil prices, a tourism boom and a sharp fall in the cost of servicing one of Europes heaviest debt burdens through the Central Banks government bond-buying scheme.

The FT quotes PS Finance Minister Mario Centeno, rewarded for his efforts in Portugal with the posts of president of the Eurogroup and chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, who himself admits that the degree to which the PS has overturned austerity is not dramatic.

Economic growth in late 2015 was very poor and decelerating, Centeno continued. A change had to be implemented, [but] not a big change, before attributing the cut in the deficit to a sharp fall in the interest Portugal pays on its debt.

Elsewhere, Lisbon journalist Ricardo Cabral Fernandes explained that the alliance of the PS with the PCP and BE, dubbed the geringonca (odd contraption) was basically an exclusively tactical turn of the Socialist Party.

What happened was that the, so to speak, the socialist/left wing of PS very quickly learnt the lessons of PASOK [the social democrats] in Greece. So it turned its compass. And Antonio Costa was that compass. Yes, he broke the governance arc, made a parliamentary alliance with the Bloco and the PCP, but for all else, in policy terms, it keeps the same politics, Fernandes concluded.

Portugals economy has slowed down more than expected in 2019. The deficit has reached 1.4 billion, three times Centenos estimate of 409 million. The country has the third highest government debt in the European Union, hitting 245 billion or 121.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Public investment is the lowest of all advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Portugals monthly median wage is less than 900 per month, compared to more than 2,000 for the whole EU. Some 40 percent of workers are paid no more than 25 percent above the 700 minimum wage. A recent European Commission study revealed that Portugal and Ireland had the largest gaps between wage growth and productivity growth over recent years.

The proliferation of new unions expresses the initial recognition by workers that, under conditions of the globalisation of capitalist production, organisations created in a different era that are wedded to a pro-capitalist nationalist perspective are incapable of defending their basic interests. They have been transformed into direct agencies of the corporate-financial elite and the state, with both the PCP and CGTP calling for a patriotic left aimed at the sovereign development of our country, directly articulating the interests of the Portuguese ruling elite.

But the experience of the militant Matomoros strike in Mexico demonstrates the bankruptcy of union forms of organisations and the danger of accepting the political bona fides of organisations claiming to be independent without examining their programme and origins.

It is necessary for workers to build new, genuinely popular and democratic rank-and-file organisations of struggle. But these must be an essential component of a conscious turn to the building of an international socialist movement of the working class to fight for workers power and the reorganisation of economic life along democratic and egalitarian lines.
Vermont Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for remarks on China and trade. In language that would not be out of place coming from President Donald Trump, Sanders accused Biden of downplaying the economic threat represented by China and criticized him for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the normalization of trade relations with Beijing.

Biden, considered the early frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, said at a campaign event Wednesday in Iowa, China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. He added, Theyre not bad folks. But guess what, theyre not competition for us.

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates later stated that Biden had meant its never a good bet to bet against America and the fundamental strength, resilience, and ingenuity of its people.

In a response the same day, Sanders criticized Biden from the right, saying in a tweet, Since the China trade deal (in 2000) I voted against, America has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs. Its wrong to pretend that China isnt one of our major economic competitors. When we are in the White House we will win that competition by fixing our trade policies.

Sanders crude economic nationalism is not new. He has long linked his populist rhetoric to policies of trade war and anti-immigrant chauvinism. He fully supports the efforts of the trade union bureaucracy to pit US workers against their class brothers and sisters around the world and infect American workers with nationalismthe better to subordinate them to their corporate exploiters within the US.

Just four weeks ago, Sanders denounced open borders at a campaign event in Iowa, warning that decriminalizing undocumented immigrants would lead to impoverished people around the world flooding into the US.

Trump also criticized Biden for his comments on China. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, he hailed the tariffs that his administration has imposed on Chinese goods, while saying of Biden, But for somebody to be so naive and say China is not a problem, if Biden actually said that, thats a very dumb statement.

Like Trump, Sanders has hailed his anti-free trade record. This week he boasted of his votes against NAFTA and normalization of trade with China. On Monday, he released his trade platform, calling for renegotiation of all US trade agreements and demanding that China be labeled a currency manipulator, something Trump has threatened but pulled back from carrying out up to now. Officially naming a country a currency manipulator is tantamount to full-scale trade war. Such a declaration triggers a whole series of punitive trade measures against the targeted country.

Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has sought to outflank Trump from the right on trade issues. At an April 13 rally, he denounced Trump for being insufficiently aggressive in his trade war drive against China and other countries. For once in your life, he said, keep your campaign promisesgo back to the drawing board.

On Monday, after releasing his trade plan, he said: We need a president who will actually fight for American workers, keep their promises, and stand up to the giant corporations who close down plants to send jobs overseas.

By equating the defense of American jobs with economic attacks on countries such as China and blaming plant closures, layoffs and wage-cutting on trade policies rather than capitalism, Sanders aids the effort of the ruling class to create a war fever and prepare the way for military conflict with nuclear-armed powers such as China.

While he has tried to tap into anti-war sentiment by saying, I voted against the war in Iraq. [Biden] voted for it, Sanders has no qualms about using the military in pursuit of US imperialisms interests. During the 2016 campaign, he stated that he would use drones, all that and more.

Notwithstanding his rhetorical criticisms of big business, Sanders goal is to prevent the independent movement of the working class by diverting its struggles behind the Democratic Party. In this, he is aided by pseudo-left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The DSA functions as a faction of the Democratic Party, attempting to provide a phony left veneer to this party of Wall Street and the CIA. That is why it is dedicating its efforts to promoting the campaign of Sanders in the 2020 elections.
The Sweetwater Education Association (SEA) began bargaining this week with the San Diego Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) for a new three-year contract. The current contract is set to expire June 30.

SUHSD is the largest secondary school district in California. It is comprised of more than 1,500 teachers, 42,000 students, and 32,000 adult learners in southwestern San Diego County, near the US-Mexico border.

The initial bargaining began on May 2. The SEA is continuing discussions despite recent revelations that the district has yet again reported incorrect information about its finances and substantially underreported its debt, amidst allegations of fraud and mismanagement of funds.

According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) sent a letter to the Sweetwater district April 26 stating that the district will end the current fiscal year with $20 million to $23 million in interfund borrowing debt, an amount far above the $8 million reported last month by SUHSD.

Interfund debt refers to loan balances when money collected for one use, such as for facilities, is temporarily used for another use, such as operations. The letter from the SDCOE claims that Sweetwater is in violation of the states Education Code, which requires that it pay off all its interfund debt by the end of the fiscal year.

The updated totals are the result of an investigation initiated in December 2018 and a review of Sweetwater finances by an outside auditing firm appointed by the SDCOE.

The SDCOE outlined in the letter that Sweetwater under-reported its projected ending cash balance as $3.2 million. It will be closer to $609,000. Sweetwater also under-reported its payroll expenditures by $5.2 million, the result of poor and untimely accounting, according to the letter.

A spokesman for SUHSD, Manny Rubio, said the district disagrees with the updated estimate of $20 million to $23 million of debt. It has blamed financial incongruities on the districts supposedly outdated financial data system, TrueCourse.

SEA President Gene Chavaria expressed the unions loyalty to the district in a letter sent out to all members in April. He stated, I am pleased to report that the $42 million-dollar shortfall that we began the 2018-2019 school year has been reduced to $8 million dollars as a result of our collective efforts.

Chavaria and the SEA have used the threat of a state takeover to justify its collaboration with the district in imposing concessions on teachers. In the same letter released in April, he writes, Collaboration with the district and its bargaining units has prevented the State from directing the San Diego County Office of Education from taking over our district and has allowed us to maintain control over the decision making. This was one of our goals and we have been able to achieve it.

This collaboration between the SEA and SUHSD resulted in the immediate layoffs and cuts for the current academic year, which will continue.

Thursdays initial bargaining surrounded Article 6 of the SEA contract: calendars and work year. This portion of the contract includes the number of duty days for 7-12 grade school unit members.

The school year is comprised of 184 days total: 180 instructional days and 4 non-instructional days, previously allocated for professional development. The union and district are discussing a pay cut or the furloughs of between 1 and 4 non-instructional days.

Cuts to Special Education (SPED) and Article 7, class sizes, are of primary concern among educators. Educators are concerned that the district may force SPED students into standard classrooms, resulting in the layoff of SPED teachers, worse teaching environments for teachers and students, and the placement of moderate/severe special needs students with teachers who are already overwhelmed with their current workload.

An email sent to teachers by the SEA Friday morning had no information on the future of approximately 90 pink-slipped assistant principals, cuts to SPED programs, or the expansion of class sizes. It stated that the district proposed that SEA members take two furlough days, which will result in a savings of $4.5 million (half of the proposed shortfall for the 2019-2020 year).

The District Chief Financial Officer estimates that the 2019-2020 deficit is approximately $22.5 million, with a $10 million shortfall that the state requires to be paid off. The next bargaining session is set to occur on May 15.

Last October the district announced a $68 million shortfall. Investigations have pointed to millions of dollars missing under the former Director of Finance Doug Martens and Chief Financial Officer Karen Michel. Martens and Michel both retired from the district last summer.

Millions in cuts have already been pushed through by the SUHSD and the SEA, which accepts the fraud and/or mismanagement and has assisted in establishing the framework for carrying through the millions in cuts.

Layoffs and closures at the adult schools within the district have already taken place, as well as an end to credit recovery for students and cuts to after-school programs such as tutoring. Additionally, career technical education and extra support teachers, known as curriculum intervention specialists, have been terminated.

The SEA and the school board worked together to develop and pass a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) for older teachers just before the winter break. Arguing that the SERP would significantly offset the deficit, the SUHSD and SEA created the plan for teachers to retire early, and in the middle of the current school year.

Approximately 300 opted for the SERP, with 94 retiring in December, the remainder to depart June 2019. Also included in the SERP agreement were two unpaid furlough days for all teachers. The early retirement and furlough deal were sold to teachers by the SEA as a means of protecting everyones jobs.

While the SERP agreement contained wording that protects new teachers from getting pink slips for the 2019-2020 academic year, a clause in the contract states that this can be overruled in the case of a Reduction in Force (RIF) or renegotiation with the SEA, which is currently underway.

Sweetwater teachers should build rank-and-file committees independent of both the unions and the politicians to fight any budget cuts or layoffs and conduct an independent public inquiry into the fraud allegations with full transparency. As one educator pointedly remarked at a March SEA meeting, This board will likely be brought up on fraud chargeswhy should we bargain with them, why should we accept their numbers when theyre the ones who got us into this mess?

Sweetwater teachers should link up with their counterparts in the Carolinas, who engaged in mass protests this week, and study together the lessons of the Arizona, West Virginia, Colorado, Oakland and Los Angeles teachers strikes. These struggles resulted in austerity contracts, sold to the membership by the unions and district administrators tied to the budget-cutting Democratic and Republican politicians.

Just within the past few months, Oakland and Los Angeles austerity contracts were hailed by the unions as historic victories, though nearly one third of the public schools in Oakland are slated for closure, with $22 million in cuts agreed to by the Oakland Education Association.
The sacking of Gavin Williamson as defence secretary has only intensified the disintegration of Theresa Mays Conservative government, already mired in crisis over the UKs scheduled exit from the European Union.

Williamson was sacked after Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill announced an inquiry into who leaked to the Daily Telegraph the deliberations of the April 23 National Security Council (NSC) meeting at which it was decided to approve Chinese telecom giant Huaweis participation in the UKs next generation 5G data network.

The policy, which is yet to be formally announced, is strongly at odds with the demands of the United States and was only passed with the casting vote of May. This was the first occasion that the deliberations of an NSC meeting had been leaked. Williamson is the first minister to be sacked over a leak in 70 years.

NSC members are bound by the Official Secrets Act, which covers cabinet ministers and senior officials involved in foreign and defence policy, as well as representatives from the intelligence agencies and the armed forces.

Among the ministers known to oppose the deal with Huawei were Williamson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

On Wednesday afternoon, Williamson was sacked, with May informing him there was compelling evidence that he leaked details of the NSCs discussions. May confronted Williamson with the fact that an eleven-minute phone call between him and the journalist at the Daily Telegraph, Deputy Political Editor Steven Swinford, had been uncovered. Williamson has stated that he had briefed the Telegraph on the anticipated Tory leadership contest, Brexit and other minor issues. He refused to resign, saying May would have to sack him.

The Labour Party, having already called for an official investigation into the leak, followed up with a call by its Blairite deputy leader, Tom Watson, for a police investigation. Watson said of Williamson, The prime minister doesnt believe him... Now, if he didnt do it, that means that somebody else did it, which is why I think a criminal inquiry will get to the facts of this case. Thats why I think the logical extension of what the prime minister has alleged in her letter isa criminal act has taken place and the police need to examine the facts.

Mays attempt to stem an escalating crisis is in tatters, with Williamson fired the day before local elections in which the Tories suffered a massive collapse, losing over 1,300 council seats and over 40 councils.

Rejecting calls for a police investigation, Cabinet Secretary David Lidington said Thursday that May considered the matter closed and the cabinet secretary does not consider it necessary to refer it to the police. This was after former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said there was certainly an argument for the matter being referred to the police.

Williamson, a leading representative of the partys hard-Brexit wing, is wreaking havoc. Replying to Mays letter, he wrote that a thorough and formal inquiry would clear his name. He added, I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants, my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case. Speaking to Sky News Thursday, he said he had been utterly screwed and was massively comfortable with the prospect of a police investigation into the Huawei leak.

He was backed by Tory MPs, including former minister Sir Desmond Swayne, who said, Natural justice requires that the evidence is produced so that his reputation can be salvaged or utterly destroyed. Hard-Brexit figurehead Peter Bone declared, This seems to have been a kangaroo court reaching a decision in secret which we have no evidence to base any decision on.

As a former chief Tory whip, the chair of Mays successful 2015 party leadership campaign and defence secretary, Williamson is described as someone who knows where the bodies are buried. Speaking on the BCCs Newsnight, political editor Nicholas Watt said, Make no mistake, Gavin Williamson is on the warpath... I spoke to a friend tonight who said he is thinking of delivering a speech on the level of Geoffrey Howes [1990] resignation speech, which famously precipitated the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.

Whether Williamson leaked the information or not, and whatever role he may play in Mays downfall, this row is only a symptom of the intractable crisis rending the British bourgeoisie.

Williamson held the Defence portfolio for less than 18 months, having replaced Sir Michael Fallon following his resignation. But he has staked out a claim to be the most bellicose advocate of the closest possible alliance with US imperialism, post Brexit, as it confronts Russia and China.

Just weeks after taking office, he provocatively declared that Russia was planning to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of Britons by seeking to control vital infrastructure.

As the crisis escalated over the March 2018 poisoning in Salisbury of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Williamson responded to Moscows demand for information linking them to what May said was an attempted assassination by declaring that Russia should go away and shut up.

In a speech this February, he insisted that the UK should be prepared to confront Russia and China on all fronts. He denounced Russia for rebuilding its military arsenal, and warned that China is developing its modern military capability and its commercial power.

Williamsons attacks on Russia, and more particularly on China, became increasingly unhingedplacing him in direct conflict with those sections of the ruling elite who view the development of commercial links with Beijing, including Chinas financing of imperative infrastructure projects in the UK, as critical.

In February, Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced to cancel a trade visit to China and attempt to repair the damage after Williamson threatened to send the UKs new aircraft carrier into the South China Sea to monitor Chinese naval activity.

Among those lined up against Williamsons intervention was former Chancellor George Osborne, who, under Mays predecessor David Cameron, forged close economic ties with China. Osborne warned, Youve got the defence secretary engaging in gunboat diplomacy of a quite old-fashioned kind, at the same time as the chancellor of the exchequer and the foreign secretary are going around saying they want a close economic partnership with China.

Tensions around the post-Brexit strategy of the ruling elite will remain centre stage with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Britain next Wednesday. Pompeo will meet May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, with the Daily Mail reporting that he will deliver a speech on the state of the UK-US special relationship. According to the Daily Telegraph, Pompeo will reiterate US threats that allowing Huawei access to networks could endanger US-UK relations. It cited a State Department source who said, What we want to do with friends, allies, partners on this issue is share with them the things we know about the risks that the presence of Huawei and their networks present.

The crisis over Huawei confirms that Mays dysfunctional government can only stagger on in office because it is being propped up by Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

Labour is continuing talks with the Tories in an attempt to reach an agreement that would see her EU withdrawal deal passed in Parliament, at the fourth attempt. How conscious this anti-working class agenda is was aired on the BBC Thursday, with Barry Gardiner, shadow trade minister, telling Tory Brexit Minister James Cleverly that Labour was in there [the talks] trying to bail you guys out.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

Rajasthans Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot is confident that the Congress will be judged positively on the basis of its performance in the state in the last six months and do far better in the Lok Sabha elections than in the Assembly polls. He also feels that Prime Minister Narendra Modis nationalism narrative will have no impact before the economic hardships people face. Excerpts from his interview with Rajesh Asnani:

There has been record voting in the first phase in Rajasthan and the BJP believes its to their advantage.

Thats a misconception. Three months ago, the Congress was voted in and our governments performance since then will be judged. I am quite confident that we will win a majority of the seats which voted in the first phase.

Do you think the Congress will fare better in the parliamentary elections than in the Assembly polls and what is the basis for it?

Sachin Pilot Deputy Chief Minister

of Rajasthan /EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

Traditionally, whichever party gets to form the government in the state does well in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2008, the Congress had formed the government in Rajasthan and swept the general elections in 2009. In 2014, the BJP won all the seats as they were in government in the state. Now we are in government and people have seen our work and read our manifesto. I am confident that not just in Rajasthan, in all the three states where we won the Vidhan Sabha elections, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we will do very well.

Modi and the BJP have created a narrative of nationalism. Do you feel it will make a difference?

This is an election to secure the future of young people who need jobs. This is an election for bread and butter throughout India. The agrarian crisis and the slowdown of the economy are major issues. The BJP can sidestep these important issues and go on appealing on emotional issues, but I do not think young people will fall into that trap.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has said the Congress can do no Nyay after anyaya over 60 years

Nyay (minimum wage guarantee scheme) will be a gamechanger for the rural economy. Anyaya has done been on Dalits, farmers and poor people who have suffered because of demonetisation and mob lynchings instigated by the BJP. Nyay will give the poorest families in India financial help of `72,000 annually and it will boost our economy.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

You had a say in chief ministers son Vaibhav Gehlot getting Congress ticket from Jodhpur. How do you see his prospects?

The entire party has been working hard to win all the seats. As party president, I and our Chief Minister, Ashok Ghelot ji campaigned hard for Vaibhav and we are confident t we will do well in Jodhpur and all the other seats too.

There is a feeling that there was wrong distribution of tickets by the Congress on some seats, which may not help its cause.

The BJP had to drop some of their sitting MPs despite winning all 25 seats since last time. They dropped a Central minister and four other MPs. It is they who feel threatened by our candidates. Gehlot ji and I sat together and made sure that good, winnable candidates get tickets on all seats.

Within the Congress, some people also say that if prominent leaders who are ministers in state government had been given tickets, it would have been better. What are the reasons they were not chosen?

Its the party that decides who contests and there was a consensus on all the seats. We have given tickets to who we thought were winnable candidates. Chief Minister, I and all the party leaders had unanimity when we gave ticket to the candidates on all 25 seats.

Some betting markets and media reports say the Congress will not win more than 8-10 seats. Do you feel this assessment is correct?

Its all BJPs propaganda and the betting markets are no indicators. The mood of the people is with us. We will be judged by our six-month performance and we will win the bulk of the seats in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress had promised to waive off farmers loans in just 10 days but it did not happen. Now the farmers are angry. Why do you think that is so?

e have done it. We waived off farmer loans worth Rs 18,000 crore of the Cooperative Banks. Before we could address loans from commercial banks, the Model Code of Conduct was imposed and we had to negotiate with the controller of the Finance Ministry. We are now in the process of negotiating with the commercial banks, too. As soon as MCC period is off, we will waive off rest of the farmers loans as well.

Rahul Gandhi has high expectations from Rajasthan and CM Gehlot had made a statement saying it was his, PCC chief thats you and party general secretary Avinash Pandeys responsibility to make sure the Congress wins big. How do you react to this?

That is true. Rahul Gandhiji expects all three state governments to deliver. Whether it is Kamal Nathji or Bhupesh Bhagel or Ashok Gehlot  they are all heads of government, but we are all working together to deliver the best possible results.

Why has Priyanka Gandhi not campaigned in Rajasthan? Political analysts believe if she had come, the Congress prospects would have improved.

We wanted her to campaign but she had to campaign in UP, Assam and other places. Timing was a big problem. So she couldnt make it to Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi, though, has made several trips to the state.

A slogan was coined in the Assembly elections, Modi tujhse bair nahi, Vasundhara teri khair nahi. Because of this, many believe that people now would want to vote for Modi.

Vasundhara and Modi are two sides of the same coin. You cant detach the responsibilities that previous State Government did not discharge and think of the Government of India as separate. The BJP governments at the Centre and the state both are under scrutiny. They have been rejected in Rajasthan. I want to ask, how much infrastructure have they created that they seek votes? Modiji comes once in five years to seek votes. The BJP creates propaganda of development but the people of Rajasthan have felt let down by the Government of India.

Your final assessment about Congress: how many seats can the party win this time, given the fact that in 2014 it was wiped off completely with a 25-0 loss?

It will be a complete reversal and we are working towards Mission 25. We are hoping to achieve our mission.

If a Congress or opposition alliance government is formed at the Centre, what will be your preference between Rajasthan and Delhi?

I have been party president for the last five-and-a-half years. I have also been made Deputy CM. I am very content and honoured to be able to discharge my responsibilities. I am going to be in Jaipur and happy with the job that am doing.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: There is no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army chief of the island nation, officials of central security agencies said here Saturday.

One of the officials said immigration records were re-visited after the terrorist attacks and none of the bombers had visited Kashmir.

About a dozen Sri Lankan nationals had come to Kashmir Valley this year and their credentials have been re-checked after the April 21 bombings in three churches and three luxury hotels killed 253 people and injured over 500 others, he said.

However, there could be a possibility of the bombers visiting the state using pseudonym, the official said, adding if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence, it can be verified from the ground.

READ HERE | Sri Lankan police directs public to hand over swords, sharp weapons, police and military uniforms

Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers, who carried out the country's worst terror attack, visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, said, "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state.Those are the information available with us."

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out the series of blasts.

ALSO READ | Islamic State sympathisers in Kerala under lens after calls to Sri Lanka: NIA
By Online Desk

BASTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi at BJP rallies in Pratapgarh and Basti.

Accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image, Modi took a swipe at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Your father was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1' (corrupt number 1)," Modi said.

He claimed that the Congress chief had admitted in an interview that his only aim is to tarnish Modi's image.

"By hurling abuses, you cannot turn the 50 long years of Modi's tapasya (struggle) into dust," the prime minister said. By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.

"The naamdaar must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family," he said, referring to Gandhi.

Modi claimed that Congress is known for dividing the country, and charged it with bringing down coalition governments in the past.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

PM Modi also accused the Samajwadi Party of going soft on the Congress, saying the two parties are playing a 'big game' against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

He said while Mayawati is openly targeting the Congress and its policies, a Congress leader is sharing the stage with the SP. The apparent reference was to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence at an SP meeting in Rae Bareli on Thursday.

"The SP is going soft on the Congress, but its alliance partner BSP chief Mayawati is attacking the Congress," Modi said in Pratapgarh. He claimed the SP had derived advantage out of the alliance, talking about 'respect' towards her.

"It was said you (Mayawati) will be made the prime minister, but now `Behenji' has understood that the SP and the Congress are playing a big game with her," he said. Modi said the Congress has been reduced to the status of a 'vote katwa' party, suggesting its only relevance now is to queer the pitch for other parties.

Referring to the UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, he said it was a "major victory in India's fight against terror".

READ HERE | EC gives PM Modi 6th clean chit for Patan speech invoking IAF pilot Abhinandan

He attacked the Congress over its own record in tackling terrorism.

"These people had created the hype of Hindu terrorism. Today, the terrorists and their masters are praying that Modi should not come to power, but the country is saying 'Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar'," he said.

In Basti, he accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics.

"The SP, BSP and Congress are the biggest example of how principles are trampled upon for power. They are so affected by the bad habit of getting their vote bank arithmetic right that they consider people just numbers," Modi said.

The PM said the NDA work culture is different from that of the 'mahamilawati' (adulterated) alliance.

"We want to decentralise the government. But the 'mahamilawatis' are eager to come to Delhi in their lust for power," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
Gwen Adams sees a lot of the worlds darkness  and hears a lot of its darkest stories  and there is one story, if you ask, that she will always tell you.

The founder and executive director of Priceless Alaska, Adams has spent years combatting human trafficking: helping survivors heal, helping them adjust to lives of freedom and helping them bring their traffickers to justice.

But the success of her work, by its nature, is shadowed by tragedy.

Adams remembers one girl she was helping prepare for trial. She was sold into a life of tracking by her husband who beat her up, Adams says. At one point she became pregnant, but she was not free: Her trafficker kicked and kicked her until she delivered the months-old fetus, a boy, on the bathroom floor. His body was concealed in a landfill not far from Adams home.

The girl eventually got free but found she did not have the strength to face her abuser in court.

She told me, I wish I would have, but would you mind telling my story?  Adams recalls.

The girl worked with Priceless Alaska, Adams group, which provides a mentor team for each trafficking survivor. Together with her mentors, the girl was able to name her son: Bryan.

RELATED: Set on Fire by a Co-Worker, Army Nurse and Mom-of-3 Has a New Cause  Making the Military Pay

She said, I just dont want my little boy to never have been known,  Adams says.  In order for his life and her life to have purpose, she just wants me to tell her story.

For her work and the work of her staff, Priceless Alaska was among the dozens of local groups around the country who were awarded the FBIs annual Directors Community Leadership Award.

The ceremony, held Friday at the bureaus headquarters in Washington, D.C., honored a range of groups.

Among them were Adams Priceless Alaska, fighting sex trafficking; Dolly Partons Dollywood Foundation, for its support of survivors of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, wildfires in 2016; Sandy Hook Promise, started by the relatives of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting; and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Program, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, helping native women out of abusive environments.

Story continues

Other honorees included Boston activist Deeqo Jibril, whose mission is to integrate the Somali community into American life while maintaining its culture, faith, and values, according to the FBI; Dallas Pastor Harry Lee Sewell, who is significantly involved in local community development and works with a mens shelter; and Soha Saiyed, of Louisville, Kentucky, who focuses on anti-human trafficking and civil rights efforts.

Your mission is a commitment to serving your communities. Youre showing people kindness when they need it most. Youre defending those who need a voice, FBI Director Christopher Wray told attendees at the Friday ceremony. Youre making sure no one gets left behind. Youre helping keep your neighborhoods safe. And youre putting in the work.

We need the support, understanding, and trust of the public, Wray said. And you are our bridges to them. Youre out in our neighborhoods. You see whats happening in our communities every day. And youre taking action to make things better.

For Lola M. Ahidley, director of the Mescalero Apache Tribes domestic violence program, the FBI recognition was just the boost her small group needed.

There are times that were so tired at the end of the day, and we have done so much, and were just exited to know that someone was actually watching what we were doing, she tells PEOPLE.

Ahidleys program in New Mexico is based in a small, native community, where it focuses on outreach, awareness and providing support to abuse survivors. Ahidley says she hears from grateful women whom she and her colleagues have helped: We have survivors texting me  my number is an on-call number, so they will text me and tell me, Thank you so much for your help. My son and I have been able to rest after being in a shelter. 

RELATED: The Amazing Way Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martins Mom, Is Supporting Her Fellow Grieving Mothers

But there is always more to do.

Were slowly expanding, and Im looking forward to getting a crew together so we can look at all the areas we need to work with: the elderly, the kids, [the] LGBTQ [community]. Theres just so much that falls under our umbrella, she says.

One focus will be providing counselors, on call and on site. As the programs profile has increased, Ahidley says, survivors have referred other people to them. Word of their work is spreading.

Our No. 1 goal [is] to make sure that our women are safe and not to judge, she says.

The domestic violence they face is a problem with all communities, not just here.

Adams, of Priceless Alaska, says her team of mentors helps trafficking survivors think about the future: what their freedom can look like going forward, with a support system to walk beside them and navigate life.

We pay a lot of attention to dreams and plan for the future, she says.

Seeing that future realized is its own reward.

Living in my world is so dark and so hard, she says, and so we cling to those stories when we hear them and theyre so beautiful.
Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark in Endgame

Robert Downey Jr deserves an Academy Award for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thats according to Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo, who has heaped praise on the actor for both his work as Iron Man and for his impact on the cinematic landscape.

His cumulative body of work from these movies is staggering, Russo recently told The Washington Post. If you look at the work over just even the last four [Marvel] films hes done, its phenomenal. . . . He deserves an Oscar perhaps more than anyone in the last 40 years because of the way that he has motivated popular culture.

Read More: Philippines TV airs bootleg version of Avengers: Endgame

Despite the huge popularly of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has still been mostly ignored by the Academy Awards.

Black Panthers Best Picture nomination last year did change that, though, and Fandangos Erik Davis recently revealed that there was a big screening of Avengers: Endgame for Academy members this week, which suggests that Marvel believe it could follow in Black Panthers footsteps.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in Endgame

There has also already been early chatter about Robert Downey Jrs performance as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, with viewers eager to see the actor rewarded for his portrayal in the blockbuster with acting gongs come awards season.

However, Joe Russos comments could actually be interpreted to mean that Downey doesnt just deserve either a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film, but is actually more deserving of an Honorary Academy Award.

Read More: The Avengers: Endgame spoiler ban is being lifted after this weekend, say the Russo Brothers

Theres no denying the fact that Robert Downey Jrs casting for 2008s Iron Man laid the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has gone on to consist of 22 films that have grossed over $20 billion combined.

Of course, Downey Jr has been handsomely remunerated for his work in the MCU. In fact, it has been alleged that the actor has actually has been paid around 265 million ($350 million) in total for playing the character in 10 different movies.

So even if he doesnt land that Oscar, hes still done pretty well from it all.
Barclays Bank in London. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire

Barclays (BARC.L) made a 2.6bn (2.2bn) capital injection into its Irish bank over the past year, as it sought to prepare the newly expanded unit for its post-Brexit role.

New accounts filed with Irish authorities also show that Barclays Bank Ireland, which is now the banking groups main European Union base, received around 1bn in equity contributions in the 10 weeks between 1 January and 13 March of this year.

The Irish unit has also taken steps to strengthen its balance sheet. In 2018, it sold 200m in subordinated debt to its parent bank, and it again received some 500m in further subordinated debt investment in the first 10 weeks of 2019.

In terms of actual assets, the bank had indicated that the Irish unit would absorb around 224bn (260bn) of its total 1.17tn in assets by 30 March, making it the largest bank in Ireland.

Barclays also said it would move around 6,800 clients, mainly from the European Economic Area, to the Dublin unit.

This decision was based on the assumption that its London divisions would lose their passporting rights after Brexit. The passporting mechanism currently allows them to do business in other EU countries.

Barclays moved into its new Dublin offices close to Irelands houses of parliament in November 2018, and said it would expand its Irish workforce by around 200 people.

In February, the chairman of its UK bank, Sir Gerry Grimstone, said that Barclays had spent between 100m and 200m ($257m) preparing for Brexit.

Grimstone said that being regulated by the Irish Central Bank  and, because of the banks size, the European Central Bank  was a new adventure for Barclays.

Were impressed with the nature and scale of regulation, he said.

Grimstone also criticised the effects of Brexit on London, saying that the UK had gone from being one of the most predictable environments in which to operate to one of the least predictable.
The Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen (PA)

Christians are experiencing persecution so severe in some parts of the world that it amounts to genocide, according to a new report commissioned by the Foreign Office.

It states that Christians in the Middle East have been forced out of their homes en masse over the last 20 years, with many being killed, kidnapped and discriminated against.

Christians in south east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa had also been victims of discrimination, the report by the Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Philip Mounstephen, found.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (PA)

The report says: The rise of hate speech against Christians in state media and by religious leaders, especially in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, has compromised the safety of Christians and created social intolerance.

It states that the inconvenient truth is that the overwhelming majority (80%) of persecuted religious believers are Christians.

It adds: The level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.

Read more:

Russian 'spy whale' is making itself at home in Norway, posing for photos and playing 'fetch'

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - himself a Christian - described this oppression as the "forgotten persecution", and said that political correctness was to blame for a widespread failure to confront it.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on his week-long visit to Africa, he said: "I think we've all been asleep on the watch when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

"I think we have shied away from talking about Christian persecution because we are a Christian country and we have a colonial past.

"I think it is partly because of political correctness we have avoided confronting this issue. I think there is a misplaced worry that it is colonialist to talk about a religion that was associated with colonial powers."

Dr Mounstephen said he had been "truly shocked by the severity, scale and scope of the problem.

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"It forces us in the West to ask ourselves some hard questions, not the least of which is this: Why have we been so blind to this situation for so long?"

A final report based on this review will be published in the summer.

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Minhaz Merchant By

With Americas sanction waivers on Iranian crude oil ending on May 2, the battlelines in the Middle East are sharply drawn. On one side is Sunni Saudi Arabia along with its allies the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. On the other is Shia Iran, boxed into a corner by US oil sanctions that could cripple its economy.

But while the Sunni Arab powers have a powerful ally in Washington, Iran isnt friendless. It is backed by Russia and Turkey as well as Iraq and Syria, both with large Shia majorities. In this cauldron, a new entrant has quietly established its presence: China. Most notable is the Saudi-China axis based on a marriage of geopolitical and economic interests.

As The Economist reported recently: For decades the Middle Kingdom saw the Middle-East as a petrol station. About half of Chinas oil came from Arab states and Iran. Little went in the other direction. In 2008 the region got less than one per cent of Chinas net outbound foreign direct investment (FDI). Skip ahead a decade and Chinese money is everywhere: ports in Oman, factories in Algeria, skyscrapers in Egypts new capital. Last year it pledged $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states and signed another $28 billion in investment and construction deals.

Trade between China and the Arab world is lopsided. In 2017, Tunisia imported $1.9 billion worth of goods from China, nine per cent of its total imports. It exported just $30 million to China. The trinkets hawked to tourists in souqs are usually made in Chinese factories, not Arab workshops. In the occupied West Bank even the makers of keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian identity, cannot keep up with their Chinese competitors. A few Arab states hope that Chinas growing taste for olive oil will lower their trade deficits a bit. But China will not put millions of unemployed Arabs to work.

The business model the Chinese are following in the Arab worldfrom north African nations like Tunisia and Algeria to the sheikhdoms of the Middle Eastis eerily similar to its investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia. The common feature is high-cost, unsustainable debt and ghost infrastructure with empty buildings and deserted airports.

The Saudis dont seem to mind. They see the US as an unreliable long-term ally. US Congressmen are still deeply upset with Riyadh for complicity in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and former Saudi insider who had turned a bitter critic of the Saudi royals. The personal rapport between US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has kept the US on Riyadhs side. But for how long? The next US president, in 2020 or 2024, is unlikely to be as strong an ally of Saudi Arabia as Trump.

Enter China. The Saudis see China as a counter to an inevitable estrangement with Washington once Trump demits office. For now Trump and Kushner need Saudi Arabia in their bid to isolate Iran, Saudis sworn enemy. With the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Iraq, Russia will play an increasingly pivotal role in the Middle East. Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US are the worlds three largest crude oil producers with a combined output of over 30 million barrels a day.

A complication in the region is Qatar with whom a Saudi-led group broke all ties in 2016. Qatar is not only the worlds largest natural gas producer but closely involved in the fraught negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Afghan government. Qatar has, to Saudi anger, grown closer to Iran and Turkey. It also hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.

As the geopolitics of the region plays out, Russia will increasingly assume a dominant military role while China focuses on enlarging its economic footprint across the Middle East. As The Economist reported: Arab officials who once ignored China talk of it as a rising regional powera softer sort than America or Russia. An influx of Chinese tourists has led to hotels in Cairo teaching staff to speak Mandarin and cook Chinese dishes.

Diplomats from Beijing often have a command of Arabic that puts their Western counterparts to shame. When Lebanons PM formed a government in February after nine months of deadlock, his first visit came from the Chinese ambassador. But China seems to have little interest in sorting out the civil war just over the border in Syria. Mercantilism is its priority, not fixing the regions many problems.

Indias own role in the region is growing. Millions of Indians have long lived in the Gulfover three-and-a-half-million in the UAE alone. Indian entrepreneurs have a strong presence across the Middle East and Africa. The Indian diaspora has centuries-old links with the region, unlike China which has only arrived on the scene with money and men in the past decade. Airtel was an early investor in Africas mobile telecom market and runs a profitable business in dozens of African countries.

Geopolitically, Indias expanding security relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and across the region could make it the fourth major player along with the US, Russia and China. A combination of soft power (Bollywood) and hard power (space technology) are formidable weapons. They now need to be deployed with care and precision.
Editors Note: On Friday, Netflix began streaming a biopic on serial killer Ted Bundy, titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The film, which stars Zac Efron as Bundy, captures the terror wrought by the man who kidnapped, raped and killed dozens of young women and girls in the 1970s across seven states.

Utah teenager Carol DaRonch was attacked by 1974  and managed to escape with her life. The following article about DaRonchs ordeal was originally published on Jan. 23, 2018.

It must have seemed, at first, just safe enough for Utah teenager Carol DaRonch to go off in a strange car with a strange man named Ted Bundy.

To start, hed told her he was a police officer  and he had the badge to prove it. Her car had been broken into while she was shopping at the mall, he said, and then he asked if she could come down to the station with him to make a complaint against the suspect?

The situation seemed a little off somehow to DaRonch, 18, and her instincts were right: Bundy was trying to abduct and murder her  a harrowing encounter she survived and then some, later going on to testify against him at trial, leading to his first conviction in his years-long spree of kidnappings, sexual assaults and murders.

DaRonchs story and others are recounted in Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a four-part docuseries on Netflix.

In an exclusive clip above, she recalls the moment it all went wrong in Bundys car, after she agreed to join him for a ride to the police station:

He headed down a side street and then he suddenly pulled over up on the side of a curb up by an elementary school and thats when I just started freaking out: What are we doing? And he grabbed my arm and he got one handcuff on one wrist and he didnt get the other one on and the one was just dangling. I had never been so frightened in my entire life.

DaRonch, without knowing who had targeted her, realized what fate could await her.

RELATED: Sheriff Who Caught Ted Bundy Recalls Chilling Details of the Investigation

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She says in the clip: I thought, My god my parents are never going to know what happened to me.

But she fought Bundy off  one of his few survivors and the first to be able to identify him afterward. Later, she told PEOPLE how she had tried to move on with her life.

Ive decided to try and block it from my memory, she said in 1989. You cant live in fear forever. (Perversely, Bundy went on from his encounter with DaRonch to kill that same day  17-year-old Debra Jean Kent.)

Ted Bundy | Getty

Conversations with a Killer includes interviews with DaRonch, the people who investigated, prosecuted and defended Bundy and Bundy himself, in the form of about 100 hours of never-heard audio recorded during death row interviews he gave in Florida while awaiting execution.

It was the fall of 1974 when Bundy tried to take DaRonch. Hed already killed over and over again, the women often vanishing from public spaces at night: a girl near her sorority house, another leaving a bar. Two others during the day in a crowded park.

His arrest in DaRonchs abduction was not the end of his story. He twice escaped from police custody, then went on to represent himself at the two murder trials for which he was prosecuted with rapt TV cameras recording.

He insisted until right before he was executed that he was innocent. He was articulate, he was handsome, he was a law school student. How could he be a serial killer?

RELATED: Haunting Serial Killers and What Ended Their Bloody Reigns

Docuseries director Joe Berlinger, who is also releasing a fictionalized account of Bundys crimes starring Zac Efron, tells PEOPLE its that incongruity about Bundys character that he wanted to explore.

Why is Bundy considered the serial killer that everybody seems to know something about and why he is a source of endless fascination? Berlinger says. Listening to tapes of Bundys prison interviews changed his perspective.

I wasnt sure until I started listening to the [tapes] and listening to the stuff, it burned and deepened some of the troubling aspects of Bundys story that I felt were worth putting on screen which I hadnt yet seen before, which is this deep dive into the mind of a killer and the personality of a killer, he says. Because I think the thing thats most chilling, interesting, fascinating to me about Bundy is that he defied many of the stereotypes of the serial killer.

The thing that I really wanted to drill into is: Why was he so believable?

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is available on Netflix.
Providing enough food to feed the nation is always a struggle for North Korea, which suffered a near cataclysmic famine in the 1990s (AP)

North Koreas daily food rations have been cut to a record low this year after experiencing the worst harvest in a decade.

The Hermit State has rations to 300 grams a day  or 11 ounces - with further cuts likely the United Nations said on Friday.

According to US organisation The Nutrition Centre, a good mix of proteins, carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and dairy products weighs 2 kilos per day per person.

The UN conducted a food assessment between March 29 to April 12, at the request of North Korea.

Photo taken in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The organisation was given wide access to the country, including cooperative farms, nurseries, households and food distribution centres.

According to the survey, North Korean families were only consuming protein a few times a year.

The report also detailed how the countrys agricultural output of 4.9 million tonnes, the lowest since 2008-2009, had led to a food deficit of 1.36 million tonnes in the 2018/2019 marketing year.

Read more:

North Korea executed four officials after failed US summit, report claims

North Korea rebuilding long-range rocket launch site it had dismantled last year

North Koreas Kim in Russia for first talks with Putin

World Food Program spokesman Herve Verhoosel said. This new food security assessment ... has found that following the worst harvests in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest.

10.1 million people needed food aid, including 7.5 million of the 17.5 million North Koreans who depend on government rations plus 2.6 million collective farmers.

Mr Verhoosel said: Prospects for the 2019 early season crops of wheat and barley are worrisome, with communities at risk as the lean season gets underway in June.

North Korea is facing worrying food shortages (KCNA)

The effects of repeated climate shocks are compounded by shortages of fuel, fertiliser and spare parts crucial for farming.

The World Food Program is to hold another assessment between July and August in order to gain a better understanding of the crisis.

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The news is reminiscent of the famine that gripped North Korea in the mid 1990s that killed as many as 3 million people.

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The doctor shared the images to warn people of the dangers of sleeping with contacts still in. (Getty)

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: An eye doctor who was sick of encountering patients that sleep with their contacts in has taken stomach-churning measures to warn people about the dangers.

Dr Patrick Vollmer of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina, shared graphic photos of a bright-green eye that was being rapidly consumed by bacteria.

He explained that an ulcer had formed in the cornea as a direct result of sleeping [with] contact lenses still in.

While the fluorescent green colour in the eye was a result of dye, Dr Vollmer said the places where it had pooled showed the extent to which the cornea had been taken over by an ulcer.

This case did not take years to form. In fact, it took about 36 hours, as is characteristic of this strain of bacteria, he said.

I dont ever recommend sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses. The risks outweigh the benefits every time.

The patient's cornea has been almost consumed by an ulcer, highlighted by dye. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse...

Don't sleep in soft contact lenses.

The condition, called cultured pseudomonas ulcer can quickly lead to blindness, and despite the antibiotics and steroids he had treated the cornea with, the patient was still likely to have permanent scarring and vision loss, he said.

The patient will 'likely' have permanent scarring and vision loss. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

The graphic photos quickly went viral on social media, and within three days of the post it had been seen by more than 30 million people.

Some comments which accused the post of trying to scare people were met with the response from the clinic: Yes, this post is a scare tactic to get you to stop sleeping in soft contacts.

According Optometry Australia, soft contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed type of contact lenses, but the thin, lightweight plastic were making people complacent.

The infected eye before the green dye is added. The dye is used to pool in areas of corneal compromise  in this case, the ulcer bed. (Vita Eye Clinic/ Facebook)

Contact lenses should not be worn at night because they prevent oxygen getting to the front of the eyeball and can cause damage if worn for too long, as was the case with Dr Vollmers patient.

"A very common thing we see in private practice is someone gets home late ... they're meant to throw their lenses out but they just fall asleep instead," Optometry Australia president Andrew Hogan told ABC Radio Hobart.

"They get up in the morning and without thinking too much they put a fresh pair of lenses on top of the ones they're already wearing."
More than 20 people were injured on Friday night after a Boeing 737 plane that had landed in Florida terrifyingly slid off the runway and into a nearby river.

The passenger plane from Guantanamo Bay had just arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station when it skidded off the runway and into the St. Johns River at 9:40 p.m., the air station confirmed.

Despite the scary circumstances, the plane was not submerged due to the shallow water, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office tweeted.

Miraculously all 143 people on board survived after the planes rough landing.

The Mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, initially asked for prayers on Twitter, writing, We have a commercial plane down on the river. Ive been briefed by our Fire and Rescue. They are on the scene. While they work please pray.

Curry then confirmed that all passengers were alive and accounted for, and that no fatalities were reported.

21 adults transported to local hospitals by @JFRDJAX. All listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 @JFRDJAX members responded. AMAZING response and work @JFRD! #Teamwork https://t.co/WKdlygail4  Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019

RELATED: Boeing Denies Claims of Shoddy Production at Plane Factory 6 Weeks After Another Model Crashed

While everyone made it out alive, 21 people were taken to hospitals, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed.

We responded to NAS Jax to a plane incident tonight with a second alarm assignment of approximately 90 personnel, the department tweeted. 21 people were transported to local hospitals.

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In addition to writing that an investigation was underway into how the incident happened, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville detailed a full account of the event.

RELATED VIDEO: Weather Complicating Recovery Efforts In Alaska Plane Crash

At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville slid off the runway into the St. Johns River, the air station confirmed. There were 136 passengers and seven aircrew on board and all have been accounted for. Minor injuries have been reported, treated at the scene, and those requiring additional treatment were transported to a local hospital. There were no fatalities.

The air station also added that, just after midnight on Saturday morning, that Navy security and emergency response personnel were still on the scene and monitoring the situation.

Families members who were expecting the arrival of passengers should stand by until they are released, the air station advised.

The plane while a Boeing 737, is not believed to be a Boeing 737 Max. The 737 Max planes have been grounded in the wake of two fatal accidents in just five months.
The white beluga whale spotted off the coast of northern Norway wearing a harness appears to want to stay there (Picture: Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/Handout/NTB Scanpix via REUTERS)

A whale suspected of being a spy for Russia appears to have defected - seeming happy to stay in Norway.

The beluga whale, which was spotted in northern Norway with a harness appeared to be used for carrying a camera, seems reticent to return to Russia, sticking close to the harbour where it was found.

The whale has become so popular that Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has launched a poll to find a name for it.

Linn Sther, a resident of Tufjord on the Arctic island of Rolvsya, told the broadcaster: Hes so comfortable with people that when you call him he comes right up to you.

Linn Saether said the whale is so tame it allows people to pet it and performs tricks (Picture: Linn Saether via AP)

Sther said locals had been able to pet the whale and it also performs tricks, retrieving rings then swimming up to the dockside for praise.

It reacts when you call it or splash your hands in the water. You can see its been trained to fetch and bring back whatever is thrown for it.

READ MORE

Police hunt thug who threw dog from Cornish cliff

The beluga whale was found on Sunday wearing a harness fitted with a mount that was reportedly stamped with the words: Equipment St Petersburg, sparking speculation that it could be a Russian spy or may have escaped from a Russian military facility.

Russia has reportedly denied running a sea mammal special operations programme and Norways special police security agency (PST) has not yet reached a conclusion on where the whale came from.

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Shamima Begum is not our problem, said Bangladesh's foreign minister. (AP)

Bangladeshs government has said that Shamima Begum, the teenage Londoner who fled to Syria, is not their problem.

The countrys Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said the teenager is British, not Bangladeshi, and if she travelled to Dhaka she could be hanged for terrorism.

We have nothing to do with Shamima Begum. She is not a Bangladeshi citizen, he told ITN.

She never applied for Bangladesh citizenship. She was born in England and her mother is British.

Begum fled to Syria with London school friends (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

If anyone is found to be involved with terrorism, we have a simple rule, there will be capital punishment. And nothing else.

She will be put in prison and immediately, the rule is, she should be hanged.

Begum, 19, was stripped of her British nationality by the current Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February.

She was one of three Bethnal Green schoolgirls who fled to Syria and joined Islamic State in 2015.

In her time with IS she was married and had three children, though all three have died.

There were allegations that she worked for IS morality police and she was discovered at a Syrian refugee camp in March.

The UK government's official reason for depriving Ms Begum of her British passport has never been made public, although it is against the law to make someone stateless.

Regardless, Mr Momen said she was not welcome in Bangladesh.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters fire on Islamic State militants (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

He said he would be "sad" if she was left stateless, but said it "nothing to do with us".

He compared the British government's decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship to the treatment of the Rohingya by the Burmese authorities, many of who have fled to Bangladesh.

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Torontos Mayor John Tory didnt mince words this morning when he spoke with the CBC, to discuss the continued encroachment of the Ontario government on the citys municipal affairs.

They are doing these things out of the blue that are going to effect peoples lives, said Tory, speaking on a recent decision by Doug Fords government to cut funding to Torontos child care, a move that will cost the city $84.8 million this year.

It will also jeopardize more than 6,000 daycare spots in Toronto.

Tory said hed call his relationship with Doug Fords government as uneven, unpredictable and volatile, as sometimes they have open communication, but other times decisions just come down the pipeline with no warning.

He said the child care decision came via a memo and was a surprise to his office.

It is about deep cuts to actual provision of child care to families in the City of Toronto, he said.

Why does this government insist on taking programs like this that are necessary for a healthy prosperous city....and just one after another, do these things?, said Tory, adding that the provinces cuts seem to disproportionately target Toronto.

Premier Doug Ford meets with Toronto Mayor John Tory at his Queen's Park office in July 2018. (Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Cuts to child care is one decision on a list of provincial policies that are set to impact Canadas largest city. Discussions about how to use the Ontario Place space and whether to include a casino ruffled feathers with Torontonians who want a public space, meant for those of all ages.

In April, the Ontario government announced $1 billion would be cut from Toronto public health over the next ten years. City councillor Joe Cressy said those cuts to funding would impact disease prevention, water quality testing, immunization monitoring and surveillance, prenatal support, overdose prevention, food safety regulation... and more.

At the time, Tory called the decision a targeted attack on Toronto.

Ontario is also currently in the process of uploading the Toronto subway expansion to the province, a negotiation that Tory says is going fairly well and where communication lines are open.

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At least were sitting at a table and were having discussions, he said.

In the case of these other cut backs....its out of the blue, said Tory.

In terms of child care and health care, Tory told Galloway that his government is currently trying to convince the province otherwise.

Its time to take a hard second-look at these things, he said. They are certainly trying to have their way on a number of issues.

Were not going to stand by and put up with this thing going on without any discussion.

As the battle continues for funding for city programs, do you think the Ontario government is correct in making these kinds of cuts? Share your opinion in the comments below!
Jim Cummings Winnie The Pooh

Legendary Disney voice actor Jim Cummings  known for characters like Tigger, Mickey Mouse villain, Pete, and Winnie the Pooh  is currently locked in a bitter war with his ex-wife and she is claiming years of abuse by the star, including sexual assault, drug addiction and animal abuse.

Jim and Stephanie Cummings were married in 2001 and divorced a decade later, in 2011. They have two minor daughters, Johanna and Lulu, and have been arguing in an L.A. County courtroom over alleged incidents of abuse that occurred between 2011 and 2018, after the couples marriage fell apart.

Allegations of Rape/Sexual Assault

According to documents obtained by The Blast, Stephanie claims that since her divorce from Jim, he has engaged in physical, sexual and emotional abuse including but not limited to death threats, rape, and various sexual deviant behavior forced upon me without my consent.

Stephanie also notes that Jim is a very successful voice over actor. He has provided voices for such films as Winnie the Pooh, Lion King,' and adds that he has done over 250 voices.

Disney

She claims to have obtained two separate domestic violence restraining orders against the 66-year-old star, including after an incident on August 31, 2011, when she says Jim came over to her home and slapped her on the buttocks and forced himself on her in front of their 4-year-old daughter.

He later came up behind me, she claims, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and forcefully put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me while holding me in place against the wall.

She says after the kiss, Jim asked if she could see him leaking, because thats what I make him do when he touches me. Stephanie says she felt humiliated and degraded in front of their child, and allegedly reported the incident to the L.A. County Sheriff, who advised her to get a domestic violence restraining order.

According to documents, Jim did not dispute the incident but remembers it differently than his ex. The Disney star said he was joking and laughing with Stephanie, and then I touched her slightly on the butt. He says Stephanie gave him a consensual hug and says the whole incident was happy. He added that his ex-wife, who is much taller than I am, and a large woman, made no objection to anything.

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Getty

Stephanie also claims that she was raped by Jim in 2013, and allegedly filed a police report over the incident but did not give more detail. In open court testimony, Stephanie describes how she entered rehab after the rape for co-dependency and Jim showed up to the facility unannounced and was asked to leave.

She claims that Jim would frequently without consent, would touch my buttocks, my groin, and my breasts. He would hold me in place attempting to kiss and fondle me. He would spank me in front of our daughters. He would then follow up by making sexual comments to me that I found repugnant.

Of all the inappropriate comments he allegedly made to the former couples daughters, Stephanie claims Jim commented that he was allowed to touch Mommys breasts since he had paid for them. Stephanie broke down in tears on the stand while recalling some of the comments made to her by Cummings.

In documents, Jim addressed the situation, writing in an email to Stephanie, Shame on you, youre [sic] distortions are obscene. forcing? Please, everyone, Gracie myself and especially YOU were all giggling and laughing, it was pleasant to have one moment of light-heartedness. We both erupted into laughterIm hardly the first person in the world to point out one catches more flys [sic] with honey than vinegar for you to overlay a reference to being a whore is little too telling, Lets get this over with for the love of God.

The ex-couple has also been fighting for custody and support payments and, in legal documents, Stephanie claims Jim would withhold payments of support and demand sex from me in exchange for meeting his support obligations.

In 2015, she claims Jim showed up to her home and confronted her while on a date with an off-duty police officer, and the man was forced to pull his gun to make Jim leave the scene.

Getty

Stephanie says the constant harassment from Jim resulted in a decline in her health, so in 2017, she moved to Utah with their two daughters.

During a visit to see the children, she claims Jim asked to stay at the house and she allowed it. However, during the middle of the night, she claims Jim was standing over me with his erect penis in my hand. He was using my hand to stroke his penis while my youngest daughter was asleep on the other side of me. She was 10 years old at the time.

Stephanie explained, I told him to stop and get out of the house. He refused. He then came back and did the same thing, insisting I masturbate him or he would wake Lulu up. I did as he asked given his threat to wake up my daughter and my worry that I could not control what he would do in front of her.

After that incident, Stephanie says she obtained the second restraining order against Jim, which was filed in Utah. In 2018, both Stephanie and Jim testified in court and the restraining order was issued against Jim for two years.

Allegations of Drug Use

In the court documents, Stephanie says, The primary reason James and I separated was his abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and Adderall.

Stephanie says Jim has had a longstanding history of substance abuse, including a stint in rehab in 2005 and on June 10, 2010, he checked in again and stayed for four days before checking out. Stephanie says he ended up relapsing and returned to the facility for five days before getting kicked out because he was using Adderall.

She claims after the couple split, between 2012 and 2018, Jim has shown up at her home uninvited while intoxicated or high on Adderall.

Jim denied the allegations were as stated saying, I entered that rehab facility voluntarily. However, Petitioners claim that it was a binge on alcohol, marijuana and Adderall is another exaggeration as I have never taken Adderall Petitioner, however, has had a long standing [sic] history of drug abuse. On the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Petitioner and I mutually agreed to check into a rehabilitation facility. He claims the substance abuse consisted of primarily Vicodin as well as alcohol.

Getty

Allegations of Animal Abuse

In her argument to get full custody of the two children, Stephanie claims Jim once abused the family puppy to the point where it almost died.

Stephanie says she and Jim had purchased a dog and the animal urinated in the house. As a result, Stephanie says Jim took the dog and placed it inside a metal bucket outside of the house on a day which it was over 100 degrees, then left it there for a long time, adding, The dog came close to dying.

In response to the animal abuse allegations, Jim admitted to the incident, but says, There was an incident where I put a tub (not a metal bucket) over a dog to isolate it briefly as a form of discipline to its behavior at our vets suggestion, and unfortunately I forgot the dog was there for a while, but then of course I released it.

Jim says he took the dog to the vet to get checked out and claims it was in fine health.

She also claims in another incident, Jim had taken a broom and hit the puppy so hard that he shattered the puppys hip necessitating surgery.

Ongoing Court Battle and Current Situation

Stephanie and Jim are currently giving dueling testimony in a Los Angeles courtroom about the years of allegations and ongoing incidents. Jim was actually on the stand for two days being questioned by powerhouse attorney Larry Bakman and giving his side of the story.

The Disney star says he has tried to work out things amicably with his ex-wife but says, She will have outbursts of hostility directed at me, and often change in her behavior and attitude comes without warning.

He has also alleged she may have a mental health disorder and says she has been taking medication.

Jim is also very worried about his future with Disney, claiming Stephanie has threatened to ruin his longstanding career. He claims she threatened, I will go and I will ruin your reputation  I am going to tell people Winnie the Pooh is a woman beating, drug addicted freak!

He says the recent alleged outburst by Stephanie came after he had refused to take her to the premiere of the Disney movie Christopher Robin in 2018.

Getty

Stephanie has also given testimony and is accusing Jim of currently living with a woman who was once a sex worker. The woman, Peggy Schinke, rose to fame as one of the prostitutes who worked with Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. During a 1990s sting operation, Peggy was one of four women who met with undercover vice officers for Beverly Hills PD. It was a pivotal moment in the Fleiss criminal case.

Winnie the Pooh lives with a whore, pays a whore to pretend to be his girlfriend, rapes and abuses the mother of his kids, Stephanie said. She also claims Jim has tried to get her to kill herself and has referred to his two daughters as n-word babies.

She says Jim is a much smaller version of Harvey Weinstein, who needs help for his alleged addictions. She is making it clear she believes her daughters lives are in danger around Jim and she wants full custody of the kids.

According to records, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has investigated the case and have been in contact with the couple.

The Blast reached out to Disney several times before publishing this story  so far they have not commented.

The post Winnie the Pooh Disney Voice Star Jim Cummings Accused of Rape, Animal Abuse appeared first on The Blast.
Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 21 taken to hospital originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue said 21 passengers were transported to the hospital, all in good condition. There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members.

(MORE: Small plane crashes in Long Island, all passengers survive)

There was no water inside the cabin of the plane when rescue personnel arrived, but passengers had come out onto the wing and were then escorted through the shallow water to land.

The flight is what is called "the rotator" flight that flies out of Guantanamo on Tuesdays and Fridays. Its a regularly scheduled charter flight that flies from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Jacksonville and then continues on to Norfolk, Virginia, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for Navy Region Southeast.

Passengers who use this aircraft pay a standard fare for the transportation to and from Guantanamo. The passengers can be military personnel, their families, civilian employees or contractors who work or live at Guantanamo.

PHOTO: A 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."

The NTSB is investigating the runway overrun of a Miami Air International Boeing 737-800 that overran the runway at NAS Jacksonville and came to rest in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. NTSB photo. pic.twitter.com/ueBeCa2OAt  NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) May 4, 2019

There were thunderstorms in the area during the accident, but an official said it was unclear if that was a contributing factor.

Story continues

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, earlier tweeted it was a commercial plane, but it was actually a 737 contracted by the Department of Defense. He later said "all lives have been accounted for."

(MORE: VIDEO: Survivor: Hawaii Plane Crash 'Like Instant Brakes')

"It think it is a miracle," Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said at an overnight press conference. "It could have ended very differently."

Authorities also said teams were working to control jet fuel which had leaked into the water.

The plane skidded off one of two runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The base specializes in anti-submarine warfare and training pilots. It is also home to Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

PHOTO: A Boeing 737 contracted by the Department of Defense skidded off a runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, May 3, 2019. No one was seriously injured. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

"To say that I was wiping sweat off my brow would be an understatement," Tom Francis, spokesperson for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, said in response to the lack of serious injuries.

Curry said he was contacted by President Donald Trump to offer help in the wake of the accident.

(MORE: VIDEO: WWII plane crash kills 20 on board)

Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the scene, including members of the hazmat unit.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the accident.

ABC News' Luis Martinez, Matt Foster and Chris Donato contributed to this report.
Minnesota's repeal of marital rape exemptions highlights existing legal loopholes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The governor of Minnesota closed a legal loophole this week in the states marital rape law -- just one of what advocates describe as scores of legal loopholes still permeating state criminal justice laws from coast to coast.

Marital rape laws have been in place in all 50 states for more than a quarter century, but a number of those states -- like Minnesota -- have had exemptions in place which specified certain circumstances in which what would typically be considered rape if it happened between strangers, is not considered a crime between a married or existing couple.

Aequitas, a national non-profit that studies prosecution practices as they relate to gender-based violence and human trafficking, reported last month that 17 states still maintain some form of exemption to laws against marital rape of spouses who are drugged or otherwise incapacitated, according to an Associated Press report.

The change in Minnesota law was spearheaded by Jenny Teeson, who discovered video that showed that her now-ex-husband drugged and sexually assaulted her while they were married. During the case against her husband, she learned that Minnesotas marital rape law has an exemption that applied in their case.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson, center in white, of Andover, Minn., looks on as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs a bill at the Capitol in St. Paul, on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Steve Karnowski/AP)

The Minnesota penal code previously contained a statute that allowed people who were accused of sexual assault to justify the act if they had an existing relationship with the victim. That was used in Teeson's ex-husband's case, but will no longer be available to offenders in Minnesota.

In 2017, Teeson and her now ex-husband were going through a divorce when she found a flash drive containing videos of her husband allegedly sexually assaulting her with an object while she was drugged and unconscious  and turned them over to police, who initially charged the man with third-degree criminal sexual assault, the AP reported.

Story continues

Later the same day, Minnesota state prosecutors dropped that charge against Teesons ex-husband due to the loophole, and he ultimately pled guilty to invasion of privacy and served 30 days behind bars, according to numerous reports about the case

(MORE: Domestic violence plays a role in many mass shootings, but receives less attention: Experts)

"This exception should never have been part of our criminal statutes," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said after signing the bill repealing the pre-existing relationship defense on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. "It is reprehensible. And because of Jenny and other survivors, it is now repealed."

(MORE: Bus driver who raped 14-year-old girl gets no prison time, just probation and fees)

No longer will this antiquated and shameful law be on our books, Walz said.

The legal concept that a rape cannot happen within a marriage dates back to the 17th century English common law, when Sir Matthew Hale posited that marital rape is legally impossible because a marriage implies a womans ongoing consent to sex, according to the Associated Press.

PHOTO: Jenny Teeson receives applause while speaking after Gov. Tim Walz signed into law a repeal of the state's pre-existing relationship defense at the Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Leila Navidi/Minneapolis Star Tribune via ZUMA)

Nearly 9% of women and 0.8% of men report having been raped by an intimate partner, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the AP reported  noting that national surveys place the percentage of women who say they were raped within a marriage at between 10% and 14%.

Yet despite the persistence of the #MeToo movement and ongoing efforts to update and reframe womens rightful roles in all aspects of American society, campaigns to close marital rape loopholes havent proven successful everywhere.

A recent bill in Marylands legislature to erase marital rape exemptions for all sex crimes died in committee, the AP reported. One skeptical lawmaker wondered whether one spouse could conceivably be charged with sexual assault for smacking the others behind. Another wanted to know if your religion believes if you are married, two are as one body, then what happens? Can you get a religious exemption? The bill died in committee, the AP reported.

Other common arguments against erasing such exemptions from state statutes include notions of marital privacy as a constitutional right  as when spouses cant be forced to testify against each other in court, Professor D. Kelly Weisberg of the University of California Hastings College of Law told the wire service.

Aequitass data reports that a number of states have multiple forms of exemptions, but they describe the exemptions as generally falling into one of three categories. The first  and most common, occurring in 41 jurisdictions  is based on the age of the victim and the offender. The specific exceptions vary by state but tend to relate to the victim being under a certain age or the perpetrator being a certain number of years older than the victim.

Because of this exemption, actions that would generally be considered statutory rape if it occurred between strangers, may not deemed a crime if the individuals are married or have a pre-existing relationship.

The second type of exemption relates to the capacity of the victim to consent, either due to their mental impairment, physical or cognitive disabilities, or intoxication. In the context of this exemption, a sexual assault that may normally be criminalized as rape because the victim could not consent due to intoxication, for example, may not be considered a crime in states like Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut or Idaho, which are four of the 20 jurisdictions that have that exemption, according to Aequitas.

(MORE: John Bobbitt speaks out 25 years after wife infamously cut off his penis: 'I want people to understand the whole story')

The third exemption relates to rare instances when one spouse has legal authority over another, including instances in which one spouse is granted custodial or guardianship power over the other.

Holly Fuhrman, an associate attorney and adviser at Aequitas, gave the hypothetical examples of a prison guard and an inmate, or a caregiver and someone in their care as situations that could fall into this exemption.

The exemptions themselves are very complicated, Fuhrman noted to ABC News.

Beyond the legal loopholes, Fuhrman said that a number of other aspects of the relationship between the couple could prevent the victim from seeking legal justice.

She said that marital rape often happens in the context of a broader domestic violence relationship where there are dynamics of power and control at play.
The private sector is seen as a mainstay of Hanois economic development as the nearly 250,000 firms make up 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and generate jobs for over 50 percent of the labourers in the city.

Accounting for 97.2 percent of the capital citys total enterprises, the private businesses are affirming their leading role in the nation and citys development and construction. Favourable mechanisms and policies outlined by local authorities have helped the firms stabilise and branch out their business operation.

However, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association Mac Quoc Anh said that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance is still constrained by many factors, comprising both internal capacity and unfriendly external factors like shortage of capital and high-quality human resources, and narrow access to technology besides poor management and marketing capacity.

Therefore, SMEs would lose their competitive edge, especially when Vietnam is integrating deeply into the global economy, with various bilateral and multilateral free trade deals having been inked with the ASEAN, the US, Japan and the EU, he said.

In a bid to make SMEs become more conducive to local economy, Hanoi will create a sound business environment, ensuring that it serves as a launching pad for the firms to further develop, while supporting them in innovation, modernising technologies, and improving labour productivity.

It is necessary for the local authority to channel efforts to narrow gap with the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand) in terms of technology, human resources and competitive capacity.

The city is completing and implementing effective mechanisms and policies, contributing to finalising the socialist-oriented market economy in the country by 2030. Accordingly, economic growth will be promoted in tandem with sustainable development, environment protection, and climate change response.

Besides, it will continue shake-up in State-owned enterprises, targeting that most of the companies have international-standard quality management systems, and modern technologies and techniques equivalent to those of regional countries by 2030.-VNA
By Express News Service

SRIKAKULAM/VIJAYAWADA: People in Srikakulam and other two north coastal districts  Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram  heaved a sigh of relief, with extreme severe cyclonic storm Fani sparing them and moving towards southern Odisha coast.

However, under the influence of the cyclone, moderate to heavy rains lashed northern mandals of Srikakulam district. Some areas in Sompeta, Srikakulam and Kanchili mandals received around 19 cm of rains with high-velocity winds on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. But, since Friday morning, there were no rains in all the three coastal districts.

In Ichchapuram, which borders Odisha, winds at 140 kmph were registered and in some parts of Uddanam region, several coconut and palm trees were uprooted. Branches of the trees fell on the interior roads and NDRF and fire service personnel, deployed in the district as a precautionary measure, cleared them.

District collector J Niwas said that there were no casualties and damage was minimal. He said several electric poles in Kanchili, Kaviti, Sompeta, Ichchapuram and Palasa mandals were uprooted due to gales.

As many as 2,000 staff of Electricity department are engaged in restoration works and we expect to restore power to 70-80 per cent of the affected areas by Friday night. Superintending engineer-level officials in each mandal are supervising the restoration works. Power connectivity to rest of the district has been restored. As a precautionary measure, power connectivity was disconnected on Thursday night, he explained.

In the report submitted to the State government, district collector put the losses at Rs 38.43 crore in the district. As many as 162 houses were damaged, 12 sheep and nine cows were killed. Horticulture crop loss in 406 hectares was pegged at Rs 4.09 crore. Infrastructure damage in Palasa and Srikakulam municipalities was pegged at Rs 2.12 crore.

Energy department sustained losses to the tune of Rs 9.75 crore.

Around 20,000 people, who were evacuated from vulnerable locations and housed in 252 relief centres set up in the district, started returning home since Friday morning itself.

On the other hand, the Irrigation officials are in touch with their Odisha counterparts to monitor flood-levels in Nagavali, Vamsadhara, Mahendra Tanaya and Bahuda rivers. On Thursday, as a precautionary measure, all the 24 gates of Gotta Barrage on Vamsadhara river in Hiramandalam was opened, but on Friday morning, with no inflows or rains in the upper catchment areas, 18 gates were closed and water is being released from the remaining six gates.

According to officials, only when the flood levels cross one lakh cusecs mark, will the first warning of floods be issued. However, to be on the safe side, all the officials in the riverside mandals were put on alert.

In Vizianagaram district, not much damage to infrastructure and houses were reported. The horticulture crop (banana) losses in 326 hectares of land was pegged at Rs 5.08 crore.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who took stock of the situation later in the day, told newsmen that 2,129 electric poles and 218 cell towers in 12 mandals were damaged.
Photo credit: KOCO via YouTube

From Delish

A 28-year-old Oklahoma man suffered a stroke after popping his neck, reported ABC affiliate KOCO News. According to the outlet, Josh Hader's vertebral artery, which leads from the base of the neck to the brain, tore as a result of the common practice.

Hader explained to the outlet he immediately knew something was wrong.

The moment I heard the pop, everything on my left side started to go numb, said Hader. I got up and tried to get an ice pack from the fridge, and I remember I couldnt walk straight.



Hader was taken to the hospital by his father-in-law. X-rays revealed Hader's torn artery, and medical staff says the man's injury could have been life-threatening.

He could have formed more clot on that tear and had a life-ending stroke. He could have died, Dr. Vance McCollom of Mercy Hospital told KOCO.

Strokes in this region can leave patients incapacitated, according to McCollom.

They completely understand what's going on, but they can't communicate. They can't move anything. They can't speak. They can't breathe.

Hader's case was less severe, but the Oklahoma man experienced double vision and had to wear an eyepatch for several days. He also relied on a walker to move around and suffered from painful hiccups.

According to KOCO, Hader's wife frequently asked him to stop the dangerous habit.

His wife had been telling him, Don't pop your neck. You're going to cause a stroke, said McCollom.

Although strokes related to neck popping are rare, medical professionals say there are other risks.

New York-based chiropractor Patrick Kerr, D.C., tells SELF that popping your neck can make the area feel more stiff. This only makes you perform the habit more often.

"You know, on some level, that movement brings relief, so that leads to cracking," said Kerr. "But then you begin to discover that it takes more and more effort to get relief. It becomes a habit."

Story continues

For those of you who just can't stop, follow McCollom's advice:

If you want to pop your neck, just kind of pop it side to side. Don't twist it, he said.

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Photo credit: Withunmind Photography

From Woman's Day

Late fall can be a bittersweet time of year, especially in rural Texas. Live oak trees, once ablaze with orange and red leaves, begin to look bare. The sun descends from its summertime perch, putting an end to days that stretch luxuriously into night.



Still, theres plenty of magic to be had in autumn  a campfire crackling on a chilly evening, an apple pie spiced just right with cinnamon, or, say, a wedding.





Photo credit: Judy Tran

Tabatha Cash and Marlee Castillo tied the knot last fall at a park in Spearman, TX, on an overcast day that was warm enough for Tabatha, dressed in a long white sleeveless lace dress, not to catch a chill, yet cool enough so that Marlee felt comfortable in a three-piece suit.

Nearly 50 people  aunts and uncles, long-time friends  looked on as the women said their I dos. But Tabathas mother wasnt among them.

My mom doesnt accept that Im gay, says Tabatha. It was understood that she loves me and she loves Marlee, but she doesn't love us together.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Luckily, nestled in the beaming crowd, was Sara Cunningham, the founder of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that supports the queer community. As she had for several other couples, Sara had offered to act as a stand-in mother for Tabatha on her wedding day. Sara had helped Tabatha arrange a bouquet and get dressed. She dried her tears, blotted her makeup, and fussed over details of the reception.



To not be accepted by your own family is devastating, says Sara. Hopefully I made the day a little better for Tabatha.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

The Start of a Movement

Saras journey from religious Midwest mom to queer ally began with her son, Parker, who told her he was gay in 2011 when he was 21.



Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

I didnt take the news very well, says Sara, whose resistance was based on her churchs beliefs about gay people and its interpretation of certain Bible verses.

I was really wrestling with my faith, says Sara. I couldnt understand how to love my son, but not accept every part of him.

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After a lot of soul-searching, Sara parted ways with the church. She found solace in a private Facebook group for moms of gay children, all of whom felt alienated from their religious communities. The women shared advice for building new relationships with their children and supported each other during difficult times. More than one mother came to the group after her child died by suicide. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual youth.

By 2015, Sara was ready to embrace the queer community  literally. She pinned a homemade button that read Free Mom Hugs onto her sundress and went with Parker to the Oklahoma City Gay Pride parade. Anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, Can I offer you a free mom hug or high five? Sara says. The first woman who accepted a hug told her she hadnt been hugged by her mom for four years.



After the parade, as Sara got involved with local LGBTQ groups, she began to see the needs of community first-hand. She met a queer couple living in their car and a young man who had been kicked out of his house after telling his youth pastor he was gay. Sara and a few other moms began collecting donations for them and other struggling queer people  she bought bus tickets and tanks of gas and gave out Target gift cards. The next year Sara founded the nonprofit organization Free Mom Hugs, and extended her outreach even more. She began to officiate gay weddings.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

In talking with the couples before the ceremony, many told me that their parents wouldnt acknowledge their relationships and refused to come to the wedding, she says. It broke my heart.

Frustrated, Sara took to Facebook in July 2018 with a post that quickly went viral. It said, If you need a mom to attend your same sex wedding because your biological mom won't. Call me. I'm there. I'll be your biggest fan. I'll even bring the bubbles.



The response was overwhelming  dozens of couples reached out to ask Sara to attend their weddings as a stand-in. Even more people responded with their own offer to act as a proxy.

If you need a Mom, an Aunt, a Granny, or just a friend in Florida, Ill be there, one woman posted. Love is love. Period.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

Tabatha and Marlees Texas wedding was one of the first ceremonies that Sara attended as a stand-in, and in 2019, she plans to go to at least three more, including the June wedding of Haley Myers-Brannon and Sam Hedrick. Sam grew up in Oklahoma City, in a conservative Christian family who refused to accept his identity.

Photo credit: Kate Donaldson Photography

When I came out to my parents as transgender, it was a big blow to them, he says. After Sam met Haley and he decided to propose, he reached out to his parents with the news. My mom texted and said, we do not believe this is Gods plan for you, Sam says.

Then Sara stepped in. Sam had met her through a friend and eventually asked her to attend his and Haleys wedding in place of his mom. Sara will help him get dressed and be there to talk before the ceremony.

Shes probably going to let me cry a lot and then help me pull it together, says Sam. Shell be in the front row where my family would normally sit.

Despite the expansion of Free Mom Hugs, which now has more than 40 chapters in the U.S. and beyond, as well as more than 50,000 Facebook followers, Sara still holds down a full-time job as a secretary for an architectural firm.

And yet, she plans to keep growing, helping transgender community members get their birth certificates changed to reflect their identity, filling prescriptions, providing housing for LGBTQ people who feel unsafe in homeless shelters, and more.

Says Sara, What we do is way beyond hugs.

Photo credit: Courtesy Sara Cunningham

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Buying sunscreen used to involve choosing an SPF level and deciding if you wanted to smell like a coconut. Today, the descriptors on each bottle have multiplied, and there are far more decisions to make. Were here to help.

Sunscreen ingredients can already be a bit of a brain teaser for the average shopper  do you choose a formula with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, a combo of both, or something else entirely, like a non-mineral filter?  but when you add in other words from elsewhere on the label, the challenge of choosing the right protection multiplies exponentially. How much of the language is just marketing mumbo-jumbo, and which terms should be taken into serious consideration? And more importantly, what do they all mean?

Here, you'll find explanations of the most common words and phrases found on sunscreens so you can approach the shelves (or the websites) with the confidence that you're getting what you want and need, whether thats a formula that won't irritate your skin, one that won't harm the environment, one that won't budge when you sweat, or all of the above  and then some.

broad-spectrum

adj. brd-spek-trm

A sunscreen that offers protection from both UVB rays, which burn skin, and UVA rays, which cause damage like collagen breakdown, says Elizabeth Hale, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. For the best sun protection, use only sunscreens labeled "broad-spectrum."

chemical

adj. ke-mi-kl

A term used to describe a sunscreen that protects from UV rays by absorbing them with chemical ingredients, such as octocrylene or avobenzone (though its worth noting even "mineral" sunscreens are made in labs).

clinically tested

adj. kli-ni-kl te-std

Some brands test for distinctions like being good for sensitive skin, but seeing this term doesn't indicate which benefit they tested for, nor on how many people, says Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a board-certified dermatologist in Miami. So it shouldn't sway your choice.

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gluten-free

adj. glu-tn-fr

The Gluten Intolerance Group will place its GFCO seal on beauty products with 10 parts per million or less of gluten. (But gluten-containing ingredients, like wheat protein, are more common in hair care than sunscreen.)

hypoallergenic

adj. h-p-a-lr-je-nik

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate this term (see "Caveat Emptor," below, for more on that), and companies can use it whether or not they've formulated a product with a low likelihood of triggering allergic reactions. If you tend to react to sunscreens, look for a fragrance-free mineral formula, says Woolery-Lloyd.

mineral

adj. min-rl

These sunscreens achieve their SPF factor with physical blockers, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, says Steven Wang, a dermatologist in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. (They form a physical barrier between UV rays and skin.)

noncomedogenic

adj. nan-kam-d--jen-ik

There's no standard way to validate whether a beauty product is likely to cause comedones (pimples). But if you're acne-prone, choose sunscreens with drying salicylic acid and zinc oxide, and avoid ones rich in lipids, like coconut oil and cocoa butter.

oil-free

adj. i(-)l-fr

This means a product doesn't contain oil, but it doesn't indicate whether it has other occlusives, like silicone, that can cause breakouts and even heat rash, says Rachel Nazarian, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

If you're concerned, look for a sunscreen that skips both oils and silicones. You can find silicone by looking for names that end in "-siloxane" or "-thicone," says cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski.

organic

adj. r-ga-nik

While this can mean that a sunscreen's botanical ingredients were farmed organically (look for the USDA seal), no sunscreen can be 100-percent organic. Chemical sunscreens rely on lab-concocted compounds to protect from UV rays, and physical ingredients "are synthetically created  it is illegal to use mined versions of zinc and titanium dioxide since they are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals," says Romanowski.

reef-friendly, reef-safe

adj. rf-fren(d)-l, rf-sf

Either term should mean that a sunscreen doesn't contain any of these five ingredients: oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, 4-methylbenzylidene, and butyl-paraben, says Woolery-Lloyd. Small studies suggest that these ingredients can affect coral's ability to reproduce by harming or killing coral larvae and even reduce its life span and immunity.

Still, these are unregulated terms, so double-check the label for any of the above ingredients if reef safety is a priority. (Reef-safe sunscreens may also be labeled "biodegradable," says Sonya Lunder, senior toxics adviser for the Sierra Clubs gender, equity, and environment program.)

sand-resistant

adj. sand-ri-zi-stnt

There's no standard for just how sand-repellent a sunscreen is, but some independent labs offer tests for sunscreen makers who want to make this claim. "It means that when the sunscreen was exposed to several different sands  fine, medium, and all-purpose  the SPF level didn't change. This is usually due to smoother, silkier textures that dont allow sand to 'cling,' " says Nazarian.

sensitive

adj. sen-s-tiv

You're better off looking at the back of the label than the front to determine whether or not a sunscreen is good for sensitive skin. Opt for physical sunscreens instead of chemical ones, since they're less likely to irritate skin, and look for options without "fragrance," another top offender, listed on the ingredient label.

spf

n. s-p-f

Stands for sun protection factor, specifically for UVB rays. The number next to it is a measure of how much solar energy is required to produce a sunburn on protected skin  as the SPF value increases, so does sunburn protection. (It's not a measure of UVA protection  another reason to choose broad-spectrum sunscreens.)

The FDA's standard for testing is to apply two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. Or, in medical terms: "A really thick layer," Nazarian says. "So the higher that number, the better."

She recommends a minimum broad-spectrum SPF of 30 year-round, and an SPF of at least 50 for beach days or outdoor activities in the summer. Reapply every two hours to stay protected.

sport

adj. sprt

Since there's no actual test to verify that a sunscreen is better for activities, any sunscreen that's qualified as water-resistant for 80 minutes will do the trick.

water-resistant

adj. w-tr-ri-zi-stnt

In the U.S., the FDA regulates this term via one standard test: A subject alternates between getting wet and drying off multiple times and is then tested to be sure the sunscreen is still on and in effect. All sunscreens that use the term "water-resistant" are required to undergo the test, so look for the stamp if you know youre going to be swimming or sweating.

The Australian government's Therapeutic Goods Association requires that sunscreens remain fully present on skin after four hours of water exposure. You can seek out sunscreens, like ones from TropicSport, that are sold in both countries and have passed both tests.

Caveat Emptor: At the end of the day, most of these terms are used at the discretion of the manufacturers, except select terms regulated by the FDA, like the SPF number, active ingredients, and "broad-spectrum" and "water-resistant" claims.

Now read more about sunscreen::

__Done reading? Take a tour of Chris Appleton's lavish bathroom: __

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Originally Appeared on Allure
Photo credit: Getty/Netflix

From Esquire

Ted Bundy brutally murdered dozens of women across the country in the late 1970s. Around the time he began his killing spree, he started dating a young secretary named Elizabeth. But it wasn't until years later that Elizabeth first realized her boyfriend might be connected to a string of unsolved kidnappings and murders. In 1974, she saw in a local newspaper a composite drawing of the primary suspect, a man who shared the name Ted with her boyfriend.



She wrote about her haunting experience with Bundy under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kendall in a little-known memoir called The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, which was published in 1981, years before Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 for his crimes. That book is the inspiration for the new Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile in which Zac Efron plays Bundy and Lily Collins plays Elizabeth.



Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

So, while we've known bits and pieces of Elizabeth's story, she and her daughter are now stepping forward to break their silence about their lives with the serial killer. The women are the subject of the new Amazon series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer, which premieres January 31 and takes the focus of the Bundy story off of the man and onto the victims and survivors he abused. Elizabeth and her daughter Molly are also sitting for an accompanying interview with Amy Robach on 20/20 which airs on the 31st, as well.

Heres what we know about the Elizabeth:



Elizabeth and her daughter broke their silence in January 2020.

After being out of print for decades, Elizabeth's memoir was rereleased on January 7 by Abrams Press with a new introduction, a chapter written by her daughter, Molly, and personal photos of the women with Bundy. "I still cared deeply for Ted when I wrote the original book," Elizabeth writes in the new introduction. "It took years of work for me to accept who he was and what he had done. I still felt lingering shame that I had loved Ted Bundy. It was healing for me when women started telling their stories of sexual violence and assault as part of the Me Too movement. I could related to keeping experiences secret for fear of being judged."

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It was for that reason, and because of the swirl of renewed interest in Bundy with the Efron film, that Elizabeth decided to participate in the Amazon series, as well.

She wrote under a pseudonym.

Elizabeth originally published her book under the name Elizabeth Kendall. But when Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile premiered at Sundance, the press materials said the story is told from the point of view of Bundys girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, though now, the credits Netflix is promoting read: Based on the book: The Phantom Prince; My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall, and the characters name is listed as Liz Kendall. In the 2020 re-release of her memoir, Elizabeth writes, "I hadn't gone by old married name of Kloepfer for years, not since Molly was a child. Unfortunately, some still link the name to Ted Bundy ... For these [new] projects, I have used my original pseudonym, Elizabeth Kendall, to spare Molly's father's family name further association with Ted's crimes."

She was the mother of a young daughter when she met Bundy.

Photo credit: Netflix

When they met, Elizabeth was recently divorced, working as a secretary at the University of Washington medical department, and raising her 2-year-old daughter Molly, who she calls Tina in her book. The 24-year-old had graduated from Utah State with a degree in Business and Family Life and had recently moved to Washington.

She met Bundy at a bar.

Photo credit: Netflix

Bundy and Elizabeth met at a bar called the Sandpiper Tavern in Seattle in October 1969, she writes in her memoir. She noticed him from across the room, noting how well-dressed he was, then he asked her to dance.

The chemistry between us was incredible. I was already planning the wedding and naming the kids, she writes. He was telling me that he missed having a kitchen because he loved to cook. Perfect. My Prince.

She brought him home that night, and he made her breakfast the next morning. The next weekend, they went on a weekend trip to Vancouver.

The relationship became serious quickly.

In her book, Elizabeth describes meeting Bundys parents after a few months of dating. She had dinner at Bundys childhood home with his father Johnnie Bundy, a cook at an army hospital, and his mother Louise, a secretary at their Methodist church.

I loved her so much it was destabilizing, Bundy told journalist Stephen G. Michaud about Elizabeth. Michauds interviews were recently released in the Netflix docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. I felt such a strong love for her but we didnt have a lot of interests in common like politics or something, I dont think we had in common. She liked to read a lot. I wasnt into reading.

They applied for a marriage license.

Photo credit: Getty Images

I had never been so happy, but it bothered me to be practically married to a man I wasnt married to, Elizabeth writes about their relationship. When I talked to him, he agreed now was the time to do it. They went to the courthouse for a marriage license in February 1970, but after a fight a few days later, Bundy ripped up the document. Kendalls book editor, Sara Levant, tells me she went to the Seattle courthouse to confirm the couple applied for the license.

In spite of that fight, Elizabeth and Bundy continued dating. And in early 1972, Elizabeth became pregnant, she writes in her memoir.

Both of us knew it would be impossible to have a baby now. He was going to start law school in the fall, and I needed to be able to work to put him through, she writes. I was distraught. I knew I was going to terminate the pregnancy as soon as I could. Ted, on the other hand, was pleased with himself. He had fathered a baby.

Bundy was abusive.

Throughout the book, Elizabeth describes Bundy being emotionally and verbally abusive. Once, after confronting him about his habit of stealing, he threatened her, If you ever tell anyone about this, Ill break your fucking neck.

Elizabeth suspected Bundy was involved in unsolved kidnappings in Seattle while they were dating.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Elizabeth began suspecting Bundy was involved in a string of disappearances when she read news reports that said the suspects name was Ted, drove a Volkswagon similar to Bundys and issued a police sketch which resembled him. Reports also said the suspects arm was in a castthough Bundy didnt have a broken arm, Elizabeth recalled shed once seen plaster of Paris in his desk drawer that he said hed taken when he worked at a medical supply house. "He said that a person never could tell when he was going to break a leg, and we both laughed. Now I keep thinking about the cast the guy at Lake Sammamish was wearingwhat a perfect weapon it would make for clubbing someone on the head, she writes.



Soon after, she found a hatchet in Bundys car. He said it was there because hed chopped down a tree at his parents cabin the week before.

She tried to alert the police.

On August 8, 1974, Elizabethcalled the Seattle Police Department to tell them her boyfriend matched the description of the suspect, who had used crutches to attack a victim. Shed noticed crutches in her boyfriends room, as well, she explained. But after she was told, You need to come in and fill in a report. Were too busy to talk to girlfriends over the phone, Elizabeth hung up. Two months later, after Bundy moved to Utah and the kidnappings began happening there, she called the King County Police, but she was told theyd already looked into Bundy and cleared him.

After Bundy was arrested, they communicated through phone calls and letters.

Photo credit: Brian Douglas - Netflix

Though Elizabeth had initially suspected Bundys involvement in the crimes, she believed Bundy when he told her he was innocent. He sent her passionate letters and she visited him in prison. She even sat with Bundys parents in the courthouse when he was on trial for the attempted kidnapping for Carol DeRonch in March 1976.

Bundy admitted he tried to kill her.

After Bundy was tied to more kidnappings and murdersand after Elizabeth became sober after joining Alcoholics Anonymousshe began distancing herself from Bundy. But while in a Florida prison, he called her to admit, There is something the matter with me  I just couldnt contain it. I fought it for a long, long time  it was just too strong.

Elizabeth writes in her memoir that when she responded by asking if he ever tried to kill her, Bundy told her that the urge took over one night when he was at her house, and he closed the damper so the smoke couldnt go up the chimney, then he left after putting a towel under a door so the smoke wouldnt escape. Kendall writes that she remembers waking up coughing after a night of drinking.

Elizabeth signed off the Netflix film.

Joe Berlinger, the director of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, says he sought Elizabeths permission before agreeing to make the film, and she hesitantly agreed. Berlinger and Lily Collins, who plays Elizabeth in the film, met with the real Elizabeth before filming.



She was willing and passionate about meeting meher and her daughter, too," Collins told E! News.

But Berlinger says that in spite of signing off on the film, Elizabeth still wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

She was very ambivalent, Berlinger told me. I think that's why the book continues to be out of print. She does not want the spotlight. For example, she didn't want to come to Sundance. She doesn't want to participate in the press. She wants to remain anonymous. She trusted us with her story. She agreed to do the movie, obviously, so it's not being done without her cooperation. I think she's very ambivalent because she doesn't want attention to herself today.

Elizabeth writes in the new introduction to her memoir that Efron and Collins "got it right," but in the dramatization, a lot was left out of the story, which is why they decided to speak out.

Bundy reached out to Elizabeth and Molly right before his execution.

After he was executed in 1989, Bundy's attorney reached out to Elizabeth to pass along a message.

"Ted had asked her to call us and make sure he knew that he loved us," Elizabeth says in the Amazon documentary series Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer. "She also wondered why I never responded to his last letter." Molly explains she had intercepted Bundy's last letter from death rowand burned it. Molly says, "I could tell it hurt her heart that I had robbed her of this closure, of this last interaction. I'm not sorry at all. And I'm especially not sorry that he went to his death wondering why she never wrote back. Good."

Elizabeth talks about her life today in the documentary.

Photo credit: Amazon Prime

Elizabeth has been sober for 42 years, she explains in the Amazon series, crediting sobriety with saving her life. She talks about what it's like to be one of Bundy's few survivors, and says, "As much as I can, I've forgiven myself. I hope this is the end of my participation with anything related to Ted."

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If theres one thing that lawyers know about reading documents, its to pay attention to the footnotes. In fact, oftentimes the most important information is buried there. Americas entire 14th Amendment jurisprudence, for instance, came out of a single footnote in a 1932 case now know as the famous footnote. The Mueller Report is no different. Buried in the footnotes of the Special Counsels two-volume tome are some of its most important nuggets, many of which address and refute popular talking points emanating from the Trump White House. Even if you dont read the entire document, here are a few footnotes worth paying attention to  including one that seems to explain the possible results of Muellers findings. The devil is truly in the details.

Volume I

Footnote 465

This footnote addresses a question that has been raised time and again, and which was echoed by Attorney General William Barr in his testimony to Congress on April 10: What was the basis, or predicate, for the Russia investigation?

The White House has claimed that the investigation was based on the Steele Dossier, an intelligence report compiled by a former British spy and financed by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which alleged that there were ties between Trump and the Kremlin. But in this footnote, Mueller explains the sequence and timing of events that gave rise to a credible threat to national security, warranting an investigation. First, Mueller notes earlier in the report that in July 2016, Wikileaks began disseminating emails stolen from the DNC. A few days later, the U.S. intelligence community assessed with high confidence that the Russian government had orchestrated the hack of these emails. Within a week of that release, a foreign government informed the FBI that George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, told a representative of their government that Russia had offered to assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. Mueller states that this information is contained in the case-opening document and related materials. This means that it was these facts, not the Steele Dossier, which raised an open question on whether Russia had attempted or was trying to attempt to coordinate with members of the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and led to the official opening of an investigation.

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Footnote 1278

Here, Mueller explains that his team investigated whether the emails taken from the DNC would qualify as stolen property, as defined by the National Stolen Property Act. This has important implications for Muellers conclusions. Defining the hacked emails as stolen property could have increased the criminal liability of Wikileaks, which would have effectively acted as a fence  a legal term referring to a middleman who illegally receives and sells stolen goods. Further, if the hacked emails had qualified as stolen property, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, who sought dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, may have had to meet a lower standard of intent and even potentially face a violation of a federal statute which prohibits knowingly receiving stolen property. But based on his legal analysis, Mueller concluded that current law defined stolen property only as tangible goods, which would not include intangible information stolen by an unauthorized use of a computer. (Though Mueller also notes that Congress has considered amending the relevant act to include such information in the definition.) Thus Manafort, Trump Jr. and Kushner had to meet the higher intent standard required for campaign finance violations  and Mueller found the evidence insufficient to meet that mark.

Footnote 1282

This is a critical footnote that addresses the question, Why wasnt former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page charged with a crime, if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court felt there was enough probable cause that he was acting as an agent for Russia to warrant monitoring his communications via a FISA order? In short, the report states that while there was enough evidence against Page to warrant a FISA order, Muellers office did not have sufficient evidence to meet the higher and more exacting standard to bring criminal charges that would likely result in a conviction for the same. This is because of the difference between counterintelligence investigations and criminal investigations. Specifically, because FISA orders are based on gathering foreign intelligence, not on gathering evidence of a crime, the probable cause standard is lower: it requires only a fair probability, rather than certainty, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or [even] proof beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the target is knowingly acting as an agent of a foreign power. That said, Mueller does note that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court found that the evidence against Page met the lower probable cause requirement on four occasions.

Volume II

Footnote 7

Critics of the Mueller report have noted that much of the narrative, particularly on obstruction charges, cites news articles or publicly available information. Critics have concluded this means that Mueller was unable to unearth evidence on his own, and is therefore relying on the media to support his claims. This footnote makes clear the real reason why Mueller cited these reports so often. The report states that he summarizes and cites news stories not for the truth of the information contained in the stories, but rather to place candidate Trumps response to those stories in context. In other words, the news stories in circulation at the time of Trumps actions show what Trump knew had been publicly reported  which offers additional evidence for his frame of mind when he attempted to refute or conceal the evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election underlying those stories. This helps to establish if there was corrupt intent behind Trumps actions, a fundamental element in establishing whether he committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

Footnote 112

On June 8, 2017, then FBI Director James Comey stated in his testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that information contained in the Steele Dossier was salacious and unverified. Comeys words have since been interpreted as referring to the entirety of the raw intelligence provided in the Steele Dossier  and thereby tainting any portion of the investigation in which it might have been used. As noted above, there is no evidence that the Steele Dossier was used to open the investigation, and its not clear how much of the report, if any, was used to obtain things like FISA orders. But to whatever extent it was used, Mueller takes pains to note here that Comeys testimony referred to a specific piece of the Steele Dossier, namely the reportings unverified allegation that the Russians had compromising tapes of the President involving conduct when he was a private citizen during a 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant. This footnote makes clear that in his testimony, Comey was not characterizing any other portion of the dossier, other than those that refer to potentially compromising tapes on President Trump, as being unverified. This means that there may well have been portions of the Dossier that were verified early on in the Russia investigation (and much of it has been corroborated in public reporting since), and could have been a legitimate source of raw intelligence for the FBI in its investigation.

Footnote 1008

This footnote offers the nexus between Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and the investigation in the Southern District of New York into campaign finance violations by Michael Cohen and, potentially, Trump himself. In particular, Mueller states that he was authorized to investigate Essential Consultants, LLC, the shell company used to make a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, because he had evidence that the entity received funds from Russian-backed entities. This suggests that the Daniels payment was discovered in the course of following the money from Russia, and that the payment became evidence of a separate crime beyond Muellers jurisdiction that was then referred to an outside U.S. Attorneys Office. This particular investigative thread opens the possibility that Mueller may have also followed Russian financial leads connected to Trump, including information contained in his tax returns (which the White House has said it assumes Mueller has seen).

Footnote 1091

This is perhaps the most consequential footnote in Muellers report. In this section, Mueller dismantles Trumps lawyers argument that the president cannot, legally speaking, obstruct justice. It is here, while forcefully making the claim that Congress indeed can hold the president accountable for obstruction of justice, that Mueller adds a telling a footnote emphasizing that [a] possibility remedy through impeachment for abuses of power would not substitute for potential criminal liability after a President leaves office. What Mueller is saying here is that impeachment and criminal prosecution are independent processes which vindicate different interests. Therefore, even Congress removing Trump from office would not preclude the same evidence from being used in a criminal prosecution  which could result in a jail sentence for a former President of the United States.
Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images

ARLINGTON, Va.  Four years ago today, Donald Trump was poised to descend his golden escalator and begin a ride that would take him all the way to the Oval Office. As he prepared his campaign, Trump didnt have much of a team. Even weeks before the launch, Trumps braintrust was largely limited to four close associates who planned his White House bid from his Manhattan office. This time around, though, things are going to be very different.

In an office tower in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from the White House, there are already about three dozen people working in the headquarters of Trumps reelection campaign  and theyre ramping up. Trumps is also backed by a super-PAC that is planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into key states.

Trumps team is vowing to put together a more-than-$1 billion machine that will dwarf the guerilla operation he had early in the 2016 cycle. The president is also coming into the race with key structural advantages and experience running a powerfully influential Facebook advertising blitz.

Yet as the Trump reelection bid moves into high gear over the next few months, its staffers must balance trying to build a traditional campaign organization centered around an unconventional candidate. During a series of conversations with Yahoo News earlier this week, senior figures working on Trumps reelection effort discussed their strategy, which included leaning into some of the most controversial aspects of his record, such as immigration, and yet also pursuing unexpected targets, such as Latinos.

The blueprint also involves making no attempts to constrain Trump, even when his Twitter tirades or off-the-cuff comments upend the campaigns carefully made plans. In 2016, Trump won the White House as an outsider scoring a stunning upset. Now, he is the establishment and his team hopes they can combine a huge, professional infrastructure with a candidate they acknowledge is the ultimate disruptor. Its a volatile mix thats unprecedented in the political arena.

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Trumps team has already been growing for months. On Monday, five new senior staffers joined, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is also dating one of the presidents sons. And in an early indication of the plan to fight for votes from Latinos and other minority groups, the announcement included the news that Hannah Castillo, who previously worked on Hispanic outreach efforts for the RNC and Virginia GOP, will serve as the campaigns director of coalitions.

Donald Trump arrives at the press event to announce his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, in New York City. (Photo: Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Along with a much larger operation than his last campaign, Trump is set to enjoy major structural advantages in this election. As president, Trump has the unrivaled megaphone and majestic trappings of the White House, as well as the ability to promote legislation and executive orders to underpin his agenda. And there are more than 20 Democrats vying to challenge Trump, setting the stage for a divisive primary that could leave his eventual opponent badly bruised.

While Trump and his team are clearly watching the Democrats who are running for president, they dont seem too concerned with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who launched a campaign as a Republican last month. A senior Trump campaign staffer dismissed the idea that Welds primary challenge poses a threat, pointing to Trumps nearly ninety percent approval rating among Republicans. A Republican National Committee spokeswoman also cited Trumps support among members of the party to shoot down the notion he could face a serious primary rival.

The RNC and the Republican Party are firmly behind the president. Any effort to challenge the presidents nomination is bound to go absolutely nowhere, the RNC spokeswoman said.

The lack of a major GOP opponent has helped Trump amass a sizable war chest. Last month, the Trump campaign announced it raised nearly $30 million during the first quarter of 2019, far outpacing any of the Democrats who hope to challenge the president next year.

Time is on Trumps side too. With Weld showing little sign of momentum, Trumps team can plot a national campaign while all his potential Democratic rivals have to focus on each other and key early primary states. Trumps head start was boosted by his unusual decision to officially launch his reelection bid on the day he took office in 2017.

The lights never went off.  The campaign never fully shut down, Trump 2020 deputy communications director Erin Perrine told Yahoo News.

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld speaks to the media in Bedford, N.H., in February. (Photo: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Of course, being president also comes with pitfalls. Trumps time in office has proved divisive and, while Democrats may not be united behind a single 2020 candidate yet, the congressional opposition has been aggressively investigating and attacking Trumps White House. But Trumps campaign is confident he can run on his record. In fact, theyre not planning to shy away from the most controversial moments of his presidency  the investigation into Trumps ties to Russia and his aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign, brushed off the continued legal wrangling between investigators and Trumps legal team over records related to the presidents real estate business as a distraction. The efforts by prosecutors and congressional Democrats to look into Trumps company is part of the fallout from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race.

The Mueller report, released last month, outlined a Kremlin operation that aimed to help Trump and hurt the 2016 Democratic contender Hillary Clinton. Mueller also detailed extensive contacts between Trumps inner circle and Russia, including business ties the president denied while he was campaigning. While Muellers investigation resulted in charges against several close Trump associates, he was unable to find sufficient evidence to prove Trumps campaign participated in a conspiracy to aid the Russian meddling.

Mueller also described several instances in which Trump could have been viewed as having obstructed the probe. Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by Trump, declined to charge the president with obstruction of justice based on Muellers findings. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about Barrs handling of the investigation and are attempting to gather further evidence.

William Barr, U.S. attorney general, left, speaks as Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, listens during a news conference. (Photo: Erik Lesser/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Trump and his allies have described Muellers report as a complete exoneration of the president and have focused on the fact there was no evidence of cooperation between his campaign and Russia. Murtaugh echoed that line and added that he would not be at all surprised to see Trump bring up the report regularly on the 2020 campaign trail.

You might hear a lot about the Russia hoax, the collusion hoax. The guy spent two years  two whole years  being called a Russian agent by the media and by  virtually every Democrat, whoever could find a television camera, Murtaugh said of Trump.

Murtaugh suggested it would be natural for Trump to push back against an attack.

He was being accused of being essentially a Russian spy as the president of the United States. Its about the most outrageous thing that you could say about the president of the United States, said Murtaugh, adding, All of it was untrue, so a little righteous indignation is to be expected.

The other major controversy of Trumps political career has been his focus on illegal immigration. Critics have said Trumps rhetoric is racist and argued his policies, particularly the separation of migrant children from their families at the border, are inhumane. But Murtaugh predicted immigration will be a positive point for the president even among Latinos, nearly two thirds of whom voted against Trump in 2016.

Democrats think erroneously that they can win the argument with Hispanic voters in particular simply by saying Trump and immigration, and they think that works. It has been our experience that it does not, Murtaugh said. If youre talking to Hispanic voters as we do, if they are themselves a legal immigrant who came through the process in the right way or have legal immigrants in their family in generations close to themselves they know they followed the rules and they think other people should follow the rules too.

Expanding his Latino support would provide a boost to Trumps hopes for a second term, and there is evidence the community isnt a monolithic bloc of opposition to the president. Trump received nearly 30 percent of the Latino vote in 2016 and more recent data has indicated he has retained the support of about 20 percent of the community. There is also data to suggest some Latinos are staunchly opposed to illegal immigration while a wide swath of the community doesnt see the issue as a priority.

But Trumps potential problems on immigration might go beyond opposition to his policies. There are questions about whether Trump has delivered on his signature campaign promise from 2016  a massive wall on the southern border. At times, Trump suggested this physical manifestation of his opposition to illegal immigration could be over 1,000 miles long, thirty feet high, made from concrete, and paid for by Mexico. As president, Trump has modified his position and suggested a fence would be adequate. And with Mexico refusing to pay for the project and Democrats opposing the effort, Trump has only been able to build a fraction of the wall he promised. Even more troublesome for Trumps record is data showing that illegal border crossings have surged under his presidency, reaching an eleven-year high.

President Trump speaks at a rally in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Murtaugh argued Trumps supporters will be satisfied with his work on the border. "By the time the election rolls around, about 450 miles of border wall will have been completed and this is despite Democrats refusal to give the president a dime for it, Murtaugh said. Thanks to his declaration of a national emergency the wall is being built, and its in progress.

Other issues the campaign plans to focus on include banking reform, Trumps efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, and most critically, a strong economy. In April unemployment fell to the lowest level in nearly half a century.

Trumps official campaign isnt the only part of his 2020 machinery. He is also being supported by the America First Action super-PAC. While presidential candidates sometimes have multiple political committees vying for supremacy among their supporters, America First Action has a quasi-official status, and multiple key members of Trumps inner circle are working with the PAC.

Last month, America First Action announced its chairman would be Linda McMahon, who had previously served in Trumps cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is a senior adviser to the PAC, and ex-West Wing aide Kelly Sadler is the groups communications director. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host who is dating the presidents son and recently joined his campaign, previously worked at the PAC. A statement from the Trump campaign that announced Guilfoyle had joined the team described America First Action as the preeminent Super-PAC supporting the President.

Like the Trump campaign, America First Action believes immigration can be a winning issue for Trump with Latinos. A source familiar with the committees operations said the PAC plans to raise more than the $200 million the various outside groups supporting Hillary Clinton hauled in as she faced Trump in 2016. America First Action will focus its activities in six target states that are costly to compete in and viewed by the PAC as crucial to a Trump victory: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In particular, the source said Florida is seen by the PAC as a must-win state for Trump.

All of the states being targeted by the PAC are ones where Trump won in 2016. According to the source, the PAC is concentrated on identifying additional voters who could swing to Trump in those states. Specifically, the PACs efforts are aimed at winning over new Trump voters by homing in on African-Americans, Hispanics, and suburban mothers and improving the presidents margins among these groups.

Under President Trumps administration, hes had the lowest unemployment in history for African-Americans and Hispanics. For women, its the lowest in 65 years. So, we feel we have a great story to tell here. Were the hottest economy in the world, Sadler, the PACs communications director, told Yahoo News.

President Trump (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

To make this strategy work, America First Action plans to buy attack ads on social media and in targeted local television programs, newspapers and ethnic dailies. Sadler said the PAC largely plans to stay out of the Democratic primary and will ramp up its activities when the opposition has thinned out. Like the campaign, America First Action hopes Trump will benefit from Democratic infighting.

Were going to keep our powder dry and let the Democrats do the hatchet jobs for us, Sadler said.

Its abundantly clear Trumps reelection effort is a completely different animal than the upstart crew that propelled his shocking victory in 2016. This more formalized, professionalized, and, frankly, massive iteration of the Trump campaign will still include some of the hallmarks of the presidents last run, including a hyper-focused Facebook advertising offensive and raucous rallies. The campaign also hopes that leaving the president free to tweet and speak his mind will help them hold on to the outsider appeal that was so crucial to Trumps rise.

Microtargeted Facebook ads were widely seen as one of the key factors behind the presidents surprising 2016 victory. Trumps presence on the social network dwarfed that of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Data from Facebook revealed Trump had about 5.9 million ads on the platform compared to approximately 66,000 for Clinton.

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, speaks during a campaign rally in Houston. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Early last year, Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps digital operation during the first race, was tapped to lead the entire 2020 campaign. Parscale and Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner, led the social media push that was an instrumental part of the presidents election. Parscales promotion is a sign of just how important the Facebook microtargeting remains for Trumps campaign. Its a point of pride for the team that some political insiders have verbed the campaign manager and referred to the maneuver of installing your digital chief at the top of your organization as pulling a Parscale.

Trumps 2016 campaign featured Facebook staffers embedded in an office near where Parscale was set up. A senior Trump campaign staffer who spoke to Yahoo News said they werent sure whether anyone from Facebook is working at the headquarters. However, the campaign is clearly open to the idea and plans to have a large team crafting Facebook ads.

If theres a Facebook guy around here somewhere, I havent met them yet. ... That would be interesting, the senior staffer said, adding, Were going to have a whole army of designers.

The campaign was willing to discuss its emphasis on Facebook microtargeting, something of a known trademark for team Trump, but reticent to divulge plans for other social networks and more traditional advertising venues such as television.

Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser, will also remain close to the campaign. Multiple sources said Kushner is the campaigns key liaison in the West Wing and has multiple daily conversations with Parscale. A Trump administration official said the pair have a great working relationship from 2016 and added, Jared was the person who suggested to the president that Brad be in charge of the campaign.

However, as he outlined the campaign managers role, Murtaugh, the communications director, made clear Parscale isnt the ultimate authority on the team. He gives direction, a vision. He gives goals, Murtaugh said, adding, Sometimes he says, This is what the president wants. And thats kind of non-negotiable.

Indeed, the other major piece that is still clearly part of the presidents team is the Let Trump Be Trump ethos that was established by former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. That meant not trying to curtail Trump as he veered off script at his marathon rallies or fired off blunt jabs on Twitter. Perrine, the campaigns deputy communications director, said this philosophy will absolutely remain in place for 2020.

The president has had an insurgent mentality, an outsider mentality the entire time hes been in DC, said Perrine, adding, We fully anticipate that will be the same mentality in this campaign, even in a larger structure.

Letting Trump Be Trump may lend the incumbent some rebellious sheen as he tries to recapture the magic behind his initial upset. However, giving the president free rein on the campaign trail can easily overshadow or topple more carefully laid plans. This risk was evident in the wake of former Vice President Joe Bidens entry to the crowded Democratic primary.

On Tuesday, the morning after Bidens kickoff rally, Perrine stressed that the campaign planned to avoid focusing on any individual Democrat in the race and instead would treat them as one homogenous group. As she explained it, this would allow the campaign to take advantage of Democratic infighting.

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a rally in Iowa. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Theyre all going to have to pass a purity of thought and a purity of policy test, Perrine explained, adding, That means things like Medicare for All, that means things like Green New Deal, voting for felons, basic income, impeaching the president. I mean, you name it.

In other words, as Perrine put it, tying the Democrats together means the larger field can be forced to answer for egregious liberal positions adopted by some of their colleagues. Along with providing a path to exploit infighting, framing the Democrats as a group allows the Trump campaign to avoid elevating any potential challenger.

But that effort to keep the Democrats as a pack was dealt a blow by Trump himself almost immediately after his team outlined the strategy. On Wednesday, the morning after his campaign talked with Yahoo News, Trump went on a Twitter tear and retweeted over 50 messages criticizing the firefighters union endorsement of Biden.

Even before Trump launched the offensive against the former vice president, his staffers seemed fully aware he would likely blast a tweet-sized hole in the plan to consolidate the opposition. Prior to the presidential tweetstorm, Perrine specifically acknowledged the need to let Trump be Trump when asked if the campaign might focus on Biden in response to his rising poll numbers.

You know, hes his best campaign manager, best surrogate, best communications director. So, we absolutely follow his lead, Perrine said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Hamas' leader in Gaza left for talks with Egyptian officials Thursday after a new outbreak of violence, as the militant group accused Israel of slowing down the implementation of Egyptian-mediated understandings aimed at easing the situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The visit by Yehiyeh Sinwar to Cairo came hours after the Israeli military struck several Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip late Wednesday. After the airstrikes, Palestinian militants fired rockets at southern Israel. No injuries were reported on either side.

The brief flare-up marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month of relative calm that followed the unofficial deal. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.

In a short statement, the Islamic militant group said that Sinwar will meet the director of Egypt's general intelligence to discuss "ways of alleviating the suffering" of Gaza's 2 million residents.

Hamas says Israel is not abiding by the deal. Under the agreement, Israel had expanded the permitted fishing zone off Gaza's coast to 15 nautical miles, but scaled back the area to its previous limit of 9 miles this week after a Gaza rocket was fired.

Officials from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza by force since a 2007 coup, say Israel did not honor other commitments, such as allowing the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza's cash-strapped public institutions and taking measures to further ease the territory's grinding power shortages.

During the lull, Hamas kept weekly protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence mostly restrained and suspended the more violent forms of protest, including arson balloons and nighttime skirmishes. Witnesses say balloons were launched again Wednesday.

Hamas started the demonstrations a year ago to highlight Gaza's hardships more than a decade since Israel and Egypt blockaded the territory.

Over 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed during the marches, which sometimes grew into brief cross-border exchanges of rockets and airstrikes.

Over the past decade, Hamas and Israel fought three deadly and destructive wars.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Henceforth, school bags cannot weigh more than 10% of the average body weight of students, the state government stated on Friday.

The circular, issued by the department of primary and secondary education, issued clear guidelines on the upper limits that school bags can weigh. As per the circular, bags of students of Class I and II can only weigh around 1.5kg to 2kg while those of Class III, IV and V can weigh 2kg to 3kg.

Students from Class VI-VIII can have their bags weighing only up to 3kg-4kg and those of Class IX and X can weigh up to 5kg.

This direction is binding on schools across the state from this academic year, the circular read.

The move comes in the backdrop of a 2016-17 study conducted by the department of state education research and training in association with the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India

University, Bengaluru, on reducing weights of school bags in government, aided and unaided schools in the state. Opinions were also collected from students in this regard.

Bagless day

The order announced that students of Classes I and II should not be given homework. Also, their notebooks cannot exceed 100 pages. Also, schools are directed to observe every third Saturday of the month as Bagless Day. On this day, teachers are expected to engage students in educational extracurricular and cultural activities.

The order mandates teachers to keep their students abreast about the books required for the succeeding day so students could get only those books and avoid extra baggage. Schools have also been asked to

maintain adequate stocks of essential books such as Atlas and science dictionaries among others.

The order also directs schools to make provisions where students could drop their textbooks instead of carrying them home on a daily basis.




Multiple people were injured in Kiryat Gat when rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on May 4, Israel Police said. This video shows police officers responding to one of the scenes.

Approximately 150 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday, with the Iron Dome intercepting dozens, Haaretz reported.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on Gaza in retaliation for the rocket fire, according to their official Twitter account.

One Palestinian was killed, and seven others injured, in the attacks, a spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said. Credit: @IL_police via Storyful
CHICAGO (AP)  A judge is to rule next week on whether he will recuse himself from a request to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how Chicago's top prosecutor handled actor Jussie Smollett's criminal case.

Retired Illinois appellate judge Sheila O'Brien is pushing for the review of Cook County State's Attorney's Kim Foxx's office, which dropped charges against Smollett that accused him of making a false police report.

On Thursday, O'Brien asked Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. to recuse himself because his son works for Foxx as an assistant state's attorney. Cathy McNeil Stein, who represented Foxx's office, says there is no need for another judge. Martin says he will consider O'Brien's request and announce his decision May 10.

Foxx and Smollett did not attend Thursday's hearing.
The nauseating smell of death that infested the streets around Colombo's morgue after Sri Lanka's devastating Easter attacks has finally dispersed.

But forensic pathologists are still attempting to identify the remains of bodies blown apart by suicide bombers, the final pieces of a macabre puzzle.

While staff have so far returned 115 victims to their relatives, there are still some 50 bags filled with unidentified remains in the morgue's refrigerated rooms.

The fragments are a somber reflection of the brutal force of the bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State.

It also helps explain why the death toll from the blasts has fluctuated considerably. At first Sri Lankan authorities said 359 had died before slashing it to 253, and then raising it again to 257 this week.

In one bag "there are two parts of a cheek - one cheek with an ear, one with some scalp and an ear. That could be two people," said Ajith Tennakoon, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

"The proper management of dead bodies is to identify them and to give them respect and dignity."

He said the staff's "prime duty" is to hand back the bodies to relatives so they can say goodbye to their loved ones in accordance with different religious beliefs.

During the meticulous reconstruction, even the smallest clue is helpful: a piece of jewellery worn by the victim, a patterned piece of clothing or a distinctive scar.

Where possible, forensic pathologists examined teeth and fingerprints but DNA tests are the most reliable method of identification.

Among the last body bags could be the remains of six people still missing since the bombings, as well as the suicide bombers.

They could also include victims whose remains have been returned incomplete.

- Solving a crime 

The forensic doctors are also investigators. They may be able to find clues that identify the attackers or the types of explosives used.

From a drawer, Tennakoon pulls out a see-through plastic bag which holds a lead ball -- one of those used by jihadists as shrapnel to maximise the damage.

Story continues

"We also have to help to solve the crime, it is a crime, a man-made disaster," he added.

The work of piecing together bodies is more painstaking in Colombo than the other affected cities of Negombo and Batticaloa because of the nature of the bomb attacks.

"If the bomb takes place in a concrete-built structure, the damage is much worse," said Anil Jasinghe, Sri Lanka's director general of health services.

"That is what happened in the hotels, they were concrete buildings."

Although 102 people died in one church in Negombo, almost all the bodies were returned the same evening.

The blast blew the roof off the building, allowing the air pressure to escape through the top.

But in a confined space, a sudden rush of air causes considerable devastation.

"What counts more than anything are the shock waves, they move faster than sound and at very high velocity, which actually could tear bodies apart," said Jasinghe.

As forensic pathologists continue to puzzle over the fragments still lying in body bags, victims' relatives who had gathered outside the building in temporary marquees -- where they had the distressing task of identifying their loved ones through photographs -- have long since left and the tents taken down.
What Happened This Week:

Self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido gambled this week to try to force the ouster of de facto Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, calling on the Venezuelan people to join him in mass protests and military officials to defect to his side. People showed up to protestboth for and against Madurobut the military defections Guaido hoped for never quite materialized.

Why It Matters:

When it comes to politics, timing is everything. Guaido had real momentum in January when he announced that Maduros electoral win was rigged and illegitimate (correct on both counts), and that Venezuelas constitution empowered the head of the countrys parliament (read: him) to serve as president until free and fair elections could be held. The US backed Guaido immediately, a diplomatic victory which opened the door for other countries to follow suitmore than 50 countries now recognize Guaido as the countrys rightful leader. But none of those countries were willing to do much beyond sanctions and humanitarian aid. In fact, the one country that seemed committed to sending in military assistance of any kind was Russia, which had invested heavily in the Maduro regime. That effectively meant that while Guaido was an international cause celebre, Maduro was the one who controlled the countrys military and security forces on the ground. And without control of those forces, Guaido was just another Venezuelan opposition leader.

Guaido has thus spent the last three months trying to peel military supporters away from Maduro. At the beginning of this week, it seemed like he may have actually pulled it offin a video featuring Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader and Guaidos political mentor who had been under house arrest for the last two yearsGuaido announced that the final phase of Operation Liberty had commenced, and called for the Venezuelan people to join him in protests to force the ouster of Maduro once and for all. Lopez was released by dissident military officials that had switched loyalties to Guaido, a sign that Guaido was gaining traction among the countrys security apparatus. Combined with the strong rhetoric from US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, there was genuine hope that this was the beginning of the end for Maduro. But three key officials that the opposition hoped would switch to their sidethe countrys defense minister, the chief judge of the Supreme Court and the head of Maduros presidential guardremained loyal to Maduro. Maduro thus ends the week in a much stronger position than when he started it, and Guaido and Venezuelas opposition are now on the backfoot.

Story continues

What Happens Next:

Guaido just suffered his most significant defeat since storming onto the world stage a few months ago, and its not clear where he goes from here. Guaido needs to keep both the Venezuelan public as well as the international community engaged and on his side as developments in the country unfold, but the failed attempt to force matters to a head significantly hampers his ability to do both. Guaido managed to cobble together support from certain members of the National Guard and Venezuelas Secret Service, but was unable to show that he flipped any members of the armed forces with any operational relevance or with significant troops under their command. Its still unclear whether Guaido had bad intelligence, supposed-defectors got cold feet, or if Guaido just hoped that a daring gambit would swing things in his favor.

But now Maduro is emboldened. What he does with that remains to be seenhe could go after Guaido and try to get him arrested or exiled, but that runs the risk of drawing the ire of the international community and reviving support for Guaido. His smartest move might be to just let Guaido spin his wheels and wait for fractures in the countrys opposition to emerge as they argue over next steps.

Guaidos tough week also shows the limitations of US support, and makes US military intervention even more unlikely that it was before. Despite the strong rhetoric from Bolton and Pompeo, President Donald Trump has never been a fan of foreign interventions, and the prospect of taking on a Maduro who just showed that he still commands the loyalty of Venezuelas security forces is unlikely to change that.

The Key Quote That Sums It All Up:

I worry that this kind of semi-regular raising of expectations to very high levels wears  and makes the kind of internal pressure that needs to build harder to happen, Daniel Resrepo, NSC Latin America Advisor in the Obama administration.

The One Thing to Read About It:

Pompeo claims that Maduro was about to leave Venezuela this week until the Russians told him to stay put, which the Russians denied. To understand why Russians hold so much sway from half a world away, read this piece I put together a few weeks ago for Time.

The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:

and the winner of this political drama gets to preside over a sinking Venezuela. Not much of a prize if were being honest.
(Reuters) - Health officials for the Caribbean island of St. Lucia furnished 100 free doses of measles vaccine to a Church of Scientology cruise ship placed under quarantine in port after the highly contagious disease was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said on Thursday. St. Lucia health officials have confirmed one case of measles aboard the ship that has been docked in a port near the island nation's capital Castries since Tuesday, Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement. "The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable but remain under surveillance by the ship's doctor," Frederick-James said, noting the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear. The St. Lucia Ministry of Health ordered the ship to be quarantined on Tuesday. The restriction comes as the number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2GJgoBt) Frederick-James said the doses of measles vaccines were being supplied to the ship free of charge. She gave no information about the ship or its origins. NBC News, citing a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, reported the ship is named Freewinds, which is the name of a 440-foot vessel owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. According to Reuters Eikon shipping data, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified as SMV Freewinds was docked in port near Castries on Thursday. The ship was headed next to the island of Dominica, the data showed. On its website, the Church of Scientology describes the Freewinds as a floating "religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion." It says the vessel's home port is Curacao. Church officials did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News reported that nearly 300 passengers and crew were aboard the vessel, with one female crew member diagnosed with measles. Public health officials blame declining vaccination rates in some communities driven by misinformation about inoculation that has left those populations vulnerable to rapid spread of infection among those with no immunity to the virus. The vast majority of U.S. cases have occurred in children who have not received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), officials said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's ruling and opposition parties agreed on Friday to give themselves six more months to form a unity government as part of a peace deal they signed in September, the regional group IGAD said in a statement. Also on Friday, President Salva Kiir lifted a state of emergency imposed in 2017 in five northern states of the country, South Sudan Radio reported, in a bid to help foster peace. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into a civil war two years later. After a string of failed agreements, a peace deal was signed last September between the two sides, represented by Kiir and his former deputy turned rival, Riek Machar. As part of the peace deal, the two sides aimed to form a national unity government by May 12. The parties met in neighboring Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Friday to seek a way forward on the unity government. "The Parties identified lack of political will, financing and time constraints as the major challenges that have delayed implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks and underscored the need to ensure that specific pending tasks are adequately funded within a clearly set out and reasonable timeframe," IGAD said in a statement. "In light of the above, the Parties unanimously agreed to extend the Pre-Transitional period by an additional six (6) months effective from 12th May 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks," the intergovernmental group added. While the peace deal has helped to reduce fighting and partly alleviated the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country, a U.N. panel of experts on South Sudan said in a report on Tuesday that the country still faces significant challenges. IGAD, which has been helping to mediate between the two sides, said the new agreement will be presented for consideration at its council of ministers meeting to be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba in South Sudan. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Hugh Lawson)
By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pounded the rebel-held northwest of Syria with air strikes on Saturday, sources in the area said, as artillery hit a Turkish military position there, underlining the risk of wider escalation. The upsurge in violence in Idlib and nearby areas in the last five days has strained a Russian-Turkish deal that has staved off a government offensive since September. The area is part of the last major foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Rescue workers in the rebel-held area say dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee by bombardments. The United Nations has said the attacks have included the worst use of barrel bombs in 15 months. The Turkish defense ministry said two Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded by the shelling, which was believed to have been launched from Syrian government-held territory. Turkish troops have deployed in the northwest in agreement with Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally. Assad, who has defeated many of his enemies aided by Russian and Iranian firepower, has vowed to recover every inch of Syria. But the presence of Turkish forces in the northwest and Russian understandings with Ankara have complicated any offensive into the region, home to some 3 million people. Turkey, already hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees and hoping to avoid another influx, has established a dozen military positions in Idlib and nearby areas in agreement with Russia. The Turkish defense ministry said the soldiers wounded in Saturday's shelling were sent to Turkey for treatment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he did not rule out Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in Idlib, but such an operation was impractical for now. Syrian state media say government forces are attacking jihadists in the northwest. State news agency SANA said the army had destroyed jihadist positions in southern Idlib and nearby Hama province on Saturday, in response to what it called repeated violations of a de-escalation agreement. But the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator has said schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit and the government forces are employing the worst barrel bombing in at least 15 months. Barrel bombs are containers packed with explosives dropped from helicopters. HEAVIER BOMBARDMENT A rebel spokesman said government attempts to advance into the Qalaat al-Madiq area had been repelled. Rebels were shelling government positions, added Naji Mustafa of the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping. After an overnight lull, the bombardment escalated again on Saturday, said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager for the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), which supports medical facilities in the area. "Now the bombing has returned and is much heavier and has spread very widely in Jabal al-Zawiya and rural northern Hama. The planes are not stopping at all and the bombing is continuing in a very big way like yesterday and worse," he added. The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service operating in rebel-held areas, said it had recorded more than 30 deaths in the last few days. Dbis said the number of dead was at least 50, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said at least 67 people had been killed. Hundreds of vehicles have been arriving every day in the town of Atmeh at the Turkish border, ferrying people away from the targeted areas, an Atmeh resident contacted by Reuters said. Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the Civil Defense director for Idlib, said more than 130,000 people had fled towards more secure areas, adding: "Civil Defense centers have been targeted directly." UOSSM says four medical facilities have been bombed. Russia's deal with Turkey demanded the creation of a demilitarized zone free of all heavy weapons and jihadists. But Moscow says the agreement has not been implemented. The most powerful faction in the northwest is Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist movement that emerged from the Nusra Front, formerly al Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate. Its influence has grown as it has snuffed out rival groups. But other factions operating under the NLF umbrella still have a presence. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, with Khalil Ashawi, Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Turkey; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by David Holmes and Hugh Lawson)
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn conducted final rituals on Friday in preparation for three days of ceremonies for his elaborate coronation, which will also be marked by the pardoning and release from jail of some prisoners. The coronation, which takes place from Saturday to Monday, will be the first the country has seen in 69 years, since his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned in 1950. King Vajiralongkorn, 66, is also known by the title of King Rama X. He became a constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father in October 2016, after 70 years on the throne. On Friday, the king visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to pay respects to one of Thailand's most sacred Buddhist relics. "Long live the king," chanted a group of people dressed in yellow, an auspicious color in Thailand, as the king and his new queen walked on a red carpet to the Grand Palace, shielded from the hot afternoon sun by a big yellow umbrella. The king lit auspicious candles at 4:19 p.m. (9:19 GMT), a time that court astrologers determined was propitious, as 80 Buddhist monks chanted. Yellow is particularly significant as it is the color of Monday In Thai culture, which is steeped in astrology, the day the king was born, and also the color of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos. Thais have been urged to wear yellow until the end of July, the king's birth month. Earlier on Friday, a senior palace official transferred a golden plaque inscribed with the king's official name and title, his horoscope and the royal seal from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the Grand Palace in preparation for Saturday's events. The three items, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week, will be presented to the king by the chief Brahmin, along with five royal regalia, the symbols of kingship in Thailand. ROYAL PARDON Ahead of the grand ceremonies, the king said he would grant royal pardons to some prisoners to "give them a chance to become good citizens", according to the Royal Gazette. The order, which will take effect on Saturday, listed many criteria of prisoners eligible for the pardon, including those with disabilities, chronic or terminal diseases, or those within a year of completing their sentence. The king will also reduce sentences for some prisoners, including those imprisoned for life, and commute some death sentences to life. It is not clear how many people will qualify for pardons, and the Department of Corrections said it would finalize a list of eligible prisoners, and release them or commute their sentences, within 120 days. The order did not exclude foreigners, nor did it exclude prisoners convicted of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese-majeste, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, a prominent student activist who was sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in jail for sharing a Thai-language BBC profile of the king is expected to be released next week, his lawyer told Reuters. Jatupat was the first person to be charged with royal insult after the king formally ascended the throne following the death of King Bhumibol. His full jail term will be completed on June 19. (Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel)
President Donald Trump said Friday after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin that Putin has no desire to involve Russia in the spiraling political crisis in Venezuela.

We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. And he is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than hed like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way, Trump told reporters at the White House.

The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas rightful leader, while Russia supports President Nicolas Maduros socialist regime. The call between Trump and Putin was apparently their first conversation since Guaido launched an effort to overthrow Maduro earlier this week. A month ago, when Putin sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Venezuelas capital, Trump said that Russia has to get out. And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of convincing Maduro to stay in the country just as he was about to flee amid escalating tensions.

He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay, Pompeo said.

Guaido, the National Assembly president, this week called on the opposition to take to the streets to oust Maduro, but most of the military has remained loyal to Maduro thus far. Trump said Friday that the main U.S. concern was for the well-being of ordinary Venezuelans.

We want to get some humanitarian aid; right now people are starving, they have no water, they have no food, he said. [Venezuela was] one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago and now they dont have food and they dont have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis.

More from National Review
By Express News Service

HUBBALLI: Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah has stated the Kundgol by-election is not about Kusumavati Shivalli, but about the pride of Congress party workers.

Addressing a mammoth rally held at Sanshi village near Kungdol on Friday, Siddaramaiah said in order to keep the legacy of Shivalli alive, party workers should reach doorstep and seek votes. He said he would camp at the constituency for four days from May 14.

Shivalli always cared for the poor people despite his poor health. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Siddaramaiah said, Modi has always claimed he has a 56-inch chest, but within that, he has no space for the poor. The BJP leaders are least bothered about the poor, he added.

Water Resources minister D K Shivakumar asserted the by-election is being fought not on the personality of Shivalli, but on the services he rendered to the poor. Further, he said he has taken the elections would be fought under the combined leadership of both Congress and JDS. Voters of Kungold and Chincholi would give a befitting reply to BJP leaders who are trying to destabilise the coalition government, he said.

KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao cautioned party workers not be complacent on the victory of the Congress candidate, and not to rely only on the sympathy factor.

KPCC Campaigning Committee chairman H K Patil, party leaders Satish Jarkiholi, Vinay Kulkarni and Anil Patil, JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti and others were present.

for first time, two ballot units in chincholi constituency

Kalaburagi: For the first time in Chincholi, voters have to check the names of candidates of their choice in two ballot units of their respective polling booths. The capacity of the ballot unit would be 16 candidates. In the by-elections to Chincholi constituency, scheduled on May 19, 17 candidates will contest, and it is mandatory to provide the NOTA option. This means election officials should arrange 2 ballot units, the first unit comprising 16 candidates and second unit comprising the last candidate and the NOTA button. Though there are 17 candidates in the fray, it seems like it will be a contest between Congress candidate Subhash Rathod and BJPs Avinash Jadhav.

Avinash jadhav has no political know-how: naik

Kalaburagi: A convention of different social organisations was held in Chincholi, under the leadership of minister Parameshwara Naik on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Parameshwara criticised previous MLA Umesh Jadhav, saying, Congress gave everything to Umesh Jadhav, but he left the party to join the BJP. Naik further alleged that BJP has only given a ticket to Avinash Jadhav because he is the son of Umesh. Avinash Jadhav does not have any political experience, while Congress candidate Subhash Rathod has been working for the development of the Banjara community for two decades, Naik said.
New York (AFP) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday cancelled plans to attend a New York gala in his honor after several companies withdrew their sponsorship and thousands of people demanded it be scrapped.

The gala, organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce for May 14, had attracted widespread criticism over the far-right president's record, with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio describing Bolsonaro as "a dangerous man".

Bolsonaro decided to cancel the trip due to "resistance and deliberate attacks by the Mayor of New York and the pressure of interest groups" on organisers, a spokesman said in a statement.

The event had been due to be held at the New York Museum of Natural History, before it pulled out of hosting.

It was moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, where protesters have been gathering every night outside seeking the complete cancellation of the event.

On Friday, US airline Delta, British daily Financial Times and consulting firm Bain & Company all confirmed to AFP that they would not sponsor the dinner as planned.

Bolsonaro was to receive a Person of the Year award at the event.

Every year, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce awards the prize to a Brazilian and an American at a gala dinner, with famous guests on hand. The event -- which costs $30,000 a plate -- was sold out.

Elected late October with an ultraconservative agenda, Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his environmental policy.

Since taking office in January, he has reduced or eliminated funding for indigenous protection organizations.

He also placed them under the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina Dias, who is close to the massive agribusiness industry, which is accused of aggravating deforestation.
By Express News Service

KASARGOD: The Muslim Educational Society (MES), which issued a circular disallowing veils in its schools and colleges, is facing backlash from its own unit.

In a statement, the Kasargod district unit of MES has asked its president P A Fazal Gafoor to withdraw the circular.

We do not agree with Dr Gafoors views on women wearing veils. He should correct them, and the circular should be withdrawn, MES district president Dr Khader Mangad, general secretary C Muhammed Kunhi, and treasurer A Hameed said in the statement.

The circular - issued on April 17 and to be implemented from next academic year - was the personal opinion of Dr Gafoor and did not represent the official stance of MES, they said. The Kozhikode-based MES - founded in 1964 by Fazal Gafoors father P K Abdul Gafoor - runs 35 colleges and 72 schools and has around 1 lakh students in its institutions.

READ | Muslim Education Society bans face veils in colleges run by it in Kerala, sparks row

According to the circular, issued by Fazal Gafoor, students will not be able to wear religious veils that cover their faces on the campuses. Institution heads and office-bearers of the local management of the institutions should be vigilant... This should be implemented without giving way to controversy, it said.

The Kasargod district committee of MES said the circular could not be the policy of the organisation because it was not discussed by any committee. The matter was not discussed at the state general council meeting held at MES Engineering College, Kuttippuram, on March 30, or at the executive council meeting held at Perinthalmanna medical college on April 8, it said.

Gafoor was trying to impose his personal views on institutions and he should be cautious in expressing views on religious matters, it said. When contacted, Dr Mangad, the former vice chancellor of Calicut University, said the circular was a direct denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. My differences with Gafoors circular are more about denial of individual freedom than religious freedom. It is not about being progressive or regressive, he said. I am not a religious fundamentalist, he said.

READ | Burqa, ghoonghat are the same, ban both, says Javed Akhtar

Embattled MES gets support from various quarters

Meanwhile, The MES which came under attack from hardline Muslim groups following its decision to ban face veil in all its institutions, has got the firm backing of Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel. Jaleel said it was not the mafta (head scarf) that the MES intended to ban from campuses, but the niqab (full veil). The Minister said Islam has never insisted that women should cover their face and hands. It is for the Muslim organisations themselves to introspect if they need to continue with a dress code which has not been prescribed in Islam, Jaleel said.

However, the Minister also clarified the government did not want to enforce any decision regarding dress code on women. It is for Muslim organisations to reach a consensus on the matter, Jaleel said. Meanwhile, the MES decision has also got the backing of a prominent Mujahid group. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) state president T P Abdullakoya Madani said Islam does not insist on women covering their faces. Terming the ongoing controversy as needless, Madani said women do not cover their faces while performing Hajj.
What does the measles outbreak have in common with the cult that encourages drinking bleach? And what does it have in common with Netanyahu's immunity law initiative? The answer is the wisdom of the masses, one of maladies of our social media day and age.

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The idea of the wisdom of the masses is that no single individuals holds greater knowledge than a million ordinary people. Not even if that individual is a doctor who studied medicine for seven years and did an internship and residency for six to nine more. If one million people like or share a post about how measles vaccines are dangerous and should be avoided, their opinion counts more that that of 100 doctors who think otherwise. The masses know.





Netanyahu and Deri in a govenment meeting; both face an indictment subject to a hearing (File Photo) (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

The results for this kind of behavior are evident around the world nowadays with the measles outbreak. Not to mention the "trend" a hideous word in itself  of parents who give their children a mix of bleach and water to drink, only god knows why.

But how does this relate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's immunity law initiative, aimed to deny any option of charging him with crimes while he serves as prime minister?

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

It's simple. An army of lawyers, headed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, went through mountains of papers, discussions and testimonies, and concluded that there is supporting evidence to indict Netanyahu for serious offences of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing.

But now, after some 1,140,000 people voted for Netanyahu's Likud Party, and an equal number voted for his "natural partners", rightist leaders come forth and say that "the people have decided Netanyahu is innocent." "There is nothing, because there was nothing, and there will be nothing. Simply nothing", stated the prime ministers famous quote about the accusation against him.

An add in a Haredi community in Brooklyn warning of the measles outbreak (file photo) (Photo: AFP)

And so, if people have determined that Netanyahu is innocent, there's no problem for his future coalition members to approve legislation granting him immunity from indictment. This would also be of use for other Knesset members who are facing prosecution, subject to a hearing. These are Interior Minister Arye Deri, Welfare Minister Haim Katz, and perhaps MK David Bitan, who stated that if Deri, who was already a convicted felon, can be minister, so can he, and he has a point.

Many Likud supporters believe Netanyahu is innocent, according to their vote at the polls. Others believe he is corrupt, but simply don't give a damn. If he knows how to take care of himself, he'll know how to take care of us, they say. That has nothing to do with the wisdom of the masses, but rather with the lack of moral values.

Most Israelis didn't go to law school and have never read white collar offences, judicial verdicts or transcripts of investigations. Nor did they read the papers describing the suspicions against Netanyahu. The materials are anyway undisclosed to us, despite Mandelblit's declaration to reveal them after the April 9 elections. But what does it even matter? The masses have decided, as they did with measles vaccines. This is the wisdom of the masses for you.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said on Thursday he hopes Israel will take a hard look at President Donald Trump's upcoming Middle East peace proposal before proceeding with any plan to annex West Bank settlements.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed in the waning days of a re-election campaign he won on April 9 to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in a move that would be bound to trigger condemnation from the Palestinians and the Arab world and complicate the U.S. peace effort.

Jared Kushner (Photo: Reuters)

Kushner, speaking at a dinner of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Middle East peace proposal he has been putting together was close to release and that Israel and the Palestinians should wait to see it before making any unilateral moves.

He said the issue would be discussed with the Israeli government when Netanyahu forms a governing coalition.

"I hope both sides will take a real look at it, the Israeli side and the Palestinian side, before any unilateral steps are made," Kushner said, adding he had not discussed the issue of settlement annexation with Netanyahu.

Greenblatt and Kushner at UN with Israeli Amb. Danny Dannon

Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt have spent the past two years developing the peace proposal in the hopes it will provide a framework for a renewed dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The Palestinians have refused to talk to the U.S. side since Trump decided to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, all territory Israel captured in 1967.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is expected to unveil his proposals in June after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Kushner and Ivanka at embassy opening (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)

"What we will be able to put together is a solution that we believe is a good starting point for the political issues and then an outline for what can be done to help these people start living a better life," Kushner said.

"I was given the assignment of trying to find a solution between the two sides and I think what we'll put forward is a framework that I think is realistic ... it's executable and it's something that I do think will lead to both sides being much better off," Kushner said.

Political, economic components

Kushner has begun to take a more public role in the Trump administration since he emerged unscathed from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into whether the Trump presidential campaign in 2016 colluded with Russia.

Trump and Kushner in Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

Trump has relied heavily on the 38-year-old Kushner, who helped develop prison reform legislation and a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and is also working on a U.S. immigration proposal.

The Middle East proposal, which has been delayed for a variety of reasons over the past 18 months, has two major components. It has a political piece that addresses core issues such as the status of Jerusalem, and an economic part that aims to help the Palestinians strengthen their economy.

Kushner and Netanyahu (:  ")

Kushner has said the proposal is not an effort to impose U.S. will on the region. He has not said whether it calls for a two-state solution, a goal of past peace efforts.

On Thursday night, he called on critics to hold their fire until they are able to see the plan in its entirety.

Palestinians have voiced skepticism about the effort led by Trump's son-in-law, who was a real estate developer before joining his father-in-law as a senior White House adviser.

Arab officials and analysts believe the plan is likely to be decidedly pro-Israel since the Trump administration has taken a tough line toward Palestinians, cutting off aid and ordering the PLO's office in Washington shut.

Greenblatt has said U.S. negotiators expect Israelis and Palestinians will both be critical of some parts of the plan.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Unleashing its fury on coastal and adjoining districts of Odisha, extremely severe cyclone Fani made landfall at Puri coast close to Chilika on Friday morning.

The cyclonic storm hit Odisha land with a wind speed of 180 to 190kmph. India Meteorological Department said the process of landfall started at around 8am and part of the eye was on Puri land at around 8.30. Landfall process will continue till 11 am, the IMD said.

READ: Cyclone Fani Updates | Eye of storm crosses into land at Odisha coast, relief efforts begin

The life-threatening storm surge, strong wind and extremely heavy rainfall accompanied induced by the category 4 cyclone wreaked havoc in the Puri district causing widespread damage and destruction In around the district.

Hundreds of trees uprooted while asbestos and tin roof were blown away by the gusty wind blowing at a speed of around 140 to 150 kmph in many parts of the districts. Apart from Puri, heavy rains lashed many other parts of coastal belt such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Jaipur, Jagatsighpur, Cuttack and Kendrapara. The strong wind also caused partial damage to infrastructure in these districts.

Capital Bhubaneswar, located around 70km from the place of the landfall, also experienced heavy rainfall and wrong wind under the impact of the storm. Uprooted trees blocked roads in various parts of the city. The wind gusting up to over 100 kms posed serious threat to vehicles. Cars got damaged as a portion of boundary wall caved in residential area on Janpath road.

Billboards and dangling wires also increased the risk for the citizens in Bomikhal, Rasulgarh, Jaydev Vihar and other places. Many parts of the city also faced water-logging. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation with the help of fire service units pitched into action removing uprooted trees and clearing roads and drains.

As the landfall process continued Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi said the situation is being monitored closely. As of now, Puri has remained the worst affected district. We are collecting information from other districts too, Sethi said.

Anticipating destruction, the state government had evacuated over a million people to safety in 13 districts since Thursday night. Besides, it had prepositioned 28 NDRF and 20 ODRAF units along with 550 fire service units in vulnerable areas of 18 districts to carry out relief and rescue operation. The SRC said keeping the situation in view 10 additional NDRF teams have deployed in the affected districts.

After landfall process is over the system is expected to enter into khurda and then move to Cuttack, Jaipur, Bhadrak, Jagatsingpur, Balasore before entering into west Bengal on May 4. Arrangements have been made to start free kitchens at the cyclone shelters.

Around 4,000 such shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres, are housing the evacuees. Over one lakh dry food packets have been kept ready for air dropping for which two choppers requisitioned, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) BP Sethi said.

No casualty has so far been reported from any part of the state, Sethi said adding the government is fully prepared to deal with the situation. A cyclone making a landfall implies that the first arm of the cyclone has reached the land.

The Indian Coast Guard has positioned 34 disaster relief teams at different spots at Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Gopalpur, Haldia, Frazergunj and Kolkata. It has also deployed four ships to handle any exigency. The Indian Navy has also deployed three ships with relief material and medical teams so that it can launch rescue operation after the cyclone hits the coastline of Odisha.

Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said several aircraft have also been kept on standby for immediate deployment to carry out aerial survey. "Helicopters are also kept standby for joining in rescue operation and for air dropping of relief material when required," Capt Sharma said.

Fani is billed as the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999 that claimed close to 10,000 lives and left a trail of destruction in vast swathes of Odisha, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has appealed to people to remain indoors during the period of the cyclone, and said all arrangements have been made for the safety and security of the people.

All shops, business establishments, private and government offices except those associated with relief and rescue operations will remain closed in 11 coastal districts as a precautionary measure. More than 220 trains on the Kolkata-Chennai route have been cancelled until Saturday. Aviation regulator DGCA announced that flights in and out of Bhubaneswar airport stand cancelled on Friday.

Consequently, the operations of various domestic airlines have been affected. The Central government has also made preparations. The Power Ministry has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with the least downtime.

The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry plans to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said it is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food. The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance.

It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs. The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS for cyclone-related messages and inter-operability of mobile networks by other operators. The Petroleum Ministry has ensured availability of sufficient petroleum and oil in the affected areas.

(With PTI inputs)
Some 50 sirens were heard in the southern city of Ashkelon Saturday morning, and the Iron Dome intercepted several rocket launches from the Gaza Strip.

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The cities of Rehovot, Sderot, Ashdod, and communities in the Gaza border region in the Sha'ar HaNegev and Eshkol Regional Councils were also targeted. In Ashkelon, public shelters were opened.

Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (Photo: Roee Idan)

No injuries or damages were reported so far.

The IDF retaliated with tank fire on a Hamas lookout post and an IAF attack on Hamas positions in the Strip.

The IDF closed Israeli civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip earlier Saturday, after clashes on Friday's weekly March of Return injured two IDF soldiers and killed two Palestinians, and an overnight IAF strike killed two more.

The events come after a relatively calm few months with no Palestinian casualties.

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to his thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

The overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

March of Return protests on Friday (Photo: AFP)

Hamas' deputy commander Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement that the organization was acting to push Israel to do its part in the arrangement negotiated between the sides.

"Israel is delaying in acting on some of the conditions that were agreed on. We wont let that happen, we have a schedule, and have many options. We know how to make Israel do what it said it will," said the official.

The Islamic Jihad terror group said in a statement that Israel is behind the recent "dangerous escalation".

"The Palestinian people is using its right to defend itself. The resistance is committed to this right as long as the aggression and the siege are ongoing," said the statement.

IDF forces evacuate wounded soldiers Friday

A joint headquarters for all militant groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement saying, "Israeli cruel aggression against our people leads us to call all militant groups to be ready to react to the enemy's crimes."

The Friday and Saturday events follow several firebombs launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli border communities that caused fires on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Islamic Jihad launched a long-range rocket into Israel Monday, which fell at sea, and signaled the beginning of this weeks' flare-up.
Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday as Israel was pounded by a massive rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday evening that some 200 rockets had been fired at the country during the day, and that it had responded with aerial bombardments across Gaza.

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The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.

Rocker hits the city of Kiryat Gat, 80 year-old women seriously wounded (Photo: Avi Rokah)

In Kiryat Gat, an 80-year-old woman was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket. In Ashkelon, a 49-year-old man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to the hands and legs.





Eyewitness footage of a rocket strike in Ashkelon

Also in Ashkelon, a 35-year-old man was moderately hurt when a rocket hit a home in the southern city. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that the man was wounded in the upper body and taken to Barzilai Hospital.

It was the not the first time Saturday that an Israeli home was hit by rocket fire. Other residences were damaged by rocket fire on Kibbutz Nahal Oz and in Hof Ashkelon regional council. The home's dwellers in the latter ran for their shelter and none were hurt.





A rocket launch from Gaza (Photo: AFP)

Several buildings were damaged in the city of Sderot and in several other Gaza border communities. One rocket landed near a kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev, close to the border with Gaza.

Rockets were continually launched from the Gaza Strip throughout Saturday, with long-range missiles targeting communities in the central region. Sirens blared through communuties in the south and center, as far as Rehovot, some 30km from Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, approximately 20km from Jerusalem.

House suffers direct hit in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza border

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted dozens of rockets on Saturday, the arny said.

The military closed civilian access to several roads and hills near the Gaza Strip border on Saturday.

Multiple Israeli local authorities opened public bomb shelters amid the ongoing rocket fire, including Mateh Yehuda, Yavne, Be'er Sheva and Ashdod.

Restrictions on the size of public gatherings has also been imposed in some areas, and the airspace up to 10 kilometers from the Gaza border was closed until Sunday. Activity at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport continued as scheduled.

A rocket strike on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (Photo: AFP)

Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri said Saturday that the southern city was on full emergency footing in the wake of the barrage of rockets.

"We are very experienced (in dealing with Gaza fire)," Lasri told Ynet, "our residents know how to act."

Truce efforts

UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, meanwhile, was working on reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid the escalating violence, foreign diplomatic sources said.

The ceasfire efforts also involve Egyptian mediators credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March triggered a burst of intense fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security assessment Saturday afternoon, arriving at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv to meet with senior defense and cabinet officials.

IDF hits Gaza

IDF jets and combat helicopters continued a wave of air strikes on what it said were terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon. The army said Saturday that it was preparing to expand its raids in the Strip.

The IDF strikes Gaza (Photo: AFP)

The IDF said its forces had carried out attacks against more than 30 targets belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, including facilities used for the manufacturing of arms and a joint facility for both organizations.

A building used by Hamas' naval forces was also attacked. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the army is "ready to go on as long as needed."

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike on Saturday.





Blue and White MK Alon Schuster (center) sits in a bomb shelter at Kibbutz Nahal Oz (Photo: Roei Idan)

The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said six Palestinians were wounded. Residents identified two of them as militants. The Palestinian Education Ministry said it was evacuating schools in areas under Israeli bombardment.

Hamas announced it is prepared to respond to "Israel's crimes" and "will not allow Palestinian blood to be shed." The announcement also said Hamas is committed to the protection of their people and the continuation of the March of Return.

A home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz is hit by rocket fire

Israel closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez Gaza border crossings Saturday as the violence spiraled. The army also halted fishing off the Gaza coast, which had been expanded as a gesture following the previous round of fighting in March.

Eurovision threatened

The flare-up comes days before Israelis celebrate Independence Day and Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel is also due to host the 2019 Eurovision song contest finals in less than two weeks in Tel Aviv, towards which long-range rockets were launched in mid-March.

A fragment from an Iron Dome anti-missile battery falls on warehouse near Ashkelon

The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad released a statement directly threating the contest, vowing to "prevent the enemy from holding a festival whose purpose is to undermine the Palestinian narrative."

A home in a Gaza border community sustains a direct hit from a rocket (Photo: Reuters)

"The civilians (of Israel) are destined to hell for the continual expansion of the Israeli aggression towards our people and our resistance," said the statement.

"We say to the decision-makers in Israel: do not dream of having quiet while the Palestinian people pay the price. The resistance is committed to respond to the enemys aggression and to surprise him."

One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shooting fragments in Friday's riots, while the other was moderately wounded from a bullet to the thigh. The IDF reacted with tank fire.

During Friday clashes on the border fence in the Strip's south, one Palestinian was killed from IDF fire, and a second was injured and died of his wound during the night.

An overnight Air Force strike that killed two targeted a Hamas military facility; a Hamas statement said the casualties belonged to its ranks, and that one was an area commander and the second a lower rank militant.
The headquarters for all militarist groups in the Gaza Strip issued a statement Saturday saying that "the next few hours will difficult and painful for Israel."

"The resistance will not stand by, it will react to the direct hits on Palestinian citizens," said the stamen.

"The Israeli communities near the Gaza Border are on our reach," they added.

Gaza officials said that talks with Egypt in an effort to contain the flare-up were held but that nothing was achieved.
The IDF says it is widening its air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip in response to massive rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave.

The army also says it has destroyed a tunnel dug by Islamic Jihad in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. According to the IDF, the tunnel was intended to be used to carry out a terror attack in Israel.
An unnamed source in the Gaza Strip told Ynet Saturday evening that negotiations between Egypt, Israel and the Gaza terror groups are ongoing.

The source added that talks between the sides are "moving in the right direction."
Gaza's health ministry says a Palestinian infant has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Seba Abu Arar, 14 months, died immediately Saturday and her pregnant mother was seriously wounded, the ministry said. Another child was moderately injured.

There were no additional details immediately available.

The airstrike happened in east Gaza City, the ministry said, as Israel continued its aerial offensive in response to rockets that Gaza militants have fired throughout the day toward southern Israel.
At least four rockets were fired at the southern city of Ashdod on Saturday night, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad made good on an earlier threat to strike further distances from the Gaza Strip if Israel did not halt its air strikes on the coastal enclave. The Iron Dome missile defense system brought down the rockets.

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A short time later, rockets were fired at the southern city of Be'er Sheva. Iron Dome was also deployed in the area. A Ynetnews editor who lives in Be'er Sheva said rockets both fell in open areas and were brought down by Iron Dome. Two people were hurt by shrapnel in the Bedouin town of Laqiya, in the Be'er Sheva area.

Iron Dome in operation over Be'er Sheva (Photo: Avi Rokah)

According to the IDF, more than 250 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday. In Gaza, a mother and her baby were reported to have been killed in an IDF air strike.

Rocket fire from Gaza at Ashdod on Saturday night (Photo: Reuters)

Three people, including an elderly woman, were wounded Saturday by rocket fire, and dozens more were treated for shock.

The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by IDF forces.





Iron Dome brings down rockets fied from Gaza at Sderot on Saturday (Photo: AP)

Egypt reportedly stepped up its efforts to halt the escalating violence between Israel and Gaza on Saturday evening, even as sirens and rocket barrages from Gaza continued unabated, and as the IDF continued to strike targets in the Strip.

A source in Gaza said that Egyptian efforts to end the violence, which also reportedly include UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov, were making progress.

"Even as the exchange of fire is worsening, the contacts in Cairo between the Hamas and Islamic Jihad delegations and Egyptian intelligence are becoming more intense," the source said. "There is progress in the talks and they are being conducted in a positive manner."

An Israeli security source said, however, that no such discussions on the issue were taking place.

As the violence continued Saturday, the Israel Air Force attacked more than 120 targets in the Gaza Strip and even escalated its operations Saturday evening by bombing a six-story building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City that housed the Hamas Prisoner Affairs Ministry, as well as the Hamas military intelligence building.

The IDF strikes the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs building in gaza (Photo: AFP)

The baby girl was killed during one of the Israeli attacks, and a few hours later, it was reported that her mother had also died.

Following the destruction of the Rimal building, the military wings of the Palestinian terror groups said that rocket fire at Ashkelon, Ofakim and Kiryat Gat was a response to the bombing. The groups also said that further air strikes would lead to greater rocket fire.

"If Israel continues bombing, we will increase the range to Ashdod and Be'er Sheva," the groups said.

A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip also said that the Islamic Jihad delegation to Cairo included the commander of the northern brigade of the organization's military wing, Baha Abu al-Ata.

He was invited to Cairo after the launch of a rocket from Gaza that exploded at sea earlier this week, and his identity was revealed by the IDF. He left the Gaza Strip with the delegation on Wednesday.

Earlier, a joint statement by the Gaza organizations' military wings said that they would step up the rocket fire should the IDF continue the air strikes.

"We are tracking Israel's movements and its commitment to end its aggression against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and we will respond accordingly to such aggression," groups said.

"We warn Israel that our response will be more extreme and broader if it continues its attacks. We will continue to serve as the defender and guardian of our people and our land."
The Iron Dome missile defense system is put into operation in the Be'er Sheva area following the start of rocket fire from Gaza.
One person is lightly hurt by rocket fire from Gaza in the Be'er Sheva area.

The rocket apparently fell in a Bedouin community close to the city.
YORK  York Middle School Principal Kenny Loosvelt has received a prestigious award, honoring his positive role at YMS.

Loosvelt was recently named Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) Middle School Principal of the Year for Region 1.

Its a nice honor, Loosvelt said. I totally share it with the staff and the kids.

A middle school principal in each of the five regions of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA)  the umbrella organization of NSASSP  receives the regional award. This honor then makes him or her eligible for the statewide award.

Nebraska educators who feel their administrator is deserving of the honor may nominate him or her. According to the NSASSP award rules: The NSASSP National Principal of the Year award program annually recognizes outstanding school leaders who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students. Each nominee is evaluated based on core elements. According to the NCSA The program honors school principals who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of: personal excellence, collaborative leadership, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization.
By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The death toll in Cyclone Fani rose to 16 in Odisha Saturday as the government mounted a massive restoration work across 10,000 villages and 52 urban areas ravaged by the storm that pounded coastal parts of the state, affecting nearly one crore people.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm that made landfall at Puri on Friday, was one of the "rarest of the rare" summer cyclones -- the first to hit Odisha in 43 years and one of the three to hit in the last 150 years It unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 240 kmph, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages, before weakening and entering into West Bengal, officials said.

It was the severest cyclone to hit the state since the Super Cyclone of 1999, which had claimed nearly 10,000 lives and devastated vast areas of the state.

The toll due to Cyclone Fani, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 16 Saturday -- four deaths in Mayurbhanj district, 3 each in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Jajpur; and 1 each in Keonjhar, Nayagarh and Kendrapara, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Odisha. He spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured continuous support from the Centre.

READ HERE | Over a crore hit by Fani as battered Odisha looks at gigantic restoration

"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government. The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi tweeted.

The extremely severe cyclone flattened thatched and kutcha houses, uprooted lakhs of trees, besides electric poles and mobile towers in the coastal Odisha.

The seaside pilgrim town of Puri was the worst hit.

Equally devastated were capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city which plunged into darkness since Friday with the collapse of the power infrastructure.

Chief Minister Patnaik, who reviewed the situation, said the cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure especially power, telecom and water supply.

"Lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone blocking roads, damaging houses and damaging public infrastructure," he said.

"In fact, for Puri district and parts of Khurda where power infrastructure has been totally devastated, we face the challenge of having to set up the entire electrification afresh," Patnaik said.

READ HERE | UN agency praises India on minimising loss of life from Cyclone Fani

The districts of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Nayagarh have also been affected and detailed information is being collected, he said.

Informing that work is in progress on a war footing for restoration of power and water supply, he said hundreds of engineers and technicians were working to restore the services.

Work is on to restore road communication, Patnaik said, adding four senior officers have been entrusted with the task of monitoring relief, restoration and rehabilitation operations.

The CM said free cooked food will be provided to the cyclone-affected people for the next 15 days.

Referring to the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of restoring critical infrastructure." An estimated one crore people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 14 districts were affected by Cyclone Fani, said a senior official.

Men and machinery of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire services have launched a massive restoration work, state Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said.

Energy secretary Hemant Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected.

Power infra has been severely damaged in Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore districts and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest.

In Bhubaneswar city, over 10,000 electric poles have either been uprooted or broken, he said, adding efforts are on to restore power supply in crucial establishments like airport, railway station and hospitals by Saturday night.

Sethi said around 10,000 low power transformers have been damaged due to the cyclone and the government has approached the Steel Authority of India Ltd for expeditious supply of electric poles.

He said the Centre has postponed the examination date for Odisha students who were to appear for NEET and AIIMS examinations.

The state has so far been able to reopen all national and state highways and district roads.

The state has received additional four NDRF teams for restoration.

READ HERE | Cyclone Fani: Air India waives charges for carrying relief materials for victims

Most of the NDRF personnel are engaged in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, he said.

Officials said the Indian Navy, Air Force and Army are on standby to assist in relief and rescue work.

The quick reaction team of the premier Naval Training Establishment, INS Chilka located in Odisha was immediately deployed, they said.

The CM said 12 lakh people had been evacuated and shifted to safer locations 24 hours ahead of the cyclone in probably the largest such exercise in the country.

Flight operations at Bhubaneswar airport resumed Saturday and many stranded passengers were sent to Delhi by a special plane, an official said.

The Gopalpur Port also resumed operations on Saturday after suspending work on Friday.

Train services were also partially resumed on Howrah-Chennai route, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

Barring the Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express and Visakhapatnam Intercity Express, all other trains would run as per schedule, the official added. There will be no trains to and from Puri till May 10 at least, he added.
LANSING  State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, is advocating Houghton County acquire a closed prison facility in Painesdale and convert it into a regional jail for the Western Upper Peninsula.

Markkanen said he recently set up a meeting between county and state officials regarding the acquisition of Camp Kitwen, a low-security facility that closed in 2009.

It is my hope that Houghton County commissioners will consider purchasing Camp Kitwen from the state to use as a jail facility and provide for a long-term inmate facility for the Western U.P., Markkanen said in a statement.

He ar...
Today

Showers early, then clearing with ample sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 47F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.

Tomorrow

Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: If Fire Department officials are to be believed, the film set of megastar Chiranjeevis Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was meant to be burnt down. Sooner or later. Though Fridays mishap has come as a shock for many in the industry as well as the fans, it is learnt that film sets are often burnt down after the completion of shooting, a trend that is very much prevalent in Tollywood.

In Sye Raas case, lack of fire extinguishers or water tankers could have contributed to the mishap or rather advanced damage to the set.

According to Fire Department officials, film sets are torched by the production houses themselves, after completion of the shooting, to avoid costs of labour in dismantling the elaborate sets.

ALSO READ: Fire at Chiranjeevi's farmhouse as film sets of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy damaged

It would be recorded in official books as rubbish fire, the one that was caused to abandoned property due to unknown reasons, they said.

Like the massive Rs 3 crore movie set of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, several film sets are temporarily constructed by hundreds of labourers, under the guidance of an art director. From intricate details of how the set should be shaped to its sheer size, every aspect of a set requires artistry of several skilled persons.

But to take them down, a sizable workforce is required which is not usually employed by film production houses.

There are many film sets that are burnt by one of the persons involved in the production as they do not want to incur costs of deploying labour and dismantle or take them down in a safe manner, informed an official involved in the investigation.

A lot of film sets are erected in secluded places of the city or on large open areas as it is easy to burn the sets down without getting the attention of the public. In most cases, police complaints are not filed, said a fire services personnel.
Mumbai: A sequel to Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer horror comedy "Stree" is likely to go on floors next year with the same cast.

"Stree", also featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, was one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2018.

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the film was set in small town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, where an evil spirit named 'Stree' abducts men in the night during festival season. It was based on the urban legend of "Nale Ba" that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, "Stree" had earned Rs 180 crore worldwide.

A source close to the project said the sequel is currently in the scripting stage.

"It will happen next year. We are working on the script. There are few ideas for 'Stree 2'. The expectations are high on 'Stree 2', so the team wants to give their best shot as we are not in a hurry to make it," the source said.

The core cast of "Stree" will be returning for the sequel, it added.

Meanwhile, Rao is set to star in another horror-comedy, "Rooh-Afza", backed by Vijan's Maddock Films banner.

The film, which also features Janhvi Kapoor, will revolve around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so it can possess their brides.

"Rooh-Afza" will reportedly share the same universe with "Stree".
Dantewada: Three Naxals were on Saturday arrested and another surrendered in separate places in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Hadma Madkam (22) and Deva Barse (21) were apprehended near Barrevesa village under Kuwakonda police station limits, while Hidma Kawasi (25) was held in Kirandul police station area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Kawasi had sustained injuries on his legs during an encounter with security forces on May 2 in the forest between Perpa and Madkamiras villages in Kirandul area, he said.

A Naxal "commander" Madvi Muiya was gunned down in that encounter, he added.

The injured Kawasi was availing medical treatment in Gujjapara area of Perpa and for further medication, he was being shifted on Saturday to some other place during which police got inputs about him, he said.

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Based on the tip-off, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and local police raided the place and arrested Kawasi from a forest near Gujjapara, Pallava said.

Kawasi, "commander" of "Malangir area committee's action team", was an expert in assembling and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the SP said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Madkam and Barse, both "jan militia" members of the proscribed Maoist outfit, were arrested by local police when they were allegedly trying to put up put Naxal posters near Barrevesa, he said.

In the third incident, a cadre identified as Neelu Bhaskar, who was active as a member of supply team of Maoists, surrendered before the SP in Dantewada.

Bhaskar, who has been associated with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) since five years, was staying in Andhra Pradesh and handling supply of explosives, medicines, electronic items, uniforms and commodities of daily use to the ultras in south Bastar, Pallava said.

Recently, Bhaskar had shifted to Perpa and was tasked with conducting reconnaissance on the movement of security forces, he said.

In his statement, Bhaskar said he decided to cut off ties with the Maoists after getting frustrated with their hollow ideology, the SP added.
Imphal: In what is being linked to severe cyclonic storm Fani, which unlashed mayhem in Odisha claiming at least 10 lives, the divers from Indian Navy have recovered bodies of two missing person from Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal.

According to news agency ANI, at least three members of a family went missing in the Mapithel Dam Reservoir in Imphal following which the Navy divers were called in to locate their bodies.

As per new agency AN, the Navy divers had recovered the bodies of 21-year-old S Romen and 19-year-old N Rani on Friday, while the body of his elder sibling, 35-year-old S Rajiv was found on Thursday.

Manipur: Indian Navy Diving Team recovered bodies of 2 persons from Imphal River on May 3. 3 members of a family were reported missing at Mapithel Dam Reservoir; one body was recovered on May 2. Team will now be deployed in rescue&relief ops in West Bengal in wake of #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/cvQsEVwXg3  ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2019

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The three bodies will now be handed over to the Imphal district officials.

The team of Navy divers will be airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and it would be redeployed in the ongoing rescue operations in West Bengal.

It may be noted that Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummelled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday.

Though the cyclonic storm killed at least 10 people in separate incidents, it failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.

Ahead of Fani making a landfall in Odisha, millions of people from the coastal areas wee evacuated and moved to safer higher grounds.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight and is now moving towards North-East.
New Delhi: In a demarche sent to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India has asked Pakistan to beef up the security of its High Commission and its diplomats in Islamabad.

The move comes after a recent incident in which two Indian diplomats were harassed in Pakistan and also because of the attacks in Sri Lanka, in which Indian High Commission was said to be a target.

Two Indian diplomats were locked in a room in Gurudwara Sacha Sauda Sahib in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura in April. They were asked not to visit the gurudwara and were dealt aggressively by the Pakistani security agencies.

Last year in November, Indian diplomats were stopped in the same gurudwara by Gopal Chawla, a close aide of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

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During both the instances, the Indian diplomats were present to do consular duties for the Indian pilgrims visiting the gurudwara.

Since December, the Indian diplomats have been facing a number of problems at the place and have also been stopped and questioned or chased by Pakistan security agencies.

It may be recalled here that several incidents of Indian diplomats being harassed in Pakistan have been reported in the recent past, with India asking Pakistan to investigate the matter.

In March, India wrote twice to Pakistan saying that its agencies are continuing to harass and tail Indian diplomats in Islamabad. In the notes, India also mentioned that incidents of harassment of family members are against the Vienna Convention.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka nine suicide carried out a series of dastardly attacks that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.
Kharagpur: Cyclone Fani, one of the strongest storms to batter the Indian subcontinent in decades, reached Bangladesh on Saturday several hours after it unleashed a trail of massive destruction claiming at least 10 lives in Odisha from where it entered West Bengal late on Friday.

The severe cyclonic storm, which battered Odisha claiming at least 10 lives and unleashed a trail of destruction on its way, made landfall in West Bengal late on Friday. The cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm as it crossed Kharagpur and moved towards the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

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Here are the live updates about Cyclone Fani:-

-Navy launches massive rescue and rehabilitation effort after Cyclone Fani batters Odisha. Tap to read

-CycloneFani has damaged 10,000 electric poles in Bhubaneswar affecting 30 lakh consumers; electricity supply will be restored in 25% area of the Capital city today, says State Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma.

-Indian Railways to run special trains to help passengers. Tap to read

-Four more persons dead in Jajpur due to Cyclone Fani, death toll reaches 15

-No more threat to West Bengal from Cyclone Fani as it has now reached Bangladesh.

-One more dead in Odisha's Bhadrak and one in Jajpur. The total count now stands at 12.

-IMD update: Severe Cyclone Fani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into deep depression and move into Bangladesh by noon.

IMD: Severe #CycloneFani weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 60 km NW of Kolkata at 0530 IST of 4th May. To weaken into Deep Depression and move into Bangladesh by noon. pic.twitter.com/8BjSXQvyza  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- PM Narendra Modi speaks to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, assures full support from Centre. Tap to read.

PM Modi: Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed situation prevailing due to #CycloneFani. Assured continuous support from Central Government in the wake of the cyclone. Entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by cyclone in different parts (file pic) pic.twitter.com/8jnAs6XJe3  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-One more dead in Jaleswar. The death toll due to Cyclone Fani rises to 10.

-Death toll due to Cyclone Fani in Odisha: Kendrapara (Rajnagar) - 2, Puri (Sakhigopal) - 2, Nayagarh (Dashapalla) - 1, Mayurbhanj - 2, Jajpur- 2.

-The road network in several districts suffered extensive damage. The power distribution network and the telecom network has also been severely affected.

-Heavy to very heavy rains lashing the coastal districts since Thursday night.

-Thousands of trees and electricity poles have been uprooted under the impact of the cyclonic storm that made landfall in Puri, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur.

-Several trees have been uprooted in parts of West Bengal after Cyclone Fani entered the state late on Friday.

West Bengal: Clearing of uprooted trees from the road underway in Digha, weather clear. #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/xMg1mdpNdn  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopter deployed off Odisha Coast continue to look for marooned fishing boats at sea if any, Haldia dock operational as of now

-Post-Cyclone Fani, flight operations resume at Bhubaneswar airport

-Navy divers recover bodies of two missing persons from Mapithel Dam Reservoir. Tap to read

-Cyclone Fani triggers heavy rains in Kolkata.

Rain lashes Kolkata as #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/sP8ktKn2rR  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

- Here are some visuals of the destruction unleashed by Cyclone Fani in Digha, West Bengal.

Digha, West Bengal: #CycloneFani hit West Bengal by crossing Kharagpur earlier today pic.twitter.com/5T90cjVvTu  ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2019

-No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

-The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday.

-"It is likely to continue further in the north, northeast direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

--"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 AM through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told IANS.

-On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.

-A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

-Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.

-The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

-In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state.

-It claimed at least 10 lives and left over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

-Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon.

-Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies.
Bhubaneswar: The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) Under Graduate (UG) 2019 exam has been postponed in Odisha following the havoc unleashed by Cyclone Fani. The exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5. New dates will be announced soon.

The state government had requested to postpone the medical entrance test to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of the Cyclone Fani, the most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years.

"NEET exam scheduled for 5th May in Odisha postponed as per the request of State Govt working on relief and rehabilitation work in the wake of Fani Cyclone. Revised dates for the exam in Odisha will be announced soon," R. Subrahmanyam, Higher Education Secretary told news agency ANI.

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The National Students` Union of India (NSUI) had also written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, requesting to postpone the exam in view of difficulties faced by students due to cyclone `Fani` in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least 2 years. The cyclone FANI that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs," wrote NSUI Goa president Ahraz Mulla in the letter, reports ANI.

"The students have dedicated 2 years to clear this test, but due to the cyclone it would not be right to conduct this test for the entire country considering the fact that it is an All India Exam with admission based on merit," the letter further stated.

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry announced the cancellation of Bhubaneswar as a centre for the AIIMS PG 2019 examination, which was also scheduled for May 5, Sunday. "It is hereby notified that in view of the effects of the Extremely Severe Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the AIIMS PG Entrance Examination for July 2019 session scheduled at iON Digital Zone, iDZ2 Patia, Koustuv Technical Campus, KISD/CEB, Plot No. 2, Sector-B, Near, Chandrasekharpur Police Station Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, PIN CODE: 751024 (Centre No.-OD0301) on Sunday, the 5th May, 2019 from 09:00 am to 12:00 Noon has been rescheduled till further orders," said a notice on the AIIMS website.

The death toll in Cyclone Fani reached 15 by Saturday afternoon. After leaving a trail of destruction in Odisha and West Bengal, the weakened cyclonic storm reached Bangladesh on Saturday.

"A record of 1.2 million people were evacuated in 24 hours, 3.2 lakh from Ganjam, 1.3 lakh from Puri & almost 7000 kitchens catering to 9000 shelters were made functional overnight. This mammoth exercise involved more than 45,000 volunteers," said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asked the Centre to pause crackdowns and search operations in the state during the ensuing Ramadan, as reported by news agency ANI. During Ramadan, the Muslims fast and pray for the entire month.

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Speaking to reporters, Mufti said that people in Jammu and Kashmir should be able to spend the one month in relief.

"Ramadan is approaching. People pray day and night and go to mosques. I would like to appeal to the govt of India that just like there was a ceasefire during Ramadan last year, crackdowns, search operations should be stopped, so that people of J&K spend at least this one month in relief," said Mufti.

She also appealed to the terrorists to refrain from making any attacks during the period. "I would also like to appeal to the terrorists that Ramadan is a month of worship and prayers. They should not make any attacks during this time," said the PDP chief.
Out of the 51 constituencies across 7 states going to vote in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election on May 6, Amethi is perhaps the most talked about and high-profile seat. Amethi and Raebareli are the only two seats in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are locked in a direct fight.

Both the seats have been Congress strongholds for several Lok Sabha elections. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will contest for the fourth time from Amethi against BJP leader Smriti Irani while UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will be contesting from the Raebareli seat.

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However, the wind in Amethi this election is not blowing all the way towards the Congress chief and even he seems to have guessed it now.

Despite losing to Rahul in 2014 by a huge margin in Amethi, Irani has been very active for the last five years in the constituency thus making this election a tough battle for the Congress chief.

While Rahul toured the entire nation ignoring his constituency, Irani snatched the opportunity and introduced several welfare schemes for the people in the area. In several Amethi villages, Irani claims to have constructed toilets, homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) and made solar lights available to the people.

Irani has also tried to make a dent in the traditional Congress vote bank. Generally, the votes of the Brahmins are cast for the Gandhi family but this election the mood of the community is not so clear.

The electoral mood in Amethi speaks volumes about Rahul's decision to contest from Kerala's Wayanad seat. In the last 15 days, Zee News travelled to the interiors of villages in Amethi and the people have questions on their mind asking if Rahul is indeed losing from Amethi. The decision of Rahul to contest from Wayanad seems to have put the Congress on the back foot in Amethi.

The people ask if they had not given enough love to him or if his trust no longer lies in the people and so he is running to Wayanad. On the other hand, 'Modi magic' seems to be gripping Amethi thus helping Irani mount a stronger challenge in the seat.

However, one also has to consider the strongest point of Rahul which is that he is a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family. The ambience in Amethi also has love and respect for the Gandhi family.

After speaking to the people the important aspect that they highlighted is "if our ancestors voted for them, then why should we not go with Rahul Gandhi?" They opine that Amethi is known only because of the Gandhi family. This indicates that the traditional vote bank of the Congress still stands strong with Rahul Gandhi.

In addition to this, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also held rallies in Amethi. From the booth workers to the voters, she has campaigned for her family highlighting the development works. There is still a wave of sympathy for the Gandhi family.

The strategy of both the BJP and Congress in Amethi focusses on the Gram Pradhan and Block Development Committee (BDC) members. Both the parties are trying to get the village heads on their sides.

The BJP has set up an army of its workers in Amethi, including Sanjeev Baliyan and several other ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday held a rally in Amethi campaigning for Smriti Irani.

From the Congress, Priyanka is holding the rein in Amethi. The chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states have also visited Amethi.

Only May 23 will reveal if Amethi stays with Rahul Gandhi or Smriti Irani will have the last laugh.
New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday denounced opposition leaders for advocating scrapping of sedition law and said people who raise "tukde tukde" slogans will remain in jail till the Modi government is there.

Addressing a rally in the national capital, he said, "Kejriwal doesn't say it, but he wants the sedition law should go. Later, when someone will spy on us at the behest of Pakistan, under which charge will you send them to jail?"

"Recently, slogans of 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were raised in JNU. The Modi government sent such people behind the bars for sedition," Shah said.

He said for 70 years, the people of the country had been waiting for a prime minister who could deal with issue of terrorism and give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"Forty of our soldiers were killed in Pulwama. The entire county was angry. Pakistan also rushed troops, tanks and cannons to the border anticipating another surgical strike, but Modi asked the air force to scramble its jets this time," he said.

Our fighter aircraft entered Pakistan, dropped bombs (on terror camp) in Balakot, blew terrorists to smithereens and came back.

"A wave of rapturous delight swept the entire country but a pall of gloom descended on Pakistan and the offices of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi," he said.

"Kejriwal and Gandhi were worried about their vote bank but the Modi government's Pak policy is clear. If they fire a bullet at us, we will launch a mortar at them," he said.

He also asked Gandhi and Kejriwal to make their stand clear on National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's demand for a separate prime minister for Kashmir.

"I have been asking them for 22 days if there should be a separate prime minister for Jammu and Kashmir. They're mum because they think their voters will desert them," he said.

"Kashmir is the crown of India. No one takes it away from India till the BJP is there," the party chief said.

He appealed to the electors to vote for Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, and Hans Raj Hans, its Northwest Delhi nominee, so that the party can "return to power and remove Article 370".

Delhi, which has seven Lok Sabha seats, goes to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
By IANS

TOKYO: Naruhito, Japan's new Emperor, on Saturday gave his first public address in this role from the balcony of the Imperial Palace, in which he stressed the need to work toward achieving world peace.

Naruhito, 59, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, a day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. He was the first emperor to step down from the throne in more than two centuries, reports Efe news.

In a very brief message, Naruhito expressed his desire for "Japan and the international community to come together in pursuing world peace and further development".

Naruhito, who spoke from behind the bullet-proof glass that protects the balcony, was accompanied by Empress Masako and other members of the imperial family. His father, the emperor emeritus, and his mother, Michiko, were not present.

The ceremony, which will be repeated five more times throughout the day, was attended by thousands of people, most of them waving Japanese flags.

Naruhito's ascension marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, dubbed "Reiwa," which roughly translates to "beautiful harmony".

Naruhito is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.

Japan's monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.
New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his alleged link to a defence firm that got offset contract when the UPA was in power and asked the opposition party to respond to what it said is a very serious charge.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cited a media report and gave more information that he said he had found out to take a swipe at Gandhi, saying it is story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and is now aspiring to be prime minister.

Rejecting the charge, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it is an allegation that needs to be proved.

Jaitley told a press conference that Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd. Registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an "influence for cash" company, Jaitley alleged, adding that Mcknight was married to a Congress leader's daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhi's "social gang".

Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan.

In 2009 Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, he said.

Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an Indian Navy deal to build submarines, he said.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Jaitley asked, "The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract."

In an apparent reference to Gandhi's constant attack on the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said he himself is a "beneficiary" of an offset contract.

"What was his (Rahul) own role? Did he want to start off as a defence dealer. It is a very serious subject and we will want top Congress leadership to respond at the earliest," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress president, he wondered if it would have been better had he remain in the defence business and not joined politics.

Seeking a response from Gandhi, Jaitley said the right to silence belongs to accused in criminal cases not to political leaders, especially those aspiring to be prime minister.
JAIPUR: Hitting out at Congress and its leadership, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi claimed that the grand old party just wants a Prime Minister on contract.

Congress wants a contract Prime Minister while we and the country want a perfect Prime Minister, said the senior BJP leader at a public meeting at Jaipur BJP office on Saturday.

Rahul Gandhi has become very desperate. He can see his defeat very clearly, he added.

Taking shots at the Opposition alliance, the Minister of Minority Affairs said, Even before Congress' Mahagathbandhan has expired even before it could be formed.

Naqvi was campaigning for Ramcharan Bohra, the BJP candidate from Jaipur.

Today addressed public meeting in favour of Shri Ramcharan Bohra, @BJP4India candidate from Jaipur. Large number of people from Jaipur and nearby areas were present. #ModiJahanVikasWahan @BJP4Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ZM7p6QcxFx  Chowkidar Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) May 4, 2019

Speaking on the measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi said, PM Modi has put 'Corruption on Ventilator' and 'Development on Accelerator' in the last five years, which has made Champions of Corruption feeling suffocated in this atmosphere of honesty and transparency.

Providing equal opportunities of development to all sections of the society, without any discrimination or political prejudice, has been a major achievement of PM Modi's government in the last five years.

No section of society can say that it has faced any discrimination in development on basis of caste, religion, region or state. All sections have been provided equal opportunities of socio-economic-educational development by Narendra Modi Government, he said.

PM Modi has restored dignity and stability of the Government in last 5 years. Modi Government has proved to be a Government of Iqbal (authority), Insaaf (justice) and Imaan (integrity).
LUCKNOW: Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav said that anyone getting injured because of a bull in the state should file a case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

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If stray bulls injure anyone, then a case should be registered against Yogi Adityanath," said the former UP chief minister while speaking at a rally in Barabanki.

What FIR will the police register if the bull attacks people. Under which section will it be filed, he further questioned.

Akhilesh's comment comes days after a bull entered the SP-BSP 'gathbandhan' rally held in Kannauj on April 25.

At the time, Adityanath had said that even the bull is now unwilling to forgive the criminals



I was recently there in Kannauj where the people told me that a bull had entered the venue of `gathbandhan` rally, probably to find out which of the slaughterhouse operators were there and to treat them accordingly," he said."I prayed to the bull to keep doing his job while we take care of the ones who mistreat the poor, put roadblocks in the state`s development and have forced the youth to leave the state," he said at an election rally, reported ANI.
Lucknow: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday lashed out at the SP-BSP alliance, alleging that it was indulging in divisive politics and pitting one caste against another for "petty political gains".

Addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, he said, "Erstwhile governments of SP and BSP would divide people on caste lines and would not focus on development. The Yogi Adityanath government and the Narendra Modi government have shifted the focus entirely to development without any caste discrimination."\

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Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The biggest achievement of the Modi government is that of securing the nation against terrorism. During Sonia-Manmohan rule, terrorists used to enter Indian at will and even cut heads of our soldiers like that in case of (Lance Naik) Hemraj (Singh), without any response from then silent PM Manmohan Singh."

"After the Pulwama terror attack, Indian Air Force went deep inside Pakistan to Balakot and killed terrorists and destroyed their bases. Modiji has a strong will to take strong decisions for the security of the country," Shah said.

Sonia Gandhi was the president of the Congress when it governed the country from 2004 to 2014.

Taking on the Congress for promising to remove the anti-sedition law if it comes to power, the BJP president asked who the party and its followers were trying to protect.

"Who do you want to protect? When anti-India slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge' were shouted, you stood with them in the name of freedom of speech. Such people will be jailed as long as the BJP is there," he said.

Exuding confidence that Narendra Modi will return as the prime minister, Shah said people seem to have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.

Showering praise on Modi, the BJP chief said, "Modiji is the man the country had been waiting for 70 years...For development to take place in real sense."

Taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he said, "In the past 20 years, Modiji has never taken even a day's holiday. But Rahul Baba goes on holiday every now and then."
THANE: A massive fire broke out in a high-rise building at Patlipada in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday morning.

Fire fighting operations are underway. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, said news agency ANI.

Billows of grey smoke were seen in the area.

The blaze broke out at around 5:45 AM on the third floor of a building at Rutu State, said the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

"MSEDC official, RDMC and fire brigade are sent on site with one fire engine, two rescue vehicle and one water tanker. There has been no injury or casualty and the situation is under control," a civic official told ANI.

A total of 22 residences were evacuated safely by RDMC and fire brigade official.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, who was last seen in Veere Di Wedding, will now be seen as a cop in Irrfan Khan's comeback venture 'Angrezi Medium'.

A few days ago, Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to confirm that Kareena will be a part of the film. He wrote, IT'S OFFICIAL... Kareena Kapoor Khan in #AngreziMedium... She plays a cop in the film... Stars Irrfan Khan... Directed by Homi Adajania... Produced by Dinesh Vijan... #AngreziMedium will be filmed in London this June.

However, now we hear that the actress will start shooting for the film in May. "Kareena has started prep for Angrezi Medium. Since shes playing a cop for the first time, shes been discussing her character with director Homi Adajania. She will shoot in Mumbai for around a week before the team flies to London in June where a big chunk will be shot. She is not romantically paired with Irrfan but has an important role in the narrative, " Mumbai Mirror quoted a report as saying. The report also stated that although Kareena has a short role in the film, she is very excited to share screen space with Irrfan for the very first time.

'Angrezi Medium', which is the sequel to 2017 hit film 'Hindi Medium', is special in many ways. The film marks Irrfan's comeback into Bollywood as the actor was on a break from the filmy scene after being diagnosed with NeuroEndocrine Tumour  a rare form of cancer.

It was in 2018 that Irrfan shared the news of his illness, leaving everybody in shock.

The actor returned to Mumbai earlier this year and the film went on floors on April 5.
London: The UK`s Prince Harry has shortened a forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, prompting inevitable speculation that his wife, Meghan, could be about to give birth, the media reported on Saturday.

Harry had been due to visit the country for two days starting May 8, but will now fly in and out the next day. The decision has been attributed to logistical challenges, but the Duchess of Sussex is known to be in the late stages of her pregnancy, CNN reported.

"Due to the logistical planning for the travelling press to cover visits and engagements by The Royal Family, we have taken the decision to postpone The Duke of Sussex`s scheduled visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th May 2019," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

"The Duke is currently scheduled to travel to The Hague on Thursday 9th May for the launch of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 as planned."

The couple previously announced they would keep details of the birth private.

In a statement on April 11, the couple said they "look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family".

In February, Harry and Meghan visited Morocco which was their last official trip outside Britain before their baby`s arrival.
Actress Keerthy Suresh and the team of her 20th film are going to fly to Europe very soon for the next schedule of their film.

The film is being directed by Narendra Nath, a debutant director and produced by Mahesh S Koneru of 118 fame under East Coast Productions.

The film went on floors in February and the first schedule happened in February 10, then Kerala, and now they will be flying to Europe to shoot for an extensive schedule of 45 days. Producer Mahesh took to Twitter to share the news update and wrote, #Keerthy20 Update- Major 45 day schedule will begin in Europe in a few weeks of time, (sic)

Adding to it, he revealed that a few more names from the cast list will be unveiled soon. Will reveal some big name additions to the film soon#Keerthy20 is being directed by Narendranath and produced on @EastCoastPrdns banner. (sic)

For now, the films cast comprises names like Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Bhanushree Mehra, Kamal Kamaraju and Nadhiya.

Apart from this film, the beautiful actress is also part of Nagesh Kukunoors upcoming film which is yet to go on floors and hasnt got a title till now. The pre-production work of the film is going on at a brisk mode. The cast is yet to be finalised.

It is also said that the actress is making her Bollywood debut in which she might pair up with Akshay Kumar. Her recent hit Mahanati has taken the actor to heights and very soon, the film is going to be screened at Shanghai International Film Festival. Mahanati is the biopic of late actress Savithri.
Last week, a soft-spoken and uncharacteristically serious Felix 'PewDiePie' Kjellberg  a far cry from his usual loud and brash ways  broke his silence on the Christchurch shootings and called for an end to the Subscribe to PewDiePie campaign.

In a short video, he distances himself from the horrific New Zealand attacks, the negative rhetoric and racism associated with his name.

The immensely popular and controversial YouTuber, whose channel was locked in a bitter battle with T-Series for the most subscribed channel on the video platform, seemed remorseful, hurt.

Something I learned and something and hopefully something people can understand is that when you have 90 million people riled up about something, youre bound to get a few degenerates, he explains. But then something happened that I dont think anyone would have predicted.

He goes on to explain his silence, saying, I didnt want to give the terrorist any more attention. I didnt want to make it about me.

On March 15, 2019, terrorist Brenton Tarrant opened fire and killed 51 people inside two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch. The 28-year-old Australian mercilessly shot dead people gathered for prayers inside a mosque in an otherwise peaceful locality. Before carrying out the attacks, he said on FB live stream, "Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie."

At the time, Kjellberg shared a single tweet, distancing himself from the entire episode. Just heard news of the devastating reports from New Zealand Christchurch. I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy, he tweeted.

Speaking about the incident, more than 45 days after the attacks, PewDiePie says in the video, To have my name associated with something so unspeakably vile, has affected me in more ways than Ive let show.

He also talks on the war with T-Series, says the two diss tracks against the brand was just for fun, adding that he will continue to block those videos as per Indian high court orders.
After wreaking havoc in Odisha, claiming 10 lives and unleashing massive destruction on its way, Cyclone Fani entered West Bengal post-midnight on Saturday. The weakened cylonic storm, downgraded to 'severe cyclonic storm', has crossed Kharagpur and is currently moving in the north-east direction with a wind speed of 90 km/hour. The storm now lies close to Arambagh in Hooghly district, and is 40 km west of Kolkata.

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"It is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards during next 12 hours and emerge into Gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 105 kmph by the early morning of May 4," said the India Meteorological Department in a statement.

After entering Bengal, Fani lashed towns and cities including Digha, Haldia, Tajpur, Mandarmani, Sandehskhali, Contai, Diamond Harbour, Bankura, Sriniketan, Asansol, Dumdum and Alipore. Apart from Kharagpur and Kolkata, effects of the storm could also be felt in Burdwan district. Trees were uprooted, power and telecom lines snapped, metal hoardings gave away as the storm swept through Bengal.

Parts of Kolkata and surrounding areas received moderate to heavy rainfall since Friday afternoon. The rains are expected to continue till early Saturday. No loss of life or any injury has been reported from Bengal so far.

"The severe cyclonic storm Fani entered Bengal at 12.30 a.m. through Odisha`s Balasore. It crossed Kharagpur packing a wind of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph," Regional Meteorological Centre`s Deputy Director General Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told news agency IANS. "It is likely to continue further in north, north east direction, and reach the east Burdwan-Hooghly border, and through Nadia go to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon, weakening into a cyclonic storm, after having triggered rains," he added.

The most powerful tropical storm to hit India in 20 years, Cyclone Fani pummeled through coastal Odisha with wind speeds of over 200 kmph on Friday but failed to cause widespread death and destruction due to massive pre-emptive measures taken by the state government and other agencies. The death toll touched 10, with over 160 injured, as officials awaited information from far-off regions.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a review meeting with senior officials on the destruction caused by cyclonic storm Fani in the state. In the last 24 hours, 12 lakh people have been evacuated to safer locations and they are being taken care of in shelters, Patnaik told media, adding that full assessment of damage will be possible only after it crosses the state.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres where free cooked food is being served to them, he said.

Flight and train operations were affected with around 220 trains on Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled keeping in view passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said. A red alert has been issued in coastal areas and fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

On the other side of the border, Bangladesh too braced for the cyclone, evacuating over five lakh people from coastal areas.
By AFP

GAZA CITY: Gaza militants on Saturday fired some 200 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes that killed a baby, her pregnant mother and another Palestinian, officials said, as a fragile ceasefire faltered and a further escalation was feared.

The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.

Israel said around 200 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them.

One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the Gaza border, police said.

Police said a man was also hospitalised in the city of Ashkelon and spoke of other injuries without providing details.

A house near Ashkelon was damaged, while other rockets hit open areas.

The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets in its response.

They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.

As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.

A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.

Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.

A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.

The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.

"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.

- Visit to Cairo -

The escalation follows the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday.

Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.

Israel blamed Islamic Jihad for what it called the sniper attack, but stressed it held Hamas responsible for all violence from Gaza.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 general election.

But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels out of Gaza after a rocket was fired from the territory.

Israel's army blamed Islamic Jihad for the rocket, which fell into the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Israel said its aircraft struck a Hamas military compound after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched across the border.

Palestinians in Gaza have frequently fitted balloons with firebombs in a bid to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland.

Following that air strike, Israel said two rockets were launched from Gaza.

With the ceasefire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials.

The ceasefire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

- Eurovision looms -

Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation quickly.

Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month's election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14-18.

The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday.

On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead.

Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave.

At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel may have committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled.

Israel rejected the report "outright" but Hamas called for it to be held accountable.
New Delhi: The Afghanistan foreign ministry on Saturday summoned Pakistan's Charge d'affaires in Kabul, in the aftermath of April 30 and May 1 incidents, in which Pakistan forces launched an attack in Afghan territory killing four civilians.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a release, tweeted by the spokesperson Sibghatullah Ahmadi condemned Pakistani forces violating the "Afghan airspace and launching rockets".

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The Afghan government again asked Pakistan to act on terror. Afghanistan and India have repeatedly asked Pakistan to take steps against terrorism.

The statement said, "Afghanistan once again encouraged Pakistan to honestly fight these groups without distinction."

The Pakistani government has also confirmed that a summoning took place. The Pakistani forces started shelling at 9 pm local time on April 30 and according to Afghanistan media reports, targetted Sarkot, Pakha Mela and Afghan Dubai villages in Spera district in Khost Province that borders Pakistan's restive North Waziristan.

Pakistan had summoned Afghan's Charge d'Affaires on May 1 to protest about the incident. While Islamabad maintains, "terrorist" from the Afghan territory launched an attack on its forces killing three Pakistani soldiers in the incident, Kabul urged Pakistan to take immediate action against the elements on its territory and ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

This is not for the first time a Pakistani diplomat has been summed this year. Afghanistan summoned Pakistan diplomats many times in the last few months after Pakistani prime minister made comments about the Afghan peace process which Kabul saw as interference.

In March, speaking at a public gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "A good government will soon be established in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has also complained to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Islamabad due to its engagement with the Taliban and attempts to subvert the Afghan peace process.
Minneapolis city officials on Friday announced a $20 million (Rs 138 crore) settlement with the family of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, just days after the officer was convicted of crimes associated with the killing.

The settlement of a civil suit brought by the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, which came after two days of talks, includes $18 million (Rs 124 crore) for the family and $2 million (Rs 13 crore) to be donated to an anti-gun violence group, city officials said.

"This is not a victory for anyone, but rather a way for our city to move forward," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the settlement at a news conference.

"And I do believe that we will move forward together, united in the belief that such a tragedy should never have occurred in our city," he said.

Damond, 40, had called police on the night of July 15, 2017 to report a possible sexual assault outside her house. When Damond approached the patrol car that responded, Officer Mohamed Noor fired a shot through a window of the car, killing her.

The incident drew international criticism, including from Australia`s prime minister, who called the incident "shocking."

Noor, 33, who is no longer with the force, testified at his trial that he acted in self-defence after he and his partner Matthew Harrity, who was driving, heard a loud noise.

But a jury on Tuesday convicted him of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The prosecutor said it was the first time a police officer in Minnesota was convicted of murder.

A wave of killings of black men and teens by US police in recent years has prompted street protests, but in this case Damond was white and Noor is a black Somali immigrant.

City officials said $2 million of the settlement, which the City Council unanimously approved and the mayor said he would sign off on, will go to the Fund for Safe Communities of the Minneapolis Foundation, which said on its website that it supports "community-led efforts to address gun violence."

"We know that no amount of money can heal the pain of the Ruszczyk family, or any family that has lost a loved one in this way," said City Council President Lisa Bender. "It is our continued commitment to work together with our community to demand and support change to our policing."
Colombo: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

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Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links. "They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kashmir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the national security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security". He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the Army chief added.
BANGKOK: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

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The king sat on a golden throne under a nine-tiered umbrella to receive royal regalia including a gold-enameled, diamond-tipped crown in ceremonies that mixed glittering pomp with solemn religious rites.

The monarch was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time. His coronation comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military junta chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics.

"I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said in his first royal command.

Traditionally uttered after a king is crowned, the king`s first command serves to capture the essence of his reign. The king`s command was similar to that of his father`s. Late in the afternoon, the king was carried in a royal palanquin in a procession from the Grand Palace to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where yellow-clad Thais awaited his arrival, repeatedly chanting, "Long live the king."

After 80 Buddhist monks chanted, the king proclaimed himself the Royal Patron of Buddhism: "I will rightfully protect Buddhism forever." Later, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence in the Grand Palace where they will stay the night, as previous kings have done, ending the first of the three-day coronation ceremonies.

In his first speech earlier on Saturday to members of the royal family, the Privy Council, and top government officials, among others, the king called for national unity. "I invite everyone here and all Thai people to share my determination and work together, each according to his status and duty, with the nation`s prosperity and the people`s happiness as the ultimate goals," he said.

Military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, the speaker of the army-appointed parliament and the chairman of the Supreme Court - representing the three branches of government - also spoke to express "gratitude" to the king. Prayuth is seeking to stay on as an elected prime minister after the first elections since the military seized power five years ago. Final results of the March 24 vote will be announced after the coronation.

DIVINE MONARCH

Thai coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782. Saturday`s rituals were about transforming him into a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods.

The king received the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week. He also received and put on five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin.

The high-reaching crown, which weighs 7.3 kg (16 lb) symbolises the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra`s heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch`s royal burden.

King Vajiralongkorn put the crown on his head himself with the help of court officials, and adjusted it several times during the ceremony. Before the crowning ritual, he appeared dressed in white robes as he underwent a purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head.

The country`s Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the king, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members. During the ceremonies, the king gave alms to saffron-robed, barefoot monks.

The monarch also granted Queen Suthida, a former Thai Airways flight attendant and head of his personal bodyguard regiment, her full royal title. Outside the palace walls, people in yellow polo shirts sat on roadsides, holding up portraits of the king and the national flag as 19th-century cannons fired to announce the new reign.

Yellow is the colour of Monday, the day the king was born, and the colour of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos, according to Thai culture. One onlooker, Kanjana Malaithong, told local media she had traveled since 1 a.m. from northern Thailand to witness the ceremony, shown live on big screens outside the palace. "I`m so overjoyed ... There`ll never be another chance like this, it`s a once-in-a-lifetime event," she said.

During 18 months of his reign so far, King Vajiralongkorn has moved to consolidate the authority of the monarchy, including taking more direct control of the crown`s vast wealth with the help of Thailand`s military government. Thailand ended absolute rule by its kings in 1932, but the monarchy remains highly revered as the divine symbol and protector of the country and Buddhist religion.
By AFP

LONDON: The top-secret leak that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network, which brought down the defence minister, does not amount to a criminal offence, police concluded Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Gavin Williamson as defence secretary over the leak last month of the bitterly-disputed decision made at the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following the police announcement, Williamson, who has strenuously protested his innocence, said he was the victim of a shabby "witch-hunt".

He hit out at May and Mark Sedwill, Britain's top civil servant who carried out the government's internal leak inquiry that led to his sacking.

Williamson said in a statement: "With the Metropolitan Police not willing to do a criminal investigation it is clear a proper, full and impartial investigation needs to be conducted on this shabby and discredited witch-hunt that has been so badly mishandled by both the prime minister and Mark Sedwill."

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep information private or risk prosecution.

ALSO READ | US lobbying against Huawei in India: CEO Jay Chen

Some senior opposition figures called for a police investigation.

But in a statement on Saturday, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, said a probe would be inappropriate.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," said Basu, whose section is responsible for investigating alleged criminal breaches of the act.

"I am satisfied that the disclosure did not amount to a criminal offence, either under the Official Secrets Act or misconduct in a public office. No crime has been committed and this is not a matter for the police. The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

The leak, which appeared in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, suggested May had cleared Huawei to be involved in "non-core" elements of the 5G network, such as antennae.

Williamson told Saturday's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have been royally screwed over. It is pretty painful. The only thing I want to do now is clear my name."

READ HERE | China's Huawei sues US over federal ban on its products

Newspapers speculated Saturday that Williamson, a sharp operator, was plotting his revenge on May.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader in 2016.

Williamson was duly rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservatives in parliament and wielding power over misbehavers.

The Times quoted one ally as saying: "Gavin knows where the bodies are buried -- because he buried them himself." He was replaced as defence secretary by Penny Mordaunt.

The US is adamantly opposed to Chinese tech giant Huawei's involvement in developing Britain's 5G network due to the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

David Lidington, May's effective deputy, said Thursday there were no plans to pass information from the internal leak inquiry to the police, saying the prime minister regarded the matter as closed.

Basu said that unless a crime was alleged there was nothing for the police to investigate and his unit had not been provided with any evidence of an alleged crime.
Imagine yourself as Abraham-Louis Breguet in his workshop on Paris Quai de lHorloge at the turn of the nineteenth century. In the relentless pursuit of timekeeping precision, you are drilling microscopic holes in each tooth of the escape wheel. Tooth by tooth. Why? To trap miniscule quantities of oil for lubrication at the point of contact between the escape wheel and the lever. Next to you on the bench is the balance wheel and its spring. You have done your best to form the spring and you have bestowed upon it your groundbreaking invention of the overcoil (which you cannot possibly know at the time, will two hundred years hence still bear your name, universally called by future watchmakers a Breguet hairspring). Although this timepiece will be sold as a Garde Temps, your highest grade movement, these solutions, the drilled escape wheel and the formed spring, are not perfect. Your technological tools, the best for your era, cannot carry you to the pinnacle of perfection.

Conjuring the future, Jules Verne in 1865 may have penned the tale of a journey to the moon a century before Neil Armstrong, yet not even the wildest flights of fancy in the Quai de lHorloge atelier could have envisaged some of the solutions which technology has conferred upon todays watchmakers in Breguets Vallee de Joux manufacture. A word of caution, or better said, an important perspective on technologys role at Breguet: todays material advances are never adopted simply because they are there or for flash and advertising talking points. For Breguet there must be both a tangible benefit to the performance of the timepiece delivering value to the owner and, in addition, compatibility with the traditional practices and skills of watchmaking hand craft. Guided by these principles, Breguets movement developers, working in tandem with research scientists, have brought cutting edge materials to todays movements to achieve levels of precision and performance unimaginable in even the recent past. Bestowed upon todays movements are components utilizing silicium, titanium, liquid metal, diamond-like carbon and special alloys for the mainspring.

Breguet introduced its first timepieces incorporating silicium components in 2006 with the reference 5197. After five years of experience during which all of the performance expectations were met, Breguets CEO, Marc A. Hayek, true to the philosophy of his grandfather, Nicolas G. Hayek, reached the decision to incorporate silicium broadly throughout the collections. As of this writing, ten years after the initial introduction, there are less than a handful of legacy references which do not feature silicium springs and there are many references utilizing the material in areas in addition to the spring. It is a propitious moment to step back in order to summarize and highlight what has proven to be a revolutionary advance going to the very heart of a mechanical watch. In future issues of Le Quai de lHorloge we will spotlight other modern materials and how they, too, have enriched the art of watchmaking.

Balance wheel with silicon spring and tourbillon cage with silicon escape wheel and lever from the Marine Chronograph, Ref. 5837.  Breguet

The three key timekeeping elements of a watch are its balance wheel, including its spring, the escape wheel and the lever. It is in these fundamental components that the properties of silicium have opened up new frontiers.

Ever since Dutch mathematician Huygens developed the spring balance spring in 1675, this has been one element invariably common to all mechanical watches. Its contraction and expansion, which many describe as breathing, is central to the timing of the back and forth oscillations of the balance wheel and, thus, the running rate of the watch. In the more than three centuries following its invention, watchmakers have struggled to perfect the performance of the spring. Indeed, one of Abraham-Louis Breguets key inventions, the overcoil, was aimed at just that. By bending the outside portion of the spring upwards and over the remaining portion of the spring, Breguet was able to improve the centering of the spring around its axis and to make the spring breathe more evenly, that is to say, maintain a shape closer to the ideal of perfectly round, than was being achieved with the then existing spring shapes.

Balance wheel with its two silicon springs from the Chronometrie, Ref. 7727.  Breguet

Springs in this era of watchmaking were formed by hand, which meant there were inevitable imperfections and, even with the improvements enabled by the Breguet overcoil, performance could not be idealized. Today, however, modern spring production machines have enabled great advances over the vintage hand formed springs. Shapes can be more perfectly formed. Thickness can be more precisely controlled. However impressive those innovations, the use of silicium for the spring leapfrogs even the finest predecessors in the pursuit of precision.

Springs fashioned in silicium can be produced with essentially perfect shapes, on the order of below one micron. But that is just the beginning of what silicium makes possible. Pre-existing methods for fabricating metallic springs progressively roll the alloy until it is in the form of a fine wire, flatten it into a thin rectangular profile, and, finally, wind it into a coiled shape. With this kind of process, introducing variations along the length of the springs is not feasible. Silicium springs, on the other hand, are fabricated from wafers where material can be removed as desired. Thus, it becomes possible to engineer precise variations in thickness or coil spacing into the fabrication process. Movement designers using computer simulations can determine the exact characteristics of thickness and shape along portions of the spring that will optimize its performance in the movement. An easily visible example is found in Breguets Chronometrie. Its balance wheel is fitted with two silicium springs that not only are thicker at their outer attachment points, they have been fabricated to be essentially rigid for a portion of their lengths, thereby moving the flexible location to a predetermined ideal location.

Balance wheel, spring and balance bridge from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

One of the important considerations in the design of a watch movement is how the running rate will be affected as the watch barrel unwinds over time. The torque delivered by the barrel is, of course, at its maximum when fully wound and drops as it unwinds, as for example after 24 hours, 48 hours or more, depending on the movement. This drop can change the running rate. The term isochronism is used by watchmakers to express this aspect of performance. Silicium helps to optimize isochronism performance in two ways. First, the shape can be idealized when it is fabricated to address isochronism. Second, and a bit of a simplification to state it this way, a spring made of silicium is less affected by the dropping of torque than pre-existing metallic alloys.

Lightness is another prized property of silicium. To understand how this improves the performance of the spring, a brief tutorial on one of watchmakings challenges. In an idealized world, a mechanical watchs spring would be perfectly centered on its central axis and remain so as it breathes inward and outward. This would place its center of gravity upon the axis. Unfortunately, that idealized vision cant be attained, so that the center of gravity of the spring will inevitably be displaced somewhat from the center since, after all, it must be attached to the balance staff. This causes what watchmakers term the Grossmann effect, which is used to describe errors which result from changes in vertical position. Because the center of gravity of the spring is displaced from the center, depending upon the position of the watch, the force of gravity creates a torque which, acting upon the spring, will have an effect on the frequency of the balance wheels swing; in some positions adding to it, in others subtracting. Naturally, this changes the running rate of the watch. Because silicium is lighter than pre-existing metallic springs, this Grossmann effect is diminished.

One of the enemies of traditional metallic springs is magnetism. When exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field, there is a risk that sections of metallic springs can become magnetized. When this happens, these miniature magnets in the coils can either attract or repel each other. This changes the characteristics of the spring which, in turn, changes the running rate of the timepiece. Indeed, responding to this risk, it became common throughout the industry to equip watches, principally in the diving arena, with a soft iron inner case to shield the spring from magnetism. The drawbacks of this approach were many as it made the watches both thicker and heavier and essentially prevented incorporation of a clear case back. As it is naturally amagnetic, silicium is not subject to this risk of being magnetized and renders unnecessary older shielding methods while at the same time protecting from magnetism to an equivalent degree. As well, for Breguet there is a further benefit from the amagnetic properties of silicium, as it has enabled beneficial uses of magnets within the heart of its movements without risk to the running rate. Two examples: the Chronometrie that features magnetic pivots for the balance wheels staff and the magnetic regulator for the Musicale. Both of these inventions have been patented.

Silicon lever from the calibre 777Q, Ref. 5177.  Breguet

Not to be overlooked are the effects of age on the characteristics of springs. Over time, with traditional spring ma- terials one may witness changes in stiffness which may negatively manifest itself in both the running rate and isochronism. In contrast, silicium remains stable and is not subject to metal fatigue as the watch ages.

The list of positive attributes is long and thermal compensation also merits a prominent place. It was discovered that silicium oxide coated onto the hairspring not only minimizes the effects of temperature changes to a degree, for example, well below the Swiss chronometer COSC standards, but as well allowed Breguets movement designers to tailor the compensation to match the particular characteristics of the material used for the movements balance wheel. This is important as, according to the movement, Breguet uses both Glucydur and titanium for its balance wheels which have different thermal properties.

All of these attributes represent major advances in watchmaking which has led Breguet to adopt silicium for the springs in nearly all of its movements. In certain movements, Breguet has used silicium for other components central to timekeeping. In the Type XXII, in addition to the spring, both the lever and the escape wheel are in silicium. The Type XXII was Breguets first timepiece built to run at a frequency of 10 Hz or 72,000 beats per hour. With the watchmaking norm falling between 2.5 and 4 Hz, the movement in the Type XXII broke new ground both for mechanical movements in general and chronographs in particular. Two properties of silicium recommended themselves for the lever and escape wheel: lightness and improved frictional properties (recall the painstaking drilling of holes two hundred years ago to battle friction). Lightness not only reduces the energy consumption of the movement, vital if one wants to achieve high frequencies, but, related, it also contributes to lower inertia of the components, important when they are oscillating so rapidly.

The silicon lever from the Type XXII, Ref. 3880.  Breguet

The Type XXII is not the only Breguet timepiece with silicium components beyond the balance spring. The Chronometrie has been outfitted with a silicium escape wheel whose lightened form allowed the movement to achieve its 10 Hz frequency. References 5177 and 5837 all have silicium escape wheels and levers.

It is not an overstatement to say that for movement designers, watchmakers, watch connoisseurs and, of course, every owner of a timepiece fitted with silicium components, silicium represents no less than a major advance in the art. The full range of its desirable physical properties justifies placing it amongst the ranks of the most important watchmaking innovations in history.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 59F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 51F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed Cairos support for efforts to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis in a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday.

In an official statement, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from Conte.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypts support for a political settlement in Libya under the countrys position on the unity of Libyan territory, support for its national institutions, and respect for the will of its people.

This will contribute to the return of stability and security in the Middle East, the statement added.

They also exchanged viewpoints on a number of regional issues of common interest, as well as on bilateral ties.

Conte affirmed his keenness to boost bilateral cooperation with Egypt in various fields as part of fruitful cooperation witnessed by the two countries in the past years.

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Government says all schools will open this week, including those in areas affected by Cyclone Idai.





indications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all. There are alsoindications of high mutual understanding between school authorities and parents on fees payment modalities that do not inconvenience both parties. The beginning of the second term comes on the back of information that Government, school authorities and parents are in agreement that the value of school fees has been eroded by the current wave of price increases, but a workable solution should be devised to benefit all.





Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education secretary Dr Tumisang Thabela told The Sunday Mail that schools had indicated readiness to open this Tuesday.





She added that some schools, especially in Chimanimani and Chipinge, affected by Cyclone Idai, were still being refurbished, but that would not prejudice learners from taking lessons as makeshift structures were being put in place.





We have not received any complaints, so far, and we are able to say that schools are ready for opening, she said.





On the issue of schools seeking an increase in fees Dr Thabela said her office had not received any applications to that effect adding that the process does not entail schools dealing direct with her office.





She, however, said she was aware that some schools had made such applications which were now being reviewed by provincial offices, as per procedure.





What I am aware of is that issues of school fees increase are still at provincial levels and we have not yet received any application, but we are aware that some schools, especially boarding, have made applications, she said.





But generally schools will open and we are working on ensuring that also those in Chimanimani and Chipinge open this week.





Indications from Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Manicaland Province, are that all schools will conduct normal lessons this week.





Repairs for damaged schools that started early last month are currently underway with a number of alternative learning spaces being created.





The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also chipped in with tents and learning materials.





To date treasury has availed $4 million towards the rehabilitation of at least 61 schools whose infrastructure was destroyed by the heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds.





Manicaland provincial education director Mr Edward Shumba said efforts were being made to ensure that all schools in Manicaland open this week to avoid losing more time, particularly for examination classes.





Most of the schools that were affected are in Chimanimani and these will be opening. Chipinge and Buhera also have schools that were affected, but the damage was minimal, he said.





Repairs are in progress at various schools and in other areas where repairs have not started, tents have been provided by United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund.





We are also making sure that we have enough learning materials and teachers.





School fees review, unform prices





The Sunday Mail also understands that most school development committees had submitted applications for an upward review of school fees to the Zimbabwe Schools Development Associations and Committees (ZSDA/C).





ZSDA/C President Claudio Mutasa said there were opposed to schools charging fees in foreign currency.





We understand that most Government schools do not have foreign accounts, therefore, parents should only pay fees in the local currency or RTGS through the banks,





Meanwhile, a snap survey by The Sunday Mail in major shops selling school-wear showed that most prices were pegged in United States Dollar or the obtaining parallel market rate in bond notes or RTGS.





Latest RTGS prices in shops such Nargaji and Bays pegged a pair of trousers between $40 and $60 while a blazer was between $100 and $200, shirt ($26), jersey ($50), a pair of stocks ($10) and a tie ($25).





Informal traders were selling a blazer at $110, jersey $40, trousers $25, shirt, $25, tie $25 and a winter set of gloves, scarf and a woollen hat was pegged at $30.





Before the price increase last year second term, a pair of school shoes was priced at $16 while a satchel was pegged at $11, with a shirt and short selling for $14, dress ($15), trousers ($20) blazer ($30), hat ($6), pair of socks ($3) and a tie $5. Sunday Mail








Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High -9F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low -9F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday that a renewed state of emergency comes under the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism, nearly a week after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi extended the measure, in place since 2017, for a further three months.

In an address on Saturday to the House of Representatives to justify the renewed state of emergency, Madbouly said that implementing the state of emergency is part of supporting state institutions in completing developmental plans nationwide.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

He said that, due to such efforts, the country has achieved major steps in accomplishing the stability required for development.

According to Madbouly, the country has achieved the aspired balance between protection of freedoms and the demands of national security, to complete the armed forces' efforts in combating terrorism.

Following the premier's address, the speaker Ali Abdel-Aal has referred the government's address to the House for review, with a vote expected on the state of emergency in its evening session.

The state of emergency was implemented in April 2017 following deadly twin attacks on two churches which killed dozens. It has been renewed ever since.

Last week, El-Sisi issued a further three-month renewal, starting on 25 April.

The decision allows security forces to take [measures] necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country, read a presidential decree published in the official state gazette last week.

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Footprint From left, Ben Potter (dissertation chair), Charles Holmes (field adviser) and Gerad Smith (instructor).

A team of archaeologists with the University of Alaska has discovered a footprint at a site in the Interior, providing evidence of prehistoric family life in the area.

This is the only human footprint that has been found in the North American subarctic anywhere, said Gerad Smith, a doctoral candidate working at the site, and that includes Canada also.

Smith and the other researchers recently published the finding in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

He is the instructor of record at Swan Point, an archaeological site near Big Delta. Reaching the area requires passing through a bog, but once there, he said, its a wide space from which the Alaska Range is visible to the south.

Smith has been working at Swan Point for a few years in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Anchorage.

Swan Point was discovered by Charles Holmes, an affiliate research professor with UAF, in the early 1990s. Initially, he and the students who discovered it found lithic artifacts, or stone tools, indicating human activity.

The site has a very long record of human activity there starting 14,000 years ago, Holmes said. So we can see a lot of the environmental changes that took place over that time. And we can see how the people changed their toolkit in adapting to the changes.

Smith has noticed that finding the footprint seems to get a different response than when they discover tools or bone scraps.

Theres something kind of cool about footprints that strikes us in a very personal way, he said.

In 2005, according to Smith, three surface features in the area were tested to see if it had a cultural origin, and it looked like it might have been an ancient house.

Smith first came to Swan Point in 2012, when Holmes was looking for graduate students to help with work in the area.

We planned out and organized a return in 2017 and 2018 to excavate that site, he said.

Discovery

The footprint was discovered in 2017 by a UAA student, Steve Schoenhair, by carefully plotting out the area with the house and digging through the layers of sediment.

When they initially saw it, Smith said he knew we were really going to have to work hard to prove it was a human footprint.

Holmes, who was at the site upon the discovery, agreed.

I think its very interesting, he said. At the time I was a bit skeptical on how we were going to really show that it was a real human footprint.

However, given the measurements Smith took, Holmes said people believe the footprint is that of a human.

Using carbon dating, Smith and the team concluded the footprint was left around 1,840 years ago. By measuring the ball of the foot, then comparing it to the length, they were able to create a biological profile of the walker, who they believe would have been a pre-teen child.

Statistically speaking, when footprints are this small, they tend to match children that are about 8 to 11 years old, Smith said.

Smith said he also conducted a comprehensive literature review to confirm this is the only print that has been found thus far in the North American subarctic. The metrics of the print, according to Smith, match tracks left in Jaguar Caves, Tennessee, where prehistoric adolescents are also believed to have visited.

The data gathered on the print has allowed the team to date it and determine the approximate age of the person who left it, although some things remain a mystery.

I always wonder why theres just one of something, Holmes said, laughing. One single footprint, OK. Theres a story behind that, I suppose.

The team was able to create a model of the footprint using a process known as photogrammetry. Using multiple pictures taken around the entirety of the print, Ted Parsons, a graduate student with UAA, was able to make a digital model. Smith also plastered the print to create a cast of it.

The big picture

The whole excavation is part of a large project in the Shaw Creek area, looking at how humans in prehistoric times adapted to the environment and, vice versa, how human presence impacted the environment.

What were doing now is weve been working on a long-term project looking at a particular region around the Shaw Creek area, and this is where Swan Point is located, Holmes said.

Joshua Reuther, curator of archaeology at the UAF Museum of the North, has been working with Holmes and the other archaeologists on the project. Reuther initially worked in the area under Holmes as a geology student. Now he is a co-principal investigator.

My role has always been trying to establish what the environment was like and the landscape was like over that 14,000 years that humans have been out there using plant and animal resources, Reuther said.

He explained some of the research in Swan Point has involved taking lake cores, examining the sediment in the area and some other geological work determining what the landscape looked like at different times.

One interesting aspect of the changing environment Reuther notes is the change in staple foods. Moose and salmon, for example, are considered staple Interior foods, he said, but going back a few thousand years bison and elk would have been abundant in the area.

The presence of these animals, Reuther noted, can explain the human presence.

So if you think about an archaeology site you can have several periods where people occupy the same landform, he said. And they can be doing the same thing like just hunting, or they could be hunting and camping or they could set up a home there.

The prehistoric home with the footprint inside of it is just one part of the whole area, which continues to be explored and excavated.

Smith was able to remove the footprint from the site and preserve it. It is in Anchorage but will be brought back to the Interior.

Eventually, when we are done with this project, it will be curated at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, he said.

Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7572.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is considering an initial public offering of its $100 billion Vision Fund, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The fund was set up in 2017 and has become the world's largest technology investment fund. Its investments include ride-hailing pioneer Uber, chip designer ARM and shared workspace firm WeWork.

The company has publicly stated it plans to set up a second investment fund. The senior banking source said SoftBank was now talking to banks about helping it raise money, confirming an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

SoftBank has spoken to half a dozen banks over the last month about a potential listing of the Vision Fund but has yet to start a formal process, the source said, adding he was not expecting such a process in the near term.

SoftBank is also in talks with Oman for an investment in the fund, which has raised nearly all of its funding so far from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, according to the WSJ report.
The government is considering granting amnesty to criminals in honor of new Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October, sources close to the matter said Friday.

If realized, it will be the country's first pardon since 1993, when then Crown Prince Naruhito married Crown Princess Masako. But only a certain number of petty offenders may be given the pardon, as the government is concerned that a large-scale amnesty can trigger criticism from the public, including crime victims.

Amnesty has usually been granted upon national events as well as celebrations and funerals regarding the imperial family. After Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, died in 1989, more than 10 million people were given amnesty. The enthronement of former Emperor Akihito in 1990 led to pardons of some 2.5 million.

The government did not issue pardons in the wake of Emperor Akihito's abdication on Tuesday, the first by a Japanese monarch in 202 years.
Related Egyptian court sentences Salafist figure Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to 5 years in prison

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld on Saturday a five-year prison sentence former presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is serving for organising a violent rally at a Cairo court in 2012.

The court also upheld the five-year terms of five other defendants convicted in the case, rejecting the appeal presented by them and the Salafist leader.

In 2017, a Cairo court sentenced Abu Ismail and others to prison terms following convictions for inciting the besieging of a Nasr City court in December 2012, the use of violence against prosecutors, and preventing state employees from carrying out their duties.

The events took place when Abu Ismail, a popular figure among Salafists, marshalled his supporters to surround a court where some of his followers were being tried.

He is currently serving a seven-year term, which was upheld in 2014, for forging the documents he submitted to run as a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

The once-popular TV preacher and prominent supporter of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood was convicted of forging documents to conceal his late mother's US citizenship, an action that led to him being disqualified from the race.

He has also been given two separate one-year jail terms for insulting the judiciary and contempt of court, offences which occurred during his trials.

Authorities arrested Abu Ismail days after the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

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The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning...

The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of the State, of syphoning state funds in his last days in office through an alleged contract spree to his friends and family members.





Akeem Olatunji, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, made the accusation in an interview with the New Telegraph.





He also corroborated the allegation of Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Governor-elect, that Ajimobi has awarded a N30billion contract to create hiccups for the incoming administration





He said: We dont make allegations when there are no evidence. In actual fact, we know that government is a continuum and we are not trying to stampede the incumbent government. Nevertheless, due process has to be followed in whatever is done. For the governor to just wake up one day and start to dash out contracts to cronies, is more or less a way of syphoning the funds of the state. About 33 excavators were recently bought with almost N10bn for local governments.





Aside from this, a situation whereby within two months, more than N50billion projects were awarded by the government calls for worry. Has the government completed the projects on ground? When workers and retirees are being owed, where did they get the funds to execute those projects? If it were an ongoing project that funds were released for, no one will suspect any foul play.




Egypts parliament on Saturday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency, in place for two years, for a further three months.

The House of Representatives held an extraordinary session on Saturday to discuss President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decree (208/2019) last week to extend the state of emergency, beginning on 25 April and concluding on 24 July.

The parliament vote was preceded by an address made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who said that the renewal was part of the armed forces' efforts to fight terrorism.

The vote on the decree was passed by a comfortable majority.

According to parliament's internal bylaws (Article 131), the House must be informed by the prime minister within one week of the date of declaring a state of emergency, and the decree must be supported by justifications for the extension.

Madbouly praised efforts exerted by security forces in fighting crime and trans-national terrorism, which he described as dangerous to national security.

According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.

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The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his fai...





The Presidency has denied claims that President Buhari will be extending his 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom due to his failing health.





There were reports that President Buhari is undergoing medical treatment in the United Kingdom and may not return to the country today as was originally planned.

Reacting to the report, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a chat with Punch, said the claim was totally rubbish, absolutely shameful and disgraceful.




The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within t...

The golden silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on who would make it back to his cabinet for second term is becoming an issue within the ruling All Progressives Congress and governors elected on its platform.









Recall that the president will be officially sworn-in for a second term on May 29.









It was gathered that President Buhari deliberately kept members of his kitchen cabinet, close associates and outgoing ministers in suspense with regard to those who will be in his new team.









The President has opted to go solo in choosing the new set of ministers. Some members of his inner power circle, popularly called The Cabal, who went to London during the week to see him, were denied access on the basis of Buharis strict instructions. Only a minister (name withheld) was allowed to meet with the President in London. It was, however, not clear whether the minister took some documents to him.

At press time, the President had not demanded any ministerial nomination list from either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the governors elected on the platform of the party. Many of the outgoing ministers have been running to the governors of their states, asking that some words be put in for their return to the cabinet. The President himself was said to have expressed surprise at the high number of names dropped in some states for ministerial slots.





According to findings, the President has adopted a tough approach to the formation of his cabinet unlike in 2015 when some members of his kitchen cabinet hijacked the privilege of assisting him to source for good hands to impose their friends/allies on him. It was learnt that all those who wanted to influence appointments into the cabinet were shut out in London. A top source said: It seems Buhari has realised that there are some deadwoods in his cabinet which he ought to offload. He is keeping the choice of new ministers to himself alone.









Even those who should know have been fenced off. His London itinerary was not only kept to himself until the last minutes, he did not allow close associates, strategists and members of his kitchen cabinet to have access to him in London. Those who went to London came back empty handed. Only an outgoing minister was allowed access to the President. And the minister was still in London as at 7pm today (yesterday).









We do not know what informed this sudden change of attitude, but it seems the President is really determined to live up to his promise to leave sustainable legacies in his second term by looking for the right people to serve in his cabinet.









Investigation also revealed that the President has not demanded any ministerial nomination list either from the APC or the governors in the ruling party. A reliable government source said: You can crosscheck from the party; Buhari has not asked for any input from APC. Does he really need it? Are you saying he does not know what to do unlike 2015? He did not request for nominations from the APC governors not to talk of receiving any list from them.









Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us. Some governors attempted to gauge his mood but he was noncommittal. He only kept quiet and allowed the governors to do the talking. Both the party and the governors have also respected themselves by not putting pressure on him. A governor said: The truth is that we have not been asked by the President to make recommendations on ministerial nominees. We have tried to be careful too because he does not choose our commissioners for us.









I can say that we are really in the dark like other Nigerians. Ironically, some of the outgoing ministers run to governors to influence their retention by the President. We cannot say whether or not the President will consult us. Section 147(1-3) directs the President to appoint at least 36 ministers unless the constitution is amended. The section reads: There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.









Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution: Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.









Meanwhile, the presidency last night dismissed the rumour of possible extension of the Presidents 10-day vacation on health grounds. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, simply said: This story on the Presidents return is absolutely shameful and disgraceful. Disgusting.
Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x w...





Some protesters on Saturday besieged the federal capital territory (FCT) police command over the alleged rape of some commercial s3x workers by some policemen.





In April, a joint task force raided Caramelo, a popular strip club, in the nations capital, and arrested some strippers.





The task force also arrested suspected sex workers in different parts of Abuja. Some of those arrested were allegedly raped by police officers.





In response to the allegation, the FCT police command said it had set up a high power team to probe the allegations.





But the protesters stormed the command on Saturday, demanding that the culprits be punished publicly.





They also held placards which read Sex for bail is rape, To be a woman is not a crime, You should protect us not harm us, among others.





The protesters

Addressing reporters in front of the command, Rebecca Umar, leader of the protest, said police are supposed to defend women and not rape them.





We are here to tell the police that you. The police is supposed to be our friend. We are women, we should be free to wear whatever we want to wear without being arrested, Umar said.





It is not a crime to be a woman. We will not be silent, we are here because of the recent happenings at Utako (Caramelo) and other places.





The police is supposed to defend us, not rape us.





Also speaking, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, said it is the right of a woman to dress the way she wants.





I have the right to wear a hijab and another has the right for mini and not wear anything. It is our fundamental human rights, you do not a right to label a woman a prostitute because of the way she is dressed, Yesufu said.





The Nigerian police, you are all out here with your guns, why are you not on Abuja-Kaduna road?





S. Umar, deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations, FCT command, assured the protesters that the officers found wanting will be punished.




The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constitu...

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has highlighted qualities President Muhammadu Buhari should look out for in constituting his next cabinet.





Afeniferes spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, in a chat on Saturday, said Buharis next ministers should be picked on the basis of what they can deliver.





He stated that Buharis next set of ministers should be those who understand the situation of Nigeria.





According to Odumakin: Really, I cant tell the type of men or women Buhari should pick on his next cabinet but those to be picked should be about what contributions and agenda they want to implement as ministers.





If we are still down with this Miyetti Allah and cattle route thing and you pick the best of Havard and Oxford, we are going nowhere.





Unless we are ready to start afresh to put Nigeria on the path of development and productivity and if the country is still about Miyetti Allah and cattle routes, no matter who you pick, the country will go under.





Odumakin also pointed out how to resolve the issue of insecurity across the country.





He said: We cant dissolve this issue of insecurity by this fire fighting brigade approach we are doing now. Where the president is in London on a private visit the IGP is running up and down, in Birnin Kebbi today and before he gets to Kaduna he has forgotten what happened in Birnin Kebbi. With all these, we are going nowhere.





There is no way you can police Nigeria from Abuja and still get results. First of all, you must delegate power, allow every part of the country to police their land, crime is cultural.





You cant pick a policeman in Oyo State now to go and fight bandits in Zamfara even if he sits among bandits he may not understand what they are saying, he does not know the route around in the area as such effect police should be at the state units.





Secondly, we must go back to productivity, who ever knew there was a large deposit of gold in Zamfara State that they are fighting over now. We must make every part of Nigeria a reproductive centre, move away from oil and gas. When this is done millions of young people will go back to work.




Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, ...

Controversial Ghanaian preacher, Bishop Daniel Obinim has claimed that renowned men of God such as TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, Pastor Chris, Alph Lukau and Prophet Bushiri were his children in the spiritual realm.





Obinim said the acclaimed men of God were not his equals when it comes to spiritual affairs.





I respect Pastor Chris, TB Joshua, Benny Hinn, and the other prophets but in terms of the Spiritual aspect, they are my children.





They are my children. Go and ask them, they know me spiritually. Talking about spiritual ways, they know me.





Benny Hinn is a healer, he can heal you; Benny Hinn is a preacher, he can preach, and deliver you but in terms of spiritual ways, hes nowhere close to me.





He went on to explain that when he places a curse on someone, no one can lift it.





He said TB Joshua or Benny Hinn cannot reverse a curse he has placed because they are nothing compared to him.





He said he can attest to TB Joshuas teaching, prophetic and healing prowess, however, when it comes to spiritual affairs, the Nigerian prophet is a toddler.





Obinim disclosed that he is capable of doing anything including orchestrating a car accident that can terminate the life of his enemy.




Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-hu...





Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat. Following the Board of Trustee (BoT) of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threat to sanction Tonto Dikeh over her face-off with ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill, the actress has condemned the threat.





In her reaction, Tonto Dikeh took to her Instagram page to condemn the Chairmans threat, calling him a stupid fool.

I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA #THANKS

According to her: I hope this fastens your sanction from your board!! Stupid fool you have not sanctioned the actresses going to Dubai to open their mouths for old men to poop inside or the ones pushing drugs!! Oga shove it up your Ass nigga .If only there was an EMOJI FOR WAKA



Tontos Dikehs utterances. Chairman of the AGN BoT, Prince Ifeanyi Dikeh in an interview condemnedTontos Dikehs utterances.





According to him: Tonto Dike is exhibiting bad behaviour that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue. No ones marriage is perfect.





Issues like that are private. It is very unbecoming of her to portray us in bad light. There are so many actors who have issues with their marriages without getting the public involved. Her actions does not speak well of the industry.









We are not interested in her private matters; rather we are concerned about her attitude which is rubbing off negatively on other actresses.









Actions like this portray the industry as having unserious ladies. That is why men are scared of marrying actresses.





Thank God that we have good examples in the industry. If she is looking for sensation, she should look for something else to use.




The speaker of Egypts parliament Ali Abdel-Aal held a meeting with the head of the World Bank Group David Malpass in Cairo on Saturday.

"The speaker praised the current distinguished relationship between Egypt and the World Bank, and the efforts of Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr for its role in pushing cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank to a very prestigious level," said a statement from Abdel-Aals office.

The statement said the speaker had gave Malpass an overview of the performance of Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  in terms of its make-up and roles.

"The House comprises 596 MPs representing different political forces, not to mention that it includes the biggest number of female deputies (90 women) and Copts (39 MPs) and nine representing the physically challenged and expatriates," said the speaker, adding that "parliament began its first legislative season on 10 January 2016, and following the two revolutions of 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013."

"This parliament came at a very critical stage of Egypt's history, shouldering the burden of issuing new laws translating economic and fiscal reforms into facts on the ground, a fact which led to a marked improvement in economic growth rates," said Abdel-Aal.

Abdel-Aal also spoke about the economic reform laws that have been passed since 2016.

"We cooperated with the government to issue laws on investment, bankruptcy procedures, bidding and tender procedures, the stock market, and legislation on companies and the one-person company," he said, arguing that "all of these laws send a very positive message to foreign investors, encouraging them to inject more investments into the local market."

"These laws help secure high levels of transparency, abolish all forms of discrimination in the labour market, give priority to micro and small-scale enterprises, and help young people tap the market and set up their own projects."

Abdel-Aal indicated that parliament is currently working on laws that aim to achieve "financial inclusion" and is keen that all of these laws observe social dimensions.

Malpass, who took over as president of the World Bank Group on 5 April and is on a two-day visit to Egypt, said that the two laws issued in Egypt on investment and regulating industrial licences are the most important investment-friendly laws passed in recent years.

"Egypt decided to meet the challenge of modernising its economy, and as a result the World Bank will be always keen to support projects in Egypt," said Malpass according to the statement, adding that "Egypt has a lot of good opportunities in the coming period to achieve success in the area of digital economy."

"In addition to promising opportunities here in the two areas of industry and agriculture, we are also working to upgrade education in Egypt," said Malpass, praising the policy of encouraging a number of high-profile international universities to set up branches in Egypt.

He also praised the Investor Service Center at the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation which he visited earlier on Saturday, which aims to facilitate the setting up of companies and projects in the country.

Malpass also stressed the importance of transparency and good governance in attracting investment to Egypt.

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Egypt is following with deep concern Turkeys announced intention to start drilling operations in Cyprus exclusive economic zone, off its western coast, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement warned that any unilateral action would have implications for security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. It also stressed that any action by countries in the region must abide by international law and its provisions.

The 2013 maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Cyprus, their coordination and closeness have raised concerns in Turkey in recent years, in light of Ankaras tense relations with both Cairo and Nicosia.

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Hong Kong: HK economy at a crossroads

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said Hong Kongs economy is at a crossroads and the Government will spare no effort to reinforce the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme today, Mr Yau said the first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.5% year-on-year suggested there are a lot of uncertainties ahead.

I think the first quarter figures revealed that we are at the crossroad, i.e. while sentiment towards the general economic situation has slightly improved with easing of tension between the US and China over the trade dispute, export figures remain negative, we are still in the negative trend.

He said economic performance depends on whether the Mainland and the US will come to an agreement on the trade dispute.

Even if there is an agreement, whether that would bring a sharp return of economic performance would depend on (handling of) tariffs and on whether more fundamental issues between China and the US are being resolved by further trade negotiations or agreements.

Hong Kong is currently suffering from the impact of the trade dispute, but it is also carefully looking at the way forward, Mr Yau said.

For Hong Kong in particular, I think there should be no sparing of efforts in reaching out and going out and reinforcing the need for a more liberalising trade community globally.

On tourism, Mr Yau said visitor arrivals might impact the livelihood of the community.

There is room for Hong Kong to improve its capacity for receiving tourists, he added.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan armed forces of Khalifa Haftar in the southern city of Sebha, the head of the local municipality said, without identifying the assailants.

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A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Imad Naseer, 22, was killed by a strike in northern Gaza, the ministry said, without saying if he was affiliated to any militant group.

Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Saturday, with the army retaliating with air strikes and tank fire.

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Islamic State militants and Chadian opposition fighters were responsible for an attack on the forces of eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in the southern Libyan city of Sebha, a military source said on Saturday.

Eight soldiers were killed earlier on Saturday in the attack on a training camp in Sebha, the head of the local municipality said.

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Ashton Kutcher is expected to testify against Michael Gargiulo  the alleged "Hollywood Ripper" serial killer who is currently on trial for the 2001 murder of Kutcher's then-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Kutcher is one of nearly 250 potential witnesses for a case against Gargiulo, which is related to an alleged, 15-year-long killing spree that left two California women and an Illinois teenager dead. According to CNN, Gargiulo was finally apprehended in 2008 after he accidentally cut himself during an alleged attack against a fourth victim, Michelle Murphy.

However, Kutcher's testimony will reportedly be related to the death of 22-year-old fashion student and stripper Ashley Ellerin, whose body was found by a friend the day after Kutcher stopped by her Hollywood Hills home to pick her up a Grammys afterparty. LA Weekly notes that Kutcher's testimony will help establish the time of Ellerin's murder, as she apparently never answered the door when he came by. Kutcher also allegedly spotted what he assumed was spilled red wine on her carpet when he peeked through her back window.

Gargiulo reportedly worked as an air-conditioning repairman who lived next door to each of his purported victims. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder in California court, though he faces a separate charge in Illinois for the third alleged murder.

Read all the details, here.
Famed British designer Vivienne Westwood has teamed up with the cult shoe brand, Buffalo London, to create two new shoes with platforms standing miles above cool. Combining iconic aspects of both labels in the hybridized styles, the shoes reimagine brand history like the first Classics platform sneaker released in 1995, and its subsequent Hightower Platform, that's now merged with Westwood's Pirate boot to create the Pirate Boot Platform. The boot comes over the knee in soft leather printed in red and black, then fastens to the top with tan buckled straps.

Debuting in the Fall 1981 Vivienne Westwood show, the Pirate Boot was part of an entirely unisex collection with the alternative, layered ragamuffin look of pirates dressed in swashbuckling clothes. The look has endured throughout the years and is now back for a remix with Buffalo London's timely collaboration.

The other style in the latest drop is The Connected Sandal Platform, which is pale tan leather and with ankles straps on a black platform inspired by Westwood's original Everything is Connected Sandal from the spring 2014 collection.

Get into the shoes that are stacking up on style in the new campaign, shot by Jurgen Teller.
The NPP Communication Director, the Honourable Yaw Buaben Asamoah, is absolutely right for calling on the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu to keep Ghanaians updated on the progress of the corruption fight.



The appointment of Mr Martin Amidu to the position of the Special Prosecutor with a mandate of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from greedy and corrupt public officials, is, arguably, the most important appointment by President Akufo-Addo so far.



Ghana, so to speak, has been losing billions of dollars since the adoption of the Fourth Republican Constitution to the remorseless nation wreckers who take delight in swindling the state to the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians, and yet the methods employed by the successive governments in fighting the apparent canker have been extremely disappointing.



Despite the pernicious effects of corruption, the successive governments and their Attorney Generals have woefully failed to cooperate with other interested stakeholders to investigate, prosecute and retrieve the stolen monies from the stubbornly impenitent nation wreckers.



It is for this reason that some of us are most grateful to President Akufo-Addo for showing seriousness and commitment towards the fight against corruption by establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor with the responsibility of investigating, prosecuting and retrieving stolen monies from the corrupt public officials.



Notwithstanding the seeming inaction for well over a year now, some of us are of the firm conviction that the introduction of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is a pragmatic way of tackling the rampant bribery and corruption cases head-on.



Indeed, it would be somewhat refreshing if the justice system descends heavily not only on the goat, cassava and plantain thieves but as well as the hardened criminals who hide behind narrow political colourations.



It was against such backdrop that some of us were extremely livid over the vineyard news which spiralled through the airwaves some time ago that Mr Amidu had not been resourced adequately by the government and therefore planning to quit the job.



But lo and behold, the Finance Minister announced in his 2019 budget presentation that President Akufo-Addo has decided to give a staggering GH180 million to Martin Amidu to fight the canker of corruption.



I have always insisted that despite the widely held notion that Ghanaian politics is full of inveterate propagandists and manipulating geezers, we have many selfless, morally upright and forward-thinking politicians like Mr Martin Amidu in our midst.



In fact, I hold a firm conviction that a fantastically corrupt public official is no less a human rights abuser than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.



This is because while the enigmatic Adolf Hitler went into a conniption-fit and barbarically exterminated innocent people with mephitic chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on suffocating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.



Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up facing untold economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early graves.



In Ghana, it would appear that political criminals have the licence to steal.



Dearest reader, if that was not the case, how come the offending politicians and their accomplices often go scot free?



Elsewhere, though, the laws and regulations are strictly enforced, and as such, the vast majority of the citizens and denizens prefer the observance to the stringent fines and the harsh punishments.



Corruption, as a matter of fact, impedes economic development by distorting markets and collapsing private sector integrity.



Corruption also strikes at the heart of democracy by corroding rule of law, democratic institutions and public trust in leaders. For the poor, women and minorities, corruption means even less access to jobs, justice or any fair and equal opportunity (UNDP 2016).



There is no denying the fact that the revoltingly cyclical corrupt practices amongst the political elites have resulted in underdevelopment, excessive public spending, less efficient tax system, needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, heightened capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities.



The fact though, remains that Ghanas transgressed and incompliant politicians and other public officials often get away with murder.



If the wanton bribery and corruption, dubious judgment debt payments, stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation?



The all-important question discerning Ghanaians should be asking is: will the day come when Ghanas political criminals find they have nowhere to hide?



We should, therefore, not expect Mr Martin Amidu to dampen our excitement by leniently asking the suspects to return their loots without the essential prosecutions.



Obviously, the benign and somewhat lenient approach would not circumscribe the widespread sleazes and corruption which have been retrogressing Ghanas advancement thus far.



How on earth would individuals turn away from their crimes if the only available punishment for stealing the public funds is a mere plea to return the loot?



Let us be honest, much as the paradox of exposure is somewhat relevant in the fight against the canker of corruption, it is not an isolated tool, it goes hand in hand with prevention and deterrence.



Well, if we are ever prepared to beseech the fantastically corrupt public officials to only return their loots without any further punishment, we might as well treat the goat, plantain and cassava thieves same. For after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.



It is absolutely true that reported cases of political offenders misdeeds often leave concerned Ghanaians with a glint of bewilderment.



However, when it comes to the prosecutions of the political criminals, we are often made to believe: the wheels of justice turn slowly, but it will grind exceedingly fine.



Yet we can disappointingly recall a lot of unresolved alleged criminal cases involving political personalities and other public servants.



Where is the fairness when the political thieves could dip their hands into the national purse as if tomorrow will never come and go scot free, while the goat, cassava and plantain thieves are incarcerated?



I will dare state that there is no deterrence for political criminals. For, if that was not the case, how come political criminals more often than not, go through the justice net, despite unobjectionable evidence of wrong doing?



I bet, the democratic country called Ghana, may not see any meaningful development, so long as we have public officials who are extremely greedy, corrupt, and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians, and would often go scot free.



Going forward, we must not and cannot use the justice net to catch only the mobile phone, plantain, goat and cassava thieves, but we must rather spread the justice net wide to cover the hard criminals who are often disguised in political attire.



Let us humbly remind the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu that the right antidote to curbing the unbridled sleazes and corruption is through stiff punishments, including the retrieval of all stolen monies, sale of properties and harsh prison sentences.









Source: K. Badu/ [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The United Nations on Thursday asked for restraint in Benin after controversial elections led to violence.



"We are closely following the unfolding developments in the Republic of Benin in the aftermath of the April 28 legislative elections, in which opposition parties were barred from participating," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.



"We note with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, resulting in the destruction of property and high-handed response from the security forces," he said.



The United Nations called on all Beninese stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and to seek solutions to their differences through dialogue, he told a regular press briefing.



The secretary-general's special representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas is in contact with colleagues in the Economic Community of West African States, as well as with Beninese stakeholders, with a view to encouraging a consensual and peaceful solution to the situation and preserving peace and stability for the country, he said.

Source: GNA









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Four Nigerian rescue workers kidnapped by gunmen in the southern part of the country were released unhurt after several days in captivity, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday.



An official of NEMA told Xinhua in Abuja that the four victims, who work for the agency, were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment after they were freed on Thursday.



The rescue workers were kidnapped on April 23 by gunmen in Ahoada area of the southern state of Rivers. They were working on the National Food Security Intervention program in the state when the gunmen struck.



"Though it's a security issue, the NEMA, as a responsive agency of government, did all it could to make sure that they were released unhurt," said Vincent Owan, a director of risk management at the agency.



After an initial medical examination, doctors said that the workers were physically weak but basically in good health condition.



Rivers state is located in the oil-rich but troubled Niger Delta where there have been many incidents of kidnapping.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court has granted an application by lawyers for De Eye Group, the company at the centre of a recent documentary by Multimedia Group journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure to serve him by substitution.



After a ten-day period, it is deemed he has seen the summons and therefore duly served.



The Administrative Director for the group, Nana Kegya through a press briefing encouraged his members to never be disheartened or discouraged from creating employment for the youth of Ghana, neither should they be worried of the court proceedings because they are not at fault".



He added that the core aim of the De-eye group is to coordinate the youth of Ghana into various working institutions that will help them generate income at the end of work for proper conditions of life as expected.



Nana Kegya urged every unemployed youth to visit their various centers to fill registration forms to be a member of the De-eye group who will at every time link them up to employment opportunities of their specification when the need arises.



Background



De-Eye group Limited, the company at the centre of the recent documentary by journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure has sued Multimedia group of companies and Manasseh Azure Awuni over claims made in the documentary.



In the documentary, Manasseh Azure alleged that the company was training a pro-government militia group operating from the Osu Castle, a former seat of government.



Both the government and the De-Eye group have denied the allegations, insisting that the company is a recruitment agency which is not a threat to Ghanas security.



De-Eye group in its writ indicated that the company is not a militia group as suggested in the documentary.

















Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Education Service (GES) has made minor adjustments to the 2018/2019 academic calendar, particularly for double-track schools.



This is to ensure that the SHS 1 students in Double-Track schools will complete the end of second semester together and allow schools that wish to have their SHS 1 students write the same end of semester exams flexibility to do so, a release to all regional directors of education indicated.



According to the release on Thursday, May 2, Green Track students will begin their mid-semester break on Friday, May 10 as scheduled.



This means Gold Track students will also begin their second semester on Saturday, May 11 as scheduled.



SHS 2 students will also complete their second semester on Friday, July 5 as scheduled.



The adjustment involves the reopening for Green Track students.



Instead of returning on Saturday, June 15, they are now scheduled to return on Saturday, July 6.



This is to allow them to complete the semester together with the Gold Track students on 6th September 2019.



The multiple-track system under the Free SHS Policy was introduced ahead of the 2018/2019 academic year.



It goes into its second year this September, which will mark three years into the governments flagship education policy.







Source: 3news.com









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North Korea has tested several short-range missiles, according to reports from South Korea, its neighbour.



They were reportedly fired from the Hodo peninsula in the east of the country, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. This will be the first missile launch since Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.



Last month Pyongyang said it had tested what it described as a new "tactical guided weapon". That was the first test since the Vietnam summit between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and US President Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.



Firing a short range missile would not violate North Korea's promise not to test long range or nuclear missiles, but Pyongyang appears to be growing impatient with Washington's insistence that full economic sanctions remain until Kim takes serious steps to dismantle his nuclear weapons programme, says the BBC's Laura Bicker.



"We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary" said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Methodist Church Ghana (MCG), has entreated the government to stay focused and work diligently towards achieving its vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.



Economic emancipation is a reality if we begin to set our development priorities right, the Right Reverend Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, noted.



Having chalked 62 years as an independent country, he said, the leadership and people ought to demonstrate the zeal of taking their destiny into their own hands, to ensure economic liberation.



Rt. Rev. Andam, who was addressing the 58th annual synod of the Kumasi Diocese of the MCG at Old Tafo, lauded the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration for the implementation of many policies, initiatives and interventions for the wellbeing of the people.



He explained that programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One District, One Factory and One District, One Warehouse, as well as efforts to enhance infrastructure growth and related development projects, would help to open up the economy for job and wealth creation.



Intensifying our Teaching Ministry towards Disciple Making - the Wesleyan Mission, was the theme for the synod.



Rt. Rev. Andam said it was appropriate that the leadership of the nation did something more proactive to tackle youth unemployment to reap its resultant benefit of increased economic growth.



He hinted of an on-going girls empowerment programme, being pursued by the Methodist Womens Fellowship, to equip school drop-outs with relevant employable skills.



The Methodist Bishop advised the various societies within the MCG to throw their weight behind the programme, since women played a critical role in the nations development processes.



Speaking on the theme, he urged the various societies in the Diocese to live godly and exemplary lives, as that could be a form of evangelism to bring more people to the Church.

Source: GNA









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Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.

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Mr Edmund Amarkwei Foley, a human rights activist, has urged the Government to set national targets to reduce the number of people in jail.



He noted that the Nsawam Prison, for instance, was built to house about 800 inmates, but currently had more than 2,000.



There was, therefore, the need to roll out measures to address the issue of the high prison population.



Mr Foley said the move, however, needed to go hand-in-hand with very concrete crime prevention measures, particularly within crime-prone areas.



He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra during a media workshop on decriminalising petty offences in Ghana.



The workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), was to expose media personnel to the ACHPR Principles to enhance reportage and give visibility to regional instruments that promote criminal justice reforms.



The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), under its Principles on Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Africa, defines petty offences as minor crimes for which the punishment is prescribed in law to carry a warning, community service, low-value fine or short term of imprisonment, often for failure to pay the fine.



Mr Foley said security agencies, particularly the Police, knew crime flashpoints in the country and, as such, Ghana should start using social intervention measures to get people in those communities moving away from a life of crime.



So, it is not just speedy justice to get people out but also a concerted programme alongside to prevent re-offending or offending, he added.



He said Ghanas high prison population was way above global standards and promoted significant human right violations because of a penal system that was essentially punitive.



He noted that research had shown that there were a number of petty offences for which people need not go to jail.







Source: GNA









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Former Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Enin has alleged that Politicians and chiefs are thwarting governments effort to fighting galamsey.



According to him, with the level of corruption going on in the galamsey business, it will be difficult for government to win the fight against illegal mining.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that those involved in the fight against galamsey have become corrupt such that they are being bribed with huge sums of money by the galamsey operators.



You see, you will need people with honesty and integrity who are willing to help fight galamsey.



Until these things are done, Politicians, MMDCEs security officers will make the fight against galamsey difficult, he said.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his decision to wage war on illegal mining, known as galamsey, is one he does not regret and is prepared to see through till the end.



He said he is fortified by the positive response from the many Ghanaians who believe that the move is right and until the desired results are achieved, there is no giving up.



The President noted that Ghanas mineral wealth is an important attribute of the nation and mining has been ongoing since the 15th Century, but until our time, that wealth has been exploited, but it did not prejudice the safety of our environment."



In our time, it has come to prejudice the safety of our environment. Our water bodies have been polluted, forests have been decimated because of this mad rush for gold.



And I was told that doing something about it will cost me my political career, but well, that is a choice that we have to make always in life. Whether you are going to pander to the whims of the moment or do the things that you think right.







Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Former Ghanaian leader, John Dramani Mahama, has, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, commended Ghanaian journalists for the role they play in deepening democracy in the country.



The theme for the 2019 World Press Freedom Day marked on Friday, 3 May 2019 is: Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.



Commemorating the day on Facebook, Mr Mahama, who is seeking to lead Ghana again, said: This years global theme for the World Press Freedom Day couldnt have been more appropriate. The reaction of governments to the work of journalists and the impact of inaccurate news reports by journalists are issues that have dominated journalism over the last few years.



I am in Addis Ababa today where UNESCO, the AU and the Ethiopian government have been hosting three days of activities discussing the relationship between the media and democracy.



As has been asked by UNESCO, 'How can journalism rise above emotional content and fake news during an election? What should be done to counter speeches demeaning journalists? To what extent should electoral regulations be applied to the internet?'



On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, I say ayekoo to all journalists and urge governments and security agencies to guarantee their safety in the discharge of their work.



I also wish to encourage the Ghana Journalists Association, media men and women and bloggers to consider deeply and discuss how to remain relevant to society within the framework of the 2019 theme, Media for Democracy, Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.















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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbour to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".

The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Analysts suspected the flurry of military activity by Pyongyang was an attempt to exert pressure on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North's nuclear programme after a summit in February ended in failure.

South Korea's presidency urged North Korea to refrain from further action in one of the most stiffly-worded statements since the two Koreas embarked on reconciliation efforts early last year.

"We are very concerned about the North's latest action," South Korea's presidential spokeswoman said in the statement, adding that it violates an inter-Korean military agreement.

"We expect North Korea to actively join efforts towards the fast resumption of denuclearisation talks," she said, after a meeting attended by the country's defence minister, presidential security advisors, and intelligence chief.

Talks stalled after a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February failed to produce a deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum, described Saturday's action as an expression of the Norths frustration.

"It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate, said Yang.

The projectiles, fired from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) flew about 70 kms to 200 kms (44-124 miles) in a north-easterly direction, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles appeared to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.

The North's last missile launch was in November 2017, when it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States.

But, on Tuesday, North Korea's vice foreign minister warned that the United States would face "undesired consequences" if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks by the end of the year.

Security Guarantee

Trump raised the issue of North Korea during a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Sanders said Trump told Putin several times the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

During a summit with Putin in late April, North Korea's Kim said that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the United States, warning that a state of hostility could easily return, according to North Korean media.

"The North wanted to deliver a message on security guarantees to Washington through the mouth of Putin, but the summit fell short of driving change in the U.S. attitude, leading the North to take stronger action today," said Hong Min, a senior researcher of Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Cautiously Respond"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha agreed to "cautiously respond" to the latest firing and to continue communications during a phone call on Saturday, South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, We are aware of North Koreas actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary.

Pompeo also held talks with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and agreed, together with South Korea, to cooperate and share information, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"At this point, we have not confirmed any situation where Japans national security would immediately be affected, Japans Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum.

"If local elections down south tell us anything, they remind us that referendum verdicts must be honoured," the environment minister, Michael Gove, told a conference of Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen.

Health minister Matt Hancock gave a similar message in a BBC radio interview. "I think we need to be in the mood for compromise," he said.

Labour has demanded guarantees on workers' rights and a permanent customs union with the EU as a condition for supporting an EU withdrawal deal.

May's government has opposed a customs union, preferring a looser arrangement that would allow Britain to strike its own trade deals with countries outside the EU.

Hancock suggested there could be greater willingness to compromise following the election losses.

"(Thursday's vote) wasn't about 'deliver this particular form of Brexit!' There was no door that I knocked on and the person said: 'I would like a slight change to paragraph 5 of this agreement in this particular way'."

Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he saw a "glimmer of hope" that a compromise was possible, but said Labour's customs plans could not be a long-term solution for Britain.

Customs Union

May said on Friday that the message for both the Conservatives and Labour from Thursday's elections was that voters wanted parliament to deliver Brexit.

In a rare agreement, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there was now a "huge impetus" on every lawmaker to get a Brexit deal done.

Complicating the picture, however, the main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit.

Buzzfeed News reported on Saturday that May was optimistic she could reach a deal with Labour soon, and that behind closed doors the government had already compromised on a customs union.

"In the last week government ministers and officials presented Labour with a new offer on a customs arrangement that would effectively see the UK remain in the key aspects of a customs union with the EU," sources familiar with the talks told BuzzFeed News.

The website said one source had told it "the offer would be tantamount to the government accepting in full Labour's demands".

The political editor of the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Conservatives, said in a column for the Sun newspaper that there had been an agreement to an initial "comprehensive customs arrangement" very like a customs union.

Labour and the Conservatives would then leave open whether this would lead in future to Labour's preferred customs union, with EU consultation rights, or the looser arrangement preferred by the Conservatives.

It is unclear if the EU would approve a temporary customs deal, as border controls might later be needed between Ireland and Northern Ireland if the deal broke down.

Buzzfeed's sources did not know how soon a deal would be reached, and thought it possible that Corbyn would avoid striking a deal until after European elections due on May 23 to maximise damage to the Conservatives.

And even if May and Corbyn agree, there is no certainty they could convince enough lawmakers in their parties to ensure a majority for the deal.

Many Conservative eurosceptics fear the newly launched Brexit Party of veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage will cost them support in the European elections.

That has encouraged some to call for the government to take a tougher stance on Brexit and demand a clean split with the EU.

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British police said they will not probe a leak of information about Chinese telecoms company Huawei that cost Gavin Williamson his job as defence minister this week, as no criminal offence was committed.

Williamson strenuously denied being responsible for the leak, but May said she had lost confidence in him, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported discussions from within Britain's National Security Council.

"I am satisfied that what was disclosed did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act," Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said on Saturday.

"The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office. It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

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Al-Sabaeen, Al-Sitteen Road is out of service as aggression raid: Traffic Department SANA'A, Dec. 23 (Saba) - The General Directorate of Traffic announced on Thursday that traffic on Al-Sabaeen Square and Al-Sitteen Streets in the capital Sana'a was suspended due to an air raid by the US-Saudi aggression.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said on Saturday the security forces would eradicate terrorism following devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday and restore stability before a presidential election due by year-end.

Sirisena also said in an interview he believed Islamic State was behind the April 21 attacks, which targeted churches and luxury hotels and killed more than 250 people including 42 foreign nationals. The group has claimed responsibility.

Elections cannot be postponed, therefore before the elections I will bring about stability and I will eradicate terrorism, Sirisena told Reuters.

The presidential vote is likely to take place between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10 and sources close to Sirisena have told Reuters that he would seek re-election.

We have already identified all active members of the group and its a case of now arresting them, Sirisena said, adding that there were a further 25 to 30 active members linked to the bombings still at large.

Sirisena said that all indications suggested Islamic State had been involved, adding: Its crystal clear because after the attacks the IS organization made an announcement claiming responsibility for the bombings.

Sri Lanka authorities have previously said that they suspect the attackers had international links, although the precise nature of those connections is not known.

Police have said two previously little-known groups - National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim - carried out the bombings.

Sirisena said that intelligence services from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, were helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.

Local intelligence officials believe that Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island nation, may have been a key player in plotting the bombings. Officials believe he was one of nine suicide bombers.

ATTACKERS ON LOOSE

Sirisena said that the military and police have made huge progress with their investigations, but emphasized that more needs to be done.

There are another 25-30 suspects still at large, but there is no information yet to say these suspects are suicide bombers.

Scores of suspected Islamists have been arrested after the Easter attacks shattered the relative peace enjoyed by the multi-ethnic nation since a civil war ended a decade ago.

Sri Lankas security forces were on high alert amid intelligence reports that militants were likely to strike before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, due to begin on Monday.

The government has banned women from wearing face veils under an emergency law that was put in place after the attacks.

This is not a Sri Lanka issue, its a global terrorist movement, Sirisena said. Even advanced countries like the U.S., Russia, UK, Germany, India and Australia together havent been able to completely eradicate this IS global terrorism menace.

Sri Lankas leaders, including the president, have come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services - at least three in April alone - that an attack was imminent.

Sirisena denied he had knowledge of the warnings before he embarked on an overseas trip on April 15.

Had I known about this, I would have taken appropriate action, and not gone overseas, he said.

Critics said infighting between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had undermined the response to the militant threat. But Sirisena said he and the prime minister were cooperating on national security issues.

Sri Lankas economy, already struggling with growth slipping to a 17-year low in 2018, has been dealt a big blow by the attacks, Sirisena said.

The tourism sector has grown rapidly in the last decade since the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers. Around 2.5 million tourists visit the island nation each year.

Its a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry, Sirisena said. For the economy to develop its important tourism to return to where it was before the attacks.

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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/03/2019 -- The global sodium sulfate market is fragmented in nature on account of the presence of numerous global and local players. The market is being primarily driven by the soap and detergent industry. Apart from that, an ever-growing automotive and construction industry is also serving to catalyze growth in the market by driving demand for glass, which requires sodium sulfate as a fluxing agent in glass refining.



Hampering demand in the sodium sulfate market, on the flipside, is the emergence of substitute compounds such as zeolites, sodium silicates, emulsified sulphur and caustic soda, and sodium carbonate (soda ash) in various end-use industries.



A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global sodium sulfate market to attain a value of US$2.62 bn by 2025 from US$1.89 bn in 2016 by rising at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2017 to 2025.



Read Report Overview @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sodium-sulfate-market.html



Natural Sodium Sulfate Dominates Market



Sources of sodium sulfate can be broadly divided into synthetic and natural. At present, about half the sodium sulfate in the world is produced from natural mines and the remaining half is recovered from industrial processes. Current reserves of natural sodium sulfate are sufficient to satisfy the required demand for several centuries because of the current rate of production. Between the two, sodium sulfate derived from natural sources dominates the market with a leading share both in terms of volume and value. In the years ahead too, the segment is expected to hold on to its leading share by expanding at a CAGR of 4% during period from 2017 to 2025.



Sodium sulfate finds application in making soaps and detergents, kraft pulping, textiles, glass, carpet cleaners, and others such as food preservatives, oil recovery, etc. Of them, the detergent and soaps, in which sodium sulfate is used as a diluting agent and fillers, generate maximum demand. However, the demand has begun to decline due to the trend towards concentrated liquid detergents instead of bulkier powder formulations.



Powered by Record Consumption in China, Asia Pacific Leads Market



From a geographical standpoint, Asia Pacific runs the show on both counts of size and growth rate. In 2016, it held about half the share in the market and in the years ahead too is predicted to retain its dominant share. The market in the region is being driven primarily by China, which surpasses all other countries in terms of sodium sulfate consumption. This is also because of the cheaper cost of sodium sulfur in the nation on account of lower manufacturing costs resulting from abundance of labor and expanding end-use industries. By registering the maximum CAGR of 4.0% in the forecast period, the region is projected to grow its revenue to US$1.55 bn.



Request Report Brochure @



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=16742



In terms of growth rate, Latin America is another key region that is expected to outshine North America and Europe in the next couple of years, on the back of Mexico, which has enormous reserves of sodium sulfate. The market in Europe and North America is expected to rise a slower pace  a CAGR of 3.3% and 3.0%, respectively  due to liquid detergents supplanting powder detergents at a rapid pace.
Islamic State (IS) killed 10 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on the northeastern town of Magumeri, the group claimed through its news agency AMAQ on Saturday.

The Jihadist organization said the attack on the soldiers took place in the town in northeastern Borno state on Friday. It published pictures of burned barracks and dead bodies it claimed belonged to the soldiers.

Three sources in Nigeria, including one military source, confirmed the claim.

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Press Release

May 5, 2019 PRIB: Binay pushes for education of homeless children, youth Homeless children may soon be given an opportunity to go to school regardless of their previous school records if a bill Senator Nancy Binay is working on will be enacted into law. Binay said Senate Bill No. 2028, otherwise known as an Act to Improve Access to Preschool, Primary, and Secondary Education of Homeless Children, seeks to authorize the Department of Education to provide funds to the local government units for the education of homeless children and youth. "Education is a fundamental human right of every Filipino, especially for the helpless and homeless children and youth. It is imperative that the government improve the accessibility of preschool, primary and secondary education for homeless children and youth," Binay said. Binay said the education of homeless children and youth are often neglected because they either lack a fixed or adequate residence, live in emergency or transitional shelters, share house with other persons due to loss of housing and economic hardships, abandoned in hospitals or await foster care placement. She said children and youth who live in cars, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, train stations or similar settings should be given access to education so they can uplift their lives. Under the proposed measure, the secretary of education shall grant funds to eligible local government units for the improvement of the identification of homeless children and youth and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school, including early care and education programs, particularly in prekindergarten and preschool programs. It also calls for the establishment or designation of an Office of the Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. The funds shall also be used to improve the provision of comprehensive education and related support services to homeless children and youth and their families and to minimize education disruption as well as coordinate activities and collaborate with educators, special education personnel, child development and preschool program personnel. The bill also proposes that all public elementary and secondary schools shall immediately enroll the homeless child or youth, even if he or she is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, including previous academic records, records of immunization and health screenings and other health records, proof of residency or guardianship or other documentation, has unpaid fines or fees from prior schools or is unable to pay fees in the school selected. The enrolling school shall also immediately contact the school last attended by the child or youth to obtain relevant academic and other records. Information about the homeless child's or youth's living situation shall be treated as a student education record, and shall not be released to employers, law enforcement personnel or other persons or agencies not authorized to have such information under laws and administrative issuances. "Local governments shall identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment and increase their enrollment and attendance in early care and educational programs, including reserving spaces in preschool programs for homeless children, conducting targeted outreach to homeless children and their families, waiving application deadlines, providing ongoing professional development for staff regarding the need of homeless children and their families and formulating strategies to serve the children and their families," Binay said.
Cyprus expects initial natural gas production from the Aphrodite field will begin between 2024 and 2025, Cyprus Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday, after negotiations with operators and an ownership squabble delayed output.

Cyprus Aphrodite was first discovered in 2011, but production has been delayed since as stakeholders Noble Energy , Israels Delek Drilling and Royal Dutch Shell renegotiate a production-sharing agreement with the government.

There have been a flurry of successful exploration efforts in recent years that identified natural gas plays in the eastern Mediterranean, where gas output has begun to soar.

Eastern Mediterranean countries including Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Italy have formed a partnership to deliver more natural gas to Europe and transform the region into a major energy hub.

Lakkotrypis said he will meet with Aphrodites stakeholders next week to discuss the revenue sharing mechanisms between the government and the companies, infrastructure plans and the price at which companies will sell the gas.

We are now in discussions with the Aphrodite partners about what the optimal way to develop the Aphrodite field is, and it involves commercial terms as well, Lakkotrypis said in an interview in New York. He said he was confident those discussions will conclude in a few weeks.

He said they will likely transport the gas from the Aphrodite field via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and exported.

The field is estimated to produce about 800 million cubic feet per day in the first production phase, according to Delek.

Tensions have risen in the region in recent months as Northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, and Greek Cypriots are in a dispute over natural gas drilling revenues.

Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinians recently formed the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in an effort to create a regional gas market, cut infrastructure costs and offer competitive prices.

Cyprus is positioning itself to become a hub ... and the natural market is the European Union (EU) Lakkotrypis said.

In February, ExxonMobil Corp discovered a gas reservoir off the Cyprus coast with an estimated 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet in gas resources (tcf), similar in size to the Aphrodite and Calypso gas finds also in Cypriot waters.

Exxons discovery is unlikely to come online until the late 2030s due to inadequate liquefaction capacity, Rystad Energy said in March.

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According to sources, the deal is worth $800 million and as per the deal, Vodafone Idea has given IBM a five-year technology outsourcing contract, which will supplement its targeted Rs 8,400 crore annual operational cost savings by 2021. Vodafone Idea and IBM, however, did not mention the deal amount.

New Delhi: Information Technology major IBM on Friday announced a multi-million dollar deal with Vodafone Idea for engagement in the telecom, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) segments.

"IBM announced signing a multi-million-dollar five-year agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India. In addition, this engagement will also contribute to Vodafone Idea's merger synergy objectives by reducing its IT related costs," a statement by IBM said.

The collaboration will provide Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable more intimate engagement with its subscribers, enhancing business efficiency, agility and the scale along with simplification of its business processes, it said.

The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.
Cooperation among fishers can improve fish stock in coral reefs

Cooperation within a group of people is key to many successful endeavors, including scientific ones. According to a study published in Nature Communications, cooperation among competing fishers can boost fish stocks on coral reefs.

The study analyzed the social relationships among competing fisheries, the species they collect, and the local reefs from which these species are extracted.

The results suggest that even though they are considered business rivals, fishers communicate and cooperate in addressing local environmental issues, which can lead to improvements in both the quality and quantity of fish in their local reefs. In the end, this cooperation could translate into further economic gain and more sustainable business, explains Orou Gaoue, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and coauthor of the study.

The research team was led by Michele Barnes, senior research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia.

For the study, Barnes and her team--which in addition to Gaoue included researchers from Conservation International, Lancaster University in the UK, and Stockholm University in Sweden--interviewed 648 fishers and gathered data on reef conditions across five coral reef fishing communities in Kenya.

They found that in places where fishers communicated with their competitors about the fishing gear they use, locations for hunting, and fishing rules, there were more fish in the sea--and of higher quality.

"Relationships between people have important consequences for the long-term availability of the natural resources we depend on," Barnes says.

"Although this study is on coral reefs," says Gaoue, "the results are also relevant for terrestrial ecosystems where, in the absence of cooperation, competition for non-timber forest products can quickly lead to depletion even when locals have detailed ecological knowledge of their environment."

###

CONTACT:

Andrea Schneibel (865-974-3993, andrea.schneibel@utk.edu)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
World Bank Group President David Malpass toured the Investor Service Center at Egypts Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Saturday, accompanied by the minister, Sahar Nasr, and praised the diversity of investment opportunities available in the country.

"I am very impressed by the centre and emerging companies," he said during the tour, adding that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has made major legislative reforms to facilitate investors work.

The Investor Service Center includes representatives from more than 65 Egyptian entities and is responsible for issuing all licences relating to investing, and responding to investor inquiries.

Malpass thanked Nasr for establishing the body, which he said "eliminates bureaucracy and simplifies the procedures for establishing new companies."

He also applauded the diversity of investment opportunities in Egypt.

"Egypt has great investment opportunities in small and medium enterprises alike. It has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen its economy by expanding the private sector  including energy, tourism and agri-business  to create more jobs and higher living standards, he said.

"Egypt's success is critical for the stability of the region," Malpass added.

Malpass arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first to the country since becoming president of the international organisation last month.

He is scheduled to meet with government officials and MPs to discuss the progress of the Egyptian governments reform programme and the contribution of the World Bank.

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It said the petitioners, in the garb of seeking review of the verdict and placing reliance on some press reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, cannot seek to re-open the whole matter since the scope of review petition is "extremely limited".

New Delhi : The Centre has told the Supreme Court that "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded by the top court in its December 14 last year verdict in the Rafale deal case has no apparent error warranting its review.

The Centre's reply came on pleas filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan seeking review of the December 14 verdict by which their plea seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the multi-crore Rafale fighter jet deal was dismissed.

Two other review petitions have been filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and advocate Vineet Dhandha.

All the review petitions are scheduled to be taken up for hearing next week by a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

"The review petition...is an attempt to get a fishing and roving inquiry ordered, which this court has specifically declined to go into based on perception of individuals. A non-existent distinction is sought to be created between an inquiry by the CBI and the court by playing on words," the Centre's affidavit said.

It said the apex court had come to the conclusion that on all the three aspects -- the decision making process, pricing and choosing Indian offset partner -- there is no reason for intervention by the court on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

The Centre said media reports cannot form the basis for seeking review of the judgement since it is well settled law that courts do not take decision on the basis of media reports.

It said that internal file notings and views contained therein are mere expression of opinion or views for consideration of the competent authority for taking final decision in the matter.

"It cannot form the basis for a litigant to question the final decision. Therefore, there is no ground made out either for entertaining the review petition on this ground either," the Centre said.

It added that the review petitioners were relying on information which are based on unsubstantial media reports or part of internal file notings deliberately projected in a selective manner which cannot form the basis for a review of the verdict.

Referring to the April 10 order of the apex court, by which the Centre's preliminary objection to placing reliance on leaked documents was rejected by the top court, the Centre's reply said the order "would imply that any document marked secret obtained by whatever means and placed in public domain can be used without attracting any penal action".

It said, "This has happened in the case of Combat Aircraft which the Court has upheld by its Judgment dated 10th April, 2019. This could lead to the revelation of all closely guarded State Secrets relating to space, nuclear installations, strategic defence capabilities, operational deployment of forces, intelligence resources in the country and outside, counter-terrorism and counter insurgency measures etc."

"This could have implications in the financial sector also if say budget proposals are published before they are presented in Parliament. Such disclosures of Secret Government information will have grave repercussions on the very existence of the Indian State," it said.

It said that the April 10 order "opens the window for any person making the request not only to seek papers from Ministry of Defence but from other Ministries and Departments dealing with subjects mentioned above if they are stolen and placed in public domain by the Press or a Website."

The Centre pointed out that all papers and files have been made available to the CAG who has given his report "concluding that the price of 36 Rafale is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price, apart from additional benefits which would accrue because of change from firm and fixed pricing to non-firm price."

It said that waiver of sovereign or bank guarantee in government-to-government agreements or contracts is not unusual.

"Furthermore, assuming that Dassault Aviation or MBDA France meet difficulties in the execution of their respective supply protocols and would have to reimburse all or part of the intermediary payments to the Government of the Republic of India, the Government of the French Republic will take appropriate measures so as to make sure that said payments or reimbursements will be made at the earliest," it said while seeking dismissal of the review plea.

In an another reply to an application filed by review petitioners, the Centre said that "monitoring of the progress by PMO of this government-to-government process cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations."

"It is submitted that in the garb of seeking review of the judgement, and placing reliance on some media reports and some incomplete internal file notings procured unauthorisedly and illegally, the petitioners cannot seek to re-open the whole matter by asking for production of documents in review petition since the scope of review petition itself is extremely limited," the reply said.
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POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten  Friday 3rd of May marks World Press Freedom Day.

Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson

would like to congratulate the nations journalist as well as those from the North side of the island (St. Martin) on this internationally renowned day.

The theme this year is Media for Democracy: journalism and elections in times of disinformation.

With disinformation and mistrust of the global media running rife, we must reflect on the role that the media plays in every society including ours. Transparency and reliable factual information are the corner stone of democracy for any functioning society.

Good reporting is key for society to have an understanding of what is going on, and for free and fair debates of opinion to take place. The right to freedom of expression allows journalist to inform about what is going within the community. Journalists also have a responsibility to the community that they serve that they provide factual information and that is what good reporting is all about.

Falsehoods are designed to mislead public opinion. All readers must be cognizant of this and to search out the facts and the truth in order to have an informed opinion about an issue.

I take this opportunity once again to congratulate our journalists from the North and South on World Press Freedom Day, and call on them to continue to uphold the principles of fair and responsible reporting in todays society, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.

In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were killed going about their work in 2018, with hundreds imprisoned. A total of 1,307 journalists were killed between 1994, and last year.
There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





by Eric S. Margolis





Sure. Lets invade Venezuela. Another jolly little war. Its full of commies and has a sea of oil. The only thing those Cuban-loving Venezuelans lack are weapons of mass destruction.





This week, leading US neocons openly threatened that if the CIAs latest attempts to stage a coup to overthrow Venezuelas Maduro government failed, Washington might send in the Marines.





Well, the coup was a big fiasco and the Venezuelan army didnt overthrow President Maduro. The CIA also failed to overthrow governments in Moscow, Tehran and Damascus. Its only success to date has been in overthrowing Ukraines pro-Moscow government and putting a bunch of corrupt clowns in its place at a cost near $10 billion.





The US has not waged a major successful war since World War II - unless you count invading Grenada, Panama and Haiti, or bombing the hell out of Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya. Thats a sobering thought given the Pentagons recent announcement that it is cutting back on little colonial wars (aka the war on terror) to get ready for real big wars against Russia and China, or even North Korea.





Venezuela is in a huge economic mess thanks to the crackpot economic policies of the Chavez and Maduro governments - and US economic sabotage. But my first law of international affairs is: Every nation has the absolute god-given right to mismanage its own affairs and elect its own crooks or idiots.





Now, however, the administrations frenzied neocons want to start a war against Venezuela, a large, developed nation of 32.7 million, at the same time we are threatening war against Iran, interfering all around Africa, and confronting Russia, China and perhaps North Korea. Large parts of the Mideast and Afghanistan lie in ruins thanks to our liberation campaigns.





Invading Venezuela would not be much of a problem for the US military: half the population hates the current government and might welcome the Americans. Venezuelas military has only limited combat value. Right-wing regimes in neighboring Colombia and Brazil might join the invasion.





But what then? Recall Iraq. The US punched through the feeble Iraqi Army whose strength had been wildly exaggerated by the media. Once US and British forces settled in to occupation duties, guerilla forces made their life difficult and bloody. Iraqi resistance continues today, sixteen years later. The same would likely happen in Venezuela.





There is deep anti-American sentiment in Latin America that existed long before Col. Chavez. Recall, for example, the large anti-American riots that greeted Vice President Nixons visit to Caracas in 1958.





Yankees Go Home is a rallying cry for much of Latin America. Blundering into Venezuela, another nation about which the Trump administration knows or understands little, would stir up a hornets next. Their ham-handed efforts to punish Cuba and whip up the far right Cuban-American vote in Florida would galvanize anti-American anger across Latin America. Beware the ghost of Fidel.





Talks over Venezuela are underway between Washington and Moscow. Neither country has any major interest in Venezuela. Moscow is stirring the pot there to retaliate for growing US involvement in Russias backyard and Syria. Both the US and Russia should get the hell out of Venezuela and mind their own business.





Instead, we hear crazy proposals to send 5,000 mercenaries to overthrow the Maduro regime. How well did the wide-scale use of US-financed mercenaries work in Iraq and Afghanistan? A complete flop. The only thing they did competently was wash dishes at our bases, murder civilians, and play junior Rambos.





For those who dont like the American Raj, a US invasion of Venezuela would mark a step forward in the crumbling of the empire. More aimless imperial over-reach, more lack of strategy, more enemies generated.





The big winner would, of course, be the Pentagon and military industrial complex. More billions spent on a nation most Americans could not find on a map if their lives depended on it, more orders for counter-insurgency weapons, more military promotions, and cheers from Fox News and wrestling fans.





Worst of all, the US could end up feeding and caring for wrecked Venezuela. How did we do with storm-ravaged Puerto Rico? Its still in semi-ruin. Few want Venezuelas thick, heavy oil these days.





Venezuela could turn out to be a big, fat Tar Baby.




Despite the current heat wave in Egypt, local and international journalists and photographers flocked to the Giza Plateau on Saturday to witness the announcement by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany of the discovery of an Old Kingdom cemetery.

El-Enany said that the announcement of the most recent discoveries and archaeological projects by the ministry not only have a scientific and archaeological value but are also good promotion of Egypt, showing the world the countrys true image, its culture, or soft power.

Zahi Hawass, a former antiquities minster, was also in attendance, and expressed his happiness that he was invited to attend the announcement, as the area where the cemetery was found is very close to his heart because it neighbours the pyramid-builders cemetery, which he considers a very important site.

The discovery of the pyramid-builders cemetery shows to the whole world that the pyramids were not built by slaves, but that their builders built their own tombs beside their kings, he said.

He told Ahram Online that the discoveries that the ministry have been announcing are the best way to promote Egypt abroad, because the news enters homes worldwide through the international media.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Egyptian Archaeological Mission team that made the discovery of the Old Kingdom cemetery, told Ahram Online that the team discovered several tombs and burial shafts, with the oldest a limestone family tomb from the fifth dynasty (circa 2500 BC) which retains some inscriptions and artwork.

The tomb belongs to two people. The first is Behnui-Ka, whose name has not previously been found in the Giza Plateau. He has seven titles, among them the priest, the judge, the purifier of the kings Khafre, Userkaf and Niuserre; the priest of goddess Maat, and the elder judicial official in the court.

The second tomb owner, Nwi Who, had five titles, among them the chief of the great state, the overseer of the new settlements, and the purifier of Khafre.

Many artefacts were discovered in the tomb; among the most significant is a fine limestone statue of one of the tombs owners, his wife and son.

Ashraf Mohi, director general of Giza Plateau, said that the cemetery was reused extensively during the Late Period (from the 8th century BC). Many Late Period wooden painted and decorated anthropoid coffins were discovered on site. Some of them have hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Many wooden and clay funerary masks were also found, some with colour.

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North Korea fires short-range missile : Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched an "unidentified short-range missile" towards the East Sea -- also known as Sea of Japan -- on Saturday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Pyongyang "fired a missile from its east coast town of Wonsan to the eastern direction at 9:06 am (0006 GMT) today," the JCS said in a statement.

South Korea and the United States "are analysing details related to the missile", it added.
North Korea fires short-range 'projectiles' into sea: Seoul



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang's concessions on its atomic arsenal.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today", the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.

That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.

Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium", which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles", said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

"North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on."

The White House said it was "aware of North Korea's actions tonight".

"We will continue to monitor as necessary," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was "no confirmation of ballistic missiles" entering its territory.

"At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security," the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.



- Hodo peninsula -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used as a training area for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles" since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that a "formal training area" was established in the region, and Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing" during the last 10 years, it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and Trump in February, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Kim slammed the South in a speech to his country's rubber-stamp legislature last month, saying it should not "pose as a meddlesome 'mediator'" between the US and Pyongyang.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticising their joint military exercises.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
Three Turkish soldiers killed in Kurd mortar attack from Iraq: ministry



Istanbul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Three Turkish soldiers died Saturday in a mortar attack by Kurdish rebels launched from Iraqi territory, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"Three of our brothers in arms died as martyrs after mortar fire from northern Iraq by terrorists," the ministry said, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group.

A fourth soldier was wounded, it said in a statement.

The attack targeted a military base in the border province of Hakkari, the ministry said, adding that the Turkish army had responded with aerial bombardments and artillery fire.

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK's deployment in northern Iraq has been a constant source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara, with Turkey pressing Iraq to play a bigger role in fighting the group.

The defence ministry also said that another Turkish soldier had been killed Saturday in northern Syria by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia closely allied with the PKK.

Unlike the PKK, however, the YPG has the backing of Western powers in its fight against the Islamic State group.
Boko Haram seizes military base in NE Nigeria: sources



Kano, Nigeria, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Boko Haram jihadists have seized a military base in northeast Nigeria, days after an attack left five troops dead and 30 missing, security sources and residents said Saturday.

A column of fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks and on motorcycles stormed into the base in the town of Magumeri, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri late Friday.

The militants overran the base, hauling away weapons before they were forced out.

"The terrorists dislodged troops from the base after an intense fight," a military officer told AFP.

"We lost weapons and equipment to the terrorists but it is not clear if there was any human loss," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

The jihadists arrived in the town around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and engaged troops in an hour-long fight before they "gained the upper hand and chased the troops away," militia leader Gremah Kaka told AFP.

"The insurgents overpowered the soldiers and forced them to flee into the bush," he said.

Kaka said the jihadists stayed in the base for "more than four hours" before they were dislodged by reinforcements from another base in Gubio, 46 kilometres away.

Last week, the jihadists raided a military base in Mararrabar Kimba, 135 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are listed as missing.

ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that saw the jihadists kill scores of soldiers.

The military authorities have always denied any casualties.

Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria.

The conflict has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group.

However, the Nigerian army on Saturday said some "foreign interests are also working assiduously to cause disaffection and divide the coalition Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)."

Army spokesman Musa Sagir said in a statement the plot was "to give room for the so-called Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) and its defeated local franchise, Boko Haram terrorists group to resurrect".

He said the military would continue to fight the remnants of "Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathisers".
Envoy says US ready for 'all sides' to lay down arms in Afghan war



Doha, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The US special envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban said Saturday that America stands ready for "all sides" to lay down arms in the 17-year conflict.

Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is leading the latest round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the two foes are pursuing a deal that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.

"All sides laying down arms is the outcome of any peace process," Khalilzad tweeted.

"All sides agreeing to reduce violence is a necessary step toward achieving that outcome and the morally responsible choice to make. We stand ready."

Khalilzad's comments come a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was prepared to call an "immediate" and "permanent" ceasefire -- but the Taliban rebuffed the offer.

Ghani had also offered to release 175 prisoners as a goodwill gesture. His talk of a ceasefire comes as momentum builds in various Afghan peace talks.

Thousands of tribal elders, women and representatives met last week at a massive "loya jirga" peace summit in Kabul, which ended with a demand for a ceasefire between government and Taliban forces.



- 'Failed strategies' -



The talks between the Taliban and the US, who have met about a half dozen times in recent months, are taking place separately in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neither side has said much about progress in their latest talks, which were ongoing Saturday, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday tweeted that America should "forget about the idea of us putting down our arms".

The Doha talks focus on an eventual foreign troop withdrawal in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing Afghanistan will never again be used as a safe haven for terror groups.

Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that nothing would be finalised until two other key issues -- a ceasefire and dialogue between Afghan society and the Taliban -- have been addressed.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, told AFP that "efforts are underway" to flesh out differences on the security and troop withdrawal issues.

But in what appears to be something of an impasse with the Americans, Shaheen said the other key points of a comprehensive ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue could not be addressed until those first two points were agreed.

Last year, however, the Taliban did announce a three-day ceasefire at the end of Ramadan after Ghani declared a unilateral truce for eight days earlier in the month.

It was the first formal nationwide ceasefire since the US-led invasion of 2001 and saw unprecedented scenes of reconciliation and jubilation across the country.

The insurgents have steadfastly refused to talk to Ghani, who they view as a US puppet, and talks thus far have cut out his government.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's war rages on, with thousands of civilians and fighters being killed each year.

US forces continue to train Afghan partners on the ground and strike the Taliban from the air, in a bid to push the war to a political settlement.
Trump says still confident in Kim after N.Korea test launch



Washington, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," following what if confirmed would be North Korea's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.

"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted, after Seoul said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The latest launch followed last month's test-firing of very-short-range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that Saturday's launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

North Korea "fired a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the JCS added.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday's firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, Pyongyang's state media KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

Saturday's launch came days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke to Biegun on Saturday to discuss Pyongyang's latest launch, the South's foreign ministry said.

"Chairman Kim has decided to remind the world -- and specifically the United States -- that his weapons capabilities are growing by the day," said Harry J. Kazianis, Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.

"My fear is that we are at the beginning stages of a slide back to the days of nuclear war threats and personal insults, a dangerous cycle of spiking tensions that must be avoided at all costs."
EU concerned about added US sanctions on Iran



Brussels, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



The European Union voiced "concern" Saturday over extra US sanctions aimed at unpicking an international deal with Iran that has curbed the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

In a statement, the EU and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain -- the three EU powers that led the initial nuclear negotiations with Iran -- said they took note "with regret and concern of the decision by the United States not to extend waivers with regards to trade in oil with Iran".

They also said they were concerned by the US decision "not to fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects in the framework of the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)" -- the title of the nuclear deal.

Washington on Friday unveiled additional sanctions on Iran's export of enriched uranium as specified under the 2015 deal, although it said it would still grant waivers to permit the deal to continue.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew his country from the Iran deal, which still has the support of the UN Security Council and the remaining signatories to the accord: Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran.

The objective of the deal was to prevent Iran working to develop nuclear weapons technology. Tehran agreed to the nuclear restrictions in return for a lifting of sanctions originally imposed by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

Nuclear inspectors have certified that Iran has stuck by the terms of the deal.

But Trump, surrounded by hawkish aides, has been progressively ratcheting up sanctions pressure on Iran, demanding it also rein in its conventional military missile programme and pull its forces and proxy fighters out of other Middle East countries.
Maduro rallies military as Venezuela opposition marches on bases



Caracas, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops Saturday to be "ready" for potential US military action, as backers of opposition leader Juan Guaido marched on barracks in a new bid to win the armed forces' support.

Capping a week that saw a failed uprising led by the US-backed Guaido, Maduro instructed the military "to be ready to defend the homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth."

Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime, Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state -- where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in presence of more than 5,000 troops.

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the table in its push to oust Maduro -- although so far has so far limited its campaign to ramping up sanctions.

Guaido's cause gained renewed support Saturday however from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: "The time for transition is now."

"You can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the highest standards and demand a return to democracy," Pompeo said in the message. "The United States stands firmly with you in your quest."

National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes.

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

"I told the generals and admirals yesterday: loyalty, I want an active loyalty... I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed forces," the president said, in a speech broadcast on public radio and television.

On Twitter, Guaido -- recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president -- urged his supporters to "mobilize in a civil and peaceful way" to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.

"The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation."

This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

That triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.

The country's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on Friday that 18 arrest warrants had been issued for "civilian and military conspirators" following the failed uprising, with lieutenant colonels among the uniformed personnel being sought.

Venezuela's top court has also ordered the re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who was freed from house arrest by rebel soldiers before seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy.



- 'Something bigger' will happen -



"I don't think this will produce a military breakdown, but it will contribute to something bigger happening soon," Marcos Rodriguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, told AFP outside La Carlota air base, the scene of Tuesday's uprising.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president, claiming Maduro's re-election was illegitimate.

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.

But while the United States insists Maduro's days are numbered, experts say its options are limited and that Washington may have overestimated Guaido's strength.

President Donald Trump meanwhile adopted a strikingly conciliatory tone on Friday after a lengthy conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Venezuela crisis.

"He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela," Trump said of Putin.

"And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving."

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities and failing public services.

Trump's tone struck a contrast with that of his top advisors, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, who tweeted bluntly that "Maduro must go."
Nine killed by regime, Russian strikes in Syria's Idblib: war monitor



Beirut, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



At least nine civilians, including two children, were killed Saturday in air strikes by Syria's government and its ally Russia in the northwest of the country, a war monitor said.

Syria's military and Russia carried out more than 100 air raids in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

The Observatory said dozens of barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian military helicopters.

Three women and one member of the White Helmets -- a team of first responders working in some rebel-held areas -- were also among the nine dead, the war monitor said.

All nine civilians were killed in Idlib and Hama, it said.

The first responder was killed after arriving at the site of raids to treat people wounded in southern Idlib, the head of the White Helmets Raed Saleh said on Twitter.

An AFP photographer saw clouds of black smoke above two villages in southern Idlib after the air raids.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the country's military had opened fire on "terrorist groups".

Much of Iblib and parts of Aleppo and Hama are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch.

The regime has intensified air strikes against these areas in recent months, despite a September deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey that is meant to protect Idlib from a massive regime offensive.

Syria's multi-fronted civil war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with anti-regime protests that sparked a devastating crackdown.

lar/on/dwo/del
N.Korea says tests rocket launchers after firing projectiles



Seoul, May 4 (AFP) May 04, 2019



North Korea said Sunday it had tested long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons, a day after Pyongyang appeared to have launched its first short-range missile in more than a year.

The announcement on the "strike drill", which the Korean Central News Agency said took place Saturday and was overseen by Kim Jong Un, came after US President Donald Trump voiced confidence that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise" even as nuclear talks have been deadlocked.

KCNA said the tests in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, aimed to "estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance" of the weapons.

Kim was also evaluating "the combat performance of arms and equipment," according to KCNA.

Kim urged his troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength," it added.

On Saturday, the North also fired "a number of short-range projectiles" from Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan starting at 9:06 am (0006 GMT), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled northeast from 70 to 200 kilometers (45 to 125 miles) toward the East Sea.

In an earlier statement, it had said Pyongyang launched an unidentified short-range missile.



- Broken promises? -



"Anything in this very interesting world is possible," Trump tweeted in reaction to the launches announced by the South Koreans.

"But I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he added.

"He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

Since their historic summit meeting in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said Kim remains committed to the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

He has insisted the two leaders remain close even after their follow-up meeting in Hanoi collapsed in February, and that Kim would maintain his moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.

But with negotiations lagging, the North appears to be testing the US side.

The launches followed last month's test-firing of very short range tactical weapons, and it came days after a senior North Korean diplomat chastised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making "foolish and dangerous" comments in nuclear talks with the North.

Analysts said Pyongyang appears intent on raising pressure on Washington as those talks remain deadlocked.

The two sides have been clashing over the North's demand for substantive economic sanctions relief and the US's insistence that the North make concrete concessions toward eliminating its atomic arsenal.



- 'Unwanted outcome' -



North Korea analyst Ankit Panda stressed that the projectile launch "does not violate Kim Jong Un's self-imposed missile-testing moratorium," which "only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles."

But a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said it was "greatly concerned," calling it a violation of a military agreement signed by both Koreas last year.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

"North Korea's recent missile launches are a provocation at a time when the international community is awaiting concrete steps from North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile program," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said.

"We welcome President Trump's declaration that he is ready to continue to support the negotiations process despite this provocation."

On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show "visible, concrete and substantial" denuclearization action if it wants sanctions relief -- the issue at the center of the Hanoi debacle.

Earlier this week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an "unwanted outcome" if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.



- Biegun visit -



Hodo Peninsula, where the projectile firing took place, has been used since the 1960s for "live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defense cruise missiles," according to the respected 38 North website.

In recent years, Hodo has been "increasingly used for ballistic missile and long-range artillery rocket testing," it added.

Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, South Korean president Moon Jae-in -- who brokered the first meeting between the mercurial US and North Korean leaders -- has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Panmunjom summit between Moon and Kim, KCNA said Washington and Seoul "keep pushing the situation of the Korean peninsula and the region to an undesirable phase", criticizing their joint military exercises.

The launches come just days before US special representative Stephen Biegun is to visit Japan and South Korea.

Washington had said Biegun would discuss "efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea" with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon spoke with Biegun to discuss the launches, the South's foreign ministry said.
Hemas Travels bags two awards at ATM View(s):

Hemas Travels, the outbound arm of Hemas Leisure Travel and Aviation Group was recognised for two prestigious awards at Asian Travel Mart (ATM) this year, a media release by the company stated.

Ottila Worldwide, Indias largest travel wholesaler recognised Hemas Travels as Sri Lankas Top Agent at ATM and the award was accepted by Hussain Habeeb  Chief Operating Officer for Hemas Travels along side Ms. Chamila Wijethunghe  Senior Manager  Service Excellence.

Meanwhile, Travel Boutique Online (TBO) Group; one of worlds largest Bed Banks also awarded them for Exceptional Sales Contribution for 2018 at TBO Annual Awards, held alongside ATM in Dubai on 29th April 2019, the release said.
Hotels in Sri Lanka go empty By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas hotels are still reeling from the shock of the attack by Islamic extremists on Easter Sunday with occupancies crashing to a mere four per cent in Colombo and 10 per cent islandwide.

Even as the tourism industry remained concerned about the security situation in the country some hotels like the Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and the Kingsbury have already adopted new measures like the installation of scanners at points of entry to carry out security checks on persons visiting the hotels.

Security in hotels is also provided by armed personnel posted in front where the numbers manning these posts could increase from eight to 20.

Colombo City hotels occupancies have come crashing down to about 4 per cent while the number of persons staying in hotels was down at about 10 per cent for hotels islandwide, City Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times.

There has been over 80 per cent of cancellations, he also said and this has been confirmed by a number of reports that similarly stated how hotels both in the city and the resorts were found to lose bookings although a handful of travellers were positive about touring the destination.

Even Sri Lankans are not patronizing the hotels and this has caused a further downfall in revenues for the hotel industry as most hotels have gone empty. While some hotels in the city remain open for business others provide limited services.

Staff today outnumbers tourists as travellers are unlikely to visit the destination unless their countries assure them of their stay in Sri Lanka. Numerous travel advisories from the UK, US to Israel, Spain, and even China have caused a direct hit on the number of bookings for the next few months.

In fact, some in the industry complain that winter bookings were also getting cancelled already in addition to all other bookings.

Authorities were asked to be in touch with the respective embassies in the country to ensure a relaxation of the travel ban to Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, the tourism industry and in particular the hoteliers were assured of a moratorium on their loan repayments. Most hotels were said to have obtained dollar loans and this had even prior to the attacks caused concern resulting in a request to tour operators to carry out transactions in dollars. This came in the form of a budget proposal.

However, this seemed to be taking a back seat for now and in the wake of the suicide attacks on three luxury hotels in Colombo the industry has been assured by both the President and Prime Minister of a moratorium on their loans and a further capital infusion. Another plan of action that has taken a back seat is the much-awaited global promotion campaign without which the industry and authorities are now planning on short term immediate publicity campaign promoting the destination. This campaign that should have ideally been given a cabinet nod last week is still pending approval.

Mr. Shanthikumar noted that they were yet to arrive at a decision on banning the burqa in hotels but observed that if there was a law to ban it then all should adhere to it.

Staff in hotels is also feeling the pinch. He said that although there was no staff leaving hotels, those keenly dependent on the service charge may look for other opportunities.

An industry that is always positive inspite of the crises they face has repeatedly told authorities to ensure they talk in one voice so as to send out the correct message to the international community.

Tour Operators Association President Harith Perera told the Business Times that they informed authorities of the need to regularise the shuttle bus service at the airport to ensure convenience of passage to travellers; and also to make necessary arrangements to assist visitors at the airport could stay without hassle.

Tourism authorities and industry at the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai facing the world for the first time in a public gathering were able to act positive and communicate a clear message to partners and tour operators. Most tour operators and agents have insisted that they need to wait and see as travel advisories issued by a number of countries was a deterrent to marketing Sri Lanka.

However, tour operators were said to have been very encouraging as they had pointed out that they were fond of the destination and were keen to sell it to bring the tourist back to this friendly nation.
InterContinental brand goes ahead with Sri Lanka plans By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which has announced its comeback to the island in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening at the site at Bambalapitiya junction in Colombo.

This super luxury, 42-storeyed hotel will consist of 346 rooms of different categories.  Presidential Suite, Deluxe Suites, Executive suites, Junior Suites, King Club Rooms, King Rooms, Twin Rooms etc and it will be the second InterContinental branded hotel in the island after the Ceylon Intercontinental established in 1973, and later pulled out.

In a letter of confirmation, David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, recently noted that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible to do their part in supporting affected communities by bringing the beauty of Sri Lanka to international audiences.

In partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, IHG said it looks forward to offering world-class amenities, excellent service and consistent, luxurious experiences to the guests visiting the beautiful city of Colombo and exploring other cultural hubs in proximity to the hotel, he pointed out.

He is due to visit Sri Lanka shortly to discuss the overall strategy and plan for the opening of Intercontinental, Colombo towards the latter part of the year/1st quarter of 2020.

The development of Intercontinental, Colombo is being carried out under the Pearl Group of Hotels family owned business conglomerate headed by the Chairman of the group, A.L.M. Faris.

Sri Lanka needs globally renowned brands in hospitality industry to project the destination image and to position it on the global map as a destination of quality, he told the Business Times.

He pointed out that his efforts to join hands with the IHG group and bring back a world renowned brand such as Intercontinental to Sri Lanka was with the industry interest as well.

The hotel development work is done in conformity with Intercontinental Brand Standards, acclaimed to be the highest in the industry including guest comfort, safety, security, adaptation of high tech superseding all local authority and other agency standards, he said.

We will muster greater strength from the setback to forge ahead. Tourism was about the only sector that was indicating year on growth over the last nine to 10 years in Sri Lanka, he said.

It can make a greater contribution towards the economy in the years ahead, he said adding that his other properties which were maintaining around 80 per cent occupancy and had good bookings for the next few months is currently down to under 10 per cent occupancy.

He noted that this was a temporary setback and the government needs to step in to assist the industry with a proper understanding.
O Sri Lanka By Tissa Jayaweera View(s): View(s):

Ceylon was known as the Pearl of Indian Ocean. We failed to take it as a Tourism Promotion Tagline and lost it to another country. After many years of being in limbo a professional who developed tourism for Singapore as the Lion City was hired as Chairman Tourism. Many debates took place and a Tagline Sri Lanka the Small Miracle was incorporated and publicity given. Then as usual in this country after some time a Minister of Tourism did not like the tag line Sri Lanka the Small Miracle. By this time other countries had come up with attractive taglines such as Incredible, Truly Asia, Wonder of Asia etc in their tourism promotion

Recently the Ministry of Tourism hired an international advertising agency to come up with Promoting Sri Lanka Tourism at great cost. They came up with a tagline So Sri Lanka. At the launch I stated that this is not a good tagline as attractive as Incredible or Truly Asia or Wonder of Asia. The word O is as in Despair. O God or O my heavens, etc. I was laughed at by most present and the theme So Sri Lanka was launched.

The Islamic extremist attack on April 21 made 90 per cent of the population of Sri Lanka and the world say So Sri Lanka I cry for you.

I had many calls from friends, relatives and business associates from around the world. One of them, a Chairman/MD of a company that manages 5,000, 3  5 Star Hotel Rooms in India and Africa told me: Sri Lanka has got the best publicity after 10 years. It was the LTTE that gave publicity but it was local. Now it is Muslim Extremism International.

Sri Lanka being a small island nation, if all security systems are de-politicised and independent, Muslim extremism can be completely wiped out in a few days. This is the time to give visa free entry. Unfortunately our politicians thought otherwise.

Discount inbound travel on SriLankan Airlines by 40 per cent: Anyway Sri Lankan is operating at a loss. This may increase in a load factor to 95 per cent from the current 65 per cent and result in SriLankan breaking even. Discount hotel rates by 40 per cent: This will increase hotel bookings to 90 per cent during the next season. Give international publicity and visitors who take the challenge to come. Travel agencies around the world will give adequate publicity as Sri Lanka being a great destination to be in at attractive prices. International websites have already given publicity to the attractions in Sri Lanka and what a great holiday destination Sri Lanka is. This will encourage new visitors who are looking for an affordable holiday. Their Facebook, Twitter sites will do the needful after a great holiday in paradise.

All those involved in tourism, big or small should be given a grace period to settle loans to banks and other financial institutions. All lenders act as leaches in the recovery of their loans not taking in to consideration the plight of their borrowers other than showing an impressive bottom line to shareholders and a big bonus to staff.

I trust the authorities will start to give our tourism a boost without having sad faces and crying tourism has been hit by $1.5 billion. We may make $2 billion if this is done.

Make use of this opportunity. Nothing is lost. We are known globally now even better than what LTTE did for us.

(The writer is a veteran business leader, Managing Partner at TJ Associates and can be reached at tissaj2009@yahoo.com).
Political leadership should set aside differences in this crisis:CCC View(s):

Sri Lankans need to be assured that the government machinery to safeguard its people from acts of terrorism is effective, that national security will be accorded the highest priority and that the political leadership of this country has the capacity to work together setting aside political differences to accord the highest priority to national issues, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has said.

It is unfortunate but true that the recent events and the mishandling of security have contributed to the erosion of confidence in the political leadership to keep this country safe and to ensure that its economy which is challenged also due to external factors is further embattled due to domestic issues which are avoidable, the CCC said in a letter to President and the Prime Minister on the countrys security situation following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The chamber said it sought meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss matters relating to security concerns and national revival efforts. In response, the Prime Minister met with the leadership of the Chamber on Monday during which several action points were discussed.

Here are excerpts of the letter sent by CCC Chairperson Rajendra Theagarajah:

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned that the events that resulted in the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of so many people were able to be carried out due to the negligence of the Government machinery.

While terrorist activities aimed at achieving ideological objectives can never find justification, what is deeply saddening is that there was a failure on the part of law enforcement to prevent this attack despite being in possession of intelligence that warned of impending threats. The available information points to a serious lack of coordination, incompetence and ineffectiveness in handling national security. It is also abundantly clear that petty divisive political differences among the political leadership have contributed to a situation where interests of the country are subordinated to political agendas.

The events of October 2018 were also an indication of this sorry situation, which was fortunately corrected by an independent judiciary. On that occasion too, it was the people that suffered.

While the immediate victims of the Easter attacks were those that lost their lives and their families, the consequences will impact millions more whose dependence on sectors that are seriously adversely affected will impair their livelihood prospects for a considerable period. This is unfortunate.

We also condemn the utterances of elected representatives of the people and other political personalities of all parties who are continuing to engage in the blame game in an attempt to make political capital of the current situation. This is indeed a pathetic display of a lack of sensitivity to current national issues which should be addressed by all political parties collectively and in a spirit that accepts that theres a national crisis. To engage in such narrow political pursuits is to demonstrate an inability to appreciate the true role of leaders of the people.

The need of the moment is for statesmen not mere politicians. In these circumstances, we urge that the following be actioned:

1) National security.

While we appreciate steps taken after the Easter attacks, adequate measures should be sustained to handle national security. The National Security Council mechanism should be activated and used with seriousness.

For this purpose, the portfolios of Defence and of Law and Order should be placed in the hands of those who have the capacity to provide leadership to handle current and future challenges with foresight and wisdom and devoid of political aspirations.

The President, the Prime Minister and Government should speak with a unified voice on the current and future actions after considered decisions are taken together.

A 24 hour Media response centre should be established to respond to false reports that create fears and concerns among the general public.

The current legal provisions available (ICCPR Act) should be used to deal with hate speech.

2) Revival of the economy.

Its vital to fast track a revival of the economy.

Formulate a national policy for the revival of the major sectors (such as tourism) that are currently affected. For this purpose, adopt an inclusive process that secures inputs from all stakeholders.

3) Decision-making in Government.

To ensure speedy and sensible decision-making in important areas, persons of competence should be appointed to key positions.

Identify key positions in Government relevant to implement the development agenda and re-examine the capabilities of current holders of those positions. Its important that government functionaries should have the capacity to take decisions speedily and without fear. If necessary, invite private sector leaders to handle those key positions.

4) Overall revival

Take appropriate action to inspire persons of all political parties to unite in the revival processes.

This is a time to unite for the good of the country. We will condemn the actions of those who seek to stifle a resurgence for narrow political gains.

Ethnic unity should be consistently called for and extremism of all kinds should be abhorred and acted against, by the political leadership.

The elected representatives of the people should be required to comply with a code of behavior when making public comments. Theyre opinion makers and must act with responsibility.

The media should be required to comply with the need for responsible reporting.

5) Effective communication and management of perceptions.

In our efforts to recover from this situation, it is vital to inspire confidence in the people of this country as well as internationally. Such an effort if effectively carried out will result in our ability to reinforce the pursuit of vital targets such as attracting investment, attracting tourists and being held out as a country that has systems and processes in place to deal with vulnerability to terrorism and the resilience to overcome such threats.
Sad times-Part 2 View(s):

Kussi Amma Sera was angry. I hadnt seen her like this before.

Seated under the Margosa tree with friends-for-life Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu, she said: Balanna  apey manthrivarun hasirena vidiya. Ee-gollanta meka loku vihiluwak waa-ge (See how our parliamentarians are behaving. Its like a big joke for them).

She was referring to the special session in Parliament discussing the Easter Sunday bombings, particularly scenes of a few MPs amused and laughing when former army commander Sarath Fonseka spoke.

Owunge aarakshawa gena vitharie vadime unandu-wenne (They are more interested in their own security), said Serapina.

Their conversation occurred in the backdrop of a sombre neighbourhood, for the second week, after the Easter Sunday incidents. Except for the loud choon-paan karaya driving down the lane in his three-wheeler, there was silence and even the usual blaring of music from the radios was missing.

The trio then discussed everything under the sun including the cost of living, the difficulty in some of their sons getting jobs and other issues.

As I sat down in the sitting room, sipping a hot cup of Kussi Amma Seras tea, the morning silence was broken by the ringing of the landline. It was Pedris Appo, short for Appuhamy, a retired agriculture expert who does farming. I hadnt spoken to him for a while and thus was glad he was calling.

Hi  the Easter Sunday attacks were very demoralising to all of us, he said, to which I replied, Absolutely.

The impact will be devastating, Appo, who also likes to discuss economic issues, said, adding: Tourism will be the worst hit.

Would we be able to recover from this crisis? he asked. We have to. We have had similar crises like this before and recovered though the recovery will be slow, I said.

We then discussed the cancellations by tourists as reported by several hotels, the postponement or cancellations of tourists coming for conferences and incentive trips, the losses that would be incurred by SriLankan Airlines due to the drop in traffic, among other matters.

As our stories last week and today reflect, tourism is the first casualty from the current scenario, more so because of travel warnings by several countries including India, China, the UK, the US and Canada, urging their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka. There is no way Sri Lanka can achieve the ambitious target of three million tourists this year (compared to 2.3 million in 2018) with conservative estimates showing that there would be a 30 per cent drop in arrivals. Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector and the third largest earner of foreign currency after worker remittances and garments exports, and the authorities were banking on a good year in 2019. Not anymore.

While the macro-economic fundamentals are strong, according to the Central Bank, lower earnings from tourism and more subdued FDI (foreign direct investment) would be the biggest hits to the economy. Until potential investors are convinced that the security situation is under control along with consistent policies, they wouldnt choose to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas debt is also likely to rise with an increase in government spending on the military particularly in the procurement of equipment necessary to meet the new threat from terrorism and rebellious religious fundamentalists.

The cost to purchase metal detectors and other security equipment by hotels to ensure the safety of guests would also hit the bottom line of hotel companies.

Slower-than-expected tourist arrivals and foreign investment would affect economic growth which was set to grow by four per cent in 2019 from 3.2 per cent in 2018.

Tea prices are likely to fall, the import bill would rise owing to increased spending for the security forces, which is needed of course, and urgent structural reforms are likely to be put on hold. These are some of the issues that the economy would face in the coming months. Whether elections  provincial, presidential and parliamentary  would be held in the next six to 12 months remains to be seen given the current security crisis though any postponement would depend on an interpretation of the Constitution.

(PS: As I write this the choon-paan karayas tune can be heard blaring down the lane)

The latest Central Bank 2018 annual report released last week also focuses on many challenges facing the economy. Primarily it speaks of the impact on the economy owing to delayed structural reforms.

It said for Sri Lanka to succeed as a higher income economy and improve the well-being of its people, it is essential that the root causes for the continued low economic growth are addressed.

While the postponement of much needed structural reforms has moved the Sri Lankan economy to a modest growth path, delays in addressing barriers to growth and introducing growth enhancing reforms in the areas of export promotion, attracting FDI, reducing budget deficits and debt levels, reforming factor markets, strengthening public administration and ensuring the rule of law have largely contributed to Sri Lankas economic stagnation, the report said.

A key point that it makes is that Sri Lanka is unable to succeed despite being blessed with plenty of natural resources and the potential to support a high economic growth path.

The lack of coherent policies is clearly seen during the reign of the Maithripala-Ranil administration, with both ruling parties working at cross-purposes, often one party proposing a policy only to find the other party dismantling it. The government also falls short in resolute and firm decision-making with the recent example of the Presidents call to the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police to resign, initially being ignored by the parties concerned.

Sri Lanka has so much more to offer more than economies like Vietnam. FDI in 2018 was a record US$2 billion with expectations of raising $3 billion in 2019, though that is most unlikely owing to the current security situation.

In contrast, FDI in Vietnam, which has much less attractions than Sri Lanka particularly in the case of a skilled labour force with a good knowledge of the English language, rose to $19.1 billion in 2018, up by nine per cent from 2017.

Vietnams success is also owing to increased foreign investment in high-tech industries, rather than labour-intensive sectors and much needed structural reforms in the economy.

As I prepare to wind up todays column with the usual parting shot, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with another cup of tea (which I had requested), saying (with a sad face): Mokak-da wunay apey rata-ta (What has happened to our country?).

Dukai  hari dukai (Sadvery sad), I reply, reflecting on a nation that was touted as the most peaceful nation on earth for tourists to visit, after the end of the 1980-2009 civil conflict.
SLT, Asiainfo Intl. sign MoU to facilitate provision of innovative digital solutions to Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national ICT solutions provider, recently entered into a partnership with Asiainfo International Pte Ltd, a leading IT solution and service integrator in the global communication industry, to introduce digital products and solutions to the Sri Lankan market.

The agreement will facilitate SLT to develop viable digital solutions to consumer, SME and enterprise segments in the country, and will make a significant contribution towards Sri Lankas journey of digital transformation. The agreement was signed by CEO/SLT, Kiththi Perera and Vice President and Regional Head / Asiainfo, Michael Chan at SLT office in Colombo.

Commenting on the new partnership, SLT CEO Mr. Perera said: The SLT Group remains passionate and committed to driving the digital revolution of Sri Lanka, and to transforming lives into digital lifestyles. This partnership with Asia Info International is one key step that we are taking towards realizing this vision.

Vice President and Regional Head of Asiainfo International, Mr. Chan, said: The digital revolution is totally changing life as we know it, even as we speak. It calls for a total transformation of business models. We are excited to partner with SLT in Sri Lanka with its long and impressive history that spans over 160 years.
Spicy trade between India and Sri Lanka View(s):

In December 2017, the Indian government introduced a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on imported black pepper as Indian Rs. 500 per kg. The target was the increase in Sri Lankas exports of low-quality and cheap pepper to India, which have pushed down the domestic pepper prices there.

It was reported that within that year alone the domestic pepper price has fallen by 35 per cent. Consequently, there was a growing discontent among Indias pepper growers and traders, which had become a political issue.

The MIP, however, did not crack down on the issue; Sri Lanka continued to dump low-quality and cheap pepper to the Indian market. This time the exporters used to split their large pepper consignments into smaller quantities and, transported many times to India through many different ports.

I take this issue today, to discuss not necessarily the pepper trade, but the difference between free trade and free trade agreements. The two essentially differ from each other, while there is no way to replace free trade with a free trade agreement.

I was also inspired by the fact that the issue has paved the way for bribery and corruption at high levels. And there are alleged links as revealed last week, even to finance terrorism through corrupted spice trade.

Distorted trade

Under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sri Lanka can export 2,500 Metric tons (Mt) of black pepper to India without import duty, and any amount above that at 8 per cent import duty. India also imports pepper from Vietnam and other countries which is subject to 54 per cent import duty.

Sri Lanka is known to produce high-quality pepper and other spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. India paid US$6,000 per Mt of Sri Lankan pepper, while Vietnam pepper is about half of that price. When Vietnam pepper was re-exported to India after mixing with Sri Lankan pepper at high price and low duty, India was said to have lost $2,700 per Mt.

FTAs can promote corrupted trade practices. Pepper from Vietnam can enter the Indian market via Sri Lanka and make unwarranted profits through corrupted business practices; with such business practices, traders can avoid higher import duty through the Indo-Lanka FTA on the one hand, and claim higher market value applied to high-quality pepper under the Sri Lankan label on the other hand.

Sri Lankas infamous trade

Apparently the above practice seems impossible without bribery and corruption entering Sri Lankas trade under the FTA: First, pepper should enter Sri Lanka through the customs, and then for exporting to India it should receive the certificate of origin as stipulated in the FTA.

The Hindu newspaper in India in its business section  Businessline  on January 8, 2018, reported that the bribe in Sri Lanka to re-label Vietnam pepper with a fake certificate of origin is $1,000 per Mt; it makes Vietnam pepper eligible to be exported under the Indo-Lanka FTA.

Thats how Sri Lanka became infamous for exporting low-quality cheap pepper to India.

By the way, the government also needs to employ people to deal with all above malpractices, carried out by the people of the government itself  a source of job creation and job multiplication!

A world full of criss-cross FTAs looks like a spaghetti bowl resulting in costly complications, according to economist Jagdish Bhagwati. And to manage that complicated trade as well as to combat bribery and corruption associated with that trade, the government should create and multiply jobs which the nation has to pay for.

Sri Lankas pepper miracle

Until 2016 for most of the years, Sri Lankas exports of pepper to India were around 5,000 Mt, according to International Trade Centre (ITC) data. In 2017 and 2018, it more than doubled, exceeding 10,000 Mt.

India has always been the main export market for Sri Lanka to export pepper, while more than 80 per cent Sri Lankan pepper was sold to India. But for India, Sri Lanka wasnt the main source of pepper supply until 2017; it was Vietnam.

In 2016 India imported over 40 per cent of its pepper from Vietnam, while Sri Lanka supplied 20 per cent only. By 2017 Sri Lankan pepper exports surpassed the Vietnam exports; but dont think that Sri Lanka did a miracle by doubling pepper production within one year! It was simply the Vietnam pepper that was re-exported via Sri Lanka.

Hot products

Since the time of implementing the Indo-Lanka FTA in 2000, free trade in some products between the two countries became hot at both ends, and continues to be so to-date.

In the early days it was about items like copper products that Sri Lanka started exporting to India. I dont think Sri Lanka had copper mines at all. But at that time Sri Lankas fastest-growing export item to India under the FTA was the copper products, until it was cracked down! Then, we heard similar stories regarding many other products such as marble, granite, florescent bulbs and plywoods.

Among minor export commodities, it was about mixing cheaper cloves and cardamom imported from Indonesia with Sri Lankan products, and re-exporting to India under the FTA. After that it was about Vanaspati  palm oil which Sri Lanka didnt have a known history of producing here on a large scale.

Another export racket was the re-export of Indonesian areca nut to India through Sri Lanka; if it was directly from Indonesia, areca nut was subject to 100 per cent import duty at the Indian port.

Question that confuses us

Finally, there is an important and confusing question that we have to answer: Do all these things mean that we should impose import barriers? I am sure, at least some might take it to bring about an argument against open economy and to justify protective trade regime.

The whole issue is due to bogus business practices which were made possible by bribery and corruption at high level. It is the regulatory regimes more than the open economy that open up opportunities for bogus business practices, bribery and corruption.

Secondly, it is the lapses in law enforcement that enable bogus businesses. For example, there is free trade among the member countries within the European Union. But it does not mean that someone can engage in bogus business practices; there is law enforcement on the one hand, and there are technical and quality standards applicable on the other hand. If goods and services that enter into trade do not meet the required technical and quality standards, that business is highly unlikely to succeed.

Overall policy environment

Finally, the underlying economic factor is the difference between micro matters and the overall trade environment. Even if Sri Lanka adopts import controls on a couple of commodities as the government actually did in some cases, what matters most is the overall trade policy; does it create an open economy that supports trade expansion or protect the environment that impede it?

Exports of all of the spices account for only 3 per cent of the total $12 billion exports in 2018.

Sri Lankas overall economic progress through trade expansion would never depend on a couple of minor export crops or individual export products under FTA. It might be important for a couple of individuals, but not for the nation.

The overall economic progress would depend on the successful integration of the country with the global economy through trade in manufactures and services.

Countries, however, enter into FTAs for different reasons, while some of these reasons are not even economic. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), there are 291 spaghetti bowl trade agreements in force in the world by January 2019. Nevertheless, it is not these trade agreements, but the overall trade policy reforms which have contributed to the economic success of the nations. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk).
SriLankan Airlines faces flood of cancellations View(s):

While Sri Lankas national carrier has seen a flood of cancellations and expects to lose at least US$100 million in revenue, MICE experts say confirmed bookings of events including weddings have been cancelled after the Easter Sunday carnage.

With tourists arrivals likely to see a 30-50 per cent drop this year, SriLankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka told the Business Times that as at Tuesday, cancellations in May was 17 per cent compared to May last year, 12 per cent in June and about 18 per cent in July. We expect the figures to go up, he said, adding that a new 5-year business plan for 2019-2024, which was announced to the media earlier this month, would be re-visited.

Noting that the worst affected routes are London and Tokyo, he said that they were awaiting a message from the authorities as to when the situation would return to normal.

The moment we have some clarity from the Government we can work (with the authorities) on relaxing the travel advisories. Without this clarity and assurances there is no use in targetted marketing and special promotions, he said, adding that they would then examine how traffic could be increased (or restored) from India and China (Sri Lankas main tourist source markets).

According to officials at the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, at least 90 per cent of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) bookings in Sri Lanka have been postponed, cancelled or put on hold in the next two months (May/June).

We have been informed of several postponements, cancellations or events placed on hold, said a worried senior official, who added that three Indian weddings, each bringing around 500 guests from India and the rest of the world, had been cancelled for this month. A 1000-pax event by a local operator due to be held in July has been put on hold.

Meanwhile tourism industry companies are seeking a moratorium on loans, a specialised PR to handle promotions and for the government to speak with one voice to the international community on the measures taken to strengthen security.

Amidst the gloom at least two under-construction hotels were going ahead with plans to open in late 2019 and early 2020.

The 164-room Next Hotel Colombo is slated to open in November 2019 within the Colombo City Centre, the Singapore-based Next Hotels & Resorts said, responding to a query by the Business Times. We are still working towards the scheduled opening date and will continue to monitor the situation, it added in an email comment.

The world renowned InterContinental brand, which in returning to country in partnership with Pearl Grand Tower Hotel Ltd, is set to fast-track its opening. David Todd Senior Director, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), New Hotels, India, Middle East and Africa, has said that they remain committed to opening the hotel as early as possible.
33 language blunders in emergency notification View(s):

With questions being raised on how the state agencies handled prior warnings about the Easter Sunday bombings, there are also concerns over more blunders and blunders. One such case is the ongoing Emergency Regulations, introduced just a day after the dastardly incidents.

This was followed a day later by another gazette notification to correct as many as 33 mistakes in the original gazette.

Some of the mistakes were clearly seen as ones which could have been avoided only if the officials were more attentive on a document which deals with national security.

Here are some of the mistakes that were corrected. The corrected version with the erroneous words within brackets follows:

The Commander of the Army (Commissioner of the Army ), Use (sue), Offence (office), Police station of his area (police of his are), Not exceeding (after exceeding) to incite (to incine), not less than five thousand rupees and not exceeding ten thousand rupees (not less than five hundred rupees and hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees), shall be guilty of an offence (shall be of an offence) acts or omission (acts or commission). In addition, several regulation numbers too were corrected.

Only few weeks ago, a textual mistake occurred in a gazette notification was corrected. A gazette notification issued by the Secretary to the President was rectified with a mistake being about the name of an officer appointed to a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Rajitha says he and seven ministers on terrorists hit list

When religious leaders were rejecting bullet-proof vehicles and requesting more security for the people, politicians were concerned more about their own security. One of them was Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who said that eight ministers, including himself, were on the hit list of the extremist terrorist groups.

My security told me to stay put at home as we are targets of the terrorists. Therefore, on April 28 and 29 I stayed at home. We cant endanger our lives so we take our own measures to create our own security. He explained that he survived both the JVP uprisings and LTTE terrorism because he took the security advice given to him seriously.

He divulged one of the security steps taken by him. He said he used to get himself dropped at his Ministry by the visitors who came to his residence.

If the visitors were going past my ministry, I hitch a ride in their vehicles, he said. Having now revealed this secret, he will have to change his strategy.

Last week, more than hundred Government and Opposition MPs sought more security from the government.

JVP wants national security plan

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will not hold any political rallies until the security situation returns to normal, spokesperson Vijitha Herath MP said yesterday.

He said the party would extend its full support if the government formulated a national security plan to bring about normalcy.

Clarification on burqa ban

President Maithripala Sirisena has agreed to make amendments to the Gazette notification banning the niqab and the burqa.

The move follows representations made to him by a Muslim group. The change relates to covering the ears.

Army seeks help from ex-LTTE cadres

The services of one-time LTTE cadres were sought this week in the North  that was to help in keeping an eye on suspicious movements in the area after the Easter Sunday bombings.

On Tuesday, some former cadres were asked to be present for a meeting at a Jaffna Army camp where senior Army officers explained how the ex-cadres could play a role in ensuring national security and requested their assistance.

In return, the ex-cadres who have been marginalised socially and politically by their own community  for whom they said they took up arms in the past  assured they would extend their support to the Forces in their efforts to maintain security.

Only one passenger on Swissair flight

The number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka has dwindled in the past two weeks.

A Swissair flight that landed in Colombo on Friday had only one passenger getting off.

Cardinal raises questions about security measures

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which security operations were being conducted against ISIS terrorists.

He said that only one layer was being probed whilst other aspects were not being focused upon.

His remarks came when a delegation from opposition parties led by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met him on Friday night.

The Cardinal, who is also the Archbishop of Colombo, said some politicians had been given ministerial positions which they had abused. Such persons have not been probed for the multitude of allegations for fear that they would lose votes.

The Cardinal said opposition parties, if they were to form a government, should not take such persons into the Cabinet. Instead it would be better for them to form a government with a stable major party than opt for such unscrupulous persons from smaller minority parties.

The Catholic Church has been co-operating with many state agencies and passing on information it receives about matters relating to the Easter Sunday carnage. In one instance, it gave the name of a foreigner who had come to Sri Lanka with US$ 100,000. He was arrested and investigators had revealed that his account balance had since increased. Further questioning is under way.

Archbishops House sources said Cardinal Ranjith was alluding to the role of a Muslim minister who is alleged to have extended support to the IS terrorists and their local counterparts. He is alleged to have been responsible for obtaining empty copper artillery shells and passing them down to a factory owner who is in the thick of terrorist activity.

At the meeting with the Cardinal, among others who took part were Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, G.L. Peiris and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.

Another case of warning being ignored

Its unbelievable but true. A hotelier on a visit to a European capital met a Sri Lankan diplomat, a former bureaucrat.

He claimed that he had taken a report when he was in Colombo to a political leader. That was about the activities of an extremist Muslim group which was bent on violence.

The politician, he complained, snubbed him and declared Just be. Dont do anything to offend the Muslim community.

Army chief blames politicians

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is indeed outspoken and appears to be disturbed about the Easter Sunday massacre.

He told the BBC during an interview that politicians should take the responsibility for the bombings.
Rajapaksas Joint Opposition ready to support him in security measures to tackle IS terror, but no political support

Evidence emerges that IS chose Sri Lanka because of its close military ties with US;latest agreement runs into 80 pages

UNP leadership crisis grows; Wickremesinghe faces party revolt to oust him ahead of presidential election Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was in a multi-color handloom shirt and sarong, not his white national dress with the maroon satakaya (shawl) around his neck, when he greeted President Maithripala Sirisena at the latters residence on Thursday night.

He said he did not have time to change clothes for Sirisenas meeting with leaders of Opposition political parties. He had been at the wedding of onetime Minister, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenes son. Looking dapper, the President replied that he too was at a wedding of the son of former Minister Vijith Vijithamuni de Soysa MP. It was to be held at the Shangri La Hotel. Due to its closure after damage caused by the Easter Sunday carnage by pro-IS terror groups, the reception had been shifted to Temple Trees, now the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As a result of the IS-inspired attacks by local terror groups, there were hundreds of cancellations of wedding receptions at hotels. This was so for hotels that were damaged and those not affected. Many families shifted the venue to their homes and chose to invite only an immediate circle of relatives and friends. Others postponed the weddings. This is what prompted Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) architect Basil Rajapaksa to ask President Sirisena how Temple Trees became the venue after there was a public declaration by the United National Front government that Temple Trees would not be available for weddings any more. This was after Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne gave his son Chatura, an MP, in marriage at a Temple Trees ceremony with the catering being done by a five star hotel.

Politicians make the laws, give pledges and break them. In this case, it is with disregard to the reality that a nation is mourning the brutal massacre of more than 250 men, women and children. There are over 480 injured, some of them seriously. Schools are closed and children cannot attend for fear of attacks. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, wants to assign at least one police constable for each school to protect children. For the same reason, Sunday mass cannot be held in churches, Friday Jumma prayers in mosques and even poojas at Buddhist or Hindu temples. But a hallowed public institution, heavily secured by armed Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos becomes a wedding hall for the privileged. Replying to Basil Rajapaksa, President Sirisena explained that giving Temple Trees was inevitable. Former minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa would be unable to find an auspicious hour for the next one year or more. For the vast majority in Sri Lanka it was inauspicious not due to their own fault. Their political leaders, a Defence Secretary, a Police Chief and intelligence officials, who lacked common sense, had failed in their duty. Yet, not for ministers and MPs are those inconveniences. Not when state resources are so easily available. Some even sought enhanced security.

Significant enough, Sirisena sat down alone for the 50-minute meeting with the Opposition delegation. There was no one from his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The delegation comprised Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, G.L. Peiris, Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Dullas Alahapperuma from the SLPP. Others were: Dinesh Gunawardena (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya) and Tissa Vitharana (Lanka Sama Samaja Party)

Ahead of the meeting with President Sirisena, the Opposition party leaders met at the Wijerama Mawatha residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Munching sandwiches, they discussed strategy over what should be discussed with the President. It was Weerawansa who remarked jocularly, Puluwang tharam kanna. Ehey (meaning the Presidents residence) mokuth denney nehe or eat as much as you can  you will not get anything to eat there. What he said came true. Weerawansa was heard telling a colleague that they were not even given a cup of tea or a glass of water as he forecast.

Presidential committee report

President Sirisena was to reveal at the meeting that he had already received an interim report from a three-member Committee that is probing the Easter Sunday carnage. It is headed by serving Supreme Court Judge Justice Vijith Malalgoda and comprised N.K. Illangakoon, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), and Pathmasiri Jayamanne, a onetime Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order. The committees broad mandate is to investigate causes and background for the national catastrophe that occurred on April 21 in Sri Lanka, according to the Presidential Secretariat. Sirisena, however, did not tell the meeting the findings contained in the interim report. Other sources revealed that the interim report has made damning strictures against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundera.

The two of them together with retired DIG Sisira Mendis (a retired crime investigator), now Chief of National Intelligence (CNI)  the top most official in the intelligence hierarcy  were subject to intense questioning by members of the Committee. Their interim report has now been forwarded to Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera. President Sirisena is now awaiting his recommendations including opinion on laws they may have violated as a prelude to court action. Ahead of that, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives will record their statements.

In high security circles, serious concerns have been raised over a turf war that is going on particularly within the State Intelligence Service (SIS). It is the premier national intelligence agency. As reported earlier, a plethora of so-called intelligence reports warning against actions by Sri Lankan pro-ISIS terror groups were released to the social media. Then came reports saying that the SIS Director DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had a meeting with President Sirisena to personally brief him on the threats  a claim strongly denied by Sirisena. Now, tape-recorded mobile phone conversations have been selectively leaked, raising the all-important question whether elements within were endangering national security interests, whilst engaged in a game of pointing the finger at the highest levels of the government. In the process, they are also baring the fact that mobile phones are also being snooped on with new equipment. One need hardly say this is an extremely dangerous situation. The question is whether this would also be ignored much the same way intelligence warnings were.

The matter transpired at the discussion President Sirisena had with leaders of the Opposition parties. He named the person behind one English website operating from London and declared they had reported that he received a personal warning from SIS Chief DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. This so-called exclusive account, the President claimed, was a fabrication. A loquacious UNF minister also made reference to the claim at a news conference on Tuesday saying it was true, but added the remarks were off-the-record. Yet, what he said has been tape recorded by many who attended the event. President Sirisena then referred to another Sinhala website, also operating from London and named the person behind it. He said he was being maligned in obscene language by the website. This website is banned in Sri Lanka. No action was possible since they were operating with impunity from Britain often violating Britains own laws.

That such leaks are occurring in the countrys premier intelligence agency is not at all conducive to public safety. It is in President Sirisenas own interest to clean up the institution and ensure there is professionalism. Of course, the criteria of having people who offer personal loyalty in return for remaining in the post would have to be re-examined. At present there is no one to mind the minder and nowhere else could it be disastrous than in the national intelligence service.

Sirisena said the website about the SIS boss DIG Jayawardena personally warning him has been translated into Sinhala. With added vituperative and malicious remarks against him, more than 1000 copies were detected at the Central Mail Exchange. It has been brought there for posting by two staffers (with identity cards) who had worked for a leading UNF minister. The letters were addressed to Buddhist temples countrywide. He charged that the move was intended to cause communal strife.

This prompted SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera to allege at a news conference on Friday that Minister and Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella was behind the move. The objective, he said, was to destroy the Presidents image which had improved in recent months. He claimed that it was three officials from the ministers media division who have been arrested. Police said they were Sampath Kumara, Danusha Priyadarshana and Thaksala Weerasena.

Minister Kiriellas spokesperson Sameela Wanigasekera said the Minister would not comment to the media. However, the Kiriella issued a statement saying he had made inquiries about the website account. There is no intention to sling mud, incite racial tension or spread anti-government feelings. It only raises the question whether intelligence officials had alerted those responsible, the statement added.

G. L. Peiris, the nominal SLPP leader, told the meeting with President Sirisena that the Turkish Ambassador to Sri Lanka had told him that he had warned the government about possible attacks. Turkey has been the victim of a number of attacks and was the first country to proscribe IS. The envoy had said that a group of 50 had come to Sri Lanka and were operating under cover. President Sirisena undertook to go into the matter. Throughout the session, he was seen writing notes over matters raised by Opposition leaders.

Wimal Weerawansa said that one of the biggest shortcomings had been the appointment of unqualified and inexperienced persons to the Intelligence community. For the past four years, they have remained complacent. He said a large number of persons from different countries were in Sri Lanka without valid visas. They should be deported immediately, he noted.

Basil Rajapaksa declared that the Opposition delegation had come to extend their unqualified support to President Sirisena to combat IS terrorism. This was what the Opposition was willing to do without in any way joining President Sirisenas or his party. The first step he should take, he pointed out, was to withdraw the proposed Counter Terrorism Bill. On May 7 it will go before the Parliament Oversight Committee headed by Mayantha Dissanayake, UNF MP.

President Sirisena replied that the Cabinet had approved the draft bill on the strict understanding that changes would be incorporated during different stages. He said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was pushing hard for the passage of the Bill on the grounds that the UN Human Rights Council was pressing for it, President Sirisena revealed. Mahinda Rajapaksa urged that a Parliamentary Select Committee be appointed to go into the matter and review the controversial provisions in the draft. Sirisena agreed that it would not be passed in Parliament in the present format. We are in the Opposition. We will not change that position but this is a national crisis. We will support on account of this. That does not mean we support you per se, said Basil Rajapaksa. G.L. Peiris added that the draft Counter Terrorism Bill badly affected individual freedom, media freedom and even violated the rights of trade unions. He said purely to appease UN body, we should not compromise on our national interest. He said that was not a good move for Sri Lanka and urged President Sirisena to be vigilant over this.

President Sirisena told Opposition party leaders that he blamed Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundera for failing to bring the intelligence warnings to his attention. Mahinda Rajapaksa referred to the comedy of errors after the Easter Sunday carnage. Casualty figures were being changed at will. An unrelated Muslim lady living in the United States had been made an accused. We offer our unconditional support. Yet, it is our supporters who are being harassed and victimised, he declared. He was alluding to the arrest of an Opposition MP over public remarks he had made. Wimal Weerawansa echoed the same sentiments.

US agreement with Sri Lanka

Rajapaksa said that he had commissioned a group of retired military officers to formulate a report identifying the causes that led to the carnage. He asked Sirisena whether he could come with them or by himself and hand over that report. The President replied that he would give him a time.

Weerawansa also raised the issue of a purported request by the United States Embassy in Colombo to provide diplomatic status to US officials and personnel who have come here following the Easter Sunday massacre. At this point, Sirisena reached out to his telephone and spoke to Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha. He asked him whether such a thing had happened. Obviously, there was a miscommunication. Sirisena had to re-iterate, I am asking you; did you agree to this? Aryasinha said he would have to check and report to him. Besides US intelligence personnel, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team is among those in Sri Lanka.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised issue over the presence of Britains Mi-5 (intelligence) personnel on Sri Lankan soil and asked how many had come. President Sirisena replied there were ten or twelve. Weerawansa noted that there were more than 40 such foreign personnel in Sri Lanka. We did not invite them. They came on their own. My people are complaining that they cannot go ahead with their work since each group is asking them for briefings. We cannot listen to all of them. We will only listen to India at this moment, the president added. That appears to be an acknowledgement of the intelligence warnings India gave including one this week. Those remarks would also mean that President Sirisena is not too happy with the foreign intelligence presence and their advice to local counterparts. This was manifest in some of the concerns expressed by senior personnel.

Not surprisingly. The elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was featured in a video released on Monday April 24  only his second ever -

to show he is alive, by speaking about the recent fall of his groups stronghold in Baghouz, Syria, while praising terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.

In an 18-minute video featuring both audio and video, Baghdadi, seated on a floor with masked IS lieutenants, said the April 21 Sri Lanka attacks, which killed at least 253 people, were revenge for the siege and fall of their last redoubt in Baghouz, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi propaganda. It added:

As for your brothers in Sri Lanka, they have put joy in the hearts of the monotheists with their immersing operations that struck the homes of the Crusaders in their Easter, in vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz, Baghdadi said, chuckling over the high number of casualties. This is part of the vengeance that awaits the Crusaders and their henchmen, Allah permitting. Praise be to Allah, among the dead were Americans and Europeans, he said. The statement about Sri Lanka appeared in an audio portion of the video that did not show Baghdadi. This may have been tacked on after he was filmed following the fall of Baghouz, according to SITEs director Rita Katz. Baghdadi appeared healthy in a black headscarf, khaki fishing vest and with a bushy grey beard. By his side was a Russian AK-74U assault rifle.

President Sirisena confirmed links between the Islamic State and terror groups in Sri Lanka. He told CNNs Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley on Tuesday in his first interview since the massacre that there is a connection between the Sri Lankan suicide bombers and the ISIS. It is clear they obtained training from the ISIS, according to international and domestic intelligence agencies, he said. He insisted that I was not informed of information pertaining to the attacks.

At the conclusion of the CNN interview at the Presidential Secretariat, I spoke with President Sirisena. I asked him why he had made accusations against me at a cabinet meeting. I said last week, After the Easter Sunday massacre, the first special cabinet meeting saw some heated exchanges between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. The President named some newspapers of supporting Wickremesinghe. In the process, he named the Political Editor of the Sunday Times and said he (the Political Editor) was angry with him for the President did not leak secret information. Very strange indeed. One would have to be insane to ask the President of any country, leave alone Sri Lanka, to leak secret information President Sirisena replied Mama ehema deyak kivvey nehe. Meka UNP karayenge pracharayak. Prevesam wenna or I did not say such a thing. It is UNP propaganda and I should be careful he exhorted. However, I did ask three different ministers and they confirmed that the remarks were indeed made. It was during a heated argument Sirisena had with Wickremesinghe.

IS leader al-Baghdadis remarks confirms what was revealed in these columns last week  that the increasing military role of the United States in Sri Lanka, the result of successive bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry unhesitatingly heeding one concession after another to the United States. This was the cause for IS building a military machine with Muslim extremists and carrying out bombing attacks in Sri Lanka. One example is the seemingly innocuous Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) renewed with the present government by then Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. He is now Sri Lankas Ambassador to Germany. Signing for the US was then Ambassador Atul Keshap. If the previous agreement was only a handful of pages, the new one by this government runs into over 80 pages.

The Sunday Times has seen the agreement between by the US Defence Department and the Ministry of Defence. The applicability of the agreement begins with a preamble which says This Agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the parties (US and Sri Lanka) to be used during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other co-operative efforts, or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need for Logistic Support, Supplies and Services.

This Agreement applies to the provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services from the military forces of one party to the military forces of the other Party in return either for cash payment or reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services to the military forces of the Supplying Party. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard is considered part of the military forces of the Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Significantly, it allows every single security or military apparatus in the United States access to Sri Lanka. All those security commands are listed one by one and the Point of Contact (POC) defined. If as made out, this is routine and the US has such arrangements with many other countries, this agreement has never been tabled in Parliament. At least one UNF minister, known for his heavy American leanings, has helped in this and a number of such other arrangements. So much so, in security circles the name referred to this aspect is M..a doctrine. At least to re-assure the people of Sri Lanka, it is not still too late to table it in Parliament so a debate could follow. Sri Lankans would then know whether the country has been compromised or not. Some of the contents would very clearly highlight the dangers that portend and ensure a healthy debate whether all the military deals with US have been in the best interests of Sri Lanka or heavily weighted in favour of the US.

Like most other countries, that the US has etched a strong security footprint in Sri Lanka was all too well known. And that expedited IS terror preparations although recruitment and training have been going on for years. Like in the intelligence community, lack of professionalism together with high levels of bureaucracy having a lack of knowledge (even on the basics of foreign policy) had led to this catastrophe. How long one of the key sectors of the economy the tourism ministry would take to recover also remains a critical issue. Many hoteliers complained to President Sirisena during a conference last week that they were heavily indebted to banks and would find it impossible to pay their dues. Sirisena said he would appoint a Cabinet Sub Committee to decide on relief measures.

The move came as Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa wrote to Speaker Karu Jayasuruya seeking a full day debate on the Easter Sunday carnage. The matter is expected to be taken up when the Speaker chairs a party leaders meeting tomorrow, just a day before Parliament sittings commence. Speaker Jayasuriya has put in place new security measures where MPs and their vehicles will be subject to checks outside the Parliament complex.

Sirisenas political future

This weeks developments once again bring to the fore the question whether Sirisena has become a loner both in his fight against terror and has much publicised campaign against drug abuse. The latter move was his ambitious effort to make a comeback at the presidential election. He has remarked at discussions overheard by senior security officials that he would contest the presidential election this year. Some opine it was only a message to demonstrate to those concerned that he would remain in power lest they pay less attention if he spoke of retirement.

On the one hand, Sirisenas relationship with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has grown into a point of no return. Both are trading accusations at each other and firing one salvo after another over the Easter Sunday carnage. The finger pointing has reached deplorable levels. UNF Ministers are holding news conferences and launching their own campaigns against Sirisena. That is to place the blame for the attacks entirely on his shoulders. This is whilst the silence of Muslim ministers has been deafening. They formed parties and parroted for years that they were the sole guardians of Muslim interests. If the community did not benefit, these ministers have immensely reaped the harvest from their official positions. Some have travelled often to West Asian countries for aid for the community and returned with sacks so to say. On Friday, Rishad Bathiuddin, Minister of Industry and Commerce left for Oman thought the reasons are yet unknown.

On the other hand, the Joint Opposition parties which met Sirisena on Thursday night have made clear they will support him unequivocally in his drive against terror. Other than that, they have made clear there was no political support for him. Nor would they join a government which Sirisena may wish to form or extend other support. Significantly, it was all by himself that he met the leaders of the Opposition parties.

This clearly means that President Sirisena has to clear the gigantic mess he has created by appointing mediocre, inefficient and unqualified persons to top positions. Recent events have shown that his writ as President did not extend even to the Police Chief. It took him days to send him on compulsory leave. His priority will have to be to replace those yes men if he is to make a start and make up his mind that those men being good to him is not enough. If he does not, he will continue to face mounting issues. If he does, that will still not draw him wider support to become even the lonely Sri Lanka Freedom Partys candidate at the presidential election. The party is dissolving slowly but surely with most MPs distancing themselves from current issues.

The lone warrior Sirisenas fights may end up with the President becoming a political orphan or be overtaken by fast developing events. That does not mean manna from heaven for the UNP. It is in an equally poor state, if not worse, with signs of a leadership crisis erupting once more against Ranil Wickremesinghe. There were clear signs this week with ouster moves gaining momentum. He has survived them in the past. It has to be seen whether he could now. This is why Sri Lanka is at the crossroads.
Nation demands answer: Who are the guilty men? View(s):

Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away. Now that the nation has buried its dead and observed a decent period of mourning, its time life limps back to normalcy. But even as it takes the first tottering steps in that direction, one nagging question refuses to go away.

Who are the guilty men?

And the whole nation calls, in the midst of their grief and shock, to exhume from the grave of Lankas gross negligence and complacency upon which Muslim fanatics were allowed to dance in wild abandon to find their passage to heavens door, the moribund carcass of responsibility; and to find as to who were really responsible, singularly or collectively, for the catastrophe that was waiting to happen; and which could have been averted if not for the negligence and even the collusion of its political masters.

The question nags and tests a nations credulity. How come that, with such a wealth of intelligence as to the formation, funding, and the rise of NTJ from obscurity to national prominence  from smashing Buddha statutes in Mawanella to bombing Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and blasting seven-star hotels in the city  no one in the know of the flood of information available, was moved to act to avert Easter Sundays holocaust?

Its not merely that the three warnings delivered by the Indian intelligence service to their Colombo counterparts went largely ignored. The litany of lapses go far beyond in time and smacks not merely of criminal negligence as it surely is but, worse, of active collusion considering how the authorities, both in this Government and in the previous regime, naively allowed the NTJ to be born, boom and flourish and bring the nation to its knees swathed in tears and stricken with fear.

Who are the guilty men that brought Lanka to this sad, calamitous pass? Perhaps we will never know. But lets ask the men at the helm, what they have to say in their defence. And lets start at the very beginning. And a very good place to start is right at the top.

THE PRESIDENT

Like a duck takes to water President Sirisena swiftly moved to renounce all knowledge of the impending threat. He passed the buck to his defence secretary, whom he had employed just five months before. He, the President of the country, in charge of defence and law and order, had been kept in the dark, estranged from even a tit bit of intelligence the Indian intelligence service had communicated to their counterpart in Colombo. Not only did he deny prior knowledge but even stated he was ignorant that the attack had taken place until someone showed him on a cell phone the carnage that had occurred.

He said in his May Day address to the nation: I got to know of the carnage when I was in Singapore on the 21st around 10 am. The moment I got to know it, the first thought that came to mind is the question that many in Lanka ask now. How did it happen? At noon that day I phoned the defence secretary and told him to immediately appoint a presidential commission to probe how it happened. I even gave him the names of who should be appointed to the commission. On the 23rd the commission became active and all of you have the right to make your suggestions to it now.

Wow! A presidential commission to probe the affair appointed within forty-eight hours of the carnage? And the orders given from Singapore where the president was holidaying. Hows that for immediate action? Impressive, isnt it?

Then the Minister of Defence and Law and Order, President Sirisena, went onto say: The IGP and the defence secretary could have easily averted this great carnage. They had all the means to do so. But they did not discharge their responsibility.

Now for the tear jerker: He said: I do not love my life. I am a person who has died and been resurrected five times. The LTTE came with their suicide bombers to kill me. They got killed. I have seen on Facebook extremists stating that soon I will be destroyed. I am not afraid of death. I will discharge my responsibility to protect the nation.

Good. And hopefully the public can have a peaceful night of sleep, and rest assured that their lives are in safe hands. For the common people on the streets do not have the security he is fortunate enough to have. And look up to him from the carnage for protection. Those who died two Sundays ago, unlike cats who have nine lives to waste, had only but one. One may live nine times but die only once.

And for the record, the President said: I must specially state that the intelligence received by the responsible intelligence chiefs have not been communicated even to me.

As the President told at the meeting of the editors last week, he was simply clueless. Before and after.

He said: After the attack, the persons with me informed me that they had got messages to the effect that an attack had been carried out in Sri Lanka. An hour later they showed me reports on social media that there has been an advance warning about the possible attacks. The warning was reportedly received on April 4, but I left the country only on April 16, but I was not alerted.

Tells a sad tale of good governance, does it not?

THE PRIME MINISTER

If the President passed the buck to his defence secretary and to the Inspectors General of Police, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the blame to the entire Parliament, specifically to those in the Opposition for blocking enactment of his Counter Terrorism Bill, set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror on Monday, Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if the new Counter Terrorism Bill had been passed in Parliament.

He said: No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision.

We have included this provision in the new Counter Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. Easter Sunday attacks would have been prevented if this legislation was passed, he said.

If Maithripala Sirisena expressed that view he could have, perhaps, been forgiven. He is, after all only a diploma holder in Agriculture and all at sea with the law. But coming from the lips of the Prime Minister who is a law graduate from the University of Colombo and an attorney-at-law, to boot, it leaves much to be desired.

Consider this for example: According to the prime ministers statement that a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could not be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found, then Lanka for these last five years would have been the ideal safe haven for international terrorists to have found refuge in. Had he been alive, Al Qaedas Osama Bin Laden would not have had to sweat it out in some Pakistan dinghy flat when he could have enjoyed paradise on Lankas beaches sipping a mocktail of his choice and giving orders on his cell for others of his kin to enter heaven by blasting infidels.

The Prime Minister also stated that it is not even in the Penal Code. Perhaps he read the wrong law book.

According to him a foreign terrorists could have lived and operated freely in Lanka, and the forces and the police could have done nothing about it merely because the Counter Terrorism Bill was blocked by Parliament.

Funny isnt it that while laws are there to deport a young British girl who is found to have a Buddha image tattooed on her arm is arrested at the airport, produced before the magistrate and then remanded and deported as happened three years ago, a known foreign terrorist could come to Lanka and live unmolested without fear of arrest and deportation? No one is saying that a foreign terrorist should be tried here and imprisoned here? That is not this countrys business. Deportation from Lankan soil of such manifested evil would have sufficed.

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi who had gone missing for the last three years and had suddenly surfaced to comment on the Easter Sunday carnage and praise his cadres, must be ruing his ignorance of not being aware that Lanka was a safe house for him and his demons of death to take safe refuge in.

But the law was and is there. And has always been there for the last so many years. It was just that it was not enforced. Perhaps the Prime Minister should revisit his law books and find in the Extradition Act, the right to deport undesirable aliens, the same Act he used this week to order the deportation of 600 Muslim teachers who had been teaching at Madrasa schools in Lanka. If he could have used that general law of the land to do so, what on earth made him say that there was no law to arrest, question, detain and deport a foreign terrorist?

The Prime Minister also said, informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks.

Then why on earth must this nation have to spend billions every year on politicians, if the whole security and defence of the realm could be delegated to the military and allow them do as they please under permanent martial law? And condemn the nations security to be permanently under the jackboot of a dictator? Life may be more secure but, sans ones fundamental freedom, where is lifes quality?

Ranil Wickremesinghe further added: There has been no breakdown in the intelligence services but the issue has been that the Defence authorities had not acted upon the warnings.

Exactly. That is why a political leadership is vital in a democracy. To supervise, to direct, to give leadership and be held accountable to the people. The whole concept of ministerial responsibility is based on that. That the Minister takes the responsibility for the commissions and omissions of the civil service under him. Not for him to wash his hands of and blame it on them. If any minister does so, he makes himself redundant. Its the minister who was voted to public office by the people. Its the Minister who is responsible to the people. Not the public servant. He is only responsible to his minister. And the political master responsible to the people. Thats what the system is all about. Its whats called Democracy. Something thats closely akin to the Lichivy system he knows so much about.

EX DEFENCE SEC

If the President made his lame duck excuses and, like a duck taking to water, blamed his underlings for the carnage, his Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was akin to a fish out of water.

He had been the original recipient of the information provided by the National Intelligence Chief that according to information received from Indias intelligence sources that churches were targeted for attack by identified Muslim terrorists on Easter Sunday.

But what did he do with it? Like pearls thrown before swine, he did not realise, it seems, its intrinsic value and merely passed it on to the Inspector General of Police. He did not bother to follow it up. He failed to inquire what action had been taken. And he, in what must tantamount to a criminal dereliction of duty, failed to inform his boss of all bosses, namely his defence minister, the president, in whose palms the security of the nation ultimately rests.

And worse, he flapped his mouth off to the international media. And with his seeming nonchalance and boorish swagger, sealed his own fate.

He said, without realising the gravity of what he was saying that he knew of the threat but that he never expected an attack of this magnitude to take place. I though it will be an isolated instance in certain places, he squeaked.

Speaking to the media, Fernando said, Intelligence never indicated that its going to be an attack of this magnitude. They were talking about isolated incidents. Besides, there is no emergency in this country. We cannot request the armed forces to come and assist us, we can only depend on the police.

Worse was to follow. And it was his callous approach, even after two hundred people had died due to his failure to take the matter seriously and gauge, without experience of any kind, what the magnitude of the attack would be when he casually observed that Sri Lanka had experienced similar tragic situations, despite security checks in place. Its not the first time a bomb went off in this country. Why are you trying to isolate this unfortunate incident?

But even worse was to follow. To add insult to injury, this mediocre administrator, elevated from his bureaucratic desk to be the civil servant in charge of the nations defence, overlording the nations triple military guarding deities, by President Sirisena for no apparent reason based on any qualification or experience, he had the insensitivity to state: Many countries have faced similar security issues in the past. It happened in New Zealand, unexpectedly. We need to make sure that similar things will not take place in the future.

And then he went onto say, I cant say with confidence anything about with terrorism. No country in the world can assure that its not going to happen. But were trying our best.

But even before he had finished his interview with the media, it became clear that his number was up. And the question was asked by all: Why did he not tell the President?

The President duly asked for his resignation. And Hemasiri Gernando, having no choice, duly handed it over.

But does resignation alone absolve one from all responsibility?

Especially when the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU) President Sheik M.I.M. Rizwi Mufti said: I am the first to reveal the presence of IS terrorists in Sri Lanka way back in 2014. I informed the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa about it but nothing was done.

Can one be responsible for such a terrible tragedy which has killed so many, brought the nation to a halt, destroyed its economy and nullified all the efforts taken to promote tourism, led to the introduction of emergency law and tolled back the tide of democracy and placed civil life in peril  can one be responsible for all this and more merely resign and simply walk away free into the sunset without facing charges of criminal negligence? Unless, of course, he was the scapegoat  this five month presidential mascot  led before the public to slaughter and reprieved by presidential fiat at the eleventh hour.

THE IGP

The presidential axe also fell on the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera last week when Maithripala Sirisena asked for his resignation as well. He had been one of the first recipients to have received notice of the threat as sent by the national Intelligence Chief who had received it from Indian intelligence sources. He read it and merely passed it down to his DIGs. His offence: No follow-up action. He has still not resigned and has placed his fate in the hands of the Constitutional Council which will no doubt deliver the chop in the coming week.

Odd, isnt it, when one thinks about it, how so many in the services knew, including the civilian Hemasiri Fernando the Presidents own defence secretary but none thought it fit to inform the political leadership of the threat?:

The then defence secretary says he thought the attacks would be no big deal, the President says no one informed him of the threat before the event and even after the event, the Prime Minister says that informing political leadership on the impending attacks on Easter Sunday was not important as Defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by the intelligence units on the Easter Sunday attacks, the IGP passes the letter to his DIGs and thinks of it no longer, out of the DIGs only one takes the trouble to write to the Director of VIPs Security Detail tasked to protect VIPs  not churches, mind you  and none of them informs those they are charged to protect, Mahinda Rajapaksa states that though his security detail knew, he did not  it would have been so funny had it not been so tragic.

Perhaps senior UNP Minister John Amaratunga summed it up best to reflect the prevailing political mood and insouciance when he declared at a news conference last week: What has happened has happened, we have suffered loss, the damage has been done.

Hopefully, in deference to the memory of those who lost their lives and the families they left behind to grieve their irreplaceable loss, he was not implying that the nation should not be crying over spilled blood?

One question for Maithri and Ranil Did Indian High Commissioner alert them? As the SUNDAY PUNCH stated last week, the Indian intelligence warned their counterparts in Colombo not once, not twice but thrice. The first warning, it is said, was given on April 4 the second the day before the attacks, the third hours before the attack. And it was thrice ignored. Indian intelligence was not a general warning. It was what is called actionable intelligence. It did not merely state that there would be attacks but specifically stated that churches and the Indian High Commission would come under attack on Easter Sunday. Is it unreasonable to assume that the top most concern and priority of the Indian intelligence service would have been the safety of its own High Commission in Colombo and its consulate in Kandy? They would, no doubt, have informed the Indian High Commission of the potential threat, they had extracted from an ISIS suspect in Indian custody. In such a situation, wouldnt the Indian High Commissioner have called on the President and or the prime Minister and requested protection for the premises? True, there is an Indian contingent within the premises to guard it from terror attacks even as the US Embassy has a contingent of US marines. But they cannot step out of the premises but has to remain within the sovereign territory of their own country, namely the diplomatic premises. The question posed to both the President and the Prime Minister is: Did the Indian High Commission approach either and apprise them of the terror threat to the Indian High Commission and to the churches on Easter Sunday? The Indian High Commissioner would not have talked to the defence secretary directly since its against diplomatic protocol to talk to a public servant. Perhaps, its best, to clear the foul air, that both the President and the Prime Minister issue an unambiguous statement whether or not the Indian High Commissioner made such a request for Lankan police or troops to guard its entrance and act as a bulwark against the threat its own intelligence service had provided. A simple yes or a simple no will do. Or did the Indian High Commissioner, too, even with his own High Commission under threat, keep the President and Prime Minister of Lanka in the dark? Cardinal Ranjith: Man of the hour Pope phones Cardinal to bestow blessings His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has risen immeasurably in the eyes of his fellow men to be the true shepherd of Lankas Catholic flock to lead them from despairs darkness to Gods own comforting heavenly light. And as things would have it, it has taken the worst of times to bring out the best in him. And, no doubt, he is seen in the Holy See as a rising star in the papal firmament. On April 24, three days after the Easter carnage, His Holy Father Pope Francis sends him a letter. He writes: Conscious of the wound inflicted on the entire nation, I likewise pray that all Sri Lankans will be affirmed in their resolve to foster social harmony, justice and peace. With these sentiments, I affectionately commend you and your Brother Bishops. And the cardinal on May 2 writes to his His Holy Father. He says: Your presence with us on this sad occasion strengthens me and our community. At 11 am that same day, Cardinal Ranjiths phone rings at the Bishops House in Colombo.. It is from Pope Francis. He gives him benediction, praising him for the tremendous work done by his to uplift the spirit and souls of those who had suffered greatly in the tragedy. And, like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, who knows  for the church works in mysterious ways  whether at the appropriate hour at a future conclave of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope, white smoke will emit as the signal to herald the advent of the worlds first Asian Pope? Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Ad Multos Annos!
Political egotism helps spawn new terrorism View(s):

Ever since the LTTE was militarily crushed finally in May 2009, Sri Lanka has been wallowing in triumphalism. This is not to belittle the achievement of the countrys security forces which were dismissively discarded particularly by so-called western experts and analysts as incapable of militarily defeating the LTTE.

Western media were not remiss in propagating these views and adding their own condescending expertise and denigrating the armed forces for violating international humanitarian law.

One cannot believe there has ever been a war where no violations of law ever occurred. In October 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon jointly announced that in any conflict henceforth UK will opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect its frontline troops from spurious legal claims.

It was the same British Government that in 2015, sponsored along with other western nations an anti-Sri Lanka resolution before the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the Sri Lankan armed forces of war crimes and of violating international humanitarian law.

If I remember correctly President Mahinda Rajapaksa defending the Sri Lankan armed forces once said that our soldiers fought with a weapon in one hand and the human rights law in the other.

That might sound rather hyperbolic but it was a signal that the then government was determined to defend the armed forces against those who wanted to criminalise the soldiers and label them as instruments of viciousness that should earn the derision of the civilised world.

In standing up for the military, the government was not only paying the soldiers a tribute, the administration was also making a political point that would earn it the gratitude of the people as the government that saved the nation from division and collapse.

After he became president in 2015, President Sirisena did not take the same stance. His political promises were tuned to another station. He was determined, he said, to end corruption and punish those who had robbed the nation of its assets. He was also committed to abolish the executive presidency.

Valuable goals indeed! But, as the days turned into months and years, his interests veered in a different direction. The pursuit of power became an end in itself. His stated commitment to spend only one term in office was increasingly jettisoned and staying on longer turned into an obsession with the judiciary also being asked for advice on whether he could continue for six years.

One important objective, if he intended to stay on, was to strengthen his hold on power which led him to clash with the Rajapaksas and SLFPers who were committing their support to the former president.

At the same time, President Sirisena was increasingly at loggerheads with his prime minister and the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP, his main coalition partner whom he began to contest in cabinet and thrash in public.

The Presidents strategy was to short-circuit UNP-initiated legislation and blame it for all the woes, to which the UNP graciously contributed. He was also intent on holding on to his diminishing power in the original SLFP and containing the growing influence of the Rajapaksas, one of whom was a likely challenger at the presidential election.

So he was fighting on two fronts  inside the government and the Rajapaksa-led opposition on the outside, a task beyond his capabilities as has been shown. Instead of governing the country based on the promises he made to the people, fighting for survival turned into an obsession.

But blaming others was not enough to win over the people. He had to project himself as a patriot and a leader who cleansed the country of evil. So he, too, pledged to protect the armed forces and ensure that its officers were never dragged before foreign tribunals for alleged war crimes.

Not only was he competing with the Rajapaksas to win the affection and loyalty of the tri-forces, he went further. He committed himself to rid the country of the drug menace and hang a few drug- dealing convicts to show the country his determination.

To vigorously pursue this goal, he needed the full backing of the forces of law and order. This made Sirisena and the top layers of the law enforcement agencies take their eyes off the ball. They turned their attention away from national security to fulfill the Sirisena aim and earn his gratitude.

Whether the Rajapaksa boast that terrorism had been eliminated and would not rise again was a political ploy to keep him forever in the national conscience or whether he truly believed that he had ended terrorism will remain a matter of debate.

The fact is that such thinking permeated the upper echelons of the forces and further down. They seemed to believe their task was done and they could now relax as there was no perceivable enemy in sight.

Generals with multiple chips on their shoulders were telling tales of derring-do as though they, like David, single-handedly slew the mighty Goliath. Such self glorified popinjays threw themselves into political movements doubtless expecting future rewards.

So with current political leaders praising the men in uniform or those who have hung up their boots, there has been for some years an aura of complacency in the political arena and in the defence/military establishment.

This cock-a-hoop attitude seems to have penetrated the thinking of those who should keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut. But Sirisenas choice of staff at the highest levels seems to be as curious and absurd as Donald Trumps appointments to the White House and elsewhere. This rapid turnaround does not allow appointees time to settle and look beyond their allocated tasks making them appear like subject clerks.

Those whose primary task is security/defence intelligence gathering and analysis appear to have turned their attention to other matters like tracking the work of political foes and even government allies.

Indian media reported the other day that intelligence passed on by India about an impending attack by Islamic extremists was pushed aside as probable attempts by New Delhi to assign the blame to Pakistan to create a rift between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The media were citing high officials in Colombo.

Did those officials, whose thinking this was, even consult the Foreign Ministry on this interpretation of events or seek the advice of foreign policy analysts who work in government posts?

What expertise did those officials who came to this conclusion have with regard to foreign affairs and current bilateral/multilateral regional developments? Surely these were extremely important pieces of intelligence that should have been passed on to high political authorities but so cavalierly discarded as seems to have happened.

If those who are mandated to follow developments around the world should study modern-day terrorism, especially changes in the modus operandi of modern terrorist organisations, they would know that increasingly terrorist cadres or those attracted by todays extremist ideologies associate with such organisations and even fight for them in wars and conflicts as has been repeatedly mentioned in reports and media despatches.

Were our intelligence services aware that one of the Easter suicide bombers studied in the UK and had links with the British national popularly known as Jihadi John who was a fighter for the IS and executed several hostages including a journalist? If so, did they keep an eye on him after he returned to Sri Lanka or just forget about him?

Some Muslim organisations have claimed that 11 dockets of information relating to the activities of extremist Islamic preacher Zahran considered to be a leader, if not the leader of the Suicide bombers, had been passed on to officials starting in 2017. Officials included the then Defence Secretary, IGP and the Attorney General. Apparently Zahran had begun to preach against the government, the courts and other religions. Did they track his activities or just throw the documents away. Or maybe they are gathering dust on some shelf like those annual assets declarations nobody ever glances through.

A mosque trustee of who was involved in preparing the documents was quoted as saying that all the efforts fell on deaf years.

It is the political complacency bred by a political class more interested in safeguarding their own interests and the route to wealth that appears to have created the same lackadaisical attitude among officials some of whom are inclined to follow the same route as politicians with bloated egos.
The fiendish terrorism of a few over the many View(s):

As Sri Lankans are besieged by daily if not hourly reports regarding the rounding up of suspected islamist jihadists in the wake of last months Easter Sunday atrocities, it is crucial to recognise that the terrorism of a barbaric few cannot and should not be allowed to taint an entire Muslim community. Sadly but inevitably, Muslim Sri Lankans who were as appalled at the attacks as their Sinhalese and Tamil neighbours may face random and increased hostilities from the ignorant or the racially motivated. This is a trend that must be unequivocally and roundly rejected.

Misleading arguments on the insufficiency of law

This time around and as differentiated from conflicts over land and power which had gripped Sri Lanka in its savage toils for decades, the fight concerns an ideology that is perverse and violative of the very fundamentals of Islamic teachings. In other words, the fight is over the territories of the Sri Lankan mind or to put it more correctly, what remains of that as twisted and beaten down by ceaseless political propaganda of the most sordid kind. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the counter-narrative to a jihadist doctrine of pure hate must not be trapped in a self-defeating terror mentality. In that context, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes claim this week that the Easter Sunday barbarities may been prevented if the Counter Terror Bill was passed in Parliament is as disengenous as it is dangerous.

There is a wholly misleading rationale to this reasoning. As appears to be this Governments wont, the blame is passed from an unpardonable failure of political and bureaucratic leadership to a specious argument that existing law is not enough to deal with jihadists having links to international terror groups. As Sri Lankans wriggled in acute embarassment, this was the same excuse trotted out to international news journalists who interviewed the Prime Minister in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But the second part of that argument is where it gets interesting. As a result of this seeming lacunae, the Counter Terror Bill now before a parliamentary oversight commitee needs to be, (apparently in the Prime Ministers mind), passed post haste as he urges parliamentarians in uncharacteristically pithy Sinhalese to stop grating coconuts (pol ganne nethuwa) and pass the Bill.

First, this claim that the law is not enough could not be further than the truth. Several Sri Lankan laws, from the Prevention of Terrorism Act (1979, ( PTA) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (2007, ICCPR Act) to the more mundane Penal Code may have been utilised. Secondly, the Governments very actions since the attack give the best and most persuasive lie to this claim. Investigations have uncovered the connection between the islamist jihadists that carried out the Easter Sunday attacks and the damaging of the Buddha statutes at Mawanella along with the killing of two policemen in Vavunitivu. Why was this link not pursued earlier? Or was it not taken seriously due to political expediency of the Eastern vote bank and the Governments courting of Muslim politicians? This is, by far, the more credible explanation, apart from hair raisingly amusing conspiracy theories being regurgitated in every corner.

Rejecting hostility towards the Muslim community

The same question applies to never-ending discoveries of explosives, swords, guns and knives with a few being discovered in mosques. And if assets of the identified terrorists and their families are being frozen under prevalent law as the public has been informed, why could not this have been done earlier? But as we are getting to know in excruciating detail, the fault does not lie in the law. Even though intelligence officers on the ground knew the situation, political leaders and bureaucrats were running in opposite directions like headless chickens.

The few in the know vacillated and chewed their fingers, hoping that even if some incident occurs, it will be a little one as the former Defence Secretary so incautiously spluttered when questioned. If the Government had not been grating coconuts during the time that it should have been vigilant, Sri Lankas Catholics might not be now labouring under a horrific sense of revulsion as flesh and blood of victims still stick to the walls of their churches and Muslims would not be cowering in fear.

Meanwhile, the culpability of Muslim politicians in instigating the radicalisation of their voter bases is clear. The silence of the Easts Muslim Ministers in particular as jihadism grew under their feet as it were and the active support of others to that destructive growth is striking. This mirrors the manner in which Tamil and Sinhala politicians benefitted off the extremism of segments in their own societies to the eventual detriment of those very communities. Indeed, the responsibility goes deeper than political culpability

Pursuing a dishonest narrative

Post 2015, a deliberately dishonest narrative in force framed Muslim radicalisation in Sri Lanka purely as a reaction to Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism aggravated by post-war Rajapaksa triumphalism. Moderate Muslims hesitated to reflect on worrying changes in their societies due to cries that this will bar Sri Lankas reconciliation and transitional justice processes. Now as our expectations of reconciliation, let alone normalcy in daily life fade, certain truths must be realised. We must acknowledge that anti-Muslim rhetoric by radical Buddhist monks was not the trigger for the Easter Sunday attacks by Islamic State fighters, though this may well have been part of the backdrop to the alienation of communities. Irrefutably, attacks on churches could not have been the chosen plan of offense if that was the case. At least now, young Muslim writers have started speaking out candidly about dilemmas of community, religion, violence and radicalisation.

Nonetheless, this leaves the larger question of political accountability in issue. Why is it that only pawns are captured in this game while politicians are left untouched? While the arrest of one Municipal Councillor here and another one there and the arrest of drivers, secretaries and so on of prominent politicians is well and good, those higher in the political ladder need to be held to account. This is where the deficit of trust persists. So while a new counter-terror law may be this Governments pet project, the Prime Minister and Ministers need to explain themselves to a suspicious public rather than airly waving their hands and uttering vapid nonsense.

Indeed, time limited emergency regulations subject to Parliamentary control and constitutional review by the Supreme Court is a far better tool to deal with what we have in hand rather than a permanent counter-terror law which, once the Speakers seal is put, passes out of the scrutiny of court. Swift, surgical strikes are needed rather than an embedded state of counter-terrorputting legitimate criticism at risk.

Despite the UNPs clever games amidst ludicrous confidence that it will win the electoral day, a Counter-Terror Bill which undermines civil liberties in its present formulation will pave the way for a security state run by smiling Rajapaksa strongmen. We will be projected into an entirely hazardous reality of international and regional counter-terror chess games having the potential to undermine hitherto strategically won gains of the Rule of Law. What calamity next awaits us? Fundamentalist Christians bursting into mosques or temples with guns akin to what New Zealand and the United States has experienced?

If care is not taken even at this definitively late stage, unmitigated and unchecked terror stalking the land will be the sole and dismal legacy of the yahapalanaya victory of 2015.
In the tangled web of terrorism View(s):

The chilling video released this week by the leader of the purported Islamic State (ISIS) congratulating the inhumane suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka raised eyebrows in world capitals. Believed to have been killed during battles in his make-believe Caliphate in West Asia, the video has been confirmed to be that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, not seen since 2014.

That Sri Lanka has been flagged as part of the global nexus of ISIS activities is a pity, to say the least. The negative publicity generated around the world by the actions of a fringe group against the minorities in Sri Lanka has crucified the nation as one where Buddhist majoritarianism prevails, not as a peaceful Buddhist country. Western news agencies and NGOs did Sri Lanka no favours in conveying that message around and helped attract the evil eyes of ISIS, even though their global enemy was the crusaders (Christians) and the non-believers.

ISIS was a creation of the Wests illegal and immoral intervention in Iraq, Libya and Syria in the post 9/11 era. Baghdadis utopian Caliphate has been crumbling on the battlefield in recent months. But his movement is not dead  yet. Its weapon of mass destruction is not nuclear bombs, but the internet; not conventional warfare but social media.

ISIS exploited the worldwide web to recruit cadres around the world. It shows gruesome videos and photographs of dying children and atrocities committed in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen  everywhere the West has upturned the status quo and waged war in the name of world peace. They mix these pictorials with the deadly cocktail of emotive scripture interpreted to suit their cause. The influential US-based Foreign Policy publication went to the extent of comparing that modus operandi to how certain Western charitable organisations use graphic videos of starving children in Africa to get donations for their work.

It was the Governments of the US, Britain and their Western allies which upset the hornets nest in West Asia. Their indiscriminate bombings and collateral damage on civilians have not gone unchallenged. The crazed bees are stinging people in Europe, and now Asia in tit-for-tat campaigns also targeting the European (Christian) way of life. These countries viz., Iraq, Libya, Syria etc., had excellent relations with Sri Lanka in the years gone by. Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was wowed and greatly respected by the Arab people. Today, some of these very people have turned against Sri Lanka, even to the extent of harming this country.

Whether one likes it or not, this unholy holy war between the West and the Islamic nations of West Asia has come to Sri Lanka. The knee-jerk reaction in banning the burqa and other attire identified with one faith has become a debatable issue, and it might have been wiser to implement such a step through a voluntary exercise rather than by law. In West Asia, Islamic dress has now been turned into a multi-billion dollar (US$ 60 billion in 2017) fashion industry for Western designers.

Those who however dismiss the security aspect of the ban ignore the fact that flushing out the terrorists in our midst will necessitate the checking of identities, including those of persons in such attire. This in turn could bring accusations of scandalising the modesty of women and lead to a breach of the peace.

Whether the ban is a temporary one or not is a decision for later, one might think, but hopefully the authorities who are coming out with figures of more and more arrests, are not doing so to cover up for their colossal lapse in preventing the Easter Sunday massacres. One can only hope that these arrests are being clinically executed to sweep the terrorists from their hideouts.

While monks and priests are advising the Security Forces whom to arrest and of the need to search empty houses, a Colombo-based foreign ambassador, probably with the ghost of Benghazi hanging over, issued warnings of further attacks, adding to the fear-psychosis. Despite Sri Lankans being almost anaesthetised to terrorism not so long ago, the decade-long period of peace has not only propelled people back to that era, but thrown them off their usual tranquil complacency into a state of extreme anxiety.

Many remain on edge, partly due to the publicity around the possibility of further strikes coupled with a lack of confidence that the Government is on top of things. The only redeeming feature is that the Security Forces can handle the situation. In the circumstances, it is crucial for the Government to realise that there are numerous case studies that show that persons in police or judicial custody, or even at rehabilitation centres can get radicalised within these confines if they are not involved in terrorist activity in the first place.

It is hoped that Intel reports will, on the one hand, be made available only on a need-to-know basis, but equally shared with the relevant authorities. Sharing tip-offs should not be stymied because agencies do not want to share the credit. One-upmanship is a trait in the Intelligence community. On the other hand, writing down a mere minute on a piece of information, and passing the buck as it were, caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people on Easter Sunday.

This is the month of Vesak to be followed by Poson next month. The people need to have the confidence that the Government and its Security Forces have got a grip on the situation. The Christian community is still reeling from the Easter Sunday attacks. The UNP-SLFP coalition Government is still haggling over who should run the Law and Order Ministry. There still is no apex persona handling national security. The Muslim community is caught between the terrorist and the deep blue sea. The move to ask foreign religious teachers overstaying their visas to leave the country is a step in the right direction. The statistics revealed this week of the number of madrasas and Arabic schools in the country are alarming. The competition among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran for influence has rent the Muslim world asunder. And that sectarian division has been exploited by the West.

A few years ago, this newspaper highlighted the audacity of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen asking the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan directly for monies, ostensibly for the resettlement of displaced Muslims following the northern insurgency. This was a flagrant violation of the countrys laws that require these funds to be channelled through the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry. The then President ignored the matter; the Minister dumped him and joined the new Government.

So, it all comes back to the political leadership that salivates for votes at the expense of national security. The silence of Muslim political leaders since Easter Sunday is deafening. World powers mouthing platitudes on fighting terrorism are backing terrorists if they are on their side of the fight against other terrorists. Oh what a tangled web they weave
Kids World * View(s):

Myself

My name is Umar Rushdie.

I am six years old. I study at

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo. I live in Dehiwala. I like to eat chocolates and ice-cream. I have a big sister. I like to play with cars and construction vehicles.

Umar Rushdie (Grade 2)

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo

Our Prefect Day 2019

Our Prefect Day was held on March 15, 2019 in our school premises.

It started at 8.30 a. m. Our Chief guests were the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara and the Branch Director Mr. Nalaka Bandara.

All the parents of the prefects came to this occasion.

First we started by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Before the awarding of badges, we worshipped our parents and teachers. Then our school CEO

Mr. Sandeepa Jayasekara gave badges to all the prefects. I was also a prefect who was awarded a prefect badge.

Then after that Mr. Jayasekara made a presentation. He explained to us the meaning and responsibilities of a prefect, who is a leader, how can we recognise a leader and showed us examples for good leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai, We all liked that presentation and

we learnt many things.

I thank our Madame Principal, Deputy Principal, Teacher in charge of Prefects, all our teachers and our parents for organising this programme in a successful manner.

Dimuthu Mihiranga (Grade

JMC Int. College, Maharagama

My best day

My family planned to visit another country for a week. We had packed our bags and my father booked a PickMe to take us to the airport. We said goodbye to our grandparents and left home.

It took us about an hour to reach the airport because there was a lot of traffic. I was really impatient until we went to the airport.

It was a Friday and there were so many people at the airport. After my father handed over our bags we checked in and we went to the lounge to wait for our flight. We were going to Singapore and it was a Singapore Airlines flight. My sister and I watched the planes landing and taking off. I was extremely excited because this was my first trip overseas.

After almost one hour, our flight was announced. Then the four of us boarded the plane. My sister and I got two window seats. We were asked to fasten our seatbelts. I was so scared when our flight was taking off, but I soon settled down and fell asleep.

We had a tasty meal and I watched a nice movie. It was a five hour flight and was very exciting to fly through the clouds. It was such a comfortable journey and I felt sorry to get off the plane.

That was my first trip to another country and the best day in my whole life.

Rovinu Deshapriya (11 years)

S. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia
Bollywood political thriller amidst Indian election View(s):

While the Indian election is on the run, The Tashkent Files political Bollywood thriller about the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, which creates box-office records, is now being screened in Sri Lanka.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film stars two Indias ever-popular stars Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty in the lead.

The Tashkent Files revolves around the mysterious death of Indias 2nd Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and attempts to uncover if he had actually died a natural death, or, as alleged, was assassinated.

On June 9, 1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of India. According to the Media reports Shastri emerged as the consensus candidate after the sudden demise of Nehru, even though there were more influential leaders within the ranks of Congress. Shastri was a follower of Nehruvian socialism and displayed exceptional cool under dire situations.

He tackled many elementary problems like food shortage, unemployment and poverty. To overcome the acute food shortage, Shastri asked the experts to devise a long-term strategy. This was the beginning of famous Green Revolution. Apart from the Green Revolution, he was also instrumental in promoting the White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 during Shastris stint as Prime Minister.

After the Chinese aggression of 1962, India faced another aggression from Pakistan in 1965 during Shastris tenure. Shastri showing his mettle, made it very clear that India would not sit and watch. While granting liberty to the Security Forces to retaliate, he said, Force will be met with force.

The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 after the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The Russian Prime Minister, Kosygin, offered to mediate and on 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistan counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration.

But on the following day Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had earlier suffered two heart attacks, died of a third cardiac arrest on 11 January, 1966.

Shastris sudden death immediately after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan raised many suspicions. His wife, Lalita Devi, alleged that Shastri was poisoned and the Russian butler serving the Prime Minister was arrested. But he was released later as doctors certified that Shastri died of cardiac arrest. The media circulated a possible conspiracy theory hinting at the involvement of CIA in the death of Shastri.

The RTI query posted by author Anuj Dhar was declined by the Prime Minister Office citing a possible souring of diplomatic relations with the US.
Documentary film on the division of Germany Train to Freedom View(s): View(s):

German documentary film Train to Freedom set against the backdrop of the fall of Berlin Wall will be screened at 7 pm on May 10 at Goethe Hall, Colombo.

Directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias Schmidt, this documentary talks about an incident where hundreds of East German refugees fled to the West German Embassy in Prague. In the film, some of these refugees share their experiences; other witnesses report the difficult negotiations that ultimately lead to the departure of the refugees.

The wall, created after the Second World War, was a symbol of the political and economic division of Europe throughout the Cold War. Following numerous peaceful revolutions, the wall came down and Germany became unified.

Prague 1989, September 30th. The West-German Embassy in Prague finds itself the center of the worlds political stage. For weeks refugees from East-Germany have been streamed on the premises of the Palais Lobkowitz and the surrounding streets. Within days the fenced embassy compound transformed itself into a vast refugee camp.

This film is part of the film series Film Macht Geschichte, organized by the German Changes and Upheavals  Crises and Conflicts  this film focuses on the film series Film Macht Geschichte. The selected films focus on the topic of failed states. The term originated in the early 90s and referred directly to the changes and upheavals in the former Eastern Bloc. Within the film series, the breakdown of the GDR is described in particular.
LANKA CHALLENGE 2019: THE TUK TUK ADVENTURE ROUND 14 View(s):

On Saturday 27 April, despite the devastating events in Sri Lanka, the Tuk Tuk Warriors successfully finished their 1000 km adventure around Sri Lanka at Suriya Resort in Waikkal.

The group was camping in the middle of a forest in Mannar when the unfortunate incidents of Easter Sunday first occurred and even though the group was shocked and saddened all the participants came together with the intention of completing the challenge as planned.

This year, Large Minority (www.largeminority.travel) in partnership with Connaissance de Ceylan, SriLankan Airlines and Ministry of Tourism, organized the 14th edition of Lanka Challenge; this edition explored the wild and less travelled territory from Tamerind Tree in Minuwangoda, Kalpitiya, Wilpattu, Mannar, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Sigiriy, Riverstone, Kandy and Waikkal. Participants rode approximately 150km per day over nine days and covered more than 1000km in total.

The self-drive Tuk-Tuk Challenge gave 53 participants in 20 tuk-tuks, from 10 countries, an up close and personal experience of some of the most fascinating historical sites and views of this island, all the while raising money for local charities, environmental organisations and above all not giving in to terror.

In this edition, the participants faced some unusual challenges from tasting the hottest chilies to selling fish at the local market to (probably the most comical for us locals) taking groceries to a random home in a village and getting the home dwellers to cook for them. Other challenges included, the elephant dung put shot challenge, memorising Buddhist chants and offering flowers at a village temple. While still being fun, the tuk-tuk challenge offered participants a way of interacting with daily life in Sri Lanka.

It was important that The Lanka Challenge event was seen through to the end especially given the existing climate here in Sri Lanka, as the event supported local partners such as the Red Cross Society of Sri Lanka and Land Owners Restore Rainforest in Sri Lanka (LORRIS). A total of 10 percent of each teams entry fee was given directly to charity partners.

Julian Carnall of Lanka Challenge added Last year we collected over US$ 8,000 which was used for different charitable projects including donating textbooks, musical instruments and planting more than 200 indigenous trees to offset our carbon emissions. In 2019 we raised even more funds in Sri Lanka and were able to touch many more lives.

We are grateful to this years brave participants and Large Minority who decided to stay and see their 1000km challenge through to its completion. A special mention must be given to the Police, Army and Ministry of Defence along with Connaissance de Ceylan and Sri Lanka Ministry of Tourism, who went the extra mile to provide the additional infrastructure and security needed for our visitors complete their mission post-Easter Sunday attacks he added.
600 visa violators deported; among them Islamic preachers View(s):

More than 600 foreigners, including Islamic preachers who have come on tourist visas, have been deported during the past week for violating visa regulations.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena, under whose purview the Immigration Department comes, told the Sunday Times that at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a directive was issued to the Immigration Department higher-ups to deport all persons violating visas.

Accordingly all those people arrested for violating visa regulations have been deported.

An Immigration Department official said that at present, at least 200 foreigners were in involved in Islamic preaching in Sri Lanka. They were issued visas on the recommendations of the Muslim Affairs Ministry.

He said that at the prime ministers meeting, senior Immigration Department officials submitted a list of foreign Islamic preachers in Sri Lanka.

He said that his Department issued them visas after obtaining security clearance from the Defence Ministry, in keeping with the usual procedure.
Country raises its guard in face of violent extremism By Kasun Warakapitya View(s): View(s):

Nearly a decade after Tamil terrorism was ended, checkpoints and increased protection of people, schools, hospitals, and public and private premises have returned to Sri Lanka after the mass murder by Islamic suicide killers in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.

Long queues form outside buildings because of security checks. Parking is restricted in public places, government departments, and religious places. Eateries are employing their own private security, while the military is guarding some tourist hotels.

Private hospitals have bolstered security, while the military is looking after perimeter protection. The police and the army have put up roadside checkpoints, at junctions and bridges as well as entry points to Colombo. Vehicles are throughly checked. The military is guarding government offices, the Fort Railway Station and the Petttah bus stand.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has strengthened security. There are Civil Defence Force (CDF) and Army Commandos patrolling the pavement around the building preventing illegal parking. The police are checking identity cards and taking notes. People are not allowed to carry bags, helmets, and jackets inside. The CDF officials ask people to place their bags, hats, caps and jackets on the two racks at the sides of the main entrance.

Mohomad Nilam, 44, who works in a private company, said he feels safe after seeing the increased security at the IRD. Checkpoints are needed to counter terrorists. We must not allow terrorists to attack more people, he said.

Sujith Kumara Weerasinghe, 45, a messenger, who was at the IRD, said he is subjected to checks at other government offices. There are a lot of military officials in the building, we feel secure, he said. He feels obliged to co-operate with security checks.

Security at the Department of Immigration and Emigration has been increased. Military officials check bags and pat down everyone at the entrance.

Colombos port and its environs are being heavily guarded by the navy. There are more than 15 navy officers at the vehicle checkpoint at the port entrance. Other navy officers continue to check parked vehicles near the port wall. More security has been introduced in schools and hospitals.

But not everyone is pleased. The ban on parking near government offices is a major hindrance to those operating three-wheelers for hires.

P Krishna, a trishaw driver who parks near the IRD, said he cannot stay for long at the location. He had not been able to run hires in the past week. It is a struggle to make a living.

Most shops still remain closed at the Pettah market. Shops that are open attract below average crowds. The red mosque, which attracted tourists, is only open for worship.

Mohomad Shafrath, 24, who sells electronic items, phone chargers, power banks as well as pen drives, said business dropped. We started our business a few months back. Now, no one comes. We are victims of terrorism too. How could we do business like this, he said.

Anusha Willarachachi, 42, a government employee, said she was at the market with a friend to buy essentials. She fears violence more than the bombings. She added that people have continued to live their lives despite the fear.

Gothatuwa resident, Shanai Ranasinghe, said that she still comes to Pettah to buy supplies for her online cosmetics business. She said she is indifferent to who the vendors are.

The merchants are affected as they were forced to close shops for a week and since opening, few people have come, he said.

Chandrajeewa Liyanagamage, the treasurer of the three-wheeler association, said hires have dried up, even by foreign visitors. Even the railway authorities wont allow us to park outside the station despite paying Rs1,150 for a three-wheeler. All our 80 three-wheelers are registered and pay taxes to the municipality, he said.

He said they are unable to pick up hires as the three-wheelers block the vehicle park entrance.
Ministers Oman bound for talks on Hambantota refinery project View(s):

Petroleum Resources Minister Kabir Hashim and Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama have left for Oman for discussions on the Hambantota oil refinery project. They are to be joined by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who was a key participant at earlier talks on the controversial venture.

Minister Samarawickrama said yesterday that he and Minister Hashim were invited by the Government of Oman but said he had no knowledge of Minister Bathiudeen (who was already abroad yesterday afternoon) also being there. I dont know if hes also coming there because its about petroleum and other industries, he said.

It was announced in March that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in a US$ 3.8bn (Rs 685.5bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota. It later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International.

Three of Silver Parks four directors are Jegathrakshagan Sundeep Anand, Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya. They are the son, daughter and wife of S. Jagathrakshakan, a DMK stalwart.

In Hambantota, hundreds of acres of land have been allocated to the project. There has been no EIA and there are still no investors. It is feared now that Sri Lanka will give a long-term purchase guarantee to Omani oil interests in order to secure their participation.
Over 1000 asylum seekers ejected; UNHCR helpless View(s):

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relocate more than 1000 asylum seekers, who were ejected from their places of residence after the Easter Sunday bombings.

Many refugees, including Pakistani Christians and Ahmadis, were taken out or sent out from their rented houses by mobs or by house owners. They are now housed at two Ahmedi mosques and in the Negombo police station.

The UNHCR has had little or no success in finding them alternative rented accommodation as no house owners Muslim, Christian or Buddhist Sri Lankanswant to give them space, said a source familiar with the process. Therefore, they are still in their areas of displacement in cramped conditions with limited toilet facilities. Food is provided to them.

The UN agency is now relying on the Government to assist in relocation with security guarantees. The Government is willing to consider it, the sources said. The police and military have provided security to the refugees thus far. The Negombo police say that it is at great inconvenience that they are giving shelter to about 150 displaced people.

There has been a positive effort by the State to help. This is not a long-term solution or should not be a long-term thing. All efforts are being made on two fronts. One is to make them as comfortable as possible where they are and the second is to look for an option for relocation, the source said.
President rejects Ravis power purchase proposal View(s):

A five-member subcommittee headed by President Maithripala Sirsena to re-evaluate Cabinet papers submitted by Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the electricity crisis has decided not to approve the purchase of an additional 200 megawatts of emergency power outside tender process as recommended by the Ministry and some Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials.

A quantity of 170mw has already been bought from existing private power producers such as Asia Power in Sapugaskanda, ACE Power in Matara, ACE Power Embilipitiya and Northern Power. Minister Karunanayake and the Ministry along with the CEB maintained that a further quantity of emergency power was needed. And one of the ways they wanted to meet that requirement was through a 200mw barge-mounted plant contracted without tender.

But the subcommittee at a meeting on May 1 decided after heated arguments that there would be no procurement without tender. The subcommittee also includes Mr Karunanayake, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne and Non-Cabinet Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva.

It also wanted the Power and Energy Ministry to submit a report on the feasibility of the first 200mw barge that was approved by Cabinet on the basis that electricity would be bought at the lowest price and for six months. Minister Karunanayake had wanted a contract of two years.

The report was due on Friday and is expected to demonstrate whether Minister Karunanayakes claim that the cost of unit of emergency power was going to be Rs 28 (which was the maximum approved by Cabinet) or higher.

This is the second subcommittee to be set up on the matter. Earlier, a three-member ministerial committee which was also tasked with making urgent recommendations to end the power crisis was disbanded after Minister de Silvawho was also a member of that teamwrote to the President threatening to resign after minutes of their meeting were altered by a high-ranking Power and Energy Ministry official.

That committee had specifically recommended the purchase of 200MW of power for six months from a private supplier operating a barge-mounted plant. But the Ministry official had slipped in other barge-mounted power projects after applying tippex. He had also included two different contracts to separate companies for LNG projects, a subject that had not come before the Committee. It was not clear whether the official was acting on his own or at the behest of political masters.

The first subcommittee was headed by Mr Karunanayake and included Highways Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister de Silva. The second one was appointed by President Sirisena after Minister de Silva threatened to resign and brought matters to the notice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. When it met on May 1, President Sirisena left after maintaining that Mahaweli, Moragahakanda or Rantembe water will not be released for power generation.

The committee looked into a CEB letter that says around 470mw of emergency power is required. Minister Ranawaka reportedly maintained that a further 200mw is sufficient because 170mw has already been secured from existing private power producers. He, too, insisted that there must be a tender to buy this.
SriLankan requests SLAF to deploy sky marshals on flights View(s):

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is planning to deploy sky marshals on SriLankan Airlines flights to enhance air transportation safety and security .

The Air Force has responded to a request by the Airlines authorities and are evaluating the existing regulatory framework and international legal obligations on the matter, Air Force spokesman Gp. Capt Gihan Senevirathne said.

The SLAF has also beefed up security measures in and around BIA.
UN expresses collective grief over victims of terrorist killings View(s):

The United Nations expressed its collective grief over victims of the terrorist killings in Sri Lanka when the 193-member General Assembly extended its condolences to the families and renewed its commitment to combat violent extremism and terrorism.

Maria Fernanda Espinoza Garces, President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly, expressed her solidarity with Sri Lanka during these trying times. She said she was moved by Sri Lankans coming together following the attacks, opening the doors of mosques and temples for Christian services, and providing assistance to victims and their families.

I hope that we can use todays commemorative event to express our solidarity with Sri Lanka, strengthen our resolve to combat violent extremism, increase multilateral cooperation on security and tackle the financing of terrorism. We must ensure that new and evolving technologies promote and do not harm human security, she said.

The meeting, described as a commemorative event for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, was co-organised by the office of the President of the General Assembly, along with the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

The meeting was chaired by the President of the General Assembly with Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General in attendance.

Ms. Mohammed expressed sorrow that places of worship have become the playground of terrorists. The world is seeing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism, she said, highlighting the work of the UN to combat terrorism and extremism, including through addressing hate speech and ensuring safety of religious sites.

Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, in his statement noted that these inhuman and cruel acts on the holiest of days for Christians were debased in their cruelty and in their locations  carried out when devotees had closed their eyes in prayer and as tourists were enjoying a celebratory breakfast. Yet, against this carnage, as a nation, we became one, and the sorrow that the Christians underwent became the collective sorrow of an entire nation.

He pointed out that it is vital, if we are to preserve democratic space, that valuable tools such as Facebook and Twitter among others, are utilised as spaces to nurture healthy debate rather than breed violence and extremism. It is time for us to explore the possibility of an international consensus on a regulatory framework, Dr. Perera said.

I would be failing in my duty as Chair of the Working Group on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism if I do not state now, that the time has come for the international community to go beyond words and to demonstrate political will and commitment in taking the last remaining steps to conclude the Convention on Terrorism and complete the sectoral multilateral treaty regime to address the global phenomenon of terrorism. Too much blood has spilt for us to remain deadlocked on this issue, the Ambassador said.

A large number of member states, UN officials and special invitees attended the event with states taking the floor to express condolences and extend their support to the government of Sri Lanka.

Among the states delivering statements were Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada China, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Guyana (on behalf of CARICOM), Holy See, India, Ireland, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mauritania (on behalf of the Arab Group), Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA, and Kazakhstan.

Apart from national statements, the five main regional groups at the United Nations, namely, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western Europe and other states made statements on behalf of each group.

An elegy, specially composed by eminent Sri Lankan composer and conductor Dr. Lalanath de Silva, was played during the event. The United Nations Chamber Music Society performed a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace sung by David Yardley of Australia and Mahalya Gogerly-Moragoda from Sri Lanka/USA, in honor of the victims.
Unions pay silent tribute to labour in shattered capital View(s):

Every year, thousands from the provinces board buses provided by political parties and leave for Colombo for May Day rallies.

But there were no labour chants this year in the capital and elsewhere, except for symbolic gatherings.

There is no normalcy yet following the bloodbath in churches, for which the political leadership is being called to account. The Catholic church hierarchy and Buddhist religious leaders have bemoaned the weak, unsatisfactory response, so far.

Islamic extremists blew them up in teams and slaughtered scores of worshippers, including dozens of children, in Catholic churches, and locals and foreigners in hotels on Easter Sunday.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held its May Day meeting at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, where President Maithripala Sirisena joined, while Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) gathered at Kotte Municipal Council with Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. The United National Party (UNP) did not organise any public meetings.

UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a meeting with tourism stakeholders to discuss industry concerns and respond.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) gathered at the party office in with Jaffna lawmaker, Mavai Senathirajah.

Trade unions also held symbolic meetings, while adopting some regulations with regard to labour rights.

The Ceylon Mercantile Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU), one of the largest comprising 23 unions, also marked May Day.

CMU, general secretary, Sylvester Jayakody told the Sunday Times that even though there were difficulties in getting government approval for even a small meeting, at least 500 members gathered to adopt resolutions such as a demand to withdraw the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), and ensuring labour rights through proper checks and balances at the Employee Provident Fund (EPF).

This is not the first time we were asked by the government not hold any march or rally in view of May Day. Successive governments since 1971 time to time have called for such bans due to political reasons. However, we are aware of the current situation and took the decision to hold a small scale meeting considering public safety, Mr Jayakody said.

Joseph Stalin, the general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union echoed public concerns over government failures to ensure public safety following the mass murders and merely halting labour day rallies.

In the north, trade unions such as the Non Academic Employees Union of University of Jaffna had low key labour day meetings.
Upcoming Vesak: Buddha Sasana Ministry to consult Mahanayakes on pandals and dansal By Kasun Warakapitiya Minister urges people to mark the event with religious activities in temples View(s): View(s):

The upcoming Vesak celebrations, a security nightmare after the Easter Sunday terrorist massacre, have set a poser for the Government.

The decision has been placed in the hands of the Buddha Sasana Ministry. It will consult the Mahanayake Theras on how to evolve arrangements, Buddha Sasana Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said yesterday.

He told the Sunday Times that the ministrys Advisory Council will on Tuesday discuss matters relating to the checking of clergy and lay people, deploying security personnel and restricting the celebrations to religious observances.

He said they had already advised the chief priests of temples and viharas to appoint Dayaka Sabha members to form a civil defence committee at village levels.

We have plans to use military personnel and Dayaka Sabha members to check people who enter temples while Buddhist monks would be requested to check the clergy, the minister said.

The ministry would also submit an advisory, requesting devotees to avoid bringing bags to temple premises, he said. The minister said meals and drinking water must be provided at temple premises for those observing sil. The ministry would issue a circular, announcing the decisions taken at Tuesdays Advisory Council meeting.

The minister said that President Maithripala Sirisena, at a National Security Council meeting, had directed police and armed forces chiefs intensify security measures at Buddhist temples.

Mr. Jayawickrema Perera also advised the people to avoid erecting pandals, setting up vesak zones and dansal, as the extremist groups might target such places. He said even the mahanayakes and other monks had requested that Vesak be marked with religious observances in temple premises. If people wished to erect pandals and dansal, they should discuss the matter with the area police.

I cannot take the responsibility if the terror group strikes a gathering near a pandal, danasala or in a Vesak zones. Even the Mahanayakes advice is not to have such activities. They wanted people to participate in religious activities in temples, he said.
Experts talk on Sri Lankas wildlife conservation View(s):

Where is wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka today?  A series of presentations by renowned research scientists / conservationists followed by a panel discussion will be held on Thursday, May 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH.

Held in celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) this special interactive edition of its monthly lecture series will have short presentations (15 minutes each) by four experts in their field covering four major issues affecting conservation in Sri Lanka today.

The WNPS hopes that all those interested in the future protection of the wild animals and wild places of Sri Lanka will attend, and actively contribute to this most important discussion.

The panel of experts will comprise:

Moderator  Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya

Dr. Pilapitiya, a former Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), in the short time he was in office introduced a practice of good governance that was greatly appreciated by all of the stakeholders in conservation apart, of course, by Government. He is currently a Consultant to the World Bank for its conservation projects in the South Asian region, including its ESCAMP project in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of leopards  Rukshan Jayewardene

Immediate Past President of the WNPS, Rukshan Jayewardenes name has become synonymous with that of the study of wild leopards. He has co-authored a book on these fascinating creatures, particularly those in the Yala National Park.

Human  elephant conflict  Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando

For the last quarter of a century, Dr. Fernando has extensively studied the Asian Elephant, especially the Sri Lankan elephant, and is currently Chairperson of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) that conducts research for mitigating the human-elephant conflict and conserving elephants.

Marine conservationDr Nishan Perera

Dr. Perera is a Marine Biologist and underwater photographer with an interest in coral reef ecology, fisheries and marine protected area management.

Conservation of birds  Dr. Sampath Seneviratne

The current President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), Dr. Seneviratne has made the conservation of Sri Lankas birds a mission of his life.
Facing the many challenges of burqa ban By Smriti Daniel View(s): View(s):

Nadeesha* has worn a burqa for 15 years, and the abaya for twice as long. Last week, when she heard that a ban on face-covering was in place, she knew there was a difficult time ahead. This is a lovely country, it is my country. It has been a paradise on earth, and we have practised our religion freely, she said, her voice catching. We are so sad about what happened, I feel like crying. It is uncomfortable but we will adjust to the countrys law.

Nadeesha is talking about a gazette notification which was issued on April 29 under Emergency regulations which banned all full face coverings in public spaces including roads, public transport and buildings. Authorities said it was implemented in order to enable easy identification as they attempt to disband a network of terrorists who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. The law should enable security forces to better monitor terrorist movements, identify suspects and track risks in public spaces.

However, in the wake of the gazette fierce debates rage. Though it did not specifically name the niqab or burqa, it is clear the ban will adversely affect some Muslim women. Arkam Nooramit, an Executive Council member of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said that even though it brought clear challenges, Muslims were embracing non-violence and non-provocation and would accept it as the need of the hour.

As the minority we must not disturb the majoritys culture and thinking, while preserving our own culture and preserving our rights. That balance has to be struck, and that can only happen by engaging both sides, he added, explaining that the ACJU was encouraging all Muslims to be as open and cooperative as possible and not isolate themselves.

However, while few would quibble with the need for greater watchfulness, critics are worried that the burqa ban conflates conservatism with extremism in way that risks the safety of women and could feed tensions between communities. Simultaneously, there are heated debates ongoing within the Muslim community itself on whether the garment represents their Sri Lankan identity, with some even calling for the ban to be made permanent. Subsuming all these concerns is the pressing one of ensuring national security.

For clarification, a hijab is a veil which usually covers the head and chest while a niqab is a veil that covers the face. A burqa is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.

For those critical of the ban, a key part of the problem has been how it served to reinforce issues already existing in the community, such as the side-lining of womens voices. In particular, activists such as Shreen Saroor who founded the Mannar Womens Development Federation (MWDF) are questioning why the authorities opted to consult with only the ACJU which has no women in its leadership and has previously issued fatwas declaring that Muslim women should conceal their faces in public. The ACJU is part of the problem, Shreen contends, arguing that the conservative group does not represent all Muslims in this country.

I see the ban as such a deflection of what really needs to happen, Ermiza Tegal, an attorney-at-law, told the Sunday Times. Noting that Muslim women have been fighting within their community for change on issues including reforming the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, Ermiza said: We have confronted violence, discrimination and oppression, and in the midst of this terrible tragedy, to see the opportunity being taken to reinforce all that again without taking women into considerationThis is an extremely short-sighted and knee-jerk response by the State.

Speaking on behalf of the ACJU, Arkam acknowledged these concerns. We have met many womens organizations, he explained, adding that they were aware of the issues raised by the latter. We know we have to work on it and get their consensus in this matter. We have to engage with women on this, he said.

Meanwhile, online many Muslim women have come forward to dismiss the garment as a foreign import alongside Wahabism. Some like Shreen will admit readily that they are not big fans of the burqa.

Our grandmothers did not wear this and we lived amicably with other communities, Shreen points out. She says that the community can no longer evade a self-reckoning. We have come to this stage not because terrorism came from the outside, but because we let it grow, she says holding leaders and politicians accountable for ignoring the warning signs. However while urgent action is called for, she strongly believes meaningful change cannot be legislated and should instead come as a result of dialogue. To ignore this is to marginalize Muslim women, already among the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, even further, Shreen warns.

You have to understand that some of these women have been wearing the burqa since they were 13 years old. For them to show their face is now like being asked to show their private parts. Shreen describes a conversation in which one woman told her that being asked to leave off the burqa was like being asked to walk down the street without a blouse. It is a profound humiliation, she says.

Reports of covered women being bullied on the street and turned away from places like supermarkets have fuelled concern that the ban makes targets of conservative Muslim women by cementing a connection to terrorism in the minds of the public, increasing the likelihood of women facing harassment and adding to the atmosphere of fear in the country even after the ban is lifted.

Emergency laws have a tendency to outstay their welcome, Ermiza notes, emphasising that these should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still essential and are not being misused. Her deep worry is that this will be the excuse to deprive women in already conservative homes of their rights and that the ban allows those with pre-existing agendas to further curtail the freedoms of women.

The ban is serving to reinforce the sense of alienation at a moment in time when we are trying to send out a message of unity, when we are trying to reach out to each other and say we are of one country, we have to find some way to respond to this catastrophe together, says Ermiza. Sadly, the message just seems to have gone the other way on this one.

In the end, for those working on these issues, there is an acknowledgement that this is a complex challenge that requires nuance and sensitivity, both of which can be extraordinarily hard to muster in the face of the violence and terror Sri Lanka has had to contend with in the recent weeks. However, they feel that at a time when the public is justifiably scared and on edge, the State has an even greater responsibility to ensure that all citizens feel safe.

*name changed to protect the interviewees privacy.
Katuwapitiya: Alone in their grief, after the shock By Kumudini Hettiarachchi View(s): View(s):

We went back to Katuwapitiya on Wednesday.

Except the heavily barricaded St. Sebastians Church, where armed security forces personnel as well as priests are refusing to allow anyone to enter, the beleaguered village is sans much security.and the people are upset about it, as also the way the monies promised by the government are being disbursed.

Unlike the previous time (that too on a Wednesday), just three days after the Easter Sunday bombings, the weather too has turned nasty. Where earlier, the full force of the sun was beating down on the hapless people, now heavy showers are drenching the village, leaving some areas under water.

Vociferous are those who are mourning the dead about the disbursement of funds for the funerals and as compensation and how politicians are walking around handing over cheques and also capturing all in photographs.

The authorities said they would give Rs. 100,000 for the funeral rites of each victim and Rs. 1 million as compensation for each victim, but now they are deducting the Rs. 100,000 from that Rs 1 million and giving only Rs. 900,000 as compensation, said some of the bereaved. They feel this is adding insult to injury as it was the authorities themselves who had not provided security to the people even though they had prior warning of such an attack.

Both my parents died, laments Roshica Wimanna, saying she told those who came with the money what she felt. First they gave us Rs. 200,000 and now they are telling us that three of us will get Rs. 1.8 million. Roshicas father and mother, Rohan and Shanthi Wimanna, were killed instantaneously as the suicide-bomber had blown himself up after standing next to them in church.

As we walk around the village, there is also serious concern about security with the feeling uppermost being that they have been abandoned by the authorities. In each home, where family members have been buried the week before, a few kith and kin gather before a priest and sometimes a few nuns, in front of the photographs of the dead, to say mass and continue to shed tears.

There is a family where both parents, Dr. Sanath Fernando and Wales Indira, have left their three beloved children, while the grandmother had been found in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) the previous Thursday.

Explaining that the eldest girl is studying medicine in China, wishing to follow in her fathers footsteps and the two younger boys are still in school, with the middle one in the Ordinary Level class, a relative says that they have got a lot of support from the boys school. Teachers, parents and children have streamed into this house and been with us, she says, as the daughter is being helped by a relative to fill numerous forms and the pet dog lies at her feet silently as if realizing the trauma that the family is undergoing.

The daughter came back home only on Monday, the day after the blast, after hearing the tragic news, says the relative, adding that they had to break open the door to the family home as the grandmother had the key.

In another half-built home, it is husband, Dinesh Suranga, who has rushed back from his kamkaru rakshava in Italy to be there for his wife and two daughters. His mother and little son of eight months perished in the blast.

On this rainy May Day when the whole country is on holiday and even boutiques have put up their shutters, we meet a group clad in white from the Negombo Law Society headed by Attorney-at-Law Nishendra Ekanayake who too is going from door-to-door to help the families fill the detailed forms and offer legal advice all for free on how to obtain death certificates and go about testamentary cases.

We hear that even when tragedy strikes, there are the vulture-like humans who are ready to make a quick buck and have been moving around Katuwapitiya charging Rs. 1,000 for an affidavit.

When we step into Dineshs home, a Buddhist monk is talking to the family, consoling them.

Dinesh and his whole family, wife, two daughters and son had been in Italy but the latter had come back because they wanted to put the elder girl to school here. That fateful day, Easter Sunday, his wife Disna had taken the three children along with her mother-in-law to church. Eight-month-old Dinuj, like any little one, with face wrinkled up was showing in no uncertain terms that he was tired and unhappy. Giving him a feed, Disna handed over her podi putha to her mother-in-law and went for communion. When she came back, Dinuj was fast asleep and she did not want to disturb him.

The mass was over but a politician wanted to give a kathawa. Otherwise, the people would have left the church, says Dinesh.

He cannot deal with the aftermath, as he looks at us mutely and murmurs like so many others.this is like a mala gama (dead village).

The shock is wearing off now that they have buried their dead. The reality is sinking in slowly as they face a bleak future without their loved ones.
Minding Sri Lankas Parliament for 35 years On the eve of launching his memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces in Sinhala, Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

In a Havelock Town house packed with memories and mementos- a veritable gallery where tasteful East blends with gracious West- an octogenarian is enjoying a well earned rest. For 35 long years he was minding the Sri Lankan Parliament- for 13 of which he acted as the Secretary General of that august house, having stepped up from being Second Clerk Assistant and Clerk Assistant.

His memoirs, A Clerk Reminisces, modestly concise and fitted into a 100 page but engrossing demi-autobiography, dwells most fondly and lingeringly on the days spent in the grand British neo-Baroque pile at Galle Face, the first Parliament, overlooking a dreamily cerulean Indian Ocean, and then in the landmark building that Bawa raised forth from the marshes of Diyawanna, probably the most dignified of tropical- (or regional-) modern edifices. Published in 2017, this cache of unique experiences and memories will be joined by a Sinhala translation, which will be launched tomorrow, May 6 at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo.

Nihal Seneviratne, the doyen of Sri Lankan civil servants, says he wanted to share the most interesting episodes of his life and times with a wider Sri Lankan readership, and the Sinhala translation appears in the same format as the original book, titled Galumuwadorin Diyawannawata (From Galle Face to Diyawanna).

Having joined Parliament as Second Clerk Assistant, after turning his back on a freshly-offered American scholarship to study international law (which would have culminated in a diplomatic career), it was a steady climb and one peppered (as well as bullet-holed) with remarkable events- a rich melange of the tragic, the comic, the flabbergasting, the profoundly moving and downright horrifying.

The most remarkable amongst them would be the case of The Hand Grenade Within the Parliament. Now forgotten under the folds and debris of later drama, this attack in the Parliament followed the controversial Indo-Lanka pact that President J. R. Jayewardene signed with the Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi.

Early that August in 1987, the President had called a meeting for the Government Parliamentary Group (i.e. the UNP) to expound the reasons for signing the pact. Scarcely half an hour after the meeting had begun, Seneviratnes peon had come rushing in to his office, to say with faltering breath that the President wanted him.

Downstairs where the meeting was, Seneviratne found Prime Minister R. Premadasa, his sarong slightly raised. A bomb had exploded within the committee room and (luckily) a piece of shrapnel only had hit the Premiers foot. Rushing in, Seneviratne found the President being escorted out hurriedly. However Akmeemana MP Kirthi Abeywickrema succumbed to his injuries while Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was pulled through only by the surgical skills of Dr. K. Yoheswaran.

How was the bomb thrown into a room, now splattered with blood and with a crater of one foot in the floor, which was carefully inspected by presidential security only moments ago? Before the calamitous blast, members remembered seeing a hand with a white sleeve throwing an object in. Luckily the bomb, intended for the President, had ricocheted off the main table to explode in the middle of the room.

It was a day later, when a housekeeping assistant was reported to have evacuated his home overnight with his family, that the mystery began to unravel. Ajith Kumara, the sweeper, was later caught, but Mr. Seneviratne came under a cloud, momentarily, and was summoned before Cabinet.

I walked in nervously like the Christian being thrown to the wolves, he records, but it was revealed, after a haranguing interrogation, that he was in no way to be blamed.

It later transpired that a few weeks after getting clearance from police screening (imperative for all Parliament employees) and having joined the staff of the Parliament, the JVP had secretly recruited (Ajith Kumara). The JVP was then very vociferous against the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact signed by the President, and they had found Ajith Kumara working in Parliament the best possible person to assassinate the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs of Government.

Also happening during JRJs time was the shifting of the Parliament from Galle Face to Kotte. Mr. Seneviratne had to oversee the shift of all that lined the interior of the colonnaded temple to democracy to their new offices, thoroughly modern but also harking back to Kandy and previous kingdoms- without as well as within. A convoy of lorries, buses, vans and cars were used to transfer a treasure accumulated over 53 years: records, files, photographs, paintings, furniture and the entire library.

The book, beguilingly slim, is really a rich ore of the Parliaments history of over 35 years, ranging from events of major global importance to the most pithy of witticisms in the House- in an age when MPs knew to use humour with debonair eclat.

One thing the former Secretary General bemoans in the last pages of these memoirs are the abysses into which Parliamentary standards are continuously falling. Never for a moment being a snob about it, he digs out patiently and with professional industriousness the causes- which- if paid enough attention- can be used to make things much better. The book does not stop at being anecdotal- it is a magisterial record and also an antidote.

Wearing his 84 years with a boyish but gentle suavity, Mr. Seneviratne has much to busy himself with in retirement. As a vice president of the Royal College Union, he was instrumental in founding the Loyalty Pledge- offering scholarships to the less privileged boys from rural areas at Royal.

You will find him a regular at the Lionel Wendt and other Colombo auditoriums, as a lover of music from classical to jazz or swing. Having grown up in the flamboyant lined roads of Colombo that Geoffrey Beling painted, the delightfully mordant Aubrey Collette having been his very first form master at Royal College, he has great fondness for the 43 Group. But just as prized on his walls are the bright, buoyant tinsel artwork of his three granddaughters who loom large in his life: Sehanya, Aleyha and Taheli.
Moved by what she saw, a returnee from Dubai reaches out with Auxilia By Ranjan Abayasekera View(s): View(s):

The Auxilia story begins with a Sri Lankan working in Dubai. While on holiday in December 2004, she saw lives and livelihoods destroyed by the tsunami.

In 2009 she heard about a new housing estate developed in Digana, a place unknown to her and purchased a house online, without seeing it! In 2010, she decided to come back home, and joined an organisation which was involved in ensuring the rights of children.

This involvement took her to rural areas of the Central Provinces plantations. The scale of poverty shocked her. She worked in an orphanage with 65 children, and saw the trauma children, parents and staff faced. She was unsuccessful with a proposal she submitted for quality education, which she thought was key to breaking the poverty cycle.

The voice within did not leave her  posing the question What can I do to combat this tragic situation and help marginalised people. She was a single woman, with only a small amount of savings, and the task seemed too big. She was however determined to start a pre-school for the poorest folk.

With the blessing of the Buddhist priest, the Grama Sevaka, community leaders and Welfare Officer she drove around in the Ambakotte village, meeting people. The newly elected Provincial Councillor assisted by finding an old community hall. It was donated by the Ambakotte Village Society rent-free!

With renovations, installing two bathrooms, water tank and colour washing, the old hall was transformed. Her Dubai contacts, friends and relatives assisted her. The funds to commence building work came from her own savings, and within two months a well equipped pre-school stood there!

The achievement is quite remarkable, considering that Digana captured headlines when violence targeting the Muslim population broke out in February 2018. The new free pre-school, named Auxilia opened its doors on May 15, 2018. It has no religious affiliation, no biases  political, ethnic, caste or gender.

Twelve children  aged 3-5 years  first gained admission. Their parents too had been children in July 1983 when anti-Tamil violence forced their families to flee their homes. Now their children were being admitted to a new school located close by!

Providing quality education the school aims to increase self-esteem. Each child is given three uniforms, a pair of shoes, three pairs of socks, five underpants, a lunch box and drink bottle. The pack costs Rs 5000. A morning snack inclusive of Milo/Nestomalt is also provided three days of the week.

The medium of education is English. Teacher, Rebecca Perera was discovered by the founder. Having an AMI Diploma, English teaching experience and a love for children, Rebecca was the last piece of the jigsaw.

In early 2019 since the number of children in the school had doubled to 24, Manori Nanayakkara was added to the staff.

Aylanee Ameresekere, the schools founder, is assisted by Joe Rayen and Nelum Weerasinghe. They are supported by donors who provide school materials, cash donations, meals, toys, clothes, gift packs etc and others who donate time. Currently the operating cost per child is Rs 3000 per month.

The vision for the project is to break the poverty cycle. With expert help from Suki Heringe, in August 2018, the Auxilia Womens Society was formed comprising unemployed mothers and community women. Volunteers teach the women their responsibilities as mothers and wives.

Two projects were launched through sponsorship to enhance the income of families  making compost and hand-made slippers. More than commercial value is the increased sense of well being gained by participants. A third project tapping into sewing skills is planned.

The long-term goal is to run income -projects employing parents, so they could pay a subsidised school fee. The profits from the ventures will be ploughed back into the school to reduce donor dependency.

The organisation is non-profit earning, and has received a temporary licence from the Early Childhood Development Unit of the Provincial Council. An appeal has been made to the Mahaveli Authority for land since a play area for the children is needed.

This little community and their children now have hope for a brighter future thanks to Auxilia, which means Helping Hand.
Two weeks on, the world hasnt forgotten us By Sashini Rodrigo and Joshua Surendraraj View(s): View(s):

Two weeks on from the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka gradually strives to get back on its feet. In a show of unity the world continues to send its love and support to the country through many vigils that were organised this week.

Melbourne

The atmosphere at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia was a calming and supportive one last Sunday (28), as people gathered together in a silent rally for Sri Lanka. It was beautiful. The whole purpose was to show the victims and their families that we support them 10,000km away, chief organiser Sharan Velauthan tells us.

Throughout the day, passers-by stopped to write messages for Sri Lanka. It doesnt matter, your race or religion, where youre from, who you believe in. Were all united as one, Lauren Sandeman shares. We will all rise together and were all with you. We hope and pray that everything will be okay again, Vidushi Rambukwella adds.

Amongst the crowd was also Mohammed Ahamed Yaseer, who stood holding a single candle. Im a Muslim, a Sri Lankan Muslim and Im from Kandy, he said. Mohammed strongly condemned the Easter Sunday attack and urged people to respect humanity and love.

United Kingdom

Individuals of different faiths, gathered at the St Bernadette Catholic Church in Withington, South Manchester on Sunday (28) to pray for Sri Lanka. Emotions were high as people shared their sentiments with the crowd, amongst a sea of lit candles.

Children and adults alike from the British Muslim communities also stood in silence carrying slogans such as Not in the name of Islam and Muslims and We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Christian faith.

Midland, Michigan, USA

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. The famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr was the underlying theme at an interfaith vigil organized by the Interfaith Friends Group (IFG) on Sunday (April 28) at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland Michigan.

The evening full of love, compassion and togetherness, Umbareen Jamil, a member of the Islam Center of Midland and the IFG said.

Bishop Monte Searle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was quick to emphasise on the need to show compassion towards ones neighbours, friends, and colleagues. We should show them Christ-like love through service, he said.

Our place of worship should be a safe place, no matter what you believe, Debbie Ballard, a member of the IFG shared. Debbie was also one of the key organizers of the event, along with Umbareen, and Barb McGregor.

Cornell University Ithaca New York, USA

Nearly 100 students of Cornell University prayed together for Sri Lanka at Ho Plaza, Ithaca, New York on Wednesday (May 1).

The vigil was organised by students Nilanthi Nagasinghe, Ishini Gammanpila and Amanda Pathmanathan.

At the centre stood a poster with the outline of the tear-shaped island, lit up by lights placed on it by all those present and adorned with their hand prints.

Ishini shared an eulogy written for 11-year-old Keiran, who was killed while having brunch with his family at Cinnamon Grand.

The eulogy, which was written by Jekhan Aruliah, describes Keiran as a boy with a quizzical confidence and sparkling smile that instantly marked him out as a special guy.

Fiji

A letter writing vigil to spread messages of hope was hosted in Lautoka, Fiji by Sabrina Iqbal Khan, a Human Rights lawyer. The vigil was attended by several members from different faiths, and expatriates from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, USA and Bahrain also sent in their letters. All of the letters were sent directly to the churches affected by the blasts, where they will be read out to the respective congregations.

The writers gathered at a cafe in Tappoo City, Lautoka and those who could not attend wrote letters from their homes. Amongst those who turned up were many who were still processing the Christchurch Mosque shooting, we are told.

It was amazing to see so many people reaching out this way, Sabrina says.
Sri Lanka attacks: By Sanjay Perera Did the political deadlock, attempt to carry political favor with Muslim and Tamil political leaders, the West and the UNHRC and lack of responsibility of the Government lead to this carnage? View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka is still in a state of shock and confusion, trying to understand how a little-known Islamist group may have unleashed the wave of coordinated suicide bombings that resulted in the Easter Sunday carnage  the worst since the end of the separatists war a decade ago.

The island nation has experience of such attacks  suicide bombers were used by Tamil Tiger terrorists during the 30 year old war. But the ruthlessness of the new atrocities and the refusal to accept responsibility by its Government leaders has stunned the nation anew.

Eventually, the government came out and blamed the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), a home-grown Islamist group, for the suicide bombings. There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded ,senior Ministers have mentioned in various addresses to the nation and media. It may be in order to remind these Ministers that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) was in fact a terrorist group with a massive international network and named as one of the most ruthless and largest terrorist networks in 2004 by the FBI and mentioned in their report that the LTTE may have inspired other terrorists networks including Al Queda.

The excuse of NTJ being linked to IS or another extremists terrorist organization does not explain or does not provide provision for the government and top officials to shun away or refuse to accept responsibility, how a group that has been blamed for promoting hate speeches over a number of years, destroyed Buddhist statues on a number of occasions and accused by the Buddhist clergy and Opposition party politicians as Islamic groups responsible for fueling civil commotions in the past 3 years on many occasions  may have been able to scale up its capacity so monumentally.

Reliable information confirms that two weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage over 40 sleeping Islamic terrorists cadres are still at large in the country. With IS claiming that their men carried out these deadly attacks, it is yet to be known how many home grown terrorists were trained and equipped by IS with probably thousands following the ideologies of IS in Sri Lanka. At this point we should also keep in mind that IS was given birth to, by the West.

In no way can the Government and its leaders and top officials cannot in anyway refuse taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday Carnage giving the IS connection as an excuse as strong accusations of an extremist Islamic group or groups blossoming in the country with Sri Lankans engaged in IS activities overseas was made by a senior cabinet Minister of the Wikramasinghe government Prof. Wijedasa Rajapaksha Presidents Council.

This claim was immediately shunned and ridiculed by the Wikramasinghe allies as way back as 2016. Senior Minister Rajitha Senarathna was among them who ridiculed this accusation stating that this was a claim to fuel disharmony in the country.

Buddhist clergy and members of the joint opposition and certain Islamic sectors in the country have time and again indicated the need for the Wikramasinghe government to investigate the possible incidents and actions of suspected extremist Islamic groups including known Schools and Mosques preaching fundamental ideologies. Loyal allies to Wikramasinghe including former President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga did not waste time in calling these accusations baseless to create racial tension and hatred among Sri Lankans, instigated by the Rajapaksas.

It is now revealed that over 400 fundamentalist mosques are in existence in Sri Lanka and are or Caliphate cults. Ironically following the Easter Sunday suicide attacks Former President Kumaranatunga accused the Wikramasinghe Government of permitting extremist schools and Mosques to be established in the country following the bombings on Easter Sunday.

Another emerging factor is that the LTTE did not purposely target foreigners and tourist fearing the sympathy they received from the west and the financial support flowing from the Tamil diasporas living in the West would come to a complete halt. The Easter Sunday attacks however specifically targeted hotels and catholic churches drawing western interests into the equation.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks the Archbishop of the Sri Lankan Catholic church Cardinal Malcom Ranjith was joined by the Buddhist Maha Sanga and Hindu and main stream Islamic religious leaders politely accusing the Government and its top officials for failing to protect citizens of the country having been given prior intimation by the local intelligence agencies and 2 other international intelligence agencies of the possible Easter Sunday attacks and fingers were pointed at the Ranil Wikramasinghe government for commencing a witch hunt post 2015 of capable intelligence officials and security forces personnel including senior armed forces officers and relaxing of security measures in the North, East and the South put in place post LTTE era by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government. This matter was reiterated by President Maithreepala Sirisena and former Army Commander / Government MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka following the attacks on Sunday.

A point to note was the very casual speech made by Ranil Wikramasinghe the PM of Sri Lanka in parliament at a special gathering of parliamentarians following the Easter Sunday carnage. Instead of speaking from his heart to the people of Sri Lanka who depend on its government for security, prosperity and peace his speech robotically constituted of passing the buck and was based around an international involvement by the NTJ and the need to obtain assistance from the West. His continued insistence of obtaining international intervention to solve this terrorist issue has been a controversial topic with a majority of politicians, religious leaders of all religions and the nation believing that Sri Lanka has sufficient knowledge and a dedicated force to deal with this terror.

Contrarily the speeches made by the Deputy Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena and Opposition Leader former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was touching and emotional with both accepting responsibility as politicians of the country for the terror attacks, which they both categorically stated - could have been prevented. One could feel the sincerity and pain they shared with the families killed and wounded in the terror attacks, which was clearly the need of the hour and not an analysis to sneak away from accepting responsibility, which in fact was a failed attempt to prove these attacks were not avoidable because of its suspected international connections and need for international intervention by the Prime Minister.

At this point it is paramount that we understand who or what IS is who are suspected of having hand or is directing these terror attacks or is involved in any other form with the home grown NTJ as claimed by the Wikramasinghe Government. IS or Islamic state is also known as ISIS (Islamic State Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State Iraq and Levant) is accused of been formed and being controlled by the USA and MOSAAD. Coincidentally ISIS also stands for Israeli Secret Intelligence Service.

IS is suspected to have been funded and created by the US and Israel. When US wishes to move to a country for economic or political gain, we have seen IS commencing terror operations in those countries to pave a path for US intervention. We have seen this happen in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and now probably Turkey as well. With failed attempts to establish an extremists government in Syria due to Russia backing the Syrian Government it could be possible that IS under the possible direction of vested interests targeted Sri Lanka, which has been militarily weakened by the Wikramasinghe Government since 2015.

Sri Lanka is a strategic location for the Road and Belt initiative. The West specially the US sees the growing Economic co-operation between China and Sri Lanka as a huge advantage to the Road and Belt Initiative and a threat to the master plan of the US. Further the possibility of Petroleum in the Mannar basin and the possible deposits of natural minerals in the sea basins of Sri Lanka coupled with the strategic positions of the main ports around the Island makes it vital for the US that China is halted in any further investments or partnerships in the economic and infrastructure development of Sri Lanka,

The high level of corruptions and state frauds which have been prominent since 2015, the lowest ever GDP in the country resulting in severe economic hardships, a divided government, betrayal and weakening of the Military machine and mistrust among communities is thought to bring a change in Government and leadership in the next election and when this change happens China and Russia along with India is geared to gain most.

In this context, the Wikramasinghe Government should be aware that as claimed by them if any IS connections are proven it could backfire on the ruling United National Party as this will justify the claims by the opposition and intellectuals that Wikramasinghe who is known to be West savvy, is a party to a possible coup plotted by the US, which includes

Pressuring its western allies to show the need to penetrate Sri Lanka to stop an international terror network. Convince American tax payers of the need to have US boots on ground level in Sri Lanka Silence any UN debates and bypass any UN approvals. Fulfill the strategic need to have a US base in SL.

We have already seen international agencies arriving within a few hours on the grouse of helping the Island Nation. As indicated before, Sri Lankas security was weakened by the Wikramasinghe government including visa on arrival for over 40 countries making Sri Lanka easily accessible to all and sundry including terrorists. It is learnt that among those who have entered under the Visa on arrival status are trainers from Arabic countries, Syria, Turkey and Pakistan as teachers.

Any possible US and Western help would ultimately result in the control of elections and appointment of leaders who would support the US led new world order masters. For the Western savvy Wikramasinghe who is now being pressured to step down as party leader by his own party members, outside support to change the inevitable at this stage could be seen as a blessing in disguise. It is also strange that USA has granted USD 480M to the Wikramasinghe Government within 48 hours of the tragedy.

As investigations continue, it is now clear that the Easter Sunday debacle was totally avoidable had the government and its leaders paid more attention to the country needs than bickering among themselves to retain power in the parliament and continue governing the country with the help of Tamil, Muslim and certain Sinhalese political parties (JVP)., which by 2017 was already battered with economic woes and massive financial frauds.

The witch hunt of intelligence officials and forces personnel and top officers including the Brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa  Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the defense secretary up to 2014 and relaxing of strategic security measures by the Wikramasignhe Government inspired by a hand full of his political allies is widely thought to be for the purpose of pleasing the minority Tamil and Muslim politicians in anticipation of the Tamil and Muslim votes in Sri Lanka and to carry favor with the western countries and UNHRC under the guise of up holding democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. In order to justify this statement lets journey back to post 2005  the start of the end of the 30 year old war against the LTTE terrorists and separatism in the country.

Between the years of 2001 and 2004, Sri Lanka had a joint party government with Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunga as its Executive President and Ranil Wikramasingha led United National Party holding cabinet positions. We see similarities in the actions of the Wikramasinghe government in which a peace accord was signed between the LTTE and the Wikramasainghe government under the mediation of the West and weakening of the military machine in Sri Lanka. This led to a collapse in moral and betrayal of the security forces and a majority of citizens showing displeasure. This peace accord led to not just weakening of the security machine in the country but provided a window for the LTTE to strengthen themselves and expand their network locally and Internationally.

Chandrika Kumaranatunga subsequently realizing the precarious situation the country had been dragged into with Wikramasinghe as its PM, dissolved the Government which led to Rajapaksa becoming the fifth Executive President of the country. This same course of action was followed by current President, Maithreepala Sirisena in October 2018 wherein he took the bold but failed decision of sacking Wikramasinghe as the PM in the volatile joint government and has been openly critical of Wikramasinghes management of the economy and security of the country. Ironically Kumaranatunga played a major role in bringing Wikramasinghe back into power in 2015.

High ranking officers of the armed forces (now retired) I spoke to, said that the moral of the forces and police by 2005 was at its lowest. The LTTE given 3 years of battle free breathing pace had strengthened themselves and the LTTE leader even stated that the LTTE is so strong that they could take Colombo the capital city in a battle if needed.

When Rajapaksa took over in 2005 the moral of the armed forces and police was at its lowest point with forces personnel willing to sacrifice their lives during a LTTE attack instead of fighting or firing back, knowing well that they would be strongly reprimanded by if they retaliated with the peace accord in effect. One wonders if the witch hunt of the armed forces commenced by the Wikramasinghe government in 2015 led to the lethargy and doubt among the defense mechanism in the country to take the required counter measures that could have prevented the Easter Sunday carnage.

One of the first and crucial steps taken by President Rakapaksa and his brother Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was to change the security culture in existence prior to making any battle plans against the LTTE. A nationwide national culture was created where the Soldier and policeman became a proud guardian of the nation and the entire nation started to support and stood behind the armed forces. The sentiments were so strong that the armed forces and police became the Nations Pride.

The nation which felt the genuine determination of the Rajapaksa government to eradicate the LTTE, understood that National Security is the responsibility of the entire nation and the entire nation went to war against the LTTE following the Mavilaru incident. The ruthless and Internationally spread LTTE was defeated in 2009, because the Government and the entire nation took over the wellbeing of the forces and their families. This national culture was kept alive by the Rajapaksa government until 2015.

The defeating of the LTTE terrorists which had led havoc and chaos in Sri Lanka for over 25 years was no cake walk. It took the toll of over 30,000 Sri Lankan lives and the capability, unbreakable spirit and will of the 3 forces and the police wholeheartedly supported by the entire Nation under the defiant and unshakable leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the commanders and senior officers of the 3 forces and police backed by a number of intelligence unit second to none who gave their lives and limbs to completely rid the country from the LTTE and bring secured peace to the Island nation.

While the country rejoiced and was given a new lease of life of  hope and prosperity in 2009, I was among the many along with the then Rajapaksa Government and security forces that understood  we only defeated a ruthless terrorist organization, the threat of terrorism remains unless precautions and steps are taken to curtail such possible terrorist activity from commencing or gaining momentum once again.

Following the complete eradication of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government and security forces put in place an unseen security blanket covering the entire Island and its citizens. Islamic fundamentalists were monitored and as a result there was no room for extreme fundamentalism to escalate. Cyber security systems were put in place and were carefully monitored by Intelligence units. Ethnic Muslim enclaves in the coastal belt was monitored. The Rajapaksa government and the security forces, police and intelligence units were aware of the extent fundamentalists are brain washed in giving up their lives for heavenly pleasures.

Unfortunately many, including the present government did not care or were not capable to understand or realize that the war we won, was against a terrorist organization known as the LTTE and not against terrorism. Had the Wikramasinghe government taken a cue from Singapore who have the regions largest defense budget despite known as the most secured and lawful country for the past 30 years in S/E Asia, they would have understood the imperative need to have an unseen and un-noticed, strategic security blanket in place in all parts of the country during peaceful times in order to ensure secured peace to its people and visitors. it is no secret that terrorists strike when one is at its weakest and when least expected.

It is very unfortunate and sad that these officers who monitored these extremists which enabled the Rajapksa government to keep these fundamentalists in check have been taken in to custody by the Wikramasinghe government under the guise of upholding democracy and more importantly to please the Tamil and Muslim politicians allied with the Wikramasinghe government, the West and the UNHRC. It is now obvious that the result of these actions and the bickering and the split government which has weakened the government machinery and the intentional weakening of the Military caused the death and suffering of the helpless and innocent on Easter Sunday.

The country can breathe a sigh of relief that President Maithreepala Sirisena has now declared emergency rule giving powers to the armed forces and police. The appointment of a proven and battle hardened General Shantha Kottegoda as the Defense Secretary a relief to a nation that is still in shock and yet unsure about their safety. President Sirisena, the new Defense Secretary have to now take direct and take action to eradicate these Islamic fundamentalists speedily if the shocked nation is to get back to normalcy.

Regardless of position or power all known persons who have in any form supported extremists and fundamentalists need to be taken to task. As long as persons holding position and power in the Government known to have supported or had affiliations with these extremists are at large due to political gain, the Nation will remain skeptical. This has been reiterated by religious leaders and politicians over and over.

There is no doubt the newly appointed and capable defense secretary General Shantha Kottegoda along with the experienced and battle hardened armed forces and police can eradicate these fundamentalists and extremists speedily provided there is no political intervention and interference in them discharging their duties. It is also to be seen how President Sirisena will curtail and limit the developing involvement and meddling in this matter by the West, specially the USA in the coming weeks.

It will be also interesting to see if the Wikramasinghe government will democratically join other political parties to uphold the democratic right of the nation by facilitating pending and forthcoming elections. The Election Commissioner has categorically stated the terror attack on Easter Sunday or terrorism in Sri Lanka is no excuse to delay any elections being conducted.

The Nation hopes and prays that President Sirisena will call upon all political parties to unite under one intention of eradicating the Islamic extremists and fundamentalists and fundamental ideologies with limited intervention and with NO interference by the US and the West.

The writer is former Director at Maharajas and former Director/CEO at EAP networks)
The need to identify the enemy within View(s):

April 21, Easter Sunday 2019: Some Christians dressed in their Sundays best and yet some others trying to enjoy their late breakfast in hotels didnt live to tell the tale of what they saw and experienced. The video footage of the mass murderers only showed how cruel and inhuman they could be. No amount of reasoning can convince any human being what could motivate a man to resort to terror of that nature.

The trail of terror

Much is being said about how the threat developed and who is responsible. However, to understand the threat, it is important to track the trail of terror and the pattern. This is how the story unfolds.

May 26, 1996: Wahhabis attack a meditation centre of the Tarikatul Mufliheen (TM) in Kattankudy.

October 31, 2004: About 500 Wahhabis, organised as Jihadis, set ablaze the meditation centre again. One Sufi follower is killed and business premises are attacked. Police arrest eight suspects, but release them later. No charges are framed.

Dec 01, 2006: Wahhabis forcibly exhume the body of Sufi leader Rah.

Dec 06, 2006: Wahhabi Thowheed network clerics and supporters incite Jihadis armed with weapons to go on the rampage in Kattankudy.

Dec 13, 2006: Kattankudy Urban Council (UC), with the persuasion and backing of Wahhabis, tries to dismantle the meditation centre. Three rioters are killed, a police post and vehicle were damaged. Note the involvement of UC is clearly seen. Possibly, the UC was Wahhabi dominated.

Dec 17, 2006: More than 100 houses of Sufism followers destroyed by fire; Wahhabis are the suspects.

2007: A stream of overseas Muslim preachers and activists visit Kattankudy.

2008  A Sufi festival is prevented by Kattankudy Wahhabis.

2009: Unconfirmed reports state that Muslim homeguards desert with their weapons and join the Thowheed movement.

Feb 2009: The threat spreads with the Wahhabis destroying a mosque at Ukuwela in the Central Province.

May 2009: A mosque is attacked in Thihariya.

July 2009: Two people are killed and 40 injured in Kattankudy, when clashes erupt between Sufis and Wahhabis.

July 2009: A Sufi cleric is killed at Valachchenai in the Eastern Province.

The trail of terror actually, is too long to document, as such, the more recent ones are not being documented.

The phenomenon of fundamentalism and Islamic terror has been there for some time now. With what is known to an ordinary civilian, the politics of religion and the pattern of terror distinctly bring out four important factors:

Division within the Muslim community; polarisation into Orthodox/Sufi and Wahhabis

Evolution and growth of terror

A threat not confined to any particular area in the country

A new leaf and stage in the cycle of terror has just been unleashed

Religion, Ideology and Fundamentalism

The initial reaction to the terror attacks was that they were perpetrated by the ISIS. This was the belief of many, including those at the highest level, as the ISIS was the easiest to think of. So the ISIS is here. Partially true. Although some say the ISIS claimed responsibility and Zaharan the alleged lead suicide bomber was an ISIS member.

My questions are, whether he was actually a trained ISIS member who engaged in combat? Why did he not live to carry on with the legacy? If he was a suicide bomber, whether he actually fits the profile of an ISIS leader? Because, this is normally not their style. I have read in places that he is an ISIS member. At this point, I tend to think that he is a strong supporter, but not actually a hero with combat training and experience. More than the immediate ISIS threat, I further the argument that the larger issue seems to be the threat of Wahhabi ideology or Salafism. This is what has motivated men and women in Sri Lanka to resort to such extremism; of course, with links and support from ISIS, and other terror groups. I will not discuss the origin of Islamic terror. This is history and long gone.

Any religion or belief is extremely difficult to define or explain easily, be it Buddhism, Islam or Christianity.

In the early seventies, many Sri Lankan Muslims, mainly Sufi followers, left for Saudi Arabia for employment or studies. Mostly, they were youths from modest and simple backgrounds. Thus, with their stay, exposure, education and return, the concept of Wahhabism which originated in Saudi Arabia started to gain recognition. The Wahhabis main movement in Sri Lanka, thus, originated as Thowheed or Monotheism and took root in the East. Gradually, the Wahhabis began to consider the Sufis as Kafirs or disbelievers. Some of the aggressive Wahhabi or Salafism sentiments could be summarised as:

Revive Islam worldwide

Reestablish the past Muslim glory

Restore authentic Islam

Advocate a strategy of violent jihad for Islam

Defeat of Western powers that prevent the establishment of an Islamic State

Expand dar-al-Islam (house of Islam)

Living within a just political social order

Sanction fatwa against infidels

Attack the land of infidels

Therefore, the new order of terror based on the former will evolve throughout the world without being confined to the Middle East or West

Give a new explanation and definition to terrorism

Have wide use of social media providing remote but easy accessibility

Include physically alienated youth (by religion)

Comprise fanatics looking to be martyrs

Kill without distinction

Rely on group dynamics like kinship, friendship, worship and discipleship

Want to succeed and be flexible

Baring the octopus

The octopus is a soft bodied species. It has eight limbs and is so venomous that it can kill many human beings. So the threat of Wahhabism, Salafism, Jihadism or whatever you name it, is identical to the features of the octopus. So many measures to control the threat have been brought out by the military, the police, politicians, civilians and journalists. Perhaps, in depth analysis and the situation being addressed rationally is lacking.

The active and passive measures being adopted at present, both by the ground forces and intelligence will not be discussed. However, some counter terrorism features currently being practised in the world are being highlighted.

Eliminate hubs: As we experience now, we are aware that there are little hubs spread all over the country. Although few areas were identified, the hubs are sure to have spread though silent at present. Monitoring telecommunications with modern equipment, analysing tower records, cyber security with flagging ability and surveillance become important in breaking down networks. Since it is not practical for this activity in all areas, vulnerable areas need to be prioritised. These measures breakdown hubs, restrict travel and activity, prevent storage of contraband. Once hubs are neutralised, satellites die a natural death.

Delegitimisation and regulation: This is applicable to organisations, banking systems (already there are about 26 Islamic banks) charities and cultural organisations, dress codes, teaching methods and practices. This prevents recruitment, denies sanctuary and training, while restricting indoctrination.

Intensive penetration: Focusing on friends and relatives of identified Jihadis. This will also identify those who are sympathisers, who normally do funding and propaganda. This could be done with the help of Sufis who have suffered at the hands of the Salafis.

Systematic approach: A scientific, coordinated and centrally controlled mechanism has to be well documented as is done in more advanced countries. Unlike the LTTE threat, the current threat is common to most countries and some are well experienced and competent in managing the threat. Ad hoc, piecemeal, disjointed political measures may be disastrous. Muslims: The first line of defence

We see that it was the most affected Sufis who provided information about the growing threat from the late nineties. Although they were not taken seriously for obvious reasons, they knew what they were talking about. There will not be anyone better than a Muslim who would be able to explain the dynamics of religion and terror, as the religious interpretation is so complex and diverse. So obviously, the first line of defence would be the Muslims themselves. Alienating them or branding them as terrorists will be a monumental mistake by the Sinhalese community. This would be a case of not learning from history. 1983 and beyond is the standing example. We will create the time and space for a hot breeding ground to a fast growing threat.

International support: The need of the hour

During the last conflict, some of us know the support in general and intelligence in particular, both technical and human, that was shared by our international friends. On the front of global knowledge and information technology which is flooded online, is mostly shared by the international community, be they scholars, writers, analysts, journalists or any other.

Few Sri Lankans have shared any research material on these developments. I personally have only read what Dr Rohan Gunaratne has written in depth. Even today, world leaders are pledging their support to share whatever they have about the threat. On the economic front, it is on record that we will be losing 1.5 billion US dollars on tourism alone. However, those who know and love Sri Lanka are promoting the country even at this moment. So the sad lacuna, of international isolation with wrath and anger will only hurt us. So its time to reach out and win them over when they are with us. True, every country will have its own agenda, vis-a-vis others  that is reality, which we need to come to terms with.

Art and culture: Mightier than the gun

Art appeals to the emotions and senses of human beings. Thus, it is not only a strong weapon but a medium to effect change. Art is a variety and range of human activity that can spur the desired change. Although we do not use this medium in our day-to-day professional activity, we definitely use it to relax and reinvigorate. So there is room to see how this weapon can be used for positive engagement.

I saw on TV, Brother Charles talking about this aspect by mentioning the names of Mohideen Baig and Tony Hassan. This is very true, but the reverse has not been visible at all. Many are of the opinion that Sri Lankan Muslims are dull uninteresting people who are anti-social or less social. This is a myth.

Thus, there is the need to reverse this situation through proper use of art and culture. It is difficult but possible. The Muslims need to play a role in directing art and culture targeting the religiously and culturally alienated youth, who might be the suicide bomber of tomorrow. Post 9/11 United States has been able to do it with young men and women. Men and women who were inspired to work across cultures. Challenge the stereotype and broaden the knowledge of the other. Ali Abbasi, Ilhan Omar, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh are just a few to name. This is the clarion call for the youth to change the tide.

Conclusion

As much as the attitude and response of the Cardinal and the flock was commendable, the same was seen from the Muslim and the majority Buddhist community. The All Ceylon Jamaiyythul Ulama has taken a step in the right direction. The lesson to all religious leaders will be to, have the courage of conviction, to do what is right, be apolitical in approach and attitude. As the ISIS is losing its foothold in places such as Syria, more easy targets emerge in places such as Sri Lanka. Possibly the next level of terrorism could be cyber terror which we have no clue about but the terrorists are very savvy. The struggle continues.

(If I have hurt the feelings of any Muslim by erroneous facts or half-truths, it is much regretted. The purpose was not that.)

(The writer could be contacted on para.stormsat@gmail.com)
Hong Kong: HK embraces art and culture

Chief Executive Carrie Lam

It gives me great pleasure to join you tonight for the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival, one of Hong Kong's largest and most anticipated annual events, and certainly the most ambitious international showcase of arts and culture in our creative calendar.

Nothing underlines that more than the exhibition featuring the works of the late Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the highlights of this year's festival. As the first female Chief Executive of Hong Kong, I naturally admire Niki, one of the most significant female and feminist artists of the 20th Century. Opening here at the Exhibition Gallery alongside the festival itself, I am happy that the exhibition features nearly 100 works of art, including some of the artist's monumental Nanas sculptures - as famously flamboyant, original and utterly unforgettable as the artist herself.

The same might be said of the festival as a whole, which turns 27 this year. Despite its "May" title, it actually runs through the month of June, showcasing everything French from film and animation to theatre and music, including a spotlight on Hector Berlioz by the Paris Mozart Orchestra in honour of the 150th anniversary of the great French composer's death. There's the usual avant-garde French music, fashion and food in this edition, even an exhibition of French-inspired cheongsams. And speaking of fashionable food, Le French GourMay returns this year with an appetite and a thirst for the blessed bounty of the Loire Valley.

In all, more than 120 events will be staged by the talent and artistry of some 350 performers and artists under the theme of "Voyage". It will, I have no doubt, prove a remarkable, and remarkably creative journey, once again enabling the people of Hong Kong and our many tourists and visitors to experience and indulge in authentic French culture.

I'm equally grateful for Le French May's commitment to education and outreach. With the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Outreach & Arts Education Programme, the festival offers internships and apprenticeships, while presenting guided tours, workshops, master classes, public rehearsals and post-performance events. It will provide participants with an invaluable opportunity to see, hear and learn from world-class artists.

I should just add that my Government places a high priority on arts and culture as well, on creating here in Hong Kong an international cultural hub, a city that embraces art and culture, East and West, at every level, for every sector of our community. I would say we are getting there thanks to exciting recent developments, including the opening last May of Tai Kwun - Centre for Heritage & Arts and the Xiqu Centre in January this year, as well as the continuing progress of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the face-lifting of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Thanks, too, to such major events as Le French May, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the International Film Festival, the World Cultures Festival and a great deal more.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the opening ceremony of Le French May Arts Festival 2019 on May 4.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

Princess Mikasa wears a diamond kokoshnik-style tiara for a state banquet at the Imperial Palace in honor of President Lubke of the Federal Republic of Germany, November 1963; Princess Mikasa, who recently turned 95, wore the tiara this week at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
As the 2018-19 school year draws to a close, teachers and school administrators have begun the process of making sure the 2019-20 school year and beyond is focused on the goal of our children getting the best school experience possible through bargaining negotiations. These negotiations are commonly narrowly and inaccurately painted as budget discussions, and yes much of this is about money, but for our educators the prime focus is making sure we continue to have a valued voice in how our schools operate and how they perform.

While a number of administrative budget initiatives in past years have focused on increased technology, we strongly believe its the people in our schools and their impact on our students, who provide the most long-lasting benefit for our community. There is no technology, whether it be new software, computers or iPads which can replace the invaluable relationship our educators have with our children.

Utica Community Schools (UCS) teachers have personally given back to the administration more than should ever be expected of the professionals who have such a direct relationship to a childs education. We have sacrificed $39 million in earned pay ($45 million when furlough days are counted), lending itself to a district reputation discouraging young talented teachers from working here and leading to a situation where veteran teachers are retiring early and moving to neighboring schools or starting second careers. As the President of Michigans second largest teachers union, representing over 1,400 professionals, I can tell you first-hand that this environment is not good for our schools and community.

We are working hard on proposing measures which are student-focused such as smaller classes, making sure state mandated professional development hours are relevant to all educators from music and gym to calculus, an action plan which supports students who teachers identify as severely dysregulated and language assuring we have enough educators for our children with physical and special needs. UCS is drastically understaffed with only 13.5 social workers and six school psychologists available to meet the needs of 27,000 students. We are also adamant that our children are able to read by the third grade, as mandated by the state, and have proposed a detailed plan which supports parents and families in meeting this important goal.

We are ever optimistic and sincerely hope that the UCS administration and the community we serve, agrees with our student-focused bargaining agenda.

Liza Parkinson is President of the Utica Education Association.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High -7C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early followed by periods of snow showers late. Low -13C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%.
Sir,



This letter serves as a notification to all who call themselves Christians yet they are self-seeking of the things of this world. They have befriended the world. The Word of God says; Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy them; for the temple of God is holy. Which temple are you?



Let me assure my brothers and sisters in Christ that this is not an attack to any of you nor do I judge you. However, walk in holiness, keeping the temple pure. May the God of peace sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord.



Distance



A true Christian would at all cost distance himself/herself from body embellishments and beautification, for whosoever does these things is building another image of himself/herself. The worldly attachments in the form of gold, make-up, artificial hair and nail polish create a door for the demons to have a legal right to your life. Jesus does not recognise them. People, especially women, dress in fashion clothes, while adorned with all vanity; jewellery, artificial hair and nail polish.



Difference



What is the difference between the people who frequent clubs and bars and those who beautify their bodies? This is the state of people in Gods Church today. You cannot tell the difference from those who are in the world (clubs and fashion shows) and the ones saved by the Blood of Jesus.

They call themselves Christians but they have sealed themselves with heathens and pagan accessories, doing the will of the devil which was done by Jezebel.

Women should wear natural hair, not any artificial long hair.

Embellishment of the body corrupts the heart and exalts the flesh. You become lifted up because of thy beauty. Every hairstyle takes away the symbol of God. The Lord says from a bad source fresh water does not flow. Friendship with the world is an enmity with God. The Lord wants us to be different from the world.



Lastly, the devil has so far succeeded in using these types of attachment, embellishment and adornment in order to outsmart and win the souls of the believer to hell. Leaders of churches have ignored these attachments and defilements in churches. They have peddled the Word of God for money. They have destroyed households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. It is time we please God and Him alone, not flesh and not the people we live with.



Take heed that you do not pave a way that leads to death. The Lord God spoke about the consequences of disobedient children who wear make-up, who paint their hair, who put on jewellery, their dress-code, the way they walk once these adornments have been attached to them and so forth.

He pointed out their rewards in the next life. The Holy Bible says the lost will be like the sands of the sea. Brothers and sisters please work out your salvation while there is still time and may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.



Ndoda Nkambule
MANZINI  Once again, Manzini was painted red as organisations fighting for democracy held another peaceful march to table seven demands to Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini.



The march was organised by Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), which is an umbrella organisation for associations fighting for democracy in the country and it was attended by about 1 000 people.



Among their demands, the organisations demanded multi-party elections in 2023, arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today and creation of at least 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years.



They also demanded land legislation and policy reform to give full ownership over land to emaSwati so as to stop the rampant evictions of people in communities and in farms. Again, they called upon the PM to ensure that there was free secondary and high school education by 2020 and that all deserving students in tertiary institutions of learning were given study loans.



Furthermore, they said even though they applauded the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act of 2018, gender inequalities remained a matter of concern in society. On that note, they demanded increased protection and support for women and the girl child guaranteed by relevant legal tools.



They also called upon government to ensure that textile workers and security guards were accorded safe and conducive working conditions and competitive salaries so that they could lead dignified lives.

Regarding the demand for multi-party elections, the organisations said they wanted a government that would be elected by them, responsive to their needs and accountable to only the people.



Tinkhundla



They argued that they had observed that the Tinkhundla system of governance was not a government for the people of Eswatini.

Their argument was that as it were, it would be striving to take into consideration the needs of the general people of Eswatini above anything and everything else.



What we have witnessed on a daily basis even now during your tenure always confirms that the government is only for a special type of emaSwati, the organisations said in the petition directed to the PM.



On another note, they said almost every election year, the nation lived in fear of being killed for ritual purposes by people who believed in such to be successful.

To begin with, they said this was a traditional belief that had been perpetuated to this far by the insufficiency of the countrys electoral system and the criteria by which people were appointed to positions of power.

It is saddening that while so many people have been killed over the years, the statistics are not matched by arrests. Some of these people are now supposedly in Parliament and live in our society. We therefore demand the arrest of ritual killers in Parliament and communities today, reads part of the petition.



unemployment



Furthermore, they argued that the rate of unemployment in the country was shocking; at a staggering 42 per cent and at 55 per cent for the youth. They said this was because the government was allegedly failing to invest in job creation and to provide an enabling environment for investment. We therefore demand 5 000 new quality jobs for the youth per year in the next five years, they said.



Again, the organisations said the poverty statistics of the country were to the effect that over 63 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. They said this was because the country had a high number of young people who derived support and guardianship and they formed the majority of the poor.
LOBAMBA  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants lifestyle audits for managers of the Public Works and Transport Ministry because they are filthy rich.



The Members of Parliament (MPs) said the officials had amassed wealth while government projects suffered due to underfunding.

Deputy Chairperson Musa Kunene was particularly not pleased with the rate of unfinished projects by companies that later filed for liquidation.



One such company, Khula Construction, was awarded a tender to construct the eBuhleni Police Station when it later filed for liquidation. This was after the contractor had already been given an advance payment of over E6.2 million.



The PAC said this could be a result of officials colluding with the contractor to cash in on the irregular payments.

I ask the Accountant General (AG) to do lifestyle audits of the managers at Public Works, because there is no way the country could lose such amounts of money without hope for recovery, he said.



Corruption



Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe said the matter had also been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission, which had since collected information from the ministry in their quest to get to the bottom of the matter.



He said Khula Construction was awarded a tender after all due processes were followed; including that it was approved by the Construction Industry experts.

He said when the company filed for provisional liquidation, government had taken steps to seize some assets on site, but then the exercise was futile when the liquidation became a legal exercise whereby all other creditors had to be taken into account.



When the PAC said the ministry was reckless when issuing advance payments to Khula, the PS said there had been bond payments made by the company to cushion government from the advance payment.

MP Stewart asked for previous references for Khula to show that it qualified for the tender.



It was easy for them to submit cars, equipment and get a bank loan just to qualify for the tender. We want to see projects that they built before being awarded tenders for the Lubombo, Big Bend and eBuhleni projects, MP Stewart said.

MP Roy Fanourakis said the Ministry had turned into a puppet show, especially after reports that over E20 million had been lost in fuel discrepancies.



taxpayers



You must get people who are seriously looking for work, not people who sleep on the job, while taxpayers money is lost.

MP Oneboy Zikalala said the Public Works Ministry was over-staffed will negligent people, who should be reduced because they were too many.

Kuyagangwa kulelitiko he sa- id meaning corruption was rife in the ministry.



Buthelezi said: Government has lost millions in the fuel scandal at CTA and there are officials who are millionaires in this ministry. They have double stories in their homes, which are built in just six months. Millions have become mere cents at the Works Ministry.



The PAC instructed the ministry to recover monies paid to the contractor, which has since filed for liquidation.
MANZINI  All eyes are on government, the Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini to be precise.



This comes after Education International (EI), through its Secretary General David Edwards, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, demanded that the authorities of Eswatini take all necessary measures to ensure that union leaders could fully exercise their trade union rights.



On that note, it demanded that the charges against the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Ernest Dlamini, be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



In the letter which was written by Edwards last Tuesday on behalf of EI, he said he did so to condemn the harassment of Mbongwa, who was the President of SNAT. The letter was directed to the PM and it was copied to the offices of Secretary to Cabinet, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Standards Department.



On that note, Edwards reminded the countrys authorities that SNAT was affiliated to EI.



Representing



He then explained that EI was a global union federation representing over 32 million teachers and education workers in more than 170 countries.

He said they had noted that the SNAT leader had been charged with professional misconduct for unauthorised absenteeism from his school on January 31, 2019. On that note, the global union federation said it had learnt that Dlamini was attending union activities in which SNAT on that date in question was preparing for a strike action over the cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA) for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years.



The fact of the matter is that the head teacher of Mhubhe High School, who is Dlaminis direct supervisor, had authorised his absence so that he attends union duties that day, reads part of the EI letter to the PM.



Furthermore, Edwards said other alleged breaches by the SNAT president, of the Teaching Service Regulation concerned, referred to events from 2016 and 2017 that were processed and put to rest at that time.



On that note, he said EI deplores the victimisation of the SNAT president as yet another example of trade union persecution by the Government of Eswatini. He said the right to organise trade union activities, including meetings, was recognised under Eswatini and international laws.



Lawful



Section 14 (b) of the Constitution (2005) guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and Section 99(b) is of the Industrial Relations Act stipulates that trade unions have the right to plan and organise lawful activities, Edwards said in the letter.



Again, he said as the authorities of the country knows, Article 3 of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association states that trade unions should have the right to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes and that public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right.



On that regard, he said tactics to intimidate unionists from holding a legitimate trade union meeting constitute a serious violation of both national and international laws.

Therefore, he emphasised that as EI they invite the authorities of Eswatini to take all necessary measures to ensure that union officials could fully exercise their trade union rights. He added that as EI they request that the charges against the SNAT president be lifted immediately and unconditionally.



I thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, the EI secretary general said in the letter.

It is worth noting that the SNAT president is facing a total of 15 charges. This is because initially, he was asked to show cause why he should not be slapped with four charges but after responding in writing, 11 more counts were preferred against him. The charges are for absenteeism, failure or neglect or refusal to submit official school records for inspection and misconduct.

On another note, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said they had already reported the matter to ILO.

He added that there were other issues of union bashing which they would be taking to ILO soon. Some of the issues he mentioned include that of SNAT members Maxwell Zondiyinkhundla Myeni, Mcolisi Ngcamphalala and Njabulo Njefire Dlamini.

Chucked

Another one is that of Sibusiso Lushaba, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), who was chucked out by government when he was representing workers in salary talks.

Meanwhile, Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane said he wants to believe that if Mbongwa had been charged already, he would have his day in court and would present his case freely and a ruling would be made.

He said Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach were misplaced. However, he said the government of Eswatini was open to advice and not orders.

I want to believe that if Mbongwa Dlamini has been charged already he will have his day in court and will present his case freely and a ruling will be made. Education Internationals arrogance and bully approach are misplaced. The Government of Eswatini is open to advice and not orders.
MBASHENI  When a womans anger reaches boiling point... An allegedly abused mother let rip and scalded her abusive son with boiling water at Mbasheni, in the Nothern Hhohho Region.



Isabel Nxumalo had just boiled water to take a bath when she was suddenly compelled to instead, splash the water on her son, a 24-year-old pupil of Ntfonjeni High School on Saturday, April 27.



Nxumalo said her son, Simiso, commonly known as Mahlosana, had returned home from a local family gathering, and disturbed peace at the home, while making demands for food.



Recounting the events that led to the incident, Nxumalo said Mahlosana had initially left home for the Kings Birthday celebration at Buhleni on April 26 and had returned home inebriated.



He was carrying his favourite traditional brew, umcombotsi, stored in a two-litre container.



Inebriated



Due to the inebriated state, Mahlosana had retired to his room, which is outside the main house where the rest of his family  mother, sister, grandchildren sleep.

Then in the morning he went to a Ndwandwe homestead where there was a family event and spent the whole day, only to return home allegedly drunk at about 8pm, raising hell for his family.



He is said to have first insisted on sitting on the couch yet he was too dirty, to the extent that he was greased with meat fat on his clothes. However, his elder brother is said to have taken him out of the house.

He demanded food, as usual and we gave it to him, but he fed it to the dogs and demanded food again.



He then came back, banging the windows, demanding another plate of food, but we had none at the time, so I asked my daughter to make two eggs and porridge for him just to calm him down. I do not know what he did with that meal because he came back demanding more food, she alleged.

Insults

She said while demanding food again, her son had gone on his usual rant and hurled insults at her, calling her a harlot and witch.

He started banging the windows and caused a lot of commotion at the home, until his elder brother tried to contain him and pushed him away. However, he was relentless as he continued insulting me and wanted to force entry into the house. Since on previous occasions, he had carried a knife and threatened to stab me, I feared the worst.

Dangerous

She said she had tried to ascertain what her son was carrying that would be dangerous to the family but it was too dark for her to see anything.

When he tried to push his way into the house, I lost control and grabbed a jug with the water I was about to bath with and poured it on him. From that time he ran into his house and stopped abusing us, she said.

Paramedics

Nxumalo said the following day she called paramedics and asked them to take her son to hospital.

The paramedics asked to speak to him over the phone, but he told them not to come because he did not want to go to hospital. The paramedics said they would not spend money on fuel for an uncertain emergency because it was clear that he did not want to go to hospital. My son then left the home for a popular drinking spot known as Kadandane, still in pain from the scald wounds.

She said she then called a member of the community police, Bheki Gwebu, and reported that she had scalded her son with water and he did not want to go to hospital.

She said it was Gwebu who called the Royal Eswatini Police Service, who responded promptly, picked him from the drinking spot and took him to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital.

Nxumalo said doctors had intended to admit him for the scald wounds but after he was bandaged, he sneaked out.

Nxumalo spots a cast on her left foot, and said she had sustained injuries during one of her sons abusive moments.

She said he had arrived home, demanding food and had started vandalising her cupboard, breaking its doors.

Breaking

I gave him his food, but he had insisted on taking meat from the plates of all the other childrens food, something that I objected to because his plate had meat too. He was breaking the cupboard until I tried to push him away. In the scuffle, I then kicked an iron bar and fractured two of my toes, she alleged.

Her daughter, Lomawa, confirmed that her brothers behaviour was unruly, though she said this did not warrant the discipline he eventually suffered.

I cannot say he deserved this, but I can attest to the abuse my mother and the rest of the family suffered in the hands of my brother. When he is not drunk, he is fine, but after taking alcohol he becomes unbearable and embarks on his insultive rants, while abusing us.

He is responsible for my mothers injuries, she said pointing at her mothers leg. He calls her with terrible insults and this pains us as a family.

She showed Swazi News several windows of her mothers house, which she alleged had been broken by Mahlosana, while demanding food.

This is not to say we starve him. He is just fond of breaking windows and abusing the family when he is drunk, she said.

Nxumalo said at one time she had taken her son to the Piggs Peak police and asked that they give him counselling to stop his abusive behaviour. Despite these efforts, she said he had not stopped his habit.

Chaotic

Meanwhile, Gwebu, the community police member, confirmed that Mahlosana had a chaotic behaviour in the community.

At one time he stole umcombotsi belonging to a drinking spot and had also stolen chickens from a certain homestead. His family has called me to assist on numerous occasions when he starts abusing them, he said.

Abused

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the mother had not been arrested by yesterday because police were still reviewing the merits of the case after learning that she was abused by the child.

We are, however, pursuing the matter and will advise accordingly as investigations are ongoing, she said.
By Trend

Hossein Fereydoun, aide to, and brother of, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been sentenced to imprisonment, head of the department on issues related to public employees' services Hamidreza Hosseini said at an event dedicated to the announcement of the new public prosecutor of Tehran, Trend reports referring to ISNA.

Since the ruling is not final, its details cannot yet be declared, according to Hosseini. He added that another case on Fereydoun is in court, and no ruling has yet been made on it either. "Rulings have also been made on other defendants," he said.
More than two-thirds of high-net-worth individuals are keen on investing in cryptocurrencies over the next three years, according to a new global poll conducted among 700-plus respondents who are clients currently residing in the US, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Japan, Qatar, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany and South Africa.

Carried out by deVere Group, one of the worlds largest independent financial advisory organisations, the survey shows that 68 per cent of poll participants are now already invested in or will make investments in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, before the end of 2022.

High net worth is classified in this context as having more than 1 million ($1.3 million or equivalent) in investable assets.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, said: "The research shows that wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies."

"There is growing, universal acceptance that cryptocurrencies are the future of money  and the future is now. High net worth individuals are not prepared to miss out on this and are rebalancing their investment portfolios towards these digital assets," he stated.

Crypto is to money what Amazon was to retail. Those surveyed clearly will not want to be the last one on the boat, added Green.

Besides Fomo  the Fear Of Missing Out - Green believes there are five main drivers for high-net-worth individuals surging interest in cryptocurrencies.

"First, cryptocurrencies are borderless, making them perfectly suited to an ever globalised world of commerce, trade, and people. Second, they are digital, making them perfectly suited for the increasing digitalization of our world, which is often called the fourth industrial revolution," he explained.

"Also they provide solutions for real-life issues, including making international remittances more efficient, and help bank the worlds estimated two billion unbanked' population," stated Green.

Another reason is demographics are on the side of cryptocurrencies as younger people are more likely to embrace them than older generations.

"And finally, institutional investors are coming off the sidelines and moving into cryptocurrencies, bringing their institutional capital and institutional expertise to the crypto market," he added.

The deVere CEOs optimism comes as Bitcoin, the worlds dominant cryptocurrency, has registered a five-month high on Friday, reinforcing the view put forward by its recent upswing towards bullish territory.

Green recently told the media that he believes that Bitcoin will imminently test the crucial $6,000 price support, building confidence on the wider cryptocurrency market.

Once this confidence is in place, the sky is the limit for cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly accepted by both retail and institutional investors as the future of money, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai-based specialist international private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare has joined hands with Ukraine's Kozyavkin Medical Group to set up a new venture that will offer specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

The new company, Vivus Medical Rehabilitation Company, will bring The Kozyavkin Method - a specialised intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) - to international markets across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

The investor syndicate led by TVM Capital Healthcare will be holding a majority share in the business for the start-up investment. The Kozyavkin Medical Group includes Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic in Truskavets (Ukraine).

The Kozyavkin Method was created by Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin more than 30 years ago in Ukraine and has received inclusion in the encyclopedic edition of child orthopaedics as one of the four most effective approaches to the rehabilitation of patients suffering from CP and other CNS disorders.

The treatment method is recognized by the European Medical Association (EMA); more than 70,000 patients have been treated at medical institutions in Ukraine, the UAE and Cyprus, including around 17,000 from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the US, remarked Prof Dr Volodymyr Kozyavkin, the general director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and Dr Helmut Schuehsler, CEO and Chairman of TVM Capital Healthcare in Truskavets, Ukraine.

Dr Schuehsler said: "As a healthcare private equity investor we are dedicated to making high-quality healthcare services more accessible to patients worldwide. Our portfolio company, Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center, has been cooperating with the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic and is already successfully offering the method to patients in the UAE and Saudi Arabia."

"With this joint venture, we plan to grow this method globally. We are very much looking forward to working with Professor Kozyavkin and his team to help more patients benefit from their immense medical and clinical expertise," he stated.

Professor Volodymyr Kozyavkin, General Director of the Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic (part of Kozyavkin Medical Group) said: "We are proud to have won an internationally renowned and experienced healthcare investor who is supporting our innovative method of treating patients with Cerebral Palsy."

"We are very much looking forward to cooperating with the team of TVM Capital Healthcare to make this method available for patients worldwide," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The U.S. has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China's government could force the company to give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei, the world's biggest maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, has denied the allegations.

The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the security of new 5G networks.

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China's Huawei.

The proposals reflected security concerns, with some wording that also appeared to be aimed at raising the bar for Chinese suppliers. The document said "security and risk assessment of vendors and network technologies" should be taken into account, as well as "the overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country," especially its "model of governance."

"Security and risk assessments of vendors and network technologies should take into account rule of law," it said.

U.S. officials have urged their allies to take into account the laws and legal system of a country where a 5G supplier is based, saying that China's lack of independent judiciary means companies have no legal options if they don't want to comply with Beijing's orders.

The European Commission has also recommended that EU countries factor in the legal systems of the countries where 5G suppliers are headquartered.

At the meeting in Prague, the cybersecurity officials came mainly from countries that are strategic allies, including European Union member states, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies including Australia, Japan and Korea and Singapore. NATO and European Union officials also participated but China and Russia were not present.

Europe has become a key battleground in the war over whether to ban Huawei, with countries gearing up to deploy the new networks, starting with the auction of radio frequencies this year.


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New Year's Eve still on in Times Square, but with smaller crowd
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 04, 2019 | 08:52 AM | CAPE GIRARDEAU

Persistent flood conditions on the Mississippi River show no signs of abating, as the river is expected to approach record levels at Cape Girardeau this week.The upper Mississippi is already at near-record levels, anywhere from seven feet above flood stage at St. Louis to 12 feet above flood stage in Iowa. On Thursday, a historic record high water mark was set at the Quad Cities.All of that water will make its way through southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and western Kentucky by midweek and push the river gauge at Cape Girardeau to more than 45 feet. Flood stage at Cape is 32 feet.Cape's record high flood level is 48.86 feet, set in January of 2016. This week's crest is anticipated to be the 8th-highest ever for the city.Downstream at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Cairo is experiencing moderate flooding with slowly falling levels on the Ohio at 48.1 feet. The surge on the Mississippi is expected to hold back Ohio waters enough to raise Cairo's gauge to 51.5 feet by Thursday. This is not close to Cairo's record level of 61.7 feet in May of 2011.The rest of the lower Ohio could see minor flooding resume this week. At Paducah's riverfront, levels will rise from 36.8 feet as of Saturday, to 40 feet this Wednesday through next weekend. Flood stage at Paducah is 39 feet.Smithland will see a similar rise from 35 to 39 feet.

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By Rep. Chris Freeland

May. 03, 2019 | BENTON, KY

By Rep. Chris Freeland May. 03, 2019 | 06:13 PM | BENTON, KY

Education Bills Approved During 2019 Session - By Representative Chris Freeland



With the school year coming to an end in just a few short weeks, I know many of you are looking forward to graduation celebrations, field days, spring recitals and the promise of summer vacation. This is a fun and hectic time of the year for those of us with school-age children. For many of our educators, the end of this school year means planning for the next. I would like to take a moment and discuss some of the important education initiatives that we passed this session.



Without a doubt the most important bill we passed this session is the School Safety and Resiliency Act, SB 1. This measure came out of the work done by the School Safety Working Group. This group traveled across the Commonwealth and met with stakeholders in law enforcement, education, and the mental health field to come up with a comprehensive school safety policy. We took what we learned from these meetings and took action to combat increasing school violence, an effort driven by the tragic shooting at Marshall County High School last year. The measure is aimed at strengthening both our schools and our children. Not only does it call for steps to harden the target and make our facilities harder to breach, but the bill also focuses on building stronger school communities in an effort to reach troubled children with services. This measure establishes a state goal of providing more School Resource Officers and school counselors.



The School Safety Act is the first step in our commitment to protecting our children and we will look at funding the measure in the budget we pass next session. We have many partners in this work, and I am pleased to see that the Kentucky School Boards Association has wasted no time. The KSBA reached out to its members just last week with a survey asking them to detail their facility needs and anticipated costs associated with SB 1 standards. The survey responses are expected back by September 1, giving us time to include them in the budget process next session.



Another important education initiative we tackled was expanding resources available to Family Resource and Youth Service Centers (FRYSCs). These centers, in schools across the state, offer important programs and services to meet the needs of the population being served, available resources, location and other local characteristics. FRYSCs have established a record of success based on improved student performance in class work, homework and peer relations as reported by teachers. HB 21 allows them to accept private donations to provide resources for children in need. This measure comes on the heels of an increase in FRYSC funding that the legislature prioritized in last years budget. This will mean more students are able to benefit from the educational resources that FRYSCs offer.



Kentucky high school graduates may choose to pursue a post-secondary degree, job training, or a military career. No matter the path that students chose to go down, the General Assembly is working to ensure that they have all the resources necessary to be successful. A bill we passed that would help those interested in a military career. The bill, HB 250, requires schools to provide students in grades 10-12 the opportunity to take the ASVAB test annually, offer counseling based on the ASVAB test results, and excuse meetings with a military recruiter. Many students are excused from school to visit and register for college, and this bill simply gives the same allowances to students pursuing a military career after graduation.



We also prioritized opportunities to aid in a students pursuit of workforce training upon graduation. One of those bills, HB 61, was aimed at improving access to educational opportunities that lead straight into the workforce. HB 61 would allow Kentucky students to apply earned KEES scholarship money toward a qualifying apprenticeship or qualified workforce training program that are in a high demand work sector. This bill will ensure high school students have the opportunity to use earned scholarship money to pay for workforce training. This will ensure a greater accessibility to these programs, and will aid in our statewide effort to recruit more workers to these in demand fields.



Another bill geared toward access to work force training and education was SB 98. SB 98 establishes the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. The program ensures that Kentuckians have affordable access to an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or associate of applied science degree. The scholarship is available to eligible dual credit high school students or eligible workforce students who have not earned an associate's degree. This bill again prioritizes the varying needs of students, and the needs of a growing workforce in Kentucky.



We also approved HB 46, which makes Kentucky the 20th state to require public elementary and secondary schools to display the national motto In God We Trust in a prominent location. The motto can be displayed in the form of student artwork or through other affordable means. I supported this measure because I agree with the positive message and patriotic display of our nations national motto.



Before finishing, I want to share that we expect the Governor will call the legislature into special session in the next few days. You may remember that he rejected an agreement that provided financial relief for quasigovernmental agencies  including local health departments, mental health agencies, and rape crisis centers  and our regional universities participating in the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Last week he provided members with a copy of his proposal to replace this agreement. I am reviewing it, as well as reaching out to both the organizations and the employees impacted by this issue and will give it careful consideration. Timing is extremely important to this issue, as all of the regional universities and some of the quasigovernmental agencies have June 1 budget deadlines. However, we must make sure we provide the very best solution.



I will be including the pension and other issues we are working on in my next columns. In the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime, or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. If you would like more information, or to e-mail me, please visit the legislature's website www.legislature.ky.gov.



Chris Freeland is from Benton in Marshall County. He was elected in November to his first term in the Kentucky Legislature. Freeland serves on the following committees: Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation, Small Business & Information Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology.




MP urges residents to visit unmissable Penley Polish Hospital exhibition

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A local MP is urging local residents to visit the Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales exhibition at Wrexham Museum.

International events and local history come together to tell the story of Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales, which opened back in March.

Eighty years ago the Wehrmacht and the Red Army swept across the borders of Poland setting in motion a train of events that would lead to the establishment of three Polish hospitals in the Welsh countryside near Wrexham, in the village of Penley and the grounds of two country houses, Iscoyd Park and Llannerch Panna.

The hospitals were staffed by Polish medics and nurses whose job was to care for the thousands of Polish servicemen and service women displaced from their homes, battle worn and weary, and now living in post-war Britain.

The hospitals became the focal point of a Polish community whose story is told in this new exhibition.

Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said: This tells an important part of our Wrexham County Borough history. The exhibition is unmissable, and the artefacts and recordings are superb. Huge tributes should go to Wrexham Museum, Wrexham Council and all the volunteers who made this wonderful exhibition possible.

The story begins in World War Two when Polish Camps were established in our country by British and American service personnel.

Polish medics then ran hospitals that would care for our Polish allies and their families. Subsequent Soviet annexation of Poland meant that few could return home.

By 1956, the three North East Wales Polish hospitals combined in Penley and over the next half a century, more than 25,000 people were cared for at this excellent community hospital.

Today, this amazing legacy lives on in work of the Penley Rainbow Centre and the lives of many local residents. The links between our area and Poland are really deep.

The exhibition runs at Wrexham Museum until June 22nd 2019. Admission is free. Wrexham Museum is open Monday  Friday 10am. to 5pm. and Saturday 11am to 4pm. Courtyard Cafe is open 10am. to 4:30pm.
Publisher gives students tips on finding creative freedom in the magazine industry

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 4th, 2019

A publisher who creates a celebrated design, photography and culture magazine has spoken to students at the Regent Street campus about his work.

Les Jones, the creator of Elsie magazine, delivered a two-hour lecture in the morning and then facilitated an afternoon workshop with the students at the universitys Regent Street campus.

The vision behind Les individual magazine is creative freedom  the ability to explore creative themes without any outside influence or interference. This approach, which takes in design, photography, illustration and typography gives the magazine its unique, eclectic feel.

Elsie has been praised by actor Tom Hanks who wrote a letter about the magazine after a friend of Les sent him a copy which name-checked him.

Mr Hanks subscribed and said: Elsie is a gorgeous magazine. I am now all in favour of one-man (or one-woman) magazines, as they will make the world a little more lovely of a place.

In his lecture, Les explained how, while traditional magazine publishing may seem stuck in a series of conventions, the world of niche magazine publishing can open up all kinds of possibilities  and that having a big idea which inspires them and fires their creativity was key to developing students work if they wanted to publish their own magazines.

Speaking afterwards, he added: It was a pleasure to talk to and work with the students at Wrexham Glyndwr University  hopefully they took away some ideas and inspiration from the day. I wish them all the best as they come to the end of their final year.

His visit followed an invite to the university by lecturer Lisa Evans, who said: Im delighted Les was able to come along to inspire our students, particularly as we were only one of five UK universities he has chosen to visit.

The independent magazine sector is growing year on year, with dedicated shops beginning to pop up to cater for the growing appetite for these publications.

Independent publishing is a great way for our students to apply and develop their creativity and Id like to thank Les for his time, his inspiration  and his visit.

You can find out more about Elsie magazine here and Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology here.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 14:05:52|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on March 28, 2019 shows Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia , in his office in Canberra where he accepted interview with Xinhua before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA). "You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month. (Xinhua/Pan Xiangyue)

by Bai Xu, Pan Xiangyue, Zhou Zihan

CANBERRA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Dialogue between civilizations is at the heart of making the world a better place that people want to live in, said Mathew Trinca, director of the National Museum of Australia (NMA).

"You know, in isolation, our ideas stay at one level. But if we join with others, we actually change. We are changed by them, and hopefully we can have some change upon them as well," he told Xinhua in an interview before the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations to be held in Beijing later this month.

"The opportunity to share ideas is always one in which you learn, and you'll say your ideas get better," he said.

GETTING CLOSER BY SHARING STORIES

NMA had its permanent home by Lake Burley Griffin in the center of the Australian capital Canberra in 2001. Trinca joined NMA as a senior curator in 2003, and became director of the museum in 2014.

He noted that NMA had strong connection with China. "Since the National Museum opened its doors here in 2001, we've been three times with major exhibitions to China: to Guangzhou with our first exhibition ever overseas in 2002, again in 2010 the National Art Museum of China, and now first to the National Museum of China and then other museums throughout China."

"There is no doubt that our relationship to China and to the Chinese people is one of the most important for the Australian people, indeed for the Australian nation," said Trinca. "So it's no surprise to me that the first place we went with an exhibition overseas was to China, and I think it signified something deep and enduring about our relationships."

NMA signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of China in 2011, where a 150-piece "Old Masters" art exhibition with Australian indigenous artists was launched last July.

As an exchange, an exhibition namely The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China opened in NMA on April 5. Consisting of more than 100 objects from China, including a rare 20-meter-long replica of the first scroll of Emperor Qianlong's Southern Inspection Tour, it explores the grand historical sweep of Chinese art and calligraphy traditions.

"I think there's a deep truth in all human life that when we share our stories with others, we learn about ourselves in the act of sharing with others," said Trinca, adding that by exchanging exhibitions with the Chinese museums, he hoped that Australian people and the Chinese can learn about stories of each other.

"When two nations come together and their peoples come together, and they're prepared to exchange stories, they learn about each other," he said. "They develop relationships in ways that otherwise, I think would be impossible. And that's really what's going to hold us together as two nations whose history has been intertwined. And I think our future is going to be similarly linked."

DIFFERENT CULTURE, STRONG CONNECTION

Due to his tight schedule, Trinca is not able to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, but he attended an international forum of museum directors in China.

"You know, in Asia Pacific, the value of creative industries here in this region is greater than anywhere else," he said.

Talking about the cultural features in Australia, Trinca believed that the aboriginal culture was definitely an important part.

"This is a land of long human history reaching back 65,000 years," he said. "So many First Nations have lived on this continent for centuries, for millennia. That story is a big story, not just for Australians, but for the world."

At the same time, Australia is also known as a multicultural country with immigrants from across the world. "Over the course of the last 100 years or so, we've welcomed people from all around the world to these shores. Now we have more than two hundred languages spoken here in homes across the nation."

"It connects us to the global history in a way that the movement of people around the world have changed our lives over time, and from them the Australian gained very strong foundations of the modern society," he said.

China is the biggest single source of immigrants. "Chinese is the most spoken language in this country, apart from English," Trinca said. "More than 1.2 million Chinese people live in Australia at this point of time."

In spite of the difference of culture behind China and Australia, Trinca said that cultural connection between the two countries is close.

"(We now have) the third exchange in the space of 20 years," he said. "I can't think of that having been replicated with any other nation around the world. It's a sign of how strong the connections are between our two countries."

He is now thinking of something new "for where our relationship might go next". "Working together, to make a show together," he said. "It would be wonderful if we move into a new phase where we actually make an exhibition together that then travels the world."

Looking into the future, Trinca is optimistic. "Our future is going to be even brighter than our past."
"I was so nervous because it was my first film, but the script was so interesting and it was so much fun," said the TV heartthrob who was a member of defunct boy group ZE:A.

Park Hyung-sik shared his thoughts on finishing his first feature film at the media preview of "Juror 8" in Seoul on Thursday afternoon.

"The character is a very curious person who is determined to see things through until the end. He resembles me a lot, so I really wanted to do it."

Park is due to start his mandatory military service in military police on June 10.

"I don't have any special wish that somehow this should leave a lasting impression on viewers just because it will be my last project before the draft," he said. "But I hope people enjoy watching it and the warm message the film conveys makes them happy."

"Juror 8" is about eight ordinary people who are randomly selected for jury service in Korea's very first jury trial in 2008.

It will be released on May 15.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:22:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The 34th edition of the Singapore Book Fair (SBF) will return to the heart of Singapore's historic Civic District for the second consecutive year, according to a press conference held here Friday.

The annual fair, which is organized by Singapore Press Holdings'(SPH) Chinese Media Group, will run from May 31 to June 9 at Capitol Singapore with the theme "Encounters @ Reading City". It will be officially opened by Chan Chun Sing, minister for Trade and Industry, on June 1.

More than 30 publishers will be offering a selection of English and Chinese books, including established publishers, which have participated in SBF for many years, such as Union Book, Maha Yu Yi, Fables and the Linking Publishing Company.

Apart from books, the 10-day fair will offer a variety of programmes, including seminars, literary and heritage tours, workshops, movies and music performances.

One of the highlights of SBF 2019 is the writers' sharing sessions and forums, featuring a line-up of prominent authors and personalities who will be sharing about their writing and creative process.

A book exchange area has been set up for the public to bring their pre-loved books to exchange with others. Book donors can pen their reasons for recommending their pre-loved book so that there will be an exchange of thoughts and feelings with other book lovers.

On the basement level of Capitol Singapore will be a Kids Zone, which will feature storytelling sessions by National Library Board volunteers, children's art and craft workshops, coloring competitions and photo opportunities with beloved children's book character Geronimo Stilton.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-03 23:43:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MINSK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A second runway was opened on Friday at Minsk National Airport in the capital city of Belarus following three years of construction.

The construction was carried out by Belarusian construction companies without foreign funds, the Belarusian transport and communications ministry said.

The new runway is 3.7-km long and 60-meter wide, costing more than 188 million U.S. dollars.

The runway has been assigned the operational category 4F, which allows the airport to handle all types of aircraft without restrictions in adverse weather conditions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko and General Director of Minsk National Airport Dmitry Melikyan attended the official opening ceremony.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:08:39|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has granted amnesty to an unspecified number of inmates on occasion of coronation ceremonies, scheduled over the weekend.

A royal decree for the amnesty of inmates, issued on April 21 and declared in the Royal Gazette on Friday, was for the freed prisoners to behave themselves and return as good members of society.

Corrections Department Director General Narat Sawettanan announced on Friday that a number of inmates will be freed under the royal decree from 143 prisons nationwide.

The Department of Corrections will organize a ceremony for the freed inmates to express their allegiances to His Majesty the King upon their release from prisons, Narat said.

However, committees consisting of judges, public prosecutors and provincial governors are yet to take a 120-day time to decide which inmates will be pardoned and freed under the royal decree, Narat said.

Those who have been convicted on charges of perpetrating critical crimes such as human trafficking, drug dealing, murders and corruption will have less opportunity for freedom than others, according to the department chief.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:18:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WUHAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Police in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, dressed as delivery men, seized a parcel containing drugs, according to local authorities.

The police with the anti-drug team of the public security bureau of the Jiang'an District received a tip late April that someone had mailed a box of suspicious objects from south China's Yunnan Province to a residential community in the district.

The police combed through the piles of parcels and found one of them giving off an odd smell. The police, disguised as delivery men, then waited for the suspect to fetch the parcel.

The police caught the man who came to take the parcel and seized 3 kg of magu, a stimulant composed of methamphetamine and caffeine, from the boxes in the parcel.

An initial investigation showed that the suspect, surnamed Xia, is a local of Wuhan. He bought drugs from Yunnan and attempted to sell them to earn money. Further investigation is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 00:49:00|Editor: ZX

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Aerial view of unloading operation of the first crude oil shipment to Hengyi Industries'oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, May 3, 2019. After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries said on Friday. (Xinhua/Hengyi Industries)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- After the successful unloading of the first crude oil shipment on Thursday night, the oil refinery and petrochemical plant at Pulau Muara Besar (PMB), the biggest joint venture between China and Brunei, officially enters the stage of trial operation and production, a senior Hengyi official said on Friday.

Chen Liancai, CEO of Hengyi Industries that built the plant told Xinhua that with a total investment of some 3.45 billion U.S. dollars and a crude oil refining capacity of eight million tonnes per year, Hengyi's PMB project is expected to run into full operation in the third quarter of this year.

"Part of the crude oil needed for PMB project comes from Brunei's own oil production, while the rest will be imported from neighbouring oil producing countries," Chen said.

Haji Mat Suny, the country's minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry said in February that after full operation, the PMB project is expected to increase Brunei's GDP by 1.33 billion dollars in the first year and create more than 1,600 jobs.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings -- a wholly owned subsidiary under Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund -- owning 70 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Hengyi's investment into PMB is the largest foreign direct investment into Brunei from China so far, which is due to help the southeast Asian country to upgrade its industries, alleviate its dependency on oil export and also to boost economic and trade cooperation between Brunei and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 01:49:29|Editor: Li Xia

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A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 3, 2019. At least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua)

GAZA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Two Islamic Hamas movement militants were killed on Friday evening in an Israeli army airstrike on a military training facility that belongs to the movement in central Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that Abdulla Abu Mallouh, 33 years old and Alla Boubali, 29 years old from al-Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that Israeli aircrafts struck a military training facility that belongs to Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades in central Gaza Strip, not far from the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said that the Israeli airstrike on the military training facility of Hamas was a response to an earlier gunfire attack on an Israeli army force, stationed on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The spokesman said that one Israeli soldier was moderately injured and was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment, adding that another female soldier was slightly injured in the shooting attack.

Meanwhile, at least 50 Palestinians injured in clashes on Friday between demonstrators who joined the weekly anti-Israel protests and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

At least 50 Palestinian demonstrators were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza Strip, including 10 children, two women, one journalist and three paramedics.

Eyewitnesses said that the demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans and threw stones at the soldiers in several areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

Field paramedics said that the soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators, adding that many of them were injuries and suffered suffocation after inhaling the Israeli tear gas.

Local media sources said that activists of the Great March of Return released several arson balloons from eastern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, while Israeli media reports said that several demonstrators climbed on the fence of the border.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources in Gaza said that an Israeli army tank fired at least three tank shells on eastern Gaza Strip targeting military facilities that belong to Islamic Hamas movement and no injuries reported.

The Israeli media reported that the tanks shelling on eastern Gaza Strip was an immediate response to opening fire by Palestinian gunmen at an Israeli army force stationed on the border, adding that one soldier was moderately injured.

The Highest Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege had earlier called on the populations of the Gaza Strip to join the weekly rallies and protests, which started in March 30 last year in eastern Gaza.

The commission said in a statement that the protests on Friday are against the United States' decision to consider the Syrian Golan Heights under Israel's sovereignty.

Gaza Health Ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests, the Israeli army shot dead 273 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others who were officially referred to the hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, two delegations representing Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad headed to Egypt for talks in Cairo with senior Egyptian security intelligence officials on a possible calm with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Khader Habib, a senior Islamic Jihad leader had earlier told Xinhua that the visit of the two delegations to Cairo aimed at discussing the recent developments in the Gaza Strip and the calm understandings with Israel.

The group's official accused Israel of not being committed to the understandings, mainly lifting an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Egypt and the United Nations have been mediating for several months a calm understanding between the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel trying to ease the hard living situation in the coastal enclave.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:04:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) suffered a 47-percent-fall in its first quarter net profit amid decreased sales globally, the Italian-American automaker reported on Friday.

FCA's Q1 net profit was 508 million euros, or 568 million U.S. dollars, with its worldwide combined shipments down 14 percent to 1,037,000 vehicles.

The slowdown in delivery was primarily due to "non-repeat of overlapping all-new and prior generation Jeep Wrangler production and planned realignment of commercial strategies in Europe," said the automaker.

The combined shipments in Asia Pacific region were down 30 percent, primarily in China.

FCA said that several steps were taken to strengthen its business in Q1, including the successful negotiation of a labor agreement in Italy, continued implementation of cost-containment actions in all regions, and progress towards a restructure of its joint ventures in China.

FCA and GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group) have recently announced changes to the organizational structure of their joint ventures in China. They have agreed to merge GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Company and GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales Company into one, effective on May 1, 2019.

They hope that the streamlined management "will accelerate the integration of industrial and commercial operations, more rapidly respond to changes in the Chinese market environment and enable delivery of even more competitive products and services to its customers," said FCA.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 02:19:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Friday that more than 1.6 million Iraqis remain displaced despite the military defeat of Islamic State (IS) militants since late 2017.

The remarks came in a statement by UNAMI after the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh and Dohuk to assess the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Hennis-Plasschaert visited Hassan Sham IDPs Camp and met with the camp's management and residents, who "explained the problems they face in their daily lives as well as the obstacles that prevent them from returning to their hometowns," the statement said.

She also met with Governor of Dohuk Farhad Atrushi to discuss the challenges that the provincial government is facing to continuously host large numbers of IDPs, many of whom are Yazidis, who fled their homes in Sinjar area, some 100 km west of Mosul, according to the statement.

It said that Yazidis are facing "a range of serious obstacles to their return to home such as an unstable security situation including clashes between armed groups and checkpoint harassment, damaged and contaminated houses, inadequate basic services, as well as discrimination."

"Obstacles are varied and often complex, painfully resulting in stalled returns on the ground," the statement quoted Hennis-Plasschaert as saying.

"The Yazidis have suffered immensely during the reign of Daesh, who committed untold atrocities in their attempt to annihilate the community," she said.

"I was shocked to see that now, nearly five years after the capture of Sinjar by Daesh and the area's subsequent liberation, many people are still living in tents, on the very mountain top they fled to at the onset of the terror campaign," she said.

She warned that continuing failure in removing obstacles of returning the IDPs to their homes creates the perfect breeding ground for a new wave of violence and instability, according to the statement.

To avoid the return of violence and instability, she called on the Iraqi federal government and the government of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to "consult with the local leadership in Sinjar and to establish stable governance and security structures without delay," it added.

In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:20:19|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows the United Nations General Assembly holding an event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday urged the rejection of attacks on places of worship while attending a General Assembly event to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

"Churches, mosques, synagogues and the religious sites of many faiths are being targeted for murder, arson, vandalism and desecration. We must reject this form of violence," she said.

The world is experiencing a dangerous rise in intolerance, xenophobia and racism. And today such hatred spreads easily and swiftly on the Internet, she warned.

The United Nations continues to strengthen its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, said Mohammed.

She noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set in motion two initiatives. He has asked his special representative on genocide prevention to devise a plan of action to mobilize the UN system's response to tackling hate speech, and his high representative for the alliance of civilizations to explore how the world body can contribute in ensuring the safety of religious sites.

Mohammed expressed the United Nations' solidarity with the people and government of Sri Lanka and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

The Easter attacks in Sri Lanka on April 21, which targeted churches and luxury hotels, killed more than 250 people and injured more than 500.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 03:35:22|Editor: Li Xia

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by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States' decision to end waivers that allowed a handful of countries to buy oil from Iran is more likely to have geopolitical implications than to affect Italy's energy supply, analysts said.

The White House said on April 22 that special waivers given to Italy and seven other countries to continue to import oil from Iran without endangering their trade status with the United States would not be renewed after they expire this month.

The waivers were granted in the wake of the United States' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal last year.

White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said that the decision not to renew the waivers was "intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero".

According to information from the United States Department of State, Iran had earned around 50 billion U.S. dollars per year from oil sales before sanctions were put in place.

The energy impact on Italy will be limited, however, because Italy never used its waiver once the sanctions were put in place.

"Italy didn't want to take a risk, knowing the waivers would likely be removed at some point," Andrea Dessi, a researcher focusing on Middle Eastern issues with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), told Xinhua.

"Italy produces very little of its own energy and so it has to be careful what countries it buys from in order to maintain a reliable stream of energy."

Dessi said Italy imports oil from around two dozen countries, and that if the ending of the Iran waivers does not push worldwide petroleum prices higher the impact on Italy would be small.

But according to Alessandro Lanza, an economist at Rome's LUISS University, former chief economist with Italian energy giant Eni and principal administrator at the International Energy Agency, there are larger geopolitical issues at stake.

"I think a question here is the extent to which a major power like the United States should be able to tell another country, a fellow member of the Group of Seven like Italy, which countries it can and cannot buy energy from," Lanza said in an interview.

Dessi said that Iranian officials were likely disappointed that Italy did not use its waiver when it could, and that the country didn't stand up for Iran in the face of sanctions from the United States.

"Italy is well positioned in Iran and well thought of in the country," Dessi said. "Iranian officials have made official visits to Rome and the countries have made statements of support. But when it came to the sanctions, Italy didn't want to stick its neck out."

Lanza said one potential benefit from the developments could be the creation of new incentives for the domestic production of renewable energy like solar or wind power.

"Italy has the target of producing 20 percent or more of its energy from renewable sources by the end of next year," Lanza said. "Surpassing that should be a priority."
Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program. North Korea has not commented on the test.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea's east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyang's latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

 Testing the Moratorium

Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests. Testing a short-range ballistic missile "might skirt the line" on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Kim has stated [the moratorium] only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly," Narang says. "It's enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium."

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was "fully briefed" by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official. "We are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

 Measured Escalations

North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down. Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:06:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday raised alarm over the impact of extreme weather events on the lives of children.

Such disasters should be an urgent wake-up call to world leaders, UNICEF said in a press release.

"We are witnessing a worrisome trend," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF's executive director. "Cyclones, droughts and other extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity. As we have seen in Mozambique and elsewhere, poorer countries and communities are disproportionately affected. For children who are already vulnerable, the impact can be devastating."

More than 120,000 children were affected by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest storm Mozambique has ever recorded. At least 400 schools were damaged or destroyed, affecting over 40,000 schoolchildren. A cholera outbreak has been declared in the affected area of Cabo Delgado, said UNICEF.

The April 25 cyclone came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai pummeled the country, affecting 1 million children. Nearly two months on, close to 25,000 people continue to live in shelters, said the fund.

In Odisha, India, 28 million people, including 10 million children, are in the path of Cyclone Fani. Some 1 million people have already been evacuated in preparation for what has been described as India's strongest cyclone in more than 20 years, it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:16:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Heavy fighting in southern Tripoli, including airstrikes and rocket barrages, has taken a toll on civilians and structures alike, forcing more than 50,000 people to leave their homes, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"We continue to be concerned about the heavy fighting in southern Tripoli," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "There are reports of extensive use of airstrikes and rocket shelling causing more civilian casualties and destruction, and forcing thousands more civilians from their homes."

As fighting continues, the International Organization for Migration said more than 50,000 people have now been displaced, Dujarric said. Most are finding shelter with families or in other private arrangements, while 29 collective shelters are now in operation, housing an estimated 2,750 people.

Humanitarians are providing assistance at these collective shelters, and other areas of displacement as access is allowed, the spokesman said.

More than 3,400 refugees and migrants are estimated to be trapped in detention centers already exposed to, or in close proximity to, the fighting, he told a regular briefing.

The availability of food, water and healthcare has been severely restricted in the facilities for refugees and migrants, Dujarric said. Some 32,000 people impacted by the crisis have been able to receive some form of humanitarian assistance to date.

The secretary-general's special representative in Libya, Ghassan Salame, continues his outreach to representatives of different Libyan factions in an effort to de-escalate the situation, said the spokesman.

On Wednesday, Salame met with the president of the Government of National Accord's Presidency Council, Fayez Serraj, and with a group of elders, officials and tribal leaders from the western region of Libya, Dujarric said. Salame offered the United Nations' full support to help civilians affected by the fighting, including internally displaced people and host communities.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:21:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUDAPEST, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Hungary sees Turkey as a strategic ally and a friend, and appreciates the role Turkey plays in guaranteeing European security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told here Friday at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"Without adhering to the EU-Turkey agreement on halting migration, sizable migratory pressures should be expected from the South, this is why security in Europe today begins in Turkey," Szijjarto stressed.

The minister explained that 4.5 million migrants were being cared for in Turkey and were not allowed to move towards the EU.

"Hungary also appreciates Turkey's role in the international fight against terrorism," Szijjarto underlined, adding cooperation in the area needs to be strengthened.

The Hungarian chief of diplomacy concluded by saying that relations between the EU and Turkey needed to be built on mutual respect and honesty.

"Hungary is an important ally, a good friend and partner, and although political relations are great, economic cooperation is good, there is much place for improvement," Cavusoglu said, adding that bilateral trade volume between the two countries needed to be increased.

He also thanked Hungary for standing by Turkey on many international forums, and for supporting Turkey's EU accession.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 05:51:36|Editor: ZX

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A visitor tries traditional Chinese costume at a Huangshan tourism promotion event at World Trade Center in New York, the United States, on May 3, 2019. A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination. The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A tourist promotional event featuring China's Mount Huangshan, or the Yellow Mountain, was held at New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) on Friday to demonstrate the charm of this renowned tourist destination.

Featuring photo displays, local opera performances and a Chinese tea ceremony show inside the Oculus, a transportation hub and shopping mall of the new WTC, the event made a comprehensive presentation of the scenery and cultural connotations of Mount Huangshan.

Located in east China's Anhui Province, the mountain range is famous for its magnificent scenery of granite peaks, rocks, pine trees, sunrise and sunset amid clouds.

Travel brochures and local style cookies were handed out to passers-by, who were also encouraged to try on traditional Han Chinese costumes and have a taste of this year's fresh tea from Anhui.

Mayor of Huangshan City Kong Xiaohong told the media that more than 2.62 million foreign tourists visited Mount Huangshan in 2018, and the number of U.S. tourists is growing steadily year by year.

As a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site, Mount Huangshan aims to attract more tourists worldwide, said the mayor, who came to New York to promote his hometown.

The event was organized by China National Tourist Office in New York and the Huangshan City.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:01:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Side II, a sculpture made by British sculptor Antony Gormley in 2017, is seen on display on Delos island, Greece, May 3, 2019. An exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, kicked off on the Delos island recently. (Xinhua/Li Xiaopeng)

by Yu Shuaishuai, Li Xiaopeng

MYKONOS, Greece, May 3 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a modern art exhibition is being held on Greece's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, the Delos island, once a flourishing trading center in the middle of the Aegean Sea near Mykonos.

The site-specific exhibition by Antony Gormley, one of Britain's best known sculptors, is presented by the Greek nonprofit organization NEON in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, a regional service under the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

This project, entitled SIGHT, exhibits 29 life-size iron body sculptures made by the artist during the last twenty years, including 5 specially commissioned new works, both at the periphery and integrated amongst Delos' archaeological sites.

The sculptures are being placed in various parts of the island, with the visitors being invited to discover them with the help of printed material. Two sculptures stand in the sea close to the shore, while some are on the Kynthos hill, in the Agora of the Competaliasts, at the entrance of the Stadium, on the Stage of the Theater and in other monument.

The exhibition, which will last until Oct. 31, also marks the first time a contemporary art installation has been unanimously approved by the Greek Archaeological Council to take place in Delos, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The tiny island of Delos is revered in Greek mythology as the sacred birthplace of twins Apollo, god of light, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Nowadays, it is usually inhabited by just a handful of archaeologists and scientific researchers, with its ruins stand devoid of human presence.

Gormley, an award-winning sculptor who is acclaimed for creating sculptures and installations that explore the relationship between the human body and space, told Xinhua it's an honor for him to exhibit his art works on the island.

"It's a huge honor, a huge responsibility and a huge challenge, to be the first artist to touch the island in 2,000 years," Gormley told Xinhua Friday at the site of his exhibition.

"I am hoping this exhibition will reanimate in a way that make people look differently with great alertness, think about the nature of the island, about its relations to the other islands, and maybe more generally about the human presence," he said.

Gormley admitted Buddhism has an important influence on his art creations, which he studied in India in early 1970s, "it taught me the body itself is an extraordinary teacher."

"We use the body as a machine, but in fact the body is a very sensitive receiver of not just information but feelings," he explained.

Gormley's works have been on show in many countries worldwide and his recent show in China was in 2017, when his works "Critical Mass II" were exhibited in Shanghai and Changsha.

He had been to China for many times since 1995 and told Xinhua that in his view, China is becoming more and more open-up.

"China is changing, is doing a lot to promote the cultural exchanges between China and the West," he said.

He recalled his exhibition in Changsha of China's Hunan Province as a show dealt with modern history as the city is a very important place for China's recent history, and for this current exhibition on Delos island, "it deals with ancient history."

For Demetrios Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, the extensive ruins within the unspoilt natural beauty of uninhabited Delos offer the visitor an unique experience.

"Antony Gormley's sculptures give the visitor the pleasure of wandering amid this Delian anasynthesis which is ideally suited to reflecting on our identity and exploring our cognitive and aesthetic ties with the past," he said in a press release.

"This exhibition is an exceptional opportunity for a wide audience to engage with Gormley's work and be reminded how central art is to the human story. I hope visitors will leave Delos feeling that his contemporary sculpture and this site belong to us all," Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON, said in the press release.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 06:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- European heads of government, ministers, commissioners and political experts gathered in Florence, Italy, for the 9th annual State of the Union conference on Friday.

Titled "21st-century Democracy in Europe", the conference explored democracy and European Parliament elections to be held at the end of the month, the rule of law and the legal powers of the EU, disinformation and fake news, immigration, the next generation of EU citizens, and the single market.

THE FUTURE IS FEDERALISM

Among the high-level speakers on Friday was Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi. He reviewed the achievements of the EU in creating prosperity and stability and keeping the peace in Europe for its over 500,000 citizens, and painted a picture of what he sees for its future, namely, a European federation.

European integration generated "a feeling of European affiliation" that is not "that false feeling of supremacy which for centuries accompanied Europeans" but rather "the birth of a spontaneous European identity: everyone who lives within the European space naturally and simply assimilates that feeling", he said.

"Everyone who has come to Europe or been born in Europe after the 1970s has a radically different vision compared to those from preceding generations," he added. "They don't see citizens of other European countries as real or potential enemies."

"Even those who criticize and are skeptical of the Union develop European ways of thinking," Moavero Milanesi said.

According to GlobalStat data released by conference organizers, 70 percent of European respondents in 2018 said they see themselves as European citizens, compared to 62 percent in 2010.

The minister also cited Eurobarometer data showing that "seven in 10 Europeans declare they are enthusiastically in favor of the free circulation of people, and believe we should preserve the free circulation of goods and services."

However, the EU needs to make some changes if it is to survive, the minister said.

The current system doesn't allow Europe to fully and successfully enter into the globalization process, he said. The continent is slipping in terms of the ability to develop new technologies.

Europe has been slow to tackle issues such as migration, and Moavero Milanesi cited more Eurobarometer data showing that 50 percent of respondents identify migration as a big issue, another 50 percent focus on economic growth and youth unemployment, and a good 40 percent is concerned with the threat of international terrorism and security, and the possible consequences of climate change.

The minister made several proposals for a stronger, more inclusive Europe: endowing the European Parliament with lawmaking powers, giving the Union powers to issue eurobonds and to levy European taxes on big economic players such as multinationals, giving Europe a common stance on migration, asylum, and border control, and changing the current rule that foreign and defense policy decisions must be unanimous.

"I think we could ask governments to agree among themselves on a pact that foreign policy decisions should be taken on a majority basis," he said. "It's revolutionary but it's feasible."

"Clarity of objectives is essential to maintaining citizen consensus," Moavero Milanesi said. "The architecture of the EU must be simplified and completed, and brought closer to citizens" with the ultimate goal of achieving true federalism, he said.

A NEW EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Also on hand was French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who delivered a high-level address on behalf of French President Emmanuel Macron and the French government in which he called for "a new European Renaissance"

"Europe is at a crossroads," said Le Drian. "The real dividing lines between those who wish to stop Europe and those who wish to make it advance will come out into the open (at the upcoming European Parliament elections)."

The French minister went on to list potentially fatal threats to the EU: that of division and what he described as "the ill winds" that fan the flames of populism and are "calling into question the values of the rule of law."

"As we learn our lesson from Brexit, we should consider the increase of populisms in Europe for what it is -- a symptom of a deep malaise over the distance between institutions and citizens, over globalization, which affects our people in full force, over inequalities within and between our societies and yes, the threats of terrorism, the spectre of trade war and the prospect of a climate catastrophe," Le Drian said.

"It is not too late to act, as long as we are aware of these dangers," he said. "The lessons of the British withdrawal should not be a signal of alarm condemning us to repeat past errors and allowing the bonds between us to be broken."

Like his Italian counterpart, Le Drian called for a consolidated border policy, a European asylum bureau, and a return to "the fundamentals of the European project" based on social progress and "a real social shield -- a minimum threshold for protection to the benefit of workers and all European citizens".

EUROPE MUST RETHINK ITSELF

In his conference closing address, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that "Europe must rethink itself."

"In recent years, Europe has abdicated its fundamental role of representation and failed to intercept the needs, hopes and fears of its citizens," said Conte, who leads a populist-rightwing coalition government.

"It has been perceived as oligarchic and out of touch with the real lives of citizens, while social and economic in-qualities have excluded parts of the population, exacerbating feelings of abandonment and loss, especially in the younger generations," Conte said.

"Europe must urgently take courageous steps to change course from the current path, which has proven to be a failure."

Like Moavero Milanesi, Conte called for giving more powers to the European Parliament as a way to "finally overcome the idea that European policies are being decided by remote bureaucrats in inaccessible places".

Conte went on to call for European salaries and unemployment protections, investments in the circular economy to fight climate change, and a change in EU competition rules in order to allow state aid to ailing national companies.

Taking place ahead of the May 23-26 elections in which European citizens will choose their representatives in the European Parliament, this edition of the State of the Union also featured a debate amongst the lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission, which was broadcast across the continent.

The event, which kicked off on Thursday, will conclude on Saturday, with an Open Day of cultural, leisure and art activities open to the public.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 07:45:35|Editor: Li Xia

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Members of the police motorcycle unit participate in the motorcycle season opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on May 3, 2019. More than 2,000 motorcyclists and 7,000 guests attended the ceremony, opening the suitable season for riding motorcycles in Moscow. (Xinhua/Maxim Chernavsky)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 08:09:27|Editor: ZX

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Visitors pick roses at the Xianglian rose valley in Anning City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 3, 2019. Large scale of edible roses in Xianglian rose valley has attracted thousands of visitors during the Labor Day holiday. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:12:44|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired an unidentified short-range missile off its east coast Saturday morning, multiple local media reported citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The missile was launched eastward from the east coast city of Wonsan at about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT).

Details on the missile were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States, the JCS was quoted as saying.

It was the first missile launch by the DPRK in about 17 months since the country test-fired Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 09:27:47|Editor: Li Xia

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SYDNEY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Tooth decay levels are three times higher among indigenous children, with consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and irregular brushing of teeth forming major factors behind the global dental condition, according to latest Australian research.

The findings, which also showed that low household income and living in an area with non-fluoridated water offered significant dental risks to non-indigenous youngsters, suggested that cutting the intake of sugary drinks could help everyone but indigenous children required "additional focus on oral hygiene", the University of Adelaide said in a statement on Saturday.

The researchers analyzed data from Australia's national child oral health study and included nationally representative samples of both indigenous and non-indigenous children aged 5 to 14 years.

Indigenous children in Australia "experience profoundly greater inequalities on almost every indicator of health and well-being" compared with their non-indigenous peers, including "higher prevalence of nutrition-associated stunting" and "nonoptimal blood pressure growth outcomes", with the inequalities extending to oral health, according to the researchers. Their findings were published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal.

Dental caries is a global public health problem and the condition forms the most widespread non-communicable disease, according to the World Health Organization.

"The association of modifiable risk factors with area-based inequalities in untreated dental caries among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian children differed substantially. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with dental caries for both groups, and irregular tooth brushing was also significantly associated with dental caries for indigenous children," according to the latest study.

"Efforts by the dental profession - as well as policymakers and health professionals more generally - are required at both national and international levels to reduce barriers to access to and the availability of preventive and rehabilitative oral health services for indigenous groups  reducing oral health inequalities among and between indigenous groups needs to be a public health priority at a global level," the researchers said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:28:09|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRKs east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT), the JCS said in a statement.

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

It was originally reported that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into several short-range projectiles.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRKs possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as ballistic missile.

It came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The last ballistic missile test was conducted by the DPRK in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 10:48:16|Editor: Li Xia

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WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday night that it has known the latest action of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will monitor the situation.

In a statement, the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that "we are aware of North Korea's actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary."

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier on the same day that the DPRK has fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on the situation, according to U.S. media.

There is no comment so far from the DPRK on the issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:43:51|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday had telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launch of short-range projectiles, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions over phone about the DPRK's short-range projectile launches. They agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications.

The phone talks came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea from the DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonsan Saturday morning.

The projectiles traveled between 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each side at every level about the issue.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered to monitor current situations and closely share information on it with the U.S. side, according to the presidential Blue House.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 12:58:56|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Students practice the console for China's high-speed train CRH380B driving simulation system at the Luban Workshop in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Technical College in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Feb. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou)

by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- "Now the train moves forward," said 20-year-old Arthitaya Sapkum who was attentively looking at a screen that simulates the window in the locomotive of a high speed train, while her classmates were operating the control system on a panel.

The China-sponsored training platform for simulated driving, an eye-catcher to students and visitors, sits on the second floor of the Luban Workshop in Thailand.

The project, which is named after Lu Ban, a legendary Chinese carpenter from the 4th century BC and launched by China's Tianjin Municipality, provides state-of-the-art technical and vocational training to serve various aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative.

FOSTER TALENT

"Studying here is good. We can easily understand how a train system is formed and how trains work," said Arthitaya, who was on a short-term training program with her classmates from Thailand's Ko Kha Industrial and Community Education College.

She is one of the over 2,000 students who received training at the workshop after it was established in March 2016 in Thailand. On the second floor of the workshop lies Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College Center, China's first overseas technical center for high-speed railway training. It is equipped with modern teaching equipment and remote education facilities for long-distance learning.

Since there is no high-speed rail in Thailand, all teaching materials and equipment in the center are provided by the Chinese side.

In the past three years, the workshop helped Thai students learn subjects from new energy car development and the internet of things to high speed trains. The Tianjin Municipality also offers scholarships through the workshop for study in China.

"In order to promote the Belt and Road construction, the Lu Ban Workshop provides academic education and skills training for partners in other countries. This is a bridge connecting China's vocational education with that of the world," said Lv Jingquan, deputy director of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.

Jarun Youbrum, director of the Thai vocational school, is proud of the workshop, saying that the courses provided here can nurture talent for the future development of Thailand's high-speed rail system.

"We are the only one in Thailand and I think we should be a good example of Thailand-China cooperation on education and the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Thailand," Jarun said.

Arthitaya and Jarun are among those who have been building support for China-Thailand cooperation within the BRI framework, which has achieved tangible results through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Thai government is committed to the progress of the Thai-Chinese high speed rail project and hopes the project will be finalized as soon as possible, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told Xinhua last week before attending the second Belt and Road Forum of International Cooperation held in Beijing.

"As the Chinese proverb says, 'Unity Makes Everything a Success', we are pleased that the project has made good progress, and have taken the opportunity to learn more about high-speed railways and related technology," the prime minister noted.

CLOSER TIES

Since 2016, eight Luban Workshops have been set up in Asia, Africa and Europe, and have trained more than 4,000 people in 17 majors covering mechanics, new energy, automobile, communications, catering, and others.

The program is not just a unilateral education provider, but involves two-way exchanges that help enhance ties and cultural links between China and other countries.

Two years ago, the Tianjin School of Commerce, sponsored by the Tianjin Food Group Co., Ltd., set up a workshop in Britain's Chichester College and succeeded in incorporating its professional training standards into Britain's national vocational qualification framework.

Earlier this year, students from the workshop put their culinary skills to the test when doing catering for the British prime minister and her guests.

It was the last day of January. At Number 10 Downing Street, London, Prime Minister Theresa May was hosting a Chinese New Year reception.

Steamed vegetable dumplings, crispy duck, eight types of canapes and dishes of exquisite quality impressed some 150 guests with a taste of Chinese delicacies.

Chances are rare for students taking a course on Chinese culinary arts at Crawley College of Chichester College Group (CCG) to put their learning into practice at the highest level, and they handled the challenge with flying colors with the help of Chinese master chefs from Tianjin.

"Many Chinese guests at the (10 Downing Street) event said they haven't had such authentic dishes for years," said Wu Zhengxi, who teaches culinary skills at the school in Tianjin and represented Chinese chefs at the reception. "I proudly told them we're with the Luban Workshop."

CCG, the largest further education provider in South East England, was identified as a course partner for the British Luban Workshop. The success attracted more intention to cooperate from British business and vocational education sectors.

"The future for Chinese cuisine in the U.K. just got a whole lot brighter," said celebrity chef Ching He Huang.

The workshop program, stressing the pillars of the BRI, promotes connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education, business and culture.

Chinese authorities have pledged to enhance cooperation within the BRI framework by setting up more Luban Workshops, including 10 programs to offer vocational training for young Africans. The first one in Africa was launched in Djibouti in March, aiming to boost the country's overall development through the training of its youth.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

In less than six years, 127 countries and 29 international organizations have joined the initiative, through which China has made investments of more than 90 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) gathered around 6,000 participants from 150 countries and 92 international organizations, including heads of state and government, for three days in Beijing.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said at the BRF that the BRF can be "a building block and a role model of" an advanced pattern of global cooperation that should be more sustainable, more inclusive and more collaborative.

The BRI "is now growing up into a mature initiative that can have even more impact," Schwab added.

(Video reporters: Xu Jian, Ma Chen, Zhang Hao, Guo Xinhui, Yang Zhou; Video editor: Lin Lin)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:04:17|Editor: Li Xia

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CARACAS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- This year, political unrest has been haunting Venezuela as opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro vie for power.

The international community, including the United Nations, calls on restraint and dialogue to solve the problem.

Some major countries have different positions on Venezuela, with the United States and its allies such as Israel backing Guaido, while Russia, Cuba and other countries in support of Maduro.

The following are a string of major events related to the political crisis in Venezuela:

-- On Jan. 23, Guaido, president of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president" of the country.

-- On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's "interim president." Thereafter, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States

-- On Jan. 28, The United States slapped sanctions on a Venezuelan oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or known as PDVSA, to pile up pressure on Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

-- In March, Venezuela suffered two rounds of widespread blackouts after the country's main Guri hydroelectric plant was sabotaged, followed by schools and offices shutdown.

Guaido was under investigation for his alleged involvement in the sabotage against the national electricity system.

-- On April 6, supporters of Maduro and Guaido respectively held rallies nationwide, as rifts in Venezuela stayed wide open.

In the northwestern city of Maracaibo, two opposition politicians were temporarily arrested and some demonstrators were injured in clashes with the police, local media reported.

-- On April 30, Guaido called on civilians and military to act against the government and urged Maduro to step down.

He also tweeted that "the end of the usurpation began, and at this moment I am meeting with the main military units of our armed forces, beginning the final phase of Operation Freedom."

Maduro said via twitter that military commanders from all regions and defense areas of the country have "expressed their loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the country."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 14:19:21|Editor: ZX

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LANZHOU, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras in a nature reserve located in northwest China's Gansu Province captured nearly 30 images of leopards from January to the end of April.

Researchers from Longdong University recently collected videos and photos caught by 30 infrared cameras they set up at the Ziwuling nature reserve.

"Based on the size, hair color and patterns of leopards in these images, we conclude that there are about 10 leopards roaming in an area of 120 kilometers in the reserve," said Zhou Tianlin, head of the college of life science and technology of Longdong University.

Two adult leopards were caught walking together, which is quite rare as the big cat usually walks alone, he added.

Leopards are under China's highest national-level protection and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

"The images show that there might be a leopard population in the reserve that is on the rise thanks to an improving ecological environment after years of efforts," Zhou said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 16:25:01|Editor: Li Xia

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GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian military factions on Saturday fired a number of rockets at Israel, Palestinian security sources said.

The security sources told Xinhua that successive explosions were heard in Gaza. The Israeli air defense system intercepted the fired rockets.

The Israeli army announced that its war planes raided two platforms used to launch the rockets.

"At least three Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli attack," Palestinian sources said.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and 51 others injured during clashes with the Israeli army forces in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Israeli army said two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire from Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:20:36|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson expressed delight that Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman accused of causing death of a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) man, has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.

"We are glad that Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong has been released and reunited with her family in Vietnam. This outcome was contributed by the continuous efforts of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relevant agencies and the Bar Federation of Vietnam as well as the Malaysian lawyers to protect Doan Thi Huong," said spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

"We also acknowledge the positive actions toward this end taken by the Malaysian relevant authorities in the recent time," the spokeswoman added.

After being set free on Friday, Huong took a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on the same day.

On April 1, a Malaysian court sentenced Huong to three years and four months imprisonment in connection with the death of the DPRK man at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 after she pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of the initial charge of murder.

The prison term was calculated starting from the time Huong was detained in February 2017. Her lawyer said Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term for good behavior.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:25:40|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces thwarted a major plan for the Islamic State (IS) militants to regroup in the country, while killing a prominent IS leader in northern Iraq, an Iraqi official newspaper reported on Saturday.

An Iraqi intelligence team, named al-Suqoor Cell, thwarted IS plot which tried to form new terrorist groups in Iraq and managed to kill a number of IS militants who infiltrated from neighboring Syria, the state-run al-Sabah newspaper said.

"The operation came after several months of tracking Daesh (IS group) militants by the intelligence team and their sources as part of their efforts to eliminate the infiltrated Daesh militants from Syria," the newspaper quoted the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Chief of Intelligence Abu Ali al-Basri as saying.

The intelligence team also killed Abdul Ghafour Abdullah Karmoush, also known as Wahid Amniyah, who is a leader of the terrorist group in northern Iraq, and is responsible for killing dozens of innocent people in Mosul and Tal Afar areas in the northern province of Nineveh, al-Basri said.

He said that Karmoush was killed in an ambush by security forces in north of the town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, and one of his aids blew himself up during the battle.

The Iraqi intelligence will reveal more details about the operation of dismantling the IS regrouping later, according to al-Basri.

The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants late in 2017, and the Iraqi forces tried to seize the whole border areas with Syria and nearby desert in western Iraq.

However, small groups or individuals of Islamic State (IS) militants repeatedly tried to infiltrate into Iraq from neighboring Syria through the roughly 600 km long border with Iraq with vast rugged areas and desert land in an attempt to regroup in Iraq again.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 17:30:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SEOUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House expressed deep worry Saturday over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s launches of short-range projectiles, saying they escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Blue House spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a statement that the South Korean government was deeply worried about the DPRK launches, which went against the purpose of the inter-Korean comprehensive military agreement.

The spokesperson urged Pyongyang to stop such launches that escalate military tensions on the peninsula.

The statement came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast Saturday morning.

Several projectiles were launched towards the northeast from the DPRK's east coast city of Wonsan for 21 minutes from about 9:06 a.m. local time (0006 GMT) Saturday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The projectiles traveled some 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters. Further details were being analyzed by the military authorities of South Korea and the United States.

Following the DPRK's projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country's intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered at the national crisis management center to closely monitor situations and assess why the DPRK fired the projectiles.

The military authorities of South Korea and the United States currently shared detailed information on the launches, precisely analyzing what type of projectiles were fired, according to the Blue House.

The Blue House spokesperson said South Korea paid attention to the launches that came at a time when dialogue on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula came to a lull, calling for the DPRK to actively join efforts to rapidly resume the denuclearization negotiations.

She added that if necessary, South Korea will closely communicate with neighboring countries.

The projectile firings came as the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

On April 17, the DPRK tested a new tactical guided weapon, which was not seen by South Korea as a ballistic missile.

It was originally alleged that the DPRK fired a short-range missile, but it was later revised into short-range projectiles. The last ballistic missile test by the DPRK occurred in November 2017 when the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched.

The JCS said the South Korean military intensified defense readiness and surveillance in preparation for the DPRK's possibly additional launches, adding that it maintained a full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha exchanged opinions over phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the DPRK's projectile launches, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications. Kang also held phone talks with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.

Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each other at every level about the issue. Lee also had telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:10:58|Editor: Xiang Bo

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NADI, Fiji, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should uphold multilateralism and foster a development environment in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said here on Saturday.

Speaking at the business session of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors which is being held in Nadi, the third largest city of Fiji, Liu said that ADB should uphold multilateralism and foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific.

"At present, one of the major risks that threatens the endeavor of international development is the skepticism about multilateralism and departure from the spirit of cooperation. We would like ADB to act as a multilateral platform to coordinate and spur all parties to strengthen international development cooperation and jointly foster an enabling development environment for the prosperity of the Asia and the Pacific region," Liu said.

Liu encouraged ADB to formulate differentiated assistance strategies according to the specific development situation of its developing members, saying that ADB should seek for the common interests of all parties, expedite the reform of global and regional economic governance, as well as promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and help accelerate the process of regional integration.

The development practice and historical experience in Asia and the Pacific region have shown that the development and prosperity of regional economy depend on cooperation and mutual support of all parties, Liu said, adding that the theme of this year's meeting "Prosperity through Unity" which reflects the world's development trend, responds to the call for building a community with a shared future for mankind and aligns with the global governance view of "consultation and contribution for shared benefits".

Over the past 50 years, ADB has made great contribution to poverty reduction and development in Asia and the Pacific. Last year, ADB formulated Strategy 2030, which sets out its medium and long-term development roadmap and operational priorities and enables ADB to better fulfill its mission and serve for the prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

The Chinese minister hoped that ADB should implement Strategy 2030 to lay a solid development foundation and promote innovative development to help sustain the driver of prosperity of Asia and the Pacific region.

China welcomes ADB to support regional cooperation as it has always been doing, and strengthen the synergy between regional cooperation programs and initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to promote the benefits of connectivity, he said.

Describing ADB as a significant platform for all parties to cooperate, build consensus, mobilize resources and tackle challenges, Liu said that China stands ready to work with all parties to support the development cause of Asia and the Pacific region as what China has been doing.

"We will continuously deepen the all-round cooperation with ADB and make contribution to the inclusive and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world," he added.

The five-day ADB's 52nd annual meeting has attracted finance ministers, central bank governors, government officials, private sector representatives, development partners and media from the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:16:04|Editor: ZX

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Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts speaks at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance, in Omaha, the United States on May 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska Pete Ricketts on Friday hailed the state's healthy relationship with China, adding that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal soon.

China is Nebraska's second largest trading partner, and while Nebraska exports such agricultural products as beef, corn and soybeans to China, China also invests in the state, Ricketts said at a forum on U.S.-China investment hosted by New York-based business news website Yahoo Finance.

"It's a pretty healthy, robust relationship," said the 54-year-old governor.

State governor since 2015, Ricketts has made fostering business ties between Nebraska and China a priority.

During his tenure so far, Nebraska and China's Shaanxi Province established a sister states relationship, an agricultural demonstration park was set up near Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, and Tongji University in Shanghai and the University of Nebraska Medical Center fostered a partnership.

"We've been over to China to help introduce our folks to folks over there, develop those relationships," Ricketts said. "So we really look to see how we can foster that relationship in many ways," he said.

The governor mentioned in particular Nebraska's beef exports to China, which went up 86 percent in a year.

Nebraska is one of the major beef-producing states in the United States, making up about half of all U.S. beef exports, he said.

"So we are very pleased with where things are going, and we want to continue to see that go that way," he said.

With respect to the ongoing trade talks and a potential trade deal between China and the United States, Ricketts, who was appointed in December 2018 as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, said he hopes to see the U.S.-China trade deal get "wrapped up."

The governor said he and other officials from agricultural states gave feedback to President Donald Trump about "how important that relationship with China is."

"China, for example, is a large destination for our soybeans. That's a big deal here in Nebraska," Ricketts said.

"And so when we see the trade relationship be disrupted, it has an impact on our farmers," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:21:13|Editor: Li Xia

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GABORONE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Officials and experts from southern Africa gathered to address the escalating challenge of protecting the region's elephant population.

Southern Africa is home to 250,000 elephants with the majority in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA).

It is estimated that 60 percent of elephants exist outside the protected areas in the KAZA-TFCA, according to officials.

Heads of state in the region will gather for a summit on May 7 themed Towards A Common Vision for the Management of Our Elephants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:31:19|Editor: ZX

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LIMA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strengthened ties between Peru and China, an expert told Xinhua.

The MoU, signed during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last week, will boost bilateral relations through "greater investment," said Carlos Aquino, head of the Asian Studies Center at the National University of San Marcos in Lima.

After the signing, the two countries are poised to step up cooperation on several key fronts, including infrastructure, investment and trade, Aquino told Xinhua.

With an increase in infrastructure investment, "economic activities will improve," because it will cut down on "the cost of transporting products to the ships heading overseas," said Aquino.

The cost of importing goods may also drop as given their quicker arrival in Peru faster, he said.

According to Aquino, China and Peru have already begun modernizing Peruvian ports.

In January, Peruvian mining firm Volcan and China's COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd reached an investment agreement for the design, construction and operation of the Chancay Port Complex megaproject in northern Lima.

The project "should alleviate the existing trade congestion at the port of Callao," said Aquino.

In terms of investment and trade, the MoU will also help expand the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect in March 2010, said Aquino.

"The FTA covers not just trade but also investment -- facilitating investment by eliminating the obstacles to Chinese companies coming to Peru and, of course, Peruvian companies going to China," Aquino pointed out.

"Many factors indicate that the good ties we have with China are going to get much better with the signing of the memorandum ... and with the renovation of the free trade agreement," Aquino said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:41:24|Editor: Li Xia

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YANGON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Meteorology and Hydrology Department Saturday warned people in the hilly areas and near small rivers to be aware of flash floods and landslides accompanied by the strong wind and heavy rain due to the influence of the severe cyclonic storm "FANI".

"FANI" weakened into deep depression and it was forecast to move North-Northeasternwards, according to the department's measurement at 13:30 local time (0700 GMT).

Rain or thundershowers were forecast to be widespread in Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady regions and Kachin, Chin, Kayin, Mon, Shan and Kayah states.

Occasional squalls with rough seas were forecast to be experienced off and along Myanmar coasts with 40 mph surface wind, the department's release said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:41:05|Editor: ZX

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Zhou Xin (R, front) picks up his son at a primary school near Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 16, 2019. Professor Zhou Xin is the deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan. He is interested in ultrasensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments, techniques and methodology as well as biosensors for medical imaging. In 2019, his group, which consists of about fifty members, independently designed and developed the hyperpolarized lung gas MRI instrument, providing an effective method of lighting up the lungs. Core indicators of the system have reached world leading level in the industry. This quantitative, accurate and visualized lung disease detecting method, without the side effects of invasion and radioactivity, has offered a new imaging technique for the diagnosis of early lung diseases. Back in 2009, Zhou was selected by the "Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Instead of accepting the opportunity of high-paying jobs in the United States, Zhou returned to China to carry out research alone on human lung MRI instrument in cramped conditions. Zhou, who was born in the same year when the reform and opening up was launched in 1978, said he made the right decision to return to China after reviewing his life and work in the past decade. Born in the right time and striving for one's aspiration can achieve a great life, said Zhou. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:51:28|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a white safety helmet, 26-year-old Egyptian engineer Ahmed Mansour works outdoors eight hours a day, braving temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in Egypt's southern province of Aswan.

Checking the running state of all holders and recording data from solar inverters, Mansour has been dedicated to maintaining solar panels in Aswan since 2017 when the photovoltaic power (PV) generation project he works on started its trial run.

"It is meaningful that we are using environmentally friendly ways to produce precious electricity," Mansour said.

The project is part of the overseas solar development of China's green energy company TBEA Sunoasis Co., Ltd., which officially started building four solar power stations last year at the Benban Solar Energy Park in Aswan.

The stations, with an output of 186 megawatts, are part of the giant Benban Solar Plant which aims to generate up to two gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity through a total of 40 projects.

So far, three of the four stations have been completed.

Mansour said he was impressed by TBEA's measures to protect the environment. "During construction, waste such as garbage and sewage were disposed of by adhering to strict standards," he said.

The project is estimated to help cut the emission of more than 23,000 tonnes of dust, over 86,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than 2,600 tonnes of sulfur dioxide annually.

As the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advances, the country has been committed to making BRI a green cause of sustainable development.

China and the United Nations Environment Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016, focusing on enhanced collaboration to build a green Belt and Road.

It has also signed cooperation agreements concerning ecological and environmental protection with more than 30 countries participating the BRI.

"The building of a green Belt and Road can help countries achieve the environmental goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Zhai Kun, a professor with Peking University.

Last Thursday, China officially launched the International Coalition for Green Development on the Belt and Road, which could serve as an international platform for Chinese and foreign leading agencies to work closely together to conduct research and make policy recommendations on key issues as well as facilitate international dialogue.

"In the near future, the establishment of this coalition could raise the visibility and importance of green infrastructure and facilitate deeper cooperation between BRI partners," said Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute.

The country has also made clear its commitment to incorporate green strategies into the BRI by releasing the Guidelines on Promoting Green Belt and Road and the Belt and Road Ecological Cooperation Plan. These documents outline a vision for sustainability.

China is willing to launch cooperation on ecological and environmental protection with countries along the Belt and Road, expand the International Coalition for Green Development and promote a coalition of sustainable cities under the BRI, according to a report released last Monday.

"The building of a green Belt and Road needs joint efforts, which could also bring win-win results to all parties involved," said Xue Li, researcher of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 18:56:30|Editor: Li Xia

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KAMPOT, Cambodia, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia began on Saturday a five-day live-fire military exercise at a training ground here in southwestern Kampot province.

Lieutenant General Hun Manet, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAFs) and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said the annual drill was crucial to strengthen the capacity and expertise of troops in defending territorial integrity.

"I'm strongly confident that after this drill, the participants will get new knowledge and experience, and will share them with other soldiers at their units," he said at the opening ceremony of the Golden Hanuman Exercise 2019.

Lieutenant General Mao Sophan, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, said a total of 1,326 soldiers from various divisions, headquarters and units took part in the exercise.

He said many types of heavy weapons including artilleries, BM-21 rocket launchers, RM-70 rocket launchers, tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters were used in the exercise.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:11:37|Editor: Li Xia

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TRIPOLI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan navy on Saturday said it rescued 161 illegal migrants on two rubber boats off the western city of Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"A Coast Guards patrol spotted two rubber boats with 161 illegal migrants on board, including 141 men, 15 women and 5 children," the Libyan navy's spokesman Ayob Qassem said in a statement.

The migrants were rescued 82 km west of Khoms, the statement added.

The migrants have been provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and taken to a reception center in the city, the spokesman said.

Western Libya, particularly in and around Tripoli, is witnessing violent clashes since early April between the east-based army and the UN-backed government over control of the city.

The fighting has killed 392 people, injured 1,936 others, and forced more than 50,000 others to flee their homes away from the conflict areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Thousands of illegal migrants choose to cross the Mediterranean toward European shores from Libya because of the chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:21:44|Editor: Li Xia

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RABAT, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's net foreign exchange reserves amounted to over 24 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, down 1.2 percent year on year, the central bank said Saturday.

According to the bank's statistics, the reserves dropped by 0.7 percent from the end of 2018 and 2.1 percent month on month.

In mid-January 2018, Morocco started the gradual floating of its currency, raising the official band of dirham's fluctuation to 2.5 percent above or below the official rate from the previous 0.3 percent.

The dirham is pegged to a two-currency basket weighted 60 percent to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Moroccan authorities to take the next step, but the Moroccan authorities remain cautious about the next phase of floating dirham.

In a joint letter to the IMF director in January, the Moroccan monetary authorities said they will move to the next step "for preventative purposes as soon as economic conditions allow them to do so."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 19:46:52|Editor: Li Xia

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TEHRAN, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that Iran will "defeat" the United States through unity of the nation, official IRNA news agency reported.

"We should solidify our unity and strengthen hope in (the Iranian) society," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The United States aims to "disappoint the Iranians and sow discord between the people and the government by exerting the sanction pressures," he said.

The president stressed that the United States seeks to lower Iran's oil income, and has targeted Iran's independence and sovereignty through economic pressures.

"We have to increase our hard currency income and cut our currency expenditures," he added. "We have no other way but to unite and resist."

The 180-day U.S. waivers for major importers of Iran's oil formally expired on Thursday, announced by the White House, which aggravates the impacts of tough pressures on Iran.

Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, an Iran international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

Following the withdrawal, Trump's administration returned the sanctions on Iran's oil exports in November, which had been lifted under the JCPOA.

Iran has vowed to bypass the U.S. sanctions and continue to export its oil.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:12:01|Editor: Li Xia

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By Zhang Jianhua, Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua

VIENTIANE, May 4 (Xinhua) --"The Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Tian'anmen Square ... everywhere we have been to are beautiful!"

Six students from China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School gathered in their classroom in the Lao capital Vientiane on April 28 and shared their impressions of China during a recent trip. They were part of a sub-forum on people-to-people exchanges during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held on April 25-27 in Beijing.

On the eve of the forum, the teachers and students of the village school in the north of Vientiane, wrote in a letter to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Chinese Dream and the Laotian Dream are connected together through the Belt and Road Initiative, and that they hope to take the Laos-China Railway to Beijing as soon as possible.

"You may not know that Grandpa Xi has received and read our letter and the album of your paintings," Lin Jieyu, a Chinese volunteer teacher at the school, told the kids. "In his reply, he also wishes our China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School will grow better and better, and welcomes you an early trip to Beijing by taking the train on the China-Laos railway!"

"China's train is the most beautiful. I saw it on the way to Badaling!" the 9-year-old Khamphet said loudly. "We will have the same train soon in our country."

Khamphet is correct. In last December, the first China-Laos Railway T-shaped concrete beam was successfully erected at the site of China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2), just dozen kilometers north of the Nongping Village, marking a milestone in the history of the construction of China-Laos railway.

"I love China," echoed the 9-year-old girl Phonephivanh. "I also hope that I can take the train to Beijing in the future."

Different from the excitement of the children, responsibilities are added to the 56-year-old Bounmy, the Nongping Primary School principal.

Principal Bounmy has witnessed the tremendous changes of the school with the aid from the China Foundation for Peace and Development.She also represented the school to express sincere gratitude to President Xi at the sub-forum in Beijing.

"On receiving the reply letter from President Xi Jinping, I feel grateful and thankful for his kindness. In the letter, President Xi encouraged students to pay attention to their studies and catch a chance to get a scholarship to study in China," Bounmy told Xinhua. "I see that President Xi is generous and very kind to us. He wants us to improve in a better way."

"We benefit a lot from joining the Belt and Road construction. We must bring our children up well and strive to help them realize their dream of studying in China soon," she added.

Amphouvone, a resident of the Nongping Village, felt surprised and glad after hearing that the Chinese president wrote back to her village school.

"This reflects the importance that Chinese leaders and people attach to the Lao government and people, and also shows that the relationship between the two countries is becoming more and more intimate," she said to Xinhua.

The Nongping Primary School is a demonstration project of China-Laos friendship in recent years, which is funded by the China Foundation for Peace and Development in 2012. Since then the foundation has been sending volunteer Chinese teachers and offering teaching materials to the school.

"We are encouraged by President Xi's reply letter, feeling warmness and kindness," said Yao Changhua, a volunteer teacher at the school. "I will try my best to do my job well, hoping to teach children more knowledge, introduce Chinese culture, and promote the continuous development of China-Laos friendship."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:28:41|Editor: Li Xia

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People dressed as Star Wars characters participate in the Star Wars Day in a mall in Taguig, the Philippines, May 4, 2019. The Star Wars Day is celebrated on May 4 every year by the fans of the sci-fi movie series in different parts of the world. (Xinhua/ROUELLE UMALI)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:07|Editor: ZX

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SHENYANG, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Railway authorities in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, said Saturday that they have launched 94 additional trains to tackle the rush of travelers heading back to school and work on the last day of the May Day holiday.

Train stations under the jurisdiction of China Railway Shenyang Group Co. Ltd., such as those in Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian, all reported peak traffic Saturday.

The group said it would have about 1.12 million passengers on Saturday.

China's extended May Day holiday this year is expected to see a "tourism craze" with an estimated total of 160 million trips, according to the country's biggest online travel agency Ctrip.

The State Council, China's cabinet, announced in March that this year's May Day holiday would be extended to four days, from May 1 to 4.

To meet the demand of growing travelers, the China Railway Corporation has prepared more trains. The railway operator expects some 68.2 million railway passenger trips from April 30 to May 4, a growth of 10.9 percent year on year.

Chinese tourists made 147 million domestic trips during the three-day long May Day holiday last year, up 9.3 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:27:08|Editor: ZX

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OMAHA, the United States, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that while the United States and China are competing in many areas, they should recognize that the best world is one in which they both prosper.

In a recorded interview broadcast at a forum on U.S.-China investment here Friday, Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer that he believes Washington and Beijing "will always be competitors ... in business, ideas, and all kinds of ways.

"We just have to make sure that competition doesn't get us to a point where we don't realize that the best world is one in which both the United States and China prosper," he said.

The 88-year-old business magnate said the United States, China and Russia "all recognize the dangers of letting competition get out of control," adding that countries "can be competitors without being enemies."

Asked whether Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate of which Buffett is chairman and CEO, would "ever make a big acquisition in China," Buffett said "the answer is we would."

Buffett said he knows the laws, the customs, the accounting and the people better in the United States than in other places in the world, which makes it easier for him to make a big acquisition in his home country.

"I have to do more work if I'm looking beyond the borders, but I love the idea of doing it," Buffett said.

Speaking of the Chinese economy, Buffett said he doesn't worry about the impact globally of slower economic growth in China to the tune of 6 to 6.5 percent a year.

"China's going to grow a lot over time. When you think of what's happened since 1949, there's been nothing really like it," he said. "And they really hadn't remotely achieved their potential."

Berkshire is holding its annual shareholders' meeting in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

by Wang Zichen

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology company Huawei is again making headlines in the UK, which is in a heated debate over the development of the UK's 5G network and whether the company represents a security threat.

The UK has "arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei," according to Ciaran Martin, a top British intelligence official. It is home to a dedicated Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) for eight years, and has published five detailed reports scrutinizing Huawei, notably its source code -- the crown jewel of any technology company.

One key question underplayed in the media storm over Huawei, however, experts told Xinhua, is that while Huawei came under the microscope in the UK, its non-Chinese competitors -- Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung -- are not equally tested, leaving the public in the blank as to how they would fare under the same set of rules.

Absent that knowledge, the push to shun Huawei in networks rings hollow on a central premise: its competitors' gears would be more secure than the Chinese company's.

DEFECTS IDENTIFIED WITH HUAWEI TECHNICAL

The latest UK report, formally known as the HCSEC Oversight Board Annual Report 2019 and published on March 28, detailed concerns about Huawei's software engineering capabilities, but stated that the "NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) does not believe that the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference."

It is a conclusion that's been repeated by the UK intelligence agency in charge of cyber security that the security defects identified with Huawei are technical.

"As we said then, and repeat today, these problems are about standard of cyber security; they are not indicators of hostile activity by China," said Martin, the CEO of the NCSC, in a public speech in Brussels on Feb. 20.

"The NCSC report provides an insight into the Huawei products under review and has highlighted that Huawei's software practices need to improve to meet the NCSC review recommendations. The NCSC report indicates that it does not believe the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference but are due to basic engineering competence and cyber security hygiene," Mark Gregory, Associate Professor focusing on network engineering at Australia's RMIT University, told Xinhua.

HUAWEI PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE TESTED

Nevertheless, the report's findings of problems in technicality made damaging publicity for Huawei, which has said it is "the most scrutinized company in the world."

What the reports didn't cover was if Huawei's products and softwares were less secure than those of its competitors, and that's because these vendors were not subject to the same scrutiny as Huawei, at least in the case of the UK oversight regime, experts said.

"I don't think any of the other vendors have been on such level of scrutiny to find out whether or not security risks exist in their software. Unless I missed something, I'm not aware of anyone else going through this process," Stephane Teral, technology fellow and advisor for Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at the consultancy IHS Markit Technology, told Xinhua.

As part of a thorough due diligence analysis in the vendor selection process, all products, software and hardware are evaluated by telecommunication services providers who are clients of vendors like Huawei, said Teral, who has three decades experience in the Western telecommunications industry.

"What's unique in the Huawei case is that the software was evaluated by a third party, as I say above, no other vendor has gone through this process and had they gone, I believe some bugs would have been found too," Teral added.

"As Huawei is the only company that has agreed to submit its products for review it would be wrong to assume that other vendor products don't have similar issues, especially when the number of patches being issued by other vendors to fix security problems are taken into account," said Gregory, who also serves as managing editors of academic journals in telecommunication technology.

A VOLUNTARY, TOUGH PROCESS

Huawei recognized the need of foreign governments for more insight into the Chinese company and entered into the British rigorous oversight regime on a voluntary basis, a Brussels-based spokesperson told Xinhua.

"Although painful and somewhat humiliating, I consider this exercise very valuable for Huawei because they have now a new list of issues to address to make their product even stronger. In the end, Huawei will emerge even stronger from this tough process," said Teral.

Neither Ericsson nor Nokia, when contacted by Xinhua, commented on the British oversight regime or if they were subjected to similar oversight arrangements. Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ericsson said in a statement: "In all our manufacturing and software development facilities globally, Ericsson ensures that strict security controls are in place. In addition, we undertake close quality controls, tests and verifications to ensure compliance to our security standards and overall specification of our network solutions. Security audits of all our factories are done on a regular basis, where the sites are assessed, and risks reviewed."

Nokia provided a statement that read: "Nokia follows a strict 'design for security' process. Regardless of geographical location where Nokia's products and services are manufactured or made, the same criteria are applied to ensure security and integrity. We carry out extensive independent internal and external verification on security status and compliance."

CALLS FOR A COMMON APPROACH

The lack of a common approach that covers all vendors have led to calls for a security assurance scheme by the industry and experts.

GSMA and 3GPP, two industry bodies, have proposed a voluntary scheme. If applied, it would involve an external auditor of vendors' security related development and product lifecycle processes, and a competent test laboratory's security evaluation of the vendors' equipment.

"There is a global need for a telecommunications security assurance capability, something that the telecommunications industry has not embraced, yet there is mounting evidence that this capability is desperately needed," Gregory said.

"A telecommunications security assurance program should be embraced that encompasses telecommunications equipment in networks irrespective of which vendor supplied the equipment," he said.

Teral said he supports "a fair process to treat everyone equally."

"In the end, we are all on the same page: the world wants a robustly secured 5G network," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 20:37:16|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday afternoon granted an audience with royal family members and officials in the Grand Palace, and asked all Thais to work together with him for the kingdom's prosperity and people's well-being.

King Vajiralongkorn has received holy water during the "Muratha Bhisek" and "Abhiseka" rituals according to Thai tradition and he was then offered the Royal Regalia and formally crowned.

On Saturday afternoon, he with the crown on his head granted an audience with royal family members and officials, who congratulated him on this occasion at the Amarindra Vinijaya Mahaisuraya Biman Throne Hall of the Grand Palace.

His sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, represented the royal family to offer their congratulations.

The royal family will be devoted, honest and royal, and they will work hard according to each's responsibility, Princess Sirindhorn said to the king.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha spoke on behalf of the cabinet, armed forces, civil servants and the public while Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, the president of the National Legislative Assembly, represented the legislative institute and Supreme Court president Cheep Jullamon the judicial branch.

They all paid homage to the king on the occasion of his coronation.

The king thanked all the participants and asked all Thais to work hard together with him according to each's job and responsibility for the national prosperity and the well-being of the people.

After the audience, the king walked to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha inside the grounds of the Grand Palace, where he was named Upholder of Buddhism, which is another ritual of the coronation ceremonies on Saturday.

King Vajiralongkorn ascended the Thai throne in 2016, becoming King Rama X.

His coronation ceremony lasts for three days from Saturday, and all importance ceremonies would be televised throughout Thailand.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:07:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Tourists visit the Shanghai Garden of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing in Yanqing District of Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2019. Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday. Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday. With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition welcomed its first tourist peak by serving more than 320,000 tourists during the four-day May Day holiday, the organizer said Saturday.

Lei Lei, an official with the organizing committee, said the Chinese Pavilion, the International Pavilion, the Life Experience Pavilion, the Botany Pavilion and the Guirui Theater were among the most popular destinations, which have received a total of over 734,000 visitors during the holiday.

Some 132 activities, including float parades, world ethnic and folk cultural performances, and culture and art carnivals staged by central and eastern European countries, were held during the holiday.

With the theme of "Live Green, Live Better," the expo opened to the public on Monday at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's Yanqing District and will last until Oct. 7.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:17:41|Editor: Li Xia

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VIENNA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for a renegotiation of the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon, citing new challenges that have emerged since the foundational treaty entered into effect in 2009.

Speaking to the Austrian media on Friday, the centre-right Austrian People's Party leader said "many things have changed in Europe" compared to 10 years ago, such as the "debt crisis, euro crisis, migrant crisis, climate crisis and Brexit chaos."

He argued that the EU has never managed to transit out of "crisis mode," and is left with an outdated treaty that must be made current.

"A new treaty is needed with clearer sanctions for members who run up debt, penalties for countries who do not register illegal migrants and wave them off, as well as tough consequences for breaches of rule of law and liberal democracy," the chancellor said.

He also called for the bloc's institutions to be streamlined, including a reduction in the size of the European Commission, such as through ending the practice of automatically giving each member state a commissioner post.

In addition, he would like to see a greater emphasis on foreign and security policy.

The chancellor also called for the EU to be based solely in Brussels, rather than having MEPs shuttled back and forth to Strasbourg.

This is unlikely to please French President Emmanuel Macron, with France having always opposed giving up the parliament location in Strasbourg.

Kurz also stressed that far-right populist parties are no allies, saying he wished to "make Europe better, not to disrupt it or entertain exit fantasies."

In addition he called for a "generational change" in the leadership in Brussels, that would involve both a change in personnel as well as a new policy orientation.

This should happen "as soon as possible" following the European parliamentary elections later this month, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-04 21:27:44|Editor: Li Xia

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by Surasak Tumcharoen

BANGKOK, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally ascended the throne on Saturday in magnificent ceremonies in the Grand Palace.

People across the country watched the rituals broadcast live by Television Pool of Thailand, while a large number people in yellow shirts showed up at Sanam Luang ground across the Grand Palace and elsewhere near the palace to witness the historic event.

As part of the royal rituals, the king took a purification bath and anointment with sacred water, which had been brought from sacred ponds and other water resources in all provinces across the country, and was presented Royal Regalia and a golden pad inscribed with his name and seal to mark his ascension to the throne.

Following the rituals, the 66-year-old king ceremonially named 40-year-old Queen Suthida, whom he earlier married in legal and traditional fashion in Baisal Daksin Throne Hall.

On Saturday afternoon, the king granted an audience with members of the royal family, privy councilors and high-level government officials, at Amarindra Vinijaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.

The monarch then proceeded on board a royal palanquin carried by soldiers in traditional costume from the throne hall to Emerald Buddha temple in the compound of the Grand Palace to pay homage to the Buddha image in the presence of 80 blessing monks.

He then proceeded to Phra Thep Bidorn Throne Hall and Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to pay homage to the statues and relics of former kings and queens of Siam (the former name of Thailand).

In his first speech to the public upon the ceremonial ascension to the throne, the monarch pledged to preserve, develop and hold the reign with righteousness and for benefits and happiness of the Thai people.

He practically assumed the throne in late 2016 after his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passed away.

On Sunday, the new monarch is scheduled to bestow royal titles to members of the royal family and lead a royal procession from the Grand Palace to three royal temples, namely Bovorn Nivet temple, Rajabopit temple and Phra Chetupon temple, passing several roads in Rattanakosin Island area. Many yellow-shirted people are expected to view the procession along the route.

On Monday, the king is scheduled to show up on the balcony of Sutthai Sawan Prasat Throne Hall to greet palace and government personnel and other people and receive best wishes from them.

King Vajiralongkorn is also scheduled to grant an audience with diplomats at Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace on Monday.

Thailand's last coronation rituals were conducted for the late King Bhumibol in 1950.